The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-12 00:00:00

STATE OF TRADE.

(From the Manchester Guardian of this day.)

• MANCHESTER, MARCH 11.—The receipts of cotton at
the American ports continue to be so much larger than
was expected, as to give rise to a very general persuasion
in this market that existing prices cannot be maintained.
Spinners are willing to take fully id. per lb. less than
they would accept last week ; and manufacturers also are
prepared to make some little concession from what they
then required for most articles. Since the decline com-
menced, we have lost id. to Ad. per lb. in the me-
dium and lower counts of twist and weft—warps, pin-
cops, and India mule having suffered in the greatest de-
gree. Even printing cloths do not command quite the
same prices, and 40-inch shirtings are now fully' 44d.,
6d.; and 74-d. per piece below the late highest rates. To-
day there is a more decided impression than there was
either on Tuesday or yesterday, that a further decline
must take place in the raw material.
GLASGOW, MARCH 11.—The cotton market during the
week has been very quiet, and the amount of business
transacted rather limited.
BRADFORD, MARCH 10.—Wool—The transactions in
all sorts of combing wools are not large. The prices
sought and held for totally preclude the spinners from
buying, and the staplers act on the defensive, seeing no
chance of replacing their stocks.
NOTTINGHAM, MARCH 10.—That the trade of this
town has increased very considerably of late years, there
can be no dispute, but with the exception of a trifling
extent to the United States; and a few of the States of
South America, there does not appear to be any decisive
increase in the amount of export to foreign countries.
We have heard of some Nottingham goods that have
been sent to Australia having realised large profits.
The lace and hosiery trades remain much in the same
condition we have recently reported them.
LEICESTER, MARCH 10.—The confidence felt by many
manufacturers, that the present advanced rates both of
worsted and cotton will be maintained, keeps employ-
ment plentiful. There is a fair business doing in the
warehouses for the season in worsted goods, and the
demand for cotton hose is very extensive.

CALIFORNIAN INDUSTRY.— Owing to the spongy,
springy nature of the soil in the burying-ground of San
Francisco, many of the corpses there interred, instead of
decaying, have been converted into a substance well
known to chemists by the name of adipocere—a sub-
stance analogous to, and intermediate between, stearine
and spermaceti. In passing the ground this morning to
my place of employment, I saw a person busily engaged
in collecting the adipocere from the exposed bodies.
Struck by the singularity of his employment, I interro-
gated him as to its object, when he coolly replied, that
he was gathering it to make soap. —The Panama .herald.
NEW ZEALAND.—The following is an extract from
a letter dated Wellington, New Zealand, Septem-
ber 6, 1852 :—" We are at present in a very
awkward position here. The return of a few people
within the last ten days from the goldfields, where
they have been very successful, and letters from
others who left but a few weeks since, have created
such an excitement that it is hard to say what will
be the immediate consequences. I really believe that
hundreds will leave. It is not only the labourer,
but the mechanic and shopkeeper are also infected
The auri sacra fames has even seized upon and
overcome the laziness of the natives, many of whom,
it is reported, are about to go to the o diggins.' The
next twelve months will be a most trying time ; no
labour, business at a dead lock, and bread high. I po-
sitively believe that our new constitution will arrive
when there will not be sufficient males to work it I
am not, however, in a desponding mood. I think that
most of the people will return ; if successful, tant mieux ;
if otherwise, they will buckle to again, as before, satis-
fied that there is no good to be got by roaming. Per-
haps the land question may in the meantime be settled ;
it it just now as unsettled as ever ; no arrangement yet
made for selection of the supplemental orders, or for ex-
changing laads selected in unpurchased districts-"
STRANGE AFFAIR.--NOTTINGHAM, Thursday.—Con-
siderable sensation was created this morning in the
neighbourhood of the new bath and washhouse, Notting-
ham, in consequence of the following tragical occurrence :
It appears that this morning, at about a quarter to one
o'clock, a man, named David Bain, a smith, employed at
the establishment of Messrs. Cowan, left the works, and
proceeded towards his own house. When near the baths
he observed three men, and upon passing them he wished
them " Good night." One of them returned an offen-
sive answer, and Bain remarked, " You are very polite."
Upon which Bain was instantly struck across the eyes
and forehead by one of the fellows. A scuffle between
ohpypkonnoenekt
inegnshuiemd,
daonwdnh. e
Agotseacwonayd
ruffian then attacked Bain, and the
tfromhefor
hism aer
also shared the same fate as his accomplice.
rtaangdonhiiset
man,afterThaescsumffliteh,
by the third fellow, who overtook then ran away towards his home,okandhiwasafhoolulotwe3do
Bai mthen turned
yards distant from his companions.
then turned
me, you will have something." The ruffian
round upon the man, and said, "If n you follow
back, and Bain was not further molested.
LOSS AND RECOVERY OF £IOO.—HONESTY REWARDED.
--A few days since, Charles Bla,sden, a cab driver, badge
1,392, took up two gentlemen at Osborne's Hotel Adel-
phi, and conveyed them to the terminus of the South- .
Western Railway. About half-an-hour afterwards he
was called by a fare in Dean's-yard, Westminster, and
on opening the door of the vehicle discovered a purse
amongst the straw, the contents of which consisted of a
cheque, drawn in favour of Mr. Arbuthnot or bearer, for
1001., and some silver ; when he had deposited his last
fare he drove with all possible dispatch to the Adelphi,
for the purpose of making inquiries respecting the two
gentlemen whom he had taken from that establishment.
On arriving, one of them, who had returned and was in
a state of great excitement, on account of his loss, asked
was prompt and
contentsin
liberalitythe were
phraeaffirmativensedni at t
overt thheteo
the driver if he had seen anything of a purse ? The reply
thewho
pursewith
extreme drivertee oe linetrhel
half-a-crown for his honesty, loss of time, and trouble.
REPRESENTATION OF BRIDGNORTH.—This borough is
not likely to be without candidates for the voices of the
electors. Already two have appeared, and others are ,
talked of. The first candidate in the field was Mr.
G. W. Hope, but on the appearance of an addressfrom*
Mr. Pritchard,
banker of Broseley, who is supposed to
have considerable local influence, Mr. Hope withdrew
but others are announced as likely to come forward. ;
[ADVERTISEMENT.]—THE ROYAL EXHIBITION. —A
valuable newly-invented, very small powerful waistcoat
pocket glass, the size of a walnut, by which a person can
be seen and known 11 miles distant ; they answer every
purpose on the race course, at the opera houses, country
scenery, and ships are clearly seen at 12 to 14 miles ;
they are invaluable for shooting, deer stalking, yachting,
to sportsmen gentlemen, game keepers, and tourists.—
To be had at 39, Albemarle-street, Piccadilly—observe,
opposite the York Hotel. Telescopes.—A new and most
important invention in telescopes, possessing such extra-
ordinary powers, that some, 31 inches, with an extra
eye piece, will show distinctly Jupiter's moons, Saturn's
ring, and the double stars. With the same telescope,
weighing only three ounces, can be seen a person's
' countenance 31 miles distant, and an object from 16 to
' 20 miles. They supersede every other kind for the waist-
! coat pocket, and are of larger, and all sizes with increas-
ing powers accordingly. Opera and race-course glasses,
with wonderful powers. An object can be clearly seen
from 14 to 16 miles distant. Messrs. S. &B. Solomons,
opticians, have invented invaluable preserving spectacle
lenses ; immediately they are placed before imperfect
' vision, every object appears clear and distinct ; the most
• sight becomes bright and brilliant, is
aged defective
brought to its youthful, natural, and original state. The
,kinds of acoustic in-
, ' invisible prganic vibrator, and all
struments for relief of extreme deafness.-39, Albemarle-
1, street Piccadilly, opposite the York Rote',

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

ROUSE OF LORD-(YESTERDAY.)
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.

The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH rose to present, a
petition from the British and other Christian inhabitants
of Calcutta and the neighbouring parts in the lower pro-
vinces of Bengal, with respect to the renewal of the tact
for the government of the Indian territories. The noble
earl said that the petition which he had now the honour
to present was signed by a class of persons entirely dif-
ferent from those whose names were attached to the
petitions recently presented on the same subject from
Madras and Bombay. The previous petitions were
signed very extensively by natives of India of the Hindoo
and Mahomedan religions. The present petition was
exclusively signed by Europeans, by natives of India of
half caste and of full blood, and likewise Christians.
The petitioners were about 1,280 in number, of whom
429 were either zemindars (that was, holders of land),
or superintendents of factories, or persons engaged in
indigo, cotton, or silk speculations, in the lower province
of Bengal ; 141 were persons connected with commerce,
principally in Calcutta, and amongst them were tie
names of Jardine and Co., Ashford and Co., and several
other of the most considerable commercial houses In ;
Calcutta ' • 183 were tradespeople and others who were I
possessed of considerable wealth in that country ; 29 I
belonged to the legal profession ; 268. were uncovenanted
servants in the Government offices ; 99 were clerks in
private establishments ; [and there were some othelrs
whose avocations were not specifically stated ; but he
apprehended that the petition might be understood to
convey a fair representation of the opinion of persons
who entertained English ideas with respect to the go-
vernment of India. They were persons essentially in-
terested in the prosperity of that country. They stated
—and, as far as he had been able to ascertain, truly
stated—that the law of India was not only bad, but that
the judges were bad, and the executive officers inefficient.
They began by pointing out what the law was in the
supreme courts established in the several presidencies.
They said that in the supreme court three different codes
of law were established—an English code for English
subjects, and Hindoo and Mahomedan codes for Hindoos
and Mahomedans respectively, as far as civil matters
were concerned ' • but that the English criminal law was
applicable to all parties of whatever race or religion=
that for nearly eight years these three different codes
had been administered to the general satisfaction of the
different races, thereby establishing the important fact
that English judges qualified to administer the English
law became qualified to administer the native law also.
With respect to the supreme court, he would just obserie
that there was this great practical inconvenience, that
when the charter for the foundation of that court was
established, all the statute law of England, together with
the English common law, was imported into that
court, but that since that period no acts of Parliament
that had passed in this country extended to India, unless
they had been specifically so extended in the acts them-
selves, or unless they had been made part and parcel of
the law of India by act of the legislative authority
of that country. The procedure of the court was
directed by the procedure of Westminster Hall ; but
their lordships would perceive that a judge proceeding to
India to officiate in the supreme court, had to learn both
Hindoo and Mahomedan law, of which he knew nothing,
and to forget a large portion of the law of England, with
whieh he was acquainted. The petitioners then stated
what the law was in the East India Company's courts,
which had jurisdiction over matters of succession, inhe-
ritance, caste, marriages, and religious usages. There
was also a Hindoo and Mahomedan code of law fer
Hindoos and Mahomedans, which chiefly related to pro-
cedure or to the revenue ' • but the petitioners alleged
that no code of equity had been established, no maxims
or principles laid down, but that it had been altogether
left to the courts to work out a system of equitable jmis.

diction, which after sixty years they had not done.
When he (Lord Ellenborough) was at the Board of Con-
trol in 1830, having a proposition to make for the re-

newal of the East India Company's charter, he thought
on that occasion it would be of great importance to con-
solidate the statute law of England which related to the
East India Company, and also to consolidate the regu-
lations of the East India Company in their courts in
India. He offered, from the surplus funds of the Board
of Control, to undertake to bear the whole expense of
the consolidation of the statute law of England, and he

communicated with SirChailes Grey,_then recently re:

turned from Bengal, where he was Chief Justice, and
who was now Governor of Jamaica, and with Sir Ralph
Price, and declared his intention to entrust them with
the consolidation of such statute law. He also proposed
to the chairman and deputy-chairman of the East India
Company that they should undertake to consolidate the

regulations of the government of India in the company's
courts. These regulations had been framed from time
to time by -the gentlemen who happened to be in the
councils of the several presidencies. These gentlemen,
wholly unacquainted with law, and not possessing any
precision of language, wrote the regulations very much

in a conversational style, and gave directions th-at were
understood by themselves, but which it was extremely
difficult, from their ambiguity, and from the use of dif-
ferent words expressing the same thing, for any other
man desirous of conforming to the law thoroughly to
comprehend. He had also suggested the consolidation
of the statute law of England affecting India, because
he knew that in the course of that process its deficiencies
would he discovered and corrected. From that time to
this, however, twenty-three years had elapsed, and not
one stroke had been struck towards the consolidation
either of the statute law or of the regulations of the
East India Company. During the last twenty years
no doubt the legislative authority of Bengal had im-
proved the general language of the regulations, but the
regulations remained in their old condition (as we under-
stood the noble earl, who was at times very indis-
tinctly heard). The petitioners further complained that
great inconvenience arose from the number of appeals, and
from the requirement that, all the evidence should be

taken in writing ; they complained also of the enormous
amount of the stamp duties levied upon all documents
used in every stage of civil or criminal proceedings. He
(the Earl of Ellenboroug) saw no excuse for the imposi-
tion of these excessive stamp duties, except it was from
the financial difficulties of the Government ; but these

difficulties were no reason why obstacles should be
thrown in the way of the administration of justice. The
petitioners went on to allege that there had been a
general impression amongst Europeans that in the na-
tive courts the greatest corruption prevailed, and that
eighteen months ago, when corrupt practices were
charged against those courts, the civil judges, who in-
quired into the matter, did not come to the conclusion

that the .courts were exculpated, but made a general re-
port that they were now improved. The petitioners
next observed upon the appellate jurisdiction, which
they alleged rested wholly with the civil servants of the
East India Company. They stated that the administra-

tion of justice in the Zillah Court (a Zillah being a divi-
sion like a county, containing perhaps a million of in-
habitants) was the cause of universal dissatisfaction—

that the judges of those courts were appointed without
proper professional qualifications, and that they had not
formed any general body of rules, or any system of
equitable jurisdiction. Now, he wished to observe that
there was very great and'alLost insurmountable diffi-

culty in establishing in the provinces of India a body of
judges by whom the administration of justice could be
well performed in India where there was no enlightened
bar, no Europeans, no public (as was the case in Eng-
land), before whom a judge in open court had to exer-
cise his functions. He (the Earl of Ellenborough) had
himself, at various times, most anxiously looked at this
subject, and he thought it the bounden duty of Parlia-
ment, or of the government of India, to provide that
those persons who were to fulfil judicial functions should

have the means of acquiring, and should actually pos-
sess, a knowledge of the law they were to administer.
Indeed, he believed it would be almost advisable that,

after a certain period of service, the judicial servants of
the East India Company should be compelled to select
their future branch of service, and that after they de-
cided upon a particular branch, in that branch they
remain unless the Government considered it ex-

pedient to change them. The petitioners stated that
in the company's courts, the criminal law, which was
fundamentally Mahomedan at present, was inapplicable

to the Hindoos, the immense majority of the population,
andtherefore suggested that the English criminal law as
it now stood should at once be extended to. India. To
this, however, there was this difficulty, that the criminal
law for England itself was at present the subject of inquiry;
and was yet undecided ; and, further, it was a question
whether it would be expedient to have a body of gentle-
men in India and require them for the first time to exe-
cute English criminal laws, of which, up to the present
moment, they were utterly ignorant. The petitioners
next came to the subject of the police force, in
India, which they alleged was totally inadequate for
the prevention of crime or the protection of life and
property, and that it had become an engine of oppres-
sion and a great cause of corruption. They said that
10,000 or 11,000 pohce was under the control of a single
magistrate (as we understood) who was compelled to
reside in one place, and had no power of locomotion ;
that the distance of the magistrate's courtfrom the place
twohfiereftyomffeilneces
;s
twhearte ea
pormosmeeitutteodr was
nonftvennllinfromtofifoteesno
awnidt n
etshsae at h
toe
appear
atrhgei
ng reegoantrets tin;
his
ce to imprison
fadani rffidwetuihtl with
yt mg eatntyi n complaint,
cga his it was the practice
the prosecutor and his witnvnestsneesssinesorwdeorultdo compel them
ttoneappp:oasreaengtaoinrstnaonr ohffiespde.r.
.tSomedtimofesawthruene neither
e
extraordinary anomaly was wi nesse
wofhothweereeomninotispsiroen-
sbeeni being gatsuapnpdokrtneedvrbynotfhalinseg
eo rpooulige
eh )
force,hl him-
self a
sYenthb
at present constituted, was one of the greatest grievances
in the internal state of India, and he had made some
progress in reforming it. He had certainly intended to
extend a system of military police over the whole of the
Bengal provinces, and he was satisfied that such a mea-
ofththeoouffgehntce.
the
totalH e (theine
ffiEwaPeiiretelnrnsoeci synßeaosill
mea-
sure would have given the Government the means of
more effectually preventing, and punishing crime ; and
it would also have had the further advantage of enabling
the Government to place in the hands of the police many
duties which were now performed by the regular army.
It had been stated by a high authority that if that were
done it would be possible to diminish the regular forces
in India by 50,000 men. The large attendance on the
preventione v erWith
magistrates of India rendered a great additional number
of the
at military
present nfr
itor a m
forces
theynecessary,
w eie of little
and yet, o
a sr
n o
regarded
useh
w tahte.
tr hoe
sferegardns mthaltle r the
acmiviolunsetnoifced,isttng
hieiupeisthiteidon ers
remarked that there was reason to believe that it pro-
duced
ex-
cellence than formerly, and they complained of the
monopoly of high offices as unjust, and as prejudicial to
the interest of the public service. They said, moreover,
that the salaries of persons having
the powers of magis-
trates and in positions of high trust, were very little