The Sun. — London, England, 1847-03-30 00:00:00

AILWAY COMMITTEES Resolutions, approving of the agreem e nt s , wero t h en • (YESTERDAY.) I unanimously agreed to, as were al so reso l u ti ons em- powering the directors to carry out th e p rov i s i ons o f the agreemE6lNlP" In reply to Mr. COTTINGRAN, the complainant said that she believed the prisoner was paring his finger nails with a penknife at the time she was wounded ; that she beard him exclaim that he had a knife in his hand, and desired her to stand off. This was after she was wounded. The prisoner asked the complainant whether she did not attempt to strike him with the empty pewter pot, and that he put up his hand to ward off the blow, which was the way the accident occurred ? Her reply was that she did make such an attempt, and that she still believed that the wound was accidentally given. Mr. COTTINGRAM—Then if that was the case why did you afterwards give the prisoner into custody ? Com plainant—l was in a passion with him then. She then explained that she received a visit from the prisoner and another gentleman that morning, and that the former made her a present of a sum of money, and promised to pay the doctor's bill if she did not press the charge. That as she was still under the impression that it all arose from accident, she consented to the proposed terms, and therefore now wished to decline any further proceedings in the case. Mr. COTTINGUAK said that he should not permit a case of so serious a nature to be settled in the manner desired ; that if offences of that kind were allowed to be made up persons would frequently go unpunished who deserved to be prosecuted; that he should certainly have a further investigation of the case, although the com plaining party had exhibited such a disinclination now to press the charge. Sarah Selina Parish was then called, and, on being sworn, she stated that she was present on the above occasion. That she heard an altercation between the parties, and saw the complainant snatch up a pewter pot full of beer off the table in the parlour, and dash its contents in the prisoner's face. They were standing close together at the time, and the complainant was about to strike the prisoner with the empty pot, when she was forcibly put out of the room, and she imme diately afterwards exclaimed that she was wounded ; that she (witness) heard the prisoner exclaim, after the beer was thrown over him, that ho had a knife and he would use it. The prisoner hero asked the witness if she did not previously see him paring his finger nails with a pen knife ? and her reply was, that she saw nothing of the kind. She, however, admitted that she did not notice the accused take the knife out of his pocket ; he might have had it in his hand for all she knew before the beer was thrown over him. John Humphreys stated, that he was the proprietor of the house, 9, William-street, Walworth, and let it out in lodgings to single ladies ; that on the preceding night he was occupied in reading a newspaper in the room where the parties were, and heard some strong language uttered, and then saw the bear thrown over the accused. He (witness) also heard the words relative to using the knife mentioned by the prisoner, but did not see him stab the complainant. He (witness) on seeing the woman bleedic.g called the accused an unmanly fellow, and he was afterwards given into custody. The prisoner declared that it all arose from accident ; that when he went into the house he pulled out his pen knife and began to pare down his finger nails ; that while he was so engaged the complainant, on some fan cied insult, threw a pot of porter in his face, and she was about to strike him also when he put up his arms to save himself, and that in aiming a blow at his head her hand came in contact with the knife, and that was the only way he could account for what had happened. He added that he had no malicious intention, that the knife was previously in his hand, and he submitted that it was a very different case to that of having taken the weapon from his pocket for the purpose of using it. The prisoner then called forward a gentleman named Bridgman, who, on being sworn, said, that he accom panied him to the house in question, and was present in the parlour when the occurrence took place on the pre ceding night ; that he saw the knife in his friend's hand before the beer was flung in his face, and that he was using it for the purpose of cutting his finger nails at the moment he was struck at by the complainant, who was most insolent in her conduct. The complainant again interceded in the accused's behalf, saying that she freely forgave him, and that she knew that he did not wound her intentionally. The policeman, who was called into the house on the occasion, said that he did not find the knife with which the alleged wound was inflicted, and did not examine the prisoner's pockets at the time. Mr. COTTINGLIAM said, in a case of such a descrip tion it was the policeman's duty to have searched the prisoner before he did anything else, and that all persons in the police should know, on taking a prisoner into cus tody under such circumstances, it was most important to make a strict search on the spot where such offence was perpetrated, in order to find the weapon with which the injury was inflicted. The magistrate then proceded to say that it was absurd for the accused to assert that he was in the act of paring his finger nails with his knife in the parlour of a brothel at the time the wound was inflicted on the complainant, and that it was quite evident that he had given a sum of money to his victim in order to prevent her from appearing against him. He (the magistrate) perceived by the police-sheet that the prisoner was by profession a surgeon; he certainly had acted with great folly in entering a house of such a de scription, and then quarrelling with one of its abandoned inmates, which led to the result that had taken place ; he regretted seeing a man of the accused's profession place himself in such a position, but he was bound to do his duty to the public ; and though it was not pro bable that a jury would convict the accused upon the evidence of the complainant, yet he should give her the opportunity of preferring her indictment against him at the sessions, and for th a t purpose should adjudge him to enter into his own recognisance in 501. and find two sureties of 501. each, to appear at the next Contra. Criminal Court sessions. HOUSE OF COMMONS. GROUP I. — The CHAIRMAN then said, that at the meeting recently held the Bills which he was then about to submit to the meeting, had received its sanction and approval, but it appeared, however, that that meeting was not held in strict conformity with the requirements of Lord Wharncliffe's standing order, the notice for convening it not having been sufficiently long ; under these circumstances it was thought advisable by their law clerk that another meeting should be held for the pur pose of complying with the requisite standing order. It would be his duty, therefcre, again to submit those Bills to their notice; and, with the exception of one or two of them, he did not think it necessary to trouble the meeting with any remarks, the whole of them having been fully gone into at the last meeting. The Ilford, Tilbury Fort, and Southern! Railway, he thought, required a few remarks. The length of the line was thirty-five miles, and the branch to Battle-bridge six miles. The line was proposed to leave the main line at Ilford, and proceed along the south coast of Essex, and keeping as near as possible the line of the River Thames. The traffic taken upon this line had induced the directors to believe that this was one of the best lines ever projected by any company in this dis trict. The directors hoped that, through the medium of cheap fares which they intended to adopt in this line, that they would be enabled to draw off a considerable portion of the passenger traffic at present using the means of water communication, and afford a cheap and expeditious route to Margate, Ramsgate, and the Con tinent. There would also be a considerable amount of goods traffic, the line passing through a highly impor tant agricultural district, and supplying the wants of Raynham, Dagenham, Tilbury Fort, and the districts around those places. Mr. T. LEONARD fully concurred in the opinions just expressed by the chairman, as to the valuable nature of this line. The goods traffic would be of considerable amount. The line would pass through about thirty miles of fine grazing district, upon which tens of thou. sands of cattle were continually grazing, which would no doubt be conveyed by means of this railway. A great source of profit would also be found in the traffic arising from the great lime pits with which the district abounded. The coal traffic would also be of considerable amount. A SHAREHOLDER wished to know of what use it would be to make another station at Battle-bridge ? There was already a company which proposed to make a station there. The Select Committee appointed to consider the merits of the Bills comprised in this group re-assembled in Room 30, at the usual hour this morning; Lord Granville Somerset in the chair. THE SOUTH-EASTERN SCHEMES. Sir J. Naysmith corroborated the testimony of a former witness as to the injury the proposed Mid Kent line would inflict upon Lullingstone Castle and park. Mr. John Clutton, the secretary of the South-Eastern Company, proved the estimates for the land and stations of the proposed lines. Mr. E. J. Morton produced the population returns, by which it would appear the South-Eastern lines would ac commodate 13,745 more local residents than those of the righton. Mr. Dow, the civil engineer who had tested the relative qualities of the stratas in the cuttings and tunnels of the two schemes, gave it as his decided opinion that if the Brighton Mid Kent line were granted they would never succeed in getting through Broughton-hill, while, at many points where there were cuttings , the surface of the rails would be several feet under water. A shaft had been sunk under his direction on Broughton-hill, and the strata was found to be wet and bad. Such difficulties as these did not exist on the South-Eastern lines. On these lines the strata was dry and good. This : closes — the case of the South-Eastern Company, with the exception of a few documents which have to he put in. The Committee then adjourned till Tuesday,:the 13th of April. PETITIONS ON PRIVATE BILLS. HOUSE OF COMMONS. (Room 23, before Mr. Examiner MAY. ) UNOPPOSED LIST. WATERFORD AND LIMERICK RAILWAY (PETITION FOR ADDITIONAL PROVISION). In this case, after the usual evidence had been tendered, it was decided that the standing orders should not be dispensed with. CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD-RAILWAY (EXTENSION TO CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD). This case was adjourned for further consideration. OPPOSED LIST. EDINBURGH AND NORTHERN RAILWAY (No. 2 BRANCH FROM BURNTISLAND TO DUNFERMLINE BRANCH, &c.) In this case it was decided that the standing orders should be dispensed with, and the Bill be proceeded with. CORNWALL AND CENTRAL DEVON AND PLY MOUTH RAILWAY AND BRANCHES. This case was adjourned for further consideration. The CHAIRMAN said that the Hon. Proprietor seemed not to understand the nature of the Bill ; the Battle bridge referred to wa. a Battle-bridge in Essex, and not at Pentonville. Mr. KENT said that he did not believe this line could ever pay. He deprecated the attempts of companies to make so many branch lines—they were always injurious to the main trunk line. The CHAIRMAN—If the Hon. Proprietor will look at the map, he will see that the proposed line is one which is calculated to draw a considerable share of traffic. Mr. KENT did not understand figures, it was no use showing it to him. The CHAIRMAN begged to say that he did understand them, and had considered the subject at considerable length. If the Hon. Proprietor would take it upon his recommendation, he would find that he would not act wrongly either for his own interests, or the interests of the company. The resolution approving of the Bill was then put, and unanimously agreed to. The CHAIRMAN said that the next Bill he had to submit to the meeting was the "Stations Enlargement and Amendment of Acts Bill." Mr. PRICE wished to know whether the clauses he objected to at the last meeting had been expunged from the Bill? The CHAIRMAN said, that after mature consideration, the directors had come to the determination to allow the clauses to remain, and if the Commissioners thought it desirable to expunge them, the directors would nut ob. ject to doing so. Mr. PRICE objected on principle to the clauses; he did not wish to see a railway company mixed up with the affairs of a steam-packet company. There were a num ber of minutiae connected with a steam-packet company, which a railway board could not control; and a steam packet company in connexion with a railway company would be certain to prove an entire failure. A SHAREHOLDER said that the Southampton Com pany had made it answer very well. Mr. PRICE said, that in that case the Southampton Railway Company had only made an advance of money on the security of the boats. The CHAIRMAN—That was all the company pro posed to do in the present case. The directors saw that it would be of no use having a railway to Harwich, un less a steam packet company was in connexion with that port, such a packet company as should make the port one worthy of the great traffic which would arise between that port and the Continent. Mr. PRICE objected to the clause as it then stood, as it did not state that the money was to be advanced on the security of the boats of the company. Mr. DUNCAN said that he thought the most convenient course would be to allow the clause to pass as it stood. It would be idle to suppose that the directors would ad vance the money unless upon sufficient security. The CHAIRMAN then put the resolution, and Mr. Price declining to move any amendments, the original resolution was agreed to, there being only one hand (that of Mr. Price) held up against it. The other Bills (ten in number) were then put seri atim, and unanimously agreed to. The CHAIRMAN said that he wished to make an im portant statement to the meeting, and one which, con sidering the great attention the subject was re ceiving at the hands of the Railway Com missioners and of the Government, he wished to go forth to the litrly of the shareholders. The share capital of the company for the new lines was 2,700,0001., with power to borrow 555,000/. They hal the power of raising under Bills already sanctioned 1,665,000/, and there was yet a call of 10/. remaining upon the York extensions, which would give a capital of 1.850,0004, from these two sources a capital of 3,515,0001 The whole of the capital required fur the new lines was only 2,700,0001. ; the company had, therefore, a surplus capital of upwards of 800,000!. to meet any contin gencies which might arise. There was also another subject to which he would just allude. Numerous letters had been received from the heads of colleges at Cambridge, expressing their opinion of the general arrangements of the line, and particularly referring, in the most flattering manner, to the arrangements of the company at the time of the recent election of the Chan cellor of the University. A vote of thanks was then proposed to the Chairman, and the meeting broke up. WORCESTER, HEREFORD, ROSS, AND GLOUCESTER RAILWAY. A general meeting of the scripholders in this com pany was held yesterday, at the Company's offices, 449, West Strand, Sir R. Price, Bart., Presides ; of the Com pany, in the chair. The CHAIRMAN said that they had been called to gether for the consideration of a matter that would be found to be very simple, and would occupy but a very short time. They were all aware that at the last meet ing complaints were made of the large amount of the solicitors' bills, and it was then agreed upon that they should be taxed. However, the directors discovered that such a proceeding would be attended with a great deal of delay and expense, which they were most anxious to avoid, and had therefore come to the determination of endeavouring to make an arrangement with the soli citors. With a view to the accomplishment of that object, his friend, Mr. Baker, with a great deal of trouble and loss of time, went into an examination of the items of these hills, and the result was that they had resolved to deduct a considerable sum from the gross amount of - these bills. It would now be for the proprietors to say whether or no they would sanction that arrangement, or still persevere in their original determination of having these bills taxed by the taxing-master. As he had said before, the latter proceeding would be long, tedious, and expensive, and the chances were that they might effect no saving at all. The amount they had agreed upon to deduct from the bills was 4,0001., which would now leave the claims at the sum of 10,143/. Bs. 10d., and the shareholders should be satisfied with that arrange ment. He begged to propose a resolution to that effect. The CHAIRMAN, in answer to some questions from the shareholder, said it was true that there were other Bills, but that that meeting had not been called for any pur pose other than that which he had stated, and he would not be drawn into any other statement, Several Shareholders having insisted on knowing what the other Bills were, 711 r. BAKER (a dire c t or ) sa id th a t t h ere could b e no sAojection to his stating what they were. The reason that the solicitors' bills were so heavy was that they had been compelled to employ six of them. Then, with regard to the engineers' claims, that of Mr. Brunel was very small indeed ; but with respect to the bill o f t h e i r l ocal engineer, Mr Foljamb, he had to state that he was their local en gineer at Gloucester, and it was through his mistake that the Bill had been lost on the standing orders. In Consequence of that, they had taken from his bill 4681. Bs. ld., leaving him, in fact, very little more than his costs out of pocket; and the whole amount of all their engineering expenses did not exceed 6,500/. If, then, the shareholders were willing to accede to these arrangements, the directors would be in a position to declare a dividend of 45., which would still leave about 500/. in hand, which would be quite sufficient to meet the small outstanding bills. After some discussion, the meeting unanimously agreed to the recumniendation of the directors, and then separated. EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY. A special general meeting of the shareholders of this compaly wai pat r Jay held, at the I3ishopsgate Station 'of the company, fur the purpose of confirming an agree ment for the lease, ti . j the above-named company, of the East Anglian Railways, and for the purchase of the Enfield and Edmonton Railway ; at which special meet ing the Bill for carrying the first mentioned agreement into effect, and the other Bills promoted by the Eastern Counties Railway Company in the present session, were, In pursuance of the standing orders of the House of Lords, submitted to the shareholders for their approval. The chair was taken at one o'clock by D. Wadding ton, Esq., the deputy-chairman of the company. C. P. RONEY, Esq., the secretary to the company, baring read the notice convening the meeting, The CHAIRMAN said that he regretted the absence, in common with the other proprietors, of their respected 'Chairman, who was at present staying on the Continent, but who did not think that it would be necessary for him to post from France in order to attend this meeting, thinking that the propositions to be submitted to the . meeting wou ld b e unanimously agreed to. The object of the present meeting was to approve of the agreement entered into with the directors of the Eastern Counties Railway with that system of railway called the East Anglian system, including the Lynn and Ely Railway, the Lynn and Dereham Railway, and the Ely and Huntingdon Railway. The Lynn and Ely Railway was about 26 miles in length, and there was also a branch to Wisbech, about 10 miles in length. The Lynn and Dereham Railway was about 261 miles in length. Of the Ely and Huntingdon Railway there was only five miles at present under contract, upon that portion of the line between St. Ives and Huntingdon, and as the directors did not propose to call upon the East Anglian directors to promote that portion of the line between St. Ives and Hunt ingdon, the whole extent of mileage included in the East Anglian system would be about 67 miles ; and it was this extent of proposed mileage that the directors sought to obtain the sanction for at the present meeting. The amount of capital upon which it was pro posed to guarantee a per centsge by the Eastern Coun ties Company was 884,0001., the amount of borrowed capital would be 170,000/., making a total of 1,054,0001. Upon this amount of capital the directors of the Eastern Counties Railway proposed to pay for the first year after the railways were completed 5 per cent., and after the first year 6 per cent. in perpetuity. The Lynn and Ely Rsilway, when constructed, would complete the communication between London and Lynn. The Port of Lynn was the port from which the town of Cam bridge and other places in that district derived their supply of coals. The Lynn and Dereham Railway was a line which would open up a large agricultural traffic between Lynn and the interior of the county of Norfolk, and also a considerable local traffic. The St. Ives and Huntingdon Railway was a natural communication from the Wisbech and St. Ives Railway, and the Cambridge and Huntingdon Railway, but the company having received powers only to make the line from Cambridge to St. Ives, they wished therefore to obtain power to run on at once from St. Ives to Huntingdon. The importance of so doing would be at once evident from the fact that the Midland Railway Company had proposed to construct a line from, Leicester, by Kettering in Northamptonshire, to Ifil.:ot ingdon. It would not, of course, be necessary to enter at that moment into the details of the traffic w hi , h might be expected to flow from thi s source (Jll V`, the main line of the Eastern Counties Rail”day. The directors of the Midland Company conc• ;pipa ' that it rrould be of advantage to them, a;d the directors of the Eastern Counties br..';teved also that it would tend to incre-,ae the prosperity of their line. With respect to the whole system of the East Anglian. Railways, he believed that the only wry to work thein to advantage to the proprie tors, would be for theta to allow the sy s t em to come under P* united manage ment w i t h the Eastern Counties R a "%aY, and it was hi s fi rm opinion, shared also by hi s 1 -e gues that they we re running no ' risk whatever i n erOlino. „ svhih ,, P a the meeting to sanction the agreement -East A had . entered into with the directors of the the agt,eeraaenntßahilways. There was ,Lie contingency in n w ora i e ch . he wish might had no doubt the meeting would &vent of the ainto operation,. via., that in the =lore than eight y peseterona Counties Company paying nt.,.then the Lynn and Ely, 'with a present miniraunatdaividend of six per cent., !Should rank with twsotern Counties shares, ?hough always to receiv e I).'hcent., less than the the neaotber Bill to which astern Counties shareholders. le would call the attention of the line a e l t. 7 i n t i tilez Ir w a a n s e branching out from Enfield to Edmonton ; it -of the main line at Edmonton, and .field; the length of the . line wa s. a b out "to three miles. to eighteen months . since .the. directors were ap to by the inhabitants in the neighbourhood of E n g, r d e e to support; them in their application to Parliament. A c . the they subscribed tor 500 . shares in the concern, the total number of shares in which was 1,800, and the 13,ropozed estimate 36,0001. The directors of that line then opened up a communication with the Eastern Coun ties directors as to the working of the line, and the result Df their negotiations bad been that the Eastern Counties directors had agreed to p urc h ase t h e remaining 1,300 shares, at a premium of ss. per share, being rather more than 5 per cent, interest upon the whole of the money expended. This agreement it wits now proposed to sub put to the meeting ter its approval. THAMES. A young woman, named Mary Fitzgerald, was brought before Mr. Yardley charged with stealing a bundle of linen from the house of a poor old creature named Sarah Grey, of 8, Raymond-place, St. George's-in the-East. It appeared from the evidence that the prosecutrix works a mangle, by which she obtains a scanty living. On Saturday evening the prisoner called upon her for a bundle of linen which had been left by her mother to be mangled in the early part of the day. It was delivered to her, and she managed at the same time to take away another bundle of linen which was also left with the old woman to be mangled. The prisoner delivered the bundle to another mangling woman named llare, in the same neighbourhood, in whose possession it was found, and who was the means of causing the prisoner to be apprehended. She was committed for trial. TVESTMINS7ER. Shortly after the disposal of night charges, an elderly gentleman waited upon Mr. Broderip, and entreated him to render him some assistance in recovering his nephew, who had been inveigled away from his home on Saturday. Mr. BRODERIP inquired by whom?—Applicant replied, by a woman. Mr. BRODERIP asked for what object?—Applicant said it was his impression, and that of the other mem bers of his family, that her object was to induce him to marry her. Mr. BRODERIP wished to know his age ?—Applicant replied, twenty-six. Mr. BRODERIP supposed that the nephew had boen a consenting party in the transaction. The young man, he presumed, had not been induced to accompany her contrary to his own wishes?—Applicant was not aware that he had. Mr. BRODERIP intimated that he could not assist the applicant. The gentleman was desirous of knowing whether the magistrate could net afford him some aid if it could be clearly shown that his nephew was of an imbecile state of mind? POLICE INTELLIGENCE. MARLBOROUGH -STREET. Captain Sympson, of Lane's Hotel, was summoned be fore Mr. Bingham, for having horsewhipped and kicked Lewis Nottidge, his servant. The complainant said, he was Captain Sympson's groom. On Wednesday afternoon Captain Sympson, after being out for an afternoon's ride, brought hi s mare into Bushnell' s s t a bl e - yar d , and sent for him (com plainant) to take charge of the animal. Complainant attended his master's summons immediately, and on taking the mare into the stable the captain called him A lazy --, and a drunken rascal." Complainant asked his master if he addressed such language to him? His master s a id h e did ; and he then told his master if the scandalous names were repeated, he would leave him to dress the mare himself. Captain Sympson ordered him out of the stables. He told the captain he would leave the stables, if the owner came and desired him to do so. The owner was sent for, and, complainant, on receiving directions to leave the stables, was about to comply, when the captain proceeded to lash him over the head with the riding whip he had in his hand. Complainant stopped this assault as soon as he could by wresting the whip from his master's hand. His master kicked him about the legs as he was about to quit the stable. The next day his master sent for him to settle the affair, but he told his master he should appeal to the law for the abuse and the injuries he had sustained. An ostler, named Stone, said ho heard the capain call his servant bad names, and afterwards saw ki l n horsewhip him. Richard Bu!,'nnell, the owner of tl3' stable-yard, said he was not present at the comawdeement of the differ ence. He was sent for, and I,y the captain's desire he told the complainant to leave the stable. Witness saw the captain strike F,is servant with his riding-whip. n Sympson, The complainant was p er f ec tl y so b er at the time. Captainpson, in defence, said that the complain antr p r oceeded to h an dl e t h e mare i n such a way as led bl to suppose that the aninr.:l would injure itself. He `,poke to the complainant, who replied he might dress toe mare himself. He ordered the complainant out of the stables, being irritated at his insolence. The coin *plainant refused to go, and then he certainly did give him a slight cut over the shoulders with a light whip which he carried. He denied having applied the filthy name to the complainant as sworn to, and he further denied having kicked the complainant. The next morning he sent for the complainant, intending to give him 11. for what he had done to him. The complain ant stopped his go©d intentions by saying, if it cost him 501., he would have redress at law. Mr. BixGriAm called up the complainant, and asked him if he was unwilling to accept a sovereign from the defendant?—The complainant said, his master never made him an offer of a sovereign. His object was not money; he would not take a sovereign now; and if the defendant was fined, and any part of the fine went to him, he was willing to have it placed in th e p oor -b ox. Mr. BINGHA M asked the stable-yard keeper how many blows he saw given?—The witness said, h e saw one or two blows; there might, however, have been a gre: dter number. Mr. BINGHA.M said, the assault was or a t r ifli ng character. Had there been uo pr s vocation, a fine of 40s. would have been sufficient on a gentleman of the defendant's stati on; as there appeared' to have been considerable provocation, he should make the fine 20s. and costs. Mr. BRODERIP observed, that if even that were shown it would ❑ot give him tho power to interfere. Had ap plicant's nephew any property ? Applicant rep!ieii, none. The woman was a person of interior condition in life to the young man, and it was the opinion of his family that she wished to get married to him from a belief that there was or might be some pr;verty coming to him. Mr. BRODERIP repeated that be had no power to in- terfere. If the young man were of an imbecile state of mind the remedy they had was by habeas corpus. Ap plicant had better consult his legal adviser, who would apply to one of the judges. Applicant, who was accompanied by a brother of the young man spoken of, then thanked the magistrate and withdrew. A BAREFACED THIEF.—An Irish limper ) named Thomas Maguire, was brought up on Saturday, charged with stealing ruin from the ship RoVer, It appeared that the prisoner with others were discharging rum from the ship, and after they had finished their work, Mr. Shaw, the shipping clerk, found that two puncheons had been broached, and a portion of the contents ab stracted. When the men were being paid, Mr, Shaw offered a reward of 10s. fer the discovery of tho thief, when Pad:ly, as soon as he had got his comrades away, said that if the promised doeeur were handed over he would give the required information. Mr. Shaw immediately began to count out four half crowns; but, before giving them, and in order to make " assurance doubly sure," he asked, in another whisper, " You're certain, of course, that you know the right I man ?" "Oh ! begor, I am as certain of it," was the reply, "as I am of my own existence; I know him better than I know my brother!" Mr, Shaw was satisfied; and m in a l g es u s ir t o h ,s poanacmket minute the half-crowns were jingling iu b re un vel b a y rion, Shaw then listened for the grand anzl Maguire speedily sa ti s fi e d an d aston i s h e d t . h 00 :Liming, " You s ee th e thi e f a f ore you. I am e lan. Me own four bones broached the casks and drank the rum; and fair, betune you and me and the wall, blow the betther gallon of it I had for the last twelve mo n th s ! I t ' s not my say i ng alone; all the neigh bours in the street will tell you the same thing, for they all had a nip." Mr. Shaw called a policeman, and the fellow was given in charge ; and, on being brought to bridewell, the turnkey booked him as being drunk. Sir Joshua Walmsley said he had never heard of a more barefaced act in his life, and ordered him to pay a fine of ss. and costs. The fellow was about to pay the five shillings out of the ten shillings he had re ceived from Mr. Shaw, when the latter claimed the money as his property. Sir Joshua said ho had no power to order it to b e re f un d e d ; an d Maguire having paid the fine out of the reward, he was discharged.— Liverpool Mercury. ROBBERY AT SPROWSTON.—On Tuesday police constables Goodchild and Emms were on duty at three o'clock in the morning, at Sprowston, when they met a man with something on his back. Immediately he caught sight of the policemen, he threw down his burden and ran off. He was pursued for three-quarters of a mile and captured, when he proved to be George Fisher, of Pockthorpe. The article he had thrown away was a pail, the property of Mr. Thomas Burrows, of Sprowston. The prisoner was brought before S. Bignold, Esq., and the pail being sworn to, he was fully committed for trial.—Norfolk Chronicle, SOUTHWARK. Mr. John James, a surgeon, residing at Champion hill, Camber we ll, was brought before Mr. Cottingham, charged with wounding Caroline J ing night. ones on the preeed- The complainant, a woman or I much reluctance in coming the town, who showed lodged a t 9 , W illiam -scree' forward, stated that she preceding night the pr; .:Walworth, and th a t on th e gQntle raao , called to • - soner, accompanied by ano th er parlo ur together, an - ace her. Th e y were i n t h e b ack something offensi , 4 after some time the prisoner said the contents of ', , e to her, and she immediately threw about to strik, 4.pot of porter in his face ; that she was thrust out of " h un with the empty pot, when she was discoveredthat h t ° s t i l e : D.l discovered by some other persons, and then her rigbt hand, w, was bleeding from a wound across assailant given In t• .en a policeman was called, and her think zow that t' J custody. She added that she did not de Prisoner Wounded her intentiongllY. FOIE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENINGb_ MARCH 30, 1847 restoring the pensions of the non-commissioned officers and privates to the position in which they stood formerly. He entirely concurred in the opinion, that if this Bill should pass, that bounties should be given. He preferred Mr. lityndham's Bill to this, for now they would be placing one large body of soldiers in opposition to another, and he would therefore recommend the Ministry to take a leaf out of that excellent book. He told them beforehand, in order that they might know what they had to do. Supposing they saw that they could not stop the Bill in the other House, and could not therefore pre vent this injustice to the old soldier, as compared with the new troops—supposing they were to vote for the whole clause, the Noble Lord must see what a predica ment they would be in. The army, he believed, was never in higher discipline or in better condition than it was at the present moment. He believed it was invincible; and as for comparison with foreign armies, there was no sort of comparison that could be instituted with our own, for they were altogether different bodies. He had re ceived a letter from an officer of considerable standing in the army, in which that gallant officer denounced the proposed change as being injurious to the discipline and the service of the army. The Noble Lord then proceeded to read an extract from a speech made upon the subject in 1806, by the Right Hon. George Canning, in order to show that that eminent statesman's opinion was unfavourable to limited enlistment. He warned them against any interference with the discipline of the army, and he hoped the House would in some degree check the desire of some Hon. Gentlemen to " experimentise" in matters which they did not understand ; with these opinions, he be?ged to move for copies of all the correspondence that had taken place upon the subject of this measure, between the Government and the Horse Guards ; also of all the correspondence that had taken place with general officers in reference to the same matter. Earl GREY said that he would follow the rule of brevity, which the Noble Marquis had laid down, on principle, but which he had so much overlooked in practice, He would take another opportunity of speaking to the question of the measure of limited enlistment, for that measure was not yet be fore the House ; but with reference t o th e mot i on o f t h e Noble Marqui s , he thought it must be apparent to their Lordships that it would be subversive of all the princi ples in which the business of the Government was car ried on, if such returns as those moved for were granted. The Government had consulted the authorities of the Horse Guards on the framing of this measure. He trusted that their Lordships would not accede to the proposition of the Noble Lord. The Earl of CARDIGAN said, he must state that he looked with great apprehension on the policy of the Go vernment in the introduction of this Bill, for shortening the period of enlistment in the army. He thought that the objects which the mea sure contemplated could be better obtained by giving a better pension, when those individuals who served were discharged, and by taking means to shorten the period of colonial service. Even by the present Bill it was only proposed to give, after a period of 34 years' service, a retiring pension of 6d. per day, which was the lowest amount of parochial relief given to the persons who were employed to break stones. He did not think that they were thus holding out any inducement to men to enlist in the army. But if the Legislature did intend to carry this measure into a law, he trusted that they would take into consideration the propriety of at any rate restrict ing the present ualimited power which was granted to the men of purchasing their own discharges. He could not conceive how the law could be made to operate in the relief of men stationed in the colonies. They would be obliged to keep up a perpetual system of transport from this country to the colonies, in order to relieve these men ; and they placed the officers who were there stationed in a most difficult position by removing the men just as they had be come disciplined. He should wish to make one other observation, which he had not seen adverted to in the other House of Parliament. 'There was a strong prejudice in this country, as their Lordships were aware, against a large standing army. Some of their Lord ships might remember that, ten or fourteen years ago, a large body of men, somee here above 30,000, marched through the streets of London, in all the pomp and panoply of marshal array. He might be told that that body of men had dispersed quietly; but the Govern ment of the day were not at the time so sanguine of their doing so, for they had giien orders to have every man in readiness who could be found in the neighbour hood of the metropolis. Now, supposing that at some future time a similarly large body of discharged sol diers—men who had been taught the use of the mus ket for ten years —suppose that these men refused to disperse so quietly as the others had done, he could as sure their Lordships that it would be found a most diffi. cult matter to suppress them. For these reasons he believed tha ithe intended measure would be found in effective. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY bad only one observation to make in reply. He had only taken the same course as a Noble Lord opposite had taken, in reply the other night to a Noble Friend of his on his right, and he thought that out of courtesy the papers he asked for might have been granted. If he had been wrong in his supposition that the 6ci. a day was not to be granted, he begged to be excused for the error, and would with draw his motion, at least so far as the first part was concerned. The motion was then, by leave, withdrawn. COLVILLE PEERAGE. Lord COLVILLE, after a brief conversation, postponed his motion until to morrow, The Duke of RICHMOND thanked the Noble Lord on behalf of the Scotch Peerage for having taken charge of the matter, which he deemed to be of the utmost im portance. LAW OF SETTLEMENT. The Duke of RECHNIOND presented several peti tions from Sussex and Northamptonshire, against the law of settlement. The petitioners from the latter county particularly complained that, after having, by subscriptions, succeeded in clearing their villages of the persons who were, from their position, best fitted for emigration, they had been inundated 'with poor from out parishes. He thought that certainly the Act of the last session was one of the most clumsy Acts of legislation that had ever passed any public body, and trusted that the Government would shortly bring forward some rues sure for its amendment. ~• t..r= CASE OF MR. BUTT. The Duke of RICHMOND had a petition to present from a person with whom he was unacquainted, of the name of Butt. This person had been convicted with Lord Cochrane of having spread reports, before it oc curred, of the capture of the late Emperor of the French, for which, together with his Lordship, he had been subjected to a severe pecuniary penalty. He prayed that, as their Lordships bad dealt leniently with Lord Cochrane, they would do the same with him, and return him the 1,0001. in which he had been fined.—(Laughter.) As he did not intend to take any measures he would simply lay it on the table. WATERWORKS CLAUSES BILL. The report of this Bill was brought un. MARKETS AND FAIRS CLAUSES BILL. The report of this Bill was also brought up, with a few amendments, and received. The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and ;heir Lordships adjourned. HOUSE 01 COMMONS, March 29. The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four l'elock. DUBLIN CORPORATION IMPROVEMENT BILL. Mr. HAMILTON presented a petition from some place (the name of which we did not hear) against the Dublin Corporation Improvement Bill. SECOND READINGS. The following Bills were read a second time and ordered to be committed:— Sandwich Haven. Bristol Building and Improvement. Liverpool Guarian Gas. York Improvement, Lendal-bridge and approachec. EDINBURGH AND PERTH RAILWAY. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE presented a petition from a Mr. J. Brown, a shareholder in the Old Edinburgh and Perth Railway Company, praying that the second read ing of the Bill be postponed until the evidence taken before the Committee on Standing Orders be printed. The petitioner alleged that the report of that Committee was not borne out by the evidence. WEYMOUTH AND MELCOMBE REGIS HAR BOUR. Mr. STRUTT moved that the Weymouth and Mel combe Regis Harbour and Bridge Trusts Bill be referred to the Commissioners of Railways ; and that the said Bill be not considered in Committee until the Commis • sioners shall have reported upon the Bills promoted by the Great Western Railway Company, in conformity with the resolutions of that House of the 23d day of February.—Agreed to. EDINBURGH AND PERTH RAILWAY BILL. General DIORISON moved the second, reading of thls Mr. T. DUNCOMBE trusted that the second reading would be postponed until after the holidays. No ob jection could be urged against this course, as the delay would not cause any embarrassment to the parties in terests, while it would give an opportunity to the peti tioners whom he represented to see the printed evidence taken before the Select Committee. Mr. LOCH opposed any delay. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE said that there were circum stances connected with the reconstruction of this com pany which called for investigation. It was stated in the report that the directors of the old company were the directors of the new. Now the fact was, that only three of these sat upon the new board. Then the plans and specifications of the old company were taken pos session of by the parties connected with the new, al though they themselves had not in the first instance lodged them. Air. GREENE suggested that the Bill should be con sidered to. morrow. Mr. DUNCOISIBE—Why not say three weeks at once? I Mr. ELLICE defended the report of the Committee. That report had nothing to do with the petitioners, and he did not see, therefor e , why a p os t poneme nt till May should be required. Mr. T. DL NCOMBE thought there was something very unreasonable in this opposition. The Committee upon the Bill would not, even if the Bill were read a second time that day, sit before the 17th of May. He thought the whole of the circumstances in this case so peculiar that he would move that it be read a second time that day three weeks. Sir W. HEA THCOTE explained that, although there were only three names of the registered directors of the old company upon the new, the reason was that these gentlemen had from time to time retired, and other names had been substituted, so that in fact the direction was altogether different at the period of the dissolution of the old company to what it had been at the beginning. Mr. GISBORNE apprehended that the report of the Standing Orders Committee was presented to the House with the view of being confirmed, and he thought it nothing but right that the evidence should be laid be fore them upon whidz that report was fum e d. He IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS, March 29. Their Lordships met at Five o'clock. Messengers from the Commons brought up severa; Bills. BOARD OF WORKS—(IRELAND.) Lord BROUGHAM also presented a petition from Mr. James Bolger, civil engi neer , o f Talbot-street, Dublin, and of Austin Friars, in London, complaining of what he termed a system of jobbing which was being practised by the officers of the Board of Works in Ballinasloe, and stating that upwards of 70,000/. had been expended by the Board of W or k s in that dis trict. H He stated that it had been intimated that if the engineer employed a person who was in the con fidence of the Board of Works that he would have the contract even at a good price, and it was intimated that Mr. John Macmahon, who had married the illegitimate daughter of some officer connected with the Board of Works, was in the confidence of that board. Under the contract which had been made under this intimation many thousand pounds had been expend e d. Thi s the petitioner stated was called a job; he apologised to their Lord ships for the term, but he believed that the proper epithet ought to have been used, and it ought to have been called a fraud. There had been 10,0001. spent on the several contracts, and although the Government had allowed 100,000/., there was a sum of 90,000/. of which there was no account. The petitioner stated that when his Noble Friend the Duke of Wellington was in office, he had saved the country as much as 60,0001., by making representations to his Grace. REMOVAL OF THE IRISH POOR FROM ENGLAND. Lord BROUGHAM would take that opportunity of correcting a misrepresentation of what he had said the other night with respect to the removal of the Irish paupers from Liverpool and Glasgow. He had been re presented as saying that the Irish paupers should be re moved at once from those towns. He found, on con sultation with Mr. Rushton, that there was crest diffi culty in the law, for although there was a power of transferring Irish and Scotch paupers beyond the water, and beyond the border, yet the doing so was so beset with difficulty that the law could hardly be acted upon. He trusted, therefore, that some declaratory Act would shortly be brought in to remedy the evil. Lord DESART said, in reference to a statement which the Noble and Learned Lord had made the other night, that the landholders of Ireland, or their agents, had given money to the paupers on their estates, to enable them to go to Liverpool and such places in England, he had written to persons residing in various parts of Ireland upon the subject, and only in one instance had he ascertained that there was any founda tion for the statement of the Noble Lord. Lord BROUGHAM said he made the statement upon the authority of Mr. Rushton, of Liverpool, who had transmitted to him the reports of three police inspectors, in which it was stated that many of the Irish paupers of Liverpool had admitted that they had received from three shillings to five shillings from their landlords or their agents to enable them to get to Liverpool. The people could not come over for nothing ; it might be said that the pressure of the famine had sent them over, but then the famine could not pay their passage. Then it had been said that the steam-boat proprieters paid them to come over, but it was absurd to suppose that they would pay them 2s. 6,1. to come over, for the sake of getting 2s. 6d. to take them back again. He had been informed that numbers of the tenants had received 51. each to tear or burn dow n their cabins for the sake of enab ling their landlords thus to get rid of them. He could not help making a passing allusion to the praiseworthy conduct of the Saciety of Friends; they had already raised among themselves upwards of 50,000/. to wards the relief of the Irish poor, and, upon the occasion of the fast day, they not thinking it right to keep that day sacred, had given the half of their earnings and profits to the same charitable object. He quite agreed with the Society of Friends that works of mercy were better than works of sacrifice. A Noble Friend of his on the bench was travelling his circuits upon the fast day, and upon arriving at one of the towns in Wales, he found it quite impossible to ob tain a morsel of bread, or anything in the shape of viands, so completely had the zeal of the Welsh people to keep the fast rummaged the whole of the town.—(Laughter.) A NOBLE LORD—His Lordship kept the last. BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY LAWS. Lord ASHBURTON presented a petition from the merchants and traders of the city of London, praying their Lordships to alter or amend the laws relating to Bankruptcy and Insolvency. The Noble Lord consi dered the petition so important that he would move that it should be read. The Clerk at the table, therefore, read the petition. Lord BROUGHAM expl lined that the newspapers which had stated that his opinion had changed on the subject of imprisonment for debt were in error. His opinion upon that subject had undergone no change. NATIONAL SCHEME OF EDUCATION. Lord DESART presented several petitions against the Government scheme of education. NATIONAL POOR-RATE. Lord WHARNCLIFFE presented a petition, praying for the enactment of a national poor rate. In doing so, he said that he was still of the opinion which he had expressed last year, that it would be quite unadvisable to enter into the question of the settlement of the poor until the whole matter was under the consideration of Parliament, for if they came to any ill advised altera tion of the Act of last year, he felt assured that it would lead to great confusion and difficulty for those who had to administer the law. SERVICE IN THE ARMY. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY rose to ask the questions of which he had given notice. He had, therefore, to inquire whether the Bill now introduced into the House of Commons by her Majesty's Govern ment for limiting the time of service in the army has the sanction and approbation of the Commander-its Chief, icnoimo ens h n a d v a e t recommendation n t o t a k h e e n r m an a d je i s f ty it ,s h G as o o v r e i r g n i ra na e t n e t d o o r n if a h n is yo r p e by any board of general officers, or other military authorities on the measure. Whether it is the intention of her Majesty's Ministers to advise her Majesty to issue her royal warrant, as in October, 1806, for fixing and raising the pensions of non - commissioned officers and soldiers who become entitled to their discharge by rea son of expiration of certain periods of service, viz., to non-commissioned officers to ls.l Od., to privates Is., thus returning to the standard thought advisable at that period, when limited service was first introduced, in stead of remaining at the diminished pensions now esta blished. Earl GREY said that although no inconvenience might arise to the public service by giving an explicit reply to the question, yet it was plainly improper that confidential communications between the Ministers and the Horse Guards should be brought before the House, and he could, therefore, return no answer at all. With respect to the second question, he had to say that no such warrant as that to which the Noble Marquis al luded had been issued, or was intonded to be issued. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY had then to move for copies of all the communications between her Majesty's Ministers and the Horse Guards with respect to the term of enlistment for service and also with respect to the increase of pen sions, according to the minute of October 18, 1846. As the oldest general officer in the service, he felt bound to perform this duty : it was a duty he did not shrink from, because he felt confident that nine out of ten of the general officers of' the army were opposed to this Bill. He thought they had a right to know what were the opinions of the general officers of the army on the sub ject. There was not at present a single military officer in the Cabinet. In matters of law, in the navy, or in the church, the opinions of the dignataries, or the offi cers at the head of the department were studied 1 but with respect to the army a great and fundamental change was now, to be brought about under the recommendation of the Secretary at War, who was, no doubt, a very respectable sort of gentleman, but certainly knew no more about the army than one of the clerks at the table. He said that was not the first time that a limited service had been proposed. A similar proposition was made in 1806, and before that in 1757. Had the present mea sure resembled that of Mr. Wyndham, who proposed pensions for the soldiers after their service had expired, there would have been some encouragement for the army. But by this measure it was proposed that at the end of ten years the soldier could demand his discharge. Now, only let them suppose this arrangement had been in existence during the war. Suppose the Duke of York had had a number of these young men from twenty to twenty-five years of age, what would have been the consequence? Why that army, after their first campaign, was ordered to Copenhagen, thence to Corunna ; from Corunna to Vimeira, and thence to Talavera. Such was the service which these forces saw. How soon, he asked, could a recruit be fitted for his duty ? Sir C. Napier, an authority on such a subject, had said that an infantry soldier could be fitted for his duties completely in three or four years ; but he (the Marquis of London derry), as a cavalry officer, took upon him to say that a good cavalry soldier could not be made under five or six years. He could not speak of the artil lery ; but if a cavalry soldier could not be per fectly fitted under that time, an artillery soldier could not be prepared in a shorter period. Their cavalry was not like the cavalry of continental countries, for the officers by purchases or promotions were always changing, and great irregularity and em barrassment would be the consequence of the soldiers being allowed, at the expiration of ten years, to retire from the service. It should be remembered that it required five years of hard discipline to make a good soldier, it should be remembered also that under the present admirable regulations it would only require a mero trifle to buy a man off. The best mode of getting men for the service was the men that would stand by them the longest—British men and British bayonets.— and he sincerely hoped Government would not, for the sake of false theories, go against all practice. He thought Government could do no better good thttn by NATIONAL SCHEME OF EDUCATION. Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from the Protestant Dissenters of 'Tunbridge Wells against the Government plan of education. Th e p e ti t i oners sug gested, that if th e version of the Scriptures, as au thorised by the Protestant churches, were allowed in school, the benefits of the Government plan might be extended to all religious denominations, with the single exception of Socinians and Roman C a th o li cs . H e (Lord Brougham) did n ot coincide in the prayer of the peti tioners, although he respected the feelings which gave rise to their objections. He should wish, on a future. occasion, to know from the Noble Lord opposite if the Government had taken into consideration the same idea that was suggested by these petitioners. Lord DENMAN presented a petition to the same effect from Nottingham. ELECTORAL DIVISIONS (IRELAND). Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from the rate-payers of the electoral divisions of Wexford, com plaining of the present mode of levying the poor -rate. lie also presented a petition from Tougham to the same effect. ~~ should therefore support the amendment of his lion. Friend the Member for Finsbury. Mr. STRUT 1' said, with I( sped to the motion of his Hon. Friend, the Member ior Finsbury, it did not appear to involve any delay of the Bill, and he was, on that account, not disposed to resist it. He thought, however, that the second reading ought not to be post poned for so long a period as three weeks. A fortnight would be sufficient. The amendment was then withdrawn, and the saccnd reading was postponed till to-morrow fortnight. The petition of Mr. Baines, together with the evi dence, was ordered to be printed at the expense of the parties. DODDINGTON RECTORY DIVISION BILL. This Bill was read a third time and passed. SCOTCH UNION,INSURANCECOMPANY'SBILL. This Bill was road a third time and passed. PORTLAND HARBOURS. Mr. HUME brought up the report of the Portland Harbours Bill. GOVERNMENT EDUCATION SCHEME. Mr. Hume, Mr. Brotherton, Lord Henniker, and se veral other Members presented numerous petitions against the Government Education scheme. POOR-LAW RELIEF. Mr. RUTHERFURD presented a petition from Galway, complaining of the proposed alterations from electoral districts to unions. IMPROVEMENT OF LAND IN IRELAND. Mr. S. O'BRIEN brought in the Bill for the improve, meat of land in Ireland, which was read a first time, and the second reading fixed for Tuesday, the 13th of April. The Hon. Member also presented several petitions from Galway and other places, praying that the 700,000 persons now employed on the public works might be employed in the improvement of the land. NAVIGATION-LAWS. Captain GLADSTONE presented a petition in favour of the navigation laws. POOR-LAW (IRELAND). Mr. DENNISTOUN presented a petition from Glas gow praying for an effectual Poor-law for Ireland. THE GOVERNMENT SCHEME OF EDUCATION. Lord HARRY VANE presented a petition from Dis senters in Hertford against the Government scheme of education. Petitions were presented on the same subject by Sir George Clerk from several Presbyteries in Scotland; by Captain Gordon, from the Aberdeen Presbytery ; by Mr. Hume, from Dissenters in Bury St. Edmund's; by Sir D. Le Marchant, from several places; and by Lord R. Grosvenor, from Dissenting congregations in Middlesex. LAW OF SETTLEMENT. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE presented a petition from the Chorley Union, praying for the abolition of the law of settlement. POOR-LAW (IRELAND). Mr. P. SCROPE presented a petition from Cork, praying for an effectual poor-law for Ireland. REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS (SCOTLAND). The Earl of LINCOLN presented a petiticn from Forfar against the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages Bill for Scotland. CHURCH LEASEHOLDS. Mr. AGLIONBY presented a petition from Henry Pearson, Esq., barrister, praying the House to carry into effect the recommendations of the Report from the Select Committee in 1839 on Church Leases, that the enfranchisement of church leaseholds should be en couraged. EMIGRATION. Sir JOHN WALSH. said he had observed that the Colonial Emigration Commissioners had published in their " Colonisation Circular" several extracts from the agents resident in the colonies, and that all the reports concurred in representing that there was a very large and in creased demand for labour springing up in all the co lonies. He, therefore, wished to know whether the Hon. Gentleman the Under-Secretary for the Colonies would have any objection to lay on the table of the House the whole of the reports from which the extracts had been collected, and whether there were any other reports or correspondence with the colonial authorities which might throw additional light upon this matter ? Mr. lIAWES said the reports from Canada, from which extracts had been made, had been printed in ex tense, and placed on the table of the House. With re gard to other reports from Australia and other colonies, the extracts which had been made contained all that was valuable. There was nothing more in them bearing upon the subject. They would, therefore, be of no value if produced in caitenso. There was, however, no objection at all to produce them. The Hon. Baronet was correct in stating that a demand for labour had sprung up._ SECONDARY PUNISHMENTS. Mr. HUME wished to ask the Hon. Gentleman a question with reference to a subject which had been greatly discussed in that House—namely, secondary punishments. He understood that a committee of the Council of New South Wales had collected a vast deal of evidence on the subject, and had made a report. He wished to know whether there would be any objection to produce the report and the evidence— the evidence especially, as he believed the report went far to modify the opinions entertained with respect to transportation ? Mr. HAWES said that no official information had been yet received of the proceedings of that committee at the Colonial-office. PROTESTANT CHURCH AT JERUSALEM. Lord PALMERSTON, in answer to an Hon. Mem ber, said that those who had charge of the money voted by the late Government for the building of this church, had embarked in a more extensive plan than had been at first proposed, and the consequence was that they had spent all the money which had been voted, and a considerable sum in addition. The propriety of giving an additional sum for the erection of the church was under the consideration of the Government. POOR LAW—WESTMINSTER, Sir DE LACY EVAYS wished to ask the Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary for the Home Department if the proceedings of the Poor-law Commissioners with regard to the poor-law guardians of St. James's, West minster, had received the sancti on o f t h e Home-office ? Sir G. GREY said that he believed that the Poor-law Commissioners had no direct sanction, but they had ob tained the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown. and they had, no doubt, communicated the substance of it to the different boards cf guardians, pointing out what they considered to be the legal construction of the Act. RELIEF WORKS (IRELAND). On the order of the day tor resuming the Committee on the Irish Poor Relief Bill b e i ng read, Mr. W. S. O'BRIEN desired to draw the attention of the Government to the dismissal of labourers from the public works in Ireland. It had been intimated in the Right lion. Gentlemen the Secretary for Ireland's letter, that this dismissal should not take place until other measures should have been adopted, such as the temporary relief Bill. It appeared, however, that in various parts of Ireland the labourer had been dis missed before any such arrangement had taken place. He had received a letter from a Protestant clergyman in the county which he had the honour to represent, which stated that, not only had the engineers, but the labourers, been dismissed from the public works, the consequence of which would be most fatal. He wished to know, were the Government prepared to lay down any definitive principle upon which they could act. As to the original proposition, no one could complain of it; but he would press this matter on the attention of the Right Honourable Gentleman. The dismissal of so large a number of the people without providing subsistence of any description, was nothing less than consigning those so dismissed to starvation. Mr. LABOUCHERE said that the statement he had made on a former occasion was that the rule which the Government had laid down for itself was, that it being expedient and proper to decrease the number of people employed upon the public works—on a certain clay the number of persons employed upon those works in Ireland should be reduced by 20 per cent. on the aggregate amount. They had left to the Board of Works in Ireland a discretion as to whether they should in each particular instance strike off 20 per cent. of the persons employed in the districts. The Board of Works had, in order to meet the views of the Government, struck off only 12 per cent. in many districts, and had increased the dismissals in others. He held in his hand a letter from Captain O'Brien, which stated that though a great many persons had been struck off from the pub lic works, yet the decrease of 20 per cent. had not been enforced upon all districts. Ile was satisfied that, considering the difficulty of so groat a change, the reduction had been carried into effect in a most satisfactory manner, and without disturbance, except in one or two instances. The reduction had been the more easily effected in a partial manner, as there were many persons upon these public works who ought never to have been placed there at all. The result of the reduction would be a beneficial effect upon the condition and cultivation of the country, There was another point referred to by the Hon. Member. It was, that in many cases the parties em ployed were suddenly discharged from the public works, giving them no time to obtain assistance from the electoral Division Committees. With reference to this he would call their attention to a letter which had beett received from Colonel Jones, the chairman of the board of public works, from which he would read an extract. (The Right Hon. Gentleman read the extract, which was to the effect that sufficient time had been afforded to the parties discharged to find employment under the new arrangements of the electoral divi sion committees.) The object which th e Governmen, had in view wa s to effect the chang e i n a manner as little calculated as possible to interfere with the em ployment of the people. The Hon. Member had also stated that no means were afforded for the finishing of public works that were necessary to be completed. He (Mr. Labouchere) begged leave to state that this was not the case. It was arranged that any works that now required completion should not be pro ceeded with without the concurrence of the Treasury. Th e only difference was that any presentments made for the finishing of public works, instead of being referred to the Lord• Lieutenant for confirmation, should be sent over to the Secretary for the Home Department for his approval. fir A. BROOKE wished to know whether it was the intention of the electoral division committees to sus pend the public works altogether ? If so, then he would urge on the Government the expediency of making some arrangement, by which in June or July the unemployed might again be put to labour on public works. That was the most critical time of the year, when the landed proprietors could not employ the People, and therefore someth►ng should be done to meet the difficulty He also wished to know whether it was the intention of the Government to establish soup kitchens in all the. electoral diviaioas throughout Ireland? lie took the liberty of suggesting the establishment of soup kitchens, because he believed tin: they were both economical and advantageous. Ile himself i:Ld kept three or four in active operation during the winter, besides giving the people in WO 19CtIlity but fa, the rant , " Cli4tfiCt3 it was almost impossible to get places for them, ° du obtain t• e supervision of respectable farmers. He resew'mended the distrib u ti on in such localities of meal and rl‘'' as he had f oun d t h at l ib . of rice and of meat aide 131bs. or 141bs. of good nutritious foo.l—far superior mending the G overnment to consider, in carrying ) t b t eiardipuliasns admissible l e o r t naffordingdistribute relief te , mealaridrice it , in would whether it °, 00certoll proportions, accordi ng to the wants and num b ers eft' families. Ile asked th ese questions, and ma d e 55 recommendations, b ecause he wished to know t he 12; tentions of the G overnment before he procee d e d Ireland. Mr. LABOUCHERE replied that it was the iu t „ eil ; tion of the Government, as soon as the Relief Act ca,, into operation, to reduce the member of persons b r e, ployed on the public works as speedily as P° l°l With respect to his recommendation with re, to the distribution of meal and rice, he, lire„ C°3 only say th at t h e di spensation of relief haa put in the hands of the Relief Commissioners, anii that its nature would vary accurdirg to circumstanc e ' believed that it would be admitted under the most ju cities arrangeme n t s . A s the Hon. Gentleman ". t he going to Ir e l an d, h e recommended him to favou r te Poor Relief Commissioners with a visit, as they n l n ) happy to avail th emse l ves of his experience.— (" INSURRECTION IN CATALONIA. On reading the order of the day, Mr. BORTHWICK called the attention of the See r tary of State for Foreign Affairs to a proclamation io ll ! f by General B re t on i n Catalonia, and dated the 4th day e. March, 1847, and move d f or copies or extracts of an y coy responden ce w hi c h may have taken place between the a ee vernments of Great B r it a i n and Spain upon that an ci other , similar mea sures . Th e Hon. Gentleman then reit'' th articles of war whi c h h a d b een declared. Amongst nt" , e they stated th a t th e w h o l e family of auy adult who forme d proof 'the rebel army sh ou ld b e subject to death, upon Pr°„. that they were instrumental in advising or couraging to th e comm i ssion of the offence. u der the regulations of these articles of war the to c c i ther of General C a b rera was shot because her sellian. left the unive rs i t y, an d she was unable to state win't-0 , he had gone. Th e p erpetrator of that unmanly sett'„ had been promoted. A s Q ueen Isabella was un for,':b„"; nately au ally of thi s country, h e could only ask be Noble Lord t o remonstrate, so as to prevent t g recurrence of such b ar b ar i t i es. The only 02113; that kept them from being perpetrated even Do was the forbe arance of the people of SPS- n. (The Hon. Member read a circular addressed by 1, Count de Montemolin to his adherents Spain, instructing them not to make repriSse' but to oppose th e e nem i es of Spain b steady discipline, order, and conciliatory conduct s This was dated the 10th March exhibited the spirit by which that Prince wa l s B4 He could not ask the Noble Lord to interfere in Spa' nish politics, but he wished to bring under his r ri ti f o the tact that the best blood of Spain had been shed is order to establish a Government which was degrading that_e country in the eyes of Europe, and disracing the paw s of woman. He did not allude to the unhappy Prin s who was but the victim of a bad system, but he allude d to her ill-intentioned advisers. On this head he thought actuated..‘lau it was his duty to call on the Noble Lord to say that the tide of barbarity should be turned,—that hitherto it n r, come, but it should be allowed to proceed no further. He knew the orders of the House debarred his' fr om referring to other matters equally important, but he 08 contented to rest upon the statement he had made:o the could not read any more extracts with respect to Conde de Montemolin, but be could not help referring the the proclamati on o f hi s father, when he signed his oo t morable abdicati on , i n w hi ch he stated he would Ni the govern men t o f S pa i n until she was untrs;o.s' welled by the m ac hi nat i ons of others. Fourteen Yeti experience had found th a t t h e utmost un h a ppiness and attended the reigns of the Sovereigns of Spain' his that no new Minister had proved an exception r bo a predecessor in m i sgovernment.- Thus Europe had psd startled from time t o ti me , and Spain itnpoverish cd ~b be demoralized. If he referred to the speeches *Ow' a l it had made in former Parliaments, he might sh 0": bed his predictions h a d f a ll en far short of "'ha the actually taken pl ace . Th e quest i on he wishe d to as k o , o Right lion. Gentlema n was w h ether any remons tr her had been made t o t h e G overnment of Spain, and w het se there would b e any o bj ect i on to lay the corresponds„ on the table of the House, or he Lord PALMERSTON sa id that the ails': he had to giv e t h e H on. Member was tha t to had no offici a l i n f ormat i on with regal . ' g i l t the subject which the Hoe. Gentleman had b r ?„ fo r under the consideration of the House. The firs t l ' ts ia mation he had of the circumstances was from ce r „bis extracts which had been sent to him by the Honour; by Gentleman, and of course no steps had been ta ke s h e d her Majesty's Government. If the Hon. Member wi root to know the sentiments of her Majesty's Goverrt to with regard to that proclamation, he bad oniY ha d say that any Hon. Member in the 1-1005 t;„ s o f only to consult hi s own b reast to k now t h e feeling disapprobation, di sgus t, and indignation which he occurrences had inspired. &lone] Breton , ~i; e o should add, was no longer in the office he wils to a that proclamatio n was issued. He also wishedwaYe say that the obj e ct o f th e B r i t i s h Government noses' was to impress u p on t h e S pan i s h G overnme nt the sity of acting upon humane and not barbarous Principles lie wished to state that these atrocities had not beefs committed, as had been represented by the Hon. t entirely upon th e s id e o f the Queen's troops ; CS of fact, they - had b een equally committed on --a sides. He regretted t o see i n t h e proclamation issued by the Prince reference made to ranks and armies and fields of battle. Words which, if they incest any' thing, meant that it was his intention again to 515 1,1 Spain the theatre of a civil war. He should be very sorry if sucn were the case; u",, f he would say, that judging by the conduct the Prince, ever since be came prominently befir_ the public eye, that it Spain were again to be made 07, sce , e of civil war, such a course would not be pursu e ? , either with his approbation or his sanction. He truste, a , then, that those who had influence with the Prince wou ld persuade him to restrain his followers.—(Hear, hear.) . Sir DE LACY EVANS s aid that he conld regret that the Honourable Member did not evince _ e 7 l l . anxiety when his own fellow-subjects were s . iff been framed, and he continued to serve . regard to He arrived in Spain after the Elliott Convention had ns; period of his engagement ) and witnnu that the observations which had bee n , b e could both sides were equally criminal, one gene state, of his own knowledge, that not er tion with ral officer who was serving c°.° P; -a but ha d that him had attempted to violate that convention, but been most anxious to keep it inviolate. but he s e c) e the men were liable to atrocities from the enemy, guarded his lines that during two years he ha.dsnee:ll - even a sergeant's detachment. Occasionally wale a the f u e r : ing back in columns, or in a state of inebriation, were literally kidnapped, and were barbarously' l' sw dered on the authority of those officers who w ere es tw in erecting the standard of the Conde de Montemollenioo Spain. He had on one occasion taken 1,000 men ttn s i tb in officers, all of whom he had the right to put to death e retaliation for the murders already committed, Du did not do so, and the men and offi offi cer s : o f , ° ,g to Don Carlos, deprecating the cruelties He` , to they:hacl before been parties, and employed ( 0,) take measures for putting a stop to them.- - k. 7,„ fur Now in this he had his vindication and satisfactt:t"o,o the conduct he had pursued.—(Hear.) But a i r) a the consequence after this ? Wh en h e h a d left 4agaja number of the soldiers w h o h a d serve d un d er him as one enlisted in the Spanish a rm y, an d some time Ju te rl d hundred of them were taken prisoners in a church put to death. oa Lord J. MANNERS sa id the Hon. M e mber 6,r 0 s b ol" taken great cr e dit to hi mself for not putting. l o , u rs to (hers and 100 officers, whom he had taken pies that death death ; but in reference to that he would retnal t js the soldiers of D on C ar l os h a d to res i st an unjust Teat sion by parties wh o h a d no l eg i t i mate r ight 05 t he whatever in the country. He would turn tench of speech of the Hon. and Gallant Member to the ar_il r be the Noble Lord—a speech which in tone and temper bo trusted would, on all future occasions on this subject,,tad imitated by him. He further trusted that wn' of li c er fallen from the Noble Lord would induce every _ w ith in Spain to act on principles more in consonap_cinestion humanity and legitimate warfare than the proc la ser for of Colonel Breton, referred to by the Hon. Me mber Evesham. Lo S rd ir w D he E th l e s r A it C w Y ns E r V ig A ht N t S ha w t is p h r e n cl nla t m o n a ti s n k ns t s b no o !a t bi. he ho issued from this cou nt r y lik e th e one referred to . _meiying Hon. Member f or E ves h am b y an i n dividual r o c the hospitality of this country ?—(Hear, hear.). _ , ou ese Mr. P. BORTHWICK thought he had in the 05 6ible of his observations guarded himself against any I i allusion to the events of the late civil war in SP 4 Goa ral had certainly not blamed the Hon. and Gallant word in opposite. Ile had certainly never said °I -I _, pakaer reference to him, though the Noble Lord (14°." —east to ston) had made some reference to it. What tu e el o the say was, that his observations had referenct to "l ir , present state of Spain, and not with respe n i against e t hwaatr, but icountry.t denounce de Montemolin not to make any reprisals when levied against them. —(Order, order.) the question to any that IC Lord PALMERSTON —ln answer to of the Hon. and Gallant Member, called the friends .of _t ader Condo country affords to every foreigner of any ni s issue prods would be a great abuse of the hosp i it b a e litY.7_ h o ic r h rl :n li k ig , who chose to reside here, that they should disturb of any kind tending to incite war and ante between friendly states.—(Cheers.) LANDLORD AND TENANTS 1it...1-.' from Mr. P. et in" In reply to a question but i they tended ate.l should not be enabled to introduce the Bille tended to introduce a Bill on this subject immeth Gentlema n Lord J. RUSSELL stated that the Governme after Easter. it would be well if the H on. would proceed with his Bill.—(Hear.) _ MORTALITY IN IRELAND! stone the inquiry he made a few days ago with the Chief to the mortality in Ireland. He wished to ask n _ orou id Lord GEORGE BENTINCK was desirri . a re t s o pe r o e i Secretary whether any serious or energetic ff effort wool be made to ascertain the number of deaths this e limo() as produce an authority which he was sure the of compared with other years ? He was nowthahout would not call in question, as to the pr n this ques tion of the House, that when he first mooted of deaths tion, he was told, in reply, that a registry an procuring such a return. It would be i "the recollee d that it was only kept by the Protestant clergy, s of ersuasion. those belonging to the Roman Catholic p r 0 , , be would be impossible to obtain from them the death Now, he had received a letter from the brother 0 f head of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland—( Sheil—" Who? who?")—the brother of the Archbishop of Tuam—(Cries of " lie is not the head_ o ea t, t he 4 Catholic Church." "He is not the b the Catholic Church," from Mr. Shell) ha;; Men man for' who Main app s , for t that %8 aI occur end occu tb qu wh 9Pi print Allov ditlC at LI such Per! t; Pi