The Sun.
London, England, 1848-02-23 00:00:00

BILL.

The Earl of ARUNDEL and SURREY pre-
sented 46 petitions against the further progress of
this me2sure,

Mr. W. PATTEN also presented a petition signe
by 240 of the Roman Catholic clergy and laity to the
same effect.

Petitions' against the Bill were also presented by
Mr. Greene from Lancaster; by Mr. Heywood from
Manchester; by Mr. Villiers from Wolverhampton;
by Mr. Sheil, by Mr. Scully, by Mr. Morgan, by
Captain Pechell from Brighton ;',, and by Sir G. Grey
from Haggerstone, in Northumberland,
JEWISH DISABILITIES.

Petitions against the admission of Jews into Par-
liament were presented by Mr. Bailey; by Sir J.
Duckworth from Exeter ; by Mr. Christy from New-
castle-upon-Tyne, and by Mr. Adderley from a place in
Staffordshire.
CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL.
The Earl of ARUNDEL and SURREY pre-
sented a petition in favour of this measure, nume-
rously signed by Roman Catholic clergy and laity.
J E WISH. DISABILITIES.
Mr. COWAN presenteA a petition from Edin-
burgh in favour of the admission of Jews into Par-
liament.
REPEAL ASSOCIATION.

Mr. HAMILTON presented a petition praying
the House to adopt measures for putting down the
Repeal Association, the petitioners being of opinion
that the existing evils of Ireland were owing to the
existence of a wide-spread conspiracy under the name
of the Repeal Association.
BANK ACT.

Mr. lIASTIE presented a petition from Glasgow,
praying the House to remove the restrictions imposed
upon commerce by the Bank Act of 1845.
SECRET SERVICE MONEY.

Colonel SIBTIIORP said that he would upon an
early day call the attention of the House to the sub-
ject of the Secret Service Money—a vote of 39,0001.
being take❑ for that purpose, nobody knowing what
became of that large sum of money.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHARITABLE TRUSTS

point, and he now deliberately told the House that
the Foreign, office was in possession of documents
relating to Poland, which ought long ago to
have been laid before Parliament.—(Rear, hear.)
Again, in 1830, upon the accession of the Noble
Lord to office by the recognition of a treaty which
gave Circassia to Russia, the Noble Lord undid every
thing which his predecessors, Lord Aberdeen and the
Duke of Wellington, had accomplished. Subse-
quently the Noble Lord raised Mehemet Ali to the
position of an independent Sovereign ; and by after-
wards assisting that ambitious Pacha in his attack
upon Constantinople, the Noble Lord committed a
direct act of treachery towards Turkey. He came
now to one of the Noble Lord's last acts of treachery
which he wished to bring under the judgment of the
House. The act in question was the handing over of
Turkey to Russia. And with respect to all the
charges he had brought against the Noble Lord, he
called upon him to defend himself from them ; and
if he (Mr. Anstey) failed to prove them,
he was ready to submit himself to his vengeance.
[lt is right to mention that the motion on which the
Hon. Member based his charges against the Secre-
tary of State for Foreign Affairs, which extended
over several pages of the Votes a week or two ago,
was not published in the Votes of to-day. The motion
on which he framed his address appeared in the fol-
lowing terms :—" Address for papers, except such
documents as have been already laid before the
House.'"—Vide notices of motions, p. 71.] The
Hon. and Learned Gentlemen then referred at great
length to voluminous and various correspondence,
on the strength of which he contended that Mr.
Urquhart had been most unfairly dismissed by Lord
Palmerston, to suit his own ambitious views.
He charged him in express and direct terms with
making false and contradictory statements to the
House in regard to the treaty of Adrianople, with
garbling the truth, deceiving his country, endeavour-
' ing to hand over Turkey to Russia, and as being
guilty of conduct in all these respects which rendered
him unfit to fill the high post he now occupied.
The Noble Lord had refused to lay before the House
certain returns moved for by that Honourable
Member, because he knew that they would be in-
strumental in bringing to condign punishment
the Noble Lord who had thus betrayed his country.
He charged the Noble Lord with having be-
trayed the Circassians to a foreign Power, with having
deceived the House with false statements upon this
subject, and with having practised the same
deception upon his colleagues and his Sovereign.
All the statements which he had made he undertook
to prove in any Committee, whether select or secret.
An action had been brought by Mr. Urquhart for a
libel published in the organ of the Noble Lord (Lord
Palmerston), the Morning Chronicle, and it was
admitted by the counsel against the plaintiff,
the present Lord Campbell, that the libel was written
by Lord Ponsotiby. The rule was made absolute,
but further procedings were dropped upon pay-
ment of the costs of the action. Mr. Fon-
blanque was another example of the disgraceful
connexion of the Noble Lord with the public press
of this country. The results of this policy did not
fail to show itself. In the year 1839 another
war was raging between Mehemet Ali and his
Sovereign. The Sultan applied for protection to
this country against Mehemet Ali, who was
urged on by the Russians. The Sultan offered to
place the Dardanelles in the possession of a British
and French fleet, and the only answer of the Noble
Lord to that application was a severe censure
upon the Secretary of the then legation
(Mr. Urquhart) for having sent such a proposition,
and, in a dispatch to the Tuileries, he proposed that
the English and French possession of the Dardanelles
should not take place until after the Russians had with-
drawn from Constantinople. The Noble Lord appeared
to have resigned himself with great facility to the
occupation of Constantinople by the Russians. The
French Government stated in reply, that either with
or without England they were determined to prevent
the Russian occupation of Constantinople. In the
year 1840, the Noble Lord told the House that
the French Government had refused to act with
England. That statement was false; the French
Government had never refused to act with England
in preventing the Russian force from entering the
Bosphorus. All the plans submitted to France for
the prevention of the Russian occupation were
transmitted to the Court of St. Peters-
burgh. When the discovery of this perfidy
was; announced in the French Chamber, it was met
with a burst of execration, and he (Mr. Anstey) was
surprised that the matter ended there, and that the
French Government had not refused to hold any
further intercourse with so perfidious a person as the
Noble Lord. When the treaty of 1840 was called
for in this House, the Noble Lord said that he
could not produce it, as it was not yet
ratified; but he did not tell the House that, contrary
to all international law, a clause was introduced into
the treaty, to the effect that fulfilment should precede
ratification. Since the Noble Lord had come into
office this last time he had endeavoured to carry out
his objects. The annexation of Cracow was in -
timately connected with the question of the
Spanish marriages. The question was left a
perfectly easy one for him by his predecessor,
the- Earl of Aberdeen, who had stipulated that he
would not bring forward an English candidate for
the hand of the Queen of Spain, if the French
Government did not bring forward on their side any
person. Upon the accession of the Noble Lord to
office, he was asked if he would abide by that
agreement ; a whole month was allowed to,:elapse
before any answer was returned, and in the
meantime efforts were being made at Madrid
to bring forward a candidate from the Coburg family.
The French Government, knowing full well the
former duplicity of the Noble Lord, hastened their owns
measures, and finally brought about the marriage of
the Queen of Spain in the manner which was already
well known to the House and to the country.
He was at a loss now to know how to proceed with
his details, the cases of treachery he was anxious to
bring against the Noble Lord were so numerous.
The Noble Lord and his Government entered into
a treaty with Persia to protect her against
Prussia and Russia ; hut a very little time
elapsed after its ratification before the Noble
Lord evinced a disposition to depart from the
terms of the treaty in favour of Russia. A treaty
was entered into with Russia to deprive the rightful
Prince of the throne of Persia, and a lengthened cor-
respondence took place between the Noble Lord and
the British Ambassador at the Court of Teheran.
upon the subject, which the Noble Lord had taken
good care should never find its way to the table of
that House. Sir John M'Neil, the British Ambas-
sador, time after time sent home for instructions, but
the Noble Lord never condescended to send any
out till hostilities were opened by the Persian
troops against an English expedition, which
the Noble Lord had sent to the assistance of Russia.
What had been the consequence of this do-nothing
policy ? Why, for the sake of aiding the Russian
Court, which had never evinced a very friendly dis.po-
sition towards this country, the Noble Lord had sacri-
ficed the friendship of Persia. With respect to America,
through the direct agency of the Foreign-office
America had been induced to open hostilities with
Mexico and Texas, and English interests had been
sacrificed to the usurpations of America. The
Noble Lord, moreover, broke up the boundary
question, and jeopardized British interests in
regard to that matter, and he now called
upon the Noble Lord to afford the House and
the country some reason or explanation of this
gross violation of his duty as a Minister of the
Crown. He would say nothing more upon the
subject of the treaty of Washington, except
to remark that here also they had an in-
stance of the Noble Lord's disposition to disregard
his duty when he had an opportunity of doing so.
With regard to the slave trade he had but little to
say; Parliament in its wisdom had determined to
make an effort to suppress that abominable traffic,
but the manner in which the Noble Lord had
carried out the wishes of Parliament was
anything but satisfactory to him, and he should be
glad if the Noble Lord would state faithfully and
truly to the House the instructions he had
given upon this subject, and at the same time
put the House in possession of the exact state
of his negotiations with the Government
of Brazil upon the subject of the slave trade.—
(Hear.) The Right Hon. Baronet the Member for
Tamworth had stated that the treason of a Minister
must be decided upon a different principle to that
which regulated such decisions in the case of
private individuals ; but he for one did not
agree with that opinion. The responsibility of
a Minister of the Crown ought to be decided
individual,
same way as the responsibility of a private
and he called upon the llouse to
adjudge the Noble Lord upon the charges he
had telt it to be his duty to bring against
Dirt
in the same spirit. Thanking the House for
the attention they had afforded him, he begged to
move the resolution of which he had given notice.
Mr. URQUHART seconded the motion.
Mr. S 11, sAid D un4arvan was so near
Youghal that he could not help being acquainted
with the view.; that the Hon. Member who had so
long occupied their attention to-day addressed to the
constituency of the latter place ; and the Hon. Mem-
ber must forgive liirn for expressing his surprise that
the Honourable Member, after proving himself on the
hustings at the last election to be the most truly
Irishman of them all, should so soon have dis-
missed the country of his adoption for the trammels
of foreign politics. The Hon. Member for Youghal
had handed over Ireland to the tender mercies of the
Hon. Member for Stafford, while the Hon. Member
for Stafford, who had circumvented the entire world to
make himself familiar with the subject he had given
up, had handed over to the Honourable Member for
Youghal this tremendous motion upon foreign
politics. Now he could not help thinking that it was

most unfair in the Honourable Member for Youghal, in
sacrificing the Irish peop'.e and the Irish Parlia-
ment, to enable the Honourable Member for ,
StafErd to make a terrific onslaught, under an I
am)ush, upon the character and reputation of the
Nude Lord ra...‘ Foreign Secretary. Coning from
the Honourable Member fur Youghal, the attack
had lost its point, for the Honourable Member for
Stafford, it was well known, had long been frying,
through the agency of pamphlets and lecturers, to
damage the character of his Noble Friend the Foreign
Secretary in the eyes of the English people, and
it would have been more in accordance with the old
English principle of fair play had the Hon. Member
for Stafford himself made the lengthened statement
they had just heard against the Noble Lord now that
he had an opportunity of meeting the Noble Lord face
to face, rather than have taken advantage of the am-
bush the lion. Member for Youghal had afforded him.
Ile had come down to the House, he admitted, to de-
fend the great actions of his Noble Friend—actions
which would bear a prominent place in history—
to contend that he had done that for his country
which an -English Minister should do, and that
in all his actions he had acted as a man ; he was
ready to show that his hand had never soiled the
great name of England, and that his policy, where-
ever it had extended, had been pacific in the extreme.
But after he had heard the speech of the Hon.
Gentleman--after he had heard him accused of fraud
upon fraud, and lie after lie—after he had heard
the Speaker interpose to preserve the dig-
nity of the House—after he had heard
him wish he could call Mr. Backhouse from
the grave, whom he stated Lord Palmerston
had suborned to tell a lie and to commit
fraud, he had come to the conclusion
that the conduct of the lion. Member deserved to be
treated with apathy, not, however, without commise-
ration.— (Hear, hear.) The counsel had been heard.
let the client and the witness now come forward
and substantiate their charge. His Noble Friend
was free from the imputations cast so plentifully
upon him.—(Cheers.)
Mr. URQUHART admitted if he and his Learned
Friend were in the wrong they must be madmen to
bring the motion forward; but though they might
not now be believed—and he begged to
remind the House that there had been
times when Parliament had been deluded
even in the face of truth—the time would come
when the charge that had been brought forward to-
day, which he firmly believed, would become clearly
palpable. The Hon. Gentleman then went on to de-
fend his conduct, but admitted that after he had been
recalled from Turkey, where he held the office of
secretary to the legaticn, that he addressed a letter
to Lord Palmerston, stating that he had no per-
sonal feelings of hostility against him. It was
only when he found that his (Mr. Urquhart's)
conduct had been misrepresented—that he had been
maligned by the Noble Lord when he was not in the
House to defend himself—that he felt it his duty to
come forward and defend himself. The charges
that had for the first time been brought
forward as a whole to-day had been long whis-
pered in the Courts of Europe, and even in
that House ; and was it not remarkable that he had
never stood up in his place and defended himself ?
Not long ago the Noble Lord the Member for Mary-
lebone (Lord D. Stuart) stated that the policy of the
Noble Lord towards foreign nations was that of a bully
and a coward ; that he oppressed the weak, and was a
time-server, but the Noble Lord's opinion seemed
now to have undergone a great change. He was
prepared to substantiate this allegation—and he called
upon the House to let its utmost censure
fall upon him if he failed—that changes
had been made by the Noble Lord
(Lord Palmerston) in the stipulations of the
treaty with Turkey, for the purpose of serving the
interests of Prussia or Turkey. He appealed
to the Speaker in his judicial capacity to
see that this charge was investigated, because
it was no small matter—it was an impeachment of
one of the first Ministers of the Crown. He wished
to God that, in this matter, he could be proved an
enthusiast and a madman. (Great Laughter.)
Honourable Gentlemen might laugh ; what he
meant was that he wished to God the had
not these things in his mind, and that he did not feel
so deeply for his injured country. lie ap-
pealed to the Speaker not to refuse this prayer.
If there was a Whig present who valued
the character of that great party—if there
was an honest man present—(Laughter)—who
valued the alliance of Prussia as well as of France,
to support this inquiry. Nay, more, he appealect to
the admirers of free-trade, for it had been said with
truth that the conduct of the Noble Lord prevented
its proper carrying out, and made the slave trade one
great cause of contention with other countries, to
grant the inquiry. But he was not moving for an
inquiry—(Laughter)—he was simply supporting a
motion for papers as a preliminary step.—(Hear,
hear.) The papers moved fur extended over sixteen
years, and could not be disposed of in an ordinary
debate.

Lrrd D. STUART moved the adjournment of the
debate.

Lord PALMERSTON then rose amidst general
cries for a division. He should not lose his temper,
neither should he disgrace himself by violating the
ordinary courtesies of life and the conduct usually
adopted by gentlemen.—(Loud cheers.) He at
once unreservedly and fully denied every one of the
charges—he repelled them all. If the question
were merely one between the Honourable
Member and himself he did not know that
he should have condesconded to reply to them—nay,
he did not think he should disgrace himself by even
repeitln the.n.—Loud cheers.) But,
if it were the pleasure of the House to institute
an inquiry, he should not object to it—
nay more, he had not the slightest objection to an
inquiry into his conduct from the moment he entered
the public service up to the moment he was
addressing them, including the inspection of every
document in the Foreign-office.— (Hear, hear,
and loud cheers.) The Honourable and Learned Gen-
tleman had so mistated facts, so jumbled them, that
he considered he was perfectly justified in calling his
speech not unlike a kaleidoscope out of order.—
(Roars of laughter.) Mr. Backhouse was quite
incapable of telling untruth for the sake of any man.
The charge made against that gentleman he had
never expected to hear in the House of Com-
mons.—(Hear.) He should not now enter into
any foreign policy that took place before
the llonourable and Learned Gentleman was born—
(Laughter)—nor before he entered official life. He
confessed he was utterly at a loss to understand
how the Elonourable and Learned Gentleman
could conceive that the fall cf the diffe-
rent nations of the world depended upon his
mere caprice.—(llear, hear.) The, events spoke
for themselves. England was a Russian pro-
vince, and annihilated as a nation. Having
once made a good speech, was made a charge
of treachery against him. Now no one
could levy such a charge at the door of
the Hon. and Learned Gentleman.—(Con-
tinued laughter.) Anterior to the treaty of Adrian-
ople, he considered, that Turkey having violated
some of her treaties with Russij, had good cause
to proceed against her. Unfortunately Turkey
acted under the advice of bad and evil counsellors
in the matter. The Noble Lord was proceeding to
enter snore into detail on this matter, when
The SPEAKER interrupted him, and announced
that the debate must stand adjourned until to-
morrow, amidst some laughter.
The House adjourned precisely at Six o'clock.

the Bid now in progress; and in justice to the reasonable
expectations of the proprietary, the directors would omit
no exertion to accomplish it.
The engineer's (Mr. Brunel's) report was also read.
It stated generally that circumstances hail concurred
materially to retard the progress of the works. Every
endeavour had been made to keep down the expenditure
with the least possible derangement of the equal and
proportionate advance of the different portions; but in a
line of such extent, and comprehending works of such
varied character, some parts would unavoidaNy be in
arrear, and some would be completed before they could
be rendered available. Generally speaking, those
works upon which the most chance of contingencies
or unforeseen difficulties might be supposed, were pro-
ceeded with sufficiently to render their completion cer-
tain, and to remove any doubts of the Swansea Tunnel,
about one•third had been completed, and no new diffi•
culties or expenses could be anticipated. The Newport
'runnel and the adjoining works were also nearly com-
pleted. The works between Chepgow and Cardiff were
in a state to be opened this year if desirable, and those
to Swansea in the following spring. East of Chepstow, the
opening of the lino raustdepend upon the completion of the
Gloucester and Forest of I)ean Railway, which may be
effected in the course of the summer of 1849. From
Swansea to Llanelly the works might be completed in
I the same time as those from Cardiff to Swansea. Be-

yond Lianelly there had been more delay, but the works
were in progress to a short distance beyond the junction
with the Haverfordwest branch. _

The CLIATRMAN, in moving that the report be received,
adopted, printed, and circulated amongst the members,
observed at some lenght upon its details. He said that,
as the pressure upon the mon,y market had passed away,
it was time to press on the works as actively as pos-
sible. With that view, the directors proposed to make
a call of 51. per share, which would bring into operation
the borrowing powers of the company, after which the
proprietors would not be likely to have further calls
made upon them.
A discursive conversation then ensued upon the
several topics of the report, but nothing material was
elicited, except an earnest protest on the part of the
Chairman (with whom the meeting cordially concurred)
against any Government or legislatorial interference
with the accounts or business management of the com-
pany.
The resolution, for the adoption, &c., of the report,
was unanimously agreed to.
The directors retiring by rotation were re elected, and
the usual routine business having been disposed of, the
meeting separated.

TENBY, SAUNDERSFOOT, AND
SOUTH WALES RAILWAY COAPANY.-

SOUTH WAILS RAILWAY.
(THIS DAY.)
The sixth half-yearly general meeting of the share-
holders ot this company was held this day, at the Pad-
dington station of the Great Western Railway; Mr. C.
Russell i❑ the chair. _ - _

The SECRETARY (Mr. Armstrong) read the report of
the directors, of which the leading points were, that
during the late period of monetary pressure the board
had given their most careful attention to a prudent out-
lay of the funds at their disposal, so as to maintain their
engagements, and at the same time refrain from making
heavy calls upon the proprietors. They congratulated
the company upon their success to this extent,
that they had been able to meet all liabilities
without stoppage of the works in progress or delay
of the final completion of the line. The call payable in
July last furnished the means of such progress, and the
directors were enabled to postpone any further call until
January, and then they limited the demand to 31. per
cent. The engineer's report showed in detail the course
which had been adopted for these purposes, but, briefly,
the directors had thought it prudent to promote the
steady construction of the heaviest works, to the
east of Swansea, so that the line from Gloucester,
in continuation of the Great Western Railway
should be finished at the earliest time. The works
between Swansea and Carmarthen, and oven be-
yond Carmarthen, had proceeded, although somewhat
slowly, with such progress as the finances of the com•
piny would justify. The directors were not unmindful
of the alvaii:agc which would accrue from the early
completion of the line, and the proprietors might rely
upoli their hei.pting that object steadily in view, whilst
they felt it their duty to make the calls as little onerous
as possible, especially in times of commercial embar-
rassment. As the time limited by the Act of Incorpo-
ration for the construction of the line and the com-
pulsory powers for the purchase of land would expire
in August of: this year, ea memorial, in the form
prescribed by the General Act of Parliament,
pessed for the purpose of enabling railway companies
to extend the period fixed for the completion of their
works, had been presented to the Railway Commis-
sioners, praying to be alluwed the privileges of the
general Act, and there was no doubt that the application
N,ould be complied with. In pursuance of the assurance
given by the directorslastyear,appliact hatitone
was
setbineigs in
ngm alibrdeetouarry and
arna.
merit this session fur power to raise, during the con-
struction of the line, the rate of interest, on calls paid
up, from 4to 5 per cent. This was the sole object of ,

THE SUN, 1,0141,014 T, riVE rINESD A. Y EVAN 1 N fit 1E81%10'41,11° 1414 i

week to the local agent, requestieg him to get the
evilence in the case ready, but from some came or other
those letters never reached their destination, and as the
witnesses for the petitioners ha.l only arrived in town
this morning, he hat to ask the Committee to favour him
with an adjournment till to-morrow.
Mr. EDWIN JAMES resisted the application, and,
The COMMITTEE decided that the case ought to be
gone into at once.
Mr. Sergeant WRANGIIIAM then proceeded to open the
case as one of bribery and eorruption. Treating also
formed part of the case that the petitioners would endea-
vour to make out against the sitting Member.
William Hartley, a freeman of Lancaster, proved that
he was present at the festivities referred to by the
Learned Counsel. He was brought into Lancaster on
the night before the poll with a number of other
freemen, who, like himself, were rather fresh, and
that on the following day he received 355. from Wyse,
upon the understanding that he should vote for Mr.
Gregson. He voted for Mr. Gregson and Mr. Greene.
John Wasey, a freeman of Lancaster, deposed that he
had charge of the voters at the Victoria Hotel, and on
the day of the election he remembered hearing Hartley
say to another voter, " See, I am going to vote for Greg-
son, and I have got this," exhibiting some gold and
silver.

John Capon, another freeman, proved that before
and during the election, he was sumptuously entertained
at Dobson's and the Victoria Hotels free of expense. He
received a sovereign from some person whom he did not
know before going to the poll. He voted for Mr. Greg-
son, and after he had polled ho received 50s. from
the same party who gave him the sovereign. He also
got a ticket for 55., which he afterwards exchanged for a
bottle of rum.

(THIS DAY.)
The ordinary half-yearly meeting of the proprietors
of this company was held this afternoon, at the offices,
Gresham Rooms, Basinghall•street. Thomas Chadwick,
Esq., occupied the chair.
The report which was read stated that, from the late
pressure in the money market, the .works on the South
Wales Railway had not proceeded as rapidly as had been
anticipated, in consequence of which the directors
of this company had availed themselves of the Act
passed at the commencement of the present session
of Parliament, and , had obtained from the Railway
Commissioners an extension of the time allowed
for making the line for two years. Since the last
meeting Mr. Hay, the engineer, had resurveyed the line,
in order to find whether some reduction in the estimated
cost of construction could not be made, and also some
improvement in the gradients, and the directors were
justified is stating that the capital subscribed for would
be amply sufficient to complete the line, The Pem-
brokeshire Iron and Coal Company were proceeding very
successfully in opening up the resources of their iron
and coal mines, and they intended erecting blast fur-
naces during the ensuing summer; and as soon as the
furnaces were got into working order, and the col-
liers properly opened, the directors believe that sufficient
income would be derived from the tolls and harbour
dues to balance the interest now paid by this company
for the purchase of that undertaking. The directors
had obtained the services of a gentlemen as Secretary,
in conjunction with the Pembrokeshire Iron and Coal
Company, who had consented for the present to accept
a very limited salary. The directors, in consequence of
the works remaining in abeyance for the present, had
agreed to accept only a moiety of the sum of 5001. which
was voted for their services.

Some other evidence of a similar nature was put in,
and the Committee then adjourned till to-morrow.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

ROUSE OF LORDS, Feb. 22.

The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Wool-
sack at Five o'clock.

The statement of accounts showed the receipts to be
30,4251. Bs. Bd., and the expenditure 27,4911. 3s. 5d.,
leaving a balance of 2,934/. ss. 3d.
After a short statement by the CHAIRMAN, the report
and accounts were unanimously received and adopted.
John Laurie, Esq.; Patrick Andrew, Esq., and Thomas
Longbourne, Esq., were re-elected directors of the
company, and Lewis Pocock, Esq., auditor.
A vote of thanks was then passed to the Chairman,
and the meeting separated.

Lord KENYON presented sixteen petitions against
the removal of Jewish disabilities.
The Earl of RODEN presented several petitions
praying for the extension of scrip, aral schools in
Ireland ; also petitions against denunciations from the
altar.

were endeavouring to suppress it in another.--(Hear,
hear.) In 1814, when, at the treaty of Paris, we proposed I
the abolition of the slave trade, he remembered M. I
Talleyrand saying that he fully believed in cur sincerity.
But what would he. or any one of coalmen sense, say
now? Why, either that we were the greatest hypocrites,
or, if sincere, we must be mad. It was, he understood,
to be proposed that an application should be male to the
French to release us front the obligation we were under
with them to suppress the slave-trade. lle did not envy
the Minister who might propose such an application. If
such a determivatioa were adopted, they west give up
all hope of suppressing the slave-trade. After years of
noble exertion it would be a disgrace and shame to this
country; and what could be expected from every part of
the civilised world but a dismal hiss of scorn and indig-
nation?—(Hear, hear.) He had only further to move
for the returns which he had mentioned, and which
would show the number of vessels captured by the dif-
ferent squadrons of different nations during recent years.
The Earl of AUCKLAND commenced by saying
that there could be no difficulty in giving the returns.
He was anxious, however, to say a few words in corro.
bciration of what had fallen from the Noble Lord; and
he was the more desirous to do this, as it enabled him
to pay a deserved tribute to the gallant officer in com-
mand of the squadron on the coast of Africa, and whose
arrangements for the efficiency and health of the squa-
dron were beyond every praise. In the last letter he
received from Sir Charles 4:lam, that gallant officer
stated that he had now finished the first year of his
command, and he should be enabled to show more prizes
and fewer deaths than during any preceding similar pe-
riod. The per tentage of deaths had been reduced
during the last year from 5 per cent. in 1845, to 2 per
cent. in 1847; and the number of invalids had heen re-
duced in proportion. The Island of Ascension had been
made a place of sanitary resort, and no vessel was now
allowed to remain more than two years on the station.—
(Hear, hear.) With respect to the general question, he
must say that he thought it would be a great blow to
civilization if they withdrew their squadron from the
coast, and allowed that system to be revived which so
much was nos done to check and put an end to.
Lord STANLEY should not have said a word had it '
not been for a misapprehension on the part of the Noble
Earl as to the opinions he had expressed upon this sub-
ject on a former occasion. lie thought it right to say,
that the sentiments he had expressed on that former
occasion were curiously identical with the opinions ex-
pressed to-night by the Noble Lord. He had then said,
that if he had to chooie as a means of putting down the
slave trade between the admission of slave-grown sugar
and the continuance of the squadron on the coast of
Africa, he should, as least likely to prove effective, pre-
fer a measure of financial prohibition to the continuance
of the squadron. What he intended to say was, that he
very much feared that the legislation of 1846 would be
calculated to destroy all that the fleets could effect; and
this was the point which the Noble Earl appeared to him
to have misunderstood. With respect to the returns, he
was not prepared to arrive at the conclusion that the
number of captures was a test of the efficiency of the
squadron. On the contrary, the more captures that
were made, the stronger proof there was that the trade
was flourishing and increasing. Into that part of the
subject, however, he would not go any further at pre-
sent, as he only rose to correct a misapprehension.
The Bishop of EXETER wished to express his hope
that if it was the decided system of this country to
promote the admission of slave-grown sugar, all checks
would be taken off the free importation of slaves from
Africa. It was obvious that such checks only caused
additional suffering to the unhappy slaves.
Earl GREY emphatically denied that it was the
policy of her Majesty's Government to encourage the
growth or admission of slave-grown sugar. They
maintained the argnment, that if the sugars of other
countries were admitted at all, it was practically im-
possible to exclude slave-grown-sugar. It was proved
to demonstration that Cuba sugar came in as the pro-
duce of other countries, and that we could not avoid that
consequence. It was proved also that the treaties of
this country wholly precluded our checking such im-
portation; and, indeed, the only occasion on which he
had ever known a British Minister act in diplomacy
like a pettifogging attorney was when a Noble Lord
tried to get over that difficulty. The general subject,
however, was ore of too great importance to be discus-
sed on this occasion..

Lord DENMAN was not sure that he entirely under-
stood the Right Rev. Prelate in the same sense as the
Noble Earl appeared to understand him; but certainly if
the effect of the admission of slave-grown swears was
such as had been depicted, he should be inclined' to agree
with the Right Rev. Prelate that it would be more de-
sirable to the cause of humanity to withdraw the squa-
dron. Upon that point, however, ho was not convinced;
but he was most desirous to give his thanks to the Noble
Earl for bringing forward this important subject. Ile
thought the thanks of the whole country were due to
the Noble Earl, and he earnestly hoped his speech would
weigh with the country. When he (Lord Denman) re-
collseted what had been done in that House on the sugar
question two years ago, he earnestly wished this state•
ment had then been made. The question had been
brought forward for diecUssion in that house on a Sa-
turday, and that Saturday the oth of August. It had
never been properly considered. Noble Lords were
required in Scotland the day after—(Great laughter)
—and no one attended to discuss the question. The
Bishops of London and Oxford had absolutely been un-
aware that the subject was coming forward. He trusted,
however, that the matter would now be revived and re•
opened. Free trade was not implicated. Free trade
had no relation to the slave trade ; it aimed at opening
a field for fair competition, but not a field for competi-
tion by the islave•owner against those paying for free
labour. With regard to the slave trade his opinion
was a strong one that that abominable traffic was piracy.
Brazil and England agreed by treaty in 1820 so to treat
it. In 1823 the United States offered Mr. Canning to
deal with it on that basis, and it was a serious oversight
on the part of that great statesman Vita he did not see
the advantage to be derived from that arrangement. In
the Acts abolishing the slave trade we described it as
" piracy, robbery, and felony," and surely it was so de-
scribed because it was intended to be so considered. He
must say that he felt great distress at the thought that
a subjsct of a country which had abolished the slave
trade should be allowed to pursue a suit in a British
court of justice on account of acts done in the abolition
of the traffic. That seemed to him to be an anomaly in
our law deserving consideration, and he hoped attention
would be directed to it. At that hour, however, he
would not pursue the subject further.
Lord ASHBURTON wished to remark that the
offer of America, through Mr. Rush, was, that the slave
trade should be dec!ared piracy by the law of nations—
(Hear, hear)—and that the answer of Mr. Canning was,
We have already made it piracy us affects our own
subjects; do you so likewise; but we have no right to
impose laws upon other nations." That argument, as it
seemed to him, was founded on good reasons.—([fear.)
With respect to what had been said by the Noble Lord
about the admission of slave-grown sugar, he wished
him to bear in mind that the mischief was done, and
that without an immediate review of the law of 1846
our colonies must be inevitably ruined. If their Lord-
ships would go into inquiry upon the' subject, they would
find that our colonies, even with a partial protection,
could not compete with slave-holding countries. There
was no denying the fact—no shirking the question—
that after the millions laid out upon the slave trade, we
were absolutely at this time stimulating and promoting
it by our legislative measures.
Lord DENMAN was aware of the fact the Noble
Earl had stated respecting Mr. Canning; but what he
felt was, that Mr. Canning had lost a great opportunity
in not accepting the proposal.
The Earl of ABERDEEN : wishedished only to say a word
as to an allusion which the Noble Earl the Secretary of
the Colonies bad made to an act in which he took part,
and which he had strangely chosen to stigmatise as
"pettifogging." He (Lord Aberdeen) would only say
that the act alluded to received the sanction of the
House, and that his own conscience had been entirely
satiified respecting it. Subsequent reflection convinced
him that the course he then pursued was entirely correct.
Earl GREY expressed his regret that he had used the
word complained of. He had no doubt that the Noble
Lord had acted on this, as on all other occasions, with
that high sense of honour which always influenced him.
At the same time, be had been sorry to see this country
placed in the position in which the Government of which
the Noble Lord was a member had placed her.
After a few words from the Earl of lIARROWBY,
which were almost entirely inaudible, the motion was
agreed to.
Their Lordships adjourned at Half-past Seven.