The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-09 00:00:00

THE ADDRESS.

The report of the committee on the address was
brought ❑p by Mr. Dodson, and read by the Clerk at the
table of the house.

On the motion that the address be agreed to,

Mr. HADFIELD referred to the exaggerated state-
ment contained in the Royal Speech relative " to the
progressive development of productive industry through-
out her Majesty's dominiong, ' and denied that the state
of the country and our colonies was in such a prosperous
condition as to warrant that statement.

Mr. BOWYER asked when the committee on public
moneys was to be appointed ?
Mr. WILSON paid be saw no reason why it should
not be done immediately.
Mr. BRISCOE txpressed his satisfaction at the answer
of Lord Palmerston 111;; night relative to Parliamentary
reform and church. rates.
The motion was then wzreed to, and ordered to be pre-
sented to her Mnjel,ty.
On the motion of Lord PALMERSTON, the address
was ordered to be taken into consideration on Monday
next.

THE TRANSIT.
Mr. W. S. LINDSAY rose to ask for some explana-
tion regarding the Government transport, the Transit.
On the 7th of April this vessel sailed from Spithead,
Laving on board 30 of the Royal Engineers, 216 of the
90th Feet, and 119 of the 59th, besides officers. On
the Bth she pot back on account of an accident ; havit g
" brought up" near the Nee lies and anchored for the,

night, she swung on her anchor, and knocked a hole in
her bottom. She was, as he had been inf artne I, effici-
ently repaired, and again sailed, and the next account
received of her was from Corunna, of date the 19th of
April. He wished it to be understood that he took these
particulars from the public journal, and desired to have
an explanation regarding them, making no charge of his
o n. Tiaey were told that the Transit put into Corunna
in deep distress ; and a gentleman on board, who was
described by the correspondent of the Times at Ports-
mouth as a person of intelligence, respectability, and
rank, gave the following description of what had occurred
on the voyage:—

" Here we are, done up ! two days' Bay' weather sent
us in here to bs fresh rigged ! You never saw a worse sea
boat in your life—crank, top-heavy, and everything that's
bad ! . . . Such an old tub you never saw ; the rigging
never set up, or anything secured; we had hard work to
keep the masts from going over the side ; if she had pitched
instead of rolling, I am sure the foremast must have gone
over the bows. . . . In fact, a greater tub to roll I never
saw. She is top-heavy. lam certain she will never
weather the Cape. . . She is a disgrace to the British Go-
vernment, and more so to the dockyard authorities. . . •
There are not one dozen men (troops) on board with dry
hammocks, every seam in her deck letting in water."
The Transit was one of three vessels—viz., the Perse-
verance, the Urgent, and the Transport—which were
bought by the Government from the Meisre. Mare at a
time when transports were in great demand. Many gen-
tlemen of that house must remember the Perseverance,
which was allotted to them on the day of the great naval
review at Spithead, when he believed many members were
not privileged to see the review at all. This ship on en-
tering the dockyard at Deptford capsised, and did a
great amount of damage, not tnerely to herself; but to
the storehouses in the yard. Noble lords in another place
would remember the Transit, for it was the vessel which
bad been appointed to carry them to the naval review,
and it served them even a worse turn than the Persever-
ance had served the Commons. The third vessel was the
Urgent, but, as he had not given any notice to the right
hon. gentleman, the First Lord of the Admiralty of his
intention to question him as to this vessel, he should not
expect him to enter into any explanation in reference to
the various reports which bad been published about her.
The Urgent left Spithead on the 28th of Feb. last with
the 49th Regiment on board for Barbadoes, and it was
stated that, having sprung a dangerous leak in the Bay
of Biscay, she had put into Corunna on the 31 of March
in a sinking state, and would certainly have foundered
but for the calm weatherand the daring act of, the second
engineer, who set free the valves of the engine pumps.
On the 9th of March she put into Madeira, and after
sailing thence she broke her engine gear, whicla was how.
ever repaired in 24 hours. Her engines were again set to
work, but again broke, and she was obliged to proceed
to Barbadoes under sail, where she arrived on March 27.
Another letter from Barbadoes, dated April 6, entirely
confirmed this statement. The writer said that for the
first two days of the voyage everything went on right,
but that on the third day it was discovered that a leak
had been sprung and that there was eight feet of water
in the hold. An attempt was made to set the pumps to
work, but it was found that they would not work.
There were 800 men on board, and the boats would only
hold 300, so that they were obliged to set about making
rafts. Luckily they got into Corunna just before the
furnaces went out. After leaving Madeira the engines
broke down twice, and it was found on arriving at
Barbadoes—this was so extraordinary a statement that
he could scarcely understand it—that the screw had
worked out a large piece of iron from one of the plates
in the ship's stern, and she took in so much water that
30 men were kept at work at the pumps during the
whole time. These three ships were built by Messrs.
Mare, builders of great eminence, who had turned out
some very fine ships ; but it was stated that after they
left Messrs. Mare and came into the hands of the Ad-
miralty alterations were made in them which entirely
spoiled them. It was reported and very generally be-
lieved that the Admiralty built large poops and raised
forecastles on them, and pot masts into them far too
heavy fur their tonnage. These ships were built on very
fine lines, long and narrow, and the effect of such altera-
tions as these would be to destroy their stability in the
wind. Masts which would keep a ship of 56 feet beam
stiff in the wind ,would be too long and heavy for a ship
of 35 feet beam, and would make her anything but stiff.
With the top weightabove and the fine lines below every
seam of her would open in a heavy rolling sea, and this
would account for all the men's hammocks being perpe-
tually wet, and for all other accidents spoken of. It was
very extraordinary that accidents should have happened
to all these three ships, and he hoped, for the sake of the
agonised feelings of those who had relatives on board the
Transit, Low ou her way to China, that the right hon.
gentleman would be able to give some satisfactory expla-
nation of these various statements. The hon. gentleman
concluded by asking whether these three vessels were
bought from the Messrs. Mare, what price had been
paid fur them, and whether, after they had come into
the hands of the Admiralty, the alterations which he
had described had been roads in them !

Mr. BENTINCK thanked the hon. gentleman for
having brought this subject under the notice of the
house, and before the right hon. gentleman the First
Lord of the Admiralty answered the questions of his
honourable friend, he wished to ask whether an-
other circumstance respecting the accident to the
Transit, which had been stated in the newspapers,
but which bad not been adverted to by his honourable
friend, Atas correct! The circumstance of the Transit
being allowed to ground on her own anchor showed great
neglect and carelessness, bat it was stated that the ex-
istence of the leak was not discovered until five o'clock
next morning, when the engineer went into the engine-
room. It was impossible to suppose that in a vessel
•f that class there would be no proper night watch
kept, or that there would be no officer whose duty
it would be to ascertain the state of the ship during the
night, but he should be glad to hear from the right hon.
gentleman whether anything had come out before the
court of inquiry which had been held on this accident to
give foundation for such a statement.

Sr C. WOOD said, he was very glad to have the op-
portunity of making a statement on this subject, be-
cause it was impossible to deny that a very strong
feeling had been created in the country by the various
reports and the various letters which had appeared in
the public papers in reference to these vessels. He hoped
• the house would excuse him if he went at some length
into this matter, for he hoped to be able to remove from
the public mind the unnecessary degree of alarm which
had been excited by theestatement to which the hon, gen-
tleman the member for Tynemouth had referred. These
three vessels were built by Messrs. Mare, who were
builders in the river of the highest possible character.
They were not built with reference to the anticipated de-
, wand in consequence of the war, but when the war
broke out, and there was a great demand for troop-ships,
E the Admiralty hearing that these vessels were likely to
suit them caused them to he surveyed by the master
shipwrights of Woolwich and Deptford, and, upon their
report that they were well calculated to carry troops and
• stores, purchased them. The only alteration they sug-
gested was that they should be so fitted that their screws
could be raised. The hon. geetlernan (Mr. Lindsay)
- bad asked whether it was true that these shipe were
fitted with the masts of two-deckers, and that such bal-
-1 last bad been put into them as entirely to alter their
trim and change them from very safe to exceedingly
• crank and dangerous vessels The fact was that the size
• of their poops had been increased and the fore part of
the vessels had been covered over so as to afford greater
accommodation for the ship's company, and thus to
leave the whole decks clear for the accommodation of
• the troops. This was done with the lightest possible ma-
r terials, and did not seriously add to the weight of the
upper part of these ships. All these ships had been
I fitted with lighter masts and yards and with a smaller
quantity of sail than was intended to be given to them
by their builders. He had not the particulars of the
equipment of all the three ships, but he could state to
the house the facts as to the Transit. The Transit, in-
stead of having the masts of a two.d.eceer, or of a vessel
of that tonnage, according to the Admiralty scale, had
the same masts as were put in.eo some 20-gun corvettes
which bad recently been built and sent to sea, and which
were reported to be so stiff that the Admiralty were
about to build another vessel of the same size and to
give her an upper deck. The Satellite was one of these
corvettes, and the masts of the Transit were similar to
those of the Satellite. The burden of the Satellite was
1,460 tons, that of the Transit 2,580 tons ; the length
of the Satellite was 200 feet, that of the Transit 300
feet ;the beam of the Satellite 40 feet 4 inches, that of
the Transit 41 feet 4 inches. Therefore, so far from
having the masts aud.yarde of a vessel larger than her-
self, the Transit was rigged according to the scale of a
vessel 100 feet shorter and 1,120 tons less than
herself. The Witold weight of the upper works of
the Transit vim 62 tons ; that of the guns
and shot carried on the upper deck of the Satellite,
84 tone. Tied area of the sails intended to be given
to the Transit by her builders was 18.800 square
feet ; the urea of those which she actually carried was
only 1 0,400, The result of all these calculations
was faat the stability of the Transit as compared with
that of the Satellite and her sister corvettes was as 3 to
2. These vessels were not built for troopships, but so
f.ar from having spoiled them by the alterations which
they bad made in them, the Admiralty had very con
siderably undermasted them. They were built for-
carrying cargoes, which would be put low into the ships,
and would be carried during the whole of the voyage ;
therefore, when they came to be used as troopships, it
was necessary to put ballast into them to counteract
the lightness of troops as compared wlth dead-weight
cargo, and to provide against the results of the con-
sumption of water and provisions on the voyage. Into
none of them, however, was there put so much ballast
as to sink them below the point intended by the builders
to be their water-li Lie. In the case of the Transit the
Admiralty were riot satisfied with the calculations
alone, but made, experiments upon her at Sheerness,
both with troops and with dead-weight, the effect of
which was entirely to confirm their result. A few
hours before he came down to the House he had put
into his hands a publication called the Mechanic's
Magazine, containing an article upon the Transit,
written, ho believed, by a person of great reputation
who ',glee a witness of these experiments, and in that
article there was the following passage
we express in numbers the ratios of the moment of
sfals4eity to the moment of the sails—which is the meaeure
of f ae stiffness of the ship under canvas, then while the
Pe! al and the Satellite aro each represented by the number
51 ,the Transit will be represented by tne number 69. This
is when the vessels are light. When they are deep the
n umbers are,---Pearl and Satellite each 84, and Transit 119.
".'he relative stiffnesses under steam alone are, when light,
:Pearl and Satellite each 53, Transit 67 ; when heavy Pearl
and Satellite each 82, Transit 116. As a further evidence
of the stiffness of the Transit, we may compare her stability
with that of the Adventure (formerly the Resolute), which
was justly praised in the Tunes of Tuesday, May 6, by
Mr. J. Laird of Birkenhead, who built her. These ?hips
are of about tea same size, the displacement or weights

differing only by three tons—that of the Transit being
2,751 tons and that of the Adventure 2,744 tons. The sta-
bility of each of these ships was estimated approximately;
the decks, engines, masting gear, equal weights of ballast,
&c., being taken into account; and while the stability of
the Adventure was found to be 5,130 tons, that of the
Transit was no less than 8,484 tons."
He hoped, therefore, that the house would be satisfied
that both by calculation and by experiment the Transit
had been proved to be as steady a vessel as could be sent
to sea. The experiments of which he bad spoken were
tried after the poop and forecastle were put on, and
therefore showed the quality of the vessel, not as she was
when she was purchased, but as she was at the present
time. The hon. gentleman (Mr. Lindsay) bad referred
to the case of the Perseverance. It was true that an
accident occurred to that ship when in dock at Wool-
wich which occasioned some alarm, but since she had
been at sea she had done her duty remarkably well. On
the day of the naval review complaints were made by
bon, members of a delay on the railway, but he was not
aware that any one had made any complaint of the ac-
commodation on board the Perseverance, or of the man-
ner in which that vessel had performed the service for
which sbe was appointed. About a week ago he had
received a letter from Captain Macdonald, one of the
crificerd present on board the Perseverance at the time of
the szcident to which the hon. gentleman had referred.
Tbat letter stated,—

" You need not be in the least anxious as to this ship's
being top-heavy ; for on;our arrival at Barbadoss we had
only four tons of coal dust aid a ♦ery few days' bread and
provisions left."

The Perseverance, therefore, had performed its duties
without the slightest complaint of any sort or kind.
With regard to the next Vessel to which reference had
been made, the Urgent, he could only state that he was
not aware that any well-founded complaint had been
made against that vessel as distinguished from her en-
gines. It was true that, as regarded her engines, a
complaint had been made about an occurrence which
took place when first she went to sea, but the house
must remember that the engines of these vessels, and the
machinery connected with those engines, were not ma-
nufactured in Government dockyards, but by engine-
makers in different parts of the country. The engines
of the Transit and Urgent were built by the Messrs.
Napier of Glasgow, builders of great celebrity, for the
Russian Government, and they had been seized at the
commencement of the war and placed in those vessels
Now, what had happened in reality to the Urgent ? It
was perfectly true that an accident happened to the
Urgent in the Bay of Biscay, but the accounts which
had appeared in the newspapers wero founded rather
upon the imagination of the writers of them than from
the real facts of the case. In order to show to the House
what actually did occur, he would read the letter which
had been recaived from the commanding officer, and
which ran as follows :

' "Her Majesty's ship, Urgent,
Corunna, March 5 1857.
"Sir,—Exaggerated accounts wi'l find their way to
England about the Urgent and the 49th Regiment having
to put into Corunna. I shall take the liberty of laying
before you the facts. The leaden joints or washers inserted
between the blow-off pipe and the Kingston valves proved
rather too slight for their work, and were blown out, thus
dividing the pipe by which the water from the boilers is
driven into the sea. It is my belief, also, though I have
no proof to offer, that some small substance, such as a bit of
wood or coal, was driven through the Kingstons, and tem-
porarily prevented their closing after blowing off. My letter
to the Board states the time and circumstances of the water
coming into the ship, and which at one time rose nearly up
to the fires. Under the circumstances—made so much more
grave from our not knowinghow to account for the leak —we
manned all the pumps, made use of the fire-engine, and of
all the buckets to bale. The compartments forward and aft
were tight, and continef all the water to the stoke-hole, and
in a short time we had mastered the water. By 1 p.m. the
ship was dry and the cause of the leak discovered. The
chief engineer stated that the defect could be made good at
sea, but as Corunna was not much out of the way I deter-
mined to put in there and coal, instead of stopping at Ma-
deira for that purpose, by which means the defects would
be made good with more certainty and with more satisfac-
tion to those persons embarked in the ship ; but I have no
hesitation iL saying that the ship might have gone any-
where without anchoring to repair the defective joints, al-
though we should have found ourselves obliged to blow off
much of the water in the boilers into the bilges—a very
objectionable proceeding, and, of course, involving the ne-
cessity of pumping it out again. Since arriving here wa
have made iron joints instead of those broken, and having
nearly filled up with coal, I hope to proceed to Barbadoes
at 2 p m.
" Captain Milne, R.N. " C. G. PHILLIPS."
(Hear, hear.; Attacks of this sort were very amusing,
because they seemed to imply that it was only Govern-
ment vessels that suffered from bad weather, but a cir-
cumstance had come to his knowledge which showed that
other vessels suffered also. At the very time the Ur-
gent went to sea a fine merchant ship did so likewise,
and, encountering the same gale, was not injured
slightly like the Urgent, but was driven back dis-
mantled, As regarded the Transit, her engines had,
as he had already stated, been originally built
for the Russian Government, and be would frankly ad-
mit that they had turned out ill, and had broken down ;
but all the accidents which had occurred were to be
attributed to the engines, and not to the ship itself.
During the war the necessity for the services of the vessel
was so great that it was impossible to lay her by and put
in new engine, and all that could be done was to re-
pair the existing engines as well as possible, but at the
close of the war they had been taken out and new ones
substituted for them, and the ship at the present mo-
ment was perfectly ready to go to sea. With regard to
the particular accident to which reference had been made
he would inform the house how it occurred. The ship
left Portsmouth, and proceeding to the Needles encoun-
tered a thick fog, and the commander knowing that
there was a large number of merchant vessels about de-
termined to anchor. He did so, and in the course of the
night, the tide having changed, the ship drifted over the
anchor, which upon being raised was found to have had
its stock broker, and no doubt the bole in the bottom
of the ship had been caused by the vessel striking the
anchor-stock. The conduct of the captain was, no
doubt, exceedingly negligent—(hear)—and the court of
inquiry bad not, as had been stated in the newspapers,
acquitted him of all blame, but, on the contrary, had
ordered him to be reprimanded, and he had been repri-
manded most severely. He was an officer of high cha-
racter, and had served with great credit to himself, and
it was not thought that a single instance of carelessness
should in his case be visited by his being superseded.
Now, although it had been stated that he (Sir C. Wood)
ought to be sent to sea in the Transit, and that tbe
Board of Admira:ty had been guilty of more than Crimean
mismanagement, bow, he would ask the house, could
any precaution on the part of the dockyard authorities
ot• the Board of Admiralty have prevented such an ac-
cident ? Now, with regard to the Transit having put
into Corunna, the hon. gentleman had referred to a let•
ter describing the dangers which the ship incurred in
the Bay of Biscay. He did not know whether
the gentletrian who wrote the letter was suffering
from that depression of spirits which sometimes display-
ed itself on board ship in those not accustomed to the
sea, and therefore took a gloomy view of matters ; but
he could only say he bad received a very different ac•
count. He would read to the house a letter which he
had received from a friend of his, whose brother was in
command of the troops on board the Transit :

" Dear Sir Charles,—l received last night a letter from
my brother, written on board the Transit, at Corunna, the
tone of which is so different from that of one which I have
just read in The Times that I think it right to let you
know what he says- My brother is in command of the
troops on board. and though by no means given to grumb-
ling, would not be likely to conceal from me any serious
complaint in such a matter. Ho says that the Transit
had to encounter a four days' gale in the Bay of Biscay,
the wind blowing right in their teeth ; that they shipped
a good deal of water (no mention of any leak), and that
their foremast rigging having got loosened, they have put
into Commis in order to get it put to rights, and expect
to be off again the fol:owing morning. He speaks in high
terms of the general arrangements for the comfort of the
troops, who he says are in perfect health, and is warm in
his praises of Captain Chambers. His whole letter is
written in the best spirits, and certainly conveys no idea
of any misgivings as to the safe arrival of the Transit."
It was by no means an unusual thing for the rigging of
a newly-rigged ship to stretch, and the rigging of the
Transit had no doubt stretched and required to be set
up. He bad been told by a naval officer an instance of
a ship which, after having been at Portsmouth ten
months, went across,the Bay of Biscay, and in that case
the rigging was so stretched that it was necessary to set
it up. The operation of setting up the rigging of a
ship might he understood be performed at sea, but in the
present instance it bad been thought more convenient to
do it at Corunna. Ho would read an extract from the
report of the sailing qualities of the ship Transit, dated
the 22d of August, 1856, signed by the commander,
master, and the carpenter:—
" Does she ride easy at anchor?—Yes, so far as tried.
" Does she roll easy or uneasy in the trough of the sea ?
—Deep. but easy.
" Is she, generally speaking, an easy or uneasy ship ?
—Easy."
That statement would, he thought, serve to show the
house that the Transit had been tried in every possible
way. He might add that there was now no complaint
made with respect to her engines, and he was sure the
house would not fail to see that the first accident which
had befallen her was not to be attriblated to any omission
on the part either of the Admiralty or of the authorities
at the dockyard, but rather to negligence on the part of
her commander, while the accident which had happened
to her in the Bay of Biscay was one to which any ship
might under similar circumstances be liable. He trusted
he had now satisfied the house upon the subject, and
would venture to express a hope that what had fallen
from the hon. member for Tynemouth would ind woe the
observance of snore caution and more forbearance, in lay-
ing such letters as they have read before the, public.
(Hear, hear.) He should not of course in the 'slightest
degree complain of any attacks which might be made
upon tho Board of Admiralty. It was but nattual that
they should txpect to be found fault with ; lout such
statements as had been put forward were crtud to the
relatives of those whose safety was connected with
the seaworthiness of a particular vessel, w'aile they
were not calculated to effect any good • whatever.
(Hear, hear) When a ship went upon a loifg voyage
a considerable time must elapse before any informa-
tion could arrive with respect to her crew, and much
unnecessary anxiety wan caused by commro,nications
which, while they raised alarm, rendered it irrspossible in
the absence of authentic inform rition thatthe a/a rm should
be removed.

Admiral smactyrr said tbat if the question under
their notice had nut been introduced by the hon. gentle-
man the memoer for Tynemouth be should, have felt it
to be his duty to submit it to the b?nie. The subject
had now, hoot ever, been fully entered into, and he should
make only a ob ervatior s w th respect .to it. In refe-
rence to the ciltumstance of the Transit baying grounded
her anchor at the Needles, he must say that he very
much doubted whether she ought to Playa anchored in
such very shoal water, while he admitted the force of the
statement which had been made by the right hon. bart.,
to the effect that a great fog had prevailed at the time.

It had been stated in the papers that the commander o
09 vessel had been fully acquitted ; but it appeared the
Board of Admiralty had f una him guilty of great ne-
glect, and he (Admiral Walcott), as a naval officer, must
confess that he had, in his opinion, been deserve,ily re-
primanded, inasmuch as he had not taken those precau-
tions is the p^slion of the ship which the circumstances
of the case demanded. The hon. gentleman the member
for Norfolk had alluded to the fact as somewhat singular
that the water bad risen to such a height in the ship
without bt log observed, and with respect to tbat point,
he (A.rinciral Walcott) could not help thinking that some
degree of neglect had takai place. It was not without
considerable pain that he felt it to be hie duty to utter a
word against the conduct of a brother officer, but he
thought the conduct of the commander in the present
instance was such as to sill for censure. The Transit,
however, subsequently got into heavy water in the Bay
of Bi.eay, and, as every naval officer must know was the
case when a ship with new rigging encountered a severe
gale in that sea, her rigging had stretched. Under such
circumstances there was a clear course for the command-
ing officer to adopt. The technical mode of proceeding in
such a state of things the gallant admiral pointed out by
holding out his hat before him and inanatuvring it in ex-
planation of his views. He could not exactly understand
Why the ship had put into Corunna at all ; be that
as it might, he now felt perfectly persuaded that she
was seaworthy, and instead of foundering at the Cape of
Good Hope, would be found to make a prosperous voy-
age to China. With respect to the mast of the vessel,
he would only say that it was quite evident she was not
overmasted or overtopped.
Ths subject was then dropped.
CHAIR OF MILITARY SURGERY AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.

Mr. BLSCK asked the Secretary of State for the
Home Department if it was the intention of the Go-
vernment to make an appointment to the chair of mi-
litary surgery in the University of Edinburgh, which
had been vacant for more than 12 months ?

Sir G. GREY said that the appointment lay in the
hands of his noble friend the Secretary for War, who
had selected an officer for the purpose. That gentleman
would, he believed, enter upon thedischarge of his duties
on the 15th inst.

The motion for the adjournment' of the house until
Monday was Cleo agreed to.
TRANSPORTATION.

Sir G. GREY moved for leave to bring in a bill to
amend the Acts of the 16th and 17th year of her Ma-
jesty, substituting, in certain cases, other punishments
in lieu of transportation. The bill proposed to carry
into effect several of the recommendations made by
the committee which had sat upon the. subject of se-
condary punishments last session, and if the house
would permit him to lay it upon the table that evening,
he should fix an early day for the second reading—Mon-
day next—if that day should meet with the approval of
bon. members; inasmuch as he was anxious to have some
decision upon the measure before the estimates,
which would occupy a considerable time, were brought
under discussion.

Leave was given to bring in the bill, which was read
a first time.
HUDSON'S BAY COKPANY.

Mr. LABOUCHERE moved for a select committee
to consider the state of those British possessions in North
Ametica which are under the administration of the
Hudson's Bay Company, or over which they possess a
license to trade.

After a few words from Mr. ADDERLEY and Mr,
WYLD the rnottan was agreed to.
PRINTING COMMITTEE.

On the motion of Mr. WILSON a select committee
was ordered to be appointed to assist Mr. Speaker in all
matters which relate to the printing executed by order of
this house, and for the purpose of selecting and arrang-
ing for printing returns and papers presented in pursu-
ance of motions made by members of this house.
REGISTRATION OF LEASES, &c. SCOTLAND.
Leave was given to Mr. DUNLOP to bring in a bill to
provide for the registration of long leases in Scotland, and
assignations thereof. The bill was read a first time.
INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL BILL.

Leave was given to Mr. ALWERLEY to bring in a bill
for establishing industrial schools in England and Wales.
The bill was read a first time.
KITCHEN AND REFRESHMENT ROOMS.

On the motion of Colonel FRENCH the following were
appo wed a standing committee to control the arrange.
ment of the kitchen and refreshment rooms in the de-
partment of the Sergeant-at-Arms attending this house :
—Colonel French. Colonel Boldero, Mr. Alderman
Cabitt, Mr. S Imour Fitz Gerald, Mr. Hume, Mr.
Robertson, and Mr. Brainley-Moore.
JUDGMENTS EXECUTION BILL.

Mr. CRA.UFURD moved for leave to bring in a
bill to render judgments or decreets obtained in certain
courts in England, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively,
effectual in any other part of the United Kingdom.
Mr. WHITESIDE congratulated the hon. and
learned member on his perseverance. Defeat made no
impression upon him. Four times the same bid had been
discussed and debated, and he was rather surprised, con-
sidering the fate of this bill in the early part of last ses-
sion, that the hon. and learned member should have
brought it in again. Would it not be better to refer this
bill to the department which was about to consider the
law bills, for which department he also had a budget ?
He assured the hon. and learned member that his bill was
worth nothing ; that it would encounter the same oppo-
sition as on former occasions ; and that it would meet the
same fate. The bill was not quite worthy of a place in
the programme which was rather sarcastically called law
reform in the Qoeen's Speech.
Col. FRENCH said that the hon. and learned mem-
ber's bill had been not four times, but five times brought
before the House, and it had been oppcv.d by every Irish
member, except the late member for Clare, who had lost
his seat. The Government ought not to support the in-
troduction of idle measures of this kind, when the time
available for the business of the session was so short.

Mr. BLAND cJuld assure the hon. and learned mem-
ber that every kind of opposition should be given to his

Leave wag given to bring in the bill, which was read a
first time.

On the motion of Mr. GROGAN certain returns relative
to the Mercantile Marine Fund were ordered.
MALT, &c. _ _

On the motion of Mr. BASS returns were ordered of the
number of bushels of malt brought to charge in each of
the four years ending the sth or Ist day of April, 1854,
1855, 1856, and 1857, as the years may end on one or
other of those days ; of the average price of barley for
each of the four years above-named ; of the amount in
" old duty" charged on English hops for each of the be-
fore-named four years ; and of the number of cwts. of
foreign hops imported in each of the same four years.
ELECTION PETITIONS.

Petitions were presented against the returns for the
boroughs of Athl me, Cambridge, and Huntingdon.
Tie house then adjourned.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE—May 8.

MANSION-HOUSE.—Mr. William Cockburn and
Mr. William John Lawson appeared before Mr. Alder-
man Hale, in discharge of their recognisances, for hav-
ing combined and conspired together to injure the repu-
tation and character of the Bank of London.

Mr. G. Hooper—l am a clerk in the City of London
Union. Mr. Lawson has also been employed there. I
am acquain:el with his handwriting. The letter now
shown me and the other documents (slips of articles
printed in the Toinv Stock Companies Journal) I believe
to be in his handwriting.
Mr. Hughes, I.dger-clerk to the City of London Union,
and Mr. Paul Graham and Mr. Argent, printers of the
journal, gave similar evidence to that of the last witness.
Mr. Bodkin said he had now closed the case for the
prosecution and asked for a committal.
The magistrate called upon each of the defendants to
enter into his own recognisances in 2001. to appear at
the Central Criminal Court, which they immediately did
and left.

GUILDHALL.—John Hind May, of Huegin-lane,
City, and Stanley-street, Pimlico, and Wm. Taylor, of
No. 1, Church-passage, Gresham-street, were again
brought up (the latter on bail), before Alderman Hum-
phery, on the charge of conspiring to defraud Mr. Gor-
man, of Lurgan, in Ireland, of a quantity of cambric
handkerchiefs to) the value of 5001., and Mr. Lawson, a
manufacturer of the same place, of similar goods to the
amount of SOU.

Mr. Morgan, of the firm of Humphreys, Son, and
Morgan, appeared, as before, for the prosecution.
Mr. Huddlestone, instructed by Messrs Sole, Turner
and Co., attended for Taylor ; and Mr. Wontner, de-
fended May.
Mr. Bodkin, instructed by Mr. Pontifex, attended to
watch the case for Mr. Meeking, of Holborn-hill.
It will be remembered that Taylor, who had been au-
thorised by Mr. Gorman to dispose of his surplus stock,
on commission, wrote to him, representing that " Myers
and Cu., late of Leapt-et-1111, had bought the goods,
to the net value of 6471. 14s. Bd., for cash 1001. on
delivery, and the rest in bills." These terms were accept
ed by Mr. Gorman, but after several other letters from
Taylor about the transaction, he received one from
Taylor to the following effect :—" Sir,—l had sent over
to me on Saturday afternoon a cheque from Myers and
Co., for 811. 103., and gold 181. 103. by May, the party
who sold the handkerchiefs for Myers and Co., and
thinking it strange that Mr. Myers did not come, I wrote
to his private house to say I was surprised he had not
called with the cash and bills himself. He has been
here, and I find that May is an out-and-out villain. He
has intercepted the goods, sold them in his own name,
and it is said received the cash, pocketed the money,
with a lot more, and has bolted. * * I had n
idea in the world that] Myers had not seen the goods.
He says he has never seen them, and did not know they
had been delivered. * * * I have ever found May
honourable," &c., &c. On the 9th of April Mr. Gorman
received another letter from Taylor, enclosing a cheque
from Myers fur 1001., and stating that May was very ill
in bed, and unable to leave London, and expressing his
own conviction that Myers was responsible for the
goods, as the instructions given by Myers for their de•
livery had been carried out to the letter. On the 10th
of April Mr. Gorman came to London and asked Tay-
lor why he had let May have the goods, and the prisoner
replied that May had obtained them when he was out.
Several other interviews took pace between Mr. Gor-
man, Taylor, and Mr. Turner, the solicitor, to consider
what means there were of obtaining redress, and the re-
sult was that May and Taylor were given into ell-40(1y.
Woodward, one of Mr. Charles Meeking's buyers, de-
posed that he purchased these goods of May on two ri.fre-
rent days, amounting to 3541. 14s. 6d. and 591. 3s. 6d.,
and that he paid for them in two cheques, one for 2501.
and another for the balance, payable to May.
There was a goed deal of additional evidence taken,
and several of the witnesses, connected with the estab-
lishments of May and of Myers, were cross-examined,

with a view to show that they were partners. There was
great confusion and contradiction in the statement of
the witnesses, but the result was that Myers ,-vas direct-
ed to stand in the dock together with the other two pri-
soners, being du;y given in charge by the prosecutor.
The prisoners were then remanded, bail being accepted
for each of the prisoners in two sureties of 2501. and
their own recognisances in 5001., with the exception of
May, whose bail was rejected, who was consequently
conveyed back to Newgate in the prison van.
Taylc.r and Myers having put in the required sureties,
were liberated at once.

BOW-STREET.—Henry Harris Davis, a medical
student, was charged with violently assaulting Jane
Quinnell.
Complainant stated that the defendant and one of his
companions had accompanied her and another girl to a
house in Eagle-court, at eleven o'clock on Thursday
evening. The defendant, after remaining there some
time with complainant, endeavoured to leave the place
without giving her any money. She stood at the door
to prevent his going out, upon which ho seized the can-
dlestick and struck her a blow on the head, causing a
great effusion of blood. She followed him into the court,
where he again struck her twice.
The defendant admitted the assault, but said it was
only in self defence. She took the poker from the fire-
place to strike him first. With respect to the half-sove-
reign, which complainant said he had promised her, no
such bargain was made. On the contrary, he told her
that he had got no money, and she said it did ❑ot matter.
Mr, Jardine said no doubt there had been excess of
violence on the part of the defendant, in trying to effect
his escape from the house. But, on the other hand, the
complainant had cl.arly no right to detain him there,
any more tha❑ a tradesman had to detain a customer
who refused to pay for what he had purchased. It was
simply a debt or breach of faith. The assault, however,
seemed to have been unnecem,arily severe, and therefore
defendant must pay a fine of 40s.
The fine was paid,

CLERKENWELL.—IIomas Scott, a brass finisher,
residing at 11, North-terrace, Gray's-inn-road, was placed
at the bar before Mr. Tyr whitt. charged with committirg
a murderous assault upon Matilda Hatton.
It appeared from the evidence that the prisoner and
the complainant had been living together, but last week
they parted, and on Sunday night, during the temporary
absence of the woman, the prisoner went and broke
several articles of furniture. On Thursday night she
was going into a public-house to attend a concert when
the prisoner followed, took hold of her dress, and struck
her several times on the head and body. When she got
outside he again struck her a violent blow on the face,
from the effects of which the whole side of her head was
very much swollen, and she had great difficulty in open-
ing her mouth or swallowing any food. She had co-
habited with him about a month, the home being her
own, but his temper was so bad and his conduct so
violent that she was compelled to get rid of him.
The prisoner, in defence, denied striking the corn-
plainant,
,but said he threatened to " warm" her for
leaving him.

Mr. Tyrwbitt said it was a very, unmanly assault, and
Pf'nteaced the prisoner to two months' hard labour in the
House of Correct!on.

Prisoner—When I come out I'll let her know ; I wi 1
smash her, the --

Mr. Tyrwhitt said the speech of the prisoner just
showed what a beastly fellow he WAF. In addition to
the two months, he should order him to find good bail
for three months more, and in default of doing so, he
would be imprisoned for that period.
The prisoner, who seemed rather surprised At the de-
cision, was then kcked up.

From the London Gazette of Last Night.

WAR-OFFICE, MAY 7.
The Queen has been graciously pleased to give orders for
the appointment of the undermentioned Officer of the
Marine of his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the French
to b 3 an Honorary !ember of the Military Division of the
First Class, or Knights Grand Cross, of the Most Honour-
able Order of the Bath, viz. :
M l'Amiral Hamelin (Ferdinand Alphonse), Senateur,
Ministre Secretaire d'Etat au Departement de ha Marine
et des Colonies.
LEGION OF HONOUR.

MEMORANDUM.— Colonel John Wm. Gordon, C. 8., of
the Royal Engineers, has received her Majesty's royal li-
cense and permission to accept and wear the Fourth Class
of the Order of the Legion of Honour, and not the Fifth
Class, as stated in the supplement to the London, Gazette,
of Friday, the Ist inst.

FOREIGN-OFFICE, MAY 7.
The Queen has been pleased to approve of Mr. M. W.
Filcher as Consul at Geelong for the Free Hanseatic city
of Hamburg.
BOARD OF TRADE, WHITEHALL, MAY 7.

, -
The Right Honourable the Lords of the Committee of
Privy Council for Trade and Plantations have received,
through the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, a copy
of a despatch from her Majesty's Atobassa.ior at Paris,
enclosing a decree, issued by the French Government,
opening the port of Rouen to the importation of spun
cotton