The Press.
London, England, 1856-03-01 00:00:00

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202 THE PRESS.

tolitiral.

THE QUESTION OF JEWISH DISABILITIES was
brought forward before a meeting of the city of
London electors, held at the Loudon Tavern on
Wednesday, Mr. H. J. Prescott in the chair, to hear
the report read relative to the representation
of London, as affected by the civil disabilities of the
Jews. The report recorded the number of petitions
presented at different towns for the abolition of the
oath of abjuration, and cited the various acts of the
Legislature recognising the policy upon which the
electors of London have acted in their return of
Baron Rothschild, and concluded with an appeal to
the electors either to give way at once, or to per-
severe in their course, by a solemn affirmation of the
justice of the cause they had adopted. The report
was received and adopted with one dissentient voice.
Mr. Prescott then moved that a committee should be
appointed, and that the duty of that committee
should be to watch the progress of the bill for the
repeal of the oath of abjuration—to prepare an
aidress to the public, expository of the views enun-
ciated in the report, and to take such other steps in
furtherance of the objects of the report as they may
consider to be desirable. That it should be further
resolved that the meeting be desired to take that op-
portunity to renew the repeated declaration of the
Liberal electors of London, that they will not relax
their efforts, to which they were pledged by the
return of Baron Rothschild, until the full and final
woomplishment •f Jewish emancipation. Mr.
Whiteside seconded the motion, which was agreed
to. Baron Lionel Rothschild, M.P., in returning
thanks, said that, so long as it pleased the electors
of London to call on him to represent them, he would
not fail to join in the efforts of his fellow-citizens to
maintain the rights of the electors to vindicate the
privileges of the House of Commons, and to achieve
the crowning act of religions freedom which it was
the chief object of his return to Parliament to
realise. He begged to return his cordial thanks to
his fellow-citizens for the confidence which they
ware pleased to repose in him.
THE BOARD Or TRADE AND THE LIVERPOOL LOCAL
MARINE BOARD have lately had a serious misunder-
standing, which has resulted in the resignation of
the Liverpool Board. The overbearing behaviour of
the BJard of Trade is alleged by the Liverpool Mail
as the cause of this step on the part of the Marine
Board. Considerable hindrance to the business of
the wort has ensued.

SIR GEORGE GREY'S POLICE BlLL.—Special meet-
ings of the various town councils have been held
during the week to consider the provisions of the
bill. The Oxford Town Council, out of thirty voters,
carried, by a majority of twenty-two, a motion for a
petition to the House, that the measure was entirely
subversive of the principle of local self-government.
—The Colchester Town Council, on Monday, met
and unanimously agreed to a petition, pointing out
thor. should the bill become law it would "entail very
nvavy additional expenses upon the several boroughs
by an unnecessary addition to the police force, which
would be very insufficiently compensated for by the
Government paying only a fourth part of the expense
of such force."—At the Norwich Town Council,
after an animated debate, a petition against the bill
was decided on by a majority of twenty-eight to eight.
—At Exeter, the Town Council unanimously
ad )pled a petition against the bill, and the Mayor
convened a public meeting for Monday next to con
Bider the measure.—Public meetings were held in
Manchester and Salford on Wednesday evening to
oppose the bill—The Worcester Town Council
bas also agreed to petition the House of Comm ons
against the bill.

Vttropolitan.

LAW AMENDMENT SOCIETY.

THE annual general meeting of this society was held
on Saturday—Lord Brougham in the chair. Tbere
was a full attendance of members, including Lord
Denman, Lord Stanley, M.P., Sir J. l'akington, ➢I.P.,
Mr. Ewart, M.P., Sir Stafford Northcote, M.P.,
Viscount Ebrington, M.P., the Lord Mayor, Mr.
Napier, M.P., Sir Fitzroy Kelly, M.P.,
Lord Baouosam, after some preliminary remarks,
called upon Lord Stanley to move the first resolution.
Lora STANLEY said the resolution was, that in the
opinion of the meeting the attention of the friends
or law reform should at the present time be directed
to certain subjects:—

of opinion amongst the most eminent minds in the legal
profession. Next came the assimilation of the commercial
law of the thee° countries, England, Ireland, and Scotland,
and the amendment of the laws relating to women, to which
attention had been called more in a popular than a pro-
fessional manner, and in which no deficiency of interest
bad been found. Then came the amendment of the law
relating to criminal breaches of trust, and the improve-
ment of legal education; and lastly, the establishment of a
system of legal statistics. Something in the nature of an
authorised report of legal judgments—something that
could be referred to, if not with complete, at least with
approximate accuracy—was most desirable and necessary,
and he believed it would not bo difficult to have them
supplied. (Hear, bear.)

After some remarks from Sir E. Perry and Mr.
Napier in favour of the appointment of a Minister of
Justice,

Sir J. PAIINGTON called the attention of the meet •
ing to the amendment of the criminal law. It was
now very generally admitted that infant criminals
should not be dealt with on the same principle as adult
criminals. It was said in the House of Commons
that this principle was being tried as an experiment,
but be ventured to say that the time for experiment
was past- The law on the subject of juvenile
offenders was extremely deficient. Too much was
left in this country to private charity and benevo-
lence.

Sir S. Northcote and Mr. Adderley called the at-
tention of the meeting to the state of law as
it affected women, and to the religious difficulty of
passing a general measure on reformatories.
The CaLtaxAN said be thought that the difference
of opinion on the subject of reformatories was more
verbal than real, and that Sir John Fat '

.ust. air John Pakington only
viewed the subject from an advanced point. The
same difference between private benevolence and
Government aid affected the more general question
of education as it did the question of reformatories.
He trusted that some system, combining the two
principles, might be discovered.
A meeting was also held on Tuesday, under the
presidency of Lord Brougham, to hear the report of
their committee upon the Partnership Bill. The
report recommended certain additions and altera-

tins in the clauses, which gave rise to an animated
discussion between Mr. Slaney, M.P., Mr. Lawrence,
Mr. Hill, and others. The report was ultimately
adopted. A discussion then arose upon the joint-
stock company subject, and was adjourned at a late
hour.

Tax LORD MAYOR gave a grand banquet on Wed-
nesday evening in honour of Mr. Buchanan, the
American Minister, previous to his departure from
this country. Unfortunately, Mr. Buchanan in the
early part of the week received a special invitation to
dine with her Majesty the same evening, and hence
was compelled to absent himself from the City ban-
quet. The leading American merchants, members
representing the commercial constituencies, and a
distinguished party of ladies and gentlemen, were
present. The Lord Mayor, in prefacing the toast of
" The Canada Club," spoke of the rapid growth and
development of the United States, of their reciprocal
interests with England, of the necessity of perfect
friendship between the two countries, and of his
desire that Mr. Buchanan in returning to America
should bear with him the assurance that nothing
consistent with the national honour should be left
undone to insure a settlement of the differences
between the two countries without recourse to war.
The Earl of Elgin, in returning thanks for " The
Lords," briefly pointed out the success of the principle
of self government in Canada. In the absence of
the representatives of Manchester, Mr. Cobden
replied to the toast of " Prosperity to its trade."
Pointing out the unity of interest between the two
countries, he said he believed that no rational man
in England encouraged the exhibition of a spirit of
menace or hostility towards America. No doubt
America had her faults, but she owed, and must
ever owe, her distinguishing characteristics to this
country : _ _ _

SATURDAY,
...........,..__

Amongst others they had certainly derived from us their
aggressive instinct. He once met an American lady in
Italy to whom he remarked how strange it was that her
country, with its millions of acres of waste land, was not
contented, but was constantly craving after the lands of its
neighbours. " Well," she said, " the habit is certainly •
bad one ; but we came honestly by the propensity, for we
inherit it from you." (Laughter).

THE EXPEDIENCY OF REMOVING NEWGATE was
reported on at the Court of Aldermen, held on
Tuesday. The report of the committee entered
into the matter at great length, and stated that,
from the insufficient number of the cells and the
peculiar structure of the building, a satisfactory
classification or perfect supervision of the prisoners
was impossible. Groups of men were now compelled
to be locked up together for many hours without the
presence of an officer, whereby they were free to
arrange plans for escape. In conclusion, the report
submits two plans for consideration—one, proposing
structural alterations by which 120 separate cells will
be given at a costa 10,0001., enabling the governor to
establish some degree of separation and supervision;

and the second, proposing the entire demolition ot
the courts and of the gaol, and the reconstruction of
the courts and such a portion of the gaol as might
suffice for the custody of the prisoners during trial,
the prison at Holloway at the same ume being so
far enlarged as to receive the prisoners now kept at
Newgate. The cost of this plan would amount to
78,000/. The report was adopted, and referred back
to the committee to act as they thought fit.
THE STATE OF ST. PANCRAS WORKHOUSE was
brought before the parish authorities on Tuesday in
a report by Dr. Jones, forwarded by the Poor law
Board. Anything more disgusting or disgraceful in
such an institution can scarcely be conceived. The
report states that the offensive smells in the wards
were so intolerable as to be a prevalent cause of
disease and death. The air in some wards contained
2.75 per cent. of carbonic acid, and in others 2 per cent.
and 1.84. The wards were literally crammed with
inmates, without regard to decency or order, and
fifteen persons were nightly stuffed into a cellar to
sleep. The arrangements for out-door relief were
most defective. The poor, from want of room, were
kept from morning till seven at night waiting out-
side in the wet and cold. The report concludes with
a strong recommendation for the immediate inter-

Amongst the list of subjects so recommended to the
notice of the members, the following were the most im-
portant :—Finit, the appotntment of a Minister ofJUSUCe—
an officer whose functions, he believed, at the present
time would be extremely valuable. (Hear.) Next, the
amendment of the criminal law, and the appointment of a
public prosecutor. Then the consolidation of the Statute
Law. Next came the reform of the ecclesiastical courts : a
questiontwhich for the last twenty years had been agitated,
and on which he believed there was a general noncurrent..