The Sun. — London, England, 1847-01-21 00:00:00

Friday night be House for in breweries Ise agreed to eying It into to any party nt,.howeic, ting the ode' , on sideratt o first insta nce ' ards to make ' bleLo rd • Coptata i'Ne etbr the the tab le 0:1 re b 93 be Tt nt to I l ig •' or it - kr. c o o o in ) T th° rc i st th c , 0 , p pta iu . he • f a petition bed to o k ti tre IA) . urn:etc(' ht he forte'g i s . jle o°ll°l 3, a witil te .ho rtq uest . the Ada°. ae 'tli• 0 h hC4 !... .1• , " 00 08 _jaht D rtu.r h , tabl" b°l3. 5...........5...3 61. associated w i th a Committee for the relief of distres ... s, but in that time they had never accepted is. of the Government ehHey, because they could not act up to the Government in actions.str . l\ o one who had not attended these relief com mittees could understand the anxieties under ehich these gen- Ze n: en laboured, or the difficulties they had overcome, but ' under who had filled similar situations in other places. and mod e er osifmmilaerectileregumstances. He felt convinced that the best these difficulties would have been to suspend the poor-law for the time being; in fac, he was sure that this was far better than the Labour Act, which had turned out t eh a complete failure. It was ver y t rue that what t ▪ he Hon. Member for Stroud had asserted was correct, that s llrt some eases relief was re f use d . Th e f act was, t h at t h e pr i ce ul food was so en ormous, t h at i n some cases i t was i mposs ibl e to supply it. For his own part, he thought that many bard taunt's had been brought aga i ns t th ose M em b ers w ho were connected with Ireland on the subject of the poor-law of that e eett n l r)•; but Hon. Members should recollect that it was the 'el,' Ministry which now exiseed that had introduced that very t°!relaw. They were told of many measures for the good of and.rel h , , , Emigration was pointed out, public works were este ,e,eesned, and other measures had been stated as a panacea for all HI se evil s . Th ere could be no doubt that some one mu , t suppert the destitute poor, but if no one could do so, the Government of the country were bound to provide some funds fur the pur thpose. He had, with great pleasure, heard the statement of e Nobl e L ord, that he had anticipated the subject, and that , e state of Ireland would be shortie , brouget before the Ho use, and the means explained by which Government hoped to avert the evil. The workhouses in Ireland were in an awful state. Few of them could accommodate more inmates, a nd in the workhouse of Skibbereen, of which mention had been made once or twice that night; the deaths had exceeded by 200, the amount of mortality in the corresponding period of last year.—(Hear. hear.) Numbers of the inmates were aal i cted with fever, and even in the workhouse of which he was chairman, the daughter of the master and the schoolmaster,. were also afflicted with fever. But it had been asserted that • the guardians of the workhouses neglected their duty. He had lately received a communication from a friend of his, who abated that two of the guardians of the workhouse in his locality were lying ill with typhus fever, caught whilst in the discharge of their duties. In the western part of the county with which he was eoneeeted, the state of the poor was most alarming; but as he did not wish to say anything that might create a difference of opinion in this debate, he was willing to give every credit to the Government for their intentions with respect to Ireland, but they committed a fatal error when they decided upon doing avvay with depots in Ireland. The Hon. Member for Stroud had stated that a large amount of corn yet re trained unthreshed in the farmers' possession. He (Lord Bernard) wished that he could confirm that statement. No • doubt the farmers had some corn for their own consumption, but a s a proof that at the present moment it was by no means plentiful ; he might inform the House that in the corn market of Cork (the second market of the kingdom), the supply did not exceed the general average of July. As they would soon have an opportunity of discussing this question, when they had the information promised them by Government, he would not further trespass upon the attention of the House, but before sitting down he might express a hope that some cheep might be made in the unfortunate Labour Act, under which a vast sum of money had been expended for no possible use, and that some measures would be adopted instead, which would have the effect of inducing the peasantry to attend to the cultivatio n of the land, and they might then expect that another year would exhibit Ireland more prosperous then the present, and her sons more contented and happy. Sir GEORGE GREY admitted the fearful extent of famine under which the people of Ireland were then suffer ing, but which h e hoped, that the presence of Parliament would mitigate in some, degree that calamity. He knew that no effort of human prudence could create abundance, where their was felt scarcity. He admitted it was the duty of Ireland to avail itself of all and every means within its reach, by which it could arrest the progress of disease and death, and Friend th e Chancellor of tlae Exchequer had given instructions that soup kitchens should be established where distress was most preva lent; the object being to bring food within the reach of that class who were incapacitated from labour. He - would inform the Hon. Member for Stroud, that the papers relative to the distress in Ireland would shortly be laid aeon the. table of the House, and he would then per ceive the reasons which had induced her Majesty's Govern . went to advance money to the poor-law unions in Ireland. He was sorry to say that there was a general disposition on the part of the board of guardians to shrink from the most onerous duty imposed upon them, viz.—that of collecting the out standing debts ; and when they found that pal ties who were well able to do s o p: offered the plea of inability as a reason for avoiding payment of the rates demanded for the sup port of the poor, he was sure tbat Honourable Mt-mbers would not blame the Government for having exercised due caution before advancing money for this purpose to the unions. liesveouldin m staie the Castlebar workhouse, because it had not been suppo r t e d 'sot o f t h e pu b l i c funds, w h ere t h e peop l e were away Sfrom the doors without relief, and numerous .!Neests were held on those who had died from starvation. Y that workhouse could accornmolate 600 persons, and the Bo ard of Gua r di ans h a d so neg l ecte d t h e i r d ut i es , th a t not more than 130 were admitted into the house. No answer was r eturned by the t o the repeated remonstrances of the Poor aw Com m issioners, and as they had refused to make due Provision for the support of the poor in their neighbourhood s,_eas determined to dismiss them altogether, and supply their r ul ia , : with a paid :board. Before sitting down he would merely •• laud, to the state of distress in the West Highlands of Scot tie had been more immediately in correspondence with i: tihcatouttyliatpnroprietorn in the West Highlands, the Lord Advocate of d, and :Sir John MtNeil, and it was due to the house of th e sh ould know that the distress in the:West Highlands was • praise. h ad ruarrdesst severe kind ; but the sacrifices which the landlords • thargeabl e T v i s t ere of a nature to entitle them to the very highest ate created, exception to eel t. . e ei n a. _ . e y had almost in every case rendered their estates occurred, but 1:.•1 large sum of money for works which they only in one instance had he heard an general conduct. Upon this estate two deaths hilitat ing the e Iva' ha to say that that proprietor now was that Scotland etainPl t w e , eof others. He had every confidence diffic u l t i es. It "Illid struggle successfully through its present vas natural that the state of Ireland should occupy More attention, Without refbut he could not resume his seat e prevailing "l thereg to the W est Hi gh l an d s, an d t h e d est i tut i on e* ea --...e, .GR AN . ho t o great was . ad t o thought that some means should be compel the depots on the coast from Donegal to esotkato open their stores of food forthesupply of the people. the distressof that country, that the work- ilnses were utte o :r J 1 t u o n t able to contain the numbers which it was cottag e r, eeell to thr _ ho:l , ,ny, i d , for c e , had been k o them,. arid it was well known that the pod their rates, ad . d been _,.% as .landlord back . the money that should have reserving it for their private use eexi plereletecilhthwahtich hewinter. He did nut blame them, though himself, especially when he saw the state of Nttied in thth he country was plunged, for it could not be utaunrtiantgoedth 1 e money which was required for food should be e improvement of their farms.—( Hear, hear.) number fortee latter part of the year, the number of paupers Present which workhouse at Cork was 2,900, whereas the oh it was adapted was only 2,000, and at the mates ae ist there were ab s olutely as many as 5,000 in t, en e tn eledated in the house. He would not trouble the ouse itn pre,,,, hiss any further remarks, but would conclude with im -I:47wehuoephrotaenti,ro:hefieoroGhdov.ernment the necessity of cm - bling the .. Air. is without the hardship of being thus im ealth and the country alike suffered. to the linkingToOrhNisthdottutyght that he should not be doing jus titahr for their'to the country, if he did not thank eaer periodreadiness to meet the necessities of Ireland, coulti e s? ei allY for the establishment of soup-kitchens. Ile h - ""e r u shed ,but lat that this measure had been adopicd at an ear - 'a in th , ! ._ classe s his grat e it as it came, he would not refrain from nde for the boon, for he felt that to all claountry it would prove an immense benefit, and z w _ o 9 l d ha ve door el . f la the Q uee "7l ll ‘ srlad if so H e notification of it had been given guardians of tlh e measu re of teeels. oveders for ,het regretted, hoxever, that some co which tlaey le had not been devised so tl,at the raclietoetreasof p r . • Poor rni h have been divested of their cha- Hornitissionees with s With • Cewireons would P eo ple, and he trusted that the were relieve them from the responsibility _ y. He could not weel - invested. The law had clothed the his geraotirtude to the upreme bilite " °f Cei nelous d Power, and it was heped that the relieve them from their responsi mirtliostwever, sit down, without expressing people of Ireland. a h.. l e Xl* relief of but io.h - , 0,,e interest of the the ry for the exertions which they had at heart, st. 4 •RMAN CRAWFORD said that, feeling, deeply bef r °"` t na the should people of Ireland, he thought it e re the H oulcl make some ob t• son the subject serve con . ' Ire!' • oese. He had listened with much attention to the taration of the II he a s t e ( hi r- L abou h i gh t Hon. Gentleman, the Secretary for ich haa elens s -r ` u 'Would be eere.) But there were some facts, which d ,•-' a nd nothing brought under the consideration of Govern 4:lttzte s , one g was more prominent than the state of the been and in connexion with that, the restrictions wor Ittousit eta s f k arthing was s oot ,. distivt placed on the disbursements to relieve the reception he granted for this purpose. recepti on eof ibbereen, the place was formed for the there ' o f 80 0 inmates •and d . - wa s not , yet, at the preset moment, tse s i,,. es less than 1,169. The nurse had demanded her ~, 'et The apothecary had given notice to quit. The phy- Al -•" w , 'as linable to evneread attend h o d his duty. In the workhouse of kith s seven children were put into two beds, and three Ids _ a Were put into the same number of beds • and • 4etetsn adult in one case Plerick th a were put into seventeen beds. In Down- gam! e same principle was observed, when the-power of ,841,_g outdoor relief was denied. He could not deny the ad sioe'lasifss of the measure of Government, although he much for he whether the abuse of the labour-rate had been just, the end recollected that when that rate was discussed it was at h e _ e nd of the session, and but few of the Irish Members could he is_r!t together. If they objected to that rate, inefficient as w ac t l owed it had been, they ought to have been in their *04 ,7, te state their objections, when the Government thing'their assistance and advice. Yet the principal g of which he would complain was the mistake which had keen made in the wages allowed to the labourers for their ex enions on the p u bli c wor k s . Th ese men were only paid • ei ghtpence or ninepence a day, arid because this was only the Price at which labourers in general were paid, there were bet fe w who sought th e re li e f . Th e Mi n i sters of the Crown had not ?lied upon the assistance of voluntary contributions, for if they rpazided Open volunta r y contr ib ut i ons t h ey would b e most miserably deceiv e d. Thi s f act would show, that where the le . ity_ was the great es t th e contr ib ut i ons would be the by ast. thei tl r e trusted th a t t h e Government would take warning the principle, and that, while they adopted It appeared,' 'toy they would improve upon the practice. 1844, as many Pus 1,800 ()returns, that during the year from Ireland, an d as ma , u oo quarters of barley were exported Meal. Why way it that sTshislse f902n,720 tons of oat and other the people were, starving ? This was exported from Ireland looking to. Them there was : was a subject well worth future crops. Seed must b another consideration as to the e provided for were to be taken , from the produce of the these crops; for if it O nly be reducing the amount of those pile:lnt year it would needed fo r p rese e n t sub s i s t ence . Such was the les which were ject w hi ch should engross the attention of Mintitestpeorartata. sub ; but he desired part i cularly to i mpress upon the Government the ctietssity of preve.sting the supply of food from being drawn ee e Crop of the present season.from ~_ Mr. FITZF;TEPHEN FRENCH rose to address a few i' b o a rds to the I louse, solely on account of what bad fallen from ss, e 'light Hera. Baronet the Secretary of State for the Home plapartment, in reference to an occurrence that had taken e i s ,e, ill the workhouse of Castlebar. Now, if he had been ss a e _utlY inform ed, the guardians of Castlebar had found that it 807etettait e, ey irrepossible to collect the rates in that district, and s ibea it ef them, therefore, took upon themselves the respon mese?' of feeding the inmates of the house, and by these months the Jeaupers were supported for more . than . two thi s u s,s• - (Cries of " Hear, hear.") He readily believed In uuermation, because a similar circumstance occurred k his ovrn count ecl ' ie de that Y• There, he knew of his own perso ial Priv ate e x ; tat, the paupers had latterly been supported at the not : „Helease of the guardians, and yet because they could fail e d e e t seem the rates, now that their own private resources Of th e so , , they were to be handed over to the tender mercies pa rsh •L clor-law Commis • stoners. In the case of the Castlebar but h e • an a the commissioners had already come to a decision. liee g uardians Strongly inclined to doubt its legality, in so far as Ilettrabl ad never refused to art . There wore many cano n ~, e Members in the H ' • %te l l L° statement that in House who could . bear him ree.' ee ted they were 1 . h • the county with which he was e' were g i ven ii lighting their candles at both ends—their i t, -J4 distress eri p . , and still they were unable to relieve eve ry W t." , l •l lcin skris he - u st.Lering that Caine to light. —( Hear. f0 ° , 41 .- take th could °els , assure the House, i' - ' f nosy - "el th • theouble to inquire "et , it it in into the matter, it would be ea eve ,western and souther cl . • %Kt not by n istricts of Ireland the any possibility be collected ; a anm in many instances the poor were solely dependent upon the privates resources of the euarrlians and the resident gentry. —( Hear.) Mr. LEFROY felt constrained to bear his testimony to the wretched state of the people of Ireland, and to state that within the last fcw months he had had ample opportunities of witnessing the anxiety of the landowners to mitigate the distress with the aid of their own private funds. (Hear, hear.) He must say, in justice to the Government, that he had heard their statements in reference to Ireland with the utmost satisfaction. Credit was clue to them for the can dour with which they admitted the prevalence of the distress— and the fairness with which they allowed that whatever works had been recently adopted in Ireland were fully autho rised by the exigences of the times. ( Hear, hear.) The Lord Lieutenant and the Secretary for Ireland, had exerted themselves to the utmost to mitigate the evils, and had entered cordially in.() all the schemes that had been submitted to them for the purpose. All those who had the power of co-operating with Government in the present state of Irish affairs, ought readily to come forward and do so. He could hear testimony, with the Hon. Gentleman who last addressed the Hou.e, to the difficulty of collecting the rates in Roscommon. and he had not the least hesitation in believing that the same difficulty had been experiencod, and the reme dies resorted to in Castlebar. The Hon. Member for Bath, on the previous night, suggested measures for meeting the present exigencies, which would have the effect of ex tinguishing the landholders of Ireland.—( Hear, hear. ) But would their extinction improve the condition of the Irish people. In many instances the landlords had given up their rents, and others of them had abandoned many of their comforts, and reduced their establishments for the purpose of investing large sums of money in the purchases of Indian corn, for the benefit of the poor. He did not pretend to say that those who thus invested their money, expected it would be a loss, on the contrary he was convinced they would be enabled to remunerate themselves by selling the corn to the distressed poor.—(C ice of « Hear, hear.") The corn dealers throug'hout Ireland, however, had been filling their pockets at the t xpcnse of the people, and steps he had mentioned, as being taken by the landlo ds, were the only means by which unjust and cruel speculations in food could be put a stop to.—( Hear, hear.) He did hope, therefore, that no more would be heard about extinguishing the landlords, but that sue'a measures would be adopted for advancing money to the landlords at reasonable rates of interest, to be invested in reproductive works, such as the improvement of the land, and thus enable them not only to meet all the liabilities the mea sures would impose upon them, but to derive some profit from the money so borrowed. ( Hear, hear. ) Mr. P. BORTHWICK promised to give the measures of the Government his careful consideration, and after giving them such partial consideration to decide upon them without reference to party feelin g or party bias. He did not agree with the reasoning that hael been advanced in suvort of the violation of the Treaty of Vienna in the suppression of Cracow, nor did he think those were the best friends of the Government of France or of England who were silent upon the subject of the Montpensier marriage, on the ground that the entente cordiale which existed between the Govern ments of the two countries was indispensably neces sary for the preservation of the peace of Europe. It was indispensably necessary that it should be shown to the people and Government of France, that in this country there was a reunion of all sections and parties in the sentiments ex pressed in reference to the Montpensier marriage. it was very b d e e r e a e b n le ih n e o tw d o o u co b, u t . t t r ti i e a tbhuetre it s s l h i should n b o e t b an . m er e i t r e e / y te b c e o t cdia ee l n e other parties and factions of these two great powers, but be tween the people. Mr. PLUMPTRE expressed his hope that peace would not be interrupted. an unopposed Gas Bill is not a heavy Bill, and would be very little lessened in expenses by having the clauses consolidated ; the cost of printing wou l d be somewat diminished. Speaking of the expense, can you form any estimate what proportion of the :expense of such Bills is for witnesses, and what for fees of the House, and what for other expenses ?—I cannot state the ex&ct proportion, nor am I a competent party to do that, for I never see the solicitors' bills,- but I should say that in a contested case, the fees of the House and those which more properly come within my own department, viz., the preparation of the Bill, the clauses, and so forth, form a very small proportion indeed of the large expense which is in curred. Do witnesses form a large expense ?—The attendance of witnesses will be a large sum ; the employment of counsel is a very large sum ; the daily copies of evidence, and the drawing up and preparing it, involve a very large caper diture. Have you any means of knowing what is the ordinary fee of attorneys attending in London for the sake of Private Bills? —I would rather they would answer that question themselves; they knew it better than we do; it does not come within my province. There is a regulated fee for the attendance of Parliamentary agents ?—lt will vary in cases of opposed or unopposed Bills ; but we do not profess to charge always for attendin Com mittees, unless there, are clauses under discussion. I " should find it impracticable to attend all the Committees I have, during the investigation of the preambles ; and therefore we generally consider that to come under the solicitor's province while the evidence is being taken, and then upon the clauses we attend ourselves, and we vary our charge. Sometimes we get two guineas. If I were there the whole day long fighting clauses, I should charge five. . . . . from the Secretary whether in ascertaining the liabilities attaching to the policies the actual age of the assured had been taken. There was another point in connection with the bonus which was deserving of some explanation. Any holder of a pelicy might select a reduction of premium in stead of a bonus. Now, suppose a person to select the re duction of a premium on the present occasion, he wished to know whether he would be able to select a bonus in addition on the next, and vice versa. —(Hear, hear.) He believed the last valuation was made up to the 39th June, 1841, and was anxious to ascertain the number of policies in force on that day, and the n um b er a t presen t i n ex i s t e n c e. He also wished to know the average age of the assured. He asked for this information on public grounds—(Hear, hear)—and could not help thinking that the reports of societies of this description would be much more valuable if they en tered somewhat more into the scientific details by which their operations are regulated. He considered economy of management one of the most honest and safe principles to follow; bat in a Company of the magnitude of the pre sent, a difference of 1,0001. or 2,000/. a year in the an nual expenditure was of little importance compared with the errors which might be caused by adopting exploded systems. The sort of information to which he had alluded would be very useful, and in Germany a noble example had been set in this respect. At Gotha, not only was that done, but they published the lives assured, the number of deaths, the periods at which the policies were effected, and they even went 84 far as to give the names of the individual& lie would in conclusion ask one other question—namely, the number of deaths during the last five years, and whether there had b een any material difference between the actual number and the number anticipated?—(Hear, hear.) The SECRETARY felt great pleasure in answering the questions which bad been put by the able and intelligent gentleman who had addressed the meeting. With respect to the first question, he was not aware of any other proprietary office which had adopted the principle of laying by o ne- th i rd of 'the profits. There could be no question that that principle had been a great drawback to the Company with respect to the bonuses which had heretofore been declared ; and it was a matter of astonish ment to those who were acquainted with these matters how the Company had got on so well. Notwithstanding this great difficulty, the Company had done its full share of bu siness when compared with other companies which had not adopted this principle. All difficulties had now been got over, and the plan of laying by one-third of the surplus would do more to increase the bonuses on future occasions than any other that could have been adopted. To prove that this system had acted beneficially, he might refer to the report of the Equitable Society, in which, after giving I examples of its large bonuses, he found this statement:— "Among the causes which have contributed to these impor tant results is the reservation at each decennial division of one-third of the suplus fund for future appropriation." It was, therefore, quite evident that the prospects of this Com pany for the future were pre-eminently above those of all the other companies which had not been obliged to adapt this system, and every person connected with it might look for ward with perfect confidence to extremely satisfactory bo nuses. With respect to the mode of valuation, it was stated in the report that all the policies had been valued separately; and he would state in addition, that all the lives taken as healthy lives had been valued at the increased age at which they had arrived on the 30th of June last. With respect to the diseased lives, the directors had adopted a eourse contrary to that of every other office which had taken such lives. If they had taken a life at 40, whose real age was 30, they had always. to all intents and purposes, con sidered that life as a life of 40; so that a much larger sum smlhwvhaiiaataushr errespect laid theahs by npesdaebera aet begged togaopne policy* tetcoeie3m,t question ab t eu ha s tntt, that c oae claim rtaneitrlmche might eeph t dbe h tadoch a pi sltnn, n euuti euniitral t nstgaenb , u o ny,yhm t te l i oglba d ietchho h rt eneabrd:euce office.rct j b ati i e ekon e en n cn eo l i a fonN i p l aotrn b hwe e y_e : e f geri numberNao tf e n i to s ihi o i n , eli w sans a ot s nd e i : tv i h t i h e exist encesrp ie a og r na t , y rd interested. N:taseo yt4eh a:r3snBu. ago,_mA bnewnor • aeohsaferr3. policies.,) question T ;h e books was 48. The number of deaths expected within the last year was 106; but he was happy to say the actual t t weh l aai existed littlet great nrdea d bt e e s t w i o a ne t e l u o ns .n consequence. t — hleo ( nf. Hi the ea r , enormoush e a r . ) number which had occurred was only 53, being just one-half. d —(Applause.) This was rather more favourable than the general average; but the same sort of mortality had existed In answer to a question by Mr. STREETER, h duringcompetition l n S d t Eeh endeavoured vßfoEive years, SECRETARY said, to as i the last ten or twelve years, several of the more o ir r er d e ecre officesnt o t keep e e nfoe p sr themselves alive, they had, on the first occasion, instead of dividing the profits up to that time, anticipated the future profits from the business upon their books. This was an ex tremely fallacious node of proceeding, and must in time prove ruinous. It would, no doubt, have the effect of mis leading some persons, by giving to the office a highly flourish• ing appearance, when that was not really th e case . T h i s Company had, however, laid by rather too much than too little, and had not encroached on any future profits. Mr. NEISON had not the least hesitation in saying that the mode of valuation which this society had rejected would have had the effect of anticipating future bonuses, and he was justified in that opinion by an essay read before the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, by one of the most scientific writers on the subject.. One feature connected with this Society deserving of great eemmendation was the mi nuteness of' detail with which the valuations were made.— ( Hear, hear.) He should feel obliged if the Secretary would state the total amount assured by all the policies. The SECRKTARY-2,657,000/. A PROPRIETOR inquired what portion of the accumulated 50,0001. the proprietors would eventually obtain? The Creeteereer —One-sixth, as at present. The PROPRIETOR—And the assured ? The SECRETARY—Three-sixths, and eventually nearly five-sixths, arising from the reservation of one-third. Dr. Rem inquired the average number of proposals for life assurance during the last five years, and the amount of money included in those proposals? The SECRETARY—The average annual number of proposals was 557, and the amount proposed by them was 339,6001. Mr. WrifswAw said the report amf the explanations which had been given were so satisfactory, that every one interested in the affairs of the company must feel obliged to the direc tors for the manner in which they had conducted its affairs. —(Applause.) He wished particularly to impress on the notice of the proprietors and the public the importance of the last paragraph in the report, which invited the assured and the public to examine with attention the state of their ' own affairs. If there was one mode of inspiring confidence better than another, it was that of giving on all occasions every pessible information, and showing no wish for con cealment.—(Hear, hear.) He agreed in the suggestion, that it would be desirable in future reports to give a general out line of the principles on which the society's calculations were founded. . . _ _ _ _ The object of the question is to see whether it is not im possible to form any estimate of what the expenses of a Bill may be without knowing what the opposition may be, and what the duration of it may be?—Quite impossible. (W. Blamire, Esq.) How are the expenses of carrying Inclosure Acts into execu tion provided for ?—The expenses of carrying the Inclosure Act into execution are paid by the parties availing themselves of the Act, assuming that the lands are inclosed; the Com missioners have no power to levy expenses until an inclosure has been effected, and therefore if the Commissioners send down an Assistant-Commissioner to investigate a case which eventually ends without inclosure, his expenses would fall upon the consolidated fund. How are the:expenses of witnesses provided for?—The parties at whose suggestions they are called pay them. But if the Assistant• Commissioner thinks it right to call wit nesses, in order to satisfy himself, that would form part of the general expenses?—Such expenses would be charged to the general account. [ADVERTISEMENT.] PROCEEDINGS of the CLERICAL MEDICAL, AND GENERAL LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY. (As reported January Bth, 1847.) An extraordinary general meeting of the proprietors of this society was held yesterday at the office in Great Russell street, for the purpose of declaring a bonus out of the profits which have accrued from the general business of the society during the five years ending June 30, 1846. Amongst the directors present were Dr. Moore, G. G. Babington, Esq , Rev. A. B. Clough, Thomas Davis, Esq., Oliver Hargreave, Esq., and Clement Hue, M.D. Dr. MooaE having taken the chair, Mr. Pinckard, the secretary, read the report of the assets and liabilities; the former of which amount to 639,7971. 6s. 5d., and the latter to 484,555/. Os. 5d., leaving a surplus of 155,242/. 6s. The CHAIRMAN then stated that his colleagues had au thorised him -to lay before the meeting the following report : " In accordance with the provisions of the deed of consti stitution, the directors have called the present meeting, for the purpose of laying before the proprietors and the assured the result of an investigation of the society's affairs for the five years ending June 30, 1846. "Oa that day the society had been in existence twenty two years. An investigation of its affairs was made first in 1831, being seven years from the commencement ; a second time in 1836; and a third time in 1841. The fourth inves tigation having been just completed, the directors have now the gratification of communicating the result to the meeting. " In order to present a clear view of the progress of the society, the directors will proceed to exhibit the present amount of its funds, together with their state at the last quinquennial diyision. "1. The society's Income for the year ending with June, 1841, was 97,900/. ; that for the year ending with June, 1846, 116,300/. Thus, notwithstanding the many de ductions which are constantly taking place, on account of policies terminated by death or discontinued from other causes, there is an increase in the annual income of the society to the extent of 18,4001. " 11. The amount of the property of the society, accumulated from the excess of receipts above payments, was in 1841, 418,903/., and in 1846 has reached 639,797/. Under the head of payments are included considerable sums paid for the purchase of policies, and also to annuitants, besides the amount which has become due from deaths and every other demand. " 111. After deducting the sum required to meet the liabilities of the society, there remains a surplus of 155,242/. ; while in 1841 the corresponding surplus was only 89,400/. " This sum of 155,2424, has now to be dealt with, being the amount of profit realised by the society. In conformity with the provisions of the deed, one half ofthe profits is to be divided among the assured for life, and one sixth part among the proprietors; but in order to avoid inconvenient fractions. the directors have resolved to recom mend to this meeting to divide the sum of 154,500. This will apportion to the assured, for life, 77,250/., and to the pro prietors, 25,7501. leaving one third of the said profit, amount ing to 51,540/., to be laid by and to accumulate as a reserved fund. Mr. EWART was aware that the present subject required the nicest management, but he could not help saying that he hoped her Majesty's Government would introduce some mea sure for the extension of education in this country. He must express his satisfaction at this part of her Maiesty's Speech which expressed a desire to preserve unbroken the peace of the world. Ile was sure that the fee'ing of the people of this ountry was in favour of peace as long as their natural rights were not interfered with.—( hear.) Peace was suited to their commercial character, and to the limited monarchy,: under which they lived. Lord G. BEN TINCK begged to offer a few observations upon what had fallen hem an Hon. Gentleman in reference to a Noble Friend of his, Lord Lucan. He had the authority of that nobleman for stating that, during six years, he has con stantly resided in Castlebar, and expended, not only the whole of h s Irish rents, but a large portion of those derived from his English estates also, in that part of the country. In justice to the people of Mayo, he must state that they refused only to pay rates on the ground of the extravagant assessment that had been made on them, it being no less than 400.0001. it was levied at meetings where there were numbers of persons with shillelaghs in their hands.—(Laughter.) When the rates were not levied, Lord Lucan himself paid the poor-rates of the parish.—(Hear, hear. ) Mr. P( !ULETT SCROPE said that he had derived his authority from the daily papers. Perhaps the Noble Lord would inform him, as he was on the subject, as to what had been alleged of the landlords sending over paupers in such num bers to Liverpool. Lord G. BEN TINCK was informed that it was not the landlords of Ireland wbo exported the paupers in this wholesale manner. The steamers coming over here every year short of hands, induced the proprietors to bring over paupers to Liver pool, in order to compel the parish to send them back. The Address was then read and adopted. CORN LAWS. . _ . Lord JOHN RUSSELL gave notice of a motion for to morrow, that the House do resolve itself into a committee to consider the corn laws. The House then adjourned at Nine o'clock, till to-morrow (this day.) EXPENSES OF PRIVATE BILLS IN PARLIAMENT. The effects of the expense of carrying private Bills through Parliament are shown in the annexed quotations from the minutes of evidence taken before the House of Commons last session, and recently issued by order of that House. Mr. E. Chadwick is the first witness:— . _ "This division will give to the proprietors a bonus of 51.35. per share, and to the assured a sum of 114,0311., being the equivalent in reversion to the above amount of 77,250/. " This sum of 114,031/. will be added to the polices, and be payable at the death of the respective parties, and will form an addition equal, on an average, to more than 36 per cent. on the premiums received during the last five years. " It may be desirable, however, to remind the assured that they have the option of having any one or more of the bonuses to which they are entitled applied in reduction of their future payments of premium. In the visits which you have made to different parts of the country, have you found many parishes and communi ties who have been in want of lighting, paving, or water, but who have been unable or unwilling to come to Parlia ment, in consequence of the great expense now attending it? —A great number of places. In fact, except two or three towns and the county town, I might say that the smaller country towns in the whole country are in that position. The expense of a Water or Drainage Bill, if unopposed, would e 500!. In the small town of St. Helen's, which required a Water 8i11,.1 thii.k the expense of the works was 3,0001., and the expense of obtaining the permission of Parliament to erect those works was 1,0001. Consequently, one-fourth of the money upon whtch the inhabitants will have to pay interest went for the Parliamentary expenses. In fact, the expense of obtaining works for drainage of many villages, and rather im portant small towns, would espial the expense of laying down the house drains ; and the expense of a water Bill would equal the expense of laying down the tenants' water pipes. When the standing orders require that water shall be sought by one Bill, and drainage, or the means of carrying away water, by a second Bill, paving or cleansing by a third Bill, the fees of the House and the professional expenses of these Bills mount up, so as to render the expenses prohibitory; the money expended in procuring Acts under which, in some of the larger towns, only ineffective and expensive works have been produced, might have sufficed to obtain good works. The money expended in Liverpool for the private Act legislation, the results of which have been desc' ibed to the Committee, it may be confidently a'serted would have sufficed for the effectual drainage of upwards of 20,01 D houses. (T. Greene, Esq., M.P.) Would you propose that communities should have the power of ad ipting any of those branches, by the sanation of the Secretary of State, or whatever department they were under, on application to him, as is now done with respect to rating? —lt may be a prejudice, but I. have rather a disposition that they should be obliged to come to Parliament on those matters; I think it would be more satisfactory to the country at large than that it should be vested in any one individual ; and I think the expenses, which are at present complaine of so heavily, would he a good deal avoided by having a short Bill, and by having some better mode of settling the question of the standing orders. Would not there be many communities and parishes so poor as net to be able to incur the actual fees of the House, even without any of the other attendant expenses ?—I hardly think that there would be. under the circumstances of improvement which I think would attend the passing of private Bills ; because the great expense they have to complain of is not the fees taken in the House, but in point of fact the heavy charges of the agents and witnesses brought up. How would you propose to lessen those expenses of the agents and witnesses ?—With respect to the standing orders, a great deal of expense would be saved if, prior to the meeting of Parliament, some officer of the House were appointed to take the whole of the evidence upon toe compliance and non-com pliance with the standing orders of this House; that officer would have ample time, beginning a few weeks prior to the meeting of Parliament, to make an inquiry of that description ; and he could regulate the time when each party should ap pear, so that it should not be the case, as at present, that wit nesses are kept in town for a considerable length of time, because it was impossible exactly to say when a particular Bill would come under consideration ; but he might arrange the time, and the parties would be here a very short period; and lie, toh s hDoi i t i ar : ty n the whole in g o very brief of If te d :pace o a f y , would time. be able to complete the y l o pp u opt c ; oanr wheresti o d e l pt allah atethh the witnesses a h wp a ie t trn we plan,sos u e i ed r e e b f n e e r o a i oh objectionlae tt t e o n d a a n n y t co p e ri?ot—e f on ; but, of course, in all these matters the parties promoting the Bill ought to pay the expense of the commissioner o g f oing into the country, an d es dt i e t rpa w 4br o l ten. espouse pf require tnhs rn countryvasta ust b be incurred ; number itnoe ur investigate r ed; commis sionersod: eers i a n nd diff eo er n matters, would be also the objection which I have stated in my eiamina tion b-fore, that there might be a want of uniformity if we had a vast variety of commissioners in different parts of the country; and that want of uniformity would ba a very great evil. " For the hither information of the proprietors it may be mentioned that, by the deed of constitution, the Proprietors' Fund is not to accumulate by the addition of bonuses beyond 50,000/. ; all subsequent bonuses being paid over to the Pro prietors. " The effect of that provision on the present occasion will be, that of the above sum of 25,750/, 17,000!. will have to be added to the Proprietors' Fund, which will then have reached its limit, and the remaining 8,750, being 1!. 15s. per share, will be paid to the proprietors in cash at the end of March next. The SECRETARY said the original draft of the report stated the exact mode; but the directors thought so few persona would properly understand it, that it would be much better for parties to call at the office, where every information would be afforded.—(Hear, hear.) The CHAIRMAN, in reply to a question by a proprietor, said that no party would receive the bonus who had not paid five premiums before the 30th June last. Dr. CRUCEILX expressed himself highly gratified with what had taken place. He was quite satisfied that the di rectors had only one object in view—the good of the society; and if he asked one er two questions, he trusted they would not be considered as arising from idle curiosity. The first point on which he wished to ask a question related to the mode of arriving at the peculiar valuation respecting un healthy lives; whether the calculation had been taken from the lives received first as such, and bearing a proportion and a relative value; or whether the society had received proper and regular information with respect to those lives, which rendered them more doubtful than the general progress of calculation? He also wished to know whether the directors had considered another matter, which he had always thought of great importance—the p ro priety of an insurer partic i p atin g in the bonus, instead of i ts b e i ng a dded to the policy for the benefit of those for whom h e might have toiled. A n insurer might not be always in a whatever bonus became d ue s h ou ld become the' property ou of the insuring party witho u t rece i v i n g it bit by bit in the re duction of premium. position to pay, and he thght The SECRETARY, in reply to the first question, said, that more than usual care was always taken in admitting diseased lives, and when they were admitted they were taken at a corresponding premium. With respect to the second ques tion, the directors had no power to act in t he manner sug gested. Dr. Crucefix did not seem to think the reduction of premium so important as it really was. To show its effect he would mention one or two instances. In the s ear 1825, Archdeacon Pott insured for 1,0001., pay in g a premium of 861. Os. 10d. This, being the fourth bonus, would not only have the effect of extinguishing the prem ium, but of adding the sum of 176/. to the policy.—(Hear, hea r. ) A Pnorairron remarked that this was somewhat extra ordinary. The SECRETARY, in explanation, said, that t he four bonuses amounted to 400/. By taking an annuity instead, in reduc tion of his premium, he would obtain a l ar g er amount than would pay the premium. The Rev. E. G. WILCOCKS.—And for the rest of his life not have a shilling to pay.—(Hear, hear.) a lma the addition to the policy to which be hadd. He which ook The SECRETARY.—Yes, and beyond that t ould be would mention a younger life, the insurance on mheheref m 661. ; t out place in 1827. The age was 61, and the P nan o Oth i er case the itmm f by applying the bonus in a similar marmendd in stance or two, where two bonuses had been given. ,o _,_ A life, ao That w would now be reduced to Si. Ile would ju-srteamiuthaenoptrheemr p a gr premium i 6 o 9 m , was ii,as i n n e s w u r e r d e d i o n c e 4 183 t 2 o , a s t a a . 5s . premium I was was66l., Ui Dr. SHEARMAN moved that the account and statements s ce andrt a i t n h i e n contained in the Report be approved. r h e f d e u w c a ed s 6 t0 1. 41 T /.—( he Plieeamr,iuhmeawr.h)ich,lll IS"' Di".DUNI.AI. seconded the motion. m t b o er had been projected, gnut rela tive position o maturity. H e offices started within the as e offices had been equally but he believed that 50 had c Mr. Fo . -myeeef stahidiehs,e,withals odtteicivrreoousffi,seacoefrssa: more ood than was con vinced, however, they had done .e mor g e oe harm to the present society, for they had once d . . . P bli the utility et en individuals m such institutions; and wh choose made up their minds to insure, they would naturally old offices which Mr. IsTetsoN said a greetemnue gave the best bonus. h r other successful. that a majorit The SECRETARY believed _ yof the old offices Mr. FOWLES asked whet had rather receded than gone forward. M any much bu • of the same standing were not doing near so mess. Dr. Hue wished to know numberthe of applications for po!mcies, and time number of refusals.. The SECRETARY said the number of proposals during the last five years was 2,784, out of which number 415 were declined. A PROPRIETOR—Ho w many were Effected ? The SECRETARY—For the five years ending June, the number issued was 1,837; for the last five -ca ne, 1841, showing an increase of 55. To show that Societythe3rs ,1,892 ; progressing, he might add that the number issued during was last year was 401.—(Hear, hear.) the The resolution was then put and unani s mou l y agreed to. " In estimating the amount of liabilities, it is important to observe that every Policy, together with all other risks, has been valued separately, and with great care; and there has been no encroachment upon future pretits; but that a moue of valuation has been adopted whereby a larger sum is re tained to meet such claims as may arise than is usual with most other offices. This will appear by the following examples:— Is it not the fact, that the expense and the inconvenience of tion, except in cases where parties feel themse grievous opposing a Bill in this Hou s e act s as a prohibitielnveusponieovpephossliy and individually interested ?—Certainly. i may t m b a e y n not, under injuriously T con siderablehe w h el l t e e n communityt extent, and y et raffteheetepresentsys tem,inc be worth the while of any one person in that community the Bill ? —Certainly. (J. St. George Burke, Esq.) . In the eases of waterworks, or gas. orl suing, or Bills of that, kind, do you consider that the compliance with standing spot where the works ar e t o b e ?—Y es , i t wou ld be a saving, orders might b e p rove d w ith l es s expense on as far it s re- the re gards the brinei ng up w it nesses t o p rove it. . It would °uld not be a very large diff erence, b ecause you mus t appoint some official person to go t o ta k e the ev i dence, and he would have fees, I suppose, for go i ng an d expenses, and I do not know t h a t there been would be a great c h ange. T he great expense we h ave put to in this session and the last, has arisen more from the enormous glut of b us i ness w hi c h has prevented our Bills being taken in due time, and because we have had to wait for days in the lobbies. with hundreds of witnesses. Now an immense saving might be effected if one lion. Member would take the duties of five; that instead of having five Members to investi gate whether plans have been rightly lodged, it should be re ferred to one single Member, who would be just as competent as a committee of five. Then if a plan were adopted by which one person here could take the proofs, or if it could be done on the spot by a pro perly authorised person, that would save a great deal of those great expenses for witnesses which are now necessarily in curred ?—lf one Member were to form a committee for the performance e a of thiS f l u t y, it would save exp ense; except that I ct. nor does anybody ever expect, to have a repeti tion of what we have had this year and last. When you speak of the comparative paucity o expas ad waterworks Bill., do riot you think that the great g n ense of obtaining Bills acts as a prohibition in many towns with regard to their availing themselves of gas-lights and supplies of water, which they might otherwise find it well worth their while to establish ?—I do not think the expense is dependent at all upon the length of the Bill ; that is a minimum proportion of the expense. What is the principal expense ?—ln a Gas Bill the expenses Art. NI, heavy it it. is unoppo•efl ; if it i • ._7 t7L ,- ,-- ,-! a , 41 ..:,„, ev ,,,.. - rri,i ng r,,,!'? ;i,c f.-; , , 4- ~-z~ which run up a bill to a large amount ; the expenses of evi dence, the shorthand writer, the committee fees, the House fees, are all increased by an inquiry before a Committee; but COMMENCEMENT or THE BANE or ENGLAND.— one in Holland, At the time the Bank of England. was established, only four great banks existed in Europe, ,, in Germany, and two in stirtly,; they were of Ams terdam,venice, am Genoa. All but the One Hamburgh, Genoese Bank were formed solely for the convenience of merchants ; the latter was not only for that general ehtiantelodei,thefounded for ni t i li d af i t rn er m t purpose, but was also emolu ment of the indiyidu . a , l e p s r t sr l i is e i t l r e )r d s i n 1694. The commission Bank of England we, was i , sued in the reign of William and Mary, on the 15th of June of that year. The necessity Of sorti e i nst i tution of this kind had been long felt, and Mr. William Patterson had travelled into several commercial countries, in 1691, and the following years, to examine into their banking establi hments. This gentleman h ad communicated to Mr. Michael Godfrey the progress and result of his disco veries. The original foundation of a public bank is, how ever, claimed by Sir. John Briscoe ; and the grounds on which he makes this pretensien are stated in a l e tt er pre '- - • '' . . . . -. ~... opp.-:,,:,,,,,,, ,s, ... ___ _.. , ~,,, .. ••.... commenced.—Banker's Magazi ne . — .t.,„., vi E ngland Was The Right lion. E. Strutt and Mrs. Strutt, arrived in town on Tuesday, from their relidence near Derby. TPIE SUN,' 4 LONDON, THURSDAY _EVENING JANUARY 21, 1847. REVIEW OF THE BRITISH CORN TRADE. The value of Wheat has risen day by day for many weeks consecutively without a single pause, and prices have tiow obtained an altitude calculated to induce caution on The part of buyers. Prudent tradesmen consider speculative ' investments at present rates hazardous; and parties who purchase only in the regular way of business are gradually restricting their operations, being generally unwilling to take more than just sufficient to keep their customers sup plied. 'When affairs arrive at this position a reaction usually follows; but, owing to the peculiar circumstances of the present season, we greatly doubt whether such will in this instance prove the case. The fact that large shipments of grain continue to be made from England to Ireland—from which country, in tho ordinary course of events, we are in the habit of drawing a considerable proportion of our supplies— is alone sufficient to upset all previously-conceived notions. But the singularity of our position does not end here. The loss of the potato crop in Ireland, and the consequent neces sity of feeding several millions of people not generally in the habit of consuming grain, on so expensive a substitute, is cer tainly one very powerful reason for concluding that prices can not well recede ; but when to this is added the present state of France, and other continental countries where the crops of corn have proved so short as to oblige the different Govern ments to have recourse to such expedients as those lately adopted by the French—first altering the navigation laws to encourage importation, by admitting flour under flags of all nations, and subsequently taking off the duties of grain altogether there are certainly grounds to appre hend that it will be necessary to pay very high prices abroad to induce our continental neighbours to part with a commodity they stand in such urgent need of themselves. We are, therefore, inclined to think that, unless the spring should prove extraordinarily prcpitious, and the arrivals from the other side of the Atlantic more ex. tensive than we have reason to calculate on, the value of all kinds of food will remain high up to the time of next har vest. The trade in wheat has not been quite so excited this as the proceeding week, the very high terms demanded having had the effect, as stated above, of causing all par ties to exercise more than usual prudence in their operations. But, notwithstanding a somewhat. diminished demand, the tendency of prices has been steadily upwards ; in proof of which we shall quote the advance realised at some of the leading provincial markets : At Liverpool on Tuesday there was a good attendance of buyers from the manufacturing districts and from Ireland; and the quantity of wheat on sale being moderate, rates 6d. per 701b5., or 3s. 6d. per quarter, above those of that day se'nnight were obtained without difficulty. Later in the week a further enhancement of 2d. to 3d. per 70Ibs. was established, several parcels having been taken on Friday by speculators, at the price last named. The reports from the leading towns of Yorkshire inform us that business in wheat had been more or less checked by the advance; still, needy buyers had had no alternative, and had been under the necessity of paving the terms de manded. At Leeds, the article was on Tuesday quoted 2s. to 3s. per quarter higher; and at Hull, on the same day, the• rise was nearly as great. From Wakefield we learn that a tolerable extent of business was done there on Friday in Wheat at prices 2a. per quarter above those of that day week. At Birmingham, Bristol, and other towns in that direction the upward movement has been equally important, although purchasers have declined taking more than has been abso lutely necessary to supply their immediate wants. In the foregoing observations we have confined our remarks more exclusively to Wheat ; but wo need scarcely state that all other articles have participated in the rise. Barley has, in many parts of the country, sold at the unusually high rates of 60s. to 655. per quarter, according to quality; and the scarcity of Oats has now become so great that farmers have refused to sell this grain altogether, being well aware that if they were to part with the little they may still hold, they would afterwards have to pay relatively higher prices to pro procure food for their stock. The advices from Scotland are of a similar character to the reports from other parts of the kingdom. Not only wheat, but all sreciee of grain, is rapidly rising there; and it is certain that no supplies of oats (the staple article of shipment to the south) can be expected, that article being worth quite as much, if not more, at Edinburgh as in the London market. The accounts from Ireland become from day to day more distressing, and the temporary decline which a large arrival of Indian corn caused last week had again been recovered, the supply having proved inadequate to the demand. With the people starving in many parts of the island, shipments of provisions from thence to England are, of course, out of the question. . - The arrivals of English Wheat into London have again been moderate, the high range of prices at Liverpool and other northern markets having caused the shippers on the east coast to direct their consignments to those place rather than to the metropolis. The quantity brought forward at Mark-lane by land-carriage samples from the home counties since Monday has also been small ; and the millers' wants having again become urgent, increased anxiety to get into stock has been manifested by buyers. The few lots left over on Monday, principally from Essex and Kent, were easily placed on Wednesday at rates rather exceeding those obtained in the beginning of the week. On Friday factors again raised their pretensions, which checked the demand; but having scarcely anything fresh up, needy purchasers were under the necessity of paying the terms asked. In free foreign Wheat a fair amount of business has been done during the week, the lower descriptions having been in request for the manufacture- of meal for Ireland, and the finer sorts having excited attention for local use. The continued demand from the other side of the Chan nel, and the smallness of the stock remaining on hand, together with the certainty that no foreign supplies can for a month or two be calculated on, have all tended to give an upward tordency to prices, and the rise since last Monday cannot be estimated at less than, Is. to 2s. per qr. Prices being now as high, if not higher here than in France, the export to that country has ceased ; notwithstanding which, holders of bonded Wheat have con tinued to ask prices within is. to 2s. per quarter of those of free, for parcels under lock. This can only be accounted for by the supposition that the Legislature may, on the meeting of Parliament, take off the existing duty of 4s. per quarter. The sale of town-made Flour has been more extensive this week than was the case earlier in the month, which has pro bably been caused by bakers having become apprehensive that the millers may again put up the price : hitherto, how ever, the top quotation has remained stationary at 655. per sack. Ship Flour has been in fair request. and has com manded full terms. For American the inquiry has been lively, and a further enhancement of Is. per brl. has been pretty generally realised on the best brands. The arrivals of English Barley have been very trifling ; and though 12,551 qrs. have come to hand from abroad, prin• cipally from the north of Europe (from whence the vessels were dispatched previous to the setting in of the frost), the high rates of last Monday have been maintained. Very thin foreign Barley has realised 465., good grinding qualities 505., and for superior English making qualities very close upon 70s. per qr. has been paid. Such prices are well calcu lated to draw supplies ; but the Baltic ports being frozen up, with litile prospect of becoming free till March, whilst in the interval nothing of importance can be expected to reach us from other quarters, we see no chance of a material reaction. Malt has moved upwards in value quite as rapidly as Bar ley, and 90s. per qr. has been insisted on for fine qualities. The supplies of Oats during the week ending this (Satur day) evening amounted to only 4,473 qrs. ; and the receipts having for several preceding weeks fallen materially short of the quantity required for consumption, great inroads have been made on the dealers' stocks—indeed, so bare has the market become of this grain, that holders have experienced no difficulty in obtaining very high rates. The extent of the advance will, perhaps, be better understood by giving the quotations obtained for some particular sorts than in stating the rise in shillings per qr. Archangels have sold freely at 365., good heavy Irish at 38s. to 395., and fine Scotch feed at 40s. per qr. and upwards, with more anxiety to buy than sell at these rates. _ Beans have participated in the general advance; and for floating cargoes of Egyptians 445. to 455. per quarter, cost, freight, aisd insurance has been Oven. Peas have likewise been held at enhanced terms, though the demand for the latter article has not been particularly active. Floating cargoes of Indian Corn have again been much sought after on Irish account, rand important bargains were closed on Wednesday and Friday, on terms hardly procur able in the commencement of the week. THE FOREIGN CORN TRADE. By the Cambria steam ship, we hare advices of recent dates from North America. Shipments of wheat, flour, and Indian corn, on rather an extensive scale, were still being made to England ; but the very high freights demanded had interfered a good deal with business. The New York letters are of the 31st of December ; the stock of flour in store was then becoming very small, and as in conse quence of the close of the inland navigation no supplies from the interior were expected till spring, holders had raised their pretensions from 12ic. to 25c. per barrel. The ad vanced rates demanded had, however, been very reluctantly paid, and for some days the actual transactions had been on quite a retail scale; Genessee Flour had been held at 5 dolls. 56 1 4 c. to 5 dolls. 621 c., which with charges added for buying and storing till spring, and calculated at the ad verse rates of exchange then prevailing, wottld make the cost on board, in English money, 265. to 275. per barrel. The total exports from New 1 ork during the Saar 1846 had been—Flour, 960,534 barrels; Wheat, 1,200,598 bushels; and Indian corn, 1,243,668 bushels. At Baltimore, on the 29th ult., the flour trade was dull, and prices had then rather a downward tendency; the last sales of Howard street had been at 4 d o ll s . 75 c. to 4 dolls. 87c., and City-mills' had also been sold at the latter rate. The export of flour from that port to Great Britain during the year had not exceeded 50,000 barrels. From Philadelphia the shipments had been much larger viz., 360.844 brls. of flour, 223,947 bushels of' wheat, and 272,768 bushels of Indian corn. At the last• named port business was far from brisk; on the 26th of December holders of flour generally demanded 4 dolls. 87i c. per barrel, which being rather more than b u y ers were disposed to give, only retail sales have been made. Of Indian corn a couple of cargoes of new southern yellow had been bought at 57c. to 5Sc. per bushel. Owing to the non-arrival of the Hamburgh mail of Tues day last, our advices from the northern parts of Europe are not of such recent dates as usual; we have, however, Dantzic letters of the 9th instant, by the way of Holland, from which it appears that the continued advance on this side had had the usual effect, prices having run up quite as rapidly there as with us. For flue high-mixed wheat holders had refused to accept below 60s. to 615., and for fair high-mixed 58s. to 595. per qr. bad been demanded ; whilst the most ordinary descriptions had been held at 508. to 525. hand,much h adper qr., free on b oar d, i n spr i ng . Rye had been in quired for, an d, h av i ng come ver y s paringlyto realised equal to 425. per qr. A e t xt t s aidto from be r h e e m h ei3 wer - 1 l Baltic d p o byao s the n s t t o o: t k t s rhe o ee f e supplies recent graina accounts u r o n t s Rostock, Stettin, &c., it appears that the in from the consequence of growers had been on a restricted scale, which compaeatively the first of these port s barley the demand had been lively. little business had been done, though instant, At the 325. 6d. ; and a t per quarter, - free on board, in Stettin,wcan'th one same t he 7 d t a l y i , 3 n 1 t s a . spring. 1 ,, e1v frozen ovcr. The Elbe was then comp At Hamburah, vere, and the n on the 9th of .Tanuary , the frost was se transactions in grain since the previous post-day had beets quite corn had further advance quite unimportant, but thed The very great rise which has prices of both wheat and spring within the last month taken place in prices here, has placed quotations of in the Mediterranean. At Marseilles, on the 10th of January, common Polish w heat in this country above tho s e of Mar seilles and other places per qr. free on board; and li on the spot, might then have been bought at Odessa wheat, deliverable if a i t ll s l B a a r . ch, was obtainable at equal to 525. to 545., and supe rior Marianopo , 555. per qr. From Leg e h at had been pur chasemade there of 4, 00 0 sacks of Marianopoli w t equal to about 50s. per qr. free on Leghorn we have letters of the Bth Jan. ; a there for shipment , rise, and prices are now too nearly t have undergone a further to allow of business being done in a nd that country board. In most of a the French markets wheat and flour alike this with advantage. TTP.niburgh mail of has been received, f r om the Baltic. Wheat was still rising in valve; ;Which we have letters of more recent dates notwithstanding z P rem. the growers were bringing forward supplies but which, slowly Alar4-lane E Sums set aside as the value of a Policy for 1,0001. Effected at the Age of 40, alter 10 years - Effected at the Age of 50, atter 10 years - - Effected at the Age of 60, after 10 years - H - -- 1 By °tikes, I lyalutng by the l : Northampton Three per Cent. Table. £ a. d. 152 3 7 197 17 3 282 7. b By the Model adopted by this Office. X s. d. 158 8 5 215 2 0 326 3 0 Difference in itvour of Me Office. £ 8. d. 6 4 10 17 4 9 43 15 7 "It is clear, then, that the prospects of the policyholders at future divisions are most favourable, partly from the un usually large sum retained to meet claims, as shown above, and partly from the reserve of so considerable an amount as 51,500/., out of profits thus ascertained. "These facts, which have operated to a certain extent in the diminution of former bonuses, will undoubtedly contri bute most powerfully to increase the amount of profits to be appropriated to the assured at all succeeding divisions. "In confirmation of this view, the Directors need only remind the assured of the statement made at the division in January, 1842, that the two preceding bonuses had averaged 22 per cent. on the premiums ; that the one then divided averaged 28 per cent., and that the future bonuses were ex pected to exceed that amount. "The most sanguine expectations entertained at that time have been fully realised by the amount of the present bonus averaging more than 36 per cent. ; and on precisely the same grounds the Directors conceive themselves entitled to assert, with additional confidence, that its further increase from time to time is almost certain. " The large and increasing amount of the Society's busi ness, and the proportionate diminution of the expense of management (which is now only 3 1 / i per cent. on the income), must also be taken into account in the anticipation of future profits. " The Directors have only to add, that they have in structed the actuary to exhibit to any proprietor or policy t h h o e ld d e e r izt o us or to allan theypereasolneuwlahtoiomnsa, the assets and liabiliti e s, an d b a l an ce-sheets of the Society." So far as he (the Chairman) was 'concerned, any comment y w b i e t with a desirous fui 1 statement assuring,etent was unnecessary, for he believed the report would speak sa tisf;.ctorily, both to the proprietors and the assured. — (Applause.) lie would, however, just call the attention of the meeting to a very distinguishing feature of the Insti tution—the economy of its management ; which was not only well known to the proprietary, but to the public.— (Applause ) The directors would be happy to answer any questions which might be put to them, or to attend to any suggestions which might be offered for the advantage of the Institution.—(Applause.) Mr. FOWLER, after expressing his satisfaction at the ex• plicitness and contents of the report, said he would just trouble the meeting with one or two observations. The sum of 155,242/, which was announced to he the surplus arising from the profits, consisted, he conceived, partly of the reserve made and announced upon a former occasion. He believed that these reserves went on accumulating and incorporating themselves so as to a certain extent to make up this amount. if the Secretary could state how much of the amount referred to was composed of the reserve from the former bonus, the meeting would be able to see more clearly the profit realised The h S i r x d c a o r n T the A a v profits) saidtethe wass stufi2lsl ears;b a y wn a du t t t h h aeb e roe l uf a sot therefore thesi division s r i e o oa n i. within the last five years. ( o nTeh profit realised during or 126,0001. Mr:FOWLER—Then it would appear that these surpluses s e iv p e r precedingincrease, one.eachbeing made great e r by replied that it alt oge th er d epended on the musttheT reserve have ß a f Er successive it c t es Th continued increase of profits, about which no fears were en tertained.—( ) Mr.atiali FOWLEE e themselves wishedhoefar. t to know wheth er any parties had he opportunity afforded of reducing t a e v r . ° Th e SECRETARY said that a considerable n um b er of persons th e ir premiums? had applied their bonuses in reduction of their future pay ments of premium. Mr. WHITEHOUSE apprehended that the sum of 51 ' 5 w hi c h formed the reserve fund , was a basis of future 1" accumu lations. The SECRETARY. --Certainly. Mr. NEISON (Actuary to the Medical and Invalid Assur ance S )ciety) congratulated the directors on the very dis tinguished success which had attended the company's opera tions.—(Applause.) Perliais the Secretary could explain whether the principle of haWing a reserve fund applied to other proprietary companies. It was well known that this was a distinguished feature of several of the mutual com panies, and its advautages were obvious. It might be ques tioned, probably, whether in the infant state of a company the assured would consult their own interest by adopting such a principle; but in a society so greatly advanced as the present it formed a very strong recommendation to the assurers. If it did not exist, the assured would be deprived of a very large bonus laid out for them in future. There was another point of great importance in the report, and that wai /1'.3 mode in whico the Minton 1•j i , ~et 11. . po,- tion to reter to individual instances, but he knew that most serious errors had followed the course of valuation which had been repudiated by the society. lie wished to ascertain _ *Firefttieffik COURT CIRCULAR. The Earl Forteacue, Lord Steward, and the Earl Spencer, Lord Chamberlai n , h a d an audience of the Queen yesterday at Buckingham Palace, and presented to her Majesty the address from the House of Lords, in answer to the Speech from the Throne. The Queen was pleased to return a most gracious answer. Her Majesty . " and Prince Albert, accompanied by the Princess Royal, left town at ten minutes past three o'clock yesterday afternoon, in a carriage and four for Windsor Castle. The Equerries in Waiting, Lord Alfred Paget (Clerk Marshal) and Colonel Seymour, followed in another carriage and four. The Lady in Waiting, the Marchioness of Douro ; the Maids of Honour in Waiting, Hon. Miss Stanley, and Hon. Miss Dawson ; and the Lord in Waiting, Earl Ducie, were in the third carriage; and the Groom in Waiting, Colonel Berkeley Drummond, and the Master of the Household, Major General Bowles, were in the fourth carriage. Her Majesty and the Prince were conducted to their car riage by the Lord Steward and Captain Francis Seymour, Groom in Waiting to his Royal Highness. The Royal party proceeded from Buckingham Palace to the Paddington ter minus, and left by a special train on the Great Western Railway. WINDSOR, WEDNESDAY.—The Queen and Prince Albert, accompanied by the Princess Royal, arrived at the Castle at a quarter past four o'clock this afternoon, from the Slough station of the Great Western Railway, escorted by a party of the Ist Life Guards. The Royal suite consisted of the Mar chioness of Douro, Hon. Misses Stanley and Dawson, Earl Ducie, Major-General Bowles, Colonel Berkeley Drummond, Lord Alfred Paget, and Colonel Seymour. Earl Spencer arrived at the Castle this afternoon, on a visit to her Majesty. The Royal dinner party at the Castle this evening will in clude her * Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, the Lady in Waiting to her Royal Highness, the Baroness de Speth, and Earl Spencer. The 'band of the First Life Guards attend during dinner; her Majesty 's private band afterwards attend in the Castle. A deputation from the Society of Friends, headed by Mr. Foster, had an interview with Lord John Russell yesterday, at his official residence in Downing-street. Earl Spencer and Earl Fortescue had an interview with Sir George Grey yesterday at the Home-office. Mr. Musson had an interview with the Earl of Clarendcn yesterday at the office of the Board of Trade. Lord Ingestre, and a deputation from the Staffordshire Railway Company, had an interview with the Right Hon. E. Strutt yesterday at the office of the Commissioners of Rail ways. The Earl of Devon had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exehequer yesterday at his official residence in Downing-street. The Lord Advocate of Scotland had an interview with Sir George Grey yesterday. Earl Cawdor had also an interview with the Right Hon. Baronet yesterday at the Home-office. Mr. S. D. Patch and Mr. Simmonds had an interview with the Right Hon. T. Milner Gibson, yesterday, at the office of the Board of Trade. A deputation relative to the Mauritius, had an interview, yesterday, with Lord John Russell. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England had a general meeting, yesterday, at the office, in Whitehall-place. The Marquis of Lansdowne had a dinner party, yesterday at Lansdowne House. Lord Thomas and Lady Sophia Cecil left Farrance's Hotel, yesterday, on a visit to the Marquis and Marchioness of Exeter, at Burghley, Stamford. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. NORTHAMPTON RACES, 1847. Handicap for the Great Northamptonshire Stakes. Lightning, 6 yrs, 9st 21b—Sweetmeat, 5 yrs, 9st—Wolf dog, 5 yrs, Bst 111b—Dulcet, 5 yrs, Bst 91b—Lothario, ageti, Bst 81b—The Best of Three, 6 yrs, Bst 71b—Sting, 4 yrs, Bst 71b—Annandale, 5 yrs. Bst 61b—Morpeth, 6 yrs, Bst fib —Mendicant, 4 yrs, Bst 21b—Lord Saltoun, 6 yrs, 7st 121 b —Doleful, 5 yrs, 7st 101b—Red Rover, 6 yrs, 7st 101 b Princess Alice, 4 yrs, ist 101b—Refraction, 5 yrs, 7st 101 b Rufus, 4 yrs, 7st 91b—Emmeline, 4 yrs, 7st 91b—Miss Burns, aged, 7st 91b—Chamois, 4 yrs, 7st 71b—Mildew, 5 yrs, 7st 71b—Roebuck, 5 yrs, 7st 71b—Counsellor, aged, Tat 71b—Jenny Wren, 5 yrs, 7st 71b—Arthur, 5 yrs, 7st 61b —What, aged, 7st 61b—Captain, 5 yrs, 7st 61b—Valentis aimo, aged, 7st 61b Bokhara," aged, 7st 51b Best Bower, 6 yrs, 7st 51b—Roderick, aged, 7st 51b—Alvanley, 6 yrs, 7st 51b—Humdrutn, 4 yrs, 7st 51b—Campanile, syt s,7st 41b —Sheraton,4 yrs, 7st 31b—Diomed,4yrs,7st 31b—St. Demetri, 4 yrs, 7st 31b—Giselle, 4 yrs, 7st Bib—Marquis of Conyng ham, 4 yrs, 7st 31b—Duke of Richmond, 4 yrs, 7st 21b— Lady Cecilia, 4 yrs, 7st—Romance, 4 yrs, 7st—Leopard, 5 yrs, 7st—Ennui, 4 yrs, Est 121b—Morocco, 4 yrs, Est 121 b —Hydrange, 4 yrs, Est 121b—Camera Obscura, 4yrs, Est 121 b —Turpin, 4 yrs, Est 12b—Magnet, 5 yrs, Est 121b—Sister to Pedometer, 5 yrs, Est 121b—Komager, 5 yrs, Est 111 b Alliance, 4 yrs, Est 111b—Princess Royal, 5 yrs, Est 101 b Pal, 4 yrs, Est 101b—Buttress, 4 yrs, Est 101b—Icicle, 4 yrs, 6st 101b—Secundus, 4 yrs, Est 101b—Punch, 4 yrs, Est 91b —Flitch, 4 yrs, Est 91b—Trojan, 6 yrs. Est 91b—Idolater, 5 yrs, Est 91b—Satyr, 6 yrs, Est 81b—Queen Anne, 4 yrs, 6st Slb—Sister to b lambeau, 4 yrs, 6st 81b—Fort William, 4 yrs, Est 71b—br g by Young Cadland, 5 yrs, 6st 71b— Blackstrap, 5 yrs, fist 71b—Tit-bit, 4 yrs, 6st 61b— Golden Bee, 4 yrs, Est 51b Headsman, 4 yrs, 6st 51b—Chatterbox, 4 yrs, Est 51b—Caprice, 4 yrs, Est 51b —Milliner, 4 yrs, Est 41b—Wild Roe, 5 yrs, Est 41b—Polka, 4 yrs, 6st 31b—Tragical, 4 yrs, Est 21b—Spur, 4 yrs, 6st '2lb —Fugitive, 4 yrs, 6st 21b—Projectile, 3 yrs, 6st— Reminiscence, 3 yrs, sst 101b—Devil-me-care, 3 yrs, sst 61b— Crozier, 3 yrs, sst 61b—The Premier, 3 yrs, sst 51b—Queen Mary, 3 yrs, sst 51b—Comme it Faut, 3 yrs, sst 21b— Daughter of the Star, 3 yrs, sst 21b—Credential, 3 yrs, sst 21b—Moodkee, 3 yrs, 4st 121b—Vampyre, 3 yrs, 4st 101 b —Watchdeg, 3 yrs, 4st 101b—Palma, 3 yrs, 4et 101 b - to Stitch, 3 yrs, 4st 101b--Halo, 3 yrs, 4st 101 b Mirmillo, 3 yrs, 4st 101b—Moonlight, 3 yrs, 4st 101 b Lancer, 3 yrs, 4st 101b—Typhon, 3 yrs, 4st 101 b —Mistress Jean, 3 yrs, 4st 71b—Ch c by Euclid, dam by Taurus, 3 yrs, 4st 71b—Wee Boy, 3 yrs, 4st 71b. Forfeits to be declared on or before the Ist day of February. EPSOM, 1847. Acceptances for the Metropolitan Handicap. Wolfdog, 5 yrs, 9st 31b—Dulcet, 5 yrs, 9st lib—Annan dale, 5 vrs, Bst 131b—Iago, 4 yrs, Bst I 21b—Queen Mab, aged, Bst 91b—Pine Apple, aged, Bst 71b—Red Rover, 6 yrs, Bst 51b—Dexterous, 4 yrs, Bst 31b—Lord Saltoun, 6 yrs, Bst lib—Refraction, 5 yrs, Bst—What, aged, 7st 131b—Best Bower, 6 yrs, 7st 121b—Gannet, b yrs, 7st 121b—Milden, 5 yrs, 7st 111b—Tom Tullock, 4 yrs, st 101b—Little Jack, 5 yrs, 7st 101b—Diomed, 4 yrs, 7st '9lb—Magnet, 5 yrs, 7st 91b—Gwalior, 5 yrs, 7st 91b—Driffield, 4 yrs, 7st 91b—Alliance, 4 yrs, 7st 81b—False Report, 6 yrs, 7st 81b—Rufus, 4 yrs, 7st 81b—Bourton, 4 vrs, 7st 81b—Marquis of Conyngham, 4 yrs, 7st 8113— Ajax, aged, 7st 81b—Buttress, 4 yrs, 7st 71b—Icicle, 4 yrs, 7st 71b—Humdrum, 4 yrs, 7st 71b—br c c by Amateo, 4 yrs, 7st 715—Duccan-durras, 5 yrs, 7st 71b—Sir Simon, 4 yrs, 7st 71b—Binnacle, 4 yrs, 7st 71b—Finvaragh, 4 yrs, 7st 71b— Flahowlagh, 5 yrs, 7st 51b—Jenny Wren, 5 yrs, 7st 51b— Sherator, 4 yrs, 7st 51b—Camera Obscure, 4 yrs, 7st 51b— Lady Sarah, 6 yrs, 7st 31b—Cherry, 4 yrs, Est 131b—Heads man, 4 yrs, Est 121b — Correct Card, 5 yrs, Est 121b — Pi men t o, 6 yrs, 6st 121b—Hannah Raine, 4 yrs, Est 91b—Ferney, 4 yrs, 6st 51b—Projectile, 3 yrs, Gst 51b—Crozier, 3 yrs, sst 131 b Devil-me-care, 3 yrs, sst 101b—Comene-it-fact, 3 yrs, sst 101b—Agnes, 3 yrs, sst 51b—Mirinillo, 3 yrs, sst I—Laner cost filly, 3 yrs, sst llb—Meance, 3 yrs, sst [lb—Pi n k B on . net, 3 yrs, sst lib—Bro to Stit c h, 3 yrs, 4st 1 21 b—Vampire, 3 yrs, 4st 121b—Euclid colt, 3 yrs, 4st 121b—Elis filly, 3 yrs, 4st 121b—Emerald Isle, 3 yrs, 4st 121 b. TUESDAY NIGHT'S GAZETTE. DIVIDENDS DECLARED. R. Perry, hatter, Lceds—first and final div. of 8 1 4 d. in the pound, on any Tuesday, at the office of Mr. Hope, Leeds. J. B. Hellawell, dyers, Thornhill Briggs, Yorkshire—first div. of Is. 114 d. in the pound, on any Tuesday, at the office of Mr. Hope, Leeds. W. H. Osburn, stock broker, Bradford, Yorkshire—first div. of 9s. in the pound, on any Tuesday, at the office of Mr. Hope, Leeds. J. Stouehouse, mercer, Scarboroush, Yorkshire—first div. of Is. 6d. in the pound, on any 1 uesday, at the office of Mr. Hope, Leeds. W. Beckitt, money scrivener, Doncaster—second div. of Is. 10d. in the pound, and a first and second div. of 4s. 4d. in the pound on new proofs, at the office of Mr. Hope, Leeds. DIVIDENDS. At the Court of Bankruptcy, I.3!_tsinghall7street. B. Calway, draper, Tooley-Areet, Southwark, Feb. 5, at half-past eleven—R. Mitchell, merchant Lime-street, City, Feb. 5, at eleven—J. Graham, stationer, Jewry-street, Ala gate, Feb. 9, at one—Tring, Reading, and Basingstoke Rail way Company, New Broad-street, Feb.ll, at eleven—H. A. Douglas, merchant, Old Broad-street, City, Feb. 9, at one— E. Brentnall, builder, Cold Harbour-road, North Brixton, Feb. 9, at two—J. C. Johnson, merchant, Laurence Pount ney-lane, City, Feb. 9, at two—T. Oakley, farmer, St. Albans, Feb. 10, at two—A. Stocken and W. Utton, coach makers, Halkin-street, Belgrave-sqare, Feb. 11, at two—A. V. Leaman and W. Andrew, mahogany dealers, Fenchurch street, Feb. 10, at one—W. Brewer, grocer, Kensington gravel-pits, Feb. 11, at one—g. G. Newby, harness maker, .Norwich, Feb. 11, at half-past twelve—F. Tatham, sculptor, Newman-street, Oxford-street,Feb. 11, at half-past twelve— I D. Arnold, pipe -maker, SL Albans, Feb. 11, at twelve—J. F. Burness, baker, Twickenham, Feb. 11, at eleven—E. Crofts, bricklayer, Castle-street, Southwark, Feb. 11, at twelve—J. B. Oram, clerk to a wine merchant, West-square, St. George's-toad, Southwark, Feb. 11, at half-past eleven—J. Adams, rope maker, Maldon, Essex, Feb. 11, at half-past eleven—B. 11. Stevens, smith, Wimborne Minster, Dorset shire, Feb. 11, at one—S. Cowell, comedian, Walcot-place, Lambeth, Feb. 11, at eleven—P. Stewart, clerk in the 01 . 1- nance-oflice, Craven-place, Old Kent-road, Feb. 11, at one— W. Blake, linendraper, Bromley, Essex, Feb. 11, at eleven— J. Sawyer, attorney, Gouldeu-terrace, BArnsbury -road, Islington, Feb. 11, a t h a lf- pas t eleven—G. Ilarling, butler, Brighton, Feb. 11, at twelve—D. Allen, spirit merchant, high-street, Southwark, Feb. 11, at half-past twelve. In the Country. J. Massey, engineer, Etruria, Staffordshire, Feb. 9, at half past twelve, at the Birmingham District Court—T. Crane, brewer, Kegworth, Leicestershire, Feb. 12, at twelve, at the Birmingham District Court—W. Baldock, grocer, Notting ham, Feb. 12, at twelve, at the Bxchange-rooms, Notting ham—F. Shaw, eating-house keeper, Manchester, Feb. 12, at twelve, at the Manchester District Court. CERTIFICATES to be granted, unless cause be shown to the contrary, on the day herein mentioned. H. Mayhew, printer, The Shrubbery, Parson's-green, Feb. 11—W. Reeves, live stock dealer, Horseferrv-road, Limehouse, Feb. 11—R. K. Payne, grocer,:Brighton ' Peb. 12 —A. Burton, coal merchant, Pimlico, Feb. S—II. Newton, chemist, Northumberland-street, Strand, Feb. 11—F. W. Farley, hatter, Liverpool, Feb. 9—W. Perry, ironfounder, Wolverhampton, Feb. 11—J. Payne, tailor, Weymouth, Feb. 10--C. Malpas, victualler, Manchester, Feb. 12—W. Wells, coal merchant, Bankside, Southwark, Feb. 9-3. Fryer, stock broker, Birchin-lane, Southwark, Feb. 9—II. Copner, mercer, Ludlow, Shropshire, Feb. 9—W. Hildrow, grocer, Darlington, Durham, Feb. 9—J. Birley, card manu facturer, Eccles, Lancashire, Feb. 9—G. F. Kerscher, licensed victualler, Holloway, Feb. 9. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED. J. and F. Symonds, surgeons, Oxford—G. Lenox and W. Metcalf, wine merchants, Liverpool—W. Webster, and C. Johnson, merchants, Shetlield—S. Duke, C. Duke, an d S . Duke, jun., tailors, Hastings—J. and C. B. Warn er , b rass. ' founders, Crescent, Jewin-street, Cripplegatc—J. Crowther and J. Brook, stock brokers, Halifax, Yorkshire —J. S ta f ford and J. Johnson, bleachers, Foggbrook, within O . trton, Cheshire—ll. and G. Allen, mercers, Bir m ingham --J, Kinder and J. Sorrell, attorneys, Jewry-street, Aldgate—W. and 3. Shawcross, worsted manufacturers, Stockport --R kay and M. Owen, molasses manufacturers, Bolton-le-Moors, Lanca shire—W. Barker and W. Puckey, tailors, Manchester—S. Peelrovements in rint- Myers and E. Guigues, patentees for h r and T. All en , p mer- ing on leather, Bermondsey— G. N chants, Wood street, City—T. and J. Reeves, coal merchant:, Whitstable, Kent—T. llawber and .:\.\. Middlehurst, Aspull, Lancashire—R. K. flabgood and NlV)a. Crowther, c p l e o rs t h , Fairford, Gloucestershire—J. Wade and flois'Prs, liaddcrsfl‘?l(l—W, 1 ' yorksh nbarn and I. Lockwood, fancy in. in it, acturers, Lepton, hlamil ton, confectioners, Gran ge.iva l i z—S Davis and J. B. and J. Alford, coach painter , Bermondsey—M. Tyrrell square—J. Bulrafvo , 'r, s, Little Grove -street, Portman ...,) u. Smith, and J. Booth, engineers, Leeds—C. Webb and W. Leapingwell, apothecaries, Oxford —D. G. Clarke and E. M. Macklin, warehousemen, Gresham street, City—J. Bradley and T. W. Hanson, upholsterers, Halifax, Yorkshire—J. J. Foquett and L. Wortley, attorneys, Newport, Isle of Wight—G. an d S . Rooke, inn., brass founders, Birmingham—De Prez d'Hers and C. Bradley, importers of foreign goods, Lower Thames •street—W. and H. Binks, painters, m Hull—G. Parrott a n d E. J. Coock, tanners, Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire. SCOTCH SEQUESTRATION. Robert Logan, baker, Paisley, Jaq. 25 and Feb. 15, at twelve, at Fraser's George Inn, Paisley. COURTS OF ALDERMEN AND COMMON COUNCIL. Yesterday about 120 members of the Common Coun cil assembled in the Council Chamber, for the purpose of receiving the suggestions of the sub-committee ap pointed by them to consider the most advisable mode of proceeding on the next Common Council day, with re spect to the Bill, the third reading of which, at the last Court, the Lord Mayor refused to put. It appeared, Mr. Aahurst said, desirable to the sub committee, and they recommended accordingly, that at the next Court a committee of privileges should be moved for, before they proceeded to call upon the Lord Mayor to put the uestion of the third r ea di ng o f the Common Council Qualifications Bill, in order that the objection that they were not a legally constituted body might not be started against them, &c. It also appeared to them to be advisable to assert their right to have the question put the moment after the committees were appointed. _ Mr. R. L. JONES supposed the case of the departure of the Aldermen, which was a very possible contin gency, upon the motion for the appointment of the Com mittees of Privileges, and asked what ,in such a case, would the Court do ? He stigw sted whether it would not be preferable to have the committees appointed in the first instance, and then to move for the appointment of the Committee of Privileges. If the Aldermen then chose to depart, the Court would be convinced they went away for the purpose of avoiding the question, and they could determine upon a mode of settling the difference. The time was exceedingly eventful, and he thought it necessary to caution the Court not to plunge itself into a vortex in which great danger might be apprehended. Mr. ASHURST said he no more than stated the recom mendation of the subcommittee. There was no resolu tion proposed. Every member would, when the time arrived, act for himself. Mr. R. L. JONES asked whether the sub-committee had taken into consideration the fact that the notice of the third readine , of the Qualification Bill was not upon the paper of the business of the next Court ? Mr. ASHURST answered in the affirmative, but ab stained from discussing the subject, a course which seemed to be approved by the meeting. Mr. HARRISON said he thought it necessary to state that it was his intention to move upon a subject in which he believed he had the sympathy of all the members before the third reading of the Qualification Bill should be put. He meant the distressed condition of the Irish, to contribute to the relief; of which as soon as possible, he should move that the sum of 2,0004 be voted. He intimated so much to the members, in order that it might not be supposed that he meant to throw any diffi culty in the way of the Qualification question. Mr. R. L. JONES put the case that the Lord Mayor should refuse to put the question. He wished to know in what condition the Court would be in that event? No distinct answer was given to the question. Mr. DE JERSEY believed that the motion for the ap pointment of a committee of privileges, would be an interruption to the proceedings which hie Court had com tuenced. Mr. KING said the reading of the minutes of the last Court, would be the first part of the business of the next. Those minutes were to his knowledge improperly re corded, and would prejudice the queslion if permitted to pass. If, therefore, they found that there was existing inaccuracy, it would be advisable to move a committee of privileges upon that matter. The CHAIRMAN said that he had been merely in structed to state the recommendations of the sub committee, and having fulfilled his instructions, and advised that the meeting should make no resolution, but proceed with unanimity to the attainment of theirobject, he considered the business of the committee at an end. Mr. Ashurst then vacated the chair. BREWING AND DISTILLING FROM SUGAR. The following most important petition was presented to the House of Commons last night from the bankers and merchants of London, more influentially signed than any similar document w hich ever proceeded from that important body. The presentation of this petition was most appropriately and judiciously entrusted to Mr. Charles P. Villiers, as a mark of the confidence which the commercial world has acquired in the Hon. Member's support of a liberal and enlightened commercial policy...-. TO THE HONOURABLE THE COMMONS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED. The Humble Petition of the Undersigned Merchants, Bankers, Brewers, Distillers, and other Traders of the City of London, Sheweth,—That inasmuch as your Honourable House has repeatedly declared, more particulary at the' passing of the Canada Corn Bill and the late opening of our markets to the sugar of foreign plantations, that her Majesty's subjects in the Colonies ought to be placed on a footing of equality with the subjects of the United Kingdom, particularly with regard to commercial and industrial privileges, including more especially the fair and free disposal of the produce of their soil and la- bour, and Inasmuch as the present dearth of every species of food in Great Britain and Ireland, and most other coun tries of Europe, renders all legitimate efforts for pre venting needless or premature consumption of the existing scanty stocks of grain, a paramount duty of humanity and policy, and Inasmuch as the present high and still advancing prices of barley and malt, threaten a partial if not total suspen sion of brewing and distilling, as well as a material defalcation in the public revenue derived from those sources. We, your humble Petitioners, for these reason, p ray that your Honourable Hou se will immediately be pleased to rescind the penalties to which Public Brewers and Distillers are at present liable for using Sugar and Mo lasses, and allow henceforth the free and unrestricted use :of those commodities : whereby your Honourable House will greatly encourage and benefit the Colonists, and concede to them the right, as British subjects, to di-pose of their produce in a more enlarged and better market ; cause a considerable saring in the con sumption of Barley and other Grain : secure to your Pe titioners, and her Majesty's subjects generally, the con tinued enjoyment of their usual beverage at a cheap rate; protect, and probably augment, the public revenue, and extend the shipping and commerce of the British empire. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray N. M. Rothechild's Sons Thomson, Hankey and Co. Magniac, Jardine, and Co. Fletcher, Alexander and Co. Heath, Furse, and Co. llibbert and Co. Forbes, Forbes, and Co. P. and C. Van Notten and Co. Fterleriek Huth and Co. Davidsons and Co. Thomson, I3onar, and Co. Finlay, Hodgson and Co. Sir J. W. Lubbock and Co. Boddington and Co. Barclay Brothers and Co. John Henry Deffell and Co. Reid, Irving and Co. Bosanquet and Co. Cockerel], Larpent and Co. Anthony Gihbs and Sons John Thomas, Son and Lefevre Archibald Hastie Palmer, Maekillop, Dent and Samuel Dobree and Sons Co. Trueman and Cook Morris, Prevost and Co. James Pattison and Sons John Henry Schroder and Co. Arbuthnot and Latham Gregson and Co. A. Colville A. A.Gower,Nephews and Co. Gledstanes and Co. De Lisle,Janvrin and De Lisle John Hubbard and Co. Crawford, Colvin and Co. Cavan Brothers Scott, Bell and Co. It. and R. Thornton and West 11. D. and J.Blyth and Greene. And nume, -ous others. NAVAL IN'rELLIGUNCE. PORTSMOUTH, JAN. 2:).—The Hyacinth, 18, Commander Scott, was paid off in this ha-bour to-day. The Aihel troop--hip, Master Commander Pearne, em barked a company of Royal Artillery last evening for Malta, and was towed to Spithead to-dav by the Rocket. WOOLWICH, JAN. 20.—The Dragon steam-frigate, under the command of C a pt a i n R amsey, w i th the officers andi crew of the Terrible steam-frig:te, left Deptford on Saturday last for Ireland, with a cargo of meal and other provisions for the famishing inhabitants. The Terrible steam-vessel was brought up to Woolwich on. Saturday afternoon from Sheerness, and will be taken into dock here to have her bottom examined. The Amphion steam-frigate, Captain Williams, has had two powerful anchors prepared for her—one of the common kind, of 57 cwt.; and ~n e rf Portci's patent, of 52 cwt. The anchors have. beet; tested, aud are now ready to be put on board. The Wildfire steam-vessel, Second-master George Brock man commanding, went up the river yesterday from Sheer ness to Deptford. The Ondine steam-vessel is in the harbour at Woolwich, having been offered for sale to serve as a packet for Govern ment service. Captain Sir Edward Belcher, C. 8., late commander of the Samarang surveying -vessel, visited Woolwich Dockyard on Monday. It is contemplated to appoint an additional comptroller of the steam machinery of the Royal Navy, and Captain Ellice will aid as the practical engineer in this department. Mr. Lloyd, chief engineer at Woolwich Dockyard, is named for the appointment of the steam machinery branch, with office s at the Admiralty. Mr. Rigby is appointed second-assistant to the chief engineer at Woolwich Dockyard, the increas e o f the works requiring the addition;fa second-assista n t - - d e p a rtment. to all PROVISIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES.--The St. Patrick from New York, Stephen Baldwin from New Orleans, and Anglo-Saxon from Alexandria, which were re ported at the Custom-house, Liverpool, on the 19th instant, bring 5,735 barrels 2,000 quarters wheat, 2,450 bushels and 3,120 yael,s Indian corn, 100 barrels Indian corn meal, 166 barrels heat!, 100 casks rice, and 1,510 packages cheese. The Cormier de Lyons states, on the authority of a correspondent who left Odessa on the 12th ult., that there were at that port 3,000,000 of hectolitres of corn, and 200 vessels taki ng in theiyading, most of them Greek, Austrian, and English, and only four French. There were besides, he says, 2,500,000 hectolitres of corn ready for exportation iu the different ports of the Sea of Azoff. We hear the Ministers of Austria, Russia, and Prussia did not attend the opening of Parliament with the rest of the corps diplonzatique, in consequence of the formal protest contained in her Majesty's Speech against the recent I annexation of Cracow. No doubt this step was taken by I their Excellencies as a mark of deference and respect to an opinion so forcibly entertained and expressed by the Sove reign and Parliament of this country, with reference to the violation of the treaty of Vienna by their respective Courts. —Times. THE ROYAL VISIT TO GUERICSEY.—The subscrip tion for the memorial which it is proposed to erect in Guern sey, in celebration of her Majesty's late visit to that island, is already announced to exceed the sum of 1,2601. A sub scription has also been set on foot among the inhabitants for the relief of the distress in Ireland, in furtherance of which benevolent object nearly 6001. has been contributed. `ti ~fi`_ ~ 4