The Sun. — London, England, 1853-03-02 00:00:00

weight. And these are all things which call for that serious investigation which he invites me to give the subject. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the further question, whether or not the land ought to be subject to the payment of legacy and probate duty, it is impos sible, in my judgment, for the house to come to any safe conclusion upon the subject until we have some fixed principles laid down and adopted with reference to the rest of our taxation. (Hear.) Before the house can consider the question as to what is to be done with the, probate and legacy duty, I think it should have more fixed and definite intentions on the subject of the income tax than have been as yet expressed. The hon. gentleman says, Here is a system of law that operates in favour of real property against personal property ; but when you come to the income tax, and compare its effect on real property and personal property, it is quite as clear and undeniable that the income tax is unequal, in favour of personal property and against real property. (Hear.) It appears to me that the course which the house may take with 'reference to the income tax must necessarily be made the pivot for the arrangement of the whole of our fiscal system. In considering the question, we -must necessarily take all the circumstances into view ; but I am sure the hon. gentleman does not make it a matter of censure upon me, that after my accession to office, and when the whole of our system of taxation is open from one cause or another, I am not now pre pared to state to him what may be the ultimate course of the Government. Much must depend almost everything must depend, with regard to the fiscal policy of the next two years, on the course taken by the house with reference to the income tax. When the time shall come, I will state the views of the Government. I assure the hon. gentleman that the whole of the question shall undergo from me the most careful examination, and that the results which we may arrive at will be re sults to which we shall be led by no desire to favour this or that class, but by the desire to du full and impartial justice to all classes. (Cheers.) Whether the hon. gen tleman ought or ought not to be satisfied with this ex planation, I leave the question in his hands. It is from no disrespect to him that I point out the inconvenience of adopting this resolution, and I hope it may be con sistent with his views not to press it upon the house for adoption. At all events, I have done my duty by stating the principles on which we are prepared to deal with this ;question, and which has led us to the conclusion at which we have arrived upon it. (Cheers.) Mr. HTJME thought the present was the time of all others when the house should intimate their opinion upon this subject, and he conceived that his hon. friend was quite in order in bringing it before them. The right hon. gentleman denied that this was a class question, but when in Mr. Pitt's time a bill was brought in to levy the probate and legacy duty upon all property, it was proposed by the landed proprietors, after it was read a first and second time, and went into committee, that it should be divided into two parts, one referring to the real and the other to the personal property. They compelled Mr. Pitt to divide it accordingly, and the bill referring to the personal property was passed by a small majority, but when they came to the bill referring to the tax on real property the division was 30 to 30. When the bill was returned to Lord Sidmouth, who was Speaker at the time, he considered that it should go •to a second division, but Mr. Pitt was told that if he at tempted to bring it forward again he must take the con sequences. It was calculated that the value of real property was 2,000,000,0001., out of which 80,000,0001. annually was liable. It was found also that 52,000,000/. was the total amount of personal property subject to the tax ; and was it fair that the 80,000,0001. of real pro perty should escape, while the 52,000,0001. of personalty were assessed. This was a great injustice, and he con sidered it was fit and proper, before the introduction of the budget, that the question should undergo discussion, and that the house should offer an opinion upon it. (Hear.) He (Mr. Hume) admitted that deeds of gift were frequently made of personal property, but notwith standing that, he believed if an accurate calculation were made, it would be found that personal property contri buted more than real to the taxation of the country. The right honoUrable gentleman objected to this motion because settlements of real property may be made ; but it was right to remember that settlements might also be made of personal property. Then it was said that the landed property of the country was alone or specially subjected to the local taxation ; but if they looked at the inhabitants of boroughs, the great majority of whom had no other property than that of a personal kind, they would find that they paid their full share of the local taxes. It was quite a mistake to suppose that landed property alone paid those local taxes. The ques tion was, was there anything peculiar in the settlement of land which entitled it to exemption from the tax on bequests ? With regard to railroads—all held to be per sonal property—he thought the incidence of this tax, as it affected them, was most unjust. Again, the direct taxation on the mass of the working and industrial classes in this country exceeded belief. A statement was made about three years ago by an American gentleman as to the effect of taxation in the United States, in which it was shown that the taxes there in 1849 and 1850, upon import duties, amounted to U 9,000,000, and that that sum was enhanced to $100,000,000 to the actual consumers. With regard to the income tax, he entirely agreed with the right honourable gentleman the Chan cellor of the Exchequer that no tax of that kind which they could lay on could be considered fair and equal until they had a full inquiry by a committee of that house as to the bearing of each individual item of our taxation ; and he invited the Government to institute such an inquiry forthwith. He would support the mo tion of his honourable friend (Mr. Williams) with the greatest pleasure, this being a question which over and over again in former times he (Mr. 'Hume) had endea voured to press on the consideration of the house and the various Governments of the day with the view to a remedy. Mr. HENLEY was very much indlined to believe that the Chancellor of the Exchequer was perfectly aware— certainly he (Mr. Henley) himself had the strongest opi nion on the subject—that any alteration in the direction pointed out in the motion of the hon. member for Lam beth, so far from benefiting the Exchequer, would most completely damage it. The right hon. gentleman had very truly stated with regard to personal property, that it had been the object to lay the tax upon the descent of it, and upon landed or real property the object had been to lay the tax upon the transfer. If it had been other wise, if the tax had been laid upon the descent of real property, it would have been unproductive to the Ex chequer ; but it was because of the tax on landed pro perty being imposed on the transfer, and not upon the descent, that it had been so very productive to the re venue. But with regard to personal property—notwith standing the vast amount of that species of property which was under bona fide and colourable settlements— he thought a great deal more money might be raised on the succession to that property than now found its way into the Exchequer. The hon. member for Montrose had al luded very strongly to the incidence of direct and indirect taxation in America • but the hon. ge n tl eman cou ld not have forgottenthat the evidence given by American gentle men before the income tax committee went to show that the whole imperial revenue of the country was raised by indirect taxation, but that the direct taxation was levied more for local or municipal purposes. The right hon. gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer adverted to the weight of local taxation on landed as contradistin guished from personal property. He (Mr. Henley) did not wish to go into that question, because he thought was only right to consider it with reference to imperial tax ation alone. The right hon. gentleman stated also that he did not lay any great stress upon the stamps upon conveyances of real property ; but he (Mr. Henley) thought that a large item. On what were called deeds and instruments, he believed it amounted to something like 2,000,000/. a-year. Theyhad never been able to get from the Stamp-office the exact amount of money raised in stamp duty, but it was believed by many people that at least one-half of it affected real property. There was another question which ought to be taken into con sideration—the redeemed and unredeemed land-tax, amounting together to 2,000,0001. That was quite as much as the legacy duty ; and the house must bear in mind that, with regard to the redeemed land tax, that bad been paid in hard cash. He believed the land of this country, in the items he had stated, paid a great do.al more than compensated for the exemptions by which it was stated to be favoured in not contributing to the probate and legacy duty. Before the house came to a conclusion on this matter, they'must look to the inci dence of the whole taxation of the country ; and if that found fairly l oo k e d i nto, h e was conv i nced it would be found that the land of the country not only paid its full share, but a larger share than any other species of pro perty. Mr. BRIGHT said if there was one thing more than another in which the country felt more than an ordinary interest, it wa s th e very tax which the house was now discussing ;and he rose for the purpose of making a few observations, ohdihe thought would place this question in a perfectly point of view. He be lieved the Chancellor of the fully admitted that the condition had that night of this tax was a great grievance, and required a remedi Velma' was not the only Chancello r ' the Exehequer e right lion. gen right hon. gen who had made such an admission.°rTef admitted it ; tleinan the member for BuckingliamiX repealinbefore long, and not only admitted it, but held out re that if he had remained in office he would exPectation have dealt with this tax, either by levying it equally on all kinds of property. V e t, or by hancellor of the Exchequer a pp eared to think teerresente as something in the stamp duty which mad e it in sornewde gree a balancing tax to the one of which complaint was now made; but the right hon. gentleman forgot that leasehold property paid all the stamp duty which free hold paid. (Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Bright) thought the holders of leasehold property—and the great bulk o f the property in this metropolis was of that tenure—had a great deal to complain of in this matter. Let the house take the case of Belgrave and Bedford-squares, the one the property of the Marquis of Westminster, the other that of the Duke of Bedford. At this moment the property ire those squares was all held on lease. During the whole time those leases ran each person who succeeded on the death of a lessee of the property was liable to pay probate or legacy duty, and that from 11. to 101. per cent, according to the degree of consangui nity of the person who succeeded to the deceased. But at the end of the existing leases the whole of this pro- ._ . -t, fail into the hands of , pei y i it came into the moment the Marquis of Westminster and the Duke of Bedford ; and their possession the property would cease to pay this - tax at all, and the colossal wealth of which it was the symbol w as exempted from the payment of an impost wh ich p ressed upon the property of a poor man in this country, if even that property was only of the value of 201. (Hear.) Ile (lir. Bright) knew a case in which an old mall, who died in 1 836, left some amount of property in stock to his son, -who Centeceeding to it at the rate of it.paid legacy duty per. The son died, and left it to his mother, and then the property paid. again. The mother died and left it to another son, and then it paid once more. That son died about a year ago, leavin g it to his children, who were n ew living, and theh the legacy duty was paid THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 2, 1853. and regarded marriage as a civil contract, he could not see why the jurisdiction in such cases should be confined to the ecclesiastical courts. In most continental countries the power of granting divorces mensa et thoro was in the hands of the ordinary civil courts, and he saw no reason why it should not be so here. The present law of divorce was a great hardship on the poor man, who could not get rid of his wife under any circumstances. (" Hear," and a laugh.) If the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts were abolished in this respect, of course it would be to be considered to what tribunal it should be transferred. There were other matters over which the ecclesiastical courts had now juris diction, as in the enforcement of church rates (hear), which he hoped they would not long be troubled with, for he did expect that the subject of it would be abolished by the pre sent Government. (Cheers.) They had jurisdiction nomi nally too in matters partaking both of a civil and ecclesias tical character, but in which they had no power to enforce it. They had jurisdiction in cases of heresy, fornication, procuration, and they had power of excommunication, but could not exercise it. (A laugh.) These courts were, in fact, but the shadows of what they were—they belonged to times long since gone by, when there was but one Church, to which all belonged, and from which none dared to dissent- -times when the Church had all the power, be cause all the knowledge ; when her decrees were respected by all, and monarchs as well as subjects trembled at her frown. But those times had gone by, an d it was time that those institutions which belonged to them, and were a part of them, should be abolished, and the system placed on a footing more consonant with the civilisation of the times. (Hear, hear.) One word on the subject of vested interests. He was by no means disposed to deny the claims of vested interests. Compensation, of course, would have to be given to those who held offices in these courts, and the bar and the proctors who practised there should be allowed to prac tise in the ordinary courts as banisters and attorneys, or solicitors. With regard to the Court of Admiralty, that was not open to the same complaints as the other cow is of civil law. In many respects that court worked beneficially, especially in cases of collision, salvage, &c., wherein it pos sessed powers which the courts of common law had not. The practice of that court of consulting the Trinity masters was also highly useful. It was, however, felt in seaports such as that he represented that a local adminis tration of the Court of Admiralty was desirable in order to avoid the expense and delay of sending to London for the trial of Admiralty cases. It would be worth the con sideration of the committee whether the county court judges of the district in which such towns were situated, or the recorder of such towns, might not be safely intrusted with the jurisdiction in such cases. If a precedent was re quired for what he proposed, they had it in Scotland, where the jurisdiction of the Court of Commissaries and the Court of Admiralty had been transferred to the Courts of Session. After speaking of the slow progress made in law reform, and the multitude of statutes over which the laws were extended, he observed that he feared much blame was due to the profession who had too much neg lected the legal maxim cessante ration cessat lex. Mr. HUME congratulated the house on the accession of the hon. and learned member who had just sat down to a seat in it. He had shown an intimate acquaintance with the details, and great power in dealing with the principles of the question he had brought forward, which must al ways command attention in that house. (Cheers.) He hoped the government would sanction the committee, from which he anticipated beneficial results. Ho had much pleasure in seconding the motion. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL was exceedingly happy that this subject had been introduced to the attention of the house, and thought that they must all agree that a more vivid or correct account of the existing evils of the courts alluded to could not have been put before them than that given by the honourable gentleman. In the whole of the representation made, he recognised nothing but con fessed, and well-known truth; truth which had been ascer tained for a long period of time, and about which they could no longer entertain one doubt. But when all that was recognised and established, came the question how is a remedy to be applied, so that it may be effectual, so that it may extend not only to the anomalies and evils of this jurisdiction, but also to the anomalies and evils that exist hero by reason of the establishment in this country of so many anomalous and distinct jurisdictions. Would it be believed that in this country we had endured for ages this ridiculous anomaly ; that we had allowed one court to pro ceed by principles of procedure confessedly opposed to the principles of the highest degree of justice, and that at the same time we had set another court to arrest it in its in justice ? The evil was not confined to the ecclesiastical courts ; and before an effectual remedy was passed there must be a consolidation, so that justice should no longer differ, but should arise from one common fount, and pro ceed from a uniform and simple set of rules. He could assure the house that the necessity of meeting these evils effectually, and the wish to devise for them a complete and general remedy, were felt and acknowledged, and would be acted on by the existing Government. But it was undoubtedly necessary that in proceeding to the accom plishment of these measures they should proceed, not in a piecemeal, but in an entire manner—(hear)—and, there fore, though he was exceedingly reluctant to interpose any delay, and extremely unwilling to suggest a course which might seem to savour even of a desire to put off any investigation on the subject, yet he was obliged to remind the house that there were at present three inquiries pend ing on three most important subjects as regarded the Court of Chancery. A committee was now considering the m courts,it te e on no thetfo rtestamentaryth e purpose question of consolidating the jurisdictions of comm on l aw of inquiring' into evils which were generally acknowled ge d, but for the purpose of devising a manner in w hi c h jurisdiction a n 4 equity, a that jurisdiction could be referred to som e o th er of n d th t e he e r c e cl w e ecclesiastical tribunal. He was perfectly well aware of the necessity of some measure being brought before the house ; but at the same time he was deeply impressed with an apprehension lest the progress of this reform should be re tarded by its reference to a committee of this house. There was a committee already prosecuting enquiries on each side of the subjects' proposed, and to appoint another would cause delay instead of advantage. He trusted, therefore, that the house would be contented and con vinced with the assurance made by the Lord Chancellor at the commencement of the session, that his lordship, after waiting a certain time to obtain the reports of the commis sioners, stating the remedies they should suggest, would, if they were not effectual, bring forward a measure for the remedy—the complete cure of the evils alluded to. He (the Solicitor-General) would beg the mover of this resolu tion to let it stand over for a short period of time, because he was sure further inquiries into these wrongs was not called for, and because the further inquiry into their reme dies was not concluded. Then, he was sure that the Go vernment would, and that if they did not, the hon. gentle man best could, bring in a complete and satisfactory mea sure, in order that the question might be at once disposed of, and the very best remedy devised. There had also been a committee appointed by the House of Lords some time ago, regarding the law of divorce, when this also had reported hon. gentleman m i g ht discuss without fur ther delay, and with the best chance of obtaining what he desired, a better one than he could gain by the mere ap pointment of a committee, which would add nothing to the conviction that the house already entertained. Sir B. HALL suggested to Mi. Collier to rest content with the assurance given him by the Solicitor-General, and not to press his motion to a division. He had reason to know that the subject was under the consideration of the Government, and he was content to leave it in their hands. .... _ . ...-- . Mr. MAGUIRE trusted the investigation wouldinclude Ireland, as, however odious these courts might be in Eng land, they were still more odious in Ireland, where they where administered exclusively by persons of a different religion from that of the great body of the people. He denounced the whole system as one of extortion and rob bery. Dr. PHILLIMORE suggested that it would be advis able to consider whether reforms might not be introduced into these, courts, which w ou ld ren d er th em efficient and useful institutions, before they transferred their duties and jurisdiction to other tribunals, which might not be found eventually to accomplish all that was anticipated. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL trusted that Mr. Collier would adopt the suggestion that had been thrown out, and withdraw his motion. All were agreed that the nuisance and abuses of the ecclesiastical courts were intolerable and ought to be got rid of ; but it was necessary to proceed with discretion, and all the Government asked was to give them a little time, and he hoped an efficient measure of reform would be submitted to the house. Lord PALMERSTON, in answer to a question from Mr. Fitzgerald, said the Government would most certainly include Ireland in any measure of reform that might be introduced. After some observations from Mr. WHITESIDE and Mr. BOUVERIE, the motion was withdrawn. THE BOROUGHS OF BRIDGNORTH AND BLACKBURN. Sir J. SHELLEY brought forward his motion, namely, 1 that the evidence taken before the election committees for Bridgenorth and Blackburn be laid on the table, and that the writs for the said boroughs be suspended until Mon day, the 4th of April next. In both cases the members had been unseated on the ground of bribery. He thought that seeing the Government intended to brin g in a bill for the reform of Parliament, it was th e d u ty o f the house to sift every question of corruption that was brought under its consideration ; and he trusted that if a case was made out, the house would issue a commission to inquire into the state of those boroughs where bribery had been proved to have taken place. Lord PALMERSTON said that generally speaking, the house was shy of not issuing writs, unless 9. very strong case indeed was made out to justify it in doing so. When an organised system of bribery was shown to have existed, it was open to the committee engaged to inquire into the subject to report specially to the house. No such report had been made in this case. Still there might be grounds for the house inquiring into the facts connected with the place where bribery was reported to have taken place, and this being so he would support the motion of his hon. friend, to enable the house to consider the facts of the case, and to say whether or not the writ should be suspended. Mr. BOUVERIE, as chairman of the Bridgnorth com mittee, felt it right to say, that there were no special cir cumstances to warrant the committee in reporting specially against the borough, and he warned the house to be cau tious before they entered into. the proposed inquiry, as it might lead to great inconvenience as regarded the business of the house. Mr. DEEDES, as chairman of the Blackburn committee, begged also to say that there were no special circumstances with regard to that borough to justify the committee in reporting against it; and he concurred with his honourable and learned friend, that it would be inadvisable to enter upon the proposed inquiry under such circumstances. Sir J. GRAHAM said, nothing could be more unfortu nate than to suppose that the house should proceed to revise the decision which a committee might have come to. That decision was final, both as regarded its substance, and the manner in which it had been arrived at. But it did not become the house to consider the circumstances under which the constituent body had acted under the circum stances stated, with respect to the late general election. The petitions presented to the louse in general alleged that bri bery had taken place ix the several places from which they came. This being so, he the - tight:when bribery was reported to have taken place, it was the duty of the house to inves tigate the facts, to say how far the constitutional body was affected by these changes. He thought, however, under the circumstances of the borough in question, it would be as well if the time for which it was proposed to suspend the writs were shortened, as he thought the 4th of April was too long a period for the suspension of the writ to continue. (Hear.) Sir J. TROLLOPE reminded the house that there were still 65 election petitions to be considered, and if the house proposed to proceed in the way suggested by the hon. mover of this motion, the house might be led into great inconvenience, as regarded the amount Of business before it. Sir _BENJAMIN HALL said ,that wiirn he road tho report of the committee, over,which the lion. member for East Kent presided, he certainly felt not d little surprise that a more special report had not been made, and that a again. (Hear, and a laugh.) So that in that case there had been five distinct instances of the payment of legacy duty since 1836 ; and if it had not been left in each case to persons so near of kin to the several testators the amount paid in duty, increasing as it did in each more remote degree of consanguinity, must have been enor mous. He maintained that it was a gross injustice to tax this species of property, while other kinds in the neighbourhood, just as accessible to the touch of the tax gatherer, was left altogether unassailed. (Hear, hear.) He could not understand anything more fatal to good order, or to the confidence of the people in the Govern ment, than a belief out of doors that there was an inte rest in the governing power which led it to tax heavily on one spot and lightly, or not at all, on another. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had alluded to the question of local taxation as being in some degree a balance and a compensation for the tax under consideration ' • but there was really nothing in that. It only reminded him that a late Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. gentleman the member for Halifax (Sir C. Wood), under similar cir cumstances, fell back upon the stamp duty ; and now the present Chancellor of the Exchequer fell back upon the subject of local taxation. Neither of those arguments had any force, because the legacy duty was imposed long before stamps or any local taxes. He had now shown the gross inequalities of the present tax ; and it was for the interest of Parliament and the country that the Chancellor of the Exchequer should be encouraged to take the right course in this matter. He had only now to say, that if ever the Chancellor of the Exche quer did set his heart to work to consider this question, (he Mr. Bright) hoped he would also take into his con sideration, in connection with it, the barbarous principle of consanguinity, by which one man receiving property by' descent paid 11. per cent. legacy duty ; another, a nephew, 31. per ce n t. ; an d ano th er , a s t ranger , 101. per cent. An illegitimate child was even taxed 101. per cent., as if its illegitimacy was a crime upon itself. (Hear ' hear.) Nothing, he submitted, could be more barbarous than a state of things like that. At all events, the main question was before the public that the Exchequer had received within the last fifty-five years some 80,000,0001. or 90,000,0001. from the duty in question, the greater portion of which had been charged upon a class of society during all that time very ade quately represented in that house, and who believed it 'had been so raised just because the landed proprietors of the country were very adequately repiesented there. (Hear, heat.) He must say that he bad very high expecta tions of the present Chancellor of the Exchequer, and he would beg of the right hon. gentleman not to be afraid of the hobgoblins which had been raised by the right hon. gentleman opposite (Mr. Henley), but fairly to grapple with this question, and settle it in a way which would meet with general satisfaction throughout the country. (Cheers,) Mr. WILKINSON said he agreed in the principle in volved in the motion of his hon. colleague, but he could not see the use of pressing it to a division after the state ment which it had elicted from the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Should his colleague, however, be still dis posed to divide the house, he (Mr. Wilkinson) would vote with him. Mr. WILLIAMS briefly replied. The house then divided, when there appeared— For the motion 7l Against it 124 Majority against the motion 53 THE CASE OF M. BONACICH. Mr. MTJNTZ moved for a select committee to inquire into the petition of M. Bonacick relative to the improper seizure of the Novello, and to report how far he was en titled to compensation from the British Government. Captain SCOBELL seconded the motion. Lord PALMERSTON stated that there was no man who would be more zealous than himself to do justice to the fair claims- of any foreigner upon the Government of this country, and upon every principle of equity and justice the Government was bound to satisfy all just claims made upon it. His objection to granting the committee was, that the claim had been already fully in vestigated both at the Treasury and at the Foreiffn office, and he would advise the house not to consent to the appointment of the committee, as he did not believe that the individual for whom the committee was asked had the slightest legal claim upon the Government of this country. Lord STANLEY said that he thought that an act of injustice had been committed in this case, and that the house and the country were bound: in some measure to repair it. It was quite true that H. Bonacich was put into prison at the suit of a private person, but his impri sonment was caused solely by the difficulties of the posi tion in which he was placed by the conduct of the Admi ralty in seizing his vessel. He did not think the house was a fit tribunal to judge of the merits of the question, and as he believed there existed a wrimil fade case, he thought the house ought not to refine the inquiry asked for. Mr. M. GIBSON thought that on the face of these transactions there existed a primd facie case for inquiry. Mr. MUXTZ stated that the vestsel was detained for seven years, and sold for 1,0001., the whole of which sum, with the exception of 1341., was appropriated to the pay ment of the Admiralty and brokers' fees. After a few words from Mr. French, Mr. Hume, and Mr.' Wilson, Lord PALMERSTON, in answer to an appeal made by an hon. member, stated that he had performed his duty in stating the reasons why he thought the claim was unfounded, and that the appointment of the com mittee would only involve an unnece scary waste of the time of hon. members. As it appeared, however, to be the general opinion of the house that the inquiry should be gone into, he would waive his objection to the ap pointment of the committee. The motion was then agreed to. GRIEVANCES OF THE LETITER-CARRIERS. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE said he has I no doubt the house was in favour of the resolution he had to propose • and if the Government would assen t t o it , h e wou ld not; trouble the house with any arguments in support of it. The re solution was—" That it appears to this house, from the numerous petitions presented during the present session by the letter-carriers of Great Britain ai ad Ireland, that, con sidering the responsible and arduous nature of their employ ment, the amount of their official salaries is generally in sufficient, and that their complaints of its inadequacy merit the attention of her Majesty's Government.' He brought this motion forward in consequence of the nume rous petitions that had been presented from the letter-car riers of above 400 towns and district; in England, Scot land, Ireland, and Wales. They complained of the inade quacy of their pay, and stated that their sufferings had been greatly aggravated in consequence of an order of the Postmaster-General in July last, proldbiting them from soliciting the Christmas-boxes which VII ey been in the habit of receiving. He did not advocate the system of paying public servants by gratuities ; he believed it to be bad and vicious —(hear)—and he believed the I etter-carriers them selves thought so. But when these :gratuities formed a considerable part of their salary, they a ught not to be taken away without the salary being adv .nced in proportion. Continual returns had been called for as to the amount of the salaries and gratuities of these ofli cers ; and they had been told, when applying for increased salaries, that a portion of their pay was derived from Christmas boxes and gratuities. The order of fb e Postmaster-Gene ral applied originally to the letter-carriers of the whole country, including the metropolis. The district letter carriers, or Two-penny Postmen, as th e y were called, num bered about 900 ; the general post It r tter-carriers, about 300. Hearing what was in contempla Lion by the Govern ment, they made representations to tl ie Postmaster-Gene ral, and the order was immediately au epended as regarded the metropolitan letter-carriers. But; it was still in force as regarded the provincial letter-carrif yrs ; and it was only in abeyance as to the London letter-caa Tiers, and might be enforced next Christmas. But why a hould there be any distinction? Tho public cheerfully paid the gratuities, thinking that the men were under-paid.. He had to com plain of the system pursued in the post delivery of the me tropolis. Why there should be any distinction between the two classes of letter-carriers in the metropolis, he could not understand ; but if there was to be a distinction, it ought rather to be in favour of the dist; id letter-carliers, the men with blue coats. The duties otf the men with red coats were over about ten o'clock in the morning, or they were only engaged in sorting letters for the others. They received from 235. to 30s. a week, with. a very good super annuation allowance. The diStrict let ber-carriers had ten deliveries in the day, and they also as sisted in delivering the general post letters. But the 1 p•eat hardship fell on the provincial letter-carriers. Their appeal to the house was not premature ; for they had t aken every means to obtain redress from the Postmaster-General, and were assured that he had no power to :relieve them. As many as 369 memorials from different - towns and districts had been presented to the Postmaster-Gteneral ; and no re dress whatever had been obtained. li le (Mr. I)uncombe) had received from 400 to 500 letters on the subject, repre senting that the case was one of grew:, hardship, and re questing him to bring it before the ho use. The whole of the provincial newspapers were advocaAing, much to their credit, the cause of the letter carriers. There was scarcely a gentleman in the house who had not had to present peti tions on the subject. Another ground of complaint by these persons was that their small pay was slopped during sick ness. One letter carrier at Deal was knocked down by a horse and cart ; his ribs were fractured, and he sustained other serious injuries. He was unaloae to attend to his duties for four months ; his stipend was stopped, and he could obtain no relief from the Postmaster-General. When on duty this man had to walk 20 miles a day ; he was at work from six in the morning till eight at night ; and for this he only received 14s. a week. In some of the large towns the number of letter carriers was extremely small in proportion to the population, Manchester, with 300,000 inhabitants, had 80 ; Leeds, 20 ; Sheffield, 15 ; Bradford, 7, with 5 assistants. These men had no superannuation al lowances. An old woman at Beaminster,, who had acted as letter-carrier for 40 years, had recently be en dismissed with out any allowance. The Postmaster-General's answer to such applications was that he had no power to grant any relief; the Legislature ought to give him this power ; for this was a cage where the public wished to be taxed in order that these deserving officers might be properly remunerated. (Hear.) Cases of defalcation were frequently occurring, a lt u ,a d the way to get honest servants was to give them adequate and ahtahe-ehgo(ellptetdrtryar.h)heai house Much to nw to ouup t i hi he ir ente c el i rta v ia t m li in t,. oitf t . h t e he mi se d p le rso cl n a s ss and ; Mr. EWAH,Tseconding the motion, said he bad re ceived a strong repre sentation this of wages paid to letter-caeril. e from his own constituents as There was great variety in thet t the fr rs om i 2 n o. d . i i ff n ear L en on t d p o a n rt t s o o 7 f s te country; the amount ranged whichotill ? Liverpool letter - carriers com p n ot aorrecreation.moments some country towns. The memorial from leisurTehebye2o complained lained of the long hours duri ng allowed for of their wages being so much lower than those of the Lon donimprovement letter carriers. Mr. NEVirDEGATE said he could easily conceive that gr eat hardship w as inflicted by the order in que s ti on. It anomaly that the letter-carriers was an al lol in Londo n h 1 receive Christmas-boxes, while those in be allowed to in the the e prov i nc es were not. s The result would be th a t would be worse performed. Mr. J. WlLSO.Li.servicein the provinces , said he entirely comm.-fed in m uc h that had fallen from Mr. Duncombo. Regarding their nu mbers and station in life, there could not be found a praiseworthy set of men than th e !etter-carriers, upon whom more respectable and d evo lved most important duties. Looldng at the responsible position - which they held, the h they to perform—a ;Teat amount of labour whiz had co • nearer to mmon la leicription of labour which, bei n g te than any kind of boar, wa s th ere f o re paid at a lower ra skilled labour—these things commended them to the con sideration of the house. Attention had been called to the case of the country letter-carriers, who were prohibited from soliciting, not from receiving, Christmas-boxes, though that probably did not make much difference. The Postmaster-General very much concurred in the observa tions that had been made on their case. He had it at this moment under consideration, with a view to rectifying it in such a way as should prove of advantage to the Post office service. (Hear.) As the question involved a large sum of money, there being thousands of persons employed as letter-carriers throughout the country, it would be right to allow the Postmaster-General full time to consider the best mode of meeting the case. (Hear, hear.) As to the London letter-carriers, the Postmaster-General was also quite prepared to admit that there was at present an ine quality greater than was sanctioned or justified-by the dif ference of duties they had to perform, and which ought to be remedied in some way or other. (Hear, hear.) A dif ference had subsisted for some years. It had arisen out of circumstances very different from those now existing. The frequent arrival of mails during the day, and the arrival of foreign mails, the contents of which must necessarily be conveyed to every district at the earliest possible moment, had greatly increased the duties de volving on the district letter-carriers. One of the ori ginal reasons in favour of a higher remuneration to the twopenny-postmen still existed—they were obliged to attend at very early hours to assist in the in-door business of sorting letters. The difference of wages was not so great as that of the superannuation allowance ; and the public service had probably been injured by reducing the superannuation allowance, because men sought to retain the situations longer than they were able to perform the duties. At present the superannuation allowance to the general post letter-carriers varied from 201. to 501., accord ing to the length of service ; the highest amount that had recently been given was 231. Bs. The Postmaster-General allowed that that was a subject which would readily ad mit of some consideration. The complaint of the provin cial letter-carriers was already under his lordship's consi deration ; and he (Mr. Wilson) was sure the house would rather leave the matter in his hands, with a view to arriv ing at a fair arrangement than d ea l with it themselves. As to the anomalies said to exist in various parts of the country, nothing could be more unfair or unjust than that salaries should be paid to public servants without re gard to the ordinary wages in those districts. It was well known that the rate of wages was very different at Hertford, for instance, from what it was in a large manufacturing town like Glasgow; and it was the duty of the Postmaster-General to consider at what rate he could • get those services performed. He would be much blamed were he to pay 20s. a week to those men in the agricultu ral districts, because they were receiving 20s. in Liverpool and other large towns. The honourable gentleman lied said, that the number of postmen should be in pro portion to the population. He could not take a more fallacious test. At Liverpool packets were arriving at all hours of the night, at uncertain times ; and to consult the convenience of the commercial public, who were anxious to have the letters brought by those packets with the least delay, it was necessary to have a large force of men in waiting, in order that no time might be lost on the arrival of a packet. Again, at Birmingham, which was a great thoroughfare for the mails to and from other towns, it was impossible that the number ,of men employed in the Post office service should be regulated by the population of the place, or that it should be any test at all. This was a question of very serious financial interest; He was cer tain the house would not be parsimonious in doing justice to such a deserving body of men ; but, considering the immense amount of money paid for the management of the Post-office, and the large proportion of the receipts now sacrificed (he did not say improperly so) in that way, it was evident that the slightest increase in the wages of thousands of persons, unless absolutely necessary, must form a very large charge upon the remaining small balance. Wherever application was made to the Postmaster-General or the Treasury in cases of this kind, a remedy was applied if necessary. But it would be impossible to lay down a general rule • he therefore hoped the house would leave the Government to deal with the cases as they occurred, ac cording to the merits of each ; and each case would receive the utmost attention. After some further discussion, the motion was with drawn. ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. Mr. COLLIER rose to move for a select committee for the purpose of inquiring whether the Ecclesiastical Courts might not be advantageously abolished, their jurisdiction over all matters not purely ecclesiastical transferred to other existing tribunals, and new courts established for the purpose of dealing speedily and effectually with mat ters purely ecclesiastical ; and whether the jurisdiction of the Court of Admiralty might not be advantageously trans ferred to local tribunals. He had not given this notice until the intention of the Government, with reference to the ecclesiastical courts, had been announced on the highest authority. Had their announcement been satisfactory he should not have interfered, but he was sorry to say it was not so, as Government proposed to wait for the report of the commission, and then only to interfere with the eccle siastical jurisdiction of the courts; whereas, in his opinion, the better way would be to see whether they could not be abolished altogether. (Hear, hear.) With respect to the commission, he had this to say, that it was to a great ex tent composed of civilians practising in these courts, and it was not unnatural to suppose that they would be inclined to favour the courts in which they themselves practised. (Hear.) The distinction between law and equity was bad enough, but here, what with their civilian, their registrars, their doctors, proctors, and surrogates, these ecclesiastical courts were the greatest abuse that had lasted down to modern times. They had over and over again been reported against and condemned. In 1830 a commission containing judges of the courts themselves, after examining 30 or 40 witnesses, reported against them. but recommended an inadequate remedy—the abolition of all the courts except those of York and Canterbury. A. committee of the House of Lords fully considered the sub ject in 1845, and reported for the abolition of the testamen tary jurisdiction, and a bill passed that house substituting a central tribunal, but it was thrown out in the Commons. Subsequently the Irish courts were subjected to an inves tigation, and they were equally condemned. The general concurrence of opinion was for the abolition of the courts, and his belief was that nothing short of that would meet the exigency. First, as to their jurisdiction over wills, and their administration. This jurisdiction was originally usurped. Our Saxon ancestors, before the conquest, were in the habit of settling these questions in the old county court, and it was not until the Norman conquest that the clergy got hold of the jurisdiction. The reason given might perhaps amuse the house. It was said that ecclesiastics, being in at the death of the testator, would know his in tentions better than any one else, and would know what was good for his soul, which they generally ascertained to be the appropriation of his property to pious uses. (A laugh.) They took care that none went to payment of his debts, and it was not until the time of Edward 111. that they were compelled to depute administration to his relatives. The number of these courts at present in exist ence was 372. (Hear, hear.) They were archbishops, archdeacons, vicars, and manor courts, with several others, and so numerous were they that it was almost impossible to get at the limits of their jurisdiction. This led to the greatest expense and uncertainty on- taking out letters of administration and in questions relating to the disposal of the vastly increasing personal property of the country. With respect to the expense, he found the salary of Sir H. J. Fust to be for 1849, 3,9041. 13s. Bd., and that of Mr. Moore, the registrar, 8,2651.175. 4d. (Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") For this enormous salary the registrar never did a single duty, although having for thirty years received the sum of 300,0001. (Hear, hear.) He certainly could not understand how the hon._ member for Montrose had rested for the last twenty-five years with such an abuse in exis tence. (Cheers and laughter.) (Mr. Hume—l attacked it twenty-five years ago.) Yes, but the hon. member had let it rest ever since. There were three deputy-registrars with salaries 2,3221.125., andthree clerks 8321. 125., which dwindled in 1852 to 8.51.175. 2d. Now these clerks did all the business, while Mr. Moore got all the emolument. It might be expected that the functionaries of these courts would at least provide secure receptacles for the valuable documents of which they insisted upon having the charge, but the fact was that they were kept in an unprotected room, next to a wheelrights, and there was constant dan ger that they might be all suddenly consumed. The com missioners had decided that a new building should be pro vided at the expense of the registrar, but their recommen dation had not been attended to. Again, it was almost impossible to find a will. To a rich man it was difficult, but to a poor man generally impossible. The suits in these courts were most expensive. They could not deal with all the questions that arose relative to the ad ministration of personal property, and some of their de crees must be enforced by a suit at common law. In con sequence of these and other defects a will was often con tested in these courts at once ; in illustration of which he would state a case that had occurred about ten years since. A gentleman died in Devonshire about ten years ago, leaving an ample provision for his wife—the will was con tested in the Ecclesiastical Court, on the ground that the testator was insane when he made it. After a contest of several years, that court decided that the man was insane at . the time of making the will, but the estate had then got into the Court of Chancery, and they directed an issue to bo tried by a jury as to the sanity, who, six years after the same question had been decided by tie Ecclesiastical Court, pronounced in conformity with that decision. But in the meanwhile the estate had been all swallowed up in costs incurred in the three courts, and the estate not being sufficient, the poor widow was incarcerated in a prison. (Hear, hear.) This showed the working of the system. Now, with regard to the remedy he would suggest. In the first place, they had the County Courts, which, on the whole, had exercised a very satisfactory jurisdiction, and he saw no reason why they should not entrust to those courts that portion, at least, of the jurisdiction of the Ecclesiastical Courts. He had drawn up a bill, in which he proposed to give to the County Courts jurisdiction in all cases of probate in the ordinary form ; and he suggested that the probate should be granted in the county court of the place where the testator had died, and that one probate should do for the whole kingdom. (Hear, hear, hear.) He proposed further to give to these courts jurisdiction in all cases, of whatever amount, with the consent of the parties, and in cases of small amount, say 300/, without such consent. In cases of a large amount, when the parties did not consent to avail themselves of the county courts, jurisdiction should be given to some higher court—he thought one of the courts of common law would be preferable, as that would be the fittest for deciding on questions of fact—as whether the party was insane— whether there was any fraud—whether the will was pro perly executed, and others of a similar nature. The courts of common law had also this advantage, that they exercised a local jurisdiction at the circuits, which the Chancery courts did not. Again, he believed the Court of Chancery had already its hands full, and if more business were put upon them an additional number of judges would be needed; whereas there was, he understood, already a sufficient amount of judicial force in the common law courts to dis pose of the business which he proposed to transfer to them. It would be desirable for the j udge of the county court to have a complete jurisdiction in the matters he proposed to refer to them, both in regard to law and equity, where the - amount was under the limit, because if in such cases the ,rfeomratihneed, wantthe swallowedCo u u r p t o f At Chanceryp rese estate necessityw e would d go oe nthe taken out in small cases at all. One of the great de of some such ready jurisdiction probate was often not siderata in reference to testamentary law was a proper and efficient system of registration of wills. He proposed that there should be a local registrar appointed by the judge of the County Court, to whom the will should be taken in the first instance, and that after probate it should be transmitted to the Registrar- General in London, who shall keep all wills in his custody in fire-proof places, and prepare an index for ready refer ence. There was already, he believed, the nucleus of such a syste m of local registration in the registration above 101. Then with regard to divorces. At present the ecclesiasti cal courts had power to grant divorces e mensa et thoro, but not e vineuk matrimonio. When the legislature recog nised the right of dissenters to be married out of the church, more searching inquiry had not taken place into all the circumstances of the case. • The report stated that the member petitioned against had been guilty of bribery by his agents, and it specified several cases where with sums of 51., 101., and orders for refreshment, bribery had been practised. The committee further found, that treating had been practised to a considerable extent. (Hear, hear.) Now, he very well recollected the time when if such a re port were made to the House of Commons, a motion would be immediately made in reference to the borough where the bribery and treating took place. In these days of purity of election—(laughter)—he thought it most desirable that there should be full inquiry into all the circumstances connected with the last election for the borough of Blackburn, and whether the borough should not be disfranchised in con sequence of the malpractices pursued by portions of the electors. He supposed the evidence taken before the com mittee would be printed in the course of a few days, and he suggested that his hon. friend Sir John Shelley should move that the writs be issued to-morrow fortnight, the 16th inst. Mr. COBDEN said the statement made by the hon. member for Lincoln was a dismal one. That hon. gentle man had warned the house of the possible danger of not having a sufficient number of representatives to carry on the business of the country, and he told them that if they delayed the speedy issue of writs in those cases where elections had been declared null and void, they might run the risk of losing one-sixth or one-eighth of the entire number of members, if not more. It appeared to him. (Mr. Cobden) that in such a state of things their only busi ness was to show the country they were prepared to act vigorously, to follow up the scent laid by the committee, and to track the full amount of corruption that had taken hold of the great bulk of the constituencies. The'character of the reports presented to the house by the committees who had already concluded their labours, showed that attempts had been made by those who prosecuted the petitions to keep back as much information as possible, and to adduce that postion only which would fulfil their object of unseating the sitting members. If they closed their eyes on this state of-things, and overlooked the condition of those boroughs where corruption took place, because they had not the whole of the facts before them, at the next election the re turn of such members would be disputed, as those who trafficked in and made a periodical profit might consider convenient. The hon. member received a letter from one of his constituents, calling on him to urge a Parliamentary inquiry into the circumstances of the last election for Bridgnorth, which he said would throw Sudbury and St. Alban's completely into the shade. The country expected, as the first and most important business to be performed by Parliament, that they should show themselves honest in dealing with cases of borough corruption. He hoped his noble friend would persevere with his motion, for he did not consider one month too long a period to give the boroughs for the purpose, as it were, of purifying themselves. Lord NAAS said it would be far better that they should come to a general decision, that in all cases where bribery was proved, and the member unseated, no writ should be issued until the house had had full time to consider the evidence on which the committee had arrived at their deci sion. As, however, at that hour of night, they could not discuss the matter properly, he would support the motion for adjournment. Mr. - COBDEN—I would suggest to my honourable friend the member for Westminster to accede to the motion for adjournment. Sir J. V. SHELLEY—I have no objections. All I wish is that a full inquiry take place into the matter. (Hear.) The debate was accordingly adjourned to Thursday next. JEWISH DISABILITIES BILL. This bill was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time on the 11th March. The house then adjourned at twenty minutes past one o'clock. PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—MAncu 1. (From the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Commons. ) WEST LONDON WATERWORKS COMPANY BILL, Order for second reading read. Motion made and ques tion proposed, " That the bill be now read a second time." Amendment proposed, to leave out the word " now," and at the end of the question to add the words "upon this day six months." Question put, " That the word ' now ' stand part of the question." The house divided :—Ayes, 99; Noes, 93. AJORITY—ATES, 99. Adderley, C. B. Fitzroy, lion. H. Ricardo, 0. Alcock, Thomas French, F. Sandars, G. Bailey, Sir J. Gibson, T. M. Sawle, C. B. G. Bailey, H J Gordon, Admiral Scholefleld, W. Ball, John Greville, Col. Seymer, H. K. Beaumont, W. B. Thistle, Archibald Smith, John Benj. Berkeley, 11. Hildyard, Robert C. Stanley, Hn. W. 0. Biddulph, R. M. Hume, J. Stapleton, John Biggs, William Jackson, William Stephenson, Robert Blair. Colonel Keating, Robert Stuart, Lord D. Bright, John Kershaw, James Stuart H. Brown, Humphrey Ring, P. J. Sullivan, M. Brown, William Kinnaird, A. F. Tbicknesse, R. A. Browne, V. Knatchbitli, Wm. F. Thornely. T. Cobden, Richard Knox, Col. Townshend, Capt. Cf gan, W. Lacon, Sir E. Tufnell, H Collier. Robert P. Langton, H. G. Vansittart. George H Corbally, M. Laslett, William Vivian, Henry H. Crook, J. Lidd e ll, H. G . WalmsleY, Sir J. Dering, Sir Edward Lucas, F. Wellesley, Lord C. Devereux, J. T. 'Mann, James West, Frederick R. Divett, Edward Maguire, John F. Whatinan, J. Drumlanrig, Viscount Matheson, Sir J. Whitbread, S, Drummond, ii. Miall, Edward Wilkinson, W. A. Duncan, G. Miles, William Wilcox, B. Duncombe, Hn. 0. Mills, t• Williams, W. Duncombe, Hn. W. Morris, D. Winnington, Sir T. Dunlop, A. Mostyn, E. M. Wise, J. A. Esmonde, J. North, Colonel Wyndham, W. Ewan, William Otw.ty, A. J. Fagan, W. Phillimore. J. Ferrer, James Pinney, w: MIMIC Fergus, John Pollard-Urquhart, W. eitzgerald, J. D. Powlett, Lord W. Hall, Sir Benjamin Fitzgerald, W. Ricardo, J. L. Shelley, Sir J. V. MINORITY-NOES, 93. Adair, Hugh E. Grenfill, C. Phillimore, R. J. Anderson, Sir James Grey, Sir G. Pilkington, Jame, Ball, Edward Hadfield, George Price, W. Baring, Sir F. Hamilton, Lord C. Prime, R. Baring, Francis Hamilton, Geo. A. Rich, H. Beckett, William Hastie, Alexander Russell, F. C. H. Bouverie, E. P. Hayter, W. G. Seymour, Lord Bramston, T. W. Henley, Joseph W. Seymour, H. D. Bremridge, Richard Heywood, James Smith, lt. V ttrockman, E. D. Hope, Sir John Smith, Wm. M. Brotherton, J. Hotham, Lord Smyth, J. G. Burghley, Lord Hutt, William Sotheron; T. H. S. Butler, Charles Ingli., dir R. H. Spooner, R. Butt, Isaac Johnstone, Sir J. Stafford, Augustus Cayley, E. S. Kendall, Nicholas Stanley, Lord Chill, Smith Kerrison, E. C. Strutt, Rt. lion. E. Christy, Samuel Labouchere, Henry Troliope, Sir J. Clay, James Lindsay, Colonel Turner, C. Clay,.Sir W. 311 acartney, G. Vane. Lord A. Clinton, Lord R. Macgregor, Jas. Venion.G. E. H. Davison, R. Mandeville, Viscount Walcot, Adm. Denison, J. E. Manners, Lord J. Wall, C. B. Dodd, George Mitchell, W. Walpole, S. H. buncombe, T. Miller, T. J. Whiteside, James Dundas, F. Mills, T. Whitmore, Henry Ellice E. }Billings J. Randolph Wickham, H. W. Elliot, J. E. Naas, Lord Wyvill, ularmaduke Forster, M. ewark, Viscount Fertescue. Chichester Newdegate, Chas. N. Freshfield, James W. Noel, Gerard James Glyn, George Carr Norreys, Lord Goulbura, Henry Patten, J. Barrow , W m. H. Greenall, G. Peacocke, G. M. W. Bland, L. TELLgis. PROBATE AND LEGACY DUTIES. Motion made and question put, " That, in the opinion of this house, real property should be made to pay the same probate and legacy duties as are now payable on personal property." The house divided :—Ayes, 71; Noes, 124. MINORITY—AYES, 71. Alcock, Thomas Gooderich, pis. Pellatt Apsley Anderson, Sir James Goodman, Sir G. Philllmore, J. Bed, J. Greenall, Gilbert Phinn, Thomas Biggs, William Greene, J. Pilkington, James Bright, John Hadfield, G. Pollard Urquhart, W. Brotherton, Joseph Hall, Sir Benjamin Price, W. p, Brown, W. Heathcoate, J. Scholefleld, W. Butler, Charles S. Hoyweed, James Scobell, Captain Cheetham, John Hume, Joseph Seymour, H. D. Clay, J. Hutchins, E. Seymour, W. i ) . Clay, Sir William Kershaw, Jamey Smith, John B. Cobbett, J. Morgan Kinnaird, Arthur F. Stuart, Lord D. Cobden, Richard Lacon, Sir E. Swift, Richard Coffin, Walter Laing, S. Thicknesse, It, A. Collier. Robert P. Langton, H. G. Thompson, George Crook. Joseph Laslett, William Thornely, T. Crossley, Frank Lucas, F. • Walmaley, Sir J. Duncan, George M`Cann, J. Whalley,:a. Duncombe, T. bliall, E. Wilkinson, W. Dundas, F. Michell, W. Wilcox, B. Dunlop, A. Milner, W. M. E. Wise, J. Evans, Sir D. L. Michell, T. Ewart. William Morris, D. mums. Geach, Charles Muntz, G. Frederick Shelley, Sir J. T. Gibson, T. M. Pechell, Sir G. Williams, W. MAJORITY-NOES, 124. ..eCourt, C. H. W. nll iz a n tt b ih t:ry ccooteee: s os p i e l, n lb e Ge e r,c BH. Percy, J. j J . Townley Baines, M. T. Ball, Edward Ball, John Henley, Joseph W. I hillimore, R.' Baring, Sir F. Herbert, Sir T. Powlett, Lord W. Barrington, Viscount Hervey, Lord Alfred Price, Sir R. Barrow, W. H. Illidyard. R. Prime, R. Beaumont, W. B. Boreal), Thomas B. Robartes, T. J. A. Bentinck. Geo. P. Hotham, Lord Bolt, P. Bethel', Richard Ingham, R. Russell, C. W. Biddulph, R. M. Kendall, N. Sawle, C. B. G. Bland, L. Kirk, William Sherid au, R. B. Brady, J. Laffan, R. M. Sihthorp, Colonel Bremridge, R. Lawley, P. C. Smith, W. M. Browne, valentine Liddell, 11. G. Smyth, J. G. Bruce, Lord Ernest Lind' ay, Col. Smollett, A. Bruce, H. A. Lowe Ro bert Spooner, Richard Cahns, 11. Al'Calmont Mac kenzie, W. F. Stanley, Li - ,rd Campbell, Sir Arch. Mackie, John Stanb-y, Cardwell, E. M acgregor, James Stans.deld, W. R. Cayley, E. S. M'Taggart, Sir J. Strutt, Edward Ciaarteris, F. Manus, Richard Tombne, G. Cholmondeley, Ld. II Martin, John Tr ollope, Sir J. Clinton, Lord Robert Miles, W. Tyler, Sir George Cockburn, Sir A. Miller, T. J. Vane, Lo dA. Cowper, W. F. Molesworth, Sir W Vernon, G. Crauturd, E. H. J. Ail omit, Viscount Vivian, J. E. Davies, D. Monereili, James Walcott, Adm. Denison, J. E. Mansell, William Wens, W. Druinlaurig, Viscount Montgomery, Sir G. Whatman, James; Dundas, G. M organ , O c t av i us Wir i tbr ad, Samuel Evelyn, W. J. litostyn, E. M. 'Wickham, Henry W. Ferguson, Sir R. Mul,rave, Earl Wilson, .lames Fitzgerald, J. D. .. Mullings, J. R. Winnington, Sir T. E Fitzgerald, W. It. S. 3lurrough, J. I'. Wynoham, 4 en. Fitzroy, Henry - Newdegate, C. N Wyndham, Wilda m Forbes, William Noel, Gerard James Wyvill, M. Grace, 0. O'Connell, vi aurica G I , l r a e d n s e t i. o i n t' , it iv zs i t ll e i p a h m en o N , o ,k r e tl . l . , J C . ol ti on . e p l Young, Sir T. P. G U r r ec h . a lle n ,Hayter, W. G. Grey, :dr G. . Palmerston, Viscount Berkeley, Granville In the division list published yesterday, on the Exami nersSirF. Ralph Lord in Chancery Bill, among the "Noes„' Lord H. Vane was misprinted for Lord A. Vane. - TELLERS. HARRY Muni, by the author of "Margaret Mait land." 3 vols. The author of "Passages in the life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland," has for some time been at the head of writers of our most sterling works of fiction ; but, admirable as have been her productions hitherto, there can scarcely be a doubt that the readers of her most recent work, just published, under the title of "Harry Muir, a Story of Scottish Life," will acknow ledge that they have all been excelled. The character of Martha is a finer creation even than Mistress Mar garet ; and Harry Muir, by his very imperfections, throws the most perfect of imaginary heroes into the shade. A more touching and a more natural picture of human life has rarely been produced, and a book of more instructive reading it would indeed be difficult to find. MANCHESTER AND SOUTHPORT RAILWAY.—A meeting of the directors of this company was held on Monday at Manchester, when a dividend was declared equal to that to be declared to-day by the Lancashire and York shire Company; being virtually a declaration of 3 per cent. per annum. This closed the business. LONDON, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 1853. " Delenda est Carthago I" The monster nuisance that has so long oppressed the nation is to be abated ! The Ecclesiastical Courts are to be abolished, root and branch, so that no remembrance of things so vile may be per petuated. The Honourable and Learned. Gentle man the Member for Plymouth has eminently en titled himself to the thanks of the country fo r th e able and comprehensive statement that so clearly pointed out the magnitude of the existing griev ance, and elicited the unan imous approbati on o f the House. We say " unanimous," for although there was some slight difference as to the nature and extent of the remedial measures essential un der the circumstances, there was none as to the necessity for reform--a stringent and searching reform, striking at 'the. very root of the evil. None are so utterly abandoned as to be without friends---CALIGULA I NERO ! had mourners, who bewailed the fate of patrons—who, whatever their atrocities, had been kind to them personally—who enabled them to enjoy the com forts dear to every man, and who, whatever might be their crimes against the community, had merited the gratitude of these humble retainers. SIMON 'AGREE had some of his numerous depend ants who regretted his downfall. And even the Ecclesiastical Courts could not wither away-- "Unwept, unhonoured, or unsung." Dr. R. PHILLIMORE, the gentleman who re placed the late Hon. Member for Tavistock— unseated for want of the formal and technical qualification—the gentleman elected by an over whelming MINORITY of the constituency, was the champion who flung his gage in to the lists, pre pared to do battle on behalf of the appellant. He did not, however, break his lance directly on the shield of his doughty opponent. No ; that was a feat beyond his powers. He did not ven ture to assert the purity or spotlessness of his protege, he wisely and judiciously attempted to " ride off on a collateral issue"—to raise another point by which public opinion might be exercised. Had ST. JOHN LONG been living and famous, we might have supposed that the learned civilian was his favourite disciple. He proved himself a thorough proficient in the art of "counter-irrita tion" —of creating a, superficial wound, worse in appearance than reality, in order to attract the virus from the more formidable gangrene. Thus Dr. Pumumonz dwelt on the minor abuses, professing not merely his own anxiety, but that of " THE FACULTY," of which he is a distin guished m em b er , f or th e i r re f orma ti on . He would destroy those " detestable peculiar jurisdictions," concentrating all the power, and all the influence of the hydra-headed abomination in the Levia than atrocity at Doctors' Commons—and thus bringing additional fish to the nets of his learned brethren. It would be well to transfer the testa mentary jurisdiction over real as well as persona l estate to the Prerogative Court ! Was there not a report to that effect signed by men of high cha racter and unblemished reputation—and the names of Chief Justice TYNDAL, of Lord TENTER DEN, and Lord WYNFORD were referred to, in order to push the " argumentum ad verecun diam" to the utmost extent. Those distin guished jurists, fearing, perhaps, that they would be unable to root u p th e b a l e f u l upas t re e that had extended its r oo t s so f ar, were w illi n g , to make some attempt to d es t roy it s po i son, an d ren der it, if not whol esome , a t l eas t compara tively innoxious. Poison, if su ffi c i en tl y dil u t e d, may become harmless, and thus the eminent men above referred to might have imagined that, as it was impracticable under the then circumstances of the case to eradicate the evil, the next bes t course was to extend and dilute its strength, so as to render it very much below prod ; but " nous changeons tout cela." The prevailing enthusiasm is for " legal reform," and the only questions are as to the rapidity with which w e are to proceed on the course, and possibly as t° , the goal to be arrived a t. Th e H on. an d L ear ned Civilian, the Member for Tavistock, thinks that the abolition of 340 courts, their power and influence being transferred to the remaining 32 ecclesiastical tribunals, would suffice. We con cur with Mr. COLLIER, and we believe with at least 600 of the chosen representatives of the people in thinking, that such a reform would be worse than useless—that there would still remain 32 courts too much ; and that they would only prove more onerous and intolerable in proportion to their increased power. The speeches of the ATTORNEY and SoLicrroit GENERAL showed that it was not the Ecclesiastical Courts merely that were in danger. So far as W e can gather froin the significant limits of the learned functionaries, there is to be " a consolidation of these conflicting jurisdictions, in order that justic e might no longer be divided into different de . grees, and different qualities." It is, therefore, more than probable that an effort will b e made to effect a complete and perfect fusion be' tween law and equity—to enable one jurisdiction to render complete. justice to its suitors. g r. COLLIER, under the fair promises that were made, the auspicious auguries afforded, judiciously with: drew his moti on , l eav i ng t h e matter in the ham'' of Government, b u t reserv i ng to himself the righu, of taking the subject up again if it were not dealt with energetically and efficiently. There is n ° doubt, however, that the grievance will be fairly grappled with, and that the Ecclesiastical Court s will not much longer remain the stain and re" proach of the British nation—the foul blots on the national escutcheon. Almost everybody nowadays appears to b e bitten with a horror of war, almost as fantastic in its effects as those produced by the poisonous forceps of a Tarantula. Inspired by it, soni c ; have gone off dancing-mad in a detestation 01 potentates whom they have been led by their fears to regard as the champions of aggression. Actuated by a yet more impassioned affection for peace, and influenced by a still more deeply-rooted abhor rence of contention, others have endeavoured to pour oil upon the troubled waters of political controversy by chanting the praises of inter national tranquillity. A certain identity of prin ciple is, therefore, actually to be traced 'between Mr. COBDEN and those whose scurrilous vitupera" tious may be said to have recently elicited his arguments as a pamphleteer. Mistaken the latter have proved themselves, to be sure, but sincerely opposed many of them undoubtedly are in their conscience to the dogmas maintained by those who would resort to " Brown Bess " and bayonet for the settlement of every dispute be tween contendin g Governments. Whether theso foes of battle have been judicious in their meth Of giving utterance to their peculiar prejud ice° and predilections—prejudices against campaign in t _ .i and predilection s i n f avour of arbitration—rem t to be shown by some more i ngenious disputaf than any of those w h o h ave yet advocate d w e right to indulge a t pl easure i n indiscriminate an d unmeasured vituperations. It can scarcely maintained, for example, with anything l ike reason, that the best method of securing the con" tinuance of quiet u d e in Christ en d om i s that 0' assailing, with all the vocabulary of opprobri° epithets, the supreme ruler of the mkt powerful face on the E uropean continent. •a-ti lowing somewhat, h owever, f or the phrenzy of fanaticism, it may be conceived that there has Toni; lurked, in many instances, under this insolence tone, so provocative of retaliation, a certain ee; centric distaste for the once popular profession 01 the soldier. Just, for example, in the same vial as the terror of falling from the brink of an aeeli" vity is said to prompt the timid not unfrequentli to throw themselves sheer over the edge of a preci pice. Diametrically different has been the cours e pursued by the members of the Peace Society, other" wise known as the Society in favour of Arbitration . Instead of endeavouring to guard the country from becoming embroiled with its neighbours, 1 7 insulting those ne i g hb ours upon every imaginab l e opportunity, these aspirants, for another and 3 nobler age of gold —a millennium born out of th e blending of Christianity and Civilisation—have sung the panegyrics of universal brotherhood as fervently as though they really hoped in their day to bend the spears, into reaping -hooks and t° beat the swords into ploughshares. Although vre have ever confessed., with all our respect for the gentleness of their philanthropy, a total absence} on our pa r t, o f con fid ence i n the feasibility the enterprise entertained by these day-dreani ing humanitarians, we must, nevertheless, a e ; knowledge a larger s y m p a th y f or the i r utopian, but still humane and generous, sentiments, when cons trasted with the insensate folly and fury mingle d together in the vapourings of their antagonists —the fire-eaters al rea d y par ti cular i sed. This preference we have before now proclaimed, in guage sufficiently explicit, to be altogeth e . unmistakeable. Remembering this, we are grat; fled to observe the cor di a l co i nc id ence of opini° very recently e x p resse d b y t h e chief o f our monthly contemporaries. Bl ac k woo d , i n the number for March just published, declares much, plainly enough, d ur i ng th e course o f a very intelligent paper on the rival merits (!) of "Pea and War"—the writer remar ki ng, i ndee d , in 0 5 0 part of his argument (p. 368)--" It is not of that we have the good f or t une to s id e w ith -a : 01 COBDEN, but we cordially agree i n hi s disappr°, V al of the tone which has b een assume d b y a consiO: able portion of the press i n regar d to t h e i n ters i affairs of France"—a sentence by which lca 9 h e virtually justifies the wh o l e o f t h e rema r st pamphlet "1793 and 1853," i n terms o f earn est and almost unconditional commendation. can we be surprised that our contemporary uld speak out thus candidly even in reference to the tact and reason revealed in this matter by th ey Honourable Gentleman, the Member for the We st Riding of Yorkshire, when we bear in remora brance the manly course a d opted throug h ou t, i hS , ' by the periodical an d th e representative. -84:hisil wood has neve r , t o our remembrance, upon 'ca vital question of p reserv i ng amity between France and England, un d er the respect i ve empire of VICTORIA and NAPOLEON truckled to those es; ve passions of th e mo b wh i ch have e l sew here, ° blush to thi n k , b een disgracefully pand ered l i s h by English Mi n i sters of State an d by British journalist s . journalist s . M r. COBDEN y e t more dist i nctly has sh run k f rom anything like complicity w ith the latter by raising his voice in indignant i accents against th e i n j ust i ce, an d i n d ecorum , and mpo ..o_ of the se mos t o di ous scurr i l i t i es. U n der all co n siderations, the cond uc t displayed in th i s instance by the Hon. Member for the West Biding re" its dounds peculi ar ly t o hi s honour, from 1 incleP e" 4 . • consti tuting a signally courageous token of his be y deuce ; and alth oug h he may continue to *l' a while assailed with all kinds of o bloquies ALLEN'S MAP of BURMAH is This Day Published, price 3s: 6d., or on cloth :n a case, ss. London: Wm. H. Allen and Co., 7, Leadenhall-street. NEW VOLUMES. THIRD ANNUAL ISSUE. pORSTER'S POCKET PEERAGE and A.: BARONETAGE of GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND for 1553, Corrected to the Ist of February, with the recent Ministerial changes. By HENRY RUMSEY FORSTER, of the Morning Post. Price 6s cloth. "A well -arranged, compact, and most convenient little volume." —Examiner. SECOND SERIS. LECTURES on the RESULTS of the GREAT EXHIBITION DellYered before the Society of Arts at the Suggestion of 11. R. II Prince Albert. Vol. 2, completive the Series, pace 7s. (d. e'oth. FIFTEE YEAR. The YEAR-BOOK of FACTSA in SCIENCE and ART for 1353: exhibiting the most important Discoveries and Improvements of the Past Year in all branches of Science and the Arts. By JOHN TIMI3S. With a Portrait of Dr. Lyon Mayfair. Price ss. cloth. David Bogue, Fleet-street. REPORT of the DIRECTORS to the ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING of MEMBERS of the ENGINEERS, MASONIC, and UNIVERSAL MUTUAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY : The Directors have to report to the Members that, during the year 1852, they have received 333 proposals for assurance, of which 251 have been completed, assuring the sum of 60,380/., and producing annual premiums to the amount of 1,975/. 1I s. 2d. Forty-eight pro posals for the assurance of 15,9001. have been declined, and thirty four for the assurance of 7,1501. stand over for completion or further consideration. The net income from premiums alone is 10,051/. 15s. Pd , after deducting short-term, purchased, and lapsed polcies, and those under which claims have arisen. The amount derived from these sources since the commencement of the Society's operations has been 4,818/. 2s. 7d., while the claims from death have been but 3,9.01. The number of deaths among the Members during the past year has been five, to the amount of 1,200/. ; but the calculations of the tables, at the average age of the whole of the assured, would have led to the expectation of fourteen deaths. This result sufficient!; indicates the care and discretion with which the lives have been selected. The Directors submit the present Report to the Members with great satisfaction, feeling that the condition of the Society's business is in every respect sound ; that the progress at first made with un usual rapidity has been continued without interruption, and that although th, constant efforts of all assured are still required, and must be steadily persevered in, the position of the office is now con firmed, and the future prospects are such as to justify the most sanguine anticipations that have been at any time expressed. By order of the Court of Directors, ANTHONY PECK, Assistant Actuary. London, 345, Strand, Opposite Waterloo-bridge, Ist of March, 1853. CON T RAC T S.-ST. MARTIN'S-IN-THE inviteT FIELDS.—he Guardians of e Poor of Parish hereby TENDERS for the SUPPLY of th the followingthis ARTICLES, for 3,6, 9, or 12 months, at the option of the Guardians, viz. :—Flour (best housMold), Butcher's Meat, Irish Butter, Dutch and Single Gloucester Cheese. Forms of tenders may be 11A on application to the Master of the Workhouse, in Castle-street, Laicester-square. They must be sealed and filled up in strict conformity with th- &rec. Lion therein contaited, and delivered at this office by 4 o'clock, p.m., on MONDAY, the 7th March next The party or parties whose ten. der may be accepted will be required, with two sureties, to enter into a contract and bond with the Guardians for the due perform ance of the conditions thereof. The contracts and bonds will be pre pared by the Clerk, and must be executed by the proper partie. within one week from this dne (26th Feb.). The Guardians do not bind themselves to accept the lowest tender. By Order. C. ROBERTSON'S GRIFFITHS, Clerk to the Board, Parochial and Register Offices, 44, Castle-street, Leicester-square, Feb. 26, 1853. THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET. reweli Season of Mr. Benjamin Webster as Lessee and Manager THIS EVENING, MARCH 2, Will be performed the new and original Comedy, in live acts, called NOT SO BAD AS WE SEEM; or, Many Sides to a Charac er. Supported by Messrs. B. Webster*, Barry Sullivan, Keeley, Buckstone, Leigh Murray, Stuart, Howe, Miss Rosa Bennett, Miss A. Vining, Mrs. Leigh Murray. To conclude with, at second price, the Comedy of MASKS AND FACES; or, Before and Behind the Curtain. ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE. Under the Management of Madame Vestris. THIS EVENING, MARCH 2, Will he performed A PHENOMENON IN A SMOCK-FROCK. Characters by Messrs. C. Mathews, F. Matthews, and Horncastle ; Miss F. Baker and Miss C. Mitchell. After which, the popular new Fairy Extravaganza entitled THE GOOD WOMAN IN THE WOOD, in which Messrs. F. Matthews, Suter, Horncastle, and Templeton ; Madame Vestris, Miss Julia St. George, Miss Robertson, Miss Martindale, Miss Ellis, Miss Wynd ham, Miss Eglinton, and Miss Rosina Wright will appear. To conclude with LITTLE TODDLEKINS. Sole Agent tor the Private foxes, Mr. W. Allcroft, 15, New Bond•street. THEATRE ROYAL ADELPHI. Proprietor, Mr. B. Webster. —Directress, Madame Celeste. THIS EVENING, 'Luca 2, The second and Third Acts of THE GREEN BUSHES; or, a Hundred rears Ago. Supported by Messrs. Paul Bedford, Emery, and Honey : Madame Celeste, Miss Woolgar, &c. After which, a selection from the Ballet of ES HERALD/L. To be followed by the Farce of a LUCKY FRIDAY. To conclude wits the succe.sful new Comic Pantomime, called HARLEQUIN NELL GWYNNE ; or, Harlequin Menlo Monarch. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET. Under the Management of Mr. C. Kean. THIS EVENING, MAaca 2, Will be produced Shakspere's Tragedy of MICBETEI (as acted at Windsor CaAle, by Royal command). Principal characters by Mr. and Mrs. C. Kean. ro conclude with the new and original Grand Comic Christ mas Pantomime, entitled WARLIEQUiN CHERRY AND FAIR ATAR; or, The Green Bird, the Dancing Waters, and the Singing Tree. ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE. Lessee and Manager, Mr. Ferree. THIS EVENING, 3fancil 2, Will be pr2sented THE LADY OF LYONS. M. Deschapelles, Mr. Bender; M. Beauseant, Mr. Edgar; Glavis, Mr. Shald ers ; Dames. Mr. G. Cooke; Claude Melnotte, Mr. H. Farren (his first appearance this season) ; Pauline, Miss Davenport. .‘fter which, the TYROLEzin IifINSTRELS, who had the honour of appearing before her Majesty, will appear in their National Costume. To conclude with THE SWISS COTTAGE. Conepton. II cm-utiles open from Eleven till Five, under the superintendence of Ur. E. Chatterton. Natzliek, Mr, ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE. Proprietor and Manager, Mr. W. Ratty. LAST WEEK BUT ONE of Mr. BATTY'S MANAGEMENT. Brilliant Routine of Equestrian Achievements. THIS EVENING, Meson 2, .And te Week the will with the superb durin Sp g ect h acle of , MAZEPPA. Entertainments AND THE WILD HORSE, reproduced with all its original magnificent effects. We be followed by an incomparable display of Equestrian and rtnnastic wonders in the Scenes of the Arena. To conclude with a popular Farce. 1)oors open at Ilaii-pasi Nix felock., To commence at Seven. no 1 -office open daily from Eleven to Four. Stage Manager. Mr. W. West, HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tag DAY —Morning 23 min. after 6 Evening 47 min.aft. 6 To-Monaow—Morning 14 tnin. after 7 I Evening 43 min.aft. 7 THE WEATHER.—Sux OFFICI, MARCH 2. THERMOMETER, IN THB SHADE. 34—highest since noon yesterday. 27—lowest this morning and during the night. 36—this day at noon. BAROMETER, 29'37. WIND, W.N.W.—Light breeze, and fine, sunshiny weather, with gentle thaw. There was a sharp frost last night. Zhit i` ~ ~~e