The Sun. — London, England, 1840-01-25 00:00:00

EL 14_;CTi ON S. BIRMINGHAM, FRIDAY EVENING. The polling commenced at eight o'clock this rt!orning, and wa s con ti nue d w i t h s pi r i t u p to f our elock. STATE OF THE POLL AT TWELVE O'CLOCK! Muntz Wetherell ONE O'CLOCK Muntz Wetherell TWO O'CLOCK _ _ . 1,054 , 734 Aluntz THREE O'CLOCK. 1,213 775 Muntz Wetherell FINAL STATE OF THE POLL, FOUR O'CLOCK Muntz Wetherell BEVERLEY, JAN. 23. BEVERLEY, TR I.7RSDAY NIGIIT.—This day the nomina tion of Candidates for the representation of the Bo*ough of Beverley, in the room of G. L. Fox, who has accepted the Chiltern Hundreds, took place, on a commodious hus tings in the Mar'ket-place. The concourse of people was not very large, titre being probably from 600 to 700 per sons in front of ti ie hustings. Several banners were dis. played, none of yr hich had any particular inscription. The Mayor act .ed as returning officer ; and after the writ, and the act against bribery and corruption, had been read by the Tow] 1-Clerk, his Worship entreated that they would give every gentleman a fair and impartial bearing. J. W. THORN, 'ON DrJESBERRY, Esq., then proposed S. L. Fox, Esq. (ly other of their late Member); which was seconded by a gel itleman whose name we did not learn. J. SANDWITU. Esq. (ex-Mayor), proposed T. Lamie Murray, Esq., of London, as a 'fit and proper person to re present them. JAMES BELL, Esq., Major of the Beverley Militia, seconded the nomination. Mr. Fox addre iSed the ?lectors in a short speech, which was badly deliver ed and very imperfectly heard. He de clared himself a 4 Conservative, and said that if returned, he would be true ai id faithful to those principles. During his canvass be ha d been told by some gentlemen that they could not suppe rt him, because they were old Whigs ; that was the very reason, be said, why they ought to give him their support :. It was the jealousy of the oil of Popish influet ice that drove James the Second from the Throne; and therefore the Whigs ought to support the Tories in frustratiing the objects of Mr. Daniel O'Connell. --(Hisses.) • v ith respect to the national debt, for which the Tories were blamed, he observed that they ovght to bear the luarthen without comp Lining ; for had it not been for this, England would have been a province of France—that gigantic power would first have conquered Europe, and then it would have conquered England. He concluded by stating that the Popish Emancipation Act was granted to conciliate Ireland ; instead of doing that it had increased her agitation, and that country would never be quiet whilst enure was one individual who could offer the Queen the allegiance of seven millions of subjects on his Own conditions.—( Applause.) He hoped Sir Robert Peel would soon be brought again into power, and then the country would again go forward in its career of glory. —(Cheers and hisses.) Mr. LAMIE MURRAY, en coming forward, was received with enthusiastic cheering. He said that he stood before them for two important objects ; the first was to give the electors an opportunity of sending a Member to Parlia ment who would fully and fairly represent their opinions, and the other was to give them an opportunity of saying whether the present Liberal Government should remain in office.— ( Cheers.) That Government were sick of their offices, yet the Tories durst not take them—the sole wish of the Tories was to produce exasperation and confusion in the country, for the mere object of throwing contempt on the Ministry.—( A pplause. ) The electors, however, were too wise to be tricked by any such machinations. He trusted they would never let Beverley be a close Tory borough, but that they would ma nf u lly assert t h e i r inde pendence.—( Applause.) He then alluded to the inability of his Honourable Opponent to deliver his sentiments on any of the public questions of the day, and said this was not the time to send members who would allow Sir Robert Peel, or any other Minister, to put their votes in his pocket.--( Applause.) If they should return him (Mr. Murray) he would only support the present Ministry when they acted rightly, and when they were in danger from the Tories.—(Cheers.) He trusted they would never allow one brother to say to another, " It does not suit my convenience to go this year to Parliament; just go down to the electors of Beverley—they are g )od fellows —and will send you ; and when we have exhausted the family of the Fox, perhaps we may get some of the family of the goose—it will do quite as well."—( Loud laughter.) The Hon. Candidate then referred to Tory diplomacy, showing that it had closed the Dardanelles against the British flag, sacrificed by the Treaty of Vienna the in dependence of Poland, nearly lost us India, given the Algiers, with the enormous power the Caliphs once pos sessed,to the French, and nearly sacrificed Canada. But by the wisdom of the Liberal Government, without a life al most being lost,' except in predatory warfare, Canada had been preserved to the British Crown, and by their nego tiations their flag should soon float on the waters of the Dardanelles. He then declared himself in favour of house hold suffrage and v•ee by ballot, the latter of which he said Tory intimidat'on had rendered necessary. He was in favour of triennial Parliaments, which he said were no in fringement on the old Constitution, but were the ancient right of Englishmen.—( Cheers.) He approved of na tional education being given without proselytism. The Tories had the impiety to suppose nobody read the Bible but themselves ; however, they read it backwards as the Hebrews did, skipping all those magnificent maxims which form the moral code of every Christian nation, and exposed Tory iniquity. He then urged that Chartism would not have prevailed—that the Monmouth rioters would not have been left for execution—if education had been communi cated to the people. The worthy candidate next referred to the state of Ireland, remarking that by the wise and conciliatory policy of the Government, instead of having 30,000 or 40,000 soldiers in that country, we bad only a staff in Ireland.—( Loud cheers.) He next referred to the Corn Laws, declaring himself in favour of an exten sive modification of them; and, after adverting to sonic local topics of no general interest, he concluded a bril liant Address (which we regret we are not able to give fully) by thanking them for their promises, and express_ kg his full conviction that on the following evening he should be returned as their Member.—(Cheers.) A show of hands was then called for, which was de.. Glared in favour of Mr. Murray. Mr. Fox demanded a poll. A vote of thanks was then given to the Mayor, and the assembly separated. The contest is expected to be very severe, end we un derstand large sums are being offared by the Tories for votes. Mr Fox is a gentleman of greet landed property, both in Yorkshire arid Ireland; Mr. Laurie Murray is from London ; he is one -f the Directors of the National Bank of Ireland, and Chairman of the National Loan Fund; an eminent financier, and a Reformer of large and en lightened views. The poll takes place to-morrow morn ing ; and Mr. Murray's friends are very sanguine of suc cess even in this hot-bed of Toryism. ERIDAY. STATE OF THE POLL. HALF-PAST NINE. Lamie Murray Fox ... A QUARTER TO TEN. Murray F0x..... 150 120 A QUARTER PAST TEN. 182 162 Murray Fox .., DEV ONPORT. DEFEAT OF THE OFTEN DEFEATED. (From the Plymouth Journal.) The Reform candidate for Devonport has gained a vic tory over the Right Honourable Mr. Dawson—we give his out-of-doors title, which it is hoped will never be ap plied to hint in Parliament. At the close of the Poll the majority in favour of Mr. Tuffnell was 231 ; and that, in spite of his opponent's Bacchanalian orgies, widely ex tended throughout the Borough among some Members of his Committee and the profligate portion of the consti. tuency. Thus, unworthy means are worthily rewarded. What is to become of this nut-of-doors Right Honourable Gentleman we know not; but as he appears to possess an uncommon relish for the pastime of being defeated, it may be expected we shall hear of him again in 11),Try. In this triumph of Mr. Tuffnell, or rather of the cause dear to every reformer, let its not forget Mr. Leach, whose conduct, including that of his friends, has foiled the at tempt to misrepresent Devonport. Certainly Mr. Leach stands on as high ground as Mr. Tuffnell, except that he cannot write M. P. after his name ; but, on a future occa sion, we trust, he will possess that distinction. THURSDAY AFTERNOON. STATE OF THE POLL. NINE &CLOCK. Tuffnell .:. Dawson ... .. 227 TEN O'CLOCK. Tuffnell Dawson 600 548 NEWARK. FRIDAY AFTERNOON. The nomination ton!: place yesterday. The candi dates were accompanied to the hustings by their re spective frinds. Among aose of the Solicitor-General were Sir R. Heron, John Handley, Erq., T. E. Brie towe, Esq., Mr. Hose, Mr. Massey, &c. Mr. Thesiger was accompanied by Lord Lincoln, Messrs. Godfrey, Thorpe, Burnell, Welby. T. Manners Sutton, Wilmot, Welling, &c. Equal confidence seems to animate both parties. Disturbances are expected. A troop of dra goons are within a few miles, having been marched spe cially from Nottingham. After the writ had been read, and the usual prelimin aries gone through, JOIIN HANDLEY, Esq., came forward to propose the Solicitor-General, and Mr. MAssEr seconded the no mination. 'F. GODFREY, Esq., after a very high culogiurnn Mr. Sergeant Wilde's character as a private gentleman, but whom he felt compelled to oppose upon principle, proposed Mr. 11,ssiger, and JAMES THORPE, Esq., seconded the nomination. The SOLICITOR-GENE ItAL then came forward, and was received with loml cheers by his party, and in si lence by his opponents, who, throughout his very lengthened address listened to him without the slightest interruption. Mr. THESIGER then addressed the meeting. The instant he attempted to speak the mob commenced hooting and yelling, which they continued co do with very little intermission throughout his address, so that but little of what he said could be heard. During the whole time Mr. Thessagcr was speaking there was considerable uproar and interruption. The hired ragamuffins in the pay of the Blue party, made several attempts upon the flAgs of the Reds, but were not suc cessful in obtaining them. The Returning Officer having put the show of hands ; which he declared to be in favour of the Solicitor- General, Mr. GODFREY demanded a poll on behalf of Mr Thesiger. Subjoined is the State of the Poll at the close : STATE OF THE POLL AT THE CLOSE. WILDE'S COMMITTEE. Solicitor-General . ... 536 Th esiger THESIGER'S COMMITTEE. - Solicitor-General . 542 Thcsiger ......... ---9 EDINBURGH. Mr. Macaulay returned without opposition. The Sheriffs have received permission to attend • Divine Service at St. Margaret's Church, in the custody of the Officers of the House of Commons. The General Steam Navigation Company's Packet, the Ocean, S. Fife, from Rotterdam, arrived off the Custom House last night. MANCHESTER— FRIDAY. —'TIE COTTON TRADE.—The decline in Cotton has accidentally affected both the demand and pric 's for grey cloth and yarns. On Tuesday sellers were evidently giving way; that is, that class of them who make a point of weekly clearing off their productions, and the number is not small. The decline in power loom cloth for Printers must be noted at lid per piece, which is about equal to the decline in Cotton since this day se'nnight. In Yarns there is not much doing, but we have not heard of any fur ther decline since Tuesday, So soon, however, as Cotton is believed to have attained its lowest mark, a fair trade, if not a good one, may with confidence be anticipated, for Stocks are by no means heavy. The county Meath election is fixed for February the 4th; there will be no opposition to Mr. Corbally, the Li beral candidate. THE EDINBURGH ANTI-CORN-LAW PETI TION. —'lhe petition against the Corn-laws had received last night between nineteen and twenty thousand signatures. It was the intention of those having the management of it to have closed the places of signature yesterday or to-day, but in justice to many who inu , t have been prevented by the ex tremely unpropitious weather from adhibiting their signatures, a few of the places .will be kept open for a short time. The number of signatures received yesterday, upwards of two thou sand, proves that the friends of tho cause are as yet by no means exhausted.— Scotsman of Wednesday. THE NEWCASTLE CHARTISTS.---A supple ment to the Tyne Mercury contains some particulars of the proceedings at a large meeting of the Chartists held i n New castle on Monday eve n i ng , f or the purpose of considering the measures necessary to save the " Welsh Martyrs." In re ferring to the proceedings the Mercury says :—" The mode rate speech of Mr. Doubleday, though listened to throughout with considerable attention, called forth no mark of feeling from the audience; but when the other speakers commenced using strong language the cheering was most vehement, and the greatest excitement prevailed." THE LIBEL LAW.—The speech of Sir Robert Peel on Monday night, although—we will respectfully repeat our opinion—inconclusive as an argument in favour of the claim of privileges, and, indeed, conclusive against that claim, pre sents an admirable argument against the present law of libel. The press it has been that, by exposing all the real abuses of the slave-trade and of slavery, and whatever other abuses have existed, has led to all the reforms of the last fifty years. The House of Commons ar.d its Committees might have toiled and grubbed for the whole fifty years, and even sold its awkward folios to as many as would buy them, but that the public press gave wings to its discoveries, and to other discoveries which the House might not have thought it necessary or convenient to promulgate. Now the press has done all this ; but it has done it at imminent peril and heavy cost. Many honest and upright men have been ruined by the discharge of this public service— a still greater number have been exposed to grievous losses, while all persons connected with the public journals have been condemned to a constant state of mortification and alarm little calculated to aid the faithful discharge of their duty, or to in vite men of high accomplishments, and a delicate sense of ho nour, into this department of the public service. The argu ment that because much has been done, no further relaxation of difficulties is necessary, though quite valid against the House of Commons, which has all clung printed with impunity whatever seemed good to it, and has printed nothing of the least utility which the public journals have not given to the people, this argument cannot be applied to the press. The press has done much, but it has done it to its own loss and danger, and there is no knowing how much more the press might have done were it more free, which cannot be said of the House of Commons, for as far as inquiring and printing has been concerned, we have all that that House ever clinic to do, and we know that the press has gone far beyond it. There is another important difference to be considered, too—the press is always awake, the House of Commons sleeps half the year ; but it is plain it may be neces sary in many cases to make public facts affecting the general interests, without waiti ng s i x mont h s for the meeting of Parlia ment, and six months more, perhaps for the publication of evi dence. We do not, however, want for the press an equality with the House of Commons, even in this respect. We shall be content with far less than the House of Commons thinks too little for itself. All we ask is that the press shall have that jus tice that is scarcely denied to any other class ; that. Jurors and not Judges (bound by tyrannical precedents) shall decide upon the facts, in which the motives of the accused must always hold the first place, in case of writings or publications prosecuted as libellous. This can be effected with the utmost ease. Let it be made competent to the defendant upon a libel prosecution, or in a libel action, to offer evidence as to his motives generally, such evidence to be weighed by the jury, of course, as in all other cases, under the advice of the Court. We do not want that truth should be admitted as a conclusive defence. A man may tell the truth unconsciously, though he can scarcely tell an injurious falsehood without malice—but proof of the truth of a libel, accompanied by other proofs of the absence of a malicious motive, may surely make a complete defence-- a defence from which a man prosecuted for libel is now debarred. Neither would we restrict within very narrow limits the interpretation of malicious motives. Indiffnence to the peace, honour, and interests of our fellow-subjects is a crime less in degree, indeed, but of the same species, as indifference to their lives, and the law calls this latter indifference malicious. Standard. FARM LABOURERS.—A fortnight ago, we mentioned the case of a labourer, an able-bodied married man, who being unable to procure higher wages than 63. a week, and those only on condition that he would bind himself to work at that rate for an entire year, had applied at the Union House, either to be relieved temporarily, or to be admitted ; and had been refused both applications, because an offer of work had been made him ; no regard being had as to whether at wages which were a fair and honest remuneration for his ser vices, or not. Having made further inquiries into this affair, we find that on a second application at the House the poor fellow was told that if he did not go to work on the terms offered, lie would be sent to prison. The result is, that he is now working for 6s. a week, the stipulation for the years' ser vice at that price having been at last abandoned.— Wiltshire Independent. NovEr, MAN TRAP.-..We believe a practice exists amongst some persons driving carts, of helping their horses to hay from the ricks of farmers while passing along the roads in certain districts of this county (Ayrshire.) These thefts, on a locality on the banks of the River Ayr, had become common enough to be felt as a grievance, but the offenders could not be secured, not withstanding the greatest vigilence on the part of those aggrieved. One day, last week, however, a depredator was taken in a very peculiar manner. He had left his horse and cart on the road, and was tearing away at the root of a corn-stack a great deal more industriously than if at day's wages. The stack, by some chance, stood off the perpendicular, and the greedy rciver drew out armful by armful, till he fairly sapped its foundation, when the stack fell over him and buried him alive under about one hundred stones of straw ! The object of his cove tousness being so plentifully showered upon him, he bellowed lustily for relief, and the overturn of the stack having been no ticed by persons in the vicinity, the culprit was extricated just in time to save his life. His reputation, however, perished ; and, after being heartily laughed at, he was allowed to depart. We should think he will keep his eye aloft, the next time he tries this trick.—Edinbitryk Observer. CURIOUS QUARANTINE FOR CONSCIENCE. SAKE.—The Legislature of Georgia has passed a law, ordain ing that all vessels from any port of Maine, arriving at any port in Georgia, are to be detained in quarantine one hundred days. This most laughable law has been enacted, because the Governor aid citizens of Maine have certain conscientious scruples about slaves and the slave trade. If every State should past a similar law, quarantining the vessels of other States who differed from them in matters of conscience, what a curious state of things would ensue all over the country ! The Phila delphians would pass a law quarantining all honest men who might arrive, lest they might convert their own citizens to the paths of prompt payment ; the Massachussets Legislaturemight quarantine all vessels on baard of which any man drank less fifteen gallons ; the territory of Florida would quarantine all who objected to hunting down Indians with blood-hounds ; and so the game would go round the Union. We must mark the effects of this movement. —Neu, York Paper. From enquiries which we have made at our Post office, we learn that the Lumber of letters passing- through the office has been rath er more than doubled since the penny postage system has come into operation. The labour of deli very is, we understand, lessened ; as, notwithstanding the in•. crease in tke number, less time is occupied than before, on ac count of the large proportion of pre-paid letters, which is about one-eighth of the whole. Considerable inconvenience has arisen, as might have been exrected, from the time consumed pre -paymEnts, and mor.!. especially i s tlis Vie cas e ;xi wet when ten or a dozen persons may frevently be Fe c n i i I weather, the e ey evening. waiting their turn to hand in their 1,- tters ard money. The stamps will, of eoursh Cure th e ev il. —Bright6n Guardian. SPIRIT of thc! ;. ~: JOURNALS FROM THE DAILY PAPERS OF YESTERDAY. • (From the Giobr.) We yesterday prepared our readers for the satislac tory result of the Southwark electioa, by publishing the state of the poll to two o'clock, and in a second edition, the numbers at the close. Of the success of Mr. Wood we never entertained a doubt ; but, we arc free to confess, the triumph achieved exceeds our ex pectations. For several months Mr. Walter was in the field ; and every agency which could be brought into operation, and every description of influence which could be brought to bear upon the prejudices of the working classes, were most unworthily and dis honestly exercised. There are circumstances under which defeat, though it may be attended with disap pointment, entails no disgrace. The Tories of South ' work cannot—as the history of the late contest abundantly proves—.7olace themselves with the reflec tion, " All is lost, save honour !" In spite of bigotry and blackguardism—the canting of Mr. Wal ter, and the bullying of the Times—of " No Popery," and " No Poor Laws"—of Mr. Oastler's incentives to physical force, and the bustling activity in pothouses ofthe little clique of parochial oligarch whom the new Poor law deprived of the authority from which they derived their only consequence, and whose pride, wounded by the deprivation, found gratification in maligning the law which terminated their local importance—in spite of all these valuable agencies, Mr. Walter—Mr. Walter of the Times—is the defeated candidate ! (From the Standard.) The Ministerial writers betray a very painful anxiety upon the subject of Sir John Yarde Buller's motion of the 28th inst. These writers no doubt ati ticipate, as we do, that Ministers will escape a direct order of dismissal by some contemptible majority— such as has often saved them before ; but though the formal discharge may be postponed by the nearly balanced state of parties in the House, and the inexcusable absence upon the Continent of half-a-dozen Conservative Members without pairs, still the moral effect of a narrow division upon a question so direct and so vital as a distinct vote of want of confidence, cannot be evaded. The vote, it is true, can, if recorded, assert no more than was confessed by Lord Melbourne last spring ; but there is a wide difference between the solemn de claration of a majority, or even of a considerable nil nority, of Members of the House, arid the pettish, complaint of a' person no more renowned for veracity than Lord Melbourne ; besides, the fraudulent issue of the mock resignation of last spring taints all the preli minaries and accompaniments ; and though the fact of Lord Melbourne having lost the confidence of Parlia ment is undoubtedly true, it seems the less true because he has asserted it. (From the Courier.) The Ministry sneaked out of the " privilege" ques tion for one day by not making a House last evening. Postpone it as they may, the evil day of account must come at last ; and blustef as they do about baring yin. dicated the honour and dignity of the Commons, they must come to humble-pie at last, and either erase the records of the case altogether from their pages, or leave the Journals of the House to tell the talc of the high and mighty aspirations of their despotism, of their big words and puny deeds, and finally of their ignominious defeat in the contest with the Su preme Courts of Justice, deeply seated in the vene ration and affections of the people. The Lord Chief Justice of all England is not yet com mitted for contempt, although, if swelling speeches and resolves were aught but word; " full of sound and fury signifying nothing," he should rather be found in the dungeons of the Parliament Hour! than firm and fearless as he is, proudly presiding over the Queen's Court at Westminster, or loftily bearding and reproaching the pusillanimity of the Government by his presence in the Lords' House. ELEVEN O'CLOCK. Tuffnell Dawson ...... 847 716 TWELVE O'CLOCK. Tuffnell Dawson Tuffnell Dawson ONE O'CLOCK. TWO O ' CLOCK. Tuffnell 871 737 907 753 934 769 THREE O'CLOCK. Tuffnell ... Dawson 796 FOUR O'CLOCK ---FINAL STATE OF THE POLL. TufFnell 1,035 Dawson ...... BO4 Majority for Mr. Tuffnell... 231 LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, J. 24. ATTACHMENT AGAINST THE SERGEANT AT ARMS, At tile rising of the Court, Mr. RICHAPDS applied to their Lordships for an attachment against Sir William Gossett, on the ground of disobedience to a writ of habeas corpus, which was served last evening, and returnable imme diately, commanding him to bring into Court the bodies of the Sheriffs of Middlesex who were in his custody, under the warrant of the Speaker of the House of Commons, and to which he had made no return. Lord DENMAN said the Court could not suppose that a return would not be made, and that there was no sufficient ground to issue an attachment. Mr. RICICARDS begged to remind their Lordships that unless they did so the Sheriffs must remain in custody two days longer, and that an act of wilful dis obedience had been committed, the writ being return able immediately. One of those gentlemen, too, was suffering under very indifferent health. .• Lord DENMAN said the Cuurt could not depart from what it thought reasonable. Mr. RiciiAnDs—My Lords, I have nothhi,g more .0 say. SOUTHWARK ELECTION. DECLARATION OF THE POLL-RETURN OF MR. WOOD. (Continued from our Paper of yesterday.) Mr. ELLis came forward to address the meeting on be half of Mr. Walter, in the absence of that gentleman. He was received with partial cheers, mingled with groans and hisses, which, during his speech, were never, for a moment, interrupted. He said that he regretted the result of the late contest. He had no hesitation in saying that Mr. Walter should have been returned. The promises, however, made to Mr. Wood had been realized, and be was the successful candidate. His acquaintance with Mr. Walter had commenced within the last seven days; but be had no difficulty in saying that he was a man of integrity and ability, who was unfettered by any at tachment to the interests of party. He was sorry, on these accounts, that Mr. Walter was not their representative_ (Great uproar)—and that the election had turned out as it had done. He had the greatest respect for Mr. Wood privately, but to his politics he was totally opposed.— (Uproar.) He was in hope that the Borough would have sent to Parliament some one who would have voted against the tail of the Whigs. lie begged leave to say that Mr. Walter could not be blamed for going to the poll after the statements which had been made to him, and which, he would say, should not have been made. He thought that Mr. Walter had been most grossly—most shamefully— deceived—( Great uproar)—both by friends and foes. He would allow, however, that the fight had been a fair one, as far as Mr. Wood had been concerned, and he would not, for his part, be concerned in any thing that could lead to riot or excitement. He would now willingly hope that when their candidate got into Parlia ment h would act independently of party, and he believed that Mr. Wood was actuated by a proper feeling for the poor. He thought that we were now arrived at a dangerous crisis, and that the present Government were by no means equal to the emergency. He did not believe that they had carried out the R e f orm Bill ; and he was of opinion they were of much more benefit to the rich than to the poor. (Here a dog was carried through the crowd with its head in a bag, amidst loud cries of " Boxer, Boxer.") He thought that the present was an awful period, and that the Whigs were deceiving the country. They should have foreseen the present scarcity of corn in the country, and the sufferings of the manufacturing districts—they should have fore seen these evils, and provided for them. By not doing so they had shown their incapacity, He believed Mr. Wood must know those things, and that he had a proper feeling for the poor. He hoped that he would con sider, when in Parliament, the real interests of the country, and not those of a faction. Mr. CURLING next came forward and was much cheered. He said it would ill become him at that late stage of the proceedings, furthe.r than might be necessary, to ex press the gratification with which he contemplated the result of the past election. It could not be expected that he should take that opportunity of entering at any length into the motives which had in duced him to retire so early as he had done from the contest. To his friends and to the friends of inde dendence no other explanation would be necessary, save the result of the poll; and as to his enemies, he. felt that no explanation would be sufficient for them. His own conscience, however, told him that he had done his duty. He adhered strictly to the determination with which he had set out. He had come forward for the purpose of asserting the independence of the people, and he would assert it whenever the opportunity might allow. He had through cut adhered to that principle ; he had adhered to it at the hustings as well as at a later period. It was not till he found that he should be sacrificing their independence, and that there was a probability of a Tory cominz in, that he considered he was bound, as an honourable man, to resign the contest (Cheers, hisses, and great confusion.) This might not, he was aware, be acceptable to a.l parties—( Hear, hear)—yet with a view to remove any doubts from the minds of those who were the op ponents of freedom, and who were disposed to ques tion his motives, he should tell them candidly that he acted as ho had done for the purpose of bring ing in Mr. Wood. Let the Tory Press say what it might, that was his object, and in endeavouring to effect it he had left nothing undone. He would•now congratu- late them on the result of their election. It would set a useful example to those constituencies who were now on the point of electing Represen tatives. He rejoiced at it, too, because it would tell the Tories of the Borough of Southwark what their strength was, and lie thought that it would teach them that they had but very little chance Of representi n g ; Southwark. Another reason for his congratulating them was this—that Mr. Walter had come forward as the enemy of the Poor-law Bill, and, if he had suc ceeded, it would be said that the electors would to be opposed that measure.—( Hear, hear.) He believed that those who imagined that the sense of the country was against that Bill, would now find that they had been mis taken, and that popular feeling was in its favour.—( Cheers and hisses. ) Mr. Walter had principally relied on his hosti lity to the new Poor-law. He had made that his stalking boric, and yet he had failed. He (Mr. Curling) hoped that the columns of the Times would henceforward be filled with matter more useful to its readers than letters against the new Poor-la w.---( A laugh.) It was said that the letters which had appeared on that subject with the signature of Mr. Day, were, in reality, the pro ductions of Lord Stanhope or of Mr. Oaseler. (" No, no I" from Mr. Day, who said that was a lie, and groat uproar.) He ( Mr. Curling) rejoiced at the result of the late election, on other grounds besides DON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 25,1840. its having established the iliependence of the constituency of Southwark. They lvd returned toParliament a men who on the .28th of the month would vote against the motion of Sir J. Yarde Buller, a man who would tell the House of Commons that the Whigs possessed the confidence of the country.—(Cries of " No , " " Yes' yes," and uoroar.) lie hoped good feeling would hence, forward prevail in the borough, and that they would go band in hand in promoting- its interests. He would take leave (4 them by saying that he was friendly to the rights, libertie s , an d i n d epen de nce of the peop l e. I t was for this th a t h e h a d ret i red from persevering with his claims on the borou g h. A not h er oppo'tun i ty might coins for as serting in hi: own proper person their independence, and he would avail himself of it. He trusted they would be lieve that he had been actuated on the late occasion by the most conscientious convictions. He hoped that he would have their approval and that of the country—at ail events he had that which was dearer to him titan all be sides —the approval of his own conscience.—( Cheers. ) Mr. DAY then came forward, amidst great uproar, and was totally unable to obtain for himself a moment's hear ing.. He had only one observation to make, in consequence of an attack made on him by Mr. Curling.—( Confusion. ) Mr. Day then proceeded to say that lie was himself the author of the letters which appeared in the the Times with his signature. 'He proceeded to observe that the result of the late election could not prove that the constituency of South wark were favourable either to the Whigs or to the New Poor-law. Mr. Wood had denounced both ; he had ap peared in apposition to them, and he had thus perhaps gulled the public. The election, however, could not prove the sense of the constituency on either of these subjects. Mr. Day continued to address the meeting amidst a scene of unexampled confusion, till the High Bailiff at length interfered, and told him that he had better not to disturb the assembly any longer. A vote of thanks was then proposed to the High Bailiff, amidst loud cheers, by Mr. Curling. The lIIGII BAILIFF briefly returned thanks, and the meet ing separated. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. , HOUSE OF. COMMONS, JAN. 24. The SPEAKER took the Chair at the usual hour. ROYAL COMMISSION. Sir AUGUSTUS Ctirronn, the Usher of the Black Rod, shortly after the Speaker had taken Isis scat, ap peared on the floor, and summoned the House to the House of Peers to hear the Royal Assent given to Prince Albert's Naturalization Bill. BREACH OF PRIVI LEGE—STOCKDALE v. HANSARD. The SPEAKER on Lis return to the House stated that he had been informed by the Sergeant -at-Arms that he had a communication to make to the House of the greatest importance, if it was the pleasure of the House that he should be heard. The Sergeant -at-Arms then came to the bar, and said that about six o'clock last evening he was served with a writ of habeas corpus from the Court of Queen's Bench, commanding him to produce in Court the bodies of William Evans, Esq., and John Wheelton, Esq., and that, in answer to the person who served that writ, he stated that he acted under the writ issued by the Speaker, and diet he conceived it to be his duty to submit the question to the further direction of the 'louse. The warrant was then read at length by the Clerk at the table. Mr. LAW asked was there any indorsement on the warrant ? The SPEAKER said, Yes. The names William Marcheit, and Robinson, clerk. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said that the Ser geant-at-Arms had acted most properly in this business, for it would have been very wrong for him to have taken any steps without consulting the House, and he had the earliest opportunity of giving that information to this House ; and they were now imperatively called upon to consider what steps ought to be taken on that occa sion to protect their own privileges, for any false step that might be taken by theta then must involve them in very great and serious difficulties It might be contended, that without this writ having been served on this House it ought not to be obeyed ; he would not then enter into the question of law, but he should have no hesitation in advising that House to direct their Sergeant -at-Arm s to make a return to that Court that he detained those two individuals, viz., Mr. Evans and Mr. Wheclton, under a previous warrant issued by the Speaker of the House of Com mons. He (the Attorney-General) thought that that course was the safest, most prudent, and most Consti tutional that they could follow. If that course did not put an end to any further dispute with the Court of Law, it would not be the fault of the House of Commons. If, on the return which would be made by the Sergeant -at-Arms, anything would be done but simply remanding them to the safe keeping of the Sergeant-at-s‘rms, the Court of Queen's Bench will egregiously put itself into the wrong, and give them (the House of Commons) an advantage in continuing the struggle without much difficulty,it having been determined that this House had the power of commitment, and that no Court of Law had any right to inquire into the cause. In some instances he was well aware that the cause of commitment nad been set out on the face of the war rant, and the Court could not inquire whether that cause was sufficient or not. He knew of other cases where the cause had not been set out on the face of the warrant, but the Court should see that such omission was prfectly immaterial ; they should have said that they were no judges in that matter ; there were one or two cases in which that doctrine had• been laid down by the Court of Queen's Bench. In the case before them the warrant issued against the Sheriffs stated that they were merely guilty of a high contempt of the privileges of this House. There were cases where in a similar mac nes the Court ruled that the warrant of that House was sufficient, and that it was not their business to inquire into it. In Lord Shaftesbury's case, the cause of commitment was not mentioned on the face of the warrant, but it merely stated that he was committed for high contempt against the privileges of this House. Upon Lord Shaftesbury moving for a writ of Habeas Corpus, and objection being made that the warrant was insuffi cient, what said Lord Chief Justice Mansfield ? Ile said, " the Court had no jurisdiction in the case, and therefore the insufficiency of the warrant was not con siderable. They ought not to extend their jurisdiction beyond its due limits, and the actions of their ancestors would not warrant them in such an attempt." Therefore, although the commitment of Lord Shaftes bury by the House of Lords was general, and merely for contempt, the Cou rt h e ld unanimously that they had no jurisdicti o n at all to inquire, and they remanded him. He would mention also a case which occurred in 1751. That was a commitment by the House of Commons, under a similar warrant ; lie meant the case of Alexander Murray, who was committed for contempt, although the contempt was not specified in the warrant. He was brought before the Judges of the Court of King's Bench, and Wright, Justice, said, " It appeared, by the return to the writ of habeas corpus, that Murray had been committed to Newgate, under a warrant charging him with a high contempt of the privileges of the House of Commons, and it was insisted at the bar that that was a bailable case within the meaning of the Habeas Corpus Act. The ansxer to that was, that it had never been maintained that the act gave power to the Judges at chambers or in Court, to decide upon the privileges of the House of Commons, and it had been agreed upon all hands that theyhad power to judge of their own privileges.—( Hear.) It need not appear to them what the contempt was for which he had been committed ; for if it did appear they could not judge thereof. Lord Shaftesbury had been committed for a contempt of the House of Lords, and being brought before the King's Mach on a writ of habeas corpus, the Court must remand him, because in no case that had been cited had the Court interfered. The House of Commons was supe rior to that Court in that -particular, and they could not, therefore,:. enter into the question. Justice Denison said, The Court, as any other Court, had granted the writ of habeas corpus, not knowing what the commitmeni was- ; but now it appeared that it was for a contempt of their privileges. What these privileges were, the Court did not know, nor need they tell what the contempt was, for the Court could not judge of it.—(Hear, hear.) That Court must be considered inferior to the House of Commons, with respect of judging of contempt against it. The ease was a clear one, and required no sort of consideration." Judge Foster, one of the most constitution a l Judges that ever sat upon the bench, agreed in that decision, upon the ground " that the law of Parliament was part of the law of the land." Now what became of th e argument they bad so often heard, that they could not contravene what was laid down by a Court of inferior jurisdiction ? That general warrant, which was without specification ficient, and with such a warrant r .o othe r cause cou ld of the particular cause of c on t em p t, w as held to be suf. interfere. When Sir Francis Burdett's case went to the House of Lords, Lord Eldon proposed the follow ing question '-" Whether if the a contempt of Court , an d comm itted the offender by a warrant, Court for o f Common the opinion s tating generally, with out circum stancesvriietuer the that led to a commitment, t, Pleas o f adjudged Judgesjutige an - act to be Queen's Bondi in the return to the writ of habeas corpus setting forth the warrant, stated the contempt generally whether in that case the Court of Queen's Bench would discharge the prisoner, because the par ticular facts out of which the contempt arose were not set forth in the warrant ?" That in substance would be, whether such a warrant as had been signed in the case of Messrs. Evans and Wheelton were signed by the authority of the Court of Common Picas—whe ther that would be good. The question being handed over to the Judges, and they having- , con sulted for a few minutes, Chief Baron Richards de livered the unanimous o pinion of the Judges, that in such a case the Court of Queen's Bench could not liberate them.—(Hear, hear, from the Ministerial side of the House.) ' The}, ( t h e House of Commons,) there fore had the unanimous judgment of the whole of the Judges of England, that on a commitment by a Court of Law, where the warrant did not specify particularly that that is a good commitment, and no other Court could inquire whether that commitment was proper or improper.—(Hear , hear.) Under those circumstances he (the Attorney-General) thought -that they might with confidence direct their Sergeant at-Arms to make a return of the warrant under which Messrs. Evans and Wheelton had been committed. He (the Attorney-General) apprehended that on the warrant being read the Court of Queen's Bench could do nothing less than say that the prisoners might re turn to the custody whence they came. If they answered differently, it would be a ftigrant viola tion of law. If the Court of Queen's Bench should unfortunately depart from the principles and de cisions which he had stated, then the House, would consider what powers the Constitution had given them for the vindication of their own privileges against the illegal judgment of the Court of Queen's Bench. The warrant would be found in all respects conform able to former precedent. He would conclude by moving That their Sergeant -at-Arms should be directed to make a return to the said writ, that he holds the bodies of the said William Evans and John Whetdton, Esqrs., by virtue of a warrant under the hand and seal of the Speaker, issued by the authority of the House of Com mons for contempt of a breach of the privileges of that House." Mr. GODSON said he aid not rise to oppose the motion of the Learned A ttorney-General, but he felt it his duty to state that the Learned Gentleman had not explained the real question, which would come before the Queen's Bench on this return, which would be, whether or not an officer of that Court could be stopped in the discharge of his duties, by any power known to the constitution of this country ; and it was yet to be decided whether the Court would not require the parties who had adopted such a course to come before them, and justify so serious an interruption of the course of justice. Let the House for a moment escape from the idea of this being a contest between it and the Queen's Bench, and consider it as a question whether, when one of the subjects of the realm had gained a legal verdict, and was about to receive the fruits of that ver dict, the Constitution would allow any body of men to step in between those parties, and do away with the judgment of the Court. He would not anticipate the arguments that would be used before the Judges, nor would lie venture to say that they would not remand the Sheriffs ; but he hoped that there would be no wish or intention to gain a triumph over the Judges.—(Hear, hear.) Nothing could be more abhorrent from a well regulated mind than the attempts which had been made by the Ministerial Papers to throw ridicule upon the Judges of the Realm : particularly he would refer to the Morning Chronicle of to - day—(Laughter)—which con tained a paragraph sneering at the Judges as 15 elderly gentlemen in chambers, who have to decide on the exact numbers of " thens" and " theres" to be inserted in demurrers.—(Hear, hear.) If the returns were made as proposed by the Attorney-General, which appeared to be the regular course, he presumed that the Sheriffs would accompany the Sergeant-at-Arms into Court. If the opinion of the Court was that they ought to be remanded, let it be so, but if the opinion of the Court was that they ought to be discharged, he trusted there were men in England who would not refuse to assist the Judges in the due administration of justice. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL had not meant the slightest disrespect to the Judges in anything he had said. He not only loved them as friends, but vene rated them as most conscientious Magistrates. lie thought in this instance that they were in error, but he had never attributed to them anything like improper motives. As to the questions that might arise, he would say that none could possibly arise, if good cause of deten tion were shown. The writ of habeas corpus required that the person to whom it was directed should state if he held the body of any individual in his custody, and under what authority he so held it, and if the authority was sufficient, the warrant must be considered a valid warrant, and this was a valid warrant, unless the una nimous decision of all the Judges for centuries was wrong. Mr. CRESS WELL thought they would be asserting their own privileges, and in the most efficient manner, and at the same time paying a proper respsct to the Judges, by not indulging in speculations as to what the decision of the Court might be. If the House thought fit to make a return to the writ of habeas cor pus, it was their duty, without speculatin4 asto the conse quences to return the truth, and to consider any question that might arise afterwards. The Judges would dis ! pose of the case according to what they believed to be the law, and if the House considered their decision to be wrong, then would be the time to question it ; he trusted, therefore, that he should hear no more specu lation as to what would be done by the Judges. The motion of the Attorney-General was then put and carri e d w i t h out a division. - Mr. CRESS WELL presented a petition from the Liver cool Dock Company, praying for leave to bring in a Bill for the purpose of extending their privileges. Mr. BAINES presented a petition, prayin.4 that Church-rates might be abolished, and John Thoro good might be discharged from the confinement he was suffering for their non-payment. Also one from Go mersall, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, praying for a repeal of the Corn-laws, as follows : " The Petitioners attribute to the operation of these laws the alarming distress which prevails in their own neighbourhood. These laws they say have the effect of ruining the trade of the district by giving encouragement to foreign competitors who now fully supply their own markets, which markets formerly afforded profitable employment to a large portion of the population of this district. " The Germanic Commercial League, one of the effects of the English Corn-laws, they say, has imposed high du ties upon their manufactures, which are equivalent to a prohibition of those manufactures into the German States. " And these foreign competitors have become formidable rivals in other markets as well as their own, while thus, with a rapidly increasing population, the English manufac turers are deprived of their most valuable and extensive connections. " The Petitioners say that they can acknowledge no law as just which prevents the free exchange of the pro ducts of their industry. . . " The Corn-laws, they say, have tended more than any other cause seriously to derange the currency of Great Britain, by drawing away bullion from the country. " And that a t th e period when this derangement comes into operation the people of England have to subsist upon food so high in price as to prevent the working classes from purchasing it in sufficient quantities to supply their daily necessities. " The distress of the two last years, caused by bad har vests, they say is likely to be continued and aggravated by the late unfavourable seed time, which must necessarily create a serious deficiency in the produce of the next harvest. " And they solemnly declare their conviction, that with out a speedy and total repeal of the Corn-laws the interests of the community in general, and the manufacturing popu lation in particular, will be soon too seriously injured ever again to revive." This petition, the Honourable Gentleman said, was signed by 969 of the inhabitants, which comprehended the whole of the male adult population of the place, with the exception of, 12. to 15 individuals. Sir J. STRICKLAND presented a petition from a gentleman named Rhodes, a woollen manufacturer of Wakefield, complaining of the injurious effect of the Corn-laws. Mr. VILLIERS presented a petition from Settle, in the West Riding of the county of York, against the Corn -laws. Lord EASTNOR presented a petition from Lea mington Priors in the County:of Warwick, praying (as we understood) Government to take measures to pro mote the building of additional churches. Captain ALSAGER presented a petition signed by 200 inhabitants of South Lambeth, humbly praying that the Act of Provision to be made for Prince Albert should contain such security as should seem best calcu lated to maintain unimpaired the Protestant Throne, as settled by the Bill of Rights and the Act of Settlement. Mr. KEMBLE presented a petition from Peckham and its vicinity to the like effect. Sir J. Y. BULLER presented a petition from Cole raine. praying for additional Church accommodation. Mr. LITTON presented a petition praying the Go vernment to take into their consideration the laws of the service, which obliged soldiers to pay military ho 'flours to the religious ceremonies of Roman Catholics, against their consciences. Mr. CRESS WELL presented a petition from the Mayor and Town Council of Liverpool, praying for the repeal of the Corn-laws. Mr. HUME said that he had put down his name to present a petition against the grant of 50,000/. to Prince Albert, but, on consideration, he thought as the House had not voted, he had better postpone it. THE MINISTRY. Sir JOHN YARD BULLER gave notice that the resolution which he would move on Tuesday next was as follows :—" That her Majesty's Government as at present constituted, does not possess the cipfidence of this House."—(Loud cheers.) Mr. PRYME gave notice for a Bill to reduce the average prices of wheat at which corn should be allowed to be imported as we understood. Sir F. TRENCH gave notice of a motion for Tuesday next, for the restoration of the wax candles, and for the abolition of the Bude light in the House. INDIA. Mr. HUME gave notice of a question as to whether it wag the intention of the Government to lay before the House papers respecting our Oriental connections. CHINA. - Mr. CRAWFORD gave notice that on Monday he would move an address to her Majesty praying that her Mjesty would lay before the House copies or extracts of all despatches relative to the late proceedings in China. COPYRIGHT. Mr. Sergeant TALFOURD gave notice of a Bill to amend the law of Copyright. IMPORTATION OF CORN INTO IRELAND. Mr. L ABOUCHERE gave notice, that on Monday next he would move that the House resolve itself into a Committee to consider so much of the 9th George Iv., chap. 60, as regarded the importation into Ireland of wheat and flour. The Mom. HON. GENTLEMAN also gave notice that on the same day he would move a resolution directing the insertion in all future Railway Bills o f a clause 'sub mitting to any general act hereafter to be passed in re spect to railways. IRISH CORPORATIONS, Lord MORPETH gave notice that on Monday he event of her surviving her father. 60,000/. was then granted by Parliament, of which .50,000/. had since been settled upon the Prince during his life. The next which bore any analogy was that of the Queen Consort of his late Majesty, for whom 110,0001. was proposed inlS3l, but 50,000/. was the sum allotted to her privy purse. In the case of Queen Caroline, the consort of George the Second, a dowry of 50,000/. a-year was granted to her Majesty, in case she should survive King George the Second. The Princess Dowager of Wales, the mother of George the Third, was, a was recited in The Lord Chancellor, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earl of Clarendon, the Earl of Shaftesbury, and the Earl of Errol, sat to-day at a Qurter before Four o'Clock, as Royal Commissioners, and the Speaker of the House of Commons, attended by a large body of Mem bers having appeared at the bar,the Commission was read, and the Royal Assent given in the usual form to the Bill of Naturalization of Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg and Gotha. The House then adjourned during pleasare. RAILWAYS. E EN IN G F, D !PION . the Civil List Act, paned at the commencement of George the Third's reign, to receive an annuity of 50,000/. a-year, to be paid to her for her life. Queen Charlotte, the Consort of George the Third, was by Act of Parliament to have received 100,000/. a-year, in case she should survive that Monarch. In the late reign of William the Fourth, a similar proposition had been brought. forward in that House, and had met with no opposition. Earl Grey, who had brought for ward a measure in the other House, stated that it had there passed unanimously. That Bill settled on Queen Adelaide 100,000/. a-year, in case she survived William the Fourth. In the case of Prince Leopold, who was not the husband of the Queen, and who might never arrive at that station, and called upon to perform the duties and maintain the station which would then devolve upon him, an allowance of 50,000/. a year was settled upon him in case of• his surviving the Princess Charlotte. With these prece dents before them, he proposed to move that her Ma jesty be empowered to grant an annuity, payable from the Consolidated Fund, of 50,000/. per annum, to Prince Albert—such annuity to continue during the life of the said Prince Albert—such annuity to com mence on the day of his marriage. Therefore he would receive this during the time that he should continue to remain the husband of the Queen, and he would also re ceive the same allowance should he survive her Majesty. With regard to any precise precedent on the subject, he did not find he had much to offer, nor was he competent to afford the House any detailed information on that subject. The Committee of 1831, on an occasion of this nature, had no precedent to refer to, and they had taken the opinion of a former Chancel lor of the Exchequer, the Honourable Member for Cambridge, on this matter. He (Lord John Russell) had read carefully through the celebrated speech of Mr. Burke on the Civil List, and he did not find in it anything which could affect the present question. He could only say that an establishment should be maintained by Prince Albert, as it would otherwise be impossible for him to maintain his rank and dignity in a suitable manner. He could only say on that sub- ect that it would be prcper that the Prince should have an establishment of his own, without stating exactly what it might be. He could only observe that it would be formed a good deal on the model of that which the Prince of Wales formerly maintained. He would have a Groom of the Stole, a Groom in Waiting, and an Equerry, and the whole of that expense would be about 7,0001. or 8,0001. It would be proper to elect persons of superior rank—( H ear, bear)—for those situations round the husband of the Queen. It was proper they should be men of station and respectability. —(Cries of " Hear, hear.") With regard to other matters he could only refer in general terms to the precedents he had already quoted. The only ground which was urged, and upon which he was told the Civil List ought to be. reduced, was one which did not appear to him at all to affect the case. The Civil List was almost entirely distinct from the Household expenses, and when these matters bad been formerly connected, the amount granted was 435,000.. That was the sum granted during the late reign, and on the accession of her present Majesty a sum of 50,0001. was deducted, as not being required for the establishment of a King's cons ort . Th e Government now proposed to make the sum the same as had been granted in the year 1831. That was his (Lord J. Russell's) proposition, and the only objection which bad been urged, and which he could not think applied to the case, was founded, not on what was proper and ne• cessary to maintain the dignity of the Crosvn—not on what was necessary to maintain the rank of the Monarch and the household of the Prince, but was founded on the present unfortunate state of distress which unhap pily existed in some districts of the country. No body lamented more than he did that such a state of distress should exist, but he owned he did not think that was a ground upon which to come to a vote for the permanent establishment of Prince Albert. He could not think that, because, if the argument were allowed, they could net well refuse to allow it per contra. He could not agree to the proposition to vote a sum of 21,000/. for Prince Albert, as had been proposed by the Hon. Member for Kilkenny, on the ground of much distress at present existing ; as at some future time, when the country was in a state of prosperity, the same grounds might be urged to entitle them to call upon that House for an increased grant.— (Hear, hear.) He did not thick, therefore, that that was the manner in which an arrangement could be made.—(Hear, hear.) He did not believe that the great resources of that country were at all impaired, and therefore there could be no ground for refusing, because some temporary distress existed, a pro per establishment f or P r i nce Albert. Tbeonry 'ques tion for the House to consider was, whether the suns of 50,000/. was a proper sum to be allowed for the support of Prince Albert. s.The Noble Lord, who was very imperfectly heard throughout, concluded by moving that her Majesty may be enabled to grant a sum of 50,0001. to Prince Albert of Saxe Cobourg and Gotha, on the occasion of his marriage with her Majesty, to be con tinued to him in the event of his surviving her Majesty. Mr. HUME wished to know as Prince Albert was to be allowed so large an income, whether it was in tended that he and the Queen should live in separate palaces ?—(Great laughter.) Lord J. RUSSELL could not answer the question put by the Hon. Member for Kilkenny, but if be thought it necessary he could make inquiries on the subject. GOULBURN wished to know whether it was intended to make the provisions absolute, or determina tile on her Majesty's life. Lord J. RUSSELL said that it was intended that the provision should he for the life of the Prince. Captain POLHILL inquired in what position Prince Albert was to stand on his arrival in this country? Lord J. RUSSELL could not answer that question. Mr. HUME wished to know if the greatest sum was to be put first, and whether, if the House rejected that sum, he should be precluded from proposing a lower sum ? Because one Member might move 35,0001. and if that were rejected he should not be precluded from moving 21,0001. The SPEAKER said that the established rule was, that whenever the House was about to impose a har den on the people the lesser sum was to be put first. Sir R. PEEL said that was undoubtedly the case when there were only t wo sums , b ut when there were a great number of sums proposed, if the, sum first pro posed as an amendment were rejected; would not the original sum be considered as adopted conclusively? Mr. HUME thought it clear that, the original sum having been proposed, the other sums were to be pro posed as successive amendments.—(Hear.) Mr. BERNAL declared that, though in Committee of Supply the lowest sums were put first, yet this was not a Committee of Supply, though it might be con sidered analogous ; and he had never known, out of Committee of Supply, that course followed. He en treated the House to look well to precedent. Mr. GOULBURN agreed with what the Speaker had laid down on the subject. Sir G. CLERK said, in Committee the lowest sum should certainly be put first ; but, in Committte of the whole House—not in Supply—it depended on the terms of the resolution to be proposed. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER did not consider, that when the first amendment had been put, the movers of the others should be precluded from putting theirs. Mr. GOULBURN referred to a precedent, when it was decided, that out of Committee of Supply, it. was not imperative to put the lesser sum first. The SPEAKER quoted another precedent, where the lower sum was put first, not in Committee of Supply. In answer to Mr. BAINES, Lord J. RUSSELL said the revenues of the Duchies ofCornwall when ho n an dLarnr arrived.—(Hear.) .e_r llo would roe belong to the Prince of ales The House resumed, and further proceedings, were, we understood, postponed till Monday. On the motion of Mr. HUME returns were ordered of the revenue and expenditure for the last five years. Mr. EMERSON TENNENT obtained leave to bring in a Bill to amend the htws relating to ejectment and replevin in Ireland. The Hon. and Learned Mem ber also obtained leave to bring in a Bill for the amend ment of the law and the better administration of justice in Ireland. The LORD ADVOCATE moved for leave to bring in a Bill to ascertain and define the right of voting for Mcmbers of Parliament in Scotland. Lord STANLEY thought that it would be better to allow the Bill to be printed, and placed in the hands of Members ; but he could not even allow the present stage to pass without entering. his decided protest against the provisions of the Bill, which looked to the difference between freeholders in Scotland and freeholders in Eng land and Ireland, attaching to the qualification the necessity of residence. Ile never could assent to there being a distinction between the law of Scotland and that - of England. After a few observations from Mr. G. Hope, Mr. Evart, Sir G. Clerk, Mr. Gillon, and Lord Stormont, leave was given to brink; in the Bill. Mr. CHRISTOPHER it was expedient to rescind the resolution which autho rizes the sale of the Votes and Proceedings of the House." He did so _in consequence of the advice which be had , received and as subjects under discus- cussion might possibly lead to a collision between that House and the Judges, he thought it but fair not to embarrass the question with his motion. . 'The notion was therefore postponed, and at Seven o'Clock the House adjourned till Monday. HOUSE OF LORDS, JI N. 24. ROYAL COMMISSION. NATURALIZATION OF PRINCE ALBERT. would move for leave LI bring in a Bill to amend muni cipal corporations in Ireland. Lord ELIOT moved that there be laid before the House a copy of the Report of the Commission which had last year been appointed to consider the efficiency of the lightning conductors invented by Mr. Harris. CHINA, Mr. ELLIS gave notice that on Monday he should move for copies of all the correspondence and documents which had passed between the British Resident at the Factory at Canton and the Chinese authorities. T) PRINCE ALBERT. Colonel SI BTHORP wished to ask the Noble Lord, the Secretary for the Colonies, whether it was his in tention to-night to confine himself merely to making a statement to the House as to the views by which he was actuated in proposing the provision for Prince Albert, or whether the discussion Las also to come on ? Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, that in replying to the Hon. Member for the University of Cambridge, he had the other night stated that it was his intention o. going into the Committee of Supply to make his statement the ground on which he proposed the resolution, and then to move that the further discussion of the question be adjourned to Monday. FACTORY BILL. Mr. BAINES asked if it was the intention of the Government to introduce any measure for the Regulat ing of Factories during the present Session. Mr. L ABOUCHERE said that it was the intention of his Hon. Friend the Under Secretary for the Home Department to introduce such a measure. MEDICAL REFORM. Mr. FRENCH gave notice that on Monday he should move for the reappointment of the Committee to consider the state of the medical profession. STEAM BOAT ACCIDENTS. Sir R. BATESON wished to ask the Right Hon. the President of the Board of Trade if it was his intention to introduce any stringent measure on the subject of steam-boats, so as to sub ject them to a rigid examination, both as to the efficiency anil safety of 'the machinery, and also as to their general sea-worthiness. The recent ac cident which had occurred to the Dublin steamer Hus kisson showed the necessity of introducing some measure to prevent the avarice of the steam-boat owners from sacrificing the lives of her Majesty's subjects. Mr. LABOUC HERE said the subject was one of very considerable difficulty, as well as importance, but it was the intention of her Majesty's Government shortly to lay before the House a proposition on the subject, and he hoped they should be able to legislate upon it during the present Session.—( Hear, hear.) RAILWAYS. Sir ROBERT PEEL did not know to what Mem• bcr of her Majesty's Government he should address his question. —not knowing. what officer was connected with Railways or that branch of the public service. He wished to know whether there existed at present a Com mission of Engineers for the purpose of reporting upon contested lines of railway in England ; and if there were, what were the lines referred to that Commission for its decision ? Mr. L ABOUC HERE was not aware that he could answer the Right Honourable Gentleman's question with perfect accuracy. He believed the matter stood thus : There were two addresses in the course of the last Session of Parliament—one for an inquiry into two lines of railway, which were in contemplation in the North of England, with a view to ascertain their respective merits—he meant the line leading from London towards Edinburgh and Glasgow—the other address referred to the lines contemplated towards Ireland. In consequence of these addresses to the Crown in the course of last Session, engineers were appointed to investigate those lines which had been surveyed, and he knew that the engineers were at present prosecuting the inquiry, and, he would add, with all convenient speed the result of those inquiries would be made pub lic. When that Commission was appointed, he believed it was expressly guarded against its being supposed that there was a general Commission of Engineers to inquire into all competing lines, or to inquire generally into the subject of railways. On the contrary, it was stated that the Commission would merely apply to the lines already surveyed, and which might be supposed to have reference to the great lines of communication with the North, and with England. Sir R. PEEL presumed that it was not intended to take these lines out of the hands of private companies for the purpose of having them executed by the Go vernment. Mr. LA BOUCHERE said decidedly not. The Government, considering- the importance of the subject, had considered itself authorised to interfere merely to see that the best lines were selected. Mr. O'CONNELL supposed that the Right Hon. Baronet did not prefer the line of railway which was in progress of survey in Wales, because the Chancellor of the Exchequer had given the country to understand that in three weeks the Report upon that line would be laid upon the table. COURT OF SESSION. I Mr. WALLACE understanding that one of the Judges of the Court of Session hid resigned, wished to know from the Noble Lord, or the Lord Advocate of Scotland, whether it was intended to fill up the vacancy, or to wait and see if the appointment could be dispensed with. Lora JOHN RUSSELL would give the subject his hest consideration before any new appointment was made, but he could not undertake to say that the num ber of Judges would be reduced. Mr. HUME wished to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it would be in his power to give the country a smaller silver coin than the fourpenny pieces —(Laughter) — w hi c h were the smallest now in circulation. He could not, for h s part, understand why this country should not have a coin still smaller. The CHANCELLOR. of the EXCHEQUER said, that the impression on his mind was, that it would not be expedient to have a smaller than that of fourpence which they now had. Mr. HUME said that his principal reason for asking his question was, that he believed the Bank of England refused to issue fourpenny pieces as they ought to do. Mr. ELLIS wished to know if it was the determina tion of Government to give effect to their intentions with respect to railroads ia Ireland. Lord MORPETH said that his answer to that ques tion should depend on the degree of encouragement which he should get from the House of Commons. He could only say that his own opinion of the motion of last year remained unchanged. PROVISION FOR PRINCE ALBERT. On the motion of Lord J. RUSSELL the House resolved itself into a Committee of Supply for the pur pose of considering of a provision for Prince Albert. Lord J. RUSSELL then proceeded to address the House. In answer to the Address from the Crown, the House of Commons had offered its heartfelt congratula tions at the announcement made by her Majesty on the subject of her intended marriage, and they had after wards declared that they would most gladly make any provision for her future consort, which might be considered necessary and conducive to the dignity of her Majesty's Crown. It was not necessary for the House at the present moment to enter into any other part of the subject of her Majesty's marriage, excepting so far as it was connected with the pecuniary provision to be made to Prince Albert. He (Lord John Russell) might observe, in respect to political considerations, that he thought it would have been a subject of considerable embarrassment to this country at a future time if her Majesty's marriage con nected her with any considerable power of Europe, thus entangling the empire with the alliances and the enmities of foreign kingdoms.—(Hear, hear.) This was a difficulty felt, though in a minor degree, in the course of the last century, in consequence of the con nection of this country with Hanover, though in the Act of Settlement it was provided that this country should not be involved in war, without the consent of Parlia ment, for the defence of the King's electoral dominions. It was obvious that if the Sovereign of this country found her inheritance invaded, it was impossible for this country, in the honourable support of its Sovereign, not to become embarrassed in the defence of those terri . tories. Prince Albert, being born in foreign dominions, but coming to this country at an earl;' period of his life, it should be the object of this country to attach him as much as possible to English habits and affections, that lie might always find from this country the affectionate support which the Th r one was always cert a i n to receive from Englishmen (Hear, hear, hear)—and any measures which might tend to show the Prince that, contrary to all precedent, plans would be pursued by the British Parliament, which would induce him to wish his connection with this country dissolved, would be exceedingly unjust and improper. He would now state what bore upon the question of the provision to be made by Parliament. Although the Prince, who was to be allied to the Queen of thi s country, had not pro perly any of the privilege s , or powers, or attributes, w hi c h belonged to the Queen Consort of these realms ; y e t, at the same time, there were many respects in which this was the nearest analogy that could be drawn. As to the arrangements made in former times, it was useless to mention the precedent of the marriage of a King of Spain with the Queen of these dominions. Another of the Queens of this country was married a considerable time before her accession to the throne. Queen Anne had devoted after her accession to the throne 100,0001. for the support of Prince George, and in 1702 she settled 50,000/. upon him for life. An arrangement was proposed in regard to Prince Leopold, on his marriage with the heiress presumptive to the throne ; but still it was to be recollected that the Princess was by no means certain to succeed to the throne, even in the l