The Sun. — London, England, 1847-05-15 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS, May 11. The Lona) CHANCELLOR took hi ats se on the Woolsack at Five o'clock. A number of Bills were brought up from the House of Commons. THE TOWNSIIEND PEERAGE, Mr. AUSTIN having concluded his address in this case shortly before the assembling of their Lordships, a num ber of papers were handed in, and attested by witnesses on oath at the bar. The Bill was then read a second time. Ti 1E FACTORIES BILL. LedLeos,rd FEVERSHAM. presented a petition from iglied by 9 5,300 persons, in favour of this all. IM MIGRATION OF IRISH PAUPERS. Lord CAMPBELL said he had a petition to pre:ient from Liverpool. It had been sent him on account of his connexion with the Duchy of Lancaster. They com plained that, since the Ist of January of the present Year, 150 ,000 destitute Irish paupers had migrated into tiv€l 'Pool, taki ng up t h e i r res id ence i n t h e town an d neighb our h ood, taking possession of cellars condemned as hu man habitati ons ; an d t h a t i n th ese p l aces lever. tio sm all - pox, and ilym aeery had broken out. They peti ned that their Lordships, in order to save them from Ro ot o ,, nly this pressu: e upon the poor-rates, but from the -- iou which was spreading. into every quarter. LUNATIC ASYLUMS BILL The. NOBLE AND LEARNED LORD moved that this 13111 snould go int o Committee pro for Ind. The Duke of RICHMOND was opposed to the pro gress ~f this Bill. Ile had opposed the original Bill, but On, p re sent chang e d t h e on l y re d eem i ng p a rt s . of tha , old Bill. Lord CAAPBELL said it would be committed t ioAr lezi. and amp l e opportun i ty t or di scuss i on vi on iI be offered when it was in Committee. The Bill then went through Committee foun d . The pro The Bishop of EXETER gave notice that he woul . d i , :ca Tuesday next, ask the Government a quest o io t 11, i t s ! egard to a communication made to a deputation ) eaters on the subject of education. POOR REMOVAL ACT. Earl FOR TESCUE presented several petitions in fa Karl of the Poor Removal Act. TEN HOURS' BILL. Lord STA.NLEY preseated several petitions in favour of t h e T ea Lord Hours' Bill. O n e o f them had received ten thousand signature a. same eff B en I t t . OUGHAM presented several petitions to the t T he Duke o f R ICHMOND presented four petitions hem the W est Riding of Yorkshire, which were also to sarne effect. efftrd PEV ERSHAM presented a petition to the same eetthousand which had received the signature of twenty - eight 1 persons. IRISH POOR RELIEF BILL. Earl fro m FITZ WILLIAM moved for a . return toral each rateable district, whether union, elec le i ‘, division, or otherwise, of the rates struck,. the .r-e "' ° r in arrear s under the provisions of the temporary _, Act for 4g r attles and females, ,iseach district i i , 0 , an account of the number of persons, disting,uis 1 ,1 relief of destitute persons; accordi to those provisions of the s d a n d g ults and children, to be reliev a e id out' by w hich the lists of such persons are to be ma e of acwithin each division; also, a return of the estimates heY the relief committee of each electoral division, food, turl needed from time to time for the purchase of and ,usnder the provisions of clause 7 of the said Act ; w h et a h ' ,l. o a statement of the rate per cent. of the rates, districts struck or levied upon the valuation of the a ., et according to the poor-law valuation. He izautioasked his Noble Friend to give him some infor and 0 Was therefore most anxious that the House should And r il documents iti their possession as would en- Ana he to collie to a sound and accurate judgment. ne could differen assure the House that there was a great (Lau h ee between rates struck and rates levied strik ! ter.) i t Was quite easy for the officer to Af ter r ate, but it was quite another matter to collect it. The I ' l l tew words from Lord BROUGHAM, °untamed to the House!) Nobl e L n a ' r quii . of LANSDOWNE suggested that the After .--1 - • r d should post one the motion which he had Fsoinr further conversation, cotton Earl . Z WILLIAM consented to postpone his until Mond The Mar • a. difficulty that, in Commisq ' . the ANSDOWNE rose again and said ir,lttee on this Bill, after consid . erablr ‘. . the mea '' oxing a limit to the duration ot reserve m!ght himself to take that to himself he th ...en stated that he would course which Bill 1 think properat he • t was I , . the subsequent stages of the ex now °nr his duty to retain the opinion which o f the 13,11 in Committee, namely, to strike out affix a ,!ii, thos e clauses which were intended to - terapor limit to the measure, or to make it of a r y a Y nature. la i n The arguments on both sides tho se T il. „ very narrow compass. It was stated by ... a ''ttlitted su re Lords who wished to affix a limit to this mea lie i a t it was in a great degree experimental. vested it ou introducing the Bill and he now re ture, b that the measure was of an experimental na• PeriA but he still as strongly objected to have any fixed al so , 4, _assign e d f or its duration.—(Hear, hear.) Ile sur e, t s a ' ° Pansed to its being made a temporary mea count:urn, the difficulties which they would have to en they w r in carrying it out; and in the course of time difficult old be enabled to ascertain the nature of those po l i ti - ""; and to be, as a matter of course, in a better th e i " than at present to amend them. Of course yearsr Lorkhhips would reserve to themselves the power Onsidering the measure in two, three, or even teo hence ; unless they reserved this power, the greatest inconvenience would result. An additional rea son in favour of the permanency of the measure was to be found in the diversified arguments of Noble Lords in favour of the limitation of the Bill, some being in favour of one year, some one year and a half, and some for its limitation to five years—(Hear, hear)—that in itself was an additional reason why they should not anticipate the duration of the measure, but more espe cially was it inexpedient to do so at the present moment. The experience which they had had of Ireland ought to prevent them from passing the Bill as a temporary one. —(Hear, hear.) The house of Commons intended that it should be a permanent measure; that, however, Vas no reason why it should not be submitted to revision like all ether measures.—(Elear, hear.) They might pass it as a temporary measure, and subsequently alter ,or abrogate it altogether. Under these circumstances he begged to move that their Lordships do disapprove ti Lord °f t hoSe clauses which made the Bill a temporary one. BROUGHAM highly approved of the proposition of n e Noble Earl, and considered that their Lordships should eXpress their opinion upon it, and that they should abide by the tesul t." -- --( Bear, hear.) - He considered that his Noble Friend's t;:otnents (Lord Monteagle) were rather in favour of making eretio n 'made it e Bill Permanent instead of temporary. He said, if they a!rmanent, that they would be unable to use their dis tan . _ with d a - respect to the Bill ; whilst he (Lord Brougham) th aears ' e l fo - ;:d i that the very opposite would be the result, and f t, . the je considered it advisable for their Lordships to a theeasure as a permanent one, and to alter Re sa i d ,Y thought proper, at a future period. tt tri - ‘; 'ne idea of binding themselves to use their discretion n4hta.ter-tirne was most absurd. He agreed that the measure nu i only to be temporary, and he thought so because it was hin isai n f 'Ystem and gave out- door relief. The Noble Marquis y e , , ' a " admitted that the measure was only an experiment; With rat e xperiment —a hazardous experiment encompassed esi aetra rrY risk. Surely, it ought to be but a temporary Was n a d nt • Did they forget the measure of Ni 3-1, that it he mast eats emporary measure, and that merely ? He felt that L o 7,t v against the motion. ri,,,,e;"e CAMPBELL thought the Learned Lord had surely i n Lot ,read the measure as amended. Never was la reins le vent or tf, threet le reut pronounced over a more miserable farce of legislation r ble Earl on his right had moved a clause at the close of u r, B ill that it be in force for three or five years, that otheraa it I liu m have been in the regular course of legislation. But the stood contained clauses at utter variance cith each itivi _ r, s It contained four clauses, severally permitting the kao,4"7_ef out-door relief; of provisional relief without the tempurasrdge of the guardians and of medical relief. These were l. v. But there were classes inserted by the Noble zn o . rd which quite stultified these. Clause 3 was to be a per kh'o7nt clause ; and it enacted that an exact return ",,, e nid be made of all applicants for every kind of relief— lilt"heal and out-door relief. In 1850 the powers to grant •door relief would have failed. But it did , not cease then. ou ri ' 1 - re was a c l ause respect i ng e r - oft ; ci o i guara out ns its He w. various ld i 't go thr oug h a l l t h e detai l s o f the Bd to point d' Con gruities.,T They had the confessions of three-fourths of r i' : ose wh o vote d f or th e Bill that they did not know what they Were about. Lord MONTEAGLE said, though he had net the experi ence in legal matters that his Nobl.- this case were so potent and Learned Friend pos sessed, yet he thought the fallacies in that even an un l earne d p erson could discover them. Medical relief differed alto g ether f rom what was called out -door relief. There was no inconsistency in the measure, as it clearly pro vided th a t out -d oor re li e f s h ou ld b e g i ven f or t h ree years, an d that the Commissioners should have the power o f controlling F e d regulating it. And the other objections of hi s N o bl e riendwere equally i untenable, namely, that permanent and te mporary c l auses i n a Bill were irreconcilable. The charter or the B an k of England and of the East. India Company, for instance, contained temporary clauses with others which were b Perpetual, and therefore the insertion of e tia la s -ses or this kind in the Bill was no novelty, Was no evidence of inexperience on his part. Therefore, sthe Bill stood it was partly temporary and partly the reverse, but til th ey should bear in mind that the temporary part related to Most important and at the same time the most serious part or the Act. Nothing was more likely to prove fatal to the the than making it permanent, because it proposed the introduction of - d rs ous principle, which its supporters ad u a purely r nitten ir , be experimental. If they believed that the t"Periment would be successful let them make it permanent, b ut ir th r ~,, ey felt that they were introducing . a dangerous expe the le'ereat--a frightful one, in his opinion, if they thought_ ? Whi a ag r° Ping in the dark, he asked them to support the clause t he ne had succeeded in carrying.—( Hear, hear.) r4r Bill were temporary it would be more successful and ' , she e n advantageous, because it would be tried at time to th e i r e rY one was interested in securing its success they har4V rn itY which had visited Ireland, from which could ' " Pe 'tshe could extricate herself in the next three Yea r , ~ I whi e h h i , e denied that there was any truth in the statement d- Meru f or ad been made, that he had brought forwari! his i am b en , via, t the purpose of defeating the measure ; his sa e o itpc. c a y, n render it more efficient and less injurious than as l ( „ e a before them. His Noble Friend the Po3tmaaer-General t n th Margois of Clanricarde) in 1543, when he was connect/ op the administration of affrirs in Ireland, was strong y nia l - "ed to out-door relief ; and said that he wondered that any eff e e ,, eo uld have the hardihood to introduce a Bill to carry into . pru , A such a system, as it wool l lead to the confi•cstion li o e t c ori P; i r tYi and to the greatest misery and injustice i . ) hardl ered the propositio n of the Noble Marquis ( Lang( owne PortetYl respectful to the Noble Lords who, in Committee, sup- Port his clause. To them he appealed to confirm. that suii- Ayarqui;t, and not to consent to the proposition of the Noble hangs Marqui s of CL A NRICAR DE said his Noble Friend relief, ins clause, lust sight of the main principles of out door ad mttadnd had confined it to its least important matters. He ferred,e that, at the time to which the Noble Lord had re if the tha t he was strongly opposed to out-door relief ; and, doub,,e!raeurnstances were the same at present, he might, no e ont _‘_l l . ve heels of the same opinion ; but at that tine he 1i,,,,, 0 _7c1ed that out- door relief should he giveu to the indigent e r i r anii .e he was of the same opinion now, and that At of Ireland rendered out-door relief to the la 4 THE SUN, able.bodied indispensable to their preservation.—(Hear.) If they taught the people of Ireland that the Bill was merely intended to meet the present emergency, and to be abrogated as coon as it had passed away, he considered that it would be fraught with the greatest danger to both countries; but if it were passed as proposed, it would settle the public mind on the subject ; its principles and objects would become generally known, and the people would know the position in which they were placed ; and, therefore, he should vote for the Bill being made a permanent one. Earl WICKLOW hoped their Lordships would not depart from their original decision. It had been said that if the measure were made a temporary one, that the guardians would work ineffectually; but he considered that the best way to see how they would work for the future, was by making the Bill a temporary one. He was in favour of its permanency, and had proposed a motion to that effect, in order that the subject might in a few years come again under revision, when the experience which they would have obtained would enable them to maturely improve its provisions. If their Lordships' should not confirm their former decision, he should feel it his duty to move, when they came to the last clause, that the Bill should be limited to three years. The Earl of RIPON said that after having given the Bill the most minute attention and consideration he had come to the conclusion that this measure was not calculated to relieve the evils which at present afflcted Ireland. A system of out door relief might indeed provide for a few able-bodied poor, but it certainly would not enable them to provide for their fa m„ies. The principle, as applied to England, had not had that effect, it did not therefore appear likely to have it with regard to Ireland, he hoped their Lordships would most se riously consider the matter before applying to Ireland perma nently a measure of the effect of which they were not able to judge, and which was by no means certain to be carried effec tually into operation. The Earl of RODEN said that he trusted that their Lord ships had sufficiently considered this Bill to have enabled them to have come to the conclusion that it might be benficial if passed temporarily, but as a permanent measure would be worse than useless. If it were once passed by that House as a temporary measure, all classes in Ireland would have the greatest anxiety to carry It well into effect, however much they might dissent from many of its clauses ; but if it were in flicted upon them as a permanent Bill, not only would its ope ration be inefficient, but rarst likely productive of mischief. If the Bill worked well, nothing could be easier than after wards to render it a permanent one, but if worked badly, they would have round their necks a burden which they would be unable to relieve themselves of. Earl FITZ WILLIAM (who was indistinctly heard) en tirely concurred in the observations of the Noble Lord who had last spoken. With regard to the nature of this Bill, he thought that if it were to be applied as a permanent act of Legislation the difficulties in its administration would be in creased tenfold ; and their Lordships would have no oppor tunity of revising the decision they had given should the mea sure prove to be inoperative, or mischievous in its effects. He thought that the most serious consideration should be given by their Lordships to the whole matter, before they affirmed a principle which would saddle Ireland with a permanent Bill—. of the operation of which, whether for good or evil they were at present utterly unable to form an opinion. Earl FORTESCUE said, he was of opinion that the diffi culties on the subject of this Bill would be considerably in creased if they adopted the proposal of the opponents to the Bill. One of the arguments in favour of this commission was, that after a course of five years, it would be found whether it worked well or ill. ( The Noble Earl was almost inaudible.) The Archbishop of DUBLIN—His opinions on this B;" were unchanled. The opponents to this Bill were still of opinion that. there was too great a difference between Ireland and England to render the application of this Bill to the former country effective. This Bill was a very hazardous experiment, though he did not blame those who brought forward the mea sure, for they had but a choice of evils. He could most solemnly assure their Lordships, that he was only hostile to this measure from its being, as he had just said, a most hazard ous experiment. If they legislated on the principle of this Bill for Ireland, they would fid it impossible to recede from that principle afterwards. He would wish to see the Bill in operation for a short time, and then that their Lordships should be imperatively called upon to revise it if that were found to be necessary. There was another class who should be considered in leiislating on this subject, namely, the clergy, and who, in the aftl ction that had visited Ireland, had been foremost in relieving the people of all religious deno minations.—( Hear, hear.) The clergy had made many sacrifices to relieve that distress, and except in the cases of a few fanatical persons, without any attempt at proselytism. And it was this class, he asserted without fear of contradiction, that would suffer from the burden t hat would be imposed by this Bill. The clergy were supposed to be rated to the poor-rates, but when the tithe commutation was made in England it was sup. posed to be free of all rates and taxes. When, however, the commutation of the tithes in Ireland took place it was con sidered as the rental of the property minus the poor-rate, there being at that time no poor-rates in existence in Ireland. He considered that the clergy would be placed under consider able hardship by the passing of this measure. He could not forbear bearing his humble testimony to the constant and Iltli • form attention which the Lord-Lieutenant had paid to the best and purest interests of the Church of England in that country. That nobleman had rendered many great and important services to the church, and he begged to tender both to him and to her Majesty's adviser, his most grateful thanks for the attention they had paid to that important sub ject.—( Hear, hear.) The sound judgment, and the firmness which he had invariably displayed in the performance of the difficult duties which devolved upon him, would render his government in that country worthy to be long remembered by the people of Ireland,—( Cheers.) The Marquis of CONYNGHAM could not participate in the fears which had been expressed by many Noble Lords as to the result of the working of this measure. He believed that by establishing a principle of out-door relief. a great deal would be done to ameliorate the condition of the people of Ireland This Bill would discourage that fearful amount of crime and misery which existed in Ireland, by telling the people of that country that they had a right to relief from their more wealthy neigh bours, and that they need not starve or perish through age or infi rm it y , or for want of the common necessaries of life. The Bill would also compel the landlords to lock more closely to their own interests, and to attend more to the cultivation of the soil than they had hitherto done. He did not entertain so Utopian a notion as to suppose ihat this measure would iprovethought, hrh aeo a ncnu i tde a nhhr n tomes a :rw c noe ea for all the evils which afflicted Ireland. He etseaystrpeee(rpep,t appeared at e t earh:ei (present) ordered tyf i o)t support j a s e. withdraw, right 54 direction. r Non -content s t be s ( e p u r c e a se ll n e t d ) Majority in favour of the resolution Had N the ri their numbers would -4 ( 2 a l s 2 we un derstoo(d)Contents been 62 N o n -con Majorityt en ts of . ... . ... favourof . 44 the motion ............................ Majority present in favour of .. ;11e 8 motion ..................... 12 Total majority for Ministers ....... _3O The Earl of CLANCARTY then proposed the following amendment to the first clause :—" And whereas, from the in sufficiency of room, or some other cause, the guardians of the poor may be sometimes unable to afford relief within the workhouse to all who are proper objects to be so relieved ; be it enacted that if at any time it should be shown to the satis faction of the Poor-law Commissioners, that by reason of the want of room in the workhouse for any more, adequate relief cannot be afforded therein, or by reason of fever or infectious disease, or are unfit for the reception of poor persons, or that by reason of the dilapidated state of the workhouse suitable accommodation cannot be afforded therein for the destitute poor, it shall be lawful for the Commissioners to empower the guardians for any time not exceeding six months from the date cf such order, to administer relief out of the workhouse, to such destitute poor persons applying for relief, as cannot be reeeived and maintained in it; and they shall be empowered accordingly to make provision for their relief for the time specified in the order, provided that all relief given out of the workhouse shall be given in food ; only save in any case of sudden or urgent necessity, with power to the Com missioners to revoke the order within the period for which it may have been issued, or to renew and extend the same from time to time, so as to extend the period of its operation, as the circumstances of the case may require." Earl GREY opposed the amendment, on the ground that the Bill, as it stood, effected the object which the Noble Earl seemed to have in view, or the permanently disabled poor would only receive relief out of the workhouse when it was unable to receive them. The Bill had been carefully drawn up. The amendment was negatived without a division. The Earl of LUCA N then moved the following clauses— " 'that for the purpose of charging the expense of relief to every electoral division, no person shall after the passing of this Act be deemed to have been resident in such electoral division, unless during the three years before his admission to the workhouse, or his receiving any relief whatever, he had occupied some tenement within such division ft.r thirty calendar months, or if he have not occupied such tenement, have slept within such division for the space of thirty calendar months." After a few words from several Noble Loids, the clause was agreed to. Lord MON TE AG LE moved a clause that no sums of money granted for the relief of destitute persons, should be applied for the payment of rent. Alter a few words from Earl GREY, The clause was withdrawn, and the report was agreed to. Several Bills were then forwarded a stage, and Their Lordships adjourned shortly after Half-past Ten o'clock. HOUSE (IF GUM ti OA'S. May 14. ThP 'SPEAKER took the Chair shortly before Fuur o'clock. SECOND READINGS. The following Bills were read a second time, and (inbred to lie committed : British Amortean Land Company. Van liumen's Land Company. RE . Poias. The reports on the following Bills were brought up:— Braintree and Halstead Railway. Dublin and Drogheda Railway (Branch from Navan to Enfield and Edmonton Railway Extension. , 'Midland Great West, , rn Railway of Ireland (Extension from Athlone to Galway). Midland Great We,tern Railway of Ireland (Newcastle, Annisltinnan, and Baltrasna Deviations). South Staffordshire Railway (Cannock, Wyrley, and Norton Branches, &c.) Stutionishire Potteries Waterworks. Westminster Improvements. The reports on the lollovving Bills were considered and agreed to :—Dublin Consumers Gas ; Edinburgh Mar kets and Cus.oms ; Leith Harbour and Docks Dues ; Runcorn Gas,. THIRD READINGS. The following Bilis were read a third time and pased:— -Boston, Stamford, and Birmingham Railway (Peterbo rough and Thorney line). Chard Canal and Railway (Extension and Amalgama- Glas,,ovv, Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railway (NO. 4). Herne Bay and Canterbury Junction Railway. Liskeard and Caradon Railway. Southaripton and liwchestQr Railway (New Forest Deviati,n acid Branches). South Wales Railway. Vale of Neath Railway. Wexford and Valencia Railway (Killarney to V,,lcncia.). Wilts, Somerset, and Weymouth Railway (No. 1— Brut ,n, Pitcombe, and Itoddeta and Bradford De viations). Wolverhampton Rates. DERBYSHIRE, STAFFORDSHIRE, AND WOR CESTERSHIRE JUNCTION RAILWAY. Mr. H. BERKELEY moved, " That the Select Com mittee on Group 26 have leave to proceed with the Der hvshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershir e Junction R:Lilw,iy Bill on .11,nday next, notwithstanding the scven clear days' notice, requir,d by Standing Order 145, will not have expired until Thursday next." Agreed to. LONDON, SATURDAY MORNING, MAY 15, 1847 Mr. BLACKSTONE withdrew the motion of which he had given notice—" That the Committee on Group 26 be allowed to proceed with the North Staffordshire Rail way (Alterations and Branches) Bill, and the North Western Railway (Birmingham and Lichfield Line) Bill, in the absence of the report from the Railway Commis sionners." . _ officer for the large sum of 2,300,0001., thOugh the Act of incorporation originally authorised them only to raise 1,500,000/. The ten directors subscribed for 30,000/., one up to 260,000/. Now the Glasgow, Dumfries, and Car lisle Railway Company, the other company in question, was originally empowered to raise 1,300,0001. in 52,000 shares of 25/. each, and as yet they had only raised 51. a share, or 243,000/. in all. The Ayrshire company had raised this year for its extension schemes 153,0001. The subscription contract of the Glasgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle Company had been signed by eight directors and the secretary for 1,908,000/., being 170,0001. for each director, and 186,0001. for the secre tary. Such were the responsibilities of these two companies, who had only in the one case raised 243,000/. and 153,000/. respectively towards the large amount of capital for which the directors had signed.—( Hear, hear. ) Now these two Commissioners came forward with Bills before this House, and they proposed to raise by the six Bills before the House a capital of 6,389 0001. These Commissioners came before this House, and declared themselves ready and able to raise this amount of 6,398,000/., and the only guarantee they offered for this large amount was the subscription of the direc tors to the contract deed of the company. Now he would read the contract deed, for he had furnished himself with all of these documents. The report of the Commissioners said that the original capital of the Greenock Company was 1,222,000/., and they sought to increase that capital by loans to, in the first instance, 3,532.00:V. and in the other to 2,866,004., making a total of 116,398,0;101., which was to be guaranteed by the subscription of the directors to the contract deed• (The Hon. Member then read extracts from the report of the directors, showing that in compliance with the standing orders they had, through the instrumentality of the National Bank of Scotland, paid in to the Accountant of the Court of Chancery the ten per cent, on their capital required by the standing orders.) That was done in order to secure the com pany, and he stated the facts in order that the whole of the matter might be brought out. He deeply regretted that any Scotch Bank had been found to act in such a way, and especially any chartered batik; but above all that the National Bank of Scot land should consent to place themselves in such a position. Then there was the company for forming aline to Bury St. Edmund's, the repot tof which he held in his hand That company had last session sought to obtain six Bills, the united capital to be raised being 2,000,000/. with power to get 700,000/. on loan. By the Acts which they obtained in 1845 and 1846 they were entitled to raise still further capital, and for this they had is sued 16,000 shares of 251. each. On these they had made a call of 224,0001., and the whole amount that same in upon these calls was 2041. They had issued about 22,000 shares, on which they had raised 90,0001., and the whole of the capital which they had obtained was 334,0001. Now, this company came before Parliament in the present session for six Bills. The subscription contract was signed by twelve directors for 1,612,000 f., and they asked for powers to saise an additional capital of 2,700,0001. Did not such a state of things as that require amendment? He was sorry, indeed, that honest railway companies should suffer for these acts, but his resolution to be effective must be general. He could increase the number of t c h o o m n p a a h n t i e h s e w h h a o had b d mentioned een guilty sue of these eo tto inducema lpr a t c h t i e c but ous he to accede to his resolution. He really thought that Parliament ought to stop the progress of every railway Bill brought for. ward this session, but such a coarse as that might inflict injus tice upon many deserving companies, and he was therefore not prepared to propose it. He thought it necessary that Parlia ment should interfere in some way in this subject upon several grounds, he thought the public ought to know what the deal ings and conduct of every railway board was; he thought the House ought to interfere in consequence of the pressure which the country felt from the present state of Ireland and dearness of provisions in this country, and upon the ground of the difficulty which manufacturers experienced in obtaining discount on their Bills. He anticipated nothing but distress and confusion from the Commissioners not interfering in the subject. He could not have believed it possible for such transactions as ho had referred to to have taken place in open day. He did not wish to say anything against any individual director; he wished only to call attention to the whole system, and to claim the interference of Parliament. If they allowed things to go on in the same way they would be alone responsible for the miss chiefs that might ensue. He did not know any means more effectual for checking the evil than by the House affirming the resolution he had moved. He did not contemplate any oppo sition to the resolution from any free and independent Mem ber. He begged, therefore, to move the resolution he had read to the House. Mr. GREEN begged to suggest to the Hon. Gentleman the propriety of making a slight alteration in the resolution, to the effect, " that in every Bill to enable, &c., a clause should be introduced," &c., so as to remove all technical objection. Mr. HUME having assented to the suggestion, Mr. JOHN ABEL SMITH seeonded the motion, though he did not quite agree with him in all the particulars to which the Hon. Member had adverted. He thought, however, that the House was under a great obligation to the Hon. Gentleman for having called its attention to this subject, as it appeared to him that the state of the railway legislation demanded their most serious consideration. He was also of opinion, that if the statements which he had made were correct, his resolution did not go far enough; and without intending to raise the question which had been so lately and so justly occupying the attention of the House—he meant the monetary system—he thought no one could deny but the influence of railways on the capital of the country formed a most important element in its consideration. He therefore hoped that resolution might elicit from the House and the Government some opinion as to the propriety of proceeding with the Rail way Bills, at present in progress, before Parliament. It was enough for them to remember that during the last two years they had sanctioned Bills to raise a capital exceeding 96 millions, while the Bills before the House of the present year, embraced a capital of 87 millions. Considering the present state of the country, the vast call made for provisions, and the uncertainty of the tuture harvest, it behoved the House and the Government to pause ere they sanctioned any other scheme at present. He had no wish to depreciate railway enterprise, or the advantages they conferred, but he did hope something would be done with the Bills at present before Parliament. He would not be justified in saying more at present, as he did it in order to draw forth the opinions of the House, and to learn what the intentions of the Government were. Celenel SI BTHORPE thought it was too late to close the stable door when the steed was stolen. Some twenty-five years ago he had foreseen this state of things ; and, therefore, he had never taken a railway share, nor did he intend to do so. He asked the Hon. Member for Montrose where he was when these Bills were before the House, and nine or ten Hon. Mem bers used to meet at twelve or four o'clock, and settle all these important measures. As it was too late for the Hon. Member to oppose the progress of the measures with effect now, still, as he agreed with the motion, it should have his support. He hoped that this motion of the Hon. Member for Montrose would be followed by others of a similar character, and though this was late in the day, it would have his earnest and cordial support. fmii Mr. HUDSON was not at all surprised that this question had been brought before the House on the present occasion, but he wished to say a few words on the motion which had twr a ha n as: d s eocd t uo h t n e lh an had d a e ort not od e t. railways,a h m Te o e hunen included. o been submitted to the House. He was exceedingly glad that in all companies to which the Hon. Member had referred, the large amount of capital which had been entrusted to them, the formation of new l in ti n e o ei r s n. thing would have been brought to light concerning them, but he had not said a word relative to the b com ianies with which he age He for ha w d h e ic x h pe t e h t a ed t c th ap at it s a o l m w e a_s Mr. SMITH explained on that outlay.—(Cries of " Hear, and " No, no.") He o had strong feelings on the subject.;at t h A oa l r l e t e m a ha s e b t t e ahh r t n 9 ai o s yad r p r m na r , ,t l e o oe v t t i e t o s n o n a t ipdsutohatuegawh Limitation r u md t t taaabyst about f o o u o n p r t limiting the outlay for railways,but he thought that some formation of law should b e i mposed for restricting the new rail ways. Mr. 1-IUDSON_In other words, the Hon. Member would restrict the ou tl ay f or the promotion om9tio , n of new lines in order to w retain the mon o p o l y which in the possession of the com panies who had the old ones. If they restrained the outlay for railways—if th e H ouse interfered for that purpose—why not restrict the outl a y f or i ronworks, for cotton factories, and all other manufacto r i es i n t h e country, in for in no ' business was in which large numbers of able-bodied lab ourers were employed, there a greater numb er of labourers de riving comfortable wages, and in which capit a l was more usefully expended, than in the promotion of railway s . Th e people of this country had deter mined the way in whi c h th e i r capital should go, and he thought that the House ought to be very cautious of interfering with any business on which so large a number of la bourers depended. H e h a d hi mself been very anxious to obtain the number of able-bodied labourers who were occupied under those with whom he had to do, and he found that there were not less than 50,000 peopl e rece i v i ng w ages from the directors over whom he h a d the honour to preside. If they instituted this principle, th ey would directly say that the public should not employ the men in that way, and would deprive a large class of that subsistence which they had hitherto enjoyed. With respect to the creation of so many kinds of shares, which were called into existence under various circumstances, there was no difficulty whatever in the accounts to which the Hon. Member had referred. He quite agreed with the danger of companies undertaking to raise large sums without any capital paid up. It was not the fault of the system that various railway companies had been placed in an unfair posi tion. He always considered it more safe for the public of this country to invest their money in railways than in foreign secu rities. He thought the resolution one which required great consideration, and he did not think it would be wise for the Hon. Member to press his motion. He thought that the Committees of the House were too willing to give facilities to companies to raise large sums of money who had themselves no capital. It hail been said that 88,000,000/. had been spent in the construction of railways, but the country derived a re venue from that soure of upwards of 9,000,000/., and conferred also innumerable benefits upon the merchants, the manufac turers, and the cottagers. Had there been a good harvest this year there would not have been the slightest difficulty felt as to a pressure upon the money market. He thought that the y companiesa ffairs. at he capital ro present before es House had power in their hand s a l rea d y t o put a check to the T evil complained of by the Hon. M em b er, b y not too readily granting powers to new companies w hi c h h ad no amount of capital paid up. Lord HARRY VANE said that th e H on. Member who spoke last entertained some doubts wh e th er the resolution would accomplish the object intended. H e hi mself concurred in those doubts, but he thought something oug h t to be done in Parsentilia mental that was most enormous, and he the question of capital should form a s thought it absoutely pecial l con it)hoeseidire to present uncertainty the of ra r i a lw ile a • y a sideration with the Select Committee, as the attention of the Committees sitting on groups was confined, and vex too, to the merits of each case referred to th em Properly • or he leave out the Great Western Company from the sc could scope of his observations; and he considered that Parliament should interfere and prevent the directors of these companies from a signing contracts for the sole purpose of purchasing great d i tricts. Looking at the great difficulties o f the sail•Wa s panies themselves, he considered that it wo u ld b e a yc wholesome check to prevent interest being paid upon calls. Mr. E. ELLICE said that he was glad that this subject had been brought under the notice of the House, for he considered that Parliament should have interfered a long time ago. He had been selected to preside over Committee ;.n which two companies were suing for powers to raise additional capital, and he reported to the House at that t ime, when the Ri h Hon. Baronet the Member for ,when was Prime Min' t that it was requisite that some steps rd should be taken in Or t d e e r ; to check the progress of unmatu no e t railway schemes, but he to say that they didreceive was sorry he Board any attentio n f rom the late Vice-President of t of Trade, or from, in• deed, until lately, even the p resent Government, H e h ad suc ceeded, however, in pass in g a resolut i on requiring g all railwa Bills to be referred to the Railwa y Co mmissioner s in or t y o inquire as to their financial accounts, :and t o enable them to report to the House. The standin g orders of th e H ouse were openly evaded, and he hop •d that the H ouse would pass a re • order of the House • solution that the standing , requiring a cer tain number of shareholders to signearscontract, which should be binding on themselves, their _h , and executors, should adhered to. If . hereafter be strictly this was done (T e r be a door open for fraud. H there would no lon e hoped ( would post one the di • that his Hon. Friend ' wou p discussion to a fixture day, in 'order to give time for further c onsideration on the subject. Sir. HODGSON said that it would be bett er f or the Hon. Member to withdraw his resolution.i It would b e a most un heard of injustice if at this period of the l sessi on t h at any reso lution putting a wholesale stop all • !at w ay compani es rece i ve d the sanction of the House. He denied th e j ustice of the attack which had been made on th e Ayrshire company, which was one of the most substantial in Scotland. The Glasgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle Company was also a most r espectable undertaking, and did not deserve the aspersions cast upon it. Captain MANGLES said the present motion was a most important one, and they should consider it carefully ere they gave a decisicn. He ( Captain Mangles) thought this check a very beneficial one,_ and he could ne t sanction any proceedin g on the part o f th e House that would prevent capitalists, or those who had small sums of money from investing them in loans on railway undertakings. A few years ago there was the greatest difficulty in gettingany interest at all, and now, when a benefit was likely to be had, they ought to possess it. With regard to the returns of the North-Western Company, he begged to say, they were sent in to the commissioners on the Bth of April. Mr. CHAPLIN wished the Hon. Member for Montrose had had only a year's experience as a railway director, nr chairman, and then he would know more about the question than he did. From his experience the established lines were often obliged to make extensions in self defence. Some few years back as soon as a line was talked of for Epsom the atmospheric project was started, which, after being laid down for a few years, was now being taken up. The same applied to the Reading and Guilford line. Again, they were assailed by a Direct Portsmouth line, which at last was sanctioned by Parliament. Such was the position in which the South- Western Company had been placed. Whatever was done, full time should be given for deliberation. The Hon. Member for Her were two schemes lest they might offer a serious check to wick hail said the borrowing provisions were a sufficient check on undue progress in these undertakings. Si) far as private capitalists were concerned this was perfectly true, though it might not be so of banking establishments. Thus the estab lished lines were in every direction assailed by speculators, and unless the former took measures to occupy the ground they were sure to be deprived of their legitimate traffic. Now, the Legislature had supported this system for the last two years. He did hope ere they acted on the advice of the Hon. Member for Montrose, the House would see what the Government had to propose in its stead. Lord JOHN RUSSELL could not give his consent to the resolution of the Hon. Member for Montrose. It did not appear to him necessary; nor did he see that it would effect the object which was sought to be obtained. He did not think either that it would be just to the railway companies, or the public at large, to press such a resolution. The Hon. Member for Newcastle, had stated a case which bore strongly on the present question. He supposed the case of a main line which wanted to make a branch, which was of great import ance, to secure and develop their traffic. Now, according to the provisions of the present resolution, such a main line could not authorize the making of a branch until it was com• pleted. It was not wise for them to say that, till a certain company made the main branch they should not have the power of making a branch which might be of the greatest importance. Unless they did so, perhaps,an independent company wculd be got up to occupy the ground. —(Hear, hear.) The resolution would not meet the evils which were complained of. Regarding railway enterprise ge nerally, he hoped the House would not interfere without due consideration. Because they had hitherto tcted a, . in a lax system, they should take care and not fall into the error of the op p osite eextre. They ough t to be cauous how they checked that wholesomeem application of capital to ti railway enterprise which had hitherto proved so advantageous. He did not agree with the Ron. Member for Coventry, that this House should step in and interfere to place a greater control upon railway pro ceedings than had hitherto been imposed. The course previ ously had been to appoint Committees, and no Bill could obtain the sanction of the House without consideration and discussion. There was every opportunity for the fullest investigation if that were thought necessary. He remembered, also, when such money was sent away and invested in foreign stocks not very useful to this country, while at another time the capital of this country was sent to North America to be spent in the construction of canals; and he re membered the debtors of the country who borrowed that money, were not very ready in repaying it. How unwise, therefore, it would be to restrict the application of capital to the construction of railways in the country, when by doing so they would divert it into channels which would result in injury and loss to the country. On the other hand, however, it might be possible for money to be expended in railways which were calculated to lead to the ruin of the parties promoting them ; but in a case like that, it was the duty of the House to interfere and stop the progress of the railway ; but still he was decidedly of opinion that Parliament ought to be extremely cautious in interfering with the progress of these undertakings. It must be clear to the House, however, that upon subjects connected with the capital and solvency of parti cular companies, that it required some other agency than a Committee of five Members of that House to inquire into such a matter as that, or to report upon the expediency of leasing or amalgamating particular lines at high rates of interest; but that would be a subject for discussion on another evening, and he would not further detain the House upon it. There could be no doubt whatever that the railways had proved highly ad vantageous to the country, and, perhaps, it was difficult to calculate what future benefits were to be derived from them ; and he was, therefore, decidedly of opinion that too much cau tion could not be used in their endeavours to stop the progress of these undertakings. Mr. COLLETT trusted, after what had fallen from the Noble Lord who had just sat down, the Hon. Member for Montrose would not persist in his resolution. Lord GEORGE BENTINCK said the resolution would be impracticable, supposing the House were to agree to it. For instance, one portion of it said one railway company should not be allowed to sell the line of another. Now he was at a lo.s to understand how, by any possibility, one company could ever be in a position to sell the line of another. The Noble Lord at the head of the Government had spoken of those speculations in North America. He could mention another speculation which proved no less disastrous, and if he was not mistaken, with which the Hon. Member for Mon trose had something to do, namely, the Greek loans. It would have been much better had that money been invested in rail ways in this country, rather than thrown away upon a foreign nation, and he trusted the fart he had mentioned would be taken as another reason why they should not interfere with the application of capital to works at home, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER thought his Hon. Friend the Member for Montrose would do well to with draw his resolution ; at the same time, however, he thought good would result from this discussion. Much of the evil which the Hon. Gentleman had spoken of was traceable to the Com mittees of that House rather than to the railway directors. He considered it would be much better if the Hon. Member for Montrose would postpone his resolution, either by adjourning the debate or withdrawing it till a future occasion. Mr. HENLEY called attention to tho difference in the deci sions of the Committees of the House and the Railway Com missioners, and was of opinion that some means should be adopted to procure uniformity. Mr. MORRISON said that during the last two years there had been forty millions devoted to railway speculations, and this year also a very large sum was required. When in addition to this the expenditure for the famine in Ireland was taken into conside ration, it would be found to be quite impossible for them to go on in that expenditure much longer. If they proceeded in this way, he would ask how were their manufactures to go on ? The capital would be all abstracted from its legitimate course, and though large manufacturers might be able to carry on their business, small men would be completely ruined. The only remedy which they could apply to this state of things was to reduce the profits of capital invested in these undertakings, to the same level as that embarked in other undertakings. Instead, however, of any measure being taken for that pur pose, every interference of the Legislature was in the contrary direction. Some one must suffer for this in the long run, and the sooner they attempted to arrest the evil the better would it be for the country. He was very indifferent whether his Hon. Friend's resolution was carried, but he thought the dis cussion it had produced would be of great advantage as it would call public attention to the subject.---( Hear.) Mr. HORSMAN thought that when the immense amount of capital which was to be expended on railways was consi dered—being 160 millions within the last few years, and 80 millions the present year—some measures should be adopted to prevent so large an abstraction of it from the undertakings in which it was legitimately embarked. Feeling that the Go vernment were about to adopt measures in respect to railway legislation, he could not support the proposition before the House, and he hoped the Hon. Gentleman the Member for Montrose would withdraw his resolution. Mr. NEWDEGATE merely rose to protest against the doc trine propounded by the Hon. Member for Inverness, that they should interfere to regulate the profits on railways. He was astonished to hear such a doctrine deliberately enunciated. Mr. MORRISON explained. He had never said anything of the kind. Mr. NE'SVDEGATE regretted if he misunderstood the Hon. Gentlemen. He c , nsidered that the proposition he made was to reduce the profits on railways to a level with other speculations, and if that did not Mr. MORRISON, interrupting, said that what he stated was, that the profits on railways should not be larger than any other kind of speculation.—( Hear, hear, hear. ) Mr. MITCHELL said that the expenditure on railways was taken from trade and manufactures, and on that account he thought that measures should be adopted for preventing its ab straction from these interests. Mr. STUART said he was very much struck at the course of argument pursued by the Hon. Member for Bridport. Was the Hon. Member a free trader? Did he not think every one was at liberty to divert his capital to what purposes he pleased ?—(lronical cheers.) What was the course the Hon. Member took on the Corn Bill? Why, it was likely that he voted just that capital might be directed into particular channels. Now it was evident it was so, for the Hon. Mem bert rnr. d ire ctionwT p ßo r fE e ( f Lt e a r Ap r i e wt d a u Hs r ae s i e adr t: f f rhe L ee e . rgt.i ) a d t o i o a i t g e f o e d r , i n b g u t w a i t p h a r t t he NY s cular case rested on its own merits, and they had carried that case too tar. Capital on railway s was en ti re ly sun k. Nothi ng could be recovered except from the dividends, and in many cases there could be no dividend, because the capital was swallowed up, and was still insufficient for the purposes to which it was applied. Mr. AINSWORTH thought that railways gave employ ment, and prevented the capital from going out of the Country. Mr. HUME replied—He was not at all surprised at the speeches of the three Hon. Members who had spoken last, for they did not understand the subject.—(lronical cheers.) but the Hon. Member for Bridport (Mr. Mitchell), and the Hon. Member near him (\Jr. Trelavrny), were perfectly sound. Why, if he could prove that a number of men, who projected a railway, with a capital of 4,000,000/., put a bonus of 3,900,000/. into their pockets, and he could prove, and would prove it, then capital would rapidly run in such direc tion. He had been challenged that night for not bringing for ward his motion earlier. His motion was presented and laid before a Committee last year, and but for the time of the session, it would have been brought forward. He admitted, with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with whom he never agreed, and with a Noble Lord, that the motion was per haps of too simple a character, and it might be well to post pone it, that some more general Act might be brought in for the same object. He had only proposed this as a step ; he, therefore, proposed adjourning this question to this night week. But he must protest against any Committee being formed. The debate was then adjourned. VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. Mr. HUME said that on next Monday ha would ask a ques tion of the Noble Lord the Member for London, whether it was the intention of her Majesty's Government to give a repre presentative system to Van Diemen's Land, or any other of the colonies. to Rome. At the present late period of the session, he did not think that they could introduce a Bill to make this law clear. He could not introduce such a Bill, but he did hope et some future time to legislate upon the subject, and he did think that it would be most desirable to establish more formal diplomatical relations. LOAN DISCOUNT BILL. Lord JOHN RUSSELL moved that the House do ge into Committee upon the Loan and Discount Bill. The Marquis of GRANBY said that he felt that he should make some apology to the House for venturing to address them upon such an important subject. He conceived, however, that the question for di scuss i on was not to b e conf i ned to t h e pro positions of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but that they should take a more extended view, and see how far the law of 1844 had reference to the subject. It had been admitted on all hands that the distress was excessive. On that subject he would read a letter from Mr. Foster, of York, in which it was stated that the distress in the country was very great, and that not fewer than 9,000 operatives in one part of the country were out of employment. In another 433 mills were working short time. This distress bad taken place under the law of 1844; it was said then that it was impossible to foresee what would be the evils which would spring from it. It was tru that the vessel of the state swam gallantly en when all was calm, but the first moment a storm arose she did not answer her helm. The fill of 1844 was intended to be the helm, and while there was no want of its guiding power. all went well, but when the moment of peril e Mme, it had been found wholly inoperative. It had been said, how could &I these evils be foreseen ? It was asked, could the potato failure be prophesied, the scarcity of corn foretold, and the speculation in railways been prevented. The Hon. Member for Shrews_ bury had presented a memorial on the subject, so had all the eminent bankers of the Cify, but they did not receive anv atten tion. He begged the House to cor.sider the distress the present currency policy would insure. The mills it u, uld stop, the Itbourers it would throw idle, the commercial and trading em b3rassments it would occasion. If they did so, he was sure they would see the importance of a change. He had in his possession a return of the raw cotton in the ports of London, Liverpool, and Glasgow in 1845, 1846, and 1847, the bales of cotton were 1,624,744 ; in 1846, 1,576,804 ; and in 1847, only 1 ,320,944. There had been imported between the months of January and the 30th of A pr il, 1845, 727 , 7 84 b ales; in 1846, 501,107; and in 1847, only 487,154. At the present time there were no stocks on hand to meet any extra demand that might spring up, and therefore for some time there was no relief to be expected from such a quarter. What was the function of money but to facilitate exchange? and if so, when population increased, and property enlarged, might not also the circulating medium so expand in the same ratio ? But the Bank Act of 1844 pre vented this, and said whatever the exigencies of the country may be, it would not allow the currency to be increased, unless a certain amount of gold was in possession. This, too, was stated by a Government that was obliged to make issues on Government securities.—( Hear, hear.) In 1845, they had heard a good deal about the great benefit the free trade measures would produce. Look at the state of the country now. A great variety of duties had been taken off in pursuance of the free trade theory, and the result was not to increase the importation of real necessaries of life, but to lead to a great im portation of mere luxuries, many of which had abridged the field of labour at home. The excess of such imports in 1847, as compared with 1845, was 4,333,7921., in official value. Such had been the result of their free trade policy, America was enabled to get a higher price for her provisions than any other, and therefore they could not judge of their free trade by the ! case of America. He considered that the Noble Member for Lynn had spoken out the true policy which ought to be pur sued, when he said—protect your own industry, protect your own manufactures. He considered the truth of that sentiment was daily proved, and no matter what eloquence opposed it. He hoped that the Government would listen to the voice of the intelligent a n d i n d ustr i ous people of the country, by extending the currency by repealing the Act of 1844. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the main portion of the Noble Lord's speech was i ted against free trade, but he forgot to take into calculationre;) long free trade had endured with unexampled prosperity o t w the country. For it was not until last August when the ° began to import corn that gold began to flow out of the y country.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord could not say that their produce was diminished by the Act of last year.—( Hear, hear.) Of course not; well then, he would ask him, how would it stand with them had not these restrictions been taken o ff. He would not follow the Noble Lord into the extensive field of argument, into which they had been invited to enter The Hon. Member opposite had asked hi m to g i ve a pledge. that in no case whatsoever would he call upon the Bank for de ficiency bills. Now he would not make any such promise. It is perfectly true that the question on which the country was intereted was that of the currency, the maintenance, or the non-maintenance of the Act of 1844. On that question, the Right Hon. Member for Tamworth stated most freely to the House, that no affection for his own offspring should induce him from giving afull consideration to the question, He had not the slightest objection to such a discussion, and no doubt it might be well to bring it before the House ; but the question of re pealing it had never entered, and he trusted never would enter into the contemplation of her Majesty's Government. and when he gave it the most unshaken support, 'he then sat upon the opposite side of the House.—(Hear, hear.) But he did give it his firm support because he had come to a deep seated conviction that the Bill did carry in it the sound pr'n ciples on which the currency was to be based. He was placed in the situation of Chairman of the Bank Committee, and they had examined before them some of the ablest men in the coun try. There opinions were carefully examined, and he entered the Committee without any prejudice on one side or another, but he did leave it impressed that the principles of the 'Bill were sound. In that opinion he remained unshaken; and as to the expediency of that Act, he was more and more confirmed by the discussion which had taken place, because nothing could be more apparent then the extraordinary discrepancy of opinion which existed amongst the advocates of its abolition. The Hon. Member for Birmingham said, the measure was indis pensable for carrying out the Act of the year 1819, and if we are to satisfy him we are to repeal the Act of 1819 ; and then we get back to the year 1797. They had no silver standard then, nothing could be more dangerous or uncertain than to repeal the Act. Hon. Gen tlemen could agree as to what should be the state of the law after its repeal. Another Hon. Member recommended the adoption of free trade in banking, which means unlimited issue. He ought, however, to refer to the case of America in 1837, when unlimited issue was permitted with every pos sible guard, but where it ended in the universal suspension of cash payments, and very general bankruptcy of the Union. It was not fair for Hon. Gentlemen opposite, when they found their expectations with regard to the measure of 1844 not realised, to turn round to blame them on his side of the House for holding out expectations directly the converse of what they really did hold out. He was very much surprised at the charge of the Hon. Member for Huntingdon ' with respect to the conduct adapted by Government with regard to the loan. If the contractors of that loan were deceived, they must have deceived themselves as the Government had made them perfectly aware of thdir inten tions. His object was to effect the arrangements connected with the loan, with as little disturbance to the monetary affairs of the country as possible. He did not assent to the proposal of the contractors to spread the loan over a longer period of payment, and to give a larger amount of discount. Circum stances had, however, changed since then, and he had made the proposal now before the House, to give a larger amount of discount, that there might be a larger balance in the Exchequer before July next. He denied some charges which had been combatted in that House as having been made against the Bank of England by the ad vocates of the measure of 1844, but he denied those charges, as they had never been made by the Government. The Hon. Member for Shrewsbury was right in principle with regard to the circulation of 1836, 1839, and 1847, but he thought the Hon. Member for Shrewsbury, and the Noble Lord the Mem ber for Lynn, were inconsistent with regard to the statement of the operation of the measure of 1844. The one said that the Act had the effect of contracting the circulation, and the other said that had it been in operation in 1839 it would be wholly inoperative. Now he did not think that both the Honour able Gentleman and the Noble Lord could both claim the benefit of the different views they took of that measure. What then was the professed objects of this Bill? It was in tended to regulate the paper in reference to the metallic cur rency. This being the professed object,of the Bill, if what had happened under special circumstances, might have happened with a purely metallic currency, then it had effected as much, and even more, than it professed. If, under the same circum stances, which had existed for the last eight months, they had had a pure metallic currency, or if the gold had gone direct from the Mint, and not from the Bank of England, there would still have been a drain of gold, as there had been from the coffers of the Bank, and there would have been no more in the pockets of the people. He was rather surprised at an assertion made by a Noble Lord about the con vertibility of the coinage. He did not know how to treat it, for it was hardly intelligible.—(Laughter.) Why, convertibility, when used by any one, meant that for a pound note the holder could at any time receive a sovereign in gold. No one who used the word could for a moment suppose that there should always be the same amount of gold. What was meant by it was, that a gold sovereign could be got in ex change for a one pound-note ; and that was the principle of the Act of 1844, which was founded upon the Act of 1819, gua ranteeing that there should be a security equal to the amount of paper in circulation—a guarantee not merely theoretical but practical—that paper should be actually convertible. As for the particular views of the Hon. Member for Birmingham (Mr. Spooner)about the standard of gold varying, when he brought forwrd a measure which could carry out his views, p it might be possible to d iscuss th em . T he Hon. perhaps Member for North Warwickshire, who did not hold the opi nion of the Hon. Member for Birmingham, maintained the standard had been fixed by the Acts of 1844 and 1819. The Act of 1844 only regulated the ratio of paper circulation to the gold coinage ,• the Act of 1819 did not do much more. For in 1817 the faith of Parliament was pledged, and the old standard was practically restored in that year. But suppose the Han. Member's ideas were put to practice ; suppose that 100 grains, instead of 23 grains, were adopted; that a pound should be a dollar ; he did not mean to say it would pass for a pound, because if the people on the other side of the Atlantic agreed to create a currency of 123 grains of gold, they would expect in exchange for cotton, or any other commodity, not what might be called a pound, but 123 grains of gold. Really the Hon. Gentleman mistook the substance for the shadow, and in seeking the adoption of his plan, forgot that the whole value of our exchanges would be altered, and that in America not the stated value of gold, but its actual intrinsic value as metal, was looked at, and so considered. He stated, in introducing the subject, that no effort on the part of the Go vernment would remove the embarrassment which existed in trade, by altering the currency. The Government had been stated to have shown want of decision; but he conceived that they had acted promptly, and clearly stated their views on the subject. The Government had no , intention to alter the Act of 1844. What was the cause of the suff er i ng i n t h e cot , ntry? There was, for instance, th e high price of cotton, which the Noble Lord said an alteration of the currency would retrieve; but this was a most extra ordinary ar gumen t. Wh en hi g h rates o f i n t eres t rendered money scarce, the Hon. Gentleman the Member for Bir mingham (M r . S pooner ) sa id thi s was a proof of aderange ment in the currency ; but this was a great mistake, as a large quantity of money and notes bad been in circulation at a period when rates of interest were exceedingly high. Whilst immense sums of money was locked up in railways, a greater amount of money could not be put into circulation by means of one pound notes. The great pressure upon the country was the want of food, and the great quantity of nloney required to purchase it. There had not only been a defitiene in the harvest of this country, but the deficiency had spread itself almost over the whole of the Continent of Europe. The consequence was, that England was not the only B customer in the food market, but France and German portions of Prussia, were looking to the Germany, delgSituamtes and for admitted that symptoms supplies of corn. He readily of improvement had latterly manifested thentselies, but he felt that he should be wanting in his public duty if he did not warn the House that there were ha P rd times before them. The country must struggle against these coming difficulties, and he had too much confidence in the firmness and st ern determina tion of her pe op l e to believe that they would not successfully bear up against them. Directly that it was made known that their corn would be received here, he was sure England would become the point at which the supplies for th e w h o l e o f E urope would centrali ze . H e had, therefore, no very great fears for the coming struggle. Mr. HEN LEY said the Right Hon. Baronet, who had just sat down, had, at the beginning, in the middle, and at the con clusione of his speech, attempted to direct the attention t he House Le House from the real question at issue, by speaki standard of value of 1817, just in the same way lo to k new mudded the water when they did not want peoP that fishermeno. WINDSOR RAILWAY BILL. HIGH PACE OF FOOD. —ONE-POUND NOTES. Mr. SPOONER presented a petition, numerously signed by landlords, merch a nt s , manu f acturers, and by a great number bf the working classes of Birmingham, stating that they felt great anxiety and alarm in consequence of the high price of food, and the rapidly diminishing demand for labour; that spiv toms of outrage had already appeared in eon sequpnce, and praying that every facility might he given by the House for the introduction of he into the country ; and expressing their opinion, that if the Bank of England were allowed to issue 1/. notes—(Laughter) —in order that the sovereigns might be set at liberty for the purpose of purchasing food, that a great step would thus be made to mitigate the evil of which they complained, zs in fact food could be more easily obtained Kith gol , i than by any other means. MEDICAL REGISTRATION BILL. Mr. KEMBLE presented five petitions in favour of the Medical Registration Bill. Sir BENJAMIN HALL presented four petitions in favour of the Medical Registration Bill. Petitions in favour of this Bill were also presented by ;Ir. Macaulay, Captain A'Court, Sir De Lacy Evans, and Mr. Parkin TRADING IN PROSTITUTION BILL. Mr. SPOONER gave notice that, on Monday, he should move the second reading of this Bill. CONSUMPTION OF MALT. Sir J. lIEATHCOTE presented a petition from the members of a temperance society, complaining of the consumption of malt in distilleries during the existing distress. NAVIGATION LAWS. Sir J. lIANMER presented a petition from a number of shipowners against any alteration of these laws. COUNTY TOWNS BILL. Mr. DAVID BARCLAY presented several petitions in favour of the County Towns Bill. COURT OF SESSION. Mr. I'. DUNCOMBE presented a petition from the board of sessions in Dundee complaining of the conduct of the authorities, and praying for an inquiry. HEALTH OF TOWNS BILL. An HoN. MEMBER presented petitions from the printers and compositors of various towns in favour of the Health of Towns Bill. PARLIAMENTARY FEES. Mr. HUME, in rising to move the following resolu tions—That the: table of fees which was laid upon the table of the House upon the 6th day of May, be now read. That the several tables of fees and resolutions relating to fees of the 22d day of February 1731, the 19th day of June 1746, the 13th day of Juue 1751, the 2d day of July 1801. the 4th day of April 1803, the 18th day of May 1813, the 4th day of July 1822, the 16th day of February 1829, and the 22d day of July 1830, be repealed from the time the new table of fees shall commence. That the said table be agreed to, and shall commence from the end of the pre sent session of Parliament. That the said table of fees be made a standing order of this House— said that it would probably be in the recollection of the House that the Committee up stairs had recommended an alteration in the fees of the House. Agreeably to that report the House agreed to a resolution, by which the Speaker was requested to revise those fees, and to form them into a table which would be intelli gible to all parties, which the existing tables were not. The evidence stated that it was impossible, and the Clerk of the House could not even explain why many of the fees were charged, nor was this to be wondered at, when he found that they had been instituted and agreed to by that House, in different periods, from the year 1731, The table of these fees was now in the possession of every lion. Member, and in order that they might pre pare for the next session of Parliament, timely notice ought to be given to all parties concerned. He begged, therefore, to move that the table of fees, laid on the table of the House on the 6th of May, be then read. The table of fees was then read and agreed to. RAILWAY COMPANIES CAPITAL. Mr. HUME then moved the following resolution : ` 6 That no railway company which, by any Act or Acts of Parliament is now authorised to construct, purchase, or take on lease any line or lines of railway, shall by any future Act receive power to raise additional capital by shares, loan, or mortgage, for the completion or ex tension of suck line or lines, or for the purchase or taking on lease, or amalgamation with any other railway or canal, unless a clause be introduced into such Act, pro viding that the company shall not raise such capital until it has realised the whole of the capital which by existing Acts it is authorised to raise, or so much thereof as is sufficient for the completion of the works, or for other objects already sanctioned by Parliament. That no rail. way company shall be allowed to lease or sell any other line of railway until the whole capital shall have been subscribed, and one-half paid up." He hoped that the house would allow him to state the reasons he hail for bringing on this resolution. The evils arising out of the old system were still upon the increase, and it was quite necessary that some steps should be taken to remedy them. From several of the most important companies no returns had yet been received. There were no returns from the London and North-Western, the Midland, the Manches ter and Leeds, the Manchester and Preston, and the North Wales. By the returns, as far as he could ascer tain, Parliament had within the last two years sanctioned railway Bills authorising the raising of a capital in shares of 124.586,0004 The total amount of this which had beets paid up was 29,329,0001., leaving 96,262,0001. as yet unpaid. During the last two sessions the railway Bills passed also authorised the raising by loan a sum of 40,000,0001., of which 33,000,000/. had yet to be raised. Such was the vast amount of capital which the Bills of the last two sessions were empowered to raise. It was impossible to say what amount would be laid out in this year or the next, but an estimate had been made by an intelligent man, who stated that under the Acts now passed all capital sanctioned would be out by the end of 1849, or the middle of 1850, and if such were the case, there would be a large annual ex penditure—an expenditure of at least one and a quarter millions a week. What was the amount of capital likely to be called for in the present year. He found, by a Parliamentary paper of the present session, No. 168, that the amount of capital for Bills sent to their office was 82,553,000/., with a power to borrow 41.300,000/., so that the total capital alone amounted to 123,867,0001., which, added to the 1,640,000/. left from the two last sessions, would make a large sum indeed. Looking to the reckless manner in which this money was raised and spent, he did not believe that any manufacturing establishment in this country would be able to borrow money to carry on their business. A larger portion of the manufactures of England were carried on upon credit, and by this means they would be unable to get further advances. They ought to put a further check upon this expenditure, or they would endanger the whole commerce of the country, and the Exchequer itself. The Right Honourable Gentleman would find that the returns of the October and December quarters would not equal the returns of the last two quarters. He made these observations, because he thought that the Minis. ry, especially the present, ought not to be dependent on the Bank, or on any body of men, for the supplies they needed, but ought to obtain that which they needed from some other means.—( Great talking and confusion.) He did not like to trouble Hon Members with many figures.—( Cries of " Hear.") but it was only by figures that he could show the danger with which the country was threatened. He had shown that at the present time upwards of 164,000,00 at. were already em ployedmttai t a h e ctl later n n . t r t h a n di e a law y t i e ea lc: se,ee:at which,nsosde grea t if 0 w , t ooo othuheled / rc . eam m phaia o tkd r ae e l tio h ihkt a ee d bl yedb:enti demand tnahbri:ad call sanc tioned oecond.; la h r e g country e sumst oresaaethisftyo t t h h e e n s e u e m es : i f ty 3 , o o o c , e o a i s o io ,ooo ned l. by T th h e e f t a l m iffi in c e ul i t: Ireland, which had occasioned the abstraction of upwards of 10 ,000,000/. Then there was the money requisite for the corn that was daily sent into the country; and considering the un • certainty that hung over railway affairs, and which actuated the conduct of railway directors and railway companies, he did think that House had an interest in knowing the amount of their returns. He held in his hand a Liverpool share list, from which he found that many companies had from six to nine different kinds or classes of shares. At present a railway company autho rised to raise a capital of a million of money could not borrow money till a clear half of the capital was paid up, but this did not exclude them from applying for extensions or new lines, and what he wanted was, that no company should have a new line conceded to them, or be al lowed to lease any new line until they had paid up the whole of their original capital. Now, by the share list he held in his hand, he found that the South-Eastern Company, besides their original capital, had four dif forent kinds of shares, numbered respectively, Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4, and upon which various sums had been paid. He found that the London and South-Western had eight dif ferent kinds of shares, the London and North-Western ten kinds, and the Midland Railway twelve kinds of shares. In the case of the South-Western Railway, by twenty Acts pas-ed since the year 1836, they were empowered to raise 6,000,000/. and to borrow 2,600,000/. This sum was divided into 252,000 shares, ranging in amount from 251. to 501., and the sum of 321. hid been paid upon 95,000 of these shares. Of the whole amount of the capital authorised to be raised 3,656,060/. remained yet unpaid, and the company now came to the House for power to raise 3,000,000/. and to borrow 1,000,0001., making a total of 4,000,0001. Now, why did not the House compel them pay up the amount they were already authorised to raise, instead of giving them fresh powers to ob tain new capital to the enormous amount which they now sought power to raise? Two of these bills, amounting to 1,037,000/., were proposed to be conqructed out of the surplus profits, and of the other six bills, there were eight directors down on the subscription contract for 186,0001. each. This was an evasion of the rules of the House, which ought not to be permitted. It was coming forward with an array of paper men, instead of bullion men.—( Hear, hear.) But this was not all. The deposit of ten per cent, was to be paid out of the funds of the Company. He would ask if it was possible that a greater perversion of the designs of the Legislature (mull take place ? He had a report also from the Railway Commissioners concerning the Glasgow, Damfr't s, Carlsie, and Paisley Com pany, and the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Com pany, the total capital of which was to be 2,500,000/. They issued 80,060 shares to snake up this, in shares varying from 50/. to 101. each. This Ayrshire company had taken powers to lease the Kilmarnock and iTroon line for 999 years. He found that the same company had, by a recent Act, obtained power t o amal g amate with the Glasgow, R w a h il i w c a h y w C as om nb pa ta n i y nd in an 18 A 16 c . t called the Glasgow and Belfast Unio n. T his Ayrshire Com pany They had also agreed to amalga mation with another scheme for Dumfries th n had subscribed, it would appe ar, 360,0004 to enable the in a c n o d rpor C a a ti r o l n isle of and press forward their Bill. This was manifestly a v i o l at i on Glasgow, Dumfries, and Carlisle Company to go to Parliament of the standing orders. The subscription contract for the Ayrshire company had been signed by ten directors and one Mr. C. RUSSELL moved, pursuant to notice, that the minutes of the proceedings of the Committee on the Windsor Railway Bill, and the London and South- Western Railway (Richmond to Staines and Windsor, &c.) Bill, and the evidence taken in support of the pre amble of the Bills, be laid upon the table of the House. After a short discussion, Mr. STRUTT stating that he had no objection, Th e mo tion was agreed to. RAILWAYS. Mr. HUME said that he would move for a report of the evidence taken before the Committee of the Glasgow, Dum fries, and Aberdeen railway. DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH ROME. On the order of the day that the House go into Committee on the Loan Discount Bill, Mr. HORS'MAN desired to put a question to the Noble Lord the First Minister of the Crown, whether the Govern ment had any intention of placing the Italian States on the same footing as other European States, as far as regarded di plomatic relations. Lord J. RUSSELL said that he perfectly concurred with the Hon. Member's observations as far as they related to the liberal policy pursued by the present Pope; and it was his desire to see more formal diplomatic relations between that country and England. He had seen with very great pleasure the course which the present Pope had pursued—( Hear. ) which he believed would very much tend to the happiness f Italy. He should have no hesitation in saying that he thought paoslity, a t likely that it would be desirable to have di p lomati c relations with th e Court of Rome. But t he q uestion was one exceedingly t r i ca te—intricate in point of l a w, and as to in to - t e x c ite considerable discu ss i o n . T he law, stands, is extremely dou btful ; ther e are some wo r d s in itreesAenet of Parliament to which it is impossible to give a strict legal interpretation, and , the r efo r e, as the law at present stands it would not b e advistOle to send an accredited representative --.' f what they were d o i ng .—(H ear an d l aug h ter. ) H e wou ld I dispatch that part of the subject with this remark, namely, i that a man bad now to pay 20s. for what only oy,ght to cost him 15s. Now, with regard to the question of the currency, there could be no doubt that there never was a greater absenc e of speculation in this country, than was to be vvit nessed at th e present, motnent, while tra d e i could hardly ever have been more depressed. The people wondered, looking at. this state of things, upon what i e g x o p ld ia in n a t t h io e n B o a r n th k e of R Eignhgtla Hon. n -.- Baronet G overnment was justified in locking up nine millions of (Hear, ear , he t a . r the.) H H o e . thought verythe unsatisfactory and confused. He did not ma k e anyt hi ng lik e a d clear distinction The real quest i on before them, and y had to consider as, how to meet th e present state of t w he currency and whether the bank should be allowed to issue any other securities than gold ? im posed. A great deal had been said o f the danger of runs bein made on the Bank of England f or g o ld , i f no restriction wa s Now, in all his experience, he never knew a single instance of a run upon that institution. —(Hear, heatherefore, no dan ger to b e apprehended in that r. What they wanted wis an i ssue of what might be ( T ii h re e c re tio w n a . s, ) called small change, for the real circulation of the country were bills of exchange and cheques. By the.e all the great operations of the country were conducted. Now, to limit this note or small change circulation to fourteen millions was per fectly a v b e dthere was another b a d h arvest would the ei o to this restriction. D e p en d upon it sruirira.en Supposing tstilicling the country would soon call on them for an explanation and they must be prepared to look the question fairly in the face. With a sec o nd bad harve s t they would be forc e d t o b rea k through the p rov i s i ons o f thi s A c t. H e o pp ose d th e 13111 i n 1844, when it was proposed, and he had looked with great doubt upon its working ever since. Still it was passed by a very strong vote cf the House, and he submitted to it ; but now he called on the House to reconsider the step it had taken, and act on a more liberal policy. Mr. SPOONER moved the adjournment of the debate. After the pointed reference which had been made to him, it was impossible he could allow the question to pass without oc cupying the House for a short time. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER had no desire to deprive the Hon. Member of an opportunity of speaking, and if the House agreed, he had no abjection to an adjournment till to-morrow. It was important that they should go on with the Bill as quickly as possible, in order that it might pass the other House of Parliament before the holidays. Lord G. BENTINCK thought that the Government were not entitled to throw upon his friends the responsibility of postponing the discussion on the poor laws, fixed for Monday. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER did not mean to throw any blame upon Hon. Members on the other side of the House ; all he meant to say was, that if the debate were resumed on the Monday, it would be necessary to take the Poor law Bill on the same day. Mr. BANKES said an opinion was very strongly enter tained by many Hon. Members on both sides of the House, that this Poor-law Bill might be, without injury to the country, withdrawn altogether; he saw no reason, therefore, why they should get on with this Bill. Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that if the House consented to take a stage:that night they might bring up the report on Monday, and the discussion might take place on the third reading on Tuesday. Mr. SPOONER suggested that the Bill should be taken the first thing on Monday. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that he would endeavour to bring it forward at an early hour on that day. The, House then resolved itself into Committee, and the several clauses of the Bill were agreed to. The House resumed. In answer to a question, Lord J. RUSSELL said he thought Government was pledged to bring on the Poor-law Bill on Monday. Mr. WAKLEY said the best course would be to withdraw the Bill altogether. Lord J. RUSSELL said he certainly should persist in pro ceeding with the Poor-law Bill on Monday. The report was then ordered to be brought up this day. The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned at Half-past Twelve o'clock till Twelve to-day. NORTH WALES RAILWAY. A special meeting of the proprietors of this railway took place yesterday at the offices of the company, 2, Guildhall chambers, to take into consideration the propriety of reducing the number of directors from eleven to eight, in accordance with the provisions of the North Walesßailway Amendment Act passed last year. A requisition for such an object had been presented to the directors. Mr. Shaw, of Huddersfield, took the chair. The usual routine business having been transacted, a very irregular discussion took place as to the best method of in vesting the funds of the association, and in order to give time for the attendance of parties for the purposes of investi gation, and the meeting was adjourned to next Monday month. READING, GUILFORD, AND REI GATE RAILWAY. A meeting of the shareholders of this railway was adver tised to take place yesterday, but the directors having found themselves in a position to transact the required business without the sanction of the shareholders, no meeting took place. THE MURDER IN ST. GEORGE'S- IN-THE.EAST. On Wednesday afternoon an inquest was commenced before Mr. W. B a k er, coroner, at the Grave Maurice public-house, Whitechapel road, on the body of Agnes Macdonald, the wif e o f Gilb er t M ac d ona ld , a shipjoiner, whale death is alleged to have been caused from the effects of blows and kicks she received from her husband on Saturday evening last. The woman died thirty-six hours after the quarrel with her husband, who has been remanded on a charge of wilful murder, by Mr. Yardley, the Thames police magistrate. The particulars have been fully detailed. The jury, after being sworn, pro ceeded to view the 6.41 v, which preserted a most fright ful appearance. The head was covered with bruises, and the deceased hal evidently been must severely ill used. The state of the body and the degree of violence used will be best understood by the evidence of the surgeon, who was examined for the first time. Mr. Joseph Nash, the house-surgeon of the London Hospital, stated that the deceased was admitted into the institution on Saturdsy evening last, at seven o'clock. She was brought i n b y f our policemen on a stretcher. He examined her body xternally. She had a wound or cut down the nose, dividing the cartilage, two fractured ribs on the left side, and a great many contusions on different parts of her body, the most particular of which were on the abdomen, chest, and head. Her hands, on the wrist and parts above the knuckles, were also very much bruised, which appeared more to have been in curred by warding off blows than by giving them, the fingers not being much bruised, and the whole of the injuries appeared to have been of recent date, within a. few hours. She gradually sunk, and died a little after seven o'clock. He had since opened the body, to ascer tain more minutely the cause of death. The vessels of the brain on opening the head were found to be much congested, caused by severe blows on the right side, and immediately over the temporal muscle and the forehead. Two of the ribs on the left side were fractured, and the intestines were ruptured, and there was a great deal of mischief in the chest and abdomen, as if caused by blows or kicks. The lower part of the body appeared to have been kicked, or the injuries might have been caused by her being trampled u p on. H e had no doubt that the rupture of the ietestines was the immediate cause of death. The CORONER said the deceased has received injuries sufficient to kill halt-a-dozen persons. The cause of death was clearly described by the surgeon, and it would now be the duty of the jury to ascertain how and by whom the injuries were inflicted. He understood that a boy of tender years, the son of the deceased, had been already interrogated by the magistrate, but that he was not qualified to give evidence. The jury said they should like to hear what the boy had to say, without inserting his statement on the minutes of evidence. The CORONER said, in order to make the child's statement admissible, it was necessary it should be taken down in writing. The magistrate had decided that the boy was not a fit person to be examined as a witness, and had directed that he should be taken to the work house and properly instructed, to qualify him to take an oath. f e nt e h d er in d . iseu u ss e io i n s , aitswimasplaegrefeelidowth, aboutatthe boy eight A The jurors then put a great num b er o f questions to should ht y; oru a sl r do s mb o ee f age, with very little int e ll ec t. the boy, and with very great difficulty extracted from him, in broken sentences, that on Saturday last his father beat his mother and trampled upon her, and that when she was lying on the floor he jumped on her with his feet. His father was tipsy, but his mother was not. He saw him kick his mother as she was leaning against: the wall. The jury were nearly an hour extracting these few words from the child. Inspector Bilson, of the K division, said the boy told exactly the same story in the presence of his father, at the station house. The inquest was then adjourned, after the jury had heard some unimportant evidence. - BERLIN, MAY s.—Several cargoes of corn arrived here to-day, and others are expected. The importation of corn by land has also been considerable, so that the sales in our market to-day might be called dull. Rye was sold at 102 to 110 dollars per wispel (24 bushels), and oats from 46 to 50 dollars. In consequence of the prohibition of the distilleries, such a large supply of potatoes has come from the wealthy landowners, that there is sufficient, not only for planting and supporting the inhabitants, but also for feeding the cattle, so that we may hope for a great reduction in the price of this article. The Roscommon Journal contains the following horrifying statement :—" In the parish of Kilglass this week d t iinlegnvoi i u l the skeleton bodies of seven wretches were fo und _ inside : hedge. The dogs T o si f el the .e sloven oals suorroun d i ng sr stationedu one a o c f e which Iv With such a state of w caal a rin s leo a dst h oe e ua a tt r ae t nn a d n offl d sh a o p t orti on of the liver." thingthings, how is it possible to form an accurate estimate of the s of mortality, or to set any ' limit to the ravages of the QUEEN V. RICHARD D tahgteohsfehoanpd the es h pes a ti , l E en E ce in this case is still confined in the UNN.—The defendant Queen's Prison, where he will remain until the rule ti obtained by him to set aside the e ed r bj e points o proceedings n Court of Queen's Bench. The nisi was a d s g s La o n t u e , h d e , t a i r; e e r , w t hether the affida v it was properly sworn , cument on which perjury could b e assigned. Tri w ni a ty s a te rm d 4- commence s on Saturday week, and the matter will be dis cussed after the first four days of the term. ROYAL SURREY ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS AND JENNY LIND.---The season of 1847 will be characterised as producing two of the greatest events of modern times—Jenny Lind and the Siege of Gibraltar! Certainly nothing can excel the one or the other. The managers have reason to congratulate themselves and the public. Her Majesty the Queen Dowager has forwarded, through the Lord Bishop of London, the liberal donation of 1001. t o the Rev. Quekett, in aid of the funds for building additional schools and church in the poor and pope. boas district of Christ Church, St. George-in -the-East. The Portsmouth Theatre:was last Friday sold to Go vernment to make way for a contemplated extension of the infantry barracks. COLCRESTMr. D. W . H arvey visited this town on Saturday last, and called upon a number of his elec tioneering friends. A report is prevalent that he has still an itching to become one of the borough represented-fee again ; and is willing to resign his office of Police Commissioner provided his return to Parliament cap, b e ensured. ...... .. mo uth ke , ,'clock tented inud 6l Dl' n de Its t° the `She Xllec , i i one col' 1 pre" id the 1 last ,land• of on (la mer% r, re. a hal ono,' c i the l And me, In. ,anie g ;tea° ie of 111 r.