The Sun. — London, England, 1857-03-03 00:00:00

MONEY MARKET AND COINIMERCIALRINTELLIGENCE. CITY, Two o'CLocK. Letters from Liverpool slate that the Cotton Market yesterday closed quietly, and, compared with Friday's rates, prices of all kinds were unchanged. The sales were estimated at 6,000 bales. In the Railway Share Market there was an apparent downward tendency in prices, with but a moderate business done. The following particulars, extracted from the list published by Mr. Miller, of the Jerusalem Coffee-house, shows the number an d t o nn a ge of 'vessels now on the berth for Australia, Tasmania, 11 - ew Zealand, &c.:— - Teasels. Tons. Launceston Hobart Town Sydney Geelong. Melbourne, and Port land Bay Adelaide Freemantle and Swan• River ... 2 Auckland, Wellington, Canter- bury, and New Plymouth 8 Total Two commercial failures were reported yesterday afternoon, end it is feared the amount of liabilities is very heavy. The names of the firms are Messrs. Swayne and Bovill, merchants, and Messrs. Cheape and Leslie. In the former case the liabilities are estimated at 100,0001., but, as usual on such occa sions, conflicting statements are circulated on this subject. The letters from China received yesterday have imparted increased firmness to the Tea market, Common Congou being in demand at Is. Id. per lb. The following are the particulars of the specie on board the Indus, one of the Peninsular and Orien tal Company's steamers, which leaves Southamp ton to-morrow for India and China : Bombay (silver) £155,350 Ceylon (gold) Madras (gold) Do. (silver) Calcutta (silver) 242,440 Do. (gold) Penang (silver) Singapore (silver) Hong-Kong (silver) Canton (silver) Shanghai (silver) Total £792,160 Advices from New York, per steamer Africa, report no improvement in the position of the money Market there, the demand being exceedingly active at full rates. In Lombard-street and at the Bank of England the pressure for money is not greater than might have been expected, considering the large amount of paper which has to be provided for to-morrow, the "fourth " of the month. On Thursday the Consol account will be arranged, so that the de 'nand for accommodation throughout the week will no doubt be very active. There continues to be a very dull market for Public Securities, as the uncertainty felt in con nection with the Ministerial contest induces can 140n. Besides this, attention for the moment is chiefly directed to the arrangements connected With the liquidation of the account, and during the next two or three days speculation will no doubt be confined within narrow limits. Consols have m been 931 for money, and for Thursday 94 t The New 3 per Cents. are 94k 1, the Reduced 93 1 to 94k. India Bonds par. Exchequer Bills 2 3. die., and the Bonds are 98i f. In some of the Foreign Securities a large busi ness has been done. Turkish 6 per Cents. have been active at 971 f to 981, and the market is buoy ant. There is also a demand for Mexican stock, Which is 221 Peruvian Bonds are 79 to 80. Spanish 3 per Cents. 40i to 41, and the Certifi cates 6i. The following are the nominal prices of Foreign stocks :—Grenada Deferred Bonds, G 7 ; Mexi ean, 22 ; Peruvian, 41 per Cents., 79i 80-1, ; ditto Three per Cents., 551- SGI ; Russian 5 per Cents., 107 109 ; ditto 0- per Cents., 97 99 ; Spa nish 3 per Cents., 401 ; ditto New Deferred, 244 51. There has been an active business transacted in the Railway Share Market this morning, and Prices have again exhibited increased buoyancy. Claledonian have risen 10s., Chester and Holyhead 11., Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee, 11., Great Northern 1/. to 1/. 10s., Great West ern 10s., Brighton 103., South-Western 55., South -Western 55., North British 11., South- Eastern 10s., and South Wales 10s. The French Ines have also been in great request at enhanced prices. Northern of France improved 10s., East ern of France 108., Paris and Lyons 11. The Ca tadian also show an important improvement. Grand Trunk of Canada are at an advance of 1/., Last Indian 11., and Great Western of Canada at alga ss. Mining Shares ruled very dull. Cobre Copper Mine, however, improved about 11. In Toint Stock Bank and Miscellaneous shares a good business has been transacted at full rates. London. and County improved 11., and Oriental Dank 10s., Electric Telegraph 155., and Peninsular d Oriental Steam 15s. to 11. BRITISH FUNDS.—CLOSING PRICES —THIS DAY. (From the Offictal List:) _ _ BnstnesN (lone 29.nk Stock 3 per Cent. Reduced Annuities 94 k 34 41 31 41 3 per Cent. Consols Annuities New 3 per Cent. Annuities 94 1 1 Loag Annuities, expire sth Jan. 1860... Ditto 30 Tears, expire 10th Oct., 1859 2 11-16 India Bonds, 4:1000 Ditto, under £lOOO 4 d Consols for Account ...... .. 93i 1 P scheqster Bills, 21d. ' £lOOO • £590 . Small 2 p . Dia* Advertised • 2p 2 d Ditto Bonds, 1858, 34 p er C ent.. 56 d i: Ditto, 18 59 981 PRICES OF FOREIGN FUNDS—THIS DAY. 13ruillan Bonds . 5 per Cent. . . Do., New, 1 829 and 1839, '5 . per eent lO3 Buenos A yrcs Bonds, 6 per Cent . Grenada New Active, 2 1 per Cent. Ditto Deferred ............... . 63 . . Mexican 3 per Cent Ditto Account 221 3 / 4 i • Peruvian Bonds 91 per Cent Dittp Account BO 70i 'Portuguese Bonds, 5 per Cent., Con. 1841 Ditto 1853, 3 per Cent . 45,1 ' Russian Bonds, 1522, St., 5 per Cent.... • Ditto, 4/ per Cent. 991 8 • Sardinian Bonds, 5 per Cent. Spanish Bonds, 3 per Cent. ' • Ditto Account 'Ditto New Deferred, 3 per Cen`. Ditto Account Spanish Committee Cert. of Coup. not fun 6 13 i i Turkish Ponds, 6 per cent - Ditto Account Venezuela Bonds, 4i per Cent Ditto Account .......... . ...... . 37i . Dividends on the above )ayabie ill t.oro( n. Duch Exchange, 2 3 / 4 per Cent., 12 Guil 65 MERE O'CLOCK. Consols, mo ne y93l 4 Ditto, ' A ccouut (March 5) ................ 93i 4 -------- THE MAILS.-- SoUTHAMPTON, Mail Comp any ' s . s..„i o nday—The Royal steamship Atrato, Captain Woolley, sailed to-day, with the We - st Indian, Mexican, and Pa cific mails, 77 passengers 5 4 , 0001. in specie, je wellery are 7, 00 01_,. and fu ll passengers a cargo. Among the p eivellery are Mr. T. H. Worrall (the bearer of despatches for her Majesty's Government to Mexico), Major Murray, Dr. Caffaro, &c. A NEw COMET.—Professor D'A p rrest of Leipsic, an -1 ese o nounces the discovery of a t e ic comet ' on the 22d of February. Th e professor fives gl3 ition ' as approximate :—February 22,4 a t t he followin - • os • 6 hours 40 min., Leipsic mean time, cornet's right 1 • ascension 21 hours 22 - minx. 28 Gees. ; north declination, 22 ~ 4 min. I succeeded in recognising the comet f 0 de-. late on the night of Saturday, and obtained observatory tion on February the 28th, at 17 hours gd as its posi Greenwich mean time, comet's right min. 32 bourn 43 min. 29.36 secs. ; north declinati on 'e ----' 21 54 min. 42 secs. The com e t was s i milar to the I%. 6 ghi deg. ter small nebula, but was much oppressed by fog and morn ing twilight at the time I observed it. The reports from the manufacturing towns fnr the past' week describe no material alteration. At Manchester the market has been flat, owing to the tendency to a decline in cotton. The Birmingham iron trade is well maintained, although there is scarcely so much activity as was expected at the beginning of the year. In the general occupations of the place steady employment prevails, and the foreign orders are, upon the whole, good. At Nottingham there has been an extensive business, both in lace and hosiery. In the woollen districts the transactions have been on a satisfactory scale, and stocks continue low. The Irish linen markets are fairly upportee, MISCELLANEOUS MAGAZINES, The Commercial Travellers'.—This body having lately risen into deserved impc,rfance, have set a good example to all similar societies and bodies, by starting a magazine, devoted, of course, to their peculiar interests, and containing all information or statistics relating to business ; hut, nevertheless the remaining articles w ll be quite as attractive to the general reader as those of morn pretentious serials. Commercial topics are discussed in a fair and business-like spirit, and the stories and sketches contain some entertaining passlges. dye trust it will succeed fi,r the general benefit of a body so enterprising and intelligent. The Train, which styles itself a first class maga zine, hardly me,its that title. It ig, however, a new publication, and therefore is not to be judged se verely. The lovers of the humorous will find amusement in its pages, as it has several papers elevated to the ludicrous. Tait's Edinburgh Magazine opens with a - paper on the Bank Charter and Currency Laws, a sub ject which is now engrossing so much of public at tention. Two of the most attractive articles are something of a similar character, being entitled " Tangled Talk," and " Gleanings and Fragments," and both consist of short essays or sketches on various topics. The story of " Broken Memories" is continued with interest. There are many other articles, none of them very striking. The best subject being "Frederick Schiller." The Eclectic Review has not a very attractive table of contents. The practical politician may, however, be interested in two papers on the Sound Dues and the Euphrates Valley route to India. The Indian Archipelago conveys some useful geo graphical information. " The Treatment of the Insane" is the topic of the opening paper, and is one which well merits the attention of all philan thropists. Le Follet is, as usual, the authority for matters of fashion, and its plates are as graceful and pretty as modern fashions will allow. LAW INTELLIGENCE.--(This Day.) BANKRUPTCY COURT. (Before Mr., Commissioner Evans.) ADJOURNMENT SINE DIE.-IN RE NASH. This bankrupt was described as of College-hill, wine merchant, and to-day was appointed for his last examina tion, which had been adjourned for further accounts, which, however, bad not been filed. The solicitor to the assignees pressed for an adjourn ment sine die, without protection, and leave bankrupt to apply to the Insolvent Court. Mr. Lawrence, for the bankrupt, could not resist an adjournment, but trusted some protection would be granted. The bankrupt could not get his discharge through the Insolvent Court, which refused to interfere except in cases of adjournment sine die, where there was an impossibility for the bankrupt ever to pass. In this case the bankrupt might be able to make out the ac counts. His Honour said he would adjourn the ewe sine die, with protection for one month. CRIMINAL COURT—(This Day.) OLD COURT. (Before the Recorder.) Frederick Kimpel, a respectably-dres?ed young man, was indicted for stealing a coat value 305., the property of Benjamin Poole. Mr.L;lly prosecuted, and Mr. Metcalfe defended the prisoner. - It appeared from the evidence that on the 13,h Feb. last the prisoner went to the well-known Wine Shades, near London-bridge, and asked for seine sherry. On leaving the premises he was seen by a waiter, named Parker, to take down a coat in the hall, with which he walked off. The waiter followed him outside the door and charged him with stealing it. A Scuffle en sued between them, and the coat was picked up by another waiter and thrown into the passage. The pri soner was then seertred and given into custody. The prisoner, in his defence before the magistrate, denied any intention of stealing the coat, and said that he found it lying on the floor, and that he picked it up with die intention of putting it on the rail, when he was pounced upon by the waiter. The jury found the prisoner guilty, and recommended him to mercy on account of his good character. The Recorder sentenced him to two months' imprison ment, with hard labour. THE TRIAL OF SAWARD. It is understood that the trial of Sawlrd and Ander son, for forgery, will come on on Thursday next. Sir F. Thesiger is retained to prosecute. ELECTION INTELLIGENCE. GLASGOW. (From the North British, Daily Mail of yesterday.) The nomination of candidates to represent the city in Parliament took place this day, at noon, on hustings erected in front of the Justiciary Court Hal. 8.-fore the hour appointed an immense crowd, principally composed of working men, with a sprinkling of women, had assembled. Precisely at twelve o'c'ock, Sheriff Sir Archibald Alison appeared upon the platform, and was followed by Walterßuchanan, Esq., and Jas. Merry, Esq., the two candidates. The LORD PROVOST proposed Mr. Buchanan, which was seconded by ALEXANDER GRAHAM, Esq , of Lane:- field. Councillor JAMES TAYLOR then proposed Mr. James Merry, which was seconded by ex-Bailie GILMOUR. The SHERIF7—Yon bare heard Mr. Merry proposed and seconded, you have heard both these gentlemen ad dress you, I now call upon you far a show of hands for the two candidates respectively who are inclined to vote for Mr. Buchanan will please hold up their right hand. A somewhat scanty numbar of hands having been held up, The SHERIFF then asked fcr a show of hands of those disposed to support Mr. Merry. A perfect forest of hands were held up in favour of Mr. Merry, accompanied by loud cheering. The SHERIFF —The Lord Provost, on the part of Mr. Buchanan, now demands a poll. The poll will open on Thursday, at 8 o'clock. EAST SUSSEX. The nomination of candidates took place yesterday at Lewes ; the High Sheriff, Mr. R. C. Promiret, presiding. Mr. R. W. BLENCOWE proposed and General DAVIS seconded the nomination of Mr. J. G. Dodson ; and Mr. E. HussEr proposed and Mr. W. D. L. SHADWELL se conded the nomination of Viscount Pevensey. Both candidates having addressed the electors, a s how of hands was taken, which was in favour of Mr. Dodson by a considerable majority. Mr. HUSSEY, on the part of Lord Pevensey, demanded a poll, which will be opened on Thursday mit. NORTH LEICESTERSHIRE ELECTION. The election of a member to represent the Northern Division of the county of Leicester, vacant by the eleva- tion of the Marquis of Granby to the peerage, took place at the Town-hall, Loughborough, esterday. Sir G. BEAUMONT proposed and Mr. 11. C. BINGHAM seconded the nomination of Lord John Manners. Mr. FREWEN then addressed the electors, and said he opposed the election of Lord John Manners purely as a matter of principle. Mr. Frewen, in conclusion, for mally nominated th e H on. Major Powys. Mr. R. G. CRESSWELL seconded the proposal. Mr. PICKWORTH , a draper of Loughborough, here stepped forward, and nominated Richard Cobden, Esq., amid cheers and much laughter. Lord JOHN MANNERS then addressed the electors. He said he should go to Pailiawent with the conviction that be was discharging his duty in maintaining to the best of his ability that fair fabric of tempered liberty which was called their gl ,Vious constitution in Church and State. His lordship then proceeded to review the fo reign policy of the Government, and condemned the meddling interference with the quarrels of other rations. Their true policy, he said was to avoid the extremes of either securing peace on terms dishonourable to the country, or plunging into war, except when absol u t e ly necessary. A show of bands p w o a w s y th s, en a taken, p and a mn e majority d fo r being o r d in favour of Major h dates declining to John Manners, and t teheprmoaptotseerrtsooaf contest, theoth pressehrhicaorddi.- returnedthanks and the proceedings termi --- s n h a i t i ed b . rie fly ---------- CRYSTAL PALACE.—ONE SHILLING DAY.—MONDAY, March 2.—Admiss ions on payment, 739 ; ditto by sea son tickets, 237 ; total, 976. BIRMINGHAM DISTRICT COURT OF BANKRUPTCY. — Yesterday the first meeting under the fiat issued against Messrs. Fox and Henderson was held before Mr. Regis trar Waterfiell Both the bankrupts were present. The proceedings were merely formal, and the choice of assignees passed off without the slightest opposition. j ` cFi e gentlemen nominated and appointed were :—Mr. abouittobinson, Si nett ; l: n ie d k. M T r. be ja d s e . bt T s . pr C ov h e a d ne amounted e, Bro . of the Ebbw Vale Company ; Mr. C. shir v_vning, ironmaster, of the Milford Works, Stafford glats rotoansoutfoaecwtuhr:rre, fixed dto fr,?, under th T e h d e ee e d x o a f m a i t n u a ig ti n o m n on, o: the bankrupts is the 30th of March. The ass ignees were in s minded country gentlemen to'whom it was addres s ed, and who cheered him on the ocoasion. (Cheers and laughter.) The honourable gentleman, with all his diligence and research, bad failed to discover how it was that the blue-book in reference to Chinese insults was presented to the house, but he (Sir G. Grey) would inform him. In another place a noble earl who generally agreed with the hon. member for the West Riding, and who was actuated with a most sincere desire and with a thorough conviction to benefit the public service (he meant Eat!. Grey), moved for copies or extracts of any reports, despatches, &c , made to her Majesty's Government compbittieg of insults offered to the English residents at Canton by the Chinese since the treaty of 1842 ; and in conformity with that motion the book was laid on the table of the other house. (Hear.) The Government, thinkirg they were not justified in withholding it from this house, laid it on the table of the house, and then the hon. member finding its contents do not answer his purposes, turns round and says that the Government threw it on the table just before the dis cussion commenced, in order to mystify simple-minded country gentlemen on the other side (l.sughter) ; but he (Sir George Grey) thought he had shown the house that the mystification was on the side of the honourable gentleman the member for the West Riding. (Cheers and laughter.) The next charie had reference to the Government's appointment of Mr. Parkes as consul at Canton, and the character, ability, and experience of that gentleman had been the subject of attack both from the hon. gentleman the inembfr forthe West Riding and almost every hon. member who had addressed the house in support of the motion. There had also been a tendency to run down every person officially connected with these proceedings, however estimable they were, or however valuable their services had been, and to hold them up to ridicule, sarcasm, and scorn. The correspon dence of Mr. Parkes was contrasted by the hon. gentle man the member for the West Riding with that of Com missioner Yeh, and he had described Mr. Parkes as a young man without experience and wanting In discre tion. The hon. gentlemanhad said that Mr. Parkes was taken out of an office and placed in a place of trust for which he was totally unfit. He (Sir G. Grey) was very much surprised to hear such sentiments expressed by the hon. member who was an advocate for the employment of young and energetic mer, and of advancing talent, and as a proof of Mr. I'arkes's fitness for the office of consul, he (Sir G. Grey) stated that be was first attached to Sir H. Pottinger's mission in 1842 to China (perhaps that was what the hon. member meant when he said Mr. Parkes had been taken out of an office), and his continuation in China, at Shanghai Amoy, and other ports as an interpreter ; his being engaged with Sir J. Bowring in effecting a treaty with Siam,,which he brought to this country, and on his return to China was appointed consul. (Hear, hear.) That, he said, vas the treatment these gentlemen had met with at the hands of those who ought to have sympathised with them—(hear, hear)—and it was a specimen of the fair ness with which these attacks had been made. He re gretted to say that a desire to depreciate t'ie character of those gentlemen had marked the tone of many gen tlemen who bad addressed the house in support of the hon. gentleman's motion. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the statements of the hon. gentleman with reference to the British merchants, though he had a world-wide reputation, he (Sir G. Grey) should not say anything, because he believed them to peleess a character for honesty End probity all over the world, not likely to be damaged by the portrait drawn of them by the hon. gentleman. (dear, and cheers.) lie was ranch pained at the remarks that had been made against Sir J. B )we ring, though he was not astonished at it when he con sidered the quarter from whence they came—(hear) — and as regarded Sir M. Seymour, he much regretted that there should be but one exception to the spirit of moderation and commendation that had been used ( a i e r kG. of Grey) burn ) di had heard sneer sparaginglyas to wards that gallant admiral. Teet exception was a gal lant admiral and a brother offic:rie w e '_ho, (c a b b e o er v s e )_ all t , h s a h t o w u a ld s have been the first to have sympathisvd with a brother a':t the ffi ßr Acoe i ` t nri rily p il l fEe eenrSs'oie e tyn ie tallwlcokhueordn':allbndespeak his b (Cheers.) lie was al- o much pained at the observation of the noble lord•the member for Lon don, that Sir J. Bowring was a troublesome and meddle some officer—(cheers from the opposition)—which was followed in the same strain by the right honourable baronet the member for Carlisle, who said that Sir J. Bowling had sat with most of them in that house for a long period, which afforded a fair oppor unity of their obtaining a just estimate of hies character, which his friends probably would not consider very fa vourahl and the right hon. baronet added, with great deliberation, that the responsibility of selecting such a person as Sir J. Biwring was a grave responsibil ty. (Hear, and cheers from the Oppositio n; ) O n h e aring that he (Sir G. Grey) could not help asking himself by whom that rosponsiblity was incurred. (Elear.) His right hen. friend, who had sat with Sir J. Bowring in that house, who had watched his conduct, who knew his character, and who knew his faults, wouid, perhaps, feel no more surprise nor plead more ignorance on the matter than the noble lord the member for London. (Hear, hear.) Who was it that appointed Sir J. Bowring to his present office ? (Hear, bear ) He (Sir G. Grey) would answer his right hon. friend the member for Car lisle, who had in his 1 ‘te speech directed his censure on hose who appointed him. He found that Sir J. Bowring was appointed consul at Canton on Jan. 10, 1844, when the noble lord the member for the city of London, was at the bead of the Government. (Loud cheers.) Sir J. Bewring held that office for some time, and he (Sir G. Grey) supposed he must have discharged hi, duties satisfactorily, for he found that on the 24th Dec., 1853, he was appointed plenipotentiary and chief super intendent at Canton by the Government of which Lord Aberdeen was the head, and of which both his right hon. friend and his noble friend were members. (Cheers.) His right hon. friend now knew on whom the responsi bility of Sir J. lb wrirg'e appointment rested, acid it was not the first time in his right hon. friend's public life that he had thought too I.te of the responsibility he had in curred. (Loud cheers and laughter.) The Government felt that they had done their duty in giving their sup port to their officers, placed in most difficult circuin stscces. (Hear, hear) Every day communications were being made to the Government from persons con nected with the China trade and those who had visited the country approving of the conduct of the authorities at Canton, and stating that no other course was open to the authorities there than that they had adopted. Any reli,xation of authority there woull be taken as a defeat, and in Canton life would not be safe, but murder and rae pine would be perpetrated there to a large extent. He hoped the house would bear in mind the consequences that would be likely to result if they decided this case on legal technicalities, and he imploreii.them to decide it on the broad principles and the vast magnitude of interests at stake. (Choirs.) Mr. P. ROBERTSON said he f 5 1t bound on that oc casion to record his vote in favour of the Government, and against the great Conservative party of which he was in China and knew the Chinese character, lae had no doubt a humble member. (Cheers.) Asa perso n who had resided but that the proceeding in connection with the Arrow was meant as a determined insult. (Cheers.) A lorcha was, in fact, a foreign vessel, and the fact of her being in Chinese waters proved that she was admitted thereas such, and if she had no flag flying, nor any name on her, there could be no mistake that she was a foreign one. The lion. member for the West Riding praised the Chinese es inoffensive towards foreigners. Now, one of the first things which struck hi m w h en h e visited the country in 1831 was, that the c hild ren, when Europeans passed, ran after them calling th em , " Faw wee," which means, " foreign devils," and maki ng signs as if to cut off their heads:The hon. member for the West Riding said it was owing to our own conduct if we were ill-treated in China. This was a mistake. When he was there, there were very few foreigners in the country, and no such communica tion passed as would give encouragement to Chinese ill feeling. The children who had then acted were now grown up to be men, and a chill would go on in the way in which he was taught. He would show the same thing. In 1845 a gentleman, a partner in his own house, was bathing,when l,e was seized by Chinese boatmen, taken to prison, loaded with irons, and, by way of amusement, trotted up and down a gutter, and threatened to have his head cut off. Another most melancholy instance happened on the sth Dec., 1847. Six gentlemen who went out to take a walk in the neighbourhood of Canton —where they certainly were allowed to go by the terms of the treaty—were attacked and carried off by the rab ble. As they did not come home in the evening their friends besaine alarmed. Our consul, Mr. Macgregor, on the 6th made an application on their behalf to Kehir, the governor of Canton. Kehir wrote back that before the receipt of any letter he had received intelligence that some foreigners had been seized, and he had sent orders that they should be set at liberty. This was a very pro per letter, but what was the result ? In the morning these .men were most barbarously and coolly murdered in cold blood, after having been tortured. The Chinese Government took no trouble about the matter, yet they had proved, by putting 70,000 men to death in six months that they could show energy enough when it suited their purpose. He had received a letter this morning from Sin gapore. The letter was dated Jan, 23. The writer said that numerous placards of an alarming nature had been posted over the town, call ng on the Chinese to destroy the inhabitants, and offering $2,000 to any one who would kill Governor Blundell, our own governor. On the 28th there was to be an attempt, and his correspondent did not at all like the appearance on the part of the Chi nese. It was not pleasant to go to bed with revolvers under their pillows. He hoped that the Government would not give way on the matter —not that he stood up for Sir J. Bowring, but a principle was at stake. The matter should not be looked upon as a party matter, for it was no light thing to peril our position in China. He said nothing about the 10 millions annually of our trade; but as a matter of humanity we should not stop short now. If we were to fall back there would be peril to our whole position in China, and on these grounds be should support the Government. Sir J. PAKINGTON said he had listened with atten tion to the speech of the right hon. gentleman the Sec retary of State for the Home Department, but he had heard nothingin that speech to change his views on the subject. He was afraid that that speech, like that of the Foreign Secretary, was a skilful one in evading the real question ; the greater part had nothing to do with the matter which they were called upon to decide. The right lion. gentleman, he had no doubt, thought it right in that speech to defend a public offi c i a l a b roa d an d at a di s t an ce ; but he (Sir J. Pakington) would say that nothing was said against these public officials in China that was not thrust upon them by their sense of justice. The right hon. gentleman was unsuboessful in his at tempts to defend Sir J. Bowring from the attacks made against him. From the first moment he (Sir J. Pa kington) had read the despatches as they p werepublished in the newspapers, he had felt so deeply the extent h to which the country was compromised, that he could no t consent to give a silent vote on the question. The right hon. gentleman had deprecated party spirit on the sub jectle men, and had complained that the speeches of hon. gee opposed to Government were dictated by party t THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 3, 1857. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF COMMONS.-(YESTERDAY.) CHINA -ADJOURNED DEBATE. The adjourned debate on China was resumed by Dr. PHILLIMOBB, who addressed the house at con siderable length on the legal bearing of the question, in the course of which he,arguei that under no statute or international law could this lorcha be considered a British ship. Assuming that the lorcha was a British ship, as contended by the Government, be called on the hocso to look at the hideous difference between the grievance complained of and the chastisement given. A middle course was open, Nat of reprisals, and that should have been adopted. Ile considered that the Chi nese gave full satisfaction for what they did, and that it was not lawful, on any principle of law, justice, cr humanity to make war a punishment to a nation for the injury that had been inflicted and the reparation made. In conclusion, he said that he was led, by the plain dictates of com mon sense by the principles of reason—by the laws of his own country—by the international law— and on the foundation of the eternal principles of juAtice written by the finger of God on all men whether English or Chinese—to pronounce the war to be unjustifiable in its origin and unblessed in its continuance. (Hear.) Sir G. GREY said that he was perfectly content to rest the legal portion of the case on the arguments of his hon. and learned friend the Attorney-General. (Hoar, hear,) He did not think it necessary to occupy any time in combatting the opinions expressed by the hon. and learned gentleman who had just eat down, respecting the proceedings of a body in the other house of Parliament. The hon. and learned member, who boasted of being a strong supporter of the Church, had referred to the pro ceedings there in a manner which in his (Sir G. Grey's) opinion was most indelicate and uncalled for. The noble earl who had brought foiward his motion in the other house had himself at the conclusion of his address made a most powerful appeal to the episcopal bench to give him their support, but a majority of those right rev. prelates, after hearing the debate, had given their votes n a manner which had evidently caused great dissatis faction to the hon. and learned member. (Loud cheers.) So far as the facts of this case of the Arrow, they bad been presented to the house in a very inaccurate point of view, and as though it was a mere accidental occurrence on the part of the Chinese that they bad boarded a British ship without knowing it to be such. Now, these lorchas were clearly and exelusively foreign, and not Chinese ships. It had been said too that this was a piratical vessel ; what foundation was there for this assertion t It was clearly shown by the evidence of Commissioner Yeh that the lorcha was not a piratical vessel, and the right hen. gentleman read extracts from the depositions of some of the persons who bad made several trading voyages in the ship. (Hear.) It had beet said that Mr Consul Parkes was engaged in screening pirates. This was a charge in direct opposi tiou to tho facts disclosed in the papers, and several passages were read from the despatches to show how utterly groundless was such a statement. (Cheers.) He contended that if this insult had been submitted to, the effect would have been most fatal to the interests of our trade, the honour of our flae, and the interests of all the foreign vessels trading in those ports. The honourable member for the West Riding had read in the house a portion of a letter from Mr. Cook, a gentleman connected with the American consulate at Canton. Now, the hon, member for the West Riding said ho looked with suspicion on extracts—there were others also who looked with suspicion upon extracts,and among others this Mr. Cook himself, who had written a letter to the public journals complaining of the manner in which extracts had been made from his letter. The hon member said that ha had received a communication from an American gentleman, Rho left., Canton on Nov. 16 last, and was one of those who entered within the walls of that town in the rear of our forces. Hie tame, he said is Cook; he lived at Wharnpoa, where be has been for 4 years, holding the pc sition of United States Marshal, and therefore having jurisdiction over the flag of his own country. In course of conversation Mr. Cook, in answer tl his inquiries, stated many cases in which British ships, with the British flag, were engaged in smuggling trans actions, and he mentioned one in particular of so very r_liring a nature that he asked him to put it on paper. The Lion. member also said he confessed he listened with some humiliation to what he heard of the doings of ships carrying our flag ; and when so much was asserted &out our fleg being insulted, he could not help feeling that it was such transactions as these which dishonoured and insulted our flag. The member for the West Riding had read only a portion of Mr. Cook's letter, and that gen tleman accordingly wrote to the public journals this letter : " Sir—ln Mr. Cobden's speech he made reference to a letter from me in answer to one from him, giving part of its contents, and I beg to enclose a copy of the said letter, which please publish, to prevent my liability to the charge of inconsistency among those who perfectly understand my views on the matters in question, to which, of course, the hon. member can have no objec tion. In regard to the'dfice of United States Marshal, which ho refers to, it is entirely a subordinate one, and the orders from Government were not to allow the use of the flag except by vesssls regularly regitered. " By an insertion you will greatly oblige, Yours, &c., " JAMES P. CooK. " Morley's llottl, Feb. 28." (Cheers and laughter.) He (Sir Geo. Grey) would read the whole of that letter, and would direct the attention of the house to that portion of it which the hon. membEr had not read. (A. laugh.) Mr. COBDEN said that he had read all the parts in the letter which referred to the case he was bringing under the notice of the house. (" Hear, hear," and cries of " oh, oh.") Sir G. G ItEY—Just so. The hon. member read just as much as it suited his purpose to read. (Renewed cheers and laughter.) Mr. C sok in his late , : says—and this part was read by the lion, member : " Morley's Hotel, Feb. 25. " Sir,—ln answer to your query whether I have any objection to the use of my name regarding our convereat;.on on China matters, I say most cer tairly not, and I will give you the facts in regard to the seizure of the lorchas, as near as possible from memory, baying no data to refer to. During the summer of 1855, in June or July, there lay near our chop, which is close to her Britannic Majes ty's Vice-Consulate at Whampoa, from 10 to 15 lorchas engaged in siengglinoe salt, and eight or ten of this num ber hoisted British flags during the day, the salt being discharged at night. The number of vessels was thus large at that time, in consequence of the mandarin boats having been sent above Canton to repulse the rebels ; but the Government could not keep ignorant of so boll a matter long, and 12 or 15 mandarin boats, each contain ing upwards of 60 men, made their appearance one morn ing soon after sunrise and captured the whole fleet, five or six of which had British flags flying at the thee, the Europeans (general a captain) as well as the Chinese jumping overboard and swimming to the different ves sels for safety, several of whom came on board of our vessel. The mandarin force took the captured fleet to Canton, and the parties having the right to fly the flag subsequently claimed their vessels, which were even tually returned, and the remainder retained for the Government. This is by no means an isolated case as regards the illegal use of the flag, as you have only to refer to the Hong Kong papers to find plenty of cases where the right was questioned to grant the flag, as it had been done by the Hong Kong authorities." The .pertion not read by the hon. member was this cheers and laughter) : " But as regards the present troubles to prevent any misunderstanding of my views, I wish to express my opinion that the duty of the home Government to sup port the servants of the Crown engaged in China to the fullest extent should not be called in question for a mo ment, or until a satisfactory termination of the present difficulties at least ; for in case of a suspension of hosti lities by the Government it would be an impossibility for Europeans to live in the vicinity of Canton, and no amount of negotiations could alter it for the better. Any one who has lived among the Chinese can testify to the continuad insults and injuries heaped upon foreigners whenever an opportunity offers, and the studied contempt s h o wn on all occasions, superin duced by feelings of superiority entertained b y the Cantonese in contradistinction to all the other ports in China, all of which has been brought about by the previ ous settlement made upon them ; or, in other words, the want of an application of physical power to convince them of their position ; and although we are pecuniary sufferers to a very great extent in consequence of these troubles, we should prefer to suffer still more than see any settlement which did not involve the necessity of the Chinese realising their position and a sufficient guarantee for the liberty and safety of foreign residents whileamong them. My particular reasons for these views have been acquired by a long and very close intimacy with them, and of course cannot be ccndensed in a note of this kind. —I am yours very truly, " J. P. COOK. "11. Cobden, Esq., M.P., London." He could not agree with the statement just now made by the hon. memberfor the West Riding, that instating that Mr. Cook was anti-Chinese in feeling, that he had said all that it was possible for Mr. Cook to say, or that it conveyed a full impression of the deliberate views and opinions of Mr. Cook founded on great experience, and after a lengthened residence in Canton. (Hear.) The hon. gentleman had brought two charges against the Government: one was, that the Government had en deavoured to play off a trick upon the house by endea vouring to mystify simple-minded country gentlemen on the other side of the house, with reference to the pro duction of the blue-book a few days before the commence , meat of the debate on his motion. (Hear, and cheers.) No doubt that statement was made in perfect honesty • and sincerity of belief by the hon. gentleman, and that I it wile received in perfect simplicity by those simple feeling. His hon. friend who had just addressed them had adverted to the same subject. The imputation was a inci , t unjust one. There were speeches on both Eider of the house in the course of the debate, which ho (Sir J. Pakington) had heard with great regret. The hon. room bee for Devon port had stated that if the measure had pro ceeded from that side of the house he should not have given it his support ; while the hon. member for West Norfolk had given directly opposite views. He had said that he should be governed by views extraneous to the subject, and that under the influence of such feelings be should vote against the motion. Mr. BENTINCK explained that wilt l!e said wa=, that he agreed in the terms of the motion, but tbat he should be guided by other considerationq. Sir J. PAKINGTON heard this with regret, and thought that it lowered the character of that house; but to say that all tliose who agreed to support the vote were influenced by party considerations, nothing could be more unjust. He should prove that his cwn opinion was formed previously, on the first reading of the papers ; and he then remarked to two friends of his, who he believed were then present to bear him, that she acts of our official were atrocious—that, of course, the Government would repudiate those acts, and recd the officials. This was the opinion he had given on first read ing the despatches. He much regretted that the Govern ment had not taken the course of repudiating the conduct of Sir J. Bowring. It had been given as a reason that there was a necessity to uphold our distant official in China. If our officials deserved support, he would admit that we ought to support them on . every point ; but, on the other hand, to defend the conduct of an official at all risks was most dangerous to the interest, of the coun try. It had been objected that the right honouradle baronet the member for Carlisle and the noble lord the member for London were members of. the Government which bad sent out Sir John Bowring. It was a proof of the misfortune of the system that in sending out officials, we did not consider so mach their cha racter as the number of votes which they bad given in that house. They were then suffering from this having been so much attended to. At that period of the debate ho would not enter into the claim of the lorcho to be con sidered. a British vessel, though the evidence fer this was doubtful, nor whether the British flag was king or not. Then there was the question as to whether she had the right to carry the flag or not, though on the last question he must say that it was no answer to say that because the licence had expired at sea there was therefore an ex cuse for it not being renewed. The vessel bad been a month in the river, and on its passage there it must have passed Hong Kong, and he could see no reason why he should have demanded her register. He found, in fact., by a despatch from Sir J. Bowring, dated Oct. 15, that it was found on inquiry at Hong Kong, that the register of the Arrow had not been presented at the office of re gistration. Here again was another proof that the Arrow was not furnished with legal authority. Into all this, how ever, he would not enter. But there was a matter con nected with the point of law adverted to t'y the hen. mem ber for Tavistock. He asked them what would he the effect on Europe if the British Government were to sanction such proceedings ou doubtful groaned,. lie admired the high talent of the learned Attorney-General—he ad mitted the power and ability of his speech, and he had never been more struck than by the proof of it, as shown in the manner in which ho had rivetted the a teiitionei the house on a dry legal argument on Friday night. Yet even he would not c )mpete with the idustrious name cf Lord Lyndhurst. The opinions he advocated had re ceived the support of that distinguished man, who had laid down the law in a manner which commanded the at tenti.')u of Europe. The legal authorities were, in fac , , balanced on the question. Yet was it not a most dan gerous thing thus to act on a question so divided as to the views of the legal authorities ? He trusted that the House of Commons, iu giving their verdict that night, would bear in mind that the eyes not only of this coun try but of Europe were upon them, and that the ch - racter of their country was at stake. Our peaceful re lations with that great empire of China had been interrupted, our commerce had been enda , g red, an al most undefended city had been unjustly bo.i birded, hu man tiled had been unjustly shed, and the name and character of England had been tarnished and impaired. This he believed to be an unex Tgerateil statement of facts, and he thought the House of Cornmoos had a rigs - ht to demand from ber Mejesty'e Government a better explanation than bad yet been given of the grounds on which they sanctioned measures 5,.) discre litablo to the fame of this country. (Cheers.) Mr. COLLIER deprecated this constant system of eulogising our enemies at the expense of the character of our own countrymen. He contended that the 1-gal argu ment was in favour of Sir J. Bowring, and though he would not commit himself to an approbation of all his acts, he upheld him on the general pri , .ciple that repara tion ought to besought for wrongs do :e in China cr elsewhere, and that such force must be used as was ne cessary to procure it. If that motion were carried he feared that Commissioner Yeh would insist on repara tion from us, and prcceed to still farther insults, and the motion which Mr. CAden meant as the breath of peace, would be found to fan the flames of vFar. Sir F. THESIGER said he had not intended to al dress the house on this question, but after he heard the speech of his hon. and learned friend the Attarney-Genr ral, he felt it to be almost an imperative duty to cx?re,s his sentiments. His hon. and learned friend appealed to them all not to allow their opinions to be swayed by party motives. Of course, he considered that he himsell was perfectly free from any such inflaence, and there fore his salutary warning could only be intended for those who might dissent from his own views. (Laughter.) I Now he (Sir F. Thesiger) knew that the house al• ways listened with impatience to a purely legal discus sion j but the points to be considered in this case were, after all, not very difficult of apprehension. Tney had to deaf with a treaty which was a mare agreement between the part;es, expressed in plain and intelligible terms, an-I with an ordinance which, though it proceeded froai the hand of Sir John Bowriug, was not more , difricalt to ex plain than acts of Parliament. The learned Lord Advo cate, who always spoke well—(cheer,)—and wh ) had certainly made the most able speech on the Govf roment side of this question, stated that in his opinion it was impossible to place the Chinese in the-category of those nations to whom the strict principles of international lam could be applied. He presumed the learned lord meant that, considering their peculiar customs and habits, and the strictly commercial character of the intercourse which they carried on with other nations, those conventional usages which were incorporated in the intercourse between civilised nations were wholly inapplicable them. SJ far be was disposed to agree with the learned lord ; but there were other principles of a higher description which were anterior to all the laws of nations, which were inherent in our nature, and which came into action in our communi cation between states, whether civilised, semi-barbarous, or even barbarous—the principles of truth, of justice, and of humanity ; and it was not too bold a metaphor that the jurists employed when they represented states as moral persons, and as such equally bound by the laws of hu manity with individuals. (Cheers.) The hon. and learned Attorney-General asked them to discard all these considerations, and to descend with him to the discussion of the peculiar language and structure of the documents before them ; and though it might be disagreeable to leave the higher ground, he (Sir F. Tin sigei) could not refuse to follow bim into the close lists which he had marked out. He was certainly rather surprised to hear his hon. and learned friend remark that in the debate thus far the ground upon which the discussion ought to turn bad been entirely mistaken—(laughter)—and that instead of discussing the question on the basis of the ordinance of 1855 they must treat it as resting on the supplemental treaty of 1843. To him (Sir F. Thesiger) it was a matter of great surprise that all the able and powerful minds which had addressed themselves to the subject in the debate should have gone so completely astray, and, what was more remarkabbe still, that the acuteness and subtlety of Sir John Bowring himself had been so entirely deceived, he having a mind so acute and subtle that if he had lived in the days of the schoolmen, he might, perhaps, have challenged - for him self the title which one of them obtained, of " the irre fragable doctor." (Laughter.) The hon. and learned gentleman said that when a merchant ship entered the harbour of another country those who were on board were obliged to conform to the laws of that country, and , that the crew of the Arrow might, undoubtedly, have been seized by the Chinese authorities if it bad not been for the treaty in question. Now if he was able, as he be lieved he was, to satisfy the house that the treaty hal nothing whatever to do with the question, the Chinese would find an unexpected advocate in her Majesty's At. torney-General. (Hear.) The boa. and learned gentle man said, the term English merchant ship used in the supplemental treaty meant, irrespective of the manning, a ship having a British register in conformity with the treaty; and then he went on to say :—" The words Bri tish ship, or English merchant vessel, were plainly used in the supplemental treaty, not in the technical sense given to those words in the Imperial statute, but in the general universal sense of a vessel belonging to a British merchant ; in that sense only was the term English merchant ship' in the supplemental treaty to be interpreted." He (Sir F. Thesiger) turned, of course, to the 17th article of the treaty, to see what was the context, and on doing so he was aetonisbed to find that the term English "merchant ship" was nowhere used. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) At first he thought he must be mistaken ; but he read the article again and again ; and he discovered that the only terms used on which the question turned were, first of all, the title of the article. in which British " small craft" were men tioned ; next the words " vessels belonging to the English nation ; and then the words "British schooner, cutter, lorcha." His honourable and learned friend the member for Plymouth (fir. C. 'tier) had im ported a new term into the article—the term " British built," but in the article as it before stood there was no such words, and it was a strong argument in favour of the motion, that those who argued the csse on the other side could not do so without inserting in the treaty words which did not exist there previously. Now let the house consider what was the effect of this treaty. The date of it was 1834, 12 years before the new-fangled colonial registration under the ordinance of 1855. The term " British ship," British " sloop," or " lorcha," had, at the time when the treaty was signed, a definite ' meaning among the Chinese ; it meant a vessel which was owned by a British natural born subject, or a person who bad been naturalised, or bad obtained letters of naturalisation, and the idea that the Chinese anticipated, when the treaty Was entered into, a new de , cription of registration commenced 12 years afterwards, which would enable them to appear under the disguise of British subjects, was an idea too absurd to be entertained. (Hear.) It was quite clear, therefore, that the vessels referred to in the treaty were British vessels in the strict sense of the words. In fact, the proposition of the hon, and learned gentleman (the Attorney-General) should have been reversed, and instead of saying that they must rely on the treaty, and not on the ordinance for a justification, he should have said that they mustrely on the ordinance, and not on the treaty. (Hear.) He would now turn to the ordinance. In the year 1855 it was considered de _ girable that some check should be applied to the practice of smuggling, which was being carded on to a very con siderable extent. In the month of Mrch in that year there was passed an ordinance, in whia was sedulously preserved the distinction between British vessels and vessels of another description, it being declared that all vessels owned by British subjects should be at liberty to trade in case they were provided with a certificate of registry in conformity with the imperial acts of Parlia ment. A new registration was then introduced for the first time, and the Chinese residents within the colony were entitled to obtain caonial registration, provided they were registered lessees of crown lands within the colony. The house should observe the distinction made between vessels which were owned by British subjects, and vessels of another description subject to a register, which had to be renewed from year to year, the register being forfeited if the conditions were not complied with. It was very questionable whether this ordinance was a legal one, whether, if enforced, it had not the effect of repealing the Merchant Shipping Act with respect to vessels of this class. It had certainly not been sanc tioned in any way at the time when the proceedi. gs with regard to the Arrow took place. But when these pro ceedings took place there was an ordinance of question able legality, upon which alone Sir J. Bowring founded his proceedings. The house would observe the difference between the treaty registration and the ordinance regis tration. Registration under treaty could only be to British subjects, registration under the ordinance might be to Chinese residents who were also crown lessees of lands ; registration under treaty was not tempo• rary, because the register was to be delivered to the officers of the custom-house, - and returned when the vessel was about to sail, registration under the ordinance was a temporary registration, renewable annually. It was, therefore, clear that the registra undor the ordinance was something distinct from the treaty, and that it must rest on the footing of the ordinance alone. He would, therefore, proceed to consider what was in connection with this subject the legal effect of the ordinance. Undoubtedly the ordinance, assuming it not to be opposed to imperial law, might confer rights as against ourselves, rights which might possibly be en titled to respect from foreign nations, but it could confer no right whatever upon Chinese subjects as against the Chinese government. Such was the opinion of Lord Lyndhurst. "Oh, but," said the Attorney-General, " that noble end learned lord, for whom I profess the highest respect, was under an error, and what is most remarkable, was utterly ignorant of the only authority on the subject and that one which was decisive against' him." Lord Lyndhurst—ignorant of the law. (Hear.) , The ATTORNEY-GENERAL—Isaid tie such thing. (The hon. and 1-yarned member then gave his version of what he did say, but in too low a tone to be heard in the gallery.) Sir F. THESIGER bad listened to the hon. and learned gentleman, he had also seen what appeared to him to be a correct statement of what had passed, and in that he found these words attributed to the hon. and learned member : " It was remarkable that Lord Lynd hurst did not seem to be aware of that case." (Cheers.) Now he must say that if any of them—pigmies in the law—bad ventured to address Lord Lyndhurst, and say that be was ignorant of the law, the noble lard might wed have answered them in the words of Sergeant May nard :—" I have forgotten more law than you ever knew." (Laughter.) The case to which the hon. and learned gentleman referred was one well known to every perm:in in the slightest degree conversant with law. But when the hon. end learned gentleman said that that au thority was a complete answer to Lord Lyndhurst's rea soning, and, moreover, when the hon. and learned gen tleman a•serted, as lie did, that it was a complete audio rlty to show that the superintendent at Hong Kong had a right to give a Chinese subject a register which would enable him as against the Chinese authorities to appear as a British subject, he would not venture to say that the honourable and learned gentleman was ignorant of the case, but he must say that a more complete mis apprehension of the authority of that decision was never heard. (Hear, hear.) What was the case t The house would forgive him for going into detail—(near, hear) — but it was necessary to be precise in dealing with the hon. and learded Attorney-General. (Hear, hear.) Tne case was this. A. person who was a native-born British sub . jest removed to the United States with his family with the intention of settling there, was denizened and became a natur lined citiz-n of the American Republic. (Hear.) Under a treaty with America—a treaty confirmed by act of Parliament—the citizens of the United States were slowed to trade with the East Indies—a privilege which, as a general rule, no subject of England then enjoyed. The person to whom he had just alluded had been for a considerable time engaged in the shipping trade, was the owner of several vessels and the question was whether he, a domiciled, nat,uralised citizen of the United States — (hear)—was not within the terms of the treaty and the act of Parliament —(hear)—whether he was not suffici eetly clothed with the character of a citizen of America ' to entitle him to trade with the East Indies. There were great authorities who thought he was not entitled, but the opposite view ultimately prevailed. The house was therefore at last in possession of this authority, of which it had been said by somebody that Lord Lynd hurst was not aware, which was to be a complete refu tation of the opinion which that noble and learned lord rx?ressed, and to establish that a person who was called in the ordinance a Chinese resident, not domicled at all, not naturalised, having no rights whatever as a British subject, was by this register clothed with the character of a British subject, and entitled to the pritileges con ferred by the ordinance. (Cheers.) Of course the hon. and learned Attorney-General was a lawyer of coneilet able eminence and experience ; he (Sir F. Thesiger) could not presume him ignorant of, for be mentioned this au thority; that be bad entirely misunderstood it when he put it forward might be a question, but certainly the hon. and iesrned gentleman was rather relying upon that which very frequently occurred in the house-r-that if there was onlya boll assertion of law, it woul l - prett >, certainly be adopted without question. (Laughter.) The hen. and learned gentleman (the Attorney-General) also referred to another authority, upon which, too, he (Sir F. Thesiger) found it necessary to correct him.. The hon. and learned gentleman said—" There was only one other point to which 'he begged to call the attention of !tee house, viz., that the respect due to the British flag and the British papers, which were known to be possessed by this vessel, ought, independently of anything else, to have entitled it to the protection due to the British flag, without the Chinese entering into any exeminatioa of the accuracy of those papers." And then, finding in an Admiralty report an isolated passage, the hon. and learned gentleman care-, fully culled it from the particulars of the case,. and put it forward to the house as maintaining him in the position he had assumed. The learned gentleman said—The great est authority on that subject was Lord Stowell, who, in the case of the Vigilantia, reported in Robinson, 13, said, e--" It is a known and established rule with respect to a vessel, that if she is navigating under the pass of aforeign country,she is considered as bearing the national character of that nation under whose pass shnsails—she makes a part of its navigation, and is in every respect liable to be considered as vessel of that country." This was start ling. Now, let the house understand what this ease of the Vigilantia was. As the hon. and learned member for Tavistoek had stated, that case was a case of war. It arose thus : There was a vessel sailing under Prussian colours which belonged to a native of Holland. We were at war with the Dutch at that time, and Prussia was a neutral state. There had been an endeavour male to give the vess€l 'a Prussian character, by in some way getting a certificate from the magistrates at Ewing that the owner of the vessel was a native of that city. Tuns she was sailing under Prussian colours and with Prus sian papers. But when the noble lord laid down the preposition which the Attorney-General had quoted, he laid it down with a number of qualifications which were of course admitted. (Cheers.) And though Lord Sto well admitted that prima facie, of course a vessel sailing under the colour of a political state must be assumed to belong to that state, yet the papers on that oc casion having been overhauled, and having been found fraudulent, the Vigilantia, which was protected by the general proposition, was condemned as a prize. (Cheers.) Now he must say that the house had not been fairly treated. They had bad to consider a case which appeared a difficult one ; they were anxious to have a guide. The hon. and learned gentleman, dignus windice notlllit, descended amongst them to enlighten their igno ranee and dispel their doubts, and atter exhibiting to their astonished eyes a few feats of intellectual ledgerde main, he disappeared from among them in a cloud of au thorities. (Laughter.) He (Sir F. Thesiger) had endea voured to track the course of the hoot and learned gen tleman, but be would venture to ask hon. members whe ther they were as well prepared to receive without hesi tation the propositions of law which were maintained the other night by the Attorney-General as they were at the time when they were first enunciated I He would next proceed to consider the position in which the ques tion stood at present. Assuming that the ordinance was a legal ordinance, suppose the register conferred upon the Chinese residents the right during its existence to have the temporary character of British subjects ; yet it was admitted the register had expired, and therefore all rights under it were lost. (Hear.) And this led to the most painful part of the case. Sir J. Bowring, in hie let ter to Consul Parkes, said—"lt appears, on examina tion, that the Arrow had no right to hoist the British tag; the licence to do so expired on Sept. 27, from which period she has not been entitled to protection." The hon. and learned Attorney-General had said there was no du plicity in that statement. Undoubtedly there was not ; but on Oct. 11 Sir J. Bowring writes to Commissioner Yeh that " there is no doubt theftcha Arrow l r was when se t th two bore the British flag." (Hear.) statements were brought together that the duplicity of the oadt3 became apparent. He (Sir F. Thesiger) could not help thinking that this very circumstance was a strong proof of the fact that this difficulty with the Arrow had been eagerly laid hold of as a pretext for pushing on Sir John Bowring's preconceived notions with respect to the right of entry into Canton. Had it not been for this the authorities of Hong Kong might have been satisfied With simple reparation—a junk for a junk, as had been suggested by the right hon. baronet. It app eare d t h at the fleet had captured a junk, which was thought to be a Chinese war junk, but which turned ou t t o be a merchant vessel. But this might have been a sufficient reparation, for the acts of both parties rested on intention, and if, although there was no actual statement of int en ti on t o insult the British flag, the boarding of the l orc h a was taken as an insult, certai n ly i n the seizure of this vessel, an intention to insult being experienced , tak that intention might have been more tha not say that there was mucheitheren for granted. He could to plead for nagn the way cf humanity and forbearance. We batterbegan attacking the distant forts, we proceeded ieran the. walls, and have directed the artillery of the chief commercial people. The people, had warning to get out of the way, but he thought that agitost itthwealrturusees, the firing of a single shot every five minutes mass have been more dreadf u l th an even a h o t continuou s fir. He was old enough, h e was a l mos t ashamed to say'-tot member o - member the bomba r d men t of Copeubagen• A mightier armament left these shores than it w as poss ible for the s d ho th w e of resi Danes to resist, but they made a feeb le m ar bo b d iuloe, and for two or three days endure s • t- - t ment of their town. He (Sir F. Thesiget) was himself r witness of that dreadful conflagration ; the loss of life was immense ; and in the midst of all that distress there I , came forth a voice from amongst the Danes, which, - after describi ng th e h orrors of the carnage—the bodies floating on the water, the mother and child struck down together—burst out into this pathetic apostrophe, " Ob, Britain, queen of nations, how can your sons be guilty of such crimes ? " (Cheers.) He trusted they were not now about to justify similar acts. (Hear, I hear.) He could not truss himself with the utterance of th e sorrow, s h ame, and indignation which b urnt within him on the perusal of these papers, which he feared would remain a lasting monument to the bad faith of England ; nor could be now hope for one minute's inward peace did be not seize the opportun i ty a ff or d e d by the resolution of the hon. member for the West Rid ing to express his horror of these proceedings. (Hear.) Sir W. F. WILLIAMS said that after the volumi nous arguments he had beard he should have been con. tented to give a silent vote on this question, but that he felt he had a duty to perform to his country and himself —to his country because he was going to make explana tions-which he was sure both sides of the house would receive with pleasure, and to himself because for 26 years he had served his country in that portion of the east that lay between the Bosphorus and the waters of China; Before the late war he had seen the Chinese at our colo nies of Malacca, Singapore, and Penang, where they enriched themselves rapidly, and received the greatest possible kindness and protection from the English. But during all that time they were at home practising all those insults and injuries that led to the war that en sued and to treaties conferring great powers on us both as to their country and shipping. Lord Lyndhurst had said in another place that our treaties with these eas tern nations placed them in an unfair and degraded position but if it were so, then those nations were to blame them. selves, as they had separated themselves from the great family of mankind. Having made some observations on the bad faith of the Turks and Persian; of whose morality he said he had had 16 years' experience, the gallant gene ral returned to the speech of the hon. member for the West Riding, and thanked that hon. member for the hand some manner in which he had spoken of the officers of the. army and navy. He trusted that when the estimates came under discussion, the hon. member would not be one of those who by curtailing our military institutions would seek to make us better adapted for another war. (Cheers and laughter.) With respect to the point immediately be ' fore the house, he believed that the insult complained of bad been premedidated on the part of the Chinese, and that therefore as Englishmen they were bound to resent it. (Hear, hear.) Secondly, he believed that any cen sure by the house of the proceedings of Government would have the worst effect in China, and therefore he felt bound to offer a negative to the resolutions of the hon. member for the West Riding. Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT agreed with much that had fallen from the friends of Ministers. He agreed with Sir J. Bowriog that the lorcha had no right to the Bri tish flag ; he agreed with Mr. Consul Parkes that not more than enough reparation was demanded ; he agreed with Mr. Booth that the ordinance was illegal ; he agreed with the Attorney-General that the question of the treaty was wh liy immaterial to the case. It was said that the Cantonese were a blackguard population. Well, but every blackguard town was not to be bombarded. And remember that of these blackguards the crew of the lorcha itself was composed. Every one of these men might, if the Ministerial argument were correct, have gone into any part of Europe sh.,uting "Civis Romanns sum." He defended Mr. Cobden and Sir J. Graham from the attacks made upon them by Sir G. Grey, and con. tended, in opposition to the Horne Secretary, that Sir Seymour did not exercise his own judgment in the attack, but proceeded throughout in obedience to orders. He admitted it was a genero. a thing for the Government to defend its absent servants, even though they might commit occasional mistakes. But was there to be no limit to this support ? He knew there were men inca pable of any but the highest rtl pious motives who held a different opinion from him, but he could not stifle his earnest conviction that these proceedings cast a deep stain upon the reputation of England for justice, reli gion, and mercy. Sergt. SHEE, in addressing himself to the legal part of the question, said that if the motion of the hon. mem ber for the West Riding were affirmed they would in effect be abrogating the treaty of 1843. A ship owned by Chinese, built by Chinese, manned by Chinese in the island of Hong Kong, became, under t h e tretcy, a British - vessel. It was clear that the Arrow answered a'l the descriptions provided for in the treaty. The articles 13, 14, and 16 of the supplemental treaty of 1843 were perfectly clear. It was said these lorchas were not British ships because they were not owned by a natural born British subject. The Attorney-General had taken a coin mon-place view of the treaty, and if they construed the words of the treaty meaning "British ships," that it must be owned by a British-born subject only, then, t ) all intents and purposes they would repeal the treaty. That was a serious consideration for those who intended to support the resolution. The residents of Hong Kong were, according to the existing law, British sub jects. The nationality of the ship depended upon the residence of the owner. That was clearly the law. Mr. ROUNDELL PALlin and Mr. J. PHILLIMORE rose together, and the former moved the adjournment of the debate. There were several exclamations from different parts of the house in favour of the continuance of the discussion, but ultimately the adjournment of the debate until to-morrow (this day) was assented to. Lord PA.LNIERSTON—There are some notices stand ing for to-morrow, but I hope that those gentlemen who have given these notices will feel that it is of importance that this debate should be brought to a close to-morrow, and that they will permit the debate to come on. Mr. DISRAELI—I may say, for myself, tbat as the division has not yet taken place, and as the debate has assumed its present character, I am, of course, unwilling to attempt to force a division. I cannot, however, help remembering that in that other place which has been so frequently, and, as I think, so irregularly alluded to in our debates, when a motion for the adjournment of the debate was made on the first night a leading Minister of the Crown objected to the adjournment. I bad theref, T 3 thought that as the question had been discussed in this house and was adjourned over Friday, we might have come to a conclusion te-night. I, however, now collect that there is a very general feeling that the debate should be again adjourned—(hear)—but I do hope that there will be an understanding among us on both sides that the division will be taken to-morrow. (Hear.) Colonel LINDSAY, who had a notice on the paper for to-morrow, expressed his readiness to allow the de bate to have precedence. COMMISSIONERS OF SUPPLY (1856) ACT AMENDMENT BILL. This bill was read a second time. EXTRA-PAROCHIAL PLACES BILL. After a ,-port conversation, in the course of which Mr. BouvEalE explained that the object of this bill was to compel extra-parochial places to maintain their poor, it was read a second time. LIGHTING OF TOWNS (IRELAND) ACT AMEND MENT BILL. This bill was read a third time and passed. THE OPIUM TRADE WITH CHINA. On the motion of Mr. MURROUGH, who emphati cally and at some length denounced the conduct of the East India Company with regard to the growth of opium and its smuggling into China, a return was ordered of the number of persons engaged by the East India Com pany in the Presidency of Bengal in making advances of money to the cultivators of poppyseed before the sowing time ; in watching its growth after it is sown, in superintending the delivery of the opium, its inspissation and preparation for the taste of Chinese consumers ; its formation into balls and packages in chests especially adapted for the convenience of carriage into Chinese ter ritories, and its conveyance to Calcutta for auction at the Government sales ; and of the number of licences granted by the East India Company, in the years 1855 and 1856, to private ships trading to China, containing a provision, with the pen a lty a tt ac h e d, " That no opium except that which the East India Company monopolises . shall be taken on board." The house adjourned at 10 minutes put 12 o'clock. LLOYD'S SHIPPING.—(This Day.l LONDON, March 3.—Wind this day at noon, E, ; Light breeze and fine. PORTSMOUTH, March 2.—Wind E.S.E.—Arrived—Nor ma,ambui;ri.3l.s: a f ro m the Cape Good Hope, for Gander H and Cracker, and H.M.S. Dauntless, m Retribution, H. M. gaunboats ita Sailed—H.M.Str. 'Urgent, for Barbadoes. March 2.—Wind E.—Arrived—Neptune, PLYMOUTH, from Adelaide, _S.A., and the Cape of Good Hop e . SWANSEA, March 2.—Wind E.S.E.—A rr i ve d —Henry Rankin, from Coqui mbo . Sailed — Slains Castle, for Cuba. MIMED, March. 2.—Wind E.—Arrived—Hero, from Cardiff to Palma. Huai, Mi c haelc's ; rch 2. CorWinkscrEew.N d .E.—Arrived —Lightning, from St.(s.), from Bremen ; Juno, Pillars. Sailed—Orme and True Love, Davis' Straits, RAMSGATE, March s.—The Mary Howe, from Shields, for Oporto, with coals, whi c h was ashore to-day on the Goodwin Sands, has been assisted off, without apparent damage, after throwing 50 tons of cargo overboard. DOVER, March 2.—The Reaper, of and for Portsmouth, from Sunderland, was in collision this mcrning.off Dunge ness, with the fishing smack Blue-eyed Maid, of London, and foundered soon after ; crew landed here by the latter vessel. CONSTANTINOPLE, Feb. 20.—The weather has been fear fully bad, occasi on i ng even numerous damages in thus port ; it is now succeeded by summer weather. (PER ELECTRIC TELEGR SOUTHAMPTON, T ue sday, 10 a.m. W r i r n iv a e E d. ., — o F v l e o r r e a ast. Arrived, Dart, and garnet, from SanNe derlan ort d. Sailed.—La Polka, for Cher bour g ; Matilda, wp ; Maria, Guernsey. LIVERPOOL, Tuesday Morning. Wind S. . . v w& rd, for Bahia ;J. R. Mallow, for Sailed—Willlaw New Orleans. - QUEENSTOWN, March 1. Wind sat e d — E. T. g Perkins, for Philadelphia. DUBLIN, March 2. Wind S. sa il s Belvidere, for Antwerp. (BY SUBMARINE AND BRITISH TELEGRAPH.) GRAVESEND, Tuesday, 10.5 a.m. Wi n d E., tide.nearly low water, cloudy. Arrived, March 2—Ebbs Fredrika, from Ystad. Arrived, March 3—Hemdal; from Middlefort. Sailed, March 2—Brilliant, for Mogadore. Sailed, March 3—Emperor, for Hobart Town. DEAL, Tuesday, 9.11 a.m. Wind E. by S., moderate. Passed, March 2.—Anglo-Saxon, from Shields, for Alex andria. Passed—Liverpool, from London, for Buenos Ayres. Sailed—Echo, for Bordeasx.