The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-06-16 00:00:00

imperial Varliament. ss. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—MONDAY. The Earl of LINCOLN, in a speech of nearly three hours' duration. on moving the second reading of the Protection of Life (Ireland) Bill, endeavoured to vindicate the con duct of government in reference to the measure. He urged the necessity for such a law, and declared that the causes for its delay were inevitable. Lord G. BENTINCK observed, that it would be in the recollection of the house that shortly before the Easter re cess he had given notice that, whilst he and his friends were prepared to support the measure, provided the go verninent, by their conduct in pressing it with all due haste through the house, proved their sincerity, they were not prepared, on the other hand, if ministers allowed mat ters of less importance to prevent its progress, to give them assistance in carrying so unconstitutional a bill through Parliament. Now this bill had come down to the house on the 13th of March— it was not read a first time till the first of May—and no step, till now, had since been taken to forward it a single stage. Consistently with the course which he had announced before Easter, he now declared that the caves fiederis had arrived on which his friends could no longer give their support to her Majesty's government. They had, however, graver reasons than those for opposing the government. They refused to trust it with any unconstitutional powers. The ignorance or the double-dealing which ministers had displayed on other questions, prevented his friends from trusting them at all. Were they who falsely told the country that famine would be raging in Ireland at this very moment, to be trusted in any of their other statements ? It was mockery and in sult both to England and Ireland for ministers to bran dish before their eyes a measure which they never in tended to carry into effect ; and feeling it to be a mockery and insult, he would oppose this measure to the utter most, and would do his best t 3 kick it and the ministry out together. He confessed he should have preferred - a direct amendment of a want of confidence in ministers to the amendment now proposed. Sir R. Peel used to in form the house that he would not be a minister on suffer ance, but be appealed to the house whether Sir R. Peel was now anything better than such a minister, supported as he was by none but his 40 paid janissaries, and the 70 other members who, in supporting him, blazoned their own shame? He then uttered a severe invective against Sir R. Peel for having separated himself in 1827 from the go vernment of an illustrious relative of his, Mr. Canning, on the ground that he could not support a minister who sup ported Catholic emancipation, when he (Sir R. Peel) af terwards stated in his place in Parliament that in 1825 he had declared to Lord Liverpool that that question could not be safely resisted much longer. Was not Sir R. Peel guilty of most dishonest conduct in resisting Catholic emancipation for four years after the period in which he bad come to such a conclusion ? The country would not twice forgive in the same man the same offence. It was time, now, that atonement should be made to the betrayed honour of Parliament, and the betrayed constituencies of the empire. It was time that Europe and the world should know that treachery had been committed by the ministers in power, and that they did not represent the honour of England. The agricultural interests might be betrayed and ruined ; but let not the world think that England was a participator in the guilt of those who now sat on the treasury benches. The time was now come, when those who loved the treason which had been re cently committed, though they hated the traitor, should join with 'hose who sat on the Protection benches, in showing that they did not approve the recent conduct of ministers. Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT rose with great warmth to vin dicate the government from the charges which Lord G. Bentinck, with his usual license, had considered himself entitled to cast on her Majesty's government. The noble lord had accused the government of not being in earnest with this bill, because it was now engaged, at the com mencement of June, in discussing the second reading of it. Who had caused that delay except the noble lord, who was new among the first to complain of it ? The noble lord was once among the foremost to call for the passing of this measure. Where was now all the indignation and horror which he had formerly expressed at the frequency of outrage and assassination of Ireland ? Formerly, the noble lord had told the house, that if it delayed, even for a single clay, to pass that bill, the blood of every man mur dered in Ireland would be on the head of ministers and of every member who supported them. On whose head was that blood to be now ? When the noble lord had answered that question he would tell him that the government would persevere in this measure in spite of that factious combi nation which he had just made with the party opposite, whose motives in opposing this bill he (Mr. S. Herbert) respected, and did not venture to blame. Was the noble lord aware of the rumours which were now about town, that some of the noble lords and gentlemen below the gangway had made an offer to Lord J. Russell to assist him in defeating this bill and throwing out the ministry, and that Lord J. Russell, with the manliness which be longed to his character, had treated that offer with that which it would not be parliamentary to call contempt? This declaration elicited a loud and long call of " Name, name," from the Protection benches, but Mr. S. HERBERT did not respond to the call, and pro ceeded at length to vindicate the general principles of the bill. In reply to Mr. Stafford O'Brien, Lord J. RUSSELL declared thati o proposition to aid in throwing out this bill had been made to him by any noble lord or gentleman on the Protection benches. He then justified his own course in voting against the second read ing, after supporting the first reading of the bill. Lord G. Bentinck had come to this conclusion on grounds sa tisfactory to himself, and he (Lord J. Russall) had done the same ; but those grounds were public grounds, and there had been no private understanding between them. Mr. S. HERBERT observed that, after the declaration of the noble lord, he owed it to justice to state that he was convinced of the falseness of the rumours to which he had adverted, and therefore begged leave to withdraw them. The debate was then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS.--WEDNESDAY. Mr. HitwEs moved that the house should go into com mittee on the subject of the Danish Claims, in order to carry out the resolution in favour of the claimants sanc tioned by a majority a short time ago. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER met the motion with the usual arguments, and moved as an amendment that the horse should resolve itself into committee on the claims that day six months. . _ After some discussion the house divided, when the amendment of the Chancellor of the Exchequer was car ried by 85 to 58, the majority being 27. _ - - Mr. F. MAu t E moved the second reading of the Places of Worship, &c., Sites (Scotland) Bill. The right hon. gentleman instanced the refusals of Lord Macdonald, Sir James Riddel, Lord Moray, Lord Forbes, the Duke of Buccleuch, and other Scotch proprietors to grant sites for the erection of free-church places of worship, as grounds for this measure, by which it is proposed to compel the granting of sites in a way similar to the com pulsion used by railway companies. Mr. Mauls, in the course of his speech, stated that the Free Church had already six hundred places of worship erected, had forts in the course of erection, and had funds to the amount of a million sterling. the measure. His lordship concluded by moving that the word "now" give place to " this day six months." The Earl of RADNOR defended Sir Robert Peel, and expressed his satisfaction with the measure. If it proved injurious to - the agriculturalists, it would at all events, prove beneficial to the manufacturer._ _ . . The Earl of WICKLOW expressed his surprise that no one had attempted to explain the probable effect of the bill in Ireland. Sir Robert Peel had been asked whether he proposed to make any reduction of the rent charges or tithes, and his answer was that he did not, as there could be no diminution of prices. It would be absurd to ex pect benefit, if there were to be no diminution of prices. He intended to propose in committee that there should be a fixed duty of ss. The debate was adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TnunspAy, The Earl of LINCOLN moved for leave to bring in three hills to alter the law of landlord and tenant in Ireland. These bills were, he said, of a cognate character, and their object was to improve the cultivation of the soil, to ensure to the tenant compensation for the expendi ture of capital, and to improve the relations of landlord and tenant. The first of these measures provided for voluntary and compulsory agreements with respect to the investment of capital in improvements. In refe rence to voluntary improvements, if the landlord, when applied to, gave his assent, they might be immediately proceeded with ; otherwise the matter was at an end. In relation to compulsory improvements—and under this head be proposed that building and thorough draining should come—notice must be given to the landlord in a prescribed form, and in case of disagreement, arbitrators would be appointed ; and if they could not agree, an umpite would be appointed by the assistant barrister of the county, who would also have power to appoint an arbitrator if the landlord refused. In order to obviate the difficulty of serving notice, in consequence of the number of landlords connected with the same land in Ireland, the provisions of the bill would, in this respect, include only those landlords who had an interest in thirty one yeas, or three lives. The mode in which compensa tion would be arranged was, that where the tenant quitted the land in seven years he would be entitled to all the amount expended in improvement; if in fourteen yeats, to three-fourths of the amount; if in twenty-one years, to one-half ; and if within twenty-eight years, to one-fourth of the amount; but if the tenant was kept in possession, his tenancy expiring before twenty-eight years, he should not be entitled to any compensation. The second bill introduced by the noble lord related to distress and eject ment. Its provisions, he stated, would abolish the power to distrain upon growing crops ; it would lessen the costs of law proceedings, and would give to the tenants the power to stop proceedings, on payment of the demand, at any time before he was actually dispos sessed. The bill would also give to the landlord power to eject a superior tenant without serving notices on his sub-tenants, and to retain the latter in the position in which they had been. The third bill related to leases ; and in order to encourage the granting of leases, a form was attached to the bill, according to which a lease might be drawn by the parties without the aid of a legal gentleman. The measure would also give a diminished stamp duty of 2s. Gd. on all leases of lands not exceeding £5O a-year rent. The noble lord concluded by stating that the amount of compulsory compensation to which the tenant would be entitled was limited to three years' rental. These measures, he trusted, would meet with the approbation of the house. Leave was given to bring in the bills. lIOUSE OF LORDS—FRIDAY. The debate on the Corn Bill was resumed by the Mar quis of EXETER, who opposed it. The Bishop of ST. DAVID'S defended himself and s of his right reverend brethren as had voted with him from the imputations which had been cast upon them by cer tain noble lords opposed to the government. lie (the right reverend prelate) denied that the measure was not likely to affect the clergy in the manner they had des cribed. The clergy had been perfectly neutral on the question ; they had presented no petitions, and had never, to his knowledge, privately signified to members of the bench of bishops the course they desired to have pursued. His lordship commended the clergy for their abstinence. They might suffer some temporary loss, but he believed that they would ultimately sustain no injury. Were it otherwise, he could not consent to oppose the interests of so limited a class as that of the clergy to those of the public at large. The votes of himself and his right rev. brethren would be given with a view to the general in terest, let the effect of the bill upon the clergy be what it might. His lordship argued on the hypothesis that the bill would secure cheap bread for the poorer classes. He denied that the legislature would, by passing it, abdicate their power in the event of its disappointing their expecta tions. He believed that if it were found injurious to the interests of any particular class, the government would have the power of remedying the evil. The Bishop of EXETER, in a speech of considerable power, opposed the bill, and comme.eted in stringent terms upon certain passages of the speech of the right reverend prelate who had preceded him. He differed from his lordship in his opinion that the interests of so insig nificant a class as the clergy ought not to be placed in competition with those of the great body of the people. It was not because the interests of from 10,000 to 12,000 clergy were likely to be damaged that the appeal, which had teen so imperfectly understood, had been made to the right reverend bench, but because the best interests of the poor were at stake on the event—the interests of morals and religion—and because the rich and the poor would both suffer if any injury were inflicted on the Church. lie considered that their lordships were perfectly justified in appealing to the right reverend prelates on such a mat ter. He should not be restrained from declaring that something more than cheap provisions was necessary to the comfort and well-being of the labouring classes, by the taunt that no one could be the labourers' friend who opposed the measure. It was because he considered that the interests of the poor would, in no respect, be pro moted by it, that he opposed it. He saw a great number of the agricultural population of the cou•ttry suffering, but did not think their condition would be improved by bring ing them into direct competition with the serfs of Poland. He did not sympathise with the right reverend prelate in bis apprehensions in the event of the rejection of the mea sure. If he were to follow the example of appealing to other parties, he would call upon the noble lords now about him to give their votes in this matter as in a judicial cause, and laying their hands on their hearts, say, " con tent" or " non-content," upon my honour. The Bishop of Oxford, Lord Monteagle, Lord Grey, and Lord Brougham spoke in favour of the bill ; and Earl Warwick, Lord Stauley, and Lord Ashburton aaainst it ; when the motion was withdrawn, and the house would go into committee on the bill last (Monday) night. HOUSE OF COMMONS—FRIDAY. The debate on the Coercion Bill was resumed, and the most remarkable features were the approval of Mr. O'Con nel of Lord Lincoln's measure for improving the relations of landlord and tenant in Ireland, the speeches of Mr. Milnes and Mr. Scrope upon the Irish Coercion Bill, the onslaught of Mr. Shaw upon Ministers and the ministe rial policy, and the defence of Sir R. Peel of his motives in introducing the Corn Bill, and his reply to Lord G. Bentinck's charge that he had "hunted Mr. Canning to death." Sir JAMES GaAHAM moved, as an amendment, that the bill be read a second time that day six months. He deplored the secession that had taken place in Scotland, and he attributed the refusal of sites by the Duke of Buccleuch and other proprietors to the language, con veying implacable enmity to the Established Church of Scotland, used by the seceders, and also to the denuncia tions unjustifiably made against the proprietors. If the principle of this bill were adopted towards Scotland, it could not be refused to the Dissenters in England and Ireland, whether Christians or not. Sir R. 11. INGLis rose to speak in defence of religious toleration. He contended that rights of conscience should be extended to landed proprietors as well as to religious congregations. What right, he asked, had his right hon. friend (Mr. Fox Mania) to say that any individual should be compelled, by force of law, to ad vance the interest of a church which be did not approve of—by granting sites on his land for the erection of their buildings? If the principles were once admitted in re gard to the Free Church of Scotland it must be extended to every Dissenting body in the United Kingdom. What bad been the course adopted by the Free Church ? Did they build churches in remote parts of Scotland, where there was a want of places of worship? No. In every instance they had erected their new churches in juxta position with those they had left; and the question the house was called upon to decide was, would they allow people to extort under pretext of the law sites for the building of churches where they were not required, for ~.,„„. the mere purpose of opposition to that establishment '''6'. it will be remembered that Captain W a lker, aft er th e from which they had seceded ? He thought that gentle- disastrous havoc amongst his small force, determined to men should be allowed to manage their properties in what- march the surviving troops to join General Taylor, whose ever manner they considered best. He admitted fully position he had learned, and he succeeded i n con d uc t' ng that property had its duties as well as its rights ; but he them to Point Isabel, without interception by any of the also contended for what he had before stated, that there enemy. On the 3rd, a heavy cannonading was heard in were rights of conscience belonging to landed proprietors t d he direction of Matamoros, which continued du r i ng the as well as to congregations, and they should not be corn- ay, at intervals through the night, and d ur i ng th e d a y o f pelled by any enactments to encourage those • sects of the 4th ; and on the sth an exp e diti on , w hi c h h a d b een which he did not approve, as he asserted it would be an despatched to ascertain the cause, re t urne d with intelli act of tyranny to compel them to do so. Under such gence that the Mexicans, disco ver i ng t h e a b sence o f G en . circumstances he would support the ame n d men t o f th e right hon. baronet (Sir J. Graham). Taylor and his division, had th rown over th e r i ver a f orce e debate was then adjourned. T.h estimated at six thousand me n , an d opene d a b r i s k fi re 4►--. upon the fort from their batteries. The bombardment HOUSE OF LORDS. -- Tnunsriasr. was maintained until the evening of the 6th, but without effect. On the ith, having obtained reinforcements, am- The_Earl of RIPON moved the order of tae day for go ing into committee on the corn bill. munition, and supplies, General Taylor set out on his Earl' TANnoPE moved that the bill be committed that return to the camp ; and in the course of the Bth, at Palo day six months. He scouted the idea of a famine in Ire. Alto, came in front of a Mexican force estimated at 6000 land. Jn _1843 he (Lord Stanhope) had expressed an men, with seven pieces of artillery, and 800 cavalry. The opinion that Sir Robert Peel's experiments were merely American force numbered 2,300, with two eighteen preparatory to the removal altogether of protection. How pounders and a couple of light batteries. An engage m e n t could their lordships reconcile it with their public duty to ensued, and aft er a s pi r it e d s t rugg l e o f fi ve h ours ' dura pass a bill which might inflict a serious injury upon !ion the M ex i cans were di s l o d ge d f rom t h e i r pos i t i on and forced to retreat. Th e A mer i can f orce encampe d upon t h e millions ;Oboist any real necessity, and of the probable field. On the 9th, th e G enera l renewe d the march with effects of whichthe minister and his party professed to know nothing? What, therefore, became of the argu- the main body of th e army, h av i ng prev i ously thrown for %y ment of cheapness, .on which so much stress had been laid? ard a body of light i n f antry i nto the forest which covers the route to Matamoras. At Resec a d e l a P a l ma a rav i ne The loss whi c h th e . ed uc ti on wou ld i nvo l ve to the corn- crossing the road was di scovere d to h ave b een occupied munity would exceed £5,000,000. Th e small occupiers of land could no t h o ld th e i r f arms a f ter t h e measure had by the enemy with artille r y. Th e act i on too k place on the edge a the ravine, and one mile from the ch a pp ora l, w hi c h taken effect. M an y of hi s no bl e f r i en d s h a d pre f er - twelve miles was near in width. The Mexicans corn red to support the bill because they believed it to be menced the acon with their artillery, which was posted a :tarrow passage through which General inevitable. This was a very futile excuse. It was not there being a swamp on the other to be believed that large masses of the people would so as to sweep quietly submit to be pauperised at the will of the minister. I Taylor was advancin7, 's destructive fire, and the troops, band. General Taylor immediately ordered a charge in At the period of the concession of the Reform Bill, the ' Duke of Wellington had asked how the Government was the teeth of the enemy vieces of artillery fell into to be carried on ? How had it been carried on? By promptly responding, carric: 4 the enemy's guns at the , t innumerable quantity basely and pusillanimously crouching to the party which point of the bayonet. Eight appeared to be the stronger, and by trampling on that the hands of the Americans, and a. which was believed to be the w ea k er. Th ey (the house) of sma ll arms , mun itions, bagga g e, camp equipage, a ~ had lately seen a party, which it had t a k en ten years to mi litary chest, containing a l ar g e quantit c v;of gold, General form, scattered to the winds of heaven in a s many weeks, Arista's carriage, baggage, portfolio, ~ . 12 ail his official whilst, on the other hand, in the course of a f ew wee k s correspondenc e w ith the government, with cull plans -of and without any previous preparation, they found 246 the campaign and instructions from the Mexi, .an govern honest, enlightened, and independent members of parlia- silent, authorizing him to send General Taylt.' and his !pent bound together by public principle, who had opposed army, when taken prisoners, to the city of Mexico, 8134 t 9 r FOREIGN AND COLONIAL. LATEST NEWS FROM THE UNITED STATES The British and North American steam-ship, Britan nia, arrived at this port on Saturday night from Boston and Halifax, and has brought some important intelli gence from the seat of hostilities in Mexico. From this we learn that the United States army, under Gen-ral Taylor, bad achieved two successive victories over the Mexican forces, on the Bth and 9th of May, on the west bank of the " Great River," or " Rio del Norte." The effect of this success had been to avenge the previous de feats of portions of the American army, including the slaughter of a body of Texican Rangers under Captain Walker, by the Mexicans, on the Ist of May, near the same spot, and had also reopened communications with Point Isabel. Preparations were also being made by the now conquerors to invade the town of Matamoras, on the opposite side of the river, and one small Mexican town had already been taken possession of. By this time the American army have probably made inroads into the enemy's territory, as well as blockaded the Mexican sea ports,—and, it may be, attacked the castle of St. Juan de Ulloa, at Vera Cruz, which, however, is a fortress so strong that if at all well defended, may be considered the Gibraltar of the South, and would stand cut a prolonged THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. treat the General and his officers with such care and at tention as becomes the magnanimity of the great Mexican nation. Four or five hundred mules, &c., with a large number of stands of colours, were also taken. The instructions of Arista were to possess himself of Point Isabel, and fortify it as strongly as possible. The Americans, it is estimated, sustained in the action the loss of three officers and forty men killed, and thirteen officers and one hundred men wounded. The Mexicans had upwards of three hundred killed, many wounded, and a considerable number taken prisoners. General Taylor's force afterwards encamped at Point Isabel. The town of Baritta was taken the next day by the Americans, and as the Mexican troops had marched out of the town of Mata moros, it was supposed that General Taylor had taken un disturbed possession of the town. The Mexicans, it is stated, ;used copper balls, a wound from which is ex tremely dangerous. Numerous requisitions had been is sued by the Executive, calling upon the governors of several of the northern states for troops of volunteers. New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, &c., had each been called upon to furnish their proper quota. Some apprehensions were entertained of the operation of Mexican privateers, which it was contemplated to put down and treat as pirates. Measures had been taken by the Secretary of the United States Navy to protect the commerce exposed in the Gulf of Mexico, should it be menaced or interrupted. The proceedings in Congress had been interesting. On the 18th ult. the Senate passed a bill to repeal so much of the appropriation bill of 1845 as limited the number of men in the naval service to 7,500. On the 19,h, i❑ the House of Representatives, Mr. King reported from the Committee on Naval Affairs a bill for .building by con tract twelve iron steamers and one iron frigate ; the steamers to be of not less than 1,200, nor more than 1,600 tons ; the boilers and the machinery to be so arranged as to be secure from the enemy's shot; the speed to be at least fifteen miles an hour; engines not less than 1,000 horse-power ; to carry an armament of at least six wrought-iron guns, of not less than twelve-inch calibre; from two to four smaller guns, of the same manufacture ; and to have at least fifteen days' fuel under high-pressure steam. The frigate to carry sixty heavy guns ; and one of the steamers to be built on the plan of Erricson. Five millions proposed to be appropriated to carry the law into effect. The bill was referred to the appropriate committee. In the Senate, on the 23d ult., a bill autho rizing the construction of ten war steamers was made a special order for the following Monday. Subsequently both houses passed votes of thanks to General Taylor and the " Army of Occupation." The extra appropriations so far sanctioned by Congress amount to upwards of seventeen millions of dollars. Congress had further discussed the Oregon question, and evidently with a wish to shelve the subject for the present session. Several propositions were submitted, one of them by Mr. Benton, in support of a compromise on the 49th parallel of latitude, and of the rights of the United States up to that line : but no final decision had been come to up to the 29th ultimo—the last paper we have received (The New York Herald) being of the 30th. Having their hands full of the Mexican war, and its an ticipated great costs—for which 17,000,000 of dollars are proposed to be appropriated, no immediate response from the United States is to be expected to the relaxed system of commercial policy adopted by Great Britain. The proposed outlay had damped the never very warm advo cates of free trade. The official organ still calls upon Congress to pass the bill ; but, in the beat of war and fancied glory, the appeal was utterly neglected. A similar fate appears to threaten the Independent Treasury scheme. Owing to the warlike position of the country, several propositions for the adjournment of Congress had been rejected, and the question was deferred for consideration 2 to the Sth of June. C 12 -* -f- had she tireat britain steam-ship had arrived out at New York on the morning cf the 30th ultimo, after a run of twenty days. Her prolonged passage arose from a slight accident to the engine havihg depi iced her of the use of steam for a portion of the voyage. She was appointed to leave New York on her return on the 6th instant. The predictions of public money being heedlessly and extravagantly squandered upon a war heedlessly provoked appear to be in course of realisation. At New Orleans no less than 16,500 dollars per month was paid for the hire of a steam-boat to transport troops and supplies to the Rio Grande ! The New York Commercial Inquirer, of May 30th, says, " Two thousand two hundred and forty-four pas sengers from Europe arrived at this port yesterday." Intelligence from the Havana, in the American jour nals, reports that no less than sixteen members of the Mexican Confederation had notified their Government, that, if the scheme of establishing a monarchical govern ment were forced upon them, they would be compelled, in self-defence, to ask admission into the union of the United States of America. The news from the Canadas is unimportant, if we ex cept the fact that vegetation was rapidly progressing, and that the prospects for agriculture were most promising• From Vera Cruz the advices were to tise 7th ultimo. The whole of the American squadron, with the exception of the Falmouth, had sailed on the sth to the relief of General Taylor; and, on its return, would proceed to blockade the Mexican seaboard, and, probably, to attack the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa. Extensive and spirited preparations in men and metal were being made for the defence of the castle; and, the weather being excessively hot, the vomito had made its appearance. This would prove a valuable ally to the Mexicans. The Cabinet formed by Paredes still remained in power. The exiled chief, Santa Anna, still remained at Havana, with little prospect of being recalled to power. The revolt of Alvarez in the south had been entirely suppressed. Several alterations in the constitution of the Cabinet had been made by Paredes. The Mexicans, re mote from the seat of war, were universally confident of victory upon the Rio Grande, founding their hopes upon the numerical superiority of their troops. The acts of the Executive were universally approved of. The re ported sale of the Mexican war-steamers Montezuma and Guadaloupe is said to have been contradicted. Accounts from Campcachy to the 13th ultimo state, that the Congress was still engaced its constructing a new constitution, and would no doubt confirm the declaration made some time since of the separation of the state of Yucatan from the Government of Mexico. The following are a few laughable scraps from letters relative to the Mexican war and the assumed valour of the Yankees, from the New York Herald, the founder of which, Mr. James Gordon Bennett, announces, in amusing terms, his intention to revisit Europe this summer, with a view to organ:ze a system of correspondence for his journal from the several courts of this quarter of the globe : " About twenty minutes after the commencement of the action, poor Major Ringgold (of the Sth) was struck by a six-pound shot, and mortally wounded—he has since died. I had lent him my pistols on going into the fight. The shot struck one holster, cut it and the pistol in two pieces, cut all the flesh off the upper part of the Major's thigh, yassed through the shoulders of his horse, cut the other pistol in two, and the flesh off the other thigh. He fell from his horse—and Li mt. Sherer offered to assist him—but he said, " no sir—ht rne stay—go on—you have enough to do—go ahead:" We rested on our arms until three o'clock, and then commenced the action again; and fought them till night closed the scene of carnage. We slept on the field of battle, amid the dead, dying, and wounded, without refreshment, upon the bare ground, and with our arms by our side. In this engagement I lost my mare in extricating myself from a party of seven Mexicans who had fired at me whilst executing an order on the ex treme left for Col. Twigge. I snapped her shoulder in wheeling to shoot a 'Mexican who rushed at me with a lance. On the next day the enemy made a show, but retreated, and took up their position in a thick undergrowth, having every advantage. We commenced the fight; the most awful ever known ; and the old officers say equal only to New Orleans or Fort Erie. I was in the front rank du ring the whole fight, and thank God, escaped without a wound, though unhorsed, a ball through my coat, and my horse struck. We whipped them to death. I took the sword off a captain, just wounded by me, and mean to keep it—you shall see my trophy one of these days. Lieut. Randolph Ridgely won as much glory as any officer on the field—he is a glorious fellow. We lost some few officers and men. Among the officers was poor Lieutenant Inge —he bed just joined, and was killed in the charge on the enemy's batteries ; I charged by his side, and was un horsed, and doubtless thus escaped- I am too gratefu first for the opportunity of being in the fight, and then to escape unhurt." MR, JOHN B. CozznNs. — Extract from a letter dated " Camp," May 11th.—Your brave friend, Lieut. Roland, was always proud of his sword, as every American officer should be ; and he now feels prouder than ever of it, for it was struck by a six-pound shot near the centre, as it hung by his side.—P.S.—The muskets of the Mexicans, I no ticed, were all marked George Rex, or Fourth, Tower." The following are miscellaneous extracts :—LIGHT NING SPEED.—lmmediately, when the Great Britain was telegraphed, we sent on the account by the lightning line to the editors at Philadelphia, who sent back a re quest to be forwarded an abstract of her news. The en tire was performed within an hour ! to and from Phila delphia. What next !—New Hork Herald. (From the:Mobile Herald, May 22.) A specimen of patriotism was related to us yesterday. A man threw a silver dollar into the street, because it was of Mexican coinage. Whether some less patriotic individual picked it up, we did not stay to ascertain. Camp opposite Matamoros, On the Rio Grande, May 14, 1846. Dear M.,—We have had two hard-fought and victorious battles, on the Bth and 9th instant, of which you have doubtless had accounts in the papers. lam well and un harmed, though much exposed in both fights. Not until next morning did we know our entire success, when we found they had retired, leaving their dead, and many of their wounded, upon the field of battle. As my regiment was marching down in line, my company marched directly upon a poor Mexican, who raised his arm, as if to depre cate any harm being done to him. My men shook hands with him, and re-assured him, giving him water and re freshments, and he was turned over to our surgeons, and very kindly treated. Since then, 150 or more of their wounded fell into our hands, who have been all kindly treated. gerated terms of praise of the conduct of his subordinates. Of himself, however, of course, he could say nothing. His junior officers, however, will not permit injustice to he done him. One of them, writing to his correspondent in New Orleans. for example, says, " The General be haved most gallantly. In the second battle he was more exposed than any one else; and there he sat, part of the time, giving his orders, with his leg cocked over' the pummel of the saddle, unheeding the solicitations of the staff to retire."—Letter in the New York Herald. We captured one of their generals—Gen. La Vega.— and about twelve other officers, and 170 men. As for their killed and wounded, the whole ground around was covered with them. Every feeling of humanity was excited in my breast by such sights. We bivouacked that night on the field of battle and of victory, and late at night, about eleven or twelve o'clock, myself and another officer sallied out in quest of wounded men. We had the satisfaction of saving one wounded Mexican, who was nearly exhausted from loss of blood, abandoned in the field, and passed over as dead by all who had previously seen him. A serjeant who could talk Spanish was along with us, who gave assurance to the poor fellow that he should be treated kindly, and taken to the doctor, which was his -desire.—New York Herald. ,general Taylor speaks in high and dgutnifss iinexag- DEATH OF POPE GREGORY XVI It appears that his Holiness had been indisposed during the last week of May, but that on the 28th and 29th of that month he was deemed by his physicians perfectly re covered. His death was sudden, and may possibly give rise to rumours such as followed the decease, similarly, of several of his predecessors. In ordinary times, the de mise of a Pope would not occasion any sensation in the political world, but such is not the case in the present in stance. Pope Gregory XVI. was more tolerant than most others who had held the keys of St. Peter. He was fully aware of a coming crisis in his States ; he foresaw, and would by concession have obviated, the overwhelming storm, that cannot otherwise be prevented bursting upon Rome at least ; but he was overborne by the cardinals, who to the repeated entreaties of France and Austria, and it is said England, refused concurrence in even the slightest amelioration of the civil and political condition of the subjects of the Holy See. Whether the death of Pope Gregory will produce immediate revolt or outbreak, it is not possible to predict. The member of the Sacred College most likely to suc ceed Pope Gregory XVI. is the Cardinal Franzoni, Pre fect of the Congregation of the Propaganda. He is, how ever, considered friendly towards the Jesuits, and will be, of course, fiercely opposed by France—a rower which, through its wily and talented representative at the Roman Court, is alleged to be playing a game in Italy upon which the other Governments of Europe, Great Britain included, would do well to keep an eye. _ Cardinal Franzoni . was born at Genoa on the 10th of December, 1775, and is, of course, in the 71st year of his age. Cardinal Acton might not improbably be selected, and would in that case be only the second Englishman that has ever held the Papal dignity. The Presse mentions having received a letter from Rome of the 30th ult.. stating that " a surgical operation per formed on one of the Pope's legs produced a violent in flammation in the limb on the evening of the 26th ; it made such progress during the following days, that on the 3Cth the physicians lost all hopes of saving the august pa tient. Gregory XVI. had long laboured under a chronic affection in the legs, in consequence of his habit of re maining, during the greatest part of the day, seated at his desk." The French Minister of War has ordered that learning to sing, on the Wilhelm system, shall be obligatory in all the French infantry regiments. Jenny Lind, the great Swedish songstress is engaged at the Imperial theatre of St. Petersburg, at the rate of £2,240 per month, exclusive of presents. RoNGE.—The Spener Gazette states that John Ronge, the celebrated reformer, has been acquitted by the tribu nal of Breslau. at the trial for the publication of the work called " New" yet Old Enemies. 'I he Parisian Punch, Le Charivari, has been, by supe rior order, prohibited from being read in Vienna; all co pies destined for that capital being seized in the frontier post-office. THE SACRED COLLEGE OF ROME.—This body at pre sent consits of 60 cardinals-2 of the creation of Pius VII., 7 of the creation of Leo XII., and 51 of the creati on of Gregory XVI. France at this moment has only two Cardinali in the Sacred College, M M. de Bouald and de la Tour d'Auvergne. THE REGICIDE ITECOMTE.—The sentence of death pro nounced by the Court of Peers upon the regicide Lecomte was carried into effect o❑ Monday morning, at a quarter past five o'clock. The avenues leading to the Place de la Barrier St. Jacques, upon which the scaffold had been erected during the night, were occupied by a large force of Municipal Guards, and very few spectators were per mitted to remain on the square. Lecomte arrived there in a carriage, accompanied by his conies or the Abbe Grivel, and having alighted, walked barefooted, and cov ered with a black veil, to the scaffold, the steps of which he mounted with considerable firmness. The veil was there removed from his head, and the sentence read to the crowd. After a few instants' conversation with his con fessor, be embraced him, and with an air of resolution delivered himself into the hands of the executioner. A moment afterwards he had ceased to exist. By the ship Achilles, arrived off Deal, on Thursday, we have Port Philip papers of the 27th January. which is about a week later than the dates via Sydney. The lauding topic of interest in the colony was the question of sepa ration from the government of New South Wales, which is warmly advocated by the local press. Desertions con tinued to take place from the detachment of the 56th Regiment, sta , ioned at Melbourne, which is attributed to the high price of labour, and the consequent disposition of the settlers to conceal the men whom they find useful. It does not appear that any of them had become bush rangers, so that they must necessarily have found employ ment from the colonists in the frontier of the settlement. The discipline of the regiment generally would, however, appear to be defective. Some idea may be formed of the progress of the colony from the number of animals slaugh tered within the police district of Melbourne during the year 1815, .vhich amounted to 7,266 horned cattle, 32,435 sheep, and 1,413 pigs. --R Butter has fallen ss. per cwt. at Limerick since Wed nesday last. The price of the first quality is only 765. Not long since the same article was lOUs. Accirding to the unanimous opinion of the Irish press, the crops of every description of produce in the sister country are most luxuriant. The recent rains have been of essential service. CARLOW.—Mr. Banbury, late member for County Carlow, is likely to be succeeded in the representation by Captain M`Chintock, to whom Mr. Bunbury has left £60,000. Mr. Bunbury has left £30,000 to the ganant captain's brother. They are Mr. Btribury's nephews. Mr. French, the stipendiary magistrate, whose co❑duct in the affair of Sir Francis Hopkins and the convicted Seery has formed the subject of the recent government inquiry, has been reprimanded by the Lord Lieutenant, and removed to another station. The political supporters of Mr. Smith O'Brien met him within a short distance of Limerick, on Thursday, when he ascended a chair, splendidly decorated, drawn by six horses, and proceeded through the principal streets of that city. The corporation, in their robes of office, formed part of the procession. In the evening the honourable gentleman was entertained at a soiree, which was at tended by upwards of a thousand persons. The Queen's Benoh of Dublin has made absolute the rule for a criminal information against Mr. Jackson, an attorney, for writing a letter to Mr. Butt, the barrister, calculated to lead to a breach of the peace; but the court intimated an opinion that Mr. Butt ought not to take any further proceedings in the matter, as that gentleman had made observations calculated to injure Mr. Jackson's character, ag:tinst which no imputation could justly be laid. FACTION FIGHT.—We have to add a serious complaint of the disgraceful interruption to business which took place at Ballinrobe last fair day. Two factions, the Mal lays and Jenningses, renewed a former quarrel on this day, and continued, with some intervals and in different places, fighting from three o'clock until nine. The po lice were assaulted with stones, the shops closed, and two companies of the 88th had to be called out to quell the riot. The police succeeded in making 27 prisoners, who are to be tried at the petty sesssions. 7 Mayo Paper. MURDER IN TIPPERARY.— On Tuesday week, a man named Grady, white returning from the fair of Car►ick, handed some money to two men, named Walshe and Whelan, to procure whiskey for the use of all. They could not get any, whereupon Grady demanded the re storation of his money. A fight ensued, and Walshe and Whelan beat him so severely that he died on Saturday. A verdict of wilful murder was returned against these men, who have absconded. REPEAL ASSOCIATION.—At the weekly meeting on Monday, the rent amounted to £l3 3s. from Liverpool. The most important lecture of the day's proceedings ap peared to be the ejection of Mr. George Archdeacon, of this town, for having, in a recent speech at Liverpool, counselled physical force. Mr. Archdeacon denied that he had done so, but a letter from Mr. O'Connell ad dressed to the secretary, Mr. Ray, insi 11 on his b expelled from the association, and accordingly he was expelled. MURDER OF FOUR PERSONS BY POISON.—OD Satur day, an inquest was held at Kyle, county Wexford, on the bodies of John, James, and Michael Cullen, who died on Friday from the effects of arsenic administered in stirabout, by their sister, Mary Cullen, who has con fessed her guilt. A poor travelling woman and her son who happened to call at the cottage of the Cullens while they were at breakfast were hospitably invited to partake of the fatal repast, and she, poor creature, has also fallen a victim. Her son (a lad), after suffering great torture, is pronounced out of danger. At the inquest no suspicion rested on Mary Cullen, who, according to the evidence, eat of the poisoned stirabout herself, and suffered con siderably from it. DOWNHILL BLAST.—On Saturday, Downhill, in the neighbourhood of Coleraine, presented a very animated scene. A rock, which obstructed the passage of the Lon donderry and Coleraine Railway, was to be removed by the force of gunpowder. The rock was charged in two different places with no less than 35 cwt. of powder. To witness the explosion, seven steamers brought their crews, passengers, and bands, from Londonderry, Portrush, Belfast, and Liverpool. Crowds from the adjoining country, covered the surrounding grounds and cliffs. When the last of the signal guns was fired, and the last signal flag lowered, Dr. M`Caldin, from his voltaic bat tery, stationed at the distance of 150 feet from the lodg ments of gunpowder, sent on the communicating wires which joined the powder and the battery, the igniting electrive spark, end quick as thought all was over. SMITH O'BRIEN.—At the repeal association last week, the secretary read two letters from W. S. O'Brien ; the first accepting the invitation to a triumphal entry into Dublin, and to a rational banquet, but suggesting a post ponement till after a return of the Irish members from London; the second, graciously consenting to allow the ass , ciation " to refund the fees paid by him" on his " release from the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms," and intimating, that if "the payment of those fees could have been interpreted as an acknowledgment of the power of the House of Commons to imprison him, he would never have paid them, had he not found that they would be dis charged by others over whoe conduct he had no control." The following passage exhibits the martyr's characteristic modesty :—" Indeed, I doubt whether, under any circum stances, I should have been justified in depriving my con stituents of my services, whilst enabled to purchase my liberty by the mere payment of a pecuniary ransom."— The amount of the fees to be refolded is £4l 65. 3d, UNIVERSITY 4• CLERICAL NEWS. CAMBRIDGE.—The following degrees were conferred on Thursday :—Bachelors of Divinity—Rev. William henry Bateson, St. John's College; Rev. Gilbert Beresford, St. John's College ; Rev. Frederick William Collison, St. John's College; Rev. James Cartmell, Christ's College; Rev. John Smith, Christ's College; Rev. Matthew Gallye Lamotte, Sidney College. Masters of Arts — Rev. James William Mark well, Christ's College ; John Cartmell, Pembroke College. Bachelors in Medicine-- Henry Goode, Pembroke College; 'William Francis Chorley, Caius College. The Rev. E. Horne, M.A., of Peterhouse, Cambridge, has resigned the living of St. Lawrence, Southampton, valua £2OO per annum, into the hands of the Bishop of Winchester, preparatory it is stated by the Cambridge Advertiser, to conforming to the Roman Catholic Church. THE ROMANISTS AND THE CHURCH.--The founda tions of a new Roman Catholic college and church, to be erected within two miles and a half of the cathedral of St. Asaph, have been laid. The government are seeking to abolish the bishopric which the Roman Catholics are thus apuropriating to themselves as it were. LORD FRANCIS EGERTON.—This distinguished noble man, the learned rector of King's College and University, has been at the ,xpense of printing, for the members of the Spalding Club, a volume of " Selections from the Ecclesiastical Records of Aberdeen," comprising the re- cords of the kirk-session of Aberdeen, 1562-1.659; the records of the presbytery of Aberdeen, 1598.1610; and those of the synod of Aberdeen, 1651-1681.—Scotch paper. • DURHAM CATHEDRAL.—Considerable alterations have been for some time going on in this venerable building, under the auspices of the Dean, with the view of restoring the interior to something like its original state. Last week, workmen were employed to restore the chapter room to its former appearance. The fine columnar work and tracery had been covered over with stouthing and plaster, and the room curtailed in its dimensions, to add to the size of the deanery gardens. PARISH OF ST. MARY, DONNYBROOK.—The petitions of the Protestant parishioners, adopted at the late meeting at Sandymount with reference to the proceeding of the Archbishop of Dublin in the case of the Rev. R. W. Kyle, were forwarded on Wednesday for presentation to Parliament. The documents 'are very voluminous, each petition extending the length of forty-five feet, and signed by the churchwarden, the two ex-churchwardens, and nearly eight hundred of the inhabitants, amongst whom are many of the oldest and most influential parishioners. KING WILLIAM'S COLLEGE, ISLE OF MAN.—The an nual meeting for the distribution of prizes took place yes terday week. The trustees were his Excellency the Go vernor (chairman), the Lord Bishop, and the Archdea con. The prizes consisted chiefly of handsomely-bound books. The Principal said he was enabled to give most fa vourable report of the past year. The check sustained by the fire was got over; admissions bad been greater than in former years, and the number cf boys was larger than before. Much improvement had also been evinced by the pupils, owing, in a great degree, to the successful working of the quarterly ( xaminations. A report of the results had circulated amongst the friends of the boys, with good effect upon both. Good accounts had also been received of the latter from the Universities, especially Cambridge, where some of them had taken honours in January. Of those who had left them for various profes sions, the most gratifying accounts had also been re ceived. When the prizes had been distributed, the Bishop expressed great satisfaction at the progress of the pupils, and congratulated the respectable assemblage in the room for the first time since it was repaired. The Principal expressed his gratification to bear such a testi mony from the rev. prelate. He thanked the vice-princi pal and masters, for their kind co-operation, and con - by eluded ny an affectionate and admonitory address to the boys on their leaving the college for the holidays. The pupils expressed their feelings by reiterate plaudits, and the meeting separated with feelings of the utmost gratifi cation. A TRACTARIAN EXPLANATION, (From the Record ) Our readers no doubt remarked in our last the an nouncement of the establishment of an institution at Harrow Weald, in the diocese of London, for training boys " to receive deacons' orders, or to go out as school masters to the Church, in the colonies or at home." The account was sent to us for publication (not of course by Mr. Monro) in the shape of a lithographic circular—to which was added 'the following important and emphatic postscript : "THE PLAN IS SANCTIONED BY TETE BISHOP, and is supported by Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Keble, Mr. Mar riott, Me•. Hope, Mr. Acland, and many others whom you may know." " Harrow Weald, Stanmore, Middlesex, May 28." Since our last we have received the following most extraordinary letter from the Rev. Edward Monro, and the Incumbent of Harrow Weald. He says : " TO THE EDITOR. OF THE RECORD "Ste,—As yru have published a letter of mine which was strictly private, I will beg you to insert one or two statements with reference to it, which the fact of your having thus made it public requires. _ _ _ "The statement at the end with reference !o the Bishop's sanction, was simply intended for the individuals to whom the letter was sent, and to receive the kind of interpretation which I knew they wuuld put upon it. But since the public m , y not attach the same meaning to the words, I must distinctly state, that the Bishop is not to be considered as sanctioning the plan lin soy letter) in any other way than as having had-ft placed before him by myself, with a request that he will take any notice of it he may please. Beyond this, the school, in its detail and woridng, must not be considered to have received the Bishop's sanction. " I did not expect that a private letter of any one would have been thus made use of, or, of course, I should have telt it neeA . ul to guard the expression more. "I remain, your obedient servant, "Harrow Weald, June 10, :846." "En. MONRO It has never certainly been our lot to have presented to us a more striking illustration of the Tractarian spirit, and the Tractarian practice, than this transaction affords. A lithographic circular, intended to be " strictly pri vate," (but on which neither the words private nor confi dential appear,) is circulated, in which it is uncorupu lously stated that " the plan is sanctioned by the Bishop." It is published, and then it appears that it has received no sanction from the:Bishop whatever. It is "sanctioned by the Bishop," " was simply intended," says Mr. Monro, " for the individuals to whom the letters were sent, and to receive that kind of interpretation which I knew they would put upon it." How the Bishop may regard this use of his name ; how his Lordship may view this explanation of it, we may not presume to decide : but how common sense, and common honesty will view it, every one of our readers will decide for himself without any comment of ours. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10. (Sittings in Banco.) THE QUEEN V. THE BISHOP OF CHESTER. In Hilary Term last, a rule was granted by the court, calling on the Bishop of Chester to show cause why a writ of mandamus should not issue, commanding him to assign two pews in the new church at Blackley, in the parish of Manchester, to Mr. Thomas Travis. Mr. Travis claimed the pews in question in lieu of two pews which he alleged that he was entitled to by prescription in the old chapel of Blackley, now pulled down, and he sup. ported his claim by affidavit that the new church was erected on nearly the same site as the old chapel. The court said the question of prescription could only arise where the new church was on precisely the same site as the old one; and, looking at Mr. Travis' affidavit alone, without reference to those filed on the part of the bishop in answer, that fact was not established, but, on the con trary, it was sworn that the church was built on nearly the same site, an expression so ambiguous as to deprive Mr. Travis of any right to be heard, and therefore that the rule must be discharged with costs.—Rule discharged with costs. ROLLS' COURT-WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10 RYVES V. THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON The bill in this case was filed by Lavinia Jannette Hor ton Rvves, the wife of Anthony Ryves, claiming, under a will of his Majesty George 111., cla`ed the 2nd of June, Princes Olive, the daughter of Henry Fr ck Dut Cumberland. To this bill the Duke of Wellington, as the executor of his late Majesty George IV., who took possession of the assets of his father, put in a demurrer, insisting that the claim was barred by the Statute of Limitations, passed in the 3rd and 4th William VI., c. 27. They also insisted that a petition of right ought to have been presented to his Majesty George IV., in his life time, and that the plaintiff could not enforce a claim in the absence of the personal repesentative of his Majesty George 111. Kindersley considered that the claim could not have been enforced during the life of his Majesty George IV. The petition of right was nothing more than act of grace and favour, and the Crown could not be cited to prove the will. He insisted, therefore, that the Statute of Limitations did not apply in a case when there was no person in existence who could be sued adversely. Mr. Turner replied. Lord Langdale postponed his judgment COURT OF EXCHEQUER.—FRIDAY. (Sittings in Banco.) WALSTAB v. SPOTTISWOODE. RAILWAYS. IM PORTANT JUDGMENT. — The Lord Chief Baron pro nounced the judgment of the court on an action brought by the plaintiff against the defendant as one of the pro visional committee on the Direct Birmingham and Oxford Railway Company, to recover the sum of .£7B 15.. the amount of deposit paid for shares allotted to the plaintiff in that company. The defendant pleaded non assumpsit. The jury returned a verdict in her favour, subject to the opinion of the court above as to some of the pleas. A rule had been granted for a new trial, or to show cause why a nonsuit should not be entered. Cause bad been shown against it, and the rule fully argued, and he (the Chief Baron) had now to state that on the second count, namely, for money had and received, the judgment of the court was in favour of the plaintiff. It appeared that the company failed before any scrip was issued, and therefore the answer of the secretary on that point was sufficient and proper evidence to go to the jury. The jury found that the company was at an end, and the court were of opinion that ;was a proper finding. There was another question raised—viz , whether the company were entitled to a claim of 2s. 6d. per share for expenses. Now, the provisional committee stated that it was intended to raise a company for a specific purpose, but if their scheme was not carried into execution, no such claim as set up could be maintained, and therefore the plaintiff was entitied to irPcover On that point also. The judgment of the court June 16, 1846°. was in favour of the plaintiff on the second count, and therefore there would be no new trial. The effect of this judgment establishes the right of the allottee (the plaintiff) to recover the full amount of deposit. _ COULTAS v. BOWES CLERK.—On Friday, in the Court of Common Pleas, Mr. Sergt. Talfourd showed cause in this notorious case against the rule nisi for a new trial, but the Court, after hearing him, decided upon granting a rule for another trial. An attorney has just been discharged from custody by order of Mr. Justice Wightman, on the ground that when arrested he w discharging his duty to certain clients in the Gloucester county court. The learned judge said the privilege claimed was not for himself, but his clients. NORTH WALES CIRCUIT. — (Before Lord Denman.) — Montgomeryshire, Monday, July 13, at Newtown ; Me rionethshire, Thursday, July 16th, at Dolgelly ; Carnar vonshire, Saturday, July 18, at Carnarvon ; Anglesey, Wednesday, July 22, at Beaurnaris ; Denbighshire, Sa turday, July 25, at Ruthin ; Flintshire, Wednesday, July 29, at Mold ; Cheshire, Saturday, August 1, at the Castle, Chester; Chester and City, the same day, at Chester. IMPORTANT DECISION : A THREE-POUND WEIGHT ILLEGAL.—Mr. Maude, the stipendiary magistrate of the Manchester Borough Court, reputed a very able lawyer, has decided that inspectors of weights and measures are not legally bcund to stamp three-pound weights. The consideration of the subject arose on a summons at the suit of certain shopkeepers against Mr. Mellor, inspector of weights and measures, at Manchester, for an alleged of fence, under the statute of the sth and 6th Wm. IV., cap. 63, sec. 29, as being guilty of a breach of duty in refusing to stamp a three-pound weight tendered to him for that purpose. On Wednesday Mr. Maude delivered judg ment, showing that, according to his interpretation of the acts of Parliament, the legislature had intended that weights which were copies of the model or standard weights should alone be used, and that to the verification of such weights the inspectors should be restricted. In reply to a question from Mr. Harding, who appeared for the complainants, Mr. Maude said, " I have decided that, in my opinion, the inspector is not authorised to stamp any weights of which he has not, for such weight, brought to him a copy. Therefore, of course, the result of that is, that there is no conviction of Mr. Mellor for breach of duty." It appeared from what subsequently fell from Mr. Harding, that an appeal will probably be made to a higher tribunal, in order that the question may be decided without possibility of cavil. RAILWAY INTL LLI UEh CE. stern Union Railway from Colchester to Ipswich was opened on Thursday. The E It is stai,ed that £2,00 worth of gunpowder has been spent in the blasting of one cutting near Kirkstall, on the Leeds and Bradford Railway. The opening of the line of railway between Brighton and Chichester took place on Monday. The line from Lewes to Hastings will be opened on the 21st inst. EASTERN COUNTIES' RAILWAY. —Mr. Hudson's anti cipations of the traffic on the Eastern Counties Railway are now certain to be realised. Last week the returns exceeded £lO,OOO. MANCHESTER, NIATLOCK, AND BUXTON RAILWAY. This Company's bill has passed through the Commons, and is now before the House of Lords, where it is likely to meet with little, if any, opposition. The intention of getting across the Thames by means of Waterloo Bridge is for the present arrested. At the last meeting of the Waterloo Bridge Company, it was stated that the bridge had not been purchased by any railway company, all the schemes having failed. The Admiralty has again changed its mind as to the tunnel through Greenwich Park, and suspended its course until another session, although the Royal Astronomer and a majority of silvans have reported favourably. The re suit will be to give the South-Eastern the alternative line outside the perk. INCOME TAX.-IMPORTANT Db.crszoN.—The Com missioners for General Purposes, under the Property and Income Tax Act, for the Lower Ward of Lanarkshire, had under consideration, at their meeting on Thursday, several appeals by persons against assessments for profits made from buying and selling railway shares and scrip, when the commissioners unanimously refused the appeals, and confirmed the assessments.--Glasgow Herald. From official returns it appears that the amount of railway traffic for the last week on nearly 1,800 miles of railway, was £152,531, thus accounted for :—X88,412 for the conveyance of passengers only, £35,304 for the car riage of goods, and a remainder of £28,315 for passengers and goods together, not respectively apportimed ; being an increase over the corresponding week of last year of £28,461. AN UNFORTUNATE PROVISIONAL COMMITTEEMAN.— The proprietor of a local newspaper, who figured some what largely in new railway schemes during the recent mania, having been a provisional committeeman in many of them, has had numerous applications made to him for sums of money, for which the companies have become liable. The solicitors' 1.-tters, containing applications for payment, he publishes in his journal, with the following heading in large type :—"The Money-hunting Vagabcnd's Gazette; or, Provisional Committeeman's Chronicle." THE GUAGES.—The report of the Board of Trade, on the Guage Commissioners report, has been laid before parliament. It recommends that the Great Western line should remain as it is, and that its branches to the west be laid down on the broad guage ; that the South Wales line from Worcester to Fishguard also be on the broad guage ; and that the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolver hampton, and Oxford and Rugby lines be on the broad guage, but that over the two last mentioned railways, if the public requirements render it necessary, narrow guage rails shall be added. The broad guage may be extended in any direction a select committee on any particular bill may consider requisite. With respect to the Birmingham and Bristol line, the Board of Trade recommend that the narrow guage, which now extends from Birmingham to Gloucester, be carried through to Bristol, and there stop, and that the narrow guage be laid down from Oxford to Basingstoke. LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM, GRAND JUNCTION, &C., RAILWAYS AMALGAMATION. - The Group to which the Amalgamation Bill was referred had postponed their decision, in order to receive from the Board of Trade a written report on the subject. On Thursday, the Chairman of the Committee announced that he had re ceived a Report from the Board of Trade, stating they would not recommend a perpetual amalgamation, although one, for a few years, would be advantageous. On Friday. the committee suggested that instead of a bill to autho r:ze a perpetual amalgamation, it would be better that a bill should be sanctioned for leasing one of the companies to the other for a certain term, and in which power should be given to the Board of trade, in case of any oppressive conduct on the part of the companies towards the public, to give them, say a twelvemonths' notice, that the lease had been broken, and they should again become separate companies. PREAMBLES PROVED.—A more direct route to the Continent, vid Dover, has been affirmatively settled by the proving of the preamble of the Mid Kent lin- of the South-Eastern. The preambles also of the following bills have been declared as proved :—ln the Lords—Yorir and North Midlind Widening ; Sheffield and Lincoln shire; Bedford Ex'ension of the Ely and Huntingd°l; the Buckinghamshire (Oxford and Bl e t c hl e y) la In t ;shiels '— branches of the North British, o ne t o connec t G a he and Hawick, the second Jedburgb an d K e l s o. - Commons—St. Albans, Luton a n d D uns t a ble branch o f the London and York, and the Hatfield and Hertford 3 , - • ' -3 leNt; :00goectrei;t1"np hittlienam's Stations Enlargement. m St a . rk E e d t ol .s u st n ot d . anction.—Not proved:—In the Lords—Harwich ant Eastern Counties Junction. In the Commons—Mid St. Edmunds, Kent Atmospheric; Ely and Bury • Ipswich and Bury s L T r lgioe Albans,i tf e ir L d : , tLanon, Bury lo S n and Dunstable, branch of En d fip o et n iodn an a d nand ß d i E r % m dva i e o we g dl i i i ,: s oi t i n n; ;;retsht Newcastle L\x 0a: de a son Lyndon; D; BerwickeEastern , EXTRAORDINARY SPEED AND POWER OF A LoE01‘1 0 " TIVE.—The dirc'ors of the Great Western, in order t° test the yower and speed of their leviath , — e (the enginean Great Wester n ) p r i or to b e i ng employed on th express trains, directed that an experimental trip should be mad e for that purpose. Accordingly, a few days since., she was attached to a train consisting of fourteen carriages, laden with iron, the total weight of which was 140 tons, exelui 'Tie and tender, w e i g hi ng, with complemen t ° The engine started frßol_ sive of e coke and water, abou Paddington to Swind 55 tons, 1. and fi tance being 77 miles each way. On the journey it sv ,, a t s ascertained that she could, wi t h th a t ex t raor di nary w eigh travel at an average speed of 55 miles an hour, Sol' ai idea of her velocity may be formed by th e di s t anc e ft° . Swindon to Dideot, onlk 21 miles, having been perform e d at that rate, including the time occupied in starting 0 % stopping. On Monday morning she was d es p a t c hed oq` the 9.13 a.m. express train fro m P a ddi ng t on t o Exete r 1931 miles, and performed the journey, exclusive of el; pages, in 214 minutes (3 hours 34 min.), being an avert. rate of 551 miles per hour. H er di mens i ons are a s laws :—Diameter of driving wheels, 8 feet • stroke , . 0 inches; cylinder, 18 inch es ; l ength of boil e r, betvie` 15 and 16 feet; weight of engine, without water, 36 toasts' weight of tender, without fuel or water, 10 tons ; loaded, 56 tons. to COMMITTEEMEN.—It is of very v it a l importany ascertain who are p rov i s i ona l comm i tteemen. The On 0. r e at lar definition would probably be—p ersons w h o have tor; their names in the preliminary formation of a cornl l ,o and before the charge of Baron Parke in the case of ( 1;6. v. Wilson, tried in the Exche q ue r on T ues d a y, tbisboo nition might have been t a k en as correc t, Th a t case,. and ever, has introduced a new diffi cu lty i n t o thi s subje , '", e xr created a distinction between di r ect ors an d commi ttee heeo which. as regards third p ar ti es , h a d no t previonsi , Y, tbe supposed to exist. The action was by a creditor. c ol oro . company, who sped the defend an t as a provisiona l h a d mitteeman. The evidence was that the secretarYoual made a written application to the defendant in t he n ame form, desiring to know wh e th er h e wou ld h a ve ii` s T o this inserted in the list of the provisional committee. „ r , bat, application the defendant returned no written answ - A to ja after a few days had pissed he called at the office a° me the secretary he would have no objection to b /l i ra director. Upon this fifty shares were allotted toe, common with the other members of the provisionel_Zox mittee ; but he never paid the deposit on them , norriater any notice of the letters that were sent to blot nit M I6 fered in any way in the affairs of the companY• 16 or there was a committee of management consisting andui who 18 persons, of whom the defendant was not cne s;c ,_,l t he by their secretary gave all orders, e, B are° business of the company. Upon this evidencd to ha ve Parke told the jury that the defendant appealt a Pre;;,'; given his consent to become a director, they scold 11.1" sional committeeman ; and that before the t F , isfirea that De. and tran " him liable to the plaintiff, they must besanal committee meant to become a member of the provisiohe had antll9l:3 or that by consenting to become a director u ized the secretary to make the contract in tl es" agent.