The Sun. — London, England, 1857-05-09 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS.-(YESTERDAY.) The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at 5 o'clock. The Earl of ALBEMARLE presented a petition from a perion named Williams, who took an interest in institutions for the benefit of the poor, praying for an extension of the elective franchise to persons who had purchased a Government annuity to the amount of 10/. The ;loble lord called the attention of their lordships to the act 16 and 17 Vic., chap. 45, for the facilitating the purchase of annuities to the smallest amount for 1/. up to 301. He believed it was one of the measures calculated to confer great benefits on those for whose benefit it was mainly passed. He thouht that the person who possessed a Government annuity was as much entitled to vote as those persons who possessed the 40s. franchise. THE DEBATE LAST NIGHT. The Earl of CARDIGAN rose to put a question to the noble lord the Secretary of State for War. He regretted that he was absent last evening wben the subject of China incidentally arose. Certain charges had been made against a gallant officer who was in command of a important expedition that was now on its way to China. He was very glad that the noble lerd opposite bad made such good remarks in reply, highly condemnatory of the conduct of those officers who had made themselves parties to anonymous statements re flecting upon the character of an officer who was not in a position to defend himself. He entirely concurred with the opinion expressed, that such officers, who were guilty of such attacks, should not be further employed by the Government, and asked if, in the present state of affairs it would not be advisable to institute proceedings. When an officer publicly avows himself to be the author of such statement., he shoul l be compelled to prove them, and in the event of his not being able to lo so, whether be ought not to be dismissed from her Majesty's service. It was high time that some check should be put upon conduct of that character, for he h4ieved if it was allowed to continue much' longer the discipline of the army would be destroyed. Lord PAN MURE said in the case where junior offi cers, anonymously or otherwise, made attacks upon su perior officers, he should feel it his dnty to give the Commander-in-Chief every assi'tance to maintain the discipline of the army. With respect to the charges that had been made against the noble earl himself, who had been made the subject of some attacks in a book published in the first instance anonymously, he (Lord Pan mure) advised the noble earl t) have confidence upon the honour and gallantry of his own con duct and character, and to treat such charges with the contempt they deserved, but if the noble earl wished to take any steps in the matter, he (Lord Pan mure) would afford him every assistance in his power to bring the libellers to justice. He would take that opportunity of setting himself right with the public press. It was reported that be had said that he did not think it was right for public journalists to criticise the appointments that had been made by Government. Now, he never had the folly to make such a remark. On the contrary, he held it to be the proper vocation of the public press to make such remarks as they thought necessary upon the appointments made by this or any other Go vernment, because the press was supposed t) be the organ and guide of public opinion. He did but com• plain of the manner in which the attacks had been made upon General Astiburnharn, namely of allowing the appointment to be made, and then three weeks after wards to elapse before the General left the country with out saying a word against that officer, and only bringing for yard those accusations when the General had left the country and had arrived at Malta on his way to the scene where his important labours were to be brought into action. After a few words from the EIJI of CARDIGAN, The Earl of HARDWICKI ,- .1 said it was most un seemly for any person to make such anonymous attacks. When such charges were made, it was most disgraceful that the parties did not append their names to the statements. REPORTS OF PARLIAMENTARY AND PUB- LTC PROCEEDINGS. Lord CAMPBELL rose and said,—My lords, I shall detain you for a very few minutes in moving for the re appointment of the select committee which was appointed during the last session to inquire into a very important and difficult subject—namely, whether the privilege now enjoyed by reports of the proceedings of courts ofjustice may be safely extended to the reports of the proceedings of the two Houses of Parliament and of other public as semblies. At present,according to the established law, the proceedings of courts of justice may be published with im punity if they are fair and bona fide. The greatest benefit has arisen to the public from that privilege, but it extends ne further—not even to the proceedings of the two Houses of Parliament. It has lately been decided—and I believe the decision is allowed to he a sound one—in the case of " Davison v. Duncan," that if, except in the case of proceedings of courts of justice, the editor of a journal publishes accounts of any other proceedings at all crimi natery of any individuals the proprietors of the journal in which the report is given are liable to an action. It was stated by my distinguished predecessor Lord Den man, that there was no immunity for a fair and faith ful and accurate account of the proceedings of this or the other House of Parliament. Now, there does seem to be a grievance here, because although ac tions are not frequently brought in consequence o the reports of proceedings of either House of Parlia ment, there is no doubt they may be brought. Con siderable anxiety prevails lest actions should be brought under such circumstances, and if actions are brought there can be no defence on the part of the most distin guished and trustworthy journals of this country. It seems to use, my lords, that this is a state of things which ought not to continue If it can be prevented. A remedy has been proposed to which I certainly can by no means accede—namely, that all distinctions between verbal and written slander shad be abolished, and that it shall be a complete defence of a written libel if the de fendant can show that the same statement has been made by any individual. This proposition is supposed to rest upon what is called " Lord Northampton's Case;" but as my noble and learned friend on the cross benches well knows, it is founded upon an utter misconception and misrepresentati in of that case. The dictum of the judges who sat in the Star Chamber went, if properly under goer', no further than this—that when what was said by another was repeated upon a proper occasion it might be defended ; but to allow that what has been whispered in a corner may be published in every journal in the empire with impunity would be wholly inconsistent with the protection doe to the characters of individuals. If all that is said at a public meeting, or in an assembly that way be called a public meeting, is to be pub lishes(' without any remedy being provided fur those who a characters may be attacked, the most mischievous consequences will ensue. Public meetings may be got up for purposes of calumny, and the person who utters the calumny may be a roan of straw, who will fly the country as soon as be has uttere 1 his slanderous state ment. I think, however, that a remedy ma s a be devised which will, at all events, mitigate the evil that exists at present. Some years ago I myself proposed that com plete immunity should be given to fair reports of what took place in either House of Parliament. My proposition was supported by the late Lord Denman, but, unfortu nately, it was not successful. I certainly cannot conceive any well-g.ounded objections to that proposal. All the arguments by which you suport the privilege of reports of law proceedings will equally apply to the proceedings of the two Houses of Parliament. What is the founda tion of triat immunity of law reports ? The putdic good. Well, I suppose your lordships and all the members of the other house are of opinion it is for the public good that the proceedings of both Houses of Paitliarnent shored be made known to the country ? ([leer.) There are, ho N ever, other assemblages with whose proceedings it is desirable that the public should be acquainted. This day, I bt heves Convocation assembled, and I suppose that to morrow we shall have an account of the speeche a t f our most reverend and right reverend frit aa. Notwithstanding the grave character of that a semi lv, statements are sometimes made there which might form the grounds of action ; an it would he extremely hard if proceedings were taken against the Tiatcs or any other journal for accounts of what hail been said by the Arch bishop of Canterbury or by the Bi-hop of St. David's. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) It may he urged—but I only throw out the suggestion, an I give no opinion on the matter—that the immunity shard be exteuded to all meetings held under the authority of an Act of Parlia merit, and to which the public may rightfully claim ad mission. Some line must be drawn, for it would ha monstrous to contend that anything that can be called a public assemblage should be privileged. If that were the cave, no doubt Mr. Ernest Jones's meetings and the Sunday assemblages in Hyde-park would be much fre quented by those who wished to calumniate their neigh bours.l Some line must be drawn with regard to the pub ic meetings to which the privilege is extended ; but, if this cannot be done, it is matter for consideration whe ther it might not be enacted that if a fair account of what has taken place at a public meeting is given, and no real damage is inflicted upon the character of any one by such publication, the jury might be entitled, in case of an action being brought, to hod a verdict for the de fendant. Until very lately it a jury found a verdict for a farthing damages full costs followed, but the law iu that respect is ,altered.. I ask your lordships, however, to consider the case of an acti en for libel where the plaintiff has suffered no damage, but whether the proprietors of the jeurnel against which proceedings are taken are otteed b pay a very heavy ears as tests, independently of the anxiety and dis agreeable consequences which the mere fact of having an action brought against them usust emission. I merely offer these suggestions bin order to induce your lordships to institute an inquiry on the subject, and I trust you will consent to the renewal of the committee which was appointed last session. Lord Campbell then proceeded to say that he also wished to take the oppor tunity of calling their lordships' attention to the manner in which oaths were administered to witneases who were' eatoined before committees of that house. When the house was not sitting witnesses could nut be etvoru, and persons were frequently brought up from the country who were kept in town for some days, or were sent back to their homes and again brought to London to be sworn, either proceeding entailing very consideradle expense. The shift was sometimes resorted to °fell , wing witnesses to give evidence without being sworn, and of afterwar swearing them at the bar of the house to the truth of all they had stated. The most serious inconvenience arose otn the present practice, for at times so great were the ceavd and confusion at the bar that people were inclived to suppose that a mob had rob e d in, and as much alarm THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 9, 1857. was occasioned as if Lord Geo. Gordon's mob had broken into the house. (A laugh.) The only question was how a I change was to be brought about—whether by a standing order or by legislation. He had been of opinion that le gislation was not necessary, and that theirlordsbipspro prio vigore had power to authorise witnesses to be sworn before select committees. Since be last called their lord ships attention to the subject it had been further inquired into by his learned friend Mr. Macqueen, and the opi nion he had entertained had been fortified by the result. His lordship then referred to the precedent of the tryers of petitions, who examined witnesses no doubt on oath. If such power as that existed, might not the house order its committees to administer an oath ? At the same time he gave no decided opinion on the point, and did not propose a standing order in reference to the mat ter. He believed ;hat the noble and learned lord on the woolsack and the noble and learned lord on the cross• benches (Lord Wensleydale) felt doubts as the power of their lordships to allow witnesses to be sworn before se lect committees, and until those doubts were resolved he should by nb means propose to move a standing order on the subject. It might be said that the House of Com mons would object to pass a bill empowering their lord ships to swear witnesses before a select committee, as that house had no such poser itself ; but that was an anomaly which ought to be removed, and such autho rity ought to be given to the House of Commons. The noble and learned lord concluded by moving for a select committee to consider whether the privilege now enjoyed by reports of the proceedings of courts of justice might be safely and properly extended to reports of the pro ceedings' of the two houses of Parliament, and of any and w bat other assemblies or public meetings, under any and what conditions or restrictions ; and also for a select committee to consider and report on the expe diency of altering the present mode of administering oaths to witnesses to be examined by committees of the house. He proposed to add to the committee Viscount Eversley, whose great Parliamentary experience and con stitutional learning would, no doubt, be found of ,great advantage. (Hear.) The LORD CHANCELLOR thought that allj their lordships would concur in the propriety of the course proposed to be pursued by the noble and learned lord. Both the subjects to which attention had been called were of the greatest importance. With respect to the last alluded to he confessed, looking at the matter with the eye merely of a lawyer, he doubted whether it would he safe to attempt to effect the important change suggested simply by a standing order. It might be possible, inves tigating the subject with the eye of an antiquarian, to discover precedents, leading to a conclusion that the right of delegating to committees of the house to swear wit nesses did exist ; but it must be felt, if such a course were taken and a witness were afterwards charged with per jury for evidence given before a committee, that it would be to the last degree doubtful what might be the decision of the judges on the validity of the oath so ad• ministered ; and therefore, in matters which might in volve criminal consequences of great importance, he was satisfied that legislations was the wisest course to pur sue. The object of administering oaths was to give the highest sanction to truth, and it was always said that an oath should be administered with the greatest solemnity and by the highest functionaries ; but any of their lordships who had witnessed the administration of oaths in that house must be aware that the object was entirely defeated. His noble and learned friend had cer tainly not exaggerated the indecorum attendant on the swearing of witnesses at the bar of the house. S nue times, in consequence of the rushing in of witnesses to be sworn at the bar, there was such a disturbance that the proceedinv of a judicial nature which were going on had to be suspended, or else they were continued in the midst of noise made by a crowd at the bar taking oaths. There was the least possible solemnity in the mode of adminis tering oaths, and that the evil ought to remedied he had no doubt. He was sure that a power given to select committees of their lerdships house to swear witnesses I would work well, and the oaths would then be adminie tered with solemnity. He saw no difficulty in the sug gestion that the Commons would not pass a bill to enable witnesses to be sworn before their lordships committees without claiming a similar privilege for them-elves, for be saw no reason wby they should not enjoy such a pri vilege if it established an additional security in favour of the truth. In that motion of his noble and learned friend's, therefore, he entirely concurred, although he would caution him and the rest of their lordships not to be led away by' el•f antiquarian precedents of what bad been done by the tryers of petitions in former days, which might afford very scanty security against what might be decisions of Westminster-ball in modern times. With regard to the other motion be entirely agreed in the expediency of removing what he admitted to be an acknowledged and crying evil. He thought that it would be very difficult to arrive at a definition of what should be regarded as a public meeting ; but he believed that the suggestion of his noble friend that juries should have the power, in cases where they thought that no damages had been inflicted, of finding a verdict for the defendant which would give the defendant his costs would afford a simple and practical remedy for the exist ing evil. He reserved to himself, however, the right to examine the subject more in detail before committing himself to the approval of any particular measure. The motion Va'4 then agreed to. TRA NS PO EtTATION. The Fail of CARNA.RVON, who had a notice on the paper with regard to transportation and penal servi tude. declined to open the question, perceiving that the Home Secretary had revived his bill on the subject in the other house. Their lordships adjourned at five minutes past six. HOUSE OF COMMONS.-(YESTERDAY.) The SPEAKER took the chair at ten minutes to four o'clock, when the swearing in of members was proceeded with, and about a doz,!u took the oaths and their seats. PRIVATE BILLS. The Cierk at the tahle read a long list of private bills standing over from the last session of Parltatnent, and they were advanced to the stage at which they had ar- rived previous to the dissolution. COMMITTEE ON STANDING ORDERS. Col. W. PATTEN moved the nomination of the fol lowing select committee on standing orders : Colonel Wilson Patten, Mr. Henley, Mr. Sotherton E-qcourt, Sir H. Ferguson, Sir J. Yarde Buller, Mr. Palmer, Mr. Wrightion, Mr. Bramston, Mr. Tbornely, Mr. E. Lock hart, and Mr. Bonham-Carter. Col. FRENCH complained of the absence of two Irish members on the committee according to the usual practice. . _ After a few remarks from Col. WILSON PATTEN, the motion waa agreed to. COMMITTEE OF SELECTION. Colonel WILSON PATTEN moved the nomination of the fallwing committee of selection :—Mr. Sotheron Estcourt, Sir Robert Ferguson, Mr. Bonham-Carter, Mr. Palmer, Lord Harry Vane, and the chairman of the select committee on standing orders. Agreed to. PRIVATE BILLS. Colonel WILSON PATTEN moved the following re solution :—That the committee of selection have power to form and appoint the meeting of all committees on the private bills referred to them or to the General Com mittee on Railway and Canal Bills, provided seven clear dap elapse between tho second reading of such bills and the sittings of the committee thereon ; and that three clear days' notice only be given by the clerk of the com mittee of selection to the clerks in the Private Bili office of the day and hour fixed for the first meeting of such committee.—Agreed to. Petitions were presented in favour of an amendment in the civil service superannuation fund ; for the amend ment of the Shipping Act ; for a better registration of voters ; for the removal of Jewish disabilities ; for the repeal of the paper duty ; for the better provision of juvenile reformatories ; for the extension of the suffrage, parliamentary reform, vote by ballot, and direct taxa tion ; amendment of the law for the sale of beer ; con pliining of the present poor-law board control. MAYNOOTH. Mr. SPOONER gave twice of his usual motion on Maynootb, on the 21st instant. (Lnwl laughter.) PUBLIC HOUSE LICENSES. Mr. K. SEYMER, asked the Secretary of State for the Howe Department whether the Governmentintended to propose any alteration in the present mode of licens ing public-houses and beer-shor Sir G. GREY said it was not the intention of the Government t.) introduce a measure during the present Session of Parliament. He begged, however, to say that the law, with reference to licensing public-houses and beer-shops, was very defective. (Hear, bear.) It was a question requiring to be dealt with with great caution from the amount of capital invested in the trade, as well as other circumstances connected with it. (Hear, hear.) SUPERANNUATED FUND. In answer to a question, Tue CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the report had not been received, but he hoped it would shortly be laid before Parliament. NEWFOUNDLAND FISHERIES. Sir J. PAKINGTON gave notice that on Monday he should present a petition from Newfoundland on the proposed conditions of the French Government relative to the fisheries of that coast ; and on the same day he should put a question to her Majesty's Government as to what were the intentions of the Government on that subject. THE ADDRESS. The report of the committee on the address was brought ❑p by Mr. Dodson, and read by the Clerk at the table of the house. On the motion that the address be agreed to, Mr. HADFIELD referred to the exaggerated state ment contained in the Royal Speech relative " to the progressive development of productive industry through out her Majesty's dominiong, ' and denied that the state of the country and our colonies was in such a prosperous condition as to warrant that statement. Mr. BOWYER asked when the committee on public moneys was to be appointed ? Mr. WILSON paid be saw no reason why it should not be done immediately. Mr. BRISCOE txpressed his satisfaction at the answer of Lord Palmerston 111;; night relative to Parliamentary reform and church. rates. The motion was then wzreed to, and ordered to be pre sented to her Mnjel,ty. On the motion of Lord PALMERSTON, the address was ordered to be taken into consideration on Monday next. THE TRANSIT. Mr. W. S. LINDSAY rose to ask for some explana tion regarding the Government transport, the Transit. On the 7th of April this vessel sailed from Spithead, Laving on board 30 of the Royal Engineers, 216 of the 90th Feet, and 119 of the 59th, besides officers. O n the Bth she pot back on account of an accident ; havit g " brought up" near the Nee lies and anchored for the, night, she swung on her anchor, and knocked a hole in her bottom. She was, as he had been inf artne I, effici ently repaired, and again sailed, and the next account received of her was from Corunna, of date the 19th of April. He wished it to be understood that he took these particulars from the public journal, and desired to have an explanation regarding them, making no charge of his o n. Tiaey were told that the Transit put into Corunna in deep distress ; and a gentleman on board, who was described by the correspondent of the Times at Ports mouth as a person of intelligence, respectability, and rank, gave the following description of what had occurred on the voyage:— " Here we are, done up ! two days' Bay' weather sent us in here to bs fresh rigged ! You never saw a worse sea boat in your life—crank, top-heavy, and everything that's bad ! . . . Such an old tub you never saw ; the rigging never set up, or anything secured; we had hard work to keep the masts from going over the side ; if she had pitched instead of rolling, I am sure the foremast must have gone over the bows. . . . In fact, a greater tub to roll I never saw. She is top-heavy. lam certain she will never weather the Cape. . . She is a disgrace to the British Go vernment, and more so to the dockyard authorities. . . • There are not one dozen men (troops) on board with dry hammocks, every seam in her deck letting in water." The Transit was one of three vessels—viz., the Perse verance, the Urgent, and the Transport—which were bought by the Government from the Meisre. Mare at a time when transports were in great demand. Many gen tlemen of that house must remember the Perseverance, which was allotted to them on the day of the great naval review at Spithead, when he believed many members were not privileged to see the review at all. This ship on en tering the dockyard at Deptford capsised, and did a great amount of damage, not tnerely to herself; but to the storehouses in the yard. Noble lords in another place would remember the Transit, for it was the vessel which bad been appointed to carry them to the naval review, and it served them even a worse turn than the Persever ance had served the Commons. The third vessel was the Urgent, but, as he had not given any notice to the right hon. gentleman, the First Lord of the Admiralty of his intention to question him as to this vessel, he should not expect him to enter into any explanation in reference to the various reports which bad been published about her. The Urgent left Spithead on the 28th of Feb. last with the 49th Regiment on board for Barbadoes, and it was stated that, having sprung a dangerous leak in the Bay of Biscay, she had put into Corunna on the 31 of March in a sinking state, and would certainly have foundered but for the calm weatherand the daring act of, the second engineer, who set free the valves of the engine pumps. On the 9th of March she put into Madeira, and after sailing thence she broke her engine gear, whicla was how. ever repaired in 24 hours. Her engines were again set to work, but again broke, and she was obliged to proceed to Barbadoes under sail, where she arrived on March 27. Another letter from Barbadoes, dated April 6, entirely confirmed this statement. The writer said that for the first two days of the voyage everything went on right, but that on the third day it was discovered that a leak had been sprung and that there was eight feet of water in the hold. An attempt was made to set the pumps to work, but it was found that they would not work. There were 800 men on board, and the boats would only hold 300, so that they were obliged to set about making rafts. Luckily they got into Corunna just before the furnaces went out. After leaving Madeira the engines broke down twice, and it was found on arriving at Barbadoes—this was so extraordinary a statement that he could scarcely understand it—that the screw had worked out a large piece of iron from one of the plates in the ship's stern, and she took in so much water that 30 men were kept at work at the pumps during the whole time. These three ships were built by Messrs. Mare, builders of great eminence, who had turned out some very fine ships ; but it was stated that after they left Messrs. Mare and came into the hands of the Ad miralty alterations were made in them which entirely spoiled them. It was reported and very generally be lieved that the Admiralty built large poops and raised forecastles on them, and pot masts into them far too heavy fur their tonnage. These ships were built on very fine lines, long and narrow, and the effect of such altera tions as these would be to destroy their stability in the wind. Masts which would keep a ship of 56 feet beam stiff in the wind ,would be too long and heavy for a ship of 35 feet beam, and would make her anything but stiff. With the top weightabove and the fine lines below every seam of her would open in a heavy rolling sea, and this would account for all the men's hammocks being perpe tually wet, and for all other accidents spoken of. It was very extraordinary that accidents should have happened to all these three ships, and he hoped, for the sake of the agonised feelings of those who had relatives on board the Transit, Low ou her way to China, that the right hon. gentleman would be able to give some satisfactory expla nation of these various statements. The hon. gentleman concluded by asking whether these three vessels were bought from the Messrs. Mare, what price had been paid fur them, and whether, after they had come into the hands of the Admiralty, the alterations which he had described had been roads in them ! Mr. BENTINCK thanked the hon. gentleman for having brought this subject under the notice of the house, and before the right hon. gentleman the First Lord of the Admiralty answered the questions of his honourable friend, he wished to ask whether an other circumstance respecting the accident to the Transit, which had been stated in the newspapers, but which bad not been adverted to by his honourable friend, Atas correct! The circumstance of the Transit being allowed to ground on her own anchor showed great neglect and carelessness, bat it was stated that the ex istence of the leak was not discovered until five o'clock next morning, when the engineer went into the engine room. It was impossible to suppose that in a vessel •f that class there would be no proper night watch kept, or that there would be no officer whose duty it would be to ascertain the state of the ship during the night, but he should be glad to hear from the right hon. gentleman whether anything had come out before the court of inquiry which had been held on this accident to give foundation for such a statement. Sr C. WOOD said, he was very glad to have the op portunity of making a statement on this subject, be cause it was impossible to deny that a very strong feeling had been created in the country by the various reports and the various letters which had appeared in the public papers in reference to these vessels. He hoped • the house would excuse him if he went at some length into this matter, for he hoped to be able to remove from the public mind the unnecessary degree of alarm which had been excited by theestatement to which the hon, gen tleman the member for Tynemouth had referred. These three vessels were built by Messrs. Mare, who were builders in the river of the highest possible character. They were not built with reference to the anticipated de , wand in consequence of the war, but when the war broke out, and there was a great demand for troop-ships, E the Admiralty hearing that these vessels were likely to suit them caused them to he surveyed by the master shipwrights of Woolwich and Deptford, and, upon their report that they were well calculated to carry troops and • stores, purchased them. The only alteration they sug gested was that they should be so fitted that their screws could be raised. The hon. geetlernan (Mr. Lindsay) - bad asked whether it was true that these shipe were fitted with the masts of two-deckers, and that such bal -1 last bad been put into them as entirely to alter their trim and change them from very safe to exceedingly • crank and dangerous vessels The fact was that the size • of their poops had been increased and the fore part of the vessels had been covered over so as to afford greater accommodation for the ship's company, and thus to leave the whole decks clear for the accommodation of • the troops. This was done with the lightest possible ma r terials, and did not seriously add to the weight of the upper part of these ships. All these ships had been I fitted with lighter masts and yards and with a smaller quantity of sail than was intended to be given to them by their builders. He had not the particulars of the equipment of all the three ships, but he could state to the house the facts as to the Transit. The Transit, in stead of having the masts of a two.d.eceer, or of a vessel of that tonnage, according to the Admiralty scale, had the same masts as were put in.eo some 20-gun corvettes which bad recently been built and sent to sea, and which were reported to be so stiff that the Admiralty were about to build another vessel of the same size and to give her an upper deck. The Satellite was one of these corvettes, and the masts of the Transit were similar to those of the Satellite. The burden of the Satellite was 1,460 tons, that of the Transit 2,580 tons ; the length of the Satellite was 200 feet, that of the Transit 300 feet ;the beam of the Satellite 40 feet 4 inches, that of the Transit 41 feet 4 inches. Therefore, so far from having the masts aud.yarde of a vessel larger than her self, the Transit was rigged according to the scale of a vessel 100 feet shorter and 1,120 tons less than herself. The Witold weight of the upper works of the Transit vim 62 tons ; that of the guns and shot carried on the upper deck of the Satellite, 84 tone. Tied area of the sails intended to be given to the Transit by her builders was 18.800 square feet ; the urea of those which she actually carried was only 1 0,400, The result of all these calculations was faat the stability of the Transit as compared with that of the Satellite and her sister corvettes was as 3 to 2. These vessels were not built for troopships, but so f.ar from having spoiled them by the alterations which they bad made in them, the Admiralty had very con siderably undermasted them. They were built for carrying cargoes, which would be put low into the ships, and would be carried during the whole of the voyage ; therefore, when they came to be used as troopships, it was necessary to put ballast into them to counteract the lightness of troops as compared wlth dead-weight cargo, and to provide against the results of the con sumption of water and provisions on the voyage. Into none of them, however, was there put so much ballast as to sink them below the point intended by the builders to be their water-li Lie. In the case of the Transit the Admiralty were riot satisfied with the calculations alone, but made, experiments upon her at Sheerness, both with troops and with dead-weight, the effect of which was entirely to confirm their result. A few hours before he came down to the House he had put into his hands a publication called the Mechanic's Magazine, containing an article upon the Transit, written, ho believed, by a person of great reputation who ' , glee a witness of these experiments, and in that article there was the following passage we express in numbers the ratios of the moment of sfals 4 eity to the moment of the sails—which is the meaeure of f ae stiffness of the ship under canvas, then while the Pe! al and the Satellite aro each represented by the number 51 ,the Transit will be represented by t ne num b er 69. This is when the vessels are light. When they are deep the n umbers are,---Pearl and Satellite each 84, and Transit 119. ".'he relative stiffnesses under steam alone are, when light, :Pearl and Satellite each 53, Transit 67 ; when heavy Pearl and Satellite each 82, Transit 116. As a further evidence of the stiffness of the Transit, we may compare her stability with that of the Adventure (formerly the Resolute), which was justly praised in the Tunes of Tuesday, May 6, by Mr. J. Laird of Birkenhead, who built her. These ?hips are of about tea same size, the displacement or weights differing only by three tons—that of the Transit being 2,751 tons and that of the Adventure 2,744 tons. The sta bility of each of these ships was estimated approximately; the decks, engines, masting gear, equal weights of ballast, &c., being taken into account; and while the stability of the Adventure was found to be 5,130 tons, that of the Transit was no less than 8,484 tons." He hoped, therefore, that the house would be satisfied that both by calculation and by experiment the Transit had been proved to be as steady a vessel as could be sent to sea. The experiments of which he bad spoken were tried after the poop and forecastle were put on, and therefore showed the quality of the vesse l, no t as she was when she was purchased, but as she was at the present time. The hon. gentleman (Mr. Lindsay) bad referred to the case of the Perseverance. It was true that an accident occurred to that ship when in dock at Wool wich which occasioned some alarm, but since she had been at sea she had done her duty remarkably well. On the day of the naval review complaints were made by bon, members of a delay on the railway, but he was not aware that any one had made any complaint of the ac commodation on board the Perseverance, or of the man ner in which that vessel had performed the service for which sbe was appointed. About a week ago he had received a letter from Captain Macdonald, one of the crificerd present on board the Perseverance at the time of the szcident to which the hon. gentleman had referred. Tbat letter stated,— " You need not be in the least anxious as to this ship's being top-heavy ; for on;our arrival at Barbadoss we had only four tons of coal dust aid a ♦ery few days' bread and provisions left." The Perseverance, therefore, had performed its duties without the slightest complaint of any sort or kind. With regard to the next Vessel to which reference had been made, the Urgent, he could only state that he was not aware that any well-founded complaint had been made against that vessel as distinguished from her en gines. It was true that, as regarded her engines, a complaint had been made about an occurrence which took place when first she went to sea, but the house must remember that the engines of these vessels, and the machinery connected with those engines, were not ma nufactured in Government dockyards, but by engine makers in different parts of the country. The engines of the Transit and Urgent were built by the Messrs. Napier of Glasgow, builders of great celebrity, for the Russian Government, and they had been seized at the commencement of the war and placed in those vessels Now, what had happened in reality to the Urgent ? It was perfectly true that an accident happened to the Urgent in the Bay of Biscay, but the accounts which had appeared in the newspapers wero founded rather upon the imagination of the writers of them than from the real facts of the case. In order to show to the House what actually did occur, he would read the letter which had been recaived from the commanding officer, and which ran as follows : ' "Her Majesty's ship, Urgent, Corunna, March 5 1857. "Sir,—Exaggerat e d accounts wi'l find their way to England about the Urgent and the 49th Regiment having to put into Corunna. I shall take the liberty of laying before you the facts. The leaden joints or washers inserted between the blow-off pipe and the Kingston valves proved rather too slight for their work, and were blown out, thus dividing the pipe by which the water from the boilers is driven into the sea. It is my belief, also, though I have no proof to offer, that some small substance, such as a bit of wood or coal, w as d r i ven th roug h th e K ingstons, and tem porarily prevented their closing after blowing off. My letter to the Board states the time and circumstances of the water coming into the ship, and which at one time rose nearly up to the fires. Under the circumstances—made so much more grave from our not knowinghow to account for the leak —we manned all the pumps, made use of the fire-engine, and of all the buckets to bale. The compartments forward and aft were tight, and continef all the water to the stoke-hole, and in a short time we had mastered the water. By 1 p.m. the ship was dry and the cause of the leak discovered. The chief engineer stated that the defect could be made good at sea, but as Corunna was not much out of the way I deter mined to put in there and coal, instead of stopping at Ma deira for that purpose, by which means the defects would be made good with more certainty and with more satisfac tion to those persons embarked in the ship ; but I have no hesitation iL saying that the ship might have gone any where without anchoring to repair the defective joints, al though we should have found ourselves obliged to blow off much of the water in the boilers into the bilges—a very objectionable proceeding, and, of course, involving the ne cessity of pumping it out again. Since arriving here wa have made iron joints instead of those broken, and having nearly filled up with coal, I hope to proceed to Barbadoes at 2 p m. " Captain Milne, R.N. " C. G. PHILLIPS." (Hear, hear.; Attacks of this sort were very amusing, because they seemed to imply that it was only Govern ment vessels that suffered from bad weather, but a cir cumstance had come to his knowledge which showed that other vessels suffered also. At the very time the Ur gent went to sea a fine merchant ship did so likewise, and, encountering the same gale, was not injured slightly like the Urgent, but was driven back dis mantled, As regarded the Transit, her engines had, as he had already stated, been originally built for the Russian Government, and be would frankly ad mit that they had turned out ill, and had broken down ; but all the accidents which had occurred were to be attributed to the engines, and not to the ship itself. During the war the necessity for the services of the vessel was so great that it was impossible to lay her by and put in new engine, and all that could be done was to re pair the existing engines as well as possible, but at the close of the war they had been taken out and new ones substituted for them, and the ship at the present mo ment was perfectly ready to go to sea. With regard to the particular accident to which reference had been made he would inform the house how it occurred. The ship left Portsmouth, and proceeding to the Needles encoun tered a thick fog, and the commander knowing that there was a large number of merchant vessels about de termined to anchor. He did so, and in the course of the night, the tide having changed, the ship drifted over the anchor, which upon being raised was found to have had its stock broker, and no doubt the bole in the bottom of the ship had been caused by the vessel striking the anchor-stock. The conduct of the captain was, no doubt, exceedingly negligent—(hear)—and the court of inquiry bad not, as had been stated in the newspapers, acquitted him of all blame, but, on the contrary, had ordered him to be reprimanded, and he had been repri manded most severely. He was an officer of high cha racter, and had served with great credit to himself, and it was not thought that a single instance of carelessness should in his case be visited by his being superseded. Now, although it had been stated that he (Sir C. Wood) ought to be sent to sea in the Transit, and that tbe Board of Admira:ty had been guilty of more than Crimean mismanagement, bow, he would ask the house, could any precaution on the part of the dockyard authorities ot• the Board of Admiralty have prevented such an ac cident ? Now, with regard to the Transit having put into Corunna, the hon. gentleman had referred to a let• ter describing the dangers which the ship incurred in the Bay of Biscay. He did not know whether the gentletrian who wrote the letter was suffering from that depression of spirits which sometimes display ed itself on board ship in those not accustomed to the sea, and therefore took a gloomy view of matters ; but he could only say he bad received a very different ac• count. He would read to the house a letter which he had received from a friend of his, whose brother was in command of the troops on board the Transit : " Dear Sir Charles,—l received last night a letter from my brother, written on board the Transit, at Corunna, the tone of which is so different from that of one which I have just read in The Times that I think it right to let you know what he says- My brother is in command of the troops on board. and though by no means given to grumb ling, would not be likely to conceal from me any serious complaint in such a matter. Ho says that the Transit had to encounter a four days' gale in the Bay of Biscay, the wind blowing right in their teeth ; that they shipped a g ood deal of water (no mention of any leak), and that their foremast rigging having got loosened, they have put into Commis in order to get it put to rights, and expect to be off again the fol:owing morning. He speaks in high terms of the general arrangements for the comfort of the troops, who he says are in perfect health, and is warm in his praises of Captain Chambers. His whole letter is written in the best spirits, and certainly conveys no idea of any misgivings as to the safe arrival of the Transit." It was by no means an unusual thing for the rigging of a newly-rigged ship to stretch, and the rigging of the Transit had no doubt stretched and required to be set up. He bad been told by a naval officer an instance of a ship which, after having been at Portsmouth ten months, went across,the Bay of Biscay, and in that case the rigging was so stretched that it was necessary to set it up. The operation of setting up the rigging of a ship might he understood be performed at sea, but in the present instance it bad been thought more convenient to do it at Corunna. Ho would read an extract from the report of the sailing qualities of the ship Transit, dated the 22d of August, 1856, signed by the commander, master, and the carpenter:— " Does she ride easy at anchor?—Yes, so far as tried. " Does she roll easy or uneasy in the trough of the sea ? —Deep. but easy. " Is she, generally speaking, an easy or uneasy ship ? —Easy." That statement would, he thought, serve to show the house that the Transit had been tried in every possible way. He might add that there was now no complaint made with respect to her engines, and he was sure the house would not fail to see that the first accident which had befallen her was not to be attriblated to any omission on the part either of the Admiralty or of the authorities at the dockyard, but rather to negligence on the part of her commander, while the accident which had happened to her in the Bay of Biscay was one to which any ship might under similar circumstances be liable. He trusted he had now satisfied the house upon the subject, and would venture to express a hope that what had fallen from the hon. member for Tynemouth would ind woe the observance of snore caution and more forbearance, in lay ing such letters as they have read before the, public. (Hear, hear.) He should not of course in the 'slightest degree complain of any attacks which might be made upon tho Board of Admiralty. It was but nattual that they should txpect to be found fault with ; lout such statements as had been put forward were crtud to the relatives of those whose safety was connected with the seaworthiness of a particular vessel, w'aile they were not calculated to effect any good • whatever. (Hear, hear) When a ship went upon a loifg voyage a considerable time must elapse before any informa tion could arrive with respect to her crew, and much unnecessary anxiety wan caused by commro,nications which, while they raised alarm, rendered it irrspossible in the absence of authentic inform rition thatthe a / a rm should be removed. Admiral smactyrr said tbat if the question under their notice had nut been introduced by the hon. gentle man the memoer for Tynemouth be should, have felt it to be his duty to submit it to the b?nie. The subject had now, hoot ever, been fully entered into, and he should make only a ob ervatior s w th respect .to it. In refe rence to the ciltumstance of the Transit baying grounded her anchor at the Needles, he must say that he very much doubted whether she ought to Playa anchored in such very shoal water, while he admitted the force of the statement which had been made by the right hon. bart., to the effect that a great fog had prevailed at the time. It had been stated in the papers that the commander o 09 vessel had been fully acquitted ; but it appeared the Board of Admiralty had f una him guilty of great ne glect, and he (Admiral Walcott), as a naval officer, must confess that he had, in his opinion, been deserve , ily re primanded, inasmuch as he had not taken those precau tions is the p^slion of the ship which the circumstances of the case demanded. The hon. gentleman the member for Norfolk had alluded to the fact as somewhat singular that the water bad risen to such a height in the ship without bt log observed, and with respect to tbat point, he (A.rinciral Walcott) could not help thinking that some degree of neglect had takai place. It was not without considerable pain that he felt it to be hie duty to utter a word against the conduct of a brother officer, but he thought the conduct of the commander in the present instance was such as to sill for censure. The Transit, however, subsequently got into heavy water in the Bay of Bi.eay, and, as every naval officer must know was the case when a ship with new rigging encountered a severe gale in that sea, her rigging had stretched. Under such circumstances there was a clear course for the command ing officer to adopt. The technical mode of proceeding in such a state of things the gallant admiral pointed out by holding out his hat before him and inanatuvring it in ex planation of his views. He could not exactly understand Why the ship had put into Corunna at all ; be that as it might, he now felt perfectly persuaded that she was seaworthy, and instead of foundering at the Cape of Good Hope, would be found to make a prosperous voy age to China. With respect to the mast of the vessel, he would only say that it was quite evident she was not overmasted or overtopped. Ths subject was then dropped. CHAIR OF MILITARY SURGERY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. Mr. BLSCK asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it was the intention of the Go vernment to make an appointment to the chair of mi litary surgery in the University of Edinburgh, which had been vacant for more than 12 months ? Sir G. GREY said that the appointment lay in the hands of his noble friend the Secretary for War, who had selected an officer for the purpose. That gentleman would, he believed, enter upon thedischarge of his duties on the 15th inst. The motion for the adjournment' of the house until Monday was Cleo agreed to. TRANSPORTATION. Sir G. GREY moved for leave to bring in a bill to amend the Acts of the 16th and 17th year of her Ma jesty, substituting, in certain cases, other punishments in lieu of transportation. The bill proposed to carry into effect several of the recommendations made by the committee which had sat upon the. subject of se condary punishments last session, and if the house would permit him to lay it upon the table that evening, he should fix an early day for the second reading—Mon day next—if that day should meet with the approval of bon. members; inasmuch as he was anxious to have some decision upon the measure before the estimates, which would occupy a considerable time, were brought under discussion. Leave was given to bring in the bill, which was read a first time. HUDSON'S BAY COKPANY. Mr. LABOUCHERE moved for a select committee to consider the state of those British possessions in North Ametica which are under the administration of the Hudson's Bay Company, or over which they possess a license to trade. After a few words from Mr. ADDERLEY and Mr, WYLD the rnottan was agreed to. PRINTING COMMITTEE. On the motion of Mr. WILSON a select committee was ordered to be appointed to assist Mr. Speaker in all matters which relate to the printing executed by order of this house, and for the purpose of selecting and arrang ing for printing returns and papers presented in pursu ance of motions made by members of this house. REGISTRATION OF LEASES, &c. SCOTLAND. Leave was given to Mr. DUNLOP to bring in a bill to provide for the registration of long leases in Scotland, and assignations thereof. The bill was read a first time. INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL BILL. Leave was given to Mr. ALWERLEY to bring in a bill for establishing industrial schools in England and Wales. The bill was read a first time. KITCHEN AND REFRESHMENT ROOMS. On the motion of Colonel FRENCH the following were appo wed a standing committee to control the arrange. ment of the kitchen and refreshment rooms in the de partment of the Sergeant-at-Arms attending this house : —Colonel French. Colonel Boldero, Mr. Alderman Cabitt, Mr. S Imour Fitz Gerald, Mr. Hume, Mr. Robertson, and Mr. Brainley-Moore. JUDGMENTS EXECUTION BILL. Mr. CRA.UFURD moved for leave to bring in a bill to render judgments or decreets obtained in certain courts in England, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively, effectual in any other part of the United Kingdom. Mr. WHITESIDE congratulated the hon. and learned member on his perseverance. Defeat made no impression upon him. Four times the same bid had been discussed and debated, and he was rather surprised, con sidering the fate of this bill in the early part of last ses sion, that the hon. and learned member should have brought it in again. Would it not be better to refer this bill to the department which was about to consider the law bills, for which department he also had a budget ? He assured the hon. and learned member that his bill was worth nothing ; that it would encounter the same oppo sition as on former occasions ; and that it would meet the same fate. The bill was not quite worthy of a place in the programme which was rather sarcastically called law reform in the Qoeen's Speech. Col. FRENCH said that the hon. and learned mem ber's bill had been not four times, but five times brought before the House, and it had been oppcv.d by every Irish member, except the late member for Clare, who had lost his seat. The Government ought not to support the in troduction of idle measures of this kind, when the time available for the business of the session was so short. Mr. BLAND cJuld assure the hon. and learned mem ber that every kind of opposition should be given to his Leave wag given to bring in the bill, which was read a first time. On the motion of Mr. GROGAN certain returns relative to the Mercantile Marine Fund were ordered. MALT, &c. _ _ On the motion of Mr. BASS returns were ordered of the number of bushels of malt brought to charge in each of the four years ending the sth or Ist day of April, 1854, 1855, 1856, and 1857, as the years may end on one or other of those days ; of the average price of barley for each of the four years above-named ; of the amount in " old duty" charged on English hops for each of the be fore-named four years ; and of the number of cwts. of foreign hops imported in each of the same four years. ELECTION PETITIONS. Petitions were presented against the returns for the boroughs of Athl me, Cambridge, and Huntingdon. Tie house then adjourned. POLICE INTELLIGENCE—May 8. MANSION-HOUSE.—Mr. William Cockburn and Mr. William John Lawson appeared before Mr. Alder man Hale, in discharge of their recognisances, for hav ing combined and conspired together to injure the repu tation and character of the Bank of London. Mr. G. Hooper—l am a clerk in the City of London Union. Mr. Lawson has also been employed there. I am acquain:el with his handwriting. The letter now shown me and the other documents (slips of articles printed in the Toinv Stock Companies Journal) I believe to be in his handwriting. Mr. Hughes, I.dger-clerk to the City of London Union, and Mr. Paul Graham and Mr. Argent, printers of the journal, gave similar evidence to that of the last witness. Mr. Bodkin said he had now closed the case for the prosecution and asked for a committal. The magistrate called upon each of the defendants to enter into his own recognisances in 2001. to appear at the Central Criminal Court, which they immediately did and left. GUILDHALL.—John Hind May, of Huegin-lane, City, and Stanley-street, Pimlico, and Wm. Taylor, of No. 1, Church-passage, Gresham-street, were again brought up (the latter on bail), before Alderman Hum phery, on the charge of conspiring to defraud Mr. Gor man, of Lurgan, in Ireland, of a quantity of cambric handkerchiefs to) the value of 5001., and Mr. Lawson, a manufacturer of the same place, of similar goods to the amount of SOU. Mr. Morgan, of the firm of Humphreys, Son, and Morgan, appeared, as before, for the prosecution. Mr. Huddlestone, instructed by Messrs Sole, Turner and Co., attended for Taylor ; and Mr. Wontner, de fended May. Mr. Bodkin, instructed by Mr. Pontifex, attended to watch the case for Mr. Meeking, of Holborn-hill. It will be remembered that Taylor, who had been au thorised by Mr. Gorman to dispose of his surplus stock, on commission, wrote to him, representing that " Myers and Cu., late of Leapt-et - 1111, had bought the goods, to the net value of 6471. 14s. Bd., for cash 1001. on delivery, and the rest in bills." These terms were accept ed by Mr. Gorman, but after several other letters from Taylor about the transaction, he received one from Taylor to the following effect :—" Sir,—l had sent over to me on Saturday afternoon a cheque from Myers and Co., for 811. 103., and gold 181. 103. by May, the party who sold the handkerchiefs for Myers and Co., and thinking it strange that Mr. Myers did not come, I wrote to his private house to say I was surprised he had not called with the cash and bills himself. He has been here, and I find that May is an out-and-out villain. He has intercepted the goods, sold them in his own name, and it is said received the cash, pocketed the money, with a lot more, and has bolted. * * I had n idea in the world that] Myers had not seen the goods. He says he has never seen them, and did not know they had been delivered. * * * I have ever found May honourable," &c., &c. On the 9th of April Mr. Gorman received another letter from Taylor, enclosing a cheque from Myers fur 1001., and stating that May was very ill in bed, and unable to leave London, and expressing his own conviction that Myers was responsible for the goods, as the instructions given by Myers for their de• livery had been carried out to the letter. On the 10th of April Mr. Gorman came to London and asked Tay lor why he had let May have the goods, and the prisoner replied that May had obtained them when he was out. Several other interviews took pace between Mr. Gor man, Taylor, and Mr. Turner, the solicitor, to consider what means there were of obtaining redress, and the re sult was that May and Taylor were given into ell-40(1y. Woodward, one of Mr. Charles Meeking's buyers, de posed that he purchased these goods of May on two ri.fre rent days, amounting to 3541. 14s. 6d. and 591. 3s. 6d., and that he paid for them in two cheques, one for 2501. and another for the balance, payable to May. There was a goed deal of additional evidence taken, and several of the witnesses, connected with the estab lishments of May and of Myers, were cross-examined, with a view to show that they were partners. There was great confusion and contradiction in the statement of the witnesses, but the result was that Myers ,-vas direct ed to stand in the dock together with the other two pri soners, being du;y given in charge by the prosecutor. The prisoner s w ere th e n remanded, bail being accepted for each of the prisoners in two sureties of 2501. and their own recognisances in 5001., with the exception of May, whose bail was rejected, who was consequently conveyed back to Newgate in the prison van. Taylc.r and Myers having put in the required sureties, were liberated at once. BOW-STREET.—Henry Harris Davis, a medical student, was charged with violently assaulting Jane Quinnell. Complainant stated that the defendant and one of his companions had accompanied her and another girl to a house in Eagle-court, at eleven o'clock on Thursday evening. The defendant, after remaining there some time with complainant, endeavoured to leave the place without giving her any money. She stood at the door to prevent his going out, upon which ho seized the can dlestick and struck her a blow on the head, causing a great effusion of blood. She followed him into the court, where he again struck her twice. The defendant admitted the assault, but said it was only in self defence. She took the poker from the fire place to strike him first. With respect to the half-sove reign, which complainant said he had promised her, no such bargain was made. On the contrary, he told her that he had got no money, and she said it did ❑ot matter. Mr, Jardine said no doubt there had been excess of violence on the part of the defendant, in trying to effect his escape from the house. But, on the other hand, the complainant had cl.arly no right to detain him there, any more tha❑ a tradesman had to detain a customer who refused to pay for what he had purchased. It was simply a debt or breach of faith. The assault, however, seemed to have been unnecem , arily severe, and therefore defendant must pay a fine of 40s. The fine was paid, CLERKENWELL.—IIomas Scott, a brass finisher, residing at 11, North-terrace, Gray's-inn-road, was placed at the bar before Mr. Tyr whitt. charged with committirg a murderous assault upon Matilda Hatton. It appeared from the evidence that the prisoner and the complainant had been living together, but last week they parted, and on Sunday night, during the temporary absence of the woman, the prisoner went and broke several articles of furniture. On Thursday night she was going into a public-house to attend a concert when the prisoner followed, took hold of her dress, and struck her several times on the head and body. When she got outside he again struck her a violent blow on the face, from the effects of which the whole side of her head was very much swollen, and she had great difficulty in open ing her mouth or swallowing any food. She had co habited with him about a month, the home being her own, but his temper was so bad and his conduct so violent that she was compelled to get rid of him. The prisoner, in defence, denied striking the corn plainant, ,but said he threatened to " warm" her for leaving him. Mr. Tyrwbitt said it was a very , unmanly assault, and Pf'nteaced the prisoner to two months' hard labour in the House of Correct!on. Prisoner—When I come out I'll let her know ; I wi 1 smash her, the -- Mr. Tyrwhitt said the speech of the prisoner just showed what a beastly fellow he WAF. In addition to the two months, he should order him to find good bail for three months more, and in default of doing so, he would be imprisoned for that period. The prisoner, who seemed rather surprised At the de cision, was then kcked up. From the London Gazette of Last Night. WAR-OFFICE, MAY 7. The Queen has been graciously pleased to give orders for the appointment of the undermentioned Officer of the Marine of his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the French to b 3 an Honorary !ember of the Military Division of the First Class, or Knights Grand Cross, of the Most Honour able Order of the Bath, viz. : M l'Amiral Hamelin (Ferdinand Alphonse), Senateur, Ministre Secretaire d'Etat au Departement de ha Marine et des Colonies. LEGION OF HONOUR. MEMORANDUM.— Colonel John Wm. Gordon, C. 8., of the Royal Engineers, has received her Majesty's royal li cense and permission to accept and wear the Fourth Class of the Order of the Legion of Honour, and not the Fifth Class, as stated in the supplement to the London, Gazette, of Friday, the Ist inst. FOREIGN-OFFICE, MAY 7. The Queen has been pleased to approve of Mr. M. W. Filcher as Consul at Geelong for the Free Hanseatic city of Hamburg. BOARD OF TRADE, WHITEHALL, MAY 7. , - The Right Honourable the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade and Plantations have received, through the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, a copy of a despatch from her Majesty's Atobassa.ior at Paris, enclosing a decree, issued by the French Government, opening the port of Rouen to the importation of spun cotton 'BOARD OF TRADE, WHITEHALL, MAY 7. The Right Honourable the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade and Plantations have received through the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, a copy of a despatch from her Majesty's Minister at St. Peters burgh, enclosing a communication from the Russian Government, stating, with reference to the notification of that Government published in the London Gazette of the 29th of Apiil last, that the certificates required iu that notification will not be demanded from vessels proceeding from ports in the Baltic, the North Sea, Holland, Great Britain (except Gibraltar and Malta), and the French ports in the Channel and on the Atlantic, unless laden with Egyptian corn. COMMISSIONS SIGNED BY THE QUEEN. _ _ 76th or Inverness-shire, &c., Highland Light Infantry Regiment of Militia—John Sharp, Gent., to be Quarter master; Willi4m Donaldson, Gent., to be Adjutant, vice Goldin, resigned. COMMISSIONS SIGNED BY LORD-LIEUTENANTS. County of Dumbarton—Walter Buchanan, Esq., M.P., to be Deputy Lieutenant. Royal Pembrokeshire Artillery Corps Militia—Owen Tucker Edwardw, Esq., to be Captain, vice Stokes, re signed. BANKRUPTS. William Stephens, cattle salesman, Gloucester, to sur render, May 25 and June 16, at eleven, at the Bristol Dis trict Court. Miller, official assignee, Bristol; Wilkes, Gloucester. Henry Wheeler, painter, Derby, May 25, and June 9, at half-past ten, at the Shirehall, Nottingham. Harris, offi cial assignee, Nottingham; Bowley and Ashwell, Notting ham ; Foottit, Derby. Thomas Davies, contractor, Neatli, Glamorganshire, May I'f and June 16, at eleven, at the Bristol District Court. Acraman, official assignee, Bristol; Bevan and Girling, Bristol. Thomas Bradley, apothecary, Kidderminster, May 22 and June 19, at half-past eleven, at the Birmingham Dis trict Court. Christie, official assignee, Birmingham ; Boy cott, Kidderminster; Knight, Birmingham. William Ogilvie Cameron, export oilman, Camomile street, City, May 19, at two, and June 23, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Stansfeld, official assignee ; Buchanan, Basingltll-street ; Chidley, Basinghall-street. James Catt, brewer, High-street, Southwark, May 19, at two, and June 16, at one, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Lee, official assignee, Aldermaubury; Piercy and Hawks, Three Crown-square, Southwark. James Swift, statuary mason, Milton-road, Gravesend, May 19, at eleven, and June 13, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Bell, official aisigiiee, Coleman-street buildings; Buchanan, Basinghall-street. Thomas Stutely, builder, Su!. Sheerness, May 25, at one, and Ju ne 29, a t t we l ve , a t the Court of Bankruptcy. Nicholson, official assignee, 13asinghall-street ; Selby, Cole man -street. James Summers, wholesale jeweller, Hatton Garden, May 20, at two, and June 16, at half-past one, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Graham, official assignee ; Law ranco, Plews, and Boyer, Old Jewry - chambers. William George Brown, clothier and outfitter, High street, Dartford, Kent, to surrender May 23, at, 11, and June 19, at 12, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Canuan, official assignee; Chidley, Basinghalf-street. Robert, James Norton, outfitter, Fleet-street, May 19, at half-past one, and June 16, at ono, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Graham official assignee ; Cattlin, Ely-place, Holborn. Thomas Riley Ebswortb, of No. 613, Wapping-wall, and of No. 2, Forest Villa, Forest-hill, Sy lenham, ale and beer merchant, dealer and chapman, May 22, at half-past twelve, and Juno 19, at eleven, at the Court of Bank ruptcy. Carman, official assignee, Aldermanhary; Well bore, Duke-street, Loudon-bridge. SCOTCH SEQUESTRATIONS. James Hamilton, general merchant and baker, Stone house, Lanaikshire. Patrick Alexander Falconer, clothier, &c., Glasgow. John Fitzroy Young, St. James's-square, Edinburgh. Andrew Bremner, formerly writer in Edinburgh. Roderick Chisholm, tea merchant, Inverness. James Maepher4on and Company, plumbers, brassfoun ders, and gashtters, Leith. BANK OF An Account pursuant to the Act tho Week ending on Sigurd, NGL A.ND. 'th and Bth Victoria, cap. 32, for Y. the 2d day of May, 1857. OLTMENT. ISSUE DEP, Notes Issued Governthent debt .... 11,015,100 Other securities .. .... 3,459,! , 00 Gold coin and bullion 8,854,595 Silver bullion.... • • •• - 423,329,593 .£23,329,595 :. MARSHALL, Chief Cashier Dated the 7th day of May. llti BANKING DE . Proprietors' capital .. 14,553,000 Rest • • • • • • • • • 3,278,669 Public deposit F (In cluding Exchequer, Commissioners of National Debt, Sav ing's Banks, and Dividend Accounts) 5,390,160 Other deposits ...... 9,491,211 Seven Day and other 8i115........... 755,370 £33,968,643 Dated the 7th day of nay, 1857 PARTMENT. Government securities (includg.DeadWcig ht Annuity) .... • 11,300.223 Other securities.. •• .. 18,410,023 Notes ••..• • • • ...... 3.553,365 Gold and silver coin.. 704,232 £33,968,613 MARSIIALL, Chief I)astaier. AVERAGE PRICB OF SUGAR. The Average Price of Brown or Muscovado Sugar, com puted from the returns made in the week ending M a y 5, 1857, exclusive of the Duties of Customs paid or payable thereon, on tho importation thereof into Great Britain : s.d. From the British Possessions in America 4O 41 Muscovado, the produce of, the Mauritius 4O 3 Average of the above descriptions. The Austrian Correspondence announces that a financial measure for some time past contemplated by the Vienna Government has been at last adopted. The parties to whom railways have been conceded will not be allowed to issue any new shares before the close of the year. DARING BU GL RY AT IVER. APPREHENSION OF TWO DESPERATE CHARACTERS. A daring burglary was committed very early on Wednesday morning last, at Iver Lodge, Iver, the residence of Mr. Mitchell, the eminent lihrarian arid music -seller, of Bond-street. The thieves oh t +rued entrance to the ground floor premises by forcing a window frame communicating with the garden,-and cutting away the inner shutters from their hinges. The shutters were lined with sheet iron, and strongly barred. They then ransack'd all the drawers, chiffoniers, work tables, and wrlt ing-desks in the dining-room and library, collecting toge'her a quantity of silver articles, spoons, a valuable silver sug it basket, some shawls, and two handsome sideboard clocks. The thieves then cut through a strong do .r opening to the entrance-ball, but were heard by a servant man, who ciu rageou sly prepared to attack the scoundrels, notwithstanding their threats to " blow out his - brains if he did not keep quiet." They contrived, however, t get away, after blowing out their lights, and took with them all the property which been gut together. An alarm was instantly given, and m?ssenprs de spatched to Slough, Uxbridge, and We,t Drayton. Fortunately two of the men were captured tetweee Hayes and Ealing, and numerous articles found upon their persons. One of the men turned out to be a discharged soldier from the Coldstream Guards, named Dagarell, and the other named Birch,. formerly a resident of Iver. Both of them are well known to the police as desperate thieves, and suspected of being implicated in numerous robberies which have recently taken place in the neighbourhood. The fellows were sifdy lodged in Slough lockup-house before 12 o'cloek the same morning, and were brought up yesterday before the sitting magistrates at Eton. The evideuee gone into was considered quite conclusive, and both men were comm teed to Aylesbury Gaol, to take their trials at the next assizes fur the county. • Country Markets. LIVERPOOL-MAY 8. The corn exchange this mnrning W 5 glendolly atteridea by millers and dealers, and the transactions were upon a limited scale, at much the same prices as were current ou Tuesday last for all articles. If holders would have made a moderate concession on wheat, flour, and Indian corn, a better business would have resulted. WAKEFIELD --MAY S. Wheat was is per qr. dearer, with a fair demand for fresh parcels. In barley there was no material change. Beans and peas were is per qr., oats id. per atone, and shelling Is to 2s pel load dearer. Average prices of grain —Wheat, 56s Bid ; barley, 45$ 6d ; oats, —s —d ; beans, 42s 3d ; peas, 47s Od ; rye, —a. Od. EXETER-MAY 8. CORN.—Wheat, 7s to 7s 94 • barley, 5s Od to 5s 6d; grinding do., 0, Od to Os Od. Oats, 3s Od to 3s 4d. Beans, Os Od to 0 Od. Peas, ON Od to 00s Od. FLOUR. —Fine, 42s Od to 44s Od ; seconds, Ds Od to 421 Od per sack. CATTLE. —There was a full supply of bullocks. Best beef, from lls 6d to 12s per score ; inferior, Os 6d to 71s pe r score ; fat calves, --(Ito 6:1 per lb ; barrenners, Os Od to 01 Od. per score ; cows and caivep , 121. to 161. t,s ; butchers calves, 04 to 74 per lb., rearimi calves —s to s each sheep, ewes and lambs, 21. Os to 31. —s per couple; ew es. Od to 84; wethers, 84 Bid; lambs, —to 04 per lb. Pin large size, —s to —s ; second size, --s to —s ; f , 111:0s, to —s ; suckers, —s to -- s. Rough fat, 41d per lb. Pork carcases from lOs 6(1 to lls 6d per score. BRISTOL SUGAR-MAY 8. The market continues very strong, and prices aro Still on the advance, those paid this week averaging fully is 6d per cwt. above the currencies of our last report. On the spo t ! the sales ara confined to about 2ZO hhds Barbadoes, just landed, at from 56s to 625.; and to arrive about 2,000 tone , chiefly in Mauritius, Brazils, and Havannahs, have foul''' . buyers at very full prices. Refiners' produce is still in excellent demand, and soot large sales for distant delivery have been made this woo' at fully 2s per cwt. advance. Of rum we are without any supply. COAL b/fARKET.—MAY S. Prices of Coals per ton at the close of the market. s. d. VVallseuct, &a. Howard's West Hartley_ Netherton lB 0 Davison's West Hartley 18 3 North Percy Hartley _l5 0 Bates's West Hartley l6 li faufield Moor l3 3 ; Walker Primrose .. l4 01 Wylam l5 3' s d.„ 3raddyll l7 'ti'rainwellgate l6 6 Fletton l7 ° Brown's Moor High 0 Main l5 'Stewart's . IS 3 south Iletton 18 17 ° Cassop 3 roes lB ° Morthumberland l5 tiambton l7 9 , Russell's Iletton 17 v t,, 2S ; sold, 21. WaNand, &c. Eden Hartou l5 3 Riddell l5 0 South Hartlepool l6 6 Ships at market COURSE OF EXCITANGE,YESTERDAY. msterdam 11 17% Ditto, three months .. 12 Rotterdam •... •• •• •• 12 1 4 Antwerp •• •• .• •• •• •• 25 55 Brussels •• .. • • •• •• •• •• 25 55 Elambitrgh •• •• •• •• •• • • 13 9 A.ltona .. •• •• •• •• •• •• •• Pari5.........,... • • .... 25 ?0 Ditto, three months .. 25 75 Marseilles • .• •• • • •• • • • • 25 75 Bourdeaux ........ Frankfort-on-Maine •• .. 120 Berlin ................ Vienna.• •• •• •• •• •• ••• 10 35 •• to so i'et , zsburg •• •• •• •• •• •• 37. / 6 Madrid ••••• .• •• P• •• 49 Cadiz ••••••••• •• •• •••• 49% Barcelona •• •• • • .• •-••• „, Gibraltar •• •• •• •••• •• •• Leghorn ..... 29 571 i Genoa •• ••• y 5 80 Milan •••• •• •• •• •• • •• Venice........•• Naples .•.•..........•• 42, Palermo ...... 130 Messina ... ... 130 4 4 Lisbon Oporto •• .• •••••••• •• •• 524 Rio Janeiro ..... Buenos Ayres.... •• .• New York,6o days'sight Philadelphia PRICES OF BULLION, PER OZ* Foreign Gold in Bars £3 17 ~ Portugal Gold Coin .. 0 0 0 Mexican Dollars 0 0 ° New Dollars .. •••• 0 0 „ iiiver in bars 0 0 " LOCAL SHARE MARKETS. LIVERPOOL, MAT 8. STOCK EXCHANGE. —The market has been very stem l l to-day, and there is still au evident downward tendencP Grand Trunk of Canada, 15/. 185.11 d. 16 154—Caledonia lit 351 , 2 1 —Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln, 404 1 lt; London and North Western, 105 i —South Eastern, 21 . 0 " —Lancashire and York Shire, 1011 4-Midland, 82 North Eastern, Berwick, 214-- Ditto York, 324--Blacp• burn, Bj—Great Western of Canada, 24}. MANCHESTER, MAY 8. STOOK EXCHANGE.—The market opened with an activ ° demand, and prices went easier. There was a consider; able rice in Sheffield stock. Edinburgh, Perth, Dundee, 8 3-16—Grand Trunke, 157,- --Londons, 105 at Shetfields, 44 —Midland, b2it —Great Western, 67—E ° Lancaibire, 98—Dovers, 22i---Leeds, 1011—Berwic lith 21 11-16—Cauadas, 211. BIRMINGHAM, MAY 8. STOCK EXCHANGE. -- This market wa) not so bri g ! to-day. Great Western, 674, sellers—Midlands, South Staffords wore quoted at 91—Birmingham Banki ng Company 314—Birmiugharn New Union Mills, 21-1-A r don and North-Western, 1054—General Steam, 25A. [AuvEarisEmaxrd—Among the numerous extraordioss cures without medicine of Indigestion (Dyspepsia) FlatuleneV Constipation, Nervous, Bilious, and Li ver com pl a ints, Cour,`; , A sthma, Consumption, and D e bility, e ff ec t e d b y D u parry delicious health-restoring Revalcnta Arabica Food, the folio! , ing are not the least remarkable :—Cure No. 47,121.—"M' 5 : Elizabeth Jacobs, of Nazing Vicarage, Walthamcross, cure of extreme nervousness, indigestion, gathering, low and nervous fancies." Cure No. 48,314. " Miss Eliza bet ' , Yeoman, Gateacre, near Liverpool : a cure of ton le 3r :, dyspepsia and all the horrors of nervous irritability." C u - ,1 No. 3,906. Thirteen years' cough, indigestion, gu t general debility have been removed by Du Barry's excellsO Revalenta Arabica Food. —JAMES PORTER, Athol-street, port„. f :supported by testimonials from the celebrated Professors ". Chemistry, Dr. A udrow Uro ; Dr. Shorland ; Dr. Harcel: Dr. Campbell ; Dr. Gattiker ; Dr. Wurzer ; Dr. Ingrgi e : Lord Stuart do Decies ; the Dowager Countess of Cg s UlO Stuart; Major-Gem Thomas King, and many other respect ll , 0 persons, whose health has been restored by it, after all 0. t , means of cure had failed. For further particulars resPc'l ing this invaluable food our readers are referred toDu Ba rll advertisement in another part of this paper. B I R Tin S. OF A SON. On the 6th inst., at 4, Grosvenor-squa-e, Viscount°. Milton. bel i On the 7th inst., at No. 5, Harley-street, Mrs. Mit e Henry. OF A DAUGUTER. n On the Sth inst., at Lansdowne-circus, the wife a Withall, Esq. On the 7th inst., at Down House, Brom7 ard, the w ife a the Rev. S. P. Denning. MARRIED. On the 7th inst., at St. Maryleboue Church, Mr. - rv - -il ° „ o i, Forbes, of 12, Wellington-square, Chelsea, to Sarah ,„ the eldest daughter of Edward Clifford, Esq., of Grosv" - street, Grosvenor-square. r 54, On the 7th just., at Peckham, Joseph Taylor, jun., o f 54, Broad-street, sou of Joseph Taylor, o f Middlesbc' e W Tees, to Elizabeth, daughter of the late ' Wm. Cash, of hani-rye. DIED. auk' y, On the 6th inst., at Farringdon Rector Alton, the Rev. John nst. Beun, aged 92. On the 7th i, at 63, Oxford-street, W., Mr. 8° 133- Spiers, aged 45. 4, On the Stinst., Miss Mary Macleod, at her re sidence' Foley-place, Langham-place. On the 7tii inst., at Belmont-house, Hampstead - ro n-, Jackson, Esq., of Fanuingstown, in the county of Min e ' aged 74. On the 7th inst at Limehouse, Sarni, Hall, eughreurr'olo On the 7th inst., , James Gudge, Esq., clerk of theJ. e 2 Holm of Commons, and of Blackheath, Kent, ag ed r ) : 'four ° Jn the 6th inst., at Weston-super-Mare, nartin Caef' daughter of the late Sir Joseph Huddart, of BrYnb - "' narvonshire, aged 41. 100, Oa the 6th inst., at Wareham, Dorsetshire, Chas. 13 ' 36 Esq., aged 70. #OO Ol LONDON : Printed and Published by 311J8,D0 81- $o• of No, 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun o at/ 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in / ll° of Afiddlescx, Saturday, May 9, 1857. I, nal 231 !lii, Ifigi