The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-21 00:00:00

ilatnAnit

LONDON, SATURDAY, FE;qIITARY 21, 1846.

Their Lordships met at Five o'clock.
Lord FEVERSITAM presented forty-six petitions from differ-
ent parts of Yorkshire agair.st any repeal of the corn-laws,
and complaining of the unconstitutional proceedings of the
Anti-Corn-law League.
Lord Lyyrzturox moved an address to the Crown for cer-
tain papers connected with the colonies.—Agreed to.

Lord CAMPBELL praented a letition from Cork praying fur
the abolition of the ministers' money. The petition was of great
extent, he bad been charged 8/. by the Post-office for the
postage of it; but which had been remitted by the kind-
ness of the Noble Lord at the head of the Post-office De-
par. tment He trusted the object the petition had in view
would be maturely considered by their Lordship.
Earl ST. GFIIMANS admitted that the impost complained
of by the petitioners was a grievance, but only one of prac-
tice and not of principle. He could not say at the pre-
cent moment whether the Government intended to intro-
duce any measure on the subject.
Lord STANLEY thought it would be impolitic to adopt the
prayer of the petition.
_ • '

After some observations from Lord MONTEAOLE, the peti
tion was ordered to lie on the table.

The Earl of lints Aim gave notice of his intention, on Mon-
day next, to submit a question to the Government with respect
to the proceedings of the Broad and Narrow Gauge Com-
missioners.

Earl Sr. GERMANS said he wished to introduce some verbal
amendments into the Bill he had brought in the other night
with respect to the pacification of Ireland. He believed that
the proper course would be to move the reprinting of the Bill
with the amendments.

Lord CAMPBELL suggested that the proper course would be
to withdraw the Bill and introduce a new one, containing
the amendments,

Earl ST. GFIPTMAXS adopted this suggestion, and the Bill
was read a first, and ordered to bo read a second time on
Monday.

Their Lordships then adjourned till Monday.

The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four o'clock.
General EvAlis took the oaths and his seat for West.
rninster.

Mr. Gooch took the oaths and his seat for East Suffolk, and
Mr. SEYMER and Mr. FLoYEn. took' the oaths and the;r
seats for Dorsetshire.
Several railway Bills were read a second time, and ordered
to be committed.
Petitions were presented for and against the Customs and
r that
Committee Corn Importation measure.
com-
pliance on
On the motion of the O'CoNort Dos, it wasp
ag
it should be an instruction to the Select
Petitions on Railway Bills, where parties had roved agreed
with the standing orders, that they should hav
precedence.
During the course of a somewhat desultory conversation on
the subject of railway Bills, it was stated that on Monday
the Committee would report on a large number of railway
Bills, which had by them been arranged in groups, and it
was suggested that Irish and Scotch railway Bills should
have precedence.
Mr. P. SCROFE suggested the appoiament of a Commis-
sion to arrange preliminaries, and to sort railway Bills in
groups before the meeting of the House.

In answer to Mr. GISBORNE,
Sir G. CLERK said that he was not prepared to state at
present whether the Government would introduce any pro-
position founded on the report of the Gauge Commissioners,
There was an immense quantity of evidence not yet printed,
which the Government must consider before they determined.
Mr. llm>sosi proposed that the standing orders of the two
Mouses with regard to railway Bills should be assimilated
.and that railway Bills generally should be permitted to ori-
Emate in the Lords as well as in the Commons, which would
be a great saving of time and expense.
The SPEAKER stated that he had received a letter from
the Lion. JAMES LINDSAY, stating that it was not his in-
klitital to defend the Teta= for the borough of Wigan.

In answer to a question,
Sir J. GRAHAM said it was intended to divide the duties
of the office of Crown Solicitor in Ireland, vacant by the re-
cent appointment of the late Crown Solicitor to another
office, and that by the new arrangement, which was merely
an experiment, a saving would be effected of 1001. a year.
On the motion that the House, at its rising, do adjourn till
Monday, being put,
Mr. BROTHERTON moved that the House do sit to-morrow
at 12, as it was not likely the House would divide to-night.
Sir R. PEEL, thought it would be extremely advantageous
that an early decision should be come to on the question, yet
he saw no advantage in acceding to the proposition of the
Hon. Gentleman. He knew how impossible it was to limit
discussion, but still he thought no advantage could be gained
by acceding to the proposition of the Hon. Gentleman.
Mr. STAFFORD O'Bnlnx said that several Hon. Gentlemen
on that side of the House were desirous of addressing the
House. No time would be lost in permitting them to ad-
dress the House on this question, as they would not have to
address that House again in the future stages of the Bill.
He hoped, therefore, the division would not be unnecessarily
pressd for this evening.
Mr. ROEBUCK, who spoke in a very indistinct tone, put a
question as to the Post-office arrangements with Canada, in
answer to which
Sir R. PEEL stated that the matter was a very complicated
one, and would better form the subject of official communica-
tisn dean of a question in the House.

In answer to a question from Capt. OSBORNE relating to
the potato disease,
Sir R. PEEL said that he had since received a communica-
tion from Dr. LINDLEY stating, that from experiments which
he had tried, he was of opinion that potatoes propagated
from diseased seed were themselves diseased, and that there-
fore the greatest care was necessary in the selection of pota-
toes from seed in order tis guard against the propagation of
the disease.

Various petitions on the subject of the corn-laws having
been presented,

The adjourned debate was resumed by
Mr. CUMMING BRUCE, who denied that the Government
measure would be considered a settlement of the corn-law
question. It was a total sacrifice of the interests
of an important class of the community, and if this
sacrifice were to be made to agitation, it would only give
rise to a new agitation for more dangerous objects. If the
Government had been firm, the agitation would
have been put down, but experience proved that con-
ceding to agitation only gave rise to fresh demands
He would not consent to sacrifice his feelings on behalf of the
interests of his constituents, and his tenantry, and his neigh-
bours, to the unfeeling theories of political economy, which,
in seeking the greatest happiness of the greatest number, set
at naught the feelings and interest of some odd millions of
agriculturists. The Government measure would be carried by
the votes of the Opposition—not by those of the Minister's
usual supporters. Although he agreed in opinion with the
Noble Lord the Member for Liverpool, and with the Hon.
Member for Inverness, as to the impolicy and danger of the
Ministerial measure, he would not follow their example by
voting for it ; and, if by throwing out the measure they
should oust the Minister, although, perhaps, they might not
find

" Five hundred as good as he,"
they would find more than five as good as he to take his place.
He denied that the farmers in Scotland were indifferent to
the corn-law—the great majority of them were opposed to
the Ministerial measure. lie considered that the with-
drawal of protection from agriculture would be ruinous to
the best interests of the country. With regard to the con-
duct of the Noble Lord opposite during the recent attempts
to form a Government, he thought that it was worthy of an
English gentleman, honest and honourable; but with regard
to his letter to the constituents of London, which seemed to
have been adopted by the Home Secretary, he wished to ask
how it was, that while the Noble Lord was formerly in office,
he had not discovered that the corn-laws were
the " bane of agriculture and the blight of commerce ?"
Ile wished to know whether the refusal of the Right Hon.
Baronet's colleagues to co-operate with him in November
was a refusal to a proposition for a simple suspension of the
corn-laws, or for a suspension coupled with a proposition for
their ultimate removal? This question affected particularly
the department of the Chancellor of the Exchequer; he
should like to hear his opinion on the subject. He thought
that the Right Hon. Gentleman had showed cause for his
proposed modifications in the duties on manufactured arti-
cles, but he had utterly failed in showing that corn was in a
similar category, or that there was any necessary connexion
between a suspension of the corn-laws ana a repeal
of the corn-laws, or that there was any justification
for such a measure as that which he proposed.
He regretted exceedingly the decision to which the Right
llon. Baronet had come, but could not see a shade of unfair-
ness in his conduct ; he entirely acquitted him of the
charges which had been brought against him, and believed
that he had acted from conscientious and honourable mo-
tives. He could see no connexion whatever between a po-
tato famine in Ireland and a suspension, much less a repeal
of the corn-laws. If corn had risen in price, the law would
have opened the ports, but they had not given the law a fair
trial, and instead the Government proposed, at the bidding
of the Anti-Corn-law League, to reverse the verdict
of the constituencies of the empire. The recent
prosperity had been owing to the manner in which
public credit had been renovated by the income-tax, and to
the spirit of railway speculation. These afforded no reasons
for giving up protection, and he for one could not consent to
embark with the Right Hon. Baronet on the unknown ocean
of free trade.

Mr. PouLF.rr ScßorE thought no atmosphere was so
noxious as that of the forcing•house of protection, within
which we had cooped up so much dour industry, under the
mistaken idea of stimulating production. The free im-
portation of corn might greatly benefit the country
without effecting any reduction of prices. There
were some millions who, it was said, now re-
joiced in potatoes because the country did not produce a
sufficiency of corn for their consumption. The burden
of proof of the necessity of maintaining high prices rested
with those who assumed that they were necessary, and
he had heard no sufficient reason for their maintenance arti-
ficially, or for the continuance of protection. Now, the
Hon. Member for Northamptonshire had drawn a picture of
the misery produced by the introduction of foreign commo-
dities to the exclusion of the productions of our native in-
dustry. Now if he had stripped the Hon. Member of all
foreign products which he had worn at that moment—of his
coat of German wool, his shirt of American flax,
his handkerchief of Italian or French silk—the
Honourable Member could hardly have made his
appearance in decent society. The Honourable Member
for Knaresborough, too, in his abuse of machinery, was
guilty of the same fallacy. To carry out his theory he
ought to come down to the House clothed in skins, to live
iu a ceve, and to support himself on roots grubbed up with
his nails. All these objections to free trade were most falla-
cious. The calm and convincing arguments which had year
after year been urged by, the Hon. Member for Stockport
had convinced the country, and those arguments had never
been answered by Members on the other Bide.
Mr. NaWDEGATE denied that prohibition and protection
were the same thing. He acknowledged that to buy in the
cheapest and to sell in the dearest market was true as to trade,
but he denied that it was true as to legislation. It would not
be true as applied to the army employed for the national de-
fence, and protection was as necessary to secure our national
industry as was an army to secure our national safety. The
object of the corn-laws was to maintain steadiness of price,
anti the distress of 1841 and 1842 was an example of the
danger of too great an extension of our foreign commerce
with our present monetary system. He had foreseen the
change in the policy of Government ever since 1844, and
if this measure passed, we should be doubly dependent on
foreigners; we should be dependent on them for our
food as well as for money to buy our food. The course
pursued by the Right Honourable Baronet was not con.
stitutional ; he was not the Minister of his Sovereign's choice,
but of her necessity. He was glad to see the determination of
a broken party not to be awed by the threatenings of the '
Right Hon. Baronet.
Mr. BARELY supported the Government measure. He
believed that the carrying of the measure would benefit not
only the tenant-farmers, bat the landlords themselves.
Mr. P. BENNETT, jun., opposed the motion.
Mr. Mu Nvz said that no man would be more happy
than himself to see this measure carried, because be believed
that by so doing a veil would be torn from the eyes of the
people which had blinded them for years. He was glad that
the Right Hon. Baronet had admitted that fur the last forty
years he had been wrong in tWo.
Mr. DISRAELI had pledged himself to meet this ques-
tion on its merits; and though he might be unable for the
task, he would not shrink from it. They did not complain of
the Right Hon. Baronet changing his opinions, or that be hai
deferred too much to public opinion, but that he had outraged it,

The people had now a Protection Cabinet and Free-trade
Minister. The country was flourishing. Why? Itecanso

it had enjoyed a judicious and moderate protection, and the
Right Hon. Gentleman's whole speech went to
advantage of such a protection. He would ask I:ovehre lion.
Gentleman, the
could ho fight hostile tariffs with free im-
ports?. It was most consistent in free-traders from
Manchesterto cheer that question, but what was the
answer
could, he need commercial
eeharescuibelievedar
measure?
? treatiesT h h
They
butmu s
ti f
have he e d iad not trouble
Gentlemanlfb ? I
did hmeseproapooseuthcios
sible that answerAmcneleoraitc;aw,ihryu and 1'
to that question. It might lee pos--
ranee had shown symptoms
of being favourable to free trade, but the manufacturin-,
population in the United States were protectionists, and in
Ita,tvi,ottai amounted to eight
sbest organised, and
1840 the manufacturing pop
ttahteethsrnanufacturers
hundred thousand operatives..
eyconsidered
most numerous interest in the linitteldle
free trade had become popular in England, Ever since
in the United States had been warlike,because
war as the best protection of the manufacturers,
and
in
pro-
portion as they conciliated the western they would raise the
dislike of the northern and eastern states, which were the
most powerful. The Noble Lord the Member for the West
Riding had given them some statements of American social
life; he wished the Noble Lord had spoken of the celebrated
negro:melody, which showed how gentlemen turned from one
side of the table to the other. Then with regard to Prussia
an author of high authority recommended that they should be
more stringent iu their prohibitions. The little states would,
by this measure be forced to join the Zollverein. With re-
gard to France, with his knowledge of public men there, ho
did not relieve, with the saceptioa of a Igiaster who would

wish to conciliate an English Government, that there was an
individual who was not in favour of a system of restric-
triction. All parties in that country were united against
what they called the fatal cause of competition. He
could conceive gentlemen who had from conviction joined
the Anti-Corn-law League giving utterance to their senti-
ments somewhat warmly, but he could not understand the
language made use of that evening by the Right Hon. Gen-
tleman the Secretary at War and the Right Hon. Gentle-
man the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who
were at best but late converts—although he believed the
Secretary at War had been abstractedly a free-trader, but
had not put his theories in practice, because at that
time they Came from the wrong side of the House.
They were told that no great quantity of corn could be im-
ported. The manufacturers of Manchester would furnish
capital, and the Hon. Member for Sunderland would find
them with roadr, and whatever they demanded would be
supplied, and as the demand increased the prices would fall.
This was proved by what had happened with regard to the
cotton trade. The Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary of
State had expressed fear for the failure of the
potato crop. Every year he had brought forward some
great measure, and every year he bad abandoned it.
Bold and not overscrupulous in opposition, since he had been
a Member of a Conservative C -Lenet, he had been constantly
acting from panic—in fact, the Members of the present
Cabinet, were die children of panic. Now, with regard to
protection, he did not find that what the Noble Lord
opposite called (ha protective system had ever existed. The
colonial system had existed to the great advantage of the
country, but that was not what was called a protective system.
During the eighteenth century our foreign trade was sacri-
ficed to our colonial system, and merchants were compen-
sated by secure markets and great profits. We lost our
colonies, and Mr. PITT brought forward a system of free
trade, because we had lost our great colonies. The revolu-
tionary war interrupted the system, which was again taken
up by Lord LIVERPOOL and Mr. Husuissou, and by the
Right Hon. Gentleman—his Corn Bill of 1842, and his
tariff ; that was, the system of free trade as
contradistinguished from that which was now proposed, and
which he would call free imports, the introduction of which
system had been the ruin of Turkey, and which would pro-
duce the same effect in every ether country. The Right
llon. Gentleman had announced that the principle of protec-
tion was renounced by his Cabinet. He thought it was bene-
ficial. The onus probandi lay upon those who ad-
vocated the doing away with competition. He found great
difficulty in meeting the case of the Anti-Corn-law League,
because it continually varied. They began by promising
cheap bread to the labourer, they ended by promising high
rents to the landlord. He did believe they were disin-
genuous, because he thought that all this time they were
only instructing themselves. In 1839, the Chamber of Man-
chester referred all the evils under which they laboured to
the state of the currency; and, having exhausted the cur-
rency, they afterwards turned to the corn-laws. The League
said protection was a failure, because it could not feed the
people, nor employ the people. He denied both propositions.
The agriculture of no great country in the world was equal
to that of England. The great bulk of capital collected by
our settlers in our colonies were invested in land ; there was
not an Englishman in India, riding upon an ele-
phant, and surrounded by slaves, who did not dream
of quarter sessions, and place the summum bonum of life in
being a justice of peace and a deputy-lieutenant. What
would be the position of England, after the repeal of the
corn laws, if she should be involved in a foreign war? It
would be the same as it was at the rupture of the treaty of
Amiens ; and it would only be by securing the command of
the seas, that supplies would be obtained. They would be
obliged, as they were then, to raise loans with wheat at
110 s., and to pay the interest of those loans with wheat at
555. Seeing that since that time we had supplied the popu-
lation with food, it could not be urged that the system had
failed to feed the people. It had not failed to employ the
people. The Secretary at War said, cultivate the hills of
Wiltshire, and the population will be employed. Why were
they not cultivated? The condition of the peasantry, bad
as it was at present, was worse before the system of protec-
tion was introduced. The Goatacre meeting was much like

the deputation fi-om the nations of Europe, which was
brought to the bar by the French Convention, by Anarchasis
Clooty. But if these were :to be taken as specimens of the
agricultural class, he would produce greater instances of
wretchedness from the manufacturing districts, but he
would not condescend to do so because he knew that they
would not be a fair sample of the labourers in those district',
for he knew that generally speaking the manufacturers were
honourable men, who endeavoured ti promote the interests
of their labourers to the best of their power. He would
admit that the principle did ria regulate wages, but if wages
of labour did net depend on the price of corn, the
importation of foreign corn must displace so much Bri-
tish corn, and so displace so much agricultural labour
which must seek for employment in the manufacturing
districts, and so bring down the rate of wages there. The
House should consider the effect of sudden importations of
corn on the monetary system. He admitted that if they
had a regular trade they would have a regular supply ; but in
the event of a deficiency there would be an extra demard,
which it would he impossible to meet without deranging
the monetary system. He did not vindicate protection on
the ground of peculiar burdens. Land bad great honours
and must bear great burdens. The system could only be
maintained by a system of high policy, by maintaining a
due balance between the two great branches of national
industry, and by giving a preponderance to the agricultural
interest, because they had in England a territorial constitution,
which was the only security for self-government as opposed to
a system of centralization. He believed that the rca
meaning of this movement was not the mere repeal of the
corn- laws, but the transference of political power from the
agricultural to the manufacturing classes. He could not
consent to be rescued from the power of one class only
to sink under the power of another. He protested
against such an ignominious catastrophe; if they were to
change the present system of politics, he would prefer falling
under the thraldom of capital, to trust to the energies
of an educated and an enfranchised people.
The debate, on the motion of Mr. E. BULLER, was then
adjourned till Monday.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and
the House adjourned.

Female Government has been the bane of Spain for the last
fifty years, and as far as can be judged from late events and
present prospects, is yet destined for some time to be the evil
genius of the country. This is the more remarkable among
people of a brave and manly character, that seem to delight
in rude and cruel sports, that have little or no dislike to
civil war, and to daring undertakings little suited
to the habits and dispositions of the other sex. The Court
and Government of CHARLES IV. were ruled by the QUESEN
and her paramour, the Prince of Peace ; the beloved FERDt-
NAND was entirely controlled by MARIA CHRISTINA, who,
. in fact, changed the order of succession, brought on a bloody
civil war, laid waste the country, and finally prevailed by
placing her daughter on the throne. The influence of this
intriguing and dangerous woman appears to be still
undiminished. Her active, unscrupulous, and daring mind
is engaged in some new plot, which in the first instance has
discovered itself by breaking up the only Cabinet that has
displayed anything like rational government in its plans,
and which may excite some violent national commotion to end
in a second civil war. Notwithstanding the unconstitutional
means by which NARVAEZ expelled ESPARTERO, seized the ,
en-
tire control of the army, and abrogated many important pro-
! visions of the Constitution, it cannot be denied that he re-
stored, though in a savage manner, a distracted country to
outward peace and apparent security, and that such general
tranquillity has not prevailed for many years. The Con-
stitution, it is true, was invaded; and in an old established
Government, like that of England, this would have justly
been regarded as a great crime, but in Spain the case was
different; neither the electors nor their representatives had
acquired just notions of their duties, and the latter, in parti-
cular, displayed the most glaring inaptitude for public busi-
ness. In the Chambem of Deputies there was plenty of
talking. The speakers delighted in long and inco-
herent, and often seditious harangues ; and, after
motions and amendments, and votes without number,
they generally ended as they began: the finances of the
country remained in the same deplorable state, the taxes
could not be collected, and the very elements of Government
were on the brink of dissolution. Latterly, however, when
this national rage for uttering vain speeches was much abated ,
and the Cabinet obtained some control over the Cortes, bnci-
ness has been more attended to, and the character of the Go-
vernment raised in the estimation of foreigners. MAnnsEz
DE LA ItosA, the principal member of the Cabinet, has, on
the who'.e, conducted himself with firmness and propriety,
and removed many of the prepossessions entertained against
him when summoned from Paris to his new post; he has
shown a disposition to adhere to the main points of the Con-
stitution, and probably has mitigated, in a great degree, the
military and sanguinary principles of his colleague NARVAEZ
But the Finance Minister Mos has done more than them all
together, and the loss of such a Minister at the present
moment may be regarded as a national calamity. We have
frequently had occasion to speak in his praise, and
the more his plans have been manifested we
have been the more confirmed in oar opinion. Per-
haps there is no country in the world where taxes
till very lately have been levied with more difficulty, or been
so little productive as in Spain. The political chiefs and
other public functionaries, more especially those in the
maritime provinces, reluctantly and imperfectly obeyed the
orders from Madrid; they diverted funds intended fur the
Treasury to their private purposes—they bribed those under
them to remain silent, or co-operate in their peculations. The
rich landowne:s for the same reason never paid the full
amount of their taxes, and the natural consequence was an
empty exchequer. The Finance Minister, however,
put a stop to such a ruinous system. He introduced
a sort of property-tax Bill, which passed through both
intoCd
ahs at mbo
budget,
dee
arrgsase t
twa ir
i i
nt hli
witht t little oo pd oe sr i
fal ey, Act
and
wh ah satb e
any c
be
er r ire-
gardede
emxceaecaleedlittheSpexaitn,e,ntdhietuirnecowmiteh,
tahses
et
xa teeedp tii no
nhis
last badget, exceeded the expendite, with the exception of
the interest on the foreigst debt. But that in time,
too, would have been brought into the account.
Spain, if properly governed, is able meet
all
demands upon her, had this
Minister
re-
mained in office for some years longer, the effects of his
and honest policy would have, reached the unfortunatefirm
credi-
tors of Spain at Paris and London. But all these bright
prospects have been effaced by lime vile intrigue respecting

the QUEEN'S marriage, and Spain is yet doomed to iuffer for
the dark purposes of the Camarilla.

Another " adjournment " still continues to tagg the mam-
moth discussion ; nor can any conjecture be formed as to
the arrival of the grand evening of the division. The per-
ception of any argument by the agricultural champions has
proved to be a great stubborn impossibility : facts, which
would long since have convinced the most arrant of all
arrant dunces, are utterly invisible to them, hooded and
muffled up as their iatelledt is by self-interest. The pros-
pect which to everybody else is clear, and cloudless, and
transparent, to them is hidden with dense fogs and impene-
trable mists—the former arising from the density of their
selfishness, the latter in the impenetrable nature of their
stupidity. Like the gentleman so often quoted from HOMER,
they mount with the persuasion of the various free-trade
orators, but directly they
,have reached the ultimatum—the
"abolition of protection "—down tumbles the burden to its
original post; the listeners are the same dull, pudding-
headed class as ever. With all possible candour, we cannot
but regard the debating which has already transpired as
nothing more nor less than a voluntary self- caricature of them-
selves by the agriculturists ; the speeches alternate like bullion
and dross—now comes the trumpet of abolition, now comes the
penny whistle of protection. In this manner we have already
listened to the lamentations of tho Member fur Oxford, and
the fury of Mr. Scow, and the big talking of the Member
for Bristol, and been treated to a kind of tableau of the
stag at bay" (not the railway, but the zoological stag)
from the Member for Liverpool. It was a novel kind of
recreation to the House ; it served to throw a certain piquancy
into what might possibly have proved distasteful ; repetition,
however, upon repetition served at length to wear away
the particular merit of the exhibition—namely, the novelty
before mentioned. Personal recriminations at the
Premier, cries of " turpitude," aad " dishonesty," and " in-
gratitude," become in the end so much a matter of course,
that every person knew perfectly well the termination of
a sentence immediately any one from the Ministerial benches
uttered its commencement. Last night, however, witnessed
a change in the discussion, which, if it proved in reality un-
profitable, was by no means disagreeable, inasmuch as it
afforded something like a variation from the in-
tolerable monotony which had previously rung again and
again and again upon every Member's ear. For this
same variation of the old tune we are indebted to Mr.
DISRAELI; but, unfortunately, like all variations upon old
tunes, the original air is terribly distinct throughout. In-
deed, the Hon. Gentleman merely clothed the threadbare
common-places of his party with his usual felicity and
floweriness of language. He tricked out the meagre
sayings of the previous supporters of the present
commercial :system in elegant phrases and meretri-
cious decorations of rhetoric. Those numerous and shallow
" positions," the frequent usage of which his clique
had long rendered obnoxious to the Commons,
sparkled as epigrams. The imagination which had evoked
" Coningsby" could not, in fact, fail of adorning any topic,
however hackneyed, or however; untenable. Besides these
advantages, the oration uttered last night by Mr. DISRAELI
bore about it a character more like dispassionate investiga-
tion than the one with which ho had startled every-
body (and very possibly himself into the bargain)
at the outset of the present session. He was judicious
enough to abstain (at least to a very great extent) from
those furious and rancorous onslaughts upon Sir ROBERT
PEEL in which he formerly indulged with so much rashness.
Indeed the Hon. Member declared in so many words " we do
not complain of the Right Hon. Baronet having changed his
opinions," following up the observation with the acknow-
ledgment that "opinion is not always in the power of the
human will." This concession we regard as very creditable to
Mr. DISRAELI, and doubly BO because it has been tacitly
gainsayer) by all his colleagues in their ungenerous and scurril-
ous vituperations on the Prime Minister. This is creditable to
him, inasmuch as its very utterance must in some measure
have estranged the sympathy of the Protectionists from the
speaker; it is creditable, moreover, because it is an un-
paralleled instance of meekness among the rabid up-
holders of the Custom-House. When, however, in
pursuance of his oh;ect Mr. DISRAELI thinks proper to
assert that his party were the embodiment of public opinion
and that those principles of anti-abolition which he himself
together with the other members of that party, professed
were in accordance with that public opinion—he fell back
upon a most miserable fallacy. Sheer assumptions like these—
mere figments in themselves—assertions based only on
the wish that they were realities—words so mani-
festly wrong and idle may certainly elicit a cheer
from the protectionist benches, but they can
never gain a cause—they can never resuscitate a
fallen faction—they can never answer any conceivable end
for good in the wide world. If, therefore, Mr. DISRAELI had
resorted, like other gentlemen in white waistcoats, to " facts
and figures," as well as to reminiscences of " the
good old times, the great old times, the grand old
times "—and to the precedents of Messrs. Hus-
XIMIT and Per; he would materially enhance the merits of
his harangue, besides reducing it to a much smaller compass.
His allusions likewise to crops in the Mauritius and the
llavannahs are equally illusory, and unprofitable, and stale ;
they are the locum tenens of a rotten cause, and as such are
scarcely adducible. In the subsequent chimeras—brilliant ones,
no doubt—which the Hon. Member flashed before his hearers
there is an appearance of terrible antiquity ; he appears to be
scraping together mere chips and splinters, and then hurling
them against his antagonists, forgetful, possibly, that from
their very insignificance they must, by the natural law, float
off upon the winds, and fall most preposterously short
of their mark. Of this description are his witticisms at
the Member for the West Riding of Yorkshire, and
his sarcasms at the League, and his impassioned fribbles
about the factories. The longer, indeed, the hours stole on,
and the more he approached the peroration of his address,
the more frivolous and petite became his arguments; it was
the diminuendo which was to precede the last noisy bars;
it was " small by degrees and beautifully less." Still we
cannot cavil at a speech which, with all its real fallacy, is
the most moderate, if not the best maintained, which his
party has given forth during this interminable discussion.

From a Parliamentary paper, just issued by the House of
Commons, and founded on returns made by the Poor-law
Commissioners, it appears that the total amount levied for
poor-rates in England and Wales, in the year 1845, was
4,474,275/., showing a large decrease, as compared with the
amount levied under the old poor-law, even after deducting
all the moneys applied formerly to other purposes than the
relief of the poor. But the paper is instructive in another
respect. These returns were moved for by Mr. Wont-
HOUSE, in order to show the peculiar burdens on land,
and according to them the agricultural interest can
have no just reason to complain. In 1841, the
total amount levied on land was 3,113,180/., while
that on dwelling-houses and other property was 2,041,172/.,
making a difference of about one-third against the land;
but, according to another part of the return, the amount
levied on land since 1826 has been gradually decreasing,
while that on other property has greatly increased. That
increase is made still larger by the construction of every
new line of railway, and possibly, at the present moment, the
sums are nearly equal. On what ground, then, can the
landed interest contend that the poor-rates form a peculiar
burden on land ?

According to accounts from Madrid of the 13th, a report
prevailed that the Infante Don HENRIQUE had secretly
fled from Ferrol, whither he had been sent in disgrace for
his foolish proclamation relative to the marriage of the
QUERN, and that he had thus sought safety in flight, as he
had reason to believe that N'ARVAEZ intended to banish him
to the Philippine Islands. The intelligence was said to be
contained in a letter received at Madrid from the British
Consul at Corunna. The other intelligence of importance
bad been anticipated by the telegraphic dispatch. On the
12th a royal decree was issued, in which the QUEEN forbids
" time bargains" on the Bourse, after the expiration of those
falling due on the 30th of April next, and declares that such
pecuniary transactions shall not be enforceable by law in any
civil action.

On the 13th the Three per Cents. closed at 3114 for cash
and 31% at 60 days; and the Five per Cents. at 23 5-16 al
60 days.

The Paris papers, with the exception of some additional
accounts from Algiers, possess little interest. The Presse,
which professes to be well informed respecting Spanish
affairs, has an article on thenew Ministry, in which it asserts
that Iszunrrz and NARVAEZ will soon quarrel, so incom-
compatible are there political principles and temper, and that
the Ministry of MIRAILORES can only be a provisional one.
Of this, indeed, their can be little doubt. One brief extract
from the Journal des Ddbato leads to the conviction that the
whole scheme has been planned by the Queen-Mother and
NARVAEZ. "It appears," says that paper, " that when
General NARVAIZ tendered his resignation, the QUEEN sent
for M. MARTINEZ DE LA Rosa, and told him that
the President of the Council having retired from office
that step would naturally be followed by the re-
signation of all the Ministers. To that intimation M. MAR-
TINEZ DE LA RosA is said to hava replied, that he regretted
not being able to concur in the opinion of her MAJEsTr,'
adding, at the same time, If General NARVAEZ thinks fit
to retire, my colleagues and myself are of opinion that we
shall be able to maintain ourselves in our position, by ap-
pointing another General to the post of. Minister of War.' It
is said that the intention of the remaining Ministers was to
select General CONCHA, a Member of the Moderate Opposi-
tion, and who is considered as the rival of General NARVAEZ.
The QUEEN dismissed MARTINEZ DE LA Rosa, telling him
that she would consider of it. In the evening of the 12th
M. MARTINEZ DR LA Rosa delivered his portfolio into the
hands of the QUEEN. The four other members persisted in
their determination, and were literally dismissed by royal
ordinance."

The most sinister reports were in circulation at Paris
respecting the state of the army in Algiers. By an order of
the day, issued by the Minister of War, each of the in-
fantry regiments forming the garrison of Paris is called upon
to furnish 60 volunteers for recruiting the infantry of the
army of Africa, Marshal Bucraur), it appears, has de-
manded large reinforcements, and the population of the
city of Algiers are in a state of the greatest anxiety, owing
to the want of troops and a threatened attack from
ABD-KG-KADER. The Akbar, of the 12th instant,
cautioned the inhabitants from venturing in the
direction of Fondonck, a place within three
hour& march of Algiers, where it was reported the EMIR had I
made hie appearance. The cavalry of the civic 44 4" ti

been called upon to escort a convoy of provisions, as very
few soldiers remained in the town. The postscript of a
letter says : —" The rest of the military convicts have Just
marched out with arms and baggage. We have not a soldier
in the place. The agitation is general. The cause of the
alarm, however, is evidently exaggerated. Algiers has
nothing to fear; but our military operations wear an unfa-
vourable aspect."
The accounts from Berne also cause anxiety at Paris. A
letter from that city, dated the 15th instant, contains the
following paragraph :—" The declaration of 61 members of
the Grand Council, against the opinion expressed by nine
members of the Executive Council, that the nomination of a
council of the revision of the constitution would be, not only
a violation of the constitution, but must lead to most disas-
trous results, has produced a vast sensation in the public
mind."

The Grand Council, on the 14th, it appears, passed a de-
cree regulating the formation of the Constituent Assembly.
The election of Deputies is to be held on March 7. There
is to be one Deputy for every 800 citizens, making 139 De-
puties for the whole canton. The qualifying age for voting
has hitherto been twenty-three years, but on this occasion
those who have attained twenty are to be admitted to give
their suffrages. The oily exceptions are men of unsound
mind, bankrupts, those who have received charitable relief,
and convicts condemned to infamous punishments. To be
eligible to become a Deputy, the candidate must be a citizen
of Berne, be qualified to vote, and be of twenty-three years
of age and upwards. The Constituent Body is to meet on
March 16.
On the Paris Bourse, on Thursday, the Throe per Cents. closed at
84f. 55c. ; the Five per Cents , 123 f. 15c. ; the Orleans Railroad
shares, 1,310 f.; Rouen, 1,042 f. 50c. ; Havre, 752 f. 50c. ; Avignon,
1,0051. ; Vierzon, 720 f.; Bordeaux, 65if. ; Boulogne, 5551. ; Troyes
and Montereau, 4501, ; Bash, 252 f. 50c. ; Great Northern, 771 f.
2:5c. ; Paris and Strasburg, 5531. 75c. ; Tours and Nantes, 590 f. ;
Fampoux, 470 f.
The following are the quotations for other lines :7

Paris and Lyo-Us, detinitiv'e, 627 f. boc. ; Lyons and Avignon, de-
finitive, 565 f. ; Bordeaux and Cette (Mackenzie), 504 f. ; ditto (Espe-
leta), 5101.; Charleroi (Kysaen's), 492 f.
LYONS, FEB. 17.—Paris and Orleans, 1,3301. ; Paris and Rotten,
1,0231.75 c.

BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE

LONDON STOCK E XCHANGE, FBB. 20.

Boulogne and Amiens, 12—East Indian, —Great Northern of
France Constituted, 1514—Great Western Canada, 2%—Luxem-
bourg, 2%—Orleans and Ylerson, 18U —Orleans and Bordeaux, 11%
—Paris and Orleans, 51% —Paris and Rouen, 40% —Rouen and Havre,
30—West Flanders, 4%.

MONEY and COMMERCIAL NEWS.
CITY, QUARTER TO THREE.
There was a better demand for Cotton at Liverpool yester-
day, the sales being 6,000 or 7,000 bales. Prices were rather
looking up. Shares were very dull.
The accounts, per Tay steamer, from the West Indies,
chiefly re-echo the sensation produced here by Sir
Robert Peel's free-trade declarations, and which are
felt to be the knell of all monopoly. The Legis-
lature of Jamaica having voted the introduction of 7,000
Asiatic labourers, all of whom, however, cannot arrive
during the present season, and the railway system being
likely to be extended throughout the island, together with
improvements in the manufacture of sugar, what pusilla-
nimity does it not argue on the part of the West India
colonists to be afraid of slave-grown sugar.
The principal changes in the Bank of England assets and
liabilities last week were these :
Notes issued
Increase
Other Deposits
Decrease ..... ••• 893,922
Seven-day and other Bills ... 945,332
Decrease
Other Securities 22,251,906
Decrease
Bullion ....
Increase
The Funds are flat again this morning. Consols, 95% to
961 for next week, and 96 to % for the account day. Ex-
chequer-bills, 375. to 395. premium. As usual, there are no
official purchasers on the last day of the week. New Three-
and-a-Quarter per Cents are 9814 lA. Bank Stock has gone
back to 209.
The Foreign Bonds are rather firmer. Spanish Five per
Cents., 27%; the Three per Cents., 37%; Mexican, 31; and
Dutch Four per Cents., 9541 to 14.
Shares generally are much the same as yesterday. Direct
Northern have improved a little. North Staffordshire are
firm. Trent Valley are rather unsteady.
BRITISH FUNDS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK.
(From the Official List.)
Bank Stock ..
Three per Cent. Reduced Annuities 96%
Three per Cent. Consols Annuities 96% 95% 96%
New Three-and-a-Quarter per Cent. Anne. 98% IA
India Stock .. .. 259
India Bonds, 1,0001. .. ......
Ditto, under 1,0001. .. 42
Bank Stock for Account • . .• .. 209
Consols for Account 96%
£xcLequer Bills. d. d.
1,0001. • . • • 39 37 pm.
5021. 39 36 pm.
Ditto, Small •• 36 39 pm.
PRICES OF FOREIGN FUNDS AT ONE O'CLOCK.
Equador Bonds . %
Granada, 1 per Cent • • • • • • 23
Ditto, Deferred • • • • • • • • 5
Mexican Bonds, 1837, 5 per Cent .. 31
Peruvian Bonds, 6 per Cent
Spanish Bonds, 5 per Cent. • • • •
Ditto, for the Account • • • • 27%
Ditto, Passive Bonds • • • • • .
Ditto, Three per Cent .. • . ..
Ditto, for the Account
Dividends on the above payable in London.
Dutch Two-and-a-Half per Cents. 59%%14
Ditto, 4 per Cont. Certificates .. 95 % %
BUSINESS DONE IN RAILWAY SHARES AT ONE O'CLOCK.
RAILWAYS. PAID. Pan SHADE.
Aberdeen • • • • • • • • .. 10 .... 10 •• • . to
Amber., Notting., Boston, & Eastrn Jn. 2% 2%.... to
Birmingham and Oxford Junction .. 2 .. • • 2% %% to
Bristol and Exeter .. .• .. 70 86 .... to
Ditto, New • • • • .. .. 5 .• 11% .. • • to
Buckinghamshire • • .. • . 42e. •• • • % p.. to
Caledonian • • .. .. • • •• 10 •• .. 13% .. .. to
Ditto Extension • • • • • .. 2%44 .•to
Chester and Holyhead • • .. .. 20 •• .. 21% %.. to
Direct Manchester (Remington's) .. 2%.... 1%%% to
Direct Manchester (Rastrick's).. 3% %• . to
Direct Northern ..2%.... 2% %• • to
Dublin and Belfast Junction .. • • 5 •• .. 6 •• • . to
Eastern Counties • • • • • . 141. 16s. 0d..... 21% .... to
Ditto, New .. • . 81. 16s. Od. •. • • 6% p• • to
Ditto, York Extension • . 10e. .. .. .. to
Edinburgh and Glasgow .. 50 .... 77 .. ••to
Ditto, Half Shares .. • • .. 5 .... 15% .... to
Ditto, Quarter Shares .. • • .. 12% .. .. 19 .. ••to
Ditto, New Quarter Shares • • • • 10 .. • • 15 . • • to
Great Southern and Western (Ireland) 15 .... 21 ...• to
Great Western .. • • .. 85 153%.. . to
Ditto, Half Shares • • .• • . • • 50 •• • • 86 ex dlv. to
Ditto, Quarter Shares • • .. 5 17% xdto
Ditto, Fifths .. 90 .. • • 33% xdto
Hull and Selby .. .. 50 ... .106% to 107
Ditto, Half Shares .. .. • • • • 7 •• • • 26% to
Isle of Axholme 2% 1% .... to
Liverpoci, Manch, and Newc. Junct. 2% •• .. ... •to
London and Birmingham —lOO .. 221 ex dlv to 222
Ditto, Fifths .. • . • • .. 2 .... 24% xdto
London and Brighton .. • . .. 50 .. 65%44 xdto
Ditto, Consolidated Eighths • . • • 40 • • 56 •• •. to
Ditto ditto Fifths • • • • •• 20 29;4 •••• to
London and South-Western •• 411. 6e. 10d. ... to
Ditto, New .. . • • .. 12% 24 .... to
London, Warwick, and Kidderminster 2% • ... 2 •• • • to
Alatichmiter and Leeds • • .. .. 82 •• • • to --
Ditto, Half Shares .. • • • • •• 38 .• 60% .... to
Ditto, Fifths • • .. 1 .... 12 .. • • to
Ditto, Extension 425. 3;4 p.. to
Manchester and Birmingham .. 40 .... .. • • to
Ditto, Quarter Shares (B) .. 2 •• • • 10%.... to
Manchester, Buxton, and Matlock • • 425. .. • • 1% p• • to
Manchester and Southampton .. • • 2 •• • • 2% •• • • to
Midland
Ditto, New . • • .. .. 12 •• • - 27% 27 to 28
Newcastle and Darlington Junction • • 25 45 to
Ditto, New • • .. .• 1 •• • . 11 •• .. to 10%
Newcastle and Berwick • • • • • • 10 ••• • 22 •••• to
Newark, Sheffield, and Boston • • 2% •• • • 1% .... to
North British • • • • .• 20 •• • • 27% .. to
Ditto, Carlisle Extension • • • • I% • • 2% •• • • to
Ditto, D alkeith • • • • • . • • • • 25 •• .. •• • • to
Ditto, ditto • • .. • • • • .... 634 .... to
North Staffordshire . • .. .. • • 425. •• • • 3% p.. to 4 p
Oxford, Worcester, & Wolverhampton 12% • • .. 13% .... to
Perth and Inverness • • • • • • • • 2% •• • • 1% .. • • to
Portsmouth Direct • . • • • • • • 334 •• • • 3% %• • to
Shrewsbury and Birmingham • • • • 2% •• • • 3% .. to
Shropshire Union . • . .. • • • . 425.• .. • ;4% die to
South Devon • . • . .. • • . • 35 • • 36% • ... to
South Midland • .. .. • • • • 425..... 24 p.. to
Tcan and Dove Valley . • • • • • • • 1% •• • • 0% .• .. to
Trent Valley • • .. • • • • • • • • 5 .. • • 25% %• • to --
Trent Valley and Holyhead Junction 2% • • 1% ••.. to
Wexford, Waterford, and Valenti& 1% 1% • .. to
West Cornwall .. .. • . .. • • 2 1% %•• to
York and North Midland • • • • • • 50 •• .. •• .• to
Ditto, Half Shares • • • • . • . 25 .. 47 •••• to
Ditto East and West RidingExtenslon 1 .... 10%.... to
FOREIGN RAILWAYS.
Boulogne and Amiens • • • • .. 10 • • 11% .... to
Bord., Toulouse, & Cette (Mackenzie.) 2 •• • • 2% .. .. to
Dutch Rhenish .. • • • . • • 5 .• • • 6%.... to
Great Northern of France Constituted 5 .• • • 15% .... to
Great Western Bengal .. . • .. ss. .. • • % ... •to
Luxembourg .. • • • • . • 4 •• • • 2% .. • . to
Paris and Rouen • • • • .• 20 .... 40% .. . • to
Rouen and Havre .. .. . .. 20 .... 30 .... to
Sambre and SICUSII • • • • • • • • 6 .. • • 5% .. ••to
West Flanders .. • • • • • . 4 .. • • 4% ...• to
MINES.
Real del Monte, Unregistered .. •. .... 4 .... to
COURSE OF EXCHANGE.—(YESTERDAY.)
Amsterdam ......C.F. 12 9% Gibraltar......... .....
Ditto, at sight
Rotterdam 2U. 12 la Genoa •••••••••• ••• • .. 26 10
Antwerp .......... .... 26 15 Milan . .
Hamburgh .... • • M.B. 18 14% Venice.— ............
Altona
Paris, 3 days' sight .. 28 75 Palermo, per or .. 119%
Ditto, 3 months .. .. 26 Lisbon. . . 82%
Marseilles • . ..... • • 26 10 0p0rt0.... ......... • • 82%
Bourdeaux . . 26 10 Rio Janeiro • ...... • • 24%
Frankfort on Maine.... 122% Bahia
Petersburgh, 8 U 5.... • • Buenos Ayres .. •• ..
Berlin •••••••• • • • • • • • • New York, 21 days' sight
Vienna, effeo. flo ••• • • • 10 10% Philadelphia
Trieste, ditto.... • • .... 10 10% pmcza or ntrutote, tilt or.
Madrid •• • •
Portvgal Gold Coin • • 3 17 5
Bilbao.. ••••••• • • • • • • • New Doubloons 0 g
Barcelona •••• .. • .... • New Dollars
5evi11e........ • • •• • Silver in bars 0 4I 1 k

LLOYD'S SHIPPING.-(T HIS DAY.)
DEAL, FEB. 20.—Arrd. from the river, Ganges, M'Donald,
Sydney, New South Wales; Ariadne, llildreth, Bombay.
Sld. Antelope, Mont a Video.
SOUTHAMPTON, Fzn. 20.—Arrd. Tay steamer, Sharp,
West Indies; left St. Thomas's 31st ult. ; on freight 4,842
ounces of gold dust, and 61b. 91, oz. silver. Sid. Oriental,
Alexandria.
PLYMOUTH, Fin. 19.—Sid. Simla, Cape of Good Hope.
20. Her Majesty's steamer Samson, Rio Janeiro; Dundee,
Jamaica.
LIVERPOOL, FEB. D.—Sid. Margaret, St. Thomas; Jupiter,
Hayti; Penelope, Cayenne; Ironside, Tobasco ; Gossibium,
New Orleans; Emma Watts, ditto; Manchester, ditto; Al-
bion, St. John's, New Brunswick. 011; Hope, Algoa Bay ;
Crescent, Charente.
DCOLIN, FEB: 19.—S1d. Nancy, Munro, Barbadoes.
CORK, Eau. 17.—S1d. Bideford, Jamaica.
HULL, FEB. 20.—Arrd. Brunswick, St. Andrew's, New
Brunswick.
ILFRACOMBE, FEB. 20.—The schooner Margaret Sanders,
of Plymouth, has put in here with loss of bowsprit, top-
mast, &c., having been in contact last night off Ball Point,
with a ship (name unknown), which received damage, and
proceeded for Milford.
CLYDE, FEB. ]9.—.Acrd. Trident, Miller, Demerara and
Dublin; Norma, Cameron, Pictou and Halifax. Sid. 18th,
Ann Harley, New York; 19th, Flora, Berbice ;• Rose, St.
Kitt's.
SHIELDS, FEB. 20.—Sld. Julie, Rio Janeiro.

HORRIBLE MURDER.—Uriah Deffett, of Meare, was
committed, on the 9th Instant, by G. Warry, Esq., for murdering his
wife whilst in a state of intoxication. On Sunday evening last sha
was upbraiding him with spendim, his Sundays in drunkenness, and
not providing for ter and his family of flue young children, for which
he knocked her dowo, and then cut her across the forehead and tem-
Died With a knife, Whith calmed her death.—qhlt-Nnie hurnal•

MARKET NEWS.-(THIS DAY.)
COVENT-GAIMEIN.__
. .

Although the siTpplieSofT)otTi-ITuTi and Vegetables were
again large, the demand was steady, at our quotations :
Potatoes from 3s Gd to 7s 6d per cwt; Turnips, is 3d
to 2s ; Carrots, 4s 6d to 65 6d ; Greens, 2s to 2s 9d ; and
Leeks, 10d to is 8d per dozen bunches; Onions, 2s to 3s;
Apples, is Ed to 4s; Pears, 5s to 7s; and Spinach, Is 9d
to 2s per
.half-sieve ; Forced Potatoes, 10d to is 6d ; Pine-
apples, 63 to Os; and Filberts, is 2d to Is 4d per lb ; Savoys,
10d to Is 3d ; and Cauliflowers, 2s to 6s per dozen ; Celerv,
is to 2s 3d ; Horse. radish, 2s to 4s 6d ; forced Asparagus, as
to 6s; and forced Rhubarb, Is 6d per bundle; Oranges, 7s
to 12s; and Lemons, 7s to 105 per 100; Seakale, Is Oil to
4s 6d per punnet; Turnip Greens, 2s; and Brocoli Sprouts,
4s to 4s Gd per bushel.

NM-MTGATE AND LEADENEALL.
For each kinds of Meat, the supplies of which on offer
were by no means large, we had a sluggish demand, at about
stationary prices. Beef, from 2s Gd to 3s Gd ; Mutton, 3s 83
to 4s 8d; Veal, 4s to 5e ; and I'oric, 3s 8d to 5s 2d per
81b5.—Turkevs, 3s 6d to 9s; Geese, 5s to is; Ducks,
Is 6d to 2s ; tame Rabbits, is 6d to is &1; wild ditto,
43 to 103 ; Pigeons, 83 to is 2d; and roasting Pigs, 6s to gs
each; Fowls, 4s to 8s per couple; Pheasants, 4s to ss; Par-
tridge;, Is Gd to 2s 3d ; Leverets, 2s to 3s; Hares, 3s. to
3s tid; Woodcocks, 2s 33 to 3s; Grouse, Is 8d to 2s; Snipes,
93 to Is 3d ; Wild Ducks, Is 6d to 2s; Widgeons, Is 3d to
Is 6d; and Plovers, Gd to 9d each.