The Sun.
London, England, 1846-07-23 00:00:00

11'

LONDON, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 1846.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL
.having at length very ex-
plicitly pronounced sentence of death upon the dif-
ferential Sugar Duties, the redoubtable Protectionists
have bethought themselves of their old tactics for
obtaining some commutation of the sentence, or, at
the least, some reprieve in its execution. The ban-
quet of home monopoly having been duly discussed
and demolished, our free-trade legislators, like Sir
HUGH EvANs, are now concentrating their energies
upon the "pippins and cheese" of colonial monopoly.
Such a consummation, however, of the recent Par-
liamentary proceedings, though " devoutly to be
wished" by the multitude, is directly opposed to the
political and commercial palate of the upholders of the
protective system. They perceive the last fragment
of their beloved Idol doomed to destruction by the
Genius of Free-Trade ; and resolved, if possible, to
avert that doom by every logical artifice or
sophistical machination, they have assembled toge-
ther for the purpose of arranging their mode of
operation. That momentous council has been
held ; those chieftains have deliberated ; their cham-
pion has already thrown down his gauntlet upon the
floor of Parliament.

Viewing the " Amendment" of Lord GEORGE BEN-
TINCK, however, seriously and soberly, it is pre-
cisely the description of document which might have
been anticipated. It betokens in the very feebleness
of its verbs and adjectives the smallness of the faction
from which it has proceeded. According to the
language of their resolution, they opine—" That in
the present state of the sugar cultivation in the Bri-
tish East and West Indian possessions, the proposed
reduction of duty upon foreign slave-grown sugar is
alike unjust and impolitic." In the present state, &c.!
Why what a shallow apology is this for the introduction
of such an amendment ! If after the period which has
already elapsed since the Emancipation Act those
colonial possessions have not recovered their indus-
trial vigour sufficiently to compete with other terri-
tories engaged in the cultivation of sugar—if, in
addition to this, they afford no definite prospect of ar-
riving at that condition of prosperity, while their
owners are, on the contrary, availing themselves of
every opportunity to asperse the Govern-
ment for affording them but an inefficient
compensation,—why not, in Heaven's name, erase
that preposterous and superfluous " in the present
state ?" But let us inquire into the origin of the
opinion thus expressed by Lord G. BEsurisicm., in be-
half of himself and his coadjutors. They conceive that
the proposed reduction would prove " alike unjust and
impolitic," because forsooth of its " tending to
check the advance of production by British
labour, and to give a great additional
stimulus to the slave trade !" giving thereby
a most agricultural precedence to British labour, and
introducing the humanity argument as a kind of tag.
Of the validity of either of these very pompous and
high-sounding reasons we at once proclaim our
denial. If ever premises were fallacious, these are
so; if ever a question of political economy were dis-
torted by sophisms, it is that of the differential
sugar duties, and those sophisms are in
the amendment of Lord GEORGE BENTINCK. Con-
sidering, for example, the notion of these proposed
reductions tending to afford encouragement to the
atrocious and diabolical system of slave traffic—we
have already protested against the accuracy of this
supposition. We have commented upon the circum-
stance of these sticklers for the emancipation of their
fellow-creatures crying out against the patronage of
slave-owners only when that patronage interfered
with their own pockets—of their beholding with
silent indifference the commerce in cotton, and cop-
per, and tobacco, and so forth, maintained between:
this country and colonies cultivated by slaves—of
their standing forth as the champions of humanity
solely upon the proposed importation of
slave-labour sugar, their own article of
merchandize ! Besides this, we have declared
this dread of patronising slavery to be altogether an
illusion, because the planters of Cuba and Brazil are
already patronised by us in defiance of all our re-
strictions against their admission into British ports ;
and have shown likewise that this patronage is
most expensive to ourselves without preserv-
ing any exclusive benefit to our colonial
planters. So much for the vaunted humanity argu-
ment of the colonial protectionists.
Although the pretended patriotism of the other
reason against the proposed reduction of the differen-
tial duties is somewhat more speciously worded in
the Amendment, it is, nevertheless, quite as chime-
rical as the one already answered. We allude
to the supposed tendency of such a reduction "to
check the advance of production by British labour."
This position, we repeat it, is specious, it is adroitly
conceived ; but we solemnly protest against it as a
most illusory, and a most flagitious argument.
To strip it of all its flimsy preten-
sions to patriotism, it amounts literally
to this :—" Never mind the thousands of artisan,
who are turned away incessantly from your factory
doors through want of employment; never mind the
thousands of labourers who are rendered vagrants, or
are thrown upon your parishes periodically from
an incapacity to obtain work ; never mind these
people in England, let them shift for them-
selves. All we want is that you will cherish
some units of planters, and some tens of Hill
Coolies : let the thousands of industrious poor in the
mother country go to the devil. Shut your ports
against foreign slave-labour sugar, that our planters
and Hill Coolies may obtain employment and flourish.
Shut your ports against foreign slave-labour
sugar, although by so doing you prevent these
foreign countries from becoming customers for
your manufactures, and by this means prevent your
own starving population from gaining the e ploy-
mnent which would be necessary on such an accession
of customers: Enable us to monopolise the traffic in
sugar, and you will thereby enable yourself to
throw a large portion of your insular community out
of employment !" That in literal and honest truth
is the substance of the requisition of these colonial
protectionists ; that is the simple tendency of
Lord GEORGE BENTINCK'S amendment ; and
that, moreover, is the tendency—unconscious,
we believe—of the clever and gentlemanly remon-

strance of the Hon. GRANTLEY F. BERKELEY. In
protesting against the proposed reductions in the
differential duties as " unjust and impo-
litic," the colonialists altogether overlook
the broad groundwork of injustice and
impolicy upon which those differential duties were
originally modelled. They forget that by thus en-
deavouring to pamper a few cargoes of Hill Coolies,
they are doing everything that can well be done
to promote the starvation and destitution of
whole generations of their fellow-countrymen
i❑ the three kingdoms. Charity is hinted at by these
lovers of protection and these worshippers of civil
liberty. Charity, so be it. But rather let it be
charity to the existent people of England, of Ire-
land, and of Scotland, than to these possible Hill
Coolies!

An interesting discussion took place last night in
the House of Commons, previous to the reading of the
order of the day for going into Committee on the
"Death by Accidents Compensation Bill." The
great necessity of an alteration in the law was ad-
mitted on all sides, and j the only question ap-
peared to be in what manner that altera-
tion might be most advantageously effected.
From the ability and legal knowledge of
the several parties who took part in the debate,
and the anxiety they seemed to display for the re-
moval of the inconsistency of the law as it now
stands, we entertain a sanguine hope that the prin-
ciple of the measure, considerably enlarged and ex-
tended, will soon receive the sanction of the Legis-
lature. We have already called the public attention
to the provisions of the present Bill, and the
state of the law which it is intended to remedy ; but
where such an important change in the law of the
land is contemplated, creating an extraordinary and
new responsibility, it cannot be uninteresting again
to explain things as they have been, and as it is pro-
posed they shall be.

1-
At present, if any person should receive an injury
consequent upon the carelessness, negligence, or
wilful act of another, he may maintain an action
and recover damage for the injury so sustained
against the party by or through whose default it was
inflicted, but if he died in consequence, the civil
remedy became merged, and no compensation could
be recovered. Originally a personal action died with
the person, but now, and for some time past, the per-
sonal representatives of a party deceased might main-
tain actions for damages to his personal property,
or, in some instances, to his real estate. It is
difficult to assign any satisfactory reason for such a
distinction, and the object of the present Bill is to
extend the principle, and to enable the representa-
tives of a person who had sustained an injury which
ended in his death to recover damages in the same
way as he himself would have been entitled, had
he survived. We cannot understand, however,
why it was proposed to exclude from the
operation of the Act cases of murder. Is it
because the criminality of the delinquent is greater
that the remedy should be taken away? It would ap-
pear as if it was intended to save duellists from the
operation of the law, a class of persons to whom its
provisions would be more applicable, and might more
advantageously be extended, than to any other what-
soever, against whom a similar law has been most
beneficially acted on in France, and which, if in
force in this country, might go far to dimi-
nish the pernicious practice. We are happy
to perceive that the late Attorney-General (Sir
F. THESIQER) exposed this inconsistency in the Bill,
and suggested its amendment in that particular.
The Lord Advocate of Scotland explained the law
in that country, and mentioned a case wherein he
had, as counsel for a railway company, advised a
compromise of an action brought against them, by
which 1,0001. was given to each of the children
of the deceased person, besides a large sum
paid to the widow. We do not quite approve of the
law as it is in Scotland, although we admit it to be
far preferable to that which has hitherto existed in
England : there the jury, by their verdict apportion
the damages, as they think proper, amongst the sur-
viving relatives. Suits of this kind, however, eould not
be brought by or for the benefit of the creditors of the
deceased, nor could they receive any advantage from
the amount of the verdicts. Now we cannot see the jus-
tice of this limitation. Surely the parties who have
advanced their money to any man, with a moral cer-
tainty of being paid the amount from the exertions
of the debtor, have sustained a serious] loss
by his death, for which they should be
entitled to obtain :a] recompense from the per-
son by whom that death was occasioned, by
whose default they have been deprived of the
means of obtaining payment of their demands. We
think that in all cases the action should be brought
by the executors or administrators of the deceased
party, and by them only ; thus the evils consequent
upon a multiplicity of actions would be avoided, and
the amount recovered should be treated as assets of
the deceased, and distributed in a due course of
administration, precisely as if the party had re-
ceived the amount during his lifetime, and died
immediately afterwards : this would be just to all par-
ties, the creditors would receive the amount of their
demands, and the surplus would be applied according
to the terms of his will, or if he died intestate, ac-
cording to the provisions of the statute of distribution.
The further consideration of the Bill, as well as that
of the Deodands Abolition Bill, with which
it is intimately connected, was postponed until
Monday next. It is probable that both Bills will then
be referred to a Select Committee, on which there will
be placed some of the gentlemen acquainted with the
practical working of the Scotch law, by whom the
details of the measure will be fully considered and
revised. 'The Hon. Member for Kilmarnock, by whom
the Bills were brought forward, has every reason
to be satisfied with the manner in which they were
received by the House. And, although some defects
may exist in their present frame, it could scarcely be
expected that matters of such consequence, effecting
so great changes in the English law, could be brought
forward in the first instance in a perfect state,
under the auspices of a private Member. He
has called the public attention to the evil, and
it will be to his exertions that the improvements
which may be effected will be in a great degree
owing.

Mr. WAKLEY mentioned a curious case respecting
deodands, in the course of his speech : it was that of
an accident on the London and,Birmingham Railway,
where a deodand of 2,0001 was given against the
Company. He took the precaution of laying the inqui •
sition before an eminent barrister, whose very name
would satisfy the public that every precaution which
legal skill and ingenuity could suggest would be adopted
to insure success. It was, however, immediately
quashed, and set aside in the Court of Queen's
Bench. No stronger case could possibly be adduced
to prove the impossibility of carrying out the existing
law relating to deodands.

For some years past various plans have been pro-
posed fer turning the products of the metropolitan
sewage to profitable account, and by so doing to save
the Thames from the pollution of the filth of London,
which (at least all of it that is soluble) is distributed
by the various water companies to the inhabit-
ants of the metropolis, as pure water fitted for
domestic purposes. Under the present system the
inhabitants of London are poisoned, and manure of
infinitely more value than all the guano that has ever
been imported is wasted. Thanks, however, to the
persevering efforts of the Metropolitan Sewage
Company, both these evils will be remedied. The ce-
ipnoornt so, ft
ot h we hSieclhecttheCoßmilmi iotftetehoefmtheterohpiooluitsaenosf
eCwoarnge-
Manure Company was referred, is a most valuable
document. The Committee report that they have
considered the scheme proposed by the Metropolitan
Sewage Manure Company, for carrying away the re-
fuse of the Ranelegh and King's Scholars' Pond
Sewers, and rendering it available for agricultural
purposes, and that they recommend the House to con-
sent to the second reading of the proposed Bill. In
all the plans for collecting sewage manure which have
hitherto been propounded, it has been proposed to
Erect tanks or reservoirs for the reception of the
sewage. Tho erection of these reservoirs has always
been strenuously opposed by the owners and occupiers
of neighbouring lands and houses. The Metropolitan
Sewage Company, however, although at first de-
sirous of having the power of erecting such reservoirs,
have now relinquished it altogether.

" No reservoir, tank, or catch-pond can be constructed by
the company under the proposed Act. The sewage will be
conveyed in a covered shaft from the main sewer into the

well, from which an engine will pump it into iron pipes.
This process will be carried on in a closed building, and any
fcetid exhalations from the liquid during the short period it
remains exposed to the atmosphere, will be conveyed into
the furnace of the steam-engine. Any silt deposited in the
well by the running water will likewise be removed froth the
well within this covered building. The station-house will
not, therefore, be a cause of nuisance, and the liquid will be
removed in a far lees offensive state than that in which it is
now found, when backed in the open sewer by the high tide,
and stagnating for hours together in the immediate vicinity
of an inhabited district, to be afterwards poured forth at low
tide into the open bed of the river."

Thus, therefore, will a great public benefit be
secured without the infliction of any private evil.
But, although the inhabitants of the metropolis will
greatly benefit by the removal of this pollution, the
advantage which will accrue to them is small indeed
in comparison with that which the agricultural in-
terest will derive.
"It is true (as is observed by the Committee) that this
measure has lost something of its efficiency, in consequence
of the abandonment of the reservoirs. The result of this
concession is, that no more sewage can be drawn at any time
from the drains than can be disposed of at the moment to the
agriculturist ; but even this comparatively imperfect measure
will try a great experiment, and if the confident expectations
of your committee are accomplished, it will not fail ultimately
to realise all the advantages which were originally contem-
plated. DlrlDickenson has proved the efficiency of liquid
manures. The meadows of Edinburgh and of Mansfield
have shown the power of sewage water. Mr. Thompson, of
Clitheroe, and Mr. Harvey, of Glasgow, have established the
fact that liquid manure may be applied at a cheap rate, by
means of the mechanical contrivance of service-pipes and
hoses, to crops in every stage of their growth."

It is in the application of the liquid manures of
great cities, supplied at a cheap rate, that the agri-
cultural interest will find a compensation, and more
than a compensation, for any loss they may sustain by
a repeal of the corn-laws ; indeed, there is every
reason to hope that by the judicious application of
the sewage manure, which has hitherto been suffered
to run to waste, the fertility of the soil will be so in-
England will not only produce a suf-
ficiency for the consumption of her population,
cre a sed,
otfhcaot
but that she may become, as she was a century since,
a corn exporting country. The sewage of great
cities is a mine of unexplored wealth, the value of
which no man can calculate. Wisely, therefore, have
the Committee acted in introducing into the Bill the
following provision :

" 2. That the state should reserve to itself the power of
resuming its entire property in the sewage, after a certain
period, upon conditions to be specified in the Bill."

The King of PRUSSIA has issued an ordonnance,
confirming, definitively, M. DE BoDELscuwiNou, in
the office of the Minister of the Interior, the duties
of which he has performed for the last two years. This
ordonnance proves that the rumours that were in
circulation, that M. D'ARMIN was about to resume
the portfolio of the Interior are without foundation.
The new Minister is much more liberal in his ideas
than M. D'ARNIIN.

The Augsburg Gazette has the following from
Vienna, 12th inst. :—" Mr. WAGIIORN has addressed
to the Ambassadors of Prussia, Bavaria, and Wurtem-
burg, a circular, stating that Germany should lose
no time in establishing, as soon as possible, a railroad
between the Adriatic and the North Seas, if she
wishes to prevent the superiority of France, which
proposes to form a line from Marseilles to Boulogne.
Mr. WAGHORN requests the Ambassadors to transmit
his circular to their respective Governments."
The St Petersburgh Gazette publishes the following
account of an engagement which took place in the
Caucasus on the 24th May:—
" Lieut.-Colonel Sousloff, commanding the regiment of Cos-
sacks of Grebensk, having received intelligence that a large
body of Circassian cavalry had made their appearance at
Akboulat Yourt, a village situate on the right bank of the
Teneck, immediately marched on the threatened point, and,
reckoning on the co-operation of the moveable column o
Colonel Baron Meller Zakomelsky, crossed the river. Im-
patient to fall in with the enemy, Lieut. Colonel Sousloff ad-
vanced with seven officers and 82 Cossacks, without waiting
for the remainder of his regiment. After proceeding about
eight versts this handful of heroes discovered the vedettes of
the rebels, and were immediately surrounded on all sides.
The only choice for them was a disgraceful flight or an ho-
nourable death. The Cossacks did not hesitate a moment,
but, dismounting, stabbed their horses and made a rampart
of their bodies. In vain did more than 1,500 mountaineers
led on by the fanatic Naibs, make repeated charges on them ;
the Cossacks remained firm, and repulsed every attack by a
murderous fire. This unequal combat lasted more than two
hours. The Cossacks had five men killed and forty-nine
wounded, as well as all their officers except Lieutenant-
Colonel Sousloff and Major Kamboff, the latter of whom re-
ceived some severe contusions. By this time the Cossacks
had expended all their ammunition, and were, by the orders
of their valiant chief, preparing their poignards to resist a
last attack which the enemy were preparing to make, when
some bodies of Russian infantry advanced from different
points to their rescue, and the rebels, fearing to be in their
turn surrounded, fled for refuge to the mountains."
The Grand Duchess OLGA of Russia was married
on the 7th instant at the Palace of Peterhoff to the
Prince Royal of Wirtemburg.

Intelligence has been received from Rome to the
11th instant.

The Government Commissioners have negatived the
proposition for disbanding the Swiss troops by a ma.
jority of two. There is to be a railway communica-
tion established between the Adriatic and the Medi-
terranean, by means of a Rome and Ancona and
a Rome and Civita Vecchia Railway. The POPE
has given his consent to the construction of
these railways, and it is said that his HOLINESS will
likewise sanction a line to the Legations. There is
some delay in the appointment of Under-Secretary
for Foreign Affairs. Austria protests against the ap-
pointment of Cardinal Gizzi, and recommends Prince
ALTIEEI, formerly Nuncio at Vienna, fur that post•
This recommendation is protested against by Count
Rossi, the French Ambassador, who supports the pre
tensions of Cardinal Gizzi. Don MiGuEL, who is
living at Rome, in a state of great distress, had a pri-
vate audience of his HOLINESS a short time since, for
the purpose of soliciting a continuance of the pension
of 3,000 scudi, which had been allowed to him by
the late POPE.

A concordat has been agreed on between Spain
and Rome, dependent, however, on the adoption by
the Spanish Cortes of a measure for the dotation of
the clergy.

Madrid papers to the 16th have arrived. The star
of Don ENRIQUE seems at present in the ascendant,
and the friends of Don FRANCISCO de PAULA are
about to establish a journal, conducted on moderate
Progressista principles, for the purpose of advocating
his claims. There were rumours in Madrid of dis-
turbances having broke out in the Basque provinces,
but they were not generally credited.
The following from Lisbon, of the date of July 11,
is given in the Ileraldo.:—

" The Portuguese emigrants this day made their entry
into the capital, on which occasion the Septembrist party
made a great display of their forces. Some seditious cries
were even heard. The Patrieta, a journal opposed to the
present idinistry, says that the country is in a deplorable
state, and that a fresh revolution is inevitable, unless the
Government changes its course of proceeding. M. Fonseca
Magalhaes, who has succeeded in escaping from Coimbra,
arrived at Lisbon on the 9th. The movement at Coimbra
has, it is said, been succeeded by another at Santarem, the
junta of which would not dissolve itself. At Coimbra the
inhabitants of the country round had armed themselves for
the defence of the town, in case the Government should
act against them. While the Radical party triumphs at
Coimbra the Miguelist party every day acquires fresh
strength in Oporto and in the Algarves, and a serious colli-
sion between the people and the troops is anticipated. At
Elvas the corps in garrison do not seek to conceal their dis-
content, and the Government, fearing a fresh pronunciamiento,
had ordered General Celestine to that place., 1

_MADRID BOLSA, JULY 16.—The TihrteheopesrhaCreenatnsf.
were done at ail for cash ; the Five6nd
tpheorseCennfts.at
the Bank
atnhke Debt without
San
}wi,tehronuatnldo Interest at
stat i ;
a
Isa-
bel at 208.

We have received the Paris papers of Tuesday, the
leading articles of the whole of which are devoted
exclusively to the approaching elections.
The Prince DE JOINVILLE and his squadron were,
on the 12th, at Lampedosa, steering towards Tripoli.
It is expected that his Royal Highness will visit
Alexandria before he returns to Toulon.

A fatality seems at present to attend the French
railways. We find the following in the Journal de
la Somme
"About four o'clock on Saturday evening, at the moment
of a heavy shower, a portion of the tunnel of the Amiens and
Boulogne Railway, situate in front of the convent of the
Sisters of Mercy, suddenly fell in. The accident was attri-
buted to various causes, which, however, we shall not men-
tion, as they will most certainly be strictly inquired into by
pie chief engineer charged with the direction of the work;.
The storm had most fortunately caused the workmen to quit
the tunnel, otherwise a great loss of life would have most pro-
bably ensued."
These repeated accidents have caused quite a panic
among the railway speculators on the Bourse.
The Three per Cents. closed at 83f. 10c. ; the Five per Cents.,
121 f. 65c. ; the Orleans Railroad Shares, 18,82f6.276.
e 5. 0
; c.Ag
; Avignon,
855 f. ; Havre, 660 E ; Great Northern,
855 f. ; Vierzon, 595 f. ; Bordeaux, 522 f. 5 6
oc. ; Boulogne, 450 f. ;
Troves and Montereau, 367 f. 50c. ; Basle, 215 f. ; Fampeux,
407 t 50c. ; Paris and Strasburg, 480 f. ; Tours and Nantes,
482 f. 50f.; Paris and Lyons, 493 f. 75c. ; Spanish Domestic
Debt, 32.
The following are the quotations for the new lines
Lyons and Avignon Detinitives, 470 E ; Bordeaux and
Cette ditto, 460 f.
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN. RAILWAYS AT TUE
LONDON. STOOK EXCHANGE, I uLIC 22.
BOalogn9 and Amiens, 12—Lyon an 4 Avignon, —Namur ad

Liege, 3—Northern of France Constituted, 12 ex d.—Orleans and
Bordeaux, 7—Paris and Lyons Constituted, s—Rouen and Havre,
26 --Sambre and Meuse, 4—West Flanders, 3%,

MONEY and COMMERCIAL NEWS.
CITY, QUARTER TO THREE.
The Cotton market at Liverpool yesterday was firm.
Sales 5,000 to 6,000 bales. Shares were steady.
The following report on the state of the weather, &c., is
from Ceylon :—" While on the continent of India our neigh-
bours are complaining that the few partial showers which
had occurred are insufficient to allay the apprehensions r f
dearth raised by a previous drought of six months' duration,
the S.W. monsoon has burst with more than ordinary force
on the southern portion of Ceylon. At Colombo more rain
has fallen within the last fortnight than fell in the same
period for very many years; and the results have been
several land slips, and the tumbling down of sundry houses
and walls. The wind has blown down a few trees in the
neighbourhood of Colombo, and a great many valuable
bread-fruit, cocoanut, and other fruit trees have been de-
stroyed at Galle, and on the southern coast generally. We
hope the eastern and northern provinces have not been
passed over in the late down-peurings.
" We regret to learn that some coffee estates in the interior
are infested by a species of insects well known in the West
India Islands as being not a little injurious to the plants.
They have already extended their ravages from Kandy up to
Puselava. We hope soon to learn that the creatures are not
destructive enough to be of any consequence, or that means
have been discovered of arresting their progress."
There is no particular alteration in the Money Market,
and the rate of interest continues steady, without
the probability of its being acted upon in any other
way than by the mere force of demand,— that is
to say, the Bank of England will no doubt act as a free
competitor with the other moneyed establishments in the City.
The Stock Market is very flat again, and there is a de-
cline of % per cent. in the quotations, money bargains
having been effected at 9514 )6, and time transactions at
95% %. Exchequer-bills have realised lit. to 15s. pre-
mium. The New Three-and-a-Quarter r Cents• have been
971% to %, and the Three per Cents. 95% %. Bank Stock
has been less firm at 207% to 200%.
The Foreign Investments are heavy. Spanish Five per
Cents. realise 241/i, Portuguse Four per Cents. 46, and
Mexican, 26. Dutch Two-and-a-Half per Cents. have
realised 5914..
Shares are in most instances again flat, both the old lines
and scrips being affected. Foreign scrip is in some respects
not quite so flat as yesterday.
BRITISH FUNDS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK.
(From the Official List.)
Bank Stock .. • . 207% 208%
Three per Cent. Reduced Annuities .. 95% %%
Three per Cent. Consols Annuities .. 95%
New Three-and-a-Quarter per Cent. Anna. 9734 % %
Long Annuities, Expire Jan. 5, 1860 .. 10% 5-16
Ditto, 30 years, Oct. 10, 1859 .. 10 3-16
India Bonds, 1,000/. .. .
Ditto, under 1,000/. . . 25
South Sea Stock .. • • .. . 1053
Ditto, Old Annuities • . • • . 944
Consols for Account . 95% % %
Exchequer Bills. I%d. I
1,000/. .. •• 11 15 11 pm.
500/. .. .. • • 11 15 11 pm.
Ditto, Small .. 11 15 11 pm.
PRICES OF FOREIGN FUNDS IT ONE O'CLOCK.
Mexican Bonds, 1837, 5 per Cent • •
Ditto, for the Account • • .. 26
Portuguese Four per Cent • . 46
Ditto, for the Account .. 45
Russian Bonds, 5 per Cent .. 112
Spanish Bonds, 5 per Cent. 24%
Dividends on the above payable in London.
Dutch Two-and-a-Half per Cents. 59%
Ditto, 4 per Cent. Certificates .. 94% 34
BUSINESS DONE IN RAILWAY SHARES AT ONE O'CLOCK.
RAILWAYS. PAID. PER SIiABE.
Amber., Notting.,Boston, & Eastrn Jn. 2%.... 3,4 to
Birmingham and Oxford Junction. .. 2 .... 4%.... to 5
Bristol and Exeter .. .• • • .. 75 ••• • .... to
Ditto, New .. .. 5 .... 9 .... to
Bristol and Gloucester • • .. .. 30 .... 52% . to
Buckinghamshire .• .. • . 425. •• • • % dis. to
Caledonian .. .. 20 .... 12% 13 to 12%
Ditto Half Shares .. • . 2% •• • • % .. to
Ditto Extension .• • .. .. 2% •. • • 1%.. • . to
Direct Manchester (Remington's) • • 2% •• • • %••.. to
Direct Northern • • • • • • .. • • 23Y •• • • 1 •• • • to %
Eastern Counties • • • • .. 14/. 16s. 0d..... 24% .... to 24
Ditto, New • . .. • . 10/. 16s. 0d... • • 7% p• • to
Do., Perpetual, 5 per Ct. No. 1, 61 13s. 4d. • • p.. to
Ditto, York Extension . • • • • • 10s. •• • • 2 .• • . to 1%
Eastern Union .• • . .. • • • • 30 ••• • to
Ditto, Cambridge and Ely • • .. 23, % to
Exeter, Yeovil and Dorcnester ~ 5% • . 3% •• • to
Great North of England • • .. • • 100 232 .... to
Ditto, New •• • • •• •• 10 .• 45% .... to
Great Western .. • • .. 85 •• • • 150 • • to
Ditto Half Shares • 50 .... 84 .... to
Ditto, Quarter Shares • • .. 10 22% .... to 21%
Guildford, Fareham, and Portsmouth 5 •• • • 5% to
Hull and Selby • • • • .• 50 —106% •. • • to
Leeds and Bradford .. • • .. • • 26 67 .. • • to 69
Leicester and Bedford 225. % dis. to
Leicst., Tam., Bin, & Trent Val. June. 425. 1% dis. to 1 dis.
Liverpool, Mauch, and Newc. Junct. •• • • 1% %.. to
London and Birmingham ..100 ....229 .... to
Ifitto. Quarter Shares .• .. 2 .... 32 • • to
London and Blackwell .• 161. 13s. 4d. • 814% .. to
Lowdon and Brighton • • • • .. 50 -•-•-•:-.65 -...: to 64%
London and Croydon .. .. 13/. 15s. 9d. .... 23 .. to
London and South-Western 411. 60. 10d. • • .. 78% .... to 79
London and York . .• .. 236 .... 1 ••• • to %
London, Salisbury, and Yeovil • • • • 2% •• • 1 ...• to
Lynn and Dereham .. • • .. .. 15 . • • 11 .... to
Manchester and Leeds • • • • • 82 .. • • .... to
Ditto, Fifths • • .. .• .• .. 3 .... 11% •• .. to
Manchester and Birmingham .. .. 40 .... 84 .... to 85
Ditto, Quarter Shares (C) • • .. 1 ... • 11 •• .. to 10%
Manehester, Buxton, and Matloek - • 425..... %p• • to % p
Manchester and Southampton .. 2 .. • • 1% %• • to
Midland ..100 ... to 148
Ditto, New • • • • • • • • • • 24 .... 383. .... to 38
Ditto, Birmingham and Derby ..100 ....121 •••• to
Newcastle and Darlington Junction .. 25 .... 46 •• • to 45
Ditto, New .. .• 1 12% 11% 12% to 11%
Ditto, New, Brandling .. • • •• 25 .. • . 44% to
Newcastle and Berwick .• • • •• 15 .... 26%.... to
Norfolk • • .. .• • • .. • • .. 20 . •- .• to
Ditto, Tenths .. 2 .... '2%.... to
Ditto, Extension .. • • .. .. 2 .... 2 .... to

North British .. • . 22% .... 35% %.. to
Ditto, Half Shares • • .. 8% 13%%, to
Ditto, Carlisle: Extension • • 1% .. • .2%%% to
North Kent and Direct Dover • • .. 2ye.. • .• .. to
North Staffordshire •• • • • • .. 425. •• 3% p•• to 3 p
Northampton, Banbury, & Cheltnam. 2 1% •• • • to
Oxiord, Worcester, & Wolverhampton 1234 •• .. 73434.. to
Portsmouth Direct • • • • • • • • 3% •• • •
343434
Preston and Wyre • • • • • • 25 .... . .. to
Ditto, Half Shares .. • • •• - • • 2% .... 7 •• .. to
Reading, Guildford, and Reigate • . 425..... 1% die. to
Richmond .• • • • • • • • • • • 10 •• • • 18 •• .• to
Shrewsbury and Birmingham •• . • 234 •• • • 2 •• .. to
Shropshire Union . 425... • • 1% Vie. to
South Midland • .. 425. %%%p to
South Eastern and Dover •. •• 3334 .... 441 .... to
Ditto, New. No. 1 .• • • • • • 16 . 22 .... to
Ditto, New, No. 2 • • .. .• .. 10 15 ... to
Ditto, New, No. 4 • • • • .. .. 234 .. • . 334 .... to
South Wales .. • • • • • . .. 5 .... 1%.... to
West Riding Union .. . 425... • . 214 % p to
Wisbeach and St. Ives .• • • .. 2 •• • • 2%3. • • to
York and North Midland •• 50 •• .. .... to
Ditto, Extension .. • • .. .. 15 .• • . 41% • • • to
Ditto East and West Riding Extension 1 .... 149..., to 14
FOREIGN RAILWAYS.
Boulogne and Amiens • • • • .. 14 •• • • 11%% .. to
Luxembourg • • • • • . •• .. 4 •• • 1h • ... to
Northern of France Constituted • • 5 •• • • 12% 34% to
Orleans and Bordeaux • • • • • • 6 •• • • 6% .• • • to 7%
Paris and Lyons Constituted • • .. 5 .• .• s % to 8%
MINES
Real del Monte, Unregistered .. 3%. •• to

LLOYD'S SHIPPING.-(THIS DAY.)•
LONDON, JULY 23.—Wind south, moderate breeze, and tine.
DEAL, JULY 23, A.M. Wind N.W., P.M. W.S.W.—Arrd. Mary,
Quebec ; Somerset, Forster, Teneriffe. Arrd. from the River, Hope,
Underhill, New Zealand ; Rattler, Goldsmith, Hobart Town ;
Sumatra, Duncan, Ceylon; Camillus, Sprague, Demerara; Omega,
Radians, St. John's, New Brunswick; John Clark, Disbrow, ditto
Glasgow, Somerville, Quebec. Arrd. from the River, and W..
Southampton, Bowen, Calcutta ; Malabar, Parr, Bombay,
PORTSMOUTH, JULY 22.—Wind W. to W.N.W.—Arrd. Wellington,
Chadwick, New York, and sailed for London ; Cumberland, Bruce,
Quebec.
Cowes, JULY 22.—Arrd. Malrona, Jargenson, Matanzas.
Cumming, Rio
SOUTHAMPTON, JOLT 21.—Arrd. Florence, Bromage, Prince Ed-
ward's Island ; 22, Princess Victoria, Mainland, Pugwash.
Sierra Leone,
aJiuidLysaj2l2eHolmes,
Grande. Sid.
JsuanLYdw2i2th—,
31Wainiidn,t.t1.1ri—ucA.iarr;d.QuJeaetlizel,,,iCetuomrima,
LIVERPOOL, JULY 22. Wind N.W.—Arrtl. Mary Hannah, Bexley,
d
Africa ; Bombay Packet, Cornish, Old Calabar, sld. May 9 ; Reis
22.--Wind
ufdo r SIV
LiverpoolA r r;
d hope,King
Effendi, Fatherland, Nassau; Hope, Soule, New Orleans; John
Wickliffe, Daly, ditto ; Zanoire, Sims, ditto ; Emblem, Smith, ditto ;
Georgians, Bchm, ditto ; Brewster, Linco.n, :Mobile • Salem, Milford,
ditto ; Michigan, Mason, ditto ; Palmyra, Barslow;ditto ; Reliance,
Swinton, ditto ; Dunbarton, Pendleton, Apalachicola ; Elizabeth,
Barclay, New York ; Amity, Pugwash ; Choice, Robertson, Montreal;
Aberdeen, M'Grath, Quebec ; Harriet, Williams, Newfoundland.
Coquette, Wittington, Africa ; Ranger, Bahia ; Huron, Sebbeson,
Montreal. Off port, John M'Lellan.
CLYDE, JULY 21.—Arrd. Herald, Ream, St. John's, Newfound-
land. Sld. 20th, Highlander, M'Muilan, Antigua; reside, Quebec.
MILFORD, JULY 21.—The Fidelity, Rowlands, from Fishguard to
this pert, missed stays, drove on the rocks outside St. Ann's Bead,
and is expected to become a total wreck.
OFF Doves., JULY 22.—Martha, Lynn, St. John's, New Bruns-
wick, for Yarmouth.
DARTMOUTH, JULY 22.—Wind W.—Arrd. Emerald, Miramichi.
BIDEFORD, JULY 22.—Arrd. British Lady, Prince Edward's Island.
BRISTOL, JULY 22.—Wind W.N.W., fresh.—Arrd. Falcon, Hutchins,
Buctouche ; Thetis, Robinson, liuctouche.
AYE, JULY 20.—Sid. Princess Victoria, Walker, Itichebugto ; Sam-
son, 3lurdoch, Miramichi.
Conn, JULY 20.—Wind B.W.—Arrd. 19, Bridgetown, Betty,
Quebec ; 20, Ellen and Margaret, Jones, St. John's, New Bruns-
wick ; Joseph Porter, Reid, ditto ; Laurel, Potter, Pugwash ; May-
flower, Cochrane, Cumberland, Nova Scotia.
LIMERICK, JULY 20.—Arrd. Roberts, Duncan, Miramichi.
CLARE, JULY 21.—Harriet, Rose, Miramichi ; Oberon, Quebec.
POOLE, JULY 21.—Arrd. George, Kiftin, Newfoundland. Sld. 20,
Albion, Green, Newfoundland.
OFF SaLcostne, JULY 20.—Baros, Borchers, Java; Therese, New
Orleans for Antwerp.
FALMOOTH, JOLT 21.—Arrd. Princess Victoria, Quebec for South-
ampton.
MostaLns, JULY 20.—Arrd. Matthew Harrison, Quebec.
PWLLHELI, JULY 20.—Arrd. Royal William, Francis, Quebec.
KiLausu, JULY 20.—Wind S.S.E.—Arrd. Ariel, Steward, Mira-
michi ; llarriet, Rose, Miramichi ; Governor, Gorman, Quebec.
HULL, JULY 22.—Wind W.S.W.—SId. Byzautian, Thurtell, Syra.
Ilaswicu, JULY 22.—The Ninus, of Scarborough, bound to London,
got on shore on the Cork Sand this morning, but was afterwards
assisted off, and proceeded without damage.

MARKET NE WS. -(THIS DAY.)
UHT 111/I.l2oCairra.
SMITHFIELD —Meaclow Ilay, 3/ Os to 41; Clover ditto, 4/ to
51 15s ; Oat Straw, 11 120 to 11 14s ; Wheat Straw, 11 14s to 11 16s per
load. Both Hay and Straw moved off slowly, at our quotations.
CUMBERLAND.—Meadow Hay, 31 to 4/ ; Clover ditto, 41 to 5/ 14s ;
Oat Straw, 1/ 12s to 11 145 ; Wheat Straw, 11 14s to 11 16s per
load. Supply good, and trade rather dull.
WRITECHAPEL.—Meadow Hay, 3/ to 41; Clover ditto, 41 to
Si 183 ; Oat Straw, 11 12s to 1/ 14s ; Wheat Straw, 11 Ibs to 11 16s
per load. A full average supply, and a sluggish demand.
Now Meadow Hay was selling at from 21 lOs to 31 12s, and New
Clover, 315 s to 4/ 15s per load.
MEAT MAREET.
on offer this morning ; yet the trade was firm, as follows :
SouTtIALL, JULY 22.—We had a full average supply of fat stock
Beef, from 2s 6d to 4s Od ; Mutton, 3s Gd to 40 4d ; Lamb, 4s 8d
to 58 gd ; Veal, 3s 8d to 4s 4d ; and York, 3s 45 to 4s 6d per Sibs,
to sink the offal.
ROMFORD, JULY 22.—Prime beasts and sheep commanded a
steady sale, at full prices. Otherwise the demand was in a very
sluggish state. Beef from 2s Gd to 4s ; Mutton, 35 42 to
40 4d ; Lamb, 45 8d to 58 10,1 ; Veal, 3s 8d to 4s 4d ; and Pork, 3s 10d
to 4s Gd per Sibs. Suckling Calves, 185 to 29s ; Quarter-old Store Pigs,
16s to 195 ; and Mitch Cows, with their small Calf, 16/ to 191 each.
Iliftsuard, JULY 22.—Beef, from 3s to 4s 2d ; Mutton, 3s to 4s 4d;
averagei,ads uapsptley,, steady
and
demand ast trade.eadyfo
r most kinds of
stock to-clay, on the following terms :—Beef, from 3s to 4s ; Mutton,
Lamb, 4s 8d to 5s 8d; Veal, 3s Gd to 4s 4d ; and Pork, 3s lid to
4sAGßdupsenr
3s to 4s 4d ; Lamb, 5s to 5s 8d ; and Veal, 3s Gd to 43 4d per 81bs.
CutcuasTee, JULY 22.—Prime Beasts and Sheep were in steady
EL,
request, at full prices. In other kinds of stock, very little was.
sJ.UL A Y
fair2l . r,re
doing. Beef from 2s 8,1 to 4s ; Mutton, 3s to 48 4d ; Lamb, 53
bs 8d ; Veal, 23 8d to 4s 4d ; and Pork, 3s 4d to 4s 6d per t°
Bibs
Suckling Calves, 18s to 29s ; Quarter-old Store Pigs, 16 *
to 19s
Mitch Cows, with their small Calf, 16/ to 18/ each. ; and
-

Laatm fullb, 4spriiidcetso. 58 338ettl f;
3s Gd to
NEWGATE AND LEADENBALL.
We had a full average supply of each kind of meat on sale ; yet the
•, from 2s 4(1 to
4s ; and Pork, 3s 4d to 4s 8d per 81bs, by the carcase.
2swaBsd tsote4asd3;',
ea6edr;alMduetmtoann,d

CORN AVERAGES.
GENERAL AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN
For the Week ended Julyn 18, 1846, made up from the Returns of the
Inspectors in the different Cities and Tofts in Eicgland and Walea
per Imperial Quarter.

I WHEAT] BARLEY] OATS, RYE. I BEANS.I PEAS.
PRICE •• 505 10d 275 10d 23i Od 365• 53 389 2d 365 4d
DUTY 65 04 46 Od 13 64 43 Od 43 Od Od

HOUSE OF LORDS.-(THIS DAY.)
Their Lordships sat in a Committee for Privileges to-day.
The Peers in attendance were the Lord Chancellor, the Earl
of Shaftesbury, Lord Lyndhurst, Lord Campbell, the Earl
of Effingham, the Earl of Kinnoul, and Lord Vaux of
Harrowden.

THE PERTH PEERAGE.
This case came before their Lordships upon the petition to
the Queen of George Drummond, now Duke of Melfort, in
France, claiming the title of Earl of Perth, in Scotland, as
the heir male general of James, the first Earl of Perth,
who was created in the year 1605. The title was
limited to him and his heirs male. He had issue an only
daughter, Lady Jane Drummond, who was afterwards mar-
ried to John Earl of Sutherland. On the death of the first
Earl, the title descended to his brother, who sat in Parlia-
ment in the reigns of James the Sixth and Charles the First.
The fourth Earl of Perth filled the office of Lord Chancellor
of Scotland in the reigns of Charles and James the Second ;
he was imprisoned in Stirling Castle after the Revolution,
but by a warrant of the Lords of the Privy Council in June,
1693, he was released, upon giving security to de-
part the realm by the 15th of August following,
and not to return 'without the license of their Majesties or
the Privy Council. He left Scotland in obedience to this
undertaking, and subsequently joined the Court which James
the Second held at St. Germains. Shortly afterwards King
James issued letters patent by which he purported to create
, the Earl Duke of Perth and Marquis of Drummond, and
I those titles were at all times afterwards borne by
the Earl and his heirs male of his body until the ex-
tinction of his male issue in 1760. The Earl and
his male heirs were received and accepted as Duke
of Perth, at the Court of France. James Earl of Perth, styled
Duke ot Perth, died at St. Germ. ins on the 11th of May, 1716,
and in consequence of the attainder of his son, Lord Drum-
mond, in 1715, the dignity of Earl of Perth, on his decease,
became dormant. On the death of John, stfled Duke of
Perth, the male issue of James, the attainted Lord Drum-
mond, failed, and it was contended for the claimant that on
that occasion the earldom of Perth, vested in
John Drummond (his brother), as the heir male
general of the grantee. John Drummond, the second
son of James third Earl of Perth, and next brother of James,
the fourth Earl, was created, in 1685, Viscount Melfort, and,
in 1686, Earl of Melfort and Lord Forth. A decree of for-
faultuye was passed against him in the Parliament of Scot-
land, in July 1695, in consequence of his remaining in France
contrary to the provisions of the Act of Parliament in that
respect; then recently passed in Scotland ; but that for-
feiture was not to prejudice the Earl's issue by his
first wife. Lord Melfort accompanied James the Second
to France, and that King, by letters patent, signed by his
own hand, purported to create the Earl Duke of Melfort.
On the death of King James, Louis XIV. accepted the Earl
of Melfort as Duke of the kingdom of France, and under that
he and his issue have ever since been Dukes of France. The
present claimant succeeded to that title upon the death of
his uncle, Charles Edward Drummond Duke De Melfort,
who was a priest and prelate of the Roman Catholic Church,
and principally resided at. Rome, where he died in April,
1840.

Mr. Fleming appeared for the claimant, and the Attorney-
General and the Lord Advocate on behalf of the Crown.

After the examination of several witnesses, and the putting
in in evidence of several documents, among which was the
original letter written by King James IL, granting the
dignity of Duke of Melfort, the further consideration of the
case was adjourned.
This being the last seal, the Equity Courts were occupied
the whole day with motions, but nothing of interest came
before them.

SHERIFFS' COURT.—(THIS DAY.)
(Before Mr. Under-Sheriff BURCIIELL.)
MOUNIA V. CAVALLIO.
The plaintiff in this action is an hotel-keeper, and the de-
fendant was described as a vine-grower and wine-merchant
at Bordeaux. The demand was for the sum of Si. 17s. for
dinner and wine supplied to defendant and his friends.
A waiter was called, who proved that on the sth of June
last, a person named Paoli called at plaintiff's and ordered a
dinner for defendant, and a party of not more than six. The
next day defendant and Paoli went at the appointed time,
and afterwards some other gentlemen. Defendant left at
half-past nine, but the others remained till twelve. The plain-
tiff took the head of the table, which was, however, said
to be customary in French hotels where the master was
invited. It was, however, argued for the defendant
that he was only to supply the wine, and it was not till he
charged for the wine that he was charged with the dinners.
Mr. Lewis, an attorney, was called, and proved that Paoli
said that he was requested to invite him and other gentlemen
to dine, and taste defendant's wines, in the hope that they
would prove satisfactory, and lead to a purchase. Witness
accordingly dined at plaintiff's; he (witness) having named
his house in preference to the South American Coffee House,
although Mr. Simmons, the proprietor was to be a guest.
Defendant gave the orders whilst in the room.
The defendant's attorney said, that after this evidence,
which took him by surprise, as it was contrary to his in-
structions, he must let the case go to the jury.
The jury gave a verdict for the amount claimed.
BOLT V. STOCK.
- _

This was an action to recover the sum of 171. 10& on a
bill of exchange. The defence was that it had been ob-
tained from the defendant by fraud.
The defendant was tenant to a Mrs. Myers, against whom
a bill in Chancery was files, and in January last a receiver
was appointed. The bill was given to Myers on the Ist of
March, as it was alleged for rent in anticipation. Notice was
subsequently given from the receiver not to pay, and defen-
dant refused to pay again, and was distrained on in March.
The bill was sent to the plaintiff, who is a clerk to Myers'
solicitor, and he got it discounted, and it was now contended
that there was fraud on the part of Mrs. Myers in getting the
bill, and that plaintiff must have been aware of it. The ap-
pointment of the receiver, and of the distraint by him was not
made out, although an order of the court was produced, and
the Under-Sheriff, therefore, held that the plea was not
made out, and directed a verdict for the plaintiff.

RAILWAY COMMITTEES.

(THIS DAY).

HOUSE 01? LORDS.
Room C.
LONDON AND GRAVESEND.

The Committee on the South-Eastern group of projects assem-
bled this morning. The Earl of Devon in the chair, with the
Duke of Cleveland, the Earl of Craven, Lord Kinnaird, and the Duke
of Leeds.

Mr. AusTIN opened for the promoters, and stated that this was a
line from London to Gravesend, using the line of the Greenwich
Railway for about two miles, as far as the Grand Surrey Canal,
thence by a detour to Lewisham, skirting Greenwich Park, passing
thence to Woolwich, thence to Dartford, and so on, outside I\ orth•
fleet to Gravesend. In the contests in the Commons, allusions had
been made to the traffic, and although he would not enter
into that • subject, thus much . he ought • to observe, that
although the fare by the railway was Bd. and 6d. for
the respective classes during last year, and the fare by the
steam boats was 4d. to Greenwich, the number of passengers by the
railway was more than 234 millions, while that by the steam-boats
were only 134 millions The time required
the boats was half an hour, while by the to get to Greenwich by
railway they got in half
that time. The time occupied in the passage by the river to Graves-
end is two hours and a halt', while by the line it would be only three-
quarters of an hour. The anticipated traffic to Gravesend by the
new line would be 3,500,0e0, which, at a fare of Is. each, would give
175,0001. of gross return, and deducting working expenses, at the
usual rate of 40 per cent, there would be a net profit of a hundred
thousand
or a dividend of ten or twelve per cent. He might
furtherguineas,
observe, that along the 20 miles which this line ran to Graves-
end, or the 2834 miles to Rochester, there was a more dense population
than on any other line after leaving London for the same distance.
For the same distance on the South-Western line the population
is 40,000, on the Great Western line it is 55,000, on the
Eastern Counties 41,000, on the Northern and Eastern 55,000, and
on the London and Birmingham it is 43,000; while on the Graves-
end line it is 100,000, or nearly double that of the beat of the other
lines. The Learned Gentleman then entered into an explanation of the
proposed lines of railway, which, without the plans submitted to
their Lordship, would be quite intelligible. It may be sufficient,
therefore, to say that the object of the explanation was to assure the
Committee that no accident could happen at the junctions of the
numerous lines which leave the South-Eastern terminus at London-
bridge. They reached Woolwich by rounding Greenwich-park. It
was preferred to do this to going through the park, because
the instruments in the Observatory might have been affected by the
passing of the trains. They thence passed at the back of Blackheath,
and entered a tunnel of considerable length, reached Woolwich
about 165 yards from the Dockyard gates, 65 from the Arsenal ; and
from the lowness of the level, by it very ingenious piece of engineer-
ing, they were enabled to give accommodation by a subv ay both to
the Arsenal and Dockyard, with ample opportunity for putting the
stores upon the line. From Woolwich they passed over Plumstead
Marshes,.within half a mile of the pier at Erith, a level station at
•Craytord and another at 'Dartford; they then passed within fifty
yards of Erith, where they entered a tunnel of about 160 yards
long, and so on to Gravesend. -The steepest gradient would be
one In about 120, and the smallest •radius or. a curve 616
yards. The length of the line would be 20 miles one furlong. The
estimates for the whole line were 800,0001., and the capital asked fbr
is 1,000,0001. The line is devised by Mr. Robert Stephenson and Mr.
Bidder, and it was not too much to say that it was most judiciously
laid out. In fact, the project was merely to form a connexion be-
tween London and Gravesend, for at both termini the stations were
made. After noticing the intended opposition of the North Rent
Company, who lost their Bill in the Commons, he said that he should
object to any opposition than that which had reference to the parti-
cular part of the country which they had desired to obtain. In this
petition there was an allegation of the fares being too low, but this
was both unfair and ungracious, because though they were low they
were quite sufficient for paying a handsome dividend. The only
petition of landowners was that of Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid,
who was Chairman of the defunct line, and who possessed
two small plots of land in the parish of Plumstead, just sufficient,
and that was all, to give him a locus standi before the Committee,
and for his land there would be a check ready at the bankers the
moment it was asked for. The North Kent line had been debated
before the Committee nine-and-twenty days during last session, and
thirty-four days this session, so that it could not be said that it had
not been sufficiently deliberated upon, and it had been thrown out on
both occasions. He had said that he objected to any opposition being
allowed, or any allusion to the country below Rochester, which he
had described as being the ultimate of the present Bill, but he wished
particularly and expressly to prevent any supposition that the pro-
moters of this line were not ready to continue their line all the way
to Dover, for that was decidedly their intention as soon as the Par-
liamentary powers could be obtained for that purpose.
Mr. Charles Jones, formerly a civil engineer, and now chairman
of the Woolwich Gas Company, testified generally as to the conve-
nience of the line to that town, stating that there were as many as
twenty-seven steam-boats on the river, but those did not run later
than nine o'clock at this time of the year, and four o'clock in winter.
He also stated the feeling of the inhabitants of the place, all of
whom were exceedingly anxious for its formation, and the more es-
pecially as the lines runni,g along a lower level, gave access to the
Arsenal and Dockyard, while on the Other band the North Kent not
only would not afford those advantages, but by running on a viaduct
would act as a screen. Meetings had been held in favour of the
Gravesend line, at which it was resolved to support that project.
On cross-examination by Mr. Gounesin, it appeared that there
had been a change this year in the North Kent project, which made
it less objectionable than formerly to the inhabitants of Woolwich.
. .

On re-examination by Mr. MERBEWETHER,the witness stated that
the North Kent Company had not resolved to go to Woolwich till
the project of the South-Eastern Company bad been published.
Mr. dough, clerk of the Arsenal at Woolwich, and one of the town
commissioners of Woolwich, stated that both the proposed hues had
been submitted to that body, and that of the South-Eastern had been
unanimously approved. In his opinion, this line would be very con-
venient for putting stores on the line, both from the Arsenal and the
Dockyard.