The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-15 00:00:00

superintend their eenn enpenditure ; and if the surveyor rity he obtained. It was said that the bill d, not provide
\
neglected his duty he might be strummed before the magis- for asa iefactory audit. The provision within aspect to the
tratee and fined. By the present law, in the ease of any audit was not new, and if, in committee a ft trther check
question with regard to the accounts, ready access was could be devised, either cu this point or as to th e borrowing
given to petty sessions, and if there was any question of clause, it would be gladly adopted. The right . hon. gentle-
error on the part of the petty seaelons justices it might be man had referred particularly to the sth clause,. 1.1 which he
carried to the quarter sessions. It Beware(' strange that any thought there was some ambiguity. He (Sir Groonge Grey)
alteration was required in such a law as that, but if any could not see any ambiguity
know in the language
was impee of alas' cl
ntiause.
change was requited, that now proposed was neither right He (Mr. Henley) wished to whether it ve
nor justifiable. This bill transferred to the board elected by on the magistrates to divide the whole county into highnerty
the districts to be formed theliberties, duties, and responsi- districts, or whether their action was limited to a particular
bilities of the surveyor of the parish ; and if there was any part of the county. It was not incumbent on them to divide
difficulty in getting the road repaired under the present sys- the whole county—they could, under the clause, divide a.
tem, he wanted to know by what means the board could corn- portion of it only.
peg the performance of the duty. The present bill repealed Mr. HENLEY—The answer of the right lion. baronet is
the pover of punishing the surveyor for neglect of dutin so far satisfactory. If the words of the clause are net clear
and another clause declared that no member of the board they can be made so in committee.
should be responsible in any shape or way. (Hear, hear.) Sir G. GREY then expressed his willingness to have the
"Under the existing law the accounts of the surveyor must bill referred to a select committee, on the understanding
be subject to an examination by the vestry, and if any com- that its principle was adopted, and that its details would be
plaint were made, the justices in petty sessions would die- considered without unnecessary delay.
pose of the matter without expense, immediately and upon Lord FERMOY said that the objection he entertained to
the spot. Surely the board should be called upon on some the bill was that it tended to promote the principle of
public occasion occasion and under some responsibility to produce tralisation. It swept away parochial control, and the result
their accounts. The new bill proposed that the board should would be the establishment of a central board in London
examine its own accounts, and that they should be subject for the purpose of securing uniformity. His next objection
to no other cheek except that they were required to publish was a constitutional objection. They ought not to destroy
the aeconnts in a newspaper and to send a copy to the $e- local self-government until it hat; been fairly tried and had
cretary of State, who had to lay an abstract of them before proved to fail. Where it had leCen tried it succeeded .
Parliament. He hoped that he had said enough to induce Where there was neglect, the neeslec,t was traceable to the
the house to reject such a bill as this, and concluded by want of vigour in the district justices.
is concurrence in
moving that it be read a second time that day six months. Sir M. W. RIDLEY briefly expressed .i.'
Mr. BASS supported the bill. He found that the high- the principle of the proposed bill.
machine
mbrou ers,
ways were generally in a bad state wherever he went, and Mr. NEWDEGATE considered that the'
he never met with a surveyor of highways who knew any contemplated by the bill would be found very
more about making roads than about making a way to the and that its operation would be found to increase •expense
moon. Ile contended that if properly qualified men were instead of promoting economy.
employed money would be saved to the ratepayers, and the The house then divided, when there appeared
141
roads would be in a far better condition than they were at For the second
reading
present. Against it
Colonel BARTTELOT said that he thought, with some Msjority
alterations and amendments in committee, the present bill FAIRS AND MARKETS IN IRELAND.
might be so framed as to meet the requirements of the case. Sir R. PEEL moved for leave to bring in a bill for the
He helieved that about one-third of the roads in England better regulation of markets and fairs in Ireland, which he
were in a good condition, one-third moderate, and one-third stated to be founded on the report of a select committee
decidedly bad. which sat last year.
Mr. DODSON thought that the bill would not in any After a short discussion, in which several Irish members;
way interfere with the principle of local self government. expressed their gratification at the early introduction of
It only extended the area to the unions. The larger area Irish measures, leave was given.
could let out the work with more advantage to contractors, . POOR RELIEF.
and could afford to employ good surveyors, who were not to On the motion of Mr. VILLIERS, a select committee ten
be found in every parish. He therefore gave the second inquire into the subject of the relief of the poor in Eng-
reading of the measure his cordial support. With regard to I land and Wales was ordered to be printed.
the matters referred to by the hon. member for Notts (Mr. POOR RELIEF (IRELAND).
Barrow), he considered they could be satisfactorily dealt Sir R. PEEL moved for leave to bring in a bill to amend
with in committee. For his own part he thought the best the laws in force for the relief of the destitute poor in
course would be to agree to the second reading, and with Ireland.
the consent of the right hon. baronet (Sir G. Grey) to have After a few words from Mr. George,
Mr. Pollard-
the bill referred to a select committee. Urquhart, and Mr. Lefroy, leave was given to bring in the
Colonel W. PATTEN was of opinion that the eompul- bill, and it was afterwards read a first time.
sory government by boards formed a very grave objection THE VOLUNTARY COMMUTATION OF CHURCH
iven to
to the present bill. RATES.
Mr. 11. BRUCE said the roads of South Wales had been On the motion of Mr. ALCOCK, leave was g
mentioned somewhat disparagingly; but he thought rather bring in a bill for the Voluntary Commutation of Church
unfairly. He recollected when those roads were in a bad Rates, and it was afterwards re td a first time.
state, and when they deserved the name, but now they were The house adjourned at half-past 12 o'clock.
very different. Everybody knew that when a road was ones
put into a good state of repair it did not cost a large sum to
keep it in good condition. (le ear, hear.)
Mr. DEEDES, said having for many years taken a deep
interest in a measure of this kind, he was desirous of stating
that something should be done to remedy the defects in the
present administration of the highway lows, and therefore
he could not help saying that he should vote for the second
reading of the bill. Bat he wished to observe that he could
not agree to all the provisions of the measure before the
house. In the first place, he thought it was unnecessarily
complicated. He could not see upon what principle the
Secretary of State for the Home Department should have
to exercise an active part in carrying into effect some of
the provisions of the bill, for he thought that duty would
be better done if left to the magistrates of counties, who
would be far more able to divide the counties into districts
than the Secretary of State. From his experience, he could
1 state that a vast amount of money was thrown away in
various parts of the kingdom in the repair and management
of roads, and he was firmly convinced that if way-wardens
were appointed and did their duty, the expenses now
lavished in the maintenance of highways would be con-
siderably reduced. .
Mr.WALTER thought there was great necessity for some
such measure as the one before the house. At present, if
highways were out of repair it was hardly possible to en-
force the legal remedies against the surveyors, who were
generally very incompetent persons for the office. He
would give his cordial support to the second reading.
Mr. HENLEY said that highway bills had been so often
before the house, that it would be a curious thing to have a
compilation or a variorum edition of them in order that they
might see how strangely they differed from each other. His
opinion of the merits of the bill would depend on the answer
which he received from the right hon. gentleman the
Home Secretary to a question he wished to ask as to the
true construction of the fifth clause. The bill constituted
a board of waywardens, who were to be elected, but the
right hon. gentleman was evidently afraid they would not
meet, because he imposed a penalty of from £1 to,£s for
their non-attendance. Those gentlemen themselves were,
however, left to enforce those penalties which he called a
very pleasant arrangement. They were actually to fine
themselves for non-attendance. That required a degree of
virtue which it w pnaciblA a hoard might not always
possess. Hear.) They had often heard of chursis-
warden's dinners, but here was Some nice machinery
set up for precisely the same purpose. The board might raise
a tax up to 2s. 6d. in the pound, and borrow money to any
extent. With all this:money in their hands they were to
audit their own accounts.• This was in effect the same as
providing that there should be no check upon the board ;
and no doubt turtle feasts would be put in as materials for
the roads. (Laughter.) As long as the board spent other
people's money it was very desirable, that there should be
an independent audit. He codelsed as he read the fifth
clause it had relieved him of much of the difficulty he had
felt with,regard to other bills submitted to the house, but
he should be glad to learn from .his right hon. friend
whether the quarter sessions would have the power to make
one district in the county out of several parishes, and from
time to time allow other districts to be brought into the
system; or if it would be imperative on the quarter ses-
sions, upon the application of five magistrates, to compel
all the parishes to be brought into the district. The naturi
of the information he would receive should decide his vote.
At the same time, on the principle " volenti non fit injuria," I
he felt that if the magistrates and inhabitants desired to
have the district system, their wishes should be acceded to.
If they had a good district surveyor, they would be sure to
have good roads; if a bad surveyor, bad roads. .If the
right hon. gentleman gave him to nnderkand that he
would enable the magistrates to act piecemeal according to
the svislaes of the county, he Would offer no objection to the
second reading.
Sir G. GREY did not address the house in moving the
second reading of the bill, as there was nothing neiv in the
measure, several other bills identical in principle having
received the assent of the house. Upon the present
occasion, ~with the exception of the hon. gentleman
who moved the amendment, no opposition had been
offered to the • principle of the bill. The measure' was
one foil the formation of highway boards of districts to
superintend the repair of the roads by means of a paid
district surveyor, whose business exclusively would be to
attend to the repair of the highways. The bill rested both
on authority and experience. The House of Commons had
repeatedly supported its principle. The existing law left it
optional to parishes to form these districts, but experience
showed that in very few instances was the law made opera-
tive, inasmuch as the act did not contain a compulsory
power. Where, however, the law was carried out the result
was most satisfactory ; the roads were kept in better repair,
and at a much more economical rate than previously. In
South Wales also, where the same principle as that of the
present bill was in operation, the same benefits had resulted.
It 1859 the total expense of the management of highways
in England was at the average rate of £ll 2s. per mile,
whilst in Wales, under the provisions of the South Wales
Bill, the expenditure was only about £6 a mile. The hon-
member for Nottinghamshire had described this measure as
a confiscating one, and as a deparochialising one, but was
that a sound objection ? It would not confiscate the rates of
the parish, as they would be collected within the parish, and
with the exception of the trifling expense which the man-
agement of the board would entail, those rates would be
spent on the parish. It was not a deparochialising measure,
because roads could not be considered exclusively as local
matters. But it was said by the hon. and gallant member
for South Lancashire that this would be a cumbrous mode
(
of attaining the end in view, and that the board might be
dispensed with, and that all they wanted was a district sur-
veyor. He agreed with the hon. and gallant member that
what they required was a district surveyor, but it should
be recollected that the board was a representative body, and
that in a case of taxation there must be such a body. The
bill would be open to greater objection if it dispensed
with a representative board, and merely left the appoint-
ment of the distiict surveyor in the hands of the magis-
trates, who, without the representative system, would have
the power of enforcing the payment of rates. He
believed that the real difficulty in passing this
bill through Parliament, though its principle was
assented to, was the apprehension of the expense which
would be entailed upon the ratepayers. Now he did not
deny that, where roads were in a very bad state, there might
be an increase of expense in putting them in repair, but
when once those roads were, under the improved system,
put in good repair, they would afterwards be kept in an
say
thea Ty
respect hhgteerhoaa
that
npodieuafalst
tlahhi
npaebrti oghei phto ohuwt s
asbeapedes
ps
cbayhoygonrtutesohliedddeebbroceini
dol.
make beenfchsutaulhmdteahbtwr
aoas opinionutuse ;
no
also
hdb
e--
efficient state of repair at much less expense than under the
jo el cdt
couldesdy system.
:loyal.
mi n
ecnotms
im.
ni tttheaet, '
asked why should the Home-office meddle in the account ?
The object was to procure information which they would
be in a position to lay before this home. Another objection
was that the bill gave an indefinite power of borrowing. It
was plain that there was at least this limit—that the money
was to be borrowed on the security of the rates, and the
lender would of course only lend in proportion to the seou-

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE BY A DISAP-
POINTED Loy-ER AT LEEDS.

A young fellow of respectable appearance, named
John Habbershaw, and who resides in Skinner-
lane, Leeds, has attempted self-destruction. It ap-
pears that he had been paying his attentions to
Miss Caroline Deighton, No. 12, Tulip-street, but
his addresses had not recently been favourably, re-
ceived by that young lady.
A little after 10 o'clock on Wednesday, night.
Police-constable Silverwood, who was on duty
David's-lane, said that Habbershaw came up to him
in a very agitated state, took hold of his arm, and
said in faint and broken tones, " I'm dying, I have
been taking poison. I have swallowed a shilling's
worth of laudanum, and I wish you to find nv.ie
place where I can lay myself down to die."
Pitts, another officer, stated that he went to the'
residence of Caroline Deighton after Habbershavi
had been locked up, and obtained from her a small
oblong memorandum book, which had been sent to
her by the prisoner before he had s wallowed the
poison. It contained the following letter:—
"Dear Carry,—This is the last time you will seo
me. You are the cause of my troubles, but I for-
give you, and nest time we meet I hope it will be
in heaven. Had you have taken my advice vie
should have both been happy, but now it is too late.
You need not inquire about me, for no one will
know my fate. Dear Carry, you must redeem that
ring, and wear it for my sake; I hope you
wily
grant me this request, it is the last ! Farewell,
you may qnd others who may love you dear, but not
love like mine.—l remain, a second George Barn'
well, J. H.—To Caroline Deighton, Tulip-street,
No. 12."
The over-dose of poison appeared partly to haCe
worked its natural—effect before Habbershavir
ac
costed the policeman-, for he must have relieved his
stomach of the greater part of the laudanum wheti
taken into custody. Under the tender care of the
policeman and the medical man to the force he was
soon out of danger.
The magistrates thought the lad required the,.
protection of a parent, and they accordingly
ser
for his mother, to whom he was consignee
lu
course of the afterneon. '

COUNTRY MARK Ll S.

10.,..., ..... -

LIVERPOOL—FEB. 14.
We had a fair attendarrce of town and country buyel
to-day, and medium qualities; wheat were in request.
fully Tuesday's prices, Flour Aoglected, and no alteratorl
in value. Oats and oatmeal hardly inquired for. Barley
beans, and peas in retail at late prices.

WAKEFIELD—FEB. 14.
The show of wheat to-day wag moderate, and busittet
generally very steady.- Barley again rather lower, and it ,
difficult to quit. Other articles quiet, but the prices 1111
altered.

EXETER—FEB. 14.
Wheat, white 7s*6d to 7s 9d I 8ar1ey...... 3s 10d to 4s 64,4
Ditto new .0s Od to Os Od Oats 2s 9d ‘,./3s 0
Flour, fine, 45a to 47k; seconds, 43s to —s per sack.
CATTLE.

The market to -day, with a quiet appearance, was Pl"
moderately supplied with stock.
Fat beef,p score, 10s6d to lls Ewes, per lb .... 6d to vf
Pork carcases, 9s 6d to lOs Od Wethers, do. .6dto 6/
Lambs, per lb —d to —d Fat calves, d 0... 7d to 71
Rough fat, 34cl per lb.

BRISTOL SUGAR—FEB. 14.
Our stocks of West India are now exhausted, and °ai°
brokers' offices are consequently bare of samples. Refill'
goods are now more plentitul. Molasses in very good Or„
ply. Rum at about former rates.