The Sun. — London, England, 1845-03-20 00:00:00

VbErb ambition SUN OFFICE, Seven o'Clock. SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF THIS DAT. GLOBE.—Mr. Joseph Somes was yesterday declared duly elected M.P. for Dartmouth. If there were any who anticipated a different decision, we were not of the number. From the announcement of the constitution of the Committee, through the whole course of the inves tigation, and down to the publication of the final resolu tion of the Committee yesterday, which declared the sit ting Member duly elected, the result was as much a matter of certainty as it was when, with the usual forms, the Chairman of the Committee last evening presented the report at the table of the House. Those—if, indeed, such persons can be met with—who attended to the evidence, as adduced by the petitioners, and regarded the Committee as a Court accessible to the force of verified and, to a great extent, admitted facts, may be astounded at the decision. All others regard the result as having occurred in the ordinary course of events. The majority of the Committee were of the sitting Member's political party. The Chairman having, for tunately for Mr. Joseph Somes. been selected in the order of rotation from the Tory benches, the question in issue was as good as settled before the inquiry commenced. The question to be decided was whether at the time of the election Mr. Joseph Somes was, or had then ceased to be, the holder of, or was in anywise in terested in, any contract with Government ? To show that Mr. Joseph Somes was a contractor with the Go %liniment for the supply of upwards of twenty thousand tnaof sl i i )ping, and held that contract up to the very verge of the election, the following facts were established in evidence before the Committee. The Speaker's notice of the late Member for Dartmouth's death appeared in the London Gazette on the 3d of December. Mr. Somes' address to the electors of Dartmouth, announcing him self a candidate for the vacant seat, was circulated in the borough on the same day. In that address Mr. Somes' pretensions were enforced on the grounds of his being " a great ship owner"—the " owner of upwards of 22,000 tons of shipping, and largely connected with trade, commerce, and the colonies." The electors were, therefore, urged, on the plea of advancing their " own interests," to give Mr. Somes " such a reception and support as would secure so useful a Member for their seaport town." Mr. Somes therefore went down to Dartmouth as a great ship-owner—" the owner of 22,000 tons of shipping," &c., when, if the case set up by him in answer to that of the petitioners against his return is to be credited, he had retired from business, parted with his ships, and transferred his contracts with Government to other hands. In short, Mr. Somes no longer possessed any, the least, interest in the property. his possession of which was to confer such vast advantages on the seaport town of Dart mouth ! We must request attention to the dates we have already given. On the 17th of December Mr. Somes appears to have been made aware that the quali ficationi which were to be his recommendations to the Dartmouth voters, were, in the eye of the law, destruc tive of his hopes. His ships were in the pay of Govern. ment. His contracts with the Admiralty operated as a positive barrier to his entering Parliament. What was to be done ? Mr. Somes would have the public to be lieve—and did, through his counsel, induce the Tory majority of the Election Committee to believe, at /east, to decide—that he, on the 17th of December, sponta neously, and as a free gift —not covertly, and for the purpose of evading the prohibition of the law—made over by a deed, which is attested by two Lot cis of the Admiralty (Sir W. half Gage and the Right Hon. H. L. Corry), a debt of rather more than 51,000/.. due to him from the Admiralty, to his two nephews, Joseph Somes the younger, and Frederick Somes. On the same day this most generous uncle made over to these doubt less highly-meritorious, and therefore munificently endowed youths, ships of about 22,000 tons and 120,000/. value. Having thus cast overboard the impediments to his safe passage into the House of Commons, on the 27th of December Mr. Somes was elected Member for Dart mouth. What adds to the eccentric generosity of Mr. Somes is the admitted fact that his nephews, whom he freely and absolutely invested with this large quantity of shipping, were innocent of all previous knowledge of tke business in which they were now to embark. They had no previous knowledge essential to the acquirement of the experience and tact to which commercial men are usually indebted for success. They had no place of business. The name of one of them, it is true, appears, for the first time, in the " Commercial Directory" for the present year ; but his place of business is the same as that of his uncle, who has supplied him with " a local habitation and a name." Inexperience is wont to produce blunders. And the haste with which hastily-con cocted transfers, made for collusive and corrupt puposes, are got up, are also frequently productive of blunders which exhibit their true character, and thus betray and defeat the intentions of the parties. To which of these causes a ludicrous blunder of Mr. Frederick Somes is to be referred, we leave to others. The circumstance is worthy of record. This young gentleman joined with his brother in a joint tender to the Admiralty of a ship, which a reference to the registry-book at the Cus tom-house shows to have been transferred by Mr. Somes to Mr. Joseph Somes, jun. ' and not to the broth e r s j o i n tl y . Whether the transfer of Mr. Joseph Somes' property was bond fide, or collusive—whether it was by deed of gift, or by bargain and sale—whether for the purpose of ridding himself of a legal disqualification for a seat in the House of Commons, or for any other object— was not, however, the question with which the Com miitee had to deal, and were called upon to decide. The question placed in issue was, whether the terms of the statute which regulates the transfer and registration of ships had been complied with in Mr. Somes'case? The Act (3 and 4 Wm. IV. c. 55), the object of which, according to its preamble, is to consolidate the laws relating to the registration of ships, expressly enacts (sec. 34) that no bill of sale shall be valid to pass property in a ship, until such bill of sale shall have been registered in the re gistry-book of some port. The bills of sale of Mr. Somes' ships to his nephews are all dated on the 17th of Dec. .But there is no registry of a date previous to the elec tion; the earliest date of any such registration being December 28—the day after the election. Mr. Somes had not, therefore, when he was elected to serve in Parlia meat, complied with the terms of the statute. He still had an interest in ships serving the Government under contracts not voided before the day of election. A clearer case of disqualification was never established. A more palpable proof that a House of Commons' elec tion Committee is incapable of divesting itself of party influences, when inquired to pronounce a just decision which involves the seating or unseating of a political partisan, was never supplied. Whether the Committee consist of 13, 7, 5. or 3, is a matter of trifling moment. The majority will, in nine cases out of ten, decide in fa vour of the party which favours the political views of that majority. 'This has grown into a proverb by the long experience of its truth. Hence no confidence in their in tegrity is placed in the legal or moral decisions of such a tribunal. TATTERSALL'S.-THIS EVENING Six o'CLocK. CHESTER CUP. 12 to 1 agst Obscurity 12 to 1 agst Semiseria 13 to 1 apt Era 13 to 1 agst Cataract 25 to 1 agst Winosour 25 to 1 agst Strathspey 30 to 1 agst Celeste 33 to 1 agst Ylaeomun ac Knuck 40 to 1 agst Fitz-Allan 40 to 1 agst Portrait 40 to 1 agst Queen of the Tyne 40 to 1 agst Ould Ireland 50 to 1 agst Mystery 60 to 1 agst Alice Hawthorn 60 to 1 agst Foig-a-ballagh. DERBY. 10 to 1 agst Alarm 15 to 1 agst Idas—taken 15 to 1 agst Clear-the-Way 16 to 1 agst hedger 20 to 1 agst Cobweb colt 20 to 1 agst Pam 22 to 1 agst Newsmonger 25 to 1 agst Miss Whip colt 30 to 1 agst Mentor 30 to 1 agst Pantasa 33 to 1 agst Ironmaster (All in) 40 to 1 agst Annandale 40 to 1 agst Old England 50 to 1 agst Young Eclipse 50 to 1 agst Cabin Boy 'COURSE OF EXCH. Amsterdam CF. 12 7 Ditto, at sight l2 5i Rotterdam 2U. 12 71 Antwerp Hamburgh M.B. 13 51 Altona kNGE,--(THIS DAY.) Leghorn Genoa 26 15 Milan ...... ..... Venice •••. •••0••• ••••• Naples ....... ..... 40 Palermo, ptv oz 11 9 .1 Lisbon 53 , 1; Oport0... Rio Janeiro Bahia Buenos Ayres NewYork.::.7dys sight Philadelphia ...... - PEICEA .1 .7 MULLION, PER OE Foreign i ;01,1, bars...€ 3 17 9 Portugal Gold Coin 3 17 5 New Doubloons-- 0 0 0 New pc,l'ars 0 4 91 Silver in flare 0 0 0 Paris, 3 days' sight 25 87 Ditto, 3 months 26 10 Marseilles Bourdeaux Frankfort on Maine 122 : 12 I'etersbnrgh, 3Us — Berlin — Vienna, effec. fl. 3 M lO 2 Trieste, ditto Madrid 361, Cadiz Raba° — Barcelona Seville -- THE LATE BOILER EXPLOSION AT BLACKWALL. ADJOURNED INQUEST. -(THIS DAY). VERDICT OF MANSLAUGHTER. Mr. Baker, the Coroner fur East Middlesex, and the jurymen appointed to conduct the inquiry into the deaths of the men Chapman, Grimes, Smith, and Wright, who were killed by an explosion at the works of Mr. Samuda, at Bow• creek, Blackwell, re-assembled this morning at the Town-hall, Poplar. Mr. Ballantine, as usual, attended for Mr. Samuda, and Mr. Flower for Mr. Lowe, the engineer. The CORONER informed the jury that another unfor tunate man, named Neale, had died on board the Dread nought hospital ship, and the jury having viewed the body, 31r. BAKER informed them that he had received a me dical certificate, stating that the important witness, Whitcorabe, was in too dangerous a state to be removed, and it would be necessary, therefore, that his evidence should be taken at the London Hospital. Conveyances were ordered to be in readiness to corvey the jurymen there. The evidence of Joseph Chettle, engineer, was read over, at the request of Mr. Flower. The witness was then examined by Mr. Flower—l am an engineer, and have been at the trade for about eight years. During that time I was in the employ of Mr. Samuda. I recollect that on the day of the accident Grimes, a labourer, was engaged on the top of the boiler. It was necessary that he should use a ladder to get to the top. Supposing that the ladder had slipped, the effort he would make to save himself would be to catch the lever. The effect of that would be, in the one case, sup posing the lever to break, to cause the steam to c scape, or if it did not break, it would keep the valve shut, and so cause an explosion. By the Foreman—The only part he could possibly lay hold of would be the main lever,;which would compress the steam by shutting the safety-valve. Thomas Menton, 4, Hall-street, Poplar—l am an en gineer, and have been so for 15 or 16;years. The boiler in question was sold to a gentleman in Greenwich for 30 guineas, and afterwards purchased by Mr. Samuda, but for what sum I know not. Thirty guineas is not a third of its real value. It was a very good boiler. It was made for a low pressure. Thero was a steam chest in it, and that must necessarily cause part of the original boiler to be cut away. That would render the boiler weaker in that part. By Mr. Flower—l am aware that the boiler had been proved. It was tested by myself at not less than 501bs • to the square inch. By the CORONER—It was proved by the hydraulic pressure, It would be a mistaken notion to say that a pressure of 181 b. was all it could bear. It was only in tended, I believe, for a pressure of 12 or 151bs. I have no doubt it is the same boiler. _ By the Foreman—l tried it at 501bs. with cold water, but should not like to try above 301bs. with steam. By the CORONER-1 think that it would be possible to prove boilers without endangering the lives ofpersons. By Mr. Flower—The boiler was town made, and a the first-rate construction. _ _ _ By the CORONER—I cannot speak of the valves, for the mounting was not put on by us. It is quite requisite to have two st.fety-valves. 7he mode of pitching the lever in this case was 'a very convenient one, and not in any way detrimental. Where there is only one safety valve it will certainly be more necessary to exer cise caution than when there is two. _ . J. Burnand's evidence having been read over, the wit ness was subjected to cross-examination by Mr. Flower. —I thought I was insulted by Mr. Lowe. lam not wry exclusive. I bad some words with Mr. Lowe about hammer handles. _ _ The jurymen thought that this cross-examination did not bear upon the point at issue. Mr. Flower was proceeding to address the jury, when Tho CORONER said that he could not allow any ob• servations to be made then ; and the jury left to take the evidence of the witness Whitcombe, at the London Hospital. On arriving at the Hospital, they were conducted to the ward where Thomas Whitcombe was lying. Ile was sworn, and said—l am an engine-driver. I have been engaged at Blackwall since June last. I saw the boiler tried on Monday, but the steam would not touch the engine. In order to remedy this defect, Mr. Lowe got a cock put upon the steam-pipe to draw the condensed water off, still the engine did not go well. There was nothing done after. The cock was put there on Tuesday night. The [steam was got up Wednes day morning. We had a great deal of trouble, for the engine still went at a snail's pace. There -were • a great many men pulling the fly-Ni heel round with their hands, or the engine would not have gone at all. I have not the slightest idea how the ex plosion occurred. I saw a bit of a stick applied to keep the valve partly shut to keep up the power of steam. I cannot say who did that, unless it were Mr. Lowe, who was at the safety-valve the whole time. I saw him work the valve several times, but did not understand the re turn of it. The fires were as low as possible, scarcely any at all, in fact the bars were quite bare. I let the fire out, because I was afraid something would happen. I should think that there were better than 60 lbs. of pressure on the square inch on Wednesday. I think there was sufficient water in the boiler. I was under Mr. Lowe's orders the whole time. I was - up about five minutes before the explosion putting down sacks on the gunge glass to keep the weather off. That would have no effect on the safety valve. Grimes was on the top placing felt on the steam pipes The sucks on the gauge glass were placed around it, leaving such an opening that the water in the boiler might be seen. Grimes could net interfere with the safety valve. I cannot form any conjecture as to the cause of the accident. I am of opinion that it was an over-pressure of steam that caused the explosion. I did not say anything to Mr. Lowe about there being too high a pressure on the The jury then returned to Poplar. The CORONER proceeded to veldress them. He begged of them to dismiss altogether from their minds all pre judicas which might be present to their minds on this occasion, and he would request their undivided atten tion while he laid the facts of the case before them. These facts were contained in a very narrow compass. Mr Samuda they were aware was engaged in some very extensive works, and the boiler to which their inquiries had been directed was required in the process of his works. The boiler itself was, with a solitary exception, stated to be in good working order, of good workman ship, and altogether, if kept within its own proper compass, as unexceptionable as it was required to be. He (the Coroner) could not help thinking that in this case there had been an undue pressure upon that boiler. On the last occasion of this kind on which Le had met them, they might perhaps remember that he had in stanced the case of a cannon which had been sent to the maker in order to be repaired, which on its being tested burst ; and a verdict of man slaughter was brought in. The Learned Coroner then explained to the jury the limit at which man slaughter stopped and murder began. Bnt he did not think that Mr. Lowe could have had any personal motive as required in the case of murder, for it would be clearly his interest to carry on the work without acci dent. But in manslaughter it was laid down, that although there was no intent to kill, yet if the act were manifestly improper, and resulted in death, then the person so acting was guilty of man slaughter. (Several cases in point were cited.) It would be for the jury to say whether Mr. Lowe had used ordinary caution on this occasion, or whether he had exercised a recklessness thai brought him within the operation of this law. lie (the Coroner) entreated them to look to the trying and embarrassing situation of Mr. George Lowe in reference to this engine. It would appar, from the evidence, that the engine would not go freely, and be was, in common par lance, " trying it on," as far as he could, to overcome the difficulty. They were not to condemn the man because, in one particular instance, he had been unfortunate, if it was shown that, generally he had acted with a proper degree of skill and of cau tion. They must consider that in this case Mr. Lowe himself had been a sufferer; and if a man were present and using a reasonable degree of skill and caution it would, remove from him a criminal responsibility arising from a loss of life. The Learned Coroner then read over the evidence in detail. He was sure that they would give their fullest attention to this subject, and that while they gave every protection required for the preservation of her Majesty's subjects, they would not, at the same time, crush, by an ill considered verdict, the prospects of any individual, and perhaps by so doing, be in some measure retarding the progress of the arts in this country. The jury retired to consider their verdict at a quarter to four, and again returned into Court at six o'clock. The Foreman then annouced that the jury had unani mously found a verdict of " Manslaughter " against George Lowe, and they added their opinion that the machinery generally on Mr. Samuda's establishment was of a most defective character. THE SUN, LONDON, THIURSDAY* EVENING, MARCH 20, 1845. MARKET INTELLIGENCE. (From the London New Price Current of March 20.) SUGAR,—To-day there was a good demand for every ' description of West India Sugar, and the quantity dis posed of amounted to 400 hhds and tierces, rather higher rates were paid, making the advance for the week 6d on brown, grey and common yellow, and I s per cwt on good and fine sorts. There would even have been a larger busi ness transcted had the market been better supplied with bright Grocery sorts. The total purchases for the week amounted to 1580 hhds and tierces. The market closes with a healthy appearance for all sorts of Sugar subject to 14s per cwt duty. Business will be suspended in the Sugar market until Wednesday, on account of the Easter holidays. At the. Custom House, to-day, somo parcels of Dobah, No• 1, and Kobah, were stopped by the Custom House officers, who insisted upon a duty of 16s 4d per cwt, in consequence of their being Cloyed, or equal to White Clayed, and not Refined. REFINED.—To-day several parcels of Refined Sugar were taken by the home trade at 65s for brown, and at 668 6d to 67s per cwt for standard lumps. Ia Bastards there was more business done at the rates quoted above. Bonded Crushed Sugar selling more freely at 31s for best sort. Maunrmis—This afternoon there was no public sale, but privately some parcels were sold, and the rates paid were generally rather above previously quoted. EAST INDIA This afternoon Bengal Sugar met with attention, 2,266 bags, duty paid, were of fered at public sale and sold at firm rates, viz. good white at 525, middling 50s 6d, low 49s 6sl, (lamp 41s to 54, washed 46s 6d to 51s yellow damp and washed 35s to 38s 6d, better quality 42s to 455, damp brown, 345, very low 275. 637 bags in bond were with drawn, the trade refusing to encourage the system of selling at short price. Of Madras 2,870 bags in bond were offered at auction, but withdrawn from the same cause. FOREIGNT.—To-day 200 hhds Cuba Muscovado were offered at public sale, and taken in above the value, viz. good bright yellow at 21s 6d to 225, mid 20s 6d to 21s, low 19s to 20s, and fine brown 18s 6d per cwt ; there ere buyers at fair market rates. Cocoa..—Holders of West India have shown firmnes., and none has been offered at auction this week ; there has been a better demand by private treaty, and full rates have been paid, sales having been made at 39s to 455, and better quality 46s to 48s per cwt. The supply of foreign is small, and prices keep firm. COFFEE.—This afternoon at public sale 973 bags six rr,ats of Manilla Coffee were mostly taken is at moderate rates—fine ord at 37s to 39s 6d, good ord 34s to 36s 6d, but the damaged sold at 27s to 355, good order and re packed 37s to 38s 6d, sea damaged and repacked 29s to 31s 6d : 266 bags Java from Calcutta sold at good prices —sound at 41s to 445, and damaged 375 to 40s 6d ; 420 bags of Padang taken in at 23s 6d to 24s for ord, being the full worth ; 159 barrels Rio taken in —mid at 58s to 60s, low mid .53s to 565, fine fine ord 46a 6d.to 475 6d: 20 bags Ceylon sold at 17s for black. Of Mocha 121 bales were offered, and the sound was taken in above the value, that is to say, mid brown at 63s to 655, the sea damaged sold at full rates-Ist class at 55s 6d, 2d class 49s 6d to 50s, and 3d class 435. Ceylon of good ord quality was less in request, and 46s to 46s 6d was accepted for good ord. TEA.—There has been less activity in the market this week, and little business has been transacted by private treaty in black or green Tea ; a larger quantity hwy.- ing been brought forward, a decline in the value of some kinds has occurred. At the public sales held on Tuesday and Weelaesday the trade evinced little inclination to operate, and the biddings were very languid : Hyson went at a decline on the rates of the last public sales of lid to 2d. Young Hyson lid to 2d Imperial and Gunpowder Id to 2d, Pouchong id to id, but Congou and Twankay generally sustained the former currency. Souchong kept up its previous worth, and Flowery Pekoe fetched full prices, but "Tyson Skin and Caper went a littlo cheaper: of the 16 784 pks offered, only 3,000 were disposed of, including 700 pkgs Pou chon. Congou, fresh and new kinds fetched 10d, ra coa to raw str is to is 2d, blkh leaf Pekoe kind 2s, superior 2s 4d to 2s 8d; Souchong, fine 2s 8d to 3s 2d, but mid Is to is 2id ; Pouchong, low to good 4d to 9d; Caper, in 10 catty bxs is to is 6d; Orange Pekoe, fair to fine Is 5d to Is 7d, Scented good to fine 3s3d to 3s 4d; Twan kay, good is 4d; Hyson Skin, corn 9d to I ld; Hyson, corn 2s 6d, fa r to good 2s 61d to 2s lid, fine to superfine 3s 8d to 3s 10d. Young Hyson, Canton and Tvrankay kind Is 9d to 2s 21, superior 2s. 9d. Imperial, Canton and Twankay kind is 4d to 2s ld. Hyson kind 2s 7/d to 2s 9d. Gunpowder, Canton and Twankay kind is 8d to 2s Id. Hyson kind 3s 3d to 3s 10d, and superior 4s to 4s 6d per lb. The deliveries, however, have been again large, and the trade are not over-stocked. MOLASSES—AIthough there are sellers of West India upon further reduced terms, still buyers have operated with caution, and very little business has been transacted by private treaty : at public sale 550 puns of old im portation were all taken in—Demerara mid quality at 18s to 18s 6d, Antigua 19s 6d, Trinidad 17s, and Bei-- bice 18s. Of Mauritius .57 tierces were bought in at 15s per cwt. East India is offered upon low terms by private treaty. SPICES.—To-day there was little demand for black Pepper, 300 bags at public sale sold at barely the former value ; good earthy brown but dusty Penang, went at nd to 21d, and at lid to 2 d for sea damaged, Ist, 2d, and 3d class. BUM, BRANDY, AND HOLLANDS.-Importers of Jamaica Rum are not inclined to submit to any further decline in prices, and export orders come in slowly : the quantity sold this week has been only 50 puns at 3s 5d to 3s 6(1 for fair quality, 28 to 81 per cent over-proof. Demerara has met with little attention, 2s 10d to 35 having been ac cepted for 50 puns 35 to 37 per cent over proof. For proof Leewards is 10d to is lld are the rates asked. Cal cutta Rum at is 8d without, and at Is 9d with certifi cate. A Government contract for 100,000 gallons of Rum is shortly expected. Brandy has been purchased with caution, prices looking down, as follows-Cognac, best brands, of the vintage of 1838, hhds 4s Bd, puns 4s 5d ; ditto 1839, hhds 4s sd, puns 4s 3d ; ditto 1840, hhds 4s 4d, puns 4s 3d ; ditto 1841, hhds 4s 4d, puns 4s 2d ; ditto 1842, hhds 4s 2d, puns 3s lld ; ditto 1843, hhds 3s lid, puns 3s 9d ; ditto 1844, hhds 3s Bd, puns 3s 6d, middling and good middling of the uarious vict ages 2s 7d to 3s 7d, low 2s ad to 2s 7d, and Bordeaux 2s 6d to 2s 7d per gallon. RICE.-This afternoon Bengal Rice was sought after, and 1,733 bags 358 packets at auction were all sold at 3d per cwt advance; good bold white fetched 12s to 12s 6d, good mid Ils 6d to 12s, rather small Its to lis 6d, sea damaged Ist class lls to Ils 6d, 2d class lOs to 1 ls, 3d and 4th class 9s to lOs per cwt. FRUIT.-A good demand has been experienced for Currants this week, Flees rule firm, indeed some rner - chants have come to the determination not to sell at present, as there is every prospect of an extensive demand ere long. A cargo of Zante has been disposed cf, and reported to be for Holland, the price is 49s per cwt. In nearly all descriptions of Raisins, the purchases made have been on a more extended scale, Valencia selling privately at 46s to 48s, Red Smyrna 40s to SALTPETRE.-To- day Rough met with little attentio, and 1362 bags at auction went rather cheaper and sold as follows ; with all faults. dull dingy gray, good fair chrystal 6 per cent. refraction 243 6d, sea and suggr damaged, first class bad colour 23s to 23s 6d, second class much stained 20s 6d to 21s, and sea damaged 23s per cwt. Gms.-holders of common descriptions of Fish Oils are for the most part not inclined to submit to lower rates, and the market has been sparingly supplied with all sorts ; the demand from the home trade, how ever, has been limited, and the export orders are unusually small ; Cod has been fetching 291 lOs to 301, pale Seal 301 lOs to 311, yellow 281 to 294 straw 291 lOs to 30/, brown 261 lOs to 271 10s, southern good to fine 281 to 291, and low to mid 261 lOs to 271108 per tun. Fine British has been fetching 841 to 861 per tun. Linseed Oil : 24s 3d to 24s 6d have been accepted on the spot, 24s 9d to 25s for delivery, and 25s 3d to 25s 6d per cwt for the last six months of the year. In Rape prices rule firm at 37s for pale, and 36s per cwt for brown For Palm prices are still advancing, tine quality fetching 26s 6d to 27s per cwt by private treaty. Cocoa Nut has been purchased at a reduction in prices ; Ceylon is 27s to 28s 6d, and from Sydney 24s to 25s 6d per cwt ; the consumption is interfered with by the cheapness of Tallow. Olive, 411 lOs to 42/ for Gallipoli in bond, 401 lOs to 41/ for Spanish, and 39/ to 401 per tun for Sicily and Barbary ; at these rates the demand has been good. TALLOW.-P. Y. Candle of first quality bas been selling at 38s 6d to 395, and other descriptions at 37s to 38s per cwt. For delivery next month some parcels of first sort were sold at 38s to 38s 3d, still even at these rates the trade are not inclined to purchase largely. In the value cf other sorts of Tallow little various has oc curred. A Deputation from the Chester and Birkenhead Railway Proprietors waited to day on the Chester and Holyhead Directors, to endeavour to make better terms for the sale of their line to the latter Company, but were met with a decided refusal on the part of the Chester and Holyhead Board to entertain any proposal for re opening the terms of the existing agreement, which has been arranged by the Directors of the two Companies, and been ratified by the Shareholders of each. It is rumoured that the Earl of Clare is to have the vacant Ribbon of St. Patrick. We understand that T. P. Dickenson, Esq., bas been recommended to her Majesty by Sir Robert Peel, for the vacant Commissionership of Customs. Mr. Dick enson was for some years a member of the Commission of Revenue Inquiry, over which the late Lord Wallace presided, and has anted as a Special Commissioner under the Income-tax Act since the passing of it.—Evening Paper. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT (THIS EVENING.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four o'clock. Mr. SPOONER presented a petition praying for leave to bring in a Bill to make A railroad between Wells and Durham. Mr. WYSE presented a petition in four of the Waterford and Limerick Railway Bill. Colonel T. WOOD presented a petition from Staines praying for a better observance of the Sabbath. Mr. WYSE presented a petition from the province of Munster, agreed to at a public meeting held in Cork, praying for the establishment of provincial col legesin Ireland, and the extension of education. MANCHESTER AND SHEFFIELD RAIL WAY. Mr. G. S. WORTLEY brought in a Bill for con structing the Manchester and Sheffield Railway, which was read a first time. HUNGERFORD BRIDGE. A Bill was alsc brought in for constructing the llungerfard•bridge terminus, which was read a first time. LONDON AND WESTMINSTER CEME TERY. Mr. MACKINNON presented a petition from the London and Westminister Cemetery Company, pray ing to be heard before the Health of Towns Com mittee. BOARD OF TRADE RAILWAY REPORT. Sir G. CLERK brought up the report of the Board of Trade on the London and York Railway, the South Wales Railway, and the projected Rail ways in the South of Ireland. Sir G. GREY and Mr. T. EGERTON presented several petitions against the sale of intoxicating liquors on the Sabbath. MIDLAND COUNTIES RAILWAY. Mr. H. HINDE brought in a Bill for constructing the branches projected by the Midland Counties Railway Company. ABERDEEN RAILWAY. Sir G. GREY brought in a Bill for constructing :his line, which was read a first time. EAST DEREIIAM AND PRESTON AND WYRE RAIL WAYS. Petitions were presented from the promoters of these projects, praying for leave to bring in Bills. They were referred to the Select Committee on Pri vate Bills. ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE. Sir R. PEEL, in pursuance of a notice he had given on a former day, moved that the House at its rising do adjourn till Monday, the 31st day of March. —Agreed to. OPENING LETTERS. Mr. DUNCOMBE gave notice that he should, on the Bth of April, move for leave to bring in a Bill fcr securing letters from being opened at the Post-office. COLLEGIATE EDUCATION IN IRELAND. aMr. WYSE gave notice that he should, on the Bth of April, inquire the amount of the sums to be granted for the purpose of establishing collegiate in stitutions in Ireland, the extent of (hose institutions, and the places where they were to be located. MAYNOOTII. Sir R. PEEL gave notice that ho should, on Thursday, the 3d of May, move that the House take into consideration a grant to the College of May nooth. INSOLVENT ACT. Mr. BARCLAY gave notice that on the 11th of April he should move for leave to bring in a Bill to repeal the Insolvent Act of last session, and to pro mote tho recovery of small debts. Sir R. INGLIS gave notice that he should, imme diately after the recess, move for returns of the pur chases of land in New Zealand other than those con tain( d in the papers moved for by the 'lon. Member for Cockermouth (Mr. Aglionby), and extending over the same period of time. RIVER SUIR NAVIGATION. Mr. WYSE begged to move for a return of the number of ships that have come up to Carrick-on- Suir since the passing of the Suir Navigation Act, names of ships, and captains, and where from ; also tonnage and how laden, coming and going. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. Captain ROUS begged to give notice that he would, on an early day after Easter, move for returns of all persons who had been fined for using deficient weights and measures in England during the last three years. MAYNOOTII COLLEGE. Mr. WARD said he held in his hand a motion of which he intended to give notice, but before he did so he would wish to ask the Right lion. Baronet at the head of her Majesty's Government a question, namely, whether it was not customary, in moving for a money grant, such as that of the proposed grant to Maynooth, to first bring it before a Committee of the whole House. Sir R. PEEL said that the Hon. Member opposite was correct ; such was the course pursued by the House in all cases of motions for money grants, arid such certainly was the course he intended to adopt in reference to his motion for the increased grant to Maynooth. Mr. WARD then begged to give notice that he would, at the time it was most fitting to do so, move that all further money grants for the purposes of re ligion he made out of the funds at present appro priated for the maintenance of the Protestant Epis copal Church.—(Hear, hear.) UNIVERSITIES. Mr. CHRISTIE moved for the following re turns :—Amount of paper duty remitted to each of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in each of the last ten years; distinguishing the amounts re mitted for books in the Latin, Greek, Oriental, or Northern languages, and for Bibles, Testaments, Prayer-books, and Psalm-hooks. Account of any annual payment to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, charged on the stamps and taxes revenue, with the origin of and authority for such payment. The date of the first payment of each of the sums voted in the Miscellaneous Estimates of 1844, to professors in the Universities of Oxford and. Cambridge, with a statement of any conditions at tached to the grant of any of those sums. Copy of any Correspondence or Treasury Minute relative to the discontinuance, in 1826, of an annual vote of 1001. to a Professor of the Laws of England in the University of Cambridge. Copy of so much of a Treasury minute, dated the 28th day of August, 1832, as relates to payments to 'the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, charged on the Civil List till 1834; and a statement as to which of these payments are now charged on the land revenue of the Crown, and which are now voted in the annual estimates. Sir R. H. INGLIS would make no objection to those returns, as he understood they were sanc tioned by her Majesty's Government, but he would move, by way of addition, for returns of the pay ments made by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Mr. F. SHAW would move for similar returns in relation to the University of Dublin. The returns were ordered. Mr. DODD presented petitions from the Croydon Railway Company praying for leave to bring in a Bill to extend their line into various parts of Kent. Sir G. CLERK brought up the Customs' Duties Bill which was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time, on Monday the 31st inst. DARTMOUTH ELECTION COMMITTEE. Mr. TUFNELL moved that the minutes of pro• ceedings and evidence taken before the Select Com mittee on the Dartmouth election petition be printed. Mr. PAKINGTON said he believed that very exaggerated statements had been made to the public as to the facts which had come out before that Com mittee. It had been his intention to make a similar motion to that of the Hon. Gentleman, but as the motion had been made, he had great pleasure in seconding it. Sir R.. PEEL thought it would be advisable to adopt a general rule, that the proceedings of all elec tion Committees should be printed, as it was some what invidious now to move that the proceedings in a particular case should be printed. Points of law might arise on election petitions which the House ought to be in possession of. He therefore thought it would be better to establish a general rule. Lord MAHON would venture to remind his Right Hon. Friend, as a Member of the Printing Commit tee, of the large expense that would be incurred in carrying out such a rule.—(Laughter, and cries of " Oh, oh.") Mr. SHAW wished to know whether the Noble Earl at the head of the Woods and Forests had any objection to lay on the table of the House the papers he had in his possession relative to the Ornithological Museum in Ireland. The Earl of LINCOLN had no objection to the production of the papers. Mr. DENNISTOUN wished to know whether it was the intention of the Government to support a measure for preventing burial in towns, and whether that was intended to be extended to burghs in Scot land? Sir J. GRAHAM was not prepared to prevent in terment in towns. RAILWAY FARES. Mr. MORISON, in putting the resolutions of which he had given notice, thought that the House and the country were satisfied that the railway system was permanently established in the country. It was needless to refer to the great advantages possessed by this system over the old plan of communica tion. It was not only advantageous to the trade and commerce of the country that greater fa cilities should be obtained between the great depots for merchandise, but it was in many cases a matter of absolute necessity. He thought it was unwise to look upon railways in the extent to which they were established, for he believed that so profitable would they prove, that the whole country would soon be intersected by them like net work. He believed that the advantages derived from rail ways was comparatively a very small part of that which would be enjoyed, when men of science and ability had a few years longer turned their attention to the means of improving them. He would not speak of locomotive or atmospheric railways, for it was his impression that these, if not superseded, would be rendered much more useful than they now were, when the House con sidered the great advantages which were possessed by the manufacturing interest in holding more frequent and rapid communication with their agents in distant places, and also with the persons who purchased their goods. Indeed, from the facility and cheapness for this communication, he could only compare the effects of railways upon commerce with the improvements wrought in manufactures by machinery. No class, perhaps, would benefit more than the farmers by lowering the cost of railway travelling. They would be able to go through the country, and in that way see the improvements which were being made in agriculture. The farmers of the west of England, where agriculture was not so well understood as in Norfolk, England, means of improver sot ther lowered, io the lab ourers cou ld no t might visit those u c s ultivation of the land. Is,L,hinni counties, e c ehs o s ln tl :e a rn n efda d orae t bp h ssp e e, ri n_ ele, d o er r et t ht h oe v o a f l possibly avail themselves of railway travelling, but in a short time he hoped to see the fares lowered to a half penny per passenger per mile. — (Hear,. hear.) In that case they would be enabled to leave those parts of the country where wages were l ow , and go to those places where labour was permanently high, or where there was a temporary demand for it. Fuel and provisions would he cheapened considerably where they were now dear—as an instance of which he would mention, that fish, which before the railroad system was very scarce and dear in Manchester, was now plentiful and abundant. If agriculture were to be improved, it must be by a mixture of the soils. There was scarcely a railroad in existence which had not almost entirely superseded the coaches and waggons. The canals, too, were almost deprived of their whole traffic, Another reason in support of his argument was, that the expense of constructing a railway was much less now than formerly ; for instance, an old line of rail way which cost, say 60,0001., might now be constructed for 10,0001. or 12,0001. Then again, the expense of working the lines was much less now than what it was some years ago, and the expense of main taining what was called the permanent way was now almost reduced to a certainty. There were parties to be found who would undertake contracts to keep the lines in repair at a specified sum for a num ber of years, and he could, therefore, see no objection t o h i s mot i on on th e su bj ec t , for every day b rought reduct i ons i n thi s respec t. Railroads were the safest sort of speculation, and their capabilities to accommodate the public had not yet been fairly tested. The whole question must come before them at a future time. With regard to rail roads, their construction and management had now become a great national question. They had scientific power, and the command of iron, more than any other nation, and ought to construct railroads more cheaply than any other country. Yet, instead of having the cheapest and best railways, they were likely, unless something more effectual was done, to have the dearest line than any.—(Bear, hear.) Taking population and wealth together, this country was the most densely peopled in the world. France had taken advantage of their experience and their mistakes; and there were many things in which they might copy from the French.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member then stated the comparative rates of charges on the Orleans, Belgian, and English lines, and allowed how much cheaper the former were than the latter ; but the exact figures were uttered in so low a voice that they could not be heard in the gallery. He was understood to say that if the mea sures he suggested sh ou ld b e supp li e d, th e great bene fits of which he h a d b een spea ki ng of would he sure to follow, and th ey were b ene fit s to which the public were entitled.—(H ear , h ea r.) With regard to tolls he had heard a go o d d ea l ; but if the railway companies were to be m a d e t o ll collectors, the tolls could not be collected. Some years ago an Hon. Member proposed that toll boards should be put up, with the rates of tolls upon them ; that was done, but then the rate of travelling pre vented passengers from ever reading them. He had been informed that on the Grand Junction Line there had been an increase in the third-clans pus sengers of 308 per cent. while the revenue from third class passengers had increased only 70 per cent. There had also been an increase in the second- class passengers so that the increase in the third class seemed to have been at the expense of the first class. The attention of Parliament should be directed to this sultject. It would be manifestly cheaper for the Companies to attach third class carriages to the fast trains, as they carry third class passengers without any additional power. They should certainly give the lower classes the full benefit of the penny a mile system. It was a great hardship upon them to be kept 19 hours upon the road when they could be con veyed in less time. It certainly seemed singular that the companies should choose to put themselves to additional expense, by put ting on slow trains, solely for the purpose of inconveniencing their passengers. The Government ought to be permitted to give notice of revision or purchase before the lapse of twenty-one years. There was no knowing what might occur in that period. It was holding out a vast temptation to job bery.—(Loud cheers.) In fact, the present sys tem held out a premium to bad manage ment instead :of an encouragement to good. He then came to the question of amalgamation. It was quite evident that they could not prevent amal gamation. He did not know that they ought to pre vent it ; but this was an additional reason why they should be careful in their legislation on this subject. He denied that the trunk lines were sufficiently extensive—in fact there were no trunk lines. They had no trunk lines to the Eastern Counties, nor any to Dover. There was no trunk line to Exeter. The Great Western was a trunk line, to Bristol, but it could not be considered as a trunk line to Exeter. They had no trunk line to Man chester, or, in fact, to any place that might be called a great market. Whether they got three-pence, two-pence, or a penny, he thought that the remuneration might well be ascertained by the Committee who sat to investigate the claims of any particular company, and might be introduced into the special Act. The chances wore—that one-half of the present prices would be a would be a sufficient remuneration. An impression had gone abroad because 10 per cent. was generally realised on the most prosperous railways. That that per centage ought to be obtained from investments in railway schemes. Where the prospects of returns was uncertain perhaps 10 per cent. was not an unreasonable amount of profit to anticipate But it should be recollected that railways in England were not now an experiment. They had become a system. Ile thought that 7 per cent. was a reason able return, and indeed from the continental railways 6 per cent. was considered a suf ficient remuneration. A great deal of Eng lish capital had gone to France for the for mation of railways, and it was evident, from this outlay of capital abroad, that the anticipation of something like ten per cent. from English railways was almost universal. Now he thought that six per cent. from the old lines was quite up to the mark for profit. On a new line it might not be sufficient, but the old lines offered a security almost equal to that of Government investments. By his plan he would secure to the public the benefit of all future improvements. At present it did not matter whether the line cost 10,0001. or 20,000/, or 50,0001. per mile, the company always began charg ing the same fares; whereas the remunerating price depended on the cost. In every other instance where improvements took place in iron -works, or in cotton-mills, the public always got the benefit. Why should not the same take place with regard to railroads ? [LEFT SPEAKING.] ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. ROME CIRCUIT—Lewes, March 18. The Commission for Sussex was opened yesterday. The business is lighter than it has been remembered for many years, there being only twenty-six prisoners for trial, and common jury cases, some of which were undefended, to be disposed of on the civil side. Both Courts were opened this morning at ten o'clock, the Lord Chief Justice sitting on the Crown side, and Mr. Baron Alderson at nisi prius. The causes disposed of by the Learned Baron were of the most trivial character, and the cause list was gone through by seven o'clock in the evening, none of the cases involving any matter of the slightest in terest to the public. CROWS SlDE.—(Before Mr. Baron ALDEngoN.) March 19. Amos Patching, 44, and Thomas Burgess, 44, were in dicted for burglariou-ly breaking and entering the dwelling house of Nathaniel Blaker, at the parish of Edburton, and stealing three gold seals, a writing desk, and other articles, his property. Mary Anne Hounsell, 22, and Jane Reader, alias Gates, alias Burgess, 41, were also charged in the same indictment with feloniously receiving the property, knowing it to have been stolen. Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Cobbett conducted the prosecution. The prisoners had no counsel. Tliis case appeared to create a good deal of interest, on account of the male prisoners, together with a man named Longhurst, also indicted at these assizes, being supposed to have committed a great number of burglaries in this county, there being five indictments against them, in the present calendar, for burglaries at different places; the women being charged, in each case, as receivers of the stolen property. The prisoners were arraigned on Tuesday, before the Lord Chief Justice, when the men pleaded guilty to most of the indictments. It became necessary, however, to try one of the cases, in order to include the female prisoners, and the present indictment was accordingly proceeded with. It appeared, from the evidence adduced, that the prosecutor, Mr. Blaker, is a farmer, residing at Edburton, and, on the night of the 31st of December, the premises were all left properly secured, and the next morning, it was discovered that, during the night, they had been opened by some persons forcing open a cellar-flap, and the lower part of the house had been ransacked, and a good deal of property taken away. Nearly the whole of this property was found in apartments occupied by the male and female prisoners at Brighton, and, from the observations made by the latter at the time they were apprehended, and subsequently before the magistrates, there was very little doubt that they were perfectly well aware- of the means by which the pro perty had come into the possession of the male prisoners. It appeared that the men had absconded, and very great credit was due to a constable named Biddlecomb, who holds the office of inspector of police at Godalming, in Surrey, for the means he took to apprehend them and to make out the case. After travelling in pursuit of them over a very great extent of country, ho at length succeeded in coining up with the prisoners near Alton, in Hampshire, and, as he was at this time alone, they would probably have got away, but that lie very adroitly hit upon the following expedient to disarm their suspicions. He told them, upon coming up with them, that he was an officer, and that a farmer a short distance off had sent him after them, on suspicion of their stealing some fowls the night before. The prisoners said they could easily prove their innocence of the charge, for they had slept at Basingstoke. The officer then said they could no doubt easily prove this to the satisfaction of the complainant if they would go back with him, and for form's sake they had better have on the handcuffs. The prisoners consented, and very quietly allowed the officer to handcuff them, and he then told them the real nature of the charge against them. The prisoners, who are powerful, re solute. looking fellows, then said they wished they had known what they were wanted for at first, adding, that if they had, the officer should not have put those things (the handcuffs) so easily upon them, and there is very little doubt that but for the prudence of the officer, the prisoners, from their desperate character, would have made a violent resistance, and the result might have been of a serious cha racter, as the officer, although alone, was a resolute man and determined upon effecting the capture of these indivi duals,who have for a l ong ti me b een t h e terror o f th i s an d t h e adjoining counties. Mr. Baron ALDERSON having summed ;up, the jury re turned a verdict of Guilty against all the prisoners. They were immediately called up for judgment, together with Longhurst, the man who had pleaded guilty on the previous day, and the male prisoners were sentenced to be transported for ten years; the women were ordered, Hounsell to be kept to hard labour for two years, and Burgess for 18 months. The Learned JUDGE said, that the inspector, Biddle comb, appeared to have acted with very great zeal and activity in the case, and he should therefore order him a reward of twenty pounds in addition to his expenses. He likewise directed that two other constables who had assisted him in his pursuit of the prisoners should also receive a re ward of five pounds each. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, March 19. The House resumed at Five o'clock. Several petitions were presented in favour of Rail way Bills and other private Bills. The report of the Committee on the Aberdeen Railway Bill was brought up, the Committee re porting that the standing orders had been complied with. DARTMOUTH ELECTION. Mr. PAKINGTON brought up the report of the Select Committee appointed to try the merits of the election for the borough of Dartmouth. The Com mittee reported that Mr. Joseph Somes had been duly returned, at the last election for the borough of Dart• mouth, to serve in Parliament for that borough. Several Members then presented private Bills. SLAVERY AND THE PRESIDENT'S AIESSAGE. Mr. ALDAM begged to ask the Right honourable Gentleman the First Minister of the Crown, a ques tion of which he had given him notice, and which re lated to a statement that appeared in the last Message of the American President of State. The st a t ement related to the treatment of liberated slaves in the British colonies, and insinuated that they were no better than when in their former state of slavery. The President declared that when they were taken to the British colonies they had to serve an apprenticeship, during which they were treated, if possible, with more severity than when they were slaves. Now, he wished to know whether the Presi dent of the United States of America was correctly informed when he made the statement that the condi tion of the liberated African in the British colonies was no better than slavery ? Sir R. PEEL said he was glad the Hon. Member had given him notice of this important question. It was rather to be regretted that the President of the United States of America should send over a formal message upon the subject of negroes who were intended to be removed from a state of slavery to comparative freedom, at a great ex pense to this country, without first ascertaining what was the real position of the British colonies. He must also say, that if the President of the United States should think it expedient to appoint a Commis sion for the purpose of going to the West Indian colonies of her Majesty, to ascertain precisely the con dition in which those who had been slaves are now, that every disposition would be shown on the part of her Majesty's Government to facilitate the inquiry of that Commission, and to enable the President and Go vernment of the United States of America to present to their own country the fullest and most accurate account of the condition of the negroes in the West India colonies. The message to which the Hon. Gentleman had referred announced that when a cap ture took place of negroes intended for slavery, they were sent to the West Indian colonies, where they had to serve an apprenticeship for a term of years, during which they were treated with the same se verity as when they were in a state of slavery. Now it was a well known fact that the state of apprenticeship had long ago been altogether abolished in the West Indies. The negro, whether going there voluntarily as a free African, or sent there as a captured negro, was placed in a state of apprenticeship. In whatever capacity he went, he was perfectly free and enti tled to all the rights of freemen. Perhaps he might be permitted to state what was the course pursued by the British Government with respect to negroes captured by the cruisers of this country. If captured on the coast of Africa they were generally sent to Sierra Leone, and when there they were at perfect liberty to determine whether they would go to our West Indian colonies, or whether they would return to the place from which they had been taken; there was in that respect no compulsion. The treaty with Spain was to this effect :—ln the event of the capture of a Spanish vessel by a British cruiser, the slaves so captured were to be delivered up to the country to which the capturing cruiser belonged. This country had a vessel at the Havannah which received the slaves generally captured in the neighbourhood of Cuba. It was certainly true that every individual slave was not sent to Africa ; for it would be quite impossible to provide the means of conveyance for them. They were, in fact, sent to our West Indian colonies ; ut they were under no com pulsion whatever as to the labour which they undertook, nor were they placed in a state of apprenticeship. There were persons there who instructed them as to the con tracts into which they might enter ; but whether they should enter into those contracts or not, was left entirely to their own option. Now it was possible that the mistake of the American President had arisen from thig circumstance. Our treaty with Spain was entered into in 1835 ; and at that time the state of apprenticeship did exist, and the provisions of the treaty were that the captured negro, on being sent to a British colony, should be placed on the same footing as an apprentice. But since 1835 the state of apprenticeship had al together ceased—(Hear, hear)—and the cap tured negro, on arriving at our West Indian colonies, was in the condition of a free man.— (Hear, hear.) In addition to the treaty with Spain, there was one with Brazil and another with Portu gal. By the treaty with Brazil it was provided that the captured slaves should be delivered up in the ports of the country near which they were cap tured. There was a difference between the treaty with Brazil and that with Portugal. It was the manifest intention of the treaty with Brazil that the captured slave should become a free man. But Brazil insisted on keeping the captured negro in a state of slavery, and declined to fulfil the treaty en tered into with this country with respect to the future disposal of slaves. Such being the case, the Government of this country signified to the Govern ment of Brazil that the slaves which were cap tured should not, in future, be delivered up unless Brazil consented to place them in a state of freedom.—(Hear, hear.) And when slaves had been captured near Rio Janeiro by the cruisers of this country, instead of being sent to Brazil, they were taken to the West Indies, it being found impractica ble to send them back to Africa. He must again ex press his regret that this subject should have been noticed in the Message of the President of the United States.—(Hear, hear.) With respect to the allega tion that both the subjects of the United States and those of this country were concerned in carrying on the slave trade, that was a subject for serious conside ration. He was not prepared to deny the fact. He hoped that if the law did not reach this applica tion of British capital, the Legislature would be pre pared to apply a remedy.—(Hear, hear.) In answer to a question by Sir D. NORREYS, Sir J. GRAHAM said it was not the intention of Go vernment to propose any measure with regard to medi cal charities in Ireland, nor to propose any measure with regard to the railway system in Ireland. THE BOARD OF TRADE—RAILWAY DE PARTMENT. Mr. B. DENNISON said he wished to put a question to the Right Hon. Gentleman the Vice-President of the Board of Trade. He wislicd to know whether the rail way department of the Board of Trade, or some one of its officers, had not, with a view to a favourable report, negotiated between various companies projecting rail ways between London and York, for the purpose of in ducing them to make concessions to each other, but with out any invitation, or even any intimation being made to the London and York Railway Company to take any part in such negotiations ? Whether the Cambridge and London and Direct Northern Company were not invited and did not attend at the Board of Trade in the week previous to the publication of the Gazette of Tuesday, the 11th of March, with reference to a condition of their being favourably reported upon? Whether the Board of Trade had not negotiated with the Newark and Sleaford Company, or suggested nego tiations, with a view to require its pledge, that in the next year it will apply to Parliament for leave to make a railroad from Newark to Sleaford, to join the Cambridge and Lincoln line ? Whether such a course of proceed ing on the part of the Railway Department of the Board of Trade was not, in the opinion of the Vice- President, exceeding the powers recommended to be delegated to that department by the Select Committee on Railways, as set forth in their Fifth Report of 1844? Sir G: CLERK said it was not surprising that the House should express its surprise at the last question of the Hon. Gentleman, but the answers which he wouldgive to the other questions would embody the answer to the fourth. He begged to state most distinctly, that no ne gotiations of any kind whatever had taken place be tween the Board of Trade and the promoters of the Direct Northern and the Cambridge and Lincoln Rail way Company—that no facilities were given to them to make any statements they wished to lay before the Board of Trade that were not equally given to his Hon. Friend and the promoters of the Lon don and York line. With regard to the second question, all that had occurred was this :—On Saturday afternoon, after the Gaze& was published, some person connected with the London and York Railway had called at the office of the Board of Trade, and stated that a coalition had taken place between the promoters of the Direct Northern and the Cambridge and Lincoln line, and he stated that a communication to that effect would be sent to the Board of Trade on Monday morning. That com munication was made, but at that tinie the Board of Trade had no knowledge whatever of any intention of coalition. With regard to the third question, he begged to state that there was no negotiation going on respect ing the introduction of a Bill next year for a line be tween Newark and Sleaford, nor had any such been ever contemplated by the Board of Trade. The Hon. Gen tleman would find that the Board of Trade had not ex ceeded the instructions laid down for their guidance ; and at the proper time it would be found, on a reference to this matter, that they had acted in full accordance with those instructions. Lord HOWICK said that an answer had not now been given to the most important question which had been put to the Right Hon. Baronet. He (Lord Howick) would therefore wish to know whether a coalition had not been suggested. He wished to know whethersuch suggestion had not been thrown out by the Board of Trade to the two railway companies? Sir GEO. CLERK—He had intended in his answer to the Hon. Member for the West Riding of Yorkshire to intimate his assurance that the desire for such a coali tion bad not emanated from the Board of Trade. Lord HOWICK said his question was still unan swered. He wished to know whether the suggestion of that coalition had not been given to the companies, be cause such an intimation from such an authority was sure to be attended to. Sir G. CLERK said that to the best of his belief no such intimation had been given to those Companies.,by the Board of Trade. In answer to anHoN. MEMBER, Sir G. CLERK said that the House should have an opportunity of seeing that the Board of Trade had acted independently of any private interest. Mr. HORSMAN wished to know;whether there would be any objection that the letter written by Mr. Lefevre to the Secretary of the Treasury, and his answers thereto, should be laid upon the table. Sir G. CLERK said that if the Hon. Member referred to the Minute of the Board of Trade of the 6th of August, which had been laid upon the table of the House, lie would find there all the information relative to the correspondent with the Treasury. Mr. HORSMAN said, that all he had asked was, whether there was any objection to lay the letters on the table of the House. Sir G. CLERK said he wonld make an inquiry on the subject, and answer the question to-morrow. NEW ZEALAND. Mr. G. W. HOPE laid on the table of the'_ House cer tain papers with respect to New Zealand. Mr. C. BULLER understood that the Govarnment limited the papers from the Colonial-office to the period of the present session. Mr. G. W. HOPE said the whole correspondence was before the House, and if any of the papers were required he had no objection to produce them. CAPTAIN WARNER. Lord INGESTRE, in answer to a question from Mr. Somes, with respect to the invention of Captain Warner,- said, that he had re ceived a letter from that gentleman, in which he stated that with respect to his discovery he had no desire that any direct application should be made for a further com mission, as they led him to nothing but disappointment. He was willing to abide by the c;-iallenge that had been given him, and to demonstrate at his own expense the efficacy of his invention to him (Lord Ingestro), the Master of the Ordnance, the Prime Minister, and w i s hed, the Commander-in Chief if it should be efficacy of his powers might be made known to o, -own. And he would then leave it to them tt i b t t whether an invention that would blow up any tie n e ;io attempted to invade such an island as Great t ry. would not be of service to the Government of this coos to That was the substance of the letter, part of ' 4 A h • 1. had read, and, therefore, there was no ' need o f his "`` e it, g further on the subject. But whiae he W ll5 he would just take the liby of king the B i g ht 1 15 Baronet what had become ert of the two or three 'corap. that had been addressed to him on this subj ect bY tain Warner ? lie hoped there would be no obje c to lay th PEEL he table. S R.,said that he had received no letters fri°: Captain Warner which he could have the least? tlble to lay before the Douse ; and, therefore , if h s bsit Friend hud given him notice of it h e would at onceo made the letters official, for he believed there n ' tis bact wish of.any depart men t to suppress them ; _feu"lt -per 1 heard that one or two l e tt ers from Captain ar been mislaid.—(Hear, hear.) allude d t° Lord INGESTRE sa id that the letters be .wor were those which were of importance to Cop ts "' , ner, and in some mea su re affected his c haracter. ti p Sir R. PEEL said it w a s not his fault that gi e o letters had not been l a id upon the table ; but i ; o rd. were any to be found they s hould be brought for do Sir C. NAPIER wished to know did Captain Mir° "long range" define any distance?—(Laug hter.), ffe ner Lord INGESTRE understood that Captai ll .7; would undertake that he could destroy a ship tance of five miles. ; ht O ntb Sir C. NAPIER then would hope that the B.g i Baronet would permit Captain Warner to try tic s o ds. riment, at his own expense, behind the Goodwio,:otatit Sir R. PEEL had no doubt but that if L'.. 7 0 0 Warner did intend to make the experiment at _ ni l° t i l e expense he would get permission to do SO fr"Thos Board of Ordnance.—(Laughter.) I -11 fact, WI rOro scarce a week passed that lie did not recei ve letterorts, parties proposing destructive missiles o f all rdaan (Laughter)—and at various amounts, from 200,000 to 501.—(Laughter.) 'tate e gii i; The motion that the House do then go up® mittee on the Customs' Duties Bill was then read, which s _ t the Mr. MONCKTON MILNES understood that o rti present stage of the measure he could not bring f log his motion on the subject of basket rods. B eing 'f t h° Member, and not well acquainted with th e rules of House, he had thought that he might do s o. itself the however, move the alteration in the Bill i ts elf a proper time. PENANG SUGAR. f oo e Mr. HORSMAN, seeing the Noble Lord Meese r (Lord Jocelyn) in his place, wished to ask hi° I, e ag any measures had bee: adopted for placing., o f the sugar on the same footing us sugar the grewlysitig East Indies ? The sugar growers of solv e were subjected to very great hardshiPs•ityport' years since an Act had passed authorising the tidies, the tion of sugar, the produce of lithe East Ind i g - ` s d bee. ° lowest rate of duty. The planters of Pe nang the e a t ' induced to invest a large amount of capital ifi bitt fber vation of sugar in con s equence, imagin in g t , t hat P r !: sugar would be admitted at the same rate, h'!" nsoday vilee had hitherto been confined to sugars the prod of the territories of the East India Congo* trol l °II the subject, and the heads of that dep sentations had been made to the Board of Ceoa, Pry mised to send out instructions to the Governer; bet' e of India on the subject. This was a Yea r no gti o l o olllll‘ yet, the merchants of Penang had received the Me r l i cation on the subject. A deputation from t he 13°11 t o chants and planters of Penans• had waited (3° fes eeee_ d i of Trade, and on the Board of Controul, in re c ; , e d, ""„ the subject. They had been • sly rec—' Cato had graciously tbeir d to had beet' dismissed with assurances that vvis he f artmeet bonerrerej should be taken into consideration. No v ' he s ohan ts s a c e ask the Noble Lord if the case of the in e : oo of - Penang had been taken into the considers the ruble Board of Control, and if any instructions on r ef iodi e had been transmitted to the Governor-Genera' office„b, Lord JOCELYN said that on coming is in r y e er aor o i had found the draft of a dispatch to the u s e ' c laira i s srt a neral in Council, strongly recommending tmeecoosic's`ica the merchants and planters of Penang to the L o s Is'P t ' e s, tion of the Government of Bengal. The e 'isil ' til as - t" were set up were, as the Hon. Gentleman, tho se sil t permission to introduce sugar the produce e i fita geO t be tlements into that country, on the same arislithi s ° la other territories of British India en,i o Y"' se cei/ e "i' is last few days a communication had be en , Gener%ds . which it was stated that the GovernoL",orsia7the Council had taken into consideration the ,reeSerre,tro don of the Home Government, and he h u o " - t the ";, 0 - 0 1- matter to the Governor of Penang, to P sc r ec y tt ethe r " duction of sugar of foreign growth. munication had been received. CUSTOMS' ACT. beCa9tcla t The House then went into Committe e on Act. Mr. Greene in the chair. al e On the article of grease being read, • 0 to - SO Mr. BRA MS TON said it was his inters the tile oio that the article of grease should be taken 00z 0 id rer. ° , te ti of duties to be repealed, and that the duty be 00' s as at present. He would move that greasedety.fito from the tariff ; hccause, if it were l et in at P r " - would injure the protection which the farmer enjoyed for his butter.—(A. laugh.) tier' , Geo' Sir JOHN TYRRELL seconded the in ° , goo. ,i o le Sir GEORGE CLERK felt sure the Big i f l- t he o r ' 0 , tleman did not understand the nature 0 _ o(lo lt4 be " grease." It was a thing mixed with tar, be ers fro boon titer unfit for human food.—(lronical chee,J ei be a b o a Opposition ix nehes ) The importation wou' o eh y e s to the farmer, for such grease W o rder } to r r !verf in the dressing of sheep, in _ober. l' he erS them from the injurious influences of the is _ suse o .10 . precaution would be taken by the Custom-Ist ceeteesi, that no other grease should come in but ' the OPP ,ite plated by the tariff.—(" Hear, hear,"..,. fr° %ers ' O O tion.) He could not - tell what Hon. Do r° bt t here meant by their cheers, fur which be thong o ld no good reason. is ro oets e rg of Mr. WARD said that the Right Hun. thell3 ep ee t 0 0 to have altogether mistaken the nature of _ nc i wen, io g his Hon. Friends on that side of the Nouse , ' Not: t be to argue quite unconscious of their tendeot.ls;iost o ' d t he could be more delightful than the e xpla" w are b ich, Right Hon. Baronet. He (Sir G. Cleri t) oi hiee s 'd et Houseosith the greatest earnestness, that ~0 the i"" sks could by any possibility be converted W e ' , he ar) 0 ho E i g ht , f t hey ``.,d the poor man would be admitted.—(ll,,e,tibegged „toe' one connected with land, he (Mr. Waruilson. l3s ' ers spared such advocacy as that of the When Hon. Members treated Eogl and 45 9:ti ders b t5 ;f 5 talking' of a beleaguered tovvn,'he could w v c, e ' ea dd per to them, and though he might condem n, be b e y c el3e o r)'" these miserable dirty admire their boldness, but when zt„..,os, hear) —he felt thoroughly disgusted at such 1, 1 : d o ,holc o ble opposition. The ancient feudal barons t in ' et bing eot o' monopoliessi-ssrroaate di,- tricts under contribution. There was s e ° t o n ow r ii ;t of in that; but the conduct of those who w_ sra bied !,, to o' sent the great agricultural interest, resu,.niola3l' an " area sneak"—the most contemptible '• 11°' dern eivilisation,—Hear, and cheers.) ~.0 0 of. o of Mr. BORTIIWICK said the opPost:eLireiniasi°,oo, Members on his side of the H o use t° t c .O lat e _ ist duty on those articles would bring tempt, peote. ie " eto i shu h i s in the gallery above, would, like little.bl7, Sota,,l and he hoped those sweet little c!, ~,, cs srf, , 0g sentiments to the country.—(Great lauglatfhition7lo3 could be more unreasonable than each °IT w ho e there was not a single farmer in the con ntu of °I support the Hon. Member in his motion. le effec t .0 the Sir JOHN TYRRELL said the wh°.' l;os iotis,' of proposed change in the tariff would be "J th to u t i o ot agricultural interest; but be did note wish woili.aer their attention with frivolous discussion, ' l l l. OO , ge vr `i; l • o b divide the House on this occasion. ' o „ eoeb cr y for Evesham had, however, fired off the s t s ugh t 100 he intended to discharge the other nig ht of ii , the f t he but this "explosion in his rear ish„.c i ri mo ver ° f e et, disturb him.—(Great laughter.) The to n ' ft 0 0 • fair nary ° Sig ma address had then congratulated the con tow t he 0t. ,,.. that pig iron had risen to 16/. a ton, but _f Pig ol e o be Hon. Baronet wished to lower the price o f ws s ver y (Laughter.) If pig iron had risen, reduced, and he confessed he did fair result. But there was now a much ...._(.l4a n g t here P' t hink s tii c i o s i : b o t t e a r s Lion for conservative articles generiTY; rstoe , ss _,,, He would not inflict a speech upon tit __ ll ,'" his w att: l oc i would be other opportunities of discusspro: Barony for Mr. BRIGHT said, that while the W on. afeto o so• spoken in a tone of lamentation, the ''' to th e G° o stea Evesham (Mr. Borthwick) b u d conie ,_ : „ h he tr go ment's assistance, with an earnestness 7,3l"tighteriiitely would be fully appreciated by the ti bou ght 0 the confessed there was nothing which " to bring the agricultural interest into.tscluterrapoilt,_er;t arguments that were advanced b Y„,b i i c h be in s i g„ ri s i ba d (Hear, hear.) In another place, to e_ , e o disioe o ser , perhaps be allowed to allude, one nob n l e ,! s D s bo 3 .°_,,feo, arrogated to himself the title of a corn c a ble Get itl v e;fi, and in this House, among other Ilenou e °_ , ri v t the 0 1 . 1 , 1 00 ,1 they had one who came forward to that the ag sic,'` dr interea µ. e r e He thought that t t s le r e supporters greatly mistook their °wa fter. °ler g cel' jetting to the importation of a little , l q s the g o°. ' , / i° other persons having cupboards vesl were _ 0 vo rly te _ fer e ber for Essex, and unlike him there ho t, ° , he la r o ssi Why 0 '" an d rei , f but little to put into them. sit Lion, a" Tv e with the cupboards of the poorer popt.t s _ osse fisl, o t he, the few comforts they might otherwii; y ased tran_ ees or might rely upon it that without an i .7 coos enio.aigli t mould soon have the miseries and then" , The J' he il r hea r.) t aeo t • e ls an increased pauperism.- - (El va ', Gov ern Al e Hon. Baronet at the head of the , o f the t o o li', always been looked upon as the friend rood post o igliw turists. They had placed him in the pr o _ b o b ,be o, then occupied, and a little a dvice n tr ie ui rs s it 4 ' 50 to sv . o d u e the re e ) th en therefore be ,expected to do , I gr. 1 3 r 1 et o $ If he would but take himself, and in ne -gbt take a step in the right direction, lie si s „ : „ht col s t he thought that on all those questions theyrcilstahie at t he i satisfactory conclusion—to a result c c d TT tril Ste t l vi' ll !, House and pleasing to the country. ..-=e,.. g oes/ ~,` Jo , Hon. Member for Pontefract (Mr. 14 prefisiv° for allow the question to go on al o 40 0 • 1 1) amendment. n ot cos • o f the y M. MILNES sail that it was . , s i d e thef 1 e•vatives , e r Hon. Members on that (the Genss side, VD ; et a . House to reprove Members on the other . _ 100 , 0 1 0, ,,,,t 0 brought forward questions referring rs;tl',u,d b e reA e r h b . with ing interests, He did not see that he 1 . 0 , 14 . oo is',. fe seii because ho had brought forward a Tat ve L e h ' i.e b ietei o OS supposed he knew something, and f nerson s e on ° with the labour of some thousands 0, e obj ect thr oe ulaitY' "00 ' to be to gain some small degree of Fop _ ot i v es growing districts. The Hon. Member s by .0 ing obloquy on lion. Gentlemen, whose ni ediiiii pure as his own. dof °F tit Mr. AGLIONBY thought that insten __ toc tin ioo g. the resolutions in this Bill, they were pr o u ,, o l all u 'ari' settlement of the question by their b per r - ted los t He trusted that Hon. Members who suPe n . 90 01 cultural interest would concede the