The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-12 00:00:00

(THIS DAY.)

0
4

PARLIAINIEN'F.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
o'el SPEAKER took the Chair shortly e r TNeirre
loMte r.
S. ADAIR presented petitions in favour of the
bY ballot.

THE SCOTCH BILLS.
In repl3' to Mr. FORBE'i,
Mr. LA BOUCH E RE ; the Pirst Lord of asury would make n . •
n.
the
Tr
-wited that the Noble Lord
Cleat aeon this siteieet et five n't•lock this .. fterfsoo
, AIERCHA-N r SE ',MEN AN!) PILOv
House `-'ll the tnoti in of Mr. LABOUCHSIte, the
'Refit into Committee.
Itlr.L A.BOUCHERE then rose and said he proposed,nto
in redemption of the engagement which he
entered into
of
at au early period of the session, to call the attention
the House to the various objects connected with the
marine of this country, and he felt
persuaded
in doing so that it would be wholly unnecessary for him
to detain the House with any prefaca by setting forth
he
the lain
importance of the subject to whiche,d
not
in'vited the attention of the House. He
of
the
dwell Upon the immense magnitudA-
eapital invested in the merchant service of this
Country, uponof the great and valuable portion
e
ur population which it employed, nor
immense
of the
nano population as Well as commercial interests connected with
the service. It was their duty at a former period of the
a subject
!iession to call the attention of the House t
fervilntiniatelY connected with the interests of thneamvieracthioannt.
eehe meant the question of the
says. On that occasion, in bringing forwnardogset,hose
he
navigation-
says. which he felt it his duty to Prop
encountered, as he had naturally anticipated,
of a great and powerful party, to whose opinions he d
opposition
feelN v a wall
shultrOpgrt;
well aware the principle of the Bill which he propose
opposition
atteirncoorntrai•y, and he, therefore, could neither
complain of the strenuous
Which that measure had to encounter.
that with
satisfaction of being able to entertaii?
lofted the?which he now
But he had the
Would n.cessatrily
re °f
to the class of subject to
feeling attention of the House no such party
"they sheuld bey able to turn their attention in a df . y
be excited; but, on the contrary, that
amnate manner to this subject, and to endeavour,
their united counsels to dispose of them
tanner,
which
~,
~"ith a due regard to that great interest _ a .
in the behst
"hich46., arrect. He had already adverted to ttnc.tigs;
Parliament had agreed to in the ufaevigst i
the improve-
hilt tie could not say that in any measure
raent of the mercantile marine, or for its r<
1
eatii''hi'tently with the arguments he had urged
measures to the
supportllet,..lhecould,
1,131. --e nav'gation laws, recommend those
iaouse upon sort of compensation
for the injury
chat course would
ineted the mercantile
me
laws. If he were to do so t
--',.oether incons'stent with the aregeutmoa
nen he asked the House tioittaster
believed that injury was
!ftigation-le/Vt3h:etnhets r ehpe.- ahl adotu. stehde
service of this country by
,Isekilicted upon mercantile
l' he
Ze, alterations which pstliament
would have in•
Vice in them, no consihad c•bnsented to
leration On earth .
oti,e. In
did not say that future mea
:11.ed him t'i propose that alteration t 3 the ti
7Ying this, however,
he would
res eould not be inhe reduced with a view to th- im
but this
a'evetnent or Avantage of th it marine;,
to meat that the attention of the mocantile marine
aft,er whet had taken place, he earnetely directed to I ho •e
1 1, red under.
,gititieeees which they eonei ,er. d they eseou
during
:ectitlß great" r attentioe to !hem than they did
pr tatted,
vac' period when they believed they
were,...c. of
th°ngh they were in reality crippled by the e
ee:etnavigafiin-laws. This he thought was an indimu,.ca7
th,-"t° the /louse to calmly coitsit:er this class of a
le--,'„."' Ile did not ro ose on that occasion
41-7Plete view of all ihe questions that affected the,
to take
Li:4l4lle marine. indeed it would be impossible
se.
'etas[ 4 'ingle statement to do so; but there were
had
~_ ' qneathms f great importatic,‘ to which he
lmftried his attention, a d -which he intended to pro•
i);..17 to the
„ , Rouse ntvhautP°hue trus.ed would be found
() e
ithavt
_that
uti the" '' relief and importance. Upon others he was
the
llouse ''
build
which he could hope
they
P'ried of ' :he session to pro
deserved, but consider as maturely as
press the sentiments this occasion he was anxious to ex-
PN.lllninariuto"4l4 "Ts
session, in
order that the flrnneeding
and interests of the Government
by Bill in another
eially
those whom
they°use and the public—but more especially
sub.
their itaiep
of considering
teas which ern during the recess with that careful-
-sffenied—might have an opportunity
Jects to which
the
Hells ortance required. The first of the
tae e wished to call the attention of
ilea:et:le wtre '"e lightdeuoeustivrtrhich were paid by the mer-
Iterine of this
The burden of the light
coo34ll?nn the mercantile mayr.ine had been long justly
atr-rintneacints f:rom their weight, unequal distribution,
upon, hick e Other reasons connected with the system
4ißhis were" th! 3' were founded. In other countries the
feeds , maintained at the public expense, or of the
1 Plaeed at•
were
n thi, eo. the disposal of the Treasury.—(Hear.)
le • untry a different system pre
eallitaieed
re under the
tans, hy tolls upon shipping, vailed—they
and . aware
in
England,
Se3lla'nerut of ancient
abasecorporationsawc
d an
dietio - , and Ireland, exercised eparate. juris•
imperntlecatnad over
.which the Privy Council exercise
Other uthority, with which they were invested. In
generalcountries the lights were placed under some
..
nt an
board of management, responsible to the Govern
oeie• d the.publie. He telt it well to express his
tev,euten that it *as Racist desirable to improve this sys-
thwe' and t° render it more consouant with the wants ofe
ter Pre.selet. day and the requirements of th
e .. Which etntile marine d in accordance with the
'Way In
.._, . , an more .
was
_Gnu the administration of this country
ucted, than at present. In saying this he did not
.I'etraet any
of the pinionso he hats expressed. He had
-elhodietl his views a Bill introduced last session, the
trgeneral principle of which was to substitute for the
resent imperfect and Council e inadequate control which the
43' exercised over these boards an efficient
skies b y Government board of management, and
to commute the present system of payment of light
,e
inte
Lnes to a charge
on the tonnage of the shipping at large.
Julnded still to adhere tothe principles of that mea-
*tire. d •
e , an if he had ag,itt to lay a Bill on the subj• et on
h
tee table it sheltie embody the same principles, thosig.
! admitted subsequent reflectiou show that the modt-
b(atien of some Of the clauses would beadvisable. As,
ifokever. hatt Bill could not he passed this ties-ion, even
metal in the present Bill, he thought it well to
Ze..telY intimate the course: he should adopt with
-iffeet
leoto it, leaving the consummation until a
"re scssion. Having turned his attention
.to
the
commercial
~n possibility of obtaining for the.
0.
"Larine relief from the burikns which
,p
the
i ai sre 1 t
eta light dues imposed upon
.thein,
mh
.pu_n
wh.e
Into eominuni,:stion with the Trinity ili us' , i lights in England were vested, and he
thse,g,,ment the
Hou.e that he had found
~w4a proud to state to the ,
ii .n an ts.xious desire
,-11. the part of that corp tra
Government in this matter.
pi-c) - crate with the Govern
manage-
- e°
°P
b ri') to sate this as the.. d
e was the mart, ou I
much impugne .
reeet of the Trinity-tittuse had been
he had stated
had havine expres-eti that opinion, which
..9 .
with
ore impre, .d
°l,O former occasiene he was the m
tho.e
Lis
i° ante ' he'rsliber ility, as he found
.that.
br,tie n.ce o t 1
who hid
bee. it he might
use fir' II iii toe corporation.
1 their readinees to
the exereesion —most liber t in
had only
meetl, the . views_ of the Government
it
-14' hitt-retin its welfare.—(El,-.ar, hear.) Non
fhew" not by' any means inclined
of
iC: into any unnecessary
detail,. A great portion
atied°'ffi •ulties with which the corporation had to deal,
this " eh bore most hardly on the merchant service M
4 1' 9ountry, arose 'rem the debt centracted Some time
a„ ge in c )nte ofpurchasing the private lighthouses
chi the . . quanta
the
in
million ale that debt amounted to a of money,
tile "n.'"q'tetice of the representations of the merean
range
qustion, the corporation had entered into an ar
11,11:elnetit with the mercantile interest. The Trinity-
by tat: 1144 paid a large portion of the debt contracted
041„ e Purchase of the private lights, They had not
thj Paid all the interest due, but also a large portion ot
ete PrinelPal With considerable interest. The whole
there,
which had been discharged was 500.0001., and
, was an arrangement still in existence by which
PThai house were bound to pay 50,000/. per annum.
eels was dgreat burden,u and the corporation very pr 0,...
,... y statehat, t circumstances, and consider-
debtuhe benefits which they had conferred upon the
vouetry, they were entitled to have the payment of this
h_spread. over a greater number of years. Now, in
_e,sr 9inion, the time was come when the merchant
!fouvriscees were entitled to this relief, for upon them of
4 fell the great weight of this obligation._ dear.
givenr lie 0211 St also say that the Trinity-'nouse had
tkt their fullest co•operation te, the iurtheritnce of
'els Matt b a '
j,. , e matter, y auopting a system of greater economy
fo'llonianagement Of their i
.fights. The Hen. Member
he R' as' . ttn'e (Mr• Hutt':;e did not know whether
tk, a in the Elouse-4iad on a former consideration ot
,kis qn.stion call d h •
'e extr e their attention to what he termed
,th.,,_ svagant mode of managing their lights, and t.,,
Try,t_r, want of economy in not using rape oil. The
e4ll'4V-huse had not failed to take advantage of the
e"tinns had Changed their 'nude of managing
4,,,5' lights, ate, rape oil had in effect
%e-',lnt. use,, 'or most of the lights on the coast.—(Hear,
the ) Re b,dieved, therelore that it was but Justice to
gre_rinify-house that this debt should be spretel over a
, ater number .0 ruf of years. His object was at present oul)
, er to the private lights on the English et)4BZ5, for
to th
4„, eae of Scotland and Ireland the same objection did
tae
aPPly.—(Heer, hear.) de found by the returns that
tue *bole coat of sustaining these lights was 318,000/. ;
4?1. those for Scotland, 145.000/ ; and of those for Ireland,
saidl.l3,ooo/. Of the 3100,0001. the Trinity Board, by
the new principles which they had ad,ipted,
ofdththe oconorny which they had used,
saved Upwards of 100,000/., or more than one-third
e whole cost.—(Repeated cheers). That was the
knount of the reduction already er
. e-eeted, and the sub.
c.et of the strong representation on the strength of
neieh the Government were disposed to make the
"ufeetion for the future. Of the light dues Paid by
e:l'.,rchant•vessels. —(llear. hear.) Hew as hiiind to say
east
b:he took neon himself' all the re. 'nubility whicn
1(4 alteration might involve worn the rt duetion should
;,/11, 'l'l.. When he came to cowider the whole of this
more he found thet th,,,,e dues reseed much
—sre heavily upon coasters than uon foreign
cr
dueser-sea vessels. In the first place,
if these
were 'd el by those vessels which
bt. Paid se, y .
light
414 ed a direct and immediate benefit from the
Bs but little advantage would accrue to the merchant
and from the alteration. But such was not the case,
h',l th"refore the whole of the mercantile marine wnuld
tet4lievetl. By the cheneee which lie er ,pesed t.,
", 70,000/. is year weuid be saved to the inerchAnt
•,:t-eh.
, '-e of this c• wore .n I chit was aeout 50 per cent.
et the amount uovv paid by the coasting vessels of this
eoantr ' ht 3- But thet House would perceive that this b
ene-
etre%
efts prospective, as the Bill was only intended to take
90 the let of Oetober.; but Rhea it did moo

into opeiatien, it wou:d cecesion a relief to toe amount
of one-halt the mosey now paid by the shipping inter-
est.—(Cheers.) He would not at that time enter into
the details of the measure, for those could be fully con-
eidered when the Bill was in Committee; but he might
observe, that it was the custom for foreign or over-see
vessel, to pay a toll, not only on passing a 110' t, but alsoh.
on their return. That ho prapesed to abolish by t
Bill, end to make one payment sufficient. Teat u
make a reduction of 50.0001., or what was equal to l 6
eer cent. upon the amount paid by foreign or over-sea
vessel,; eo that the H. would see that the reduction
on coasters would he 50 per cane,
and on foreign v ss-Is
per cent.; anti he was again bound to s.y. that. in the
e
whole of this matter he had received the best assiatance
from the Trinity-house.
Sir J. GRAHAM—It can be done without an Act
of Parliament.
Mr. LA BOUCFIERE—The Right Hon. Baronet
asked him if it could not be done witfent en Act of
Parliament. It certainly could he done by the Trinity-
house, with the consent of the Privy Council, without
havine recourse to the enacting of an Act of Parliament.
He came now to another question, which was also of
great importance to the shipping interest of this coun-
try—he meant the question of privilege.—(Hear, hear.)
It was not new in that House, for frequent attempts had
been made to improve the system under which our
pilotage was conducted. He remembered when he had
the honour, some years ago, of being President of the
Board of Trade, the Right Honourable Gentleman
the Member for the University of Oxford
strongly urged upon him the propriety of dealing with
this question, and he recollected when the Right Hon.
Gentleman was President of the same Board, he in his
turn returned the compliment by requesting him to in-
terest himself in dealing with this difficult subject.—
(" Hear," and a laugh.) He believed they had both
very good reasons for not undertaking it, while they
were very much warned against it by the example of his
late lamented friend Lord Sydenham, who with great
energy, great industry, and great talent, devoted himself
to the consideration of the question; but in that instance
he was sorry to say that local interests were too strong,
and the public interest too weakly represented, to give
much chance of success to any efficient measure upon the
subjece—(Hear, hear.) However, he did not intend to
propose, nor was he in a condition to propose,
any great or general scheme, such as was contemplated
by Lord Sydenham on this question, if he did, he could
not hope that at this period of the session the House
would be able to carry it ; but with regard to this subject,
as well as upon the subject of lights, be had turned his
teution to considering whether it would not be possible,
even at this period of the session, to seen!. for the
moreantiie interest of the c..untry some practicable
relief from a system which he, for one, had always con.
sidered acted will great severity on all who were en-
gaged in the merchant service—(Hear. hear.) The sys-
tem of pilotage in England was under the control of
three jurisdictions ; first, there were the Cirque
Ports, who bad the control of the pilceisee
within their own range. Then some of the great,at
of our ships bad to resort to a pilotege that
was under the control of local and specie' jurisdiction;
while, in the last place, the rest of the country, corn
prising that part of the kingdom beyond the North Fete-
land, and which was 'reversed by most of the shipping
passing to the port of London, came ut der the jurisdtc-
(roil of the 'Filen) -heuse. 1 a his c -treunica Lai with
ihe corpora! ion of the 'I rinity• house he tad ,eft it his
duly to call ttieir attetrion as well to the question of
pilotage as to the questien of light, and he was happy
to say, that upon this question likewise the corporation
had met th • demands ot the mercantile interest, and the
views ot Government, in a spirit of cooperation and
willingn-ss to come to some arrengemeet on the subject.
and he was able to state to the House that a great prac-
ticable alteration would be introduled into the pilotage
system under th•ir control.—(Hear, hear.) At resent
t he coasting trade was altogether e from pilotage,
but the while of the foreign trade ot the country was
obliged to take pilots, notwithstanding the carain or
master of each vessel might be sufficiently conversant with
the coast as to enable him to work his ship into port
without ri,k or danger. That was a system which rea-
deeed it incumbent upon every vessel to take or pay for
a pi.ot. and he was sure the House would agile with
him that it was an obligation which ittfltct d a severe
injustice upon a large class of shipowners. At the time
when this system was found: d he believed there might
have been good reason for its establishment; for instance,
the importance of encouraging cal pilots might have
rendered it necessary, but in the present condition of
our trade he had no hesitation in saying
that if the system ought not to be alto-
gether abolished, at any rate it ought to be
greatly modified and improved. Could a greater
anomaly or injustice than this exist—a vessel going
from Liverpool to Dublin was not obliged to take a
pilot on going into Dublin, but a vessel going from
Liverpool to Dublin, and then to Brest, was obliged to
take a pilot in going into port, although the captain
might be well acquainted with the coasting trade.
He might multiply instances of this nature
to show the injustice and anomalies of the
present system, but it was not necessary for his
purpose that he should trouble the House with doing so,
since he was enabled to state the willingness of the
Trinity-house to allow in future any foreign trading
vessel that should have on board a master or man con-
versant with the coast, and of whose fitness
and ability they had previously satisfied them-
selves of, to dispense with the services of a pilot.
It would be necessary for him to bring in a Bill upon
this subject; the Bill would be of a permissive and not
of a compulsory nature, extending not only to the Tri-
nity-house, but to all bodies who had jurisdiction over
pilots; it would allow them, if they thought fit, after
having satisfied themselves of the qualification of the
master or man on board, to grant permission to the
ships to dispenss with the services of a pilot.
As he understood the law, the pilots themselves had a
vested interest iu working foreign traders along the
coast, and unless this Bill were passed they might be in
a position to bring actions against the Trinity-house.
He attached the greatest importance to this question,
as this position would not only be given to the
Trinity-house, but to the Cinque Bins and
other juris fictions, if they should think fit to
avail themselves of it. Certainly he was not empowered
on the part of the latter bodies to state that they were
disposed to follow the example of the Trinity house, but
at the same time he indulged in the hope that if the new
sy stem were found to work well in the instance of the Tri-
nity-house, the Cinque Ports and other local bodies would
be induced to consider whether there were not special
circumstances to justify them to follow the example in
part, if not in the whole. Still, however, he could not
help thinking—returning to the real question—that a
great point had been gaited by the establishment of the
prin glibe that a vessel corning from abroad to this C.LlTl-
c:Hß:ei.p.lssitsthewahiti:eers7p:
rhlao:uositiht:ghitosh, u:riodltith:
:epode bbeemoroin::ogattri7 competentbwwpa,ar ability,
(Criesb
I,aif
of
yftc,heiep,
tifey should not be obliged a. take a licensed pilot,
n
tt n
worko or man
capsule,
Hoar, hear.")
ula bs
eereglyiv,e)fn,aapnedrmaiLui they'ee
character he could see no diffieulty in the way of carry-
ing it even at this late period ot the session.—(Elear.
hear ) lie was empowered by the Trinity-house to say
that they did not mean that the permission in their
hinds should he a dead letter, bet that they
welsh' truly and bona fide carry it into eff et; that they
would, in ell cam, who r, they should be satisfied of the
competency of the 'nester er mate, or seme oth r per
son nn bo trel an ever see trader, to pilot the vess-1 along
the coast, give permission to exempt that vessel from
the necessity of paying a pilot whose services they de not
require.—(Hear.) This was the only measure which he
proposed to introduce, with a view to carry out or
amend the law in the course of the present s-ssitin. but
th re was another measure relaing to this questien of
the highest importance, and perhaps of still greater in.
terest, but with regard to which he did not propose to
take any step, or to ask the House to pass it in
the course of the present session. Indeed, at
this period of the session he must despair of
the House being able to give that consideration
to the matter which would justify them in passing
a measure on the subject, still he was most anxious
to lay the views which he and the Government enter-
tained with regard to it Upon the table of the House,
in order that they might be considered by the House
and the country with that deliberation which the
importance and the interest of the question demanded.—
(Hear, hear.) He came now to the consideration of the
generel condition of our mercantile navy.—(Hear,
hear,) He desired to ask the consideration
of the House to the condition of the mercantile marine,
mainly with reference to the character and qualifications
of the masters end mates, and to the discipline of
the crews, and general well-being and condition
of the seamen.—(Hear, hear.) They had already had
iwnictihdetnhtealnadviisgcauteisoinonivvs
discussions on this subject while dealing
and he could only repeat
now, 'what he stated then, upon this question,
that while nothing was further from his intention than
to cast any sweeping or indiscriminate censure upon
the officers of the mercantile marine of this
country, yet, upon the other hand, truth and
a sense of duty obliged him to state to the House his
opinion—an opiirou fouuded upon inquiries of
no limited or sup .rficial description—that there
was much in the condition and in the
present state, in the quelification of the officers of our
mercantile marine, in the condition arid dis-
cipline of the men, and in the condition
s asielroirosu s fattetnhtiison that
of the mercantile sailors
e
required the m part
of Government and the Legisleture—(Hear, hear.)
He believed that in saying this no coin•
tnercial men of experience, and no captain
of the Royal Navy, whose professional services had
led him to a distant part, where he ha 4 found
British ships, and had aulpic opportunities of
forming an opinion Upon the subjects, would
contradict him when he said that especially in regard to
the qualification, both in an honorary and a scientific
ooint of view, the mercantile captains of this country
were not the most competent in the world; and it was
most desirable for the House to (lonelier whe-
ther some measure could not be devised
to put a stop to an evil prevailing in
the mercantile marine of the country. w hoh
if not soon arrested, he had no heseation in
saying would, ere long, threaten the prosperity
!,_3(;,1 welfare of our mercantile service.—(Hear, hear.)
said this without any feeling of despondency with
regard to the condition of the British merchant navy.
—mu(sflt ea.r, hear.) He believed they possessed that which
• constitute the staple of the greatest mercantile
navy in the world, and he had no doubt whatever that by
carne
htptitilr,e,t:r:esit,i;estic),,roo.e,nmitc
ri,u)
tt
imn measures e s
7:t
nhh eywyo t:,4npsel
caoc
fae, ((also. p etri
1,(11110 • •• •
(11;ope that theufmostthis
a of duty. the., he urged the
important qui-stion, the
to put expedient ;urse might be adopt
a :to to the evils which they all so much re-
-Ire-13.i LiPe was unwilling tc# go at any length iuto

e' idence to prove the statements which he had made. They
had had much discus,ion with regard to the character
of those very remarkable documents—the reports of our
Consuls—which had been laid on the table of
the House. He was very much of the opinion which
h. had henrd expres,ed by a Noble Lard in another
place, who had paid great attention to the subject—he
tut Init Lord Ellei.borough. Speaking of the Consuls
r ports, he said although it micht be true in particu-
lar instances, the Consul. had 13, en biased in favour of
our merchant navy, and had cAoured the character
of it a too Lighlv, but that there could be
no doubt ab ,ut the tru'h and general accuracy of the
I (Torts. He believed that to be a fair description with
regard to thole Onistds.

(LEFT SPEARING.)

ROYAL HUMANE SOCIETY.

The half yearly general meeting of this society was
held yesterday at the rooms, 3, Trafalgar square; Ben-
jamin Hawes, sen., Esq., in th. chair. The minutes of
!he last council were read and confirmed, as were also
the minutes of the several meetings of the Committee,
hell since the last general court.
The weekly report of the superintendent at the re-
ceiving-house, Hyde-park, showed that there had been
in the course of the present season 192,450 bathers in
the Serpentine-50.091 in the mornings, and 142,359 in
the evenings; and that there were brought under medi-
cal superintendence in the receiving-holfse, 6; rescued
and landed, 8; drowned, 1; found drowned, 2.
;.uhjoined is a list of the cases referred to the
Gem ral Court, in all of which a silver medal was
awarded:—

Henry Laughnin, a seaman; saved Captain E. Stan-
ley, R.N., and assistrd in saving others upset in a boat.
Master Harcourt Carter; saved Thos. Regan and Wm.
Warren.

➢lr. C. E. H. Farrint, mate, R.N.; saved a marine.
Lieut. S. Osborne, RN.; saved a sailor.

John Dickerson; rescued two men from shipwreck.
Thomas Carne, a miner; saved nine persons who had
been upset in a boat. (In this last case it was deter-
mined, of ter some little discussion, that, in consideration
of the recipient's great heroism and comparative poverty,
be should be presented with 5/. in addition to the silver
nat dal.)
Lieut. 0. L. Jones, R N.; saved a seaman.
Martin F. G. Powell, a gentleman commoner of Win-
cheater; saved his schoolfellow.

Thou,a3 Sangster, engine-guard; saved the master and
crew of the British vessel Thistle.

The next twu cases were referred to the Brighton
Branch Soeie y.
William uneesman; saved the Rev. G. Powell and
Mr. M'awell.

Wm. Wright; tried to save Mary Hill, and brought
up her body from the bottom of a well 130 feet deep,
Mr. Wright has also received (about ten years ago) the
bro, ze medal of the society.
The report having been then read, and the medals
awarded, the thanks of the meeting were given to the
chairman, and the proceedings ended.

IRONMASTERS' QUARTERLY
MEE riNbs.

WOLVERHAMPT,N, WEDNESDAY.—The Midsummer
quarterly meetings of the ironmasters of South St.afford-
shire commenc•d at Wal-all yesterd..y, and to day there
was an ex remely noun-runs attendance of the trade at
the Swan Hotel, in this town.
The preliwi cry meeting telt] at Handsworth a fort-
night ago prepared the public for a reduction of price.
It is scarcely necessary to say that the nominal rate
agreed utak) at these meetings is not invariably'to be re•
lied upon. It is frequently violated in the first fortnight.
Added to this, many heavy contracts ate regulated by
special agreements. The tall in tto: price of iron from
he April meting wry, however, be fairly taken at be
ween 21 and 31 per ton, and the probabitit) is, that ere
loog, it not dutilig the present quarterly meetings. there
'Silt be a still iurtner reduction. The fierce competition
in and the continuation of the ll.nish blockade
produce most desiruetive effect, upon the iron trade of
south Sn,tiot &hire. Prices. as tsr as can be ~btain. d
now range as fullows:—Sheets, 7/. to 71. lOs ; hoops, 61
to 61. 10'.; tuerehant braids, 51. los. to 61. Some parlors
wake tin- qu-Litious a lit le higher, and others aOa
loser, but ti.e above may be taken upon good authority
as a fair avera.e. _ _ _

The very heavy reduction which has taken place does
not, according to accounts, materially ineres-e orders.
Purchasers, with the hope o► a turther fall, boll back.
Th. h une market is consequently extremely dull; and
it is needless to observe, that the state of Northern
Europe has for the present almost entirely suspended
our commercial intercourse with one of the largest and
best markets for our iron manufacture.

The workpeoplo in South Staffordshire bear the re-
duction of their wages with extreme good temper. They
are no longer the tools of interested demagogues, but
seem perfectly aware of the situation in which the iron-
masters are placed. The proprietors of ironstone and
coal have in consideration of the present condition of the
iron trade reduced their rates of charge for those essen-
tial materials, the agents of Lord Ward (the most ex-
tensive owner of ironstone in this district) having an-
nounced a fall of 12i per cent.
The nail trade, a most important branch of manufac-
ture in this neighbourhood, although somewhat depressed,
is comparately steady. It is infinitely better than two
or three years ago. Orders from Canada and the United
States are said to be in free circulation, and great hopes
are entertained of increasing prosperity.
The largest of the usual quarterly meetings of the
South Staffordshire and East Worcestershire ironmasters
will be held in Birmingham to-morrow, when it is pos-
sible that some further information with regard to the
condition and prospects of the trade may be disclo•wd.
The probability, however, is no alteration of prices,
other than that already announced, will be declared.

THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIBTY'S FETE.—Yester-
day the lash. fete for the season was given by the
Horticultural Society, in the gardens at Chiswick. The
extreme fineness of the weather helped to bring a most
numerous assemblage of visitors, although there was the
counter.attra lion of the Thames Regatta to draw them
elsewhere. The dresses were remarkably beautiful, and
the array of fashion quite as striking as on the most
brilliant of these fete-days As usual, the exhibition of
fl twers and fruits, although the ostensible object of the
fathering, was a secondary consideration with the gay
multitude to the pleasure of seeing and being seen, and
of li-tening to the inspiring strains of the military
bands; but they, neverteelss, secured a very large
share of attention. The grounds of the Duke of Devon-
shire were, as mind on the third day of the file, thrown
open to the visitors.
PARLIAMENTARY AND FINANCIAL REFORM.—Yes-
terd.tv evening a pr. liminary meeting of the Reformers
of Greenwich was held at the Lecture Hall in that
borough, for the purpose of forming a branch society of
tha
took the emb"tanirii.A Association.deptatit G.:nfrom W.the Mashers,counc
Lon-
don addressed the meeting, and explained theili no bEjlecPci.nts:
which the Metropolitan Association had in view. They
were
received with considernble enthusiasm by the au-
dience, and were followed by
all
ysieverat g.-ntlemen con-
nected with the locality, wh
mutual expressed their convic-
tion
ateh,t of
atittewmar.mo_ntlay by
that
the
objects con
wh
cesduor betweteantraed
all
cl
could be obtained. A committee was than fotrahemoy r desired
Gould
wasasthe
nucleus of the future branch association,ek, at seven m
e
ennounced titer, on ursd.y (this day) w
u'elovit. a public boreugh meeting ste,tuni he held, to
which the deputation thotild be agiin invited. The
!netting, which was entirely of a business vharacter,
broke up aleut ten •••ceielc.
AMERICAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION IN SEARCH Or
Sift JoHN FRANKLIN —A.lvertlog to a paragraph which
appeared in one of our conteMp •raries, stating that it
eas r• ported at Boston, when the Europa left, that the
expedition in search of Sir John Franklin had been
abandoned or postponed, we have great pleasure in
slating that, in a letter received from Washington, of a
date only a few days prior to the rumour, it is men-
tioned that active preparations for the expedition were
then making, and that much generous emulation was
evinced by officers of the United States navy to take
part in this arduous service.—Herald.
Ledru Rollin, Martin Bernard, Etienne Arago,
and Sergeant Boichot arrived at the St. Katharine 'a-
wharf yesterday afternoon, by the General Steam Navi-
gation Company's steam. ship Sir Edward Banks, that
left Ostend in the morning.
CORONER'S INQUEST.—ROMANTIC STORY.—Last
night Mr. Payne went into an inquiry at St. John's,
Horselydown, on the body of Mary Metier, aged twenty-
eight, who came to her death tinder the following cir•
cumstancei:—The deeeaeed and
Metier, were natives of Bretz, in her sister,Prussia,ndnnebeeiathear
could sprtik a word of English. The former was about
to be married to a young man of her own village, but
he broke off the acquaintance and made proposals to
another. This had anch an effect on the deceased, that
she iuduced her sister to enter into a plan to leave the
place fur ever, and go to their brother, who is said to
be living at Birmingham. Accordingly they collected
what money they could, and took their passage by
waggon to Hismburgh, a di.tance of seventy-six miles.
They then embarked on board the Wilberforce steamer
on Saturday morning at three o'clock. On the same
night Mary Metier was taken very ill. On Monday
obliged
walked the deck was
of the vessel in London, when
abeniti,,whasvginagin,
where she remained
untilg wase
dt
hteon bt e
arrival"teatkt eern,
she was seen by the assistant of Mr. Mishit), of Horsley-
' down, who gave her brandy and other stimulants, but
she never rallied. and died the same night. The two
sisters it was said, partook of a piece of salt herring at
Ilamburgh and had a sup of broth, beyond this they
had no food for the voyage except a few oranges ; but
Mrs. Meeson, the stewardess, seeing the helpless state
of the taw° poor foreigners, gave them some wine and
arrowroot, and the passengers made a subscription of
255., which the boatmen on the river bad cheated the
surviving sister of, and she was left helpless and friend-
less in London. Mr. Hill, the assistant of Mr. Misbin,
did not attribute the death to cholera, but exhaustion,
arising from retching on an empty stomach occasioned
by sea sickness The Coroner and jury observed it was
a very deplorable case. anal they highly commended the
e raduct of the steward.-As A verdict of " Died limn
Ex tati,tion." sv,s then returned.
PRESERvED AIEATS.—The vessel Louis Charles,
arrived in the river from Galatz, has hr.:eight an entire
cargo of preserved meats, comprisitig 34,170 tins of the
article. This preserved meat undergoes no
preparation
of manufacture, but is simply boiled in tin cannisters,
and then hermetically sealed until required for use. It
is imported in considerable quantities for the use of the
royal as well as the merchant navy, and a contract for
nearly -a minion rounds %,..ight of the article is at pre-
tat.,r, teeter suiply to Co_, derin rtent. It Was
at Blest ettnatdered that vie tn.uts pros-reed in the tr:ati-
tier mentioned were chargeable with duty, but it
been deter-named that having undergone no process of
manufacture, - further than the preservation before men-
tioned, they are admissible free.