The Sun. — London, England, 1857-06-05 00:00:00

litiE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING. JUNE 18K9\ merit of the commerce of the country had been left to merchants it would never have made any progress ; and that if the shipowners, for instance, had had the mana gement of the Board of Trade, the navigation laws would never have been repealed until half the markets of the world had been lost. The hon. gentleman bad correctly stated that of late years the constitutiou of the Board of Trade had been attered. Formerly it was consulted Ly all departments of the Government • although it still 's and remained toe great extent a consulting body, many of its previous duties bad been swept away. The other day he had to refer a Consolidation Commercial Code froth Malta to the Board of Trade, as it was importanthe should have the best opinions on the important mattereitinvolved. He mentioned this as an illustration of the duty which still devolved upon that department of the Government. So far from admitting the principle advocated by the hon. gentleman, he held to the opinion he bad already ex pressed—that the Board of Trade should be managed by persons entirely unconnected with commerce, and who, therefore, in that respect, would be entirely above sus picion. (Hear.) The right hon. gentleman passed a high compliment upon Mr. Cardwell in reference to the per formance of his duties at the Board of Trade ; and ex pressed his regret that he was not at present a member of the house. With regard to the complaints of the hon. gentleman that the Board of Trade reported upon pri vate bills, he was somewhat astonished at it, for he had always heard it spoken of as a mpst valuable and im portant function of the Board of Trade to report to com mittees on private bills on behalf of the public, who, in too many instances, on such occasions, were -unrepre sented. The hon. gentleman could hardly intend, espe cially under the circumstances of the present session, to press a motion for a select committee to inquire into a question which the house itself could much more satis factorily deal with. (Hear.) Sir J. GRAHAM could not reconcile it to his sense of duty to give a silent vote upon this question. He bad no official experience of the particular office to which this debate referred, but in the language of Mr. Burke, he had observed the operation of the Board of Trade "on and off" for a period of 40 years, being the whole period that he had had the honour to bold a seat in the house. He had observed the functions of the board in question as discharged by men of the highest talent. (Hear.) He was surprised that the hon. gentleman should be the per son to bring for ward such a motion, when he could not take a step in the city which be represented without having brought to his attention the memory of that'dis tinguished gentleman, his predecessor in the representa tion of that city—(applause)—who presided over the the Board of Trade with an efficiency that entitled him to the gratitude of his country. (Cheers.) lie could not go into the Exchange without seeing the statue of tbat gentleman, with an inscription which declared the great benefits he had conferred upon the city of Liver pool. (Hear.) Nor could be behold the docks, which re ceive into their bosom - the produce of the world, without being reminded that they were the work of Mr. Huskis son. (Cheers.) The Custom-house, again, was considered at the time it was erected to be too large, but his fore sight perceived (what bad been verified by the result) that it would be inadequate to the growing reqaireinents of the trade of Liverpool. (Hear.) fie could not enter the cemetery where Mr. Huskisson lay buried without being reminded what shadcwg we are, and wla shadosig are the objects we contend for, and yet it was the hon. member for Liverpool that had made the appeal to this house which they had just heard. The hon.geailernan, in saying that the operation of the board was not satisfac tory, did not confine himself to the present moment. He paid some compliments to the noble lord who presided over that board, but he (Sir J. Graham) would not ad dress the language of flattery to that noble lord ; he must s iy that many men of even greater talents had filled that post. He was afraid to weary the house, but he felt bound to bear testimony to the good service the Board of Trade had done to the country. After the long observa tion he had had of its operation he should like to detail what were the services it had rendered to' the State within his memory. He considered that the period from 1820 to 1830 was the real commencement of the battle which terminated In the adoption of sound commerce and economical principles, the Waterloo of free trade, and Mr. Huekisson was its champion. (Cheers.) The Board of Trade, in his humble opinion, bad been the pioneer of sound principles ; it had cleared the bush, prepared the soil, and sown the good seed, which had multiplied a hundredfold. (Applause.) He was grieved to see bow the errors and slips of great men were constantly brought for ward, and their great services forgotten. Truly such men's faults were written upon tablets of brass, and their good deeds on the face of the water. (Cheers.) Nothing could be conceived more disastrous than the want of fuel in particular portions of the country. These islende were blessed %with an abundant supply of fuel, but there wore particular districts in which there was a deficiency, and in 1820 there was a duty of 9s. 61. per chaldron on sea borne coal, passing through the coal districts to the less fortunate parts of the country. At the instance of Mr. Huskisson that duty was diminished, and afterwards, at the instance of Mr. P. Thompson, it was entirely remit ted. Again, he thought nothing was more prejudicial than the system of bounties upon exports. As late as 1829 there was a bounty of no less than 300,0001 on goods exported to Ireland, but in 1830 that vicious sys tern was repudiated, and the bounties were remitted, upon which an immense spring took place in the trade of Ireland. In 1819 it was supposed by Chancellors of the Exchequer that articles of large consumption might be heavily taxed with the certainty of advantage to the re venue; and in that year the duty on coffee was raised at the instance of Mr. Vansittart from 6d. to Is. on the lb. In 1824 Mr. Huskisson persuaded the Government to try the experiment of a reduction of the duty to 6d., when the imports increased in four years from 7,995,000 to 22,740,000 lbs, and from this reelection of the taxetion by 50 per cent, there was a gain to the revenue of 20 per cent. Ile would not dwell upon the question of naviga tion, in respect to which Mr. Huskisson had been one of the tnoet earnest advocates of a relaxation of those laws as eauly as 1825, and had brought about various changes; not as much as he desired, but laying the foun dation, both in argument and practice, for the progress which it had been the fortune of the noble lord to pursue in 1850. Tree great battle was fought by Mr. Huskisson The battle field chosen in 1826 was the question of the duties on silk. On one side it was contended that native industry ought to be protected, while the principal argu ment on the other side turned on the salutary effects of competition. The arguments on both rides were well stated in two speeches to which he should call the atten tion of the house. He did not know whether the hon. member for Coventry was in his place, but in those days he was one of the great advocates of protection. He then stated that in the city of Coventry there were 9.700 looms, 7,500 of which were in the hands of operative weavers, and were worked by manual labour as well as by machinery, and were engaged in the manufacture of ribbon.. These looms were of the worst possible con struction. An improved loom was in use in France, by which five times as much silk could be turned out, with the same amount of labour as by the English looms. In Germany, too, there was an improved manu facture, by which one man could produce in the same time 48 times as much as the English manufacturer ; and "How," the hon. gentleman asked, "could the E iglish operative maintain such a competition." (Laughter.) Mr. Huskisson'a answer summed up in a few sentences everything that could be tersely and beau tifully said, in reply to this argument. He said that monopoly bad produced, it was always sure to produce, indifference with regard to improvement, and that use ful zeal which gave life to industry, fostered ingeeuiry, and incited to unceasing efforts to produce the most results from a given amount of material, was extin guished. The prohibitive system left us behind our neighbours in the arts of production, and this was a proof of its chilling aad becalming effects, when no genius was called into action. An indolent security was the natural result of of restrictive regulations. If the same system bad continued, c :tton would have been as sub ordinate to woollen manufacture as it was junior in in troduction. (Hear.) . The right hon. baronet then referred to Mr. M'Cullagh, who bad stated that since the removal of the prohibitive duties on silk, the manu facture had made more progress than during the pre ceding century. The disparity between our manufac ture and that of France had been abated in respect to most articles, and in a few we were decidedly in ad vance of that country. On the other side, goods were now exported to France to the amount of upwards of 200,000/, (Hear, hear.) He must observe that there was still a duty upon silk, notwithstanding the battle that had been fought (and this was about the only anomaly in our system) of 25 to 30 per cent. He might mention other articles, such as timber, the duties on which had been much reduced at the instance of his right hon. friend the member for the University of Ox ford, in 1842, and of the Colonial Secretary in 1851, but he cool I not pass over one article, in respect to which the principle of Mr. Huskisson had signally triumphed, the article of wool. In 1826 the foreign article was absolutely prohibited, and the export duty on the manufactured article was very heavy. It was 6d. per pound, or about 25 per cent. The deity on the raw material was reduced by Mr. Huekisson, and the export duty nearly repealed. The price of home-grown wool never was so bigh as in the present year—(Hear, hear) —the home grown having all the advantage of the in crease in price. (Hear, hear.) He might point out what in 1845 was done at the instance of the Board of Trade, when our tariffs were revised. Our tariff pre vious to that time included 420 articles. At that time the duty on all raw ma'eriala was removed ; all prohi bitive duties were exchanged for protective, and all pro tective duties were much reduced to a standard not ex ceeding 10 per cent. (Hear, hear.) The hon. member for Liverpool said they could learn nothing from the Board of Trade. Had the hon, member studied the statistical abstract iesned by that board ? For his part he thought a more important document had never been issued by any department. From that abstract it ap peared, for instance, in respect to 'silk, on which the first Experiment was tried, that the quantity of the raw material imported in 1842, when the effect of the ame lioration was only just beginning to be felt, was 3,551,000 pounds, and in 1856 it had risen to 7,383,000 pounds. (Hear, hear.) The quantity of Wool imported in 1842 was 45,881,000 lbs. and in 1856 it had risen to 116,211,000 lbs. (Hear.) The quantity of flex in 1842 was 1,145,000 lbs. and in 1856 it had risen to 1,697,000 pounds. The declared value of the silk imported in 1842 was 590,0001., and in 1856 it was 2 966 0001. Of the wool, in 1842, 5,185,0001. ; and in 1856, 9,530,000/. Of the linen, in 1842, 2,346,000/. ; and in 1856, 4,896,000/. (Applause.) Then let them consider what had been the effect of the repeal of the navigation laws. It bad been predicted that it would ru i n B r i t i s h ship ping, that it would diminish the num b er of British sailors, that it would be fatal to the ships and to the men ; that it would destroy the commercial superiority of Eegland, and that it would bear upon our naval supre macy In the most adverse manner. (Hear, hear, and a Liu2ll.) What were the facts? Why, that in 1850, when the change was made, the number of registered British sailing and steam vessels was 17,892, and in 1856 it had risen to 19,207. (Hear, hear) The tonnage of these vessels in 1850 was 3,137,000 ; and in 1856 it bad risea to 4,156,000—an increase of nearly 20 per cent. The number of men in 1850 was 3,137,000, and in 1856 it bad risen to 4,150, - 000. It bad been predicted that the increase in the nuinher of foreigners serving in EnWhili vessels would be very great, but the ab-tract showed that in 1854 the number was on!) , 13,200 ; in 1855, it fell to 12,927, and in the early part of the present year it was but 13,350. It was also said that the number of apprentice boys would diminish. Well, at first there was a reduction. In 1852 the number was only 11,105 ; but in 1853 it increased to 13,826: in 1854 to 18,523 ; and in 1855, the last year to which the n u m b er h a d been made up, it was 22,082. (Hear.) Since 1842,-up to the present time, about two millions of Customs had been remitted, but the Customs, which in 1842 were 21,025,0001., and in 1845 were 20,196,000/., had in 1856 increased to 22,370.0001., a larger amount than when these changes were commenced. The Excise duties in 1842 amounted to 12,517,9001., and increased in 1845 to 12,585,0001., and in 1856 to 17,357,0001. The Character of the board had certainly changed of late, and it was less a consulting body than formerly ; but it was more an executive body, and very considerable executive duties had devolved upon it in consequence of recent changes. The right hon. baronet then referred to the changes in the Merchant Shipping Acts, which, he contended, had been beneficial; and though that word "centralisation," so often made a bugbear, and so little understood—(a laugh)—had been applied in this case, the fact was, that the power still vested in the local magistracy. Men of eminent talents had filled the offices of State which the hon. meinbr r opposite wished to get rid of, and the right hon. b. r met, in support of the continua tion of the present Board of Trade in all its integrity, enumerated the various beneficial changes that bad taken place connected with trade and commerce during the last five years that had emaeated from the Board of Trade, such as the repeal of the navigation laws, the suppression of crimping, the survey of passenger steamers, a regular offici al inquiry into the misconuct of the mastersofvesial in sels, and numerous others, having parti cular reference to the shipping interest and the protec tion of seamen, - and all of which had been attended with salutary effects. During tho time Mr. Cardwell held office be was no idle man, for he introduced the Mer chant Shipping Act and carried it, an act containing 400 clauses, and which was a complete consolidation of the whole code of shipping laws. (Hear ) By it fifty statutes were repealed and embodied in it, and he (Sir James Graham) was not wrong in saying that, after all that bad been said about consolidation of the statutes, that was a :solitary instance of consolidation on a large scale. There were in that act facilities for the transfer and mortgage of ships, and it was a model for imitation when the house had to deal with the question of facile tin,g the transfer of lend. (Hear, hear.) That gentle man also succeeded in inducing the Trinity House to give up their charter of Henry VIII., and become under the control and regulation of the executive govern ment, which bad had the effect of remitting in two years 170,0001. worth of shipping duties levied for the maintenance of lighthouses, whilst the old ones had been efficiently maintained by the Government, and new and improved ones had been erected on various parts of the coast. (Eiear.) Another great benefit obtained by the Beard of Trade was the control of the pilots in the Thames, Cinque Ports, and other places on the coast. He hoped the Government would firmly resist the mo tion fur a committee, and maintain the existence of this department of the State in its present integrity, the value of 'which was so apparent to the trade and com merce of the country. Any alteration that could be made for the benefit of the country with reference to its official capacity he should have no objection to see adopted. (Hear.) Mr. BENTINCK did not agree with Mr. Horsfall in all his statements, but was in favour of the motion for inquiry. Sir G. PECHELL also complained of the officioue meddling of the Beard of Trade with the commerce of the country. Mr. LOWE said that he had come down to the house fully prepared to argue the question raised by the mo tion of the hon, member for Liverpool, as to whether there ought to be an alteration in the constitution of the Board of Trade, but not to answer every possibly case that might be brought against the Beard of Trade in the absence of papers and books to which to refer to. If the hon. member wished to raise the question on all the statements he had made to the house, he (Mr. Lowe) would be happy to consent to the production of the papers and enter on the charges. (Hear, hear.) The hon. member having entered so fully into the history of the establishment and con stitution of the Board of Trade, had, he (Mr. Lowe) thought, disposed thereby of one part of his mo tion. The right honourable gentleman the Vice-Presi• dent of the Board of Trade then entered into a comparison of the duties of the board in the time of Burke and in the present time, remarking that grave and he.svy responsibilities rested on the board for the protec tion of the public. He thought that if the Board of Trade had too much to do, it was no argument for an alteration of its constitution, but rather of its being re lieved of some of its burdens. It was the fault of that house that the board had so much to do, because every thing that required investigation and inquiry was handed over to the board, so that if any one was really to blame it was that house for imposing such a multiplicity of duties on that department. It was in consequenes of the information obtained by the Board of Tiade that it might be said to be the cradle of free trade, for Mr. Huskisson at one time held the office of Vice-President of the Board of Trade, and iu 1840 Mr. 11. J. Deacon Hume came forth with his valuable evidence relative to the import dues. (blears) Replying to the charge brought against the board by the gallant admiral (Sir G. Pecbell), the right hon. gentleman said that the strin gency of the order connected wills the oyster fisheries would only have reference to the oysters being taken up during the months that hed been rosined for eating, but liberty would be granted under it for taking up the oysters for transplanting. The right hon. gentleman de nied that the Board of Trade were the enemies of local self-government. Their duties were to stand forward as impartial arbitrators between great interests and the people and the Board of Trade would ever do it, it it were necessary, with integrity and impartiality, and not allow errors to be pa , sed over by well meaning friends. (Hear, hear.) The charge of interfering with local self government bad reference to the Liverpool Local Marine Boar I, established in 1854, under an act which gives an alternative tribunal for inquiring into wrecks at sea By that act parties could go before the Marine Board, composed of seven shipowners on the spot, four named by the Board of Trade, or before magistrates, assisted by Board of Trade asses sors. At Liverpool many of these had come before the magistrates, from its being thought more de sirable than to go before shipowners, who had generally a very tender regard for brother shipowners. Much hail been said about these proceedings, but no single case had been brought before the house of injustice on the part of the board. Tnero had been 190 cases in which the Board of Trade had withdrawn their certificates to seafaring men, 58 of which hail been renewed, and it ap peared very strange if the Board of Trade had acted with injustice, that not one case could be brought against them out of so many. (Hear.) The board might have erred in judgment, but they had never been guilty wil lingly of an act of injustice towards any party. (Hear.) They bad withdrawn 116 certificates for drunkenness, 20 for loss or damage to ships, and 59 for other offences; there had been 96 cases tried by the local marine board, and by naval courts of law on complaints 57, and 48 by magistrates and assessors; the number of certificates of competency that had been withdrawn, were 71 ; and for service withdrawn, 124. Another complaint made against the board was their interference in asking ques tions in cases of wreck relative to the insurances, and were the board to abstain from doing so they would not be doing their duty, especially as the committee of 1837 called attention to the prevalence of wrecks from that cause, and it being known that ships had been wilfully run ashore where they had been insured ab )ve their value. One complaint against the board was with refer ence to advancing an officer's salary 501., and the ques tion arose whether it was to be considered as salary or as a gratuity. The board contend the latter, and the Ma rine Board the former, so that rather than give way the independent Liverpool Marine Board all resigned. (Hear ) One of the duties of the Board of Trade, and which appeared to give the hon. member for Liverpool some offence, was to examine all private bills. That was a matter of great importance to the public, and were it not for the vigilance of the Board o f Trade, the greatest injustice would be inflicted on them, and, in illustration, he referred to the city of London obtaining, during the railway period, power to collect the coal-tax on all coals brought into the metropolis, by land as well as by sea. Had these bills, then, been referred to the Board of Trade, such an injustice would not have been permitted by Parliament. The right hon. gentleman de fended the Board of Trade from the charges that had been brought against them for interfering with the eon• struction of docks at Liverpool, remarking that all the Board of Trade wanted was for the people of Liverpool to comply with the terms required in respect to these docks, and keep faith with the Board. In the case of the guano, the Board were charged with default, because the Government of Peru charged a high price for that, article. They were charged also in reference to Koorias Moeda Island guano with not remitting 2s. a ton on that product. The Government bad declined to do that, because as it was not proposed to reduce the price of the guano of those islands below the price of Peruvian guano, the Government thought they might better have that amount of duty than to allow it to go into the pockets of the lessees. Although Liverpool proposed that the guano should be imported in vessels of all nations, the truth wag, that the proposition, in effect, restricted the importation of that guano except in Liverpool ships, in as much as the lessees claimed to issue permission to load with guano from those islands. In relation to the mana gement of railways, they were charged that a viaduct on the Manchester and Sheffield Railway had been delayed for three months eight years ago, by the Board of Trade. That was not the case, for at that time the inspecting ofo Tfficrearde. He of railways w waso would not say teat not under Liverpool had been person a l, but he certainly had been t a h t e tchoen hon,trol of m the em Boardm ember e for very local. (Laughter.) If there was a department of the Government which des erve d well of the country, it was the Board of Trade. (Laughter.) All the acts complained of had taken place before he (Mr. Lowe) had had the honour of being connected with it, The honourable gentleman then read an opinion of the hon. gentleman the member for the University for Oxford, as to the value of the labours of the Board of Trade. Of late years the Board of Trade had been in strumental in instituting savings banks for seamen ; of establishing a department to take charge of the wages and effects of deceased seamen, and distributing them to the friends and relatives. In the year 1856 there had been collected and distributed without expense, 33,0001. from that source. Through the instrumentality of Mr. Cardwell the Board of Trade had altered the doctrine of salvage, and made it payable for saving life as well as for saving property. It bad also, by an improved mod of inquiry into the caures of- shipwrecks, very much diminished the lass of life from that cause. In 1852, 920 lives were lost ; in 1553, 689 ; in 1854, 1 519 ; in 1855, 469 ; and in 1850, only 521. C,insidi.ririg the largo increase in shipping, those figures r ere most gra tifying ; and the hon. gentleman (Mr. Cardwell) was entitled to much credit for having inaugerAted the im provements he bad specified. Great improvement in the organisation of life-boats had also taken place, from the application of large sums out of the mercantile marine fund to that purpose. The Board of Trade bad al,o received from the Trinity B::ard the management of lighthouses, and remitted light dues to the extent of 170,0001. Having heard both sides of the question, he submitted to the committee that no board hal better fulfilled its functions than the Board of Trade. NJ board had been better served by its of f icers, and he sub mitted that it was rather strange that the right bun. gentleman opposite should came there to make a formal complaint of that board, not based on /try great principle, but on a single instance of miinonduct, which be had carefully culled up. Ho had made a great many charges, occurring at different times and in different places, but he (Mr. Lowe) thought he had succeeded in answering every one of them ; but if he had not done so, that might be a reason for objecting to the management of the Board of Trade ; but it would be no reason for breaking up the eonstitution of the board and entrusting it to the care of any body of gentlemen who would go there to repre sent particular interests. If that were permitted, the effects would be precisely what it had always been in the case of guilds. Unjust rules against the interests of the public would be enacted, opposition would be roused, and the guild would be overthrown, and the principle of freedom of trade would again triumph. The Board of Trade had fallen into no inch error. They had concili ated no interest at the expense of the public, but had en deavoured so to discharge their functi me as to do their duty to the people That, he believed, would be the opinion of that house, and they would by their vote, if the question came to a division, very unmistakeably ex press that opinion. Mr. BASS Wag grateful they had such a department al the Board of Board. He thought, however, they ought to be grateful to the hon. member for Liverpool for having brought forward the question. He was of opinion that no statistics which that board had compiled would be so valuable ai those they might prepare in the shape of agricultural statistics. He believed it could be done if the proper means were taken, and he much re gretted to have gathered from the speech of the hon. gen tlem tn that he had no intention of cewidering that im portant subj • Mr. JOLIN EWART agreed that the mode in which the Board of Trade had been conducted by Mr. Huskis son was everything that could be desired, but since that time he believed that many of the acts of that depart ment had been most oppressive, and for one was desirous that the inquiry into its present constitution and working shout i take place, Mr. HADFIELD c mgratulated the Vice-President of the Board of Trade on his conduct in reference to the question of 1)cal dues during the last session of Parlia ment. With that question still unsettled this was not the time for any change in the Board of Trade. Let it exercise its influence on that great question, and thus earn the thanks of the northern towns of the k'ngdom, by freeing them from the oppressiveduties levied ontheir goods by Liverpool [time, time, and question ] Mr. HORSFALL in reply said he had made no attack on Mr. Cardwell. During the time Mr. Huskisson and Mr. Canning were members for Liverpool, he had con sistently supported them, when the hon. baronet oppa site had not. Sir J. GRAHAM dissented. Mr. HORSFALLL continued—He had not sneered at either the noble lord at the head of the department of the Board of Trade or at the Vice-President. He would promise that if the committee were granted he would bring forward many cases of injustice. Bat whether that was the case or not, there was a feeling that the mercan tile marine were not tried before a proper tribunal. That feeling existing, and the opinion expressed Ly petitions was a sufficient ground for the Government to cor cede the inquiry sought for. There never was so absurd an argument as that, because tho lessees of the guano islands resided is Liverpool, they theref,re desired to monopolise the trade. He had not brought forward the grievances of any other port than where the occur rences hal occurred under his own eye ; but the ques tion was not loyal, it was a national one, an i whatever might be the decision of the house that night, it would not be allowed to rest there. His arguments had not been met by any of the speakers ; but a good case had been made out for the inquiry. He had never suggested that any one connected with commerce shoelcl be placed at the head of the Beard of Trade, although he certainly did think a person with experience in commercial affeirs would not be misplaced there. He hoped the house would grant him the committee he had asked for, when he had very little fear of being able to establish his proposition by a sufficient number of the cases of injustice, the absence of which had been remarked. Tne motion was then put from the chair, and ulti mately negatived without a division. SOCIAL CONDITION OF THE WORKING CLASSES. Mr. SLANEY moved for the appointment of a stand ing committee, or unpaid commission, to consider and report from time to time on practical suggestions, free trem party differences, to give facilities for improve went in the social condition of the working cases. The rapid increase in our industrial population and the dense aggregation of human beings caused by the development of the manufacturing system, had, he maintained, re sulted in serious social evils among those classes of the community, which required constant vigi'ance and legi,- lative interference for their mitigation. Phis duty be pro posed to assign to a permanent board, whose chief duties be outlined, but wool I not underteke the reepor.- sibility of nominating the members of which it should be composed. Si - r. G. GREY admitted the importance of the sub ject, and recognised the benevolent intentions of the proposer, but on practical grounds chjected to the ap- pointment of a standing committee. Q iestions rel►tir.g to the social condition of the working elassei could be best decided in detail as they arose, and many of the most important were, he observed, already under pro cess of consderation and settlement by measures now before the house. Mr. SLANEY, after a few words in reply, withdrew his motion. THE LICENSING SYSTEM. The house then resolved into committee on the mo tioa of Mr. ATHERTON, to enable him to move for leave to bring in a bill to explain and amend the act to regulate the granting of licenses to public•houses. This bill he proposed to be a declaratory act. The act for granting licenses vested the power in the jus tices. He desired to make the law plain, and in boroughs not having quarter sessions he proposed to vest the power of licensing in the borough justices. There were no less than 77 boroughs having sepa- rate jurisdictions without separate quarter sessions. At present there was a doubt whether the borough justices were the licensing justices, and it was to remove that doubt that he wished to introduce his bill, If the doubt which at present txOited with regard to the licensing of borough justices were well founded, then all innkeepers who held licenses from such justices were liable to be proceeded against for penalties, and therefore lie asked leave to introduce this bill to declare the law with regard to the licensing by borough justices i❑ boroughs having separate jurisdiction. He cancluthd by moviug for leave to introduce the bil!. Sir G. GREY said he had no representation made to him upon the subject. He should not oppose the iutro duction of the bill. Leave was then given to introduce the bill. BURIALS. Mr. HARDCASTLE obtained leave to bring in a bill relating to burials in consecrat e d an d unconsecra t e d grounds. . _ MARRIED WOMEN. Mr. MALINS moved for leave to bring in a bill to enable married women to dispose of reversionary inte rests in personal estates. He bad successfully introduced such a bill in 1855 and 1856 ; but last ycar, when taken to the House of Lords, no noble loaf was found to move the second reading, and therefore it remained a dead letter on the table of that house. He had now, however, obtained the promise of a noble lord to move the second reading, and he believed the merits of the bli would secure its passing. What be proposed was to enable the wife to deal with reversionary personal estate the same as she could with regard to real estate. The ATTORNEY GENERAL said the public would be much indebted to his hon, and learned friend, if be should succeed in carrying this bill, which was to re move an anomaly in our law. Leave was then given to introduce the I id. DUCLIY OF LANCASTER. Mr. CONING HAM rose to move for a select commit tee to inquire into the statements set forth in a petition from Mr. Francis Robert Bertolacci, praying for an in quiry into the proceedings of certain functionaries of the Duchy c,f Lancaster in preventing him from exercising the rights, powers, and privileges of the office of auditor of the Duchy, and in superseding him by a near connec tion of the Receiver-General, to audit that officer's ac counts, such committee to consist of fi?e, members, to be appointed by the General Committee of Selection. He had brought this subject. forward on public grounds, and all he required was a full investigation into the state ments made in the petition of Mr. Bertolacci. c wh ea L sw o iaco r gdpneuea impugned V ieyd E ri N en a D tt eh l ( S iis I tom , La i n totre s dr e :Ga o nr n a d d, i , v a ti g hliae t i h lsoeet conducto or n , d s w a i a d s we no hm b o desirous of the fullest and most starching investigation into the matter. Tha motion was agreed to. HOP DUTY. Mr. RNATCHBULL-HUGESSEN moved to add the name of Sir Brooke Bridges to the committee on the hop duties. Mr. FITZROY opposed the motion, as he objected to the number of committees being increased at a time when so many committees were sitting. After a short conversation between Mr, Hugessen, Sir John Shelley, Mr. Stafford, and the Cisaneellor of the Exchequer, who opposed the a dditi on o f other names. Mr. HUGiSSEN declared his intention to divide the house upon the motion. The question was then put, and the house divided. The numbers were— Against the motion For the motion Majority against it 77 BURIAL ACTS AMENDMENT BILL. This hill went through committee pro forma, to be reignited will) amendments. SHEEP, &a., CONTAGIOUS DISEASES PRE- were thEn named, and empowered to proceed to business orthwith. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS.-(YESTERDAY.) DIVORCE AND MATRIMONIAL CNUSES BILL. Oa the report of t'ao amendments on this bill being read, Lord BROUGHAM rose to express the strong objec tion he felt to c,rtain omissions in the bill to which generally be entirely agreed. He bad another ohjeotion, and that was to what hail been called the amendments made in committee on the bill. He would venture to say that never in the course of his legi6l3tive experience was the word amendment more inapplicable than in this instance, inasmuch as a defect was retained in the mea sure which he had hoped to see removed. What was one of the great objections to the action of crim. con., agreed to on all sides, or on nearly all sides ? One of the greatest, and in his opinion the greatest, objection to that action was the grievous and crying injustice which was done in that action to the unhappy wife of the party who brought the action. An instance bad occurred,' which he believed had been mentioned before, where an action for crim. con. had been brought and compromised by the payment of a trifing sum to the husband. All the husband wanted was to-get rid of his wife, so be charged her with adultery ; but when he get before the Ecclesi astical Court it was proved beyond all doubt that the gn It of the wife was an impossibility, for the marriage had never been censummated, either by the husband or jsaid the noble lord) or by any other man. (Laughter.) To nearly, though not quite, the same degree, his objec tions would also apply to the proceedings authorised by the bill for obtaining a divorce because the adulterer was made no party. The FORD CHANCELLOR said it was proposed to make both the wife and the adulterer parties to the suit. Lord BROUGHAM said in that case he must beg his noble and learned friend's pardon. He woad, therefore, proceed at once to the very strong objections he entertained against what bad been call the amend ments to the bill. He found that a new species of divorce altogether had been invented, but there was no necessity for their lordships to patent it, for no other slate or country would ever desire to pirate the invention. It was a divorce that was neither a menses et tleoro nor a vinculo matrimonii, but yet re tained all the defects of both those systems. With respect . to one of the parties, it was a complete divorce—the vinculum was dissolved, and the husband might marry again. But with respect to the other party—the wife, it was only half a divorce, and she could not marry again. It left her not altogether free, nor yet altogether fettered. She was doomed to the alteroa tive of prostitution or want, of sinning or starving, of the streets or the workheuse. With all that respect which it was natural for him to feel towards tbeir lord• ships, and with every desire to admire originality of con ception, he felt he should be guilty of some of the in consistencies which characterised that measure, and some of the hypocrisy that it encoutaged, were he to express any admiration whatever for their Lrdships' very original invention, Even setting all justice and morality aside—and it was no light matter to do that in an assem bly presided over by his noble and learned friend the Lord Chancellor, and adorned by the heads of the church —but even setting justice and morality aside, what was to be gaiged by the present measure Its professed ob• ject was to prevent adultery, but did it show Oat it would have any such tendency, or anythin g like it Did it not tend to encourage t h e o ff ence it was directed igainst ? It went upon the assumption that in the ma roity of cases the woman and not the man was to be taken as the principal offender; but a long experience of such cases went to show most unquestionably that it was nearly always the man and rot the woman who was the most guilty. Yet that bill eecsuraged the man to per severe in his criminality ty giving him an act of Parlia ment guarantee against the consequences of his crime, by preventing him from marrying the woman. Then with regard to the woman, what did the bill do for her ? The fear of loss of station in lite, and the deprivation of the chil lren, might be taken in most cases to be suffi cient incentives to virtue in a wife. But take one of the worst cases where a woman bad neither self-respect nor natural affection, he believed the fear of loss of posi tion would at ad events be a greater restriction than an act of Par:iament to prevent her , marrying, not merely the adulterer, but any other person whomsoever. T,e strength of female attachments was well known, and it was no uncommon thing in these cases for the adultery to be committed by parties who could not possibly marry. Indeed, 'in the very next divorce case that would conic before their lordehips, the seducer was a married man, and the woman a wife and a mother. The more he looked into it, the more he felt convinced that a greater blot upon the legislation of this kingdom had never been at tempted than by the se-called amendments that had been mace in committee upon that new species of divorce. Lord REDESDALE said the notle and learned lord who last spoke had omitted to allude to the grounds upon which the principal amendment was supported by those who brought it forward. The Scripture said " Whoso marrieth a woman that is divorced, commit teth adult er y," an d th e b . ll i n its original shape ap peared to be opposed to the la , / of God. Lord BROUGHAM said he was perfectly aware that that suggestion had been given as the reason, and he bad recently read a work by an eminent barrister, in which the language of Scripture was twisted about until it ap p2ared to bear that meaning. But those parties all ar gued as though St. Mark and St. Luke had not given a very dill, rent version of the words. At all events, the objection came a century and a half too late, for their lordships had been granting divorces of that kind by a different mode for the last 150 years. Lord RE D ESD said St. Matthew gave the words with great distinctness as coming from the lips of the holy Saviour himself, and he (Lord Radesdr le) could not think that a practice of 150 years was sufficient to jus tify opposition to the Word of God. The Esil of DONOUGEIMORE said he had voted fur the atnndment because he considered that marriage was a contract, and thet it one party broke that con tract, the other should have a remedy, but he did not think it right that the party committing the offence should profit by Lis crime. , The report tnen bringlit up and agreed to. AD'YIINISTI?ATION OF OATHS TO WITNESSES. The report of the select coairnitteo on this sutject hav in2. been t.roui:tht up, bird CAMPBELL moved a resolution, that select committees should in future examine witnesses without, their having been previously sworn, and that in com mittees on private bills the witnesses should he examined on oath, exc-pt only in cases whore it might other wi,e be ordered by the house. His lordship said that the se lect commit ee had approved and recommended that course. The resolution wag agreed to, after which their lord. •hips adjourned at 25 minutes after six o'clock. HOUSE OF COMAIONS.—(YESTERDAY.) VOTING PA PERS. Lord :II. :: CECIL moved fur a select committee to inquire into the expediency of collecting the votes at elections in counties and universities by way of voting papers. The noble lord entered at some length into the question, and urged that it would have the effect of preventing bribery and corruption, and be the means of dispensing with the ballot.; It would also have the effect of increasing the number of votes at elections, because a large number who did not vote under the present system would by the mode be proposed. It had been tried with reference to munici pal el,ctions, and the election of Beards of Guardians, and was found to work well. Is wool 1 also meet many of the objections of the noble lord the member for Middle sex relative to the expense of bringing voters to the poll Mr. M'CULLA.GH opposed the motion, becaue, from the advanced state of the sesion, it would be im possible for a committee to investigate properly the pro. posed alteration, which struck at the root of our elec toral system. The present manly system of voting w a s as bold as the constitution- of the house itself, and to that was opposed tv:hitt he might term an "effeminate" system, because under it at present women were al lowed to vote for certain officers. The dill rence in the principles in use and proposed was this, that the law was to give the franchise originally, and it now carried out in practice the spirit and theory of the constitution Any man once placed on the registry could not be divested of his right by any person, and it was his own fault if he did not exercise it. He considered there were five distinct contingencies to this mode of election, by which the acts of other pereons, without privity cr com plicity of the voter, might prevent his ex-rcising his right to vote at all. Toe point was that it was possible the voting papers might not be delivered to the voter at all, and he instanced the case of Swansea and Banbury, where the elections of guardians wero declared null and void from that circumstance. Another point was that of falsifying or forging the papers, which be illustrated by a circumstance of that kind that occurred in 1855 in the borough of Lambeth, where the parties were punished by criminal proceedings. There was the case of an indictment against five agents at West Bromwich, who were found guilty of tampering with voting papers, and were sen tenced "to three months imprisonment, and when the t h e relaw B oar d I nspector went down and investigated matte r , h e f ound that 342 voting p ipers had been tampered With, and the majority of them found for riurisetsr.ateThe honourable g en tl eman f ur th er procee d ed t on the his argument by s h ow i ng t h e a b use of power part of collectors of th ese papers i n elections for boards of guardians, and he p roceeded to remark on the faults and irregularities atte nding these papers at such elections, which showed the system was a bad one, and would not work, se - the elections had been declared void in coney by the Poor Law /Lard.: (Hear, bear.) I ci fe e r nee general remarks he said that the Government ought some gof the e ot to consult the interest'of the few against that who voted under the present system. Tills was coun3.'dl y ied by many as the half..vay hou-o to the Ballot, tho'l by the noble lord, but he differed f P 8 . repudiated "at 111 m, and he moved the previous question. Lord STANLEY thought that the noble lord (Lord R. Cecil) bad made a mistake in mixing upth e two elections of counties add universities. If the prope,ed alteration had been confined to universities he should have supported the motion, but he could notin counties, because the m en . surd wonl I have the effect of either going tco far or not iar enough for such constituenciee. Sir G. GREY opposed the motion for inquiry on the ground that it was purely one of those questions which the house could not devolve on any committee, but must decidelor itself. Mr. H. BERKELEY compared the proposal to a mere puddle, as compared with the whole sea of reform to which he would lead them in the ballot. Lord J. MANNERS recommended his noble friend to withdraw his motion,•a suggestion to which L ird R. CECIL acceded, and the motion was with drawn; intimating that at some future period he would propose a bill on the sut.ject. GENERAL COMMITTEE OF ELECTIONS. Mr.' WALPOLE brought np the report, observing that it was impossible that the report could be made be fore that day. The members of the general committee BOARD OF TRADE. Mr. HORSFALL then rose to move for a select com mittee to inquire into the origin, the past and eresent constitution, and the powers and duties of the Board of Trade, with a view to its better adaptation to the re quirements of the country. He disclaimed being actuated by any political faction, or intending any reflection on those who presided at the Board of Trade. He was happy to say that the Board of Trade was not a sinecure board. They rather did too much. It was in 1638 the the board was first constituted, and remodelled by Crom well in 1645. In 1660, in the time of Charles 11., ano ther constitution of the Board of - Trade took place. It was divided into two branches, and reunited in 1683. Further modifications were made in 1691, but it was not till 1780 that any material alteration was made—when the entire abolition was moved by Mr. Barber, and the result of the debate was, that the clause for the entire aholition of the board was carried by a majority of eight. The mercantile interests, however, though anxious for its reform, were not anxious for its abolition. The same was true at the present day. The mercantile interest was not anxious for the abolition of the Board of Trade — they admitted its utilities. He would accept the de finition of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who the other evening repudiated all idea of the honorary mem bers, and said that the responsible members of the board were its president and vice-president. The first point which presented itself was, what were the duties which the board so constituted had to discharge ? It had been well said by Mr. Themes that the duties are of a miscel laneous character. A part of this duty was to advise the Treasury on colonial matters, customs, and excise, and to advise the Foreign-office ors commercial treaties. It had to supervise orders in council, and to examine every dock bill, every railway bill for the guidance of Parliament. Nor was this all. It was a general superintendence of agriculture, of surveys, museums, registration, water sup plies ; and after all this, there was a bill before the house which might impose upon them other duties. These ware subjects managed at the Board of Trade, which did not satisfy the country. The people of this country would ever contend for the principle of self-government against that of centralisation. The Local Marine Bill of the present Minister for the Colonies, for the regulation of the merchant shipping, had created a perfect tribunal to examine into shipwrecks. Mr. Cardwell, in his Con solidation Bill, by giving the power to two magistrates had made a mistake ; and the permissive power of the bill to the Board of Trade to appoint an assessor, had given great dissatisfaction. The most important cases had been taken from the local and marine board, and brought before two stipendiary magistrates, assisted by a naval officer. Now a naval officer was not a good judge of such a matter. He had a sufficient number of men under bis command, all of whom he knew, while the merchant captain bad perhaps only 25 men, and could could not weather the gale when the naval offi cer could carry the ship through it. The merchant cap tains demand, like naval captains, to be tried by their peers. The Board of Trade, in removing the trial from a competent to an incompetent tribunal, had created great dissatisfaction. By the Merchant Shipping Act captains were bound to give returns of the names of the owners, the nature of the cargo, and the kind of distress to which the ship was subject. Besides this, they were bound by the words. of the ant to give as much other in formation as the assessor might think necessary. On the strength of this the Board of Trade had asked a series of irrelevant and inquisitorial questions, as, for instance, if the vessel was insured or not, questions which should never have been asked. The act required that the in formation-obtained should be posted at Lloyd's. But what captain liked it to be posted at Lloyd's that he bad lost 50,0001. or 60,0001. by not insuring ? What under writer liked to be posted as having lost ZO,OOO/. or 60,0001. by taking an insurance / Some one had pro perly said that the best answer to these questions would be, "Mind your own business, and we will mind ours." These questions were mo't vexations. Such were some of the cases of interference. Since he had given notice of this motion he had had numerous cases submitted to him in which masters had been hardly dealt with, but in other cases it appeared that the Board of Trade had not bees stringent enough, a license in one case having been granted to a notorious drunkard. Perhaps, how ever, that might have arisen from a want of power on the part of the board. The next point he had to allude to was the power of the Board of Trade to repert on local bills, and on this point he strongly objected to the board being enabled to send reports to committees on local bills, with a view of prejudging their decision one way or another. Ho thought that was a principle quite Inconsistent with the prix ciples of the British constitu tion. Perhaps he might be allowed to refer to a bill which was now before the house in reference to the Birkenhead docks. At the present time vessels were roost unnecessarily detained at Liverpool, not only to the irjory of the owners, but also to the National ex• 1 chequer. Both the Board of Trade and the Admiralty had reported upon that Bill, and while the Board of Trade had censured the Admiralty with regard to the present state of proceedings, the Admiralty had been equally decisive in censuring the Board of Trade. The next point to which he would advert, was the loss to the trade of the country from the want of necessary accom modation. Some time ago Liverpool had 110 landing waiters, and although the trade increased GO per cent. the Board of Customs stuck to that number, and the consequence was that vessels were frequently obliged to wait three or four weeks before they could be discharged. It was not until strong "representations came from Ame rica that this system was altered. The American cap tains complained that it took them long,r to get their cargoes discharged than to make the voyage, and the matter was brought before Sir R. Peel, who was then Prime Minister. The right hon. baronet promised that the matter should have his personal consideration, and in less than six weeks 5G additional landing waiters were appointed. lie hoped the noble lord at the head of the Government would give the same assurance, and that he would so reform and reconstitute the Beard of Trade that it should be no longer an obstruction to the com merce of the country. Then as to the agricultural depart ment of the Board of Trade, he had heard that morning from the Corn Association of Liverpool that the official returns of grain issued by the Board of Trade were utterly worthless for any statistical purpose, and that opinion was confirmed by the President of the Royal Agricultu ral Association. The ntxt point to which he would refer was the supply of guano, in reference to which the Presie dent of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce had stated that it was a gigantic blunder on the part of Government, and especially of the Board of Trade. This was a eutject on which he hell it was the duty of the authorities of the Board of Trade to advise the Secretary of State tor the Colonies. Following up this question of guano, he might state that he had waited with a deputation from the Liverpool Shipowners' Association at Liverpool upon the Colonial Secretary, who said he would take into his consideration the propriety of throwing open the trade. Certain arrangements were submitted to the right hon. gentleman, and by him forwarded to the Board of Trade. In this agreement it was arranged that the trade should be opened to all parties, and that all parties should be treated alike. When be forwarded that arrangement he :eiggested that as no duty was payable on Peruvian guano the Government should relinquish the small roy alty per ton it enjoyed. If that suggestion had been made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer he cou'd understand eby it should have been rejected, but he could not un derstaad why the Board of Trade, whose object it was to promote and encourage commerce, should return as an answer their lordships could not entertain the applica tion. (Hear.) Still less coal' he understand the grounds upon which the suggestion was refused, and which was that any advantage conceded to a single port would be inconsistent with the wider interests involved, whereas the suggestion was that the trade should be thrown open to all parties. (Hear, hear.) Then as to railways, no thing could be more proper than that the Board of Trade should have the power of sending down competent parties to inspect and report upon them ; but they sent down incompetent persons ; and in 1849 the Board of Trade sent down an inspector to report en a line in Lincolnshire. He said it was insecure, and reported against it. A long correspondence ensued, to the great disadvantage of the shareholders. AtJength the Board of Trade announced that they had reconsidered their determination, and the line had been used without any accident up to the present time. Exactly the earns circumstance happened with regard to a bridge on the South-Western Railway, between Waterloo and Vaux hall. The bon. gentleman complained, on the autho ri'y of Mr. G. P. Bidder, in a report dated March, 1856, that the inspectors sent down to examine and report upon new lines bad badno experience, and had never had anything to do with the construction of a single line of railway. In these and in many other respects he did not think the Board of Trade, as at present constituted, was satisfactory to the country, and that a peer and a lawyer were not exactly fit persons to preside over the commer cial interests of the country. (Hear.) He appealed to the justice of Parliament and to the candour of the noble lord at the head of the Governtnent to grant the com mittee, which as he had already stated was to inquire into the origin, the past and present constitution, and the powers and duties of the Board of Trade, with a view to its better adapttation to the requirements of the country. Mr. LABOUCHERE said he had listened with much surprise to the censures which the hon. gentleman bad cast upon an important branch of the Government, bay ing under its care the protection of the commerce of the country. He appealed to the house who had listened to the hon. gentleman, whether his speech had not consisted of details of quarrels amongst his constituents, and that he had failed to grapple with that large question whether a great department of the Government should be ar raigned before a committee of the House of Commons with a view to its entire demolition. He would venture to say that, beginning with those great measures which Mr. Huskisson instituted to the present time, the Board of Trade had borne a most conspicuous part in removing the shackles which for so long a time impeded the pro gress of the commerce of the country. He did not ex actly understand what the honourable gentleman core. pained of, but as far as he gathered the object of the hon. gentleman, it was to introduce into the Board of Trade men who were most intimately connected with the commerce of the country. He (Mr. Labouchere) hell the opinion which had always been entertained by the house, that no one should have any control in the Board of Trade wh3 was identified with any branch of coerce. Th a t p r i nc i p l e h a d a l ways b een j ealously P r e t i h d e t a o n t d t heßoard when Mr.of Trade,T h o Thompson on soonerw as w m a a e d e the Vice ofap. poi c n o t rru n o t n a a n b n o y u t n h c e e d present tbat Lord L he was a o s e k ed ed e e whether i n the H o be e e . bad broken off his connection with commerce, and he immediately replied that he bad. There could be no objection to a m erc h ant who had ,re left commerce becoming President of the B oard of undesirable that he should d but it was very continue his connection b w o i a th rd. com T m be erce pri w ne hl p le le that the trade of the holding any office at the co untry should be managed by merc h an t s was a retrograde principle, for he Delia/4d that if the manage. - • VENTION BILL On the motion of ii.BENTINCK this bill was read a second time, and ordered to be referred to a select committee. JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES BILL. This bill went through committee pro forma, fief the purpose of amendment. PRINCESS ROYAL'S ANNUITY BILL, Tbis bill was read a third time and passed. SUPPLY. The. report of the Committee of Supply was brought in and at/reed to. Sir H. WI f4LOUGHBY inquired ,vbether there would b any additional estimates brought in on acccuat of the Chinese expedition ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that es iinates for the transport service would be laid be• fore the house later in the session. The NI ird.ters' Money (Ireland) B It was read a third time and passed. The Joint Stock Companies Amendment Dill was read a second time. The Turnpike Trusts Abolition Bill (Ireland) was read a second time. The house then adjourned at half-past 12. I L TVA Y GRIEVANCES. (Prom the Times.) Three hundred trillions of money, at the very least, have been invested in the railways of this country. There are thousands of men still living who can recollect when the whole national debt of the kingdom, though then considered incredible, was but 240 millions, and even now the figures symbolising railway property represent an amount equivalent to one-third of our prodigious State obli gatiens. Now, when it is asserted—no doubt with substantial' aceuracy=that the average profit upon these investments in this tranquil, prosper- OUS and well-governed country is only 3/. 12s. 4d. per cent.. and that of all the railways established and at work three only have their shares evicted at a premium, nobody will deny that the proprietors, if not an illused, are certainly an unfortunate body ; nor are we in the least degree , disposed to wonder or complain at the agitation which they seem to be preparing, and which they inaugurated at the metro politen meeting reported iu our columns of yester day. There is no need of expatiating on the " widow's annuity" or the " orphan's patrimony," or any other particular investment appealing with special force to public, sympathy. All this is comprised in the bare mention of the aggregate at Wake. Hundreds of millions could not possibly be subscribed without the desti nies of thousands of families being involved in the success of the venture. It is equally manifest that in the security and productiveness of such a mass of property the interests of every individual in the community must be more or less concerned. No body can doubt the reality or magnitude of the evil ; the only question is as to its cause, and as to the remedy which can be most hopefully applied. • We can readily excuse the splenetic force of ex pression in which the sufferers depict what they consider their grievances, and in some respects their protests' are undoubtedly well founded. It was certainly hard upon railway shareholders that they should be visited at once butte with legislative control and unrestricted compe,qtion. From one, at least, of these conditions they might have ex pected to be spared. When the State grants a mo nopoly it should, of course, sea to some equity of dealing between the monopolists and the public ; but, when it leaves these dealings to find their level by the natural operations of trade, direct interven tion assumes a gratuitous and oppressive aspect. Railway Shareholders complain that legieletion, which controls their proceedings, regulates their prices, and limits their, profits, should also expose them to the risk of being undersold by com peting lines, and their exposiulations aro so far reasonable enough. It cannot be denied, in fact, that our whole policy in these railway transactions would have admitted of incalculable improvement if we could have brought the experience of 18W to the deliberations of 1845. Money might have been saved in all quarters alike, proprietors might have had heavier profits, passengers better accommoda tion at lower rates, and the country at large a greater amount of benefit. In justice, how ever, to the statesmen and -legislators of those days, it must be remembered that the quesion was entirely new, while the fault charged to their a count amounts, after all, to little more than an omission of control over those very bodies who now complain of the resul , s of freedom. It is not fair to say that the extravagance of en terprise and competition was the immediate work of our rulers ' • these elements of mischief were supplied by the speculators themselves, and all that the Government neglected was the restriction of this exuberance within what, as is now discovered, would have been more salutary bounds. Yet it is by no means. improb rble thtt if a policy of repression had been actually adopted it would have been held accountable for all the in's haps and deficienCies afterwards experienCed, and the late Sir Robert Peel might be denounced per liar :s at this very moment as the arch-obstru_tor of railway development in England. As regards the minor grievances alleged on le halt of railways there is not quite so much to be said. If they are ht avily rated for the relief of the poor, it mu-t at any rate be plain after recent discussions that there is plenty of other property in the same caee. If they are undersold by the Post office in the parcel-carrying d-partmeut, the fact is only an unavoidable incident in the progress of public accommodation. The Post-office has a machinery pervading every quarter of the kingdom with its ramifications, and to expect that this ma chinery should be withheld from the service of the public in order that rail ways might have more parcels to deliver at such stations as they touch is utterly preposterous. Still more injudicious was the com plaint that companies should be charged so heavily for their dealings with the lives and limbs of her Majesty's subjects, While, as regards the limi tation of profits so feelingly put forth, if the course is clear up to 10 per cent., and the average performance at present is under 31, there is surely scope for about as much expansion as can be anti cipated just yet. However, we are not concerned to gainsay the assertion that Railways have here and there been hardly treated, and certainly we should rejoice to see this immense aggregate of property produc'ng better returns and Leanne a more bwoming value in the market. But, after saying this much, we are bound to add, that a very considerable portion of the hardships alleged is traceable to the con - duct of the companies themselves. In what respects, indeed—to go at once to the very marrow of the question,—have railways disap pointed their proprietors ? Certainty not in the amount of receipts, for, as regards the returns per mile from goods and passenger traffic, we doubt if there is a single line iu the kingdom which has not exceeded the most sanguine estimates of produce originally formed. The public, then, have done all and more than all their part in the way of en couragement ; they have been most life; ally forth coming with their patronage and their money, avid the only reason why profits are small is, that these returns are intercepted in their way to the pockets of the shareholders by the enormous chiles which must be satisfied before any dividend can be declared. The ample truth is not that fares, as a general rule, have been pushed too low by coin , petition—not. that traffic has b. en abstracted by a carrying department of the Admini-tration not that mailbags are conveyed at a loss—not, in short, that anything keeps money out of the rail way tills—but that too many mouths have to be filled from the produce before the actual pro prietors can come in for their turn. The receipts, in short, of Railway Companies are;abuudant, and would be remunerative enough in most cases, even after working expenses had been defrayed ;—what impairs the dividend is not the smallness of the divisible total, but the number of the divisors. And What created this hungry multitude? Why, the greed, the ambition, the conflicts, and the liti gation of the companies themselves, which so swelled the capital on 'which interest was to be paid that even an unexpected fertility in returns has proved iusufficient for the obj, cts desired. There is another point, too, which cannot be. pissed over without destruction to the soundness of the whole argument. Why is it that property w idol), if not so productive as it ought .to be, is at any rate producing upon an average tetween 3 and 4 per cent , chould be quoted at such dispropor tionate prices in the share -market ? Very likely 3/. 12s. 4d. is too small a rate of interest, but it is higher than Consols, and the security is only interior in its character to terra•firma itself. Nothing advanced at the meeting explained the ugly fact that of all these numerous creations three only were quoted at a premium. This fact can be in terpreted only by the indefinite distrust to which uncertainty gives rise, and this uncertainty in the public mind i s d ue t o the obscurity of railway ac counts. Let the worst be known, and men will s 'on come forward to make it better, for this is proverbially the point at which things mend. Provided there was nothing behind the scenes—no mischief to come out by and by when all was thought to be over— the natural and unvarying elasticity of such pro perty in a country like this.would soon be reckoned upon to bring things round. The road to a rise in shares lies through a real and incontestible audit. In the main, the improvement of railway pro perty must rest with the shareho!ders them selves. If there are any points on which legisla tion presses them unfairly, they will have the good wishes of the public in agitating for redress, and, independently of such points, if the authority of Parliament can enable them in any way to act more effectively for their own relief, we trust that they may obtain the facilities desired. The aggro af e and taxable wealth of the nation , as was - ob served at the meeting, is affected by the deprecia.- . tiou of funds so enormou4, and the question assumes an importance truly imperial. But even Parliament itself cannot recall what is past, and the counterpoise only to be f oun d i n good management solution. the companies -tterpaenisle r first deal as liberally with the publW as the public r'xwAlr ;lees with them ; not stint - their accommodation, mit cut down the'r working staff, nut curtail the very inclulgeircei to which they arc driven. It they, 'are forced t , } cart y a passenger six'y mil es f or 5g., tliey need not expose _their ill-will and their caprice by charging 7s. 6d ' for one-Irtif of the identical dis'ancs. Let them abstain of their own accord from slashing at each othet's throats, and not pray the Legislature to make them well-behaved by compulsion. Above all, let them look boldly into their own affairs, and give the public the benefit of their discoveriei ; and it they do this for themselves they will do more than "a strong Governmetit and a willing Parlia ment," and even' "Lord Palmerston" himself can ever do for them. IYIARKET NEWS.--(This Day.) CORN EXCHANGE. Coastwise, a moderate supply of English wheat bell come to hand this week in fair condition ; but fresh 13 1 ) to-day, by land carriage, the receipts were limited. The show of samples was far from extensive, and the demand for most kinds ruled inactive, at Monday's currency. Upwards of 41,000 quarters of foreign wheat having come in that grain moved off heavily. In the quotations , however, no change took place. Floating cargoes of grain were firm in price. Although the it of foreign barley have been ex' tensive the show of samples was limited, and the trade ruled steady at late rates. Malt sold slowly on former terms. We had a very extensive show of oats. The oat trade was consequently heavy, and prices were the turn lower. Beans, peas, and flour were unaltered in value. ARRIVALS THIS WEEK. • Wheat. Barley. Malt. E aglish k2,660 40 2,720 Irish, Foreign 41,130 16,810 -- Oats. I Flour. 50 I 1,380 67,250 11,940 METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET. To-day's market was moderately well supplied with beasts, which moved off steadily, and Monday's prices were well supported. Sheep, the show of which Ws s limited, were iu good request, and the quotations were firm. Thera was an active inquiry for lambs, on hig terms, viz., from fis 4d to 7s 4d p er Sib s . Th e her supply calves was limited, and the veal trade ruled firm, at very full prices. The pork trade was heavy, at barely late rates. There was a moderate inquiry for mulch cows, at full cur rencies. s. d. I 0 I PrimeSouthd own 410 5 Large crse. calvee 4 0 5 0 Prime small do_ 5 2 5 6 I Large hogs Small porkers 4 4 5 0 I Suckling cal ves 23 0 30 0 I Quarter old pigs 21 0 i 8 0 Id to 7s 4d. FOREIGN SUPPLY. Beasts Sheep and lambs 195 Calves 94 Pigs Per Blbs to sink the offala H. d. e. d. Inferior Beasts.... 3 4to 3 6 Second quality.... 3 8 4 0 , Prime large oxen 4 2 4 6, Prime Scots, exc. 4 8 5 0 Inferior Sheep ...3 0 3 4 Second quality ...3 6 4 0 Primo crse.-wlled.4 2 4 8 Lamb, 6s 4 TOTAL SUPPLY: Beasts Sheep and lambs Calves 2lO Pigs 250 NENVGATE AND LEADENHALL. The trade generally ruled steady, at full pikes. Per 81bs by the carcase. s. d. s. d. I g. d. N. d. Beef, interior 2 8 3 0 Mutton, Inferior 210 3 Do., middling 3 2 3 6 (Do., middling 3 6 4 Do. prime large.. 3 8 4 0 Do., prime 4 4. 4 „ 8 Do., do. small ....4 2 4 4 { Veal.... 3 9 410 Pork, large 3 8 4 2 1 Pork, small 4 4 6 0 Lamb, 5s 8(1 to N 61. BOROUGH HOP. As the plantation accounts are not considered favour• able, the duty is called 130,00j1. to 135,0001. Most kinds of hops are in fair request, and prices generally are well supported. Mid and East Kent pockets 31 104 to 5/ 12s ; Weald of Kent, 3/. 5s to 3/ 158 ; Sussex, 3/ N to 31 12s; pear' lints, 11 102 to 31. per cwt. COLONIAL TEA.-- The market has been firmer, and there were buyers of common congou at 120 per lb. Other descrip tions were steady. 32,000 packages, chiefly congou, are advertised for public sale on the 12th inst. SUGAR. —For home consumption a large business 12 8 ° been done at an advance of about 6d per cwt on late rates The quantity on offer, however, of all descriptions. wal l limited. The Refined Market rules firm, and full pried; are realised for brown lumps. COFFEE.—There has been a good demand for Planta tion Ceylon which has fully maintained previous values. Native Ceylon and Foreign were in fair request at full rates. RlCE.—Very few dealings have been reported. Prices however rule firm, holders refusing to give way. Ruff.—A good inquiry exists for Jamaica at fall rate , other qualities are quiet. SPICES —A fair demand has been experienced for ranee. nutmegs and pimento at late rates, and ginger WS slightly improved. COCHINEAL.—At the pubic sales of this articles prices ruled about id per lb. lower for the inferior qualid 69 ' Other descriptions ruled steady. SALTPETRE.—Rather more business has been done b 1 private contract, an-I prices are supported. TALLow.—An active demand has sprung up for present delivery, and prices have advanced. P.Y. C. on the slo t bring 59s 61 to 59s 9d, and for last three months' delivery cw 57s 3d per t. NOMMIMMOWINI Country Markets. BOSTON—JUNE 3. We had a moderate supply of grain at to•day's mar• ket, and a good attendance. Wheat met a flat demand at fully is to 23 per qr. under last week's rates. Oats, beans peas at l revious rates. Nothing doing in barley. Prices :—Wheat, red, 49s Od to 623 Od; new, —3 to —s ; white, 603 0,1 to bas Od, extra, 655. Barley, 403 Od to 47s Od. Oats 203 to 303. Peas, 40 to 44s Od. Beans, 4 3 g Od to 48s Od per qr. NEWARK—JUNE 3. A thin attendance and a good supply of grain. Wheat met a heavy sale, and was is in advance. Other articles as before. Wheat, white 64s to 675, red 62s to 645; barley, malting 44s to 48s, grinding 36s to 38s; oats, 24st. 31s to 345, 22st, 26s to 2.8 s ; beans, 48s to 52s ; malt, 76s to 80s ; peas, 449 to 465; tares, 44s to 48s per qr. MANCHESTER —JUNE 9. Our market this morning was thinly attended, and there was loss disposition to purchase, business being checked by the high rates demanded, and we repeat the quotation of this day se'nnight. GLASGOW—JUNE 3. To-day there was a thin attendance of the trade, wh ° showed some disposition to buy, but the wheat trade was flat, and the turn in favour of the buyers. American mixed 31s to 31s 6d. Flour nominally trzhanged. Bar' ley slow, and 6d down. Oats and oatmeal in moderate request, at fully previous rates. Beans and peas dull. Indian corn held firmly, and must be quoted 22s to 22s 3cl per qr for mixed, 22s Gd for Yellow, and 24s for white. EDINBURGH GRAIN.—JUNE 3.' Th 3 supply of grain of all kinds to-day was ptntty fair* A good demand for wheat. Barley and beans ready sale* Prices rather higher for all kinds of grain. Wheat, on the top, is Od up, and on the :movie Is 3d up. Barley, is 6d down on the top, and Os 6d 1 : 113 on the average. Oats on the top is 9d up, and on th! average is 2.i up. Beans on the top Os 41 down, and 011 the average 4d up. Tares from sis to 55s per quarter. Potatoes—Regents, from 2Js to 255; Orkney reds, 1 611 to ISs. AVERAGES rza IMPERIAL QUARTER, Wheat £2 8 8 7-12ths. Do. new -12th, _... s Barley - 117 6 7-12th. Oats 1 11 11 74.2th5. Beans Total Supply and Sales. Wheat 1369 qrs sold 1122 vs'. Barley 193 qrs sold 122 qrs Oats ................. 784 qrs sold 616 qrs Beans 6l. qrs sold 61 qrs DERBY SMITHFIELD.—JUNE 2. There was a large supply of fat beasts to-day, with a full attendance of buyers. The demand not quite so brisk, and some few left unsold. The supply of sheep was not. so larv, and fully maintaining former prices. Fat and ,store calves in good request, and in price a little lower. A scarce show of fat pigs, but well sold. The following were the quotations :—Beef, • 7d to nd mutton, 7d to 8d ; lamb, —d to Od ; veal, 7d tc 7rd pet lb. ; pigs, 10a 6d to lb 6d per score; rough fat, 5s 3d to 0 1 per 14113.; hides, 41c1 to 64d per lb ; calf-skins, 4441 vo 6do rer lb. BIRTHS. OF A SON. On the 3d inst., at 4, Cleveland-terrace, Hyde-park, tl wife of Charles Peuthaton, Esq. On the 4th inst., at 3, Talbot-square, Hyde-park, (Le wife of A. K. George, Esq. On the 4th inst , at Lower Clapton, Mrs. Wentzl. On the 31 s t u lt., a t Docking, Norfolk, the wife of the Rev. Hugh Hare—twins. OF A DA:MITER. On the Ist inst., at Hundill Hall, near Pontefract, the wife of J. R. W. Atkinson, Esq. On the 26th ult., at Stirling, N. 8., the wife of George Smith, Esq., Otterington House, Yorkshire. MARRIED. -.—• On the 3d inst., at the parish church, Clifton, Charles Mahon Tyndall, Esq , barrister-at -law, to Louißs. Miriam Sophia, eldest daughter of the late Edward Tyndall, Esq•► Lieut. R.N. Oa the 2d inst., at the parish church, Harlow, Hoe)/ Frank, youngest son of the late Col. John Johnson, el Walbury, Essex, to Emily A t 11P, youngest daughter of the late Thos. Peary, Esq., of M oor H a ll , Essex. _ _ DIED. On the 3d inst., at Provost-road - •South Hampktead , William Barry, ag e d 72 . , On the 2d inst., at Cbellaston-hill, Captain William Manfull, late of the 3d (King's Own) Light Dra;„oono, aged 84. On the 2d ingt, at Sheffield, Henry Broomhead, sclicit r, aged 68. On the 2 1 'd inst., at Highbury-terrace, Maria, relict of the late Rev. John Yockney. On the Ist inst., at 22, Sasses-square, Hyde-park, W l3l. Wilbezforce Bird, Esq., aged 13. On the 2d inst., at Warrington, Frank, secord son of Wm. Hathmill, Esq., of Melbourne. (In the 4th imt., at 14, Elizabeth -terrace, Paddington, Nicholas Coleswoithy, the only child of Captain T. Nano* more, Were. On the 4th inst., at Kirkdalo, Sydenham, Thomas, the second son of George Allarton, Jsq , surgeon, aged 16. LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of Middlerez, Friday, June 5 , 1867• Tact bfo Atal P.l. had Dim past and rati, Oen logs at th from char Tu CF. Wed Thu] Fridi Ply f to 7,ii- an e Pass side, CORSI rZ 9 a.n after 7 s: 6 SeCOl Oa atati4 $.5 a the t 3.45, train days, Lo Stan with and Fa Sp days Lone Trail from June Ordii nip At Mon, and Gres Chas 90,