The Press.
London, England, 1857-03-21 00:00:00

°gall) anb Volta.

BACON AND HIS WIFE were finally examined on
Wednesday before Mr. Elliott, at Lambeth, and fully
committed for trial on the charge of murdering their
two children.

Tun adjourned examination of Mr. Esdaile, late
Governor of the British Bank, took place on Wed-
nesday at the Bankruptcy Court. It is impossible to
give a lengthened report of the proceedings. It may
be sufficient to say that Mr. Esdaile admitted that
when a call was made in S. pt., '56, of 56/. &share, he
never paid a farthing. That in Feb., 1856, although
the bank was known to be hopelessly insolvent, he
sanctioned the publication of a flourishing report,
and the declaration of a six per cent. dividend; and
again in August a similar report was published, and
a declaration of four per cent. was made. Several
letters was then read from Mr. Esdaile to Mr.
Cameron, with the view of enticing persons of rank
to become shareholders, none of which were very
creditable to the honour of the writer. The exami-
nation was adjourned till Wednesday next.
THE ST. PAUL'S, KNIGHTSBRIDGE, AND ST. BAR-
BABAS, PIMLICO, CHURCH DISPUTES Will be finally
adjudged this afternoon, at three p.m., by the Court
of Privy Council. The decision is looked forward to
with great anxiety.
Two GREAT WILL CAUSES have been tried this
week. The first, "Lovett v. Lovett," was to decids
whether Miss Elizabeth Lovett, of Liscombe, Nor-
folk, was in a sane state of mind when, in October,
185:1, she made a will leaving her estate to a Captain
Lovett, having in the May previous left the property
by will to another relative, the Rev. R. Lovett. Some
amusing evidence was given to ehow how the rev.
gentleman had attempted to regain his influence
over the late Miss Lovett; hut he had mortally
offended her by ordering her butler to clean one of
the windows of the old family chapel at Liscombe.
The jury, after three days, decided in favour of the
validity of the will. The other case, tried at the
Northern Circuit, was whether Sarah Radbourne and
five other persons bad forged the will of the late Mr.
Jackson, of Stapleford, devising all his property, to
the extent of 30,0001., to the said Sarah Radbourne,
his housekeeper. The ease was fully proved by the
next heir at law, and four of the prisoners, including
the housekeeper, condemned to two years hard
labour,

MARCH 21,1857.

THE CHINESE AND PERSIAN WARS.

FREEMASONS.-HALL was crowded on Monday evening
to hear Mr. Layard, M.P., and Mr. Cohden, M.P.,
express their opinions upon the Chinese and
Persian wars. Mr. Roebuck, M.P., presided on the
occasion. _ _ _

Ai LAYAI2D first a blressed the meeting, and
observed that in the Russian war we had a foe
worthy of us t' contend with ; but in this Chinese
war we were slaughtering defenceless people and
destroying undefended cities. Now, the Government
were trading upon their defeat—a cry of a " factious
conspiracy " was got up :
As far as he was concerned, he not only for himself, but
on the part of forty or fifty us liberal•minded men as ever
sat in Parliament, protested against that assertion. Was
that a factious man (pointing to Mr. Roebuck)? Was
that a man given to coalitions? Was Mr. Mind a factious
man? Was Mr. Fox a factious man? Were those men
who acted according to their own judgment factious men ?
Away, then, with the trumpery charge of coalition. The
thing was too absurd to allude to in such a meeting as that
he was addressing, and he believed the country was rapidly
recovering from the delusion which it had suited the pur-
poses of a party to lead it into.

But what had been Lord Palmerston's conduct?
Ilad he manfully supported Si,' John Bowring ?

No: but he hail complained of a coalition between the
Liberals and the Peelites. Why, he himself had dis•
avowed Sir John Bowring, and had gone to two Peelites
to send them out to Hong Kong to take Sir John
liowring's place. How could lie have the face to turn
round upon those who had given him that very same ad.
vice? (Cheers.)
Mr. Lavard then proceeded to refer to the various
incidents which brought about the rupture with
Persia, and urged that Mr. Murray had displayed a
want of judgment and shown great unfitness for his
post, by refusing conditions which had been offered
by the Shah. But what had been obtained by the
war could have been obtained without the war :

He was told that in dealing with Easterns they should
exhibit a spirit different from that which regulated their
policy with regard to Western nations, but he repudiated
that doctrine. The only sound policy was to deal justly
with all nations. (Cheers.) Once their character for
honesty and straightforwardness was gone, England would
sink in the eyes of the world. Place the history of these
two wars in the hands of a philosophical historian, such
as Mr. Grote ; tell him to write of them as he would if
they had occurred in distant ages, and would he not say
that they, a great commercial nation, able to command a
vast force, had taken advantage of their strength—(' No,
►►o," and cheers)—to force their trade on a weak and
unwilling people; and when he cattle to point out the
fall of the nation, would he not trace it to such crimes ?
(Cheers.) The vote of the House of Commons had
condemned the policy which led to the assault on
Canton; it was a cruel and an iniquitous policy; and
he believed the voice of the country would ratify their ver•
diet. (Cheers.)

Mr. COBDEN said ho had heard a great deal about
the gentlemen on the other side who voted with him
on the China debate, and he was told that he must
not give credit to the sincerity of their votes ; but he
had heard nothing of the gentlemen who sat on the
same side as he did who voted with the Government,
and who to his knowledge in many cases, and he
believed on his conscience in a majority of cases,
voted against their better judgment, but who voted
for the Government because they did not like to
commit themselves to an adverse vote without
counting altogether the consequences. Then, as to
this cry of conspiracy and of coalition which has
been raised, tney should not have raised it. if it were
wished to serve them for more than twenty lour
hours :

He had heard many people pass judgment on the House
of Commons, and declare that their verdict was an unjust
one ; and he had asked them, " Have you read the docu.
ments ?" and invariably the answer had been " No." ( Hear,
hear.) But no one could judge without reading the docu-
ments. (Hear, hear.) We had all heard of the Welsh
magistrate. who always decided after hearing one side of
the case, because, he said, " if he heard the other, it puzzled
him so." But these gentlemen were worse than that, for
they didn't read either aide of the question at all. ( Laugh-
ter.) Mr. Layard had spoken of the peace•at•anyprice
party; he did not know whether the hon. gentleman included
him in the number. He thought he had cleared himself of
that imputation. He had certainly declared in the House
of Commons that he thought ten millions ayesr was enough
to pay for our defences—and the Duke of Wellington did
with a very little more—but at the same time, be had stated
that if a hundred millions were necessary to defend these
shores from an enemy, he would vote the money as cheer-
fully as any one. (Cheers.) But this was not a question
of peace at any price ; but the question whether we should
go 12,000 or 14,000 miles off, and rush hopelessly and
needlessly into a war with a people who had very little
means to defend themselves, and who never attacked us ?
Now, with respect to the elections, he would ask
were the people of England about to show a less
regard for justice and moderation than had been
shown in the House of Commons ?

The eyes of the world are upon the contest that is now
going on: (Cheers.) Lord Palmerston has no other policy.
He does not go to the country upon any question of internal
reform. The qbestion before the country is whether you
will endorse those violent acts which have been committed