The Sun.
London, England, 1870-07-28 00:00:00

THE StTN, LONDON, HURSDAY EN, EN ING, 3ti IA 28. 18'7O.

FHE MONEY MARKET

AND
COMM Kii3OIAL INTELLIGENCE.

CITY, Two o'CLocs..
ADVANCE IN THE RATE OF DISCOUNT.
The Directors of the Bank of England have raised the
rate of discount this day to 5 per cent.
The markets are quiet, and without feature of import-
ance. Railways generally are firm, especially North
Easterns. Foreign Bonds are firm, but business is not
extensive.

Consols are now 894 to 894 for money, and 894 to 894
for account ; Three per Cent. Reduced, 894 to 894; New
Three per Cents., 89 to 894 ; Exchequer Bills, 2s. prem.;
India Five per Cents., 1094; ditto Four per Cents., 101.
In the Foreign Market Brazilian Bonds of 1865 are
87 to 874; Egyptian Seven per Cents. of 1864, 804 81; ditto
of 1868, 68 to 68i ; Spanish of 180, 23 to 23i ; ditto of
1869, 23 to 234 ; ditto Quicksilver, 684 ; Peru-
vian, 82 to 834; Turkish Five per Cents. of 1865, 37
38 ; ditto of 1869, 473 to 48 ; and Five per Cent. Italian
of 1865, 774.
The Railway Market—Metropolitan are 664 to 67 ;
Great Eastern is 31; London and Brighton, 344 ;
Caledonian, 734; South-Eastern 65 to 654; Manchester,
Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, 394 to 40 ; Great Northern,
1144 ; ditto (A), 1194; North Eastern, 1314 to 1324 ;
London and North-Western, 122 to 1234 ; Midland,
1224 ; Lancashire and Yorkshire, 124 to 127 ; Great
Western, 62.

Canada Five per Cents. are quoted 99 to 99i ex div. ;
New South Wales Five per Cents., 96 to 97 ex div. ;
New Zealand Five per Cents., 93 to 93i ; Queensland
Six per Cents., 103 to 104 ex div. ; Victoria Five per
Cents., 98 to 98i ex div. ; and ditto Six per Cents.,
108 i. . . . . .

Telegraph Shares—Anglo-American, 80 to 824 ; British
Indian, 6i to 64 ; China, 44 to 4 dis.; Falmouth, 81 to 9 ;
French Cable, 144 to 15 ; and Construction and Main-
tenance, 224.
In American Securities, Five-Twenty Bonds are quoted
at 811 to 824 ; Ten-Forties, 79 to 81:; Erie Shares, 15
to 16; Illinois, 97 to 99 ; Atlantic and Great Western
Consolidated Mortgage Bonds, 19 to 20 ; and ditto De-
bentures, 25 to 30.
In Bank shares Alliance are quoted 124 .; Anglo-
Austrian, 15 4; Chartered Mercantile, 26 to 28 ;
Consolidated, ; Imperial Ottoman, 11 to 104 ; London
and County, 50; London and Westminster, 5961; London
Joint Stock, 32 ; and Union of London 37.
In Miscellaneous Shares Berlin Water Works are quoted
12 ; Viceroy of Egypt per cent. Mortgage Loan, 69 ;
National Discount Company, 101 ; and Peninsular and
Oriental Steam, 40.

The English agents of the North German Postal Con-
federation have been officially informed that the convey-
ance of letters and the ordinary postal sample parcels and
packages is not at present interrupted in any part of the
Confederate territory, or with the adjoining countries,
and that the measures taken to insure its continuance are
such that nothing short of a general advance of the in-
vading force into the heart of the Confederation will cause
it to be suspended to any extent. The maintenance of this
service is very important, since it is said that not only
are the parcels counted by millions, but that the largest
cities and the smallest hamlets equally rely upon it as the
only means of transport at their disposal. The railways
will not carry parcels, although at liberty to do so, the
monopoly of the parcel post having long since been aban-
doned, as they cannot contend with the established or-
ganisation and moderate rates of the post. It is added
that the clock-regularity of the service cannot, of course,
be sustained with the country in a state of war, bnt that
the delays will not exceed a few hours, and that imme-
diate notice will be given of any change.
The suspension has been announced of Messrs. John
Rutty and Co., timber merchants, of Paddington, with
liabilities reported to amount to about £BO,OOO.
With regard to the condition of affairs at Liverpool the
Liverpool Journal of Commerce states as follows :
" Many failures have been mentioned to-day, and it is
beyond doubt that to-morrow the number will be largely
increased. Among the firms who have been compelled to
succumb are Messrs. Robinson Brothers, East India
merchants; whose liabilities are stated at £150,000, and
Messrs. William Quentell and Co., cotton brokers, with
liabilities amounting to_X6o,ooo. On the Stock Exchange
the failure of Mr. Alfred Ackerley was announced, and,
besides, four cotton brokers were declared defaulters,
and in consequence three share brokers have announced
their inability to meet the demands made upon them."
The Manchester Courier reports the failure of Mr.
William Cramer, and Messrs. Joseph Eller and Co.,
commission merchants, in the German trade, consequent
upon losses occasioned by the disorganised state of com-
merce arising from the war between France and Ger-

many.
An instalment of 15 per cent. falls due on Saturday
next on the last Egyptian Loan. On Monday 23 per
cent. is payable on the Japan Loan, and 10 per cent. on
the Russian.

At the meeting of the New Zealand Trust and Loan
Company (Limited) a dividend was declared of ss. per
share, free of income-tax.
The Birmingham Joint Stock Bank (Limited) has de-
clared a dividend at the rate of 20 per cent per annum,
payable on the Ist of August.
The ordinary general meeting of the Charing-cross
Hotel Company (Limited) wlll be held on the Bth of
August to declare a dividend.
At the meeting of the General Credit and Discount
Company (Limited) the directors' report was adopted,
and a dividend declared for the half-year at the rate of 5
per cent. per annum, free of income-tax.

naie containing his money. He called a policeman and
gave the prisoners into custody. Tobin was hanging,
about him for some time. He could not accuse Dicken-
son of doing anything, but she was with the other pri-
soner. Nothing was found on either of the prisoners.
Mr. Lushington could'not see what Dickenson had to do
with the robbery, and discharged her. He committed
Toben for trial.

A NICE FRIEND.—AIfed Abbott, aged 20 years, a brick-
layer, of No. 4, Rhodeswell-road, Limehouse, was brought
before Mr. Lushington, at the above Court, charged with
stealing a silver watch from the house No. 4, Dalgleish-
street, Limehouse. The prisoner called upon Mrs. Sarah
Hume, an old acquaintance, a few days ago, and while
she was absent a few minutes he gave hei• children a penny
to spend, and they went out, leaving the coast clear for
his operations. When the woman and her family re-
turned a watch was missing and the prisoner was gone.
He was sought after and arrested. Mr. Lushington re-
manded him for a week.

PERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—WEDNESDAY.
The Speaker took the chair at a quarter-past twelve
o'clock.

FOREIGN ENLISTMENT.

Mr. VERNON HARCOURT gave notice that on Thursday
he would ask the First Minister of the Crown why in the
Proclamation of Neutrality issued by Her Majesty on the
19.:h July under the provisions of the Foreign Enlist-
ment and Equipment of Vessels Act, no mention
was made of the section of the same Act for-
bidding the enlistment of subjects of the Crown
in the service of either of the belligerent powers, and
whether there was any reason for departing from prece-
dents established at former periods and particularly from
the proclamation of May 13th, 1861.

QUEEN ANNE'S BOUBILLNTY (SUPERANNUATION)
.)

On the order for the second reading of the above bill,
Air. Rylands moved that it be read that day six months,
and addressed the House at considerable length. The object
of thebill was to pension the secretary and treasurer of the
Bounty Fund, and the member for Warrington emphati-
cally declared that it was an attempt to take advantage
of the funds of a charitable institution t o pension off a
gentleman who ought of his own good sense to retire with-
out a superannuation allowance.—Mr. Kewdegate sup-
ported the bill, urging that the business of the Bounty
B Jard had been conducted both creditably amil economi-
cally, and the secretary and treasurer, by reason of the
efficient manner in which he had performed his duties had
a great claim upon them.—Mr. Dickinson supported
the amendment, believing that it was high time that
the attempts which were occasionally made to secure
superannuation allowances to officers in what could not
properly be termed pUblic departments of the State were
checked.—ln the course of the discussion, Mr. Stansfeld
said it was clear that the object of the bill was to enable
the Bounty Board to confer a pension upon Mr. Hodson,
when by the terms of his contract he was not entitled to
it. He should feel it his duty, if the bill went into com-
mittee, to support his hon. friend, who doubtless would
move the omission of the clause which would enable tlis
Board to grant a pension.
On a division being taken, the motion for the second
reading was carried by 100 to 43 votes.
BROKERS (CITY OF LONDON) BILL.

This bill was read a second time without any opposi-
tion.

THE BALLOT BILL.

On the order of the adjourned debate on the second
reading of the Ballot Bill being called,
Mr. GLADSTONE, after alluding to the cisoumstances
under which the Government had abandoned in conse-
quence of the pressure of business a bill on the subject of
the Ballot, said that he now felt it his duty to vote for the
second reading of the measure introduced by a private
member, and he would state why, although he would not
attempt to go into the details of the questions connected
with the Ballot. In other times, whether rightly or
wrongly, he was perfectly content to hear the question
argued as it was argued by Lord Palmerston. Lord
Palmerston, who had paid a great deal of attention to
and took a great interest in the Ballot, usually founded
himself upon this view of the case : that the franchise
was to be used as a trust, exercised by a limited
portion of the community for the benefit of the while
community, and that the whole community had just the
same kind of right to know how the trust was exercised
on their behalf by the limited portion of the community
entrusted with the franchise as the public out-of-doors had
to know how the powers entrusted to their representa-
tives in Parliament were exercised by the representatives
within these walls. He did not refer to the argument for
the purpose of claiming any adhesion to its on the part
of those who had always supported secret voting, but_
simply explaining his own view of the case. He thought
the change which had taken place in the constitution of
our Parliamentary system within the last two years was
the basis of the change which would take place in the
mode of voting. With regard to secret voting, even those
who did not concur in the argument of a trust applied in
former times by Lord Palmerston and other opponents
of the ballot, must feel that the position
of the question was very largely altered by
the extension of the constituencies. Let them
consider what that extension was. It was an
extension mainly, he said, from £lO suffrage to house-
hold suffrage, and really, virtually and in principle, he
should say that it was an extension of a limited to an un-
limited suffrage. When they had adopted household suf-
frage, he thought they had adopted practically the
principle that every man who was net disabled, in-
competent by age, crime, poverty, or some other
positive disqualification, was politically compe-
tent to exercise the franchise, and that it was simply
a question of time and convenience when the suffrage
should be placed in his hands. To draw a distinction
between household suffrage and lodger suffrage provided
the lodger be a person who had a certain permanence in
his tenancy in his opinion would be wholly impossible.
To draw a distinction between boroughs and counties was,
he thought equally impracticable. He would not now
enter into the question, and it was an im-
portant
question whether over and above personal
franchises, property franchise ought to be retained in the
course taken upon the Reform Bill by himself and by
others with whom he had the honour to act—they shewed
a disposition, not for the retention, but the multiplication
of these property franchises, the extension at least of
these property franchises by lowering the vote for the
household. What he spoke of was not whether franchises
of that kind should have their place in our constitutional
system or be recognised, but whether in Inks
ciple Parliament had now placed the repre-
' sentative system of the country upon a footing
on which they could justly say that the whole
of the people of the country were presumably entitled
the exercise of the suffrage. He thought that was a true
view of the case, and that the extension of household
suffrage to the counties was a question of time and conve-
nience. (Cheers). He was not at all sure if that were the
occasion to enter upon the subject as a question of party
politics, whether the adoption of such a measure might
be very beneficial to the gentlemen who sat opposite.
With that they had nothing, however, to do,
and it was not necessary to gist an opinion
upon it ; but he thought in principle they
had bound themselves to measures which must infal-
libly entail that consequence. He thought the
true view of the case was this. There was
no larger constituency, properly so-called, but with
reference to the permanent working of our sys-
tem, a limited constituency, acting and exercising a trust
on behalf of the whole of the people ; and the basis on
which Parliament desired to found the representative
system of the country, was a basis no less narrow than
than that of the entire nation—(cheers)—setting
aside those who might be subjected to posi-
tive disqualification. Consequently the trust which
was exercised by the father of a family by
the adult male in giving his vote for a merriber of Perna-
znent was practically a trust mainly exercised on behalf
of the wife and children, all other persons being presura-
ably entitled to act upon a footing of equality In giving a
vote. That being so, they had to look at the question
with reference to other considerations, and he owned that
he would greatly prefer, sq far as he was concerned in all
circumstances, even when the argument of trust had dis-
appeared, that the vote was a trust to 'be exercised on
behalf of others who might not exercise it for themselves
—the public discharge of every public function. He was
not, therefore, able to point to secret-, voting as an unmixed
good. He looked upon it as a choice of evils, and he asked
himself when they regarded the parliamentary fran-
chise disembarrassed of those peculiar considerations which
attached to it BO long as they had comparatively
a very limited constituency—what was the
condition that it was the duty of Parliament
to secure ? He could not doubt what would
be the answer made to the question. The proper answer
to be made was that it was the first duty of
Parliament, having conferred the franchise, - to
provide that the franchise should be exercised
freely, (Cheers.) That it should be exercised freely was
, of the utmost importance. The freedom of
the voter, the right hon. gentleman went on
to say, was threatened, and it was threatened
he did not hesitate to submit, from the dictation and
the possible violence of mere numbers. (Cheers). It was
threatened from a more subtle, and more extensive, and
more continuous action of these influences connected with
property. (Hear, hear.) To one case he felt it necessary
to refer, because it was a case which produced great agita-
' 'Hon in the public mind at the time, and which could not
be forgotten within the walls of that House. He meant
the circular which was -issued, from the town o:
Blaekburn, during. the proceedings and period of the

general election of 00E5. 'plat circular was an invitation
issued by one of the parties in the town, he need not say
which, to all persons who possessed property, station, or
influence, or anything by means of which they ,could carry
influence, to bear upon the votes of their fellow citizens,
to meet together for the purpose of concerting measures
in order to give effect to that influence. That was a hardy
and daring attempt to put down freedom of election which
iould not be redressed by law. He believed that Parliament
would do well to frame a law which, without interfering
with personal liberty, should prevent and nip in the bud
attempts of such extraordinary audacity. If power, prc
perty, and station Wy any organisation brought such in-
fluence to bear upon the masses in thebosoms of great com-
munities, the freedom of tile franchise was in the utmost
danger unless gpecial measures were taken to secure
it. The vast extension of the suffrage which
ha.,l taken place, immensely strengthened the
argument in favour of sc cret voting if secret voting were
protection to the voter, because in former times the
I, Lllt of the constituencies consisted of persons who were
supposed more or less to have property, and ihey were also ,
supposed tabe more or less capable of defendingithemselve.s.
But they lied now adopted a different principle, and had
thought tit to adinit to the franchise in a mass those who
were dependent for their bread upon their daily
labour. (Hear, hear.) Nov, to expose such a class as
that to the action of those powerful and overruling com-
binations was, in his opinion, to stultify .ie whole of that
great operation of Parliament b 5 which the franchise had
been s,o largely extended. It was, therefore, in view of
that necessity and of duty that he thought the time had
connt . when tne Haase would best discharge Is Obli-
gations Us the country by giving eft to the
print:loe of secret voting, or whatever else it be the
franchise ought to be free, and if it were true, and I.) wee
true, that the voter was not perfect, that ha was open to
corrupt motives under certain circumstances —at any rate
he had all the infirmities of our nature—those infirmities
could not be cured by the oppressive influences of
intimidation, whether they came from above or
from below, on the contrary they would be
aggravated. The man would become a hypocrite
in the face of day, and he would conceal his intention
and his action would falsify and belie the convictions of
his mind. (Cheers,) Therefore it was their duty to
secure in the first place and above all other things that
the vote be given freely, and next to that it would be the
desire of the Government to consider all the means which
would tend to secure its 1 eing given purely. (Cheers.)
There was one advantage which tended to mitigate
the postponement of the measure that the
Gevet nment had introduced. They would have
a better opportunity of examining more carefully
(lowing the secess the subject ci the ballot than thear
would have had at the end of the session, the method pro.
posed by the hon. member for Huddersfield, and the
various methods proposed from other quarters for the
Government to 6toose from among them the one which
might be the best method of declaring a secret vote. A
secret vote in some shape or other appeared to be required
by the social circumstances under which we lived, and he
could not placewholly oat of view the fact of theextensive
acceptance it had received in other countries of the world.
He could hardly suppose it possible that any, except those
who had become enamoured of the question by studying
it from a particular point of view, could give a warm
ibstraot preference to secret voting, but a practical prefer-
ence to secret voting had been given in one shape or
another everywhere. The Engfish race had spread itself
over the face of the earth, and other nations
our rivals and companions in civilisation, to say the least,
had generally, he believed, resorted to this method of pro-
ceeding. At any rate, their judgment must be governed
mainly by regard to the condition of the society in which
we lived, audit must also be governed by regard, i,n some
degree, to the progress of opinion. It was impossible not
to see that the nation had very perceptibly moved in the
direetlen of secret voting gam the last Reform Aot. Even
the proceedings of the committee which sat last year, and
composed of seine of those who represented the party
opposite came to support that view of the case. The
conclusive consideration which arose in his mind was that
While the greatest and weightiest argument against secret
voting had either wholly disappeared or had been greatly
reduced in their scope and weight, in consequence of the
change ht the constituencies, and still more of the
change in the priucipal upon which our Parliamentary
representation might now be said to be founded, while
the arguments on one side had lost force, from these
causes the arguments on the other side, so far from losing
force, had attained it. The greater dependence of the mass
of the constituencies rendeeed the bulk of the indi-
viduals who composed them much mere open than hereto-
fore to the illegitimate influences, if not of bribery, yet of
intimidatiqn. .They could not,. without a measure of that
kind secure the exercise of the franchise in that freedom
which was its first, most vital, and most beneficial charac-
teristic. (Meets.) _

Mr, Disuanti protested against a measure of that
sort being considered at the cud of the session. It was of
such importance that if they were to scramble over the
subject it would be very undignified.

Alter some remarks from Mr. Assheton the bill wilts
r3ad a second time.
FACTORIES AND WORKSHOPS DILL
T 1 bill was read a third time.
tURNPIKE ACT CONTINUANCE BILL.

This bill was aka road a third time and passed.
PUBLIC SOILOOLS AOT AMENDMENT ]HLL.
On the motion for going into ootomittoeon this bill, Sir.
NVINTZEMTHAtt moved that ft be &fermi for three month°.
Alter few words from Mr. Bnocg the stnetadment wee
negatived without a division, and the Melee wtitA into
vdmmittee on the bill.
Mr. WINTERDOTHAM moved the insertion of the follow-
ineg new-clause after Clauge 3 :—" That the approval et
disapproval of her Majesty to any statute made by any
such governing body, in pursuance of the powers ro
vested in it, shall not be signified until such statute has
Peen laid before both houses at Parliament, for a period
of not less than forty days,"

The SOIACITOR-GENERAL opposed the motion.
On acii.yision the claims was rejected, the numbers
biting—for the clause, 3G ; against it, 70.
The Local Government Supplemental Bill was read a
third time and passed.

T;he Sanitary Act Amendment Bill was read a this c
time and passed.
The tionse then adjourned.

THE BRIXTON BABY-FARMING CASE.
The two women, Margaret Waters and Sarah Rees,
concerned iu the Brixton baby-farming case, were brought
up at Lambeth Police-court, on remand, yesterday morn-
ing. The Treasury prosecuted.
Mr. Henry Harris, surgeon, residing at 2, Northampton-
terrace, Denmark-hill, said he knew the prisoners.
On the 9th of May he was called to see
a child suffering from cerebral irritation, and after-
wards saw it several times. He saw other children there
and was called to prescribe for one three weeks old. On
the 11th June the officers came to him and told him about
the number of children that were in the house. He after-
wards went to the prisoners' house, and they said Cowen's
child had been taken by the officer. The child, he saw,
looked pinched and careworn. He had no conception that
there were eleven children in the house when he visited
there. _ _ _

Sergeant Reif said he had made out a list of the 79
pawn tickets found in prisoners' possession. They nearly
all related to infant's clothing. The principal part was
pawned in 1870. Some in 1869. The tickets relating to
infants' clothes had realised £lB odd.

Mr. Poland said this was all the evidence he proposed
to offer to-day. It was satisfactory to have to close this
long-standing inquiry which it was felt from the impor-
tance of the case to be necessary to fully go into. It
would remembered that in the case of Miss Cowen's. child
a verdict of manslaughter had been returned
against Waters. Now the question was with
respect to the others, whether his Worship would commit
for manslaughter, or the more serious charge of wilful
murder. The question was, did these persons, when they
took charge of the children, intend, by neglecting to pro-
N4de them with proper food, that death should take place;
if they did, that would be to all intents and purposes
wilful murder. If, on the other hand, they merely stupidly
neglected to give them food, it would of course
only amount to manslaughter. He would ask his worship
to say whether he would not commit them on the more
serious charge, leaving the jury to say whether the death
of the children was not caused by the prisoners, and
whether their neglect was with the intention that the
children should die, so that they might be relieved front
the expense of maintaining them. It was also
a question whether the prisoners should not
be committed for neglecting the children, and
causing them permanent injury. A question might arise
as to Ellis's responsibility, but he submitted there was
sufficient prima facie evidence for her committal, although
Waters, who traded under so many different names,
seemed to have been the chief.
Mr. Mayo urged that the evidence produced was in-
sufficient to induce the magistrates to commit for wilful
murder. London was the emporium of baby farming.
and frequently persons who were childless came to these
places, and paid large sums for a child, which they
Ldopted and passed off as
Elliott)heir own.
The magistrati3 (Mr. E committed the prisoners
fOr trial at the next Central Criminal Court on the charge
of wilful murder.