The Express.
London, England, 1858-02-02 00:00:00

OH4M:1131 OF

forth to be amalgamated with the IfencEirterZ arclit
Association, was lad yesterday. The President, Mr. T.
Basr.nr dwelt musk upon the &Went supply of cotton, and
a that is the ensuing year the quantity of
cotton from Africa Would be at least double the
extent of that received last year. There had been various
communications connected with Africa from the Board of
Trade ; and Consul Campbell, the British representative at
Lagos, Abeokoota, and other port., spoke moat
of the means existing there of procuring very
the cotton required in this country. In a letter
irliNfr. Clegg upon this subject occurred the following
interesting statement .—" Daring the late wars amongst the
African chiefs, arising out of the French immigration
scheme, a most remarkable event took place. These igno-
rant and untaught black men made a treaty amongst them-
selves to allow cotton :Ise has
through their hostile
ranks, thereby aclmew the importance of the work."
• lesson was afforded in incident even to our own and
the other civilised governments •of Europe. He (Mr.
Braley) wished indeed that thejite= of nations could
always be thus respected and in times of war.
He had taken some trouble to arrive at an anroematlon to
the accessive amount which the raw materiab of the
really eat the trade of the country for the single yew=
nating in Ober bat. He found that in cotton, in sheep*.
wool, in silk, lx flax, in dyes, oils, end other materials that
watered Into oar manu•ictures, the sum eopid was no lean
than 60,000,00 W. sterling over and above what he deemed to
be a natural price. Mr. Bailey she alluded to the com-
mercial disasters of the past year, and the acetlinses at the
existing bankruptcy courts, a reform of which he considered
most urgent.
Mr. ilsmor Astrwours, the vie-proddiet, refined to
India es a field front which cotton ought to be obtained In
sufficient quantities, if a better queen ware adopted In our
relations with that country. He believed that if we had
never acquired any territorial possessions in India, but tam-
tinned to occupy the trading Niehaus at first astahlialted, we
should have derived at present as extensive commercial ad-
vantages from it as we actually did. He regarded our past
proceedings there as filibustering, and had visited the
Museum in the India-house with the mos feelings with
which he would have looked at the hopides in a den of
brigands.
Mr. Edmund Potter, Mr. W. B. Watkins, and other
gentlemen, took part in the other proceedings, which in-
chided a resolution approving of the proposed union with
the Commercial Association.
A vote of thanks to the president and officers terminated
the tumbler.

LAW

SOCIEZT.

A meeting of the members of this society took
mans Ist westing of their seems, Nes I Waterloo-plows ;
Mr. W. 8. Coonaon la the early. The Was of the last
havhsg been read end onntrmed,
hill for provi-
ding an index to the P of Beptiemt Mar-
Aerie, sod Bernie to Inegissd. t was propceed that the
index should cowman hem 1760, the subsets from the
various registers throughout the sosotry hen that den to
1897 to be fundthed by the ndeintes'of the warless
the oat al which to be paid by • ode in each The
alphabetical index to be kept at the Gnawed Begfigt Moe,
and searches to be allowed at • moderate, dews. The com-
mittee were of opinion that such a work, if eseapheely and
accurately achieved, would be of considerable beide is the
public, end would be worth the expense and trouble With&
kg it. It would diminish the expense of tr
and maldng out titles, which at preoent, there twig COO
Binned, en ed, war oft very oonsiderable, and the
"'ire di; iy
sometimes attending it being almost ismnimemst-
able. While they agreed in the neonsity for such an beds,
they on several points dissented from the proposed manure.
The provision for a parish rate to defray the cost oft=
the region,* was calculated to excite much o
A more sincere objection arose m to the reek
of obtaining copies of the register from the la-
bour it would cast upon the clergy, and the ina-
dequate guarantee for the accuracy of the work. The value
of the index would entirely depend upon the.accuracy of the
transcripts, which could only be ensured by employing care-
ful and intelligent copyista, and a diligent supervision, which
could hardly be exercised on the plan proposed. The opinion
of the committee was that a bill ought to be paned compel-
ling incumbents to forward to Somereet-house the original
register., to be there copied under the 'unwritten of the
authorities, and, when copied, returned to their original de-
=;
fo that the tranectipts so made shall be properly
r the purposes of reference, and made secondary
evidence in the one of the loss of the origWols. The coin-
mines see no reason why the work, if gredusßy and mono-
mkally effected, should draw on the revenue of the country
to any burdensome extent. The registers would pass free
through the Port-Aloe, in pursuance of the Registration
Act
Os the IMAM of Mr. BeNJAMTN JONES, seconded by
Mr. ILMILBSILT BROOME, the repot( was accepted, and cc-
&rad to be printed and &mimed.
Mr. RnertNos called attention to the fact of the deficiency
le the law relating to legitimacy, there being no provision
enabling a man to prove hie legitunacy unions on a question
of dispaydprpparty. He moved the appointment of a com-
mittee to consider tin matter.
Mr. Faexcle seconded the motion, 'Mat was agreed to ;
and the proceedings terminated.