The Sun. — London, England, 1857-01-29 00:00:00

7 / 2 (....-7, , 7 2e4 , ( t- (-)e-e---e. ) y ~r- Z~,. : .~~ ;°~~~~ i X r,• , , 1 • - ' , L-2 3 - , t .4, 0 4 , i. . O.IJI -k 4 ~ ;1. ,-...,./ • ( I ra FP 4 r . . 1 / 4.......... , Ai mm e ,s , , '\ - - ‘‘, ..,,,, , p* .- ---: __ - .l* ~ •• -i ~, .' , ,f , r.g ~ J:,• , -:: 4•1 1 5''.4 4 iiii,v,t, •,;„ A ' <:; , F'' - " ''' , *** ll lC 4 l4lM.r; ' -,---'• • .‘_ • , ' ' - ia, - ..40 ,,,----fi rw r,, \- 1 / 1 ; :U .'. :11: is 4:te ?" ,: 4 1 ,. :4 :0,#,,, , ~' 4'41 ; .. ''' 'l V-‘.: -,. ' ' ": 44s :15 ...% l'l.4 l\ *- : 1 7. 4: S / 4- h . •...4 411 • • 31-,)APE F EA!ri \ - !)T • T HE COURT .1 DIT 17"7 T S f , I,c• EA ~ INDI.t comPA it n::, liE:zr.BY GIVE NO I'ICE, Th, QUARTERLY GENERAL COURT of t^e said Company will , held at their Rouse in Leadeninill-street, on 11 7 :-.DNESDAY, the I March next, at Eleven o'clock in the forenoon." 'JAMES C. MELVILL, Secretary. MR. ALBERT SMITH'S MONT BLANC, BADEN, up the RHINE, and PARIS, is NOW OPEN -c. vicßY EVENING (except Saturday) at 8 o'clock.—Stalls, As.: area, 2s. ; gallery, Is. Stalls can be secured at the box office, EitYptian Hall, Piccadilly, every day between eleven and four, with "lt 111 extra charge. The Morning Representations take place "e l 7 Tuesday and 'aturday, at Three o'clock. MR. W. S. WOODIN'S OLIO of ODDITIES, With New Costumes and v irious Novelties, Tocal and Cha .,:t..tertstic, every eve ni ng ( except , atur d ay ) a t Ei g ht A MORN •LA CI,PERPOR W ANC Fi every SA r URD AY, at Three. Private Boxes and 'stalls may be secured, w ithout extra charge, at the Box-office, 2_ 3lr raphic-hall, King William-street, Charing-cross. The hall has hen entirely redecorated. ARO - YLL ROOMS.-LA VREINT'S CASE N , , Great Windmill-street, St. - James's.—The above elegan , R° ° ,ll B are now open every evening for the winter season, with e u rent's . celebrated Orchestra. Principal Cornet-a-piston, M. o ttleourt. The Proprietor begs to inform the public that this fas hionable place of resort ha'been entirely redecorated during the rec ess . Doors open at half-past eight, commence at nine. Admis gon Ono Shilling. 15R. KAHN'S ANATOMICAL MUSEUM 4, Coventry-street, Leicester-square.—Open (for Gentlemen " 1 Y) from H) till 10, containing upwards of one thousand model "d Preparations, illustrating every part of the human frame in health and disease, the race of men, &c Lecture• delivered at 12, 2 ,4, and half-past 7. by Dr. G. SEXTON, F.R.G.S. ; and a new and highly-inte res ti ng series of Lectures is now in course of delivery y Dr. Kam., at a quarter plat 8 p.m. precisely. Admission. One Shilling, Catalogues containing Lectures as delivered by Dr. Khan (gratis). GENERAL TOM THUMB, the AMERICAN DW A RF.—C rowded Houses .Patronlsed thirteen years ago by her Majesty, H.R.H. Prince Albert, H.R.H. the Duchess of Kent, and identified by hundreds daily who knew hitn intimately at that time. 1 , )(Whiting every day and evening, Previous to visiting Russia, in Regent Gallery, F 9, Qtridrant, from 11 to 1, 3 to 5, and 7 to 9 o'clock. He Is beautifully proportioned, and the smallest man alive. His performances are remarkably talented and enchanting. New Characters, Costumes, Songs, Dances, Statues, Ere. The General continues to wait on the nobility and gentry, at their resid , Bces, on due notice. His miniature equipipte promenades the streets daily. Admission, Is. each, regardless '6l' age ; Stalls, 2s. and 3s. ; children half-price. The General will R KMOVE on the 2d February to the PRINCE AF WALES BAZAAR, 207 and 209, Regent-street. LONDON and' NORTE-WESTERN NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, RAILWAY that the next HA LF-TEARLY ORDINARY MEETING of the London and North-Weatern Rail way Company will be held at the Euston-station.,-London, oi. F RIDAY. the 20th day or February, 1857, atTwe've a' noo Precisely, for the transaction of the v‘neral business of the Company and at such meeting a resolution will he submitted for tit • con.olida tion into stock of so many of the London and Birmingham 201. bhares and the Manchester and Birmingham C 101 shares as have been fully paid up. Dated this 24th day of Jan., 1857. CH A.NDOci, Chairman. ROBT. BENSON, Deputy Chairman. H. BOOTH, } Secretaries. C. E. STEWART, Euston Station. GREAT INDIAN PENINSULA RAILWAY COMPANY. Creatl.on of 2,000, 0 I. further Capital. 0 The Board of Directors hereby intimate to the Shareholders of the 0. 1.5 at Indian Peninsula Railway Company that the Ron. East Ind!a N V'pany have sanctf ned the raising of further capital in this Com ra r athe extent of 2,000,000/., With interest guaranteed at the le Of 5 per cent. per annum. oat t boa accordingly been resolved, pursuant to the act, to issue the (1„ 4 capital rateably among th e shar e h o ld e rs, in shar e s o f 201 e ac h . :2 1 .0 new sh are to be g i ven In virtue of every Two shares of 207. laale standing on th e reg i s t er o f th e C ompany on th e 16th J anuary lust, And the Board have, by such resolution, made a call of 2/ per share on every new 201: share so Allotted (with the option to the tshare° der of paying up the wh le 201.), which is hereby declared kr able at the Bank of Messrs. Heywood, Kennards.. and Co., Lom ard-stre et, London, on or before the 26th day of February, 1857. ro circular letters of allotment, with directions for payment, and ana Of Receipt , will be forwarded to the address of the several w ehallers. The irhareholders are hereby informed that share certificates, if let at the office after notice is given that they are ready to delivery, renaan at the risk of the proprietors. SUN LIFE -ASSURANCE SOCIETY, LODN. P olicies effected with this Society O now will PARTICIPATE TN ' C RIE-FIF'TITS, or 80 per cent., of the Net Profits of the Society, aecOrding to the conditions contained in the Society's Prospectus. The Premiums required by this Society for insuring Young Lives are lower than in many other old-established offices, and Insurers are fully protected from all risk by an ample guarantee flind, in Addition to the accumulated funds derived from the investments of Premiums. Policy stampspaid' by the Office. Prospectuses may be obtained at the Office in Threadneedle-street, Loidon, or of any of the Agents of the Society. CHARLES HENRY LIDDERDALE, Actuary. SALT and Co.'s EAST INDIA PALE and BURTON ALES. BszvrEat—BUßTON-ON-T RENT. STOBEB : LONDON.. • .. . . LIVERPOOL .. • ......... • y -street. MANCHESTER .. •• • • SHEFFIELD ..... ••• .. • ... BIRMINGHAM .. Old Court-house, High-street. BRISTOD.. .. - • DUBLIN •• 4, Crown-alley. EDINBURGH ... ..... ...... Porthopetoun Warehouse. GLASGOW St. Vincent-place. These Ales, in Casks of Eighteen Gallons and upwards, and in Bottle, obtained from all respectable Bottlers. MR. HOWARD, burgeon-Dentist, 52, Fleet street, has Introduced an entirely new description of ARTI FICIAL TEETH ,tixed without springs, wires, or ligatures. They so Perfectly resemble the natural teeth as not to be distinguished from the original by the closest obierver; they will never change colour or decay, and will be found very superior to any teeth ever before used. This method does not require the extraction of roots, or any painful operation, and will support and preserve teeth that are loose, and Is guaranteed to restore articulation and mastication. Decayed teeth rendered sound and useful in mastication.-52, Fleet-street. At home from ten till five. INVESTMENTS in BRITISH MINES.—FuII particulars of the most important Dividend and Progressive Mines will be found in the Fourth Edition of BRITISH mix Es CONSIDERED AS AN INVESTMENT, recently published by T H. MURCHISON, Etlq.. F.G.S., F.S.S., price 3s. 6d.; by post 4s . Mr. MURCHISON also publishes a QUARTERLY REVIEW of BRITISH MINING, giving the position and prospects of the Mines at the end of each quarter, the dividends paid, &c. The Review for the quarter and the year ending 31st Dec. last con- • tains a Map of the Camborne district, price Is. "The book will be found extremely Taluable."—Observer. "A valuable little book."—Globe. " A 'valuable guide to investors."—Herapth. "A Useful little volume."—Morniag "Of great value to capitalists." Sunderland Times, " Parties requiring information on mining investments will find no better and safer instructor than Mr. Murchison."—Leeds Times. " One of the most valuable mining publications whibh has come tinder our notice, and contains more information than any other on the subject of which it treats."—Derby Telegraph. " To those who wish to invest capital in British Mines, this work is of the first importance."—Welshman. "This work enables the capitalist to invest on sound principles; it is, in truth, an excellent guide "—Plymouth Journal. Copies of the above publications can be obtained at Mr. Murchison's offices, 117, iiishopsgate-street Within, London ; and reliable infor 'nation and advice will be given at any time to those who may re 'Mire it. CANCER HOSPITAL, London and Weat Brompton.—Secretary's Office, 167, Piccadilly.—This Institu- Bon has been established excithively for the treatment of the pow afflicted with cancerous diseases. Out-door patients to attend at 167. Piccadilly, on Tuesdays, at 2 o'clock. In-door patients are admitted at the Brampton Estaolishment, for one month, and for a longer Period if recommended by the edical officers. The number ,f per sons under treatment as in or out-door patients have averaged for the last three years about 400 cases each year. Since the fountation of this Hospital in 1851, 1,799 poor persons, suffering under every form of this dreadful malady, have received the benefits of this Charity. A Weekly Board manage its affairs, and every infcrma. tion connected with the Institution may be obtained on appiicition to the Secretary. Contributions to enable the Committee to continue this great work of benevolence are urgently solicited, and may be Paid to William Loxham Farrar, Esq., the Treasurer, 66, Lincoln's inn -fields ; Messrs. Coutts and Co., Strand ; and at the Secretary's Oakes, 167, Piccadilly. By order. W. J. COCICBRILL, Secretary, ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL, Gray's-inn-road. P atron—v i le QUEEN. — Founded 1828. The sick poor are admitted on their own application alone; no re commeimati.n is required. During tha past month the following number received the benefits of this Charity, either as out or in-door patients, on their personal application :---___ Week en ding 7th Nov em b er . , 2,154 Ditto Ditto 14 th November.... • • 2, 04 a 21 st November ' Ditto Nov November„.. ••• • • • 1 ' 72 6 Ith and 30th vember... ' 2 ' 309 • Total in November . .--. of which 2,775 were new cases, the r - r a. • -• • 8 ' 747 ainder (still u n d er treat went) having been admitted p reviousl.g. Pa T h e c The clergy of all denominations h ave unlimited a c ts. ess to the Heavy expenses are Inevitably incurred in affording ouch even sive relief. The Committe* th erefore, earnestly entreat the aid of the public. The management of the Hospital is in the hands of 30 Go yearly elected from the general list of subscribers, at thev.eaZursai General Meeting in January. A Board is held every Thursday, at 4 o'clock (Rev, J. B. Owen, Chairman), to conduct the business, when any subscriber may attend, If so disposed, the Board being at giving explanation. all times desirous of receiving suggestions or The Hospital is not endowed, but is wholly dependent on volun which are recei ve d by the Tremor', er, tary Contributions and.ieSacies, John Masterman, Esq., M.P., Nicholas-lane ; also b y Messrs. °mitts and Co. • Drummond and Co.; Berries and Co.; hans om and Co. ; Prescott, Grote, and Co.; Smith, Payne, and Co.; Gly n and Cu. Jones Loyd and Co.; itarclay and Co.; De nison and Co.; Williams. beacon, and C o.; Overen d, G urn ey, and C o . Hers-street; Masterman and Co.; andatthe th Hospital. lien. ClOthing for the destitute patients will be an kray reeevred - . By order. J. B. OWEN, M.A., Chairman. S 1(0 MORE PILLS NOR ANY OTHER MEDICINE. IP" CII NSTIPATION, INDIOEsTIeN, DYSPEPSIA, ISERVOU , • 'Urn COMPLAINTS, ceIIGH, ASTHMA, CONSUMPTION, A BMOCS, AND AND DEBILITY. U BARRY'S d e licious HEALTII -RESTOR Us and their 1 - 11 INN REVALENTA ARABICA FOOD saves fifty times its cost in other remedies, and cures the above complain _ 4 n. cons.,,cquences, such as hemorrhoidal affections, flatulency, dite 7. 4)11, Cidity , heartburn, palpitation of the heart, nervous head a ches, at -Yst er, neuralgia, deafness, noises in the head and cam, Ping s the bit of the ellomach and between the shoulders, erysipelas, ornP tion • „,.._ A of the sktn, Impurities and poverty of the blood. WO" , "'''Dily, rheumatism, gout, nausea and sickness daring pregnalKY, after eating, or at sea; low spirits, spasms, epileptic fits, spleen, 'general debility, inquietude, sleeplessness, involuntary blushing, Paralysis, trent rs, dislike to society, unfitness for study, loss Of me mory, delusions, vertigo, blood to the head, exhaustion, mein eholY, groundless fear, wretchedness. It is, moreover, the t e r t ns food for infants an d invalids generally, as it never acid on the weakest stomach, nor ' interferes with a good liberal diet, but imparts a healthy relish for lunch and dinner, and restores the fa to the most en leth e l u ed lt . yQf digestion and nervous and muscular energy ted Professor of Supported by testimoniati from the celebra vey, Dr. Campbell, Chemistry Dr . or Andrew 17re, Dr. Shorland, Or.Har- Stuart de Decies, the If Gattiker,' Dr. Wurzer, Dr. Ingram, 1,-rd other well-known indivi dual s . Countess of Castlestuart, and 50,000 this useful and economical disel whose health has been restored b. years, and ail after all other means had been tried in vain for many hopes recovery abandoned. Analysis by the celebura.tDed., ..,P.....rof_esP r of Chemistry Andrew Ure, London, 24, Bloomsbury -square. 'r u•S., Re., Re. phdarvt,lie_e‘ezannained Du Barry's Revalenta g. I hereby certify, that Arabic& I find It to be a h pr t , nabl Farina, perfectly whole some, easily digestible, likely t o Pr`: a healthy action of the stomach and bowels, and thereby to F.R.tleq.,ultneaelys.tical Chemist " tion) constip ition, and their nervou. „unteract dyspepsia (Indiges r of Russia " ANDREW Una, M.D,, Ukase by the Empera •f-non, Dec. 2,1817. ~ Russian Consulate ueneral, Lon', •'` TheConsul-General has been ordered Dtt Berry and Co., that the Revalenta Aratboicii-rora tessZn•tBtaorrhYi; Malesty the Emperor, has by imperial permis s i on "' the ii Mister of the Imperial Palace. , S c e n e rvvarded to lanaduPier refined Suitably p r icked for all climates, and with full instructions. in canisters, Ilb 20 9d ; 21b 48 6a ; 514 lls ; 12113.228 quality. Ilb 6s : 2lb lls Slb 29,s ; 101 b 33s The 101, tern are forwarded carriage free, on receipt of Post-ore:lt Barry Du Co y and Co . 77, Regent -Greet. London; r-- Mason, and Co.. purveyors to her Slajesty, 182, Piccadilly rta"rn• GO. Grace eburch•street ; 330 and 451, Strand ; 4, Cheap side ; a t s C " n billl 49, Bishupsgate•strzet ; 5 5 , Charing-cross - 5 8 4 e t , ' 6- ' i , ..,pper aII ' IMR-SU M i 0 144 lb% Oztailitilit. t 0. 20,160.) PUBLICATIONS. Now ready, in 2 vols., with Portraits by reath, 215., ELIZABETH DE VALOIS, 'QUEEN OF SPAIN, and the COURT of PIIILIY II ; from Numeree nupubli.hed sou , ces in the Archives of France, Italy, and Spain. By Miss FREER., author of "The Life of .e.argaret D'Angouleme," &c. Hurst and Blacken, Publishers, 13, Great yarlborougt-street. Now ready, in 1 vcl , with 1,500 Empavings of Arms, SIR BERNARD BURKE'S PEERAGE and BARON"T kOE For Mr. 'New Edition, corrected throughout is the present time from the personal communications of the Nobility. &c " The best genealogical and heraldic Dictionary Of the Peeratre and Barontlage, and the first authority on all . quest.ons affecting the aristocracy."— Globe. Burst and Blackett, Publishers, successors to Henry Colburn. NEW NOVEL BY THE AUTHOR OF " THE CURATE OF OVERTON." On Friday, in 3 vols. post Bvo., LUCY• AYLMER. A NOVEL , By the Author of " The Curate of Overt'n." London : Richard Bentley, New Burlington-street. NEW EDITION OF PICOFESSOR SIR J. STEPHEN'S LECTURES ON FRENCH HISTORY. A New Edition, in 2 vols. Nvo., price 245 , cloth, ,ECTURES on the HISTORY of FRANCE. , lad By the Right Hoe. Sir J AMES S TEPHEN, K.C.8.; LLD., Professor of Modern History in the University of Cambridge. The Third Edition, with large kdditions. Also, the Third Edition, in 2 vols. Bvo., price 248., Sir JAMES STEPHEN'S ESSAYS in ECCLE SIASTICAL BIOGRAPHY, from he " N dinburgh eview." London : Longman, Brown, Green, Loegmans, and Roberts. NEW EDITION OF FAIRBAIRN9 INFORMATION FOR ENGINEERS. In crown Bvo., with Plates and Woodcuts, price 10s. 6d. cloth, I[TSEEUL INFORMATION —for ENG-I-- a-) EE R<: Being 4 series of Lectures `d"livered to the Win king Engineers of Yorkshire and Lancashire. With a Series of Appendices, containing the results of experimental inquiries into strength of materials, the causes of boiler exp osions, &c. By Wit- LtAst Fs Raeuss, F.R.S., F.G.S. Second and cheaper Edition, thorough! , revised. " Mr. Fairbairn's name is a guarantee for the soundness of this work. It treats of steam, fuel, and boilers—the working classes as they will one day be called with an appendix on wrought iron -- which will be called the workman's jacket-stuff. Thy ugh a proles sional book, it is as much adapted for the general reader as such a book can be."—Athemeum. London : Lengnym, Brown, Green, Longman, and Roberts. BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZLNE for FE 311.1JARY, 1857. No. CCCCXCVI. Price Is. 6d. CONTENTS. The War in Asia. Scenes of Clerical Life.—No. I. The Sad Fortunes of the Reverend Amos Barton —Part 11. Ti ket-of•Leave—A Letter to Trenton.. The Athe lags; or, The Three Gilts.—Part IX. From Vera to Buchare,t. Lett& s from a Lighthouse.- Lord St. Leonards. William Blackwosd and Sons, Edinburgh and London -No. I. F RASER'S MAGAZINE for FEBRUARY, 1857, price 2s. 6d., contains : Gleanings from the Record Office. The Three Numbers. ihe Dissolution of the Monas- Life in its Simpler Forms. teries. By J. A. Fronde. A Christmas Week at tillaTow. The Interpreter : a ale of the Mr Justice vs tiles on Tickets-oi War. By G. J. Whyte Mel- Leave and Transportation. viile,Authorof"DigbyGrand," Little Lessons for Little Poets. &c. Part 11. A. Glimp;e of the Temple Caves A Visit to Kars while in the hands of Ajunta. of the Russians. The War with China Emanuel Swedenborg. London : John W. Parke: !r and Son, West Strand. Price is., I ADY FRANKLIN'S LETTER to Viscount PAI.MERSTON, with an A mendix, is new ready. James Ridgway, Piccadilly, and all Booksellers, Just published, in I vol. post Bvo., price I2s , cloth, PARLIAMENTARY PRECEDENTS : being Decisions of the Right Hon. Charles Shaw Lefeyre, speaker of the House of Commons on Points of Order, Rules of Debate, and the floteral Practice of the [louse. By the Hon. ROBERT BOURKE, of the Inwr Temple, Barrister at Law. Henry Sweet, 3, Chancery-lane, London. TEE Cheapest MAP of the LONDON POSTAL' DISTRICTS, 26 inches by 14. Price SIXPe.NCE plain,! One Shilling coloured. Kelly a• ,d Co., 18 to 21, Old Boswell court, St. Clement's,' Strand, W.C. Just published, price 2d., or post f ree 3d ., the 102 d Edition of T HE NATURAL REGENERATOR of the DIGESTIVE ORGANS, the S OiItVER, NERVES, LU GS, &c., without Medicine, Galvanism, Electricity, inconve nience, and expense, by an easy, natural, pleasant, and Infallible remedy, which saves fifty times its cost in other means of cure. Supported by testimo..laLs from the celebrated P rol e asor o f Ch.! mistry, Dr. Andrew lire ; Dr. Shorland ; Dr. ilatvey; Dr. Camp: bell ; Dr. Gattiker ; Dr. Wurzer ; Dr. Ingram ; I.ord Stuart d Decies ; the Dowager Countess of 'sigh -Stuart ; ajor-Gen Thome Kind, and many other respectable persons, whose health has bee restores by it, after all other means or cure had fill. d. London : Barry Du Barry and Co., 77. Rezent-street. The Third Edition. Just rubitehed, price 35., by post, tree, 58 . 61: N TRUE & FALSE SPERMATt nt EA; the View of distinguishing the Imaginary from the steal Sufferers under this dtsea'e, and Correcting or wide-spread Errors in relation to their Treatment and Cure. Translated from he Gorman of Dr. PICKFORD. " Lot. Ficktore 'a known to English readers by sus retiuenc contributions to German medical litetature. This if the nre: ,ne, he informs as, that be has addressed himself to the noa-tnedi td reader, tire trust this may not be the last, if lie shall etect art!:, ither equally flagrant evil which it may be in his power to cot• act." —London Medical gazette. " The tribe of Quiet Sy at path seri end ' Medical Friends,' are mercilessly osposed; and it this hoq? Alla find its way into the hands of those wise seffsa• from the cote. tint of which it treats, we are satisfied that many hundreds wool: )e saved much needless suffering of body and mind, and white is o. sc !mportance, though it is that which the quacks most prize— :uch money ......This volume is well qualified to put an end to tiv .pirtcal system of treating Spermatorrhasa, and to place the treat atilt !won a more rational and phydologleal t is, tlrrefo7 , , iltely to do much good:'—Medical Circular. i,ondon: H. liathere, 219, tteee :^rttr(AL APPETITE AND DIGESTION IMPROVED, EA and PERRINS' WOROESTERSHIRI U SAUCE imparts the most exquisite relish to Steaks, Chops. ;d all Roast Meat Gravies, Fish, Game, Soup, Curries, and Salad ,d by its tonic and invigorating properties enables the stomach t, xtectly digest the food. he daily useof this aromatic and delicious Sauce is the best sac rd to health. old by the proprietors, Lea and Perrins, 19, Fenchurch-stree .9ndon, and 68, Broad-street, Worcester; also by Messrs. Barclay lid Sons, Messrs. Crosse and Blackwell, and 'other oilmen and tee: bents, London ; and generally by the principal dealers in sauce.. T.13.—T0 guard against imitatioxs, see that the names of " LE, and PERRINS" are upon the label and patent cap of the bottle ON PHYSICAL DISQUALIFICATIONS, GENERATIVE ,INCAPACITY, AND IMPEDIMENTS TO MARRIAGE. New and improved Edition, enlareed to 196 pages, illustrated by (ft Anatomical Coloured 2.ngravings on steel, just published, puce free by post, I s rirHE SILENT FRIEND : A ' Medical Vircrk ll on the physical exhaustion and decay of the frame, from the effects of solitary indulgence, infection, anti the injurious conse quences from the use of Mercury ; with observations on the oblige- Pons of marriage, and dir ciions for obviating certain disqualificai tions. By R. and L. Pr RRY and CO., Surgeons. So,d by P per Brothers, 23, Paternoster-row; Hannay, 63, and Sanger 160, x ford-street ; and Gordon, 146, Lead. nhall-street, London.' The CORDIAL BALM of SYRIAC UM is employed to renovate the impaired powers of life. Its action is purely balsamic ; its power in reinvigorating the frame in all cases or nervous and sexual 'de bility, obstinate gleets, impotency, barrenness, and debilities arising from venereal excesses, has been demonstrated by its unvarying success in thousands of case 4. Price I Is. per bottle, or four (Nan , titles in one for 33e., which saves The C tNCENTRITED D ETE RSIVE ESSENCE, an anti-syphi litic remedy, for purifying the system, and is recommended for any of the varied forms of secondary symptoms, such as eruptions on the skin, blotches on the head and face, enlargements of the throat, tonsils, and uvula; threat. ned destruction of the nose, palate, &c. Its action is purely detersive, and its beneficial influence on the cyst-m is undeniable. Price I Is. and 335. per bottle, also a saving oflio. P e.RRY'S PURIFYING SPECIFIC PILLS constitute an effec tual remedy in all cases of gonorrhoea, g eet, stricture, and diseases of the urinary organs. Price 2s. 9d., 4.. 6d ,an 1 11s. per box. Sold by Barclay and ..tons,Farringd , m-street ; Darby and Gosden, 140, Leadenhail-street ; W. Sutton and Co., 10, Bow-churchyard ; W. Edw-rds 67, St. Paul's-churchyard; J. Sanger, 150, Oxford street ; Hannay and Dietrichsen, 63, Oxford-street ; Butler' and Yarding, 4, Cheapside ; Prout and Harsant, 229, Strand ; and all medicine vendors throughout the United Kingdom. THE CONSERVATIVE LAND SOCIETY AT BATTERSEA. — The Conse rvat i ve L an d S oc i ety h ave j ust ma d e t h eir thirty-first purchase of land atßattersea, in East Surrey ['he estate is situated on the Lower Wandsworth-road, r.t ~t he rear o f S ir G . W om b well ' s villa, on the Thatnes, e to Ch ristchurch, Battersea, and not far from Bat t ~e rsea-park. a STRANGEre CASE OF POISONI NG .— A f anner w h o k eeps , dr f near G asgow lately lost eight cows in the lot lowing manner :—Having nought a large wooden, tub trona a dealer in et-confl hand articles' of that kind, it wet tilled with wwer, ' an e d ie vi n en d ß elivereil at the fares-house appeared perfectly was, ac cordingly, put into it and l t e h d en fo d o is l tr f Zute th d e am " ol w ig e ~eyignahpttednateheefcoinweksn;eteherneend distress eight very soon showed having been t s b tress, owing, as was• sup. d been !lieu to ethleasbtotettoipmpliaenddwitstloet f p o o o s d ed, w t h o in t h he n i a r the tub ; and, after sufferinw Fns eXTatineineotthheerkifier`v: writhing in a manner meat dirr e e:!' agony ' d eing t .. ,, w i ti , eB „ , : t h, y • raring and a : l r_, and the day Gil , died in the course of the next lowing a farrier was got to Open d, , ws, and he found teal* eet were a ff, t. w t , rd rse lez ni vir , u la le y lya,ndbwinere iie.itreTefhoeervei4,d;t6l,: Having been the cause . I) e e ra ce e ce dy ing which.' was of 'every prescribed; ;o save thrimfrom more protracted sufferie y thus 104 8 cows, which averaged a value of 14/.le:eche' ointtod"datilaiPntwprntr: of *)18" 112. in all: Oue of the staves of the tub, havini been ' .;eut to a chemist, was found to be impregnated % N it), Agar of lead Dearly through its whole thickaes,,; Mil that, ,-; remarked, it contained as much as would bave!kill„:i 40 cow,. The vendor of second-hand. tubs said .4, b ,,, t • ought the one that had proved so fatal P,:o a ch 6 nica; wore s. The farmer hesitates to raise a elainu for drilmagte, .4,.;aititst one or both of the tub venders 'eteati,ti of. its 'lug a new case. If he is advised, we cannot he p ray. c.g Wi hold such an opinion to he a most irrAional legal —tinement. Surely, the first 'rasa who get a limb oroken iy . a railway carriage was nit denied compentiation ; or should we fear to raise an action of damages .ii , ur head were to be broken by a nlcoa nut, thbtigh 'it 'night be the 61.4 instance in Britain of such a rniraile being used for such a purpose ; to common Bei" it ap pears that the eff,ct, and not the cause or means, is the question the law bas to consider in a civil action—ha, , ir'inFY been done, and what is its amount ? — eicts.9'm Maid. LOND itSDAY EVENIN3 .JANUAit 29, ME.CANTILE LA ►Y CONF.& ,EN GE. Yesterday the members of the Mercantile Law Con ference met at Willis's-rooms, for the . purrse of takiee the law of bankruptcy into their ,coneidiiraqoo. Lord Brougham occupied the chair. There were &so present —Lori Stanley, M.P., Mr. Headlam, M.P, Mr. Crau . furd, M.P,, Mr. A. Pellatt, M.P., Ur. Tife, M.P., Mr. Alderman Salomons, Messrs. Holland, Turner, Rankin, Croitthwaite, Ray, H ea th, Ll oy d , Wells; Hastings, Hawes, Wordsworth, stc. The NOBLE CHAIRMAN ) in opening the proceedings, said that it gave-him very great .satisfactiou to have. he rionour of: meeting. the - conference, assembled as it, was from all parts of the country, as well as from th. City .of London, and that on a subject of the greatest pe.-eibte importance. He would, not detain them from the: business of the day by dwelling on the im portance of the. occasion. It was enough to say that tnese wheal he addressed were met .o give the remit of their practical experience of the working of the flier cautile law of the country. If anything could add te the necessity ofattention on the part of Government and the Legislature to the experieoCe of mercantile men on the subject which most nearly affects them, it was the fact that of late years very material changes had been in traduced into the mercanti.e law of this eountry, but the effect of these changes, for good or evil, they had n :t as yet an adequate opportunity of 4rrning themselvee At the head of the subject-matter set down for conside ration stood the law of bankruptcy, with insolvency, and the other changes of the law of dfbtor and creditor, torching part of the new system which had been fntro duced within little more than a quarter of a century. A great change had been made by the Act of 1831. Sub sequent important changes had been made by the Acts trained in 1840 and 1841; and a further change, which he trusted was . also a further improvement, had been introduced in 1849 by the„,a9t_Avroegli e called the Bank- - -ruptcy Consolidati on A c t. They tad now to consider h'ow tar benefits had arisen from the changes to which he referred—how far errors ha been comm,tted, and therefore mischief had been inflicted—aed how far improvements might be introduced in 'the law. As regarded measures of amendment generally, objections had been urged against the course pUrsued by the Law Amendment Society which appeared to him wholly groundless. It ,was said that, they did not proceed upon any fixed system—that they ought to introduce a new code of mercantile laws instead of going: to work piecemeal, and introducing a variety of proposals. Now, in the first place, he denied the truth of what was 'allege:;. He asserted that they had proceeded almost constan'iy upon a uniform syste.n. One great principle would be found to pervade and gioNern all the changes which he himself had proposed before the existence of the Law Amendment Society, and many of which he had happily succeeded in bringing about, and ail the changes which that society had since been the means of carrying into effect. That principle was the substitution of natural for technical proctelurn—natural procedure, with itsiecai , culable benefit, for technical procedure with its iucalculahle evils. If he were asked way they had not introduced a system of law, his an •wer would lie that that would be all very well if the existing system of jurisprudence were a mass of absurdity and contradiction. it there wasaeothing valuable iu the existing system the sooner it were swept away and another substituted fur it the better. Bat the contrary was the truth. Even the stoutest law suieuders admitted tbat Olen was net the ca,e. Mr. Bentham himself was one of thii first to aditi, that there was in the Eng• fish system of jurisprudence far wore of what was valu able than of what was reprehensible, and it followed from this than,instead of asking to Sweep away the 'whole, they should retain the nine-tenths of it which were good, and try to improve, as tar as possitt.e, the. remaining one-tenth. (Cheers.) Again, it was said that the im provements which were proposed, not merely by the Law Amendment. Society, but by all those who desired cnanges in the political, social, or religious sy-tems of the country,' did not go far enough. His answer as that they went as far in most cases as they ought to go, and as far as was practicable and safe. It was, he thought, better for them to take one step, and make sure of their footing, and before proceeding further to wait until that step had been safe and beneficial. There was, no harni done by the delay. He had touched on the Act of 1849 by way of illustrating the many important changes which had taken, place in the mercantile law. He, had no doubt that many objections bad been made, both in tbe . courts and out of them, to the working of that act, and many also to the form of it. These objections had been, however, greatly ez.iggerated, It must, how ever, he was free to confess, be admitted tnat•late events in the mercantile world bad exposed a conflict in the administration of the law of insolvency as regarded th• Bankruptcy Act and the Winding-up Act. (Hear, near.) Ills own impression was, that al these ,yitc-Ats were beneficial upon the whole, and that he great difficulty aroge from the conflict of their jurisific . .ion, aod that if the law of bankruptcy a.,d •hla v t.f winding-up were „ . adtitinistirx,l by the , taute c.Aurt sod the same ttibuosi, 99 out, of 100 existing grievances w:tutti cease. In this view he was confirmed by one of the learned Comtni, stoner,. of the C , urt of Bankruptcy (Mr. S. rgeant Goulburit), who had told them that his colleagues were of the same opinion, and that Mr. C ,samissomer Ho!. royd had brought it forward in the late important judg ment which he had given. He bad nut as yet had the opportunity he trusted to have, of perusing the judgment in question, which, he heard, had been very carefully taken, and therefore be could not venture an opinion upon it. He thought they had, in some respects, met A a very happy moment, becattse were was now a general disposition to devote attention to that most imprtaut subject, the amendment of our laws. Various ineai•ures carrying out this most desirable project were nut col) in contemplatin, but also in p;ep;ration. Nut only her Majesty's Government, but also parties wholly unconnected with the Ministry, indeed many of them in Opposition to it, were agreed in the necessity of making , olue changes in the 'law as it at present stood, and he e ni4l only hope that those changes would be for the better. He would not, however, have them rely muck) upon prefessions and promises, come they from what quer er they might, come they from men in (Zee, or come they from men looking for office. (Cheers.) Such promises and professions cost little, and wise aud erudent men would be very apt to take them as of very dare value, perhaps to, take them (it he might so speak) at their cost price. (Cheers and laughter.) For himself be would say that he participated so much in that feeling that he looked more to a little per f irwance than to a great deal of promise s . He had, nowt ver, no reason to doubt the perfect good faith and sincerity of those from whom those professions and promises bad proceeded. Although things were thus favourable to their cause—the improvement of the law —yet he could not help repeating what be bad said before, that they should not rely on promises end pro fessions. There was an old saying which was this— " When the weather is fine and fair take with you your cloak and your umbrella, but when it is rainy just do as you please." Now, he was very much of that mind with regard •te law amendment. When all .was, fair and clear overhead, he watched carefully it those who made promises were'active in carrying them into performance, and after he had so watched them, if he found that they were fulfilling what they had pro mised, he did all he could to 'back them up with all his power—such phwer as a meeting like the present was, best calculated to lend to him. (Cheers.) H e cud not resume his seat without referring to the great benefits which had resulted from their conference in 1852, which he hoped would be exceeded by those which the present meeting would give rise to. (Cheers.) Mr. IlAsmos, 'the secretary, then read the report of the committee; of which the following i a ceeY " The great success of the Mercantile Law Conference, held in November, 1852, and the legislative results which followed its deliberations, induced the council of the Law Amendment Society to take into consideration, at the com mencement of their present session, the expediency of con vening auother meeting of a similar nature. The council felt that the same reasonswhich had operated so powerfully to produce and carry through successfully the first confer ence were still inexis once to exercise the same influence over another. It is true that considerable amendments have seen made daring the last four years in the mercantilelaW of the 'United Kingdom, but it is equally true that those amendments bear but a small proportion to the defects which still require a remedy. The c uneil have croustand v received communications frog; 4 iribloila qusztera, whi -h showed that considerable dissatisfaction is felt by the cern mercial voniffifinity as to the law or its rehrinsisfi Hoe, or both; and were there no other eviderre Of the teed existing fur further improVemehta in our Levis, dile thee. tisfaction, arising in a body of men so little prone to agit tion and so desirous of stability as the Mereantile classes, seems in itself a tolerablY Conclusive demonstration. Law; if cheap, simple; and well adapted to its -purposes, would work smenthly and silently, as the recognised arbiter in case et dispute, and as the fiattiral medium for the atiger- Sion of right and the redress of wrong. It is only when it departs from its true nature and fails properly to execute its appointed ends—When it becomes slow, eumbrods, ex pensive, uncertain, and oppressive—in other words, when it imperatively requires reform, that there is any livelihood of the public mind being agitated in respect to it. A gene ral complaint against the working of a law is a proof that the law is defective; we may not at once see the evil, but we may be confident that it ekistS Somewhere. Pure law is no more likely to be couiphiii4,l of than pure air or pure water. Impressed, therefore, with the dissatisfaction which appeared prevalent on the subject of our commercial laws, the council in Novemberlast addressed a letter to the Chem bers of Commerce throughout-the llnitad IrJugdoni, ask ing their opini o n as t o the expediency of bol , ring a Mercan tile Law Conference for 185 7 . The answers received were issue t:tdoe invitationsth e ~plcswthti so favourable that the council resolved to appoint the corn "aw)itt&e, who s.se now addressing you; and to nitro them " preparation fit a conference, and the committee aeco r dinglY Proceeded to the days for the meeting, to miss. This appeal . retteclals‘)e.eii'"63l with regard to the topics law, snd also to solicit suggestions in :l ti ll a hra #::: e ti r e e r i . a f et:l e t e r a C e ,:a e ll e l w er o o e tti tt t r ti w i) ll oci e fe 4 s l l e n i le s : - forwarded to the committee d do well to dis hes been most fully answered, but energy, and enter in wattle of five millions of to-clay, and the number° towns which are represented and nature of the communications facturing, and trading interestsi are l'he asn a Ul followsei of these : .11abit,mts, and concentrating ; 2.1 towns, comprising up ' he wealth, se of our shipping, firann uf:have s e . n t B d e l e f l a e s g t a , t e ß s ir e this conference. (we public body,towns, several which have sepplied representatives from more iningham, Bradford, Bristol, Dublin, Gin:43;ow, udders field, Hull, Kidderusiuster, Leeds, Lei ces tor, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwi.ch, Plymouth, Southampton, Wolverhsimptou, aud Wo re t t Oe It• he AMA. ber of communications r ece i ve d i s so cere idera.ble that the committee are unable to fulfil their istintion of enumerat ing and describing'thens to the conferetce. Several will be reariaspapers to during the proceedi ng s, ind it is hoped th .t all will be print e d w ith th e authorised rcport w hi c h the com mittee intend tained n eight l4Bs i ha n d p s u of bl s a l : subjects shortly. the various subjects forwarded • to the comet mittee has been a more difficult one. The circulars originally forw a rd e d t o th e di fferent b o di es i n vited con tained wTehree task selected arrang inga;i li hdvi been o f h e h a e and f jg kindppy to of fi t a r d ip itchsa that whiledesirable g g a e n s i t l i o t n h c h o s m v e ui b i t e t e e n s sent up on, some point or other under each of these heads, scarcely any point has been urged whisk cannot be classified under one of them., Numerous and vinous, no doubt, the suggestions are; but on the main poled-s there seems to be a singular agreement, and the committee believe that the course of discussion they are about torecommend is likely to bring prominently forward 'these topics in which the great majority of the delegates presentare most interested. The principal subjects, they would observe, will be opened by papers, a mode of proceeding whirl tends to being the discussion to a definite issue, and to present that issue in a clear and intelligent way. The first subject in the bit is the law of bankruptcy, one on which the committee have received communications from every tingle public body re presented here to-day; - a s - Well as from a numbet of private individuals.. There cannot be a question thatthe present administration of this branch of our law, greatly as it was improved by the Bankruptcy Act of 1331, and afterwards by the ,Bankruptcy Consolidation of 1849, requires imme diate and searching revision. The committee will not enter ij most whih satisfactorya an prepared by thelee !s Charieber into the det a ils o f thi s queition being relieved from the c'been of doin g so by, th e fact that a paper wilt - be read on the e t a s u n b d of Commerce, an d w hi s k w i ll no doubt tr e at of it in the ful e - way. Mr. Coin. Ayiton has fa voured the conirnittee wi t h a paper tinder th e s ame head, which will also b e r ea d t o th e conference. Th e committe e have thought it advis a bl e th a t on t h e same mo rning during which bankruptcy is considered, other topics which can be ' - classed under the same general head of the law of debtor and creditor should be taken. Mr. Craufurd, M.P.; will ordiuglyreada,brief paperesa 445 u dasuserstas s gxecutio n aTaiutery measure, which has been too long delayed. A discussion will also be taken on the United Kingdom Writs Bill, which is articulated by the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and by other public bodies. Under this class of subjects the committee may allu•ie to that of imprison ment for debt, .concerning Which they have received seve ral suggestions, among others a bill from Mr. A. Pellatt, M.P. In the evening of to-day a paper will be read by the Liverpool Chamber, on that. most important and popular subject, the establishment of tribunals of commerce. Con siderable difference of opinion prevails as to the expe- , diency of these tribunals, at least if established after the continental fashion ; but there can lee little doubt as to the j ustice of the demand by the mercantile classes for a cheaper, more frequeut, and more satisfactory mode of disposing of commercial litigation. On the morning of Thursday, after a short paper by Professor Levi on a commercial code, the Manchester Commercial Association have undertaken to bring forward the subject of a general registration of part nerships. There is no topic more occupying the minds of mercantile men at the present-moment. A. strong impres sion prevails that such a measure, if it can be practically worked out, is most desirable if not essenti a l t o th e secu rity of. traders; and it is the highest satisfac ion to the committee that this important subject is in hands so well calculated to do it justice, it being well known th a t th e association, in conjunction with the Manchester Law So ciety, have prepared a bill to carry out such a registration. The next paper read will be on the 17th section of the statute of Frauds, by Mr. Robert Slater, a well-known merchant in the City, and one of the late commiseiouers of au inquiry into the expediency of assimilating the com mercial laws of England, Scotland, and Ireland. This sub ject. has now been long discussed, and seems to divide the mercantile world. Tire essminittee hope that the considera tion of it at this conference may tend to its ultimate settle ment. There are various other topics of a less general na ture which the committee think may be more advantage ously debated by a small number than by a numerous and mixed meeting. They therefOre recommend that several small committees be appointed, composed of one member from each deputatiOn interested in the particular subject, and that these committees should, afterdue deliberation, re port to the conference before it terminates. The committee, in conclusion, cannot but express their deep obligation to the various bodies who have supported them on this occa sion, and to the gentlemen who have sacrificed their time and occupations to be present here. They are well aware of the influeutial nature of this conference, and of the important, results which are likely to flow from it; but at the same time they are impressed with the conviction that these results will not be of eday'.S accomplishment, and that much care, caution, labour, and oversight will be requi site if the full fruits of this meeting are in their' maturity to be gathered in. They would recommend, therefore, that the committee who have superintended the arrangements of the conference be authorised to continue their functions its the accredited representatives of the powerful gathering present here, and that to their number should be added the president and chairman of every Chamber of Commerce and other public body represented at the conference. Such a committee as this 'will speak the voice not of a town or a county, but of the kingdom at large; it will afford a rally ing point for all mercantile law reformers, and may lay the foundations for an organisation which will at last move the Government and the Legislature to efforts worthy of the national greatness, and, calculated to bring the laws of the United Kingdom into permanent harmony with the re quirement* of justice and souse, and with the cuetomsand ener g iess, of trade.'' Touarnu, of Manchester, then moved, and Mr. CROSTAWAITE, td*Dublin, decoiede,l the proposition that th e report should be adopted and the committee requested to continue their labours, which was unanimously agreed to. Mr. Commissioner AYBTON, of the Leeds Bankruptcy Court, next read the following paper : The matter which I have the honour to bring before this important meeting is the improvement of the bankrupt laws. Your time is so pre c i ous that I have endeavoured to make my paper as short a s p oss ibl e, w hi c h will partly ac count for some obscurity an d a b rup t ness in style. There are important questi o ns of p r i nc i p l e an d many matters of detail in which improvem en t ma y b e made, bat which I must omit ; the time will not a ll ow me even to mention them. The question which I propose to consider is, whether the present system of administration of the bankrupt laws requires any and what practical amendment ? The two great complaints which it has fallen to my lot to hear as e —first, that it is too expensive ; and second, chat the pu nishments inflicted are uncertain and inadequate. But ex pense is the great complaint. Now, the Court of Bank ruptcy, being a mercantile court, it s e xpenses are taken out of bankrupt estates, and fall exclusively upon those who suffer by bankruptcies ; and if those preens- allege that the expense of their, own court is ton gre at, I a pp rehend that the complaint is entitled to be hea rd with respectful attention, and that it is the duty of pra ctical men to point out the remedy, if there be one. In wo rkin g only 1501.—at i least 1061. will be swallo wed up in expenses. As the assets increase, so the expenses swell up, though ghnut - 1 y with the smallest possible amount of assets —that 1 with only is, bankrupt in the same ratio, to 200/., 30 01 . , a nd 4001., till in such cases as the Royal British 13autt the ocilivary working ,ex 't will he penses will be as missy th ousan ds of pounds. The expense of the Court of Bankruptcy is now greater than a few years hence—firer, because the large sum (about will, of course, cease as the aunuitauts die ; and, second, 28,000/. annually) now pail for peustbris and compensations because the permanent expenses of the court are to be diminished by reducing the commissioners to four in Lon don and to seven in the country, thus saving the expense annually.' That the, gr o ss ex p en ses of the court are too of seven commissioners and seven registrars , or 18 0001 . great is apparent from the fact that its expenditure has exceeded its iscome for many years. In order to enable this meeting to form en opinion on this question of ex- pause, lam compelled to bring forward a few figures. I know how distasteful figures sometimes are; but on the present occasion my apology is' that figures cannot be avoided if a e wish to form anything like an accurate judg ment. The fund for payment of the compensations and for the salaries of the existing officers of the Court of Bankruptcy is. raised by a stamp duty of 101. on every petition fur. adjudication, and a percentage on the divi dend paid in,ea.ch bankruptcy. The following table will give a tolerably correct idea of these annual expenses : Compensations and pensions (about) Accountant in bankruptcy and clerks 6,360 Five London commissioners (2,0001. each) lO,OOO Eleven country ditto (1,8001.) Taxing master and clerks 1,650 Seven asondon registrars(l,oool.) 7,000 Twelve country ditto (8001.) Five London ushers (1 0 0 1 .) • - 500 Eleven country ditto (801.) Chief Registrar's clerks (four) 905 Travelling expenses of country c,mmissioners and registrars (about) 1,000 £85,715 Tn additiOn to which sums, the solicitors, o cial assignees, and messengers, have to be paid. Row much these receive I cannot accurately state, but I believe that the following will be below rather than above the mark : ••.•.. _____ BEITIMATE — ANNUAL. Solicitors' bills, Loudon and country £loo,-00 Thirty official assignees (1,20)Z. each) 36,000 tievouteen messengers (8001. each) '2149,600 The first item Is 28, •. u-lear for compensations and pensions for abolished offices. Before the reform of the bankruptcy system by Lord Prougharn in 18 s 2 fees were payable on issuing commiz,sions, and payable to some 700 commissioners of bankruptcy, distributed over the country. The Legislature thought fit to abolish these fees and coin missionershipe, and, with great justice, gave pensions and compensations to those Who suffered by the abolition. But is it not unjust to saddle these compensations upon bank rupt estate in the present day 1 The mercantile worli with justice complains at having to pay far two sets of officers—the old ones who were abolishe,i, and the new ones who were created. Aosaming that the working expenses of the present Court of Bankruptcy ought to be Dade out.of bankrupts' estates, surely it would be proper tab Ws st" of 28,000/. for compensations, from which bankrupt estotes derive no advantage whatever, should be charged upon th e Consolidated Fund. As rep) is the working expenses of the Court of Bankruptcy, from returns made to Perlis ' went last year I have prepared a table of the expenses of the court in which I act in Leeds, which I have averaged, and which will, I hop, give some idea of the expenses of iwoiking a bankruptcy : BANKUPTCLES WOUND UP IN MR. AMON'S COURT, LEEDS, IN 1833, 1854, 1855. Number of bankruptcies ~ l2l 401 Average time of working ...... 3A years. Gross sum collected Amount divided ruptcY Solicitors' charges in bank manta......... Official assignee's charges. Percentage or remuneration .. Ditto . suits, actions, indict- 90 , Stationery, licc. Total Averafi" , 44,3 i 7 2 10 366 14 8 - 14,320 14 3 118 6 11 ,627 16 8 2748 19 9 ... 428 1 0 334 8 10 1 2 p o stages, &e ........................ 134 5 3 0 Miscellaneous Percentage to chief registrar 3,103 6 6 97 11 0 016 , 25 12 11 24 10 0 5,6 900 71 12 12 4 5 4 7 6 1 8 7 5 Messenger ................. L 3,569 12 .7 4 11 Broker _Kent 1 811 5 2 3 610 Taxers I Wages 52 13 6 25 061 12 1 815 11 Auctioneer Miscellaneous , The average of solicitor's bills ie 1211. ; but from this is to be dedu c t e d a s t omp d u t y o f 101. p a id on each petition , reducing the av era g e o f e a ch bill to 111/.. This sum of 10 /- must be added t o th e p er centage paid to the chief regis trar, making the a v erage 271. Each Court of Bankr u p tc y — 69 1 3 13 4 01 consists of the following `o ffi cers :-I,'A commissioner; 2, A registrar to assi s t th e commissioner; 3, An usher; 4, An official a s s i gnee ; 5 pro pe ty ; 6, A broker, whom A7a tk e e: s a eu l g isl r' of whoz the prop e rty by the messe n ger ; 7, A n auc ti oneer , who sells the pro- perty ;. 8, The creditors' ass i gnee s ; 9, The solicitor ; 10, s eie th e seized The bankrupts' accountant. Besides this staff there are -11, An accountant in bankruptcy ; 12, A taxing master in Loudon; 13, To keep all in order,' there is a costly appeal to the Lords Justices, and from them to the House of Lords; 14, And over all is the Lord Chancellor, assisted by a secretafy of bankrupts. This large army of officers contrasts unfavourably with the number of persons found necessary under a, deed of assignment, in which case 2111 that are essential appear to. be— 1, A solicitor ; 2, Some trustees ; 3, An accountant: THE REGISTRAR& It has been asked whether the registrars are necessary ? .In the country districts there is, e v e ntually, to be but one commissioner in each district, who must sit d:.ily ; in case of bis illness, and to enable him to take vacation, the regis- trar can act for him,; and the:country registrar has to tax the bills of costs of the solicitors ; it therefore appears to me that the'country registrars cannot be dispensed with. In London it is different.: the commissioners there sit for each other, and there is a taxing master in London. It therefore appeare to me that the London regiStrars.may be dispensed with. THE TAXING MASTER. As regardertlie very able taxing master in London, it appears to me that his office is wholly unnecessary if the London registrars are continued; and, it the master is con tinued, mai think he should be, then I perceive no neces sity for the registrars. • THE MESSENGER.- •• - Another item of expense is the messenger, whose busi ness is by no moans pointed out by his name, hie duty being not to carry messages, but to seize the bankrupt's property.. The messengers are useful and meritorious officers ' • they occasionally incur considerable responsibility, and, their duties require temper,. discretion, integrity, and a certain knowledgeiof law ; consequently they ought to be well re munerated. But I think that they, are too highly paid, and that, if the office is retained, the scale of their allowanc,s or fees ought to be redneed ; but I perceive. no sufficient ;reason why the ,oface of messenger should not be abo lished. In former times, when the Commissioners of Bank .ruotcy sat only now and then, at long intervals, having little if any control over the assignees, in those days the messenger, who was answerable to the commissioners, was not merely,usetul, but absolutely essential. They are still useful, no doubt, but by no means essential, because the official assignee in no respect resembles the old creditors' assignees ; he is a responsible man of business, constantly under the eye of the commissioner. ' I therefore propose that the office of messenger be abolished, and his duties transferred to the official assignee, who can eta ploy compe tent persons to take possession of the property. I c annot perceive that this will be any - hardship upon the official as signee.' The estate vests in him, and if the same estate were vested in trustees un , ler an assignment, they would mind it no hardship to put proper persons in possession on their be half. TIE BROKER. The broker is a new officer, who sprung up in the Court of Bankruptcy I do.not know how. Formerly the messen ger made a list or inveutoty of the pi operty which he seized ; latterly it was thought that this inventory should be made by a separate persow—sothe broker, and thus the broker came to be a recognised officer, and as the poor men must live, his employineut in at cases Caine to be a matter of course. The office should be abolished. If, in particular cases, the commissioner or the assignees should find it ex pedient to have an inventory or valuation made, there will be no difficulty in finding a broker in the next street. There is no necessity for a permanent officer. THE OFFICIAL ASSIGNEE. ----- believe that it is not easy to exaggerate the importance of this office. I know, however, that a very general opinion prevails that the expeuae of this officer presses too heavily upon bankrupt estates. ,Seeing the importance of the office, and recognising the necessity, as a general principle, of keeping men honest who are larg ly intrusted, _ _ t would not adiocate the reduction of their ii•cotnes too low, but I would give them more real work to do than they have at present. It is to be observed that the number will be reduced when the courts are reduced to four in Louden and seven is the country. The ofLiaal assignees are now paid bya scale, so much tier cent. for the amount got in, and so much per cent. on the amount divided. It was intended that this remuneration should bear a propor tion to the work done; but I anfsorry to have to declare my opinion that such is not the case. The small bank ruptcies, which require muchJabour to collect numerous small debts, remunerate the official assignee badly, or not at all; while a large bankruptcy, as a banker's, which gives the least possible amount of trouble, may pay the official aisignee a ,very large sum indeed. I know of a banker's estate, in which, with the minimum of trouble, the official assignee received within the first 12 mouths a sum of 5,0001. for remuneration. If the payment by scale was founded on any idea of averages, the returns made to Parliament of the incomes of the different official assignees proves the idea to be without foundation. One official assignee may be several piers iu office, and receive scarce sufficient to enable him .to buy_bread, awl cheese, while another may make a small fortune in a few months. It appears to me that the official assignee should be paid a fixed salary of 8001. a year, and also from 250/. to 3UOI. a year for office expenses. In addition to this I would eui.ble the commissioner to allow a sum, varying from 11. to 201. in each bankruptcy, "for examining accounts and, general diligence." This would give the commissioner some check and control (which it is quite essential that he should have), and would give the official assignee a motive for being careful and diligent; in a word, would furnish that "stimulus" which is said to be so essential in order to prevent duty being performed in that languidly correct manner which leaves nothing to be complained of, but everything to be desired. If the office of messenger were abolished, then, as the whole of the bankrupt's property is invested in the official assignee, he appeals to be tire proper person to take steps to secure it. I would. also require the official assignee to prepare the bankrupt's balance-sheet in all ordinary cases. On this subject I shall say a few words hereafter. SOLICITORS. The costs of the solicitor constitute the most serious item in the expense of every bankruptcy. Iremy court at Leeds, in the five yearafiom Jan., 1843, the aggregate amount of costs-wits 26,47 or above 5,000/. a year. From this it is easy to form an estimate of the sum paid in all the courte. It appears to me that the solicitor receives too much out of each bankrupt estate ; this is not because he is overpaid for what he does, but because he does too much ; that is, he does business which ther people ought to do, and which is hot properly Within the province of a solicitor to me Idle with. This arose in the following manner :—Before the year 1832 the solicitor applied to the Lord Chancellor for each o eninission of baukruptby, and he had what was termed the carriage of the commission, that is, he had the custody of it, and the management and control ot the whole of the business thereuuder. In thos dap it was jocularly said that a commission of bankruptcy was the most valu able commission which the Crown could confer on a sub ject. In those days the assignees left everything to the solicitor e ,who, on his part, was nothing loth to accept the charge, knowing that he would be amply remunerated for his pains. 'ln fact, he did everything, and was well paid for everything he did. Now, however, the scene is, or ought to be, totally changed. To take care of a bankrupt estate we have commissioners, registrars, ail accountaut, a taxing master, an official assignee, a creditors' assignee, a messeugar, accountant, and broker, and if these officers do their duty, all that remains for the solicitor is a little, and usually but a little, law business. Nevertheless, the soli citor still trausacts, and is paid for, much that has no re lation to the science of law. The result is that far too large a proportion ot the expense of bankruptcy is caused by the solicitor's ordinary bill of costs. • The table of averaged ex pensepaihich I have before quoted shows that very nearly one-third of the whole expenses of bankruptcy consists of the costs of the solicitor. Now for the remedy. I propose to appoint a solicitor" o every court, whose duty. would be to act as official solicitor under every bankruptcy, and to be paid'a fixed salary of 400/." or 6uo/. a year, such salary to be paid out of the same fund as the other officers of the court. The experiment of the official aesieue in place of the creditors' assignee has been found highly aucceset ul. I believe that an official solicitor would be no less success ful. Ido not propose that it should be imperative . on the creditors to have recourse to the offici el solicitor. They should be allowed to select any other solicitor if they think fit ; only, in that case, the dividend N o uld be reduced by the amount of the of costs. Ido not perce.ve that this measure would be unfairly injurious to the profession. Other great public bodies have their official solicitors, who are remunerated by fixed salafies, and why not that com , mercial chamber, the Court of Bankruptcy ? It is to be remembered that all'tlie costs of a bankruptcy are paid in reduction of a dividend to be made of au estate already in solvent. I have already suggested various reductions in different branches of the Co urt of Bankruptcy, and the so licitors will have no just reason to complain if they are in cluded in the reduction. PROOF OF DEBT. . According to the existing.p ractice, a creditor who desires to prove his debt must either attend the court personally, or transmit an affidavit. The trouble, loss of time, and expense consequent on attending personally is often considerable, and the affidavit costs a sum importaut to a peer man ; it can scarcely be less than from les. to 1/. As no oath or affidavit .s required under a deed of assignment, or in the Insolvent Debtors' Court, I do not perceive the necessity for one in the Court of Bankruptcy. I therefore propose tb abolish both oath and affidavit. In lieu thereof, let theba n kr u pt,nu or iu his absence the official assiee, prepare a licditors, and let the bankrupt swear to the truth of this list, and let this suffice, unless the debt be disputed or doubted, in which case the official assignee should write to the creditor informing him of that fact, and request in g him to attend personally to esta blish his debt. When the time arrives for payment of the divi dend, the official assignee may send by post the dividend c heque (or warrant, as it is termed), which should be endorsed with e printed form of receipt, to be signed by the creditor, ending „eenewhat to thii effect, " I declare that the bankrupt i s ' ne w indebiPd to me in the sum of £ for goods sold and delivered to hien. before his bankruptcy, and. that I have receiv,d no security" or satisfaction for my debt," and let signing this declaration be punished as for perjury if untrue, and be accompanied by fozfeiture of twice the amount of the dividend. THE BANIMINT'S c,kLANCE-SIIEET. The balance-sheet, as it is ternie,-1, is a document which every bankrupt is compelled to file court before he is al- lowed to pass his last examination; it plight to contain au account of his debts and property, and a htatement of b hisank in- come and expenditure for a certain period before his ruptcy. In my opinion a radical change is req uired in the matter of the balance-sheet, as to its form, .se to the person P who prepares it, and as to the pay ment for its' reparation. As regards the form of the balauce - s heet, it is ICI elaborate document. This result has been brought about lx, leaving the preparation of balance•sheets in the hands of a iz,rticular class of professed accountants. We all know the state of per fection to which pleadings, had been brought by bills the pleaa au ers a few years ago —we all know the state to which aud . swers in Chancery have been brought by the equity draughts men—we all know the state to which deeds of conveyance . have been brought by t h e eonveyancers—and what's the state [P 4 4 = STAIVIPE:;. 5D' to which the balance-sheet has been brought by the account ant ? Why, it is a complete work of art, requiring a skilful connoisseur to rocogni r se its beauties: It too frequently is a work of commercial poetry or invention, Not one merchant in a thousand cap understand ,it.. Indeed nobody can save the accountants,who, prepare them and t-e officers of the Court of Ihinkruptcy, who are cx officio bound' to understand. •The sober truth isthat, in a great majority of instances, ba lance-sheets are costly waste paper; theYare complex inform, they tend to mislead, they seldom exhibit the truth, they are unintelligible to many, and nearly useleSs to the few who un derstand them, or think they understand. Then, as to the per son who pr.:pares it. Till verylately, by one of the fictions of law, it was supposed to be prepared by the bankrupt himself; now, by,tke I4nkrupt Act of 1849, the commissioners are al lowed to know that itis prepared by an accountant, who has to be paid. It is my opinion that a simple form of accounts ought,ititii-orriiretry-easesrta_be prepared by the official as: signee, o* by the bankrupt himself, with the assistance of the &Meal assignee. The question as to the preparation of the balance sheet by the official assignee is one which has been discussed. I must not trouble this meeting w,th the argu ments pro and con. It is enough to say that Mr. Commis sioner Faue tried it in his court and approved of it. I tried it in my court, and; in Iny opinion, the experiment was quite sir,cessful. It was also tried in another court, but the prac tice was put a stop to by the Lords Justices, who disapproved of it. TLIAT PUNISHMENTS ARE INADEQIATS AND UNCERTAIN. It appeals to me that the complaint, that the punishments inilicted Upon bankrupts who offend against the laws of moral and mereautile honesty are inadequate and uncertain, is a well-founded complaint. I submit that it *mild be a general principle that in every case where a trader does not pay 10s. or 15s. in the pound, ho ought to be considered and treated as an offender, till he proves he is not .one —that is, in other words, npon - iiih should be cast the burthen of proving that, his failure to pay 20s, in the pound is owing to circumstances over which he had no control. As the law now stands, the assivnees are compelled to prove that the bankrupt has been guilty of some specified, definite offence ; but this proof is always diffieu t, and not seldom impossible. Indeed it may be stated roundly that a bankrupt can seldom be proved guilty of an _offence unless _he confesses it, or unless he has been wanting in sense as well as wanting in honesty. My opinion is that a trader who pays less than 103., or perhaps 15s , in the pound, ought not to have any sort of protection, or any certificate or other advantage from the Court of Bankruptcy, until he has proved that his insolvency is not owing to any gross default or immorality. If his failure and deficient assets are owing to circumstances over which_he had no control, he will have not the slightest difficulty in proving such to be the case ; whereas, on the other hand, the assignees might, have the greatest possible difficulty in proving anything against the bankrupt, though they might entertain ne moral doubt of his being a defaulter. With regard:to particular offences, it appears to me that all the penal clauses of the Bankrupt Act require careful revision. One offence only will I refer to in particular—l mean bad book-keeping. It appears to me that a heavy penalty should always be annexed where the bankrupt has not kept the best books which he could, taking into consideration his situation in life. APPEALS ON CELTIFICATBS. Before concluding this subject of punishment and this paper, I beg to'say a :few words with relation to a matter of some importance, that is the present state of the appellate jurisdic tion as reg irds bankrupts' certificates. The question of the amount of punishment to be inflicted by the Court of Bank ruptcy generally arises on questions of granting, suspending, or refusing the certificate. It has been stated in a very public manner that an unfortunate difference of ,opinion exists be ween the Lords Justices and the Commissioners of the Court of Baukraptey regarding the proper quantum of punishment to be affixed to different degrees of culpability in bankrupts Opplying for their certificates. No doubt it is the fact that on Appeals the Lords Justices generally alter and modify the peentence of the Commissioners, almost invariably reducing the quantum of puuishmeut. But it will be asked, how can it be said with any propriety that a difference of opinion can exist between the Commissioners and the Court of Appeal, ;seeing it is the duty of the inferior tribunal to bow to the de cisions of the Court of Appeal? It will at once be perceived that this is a difficult and delicate question to touch upon ; but ;I think I may venture to state, as a general proposition, that many of the appeals the Lords Justices have so differed from tho,Commissioners on questions—sometimes of princi ple, sometimes of detail—of such a nature that the judgment :of the one or the other must be fundamentally wrong on questions of common mercantile life and morals. The result appears to he, that, in order to maintain that feeling of re spect which ought to accompany every tribunal for the administration of justice, one of two things ought to take place—either the whole question of the certificate must be taken from the Commissioner and tran-ferred to the Lords Justices, or the appeal on questions of certificate must be abolished, and the decision left with the Commissioner. As regards the first plan, it is tolerably certain that the Lords Justices would never tolerate the wearying labour of deciding, in the first instance, concerning bankrupts' certificates; even if their lordships felt inclined to undertake the task, it is very doubtful whether they could possibly find the time, and if they could still arises the question whether the public would endure the expense of taking allthe country cases to London; and finally, would their lordship? decision be satisfactory, seeing that the whsle case up to that time had been before another tribunal. The result appears tame that the appeal on questions of certificate only ought to be abolished. But, in leaving the decision in the hands of the commissioners alone, it must be remembered that lawyers are not born with any peculiar aptitude to judge of commercial matters ; and their legal education and professional pursuits go very little way towards supplying what, like all ether men, they have to learn upon the subject. Skill and knowledge on such matters is the slow growth of time and experience. The commissioner sitting daily, attending daily to commercial matters, sur rounded by men in trade, and by solicitors connected with merchants, may be supposed in time to gain some portion of experience in commercial matters. But in order to guard the public against any erroneous views which the commis sioner may take—he being of course liable to infirmity of judg ment, exposed to mistakes, and to take the worst possible view, even subject to caprices, all of which must be guarded against—the remedy will bete requite that on questions of the last examination, or of certificates, if any of the parties (that is, the bankrupt, the assignees, or any opposing creditor) shall require it, two commercial men of the district— members of the Chamber of Commerce if possible—not connected with the bankruptcy, but of the same trade as the bankrupt, shall sit with the Commissioners, having a voice and vote in the determination of the case. With this guard, the appeal to the Lords Justices on such questions might be abolished with safety and advantage to all parties. That something should be done is clear. The habitual reversal or alteration by the Court of Appeal o the decisions of the Commissioners—those frequent collisions of opinion about matters of common com mercial life- must needs damnify one of the courts. I have just given judgment in a case which strongly illustrates the necessity of the assistance of commercial men. For two years past two partners, woolspinners, have been before me. Seve ral of the principal creditors, and also the assignees, contend that the bankrupts have not accounted fur, and have there fore concealed pwards of, 44, 1 1001b5. weight of wool. On the one hand a skilful accountant examined the bankrupts books and stated that he found this deficiency ; on the other hand, the bankrupts brought forward a no less skilful accountant, who aho examined the same books, and arrived at exactly the contrary conclusion, sating that the deficiency was or might b.: accounted for by waste of various kinds. It appeared to me that the bankrupts had been guilty of concealment, and I refused the certificates ; against the decision the bankrupts have appealed. Now it would have been in the highest de gree satisfactory to me to have had the assistance of some gentlemen connected with woolspinning, who would have known exactly what questions to put to the witnesses, and who would have known what height to allow to their evi dence, and who, from themselves inspecting the books, and bringing their own knowledge to bear on the subject, would have been able to form a good opinion as to whether the alleged loss by waste really took place. But an appeal is gone to the Lords Justices. Among the questions which they will have to decide will be, whether this or that lot of wool has been fairly workedup and sold, or whether so many ozs. per pouud have or have not been wasted in the manufacture of this orthat particular lot of wool. Cautheir lordships trace 40,000ib. weight of wool through a woolspinner's books any better than the commissioner could? If, therefore, the appeal is to continue to the Lords Justices, I think their lordships ought to have associated with them on such occasions one or two mercantile men, in the same manner as I have suggested for the commissioner. Mr. HASTINGS then read a paper from the Leeds Chamber of ComMerce, which was to all intents an echo of that read by Mr. Commissioner Ayrton. Lord Baouanot wished to bring the discussion to a point upon those matters upon which there seemed to be a general agreement So far as he could gather, they wished to throw the cost of the Court of Bankruptcy upon the Consolidated Fund, to do away with the offices of messenger and broker altogether, and, as far as London was concerned, to do away with the office of registrar. Mr. Ayrton proposed that the `official assignee should be paid by salary, not by fees. As re gards that matter ho could not go quite so far with him, but thought it better that that officer should be remunerated par tially by salary and partially by fees—that was, by fees up to a certain amount; for if they were to pay him by salary alone he would be found to sleep iu the performance of his duty. As regarded the abolition of the appeal, he (Lord Brougham) likwise disagreed with Mr. Ayrton, as he thought it necessary to secure uniformity in the administration of the law. Mr. PAGET, of Leicester, supported the views taken in the papers read to the conference, and remarked that the public slid not appal ate the distinction bstween the different classes of certificates in bankruptcy. Mr. 'LIMIT said in Birmingham the district court was a complete byeword from the manner in which the business there was conducted. He knew of in important case which had been under adjudication there, and when it was to . have been heard the parties and witness es concerned were !li t at tendance, but there was neither c ommissioner nor reps rar there. Lord BROUGHAM— Why di d y ou not comp Chancellor ? lilin to the Lord his letter. Mr. takep that course, but g t se veral improvements in Mr. Morn replied thatot no solicitoranswer in to Birmingham had ham o h u d d more important of which were tLhleoydhenthhernepwtoeyntleown, thOebllgges first, the be entitle d phaiothyteheehooiledeetr o th f e a es bill tat o e f e m xc o h re an dis count of the Bank tth • a e time the cash at the rate of tha dl th e e n p ti r t o l p er a t l o t the power of giving sanction to assign. been actually paid on t h e instrument, me e nt p , rtoopgeritehteyr of th e with giving the Court. (Hear, hear.) • Mr. ANDERTON argued that the law of bankruptcy should no t be confined to traders in the strict sense of the word, wmaesn Courtt s ad ovnifaanßdcacendk;r out u a nP o t f deY, but should be extended to all debtors, especially to solicitors, who frequently fell into debt, as they had a great temptation to do so from the money of their clients passing through their hands. Mr. TURNSR said he had received a communication from Mr. Commissioner Skirrow with which he Would not now con fit-mod W th a e n v t i s e , w o s t u M u r ; f C oflu onun d f i a ss u i l o t n w er it A h yr th to e n te . et t ro uble the conference, bit w ou ld mere l y s t a t e th a t it con - Mr. CommisAoner Ayrton, namely, of requiring a p d i vidend b o y t 10s. or 15s, from the estate before granting the bankrupt his certificate, as it might work great injustice. He did not wish to place the power of refusing the certificates in the hands of the commissioner. He thought the better course would be to make it compulsory on him to grant it if two thirds of the creditors were of opinion that the bankrupt ought to have it All questions of insolvency should, he was of opinion, be adjudicated upon in bankruptcy, and he agreed with the noble chairman as to the manne r in which the official assignee should-be paid. As a solicitor, he had some experience of the working of the laws of bankruptcy, r and he could say the first thing creditors arrest was the placing the estate in hatikruptcy.r.Q . 4 ".„,, iiKATIi„, of ).ItOrpOnl ' l ll in hankropt e S. were Ker.ll rather hard upon the creditor thas he s',ouid i to sustain the loss of his debt, but should, 47 ; injured by th a t l oss b e i ng ma d e pu bli c . I Lord BROUGHAM said that the remarks of the lasts Biker were opposed t o th e d eman d f or j u di c i a l s t a tistics. • *"5 Mr. RANKIN would do away with the official assignee, and got tradesmen to administer the estate of the bankrupt. Lord BROUGHAM mentioned that sir. Smith, M.P. a mem ber of the ba,..kfug house of Smith, Payne, and Co., ha in the. House of Commons stated that he was opposed to the appoint meat of trade assignees, although by the substitution of offi cial assignees for them his owe. establishment would lose 1 : about 7,0001, per annum. Mr. RANKIN then proposed a resolution to the effect tht it was the opinion of the int,etiog that the bankruptcy )aws had proved ineffie ent for the purpose for which they bad been enacted, that the cone were excessive, and that it was desirable that the creditorssheuld.,4avo the control over the administration of the . estate.. Mr. HOLLAND, of Liverpool, thought that the great object of the conference shou ld be to endeav our to bring before the Government those proposals for improvement which were most prominent, and on which there was the greatest amount of agreement. He should therefore move that a deputation should be appointed to wait on the head of her Majesty's G o . vernment, and call his attention to the defects in the admi nistration of the bankruptcy law, more especially with a view of diminishing the expense of the proceedings, and to throw the cost of compensation on the Consolidated Fund. Yr. A. PILLATT spoke in favour of the total abolition of imprisonment for debt. Several other gentlemen having similarly_ expressed them- selves, Mr. HEADLAM seconded the motion of Mr. Holland, which was, after some further conversation, adopted by .the meeting. Mr. CRAUFURD then laid before the conference his proposed, Judgments Execution Bill, which, met with the approval of the delegates present. Mr. RANKIN then brought up the report of the committee appointed on the previous evening to consider the question of the principle of summary diligence, reporting completely in its favour. The proceedings of the morning's sittings then terminated. EVENING SITTING. The conference last night held its evening sitting at the rodms of the Law Amendment Society, on which occasion Lori Brougham again presided. Mr. MALcout Ross, of Manchester, having called the atten tion of the society to the present anomalout state of the law relating to principal and agent, Mr CHARLES HOLLAND, of Liverpool, introduced the sub ject of trib ,, T . sls of commerce, by stating with what satisfac tion he ha, — ,lieard the handsome manner in which the exer tions of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce to establish such tribunals had been alluded to in the report. At the. conference held in 1852, the Liverpool Chamber had brought forward the same question for discussion, stating that their object was to secure for the decision of mercantile cases a tribunal at once simple, cheap, and ‘fficacious. Their views on that occasion met, with the general support of the Law Amendment Society, the only point of difference between them being that while the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce held that in the constitution of such courts the mercantile element should predominate, it was the opinion of the society that the legal element should have that advantage. Mr. HEATH then read the scheme drawn up by the Liver pool merchants, which, after giving a brief history of their endeavours to have tribunals of commerce established in every part of the United Kingdom, and the mercantile law of England Scotland, and Ireland assimiliated, went on to describe the successful action of similar courts in France, and other continental countries, detailing the system of the.r organisation, their procedure, and the vast amount of litiga tion which, by their agency, was satisfactorily determined. It next maintained that men of busiuess in this country were not inferior in ability, education, or clearness of intellect, to the corresponding class of men in any other country, and that if such tribunals had existed, many of those eases con nected with mercantile transactions which had lately so much alarmed the trading commuuity, suco as the questions relat ing to crossed cheques, dock warrants, and bills of lading, would have been settled with ease and cheapness. Having referred to the circumstance that the working of the Code Napoleon was greatly overrated--that in consequence of the number of new classes of cases springing on.: of a new state of things, to meet which it was impossible to bend the pro visions of that di.: fit, it had become clogged and encumbered with an ae_mmulation of judge-made law, Mr. Heath con cluded by recommending that the courts in question should be legally established, and that two or more merchants, with a lawyer as their assessor, should be in each port the judges of all mercantile disputes. On the conclusion of the reading of the paper a long dis cussion ensued with respect to the question which it advo cated. The necessity for the establishment of such tribunals was generally admitted. It was, however, observed that the demand for them proceeded on the sup,iosition that the law did not at present recognise the principle of arbitration or reference. With regard, however, to. the peculiar shape in which the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce desired to see them modelled, there was a considerable difference of opinion; some of the members of the conference held that the mer chants of the United Kingdom were not, however respectable their position and their attainments, men with minds trained to clear logical deduction, the great desideratum in a judge, and that, as in the ease of the committees of the House of Commons appointed to decide on the merits of election peti tions, it would be found that there would bo no uniformity in their decisions, but that one custom would be found to prevail at Liverpool and another at Newcastle. It was further alleged that the existing courts of the country were sufficient for all purpose, if the law were only simplified, and the courts of assize more frequently held. In support of the plan, it was contended that it was the general opinion of mercantile men that merchants were the best qualified per sons to form an opinion with respect to mercantile matters; that the lay element already prevailed in the administra tion of justice by county magistrates and the landed aris tocracy, with whom, as was shown by their skill as jury men, the merchants of the kingdom, as a class, did not yield in intellectual calibre and acumen, having among them selves an aristocracy of talent,lonour, and probity. Arbi tration, it was maintained, was an objectionable mode of procedure, insomuch as it placed the referee in an uncomfort able position, and gave the immoral man all the advantages of secrecy, his unfair dealing escaping that exposure which it would be sure to receive in an open court. In the course of these proceedings, Lord Brougham men tioned that when he went the Northern Circuit it was the common saying, both of the bench and of the bar, that the common law juries in Liverpool were equal to the special juries to be got anywhere else. A letter was also read from Mr. F. Lyne, strongly advo cating the establishment of such tribunals. The matter was finally referred to the committee, and the proceedings ter minated. Nasal and filintary Intettlgenoe. The first detachment of troops belonging to the clrps of Royal Engineers, at Bromptou Barracks, Chatham, was elected yesterday by Colonel H. s an dh a r a , for the purpose of proceeding to the Falkland Islands. Lieutenant E. D. Malcolm, Royal Engineers, is ordered to embark with the detachment. The crew of the Mega3ra, 6, steam troopship, Commander Purvis, were officially mustered and i►,spected in Portsmouth harbour on Tuesday by Vice-Admiral Sir George Seymour, K.C.8., prior to her going to Ireland to embark troops. The Dragon, 6, steam frigate, Captain Stewart, C. 8., left Portsmouth yesterday afternoon for the westward. _ The Dee, steam storeship, Master Commander Pullen, arrived at Portsmouth yesterday from the eastward with machinery, and the Garnet, Handy, an i Fenella gunboats. The Stork, steam gunboat, is being employed at Portsmouth to test the working of the new screw —a French invention. The Devastation, steam sloop, Commander Mar shall, arrived at Portsmouth on Tuesday from the westward with supernumeraries. A general order has been received at Woolwich by the commandant of the garriton, Major-General Sir W. F. Williams, from the Secretary of the War Department, giving instructions for all offi cers of the Royal Artillery indiscriminately, who occupy apartments out of barracks, to make im mediate application fur garrison quarters so as to obviate the necessity of issuing sums hitherto allowed as " lodging money." The order is con fined to the corps of Royal Artillery. The night patrols of Artillery having been in creased by the addition of 100 picked men, under the charge of 12 extra serjeants, a strict watch throughout the most obscure parts of the town and the common is kept up from 4 p.m. until 6 a.m. on the following morning, so as to prevent a continuation of the scandalous outrages which have been committed there by men in the uniform of the Royal Artillery. The life-boat constructed on a plan prepared by Mr. Peake, assistant master shipwright at Wool wich, has been tested, and will be forwarded, by the first opportunity, as a present to the Chilian Government. After repeatei rials of the steam, fire, and pump. ing engine—coustructrA by Messrs. G. Rennie—the only objection to the use of the engine at Woolwich was the fact that the carriage upon which the engine the utili ty w_is fixed was unable to turn sharply round a cor nerswdyiththouist d t r h a e wh a a ss e i k sta u n p c o e n of a of handspike. theTo in vention the patentees are now constructing an improved description of carriage which will turn in any direction with the Captain Middleto ' nbattery arrived at Wool wich yesterday at 2 p.m., and was played into garrison by the baud of the Royal Horse Brigade, having been ordered to head-quarters from Alder shot, to be given over to Captain Travers, of the 13th battalion Royal A r till er y. Captain Travers is under orders to proceed to the Cape, to relieve Captain the Ron. G. T. Devereux's company, 13th battalion. By the demise of Mrs. Malcolm, of Clapham-rise, the Royal Naval School at New-cross comes into the possession of 1,0001., bequeathed by her late husband, Mr. Robert Malcolm, surgeon, R.N., to found au university scholarship in this school. THE MAIL STEAM= VIVID.—A. letter from Ostend, dated Saturday, in yesterday's Independance .Bdge says : —" This morning, at about four o'clock, the Royal Bel gia.n steamer Rubris, Captain Dufour, on the way from Dover to Ostend, perceived a vessel. making signals of distress off Dunkirk. On letting near the commander found it was the English mail steamer Vivid, which left yesterday leof its wheels. This accident ha d caused evening for Dover, and which bad s uch a complete derangement in the machinery brokenOsteOstend d the a that the Vivid could get no further. C ommander Du four hastened to lend assistance, and after many efforts succeeded in taking the steamer in to w and bringing it on to Calais, where they arrived safe l y at $ a.m. Some minutes afterwards the hubris left Caiais, and arrived here at 11 o'clock." „'pr N