The Sun. — London, England, 1847-01-21 00:00:00

=J'I THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY MORNING, JANUARY 21, 1847. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Jan. 20. The House met shortly before 'Four o'clock. N.E W WRIT. !A new %Tit s on the motion of Mr. PARKER, w? , - rdered for the election of a Member for Middlesex ii ute room of the late Mr. Byng. NORTH KENT RAILWAY. An 'fox. ME3IBER gave notice of his intention 4311 a future day to move for leave to bring in a 13111 to construct several branches from the North Kent Rail way. IRON SHIPS OF WAR. Mr. R. 1701iIii.: wished to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty wht-tber it was true that sixteen iron ships of war had been rde ••ed without previous irquiry of their powers and effiei , uicy for the , ervice. Also, whether the report of the Admiralty of Frivice, irhowitig the utter inefficiency of iron ships for tee purposes of warfare, Nie.,s not in possession of the G-)vernment at the time the said ships were ordered. Mr. WARD said the best reply he could give to the Hon. Gentleman was, that the iron steam-ships to which he referred, were ordered by the House last session, on the motion of an lion. Memb ,, r opposite. He believed that no report had been made to the Admiralty of Frsr.ce seitinr forth the utter inefficiency of iron ships for the purposes of v.:at:ire, and that no experiments had yet been made by the naval authorities of either country to test their rty.,eity. Mr. WILLIAMS wished to be informed whether the progress of the iron steamers, which had been f)rdered, had been au - ipended? Mr. WARD rephed, but was not audible in the gal lery. LAW OF SETTLEMENT. enlonel WOOD presented a ow:ition from Brecknock trinst the present law of - settleh.ent, and praying that al: P"" 'night be t.kon under the care 01 the State ; "rich a peti tion from the same place, pr,ying that the poor-law might be made more efiePtrcii. MALT AND HOP—LICENSE: On the , motion of Alde rman HUMPHERY. • the lid ,owmg returns were ordered :—An account of the tot,l n umbers of quarters of malt made between the 10th day . %t, Octob er, 1845, and the 10th day of Octot,er, 1846, the quantity the quantity made in each country, a.' , quantity used by brewers. and victual'ers, and retail 4e i w t e h rs dt• ar. An acc , Aint of the total number of acres an in Great Britain under the cultivation of hops 1846, distinguishing the number of Off e '' " 4 , ht each parish. An account of the duty e n ,,f,Nos of the growth of the year 1846, dia. is, 'ling the districts, and the old from the new reff: t An account of the quantity of hops exported from Jr~Britain to foreign countries from the sth day of i „,7 llB trY,. 184$, to the sth day of January. 1847, ittuag the countries to which the same have been ex and also the quantities to each country ; also i "ea from foreign growths, and the dates of the years al'enich the British hops were grown. An account of 'keign hops imported i n to the Unit e d Ki ng d om f rom t h e th day of J anuary , 1946 , to t h e s t h d ay o f J anuary, 4847 , distinguishing the ports where imported, and the tOuntries from whence exported. An account of the tOtil number of pounds weight of hops charged with duty in e ac h o f t h e severa l co ll ect i ons o f t h e U n i ted k ingdom in the year 1846. An account of the number Of persons in eac h o f th e severa l co ll ect i ons i n t h e U nite d m licensed as brewers, victuallers, to sell beer to be drunk on the premises, and to sell beer not to be drunk on the premises, stating the number of each class who brew their own beer, and the quantity o , malt con. ' slimed by them particularising each class in each collec ttin,From the I , oth day of Oct., 1845, to the 10Ai day of OCt., 1846. AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS. Mr. STAFFORD O'BRIEN wished to ask whether the Government had fulfilnd 'Le vromise made through the Rig•hi 110... Gentleman the V.ce•President of the Board tit Tr tl. (\ 1- M Gitiso• ). Hint direct, d i heir atten ti.irt to the subject of' agricultural statistics during the to e s , ~ed nh ' , e t . ill: y propeeed bringing toward sus m asure on the -object ? Mr. M. eiliaSON replied that the subject had re ceived the atteistien of the Goverument during the rccuiss, anit that a m• asure was now in pi ogres e h la, e hen some of its details had le en decided en, woule be laid belt, e th•• El.tuse—t,e ho, - ,eil on an early day. LIBSsARY (.1 'IIIM I , TEE. On the motion to Se. R. EL 1 NIG Lie, the following C"mmirlr't' is as sppe;ntee to asost Mr. Seeaker in the direction of the Library, and all matters relating to it:—Sir R. H. Inglis. Nit.. Chancellor of the Exche quer, Lord John Russell, Sir Robert Peel. Mr. G..ulburn. Mr. W. Wynn, the Lord Advocate. Mr Shaw, Viscount Palm'raton, Viscount Mahon, Major-General Fox, Mr. Solicitor-General, Mr. Pendarves, Mr. Acland, Sir W. Somerville, and Ale. Monckton Milnes. On the motion of Sir H. INGLIS, leave of absence to Mr. Colquhoun ' tor two months, on account of ill health, was granted. POOR-LAW. Captain PECHELL moved for a return from each poor-law union and p -rie I in England and ;Wales of the number of non-resieent families and persons who were in receipt of relief on the 26th day of August, 1846, distinguishing those who have since become chargeable to the unions and parishes in which they were residing at that period. He said the r, turn referred to the extraordinary lope rati,n of a Bill passe-I last session, entitle:l the Poor law Removal Bill, the working of which had proved most injurious to the poorer classes. It, hid created the greatest consternation in the coun try, and had benefited none save the legal authorities connected with the various unions, who, in fsc , w- re living upon plunder deny d from the poor. The non-resident had been harshly treated, and had in many cases had relief altege: her suspended so far as they were concerned.—(Hear, hear). There were several persons now thrown upon the humane guardians of certain unions for whom they had no no right to provide, and the Gilbert Union, at the pre- sent moment, paying both ways. By the operation of this Act, no less than 1,110 families, consisting of 1,621 persons, had been thrown upon the Gilbert Union at an expense of 285.!. per week. In the town of Brighton, wi:h which he was connected, no less than 1,452 persons had been thrown upon the rates, and the guardians of that union, rather than re:use these poor people as sistance in their necessity, or of litigating the case, and votuntarily undertaking their support of the expectation that the House of Commons would pas, some measure, during the present session, for their relief from this oppression. He could not help think• ing this was a matter which might have been introduced into her Majesty's Speech, for certainly it was of much more importance than the County Courts Bill. On the 19th of January it might well be supposed that the state of Ireland would occupy a prominent posioon in hi r Mejeste's Speech ; but even that, he considered, a subject not param'unt to the alteration of the poor law. He trusted that the G vernment would grant these returns, as it was fully expected that the House Sir c . N THE NAVY. of Coons would grant the relief which was so t oov APIER gave notice that to-morrow he should earnestly sousht. ith e f,r a return of the numbsr of line-of-battle ships 'll-. Bo NKES said that it was with great pleasure he si bi , ic :h had been cut down to frigates and steam contract seconded the mutton which had just been made, and he or r He should a l so move, at the same time, for a return • oo k th a t opportunity of giving notice of an intention sh on e h lPaher of seamen which the Channel fleet was which he had had previously of bringing a forma pro f i - tel n their complement at the present time. NEW ZEALAND. position before the House, arid on Friday next, he pro tMr, post d to do it in the shape of an amendment to the e r ' enfsgeAWES brought up the return of the Corn- .notion of the Noble Lord, in which he should submit to affairs of New Zealand. M r. Jon,, SESSIONAL ORDERS. the House a proposition for the immediate repeal of the Poor-law, which was at that moment doing the greatest b or n d seinreNssad s`i PARKER moved the usual sessional mischie: in the country. He held in his td a petition =ion for - 4 resolution for the arrangement o f public from his own earish, which had been greatly injured, l in in respact of orders and notices, and a resolu- the county lie represented, by the operation of this aw, 7ae::ire.tltinitrtrntirtoe rens ionng sittings on Wednesday.—Agreed to. and he believed that in a few days he shouldhave that .l-trr moved, amongst the sessional orders, petitions from almost every parish in that county, Private Bills, as well as on Rail- speaking of this petition, which he should take that op nor . n ~ Bills, consist of five Members, neither personally portunity of presenting to the House ; it purported to interested in the question submitted to be with reference to the leas; important , portion of the ttitlleit.sotnsiderenee, This system had been triad during evd, viz., it tied reference to the additional burthen cothausiisttwaoef.asiletnw; was and it was found to work so efficiently thrown upon the rtve-payers, while the more important v eto ilins as at present proposed to extend it to all pri pertion by far was that adverted to by the proposed that the Committee should lionourabie Member who just spoke, viz., the ge diced , e five independent, unbiassed, and unprejos neral injury inflicted upon the poor. Ile believed Ri lls 7 0 mbers, in no one way interested in the that those who ventursd to suggest objections to Kos be submitted to their consideration'. Wo u l d s _ . Gentlemen certainly might object tLat it this Bill when it pissed—he was one who suggested loefeeittianutee..better for those who had local knoeledge and many atnendments, every one of which was negative 1— inter to sit on Committees, where the subject' and those who premeted the BM had no conception of the mischief it would create. For that reason he should or opirifolocal matters were tried •; but he certainly was that they would be more likely to be of ser illrto. ,h_neir constituents as witnesses than as judges. be acting inconsistently wits, his duty if he did ~.....U.Ol-t N E LI: concurred fully in the 1 : t n t take the earliest opportunity possible of sub t)l re the mitting te the flouse lle th , s hen ir d m jeiediaatneswanerdedtobtayl the e mi n (s ees , al r. rs ii • seesteman, and would second tha motion. Noble Lord that the question of whether the measure eiou s . °THERTON thoueht that it would b.- i: judi- h t j h e e cts e, w m h s i t c i li tu h ti e nn p: n o t s whs. _ (,) adopt changeS in this matter. At the time ot:lntense Speaker and other gentlemen recommended tzheit astewcla ; si"E`leu whichrdt::es" u' shouldshould offer to,afestebr. the 1 t 0( 0 ;. o t om , ! ,e mt e i O et n e s es i ' d u e rai o n o f the ouwin there was quite a different mode adopted to that on Friday t ext. His (Mr. Bankes's) answer would t b h e e , ors Commause. No local Members were permitted to sit that during the deliberation of the Committee . railway yyunless they were resent on the first day ; i t t sv te le sn y assembled. There w a s P a m aii if e t distinction ; ; ; . :• i i w es t r . a r n t e , e , ptualtgahnt end dit to o tt i i t c a o t ii , t m in c u e e , ' an if l strut he h er e e w l a n s, t t h h e a a ir t and other local Bills. There might be whatever might be the result of their d liberation, that , should have po•f , ctla itneartial Corn law, as it new :toed, eu e ht. net to remain another fe et l+ but railways, where so perfectly - inteiests were af uut h Bills ' t ere were man y upon the statute-book. He, thereforr, wh c i o e n h eu th rr e e N d n e h n le the constituents i•• in other tirely in the propriety of t e motion o full rhe parettsendanee should- not be w deprived of Lord had given notice, witI T I hreefaermeennedemtetn) amendment a whien of their representatives. consideration of that law. ~,s s n i tY for en d t e, s t Y st ern worked well, and he saw no ne- he should submit was—' That it is a ecessary to se tue n iot i o urbing it, He should, t h ere f o re, object inquire into the operation of the Act . 9 ant! 10 , Victoria, 1 the Ron Member for I t S e en , !:r i i i e . s. for S alford M2 was sur r : ha ~ 66, passed during the hat session o. Parliament, e s I to its effects upon the comforts and condition te Co r n M s fo t r i r . tu il th t s ti • eon sn o P t e° , a k ~Wenrtne local. in th l) laed to hear tH , Member inecetbheersc, he had done i f the lit e,ent of o nnnittees It would be ruucti set the poor." Stich an enqeiry must : neces -- -win Members themselves who sarily tend to show the necessuy of altering the stature materially, or of removing it altogether. if they were appointedthese - ' dthe subject alluded to by the Hen. not to o N, ith rezar to oche: 4114 even • ; there were always twoparties concerned, Member, there was 11,, debt that some time would be he Was f if an Hon. Member - w re inclined p to •• trim," . lie 81,, o ten puzzled to know e (1 bter ) Lured tiefore the full infer-in:llion could be obtained. %) reittees feelings n f. t-r way "oulti, th e! , ~ how to act.— saug Friend, (store, support the motion of his Hun. ' • ion which he required. re cued ' would, t.owever, support . the motion of the Hon. Gentleman for that iwortna. Mr, RE D ri n 11, trusted that - 34PPort to --AD YORKE would give his cordialthe results informatien of the House on this subject by a country NI, meets would contribute to the the right the measure, as he considered it a reform in of their own personal experience, and render unnece th e h direction, and calculated to leave unstained uouse.nour and the late tic of the Members of that sary any Committee on this subject.—(l - lear, hear.) R et SIBTRORP thou Sir GEORGE GREY had no objection to the pro- Col e , , diction of the papers moved for by the lion. Member, that thought that every Member ef but as the Hen. Genteetnatt epposite had stated it to be made t ouse should be brought up to the table, and dir e " ' o swear that they haul no interest, directly or in- his intentien to bring this m eter before the House by a specific teot.on, he :rusted that the House would nut thou i n any railway, fur mail that were done, he countenance the discussion further at the present time. b e " !, that the honour ef the House could not POOR-LAW AUDITORS. to prre•sierved, and the same system with reference Mr FERRA S D would trespass, on the H , use while tien, ai way s, _ e or gross gatubl.ng, fraud, ands pecula lee wished continue to disgrace that Heuse, duct of the peer-law auditors. It woul Ibe difficult o) he called the attention of lion. Gentlemen to the con tore"nisied to have a pure House of Commons and a describe what in justice was inflicted on the poor se ',,Z nistry, and he had waited long fur such and by these functionaries. He would be able to convince Zrken",tehtnd none. He wished to have in the House inde- the House that it was their duty to rescue the poor from eu Members, who would work for the good of the clutches of these poor-law auditors. lie would men tons Until and not to forward their private ton _ Until they had such a House of Cssen T tion one ieatance ef the harsh conduct of these officers. It was the custom in the town where he all ' no good could be done. He had lost c„ -e -• resided to direct the parish constable to relieve the poor, 8 „,, oniuence in the late Ministry, and he had great and he was in the habit of providing the destitute with "Vielon of the geatlernen who constituted the present one' II a lodging, food for a short period, and a small sum to e would support the Hon. Gentleman opposite assist them on their road. But what was the case at (Mr. Ewart), in order, if possible, to purify the presentsYsteen, presant. Why, the poor-law auditers had intimated to the constable that he should discontinue the practice. Mr. S. O'BRIEN believed that the present system had The auditors of several unions had threatened to corn wen greater satisfastion than the old one, and ought mence actions against the guardians if they gave relief to have a further trial. It had been said that the public to any person is opposition to the orders of Somerset. Out of doors wished to place all Committees on private house. lie heped the House wool , take immediate Nils on the same footing as Committees on railway steps an d inquire iutu the charges which he had brought Bills. lie oitfered trotn that opinion, as he felt satisfied forward. the present system was in much more favour than the Mr. B. ESCOTT was convinced that half of the mise one which it had succeeded. He would therefore vote ries resulting from the administration of the present poor - against the metion- law arose from the ignorance or laziness of those ap- Mr. WILLIAMS supported the motion. The tin- pointed to administer It. There was no law prohibiting e n i_p t le e ha,d been already introduced into a great portion out-door relief; there was only an order of the Poor-law property. lie lie agreed with the Hon. Member a t mo h unt b ( u , ;in ens of th e House, which inve,vee a large Commissioners, and even that was not absolut o e i for Montro P s r e e intereitt 'was impossible fur any Member There were several exceptions to the operation who had any Committee appointsedintna private Bill to act upon the On a former occasion he asked the Right iion d . unr a r r . o i rr ef '.... _ opposed the mernoteito thing like impartiality or ind,pendeintse merits with any- that order, such as cases of sud.ien emergency, Bt opposite who the power ~f regulat me out l, . cases Mr. NEWDEGA res. • r d ie e i p a rec ated Mr. BERNAL supported the motion of emere tic) arising. 14 the practice of hearing counsel with lo'nagndb...e said he would two ne returned ley with the Commissieeers or board ettilyttltti,kieait sometime to censider the point, and in a day or of private Committees. Some time since they were led to cases of believe that all the preliminary steps i n alone the • lofwhatshould be considered before an answer to the effect, teat the board guardians were Bills private were to be undertaken by the Public D, part but, With the exception of the Woods and Foresa'tseeths' be lieved no other board had taken any step ~ f this ' ki e nd. say to the poor men, who had lost their food throteeh the f litre of the present year, that they Sir G. GREY admitted that the principle of the could not be relieved out of the Motion was good, but he should certatnly recommend ' w manner. The gutvoians haul no right at all to act in this .. t he House to exercise great caution in attempting e _ Feeling apprehensive that the distress now prevailing Carr it out. The new machinery used in dealt, wit ' h u would increase greatly before the next harvest, he was i • ,rkhouse ? r inle y stty Bils had been found to work exceedingiy g well, desirous that the poor-law guardians should know the 1 i powers reposed in them, and exercise them in a proper and he thOught it ought not to be abrupt' • interf 3 ), manner. Mr. SPOONER agreed with the Hon. Member for erre. with. It was adopted after a long ant , Manclie-ter, that thi• gui.rliatis sho.tld know them duty, Patient inquiry had been introduced into the subject, and the pe • ers c: 'le rred ,in them by the law. He knew 1 , 4 , 1 1 1 _i instead of adding to the expenses incurred in the i e n un el t e . a r, sve is r a e l t h h ,vve,e g ii a i t I . I i a iiiseokridi knew rwe of fouatn ttress of railway Bills, it had ter ded to reduce them.— h do “ o vv r " r e ll ' e t.ll4 th t ‘ 1 ar, hear.) He was not, thee . fore, prepared at pre- I l ent to f,._ . make any alteration in a system which bad been . urgent ease in Worc seined to werk se admirably. e‘iter.hire, wherein the auditors Dr • B ..., refused to s Inetion the rdief ; the item of relief was fro • ()WRING suggested that, after what had fallen , struck out, end the tem inns charged wi:h it. tLa.,l Members on both sit'es of the House, and seeing Mr P. BOlt I'lls% ICK agreed with beuh his Hon. On the ththe principle of the motion was admitted , the debate . 1 Friends who had just spoken. The one stated the law u 4 e. subject bail better toe adjourned.—(N . ., ne.) r.Ew A se - . e o: the case ts rrectly, and the ether the facts which had Mid he would o r (who arose amid loud cries `• Divide ) j TeAl!tel from its administration. For his h but he be quite willing to withdraw his 'notion, own part, e `believed the law was bad, because it vested unconstitu sUbje would give notice of a Select Committee upon the I tional power in the hands of Commissioners ; and the BireGfor to- morrow.—(Cries of " Divide, divide.") • facts which had just been stated showed that the admi 'would • GREY said that, in his opinion, a division nistration of the law was as bad as the law itself. Mr. E only be a waste of time, as it would be open to 'Fhe tnetion ions then aereed to. mo ve v' tor rt t ' he even should his motion be negative-I, .° ADMISSI, )Isl OF SUGAR usrro DISTILLERIES. (Cries of ,' ~ elect lommittee upon the next eigh t - - : Mr. t :II las I'l /MIER eis - ed t , ask zhe N ible lewd Divide.") The House the- n divided. w h en t h e' e at the ht- , id of he G vere m nt, whether it was hi s i n - Fur th e mot i on appeared . teetios sat Friday 0. xt. t , k tie , , pinion of ti.e llotitie . . . Against it 36 u on a p:•rsit est in asure wl, regard to the from 10- - 103 I w e nt of sugar in breweries and distilleries ? Was tile alajoritYminmwmoo m - ....,..-67 ineigue to be perainent or only fora limitetd period ? The Hon. C. VILLIERS presented a petition, signed by ill the leading merchants, brewers, and distillers in the city of London, calling the attention of the House to the great dearth of food in Great Britain and Irelhml, and In other parts of Europe, and praying the House to rescind the penalties imposed on brewers using sugar and molasses. PRESENTMENTS OF SESSIONS (IRELAND). Mr. F. FRENCH gave notice of his intention to le , ve for a return of the extraordinary presentments made by the sessions in each county in Ireland under the provi sions of the 9th and 10th Victoria, to,tether with the expenses thus incurred, and the number of officers em- PloYe4 in the works. _ _ • ISLE OF MAN Dr. BOWRING deferred until Thursday, the 28th lust., his motion with respect to the House of Keys. KEIGHLEY UNION. Mr. FERRAND gave notice that he should move to- Morro w for a return of all the orders made by the Poor-law Commissioners with respect to this union, With their dates, since the 9th of June, 1842 ; together with the number of inmates, the instructions communications issued by the Commissioners to t h is e guardians and to the relieving officer, and whether th e g had acted upon those orders, or whether he had relieved the poor upon his own responsibility. TREATMENT OF CONVICTS. Mr. DUNCOMBE gave notice that he should move, Oti the 28th instant, for the appointment of a Select Committee to inquire into the tre.itmeut of convicts on board the hulks at Woolwich. 11 2% BOWRING MILITARY PUNISHMENT. in gave notice that to-morrow he should Love for a retu nt o f th e num b er o f cor p orea l punisil 44_s in the army s i nce the L ist P ar li amentary returns , F garnish ed uP to the lat es t p er i o d at which they could be . Lord JOHN RUSSELL replied, that on Friday night it was the intention of Government to ask the House for a resolution empowering the use of sugar in breweries and distilleries ; and afterwards, if the House agreed to the resolution, to propose a Fatal for carrying it into effect, which it was not intended to limit to any parti cular period. It would be perfectly compz-t4:nt, however, for the Hon. Member to propose a clause limiting the i.pe ration of the Bill. Perhaps it was worthy of consideration whether it would not be advisable, in the first instance, to limit the Bill for a given time, and afterwards to make it permanent.—(Hear, hear.) CAPTAIN WARNER'S LONG RANGE. Sir C. NAPIER wished to ask the Noble Lord whether any reprt had been made upon Captain Warner's' long range, and if they had, whether the Noble L , rd had any objection to liy it upn the table of the House. Lord JOHN RUSSELL replied that there had been a report made, tut before be could consent to icy it upon the table of the 1.1 , use, he must look over it again. MILLBANK PENITENTIARY. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE said it would be in the recoi 1, ctioa of the House, that towards the close of the last 3,ssion of Parliament a Commisuon was appointed to inquire into the state of Millbank prison. The Com mission was nominated in cons:-quence of a pc tition which he presented on the subject He wished to know whether Government had any objection to lay upon tt e t a ble of the House the report and evidence connected with the inquiry. Sir G. GnEY replied, that within the last fortnight he had received a report, signed by two of the Commis sioners, together with the evidence connected with it, and he should have no objection to accede to the request of the Hon. Member for Finshury. associated with a Committee for the relief of distress, but in I that time they had never accepted Is. of the Government money, becau-e they could not act up to the Government in structions. No one who had not attended these relief com mittees could understand the anxieties under vs hich these gen tlemen laboured, or the difficulties they had overcome, but those who had filled similar situations in other places. and under similar circumstances. Ile felt convinced that the best mode of meeting these difficulties would have been to suspend the poor-law for the time being; in fac, he was sure that this was far better than the Labour Act, which had turned out such a complete failure. It was very true that what the Hon. Member for Stroud had asserted was correct, that in some cases relief was refused. The fact was, that the price of food was so enormous, that in some cases it was impossible te supply it. Fur his own part, he thought. that many hard taunts had been brought against those Members who were connected with Ireland on the subject of the poor-law of that country ; but Hon. Members should recollect that it was the very Ministry which now existed that had introduced that very poor-law. They were told of many measures for the good of Ireland. Emigration was pointed out, public works were esta blished, and other measures had been stated as a panacea for all these evils. There could be no doubt that some one must support 1 the destitut e p oor , b ut if no one could do so, the Government 1 of the country were bound to provide some funds for the pur pose He had, with great pleasure, heard the statement of the Noble Lord, tirtrt he had anticipated the subject, and that the state of Ireland would be shorter brought before the House, and the means explained by which Government hoped to avert the evil. The workhouses in Ireland were in an awful state. Few of them could accommodate more inmates, and in the workhouse of Skibbereen, of which mention had been made once or twice that night; the deaths had exceeded by 200, the amount of mortality in the corresponding period of last year. —( Hear, hear.) Numbers of the inmates were afflicted with fever, and even in the workhouse of which he was chairman, the daughter of the master and the schoolmaster, were also afflicted with fever. But it had been asserted that the guardians of the workhouses neglected their duty. He had lately recei ve d a communication from a friend of his, who stated that two of the guardians of the workhouse in his locality were lying of their duti es . I n the western part of the county w i t h w hi c h ill with typhus fever, caught whilst in the discharge he was connected, the state of the poor was most alarming; but as he did not wish to say anything that might create a difference of opinion in this debate, he was willing to give every credit to the Government for their intentions with respect to Ireland, but they committed a fatal error when they decided upon doing away with depots in Ireland. The Hon. Member for Stroud had stated that a large amount of corn yet re mained unthrashed in the farmers' possession. He (Lord Bernard) wished that he could confirm that statement. No doubt the farmers had some corn for their own consumption, but as a proof that at the present moment it was by no means plentiful ; he might inform the House that in the corn market of Cork (the second market of the kingdom), the supply did not exceed the general average of July. As they would soon hive au opportunity of discussing this question, when they had the information promised them by Government, he would not further trespass upon the attention of the House, hut before sitting down he might express a hope that some change might be made in the unfortunate Labour Act, under which a vast sum of money had been expended for no possible use, and that some measures would be adopted instead, which would have the effect of inducing the peasantry to attend to the cultivation of the land, and they might then expect that another year would exhibit Ireland more prosperous than the Y u . n d a t l il a c e knew e where that n o their effort present, and her sons more cont en t e d an d h appy. Sir GEORGE GREY ad m itt e d t h e fear f u l extent of famine under which the people o f I re l and were then suffer- was suffer ing, but which he hoped, that tt.e pr esence o f P arl i ament would omfit humanigat e i n prudencesom e could a c t r c e a a I t a e m a i b t felt scarcity. He admitted it was the duty of Irelend to avail itself of all and every means within its reach, by which it could arrest the progress of disease and death, and Govern ment, as had been already stated by his Right Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer had given instructions that soup kitchens should be established where distress was most preva lent ; the object being to bring food within the reach of that class who were incapacitated from labour. He would inform the Hon. Member for Stroud, that the papers relative to the distress in Irelund would shortly be laid upon the table of the House, and he w o uld t h en per ceive the reasons which had induce dl her Majesty's Govern ment to advance money to the poor-law unions in Ireland. He was sorry to say that there was a general disposition on the part of the board of guardians to shrink from the most onerous duty imposed upon them, via.—that of collecting the out standing debts ; and when they found that pasties who were well able to do so p. offered the plea of inability as a reason for avoiding payment of the rates demanded for the sup port of the poor, he was sure that Honourable Members would not blame the Government for having exercised due caution before advancing money for this purpose to the unions. He would instance the Castlebar workhouse, because it had nut been supported out of the public funds, where the people were turned away from the doors without relief, and numerous Inquests were held ,n those who had died from starvation. Yet that workhouse could accommodate 600 persons, and the Board of Guardians had so neglected their duties, that not more than 130 were admitted into the house. No answer was returned by them to the repeated remonstrances of the Poor law Commissioners, and as they had refused te make due provision for the support of the poor in their neighbourhood it was determined to dismiss them altogether, and supply their place with a paid board. Before sitting down he would merely advert to the state of distress in the West Highlands of Scot land. He had been more immediately in correspondence with many proprietors in the West Highlands, the Lord Advocate of Scotland, and Sir John M'Neil, and it was due to the House that it should know that the distress in the:West Highlands was of the most severe kind ; bat the sacrifices which the landlords had made were of a nature to entitle them to the very highest praise. They had almost in every case rendered their estates chargeable in a large sum of money for works which they bad created, and only in one instance had he heard an exception to this general conduct. Upon this estate two deaths occurred, but he was happy to say that that proprietor now was imitating the example of others. He had every confidence that Scotland would struggle successfully through its present difficulties. It was natural that the state of Ireland should occupy more attention, but he could not resume his seat without referring to the West Highlands, and the destitution prevailing there. Mr. CALLAGHAN thought that some means should be adopted to compel the depots on the coast from Donegal to Cork to open their stores of food for the supply of the people. But so great was the distress of that country, that the work houses were utterly unable to contain the numbers which it was necessary to thrust into them, and it was well knt.wn that the cottagers had been keeping back the money that should have paid their rates, and had been reser vin g it for their private use to buy food for the winter. He did not blame them, though he was a landlord himself, especially when he saw the state of distress in which the couutry was p lun g ed, for it could not be e xpected that the money which was req uired for food should be e xpended in the improvement of their farms.—( Hear , hear.) During the latter part of the year, t he number of paupers whereas the contained in the workhouse at Cork was 2, 900, number for which it was adapted was only '2,000, and ,at the present moment there were ab iolutely as many as 5,000 in mates accommodated in the house He would not trouble the conclude with House with any further remarks, but wou ld . of en the im pressing upon the Government the necessitoy. . &rig ` b lip im people to obtain food without the hardship f b mured where their health and the country a like suffered. not be doing jus- Mr. HAMILTON thought that he should . f he did not thank to the Ministry, or his duty to the country, i ities of Ireland, them for their readiness to meet the necess . kitchens. He and e-pecially for the establishment of soup could ied at an could have wished that this measure had been a p . f from Id not rt. rain ear lier period, but late as it came, he wou he felt that to all expressing his gratitude for the boon, for se benefit, and classes in the country it would prove an imm en iven w ould have been glad if some notification of it had beeu s oma in that some in the Queen's Speech. He regretted, ho w ever, so that the m easure of out-door relief had not been devised of their cha racter of the poor might have been divested t r usted that the racter as providers for the people, and he House of Commons would relieve them from th e res ponsibility c l o thed the with which they were invested. The law had as hoped that the Commissioners with supreme power, and it w House of Commons would relieve them fro m t h e ir responsi bility. He could not, however, sit down, wi thout expressing ; his gratitude to the Ministry for the exerti onswhich they hail made for the relief of the people of Ireland. hat feeling deeply Mr. SHARMAN CRAWFORD said t ' he t h o ught it at heart the interes. of the people of Ireland, Lions on the subect but right that he should make some obs ery &uch a ttention toy the m before the House. He had listened with , t h e Secretary for declaration of the Right Hon. Gentl ema n e some facts, which Ireland (Mr. Labonchere.) But there r, ierati en of be hoped hoped would be brought under the coil l tdhan the state of overn the ment, and nothing was more promin ent that, the restrictions destitute your, and in connexion with ts to relieve the out which had been placed on the disburse _ d for this purpose. door distress. Net a farthing was grant o i was formed for the In the workhouse of Skibbereen, the p a t . the preset moment, reception of 800 inmates ; and yet, a___ ha d demanded her there was not less than 1,169. The t" notice t o quit. Ihe phy dismissal. The apothecary had given no In the workhouse of sician was unable to attend te his duty. to two beds, and three Mewtehads seven children were put in of beds • and in one case adults were put into the same number e _ ,Lis. In Down nineteen adults were put into seventede:' e's when the power of Patrick the same principle was observ e could not deny the ad denied. H • giving outdoor relief was altbough he much G erernen t t vantages of the measure of o f v the labour -rate had been just, questioned whether the abuse o ate was discussed it was at for he recollected that when that r ate t he Irish Members could the end of the session, ine fficient as and rected to that rate, be got together. If they the° ought to have been in their he allowed it had beeno,b.ectiy.... when the Government places to state their j and advice. Yet the principal seiicited their assistance would complain was the mistake which had thing of which be w s allowed to the labourers for their ex been mad- in the wa ge s h. wablic works. These men were only paid ertions on tee nine end because this was only the Mi ce a day, eightpence or labourersninepenc i n general were paid, there were but price at which relief. The Itlinisters of the Crown had not few who sought the o f ybutio for if they relied upon the assistance contributions they would be moat depended ape'? V Thioluntary m i sera bly deceived. s fact would show, that w h ere t h e the g reatest the contributions would be the necessity was d that the Government would take warning least. He trusted that and that, while they adopted by their they would improve upon the practice. the principle, , Y %h e returns, that during the yea r It appeared, hti 800, 000 quarters of barley 1844, as man as ' a ny as 92i' 2 0 tons of oat and other from Ireland, and as m any while food was . Why w as it tha t ex ported from Ireland meal. : e 'll4 was were starving . _ a subject well worth the people looking to. Then there was another consideration as to the must be prov id ed for these Seed future crops. the produce of the present year it wou ld amount were to be taken fr om of those the supplies which were only be reducing _ . ste nce.Such needed for present sub.lwas the important sub ject which should engr o ss the attention 0 i ' impressof Ministers ; but he desired particularly to upon the Government the ne• the supply of food from cess ity of preventing nt season. being drawn from the crop of the prese __ EN FRENCH Mr. FITZSTEPH , rose to add ress a f ew words to the House, sole' 7 on a ccount of whet h a d f a ll en from the RIM Hen. Baronet th eS ecretary o f S tate for the Home to Department, in reference an occurren ce t h at had taken place in the • workhouse of Castl e b ar. Now , if he had been rightly informed, the guardians of Castlebar had found that it ble to collect the rat • was totally impose es in that district, and took u some of them, t herefore,. Pon themselves the respon sibility of feeding the inmates of the house, and by these means the paupers we r e supported fo r more than two months.—( c r ies of " . Hear, hear.") He readily believe d this information, because a similar circumstance occurred in his own county. There, he knew o f h is own persoasi_ knowledge, that the paupers had latterly b een supported at the pot collect rivate expense of th the rates, ne g ow that thei uardians, a n d yet b • ecause they could nr Own failed them, they were to be handed over to the tender mercies private resources of the Poor-law Commissioners. In the case of the C as tl e b a r guardians the commissioners had alread c but he was strongly inclined to doubt itsy legality, to a decision, the guardians had never refused to act. Th ere in so far as Honourable Members in the House who were many could bear him out in the statement that, in the county with which he was connected they wet e lighting their candles a t both ends—their rents were given up, and still they were un able to l gh r t elieve every case of distress and su ff ering th at cameto ( Hear.) In conclusion, he could only assu re the House, that — if they would take the trouble to inquire into the matter, it would be found that is the western and southern districts of Ireland the We) could not by any ponibility be collected,' aid in mini THE ADDRESS. Mr. HOWARD brought up the report on the Address. On the question that it he read, Mr. HUME rose and said he wished to make a few observations upon the subject or the Address, and whiet he had not an opportunity of delivering lust night. He tied been always opposed to the system of publie works, ni.d he had proposed that a large sum of money ought to have been expended in the cultivation of the land, for which it should have been responsible. He wished to e:111 attention to the state of the labouring classes in England. Every labouring man was suffering from the calamity, and the patience with which the poor were sutfering in Scotland was beyond expression. He hoped the present calamitous condition of Ireland would riot carry them away from affording assistance to another portion of the country similarly afflicted. The recital of the sufferings of the people of Ire land was perfectly harrowing, and showed that the condition of the country was worse than any other in Europe. The omission of the sub ject of national education from the Queen's Speech had caused the utmost surprise in the country. because the introduction of a system of education e bepthtn i eorea s t ieasats o rtrsore, t tetus h hto eyaps: from from drteo c ihm o tfusweh u un aehn.fft her oN r rrge y rti eiohan:ralbeghelhdasejrcneaca. degraded condition rl oiynyadt with Majesty's eai dotfh: physical,or c r oapmoi tvopfe i fsa t i object abntnhutadetn ddhr measureeat de h dt, egt received ntu i toje m e7theeas p iadc vd r che o . hdvouteend i n t ro d ucehmtl eyhst e mhi eubnonet at tentionu been uona of which it demanded. He r y l m dhe , t i was satisfied, however, of better system of , ducation order to tehlepyvatweouthide find, if this country were visited with a similar calamity that they would become lawless. Then he did not believe that the Noble Lord and his colleagues intended to stop short in the free trade measures proposed and partially carried out by the late Government, as every step taken to reduce the ne ceasaries of the people had led to increased employment, and to increase the wealth of the country. They should not stop midway, but continue to make those reforms to which he had referred. He would only mention this because he believed that an alteration of the tenures of land in Scotland and Ireland would be productive of the greatest benefits. He believed that there was many a man who was placed in the possession of landed property, utterly unable either to work it or sell it. He had hoped that although this subject was not mentioned in the Queen'. Speech, that it would be more fully considered by the Government, and that some measure would have been proposed which would have produced some convenience in this respect. He heard el the Noble Ilarquis, who had made a confession that he was in possession of large estates, and yet his poverty was so great that he was utterly unable to employ the labouring poor in his neighbourhoed ; that was a manly confession, and he trusted that it would lead to a consideration of the question of entail. For he believed if they simplified the conveyance of property they would set at liberty the whole wealth of the country. A man in the possession of property, from his inability to work out the estate, was very often unable either to use it or dispose of it. On the other hand it was ob served, how many n.onied men came into the possession of an es. tate, andt he whole n, ighbourhood became immediately busy, and the poor around it were employed. He had just had the pleasure of talking with a gentleman, a land agent, who had informed him that if the conveyance of landed property in Ireland was to be made as free as the transfer of personal effects he would assert that within ten years the whole of the present distress in that country would be entirely obviated. With respect to the destruction of the independence of Cra cow, he did think that it was one of the most outrageous viola tions of the faith of nations, but last night he had no oppor tunity of making any remark on the subject. The speech of the Noble Lord quite unnerved him, and prevented him from troubling the House. He was glad when he heard him state so manfully and clearly his opinion. Last year, when he (Mr. Hume) brought forward his doubts of the honesty and sincerity of Austria, Russia, and Prussia, the Noble Lord pledged him self, from correspondence which he then had in his possession, that the occupation was only to be temporary. A Noble Duke in another place also rung the same changes. He wondereii what the Noble Duke thought now. They had been told that the treaty would be equally binding ; and that having been proved not to be the case, her Majesty's Government would not do justice to the feelings of the people of England, if they did not designate that act of actrocity in the strongest language possible. I have heard no man attempt to justify this act, except one or two Members in this House last night, and then he was mach ashamed of them.— (Laughter.) One of those gentlemen, whom he was sorry to say, he did not see in his place, attempted to prove that no violation of the treaty had taken place. In the course of his arguments, he went to Westphalia and other places, in fact be did not know where the devil he did not go to. He got round the world, but he did not arrive at Cracow.—( Loud Laughter. ) He (Mr. Hume) did not see how his arguments were applicable to that place at all. Seriously, he did think that it was the grossest violation of honour and faith, when the security of Cracow was invaded. The English people had made every sacrifice to obtain that treaty. They gave up Java and other important places, and kept nothing but trash for themselves. she Emperor Paul had borrowed four millions of money from the Dutch for the purpose of making war upon the English, and they were such fools as to take two millions of that upon themselves, and to pay the interest as long as the alliance was maintained, and the treaty kept inviolate. Were they so lush of money as to continue to pay that after that gross violation? He (Mr. Hume) at any rate should move that the payment be no longer continued. What was the object of making treaties if they were to be broken at will, or if they had not. the courage to enforce them? It was, perhaps, of no great importance, that a small body of men at Uracovv should have lost their independence; but it was for the principle which was here infringed that he con tended. What security was there now for the peace of Europe ; but violence of treaties were now nothing. They were all aware of the position of England from those treaties. He would not blame the Noble Lord who presided over the Foreign Department, nor would be question his ability to meet any emergencies that might occur ; but it was an awkward thing for him and his colleagues in the present situation. It was too bad for the f c e o r tt e n t, t e r e y t f u re t im h es y e e a t r re t a o t i y e e s a , r a s t oinbethiens;rletseedutb instance,Ministers w when nt hthey were treated by those powers as if they were some petty state, instead of being that state which had secured some of those powers the most valuable privileges they possessed. fbey were paying 100,004. per annum trust money to Austria. He hoped, when he brought the question before the House that they would express themselves upon the subject. He hoped the Noble Lord would carry on' what he bad said, and an opportunity would be afforded him of disapproving what had been awed on the other side of the House. Colonel SIBIHORP was of opinion that the Chancellor of the Exchequer should have given some indication of the finan cial state of the country, and he considered that the state of Ireland was induced by the policy of the late Government and the present Government when they had preceded them in office. He had expected different results from the operation of the Bill referred to than had taken place. If Mr. Pitt was to arise now, what would he think of such a Ministry as the present ? He would be ashamed of it. He: (Colonel Sibthorp) was persuaded they had acted a most cowardly part in the affair of Cracow. Mr. P. SCROPE wished to offer a few words in explana tion of a point he had maintained last night, in which he had In en contradicted by the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite ( Mr. Labouchere). He (Mr. Scrope) had stated that the Relief Committees had refuted to give relief in food to the poor, except in the shape of wages under the Board of Works. Now he had in his possession documents which showed that he was right. 'de had a copy of the instructions issued from Dublin by the Hoard of Works, on the Ist of October last, which confirmed this view. It instructed that no relief should be given to the poor except in payment of labour, or the purchase of provisions for sale at the cost price. (The Hon Gen.leman here read an extract from the document re ferred to, in proof of the statement he had made). It might be said, in reply, that the instrucuons -had been altered in this report. He had, however, watched the proceedings of the Board of Works carefully, and had not seen any such alte ration. By resolutions agreed to by the re-productive Committee sitting in Dublin, on the 23d of December, it would appear there was no change, for one of the resolutions called on the Board of Works to alter the instructions on the head of relief, which they had issued. The next resolution of the same committee also complained that the Board of Work. had not made advances as loans, to be repaid by future rates. This was required in order to find additional workhouse accom modation. He thought this should have been done, as the greatest hardships had resulted from the pour not being able to find shelter in the workhouses. This was a grave question. and the House should not pass it over without tub discussion. The Government, he was persuaded, had not acted with suffi cient energy, else the people of Ireland would not be in their present condition. He thought that even in Ireland there was a very large amount of food, only the farmers were keeping it back to realise higher prices. He had received a letter from the West rat Ireland, which stated this to be the tact in regard to the supply of food. It further stated, that the only way to meet the evils of Ireland was to put on the screw, in order to make the landowners of that country support the poor. Th e CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER rose and sa id, that no doubt, in the first instance, the atrangement of ta l i V n ork in s fu w r a tu s a r ti ter uf deftiv t e h c ee e x , te in u a t sm a u f ch th a e s they the bbeufi lo before er in e stablishing soup kitchens throughout the merit lost no time the country, ,o that the aged and infirm s oon as such info rmation was received, her Maje-ty's Govern distressed parts of The Government would be enabled to give in detail the them rdcertain ; but the Honourable Member was aware that as amoun ts expended b b y ut them in endeavo urin g to miti g ate the , un fortunately, he had not the papers who could no' p ossibl y labour might be supplied with food. pre tailing distress; with him now, as he did the question opened up for Stroud, would have day was fixed by the n early that night, n o t anticipate that the Hon. Member, beore the House. When that ing the whole question before be enabled to show to the day arrived, he would Noble Lord had not neglected any House that her Majesty's Government t distre:s in alleviate the presen especiallyat th e h. , a s d a of the Government for bring means in their power to Ireland. Lord BERNARD had tr ied in the course of that same night but had been unsucc . eqicul. He to catch the Speaker s eye, be was would but address a few worths to the House, alth o ugh o eno,t anxious to express his opini o n u p on a subject t to the q . : esti mch on whi im c h portance to his country. With re feren e the Chancellor of the Exchequer had ju st answered, the House ' wined find that it was onl y . hin the the or night establish that instructions had been issued tor .s ion lug of soup kitchens. He ( Lord Berpira) b id instances the poor were solely dependent upon the privates resources of the guardians and the resident gentry. —( Hear.) Mr. LEFROY felt constrained to bear his testimony to the wretched state of the people of Ireland, and to state that within the last few months he had had ample opportunities of witnessing the anxiety of the landowners to mitigate the distress with the aid of their own private funds.— (Hear, hear.) He must say, in justice to tb. Government, that he had heard their statements in reference to Ireland with the utmost satisfaction. Credit was due to them for the can dour with which they admitted the prevalence of the distress-s -and the fairness with which they allowed that whatever works had been recently adopted in Ireland were fully autho rised by the exigences of the times. (Hear, hear.) The Lord Lieutenant and the Secretary for Ireland, had exerted themselves to the utmost to mitigate the evils, and had entered cordially ire() all the schemes that bad been submitted to them for the purpose. All those who had the power of co-operating with Government in the present state of Irish affairs, ought readily to come forward and do so. He could bear testimony, with the Hon. Gentleman who last addressed the House, to the difficulty of collecting the rates in Roscommon, and ha had not the least hesitation in believing that the same difficulty had been experiencod, and the reme dies resorted to in Castlebar. The Hon. Member for Bath, on the previous night, suggested measures for meeting the present exigencies, which would have the effect of ex tinguishing the landholders of Ireland.—( Hear, hear. ) But would their extinction improve the condition of the Irish people. In many instances the landlords had given up their rents, and others of them had abandoned many of their comforts, and reduced their establishments for the purpose of investing large sums of money in the purchases of Indian corn, for the benefit of the poor. He did not pretend to say that those who thus invested their money, expected it would be a loss, on the contrary he was convinced they would be enabled to remunerate themselves by selling the corn to the distressed poor.—( Cries of " Hear, hear.") The corn dealers throughout Ireland, however, had been filling their pockets at the t xpense of the people, and steps he had mentioned, as being taken by the landlords, were the only means by which unjust and cruel speculations in food could be put a stop to.—( Hear, hear.) He did hope, therefore, that no more would be heard about extinguishing the landlords, but that such measures would be adopted for advancing money to the landlords at reasonable rates of interest, tojse invested, in reproductive works, such as the improvement of the land, and thus enable them not only to meet all the liabilities the mea sures would impose upon them, but to derive some profit from the money so borrowed.—( Hear, hear. ) Mr. P. BORTHWICK promised to give the measures of the Government his careful consideration, and after giving them such partial consideration to decide upon them without reference to party lei ling or party bias. He did not agree with the reasoning that had been advanced in sup:,ort of the violation of the Treaty of Vienna in the suppression of Cracow, nor did he think those were the best friends of the Government of France er of England who were silent upon the subject of the Montpensier marriage, on the ground that the entente cordiale which existed between the Govern ments of the two countries was indispensably neces sary for the preservation of the peace of Europe. It was indispensably necessary that it should be shown to the people and Government of France, that in this country there was a reunion of all sections and parties in the sentiments ex pressed in reference to the Montpensier marriage. it was very desirable, no doubt, that there should be an entente cordiale between the two countries, but it should not be merely between other parties and factions of those two great powers, but be tween the people. Mr. PLUMPTRE expressed his hope that peace would not be interrupted. Mr. EWART was aware that the present subject required the nicest management, but he could not help saying that he hoped her Majesty's Government would introduce some mea sure for the extension of education in this country. He must exprsis his satisfaction at this part of her Majesty's Speech which expressed a desire to preserve unbroken the peace of the world. He was sure that the feeling of the people of this • ountry was in favour of peace as long as their natural rights were not interfered with.—( Hear.) Peace was suited to their commercial character, and to the limited monarchy under which they lived. Lord G. BENTINCK begged to offer a few observations upon whst had fallen from an Hon. Gentleman in reference to a Noble Friend of his, Lord Lucan. He had the authority of that nobleman for stating that, during six years, he has con stantly resided in Castlebar. and expended, not only the whole of his Irish rents, but a large portion of those derived from his English estates also, in that part of the country. In justice to the people of Mayo, he must state that they refused only to pay rates on the ground of the extravagant assessment that had been made on them, it being no less than 400,0001. It was levied at meetings where there were numbers of persons with shillelaghs in their hands.—(Laughter.) When the rates were not levied, Lord Lucan himself paid the poor-rates of the parish.—(Hear, hear. ) Mr. Pt ULETT SCROPE said that he had derived his authority from the daily papers. Perhaps the Noble Lord would inform him, as he was on the subject, as to what had been alleged of the landlords sending over paupers in such num bers to Liverpool. Lord G. BENTINCK was informed that it was not the landlords of Ireland who exported the paupers in this wholesale manner. The steamers coming over here every year short of hands, induced the proprietors to bring over paupers to Liver pool, in order to compel the parish to send them back. The Address was then read and adopted. CORN LAWS. Lord JOHN RUSSELL gave notice of a motion for to morrow, that the House do resolve itself into a committee to consider the corn laws. _ _ but, of course, in all these matters, the parties promoting the into the ought to pay th e ex p ense o f t h e comm i ss i oner going the country, an d it wou ld requ i re a vast num b er of comm is. sioners in different parts of the country to investigate these matters, and considerable expense must be incurred; and there would be also the objection which I have stated in my examina tion before, that there might be a want of uniformity if we had a vast variety of commissioners in different parts of the country; and that want of uniformity would be a very great evil. Is it not the fact, that the expense and the inconvenience of opposing a Bill in this House acts as a prohibition upon opposi tion, except in cases where parties feel themselves grievously and individually interested? --Certainly. The whole community may be injuriously affected to a con siderable extent, and yet it may not, under the present sys tem, be worth the while of any one person in that community to go to the expense and incur the inconvenience of opposing the Bill ?—Certainly. (J. St. George Burke, Esq. ) In the cases of waterworks, or gas, or paving, or Bills of that kind, do you consider that the compliance with standing orders might be proved with less expense on the spot where the works are to be ?—Yes, it would be a saving, as far as re gards the bringing up witnesses to prove it. It would not be a very large difference, because you must appoint some official person to go to take the evidence, and he would have fees, I suppose, for going and expenses, and I do not know that there would be a great change. The great expense we have been put to in this session and the last, has arisen more from the enormous glut of biviness which has prevented our Bills being taken in due time, and because we have had to wait for days in the lobbies, with hundreds of witnesses. Now an immense saving might be effected if one Hon. Member would take the duties of five; that instead of having five Members to investi gate whether plans have been rightly lodged, it should be re ferred to one single Member, who would be just as competent as a committee of five. Then if a plan were adopted by which one person here could take the proof!, or if it could be done on the spot by a pro. perly authorised person, that would save a great deal of those great expenses for witnesses which are now necessarily in curred ?—lf one Member were to form a committee for the performance of this duty, it would save expense ; except that I do not expect, nor does anybody ever expect, to have a repeti tion of what we have had this year and last. . _ When you speak of the comparative paucity of gas and waterworks Bills, do not you think that the great expense of obtaining Bilis acts as a prohibition in many towns with regard to their availing themselves of gas-lights and supplies'of water, which they might otherwi s e find it well worth their while to establish ?—I do not think the expense is dependent at all upon the length of the Bill ; that is a minimum proportion of the expense. What is the principal expense ?—ln a Gas Bill the expenses are not heavy if it is unopposed ; if it is opposed there are various expenses arising from the fees to counsel, and so forth, which run up a bill to a large amount ; the expenses of evi dence, the shorthand writer, the committee fees, the House fees, are all increased by an inquiry before a Committee ; but an unopposed Gas Bill is not a heavy Bill, and would be very little lessened in expenses by having the clauses consolidated ; the cost of printing would be somewhat diminished. Speaking of the expense, can you form any estimate what proportion of the expense of such Bills is for witnesses, and what for fees of the House, and what for other expenses ?—I cannot state the exact proportion, nor am I a competent party to do that, for I never see the solicitors' bills ; but I should say that in a contested case, the fees of the House and those which more properly come within my own department, via., the preparation of the Bill, the clauses, and so forth, form a very small proportion indeed of the large expense which is in curred. Do witnesses form a large expense ?—The attemiance of witnesses will be a large sum ; the employment of counsel is a very large sum ; the daily copies of evidence, and the drawing up and preparing it, involve a very large experditure. Have you any means of knowing what is the ordinary fee of attorneys attending in London for the sake of Private Bills? —I would rather they would answer that question themselves ; they know it better than we do; it does not come within my province. There is a regulated fee for the attendance of Parliamentary agents ?—lt will vary in cases of opposed or unopposed Bills ; but we do not profess to charge always for attending Com mittees, unl.ss there are clauses under discussion. I should find it impracticable to attend all the Committees I have, during the investigation of the preambles; and therefore we generally consider that to come under the solicitor's province while the evidence is being taken, and then upon the clauses we attend ourselves, and we vary our charge. Sometimes we get two guineas. If I were there the whole day long fighting clauses, I should charge five. The House then adjourned at Nine o'clock, till to-morrow . this day. ) PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS. The object of the q - uestiou is to see whether it is not im possible to form any estimate of what the expenses of a Bill may be without knowing what the opposition may be, and what the duration of it may be ?—Quite impossible. (W. Blamire, Esq.) How are the expenses of carrying Inclosure Acts into execu tion provided for ?—The expenses of carrying the Inclosure Act into execution are paid by the parties availing themselves of the Act, assuming that the lands are inclosed; the Com missioners have no power to levy expenses until an inclosure has been effected, and therefore if the Commissioners send down an Assistant-Commissioner to icrestigate a case which eventually ends without inclosure, his expenses would fall upon the consolidated fend. From the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Commons.) TUESDAY, JAN. 19. Navy—Copy ordered, " of the Treasury minute respecting naval promotion to one vacancy in three, the number of officers on the list at the date of the minute, and the number on the 30th day of September, 1846"—Sir C. Napier. Steam Vessels (Navy)—Return ordered," of screw steam vessels laid down and launched since the Ist day of January, 1840; also, of iron seam-ves ,, els laid down and launched from the same time, distinguishing those with screw, their tonnage, horse-power, and armament"—Sir C. Napier. Shipping, Exports, &c.—Return ordered, " showing, for each year, from 1816 to 1845, inclusive, the number of vessels and of tonnage entered inwards and cleared outwards at each of the twelve principal ports of the United Kingdom respec tively; also, the official and declared values of the exports, and official value of the imports, for each of the said ports, during the same years respectively—Mr. Cardwell. Corn—Account ordered, " of the total amount of duty re ceived upon foreign wheat imported between the sth day of July, 1846, and the 19th day of January, 1847; together with the weekly average price of wheat, according to the Gazette, in each week of the same period ; and the quantities imported and the quantities entered for consumption in each week"—Mr. Cardwell. NOTICES OF MOTIONS. Lord John Russell—Committee of the whole House on the corn• laws, Thursday, January 21. Lord John Russell—Committee of the whole House on the navigation-laws, Thursday, January 21. Mr. Moffatt —Return of the amount of duty received on sugar, from the sth day of April, 1846, to the sth day of January, 1847 ; specifying the amount received under the different rates of duty, Thursday, January 21. Lord John Russell—Select Committee on the Law of Set- How are the:expenses of witnesses provided for ?—Theparties at whose suggestions they are called pay them. But if the Assistant-Commissioner thinks it right to call wit nesses, in order to satisfy himself, that would form part of the general expenses2—Such expenses would be charged to the general account. [ADVERTISEMENT.] PROCEEDINGS of the CLERICAL MEDICAL, AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. tlement, Friday, January 22. i‘r John Russell—To bring under the consideration of itself Chancellor intoa of Committeethe E x che Exchequer—That rthe T h w a h t o t l h e i s HouseHou s e on no thee Customs and Excise Duties Acts, Friday, January 22. L . solvesio Pensioners, Tuesday, January 26. the House the state of Ireland, Monday, January 25, Lord Mr. Secretary-at-War—Bill to abolish Pounda g e on Chel sea Mr. John Feildeu—Bill to limit the hours of labo ur o f young persons and females in factories to t en h ours a d ay, Tuesday, Jan uary 26. Mr. Christie—To inquire into the Universities and Colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, Tuesday, February 2. Mr. Watson—Bill for the further repeal of enactments im posing pains and penalties upon her Majesty's Roman Ca tholic subjects, on account of their religion, '1 uesday, Feb. 2. Mr. Poulett Scrope—Resolution, That the lives of the people of Ireland ought to be as valuable in the eye of the law as the lives of the people of England; consequently it is expedient to extend to Ireland the main principle of the English poor-law, namely, the right of the destitute poor to relief, from a public provision, to save them from perishing, Tuesday, February 2. (As reported January Bth, 1847.) An extraordinary general meeting of the proprietors of this society was held yesterday at the office in Great Russell street, for the purpose of declaring a bonus out of the profits which have accrued from the general business of the society during the five years ending June 30, 1846. Amongst the directors present were Dr. Moore, G. G. Babington, Esq , Rev. A. B Clough, Thomas Davis, Esq., Oliver Hargreave, Esq., and Clement Hue, M.D Dr. MoorE having taken the chair, Mr. Pinckard, the secretary, read the report of the assets and liabilities; the former of which amount to 6'39,7971. 6s. 5d., and the latter to 484,555/. Os. 5d., leaving a surplus of 155,2421. 6s. The CHAIRMAN then stated thk his colleagues had an thorised him to lay before the meeting the following report : " In accordance with the provisions of the deed of consti. stitution, the directors have called the present meeting, for the purpose of laying before the proprietors and the a-sured the result of an investigation of the society's affairs for the five years ending June 30, 1846. “Or. that day the society had been in existence twenty two years. An investigation of its affairs was made first in 1831, being seven years from the commencement ; a second time in 1836; and a third time in 1841. The fourth inves tigation having been just completed, the directors have now the gratification of communicating the result to the meeting. " In order to present a clear view of the progress of the society, the directors will proceed to exhibit the present amount of its funds, together with their state at the last quinquennial division. "1. The society's Income for the year ending with June, 1841, was 97,900/. ; that for the year ending with June, 1846, 116,300/. Thus, notwithstanding the many de ductions which are constantly taking place, on account of policies terminated by death or discontinued from other causes, there is an increase in the annual income of the society to the extent of 18,4001. "11. The amount of the property of the society, accumulated from the excess of receipts above payments, was in 1811, 418,9031., and in 1846 has reached 639,797/. Under the head of payments are included considerable sums paid for the purchase of policies, and also to annuitants, besides the amount which has become due from deaths and every other demand. " 111. After deducting the sum required to meet the liabilities of the society, there remains a surplus of 155,242/. •, while in 1841 the corresponding surplus was only 89,4001. "This sum of 155,242/., has now to be dealt with, being the amount of profit realised by the society. In conformity with the provisions of the deed, one half of the profits is to be divided among the assured for life, and one sixth part among the proprietors; but in order to avoid inconvenient fractions, the directors have resolved to recom mend to this meeting to divide the sum of 154,500. This will apportion to the assured, for life, 77,250/., and to the pro prietors, 25,750/. leaving one third of the said profit, amount ing to 51,5001., to be laid by and to accumulate as a reserved fund. "This division will give to the proprietors a bonus of 5/. 3s. per share, and to the assured a sum of 114,031/., being the equivalent in reversion to the above amount of 77,250/. " This sum of 114,031/. will be added to the polices, and be payable at the death of the respective parties, and will form an addition equal, on an average, to more than 36 per cent. on the premiums received during the last five years. " It may be desirable, however, to remind the assured that they have the option of having any one or more of the bonuses to which they are, entitled applied in reduction of their future payments of premium. " For the further information of the proprietors it may be mentioned that, by the deed of constitution, the Proprietors' Fund is not to accumulate by the addition of bonuses beyond 50,000/. ; all subsequent bonuses being paid over to the Pro prietors. " The effect of that provision on the present occasion will be, that of the above sum of 25,750/., 17,000/. will have to be added to the Proprietors' Fund, which will then have reached its limit, and the remaining 8,750, being 1/. 15s. per share, will be paid to the proprietors in cash at the end of Match next. " In estimating the amount of liabilities, it is important to observe that every Policy, together with all other risks, has been valued separately, and with great care ; and there has been no encroachment upon future profits; but that a moL,e of valuation has been adopted whereby a larger sum is re tained to meet such claims as may arise than is usual with most other offices. This will appear by the following examples : EXPENSES OF PRIVATE BILLS IN PARLIAMENT. The effects of the expense of carrying private Bills through Parliament are shown in the annexed quotations from the minutes of evidence taken before the House of Commons last session, and recently issued by order of that House. Mr. E. Chadwick is the first witness : In the visits which you have made to different parts of the country, have you found many parishes and communi ties who have been in want of lighting, paving, or water, but who have been unable or unwilling to come to Parlia ment, in consequence of the great expense now attending it? --A great number of places. In fact, except two or three towns and the county town, I might say that the smaller country towns in the whole country are in that position. The expense of a Water or Drainage Bill, if unopposed, would he 5001. In the small town of St. Helen's, which required a Water Bill, I think the expense of the works was 3,0001., and the expense of obtaining the permission of Parliament to erect those works was I,ooot. Consequently, one-fourth of the money upon whtch the inhabitants will have to pay interest went for the Parliamentary expenses. In fact, the expense of obtaining works for drainage of many villages, and rather im portant small towns, would equal the expense of laying down the house drains ; and the expense of a water Lllll would equal the expense of laying down the tenants' water pipes. When the standing orders require that water shall be sought by one Bill, and drainage, or the means of carrying away water, by a second Bill, paving or cleansing by a third Bill, the fees of the House and the professional expenses of these Bills mount up, so as to render the expenses prohibitory ; the money expended in procuring Acts under which, in some of the larger towns, only ineffective and expensive works have been produced, might have sufficed to obtain good works. The money expended in Liverpool for the private Act legislation, the results of which have been desc• ibed to the Committee, it may be confidently asserted would have sufficed for the effectual drainage of upwards of 20,000 houses. ( T. Greene, Esq., ALP.) Would you propose that communities should have the power of adopting any of those branches, by the sanction of the Secretary of State, or whatever department they were under, on application to him, as is now done with respect to rating? —lt may be a prejudice, but I have rather a disposition that sfa ctory to the country at large individual • and I think the expenses, than that it should be vested in any onen e se t complained of so they should be obliged to come to Parliament t on those matters; I think it would be more satisfactory mode of settling the question of the rn are at p re se n t by having a short Bill, and by having some better standing orders. heavily, would be a be many co mmunities and parishes so poor Would not there h as net to be able to incur t e actual fees of the House, even ?-1 hardly think good whicdheal the other attendant expenses without any of c i rcum stances of that there would be , un der the improvement of private Bills ;because which I think would attend the pass i ng of i snot the fees taken expense they have to complain the great _hof the in the House, but in po in t agents and witnesses brought u p. How would you pro pose _. to lessen those expenses of the agents and witnesses? _With respect to the standing orders , a would be saved if, prior to the meeting of great deal of expense Parliament, so me officer o ' ted f the House were appoin to - , ake the whole of the evidenceupon the compliance and non-com pliance with the standing orders of this House; that officer wou ld have ample time , beginning a few weeks prior to the mee ting of Parliament , to make an inquiry of that descrip tion ; and he could regulate the time when each party sh o u ld a p - _ Id not be the case, as at present , tha t wit pear, so that it sh nesse s are kept i town for a considerable length of ti me, because it was Imposs ible n exactly to say when a particular Bill .d . . but he might arrne the under consi eration , • a nd would come would be here a very short per iod , and the parties time, be, si ting the whole of the day, would be able to complete the inquiry in a very brief space 0f time. Do you consi der that . d a that woo: be preferable to any proof be in attendance ? on the spot, where all the w itnesses w ould 1I an, see so objection to it ; If that appear to be e. che a p er p By Offices, Sums set aside as the valuJvaluing by the By the Mode Difference in Northampton adopted by favour of tkls of a Policy for 1,0001. Three per this Office. Office. Cent. Table. X s. d. X s. d. A s. d. Effected at the Age of 40, after 10 Years - - 152 3 7 158 8 b 6 4 10 Effected at the Age of 50, atter 10 years - - 197 17 3 215 2 0 17 4 9 Effected at the Age of 60, after 10 years - - 282 7 5 326 3 0 43 15 7 "It is clear, then, that the prospects of the policyholders at future divisions are most favourable, partly from the un usually large sum retained to meet claims, as shown above, and partly from the reserve of so considerable an amount as 51,500/., out of profits thus ascertained. "These facts, which have operated to a certain extent in the diminution of former bonuses, will undoubtedly contri bute most powerfully to increase the amount of profits to be appropriated to the assured at all succeeding divisions. "In confirmation of this view, the Directors need only remind the assured of the statement made at the division in January, 1842, that the two preceding bonuses had averaged 22 per cent. on the premiums ; that the one then divided averaged 28 per cent., and that the future bonuses were ex pected to exceed that amount. "The most sanguine expectations entertained at that time have been fully realised by the amount of the present bonuse averaging more than 36 per cent. ; and on precisely the same grounds the Directors conceive themselves entitled to assert, with additional confidence, that its further increase from time to time is almost certain. .‘ The large and increasing amount of the Society's busi new, and the proportionate diminution of the expense of management (which is now only 3% per cent. on the income), must also be taken into account in the anticipation of future profits. " The Directors have only to add, that they have in structed the actuary to exhibit to any proprietor or policy holder, or to any person who may be desirous of assuring, the details of all the calculations, with a full statement of the assets and liabilities, and balance-sheets of the Society." So far as he (the Chairman) was concerned, any comment was unnecessary, for he believed the report would speak sa tisfactorily, both to the proprietors and the assured : — (Applause.) He would, however, just call the attention • clit. 75) 15S 47i •• " 54 laf‘ • ,aS '• • 4* •• - 211 16% ,•• IP$ -• 33$ ... .• ••• • • .•• 14, ..• • 14 •• •• ~.• •• 14 lei • •• •• • g •• • • 70 • • IV' :... ii • • Id 44 ..•- , Ik e ••" X36+: .••• ~.• 9 1 , ...• ji ~..• ~..• ~.-• 110 114 ~ IS ". . ..•" f3i ••••• • • „ •$5 • '• 'lO 31 1, ' 61111'4 11 • 1 eg spe, r v of tbe 3en d•oty go 4 pee to th_ d e ; retu'' tb inie g ll ejoc ic ;i11, 4 , , f Alfr ed 0 1134 4 d m ill :re bioll e : e SOO'. t irlP g, 11 1 • 1S oro o ct the ter he 10 5 f 0 0 ), in °' r c ' to t be ! t 39 e rtf ri ds e Pl o lon t a d e e r ol dine tve tit rat P , S C . ssvAli,e). SS to to caf'; st Crj l to f t 00 0 if 45 1, is taW i t i' r' lrj to ) to - 0 0° ed) l it o fer i ton 6 o I'oo° "C) (takell' eleve n Cs't aiti ol P tl2 tb ° 34% , 230" .......ik .... of the meeting to a very distinguishing feature of the loseit 4 C tution—the economy of its management ; which was 16t only well known to the proprietary, but to the public.— (Applause ) The directors would be happy to answer any questions which might be put to them, or to attend to any suggestions which might be offered for the advantage of the Institution.—(Applause.) Mr. FOWLER. after expressing his satisfaction at the ex• plicitness and contents of the report, said he would just trouble the meeting with one or two observations. The sum of 155,2421., which was announced to be the surplus arising from the profits, consisted, he conceived, partly of the reserve made and announced upon a former occasion. He believed that these reserves went on accumulating and incorporating themselves so as to a certain extent to make up this amount. If the Secretary could state how much of the amount referred to was composed of the reserve from the former bonus, the meeting would be able to see more clearly the profit realised within the last five years. The SECRETARY said the sum laid by at the last division (one-third of the profits) was 29,500/. ; and therefore the real profit realised during the last five years was about 125,000 r. or 126,000/. Mr. Fowl.En—Then it would appear that these surpluses must have a successive increase, each being made greater by the reserve from the preceding one. The SECRETARY replied that it altogether depended on the continued increase of profits, about which no fears were en tertained.—( Hear, hear.) Mr. FOWLER wished to know whether any parties had availed themselv es o f th e opportunity afforded of reducing their premiums? The SECRETARY said that a considerable number of persons had applied their bonuses in reduction of their future pay ments of premium. Mr. WHITEHOUSE apprehended that the sum of 51,500 L, which formed the reserve fund, was a basis of future accumu lations. The SECRETARY.—CertainIy. Mr. NELSON (Actuary to the Medical and Invalid Assur ance S edety) congratulated the directors on the very dis tinguished success which had attended the company's opera.. tions.—(Applause.) Perhaps the Secretary could explain whether the principle of having a reserve fund applied to , other proprietary companies. It was well known that this was a distinguished feature of several of the mutual com panies, and its advantages were obvious. It might be ques tionedoprobably, whether in the infant st ate of a company the assured would consult their own interest by adopting such a principle; but in a society so greatly advanced as the present it formed a very strong recommendation to the assurers. If it did not exist, the assured would be deprived of s very large bonus laid out for them in future. There was another point of great importance in the report, and that was the mode in which the liabilites of the Company had been ascertained. He was not in a posi tion to refer to individual instances, but he knew that most serious errors had followed the course of valuation which bad been repudiated by the society. He wished to ascertain from the Secretary whether in ascertaining the liabilities attaching to the policies the actual age of the assured had been taken. There was another point in connection with the bonus which was deserving of some explanation. Any holder of a poiicy might select a reduction of premium in stead of a bonus. Now, suppose a person to select the re duction of a premium on the present occasion, he wished to know whether he would be able to select a bonus in addition on the next, and vice versd.—(llear, hear.) He believed the last valuation wa• made up to the 30th June, 1841, and was anxious to ascertain the number of policies in force on that day, and the number at present in existence. He also wished to know the average age of the assured. He asked for this information on public grounds—(Hear, hear)—and could not help thinking that the reports of societies of this description would be much more valuable if they en tered somewhat more into the scientific details by which their operations are regulated. He considered economy of management one of the most honest and safe principles to follow; but in a Company of the magnitude of the pre sent, a difference of 1,0001. or 2,0001. a year in the an nual expenditure was of little importance compared with the errors which might be caused by adopting exploded systems. The sort of information to which he had alluded would be very u-eful, and in Germany a noble example had been set in this respect. At Gotha, not only was that done, but they published the lives assured, the number of deaths, the periods at which the policies were effected, and they even went so far as to give the names of the individuals. He would in conclusion ask one other question—namely, the number of deaths during the last five years, and whether there had been any material difference between the actual number and the number anticipated ?—(Hear, hear.) The SECRETARY felt great pleasure in answering the questions which had been put by the able and intelligent gentleman who bad addressed the meeting. With respect to the first question, he was not aware of any other proprietary office which had adopted the principle of laying by one-third of the profits. There could be no question that that principle had been a great drawback to the Company with respect to the bonuses which had heretofore been declared ; and it was a matter of astonish ment to those who were acquainted with these matters how the Company had got on so well. Notwithstanding this great difficulty, the Company had done its full share of bu siness when compared with other companies which bad not adopted this principle. All difficulties had now been got over, and the plan of laying by one-third of the surplus would do more to increase the bonuses on future occasions than any other that could have been adopted. To prove that thin system had acted beneficially, he might refer to the report of the Equitable Society, in which, after giving examples of its large bonuses, he found this statement:— " Among the causes which have contributed to these impor tant results is the reservation at each decennial division of one-third of the suplus fund for future appropriation." It was, therefore, quite evident that the prospects of this Com pany for the future were pre-eminently above those of all the other companies which had not been obliged to adopt die system, and every person connected with it might look fa,- ward with perfect confidence to extremely satisfactory bo nuses. With respect to the mode of valuation, it was state& in the report that all the policies had been valued separately t, and he would state in addition, that all the lives taken as healthy lives had been valued at the increased age at. which they had arrived on the 30th of June last. With respect to the diseased lives, the. directors had adopted a. course contrary to that of every other office which had taken such live.. if they had taken a life at 40, whose real age was 30, they had always, to all intents and purposes, con sidered that life as a life of 40; so that a mucli larger sum was laid by to meet that claim than would have been laid by had the same policy been effected in any other office. Now, with respect to the question respecting the reduction of pre-• mium, he begged to say that the bonus might be taken in any shape, and at any time, that might suit the convenience of the party interested. Another quetin put by Mr. Nelson was with regard to the number of policies. The number at the last (I:4i sion, five years ago, was 3,140 ; end the numt,er now in exist ence was 4,138.—( Hear. ) The average age of lives on the. books was 48. The number of deaths expected within the last year was 106; but he was happy to say the actual number which had occurred was only 53, being just one-half. —(Applause.) This was rather more favourable than the general average ; but the same sort of mortality had existed during the five years, with little deviation.—(Dear, hear.) In answer to a question by Mr. STREETER, The SECRETARY said, that in consequence of the enormous competition which had existed between the life offices for the last ten or twelve years, several of the more recent ones had endeavoured to show a great bonus. In order to keep themselves alive, they had, on the first occasion, instead of dividing the profits up to that time, anticipated the future profits from the business upon their books. This was an ex tremely fallacious mode of proceeding, and must in time prove ruinous. It would, no doubt, have the effect of mis leading some persons,by giving to the office a highly flourish ing appearance, when that was not really the case. This Company had, however, laid by rather too much than too little, and had not encroached on any future profits. Mr. NEISON had not the least hesitation in saying that the mode of valuation which this society had rejected would have had the effect of anticipating future bonuses, and he was justified in that opinion by an essay read before the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, by one of the most scientific writers on the subject. One feature connected with this Society deserving of great commendation was the mi nuteness ot'detail with which the valuations were made.— (Hear, hear.) He should feel obliged if the Secretary would state the total amount assured by all the policies. The SECRITARY-2,657,000!. A PROPRIETOR inquired what portion of the accutnuLited 50.000/. the proprietors would eventually obtain? The CHAIRMAN—One-sixth, as at present. The PROPRIETOR—And the assured ? The SECRETARY—Three-sixths, and eventually nearly five-sixths, arising from the reservation of one-third. Dr. REID inquired the average number of proposals for life assurance during the last five years, and the amount of money included in those proposals? The SECRETARY—The average annual number of proposals was 557, and the amount proposed by them was 339,6001. Mr. Watsitaw said the report and the explanations which had been given were so satisfactory, that every one interested in the affairs of the company must feel obliged to the direc tors for the manner in which they had conducted its affairs. —(Applause.) He wished particularly to impress on the notice of the proprietors and the public the importance of the last paragraph in the report, which invited the assured and the public to examine with attention the state of their own affairs. If there was one mode of inspiring confidence better than another, it was that of giving on all occasions every possible information, and showing no wish for con cealment.—(Hear, hear.) He agreed in the suggestion, that it would be desirable in future reports to give a general out line of the principles on which the society's calculations were founded. The SECRETARY said the original draft of the report stated the exact mode ; but the directors thought so few persons would properly understand it, that it would be much better for parties to call at the (lace, where every information would be afforded.—(Hear, hear.) The CHAIRMAN, in reply to a question by a proprietor, said that no party would receive the bonus who had not paid five premiums before the 30th June last. Dr. CRUCEFIX expressed himself highly gratified with what had taken place. He was quite satisAed that thdi rectors had only one object in view—the good of the society:u.. and if he asked one or two questions. he trusted thst e ,± 4 l l net be considered as arising from idle cuorniosrietf;tedl The pg . , point on which he wished to ask a ques i t o t lives,ei ve d properwhiwhich healthy lives; whether the calculation and earing a proportion and mode of arriving at the peculiar valuation dnbe r e ea n i t , e: k t e in n g frounm the lives received first as such, and regular information a relative value; rendered them more e societyc t t o had th o r s e e c doubtful than the general progress of or withwhether th e re s calculation? He also wished to know whether the directors obfagdreca.tnismidpoererdtganncoe_tirthr e m p a r t o te p r r , ie w t hch h yiof an insurer had insu always thought in the bonus, instead of its being added to the policy for the benefit of those for whom he might have toiled. An insurer should become and ethe he p r othoughtpertproperty 0f w m h ig a h te t v n e r o t bonusbecame ways in a d p ue osi s t h io o n to the insuring party without receiving it bit by bit in the re duction of premium. The SECRETARY, in reply to the first question, said, that more than u , ual care was always taken in admitting diseased lives, and when they were admitted they were taken at • corresponding premium. With respect to the second ques tion, the directors had no power to act in the manner sug gested. Dr. Crucefix did not seem to think the reduction of premium so important as it really was. Co show its effect he would mention one or two instances. In the 3 ear 1825, Archdeacen Pott insured for 1,000/., paying a premium of 861. Os. 10d. This, being the fourth bonus, would not only have the effect of extinguishing the premium, but of adding the sum of 176/. to the policy.—(Hear, hear.) A PROPRIETOR remarked that this was somewhat extra ordinary. The SECRETARY, in explanation, said, that the fourbonusee amounted to 4001. By taking an annuity instead, in reduc tion of his premium, he would obtain a larger amount than would pay the premium. The Rev. E. G. NV I.LCOC KS. —And for the rest of his life not have a shilling to pay.—(Hear, hear.) The SECRETARY.—Yes, and beyond that there would be the addition to the policy to which he had alluded. He would mention a younger life, the insurance on which took place in 1827. The age was 61, and the premium 661.; but 1 by applying the bonus in a similar manner, the premium would now be reduced to 8/. Be would just add another in stance or two, where two bonuses had been given. A life, aged 69, was insured in 1832, at a premium of It OL T get 1 premium was now reduced to 35!. Ss. In another case