The Sun. — London, England, 1853-05-31 00:00:00

though the Government entertained no doubt as to tenant farmers being entitled to this allowance by the bill, they intended to propose a clause after the bill had gone through committee, to place the matter beyond dispute. Mr. BARROW said he was satisfied with the expla nations of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and he would not propose the amendment. The clause was then agreed to, as were also 27, 23, 29, and 30. On clause 31, Mr. SPOONER moved the addition of the following proviso at the end of the clause :—" Provided neverthe less, that nothing in this act shall be construed to com pel any occupier, being a tenant for the time bein g , to pay the arrears f income tax due by any former tenant or occupier of the same lands, tenements, or heredita ments, or to deduct and retain from his landlord out ofany subsequent payment of rent such arrears, unless the landlord shall have received his rent for the period for which the arrear is due." He contended that nothing could be more unjust than to make either the landlord or tenant pay arrears due by a former tenant. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER opposed the clause. It was a just principle that the landowner should be held liable, and the reason was that he had a special law for his benefit (whether fairly or not was not now the question) whereby he had powers and security in regard to the recovery of rent wh i ch no other creditor was possessed of. Mr. SPOONER referred to special cases in which the clause would operate injuriously. Colonel DUNNE thought if this clause inflicted an injustice in England, that injustice would be four-fold in Ireland. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER thoug ht . e ven if that were the case, that the Irish landlords had great advantage over the English landlords. Land in Ireland was free from the charges operating in Eng land . This proviso was, for other reasons, objectionabl, be cause it was calculated to shake and open up the whole law of recovery for rent. After a few words from Mr. FRESHFIELD and Mr. FRENCH, Mr. LUCAS asked when the committee would ,be in formed as to the fate of the three clauses dealing with this point, which had been postponed the other night at" the request of Irish members. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that these clauses had been remodelled. It was pro posed to retain the power of resort to occupiers in re spect to towns. In levying the tax on land the resort would, in the first instance, be on the immediate lessor. After a further conversation, in which Sir J. SEIELLEY and CohThel DUNNE took part, • The committee divided, when the numbers were - For the proviso 69 Against 145 Majority On our return to the gallery we found a conversation in progress, Lord NAAS and Mr. H. HERBERT speaking, re specting the three clauses alluded to above. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that he was not asking the committee to pledge themselves to the clauses that evening. He would have them printed immediately. Mr. FRE WEN said that on the coast between Sussex and Kent there were large tracts of land which were con siderably below the level of the sea at high water, and the water was prevented from inundating the land by means of sluices, which were open when the tide was out, and closed when the tide was coming in, and which drained the land. The expense of the works was defrayed by scots levied under an act of Parliament. He asked whether a deduc tion would be allowed for these soots ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER did not think that allowance could be made for the expense of draining the land. The clause provided for deductions fOr si+x, walls and embankments. He did not think it would be possible to go into all these matters, At present the law allowed charges of this kind, but it limited them to charges made by rate. Mr. FREWEN said iu the case to which he referred the scots were levied under act of Parliament ' • and, if it were not for these sluices, the sea would cover that part of the country. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said then the case was provided for already. Mr. LOCKHART moved an addition to clause 83, pro riding that a deduction shall be made for the amount of parochial rates, taxes, or assessments in Scotland, which by statute or cußlifir are payable by the landlord. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the hon. gentleman had directed . their attention no doubt to an inequality, but the question must be treated in refer ence to its general bearinali, and it would be found that this inequality was one of a a multitude which to a great degree balanced one another. If they were to allow this claim the English landholders would think their own case very hard one. Did not the hon. gentleman think that the charge for publis burdens was a more reasonable one than the charge for repairs ? He thought that tho charge for repairs was one which they would naturally have allowed before they allowed the charge for public burdens. tie believed that the charge for repair in Scotland was very little as compared with England, because in Scotland the system of granting leases was so much more general, and the tenant did the repairs. Well, he knew something of Scotch leases, arid he never knew of a Scotch lease in which the tenant did not do the repairs. lie should say that practically the position of the landlord in Scotland was no worse than that of the landlord in England, bet the main question at issue had been already decided by the House of Commons, namely, whether the landlord under schedule A should pay on the gross rental or on the net rental, and a large majority had. decided that he should pay on the gross rental. The motion of the bon. gentleman pointed to breaking up the framework of the tax. It would, lead to a claim on the part of the English landlords, to claims on the part of the owner of houses, the repairs of which cost front 10 to 20 per cent. of the rental ! and it would also lead to claims on Lehalf of the mercantile and profes sional classes. Mr. BAILLTE said the right hon. gentleman, by his argument, only met one injustice by another. The re rairs of the &etch farms practically did net fall on the tenant, as the buildings were given to him in good repair, 'and all he had to do wail to leave them in the same state. Mr. SMOLLE'TT thought the question of repairslead nothing to do with the aniendmant. 'The Scotch proprie tors paid the rate themselves, and they ought to be de ducted. Sir G. GOODMAN opposed the amendinent. Colonel BLAIR supported it, and complained that it did not receive due attention, which was, he supposed, because a Scotch grievance was so rare in that house. Mr. DUNLOP put the case of an estate in England worth 1,000/. a year. In England the tenant. paying the rates, amounting say, to 1001. a year, would pay 900& rent to the landlord, while in Scotland the tenant would pay a rent of 1,0001. and the landlord would pay the rates, thus reducing his real rental to 9001. He was, however, charged with 1,0001. Nevertheless, he (Mr. Dunlop) thought that the tenants in Scotland had an advantage over those of England, and he should, therefore, not sup port this amendment. This was a rough sort of justice, he admitted, but in a matter of this kind it was impossible to strike an exact balance. He had supported the Chan cellor of the Exchequer all through, and he should not desert him in a case which concerned his own interest. After some further conversation, The committee divided - For the amendment.. Against it. 42 101 In answer to Mr. CRAUFURD, V %I' The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the principle of the law was that borough corporations should pay for the protection afforded to their property as well as private individuals. With respect to their other revenues, the law was, that where a duty on articles im ported into towns was levied under on act of Parliament, it was not chargeable with income tax ; but, where it was imposed by local by-laws, then it was liable to the tax. . _ M`NIAHO.N said' there were cases in Ireland in which the tenant was required by custom to repair a sea embankment. Surely, in such instances, they ought to be treated with the same consideration as landlords. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER assented, and promised to consider the point. Of course the eh.- cuntatances must be inquired into, for where there was auch a custom, an equivalent was most probably allowed in the rent. The clause was then agreed to. On clause 34, , Mr. FREWEN, who had an amendment on the paper affecting the hop-growers, said that as most of the hon. gentlemen who were interested in the subject were at din ner, he would not press the subjeot then, further than pro test against the injustice done to his constituents. He would bring on the matter at another stage. The clause was then agreed to. On clause 35, which made an allowance of one-third on rent charges, Lord NAAS said that rent charges in respect of Irish loans ought to be exempt altogether, inasmuch as many of the loans had been taken for the sole purpose of affording relief to a starving population, and had not proved of the slightest benefit to the landowners. Besides, a large por tion of the rent charge was repayment of capital, and money ought not to be taxed. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the clause'had no exclusive reference to Ireland. By some oversight in the previous bills rent charges had been omit ted, which was of course unjust and a great anomaly. As for that portion of the rent charge which consisted of re payment of capital, surely that ought not to be exempt. A similar claim had been made on behalf of clergymen who had borrowed money from Queen Anne's Bounty Fund in order to rebuild their parsonages, such loans being repaid by instalments out of the annual income of their cures. That he had also resisted, because the employment of one's income in the payment of a debt was no ground for exemption. (Hear, hear.) Colonel BLAIR thought the case of the borrowers of these loans a very hard one. Sir. FRENCH, on the other hand, considered that everything they had a right to demand had been conceded to them. (Hear, hear.) Mr. GEORGE drew the attention of the Government to the ease of tenants for life, who, having accepted these loans, had borrowed the money to pay off the instalments at once. He thought that they ought to have the same allowance as persons 'who were paying off their loan by instalments. right C HANCELLOR o f th e EXCHEQUER th oug ht right to e :s as broad as it was long. They had no more paym en t to em oi l:" a Payment for a debt than to exempt a Colonel DuisT s_b_utcher or baker. (Hear, hear.) nearer the jootiveeEornsidered that two-thirds would be payments ought to the e case than one-third ; but these were many cases inkwhixcehmtree exempted altogether, g ha eth d e n r, ot b o e n ca ly us b e ee t n he o re f no benefit, but had then The clause was n quiteOn clause 37, which provides provided that the same names might be continued from y ear t o y ear The CHANCELLOR of the'RXC that the sole object was to prevent trouble explained but of course the charge would fall ble and annoyance, occupier of the property. the real owner and The clause was then agreed to. On clause 38, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER (in answer to Mr. Malin s) said that the object of the proposal Wu afford a boon to the professional classes, t Y assimilating 'th that of tradesmen. By the present law 1., their case wr only chargeable on the average profits of tradesman was on the fee years, but if in the 4 th year he could show s. O t w re b e l o w that average, he was allowed tha 9 Plarl t P . e 'A D M ht hon. gentleman) would how * AeAuct ica ' c i 11° g there was any objection to lekther *Yer'' mske in -uiry it* two modes of assessment. litaiitipg an option of , clause 39, misistal s h a m be 31r, minor .olgoild l a I/ „ • '\ r ,;.1 allowed to deduct all expenses necessary for the perfor mance of religious services. After a few words from Mr. G. A. HAMILTON and Mr. BI'MAHON, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the question was one of great difficulty. He should e glad to allow these expenses if they could be defineA : but there was great difficulty in doing this. Where an excise officer was compelled to hire a horse, it was easy to see that that was an expense necessarily incident to the dis charge of his duty. But in the case where a Roman Catho lic priest paid 2 guineas or 5/. a year to the suppert of his bishop, it was difficult to say whether that was a neces sary expense. The principle was an equitable one ; and if any terms could be devised which would prevent its receiv ing an undue latitude of application, and being made the means of fraud, he should be happy to consider them on the bringing up of the report. The clause was then agreed to, as was clause 40. In clause 41, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER introduced a verbal amendment, which he said would principally affect some classes of persons in Scotland, who were ob liged to contribute a certain sum out of their salaries to wards the support of their widows and orphans ; and the object of the words now introduced was to place such deductions on the same footing as premiums on life as surance. Mr. T. CHAMBERS said the terms of the clause would confine the deductions to be made in respect of life as surance to assurances effected with companies that were either incorporated or completely registered under the Joint-Stock Companies Act, and there were many com panies that did not come under either of those descrip tions. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the provision would confer a very considerable benefit on in surance companies by inducing persons who had not hitherto insured their lives to do so, and it might lead those of the companies which were not yet completely re gistered to become so. He had had no representation from the companies complaining of this provision ; and though it was not absolutely essential to the act, it was not unfair, while they were giving a boon to the com panies, that they should have some public and authentic information as to what these companies were. In answer to another hon. member, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said there was not the slightest doubt as to the respectability of many of the non-registered and unincorporated companies. It was far from the intention of the Government to cast a slight upon those companies. It was a general object of public policy. Mr. MALINS said it would be unfair to compel the companies to register by a side-wind. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it would be a real boon to the insurance offices, being a sti mulus to the practice of life insurance. Mr. J. G. PHILLIMORE hoped the right hon. gentle man would press the clause. The amendment and the clause were then agreed to, as ' were clauses 42, 43, and 44. On clause 45, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER stated, in answer to Mr. G. A. Hamilton, that he was not prepared to assent to any proposal excluding the Government from resorting to the services of the collectors of poor rates in case of need. Mr. GEORGE said it was objectionable to mix up any other tax with the poor rate in its collection. This had been done in regard to the Consolidated Annuities—a most unpopular tax. It would be better for the State to bear the expense of a distinct machinery for the collection of the income tax than to slip it in as a portion of the poor rate. After a few words from Mr. I. BUTT, the clause was agreed to, as were the remaining clauses to the end of the bill. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER then pro posed to negative the postponed clauses, 13, 14, and 17, in order to propose amended ones. After conversation on the point of order, in which Mr. I. Butt, Mr. G. A. Hamilton, the Chancellor of the Ex chequer, and the Chairman of the committee took part, the proposal to negative the clauses was agreed to. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER read the clause which he proposed to substitute for clause 13. He said that it adopted the poor-law valuation as the primary basis of the assessment under schedules A and B, as was done in the old clause. It omitted the next two lines, and then proceeded—" The assesssment of the said duties in Ireland under schedule A is to be made upon the landlord or immediate lessor of such tenements or rateable here ditaments ; or, if it shall appear to the commissioners for special purposes necessary or proper, the said assessment shall be made upon such person as the rate for the relief of the poor would be made upon in respect of any such pro perty under the provisions of the act in that behalf ; and the assessment of such duties chargeable under schedule B, shall be made upon the occupier of such property." Provisoes were added having two important effects. They enabled the party assessed, if he thought he could show that the annual value of his land was less than the poor-law valuation, to have the privilege of appeal, and to be assessed upon the annual value ; and they gave the landlord a power of reducing the poor-law valuation to the standard of the actual rent payable, in cases where the actual rent was lass than the poor-law valuation. (Hear, hear.) Where the rent was more than the poor. law valuation, there the landlord would obtain the benefit of the difference. It was intended that the assessment should be made on the landlord or the immediate lessor, in the absence of cause to the contrary ; but in the exist ence of such cause, the assessment might be made upon the person upon whom the assessment for the relief of the ' poor was made. It might be asked why a discretion was retained ? The Government thought it would be better upon the whole, for the peace and contentment of Ireland, and likewise for the easy and satisfactory collection of the tax, that it should ordinarily be levied on the immediate lessor. (Hear, hear.) They were led to this conclusion from a variety of considerations, into which it was not necessary for him to enter, as they were doubtless present to the minds of the Irish members. The reason why they thought it necessary to leave a discretion was this : The case of messuages and of towns was very different from that of lands. There the occupier was the proper party to be assessed. Generally speaking, with respect to towns, including dwelling-houses, and probably factories, the natural and proper course would be to levy upon the oc cupier ; but with respect to land, the best course would evidently be to levy from the immediate lessor. But it was necessary to retain the remedy against the occupier, in order to get at the immediate lessor, as otherwise there might be difficulty in finding him. (Hear, hear.) Hence, they took for the standard and basis of the assessment the poor-law valuation, which in Ireland might not be, upon the whole, very different from the actual rental of the entire country, though in some cases it was above, and in many .below it. Where an actual rental was below the poor-law valuatipn, if they levied on the occupier, of course he must be yea uired to pay on the poor-law valuation. But this difficulty at once arose : in every instance where the poor-law valuation was above the rent actually cove nanted to be paid, there was a certain surplus of poor-law valuation over and above the rent, upon which they must first levy the tax. Where the poor-law valuation was 1001. and the rent 901., if they collected from the occupier they must levy 100 sevenpences ; but when he repaid himself he could only deduct 90 from his landlord. He was there fore ten sevenpences out of pocket ; and for that small sum, less than 65., he must go through the ordinary process for procuring repayment. That was an inconvenience which would probably only occur once, as it would be as sumed that the case stood tin atatu quo till there was reason to believe that it was altered. Still it was a serious inconve nience and a considerable hardship to small occupiers •, and they were dealing with a country where the bulk of the oc cupiers were small, and where very few of them would be called on to pay occupation profits. In that case they would be chargeable with the income tax upon the differ ence, and it would be a very serious wrong to take it from them. He must also confess that, considering the novelty of the tax in Ireland, and the vast number of occupiers, it was important, even in the matter of expense of collec tion, that they should not have to resort to a great number of persons ; but this was a far less serious evil to the dis satisfaction which would result from persons with very small incomes being called upon to pay the tax in the first instance, after they had been given to understand that it would not be levied upon persons whose incomes were less than 1001. a-year. It was on these grounds Government proposed to the committee to frame the act of Parliament so as to show that the assessment in regard to the holders of land should be made ordinarily on the immediate lessee, but with a power to come where necessary direct upon the occupier. The clause contained two important pro visos—the one giving the right to appeal to the person assessed, whether lessor or occupier, to reduce the amount to the annual value when the assessment was made above that amount ; and the other to meet cases when the rent was less than the poor-law valuation. There was another clause which he proposed to sibstitute for clause 17, as to the mode of recovery. He was anxious to consult the convenience of the committee in reference to the consider ation of these clauses, and suggested that, perhaps, the better course would be to insert them in the bill so that they might be read in conjunction with the clauses which preceded and followed them, as in that way he thought they would bo more fully understood than if they were painted separately in the votes. If this course should be agreeable, he would move now to add these clauses to the bill, as also that proposed by the hon. member for Dublin University, for defining the deductions in the case of the incomes of the clergy of Ireland which the Government adopted, then he would have the bill reprinted, and fix a day for the third reading, when the discussion might be taken. Lord NAAS understood from the right hon. gentleman's explanation that these clauseswould introduce a totally new mode of assessment, for which hun. gentlemen on that (the Opposition) side were not in the least degree prepared, and which it would take some time to enable them to form an opinion upon. The right hon. gentleman had distinctly stated that the mode of assessment in Ireland should be the same as that in England ; but that was altogether dif ferent from anything that existed here. He app ea l e d t o the noble lord (J. Russell) to consent to the chairman's re porting progress that the clause should be printed and brought on for discussion on Thursday on the recommit ment of the bill. Mr. MAGUIRE could not see any reason why the occu pier of a small house in a town, who was not himself liable to the income tax, should be called upon to pay it in the first instance. _ Lord J. RUSSELL thought the more convenient mode would be to insert the clauses in the bill, and take the discussion upon them on the report ; but if that was ob jected to, they might be inserted when the report was brought up, though that would be hardly as convenient a course, for until the clauses were printed and inserted, they could not be seen and judged of in connexion with the rest of the bill. It was, however, most desirable that they should not be delayed beyond Monday, and as the noble lord suggested Thursday for the discussion of the clauses, he should be quite ready to take it then on the report. Mr. G. A. HAMILTON thought what was required was an opportmlity of discussing these new clauses in com mittee' and suggested that the bill should be recommitted for that purpose. Lord J. RUSSELL had no objection, provided it was understood that the discussion should be confined to the points raised on the new clauses. Lord NAAS concurred in this arrangement. Mr. BUTT thought it hard upon the landlord to be com pelled to pay the income tax upon the rent before he re- ' ceived it. made in levying the t ax f or l os se s f r o m Mr. M'MAHON suggested that allowances be or blight. was l' r t o . C b A e I t ß h that S t the aske d owner ift o the r o e c ff c e u e p t i o e r f pay the t ax i rrespective of the receipt of the rent ? o t f h e t h p e h p o o o s s e rod e w c l a a s u t s o e The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied that it had never been the practice, under an 7 income tax bill, that th e tax shoul d not be raised until the rent was paid. He ought to have stated when he spoke of the occu piers in the towns as being the person upon whom it should be levied in the first instance, that he did not mean t o in clude the s ma ll er class of house tenants. The understand ing, he believed, Was, that the clauses should now be brought up, that the bill should be reportrod to-morrows that it should be re-committed, and the discussion taken on these clauses on Thursday, and that it should be read a third time on Monday. Sir G. BOOTH inquired whether the landlords would be required to pay the tax half-yearly? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—The pre sumption is that the rent is received half-yearly. Several HON. MEMBERS—Not in Ireland. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER had always thought it was received in two payments in the year ; but, be that as it might, the tax would be collected half-yearly ; but that which was due in one half-year would be payable in the next. _ _ Mr. MAGUIRE asked what class of house occupiers it was that the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed to ex empt from the payment of the tax? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied that that would require consideration. The clauses were then brought up, together with that proposed by Mr. G. A. Hamilton, and adopted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer as to ecclesiastical incomes, and added to the bill. _ _ . Mr. I. BUTT moved the following clause—" That in every case in which, for the purposes of this act, it shall be necessary to ascertain the annual income derivable by any person out of property in Ireland chargeable under schedule A, such income shall be calculated exclusive of any amount payable out of, or deducted from, the same on account of poor rates." The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER had con sidered this clause, and it appeared to him that the case it was intended to meet was already provided for. The income tax was entirely calculated on the basis of its being exclusive of the poor rate ; and by a clause which he had just brought up, landlords would be allowed to show that the rental on which they were to be assessed was exclusive of poor rates. Mr. I. BUTT said his impression was that as the act stood the landlord would have to pay on a nominal rent, which was inclusive of poor rates. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER would take care that the object sought by the hon. gentleman was secured. The clause was then withdrawn. Mr. BLACKETT then moved the following new clauses : "1. That allowance shall be made for bad debts as de ductions from the income liable to be taxed under this act, according to the following rules :—Wherever a debtor shall be declared bankrupt, the whole amount of his debt shall be deducted from the profits of the creditor for the year in which the declaration of bankruptcy shall have taken place, and all dividends paid in that or any following year shall be accounted for by the creditor in his returns for the year or years in which the same shall be respectively received by him ; and whenever a composition shall have taken place between a debtor and his creditors, such sums only shall be liable to income tax as shall have been actu ally received by the several creditors within the year for which their respective returns are made. "2. Whenever it shall -seem reasonable to the commis sioners that a deduction is fairly due for wear and tear of machinery, Rich deduction. shall be at the rate of fd. per cent. on the returns of income liable to this tax. "4. Whenever any person is called upon to produce his accounts under the provisions of this act, it shall be op tional to him to require that all further _proceedings in order to an assessment on him shall be taken before the commissioners for special purposes, notwithstacding his having omitted to give notice of his intention within the time and according to the form appointed by sections 130 and 131 of the said act of the sth and 6th years of the reign of her Majesty, chapter 35." The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER admitted that tin questions were of great difficulty and importance, and he apprehended, therefore, it would not be wise to adopt them. The first clause departed from the whole principle upon which the income tax was based, and he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) was consequently ap prehensive of it. With respect to the second amendment, he doubted if it would be an improvement on the law as it stood. The third clause would be in effect very excep tionable, as it would encourage parties to drive two sets of machinery, with a view to avail themselves of the oppor tunity that would be thus afforded to them of appealing to two different tribunals of commissioners. Sir J. WALMSLEY said that it was a great hardship on men in business that the commissioners of income tax refused to take cognisance of bad debts except in very special cases. Mr. G. BUTT thought the reasons urged by the Chan cellor of the Exchequer for not accepting the amendments proposed were far from satisfactory. He hoped the com mittee would support the amendments. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER thought it would be better to leave the amendments in his hands, and he would endeavour to frame something that might be an improvement on the law as it now stood. (Hear. hear.) After a few words from Mr. E. EGERTON and Mr. CHEETHAM, Mr. J. PHILLMORE suggested that a rule should be laid clown ensuring uniformity of decision in all cases of appeal. (Hear.) Mr. A. HASTIE would support the principle of uni formity. (Hear.) Mr. BRIGHT said that whilst agreeing in the general proposition of the tax, ho should insist on such modifica tions as would render it more acceptable to the public at large. If the Chancellor of the Exchequer paid income tax as a manufacturer he would soon see the difficulty which the second clause was intended to remedy. It was the custom to expend much money in keepinr , the ma chinery in order, and the deduction of 5 per cent. was con siderably loss than the depreciation of the machinery by annual wear and tear. (Hear.) With regard to the third clause, he could not understand why it should be objection able. (Hear, hear.) He thought that some mode ought to be adopted of making the tax agreeable to the public ; and he complained that the right hon. gentleman had declined to give any pledge that he would take the matter into his con sideration, and make such alterations as were advisable. No doubt, if he merely wished for a rough and ready way of raising a sum of 6,000,0001., that might be easily devised; but it ought to be the duty of the Government to make a tax, which was to last, for a considerable period, as equi table and agreeable as possible. Sir W. CLAY would also put in a claim in favour of the shipping interest, who were fairly entitled to some deduc tion on account of wear and tear and deterioration. The.CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, said that as regarded the first of the clauses proposed by the hon. gentle : man. some consideration might fairly be given to it; bnt, as regarded the second and third, he doubted very much the propriety of sanctioning them. What was intended by the hon. gentleman was an allowance for what was com monly called deterioration. He was not prepared to deny that a great deal might be said in behalf of that principle ; but then the question stood in a peculiar position 4 If they were called upon to consider the depreciation of machinery and of ships, and one had just as good a claim as the other, then they must take into consideration how far the admis sion of that principle with regard to these two interests affected other great classes of taxpayers. He reminded the committee that the assessments under Schedule D were calculated upon the average profit of the three pre vious years. If the fourth year did not equal the preced ing three, then the trader was entitled to the benefit of it ; but if it exceeded the previous years, then he was not required to pay upon the increased profits. Seeing the extreme lenity with which he was dealt with in this in stance, and that he also had an allowance for repairs and expenses of management, it became a matter of grave con sideration whether the committee would be justified in giving that further concession. Mr. J. B. SMITH called the attention of the committee to the case of Mr. Fielden, formerly a member of that house, to show that the the trader was not always so fairly treated by the local commissioners. Although he had lost a great quantity of money, he was assessed upon the ave rage of the three previous years, and was actually com pelled to pay, his goods having been seized and sold in the market place. If there had been a power of appeal, Mr. Fielden never would have been compelled to pay in that unjust manner. Why should there not be a power of appeal from the local commissioners to some superior tribunal ? Mr. BLACKETT had received so much encouragement from the tone of the conversation which had taken place, that he should take the sense of the house upon his first proposition. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the government had a pecuniary duty to discharge, and that was to look after the interests of the public and the re venue, and he could not give his assent to the hon. gentle man's proposition. Mr. BLACKETT said if the right hon. gentleman would undertake to carry out the principle, ho should not oppose any further impediment to the business of the committee. Mr. G. BUTT was prepared to vote for the first clause, doubting whether any better one could be devised to carry out the very principle which had been recognised by the right hon. gentleman himself. Mr. W. MILES said as the right hon. gentleman was willing to give the matter his consideration, he would re commend the hon. gentleman to withdraw his clause. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had, be thought very pro perly, refused to bind himself down to any specific clause, and he would recommend the hon. gentleman to leave th e question in the hands of the Government. If machinery was once admitted to exception, agriculture might very fairly put in its claim to consideration. Mr. MITCHELL said he believed the fair principle to adopt in that matter would be, to allow parties to make a fair valuation of their bad debts at the end of the year, just as they made a valuation of their goods. Mr. BLACKETT said he would not press his motion to a . division. He should, however, reserve to himself the right to bring it forward on a future occasion, if ho should think that the subject had not been fairly taken into con sideration by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The CHANCELLOR. of the EXCHEQUER said he believed the just and proper principle to adopt in that matter was that which had been laid down by the hon. member for Bridport (Mr. Mitchell). The clause was then negatived without a division. The second and third clauses proposed by Mr.BLACKETT were also put and negatived without a division. Mr. J. BALL moved the addition of the following clause to the bill :—" The Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's T reas ury shall nominate one fit person in Great Britain, and one other fit person in Ireland, to act as official trustee under this act ; and it shall be lawful for any person to transfer or assign to such official trustees any sum of money or any share in any Government stock, or in the stock of any public company, to be held by such official trustee upon irrevocable trusts for the benefit of the wife, child, or chil dren of the person transferring or assigning the same; and if the whole beneficial interest in such money, stock, or shares, shall by the operation of the trusts aforesaid become vested in the wife, child, or children of such person, either to take effect immediately, or to take effect upon the death of such person, then he or she shall be entitled to deduct the amount of such money, or the market value (at the rate last ascertained before the period of such transfer or assign ment) of such stock or shares, so transferred or assigned in any year, from the amount of annual income in respect of which such person maybe chargeable withduties under the respective schedules D and E to this act annexed; provided always, that the whole amount of deduction which may be claimed in any year on account of such transfer or assign ment shall not exceed one-fourth part of the whole annual income liable to duties under either or both of the schedules aforesaid." His object was to exempt from payment of the tax the sums which parties might invest for the future sup port of their families ; and in order to carry out that ob ject he would appoint an official trustee, who should be the depositary of the sums invested. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he felt bound to oppose the clause. He could not consent to a pro posal under which an encouragement would be given to the locking up of. Large masses of capital ; and ho did not think that it would be advisable to effect an arrangement of such importance in the case of a tax which, he hoped, would be discontinued at no very distant period. After a few words from Mr. E. BALL, the clause was negatived without a division. Mr. I. BUTT moved the clause he had proposed last week, providing that parties might have the option of being originally assessed by the special commissioners. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER objected. Mr. I. BUTT was astonished at the conduct of the right hon, gentleman--(hear)—for he had postponed the clause on a former occasion on the assurance of the right hon. gentleman that such a clause should be introduced—(hear, hear)—and now the right hon. gentleman was going to pass the bill without any such provision. (Hear.) In the English act there was such a clause—(hear)—and if the right hon. gentleman meant it to be different in Ireland, he (Mr. Butt) would certainly divide against it. (Hear.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, the English act did not provide that which the hon. and learned gentleman imagined, and the present act placed the Irish tradesman in precisely the same position as the English. The act provided that the parties might, if they pleased, be assessed originally by Government officers. Mr. I. BUTT was not yet satisfied. (Hear.) If the constructions of the right hon. gentleman were correct, then his own act was the most absurd in the world. (Hear, hear.) By the English act the trader had the power to go " before" the special commissioners. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—No. Mr. I. BUTT—Why, the right hon. gentleman does net know the words of the act he is continuing. (Hear, hear.) The words of the act were precisely as he had read. (Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") By the present act there was an appeal to the special commissioners ; and the right hon. gentleman represented that these commissioners were to make the original assessment if the parties pleased. Then, if that were so, the appeal from the assessment was to be to themselves. (Hear, hear.) There were an inspector and surveyor in England, but none were to be appointed in Ire land, and the excise officers were to take the place of the general commissioners in England, and yet the appeal was given to those very functionaries who had mada the assess ment. (Hear.) _ Mr. G. BUTT did not think the objection of his learned friend well founded. The machinery of the two measures was in substance the same, and the clauses had better be reconsidered. Mr. I. BUTT said his practical objection was, that if the Government chose three Excise officers to assess the citizens of Cork, they would have to open their books to those officers, and would not be able to pass them by as in Eng land, and be assessed by the commissioners for special pur poses. However, after the opinion of his learned friend, he would postpone the question until the bringing up of the report, when he would certainly renew his proposition. The clauses were negatived, and the bill was then about to be reported, when Lord LOVAINE rose to make some observations, which, however, were inaudible, but their purport appeared to be some complaint as to a hardship upon the farmer regarding the mode of assessing his profits. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER proposed that the noble lord should communicate with him upon the subject. The house resumed. CUSTOMS ACTS. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved that the house go into committee on these acts. The house being accordingly in committee, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER proposed the resolutions of the 13th of May, as to tIM new 'tariff of duties on minor articles, the enumeration of which created some merriment. At the word " cables," Mr. MITCHELL rose to offer some remarks, though he did not oppose the redaction. Mr. DrgßAELlsaia;;;;;;al gentlemen wished to make remarks upon particular reductions. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, con sidering the lateness of the hour (nearly twelve), he should postpone all those articles. Lord J. MANNERS said there was a class of articles, producing an appreciable amount of revenue, for the reduc tion of the duties upon which no reason had been assigned, and to which, therefore, he objected. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER proposed to postpone such items. Lord J. MANNERS objected upon this ground to the item, "copper ore." Sir F. BARING objected upon principle to the reduc tion of duties like these, Duties ought only to be reduced which benefitted the consumer, relieved the producer, or promoted the manufacture and the trade, (Hear.) The duties before the house were not of this nature. (Hoar.) He had objected upon those principles to the reduction made on similar articles in 1846, when 300,0001. of revenue had been thrown away without any reduction in the cost of collection or diminution in the interference of the Cus toms officers, and without any benefit to the consumer. He knew that these opinions were not popular, but he could not refrain from making his protest against a system the tendency of which was to throw the whole burden of the Customs duties on 12 or 14 articles, the consequence of which would be, that the people would naturally say, " Why should we pay a duty upon our tea and sugar and tobacco, while you relieve your anchovies and similar luxuries?" (Hear.) If there were any principle more char than another in Customs duties it was this, that it was well to throw the net over as much as possible, and let it not press too heavily en the poor, but snake all classes contribute to the exigencies of the State. (Hear, hear.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the hon. gentleman who bad just sat down had designated the duty upon agate and cornelian as miserable in amount, yet, notwithstanding that such was his opinion, he seemed anxious to retain those duties. He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) held that, to take the duty off of great articles tended very sensibly to increase trade, and he believed that the reduction of the duty upon articles of smaller im portance would have the effect of contributing to a propor tionate increase. Sir F. BARING said, when he had used the word " miserable," he meant to convey his opinion with respect to the amount of relief which the proposed reduction upon the articles in question would be likely to afford. Mr. DISRAELI said he did not expect that they would have been called upon at that late hour to enter into a dis cussion of the principle upon which our Customs duties were based ; but as the question had been started, he did not wish to permit it to pass over in silence. It should be remembered that, in putting an end to certain Custom du ties, the cost of general collection did not become materially if at all, reduced. In the case of those articles which were allowed to come in free of duty, examination should take place, and all the cost of maintenance of offices should be incurred. The principle, therefore, which it was so desi rable in the case of excise duties to adopt—namely, to ter minate them altogether, did not at all apply with' the same force to the duties derivable from the Customs. He was of opinion that they ought not to oppose the raising a tie- Berate duty upon a variety of articles, but that they wwe bound to resist the imposition of eitrzsmive duties under any circumstances. it should be borne in mind that a vary moderate Custom duty of ls. a quarter upon corn, which had been proposed by a very eminent person merely as a nominal duty, was now a source of a very considerable amount of revenue to the country. The Exchequer, he believed* derived no less a sum than half a million a year from that nominal burden, as it had been - designated. That was a fact which they ought not to lose tight of. He thought it would be an exceedingly unwise course to aim at the annihilation of every duty, and he was of opinion that their leading principle ought to be the imposition, in general, of duties moderate in amount. (Hear, hear.) Lord J. MANNERS said he found, from a parliamen tary paper which had been published last year, that the cost of collection bad, in the Excise, been over 800,0001., while in 1851 it had been reduced to 673,8261. ; and during that period the total repeal, in the shape of Excise duties, had been over 1,619,0001. In the case of the Custom-house revenue, the collection had been 1,254,5901., and that amount had increased in 1851 to 1,290,756/. ; so that there had been an increase in the cost of collection of about 36,0001. He thought, therefore, if there were no other reason, that the mere consideration of the remarkable figures which he had placed before them ought to be suffi cient to induce the right hon. gentleman opposite to consent to a postponement of the subject. Mr. CARDWELL said that the noble lord had informed them that there had been an increase of 36,0001. upon the amount of the cost of collection of the Customs duties in 1851, over the amount of the cost in 1842. Bat the noble lord should remember that that increase had been upon a total expenditure of no less than 1,200,0001. The remis sions which the Government proposed to make in the Customs duties, though small in amount, were such as it was highly desirable to have removed. He felt some sur prise that the hon. member for Huntingdon (Sir T. Baring) should be an advocate for keeping the decision of a matter whose speedy settlement was so essential to the interests of trade in suspense. He recollected that when the hon. member for Montrose had called upon them to reduce or abolish the duty upon Custom House articles the right hon. gentleman opposite had supported his motion. Lord. J. MANNERS observed that the remarks which he had made a few minutes before had been made to show that while the cost of collecting the Customs duties had increased, that of collecting the Excise duties had con siderably diminished ; and he should feel himself bound to take a division upon the 11th article, which the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed to exempt from the payment of duty. After a few observations from Sir F. BARING, Mr. DISRAELI said that the right hon. gentleman op posite had charged him with inconsistency in consequence of his having voted upon a previous occasion for the motion of the hon. member for Montrose. He had voted for that motion because it tended to terminate the protection upon various articles which entered into the consumption of the cultivation of the soil. (Hear.) After some remarks from Colonel DUNNE The CHAIRMAN went through the list of the various articles which the Government propose to exempt from the payment of Customs duties, and the consideration of those articles to whose exemption from duty any objection was raised were ordered to be postponed. When the CHAIRMAN came to the item of tea, Mr. DISRAELI asked whether the right hon. gentleman was prepared to give the committee any information with respect to the state of China ? If not, he though. it would be better to postpone this important item. (Hear, hear.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER had not anticipated any opposition, and this was one of the items, the postponement of which would be productive of the most inconvenience. At any subsequent stage he should be happy to afford any information which might be re quired. Mr. DISRAELI had always found that " subsequent statements" made very little impression upon public opinion. (Hear, hear.) The tea duties had hitherto been only inci dentally referred to by the right hon. gentleman, and he should certainly like to have some estimate of the supposed increased consumption, to be derived from the remission, and some information with regard to China. Mr. R. PALMER referred to the hardship of depriving the retail tea-dealer of the I.lb. draft on tea. Mr. MOFFATT said it had been his intention to move an alteration in a certain part of the resolution affecting the tea duties, but he had since been induced to waive his objection. The arrangement as to the withdrawal of the I.lb. draft had, with, he believed, the general concurrence of the trade, been left in the hands of the Chancellor of th Exchequer. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it was proposed that all the tea which shall have been reported (that was the technical term) to the Custom-house before the sth July should have the benefit of the draft, but that from that time it should cease. Mr. DISRAELI again reminded the committee that they were called upon to consider a very important item —(hear)--which would affect the revenue to the extent of 3,000,0001. He thought the Chancellor of the Exchequer bound not only to pronounce his mature opinion as to the probable increase in the consumption, but also to state his opinion as to whether the state of China, whence we received news by every packet, would affect the increased supply of the article. It was not doing justice to their constituents to permit such an important item to pass in silence. (Hear.) When the proposition was made by the late Government to deal with the tea duty—the first pro position of the kind ever made in the House of Commons — they also proposed to reduce the duty on an article of British growth Which came into competition with tea. (Hear.) Without more particularly referring to malt, however, it was known to every gentleman in the com mittee that the consumption of malt had been diminishing in this country. Hon. gentlemen opposite had always con tended that tea had become the substitute for the home article. Now, the Government were proposing to make a great reduction on the article of tea, but none on the article of home growth. (Hear.) But, at that hour (one o'clock), he trusted the right hon. gentleman would not proceed further, but appoint an early and more cengenient oppor tunity for discussing - the question. (Heari. hear.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was not aware that there was any doubt in the minds of the com mittee as to whether they should proceed with the tea duty. The evening had been consumed in a discussion on the income tax, and he had now to choos e b e t ween ma ki ng a speech or endeavouring to pass an important item, the suspension of which would cause great inconvenience to the trade. He believed that in his first financial speech ho had stated the substance of the views of the Govern ment on everything with which they proposed to deal in the budget. He had stated on the former occasion, what he repeated now, namely, that the state of China was such, as to inspire some apprehension and discomfort with re gard to the future supply of tea ; but that the information was not of such a kind as to lead the Government to with hold this great and beneficial change. The right hon. gentleman (Mr. Disraeli) had himself, to:his honour, almost placed this question beyond the possibility of retreat; and after the measures taken by the merchants of this country, consequent upon the late budget in this respect, little dis cretion was left to the present Government in the matter. Mr. MASTERMAN, as one much mixed up with the commercial world, and knowing how much was at stake, trusted that the time of the committee might not be con sumed unnecessarily, but that hon. gentlemen would con fine themselves to short speeches. Mr. DISRAELI observed that if the hon. member had been a teetotaller—(a laugh)which he knew him not to be—(laughter)—he could not have made a better speech in favour of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. (Hear.) If it was to be laid down that the proposal of the minister to make reductions in the tariff was to be received in silence, why was it brought before Parliament at all ? (Hear.) Why not settle the affair at the Board of Trade, or by order in council ? (Hear.) If, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer stated, he had given the requisite information in his ffrst speech, he must have proceeded upon very slender infor mation, for he had not given an estimate of the increased consumption. Since that speech there had been three arri vals from China, and the important news had not arrived when he delivered it. He therefore made the reasonable request that this resolution should be now postponed, to be brought on again on some early day—the first on which they should again meet, if the right hon. gentleman pleased. Lord J. RUSSELL thought that all were agreed as to the propriety of making a remission in the tea duties. Ho was of opinion that the material interests concerned were of far greater importance than any speeches which could be made on this subject. Of course, it was matter of con jecture and speculation what would be the amount of the increase, and how the state of China would affect the sup ply. The noble lord said it was a mistake to suppose that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had not touched on this subject, and he quoted a passage from Mr. Gladstone's speech containing an estimate of the anticipated con sumption. The insurrection did, not appear to have inter femt with the pursuits of industry, and they had not now the reasons which had some time ago led them to appre hend that the success of the insurrection would materially interfere with the commerce of the country. (Hear.) Of course no minister would :be bold enough to say what course the insurrection in China might take. The ques tion was, did the right hon. gentleman mean to oppose the resolutions ? If he did, the Government would postpone them, but if he did not, he hoped the committee would agree to them. Mr. DISRAELI thought the noble lord had treated his observations in a very disingenuous spirit. (Hear, hear.) He did not think ho was bound to state whether he would oppose the particular motion before the house. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) He heard the unseemly interruption from' the hon. member opposite, and for which the hon. member was supereminent. (A laugh.) The noble lord had stated that he could not tell what was taking place in China. It was difficult to know what was taking place in Constantinople. (Cheers.) But of course the Government had taken steps to obtain the best information on the sub ject of the tea duties. The late Government, before they dealt with this important subject, endeavoured to obtain from the best sources the best information they could. The noble lord said that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had given the house all the information necessary. But the right hon. gentleman had never offered to the house any estimate of the increased consumption. How many millions of pounds did the right hon. gentleman expect the increase to be ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the answer was involved in a plain arithmetical calcula. tion. Mr. DISRAELI—That might be the case • but it was clear the right hon. gentleman had not stated calcula tion to the house. It ought to be put to the house in a fair and business-like manner. Both the noble lord and the right hon. gentleman had admitted that but for the late hour and the pressure of business it would be convenient to make such a statement. (Hear.) That was a vindication of the course which he was taking. (Hear.) The noble lord had asked him whether he meant to oppose the mo tion, and said that he had made a similar proposal. That was not a fair statement. Though he had proposed a remission of the tea duties that would ultimately be as extensive as the present, still the noble lord could not forget that remission was to take place in a greater number of years. The noble lord must also agree that the circum stances of China since then were such as ought not to en courage them to make any diminution of the period during which the remission should take place. If they had pro posed that the term should be five or six years, the last news from China would have justified such a proposal. That was a fair subject of discussion, and an opportunity should have been even him of stating the reasons and the views under which the late Government brought forward their proposal, so that the country might determine as to which was the fairest course. (Hear, hear.) This was not the first time they had been so treated in these discus sions. (Hear, hear.) The financial propositions of the right hon. gentleman had. never been discussed except by accident. Both the noble lord and the right hon. gentleman deprecated delay. They said that the public interest would suffer by it. They were told that the conversion of Three per Cent. Stock into Two-and-a-Half and Three-and-a-Half per Cent. Stock was a matter of such passin ,, importance, that the Ex chequer Bonds were in such high favour, that no discussion could be allowed. (Laughter.) We were met in the course we took by a laugh, and at another time by an indignant groan from an obscure corner opposite. (Hear, hear.) He did not know if what had passed on those questions justi fied the extreme precipitancy of the minister in preventing discussion. (Hear, hear.) All this delay might have been avoided if the right hon. gentleman had at first made his statement, and then allowed him to follow. He had no wish to offer any obstructions except such as he had a right to make, If the right hon. gentleman had permitted him to vindicate the policy he had recommended, he would only have been acting in a spirit of justice, and would have taken a course more creditable to the Government. After a few words from Mr. VANSITTART, Lord A. VANE moved that the chairman report pro gress. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the understanding all along was, that if there was any op positien to any part of the tariff being brought on at a late hour, that so far as that part was concerned, it would be postponed. Adhering to that arrangement, as the noble lord objected to going on with the tea duties, though he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) deprecated delay, he should not persist. After some further conversation between Lord A. Vane, and. Mr. Disraeli, who stated that he did not intend to oppose the resolution, and Lord J. Russell — Mr. T. BARING inquired whether the recent increase in the price of tea would not in the opinion of the Chan cellor of the Exchequer make a material difference in his estimate of the increased consumption that would result from the diminution in the duty. He differed with both sides of the house oil the plan for the reduction of the tea duties, and thought it would have been better at once to have made a larger reduction, and left any further reduc tion for the future, as it was the importer would derive great benefits and the consumer little, and the increase of consumption would. be small. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—No such change, had taken place in the tea market since his state ment materially to alter the basis of his calculations. The motion was then withdrawn. Mr. DISRAELI inquired if the statement with regard to India would be made on Friday ? Lord J. R,USSETLL—If it was not he would state in suf ficient time. Mr. DISRAELI inquired when the Succession Bill would be brought on ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it de pended on what bad been just said by his noble friend. On Thursday the Income Tax Bill would be re-committed, and after that the customs duties would be taken, and after that the spirit duties. Lord J. RUSSELL would state at 5 o'clock to-day whe ther the statement relative to. India would come on on Friday. The house then resumed. HACKNEY CARRIAGES BILL On the motion that this bill be road a third time, Lord D. STUART objected to its being brought on at that hour (half -past 1), and moved that it be read a third time this day. A discussion followed, in the course of which Mr. FITZROY resisted the motion for postponement, and Mr. BROTHERTON moved the adjournment of the house. Mr. FITZROY would consent to the postponement, if it was the wish of the house. (Go on. Divide.) If the bill were read a third time now, he would postpone the amendments till that (this) evening. The bill was then read a third time, on that under• standing. THE CASE OF LIEUT. ENGLEDITE. On the motion of Sir G. B. I'EcHELL, it was agreed, "That it be an instruction to the committee on the dock yard appointments to consider the return referred to them on the 30th April last, and the circumstances connected therewith, and to report their opinion thereupon." The house adjourned at two o'clock. ELECTION OF CB AMBERLAI N. FINAL CLOSE OF THE POLL--M Az 30. Key. Scott TRREE • O'CLOCK. 3145 . 2883 Majority for Key 262 HALF-PAST THREE O'CLOCK. Key 3169 Scott Majority for Key 271 FOUR O'CLOCK ♦ND FINAL CLOSE. Key 3179 Scott 2912 Majority for Key The ball and the entrances were crowded to such an extent that ingress and egress were equally difficult, and from the confusion occasioned by the excitement of the friendsf of the successful candidate, and the mortifica tion of those of the defeated, it was for some time apprehended that mischief would accrue,—in fact, more than one skirmish took place, and during the speeches of Sir John Key and Mr. Scott it was feared a portion of the hustings would give way, from the pressure behind. In the ladies' gallery, Mrs. Beecher Stowe was present, and was received with cheers. The numbers being announced in the hall, long and continued cheering took place, amidst groans and coun ter cheers on the part of Mr. Scott. The cries for Sir John Key being vociferously maintained, Sir JOHN KEY came forward and said he thanked the Livery most cordially for the honour and confidence they had conferred upon him in placing him at the head of the poll. (Cheers.) They had manfully fought the battle, and the victory was won. (Cheers.) They had achieved a glorious triumph, and proved their in dependence. The hon. gentleman then went into, amidst frequent interruptions, a detailed explanation of the various charges that had been made against him, and more• particularly with regard to Sir Peter Laurie, who he said had never forgiven him for contesting the mayor alty, and put him to 1,5001. expense, and who, if not one of Mr. Scott's committee was the prime mover of the oppo sition against him. Having said this with regard to his opponent (Mr. Scott), no animosity existed, and he trusted he would withdraw his statement of retiring from the services of the corporation, as he pledged him self to use his best endeavours to make his position as pleasant as he could. (Cheers.) Mr. SCOTT briefly addressed the Hall, and said he would reserve his speech until Wednesday, when the official declaration would be made. They all re quired twenty-four hours' reflection. He was glad the contest was concluded, and he hoped that all ill-feeling and animosity would subside on either side. The hall then adjourned. BROJIPTON COUNTY COURT.-EXTRAOR DINAR T MEDICAL CASE. This- action, brought to recover the trifling sum of 155., is, perhaps, without a parallel, and elicited facts of a most amusing nature, peculiarly interesting to young ladies and the medical profession. The plaintiff, Mr. Gay, is a surgeon, of Old Brompton, and the defendant, Mr. Paine, is an unmarried gentleman, of Wellington square, Chelsea. Mr. Gay said he had supplied the de fendant with a mixture and a box of pills, and had attended him six times, for which visits he charged half a-crown each. He had not charged for the mixture. Mr. Delamere, the defendant's solicitor, said that his client resided with a gentleman at Bramp ton, who had a family of beautiful daughters. Mr. Gay, who was a single man , was anxious to obtain an introduction to the young ladies, with the view to choose a wife. With this object he sought the services of Mr. Paine, who very foolishlly pretended to be ill, and accordingly the professional services of Mr. Gay were sought to alleviate the suffering a of the patient. Mr. Paine, on being called, stated that Mr. Gay informed him of his wish to pay his attentions to a nice young lady, as he was sick of being single—(lam rhter)—and he intreated witness to introduce him to ow:. (Laughter.) He mentioned and recommended the young ladies at their house ; but how to get an introduction was, for some time a poser to them. (Laughter.) It could only be carried out bystratagem • and it as d evised by plain tiff and himself that he (defendant) shouh i fall ill—(roars of laughter) --and write a letter to Mr. G ny to visit him. (Prolonged merriment.) He felt unwell—(laughter)— wrote the note proposal by Mr. Gay :-.-" Dear Sir, — I want to see you immediately. I am alarmingly ill. Yours, &c. Postscript. Only rayself and the Misses —at home, my boy." (Shouts of merriment.) Mr. Gay came immediately. There was nothing what ever the matter with him— (laughter)—and he never took the stuff that was sent, but threw it to the dogs. (Re newed laughter.) As to the six visits Cie plaintiff had charged him for, it was a downright do. At any rate, five out of the eix visits were paid to the young ladies, and Mr. Gay had the modesty and impudence to charge him half-a-crown for each of the wooing visits. (Shouts of laughter.) Besides that, be was invited to dinner each time. He never had any rash, saving the rashness of introducing the plaintiff to his friends.. The Judge (Adolphus)—l think, if it be a joke, it ought to be fol lowed out. (Laughter.) Fifteen shillings is, perhaps, too much to pay for it. My judgment will be for ten shillings, and that is not too much for a rich joke like this. (Loud laughter.) CRICKET. THE MARYLEBONE CLUB WITH THREE PLAYERS V. THE SURREY CLUB WITH THREE PLAYERS. This annual match was commenced yesterday at Lord's, where there was just that amount of company as the state of the weather was likely to gather. Had there been the glorious sunshine of the early part of the past week, such is the interest which this match induces, that a large assemblage would have congregated. The uncertain condition of the atmosphere, ho wever , left the parties engaged in the match the more room for their revelment. Marylebone went in first, but what with the effect of the rain and the clever bowling of Surrey, they were unable to gain more than 72 runs, the only double scores being those of Mr. Haygarth, 18 made up by a four, four twos, and six singles ; and of Grundy 15, thus com posed, a five, a two, and a balance of ones. The Surrey Club then took the bat, and proved mote successful than their opponents, seeing that they ran up a score of 147. It must, however, be stated that Mr. Haygarth missed Lockyer at " long leg," when his score had amounted to five only. This batsman eventually made 58 by four fours, three threes, nine twos, and a string of singles. Mr. Baker contributed 16 by a four, a three, a brace of twos, and five ones. Mr. W. Miller offered 10 in a three, a couple of twos, and three ones. Then came Mr. Miller's brother, with 14, thus composed, a four, a three, two twos, and the rest in ones. Sher man made 11, and Mr. Hartnell 21 • this latter number consisting of two fours, a three, and three twos, with singles. The wickets having been drawn for the day, the score was found to stand thus, the Marylebone Club having scored 46 in their second innings, without the lois of a wicket, Mr. Nicholson and Dean batting in tho best style : M. C: C. AND GROUND. First Innings. Second Innings. Dean, run out 0 not out 23 Hon. It. Grimstone, b Lisney... 5 A. llaygarth, Esq., b. Sherman 18 F. Cummings, Esq., c Marshall, b Lisaey 0 C. Gordon, . Esq. , b Sherman 8 W. Nicholson, Esq., c Marshall, b Lisney Grundy, not out R. Kynaston, Esq., c Sherman, b Limey R. Broughton, Esq. , b Sherman 3 F. Bathurst, Esq., b Lisney 0 bison, run out 0 b 5, 1 b 6 9 not out Total Total .. ...... 46 SURREY CLUB AND GROUND. First Inninv, W. Miller, Esq., b Dean W. Baker, Esq., c Nicholson, b Dean l6 J. Waller, Esq., b Nixon F. Miller, Esq., b Dean Lockyer, not out 5B Sherman, b Dean H. Marshall, Esq., b Grundy ...,.... (I A ttfield, Esq., b Dean 1 E. G. Hartnell, Esq., st Nicholson, b Dean 21 W. Mortimer, Esq., b Dean 0 Lisney, run out b3,lb 8 ll Total 147' At twelve o'clock to-day the match was resumed SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. CUSTOM-HOUSE, MAY 30. ENTERED INWARDS.—The Menai (s), from Calais ; Ceres, Rotterdam ; City of London, Dunkirk ; Magnet, Harlingen ; Diana, Amsterdam ; Citizen, Bord eaux ; Giraffe (s), and Moselle, Rotterdam ; Stad Dord recht, Dordt ; Coquette, Lisbon ; Telltale, Aviero ; Anna Maria, Gothenburg ; RavensbOurne (s), Ant werp ; Julia, Guernsey, Flecha Ghent ; William Thornborrow, Fairy, Marys, and Lily, Guernsey ; Hoff nung, Ditzum ' • Sebois, Ch ar l es t on ; L eon ti na , T orreve ij a ; Thea, Calais ; Gipsy, Rouen ; Walter, Lisbon ; Newtin, Genoa ; Maria, Monte Video ; Kronignam Vrow, Matan zas ; Alfred, Grenada ; Warbler, Antigua ; Lanoma and So phie, Trieste; Juliana, Havannah; Osbert, Dominica; Fanny, Grenada; Victoria, Iquique; Senegal, Calcutta; Liverpool, Demerara; Prince Albert, Trinidad; Wm. and John, Cartb a gena ; Princess Royal, Hamburg; Lady Franklin, St. John's, N.B. ; Fyenoord (s), Rotterdam ; George, St. Croix ; Orkolina, Memel ; Constantine, Oporto ; Elvira, St. Übe's ; Franciscus, Malaga ; Talbot, Bahia ; Briti s h Isles, Demerara ; Dublin Lass, St. Malo ; Duke of Northumber land, Manilla • John Clemens, New York ; Epaminondas, Adelaide ; William, Carthagena ; Windsor, Sydney ; Pearl, Tahita. ENTERED OUTWARDS FOR LOADING.—The Flecha, for Ghent ; Panther steamer, Ostend ; Ceres, Rotterdam ; Citizen, Bordeaux ; Diana, Amsterdam ; City of London steamer, Dunkirk ; Raven.sbourne steamer, Antwerp ; Stad Dordrecht steamer, Dordt ; Benjamin Elkin, Moreton Bay ; Myrtle, Sydney ; Fyenoord, Rotter dam ; Twee Godfrieds, Geelon • Islena, Teneriffe • ' Fame, ' steamer, Calais • Margaretha, gamburg ; Hoppet, Gothen burg ; Eliza, Gambia, Cassiterides, California ; Expedite, Grand Canary. CLEARED OUTWARDS, WITH CARGO, MAY 30.—The Venus, for Drontheim ; Narwahl, Lima ; Marie Emilie, Gothenburg ; Schwartzen and Anna Catharine, Konisberg ; Patriot, Santa Cruz ; Catharine Elizabeth, Stettin ; New Orleans, Port Philip • Electra, Granada ; J oaqu i na, San tander; City of Boulogne steamer, Boulogne. LIVERPOOL, May 30. The screw steam-ship Genova, the pioneer of the newline from this port to Montreal, arrived from that port this morning, with thirty passengers and a large cargo on freight. She left Montreal on the 14th inst. The Mete, of Bremen, was spoken May 18. The Union was spoken May 20, lat. 46 N., long. 63 W. The Franklin (United States mail steamer), outward bound, was spoken May 21, lat. 44 N., long. 57 IV. The City of Manchester (screw steamer) was spoken May 24, lat. 50 N., long. 37 W. The St. Andrew, bound north-west, was spoken May 27, lat. 51 N., long. 13 W. VESSELS SPOKEN The Xenophon, Liverpool to Melbourne, April 9, lat. 6 N, long. 21 W. The John Hall, from the Clyde, May 7, lat. 41 N., long. 27 W. The Oceanus, for New York, May 12, lat. 40 N., long. 38 W. The Palermo, Liverpool to Montreal, May 19, lat. 47 N., long. 22 W. The India, Calcutta to Genoa, April 11, lat. 5 S., long. 17 W. The Thomas Hamlin, Bombay to Liverpool, May 10, lat 37 long. 39 W. The Union (American), May 20, lat. 45 N., long. 63 W. The John Garrow, May 28. The Orion, for Hobart Town, March 20, lat. 20 S., long. 38 W. The Conqueror, Bombay to Cork, March 26, lat. 39 N., long. 31 W. the Chinsurah, Colombo, to London, May 10, lat. 35 N., long. 40 W. The Rajasthan, ship, Cape of Good Hope, 44 N., long. 41. W. The Anthromachio, b r i g , o f H am b urg h, from the West Indies, May 26, lat. 47 N., l ong . 11 W. EXPENSE OF RAILWAY STATIONS. Captain Huish, the London and North-Western manager, stated, in the committee on the Mid-Western Railway, on Saturday, that the Camden Town and Euston-square stations had cost 800,0001. COUNTRY MARKETS. CHELMSFORD—MAY 27. Prices to-day were as follow :—Wheat, white, *ld 37 ' (I ' l ,- to 54. s Od, new 35s to 52s ; red, old 348 to 445, neiv 42s ; barley, 25s to 27s ; chevalier, 31s to 378 ; Ste° oat, 21s to 278; malt, 55s to 56s ; chevalier, 558 to 5Ss ; 19s to 258 ; peas, partridge, 30s to 348 ; white, 32s to boiling.36B to 418 ; dun, new, 298 to 33s ; beano , tick, to 345; Harrow ticks, 318 to 365; Mazagan, 298 to 325. • COLCHESTER —MAY 28. Prices to-day were as follow :—Wheat, white , 4 4 1) red, 40s to 44s ; barley, 28s to 33s ; oats, 18s to 243; °M' s Mazagan, 32s to 33s ; middle and small, 35s to 385 white, 403 to 425; grey, 34s to 365. , }l . --MA 7 27. kie ;es of grain at our JO WHEAT. BARLEY. OATS. 1350 49s Od 32s 6d 23s 6:1 3 1 6 s c i 468 10,1 30s 6d 22s 5( 1 '-'1, 5 al Total quantity of w3hBesat Od d n market, 527 215 527 q O rs il ., 532.'5 'l, l l PP ~ barley 1,)5 qrs, 25 S' i l Of ' 120 ° PP ~ oats 172 qrs., 0 , add 9, 81 qrs., °I ' PP pp beans AVERAGES PER IMPERIAL QUARTER. )1 Average of wheat £2 6 10 7-120 Ditto of Barley Ditto of Oats 1 2 5 5120 2t1A Ditto of Beans HADDINGTO: The following are the prig to-day : First... S6cond Third.. KIRKCALDY MAY 28. • j , ; We had small supplies of all kinds of man. 00 0 f local demand, and p r i ces f or a 'l qua lities in fa x sellers. no. Wheat. I Barley . Oats . als 'Pi • 50s Od I 33s 0.1 I 22s Oct I 49s Od 23sOd INs 6d 42s Od 27s Oct l 18 3 Od ' I First .. Second Third.. • Oatmeal, per bag of 2801bs imperial, 28s Od to 2 94 The following is the official statement of the gill the ! of corn, &c., received in the port of London frora lowing ports, from the 23d t o th e 28th May, 13°41 sive : cS • • •I• tO . 21 te es 0 400 103 25 Colchester Harwich Leigh Mahlon, COAL 'MARK: Prices of Coal per ton at tl s. d. Carr's Hartley l6 0 Chester Main 15 0 Hasting's Hartley 16 0 Holywell. l6 6 Lrngridge's Wst Hartleyl6 0 Ravensworth W. Hartleyl6 0 Tanfield Moor l5 0 Tanfield Moor Butes 15 0 Wallsend, &e. Lawson .... 15 0 Stewart's Hartley 15 6 Willington Hartley l5 6 Eden Main . 16 91 Hetton l7 6 Haswell 17 6 Kepier Grange l6 t Ships at market 1 - 'l i 2O Ir ,' , -- I -. is -( 85 'IV :ET—MAT 30. he close of the market fi'd •'lll *"..16 Lambtou .............. Russell's Hetton.. ..... • Stewart's ................. Hetion Lyons Main .•' Plummer .............. Heugh Ha 11............. Kelloo .................... South Kelloe ............ Tees St. Helen's Tee 5......... -.0 Birchgrove Graigols•-• •• Llangennech .............. .53 Powell's Duffryn Steam 1F Sidney's Hartley .•••••. Skiborwen Merthyr .• .• • 56. ',9 I Sold RAILWAY SHARE MARKETS. LIVERPOOL, MAY 30. _, STOCK EXCHANGE.— The m ar k e t was flat c111 ,4 '1; Jr, early part of the day, b u t c l ose d ra th er s t ea dy o ,' and Ballymena, sd. ; Bl ac kb urn, 6/ ; C a ledortin - 7' Eastern Counties, 131 ; Lancashire and Yorkshir Midland, 74g. BIRMINGHAM, MAY 30- STOCK EXCHANGE.--There was ve ry , : 44 A done in this mark e t t o -d ay . L on d on an d N o rth' b New Eighth were done at 3 prem. MANCHESTER, MAI- 30. STOCK EXCHANGE.—Prices were a shade lovivA , : fair business. Midlands, 74 ; Dovers, 221, Nat fords, 4i d. ; East Lancashire, 18k. LEEDS, MAY 30. ; STOCK EXCHANGE .— The sh are mar ket has be ol usually dull this morning. The only transaction r e li, on 'Change was a sale of North Staffordshires at 4i SEABORNE MAILS. (N signifies that the mails are rent from the General by the night—and M by the morning—dispatch.] E 0 EaCt COUNTRIES. n ay G w e ti n c e i r i a m l a r d o e m try Erormorwthat r;g Office, London.* Dispatched. America(byltrit.pack)N Every- Friday .... Liverpool E a ` Am pa e c r k ica eo (by y.. U . i . m . t . 0 . 1 . ! N s. May 31 Liverpool .•., Irre America (by U State. packet) .. ....N Slay 25 .. .. •• • • Sou:hampton l Ju ne Australia (via South. iffni ampton) July 4 8 • • • • . Southampton Ditto (via Marseilles) N July •.. Dover •• '— Ditto (via Caps, of Moot. Hope) june 4 .......... Plymouth .• 3f ,„ g f i , Africa ( West Coast) ..N •3rd o f th e month. Plymouth • • •;;; 5 , Alexandria.... N a, 9,24, & 30 of m. Dover .... •• Alexandria........ —3l Ith & 20th of mon. Southampton Bahamas or the month Soutiiainpow Belgium ........ Dover •• • ; a i e LArazil 1tuen05Ayre5........54 9th of !lie month.. Soothat/11)ton Cape of Good Hope ..N 14th of the month Plymouili • 1 , 1 , 1 0 ‘ Cape of Good Hope .. 14th of the 'Lomb Plymouth • • '',`„ r ij Cape de Verde .4th of the month. Plymouth • • Ceylon (see India) Ceylon 14th of the month Plymouth • , r AP Channel 151e5........N mon ~Wed ,&Frid. 'Aouthampton ;too Chili.... ...... NI -d & 17th of month SeuthamPln China (see India) Igor Constantinople ......1' • ,R,17,24,&27 of m Dover...•••lJ u na . Constantinople ........ 4th &20th of mon Southamptou. t amt. of Eur'pe M & N T w i ce d a il y Dover .• •• • • It Egypt (see India) 10 ,0 a France ........ M & N Twice daily__ Dover June' Gibraltar 4,7, 17, 20, 27 of in. Souther/4 ) / u " Greece (see India) Greytown 2nd & 17th of mon. •r•outhamptollrio‘e Hamburgh .... It Tuesday & Friday London •• • '. Joao, Ilavannah .......... M 2nd o f th e month Southampton am"' Holland ... NI Wednesday & Sat. London ••• Jana Honduras . ..... ....M 17th of the month SonthainP w :•. Je na; India (viaSouthampt.) NI 4 t h & 20 th of mon. SouthanlP W ' gtOr India (via Mazseilles)sl Bth& 24th of month Dover ..... • lonian Isles (sea India) riv ice Ireland ........M & N Twice daily Holyhead Lisbon.. Madeira ............ N1 9th of the month SouthamP." . jano ' Madeira ............ N 23rd of the month Plymouth • Malta (see India) Atsl Malta ..N 7,17,19,78, 30 of m. Dover ..... • ; Mauritius (see India) Ar ra nwu 51aoritius ..........N 14th of the month PIS • Junothto.o Mexico ............M 2nd of the month. SouthamP 1101 1 a Naples... .. . N sthlbth2.sthof mon. Dover • • -i o • ;i ljall' e , New Granada .. 51 2d 8c 17th of month Southamp IVi New Zea1and.......... By private ship .. Various 1 01 * Ivo! A Papal States N sth I hth2 , thofinon . Dover . • • ,;,; Peninsula ...... m Ith 17th28thotmon SouthanlP!'_:;ijuai;t Peru ... .... '4l & ',7th of mon ,outliainp7pile' Port Natal .. N 14th of the month flymma k • 0 .9 Sicily •• • Tuscany ..N stl,lsth2sthofmon. Dover • • -:,:;.30 1, * Venezuela ..........M 2d & 17th of month SoathamPw-1 Van Diemen's Land (see .3 I Australia) ... • •ston Jlo West Indies 2d & 17th of monthiSouthame - ur- s lls „dla ( go * When any of these d a t es f a ll on a S u nday', the ge , 41 dlspatche I on the following day, with the exception 0t . ,,,,,ate" Southampton), and the Malta, both of which will be day preceding. [ADVERTISEbIENT.]—IMPORTANT SALE or — rt flco gr. 0 , SHAWLS, AND LACE GOODS.—BankrUpt C Y ° pr i es /Of Blakely, Shawl Manufacturer to the ( P een ' ' Atkinson and Co., Silk and Shawl Wareheuges, d, 1,00 71, 72, 73, 74, and 75, Westminster-bridge-relvvgal beth, beg to inform the ladies of the Unite d he es t loc whole mercer, of andhis stock,lacem aanm, that they have purchased of the assignees of t rer, o to of Mr. Edward Blakely, shawl mand ec i tu r upt , ts a hau l ' f2 d,, °'o amounting large discount off the cost Nin p gor ri tw ce• oic i ltiecele6:l4lj d re'ss°.l richest selection of shawls, silks, robes,mos mantles, lace goods, &c., to be met with AP . all in excellent condition, newly manufacw— now selling off at reduced prices. t ri f [ADVERTISEDIENT.j—HoIIoway's °lam e- Aft , excellent Remedies for the Cure of Bronchitis „40 rated Sore Throats.—Extract of a letter tes James Downing, of Paris-street, Exeter , da yor SO, 1853.—" To Professor Holloway.---s,.ir' t eat al; meat and pills have effected upon me a P e l ° dreadfully diseased throat, arising from ee z e diettl 0 31 timately terminated in bronchitis. Th e I c T i Lease, %4 ° received was unable to combat with the thi s _s_ tir o was rapidly sinking under its influence. 1 ! fog !l e o I had recourse to your medicines, which 11.1. that in~ld relieved me, and I am happy to inform 94 0 :3, than a fortnight I was entirely cu red bY , s eits v by all druggists, and a t Professor R ollo meat, 244; Strand, London. MARRIED. ° a to SOW, On the 26th inst., at St. Marf e, s o re, ru Hipper, Esq., surgeon, Clapham-mm:l, ,;cbs Elizabeth, younger daughter of the late Cooper, Esq., of Brighton yOu l if• irralLk , 7..f0. 1 LONDON : Printed and Publishes Au-Thifice, ~f/ of No. 112, Strand, Printer. at The 'Sun - cell- ant! Strand, in the Precinct of the Savo r Middlesex, Meaty, Kay 31, 103. 227 1 P 8 T aft.e, Its E by s i ter es dity) Ewa Elect Co ok TR tux ton r °r tt tool Then Sir co, . c , I . l eut Nu t 'btir At r ch 144sr b r 1,, . st ~'' Tea D Th e t y 'Dosi ttn, co 4., t ive (f4st,3l CV , `,......, t4ZA t H „, A g oo te Q I,ltt BIRTHS. OF A SON. On the 27th inst., Lady Sebright. t orie , On the 28th inst., at Westbourne-stree , gardens, the Lady of Lieutenant-Colonel Everest. ec l OF A DAIIGHTEN. lace , the s' lf On the 27th inst., in Lower Grosvenor -pa--' A,- R. H. Wyatt, Esq. P' lilts . On the 28th inst., at 4, Eaton-terrace, wood. 1... 0 Oiler, -.. 1 1, u. ..-...0..." - '_ rio DIED. 0 Eden° o l i St" On the 29th inst., at 9, Yorkterrae , _,..tor , Sarah, widow of the late Rev. W. flo i n io, Iv - a pl. , Giles, Cripplegate, aged 82. IfornbY' On the 28th inst., aged 59, Joseph f. Druid's Cross, near Liverpool. On the 27th inst., at Eastbourne, Vice-4-harreiTlLSodirl. Mason, K.C.8., of Wheeler-loclge, Leicestei .440 THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 31, 1853,