The Express.
London, England, 1860-10-30 00:00:00

THE SOLICITOR-GENERAL.

The Solicitor-General (Sir W. Atherton) attended
a meeting of hia constituents at Durham, on Thuncisy, and
reviewed the legislation of the smaioa.

He expressed approval of the bills for preventing adulter-
ation, for opening endowed schools to diameters, and for
the meosgemeot of endowed charities. Sir W. Atherton
next explained, by reference to dates and fat* how the
bills for the reform of the bankmptcy laws and for the con-
solidation of the statutes bad failed. He then referred to
other law bills that had Famed—the bill' for reform of the
Court of Chancery, for reform of the Divorce Court, and for
reform of the Ecclesiastical Court. The French Treaty had
been sanctioned and the national defences improved.
New laws for the government of the navy and for the
amalgamation of the Indian armies had also been passed.
The SolicitorCeneral next referred to the bill regulating
the admission of Jewish members of the House of Commons
by standing order, and not by resolution in each case; the
Comma Bill, a bill reforming the Ecclesiastical COMM/1h
Mon, the Mines Inspection Bill, the bill for repressing party
processions in Ireland. Besides these bills, in themselves
proofs that • ent had not been very idle, Sir W.
Atherton of the sobjec disowned, church-rates,
the Maraooth grant, the he.llot, whirls he advocated, and
the paper duty. On this last point he said:—The House of
Lords had the power to refuse its meet to any and every
measure coming from the House of Commons ; the Sore.
reign could refuse went to any and every measure coming
from the Lords and Commons ; but if they were to
do so. though acting in accordance with the letter of the
law, there would be such • departure from its spirit es to
throw the state into a condition of anarchyr and revolution.
("Hear," and applause.) However, theLordlhad frustreted.
by their unconstitutional rejection of the bill for the aboli-
tion of the paper duty, • part of the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer's budget which had been looked forward to with
great interest. He believed there was no reason to appre-
hend • repetition of such • ooune--suicidel as it must he—
on the part of the House of Lot& (Hear, bear.) Now, a
word about the Reform Bill. In his opinion that bill was a
good bill, and if adopted by parliament, it probably—at all
events for some time to come—would have given satidection
to the country. But how had it turned out? The bill
failed to pass the House of Commons, and he would explain
how that occurred. The opposition—that waste my the sup-
porters of the late government—had committed themselves
to the principles of parliamentary reform ; and it would
have been too bed—a thing that they could hardly well do
with regard to their owu parliamentary reputation, their
standing before the country.—to oppose the introduction of
such • bill The second reading was consequently allowed
to pin without opposition ; but, upon the motion of(Going
into committee, certain tactics of delay were to,
1 which made it perfectly hopeless to carry the measure.
Sir W. Atherton next briefly referred to the Chinese war,
end then to the Italian question, sad said Ler Majesty's go-
cerement had scrupulously adhered to the determination
expressed in the Queen's Speech, at the opening of parlia-
ment, not to interfere with other countries respecting the
form of government which they might cheroot* select. The
people of this country had theirsympathies, awl he believed
the vest majority of them were in favour of Italian
i tion. (Loud applastee.) A vote st thanks to the Solicitor-
General was thee moved, and carried unanimously.

MR. EVERETT ON ONLI:GOVAILYMENT IN

THE UNITED STATES.•

When I reflect that the day we celebrate found
na a feeble strip of thirteen colonies al.. the must,
averaging at most a little more than 150,1.1 inhabitants
etch, and that this its eighty.fourth return, sees us grown
to tbirty.three 'Wei, scattered through the interior and
pushed to the Pacific, aveFt nearly a million of inhabi-
tants, each a well-oomrepresentative republic,
securing to its citizens alarger amount of the substantial
blessings of life than are enjoyed by equal numbers of
people in the oldest and most prosperous states of Europe,
lam lost in wonder, and as a sufficient answer to all
Era charges of degeneracy I am tempted to exclaim,
around
founders oiell The k of America and their descendants have
aosomplished more and better things. On the basis of a
rapid geographical extension, and with the force of teeming
numbers, they have, in the very infancy of their political
existenois, succesatully aimed at higher progress in a paw-
ons civilisation. The mechanical arts have not only been
cultivated, but they have been cultivated with unusual
aptitude. Agriculture, manufactures, commerce, naviint-
Uon, whether by sails or steam, and the art of printing in
all its forms and in all its applications, bare been pursued
with surprising skill Great improvementa have been made
in all theme branches of industry, And in the machinery
prtsiniuX to them, which have been eagerly adopted in
. A nre adequate provision hr been made for
popular tu
education, the great basis, humanly speaking, of
social improvement, than in almost any other country. I be-
lieve that in the citiesof Boston, New York, and Philadel •
more money, in proportion to the population, is raised by
taxation for the support of common schools than in any
other cities in the world. There aro more seminaries in the
United &atm where • decent academical education can be

obtained—more, I still mean in proportion to the popula-
tion, than in any other country except Germany. The
fine arts have reached a high degree of excellence. The taste
for music is rapidly spnading in town and country ; and
every year witnesses productions from the pencil and the
chisel of American sculptors and painters which would
adorn any gallery in the world. Our satrooomers, mathe-
maticians, naturalist., chemist., engineers, jurists, pub.
liciate historians, poete, novelists, and lexicographers have
placed themselves on a level with their contemporaries
abroad. The lost thetionaries of the Legligh language
sines that of Johnson, are those published in America. Our
constitutions, whether of the United States or of the sera-
sate States, exclude all public provision for the maintenance
of religion, but in no part of Christendom to it more gene-
rously supported.

• "Self-Government in the United States." An oration
delivered et Baden, Mass., on the 4th of Jul , 1860, by
Os Hon. Edward Everett, kill Envoy Miry and
Minister Plenipotentiary from the United Statee at the
Court of Bt. Joanna. Published by Tatham and Co.

At a dinner party recently given by Queen Chris-
tina at frfahnaison, the approaching wedding of her Ma-
jesty'. only single daughter warn formally announced. The
young Princess Christina, now in her twentieth year, will
shortly marry the Marquis de Campo•9agrado, man at the
marquis of that name, who occupies a high post in the
diplomatic service, and whose usual reridence is in the
Asturias. The marriage will be celebrated in the chapel of
the chateau of Malmaieon.

CAPITAL PLINIIIIINIENT IN THE UNITED STATES I
—The Court of Appeals of this State has just announced •
decision which is a striking illustration of the evils of hr.ti
legislation. The revised statutes of New York contained.
among other thing; "An Act concerning Crimes and
Punishments ;" wherein it was provided that certain offences
should be punishable with death, and that "the punish-
ment of death shall hi all eases be inflictol by hanging the
convict by the neck until he he dead." Last winter the
philanthropists made an effort to have capital punishment
abolished. They had • long hearing before the As-
sembly Committee, which resulted in • compromise,
providing that only triaeon and murder iu the first de-
gree should be hereafter punished with death, and that
the sentence should not be carried into execution within a
year after conviction, daring which time the convict should
be kept at hard labour. The repealing clause of the new
act was intended to embrace all the cameo of the old act
inconsistent with it; but, by some error, it included the
words that I have quoted above. I understand that the 1
court decide that the new law, having abolished the only
Mutate ilefiuing banging as the mode of punishment, and
itself prescribing no new mode,. there is nee no known
Saalapoe %Lich can be pronounced against aperient convicted
of murder is thu first degree. Thus, by the possible mis-
, take of a clerk, or the trick of an agent, the legislature of
the state of New York have been forced into the temporary
abolition of capital punishment. —Correspondent at New
York.
HAVANA, OCT. B.—On the let a Spanish war
akcirner captured the American steamer City of Norfolk,
which she discovered on shore near Sierra ?donna. It ap-
paws that on the night previous the City of Norfolk had
landed A cargo of POO flagmen which the brought from the
coast of Africa, and then she had been deserted and sent to
sea with a full head of steam on, with the expectation that
she would soon founder, measures having been taken to
secure that eud. The current, however, had drifted her on
there, where she was found as before stated. The discovery
ranked in the capture of IWO of the negroes, together with
the crew. The latter have been takes to Key West by the
Malted States steamer Crusader.

TUE LATE MAYOR OP LTMERICK.—Lnaincx,
Ocr. 'l7.—The members of the Atheineuin met last night,
and voted 251., to be appropriated to city object that may be
determined upon in memory of the kW mayor. The mem-
bers of the institution intend, it in understood, voting 901.,
and the convention, ut their mostaug to..luy, voted XL
towards the same object.