The Express.
London, England, 1867-05-21 00:00:00

M) <E OF COMMONS.-

-M"N !lAA, MAY 20.

IN t.,• Poi sg of Commis:, Lord STANLKY
m reply to :1i r. Eg %KT, that our inter-
n:it' stem of money order.; has been esta-
blisl , 1 I.•tweeu Italy anti France ; that comtuuni-
cat:a • have passed between the British midi French
p,a' o With a view of a system being
estal,u,iteil between England and France, and that
by int y of experiment the French post-calico has
opei a money order office in the Paris Exhi-
biti,,,.

1,..n1 It. MoNraut: stated, in reply to Mr. DENT,
that the cattle plague fuss broken out in a cow-
Rho' :II Duncan-street, Islington. The matter
:. ler the consideration of the Privy Council,
but Lr could not state what conclusion they would
arrive at.

Mr. t:. HARDY, in reply to Mr. P. A. TAYLOR,
state i that he proposed to postpone the meeting on
the i htyal Parks Bill till after Whitsuntide. He
thoto.tht the house would be more likely to come to
a calla judgment on the bill if they discussed it
without reference to any other question.
In reply to the O'Dosoeu
Lord NAAS stated, that considering the state of
busi••ess before the house, ho should not introduce
the Irish Reform Bill till after Whitsuntide.
The house then went into conmhttee on the
Representation of the People Bill, resuming the
discussion on the proviso proposed by Mr. Hodg-
kinsou to be added to clause :;, enacting that no
perw:t other than the oc,mpier shall Le rated to
parts:lll.:l rites.
The Cu %NeELLOR of the ENcIIEQI." said he had
expressed on the pest of the f.foveriatneut their
entire concurrentx, with the policy which was indi-
cated by this proviso, but at the same time his
doubts whether the clause would bring about the
result. which was desired, and he undertook, on the
pir . of the government, to consider the hest means
by which it might be accomplished. It was their
opinion that the policy recommended by this
proviso might be effected by clauses in the bill,
and that if it could be it should be. He hoped to
be able to I,rim, up a clause shortly, perhaps on
Thursday, and at the same time he would state how
the bill should be proceeded with, in order that it
might be sent up to the House of Loris iu a con-
venient tune.

Mr. Ilodgkinson thereupon withdrew his amend-
ment, and Mr. Childers and Mr. P. Scrope stated
that they should postpone amendments of which
they had given notice.
. . .

On the question that the clause stand part of
the bill, . . . . . .

ultimately be extended to married women, but
suppose the wife went "I.;adding about," which
she might do at an election, the Inuit:mild might
legally lock her up, and then what became ui her
vote I

Mr. Fsweerr thought Mr. Mill's arpunent con-
clusive, and should vote fin. hii propu.al.
Mr. LAIN(I opposed the amendment, on the
ground that nature had drawn a clear distinction
between the two sexes, and that women ought
not to mix in politics.
Sir G. lfowvar thought women should have
votes, seeing that the country was governed by a
woman, and that women might till the office of
overseer and churchwarden.

The question was put amid much merriment,
and the amendment WAS rejected by 196 to 73.
Mr. COLVILLE then moved to give the vote to
coeyhohlern oi the annual value of Z.d.

The Arrolt N EY-1. said the proposal was
founded on toe fact that freeholder,' of the annual
value of 40s. had votes for the county, but, while
no one proposed to take that franchise away, if it
did not exist no one would now propose it.
The amendment was supported by Mr. Rte-
luck, Sir E. Huller, Mr. Pease, Mr. Evans, Mr.
Barrow, and Sir E. Colebtxsike, and it was carried
by2oltols'.
The CHANCKLion of the Eximeou ER then moved
that the chairman report progress, saying it was
necessary that one or two votes should be obtained
in supply that evening ; and after some discussion
the motion was carried, and the house resumed.
General Du NNE called attention to the illegality
of appropriating to the consolidated fund the fees
fur the registry of deeds in Ireland.
Mr. HUNT said there was not much cause to com-
plain, seeing that the fees for a number of years
had not paid the expenses of the otlice, which have
boon defrayed out of the consolidated fund.
The house then went into committee of supply,
and proceeded with the civil service estimates, seve-
ral votes in which were agreed to.
Several bills there then advanced a stage, and
the house adjourned at 20 minutes to 2 o'clock.

Mr. Lowe raid they now knew what the real prin-
ciple of the bill was. It was that all householders
were to have the franchise except such as were ex-
cused frpm the payment of rates on the ground of
poverty ; and he thought that before adopting it
that the pr:nciple ought to ho discussed, which it
bad not been yet. What they had hitherto had
before tune was the franchise with restrictions,
but now those restrictions were swept away. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer had not shown his
supporters his whole plan at once, for they would
have been frightenedat it ; but he told them it wasnot
a democratic measure, and he dandled before them
dual voting, and personal payment of rates, and
other restrictions. But now these were all re-
moved. The right hon. gentleman had also con-
ceded the lodger franchise, which might be defined
to be a franchise to give everybody a vote who
liked to have one, provided he is not a householder.
They were going to transfer power to the most
dependent and the most ignorant. He warned the
house of the dangers they would incur in doing
this. The transfer once nude would be irrevocable.
He asked if the new electors would not elect mem-
bers pledged to substitute direct for indirect taxa-
tion, and when they learned that 26,000,000!. a
year were paid for the interest on the debt,
whether they would not say that it was incurred
when they were not represented, and for purposes
with which they had no sympathy, and whether
they would not refuse to pay it 1 In passing this
bill they were going to embark in a sea of corrup-
tion, and could any one doubt that this was the
beginning of that downward course which would
place the House of Commons in the position in
which so many legislatures had been placed ?
Then did they think that the House of Peers could
00-exist with this state of things, and were they
prepared for its abolition ? How was that house
to face the country, and how was it to face history
when it was recorded of them that the same parlia-
ment that had rejected a bill for a 71. franchise
bad passed a bill for household suffrage ? He had
before predicted that" hon. gentlemen opposite by
passing this bill would ruin either their party or
their country. He was wrong ; they would ruin
both. _ _

Me. HENLEY said he considered this proposal of
the govemmext the most conservative that could
be made. They could not pretend to be dealing
with a question that was optional. When they
considered how often the question had been
mooted in that house, and how much agitation
had been going on out of doors, was it not better to
mettle the matter than let the pot go on boiling,
and bring about even a much worse state of things
than Mr. Lowe had pointed out 1
Sir It. KNIGHTLEY said government had been
evidently groping for a policy, and he complained
that the conservative party had not been fairly
dealt by.
Mr. linesmen could not nee anything conserva-
tive in giving the franchise to the most ignorant
and dependent.

Mr. NISWDBOATS reminded Mr. Lowe that the
conservative party supported him last session when
be opposed a 71. franchise ; but they had now
adopted the suffrage proposed by the Attorney-
General of the late government.
Mr. B. C•xate.asis regretted that government had
thought it necessary to introduce a reform bill this
session, hut for one he felt bound to follow the
leaders of his party.
The discu.sion was continued by Mr. B. Hose,
who protested against the borough franchise being
degraded as it was by this clause ; by Mr. Scotia-
siat.u, who could not approve of the change made
by the bill ; Mr. SCHREIBER., who objected to the
lodger franchise ; and by Mr. Pootarr &Bove,
wh argued in favour of an amendment which he
bad postponed, to limit the franchise to a 41.
rental. _ _

The clause was then, amid general cheering, or-
dered to stand part of the bill.
On clause 4, which relates to the county fran-
chise,
Mr. MILL moved to strike out "man" and insert
"person," the object of the amendment being to
give the vote to women. He said he did not
claim the vote for women as an abstract right, bet
his argument was entirely one of expediency and jus-
tice. It wasa doctrine of the British constitution that
taxation and representation should co-exist, and
many women paid taxes, and therefore should be
allowed to vote. There was evidence in our re-
cords that women, in a distant period of our
history, had voted for counties and seine boroughs,
and there was no reason why they should not vote
now. Women, ho submitted, ought no longer to
be classed with children, and idiots, and lunatics,
who needed to have everything done for them.
But they ought to be treated as being equal in in-
telligence to, and having rights equally with, men ;
and the disadvantages they now labour under with
respect to the laws affecting property, and the
admission to professions, ought to be removed.
Mr. E. KAIISLAKS said the proposition affected
only widows and spinsters, but if carried would

THE EXPRESS, TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 21, 1867.

13k, Entrilfgertre.

HOUSE OF toRDS.—MAY 20.
APPKALS.

(Present—the Lord Chancellor, Lord Cranworth, Lord West-
bury, unit Lord Colons-y.)

IMF WESTERN RANA DE SEOTLAND AND OTHERS H. MIME

(HILL IW EXCEPTION,). -THE ',ALE r. YALE, ET E CONTRA.
A notice of this appeal from the first division of the
court of session in S..otlaud appeared in our columns on
the sith March last.

Their lordships gave judgment this morning. The fol-
lowing are the facts :- The Western Hanka Scotland WAR
established in 1832, and carried on husineen in Glasgow
and elsewhere until November, 1857, when it stopped
payment. The capital of the company, which had
all been paid up, Iva. lite,' at 1,740,n0ni., and wav divided
. .......

into :ain't") ahaix'ss of ...O. each. 'ln 'NoveMber and Decem-
ber, the respondent, Y. .bert Addle, of View-park,
Lanarkshire, and coal and iron inviter at Glasgow, pur-
chimed two parcels of 71 and l 4 shams in the bank, for
which he paid a total sun of 10,3131. 10s. 2d. Two years
after the stoppage, viz., in November, 18.19, he hrought
an action ag iinst the bank, which, it may be mentioned,
was registered under the Joint Stock Drinking Companies
Act, LG7, to recover not only that sum, together with the
amount of stamps and registration fees connectsl with the
transference, with interest at the rate of 5 per cent. per
annum, but two arms of 1,6,71., and another sum of
1:1,501M. which he hail paid in the shape of malls in la.lB,
with i•itereiit at the rate of :i per cent., but subject to the
deduction of 1,1311. 17a. !id., being the amount of divi-
dend he hail received on his shares. In the alternative,
he claimed 2fi,oolW. damages. The ground of his claim
was that he had been induced to purchase the shares by
the false and fraudulent representations of the bank as to
the state of its affairs, met lie relied chiefly on tho half-
yearly report issued in June, 1h:15, previously to the pur-
chase, in which it was said that the net profits of the
jest year, after payment of all expenses, and providing
for bad and doubtful debts, were 153,8121. Os. -Id., out of
which the directors proposed to • dividend of 8 per
cent. per annum without deductionpay for income tax. That
dividend, it was said, would require 120,0001., leaving a
surplus of 33,892/.06.4d. tube carried tothe " rest," which
at the last annual balance was 150,941. 17a, and would
now stand at 1,44,i441.1/. la I ht. The directors then expressed
a hope that the shareholders would be pleased with this
statement, and with the satisfactory way in which the
general business of the bank was going on. "In conclusion,"
they added, " the welfare and prosperity of the bank de-
pend much on the friendly co-operation of its customers
and shareholders, and the directors, therefore, call upon
them for their active influence and support." The trial took
place before the Lord President, and the jury found a ver-
dict for Mr. Addle, the pursuer. On behalf of the bank,
the defenders, a bill of exceptions was tendered to the
Lord President's charge to the jury, and it came on for
hearing before the lords of the first division. The part
of the charge chiefly objected to was that in which the
Lord President said that "if the case should occur of
directors taking upon them to put forth in their report
statements of importance in regard to the affairs of
the bank (aim in themselves, and which they had no
reasonable ground to believe to be true, that would be a
misrepresentation and deceit, and in the estimation of the
law would amount to a fraud." In June, 11405, the lords
of the first division pronounced an interlocutor disallowing
the exceptions, and it was from their judgment that the
bank now appealed to this house. One element in the
mute which distinguished it from nearly all others which
had been before the courts was, that previously to the
purchase of the shares in 1855 Mr. Addle was the bolder
of 15 shares in the bank which be had held for
about seven years, and on which he had received
dividends. On behalf of the appellants it was con-
tended that whatever fraud there might be on the part of
the manager or directors none could be alleged against the
company, and that this fraud must be shown to be the im-
mediate and proximate cause of the respondent buying the
shares. It was further arcued that, having been a share-
holder previous to the purchase in question, he must if
there was fraud, be treated as • particeos criminis ; but
that in any case he now sought relief against other share-
holders who were as innocent as himself. It also seemed
that though the company stopped payment in 1857 he as-
sented to the voluntary winding up, paid the calls, and
commenced no litigation till two years afterwards.
Their lordship reversed the interlocutor, disallowing
the exceptions.

F 76 68 -1
. 109 103
: t 4114.1

ice}

11,4X4, ..
1,9001 ..
1,9!1 .
13,11001 ..
612 ..
0.1 6,144 ..
•
4,000 ..
4
12,500 4
1,024 ..
6,0001 ..
0.000,

40,000' 4
4001 ..
TOO ..
1,1101,
615' ..
6.118: • •

65 70

-426;
9201 ..
1,024 ..
LOW ..
fit ..
flt
1,028 ..
45,0011

45 60
08 100
102 h 3