The Sun. — London, England, 1857-02-26 00:00:00

MPERIAL PARLIAMENT. - HOUSE OF COMMONS.-(YESTBRDAY.) The SPEAKER took the ch3ir at two o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The fol.:wing private bilis were read second time, and orde.re.d to be c mornit'ed :—Clyd e N av i gation ; East Staf , tik ItAilway ; Mid Kent Railway (Croydon Exren sion); British and Trish Grand Junction Railway. TIIE DESFIITTE IRISH POOR. M. BAGWELL aske the Chief Secretary for Ire la, d whether he could a ff or d any information up m the snbject ot a pauper woman of tte name of Nugent, who, alter residing fifteen years in London, was removed to Ireland by the parish authorities ; also, t . know if it was the intention of the Government to Irelan intd ?duce any measure for R-formatory Schools in Mr. lIORSMAN said that he was not in a condition to r xpres- , an opini•in as to the hgality of the removal. If the Iviiinan had resided for five years in one parish she WAS irremovable, but it •ho bad not done so, Clon mei being her birth-1,1 ce, she was retnovabl, in law. He won].d call the attention of the powi:law board to the suhj-ct. It was not the intention of the Government to introduce any measure this session for the establishment of reformatory ectmids for Irela..d, but to wait and see the working of such establishments in England. SEA. COAST FISHERIES BILL. Mr. M'AIALION innved the second reading of this The ATTO RNEY-G ENER AL for IRELAND objected to its second reading, because this uill, it paeitel, would leave the Irish fisheries unprotected, and said he would, therefore, move its rejection. The learned gentleman referred to the bills introduced by the hon. member in reference t, this subject in 1852, 1853, and 1855, and to his motion : fur a committee in the la-t session, all of which bills were rejected by the house, and on the motion for the committee he was counted out. (Hear.) proposed to interfere with the y of the Board of Commissioners, whose regulations had worked bene ficiary for the increase of the trade, in a manner that he could not yield his assent. He con demned the manner in which the learned gentleman bad dealt with this subject, each of his bills differing from one Lion another, a n d h e added that he should have no objec to a consolidation of the Irish fishery laws, that bad, as a whale, worked well. C(1. DUNNE objsoted to this bill. The acts in force had considerably improved the fisheries. The great evil ;vas that 82h aeM taken that ought not to be, and in an improper manne r , in the estuaries. p ~ AKer.Auly, Mr. Bo vy er , an d C apta i n Scobtll sup second rea:ling. Mr, Napier, Mr. Grogan, Mr. G. Butt, Mr. Meagher, Lord Naas, ard Mr. Btl'ew opposed the second reading. 'Mr. NI`M.A.TION replied, contending that the bill had not been discussed on its merits. So long 'as ht had a seat in that Louse he would never consent to the Irish fishermen being deprived of their freedom to fish the Irish B e - 4s without paying rent, or being subject to cer. Nfla 'fines. Ater some fueber discussion, in which Mr. M'Evoir and Mr. O'FL.IRERTY took part, The house divided, when the numbers were— For the se c on d reading lO Again,t it Majority ---175 The hit was accordingly to-t. JUDO MENTS EXECUTION, &c., BILL. The hours went into committee on this bill, and the consideration of she first clause was resumed. Mr. M.`M.II:ION withdrew his amendment relative to -the introduction of the various courts of record. Col. DUNNE compl titled of the number of amend ments proposed to be made io the bill, which rendered it almost unintelligible. Mr. CRIUFU RD then proposed the introduction of the Courts of Common Pleas of Lanca,ster and Durham as Courts of Record into the bill, which was agreed to. 'Mr. CRAUFURD explained the effect of the numer ous aneendmetits on the bill , and asked the committee to proceed with the hill, when he would have it re printed and brought up with thereport. Mr. Hughes, Mr. G. Butt, th e Att o r ney -G enera l f or Ireland, Mr. Cranford, Mr. Napier, Mr. Clive, Mr; .M . Mation, Mr. S. Warren, Sir E. Perry, Mr. Dunlop, and Mr. Whiteside nadres,ed the house on the nature of the amendment of the Attorney-General for Ireland, which was of a legal character, whether judgment should be enforced on a memorial of it or on a copy. The committee then divided, when the numbers were--- For the amendment 99 Against it 77 —22 Maj city The hou-e then resumed, Mr. CRAUFURD;exoressing an opinion that be sboul. consider whether he would proceed with the bill, the amendwect having destroyed its principle. COURT OF CHANCERY (IRELAND) `(TITLES OF PURCHASER) BILL, AND COURT OF CHANCERY (IRELAND) BILL. Toe second reading of these b. 114 was adjourned til! Tuesday. TAXES ON KNOWLEDGE. THE SUN; LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, PEIIII.7UARY 26, 185r7. thank tbem for the kind feelings they entertained towards him. (Cheers.) Mr. WO/MALL (of the Theatre Royal, Drury-lane) proposed the thanks of the meeting to Mr. Arnold for the use of the room for their meetings ; Charles Dillon, for the use of the saloon of the theatre ; to the honorary physician, and to the honorary solicitor. Mr. HOLLAND seconded the motion, which was put and carried. Some conversation having ensued as to the claims of Mrs. Henry Vining on the fund, and the place for holding the future annual dinner, Thanks were voted to J. B. BIICKSTONE, for pro3iding, and that gentleman, in reply, con gratulate l them on the condition of the fund. If it was sinking he would stick to the ship, but as it was going gallantly over the wave, he would never desert his post at the helm. Thanks were voted to the press, and the meeting they separated. the peculiar circumstances of that country, not only justify, but imperatively require. That in the opinion of this meeting the present moment is eminently favourable to the vigorous prosecution of such demands, and that the Scottish Reformers, in the steps which they are now tak ing, are entitled to the earnest and zealous support of their English brethren." He begged to move that resolution, and to say on his own•behalf, and be was sure he spoke the sen timents of all the Liberals in the House of Com mons, that he should be very happy to give this movement his support, provided there should be any necessity, but be really hoped that so very reasonable a proposition would meet with no 'oppo sition. Mr. Coox EVANS seconded the resolution. He accompanied the deputation when they waited on Lord Palmerston, and that noble lord did all that could be reasonably expected. He listened to their arguments, and said he would take the matter into consideration. After a few observations from Mr. A. Black, Mr. Beal, Sir J. Walmsley, and Mr. Vaughan, The CHAIRMAN said that the committee in Edin burgh had considered the suggestion which had been referred to by Mr. Black —namely, that those who had votes for boroughs should not have votes for counties, and the committee were unanimous against it. A similar proposition was made to Lord John Russell on the occasion of the great Reform Bill, when that noble lord said that if the towns were left out of the county franchise he would rather have no Bill at all. The resolution was put and carried unanimougly. - A corresponding committee was then appointed, and, after a vote of thanks to the Chairman, the meeting broke up. METROPOLITAN DEAD-MEAT MARKET. The sixth annual meeting of the Association for Promoting the Repeal of the Taxes on Knowledge was held yesterday evening at- St. Martin's-hall. There. was a very large atendance both in the body of the hall and on the platform. Sir J. PAXTON, M. P., baying taken the chair, opened the proceedings by observing that previous to the assembling of Parliament he had hoped that the meeting that eight would only have been a for mal one, to congratulate themselves on the Chan cellor of the Exchequer having promised to repeal thet most odious of all taxes, the tax on paper. But he grieved t 3 say that he feared from what had transpired that this would not be their last meet ing on the subject, the Chancellor of the Ex chequer itt his financial statement having held out no hope that the paper tax would be repealed. Oss the contrary, judging from the whole tenour of his speech, and from what he said in relation to it, one Was indu ce d t o b e li eve t h at the r i g h t h on. gentleman was rather in favour of the tax than otherwise ; for what did he say ? After stating that the tax divided itself into three heads—namely, a tax on, paper for printing, on paper for wr;ting, and on paper for packaer s, he added that, while he considered the duty rather heavy on the third de scription of paper, he thouelet the tax an the other two deseripfons could not be said to be a t ax on knowledge, and in his opinion paper itself was a fair subject for taxation. It was therefore quite evident that the present Chancellor of the Exche quer was determined to retain the tax, at all events for the present. Had Mr. Gladstone remained in power he thought that right hon. gentleman would have repealed the tax before now. In 1853 Mr. Gladstone denounced the paper duty, and said he should be delighted to see the day when it could be repealed. Mr. Disraeli, • too, in 1851, when he was not in power, spoke strongly against the tax ; but in 1852, when he came into office, he somewhat altered his tone. A deputation from the society waited upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer some little time since ; when that 'tilt hon. gentleman made certain inquiries andidrew cert a i n deductions, which evidently showed that he possessed a very slight acquaintance with the subject. He asked the deputation whether they kelieved if the duty on paper were remitted there would be a percep tible change in the price of books, and on being told there would, he asked to what extent, and Alderman Baldwin stated that the duty enhanced the price on the first books used at schools 30 per cent. ; and observed that the tax fell on the manu facturer in the first instance, and that he did ndr get any profit on the duty paid. Upon the; the right hon. gentleman asked whether Mr. Baldwin thought the manufacturer ought to make a profit on the duty be paid ? This was rather a strange question for a Chancellor of the Exchequer to put to a manufacturer. Why, it had been shown over and over again that this tax in many instances amounted to 100 cent. on the cost of the article ; if, there fore, the manufacturer had to pay 100 per cent. duty that was as much a charge upon bis paper before it got into the market as the gas - on hs premises, or any other articleiuvolved in the cost of productiou. But the evil did not stop there, for there must be a profit realised by each pe son through whose hands the paper paused from the manufacturer to the consumer, and thus the tax was increased by means of these several charges of profit to perhaps 200 per cent. By way of showing how beneficially the repeal of an Excise duty operated, the hon. chairman referred to the manufacture of glass, in which great improvements had been made since the removal of the Excise restrictions, and stated th a t the glass for the original Crystal Palace cost 13,5001., whereas if the duty had remained un repealed the cost would have been 54,0001. If, therefore, the tax on glass had continued the people would never have had a Crystal Palace. The Chancellor of the Exchequer bad gone back to an old-exploded school for his system of taxation, and had raked up a gentleman who had wrote nearly a century ago—Mr. Arthur Young—who said that the best tax that could be imposed was a little tax upon a great number of things. But after what they had seen done by. Sir R. Peel, be thought the fact that a Chancellor of the Exchequer of the pre sent day should lay down such an exploded doc trine was no proof that they were improving and becoming a more enlightened governing nation. (Cheers.) After pointing out the great mischief which Excise restrictions wrought, by checking all mprovement the manufacture f the article sub ject to duty, the chairman concluded by observing that as long as a tax on paper remained it was idle and a delusion upon the public for gentlemen who advocated the education of the people and the in sti-nt'on of reformatories to endeavour to effect their objects. It could not be done without first removing that most objectionable tax. (Cheers.) Dr. Errs then came forward, and moved the fol lowing resolution "That the Excise on !paper limits its supply and en hances its Iprice, is ruinous to the small manufacturer, restricts the field for the employment of capital and labour, and thus tends to prcdrice pauperism and crime • and that the interest of the country imperatively demands that a less injurious mode of ra:sine money be resorted to than a tax on so important a manufacture." The present paper duty was lid. per lb., and 5 per cent. additional. The tax, if on books, was most unfair to anthers, and if on cheap publications, parlicu'arly on newspapers, it was most injurious to the public. If they took a daily paper weighing 14 to the pound, supposing its circulation to be 20,000, that would give 6,260,000 copies a year, equal to 447,1421 h , or as near l y as possible 202 ous, which, at 141. 14s. per ton,' gave an annual tax of 2,9401. It was said that the penny papers were not worth more than a penny ; but who made them not worth more than a penny? If that 2,9401. was left in the hands of the proprietors they could empl , ,y men of greater ability on their papers. The tax was an interference with the progress of society, audit materially retarded the manufacture. When the duty was reduced from 3d. to lid. a grew, increase in the manufacture of paper took place ; but that was in some decree checked by the ad titional tax of 3-10ths of a farthing imposed in 1853. The liberties of the people essentially de pended on [free di scuss i on , b u t t h ere never could 1)e free discu.seion where there was not a free press, and an en=itely free 1 ress could not be enjoyed while this obnoxious tax on paper was suffered to exist. (Cheers:) Dr. JOHN WATTS seccncled the resolution. He said that one CV 1 resulting from the tex on paper was to r elder the trade a complete monopoly. Men 'of small capital could not embark in it. If a :ititilar impost were attempted to be levied on any other branch of trade iu the kingdom every indi veinal in that trade would be converted ret.ts re' el. (Cheers.) After describing the vexations orkings of the Excise laws, and pointing out the frauds that were practised by the sanction of the Government in carrying out those law. 4, the speaker observed that by the payment being exacted within six weeks of er ie had accrued due many persons were actually ruined. When a person got into d•fficuttiee with the Excise, and could n o t pay the duty at the proper time, ie &let immediately be came doubled. In regard to the Customs the law was different. Merchants were allowed to keep their goods in bond until they could sell them, be fore paying the duty. The policy of the Govern ment in exacting this duty was most mischievous ; and for the sake of obtaining a revenue of one mil lion they prevented the creation of two millions of wealth. (Cheers.) Why should not England sup ply the whole world with paper as well as with cot on ? The people worked harder than those of any other nation, and our machinery was better. But for this tax England might just as well supply tie world with paper as she did with calicoes. But the yield of paper was decreasing, while the yearly increase of calico was immense. It was said that the tax brought a million a year to the revenue, but Mr. Gladst( ne told, the Howe of Commons the other night that, although 22,000,0001. of taxes had b en repealed, yet the revenue bad not suffered a single penny ; and the Chancellorof the Exch equer, who' did not propose to repeal this tax, mutt h e blind indeed to the best interests of the country, Mr. H. INGRAM, M. P., supported the resolution. He was perfectly disinterested on the question, He admitted the evils that arose f;orn the paper duty. He once was ambitious to have a large book trade and to publish educational works, but he was ob liged to give up a very large trade because it was a positive loss to him. (Cheers.) It had been said, what benefit would the repeal of the tax be to the consumer ?—the duty on leather was taken off, and yet shoes aid boots were not cheaper. There was a limit to the supply of skins; but that remark would not apply to the production of paper. No country' in the world, save England, i mpose d a paper d u t y . England stood alone. Th e Chi nese, w h o i nven t e d might well ca ll us ou t s id e b ar b ar i ans. (deers ) and laughter.) The paper trade was sensibly Statesdiminishingo Ame i r ri c this thei re co w u e n re t7 s . 0 p l a n per th m e ilt y , L p i r te o d . pro ducing 2 70,000 000 b. of paper a year. In Eng y 155,000,00001nb. off paper was land the producii Considerion 166,000,0001 b., which th were for home con sumption.used by the g Governmente vasttil quantity of paper amount of drawback allowed f e o na r bibles th s aunts, he did not believe that year. The an al d id tes t t l ae le lowedcfrawbaaxel,yealded ma et as 1,000,000/ a for bibles and testaments alone amounted to 22,3511. in two years. The hon. member concluded by say i n g that he could support the r eso l ution, because he considered it to be a tax on the education, the in and the intelligenceofthe country. (Cheers.) du Mr.' .y Sergeant PARRY then moved the following resolution : " That the tax on paper is a tax on knowledge, which, by destroying the author's fund, deteriorates cheap lite. 'attire, and checks the enterprise of the best publishers. That it ought, therefAre ' to be immediately repe a l e d." Mr. HELP seconded the resolution, which wasalso unanimously agreed to. Mr. M. GIBSON, M. P., then came forward and was received with repeated rounds of cheers. He proposed a vote of thanks to Sir J. Paxton for his kindness in presiding over the meeting. The sym pathies of that gentleman had always been, with the cause of the industrial classes, and those sympathies were never better evinced than by his appearing that evening among them. It had been his (Mr. Gibson's) lot to visit various Ministers of State, and he had conversed with them on the mischievous operation of an Excise. dutyon paper. Be had gene rally been received courteously, and had heard no argument in favour of the duty, but had been bowed out in a pleasant sort of manner. (Cheers and laughter.) In fact, till the present Chancellor of the Exchequer they.had not of late years bad any Minister of State who had the baldness to avow him self a friend to the tax on its own merits. All the rest had said that possibly there were objections to the duty, but that that was not the time to deal with so large an item of revenue. (Cheers and laughter.) The question they had to consider was, how were they to accomplish the repeal of the paper duty ? It was the obvious and bounden duty of that society not to cease from its efforts until that duty was repealed. (Cheers.) In the commence ment of this agitation they proposed three princi pal objects—the repeal of the advertisement duty, the repeal of the stamp duty on newspapers, and the repeal of the duty on paper. They were sup porred by subscriptions for effecting these three objects. They had succeeded in obtaining the first two objects, and they would not be discharging the engagement they undertook unless they persevered in their effor s until they succeeded in effecting the abolition of the paper duty. (Cheers.) He, for one, co-operated with the society in the first in stance, because he was an advocate for a free press; but they could not have a free press unless the ex ciseman s band was taken from it. (Cheers.) The original object of the paper duty was not revenue. The journals of Parliament proved that the inten tion of imposing a duty was to prevent the circula tion of cheap newspapers and to check the diffusion of knowledge among the people. Printers in those days were considere the natural enemies of peace and order. (Cheers and laughter.) He was not making his assertion without book; could refer to the journals of the House of Commons as his authority. In 1711 a message was sent by Queen Anne, complaining of the scur r il ous lib e l s w hi c h were )eing published against her Maj-sty's Govern ment, and calling upon the House of Commons to find a remedy equal to the mischief. Well, Par liament talked of a censorship, and of other plans for restraining the press. At last some member hinted that perhaps a tax - might accomplish the Fame end, and not bear the odious name of censor ship : so they agreed to impose three heavy taxes upon the press. What they were afraid of was cheapness and universality, lest the peop'e should become alive to the misdoings of their Government. (Cheers.) The Government of the present day said that it might be desirable to relieve the country from this tax, but the state of the revenue did not admit of it, A Ministry had two points to consi der—first, how much money they were to raise, and next how they were to raise it. It was not enough to say that a particular mode of taxation would give a certain amount of revenue if it could be shown that that mode - was far more injurious to the State than advantageous to the revenue. He believed the tax on paper produced more pernicious influence on society than the benefit it gave to the Government by the money it produced. (Cheers.) He did not know that if the duty were repealed it would be missed. When the Excise duty on glass was repealed it was not missed, and for a very obvious reason—where there was a number of different taxes one tax starved the other ; but if they repealed a tax upon some one article of con sumption there was more money left to be spent on other articles, which made up for the repeal of any particular duty. (Cheers.) When they heard of pauperism and crime prevailing, and that great effortsahould be made to provide for the op:ritual destitution of the people, and tracts should be cir culated, he would say that the first thing to be done was to remove those obstacles that stood in the way of improving the people's minds ; and when they talked of increasing the wealth of the country let it be diffused among the labourers of the coun try, and they would thereby do more to put down pauperism and crime than all the preaching in the world. (Cheers.) In advocating a cheap press it must not be imagir.ed they were opposed to the ex i-ting press. His argument had always been that there was room enough for both. He believed they had accomplished a great public good so far as they had gone by repealing the stamp and advertisement duty, but their efforts could not be crowned with success unless they added to that achievement the repeal of the paper duty. (Loud cheers.) The vote of thanks was carded by acclamation and, the Chairman having acknowledged the com pliment, the meeting separated. ROYAL OENBRAL THEATRICAL FUND, Yesterday the general annual meeting of the members of the Royal General Theatrical Fund was held in the saloon of the Lyceum Theatre, for the transaction of the business of the association. J. B. Buckst one, Esq. (lessee of the Theatre Royal, Haymarket) presided. A large body of the members of the theatrical profession were present. Mr. CULLENFORD, the secretary, said, in com mencing the business of the day he would bring before them that matter which was of the most consequence to them, and that as to the re ceipts and expenditure since they had last met in that place, and the performance of that task would be a light and pleasing one. He had simply to read over the expenditure, and to offer such expla nations as might be necessary as he went on. He then read the balance-sheet, which on the credit side showed a sum of 6871. 6s. 2d. for members' subscr;ptiona ; interest on money invested, 2611. lls. Bd. ; profit on annu a l di nner , 2271 . 2s. 10d. ; batince o the Coburg fund (handed over by r. T. P. Cooke), 1611. ; and other smaller receipts, the while amounting to a gross sum of 1,3651. 4s. Bd. On the expenditure side the principal item was to annuitants, 770/. 2s. 10?,d. ; secretary's salary, 401. ; and several small items ; leaving a balance in favour of the association of 5091. Is. 2id. The gross balance in hand on the 20th of February, 185“, wail 8,7421. 17s. Bd. ; on the 25th February, 1857, to this was added 5091. ls. 21d. ; accounts on the reserve fund, 2531. 14s. 10id. ; making a total fund in favour o f th e association 0f0,505/. 13s. 9d. TheiCHArnmArr asked the number of subscribing members ? Mr. CULLENFORD said that last year the number of members was 149. Since then they had lost one by death, arid one had withdrawn, but 10 new member; had joined during the year. Their pre sent number was 153 subscribing members. Mr. CLARKE moved the adoption of Mr. Cullen ford's report, believing it to be most clear and satis factory. Mr. AUSTEN LEE seconded the motion, which was put and carried unanimously. The CHAIRMAN congratulated the members on the state of their funds, and their excellent and im proving position. Mr. Braid, Mr. H. Lewis, Mr. T. H. Lacy, Mr. Cullenford, Mr. Home, and Mr. Addison were re elected directors of the fund ; and Mr. Clarke was elected in the place of Mr. E. F. Saville, who was ineligiblP for re-election, having left London. M. E. Villiers (of the Theatre Royal Hay. market) was elected auditor in the place of Mr. Clarke. The next subject brought forward was a recom mendation from the committee that in consequenc3 of the extra duties cast upon the secretary, his salary should be advanced from 401. - to 801. per annum. Mr. E. VILLIERS proposed the confirmation of ;he recommendation of thd committee. Mr. CLARKE seconded the motion. Mr. B. LEWIS supported the motion, and said that Mr. Cullenford had for a period of six years performed all the duties of secretary gratuitously. The CHAIRMAN said that Mr, W. Bennett, of Drury-lane Theatre, whose duties were by no means so onerou s as th ose of their secretary, received 1001. a year for his services. The motion (in the absence of Mr. Cullenford) was put and carried unanimously, and on the en-- trance of Mr. CuPenford, The CHAIRMAN said he had great pleasure in stating that the recommendation of the committee of the 13th of January had been confirmed unani mously by that meeting, and the gentlemen present felt perfectly satisfied with his conduct, believing that the advance now made would be a saving of an increase to the fund. The meeting bad expressed many favourable opinions of him, and he hoped he might long continue in his office. Mr. CIIELENFORD had to thank them not only on that but many other occasions for their kindness, and could only say that as he was approaching 60 years of age he could claim their annuity; but as he possessed health and strength, he hoped to serve them for some years to come. He would endeavour to deserve their confidence and esteem, for without that he should not like to hold office at all. The chairman had told him that they had said compli mentary things of him which it was not his fortune to hear ; but be felt confident that he did possess their good opinion, and although som% might not be personally acquainted with hi m th ey had respect hie professional character, and he begged, to A meeting of members of Parliament who sup ported Mr. Locke King's motion for the extension of the county franchise in England was held on Tuesday at the King's Arms Hotel, New Palace yard, Westminster, for the purpose of hearing the explanation of a deputation from Scotland, con sisting of the Rev. Dr. Begg, Baillie Grieve, and Mr. Duncan M'Laren, on the subject of extending to Scotland the 40s. freehold franchise of England. Among the members present were Mr. Cobden, Mr. Laing, Mr. Thompson, Mr. J. B. Smith, M r . Baxter, Mr. L. Heywo o d, Mr. J. Bell, Sir Joshua Walmaley, Mr. A. Black, and Mr. G. Duncan. There were also several well-known political refor mers present. Mr. M`LauFs having taken the chair, said that there was no franchise in Scotland similar to the English 40s. franchise. Every voter in a Scotch county must be either a 501. a-year occupier, or the owner of a house or land of the valne oflo/. a-year. This was the first grievance. The second was, that no man having property in a city or burgh 'could vote for the county. The consequence of this law was to throw the whole power of elect ing county members entirely into the bands of the agricultural interest. All the property, both in the counties and in the towns below the value of 101. a-year, was wholly unrepresented. By a fic ion of the - Scotch law everything within a borough was held to be out of the county. The practical effect of this was that there were not more than two counties in Scotland the members of which were not returned by some one or two great landowners who were peers, and therefore members of the Upper House of ' Parliament. This was a fraud upon the constitution, and was felt to operate more severely in Scotland than in England, because in Euglaud there were. 359 borough members, while there was less than half that number of count3r members, whereas in Scotland the boroughs re turned only 23 members, while the counties returned 30 members. In that way the Scotch boroughs were deprived of a large proportion of that power which the English boroughs en joyed. There was no justification for this diffe rence in the representation of the two countries. A bill was passed last session to assimilate the mer cant le law of England and Scotland. If it were a right thing to unite the commercial law, surely it was equally a right thing to unite the political law. These were the leading points on which the deputa tion desired, on behalf of Scotland, the sympathy , of the meeting. He had not met a single English man who did not admit that the claim - now made by the people of Scotland was unanswerable. In deed many Naembers of Parli meat were actually ignorant of the inequality that exist el between the electoral franchise of the two countries. As there w waswere re n d o e g a i e r n e e n rl a a e l f tel oim obtaining l thisbefore s talent Parliament, fer they Sco tland. When that was gained, and England and Scotland were put on an equality, they could run the race together for whatever further reforms it might be desirable to obtain. The Rev. Dr. BEGG observed that the electoral rights of the two countries at one time were pre cisely similar. Scotland was deprived of the 40s. franchise in 1681 for the purpose of putting down • the political influence of the smaller Co venanters. The people of Scotland then fell into a state of vassalage and degradation, and con tiuued in that state till the passing of the Re- form Bill which they w ere g l a d t o o bt a i n , not withstanding its imperfections. Scotland cla;med the 40s. franchise ou the broad ground of ju-tice. Its possession would induce the working classes to save and acquire property. The Scotch were de scribed as a drunken nation, and there might be some truth'in that allegation ; but the great mass of the people were acquisitive, and if they knew that it was in their power to obtain the franchise they would eschew drink and become the holders of property. There was a time when the two great families in the county of Lanark were at variance. The house of Douglas fought with the house of Hamilton, and in the struggle there was some liberty secured ; but the Hamittons bad gone over to Rome, and there was no opposition now. Mr. B. Cochrane, the member for Lanark, was nominated by two persons only, the whole mass of the county looking on. Mr. Cochrane no more represented the political opinions of the people than he repre sented the inhabitants of China. This movement had only been about two months in existence, but nothing had occurred in his time in Scotland which had made such a rapid progress, or had gained so much - influence over th e common sense of the people. Mr. LAWRENCE thought the claim to be so rea sonableuotante would object to it, but he ion against relying on Lord warned t t h h a e t d n e o p Palmerston for support, for there was no man metre remote ir feeling and sym p than the present Prim e M. athy from the Reformers Minister. Of this any one ocke might be convinced wh o h ad read the noble lord's speTehcehßeon Rev. Dr. mr.oßtizoGna of saidM r. theL on Lor i Palmerston as P r i me Minister of the coun try, without knowing th e line which the Govern ment, deputation Kig waited King after c )nsidering the question in all its bear ings might take. Mr. LAING said he was determined, at all events, the question should be brought before Parliament, and an appeal be made to the people of this coun try whether the same political rights should not be enjoyed by. the people of Scotland as had been already conferred on the people of England, Mr. COBDEN said he had been.asked to`move the following resolution :—. " That this meeting has learned with much satisfaction of the efforts now making i n Scotland to procure th e ex tension of the 40s.considerations fran c hi se to that country , an exten sion which considerations ofjuitice and general policy, and SAVINGS BANKS. Mr. FITZROY brought up the report, which was agreed to. COMMONS INCLOSU RE BILL. This bid KvaA rtiad a 'bird time and paßsted. BANKRUPTCY AN D. IN S'.o LVENCY (IRELAND BILL The ATTORNEY-GENERAL fur IRELAND ob tained leave t) bring in a bill to consolidate and amend the laws relating to bankruptcy and insolvency iu Ire land. The house adjourned at 25 tnibutes to 6 o'clock. PA RUA :MIEN TA /Y DIVISION. 11017 SR OF CONBIONS.—FEB 25. JUDNENT i EXECUTION, &c., BILL. In the Ctmmittec—Arnenchnent proposed, in page 1, line 13, to leave out " memorial" and insert " copy." Question put, " That ' memorial' stand part of the clause." The Committee divided ; Ayes, 77 ; Nods, 99. A T 1.8-77. Agnew, Sir A. Ferguson, J. Anderson, Sir J. 11l zwilllain. C. Baird, J. Forster. Charles Barnes, T. l'orstcr, John Barrow, W. Freestun, Colonel Baxter, W. Iladacid. George Big,, John Ilastie, Alex. Blac'4, Adam II ast ie, A . chd Brainiey- , t• ore, J. Ileallam, T. Brown, W. tieneage, Gee. U. Chr,hnondeley, Lord lindley, C. Clay, James Ingham, R. C Eve, George Johnstone, J. Cocks, T. S. Johnitone, none Crossley, F. Kers:, iw, J. Davie, Sir II R. F. King, L. Davies, D. Kinnaird, A. Deetlea, willlarn Lacou, Sir K. Duff, G. • Langton, IL U. Duncan, George Lindsay, Col. J. Dunda F. Lock' lan, A. E. Elliott, J. E. Luce. T. Ewart, W. Mackie, J. E wart, J. Mili•gan, IL Fenw ck, it. Michell, William Fergu 4, Julio Illon.goiriery, Sir G. Ferguiou, Colonel Pagct, C Pallatt, A. Perry, Sir E. Philipps, J. Pilkinglon, J. Reed, J. Ricaido, 0. itliVeY, George Robar Lei. T. - Scobell. Capt. Seymer, H. Shaft°, It. Smith, Abel Thompson, G. Thornely, T. Tite. W. Walrusley, Sfr J. Warner, E. Warr.ai, S. Whitbread, S. Wilitin,on, W. Willcox, R. Williams. W. Wyndham, W. TELLERA. Crafifurd, E. 11. J. Dunlop, A. NOM- 99. Adair, R. Grace, 0. ..... Adderiey, C. B. Graham, iir J. Halit ) y, C. tire:elle, John Hall, E. 0. eville, Colonel F. 11 - aniish, F. Ilarwitoo, Lord Claw Ileatunont, %T. 11 tslilton, J. Beetive, I- an Haidiey, T. Dentiock, O. Hardy, U. 14111,11, Sir R.. Haye4, sir E. Bowyer. 0 lle•ica,e, Geo. F. ltruce, 11. A. 11..ti1ey,„T Etta, Col. Herbert, Sir T. litittbury, W. R. Heyworth, L. itgrghley, Lout Iliz-,liii, U. 0. Butt. 0. 1. II ill, 1, , t1 A. E. Cairns 11. 1 1or..f.t1t, I. Castlerosse, Vis. Jane,, 1. ,. -Cobbett, J.. 31. Kiamedy, T. Co,tan ' W. 11. F. - rink, w. Cole, H. A. • Ktuitchtlittl, W. Cono'ly, T. ' Lasiett, w , Corry, 11. T. L. Macartocy, C. Davies, J. - 31aeltyoy; F. Devereux, J. 3ittetlreacte, James Dundas, G. 3lacMahan, P. Dunne, M Maguire: J. F. Dunne, Colonel Malins, Richard Farnham, E. Massey, W. Farrel', J. Maxwell, J. Gallwey, Sir W. Meagher, T. Giffin!, Earl of !Renck, Via. (Hailstone, Capt. J. Mowbray, J. It. Glyn, G. Mbigrave, Earl of Goderich, Viscount num, Lord N a ler, J. O'Brien, P. O'Brit n, Sir T. O'Connell, D. al O'Flaherty, A . Olive ra, Pack°, C. Parker, PritchArd, J. Rice, E. Itichar.lson, J. • Rushout, Capt. G. liots , ell, F. W. Sawle, C. Scull) .Y Sergt. w. Sibthorp, Major Smyth. John Spooner, It swan, Captain Sturt, C. Sullivan, Michael Taylor, colonel Tempest, ..ord A. V. Vance, John Villiers, C. Waddington, H. Watkins, Col. Whiteside, J. Whitmore. H. Wickham, TELLERS, Fitzgerald, J. Hughes, 11. G. THE PROCESSIO v OF THE BEUF-GRAS. The procession of the Pceuf-Gras in Paris was not by any means as favoured with fine weather on Tuesday al on the preceding day, the thermometer having fallen to 4 degrees above zero Centigrade (39 1-5 Fahrenheit) H.....e(rnc„,e the _ crowd in the streets was not particularly 8 2:, 4 _,r n , d tx , !ept at the moment of the cavalcade Pia , si n no throng of spemators , was to be seen-. As to absent. owy ma4lis they wer e almost entirely the N, - ra ,,,, 0 (x eanima l was taken out y es t er day, without Ly• rns (S ar i a b ot b y name) which figured in th e da) , ,4 res , in o pro c essio n on Sunday being all tweet a a:aiti bet g carr i ed : 1 ; 011 `)le it to support the Itti4ue of day. The toe.rf g ra , car t .for nine or ten hours this a b o u .t t i ,S:Fdtt roundo being i isn g ge n erally al ki o ll f e a d t , e text mornin t g ,d; pecu iar breed, • pared the fate which various cattle-shows, i s to b t : o qnpete for prizes at yesterday was of the awaits !la bll , )ws. The cortege ria ne descripti , n as on the preeedinY g,:dsirsse3 braving tbs onange in the d ay, the gods and rnosphere to all Meteappta with pe.rfect indiff,rence. The departure fr no tbatii du Rollie took place at aout ten ; and the proccs.ion, after visiting t h eb E,„11,1;13” of Dnnuark and BAgiala in the Rue d e i s p, piti !!'" thoi) nt E, , grand and Raia in the Rue du Fau.. o ; r 4 re ' S. ETh%ore, prccecded to the Minis t ries of AL,rine, Fi. z.nce, and Justice in the Place de la Concorde, t h e llue de Rivuli a d the Place Vendome ; to the residenc e uf the I•i.w-riel Princ-s in tho Palsis Royal ; the Prefec tureA of Police and (1 the Seine ; and home to the Abat t in.. VesterJay tcok place the visit to the Palace of I too TuLt.ries at 12 o'cifick. Sa/lltarV Re- P.MERTI92IIENT —lllllway's - . Ir , diwestio n ard Liver Coral ts, —Ed wara 11l9rimotith, was afflicted f o r fit teen . rars with it,digw.tion and liver c om pl a i n t, His syMp t mere of tha sever,ft kind —path in the stoinach nfttr “ttinv, eructations Of wind, pain in the back and t olonl ler, weaktess, l ingnor, and extreme yellow ness o r f the skin and eyes ; physicians only affording temporary rt when be was induced to try this W 013• (,irful remedy, and in a short time all painful symptoms disans , eared, and he was restored to perfect health.— sold by all medicine vendors throughout the world, at Professor Holloway's E,tblishments, 244, Strand, Lon. d on ; an d 80, Mai let-lane, New York ;by A. Stamps, Cont.ftwoin pie; A. Guidicy, Smyrna; and E. Muir, M,l a, THE ROYAL BRITISH BANK. At a meeting of the committee of depositors and of the assignees of the estate of the Royal British Bank, held at their offices, No. 17, Sise-lane, yes tei day ; present, James Wyld, Esq., chairman ; Messrs. H. S. Mitchell, B. Foster, J. Roberts, H. G. Gdling, A. Folkes, G. J. Kain, P. Brown, and G. E. Healy ' • It was moved by Mr. Mitchell, seconded by Mr. Rain, and unanimously resolved-- , " that., in the opinion of this meeting, the laws now in f)rce relating to the bankruptcy and wind ing-up of joint-stock companies are defective, most injurious to the interests of credit ors , and opposed to the ordinary principles of bankruptcy, in not prpviding for the realisation and equal distribution of the separate estates of shareholders at the in stance of assignees or the representatives of creditors. " That such laws are also destructive of the in terests of shareholders, in leaving them exposed (however desirous of contributing fairly towards the debts of the company) to the consequences and heavy expense of actions by individual creditors. " That it is expedient to confer power on the Courts of Bankruptcy and Chancery to grant pro tecton to the persons and property of shareholders with th-r consent of the assignees or representatives of creditors (to be chosen for that purpose, where there is no bankruptcy), upon such terms as the courts may think fit. "That provision should be made to constitute the ceasing to carry on business by any joint-stock company an act of bankruptcy, in order that adju dication of bankruptcy might be obtained forth with, either with the concurrence of, or adversely to, the company, and that further provisions, in accordance with recent legislation, should be made to enable the Court of Bankruptcy to make the requ;site calls, and, finally, wind-up and settle the" affairs of a bankrupt company. "That power should also be conferred upon the Courts of Bankruptcy and Chancery, with the con sent of the assignees of representatives of creditors, and also with the consent of a certain proportion of the creditors, to sanction a compromise between any or all of the shareholders and creditors, which power would be in accordance with principles al ready recognised by the bankrupt laws. " That this meeting, having regard to the recent speech of the Attorney-General, consider it desir able that a deputation, consisting of such members of the committee of depositors, and such of the assignees as are able to attend, should wait upon the Attorney-(,general, and also upon the Vice- President of the Board of Trade, for the pur pose of soliciting the influence of their support to such a measure as may be submitted to Parliament for carrying out the forgoing objects. " That some of the committee of shareholders, or their solicitors, be requested to accompany such deputation. "JAMES WYLD, Chairman." THE SCOTTISH FREEHOLD MOVEMENT. Yesterday a conferencetook place at Guildhall upon the question of appropriating the present site of Smithfield, or some part thereof, as a metropoli tan dead -meat market. Mr. H. L. Taylor, Chair man of the Mark e t s I mprovemen t Committee, pre sided, and there were, present a large number of the members of the committee and of the inhabitants and supporters of the memorial in favour of the pro ject. The memorial having been read several gen tlemen made statements in support of it. Mr. Scannell, one'of the churchwardens of the parish of St. Sepulchre, bore test'mony, to the amount of distress which had been caused through the re moval of Smithfield Market, and the consequent abstraction of trade from that spot. After similar statements from other-gentlemen Mr. Lard ner, the Chairman of the Smithfield Appropriation Com mittee, contended for the necessity for some steps being taken for the establishment of a central dead meat market on the site of Smithfield—first, on the ground of the inconvenience of the present New gate market, and, secondly, from the fact that the existing unappropriated space was giving facilities for persons holding public meetings there, which had a tendency to create tumults and drive away many respectable persens from the neighbourhood. Deputy Bolt said the committee had for some time been attentively and anxiously engaged in the pre paration of plans and making offers, so that they might be enabled to carry out the very views the memorialists had hit upon. They were well aware that a large di.trict was suffering in consequence of the unappropriated site of Smithfield, and he, who as a small holder of properq - there or in the imme diate n.eighbourhood; well knew that the rates of his tenants had been nearly doubled within the last few years, could not but be sensible of that fact. This, however, the deputation would bear in mind was a material element in favour of the me morialists with the Government, and he hoped when the proposals of the corporation were sub mitted to the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the inhabitants would succeed in their application. After some further discussion, Mr. Phillips said that the members of th e Smitfield Appropriation Committee had been assured that any plan on the part of the corporation leaving open the central area of Smithfield would net only receive the sanc tion but the support of the Government. They (the memorialists) had everyreason to believe, from what had fallen from the Chancellor of the Ex chequer, that if such a proposition were agreed to, he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) would have no objection to introduce a bill to that effect upon the subject during the present session of Parliament. Some other statements having been made, the Chairman said it was the desire of the committee to have the plans modified by their architect, so as to meet the case if they could with the Govern ment. That afternoon the plans were to be sub mitted and considered, after which they would be presented to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with a report from the committee, and no doubt the re presentations made by the deputation would have due effect with the right hon. gentleman when he came to consider the matter in detail. The depu tation then retired, and the members of the com mittee proceeded to receive another deputation on the tolls at the live cattle-market. This interview lasted a considerable time. The members then pro ceeded with closed doors to consider the matters brought before them during the day, and adjourned at a late hour. THE MAINE LIQUOR LAW. MEETING IN EDINBURGH. On Mondaynight, -a meeting w.s he'd in Queen s'reet Hall, under the auspices of the society for the promotion of Maine-law principles. Acc , rding t o the terms of the placard, posted abundantly on the walls of the city, a medical gentleman from Dum fries, named Dr. M'Culloch, was to " dissect" Dr. Laycock, an announcement which had the effect of causing the medical students of the University to issue an enormous counter-placard, which ran as follows :—" Dumfriesshire student. , and student s in general, be at the - meeting in the Queen-street Hall this evening at eight o'clock, to dissect Dr. M'Culloch and support our liberal-na'nded Profes sor Laycock." Some time before the hour the place was packed with au audience a considerable portion of which beguiled the intervening time by cries of " Three chews for the Scotsman, loud ap plause for Dr. Laycock, and counter-noises of all kind, condemnatory of Forbes Mackenzie and the Maine-law. As it approached half-past eight, a per son in the gallery produced a bell, and ringing it re peatedly demanded that the business should begin. It was with difficulty that' the platform gentlemen could gain their places, and utterly impossible for them to propose anybody to fill the chair in an audible voice. Mr. George Johnston, of the tem perance coffeeroom, Nicolson-street, gesticulated, and seemed to utter some words, whereupon Mr. John Hope, W.S., took the chair. He did not,, however, even attempt to say anything, the uproar having become fut ious. He stood forabout the space of half-au-hour contemplating the surging and vociferous crowds, who whistled and crowed, and even attempted to propose resolutions. As the evening wore on, the chairman abandoned the attempt to conduct the business, and sat down in consultation with his friends on the plat form. The ringing of bells, " cheers fo r D r . Laycock," and " groans for ope," and the same for "M'Culloch," continued without intermission. An elderly female at length rose in the centre of the hall amid awful yells of "order," and other ex clamations, which completely drowned her attempt ed speech. A medical student in the area, address ing his friends in the gallery, besought them to be have themselves. A person sitting in the front seat produced a bottle and drank the health of Dr. M'Culloch. Growing weary of these methods of amusing itself, the noisy portion of the audience resorted to "Cheer, boys, cheer," "Rob Roy Mac gregor," " Auld Langsyne," and other tunes, the singing of which, accompanied by stamping of the feet, awoke the echoes in the hall. When the night was wearing on to ten o'clock, Dr. M'Culloch sent a note to the reporters, stating that in conse quence of the riotous conduct of the students he would positively decline to lecture -that night. Afterwards, taking advantage of a. momentary lull in the general tumult, the Doctor clied out—" I have no intention of saying anything to-night," when frightful roars came down from the galleries, " Apologise, then, apologise F' In a few minutes after this Dr. M'Culloch a left the platform, leaving, however, the chairman and hisfriends (among whom we recognised only ex-Bailie Gray) behind, who, for some object or other, suck to their post until after ten o'clock. The vigour of the disturbers was at that late hour unimpaired. At last the chair man and the platform ge ntlemen left the hall, and the audience afterwards dismissed in great dis order.—Scotsman. delicious Rcvalenta Arabica [ADVERTISEMENTI—Du Barry's Food cures indigestion (dyspepsia), constipation, and diar rhoea, dysentery, ne rvousness, biliousness, an d liver corn plaints, flatulency, distension, acidity, heartburn, palpitation of the heart, nervo us headaches, hysteri a , neura l g i a, deafness, noises in the head and ears, pains at the pit of the stomach and between the shoulders, erysipelas, eruptions of the skin, impurities and poverty of the blood, scro f u l a, cough, asthma, consumption, dropsy, rheumatism, gout, nausea and sickness during pregnancy, after eating, or a t sea, l ow spirits, spa,ms, - cramps, epileptic fits, spleen, general debility, inquietude, sleeplessness, involuntary blushing, paralysis, tremors, dis , like to society, unfitness for study, loss of memory, delu sions, vertigo, blood to the head, exhaustion, melancholy, groundless fear, indecision, wretchedness. It is, more over, the best food for infants and invalids generally, as it never turns acid on the weakest stomach, nor in terferes with a good liberal diet, but imparts a healthy rolish for lunch and dinner, and restores the faculty of diges tion, and nervous and muscular energy to the most enfeebled. Supported by testimonials from the celebrated Professors of Chemistry Dr, Andrew Ure ; Dr. Shorland ; Dr. Harvey ; Dr. Campbell ; Dr. Gattiker ; Dr. Wurzer ; Dr. Ingram ; Lord Stuart de Dories; the Dowager Countess of Castle stuart ; Major-Gen. Thomas King, and many other respectable persons, whose health has been restored by it, afterall other means of cure had failed. For further particulars respect ing this invaluable food-our readers are referred to Du Barry's , advertisement in another part of this paper. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCP. SOUTH WALES CIRCUIT. —SWANSEA, Feb. 25. The commission for this county was opened yes texlay by Mr. Baron Watson.. The business e-m -meneed at 10 o'clock this morning, and in the course of his charge to the grand jury his lordship remarked that the appearance of the calendar was truly appalling, for out of the names of 25 prisoners no less than :13 were charged with homicide, and some with offences equally bad. The worst cases appeared to be those in which a man named Regan was charged with an attempt to murder his wife, and that iu which a man named Lewis was charged with the murder of his wife. Alluding to the case in which a man named Hancow, superintendent of railway police, was charged with manslaughter, his lordship said he did not think there would be any negligence proved, because it appeared to be the fault of the driver of the engine himself. And re ferring to the unfortunate explosion of the Cymmer Colliery (fully reported in our paper at the time), he said that there were five persons charged with the offence—namely, Jabez Thomas, the general manager of the mine, Rowland Rowland, overman, and three firemen. The case had been fully in quired into by the coroner at the time, for 13 or 14 days, in the midst of great excitement, and it re sulted in a verdict of manslaughter against the pri soners. He remarked upon time difference between criminal and coroners' juries, and said that he had gone through all the evidence, and had never found greater difficulty in his life, EO much so that he could not rise from the reading of those depos'- tions and conscientiously say that there was any evidence against the prisoners. What the jury would have to do would be three things :—Firstly, they would have to find out the duty of the indi viduals ; secondly, whether they had been guilty of a want of duty ; and, thirdly, whether that want of duty had been the direct and immediate cause of death. He then explained to the jury the law in such cases, and, afteradvising them to consider the bill in this case after they had finished the rest, concluded with some general remarks. POLICE INTELLIGENCE—Feb. 25. GUILDHALL.-Mr. Elias William Watson ap peared on a summons before Alderman Rose, to answer a charge of embezzling the moneys of an unenrolled benefit society cared " A Gift Fund for relieving Sick Members belonging to Lodgesl7 and 18 of the Loyal United Friend," of which he had been the secretary. After hearing some evidence of an indecisive character, Alderman Rose adjourned the case for a week, taking the defendant's recognisances to appear. BOW-STREET.--Francis Rose, a young man of about 21. years of age, was charged with breaking ing the shop of Mr. Heard, furniture skater, Tot tenham-court, New-road, and stealing a roll of car pet and a rug, valued at 4/. 4s. Policeman F 88 said that between 10 and 11 o'clock on Tuesday night he was on duty in Totten ham-place, when a young man came to him and informed him that two men were trying to get into Mr. Heard's shop. Witness approached the spot cautiously, and found that there were more than two mea standing at the door, but they per ceived him approaching and went away. He crossed to the opposite side and kept a watch, and after a while the nien returned, but again perceiving him passed by alittll went away. He then went to the door of the shop and found it open. He went in and found the prisoner just inside. He had the roll of carpet and rug produced gathered together, and was in the act of folding them up for removal. Henry Attfield, shopman to Mr. Heard, proved that he fastened the door securely when he left at nine o'clock. The carpet and rug were at quite another part of the shop from that where the officer found the prisoner with them. Mr. Heard said that the shop communicated with the lower part of the house, which was used in the business, and where no one slept. It was entirely cut off from the rest of the house, which was let in lodgings. The carpet and rug were worth four guineas. - - Mr. Henry committed the prisoner for trial joined any *regiment, but were "clerks in Lord Raglan's department," and were sent thither from India. She handed in a paper, which she said she got from the War-office list November. In this paper, thO magi3trate remarked, .the name of the regiment to which her sons had belonged was in serted in a different handwriting from the oiler writing in it. Mrs. A l Jsop accounted for this by saying it was written by Lady Thesiger. She said that her sons were not in ).;.ny action in the Crimea to her knowledge. General Brook, whom she had said she knew, had written to the magistrate, say ing that there was a man of the name of Allsop paymaster in the 44th Regiment, hut that her stoi y was a very improbable one ; of her sons no thing was known. The woman, however, pers'sted in stating that she was at the battle of Waterloo, where she "got of her horse to bind up Lord Raglan's wounds," and that she went through tie Peninular war. said she was willing to be examined by a surgeon to prpve that she had a tumour which afflicted her. Mr. Broughton said t) her—l have received a still more ex tr,orclinary account of you—that you are not a woman at all, but a man in disguise. To this Mrs. Allsop only replied, " There's a- God above who knows all.' She said two of her sons had been ad mitte I into the Blue Coat School, but by whose recommendation she did not know. Af. er some further conversation with her, which was not very sa+isfactory, Mr. Broughton dismissed her, saying that he would apply to the private se ci etaty of Lord Raglan, and to Lady Thesiger, to ascertain if her statements were true. THAMES.—William Darby, a boy about .13 years old, was charged with stealing a 501. Bank of England note, No. 37,947, and Morris Lipman, a Jew, aged 29, was charged with receiving the same, knowing it to have been stolen. Ann Darby, the mother of the younger prisoner and wife of a seaman, stated that her husband was at sea, that she had lately come into possession of a legacy, and had been in the habit of keeping a 501. note under her pillow for safety. On Monday week she mused the note. Her son, who knew where the note was kept, was absent at the time. On the next day he told her that he had sold the n eto a Jew on the Clothes Exchange, in Hounds ditch, fcr 2/. She went with her son to the Clothes Exchange, and he pointed out the prisonerLipman, who was given into custody. Wm. Sharp, a boy about 14 years of age, stated that he went with the boy Darby to Houndsditch, to sell the note, where they met three men, of whom Lipman was one, and all went to a beer shop, on coining out of which Darby showed Lim 30s. in gold, and some silver, and stated that the Jew had given him 2/. for the note. _ _ In cr oss-exa min a t ion, the witness, who showed a great familiarity with thieves' slang, admitted that he had received Is. from Darby out of the proceeds of the note, and that he had understood that the note was a stol-n one. The prisoners were remanded for a week. Country Markets. WORSHIP -STREET.—George Thomas, a very powerful labourer, was charged with violently,as saulting his wife Lucy. The complainant's face presented fearful contu sions and cuts. She had only been martied in July last, and assisted in their mutual support by wash ing and taking . charge of lodging houses. He was of a brutal disposition, and was never helplessly drunk, but, as she described , it, wickedly drunk, kicking and smashing the little property in the home, and destroying the victuals. On the night of Monday he struck her violently with his fist in the face while She was sitting, and repeated the blow on finding the first did not knock her down. Last evening he, without any provocation, swore he would kill her, and exclaiming " Murder I will do," hit her on the same side of the face as he had struck her on Monday. This opened the cheek as with a knife, and she bled from the wound freely for twenty minutes. He had frequently assaulted her, and she would feel truly thankful to him if he would allow her to eat the little bread she could earn without his aid in peace and quietness. The defendant, who appeared t n °roughly ashamed of himself, expressed his contrition, and Mr. D'Eyncourt observed that he believed of fences of this charwtter were on the decrease. Men no longer sought to, excuse violence to their wives ; this evinced an approach to manly feeling. Defendant was sent for four months' hard labour to the House of Correction. John Walker, a haberdasher, in Shaftesbury street, New North-r oa d, surrendered on his tail to answer the charge of having on the 29th of Jan. assaulted and otherwise ill-treated Elizabeth Buck man, his niece, an orphan child, aged eight years. After hearing further evidence, Mr. I,D'Eyncourt obierved that unquestionably the prisoner had treated the poor girl, his relative, with gross neglect and gt eat cruelty, for which he richly deserved punishment. Yet after the testi mony of the medical gentlemen, it was not• likely a jury would convict. The accused must therefore be discharged. CLERKENWELL. A respectably - dressed young woman was placed at the bar on remand, charged with stealing a 51. note and a cheque for 3/. 125., the property of Henry James Beckley, who stated that he was a drysalter, t e4ding at 13, Coomb-street, Macclesfield-street, City -road. Mr. Beard, from the ofticu of Mr. Buchanan, at tended for the prisoner. It appeared from the evidence that some time since the cotnpl,linant was lying very ill in bed, and was being attended to by a female whom he had been living with. This female it seemed the pri soner went to see, and while there, according to his statement, she took down his greatcoat, took out his pocket-hook, and stole the Si. note and the cheque. The note he had had in his possession for some months, and the cheque was given to him by a gentleman who, although a remand had been granted, he was now unable t 9, produce. He did not call out at the time because he was very Mr. Beard--How many times have you charged persons with felony ? Witness (after bandying with the question, and being cautioned by the magistrate) said, , gWell, you know, p er h a ps it might been twice." Mr. Beird—Or three times. Now, tell me if the parties you charged were not discharged ? Witress—They were. Mr. Beard—Tell me whether you were not charged with receiving some tarpaulins ? Witness—Why, yes, I was indicted for rece i v i ng some tarpaulins ; but I was acquitted on that charge. Mr. Beard—And also some drugs ? Witness--Yes ; that was at the Central Crim'nal Court. Mr: Beard—What are you by trad e ? Witness—That is my business. You are not a respectable s-licitor. You are a thief, and you keep a prostittite. Mr. Tyrwhitt—Such language as that will not do here. You must conduct yourself with propriety at this court. Mr. Beard—Do you not buy forged and stolen notes ? Witness—Perhaps you know best about that. I am not going to answer. Mr. Beard—Do you give 21. for aW. note ? Witness (after some hesitation)—No. Mr. Beard said his client was a most respectable per son, said asked his worship to dismiss the case with such remarks that she might leave the court with out a stain upon her character. It was no use cross-examining the prosecutor further, for he was determined to give a negative to all that was asked of him. Mr. Tyrwhitt discharged the prisoner, and said she left th e cour t w ith ou t a stria upon her c racter. He quite concurred in the remarks of Mr. Beard. The prosecutor here got into the box to ask a question, when vva ll y ad w gi y te ou e . nough of Mr. Tyrwhitt said—l Get have a such a fellow as you. MARYLEBONE.—The " Widow Alicitiy l l sop i : again appeared before Mr. B rou g hton, who had ap_ pointed this day to mike some further i into her ease. In reply to the magistrate she said she had not brought with her the document to W hi c h she had allude,' on the foimer occasion, an d in which it was stated that she was known to certain parties whom she had mentiithed. She was asked about her sons iu the Crimea, and said they never EDINBURGH HAY AND STRAW MARKET FEB. 24. Supplies of all kinds these last six days again large. Oat straw, from 8s Od to 103 6d per kemple of 16 stone! tron; wheat do., 65 Od to 8s 6d; barley do., 75 01. to 85 H. Hay from 12d to ls. 2d. EDINBURGH MEAL—FEB. 24. There were in the market today 12 sacks oatmeal, each weighing 2801 b imperial, which sold at 37s and ,KET-Fzu 23. by 6 bags of oatmeal, 0 of Sales dull. DALKEITH MEAL There were in the market tc barleymeal, and 0 pot barley. Oatmeal, per sack of 2801bs First. Second. Third. imperial Barleymeal, per ditto -a Od —a Od —a Oa Peasemeal, per ditto Flour, new, per ditto.... Pot-barley, new, per ditto —s Od —s Od —s Od DUBLIN, FEB. 24. White wheat, 31s 6cl to 34s 61 ; red ditto, 31s Od to 32s 6d; ditto new, —s; barley, malting, 16s to 25s 6d ; grind ing, 15s to 20s 6d ; oats, old, Ils to 13s; ditto, new, 01 to 15s Od; oatmeal, 14s to 15s Od; bere, new, 16s to 48 1 01 ; rapes d, 30s Od to 32s Od per brl ; bakers' flour, 193 6 , 1 to 26s Od per cwt ; Indian corn, 3is Od to 37a Od Por 430 lbs. GOAL MA] BT.—FEB. 25. the close of the market. Prloom of Coal per ton at s. d. B ites's West Hartley 0 B3bside's Hartley l4 3 Bell's Primrose l2 0 Ht. stings' Hartley l4 3 Davison's West Hartley 14 3 Longridge's Wst Hartley 14 3 North Percy Hartley l3 0 Wylaut Ships at market... 5 WaMend, „&e. 8 d. goeforth l4_ 0 Riddell I¢ 0 3raddyll l6 3 Eden 'Main l6 0 Cowpen Hartley l4 3 4eaham l6 3 Plummer Lees l7 I Sold LOCAL SHARE MARKETS. LIVERPOOL. FEB. 25. STOCK EXCHANGE.—The market is quiet but very stead,' at the full rates of yesterday, and closed at its best point. Caledonian, 341—Eastern Counties, 101 Lancashire and Yorkshire, 1004—London and North Western, 1084—Mid• land, 84i--North Eastern, Berwick, 221 I—South Eastern, 231 4—North Union (A), 2t7. 4 —llutch Rhenish, p.-- Grand Trunk of Canada, 121. Bs. 9d.—Luxembourg con stituted, 101 d. MANCHESTER, FEB. 22. STOCK EXCHANGE. —There was au advance in prices, and a fair business was done for the next as well as the present account. Leeds, 101 i D. a.--Sheffield, 374 c. a.. and 373 is. a.—Dover, 23i p. a., anti 21 n. a.—North British, 114 p. a., and 11 5-16 D. a.—Eastern Counties, 10i p. a—Fast Lancashire, 2113-16 p. a., and 244 n. a.—Cheshire Junc tion, 70 n. a.—Blackburn, 81 D. a. BIRMINGHAM, FEB. 25 STOCK EXCHANGE.—This market was dull to-day, although prices were firm. London and North Western Eighths were done at d.—Midlands closed at 84 Birmingham and Stour Valley, at 94 —Birmingham Con sols, at 1,2,i 94. FALMOUTH, Feb. 23.—Her Majesty's ship Indus, hay. ing on board Admiral Sir H. Stewart, arrived here ye3;,erday evening, bound to the West Indies ; this morn ing the wind having changed to the north, and a gentle brecze, she will doubtless proceed forthwith. • OXFORD UNIVERSITY PAIR-OARED RACES.—The an• nual interesting pair-oared races, foz silver oars and medals, came off on Monday and Tuesday over the old course. The only entries were Wadbani and Queen's, the victorious crew having to contend with Balliol, the holders. Balliol won by eight seconds. The names of the winning crew are Messrp. Warre and Lonadale, who rowed ever the course last year. CHIEF CONSTABLE OF OXFORDSHIRE.-Of the 67 can di fates fcr the s'tuation of chief constable of the Oxford shire constabulary, three only have been selected by the committee of magistrates, viz. :—Capt. Richard Bridges Bellers, captain and acijutont of the Wiltshire Militia ; Captain Charles Fortunatus Grant, of the 3d Regiment Bombay army ; Mr. Charles Mostyn Owen, formerly assistant high commissiocer of the Cape of Good Hope. Captain Holloway, of the Oxfordshire Militia, will be also proposed, The election takes place on Friday. It is stated that the rates have been announced at which the shares of the Russian railway scheme are to be issued in the various European markets. At Amster dam the share is to represent 236 guilders, equal to 507 f. ; at Berlin it is to be for 134 dollars, equal to 503 f.; and in London it is to be for 201., equal to 506 f. As the issue at Paris is to be at the rate of 500 f. per share, an advantage is thus given to French subscribers over all others, and the result would be that, the shares might stand apparently at 6f. or 7f. premium in Paris, although the sum obtainable for them would be equal only to the par price at London or Amsterdam. BIRTHS.- OF A SOY. On the 24th inst., at 33, Hyde-park-square, the wife of George S. Trower, Esq. On the 24th inst., at Donnington Priory, near Newbury, the wife of the Rev. Thomas Hubbard. OF A Mt/GETTER. Berry-bill, Notts, the lady of Sir Ed. ward O n Wake r d . inst., at 13 On the 25th inst., a t Stoke Newington, Mrs, Charles Ethcrington. MARRIED. On the 23d inst., at Paris, in the private chapel of the e em t esse Swetchine, the Right Hon. Wil liam Monsell, M.P., to Berth°, the youngest daughter of the late Comte de Mon tio33% BoutainTilliers. q., to On the 24th inst., at St. Leo nar d' s-on -Sea, John Croke!. Pennell, Es Sir William FollettHarriet, only su rviving daughter of the late, DIED. • • On the 20th inst., at East Cliff, Dover, Edward, Earl of Castle-Stuart. On the 20th inst., Thomas Abbot, Esq., formerly of the Dugly of Cornwall Off ice, aged 67. Ts the 20tli inst., at Gravesend, Mr. Benjamin Heath Brogden, aged Si. On the 19th hist. , the Rev. Walt er B u tl er , i ncum b en t o f ral O D n e t n i n Christ Church, Cre we.2 , b ls b t et i s n o s n t , , a a a t ea ßi 7 lliton, Deputy-Commissary-Gene- On the 24th inst , Benjamin Staudring, Esq., of the Minories, aged 76. On the 24th inst., at Wrotham-road, Gravesend, Mr. Geo. Price, aged 70 . Oa the 24th inst., at 12, Craven-hill, William, Watt son of John Vans Agnew, Esq. 0:i the 23 , 1 inst., at 9, Titchfield-terrace, Regent's park John Purees, E sq. , E . I . C . S . On the 22d i nst , M r. Wm. F. Brett, son of the late Joh R ff Bret, Esq., o f th e East India Huse, and Kennin g ton. LONDON : Printed and Pablighed by MURDO YOUNO, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No. • 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of Middlesex, Thursday, February 26, ]857.