The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-06-28 00:00:00

limptriat Varlianunt. HOUSE OF LORDS, MONDAY, JUNE 24. Mr. Bernal and others, from the Commons, brought up the Separatists' Affirmation Bill, the Exchequer-bills Bill, and se veral private bills, which were read the first time. Lord Duncannon and others, from the Commons, brought up a message, requesting that their lordships would communicate to the Commons the Lords' report on Turnpike Trusts.—Or dered. WEST INDIA QUESTION. Lord ELLENBOROUGII said he wished, before the house pro ceeded to the order of the day, to put a question to the noble earl at the head of the government, with reference to the reso lutions which were to be brought before their lordships to-mor row, relative to the West India colonies. It was a question which, he believed, the noble earl would feel no indisposition to answer. The first part of his question related to the compensa tion which was to be granted to the West India proprietors. lie should be glad to learn at what time, and in what manner, the £'20,000,000 to be granted to them were to be raised? (hear, hear,) and, likewise, in what mode it was proposed to pay the interest of that la, ae sum ? (Hear, hear.) It was also ex tremely important Co know whether it was the intention of his Majesty's ministers to propose any measure to Parliament this year to carry into effect those resolutions, and certain other re solutions which had originated in his Majesty's councils. Earl GREY said it certainly was proposed to grant a certain sum of money to the West India proprietors; but he thought that the best time for giving any details on the subject would be - when the whole measure was before the house. The raising of that sum would be contingent on the proceedings of the local legislatures in passing such measures as Parliament might re commend. As to the terms upon which, and the time when, the money was to be raised, it was not in his power to give an an swer. The general principle on which the measure proceeded was simply to rescue the negro population from slavery, on making compensation to the proprietors; and a bill was now framed on the subject. There was the less necessity for his en tering into any explanation on the subject, as his noble fri end (the Earl. of Ripon) would enter fully into the question to morrow. Lord ELLzrseoaouGH inquired whether the bill related solely to compensation, or embraced the other parts of the question ? Earl GREY said the bill related to the question generally. LOCAL JURISDICTION BILL. _ _ On the motion for recommitting this bill, The Earl of ELDON said that if the measures then before their lordships, anffbills in the other house, the object of which was to alter the existing state of the law, were passed, as it were, in a mass, the consequence would be a great (lealof mischief and confusion. He begged leave to examine the bill a little in detail. Was it a bill for at once establishing local courts throughout the coun try? No such thing. It went to alter the whole course of pro ceedings under the common law, by selecting such counties, or parts, or districts of counties, as those to whom the power was . given might think fit and proper places wherein to try this new experiment. What would be the consequence of this? It would be this—there would, under this system, be one mode of admi nistering the law in one county, and another in another county. In some districts they would proceed according to the existing law of the land, while in others they would have recourse to the courts established under this bill, for the purpose, he supposed, of enabling people to judge whether the new system or the com mon law worked best. The profession of the law were more disin terested than thenoble and learned lord on the woolsack seemed to suppose. The judges were willing to assist in effecting any improvement or wise alteration in the law, although they might view with some apprehension so extensive and sweeping a mea sure as this. He objected to that part of the bill which related 10 the appointment of judges in the local courts. There was a wide difference between the way in which the law was now ad ministered by the sages of Westminster-hall and the way in which it would probably be administered by young men of ten years' standing at the bar, or serjeants who might not be of ten ears' standing. He should not say a word in the co mmittee, because he could not see what alteration could be made in the measure, so as to render it a safe and proper one ; but if thebill arrived at a third reading, he would come down, and with all his heart and soul register his dissent to the measure. It might be considered the opinion of a superannuated lawyer;_ but such as it was, the present generation and posterity should be apprised of it. His lordship concluded by moving, "That this bill be re committed this day six months." The Loan CHANCEL LoR said he was sure his noble and learned friend would believe that he was sincere when he expressed the great respect which he must naturally feel for his long and ma ture experience ; and he would further observe, that any opinion which his noble and learned friend might form, however differ ent it might be from his own, must always command his atten tion. On the motion that the house should resolve itself into a committee, into which they had previously gone, and in which they had made some progress, and when they were abou t to make still further progress, his noble and learned friend rose and proposed the extraordinary amendment that the bill should be recommitted that day six months, instead of going on, and making some further progress in this great question. When this debate was closed, and his noble and learned friend's motion was negatived, as he hoped their lordships would negative it, after they bad gone into the committee, and made some progress, he sup posed some other noble lon' would on afuture occasion comedown and renew the discussion of the principle of the measure, renew the debate, renew the opposition to the bill, and with precisely the same result. There was no one that ever mooted the ques tion of local courts for the last fifteen years—and he followed several who had done so—who was not convinced that the esta blishment of those courts was expedient, that such courts were necessary,—that the time had come when this great and salu tary improvement of the law should be carried into effect,—that the legislature was called on to grant this mighty blessing, this act of common justice to his Majesty's subjects. It was no ex periment therefore on this point, namely, whether these courts were expedient or necessary, or ought to be established. He brought the bill forward in their lordships' house in December, 1830, and renewed it in the ensuing session, when it was re ferred to the common law commissioners, who having reported in its favour, it was now once more brought before the house. How any man could think that he had proceeded too preci pitately fie could not imagine: if (according to a phrase now very much in fashion) he had been guilty of adopting a vacil lating line of conduct, or of evincing infirmity of purpose, ken other favourite charge against the government,) he might have experienced more difficulty in defending himself. The Earl of ELDON admitted having complained of the work ing of the bankruptcy system in 1801, but he endeavoured to repress the evil in his judicial capacity, and did not come to Parliament for assistance. The house divided— Content Not content . 37:4 Majority for the committee 11 The house then went into committee. Upon the first clause being proposed, Lord WYNFoaD objected to the increased patronage and in fluence which the bill would confer upon government. With a view to try the experiment fairly, and upon a moderate scale, he should move by way of amendment to omit the words " for any one or more county or counties, riding or ridings," and in. : sert in their place " for the counties of Lancaster and Kent." He named those two counties in order to see the working of the system in a manufacturing and agricultural district. After some discussion the amendment was negatived, and the clause agreed to. The 2d and 3d clauses were then agreed to. On the 4th clause being read, Lord LYNDHURST said he could not understand from the bill what was to be the extent of the jurisdiction of these Courts—whether it was to extend to one, or two, or three counties. The LORD CHANCELLOR said that the arrangement of this part of the measure must be left to the executive. There was a great difficulty in defining the extent of the boundaries, as was found in the case of the-Reform Bill. The extent of the jurisdiction of a court would depend on the circumstances of the district in which it was to act. Now, for instance, in the 'est riding of the county of York there would be one court at Leeds, which would take in that town and a district to the east of it, and another court in a different part of the riding for the remaining parts of it. Lord WYsiFORD, in alluding to the travelling expenses to be allowed to the judges in these courts, suggested that £5OO would not be sufficient. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE thought that £5OO a-year would be more than sufficient to defray their travelling ex penses. They would not. have so much travelling as physicians in moderate practice; and the noble lord might easily ascertain the price at which they jobbed their carriages. The LoRD CHANCELLOR thought that £5OO a-year would be a large allowance for travelling expenses, unless these judges were going to travel with a coach and eight. Lord LYNDHCRST suggested that three or four judges, tra velling circuits three times a-year, like the Commissioners of the Insolvent Court, would be a much more useful machinery than the 25 commissioners to be appointed under this bill. That was the system which he would oppose to the system of his noble and learned friend, and for this reason, that it would not de tach these courts so entirely from Westminster-hall. The LORD CHANCELLOR said that there was nothing which you might not prove, provided you were permitted to assume the whole matter in debate. With all respect to the Commis sioners of the Insolvent Court, against whom he did not mean to says a word, and whom he readily admitted to be most excel lent men in their profession, he did not think that three or four judges, even with abilities equal to theirs, would be able to per form the labour which it would be the duty of these 25 commis sioners to go through.. Besides, these three or four judges would be a sort of perainbUlatory court; whereas the object of this measure was to have a court upon the spot always open. Lord IsseleneitsT repeated that the object which he had chiefly in view was not to detach these courts entirely from Westminster-hall. Talk of assumption, indeed t why, the whole basis of this bill rested on assumption. The Loan CHANCELLOR.—No such thing; it rests on evi dence. (Hear, hear.) The fifth clause was then agreed to. On the 6th clause, which proposes that "the judges and re gistrars shall not be removable except by address of the two , Houses of Parliament, Lord Wye:eosin rose to snake an objection to it. It was rather too much to have the registrars of these courts—who were merely ministerial officers—only removable by address from the two houses of Parliament. In every other court in the country the ministerial officers were removable without the necessity of such an address. A judge must he impeached - if he was guilty of misconduct calling for his removal; but that was not the case with any subordinate officer in his court. The amendment of Lord Wynford for leaving out " the registrars"was agreed to, and the clause as amended was ordered to stand part of the bill. The 7th, Bth, 9th, 10th, and llth clauses were agreed to with out discussion. On the 12th clause, which defines who are to be the practi tioners in the courts of judges in ordinary, being read, Lord LYNDHURST asked whether in these courts barristers were to be opposed by attornies? If so, it would lead to great confusion, as he had seen in his own experience at the quarter sessions. His lordship, who had never practised in the minor courts of the country, might not be aware of this circumstance. He therefore requested him to consider this point, and perhaps upon consideration he would see the propriety of striking out that part of the clause which gave to attornics the power of practising as advocates in these courts. The LORD CHANCELLOR said that perhaps the clause was liable to this objection; but. he had no doubt that wherever barristers were opposed to attornies, barristers would soon ob tain the command of the court. Lord LYNDHURST said he knew, a court in which the bar risters refused to wear their gowns and wigs, so long as attornies were allowed to plead there. The magistrates ex. eluded the attornies, and the consequence. was, that at the next sitting all the barristers appeared in their gowns and wigs. Before this clause was disposed of, he wished to know whether the amount of fees payable to the officers of these courts was to be regulated according to the scale contained in the former bill ? . The Luxe. Clialsceeton said the fees were left to be settled from time to time by the judges of the courts at Westminster. Lord LYNDHURST.—AM I to understand, then, that Parlia ment is to exercise no judgment with respect to the .amount of these fees ? The LORD CHANCELLOR.—Yes. The clause was then agreed to. , • Clauses from the 12th to' the 18th, inclusive, were agreed to,' with the exception of clauses 15 and 18, which were postponed ! for future consideration. On the 19th clause, abolishing the jurisdiction of courts of conscience, being read, Lord LYNDHURST and Lord WYNFORD objected that the clause would have the effect of abolishing many valuable courts, which were the property of individuals. The Lord CHANCELLOR said the bill did not abolish those courts, but on the contrary allowed them a concurrent jurisdic tion. He intended to propose an amendment, saving from the operation of the clause all courts exercising jurisdiction de rived by virtue of grants from the Crown, from the Duchy of Cornwall, or from the Duchy of Lancaster." At the suggestion of Lord LYNDHURST, the words " or by prescription, or by virtue of any act of Parliament," were ad ded, and the clause agreed to. Clauses from the 20th to the 28th, inclusive, were then agreed to, with the exception of the 25th, postponed. The house having resumed, the chairman obtained leave to sit again to-morrow.—Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS, MONDAY, JUNE 24. • The gallery was opened at a quarter-past twelve. Willis's divorce bill was brought in and read a first time. Colonel EVANS presented a petition from a licensed vic :nailer, named William Spicer, relative to the --conduct of the magistracy in granting victuallers' licences. The petition was laid on the table. Colonel Evens gave notice that he should move to-morrow for a committee to inquire into the case of the petitioner. Sir S. Wita L LEY gave notice, that on the 2d of July he should move that the signatures of the clerks of the council be attached to all death-warrants. Mr. T. Arrwoon presented the petition of a large meeting, assembled at Newhall-hill, Birmingham, praying the repeal of the corn laws, the removal of all laws restricting the importa tion of animal and vegetable food, and the repeal of the malt and assessed taxes. The hon. member proceeded to show, in a speech of very considerable length, that all the distress in the country arose from the iniquitous system of corn laws ; that the evils which had not their immediate rise in those impolitic re gulations were occasioned by the still worse monetary system ; and that this system being the offspring of the former, the coun try could only be saved by a repeal of the corn laws , _ the source of the misery, and " th e v ita l or g an of exchange" being super seded by a return to a paper c urrency. Mr. BARRON present ed a petition - from an individual in the county of Waterford complaining of great oppression in the collection of tithes. The Speaker vacated the chair at 3 o'clock. The Speaker resumed the chair at 5 o'clock. Mr. O'CONNELL said that if any member of the Government were present he should be anxious to ask a question, and it was this—whether the prerogative of the Crown could be superseded by the Recorder of the city of London; and whether it was true, as reported, that after his Majesty had been graciously pleased to grant a respite to a person of the name of Cox, the Recorder had afterwards actually issued a warrant for his exe- cution ? Mr. HUME said that he had already given notice that on Tuesday week he would move that the report of the select com mittee appointed to consider the propriety of erecting a new House of Commons should be approved of. Should that mo tion be carried, it was his intention then to move that a hum ble addresi be presented to his Majesty, praying that he would be graciously pleased to direct that a suitable house be erected, and that a sum not exceeding £25,000 be appropriated to that purpose. He believed that the estimates varied from £lB,OOO to £50,000; but it was his opinion that a house, suitable in every respect for the accommodation of members, could be erected for the sum he had specified. He thought it his duty to give this explanation of his notice, in order that lion. mem bers might have time to consider of it, and he trusted that on the day when the motion came on there would be a full attend ance, so that the collective opinion of the house might be pro nounced on the subject. CHURCH TEMPORALITIES (IRELAND) BILL. On the motion of Mr. Stanley, the order of the day was read, and the house resolved itself ioto a committee on this bill. Clauses 148, 149, 150, 10, a.nd 152, which were the five last clauses of the bill. were then severally put and agreed to. The committee then proceeded with the postponed clauses, and on the motion of Mr. Stanley certain provisos were added to clauses 32, 39, and 41. On clause 54 being read, • Mr. STANLEY proposed to strike out of this clause the words "save and except the perpetuity purchase fund hereafter men tioned, and the properties and funds respectively bequeathed by Dr. Hugh Boulter and Dr. Richard Robinson, and heretofore vested in the said trustees and commissioners of first-fruits in Ireland, as hercinbefore mentioned, and the interest, dividends, and proceeds thereof respectively, and also save and except such other funds and properties as may be hereafter bequeathed to, or vested in, the said commissioners under this act, and their successors, for any special purpose." The right hon. gentle man, in a low tone of voice, explained that this was necessary in consequence of the omission of clause 147 from the e bill. Mr. Hum; said that he understood the right hon. gentleman to intimate this was necessary in consequence of clause 147 having been struck out of t he bill, which clause, in his (Mr. Hume's) opinion, was the only one worth attending to, either by that house or by the country. (Hear, hear.) A s we ll as he understood the explanation of the right hon. gentleman, the ob ject of his amendment was this,—that whereas as the law stood at present, it was not in the power of any person to sell church land in perpetuity, this bill went to give that power to certain commissioners, and the amendment provided that the pro ceeds of the sale thus made by those commissioners should be solely appropriated to the maintenance of the present church establishment of Ireland. He wished to know whether he was correct in his interpretation of the amendment, as he had not heard distinctly a single word that had fallen from the right hon. gentleman on the subject? • Mr. STANLEY said that by the 147th clause the purchase mo nies, arising out of the sale in perpetuity of bishops' lands, was to be left as aseeparate fund in the hands of the commissioners, to be treated differently and appropriated to different purposes from church property generally. Now, it was thought that the distinction which the government had thus, in the first instance, proposed to make between that property and other church property was not a well-founded one, and it was therefore deemed right and necessary, without affirming or denying the power of Par liament to deal with church property as it might think fit, that such a distinction should not by this bill be created between any portions of that property. Now clause 147 having been omitted, if clause 54 should stand as it was, the surplus funds which would arise in the hands of the commissioners from the sale of bishops' lands would be excepted from the operation of the bill. It was therefore proposed by the present amendment to strike out that e xception, and that those surplus funds should, like the other church property specified in th at c l ause, be ap propriated in substitution tmethe vest cess, and f or ot h er pur poses strictly ecclesiastical. The bi ll, thus- amended, would leave precisely where it was the power of Parliament to dispose of church property to purposes other than ecclesiastical, and it would, as it was desirable that it should, leave undetermined and untouched the question, whether it was right or whether it was not right that such property should be appropriated to the purposes of the state. Mr. HUME said that if he understood the right hon. gentle man correctly, this bill.should be described as a bill for adding £3,000,000 in value to the already enormous income of the over paid and sinecure established church of Ireland. (Hear, hear.) T hat was the position , t he unenviable position, in which .that, the first reformed Hous e of Commons, was p lace d. It was too much that they should b e now called u p on to give up this sur plus to the church, seein ns a that it had been explained by the noble lord (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) in thefirrsotinsstance, would and t also by the right hon. g entleman himself, that the a ppropriation b of e this su rpus to other reb than fx p aany property, y, as ecclesiastical pu r poses land s out o f th e purchase depriving of the e which in perpetuity it would arise would be pur chased at present only fo r the lives of the incumbe nt The fact was, that this act gave a n ew value to that de scription of pro perty, by allowing it to b e sold in p er p etuit y , an d the surplus arising lvas ie t b l from m first that ins t sale obviously to explained be became publi c p roperty, as i t by the right h en. gen tleman, and by the noble lord the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr. ROBINSON had voted in the—he would call it —memorable minority on Friday night, in order to record his disapprobation of the disingenuous and uncandid—to use the mildest terms— conduct of ministers In withdrawing the most important clause of their own pledged bill. After a few observations from Mr. Warburton, the clause was agreed to. On the 56th clause, the next of the postponed ones, bells.. read, Mr. O'Coxsixee moved an amendment to the effect of wholly repealing the 7th of Geo. IV., which, he contended,perpetuated the worst machinery of the I r ish vestr y s y stem. Without this repeal the clause would be wholly inefpcacious as the means of relieving the Catholics from the vestry cees. Mr. STANLEY said that on the introduction of this bill it was never contemplated to do away with the whole of the regulating parochial assessments in Ireland. The object of the present bill was to regulate the temporalities of the Irish church, and nothing else. Mr. O'CONNELL declared that this bill was merely a delusion, and in support of his assertion referred to the speeches of the right hon. gentleman and his supporters' on Friday, who, to cover their abondonment of the clause debated on that night, asked triumphantly whether the removal of the vestry cess was nothing, while to-day all their boasted pledges were decided to be good for nothing. Sir R. PEEL never heard a question mooted where there ap peared so little real ground for difference of opinion. The ob ject of the bill was to do away with an expensive Protestant vestry altogether. That was done, and all that was retained was what might be effected for general purposes by Protestants and Catholics indiscriminately. A conversation ensued, in fhe course of which Mr. Shaw and Sir R. H. Inglis repeated the arguments which had' fallen from Sir R. Peel, while Mr. Lalor supported the amendment, as did Mr. SHEIL, who strongly reprobated the 7th George IV., both as to appeals and costs, and asked whether, as Parliament had removed all other distinctions between Catholics and Pro testants, they would permit this one to remain. After a few words from Mr. O'Connell, Mr. Stanley, Mr. E. Ruthven, and another hon. member, the committee divided, when the numbers were — Ayes (for the original motion) lB9 Noes Majority l4l The clause was then agreed to. Clauses 64 and 109 were also agreed to. On clause 110 being . put, which enacts that the commissioners may suspend the a ppointment of clerks to rectories, &c., where divine worship shall have been intermitted for three years, Mr. SHAW said that he had a lready ob j ected to t his bill that it was , not calculated for the reform but the spoliation of the church. The committee had now, however, come to a part of it which was immediately connected with his second objection, that it would cripple the energies of the Protestant church in Ireland. There were 1,400 benefices in Ireland, and tbcrewere about 1,100 churches. In the vear 1800, however, there were only 700 churches. (Hear.) Since that time, therefore, about 500 churches had been built, besides about 100 licensed places of worship, leaving not more than 100 places of worship to be provided; in fact, there were not more than 66 places where divine service had not been performed for three years. If the incumbents had been removed from their benefices 30 years ago, it was evident that these 600 places of worship would not have been built. The effect of the clause would he to encourage ab senteeism, and diminish the influence of the Protestant religion in Ireland. He suggested the omission of the clause; if not, he should propose an amendment of it. That amendment he would probably postpone to another stage of the bill. Mr. STANLEY, to remove all difficulty, was willing to take the date of the return as the period from which-the three years should be computed. Ile therefore moved to insert the words "three years next preceding the Ist of February, 1833." This amendment having been agreed to, Mr. EsTcounT moved to insert after "1833" the words, "and shall not have been resumed and regu l ar l y performed within six calendar months before such avoidance." The gallery was cleared for a division, and the house divided, when there appeared -' For the amendment.. 63 Against it.. 237 Majority..l74 The clause, after a verbal amendment, was then agreed to, and ordered to stand part of the bill. The 111th clause was understood to be further postponed. Sir R, PEEL gave notice of his intention to move, when the schedules of the'bia came under consideration, that all livings under V:so,) per annum should be exempted from taxation. THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. Clauses 117, 118, 133, 138, and 1 , 18, were after several verbal amendments then agreed to. The house then resumed, the chairman reported -progress, and obtained leave to sit again on Tuesday. APOTHECARIES' BILL. The Loan ADVOCATE moved that the, Apothecaries' Bill, as amended by a committee of the whole house, should be referred to a select committee.. After a desultory conversation, in which Mr. Warburton, Mr. Lalor, and another hon. Member took part, the bill was ordered to be referred, and a select committee was appointed. The further consideration of the report on the Grand Juries (Ireland) Bill was, after a few words from Lord Duncaunon and Mr. N. Fitzsimon, postponed to Friday. SHERIFFS' EXPENSES BILL. Mr. F. PALMER moved that the house resolve itself into a committee upon the Sheriffs' Expenses Bill. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL opposed the bill, many of the clauses of which were highly objectionable. Mr. F. PALMER. supported the bill, and denied that its pro visions would impose on the counties of England a single ad ditional shilling. The house then divided, and the numbers were— Aye s Noes Majority 42 60 -18 The bill is therefore lost. - The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and the house adjourned at a quarter to three o'clock. HOUSE OF LORDS, TUESDAY, JUNE 25. Mr. WiLits and others from the Commons brought up the bill for exempting all places used for the purposes of public worship from the payment of poor and church-rates, which was read the first time. On the motion of Lord Feversham the Gravesend Pier Bill was read a third time and passed. EAST INDIA CHARTER. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE expressed a wish to put off the consideration of the resolutions relative to the renewal of the East India Company's charter from Friday next until some day in the following week. If it would suit the convenience of a noble lord who had formerly held a high situation in the Board of Control, he would name Friday week. Lord ELLENBOROUGH said he was prepared to discuss the question on Friday next, but he had no objection to the delay proposed. Motion postponed to Friday week. COLONIAL SLAVERY. The Earl of RIPON could not but feel, in dealing with a sub ject of such immense importance, how much he stood in need of their lordships' indulgent consideration. The House of Commons, after much discussion, carried on for some years, and in every variety of shape, had come to certain resolutions with respect to the subject of slavery in his Majesty's colonies, in which they sought the concurrence of their lordships. He did not ask them to consent to those resolutions from the effect which the consideration of the subject had upon his own mind, or on account of his own personal conviction ; he did not ask them to consent to those resolutions from any wild, or enthu siastic, or what might be denominated any fanatic views. "(Here the noble lord evinced symptoms of extreme distress, and was obliged to sit down.) The Earl of WINCHILSEA said that, seeing the noble earl op posite in a state of evident illness, his feelings being probably excited by the importance of the . subject, he begged leave to move the adjournment of the debate till to-morrow. The Earl of RIPON again rose, and said he should be sorry if on his account a question of such great importance was post poned. The House of Commons, by their resolutions, had ex pressed themselves in layout of a change in a state of things which did not admit of being left in their present situation. It was not therefore on account of theoretical speculation, or what was called sentimental humanity, that he asked their lordships to adopt those propositions; but, because, in the present state of things, if they did not pursue some effectual measures, those colo nies would be exposed to evils which God forbid should ever befall them. The noble lord was several times, during his speech,. so exhausted as to be obliged to sit down, and concluded by saying that though he could not pretend to address their lordships with the authority, weight, and eloquence of the great men who had preceded him on this subject, but who had passed away,—such men as Pitt, Fox, and Burke, or as 'Wilberforce and Lord Grenville among . the living—(and among the other illustrious dead who had distinguished themselves on this subject he might Mention the names of Lord Londonderry and Mr. Sharpe.) Ile repeated, then, he could not speak with the authority, but nevertheless hoped he had spoken in the spirit of those cele brated men. They would have urged the question with an eloquence and power of which he was incapable; they would 'have laboured under no imperfection or impediment, nor stood in need of any apology. Nevertheless, following, as he humbly trusted, in the spirit of those great men, and attempting but in vain to follow out their sentiments and feelings, he had called upon the house to entertain this important subject. Their lord ships had the advantage of the riper experience of later times, which some of the illustrious men who were gone did not enjoy, and, resting upon that experience, he thought he might with confidence ask the house to agree to propositions which he considered calculated to promote the public good; and of which if passed-and carried into effect, the fame would not rest with hint, but with Parliament and the English nation. If their lordships, in concurrence with the ether branch of the legisla ture, should bring this most momentous and dif f icult question' to a safe and satisfactory issue, they would accomplish one of the greatest triumphs of justice and humanity that had ever been achieved within the walls of Parliament. (Hear, hear.) The question having been put on the first resolution, The Duke of WELLINGTON felt the utmost anxiety in rising to address their lordships on this most arduous and impor tant subject: who, indeed, could approach question affect ing the well-being of 800,000 _persons (to say nothing of otrier considerations connected with the subject) and be free from feelings of anxiety ? He perfectly concurred with the noble earl in his statement that the first blow which was given to the system of slavery had been struck when the vote of Parliament passed for tie abolition of the slave-trade; but it did not follow because the first blow was then given, and because other measures had been adopted on the subject at different periods front that time to this, that it was therefore necessary now, in the year 1833, that the house should agree to the resolutions proposed by the noble earl. (Hear.) It was not that he meant to endeavour to prevail on their lordships not to pass those resolutions that he now rose, but because he owed it to himself and his colleagues in preceding administra tions to show that the consequences sought to be established did not legitimately follow from the grounds laid down by the noble earl. In the discussions on the abolition of the slave trade it was snore than once declared by the advocates of that measure that they had no intention of following it up by an attempt at the extinction of slavery; but, on the contrary, that their intention at that time was by means of an abolitiiion of the slave trade to ameliorate the condition of the slave, and improve the state of society in the colonies. That men should look forward to an ultimate abolition of slavery as a consequence of that improvement in the state of society and the condition of the slaves which must be and had been the result of the aboli tion of the slave trade, coupled with other measures, there could be no doubt whatever; but that the one step was considered an immediate consequence of the other he altogether denied. The case, however, was very diarent in our West India Islands. There always was, and there ever would be, a difficulty in getting men to work in tropical climates more than would be sufficient to provide them with the common necessaries of life. After they had got these their great luxury was to repose in the shade ' and t hi s w as a luxury which they could procure by refraining from labour ; but, begging the noble earl's pardon, he must say that he was inconsistent with himself on the subject of this question of the willingness of free negroes to work for hire. In some of his former communications to the colonists on this subject, he himself had admitted that unless strong means of coercion were used, the free negro would not be found willing to work for hire; and one of the means of coercion which the noble earl proposed was a tax on provisions, which would make them dear, and thus oblige the negro to undergo a greater degree of labour, or, in other words, to do more work, in order to earn for himself the necessaries of life. Now, he wanted to know, if these negroes were to he changed to apprentices, having a certain portion of time at their own disposal, and the option of working or not in that time, how they were to be forced to work when they had no longer the same inducement which the noble earl had held out under his former plan ? He could not think, looking at the whole of the plan, that these men could be forced to labour when they were no longer urged to it by the lash, as it was called. iste must say that he considered the government no very good authority for the assertion that free negres would be found willing to work for hire, for ministers themselves seemed to have no fixed opinion on the subject. They first sent out their orders in council, which they soon withdrew as impracti cable, and in the short space of three months they had changed their plan several timesaind in some of its most important features. First, there was the plan by which the negro was to be coerced into labour by a tax on provisions, which would force him to do a greater share of, work; that was to be accompanied by a loan to the colonists of £15,000,000. He wished to know why were they to give or to lend £15,000,000 t o the colonists, if the free negroes were to work ? He could easily understand the prin ciple of compensation for the difference in the amount of labour done by the slave and the free negro; but then what became of their boasted improvement of the negro, and of his willingness to work when he was placed in a great degree at his own dis posal ? If these improvements were as they were described, why give compensation ?—if no such improvement was yet to be - found then all these measures were premature. (Hear, bear.) This part of the plan of coercion by the tax on provisions was given up : and then came the plan of apprenticeship, which was also to be accompanied by a gift of £15,000,000. (A noble lord said—" of £'20,000,000.") No ; that was the result of a subsequent change : for, in about a fortnight afterwards, just after the Easter holydays, they found this turned into a gift or £20,000,000. Now, seeing that these various changes were made by the same set of noble lords and right hon. gentlemen who now recommended the resolutions before the house to their lordships—seeing so little accordance-in their plans, or so little adherence to any fixed principle, —considering that the noble earl in his address to the house, had left some of the most important parts of the measure unexplained, and had touched on others so very lightly, he must say that he looked to the whole plan with less of confidence than he had ever viewed any me .sure that had been submitted to Parliament. His Grace concluded by expressing his opinion that it would have been better to have postponed 'these measures for a few years longer, until we had instructed the negroes how to bear the change which we were now going to make in their condi tion. ([ear, hear.) Lord SUFFIELD declared that he was a little disappointed at his noble friend having taken so low a tone in recommending the alterations which would be effected by these resolutions. 1t had been said in the course of the debate that at present the slave was not fit for freedom. Be that as it might, he was sure that their lordships would all agree that, whether fit for freedom or not, the slave was prepared to take it, if their lordships were not prepared to give it. There were two points to which he wished to call the particular attention of their lordships, and those points were connected with the 3d and 4th resolutions. The.third resolution related to the apprenticeship of the slave for a certain term of years before he could obtain unconditional emancipation. Now, he was not going to complain of that as an injustice to the slave,—he was not going into an examina tion of his abstract right to the full command of all his time ; he was only looking at the impolicy of this resolution in a prac tical point of view when he ventured to complain of it; for he had the success of this scheme greatly at heart, not only on ac count of the benefit which he believed that it would confer upon the slave, but also on account of the benefit which it would confer on his master, and on account of the advantage which would ac crue from the improved condition of both master and slave to parent state. The liberal and comptehen sihise-epprroisimpceirpiltey of the principles on it was -proposed to carry on religious instruction in our West India .colonies were points. to which the people of England, and particularly the religious portion of them, attached great importance. lie was• unwilling, upon this occasion, to refer to the persecution of religious sects which had, he was sorry to say it, taken place in some of our colonies. To-picvent irritation he would abstain from it. The Earl of HAREWOOD thought that at the present moment it would have been as well if the noble baron, who was so pro minent a member of the Antislavery Association, and who was himself objecting to that part of the resolutions which established the system of apprenticeship, had abstained from using such language as that which he had used when he said that time slaves, if they could not get their freedom quietly, were pre cared to take it. The noble earl concluded by sta tin g , if we heard him distinctly, that .great prejudice had leen .excited against the colonists, in consequence of certain circumstances which had recently occurred in Jamaica. Now those prejudices re ferred to a state of things different from that which existed at present, and therefore ought not to operate to the disadvantage of the colonists in the present discussion. Earl GREY said that he did not intend to trouble their lordships at any length upon this occasion. If it was neces sary to resist foreign encroachment, to defend the honour and interest of the country by war, was it less necessary to uphold the honour and character of the country by abolishing from every portion of the British dominions the odious condition, of slavery, so abhorrent to the principles of the constitution, as well as to the breast of every Englishman? (Hear.) He for one, entertaining as he did a hope .that this great measure would be successful, did not grudge the payment of even £20,000,000. The noble duke wished to know by what rule the amount of compen sation had been fixed. It was based on an estimate of the va lue of the entire number of the slaves, which was calculated at £30,000,000. One-fourth of the slave's time was to be immedi ately taken from the proprietors, and ultimately the whole of it, and according to the best calculations which ministers had been able to make, they thought that £20,000,000 would be a fair com pensation to the proprietors for all the loss and injury to which they might be subjected b y the adoption of the government plan. While ou this subject, he begged to inform the noble duke that it was the intention of government to propose compensation to the owners of every description of slaves. For his own part he anticipated wish hope, having in it some degree of confidence, that this measure would tend not only to the welfare of those unhappy persons so long in the miserable state of slavery, but also to the prosperity of the colonies, to which the emancipation of the negroes had been by some supposed to be prejudicial. At all events, the plan proposed by government was the only one which they thought they could adopt under all the difficulties of the case, and under the pressure of a necessity which they could no longer avoid. (Hear, hear. co) The Duke of WELLlNGTONcontended that though the colo nial legislatures had not done all that could be desired, they had done much to improve the condition of the slaves, and had re ceived the approbation of the home government for their acts. The noble duke then read extracts from various despatches sent out in 1827 and 1828, conveying . the thanks of the Bing to se veral colonial assemblies, for their endeavours to improve the condition of the slave population. Earl GREY said that nothing which had been read by the no ble duke applied to Jamaica. The fact was, that no general measure for the improvement of the slaves had been adopted in the colonies. The Earl of HAREWOOD denied that government had com municated with sufficient frankness with the West India body. Lord ELLENBOROUGIT said he should not detain the house, as he concurred in all that had fallen from the noble duke (Wel lington,) and intended.to act with him in giving his assent to the resolutions. He wished the noble earl had gone a little more largely into the question of compensation; for he desired to know 1101. v it was intended to pay the interest and principal of the money. The noble earl entertained no confidence'that his proposed measure would be successful. Were, then, the peo ple of this" country to be called upon to pay £20,000,001) of money, to carry into execution a plan of the success of which the noble earl himself entertained very slight hopes Earl GREY.—I entertain a hope, approaching to confidence, of its success. After the Lord Chancellor had addressed the house, the reso lutions • were then agreed to seriatim and unanimously; the amendment of the Duke of Wellington on the sth (the educa tion) resolution, to the effect of omitting the words "on liberal and comprehensive principles," being, according to agreement with ministers, adopted.—Adjourned till Thursday next. HOUSE OF COMMONS, TUESDAY, JUNE 25. council TENIPORALITIES BILL. Mr. STANLEY, in proposing the adoption of the first schedule, said it was meant to fix the minimum of taxation on livings 01 £2OO a year. The right hon. baronet (Sir R. Peel) however, suggested that it would be better to fix it at £3OO, and it would be for the House to decide whether it was expedient to sanction an amendment to that effect. Sir R. PEEL begged to call the attention of the House to the actual situation of the Clergy of Ireland. They all knew that in the course of last session it was necessary to vote a sum of £60,000 for their relief, and in the present session nearly £500,900 would be required. This would clearly show how very precarious was the tenure of Church property in Ireland. *After the month of November, 1833, a change would be made which would render itnecessary to define the amount of charges to be borne by the inferior Clergy. For his own part, he would much rather that those charges were defrayed by any other mode than by a graduated income tax. The immediate ques tion was this, whether or not any living ought to be taxed under £3OO a year ? He thought the house would agree with him that an income of that amount was not too much for a gentle man discharging spiritual functions, and that it ought not to be liable to any charges or deductions whatever. The whole amount which the tax on these smaller benefices would yield would not exceed £740 a year. a trifle that would not be worth the expense of collection. Indeed he thought that the right hon. gentleman himself did not attach much importance to it, and would not object to the amendment which he (Sir R. Peel) would now propose—namely, that all livings of £3OO a year and under that amount should be exempted from taxation. Mr. HEATSICOTE thought £3,10 a-year too small to be taxed. Mr. O'CONNELL supported the amendment, and said that no deductions ought to be made from the smaller incomes. After a few words from Mr. Sheil and Mr. Stanley, the 'amendment was agreed to, together with the first and second schedules. The house then resumed, and the report being received, it was ordered to be taken into further consideration on Friday. Mr. SHELL gave notice that he would, on another occasion, submit a proposition, to the effect that £4,500 a year be the sa lary fixed for all future Archbishops, and £4,000 a year for all f u ture Bishops; and that he would introduce into the preamble of the Bill a provision declaring that Church property was to be under the control of the State. Mr. HUNIE wished to know whether the noble lord (the Chan cellor of the Exchequer) would be in his place on Friday next? and if so, whether the question respecting the Bank Charter would be brought forward ? It was a question which excited very great interest in the public mind, and it was necessary that some positive information should be afforded on the subject. Mr. STANLEY could not say exactly whether his noble friend would be in his place on Friday. He thought it however pro bable that he would, and if so he would bring on the Bank Char ter question, even if it should be necessary to postpone the question ou the Church Temporalities Bill. Several motions were postponed. Some other unimportant matters were disposed of, and the house adjourned at a quarter past Seven o'clock. LAW REPORT COURT .OF RING'S BENCH, SATURDAY. THE KING V. LADY BRISCOE. - .Mr. Sergeant Adams, the Common Sergeant, and Mr. Platt, conducted the prosecution. The defendant did not appear, nor was any Counsel in structed in her behalf. Her Attorney, however, was in Court. Mr. Sergeant Adams stated the case, and said that this was an indictment, charging the defendant, Lady Briscoe, with having committed wilful and corrupt perjury. The defendant had been separated 'frnin her husband for several years, and some time ago she atteMpted to render him liable for extra vagance. On the trial which took place a witness was exa mined of the name of Mary Quinan, and Lady Briscoe thought proper t o c harge the individual with perjury, instituted a prose cution against her, and upon that trial the present defendant swore to s everal facts in opposition to Quinan's statement—uame ly, that she had never lived with Mr. Wiley ; nor had been called by the name of Mrs. Wiley. She also at the same time denied all knowledge of several individuals who had been pointed out to her in Court. These.persons, however, were called, and upon their testimony Mary Quinan was acquitted. The learned Sergeant concluded by saving_ that the question for the 'Jury was, whether upon that trial Lady Briscoe had been guilty of perjury ? A number of witnesses were then examined. Mr. Edward Groom was called, to produce the indictment and record of the trial, which took place at the Old Bailey. Mr. George Cooke, a short-hand writer, produced the notes of the trial, which took place before Mr. Justice James Parke. The learned Judge said that it appeared by the record that the trial took place before Lord Teuterden, and it was conse quently erroneous. Mr. Cooke was proceeding to read the evidence of that trial, when Mr. Sergeant Adams requested his lordship would insert the name of Lord .Tenterden in the present indictment, instead of Mr. Justice James Parke, an alteration which the learned Ser geant said was justified by the usual fiction of law. The Lord Chief Justice said, if the application had been made to amend the record, it could not have been acceded to; but he would make the alteration in the form it had been requested. Robert Robertson, a victualler, who formerly kept the Devon shire Arms, proved that Lady Briscoe lodged at his house, No. 8, Lesson-grove, six or seven years ago, for five or six months; that she came with a gentleman who lived in Tunbridge-street, and that they passed by the names of Mr. and Mrs. Wiley. He said Mary Quinan often came to fetch linen, and to do needle work in the drawing-room. Was present at Quinan's trial, - and was desired to stand up to identify Lady Briscoe. He met Mr. and Mrs. Wiley (Lady Briscoe) six or seven months after they left his house, walking arm-in-arm together. ' • John 'Wells also proved that Lady Briscoe lodged with him in 1827 as Mrs. Wiley, and that on the trial alluded to she po sitively denied having ever seen bins. Mrs. Wells, the wife of the last witness, gave similar testi mony. Mary Quinan examined—l remember Lady Briscoe when she lived in Tunbridge-street, in 1827. I was a laundress, and tiseolln "come backward and forward to her. Mr.. Wiley then visited her. Lady B. then removed to Robertson's, at Lisson grove, and she there went by the name of Mrs. Wiley. She af terwards removed, with Mr. Wiley, to Albany-street, and I then went to reside with her. She still went by the name of Mrs. Wiley, and Mr. W. and her lived together as man and wife. I lived with them from May, 1827, till March, 1828. I was the defendant on the trial for perjury. Counsel—Do you remember her having a parrot?-0; yes, I do—well, I do—and remember it dying. It is stuffed at present. I remember her having a dog also, and met her with it the other day.—[The witness here proved the hand-writing of Lady Bris coe, and stated that the articles mentioned had been left at Mr. Wells's.] Several other witnesses were examined, who gave similar tes timony, and who stated their perfect knowledge of Lady Bris coe as Mrs. Wiley, and proved likewise that she denied having ever known them when they were placed before her on the fornier The case for the prosecution, having been concluded, The Lord Chief Justice inquired whether any one appeared for the defendant, or, wished to give evidence in her behalf? No one, however, answered. His Lordship then observed to the jury that, in the way in which the indictment was tried, it was at the 'option of the de fendant whether she gave attendance in Court or not. The learned judge was then about to sum up the evidence, when The jury intimated that it was unnecessary to do so, and they immediately returned a verdict finding the defendant—Guiity, LIBEL ON THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND. THE RING V. PHILIPS. Mr. Jelf opened the pleadings, •and stated that this was a criminal information filed by the order of this Court against I Josiah Phillips for a libel on his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, contained in a book entitled "Authentic Records of the Court of England for the last 70 Years," of which the ' said Josiah Phillips was the printer and publisher- Sir C. Wetherell (with whom were Mr. F. Pollock and Mr. Follett,) stated the case for th e p rosecu ti o n. The information about to be tried had been ordered by the Court of King's Bench, at the instance and on the application of the illustrious individual above-mentioned, against the defendant, for the pub lication of a gross, scandalous, and malicious libel upon the Royal Duke, and the question for the jury to decide would be whether the allegations in that information were sustained by the evidence which would be brought before them. He need not say that if they did consider that those allegations had been fully made out, it would he their duty to convict the de fendant, and he was convinced that they would be made out by the evidence which he should produce to their entire satis faction. Before entering upon the details involved in the pre sent case, he would take the liberty of troubling the jury with a few observations in explanation of the nature of the proceed ing under the form of whiclr the defendant was now brought to trial. They would probably be aware that an information_ against any person for a libel might be obtained by the Attor ney General es u//ieio, and that in support of such an applica tion an affidavit of complaining party, denying the truth o the statements of the libel, was not required, the single autho rity of the Attorney-General heing sufficient in itself to obtain a proceeding of that description. The present information, how ever, was not one obtained by that mode of proceeding, but had been filed on the private application of the complainant, who had, as was required by that form of application, previously made an affidavit, denying the statements complained of as libellous. Another mode of proceeding against a defendant for a libel was taat of an indictment, in which case the prosecutor would not be required to swear before procuring it; and there was also another mode, viz., that of bringing an action. By the former of these two, however, the Duke had not thought fit to proceed; and with respect to the latter, it was one which he could not be expected to adopt. He merely made these remarks to show that the royal duke had not shrunk from coming forward with his distinct denial of the statement complained of, and that he had chosen that course of all others whichrimperatively obliged him so to come forward. The learned counsel then went into a state ment of the circumstances from which the publication com plained of originated, and it was to the following effect :—ln the month of June, 1810, it was that a valet or servant of his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, named Sellis, was found with his throat cut in a bedroom at some distance from the royal duke's apartments in St. James's-palace • and as a circumstance of that sort of course excited a considerable degree of attention, a minute investigation of it immediately took place. The co roner summoned a jury, and one of the most full and minute in vestigations upon record was gone into for the purpose of ascer taining the real circumstances under which Sellis had met his death, the result of which was the returning by the jury of a ver dict offal° de se upon the body of Sellis. But after the trans action had proceeded thus far, there were persons sufficiently evil minded to insinuate (and he was sure the jury would concur with him that there had been many men in this country who had been attacked by anonymous slanderers, under whose imputa tions they had suffered, when, if a full and impartial investiga tion of circumstances had taken place, they would have stood perfectly exonerated from suspicion,) that the Duke of Cum•, berland had himself been the murderer of Sellis, notwithstand ing that the jury had found that he died by his own hand. Rumours to that effect were set afloat on several occasions, and from that time until the publication of the book in which the present libels were contained, his Royal Highness had been in cessantly made the victim of the scandalous calumnies of some obscure slanderer or slanderers, who in all probability . had for their motive the gratification of some private object, in pursu ance of which they circulated these calumnious rumours in such shape as did not come within the declared provisions of the law, and in such a manner that it was impossible to get hold of the man who set them afloat, or to stop the rumours themselves from circulating. On one occasion, hiowever,'these rumours assumed such a shape in the columns of a paper called the In dependent Whig, that the then attorney-general, Sir Vicary Gibbs, thought it fit that they should be noticed, and he accord ingly filed au az- of f icio information against that paper. Neither that proceeding, 'however, nor the long interval which has now elapsed between the death of Sellis and the present time, has satisfied the malignity of the private and personal enemies of the royal duke, or those of the royal family in general; for in the publication which he (Sir C. Wetherell) held in his hands, those rumours were once more revived, and put into certainly a most plausible shape. That publication came out in the month of March, 1832, and was entitled " Authentic Records of the Royal Family during the last Seventy Years," the frontispiece being the arms of the royal family of England, in which, in the place of the motto, were the words " Magna est veritas." Now, if the object of the publication of this book (the editors of which called themselves faithful historians) had really been hone fide to elicit any new facts which would throw an addi tional light upon the melancholy circumstance of the death of Sellis, in 1810, he (Sir C. Wetherell) would be the last person to object to so laudable a design; but when, on the contrary, it was clear that its object was merely to revive by-gone ca lumnies, with every addition which the ingenuity of the writer could supply, he felt that he was conscientiously performing his duty in now advocating the punishment of the slanderer. 'I publication of the book was admitted, and a copy handed in. The learned counsel then called the following witnesses : Sir Benjamin Stephenson, examined by Mr. FOLLETT. •On the Ist of June, 1810, between eleven and twelve in the morning, I went to St. James's Palace. The Duke of Cumberland was on his bed, and was severely wounded, both on the head and hands. Much blood was about the room and the bed of the Duke. There were marks of blood on both the doors. The wounds had been dressed before witness came. Afterwards.went into the room where Sellis's body was. There were four rooms between. Saw the body quite dead, and there was blood about the room. He had no slippers on. His cravat was off, and his head was nearly severed from his body. Found the slippers in the closet of the adjoining room, with the scabbard of a sabre and a three parts filled pintbottle. Remained there a considera ble time. Was not examined at the inquest. Sir Wathen Waller, examined by Mr. Jelf.—Was in London on the 31st of May, 1810. Remembers the circumstance-of the Duke being wounded. Sir Evcrard Home and Sir H. Raiford were the medical men. The former is dead, and the latter is at this moment attending the funeral of his wife. Witness was told of the state of the Duke, and went to the Palace ; found the Duke lying covered with blood, and did not leave him till he was recovered. Had him removed the same day to Carlton house. Was in attendance on the Duke till the 4th of August, and ,never slept out of the house. Frequently saw the wounds, which were very severe. They could not have been inflicted unless there had been an attempt to assassinate. They were so severe that the Duke could not even bear the scratching-of a pen when witness was writing; he even screamed when witness touched the bed-clothes. Witness could perceive, through the wound in the head, the pulsation of the brain, Mr. Adams, the coroner on the occasion, examined by Sir C. Wetherell.—Summoned a jury to inquire into the death of Sellis. Summoned them of the verge of the Palace, but not of the Palace itself. By a statute of Henry VIII. the coroner for a palace is to summon within the verge. Witness caused persons to be summoned unconnected with the palace. Mr. Francis Place was foreman. Witness had not summoned a prior inquest. There was no jury before that which refused to give a verdict. The inquest was held at the palace, and several witnesses were examined. The room was an open court, and every reporter was allowed to attend. Anyone might enter the court, and there were very many persons, perhaps 50 or 60, coming in and going out. There were several reporters for the press who took notes. The Duke was then resident at Carlton-house. The jury examined the Duke's room, as also Sellis's room. Sellis was lying on the bed. The verdict has been mislaid, with the other papers. Has missed them since the prosecution against the Independent Whig. When the jury inspected Sellis's room they examined minutely the body. It was on the Ist of June. They examined into all the circum stances. Several persons were examined before the jury, such as were deemed fit and proper to be called. The examination was decidedly full awl complete. Diligent inquiry was made after all witnesses likely to be material. About two hours elapsed before the jury returned their verdict. The jury de sired witness not to sum up as they were unanimous in their verdict of fel° de se. Francis Place, Esq., the foreman of the jury, examined by Mr. Pollock.—Corroborated the testimony of the last witness as to the circumstances attending the summoning of the jury. They were selected in the usual manner, by the marshal going over the list regularly. One only, Mr. Gray, the grocer to the Duke of Kent, was connected with the Royal family. The case lasted from 3in the afternoon till 11 at night. Seventeen wit nesses were examined. Some were by deposition, but those de positions were compared with the rooms, and the occurrences attending the transaction. That was in the presence of four reporters and two surgeons, as well as of two other gentlemen. The jury went from place to place with the witnesses, and com pared the rooms, &c., with their statements. The bed-hang ings appeared to be cut, as though by the flourish of a sabre. There were spirtings of blood, as if from an artery, along that Wrt of the room by which the Duke was stated to have retired. itness examined the body, and there was no other wound ex cept the one in the neck. The cravat was discovered and ex amined, and it was found to have been slit. Went to the closet where the slippers were found, and called for everything witness thought necessary to establish the truth. Examined the sword and the razor; the latter was on the left side of the bed, and the man was a left-handed man. The verdict was fob() de se, and it, was that of fifteen, but one .(Mr. Noble) said he could not be lieve that the man was sane, and another, Mr. Evans, agreed with him. The two doubted as to the fact of sanity. Joseph Joux.—Was servant of his Royal Highness at the time in question. Was footman, and has since been in the ser vice of the King of Belgium. Has seen the book and the al leged deposition. Never gave the facts contained in that depo sition. What is stated there about witness is false. Never laid a sword in the Duke's bedchamber as stated. Went for Sir H. Halford. Believes Neale first gave the alarm. Did not see the Duke till at Carlton Palace. All that is in the sup posed-deposition as to the wounds is not true. Witness never saw them. Never gave any . deposition, nor was ever asked. Never stated what is alleged in that deposition about Lord El lenborough. Ilas been abroad with Prince Leopold. His Royal highness the Duke of Cumberland examined by Sir C. Wetherell.—l slept in my apartments in St. James's on the 31st of May, 1810. In the course 'of the night I was awakened by a blow on my head ; it was between two and three in the morning. I had been the evening before at the Ancient Concert. The blow was struck on the right side of my head. I was in a sort of half sleep, and my first impression was that something had fallen on my head. It was repeated. One of them made a very violent incision in my head. [His Royal Highness then exhibited to the jury that part of his head which was struck.] It produced an immense effusion of blood. I did not see by what instrument it was done. There was a looking glass before the end of the bed, by which I distinguished a sabre in the air. I made a dash at the person, and my thumb w'as gashed in consequence. [His Royal Highness exhibited the scar of the wound to the jury.] The sword was 17 Inches long and 3 broad. I jumped out of bed and seized the sword. It was impossible for me to distinguish whether I was attacked by one or more persons. There was no light burning in my room. I made my way to the door of the room, but in order to get to my . servant's room I had to go through two others. While going from one room to another I received several blows and wounds from the sword, and it was at that time that I received the cut in my side. I should have been absolutely demolished had it not been for the fact that the doors received some of the blows intended for my own person. I sent for Sir Ilenry Hal ford and for Sir Everard Home the instant I got down stairs. I have applied to Sir Henry Halford to attend, but in conse quence of a domestic calamity he is unable to attend. I was on the same evening removed to Carlton-house. I was in a state of danger fur two months, and it was not till the• beginning of August that I was able to leave the house. His Royal Highness was then asked whether the statements - in the libel were false or true ? But The Lord Chief Justice said that it was not matter for the present inquiry. The Royal Duke had already made an affida vit of denial, and the public time must not be taken up with unnecessary repetitions. His Royal Highness was then asked whether he made an affidavit on the application for this criminal information, to which he replied in the affirmative • and on being told that he need not be further troubled, he bowed to the Court and with drew. , .. . This closed the case for the prosecution. . Mr. Daniel Wakefield, jun., who' appeared on behalf of the defendant, lamented his inexperience, and the low station he occupied at the Bar, as he had to compete with gentlemen renowned for their talents and learning and acuteness. The jury had heard the able speech of Sir Charles Wetherell, and had listened to his observations upon the impropriety of pub lications of a libelous nature;, in these observations he fully con - cured, but he differed from him upon the propriety of bringing forward defendants to answer for such libels, as proceedings of that description 'only cansed the libel to be snore widely extend ed. He asserted that the jury were 'the judges of both law and fact in a proceeding of that description, and that they were not to return a verdict by . direction of the judge, but from the opinions which they might entertain of the publication. He then alluded to the trial of Queen Caroline, and contended that the proceedings against her Majesty were injurious to society as the accounts of her alleged crimes and vices were published by the press, and the existence of such crimes and vices by those means were made known to thousands and hundreds of thou sands who before never dreamed of them. As, however, his Royal Highness had brought the defendant into Court, he must ake the consequences, for what was " sauce for the goose was auce for the gander." He concluded by remarking upon the Juyi - .. 28, 1833. clumsy language in which the writer had clothed his sentiment,. awl observing that such a book could not injure his Royal Highness more "than could a flea hopping ou the hide of an eleOiant." 'the Lord Chief Justice then left the case to the jury. The question for them to decide was, whether or not the publi cation was a libel according to the terms of the information. With respect to the observations which had been made as to the mode adopted by the royal prosecutor in obtaining the in formation, he did not think it possible that any man , in vvhat ever station, who declared himself libelled, would willingly neglect the opportunity offered to him to deny the statements made against him, anu remove the stain which must necessarily attach to his character. In considering the question of the libel, they must see whether there was any reaso nable or pro bable cause for the publication in question, which had thus placed a member of so illustrious a family in the situation of being compelled to come forward and deny the heinous charges made against him. If they found that the publication was a, libel, then they would find the defendant guilty; but if nut, he need not say that they would be bound to acquit him. Thejury immediately found the defendant Guilty. • LONDON GAZETTE.—TUESDAY, JusL 23. BANKRUPTCY ANNULLED. John Gardner, Preston, Lancashire, joiner. BANKRUPTS. Charles WiUsher, Strand, bread-baker. James Smith, Cavendish, Suffolk, butcher. John Welch, Birmingham, iron-merchant. William Pays, Leeds, coach-builder. William Baxter, Oxford, printer. John White, SlireWsburr, auctioneer. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVER. P. Ball and Son, Worcester, glove-manufacturers.---Frazier an Speare, Aldersgate-street, cabinet-makers.—J. and D. Jones, Bangor. Citrnarvonshire, drapers.—Long and Platford, Manchester, milliners. —W. Lloyd and Sons, Ross, Herefordshire, woolstaplers.—W. Rod well and J. C. Cobbold, Ipswich, Suffolk, attornies-at-law.--F. Hil ton, and 11. J. and J. 11. Barchard, Wandsworth.—W. Scott and J• Sangster, Leeds, attornies.—R. and J. Tancock, Exmouth, Devon shire, coach-makers.—Knibb and Jowett and Jowett and Knibb, Bir mingham, mercers.—llaswell and. Farmer, Nicholas-lane, Lombar4 - and street, plumbers.---W., J., and A. S. Bulmer, Buslingthorpe Leeds, tanners.—P. and D. Green, Lower Thames-street, ironmon gers.—F. and J. Wigmore, Avening, Gloucestershire, farmers.—.T.and T. Phillips, Chard, Somersetshire, clothiers.—J. Wetherell and W• Wilson, Salford, Lancashire, victuallers.—W. Dickinson and Co., Worcester, mercers.—Baker and Macqueen, Milford-lane, Strand, and Strand, operative-chymists.—Robins and Porter, Euston-place , New-road, St. Paneras, surgeons.—T. and W. Chawner, Chead le . Staffordshire, surgeons.—S. Hind and J. Walker, Bulwell, Notting hamshire, litneburners.—T. Britt, G. Price, and B. Lucas, Haydon square, attornies-at-law, as far as regards B. Lucas.—W. Lowless and G. E. Peacock, attornies.—T. Ayscough and F. Sadler, Fore-street , Cripplegate, undertakers.—R. Hill and J. A. Perry, Whitechapel , ironmongers.—J. and J. llepper, Leeds, general-agents. DIVIDENDS. July 12, R. Hamlin, Poland-street, Oxford-street, and Maddox street, Regent-street, tailor.—Julv 12, J, Tyler, Blackman-street, Southwark, linen-draper.--July 17,W. Joseelyne, Bishopsgate-street. grocer.—July 17, J. T. Walker, Oxford-street, watch-maker. --July 16, J. Burton, High Holborn, grocer.—July 16, J. Jowett, Grea t Queen-street, Lincoln's-inn-fields, furnishing-ironmonger. —July 2, D. Gorely. Great Russell-street, Bloomsbury, wholesale-perfumer. — July 31, N. Drewett, Emsworth, Hampshire, mariner.—October 24, J. and W. Shilston, Plymouth, ship-builders.—July 17, W. Mold, Walsall, Staffordshire, saddlers' ironmonger.—July 18, W. Taylor, Birmingham, currier. —July 18, J. Leighton, North Shields, Nor thumberland, victualler. CERTIFICATES, JULY 16. G. B. Johnson, High-street, Wapping, corn-merchant.—J. B. Bow - ley, Great Dover-street, Surrey. furnishing,-ironinongen—li. Wor rill, Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire, mercer.—J. Sparrow, Tettenhall, Staffordshire, malster.—R. V. Dawson, Chis - tvell-street , Finsbury, veterinary-surgeon.—W. Barrington, Sandbach-heath. Cheshire, silk-throwster.—J. Bennett, Wilderswood, Lancashire, cotton-spinner.-----J. lkin, Leeds, merchant.—J. Stead, Leeds, sad dler.—W. Jones, Pwllmelvn, Flintshire, lead-merchant.—T. T.. Hawkes, Frome Selwood, Somersetshire, money-scrivener. BACHELOR RHYMES, (ny A CONFIRMED OLD BACHELOR.) .I have no wife, I have no wife, And never shall have all the days of my life ; To be, to be for ever free To rove, to rove o'er land and sea— Oh, that is the life, the life for me I • Look at yon husband so tame and so grave, Crouching with fear, like a new-bought slave; Fur the man who is married is no longer free— And what is the world without freedom to me? As the poor bird is lur'd by the rattlesnake's eye, So a man is in danger when woman is nigh, And the fool who would marry had better beware, For his love is mere madness, and beauty's the snare. Then let him not yield to the nuptial tie, For the love which he cherished is sure then to fly ; Ah I fain would he then be relieved from his chain. But although love has fled, still his fetters remain. 1 have no wife, I have no wife, And never shall have all the days of my life, Scc. Edinburgh Evening Post- TRADE OF LEEDS.—A good deal of business was transacted in the Leeds Cloth Halls on Saturday week. The market ou Tuesday was not quite so brisk, but a fair quantity of cloth was sold. Many of the stuff-merchants are very busy, and in some houses the makers-up have struck for an advance of wages, which has been complied with. THE COTTON TRADE.—WORKING SHORT TIME.—The in tention of working the cotton mills four days instead of six be ing now generally resolved upon throughout this district, the master spinners and manufacturers of the borough have com menced with the present week. The new system of working therefore is, either to work four days per week of twelve hours each, or six days of eight hours each. The present week ter minates with this evening (Thursday.)—Stockport paper. Our market on Tuesday last was lively, and foreign wools still continue on the advance. At the large sales in Lonclett last week, it may be fairly stated that an advance of 20 per cent. on the average was paid, and at the German wool fairs up to this time, all wools of a good breed and likely to prove well, have sold on an average 30 per cent. higher than last year ; this. advance, which is likely to be maintained through the yeai, wil surely enable the manufacturers of woollen goods to obtain bet ter prices on their stock.—Huddersfield, June 22. MONMOUTH WOOL AND CATTLE PAlR.—This annual fair which has only for the last year or two been a mart for live ~ stock, took place on Tuesday Last. The wool pitched for sale was far less in quantity than what has in former years been brought into this town; partly from a practice which now prevails of going round to those who have wool to sell and making a bargain subject to the market price, and partly owing to the diminished growth of wool from the late mortality amongst the sheep. This latter cause has operated to improve the price of wool, which fetched as high as 17s. in one instance 17s. 6d. per stone, but the general price was about 16s. 3d. or 16s. 6d. There was not any considerable show of live stock; most of what were brought for sale were Irish; nor did there appear to be much business done. COMMON HALL OF THE LIVERY OF LONDON.—OH Mondays a Common Hall was held for the election of Sheriffs and other officers for the ensuing year. Upon ascending the hustings the Lord Mayor, Aldermen Venables, Wilson, and Harmer, and Sheriffs Humphrey and Peak, and other gentlemen, were re ceived with applause, but the Recorder was assailed with hooting and hissing, and tremendous expressions of indignation. - Al dermen Wilson and Harmer were then unanimously . elected Sheriffs of London and Middlesex for the year ensuing. Court of Aldermen was also held, at which Sir James Shays - Vas sworn into the office of Chamberlain, and Messrs. Lewis and Wilson into the office of Bridgemasters for the ensuing year. The Sheriffs delivered in their reports of the state of the se veral gaols; and Newman Knowles, Esq., Recorder, resigned his office into the hands of the Court,who unanimously agree to a resolution thereon, which was ordered to be advertised. LAUNCH OF THE RODNEY, OF 92 GUNS, AT PEMBROKE , '" The anniversary of the battle of Waterloo was never more con; spicuously brought to the remembrance of the inhabitants 0 1 Wales; and Pembrokeshire in particular, than on the occasion; of the launch of the longest and finest two-deeked ship ever built for the protection of the inhabitants of our iron-girt isle' Soon after five o'clock in the evening a gun from the fort an; nounced that the signal for "All's ready" had been displaye d in the yard. Every eye was immediately fixed in the direction from whence the Rodney was to enter for the first time on her native element, into which she soon slowly and majestically glided, amidst the thundering shouts of thousands of spectator s s and the firing of cannon from the shipping. Her ru n after, taking the water was not near so rapid as that of the Roya. l William; her anchor was therefore sooner let go, and she %cal brought up much more easily, and presented her beautiful broadside to the shore ; in which position she was not suffere d long to remain, for the end of her cable was rim out of hawse? and she was alinost immediately warped into dock, to be cop pered and fitted for sea. The ceremony of christening 0° performed by Mrs. General Adams (the Lady of Lieutenant' General Alexander Adams, of Holyland, near Pembroke , i t near relative of Earl Cawdor.) This ship is built on the row", stern principle of Sir Robert Seppings, and is of extraordin ar y dimensions ; her length being 243 1 4 feet, breadth 52 fee t inches, tonnage 2,598 1-94th tons, with great height betweea decks for working he r , and pierced for 92 guns, which ar e a to be 32 pounders. Her single broadside would your at euc t 7 into an enemy's ship the immense weight of 1 , 4 e 01 b. of she ere What a dose of pills for the enemies of Great Britain ! T 1 is no three-decked ship of any nation that would be able to alongside of her for any length of time and stand such P h Y sic ings—Cambrian. Qa RiOT AND DESTRUCTION OF THE PIER AT GRAVESEND , ' a Saturday the Gravesend Pier Bill, which has been so long al!, pertinaciousl G r avesend,y the Watermen's Company a nd T o % watermen of passed the committee of the Lords,e attempts to conciliate the watermen by giving . them other ployment having failed. As soon as the decision of the COsar mittee on the bill became known at Gravesend, the water:L': assembled in piffilic-houses near to the pier, and after the i, bitants had retired to rest, sallied forth in two parties, one ong the street, and the other in boats upon the water, with hatcn,s.. crow bars, sledge hammers, saws, and other instruments 0-0"1 struction; and leaving gained possession of the pier, they s T e silenced its demolition. As soon as the Mayor had intellig,Lo of the proceedings, he summoned the constabulary force of th e town, but the civil power being found altogether insufficieuts,td called together the inhabitants, and sent to Tilbury Fort or military. Major Kelly, the commandant of Tilbury, prosnr4 despatched a party of men under the command of Lieutenaafd Spencer, and about the same time Lieutenants Brown _P r , Gladdish, and,several of the West Kent Yeomanry corps' rived. The civil and military authorities then proceeded t e i t' it , pier, and upon their approach the principal parties escap ! cr y boats, and by day . -light the whole were dispersed without aq,,y rus . serious personal injury being committed, although the den t s e tion and loss of property has been very great. The toll e ll ... ic e is nearly levelled with the gronnd, and a great part of th destroyed, several of the principal asunder s and the pier, which would have been opened 4; f av public in a few days, rendered altogether unsafe. 10 an eve sal non of being disturbed the watermen had taken UP. s_ piles having been .. 6 0 . 0 " the R ite planks of the platform, so as to cut off all communicauo_aory the pier from the land without considerable risk. The yee'', t hi were on guard all day, and. were to be relieved at &ff . ' ha ve a detachment from Chatham. The authorities of the tofu_ an d offered £lOO for tbe.apprehension of the principal offend er will immediately proceed with measures to protect . bitants of, and the public resorting to Gravesend. to Tull VIRGIN Wato.—An awkward a ff air, which no has re' one of the Judges on the Vv'esteru Circuit, at Taunton! It cently beets the subject of much mirth in the Teraplf - o _ts_ hail appears-that the pious jtidicial having finished his la? about s#! cast off his forensic wi4 at his lodgings, and retired I . bo ot W next room to Wait for his brother Judge, whom he was accompany to some of the local aristocracy to dinner- is 'y s sic! male servant of the house had entered. the - bcdcharnber , door,, and not knowing, the Judge was iu the next. Iree: ota esite frolic arrayed herself in the Judge's wig. Just at t his l oo l c ing t ; when the fair Mopsey wag adniiring herse" iii thrtreient, glass, the Judge very unexpectedly entered the ap e lool;I P $ poor "Mopsey catching a sight 'of his stern count?, aaniarraed learned just over her shoulder in thtsglass, was so mu if the 6. she fainted, and would haVe fallen on the roundg.er arni ca Judge, impelled by humanity, had not caught 11 1 hisAt t d h r i e s s c s t i cal dressing-room d m o e o n r t vv h ,i i t s h b a ro N tl i i e e ‘ r y tJudgeo s e e if covered his learned brother with the fainting Not wishing to interrupt what he thought to _I , r ,L: ldge vocu e t; ; , quickly attempted to withdraw, when his brothe t J s ated, For God's sake, L—, stop and hTdeliair brothel, tise,, plained." "Never mind," said L—, r. cover the fainting maid as he could.—Lontn I hi l i matter explains itself;" and he left his l'ea)Yuc.ti, arrived' s a : n v, re ady, h ° is c a LrFi,s:o apberother; to