The Sun.
London, England, 1852-05-12 00:00:00

STAMPED PUBLICATIONS

Mr. Puntx applied, on the part of the Commissioners
of Inland Revenue, for the postponement of this case to
enable the Attorney-Genertal to be present. The
case had excited much interest in the public
mind, and was one of very great impirtance,
and it was highly desirable that the Attorney•Gc,-_cral
should have an opportunity afforded him of attending to
open the proceedings. Probably it would be in the
recollection of his Lirdship that there was an under-
derstandiev.; that a further step was to be taken in the
matter. The Court would have to decide whether they
would allow a bill of exceptions.
The CHIEF Banox inquired whether the other side
had consP,nt,ci?

Mr. WILLES, who appoared for• the defendants, said
he ffil3 quite willing to leave the matter in the he.this
the Court.

The CHIEF BARON ob3crved that this was not a
Crown prosecatiun at present, and inquired whether
there was any objection to a bill of exceptions?
Mr. WILLES had to objection to tbe case being with-
drawn, liberty being given to present a bill of exception:.
At the same time, be would like the bill so framed that
the entire question might he raised for a special verdict,
fur it was one of fact as well as law.

Th 9 CHIEF BARON thought that he might make acme
arraugement with the other side.

Mr: WILLES entertained no doubt of his being able
to do so.

The matter then droppi.

131PERIAL PA MA AMEN T.

(THIS DAY.)

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
The SPEAK ER took the Chair at Twelve o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The Liverston Waterworks Bill was read a third time
and passed.
The following Bills were considered and agreed to :
Belfast Harbour.
Gre At Western Railway.
Leven Railway.
London Necropolis and National Mausoleum.
London and Nortb-Western Railway.
PETITIONS.

A considerable number of petitions were presented
against :he Militia Bill, and also against the Maynooth
grant,

Mr. W. BARON presented a petition in favour of
the ocean penny postage.
Mr. COWAN presented a petition from Greenock,
Against the Charitable Trusts Bill.

ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE.
Mr. WALPOLE moved that the House at its rising
should adjourn until Friday next.
Sir B. HALL complained that Members who were
serving upon Committees on a Wednesday had not op-
portunity, in consequence of the shortness of notice, to
get to the House in time for a division. He suggested
that a short time should be allowed to elapse after
strangers withdrew, before a division took place.
Mr. W. PATTEN thought that at present no altera-
tion should be made in the usual practice of the House.
Lord DUDLEY STUART said it was quite unne-
cessary, as well as very inconvenient, to require the
withdrawal of strangers during a division.
Captain HARRIS thought that the reporters ought to
be allowed to remain in the gallery, even though the
other strangers were ordered to withdraw, because it
often happened that important discussions took place
during their absence.
Mr. GLADSTONE was against any new regulation
beiag made during the present session. He thought the
better plan would be to refer the subject to a Select Com-
mittee.

Mr.WAKLEY would prefer leaving the matter in
the hands of the Speaker.
After a desultory discussion on the same subject, and
also with
the go reference to the ventilation and dirty state of
use,the motion for the adjournment was agreed to.
LOSS OF THE BIRKENHEAD.
Mr. gustz
loss of the asked a question, whether, after the late
nßrnirkenhead steamer, it was the intension of
the Gores
Africa to theetnntrto order a survey of the East Coast of
were numerc es atnhward, where the passages of vessels
Mr. STAFFORDI rsc sent.
under the considerati replied that the question had been
culty had arisen in
er of the Government, but a diffi-
for in the years 1852 and
of the surveys provided
survey of this paintlnd 1853 not including a
If the survey were rimy_ part of the Cape.
undertaken as extra min
14 would have to be
however, made up their minds to 1111 e Government had,
as extra work; and arrangement ave the survey made
that purpose. He might Isle/a'
ion t
had been effected for
that the loss of the
Birkenhead was hardly to be attributed
survey of the coast.. The court-mart the imperfect
institute an inquiry into the loss of theial appointed to
proposed to la
a report, which he
.vessel had made
y on the table -
and to have printed for circulation. on Fri-
day,
ABOLITION OF THE PROPERTY QUALIFICA-
TION OF MEMBERS.
In reply to Mr. HUME,
Mr. TUFNELL said
• he felt compelled to wi •
thdraw
his Bill to abolish the property qualification. of Members
during the present session. Ile did, so reluctantly, but
if he had the honour to be ro-elected, he would bring it
forward again at an early period next session.
PARISH CONSTABLES BILL.
On the motion for goiaginto Committee on this Bill,
Mr. RICE hoped that at this period of the session.
this Bill, which was a piece of experimental legislation,
would not be further proceeded with.
Mr. trREVirEN defended the Bill, which he said
would remedy the present anomalous state of the law
in a very satisfactory and economical manner.
Mr. DEEDES said he was not in a condition to ask
the House to assent to the Bill as it now stood, and he
would, therefore, move that they go into Committee pro
forms, so as to enable him to introduce new and amend
other clauses.
The Bill then went through Committee pro forma.
ABOLITION OF THE PAPER DUTY.
On the order of the day being read for resuming the
adjourned debate on this subject,
Mr. COWAN said he had been a paper manufacturer
thirty years, and daring the last twenty years he had
made representations to the Government of the injustice
of the tax, but unfortunately they had not been attended
by any success. If the impost were removed a very
great impetus would be given to the manufacture of
paper.—(Hear, hear.) There was this peculiarity
about the duty, that it not only involved a
protracted survey, but a variety of details were to be
recorded by the manufacturer, which consume a serious
amount of time. The trade was severly depressed by
thexcise laws, and it was the duty of the House to see
whether some measures ought not to be adopted to re-
medy the •
evil. The evils which the paper manufac-
tory. suffered from the long and dreary drudgery "
to which
it was subject
these burdens. The
such as entitled it to 3 relief fromments for the mantle success of many large establish-
cramped, and in many
of paper had l: en entirely
duties to which the
cramped,
instances crushed by the heavy
Bight Hon. the chaWnce:o subject. He hoped that the
take the proposition ii343-4ZUG,,Exejscqucr would
The ooket of the propeati,i,„.*4 -4
'd t. retries puns: era ton.
tain immediate reliettut tt,714, 'neiti 01 much to ob.
tendon of the Govefirinent - `3?111'.-c.i.saupon the at-
Mr. GLADSTONE said.thiie was nrulotibt i
that it was
extremely iuconveniZtfor-1-1-
---;74Atsrebcrs, boweverr inju-
rious they might think any particular tsx to.b
themselves unconditionally to its iremedistae, to pledge
hoped that it wag Weil understood pal. He
.list, for the

present year at least, they were to rally round
the Chancellor of the Exchequer in opposition to
any attempt to repeal any tax. Two branches
of the question—that relative to the
paper used
in the packing of manufactured articles, and that which
was employed in the printing of newspapers, had been
fully brought before the House; but there was another
branch, the consumption of paper in the printing of
literary works, to which he wished more particularly
to call the attention of the House. He hoped that
when the Chancellor of the Exchequer felt him-
self in a position to be able to propose a
reduction of this tax to the House ho would
take care not to lend himself to throwing away the
public revenue for the profit of combinations. At the
present moment a most interesting and important struggle
was going forward In the bookselling trade, by which a
number of booksellers were attempting by restrictions,
most imprudent, in his opinion, to prevent the price
of books being mitigated even to the extent
of a few shillings per cent. by the energy
and enterprise of certain of the retail dealers, who were
disposed to afford the benefit to the public. This
struggle was at present being adjudicated on by Lord
Campbell, Mr. Grote, and the Dean of St. Paul's, and by
their judgment the London booksellers had agreed to
abide.—(Hear, hear.) The publishers of books in
London were in the habit of supplying the re-
tail bookseller at a discount of 25 per cent, and
they in their turn for the most part sold them to
none of the public at a reduction of less than 10 per
cent., leaving to the retail dealers 15 per cent. Some of
the retail dealers said that they could give a greater dis-
count, but the combined booksellers opposed to this
declared that if the others did not come under
an engagement not to allow a greater discount,
they would shut them out from the trade, and,
in fact, deprive them of the means of gaining
their livelihood. Now this restriction was in his opinion
a great evil; it had gone near to reduce the sale of books
to what he might call its minimum amount, and had
made the state of the book market in this country a dis-
grace to civilization. We had in this country, perhaps,
the largest educated reading public, and which also
ought to be the greatest book-buying public, bat with
the Exception of certain great authors, such as
Mr. Macaulay, scarcely any new book had a
sale of more than 500 volumes, and those which passed
this were certainly not mere than from one-tenth to one-
twentieth of the whole number published. Going into
a friend's house one did not find new books lying on
his table, except such as were rendered necessary by
their professional character, but there was something
from the circulating library or the book club. And
what were these book clubs but ingenious expedients,
which men had adopted to mitigate the monstrous evils
which they had experienced from the enormously high
price of books? Another consequence was, that the
printers, in their turn, finding the book trade combined
against the public, thought they might as well have a
share in the spoil, and combined against the book trade,
and it was a fect that in London, Oxford, and Cam-
bridge, the printing of books was 25 per cent. dearer
than in the other towns of the kingdom. Another
consequence was, the treaties which we had entered into
with continental nations for the protection of cur book
trade, and the regulations which we attempted to esta-
hlish in the colonies for the same purpose were entirely
feustrsted by the high price of English buoke. There
were more faculties, he believed, in this country for the
production of cheap books than in any c,thcr—(Llear)—
and so far as quality wan concerned, we could no produce
cheaper books than could he produced anywhere else.
He hoped in conclusion, that, when the Chancellor of
the Exchequer felt himself more able to lay this tax
before the House, with a view to its reduction, he would
take care that the public revenue was not thrown away
for the sake of one interest.
Sir W. CL AY considered that the first of the series of
resolutions of the Right Hon. Gentleman having refer-
ence to the paper duty, was one bound up inseparably
with the several questions of Excise duties, and he
would, therefore, advise the Right Hon. Gentle-
man to abandon that portion, and rely on the . two
latter ones—the abolition of the advertisement duty and
the penny stt.mp. He saw no reason why these two
should not be taken into consideration at once without
delay.

Mr. MOWATT thought that this question was inti-
mately connected with the education and employment of
the people. The fact was that they took a far greater
sum from the people in the shape of paper duties than
they spent on them in education, and with regard to the
question cf employment, the paper duty deprived
the people of the means of gaining their living
to an extent far greater than tha amount which those
duties produced. He instanced the immense number
of persons employed in France in the manufacture of
paper boxes; and the fact that the American traders
bought in England, at the very doors of the cotton-mills,
the refuse of those mills, curried it off to America, and
manufactured it into paper, which they carried to our
colonies, and undersold there our own manufacturers.
Mr. REYNOLDS called upon the Government to
abolish this tax in the case of Ireland as one instalment
of the compensation which was due to her for the in-
juries which legislation had inflicted on her. The abo-
lition of these taxes would be a great boon to Ireland;
it would encourage industry there, and lead to the ma-
nufacture of the fibrous particles of the red bog, 4f atraw,
and of flax into paper.
Mr. O. RICARDO thought that the repeal of the
newspaper duties would be a great boon to the Attor-
ney-General, for, as far as the penny stamp was con-
cerned, no man was in a greater difficulty than that Hon.
and Learned Gentleman. It was quite uncertain whe-
ther the Government meant to prosecute the Household
Narrative.
The ATTORNWZ-GENERAL—We do.

Mr. 0. RICARDO —lt appeared that another publi-
cation had come under the notice of the Stamp-office, the
Stoke Narrative of Events, but the Government having
failed to obtain a conviction in the first case, on the
ground that the publication was not stamped, had dug
up an old Act, which prohibited any monthly publica-
tion being brought oat on any but the two days before
or after the first of the month. He should like to hear
an explanation of the intentions of the Attorney-General
as to those prosecutions, for it must be remembered that
a Government prosecution was a very serious matter.
If a defendant succeeded he did not get costs, and if he
failed he had to pay both sides.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said that the idea
that these prosecutions against newspapers which might
be thought to violate the stamp duty originated with the
Attorney-General, was an erroneous one, they originated
for the most part with the Stamp-office, and the At-
torney-General rarely heard anything of the case until
the brief was put into his hand to prose-
cute the matter.—(Hear, hear.) With regard
to the Household Narrative, proceedings had been
commenced to bring the question to an issue, and
a special case had been submitted to the Court of
Exchequer. The opinion of the Court was not unani-
mous, and his (the Attorney-General's) predecessors not
being satisfied with the decision, had taken proceedings
to have it brought before a superior court, and on
coming into office he had thought it his duty,
and for the interest of the public, that the law
should not be left in that uncertain state which this de-
cision left it in, had continued these proceedings, and a
special verdict was in course of being prosecuted. As
to the Stolle Narrative, he had never heard of it, or the
proceedings against it, except in that House. With re-
gard to the question of costs, the Government neither
paid nor received costa; and he certainly did not think
this was fair to defendants. They ought to have some
protection, and ho had long had it in contemplation to
introduce some measure on the subject.
Mr. MACGREGOR supported the repeal of the paper
duty, thinking it would be a stimulus to industry.
Mr. HUME thought that if the surplus in the hands
of the Chancellor of the Exchequer were devoted to the
repeal of these taxes, instead of paying bounties to militia
volunteers, it would be much more gratifying to the
country.
Mr. KER SEYMER objected to the paper;duties, in
die first place, as being Excise duties, and in the second
cations; but considering that it had been agreed
place, as interfering with the circulation of cheap publi-
among the Honourable Gentlemen opposite that the
whole question of taxation should be left to the conside-
ration of a new Parliament, he should now oppose the
present motion.
Mr. WAYLEY could see no reason why the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer should have voted for this mo-
tion last year, and now that he got into office oppose it.
He thought the conduct of the Government in renewing
the prosecution against the Household .Narrative was
most reprehensible, and especially when the man thus
selected to be dragged into a court of justice was Charles
Dickens. He thought the author of " Vivian Grey"
ought to blush at sanctioning any such proceeding.
Mr. KNIGHT admitted that booksellers and paper
manufacturers would be entitled to the abolition of the
duty if the duty on the importation of foreign books and
Paper were repealed, and if they were placed in the same
Position as that of the farmers in regard to the imports.
tion of corn. Farmers were subject to free trade
and had great burdens to bear, but the particular inte-
rests
on
waa affected by this question were not so, and yet it
....prroposed to relieve them from taxation.
eth_s!th,_s
.011-
resolutionMlLNEß GIBSON explained that the first
which the House would divide was,
sunk financial arrangements be made as would
euarTyl'a.rperiiizaent to abolish the duties on paper at as
the public revenue.
eupossible consistent with the security of '
The CHANCELLOR'
the repeal of the e.
The other two resolutions were for
rosftatmhep andEx CthHeEadQvuerEtißsemseanidt
duty. nevrspaeo
Members were in erroridn supposing he had stated that
these particular taxes had
consideration of the been specifically under the
noltl thatsuf
Government.esohaldaraeoarplus at his disposal.
It was incorrect to
assert that he hadh
On the contrary,
it was merely nomi-
nalchieent to justify the
in amount—certainly
House in repealing these taxes, and d tholight that
more reliance would have been placed he.
the present resolution, which had b
on his financial statement. Re by Son. Members
pledging the House to
warned the House not
nothing, but re-
presentedbeen
nhihgreat inconveniences in theof
pledged the House
plate
e of the country.
to an opinion which might
in
no raecsciej dt
ye to
s
way the
financial
T iie ultimatelyhi arrangementsu
s e then divided, when there appeared—
For the first proposition
••• •.. 107
Against .• ••• Igs
Majority ...
...
...188

For the second ...
Against
Majority ••• I_o9
For the third... ••• fl 6
Against •.• ••• ••• 181
Majority ..••
_65
TRUSTEES' ACT EXTENSION BILL,
This Bill was read a second time.
COUNTY COURTS FURTHER EXTENSION
BILL.
The House then went into Committee on this Bill,
Clauses from 1 to 24 were agreed to,

The House then resumed.
Sir W. CLAY mentioned that ho had voted in the
wrong lobby on the second division, ho having int3nded
to support Mr. Milner Gibson.
It being six o'clock the House adjourned.

LONDON COFFEE and EATING-HOUSE
KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The anniversary dinner of this a sscciatioia took place
on Tuesday evening at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great
Queen-street, under the presidency of Sir William Clay,
Bart. M.P., supported by more than 190 gentlemen.
The report of the committee states that the amount of
subscriptions for the veer are 1491. 16s. 6d. The amount
received from the same source last year was 180/. Ifls. 6d.,
showing a deficiency in the list of donations, but at the
same time exhibiting an amount of subscriptions corre-
sponding with former years. The interest arising from
the property invested with the Commissioners for the
Reduction of the National Debt amounted, for the year,
to 931.95. Id., and has been added to the principal, making
a total of 2,5431.35. 3d. During the past year attempts had
been made, as heretofore, to augment the funds of the as-
sociation by auxiliary efforts, and the committee report
that a railway excursion to Rye House prodaced a net
profit of 61. 2s. 8d ; and a ball and concert at the Eagle
Tavern, 261. 7s. 7d. At the last half-yearly meeting,
in January, another pensioner was added to the list,
besides 3 orphan children. The committee, in conclu-
sion, observe that it is important that the attention of the
subscribers should be directed to two objects, that of
electing officers for the ensuing year, and to endeavours
to increase the number of its subscribers. The
address states that "it is intended, if the
funds of the institution will permit, to extend
this latter purpose to the establishment of a school,
where the orphans of deceased membrs will be educated,
clothed and fed, and rendered fit for making their own
way through the world in a creditable manner. The ge-
neral statement of accounts for the year endingJuly,:lBsl,
shows under the head of receipts the following items:-To
balance in hand, brought forward, 61. 7s. 4d. ; donations
and subscriptions, 149/ 16s. 6d.; profit ou railway excur-
sion, 6/. 2s. Bd.; profit on ball and concert, 261.53. 7d.; in-
terest on stock, 931 9s. I d.; making a total of 282/ ls. 2d.
Under the head of expenditure we find the following:
-Interest added to stock, 931. 9s. Id.; pensioners, 841.
155.; committee rooms, 6/. 65.; printing, 81. 35.; adver-
tisements, &e., 4/. 9s. I Id.; secretary's salary and pound-
ag, 241. 2s. 3d.; secretary, for extra services, 51, 55.•
incidentals, 27/. 195.; leaving a balance in hand of 27/.
113. I ld. ; total, 2821. Is. 2d. The amount of funded
property is 2,543/. 3s. 3J. _ _

The CHAIRMAN, in proposing " Prosperty to the Lon-
don Coffee and Eating-house Keepers' Asseeiation," said
he would remind them of the extent and importance of
the trades for whose benefit this association was founded.
He found that in the metropolis alone there were no less
than 4,000 coffee and eating-house keepers, arid that this
number was: rapidly increasing—increasing oven more
rapidly in proportion than the population of our great
metropolis. This tact could not bat prove a source of
gratification to tho people at large, and especially to the
working classes, because the increase of suck establish-
ments was a precursor of the power of the working classes
to procure enjoyment, and also of the supply of means for
gratifying that desire, and further it was to be observed
that these establishments supplied the means of intellec-
tual amusement, nay, more, o intellectual improvement,
for those establishments supplied the working man with
that which would meet his desire for reading—they gave
him the chief sources of popular education, the daily
prose, and other valuable periodicals. For, where was the
coffee or eating-house in which there was not to be found
the means of reading? Having made these observations,
he would ask, was a trade so extensive, wealthy and im-
portant, sufficiehtly represented by that association? He
would be as surprised as delighted to find that the
growth of the association kept pace with the growth of
the trade. All great institutions did great good, hecaase
they brought together and made known to each other
the first men in the trade; further, they enabled them
to act in concert to defend the rights of all, and brought
under the notce of public men anything injurious to
the trade, and, to sum up all, they gave them strength
from union. They created a species of public
opinion, they tended to discourage the bad, if
such there were, and encourage the good, and thus
the tone of the trade generally was raised in public
estimation. He, therefore, as a public man, earnestly
bespoke through them the support of the trade from
which this association had emanated. This was the
first time he hal presided over them—he should be
happy to do so again, on one condition, that the number
of members should reach 400 ; and, in conclusion, he
hoped they would place themselves upon an equality
with the licensed victuallers, iu founding a school, and
when that foundation took place they might depend
upon his presence.
Mr. HARE, one of the trustees, proposed the " Health
of the Chairman," who briefly replied.
The other toasts were " The President and Vice-
President," " Tho Treasurers aid Trustees," " The
Press," " The Visitors," " The Committee and Auditors,"
and " The Ladies." A handsome subscription was an-
nounced during the evening.

THE AMERICAN EXPEDITION
TO JAPAN.
(From the New York Herald.)
WASHINGTON, APRIL 20.
_

The President recently transmitted to the Senate a
communication, containing official documents relative to
the empire of Japan, under a resolution of the 4th of
March. These documents consist of extracts from the
instructions given by the State Department to various
individuals, since 1832, together with a communication
from James Glynn to the President, with reference to
his transactions in the Preble; copy of an extract from
the New York Herald, of the 3d of January, 1851, &c.,
together with instructions given to Commodore Aulick;
and a letter from the President to the Emperor of Japan,
dated May 10, 1951. The letter of the President has
already been published. The highly important letter of
instructions to Commodore Aulick has not, however,
been yet given, and will be found below. It displays
the object of the visit to Japan, so far as the President
has given instructions to the East India squadron, and
is, in reality, the gist of the whole affair:—
' Department of State, Washington, June 10, 1851.
" Sir,—The moment is near when the last link in the
chain of oceanic steam navigation is to be formed. From
China and the East Indies to Egypt, thence through the
Mediterranean and the Atlantio Ocean to England,
thence again to our happy shores and other parts of this
great continent; from our own ports to the southern-
most part of the Isthmus that connects the two western
continents, and from its Pacific coast north and south-
wards as far as civilization has spread, the steamers of
other nations and of our own carry intelligence, the
wealth of the world, and thousands of travellers.
" It is the President's opinion that steps should be
taken at once to enable our enterprising merchants to
supply the last link in that great chain which unites all
nations of the world, by the early establishment of a
line of staamers from California to Chine. In order to
facilitate this enterprise, it is desirable that we should
obtain from the Emperor of Japan permission to pur-
chase from his subject the necessary supplies of coal,
which our steamers in their out and inward voyages
may require. The well known jealousy with which
the Japanese Empire has for the last two centuries re-
jected all overtures from other nations to open its ports
to their vessels embarrasses all new attempts to change
the exclusive policy of that country.
_

The interests of commerce, and even those of hu-
manity, demand, however, that we should make another
appeal to the Sovereign of that country, in asking him
to sell to our steamers—not the manufactures of his ar-
tisans, or the results of the Oil of his husbandmen—but
a gift of Providence, deposited by the Creator of all
things in the depths of the Japrriese Islands for the be-
nefit of the human family.
" By the President's direction I now transmit to you a
letter to the Emperor of Japan (with an open copy),
which you are to carry to Jeddo, his capital, in your
flag-ship, accompanied by as many of the vessels of the
squadron under your command as may conveniently be
employed in this service. A Chinese translation of
this letter will be furnished to you by the United States'
Legation at Canton, and sent to your anchorage at
Hong-Kong or Macao.
" At one of the latter places you will probably meet
with a national vessel, detached by the commodore of
the squadron in the Pacific (as yqu will perceive by the
enclosed copy of a correspondence between this and the
navy department) to carry to you a number of ship-
wrecked Japanese mariners who were some time ago
picked up at sea by the barque Auckland. These men
you will take with you to Jeddo, and deliver them over
to the officers of the Emperor, giving them
through your interpreter, the essurance that the Ame-
rican Government will never fail to treat with kind-
ness any of the natives of Japan whom misfortune may
bring to our shores, and that it expects similar treat-
ment of such of its own citizens who nay be driven on
the coasts of Japan.

" The letter of the President to the Emperor of
Japan you will deliver to such of his high officers as he
may appoint for the purpose of receiving it. To them
you will explain the main object of your visit.
" Mineral coal is so abundant in Japan that the Go-
vernment of that country can have no reasonable objection
to supplying our steamers, at fair prices, with that great
necessary of commerce. One of the eastera ports of Niphon
would be the most:desirable place for this purpose. Should,
however, the Government of Japan persist in following out
its system of exclusiveness, you might, perhaps, induce
them to consent to the transportation of the coal by their
own vessels to a neighbouring island, easy of access,
where the steamers could supply their wants, avoiding
thus the necessity of an intercourse with any large num-
ber of the people of the country.
" It is considered important that you should avail
yourself of every c 2casion to impress upon those Japanese
officers with whom you will be brought in contact, that
the Government of the United States does not possess
any power over the religion of its own citizens, and that
there is, therefore, no cause to apprehend that it will
intefere with the religion of other countries.
" The President, although fully aware of the great
reluctance hitherto shown by the Japanese Government
to enter into treaty stipulations with any foreign nation
—a feeling which it is sincerely wished that you may be
able to overcome—has thought it proper, in anticipation
of this latter favourable contingency, to invest you with
full power to negotiate and sign a treaty of amity and
commerce between the United States and the empire of
Japan.
" I transmit, herewith, the Act of the President,
clothing you with that power, as also copies of the
treaty between the United States and China with Siam
and the Muscat, which may to a certain extent be of use
to you as precedents. It is important that you
dispose of their cargoes should secure to our vessels the right to enter
one or more of the ports of Japan, and there to
without being subjected to extravagant port yibresarrg9t.enesdr:
janadpaenvesnhomulodreb s either by s
iinnieritretealnfttoi s
p protect
oi ttetchtaAt the
alearl :oar.sb Government of
a

property which might be on their shot es. The second
article of our treaty with Muscat and. the fifth article
of the treaty with Siam embrace those objects.'
" Every treaty has to be subjected to the Senate for
ratification, as yon are aware. In consideration of the
great distance between the two countries, and of un-
foreseen difficulties, it would ;be prudent, should you
succeed in effecting the object proposed, to fix the pe-
riod for the exchange of the ratifications at three years,
"I am, Sir, respectfully, your obedient servant,
" DIN, (EL WEBSTER.
" Commodore John H. Aulick."
The accompanying note from the Minister of the
Netherlands hero will also be found int eresting:—

(Translation.)
" Note Verbale.—lt is a matter of puNic notoriety that
foreign vessels are excluded from Japes, h by the Govern-
ment of that Empire. It was, nevertht less, determined
in 1842, that, if sneh vessels should be cast upon the
shores of Japan by storms, or come there in waist of
provisions, with a view of asking for s uch commodities,
water, or wood for fuel, those articles a hould be granted
to them on request.
"For fear, however, lest this determi nation, prompted
as it has been by feelings of humanity, should give rise
to any false interpretation, the Gove-rnment of Japan
has solicited that of the Netherlands t o inform the other
Powers that the above-mentioned re solution does not
infringe upon or otherwise imply any modification what-
ever of the system of separation ens 1 exclusion which
was adopted more than two centuries ago by the Ja-
panese Government, and since the establishment of
which the prohibition against allolying any foreign
vessel to explore the Japanese cos sts has been con-
stantly in force.
" The Dutch Government has ma do no difficulty of
complying with this request, espeols illy as the Govern-
ment of Japan has no other means c.t making a commu-
nication of this nature; and in punt lance of instructions
from the Cabinet of the Hague, tl 4e Legation of the
Netherlands has the honour to C 0133 municate the above
mentioned facts to the Hon. Secrets ry of State of the
United States, for the information of his Government.
"April 30, 1851."

MORTALITY in the ME TROPOLIS.
NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CATISI 38 REGISTERED IN
THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, MAY 8, 1852.
Epidemic, Endemic, and ContagOus Diseases ...*193
Diseases of Uncertain Seat ...
Tubercular Diseases ... ••• ••. 190
Diseases of the Brain, Nerves, and S enses... ... 108
Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vest eels ... 37
Diseases of the Lungs, and other Organs of
RespiraZion ... 166
Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, am other Organs
of Digestion... ...
Diseases of the Kidneys, &c. ••• •••
Childbirth, Diseases of the Utcrua, ,S 4 ...
Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and, Muscles
Diseases of the Skin, &c.
Malformations... ...
Premature Birth ...
Atrophy
••• ••
Old Age •
••• •••
Sudden
••• .•• ••• ••• •••
Violence, Privation, Cold, and I: itzmperance
Causes not specified ...

• • • ••• •• • ...
••• ••• •• •

... 3
... 26

... 32

..• 14
••• 13

DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSER. ••• ••• 972
Population 7 EN-lens in corre- Deaths
g week in the
diviamlin
Enumera.,/,
1851. .of 1851. Week.
West Districts... 376,427 • - 168 ... 118
North Districts.. 490,396 •• 202 ... 205
Central Districts 393,256 —• 181 ... 184
East Districts ... 485,522 ••• 216 ... 197
South Districts.. 616,635 •-• 274 ... 268

T0ta15........ 2,3€2,236 ... 1,041 ... 972
Maks ..„ ... 498