The Express.
London, England, 1847-03-16 00:00:00

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

THIS DAY, Four u'Clock.
The steamer Cambria, from Boston, and the screw-
ship Sarah Sands, from New York, may now be con-
sidered due. There is no account from Liverpool of
the snivel of either vessel at the time of going to
ess. We may possibly receive late American news
atime for a second edition.

IN the House of Lords, last nigt.t, Lord Bootmum,
on presenting a petition from certain Protestant dis-
• seaters against the government plan of education,
observed, that he did not concur in the prayer of the
:petition, and was astonished at the senseless clamour
• which was being raised by the dissenters against the
! proposed regulations of the committee of the privy
council.—The. Marquis of LANSDOWNE was wholly
at a lees to conceive what there was in the promul-
gated minutes of the council to excite the jealousy of
that intelligent body, the dissenters. There was not
in the proposed plan a single benefit intended for the
community at large, which was not so guarded, as to
make it accessible to all sects indifferently ; its very
groundwork was religious freedom for all classes of
the community.—Lord STANLEY, on presenting a
petition from the grand jury of the North Riding of
Tipperary against the indiscriminate sale of fire-
arms in Ireland, stated, on the authority of the
head constable of Clonmel, that large supplies of fire-1
arms had been recently imported into that town,
some of them being sold by auction in the public
streets, at prices varying from half-a-crown to thirty
shillings, the purchasers being the lowest class of
labourers and boys, whose only means were
derived from the wages they received on
the public works. That it appeared the
Birmingham stock was exhausted, and that the
market was now being supplied from the pawn-
brokers' shops of London and elsewhere. At one of
the public sales to which he had referred, the auc-
tioneer, in descanting on the merits of his wares, held
out one gun, exclaiming, " Buy this, boys, it is a re-
ceipt in full for the November rent;" and, on putting
up another lot, said, " Here's one warranted to
settle with an agent at 150 yards." lie had also re-
ceived information that, in a district with which he
was well acquainted, persons engaged. on the public
works had been seen practising ball-firing in a field,
at a hat placed on the top of a spade handle, and every
successful shot was hailed with loud cheers. It must,
he thought, be admitted that much mischief might re-
sult from the indiscriminate sale of fire-arms, under
the circumstances and in the manner to which he had
referred.
In the House of Commons, Mr. Morrison's rail-
way committee of last session was reappointed, in
consequence of au irregularity on the part of that hon.
member in drawing up and presenting the report,
without its having received the sanction of the commit-
tee as required by the orders of the house. Sir J. C.
HOBHOUSE, in answer to Mr. MACKINNON, said the
reason why the same terms had not been offered by
the East India Company to the North of India Rail-
way Company as to the Southern Companies, was,
that the latter referred to two experimental lines,
which embraced both the upper and lower provinces
of Bengal, which were works of considerable diffi-
culty and large expense, while the former did not
partake of those elements. The right hon. baronet,
also, in answer to Captain LAYARD, intimated, as
regarded the Khelat and Guznes prize-money, that
orders had gone out in December last to remove
an existing difficulty, but he had no doubt
that, by this time, it was in course of
distribution; also in answer to Mr. H. J. RAILLIE,
that the Court of Directors had come to a decision on
the subject of the Scinde prize money, which decision
was under the consideration of the Board of Control,
end when that was arrived at, immediate payment
would be ordered. Lord MORPETH, in answer to
Mr. C. Bnitourr,'replied that men were already
engaged by the government for the purpose of re-
MOTLIIg the Wellington Statue from its present site.
Lord him Rosszrt, in answer to Lord Gomm
RENTINCE, intimated that it was not intended to pro-
pose that the present sugar duties should be made
annual; but there were various votes in the estimates,
and afterwards the Appropriation Bill, which would
give the house sufficient control over them. The
noble lord also, in answer to Lord JOHN MANNED:,
said, some information had reached the government
as to the prohibition of the exportation of corn from
Portugal, the purport of which he would state this
day. The adjourned debate on the question of going
into committee on the Poor Relief (Ireland) B ill was
then resumed, the speakers being
_Sir. WILLIAM CLAY,
Captain JONES, Mr. V. STUART, Mr. HAMILTON, Mr.
JOHN O'CONNELL, Sir D. J. NORRETS, Mr. VESBY,
Captain LATARD, Lord JOHN MANNERS, Mr. LA-
BOLCIIERE, Mr. SMITH O'llaivo, Mr. ROEBUCK, Sir
. W. VERNER, Mr. CALLAGHAN; after which, the
house went into committee, pro forma. The Drain-
s lee of Land Bill was read a third time, and the house
adjourned.