The Sun.
London, England, 1830-04-07 00:00:00

LABOURERS' WAGES.

Lord NUGENT, in rising to move for leave to bring in
a Bill for regulating and altering the mode of paying la-
bourers' wages, said that this measure affected the interests of
a very large and important class of the community; namely,
the labouring population of the country. It also affected
the interests of the rate-payers in a very material degree.
It was said the alteration which had taken place in the pa-
rochial law with respect. to the payment of wages changed
the whole character and habits of the labouring classes ;
and if this were so, and he was afraid it was too true, not a
moment was to be lost in providing a remedy, for the evils
of the present system had already gone to an immense ex-
tent. Hon. Gentlemen who resided in the country must be
aware of the vicious practice to which he alluded. It was
technically called the " Rounding System," by which was
meant the system of paying labourers' wages out of the poor-
rates. In the immediate district in which be himself re-
sided, owing to the inveterate tenacity with which this
wicked system was persisted in, the earnings of unmarried
labourers did not exceed 3s. 6d., and were often so low as
3s. a week. This was a pittance on which it was impos-
sible for any working man to exist; yet the farmers would
employ no labourers who were not content to be paid at
that rate. Last year, during a season of the greatest seve-
rity, this wretched trifle of 3s. 6d. and 3s. a week was at
one time three weeks in arrear. It might, however, be
argued that this could not have been the case, for the la-
bourer, having no credit with the baker or with the butcher,
could not exist in the mean time without some means of
support. He (Lord Nugent) was not bound to show in
what proportion the wretched man might have struggled
with misery and starvation, or in what proportion he might
have had recourse to stealing in order to sustain life; but
this he must say, in justice to the labourers of the part
of the country to which he alluded, that at the last
assizes for the county of Buckingham the calendar was
much lighter than he had known it for several years.
No one could possibly be aware of the distress that pre-
vailed in that county who did not, as he did, come in daily
contact with it. He and the other Magistrates of the
districts frequently found young men coming before them,
in the depth of last winter, without either food, fuel, or
raiment. So likewise were they called upon to relieve, at
the same inclement season, poor women, with children in
their arms, perishing from cold and hunger, and having
no place to return to, on leaving the Sessions-house, but a
miserable cottage, cold and dismal, with a roof scarcely
proof against the violence of the elements. The answer of
the overseer to the labourers who applied to him for relief
generally was, that he had no complaint to make agai let
them ; but that as no rates could he collected so no new
rates could be made, and therefore there was nothing to
give to applicants. Under those circumstances there was
only one course open, which was to distrain for the rates
due. This was a severe expedient; but it was at the
same time called for by the pressing urgency of the occa-
sion, and many worthy persons were obliged to feel the
effects of it—" Delicta majorum immeritus fuss."
The object of this Bill was to give to the Magistrates the
power to grapple at once with the " rounding system,"
and to enable the parish poor to de without it. The Bill
proposed to make it legal for two-thirds of the inhabitants
of every parish to bind the remainder as to the rate of pay-
ment to be agreed to. The measure was not to be obli-
gatory unless adopted by two-thirds of the inhabitants.
This Bill involved three principles; the first was to en-
courage the occupiers of land to employ as many labourers
as possible; the second was to lighten the parish rates, by
a fair exchange of labour for a fair equivalent ; and the
third was to open and secure to the labourer a fair market
and a fair price for his labour. These were the objects
contemplated by the measure which he proposed to intro-
duce, and he hoped that the House would concur with
him in the opinion that some measure of the kind was
furgently called for by the extremely distressed state of the
labouring poor. He begged that Hun. Gentlemen would
observe that he limited his Bill entirely to one grievance
and evil connected with the rounding system He did
not think that the measure would apply beneficially in
cities or large towns, where that or some similar system was
not recognised or acted upon. He should conclude by
moving for leave to bring in a Bill for promoting the em-
ployment of the labouring poor by furnishing them with
free hiring and adequate wages.
The question was put by the SPEAKER, and carried
without any observation.

Lord NUGENT then moved that the petition which he
had presented should be printed.
Mr. LENNARD wished to offer a few suggestions to
his Noble Friend relative to this measure. Ile thought
that certain persons ought to be exempt from its opera-
tion. For instance, a farmer holding a small farm, and
cultivating it himself, should be exempt, not from paying
the rate, but from receiving a labourer under this Bill;
also, a father having several sons grown up, he thought
should be excepted ; but, at tr:e same time, he would not
consider the persons claiming these exemptions as qualified
to vote at vestries. He thought the Bill would be benefi-
cial, by ensuring regular labour to the pauper, and pre-
venting the necessity of paying him out of the poor-rates,
with the many evils by which it was attended.
Lord NUGENT said a few words in explanation
Mr. RIDLEY COLBORNE said that before condemn-
ing the measure, it would, of course, be but fair to see the
details of his Noble Friend's Bill ; but he must confess
that he did not expect much from it.
Lord J. RUSSELL did not think the Bill calculated to
do good ; and he gave notice that, at a future stage, he
should oppose it.

Mr. CALVERT postponed to the 14th May his motion
relative to the petition of the tobacco manufacturers,
and said that he was confident he should then be able to
convince the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the unfor-
tunate case of the individuals on whose behalf he under-
took this matter.

Mr. SPRING RICE in the absence of Sir James
Macintosh, moved for leave to bring in a Bill to indem•
nify parties who had suffered by the insolvency of Gilbert
Ricketts, Registrar at Madras. He hoped that no oppo.
sition would be offered to the bringing in the Bill, ;Ind
that any discussion upon its merits might be reserved for
the future stage.

Mr. ASTELL should reserve to himself the right of
opposing the Bill in all its future stages.
Leave was then given, and the Bill was brought up and
read a first time.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved
the order of the day for taking into consideration the
postponed resolutions of the 2d of April.
Mr. BRIGHT begged leave to ask the Right Hon.
Gentleman whether he was prepared to propose any measure
for the consolidatimi of the Assessed Taxes ?

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER rep!ied
that he had really been so fully occupied with the cons,
filiation of the Stamp Acts, which comprised a gnat body
of law, that he was not prepared at present to say when
he should be able to propose any measure on the other
subject.

111 r. BRIGHT wished to understand whether the
Right Hon. Gentleman thought that he should be able to
consolidate the Assessed Taxes this Session or not.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER should
be very desirous to propose such a measure, but he would
rather not be called upon to state the precise time.
Mr. CALVERT was anxious to know what arrange-
ment was contemplated relative to the composition for the
Assessed Taxes. It was desirable that the public should
be informed on this point, as the composition would ex.
pire in October.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said
that the housevortee,vfoadnrad they .
se a
Ia countryr i
es
of
Officers
should :
of
or
e at i sdfinead the
i
subjectthine a
The resolutions were then read a second time.
On
ilr. HEIIIE said that if the office of Lieut.-General of

the Ordnance was to be kept up, the Pk/ of that e3IL3-
cure ought to be reduced from 3,000/. be 10100/. the
amount at which it stood till 1801. It was a reelection
upon the Government that those sharps which is 1796
cost but 13,000/. should new amount to 70,9001. Since
they refused to attend to the daily warnings which they
received, he only hoped that the revenue would fall
3,400,0001. by this time twelvemonth, and then those who
had been sn neglectful of their duty would be sufficiently
punished.—(A laugh )
Cul. SIBTHORP hoped that the revenue would fall
double what the Hon. Member of Montrose had said, fur
without that he feared the Government would not be
brought to a sense of its duty. He should be always ready
to support the Hun. Member fur Montrose in his endea-
vours to procure all proper reductions of expenditure.
Mr. TRANT thought the department in question was
managed efficiently, and without any unneoessary expense.
The resolutions were then agreed to.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved
the order of the duy fur receiving the Report of Supply.
Sir A. GRANT brought up the report, and the resole-
Cons were read.

Mr. HUME begged to ask whether there was an annual
manufacture of gunpowder •till carried on.

Mr. PERCEVAI replied that there was some, but a
very small quantity manufactured.
Mr. HUME said that if the Hon. Gent. would look
int' the returns, he would find that tide article cost the.
Government three times as much as it could be purellased
o r.

Sir JOHN WROTTESLEY wished to take that op-
portunity of asking the Hon. Gentleman to clear up a con-
tradiction which had occurred on a former occasion. It
had been asserted that the Government applied to the
East India Company to manutieture arms for them, but
that the offer was rejected by the Company, on account of
the price and quality of the articles. He believed that
this, as well as the other establishments of the Government,
was conducted on a very expensive seals.
Mr. PERCEVAL was mistake• in the answer which
he gave on the former occasion. Seek as offer was, in fact,
made, but it was refused without referense to the pries.
The resolutions were then agreed to.
Sir A. GRANT brought up the report ea the Four per
Cent. Annuities Bill.

The amendments were agreed to, and the Bill ordered to
be engrossed and read a third time to-morrow.
On the motion of Mr. BRIGHT, a rater■ was Endured
of the amount of duties received in 18t9.

The other Orders of the Day were ikon disposed uf, and
the House adjourned at Fire miscue' after Ekren o'clock.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The evidence on the Elletiborougl. Divorce Bill,
printed by order of the House of Commons, brought
down the proceedings to Friday last, and we deem
the publication of it essential to the gads of justice,
as \yell for the facts which have been thereby
established, as for the omission of many other and
highly important circumstance., which is obvious to
e‘eiy body even on the most cursory perusal. So
far as the report of the evidence gorse, and so far us
that evidence is of a positive nature, it would be ex-
tremely uncandid to deny that nothing appears
which could be adduced as an argument for with-
holding from Lord Ellenborough the legal remedy
which he solicits. His wife's adultery has been
made out, as it would seem, if not by any one wit-
ness of perfectly unitnpeached and irresistible credit,
at least by a union of direct and incidental occur-
rences, each reasonably well attested in its kind ; and
not affording any fair or weighty objection to the in-
ference that the last crime against the marriage vow
was (perhaps frequently) committed by that lost). oung
creature, scarcely more than just arrived at woman-
hood. If the case presented no aspect beyond this, we
should say that Parliament had an easy office, and that
no further doubt need be entertained on the pro-
priety of granting Lord Ellenborough's applicaticm.
But is this really all? Ofan active promotion and fur-
therance of his wife's licentiousness, there is no
ground, from aught that has been disclosed, for charg-
ing the Noble Baron. But ofnegligenee,—reekless, in-
conceivable negligence,—after the explicit statement
of Miss Steele, he cannot be acquitted so easily.
Public opinion is, we believe, outdo up as to the
name of one, we might say snore than one, of the
female profligates against whom Lord Ellenborough
was warned by his lady's governess, and anxious
and watchful friend. Opinion is made up with re-
gard
,to that, or rather these, individuals—why ?
because of her or their reputations; because their
vices have been notorious, and their habits of life
are understood in general society to have long been
depraved and infamous. Yet Lady 11.1Ienborough,
who, in the bosom of a retired and virtuous family,
bad never had intercourse with or seem such persons,
was made acquainted with thews by her husband,--
a man almost twice her age, who had always lived
in the fashionable world of London, and to whom
it was impossible that the moral elzaracter of any
woman, occupying a very forward place in that
community, should hare remained unknown. Lord
Ellenborough must have had opportunities of being
satisfied that the readiest way to destroy the inno-
cence of an inexperienced female is to plunge her
into the company of other females less innocent,
hat more practiced than herself. Yet, even when
cautioned on the delicate subject of the bad counsel
and example to which his wife was thus exposed by
the intimacies.to which he had himself introduced
her, what was the reply of Lord Ellemborough to his
prudent and well-principled adviser ? Hs laughed!!
Again we say, that Lord Ellenborough, for aught
that is yet apparent, must be exonerated from all
suspicion of connivance at his unfortunate wife's dis-
grace ; but the above conduct, on his part, we sub-
mit, was short only of connivance. It was a heart-
less indifference, to us inconceivable, except on the
ground, first, of his being on such terms with his
lady as to render him regardless what became of her,
in which case he has no merits to plead on behalf of
a remedy by divorce; or, secondly, on that of his
having formed an attachment elsewhere; in which
case, if proved, neither law, nor justice, nor the
most obvious interests of society, would permit the
guilty husband, even of a guilty wife, to obtain that
authorized release from the obligations of a compact
which both had violated. To maintain the allega-
tion of their living on happy terms together, wit-
nesses, among whom was the brother of Lord Ellen-
borough, were brought to prove what their manners
appeared to be in the presence of these third
parties. That is, surely, a most fallacious test.
To demonstrate that a man and woman of rank are
not in the habit of calling names, or swearing, or
making savage faces at each other, is really very
little towards the purpose of proving that they
live on happy terms. A fashionable man and
wife of the 19th century would not, in nine in-
stances out of ten, be at the trouble of making un-
pleasant scenes, by the use of unbecoming language
towards each other, or by loud tours, or angry
gestures, or even by laying aside the modes and
symptoms of conventional complacence and good-
nature. No, there is hardly a roue and titled
strumpet about town,—however sick of their ma-
trimonial fetters,—who would for all the world do
so ungrateful a thing as to discard the mutual accom-
modation of obliging, yea, of endearing epithets, in
daily intercourse in the presence of others, even be-
fore their dornestiss. They neither use daggers,
nor speak them : the age does not hear such .
aandParff"eYctiofonra yy
ex-
cesses;feeliyg t
ot h.
indulge, o y dislike,
theythatfand fobrge
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but their own personal pleasures. The noble hug-
sgohfilip:Commons, which cons
hand amuses himself with some pretty
ltyjitiesickennllner oriinig.iwo
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tains some old hands among its members, did not
scout the nonsense by acclamation. As there
has been no opposition by Lady Ellenborouph or
her family to this Bill, we must conclude that nei-
ther she or they have any objection to let the divorce
be completed. Now this is a state of things which
naturally begets the idea of some collusion between
the parties. It is not correct of Sir Henry Har-
(bilge to imagine, because " the families" of the
separating parties are equally desirous of a divorce,
that, therefore, there exists no other party with an
interest at stake, or possessing the right of interfer-
ence. The community at large has a direct interest in
every question of dissolving the tie of marriage; and so
far from the law of England favoueisg the grant of

a divorce by reason of its being agreeable or con-
venient to the parties whose union that divorce
would sever, there is no circumstance looked at with
more jealousy by our laws than a proceeding to
break the bend of marriage by consent. Where
such an agreement can be proved, an active inquiry
is for the most part countenanced into many colla-
teral facts antecedent to the proceedings for divorce.
The very knowledge that the legal separation is
sought, as a matter of reciprocal benefit, weighs
powerfully with all English tribunals to frustrate
that object, which is only held to be legitimate
when it is a relief to one party, and a punishment
to the other. But the party seeking relief must
come" with clean hands into court." An adultress
cannot lawfully divorce her profligate husband, nor
can an adulterer his adulterous wife. Here, again, if
there be no opposition by either ploy, there is a
prima facie motive for investigation on behalf of
the country, which has a direct interest in prevent-
ing the grant of a divorce to that party against
whom a charge of adultery could be proved, thouth
it may not have been brought by the other. In the
present case we Aar not affect any mystery. If it
could be proved that Lord Ellenborough, who seeks
a legal remedy against his wife, had himself been
guilty towards that wife, of wrongs precisely similar
to those for which be pays the Parliament to re-
lease him from all connexion with her, it would be
the duty of Parliament to do for the sake of the
public what the wife had failed to attempt for her-
self ; it would be the duty of Parliament to origi-
nate the plea of recrimination—to examine what-
ever witnesses could he found capable of proving it ;
and wheu proved, to found on it a rejection of the
Bill of Divorce. Whether such a charge against
Lord Ellenborough could be effectually sustained,
we cannot answer : but it seems to us, from reports
which are current, that an inquiry might, with a
view to the ends of justice, be advantageously di-
reeted to what is called by one of our correspondents,
the " Brighton affair,"—an affair, for the reality of
which we do not certainly vouch, but which, if
real, was beyond all question monstrous ; and which,
if established in all its parts by satisfactory evidence,
would undoubtedly defeat the Bill. We forgot to
mention that there i• one part of the case already
before the public which requires some further eluci-
dation,—viz., what reason did Lady Ellenborough
assign to any body for separating from her husband's
bed ; and how came Lord Ellenborough to agree to
such a proposition from so young and lovely a
woman ? Some members of Lady Ellenborough's
family might be properly examined upon the first
point ; Lord Ellenborough himself, on the second
reading of the Bill, or an examination of the
" Brighton affair," might throw some light upon
the second.—Titus.

Lord Ellenborough's Divorce Bill was last night
read a third time and passed. Indeed, as we hinted

yesterday, such a result was all but inevitable; see-
ing, in the first place, that the chief opponent of
the Bill proceeded on the absurd ground that the
adultery was not proved ; and secondly, that no-
body had the courage to proceed on the true ground
—the alleged conduct of Lord Ellenborough with
respect to other women. His Lordship now, or at
least in a day or two, will be at liberty to marry
again. We suppose he will be more cautious in his
next union, and will probably consider that Miss
Steele took a correcter measure of the character
arid effects of " respectable society," than his viva-
cious friends Sir -Henry Hardinge and Sir George
Clerk. We had at first intended to say a few words
of comment on the speeches of these two support-
ers of the Bill, but we are restrained by a feeling of
kindness in the instance of the former gentleman,
whose generous ardour for his friend we respect,
and by another feeling not worth naming in the in-
stance of the latter. If, instead of insinuating a
draw of what he foolishly calls conspiracy, Sir
G. Clerk had spoken fairly out, we might have
taken the trouble to answer him : as it is, he must
have the satisfaction of railing without reply.—Titter.
By the official accounts of the revenue to the sth
inst. incl naive, it appears that the Excise duties
have been less productive this last quarter than in
the corresponding one of the year 1829 by
208,000/., end the Stamps and Miseellaneous by
mpwards of 28,0001., but that the Customs, Post-
office, and lazes, have experienced an increase of
91,0001., leaving a general deficit upon the quarter
of about 245,0001. In looking over the several
items of increase and diminution, it is impossible
not to be struck ha, the feet that the principal seat
of reduced revenues is that which indicates a di-
mimished consumption of almost 10 per cent. in
commodities taxable to the Excise. This, upon the
face of it, is a decided proof of an increase of
poverty among the people; and if it could not, in
some part at least, be accounted for by a severity
of season, which during full half the quarter threw
various classes of industrious workmen out
of bread, it might pass for proof that tire taxes are
not skilfully apportioned, an undue pressure being
left upon the poor; and the more so, because an
improvement (though a small one) has occurred in
the receipts as well of the Post-office as the As-
sessed Taxes, which branches of revenue are mainly
supported by the upper and middle orders of society.
The fact, however, is, that although much weight
ought to be allowed to the suspension of many de-
scriptions of work during the late inclement winter,
and to the consequent abstinence of the unfortunate
persona thug thrown out of wages, from most of
those comforts, the use of which had hitherto gone
towards swelling the receipts of the Excise-office, we
are still apprehensive that the taxes payable by the
poor are not judiciously or considerately levied, and
that a commutation, to a certain extent, might take
place with much advantage to the bulk of the people,
and to the public income. A question might be put
by some Member of Parliament, which would show
at once whether the increase of upwards of 80,000/.
in the Customs during the last quarter, or about 2i
per cent. on the gross amount of the corresponding
Ouster of last year, was accompaned by a greater
increase of foreign or of British shipping. If the
shipowners know, they will not inform us; so that
Niniqers ought to be interrogated on the subject,
and another rebuke given, as we expect there would
be, by their answer, to the senseless complaints of
e relative decline in our shipping.—Tinter.
The case of Lord Ellenborough formed last night
the sulject of a discussion of some length and some
warmth. The Bill was, however, passed by a great
majority. The whole of the difficulty in this case
arises out of tile state of the law. The law says that
marriage shall be indissoluble, thereby declaring that
adultery, desertion, eud every conceivable injury,
shall not be sufficient to destroy the character of hus-
band and wife. When, therefore, a party comes before
Parliament with a verdict in a Court of Common
Law against a third party, and a divorce of an
Ecclesiastical Court a mensa et thoro, he may
still be met by the answer, all this the law
has foreseen, and held an insufficient title to dis-
solve marriage, for if it were slot held to be
insufficient, divorce would be allowed to ells When,
therefore, a party has established the commission
of adultery, as Lord Ellenborough has, a conscienti,
ous Member of Parliament may still say, why am I
to be made accessory to a piece of injustice, by aid-
ing in setting aside the Law in favour of an individual
who feels himself inconvenienced by it, but who has
established so title to relief which it had not de-
clared to be invalid. How are laws to be respected
if the great themselves set the example of violeting
them ; and what is a Divorce Bill but an act of gross
and arbitrary tyranny? What should we say of a
Sovereign who passed a law that all who co:nmitted
murder should suffer death, but who himself tool:
the liberty of dipping his hands in innocent blood,
and allowed his favourites to do so with irepunirY
And is what respect does the conduct of Parliament
differ from that of such a Sovereign ? What signifies
it whether one man or seven hundred men allow a
departure from the law ? We say, without hesita-
tion, that every Legislator who votes for a Bill of
Divorce is guilty of a flagitious act, no matter how
viten the act may have been before perpetrated ; and

that if hie conscience do not reproach him for it, it
is only because it is seared, and insensible to right
and wrong. There may be cases of hardship not
contemplated at the time of passing a law, on the con-
sideration of which the Legislature, acting under an
equitable feeling, may relieve the suffering parties from
its operation. But a Bill of Divorce on the ground
of adultery is not such a case—for adultery was
in the contemplation of the makers of the law. The
principle, then, of setting aside the law in the case
of divorces, and in all other cases where the rule is
equally clear, ought to be reprobated as arbitrary
and partial—as tending to destroy in the people all
reverence for the law, and to persuade them, that
while it is binding only on the poor, it is held in no
regard by the rich. The Chancellor of the Exche-
quer, on Monday night, said, " it was a sacred duty
on the Members of that House not to conduct them-
salves so as to make the people believe they are not
indifferent to their religion." Does a vote to set
aside the law, from motives of favour, tend to make
the people believe they are not indifferent to their
religion ? " Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers
weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have
in thine house divers measures, a great and a small.
But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight,
a perfect and just measure shalt thou have ; and
thy days may be lengthened in the land which
thy Lord thy God giveth thee. For all that do
such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an
abomination unto the Lord thy God." By passing
such Bills, does not Parliament prove that it has
two weights and two measures ? Does it not do
that which Scripture declares is an abomination unto
the Lord ? Every Act of this kind which the Par-
liament passes is a declaration that justice has been
sacrificed to partiality and favour, or that justice is
denied to all who are in a similar situation, but who
are held to be bound by the rule.. Because other
Parliaments have dealt in double weights and double
measures, that is no warrant to a conscientious
Member of an existing Parliament; for were such
a defence to be allowed, evil would never be in
want of a j istification. But were there a law, ad-
mitting a divorce, a vinculo mat rimonii, there does
not seem to have been anything in the conduct of
Lord Ellenborough towards his wife, as far as the
evidence goes, and a party cannot be expected to pro-
duce evidence against himself,which ought to preclude
him from the benefit of its provisions. Sonic stress
has been laid on the circumstance of his Lordship's
not having slept with Lady Ellenborough for some
time before the discovery was made ; but this took
place at the request of the lady herself, and who
would wish to draw aside the veil which has been
thrown by the parties on this part of the case ?
There might have been many reasons for justifying
his Lordship in consenting to this measure, which
cannot even be publicly alluded to. As to the not
always accompanying her Ladyship in public, or
allowing her to go out alone, it betrays very low
notions of the morality of the sex to dwell on such
a circumstance. The lawyers, from always attach-
ing so much importance to this point, have almost
succeeded in persuading many people, that a hus-
band has no right to complain of his wife, if he allows
her to be out of his bight for ten minutes. Even
in Turkey, where women are kept under lock and
key, there are as many intrigues as elsewhere, if
travellers are to be believed ; and indeed, the virtue
of the woman who is only virtuous so long as she
has no opportunity of being otherwise, is not worth
much. This notion of the necessity of having a
constant eye on woman, is very degrading to the
sex, and is making teen pay a very high price in-
deed for their matrimonial comforts. With respect
to the loose society in which Lord Ellenborough
allowed his wife to mix, it seems to be generally
admitted by the Members who supported the Bill,
that between solitude and such society his Lord.
ship had no choice. Dr. Lushington, who must be
presumed to be well versed in such matters, says—
" Then he directed himself to the evidence to ascer-
tain if either criminal neglect, connivance, or can•
sion, existed on the part of Lord Ellenborough, and
here he found nothing by which the slightest impu-
tation could be cast upon the Noble Lord. For
when he considered the habits of high life, and the
customs of the world, should he consent to try Lord
Ellenborough by a different rule from that which
was applied to others ? Certainly not. Were they
to call upon his Lordship to say he had been
more cautious and more suspicious than the
Noble Lord or than the Honourable. Baronet,
who had lately, strider similar circumstances,
sought relief in that House ?"—ln fact, if
the parties to whom Miss Steele objected, how-
ever notorious they might be, were, notwithstanding,
universally received in fashionable society—that is,
the society of the great class to which Lord and
Lady Ellenborough belonged—it would be hard on
his Lordship to impose on him the necessity of
playing the Censor, and affecting to be more fasti-
dious than his neighbours. Mr. Hume, it would
seem, almost convulsed the House with laughter for
hinting as to the separate beds, that " in this coun-
try in general females did not withdraw themselves
from the beds of their husbands.—(A laugh.)—lt
might not be the case in that fashionable society of
which so much had been said ; but in general it was
the practice of the country for wives not to go away
from their husbands. The case might be different
among the society of the gentry, but in general it
was not the practice. Like Miss Steele, perhaps,
he considered many things wrong which in fashion-
able society were overlooked."—Sir Henry Hard-
inge also, alluding to this point, observed, that Miss
Steele, " who deposed to that part of the case, ad-
mitted that her principles were considered rather
strict, and that her ideas might be thought scru-
pulous. In considering that portion of the evidence.
they ought also to recollect that Miss Steele,
although a highly respectable and intelligent woman,
did not move in that class of society which enabled
her to form a very adequate judgment of the man-
ners of those persons against whom she warned Lord
Ellenberough." All this certainly goes far to justify
Lord Ellenborough with respect to the charge of in-
troducing his wife to improper society. It proves
that there are two codes of morality in sexual
matters in this country—one for common life, and
another for fashionable iife. But then it does seem
rather inconsistent, that they who make so light
of such matters, should, at the same time, when the
ball comes round to themselves, think it necessary
to appear before the Legislature to demand the law
to be violated in their behalf, to relieve them from an
intolerable evil. In Italy and Spain men are more
consistent—they give and take. Fashionable society
in England would, therefore, appear to lie yet not
completely formed.—A great deal of intemperate
language was made use of with respect to Mr.
flume, which, as be himself observed, might have
been well spared.—A curious argument was urged
by Dr. Lualiington, that the opposition to the Bill
originated in the unpopularity of Lord Ellenborough.
On the other hand, Sir Henry Hardinge, related to
him by his former marriage, spoke in the warmest
tesras of his amiable disposition. It has been often
remarked, that men who are satisfied with them-
selves are generally good tempered ; and his Lord-
ship is generally thought to be on good terms with
himself. Perhaps his confidence in Lady Ellen-
borough might have its origin in the same cause.
We do not believe that his Lordship is unpopular;
but there is a strong disposition in the world to
mortify those who appear to be well satisfied with
.hemselvesa—allorning Chronicle.

SYDENHAM, OR MEMOIRS OF A MAN OF
ilir, WonLn.—This work is at present exciting the ut-
most powiilds attention from its containing numerous satiri-
cal sketches of distinguished individuals, whose eccentri-
cities though admirably hit off are perhaps too deeply im-
bued with the tints of exaggeration. Among other por-
traits we have, however, no difficulty in recognizing the
following :—Beaumont, as BR UMMELL —Mrs. Majendie's
set—The late Duchess of PortmANn's Coterie. Claver-
too Home—Devonshire House. Singleton—SHEßlDAN.
Broughton—BKoucllAM. Lessingham—TtEßNEY. Pal-
mer--WyNDII AIL Deveril—the late SPENCER PER-
CRVE.L. Lord Wallingford—the late Duke of NORFOLK.
Dick Lutw T. Yelle--S Liox a. Lord Torkingten—Earl
F1TZW11.1,1,0.1.

LONDON,
WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL 7, 1830.

His MAJESTY holds a Council at Windsor
Castle this day. The Duke of WELLINGTON,
the LORD CHANCELLOR, Earl ABERDEEN,
and most of the other Ministers, left town this
morning about eleven o'clock, for the purpose
of attending the Council. The Recorder of
London will make his report of the convicts
under sentence of death in Newgate.

Lord ELLENBOROUGH'S Divorce Bill was
read a third time last night in the House of
Commons, and passed by a majority of 70.
There was an animated debate on the occasion,

in which iVir. HUME and Sir H. HARDINGE
particularly distinguished themselves. Mr.
Hum opposed the Bill, chiefly on the plea
that Lord ELLENBOROUGII had not been suf-
ficiently zealous in superintending and directing
the actions of his wife. The Hon. Member
considered that his Lordship had evinced sim-
gular negligence on the occasion. Sir H.
HARDINGE defended him warmly and at con-
siderable length. Dr. LUSIIINGTON put forth
some pertinent remarks on the subject of the
Law of Divorce as at present established, which
seemed to make an impression on the House.—
We hope that the attention of Parliament will
he directed to this important subject before the
close of the Session.

The CHANCELLOR Of the EXCHEQUER
gave notice last night, that to-morrow he would
move that the House, at its rising, do adjourn
till Monday, the 26th inst.:

The French Papers of Monday, with the
Gazette de France, dated Tuesday, have been
received. The Messager des Chambres copies
from the Courrier Francais the statement that
M. de VILLELE is to leave Paris on Monday
next, the 12th of April, but that he is not
going to Toulouse immediately, and that he
will return to Paris again
The Messager des Chambres indulges in some specu-
lations with regard to the results of the approaching African
campaign, and assumes, as a point unquestionable, that the
French Government, once master of Algiers, will never
relinquish its grasp of that possession. " Little doubt
can be entertained," says the Journalist, " that France has
an understanding on this subject with Great Britain,
which, by means of the lonian Islands, Gibraltar, and
Malta, is as much a power of the Mediterranean as France
herself. With reference to the form of Government to be
established on this part of the African coast, we are pro.
vided with some information, which may be deemed cu-
rious and not altogether improbable. The Duke of Char-
tres is to embark with the fleet, and afterwards to reign
over the new conquest, holding thus on the African coast
a sovereignty for the benefit of France, which may lie con-
sidered as a counterpoise to that held by Leopold in Greece,
fur the benefit of Great Britain. Certainly, if two regu-
lar Governments should be established in Greece and on
the Barbary coast, piracy will for ever be annihilated,
and the Mediterranean will become. an emporium of com-
merce, especially since Egypt by its new institutions, and
by its intercourse with European Governments, bids fair
to make progressive steps in the arts of civilization.
It is generally reported at Toulon, that the Duke de
Chartres will accompany the Dauphin, and will afterwards
embark on board the Provence, and go with the expedi-
tion. The four steam-boats building in the private yards
of Toulon have been engaged by Government to form part
of the expedition, and will be occupied with those belong-
ing to the State in conveying despatches to and from the
coast of Africa, as long as the army remains there.
The Augsburg Gazette of the Ist instant contains the
following advices

" LEGIIOR.N, Maacat 24.—8 y a letter just received
from MAlta, we learn that Admiral Ricord has been ap-
pointed to succeed Count Heyde'', in his command of the
Russian fleet stationed in the Levant.
tERYIAN FRONTIERS, Mencit 20.—Prince Miloseh
has set out for the frontiers to meet a Turkish agent, with
whom he is instructed to negotiate the incorporation of the
seven districts with the Ottoman empire, conformably to
the treaty of Adrianople.
" We are informed by letters from Egina, dated the 30th
of January, that a Russian squadron, consisting of seve-
of Malta, and that Vice-Admirals Azarof,
ral ships of the line, bad received orders to return to Cron-
stadt by way
Ricord, and Budakef, were on board of that squadron.
Admiral de Rigny had arrived at Egina on the 22d of Ja-
nuary, per Cents., 106 f. 25a.
!wary, and was still there on the 30th of that month."
, 54f. 15c.:10e. sc. 10c. sc. • Bank
Cents.,
Rentes de Naples, 93f. 254. 93f.
10c. sc. 93f.i15e. ; Royal Spanish Loan, 90!,,iti )0 901,i 90'.4 ;
Rentes Perpetuelle d'EsPaFne, 76j% ; X 3/,', % ; liaytian
Loan, 555' 560 f. 555 f on London—One month,
2S°ctole:Rk:°°,l7,93Hl%Ff..';l:',ll)9.lsl'`2.r—te-.ePs.PocAeß.rils,9lo'. ;
paper, 25f. 65c. ; three months, paper, 25f. 50e.

The ng are extracts from Dutch and
Germanh e fo
llPapersoi :_.

BERLIN, I,tmtcm 26.
We have received very unfavourable accounts from

Dantzle and Breslau of the state of the rivers. The Oder,
especially, had risen to an extraordinary height in Silesia,
and overflowed several villages.

wAnsAw, meacif 24.

The inhabitants of the banks of the Vistula are in great
distress. Yesterday the river rose so suddenly that all the
adjacent streets, both in the city and suburbs of Praga,
were overflowed. The river still continuos to rise, and
has to-day reached the height of 15 feet 7 inches. The
river Pilica, too, has risen to such a height as to cut off all
communication with the country through which it passes.

According to an official census, the population of our
kingdom at the end of the year 1828, inclusive of the
military, amounted to 4,088,282 souls. In 1823, it
amounted (also without the military) to 3,704,306 souls•
The Jewish population amounted in 1828, to 384,263
souls.

VIENNA, MARCY 26.—I1letalliqu,s, 1031 ; Four per
Cent. ditto, 9Si ; Bank Shares, 1358—i❑ the evening,
1360.

EXCHANGE ON LONDON.-12 32/. to 12 30.
Two Months 12 25 to 12 22i.

The Gazette of .Agram says—" A Commission is now
sitting in Servia, of which Prince Milosch Obrenovich is
President, and is under the direction of the well-kuowu
Servian author, Wuk Stephanovich Karagy, which is
employed in drawing up a Constitution for Servia. This
Commission has taken as guides the Austrian Civil Code,
and the French Charter ; but it is said that the Austrian
Civil Code has been considered as the best suited to the
purpose, and that almost the whole of it has been already
adopted."

CARLSRUIIX, MARCH 29.

On the 26th ult. his Royal Highness the Grand Duke
was suddenly seized with a vertigo, accompanied by ♦omit.
ing. According to the three bulletins of the following
days, his Royal Highness, after a pretty good night, was
much better on the 27th ; but the following night was
restless, and followed by a state of debility, which in-
creased the next day and last night, so that his Royal
Highness is no better.

FRANKFORT, MARCH 30.

In the Seventh Sitting of the German Diet, the Pre-
sident informed the Assembly that M. de Zeechan, Mini-
ster of the kingdom of Saxony, had delivered to him a
sealed paper containing the sentence passed by the Royal
Court of Appeal at Dresden (appointed arbitrator, by a
resolution of the Diet, 22d June, 1826,) in the affairs of
the Grand Duchy of Hesse, as well for that country as for
the Crown of Prussia, against the Electorate of Hesse and
the Duchy of Nassau, conjointly with the Crown of Wur-
temburg, concerning the debts of the ancient electorate of
Mayence secured in the toll of Vitzbach, and the rent or
revenue of Sohneck. This sentence is to the effect, that
the possessors of portions of the formerly Electorate of
Mayence, as well on the left as on the right bank of the
Rhine, are bound to take upon them the debts of the said
Electorate, secured as aforesaid, including a claim of
232,000 florins, from the Sombard (public office for lend-
ing money on pledges) of Mayence, secured on the toll of
Vitzbach. Each party to bear its own costs.
The statement of the affair and the sentence of the court
having been read, the Diet resolved, that the sentence
having been communicated to the parties concerned, the
original document shall he deposited in the archives.
The Journal of Genera contains an article written by
the well-known Dr. Gosse, who has been so long in
Greece, in which he endeavours to show that the new
Greek State, confined to the limits assigned it by the final
decision of the Allied Powers, will be destitute of every
thing necessary to ensure its independence; the frontier
now fixed is weak, and almost defenceless on the land
side, and, without Candia, quite insecure against attacks
by sea; that the territory is unequal to the maintenance
of the army, especially cavalry ; the revenue wholly in-
sufficient, and the population too scanty: he estimates it,
however, including the islands, at 1,543,000 Ben's.—
Hence, lie infers, the proper frontiers are those of an-
cient Greece, viz., on the Continent, the course of the
river Voitizza (Avus) to the north of the Acroce-
ranian mountains, :rotn its mouth in the Adriatic
to its source; the mountain chain of Menzora and
Olympus to the Gulf of Salonichi, between Pla-
' tamona (Palattnina) and Rhateri (Patmosi) and
Patmos, Nikaria, Candia, Scarparittio, and Cassias,
must belong to Greece, from which it would be
unjust to exclude Samos, the inhabitants of which dis-
played so much energy during the revolution. The Eng-
lish Government, if it knows its own real interest, and
wishes to make itself popular i❑ Europe, will hasten to
give up to Greece islands that belong to it by their lan-
guage, manners, and religion, and which, so the English
themselves say, are a burden to the public treasury, and of
no advantage except to some favoured sinecurists. Thus
Dr. G. thinks Greece would possess the elements of in-
dependence. Epirus and Thessaly have fertile plains,
fine forests, an industrious population of 500,000 souls,
with the advantage that the Turks are to the Christians
at the most only as one to fire. Candia, with a popula-
tion of 90,000 Christians, and which is capable of sup-
porting 1,500,000 inhabitants, is the key of Greece on
the sea side, and indispensibly necessary to its safety. As
for the lonian islands, a look at the map allows they
ought to belong to the continent.

The accounts respecting the health of Sir
ROBERT PEEL (received this morning) are
favourable.

It would be doing Mr. PEEL injustice not to
acknowledge the great good he has already con-
ferred, and still continues to confer, upon society,
by his ameliorations of our Criminal Code.
That Code, or rather confused heap of laws, is
the legacy bequeathed to us by our barbarous
forefathers, whose savage severity has been even
added to within our own generation. Laws
have been made from time to time upon the spur
of the moment, on the occasion of the commis-
sion of a particular offence, visiting that offence
with a punishment wholly disproportionate to it,
and therefore unjust ; no general principles of
jurisprudence have been considered ; no uniform
system of legislation observed ; and the result
has been the existence of penal laws in our Sta-
tute-book, which may almost be called monuments
of crime themselves. Sir SAMUEL ItomiLLY
first exerted himself to bring about a reforma-
tion, and his efforts have been happily followed
up by Mr. PEEL, who, uniting both the will
and the power, has already established for him-
self a reputation which posterity will honour.
To remove the punishment of death from such
forgeries as those of receipts for money or goods,
of stamps, of orders to defraud, of the paper on
which Bank-notes are stamped, and of deeds and
bonds, is a great point gained. Can it be affirmed
that no other means exist of preventing these
offences than capital punishment ? Is a man's
life of no more value to society than a three-
penny receipt stamp, or a water-mark in paper ?
Surely it was time that this Draconian code should
be brought to an end, and that our law should
be put on a footing more consistent with justice
and the practice of all civilized nations
But much remains to be done ; nor can the
upholding capital punishment for the forgery of
transferable and negotiable securities of the
Seal, or of wills, be de-
Great or Privy
fended upon any sound principle. The
same reasons which have induced Mr. PEEL to
recommend the abolition of death for one class
of forgeries, demand it with preCisely the same
force for another class. There is no difference
in guilt, that we can perceive, between the forgery
of a Bank-note in a perfect, and in an imperfect
state—between the counterfeit of a deed, and of
a will. The distinction made between the two
latter is indeed quite ridiculous ; and Mr. PEEL'S
assertion that a will of personal property requires
no witnesses is not to the purpose, because every
one knows that when such a will is not attested

by two witnesses on the face of it, it cannot ob-
tain probate without the oath of two persons to
its genuineness. But the truth is, that capital
punishment for offences against property is not,
in principle, justifiable ; and until the Legisla-
ture agrees upon and lays down some principle
or rule of jurisprudence, before it begins to act,
our law must remain anomalous and inconsistent.

It is, to say the least, extremely questionable
whether society possesses the right to put its
members to death in any case whatever. It is,
at all events, clear that such a step can only be
justified by the necessity which society is under
to preserve itself from destruction. Self-pre-
servation, and no other cause, warrants the put-

ting to death of prisoners of war, which is other-
wise a barbarity abominated by civilized nations.
If the Legislature can satisfy itself that it pos-
sesses no other means of preventing the viola-
tion of public justice, than by sacrificing the
violator, it may be warranted in so doing;
but the burden of proof is upon those who
maintain the necessity of the sacrifice,
and tremendous indeed is their responsi-
bility. Ignorance and cruelty are too generally
united to allow of any confident hope of the
total abolition of capital punishments in this
country at an early period ; but, for the eventual
accomplishment of this object, we must look to
the progress of education, with the reliance that
it will gradually give to society a higher and
better tone—a more philosophical spirit—and a
stronger attachment to just principles than are
at present to be observed in it. We are con-
stantly boasting of our advances in civilization,
whilst we regard with indifference, and even
with approbation, the continuance of the most
barbarous and savage practices amongst us.

We direct our readers' attention to an able letter,
published in another column, and addressed to the
Editor of a Morning Paper, on the subject of what
the writer calla " The St. James's Park Job." In
this letter a complete expose is made of the " job"
in question, of its origin, progress, of every thing,
in fact, immediately or remotely connected with it
We are not without hopes, however, that Parlia-
ment, by a timely concession to the wants and
wishes of the people, will render any more such
strictures superfluous. Mr. HonuousE has an-
nounced his intention of shortly bringing the ques-
tion before the House, and Government, anxious
as it certainly has shown itself, to listen respectfully
to the public voice, will no doubt cheerfully throw
open the thoroughfare from Waterloo-place into the
Park.

SHIPPING 'NI ELLIGENCE --(THIS DAY.)

FROM LLOYD'S.

DEAL, Amu. 6.—Wind S.W.—Arrived from London,
the Rockers, Dunlop, for Sierra Leone; and John,
Munroe, for Berbice.
PORTSMOUTH, APRIL 6.—Wind N. to W.—Off Port,
the Craigevar, Ray, from the Mauritius.
PLYMOUTH, Amu. s.—Wind N.E.—Arrived the
William and Mary, Mills, from Figueira. Sailed the Sir
Charles Forbes, for New South Wales.
FALYOUTH, APRIL s.—Wind E. strong breeze.—Ar-
rived the William Maitland, Jamieson, from the Mauri-
tius. His Majesty's ship Primrose was spoken with off
Ascension o• the 4th of February ; and his Majesty's ship
Sparrowhawk on the 16th, in lat. 7. N. long. 27. 30. W.,
by the William Maitland.

The Arkwight, Brown, from Aberdeen to Savannah,
Iva' driven on shore in Widewell Bay, during a heavy gale,
the 29th ult., but expected to be got off.
Extract of a letter from Smyrna, dated Feb. 24 :—A
passenger who left Malta on board the Camilla, has ar-
rived here in a French vessel, and states that the Camilla
left Navarin at the same time, and that he saw her going
into Scipho during a gale—thus she was safe ten days ago ;
she has put to sea six times from Naval is, and been driven
back by bad weather, but it appears had not suffered damage.
Vessels spoken with.—The Diana, from Amsterdam to
Berbice the 25th of February, in tat. 19, long. 37. ; Vir-
ginia, from Baltimore to Bremen the Ist inst., in lat. 48,
long. 10, by the William Maitland, arrived at Falmouth.

TIIE FUNDS.-(THIS DAY.)

CITY, TWELTB 0' CL 0 GK.

Livearoot, APRIL s.—There has been a limited de-
mand for British Plantation Sugar, the sales of the week
amounting to only 350 lihds. at about former prices; no-
thing has been done in other descriptions, except the dis-
posal of 270 bags good white Bengal ; there has been a
better demand for Coffee. The demand for Cotton in the
early part of the week has been rather limited, but subse-
quently an extensive business has been transacted, the sales
amounting to upwards of 16,900 bags. Tobacco remains
dull, prices barely supported. There is an evident im-
provement in the Pine Timber Market the last week or two;
the demand for the country appears to be increasing, and
the holders are more confident ; the sales of Indigo this
week have been confined to some few chests and small
parcels. The Grain Market during the week has been
rather uninteresting.