The Sun. — London, England, 1853-03-12 00:00:00

4: Viiirti Wbttion I SUN OFFICE, Six o'clock. THE ADVERTISEMENT TAX.-(THIS .DAY.) This morning a deputation of gentlemen connected with the London and provincial press, had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at his official re sidence, Downing-street, on the subject of the Adver tisement Tax. The deputation was introduced by Mr. Ewart, M.P. Mr. Ewart having read the following memorial : • " OBJECTIONS TO THE ADVERTISEMENT TAX ON NEWS PAPERS. "Ist.—Because it is a tax on Knowledge, and falls with partiality on an important portion of the Press :—the Newspaper, Magazine, and Periodical. AU War means of advertising escape the duty. "2d.—lt is an unjust tax. It cannot be equitably assessed or collected. The rich man pays only ls. 6d. to advertise the sale of an estate ; the poor man pays ls. 6d. to advertise for employment. "3d.—lt falls heavily on particular classes of property, impeding to an important extent advertisements in journals. In America, any man who wishes to lend or to hire, to buy or to sell, announces his wish without being subj Oct to any duty, for ls. " 4th.—lt acts most injuriously oa literary works striving at cheapness. The cost of advertising sometimes amounts to more than the whole profit of author and publisher on works which are successful. " sth.—lt is a tax which goes far to fetter the free ex tension of the press—and prevents the circulation of a sound and wholesome - literature among working men. In America there are 350 daily papers—in England there are only 10. " 6th.—lt creates a monopoly. It is only the compara tively prosperous tradesman who can afford to advertise— the intelligent mechanic is excluded from newspaper publicity. "7th.—lt is one among many of the fiscal errors com mitted when the true principles of taxation were compara tively unknown. It involves the same principle, by which the lowest priced Bohea is taxed at the same rate as the highest priced Pekoe or Souehong—on which the miserable shirt-maker is made to pay a duty of about 300 per cent. on the original value of the article which she consumes, while the rich pay about 80 per cent only. " Bth.—lt is a tax that should be repealed, because the public would derive the full benefit of the repeal. In many cases a larger redaction than the duty would be made by newspaper proprietors. " 9th.—lt is a tax. which is easily and largely evaded. The blank wall, the advertising van (dangerously block ing up the public thoroughfares), the omnibus, the rail way carriage, the railway station, the street pavement, and many other modes of advertising, reduce the amount Paid to Government to a comparaUvely small amo - ant, and leave its pressure exactly where it is most severely felt, and where many grounds of public policy condemn it. "10th.—In a word—it is a great impediment to trade, literature, and labour, seeking a market though pub licity, and to the newspaper press for that reason; while the small amount of revenue which it yields—about 1 60,0001, per annum—renders its altogether unworthy of retention, at the cost of a tithe of the hardship and in justice which it infficts." Mr. MURDO YOUNG, of the Sun newspaper, then address ed the Chancellor.—l have had the honour of attending many Chancellors of the Exchequer on this subject, and the answer they have all made has been, that the revenue would not afford the reduction. Upon the present ocea nic; however, I am happy in believing that that argu ment will not hold good. Ido not press for an imme diate remission ; but if you, sir, could give us a promise for January next— The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—DO you mean for a total repeal ? Because, if so, I must tell you, lam afraid there is no surplus revenue on which I can at present reckon for a repeal of taxation. Mr. YOUNG--The effect, sir, of a mere reduction, would be of so little advantage to the public, that I, my self, must press for a total abolition of the duty. lam sure that I speak the general sentiments of thp news- Paper proprietors in this particular. A mere reduction of the duty would not enable us to make any perceptible lowering of the price of advertisements to the public, and the public consequently would reap no benefit. I must also call to the attention of the Chancellor of the Ex chequer that we have to give credit to the public while, on the other hand, we are obliged to pay the Government without any delay. A paper like the Times, with its circulation, can afford to do as it pleases, and charge 48 own price, however high, and the effect of an abolition of the duty would be, that the Times would not be one farthing the worse, while the public would be greatly benefited. On the other hand, if a reduction only of the duty were carried into effect, the public would not benefit at all by it. This may be seen by taking the case of the servants' advertisements, for which at present the Times charges 35., which is just double the duty. Supposing that the duty were reduced to 6d., for all that, the Times could not af ford to insert those advertisements for less than half-a- crown, because . the number would so greatly increase, an_ and the rooni r sp a ce them, limited, they would not be able to h apkconse h luently, in self defence, would be obliged °X , cY of ou, sir, are probably aware th a a r t ge th a e superfic ia l cl price.size papers is limited, and, consequently, th e Times nowisnew• s obliged to publish a supplement. Upon those they must lose money if they issue more than a cer tain number, because it is evident that the adver tisements in a supplement may amount only to 5001., while, on the other hand, the cost of paper and stamps, together with the advertisement duty, may very likely amount to 8001., if more than a certain number are issued. Mr. Storrs, of the Daily News, then addressed the Chancellor—Sir, I think that though an abolition of the duty entirely would be very desirable, I am disposed to acquiesce in a reduction of it, because I think by that means that the number of short advertisements would be increased by at least 100 per cent., and it is really there where the pressure of this tax is felt. At Present all papers must have a. minimum charge : Most of them fix it at five shillings for ten lines — most of the short advertisers, therefore, take their whole 10 lines.. The Is. 6d. duty being deducted from the 55., leaves 3s. 6d., which gives a charge of 4d. a line to the newspapers, Supposing that by the abolition we were obliged to charge 3s. for the same number of lines, we should then get only 3d. per line, at • which price it is not thought newspapers, making allowance for every charge, can remuneratively print advertisements. If the duty were repealed, and there were no 18d., there would be no minimum laid down by the newspapers, and the tradesman would not get for 2s. that for which he now Pays 2s. When I became aware that I was to have the honour of having an interview with you, Sir, I made a calculation with respect to these short advertisements, from the advertisements which for the last three days have been inserted in the Times, the Daily News, the Morning Herald, and the Morning Chronicle. I find from that, Sir, that four-fifths of the advertisements Which have appeared in the Times during the last three days have been under 10 lines ; in the Daily News one half have been under that "number ; and in the other two Papers a proportion considerably less. That, I think, Sir, is an illustration of how far the general public, that Which pays is. 6d., is interested in this question. Of long advertisements above 10 lines the Times has only double the number of the Daily News, and a some- What similar proportion with regard to the others ; and I think therefore that it is pretty apparent that the short advertisers are most interested in this question ; and lf you could not abolish the whole duty, a reduction of it t o 6d. would be greatly beneficial to them. By reduc ing it to 6d. you would also greatly increase the revenue, by increasing the amount which would be paid to it for Stamp s and paper duties, The CnANCELLOR of the EXCIIEQUER—Do you suppose then that a reduction of the advertisement duty would l ead to such an increase in the amount of stamps and Paper consumed, as would compensate the revenud for that reduction ? Mr.S;;;II have made a calculation, Sir, by which find that the proprietors of the Daily News would pay a t least between 7001. or 8001. per annum more than they do now ; and the increase in the payments of the coun try papers would be greatly increased. Mr. MURDO YOUNG—If the duty were reduced , the , h inlet' would not make any reduction in their price, and the ether papers would not, for one shilling less price, get a ny perceptible increase in the number of their adver tisements, so the revenue would lose. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER-It would make th e competition of the other papers press more strongly en the Times. Mr: SMITH--Certainly so. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—What course then does the Times take upon the subject Mr. SMITH—I believe, sir, it would be very glad to let well alone. Mr. YourTG--From their great circulation, the Times would always deservedly be secure of getting as many adv ertisements as it has now, and from its limited space It never could insert more than it does now ; there fore it would neither gain nor lose by any alteration. consequently, though it once opposed the alteration, it "w expresses itself quite willing to let the duty go by t he board. I remember in the year 1835, when the question of the alteration of the duties was being agit tated, at a meeting of the proprietors of the daily news- Pa pers, eleven in number, when a modified sliding -scale 7 1 propos e d, Mne of us were in favour of it, b u t th e 4. , 0 rites de c id e d ag ai nst i t, an d t h e G overnment of the day the advice of the Times. withthe r .Buc Esr then said, as connected to some e x t ent provincial newspapers, I wish to direct y our attention, to the gradual process of injury which is THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, MARCH 12, 1853. the committee last session. It had been stated that the opinion of the committee was, that the legislature was prepared to decide upon the affairs of India at the close of the session. Now, so little was that the case that the resolution moved by a noble friend near him was framed expressly to exclude and negative that conclu sion, and simply to state that in the evidence before them there was a tendency to show that the principle of the government of India had been productive of good consequences. He thought it would be the greatest of all calamities to legislate in the present session as to the permanency of the government of India. (Hear, hear.) An eminent writer had charasterised " rash haste as the mother of delay," and any "rash haste " in legislating on the subject of India would not only be "the mother of delay" but most detrimental to the good government of India. (Hear, hear.) The powers already entrusted to the government superintending the affairs of India during the last twenty years had not been an adequate protection against the evils which had been described, and Parliament ought not to rely on so frail a founda tion. There was no change better considered or more calculated to meet the evils which existed than the enact ment introduced into the last charter for the appoint ment of a law commission, for the purpose of improving the general administration of the law in India. But what happened The provision was found inconve nient, for it imposed a restraint on the action of the governors of India. They said, "We mean to apply to Parliament ' for a repeal of the clause. They, however, never did apply to Parliament. But what did they do ? They practically repealed the act, by ceasing to fill up vacancies until by lapse of time the provision constitut ing the legal commission expired. (Hear.) By the act as it originally passed, whenever a vacancy occurred the court of directors were bound to return four candidates for the civil service of India, acid the best of the four was to be chosen. But in 1837 they obtained an act of a very singular character. When the bill was introduced into the House of Commons, it enabled the board of directors and the Board of Control jointly to suspend the operation of the provision, and to recommend only one candidate for every vacancy. The bill was amended in their lorlships' house, and in place of its being a bill authoriing the suspension of the power, the words " to suspend or revive" were inserted, thereby showing that it was intended to revert to the original act. But from 1837 to 1853, that power had never been exercised, and the coguany was noW left without the wholesome re straint imposed by the act of 180.. (Hear.) Last year, when the question of the law was under consideration, it was sated that full authority had been given to the East Inlia Company to pass Mr. Macaulay's code, or any other they mi g ht thi n k fit ; b u t up to this time it did not appear that any effectual step had been taken on the subject. He did not see that any approach had been made towards meeting the great difficulty arising from the present mode of appointing civil servants as judges in Indis. No legal education was provided. When a man was appointed to a judicial office, it was utterly in defensftle that, under any circumstances, he should be removed from that judicial office, and, at an increased salary, no appointed to a political or revenue office. The fact was, that under the present system men were ap pointed to the appellate jurisdiction in India who had never presided in a tribunal of the first instance. It was, as had been formerly said, like teaching young sur geons by making them practice living dissections. If Parliament intended to do its duty towards India, he trusted they would not pass any permanent act during the present year. (Hear, hear.) Lord BROUGHTON said he saw no reason whatever why Parliament should pass a bill fixing any particular number of years. It appeared to him that any act on this subject ought to be like any other act of Parliament, liable to be repealed whenever it should be thought ne ce'sary. The reason for fixing stated periods in former bills was this. The East India Company were a great commercial company, in possession of most important vested interests, having large assets ; and in the act of 1833 it was thought proper that a certain term should be given them to realise those assets, and wind up the great concern with which they had been so long entrusted. A bargain was, therefore made between the then Government and that great commercial corporation. But now the East India Company would cease to have any such privileges. They would cease in fact to be in possession of any one character entitling them to more than an ordinary act. (Hear.) •He had not heard this proposal mentioned before, but having in the course of the day named the suggestion to one of the highest Indian authorities- T a gentleman formerly connected with the Indian government, and latterly with the home Government—that gentleman said, " I see no objec tion to it, and moreover I proposed it to a noble lord myself in the year 1832. At that time, no doubt, the East India Company had not wound up its concerns ; its commercial character had not been put an end to ; it had large assets, and it was only in consequence of this that I did not make the proposal to those who had the drawing up of the India Bill." (Hear, hear.) But n o such reason existed now. The E as t India Company had now no claim upon the country or upon Parliament. They had only the right to ask Parliament whether they had so conducted themselves in the government of those great territories as to entitle them to a share in their future government, as trustees for the Crown. (Hear.) No doubt a great quantity of fresh matter was rising up every day. The three petitions which had recently been presented contained materials for long and searching 'examination, and the more he considered the subject the greater were the difficulties which presented themselves to his mind. With new information came new lights, and, so far from any one of the points being speedily settled, there were various matters on which the best more than those of youngsters on their first arrival in India, and that changes of employment took place in rapid succession without reference to the aptitude and ability of the parties, the consequence. being that civilians were often found at the head of offices and courts of the budness of which they knew little• or nothing. He feared that it must be admitted that this grievance had existed, and to some extent still existed. The petitioners concluded with prayer that such changes might be effected in the arrangements for sup plying the public service in the civil department as might be considered desirable, and particularly that inquiries might be made into the nature and number of the public employments in India, and the salaries attached to them. That was a prayer which un doubtedly deserved the most serious consideration, and he would call upon their lordships to endeavour to find some principles by which they might be guided on that point. He had always held that the • best form of go vernment was that which afforded the greatest facilities for the discovery of superior abilities, and the employ ment of them in the public service. But in the anoma lous situation of India there was this very commanding principle, which, in his opinion, overruled all others- 7 namely, that it was absolutely essential, if we desired to preserve our dominion over that country, that every person in the employment of the Government should have a deeper and a nearer interest in England than he had in India. It was absolutely necessary to prevent anything approaching colonisation, for colonisation was the same as separation, and it was necessary to pursue the same means in preserving our dominion which we had employed in acquiring it. But he was by no means sure that these apparently conflicting principles might not be united. He should object to giving the Governor of India the power of selecting any person whom he might think competent, and placing him in the highest office under Government. That system would, un doubtedly, lead to much intrigue and improper conduct ; and, above all, it would conflict with the great principle. that all persons employed in India should depend more upon England than upon India. But he saw no objec tion to a modification of the general rule in any peculiar case of great fitness for high office,• and the Governor- General, with the previous permission of the home autho rities, might be permitted to place a person peculiarly qualified in a high office, where he might perform good service to ,the State. If such an arrangement were adopted, the Board of Control ought to have the power of overruling the decision of the Court of Directors as fully as it did now in all political matters. When he (Lord Ellenborough) was in India there was an uncove-. nanted servant of tilt comPany, Mr. Greenlaw, the se cretary of the marine board, with whom he had had occasion to communicate in reference to the expedition to China, - and whose zeal, ability, and cordial devotion to the interests of the public service had alone unabled the expedition to be dispatched in time. That gentle man he (Lord Ellenborough) would have recommended to the home authorities for promotion had he remained in India. There was also another gentleman, of supe rior abilities and trustworthiness, whom, after a little longer experience, he might have recommended for similar promotion. The representation s of the petiti oners on the subject of police were well worthy of consi deration. The petitioners statorfhat every landholder was at present obliged to keep bodies of men armed, in order to defend his property against midnight gangs ; and as it was the custom of some dishonest indigo planters to sell their crops to different persons, it became necessary in some cases for the buyer to keep an armed force on the field, in order to secure the produce. With regard to the spirit licenses, the petitioners stated that the selling of them was entirely contrary to the prejudices and habits of the people, and that, in pursuit of revenue, the Government was demoralising the population. He (Lord Ellenborough) had always objected to a reduction of the duty on salt, unless the reduction were very great, but on three occasions, recently, small reductions had been made, amounting to about one-sixth of the tax, oc casioning a loss of about one eighth of the revenue, or, 200,0001. He doubted whether those reductio ns of the tax had been felt at all by the people, and he believed that more good would have been effected if the money had been devoted to the improvement of the great lines of communication in which the body of the people were interested. The petitioners recommended a considerable addition to the Legislative Council, and especially from the commercial class. The least satisfactory part of the business of the government of India, was cer tainly that which was connected with the legislation. The Legislative Council had not time to attend to their important duties, and the frequent replacement of one officer by another, was highly objectionable. He thought that in many respects alterations might be made with advantage in the constitution of the Legislative Council. We ought especially to avoid giving it a local character; the same legislation was not equally suited for the pro vince of Bengal and the other provinces ; you could not legislate in the same manner for men who never left their homes without a sword, and those who never left them without an umbrella. (A. laugh.) With respect to the home authorities, the petitioners were most de cidedly opposed to the present double government of the Board of Control and the Board of Directors, and, in regard to the latter, the petitioners stated that there was no security for its members being qualified for the high functions which they had to discharge. He (Lord Ellen borough) was much disposed to agree in this opinion of the petitioners. They expressed a hope that the facts which they stated in their petition might suggest the ex pediency of making arrangements for the government of India for a shorter term, and, in the-first instance, for only one year. (Hear.) lt was usually said, in reply to complaints of the government of India, " Oh, it works well." It might indeed work well for. those who were employed in its administration, but the question was, did it work well for the people of India, and did it present any appearance of stability and Our ( - 4„_ vernment had unquestionably conferred great advan tages upon India, in the extinction of the Maharattas and other tribes, and in the establishment of internal thinker and the closest investigator might justly doubt. (Hear, hear.) The noble earl, on presenting the last petition, expatiated on the question of education, and ...id ..n that point we were stopped in limine. And why ? Because ir you educate the people of India be yond a certain extent the people of India will cease to belong to England. He quite agreed with the noble earl, and that opinion was entertained by Sir Thomas Monroe, Sir Charles Metcalf, and other eminent au thorities on that subject. He had mentioned these mat ters for the purpose of showing the enormous difficulties which existed on the subject, and trusted that the sug gestion which he had thrown out would receive the con sideration of the Government. peace. But all these advantages had been conferred by our military successes, by the courage of our officers and troops, and by the enterprise and genius of our generals. But, he would ask, what did India owe to our civil go vernment ? We had indeed effected great alterations, and the changes which had taken place in the distribu tion of property under our rule had probably been greater than were brought about in England by the Norman conquest. But when he had gone through the provinces, and seen the ancient roads, and tem ples, and mosques, and all the other records of the Lord GLENELG said that the bill of 1833 was founded on an agreement and compromise between the parties, and unless mutual sacrifices had been made it would have been almost impossible to effect any change in the government of India. Now, with respect to the question of education. It was the universal opinion in England that it was the duty of this country to com municate to the natives of India the best education in great government by which we had been preceded, he owned that he had felt humiliated. (Hear.) What we had now to endeavour to discover, was a form of Go vernment by which a good administration might be given to India. We should also endeavour to obtain the assistance in the government of India of the most able and trustworthy persons ; and he cared not whether we resorted to the principle of election, or to that which he believed would be a more certain means of attaining the object, namely, that of judicious selection. But let them, as far as possible, exclude ordinary men and men of mediocrity from the government of India ; and, above all, let them exclude jobbers • and let them endeavour to have the government of India conducted with know ledge, ability, and probity, and with a regard to the interests of the people, and not alone to that of the rulers. (Hear, hear.) our power. (Hear, hear.) This was our duty and our mission. It was the vocation to which we were called. We were bound to perform our duty unflinchingly, and in this as in every case it would be found that if we per formed our duty, consulting only our duty, we should be best consulting our safety. It had been truly said that the natural condition of man was progress, and he was convinced that the scruples of any legislator would not retard that progress. It was in our power to make that progress formidable and dangerous. It was not in our power to nullify it, and say with respect to education, " Thus far shAl it go, and no further." (Hear, hear.) Was it our bounden duty, was it our best safety, to pause, to scruple at a certain point, and say, " Be this thy great circumference—be these our bounds ?" No ; but to say, " We are called on to do our duty both to God and man, and at any hazard we will execute that duty." (Hear, hear.) It was impossible to retard the progress that was now slowly taking place in India, and if ever the day should arrive -when the native would be in a capacity to govern himself, it would be a most glorious day for England. We would be looked at with into a wouldthe j more affection, with greater good f ee li ng , w ith more gratitude, and establish a bond an d secur ity aga i ns t any dangergovernment e w o u lwhichd not of India, now w e i n otb enter but m t n could qu i u n ste v s e atndiotv.nerto(Ht to e the ar t , hf h eu ea tuu r rn . e ) . happy state of the law throughout that country, which afforded matter for the deepest consideration. Provi sions were introduced in the act of 1833 expressly to meet that commission provided that there should be one law throughout the whole of India. The law commis sion was directed to frame a general code, and the same law was to apply to the English as well as the native subjects of her Majesty. A general code-was framed for the'purpose, and it was a rule wisely laid down that if an Englishman went into that country he must not ex pect to be one of a privileged class. Now, the fact was that the Europeans of that vast territory were subject only to the Supreme Court, except in cases of petty as sault ; and it was an absolute denial of justice to the natives to compel them to take their cases for trial at a distance of 1,000 miles. (Hear, hear.) At the present moment the natives did not possess the protection of the law. The act to which he had alluded was intended to correct the evil. It was corrected so far as the law com mission was concerned, but why it had not been cor rected in fact and reality it was quite impossible for him to say. (Hear, hear.) The Earl of DERBY had no intention of occupying the time of their lordships for more than a very few mo ments, for it was not his wish to enter into anything like a discussion of topics with which he confessed that he was very imperfectly acquainted—topics which had been treated by his noble friend who had presented a petition with a thorough knowledge of the subject, and which had been enforced with a power and ability which must command the respectful attention of their lord ships. Although he could not say that, as far as his limited information went, ho was prepared to acquiesce in the sweeping conclusions at which his noble friend had arrived, yet he had listened with great respect to the statement of evils and inconveniences which his noble friend had vouched to a great extent on his own authority. (Hear.) The object for which he alone rose was to express his concurrence, to a great extent, in what had fallen from his noble friend on the cross bench, and to ask the noble earl at the head of her Majesty's Government to reconsider his determination of legislating permanently for the affairs of India during the present session. ,He frankly admitted that at the time when, filling the station which the noble earl now occupied, he had the honour of proposing a committee of investigation into the affairs of India, he did so in the hope that the inquiries of the committee might be so far advanced this year, that it might be competent to the Government, guided and aided by their labours, to deal with the question in a satisfactory manner. The little progress, however, which the committee had made, owing to the immensity of the subject, and the con ' stantly increasing demands on their attention, led him to the conclusion that if the Government legislated during the present session they must legislate wholly irrespective of the labours and opinions of the committee in that and the other house of Parliament. He believed that the committee had only heard evidence on two topics, and it was perfectly o p en to them to call for other evidence which they might think necessary on that limited portion of th e i nqu i ry, and it even was clear Lord BROUGHAM said that the subject to which his noble friend had drawn the attention of the house was of the greatest possible importance, and imposed a duty upon the Government and Parliament of this country to apply to it all the resources of their know- Ledge and talents. He was not prepared to say that he agreed in the conclusions at which his noble friend had arrived after his experience in India and subsequent re- flection at home, but he was prepared to give the sub ject his best attention whenever it should come before heir lordships, _ and to approach it with the feelings which his noble friend had expressed, namely, a desire to consult for the good of the people of India, and thereby to consult for the true glory and honour of Eng land. An appeal had been made to him (Lord Brougham) in consequence of a. remark that had fallen from his noble friend upon a recent occasion, when this subject of India had been broached, and he had been called upon to vindicate the local administration of justice from the charges which had been brought against it. He might answer that appeal by repeating a statement which he had made on a former occasion: that upon a comparison of the results of the appeals from the English and from _ _ the native courts in India to the Judicial Committee of Privy Council, and disposed of by that court, it ap- peared that in the case of appeals from the native courts, extending ovei ten years, there was an average number of two reversals for two affirmances, while the appeals from the English courts showed seven reversals for one affirmance. But he must be permitted to say that it was by no means so certain as might be supposed from these figures that the administration of justice was supe rior in the native courts to what it was in the English courts. The real cause of the discrepancy was that in appeals from the native courts, when questions both of law and of fact came before the committee, the court being a state of comparative ignorance of the man ners and habits of the people, was inclined to sup port the decisions of the native judges, unless manifestly erroneous. (Hear, hear.) But in dealing with appeals from the English courts there was no such leaning at all on the part of the Judicial Committee. (Hear.) The comparative scantiness of the appeals showed that expense occasioned by delay and distance made the appellate jurisdiction capable of affording a very insuffi cient remedy for the natives. The noble lord had truly described the law taxes by which the suitor was so grievously oppressed. This was an enormity so prodi gious that without the most positive demonstration of the fact it would appear utterly incredible, and, as had been said, it could only be explained by the financial embarrassment under which the government of India was labouring. What Bentham said sixty or seventy years ago in his immortal work—the greatest ornament to his great fame as a lawgiver and as a jurisconsult--in his protest against law taxes, was perfectly demonstrable, and the way in which he had ettablished his point had never been answered, for in point of fact it was unan swerable. He said, " It is a common remark, that he who objects to a tax is bound to willinglyfi titute for law t axes an y o n f bs man can devi se ." (H ear .) ac u e d ep a t t s h ub e s e t o it n u d te ition l . member of th e comm itt ee up stairs, would take the liberty of stating that thcpeti tion presented by t he noble earl comprehended heads of s inquiry into which the commi ttee had, as yet, had no p tr ; iis Tx i s n_Ttc that Ey p a °A l t e u , t a i n dEay,l witaa s I aM o dm n y L e i o a o t r n t d h tsh e w m e r e . means of inquiring or examining at all. (Hear, hear.) . ; It opened a vast ground for further examination, which s it was not only necessary to enter upon but to exhaust • before it would be possible to determine in whose hands , the government of India ought to rest. He. would take . this opportunity of remarking that an impression foreign s to the fact had gone abroad relative to what passed in that further information might be given which would induce them to re-open it. He understood the two com mittees divided their inquiries into eight heads, and only two had been gone into, namely, the constitution of the government at home and the naval and military estab lishments of the Indian service. If, as her Majesty's Government had said, they were prepared to legislate permanently, he hoped they did not mean to legislate piecemeal. Least of all could they, with proper respect to the labours of the two committees, legislate on the constitution of the home government without a full in quiry into the other topics which were left for investiga tion, because, after all, concurring, as he did, in that which must be the opinion of every man among their lordships, that the object which Parliament had in v i ew framewas to such a form of government as would pro duce the greatest contentment, and advance the mate rial prosperity and moral progress of India—such a form of government as would work best for the benefit of the inhabitants of India, and hot for the inhabitants of this country merely—looking, he would repeat, to that as the object which Parliament had in view, and the ques tion being whether it was, desirable or not to continue the existing machinery of Indian government, he con tended it was impossible to escape from this conclusion, that the propriety of continuing or modifying that system of government must depend upon the working of that government, as proved by experience in the course of the administration of Indian affairs. The government of India was 'now practically on its trial, whether uprn the whole it had worked beneficially for India or not. There might be theoretical anomalies in its constitution, but the great test and trial of its merits was, whe ther the administration of th e government had pro duced benefits commensurate with, or greater than, the advantages derived from any other system. Inquiry must be made into the financial, the political, the judicial, and the moral system of the government, and in solving the question whether that government should be continued in its present shape or be modified, the test must be—what had been the practical result of our administration of Indian affairs under all those dif ferent heads on which -the committee had not even com menced their labours ? He confessed his opinion on that _ _ and he remained in that important office just three weeks On the fall of the Government of the noble lord, the right hon. member for Stamford was placed in the position of President of the Board of Control, and he remained in office until the change of Government before Christmas, when he was succeeded by the right hon. member for Hali fax. He believed all those gentlemen were very well meaning, but nobody ever believed that they knew more about India than their neighbours. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) No person, so far as he heard, had ever discovered that they paid particular attention to questions connected. with India ; and yet, though a man had been Secretary-at- War for several years, or Chancellor of the Exchequer, or anything else, by mere party routine he was put at the head of the Government of India, or in any other office to which it might suit the convenience of those making a Cabinet to appoint him. (Hear, hear.) Not only had there been four presidents of the Board of Control within the time he had mentioned, but they had actually had six secretaries, all of whom had seats in that house. (Hear.) The house would see there was no continuous government in the Board of Control, and there was naturally a great imlisposition on the part of persons coming casually into that office to grapple with a great question like the govern ment of India (Hear, hear.) There was an inquiry going on by a committee, on which many eminent men were sitting and he understood that at the commencement of their labours the right bon. gentleman the member for Stamford divided the inquiry into eight heads or branches, and placed at the beginning the circumstances and method of the home Government. He (111 n .Bright) was not a member of that committee, and therefore could only speak from hearsay. He understood that the first branch of the inquiry had been pretty much gone through ; bat the house would see that that w as prec i sely the least impor tant portion of the inquiry, because there was no well informed member of the house who was nut acquainted with the condition of the home Government—th e theory and means of acting the private wrangles between Leadenhall-street and Cannon-row, and the previous com munications, by which an opening quarrel might be avoided, in order that discredit might not be thrown on the whole system. (Hear, hear.) All that was the last thing that was necessary to be inquired into, yet that was put first on the list ; and he understood it was considered that for the purpose of legislation further inquiry was not necessary, and that legislation might be forthwith coin , menced. (Hear, hear.) That. which would describer the true character of the Government was to be found in the condition of the people that were governed, yet the whole condition of the natives of India was left entirely un touched. (Hear.) There had been nothing in the shape of adverse evidence produced before the committee, but ' there were different witnesses that might be examined, and to enable them to .form an opinion whether the Indian government or the Board of Control was good or bad, it was right andjust that impartial witnesses should be heard, and that they should not confine the investigation to the evidence of persons who were connected with the Indian government, and had been for the most part of their lives in the service of the East India Company. (Hear.) He begged to call the attenion of the house to the petitions that had been presented from various parties in India— some of them European and Christian inhabitants, and some of them native inhabitants of thepresidencies. (Hear.) It was said that some of the witnesses impugned that tes timony, and said the opinion of the natives was not be taken ; but if the house acted upon the evidence of men of that character, they would find, in regard to their government of India, that they had made a most fatal mistake, and they would discover it at a time when they would be without a remedy. (Hear, hear.) In a pe t tition from the British and Christian inhabitants of B enga l, after referring to the question of internal government, it was stated that it would be expedient to make the future arrangements of the government of India for a shorter term of years, and at first for one year. He would also read a petition from the native and other inhabitants of the Madras presidency ; and he had received a letter from an intelligent person in Madras, stating that if an inquiry were set on foot, he would undertake to establish the statements contained in that petition. (Hear.) In that petition it was stated that "whilst your petitioners regret that, owing to the want of sufficient time, and the insuper able di ffi culty of getting acces s t o th e financial documents, they were unable to state the vast number of major and minor grievances to which they are subject under the operation of the existing system of government, they en treat that those they have imperfectly touched upon may meet with the patient consideration of the house, as well as that an opportunity may b e a ff or d e d o f substantiating the facts they have stated before an impartial commission of inquiry and investigation, assembled in India, composed of persons in and out of public employ, and Europeans and natives conjointly." (Hear, hear.) He had another petition, from the native merchants, ship owners, bankers, and other inhabit an t s o f B om b ay, w hi c h concluded in these words :—" Your petitioners pray that the act now existing be re-enacted for one year only, so as to permit time for the important negotiations which seem so indispensable in the construction of a new constitution for India, especially as patient care and attention are not likely to be bestowed upon them if immediately or hastily gone into during the political excitement now prevailing in England." He (Mr. Bright) presumed that the peti tioners referred to the change of Government last year. There was another - petition, from the Bombay Association and other native inhabitants of the Bombay presidency, in. which "they humbly pray your honourable house to em body, in any measure of legislation which comes before you for the government of India, the principle here set forth, and that the house will not rest content, but will adjourn the final settlement of the plan for the Indian government until all available information from trust worthy sources be laid before yea." It was also proposed that they should limit the existence of the act for the future government of India to a period of ten years, so that the interests of so many millions of British subjects might be more frequently brought under the consideration of the British Parliament. He could refer to other evi dence in favour of inquiry, and showing a desire that there should be an alteration in the existing govern ment of India, It was stated that the law was ad ministered in the company's courts under circumstances that were productive of great delay, great expense, and a virtual denial of justice. It was said that the police of India was in such a state that there was little security for either life or property ; that the police themselves were little better than the dacoits or gang ro bb ers th a t i n f est ed the country ; that the taxes were not levied in a manner that was the least injurious to the industry of the country; that they were extremely onerous, and that reform was necessary; and, to illustrate the bad condition of the roads, it was stated that within 35 miles of Calcutta, ou the high road to the north, a bridge was washed away in 1847, and had not yet been repaired—(hear, hear) ;—that in conse quence of the state of the roads it was impossible to intro- • duce articles brought from abroad into the interior of the country, or to bring from the interior the produce of India; and it was complained that the railroads in course of being made were proceeding with dilatoriness, from want of energy, complexity of management, and hopelessness of result, a statement that could not be made of a railway in any other part of the world. (Hear, hear.) The state of irrigation was considered infinitely less satisfactory than under the old government of India ; the canals and reser voirs were allowed to go out of repair, and during the last few years a famine had occurred in a particular district that might have been prevented if the Government paid ordinary attention to irrigation, by securing the vast mass of water that fell in one season of the year to sustain the productiveness of the soil continuously through the whole year. (Hear, hear.) He begged to call attention to a let ter which appeared in the Bombay Gazette from Surat, in which the writer described the means that were taken 'by officers of the Government to prevent native servants of the Government, and Europeans too, from bringing any information before the Brttish public. (Hear, hear.) The condition of a people was the true index by which to judge of the character of a government, and he begged, in refer ence to that subject, to read a statement from the Bombay Times of the 14th of April, 1852. It might be that these were merely statements published in a newspaper ; but if similar statements regarding any county in England appeared in a London newspaper, they would either meet with a denial or measures would be adopted to prevent the repetition of them. By a statement in the Bombay Times —"The population was described as living in the utmost penury. It was impossible, it was said, for roasters to remain as they were, and that from year to year they must continue in a downward path, unless the present system was arrested and reversed." An inquiry had been made into the reasons why cotton could not be grown in India, and the report of the committee, on which there were three East India directors, was unanimously agreed to. In that report they made the following statement with regard to the general condition of the people, and ho begged the house to bear in mind that all the witnesses were servants of the Government, and bein g so, he considered they gave their evidence in a manner that was not in the slightest degree tinged with any unfavourable bias for the Govern ment, but they gave it honestly and honourably, and in a manner with which he was satisfied. The committee, in their report, appealed to the evidence of almost every witness, to show that the condition of the cultivating population was one of extreme poverty—that they were obliged to apply to the money lender for the means of obtaining seed, giving security for the loan on the growing crops, which, on coming to maturity, were disposed of to him at a price more regulated by his will than the standard of the open market, and that the cultivator often paid for the loan 40 or 50 per cent., or even more than that. How was it that the money lender o bt a i ne d t hat power over the could the et peobvtaeirtnytheantduhseuiripioeuesseraesete of ff the population w? er H e ° no w t population cultivating the soil, to whom the money thus lent. And whatever might be said as to the money lenders being the cause of the mischief to they were only the secondary cause, th e cultiv ator, reduced to misery by the unaccountable Population being vernment. (Hear.) He would mention neglect of the Go authority of the hon. member for Gnil _ aonother fact on the examined for two days before the df rd, who had been a question that was put to the irmmittee. In reply to amount the Indian Government h n, member, as to the teen years—since the renewal of d expended during - four -1834 to 1848—in substantial i the Charter Act—from the people, on roads, brid ea improvements for the good of that nature, he stated g t i , can als, tanks, and works of 1,400,0001. or 100,000/. e amount so expended was chaster had expended, h e a Yea going the town of Mall on improvements fora was say, double the sum o hon. member was askedPepulation of 400,000 Persons' b the Indian Government the amount of revenue obtaine d y . during those fourteen years, and he (Mr. Bright) di d t precise answer the hon. gentleman gave, bu t the eh I n dian Govern ment showed that, cf. 316,000,0001, from thethe paper s . of t tiring that period, If any man e , dmitted that fact they had extracted of India. (Hear, hear.) population . to be true, ground for doubting whether it would be wise afforded a fair it in that house continuance of or the Government to propose a permanent rigidin bout a more the present Government of India, wit d. There was also the quiry than had yet been established. 1842, when Sir Robert Peel of the revenue of India. I he referred to the Peel brought forward his budget, . there might - quite aware he was reve nues of India, stating that d immediate connection between appear to be no direct an those of this country, but it would the finances oflndia and our of relations with India, said the deration of be a superficial which,view shou ld omit not g o t account of right hon. baronet, x Bright) had not go a n y this subject. Her. 9 but he woul d state to the 'nee 184 , es of Indi a a d ' n iu the nine years pre the revenues .which ha arise house the deficiency rho _ e _thency amounted t02 . ,400,000/.; 1849. In 1840 .d fi 1842, to 1 700 0001. ; in 1843, to ceding .„ . 1 70 0 , 000/. ; In , i n 184 ,ilvi L 1 ) : - 'fia 1844, to 770,000; in 1815, to 740,0001. ; in le o, "'', i ' -- 000/. ; in 1847, to 907,0 0 0 1 . ; in 1848, to 146, anni .A) --- ' and in 1849, to 2,300,0001. ; there being a deft -1,90°,-- 00,000./. in the ten years from 1840 to 1849, defi ciency of 1 , we ; an d, with the exception of one year, there h a d inelus of eve y ar since The house was well. rY e • been a deficiency a ware that for fro years past it had been constantly as that sorted by the Indian Governmen t l nd ia could supply otton for the manufactures of this country. Would the house believe that during 1817, 1818, 1819, 35 years ago, we imported from India a larger amount of cotton on the average of those three years, than we imported in 1849 or 1852. The average from 1817 to 1819 was 184,000 bales; i n 1842, 182,000 bales ; and although in 1850 and 1851 the imports were somewhat larger • in 1852 the had fallen to less than 162,000 bales. (Mr. ki ...angles : Th y e ' price.) The hon. member for Guildford referred to but was not the price the question of price of cotton from India and from America subject to precisely the lame causes of fluctuation.? point was strengthened by what had fallen from his no ble friend over the way (Lord Broughton) who was for so long a period President of the Board of Control. His noble friend had reminded their lordships that in the new .legislation upon which the Government were about to enter, it would not be necessary to limit the ope ration of the bill for ten or twenty years, but that Parlia ment had an opportunity of legislating for India just as might be done with any other act of Parliament, which might be passed in one session and repealed in the next. But if this were true, what was to become of permanent legislation for India ? Was it wise or statesmanlike to pass an act, and then to repeal it ? Lord BROUGH'TON— You leave it like any other act of Parliament. The Earl of DERBY admitted this to be the case, but if it were wished to make a measure a monument of Parliamentary wisdom, it would not do to legislate this year, and call the measure permanent, and then to come back next year for the purpose of repealing this act of legislation. He was sure that no member of the Govern ment could have in this matter any other desire but what was common to their lordships, namely—that their legis lation should be creditable to the country and to Parlia ment, and should give satisfaction to the people of India. Upon this species of legislation, differing happliy from any other, it was hardly possible that party struggles could be brought to bear, and surely the inconvenience of a temporary act was not to be measured for a single moment with the paramount inconvenience of legislating —not only without information, but absolutely in repu diation of those committees which Parliament had ap pointed to obtain information on the subject. If he might venture to suggest any course—which he knew he had no right to do—he would suggest the introduction of a continuing act, not exceeding four or five years, but for a term sufficiently long to enable the committee to complete the investigation, and to enable the Government to weigh the recommendations of the committee, provi sion being made that Parliament should be at liberty to legislate before that time, if it thought proper, instead of having recourse to an annual renewal, which would un settle the minds of the people of India. By taking a continuance of the present system for a period of five years, with a reservation to Parliament of power to deal with the question, he thought there would be the best chance of solving the great and difficult problem with which Parliament would have to deal, and of legislating in a manner which would not only conduce to the in , terests of the people of India, but would redound to the honour of the empire generally. The Earl of ABERDEEN deeply participated in the hope expressed by the noble earl, that we might arrive at the result which would prove most beneficial to the subjects of the great empire for which we were about to legislate, but he could not agree with him in thinking that it would be desirable to introduce a continuing act with a term of four or five years. Of all the suggestions which he had heard, this appeared to him to be the least adapted to effect the object desired. He (the Earl of Aberdeen) had heard that the committees of both houses had arrived at a clear opinion that the inquiry had been completed so far as to enable the Legislature to deal with the question of the home government. Though the committee of their lordships' house had not expressed a decided opinion, yet he understood that the inquiry was closed so far as related to that portion of the inquiry, and lie felt that Government were competent to deal with it without embracing the whole number of heads into which the committee had divided the subject of inquiry. The petition which had been presented no doubt com prised very important matter for inquiry, and detailed many grievances which were worthy of their lordships' attention. Their lordships would be justified in giving this petition their most serious consideration, but when a committee was now sitting for the very purpose of in quiry into those topics which had been urged by the noble earl, and when, as he understood, the judicial system in particular was under the consideration of the committee at the present moment, he confessed that it appeared to him to be rather inconvenient, and indeed irregular, to go into those topics into which the com mittee were inquiring. He had heard a great deal of the lamentable government of India, and the noble earl had said that he felt humiliated when he compared the public works which we had executed with those left be hind them by our predecessors. He confessed he thought that an insufficient test of the merits of a Government. He would as soon draw an inference from the pyramids of Egypt, and conclude that their builders were superior to us in moral qualifications. He believed that the Go vernment of this country had been attended with great and extensive blessings to the people of India, and that, as compared with all former governments, we could have no fear in putting ourselves forward. It was still our desire to increase and to extend those blessings, and he confessed that, as the result of the inquiry now carried on before the committee, he hoped that the Government would be able to produce a measure which would tend materially to improve the government of India. He believed it was necessary that the present system should form the foundation of any future system of government, though it might be susceptible of some modifications. It was too early to express any opinion about them, but he must protest against what had been said by the noble earl about a continuing act. The conversation here terminated. Several bills on the table were forwarded a stage, and their lordships adjourned at a quarter before eight o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS.-(YESTERDAY.) INDIAN AFFAIRS. Mr. WILSON having moved the adjournment of the house at rising until Monday next, Mr. BRIGHT said he had given notice that he would put a question as to the course which the Government would take with respect to the future government of India. He believed the house would agree with him, that at this particular juncture it was scarcely possible a more import ant question than this could come before it, and he felt himself justified in alluding to it as one of the representa tives of that constituency which was undoubtedly more deeply interested in the proper solution of the question of the future government of India than any other constitu ency of the United Kingdom. (Hear, hear.) Another ground was this—that in the year 1848 he had obtained, and presided over, a committee for the purpose of inquiring into the obstacles that prevent the growth of cotton and the development of industry and cultivation in India, and in the year 1850 had brought before the house a proposi tion to send a royal commission to India for the purpose of investigating on the spot what were the obstacles to an ex tended cultivation of the raw material of the greatest manufacture of this country in India. (Hear.) That com mission was refused by the Government of the day ; but he was able to say most distinctly that it was approved of by many most distinguished men in that house. It was strongly approved of by Sir Robert Peel, who spoke to him about it both before the motion was brought on and after wards. It was approved of by the right hon. gentleman who was now First Lord of the Admiralty ; it was ap proved of by Lord George Bentinck ; and it was not, he thought, disapproved of by the noble lord who at the time was at the head of the Government ; but it was opposed by the Indian Government and the President at the time of the Board of Control. Having made those efforts to obtain an inquiry, he felt justified in asking the Govern ment not to be precipitate in any legislation they no dertook, for although. an inquiry had been refused, *t wll l " appeared to be necessary by not less than three 1 since appeared that an inquiry should take place. About two ago the noble lord the member for the d e . ity of Lund e] , announced that the Government intended to °of appointthe future a committee preparatory to the consideratione government of India ; but the noble lord went out of office just at the moment the committee Was about to be nominated, in the month of February of the last year. On the accession to po wer o f the Gov ernment rue of Lord Derby the committee was nominated, and sat during the remain der of last session. And d • this ses s i on, when the Go vernment of Lord Aberdeen leg succeeded that of Lord Derby, the inquiry was still considered necessary, and the com mittee during this se ssion resumed it s l a b ours. (Hew). hear.) He considerec, it a most unfortunate thing f? India that its Government that house, was one of , so far as it Was represented nilkr and h e was afraid of the most fluctuating, and u o ncerw to an incapable character.. mean incapable as the incapacity of individul.ials, to the particular • hear.)in the Had circumstances of its constitution. year the house observed had, been changed the President of the that w did not but a r e Board of Control In the iitituttun. m ( o H nt e h a s: n e ged no less than four ti the President beginning of February in the last Ye!!! . .. an d h e would of the Board of Control was Lord Bro o llgtlf c a n aw ls , ex gay nothing of his administration 1 1 " cept that he was one of the most id r bim they had Mr. Fox _i.conented and somnolent of statesmen. (Laughter.) -P- .lvu Maule (Lord Panmure) so Preadent of the Board of Control, now being inflicted with regard to those papers, in con sequence of the extraordinary facilities which are now offered of carrying down the. London bewspapers to within 100 miles of the metropolis. The provincial editor has not only little to interest his readers beyond some few articles of local news, and from the immense burden which the advertisement duty imposes upon him he is not in a position to employ the literary talent which he would otherwise be enabled to do. 1 know many newspaper proprietors in the country who, with limited capital, are glad to take long advertisements for the sake of the duty alone, on - condition of frequent insertion, in order to save the cost of composition. The generality of the tax and its equality of amount, whether charged on papers which circulate 5,000 or 500 was another point which weighed with unusual severity upon the provincial press. If I were the Chancellor of the Ex chequer to-morrow, I should venture to repeal the whole of the tax to-morrow, because I am satisfied that the in crease of the amount paid on the penny stamp, and the paper duties, would more than replace to the revenue that lost by this reduction. Mr. CooKE said, from his experience as an advertising agent, he could assure the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the pressure of the duty had great effect in deter ring advertisers from advertising to the extent which they would otherwise have done had it not been so great. He had recently known a case in which a tradesman intending to spend 1501. in short advertisements, on hearing that 451. would go to the Government in the share of duty, had been frightened at the apparent useless expense, and instantly reduced his advertisements to 501. These were things which were constantly occurring and which made it very apparent that the duty was a great burden and hindrance to commercial enterprise. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER —What is your 'opinion of the relative advantages of abolition and re duction ? Mr. COOKE—Although we should prefer abolition, we should be glad to take a reduction if we could get no more Mr. YOUNG—Not worth having. The CHANCELLOR of the . EXCHEQUER (with a smile). Not worth having, Mr. Young. After a few concluding remarks from Mr. Ewart, M.P., The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHECIORR stated that he was very much pleased at having had an opportunity of hearing the opinions which had been expressed to him, and the deputation then withdrew. The general impression was in favour of a total repeal. STATE OF TRADE. (From the Manchester Guardian of this day.) • MANCHESTER, MARCH 11.—The receipts of cotton at the American ports continue to be so much larger than was expected, as to give rise to a very general persuasion in this market that existing prices cannot be maintained. Spinners are willing to take fully id. per lb. less than they would accept last week ; and manufacturers also are prepared to make some little concession from what they then required for most articles. Since the decline com menced, we have lost id. to Ad. per lb. in the me dium and lower counts of twist and weft—warps, pin cops, and India mule having suffered in the greatest de gree. Even printing cloths do not command quite the same prices, and 40-inch shirtings are now fully' 44d., 6d.; and 74-d. per piece below the late highest rates. To day there is a more decided impression than there was either on Tuesday or yesterday, that a further decline must take place in the raw material. GLASGOW, MARCH 11.—The cotton market during the week has been very quiet, and the amount of business transacted rather limited. BRADFORD, MARCH 10.—Wool—The transactions in all sorts of combing wools are not large. The prices sought and held for totally preclude the spinners from buying, and the staplers act on the defensive, seeing no chance of replacing their stocks. NOTTINGHAM, MARCH 10.—That the trade of this town has increased very considerably of late years, there can be no dispute, but with the exception of a trifling extent to the United States; and a few of the States of South America, there does not appear to be any decisive increase in the amount of export to foreign countries. We have heard of some Nottingham goods that have been sent to Australia having realised large profits. The lace and hosiery trades remain much in the same condition we have recently reported them. LEICESTER, MARCH 10.—The confidence felt by many manufacturers, that the present advanced rates both of worsted and cotton will be maintained, keeps employ ment plentiful. There is a fair business doing in the warehouses for the season in worsted goods, and the demand for cotton hose is very extensive. CALIFORNIAN INDUSTRY.— Owing to the spongy, springy nature of the soil in the burying-ground of San Francisco, many of the corpses there interred, instead of decaying, have been converted into a substance well known to chemists by the name of adipocere—a sub stance analogous to, and intermediate between, stearine and spermaceti. In passing the ground this morning to my place of employment, I saw a person busily engaged in collecting the adipocere from the exposed bodies. Struck by the singularity of his employment, I interro gated him as to its object, when he coolly replied, that he was gathering it to make soap. —The Panama .herald. NEW ZEALAND.—The following is an extract from a letter dated Wellington, New Zealand, Septem ber 6, 1852 :—" We are at present in a very awkward position here. The return of a few people within the last ten days from the goldfields, where they have been very successful, and letters from others who left but a few weeks since, have created such an excitement that it is hard to say what will be the immediate consequences. I really believe that hundreds will leave. It is not only the labourer, but the mechanic and shopkeeper are also infected The auri sacra fames has even seized upon and overcome the laziness of the natives, many of whom, it is reported, are about to go to the o diggins.' The next twelve months will be a most trying time ; no labour, business at a dead lock, and bread high. I po sitively believe that our new constitution will arrive when there will not be sufficient males to work it I am not, however, in a desponding mood. I think that most of the people will return ; if successful, tant mieux ; if otherwise, they will buckle to again, as before, satis fied that there is no good to be got by roaming. Per haps the land question may in the meantime be settled ; it it just now as unsettled as ever ; no arrangement yet made for selection of the supplemental orders, or for ex changing laads selected in unpurchased districts-" STRANGE AFFAIR.--NOTTINGHAM, Thursday.—Con siderable sensation was created this morning in the neighbourhood of the new bath and washhouse, Notting ham, in consequence of the following tragical occurrence : It appears that this morning, at about a quarter to one o'clock, a man, named David Bain, a smith, employed at the establishment of Messrs. Cowan, left the works, and proceeded towards his own house. When near the baths he observed three men, and upon passing them he wished them " Good night." One of them returned an offen sive answer, and Bain remarked, " You are very polite." Upon which Bain was instantly struck across the eyes and forehead by one of the fellows. A scuffle between o h p y p k o n n o en ek t in e g ns h u i e m d, d a o n w d n h . e A got se a c w on ay d ruffian then attack ed Bain, and the tfromhefor hism aer also shared the sam e fate as his accomplice . rta an g d on h i i s e t man,after Th a e sc s u m ffl it e h , by the third fellow, who overtook then ran away towards his home,okandhiwasafhoolulotwe3do Bai m then turned yards distant from his companions. then turned me, you will have something ." The ruffian round upon the man, and said, "If n you follow back, and Bain was not further molested. LOSS AND RECOVERY OF £IOO.—HONESTY REWARDED. --A few days since, Charles Bla,sden , a cab driver, badge 1,392, took up two gentlemen at Osborne's Hotel Adel phi, and conveyed them to the terminus of the South- . Western Railway. About half-an-hour afterwards he was called by a fare in Dean's-yard, Westminster, and on opening the door of the vehicle discovered a purse amongst the straw, the contents of which consisted of a cheque, drawn in favour of Mr. Arbuthnot or bearer, for 1001., and some silver ; when he had deposited his last fare he drove with all possible dispatch to the Adelphi, for the purpose of making inquiries respecting the two gentlemen whom he had taken from that establishment. On arriving, one of them, who had returned and was in a state of great excitement, on account of his loss, asked was prompt an d contentsin liberalitythe were phrae affirmative nsedn i at t overt thheteo the driver if he had seen anything of a purse ? The reply the who purs e with extreme drivertee o e l i n e t r h e l half-a-crown for his honesty, loss of time, and trou ble. REPRESENTATION OF BRIDGNORTH.—This borou gh is not likely to be without candidates for the voices of the electors. Already two have appeared, and others are , talked of. The first candidate in the fi e ld was Mr . G. W. Hope, but on the appearance of an addressfrom * Mr. Pritchar d, banker of Broseley, who is supposed to have considerable local influence, Mr. Hope withdrew but others are announced as likely to come forw ar d. ; [ADVERTISEMENT.] —THE ROYAL EXHIBITION. —A valuable newly-invented, very small powerful waistcoat pocket glass, the size of a walnut, by which a person can be seen and known 11 miles distant ; they answer every purpose on the race course, at the opera houses, country scenery, and ships are clearly seen at 12 to 14 miles ; they are invaluable for shooting, deer stalking, yachting, to sportsmen gentlemen, game keepers, and tourists.— To be had at 39, Albemarle-street, Piccadilly—observe, opposite the York Hotel. Telescopes.—A new and most important invention in telescopes, possessing such extra ordinary powers, that some, 31 inches, with an extra eye piece, will show distinctly Jupiter's moons, Saturn's ring, and the double stars. With the same telescope, weighing only three ounces, can be seen a person's ' countenance 31 miles distant, and an object from 16 to ' 20 miles. They supersede every other kind for the waist ! coat pocket, and are of larger, and all sizes with increas ing powers accordingly. Opera and race-course glasses, with wonderful powers. An object can be clearly seen from 14 to 16 miles distant. Messrs. S. &B. Solomons, opticians, have invented invaluable preserving spectacle lenses ; immediately they are placed before imperfect ' vision, every object appears clear and distinct ; the most • sig ht becomes bright and brilliant, is aged defective brought to its youthful, natural, and original state. The ,kinds of acoustic in , ' invisible prganic vibrator, and all struments for relief of extreme deafness.-39, Albemarle 1, street Piccadilly, opposite the Y ork Rote ', IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. ROUSE OF LORD-(YESTERDAY.) GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH rose to present, a petition from the British and other Christian inhabitants of Calcutta and the neighbouring parts in the lower pro vinces of Bengal, with respect to the renewal of the tact for the government of the Indian territories. The noble earl said that the petition which he had now the honour to present was signed by a class of persons entirely dif ferent from those whose names were attached to the petitions recently presented on the same subject from Madras and Bombay. The previous petitions were signed very extensively by natives of India of the Hindoo and Mahomedan religions. The present petition was exclusively signed by Europeans, by natives of India of half caste and of full blood, and likewise Christians. The petitioners were about 1,280 in number, of whom 429 were either zemindars (that was, holders of land), or superintendents of factories, or persons engaged in indigo, cotton, or silk speculations, in the lower province of Bengal ; 141 were persons connected with commerce, principally in Calcutta, and amongst them were tie names of Jardine and Co., Ashford and Co., and several other of the most considerable commercial houses In ; Calcutta ' • 183 were tradespeople and others who were I possessed of considerable wealth in that country ; 29 I belonged to the legal profession ; 268. were uncovenanted servants in the Government offices ; 99 were clerks in private establishments ; [and there were some othelrs whose avocations were not specifically stated ; but he apprehended that the petition might be understood to convey a fair representation of the opinion of persons who entertained English ideas with respect to the go vernment of India. They were persons essentially in terested in the prosperity of that country. They stated —and, as far as he had been able to ascertain, truly stated—that the law of India was not only bad, but that the judges were bad, and the executive officers inefficient. They began by pointing out what the law was in the supreme courts established in the several presidencies. They said that in the supreme court three different codes of law were established—an English code for English subjects, and Hindoo and Mahomedan codes for Hindoos and Mahomedans respectively, as far as civil matters were concerned ' • but that the English criminal law was applicable to a ll parties of whatever race or religion = that for nearly eight years these three different codes had been administered to the general satisfaction of the different races, thereby establishing the important fact that English judges qualified to administer the English law became qualified to administer the native law also. With respect to the supreme court, he would just obserie that there was this great practical inconvenience, that when the charter for the foundation of that court was established, all the statute law of England, together with the English common law, was imported into that court, but that since that period no acts of Parliament that had passed in this country extended to India, unless they had been specifically so extended in the acts them selves, or unless they had been made part and parcel of the law of India by act of the legislative authority of that country. The procedure of the court was directed by the procedure of Westminster Hall ; but their lordships would perceive that a judge proceeding to India to officiate in the supreme court, had to learn both Hindoo and Mahomedan law, of which he knew nothing, and to forget a large portion of the law of England, with whieh he was acquainted. The petitioners then stated what the law was in the East India Company's courts, which had jurisdiction over matters of succession, inhe ritance, caste, marriages, and religious usages. There was also a Hindoo and Mahomedan code of law fer Hindoos and Mahomedans, which chiefly related to pro cedure or to the revenue ' • but the petitioners alleged that no code of equity had been established, no maxims or principles laid down, but that it had been altogether left to the courts to work out a system of equitable jmis. diction, which after sixty years they had not done. When he (Lord Ellenborough) was at the Board of Con trol in 1830, having a proposition to make for the re- newal of the East India Company's charter, he thought on that occasion it would be of great importance to con solidate the statute law of England which related to the East India Company, and also to consolidate the regu lations of the East India Company in their courts in India. He offered, from the surplus funds of the Board of Control, to undertake to bear the whole expense of the consolidation of the statute law of England, and he communicated with SirChailes Grey,_then recently re: turned from Bengal, where he was Chief Justice, and who was now Governor of Jamaica, and with Sir Ralph Price, and declared his intention to entrust them with the consolidation of such statute law. He also proposed to the chairman and deputy-chairman of the East India Company that they should undertake to consolidate the regulations of the government of India in the company's courts. These regulations had been framed from time to time by -the gentlemen who happened to be in the councils of the several presidencies. These gentlemen, wholly unacquainted with law, and not possessing any precision of language, wrote the regulations very much in a conversational style, and gave directions th - at were understood by themselves, but which it was extremely difficult, from their ambiguity, and from the use of dif ferent words expressing the same thing, for any other man desirous of conforming to the law thoroughly to comprehend. He had also suggested the consolidation of the statute law of England affecting India, because he knew that in the course of that process its deficiencies would he discovered and corrected. From that time to this, however, twenty-three years had elapsed, and not one stroke had been struck towards the consolidation either of the statute law or of the regulations of the East India Company. During the last twenty years no doubt the legislative authority of Bengal had im proved the general language of the regulations, but the regulations remained in their old condition (as we under stood the noble earl, who was at times very indis tinctly heard). The petitioners further complained that great inconvenience arose from the number of appeals, and from the requirement that, all the evidence should be taken in writing ; they complained also of the enormous amount of the stamp duties levied upon all documents used in every stage of civil or criminal proceedings. He (the Earl of Ellenboroug) saw no excuse for the imposi tion of these excessive stamp duties, except it was from the financial difficulties of the Government ; but these difficulties were no reason why obstacles should be thrown in the way of the administration of justice. The petitioners went on to allege that there had been a general impression amongst Europeans that in the na tive courts the greatest corruption prevailed, and that eighteen months ago, when corrupt practices were charged against those courts, the civil judges, who in quired into the matter, did not come to the conclusion that the .courts were exculpated, but made a general re port that they were now improved. The petitioners next observed upon the appellate jurisdiction, which they alleged rested wholly with the civil servants of the East India Company. They stated that the administra- tion of justice in the Zillah Court (a Zillah being a divi sion like a county, containing perhaps a million of in habitants) was the cause of universal dissatisfaction— that the judges of those courts were appointed without proper professional qualifications, and that they had not formed any general body of rules, or any system of equitable jurisdiction. Now, he wished to observe that there was very great and'alLost insurmountable diffi- culty in establishing in the provinces of India a body of judges by whom the administration of justice could be well performed in India where there was no enlightened bar, no Europeans, no public (as was the case in Eng land), before whom a judge in open court had to exer cise his functions. He (the Earl of Ellenborough) had himself, at various times, most anxiously looked at this subject, and he thought it the bounden duty of Parlia ment, or of the government of India, to provide that those persons who were to fulfil judicial functions should have the means of acquiring, and should actually pos sess, a knowledge of the law they were to administer. Indeed, he believed it would be almost advisable that, after a certain period of service, the judicial servants of the East India Company should be compelled to select their future branch of service, and that after they de cided upon a particular branch, in that branch they remain unless the Government considered it ex- pedient to change them. The petitioners stated that in the company's courts, the criminal law, which was fundamentally Mahomedan at present, was inapplicable to the Hindoos, the immense majority of the population, andtherefore suggested that the English criminal law as it now stood should at once be extended to. India. To this, however, there was this difficulty, that the criminal law for England itself was at present the subject of inquiry; and was yet undecided ; and, further, it was a question whether it would be expedient to have a body of gentle men in India and require them for the first time to exe cute English criminal laws, of which, up to the present moment, they were utterly ignorant. The petitioners next came to the subject of the police force, in India, which they alleged was totally inadequate for the prevention of crime or the protection of life and property, and that it had become an engine of oppres sion and a great cause of corruption. They said that 10,000 or 11,000 pohce was under the control of a single magistrate (as we understood) who was compelled to reside in one place, and had no power of locomotion ; that the distance of the magistrate's courtfrom the place twohfiereftyomffeilneces ; s t w h e a r t e e a p o r m os m ee it u t t e o d r was n o n ft v e n n llin from to fif o tee s n o a w n i d t n e t s h s a e at h to e appear a t r h g e i n g reegoantrets tin; his ce to imprison f a da n i rffidwetuihtl with y t m g e a t n t y i n complaint , cga hi s it was the practice the prosecutor and his witn vn es t s n e e s ss in es or w de o r ul t d o compel them ttoneappp:oasreaengtaoinrstnaonr ohffiespde.r. . t Some d tim of es a w t h ru en e neither e extraordinary anomaly was wi nesse wofhothweereeomninotispsiroen sbeeni being g at su a p n p d o k rt n e e d vr by not f h al in se g e o r p o o u li g e e h ) force,hl him self a sYenthb at present constituted, was one of the greatest grievances in the internal state of India, and he had made some progress in reforming it. He had certainly intended to extend a system of military police over the whole of the Bengal provinces, and he was satisfied that such a mea ofththeoouffgehntce. the totalH e (the ine ffiEwaPeiiretelnrnsoeci synßeaosill mea sure would have given the Government the means of more effectually preventing, and punishing crime ; and it would also have had the further advantage of enabling the Government to place in the hands of the police many duties which were now performed by the regular army. It had been stated by a high authority that if that were done it would be possible to diminish the regular forces in India by 50,000 men. The large attendance on the preventione v er Wi th magistrates of India rende re d a grea t a dditional number of the at m ili tary present n f r itor a m forces theynecessary, w eie of little and yet, o a s r n o regarded useh w t a h t e . t r h o e sferegardns m th al t le r the a c m ivi o l un se t n o i f ce d , is t tng h i ei u pe is t h it e i d on ers remarked that there was reason t o b e li eve th a t it pro duced ex cellence than formerly, and they complained of the monopoly of high offices as unjust, and as prejudicial to the interest of the public service. Th ey sa id , moreover, that the salaries of persons having the powers of magis trates and in positions of high trust, were very little