Northern Times. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-04-02 00:00:00

/' tee about Landor, till between five and six o'clock in the evening, the chief engineer. then brought me word that Landor had been tied down the stoke-hole, and had become ' v erY sick. I went to the forecastle where Landor was, and felt his p u l se. If any person neglected duty or done any thing wrens.° was my itduty to punish. The engineers had authP or o i W ty er to stop the grog, but I never gave them any to inflict such punishment as what was done la this case. To Mr. Brett.: This was •a very fine ship beeand well ventilated. I have been at sea since the year n . Always in th e M ercant i le Marine Service. I have ra lao years fi rs t mate, and also second mate. Mitchell had. the character of a respectable and humane m all. The re were eighteen seamen on board the ship, and three officers. There were cabin pessengers in the fore and l af r ter- ea ti a .s.,avedsley : both; some of them were. women. Charles. lam a police officer at Liverpool. I took into 4,ellstody the prisoner at the bar, on the Bth of March. . I L o e fa un e c e l. him on board the ship. I took him to the police , and charged him with causing the death of on . . e of Aenfgjueer, Baena the stokers on board the ship Bogota. I took the chief nan, into custedy on. the 6th March. ter that they were both at large. The trial lasted afor two days This losed the case for the prosecution. rc Brett, in: reply to c the eviden . ce, said, he would wish to for about the case with the jury as if he was one of themselves, of ,bout h alf - an-hour, that . they might arrive at the truth de wou l de. If he was one of them, the first thing he would b een be to try to put away whatever prejudice had bro u a heuld h ' geht to bear against this man in the dock: He aYe an examination closely into his own mind, that Whether ~ it had been touched before he came into court, by • which had been improperly and untruely circulated 'lace thi s ri l case came into court. They should examine ,cwiniehtaeoie,..,tyhe y into the state of their own minds as to had heard of this case before they came d id court, to judge the prisoner . at the bar. He loadedn°t say that the prejudices that had been on the case was altogether improper. It was, Petdha•Ps .natural. It was a case of the highest importance, a te ll e - n ' it 'llng was more common than that the highest minds re often induced to believe that which the people put d thornartaehitas their apprehensions, especially in a case of suppose Y and oppression. He alluded to the impression that * gone abroad with reference to alleged cruelties that • ere s.. of this to be exercised on board the merchant vessels T h 'ls country, from some late cases that had been tried._ Wheneple thought as the newspapers directed them ;. and rise a charg e of cruelty was brought against a captain o of a a British vessel the people did not take the trouble th e l ' a king' any distinction—utterly forgetting whether cen,,, ei.reunistances were true, and 9ame to the tr•tlllsion that it was the practice of captains and . mates of th e Isla vessels to be cruel and oppressive to the sailors. In e,.., Mercantile marine of. America, there had been acts of e.ejtY brought against the captains, but as regards the a,,r,ld"sh marine, as a general rule, such a belief was utterly ~,,c , Wholly void of any truth. Although these . men, one of o ffence before them, had been charged with a serious by sn ,__ , and it had been thought proper, and right, h a e n y d na fa ns ir t , kn ow u te_ Portion of the Press of this town, which t Ile ' ° 'Peak of this case as one of cruelty and oppression. whi e l lr e , h d hardly remind them of the disgraceful paper and sga,;',e P ut into the hands of one of the witnesses, ,b'l'gr eat eu had been circulated through the town to a eat cas el is te at, and called about in every direction, t ei l ' n es g e ..l 7:lte' e t e b s e r spoken of in , every place where each of aclbeen, in every public-house and lod reeant i t i o se ' as , "the case of the roasted sailor." They bod y s; - ke the people believe, and almost every death did believe that the man had been burnt to th at ' a nd the flesh burnt off his bones—not hich he h ad fallen and died from over heat, tation produced apoplexy. Could there be any represelle of th e more gross and untrue In the next place, he spok t th e , Place where the man was put when he was tied to dowircildder. The ignorant people thought that he was p . t . . wa s th e hole or tunnel, where he could not move. It rouse that the man was almost put over a fire and jail - i." l , th ere. If these people had been in the place of the tttie,:geY would not now have been in that way of thinking. t ap ol l',. e Ple who had no responsibility talked thks way. But calai n ",,'' e ., ll l, the jury, lay the whole responsibility ; and he all n ,,gea them against any mistake of theirs, lest they wa g ° -- „ - `,send the prisoner at the bar to death unjustly. He W1,7„,. ° ‘, of that class of persons who were generally charged t class 'qui murder. They would generally find thaLt d h t a o wo: s - , wa s made up of persons who bad gone f Wh o - I ; and who had been punished over again,and o o o r v a er rom and where ad hardly any hope in this . world in the ext. k in,, were others who committed the offence of disc,, r ' away li fe, but they had always some or I, c ef lii or ab om i na b le motive. It might be revenge i" a ga a ' , reild. iSßut these were w holly different from the case 111 41'1 man Here was a man charged with the he r h ad ° f a perso n ' a. • st whom it was not pretended tha circ a '''' any feeli a ng ain of ;anger whatever. This very eatilunstance should make the 'jnry pause well before they baa. trr,a.e,bettoabiceonsider the matter. The prisoner at the b e ar, was a man who had been the whole of his life a m arl ;_who had worked his way up in the world ; elm s " . widthha wife sad family, a man almost of their own bef4 e a t t l l i - v t ', s 2 4 s,hould consider well all the circumstances t d b e e li a b s e s r u e ' '''''' aial to the scaffold. It was not, it could i . io ple d that he committed the offence charged upon him, railld. aired t hat he committed the smallest offence in his t of his The charge of murder was that by . an . ac maliciously and with wilft,il inten . ti t on l ti ll id tla ta i s ke a-viol :y e the life. The whole of the charge consisted lif e. - t that he wilfully intended to take away the ltiter4 was true that the charge need not be proved by m any be of on 9f his• Any one who heard this case could . not d the d Minn that the prisoner at the bar really intended h avi.. e . ath of the ma; whose death he was charged . with h iten u s , Lak en. If once it were assumed that he did not_ lim e .' the death of the man, he submitted that, by law, and what' the direction .of his lordship, it did not signify by ba r e ca llse the man came to his death, the prisoner at the ca ke °lll, l not be found guilty of murder. Once the jury h e to esn the conclusion in their own minds th en r , -. 1 .I;.] 's not intend the death of that man, not r_swhatever were the consequences of his act, he was roohsettPonsible under the charge of murder. It would be ec 'astr cilis if it were:so. It would be making a murder n by o th at haction in law. If they did come to t . he conc him bodih.el,e°lmaitted the act without any intention to do the „" a rra, more than the slightest, they would say that ni to it s t e e:'d t : o: 7 l,, a o s r one of the slightest that could be well col : sid e ,. . Ile did not believe that they could, on any cons believe that their reason would ever lead then' man tl e d "u'e Prisoner to the scaffold. The act which this Doseerataitted was such, that at the time, no person sup : be of would result in death. He thought the jury would se. r _ °Pinion that it was wholly impossible to say at th " first question they had to try was—did the prisoner eliech: bar commit the act without malice, and in ne xt n ee to the command of his superior officer. The to nah 'faestio n was —Was that act such as he might be rea ilia s 'Y called upon to do in obedience to the command of sfa aPerior officer ? If they came to the conclnsion in the he c c r i a d a tlYe he submitted that the man was justified in what kali. • The're was another question : Whether the death of the Il e ,was accelerated by the acts of the prisoner at the bar ? tvid;enid take thi s last question first. He allnded to the kia- s li tr " of th e d octor i n reference to the lecel ve - , 1 " 4- e) and point e d to the fact that another man had t a hi ry ilad ' a sun -stroke on th e d ec k th a t very d ay; an d t h e s evidence which seemed to be consistent with The ma n having died from the effects of climate. Z a Pta in ' e(a lutniity on board the ship consisted of "„e 1 1 , - „',, officers, sub-officers, and sailors. An 'Qat t b -4 liot tell them the absolute necessity there . was e work he saPerior officers should be obeyed instantly in the `',.,h i eth;g„ : o f a ship. There should be no discussion as :ails -,',, I lay within the strict line of particular fordu i ty, the . 4 eria e Pl was going on, the lives of all on board . m h 'lad ex N and the consequence was, that a universal custom Passea l , ste d for hundreds of years. There had been no law a sail or ''') say that one officer should obey a superior, or he !lec es 1 11 c'ffieer• Common sense had settled all this.. T Jari es si a , - "es of the case made it law - and if the verdicts of whi c h ';,re allowed to tamper wit ' h that law and custom feu h ' d ad been recognised by the wisdom of the country illae Y llll ' red of Years, meddle with that law of supre it weuicit.he trade of this country, which so enriched f ashi o4 t °l l be lost altogether. If once this new fangled obedi en s uould be brought into play, and that the only Will s ', b e . eof the sailor is to be measured by the contract i lailo rs ehslg'ned" for, and if that got once into the minds of r i aste4 ~re.,..,saPremacy of this country was at an end. They 'aey ~,n . „- ' -r augland as the queen of the sea, but when once c elinG7 e way to this new fangled fashion, the end of this it i ll 3;4Was close at hand. He went on to say that officers had ap tein .eleir Power to inflict punishment on the men. The llPoo tn cold Power not in every case of disobedience be called bNwer - Puni sh it. In this case the chief engineer had ut to inflict such punishment. At home, if a re to work," he could be turned away, in. .ea it w as . sail • Tide different. The work which a rhinoskulk er did not do, fell upon the other men who were r i. to work. It was therefore of the greatest consequ 'vessel at : v ery man should do his fair share of work. The ‘' e atil a w t a d °he of the finest ships that could be built, well Whi c h si e , In every part, and built expressly . for thetrade Mth ° e was engaged in. Captain Wild had been asked to punish he would have given the chief engineer authority eatp ai ; s sh the man as he was punished for skulking, and the atis wer " s aid no ; bnt if the captain had given any other *Na t i ) aneordinm to the theory of the prosecution, they fo r „Place h him in the dock. He must give the answer own safety, and they could therefore kat Po. reliance upon the answer. Landor was a 44,:::::01141,:rtb:Yoahf: 'lir years of age, in the prime of life rae 4 a nY, Was able to work as well apparently as any other He complained of going down below, but PPea r " Pt on deck again he appeared well enough. He Of 0 • ed nealthy and h pnv, d ever man on board was kittiolt that he was ealtiaking7 and the jury would have a • • been of the sa n e opinion had they been there. After con suiting the ?Lector who stated that the man was well enough, the chie. engineer was determined to Make him. work, other men were below, and a sick man was below at his "Work, but here was a strong able man who would not work, and there was nothing very wrong in th e c hi e f eng i neer ordering him to be taken down below, and if he did not work, to tie him up ; or in Mitchell's obeying the order of his superior officer. The fore stoke-hole was the coolest place in the whole ship when she was on her way, and this was where Lander was tied up. He was not placed before the fires. They did not tie him in the after stoke hole, which everybody was glad to get out of, and which was the hottest place, and those witnesses who said that they could not • stop five minutes in the place were stating that which was grossly exaggerated and untrue. They had the evidence of those who knew more about it. It was impossible to say that there was any danger in this man being placed in this position. He was placed in a position immediately above where the men had a box upon which the men sat down to rest themselves. The man might have, as Dr. Schmidt had said, a disease of the constitution which no skill could discover, and the effects of the climate, and his being unaccustomed to the work, might have killed him. There was not another man on board that ship that would have suffered Winjury by the same punishment.. He said that Robert ilson was the man who originated the prosecution, and Robert Wilson was put in irons because of a .disp . ute be tween him and the chief engineer, and Wilson denied that in the box, but it was in evidence previously. Wilson was therefore telling that which was untrue. It was his malice against the chief engineer that, originate this prosecution, and it was against the chief engineer only that he laid information. The chief engineer was taken first, and when the police inquired into the case, and knowing the excitement there was in this country at this time as to the charges against officers in ships, they put Mitchell in the case. He would leave the case in the . jury's hands, submitting that the pri soner at the bar was justified in believing that what he did was by the orders of the captain, and that •it was such a slight act that he might properly do, and that he did it without any malice whatever. He concluded by again reminding them of the character of the prisoner at the bar, ' and the probability of Landor having died f rom th e e ff ec t s of the climate and other causes, and could not at all be ex pected to ensue from the acts of the prisoner ; and if they came to the conclusion that the prisoner was guilty, they would say that it was of the smallest offence that could be well committed by an officer on board a ship. The learned Judge, in summing up, stated that the crime with which the prisoner was charged, was that of causing the death of Thomas Lanier, on board the steamship Bogota, of 1,125 tons, on her passage from Rio to Liver pool, by tying him to a ladder, in a place called the stoke hole. Whether the place was properly so called or not, he would not say. It would be for him to state the law to the jury, and their duty to take the law from him, and having considered the facts, to give their opinion on the case. He agreed with the learned council who had addressed them, that it was necessary that they should banish from their minds anything that they had heard of the case, or any opinion which they might have formed•on it, and confine themselves to the facts as they came before them. The law of the country was, that any person who caused the death of another was prima facie guilty of murder. But it was for them to consider whether the deceased was placed in such a position by the prisoner, knowing it to be such as would endanger life, or do him grievous bodily harm. If a man did to another that which, according to ordinary experience, is calculated to endanger life —that was, if another should come to his death—it would be then to draw the distinction between murder and man slaughter. They must, therefore, consider the circumstances under which the prisoner had tied the man. The question was—was his leaving him there likely to cause his death ? If not, then it would be their duty to find him guilty of manslaughter. If they thought that, under ordinary cir cumstances, the man was placed In such a position as to cause his death, and put in that position by the prisoner, then be was guilty of murder, but if not, then they must find for manslaughter. He would, first of all, call their attention to the question, whether or not the man's death was caused by his being placed in the stoke-hole. He would assume from the time, that not one of the cries which were said to be heard in the forecastle was heard by the prisoner. The time was said to be somewhat less than half an hour which the man was kept in the place, and when he was taken out he was said to be breathing. Stertoriously efforts appeared to have heen made for his recovery, a short time after he was released from the position in which he had been placed, and the medical man said he was of opinion that the man had died from apoplexy, which might have been accelerated by being confined in a heated place. The captain seemed to have been more anxious that the man should be a passenger than a stoker, and he stated that he gave no authority whatever to have such punishment inflicted on, the man. The fact was the captain could give no such authority. There was no legal authority to tie up the man is that place. His Lordship then went over the entire evidence, pointing out to the jury such portions of it as was necessary to take into their more immediate consideration. He concluded by observing that if the jury thought the fit of apoplexy was brought on by being confined in that stoke hole. They must then consider whether in the ordinary experiance of mankind, prisoner must have known that the position of the man was such as would do him serious bodily harm. If they were of opinion that such was the case, they ought to find for murder. If the man had been placed there without any intention of doing him bodily harm, then they ought to find for manslaughter, and if they were of opinion that the act had not been committed at all, then they should acquit him. The jury after a few minute's consultation returned a verdict of " Manslaughter." The prisoner was then asked if he had anything to say why the court should not proceed to pass sentence upon him ? He said, " I got the strictest orders from Mr. Buchanan to tie the man up, or I never would have thought of doing so, and when I did tie him there, it was not thought that it would do him any harm, or. I should never have done it." His Lordship then proceeded to pass sentence upon him, he said, : Archibald Mitchell, you have been convicted of the offence of manslaughter, committed on the high seas. by tying the body of this man, Thomas Landor, to a ladder en the stoke-hole of the steamer Bogota, on board of which you were second engineer. The jury, in pronouncing a verdict of manslaugh ter, have acquitted you of the greater offence of murder. You, therefore, stand convicted of having:caused the death of another by your own action. You did notjtake the:advice of another, such asjwould have allowed himself to reflect on the circumstances of the case, whether it were likely to do grievous bodily harm, but you have to a very great extent had the whole of the responsibility. If you had been con victed of the greater offence, you would have expatiated on the scaffold for the crime. I do rejoice that the jury, after a very full investigation of the circumstances of the case, has, with propriety—as I doubt not in the evidence that has, been sifted, that the witnesses were to speak the truth, the whole trnth, and nothing but the truth—they have come to the conclusion that they ought, in my opinion, to have come to, that of convicting you of the less offence. If the evidence of some of the witnesses that had been called against you had been established, and that you had expressed yourself by the expressions said to have been used on that occasion---if it had been established that you turned a deaf ear to the out cries of deceased---if it had been shown that, instead of going to release the man at once, you had been serving under no lawful authority---if instead of relieving him at once, you went to the chief engineer to consult his views. If all these statements had been established against you, it would unquestionably have been a case of murder. This feature of the case has been wisely considered by the jury. One circumstance has been made out against you which is of great consequence, that when you were to see the state of the man, and found the person that you had lashed to the ladder in the state he was, did you do your duty with regard to the man you had maltreated. Instead of cutting him down as you ought to have done, you went off to receive orders from the chief engineer, instead of at once cutting him down. This tells against you very much, because it shows that . you were the ready instrument in the hands of the chief engineer in this horrid treatment of this unfortunate man. You were an instrument in his hand to do that which neither of you had any right to do. You tied up the man, and after having found that death was about to ensue, you allowed him to hang up till you should consult your authority. What may be said about the expressions said to be used by you and the seamen who gave evidence against you, may be allowed some strange statements when thinking over this terrible catastrophe, ' though they should not have carried it into their evidence, still they , might be expected to express indignation. It may be that they have been guilty of some exaggerations, but it is clearly established that you found that man in that place after having your attention called to him, and having committed an act of cruelty upon him. you were told that he was in a:state of danger, you did not proceed forthwith to relieve him from the state of danger in which yon had placed him. Ido not know whether it was possible for you to rescue your victim from the death which followed. Ido not know if by one act of yours, you could have made amends for the offence which in your act you committed, but in the mind of a humane man, it was your first duty to endeavour to rescue him. With regard to the kind of discipline which your learned counsel has said should exist on board of yours, or any other ship, that one officer should obey another as they went down from the master to the man, seems to be the impression which has got into your mind, and you go to your superior for orders, instead o hft f othr c att u ott n t ithsiaant acknowledged ce kni t d h uao e onnw m , e aewnd Yourhg d oe o d9ot f , e hr a e a n nhv d caeev b ii a y snnga s i o s nwe j d r u roi o or i kiu. n oes g ua , os did what yo is u m a an climate the man's constituti on , h as now got a little monenhyeeaff.troedlicttianeokrnaee to his wife and to his family. He goes on board a vessel that is commanded and manned bynglishmen ; and this 'HE NORTHERN TIMES, SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 1859 • _ • _ ma . is, known not to be a stoker or a.seaman, and who had given evidence of his intention of not. working at all; and the evidence is that he offers a portion of his means to another man 'to do - his work for him. Then the superior officer goes to the captain and tells him that the man wants to become a pas senger, and the captain says he is glad that he should, because he had perceived that he was unable to do his work. The man gets the opinion of the surgeon, and he is told that he is in good health, and he endeavours still to . work and so carry out his first intention of carrying home his earnings to his wife and family. He tries to work but is unable, and you tie him down —not with the intention of making him work, but with the purpose of inflicting punishment which you nor no one else had a right to inflict. , I think this is a case approaching so closely to murder as to be almost murder, but it is not quite. Taking into consideration the enormity of the offence, the sentence of the court that you be sent to penal servitude for fifteen years. The court then rose. NISI PRIUS COURT—YESTERDAY. Mr. Justice Willes entered Court at nine o'clock, and proceeded with the Special Jury causes. LINDSAY v. JANSEN. —This case was proceeded with, and the jury found a verdict for the plaintiff. THE HABANA CIGAR COMPANY Y. COPE.—MT. Quaine opened the pleadings. The declaration stated that there was an agreement made between Messrs. Cope, Brothers, and the Company, by which Messrs. Cope -were appointed agents for the sale of the plaintiff's cigars in Liverpool and other towns in the north of England, and that it was agreed among other thing that the Messrs. Cope should not sell any cigars but those of the company, as their cigars.; and the declaration declared a breach of that agreement. The defendants denied the breach and denied the agreement: Mr. Monk, Q.C., stated the case. The plaintiffs in the action were a company of persons formed under the act called, in popular language, the Limited Liability Act, and their object was, to introduce into Eng land, by means of a company of persons, who did not deal in British made cigars, genuine Havannah cigars only. The defendants, Messrs. Thomas and George Cope, were very largely engaged in the business of manu facturing British tobacco and cigars. The action was brought upon an agreement, entered into between the com pany and the Messrs. Cope, for the purpose of consigning the business of the company through a very large district in the north of England to the agency of Messrs. Cope. The agreement bore date of the 24th of June, 1858, and contained a number of stipulations. The first was, that Messrs. Cope should be the :sole agents for the sale of the company's goods in the north of England, with power to appoint their own sub-agents. Another stipulation was, that Messrs. Cope should set - apart and arrange a complete and separate department, with book-keeper and books, distinctive invoices, and other things, needful for the conducting of the company's business. It contained, in the third place, a stipulation that Messrs. Cope should, under a penalty of £5O for every default, sell no other foreign cigars than those supplied by the com pany ; and under a like penalty that they should not pack or make up for sale any other goods than the company's own goods in the company's boxes, or any colourable imi tation thereof, or sell any other goods not the goods of the company, as the company's goods. The company were also to have access to the establishment for the purpose of examining the stock, inspecting the books, &c. The mean ing ,of this agreement was clear and distinct. On the one hand it constituted the Messrs. Cope sole agents for a very large district, including Liverpool, Birkenhead, Chester, Macclesfield, Preston, Rochdale, Glasgow, Perth, and many other places, being a considerable portion of the. Midland and Northern districts of England---Manchester, however, being accepted, and a portion of Scotland. On the other hand it contained penalties to prevent cigars from being sold as the company's, which were really not theirs, and by which the name , of the value of their cigars might be deteriorated in the market. The agreement was completed in June, 1858, and then Messrs. Cope were furnished with a supply of cigars. Some sub-agents were appointed in pursuance of the a g reement. One of them was a person named Robinson. He (Mr. Monk) believed the sub agency of this man was a mere form which Messrs. Cope used for the purpose of preventing the giving of agencies to persons in this town or neighbourhood, who were purchasers from them of their own goods. It 'would appear that Mr. Cope told Mr. Silberberg, the manager of the company, that the shop which bore Mr. Robinson's name did, in point of fact, belong to Mr. Cope himself, and by letter he applied for a certificate of appointment for Robinson. The certificate, which he should lay before the jury, contained the names of the directors, who were gentlemen of respec tability. It bore a motto which was applicable to many other earthly things, as well as to the objects for which the company had been formed " Ornnis exit in fume." (Laughter,) (His Lordship : Ido not know whether that applies to the cause list.) (Laughter.) Mr. Monk con tinued to say that the defendants, by their pleas, alleged that they did not appoint a sub-agent, and that Robinson was not their sub-agent, and probably they would contend that he was appointed by the company, and not by them. He would show, however, that the company were requested. by Mr. Cope to send down the document for the appoint ment of this man as sub-agent. In this case, however, that question would be of less importance, because he should be able to satisfy the jury that the name of Robinson was a mere nom de guerre, and that in point of fact the place belonged to the Messrs. Cope themselves. The cigars then were furnished to Messrs. Cope, and continued to be sup plied until late in last year. Complaints began to reach the ears of the company and the manager, that the cigars furnished in their name through Messrs. Cope were not fit to smoke. It was necessary that some steps should be taken to ascertain whether there were any truth in these reports or not. He should mention, perhaps, at this stage, that this was not an action brought for the purpose of putting money into the pockets of the company, but it was brought to set right with the public • the character of their goods and of their dealings with their agents. It was necessary that some steps should be taken to discover the truth, and that this should be unknown to Messrs. Cope, for of course if a party wanted to know whether there were smuggled goods in a place, he must not give the smuggler notice that he was going to institute a search. Mr. Silberberg, the company's manager, therefore, employed a person ;to go to Mr. Robinson's and make a purchase, which he did. The first purchase was on the Bth or 9th of December, when he bought a pound of cigars expressly stated to be the cigars of the Habana Company, and. which were put into a box branded with the company's brand. Upon examination they were found to be English-made cigars of an inferior character. He believed pie should be able to prove that this person made two or three purchases of cigars which were stated to be the company's cigars, but which turned out to be British made cigars. Mr. Silberberg himself came to Liverpool soon after, and paid a visit to Messrs. Cope's place, but the goods shown to Mr. Silberberg were really the company's cigars. He went into the company's department and asked some questions .there, and before he went away he an nounced who he was, and had some conversation with one of the Messrs.. Cope, to whom he intimated that complaints had been made of the nature which had been alluded to. Mr. Monk read the following passages fromdetters addressed by Mr.. Thomas Cope to Mr. Silberberg, and to Mr. Phillips, the solicitor for the company : Sir, —Referring to your letter of 23rd instant, you state that in several instances it has been clearly ascertained that we have been selling articles as the goods of the Habana Company, when in fact they were not so, and the company are in possession of the strictest proof of this, and you say that you will be glad to receive any ex planation of .this, to which we can only reply, that if the company are in possession of such facts, they must of necessity be founded on falsehood or error, and as either equally reflects on our character, we have instructed our solicitor to write upou the subject. Alluding to your inquiry about H. Smith and Co., in ➢larket street, we beg without any disrespect to you, sir, to mention, that it is no business of the Habana Company's to whom it belongs. Had, however, any inquiries been .thought needful in the first instance, and had they been put in a plain, straightforward, business manner, every inf ormation would have been readily given, but as instead of this a crooked, and, if we may be permitted to say, contemptible course, was pursued by the representative of the company, we cannot lend him any assistance in changing it. A day or two afterwards, Mr. Thomas Cope wrote to Mr. Silberberg, stating that he would submit his statement to the directors. Then came the letter to the directors : Sir,---I enclose you a copy of a letter written to Mr. Silberberg, on the 21st instant, and as I have not received the required expla nation, I have no other alternative than to submit the circumstance of which I complain, to you and the other directors of the Habana Company, feeling sure that, when I explain its great importance, you will give the matter your most earnest attention. First, then, I complain that Mr. Silberberg has not kept faith with us in the working of our account,' in the quality of the goods supplied, or in any way up to the spirit of the agreement. Second,---That Mr. Silberberg has not shown us that courtesy which we invariably receive from gentlemen, and which a house occupying our position has a right to expect, even from Mr. Silber berg. The circumstance upon which the latter complaint is founded stands simply thus :---Mr. Silberberg, for what reason we know not, sent on to our warehouse last week a spy to purchase some of the company's tobacco and cigars, and afterwards entered the ware house himself, and, taking advantage of his not being known, he played the past of a mock customer, asked this thing and that, examined the company's goods, and then ventured to remark that we sometimes sold British cigars for foreign, which assertion our salesman of course mildly contradicted, and in return *as, by Mr. Silberberg, your honorary director, called a liar iand this, not be cause anyihmg had been shown him which justified such a remark, but simply, we presume, because it is Mr. Silberberg's usual mode of carrying on a conversation. He then did what he ought to have done at first, but not in the same Bombastes Furioso manner, said my name is Silberberg, and I am going to do, &c., &c. I also find that the same party has been to several of our small sub-agents, and has behaved in some such other, what we would term disgraceful, unbusinesslike, and unworthy manner. In accepting your agency, it was never contemplated that we gave Mr. Silberberg the privilege of insulting our customers ; and if our sub agents are not quite up to what would be desirable, Mr. Silberberg well knows to what unfortunate circumstance this is to be attri buted. . . I would wish, sir, to lay these complaints, together with some others, before your board, and if you will appoint some day later than the 10th January, I will attend, and will be prepared to sup port the same with proper evidence. In the meanwhile, sir, permit me to request that any intended visits to our establishment. on the part of your officer, may be notified to us in writing, as, until this matter is fairly, and to us satisfactorily, explained, we shall deem it needful, for the maintenance of a proper understanding between ourselves and the Habana Company, that such visits be made in. the presence of our solicitors.—We remain, sir, yours, truly, THOMAS COPE. Cigar and Tobacco Manufactory, Lord Nelson-street, Liverpool, 24th December, 1858. si r ,—Beferring to your letter of the 23rd instant, our solicitors inform us that, however painful and annoying it may be to have such outrageous and absurd charges laid against ns, still that we have no redress, but must wait patiently until you commence pro ceedings, which you state the Habana Company are in a position to take, and which proceedings we now consider you in honour bound to institute; and we trust, sir, that no unnecessary delay on the part of the company will be allowed to intervene. Messrs. Evans and Sons, of Commerce-court, Liverpool, have instructions to receive process on our account, and wait your communication.— We remain, sir, yours truly, Phillips, Esq. COPE BROTHERS & CO. Mr. Monk concluded by repeating that the object of the company was not to get large money damages. They sought to establish the character of their goods, Mr. Louis. Silberberg, manager of the company, examined by Mr. Quaine, deposed that he had been the manager since 1857. The company does not deal in British cigars ; it deals inclusively in Manilla's, cheroots, and Habana cigars. Remembers the company desiring to establish an agency in Liverpool. Interviews took place between witness and Messrs. Cope. Defendant, Mr. Thomas Cope, spoke of a Mr. Robinson as sub-agent, telling him it would be a good place to retail the company's cigars. Defendant said : " The shop is my own, but I cannot appear in it myself, and so I have my . foreman, Robinson's name over it. I dare not appear in it, because it would do us a great deal of harm among the retail dealers of Liverpool." Received a letter from defendant, dated 29th July, 1848. The letter complained of some of the cigars as "heated" and " musty," and concluded by the words: "You have not sent down the certificate of agency for Ralph Robinson—please to see to it.—Yours, &c." The certificate was finished and sent down. Mr. Robinson is foreman at Messrs. Cope's, witness has seen him there. After the agreement was made with Messrs. Cope, the com pany supplied them with quantities of their goods, and in December last, in consequence of rumours he had heard, witness caused some enquiries to be made in Liverpool ; caused a person named Lever to purchase cigars at Robin son's shop ; received from Lever a box of cigars ; witness has been for twenty years in the cigar trade, and is competent to judge between British and foreign cigars ; produced the box received - from Mr. Lever, it bears the company's brand, the cigars it contains are British manufactured cigars, the company has never since its commencement dealt in any such ci g ars. Witness at once telegraphed to Lever to pur chase afew more, Lever purchased another box and for warded it to witness, that box witness has not opened as yet. The box was produced in court and opened, and witness said it contained common British cigars, worth 7s to 8s per pound. They bore the brand of Messrs. Cope, as agents for the Habanna Cigar Company. The lowest priced foreign cigars are worte2ls. After receiving that second box, witness came to Liverpool himself. In consequence of a communication from witness, a person named Maguire pur chased a third box, which he gave to witness. That box bore the company's brand. The cigars it contained were common British cigars, made out of German tobacco. After witness had come to Liverpool he called into Messrs. Cope's warehouse, on December the 16th or 18th, asked to see Mr. Cope, and they said they would send up for him. Witness walked about the premises, or that part which belonged to the company's department. Saw a great many empty boxes there ; saw one of the Messrs. Cope, and told him there had been complaints made about the cigars. Mr. Cope said it must be a mistake, and asked him to come up stairs and dine. Witness told him he came to give notice to discontinue the agency, arid that they should hear more in a few days. Witness asked what the meaning of the empty boxes was, and Mr. Cope said they kept them there as dummies," Witness deposed that the boxes which he saw empty bore the Corn pan's brand, and that the Company had never sent any empty boxes to Messrs. Cope. Cross-examined by Mr. James, Q.C. : Witness had once a cigar manufactory in Goodman's Fields, London. Never had any manufactory of his own since the Company started. The Company had imported from their commencement only one case as a sample, about three months ago ; they bought the others from the broker or the merchant; saw all that were bought in the bonded warehouse, every one of them ; it does not follow because they are in the bonded warehouse they are therefore foreign cigars. Goods returned to this country are kept in bond. Never heard of British cigars being exported. A "heated musty flavour" is not considered good in cigars. Mr. Cope made many complaints of the cigars. He was in London before December, but he did not complain of the quality of the cigars. He said he could sell them if witness would let him have them cheaper, but witness said he could not, and there was no use trying it on. Mr. Cope choose musty things himself which would not suit them in London at all, because they were cheap. Witness came to Liver pool about the 16th of December; sent a person named Macguire, to buy cigars at Robinson's; Macguire belonged to a private enquiry office. Sent Mag:uire into Cope's also. While Macguire was there buying the cigars, witness went in. Will swear to having never said that the box then in Maguire's possession contained British cigars. It contained the com pany's own cigars. Mr. Cope asked him to make Smith of Man chester, an agent. Cope said Smith's shop belonged to him. Witness said they had already an agent in Manchester. Witness is not the Board of Directors himself—(laughter)— is a shareholder, bnt not the largest shareholder. To Mr. Monk. The company never purchased any other than Havannah cigars and Manilla cheroots. Robert Lever deposed that on the Bth of December last he went to Robinson's in Lime-street, and purchased some cigars. Asked for a pound of the Habana Company's cigars. They were put in a box which bore the company's brand. Sent the box to London. That is the box (produced.) Made a similar purchase subsequently, and sent the box to Mr. Silberberg. Made a third purchase of cigars. That box and the former contained each one of the company's in voices. To Mr. James : The first day the witness went was the Bth of Dec. A man was behind the counter. The second time was the 15th, saw a woman in the shop then. Did not say he had had some cigars before, and liked them She showed him some cigars, which she said were the Company's, and were 245. a pound. Witness did not say he preferred any other lot. She did not say she would rather he took those first offered, because she was sure of those, and was not so certain of those in the bundles. She positively asserted that those she sold him were the cigars of the Company. On the last occasion when the witness went, he asked for two kinds : one at 245., and the other higher. She did not say they had none of the Company's above 245. Witness bought two kinds, which he was assured were the Company's, but he exchanged one box the previous day, because it had not the Company's brand, and he knew well enough that they were not foreign cigars. Mathew Maguire deposed that he has a private inquiry office in Liverpool. Went to the shop of Mr. Robinson at Mr. Silberberg's request, and bought two kinds of cigars, which the lady in the shop assured him belonged to the company. Got one of the company's invoices with them. Took the boxes to Mr. Silberberg, and delivered them to him in the state in which he got them. To Mr. James : Was formerly a detective policeman in Liverpool. Left Liverpool in 1843. Does not know whether he ever was in trouble in London. Was once brought before a board of railway directors. Was fined 40s by a magistrate; a month's imprisonment was not added. Was brought up to give evidence, and was fined 40s because the magistrate considered that he was screening the fault of a guard. The directors paid him back the 40s fine. This closed the case for the plaintiffs. Mr. James addressed the jury on behalf of the defence. He said it was sought to throw a prejudice upon Mr. Cope because of the letters which had been written, and in various other ways Mr. Monk had sought to insinuate that the Messrs. Cope were not gentlemen of respectability. These gentlemen were men of high character, who would disdain to be guilty of acting in the manner which had been attributed to them. They would tell the jury that they never had themselves, so far as they knew, through any one else, violated in the slightest degree the agreement which had been entered into. He thought the result of the whole case would satisfy the jury that it was an actio got up by Mr. Silberberg himself to gratify his own vin dictive feeling against !Mr. Cope, who had threatened of inform the directors time after time that he was not con ducting himself in a proper manner. The Messrs. Cope were manufacturers of cigars. He trusted that there was no discredit in that calling; if there were, Mr. Silberberg himself was liable to an equal imputation. An arrangement was entered into between the company. and Messrs. Cope, by which the latter were to be employed as the company s agents for a given district. They were to have, in addition to their own business, what he supposed at the time they considered would be very • profitable employment, of selling the company's cigars, which they expected would be an article to do them credit and to put money into their pockets. In June, 1858, that arrangement was entered into. Now, what would be found ? It would be found that, on the 29th of July, one little month afterwards, Mr. Cope was complaining of the quality of the cigars which had been sent in. He complained of their being heated and musty, and therefore not fit to smoke. He complained, at various times, of the quality of the cigars, and told Mr. Silberberg that unless better cigars were sent in, he should certainly inform the directors. Then Silberberg wanted Mr. Cope to resign, while Mr. Cope, properly determining to hold by the agreement, and not to be put thus out of it, refused to do. It was upon this that Silberberg took the steps which had been described, to try if he could entrap Mr. Cope. He employed the various persons, Maguire and others, to go round and see if they could find out nothing. After all the accounts given of breaches of agreement, what did their discoveries amount to ? The plaintiffs had first charged Messrs. Cope with breaches of the agreement in regard to the cigars and t obacco supplied to ita h 1p Robinson, to White, of Grove - stree t, to Drake of Church- street, to Noah Gray, of Preston, to Maurice Lacy : and to cigars and tobacco made m their own warehouses duruig the same period and sent out—.lla.asked_the jury, now -that they nau heard the whole of the case for the plaintiffs, could there be more impudent aspersions thrown put ? Not one title of evi dence had been, given that Messrs. Cope had, through their own servants, or in their own warehouse s, either made u p or kept, or supplied anything which involved a breach of their' agreement. The question was now between the proba bilities of two conflicting. testimonies. If the believed Mr. Cope and probability again st Mr. Silberberg, they could scarcely help believing that Mr. Silberberg came there animated by a vindictive feeling against Mr. Cope. Mr. Silberberg had had the audacity to tell the jury that Mr. Cope had told him Robinson's shop was his, and not Robinson's. That was utterly untrue. Mr. Cope had no more to do with the shop than any one of the Jury. He would call before them not only Mr. Cope, but every one who could throw any light upon the subject; and it would appear conclusively that even if some person in the shop had sold goods of his own for the goods of the company, it was not by the authority of Mr. Cope, nor as his agent. It would be shown that the cigars which Mr. Robinson received from Mr. Cope were sold to the former out and out, and paid for by Mr. Robinson, and that he had never dealt with Mr. Cope in the capacity of Mr. Cope's agent. Mr. James contended that under these circumstances, it would appear evident to the jury that whatever had taken place had no reference to Messrs. Cope, and that the defendants had fully and honourably maintained throughout the whole transaction the agreement they had entered into with the Com pany. Mr. Thomas Cope examined by Mr. James : I am one of the defendants. I attended particularly to the business under the company. I am the manager of the busines ; my brother only attends to the manufacturing. After the agreement with the company, I complained frequently, when in London, to Mr. Silberberg, of the quality of the cigars. The last time I complained to him, before this dispute arose, was, I think, late in November. I went with him to the brokers to select some cigars. I spoke of complaining to the directors about him. After a time we parted good friends. I told him the cigars were not what had been represented, nor was the company such as we :had been given to understand. The cigars were exceedingly bad. There was only one decent case of cigars in all I received from the Company. I grumbled a great deal before threatening to attend at the board meeting. I did at last threaten to do so ; it was in consequence of that he went with me to the broker's to select some for myself. The whole of what Mr. Silber berg swore about Robinson's shop being mine is as great an untruth as ever was uttered in a court of justice. There is not a word of truth in it. I have no more to do with Robinson's shop than any gentleman in the court. I have said Smith's shop in Manchester was mine. Smith failed, and died, and we became trustees for the general body of creditors. We have nothing else to do with it. We have nothing to do with Robinson's shop, beyond that we took the house, and let it to him, to give him a start in the world, as he had been a steady, deserving person. We have no interest whatever in the shop. We sold some of the company's cigars' to him, and some of our own, also. It was an out-and-out sale. Mr. Robinson was appointed agent under the company. We fitted up a department in our own premises separately for the company's business. We kept their business in every particular distinct from our own. We have never in any single instance sold any cigars but the company's own as theirs. We kept empty boxes to pack the company's own cigars in when they came down in large cases to us. We never put any but their own cigars in these boxes. The boxes are manufactured in our own premises, and we bought a brand for the purpose. Mr. Robinson sometimes bought job or cheap lots of the company's cigars which had been returned ; we never in any instance sold him any cigars as those of the company except the company's own. I wrote a letter in, December to Mr. Phillips, tke company's solicitor. A letter was then read from Mr. Cope to the company's solicitor, in which he demanded that the company should, after the imputations which had been made against him, bring the action which they had threatened at the earliest possibleperiod, and urged that they were bound to do so, as he had no other means of repelling the charges which had been made against him, but by meeting the company in a court of law. To Mr. Monk : On the occasion when the agreement was signed in London, I did walk through the warehouse, and approve of the cigars. Those I selected, I remember, did not come to hand, owing to the fact that we quarrelled with the Company. The complaints I made of the cigars to Mr. Silberberg were not in writing. Very possibly I complained that he would not 'tempt the trade. Robinson is still in my employment. We have him under an engagement for WI years. I had no interest whatever in the shop of Mr. Smith, in Manchester, except that of a very heavy creditor up to December last, when we became trustees. John Goodacre: I am general superintendant at Messrs. Cope's factory. The goods of the Company were kept quite distinct from any others. His Lordship said there did not appear to be any impu tation whatever upon anything occurring at Messrs. Cope's factory. The only question was, whether they were responsible for what occurred-at Robinson's. Examination continued: I know Robinson's shop. It is Robinson's own. Ralph Robinson examined by Mr. James : I have a cigar shop in Lime-street. It is my own shop. Mr. Cope has no interest whatever in it, and never had. I have bought cigars from him, and paid for them. I never was employed to sell them as agent for him. I purchased some of the company's cigars from Mr. Cope, on six or seven different occasions. To the best of my belief, they were the com pany's cigars taken out of their department by Mr. Cope. I never sold any cigars as the company's, except the company's own, nor authorised any one to do so. I never sold any cigars to the witness Lever, or saw him before this day. To his Lordship : When I set up in business my capital was the credit I had from Mr. Cope; that credit has long ceased. _ Emily Robinson, wife of the last witness, examined : We have sold very few of the company's boxes —about three or four pounds. I remember selling some in last December, but I cannot tell to whom. I could not identify the person. I took no notice of him at all. I remember making out the invoice (produced). A party came in and asked for a pound of the Habana Company's cigars, which I showed him. I told him the price was 245. He asked me had I any of a higher price, and I said the highest price I had was 265, of the company's He said he wanted them for a friend, and requested me to write down in the invoice that they were the Habana Company's cigars. I did so. To the best of my belief they were the company's cigars. Mr. James then repied on behalf of the defence, and Mr. Monk for the plaintiffs. His Lordship summed up, pointing out that the question really to be decided was, whether the shop that bore Robinson's name was or was not Mr. Cope's. The Jury, without leaving their box, found a verdict for the defendants. The Court then rose. THE BRAZILIAN MAILS. LISBON, April I.—The steamer Tyne, from Brazils, &c., has arrived, and will leave Lisbon for Southampton this day. She brings 111 passengers, diamonds to the value of 18,9701., and 16,2591. in specie. The dispute between Paraguay and the United States, has been peacefully settled by mutual explanations on the facts which had caused it, viz., the affair of the steamer Water witch, and the conduct of the Goverment of Paraguay towards the American agent who was entrusted in 1857 with the ratification of the treaty of commerce. The Government of Paraguay has concluded a new treaty of commerce and of naviga tion, and granted concessions similar to those of other nations which have obtained commercia privileges from Paraguay. The Government of Paraguay has also engaged to pay an indemnity to the American Navigation Company, the amount of which will either be fixed by a reference to Washington, or else will be submitted to the arbi tration of Prussia, Russia, or England. An accident has happened at Rio de Janeiro on the Don Pedro Railway. The locomotive ran off the rails, causing the death of three persons, among whom was the inspector - general of the railway. Besides the killed, six persons were wounded. COMMERCIAL. Exchange on London 251, some drafts were done at 25. Exchange on Paris, 385; on Hamburg, 715 to 720. The Tyne brings drafts amounting to £580,000 on London, 1,400,000 francs on France, and 350,000 Marc Banco on Ham burgh. Price of Coffee, 53.00 to 54.00 ; stock, 20,000 bags. Since the Tamar left, there have been shipped 111,474 bags, 78,758 of which were for the United States, 5,226 for the Channel, 7,826 for Havre, 6,260 for Marseilles. The following ships had arrived :—John Bagshaw, Misletoe Esther, Britannia, Mary, Imperador, Catharine, Duckw e il: Regulus, Alice Gill. The names of twenty-three Liberals, of whom eight are Irish members, appear as voting with the Government: Seven Conservatives voted for the resolution. The absent s . D s thirty u w n e c r o e mbe, anidn nine number, Irish memb ers . O n l y sevenincluding M r . Ath erton, T. Conservatives proper were absent, and of those three are known to be suffering from indisposition. In addition, according to the analysis in the Globe, there were thirty-five Liberal deserters to the Ministerial ranks, including liberals of all creeds. Mr. Crooks, one of these seceders, has a motion on the paper in favour of manhood suffrage. The House mustered 626 members, including tellers and the Speaker, THE LATEST TELEGRAM& FRANCE. THE FRENCH FUNDS. PARIS, Friday, 1.20 p.m.—The Bourse opens very quiet. Rentes 68.5. 222 p.m.—Bourse is very excited; liquidation very difficult. Rentes 68.25. 325 p.m.—The Bourse closes firm. Rentes 68,50 for money, and 68.45 for account, being a rise of I per cent. since yesterday's closing. PlT r l i o d N ay._ OF Pie P d O m i o l n Tl t i e s A n L ot A t FF b AFFAIRS. into F theOAltls F Congress as one of the Goreaet admittedl) Austria and Russia having formally protested against her admission on any other terms than those allo w ed to the other Italian St a t es. The sa me two rent Powers have also demanded that Piedmont should not be suffered to enter the Congress immediately on its commencement, and as a matter of course , but should only be permitt ed to take p art in the delibe rations when called upon to do so. The preliminary conditions on which Austria insists render it even doubtful whether the Congress will be feasible; one of the conditions being that Piedmont should disarm, which she positively refuses to do. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT_ HOUSE OF LORDS.-FRIDAY. THE ADMICSION OF SALT FROM INDIA INTO CHINA. Lord Stanley, of Alderly, asked whether any measures had been taken by the Government to procure the admlssion. of salt from India into the Chinese Empire. The Earl of Malmesbury replied that no instructions had been given to Lord Elgin on that subject. It had been left to his discretion. Finding, however, that salt still:con tinued a contraband article in China, recent instructions had been sent out for the purpose of obtaining some remission of the existing restrictions. THE DIVISION ON THE REFORM BILL. The Earl of Derby, in rising to move the adjournment of the House, said that he trusted their lordships would not construe his silence as to the important division which took place in the House of Commons on the preceding evening into indifference ; on the contrary, he regarded it as a most. serious occurrence. It had rendered it necessary for him to meet his colleagues at an early hour that morning, and he had afterwards had an audience with Her Majesty. He had not received the sanction of Her Majesty to any course ho might advise. The present state of affairs was so critical, that he should best consult the convenience of their Lord ships, and the gravity of the occasion, if he postponed till Monday all further statements on the subject. On that day he hoped to lay before the house what advice in a crisis of such importance he and his colleagues had felt it their duty to lay before Her Majesty, and the course which, with Her Majesty's sanction, they proposed to adopt. The House then adjourned at 5.20 p.m. MINISTERIAL MOVEMENTS. Shortly after ten o'clock yesterday morning the Chaneellor of the Exchequer left Grosvenor-gate, and proceeded to the residence of the Earl of Derby, in St. James's-sq3are. The right hon. gentleman remained in consultation until tea minutes to twelve, when they left together, and walked across the Park to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's official residence, in Downing-street. At twelve o'clock a Cabinet Council was held, at which were present the Earl of Derby, the Marquis of Salisbury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, General Peel, Lord Stanley, Mr. Sotheron Estcourt, Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Lord John Mannerm, the Lord Chancellor, the Earl of Hardwicke, the Earl of Malmesbnry, Sir John Pakington, and Lord Donoughmore. Sir William Jolliffe had an interview with the First Lord of the Treasury at half-past nine yesterday morning, and afterwards called uoon several of the leading supporters of the Government. During the whole of the morning the clubs were crowded with members of both Houses of Parliament, and other gentlemen who take an interest in political affairs. It is confidentially stated by all parties that the noble earl will not venture upon a dissolution of Parliament, but that after the Cabinet has closed its sittings, he will proceed at once to Buckingham Palace, and announce to Her Majesty the resignation of his Administration. It is con fidently stated that Lord John Russell will be sent for, and that he will at once consent to form an Administration, havino. Lord Palmerston as Foreign Secretary, Sir Richard ' Bethel as Lord Chancellor, Sir James Graham as Home Secretary, Mr. Milner Gibson as President of the Board of Trade, and Sir G. C. Lewis as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Headlam, Q. C., as Attorney-General, and Mr. Edwin James, Q.C., as Solicitor- General. In the event of this" arrangement being carried out, there will a double election for the borough of Maryle bone, as Sir Benjamin Hall will doubtless be the First Commissioner of Works under any Liberal administra tration that may be formed. Six baronetcies, it is currently stated, are to be created distinction: Disraeli), Mr. the following gentlemen being the chosen persons for the _T G he lads C to h n a e nce m ll r o . r s o o f the t r h o e n EEsxteehoenqrz c Exchequer ol (M ond r, Taylor, Colonel Forresier, and Mr. William Deeder. These prophecies of the clubs are most likely . to turd out pretty nearly correct. In some quarters it is stated that the Earl of Derby will nominate Mr. Henley for one of the baronetcies, notwithstanding his recent defection from the ministerial ranks. The greatest excitement prevailed, and peers were inundated during the whole of the morning by applications for tickets of admission to the House of Lords for last night, there being an expectation that the Earl of Derby would make a statement. MINISTERIAL CRISIS. The Daily News remarks that the Pertinacity with whi c h the Chancellor of the Exchequer defended the bill would countenance the expectation that either a dissolution of Parliament or a resignation of Ministers more likely than the introduction of a new bill by the present Government. For two hours he employed his great abili t ies in defence of a measure which had been condemned with an unanimity rarely seen in a large deliberative assembly ; and when he declared that the maintenance of the borough franchise at the present qualification was one of the three principles of the bill, every true friend of reform felt that he had received a political challenge. In the absence of any pledge to carry out the wishes of the House of Commons by the speedy reproduction of an adequate Reform Bill, the House will, as a matter of course, insist upon the Ministers giving place to wiser men. Whatever else happens, the Commons House Parliament must not be set at defiance. The Times observes that when, last night, Mr. Disraeli assigned as the third principle of his bill the general maintenance of the present borough system, he betrayed that his measnre is not so much a reform as a r esistance to reform. As it is, government has been o utbid by tender: so moderate that Lord Derby znimht have made them him sod without frightening his trio/2as more than he has by the present bill. The Post remarks that the speech of Mr. Disraeli, carefully prepared, painfully elaorated, and purposely impractical,. affords no guide to the future intentions of her Majesty's ministers. The Star says the Government Bill is not merely defeated, it is destroyed. There is, from this moment, no Reform Bill before the House of Commons. The Herald states that on taking office last year, Ministers were aware that whenever parties thought fit to combine, they must be outnumbered. Under these circum stances the defeat can scarcely be considered important Ministers possess the confidence both of Parliament and the country. In a similar manner the Conservative Government was defeated in 1852, and a European war was the result.. SECRET SOCIETY—PROSECUTIONS. From the Northern Whig. BELFAST, Friday Evening.—The trial of the prisoners charged with being members of a secret and illegal society at Beltast, was resumed this morning. The jury ail answered to their names. The traversers had been detained in custody all night. The counsel for the crow* proceeded to examine the remainder of the officials of the gaol, with a view to prove that no communications had bee* allowed to pass between the two approvers while in gaol_ Mr. Forbes, the governor of the gaol was produced by the Crown for examination, relative to a note which had been sent by one of the Kellys to his brother, the approver. The witness said that it contained a statement to the effect that the Traversers were ignorant of the existence of any illegal society, and that the note had been destroyed by him the Governor. Several other witnesses were examined, and the case for the Crown having closed, Mr. Samuel spoke is defence of the prisoner, Mr. Hammill on behalf of the brothers Kelly to one of the approvers, followed by 91 same side. Mr. Robinson, Q.C., replied for the pr . o o se_c!auf_a from the time of their arrest, agreeing in their cle e tt ytei; Baron Fitzgerald then charged the jury. 4 . F the jury announced that there was no agreeing to a verdict. They were acco d 1 1 p r r 0_ p u t a g b , y i 1 tlyo locked (I t until nine o'clock on Saturday morning. COLLEGIATE JNSTITUTIo~ r. relies,/ Arthur, who ob— tained first-class college honours at Trinity College, Cm.. brid,?;e, in each of his three academical years, has recTritty obtained second-class university honours both in classic, mathematics.