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London, England, 1846-02-28 00:00:00

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the floor of the House, and recommended gentlemen to
horsewhip a man his superior in every respect. The
Honourable Member for Durham had stated that all that he
(Mr. Ferrand) had said with regard to Mr. Wilson
was utterly untrue. The Hon. Member had put words into
his mouth which were untrue. He had never said that Mr.
WILSON was part of the deputation that had waited on the
Government; but that Mr. WILSON had presided over a
meeting at which a deputation was appointed ; and he had
received a letter from Mr. S. BENINGTON stating the
fact. and he was prepared to adhere to the statement
which he had made. There had been meetings in Lan-
cashire recently, to state that statements made by the
Honourable Member in relation to the Ten Hours' Bill were
without foundation. He then defended the statement which
he had made with regard to the condition of the weavers of
Bolton, and to the conduct of Messrs. Ashworth. He would
assure the Noble Lord, the Member for the West Riding, that
he (Mr. Ferrand) was justified in stating what he had stated
with regard to petitions, and it was time the House took up
the question as to the manner in which petitions had been
forged, and which he was prepared to prove before a

It was monstrous to suppose that any measure that-would
add to the wealth of the country would have the
effect of diminishing the price of land. He fdid not
want any triumph for the League; all he wanted was,
for protectionists and free-traders to meet together
and determine not to tax each other for the benefit of a class.
The country was now on the eve of a great change, and it
became the young men of the aristocracy of Great Britain
to do something that would hand their names down to pos-
terity unconnected with anything that was selfish or
inhuman. They had the opportunity now of doing so,
carrying out that great principle of Scripture if they chose,
of " giving peace on earth, and good-will towards men."
Mr. R. SPOONER supported the amendment of the Hon.
Member for Bristol amid continued cries of " Divide."
Mr. P. Bonniwicx then rose to address the House, and
was met with cries of " Divide, divide." The Hon. Gentle-
man addressed the House amid much confusion, and con-
cluded by expressing his determination to vote for the
amendment.
Lord G. BENTINCK opposed the motion for the House
going into Committee on the propositions of the Right Hon.
Baronet, because he believed those resolutions, if carried, would
create a great revolution in the country, and one that
the present House of Commons ought not to sanction.
The Right Hon. Gentleman bad challenged them to pro-
duce any instance in which a change from protection to free
trade had not been alike beneneficial to consumer and pro-
ducer. He would meet the challenge, and would contend
that with regard to speltre, silk, wool, and timber, the re-
sults of free trade had been ruinous.
was no necessity for the competition of free trade to in-
duce them to make exertions; and he would prove that, in
proportion to its area, England produced more corn than was
produced in any other country ; and the labourer was ena-
bled to earn his bread in less time than in any other
country. The Noble Lord concluded by declaring his belief
that the Conservative Members were incapable of double-
• dealing, and his consequent firm conviction that the House
would reject this measure.
Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the House
divided, when there appeared—
For the Motion
For the Amendment

r BE HUMAN TRIPOD, or the THREE-
1. LEGGED CHILD and FIRST BIPENIS EVER SEEN or
BEARD OF.
The nobility and gentry, and the lovers of natural sciences, are re-
spectfUlly invited to view the following unprecedented phenomenon
of a Male Child, Six Months bld, by name JOHN BAPTIST DOS
SANTOS, a native of Portugal, having THREE LEGS and
TWENTY TOES, and being otherwise a very flue, well-made,
healthy, and lively boy. He is a bipenis as well as a trisceles, and
the causes of this extraordinary gemination of limbs and organs, and
the probabilities of their future growth and development, may well
afford ample field for the speculations of the learned,
Exhibited every day (Sunday excepted) from Eleven to Five
o'clock, at No. 56, QUADRANT, REGENT-STREET.
Admission, Half-a-Crown.
The Child will be shown privately at the residences of the nobility
and gentry, by applying to Antonio Dos Santos, at the same address.

Committee.
Mr. C. BERKELEY Gould corroborate the statement as to the
manufacture of petitions. He held in his hand a petition
purporting to come from Cheltenham, but it bore the post-
mark of Manchester, and on inquiry at Cheltenham he found
that several of the names had been forged; although perhaps
the names of some twenty ten-pounders might be
genuine. He had always supported free-trade
measures, but he scorned to support it by such means,
and en Monday he should bring forward a motion
for a Committee to investigate this case as a breach of pri-
vilege, and he called upon the members of the Anti-Corn-
law Leage to support his motion.
Mr. BRIGHT would be glad to second the motion, and he
trusted the fullest inquiry would be gone into. With re-
gard to the statement of the Hon. Member for Knaresborough
with regard to Mr. Wilson, he was prepared to show
that every portion of that statement was unfounded. lie
'
hadabyletthteerHofnroomurat Ilre.
Memberltas
for Knaresborough, stet-
soar, whose name was men-
tioneding that Mr. Wiesees had neither convened nor presided
over such a meeting ; that no deputation had been ap-
pointed; and that he (Mr. RAWSON) and two others had
waited on the Premier to represent that, as wheat was the
raw material from which starch was made, it would
be unjust to remove the duty from foreign starch,
unless the duty was also removed from foreign wheat.
The lion. Member had also made statements relating to Mr.
WILSON and Mr. RAWSON which he could not stand by.
He had made statements at a meeting which was reported
in the Morning Post. He had said that he would stand by
that report, but when asked to admit the truth of that re-
port, he said he would give a guarantee to the
Morning Post, and on the editor of that paper
being applied to, he pleaded it was hard that he
should be prosecuted for a faithful report, and stated
that the lion. Member had not given them a guarantee, and
the League, which conducted theiragitation by meansof public
discussion, would be ashamed of prosecuting a newspaper for
giving a faithful report of a speech. He concluded by stating
that, to quote the words of a resolution of that House, the
statements of the Hon. Gentleman were untrue and calum-
nious.
Dr. BOWRING then denied the statements of the Hon. Mem-
ber with regard to the alleged cruelty of Mr. 11. Ashworth.
Mr. ROEBUCK was justified in making the statement he
had last night. It was the duty of the Hon. Member to
have been in his place to have heard any defence which
those who had been attacked might be disposed to make.
The Hon. Gentleman had alluded to his conduct, but it had
never been his misfortune to be branded by a resolution of
the House of Commons as having been guilty of an unfounded
calumny. The Hon. Gentleman said he believed a resolu-
tion of a public meeting, and he (Mr. RoEnucx) believed
the unanimous decision of the House of Commons ; and as
long as that resolution remained, he should consider any
statement of the Hon. Member as utterly worthless, and
that was his answer to the attack of the Hon. Member.
Mr. DISRAELI regretted the attacks made by his Hon.
Friend the Member for:Kna: esboroup on the manufacturers.
He thought, however, that Mr. n ilson and Mr. Ashworth
were thin-skinned in noticing these attacks; he
knew both Mr. Wilson and Mr. Ashurst to be honour-
able men; and he also believed that the Hon. Member for
Knaresborough believed the statements made were true, but
the time of the House ought not to be taken up by personal
discussion. Now, with regard to the League, they had
been stigmatised as assassins by the Right Hon. Baronet at
the head of the Government. He did not believe the accu-
sation, but why did they not prosecute the Right Hon.
Baronet? The Hon. Gentlemen then treated the resolution
of the House, as to " calumnious statements," as an ab-
surdity; the Honourable Member for Cork had been
similarly accused. He (Mr. Disraeli) had never had a
resolution against him, and if the Right Hon. Gentleman
would take his advice, never to abuse anybody, he
would never again be placed in such a position.
Then with regard to the Right Hon. Member for Bath, he bail
certainly frequently offended against the rules of the House,
by imputing motives, and indulging in melo-dramatic
malignity and Saddlers' Wells sarcasm, but he ( Mr. DISRAELI)
knew that the trier would bear its fruit, and that a crab-tree
would only produce crab-apples
Mr. O'CONNELL had not been accused of calumny ; he had
accused the system of Election Committees as one of perjury;
he had been censured, and they acknowledged the truth of
his accusation by altering the system.
After a few words from Major BERESFORD and Mr.
BICKTIAM ESCOTT,
Lord JOHN MANNERS bore his testimony to the admirable
manner in which Mr. ASHWORTH performed the important
duties whish devolved upon him as one of the greatest cot-
ton barons in the empire.
Mr. FIELDEN then went into a long statement relative to
the emigration of the labourers from the agricultural into the
manufacturing districts, occasioned by the higher rate of
wages in the latter districts.
Sir R. PEEL, in relation to what had fallen from the lion.
Member for Shrewsbury, in relation to the accusation of as-
sassination, begged to state that.his intention had been dis-
tinctly to withdraw the imputation which he had thrown
out alter hearing the explanation of the Hon. Member fur
Stockport; and if he had been misunderstood, he begged to
state that he now distinctly withdrew that imputation, and
that he had certainly intended to have done so at the time.
Mr. COBDEN rejoiced to hear such a distinct disavowal
from the Right Hon. Baronet. He had certainly not under-
stood at the time that the disavowal had teen so complete;
and, acting under the feelings which perhaps had been un-
worthy Of him, he had spoken of the Right Hon. Gentleman
in a mann- i which he now regretted. The distinct avowal of
the Right e an. Baronet was most grateful to his feelings ;
and he now withdrew all offensive expressions which he
might have made use of with regard to the Right Hon. Ba-
ronet.
In answer to Mr. S. O'BRIEN, Sir R. PEEL stated, that he
should, on Monday, first of all: move the vote of thanks to
the Indian army; and then, if the divison took place to-
night, bring in the Bill founded on the resolutions, and
proceed with the commercial measures as speedily as possible.
On the motion of Sir R. PEEL, the shipowners' petition,
presented last evening, was ordered to be printed.
The adjourned debate was then resumed by
Mr. BANKES, who in a lengthened speech declared his un-
compromising opposition to the Ministerial measure. '1 he
Hon. Gentleman animadverted on the conduct of the Right
Hon. Baronet in writing that note to her Majesty during the
Ministerial interregnum, tending h.s support to a Minister
who should pursue an anti-coin-law policy, as setting a most
dangerous precedent, and protested against the formaticn of
any coalition, whether all the members of it sat on the same
bench, or some on one side of the House and some on the
other. The Hon. Member then alluded to the South Not-
tingham election, as a proof that the constituencies were in
pee
favour of protection, and called for a dissolution on this goes-
iechmwenl an appeal to the people,
ques-
tion. It was upon this ground that the protectionists had
taken their stand, and called for a divison in this stage of
the question. He believed that in another place a stand
would
be
thema Government
owvhh outliolfcom;
the day wished it or no, in
whethere
order that it might be known whether the English
public were for or against the measure proposed by the
Government.
Mr. B. Escorr believed that it was impossible, in the
present state of the country, to prevent the carrying of
some such measure as that which had been introduced by
the Government. That the measure must be carried he had
no doubt, and then came the question whether the present
Government ought to carry it or not. He believed that it
mattered little to the people who carried the measure, as
long as they obtained it. As to the observations
of the Honourable Member for Knaresborough, they were
beneath his rank and station to notice them, but
this he would say, that not a single constituent of his, since
he bad changed his opinions, had called upon him to resign
his seat. Since 1842 he had told all those with whom he
was connected that he believed the inevitable consequences
of the speeches of the Right Baronet at the head of the Go-
vernment, and the Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary of
State for the Colonies, would be such measure as that which
was now proposed by the Government. The farmers were
for reasonable and rational progress, and they believed
that by some such a measure as the pis sent their inte-
rests would be materially increased. He believed
that in many parts of England the dread of
scarcity and famine was as great as it was in Ireland.
He wouid give his most cordial support to the measures pro-
posed by the Government. The protectionists had discarded
the Right Hon. Baronet as their leader, and all that he
asked was, let them candidly tell the farmers what they
thought would be the end of their battle with the people;
would it be in favour of protection? He unhesitatingly as-
serted that it would not. The Hon. Member for Bristol had
opened the eyes of the people, and bad assisted in greasing
the wheels of free-trade.
Captain GLADSTONE supported the amendment. Under
protection the country had flourished, and he thought, there-
fore, it ought not to be hastily withdrawn.
Mr. COBDEN then rose to address the House, but the Hon.
Gentleman spoke in so low a tone as to be hardly audible in
the gallery during many parts of his speech. The country
would not be convinced that the party spirit which had been
displayed in the debate, and the personal topics that had
been adverted to, had not been resorted to fur the purpose
of shirking the question. The abuse that was being cast
by the protectionists on the present Ministers was making
them the most popular men of the day, and he had no hesi-
tation in saving that no man would be received more kindly
in Manchester than the Right Hon. Baronet at
the head of the Government. They talked about
appealing to the people ; now he wanted to know
what they meant by that? He denied that they would
have a numerical majority of that House by a dissolu-
tion. The protectionist party had been broken up notwith-
standing their phalanx in Dorsetshire and Buckinghamshire.
This disruption of their party had placed the free-traders in
a very different position to what they were a few years ago.
But, supposing a dissolution:took place, and that the protec-
tionists got a numerical majority, he denied that that nu-
merical majority would represent the voice of the people.
He denied that the protectionists could reckon upon
having any representative of their opinions from any of the
towns of England, Ireland, or Scotland, that contained
a population of 25,000. They might have their pocket
boroughs and their counties, but they would have nothing
else. The old Saxon mode of knowing what the opinions
of the people were was by calling public meetings. He
challenged the protectionists to call public meetings in
favour of the corn-laws. That would convince them, if any-
thing would, that the people were not with the protectionists.
A meeting had been called at Epworth by the protectionists;
they had been driven from it, and resolutions against them
had been carried. The people were now calling into exist-
ence a system of 500 years antiquity ; if any were innova-
tors, it was those who would uphold the system that now
existed. The basis of the county representation could not
be too soon widened, and that was the object of the
League, and they had the will and the determination
to do it. When he read the debates at home that
had been taking place in that House for the last three weeks,
he said to himself, " What fun this will be to the men in
fustian !" Members little thought how these absurdities
were being laughed at out of doors. He believed the con-
cessions that had been made by the Right Hon. Baronet
were the greatest that were ever made to free trade. He
would admit that the protectionists and landlords, and many
of the farmers with them feared the measures of the
like children, and told them that the free bade cry
Government ; but why, because they had treated them
was an old Bogie, that had been set to catch them.
They denied that, and had been depreciated by the measures
of the Right Hon. Baronet. Its price had been raised,
although silk and other commodities
;had been depressed

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MAJORITY FOR MINISTERS ... 97
The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and the
House adjourned.

THE WEEKLY CHRONICLE of Saturday,
the 28th February, and Sunday, the let of March, will con-
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BRITISH VICTORIES IN INDIA,
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The past administration of the poor-laws in the notorious
Andover Union is to be the subject of a motion, next Thurs-
day. in the House of Commons. Mr. ETWALL, the Member
for the borough, is to more for a " Select Committee to in-
quire into the administration of the poor-laws in the Andover
Union, and into the management of the union workhouse ;"
and Mr. Cull'sTiz is to move an addition to the Hon. Mem-
ber for Andover's motion, to extend the inquiry of the pro-
posed Committee to " the conduct of the Poor-law Com-
missioners and their late Assistant-Commissioner, Mr.
PARKER. in reference to the two investigations held at
Andover, and into all the circumstances under which
the Poor-law Commissioners called upon Mr. PARKER to re-

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MESSRS. LAMOND, SMALE, AND
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their continued support and patronage, and to announce that their
Public Sales of Railway Shares, &c., take place every TUESDAY and
FRIDAY, at One o'clock, at their offices, at the Hall of Commerce,
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All Scrip and Share Certificates must be deposited for GER-
mination at least one day previously to their being offered ; and
advices of results will be forwarded by the first post after the sale,
and the proceeds immediately disposed of according to instructions.
Offices, Hall of Commerce, Threadneedle-street, London.

sign his Assistant-Commissionership." We called attention
very soon after the publication of Mr. PARKER'S appeal from
the Poor-law Commissioners to the Home Secretary, to the
serious imputations which his remarkable pamphlet contains
on the conduct of the Poor-law Commissioners, both with
reference to the Andover investigation and their treatment of
Mr. PARKER. Mr. PARKER has now presented a petition
to the House of Commons, and Mr. M'DouGAL, the late
master of the Andover Workhouse, whose conduct was the
subject of the investigation, has done the same. We
shall print these petitions on a future day. In the
meantime we make one extract from Mr. PARKER'S
petition, which brings such a charge against the Poor-law
Commissioners, that, without admitting their guilt, they can-
not but join in desiring Parliamentary inquiries. Mr. PARKER
states, " That the facts connected with the bone-crushing in
the Andover Workhouse, and the presumptions raised by the
subsequent charges and statements, that the inmates had
been driven by hunger to satisfy their appetites by eating
marrow, and gnawing off putrid meat from bones which they
were employed to crush ; that the female inmates, by gifts
of food, had been induced to endure the master's solicita-
tions without complaining of his conduct; and that one
women in particular had brought much public odium upon
the general character of poor-law management, whilst
the conclusion of the inquiry, resulting from the Commissioners
breaking down the adjournment granted by your petitioner, did
not satisfy the public, the board of guardians of the _Andover
union, or the accused.
" That your petitioner believes, and is prepared to bring such
evidence as the nature of the case admits, to prove that the t7orn-
missioners sacrifieed your petitioner to divert public odium from
themselves."
" Sacrificed Mr. PARKER to divert public odium from
themselves !" We believe no one can read Mr. PARKER'S
pamphlet without admitting that Mr. PARKER makes out a
strong case in support of this serious charge. The Poor-law
Commissioners may be able to answer his case. If so, let
them do it before a Committee. When such a charge.is
made, if the appointment of a Committee is resisted by the
parties charged, only one interpretation can possibly be put
by the public on the resistance; and that is, consciousness of
guilt.
At the same time, we are strongly inclined to suspect that
the Poor-law Commissioners will induce Sir JAMES GRAHAM
to resist the inquiry to be moved for by Mr. ETWALL and
Mr. CHRISTIE. We have attentively observed all that has
passed in the House of Commons since the beginning of the
session on the subjects connected with the Andover inquiry,
and we see Sir J. GRAHAM appareitly determined to keep
everything concealed from public view.
He was asked to produce a paper which it is known that
Mr. CriAnsercic communicated to the Poor-law Commissioners
as far back as 1843, pointing out the objectionable character
of the bone-crushing employment for paupers; and he re •
fused, stating that the paper was a confidential communica-
tion, and not signed- by Mr. CHADWICK. What business
have the Poor-law Commissioners to invest papers,
written in the course of public business, by their
secretary, a public officer, with a confidential cha-
racter? As to the paper not having been signed by Mr.
CHADWICK, perhaps that may be the customary way of doing
business in the Poor-law office; at any rate the paper is
authenticated as Mr. CILADWICK'S without his signature. It
has come out before Parliamentary Committees that the
Secretary of the Poor-law Commissioners does not attend the
meetings of the Board, and that no minute-book is kept of
the Commissioners' proceedings. This is a very irregular
way of doing business, and of a piece with the Secretary's
reports to his superiors being unsigned.
J Ames GRASIA.M also has announced that, when Mr.
ETWALL brings forward his motion, he intends to lay some
papers relating' to the Andover inquiry on the table of the
House of Commons. But why does he wait till then to pro-
duce these papers? He intends them, it is to be inferred, as
a substitute for the Committee of Inquiry which Mr. ETWALL
is to move for. If he were to produce them, however, before
Mr. Erwar.t. brings forward his motion, Mr. ETWALL and
others would be able to judge whether these papers are suffi-
cient.

We eannot keelp reverting to one statement in Mr. PIS..
KIWI; pamphlet., on which we are surprised that no question
has been put to Sir Jssnra Osmium. Our readers will re-
member Mr. WALLST'S first statement on the subject of
bone-crushing in the Andover Workhouse towards the close
of last session. On the Ist of August, 1845, Mr. PARSER was
sent down to Andover by the Poor-law Commissioners,
by order of Sir JAMES GRAHAM, to investigate
the truth of Mr. WAKLRY'S statement. On the sth of
August Mr. Pi...nxen made a written report to the Poor-law
Commissioners, which may be read: in page 7 of his pam-
phlet, and with this written report sent up the depositions which
he had taken at Andover. This written report and the de-
positions were transmitted to Sir Jemas GRAHAM. On the
Bth of August. Mr. PARK/tit was desired to call on Sir
J. GRAHAM, aad did so. The next day, the last day of the
session, Sir J. GRAHAM made a statement in the House of
Commons of the results of Mr. Pennun's inquiry, making
no mention w-latever of his written report, or of the
depositions—leaving it to be supposed that no
such things were in existenee,—and resting his
statement on Mr. PARKER'S verbal commanications
of the day before. Why was this? Was Sir J. Grtsrtsat
afraid to produce the written report and the depositions ?
Are these yet produced? Or are they among the papers to
be produced, when Mr. ETWALL makes his notion? It is
high time, we think, that these papers were produced. Mr.
PARKER says (p. 8) :—" Although my report to the Commis-
sioners, and the accompanying depositions, had been in your
hands for two ,days previous to this interview, you preferred
to rest your statement to the House (9th August) on this
verbal comm anication with me ; a ceurse, of whose expe-
diency it is not for me to make question, but which I may
allude to with some regret, inasmuch as an impression was
that thin important inquiry had been
conducted loosely and inefficiently, and with a desire to sup-
press the real facts." We hope Mr. WASLET will not lose
sight of this curious point. Looking at the case altogether,
Mr. Psauttcn has strong claims to a full and searching inves-
tigation. At the time of the inquiry, several journals, and
The Sun among the rest, made remarks on the improper
mode in which it was carried on, and as these
remarks implicated Mr. PARKER, he ought to be allowed.
every opportunity of justifying himself.

But for the satisfaction of knowing that the monster dis-
cussion is now oscillating on the very verge of the divi-
sion, Thursday's debating would have been sufficient to plunge
every impatient politician into a fit of the moat sullen despe-
ration. Beyond all former evenings, it stands forward
the dullest. drowsiest, and most miserably sluggish. One
after another, like ducks in foggy weather, the protectionists
strolled forth from the coop of the Ministerial benches to
quackle annoyance at the impending storm, and retired with a
similar incapacity to retard the tempest that approached.
Mere abortive efforts at speech-making can scarcely be roked
out of any previous volume of Hansard : repetitions, arguments
of the very stalest nature, iterations, bungling quotations
from the return tables, and frivolous efforts at the facetious,
forming the bulk of the orations. And the prodigious
assurance with which certain Honourable Gentlemen pre-
sumed upon occupying the invaluable time—not of the
Commons only, or the Right Honourable the Speaker, or
the short-hand writers, but, of the nation itself by intruding
their private opinions upon the proposed commercial policy;
as though it were a matter of one straw's importance to be
acquainted with the internal mechanism of these Parlia-
mentary automata. We have observed elsewhere that public
h
as b
moreover,ee n alrethatadyb
they amt
oiesfit e
ode
ntsoi
btl lento
ouotrms
eows tb,
iaonbdcould
curiosity as to the individual views of our principal statesmen
ephosinsitbeldy,
be adopted by the Legislative ciphers, filling the back
benches is the Lower House, would be, that of maintaining
an imperturbable silence. Had this recommendation been
acted upon, many severe bilious attacks might have been
spared the puppets of the lion. Member for Bristol, by pre-
venting those violent ebullitions of spleen which mast have
militated evnsiderably against their own health,

while they have excited the risibility of their
opponents. As to what these eloquent small-talkers think

of Sir ROBXRT PEEL or of Mr. HusKissow, or the League, or
what not, the people aro supremely indifferent ; in the ba-
lance of general estimation a pin would outweigh these

fribbling personalities ; and to each and all of these wor-
shipful Members (however important in their own considera-
tion) the expressions on Thursday applied by Mr. ROEBUCK
to Mr. BUSFEILDFERICAND are equally applicable and equally

significant. "What would any man in the country
give for such opinions ? Why, not a guinea, nor half-a-
guinea, nor half-a-crown, nor a shilling ; not a penny, nor
half-a •farthing." So :inexpressibly unnoticeable are these

fine-spoken_nothings.flAs if, however, to:usurp the capland
bells entirely for his own enjoyment, Mr. SPOONER—the far-
seeing and considerate Mr. SPOONER—has the admirable
prudence to insist upon a still further prolongation a the
debate, as many Honourable Members had not yet had
an opportunity of expressing their sentiments upon
the matter under discussion. One of those inimitable Arabian
Legends, which date back to the dynasty of Hanousr
ALRASCIIII), is devoted, if we remember rightly, to the con-
versation of a certain " talking tree," every leaf of which was
a separate tongue, wagging more for its own particular grati-
fication, than for anything else that was ostensible. If there
be not an analogy between this curiosity of vegetation
and the Parliament of this present session, we suspect
that several branches cf the eastern tree have been east upon
the floor of St. Stephen's. Possibly, however, the evil is
traceable physiologically—the protectionists are just num-
bering the last few hours-of a very protracted existence ; they
may be thus garrulous from extreme decrepitude. To speak
candidly, their behaviour throughout this discussion
upon the Ministerial measures, but especially during
the last few nights, is so intolerably preposterous,
that it is almost beyond the bounds of possibility to treat
the matter with any degree of gravity. They enact such a
sorry and contemptible part, that a calm dissection of their
arguments is a thing not to be attempted. Thus Mr. Ross,
and Mr. CHRISTOPMSR, and Mr. Fatal, and Mr. SEYMOUR
breathed an increase of lethargy and lassitude upon all but
their own excited party, until this distressing sensation was
dispelled towards the close of the evening by the speech of the
Hon. CHARLES P. VlLLmns. For many years the consistent
and unflinching advocate of abolition with reference to the
corn-laws, it was a subject of no little interest to hear from the
lips of that Honoarable Gentleman himself, his satisfaction at
the change of opinion which had at length conspired to
crown his repeated efforts in the cause of free trade
with the most full and triumphant success. The party cries
with which his proposition for the repeal of all duties
upon grain had been received again and again from those
identical benches were, according to his own announcement,
still ringing in his ears. Bearing this in recollection, the
contrast exhibited by this session must, at moments, appear
to him something little short of :he miraculous. While this
great and glorious alteration of our commercial code
is being achieved through the intervention of the
Premier, and the indomitable on-struggles of the Purnrac
WILL, we must accord the praise which is so justly merited
by Mr. VILLIERS—to that untiring and staunch supporter
of the measure as originally conceived At the same time
we cannot but await, in exultant confidence, the consumma-
tion of those various powers and exertions—a consummation
which will be completed within such few movements of the
clock—a triumphant division.

Madrid papers of the 19th have been received, but they
contain no news. On that day the Three per Cents. closed
at 3`21/2 for cash and 32 11-16 at 60 days ; the Five per
Cents. at 23% at 60 days.

Several of the Paris journals were not pliblished on Ash-
Wednesday, the compositors and other persons connected
with the establishment considering themselves much better
occupied in witnessing the procession of the Igruf gras on the
preceding day. But, indeed, the readers of those journals
have suffered no loss, for the other papers are dull, and'desti•
tute of intelligence. Even the National, with every possible
wish to write a furious article against M. GulzoT, for aban-
doning the Madagascar expedition, makes a very poor exhi-
bition, and leaves affairs nearly in the same state. Some
mystery yet hangs over the report of the Commissioier ap-
pointed to investigate the causes which led to the fall of the
Barentin viaduct. The Courrier Francais says the directors
of the Paris and Rouen, and Rouen and Havre Railrdads, had
been called to the office of the Minister of Public Works, to
take cognisance of the report of M. FRISSARD, but a belief
prevailed that the Minister had resolved not to publish it.
The Helvetie, a Swiss journal, announces that the session of
the Grand Council of Berne was abruptly brought to a close
on the 20th by the landammann. The election of the mem-
bers of the Constituent Assembly will take place on March Y.

.... _
The following are miscellaneous extracts from the papers—

- - -
The Grand Chancellor has given notice to the Peers that, in con-
sequence of the loss sustained by the family of Baron Dupin, reporter
on the Bill for regulating manufacturers' marks, which was to be
taken into consideration this day, the Committee could not meet and
receive the Minister of Commerce, and the President had pestpoued
the sitting till a future day, of which due notice will be given to the
members.
On Tuesday, at two o'clock, the Council if the Order of Advo-
cates, and a great number of members of the bar, waited upon the
Procureur-General Dupin, to express their eoncolence on the death
of his brother.
A letter from Algiers, of the 16th, states that, after his junction
with► general Bedeau, Marshal Buzeaud made an important razzia
upon the tribe of the Beni.Kralfrouns, who had shown great hostility
to the French.
The Spener Gazette states, from Wirsite, 16th inst., that some
Prussian troops had just arrived there and arrested several leaders of
the Polish conspiracy, some of whom are noblemen of consider,ble
wealth and influence. k;everal arrests have also taken place at
Thorn, which was still kept iii a state of siege.
A correspondent of the Presse writes from Rome :—" It appears
certain that M. Rossi will still remain some time at Rome as Milliner
plenipotentiary from France. M. Rozier, who has been for some time
first Secretary of the French Legation here, is on the point 01 taking his
departure for Mexico, as Minister Plenipotentiary there, in the room
of M. Alleys de Ciprey. The eldest son of the I)uke de Broglie is to
replace M. Rozier at Rome. Thanks to the moderation shown by
the Cabinet of Madrid, in speaking of its relations with Rome when
the Address was in dabate, and thanks also to the endeavours of M.
Castillo y Ayenza, the negotiations between Rome and Madrid are
approaching a happy termination ; so that Monseigneur Brunelli will
leave soon after Easter for Madrid, with the rank and title of Nuncio.
The Congregation of the Propaganda Fide has resolved to establish a
new apostolic mission in the interior of Africa, which will extend its
influence as far as the sources of the Niger."
The French Funds were very firm on Wednesday. The Three per
Cents. closed at s4f. $Ne. ; the Five per Cents , 123 f. 50c. ; the Or-
leans Railroad shares, 1,347 f. 50c.; Rouen, 1,967 f. 50e. ; Havre, 7551;
Great Northera, 776 f. 75e. ; Avignon, 1,025 f. ; Vierzeis, 7501.; Bor
deaux, 662 f. 50c.; Boulogne, ; Troyes Red 31or tereau, 452f.50c.;
Beale, 253 f. Tsc. ; Dieppe, 450 f.; Paris and Strasburg, 556 f. 25c. ;
Tears and Nantes, 595 f. ; l'aris and Lyons (DoSsitivo), 431 f. b2c
Rpanish Three per Cents., 3V4 .
The following are the quotations for other lines :
Lyons and Avig-non (Talabot), 510 f. ; ditto (Lecointe). 505 f.
ditto (Compagnie Mericßonale), 502 f. ; Bordeaux and Cetie (Mac.
kenzie), 5031'. 25c.; ditto (Espeleta), 510 f. ; Charleroi, 496 f. fioc.
LIONS, Faa. 23.—Pa, is and Orleans, 1,320 f. ; Rouen, 1,045 f.
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT Tfl