The Sun. — London, England, 1847-03-25 00:00:00

t l4'* Tlbt 4 't t ' ..o Ln companies quarrelling, the Brighton Company would be in a position to shut the South-Eastern Company out of London altogether. But independently of these considerations, a line must sooner or later be made to Lewisham and Bromley, and even were the two companies friendly, he was confident, upon a consultation, they would determine to make this new cheap line to Croydon. At present the South-Eastern Company had to hand over to the Brighton Company the whole profits of the traffic, minus the expense of working, besides the main tenance and expense of six miles of the Brighton line, between Reigate and Croydon, and therefore should it unfortunately happen, that for the sake of a foolish system of competition, the committee should grant the Brighton Mid Kent line, they ought, in jus tice to the public and the South Eastern Company to concede the new Croydon line with it. So impressed was he with the conviction that it was not only dangerous but ridicu lous to think of tunnelling through the Broughton hill, which the Brighton line proposed to do, that in the outset he announced his intention to the South Eastern to decline being the engineer to any line that pursued such course, and, upon his recommendation, that insurmountable obstacle to a direct North Kent line had been avoided. With reference to an extension of the line from Canterbury to Dover, it might eventually become necessary when the success of the South Eastern Company had become well established, but at present there was by no means sufficient traffic to justify the construction of such a line. He was quite willing, however, to leave such a question to be decided by the Board of Trade. He had never heard of a more monstrous proposition than to tunnel the Brough ton-hills between Canterbury and Maidstone in the manner proposed by the Brighton Company. Such a line ought not only not to be made, but it never ought to have been proposed either to the public or a body of proprietors. He disposed of the question of competition by declaring that where com bination was possible competition was impossible. Amongst corn dealers, where the traders were numerous, competition was not only practicable, but wholesome; but in the case of two railways the idea could not be entertained for a mornent. Indeed the two parties here did not differ upon that head. The Brighton Company did not want competi tion, but they wished him to give up what he considered was the best line, and then they were ready to consent to amal gamation. Of course he refused to concede that. The CHAIRMAN—Suppose these lines were to be delayed for the present, could lines with better gradienti, and better calculated to serve the purposes of the public, be obtained. Mr. Stephenson—Certainly not. For the last three years I have been ransacking the country, and let whatever lines be passed, or whatever delays take place, I am quite con vinced the continental traffic will ultimately settle down on a line running as the South-Eastern Mid Kent proposes to do through the Durant Valley. Mr. Stephenson was cross-examined by Mr. Talbot, but nothing material was elicited. The Committee adjourned shortly after four till twelve o'clock to-morrow. who had been told by the Secretary fot the Colonies that unless the charges which were made against him were refuted, he could not recommend him to any other office under the Crown ; and when that officer remained for some time on the spot in order that the charge might be fully investigated, and when they were not pr ove d, h e considered that it was but justice that the papers should be produced. The Noble Lord concluded by moving for their production. Earl GREY said, except under no ordinary circum stances, he should have objected to the production of these papers; but as the circumstances were so peculiar, it was right that the correspondence which had been moved for should be produced. The Honourable Gen tleman who preceded him in the Colonial-office had no objection to their production. The motion was then agreed to. THE ARMY—LIMITING THE SERVICE. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY gave notice that he should put the following questions to the Noble Marquis (Lansdowne) to-morrow—whether the Bill which had been introduced into the House of Commons by her Majesty's Government for limiting the service in the army, had received the sanction and approba tion of the Commander-in-Chief; or if it had ori ginated with her Majesty's Government, or of any officer, and whether the opinion of any board of general officers had been taken, or other competent authorities ; and, secondly, whether it was the intention of her Majesty's Ministers to issue a warrant like that issued in October, 1806, to raise the pensions of non commissioned officers, when entitled to their discharge. Lord BROUGHAM moved for a return of the cor respondence upon an inquiry into the subject of relief works in Clare; and also the letter written by Captain Gordon, of Clare, on the same suhject. Their Lordships then adjourned. SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clock EAFT INDIA HOUSE.—(THIS DAY.) (Continued from our Afternoon Edition.) THE RAJA OF SATTARA. Mr. GEORGE THOMPSON supported the resolution. The ?lon. Proprietor proceeded to read certain extracts from the letters of the ex-Raja to his agent Rungo Bapejee, stating his determination to accept nothing less than full justice, although terms (the terms which he (Mr. Thompson) had laid before the Court) bad heck offered to him by Major Carpenter, agent of the Government, in an interview held with him at Benares, in September, 1845. Another letter, sreciting the terms (the particulars of which had been stated in the Raja's communication) was received from the secretary of the deposed monarch, who added that the Governor-General was himself expected at Benares, and that he would endeavour to enter into arrangements in a personal interview , with the Raja. The secretary's own impression was that an endeavour was being made to entrap the Raja into some admission which should have the authority of his hand and seal. He (Mr. Thompson) had afterwards received a letter (the only one of the kind he bad ever received) from the Raja, expressing his regret that his friends in England should have thought proiser to take steps which compromised him with Major Carpenter, who had atateei his annoyance, that the conversation he had had with Use Raja should have been made public. He (Mr. Thompson) sand friend Rungo Banpojee wrote in answer, that they were accountable for the act, and that he was freed from any implication in it. Mr. Thompson then detailed at great length the manner in which he had obtained possession of the secret papers referred to. They had been left unsought for at his chambers. He had not fomented rebellion in their courts, beat who could blame him if he had taken advantage of it.— (Hear, hear.) But he did not run about the streets and )babble to all the persons he met that he had possession of these secret papers, but be did this. He framed a motion for returns for the House of Commons, which Mr. Villiers had the kindness to make just before the rising of the last session of Parliament, but Sir John Cam Hobhouse had taken the liberty of making a slight alteration in the terms of that no tice, and the consequence was, that when the papers ordered by the House were laid before the House on the reassembling of Parliament, the very documents that were particularly re quired rLd h w n e c re igotbrio Hobhouse; them.an in answerl)l r. Villiers to thseu representations bsequ subsequently saw ‘,l that were made that a dispatch of the 24th August, 1845, nd the corresprendence relating thereto, were not included in t ese returns, the Right Hon. Baronet assured him that he should issue an order to the East India House to furnish them ; kat on the evening of the 15th February the Hon. Stephen Byng, one of the clerks under the Board of Control, mel Mr. Villiers in the lobby, and told bim that he could not get the papers, that the East India Company would not give them up. Subsequently the matter was brought before the Illemse by Mr. Hume, and the result was known to them all. Ift was for the proprietors to accede to the motion of his Hon. . '-friend to have Sir John C. Hobhouse's sanction to have - these papers before them, as the only bar to their production existed in that house. The CHAIRMAN said that he gave the Hon. Proprietor who had last spoken credit for having made no immediate use of the papers which had come into his possession. But that silence was imposed upon him by the consciousness that tl'.ey were obtained in a treacherous, clandestine, and sur rrepitious manner. A gre a t deal hadbeen said about the al terations that had been made in the notice of motion which had been placed in the hands of Mr. Villiers, but the usual course had only been adopted, for it was never intended, and the House rarely ordered that the papCrs of the secret office should be given to the world. But Mr. Hume, in the after session of Parliament, had moved for—not general papers, but documents of a specific data, which he had seen fit afterwards to withdraw without a division, because he saw that the sentiments of the House were in accordance with the opinion of Sir John. Cam Hobhouse, whose opposition was founded upon a deter mination not to be coerced into the production of certain papers merely because they were'in possession of some other person. He (the Chairman) resisted this motion on the same ground, and he prayed the proprietors not to sanction a motion which contained an incentive to the production of secret information originally obtained in a base, and treacher ous, and surreptitious manner. Mr. TUCIIER (Deputy Chairman) supported the motion. Much as he had admired the eloquence and ingenuity of his Hon. Friend, he thought he had not, on the present esecasion, met the question; which was, whether each papers were, or were not, in existence. If they were in existence he could see no public reastr a why they should not be produced for the satisfaction of the pro prietors. He should therefore vote for the motion, Sir R. CAMPBELL (a director) was also in favour of pro ducing these papers. Mr. SULLIVAN was proceeding to ee i p p 'ben he was obli ge d to s i t down fro o - ort the motion, indisposition. I Mr. WIGRAM (a director) oppos ed the motion. He thought that the Court should not sane:don the production of parti cul ar papers whi c h had beern obtained in a surreptitious I manner. Mr. CLARKE denied that the motion specified any parti oular documents. It , was a resolution commandin the pro sductions of p apers hating reference to a particular matter, - and as such h e s t eak support the motion. Major OflPPeteer (a director) thought that they bad bad quite suffieeent grounds submitted to them to warrant the productica of these papers. They had, if he might be al lowed to misuse a word—they had tried, condemned, and elet l arened the Raja, upon the evidence of certain papers, and ha (Major Oliphant), as one of the judges to the condemns- Eion of the Raja, demanded, and he had the right to demand, other papers, if such evidence would set the innocence of the &deposed Prince in a clear and satisfactory light. With these 'opinions he would support the motion of the lion. Proprietor. Sir JAMES LAW LUSIIINGTON (a Director) said that he "could not consent to the motion. He would not attempt to deny that these papers were in existence, and he would be most happy when time came that they should be made public irif they proved the innocence of the Rajah. Ile (Sir J. L. eLueleington) would b e th e l ast man, in such a case, to sup- port an injustice. Captain SHEPHZRD (a Director) supported the motion. 'The papers were refused because they had been obtained in a surreptitious manner. He showed the weakness of their opi nions that this was the only plea advanced. It was mon strous, it was almost incredible, that justice, hould be refused to this unfortunate Prince, because one of their own servants kid been guilty of a gross misdemeanour. Mr. D. SALOMONS was of opinion that no time was better than the present for re-opening the question of the innocence or guilt of the Rajah of Sahara, and he should therefore :suggest to some of hi , friends, who held a strong opinion on ;this matter, that the question should be left in its position, ;mil examined into by the Governor. General of India. Mr. MILLS (a director) did not think that this motion, if -carried, would benefit the Rajah ; and he trusted, therefore. that it would not be persevered in. Colonel SYKIS (a director) would divide with the proposer of the motion. Mr. PLOWDEN (a director), on the ..ground that he was desirous of ascertaining the truth would vote for the motion. General ROBERTSON raid that the Raja was condemned &unheard, and the case could not be therefore deemed a closed 'one. But this was not the place to decide the question. It should be adjudicated on by Viscount Hardinge, who had in the case of a Prince in the Punjaub lately evinced his de sire to do even handed justice. The case ( f the Raja was a similar one, and he should vote for the motion. Mr. WEEDING (a proprietor) opposed the motion. Mr. GORDON supported the motion. Mr. LEwis eeplied. The Court then divided, when there appeared— For the motion 40 Against it 38 Majority .....___ _ HOUSE OF COMMONS. PUBLIC WORKS (IRELAND). Lord G.BENTINCK (in continuation from our Afternoon Edition) said—He had told them that since the month of September—that was now six months-50,000 tons of provisions had come into the port of Limerick. But in one week, in the course of this year, 30,000 quarters of corn went out of the port of Limerick; so that, after all, what did these 50,000 tons of provisions amount to when placed by the side of the 30,000 tons exported from the same port?—(Hear.) But that was not all. It might be true that these provisions were now imported by private speculators; but what compensation was that for the deaths of some 200,000 who had died from starvation, or from pestilence growing out of starvation, whilst waiting for this supply? But if the Government had had one tenth part of f the sympathy shown by the people of Boston, by America, for the starving people of Ireland, all that food might have been supplied at least six months ago. What did they see by the last returns? They were told that, although the meal depots had been diminished, yet, in truth, they had increased, and that it was quite a mistake to argue that, because there were now 24 depots, whereas there were 93 when they came into office, that the amount of provisions distributed had been in like manner diminished. He had looked at the last calculation, and what was the value of the food dis • tributed for the week ending the 6th of March by the present Government? It was 262,0001., about 1,048,0001. a month—but one-tenth part —scarcely an eleventh part —of the food distributed by the late Government in the month of Jun e l as t, w h en the famine was not a ninth part what it was at the present moment. It was under these circumstances that he considered the Right Hon. Gentleman, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, had little cause to congratulate himself when he reflected upon the hundreds of thousands of persons who had died under his administration of affairs in Ireland. Mr. WILLIAMS thought that statements of the ex penditure for Ireland should be weekly laid on the table of the House, in order to show how much this country was doing, and how little the landlords of Ireland were doing for the relief of their own countrymen. In South Wales one small town subscribed at a meeting 3,0001. for the relief of the Irish distress, and at the different assizes in that part of the kingdom large sums of money had been subscribed for a similar object. This country was doing much, but those on whom the people of Ire land had the greatest reason to look in their present suffering were doing absolutely nothing. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the observations which bad been made by the Noble Lord were merely repetitions of his speech the other evening. The Government could not answer such repetitions, which would merely occupy the House, and he hoped that Hon. Members would allow the Bill to go on. Mr. COLLETT said that he rose in consequence of information which he had received on Saturday last &Wm Wicklow, from a gentleman resident there. It was stated to him that the preservation of the public peace was very doubtful, in consequence of the discharge of numerous men from the public works. Nearly 1,000 persons had been discharged, and they could now have nothing but plunder to look to for the preservation of life. He had felt it his duty, seeing the Secretary for Ireland in his place, to rise and give the information as he had received it. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER wished to say one word. He had that day received a letter from Colonel Jones, in the district referred to by the Hon. Member, and he stated that the reduction of the numbers employed upon the public works had passed off very quietly, and no disturbance whatever was appre hended. It was impossible to answer for the state of the whole country, but in general the districts in which these reductions had taken place were perfectly quiet. Major LAYARD thought that the attacks which had been made upon the Government were most unjustifiable. The Hun. Member for Shrewsbury had laid the blood of the people upon the head of the Government, and the Noble Lord who had lately spoken upon this sut.jcct had laid the blood of the people upon the head of the Noble Lord at the bead of the Government. A jury in Ireland had, by their verdict, made the Noble Lord answerable for the lives of the people, but then they were in a state of excitement at seeing the people star ving around them. He thought that these attacks should cease, and the Government be allowed to proceed with the Bill. PETITIONS ON PRIVATE BILLS. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(THIS DAY.) (Before Mr. Examiner MAY.) PORTSMOUTH PAVING, UNOPPOSED LIGHTING, AND IM PROVEMENT. This was a petition for additional provision. The cus tomary formal proofs were completed. HOLYHEAD HARBOUR. The customary proofs were also in this case submitted, approved of, and completed. OPPOSED. EDINBURGH AND NORTHERN BRANCH FROM BURNTISLAND TO DUNFERMLINE BRANCH, &c. No. 2. The further consideration of this case was postponed until Friday (to-morrow), when the usual proofs will be entered upon. STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE (THIS DAY.) The Standing Orders' Committee met this day at the usual hour for the dispatch of public business. EDINBURGH AND PERTH RAILWAY. This case, which it will he recollected stood adjourned from Tuesday last, again came before the Committee. A great niunber of witnesses were again examined; after hearing a variety of proofs The Committee adjourned without coming to any decision. Grrat interest was manifested throughout the day to ascer tain the result. VICE - CHANCERY.-(THIS DAY.) (Before Vice-Chancellor Sir J. Wmiut.) cosTonAntE v. COSTOBADIE. The argument s in this case had not concluded at the rising of the Court. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT, (THIS EVENING.) MOUSE OF LORDS. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on theWoolsack at Five o'clock. DISTRESS IN SPITALFIELDS. Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from the rector, the churchwardens, and vestrymen of Christ Church, Spitalfirlds, praying their Lordships to take into con sideration the distress in that parish, which was being every day augmented by the distress prevalent in Ire land, and to legislate for the causes which operate on that distress in Ireland. The Noble Lord said he would not express any opinion on the prayer of the pe tition. Ile had already spoken on the subject of Irish distress, and he had the gravest doubt whether they could pass any permanent measures till they reached fairer weather. LAW OF SETTLEMENT. The NOBLE and LEARNED LORD aISO presented a petition from the rate-payers of Bradford, in Notting hamshire, against the law of settlement. MARKETS AND FAIRS CLAUSES BILL. On the motion of the Earl of CLARENDON, the House went into committee on this Bal. The Earl of SHAFTESBURY, after the Bill had passed through Committee, was abont to report pro gress, when Lord BROUGHAM interposed, and said he had pe titions from several companies whose Bills would be af fected by this measure to present before it passed, and he did not know the occasion was so near, or he would have present e d t h em b efore. He had also a clause framed by these companies, which he would lay before his Noble Friend (Earl of Clarendon) opposite, and he would take another opportunity to bring the amendment befbre their Lordships, when the Bill came to another stage. But, of course, the Noble Earl must at present report progress. Earl SHAFTESBURY then reported progress. Their Lordships having resumed, the Commissioners' Clauses and Waterworks Clauses Bills went through Committee in order to he reported with amendments. DRAINAGE OF LAND BILL. On the motion for the third reading of this Bill, Tne Earl of ELLENBOROUGH moved the insertion of a clause, limiting the amount of money to be expended in carrying out the Act. Earl MINTO resisted the introduction of the clause, believing that the Bill itself limited the amount to be expended. Lord ELLENBOROUGH said that there was no great use in pressing the amendment ; he only moved it by way of protest. The amendment was then negatived without a division. CONDUCT OF SIR EAIet)LEY WILMOTT. Lord STANLEY rose to bring forward the motion of which he. had given notice. Ile desired to obtain copies cf the correspondence which had taken place between the Colonial-office and the Governor of Van Diemen's Land. Ilis motion was of an unusual character, yet as he believed that no objection would be offered by the Government, it would only be necessary to state the nature of the motion, and the grounds upon which he made it. He did not make it of his own accord, but at the earnest desire of a public servant, who complained, though 16,000 miles distant, he had been made the victim of calumnious assertions against his private and personal character, which he declares to be wholly false and. calumnious. He did not wish to enter into any disquisition on the government of the colonies, ye; tie was ready to admit that there could be no situfetion jn which the observance of morality and decor u m was more necessary than in that of the Governor of a colony. While he had the honour of holding e"ne office of Coloni a l S ecretary, i n 1845, runaour'd respecting the conduct of Sir Nardley the ilovernor of Van bleu:lea's Land, reached him. These reports were, that such was the scandal ous misconduct of the Governor, and such was the immorality prevailing at his house, that it was impossible for any family to visit it. That state ment did not attract his attention; but having been promulgated in thi s country, i t reached the colonies in the month of April, where to Soon as it was known that such statements had been made, in England, all the chief persons in the colonies, who were in constant intercourse with the Governor, sent back a counter statenaerA, which was received in October l ast to this country.— (Hear.) it h a pp ene d . that wh en t hi s refll - Friend :weaeed was sent t from o ffi t h e : o c f o l s o e n v i re e s . . His Right H e - o. uc tart' ; he having also h ear d these rumours, and having on other grounds been determined to remove Sir Eardley Wilmot from the (Ace of Governor, h‘se addressed a secret dispatch to the Governor, in which he stated his reasons for his removal, adding, at the same time, that he thought it necessary to inform him that these rumours had reached him, and-that Weitz they were satisfactorily refuted he would not be able to advise her Majesty to employ Sir Eardley Wilmot in any other colony. Sir Eardley immediately wrote back that he was exceedingly happy to receive the communication, and that he was prepared not only to give the most peremptory and absolute denial to the charges, but that he was determined to relnain on the spot after he had been deprived of all authority, and that he would there submit his conduct to the strictest investigation. He did so, and a Committee was appointed of the Executive Counsel, to which was added the Governor of the Army and the Archdeacon. The Committee reported that none of the charges made were capable of being substantiated ; that there was only one mode that tteald be adopted, namely, to invite any perena who had charges to make against the personal character of Sir Eardly Wilmosr, to tome brwrrd and substantiate it ; but, whilst reconneending this course, they admitted that it was Open to objections, and would .ri lead to th e creation of an i t ot unlikely tri;;;:.iiit. ptecedent. The Coy Council that time had ;•!.c) power of calling witnesses, made the inveßekation more difficult and uncer- They, therefore, reported that in their opi nion it was not expedient to enter upon the inves tigation, and gave as their reasons itt terms, that (luring th e i r pr i vate and unielal intercourse with Sir E. Wilmot for three ecars, nothing had trans pired to show that he had been gui4ty et any W vi_olati s en of the decencies of rtiVete life. It head police thme Colonial by the Commander of the Forces. magistrte, the minister of the parish, and cretary„ the Colonial Treasurer, the A Petition, generally signed, was agreed to in otherF,. Hobart 1 ""l w , RhiiveTigtdo most unqualified con trac. ic tion to cthheararceteporrotsf Sir E. \Ai been spread injurious to the o g l h o t n He had the authority of saying that the eGentleman who had suc ceeded him in thellei objectivn to themdu ct i on ofth e (Ur. Gl had no e Mora- When) nffie INFLUX OF PAUPERS INTO ENGLAND. Lord SAN.DON wished to know whether greater freedom of action could be given to the law which ena• bled the authorities to remove the Irish paupers from this country. These people were coming over by thou sands and tens of thousands, and unless some machinery was introduced for the purpose, it would become impos sible to remove them from this country. There was a great unwillingness at present to remove any of these persons, while proper provisions did not exist for them in Ireland, but he thought that in Committee upon this 13i11 a clause should be introduced for the purpose he had mentioned. Sir GEORGE GREY said that he had received some information from Liverpool as to the difficulty of removing these people. There did not seem to be any very general disposition to send them away, while means did not exist for their relief in Ireland. The Govern ment however proposed to introduce a vagrancy Bill, and when that Bill was introduced into the House it would afford a fitting opportunity for the insertion of any such clause in it, IRISH PAUPERS. Mr. SIIAW wished toknow if the vast number of per sons rt turned as paupere coming fromlrelande as not over stated, and if many of them were not persona who had Iprlaeclaenddt,hue'mhesnelinesreonalittab'etilliesyt hasdPleetlenPecrhsaregoemaibnlge upon a district in England for some time before. Sir GEORGE GREY said, that upon inquiry the returns would seem to be rather overstat( tt. Ab 6 QvOO persona arriv e d annually from Ir e l an d into l3rieou- t toi and Liverpool; Abeet 2'0,000 were emigrants to America ; and the other 40,000 were spread over the country, and became in time entitled to relief; Mr. NEWDEGATE had not intended to lay One word on this subject ; bitt he could not allow the obser vations of the Hon. Member -for Carlow to pass unno ticed. lie could not help thinking that the lion. Mem ber had snatch e d an opportunity of making unjust and severe reflections upon the Noble Lord the Member for Lynn. After all the Members on that side of the House had determined not to continue the discussion, according to the suggestion of the Government, the debate had been renewed by the lion. Member, and an attack mad e by him after it had b een Understood that the subject had been dropped, and yet he complained of attacks being made epee the Government from that side of the House. Mr. CARDWELL wished to remark upon one fact connected with the observations of the Recorder for Dublin. He had read a letter from a stipendiary magis trate in Liverpool, stating that in spite of the influx of paupers there, there was no desire to remove them unless some provision was made for their sustenance. The in flux Of paupers was at the rate of 2,000 per day, and in a few days a fever hospital capable of containing 400 would be ready. That showed that seine measures were being adopted for the relief of these people. The pro positione made by several lion. Members, applied rather to the removal of a technical difficulty, which was, in reality ; met by the spirit of the existing law. Mn P. BCROPE despaired of the Government being able to solve the problem which laid before them, as to the means of putting an end to the terrible state of things which eXisted in Ireland, unless a sus pension of party attacks were made. The time of the Government could not be occupied in answering these ettecks, instead of attending to the business before the house. Mr. GROGAN said that the Government had in formed the House that a Bill for mendicancy and vagrancy was about to be introduced, but he hoped that the House, in considering it, would not pass such a measure as would throw the support of the poor of a whole district Upon a particular locality. Ho wished to call the attention of the House to the charges brought against that side of the House of unnecessarily attack ing the Goiternment. It must be borne in mind that twice in that day the subject had originated from the other side of the House. If the Government could not control their own friends how could they expect to go on undisturbed? He had observed that a great number of officers had been appointed upon Relief Committees in Ireland, and he wished to know how they were to be paid ? Lord J. RUSSELL said that the vagrancy Bill had been prepared, but it would require a greet deal of at tention vu the part . 6overnment, and was likely 'require a great deal of censideratien from the House. The Bill would be shortl47 OA If siiy eoeN e;;tte'el, any plan for the better preserva tion of the public peace he would be happy to give it every attention. With regard to the preservation of the public tranquillity, the accounts which were received showed that there was no great cause for fear upon that head. lie did not doubt that every gentleman connected with Ireland would assist the Government iu the pre servation of public tranquillity.—(Hear.) Mr. CALLAGHAN said that he wished to say a few words before going into Committee, for it was rarely the opportunity aas afforded to them of saying something.— (Laughter.) There were very general complaints in Ireland of the neglect of the Government in not pro viding seed for the laud. In many Lustauces the po• ..,ajority 0000 ••• • • 2 A considerabl e ma j or i ty of the directors w ere against the motion, while the bulk of the proprietary were in its favour. The result was received with much cheering. Mr. D. SALOMONS postponed his motion relative to Lieut. Waghorn's claims upon the East India Company. The Court then eepara t ed. - ----- --- REGISTRY of BIRTHS and DEATHS DURING THE WEEK ENDING MARCH 20. Deaths registered in the week Births registered in the }reek. Males ... ... ... 547 Males ... ... •.. 772 Females ~. ... 567 Females ... .. 745 Total ... 1,114 Total ... 1,517 TATTERSALL'S-THIS EVENING. tiIX O'CLOCK. NEWMARKET lIANDICA r 4 to 1 agat Euclid colt 5 to 1 agst Sting—taken 10 to 1 agst Foot stool 2,000 GUINEAS STAMM, 7 to 1 agst The Liberator 20 to 1 agst PunchCHESTER CUP. 22 to 1 agst Antler 25 to 1 agat Newcourt 28 to 1 agat 'The Lamb 28 to 1 ags.c Dulcet 30 to 1 P.gst Mickey Free 40 to 1, agst P 450 to 1 agst Plaudit DERBY. 6 to 1 agst Van Tromp 10 to 1 agst Planet 20 to 1 agst Glentilt 25 to 1 agst Conyngham 25 to 1 agst The Liberator 30 to 1 agst Horn of Chase 50 to 1 agst Red Hart 50 to 1 agst Christopher 50 to 1 agst Black Dwarf 66 to 1 agst Philosopher irRAILWAY COMMIIITES. (THIS DAY.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. GROUP I. The SePeet Committee, appointed to consider the merits of the Bill., comprised in tais group, re-assembled in Room 30 at the usual hour this morning, Lord GnArivitax Somett al= 4 .n the chair. THE SOUTH EASTERN SCHEMES. Mr. Robert Stecensoni confirmed the testimony of Mr. 'Bidder. In point of gradient. speed, and regniarity, there was no comparison between the lines of the South Eastern and the Brighton Companies. Th e Brighton lines rose 40 feet a 431311;ki,e_i and with the New Cross incline, it would b e impos re"ad tot work the m w i t h out two engines. With the argume n t o f making the lines anWA btoTd tents, and relyiog to th e i mprovements the' Asapproy ed of itltaci overcome the difficulties, he e n ti re l y ?system just where it was it wo u ld b e l eaving the railway :affirm that bal roaldswas now. S uc h an argument went to or better horses could 0 1 1 :b ight to be preferred when improved the Brighton line the co e Obtained- With the gradients on Samemtimunication with Dover would in winter occupy the Z m that it did now on the cir r-uitous route, while in a the .saving would be very trifling, and then it would be on e ] ....to light trains. Punctua etneeninttd mainly upon lity in the running of trains d y e of the importance, _gradients, and to convince the good h e might mention that nine accidents gortiatdioef ten ari , :, I by want of it. An engine adapted to bad became comparatively useless upon the good. The u l t vl'• '7-f °ul d line would be much used for continental expre sa :el Xect trains, and it was of the last importance that, th e ` - ' llt B Tlden of such line should be the best the coulr ould afford With regard to the branch to Bromley, he considered it would be a great inconvenience to place that local traffic upon a through line. As an example, he might mention that it was admitted on all hands that it would be highly inconve nient to accommodate Croydon traffic through the me dium of Brighton trains. He did not lay out the Croy don branch so much with the view of putting Partsmouth in direct communication with Woolwich and other North Kent districts, as to placing the South-Eastern Company upon an independent footing with regard to the Brighton Company. At present the South-Eastern obtained access into the metro rQ 1 h. along the B r i g h ton line, and in the event of the two I THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY E VENING, MARCH 25, 1847. tion that the arrangements made in 1829 should not be al tered. All magistrates shoUld be ex officio members of the boards of guerdians; and he intended to propose, at a future stage, an amendment having that object in view. He objected to the Government plan of not making all the magistrates in an union ex officio members of those boards. Mr. BELLEW had always been in favour of such a poor-law as the one proposed by the Government. He considered, however, that the amendment would be pro ductive of much good on account of the great dissimilarity between the number of Catholics and Protestants. Sir J. WALSH said that in his opinion the religious differences in Ireland would not form an insuperable bar to any proper administration of the law, lion. Mem bers came forward and said that Cleholics and Protest ants could not sit at the same board without mutual jealousy. Such an argument was erroneous, for %diet er( r might be the difference of religious opinion, he was sure that measures had been already taken by the House to remove that feeling. He admitted that with re gard to ex officio guardians, those who were so appointed, from their station and education, took a very leading part in the active administration of the affairs. Such a fact was sometimes deprecated, but by no means justly so, for it was generally desired by boards of guardians that such should be the case, as considerable benefit and assistance was derived from their interference. Mr. S. CRAWFORD said, he wished to bring the attention of the House to the real bearing of the ques tion. That he considered to be aas whether or not the land', rds of Ireland, from their past and present conduct, were entitled to claim any in terest on the board of guardians or whether such would be more likely to lead to a better working of the system. Now, he would wish to know right they (the landlords) of Ireland) had to demand any greater influence on these boards than other individuals eligible for the office of guardian. On a late occasion he had brought forward a resolution which contained the assertion that all the evils of Ireland were to be traced to the system adopted by the landlords of that country. In support of that assertion, he hart adduced facts which Hon. Members had never attempted to controvert. He was happy to hear an Honourable Gentleman assert that the interests of the landlord and tenant were identical. That was a principle upon which hitherto the landlords of Ireland had never acted. There was no guarantee front their past conduct that the landlords of Ire• laud would administer the law in the manlier in which the people of this country would wish it to be admi nistered. Mr. W. S. O'BRIEN said that a great deal of dissa tisfaction had existed on this very measure. He thought the proposal under consideration would do a great deal of harm. Such a system of class legislation must be the cause of much ill-feeling and dissatiefactien. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the Bill was as near as possible, founded on the law of Eng land. Now the law in this country in respect to ex officio guardians had been found to work well, and he did not see why the same system should not operate as advantageously in Ireland.—(Hear, hear.) From a considerable amount of experience of the working of the English law, he was sure the measure. could not be worked without a considerable infusion of cx officio guardians. If the present law was carried into effect there would be a greater number of meetings of the poor-law guardians than before, and he was per suaded the elected guardians could not sufficiently attend to the business. Hence there was a necessity for a considerable number of ex officio guardians, who would have leisure to attend to the administration of the law. From a full consideration of all the circumstances, he thought the clause ought to stand in its present form. Mr D. BROWNE opposed the clause, because it would give a decided preponderance to one class in Ireland—the landlord class. lie opposed it also, because it was a violation of the electoral principle. He would much rather have a Coercion Bill than such a Bill as the present ; inasmuch, as while coercion was to put down insubordination in the country, the present measure was one that would cause every kind of ill-feeling and insubordination. No step could be taken to make the Government more unpopu lar than forcing such a Bill through th e H ouse . He would tell th e Government, with the greatest respect, that this clause would prevent the peaceable working of the measure in Ireland. Mr. FITZGERALD was quite ready to adopt the principles of the Hon. Member " for Dublin (Mr. Shaw), and trusted the Government would reconsider this measure, and put this clause into a modified form. The Hon. Member for Northamptonshire had divided the Irish landlords into two parties—that which was desirous of seeing all the measures of the Government passed, and that which was called the Irish party, and of that party he would say that it had no object to serve in impeding the Inca sures of Government. That party had issued certain resolutions which he had certainly signed—(" Hear, hear," from Mr. Shaw and others)—but in being a party to those resolutions he must profess that he was no violent revolutionist, although he was a repealer, and he was therefore in no way adverse to auy measures which were likely to benefit Ireland. lie was not consulted on the deputation which waited on the Noble Lord opposite (Lord G. Bentinck), but he might take that opportunity of expressing his admira tion of the conduct of the Noble Lord, although he might not be able to accede to his views. But he would say, in joining in the opinion of a late writer, let them return to the people their church property, Ic4 them return all that had been taken away, and they would have ample funds not only for the sustenance of the Church, but fur the support of the poor, and for the edit, ation of the people—(hear, hear)—and this would have the greatest effect in putting down religious differences. But there was another subject to which he desired to call the attention of h( r Majesty's Govern ment, and that was the provision which was made under this clause, for the support of a stipendiary magistracy, and the payment of the several officers under the Bill. The operation of the Bill was defective in many respects, and he thought it was advisable to make some better provision than this, especially for the safe carrying out of the Bill. Mr. LEFROY was quite satisfied with the clause in the Bill, and did not think it would operate in the way described by the Hon. Member for Kilkenny. Mr. CALLAGHAN did not think the magistrates of Ireland so unobjectionable in their bygone history as.to warrant the Government in conferring on them any additional privileges. He wished the ex officio guardians were removed altogether. He ehoutcl for these reasons support the amendment of his Hon. Friend the Member for Kilkenny.—(Cries of "Divide, divide.") Mr. V. STUAR supported the amendment, Major LAYARD considered that the clause would materially operate against the proper carrying out of the Bill. The amendment he considered absolutely ne cessary, as there were in Ireland 2,065 Pro testant magistrates, and but 410 Roman Catholic magistrate.t. In three of the counties there were no local Roman Catholic magistrates. He thought, therefore, that the people of Ireland would be dissatis fied with the Bill If the clause remained in it. In his opinion it was the " Chandos" clause of the Bill. He deprecated the conduct of the Noble Lord (Lord G. Bentinck) in coming down' and making gross charges against the Government. Mr. STAFFORD O'BRIEN supported the clause as it stood. Mr. B. ESCOTT rose, but owing to the noise that prevailed, and the cries for a division, the purport of his observations could not be heard in the gallery. Finding the House disinclined to hear Lim, owing to its impatience for a division, he moved that the Chairman report pro gress. The galleries were cleared, but as the lion. Gentleman withdrew his motion, the Committee imme diately divided upon the amendment, when there ap peared— tatoes kept for seed had rotted, or had been consumed by the people, who were therefore wholly without seed. Mr. BELLEW sail, he thought there should be but one feeling on the present occasion, and that to unite for the carrying out of those measures which would be most advantageous to the country. Sir H. BROOKE said, he hoped that her Majesty's Government would not supply the landlords of Ireland with seed, for he thought that they should put their hands in their own pockets on an occasion like the present. He thought that her Majesty's Government had done as much as they had a right to do. Mr. DILLON BROWNE said he thought that there would be greater distress next year in consequence of a little money not having been expended in supplying the people with seed in an emergency like the present. He had received several communications from Mayo, deny ing the statements that had been made in that House as to the disinclination of the people in that quarter to cul tivate the land. The majority of the people had not seed to do so—the landlords would not give, and the Government, under the circumstances, should do so. Sir WALTER JAMES said, under the very difficult circumstances in which her Majesty's Government had been placed, he did think it to he his duty to state his opinion that as far as every effort and energy went all had been done to alleviate the famishing poor of Ire land.—(lfear, hear.) He thought that it would have been right for other Hon. Members as well as the Noble Lord at the head cf her Majesty's Government to say that every effort had been made to relieve the poor of Ireland. The Hon. Gentleman who had last spoken had accused the landlords of Ireland of not having supplied the people with seed, but if they would look at some correspondence that had taken place on this question he might view the question in a different light. He held in his hand a letter from a Mr. Mahon, who had offered to supply his tenantry with seed, which they refused to take. Ile must say that these circumstances were quite sufficient to give a colour to the charges which Hon. Gentlemen had brought forward. He was very sorry to have been induced to prevent the House going into Committee. ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION BILL. Mr. COLLETT said he wished to ask the Noble Lord at the head of her Majesty's Government whether it was his • intention to create four new bishops under the Bill which he proposed to submit to the House? Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that, in answer to the Hon. Gentleman, he begged to state that on the first Tuesday after the Easter holidays it was his intention to bring the subject to which he alluded before the House, and that it was intended to itske some change. POOR RELIEF (IRELAND) BILL. The discussion on this Bill was then resumed. Mr. HAMILTON said he begged to say that he did not understand the Noble Lord's observations to be any thing else than that hopes were held forth which it was not the intention of her Majesty's Government to fulfil. The House then went into Committee on the Bill. Mr. J. O'CONNELL moved that clause D, section 11. p. 4, which goes to enact that the number of ex officio guardians of the poor shall be increased from one. si t n t t i a o itn u e g tdr h ot t chi H uact o i annn.4 the extended Gentlemen pre s enp h to a oc d ri r e a e sle n v l guilty avot fourth to one-half o f t h e whole number, he struck out. He u a l d l a f n i l s i t w eo e h l :a s d i a s t te b p e r e c e y e : sent, because the landlords of Ireland would not do their duty without a Poor•lew Act. Yet what did they do ? They handed over to them the power of taxing themselves to just that extent they might wish. It was not to be supposed that landlords would punish themselves for conduct of which they did not admit themselves to be guilty, and that punishment which it was the professed object of the Bill to inflict was prevented from falling on the proper parties. The ex officio guardians amounted to one-fourth of the whole number at the present time. Besides they had considerable interest from the property they possessed. He complained that the proposed arrangement would create a fradulent constituency, and the whole business of the board of guardians would pass into the hands of the ex officio guardians. He did not think any case whatever had been made out for the proposed increase of the ex officio guardians. There had been no cases of fraud or wanton prodigality established against the elected guardians that they should now be swamped. While they had regularly at tended to their duties, front their connexion with the mass of the people, they were better able to understand their wants and provide for them. Throughout Ireland there were 2,600 Protestant magistrates, and but 410 Catholic ma g i s t ra t es. This would show how the proposed arrangement would operate. It had been already shown that this difference in numbers operated most injuriously in the working of boards of guardians. The Honourable Member referred to the proceedings of the North and South Dublin Unions, and other Irish unions, in illustration of the bigotted conduct of the ex-officio guardians under the present law. If they, therefore, increased the number of these guar di ans t h e ev il s referred to would be greatly increased. The Noble Lord at the head of the Government, in introducing the Bill, had expressed a hope, that in future, parties in Ireland would be con ciliated towards each other, and would act for their country's good. The sentiment was very creditable to the Noble Lord, only he was sorry to say that there was little ground to expect its realisation. If he was required to give an illustration, he might refer to the so called Irish party, who had met together with every appearance of doing something for the benefit of Ireland, but who were now broken up. If he had felt —as they, the Irish Members in that House did— the strain of the present distress in Ireland, he would have called upon the louse to appropriate the funds of a church of a minority, a very small minority in that country. The Hon. Member for Kinsale (Mr. Watson) had brought in a Bill to repeal a part of an Act of by gone years. The Bill only related to a very few words which could Le construed as nothing but an insult to the members of the Catholic Church. These words were neither more nor less than superfluous verbiage for any other purpose, for they had lost all effect as a legal en actment; and yet these gentlemen came down, and both spoke and voted against the abolition of this last shred of worn-out bigotry. And these were the men into whose hands they were about to commit the guardian ship of the poor, and the education of the children of the Roman Catholic population! Although they had thus obtained a predominance in Ireland, they yet had been un able so far to command themselves as to refrain from adopting this means of tyrannising over the majority of the people of that country. The Roman Catholic Mem bers were in a small minority in that House, and they had very little hope of carrying the amendment of this clause; yet, it' it were not carried, he would give the Go vernment notice, and that frankly, that they would be giving rise to a religious agitation such as they had never yet seen, for the Irish Members felt deter mined to protect the helpless people over whose interests it Was their duty to wateh, If there was any advantage of salary, of emolument, or of trust, in Heaven's name let it be given to the Establishment, but let them not depress the Roman Catholic people. There were two amendments ; one provided that there should be d iieptitatn Chapel, and the second was the supervision of the education of the children of the Roman Catholic population ; and if they passed the Bill as it hoes good he Warned th em t h at they would be Rowing the seeds of a religious agitation which it was sickening to the heart to anticipate. He had now passed °Vet the Most painful part of the subject, Unfortunately, he had very l a rge details, but int o t h em h e would not now enter ; end he would now turn to th e p o li t i ca l P ir re e s e s t ed this clause ot.thisil in its clause. If t h e Government ts present shape they would b e givin g the Irish landlords the opportunity o f sea li ng up their pockets more closely than ever, and if it were per severed in he gave the Hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. P. Scrope) . warning that he would fail in both of his ex pectations. Ile would fail in obtaining the collection of the rate, and he would fail in the repression of these agrarian outrages which bad always resulted from these imposi tions on the Irish people. It was his firm belief that so far from repressing these outrages, it would have the effect of increasing them, and not only would the assas sin be alert on his midnight prowls, but he would be seen in open day ready to commit those murders which were equally aligning to the mind and dis cre dit a bl e t o the law by which they were occasioned, He trusted, therefore, that the Government would not persist lii the adoption of this clause without first referring it to a Select Committee to inquire into the effects which were likely to follow its incorporation into the Bill. Sir G. GREY agreed with the lion. Member for Kil kenny that the rights of conscience of the people of Ire land should be respected, and everyreasonable precaution taken against their infringement. In proposing this clause, however, the Government never dreamt that it would have the effect which the Hon. Gentleman anti cipated. He regretted that the introduction of it should have given occasion to a discussion involving religious considerations. He respected his feeling of attach ment to the Church to which he belonged, and he liberty. Bat her Majesty's agreed with hi m t h at every pro p er p recau ti on s h ou ld b e taken against i ts mem b ers b e i ng su bj e ct e d to a ny in fringement o f their religions Government thought that the religious differences which existed in th at country wou ld b e remove d by th e pre sent law, The Hon. Gentleman rested his objection to the clause on religiousgrounds, but he drew his inferencea as to the probable working of the clause from the actual state of things i n I re l an d at that moment. lie stated e , that, 6 speaki ng generally, the greate r n umbe r o f ex . it't • o guardians in Ireland were Protestants ; and the consequence would be, that tyranny would be exercised over the inmates of workhouses who were Roman Catholics, by the influence of these magistrates. He thought that, by the alteration proposed in the clause, there would be far less opportunity afforded for the exercise of religious interfereece. — (llear, hear.) By the op erat i on of the clause the present partial se lection of el.o . Ai o guar di ans wou ld b e p u t an end to, as the Roman C at h olic mag i strates who m i g h t b e res id ent in the enien w ou ld have t h e pr i v il ege o f b ecom i ng ex officio guardians. In England all the justices re sident in the union were ex officio a thought, that when it was nd it wa s guardians, pro posed to in crease the burdens on p ro perty f o r the relief of the p oor , i t was but right t h ere s L eu ld be an increase in th e r e p resentat i on of that property on which would fall a l arge proportion of the rates. In the ceee 9f ell tene ments above 41. oise -h a lf o f t h e r a t e , an d f.dilaidefethly more than one - half, was paid by the tenant, and afterwards deducted from the rent. Hip trusted the clause would not be productive of the euecls by the Hon. Gentleman, but if so, he thought it much better to meet the case by a special en actment than by any indirect means—by limiting the number of ex-officio guardians. Mr. SHAW did agree with the Hon. Member for Kilkenny, that the clause would have the effect antici pated by him. Ile deprecated the ;introduction of any thing having a tendency to introduce religious discus sion. With regard to the censure of the lion. Gentle man with regard to his opposition, and that of some of the "Irish Party," to the Bill for the removal of the disabilities of the Roman Catholics introduced by the lion. Member for Kinsale, he wished to state that his Tote °nth" "cud= vras entirely influenced by his convic. For the clause 154 For the amendment Majority in favour of the clause ... —l2B Mr. SHAW then moved that the justices resident in the poor-law unions shall be ex officio members of the board of guardians of such unions. And whereas, under the provisions of the said Act of the first and second year of her Majesty's reign, tithe composition is liable to be rated only as and with the hereditaments upon which sucn euniposition is charged, and it is expedient that such provisioilS shall be amended : be it therefore enacted, that from and afar the passing of this Act, com position for tithe, or rent charge in lieu thereof, shall be deemed to be a separate rateable hereditament under the said Act, and shall be distinctly rated as such. And be it enacted, that in all cases of rent charge in lieu of impropriate tithes, the annual amount of such rent charge, after deducting therefrom all rates, taxes, and public charges, if any, imposed on the owner in respect thereof, shall be deemed the net annual value thereof ; and that in all cases of rent, charge in lieu of tithes, payable to any spiritual person, the net annual value thereof upon which the rats for the relief of the poor, under the said recited Act or this Act shall be made, shall be deemed to be the amount of such rent charge or composition, as ascertained and valued by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners of Ireland, for the purpose of a certain tax or assessment upon Church property, under an Act passed in the third and fourth year of the reign of his late Majesty King William IV., intituled "Au Act to alter and amend the laws relating to the Church Temporalities of Ireland," after the deduc tions and allowances therein directed to be made, and after deducting also the portion of the assessment or tax chargeable in respect of such rent charge, under the said Act. And be it enacted, that the rate made upon each rent charge or composition for tithe, shall be paid by the 'Arson in the receipt or enjoyment thereof, and may be recovered by all the ways and means by which any rate made on any lessor may be recovered. And be it enacted, that from and after the passing of this Act, the net annual value of all rateable heredita ments, other than rent charge or composition for tithe shall be deemed to be the rent for which, one year with another, the same might, in their actual state, be reasonably expected to let from year to year, all the rates, taxes, and public charges, if any, and the probable average cost of repairs, insurance, and the other ex penses necessary to maintain the hereditaments in their .tetual state, and the rent charge or composition for tithe beini; Lord J 01- value, to .. he paid by the tena n t. assumed, for the p ur p ose o f e stimating such annual not be a majority of ex officio guar rsans, and the jealousy ii;Trehended by the Hon. Member would not exist with respect to their numbers. N RUSSELL said, that as the Bill at sent there could amendment. Mr. SHAW consented to withdraw the clause. After a few words from Sir W. JAMES, 01 e word hoped that the Hon. Member would withdraw the He Mr. J. O'CONNELL moved, that after "magistrate," the words " whether for couklty or borough" should be inserted. After a few words from Mr. Smith O'Brien, J. O'Connell, and Mr. Morgan J. O'Co n n e ll , Mr. P. HOWARD said he thought the alter a ti on in the poor-law would give more power to the ex o ffi cu 9 guardians than any other measure. Mr. O'CONNELL said that, after the decision which had been come to, he did not expect much support to his present proceeding. Still, that the people of Ireland might know who were for them, 'and who were against . their, rights, he must put them again to the necessity of another division. The gallery was then cleared for a division, when there appeared— For the clause . Against it Majority in favour of the clause On the 12th clause being put, Mr. VERNON SMITH said that under the 78th clause there was a power to enforce the orders of the Board of Guardians, and, he did not therefere see that there was any security for obtaining the rates. He should therefore move for the insertion of words which should refer to the 78th section of the Irish Poor-law Act, and giving them power to levy the penalties made payable under the 102 d section of that Act. He thought that this was a great deal better than giving power to dissolve the board of guardians, which, under the present phase of the Bill, the Commissioners would possess. At present there was no efficient control, and the penalty imposed was not likely to be in any way in strumental in enforcing the provisions of the Act. He would rather, therefore, that words should be introduced for that effect. Sir G. GREY said the only difference between the present clause of the present Act and that to which the lion. Member had referred, was, that in the former case the Commissioners had simply the power of dissolving the board of guardians, while under the present Bill they could, without dissolving the board, impose a penalty- of 20/. for non compliance with their orders. Mr. HAMILTON said that the Committee should not legislate on this Bill as if the boards of guardians in Ireland had not done their duty. By a report of the Poor-law Commissioner for the year ending 31st December, 1845, it was stated that the general condition of the unions was never more satisfactory. When such general censure was poured out on them. lie thought it right to state this fact. Mr. V. SMITH thought it was strange to see such a large amount of arrears in the rates. If the board of guardians had done their duty, either this was the fgult of the board of guardians, or the rate could not be raised in Ireland. They must adopt either the one or the other alternative. Mr. SHAW defended' the -board of guardians. He thought, with regard to the rates, that in many cases it was wholly impossible to raise them, owing to the desti tution which prevailed. He was of opinion that, under the out-doer relief principle lately adopted, it would be found wholly impossible in many parts of Ireland to collect the rates, and he now warned the House of the results which would attend the ope ration of this Bill. The law they were then about to pass could not be carried into effect in the western coun ties of Ireland. Mr. ARCHBOLD said, the expense of these poor houses was not very great. Mr. POULETT SCROPE said, there were many great proprietors who had not paid one farthing of money for which they had been rated, and he thought that the payment of their arrears should be enforced. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he thought his Right Honourable Friend would find it very difficult to oppose this Bill on such grounds. If any Honourable Gentleman would take the trouble to read the correspondence on this subject would be convinced of what he asserted. He trusted, therefore, that his Hon. Friend would not persevere in his present course. Mr. STAFFORD O'BRIEN could not, in justice to Ireland, act in any other way than he had done. Mr. P. SCROPE said if any one bad read the blue books respecting the workhouses and the raising of the rates, he would find the truth of what he bad stated about the non-payment of the rates. All that he had stated about Lord Lucan and others would be found perfectly true. 133 Mr. SHAW could not agree with the Hon. Member who had just spoken. Mr. BELLEW entirely differed from the view taken, and the statements made, by the Right Hon. Recorder for Dublin. Mr. SHAW explained. Mr. V. SMITH would not divide upon the clause after what had fallen from the Right Hon. the Chan cellor of the Exchequer. The amendment was negatived without a division, and clauses 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 were agreed to. Mr. SHAW wished to know whether Government would proceed further with the Bill this evening? Sir GEORGE GREY replied that he was ready to go on up to half-past six. Mr. SHA W said, in that case, he would proceed to move his amendment, of which he had given notice namely, " That the justices resident in the Poor-law unions shall be ex-dlicio members of the board of guar dians of such unions." On the clause being brought up, Sir G. GREY said that the Irish title to property was placed precisely on the same footing as English pro perty in this country. The next clause provided for the deficiency that had been felt by the lion. Recorder fur Dublin. But there was one difficult; . , and that was the vagueness which existed as to the declaration for where a curate was necessary and where he was not. If he would allow the principle of the law to be assimi lated to that of England, he had no objection to accede to the change. Mr. HANIILTON said that the Ecclesiastical Com missioners had to pay the rates on the monies which hey collected for that purpose, so that an incumbent had to pay to the poor-rates twice for his income. lle had to pay for the amounts levied for the improvement of his glebe house, and again for the stipend which be gave to his curate. He thought, therefore, that it would be well if the Government wouli take this matter into consideration, for by changing the plan they would pre vent a great injustice. After some further observations from several Hon. Members, The clause was withdrawn until the bringing up 01 he report. The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and to House adjourned at a Quarter to Seven o'clock. SINGAPORE. (From the Singapore Free Press, Feb. 6.) Singapore, in the moi:th which has elapsed since the ' last issue of our Overland, has not presented any striking incidents for comment, affairs having run on in an even course. The junks from China have begun to ' arrive, but at this early period it cannot yet be known whether there will be any great decrease in their num bers or not; although in those which have already arrived, a very considerable alteration in the value of their cargoes, compared with former years, has been manifested; the articles brought by them being of con siderably less value than in former sasons. OCCUPATION OF LABUAN. On Tuesday last her Majesty's ship Iris, Captain Mundy, arrived from Borneo, bringing accounts of the Island of Labuan having been at last formally taken possession of by the British Crown. The Iris arrived at Labuan on the 18th ult., and operations were imme diately commenced by clearing a space about three times the size of the Singapore Esplanade. On the 24th the British flag was hoisted on the island in presence of many- Malays from Bruni, &c., who appeared to be highly delighted with the proceedings. The proper salutes were fired from cannon which had been brought ashore, and from the Iris and Wolf. The natives, we understand are exceedingly anxious to be al lowed to settle upon Labuan, so that as soon as permis sion is given to that effect, we may expect to see a large population speedily gathered together. We regret to hear that Captain Gordon, of her Ma jesty's ship Wolf, died while at Labuan of jungle fever, and that a number of persons belonging to that vessel and the Iris are also suffering from sickness. Unneces sary exposure and over-exertion are thought to be the cause of this sickness, but which has no doubt been partly, if not wholly, caused by the unwholesome miasma produced by the clearing of the jungle. There have been many instances in Penang and elsewhere of mor tality arising from persons inhabiting houses built on ground where the forest has been newly cleared, which in all probability, would not have occurred had a suffi cient time been allowed to elapse after the clearingof the ground, before building, so as to permit the miasma arising from the newly-uncovered ground, as well as from the decayed jungle, to be effectually dissipated.—Singa pore Free Press, Jan. 21. CMAIIRAIN BAR AND BOILER PLATE WORKS.— We are happy to hear that the result of the experiment mado at these works, for the manufacture of boiler plates, is no longer problematical. Mr. John Hughes, the engineer of Pillgwenlly, has made several boilers with the Cwmbrain plates, and speaks of their quality in the highest terms. It is a singular circumstance, that the two buoys put down near the new South Wales Railway bridge, over the river Usk, at Newport, were made by Mr. Hughes, with some of the first plate manu factured at the Cwmbrain works; and if a date were now put upon them, they would offer a lasting record of the year in which these works were established. We hear that the plates have already been successfully introduced into the markets of London, Liverpool, Glasgow, and Bristol.—Monmouthshire Merlin. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. MIDLAND ClRCUlT.—Leicester, March 23. NISI PRIUS COURT. — (Before Mr. Justice PATTE SON and a Special Jury.) TYLER AND WIFE V. DUDLEY AND ANOTHER. This action was in trespass. Mr. Humfrey and Mr. Macaulay for the plaintiffs; Mr. Whitehurst and Mr. Barnaby for the defendants. The plaintiffs in this action are in an humble station in life, living at Wineswold, i n t hi s county, a village 'about five miles from Loughborough. The defendants, the Rev. J. Dudley and Mr. Danvers, are two of the Loughborough bench of magistrates. The wife of the male plaintiff had quarrelled with a neighbour, named Mary Crooks. For this she was brought upon a war rant before the two m ag i strates in question, who, having nojurisdiction, dismissed the complaint, but mulcted her in 1/. 18s. costs, leaving her the alternative of going to prison, if she did not pay, and she was sentenced to fourteen days' imprisonment and bard labour. The poor woman went to prison, but it being,thought strange that a party of irreproachable character should be sent to prison for costs in a case wherein the magistrates had no jurisdiction, inquiry was set on foot, and the commitment being bad on the face of it, a memo rial was sent to the then Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sir James Graham), who instantly ordered her discharge, with an admonition to the ma gistrates to be careful in such cases for the future. The husband had brought an action for the lose of his wife's services, &c., during the time of her imprison ment, which lasted for eight days, but 51. being pair into court, he accepted that. The present action . was brought jointly in the name of himself and yitife, and to this also they had paid 5L into court, pleading:' further d amage . Th e case wou l d have been tried a t the last assizes but for an affidavit stating the absence, on the part of the defendants, of a material witness' In the meantime the case, at the instance of the defer . dents, was made a special jury ; and now the witaes , upon whose account the case had been postponed, w as not called. The jury found for the plaintiff—Daniages, 15L, in' eluding the 5/. paid into court. The. Commission for the Southern division, at Coven: try, has just been opened. The calendar is hear)' but the offences charg e d are i n t h e ma j or i ty o f case" light. CRIMINAL COURT.—(Before Baron PARKE.) Joseph Tyler, ab ed 11, was char ge d w i t h s h oo ting 11 ' Mary Sarson on the.loth of August last. Mr. Wing prosecuted. The pros . ecutrix was gleaning in a field at Que„ ei r borough, about half.:past seven in the morn ing. Ili soner came into the field with a gun, w hi c h h e pointed at a young girl named Gresley, and it made a clicking noise; be was then about five yards from her. The Pr': secutrix asked him why re hi s mot h er was, if she via' gleaning in another field'? He replied, t. N o , she 1 131 , got something better to d o ." H e t h ' - n sa i d, " I'll shoot you," and raised the gun and fired it at her, the O n ; tents lodging in her lace, head, and neck. lie was very near to her, and she f e ll d own . Thi s ev id ence , vn confirmed by other w it nesses , w h o a l so prove d ,: t when he came into the field, some children asked if the gun was loaded, and he said it was. The surgeon, who had attended the girl for the i juries she had received, stated that he, at first, thoer it dangerous, though she had now recovered. The boy, in his detente, said that when he went in t° , the field Greasley and Sarson challenged bim to 5139°' them, and thst Sarson said, he might if he liked ; _th f 4, however, denied thi s s t atement . H e was foun d G u i lty of a common a ssau l t , an d . entenced to six months' mu. prisonment, with hard labour. THE KING OF SPAIN. id The following pa ragra ph appears i n a Par i s purl) called the Semaine. The c i rcumstance to which 3 alludes, whether true or false, has been freely epokell of in the French capital for some considerable timer" "Is it, or is it not, 'true that in an obligation under seingprive, written entirely by Don Francisco de Assi g ' in January, 1840, this Prince declares that to recoil . pense the services render e d or to b e ren d ere d, the s'" vances made or to be made, the measures past al° come, having for object his marriage with Queen DP bella 11., of Spain, he constitutes himself debtor to Messieurs. which shall become du e a t th e moment of the oifiCii"' celebration of the said marriage; that the said 5 10 shall be considered, as a holy and sacred debt, W s ' ing even before the obligations of the State , and that in order that the engagement subscribed Mei have force and value, notwithstanding tbe nority of his Royal Highness the Infante Don Francisco, his august father has taken part in the contract in order to emancipate him specially as regards the contracted obli ga ti on , and to make himself respon sible for it ? 2. Is it or i s i t not true that this obli gation, signed by the I n f an t e ' s f at h er an d son, was de posited with a notary at Paris ? 3. Is it or is it n..?; true that a retrocession of 3,000,000 f. on the 8, 000,00 t forming the amount o f th e obligation, took place the same day on the part o f M ons ieur in favour 0 : Count de to enable him to re com p e nse the service, rendered directly to th e I n f an t e f or t h e sei ne object an,! . - from the same cau se ; th a t on t h e st h o f O c tober f?' lowing Count de -- consen t e d i n hi s turn to the de legation of 125,000 f rancs to M ons i eur C°lls. quence of two journey s ma d e to M a d ri d b y the latte r ' and that this obligation stipulated that the interest that sum should be due to the said Monsieur -1 from the day on w hi c h th e con di t i on f orm i ng the ha ~1 of the said obligation should be accomplished, us b ", the day on which the payment of the capital s hould .1 entirely effected? 4. Is it or i s it no t t rue t h a t the ler i , existence of the obli ga ti on d epos i te d w i t h a no tarytg e we have said above, is proved by an ordonnance de refs of the month of Febr uar y, 1344, ren d ere d contra dict° a between —, who profited by principal obligation, sa the depositor who pretended that the deposit had been made for four year's? 5. Is it or is it not ti e , that the magistrate before whom the affair came tbe Glared that the d ocuments were sufficient to warrant • prorogation of the deposit until 1848? 6. Lastly, i g v , or is not true that in a document signed Feb. 5, 184 0 %4 the person who principally profits by the obligation' following division is made:—Five-eighths, that is, tk million francs, divided i n t o s i x parts , t h ree - s i xt h s , be 4 to Monsi eur one sixth to Count de one 0 _ „., to Monsieur and one-sixth t o B aron de .tl,lll. RAILWAY SHARE MARKETS' EDIN B URGH, aeen 23. STOCK EXCHANGE.-'The sale are 3l Aberdeen, 281.-Airdr ie Bathgate, 31. 1 8s.-Arbroath and Forfar, 271. 10s.-Dit t t 6( 1 . Shares, 151.-Ayr and G a ll oway, 2/ . Is. W.-Caledonian, 271.:;-do. -Ditto, New, 21. I Is.- Caledonian and Dumbarton, 21. 75.- 0 , 1 18. dale Junction, 39!. 68.-Deeside, 31. 55.-Direct Northern , 2 " fi nil 6d.-Dunblane, Doane, and C a ll en d er, 11 . 12s. 6d . -Dundee 3 0, Arbroath, 42/. Ina.-Ditto, New, No. 1, 301.-Ditto. New, No. 2, , 2!. -Ditto, New, No. 3, 41. 15/J.-Dundee and Northern Juac tio lso 133.-Dundee and Perth, 321. 155.-Ditt e , N ew Sh a res, 191* sed of Flfe, 21. 185.-East Lothi an C en t ra l , 2 1 . 175.-Edinburilato, Bathgate, 5/. 175. 6d.-Edinburgh and o,lmgow, 7 11 . 155 ' Ilalf Shares, 191. 15s. -Ditto, Quarter Shares, 17/. 178. 6d. pia , burgh, Leith, and Gr an ton , 201.- to, Preference, 2 1 / ,- .. „.0. New, 21. 17s. 66.-Ditt o , Q uar t ers, 15 s. 9d . -Edi n b urg h and N. 15 0, ern, 161. 155.-Ditto, New Shares, 41. 55.-Ditto, Newport, 71. 17s•s. -Ditto, ditto, New, 21. 15 3 . -Edi n b urgh and Perth (Old), , 1. - Ditte (New), 21. 133.-Ditto, Halves. 11-Glasgow and 151 shire, 62/. - Ditto, New Stock, 36/. 17s. W.-Ditto, Hal Var I ' lo ' Ajar -Ditto, ditto, No. 2, 71. 29.-Ditto, Quarter Shares 161. 10s.- - a - G g ias w 'go D w u n e i ne s a a l n T a e ( L r i I n t s u i s e , 1521/.. 155.-Glasgow a n a lG G r ar ee n ri kir ock k Ki : Ditto, Halves, 91.-Ditto. Preference, 81. ss. nock, and Ardrossan, 5/. 18s.-Great North of En land 100.'1 Great North of Scotland, 2/. 125.-Great Northern (late Northern), 31. 135.-Ditto (London and York), 21. 153.-manches te : and Leeds, 1081.-Ditto, Sixteenths, 81. 53.-Newcastl e and 13_,°',. wick, 331. 55.-North British, 331. 155.-Ditto, Halves, 16/.-DIP" Quarters, 41. 45.-Ditto, New Quarters (scrip), 11. Bs. 6d.-D1 1 " Thirds, 3/. 125.-Ditto, Fifths, 61. 155.-Scottish Central, Vl''' . Scottish Grand Junction, I/. Is.-Scottish Midland, 201. 108.-; Shrewsbury and Hereford, 11. 12s. W.-Shrewsbury, Oswestry, aC Chester, 81. 45.-Ditto, New. 11. 2s. 61-Stirling and Dunfersalin:: 3/. 18s.-Stirling and Midland, 21. 93.-Wishavr and Coltl l 7 481. 15s. ea div.-York and Newcastle, 36/. 10s.-Ditto, 111. 155.-Ditto, Preference, 81. 17s. Gd.-Direct Bombay 20h : Madras, 2s. 9d.-East Indian, Bs.- Great North of India, 35.-Grea t Southern of Madras, 3s -Madras, Nellore, and Arcot, 23. GLASGOW, MARCH 23. STOCK EXCHANGE. -The sales are -- Caledonian , Caledonian and Dumbartonshire , 445. 6d. ct N N or e t w hern s2s esc 6 r d iPT: _ jre Perth, 33%-East Lothian Central, 9 . 525. 6d. -Dundee and Northern Jucnsetioni Co.), 535.-Ditto, HalveS, 589. - Edinburgh Halves, 19%-Edinburgh and Perth l a seow, Kilmarnock, and di s i 2 M s u . 21s. -Glasgow General Terminus, 1234 - - 1 - Ayr, GI % 7s - Glasgow, Dum fries, and Carlisle, 5%-Gla s gow, Kilmarnock, Ardrossan, 5%- Glasgow, Airdrie, and Monkland Junction, 51 168.-Kilmarnock '- Kliniarnock and Ayr Direct, 375.- Manchester and Southampton. 2 Newcastle and land and Kirkintilloch, 241.-Midland, Halves, 298.-Scottish Berwick, 301.-North British, New Quarters (scrip) , Central, 231.-South Midland Junction, New , 8l. -Stirling and Dtur -Monk fermline, 775. 6d. MATCH-MAKING EXTRAORDINARY.--The Courtier Francais' gives a humorous account of the result atten.a ing one of Marshal Bugeaud's attempts at military 001°f nization. About a year ago he founded the village ° Fouka, settling in it 60 soldiers; they were all bachelor!, and, to provide them with wives, he sent them by steamer, in a body, to Toulon, where they found virgins, all warranted of go o d c h arac t er . The ladle' had dowries, furnished by the state, of sums ravel from 241. to 481., and di s t r ib u t e d i n an i nve rse ra n , to natural charms. Th ree i nterv i ews were allow e 'S between the matrimonial bands ; one, a distant 5 . 13 „f synoptical view ; the secon d, s till s il ent, an allotmen t the brides and bridegrooms by name—the ge ntlenl e ho apparently, being allow e d some c h o i ce; t h e third, wedding. There were fifty-nine marriages; one soldier being quite unable to reco nc il e hi mse lf to t h e remainin g maid. 'I he heroes ret urne d w i t h t h e i r b r i des, and "ed bachelor to Algiers; and the double column was reviee i mb by the marshal, e a ch h us b an d b e hi nd his spouse. Th e 6'" or stood solitary and trembling in the rear of his liee; comrades. The poor f e ll ow qua k ed when the ni ars' a put to him th e aw f u l quest i on, " Where is )'°--r, wife ?"" Monsieur le M ar e c h a l," rep li e d t h e solte e " all the others h ave w i ves ." " All ons I" returned „tnbe $ marshal, "you are not suc h a f ou l as I t h ou ght L o t were." He was pardoned for his celibacy. Alas, "j i fared these military marr i ages ? A year h a d s carce elapsed when most of tho se l a di es fl e d f rom Fouka to seducers of the army of Africa ; shamelessly betrarZ husbands, homes, and drums, without even r egrett 3 7, the ten hectares of land. M ars h a l B ugeau d h a d forg% ten to include conjugal fidelity among: , his orders of 0 ` day. k $ EXTRAORDINARY CASE.—On Th urs d a y wee young woman named H anna h D awson, cut h e r thr °- 0 at her home, in Queen. street, Leeds. A young surg e ° was called in immedi a t e ly, an d on exam i n i ng h e r, P r no nounced her dead, and l e f t h er . Sh e was t h en l a id 01 ) ", 0 a bed up stairs, uncovered, is readiness for a coron er r jury to view the body. After a lapse of about an 1 11 11 4 , one of the L ee d s p o li cemen, w h o was passing,. It s * 45 out of curiosity, to see the " deceased." His wish complied with, and the policeman proceeded up 541 "; and found her actually breathing. Another surge°, was called in; she was then removed to the infirres r P and was on Friday very sat i s f actor ily re coverif; Had the p o li ceman ' s cur i os i ty not l e d hi m to see t p d unfortunate female she would, no d ou bt, i n her expo! ; state, have been starved to death, if s h e h a d not exPir from loss of blood. —Leech Mercury. BRTHS. On the 7th ult., at Quebec, h e lady of W. J. Bens•n, Esc!" °„,,.„ Is O n On the 15th inst., at Bromley St. Leona r d' s , Middlesex, . 01 •" . Edden, of a son. OW l° On the 18th inst., at Parkfield, Potter's-bar, the wife a „„ if Marryat, Esq., of twin sons, one still-born , the other surviving '— three days. On the 20th inst., at Ments ,, .. the WY 44 tussell-square, the Dr. Freund, of a son. e ls 'On the 20th inst. at Grove Cottage, Southgate, the wife of frin Walker, Esq., of a daughter. On the 20th inst., in Beigrave-square, the Hen. Mrs. renal° of a daughter. On the 2I st inst., at Coventry, the Lady Adele Ibbetson, 01 A : - uoy On the 22d inst., at the Vicarage, Bruton, Somersetshire, the of the Rev. J White, of a daughter. ' On the 2 2d in st ` st., at Lidham Lodge, Kensington, the Wife of r' Trapp Flood, Esq., of a daughter. S ' On the 23d inst., at Milton-street, Dorset•square, Simkin, of a daughter. RRIED. On the 18th inst., at Hammersmith Church, Joseph Hughesdo n of Calcutta, to Clara. eldest daughter of Be.njamin Warwick, EK" the Upper Mall, Hammersmith. On the 20th inst., at St. Mary's, Battersea, John Charles M Esq., of Lavender-hill, Surrey, to Mary Anne, only daughter of th late J. Greenwooti, Esq., of Barnsley, Yorkshire. DIED. At Kandy, Ceylon, Colonel Lindsay, late of the 78th Hlghlanderto On the 20th inst., at Upper Clapton, Ann, widow of the late J. Sherman, Esq. On the 20th inst., in Regent-street, .Tames Foulger, Esq., aged 7 74 On the 21st inst., in Connaught-square, Hyde-park, William,‘,.. 'Anson, Esq. On the 21st inst., at Durringtoh House, Essex, demlma Julia 0 b " wi On the le of the 2lst in Rev. Thomas Clayton Glyn. st., at Cheltenham, Eliza Susan, widow of the lat e Major John Evans, Esq. On the 21st inst., at Leamington, Caroline, daughter of the late Swinten, Esq. g London: tinted ,I;li:,l; l i:Published by ILURDO YOUNG, of NO . 1 i„t , strah.i, Printer, .0 ThP .Sun i Ine., Str.nd, in the Free- 1 7i of the Savoy, 1 / 1 the County of Middlesex, ThupdaY, Idg ir :5, 1847. • A' A' The L hast. Su of obtai Last Et Charles sabmitt clety fo 4, Tr: ..-___ NA This with re: has, on lelture Rise the erects t Assur Rtes. The r has enal a fourth au each The d Deeembi Gu Xo. 11, rr e nry 11 Francis ] Sir Walt, Thomson John Ha John Gel George ,J John. Loc Lewis Lc A. W. R, Samuel J In the low Rate, with part each of tt Sae Bonu assured,( and the Pally exc, Loans 'Tided suc Attained i In the en the 3 Which hal l• now in between t Also by ti Notice day must Mr. Sams the Comp SOme volL E This Cher pside Ttl kainbur This Cc THE BEI of their Al constit oyatems ol eoxnpar nrers, Consistent For pros the Agent CLE r e e r: i o d in na Recietv on extr to tug to . l'OUcies at detail th o t 4lX!nt Obt,_" l,o v , dm. IN OR Esti London Ot PIZSIDEITI Aka-wider John Coni William P John lryir This Co "Minty anl combined ' Assuran surplus. to share hi On Polk remain on Tables o tO this Cor be effectec specimen c Ages.l .t, 30 11 40 1 1 At a Ge Pany, No, Direct ors 0 11 the 2 and that t Mune perk Prospee Obtained o Jilin Hint ; II N" Chas. Frit John Bra( Thomas C William John raft Thomas E The Eli 16th Dec. 1846, wa 1 8,441/. 5 2 99,6751. *afloat in 4 Of policies The Clis to 15,001/ At the investigat of profits and, earl: be &clan All poll In the pro premium, Among Institute their poll bate and The gre of the Ina 'Owing In been in el c - ""$ I 0 'IS S V fi cl Years. The re Must be Copies Ina 7 be • The date, is Premium March 11E] LONDO] Ilatthial tobert G W. Cottc Wm. Da 11 ,tchard ` l '• A. Go] Fonr-I attrances agretabl first Berl Anna terse of Age. S. T. ow