The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-02-17 00:00:00

finptrial Varlianunt. HOUSE OF COMMONS.-MONDAY. The petitions of the Grand Junction Railway, for their seven branches, were declared proved by the committee. Mr. CLIFTON presented a petition, signed by 12,000 of the inhabitants of North Lancashire, praying the House to continue protection to agriculture. Sir R. PEEL explained in relation to his reply to the Noble Lord's question the other night as to his answer on the subject of the reduction of the corn duties, that he could find no precedent for the Treasury sanctioning the reduction of the duty on the receipt of the reports. and that, therefore, he could not consent to any reduction on the corn duties until the proposed alteration should become law ; but so convinced was he of the necessity of proceeding with the alteration on the corn laws at once that he proposed to proceed with the measure for the alteration of the corn-laws, in preference to any other public measure, and to every other alteration in the tariff, until it should become law. In reply to Mr. M. Phillips, Sir it. PEEL said that if the'debate should be adjourned over Tuesday, there would be no alternative but to re sume the debate on Wednesday at twelve and finish it at six. The right hon. baronet also explained that neces sarily there must be an interval between the first and second reading of the Corn Bill, during which he might bring forward other articles in the tariff, but net he would proceed with the Corn Bill with all the speed that the forms of the house would permit. On the motion that the order of the day for the house resolve itself in committee being read, a host of petitions on the corn laws were presented, after which Mr. PHILIP MILES rose to move the amendment of which he had given notice on Friday last, viz., that the house resolve itself into committee that day six months. He admitted the failure of the potato crop in Ireland, but the oat and wheat crops were above the average, and there was no fear of a famine. If there was danger of that he would open the ports. If the pre rniers opinions had undergone a change. he should have followe:.I the example of the memb e r for Dorsetshire. He could not see where these changes were to lead, and if these were agreed to, greater would follow which would shake the public credit. (Hear, hear.) The honourable gentleman then proceeded to take a review of the history of our commercial policy since the accession of Sir IL Peel to office, and contended that the prosperity of the industrious classes had been owing not to the free trade measures of the government, but to the immense increase of our railway system, which bad created a demand for labour, and in conse quence of which the prices of iron had risen enormously —to the cessation of war in India—and to the succession of good harvests, and he believed that much of that pros perity would have taken place if the noble lord opposite had been in power. He denied that the amount of exports afforded a fair indication of commercial perity. Foreign markets were glutted with our goods. It was the home trade which afforded the finest ele ments for the calculation of the actual amount of With regarc to the corn- 13 afl secured had said in 1842 . He would like our commercial prospe laws, the law of 1842 tion. The Right Honourabl that 56i was a fair rice for the h Honourable Baronet said his propolted measure would not lower the price of wheat : what then became of the argu m3nt of the cheap loaf? Mr. Miles concluded by depre cating the stimulus sought to be given to manufacturing enterprise; which had already reached far enough. He then proposed, " that the Chairman leave Lie chair that day six months." Sir W. HEATHCOTE seconded the amendment. He did not join in imputing dishonest motives to Sir Robert Peel, he merely thought the measure proposed a visionary scheme. That scheme was also partial in its operation, acting for the almost exclusive advantage of those engaged in manufacturing pnrsuits. The peculiar burdens to- which the agriculturist was exposed, rendered it difficult to afford him adequate com pensation. Tae colonial corn-growing interest was dis regarded by the proposed measure. The duty of sup porting Sir ROBERT PEEL as a Conservative Minister, he admitted, ought to prevent any factious opposition, bat the responsibility of embarrassi❑g the relationship between Government and their supporters, properly lay wit 3 him who had varied from his original policy. Mr. LASCELLES denied that the Government had bad delivere I since his elevation to power had uniformly , irection•of Free-trade. The truth of that pointed in the d theory had been made ma experience, and Sir Robert Peel had merited the gratitude of the country by the measure he had proposed. Lord NORREYS bad refrained from condemning Sir Robert Peel until his measures were published to the country ; his suprise and disapprobation were, however, equal when he first learned the extent of these proposals. It was incredible that the Minister, who in 1839 avows an unqualified adherence to the Protecti in 1846 propose an entire repe'd of that s duct was unfair to both his supporters ard opponents Mr. B. COCHRANE denied that there was any corn wise of principle ye System, shall His con- Be agreed to the dictum that " Whoever pr o posed an un alterale law, was an unalterable fool." Parliament was something superior to an assemblage of deleates. There was real inconsistency in the Duke of Richmond and Lord Stanley, who had co-operated to bring about the Revolu tion of 1830, now opposing the repeal of the corn-laws, as a revolutionary measure. Lord North, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Huskisson and Mr. Canning, had successively lent their great names to the support of a free-trade policy. He (Mr. Cochrane) should vote for this meastlre, because he preferred legislation to agitation, and also because he was favourable to the principle of genuine protection. Mr. DEEDES regarded the measure proposed by Go vernment as an experiment upon native industry, fraught with great injury to the country. It would certainly cause the withdrawal of a large tract of land out of culti vation, and diminish the permanent supply of specie in the national coffers. Upon these grounds he should offer it his opposition. Sir loriN WALstr denied that the Corn-law question y, though that was of no trifling It class, bold- f rent The I. moment ing in a very few hands large territorial posse'ssions. The landed proprietors amounted in 1845, according to Mr. M'Culloch, to two hundred thousand persons. This very numerous body would be affected by what ever injuries a Free-trade policy might inflict. The protective system had been in existence cotempora neously with a great increase in the population, and a great progress in the commerce of the country. Results, therefore, witnessed in its favour. It was only necessary to guarantee security to agriculture, in order to elicit a perfect development of its resources. He contended that land was liable to peculiar burdens. There was no reason to fear a great importation of corn from many parts which at present contributed nothing to our supplies, and at very low rates. The failure of the crops in Ireland had been advance but why should a temporary calamity prompt so great and perma nent a change ? The proposed measure would, if adopted, ruin Irish agriculture, and destroy the Protestant Church in Ireland. It had been brought about by an association which every lover of order ought to oppose. Mr. A. J. B. HOPE considered a preliminary inquiry was, whether the existing parliament were morally as well as legally competent to take cognizance of the question of Free-trade or Protection. They had been returned upon principles very different from those which at present held sway in parliament. A revolution in the commercial po licy of the country was being wrought, and the proper persons to carry it would have been the members of the Anti-Corn-law League. Lord SAN DON startled the house by declaring that Though he disapproved of the scheme proposed by Her Majesty's government, he had made up his mind to vote in favour of it. After stating his objections to the mea sure at some length, he said that he felt that the country must be governed. He found that when opinions hostile to protection had been pronounced by the great leaders on both sides of the house, and that it was now opposed by all the gentlemen who had ever sat in the government except two, it was no longer a matter for discussion; but the only question was the way of doing it. He looked upon it, as the French said, "un fait accompli"—it was settled. It might be railed against, but the country must be governed; and when the only persons who could go vern the country were of one opinion, the sooner it was settled the better it would be for all parties. Lord J. Russzu, considered it a very impotent argu ment in favour of protection, to allege that it was sanc tioned by the decisions of parliament in former time. The same might be said of various absurdities. The friends of protection had affirmed that it was extended to all pur suits of native industry. Was this the case? Our woollen and other manufactures competed with foreign fabrics abroad ; they could therefore hardly benefit by protection at home. The protective system was for the benefit of one class alone. If it were admitted that the system was erro neous, the great question was, how were we to abandon it ? The results of past reductions in duties had proved bene ficial both to the revenue and to the producer. As Sir R. Peel's measure proceeded upon the principle of non-inter fereneewith the pursuits of industry,he was prepared to give it his cordial support. Ile then examined that part of the ministerial scheme which ordains the gradual reduction of the Corn duties. The inclinations of the farmers were in favour of immediate repeal, provided that repeal were inevitable. He believed there would be less inconvenience to the English farmer in the change occurring at present than at a future period. This part of the plan he should prefer altered, but at all events he would support the measure. He recognised the principle of affording compensation to .the agricultural body for special tax ation Party motives • had restrained many from sup porting free trade measures when introduced by himself, though they now supported them when pro posed by Sir Robert Peel. Had these influences not pre vailed, much misery throughout the country would have been prevented, and Sir Robert Peel's consistency preserved. lie and his party intend to pursue a different course, and by the aid they would render, the success of the measure would be ensured, Sir R. H. INGLis congratulated Lord John Russell upon the triumph he must have derived from the disunion amongst the Conservative ranks. The great object to be attained by a legislature in the matter of food, were a suf ficiency of supply and equability in price. There bad been a remarkable equability in the prices of Corn in England compared with other countries. He then argued that the land was subject to special taxation, and particularly in respect to the item of tithe. Sir R. Peel's conversion had, he believed, been perfectly honest, nevertheless the suddenness of it gave cause to suspect the permanence of even his present convictions. The hon. baronet concluded by expressing his intention to support 'the amendment. After Sir R. Inglis closed his address, Capt. FITZNIAI3.• RICE and Mr. SYDNEY HERBERT addressed the house, the former opposing, and the latter in an able speech sup. pprting the propositions of Sir R. Peel, after which, on de motion of Mr. S. O'Brien, the debate was adjourned. HOUSE OF LORDS.—TUESDAY. The Earl of ABERDEEN, in answer to a question from Lord Kinnaird, respecting the cruelties alleged to have been perpetrated on the Polish nuns at Minsk, stated that he had no doubt the persecutions in question were grossly exaggerated ; and that, whatever might be the state of the case, ber Majesty's Government had no power to interfere in the matter. The Scotch Turnpike-roads was then forwarded a stage HOUSE OF COMMONS.-TUESDAY The . 'adjourned debate was resumed by Mr. Stafford O'Brien, who complained that the government had not yet thought fit to consult the agriculturists at all on this measure. He had little hope of attracting the attention of the house ; be had not changed, and therefore he had nothing to explain, but remained in the same state of bi gotry in which he had ever been. The law of 1815 might have been the greatest error that the landed interest had ever committed, but he would ask who had encouraged them to persevere in that error? Year after year the hon. member for Wolverhampton had given them an op portunity of retrieving that error and year after year the right honourable gentleman had urged them to persevere in it. He would not impute to the occupants of the trea sury bench dishonesty, but this country had hitherto been governed by party ; and if parties were to be broken up in this way, he would ask how the government of the country was to be conducted? He had no hesitation in avowing that he was a party man ; and if ever there was an opposition conducted by party tactics for party ends, it was the opposition of the right hon. gentleman to the late government. It was a bitter disappointment to find him now eschewing all party. The right hon. gentleman who spoke last nigtt said that the law of 1842 had failed. Had it failed to the Sidney Herbert of last year, or to the Sidney Herbert of this year ? If the law had failed in re gard to the question,of averages,[it must be a reason for re-adjusting those averages ; and if he found the sliding scale fail, that was no reason for giving up protection— they had the sliding scale to fall back upon! If it had been merely a question of duty, why had they raised such . an agitation on the subject ? It was not on a mere ques tion of import duty that the present government had dis placed the last. If the present government had changed their opinions, let them avow the change, and give due credit to those who had always upheld those principles; but let them not deprive them of the credit due to them by sa, - ing that this was a mere question of import duties. He was not careless of the evils impending over Ireland ; Lut a particular evil required only a particular remedy ; and although the ports wereimpened to prevent a famine in Ireland, yet there was no necessity for repealing the corn laws. All the authorities in Ireland agreed that the destruction of agriculture in that country would be its ruin. He admitted the existence of the potato disease, and if it had progressed he was convinced there would not have been a potato left in Ireland. The rest had been stayed, but had now recommenced, and he believed that the government was prepared to meet the emergency ; butte denied that the case of famine in Ireland would be met by the proposed alteration in the corn law. He be- that the lanC lowners in Ireland were great y repon- v tor the distress. Mr. S. Crawford, Mr. Bailey, Lord Clements, and Mr overnment measure, and Gregory spoke in favour of tE Mr. - Lef►oy, the Marquis of Granby, and Lords Brooke and Clive against it, several of the members requiring a fresh appeal to the country. Lord WORSLRY challenged the recollections of the go vernment respecting the last election. The predominat ing motto then was, " Peel, the Farmers' Friend." The opinions various members of the administration had es- cided. Even within the three years during which they declared their conversion had been effected, Sir Robert Peel had professed his adhesion to protectionist principle. It was said this measure would settle the question. This he denied ; a fresh election before 1849 would again agi tate the question, and the farmers, wiser from past expe- rience, would exact pledges from their representatives for the repeal of the measure, while the other party would seek an earlier consummation of free trade than was pro posed by the government• He should vote for the amend ment. Sir J. GRAHAM protested against degrading the ques tion into one of mere finance, much less of personality. He avowed a change in his opinions, and that avowal would at once dispose of all citations from former speeches in favour of nrotection. Referring' to the eir- eumstances of Sir Robert Peers resignation, he owned he thought it would have been better for the country arid for the character of public men, had Lord John Russell fficulty 6 aga►ns the mi THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. HOUSE OF COMMONS.-FRIDAY Several members addressed the house on the govern ment commercial scheme, pro and con., and amongst the rest Sir Howard Douglas, whose admirable speech we give elsewhere. The debate was again adjourned to Mon day. FOREIGN AND COLONIA I propose( Pee, UNITED STATES. The mail steamer liibernia, Captain Ryrie, arrived at this port on Saturday evening, bringing New York papers _. altogether inconsistent wit L formerly en- to the 31st ult.—thirteen days later than the previous tertained, but extracts which he read from their speeches advices. dis. roved this statement. Circumstances had precipi• The proposition in the London Times for the settle tated the change which otherwise he would have preferred ment of the Oregon question had attracted some atten to be gradual. The peculiarity of the harvest of last year tion—viz., to take the 49th degree of North latitude as had caused the corn law of 1842 to prove more stringent f,r as the sea as the boundary line, reserving to Great -se Britain Vancouver's Island, the harbour of St. Juan de Fuca, and the free navigation of the Columbia. The . _ 7 - 7;an_ the organ of the government, has T`- the free trade scheme instead of Sir Robert (Hear, hear.) The members of the cabinet had een taunted with adopting opinions upon the corn _ques- h those they in Irdand had also contributed to hasteti a legislative isordere e manufacturing di Tints in the year .sati4actorilk traced to the He then read several ' spoken of this offer in a spirit of peace. -tie question is now so much narrowed that (says the Herald) it is next to impossible that war can grow out of the negotiations, gress are, so far, conciliatory and peaceable. No vote has been taken of a warlike nature, and Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Benton have indicated by their speeches that they anticipate no rupture. Even General Cass, though he thinks the news from England would not justify an inter mission in preparation for defence, has bated down the offensive Meaning that had been attached to Mr. Polk's anti-eolonisatirm doctrines. It is vet questionable whe ther the tariff of 1814 will be disturbed. The subtreasury bill has a better chance of succeeding, though commercial men consider it will be injurious to the trade of the country. The effect of the news from England, being more pacific than was expected, had had a highly favour able effect. News had been received from Mexico bf another revolution, and that country was in a most un- settled state. The new party, beaded by General Paredes, is understood to be hostile to the United States. The Money market continued tight. Though the war panic bad subsided, the banks, in order to present as strong a position as possible in their quarterly statements, had curtailed their discounts, and money was consequently scarce. _ I In the Senate the proceedings had been somewhat in teresting, though not tending to any specific re3ult. To the resolution offered by Mr. Crittenden, to the effect that no notice should be given to the British Government relative to the Oregon territory till after the present session of Congress, in order that time may be afforded for amicable settlement, which was generally considered as inviting conciliation and compromise, Mr. Magnum gave notice of an amendment, to the effect that the said notice, when given, be accompanied by a proposition from the United States Government to submit the dispute to the arbitration of competent persons , whose decision shall he amendment was ordered to be printed. A notice.by Mr. Allen on the 20th ult., for leave to in troduce a resolution declaratory of the principle by which . _ the United States will be governed in regard to the inter ference of foreign powers with the independent govern ments of America, was laid on the table, by a vote of 28 to 23. Mr. Allen brought the subject forward again on the 26th, when a warm discussion ensued, in the course of which General Cash made another of his flourishing war speeches, and Mr. Allen attacked Mr. Calhoun, who replied temperately, slowing the effect which such a de claration, uncalled for at the present time, would have on the European powers, with whom it was, in consideration of their position with respect to England, important to cultivate friendly relations. The resolutions were ulti mately admitted by a majority of twenty-six to twenty. one, and were referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. It is believed that the committee will return them, and that they will be laid on the table, on the ground, as a writer in one of the papers shrewdly observes, that the United States are not in a position at this junc- ture to declare war against all the nations of Eurore. On the 21st, a bill, introduced by Mr. Fairfield, to aug ment the navy by appropriating 5,625,000 dollars to tt.e building of ten war steamers, and for other purposes, was brought forward. It was rejected as a war measure, but again brought up on the 27th, and discussed with anini trot'. According to a statement from the navy, department it appeared that the United States had only two sea-going steamer this was urged as an argument. ror the bil Those disorders he t gaining subsistence ally with the price of food. Exaggerated am ad been entertained respecting the fall, in pric . contemplated measure would occasion. It would benefit the consumer principally by the guarantee it would pro vide against extreme price in the event of a deficient har vest. A. settlement of this question was manifestly needed. Certainty and peaceful enjoyment v objects to attain, and they would be encompassed by the measure proposed by government. The valuable ends now sought to be effected would be cheaply purchased by any reduction of rent, and he for one would, if necessary, have consented to such a sacrifice. .e great HOUSE OF COMMONS.—WEDNESDAY. Petitions were presented ir: favour of a ten hours' bill e corn- aws; and against ca. ling out In a committee of the whole house upon the piers and harbours of Ireland, a resolution was agreed to that the sum of £50,000 should be granted for their imnrovoment. Lord G. BENTINCK moved for a return giving the num b.rs of the importers of foreign grain now in bond in the Queen's warehouses in Great 131 itoin and Ireland, toge ther with the quantities held by each individual. He en tered into some calculations in order to show that the course proposed by the government with respect to corn would deprive the revenue of half a million in order to put le pockets of two or three hundred corn merchants. d to. HOUSE OF LORDS.-TITURSDAN The E3rl of DALHOUSIE brought up a report from the lect committee on railways, which was laid on the table, id ordered to be printed. His lordship said the object late the practice of their lordships' house to that of the House of Commons. His lordship also intimated that the competing lines would be grouped together and pro ceeded with as soon as each group sbould be completed In answer to a question by Lord K NAIRD The Earl of DALHOUSIE said that the report of the commission had been that afternoon placed in his Lord MONTEAGLE gave notice, that in the event of the motion of Lord Beaumont, which stood for Monday nest, for the appointment Gf a select committee to inquire into the burdens on real property, being carried, it was his intention to move the addition of these words : "and also to inquire and report on the legislative exemp tions from the pecuniary liabilities proved by law in re spect to the taxation affecting real property," ' The Marquis of CLANRICARDE' Imo . red . for a return of 11 murders, or attempts to commit murder, in Ireland ince the year 1842. Crimes, he declared, prevailed to an extent almost unprecedented ; and he accused the govern ment of very great remissness in not baying taken earlier measures to repress the system of combined outrages, which are now more general than had ever been known, and given efficient protection to honest men in their ho nest callings. He referred to her Majesty's speech as justifying the expectation that energetic means would be instantly adopted, and described a number of outrages wHen had recently been committed, and which proved that there was no longer any safety for the pro- absurdity of attempting to improve the agriculture of Ire land while no man was allowed to pursue the system which he preferred. It was said thht people should not submit to such intimidation, but the government itself had recom mended submission in one remarkable instance, which he cited. York, while he admitted that the late intelligence was pacific, advocated the bill as a peace measure. The question was resumed on the 28th, and was contested with still more vehemence, the war party still insisting cn the necessity cf the addition horn the immediate prospect of Lord Sr. GERMANS offered no opposition to the mo- I contest; tion, and informed their lordships that such a bill as Lord r The subject of the negociations with England relative Clanricarde bad described would •be submitted to their to the Oregon territory was before the House on the 26th, consideration on Monday next. 1 but without result. Mr Speitht (" the tallest man in Lord FARNHAM bore testimony to the firm support he had received from Government in one of the most dis turbed districts of Ireland; and Lord Grey, while agree. ing that at whatever cost security of person and property must be attained, urged that the opportunity should be taken of considering the state of Ireland generally, and accompanying any coercive bill that might be necessary with measures of another kind, and having more compre hensive reference to the evils which have so long affected Ireland. The motion was agreed to, and their lordships adjourned. . . Congress ") made a sensible speech in favour of peace and economy, and declared that the failure of Lord John Russell to form a Cabinet, on the express ground that Lord Palmerston, who was hostile to America, was ob noxious to Lord Grey, was, news which it made his heart glad Co hear. This single fact regarding the attempted change in the Cabinet, he Said, was conclusive of peace. In the House of Representatives the question of the notice to England on the Oregon territory had been dis cussed in a desultory manner,..a3 thintgh i a interest had subsided. A motion that the Oregon resolution be taken out of committee on the 7th February. was lost by 84 to 52, as it required a vote of two•thirds. Mr. Gni es, in a long and able speech, contended, from a variety of data, that the United States had no claim to the Oregon which was not equally held by this country. A writer in one of the papers, of the 31st, in concluding a review of the state of parties in Congress, says,." The probable prospect of the present state of things ut Wa.h ington is highly favourable to a peaceable termination of our difficulties with England, of the success of liberal principles in commerce and currency, and the probable triumph of the measures brought forward by Mr. Polk." Rumours were prevalent that Mr. Bu.:banan, secretary of.statt, has resigned, and that the seals would be resumed by Mr. Colhoun. The weather had been very severe. At Utica on the 20th, the thermometer stood at 20, 23, and 24 degrees below zero. The adviccs from Canada are to the 27th ult. Conti - les for the erection of fortifications at Kingston have been declared. The works will cost £60,000. The papers state that despatches had been received announcing t ment of Lord Cathcart as Governor-general: [le appoint- bearing ti; the authoritie; o . f . Texas the aceeptauce of hei eonsti!ution by congress. reached Cs;vesiou oi, the 12t1 ult., when PresideLt Jones immediately issued a proeia• 'nation convening the legislature of the state to meet at Austin, on the 16th instant. to organise a state goveru- - - - The news from Mexico is to 3d January, three days later than that brought by the West India Mail. It fully confirms the intelligence of the new revolution, under Paredes. That revolution was complete. Paredes had entered the city of Mexico, and was forming his Ministry or Cabinet. There were reports that Mr. Slidell, the new American Minitter, had been murdered by a Mexican bandit, but they are disbelieved. HOUSE OF COMMONS.-THURSDAY The adjourned debate was commenced by Mr. COLRUHOUN, who entered into an explanation of his vote in 1838, in support of Mr. Villiers's motion for a committee to inquire into the propriety of repealing the Corn-laws. Sir R. Peel had entirely mistaken both his past and present opinions. He had never entertained the opinions so consistently entertained by Mr. Villiers; and he had never passed from them to the doctrines of high protection. He had always considered the question of the Corn-laws a most anxious and perplexing question ; and in 1841, not being in Parliament, and having much leisure time, he had studied it with all the diligence and impar tiality he could command. He had come to the conclu sion that protection was necessary for the interests of agri culture ; and having come to that conclusion, he had de: Glared himself an advocate for a fixed duty on corn. After the occurrences of the past six mouths, it seemed proba ble that his notion of a fixed duty, had it been adopted, would have now been deemed preferable to that of .a slid ing scale. After applying himself to refute Sir R. Peel's arguments respecting prices and wages, he proceeded to comment on the speech delivered . by Sir J. Graham on Tuesday evening. Sir J. Graham had then disposed sery summarily of all his former arguments on this subject; and had said that as he confessed that he had changed his opinions, there was an end of his for mer reasonities. No, there was not an end of them ; for a statesman whl spoke like Sir James Graham, with eloquence and genius, r,ught to recollect that his words were winged shafts which stuck deeply in men's hearts. They had made many con verts, and bad influenced and were influencing thousands of his fellow-countrymen ; and he (Mr. Colquhoun) was of opinion that Sir James's explicit recantation of his im mortal words would not convince the country that he could raise wages or exalt the financial condition of the labour ing population by his present measures. He was afraid that those measures would bring on the country evils of a kind to which its attention ought to be, yet had not been called. What would be their effects on their colonial in terests ? The protection on timber and sugar would not long survive the protection of corn ; and then the manu facturers of England woild-find themselves no longer in pos session of the advantages which they now possessed in the colonial market. Under such circumstances, what would be the condition of the country if, in addition to a failing harvest, it should have to struggle, as in 1840, against a falling revenue? But what reason was there to induce the house to give their consent to a commercial code which even Mr. Villiers could not recommend to his con stituents as a perfect code, as it still enforced 'protection on silk, on sugar, on timber, on copper, and various other articles. If, then, protection were left on some fabrics, why was all protection to be taken from that manufacture —for corn had been justly called by Lord F.Egerton a ma nufacture—which was of all others the most precarious in its course, and the most uncertain in its returns ? He regretted that ever since he had taken his seat on the mi nisterial bench agricultural protection bad never received from Sir R. Peel anything like a sincere defence. Last year Mr. Villiers had called Sir Robert's speech on the Corn-laws a dexterous evasion of the whole question, and had warned the country gentlemen that they would soon he called upon to surrender the protection they enjoyed. He was sorry to observe that on all the great institutions of the country Sir R. Peel followed a similar course of dexterous evasion. He had no antipathy to him, and a very sincere regard for many of his colleagues •, bnt his opposition to Sir R. Peel's administration would in future he openly avowed and steadily adhered to ; for as long as Sir Robert declined discussion on all the great questions which agitated the minds of Englishmen, so long be should not promise him any adhesion nor repose in him any con fidence. Mr. HEATHCOTE did not come forward on this occasion to attack the consistency of others, but to maintain his own. He had resisted a measure similar in principle to the present when proposed by his own political friends; and he felt bound to offer the same resistance now, when a measure ten thousand times more mischievous in degree was proposed by his political opponents. He explained at some length the reaEons why he considered this measure a rash, ill-timed, and hazardous experiment, and observed that it was not recommended to his mind by being accom panied with changes of opinion hitherto unparalleled in the annals of political tergiversation. They had turned out a government for proposing a fixed duty of Bs. a quarter on corn ; and they were now themselves proposing a fixed duty of 4s. a quarter, to expire at the end of three years. The compenstition which they proposed for the injury which they were thus going to inflict on the agricultural interest was utterly inadequate and disproportionate. Monarchial Europe and RepUblic America had both their corn laws. Why was England to deprive itself of a simi lar code? Holland had once made the experiment of ab rogating such laws; but the experiment had altogether failed, and Holland, like ourselves, had now the benefit of a sliding scale. Mr. W. C. MARTIN contrived to eat up his former professions in favour of protection, and then declared himself an emancipated free trajer. Mr. T. BARING' indignantly repelled the hollow cant made use of by Sir J. Graham respecting the starving people of Ireland, and boldly expressed his belief that the greatest want under which the country Laboured at present was the want of ministers, and the most appalling scarcity was that of statesmen, who would consent to sit together in the same cabinet. Neither in the effects of our previous relaxation of protective duties nor in the present circumstances of the country, could he see any justification of the sweeping change now proposed. Lord MORPETH next addressed the house in favour of the government propositions, as also did Mr. ROEBUCK. Mr. GASKELL spoke eloquently in favour of the amend - ment, and the debate was adjourned. WEST INDIES The Royal Mail steam-ship Trent arrived at South ampton on Monday, with the West India mail. Among the passengers is Lieut. Peel, (son of the premier,) who is the bearer of important despatches from Vera Cruz. There is no particular news from Jamaica. The weather had been somewhat unsettled, rains and severe storms having been very frequent. Lord Elgin had pro rogued the House of Assembly in a very friendly and ex cellent speech on the 31st of December. The Spanish Town Railway was realising the expectations of every one to the fullest extent. Other lines had been determined upon and sanctioned by the legislature, which will, it was confidently anticipated, give increased stimulqs to the commerce of the island. Fine weather had prevailed in the Windward Islands. The crops throughout were very favourable, and , much good was expected to result from the various railroads in contemplation. Sir Charles A. Fitzroy has been gszetted Governor of New South Wales. Information has reached from the west coast of Africa that the Hydra steam-sloop, Commander Young, has captured a slaver, on board of which were 1,100 slaves. ALGERIA.—The news from Algeria, which is of a dis couraging character, occupies the French prints. One of the journals says :—" A great mortality reigns at present among the French troops in the three provinces of Al giers, Oran. and Constantine. The hospital are crowded, and more than 600 soldiers sank under the effects of fever and dysentery in the province of Algiers alone, during the month of December last." IBRAHIM PACIIA'S SUGAR REFINERY.—The Egyp tian correspondent of the Times says—" It is confidently expected that Egypt will derive great benefit frOm Ibra him Pacha's visit to Europe, and that he will introduce many improvements in the country on his return. After inspecting the sugar refinery of the Marquis Forbin Jan son, at Marseilles, finding, on inquiry, that the per cen tage of refined sugar obtained there was greater than that obtained at his own works at Rhoda, his highness wrote to order an investigation of the cause to be made, and also engaged three Frenchmen to superintend the press ing and refinery. Ibrahim Pacha's sugar manufactory at Rhoda, in Upper Egypt, produces annually about 700 tons of sugar, which is all consumed in the country, and his highness is now setting up a second one at Farchout, near Keneh, which he expects will produce the same quantity. A fine species of dark cane, from Jamaica, has lately been introduced into Egypt, and thrives remarkably well." INCREDIBLE STORY.—" A letter from Hamburgh of the 30th ult.," says the Paris Constitutionnel, " details the following adventure, which lately took place at the Court of Berlin :—' The King of Prussia having ordered a grand hunt to be organized between Berlin and the for tress of Spandau, all the sportsmen of the Court ac cordingly assembled at the place of rendezvous at three o'clock on the day fixed. At the head of these was the Prince Royal, brother of the King. His Majesty not arriving, the Prince showed signs of impatience ; and, after waiting for an hour, ordered the grand hunts man to commence the hunt. The latter, however, ven tured respectfully to point out to his Royal Highness the risk he would run of incurring his M , jesty's dis pleasure by so doing. The Prince replied that he would take the responsibility on himself, and the hunt accord ingly commenced. The King shoitly afterwards arrived. and, highly indignant, sent for the grand huntsman (master of the hounds). Arrived in the royal presence, he was about to explain that it was in accordance with the orders of the Prince Royal that he had acted ; but before he had time to open his mouth, he experienced from the King the most flagrant outrage—His Majesty spat in his face. The first movement of the grand huntsman was to place his hand on his sword, upon which the King drew back. The huntsman then took a small pistol from his belt, and placing it to his own head, blew out his own brains.' A NEW PROJECTILE. - Mr. M'Cattey, who is con nected with the navy-yard at Brooklyn (U.S.) has in vented a new species of artillery, which will discharge thirty balls in a minute, or one every two seconds, for hours together, in succession, and this by mechanical power alone, without gunpowder, chemical subFtance, or any other preparation. It is effected by merely putting the balls into a hopper. and letting the ordnance throw them out with immense momentum at the rate of one every two seconds. On one occasion, Mr. M'Cartey ex hibited the operation of this in ti e navy-yard. From twelve to twenty pieces of solid timber were united to gether, forming cne compact body. Against this piece of wooded breastwork Mr. M'Cartey opened the battery of his piece of ordnance, and in lees than ten minutes the whole solid la,eastwork was utterly demolished and shivered to splinters by the powerful and rapid succession of discharges upon it. The simplicity of this invention is one of its most singular features. The principle of this new invention is simply a modification of the principle of the sling, applied to machinery, in connexion with a tube or gun, throwing out a diqeharge of balls. The ma chine is so constructed that on putting in at one end the halls to be discharged, a rotary motion is produced by means of a crank, and, by a few rapid revolutions, each ball receives a force and momentum equal to that com municated by any quantity of gunpowder. When ,this has been done, a slide starts and allows each ball to escape in succession from the chamber into a tube, when they are thrown to almost any distance, and with unerring aim. For this invention a patent has been taken out at Wash ington.—New York Herald. Isnia..—The mail from India, via Marseilles, long overdue, brought no letters or despatches from the Go vernor-General. It is known, however, from the most unquestionable authority, that the advanced guard of the British army was attacked, on the evening of the 18th of December, by the Sikh troops. The enemy was repulsed and driven back for upwards of three miles, with the loss of 17 a pla, cannon air occurred NI oodkee wards Ferozepore, ant, having opened a . communication with Sir John Littler, who commanded et that poet, and havirtz been joined by the corps under that officer, at tacked the enemy's entrenched position at 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the 21st. The first.line of intreuctiments was carried ; but the night was so dark that further ope rations were suspended. At daylight, on the 22d, the second line of entrenchments was attacked, and all the enemy's defences were, in half an hour, taken in reverse, and the guns captured. On the afternoon of the 22d the enemy advanced with their infantry, and hordes of camels carrying swivels, for the purpose of retaking the guns they had previously lost. All the attacks, however, which they made were repulsed ; and after a cannonade, which had no result, they withdrew, and retired to a place called Sultankhanwalla, about ten miles from Ferozepore, where they had still some heavy artillery. The British army would be joined by two battalions of native infantry, which were not in the previous actions, and the enemy's position at Sultankhanwalla was to be attacked on the 24th. No accounts have been received of the specific loss on either side, nor is the name of any officer mentioned. The captured guns amounted to 65 counted, and there were some more in the village on the British right. DISCOVERY OF COPPER MINES IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA. —By the last arrival, which brings papers from Adelaide to the 7th of October, it appears that valuable copper mines have been discovered in the colony of South Aus tralia. A special survey of 20.000 acres has been secured by the combined efforts of a number of the colonists, who have paid £20,000, in terms of the last act, for regulating sales of land in the Australian colonies. By this purchase a district of that extent has been obtained singularly rich in copper ore. A scientific report given in the Colonial Gazette says, " We found a continuous outcrop of gray _ sulphuret of copper exhibited on th e sur f ace , aver a g ing about eighteen feet in breadth, and extending over the brow of the hill, and down again to the south eastern base or gully, more than a mile in length. appeared in the gully, we saw a broad a quartz, cropping out through the surface, and traceable for upwards of 200 paces, exposing an average breadth of about fifteen feet. At t about t hree or four feet, his place we opened the ground , and found the most favourable _regular lode being near at hand spar, containing highly crystalline carbonate of coppe. were frequently encountered. We then proceeded higher up the hill, and found, at dif f erent elevations; three other distinct and well-defined traces of ore : indeed the hills appeared to be full of it !—almost every stone we picked up betrayed, either directly or inferentially the presence of rich copper lodes. A fragment, struck off at rand, from the corner of a large quartz boulder, exhibited no less than three varieties of ore—the gray sulphuret, the blue carbonate, and the copper pyrites ; and we could scarcely move a step without observing some kind of mineralogical evidence, indicating the proximity of metal. liferous veins." The Colonial Gazette remarks: "We are aware that in this country it is considered an unfa vourable symptom when metallic lodes crop out on the surface of the ground ; but in South Australia it is other wise. Short as has been the experience of the colonists in mining operations, it has been sufficient to show that this rule of judging does not apply to the minerals in that country." The South Australian Gazette, of the fol lowing week, in closing a long article on the subject, says, " It would he ridiculous to assert, that all the cop per ores found within the district are of equal value ; but we are assured that the very worst surface specimens have on assay rever yielded less than 32 per cent. of pure metal." SPO .R TING INTELLIGENCE HEREFORD GRAND STEEPLE CHASE, THURSDAY, FEB. 12. The Handicap of 25 soya, each, with 100 added, was won by Mr. Preston's Brunette, beating Cracksman and Little Tommy. A Sweepstakes of 5 soya. each, 3 miles, was won be Mr G. Moseley's Jerry. beating Gipsy Queen and the Mer chant. Id another strirt a nv.oe, the Yiva:z ses will come on at the ensuing assizes at 1..;;erpool. CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAlLWAl•.—Atgthe half yearly meeting, on We . nestlay, it was stated that one• third of the earth-wilks were completed. Six hundred and forty-one are employell, he,idrs 195 in Anglesta. Arrangements have been made t:) have a joint-station at Chester. A hathour of rria g p, e n dosing a space of •ItA) acres, appeared at the end of the railway. which ti e Sportsman. I chairman slit) tentr . d one des / rim! Li7!crPoq 13" chahman said he frit ror.fitient no ot nun would go throi duets consideratly higher that; the monument and shatts below St. Cathedral. Ile add( d that the plan of the engineer to cross the Menai Straits would b , + a monu ment of his talent and ingenuity. Wales, a- the of The London and Birmingham meeting, on Frivato de clared a dividend of 10 per cent. per annum, clear of p ro ' .perty tax. The gross receipts on the half-year anit u nce to £542,702 ; the expenditu r e to £222,529; the u ire £320,173, applicable to the dividends, and tillage rest for the next half-year. rec T e h ip e ts ba a l n a to 4th January, 1846, to be £2,296,395, and the tra account of the Cambridge and Colchester lines to be d nc d e is s b h u e r e s t e o m f en th ts e f E or a Eastern r Counties ucting th e sh En T in edi th e : £173,166; also the balance up to 4th January (after p a l; ing dividends up to 4th July, 1845, and income. t a x) to b y e £64,467. At the meetirg a dividend was declare d of 9 per share on the capital sto c k, at the average value of £l4 16s. per share. The increase of traffic, arising Eli' cipally from the opening of the line to Cambridge , and Brandon, was stated to be great. one, interesting T li The and,re o r report of th t e h e whole, Brighton satisfactory; Company g that tba experiments in cheap fares they have so boldly made,. o ',!. der circumstances by nd means the most favourabl.n."'.. their introduction, have been carried out so far wit° profitable result. The available balance is £76,051,1_6: of which a dividend was declared of 355. a s hare. I ° e . total half-yearly gross receipts, to December 31, £l4-1,325. against £128,665. in 1844: the same ProP u ti tionate advance will not, however, be found in the e e ., , balance; the rate of working expenses having increased, as the report states, 151 per cent. While the receipts for passengers have increased 104 per cent., the number p is ro a v n in car ried has increased 181—very nearly double. It is there fore easy to account for the rise in the scale of working expenses. The total nett income is, meanwhile, £ lB 4 o d (or 34 per cent.) more than in the corresponding Pe rl of 1844. How THE HOLYHEAD RAILWAY WILL CROSS Tag MENAI STRAITS. — M r. Robert Stephenson's erninenl is too well established to leave a doubt on the mind any one that he would discover a solution of the Pro b. : i lem, w: and that what be should resolve upon he wo ul d efficiently execute. This problem is, however, the An 1t arduous he has yet attempted, and the expedient be Du adopted is a bold one. Already he has carried out tbe use of iron in railway bridges to a great, r extent thc?, most other engineers ; and for this purpose he is to adop t the favourite material, and is about to lay across h Menai Straits AN IRON BE AM 450 feel long, supporte on stone pillars at both ends. This proposal is bold ; but the method proposed for executing it is ingenious and satisfactory. This great iron beam, 459 feet long , i t to be 30 feet deep and 15 feet wide, with a hollow in t he centre, and this hollow is to be so large, that the railway train shall pass along in the heart or centre of the beam. This beam will be laid across the Menai Straits 0 0e and joining the railway on one side of the straits, an a the other end joining the railway at the other side of the straits ; so that passengers coming along the line will be whirled through the heart of the beam without any 1',5 1. ; ceptible difference between this and any pa r t of the . 1, which may happen to be covered in or arched over. is, in short, to be an iron tunnel, hung up in the air, across an arm of the sea.—Railway Chronicle. ST. HELENS CANAL AND RAILWAY.—On Satardal a the half-yearly general meeting of this comp a ny was he ). at the Clarendon•rooms. The revenue accou nt showe d surplus for the half-year of £3,359 2s. 3d., after Pre" - ding for the guaranteed dividend of £5 per cent. on the amount paid up on the preference shares. There west £517 15s. 4d. left on the same account to June last, b u as there were still debts owing for work d one in the fe l ' mation of the line, which there were no means of linT; dating under the acts, except f rom surp l us i nco me, tu directors did not recommend any dividend until authority was obtained to raise a further sum of money, when th ese debts might be p r o v id e d f or . Th e t ra ffi c for the whole of 1845 left a clear surplus, after meeting every charge ° a the revenue account, of £5,207 16s. 7d. The canal i e .; come for the half-year had be en .£8 353, and the rai lway £7,947. The cana l expenditure had been £ 2,960 and the railway expenditure £4,686. The total surplus from both concerns was £8,653, from which, after de ducting interest a n d guaran t ee d di v id en d, & c ., there we lett a nett surplus, as stated in the report, of £3,87 6 1 The report of Mr. Renck], the engineer, was then re' It stated the grounds which had induced him to re oo° ' mend to them the construction of a coal-dock at Garstoo' and a railway between the St. Helens coal-field and !l ie said dock, by a line along the banks of the canal, eeT; municating in its course with the Grand Junction Ile:, way, at Warrington. The Chairman stated that the s e— s of £400,000 was proposed to be r a i se d. Th e re port I/ 0 adopted, and the direct , rs were empowered to apply „ - parliament to make the lines, &c. mentioned. The holders are to be called together again, to have the clan of the bill submitted to them in detail. Mr. Whitley' solicitor to the company, stated th a t th e G ran d JuncL" ,, " e 0 were on very good terms with their company. Of co ot 's the Grand Junction would rather th at th e St. lie le ,'t Company should not make their pr o p ose d li nes than t' i b - e they did ; but he thought such an arrangement might of come to as would prevent all opposition an the Pa tt si, either company. The Grand Junction crossed the. ~,e Helens line two or three ti m es, a n d th e p ro j ec ted hr'"' of the former at Runcorn would h e ve r y injurious tb.et present dock of this company there. The new dock ," t Garston, however, would obviate all difficulty on th e head. The heads of Mr. Rendel's report are to.be e io f culated amongst the proprietors, together with a Pla n the proposed lines, prior to the next meeting. the halo GRAND JUNCTION RAILWAY..-0O Friday. yearly meeting was held in the Cotton Sales 'Room , a n was numerously attended. Charles Lawrence. Chairman of the Board of Directors, pr es ided. Booth, the secretary, read the report. which cornmeq - a by congratulating the shareholde rs o n th e amalgairstio,_ with the Liverpool and M anc h es t er , an d su b s eouen t 7, with the London and Birmingham Co m p an y, and thra l l', that company with the Manchester and Birmirlhan i r which means the directors were enabled to carry 1 1. e . r goods and passengers, at a cheaper rat e , an d with gre'he punctuality and expedition. The repo r t th en • no ti e fs i 'd alterations now making at the Liverpool ter m i nus , all w are in progress. It goes o n t o say —" Th e di r i:e tors will now refer to the ne w measures w hi c h, w ith approbation of the proprietors, they i n t en d t o apply f°r„,nit stlp rrpcons caoa;rin ne --• Broo; is the line from Huyton to Aston, near tened between nine and ten miles. From this line will be a branch to Warrington, affording to that townn ft improved communication with Liverpool. Arlll ievo also being made for a line from Warrington to h.eelu top and Parkside, to shorten the distance from Warl.g do or and the sou!h to Bolton, via Kenyon, and to I ". l %iii Preston, and the north via Pa r k s ide. Th e nex t pront. a short line from Huyt on Q uarr y t o P resco t Of Helens. for the accommodation of those towns, an -jets the collieries in the vicinity ; and they propose to w i d di , o a the tvfieroonmf southuf or strHihdeuery, the Huyton London ne t a o dd ov npi E el Edge-hill, gnnesd- especiallyi forui ll ram b v i tb neb h i e o e t u traffic.it r a e r a w a c n i el They h a o n i e n t o l y w t o a n dha y e a from the main line to Wolverhampton, where it 15 f posed to arrange a centr a l s t a ti on, f or t h e j o i nt us e 0 t he veral lines of nilway now prop os i ne t o connec t wit h . of Grand Juncion at that town. The estimated coo'ot these undertakings is £1,300,000. It had tren thf.l expedient to subscribe o ne -f our th par t o f t h e caPit h 3 no rt the Liverpool and Pre s t on , M anc h ester an d Sont`7 l3 b; Railway, amounting to £400,000. By the ac counts a ce d mitred, the traffic o f th e G ran d Junction Amalga'bef, Company, during the half ye a r to the 31 s t Decen'eto exhibits a considerable increase over the aggregate es ter of the Grand Junction and Liverpool and Wirt' re' lines, in the corresponding 6 months of 1844. 1. ,.. h 3 e 10. 4 ; ceipts for the last six months amounted to £435, 1 1 a gile' 2d., and the disbur s e men t s t o £180,499 lie. /d. as the nett p rocee d s o f th e h a lf year £254,761 05 ' 0 1 0 To this amount must he added the amalgamated gi p , re', fund of £28,615 19s. ld., as sho w n in the directoll oi port of the 10th of September last ; also the sla gs ll ; £1,574 19s. 2d., being balance of Liverpool and ease. , chester reserve fund. after pay m ent o f s undry elP,jiet , and small charges. The directors recommended °, to' dend of 5 ner rent_ tv;thnot aprltirtion for 10(1 amounting, as per statement below, to £218,76 89 c i and leaving a disposable balance of £67.197 7 , ;. 8 : 0' of which the income tax, amounting to £6,38 9 1 i :1, - ; SC ; has to he mid. The chairman in mnging that ." th - Mention tobicb rerns in' and tiestr. ccunts and report be approved, called fact that both boards had given up c( io posed to take a large interest in the Wo t eat 0 Shrewsbury line. They h a d no t g i ven up the ' fl or e t ., , of supp?rtingi., hut they had declined to buy a",,Y,, s EtiA, Lumley to more auvai,.., poses. The Derby and Crewe, which now wa 4 ratio d mated with the North Staffordshire tine, wctld e i - n a vis to have their support, as we ll as th at o f t h e I,^ o ,` re s Birmingham. but with ou t th e i r ta ki ng any 51 a- a Drip es t them. With the No r th U n i on an arrange ment I liale, made, which it would be necessar y i n a short t it To submit to the proprietors for their sanction• b n not yet in a fit state to lay before them. With r e d o their present state of affairs. he would allude tc ) e s lie •• . - -e tnat Treet'i'v would movedßto h ht a lai v te e rtihn e ein s a e t : h e ieoonnGtdsreadna and dh Junction tempoott itont I.‘tio pirc:Pr3o,l„:lYettle,;l,,o:°olo.;:cf t o h f a l t v t a h r e r y iri b g e to u n r , ir o lt b e j d ec a t n e d d c to irc t u h l a a t te p d ar i t n or th t e he u r ' e u p a c p' • r c tit.• recommended an extens'on from Ashton 1 ( ) , 1 effe c o l 4 The report stated th a t thi s a l tera ti on would ' 4 "111, saving of nine or t en m il es ,. w h ereas the Fav" „, . Tve° only be about five miles, and that would be nelO t a f ioe t v bad gradients, of which there were 34 miles A''' l ` to beil 4in 100. It also would be particularly injurioos t be navigation of the Mersey, and driving polce, of the river might a ff ec t th e tid a l tower of a P ° o , - 00 1 01' every body knew was a ticklish one. Its COst.ci 0 ..n 0 pe enormous ; something like a ; upon w, 1) . 11,0v v , r to pay 5 per cent , they must have a traffic week—a traffic which it was almost iropc Bs ' or rity' anticipate. The scheme was. in fact, only rr 0 6 out of opposition to the Birkenhead Corn psnY"it t from any expected benefit to - be derived frorlyeielliipe, moved as an amendment, " That it is not e%F,,,5e,1 apply far an f lip nrolu,„ife.," 1.. _a act or parliament to make Inv r: us is...,p, , from Aston t o H uy t on ." M r . J o seph "'CV' er ° Ti,e of g e 0 ,03 Warrington, secon d e d the Amendment. — explained that th e proposed I , ne was a meOu re pri,ll' _..ting• ...4-.11, t•-•••••,oc.1.11 LW, int A y I . to prevent their bei ng i n j ure d by 4 1 comr t 1 ,10 who might get a bill on the con- of the.rou'o-t e%r'e tt f be:nz a nearcr one to L on d o n. They flit i " would pay of itself, but the protection ?td I .!ht that, the cost. Witt and the Lord Cr cs e its: tidal twn 'spect to they knew ;hat they hall lot aa;:tler large compao e4l to ou Iv , s p gre ol hfar.) AAf.r a few 3? w, , rds from dlr. ~ot elfj, Caps cgainst the arnetithr.ent, it wog I D e chair and rtegativtl by an Troi", r ,` " , 00 1 '0 mover and secinder voting for it. Ti , e moved that a dividend of five. per cei.t. be Pa , 16th instant, whicb concluded the mecti°g* The SWfepstakes of 3 sovs. each were won, in three heats, by Mr. Turner's Brewood beating Delmore and two ethers. FOOT It A CES. NielrotA! and the On Monday, a foot ram between Peter rig Sportsman cattle off at the Grapes mtis 6 to 4 on t he3t vet ly by Sportsman giving in at that distance from the w:nuin; post—A match has been made between Lowery and [to. gers to run round the race course for .£5 a side ; a dep.si' has been made at Mr. Peacock's, Drury-lane, Newcastle, IRELAND. The Tullamore Board of Guardians have lately adopted a petition in favour of Repeal. An Irish paper mentions the case of a sick man at Thornend-gate, who, in a fit of delirium, got up and ate several bank-notes by way of disappointment to his ex pectant heirs. At Coolmen, in the county Clare, a few days ago, in a fit of religious enthusiasm, a man nailed hi s f ee t an d his left hand to the post of his bed, in imitation of the cruci fixion of our Saviour. A bar of gold, weighing 30 ounces avordupois, and worth £ll5 10s. Od. was found a few days ago in a field near Blackwatertown, Armagh, about eight feet below the surface. About a thousand silver coins have been found at Borrisokane, Tipperary. They consist of groats of Henry IV. and silver pennies of Henry 11. The Cork Constitution states, that a house in that town nets £17,000 by the recent decision, noticed in our last, relative to the return of the duties on corn released the day before the measure of 1842 came into operation. The proprietor of a baking establishment in Cork-will, it is said, have £2OOO returned to him. AGRARIAN MURDER.—On Friday night a party of men invested several houses on the lands of Dangan, and in one house occupied by a widow woman and her son named Leary, they beat the young man in such a dreadful manner that he died before morning. The cowardly ruffians also beat the old woman, breaking her collar bone, and other wise dreadfully abusing her.—Clare Journal. The precautionary measure of quartering a troop of Light Dragoons in the town of Galway, where serious disturbances were, and are still apprehended, has excited great indignation among some of the lower classes. On Tuesday morning a fellow was engaged placarding the town with an " address from the Ciaddagh people to the men of Galway," calling upon them, as Government had sent them troops in place of food, to unite to a man, and drive the military out of the town. The placard was in manuscript, and is stated to have been of a most seditious nature. THE POTATOES IN THE NORTH OF IRELAND —The following is from the Evening Mail:—" A gentleman, who has more knowledge of Ireland, and more experi ence in potato crops than alLt.kupnamissioners and all the cabinet ministers put ffietlier, writes thus in a letter received' this morning : " Vv'arrenpoint, Feb. 10. " ' There is a great quantity of potatoes exported from this port every week for Liverpool, and no sign of famine here yet. I came from Bangor yesterday, 42 miles across the country, and it is a curious sight to see, at this time of year, such stack-yards, and hundreds of acres of pota toes undug, in which way they are keeping well—i. e., the good keeping good—the bad not worse.' " REPEAL ASSOCIATION —The prospect of the Hall was rather blue on Monday, owing probably to the combined influence of the weather and the absence of any novelty to stimulate the patriotic interest of the greasy tilers who usually attend. The chair, on the motion of W. S. O'Brien, Agitator pro tern., was taken by Mr. R. A. Fitz gerald, who, deriving proportionate eloquence from a mi serable scrap of paper which he held in his hand, pro ceeded to congratulate the association on the numerous and respectable (!) attendance which they exhibit every week, and to declare his.readiness as a landed proprietor to forego his private interests for the public weal, and support the abolition of the corn laws. Mr. O'Neil Daunt called on the landlords•to join the "national" ranks, now that the only barrier which he stated hitherto to have pre vented them—that of private interest—was about to be destroyed by the removal of the monopoly in the English market, 'which they apparently possess. The Head Paci ficator, M. J. A. O'Neill, Alderman O'Brien (the new " rnimber" for Cashel), and Mr. H. Grattan, M.P., also addressed the meeting. The rent fur the week was de clared to be £268. FALSE REPORTS OF FAMINE.—Some days ago a We terford paper sent forth an awful statement to the effect that the long threatened famine had set in at Dungarvon, and that about 5000 persons, or about five-sixths of the inhabitants of the town, were in a state of absolute starva tion. Of course the most was made of this in all the free trade journals. The fact turns out to be that the poor are not even in as destitute a condition as they were this time last year, when provisions were abundant and moderate ; and the workhouse, capable of holding 700 persons, now contains only 369. A large proportion of the inhabitants are fishermen, and the following little fact, whilst it iliac states their pride, demonstrates that they are not so badly off as represented. It appears that a sum of £215 was collected for them in the town a short time ago for the purpose of enabling them to improve their tackling, but they took huff at the conditions proposed by the donors, and only £l5 were taken, the recnain'nz- £2OO being still at their service, if they think proper to subscribe to the very reasonable terms on which it is offered. After this exposl we should hope that due regard should be paid to panic statements from the provinces. THE POTATO CROP.—A , the meeting at Enniskillen, on Tuesday, the Rev. Mr. Richardson said he considered that nothing that Sir Robert Peel could do would be suf --t to meet t" • or-- timer). ...le ruinous measure tie had proposed. Ireland was an agricultural country, and the great mass of the people mere supported by the proddce of the land ; and, therefore, deprive her of protection to agriculture, and she must go down. Every class of persons, from the highest to the lowest in the land, must deteriorate and grow worse every day. He would ask the respectable shopkeepers of the town, then present, if their shops were ever better filled than they were at present ? and this arose from the farmers around having more means at their disposal ; but would this be the case if the value of their agricultural produce were decreased? He remem bered that two or three years ago a far greater depression arising from the bad state of the crops, existed than there now did. He remembered that two or three years ago— the failure of the potato crop—that failure which Sir R. Peel now produced in support of his argument, had been as great as in this present season of di-tress. The shops were deserted. Even when potatoes were 11d. a s'one distress prevailed; there was plenty of provisions, but no money to buy them. It would not be a sufficient com pensation that the lands should be received from cesses to which they were subject. He would go far in his disappro bation of Sir Robert Peel. How could they place de- RAILWAY 11V11: I LIGE At the Great Western Hallway meeting a dividend of 4 per cent. was declared. A dividend of £1 15s. per share has been declared on the London and Brighton Railway. The Liverpool, 01 mskirk, and Preston Railway Bill has passed the Standing Orders Committee. For the last month of the present half-year £457,603 has been received as railway receipts, being an increase over the corresponding period of 1845 of £64,843. BUXTON, MACCLESFIELD, CONGLETON, AND CREW R • ILWA Y.—This company have determined only to apply for a line from Coogleton to Crewe in the present session. The wooden viaduct of the South Devon Railway had a narrow escape of being totally burnt, in consequence of the negligence of some workmen engaged in repairing it allowing the pitch pot to boil over. A large slip of an embankment supporting the down rail of the Great Western Railway occurred On Saturday night. No lives were lost, but the damage will be about £lOOO. At a numerous meeting of shareholders in the Edin burgh, Leith, and Granton Railway, held in Mr. Daw son's office on Thursday, it was resolved to sanction the proposed amalgamation with the Edinburgh and Northern. A very crowded meeting at Runcorn have resolved to petition parliament in favour of the Huyton and - Aston Branch Lire of the Grand Junction Company, which crosses the Mersey at Runcorn. Messrs. Brunel and Gooch have projected an engine which they calculate will run eighty miles per hour; it is to outdo the atmospheric. This engine is to have 18 inch creased diameter of boil Atain 270 tubes The John Bull says several of the aldermen of London engaged in railway speculations have been served with writs for their. liabilities. One bas received 175, another said, have winged their way to sunnier climes, and others hold themselves ready for an early flight. We learn from Vienna that the two viaducts. thrown over the Mutlau, in the environs of Melnick (Bohemia), for the use of the Vienna and Prague Railroad, were lately washed down by the flood. The Government has at once the railroad may be •topped for as short a time as poesible. At the Kenyon Junction, on the Liverpool and Man chester Railway, on Thursday last, two luggage trains came in contact, whereby the engine If:inning to the Liverpool and Manchester line was destroyed, and several wagons belonging to the Bolton and Leigh Company OW I shattered. No person was hurt. GREAT NORTH AND SOUTH WALES RAILWAY.—The majority of tha shareholders have agreed to disAolve the Dears a difficulty i effvt.ting this result by the intettltrence of the law, the so licitor to the company opposing any such me6su; - e. A committee is appointed from among the body of share holders to look after general interests. The Chester Town Council have determined to pcti ' ion against the Birkenhead and Holyhead Junction and Mold Extension, with its hi-niches ' • the Birkenhead, Chester, Mold, Ruabon, and Vale of Llangollen ; the Liverpool, Birkenhead. Parkgate, and Holyhead Junction; and the Mold Junction, as they would injuriously affect the river Dee. ROYAL NORTH OF SPAIN RAI►.WAY.—We learn from the Yorkshire Gazette that Mr. George Stephenson, who went over to Spain with Sir Joshua Walmsley, for the purpose of investigating this scheme, found that, instead of a revenue of near £50,000 a•year, it could not have one of more than £6,000, and, consequently, he dissuaded Sir Joshua from having anything to do with the scheme. RAILWAY " REPUDIATORS".—In cOnsegjien s cTof the decision lately given by the judges in reference to scrip transactions, in which they affirm the l ega li ty o f a ll sa l es .• • ••• a5t5,....4,4, • ,K. , 01..1 GU, beverai actions, nave been commenced against parties who have declined to make good their bargains. Amongst others, proceedings have been taken against certain parties in Preston. where the sum claimed amounts to unw.ra. of 4 '1 Ann Feb. 17, 1846. pi,; th e fu ns f 'rti 4,0