The Sun. — London, England, 1847-06-18 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARMA MEN T HOUSE OF LORDS, June 17. 444 11' Lordships met at Five o'clock, when the Enrl of giedrrEssualr presided, in the absence of the Loraoltancellor, for some time, during which several Bilis were brought up from the Commons and laid on the table. w The LORD CHANCELLOR having taken his seat on the 4 4' other Bills were brought up and forwarded a stage. PORTUGAL. Lord BROUGHAM wished to ask the Noble Mar - Pis the Lord President of the Council whether it was true t hat Conde Bomfin and the Portuguese troops had pe r i tient to Angola for greater security, brcau - e the ?i i e of Madeira were favourable to their release? The Marquis of LANSDOWNE thought not. ..,dord BROUGHAM—Oh, but has the Noble Mar- VA any doubt about it?—(Laughter.) , HEALTH OF TOWNS BILL. "1 1 DENMAN presented a petition in favour of the lit ca bl th of Towns Bill. J4 RMINGHAM AND OXFORD JUNCTION RAILWAY. c ord LYNDHURST then rose to move the further t„..lelderation of the report of the Committee appointed enquire into the truth of the allegations contained in ZPetition of th e Gr e at Western Railway Company re - I l 7 ' ',l e ng to the Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway. 'f Noble L or d th en procee d e d t o sa y that the directors hcoo North-W es t ern C om p a ny h a d purchased 4,000 aces in the new company, and read over the names of s . O e et eral of the directors, engineers, solicitors, locomotive rintendents, and clerks, who had purchased those among whom the names of Mozely and Tootal Zer-Fupied a prominent place. He would ass their Lord pPs what they thought of such a proceeding? Now, h atW a S the next step which was taken? A meeting was M 1 37 ytised, for the purpose of appointing an additional T a c t i ll ed b er of directore, and at that meeting six more were th e u to the original eighteen, under the direction of Ive s 1 /° th - Wr.:stern Company. The next step taken put, ° try to remove four of the old directors. The dis sebsewaa then brought into the Court of Chancery, and th e) , Wently - into the Court of Queen's Bench, and how P ~4 * Alld succeed there it was not for him to say. 11. -Ali was then brought into Parliament to obtain the Clime of the agreement, and the Bill was reported on 1 1rably by the Committee who sat upon it. Some ussion afterwards arose upon it, and it was re "gannitted, with the same result, and the sanction of Parliament was subsequently obtained for it. The Bill C" then brought before their Lordships, and it „Pained for them to decide what course they should him in reference to those strange prcceedings. Let ir e suppose, for a moment, how this matter would th e stood ff an agreement had been entered into by ob r Great Western Company to accomplish a similar t eet. Would anybody for an instan suppose that a non alpliance with the standing orders would in any way non 11S Prevented the consideration of the merits of the ti f nor that it would in any way have affected the de t,„•_ to of the Committee? It was perfectly evident to any the possession of common sense, that these shares 310 7 been placed in the hands of the present holders fro 4 ai tor tho honest purpose of deriving an income tere to t ! lt ra , but in order to obtain a preponderance of in to): au the concern, with a view to influence the opposition 4 obtaining the defeat of the Bill. This was the rea -40, why they were placed in such a situation, and he s quite sure that, considering the matter in that light , cithe ir Lordships would not allow any merely tech -4°,leal obsta c l e to stand in the way of substantial justice to 1 Parties. And he felt the greater confidence on this point, because, its fact, at the time the report of the Co mmittee was made, they were not aware of the precise e ition in which the Bill stood before the Committee of Sling Orders, and should, therefore, move, that, in ience with the instructions which they had received, uommietee should be directed to take the evidence, S t °n into the merits of the 1301 pending the deci (ln of the Committee of Standing Orders. • conversation here ensued across the table between d Lyndhurst, Earl Grey, Lord Brougham, Lord 4tedesdale, and the Duke of Richmond, at ti e of which The Earl of DEVON moved that the Committee do Proceed in the usual way. The Duke of RICHMOND then explained t hat it tts the cus t om o f th e S :an ding Orders' Committee to a llow of one month to go to the shareholder s in the b ent u of th ere b e ing a non-compliance in any particu lar . ee e ll was, in fact, the position of the Bill at t he p resent m oment. Lord KINNAIRD said on a former occasion be voted against g o i ng i n t o C omm itt e e, because he did not think It wise for the Legislature to interfere in the matter while it was before a court of law, but their Loidships b i l tv ing decided to appoint a Committee, he was l• ined to support the motion for going z _?•ether int o th e inquiry. It was alleged that the di rectors having delayed the issue of the sealed cer tificates deprived the shareholders of the power of , directors upon the Bill, but urged in justification of the atrector s that these shareholders had purchased their Sh ares for an object. He had no doubt whatever that Such was the ca s e, but he altogether disbelieved the Statement.. that the shares were purchased with the fund s of the London and North-Western Company. r , Earl FITZWILLIANI supported the motion for in quiry, He had supported the appointment of t he Commit e, because he thought inquiry necessary for the public !,, ° ; 54 : 1 ) and because he thought it behoved their Lord- Ps to assert the powers which they delegated to the p r omoters of that railway, and which powers were L t ol ght to be turned aside by the conduct of cer tel_ri parties. He regretted that the Commit -7 had not gone into the inquiry, and with 41 1 due respect and regard for the Noble Lords com posing it, he would support the motion of the Noble !led Learned Lord, or he would go further and support the appointment of a new Committee, who might take a different view of the proceedings. Earl CHICHESTER sa id t h a t as chairman of the Co mmittee: which had been appointed by th e House, ;thought it necessar y t o ma ke a short statement of I da grounds upon which the Committee had come to report a • f rom gamst proceeding without further instructio ns their Lordships. The further observations of the Noble Earl were perfect l y i nau dibl e. Lord BEAUMONT thought there were two distinct q ues tions before the House. The case as brought before e them by the Nobl e Lord was, whether they should or .Should not suspend their own standing orders, and whe ther it was wise to suspend them or not depended on t he truth of the allegati ons in the petition presented to their Lordships. The Committee appointed to investigate that Was most competent to f o rm a cor rect judgment, and he therefore thought it should report to the House Whether the allegations were true or not. It Would be then for the House to say whether they w ould„ suspend the standing orders. He thought, however, uk ey should n o t stop there, but take steps to prevent a r epetition,.. of similar acts in future. His own opinion Was, that they were common, and he was of opinion that the time had arrived when they should put an end t° , them. For that purpose, he would sugges t the ap vointment of another Committee to report specially on that subject. Lord PORTMAN thought that certainly the Com mittee ought to report to the House, for the whole of the argument of his Noble and L earned Friend fell to t he ground, when it was recollected that the agreement tad been e n t ere d into by a number of gent lemen, who ad been elected to the responsible position of directors, With h full powers to make any arrangement which woul d e bidding on the shareholders ; and it was hardly to be . supp ose d t h at was at a ll con sistent with equity or ttia:ness, to allow their decisions to be set aside throug h the s h sonduct of a few of the shareholders, ureess there , seine equitable or legal deficiency in their proceed ings. If a Committee then was appointed at all, he trusted that his Noble Friend, and the N ,ble Lord next him (Lord Brougham), and other Noble Lords who were tore conversant with legal and judicial inquiries than many Hon. Members of their L.irdAips' House, would consent to render their assistance in the investigation. The Earl of DEVON was understood to cite some in stances of similar purchases of shares, and to show the effect of them upon the interests of the different com panies, but the way in which his Lordship spoke, ren dered him quite unintelligible in the gallery. Lord REDESDALE said that he could not see how the statement wade by many Noble Lords with respect to the London and North-Western Company, having purchased a monopoly in the Birmingham and Oxford shares, had been borne out. It was confidently asserted that the funds of the North-Western Company had been employed to get the line into their hands. Now, what was the fact—lt was said on the other side, that the shares were not purchased by the North-Western Company, but by individuals, who, having purchased those shares, considered that they then had a right to vote as to the disposal of their property. He looked upon the manner in which one-sided statements were received in that House, as highly injudicious and even dangerous. The charges made against the North-Western Company were all received by the House as proved. It would fall upon the commissioners to report whether, in the quarter of Oxford and Birmingham, the broad gauge should be continued farther. That was a most important matter for the public, and therefore he moved that proceedings on the Birmingham, Oxford, Wolver hampton and Dudley Junction Railway, and the Bir mingham and Oxford Railway, should be intermitted till the important questions pending in the Courts of Law should be decided. He was surprised most of all that 811 4 a. motion should ever have been heard as that the 4 ,,,,, tel idiug orders of their Lordships' House sho uld be sus v`dad. The standing order alluded to was framed for thell safety of the shareholders, and was one of t he most ; 461 Portant for the public that existed on the records of t heir Lordships' House. The Earl of WICKLOW said he would support the a mendment moved by the Noble Lord who had just sat w n• For he had voted agains t the ori g inal motion -c'for a Committee of Inquiry as a course which could not r esult in anything useful ; and now that he had heard the Noble and Learned Lord, after the Committee had ePorted, hi s op i n i on w as noways changed. He thought t hat their time, especially at this part of the session, was st ore valuable, and might be more u sefull y em p lo y ed than in prosecuting an inquiry so abortive. Why should Committee of that House be formed to inquire into what Was the intention of the Legislature in an Act of Parliament whether one company had Power to sell, or another company the power t k ( L b , tl y? It appeared that the Gre at Western were ' l ons to become lessors of the line , a nd were in pos sessionZ of a v as t amount of the shares. The Great N orthern wished to have the same line ; they bought up a', many of these shares as they co uld find in the l marks et ; they purchased from the Gre at Western them selves, who could not resist the tempta tion, and thus got Possession of the line. That was the case, the whole -.7. 940 , as far a s an y result which any Co mmittee of their Lordship's House should ever be able to arrive at. Lord BROUGHAM thought that the Noble Lord, who Zt c l Just sat down, h a d made a distribution of his g oods, 'rote to the one side, and his s p e ech to the other. B at Whatever mi g ht b e said, there could be little doubt HOUSE OF COMMONS, June 17. The SPEAKER took the Chair shortly before Four o'clock. REPORTS. The following reports on Bills were brought up, and ordered to lie on the table: — Hartlepool and Stockton Junction Railway. Lytham Impra,ement. Nest caste an't Berwick Railway (Cramliinzton and Percy Main and Killing , orth and other Branches). Nev. c and Berwick lv. ay (East Coast Line, Blyth, Seaton Sluice, and other Branches). Wakefield Gas. THAMES CONSERVANCY. The report on the Thames Con,ervancy Bill was, upon 0, , motion of Colonel T. WOOD, ordered to be taken into cnnsideration to-morrow (Frida%) week. CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS. The report- on the following Bills were further con sidered and agreed to : Eastern Counti..-s Railway (Purchase of the North Wool wich Railway, &c.) Edinburgh and Not thern, and Edinburgh, Leith, and Grantan Railways Amalgamation. Edinburgh, Leith, and Gratiton Railway (Leith and Granton Junction). Leeds and Thirsk Railway (Eaglescliffe and Stillington Extension). Leeds and Thirsk Railway (Branch from Melmerby to Northallerton, &c.) Leeds and Thirsk Railway (Harrogate and Pateley Branch, &c.) York and Newcastle, and Newcastle and Berwick Rail ways Amalgamation. York and North Midland Railway (Harrogate Branch, Boroughbritlge and Knareshorough Extension). LORDS' AMENDMENTS. The Lords' Amendments to the following Bills were considered and agreed to : Commercial Gaslight and Coke Company. British Commercial Insurance Company (No. 2). THIRD READINGS. The following Bills were read a third time and passed : ' Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway (Deviation of Line, &c.) Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and Dudley Railway (Stnurbridge and West Bromwich). Bristol 13uilding and Improvement. Chester and Holyhead Railway (Extension at Chester and Alteration of Levels). Croydon Commercial Gas and Coke. Great Northern Railway (Deviations between Gains loort.uh and Doncaster). Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund's Railway (Branch from Ipswich to Woodbridge). Leeds Central Railway Station. Leeds, Dewsbury - , and Manchester Railway (Ossett Branch and Dewsbury and Morley Stations). Leominster Canal Navigation Sale. Limerick Docks and Harbour. Liveriool Corporation Waterworks. Lt tin Manchester, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne Junc tion Railway (Alteration of Main Line and Hawes Branch). Liverpool, Manchester, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne Junc tion Railway Acts Amendment. London and Blackwall Railway Improvement and Branches to the St. Katharine and London Docks. London and North-Western Railway (Lease and Pur chase of the Huddersfield and Manchester Railway and Canal, and the Leeds, Dewsbury, and Manchester Railway). London-bridge Railway Termini General Enlargement. Lynn and Ely, Ely and Huntingdon, and Lynn and Dereham Railways Amalgamation. Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway (Branch to Chapeltown and Thul viand Coal Branch). Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway (Shef field Canal Purchase.). Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway June. tion with the Midland Railway via Barnsley, and Branches therefrom). R til way (Extension from near Leicester viii Bedtot d to Hitehin and to Northamp:on and Hinting , don, an i Enlargem-nt of the Lea:ester Station). ),inland Railway (Gloucester and Stonehouse Junc tion) North British Railway (No. 1). North- West,irn tilw , iy (Diversions at Skipton, Cas• tenon, and S. dbergh). Oldham Alliance Railway. Reading, Guildford, and Reigate Railway. South-Eastern Railway (Widening of the Greenwich Railway and Arrangement and Enlargement of the London -bridge Station). South Yorkshire, Doncaster and Goole Rail-No. • e (Penistone, etc. and Purchase of Sheffield, Roth r ) ham, Barnsley, Wakefield , Huddersfield, and Goole Railway, Dun Navigation, and Dearne and Dove Canal) Swansea Harbour. Westminster and Part of Middlesex Sewers. York and Newcastle Railway (Wearmouth Doak En largement). HATE.-PAYING CLAUSES. Sir DE LACY EVANS presented a petition in favour of the abolition of these clauses. HEALTH OF TOWNS BILL. Lord MORPETH presented petitions from the clergy of Leeds, the inhabitants of Suffolk, and several other places, in favour of the Bill. Mr. W. PATTEN presented a petition from the mayor and burgesses of Wigan in favour of the same Bill. EDUCATION. Mr. M. MILNES presented a petition from certain Roman Catholic clergymen its favour of the Poor Roman Catholics participating ORTUGALin the vote for education. P Mr. B. OSBORNE gave notice of a motion in oppo sition to the amendment of the Hon. Member for Fins bury, to the effect that, as Government had interfered in the affairs of Portugal, it was just and proper for the intervening parties to guarantee the full constitutional rights and liberties of the people of Portugal, and, if necessary, to enforce the same. Mr. HUTT said he wished to ask the Noble Lord (Palcaerston)lwhether the blockade was likely to continue, as it would affect the interests of the British merchants. Lord PALMERSTON said that n 3 the Junta had accepted the terms offered by the Government he hoped that the blockade had been taken off before this time. Mr. B. OSBORNE said that the Queen had issued a decree infringing the personal freedom and the liberty of the press, and he wished to ask the Noble Lord if it was the intention of the Government to support this policy? Lord PALMERSTON said that the latest advices received at Bristol contained no account of what the Hon. Member alluded to. Sir DE LACY EVANS—Sir, I would observe with respect to the prisoners now confined in Fort St. Julian, that I trust they will not be deprived of their liberty after the official assent of the Junta has been recognised by the Governmew of this country.—(ll , !ar.) Mr. B. OSBORNE—Has the Noble Lord any objec tion to state, in conclusion, w hat course he intends to pursue for the future with respect to the affairs of Por tugal ?—(Laughter and cries of " Oh, oh I '') Lord PALMERSTON—It is quite unusual to make a statement of what a Government intends to do, especially in a matter of this kind—(Loud cheers) —we cannot state hat we intend to do.—(ilcar.) It is sufficient to state what we have done suceesiully, and to ask, after su:i'a an explanation, if you approve of the course we have taken. The subject then dropped. CURRENCY OF PORTUGAL. On the order of the day beingreadfor going into committee on the Poor Relief Bill, T. 8.1 SUN, that there had been a juggle, a device, a stratagem, which had operated to the frustration of the deAared intention of the Legislature. Votes were purchased up at any price prior to that meeting, which was necessary, under Lord Wharncliffe's standing order ; and the object, without doubt, was to frustrate the intention of the Legislature. But if he was wrong in the fact, the re port of the Committee, when brought up, would set him right. That was the object and the end of a Com mittee. A Committee were the very eyes, the organs by which their Lordships saw. They were instructed to inquire ; inquire they did, and submitted all the facts to the House. Complaints had been mode about critnina don and recrimination taking place. That was the very point upon which they ought not to complain, for there was crimination in that which they had directed their Committee to inquire into, and they could not expect that some reply would be wanting to the allegations which were made against parties, whose interests were concerned in the transaction. He felt it necessary to apologise to their Lordships for again entering into the subject. He had confined himself as much as possible to the new features which the case had presented ; and, in conclusion, he should express a hope that a strict investigation, if honestly gone into, would operate as an example, and tend to hinder the offence from being repeated. Lord STANLEY said that the question was, whether this was a transaction carried an by one great company, or was it not? Was it a bona fide purchase, or was it not? The Committee agreed to investigate the case ; and the Counsel, in his opening speech, said, that he wc.ild not attempt to prove that this was not a bona fide transaction, and then the Committee and House were entertained by a mere assertion of some guarantee hav ing been given by the Great Northern Company, and that they had g ained an unfair advantage by a strata gem. How did the case stand—the shareholders in the Company had sold their interest in the Company — no formal transfer had taken place, and the shareholders took advantage of their nominal position as shareholders and repudiated that which they had performed, really and in fact, because of a technical objection. He was surprised to hear his Noble Friend take the part of those who had acted in such a manner, and to complain that the Committee would not hear those whose case had, in the very outset, been admitted to be no case at all. He thought that, in such a case, their Lordships would be wrong if they attempted to depart from the ordinary rules permitted in these cases.—(Hear, hear.) Earl FITZWILLIAM stated, that he entirely con curred in the view which had been taken of the case, when Noble Lords stated that there had been a strata gem practised. The only question was, whether the stratagems on one side, or both sides, were calculated to injure and damnify the public. That was a matter which ought to be inquired into. The House then divided, when the numbers were— For the motion For the amendment 22 Majority — 6 Lord REDDESDALE then gave nitice that be should trove a is solution, that the Cominissioners of Halways do inquire into the comparative merits, and the means of public accommodation afforded by all the rail ways between London and Birmingham. SOAP ALLOWANCES BILL. This Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be committed. Several Bills were forwarded a stage, and their Lord ships then adjourned. Lord GEORGE BENTINCK rose to call the atten tion of the House to the infraction of the Ist, 15th, 17th, and 18th Arteles of the Treaty of Lisbon, of July, 1842, and to ask her Majesty's Ministers w hether any and what steps have been taken to obtain from the Government of the Queen of Portugal, redress for the past, and security against future injuries of a like kind done to British in terests. He said that this was a question in which the British merchants, resident in Portugal and in this country were deeply interested.—(Hear.) It would be within the recollection of all those who had read the papers which had been presented to the House, with respect to the affairs of Portugal, that Mr. Southeron, on the 16th of November last, ad dressed a letter to Viscount Palmerston, informing him that a decree had been proclaimed by the Queen of Por tugal, which compromised the interests of British mer chants resident in that country.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") The Noble Lord then read a long statement made by Mr. Southern, pointing out the disadvantages under which they were labouring by the compulsory use of the bank notes of Portugal, which, as they were of much less value than the sums for which they were issued, materially interfered with their opera tions, because it compelled them to take paper which would shortly be valueless ; and the consequence would be that they would be compelled to suspend their opera tions. Now, the first article of that decree runs in these words—" Any person who from any motive should reject the notes of the Lisbon bank, will be liable to transportation, and subjected to a fine of from 50,000 grains to 500 grains of gold, to be placed to the public account. The fine in every case to be regulated by the judge, according to the amount of the trar.eaction and the sentence of the transgressor." The 15th article provided, that under the engagement of the Queen of Portugal the commerce of British sub jects in the Portuguese dominions should not be re strained or interrupted by any monopoly of the Lisbon notes; that they should have unrestrained permission to buy from and sell to whomsoever they pleased, and in whatever form or manner was agreed upon by the pur chaser. An article of the 17th of December had abro gated that to a great extent, and at nresent the British• subjects in Portugal were compelled to take payment in notes of Lisbon, which were depreciated in value to the enormous amount of fifty-four per cent. This was fully stated in a dispatch of Sir George H. Se) mour, dated April the 9th, although by the articles of this commercial treaty, con eluded by Lord Waldegrave, they were entitled to buy and sell, and to receive in exchange, any payment which might be agreed upon between the purchaser and the seller. He should have occasion afterwards to refer, as regards the seventeenth and eighteenth articles of the treaty to trial by jury. By those articles, as Honourable Members would know, all British subjects were entitled to trial by jury, but of that they were deprived. So, then, all British merchants or ma nufacturers would have suffered a depreciation at the present time, on the whole amount of 54 per cent. , if they had contracted any bargains with Lisbon houses since November last. Tuts state of mat ters continued to exist, and to be tolerated, notwithstanding the frequent protests of Mr. Southeron, addressed to the Queen and her Ministers. He could net avoid drawing a contrast between the conduct of British Ministers in regard to the Court of Portikal, and their energy, when the Junta appeared to them to be guilty of any infraction of the rights of the British sub jects, or of the law of notions. On the 4th of March, Colonel Johnson wrote to Mr. Southeron, stating that the Junta had seized stores in the town, part of which belonged to a Mr. Russell. This was instantly com municated to her Majesty's Ministers, and Lord Palmerston, on the 26th of March, had sent off dis patches to Mr. Southeron relative to his communications. Now, he wished to ask Hon. Members would this stipu lation in the treaty, signed by the Queen in 1842, be permitted to be violated without any explana tion being demanded by her Majesty's Govern• merit ? So much for the infraction of the treaty as regarded the rights of British mer chants to deal in any way they pleased with the Portuguese merchants. He would now proceed to deal with other infractions of the treaty. On the 30th of December Mr. Southeron wrote from Lisbon that a violation of trial by jury had taken place in Portugal, and the. - British subjects were placed in a different posi tion to that intended by the 17th and 18th articles of the treaty of 1842. It might not be known to many Honourable M. tubers of that House that in 1842 there existed a court of justice in Portugal for the trial of British subjects; but by that treaty pri vileges were granted to British subjects by the institution of Conservatorial Courts. As far as he had been able to gather from these papers, no remonstrance had ever been entered into upon the subject. He wished to know whether any steps, and if any, when and what steps had been taken to redress these wrongs of British subjects in Portugal ? Lord PALMERSTON said that he understood the Noble Lord to ask him a question relating to the decree which had been passed, giving force to the paper cur rency of the Bank of Portugal at a forced or a nominal value, and, secondly, with regard to certain suspended guarantees with regard to the British subjects in Portugal. Now with regard to the first point, without pretending, as he had at first thought of doing, to justify the Portuguese Govern ment for the financial measures which it had resorted to in its pecuniary embarrassments, he would call the attention of the Noble Lord to other facts. The Noble Lord would admit that this was not the first instance in the history of nations of Govern ments being obliged to give by law a forced value to a paper currency which was suffering from considerable depreciation, and that paper hdd been received at a value somewhat different to that which, according to the free trade notions of the Noble Lord it would fetch in the market. Lord GEORGE BENTINCK said, British merchants were prevented from making any private contract; they were forbidden by this decree to contract even by the medium of bars of silver, under a penalty varying from 50,000 to 500,000 reals—notwithstanding any contract to that effect, they were forbidden from receiving pay ment in any other mode except in the Bank of Lisbon notes. Now, he apprehended that the Noble Lord could not instance any precedent for such a course. Lord PALMERSTON resumed. He admitted that it was a very stringent rule; but he wished to remind the Noble Lord that the notes were receivable by the Government at the same rates at which they were com pelled to be received by private individuals. The course adopted with respect to this by her Majesty's Govern ment was, he considered, the usual course. They did not anticipate complaints of hardships from foreign countries ; but whenever any complaint was made founded upon the construction of treaties whose pro visions had been invalidated, it was referred to the proper law officers of the Crown, and according to the advice given by those'officers her Majesty's Government aced. He was not aware that any specific complaints had been made by British merchants in the conversations of Mr. Southeron; but if any complaints were made, the course which the Government would pursue would be this—to refer that complaint to the Queen's Advocate, and if he were to state that a violation of the treaty had taken place, the Government would seek for redress. With respect to the second question, it was perfectly true, as his Noble Friend had stated, that the 17th and 18th articles of that treaty of 1842, concerning the e,tablishment of the conservatorial court had been (as we understood) violated. A British subject had suffered great injustice from the suspension of these articles ; and an application was made to the Govern ment of Portugal to re-establish the conservational court, and it was established accordingly, and was now In existence. He did not think it fitting or expedient, to trouble the House with all the correspondence which had taken place between this Government and the Go vernment of Portugal, appertaining to their commercial 1 relations. lie had carefully expunged everything from the communications which took place from October up to the present time, with respect to those relations which had a bearing upon the political question which the House would, at a future time, take into consideration. A vast deal of correspondence with respect to blockades, and other matters, would be found in the blue books. Founded on the articles of this treaty that court exists, and will still continue to exist, until the legal constitution guaranteed will be established.—(Hear.) HEALTH OF TOWNS BILL. Lord LINCOLN wished to know whether it was the intention of the Noble Lord to bring on the Health of Towns Bill to morrow ? Lord JOHN RUSSELL--My impression is that the discussion on the Poor-law Administration Bill will be concluded to-night, and I therefore hope to bring on the Health of Towns Bill to-morrow. DECORATIONS FO PR RTTUGHE BRITISH OFFICERS— Mr. EW ART desired to ask the Government whether it was the intention, as it was reported to be, of the Por tuguese Government to confer a decoration on the officers of the British navy who were concerned in the late affair in Portugal ? He did not consider such was deserved, as they were employed not as partisans, but as arbi trators. is La rule ord in forcePALME which PALMERSTON—It is prevented well any British tknowish subjectnthatthere from accepting or wearing any fo rei g n order, unless the person has been actually in t he service of a foreign sove reign, or performed particularly eminent services ; and I feel no difficulty in saying, none of the duties which have been performed by the British officers concerned in the late transactions in Portugal brings them within the scope of this rule. POOR-LAW ADMINISTRATION BILL. On the order of the day that the House should go into Committee on this Bill, Mr. BANKES said that he should oppose the motion. Lord JOHN RUSSELL—Do you take the opposi tion now ? It is open to you at a future stage. Mr. BANKES considered it best to take the discus sion now, because he did not find any one clause in the Bill of which he could approve, and perhaps it was then the best course to shorten the discussion. The Noble Lord had admitted that he thought these persons not competent or qualified to fill these offices, and yet up to the present time this subject had not been brought for ward. It was now brought under the notice ,of the itouse at a most inconvenient period of the session. He thought that the delay which had taken place was most unwarrantable. An important enquiry had taken place into the conduct of these officers and yet, although a very strong report had been made to the House, no Member of the Committee had ever yet come forward to state his opinion distinctly as to what had taken place, or to bring it under the notice of the House. Ho found no improvement in the Bill. Think ing that a much better mode of carrying the end into effect could be devised at much less expense to the country, therefore he objected to the whole Bill. The Poor-law Commission was first of all created for a temporary purpose, limited to a period of five years ; but no one could look at this Bill without seeing that the e olfithee Bill, besides, They pro present Bill proposed to make that Comm i s sion in a diffe besides, add e d very l r a e r n g t el f y or t m o t h p e er p m a t a r n o e n n a t g . posed to form a board on the principle of the Board of LONDON, FRIDAY MORNING, JUN Control. The Board of Control was formed under very peculiar circumstances, and, undoubtedly on the whole, the system had worked well. Bat it . was a question whether the system that ap plied to the distant }Endo°, was applicable to the peasantry of this country. On a former occasion he had observed that the system, which was then so much opposed, was, in reality, the system of Sir Matthew Hale, which was, that the local authorities should ha%e the administration of the affairs, subject to a control much less limited than that which was now interposed. By vesting vast discretionary powers in the local guar dians, with an appeal in regard to some points to the magistrates of the county, at quarter sessions, with an appeal always from thence up to the Home-office, they would be establishing a better system, than by trusting the administration of the law to a set of meddling men in London. Under these circumstances, he thought it much better to delay any legislation upon the subject till a future session of Parliament, and he should, there fore, move that the Bill be recommitted that day three months. Captain PECHELL had never shrunk from express • ing his decided opposition to the manner in which the poor-laws had lately been administered, but still he could not consent to the amendment of his Hon. Friend opposite. The Noble Lord at the head of the Government, had told them that if this Bill could be disposed of to night, the Health of Towns Bill might be brought on to-morrow, ' Well, now he would tell the Noble Lord how be could facilitate the committal of the Bill to-night. Let the Noble Lord give the House a pledge that the appoint ments under this Bill should be such that they should not hereafter have to complain of the conduct of several of the existing authorities. On no one occasion had the chief Poor-law Commissioners ever visited a board of guardians, and altogether there could be no question that the poor-law affairs of this country had been sadly mismanaged. He thought, therefore, that none but efficient and practical men ought to be appointed under this Bill, and as 250 Members of this House bad expressed their opinion of the in competency of some cf the existing authoritics, he trusted a pledge would be given that they should not bold office under any future new arrangement. One of these Poor-law Commissioners had set himself up as a candidate for one of the Welch counties, no doubt in the hope of getting an appointment under the Bill should be be returned as a Member of that House ; and he thought that circumstance rendered it the more urgent that the House have the privilege he asked for.—(Hear, hear.) They were now called upon to make arrange ments by this Bill for the administration of the poor• laws during the next five years ; but he was inclined to agree with the lion. Gentleman the Member for Dorset shire, that such a change would be introduced into the constitution of that House by the result of the ensuing elections, that the Bill would stand a good chance of being considerably modified in the next Parliament, and he, tberefore, hoped such arrangements would be made in the progress of this Bill through Committee as to meet the views of the Hon. Member for Dorsetshire, with respect to limiting the duration of the Bill to a less time than five years.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. MILES said that nothing which took place since the last discussion had altered his mind, and he regretted the course which his lion. Friend had taken in raising the discussion, on the present occasion. He would take that opportunity of defending Mr. Chadwick, whom he believed was most honest, upright, and sincere, and he had received a letter from Mr. Chadwick requesting him to lay such papers before the House as would fully ex culpate him from the charges which were made against him by the Noble Lord at the head of the Government. The following was the passage in the Noble Lord's speech to which exception had been taken. The SPEAKER sa d that the Hon. Member could not read extracts from the speeches of another Member delivered durnag the present session. Mr. MILES begged pardon of the House, and then went on to read a defence of Mr. Chadwick's, in which he said that he never heard of any complaints against him until the speech to which he objected was delivered. His opposition was to some proceedings which would be calculated to injure the commission or the law, and to details rather than to men.—(Hear.) Mr. Chadwick also wrote a letter to Mr. Nicholls, demanding to know whether he had offered any improper opposition, or whether he had ever reason to suspect him of caballing in the public service, either from personal or private motives ? To all these questions Mr. Nicholl wrote a very strong letter in favour of Mr. Chadwick, denying the truth of all these charges, and praising him for the services; which he had rendered to the commissioners.— (Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Miles) thought it his duty to bring forward this case at the very earliest moment, and he trusted that the House would pardon him for so doing.---(Hear, hear.) Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, that after what had been stated, he thought it might be permitted him to state what he thought of the conduct of Mr. Chadwick. He bad a high opinion of his abilities, and he considered that his reports upon the poor-law were most valuable, but he did object to his conduct as secretary to the com missioners whom be was appointed to serve; and he gathered his opinion from an attentive perusal of the evidence, and particularly of the evidence of Mr. Chad wick himself. He certainly did admit, that on several occasions Mr. Chadwick objected to certain measures, and upon consideration of his opinion, he (Lord John Russell) approved and decided in Mr. Chadwick's favour. —(Hear, hear.) But Mr. Chadwick, in his evidence, did lead people to imagine that the commissioners did not conscientiously discharge their duty in examining into the suggestions which might be offered to their notice, who wilfully shut their eyes to the consideration of clauses, and who wilfully neglected their duty. The Noble Lord then referred to Mr. Chad wick's evidence, and said that if these were Mr. Chadwick's opinions, he ought to have resigned his office. He was very sorry that such should be his impression, but it was adopted from a perusal of his own evidence. He would, in this place, again take an oppor tunity of expressing his high opinion of the abilities and integrity of Mr. Chadwick. He would not enter into the debate raised by the Hon. Member for Dorsetshire ; the question was decided on the second reading of the Bill, after four nights' discussion, and he therefore did hope that the House would then go into Committee, in which he would be quite ready to defend any clauses which might be objected to.—(Hear, hear.) Sir JAMES GRAHAM said that he would be sorry to say anything painful to the feelings of any one ; but whilst he admitted and valued the high abilities of Mr. Chadwick, he must say that he had some errors. He thought, therefore, that the continuance of Mr. Chad wick in connexion with the commission would not be advantageous to the public, while at the same time he considered that he should have an appointment in some other important branch of the public service that would give employment to his superior abilities and prevent the public from being deprived of them. When the Bill went into Committee he would be happy to discuss its details, and he would suggest to the Hon. Member the propriety of withdrawing his motion. Lord COURTENAY could not agree with the Noble Lord (Russell) that the evidence of Mr. Chadwick before the Andover Committee showed a desire to undermine the power of the Poor law Commissioners. The result of that inquiry was, in his mind, and in that, he be lieved, of the whole Committee, an impression that Mr. Chadwick had acted with great ability and zeal, and that his exertions were directed to a fair and higher ad ministration of the law. On the reperusal of that evi dence this morning, there was nothing in Mr. Chad wick's evidence or conduct which appeared to him (Lord Courtenay) to afford the least ground for the charge of unfairness, or of a desire to undermine the power of the commissioners. He thought it necessary, in justice to Mr. Chadwick, to say thus much in his defence. Mr. CHRISTIE was quite certain that the Noble Lord at the head of the Government would be the last to act unjustly towards any individual, still he thought Mr. Chadwick was harshly dealt with. He thought that the imputation made against him required a great deal of evidence to substantiate. When he heard the late Home Secretary stating that Mr. Chadwick was influenced by feelings of disappointment, and that the misunderstanding between him and the Poor .law Com missioners were influenced by these feelings, he thought that there were circumstances which, to some extent, warranted these feelings. In consequence of the reports he made as an assistant commissioner, be was invited to join the board, and was intrusted with the drawing up of a report in which the Poor-law Amendment Bill was formed. Lord Brougham, on the 31st of July, 1834, spoke in the most favourable terms of that report, for its excellence of composition its lucid arrangement, and its strength of reasoning, Fle thought, therefore, that taking the subsequent proceedings into account, when two gentlemen were appointed commissioners over him that some allowance should be made if he did labour under feelings of disappointment. He was very mucl surprised, however, that the Right Hon. Baronet (Sir J. w o r a - r l a e w t h cls a uto t henm t xad h tpme e lriass m sntts aoa i i ot s ot dom n e nh d re si e nsu r te s x t a t e n n d d in e g d Graham) should continue him as secretary, when by his o b w et n we a e d n m h is i s m ion a , n h d e th w e as r a o over a period of five years. He would say a word in re ference to himself. Allusion had been made to his con duct, as one of the members of the Andover Committee. ents of the Hon. Member It was alleged that he put a question to Sir F. Lewis p q w o u n a e s s t t i u h o n n a a a t r s n u d t e o . e for Wolverhampton were not to be received with perfect . h p : a r td t a i v t g l a ic e in t i e t: t a g l e ff h m a a i T a r t n s h . p h e e a sr N d ts ao o t DI ; am i credulity, as that Hon. Gentleman was the brother of misu i n d i : se one of those who were implicated in the accusation that led to the formation of that Committee. Mr. VILLIERS said he was not surprised at the course taken by the Hon. Member who had just addresed the House, as he recollected his conduct with respect to Mr. Parker's case. He then stated what was stated to him in confidence. Sir JAMES GRAHAM said that the Right Hon. Member for Wolverhampton had expressed his regret on .his question, and had made a most honourable retrac , tion. Mr. VILLIERS said the Hon. Member for Wolver hampton had asked Sir Franklin Lewis a most improper question in reference to his son. Mr. CHRISTIE—That is untrue.--(Order, order.) Mr. VILLIERS said the. Hon. Member for Wolver hampton was the last person in the House who should use that term.—(Order, order.) The SPEAKER interposed, and Mr. CHRIS TIE retracted the expression. Mr. VILLIERS said that he thought the conduct of the Hon. Gentleman was most improper, and having explained himself he would not trespass further on the House. Mr. GRIMSDITCII said he felt bound to oppose the Bill. He would waive all question of patronage, if he could see his way clearly through the meshes of this Bid. He would himself delegate power to the Secre -ory of State, and employ assistant commissioners to superintend local districts, and make it imperative on each of them to reside within his district, and visit the various unions comprised in it. He wanted none of the Chadwick's, the Lewis's or the Nieholl's—not one of them. He admitted al. Chadwick's great abilities ;he was an admirable writer ; but, like the Hon. Member for Wolverhampton, he was too much of a theorist. The Hor. Member concluded by expressing his determina tion to oppose the Bill. Mr. SPOONER slid that although a great and in tense feeling existed out of doors upon this subject, there was yet so little interest exhibited inside, that the House could scarcely be kept, and, therefore, he agreed with the Hon. Member for Dorsetshire, that the termination of a session, and of a Parliament, was not the best period to consider this Bill. According to the present system, the poor labourer, who was no longer enabled to support his family, was separated from his wife and from his children, he was treated worse than the convicted felons; there was less care taken of his moral and physical being, and, therefore, he contended that as the workhouse test had already proved so defective, the present Bill was so much the more defective, that it provided no remedy for this evil. He thought that this question was too important to be discussed with the limited number of Members, who seemed disposed to attend to it, and although he would not press the House to a division, he could not think of sitting down without making these few obser vations upon the measure. The motion was then withdrawn, and the House went into Committee on the Bill. On clause 1 being proposed, Mr. GRIMSDITCH suggested that one officer should be empowered to take the whole control of the work ing of this law. He should, therefore, propose to leave out the words after " that," and add that her Majesty " constitute and appoint a Member of the Privy Coun cil to carry out the administration of this law, to be called the Secretary of State for the administration of the Poor-law." After some observations from Sir GEORGE GREY, expressive of his disapproval of the alteration proposed in the clause, the amendment was withdrawn. The clause was then agreed to, as were also clauses 2, 3,4, 5,6, 7, 8,9, 10, and 11. On clause 12 being proposed, Mr. HENLEY said the Committee were arming these commissioners with great powers, and it was, therefore, highly desirable that they should keep a record of their proceedings, in order if there should happen to be any wrong doing, the wrong-doer should be easily got at. Now, it appeared to him that as this clause would throw all the responsibility upon one person, the entire board would be removed from all blame when blame was due. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said the object of the clause was to throw the responsibility of the proceedings of the board upon the President. Mr. BANKES said, if that were so, where was the use of establishing a board of commissioners when the entire responsibility was to rest in the President? Lord J. RUSSELL said that Government had always intended to throw the responsibility upon the President, in the same way the President of the Board of Control was responsible for the proceedings of the Government. Mr. BANKES protested that it was not fair to place the English peasant on the same footing as the distant Hindoo.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) The clause would eventually be a delusion. He thought that the object of the Government, in this Bill, was to whitewash the commissioners, and by Act of Parliament state what his duties really are ; if there was to be a board at all, it was abso lutely necessary that it should be both an efficient and responsible one. He thought that the cor poration ought to be compelled to keep the records. Sir G. GREY did not see anything in the clause which prevented the commissioners from keeping the records of their office. After a few words from Mr. HANLEY and Sir G. GREY, Mr. REDHEAD YORKE said that he could not conceive anything more obnoxious than the clause would be as proposed by this Bill, and if the House should decide on dividing upon the clause he should certainly vote against the clause. Mr. CHRISTIE thought that the commissioners had kept a record according to the provisions of the Act of Parliament, but he quite concurred in the clause in the present Bill, proposing to repeal the clause in the existing Act, now that the constitution of the board would be entirely changed. Mr. GRIMSDITCH thought that there was no ne cessity for retaining this clause in the Bill. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL thought that the pro vision made in the Bill for enforcing an annual report to be laid upon the table of the House was a sufficient guard that the proceedings would be public and known to the House. Mr; BANKES said that it appeared to be assumed that the President of this Commission would be a Member of that House, but there was no security for that. He might not obtain a seat in the House, or if he did, he migs not be Able to keep it. Mr. HANLEY moVed that all the words from " or," in'.d4ie 26, dawn to. the word " preceding," in line 30, should be struck out: *trangers vyerg then ordered to withdraw, and the House divided, when there appeared -. For the amendment Against it 65 " 1, •- Majority —42 The clause was then agreed to, as was also clause 13. Clauses 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19, with a few verbal alterations, were then agreed to. Clause 20, after some observations from Mr. Henley. Sir G. Grey, and others, was agreed to. Clause 21 was agreed to. Clauses 22, 23, and 24 were also agreed to. On clause 25, Mr. P. BORTHWICK proposed an amendment, that the word " five" be omitted for the purpose of inserting the word " three," which he conceived was a sufficiently long period for the commissioners' term of office. Colonel SIBTHORP proposed as a further amend ment, that the word " one" should be substituted, for no commissioner so stigmatised would then act in an arbi trary manner, and Parliament would have an opportu nity of investigating their conduct every session. Mr. GREENE said that it was not then competent for the Hon. Member to propose the last amendment. Sir G. GREY resisted the limitation, and considered that the term of five years was quite short enough to enable the company to acquire the experience necessary to discharge the duties of their office efficiently. Mr. SPOONER supported the amendment. Mr. MUNTZ thought it a dangerous thing to extend the period to five years, considering the late arbitrary conduct of the Poor-law Commissioners. After a few words from Mr. TATTON EGERTON, Mr. HENLEY supported the amendment. He thought three years' reign was long enough for them. Sir GEORGE GREY said that assenting to the term of five years did not preclude the House from reviewing the system every year if it were so disposed. Mr. BANKES supported the amendment. Mr. P. BORTHWICK could not withdraw his amendment, and would press it to a division, as the extension which they had lately had of the administra tion of the Poor-law made it necessary to keep a more vigilant eye on the proceedings of the commissioners. Captain HARRIS said that this board was but a mere renewal of the old one ; and he should, therefore, vote for the short period. Mr. HUDSON hoped the Goverment would give way on this point, and meet what appeared to be the general wish of the House. The House then divided, when the numbers were, For the amendment 43 Against it 76 Majority ... —33 The clause was then agreed to. The other clauses were then agreed to. The House resumed, and the report was ordered to be brought up this day. RAILWAYS (IRELAND) BILL. Mr. HUDSON wished to know when Government meant to take theßailways (Ireland) Bill. He suggested that they should take the Irish Railways Bill instead cf the general Railways Bill on Monday. Sir G. GREY fixed this Bill for Monday also. CORN, &c., IMPORTATION BILL. This Bill went through Committee, and the report was brought up and received. LUNATIC ASYLUMS (No. 2) BILL. The report on this Bill was brought up and agreed to and the Bill was ordered to be read a third time this day. SAVINGS' BANKS ANNUITIES BILL. This Bill was read a third time and passed. POLICE CLAUSES BILL. The report on this Bill was received. ROYAL MARINE SERVICE BILL. The report was brought up and received. REPRESENTATIVE PEERS (SCOTLAND) BILL. This Bill went through Committee, and the report was brought up mid received. The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned at Half-past Twelve o'clock. 1,286 ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL. The nineteenth arniversary festival of this excellent society was held on Wednesday at the London Tavern, Eishopsgate-street. B. B. Cabbell, Esq., M.P., F.R.S., occupied the chair on the occasion, and was supported by T. Wakley, Esq., M.P., J. Masterman,lEsq., M.P., Mr. Pendarves, M.P., H. Humfrey, Esq., Q.C.,.tdr. Bain, M.P., Edward Wigram, Esq., Dr. Rice, Rev. D. Major, Rev. J. Briscoe, Rev. Sidney Turner, Charles Pearson, Esq., J. Braithwaite, C.E., &c., &c. On the removal of the cloth, the Benedictus having been sung, and the usual loyal and national toasts dis posed of, The CHAIRMAN proposed " Prosperity to the ?tee , Hospital, and associated with it the name of Dr. Rice, ' and, in doing so, alluded to the benefits which this society had conferred upon the public; it had released more cases than the three other kindred institutions in the metropolis, viz., King's College, Charing-cross, and University Hospitals; and he was sorry that Sir Robert Peel, in presiding at the festival of the King's College Hospital, had omitted to make any allusion to the bene fits conferred upon the poor by it. The present society was essentially one for the poor; its doors were open for their admission without any letter or recommenda tion whatever. Poverty and sickness were the only requisites for admission into the asylum. Since the foundation of ;this charity, in the month of February, 1828, he was happy to say that 231,725 persons had participated in its benefits, and he found that during the past year, according to the medical report, the number of patients relieved by means of the charity had been— Persons afflicted with malignant and con- tagious diseases _ 19,432 Ditto, suffering under various diseases Accidents relieved and sent home BO4 Patients under the dentist 462 Total s 34,221 In addition to the above, there have been 1,286 totally destitute persons admitted into the wards, of whom 68 have died, and 1,189 have been discharged cured.. Total relieved It was needless for him to dwell upon this amount of good in order to enforce the claims of the charity on the liberal support of the public.—(Hear, hear.) He was happy to learn that the amount of debt was diminished, but the total amount still remaining was 5,2461. The receipts during the year had amounted to 4,6321. Bs. 6d., while its expenses amounted to 5,0171. 2s. If ever there was a case made out for the liberal support of the public, it was that of the Royal Free Hospital; and he hoped that its friends and supporters would rally round and support it with a spirit of increased liberality. Dr. RICE returned thanks, and, in alluding to the benefits conferred by the charity, stated that, in all his experience in the medical department of the hospital, he had never witnessed any deviation from the strictest rules of propriety on the part of those who were the re cipients of its benefits. Mr. HUMFREY, Q,.C., proposed the next toast, which was , " The Duke of Buccleuch, the President, and the Vice-Presidents of the Society." With respect to his Grace the Duke of Baccleuch, it was a well-known fact that a large portion of his princely fortune was ex pended in charities, and he felt convinced that there was no charity more worthy of his honoured patronage and support than that of the Royal Free Hospital.— (Cheers.) It had been well said that, in order to depict to the mind in its full extent the horrors of war, they must not speak of the extended battle-field, where the mind was drawn from the contemplation of individual suffering by the splendour and glories of the scene before it, but that they must look at some desolate indi vidual—some weeping family robbed of its parent and protector, and then, and then alone, would the mind feel in all its intensity the full horrors of the dreadful carnage; so in the case of the Royal Free Hospital, the mind was drawn from the contemplation of general and wide-spread distress and misery to a recollection of the circumstance that more than 20 years since one single desolate, distressed, and friendless female was found dying upon the door-steps of a house in this metropolis, with no one to aid her, and no one to succour her. It was to the contemplation of that picture of dis tress that this institution owed its rise, and it would in the end prove a subject of rejoicing to every humane heart to feel that the contemplation of that bitter moment had been the cause of doing so much good, and that the sacrifice then accomplished had been the means of saving thousands and tens of thousands from a similar fate.—(Cheers.) Had the friends of this society wished to inscribe a sentence in which all good men might unite in its praises, they could not have de sired it to be couched in terms more eloquent, or which would strike more closely to the heart, than that heart felt sentence upon the title-page of the report of this society : " Foreigners, strangers, and others, in sickness or disease, having neither friends nor homes, are admitted into the wards of this hospital on their own application, so far as the means of the charity will permit. All sick and diseased persons, having no other means of obtaining relief, may attend at this hospital every day at one o'clock, when they will receive medical and surgical ad vice and medicine free." Could any words state more forcibly the claims and objects of the society than that simple sentence ? (Hear, hear.) An appeal was made to the liberality of those present, which he was sure would meet with a hearty response, on behalf of those whose life was one continued scene of misery and wretchedness, whose whole life was like the roll of the prophet, written within and without, and what was written thereon was " lamentation, mourning, and woe."—(Cheers.) Mr. WAILLET, M.P., proposed the health of the Chairman. At one period of his life he (Mr. Wakley) had been opposed to this institution, but he frankly avowed his change of opinion on that subject. He was now one of its most ardent admirers.—(Hear, hear.) Other institutions of a similar kind, literally gorged with wealth, and absolutely sleepy with satiety, possess ing incomes of from 40,0001. to 60,0001. annually, did not effect such an amount of good to the distressed poor as the Royal Free Hospital.—(Cheers.) The main principle upon which this hospital was founded, and which he most admired, was that disease and distress were the only passports required for admission within its portals.—(Cheers.) He had no doubt that this in stitution would soon become the model upon which all other hospitals would be conducted. The CHAIRMAN, in a brief and appropriate speech, returned thanks. Various other toasts were disposed of, and the com pany broke up at a late hour. In the course of the evening subscriptions were an nounced to the amount of 1,0951. Among the list of donors and subscribers, we noticed the names of Mr. Peadarves, M.P., 10/. 10s. ; Mr. Shepherd, M.P., 211. ; Mr. Masterman, M.P., 51. ss. ; T. Wakley, Esq., M.P., 101. 10s. ; Lord Southampton, 251. ; Earl Listowel, 51. ss. ; Messrs. Reid and Co., 50/. ; H. Allen, Esq., 51 ss. ; Rev. Sidney Turner, 5/. ss. ; J. Braithwaite, C.E., 104 10s. ; Jos. Tucker, Esq., 211. ; Thos. Fowler, Esq., 101. 10s. ; J. D. Masterman,jun., Esq., 5/. ss. ; Mr. Cochrane, 51 . s s. ; D r. Marsden, lot. 10s. ; W. Baxendale, Esq., 10/. 10s. ; Dr. Rice, (eighth donation), 5/.55. ; Miss Fowler, 5/. ss. ; Miss Smith, 21. 25., &c. The gallery at the end of the room was occupied by ladies, who not only graced the festival with their pre sence, but in addition swelled the catalogue of bene factors to the charity by their very substantial donations to its funds. The musical arrangements were under the direction of Mr. Jolley, assisted by Mt. Hobbs, Mr. Genge, Mr. J. L. Hatton, and Masters Pope and Baines. Mr. Higgs officiated as toast-master. The dinner and the whole of the arrangements were such as to add to the already well-deserved credit of the proprietors of the establishment, and to afford satisfac tion to the numerous guests. NEWSVENDERS' BENEVOLENT AND PROVIDENT INSTITUTION. The eighth anniversary general meeting of this excellent society, the object of which is to grant pensions and temporary relief to masters and servants engaged in the sale of newspapers, who from age, infirmity, or distress, may require assistance, was held last evening at eight o'clock, at Anderton's hotel, Fleet-street. Mr. L. Wild, of Catherine-street, was unanimously called to the chair in the unavoidable absence of the President, Mr. Harmer, from illness, who, however, sent a donation of 101. 10s., and expressed himself as keenly alive as ever to the great importance of the institution. The CHAIRMAN said he was sure they must all regret the circumstance which had rendered the absence of their worthy and benevolent President necessary ; but, at the same time, they must also be glad A LIMB OF THE LAW IN A Takr.—On Monday to find that he was recovering, and that he last, at the Police-office, Blackburn, before Eccles Shor- was the same good friend they had heretofore rock, Esq., Arthur Martin, railway guard, appeared found him. For himelf, he might say that he against George Baron, small debt bailiff, and Henry should leave nothing undone to promote the Johnston, whom he charged with extorting money prosperity of the institution in every way in his power. from his wife on false pretences. Mrs. Martin The SECRETARY (Mr. Cole) then read the r e p ort, stated in evidence that on Wednesday, the 9th which simply stated that, during the last three years of June, her husband being from home for a the improvement of the funds had steadily progressed, and that during the past year they had added 50 /. to the few days, the defendants came to h er house, permanent Stock. A can didate had offered himself and demanded 6s. -on account of Mr. In g ram , for one of the pensions but he h a d been removed by cabinet-maker, &c., due for repa irin g a chest of death ; his widow applied for and received aid, but she drawers. Mrs. Martin denied the debt, stating that onllived a few weeks after. No other app lication for she had bought the drawers on the condition that they a pe sion by a member of the institution had been made should be repaired if necessary, from the wood shrink during the past year ; but the committee had felt ing, within twelve mont hs, at Mr. Ingram's expense. themselves bound to grant temporary aid to The wood had shrunk very much, and she had sent an extent considerably beyond what they co nsidered back the drawers to be r e p aired, for which the alleged the society should be called upon to make to parties debt was incurred. She asked the defendants to defer pressing their claim till her husband came home, who had never joined it as members or added onefarthing to its funds, but they remained in the house for a considerable time declaring they had a "wapentake " for her, and would of commiseration and yet as the applicants wore known to be thoroughly deserving t ._ . ~r elief, it was afforded to them— still was a gratifying piloceed to the last extremity on the following morn-b een necessitated ing, at nine o'clock, if she did not immediately pay tact, that so few a m on g themselves the debt, Baron at the same time producing a piece to claim the a dvantage of the society's benefits, but this enabled them to afford extraneous aid. of paper, which he alleged to be the " wapentake." ' The funded stock is 8501. The committee which, on being disclosed and handed to the witness, trusted that their inconsiderate fellow- tradesmea would on her paying the 6s. 6d. for Baron's trouble, join them in the laudable work they had in view, by wa s found to be the tradesman's account. Being d on ations or small annual subscriptions, and thus ensure called on for his defence, the myrmidon of the law for themselves and those dependent upon them the aid smiled most insinuatingly, and said the thing was all of the society in the hour of need. a mistake, and that he had told Mrs. Martin that Mr. The accounts showed the disbursements to have Ingram had been served with a " wapentake," and that been an 1391. l6s. 3d., and the expenditure 821. 9i. 10d , he might have to do the same by her to morrow morn ing, at nine o'clock ; not that he then had a " wapen- o f and that a balance of sil. 6s. 6.1. remained in the hands ' take" or " proper law" for her. That he had so threat- m treasurer. ened, however, was clearly proved.—He was ordered to m r. ToaaNs presented a donation of 101. 10s. from pay back the money and costs, 95. ; which he left the Weekly D ouglas p resenthi s daughter Newspaper who had intended to have been Guernsey, had called him suddenly from or such other influences as he could put in operation.— Manchester Guardian. rendered his absence unavoidable. He assured them that ton,n,an i d n The Court of Assizes for Yonne, a few days ago, condemned a young woman for the murder of her illegi- M r. Jerrold felt the deepest interest in the institution, timato twine, to twenty years of hard labour at the Fi,nd Rs he had received the utmost kindness from the hulks. Her father, who was an accomplice in ber crim e , t v'tdc- 4, not only in London. but in ti‘e. praiee. ~ := an d who earnestly pleaded that h e did it onl y to save that he was doing his donation. He also wished to be no more than his duty i n prebeliiiiii; the Society with t t h e character of his daughter, was sentenced to death. — come a contributor of 21. 2s. a year. The announcement was received with the warmest de- 18, 1 monst; rations of gratitude, and the Chairman, on bei i lalf of the m .eeting, cordially thanked the donor, who wa, S, on the Itant, elected one of the vice-presidents, as also was 111. Bond Cabbell, M.P. The committee and the other officers of the institution having been re-elected, and a vote of thanks passed to the Chairman, and suitably acknowledged by him, thct meeting; separated. ELECTION MOVEMENTS. BOLTON.—A deputation from the free-traders of Bolt& Mn waited on Tuesday upon Mr. John Brooks, of Mane ;pester, and presented to him a requisition signed by about 400 electors, requesting him to offßr himself as a candidate in conjunction with Dr. Bowring ; but Mk have net been able to learn the result. No candidate figs yet been announced in the Conservative interest, and it is thought by many that if they cannot find a gentleman of local influence, they will make a virtue of necess:qy, and adopt Mr. Ainsworth as their man.— Manchesler Guardian. BUM—The intimation of the intended retirement of Lord Ch Fitzroy from otfh:nreeportesseinrtaHtielyofßtulneis.. aal e idt3o.-_ll. the intentions - co forward. has been aut h ent i cate d by b b o u r r o y u , s gh , suns the addresses of the retiring Membe r and the candidate, Mr. Edward Herbert Banbury.—Manchester paper. CAMBRIDGE BOROUGH. --At present there are three candidates actually in the tield—Mr. Campbell, Mr. Adair, and Mr. Manners Sutton. Mr. Pitzroy Kelly has not returned to Cambridge to solicit, like Mr. Man ners Sutton, a renewal of the confidence of the electors. —Cambridge Advertiser, ESSEX.—In consequence of the severe illness or Mr. Savill Onley, that gentleman has withdrawn his lame as a candidate for the Northern Division; and Major Beresford, the representative for Harwich, has been in duced to come forward in the Conservative interest. Mr. Bramston consents to be again put in nomination for the Southern Division. Mr. William Bowyer Smith, of Hill-Hall, is the other Conservative candidate.—z:; ssez Standard. HUDDERSFIELD.—We understand that George Wilson, Esq., in reply to the deputation from Huddersfield, re questing him to become a candidate for that borough, has intimated that it is not his intention to go into Parlia ment at present. IpsWICH.—Mr. J. N. Gladstone and Mr. Sackille - Lane G. Fox, the present Members for Ipswich, have an nounced their intention of again soliciting the suffrages of their constituents. _ _ KENT, WEST.—We have great pleasure in being able to state that the requisition to Thomas Law Hodges, Esq., is progressing simultaneously in the different elm toral districts, in the most satisfactory manner.—Maid stone Gazette. LANCASPIRE, SOUTH.—A meeting of the committee for promoting the election of the Hon. C. P. Villiers for South Lancashire, was held on Tuesday night, at Newell's Buildings, George Wilson, Esq., in the chair. The principal object of the meeting was to form this committee into one for securing the re turn of the two Liberal candidates, Mr. Brown and Mr. Villiers, to appoint an executive and finance com mittee for conducting the eletion, with powers to add to their number, to hold the canvass books in complete readiness in case of any emergency, and to convey the warmest thanks to the various district committees and other friends at a distance, for their prompt response to the call of the committee, by the cordial offer of their service in behalf of Messrs. Brown and Villiers. The committee were also instructed to take charge of the management of the registration of South Lancashire for the present year.--Manchester paper. MAIDSTONE.—Mr. B. Hope and Mr. Dodd have an nounced their attention to solicit the honour of being again entrusted with the representation of Maidstone. Mr. D. Salomons, having been declared disqualified for aspiring to the representation of Marylebone, seeks the distinction of third man at Maidstone.—Maidstone Journal. NEWCASTLE.—Mr. Watson is still mentioned as the most likely second Liberal candidate, and we believe that he is not unwilling to come forward if invited by the electors generally.—Newcastle Guardian. SUFFOLK, WEST.—We hear of no opposition to the present sitting members, Mr. Waddington and Mr. Bennet, who it is announced will again stand before the constituency on the hustings. SUFFOLK, EAST.—Lord Rendlesham and Mr. Edward Sherlock Gooch will again be candidates.—Essex Standard. TAMWORTIL-Mr. Wm. Yates Peel will represent this borough in connexion with the late Premier, in the new Parliament. This is now placed beyond doubt by the retirement of Captain A'Court from the forthcoming struggle. YARMOUTEL—A deputation has visited the Reform Club on an exploring expedition, in search of a candi date to succeed Mr. Wilahere, whose retirement we have already announced, and they have secured the pro mise of a representative in the person of Mr. Wynn Ellis, who, in the event of Mr. Rumbold's standing again, it is said will be his colkague,—Cambridge Ad vertiser. CHARGES AGAINST PUBLICANS. At the Manchester petty sessions, Mr. James Milne, publican, of the Duke of York Inn, Shaw, was charged by police-sergeant Farlam, with having twelve persons drinking in his house at a very early hour on Sunday morning. As it appeared that police-sergeant Farlam bad been altering the date in this and several other sum monses, Mr. A. Schofield, magistrate, asked him by whose authority he had altered the summonses.—Mr. Jones, chairman of the bench, remarked that it was most disgraceful conduct on the part of the officer, and he should certainly acquaint Mr. Fowler with the circum stance.—Mr. Worthington, magistrate, said he should refuse to sig n any precepts for police-sergeant Farlam , if he continue to alter them.—Sergeant Farlam promised that in future he would not take such liberties with the summonses. The policeman stated that the company in Milne's house were rather noisy, and were in two rooms. Mr. Ashcroft, solicitor, contended on the part of defend ant, that the company were quite orderly, and the pub lican was attempting to get them out, when the police arrived, for he had not supplied any liquor for some time. —Two witnesses spoke to the company being orderly. The case was dismissed on payment of costs.—At the same sessions, Samuel Howard, publican, of Shaw, was charged by police-sergeant Farlam with having thirty three persons drinking in his house at an early hour on the morning of the 2d instant.—The policeman said the day before there had been several processions of sick clubs at Shaw, and on that account the publicans had el o o f F s k.— er, Ser geant Farlam.—Mr. Ashcr oft, solicitor, contended, on kept their houses open later than usual ; at defendant's house there had been a da nce attended by a large com pany, evidenc e tw o o bre c ti o k rr u o p bor t a il t l ed ne th ar e l r) Two an y 9 county which dids policemen ot the part of the defendant, that as the day before had been Trinity, which was observed at Shaw as the anni versary of several sick clubs, and a sort of ball had been hold at defendant's house on the night in question, the defendant had kept open to a later hour than usual, but the company had been both respectable and orderly.— Mr. James Barlow Crompton, one of the principal inha bitants of the neighbourhood, gave evidenee as to the strictly orderly character of the company at defendant's house.—The case was dismissed on payment of costs.— At the same sessions, John Milne, publican, of Shore Edge, was charged by police-sergeant Farlam, with sell ing beer on his premises during the hours of divine ser vice, on Sunday the 6th of June. Policeman Whittaker gave evidence as to the circumstance. The defendant said that on the day in question a quarterly meeting of a women's sick club had been held at his house, but dur ing service time he had sent them to a neighbour's house, and he was sending a bottle of beer to them when the policeman arrived ; but the club were going to give up tha practice of meeting on Sundays.—The defendant was convicted in a penalty of 10s. and costs.—Manches ter Guardian. ARRIVALS FROM IRELAND.--The change Of wind has effected the arrival of vessels from all parts, which bad been delayed by the contrary state in which it has remained almost stationary for some time past, but in no particular has it been more conspicuously evinced than in the arrivals from the sister island. No less than seventeen vessels arrived in the Thames on _ Monday from Ireland, laden with grain and pro visions, including the following :—The Mayflower, from Cork, with 650 quarters of beans ; the Rebecca, from the same port, 560 quarters of beans; the Clementine, from Limerick, 1,000 quarters of oats; the Ganges, from Limerick, 225 quarters of wheat, and 456 sacks of flour; the Grace, from Limerick, 740 quarters of wheat ; the Friends, from Limerick, 595 qrs. of oats, and 65 qrs. of wheat; the Aurea, from Ballina, 715 quarters of wheat; the Elizabeth, from Londonderry, 30 cwt. of oats, and 220 tierces and 60 barrels of pork ; the Dolphin, from Sligo, 825 barrels of flour; the Adroit, from Sligo, 700 quarters of oats, and 7 Bcwt. of peas ; the Ardent, from Sligo, 500 quarters of wheat; the Erin Lass, from Gal way, 285 quarters of beans, and 350 quarters of wheat ; the Preussicher Adler, from Cork, 341 boxes of eggs, 644 firkins of butter, 825 boxes of soap, 490 barrels of meal and flour, 119 casks of general provisions, 47 casks of hams, 107 bales of bacon, 130 casks of lard, 90 of salmon, 50 boxes of lemons, 32 calves, 72 head of cattle, and various other articles ; the Citizen, from Dublin, II 1 casks of bacon, 14 casks of lard, 6 of ham, 70 of pork, 155 of paper, 88 boxes of eggs, 24 casks of whisky, and 41 of porter ; the Frith, from Galway, 1,000 quarters of oats ; the Victoria, from Galway, 250 quarters of rye, 160 quarters of peas, 700 barrels of flour, 50 bags of beans, 20 of rice, 53 packages of bacon, 63 of middles, 44 of pork, and 18 of bacon-and lard ; and the Perthshire, from Galway, 750 quarters of wheat. These numerous arrivals has not been preceded by a dearth of importations from that country, for there was during the past week a more than proportionately large quantity of supplies from Ireland at the ports of London and Liverpool, in comparison with those which took place during the period from foreign states. THE IMMEDIATE REPEAL OF THE CORN LAWS. — The petition from the Chamber of Commerce was pre sented in the House of Commons on Wednesday even ing, by Mr. Milner Gibson, and on Friday afternoon a deputation from the Chamber, consisting of Messrs. Thomas Buxley, Salis, Schwabe, Charles Pooley, and upon nc the Courier. 5 On the morning of t h e 24 th instant , during WRECK OT AN EMIGRANT VESSEL.—KIRILWALL, MAY 2 . the prevalence of a very dense fog, the American ship Herald, of Baltimore, Captain Pullen, came ashore at Tankerness, not far from this place, and having filled with water, will in every probability be a wreck. The Herald left Amsterdam on the 16th of this month, hav ing on board a general cargo, consisting of coffee, steel, g o ., ",;.d 112 emigrants, principally Prussians and Ger :Ll alis of the swat faruitr as's., in families. These emi grants, with the crew, were all got ashore in safety, and have fortunately for themselves saved their small store* of provisions and luggage.—Ross Advertiser. 1 to bli ° tO lir lOC