The Sun. — London, England, 1847-02-23 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 23, 1847 1 50,259 ; in November the number was 285,817 ; in December the number was 404,637 ; and in January it was 571,000. The expenditure up to the sth of Janus , y 21a0 00; last, ; r a staff for th e B oar d o f W o rk', has anti the amount expended for other officers to the :mile date has been 27,500/. There has been ex pended up to this time, for the purposes of draining about 2 18,0901., and on depots the amount has been 29 5,0001.: nearly all the latter sum will be repaid to the Government v. hen the sales of the depots take place. For the " purposes of the Labour-rate Act there has been advanced from the Exchequer of this country to Ireland the sum of 2,400,0001., and of thin there has been disbursed under the direction of the Board of Works nearly two millions. This expenditure of 2 ,400,0004 had taken place up to the 20th of Feb. last. The amount raised by donations and expended to Ireland from August till now has been 80,000/. Now from this statement I do nut think that there will be required a sum less than a million a month to mee t the exigencies of Ireland. The amount which was expended in January was 800,0001, and this did not include all the outlay. No doubt the Board of Works will in future be relieved of a great deal of its pressure, but, on the other hand, it should be recollected that during; the summer months there are the greatest number of destitute persons in Ireland. -I) ring the months of June, July and August, there are Inf initely less people employed than at an earlier period of the year. It was, I believe, in reference to these three months that th e statement the Right llon. Gentle man alluded to was made—that somewhere about two millions of people in Ireland were in a state of total des titution for three months of the year. Again, we expect no inconsiderable saving by the different modes of ad ministering relief, through the medium of soup kitchens and relief committees, for they are considerably cheape r th an t h e re li e f g i ven by th e public works, On the other hand, the increase in the destitution of t..hat country and th e i nc r eas ed demand for a supply of food, will, I believe, render a greater amount of ex penditure necessary. Again, Sir, there is no doubt that a c onsiderable number of persons will be taken off the public works by the employment afforded by the land lords of Ireland, under the Bill, which I hope will be raised before long, for the improvement of their estates. 1 . beli eve d that the Bill will work well in Ireland, for all accounts of it have induced in my mind very b th euine expect a ti o n s . Again, Sir, the advances made t:etrhieTreasury will have to be made, as far as I can 5 5' I .e from the d a t a we h ave t o go upon, down to the ga ng in of the next harvest. It is impossible to sup• Pose that all exertions on the part of thsse national mea sures can cease a t once i n h a rvest time, and it is quite clear that a d vances for t h e purposes o f carr yi n g on many worksfor must be c on ti nue d ; so that it is very likely that eas r. rn e Short p er i o d a ft e r the harvest—looking at the be e In th e " . most favourable light—these advances must sibletinued 'raking, therefore, the briefest view it is pos to eight— estim ate , I cannot estimate the expenditure under millions, Up to the present time, as I have alre ady stated, two millions had been advanced, and ther efore the estimate of the total sum which will be required to be expended or advanced, granted or lent, for th e relief of distress in Ireland, during the period of about a y n ear, will not be less than eight millions of "eY--(Sens a ti on .) Two millions have been already : e lam eed, eigh t are to b e a d vance d, making altogether, from the conc l us i on of August l ast to t h e c onclusion of operations, which I anticipate at the end Sir the harvest, ten millions of money.—(Hear.) I do believe that even if the 16,000,000/. which the Noble Lord opposite wished the Government to advance to the ra il ways had been ordere d by th e House, that not even one shilling of these 16,000,000/. vloeld be saved to the country. With the heavy demands which are now made on the resources of the country, I was glad, although myself unable to take part in this discussion—l say I was glad, and gra tified to see the authority by which the House affirmed so wise and prudent a resolution.—(Hear hear,) The announcement which I have now to make Must be evident to the Committee—it must be evident that I must go into the market to borrow, because no amount of taxation will be able to produce within the time required the money which is necessary for the relief of Ireland. It is, therefore, a matter not of chance, but of necessity, that I must go into the market to borrow, and the first question which it is necessary fo r me to ask is, shall I borrow the whole of the 8,000, 000 / ., or endeavour only to borrow a part. If I adopt the latter course, I must first consider whether I shall not reduce the balances of the Exchequer. Now, Sir, this is a course which' I am most unwilling to adopt. Sir, I think that no person who looks to the state of what is called the money market of this country, who considers that the exchanges had been adverse to us (although I am happy to say that they have lately been less adverse than they were, still they are just at the turn), will say, after a consideration of these circumstances, that it would not be exceedingly injudicious in me if I put a farther pressure on the monetary system of this country. It must also be remembered that by a Bill of last session great advances were made for the purposes of drainage and oth er i mprovements. But, Sir, there is a still further and more weighty con sideration. It is uncertain what hangs over us, and what will be the produce of the ensuing harvest no man can tell. No man can overrate the importance of a good harvest. Hitherto we have been living mainly upon por tions of the harvest of 1845—1 mean on the harvest of other countries of 1845, and to some extent upon the harvest of 1846. In the course of the last year there was in troduced, for home consumption in this country, of grain and flour of all kinds, no less a quantity than 5,318,000 quarters. It was hoped that there would have been a. considerable import of Indian corn, the produce of the harvest of 1846, but those hopes were not realised. lam confident, however, that in the course of this summer we shall have an abundandant supply of Indian corn; but still it is impossible to say what will be the produce of the next har vest. It may please God to give us a good har vest throughout the world, but unless that dispensation is vouchsafed to us it will be impossible to calcu late for the future. Sir, the means by which we met the pressure of last autumn was the large balance in the Exchequer, and I hope this will convince every Member of the Committee of the necessity for keeping some con siderable balance in the Exchequer. Sir, this being so, I believe the wiser and more prudent course is at once to borrow the extreme sum. Honourable Gentlemen must remember, that in borrowing this, I do not take a permanent responsible position, because a considerable portion of the sum will be repaid by Irish landlords. Of the expenditure on the public works in Ireland, hall of it has been granted as a charge upon the property of Ireland, and payable in a period of ten years. The amount of these repayments, as they come in, will, of Course, extinguish a considerable portion of the debt proposed to be contracted. But, even though the half of the sums granted to Ireland should be repaid, there would still remain a balance of 4,000,0001. or 5,000,0001., which will not be so much when it is considered for what Purpose the grant has been made, viz , for the relief of our suffering fellow creatures. The next ques tion of course is, whether, in the borrowing of so large a sum, I should not have accompanied that loan with increased taxation, not only for the purpose of paying the interest of the loan proposed to be raised, but also for discharging a portion of the debt before a long period. I was exceedingly un willing, even to the amount which I have named, to in crease the amount of the permanent debt without making Some immediate provision for its extinction before lo ng ; I was unwilling to add even this amount to the permanent debt; but, on the other hand, there were many reasons which induced me to pause before I determined on the adoption of that course. In the first Place, among many other reasons, the present year i 9 one in which it would be most unfortunate to attempt any alteration in the taxation of the country. Every body knows that a season of great taxation invariably induces stagnation of trade. In proof of that assertion, compare the first quarter of the year 1816 and the first quarter of the present year. In the last year the repeal of the corn-laws and other duties was hanging over the commerce of the country, thereby causing great Uncertainty in commercial matters. In the present year all agitation has been suspended, commerce has been thrown open, and, as I have already stated, a remark able increase in the Customs and Excise has been made in consequence in the corresponding quarter of the last and present years. Further than that, I think no inconsiderable weight is to be at tached to the consideration mentioned before, namely, with reference to the amount which the Government may ultimately have to obtain. If, as I hope, the har vest of the next year turns out a plentiful one—if, as I hope, from one source or another, employment, or the means of sub , istence, be provided for the suffering people of Ireland, then in such case the present demand now made for the loan may not be required. If, however, upon the contrary, the produce of the harvest should be deficient ; if there should be again a failure of the potato crop, and of the grain imported from elsewhere, or grown in this country, should be a high price and dear, then it will be necessary for the country to come forward and assist the starving population, and allowing a further demand to be made upon the public resources of the country. I hope before Parliament meets again that I shall be able to inform them of the prosperous state of the country, in connexion with the harvests. I think, therefore, that it is better to postpone dealing with the question of increased taxation until we can deal with it with the full knowledge of the existing circumstances. lion. Gentlemen must be aware that in the next session of Parliament it will be necessary to deal with the question of the renewalof the income-tax. If taxation was to be increased this year, that is one of the sources of revenue to which one would naturally look as a fit tax to impose, but I think it would be extremely unwise to deal with it this year—to prejudge Parliament —.anew Parliament, perhaps. It is for these reasons, Sir, that it would be well if I could this year provide for the loans out of t h e ordinary revenue; but I propose adopt ing a more prudent course, and not increasing the taxa -1)1.e de on in the pr esent year, but leaving that quest i on to stat,edaltthwat the i thnex o t rd s i , n e a a r r y . rNevoewn,ueSir, wasl have 52,065 al,ooo/.ready, that th e ordinary 0 o / expenditure was 51,576,0001., leaving theref ore a surplus f 489,000/. N ow, Si r, assum i ng that I borro w 8,0000 that amount ? or wh a t w il l be the annual interest on the interest course it i s o b v i ous that at 3 per cent. would be D 240,0001.; at 3i, 280,000/ ; and at 4, 320,0001. Sir, I have no doubt in the world of being able to borrow that a fore the interest will betohu2enBto,ooo/.; at 3i—b(uCthleerasm)—atfhrearied-, Sir, that that is not d sh e a m p a e nd which will be made upon us in • for there is another destcohrneilpyt• which, after the best inquiries I halvoenb theenf able b tto interest,m u a p k e I regret to say that I feel myself undere necessity of There raising the interest upon Exchequer-bills. are many reasons which have led to arle rssion of value in that description of security in thedp markets. The rate of interest had been already r f aise , and . it might be e iv s 4 p s r n m o g t . der4 lf that abia were 50, it did ap - peer still further raised in the co urse hiz.thostti • - that that description of security should be left to be h...rrowed, like all other kinds of security, in the money market. Taking all these matters n-to consideration, he had, though most un willingly, determined upon raising the ititersi on Exchequer • hills.—(Cries of Hear. hear.") The interest on Exchequer-hills is now three-halfpence a day. An experiment was made to raise them by a farthing a day, which so completely failed that it has been abandoned. I propose to raise them to twopence, which will make an annual expenditure of 14,000/., and I c ilculate that the increased interest of debt will be 422,000/. ; so that the total ordinary expenditure, with the addition of the loan, will make a sum of 51,998,0001, leaving a surplus of 67,000/. There has been this year a more than ordi nary source of revenue—l mean the balance of China money yet unpaid from that source.—(Hear, hear.) This is a matter of certainty, and not calcula tion—l expect 450,000/. There is, however, also, an extraordinary source of expenditure of 185,0001., which it is necessary to vote in order to cover the naval estimates in the financial year ending in April last. So, therefore, adding extraordinary receipts to ordinary income, and also adding extraordinary expenditure to ordinary, it leav►s a total Income Expenditure . £52,515,000 52,183,000 Leaving a surplue £332,000 This was not a very satistactory state of the revenue— rs state of things showing a considerable disproportion between the income and expenditure. But it is not our intention, in the present session of Par liament, to make a permanent provision on the sub ject, partly from the want of information as to the great amount which may be required, and partly from the necessity which may exist the next year for further large supplies to be advanced.—(Hear, hear.) Certainly it is my anxious desire that there may not be required more decided measures to equalize the expenditure to the income ; but if there should be, then, in another session, the House must he prepared to make an addition to the taxation of the country. I will not ask you at present for any permanent provision; but should the necessity continue, then I will not shrink from proposing those measures which I may think necessary and expe dient for the purpose of bringing the revenue proportionate to the expenditure.—(Hear, hear.) At all events Hon. Gentlemen need not expect that we shall have any revenue to spare this year.—(Hear, hear.) And Hon. Members on both sides of the House who advocate, some a reduction in tea, others a reduction in coffee, tobacco, and paper, need not expect that we shall be able to spare any of the revenue to meet their respective views. I throw out this intimation, in order that no hopes or expectations may be excited.—(Hear, hear). Now, I will take this opportunity of answering a question which was asked me in the earlier part of the evening, which was, whether we intended to propose any annual duty in lieu of the sugar duty. Ido not think there is much import ance in this question, because it is my intention to take two votes—one of which I shall propose to-night— without which it will be impossible for the ordinary expenses of the Government to be defrayed. This year the duty on sugar is arranged for, and next year the income tax will come under consideration. At present, however, it is not my intention to propose any other duty. —it will be the better course not to propose any annual duties. Sir, before I sit down, I will simply say that it is idle to talk of personal regret of that which is an evil to the public at large, but no person can regret more sin cerely than I do the present period of calamity which we all feel. It is an inteiruption to that course of financial and commercial policy which has for a considerable time prevailed, and which during the lust four years has been carried on with unexampled success.—(Hear, hear.) It is true that the income-tax may be continued, but it is entirely changed in its character, when it has been made the means of governing those beneficial changes which the Right Hon. Gentleman has proposed.—(Hear, hear.) Ido not mean now to say that I approve or dig approve of the whole of them. No person can more fully concur in the general scope and policy of those measures which relieve trade from all unnecessary restrictions, foster the industry of the people, and make a material addition to their comforts. Just before I came into the House a paper was put into my hand, which I am sure will be satisfactory to the com mittee, and which I hope may dispel some portion of the gloom which my statement may have cast on the minds of Honourable Members. n S e i r r, t a t i h n e nnm statement berof which ttrtie l e l s , a ma t h e about u t o nt p r ead t ion c o o contains t ains a which has been taken for the last four years. I have taken those which enter most largely into the consumption of the great body of the people, and I think that the Committee will see from the numbers I am about to read how materially the comforts of the people have increased by the enlarged quantities they have been enabled to consume. I first take coffee. The consumption in 1843 was 30,031,422 lbs.; in 1844, it was 31,391,297 lbs.; in 1843, it was 34,318,09 5 lbs; and in 1846, it was 36,781,391 lbs. I will next take butter. There was entered in the year 1843 , 148,295 cwt.; in 1844, 180,965 cwt.; in 1845 there were 240,118 cwt.; and in 1846, 255,130 cwt. I will next take cheese. In 1843 there were imported 166,563 cwt ; in 1844 there were 212,206 cwt.; in 1845 there were 258,246 cwt.; and in 1846 there were 327,490 cwt. I shall now take currants, and I find that there were entered for home consumption in the year 1843 1844 1845 169,000 „ 1846 In the article of auger I find that there was entered for importation in the year. 1843 1844 1845 . great — 1846 Now in all these articles there h s a , reduc tion of duty, and it will be observed that on the article of tea—the reduction of the duty on which has been of late so much agitated—it will be observed that though the duty on that article has not been reduced, yet, from other causes, the prices had been considerably lowered, and a corresponding increase had, therefore, taken place in the consumption. Now I find that in this article there has been entered for home consumption in the years 1843 1844 1845 1846 These were articles which entered largely into the con sumption of the great body of the people, and it must be satisfactory to the House, and is more especially to the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, to observe the increas ing imports of these very necessary articles. It is very satisfactory to me that I am enabled to make such a statement as this, because it proves, in a very great degree, the tendency to increased prosperity of the country, and to extended comforts among the labouring classes. Sir, I have now made the statement which it was my duty to do. I hope that I have made it clear to every one, and I have to request that if any person has a question to put, he will put it now, as I am afraid I may not be able to stay longer in the House. The vote, Sir, which I have to put into your hands, is a vote of 8,000,0001. out of the Consolidated Fund. Mr. HUME wished to make one or two observations on the statement that had just been made. He at once admitted that the Right Hon. Gentleman had made the case perfectly clear, and he must add that the Right Hon. Gentleman had exhibited skill and knowledge in the statement he had made. He could not consent to this new grant to Ireland without he had some pledge to compel the property of Ireland to maintain its poor—(Hear, hear)—and he very much regretted that the Right Hon. Gentleman had sat down without saying one word upon the remedial mea sures which had already been promised.—(Hear, hear.) He must also regret that the Right Honourable Gentleman, after stating such undoubted w.% from ()irtdh the raesre l tr i o b e ne these l e steo policy ftuhteu o ran f r tfirocelrfemooroemmfr reforms w e % r i s e , h d i d werenot o s a y m u o e n h e proof of the wi s d om an d a d van t ages th a t have arisen calculated to i ncrease t h e c m t,e 7 e h e of d i t a h e n o c t o u t n h t i r n y k e that the revenue would suffer anything by the reduction of the duty on that article. Of the 600 000 000 yards of common calico s en t out o f this country, 180,000,000'' yards . of it went to Chi na only. tett aHo thought that by a reduction of the duty of great in crease would be made in the quantity gssubject consumption. theec g of customable and exciseable articles. lieth Go v ernment was takin a one O. t he in the course they had proposed. Then, again, with t respect to the duty on copper, which amounted only to the paltry sum of 40,0001. or 50,0001., he thought that the country lost three times that amount by the system of policy pursued by this country. France and the United States were already beginning to smelt their own copper because of the restrictions imposed on the article in this country. There were also 150 or 200 articles the duties upon which should be swept away from the statate•book. Thel whole policy of the Government seemed to centre in Ireland. There was no doubt that the state of that coun try was one of the greatest emergency; the Government should, however, treat Ireland as an extraordinary charge and take the surplus revenue far the purpose of libe rating the commerce of the country, treating Ireland by extraordinary means. He was quite dissatisfied with the policy pursued by the Government ; the utmost freedom should be given to the com merce and the manufactures of ' the country, He held a statement in his hands which set forth, that., during full the eplm l o a y st me t n w t, o months, a decrease of men part of ths ea c r o .\ u i ntry e a h lso; an wh e o x ar t id in half employment h a d t a k en p l ace i n one increase of men wort rextraordinary p pemergency ? (H s ear, ah et b o y n h e ex w t i i t a h o :e d 'h in ic a h ry they me h a a s d ure t s o . de ß al y ou a ght g to re b a e t change in their commercial policy. Tho surplus balance was, he believed, 76.000/. ; this year it was 2,800,0001., whi c h w as t o b e attr ib ute d to ex o nt u eo t ntsi o o f tnhi r so a f tional and proper measures for but Ras carrying tli ,n e , as the ter p r is; partial a strong commercialp proof th t they t ought o t n o go trade, and by remove promoting th he the shackles other still inp o me asures having for their object the promotion of commerce unfettered by injurious restriction. He sin cerely hoped that such measures would be brosight forward without delay. Even the money being spent in feeding the unemployed in Irela :d and Scotland would promote the regeneration of the people. Certainly there was no hope of regenerating the people of Ireland, because they would lead them to believe that, in similar emer gencies, they would be supported by the state, and not by the owners of the soil who ought to be compelled to support them. There was more hope for Scotland, as the proprietors had come forward glad aided them. Thou every QUO Of the setimates had been increased. Last session the Right Hon. Baronet (Sir R. Peel) sought a vote of 1,000,000/. for the purpose of placing the steam navy in en t ffi ,!ient condition, and the House weeded to the proposition; but did any one believe that the Navy esti ttires mould be increased this year? Instead of such a proposition. he expected a reduction this year to that amount. This ought not to occur at such a period. Looking, therefore, at the great increase which has been alluded to, and looking at the difficulties of the money mark t, when the Government were obliged to raise the interest of their money. He would wish to ask what would he the effects of the measure upon their merchants and traders who were carrying on the com merce of the country. The income-tax should be ex tended to Ireland. The Irish should have fair play— (Hear, hear.) Yes, they had been an oppressed people; they had never been given either civil or political privi leges. He would give them equal laws, but they should have equal taxes. (Hear, hear.) In fact, he would at once extend the whole code of English laws to Ireland. He regretted that there had been no attempt to equalize the rate of taxation. In what situation would they be at the end of August, if there came another year of scarcity, the Government would find the echoes from the different parts of the country by no tneates satisfactory.—(Hear, hear.) According to the statement of the Right Hon. Gentleman, there was to be an increase in almost every department of the State—in the army, the navy, and the ordnance. Now, the Right lion. Gentleman should have stated the grounds on which this increase was proposed to be made. Hew was it that the expense of these departments was to be more han in 1845, and last year ? Moreover, there should have been some arrangement by which the 8.000,0001. pro pose d to be raised might be paid back within a few years. The expenditure of 1832 was 5,800,0001. less than the present year. That was during the unreformed Parlia ment. The next year, 1833, under the first estimate of the reformed Parliament, the expenditure was 7,428,0001. lest; than the present year. In the year 1835, which was rather a remarkable year, when the Hon. Member for Tamworth, then Prime Minister, prepared the estimates himself, the expenditure was less than the present year by 7,773,000. He did not include in the present year's estimates either the 8,000,0001. to be advanced on the interest, or 400,0001. on the Exchequer Bills. The House had a claim upon her Majesty's Government to be told why this additional expenditure was called for this year. He was told that it was extended upon the army, navy, and ordnance. Well, let them take 1830, under the Duke of Wellington's Government, the esti mates for the army, navy, and ordnance were less, by 3,000,0001. than the present year; and the miscellaneous estimates were less by 1,800,0001. In 1840, when they were engaged in the war with China and a dispute with France—when they had a large fleet in the Mediterra nean—when the siege of Acre took place—and when the large amount expended in Canada had not been repaid— the estimates were 2,930,0001. less than the present year. The Right Hon. Gentleman had not attempted to justify the increase which had taken place in any one of these departments. He only made his estimate in a clear and distinct manner. It might be, but still he only men Honed the sums he wished the House to sanction, without stating what were the reasons which compelled them to nave recourse to the House for these amounts. H., greed with the opinion of' the Right Hon. Baronet a opposite, that no tax ought to be imposed on a country in a time of peace. But if the Right Hon. the Chan cellar of the Exchequer must borrow money, he should do it in the right way. He should borrow one hundred pounds of money on every hundred pounds of stock, for by the operation of the three per cent. consols he would he adding 800,000/. to the permanent debt of the country. Now he should like to see the Government commence the wouldthi s new t h e n course;be enabled ari d reduce upon t the e t if interest the 3 didpay able upon the national debt. But now they were going upon an eroneous system altogether, in so far as, al though the Customs had been abolished, the salaries of the Custom-house officers had been increased by 49,000/. while in the three years, 1843, 1844, and 1845, the in crease in all the public departments amounted to 234,0001. It behoved the aristocracy of this country to weigh well the effects of throwing upon posterity the sum 8,000,000; for depend upon it, a time would come when this debt would be shaken of, and the consequence would be, that all property would be shaken to its centre. Mr. ROEBUCK could not allow that opportunity to pass without entering his solemn protest against the measure proposed by the Government. In common with other Hon. Members he considered that the state ment of the Right Hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer, could not have been more complete, more proper, or more frank.—(Hear) ; and he, in common frith them, regretted the indisposition under which the Hon. Gentleman laboured whilst delivering his statement. He deprecated any desire to unfairly attack or oppose the Government, but he thought on an occasion like the present—important in the highest degree—and he believed most imminent and portentous, that no one should shrink from openly stating their ob jection to the propositions laid before the House. First of all, a suspicion was created in his mind, inconsequence of the altered course of proceeding. The Government had already pissed a Bill, creating machinery for distri buting relief to the Irish people, and of vesting the per sons so appointed with unlimited power over the funds. This Bill, he believed, had passed the other House. In addition, they had passed a Bill, which had been impro perly called " a Bill of Indemnity," as it was a Bill to make valid every presentment made at Quarter Sessions in Ireland, and he believed that such presentments with scarcely an exception had been made throughout the whole of Ireland. Yet the Chancellor of the Exchequer now sought power to make a loan of not less than 8,000,0001., stating, at the same time, that he had in view the incurring of an expenditure of 10,000,0001. What was absolutely necessary was a Bill to tax the proprietors of land in Ireland for the support of the poor. A Bill of that nature bad been introduced, but it had been put off since the commencement of the session in the most remarkable manner. As he should show from (the conduct of the Noble Lore et the head of the Government. He (Lord J. Russell) said that he really hoped and believed that he was about to encounter no opposition to the principle of the Bill, which, he stated, was, that the property of Ireland should be taxed to the amount which would sustain the poor of Ireland.—(" Hear, hear," from Lord J. Russell.) Now he (Mr. Roebuck) understood that seventy of the largest proprietors had signed a statement in opposition to the Noble Lord's views. A number of Roman Catholic clergymen had waited upon him, expressing their dissent at the conduct of the Irish party. Now these gentlemen represented themselves as expressing the feelings of the whole of the Irish people. He was inclined to believe that they had banded themselves together for the pur pose of opposing the proposition of a poor-law for Ire - land. They are quite willing to receive what money we will give them. But he did hope that English gentlemen would make a stand, and that they would not permit any delusion ; and before they assented to any sum they should insist upon a poor-law for Ireland. He would like to know why Irish gentlemen, who came over to England for six or seven months, and maintained their carriages, should not he made to pay the same taxes as the poorest artizan was liable to. (Hear,.) Why he wanted to know how it was, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer did not come forward and propose, in order to meet a portion of the eight millions, if not the whole, that a property tax be imposed on the landlords of Ireland. He could not at the present time make a proposition on the subject, but before the matter was disposed of he would bring forward that question, and he did hope that every English gentleman in that House would support it ; or if they did not, he trusted the con stituencies which they represented would vote it. He would propose that property in Ireland, as well as in England, should be made to bear the same burden, so that all might contribute alike. The present was said to be an imperial calamity, and that it was right that the United Kingdom should afford relief. Granted ; it was an imperial calamity, and should be met by impe rial measures. Ireland, as well as England, should be made to contribute. It was said that if they imposed an income-tax on Ireland, the landlords would never pay. He did not accede to that ; the landed property of Ire land was rated at 13,000,0001. ; and taking that as a basis, he would tax it to that amount. Irish Members had stated that the poor-rates were generally paid, and he did not see any reason why a property-tax should not also be paid. If the property-tax be not paid, let the property be sold. It appeared to him that they should not get out of the scrape. It was but common justice that they should be placed upon the same footing as the rest of the UnitedKincrh dom. There was one great difficulty to which he wished to call the attention of the Noble Lord. Government had gathered together 600,000 men on the public works, and the next difficulty would be to disband them. They had been withdrawn from the cultivation of the soil, and applied to employment of a different kind, and the diffi culty now would be to get them to resume their ordinary not L wholly o occupations. He admitted that the Government had a Mr. d R J O O E II I3 N u R c U K S_S T EL ho L-- blame the Government. difficult problem to solve, more difficult than any body of men had had for a long time to contend with. He did extent of six millions.--(Atei r o g a h ot Irelandlli ons ofwa laaastarving potato failure. potatoY voice o u i ec c er a o n p n , o sh t ixa b dt l e a e m f us ,e) d fortTo They the not h t, o h le ow pc e v v u er l; h T a n d e n: , population to feed. those who were subjected to the c use a kind of food superior in ; but quality y i were forced to to obtain than any to which they y h a a n d i tre difficult hitherto been accustomed. The East India Corwas a paternal Government, and he meant to use that as a term of high approbation. It had great power, good intentions, vast intelligence, and had besides what no Government in Ireland had to deal with—a docile people. What was the result which they experienced in dealing with the visitations of Providence in India. why, every attempt they made to alleviate those dispensations had failed, and had been productive of more evil than if they had done nothing. So strong, therefore, had this feeling prevailed, that they were determined to interfere no more with these dispensations. I 3 'he • were determined to remove all re strictions, and to put the people in the way of obtaining the means of relief, but to abstain f om all interference themselves. Now the same line of proceeding was land. e hel in hs han a ex actly applicable to Ire number H of gentl d i emen, some of s t a tement made by a nu with re,,pect to the con whom were Catholic clergymen, dition of Mallow. The Committee stated that the dis tress in that town could n ot the ot e considered as resulting from the failure of the potato c h rop, as the sufferers had no la nd—there been to acco unt for this—hut some reasoning at tempted these gentlemen stated that the same distress prevailed last and every year—it was the same the year before would be found to be the same next year—the greater part of the population living on one meal in the day for half the year round. Whatwas the inference he wished to draw from that statement. It was not to make any imputation, and therefore he hoped not to be made the subject of the angry vituperation to which he had been lately aubjected. The inferepo be.wished to draw from this was that if Government pursued the course they now proposed, they would only increase and exacerbate all the evils which belonged to Ireland. They would encourage that improvidence and want of forethought which made that people trust u p on every one rather th an themselves. They had three millions of people now deeendine on them, and were expending at the rate of a million a month for their support, and the conse quence of all this would be, that they would demoralise the people.—(Hear, hear.) He had letters from every part of Ireland to corroborate what he said, and he knew that it was true, else he would not say it. He appealed to every one who knew any thing of Ireland in confirmation of the truth he had expressed—that the people placed their sole dependence on the Government. He thanked the House for allowing him to make these observations, and he would conclude by warning the Government to abandon this loan for eight millions. They would find their calculations, as to the termination of the distress in August, disappointed ; they would find then that they would have to cope with the same amount of distress as at present—Parliament not sitting— themselves unable to meet the emergency—the same cry— " give"--"give"—still prevailing as at present, and all their exertions ending in making the mass of misery still greater. He warned them, therefore, to stay their steps in time, and nit drag down the people of England to the same condition as the people of Ireland were at present reduced. Lord J. le USSELL rose not to add any thing to the state ments which had been made by his Right Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as he had stated the views of the Government so fully and clearly that it would be quite superfluous to do so, but he wished to make a few observations on the speech of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman who had just sat down, because admitting, as he admitted to the Go vernment, that his views were for the benefit of the country, he was bound to say that he was utterly deceiving himself as well as Parliament, and the greatest danger and folly would result from their adoption. In the first place, with regard to taxation, the Honourable Gentleman said that the income tax ought to be extended to Ireland; that the pre. sent was an imperial calamity; and as Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom, that it should contribute its quota by the income-tax to the alleviation of the calamity. It must be recollected that the present distress pressed most severely upon Ireland, and the greatest exertion had been made by the gentlemen of that country to relieve it— that they had received but a small portion of their ordinary rents, and had expended in many cases all their usual income. He said, then, while this was the condition of Ireland, however right it might be, if the income -tax was to be continued to this country, to extend it also to Ireland, at the same time, in the present circumstances of that country, he thought it would be neither wise nor just to impose the income-tax upon Ireland. He, therefore, could not agree with the Hon. and Learned Gentleman in that proposition. The Hon. Gentle man then went on to show that the present state of things was nothing but the ordinary state of Ireland, and he read a statement which he (Lord John Russell) had seen in October last. It was, however, a most rash and unfounded statement to make, that the description there given was at all like the ordinary state of Ireland. Let them sup pose that three-fouths of the ordinary production of the soil calamityhaNationalv have emergency, bewme aingsto Exchequ er t large bapene tar differente: s ida u :wi m eni at s r:: s o it had failed, could it be said that the state of things which fel lowed that was the ordinary or usual condition of the country. It was this difference which now produced so large an amount of mortality as now prevailed, and it was clear to every one, that had net some means been adopted, that the deaths would have been multiplied ten or a hundred fold. In England there was a poor-law to meet that state of things, but what was seeing that they had not resources in Ireland to meet the en e snoooo e ff - pri ndlt h ehi toa t:ab d anerwyt iht ehb famine. o e ßuitl lse operations advanced wndhTei from cabhynoorhfueadr tinr been ag tdhetmighteo. introduced, but he could not reconcile himself to allow such a alleviate, to some extent, the y p , r b es u s t ure, yet h a e nd gav t e o the su H p o p n ly . Gentleman full credit for a desire to have legal redress for the money that was to be advanced. They much regretted the state of the people of that country, but he believed that a great mistake prevailed with respect to the assertion that the people had been taken from farm labour to be employed on the public works, as well to the assertion that there was an amplitude of employment for the number of persona who might be employed in farm labour. From the very necessary of the case it was evident that the holdings were so small that the farmers did not require the assistance of these labourers, and, therefOre, it is evident that no injury whatever could have accrued to the country to any extent. He did not think that the people had been demoralised by tl.ese works—by the execution of these task works, so far as the wages were concerned. If the labourer could obtain the wages for his work, why should he be demoralised by changing from one kind of work for an other, simply because the works on which he was employed were what might be called useless. Supposing any gentleman chose to make a piece of ornamental water on his grounds, and he pad the wages to those who were employed on the work was it to be called a useless and demoralising work, if the men than if they had been engaged in got their wages, any more . making a harbour, or in deepening a river. But the great change to be brought over question was, how was this great . Irish society ? and that was the question be to contemplated— Whether the landlords or the Government could, by employ rovide as to create a permanent supply of meet of the poor, so p food for the country? For himself, he thought that by the mere culture of the lands, it could not be produced in sufficient time ; and, considering the increase of the population, he was impressed with the belief that the potato culture could not be recovered in less than seven or eight years with success. He perfectly agreed with the observations of the Hon. Gentleman, that in addition to the great distress of this year, much was to be apprehended and provided for during the next, and it was therefore ridiculout not to anticipate great changes. He did believe that in consequence of this movement that a measure must be introduced, both in this House and the other House of Parliament, for an amendment of the poor-law in Ireland ; and sh fw e t teomhae redcodpoon he stated this, because he believed that the Irish Members would not, in consideration for their country, oppose such an - alteration, and he believed that the result would be productive of great convenience, although he very much regretted the immediate inconvenience that must, for the present, arise from it, and which appeared to be apprehended from the few words that had fallen from the Hon. Member for Coventry, respect ing the estimates, for those estimates had been prepared with the most impartial consideration, for the welfare of the country. He could certainly tell that Hen. Member, that those estimates had been prepared with a view to the utmost economy, so far as it was necessary for the welfare of the country to consider that point. But it should be recol lected that it was necessary to keep np both branches of the service in such a state of efficiency as would enable them to act effectually in the event of an invasion of the country. It should be recollected that last year there had been a great These estimates had, increase in both trade and comm erce. indeed, been prepared with a view to preserve the greater tvee uniformity between the two years, f o that there s f wereor t hi only . La i quarters of the year included in the estimat:io,_ 001 , and this year the estimates for these branches was 6, 0 • last year it was year it was 6,640,0001. ; during the quarnter he Ordnance the 9,972/., and this year it was 12,787/. I t and for this year estimates last year were for 2,547,000 L, l For the 2,679,0001., making an increase of 135 000 'while for this it corres ponding quarter last year it was 67,239!., r . quarteran rendered necessa D was 67,256/. This increase had been ance depart addit ion to the number of men require d for t h e Ordn In the Nagy went, and in order to render the service effective. f a n addition of estimates, the increase was 77, 426 /. , being ."r Coventry for 1,500 men. He could assure the Hon. Member _ omen ___ that the estimates of the increase of th e number otWe. 'n in fer 3,000, hut th e Government had only decided up Russe ll crease R 11) crease of 1,500 for the present year. He ( Lord the year must allow that th e re had been a large increase as s in nocmore than 1835, hut still he b e lieved that the increase wai re l a tions, and justified by the en l ar g e ment of our commercia merce, and that it was necessary, for the security of tha t com d o urished at was one of the great reasons why that commerce was , 0 _ the present period of distress.—(The Noble Lord some time umY cheered throughout his speech, which continued after he sat down. ) tly admire the Lord G. BENTINCK could not sufficien Friend the clearness of the exposition which his Right If 0 7; House, nor Chancellor of the Exceeqner had made to the .. .. m hich had induced to sufficiently admire the chivalrous bravery w d deeply did he to leave a sick bed to make that statement; an Friend had ( Lord G. Bentinck) regret that his Right 110snt.he discussion been compelled to leave the House, especially a the deficiency might prove useful in that discussion to make gp stated that he in the Exchequ er . Hi s Right Hon. Frien d ha et a increase of by was not prepared to make up that deficiency n i ht well abstain the income-tax. His Right Hon. Frien d nigi resen t stagna from making any increase of that tax amid the liate himself on tion of trade, and had done well to co n y le.stduerived from the the increase of the revenue from the t axes might be an taxes on the articles of consumption. But t d abstained from other reason why his Right Hon. Friend had osed would be an increase of the income-tax, and this he sup s ! t was in its last found in the fact that the present I' resent Government year, and that neither the members of toe p torethe country for an or the late Government would like to ge he had voted for election with the knowledge that}, otnotywable Member for an increase of the income-tax. The e d great surp rise at the Coventry (Mr. Williams) ha d ex p ress a l forces. N or was it great increase of the milita r y and nfanvv w h en k© recollected all surprising that he sho uld do so, ble Lord w ho had risen from the high flown promises of the No w ua lity, he had pro his native woods and fore sts into his ne 9 mild never have to go wised the people of Sheffield that he w dotal the navy in Mr to his Right Hon. Friend .i . Ward to mai i t'llery was to quench its mur all its efficiency—that the red ar i thought the Hon. Bentinck) derous battery, and he (Lord G. , on to co mplain when he Member for Coventry had great srels°oo men were to be added found that amid all those promise e The Right Hon. Gen to the army and 500 to the marines. had said that he (the tleman the Chancellor of the Exchequern sent to raise four millions Member for Lynn) would certainly co .. _ . h f public works, w hie o for Ireland, for the purposeleet he should recollect that were likely to be useless, had consented i t was d to grant 10,000,000/. for the same purp ose, but the Ministry to come out of the English _ Ge man d exressed satis. purse. The Rig ht Hcm;husentl advanced ha was net to be expended faction that; he mo s nebYut that it was to be advanced for rail. in Missisippßond 1 The Right Hon. Gentleman had congratu ways in Irela d. e t h e increase of the taxes derived from lated the House p ° Lion, tion, and had instituted • a comparison the articles of c onsu ff P and butter, and had t t d h ticles of co ee . . sa e tat on the the ar rs 1843 and 1845, It increased fro tween the Pa to 240,000 cwt., but now the m 180,000 cwt con nted to 250,000 cwt. In cheep the s urnption amounted 1843 and 1845, consumption the increase 25 y 000 cwt. to 287,000 cwt., but between was from , e nd the last the consumption ha increased to that year h Right Hon. Gent hd b inclined 000 cwt. T e 288, improvement to free trade and had asserted all this the tea there was of 250 per cent. on returns. Between 1844 an increase had been an increase of from 41 000 000'b and 1846 there , .1. of lbs in the latteryear. In ' tea to 46,000,00 e from 27 000 00 t been an increase of , , 0 32,000,000 lbs. ; and had been an increase, between 1843 to 1846, in malt there 46,000,000 • from 35,000,000 to , but then it should be recol lected that a ll this i nc rease was to he The Nobl ascribed to th e grea t increase of p o p ulation. e L ord then wen t th roug h the several amounts of t}l e sugar and the silk duties, alleging that in the former the increase was ?wing to the use of slave growhatth increas sugar, and t ein ire duty on sk, from n 000 was owing to t 218,600 to 297, , he peal of the dot yon foreign silks• which had been productive with whom of great distress to the Suitalfields weavers, he had been placed in communication ; and yet who, notw i t h standing their own suffering?, bad intimated their intention of con tributing to the relief of the &stress in Ireland. The letter went on to state, " and had your Lordship possessed the reins of power—( Laughter, and " Hear, hear,")—the peo ple of that country would not have perished in the way they have." This was the expression —the honest expression of the poor working classes of Spitalfields, for their unfortunate fellow subjects in Ireland.—(Hear, hear.) He agreed with them, and when he heard from the Right Honourable Gentleman the statement that in all this large expenditure, but 295,0001 _ h a d been expended to afford a certain kind of employment for the people of Ireland, he for one felt deep regret at the smallness of the sum which Her Ma jesty's Government, acting upon the principles of political economy, had advanced. It would be a standard in the face of Europe, that 250,0)0 Christian people had perished from starvation in Ireland, while in a neighbouring country, under the more paternal Government of the King o f th e French, whose Government, he believed, had purchased nearly 200,000 of quarters of grain to feed the people of that country. Not " a man, or a woman, or a chile."—for, as the language of Mr. Burke, in speaking of the scarcity of 1795, had been alluded to by the Right Hon. Gentleman, he might be allowed to quote him—yes, not " a man, woman, or child had died from starva tion in France."o—(Heart hear.) And was it possible that the Irish people, when many of them had perished by thousands, could abstain from comparing their condition and their treatment with that which the people of France met with at the hands of that Government. It was not his intention to trouble the House at any length upon that occa sion ; but he must say that it did strike him as somewhat sur prising, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer should come down to the House and state that before long it was his inten tion to contract a loan, and that it was his intention to pay 3! per cent. Why, 3i per cent. was not the interest which he found very general at the present moment ; and he (Lord G. Bentinek) could not help supposing that those who had money to lend, hearing that the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed to pay 3i per cent., would not accept less, although they might. perhaps, have been disposed, if the amount had not been speci fied, to take a smaller rate. Mr. SHAW said at the time the income-tax was imposed on this country there was no machinery to carry out such a tax in Ireland. But the Hon. Gentleman was the very man to-night who, at such a time, would advise the imrosition of such a tax on Ireland. If the burden was an imperial one, he was at a loss to know why Ireland should pay full half of it. If the public works were stopped suddenly, he could not see what would be done with the persons employed on those works at the pre sent moment. The small farmers, who were but Blighty re moved from the holding of a " cottier" tenement, paid as long as they could their tenants in potatoes ; but if the public works had not offered employment to the starving, grea'ar mortality would have been the result. The ca'amity had not been confined to Ireland, but had extended to parts of this country, awl on the continent ; and in such a state of things, it was incumbent upon this country to come forward and aid those suffering in another part of the kingdom. In referring to the statement of the Hon. Gentle. man, with regard to the poor-law, he (Mr. Shaw) begged to say ;hat he was wholly opposed to an indiscriminate out-door relief ; but as that was not the proper time to discuss a perma nent poor-law for Ireland, he would not address the House with respect to it. He did not, however, object to giving out-door relief during such a calamity as the present. He did not say that every man in this country did as he ought to do; but this he could say, that the resident landlords and absentees of Ireland had subscribed to the funds being raised to the utmost of their power. Mr. ROEBUCK explained that what he meant to say, was that the landowners of Ireland had exacerbated the evils of that country. If an inquiry were granted into the matter, he could prove that even the resident landowners had not con tributed to the fund for the relief to the poor, to the utmost of their power. It was the gentlemen of the country who were thus to blame, and not the farmers and other persons of Ireland who were to blame. If Englishmen would join him, he would drain the land of Ireland for the support of Ireland's poor. The land of England had been mortgaged for the support of the should f Ireland hem ert mortgaged waendd forit w a as similarb r i p g u h r t po t h s e a that .— the ( h ( e H s e o a i r l o h f e a l r r . e ) l and pm' l r lr. GOULBURN would not then deal with an im proved poor-law for Ireland. He knew no question more difficult to deal with than the one on which the Right Hon. Gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) had addressed them. Is was impossible he thought, to lay a statement more clearly before the House ;hen he had done—( Hear)—and the office was one of great responsibility, inasmuch as a gentleman in his position had to pursue impor tant measures for the present, and at the same time to keep in view whatever exigencies might occur. The Right Honourable Gentleman began his speech by a statement of the expectations which be (Mr. Goulburn) held out on a form :r occasion with respect to the public revenue of the year which had just elapsed. He (Mr. Goulburn) said that he had stated that he anticipated there would be a surplus next year exceeding 776,0001. He confessed he had entertained sanguine expectations that that surplus would have been greater ; but as reductions of duty were made, it was impossible at the time to which he referred to form an accurate estimate of the revenue which would be derived from the increased consumption, yet although his expectations were of a large amount, he did not estimate so large a sum as that which those reductions had already produced. Thus, instead of being 776,000/., it would be nearly 3,000,0001. The Hon. Gentleman made, he thought, one error when he stated that he (Mr. Goulburn )had no right to calculate upon an increase in the sugar duties, because he stated that he was not the author of the alteration in these duties, but when slave and free grown sugar were admitted into this country, a great increase in the consumption took place. The increase in free sugar had been 1,700,000 ewts., while the increase in slave-grown sugar was only 400,000 cwts. ; so that the increase of slave-grown sugar had not increased to an ex tent to influence the revenue. Unquestionably the great in crease in the revenue was in consequence of the facilities offered to manufactures, and to the cheapening of articles of food, by which the comforts of the people had been materially enhanced. The Noble Lord said the Right Hon. Gentleman had encouraged the introduction of the silk of other countries ; but if they had admitted raw silk into this country, they had ex ported to other countries a great increase of manufactured silk. From the returns, it appears, that in 1844, the quantity of raw silk imported was 3,600,000 lbs. ; in 1845, 3,700,000 lbs. ; in 1846, 3,900,0001b5. ; showing a large increase in quantity over the antecedent years of the raw material imported. With re spect to the experts, he might state, that silks to the value of 692,0001. was exported in 1844 ; in 1845, to the value of 700,0001. ; in 1846, to the value of 768,0001. ; being an in crease of 68,000/. of the manufactured silk exported in the pre ceding year ; showing clearly that, however large the quantity of raw silk imported Into these countries, the export trade has received a corresponding activity. That the manu facturers had suffered largely from the high prices of provisions, he regretted to say he could not doubt, But the Noble Lord further went on to say that it was net merely on the articles of silk that consumption had increased. He told them that an increase had taken place on malt and hops and other articles on which there had been a reduction. Why he admitted that such was the case—that was part of the advantage derived from that very system which he (Mr. Goul burn) had the honour of introducing to that House, which gave increased power to the industrious to purchase, by reducing the taxes on the raw material. But he told us that it was owing to a system of railways introduced into the country, and a large sum. of money expended mostly under the direction of the Hon. Member for Sunderland, but he ought to have re collected that the expenditure on railways has not been con fined to the last year, but to some years antecedent, years in which there had been the greatest deficiency in the revenue. He found that the London and Birmingham had expended 8,000,0001. ; that the Grand Junction had expended 4,500,0001.; the Brighton 2,800,000/. He did not wish to disparage the effects which railways had upon the country, but he sa , d that it was not just or accordant with the fact to ascribe to them the augmentation which had taken place in the revenue, which had arisen from a reducti , n on the articles of prime necessity. The Hon. Member for Montrose considered that the Government should have raised a loan in order to relieve anti keep down taxation. It was true that they had reduced the taxation when there had been a surplus of revenue to warrant it, in the hope that the revenue would come round by the increased consumption. But to the borrowing money from year to year, for the purpose of reducing the taxes, would be to involve the country in a round of deficiencies and misfortunes. The review of the financial state of the country could Lot be but satisfactory to the party with whom he had acted, and in this moment of difficulty and danger, they could not but feel that it was by firmly and man fully providing for contingencies, that the country was in so good a position. They should have been involved in a series of deficiencies and difficultie ' if they had followed the advice of the Honourable Member for Montrose, he came new to the consideration of how the emergency was to be met. Some Honourable Gentlemen insisted that it should be by a loan, oagmhcfdeahi onvfAnaopeeano y l t minable li eel dnetrl but by others that Ireland should have been taxed to the fall amount of her necessity. But he considered that when a great over whelming calamity brought upon the land not by human blighted, and their subsistence removed, that they should bow coun try, he considered b ysafoytatratethi ashwthrmethiehi hneoeheolognyae t fehpnr h et neefilabo a htaodni t uaafopaotlt a dprldnefedwrr l cosb o beajptf a ewraoouo n trbysmhs tey w womtwoda x a ,ahrhhps s efsi alooosa t ntdsrst h eeoi t e oawdhulnorepeaewworac, only tnnedoev uysai determination mslelni satisfactoryddri te e heoye a obl anait n feidi hent s laadatrwcs: I t leoot o l to the infliction, and submit to the existing state of the emergency, and he considered that it should be lent with the se cure the repayment of this loan , but now the only effect would Iybaal Gentleman een rrmdd distinct gtnoe i wr ns g o dha h el ei o t nd ( as tbtue, destroy declaration be repaid leave the country, or to leave undone those duties which they were now so stedfastly pursuing. As far as regarded the Go of the Right Hen. Gentleman, the Chancellor of the Exche quer ; and it was a pledge that he intended to pursue a sound mea sure should not be dependent upon the exchequer alone, which should be protected from the evil effects of drawing from it so Mr. VERNON SMITH said that the Right Honourable the expression used by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he said that he would call the advances to Ireland a loan, and in his statement as to the way in which he intended to raise the money, he thought that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had been more in the wrong even than the Right Hon. Gentleman had supposed, for he (Mr. V. Smith) thought that if the money had been raised upon interminable annuities, that money would be much more safe, and would reflect less burden upon the country. He thought that the people of England were at present not aware as to the extent of the measure they were entering upon and its effects upon their finance. He gave them the fullest credit for generosity of feeling in adopting any mea sures for the relief of Ireland, and he thought that having entered upon the question they intended to provide against any such ol g maowgnr w acenrto i riuh t ef h iettrihn eeso n x.tE g c l lxs i u s acd h fheee p di r ou o :re ; v oersm r ,m t y haa, di ; nsed b m, h u ii t nisnds h t e tahhti ees t h mgo o eup u nei g st. h tihio t oenn, t e o h wo e ufhl means when the e.t s , calamity in future, by placing such property upon an equality THOMPSON said, that he had heard with great satisfaction the statement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer with regard to the finances of the country ; but lie (lid think there would not be very long any surplus in the Exchequer. He did not think that the Government was properly aware of the expense they would have to incur in relieving Ire land, for the Chancellor of the Exchequer had said that he was not sanguine that the current revenue of the country would meet the demands upon it ; and, under the cir cumstances, he thought that considernble caution should be used in making any large advances, as Ireland was not in a state to bear any taxation for repayment at present. Mr. MOFFAT was surprised th at the speech of the Chan cellor of the Exchequer had made no mention of the annual grants. The Government bad promised to place the annual vote on something else, but, it seemed, nothing was to be done at present. He hoped the Government would reconsider the question, and that the House would not slightly part with the power which it had over these annual votes of money. Mr. F. BARING di ff ered with the Honourable Gentle man. So far from thinking the annual vote being necessary, on the other band, he was glad that the Right Hon. Gentleman had decided to get rid of this annual botheration about particular taxes ; and in making that change he did not think the Constitution or the people would stiffer thereby. With Hon. regard Gen t tl Gentleman m t a h n e h state ad made a o d f e a the u country h statemente and income there appeared to be a surplus of 400,000/. on the ipgrliotspects. Taxing the estimated expenditure raised by extraordinary means. Exchequer h be ef li i e ts ve fi d ea th e e eia ß l he been s ee soon enough possible t to be have f uer (Mr. Goulburn), that the late Chancellor of the xc state ment o endeavour to make the increase always meet that they should year. This was leaving out of view He th i e te m ag o r n e e e y d p w r i o t p h o t s h e e d tobe do so when he held the had had three as good harvests as that oontrari. Perhaps if he hould have had as good a surplus ht Hon Gentleman, he s Rig • ally as the late Government. He con - the expenditure, and thaotffilicee(,3mlru.eßharaisngit),mhiagdhtenbdeesnaviodutroedthteo in the Exchequer statementannua man the Chancellor . and he uite agreed with of f f the the R E ig . h c t he H tie o e n r our ( atl r e . Gweneetl,eo difficultyby t him that. they ought some Hon. Gentlemen had objected to that step. No doubt the best course left the Government in course, but that was the Had it been ever so desirable, he did present circumstancet• meet the un ex raor not think it would of a permanent character t a similar aspect to the present digestedservice. measures Should, decidedly of opinion that some means would one, then he was ake u the deficiency other than by loans have to be taken to or Hon. Member for Coventry, that the pre not agree with the nts for several years past, had been d past Governments, sent an vagant, and that they ought to have reduced she very eztra In answer to that, the Government had been, all expenses. the funding of a m perman P ent debt.—( Hear, hear.) He did things representations made to them, there would have been a much however, the next year present greater increase than there had been. Still there had been a considered, very economical. Had they yielded to the there increase notwithstanding. From 1835 to 1846 there bad been an actual increase of seven m ini m aalaabmasttt.jmihnhepoetgdeecieisir.ytleneselattpecmdno doetteuuel rctldstehodto this was exclusive of the charge for collection, and the charges on the debt. This, however, was not perhaps "-* a fair representation, but taking 1835 to 1846 there had been an increase of five millions in the year's expenses. 1830 was before the Whigs came into power, who made a considerable reduction ; still, at the end of 1846, there had been an increase of five millions in the year's expenses.—(Hear, hear. ) He thought that when they had before them the prospect of next year increasing the burdens of the country ; he did think —perhaps it might be impertinent in him to tell the House so— that it would be better for it to change its conduct, rather than impede Ministers, and cause their country to bleed at every pore. Mr. AIUNTZ said that it had been alleged that they aught not to increase the taxes at that period, but he did not see the force of this reasoning. Why should they not have an in creased property-tax? He thought it would be better to have their difficulties placed before them, instead of deferring the consideration of them to a future year. He was in favour of moderate taxation, as opposed to the measure introdu ce d that .. ....., night, and would give his vote for it accordingly. Mr. B. ESCOTT thought that if the Members of that House went back to their constituents, the better it would be for the country. The Noble Lord, the Member for Lynn, had given the true solution of the policy of the Government, when he said that this was the last session of the present Parliament. But the Right Hon. Gentleman, the Member for Portsmouth, had told them very significantly that the question of finance must be considered in Parliament next year. He certainly thought this his Right lion. Friend, the able Chancellor of the Exchequer would (as he was sure the Speaker who had last spoken, or the Noble Lord the Member for Lynn could) have introduced a better measxre than that he had presented them. He thought that when this enormous sum was wanted, a con siderable reduction of taxation should have taken place. EWART was opposed to the principle of the resolution introduced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Those who looked to the interest of the country, must sooner or later turn their attention to the principles of direct taxation. Mr. G. BANKES was glad to see that the measure of the _ _ _ Noble Lord, the Member for Lynn, wa4 receiving a greater degree of favour in that Howe now, than it did when it was first brought forward. The Noble Lord had proposed that they should have same return for this outlay of money, whereas, now it was proposed that they should advance the large sure of 8,000,000/., without the least prospect of a return. The lion. Member for Winchester was pleased to say that he did not receive the Noble Lord's proposition when it was first propounded, with the same favour that be did now. No wonder. The Hen. Member, it was quite clear, up till now had not taken the trouble to under stand it. His Noble Friend proposed, not that the money, but the credit of England, should be brought to the aid of the people of Ireland ; but Government proposed they should give, not the credit, but the money of England, without a chance of a return.—( Hear, hear.) The Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Tamworth has asked his Noble Friend what was the credit of a country. He would tell the Right Hon. Baronet, in the words of a distinguished predecessor of his own, Mr. Pitt said "the credit of a country was not its storms, but its sunshine, which gives life and spirit to everything around without injuring the principle from which it emanates." His Noble Friend had endeavoured to throw the sunshine of the credit of England over the plains of Ireland, and he did not envy the man who could throw his shadow in its way. Ireland had a great claim upon this country, and England ought not to shrink from redeeming the pledges of Mr. Pitt, given at the time of the union. The time had now come when these pro mises ought to be fulfilled, and the only way to do so, was to fertilise the plains of Ireland, through the medium of English credit. Mr. M. J. O'CONNELL begged leave to remind the Hon. Gentleman who had just sat down, that the proposition of the Noble Lord would not have been a substitute for the eight mil lions proposed to be advanced by the Government. The money advanced under the Noble Lord's Bill would have been in ad dition to the eight millions. When the Honourable Gentle- tleman said that he did not think any portions of the eight millions would be returned, it was his duty as an Irish representative to tell him that a portion of it, if not the whole, which it was proposed to advance as a loan, would be paid, and punctually paid—at all events, were it not, he should be prepared to support the application of the principles of di rect taxation to Ireland.—( Hear, hear). Much credit was due to the Noble Lord, the Member for Lynn, for having mooted the principle of assisting Irish railways with English capital, and while he did not agree with the details of the Noble Lord's plan, he hoped shortly to see Government introduce a measure based upon the same principle. He was gratified to witness the good feoling on the part of Hon. Members of that House towards Ireland. He was also gratified to hear the Hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Roebuck) speak in such terms of approbation of the course of conduct pursued by the Government towards Ireland, and seemingly to forget so much of those great powers of reason by which he sometimes addressed the House, and under cover of which he (Mr. Roebuck) sometimes appealed to the prejudices of Hon. Members. Mr. FINCH thought that the present unfavourable state of the circulation of the country, and the high rate of interest, arose from the deficiency of a well-regulated system of paper money. If such a system were in existence, the Chancellor of the Exchequer would be able to save the sum of 800,000 i. in the loan he was about to contract. He wished to be under- stood with reference to the proposed grant for the relief of Ireland, that if the sum of eight, ten, or twenty millions were to be instrumental in raising the moral and physical condition of the people of Ireland, he should say that the money would be well spent —The resolution was then agreed to. The House resumed. Mr. GREENE brought up the report which was ordered to be reported to-morrow. LABOURING POOR (IRELAND) BILL. The report upon this Bill was brought up, and the Bill ordered to be read a third time to.m,rrow (Wednesday). LANDED PROPERTY (IRELAND) BILL. This Bill went through Committee, and the report was ordered to be received to-morrow. AGRICULTURAL TENANT-RIGHT BILL. Mr. PUSSY moved that this gill be read a second time, with an undet standing that it should be referred to a Committee up stairs. Colonel SIBTHORPE objected to the Bill, as he thought it would create a jealousy between landlord and tenant calcn teed to produce the greatest mischief. Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT did not object to the meatire though he came down to the House with very different feel. ings regarding it. He hoped, however, that after it wss re ferred to a Select Committee up stairs, it would come down shorn of its objectionable provisions. Mr. MILES agreed with the lion. Member who had jest sat down, and he hoped when the Bill should come down from the Committee it would be such as to be acceptable to all parties. After a few words from Mr. FINCH to the same effect, Mr. NEWDEGATE thought that the object of the Bill ought to be to assimilate the principle of the Bill with the practice that prevailed between landlord and tenant, and that it would be unwise to interpose any bar to mutual agreements between them. Mr. B. ESCOTT believed that as this Bill was to be sent up stairs it would be useless to say anything about it, but as the object of it was the great question among the farmers of this country, he only trusted that the consequence of sending it up stairs, would not be, as he feared it would be, to shelve it for the present session. Mr. HINDLEY thought that the Bill had been so care lessly drawn that the effect of it would be to render the position of the farmer worse than it was now, for the consequence would be only for landlords to keep their tenants constantly under notice to quit. He trusted, however, if it were sent up stairs, that every clause would be searchingly gone through. Sir W. JOLLIFFE thought that if this Bill were to extend to every part of the country, the tenants' rights in Surrey and Sussex would be very much restricted. Mr. PUSEY said that in reply to the observation that the Bill was carelessly phrased, he had to say that it hadbeen drawn up by one of the first conveyancers in London. From several years experience with the improvement of the country, he had been led to turn his attention to this subject, and the Bill was the result of many years experience. The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be re ferred to a Select Committee. BIRTHS, DEATHS, AND MARRIAGES (SCOTLAND BILL.) The LORD ADVOCATE moved for leave to bring in a Bill for the registration of births, deaths, and marriages in Scotland. Any one, he thought, who was acquainted with the parochial registers of Scotland, could not fail to see the neces sity of such a Bill. Mr. FORBES did not so much object to the principle of the Bill, as to the expenses which it would involve. Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. MARRIAGE IN SCOTLAND. The LORD ADVOCATE moved for leave to introduce a Bill to amend the law of settlement affecting the constitution of marriage. His object was to narrow the evidence with re spect to marriages, to have them registered, and to make the registry accessible to all parties, and not in any way to affect the religious law on the subject. The subject was one of the utmost importance to the people of Scotland. Sir J. GRAHAM said he was excessively glad that such a measure had been undertaken by the Noble and Learned Lord. He considered that the most flagrant abuses had existed in the facility which was given to parties not resident in Scotland, but merely passing over the borders for the purpose of con tracting marriage without the licence of their parents and guardians. The LORD ADVOCATE said that the subject was one of great difficulty, but it would be very easy to introduce a short clause, by which, the registrar would be prevented from solemnizing a marrirge unless one of the parties had been resi dent in the country for a certain number of days before the marriage. The House then adjourned at Half-past Twelve o'clock. THE STORY OF LILLY DAWSON, BY MRS. CROWE, AUTHOR OF "SUSAN HOPLEY," 3 VOLS.—The above work is published this day, by Mr. Colbum, and may now be hart at all the libraries. Mr. Colburn has also just published the following new novels :-2. Temptation and Atonement, by Mrs. Gore, 3 vols.-3. Father Eu.stace, a Tale of the Jesuits, by Mrs. Trollope, 3 vols.-4. Strawberry-bill, by the author of " Shakspeare and his Friends," 3 vols.-5. The Romance of War; or, the Highlanders in Spain, by J. Grant, Esq.. late 62d regiment, 3 vols.-6. Cesar Borgia, by the author of " Whitefriars," second edition, 3 vols.-7. Marston, by the author of " Salathiel, " second edition, 3 vols.-8. Emilia Wyndham, by the author of " Two Old Men's Tales," 3 vols. —9. Adventures of Capt. O'Sullivan, by W. H. Maxwell, Esq , 3 vols. ITALIAN OPERA, PARIS. —47 Don Giovanni has enjoyed remarkable success this season, with Coletti for the the Don; Lablache, Leporello; Mario, Ottavio ; and Mmes. Grisi, Persiani, and Corbari as Donna Anna, Zerlina, and El vire. Coletti looked magnificently as Giovanni, and gave 6 , few solos allotted to the character with voluptuous grace . Mario's only air," II meo tesoro, was poor, in comparison with Rubini's execution of that well -known melody; his voice was, however, out of order on the first night, but was sub sequently much better. Lablache was, as usual, an .unap proachable Leporello, and Mmes. Grisi and Persian' were admirable as Anna and Zerlina; we own, however, that we could spare some of the profusion of ornaments introduced by the latter lady into the delicious music of her part, which requires nothing of the kind. Such additions may be of use in some modern Italian operas, but Mozart is of another school. The beauteous trio of the three masks is nightly encored, and the finale of the first act, that touchstone of ar • tistical execution, is gone through satisfactorily, without being quite what is desirable.— Galignani. ROYAL CALEDONIAN ASYLUM.—His Grace the Duke of Cambridge and the Duchess, and the Princess Mary, and the Prince Frederick of Hesse, visited this insti tution yesterday, where they remained upwards of two hours, They expressed themselves highly delighted with th e cheer ful " and hearty appearance of the boys. A band, consisting of thirty of the leoys, played several national airs, while rest danced on the lawn, all of the m i n fulls: Highland costume. The Princess Mary requested Captain Lamont. R.N., to give the boys a holiday, t o which he readily ac ceded. BANWELL IRON COMPANY. —The first meeting of this 'company was held yesterday at the office in Thread needle-street. The chair was taken by B. Barnett, Esq., when a report was read, which showed that the operations at the mine, which had only been a short time commenced, had induced the directors to believe that the enterprise would turn out very productive, and that the ore would be rich in proportion, that extracted having produced, at least `forty-four per cent. o f i ron. Th e report an d accoipta were adopted,when Wes weak% adjowned. ~' - ~; "s“!' or s. , COURT CIRCULAR. The Queen and Prince Albert rode out on horseback, Yes: 7 4 . terday, in the vicinity of Claremont, attended by some of the gentlemen of the royal suite. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Walesi,Prince Alfred, the Princess Royal, and the Princess Alice walked and rode on ponies, yesterday, in Claremont-park. Her Royal High ness the Princess Helena was also taken an airing yesterday.. Sir Robert and Lady Gardiner had the honour of joining the royal dinner circle, at Claremont, yesterday evening. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, attended by Lady Fanny Howard, arrived at Cashiobury-park, Herts, the residence of her Majesty the Queen Dowager, yesterday morning from town. Her Royal Highness partook of a tirjeune with her Majesty,and in the afternoon left Cashiobury park for town. Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cant bridge and the l'rincess Mary, and Ins Serene Highness Prince Frederic of Hesse, attended by Baroness Hammer stein, Baron Kneseback, and Mr. Edmond Mildmay, visited and inspected the Model Prison at Pentonville yesterday. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, attended by Lady Fanny Howard and Sir George Couper, honoured the performance of the French plays with her presence, last evening. A deputation from the Steam-ship Owners Association, consisting of Mr. C. Wye Williams, Mr. Hartley, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Hall, and Mr. Morgan, the Secretary of the Association, and accompanied by Mr. Matthew Forster, M.P., had an interview Vesterdav with the Earl of Clarendon at the office of the Board of Trade. The light lion. the Speaker of the House of Commons, and Sir William Heathcote, had an interview with the Right lion. E. Sttutt yesterday a:; the Office of the Commissioners of Railways. Mr. Greene, M.l'., had also an interview with the Right lion. Gentleman yes-erday. THE THEATRES. DRUhY LANE Vincent Wathice's new opera of Matilda was produced here, last evening, with all the suece,s that the most en thwiastie friend ~f the gifted composer could desire, and what is better still—the success was most deserved. The composition of the op-ra bears through , ,ut the impress of genius. but of genius &last ne.l, elevated, perfection ated (if we may be allowed to cote a word) by study and science. I:he choruses are magnificent. The last chorus of senators, in particular. is a massive composi tion worthy to take iPs place by the side of the grand choruses of Beethoven or of Weber. The finale is a brilliant piece of fioriture, which was most brilliantly rendered by Miss Romer, and was rewarded by an encore. The opera, too, is replete with melody There is a spirited drinking song by Weiss, which wa admirably given, and in the third act a little gem o melody "A Lowly Youth, a Mountain Child," which was exquisitely given by Miss Rebecca Isaacs, and which will be the favourite drawing-room ballad of the opera The piece is mounted in most superb style. The last scene, the Grand Hall of the states of Bohemia, is a perfect marvel of effect. The success of the opera WtS deservedly most triumphant. Miss Romer, and Harrison, (both of whom were in admirable voice) were called for at the conclusion. Then Mr. Wallace was called for, and then Mr. Bunn had to come forward and bow his thanks to one of the most crowded audiences ever assembled within the walls of Old Drury. LYCEUM. The Lyceum has long been remarkable for the excel lence of the -matter, and the admirable manner in which comic extravaganza's have been got up, but never has it produced one more calculated to run through many suc cessful nights, and to attract bumper houses, than that which has this night appeared from the pro lific pen of Mr. Charles Dance, and which may truly . be termed a new, original, musical, magical, and romantic, necromantic, zoological, and ornithological extravaganza. The scenery is admirably got up, and would alone be sufficient to gratify the sight-seers and to ensure the success of a far inferior performance; but the Enchanted Forest scarcely requires such assistance. There are some admirable hits and genuine wit sparkles in every line. Mr. Dance has exceeded any of his former pro-. ductions, and has placed himself in the first rank of the caterers for holiday folks, and certainly he has no cause of complaint either as to the performers or the audience, as to the manner in which his piece was produced or received. We have seldom seen an audience better disposed to receive everything in a friendly manner, or to be satisfied and pleased with that which was produced for their amusement. The plot is taken from one of those old fairy tales that have been the delight of our infancy, that bring back so vividly the happy days of childhood to our memories, that we could not, however crossed or embittered we may h ave b ecome during the battle of life, refrain from feeling our sorrows departin g an d our h earts rap i dly overflow ing with the milk of hum an ki n d ness ; i n suc h a dispo sition, it would be impossibl e to cr i t i c i se w i t h muc h severity that which was brought before us, and, in truth , every spectator seem e d t o rece i ve i t i n suc h a sp i r it. The first scene opens before the castle of Count Wulfild, a poor knight in hpes of better days, who has fallen from his high estate, and is suffering all the pressure ~f covert} ; his retainers have desere him, friends have fallen away, and all have abandon, d the victim of poverty -ave a benevolent magician, ea ho, as in duty bound, takes the family under his especial protection, and acts as their single servant. There is then a scene in the castle with the C wit iiiinself (enacted, most admirably, by K. , .4)), who, exasperated at a number of reoisals of any assistatic.e from sup posed friends. deteiniin- s to brave the horrors of the enchanted fottit, awl to t.riti hack some game for dttin•r. In tile t,irel scene we bye hi. t..rrific adven tures therein. Hav4fg shot a hare, he thert,by falls into the power of Prince Bruin, who comes forward ii the shape of a but who proves his goo d :,reeding by dancing ?aid sinuir g a in clt bravura, given by Mr. Wiga.: in his bc3.4 styie ; he consents, however, to accept the hand .ot the C,aint's eldest daughter as a ransom for has forteit life, arid to pay one hundred :weight of gold as a dowry. Sitni'ar indiscretions place the unhappy Count in the power of Princes Eagle and Dolphin, who permit him again tae redeem his life by the sacrifice of a d,zugliter to cacb, th first to pay two hun dred weight of gold, and the see.,nd thtee sack; of pearls. Count, on his return, relates his adventures in some- ug of a bore blstie vein, magnicying the number Of ihe bears, like Falstaff's meet in buckram, but is surprised to find the Princes arrive to claim their re spective brides, who, as they come in the shape of hand some young men, with magnificent trains, depart with them nothinr , loath. The second act gives the ad venture of their brother, the Wonder Child (Mrs. Keely), in the Enchanted Forest, who discovers his sisters, and after a narrow escape from the devouring propensities of his brothers-in-law, who are but men one day in seven, at length discovers the manner in which the spell is to be broken, by his rescuing their sister the Princess ilildegarde from the wicked Necromancer's power, and awaking her from her enchanted slumber. This is achieved in the third act, and the whole wiads up with a magnificent scene, and the reunion of all parties. The piece was announced for repetition every night, amidst thunders of applause, and without a single dissentient voice, while Keeley and the author, who was loudly called for, bore their blush ing honours thrust upon them. The music was very neatly arranged by A. Lee, and strange to say, although a lirst night, there was not a single mistake or failure in the almost magical changes of scenery. The piece is certain to become a standing favourite, and to afford the most sterling evidences of its success to the worthy author and the enterprising manageress. DETERMINED SUICIDE.—On Sunday morning, as a man was walking towards the entrance of Victoria-park, he perceived a quantity of blood close to a gravel pit, and on proceeding towards it discovered the body of a man in the pit with his throat cut, and quite dead. He immediately informed the police, who conveyed the body to the Hackney workhouse, where it remains awaiting a coroner's inquest. The deceased was about thirty-eight years of age, and was respectably dressed. He must have first inflicted the wound, and during his struggles have rolled into the pit. At present he has not been identified. THE MACKAREL FISH ERY. —There are upwards of 150 boats engaged in this fishery, now in this harbour. Each boat carries a crew of seven—generally six men and one boy. With the exception of some four or five boats, they hail from Brighton, Shoreham, Reigate, and other places eastward, and from Penzance, westward of this port. Diving the past week large catches of niackarel have been taken. On Saturday last thousands were sent off try the railroad to the London and Bristol markets, a , ,d a mai ket for them is now procured i through railway agency in Birmingham. Thousands were retailed on that day in this town at one penny each.—Ply• mouth Journal. THE CASE OF M. ALEXAN th D hehe ß sc E haoarril l eoarter iThi hn: AS.—Th . e Civil Tribunal gave judgment on Friday in the actio_n_s . brought by M. de Girardin, girant of the Presse, and 1i had aVeurniot,gfeorrantht the breach retalicehCoo of engagementst it u t t onn e ..,i a i g n a t i o n en tered relative to the supply and publication of his romances. w st hi llei c 11. heAlexandre l The judgment in both cases are the same. The Court ordered that within six weeks from the Ist of March next Alexandre far orders only Dumas shall be obligedfttohreenvloitlutmoesEomfiwlehdiceh Gthireardttn.b_naniuth! manuscript of the first o ntinkultion of the declares him debter—that is to say, o c i n, month, and that beginning u volumes n 3 t l i e l m h i s r f h e r from shall ' month h u a n v i I entirely t e Dumas shall neglect to make the deliveries de Girardin the sum cleared c?ff specified, conch inns him to pay that a l t o i n O f. case fer o e f a n e o h n d . ap3;;s. damages,mdoenitathyifdatuhmreionslidndtitithvserielraieellsmwh o a i nt have fiaAi within Dumas 'ttd ; x hrh io e c eil s n r e na s d t e ce da r e es s l : er l , be liable to arrest,when ground for deciding relative to n is ish n e o d from 11th December, 1846, to that the treaty shall be 31s001.;Apr.ii, t h to at b t e h 1847;but and which tenor, s e p x t c o e t p o t, gu l e .o d w fro eve m r, t a h s e rep s ar t d o ; ex he ec v u olu sa m y e s s July following, the period of the tth;rlie: t r e s d 4c. ii . c ommencement being changed ; condemns Alexandre Dumas i t t li o e f t o ck e m b l t ; tot c to ° pay to Emile de Girardin 3,000 f. as damages for the delay in the execution of the treaty, with liability to arrest in case of non-payment, but only in six months from this day; con demns Emile de Girardin to the expenses of the demand against the other newspapers, as also to the expenses of the demand against Dumas with respect to the advertisement in the Mode ; condemns the Mode to the expenses of the de mand against it, but only up to March, 1846, at which period it gave satisfaction to the complainants; condemns Dumas to the expenses of the demand contained in the conclusions of December 14th, 1846, including the registration of the trcaty necessitated by the process; and orders that the cost and signification of the present judgment shall be borne by - Duni ai." A similar order was made with regard to the Con stitutionnel. THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH IN THE UNITED STATES.—A correspondent of Galignani's Messenger has fur nished to that paper some particulars illustrating the extent to which the electrical system has been carried in the-United States, and the working perfection to which it has attained. A line " has been completed across the Allegheny Moun tains, and it has worked admirably between Philadelphia and Pittsburg—a distance of 300 miles. The journals of Pittsburg have published the proceedings of Congress of one afternoon on the following morning; and this is the case with all the news from the great cities of the Atlantic coast. The message of the Governor to the Legislature of New York, delivered at Albany on the 7th ult., and consisting of two columns and a half of solid nonparil, was published in the city of New York two hours after its delivery, having been transmitted sentence by sentence by the electric telegraph. A company has been formed, with adequate capital, to con. struct a telegraphic communication between Washington. and New Orleans, by the way of Richn2Ond, Charle6tol:l, ' Dzobile, &c. ."!.11! 144 ~?; .~ ;