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 qu estion, 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 td,vour 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 syste m . 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 do full and impartial justice to all classes. (Cheers.) Whether the hon. gen tlerrean 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. HUME thought the present was the time of all others when the house should intimate their opinion upon this subject, and he conceived that his s 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 Ind also that 52,000,0001. 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 $29,000,000, 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 *as 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 bond 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. gentleman could not have forgotten that 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 it 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 2,000,0001. a-year. They had 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 had been paid in hard cash. He believed the land of this country, in the items he had stated, paid a great deal 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 was fairly looked into, he was convinced 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 i n w hi c h th e country f elt more than an ordinary interest, it was the very tax which the house was now discum a few question ineta observations, which he thought would place this perfectly odious point of view. He be lieved the fully admitted thate orof the Exchequer had that night grievance, and requiredthe condition of this tax was a great tleman was not the The right hon. gen :Crehmanecdeylior of the Exchequer who had made such Q a fo n n r i- admission. The right hon. gen tleman the member , B uckinghamshire admitted it ; and not only admitted it uotfaheld out an expectation that if he had remained ineithecre he would, before long, have dealt with this tax repealing it, or by levying it equally on all kinds ofbY property. The present hancellor of the Exchequer app e r ° e it in some de something in the stamp d + -1.1. y whi c a t a o think there was acomplaint was forgot that gree a balancing tax to the one of which' which free now- made ; but the right hon. gentlem ught the leasehold property paid all the stamp ti h t n 3 t ; r o hold paid. (Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Bright) holders of leasehold property—and the great the property in this metropolis was of that tenur e h ad of h a ;treat deal to compla in of in this matte r. Let the house take the case of Bel g rave and Bedford- squares, the one the property o f the Mar q uis of Westmi nster ' the other that of the Duke of Bedford. At this moment the property in 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 perty fell into the hands of the Marquis of Westminster and the Duke of Bedford ; and the moment it came into their possession the property would cease to pay this tax at all, and the colossal wealth of which it was the symbol was exempted f r om th e p a yment of an impost which pressed upon the property of a poor man in this country, if even vethat property was only of the value of 201. mar, .who di (Mr. Bright) knew a case in which an old at to his ea in 1836, left some amount of p r operty in son, who on succee di ng to i t pa id legacy d uty at the rate his mother, °l'll. en the Per cent. The son died, and left it to died and left - neither son, property paid again. The mother That i•Oti dic(i t a t : l3 a year ago, _ ea li . en it paid once more. who were now living, a ino- I vin it to h . . us, and t h en t , is children, ' lega c y duty was • paid 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 se' 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 1/. per cent. legacy duty ; another, a nephew, 3/. per cent. ; and another, a stranger, 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 inade quately represented in that house, and who believed it had been so raised just because the landed proprietors of the country were very adequately represented there. (Hear, hear.) He must say that he had 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 Against it 124 Majority against the motion THE CASE OF M. BONACICH. Mr. MUNTZ moved fora 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 Foreign 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 thtt 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 M. 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 prirad facie case, he thought the house ought not to refuse the inquiry asked for. Mr. M. GIBSON thought that on the face of these transactions there existed a prima fade case for inquiry. Mr. MUNTZ stated that the vessel 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 unnecessary 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 LETTER-CARRIERS. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE said he had no doubt the house was in favour of the resolution he had to propose; and if the Government would assent to it, ho world 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 and 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 districts 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, prohibiting them from soliciting the Christmas-boxes which they been in the habit of receiving. Ho did not advocate the system of paying public servants by gratuities ; he believed it to be bad and vicions—(hear)—and he believed the letter-carriers them selves thought so. But when these gratuities formed a considerable part of their salary, they ought not to be taken away without the salary being advanced in proper Lion. Continual returns had been called for as to the amount of the salaries and gratuities of these officers ; and they had been told, when applying for increased salaries, ta.at a portion of their pay was derived from Christmas boxes and gratuities. The order of the Postmaster-Gene ral applied originally to the letter-carriers of the whole country, including the metropolis. The district letter carriers, or Two-penny P os t men , as th ey were called, num bered bout 900 ; the general post letter-carriers, about 300. Hearing what was in contemplation by the Govern ment, they made representations to the Postmaster-C ene ral, and the order was immediately suspended as regarded the metropolitan letter-carriers. But it was still in force as regarded the provincial letter-carriers ; and it was only in abeyance as to the London letter-carriers; and might be enforced next Christmas. But why should there be any distinction ? The 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 district letter-carriers, the men with blue coats. The dutiel of 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. I'he district letter-earners had ten deliveries in the day, and they also assisted in delivering the general post letters. But the great hardship fell on the provincial letter-carriers. Their appeal to the house was not premature ; for they had taken 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-General; and no re dress whatever had been obtained. He (Mr. Duncombe) had received from 400 to 500 letters on the subject, repre senting that the case was one of great hardship, and re questing him to bring it before the house. The whole of the provincial newspapers were advocating, 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 stopped 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 unable 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 been dismissed with out anyallowance. 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 case where the public wished to be taxed in order that these deserving officers might be properly remunerated. (Hear.) Cases of defalcation were frequently occurring, and the way to get honest servants was to give them adequate Wages. (Hear.) Much to their credit, the middle class and the gentry had taken up the claim of these persons ; and ho hoped the house would entertain it. Mr. IWART, in seconding the motion, said he had re ceived a strong representation from his own constituents as to the importance of this case. There was great variety in the wages paid to letter-carriers in different parts of the nwpsColol wore n en: t ae r y eoun ; the amount towns. raTnhgeedrufermomoria2Ois.frionmLoLnidvoenrpot:l7cos.min. mental improvement of employed, the o notng a omr hourso recreation.duringm ent s leisurew hi Theyc h b the e a being also o allowedcomplained letter-carriers for of their wages being so much lowr than those of the Lon donl r l e . t N t e E r w carriers,EG A TE said he could easily conceive that London great hardship was inflicted by the order was an anomaly that the letter-carriers ininLcol be allowed to receive Christmas-boxes, while those ' in the provinces were not. The result would be that the service in the provinces would be worse performed. Arr. J. WILSON said he entirely concurred in much that had fallen from Mr. Duncombe. Regarding their numbers and station in life; there could n o t b e found a more — res pectable and praiseworthy set of m en th an the upon whom devolved most important d • 1 tt e Looking-earialtethe responsible hiposhitiotnhewhihachd thoeypehrfeoldruau,t_lthisa,; olfabloaueb°uw.rhiwch, which n y earer to common d gre esc a ri t p a t m io o n un o t f la bour, was therefore paid at ft lower rate than any kind of 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 t 3 el , ' a - t ion s that had been made on their cases 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 th an 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 wliat 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 had 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 m en em pl o y e d i n th e 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 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. &1., and that of Mr. Moore, the registrar, 8,2651.175. 4d. (Loud cries of " Hear, a hear.") For this enormous sa l ary t h e registrar never did 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., and three clerks 8321. 125., w hi c h dwindled in 1852 t o 851. 17s. 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 be tried by a jury as to the sanity, who, six years after the same question had been decided by the 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 entru s t 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 executed,pro peroloymmonlaw had alsoandothe t rs his of ad a y s a i n l ag la e r nature.ihath Theth e y exercised courts of 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 would of the be desirablehebusi business which fohict the hhe pproposedttohocounty transfer to them. to them. It r h e a f v e e r a t o e h m e p i] a l e, t b e o ju th r rn d r io n t g i a o r n d i to n the aw m a a n t d ters he equity,proposed wher ath to o amount was under the limit, because if in such cases the want the estate neees s ity wouldt to g h e e i s e ra l ohwe a C d o our t p of At C h p a r n e e s e e l lt , r for eei aie the e d, taken out in small cases at all. One of the great of ,some such ready jurisdiction probate was often not de 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 system 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 matrimcmio. When the legislature recog nised the z ight of dissenters to be married out of the church, 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 dlvorcdt maisci, et Moo was in the hands of the Ofdliiimy 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 reepect, of Mine 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, and it was time that those institutions which belonged to them, and were a part of them, should be ab o li s h e d, a nd th e 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 barristers and attorneys, or solicitors. With regard to the Court of Admiralty, that was not open to the same complaints as the other cow ts of civil law. In many respects that court worked beneficially, especially in cases of collision, salvage, Svc., 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- 1 sideration of the committee whether the county court judges of the district in-which such towns were situated, or the recorder of Filch 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. Aftce 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 rations 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. ,He 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 here 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 question of consolidating the jurisdictions of comm on l aw and equity, and there was a committee on the testamentary jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts, not for the purpose of inquiring into evils which were generally acknowledged, but for the purpose of devising a manner in which that jurisdiction could be referred to some other 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 com m itt ee o f thi s h ouse . 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, brinc , forward a measure for the remedy—the complete cure of 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 the hon. gentleman might 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 11du . 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 would include. 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 beDrry. . PHILLIMORE suggested that it would be advis able to consider whether reforms might not be introduced into these courts, which would render them efficient and neeful 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 a3reecl that the nuisance and abuses of the ecclesiastical corn is were intolerable and ought to be got rid of • but it was nccelsaay to proceed with discretion, and a ll Government asked was to give them a little time, and he hoped an efficient measure of reform would be submitted to the house. Lord PALMER§iOS7S; gnawer 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. MOUVERIE, the motion was withdrawn. THE BOROUGHS OF BRIDGNORTH AND BLACKBURN. Sir J. SHELLEY brought iorward his motion, namely, 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 bring in a bill for the reform of Parliament, it was the duty of 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 a 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 net the writ should be suspended. Mr. BO U V .ERIE, as chairman of the Bridgnorth com mittee, felt it r i g ht to say, that there were no special cir sumstances to warrant the committee in reporting specially %phut the borough, and he warned the house to be cau tious bef ore th ey en t er ed 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 3. 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 house in general alleged that bri bery had taken place is the several places from which they cane. This being so, he thought 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 m o ti on , the house might be led into great inconvenience, as regarded the amount of business before it. Sir BENJAMIN HALL said that when he read the report of the committee, over which the hon. member for East Kent presided, he certainly felt not a little surprise that a more special report had not been. Blade, and, that a more searching inquiry hal 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 scant 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 tcok 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 be 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 konse then adjourned at twenty minutes past one o'clock. PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS. HOUSE OF COMMONS.-MARCH 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. AJORIY--.LYES, 99. Adderley, C. B. Fitzroy, Hon. H. Ricardo, 0. Alcoa, Thomas French, F. Sandars, G. Bailey, Sir J. Gibson, T. M. Sawle, C. B. G. Bailey, H J Gordon, Admiral Scholefield, W. Ball, John Greville, Col. Sey .ner, H. K. Beaumont, W. B. Hastie, Archibald Smith, John Benj. Berkeley, H. 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 F 4 ng, P. J. Sullivan, M. Brown, William Klnnaird, A. F. Thicknesse, R. A. Browne, V. Knatchbull, Wm. F. Thornely, T. Cobden, Richard Knox, Col. Townshend, Cap;;. C( gan, W. Lacon, Sir E. Tana, H Collier, Robert P. Langton, H. G. Vansittart, George H Corbally, M. Laslett, William Vivian, Henry H. Crook, J. Liddell, H. G. Walmsley, Sir J. Dering, Sir Edward Lucas, F. Wellesley, Lord C. Devereux, J. T. li'Cann, James West, Frederick R. Divett, Edward Maguire, John F. Whatman, J. Drumiaorig, Viscount Matheson, Sir J. Whitbread, S. Drummond, 11. Miall, Edward Wilkinson, W. A. Duncan, G. Miles, William Wilcox, B. Duncombe, Hn 0. Mills, 4. Williams, W. Duncombe, Hn. W. Morris, D. Winnington, Sir T. Dunlop, A. Mostyn, E. M. Wise, J. A. Esmonde, J. North, Colonel Wyndham, W. Ewart, William Otway, A. J. Fagan, W. Phillimore. J. Farrer, James Pinney, W. 11a.1.211. Fergus, John Pollard-Urquhart, W. Fitzgerald, J. D. Powlett, Lord W. _ Hp'', Sir Benjamin Fitzgerald, W. Ricardo, J. L. Shelley, Sir J. V. 31INORITY—NOES, 93. Adair, Hugh E. Grenfell,C. Phillimore, R. J. Anderson, Sir James Grey, Sir G. Pilkington, James 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. Y. Hayter, W. G. Seymour, Lord Bramston, T. W. Henley, Joseph W. Seymour, H. D. Bremridge, Richard Heywood, James Smith, R. V Brockman, 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, Sir It. H. Spooner, R. Butt, Isaac Johnstone, Sir J. Stafford, Augustm Cayley, E. S. Kendall, Nicholas Stanley, Lord Child, Smith Kerrison, E. C. Strutt, Rt. Hon. E. Christy, Samuel Labouchere, Henry Troliope, Slr J. Clay, James Lindsay, Colonel Turner, C. Clay, Sir W. 39 Scar tney, G. Vane, Lord A. Clinton, Lortß. Macgregor, Jas. Vernon.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. Duncombe, T. Miller, T. J. Whiteside, James Dundas, F. Mills, T. Whitmore, Henry Ellice E. Mullings J. Randolph Wickham, H. W. Elliot, J. E. Naas, Lord • Wyvill, idarmaduke Forster, M. Newark, Viscount Fori;escue, Chichester Newdegate, Chas. N. Freshfleld, James W. Noel, Gerard James TELLERS. Glyn, George Carr Norreys, Lord Goulburn, Henry Patten, J. Barrow, Wm. H. Greenall, G. Peacocke, G. M. W. Bland, L. ALLEN'S MAP of BURMAII is This D a y Published, price 3s. 6d., or on cloth in a case, ss. London: Wm. IL Allen and Co., 7, Leadenhrll-street. NEW VOLUMES. r. THIRD AN N UAL ISSUE. pORSTER'S POCKET PEERAGE and BARONETAGE of GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND for 1853, Correeted 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. U. SECOND SERIES. LECTURES on the RESULTS of the GREAT EXHIBITION Delivered before the Society of Arts at the Suggestion of H. R. II Prince Albert. Vol. 2, completing the Series, price 7s. tid. cloth. 111. FIFTEEIS 'lll YEAR. The YEAR-BOOK of FACTS In SCIENCE and ART for 1853: exhibiting the most important Discoveries and Improvements of the Past Year in all branches of Science and the Arts. By JOHN TIMBS. With a Portrait of Dr. Lyon Playfair. Price ss. cloth. David Bogue, Fleet-streei,". REPORT of the DIRECTORS to the ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING of MEMHERS 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 /o the amount of 1,975!. 1 Is. 2d. Forty-e'ght pro posals for the assurance of 15,900/. have been declined, and thirty four for the assurance of 7,180/. stand over for completion or further consideration. The net income from premiums alone is 10,0511. 15s. f , after deducting short-term, purchased, and lapsed po'icies, and those under which claims have arisen. The amount derived from these sources since the commencement of the Society's operations has been 4,8181. 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 1,2001. ; but the calculations of the tables, a* the aye , age age of the whole of the assured, would have led to the expectation of fourteen deaths. This remit sufficient 13 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 stall 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- N./ FIELDS.—The Guardians of the Poor of this Parish hereby invite TENDERS for the SUPPLY of the followin7 ARTICLES, for 3,6, 9, or 12 months, at the option of the Guardians, viz.:—Flour (best household), Butcher's Meat, Irish Butter, Dutch and Single Gloucester Cheese. Forms or tend ers may be had on application to the Master of the Workhouse, in Cestle•street, Leicester-square. They must be sealed and Riled up in strict conformity with the direc• tion therein contained, and delivered at this office by 4 o'clock, p.m., on MONDAY, the 7th March next. The party or par ties 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 parties within one week from this dace (26th Feb.). The Guardians do not bind themselves to accept the lowest tender. By Order. — "T"?'.m, C. ROBERTSONS GRIFFITHS, Clerk to the Board. Parochial and Register Offices, 44, Castle-street, _ . Leicester-square, Feb, 26, 1853. - THEiT NE - ROYAL, HAYMARKET. rewell Season of Mr. Benjamin Webster as Lessee and Manager THIS EVENING, Mallon 2, Will he performed the new and original Comedy, in five acts, called NOT SO BAD AS WE SEEM; or, Many Sides to a Charac er. Supported by Messrs. B. Webster, Barry Sullivan, Keeley, Bnckstone, 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 Ctutain. 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, Via. PeHatt Apaley Anderson, Sir James Goodman, Sir G. Philllmore, J. Bell, J. Greenell, Gllbert Minn, Thomas Biggs. William Greene, J. Pilkington, James Bright, John Hadlield, G. Pollard- Urquhart, W. Brotherton, Joseph Hall, Sir Benjamin nice, W. P. Brown, W. Heathcoate, J. Soholefleld, W. Butler, Charles L Heywood, James Scobell, Captfon Cheetham, John Hume, Joseph Seymour, H. D. Clay, J. Hutchins, E. Seymour, W. i); Clay, Sir William - Kershaw, James Smith, John B. Cobbett, J. Morgan Kinnaird, Avtlan F. Stuart, Lord D. Cobden, Richard Lacon, Sir E. Swift, Richard Coffin, Walter Laing, S. Thicknesse, R. A. Collier, Robert P. Langton, H. G. Thompson, George Crook. Joseph Laslett, William Thornely, T. Crossley, Frank Lucas, F. Walmsley, Sir J. Duncan, George M'Cann, J. Whalley, G. Dancombe, T. Mall, E. Wilkinson, W. Dundas, F. Michell, W. Wilcox, B. Dunlop, A. Milner W. 3f. E. Wise, J. Evans, Sir D. L. Michell, T. Ewart, William Morris, D. TI'LLEM. Geach, Charles Munlz, G. Frederick Shelley, Sir J. T. Gibson, T. M. Pechell, Sir G. Williams, W. MAJORITY—NOES, 124. A'Court, C. H. W. Hanbury, Spencer B Parker, R. Townley Baines, M. T. Heathcote, Sir G. Patten, J. Ball, Edward Heathcote, Gilbert H. Percy, J. Ball, John Henley, Joseph W. Itillimore, R.' Baring. Sir F. Herbert, Sir T. Powlett, Lord W. Barrington, Viscount Hervey, Lord Alfred Price, Sir R. Barrow, W. H. Hildylls]. R. Prime, R. Beaumont, W. B. Horafall, Thomas B. Robartes, T. I. A. Senifnek, Geo. P. Hotham, Lord Bolt, P. Bethel, Richard Ingham, R. n t Mackenzie, Liddell,taneditsean zy ,HI ec., Col. Smyth, W. F . Russell, C. W. Biddulph, It. M. Kendall, N. Sawle, C. B. G. Bland, L. Kirk, William Sherid an, R. B. Brady, J. Laffan, R. M. Sibthorp, Colonel Bremridge, R. Lawley, F. C. Smith, W. M. Smyth, J. G. Browse,Cairns, ai Bruce, I md , Valentine Ernest ine sot Smollett, A. Bruce, 11. A. Lowe, Robert Spooner, Richard Campbell, Sir Arch. Mackie, John Cardwell, E. Macgregor, James Stansilehl, W. B. Stanley, W. Lord Campbell, Cayley, E. S. M'Taggart, Sir J. Strum Edward ' Charter's, F. Malites, Richard Tomline, G. Cholmondeley, Ld. H Martin, John Trollope, Sir J. Clinton, Lord Robert Miles, W. Tyler, Sir George Cockburn, Sir A. Miller, T. J. Vane, Lo d A. Cowper, W. F. Mole,sworth, S'- W Vernon, G. Craufurd, E. H. J. Monck, Viscount Vivian, J. E. Davies, D. Monereiff, James Walcott, Adm. Denison, J. E. Monsell, William We% W. Drumlanrig, Viscount Montgomery, Sir G. Whatman, James Dundee, G. Morgan, Octav:us Whitbread, Samuel Evelyn, W. J. Mostyn, E. M.i Wickhain,.Henry W. Ferguson, Sir R. Mularave, Earl Wilson, James Fitzgerald, J. D. Mullings, J. R. Winnington, Sir T. E Fitzgerald, W. R. S. Murrough, J. P. Wyndham, b en. Fitzroy, Henry Newdegate, C. N. Wyndham, William Forbes, William Noel, Gerard James Wyvill, M. rtdh the H. x.vaamnie- Young, Sir T. French, Fitzstephen North, Colonel TELLERS. Grace, 0. Graham, Sir James Osborne, Ralph Greville, Colonel F. Ossulston, Lord Gladstone, William O'Connell, Jel.l,llM..Pu.rice Hayter, W. G. Palmerston, Viscount Berkeley, Granville Grey, Sir G. edtheYef&ndOeasY„'' °Lilo was 'sprinted for Lord A. Vane. nelrsnitnhechdialicesioryn Blisitll,paumbolinshg HARRY Mum, 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, can scarcely be a doubt th a t th e readers of her theremost rcent 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 heroea 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. . tittt. t AUL , 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 for the able and comprehlmsive statement that so clearly pointed out the magnitude of the existing griev ance, a o n u d se. e!ici w te e d sa t y he „ u u n v a a n n im ir : ous," 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--CALiouLA ! NERO I 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 LEGREE 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 i n appearance than reality, in order to attract th e virus from the more formidable gangrene. Thus Dr. PHILLIMORE dwelt on the minor abuses, I professing not merely his own anxiety, b ,... 111 that of "THE FACULTY," of which he is a distil', guished member, for their reformation. He .ifoulao destroy those " detestable peculiar jurisdiction s ) concentrating all the power, and all the influence of the hydra-headed abomination in the Lelia than atrocity at Doctors' Commons—and thus, bringin g additi ona l fi s h t o th e nets of his lea rned brethren. It would be well to transfer the tests: mentary jurisdi c ti on over r e al as well as persons estate to the Prerogative Court ! Was there itat a report to that effect signed by men of high C h i !: ratter and unbl em i s h e d re putation—and tny names of Chief Justice TYNDAL, of Lord T ENI I; DEN, and Lord W YNFORD we re referred t o, order to push the " argumentum, ad verecon. diam" to the utmost extent. Those distil' guished jurists, fearing, perhaps, that they io n be unable to root up the baleful upas had extended its roots so far, were willi n g n make some attempt to destroy its poison, and, re i; der it, if not wholesome, at least compara tive ' innoxious. Poison, if sufficiently diluted, comparative' become harmless, and thus the eminent men ab : ras tree thtosv referred to might have imagined that, as it ,. the impracticable under the then circumstance s ni umi case to eradicate the evil, the nex t et b, course was to extend a n d dil u te its str e l* f. so as to render it very much below" g . but " nous changeons to u t ce l a ." The prey '1 • / enthusiasm is for " legal reform," and the ,0 questions are as to the ra pidity with Nrwc-), to are to proceed on the course, and possibly as ea the goal to be arrived at. The Hon. and Learn b a ,. Civilian, the Member for Tavistock, thi n ' gi d the abolition of 340 courts, their Povit n: 601132 influence being transfer re d t o th e reraain i '' ecclesiastical tribunals, wou ld su ffi c e. We .„," t h . cur with Mr. COLLIER, and we believe ih ° at least 600 of the chosen representatives be people in thinking, th a t suc h a re f or m vr° l2l ' s i i i worse than usekss—that there would still Vi n yl 32 courts too much ; and that they woul d ~/e n prove more onerous and i n t o l era bl e in Por to their increased power. at e, The speeches of the ATTORNEY and S° lll ._ 4 ,' - . 0 1 GENERAL showed that it was not the Eccles 00 Courts merely that were in danger. So: far as ned can gather from the signifi c a n t limits of the le ar n functionaries, there is to be " a consolida ti li o these conflicting jurisdictions, i n or der that :P s de . might no longer be divid e d i n t o diferen t it , cre foref grees, and different qualitiez." It is, be more than probable that an effort' be. made to effect a complete and perfect fill! t i e n tween law and equity—to enable o ne itirls wc gr. to render complete justice to its suitors' ads, COLLIER, under the fair promise s that " ( ere th . the auspicious auguries aff o rd e d, judicbtall,..,, lll ds drew his motion, leavin g th e ma tt er in the l'." - a ut of Government, but reserving to himself th e I Z a lt of taking the subject up again if it were n °t , 1 with energeti ca lly an d e ffi c i en tl y . Tier , " ".0 / doubt, howev e r, th a t th e gr i evance will - 10,1 6 0 0 grappled with, and that the Ecclesiastical d re . will not mu c h l onger rema i n th e stave and 011 proach of the B r iti s h na ti on —th e foul, blo t ' the national escutcheon. Almost everybody nowadays appeart i ,• o lll bitten with a horror of wa r , a l mos t a s fa/ 31 7„ 30 06 its effects as those produced by the P ° ' oll o forceps of a Tarantula. Inspired by itto P.' of have gone off dancing-mad in a de testatiit potentates whom they have been led by tli c C tua t4 to regard as the champions of aggression. A. ° s ai by a yet more impassioned affection for pes e l bo p influenced by a still mor e d ee ply-rooted to >j of contention, others have endeale w : t iol pour oil upon the troubled waters or te r controversy by chanting the praises Of e national tranquillity. A certain identity el i.vise ti ciple is, therefore, actually to be traced beb, ers . Mr. COBDEN and those whose scurrilous fit li f his tions may be said to have recently elieit t ter arguments as a pamphleteer. Mistaken th e 7 1 , 0 ii have proved themselves, to be sure, but sill ee tbe it opposed many of them undoubtedly are in yo conscience to the dogmas m a i n t a i ne d b 7 mo l 6 who would resort to " Brown Bess " aria bayonet for the settlement of every diSpute b e ; tween contending Covernments. Whether ° 1,0 ,1 foes of battle have been judicious in their n' e rb t :;es of giving utterance to their peculiar pre•l u „ -- •e(1, and predilectiom—prejudices against can2P% S in s and predilections in favour of arbitration - f v e- a tylt to be shown by some more ingenious than any of those who have yet adOt, lte and right to indulge at pleasure in indiscrinl' be , / 11 unmeasured vituper a ti ons . It can o c e 7 : lit ° maintained, for example, with anythl s coo; reason, that the best m e th o d o f securing, ' t hat e' tinuance of quietude in Christendom ' s 0 1 % 2 t assailing, with all the vocabulary of aPP mos t epithets, ;the supreme ruler of the Al; powerful race on the European continen t ' o of lowing somewhat, however, for the P 1 1 .1 1:. r asa, fanaticism, it maybe conce i ve d th a t there nT eoc eot lurked, in many inst ances , un d er this insf ., tone, so provocative of retaliation, a del - 4 0 a of centric distaste for th e once popular profs e 0 01 the soldier. Just, for exam pl e , i n the P"` , as the terror of falling from the brink of all ti otil vity is said to prompt the timid not unfr: 4 p ool' to throw themselves she er over th e e dge Of ilconr° pice. Diametrically different has been th e ot her by the members of the PeaceSocieT r tiooa wise known as the So c i e ty i n f avour o f Art. ° tifi tri Instead of endeavouring to guard the C O from becoming embroiled with its n eighb e oisa ble insulting those neighbours upon every in ia ' o d S opportunity, these aspirants, for a nother o f the nobler ag e o f go ld— a m i llennium born °at 00 blending of Christianity and Civilisati°ll,oocl as sung the panegyrics of univers a l brotherL the y fervently as though th e y rea ll y hoped t° day to bend the spears into reaping-hooke $ ifs beat th e swor d s i nto ploughshares. •ki til f ti fo g r t he have ever confessed, with all our respect b - s eoo e ' i gentleness of their philanthr o py, a total s o on our part, of co n fid ence i n the fells' b ares° the ente r p r i se en t er t a i ne d b y t h ese dar ing humanitarians, we m us t, nevertheie.os, 04 b 1 knowledge a larger s y m p a thy f or th e ir uts 9 P4 o , coo; still humane and genero us , sen ti me nts, Ir P o i n gle' trasted with the insensate folly and furl r> together in the vapourings of their allw —the fire-eaters already particutarisec t • 10' preference we have before now proclaime d t ' o il e l ef guage sufficiently expli c it, to $lO g gra'jil unmistakeable. Remembering this, we .- , O pioi cfr fled to observe th e cor di a l co i nc idence 0f of O f very recently expressed by the chief th e monthly contemporaries. Blackwood, las ' to number for March just published, d ee i . fol much, plainly enough, duringthe course c ; fool intelligent paper on the rival merits (o_ o ja and War"—the writer remarking, indeu%' often part of his argument (p. 368)—" 1311- :#11 I"C' that we have the good fortune to w i ,' "-" ro csl COBDEN, but we cordially agree in his onside: of the tone which has been assumed bY s tern able portion of the press i n re gard to the, gar affairs of France" —a sen t e nce by whicl'aroble virtually justifies the whole of the r eni o rste st pamphlet "1793 and 1853," in terms 44 1 0r and almost unconditional commend a tion. oho ul d can we be surprised that our contemPe ra 't to the speak out thus candidly even in r eferen ov ,_ e; t he r . (es it tact and reason reve a l e d i n this r ail tte t he I' Honourable Gentleman, the Member for iiroof Riding of Yorkshi re , when we bear hoe' brance the manly course adopted through° / 3/6ok by the periodical and the represeutative...„o wood has never, to our remembrance, e u n r r ano; vital question of preserving amity bet and England, under the respective v.'",_,..rse oil VICTORIA and NAPOLEON, truckled to w /j i i : 010 Ig o passions of the mob which have ele e _ der 6:d blush to think, been disgracefullY by English Ministers of State and by is tiect i l journali s t s . M r . C OBDEN yet moremoreci has shrunk from anything like ° °ll3 P hdu „, t 0 01 % the latter by raising his voice in indign' — 4in policJ , against the injustice, and indecorum, an d , r con of these most odious scurrilities . In c e siderations, the conduct displaye d West Rid ,Aing str by the Hon. Member for thei ts coo dounds peculiarly to his honour, from. to inclepe'et iv tuting a signally courageous tokenailunefls ue 4 dente ; and. a lthough he may c onti while assailed with all lcinde of 014°Giw ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE. Under the Management of Madame Vestris. THIS EVENING, Mutat 2, Will be 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 Fxtravaganza 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 for the Private Hoses, Mr. W. Allcroft, 15, New Band.etreet. THEATRE ROYAL ADELPHI. Proprietor, Mr. B. Webster. —Directress, Madame Celeste. THIS EVENING, Mama 2, The second and Third Acts of THE GREEN BUSHES; er, a Hundred fears Ago. Supported by Messrs. Paul Bedford, Emery, and Honey: Madame Celeste, Miss Woolgar, &c. After which. a se'ection from the Ballet of ESMERALDA. To be followed by the Farce of a LUCKY FRIDAY. To conclude with 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, liltacii 2, Will be produced Shakspere's Tragedy of MACBETEI (es acted at Windsor Castle, by Royal command). Plincipel characi2rs by Mr. and Mrs. C. Kean. To conclude with the new and original Grand Comic Christ mu Pantomime, entitled 1/ARLEQUIN CHERRY' AND FAIR 3TAR; or, The Green Bird, the Dancing Waters, and the Singing Tree. ROYAL OL Y HMO THEATRE. Lessee and Manager. Mr. Farren. THIS EVENIHG, MAacn Will be presented THE LADY OF LYONS. M. Deschapelles, Mr. Render ; M. Beau.,eant, Mr. Edgar ; Glavis, Mr. Shalders ; Damps, Mr. G. Cooke; Claude Melnotte, Mr. H. Farren (his first appearance this ce:son) ; Praline, Miss Davenport. After which, the TYROLEAE MINSTRELS, who had the honour of appearing before her Majesty, 101 appear In their National Costume. To conclude with VIE SWISS COTTAGE. Natztlek, Mr, Compton. Box-vftice open from Eleven till Five, under the superintendence of Mr. E. Chatterton. ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE. Proprietor and Manager, Mr. W. Batty. LAST WEEK BUT ONE of Mr. BATTY'S MANAGEMENT. Brilliant Routine of Equestrian Achievements. THIS ETENING, Miami 2, And during the Week, the Entertainments will commence With the superb Spectacle of MAZEPPA AND THE WILD HORSE reproduced with all its originrl magnificent effects. , To be ;bllowcd by an incomparable display of Equestrian and ymnrstic worde-s in the Scenes of the Arena. To conclude with a popular Farce. Doors open at Halt-past xclock. To com mence at Seven. Box-office open daily from Eleven to Four. Stage Manager, Mr, W. West. HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE, This DAT —Mowing 23 min. after 6 I Evening 47 min.aft. 6 To-Moszow—Morning 14 mm. after 7 Evening 43 min.aft. 7 THE WEATHER.—Smr OFFICE, MARCH 2. THERMOMETER, IN THE 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.