Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-03-15 00:00:00

meat. lie had himself instituted many inquiries, and had
no objection to any inquiry which would not impede the
Public service. lle opposed the motion as likely to lead to
In consequences.
, Mr. B. Osborne said that, after the charges that had been
Drought against the Admiralty, the House was bound to
,ppoint n committee of inquiry, before which he pledged
hadhimself to disprove those charges. Adiniral Napier, who
hmade those charges,-might be a very gallant officer
e water, but he was but a lame duck on the land.
Or C. Napier urged inquiry into the construction of
the idiniralty. He thought the present motion inoppor-
tune, as a general motion for inquiry would be made on
Thursday.
Mr. Jackson supported the amendment, deeming inquiry
bere a committee absolutely necessary.
Altar a few words- from Sir C. Wood, the, amendment
Was negatived without a division.

I 0
r. Gilpin calledTHE MUTINY
the attention of the house to the
detraction of the 26th Native Infantry, at Ujnalla, on
Ist of August, 1857, as detailed in a work entitled,
Cooper Crisis in the Punjaub," by Frederick
This ?Per
w, Es l, Deputy Commissioner of Amritzur.
re as the arkest page in the black-book of the Indian
b
iellion. He had no intention of calling military proceed-
nge in question. The acts to which he drew attention
were those of a civilian. The 26th Infantry served with
alatt diction under our flag, they were disarmed in 1857 as
c,ynatter of precaution. They had been fired upon by the
:Ikh levies, upon which they killed two of their officers in
~Panic. Subsequently while cooking their prOvisions they
ore attacked by the Sikhs and by the villagers, and many
tnkt.hetn were killed. The rest fled, they were pursued, and
Were` eby M. Cooper under promise of a fair trial, yet all
Put to death without any trial to the number of 500.
8. e took the facts of these slaughters from Mr. Cooper's own
h orrt,nieule t,
which presented circumstances of peculiar and ibatrocity upon which he called npon the House to
mark its sense.
mat barbarous
Thompson stigmatised the affair as one of the
tV‘barbarous massacres in history, and hoped in charity
'" air. Cooper was insane.
ThLord Stanley explained the circumstance of the case.
th e men. had been disarmed under strong suspicion
WeY were insurgents, and would, if not stopped, have easily
ft'llelliid arms and marched to the assistance of the mutineers
intot—etui• One of the European officers had been enticed
his their lines by these men, and an attempt made upon
thet life, and two others had been actually murdered. All
the great authorities in India regarded the punishment of
oiltsbe en
as merited, and as necessary to prevent similar
i,d,!eaks. At the same time he greatly regretted that these
Wastsee4ri,na.inate executions should ever have taken place. It
the pul by determined energy that Sir J. Lawrence saved.
dista ilieub, and with it all India. He could not this
men, Tlee,altogether understand the feelings or motives. of
innqer such circumstances as those in which our officials
:to3o.ripuoss,3:::'w
tehrseeettP
leilasetnced. He thought the house would do well
matter over with that judicious silence, which
comment on the proceedings.
SUPPLY.
Went into committee of supply, when
items were voted in the navy estimates.

Itutin -
The
BILLS..
committe •
. 3•and Marineßills passed through
Mutiny
Th ' a' also did the County Court Bill.
_ Then e Remission of Penalties and the. Evidence by Com-
m. Bills were • time and passed.
re • read a third
~...inatninq business was dispose 0 ,
Thed f and
4140 use adjourned at ten minutes to one o'clock.

THE
PROPOSED LEASING BILL

OF THE

WARRINGTON

AND
STOCKPORT RAIL WAY

LoN-box

TO THE
AND NORTH-WESTERN COMPANY,
ri, AND THE RUNNING POWERS
THE BIRKENHEAD COMPANY.

Pkt.oT,,
LNG, OF THE QUESTION OF PREAMBLE

i •
[FROM OUR OWN REPORTER.
HOUSE OF COMMONS, MONDAY.
.b.liThr e select committee of the House of Commons on this
14
e-assebled this mornin, ,g Mr. Ridley in the chair..„.r.
R r. Sercrant Wrangham Mr. Hope Scott, Q.C., and Al
btiTrticlkweanenhilde'adwii9u:jahpvpayearcedm.oll'behalf of the promoters of the
Alexander, Q.C., and Mr, Webster, for the
an
decilnaredirtl
stated that port of Friday's proceedings on the bill, we
just before the rising of the committee they
the
-. re preamble of the bill proved,
.but conceded to
Birkenhead company their a Heato for running
powersanei
roovtear the Altrincham and. Manchester line, thereby
b- s the distance between Birkenhead and Manchester ap'eYaouroterodvfearntaheleemiles. The committee directed that clauses in
Itviitrlkaetnhhiseaddeceisomiopnasnhyo.uld be brought up on the
eiar• Alexander, Q.C., having this morning submitteder
0.,.e115_ !s, giving the Birkenhead Company runningh 3
powand
Manchesterrlsileth e4tl;
pail Helen'sy.
!econs d
grtant Wrangli.ain addressed the committee at
.!at len"
~, With the object of inducing the committee to
Agiltvriii,rntigil:theee
tg_ttnrkeendheeoaisdiocnomatpawnhyich they arrived on Friday,
running powers over the
cor, e'am line. He said he had no doubt that, when the
Oder
ee:einstho:lhey to their decision on Friday, they were
came
manlperession that the Birkenhead and Cheshire
co„,ruy had no means of getting to Manchester, and
do so by passing over the Altnchr a d I
h tnhat the
ti.e r ine. But what were the facts? Att,"[..el,iheead Company, so far from wantingtlaln
nyaCucness into
te„';_,est.sno ter,a
der the
sollread already an access to that ow
Inn agreement with the London aind. Naonrtho-f the -,-;!'n Company, which the chairman or ex ~:iairni
it, eirkenhead Company, stated last week in his evidence
Wa t reont, was the best route, that route being between_
ti,rri__ airing and Manchester, by way of Newton. By
ai.,',n_ the Birkenhead Company powers over the Altrincham
tG`2lanchester line, the com• mittee would be extending
was
prepared duplicate route. But that was not all.
heatt.l4`,l to show the committee that the Bierke_nr-
the,. `-cimpany were attempting to .delude them, for with vi,ere hound, by the terms of their agreement
tile ~,,tue Landon and North-Western Company, to send
0,..er',401e of
h their traffic from Birkenhead to Manchester
'were 41- route between Warrington and Newton, and
ounce thus prevented by that agreement, from sending one
Ajt,._ of tramo
itt4eham line.
troeesisdio:o of over the Farrington and Stockport and
Was it then, he would ask, reasonable or
frotn his learned friend should' have kept these facts
nimittee, in order to entrap them into the_ex-
,, ,an opinion which lie would venture to say they
with t-ii°' n.rave given had they known that this agreement
hste : L°,,,nclon and N rth-Western Company was in
il,all Pin'eceit,?4,,zY,, this agreenient the_ . Birkenhead company
tieer now sotto- themselves from
_mocking use of the powers
be granted to
‘ther4 bY tit,
committee.
even should thospowers
.forYtiseekilia_Mmittee. Why hen Plie would ask, were
that ole4l ter
tbre these powers ?usingtThticmoufldor,nlolet be asking
lion n
and
fa o,?.etusiritepoasegreement
.(Zhe ain- North_
,earne• NN ern Company, of
theyBdocoluviltdh nottlie do so.
a°llclon counsel here read the agreement with the
::.Ist, 18Zra, North-Western Company, dated November
-114hle th ) Their only object, therefore,' must be to
e°loPan ern the better to sell their line to some. other
the ji• ;:. The learned counsel, in conclusion, said that ift
,with tilr'e,nhead Company would abandon this agreemen knew that
London aid North-Western Company, but he
thew
they would not, for to do so would be ruinous to
Would "8, they (the London and North-Western Company)
Rolm, • net oppose the proposed running power over the
. ivr,)nction line.
soh: _ .:ift, of the firm of Swift, Wagstaff, and Blenkin-
p4y,solicitors to the London and North-Western. Com-
ono was called, and deposed to the agreement with the
8.50, It and North-NVestern Company of November. 21st,
bead
eu7 Which it was obligatory on the part of the Birken-_
and At°lll to send all their traffic between Birkenhead
wa.._. bester over the North-Western route by way of
ta,:fington and Newton Thearranment was ver adv:
101;.uns to the Bir kenhead Companyg, e
~the rates being very
r
thii..4l,lexandeader, in replying, said that the only object of
powe irlienh company, in seeking for these running
hetnrsi, was to obtain a statutory power which would enable
and x;'.° get into Manchester, in the event of the London
a \T° get
Company throwing up the existing
greernent.
a The r°
pm -"I was then cleared, and the committee were in
40. rate
ion for u.pwards of half an hour.
. 7,..th_.re-adnussion of strangers, cleei"si'4) Chairman said : The committee have come to this
14eler,n-_, They
agree to the
negative the clauses relating to the St.
trine si ea They
and Railway Company: They
WestePr e
itt,,, that
of the clauses- relating to the London and North-
conditions n and the Birkenhead Companies, subject to the
during the subsistence of the existing
d th'ejlietn. ent between the London and North-Western
1840 Sir rat
Companies, dated the 21st of November,
ethoeK:enhtheaed running powers granted to the Birkenhead
hip Pany under this bill are not to be exercised by the
ii: Tins relCen,iningPatnoyhteanudsetvofhreanielwve a whenever
exercised, subject to
and the bill aining-lauses of the bill we then- agreed to,
was ordered to be reported tQ the house,

AMERWAN AFFAIRS.

ORRESPONDENT.
FROM OUR OWN %9

THE SENATE AND THE CUB' fin ;- SUPPORT OF

THE PRESIDENT'S ANNEXAT/O POLICY. AN
OFFICIAL AT WASHINGTON ASSASSINATED BY A
MEMBER OF CONGRESS. SMITH O'BRIEN IN NEW
YORK : SPECULATIONS AS TO HIS DOOM. PRO-
POSED RESTRICTIONS ON BANKING FACILITIES :
EXPECTED ADVANTAGES IN A SOUNDER COMMER-
CIAL SYSTEM. NEW PROPOSITION FOR CHECKING
THE SLAVE TRADE. ASTOUNDING CONGRESSIONAL
EXPOSURES OF BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION.

FALLING-OFF OF EMIGRATION: VAST AGGREGATE

INCREASE OF POPULATION FROM FOREIGN
SOURCES. GREAT MOVEMENTAMONGST THIEVES
AND BURGLARS. MR. COBDEN AT NEW YORK.

The most important Congressional intelligence
which the Africa takes out is that of the virtual
adoption by the Senate of the Cuba Bill—l say
virtual adoption, because, although not actually
passed, yet the vote upon the motion for its being
laid on the table was a test vote, and it was lost by
a majority of 30 to 18—being, in effect,-a majority
of twelve in favour of the Bill. It is not ex-
pected that this vote will be carried out during the
few days that remain of the present session.
But it is shown that the Senate will eventually
adopt it. " Buchanan's policy in this important
question of our foreign relations," says the New
• York Herald, "has thus not only been sustained by
a large majority of the Senate, but the question has
proved throughout the country the most popular
one that has ever been brought before the public."
All other subjects, however, at the niornent I
write, are almost lost sight.of, in public observation,
by the terrible tragedy at Washington, of which
you will find full accounts in the . papers,the
assassination in the streets of 'Washington, at noon,
on Sunday the 27th, amidst the Sabbath calm of that
sacred day, of a State, official by -a member
of Congress. Mr. Philip Burton Key,
district attorney for the district of Columbia—in which
the City of. Washington is situated—was, met near
the President's house, fired at, and shot dead upon
the spot, by the Hon. 1). Sickles, one of the mem-
bers for New York, on' the' plea that he had dis-
honoured him, and destroyed his domestic peace.
The dreadful scene was witnessed by-'several persons.
The wretched assassin at once gave himself up to the
police, and was committed to prison. 'His awful
case has naturally excited a very warm sympathy in
his. behalf, under the severe provocation he is sup-
posed to have • received. It is, however, another
melancholy instance of that fearful habit of sur-
rendering everything to the gratification of a
deadly and bloody revenge which is unhappily
so prevalent in this country. Two families thus
have been plunged into the deepest misery ;
and the unhappy criminal himself is said
'to be in a state of the most dreadful prostration at
the recollection of what he has done. He must, of
course, as a matter of form, be put on his trial ; but
there is no idea that he will be convicted of any
punishable offence.. The miserable woman, his wife,
who has been the cause of this awful catastrophe, is
an Italian, the daughter of a former popular mem-
ber of the Opera Company in New York.
The arrival of the pardoned Irish rebel, Smith
O'Brien, in New York, has been the scene, not un-
naturally, of a good deal of : excitement among his,
countrymen ; and he afforded an opportunity, of which
a certain class of Americans are only too glad to
avail themselves, for the gratification of hostile
feeling against Great Britain, for her pretended
ill-treatment of Ireland. It is not as a rebel,
assuredly, but as a martyr, that one who has set the
British Government at defiance has been received in
America. But it will all soon blow over, and Smith
O'Brien, like greater heroes before him, will find his
proper position even here. " There are two clasSes
of foreigners," it is observed in one of the New
York journals, " who are likely ,to be used up on
touching our shores; one is the poor and uneducated,
who land at Castle Garden and become the prey of
the sharks and harpies, in the shape 'of emigrant
runners, boarding house keepers and railroad agents ;
the other is the distinguished foreigners,' who
become the victims of the equally unscrupulous
politicians and demagogues who create an ex-
citement about them—making demigods out of
mere men, not from any admiration or appreciation
of the strangers, but in order to participate with
them in a momentary popularity, and bring them-
selves prominently before the public. The people
run to see the man as they would an elephant, or a
lion, a woolly horse, a Fejee mermaid, or a Swedish
Nightingale ; and their expectations . are raised so
high that they are sure to be disappointed, and say,
Is this all 9'' They begin to find out that the
individual is just a man like themselves ; and, taking
revenge for having been sold,' they are apt to bring
him soon even below their owrevel." This is quite
true. And Smith. O'Brien, you may depend upon it,
will be no exception to the rule.
It has been severely felt as an evil in the com-
mercial world, that banking could be carried on with
such dangerous facility. Loud complaints have ever
and anon been heard—more especially, of course,
after any great. crash, or succession of crashes, as is
too generally the case, when once the rent is made
that the extension of banking facilities
has been carrried so far, upon such a slender
basis of substantial business operations. It
has given much satisfaction, therefore, that the
Committee on Banks and Banking of the Senate
have advised a modification of the existing laws,
so that hereafter no bank shall be incorporated, ex-
cept by special act of the legislature. The wisdom
of this change seems to be unquestionable, especially
when the tendency of the present system at this par-
ticular time is considered. There has seldom teen
a time when the general condition of affairs called
for greater caution than at the present moment.
The Boston Advertiser, a highly respectable com-
mercial journal, says :—" We have now thirty-eight
banks in this city,• with a combined capital of nearly
thirty-four millions. The line of discounts, although
it has fallen a little from the maximum attained
in the early part of January, is still higher than
this city ever saw until the present year, and is
admitted to be far beyond the actual requirements
of commerce; and can it be pretended, that in this
state of affairs, it is necessary or even wise, to
continue a system of indiscriminately granting
charters with banking privileges, to all who choose
to apply ?" Certainly it would not seem to be one
or the other • and it is a good sign when this is
acknowledged, and such restrictions are advocated
as will put an effectual check upon a monetary
system which has done so much to promote rash and
reckless speculators, and to encourage a most
mischievous course of false credits. Well does the
Boston journal just referred to add, "the question
which we now have to deal with is, whether, at
this time, when the state of affairs calls for more
than ordinary
caution and circumspection, and when
more than ordinary temptations exist to draw capital
in this direction, and to aid in a dangerous expan-
sion and inflation of credit--whether now we shall
give charters Without stint to
,asks for them,or whether we shall endeavour to impose
some restriction upon them, . That the latter is the
:only safe course for us to pursue, with reference to
the general conditionof tuono,y- matters, and without

THE N-0111111ERN TIMES;

taking into account the geneyal reasons which may
seem to discourage an increase in the number of banks
at this time, seems to us to be plainly the case."
These are sentiments which I cannot but think will
meet with a hearty response in the commercial mind

of England.
I_ see it advocated in some of the Western. journals,
and the idea has many favourers in the North and East,
that a treaty should be proposed with England and
France—and why not with Spain also P--for the purpose
of arresting the slave trade, by colonising the African
coast with the negroes found out of Africa, after the
manner of Liberia, which, it is argued, is in harmony
with the disposition made by Mr. Buchanan of the
slaves of the Echo. It appears that very lately a
joint resolution was introduced into the Senate of
Indiana advocating the complete and final suppression
of the slave trade by means of colonisation—that is,
by sending from the United States, to colonies on
the African coast, all free coloured persons
who may consent to go, and that it is expedient
to vary the ae.reement now existing between the
governments of Great Britain and the United States
embodied in the eighth article of the Webster and
Ashburton treaty, and that in future the naval forces
of the two countries on the coast of Africa be ex-
tended as to the objects, and their joint action be
directed to the carrying out of this system of
colonization, and its projection, till the growing
strength of the colonies shall justify the gradual
withdrawal of such forces. The object is doubtless
a good one. But I can't see why the Congress of
the United States may not carry. it out by itself,
having regard, as it has, so exclusively to their own
slaves. At the same time there can be no question
that England would afford every assistance it its
power.
In a former communication I merely alluded—
nothing more—to the Report of the minority of the
Committee of Congress on naval contracts and expen.
diture. This Report is now printed and published,
and every one is enabled to judge for himself of the
amount of official corruption and partizan favourit-
ism it exposes. We have heard through the radical
and republican ravings of England, a great deal
about the system of corruption and bribery that
prevails there, under its monarchical and aristocra-
tical institutions ; but it would be impossible, one
would think, for anything of the kind to be worse
than this, under the pure and simple republican
system of America. Well does the New York Times
say of it, that " when thus it is made evident the
power of every department of the Government
ceases to be exercised for the public good, and is
made solely subservient to the purposes of faction,
to the perpetuation of partisan power and to the
enrichment of party favourites, it certainly is time
for the people at large to feel some degree of con-
cern for, the public welfare." The Report is a clear
and concise statement of the facts of the case, as to
the disposal of patronage in the several branches of
the navy department of the public service ; and it
shews that men are appointed to various posts who
are utterly unfit for their places -idle, drunken,
negligent Of their duty, and utterly indifferent to
the requisitions of those under whom they are
employed, feeling sure of being sustained by their
partisan indorsers. Contracts for machinery are
given to others than the lowest bidders, avowedly
and openly on party grounds -to secure political
influence, and to reward men for having contributed
money for party contests—and the President himself
interposes to influence such a disposition of the
patronage of the Government. All these things, I,
say, are made as clear as the sun at noon-day. Yet
they are but a sample of the general practices of ,
bribery and corruption which this Report shews to
exist in the admimstratimi of the Government ; and
while they have grown up and have prevailed under'
all parties, no party when in power has ever made
any resolute, earnest effort to put an end to them.
In the words of the respectable journalist already
quoted from, " they are not due to any peculiar dis-
honesty in any party, but grow out of the very
nature of party organisations, and the partisan con-
flicts by which the character of our Government is
decided. So long as party supreinacy, at all hazards
arid at any cost, is the leading aim of political effort
—so long as our public men permit themselves to be
the mere tools of party wire-pullers, passive instru--
ments in the hands of men whose only qualification
for taking part in public affairs is the ability to con-
trol votes—just so long may we expect the whole
business of governing the nation to become a trick
for putting money into the pockets of professional
politicians, and for elevating the worst men to the
highest and most responsible posts."' Such is our
republican system, on the testimony of its own adhe-
rents ; and being such, I cannot think that sober-
minded Englishmen can see much in it to yearn
after, in substitution of their own, with all its
faults.

The statistics of emigration given in the report of
the Secretary of State, recently issued, show that
in 1858 the whole number was 144,652, of whom
42,291 were from Germany, 26,673 from Ireland,
14,638 from England, and 21,780 were born in the
United States. The whole number shows a re-
markable falling off from former years; the arriVals
in 1855 being 230,476 ;- in 1856, 224,490 ; and in
1857, 271,982. Taking, however, the period em-
braced between September 30, 1813, and December
31, 1858, it is shown that there have been added to
the population of the United States from foreign
sources, during those fifteen, years, about 4,051,670
human beings, of whom 2,432,829 are males. It is
thus that the progress of the country is accelerated—
thus. that foreign aid is given to its material
interests.

A very curious yet. most audacious proceeding has
just taken place among what may be called the
dangerous classes in New York city. The Herald.
describes it as a great Movement amongst the thieves
and burglars. It is the fact of a great many thieves,
burglars, garroters, and the members of the rowdy
population generally, getting up a petition to the
Legislature for the abolition of the Office of
City Judge. It is truly remarked, that " during the
last two years the City Judge has sent many of the
distinguished leaders of these confraternities to the
State prison and penitentiary, to the great annoy-
ance of the brotherhood ;" and that therefore " they
are naturally determined to get rid of the Judge, if
it can be accomplished." And consequently respect-
able people cannot but exclaim, " Look out for a
grand movement in the lobby, by all the vagabonds
of New York, to get the law passed." For even the
dangerous classes can prevail by the usual means.
Their money is quite as good as that of any other
party.
Mr. Richard Cobden, of Free-trade fame, has
arrived in New York, and is staying at one of
the hotels. His presence, so-far, has not occasioned
any excitement—scarcely, indeed, has it attracted
any particular public attention whatever. His
Free-trade principles are not popular in the. United
States ; and in other respects there is a difficulty in
appreciating the political character of such a states-
man.

THE
W ASHINGTON TRAGEDY.

INTERESTING STATEMENTS OF MR. BUTTER-
WORTH AND HON. ROBERT J. WALKER.

STATEMENT OF MR. BUTTER WORTH,

In consequence of the erroneous and false statements
Which have appeared in the public press in relation to the
death of P. Barton Key, Esq., I feel that it is neces-
sary that I should state the facts, so far as I am connected
with the occurrence.

On Sunday morning, about twelve o'clock noon, I
received, at the house of a friend, with whom I was staying,
a note from he Hon: D. E. Sickles, saying : " Dear B
come to me right away," which I showed to Hon. Robert
J. Walker and Senator Gavin, with whom I was then con-
versing-. I asked the bearer of the note who was there,
and said to my friends, •What can Sickles desire ? " I
immediately went to the house of Mr. S. On my arrival,
I found Mr. Sickles in his bedroom, lying on his face, on the
pillow, overwhelmed with grief. Some time elapsed before
I could obtain an account from him of the cause of his afflic-
tion. He kept exclaiMing, "lam a dishonoured and ruined
man, and cannot look you in the face." Finally, he disclosed:
to me the following circumstances.: —On Friday Mr. Sickles
receveli an anonymous letter,_ stating that his wife was
in the habit of meeting Mr. P. Barton Key at a house on
Fifteenth-street, in a negro neighbourhood. Through an
agent Mr. Sickles had ascertained that Mr. Key had rented

a,vhouse in that neighbourhood, and was in the habit of
meeting a lady-theto corresponding in dreis and appearance
to the wife of M. Sickles. Being- possessed of these facts,
he stated then} to Lis wife oil S"' acid at

irilay the