The Press.
London, England, 1855-11-03 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

thirty-eight hands held up in favour of, and thirty
against it.
The further amendment of Mr. Jones was then
carried by a majority of four, there being thirty-two
for, and twenty-eight against it.
The following members were then appointed
to confer with the Government upon the

subject of the bill :—Alderman Finnis, Alderman
Cubitt, Alderman Eagleton, Mr. W. Jones, Mr.
Abraham, Mr. T. H. Fry, Mr. T. H. Hall, Mr. W. L.
Taylor, Mr. T. Parker, Deputy Hale, Mr. Lloyd, Mr.
Wood, Mr. Ross, Mr. Cux, and Mr. Gresham.
Some further business was then transacted, the
present of a bust of the Queen by Mr. Durham was
accepted by the Council, and the court then ad-
journed.

MR. PACKE, M.P., ON AGRICULTURAL
STATISTICS.
AT the meeting of the LOUGHBOROUGH Agricultural
Association, a few days since, the chairman, C. W.
Packe, Esq., M.P., made the following remarks on
the subject of agricultural statistics, the importance
of which Mr. Packe did not appear to recognise.
After alluding to the committee of the House of
Lords which sat last session "to inquire into the
best mode of obtaining accurate agricultural statis-
tics," Mr. Packe observed that he totally differed in
opinion with this committee as to the general utility
of such returns, and that, as far as the returns ob-
tained were concerned, they afforded a curious
instance with regard to the feeling of the farmers
against the importance or advantage of the collection
of such statistics :

From the reports which the committee had received
from the poor-law inspectors be should just read extracts.
The reports from ten counties out of thirty-two were strong
indications of the feelings of the farmers throughout Eng-
land upon the subject—although they would bear in mind
that the matter had been only tried, and was merely an ex-
periment in these eleven counties—or not so many—ten
and a half. The counties selected were Suffolk, Norfolk,
Hampshire, Wiltshire, Leicestershire, Berkshire, Worces-
tershire, Brecknockshire, Shropshire, Derbyshire, and the
West Riding of Yorkshire. How, then, had the farmers
received the poor-law inspectors in their endeavours to
obtain these returns for the Board of Trade? In Norfolk
and Suffolk the same poor-law inspector had reported that
in several unions the co-operation of the guardians had
been refused, and that hostility had proved itself to exist
through the agency of market-place and market-table dis-
cussion (which, as they knew, they were very apt to have
also in that place, Loughborough). This had been stated
in documents presented to the House of Commons. In
some of the unions, the documents in question went on to
say, success had been impeded by the unconquerable pre-
judices of occupiers, and large occupiers, whom it was
impossible to reach—and if reached, impossible to con-
vince by argument ( Laughter.) In Hampshire and
Wiltshire, again, the experiment of collecting agri-
cultural statistics in that district, the inspector re-
gretted to say, had " failed." He attributed this to the
refusal to report (so essential) of a numerous body of avi-
culturists, who had demurred on the grounds of the injurious
tendency, insidious nature, and mischievous character of
the inquiry; and it was thought that the Government had
an eye to taxation, or some other thing of the kind, inju-
rious to the interests of the farmers. In their own county
(Leicestershire), as the gentlemen he was addressing were
well aware, the Loughborough Union had considerably
resisted the inquiry; great resistance had been shown in
another union; in Biladen Union it had been found totally
impossible to obtain any report at all. Mr. Ingram, the
clerk to the Bilsden Union, had written to Mr. Weale,
the inspector, in January, Isa, regretting to inform
him that the Agricultural Statistics Committee had come
to the conclusion that the serious difficulties and opposi-
tion thrown in their way rendered it impossible to com•
plete the returns of last year. ( Hear, hear.) Several
classifiers apprehended that the effect would be to lace
the guardians and ratepayers in antagonistic positrons,
were the law carried out. This was, therefore, the feeling
in five counties. Now, in Berkshire, it was found that
there was a general and determined opposition to the
adoption of the measure; and it having become desirable
to hold a special meeting to meet objections and explain
away difficulties, it was found to be in vain to attempt
assembling the board of guardians on any day hut that of
their ordinary meetings, from their distrust of the inquisi-
torial objects, utility, and consequences of the proposed
returns. In Worcestershire and Brecknockshire, the only
counties where the measure had been tried, only seven out
of thirty.five unions had complied. In Shropshire and
Derbyshire, the prejudice that they would open an undue
interference with private business had taken hold of the
minds of many wealthy and respectable farmers. And what
the inspector spoke of as most provoking was, that several
of the committee had themselves refused to fill up the
schedules!
After drawing a parallel between the case of a
London shopkeeper compelled to give in returns of
his unsaleable goods on hand at the end of the
season, and a farmer with his stores of corn, Mr.
Packe concluded with an expression of his desire to
take that course which was the most beneficial for
the farmers, though at present he could not exactly
see that such would be attained by acquiescing in
the measure for the returns of agricultural statis-
tics :
Yet there were many opinions prevalent upon the sub-
ject, and he wished to take the course which was beat and
most beneficial for the agricultural interests. But as a:

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present advised, with these documents before him, and
knowing the opinions of the inspectors of ten counties, he
felt obliged to say that he should have sumo difficulty in
being able to acquiesce in this measure.

DINNER TO LIEUTENANT PALMER, urn

HUSSARS.
THE little town of Wrexham was the scene on
Thursday week (the anniversary of the battle of Ba-
laklava) of great rejoicings and a grand dinner in
honour of the return of Lieutenant Palmer, the only
son of Sir Roger Palmer, Bart., of Cefn-park.
Shortly before five o'clock, an escort of yeomanry
cavalry arrived at the park, and conducted Lieute-
nant Palmer into the town, which was decorated with
flags and triumphal arches. The dinner was served
at the Wynnstay Arms, and about two hundred of the
neighbouring gentry and tenantry were assembled.
The chair was filled by Colonel Sir W. Lloyd. After
the cloth had been removed the usual loyal toasts
were given, and the toast of " The Army and Navy "
was responded to by the Earl of Harrington, who
alluded incidentally to the heroism of 4isla
in leaving home and friends to seek her sick
brother in the camp to nurse and aid him, after
which the chairman in a brief speech proposed the
toast of the evening, which was received with the
most enthusiastic cheers. Lieutenant Palmer, after
some minutes, rose, and, in returning thanks for the
kindness done him, briefly sketched the services of
the light brigade during the war :
- - - -

It is about thirteen months since we first landed in the
Crimea, in lialamita Bay. A few days afterwards the
affair of Bulganac took place, in which my regiment and
the 13th had the honour of firing the first shots at the
enemy. (Cheers.) The next day was the battle of Alma,
at which. however, the cavalry were little more than specta-
tors. But our time was coming. On the anniversary of
this very day was fought the battle of Balaklays, with
which you have done me the honour of connecting my
name. (Loud cheers.) I thank you for it, and I own
that I am proud of having been a part►cilator in that day's
action, but I must say that I consider the credit of that
day was due more to the soldiers than to the officers. In
foreign armies one would have found plenty of officers to
lead such a charge, but in what army would one have found
soldiers to follow as ours did ? (Tremendous cheering.)
Though surrounded on every side by the enemy, though
apparently all was over with them, though suffering under
a withering fire, and seeing their comrades falling in heaps
around them, not a man flinched or thought of shifting tor
himself, but all looked to their officers, and followed them
as if they had been on an ordinary parade. (Deafening
cheers.) It was this that saved us, for when the Russians,
who had got to our rear in greatly superior force, saw that,
though diminished in numbers, we still kept some sort of
order, instead of charging us, which if they bad done I
should probably not have been here to-day to tell the tale,
they got out of our way and let us pass. When I returned
to the ground from which we had moved off, I saw a sight
such as I trust / shall never see again, for out of five entire
regiments, which but one short half-hour before had re-
ceived the order to advance, you could not then have
formed as many troops. (Loud applause.)
After describing the battle of Inkermann, in which
the cavalry took no part, in a few graphic words be
struck out the sufferings of the men in winter:—
Living in our tents without any means of making a fire,
with our clothes in rags, with hardly a boot to our feet,
having to sleep in the nud with nothing but a cloak and
blanket to protect us—such was our life. But all this
sank into insignificance when compared with the sufferings
of our infantry, who, in addition to these hardships, bad
to go, some of them every third day, and some of them
every other day, into the trenches. (Cheers.) This
description, however, only applies to the earlier portion of
the winter, for when the accounts of what we were under-
going reached home, the British people, with a sympathy
for which I am sure every soldier out there feels deeply
and sincerely grateful, did all they could to ameliorate our
condition, and succeeded, for in the month of February we
were living in comparative luxury. (Loud and repeated
cheers.) Since then we have suffered little except
sickness, under which many a poor fellow sank who had
escapecrall tic perils'of The battle and all the hardships of
the winter.
Colonel Biddulph having complimented the gal-
lant young officer upon the perspicuity and modest
candour with which ho had described the scenes of
his services, various toasts were proposed, and the
meeting (the largest and most influential over held
in Wrexham) broke up at a late hour.

GENERALS BENKENDORFF AND STACKELBERG,
the commissioners despatched to the aid of Priecil
Gortschakoff in the Crimea, have sent the Emperor
Alexander " tranquillising accounts " relative to the
strength, position, and health of the Russian army
in the Crimea.
TILE AMERICANS who believed that they had obtained
a safe entry to the Japanese waters, have been
brought up on an interpretation of the treaty
which will go far to nullify all their anticipated ad-
vantages. The article. in questien limits them to a
given distance up the harbour of Nangasaki or Simoda.
THE APPOINTMENT OF BARON PROKISCH to be
Intemuncio and Minister Plenipotentiary at Con:
stantinople, and of Count Rechberg Rothenlowen to
be Presidial Minister at Frankfort, has been officially
promulgated at Vienna.

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