The Sun.
London, England, 1850-07-20 00:00:00

TILE SUN,

LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, JULY 20, 1850.

This was not very clear. It appeared that hitherto wo
had never claimed the right of sovereignty over any
part of be Geld Coast. Be found from the report of
a tour made by Lieutenant Winaiett, who had gone back
as Governor of the Gold Coast, to take possession of
these Danish settlements, that ho was not confining his
pereerinatory tour to the Dutch forts. He talked of
the natives declaring fealty to the British Government;
and went among tribes, the chief of cue of vsh3ch he
says. " talritig a sword by its point and elevating the
handle towards rue, holding the sword almost et arm's
length, vowed. Br:cm-Oleg to the fashion of the country,
fealty to her Majesty the groom" lie then says:—" I
have endeavoured to place before you a narrative of un-
adorned facts relative to the transfer of these settlements,
and connected with my tour; but it still remains for me to
make a few remarks on some parts of these dependencies
through which I have not had an opportunity of travelling.
The most distant and important of these is Akim, bor.
dering on Ashantee, from 80 to 100 miles into the in-
terior. A country of considerable extent and great fer-
tility of soil, occupied by one of the largest tribes of
these regions. I can give no definite account of the ex-
tent of the Akim country ; its position your Lordship
will find on the accompanying map, furnished me by
Governor Carstensen. Farther to the eastward, bor-
dering on the Volta and its tributary streams, are the
Aquambus and Crepees, and other small tribes,. all of
which, together with those before-mentioned, have pos-
sessed Danish flags, and recognised the authority of the
Danish Crown." That did not seem as if we meant to con-
fine our territory within range of the guns of the forts.
Allusion was made to a country a hundred miles in the
interior, bordering on the Ashantees, a formidable tribe,
with whom we had formerly been at war. What gua-
rantee was there that we should not some day hear of
another war with the Ashantees, if we took occupation
of the territory in question? He wished toknow whether
we were about to buy the forts only, or the territories
also; and what regulations we proposed to extend to the
populous tribes of these territories. Earl Grey spoke of
raising a revenue from the natives; but if that were
done, protection must be afforded them by this country.
The Right Hon. Gentleman the Under-Secretary for the
Colonies might say that there was a scheme attached to
the purchase of these forts by which a large revenue
would be raised. He never knew of any purchase of
territory which was not to bring in money some way or
other; yet, strange to say, the result was to take money
out.—(Hear, hear.) The present project was to raise a
revenue by establishing custom-houses on the coast of
Africa at these forts. But how was a revenue to be
raised if they had no territory, and what could prevent
the natives receiving goods entered at other points of
the coast? It was proposed to levy 3d. per lb. on to-
bacco, and also a duty on rum. Now, if we were only
to possess certain houses, and no territory, the landing
of rum and tobacco would be certaie to lead to a contra-
band trade. He advised the House not to trust to the
promised revenue until they were made aware
of a mode of raising it. 1,1501. was the esti-
mato of the increased charge of the five Danish
forts. It was a most fallacious estimate. The three
years which he had sat on the Committee of the
army, navy, and ordnance estimates, had convinced
him that nothing could be more fallacious than the
estimates of the expenses of our establishments in
the colonies. The civil establishment gave no idea of
the total expense. In the army estimates of each year
there was a vote of 6,0001. for a black corps on the coast
of Africa. The Right Hon. Under-Secretary might say
that the West India corps was to be withdrawn, but
still there would ba an absolute increase of 6,0004 a
year. He exhorted the Committee to pause before they
sanctioned any extension of our possessions in tropical
countries. There was a great difference between our
possessing a territory within the temperate zone, and one
within the tropics. In the former we might make our
race indigenous, and afterwards derive benefit from
them as a self-governing community; but in tropical
countries our race could not become indigenous—and
the native inhabitants must be governed by force. So
far from extending our tropical possessions, there were
many of them we ought never to have acquired at all.
The notion formerly was that exclusive trade and taxa-
tion would meet the expenses of their government.
Mr. Burke, in his specco on the American colonies,
noticed both these points; but stated that taxation of
the colonies must be abandoned, and that a re-
compense must ba found in exclusive trade and
the maintenance of the Navigation Act. At the present
day, however, we stood on a different footing, for we had
thrown open trade and given up the Navigation Act.
The Committee ought therefore to pause before adding,
even to the extent of a square yard, to our possessions
in tropical regions. No doubt he should hear of the
great benefits to humanity from the abolition of the slave
trade. He appealed to the House whether some consi-
deration was not due to those whites who were sent to
the coast of Africa, more especially to that part of it
known as the Gold Coast, or " white man's grave." In
his evidence before the Lords' Committee, Mr. Lander
stated the mortality among the whites to be 25 per cent.
annually; and another witness, speaking as to the health
of the white officers, said they were generally attacked
with fever, and that those who survived and became
seasoned were often attacked with fever and ague.
Was it consistent with humanity to persevere in a
system which involved a sacrifice of 25 per cent: of
the white men sent to the coast of Africa, more espe-
cially as all attempts to prevent the slave trade had
failed ? It was no excuse to say that the men volun-
teered to go out. He would regard himself as almost
guilty of homicide if he had been a party to the Niger
expedition. When it was first proposed he'denounced
it, at a public meeting in Manchester, as little short of
murder. Believing there was not the slightest ground
to justify them—either as economists, philanthopists,
or politicians—in extending their territory on the coast
of Africa, he opposed the proposal, and begged
.to move
that the vote be reduced to 10,000/.
The question having been put,
Mr. YORSTER said he had one advantage over the
Hon. Member for the West Riding on this occasion—he
knew something of the subject.—(Hear, hear.) The
Hon. Member, in his opinion, never departed from the
the discussion of the corn-law and such questions
without injuring his reputation. The Honourable
Member had stated this question to be one of
extending oar territory on the coast of Africa. It
was no such thing. Neither was it a question of build-
ing forts. As to the assertion, that it would increase the
mortality on the coast of Africa, he had only to remind
the Committee that one great object of the plan was to
lessen the mortality by substituting a black corps in
place of troops commanded by white officers. He be-
lieved that the present proposal had been entertained
partly in consequence of the outcry raised by the finan-
cial reformers—the Hon. Member for the West Riding
and his friends—against the expense of cur colonial es-
tablishments. Earl Grey, anxious to reduce colonial ex-
penses, had no doubt considered that the expenses of
our establishments on the Gold Coast might be met by a
revenue raised on the spot. Our settlements on that
coast lay between the Dutch settlements on the one side
and the Danish on the other; and it was impossible to
raise a revenue without coming to an arrangement with
them. For 40 years Denmark had maintained its forts
on that coast at an expense of 3,0001. a year, without
deriving the slightest benefit from them.—(Loud cries
of " Hear," and laughter.) He did not mean to say that
no trade had been carried on; but it had been carried
on, not by Denmark, but by England.—(Hear, hear.)
France had been anxious to obtain the Danish settle-
ments, but Denmark had wisely preferred transferring
them to England, as she had been more zealous than
others in attempting to put down the slave-trade. It
was not till the proposal of raising a revenue on the
Gold Coast was made that' England agreed to purchase
these settlements. Holland, on the other hand, bad
agreed to be a party to the arrangement of raising a re-
venue. In fact the measure was a measure of economy,
and he was prepared to defend it oa that ground. If it
did not turn out to be a measure of economy it would be
the fault of the Colonial-office. He held in his hand a
petition from the merchants of Liverpool, in which they
expressed their satisfaction at the purchase of the Danish
settlements on the Gold Coast. He had also a petition
from the Commercial Association of Manchester in which
a belief was expressed that the acquisition of these
possessions would increase trade and extend civilisation.
But to show that a due sense of the value of the acquisi-
tion ant entertained by the people of Manchester, he
might refer to a copy of the Manchester Guardian—a
paper which represented the feelings of the manufac-
turers—in which much surprise was expressed that the
lion. Meni her for the West' Hiding should oppose the
vote of 10,000/. for the purchase of those forts, and that
the two Hon. Members for Marchester should support
him, particularly as not long ago one of those Hon.
Members had brought forward a motion relative to the
growth of cotton in India, which, if carried out, would
have involved an expenditure of at least 100,000/. In
his forty years' experience of affairs cunuceted with the
coast of Africa, he must say that this was the first vote
he ever knew likely to be attended with beneficial re-
sults to the trade and civilisation of Africa. He could
show that, from first to last, 1,000,000/. had been
comparatively thrown away.—(llear, hear.) He had
tried to dissuade the Noble Lord, in 1841, from
countenancing the expedition to the Niger, for ho
knew how it would end. He rccollscted speaking
to the Noble Lord, in the library, on the subject,
but the Noble Lord received his suggcstions a little
coldly, and though he could not say he was snubbed, he
felt his advice was disregarded. Unfortunately his pre-
mAfarniacagehda,da,
nfodr
itthewalassttofoorbtaydy, caairts,rbr2 all the pre-
dictions had been realised. The whole afiairs of western
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moneyPle e)
that y mis
had bees thrown away, that this, the first useful vote
for Africa, ehould be objected to.
surprisedreason
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The Hon. Member said the Liverpool • merchants did not
trade to this coast; but let there be 10,0001. a year spent
there, along with other sums, and they might depend
upon it the Liverpool merchants would be found trading
there as well as the Hon. Member himselr.—(Laughter.)
When they themselves had got possession of the West
India islands, they assisted,the Africans in committing a
great crime. Thanks to a Clarkson and a Buxton, they had
put an end to that crime; but how did they put an end to
it? By paying themselves—that was, it was like taking
the money out of ono pocket and putting it into another.
If they had paid the African chiefs halt' us touch for
putting an end to the slave trade as they wastel on their
fleet on the coast, they would have put an end to the
slave trade long since.
Mr. HAWES said his reason for not rising earlier wns
that he desired the opinions of those trading with the
west coast should be first known, in order that the House
might bear the commercial value cf the proposition now
made to the House. It was conceived that one of the
best means of putting an end to the slave trade sees by
promoting legitimate trade on that coast. Wherever
British possessions had extended there the slave trade
had ceased. As they encroached on the slave coast they
diminished the amount of slavery.—(Cheers.) The
Danish forts extended over 200 mites, and along the most
fertile territory on the coast, but they did not profess to
assert a jurisdiction over the natives and territory. The
commercial world viewed, this proposition with favour,

for it was believai by them it would teed to kunst) that
British trote which served to diminish, or to the rx-
tiroation absolutely of the slave trail,.. mere ma-
terials they wcird aolit to purche were equal to the
money value that was about to h:, given for them.
Then the End we's Lvourable to the Im:im:-
tier, of ewtoa. Toe trade was inerea3irg thaT
ciia...h.—ctiear.) The return uf British eiuf:etur
exported to the west coast of Africa was in value as
fo!lows: —in 1841, 421,CC01.; in 1547, 513,0001.; in
1848, .571,0001. tie buieved that the revenue raised
would meet the whole of the annual expenditure. This
would not be done by high, but by duties so low as
sufficient to deter the practices of the smuggle-. One
of the chiefs of that coast declared that he found his

trade by slaves was diminished, as his subjects preferred
directing themselves to the peaceful pursuit of industry,
and acquiring profits of trade.—(Hear, hear.) He said
that "his people were getting rich and setting his au-
thority at defiance."—(Hear.) This showed the value
of extending their forts, which were not military for-
tresses, but stations fur carrying on trade, and affording
protection to British subjects and natives. In these
places it was net proposed to have a white force, but a
native force. As to the growth of cotton in their pos-
sessions, it was to be remarked they had hitherto dis-
c mraged it by the high protecting duties they had given
fur sugar. And he was sure the 10,0001. now proposed
would do far more for the growth of cotton than by
sending commissions to India. Oa these grounds he
trusted the Committee would sanction the vote.

Colonel THOMPSON was confident that he spoke
the sense of his constituents by giving his support to this
vote, as it appeared to him calculated to increase the
trade of this country. There was a rampant hostility
against this country in other parts of the world, and that
might be detected in America, amongst those who were
descended from the slave-drivers, who originally found
refuge in their country, and were far different from the
descendants of those great men who had gone over from
this country, because the country was not worthy of
them. Under these circumstances, if Great Britain did
not take advantage of the opportunity of playing off free
Africa and free countries, wherever they existed, against
that surging power that was destined perhaps to occupy
the whole of South and North Armories, she would
greatly injure her own interests. He objected to any
prejudice on account of colour. Englishmen would
not be anything the worse for a little of the infusion
of the blood of Ham.—(Great laughter.) He com-
plained that so little had been done in the way of
employing the natural-born inhabitants, in protecting
their settlement; and extending their commerce and
their power. lie thought the British merchants ought
to be competent judges of whether the expenditure
would or would not be attended with beneficial results;
and, in the present case, they had given their approval to
the proposition submitted by the Government.
Mr. M. GIBSON said there was one point of the an-
swer of the Hon. Gentleman the Under Secretary for the
Colonies which ho did not distinctly understand—
namely, the tariff of duties that was to be imposed; be-
cause it would appear that the large revenue that was to
be derived from the trade with Africa was to be obtained
by taxing the free negroes. Ile contended that they bad
no right to impose any tax upon these parties. He did
not think that the abolition of the slave-trade would ever
be accomplished by coercion; and he should therefore
give his vote in favour of the amendment of his Hoc.
Friend.

Mr. CARDWELL took a review of the slave ques-
tion, illustrating his argument by reference to the map
of Africa, and contended that it would not only be pre-
judicial to Liverpool, but also to Manchester, to refuse to
obtain possession of that pait of the Gold Coast, which
would complete their territory. Unless they cut off, and
completely put down the slave trade, they would cut off
their own power of export, for their export must neces-
sarily be curtailed and incomplete so long as the slave
trade was suffered to exist. He was sure the Right
Hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. Milner Gibson) would
agree with him, notwithstanding the facetious remarks
in which the Hon. Member indulged, that the sooner the
nefarious traffic in the slave trade was suppressed, the
better ; and if they wanted to put down slavery—if they
wanted to promote Christianity, and to serve the inte-
rests of humanity, he asked them with what consis-
tency they could object to the proposed vote of 10,0001.,
which was to be devoted towards the carrying out of
those objects.
Mr. VERNON SMITH said, whatever opinion he
might arrive at with respect to this tote, he wished to
offer his humble mced of approbation to her Majesty's
Government for the candid spirit in which they ap-
proached this question. He shoald be the last to treat,
and to treat lightly, so momentous a question as the ex-
tension of Christianity; but it appeared to him that this
was less a matter of proceeding by moral influence than
it was one of extending our colonial empire by force of
arms in every part of the world, and of increasing our
military expenditure for that purpose. The papers on
this subject contained all the arguments which had ever
been urged in favour of the expediency of our colonial
ascendancy, and it struck him, notwithstanding anything
that bad been said to the contrary, that this was really
the object, let them disguise it as they might, which they
contemplated. He must say that in his opinion it was
most inexpedient of this country to avail itself of every
oc..porturity which Oared for extending the British ter-
ritory; and it wal for those reasons that he should vote
with the Hon. Member for the West Riding, in opposi-
tion to the proposed vote.

Sir E. BUXTON said that when the question of our
expenses on the Gold Coast of Africa were being
spoken of, it should be recollected that we already had a
colony there. It appeared from a correspondence which
had passed between the Foreign Office and Captain
Winniett, that the effect of this purchase, so far from
adding to our expenditure, would enable us to dispense
with a considerable portion of it. He confessed he was
greatly astonished at the statement of the Right Hon.
Gentleman the Member for Manchester, when he said
he was entirely opposed to the system of taxing the in-
habitants which was still in force on that coast. He had
no hesitation in giving his suppost to the vote.
Mr. ANSTEY called upon all those who were opposed
to the greatest blunder ever committed by any Adminis-
tration—the maintenance of a fleet on the African coast
to put down the slave trade by force—to oppose all votes
like the present, which, by maintaining establishments
on the coast, directly promoted the continuance there of
the equadron to protect them.
Mr. BRIGHT was anxious to make two or three
observations, because, after many other excuses had
failed, the interests which he was supposed to re-
present were dragged in as a justification for
the purchase of these forts. He agreed with the
Right Honourable Member for :Northampton that
this was neither more nor less than the old excuse for
planting colonies in every part of the world on the
ground of advancing trade, civilization, and Christianity.
He did not attach much weight to the authorities which
bad been referred to, of Liverpool and Manchester mer-
chants, for he knew that there were a few merchants
everywhere who were not more enlightened than other
people. He certainly protested against the Chamber of
Commerce at Manchester being quoted in support of
such views. The proposition, as connected with cotton,
led him to the consideration of what was done in India.
TILT had conquered India, but what had they done in
the way of cultivating cotton? But cotton had always
been brought forward when some political job of this
kind was in contemplation, and it was sufficient to refer
to the conduct of the Government with respect to the re-
cent motion made by him (Mr. Bright) for an inquiry,
to test their sincerity in the matter. He repudiated the
scheme on his own behalf and that of those whom he re-
presented, and believed that if it should be carried out
they would not get 100 bales of cotton from Africa in the
meet fifty years. On these grounds he would support
the amendment of his Hon. Friend the Member for the
West Riding of Yorkshire.
Sir DE LCY EVANS opposed the amendment. He
considered the vote intimately connected with the sup-
pression of the slave trade.
Mr. lIUTT agreed in the views expressed on the
question by the lion. Member for the West Riding. Ile
looked upon the proposal as another of those costly and
unfortunate experiments by which the people of the
country had been so long deluded into imagining that
they were magnanimously suppressing the slave trade.—
(Hear, hear.) What was the result at which they had
arrived after thirty years' experience? They arrived
at the conclusion to which the Duke of Wellington and
Mr. Canning came in 1822, that it would be well for the
cause of humanity if none of those experiments were
undertaken.—(Hear.) The Under-Secretary fur the
Colonies had said, that although they had failed with
regard to other cases, in this they were to be successful.
He did not doubt that the Hon. Gentleman believed what he
expressed, hut he would whisper in his ear that persons
us honest as himself, not less sagacious, and as much
experienced on the subject as he could be, had predicted
success for every one of those experiments, as they had
arisen, by which this system had been peotrected to the
present year. They had failed, and he could not see
how they could prove that this plan should succeed.—
(Hear, hear.) Tho slave trade was now as extensive,
and carried on with circumstances of as great horror as
at any former period. It was. but six weeks ago he had
been informed by the President cf the Brazilian Associa-
tion at Liverpool, that the slave trade was carried on as
actively as ever, and that slaves were now sold in the
markets of Brazil at a lower price than ever. What,
thee, was the value of their contract?—(Huar, hear.)
Unless they were prepared hermetically to seal the
entire coast-line, no good could be done by occupying a
few isolated points. He saw in this measure the com-
mencement of a system of national aggrandisement and
lavish expenditure which might lead to very deplorable
consequences. Ho could not sit down without en_
tering his strongest protest against the course which the
Government had resolved to pursue.
Viscount PALMERSTON said the question had risen
to an altitude disproportionate to its merits. One party
said it would establish the dominion of England in Africa,
in the same manner as in India; another that it would
promote the slave trade; another that it would do some-
thing else. The only one who took a practical view of
the question, however, was his Hon. Friend the Member
for Gateshead, who advocated an agreement between
England and Brasil for the purpose of a limited and
modified slave trade.

Mr. BUTT said the Noble Lord had misrepresented
him.

Viscount PAL MERSTON said that at all events his
Hon. Friend imagined that this country should cease to
m
make further efforts to suppress the slava trade; hut if
he was not deceived, he had not only argued in public,
ably, as was his custom, lint in private also, that this
country should have a regulated slave trade. If his lion.
Friend did not entertain that opinion, it was his
(Viscount Palmerston's) mistake, and he begged his
pardon.
Mr. BUTT said he had advocated no such doctrine.
Viscount PALMERSTON was bound to yield to his
Hon. Friend in that case. But his lion. Friend had
asked, where, after the long and costly endeavours made
by England to suppress the slave trade, was the success
or those cffirts? He (Viscount Palmerston) would
answer him. 1ta1845 the utmost that it was considered
could be accomplished by :the combined, powers was to

pat an end to the slave trade south of the line. At pre-
• soot the slave trade was ,uppresaed all the way between
Whyelah tint! Lagos. with the exceptitm of a :.mall par-
tien of the coast. it vets not, therefore, correct for his
Hon. Frielid to infer that the efforts to put down that
trade had he uncueeosOul. His I.l‘in. Friend liAci stated
that the slave trade in Urszil was at this tizi, more es-
tensiv3 than i: had over been; but his lion. Friend wits
also rni:t :lien in that fix'. By the accounts before him
(Viscount Palmerston) it appeared that the importation
of slaves in 1847, though still considerable, he was
sorry to say, fell very much short of the importa-
tion of IS4B into that country. His Honourable
Friend was aho mistaken if he supposed that
the price of slaves had fallen in the Brazilian
market; on the contrary, the accounts in his
(Viscount. Palinerston'a) possession showed that it had
risen. With respect to the question under discussion,
one would suppose, who did not know the fact, that the
object of the vote was to acquire a vast extent of terri-
tory in Africa, at an enormous expense to the people of
England, whereas it was the very opposite. The only
question really at issue was, whether this country should
accept an offer made by the Danish Government, of two
or three trading posts, defended by a few black sol-
diers, for the purpose of securing the inlets of commerce
to the interior of Africa from the jealousy of active
commercial neighbours. If these forts were not secured
for England, they would pass into the hands of some
other power ; and all those persons who knew the
African trade knew very well the difficulty already ex-
perienced by too close a neighbourhood to a jealous
commercial rival. The way the thing happened was
this : the Danish Government had communicated to him
(Lord Palmerston), that, seeing the anxiety of England
to suppress the slave trade, and knowing the extent of
our commerce with Africa, they were desirous of hand-
ing over these forts, of which they had no longer any
use, as their traffic with Africa was insufficient to
justify their further maintenance, on condition that the
price of the materials was paid for—a sum of
10,000/. A more handsome offer had never been
made on the part of one country to another; and
a more unwise refusal could not be imagined if
the House refused that offer. It was difficult, if
not impossible to please everybody. One day the House
was told that it was important to obtain a supply of cot-
ton, and it was engaged to send a Commission to India,
which would not be able to report for a long period,
and which would possibly end in no useful result. And
yet when the Government was now offered two or three
forts on a coast where cotton existed in the interior in
the greatest abundance, the House was asked to refuse
that offer, and forego, perhaps, of all others, the most
likely mode of obtaining an unlimited supply of that in-
dispensible article. The Hon. Member for Manchester
seemed to treat the supply of cotton from that quarter as
not available; but Mr. Beacroft had already gone out to
Dahomey to arrange, in the first place, such an agree-
ment as it was urged would put down the slave trade—
namely, by offering the chiefs pecuniary allowance for a
certain period on condition of ceasing from that trade;
and in the second, to collect specimens of cottin in the
colonies, and arrange for their transmission to this coun-
try. Whether, therefore, it was to afford an additional
opening fur the commerce of this country in the centre
of Africa, or for the higher purpose of extending Chris-
tianity and civilisation in that land, he contended that
the acquisition of these trading stations, which filled up
the gap between the posts already possessed by this
country, would materially further those objects.
Mr. HUTT rose to explain. The Noble Lord had
said that at some time and place be (Mr. Hutt) had ad-
vocated a modified system of slavery. He (Mr. Hutt)
distinctly denied it, and he trusted that when the Noble
Lord made charges of that nature again ho would be
prepared with time, place, and circumstances. No one
lookel on the slave trade with greater horror than he
di,l, and it was because he looked upon it as one of the
greatest possible crimes that he took the course he did
on this occasion. The Noble Lord thought he had put
down the slave trade; but the Noble Lord would excuse
him when he said that he believed him to be the most
practical promoter of it in existence. The Noble Lord
said that he (Mr. Hutt) was mistaken in saying that
slaves had fallen in price, in Brazil ; but he (Mr.
Hutt) had not made that assertion without reason. One
of the great merchants had assured him of the fact; and
that at no period had slaves ever been offered at a price
so low as now in the markets of Brazil. And yet this,
as he (elr. Hutt) had stated, was the result of 30 years'
efforts.

Viscount PALMERSTON was under the impression
that in an interview which ha had with his Hun. Friend
at the Foreign-office, his Hon. Friend had said that there
was a natural tendency of labour flowing from Africa
to America, and that ho wished him to weigh in his
mind whether a limited amount of the slave trade could
not be carried on between Africa and Brazil, subject
to arrangements lass injurious to the slaves on the
passage.
Mr. MUTT denied that he had ever states what the
Noble Lord had given utterance to respecting him. He
had had an interview with the Noble Lord at the
Foreign-office, in which ho pointed oat that as it was
almost impossible under existing circumstances to pre-
vent the influx of slaves into Brazil, it might be desirable
to act in concert with that country so as t 3 secure a
sufficient supply of free labour in the same manner as it
took place in the British colonies, which would in his
opinion effectually put down the slave trade.
Mr. HUME did not consider the offer of the Danish
Government so liberal, for they offered these forts to a
private merchant if he would only hoist the Danish
flag, an offer which was refused. He thought it mad-
ness to suppose that they could cultivate cotton in a
territory which was limited to the range of a cannon
shot. In one case they would get a fort of 40 guns, a
martello tower, and a burial. Two or three others ware
in complete ruins, which would require repairs, and
which would involve an enormous expense. Three hun-
dred natives were to be raised for the defence of these
forts, which would cost 6,000/. a year, but they were
told this was for the promotion of civilization. Ho should
oppose the motion.
Mr. MUNTZ said that they had been discussing all
the night a question respecting a miserable 10,000/.—
(Hear, hear.) Why, he had laid out 10,0001, over and
over again without anything like the consideration that
the House of Commons bestowed on this wretched sum
of 10,000/.—(Laughter.) If England had not slipped in
and purchased these forts some other nation would have
done so. This country had only
met the wishes of a
very large portion of the people at a very small cost.
He did not think any reasonable objection could be urged
against such a course.—(Hear, hoar.)
Sir W. MOLESWORTH said that this was not a
an expenditure of 10,0001., but a
the extension of a bed system.—
(Hear,est i
on h
e respectingacrs.) e c prnhge settlements of Sierra Leone, Cape
questionq respecting
Coast, and Gambia had cost this country 53,000/. in
1846, whilst in that year the exports of Great Britain
to these places amounted to only 176,000 l,: so that, for
every 1761. worth of goods sent out by certain merchants
the people,of this country paid 551.—that was to say, for
every 171. worth of goods sent from Liverpool and Man-
chester
that, on free-trade prinei-
England paid 51. 10s.—(hear,
They had no right to tax the peo-
phchieeelirs.—t)er(HNtheoaewr:phheeeoaprol.b)
ple of this country in order to put money into the hands
of certain merchants.—(Hear, hear.) Let it be proved
that the people of England paid nothing, and he would
not object to the vote.
After a few words from Mr. FORSTER,
The Committee divided, when there appeared—
For the amendment 42
Against is 138
—96

•• . Majori iy • •••
The vote was then agreed to.
The following votes were then agreed to:-10,8751.
or St.. Helena; 7,3791. for Western Australia; 1,23411.
for Port Blessington; 1,4861. for Heligoland; 5,000/. for
the Falkland lilands; 13,296/. was voted to defray the
charge of the Colonial Land and Emigration Board.
The House resumed, and the Chairman reported the
resolutions to the 'louse.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM TILE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.

TlMES.—There is a deep fund of loyalty in the
Whigs. It is true that they decapitated one King, and
drove out another; they confiscated the estetee of the
Crown, end :it proper intervabe have sufficiently vindi-
cated the interest,: and majesty of the people. But, once
charge them with the dignity of the Crown, aiel they
prove themselves its best possib!o guardians. " Ofilee
shows the man," arid olliee always makes a courtier cut
of a Whig. We can only say that the present Doke of
Ceinbridge is a monstrous lucky fellow. His lot is fsllen
under a Ministry which shows a vilest amiable
anxiety to make things pleasant. Besides various
trifles under the late Duke's will, amounting
eventually to near 3,0001. a-year, besides va-
rious military appointments, we should think to
as great, if not a greater amount, the young Duke is to
have an allowance of 12,000/. a-year, charged on the
consolidated fund. How much more he is to have in
other forms, what wardenships, rangerships, and
governorships, when he is to be made a
Field-marshall, and, perhaps, Commander-in-Chief,
is not announced as yet, and probably de-
pends on the time when these things may happen to fall
vacant. Lord John, too, expressly desires to say noth-
ing at present as to a possible addition of 6,0001. a-year
in the event of the young Duke forming a matrimonial
alliance. Much less has he permitted his thoughts to
wander to that remote period when the House of Cam-
bridge will have given fresh pledges to fortune and the
country. Patting these contingencies out of the ques-
tion, the now Duke of Cambridge, besides his profes-
sional income, is to havel2.ooo/. a-year. John Bull must
not grumble. Lie saves 3,000/. a-year by the change.
The late Duke had 27,0001. a-year. Under the new ar-
rangement the Duchess has 6,0001. a-year, the two
daughters 3,000/. each, and the son 12,0001., which
makes up 24,0001. veyear, leaving the British public, as
aforesaid, better by 3,0001. a-year. Did all the circum-
stances of the case permit us, nothing would give us
more pleasure than to indulge a romantic loyalty, and
vote away the money of the nation to descendants
of George lIL, even to the third and fourth gene-
ra!ion. But, unfortunately, we cannot so easily forget
what is passing about us. Here we aro screwing,
pinching, cheeseparing, starving, cutting down, abolish-
ing, appropriating, and all but cheating, in every direc-
tion. Not a day without some niggardly act, which no-
thing hut necessity can reconcile to the conscience and
taste of a gentleman. A Committee has been sitting on
official salaries, which is about to recommend a heap of
reductions to the amount of some 20,0001. or 30,000/.
a year. If a judge now receives 7,0001. a year, his
successor is to receive 6,0001., and so in proportion; be-
sides that various incomes are to be wholly extinguished.
Some scores, aye, hundreds of persons, will, in due
time, succeed to offices with perhaps augmented duties,
equal position, but diminished income. Already the
chill blast of? retrenchment has passed over every de-
partment of the public service, blighting present salary
and future promotion. Only last night, immediately
after the above vote, the House heard the case of
more than a hundred clerks in the Money-order
Department of the Post-office, who, out of 701.
a year, have to pay a substitute for every
day of absence over and above the regula-
tion three days' holiday in the year. In fact, the public
service is becoming about the worst a man can take, and
is even losing its old character for certainty. Now, when
the first lawyers in the land aro to devote their days and
nights to the public on short allowance, and many thou-
sand smell officials are to maintain wives and families,
and have good coats on their backs, on pay varying from
70/. to 300/. a year, with here and there a prize of 800/.
attainable by one man in a thousand, under these mise-
rable circumstances, we think with our old friend, the
Member for Montrose, that 8,000/. a year for the Duke
of Cambridge would, to say the least, have been much
more suitable to the spirit and necessities of our times.
Ungracious as it may seem, yet the truth must be told.
The late Duke, with his 27,000/. a year.
for so many years, and his numerous other
sources of income, not to speak of his long Vice-
royalty in Hanover, ought to have made ample pro-
vision for all his children; nor can we admit any extent
of lavish generosity in private alms or public subscrip-
tions as an excuse fur the prior obligations of justice to
his children and his country. But, it will be said, are
the children,to suffer for the improvidence of the father?
It is so in every other class of life. Nay, her Majesty
herself has cheerfully undergone no trifling amount of
inconvenience and self denial, which was all the heri-
tage she ever had from her father. The young Duke
of Cambridge should have been Made as are that the
country will not always go on replacing the children in
the exact position of their fathers. Under the arrange-
ment so hastily sanctioned last night, it is very probable
that eventually the Duke of Cambridge will be
more burdensome in the second generation than
in the first, whereas the very most that
can be expected is that the original grant
should be kept up for two or three lives. For some
other very telling considerations we must refer to the
debate. If the second Duke of Cambridge is to have
12,000/., besides many other sources of income, what are
the Queen's children to have as they grow up? It
might have been expected that the Whigs would have
had warning enough from the scandal created by Queen
Adelaide's 100,0001. a-year, and from the untimely fate
of the 50,0001. a-year they proposed for Prince Albert.
There was a time when statesmen might bribe Royalty
with no less of credit to either party, but it is
not so now. The age professes purity, honesty,
independence, and economy. Never before were
such enormous sacrifices demanded and exacted
in the name of public good. Whole classes have
been ruined for the sake of principle. Rank, property,
life itself, have been held of no account when an
act of national justice or national repentance was to be
performed. We are reducing our prelates to apostolic
dimensions. Once or twice a year the nation sees the
catastrophe of a noble house with great equanimity.
Never, in fact, did public good assume so stern an air.
In the midst of this just severity a Whig Government
procures for the grandson of a King a larger settlement
than was thought sufficient in the lust century for the
sons of a King, though the former is wholly out of the
reach of the succession. If the precedent of the Duke
of Gloucester was to be followed, it would be well to
carry it out by a more gradual ascent to the maximum,
That, however, would not have laid the young Duke
under a permanent obligation to her Majesty's present
advisers. Happily we can afford to inflict a momentary
uneasiness, and therefore we venture to tell his Grace
that we would much rather have seen him win his way
to his father's position, than lifted into it by an obliging
Minister.

DAILY NEWS.—Twenty years ago, the rival par-
ties in office and opposition were led by two men the
most dissimilar in character and sentiment, but who
might equally claim the merit of having raised
themselves by their own ability and perseverance to the
distinguished positions which they held. Sir Robert
Peel was Ministerial leader of the House of Commons;
and Henry Brougham was chief of the Liberal opposi-
tion. Both have since passed away from popular sight,
though hardly as yet from popular remembrance. Both
have ceased to sway the thoughts and acts of men. The
one by a premature fate has absolutely been removed
from the turmoil of a troubled world; while the other,
by a still more heavy dispensation, has been allowed to
survive in the flesh his own moral and political extinc-
tion. It hardly violates, therefore, the maxim of the
classic sage, that the true estimate of men cannot be
formed until their career in life has closed, if we
venture to compare the characters of these distic-
guished individuals, and to contrast their relative ser-
vices to their country. Circumstances gave each an early
opportunity of displaying the peculiar gifts wherewith
name had endowed him. Before entering the arena of
public life the one had gained as high a reputation for
classical scholarship as the other had for scientific at-
tainments. Both seemed at starting to possess in an
eminent degree the faculty of eloquence; end it were
difficult to say which of the two was the more indefati-
gably industrious. Between their entry into Parliament
there was no great interval of time. The Oxonian
started as a supporter of the Tory occupants of power;
the Edinburgh Reviewer avowed himself a candidate for
the post of future spokesman of the powerless, and, at
that tinv, almost hopeless, Whigs. Bigotry was imputed
to Peel, as a reproach; sedition was the muttered taunt
perpetually on the lips of Brougham's enemies. Neither,
probably, was jug.. The youthful Secretary for Ireland I
found himself flung into a lion's den, and the accusation
against him is, that he made friends of the Orange
beats of prey, and eventually tamed them. In like man-
ner, when a meeting at the Crown and Anchor or a
crowd at a contested election was to be amused, excited,
and sent quietly home, without doing themselves or any-
body else any mischief, Brougham was the readiest and
ve:bally the most reckless man. Where steam was to
be got up, and at the scene time let off, noisily but
harmlessly, there was scarcely to be found a match for
him. He was at once boiler and safety-valve; and this
double function was well understood and appreciated by
the calmer and more earnest men of the party whose co-
lours he wore. It is a curious and not uninstructive
point of resemblance, however, that while the two
champions were for years the most applauded and ca-
ressed men in their respective camps, neither was ever
able to win that personal loyalty which many persons
confessedly their inferior in every intellectual respect
are known to have inspired. From some cause or other
personal confidence appears to have been always wan
ing. Peel seldom conversed, and still more rarely
wrote, even to his most intimate friends, the platitudes
about Church ascendancy or the maintenance of landlord
monopoly, which twice a year his position required him
to put forth in his place in Parliament. The zealots dared
not repudiate,
and yet they could not cordially trust
him. They tried to persuade ono another that it was uli
consummate shrewdness on their illustrious leader's
part; but they were incessantly anxious, perplexed, and
unhappy at his marvellous mysteriousness. Who has
forgotten the early impatience of the celebrated muti-
neer, who was ultimately destined to overthrow the die-
tater ~hip of Conservatism? Or who does not remember
the fitful cries of warning that at intervals arose during
his long reign, that "the cause was in danger?" Sot,
too, with the vehement clamourer of the vindication of
i an injured Queen—the rrestrainable advocate of educa-
tion reform—and the. exultant boaster, when can-
didate for the West Riding, that he sought the suf-
frages of the people on the ground that he possessed
neither property, station, nor influence." Had his
laugh at his colleagues for their really thinking their
royal client innocent never been over-heard—had his
future desertion of the cause of four universities
never been foretold—had his latent longing after
title and rank not been self-betrayed to all who had op-
pdrtunities of judging—Henry Brougham would still
have failed to win the affection or confidence of the
better men of his party. The fundamental cause of this
result in both instances was doubtless the same. Both
were egotists—egotists not in the vulgar sense of. the
term, but in the deeper and subtler meaning of the
phrase—men thoroughly self-engrossed and unsympa-
tthh jos::
gtl gill 5 rnaoptt upwi
without
utth
sinceree r own
opinionsv es,
for projects,
and
time

1 being, but essentially without fixed or rooted faith in
any opinion. And mankind are wisely furnished with
an instinct that firbids them to put much faith in those
who nave little in thems,lv;.,s. Peel in his latter days
I seems to have keenly felt and silently to have
1 mom ned over his p,:!itiea I isolation. -But, even to
I the last, he knew not how to confide fradtly or
atnetionately ; the habit had boon never formed
iii early life, and when the solace of chivalrous
and intimate sympathy would have been pr!celesa to him,
it came hot, for it could not come. As for the contera-
povary with whom we have baen comparivg him, it may
ba enough to say that the difference between them in
this e3sential respect was, that while Peel listened to
every friend's thoughts without disclosing his own,
Brougham was ever sesdy to tell every one all that came
into his mind without caring to hear what any one felt,
or thought, or desired. The physical propensity was
the most opposite; but the moral want and tendency was
the same. Their dreams and their aspirations who shall
venture to surmise? The eagerness of the one to snatch
a coronet, and the interdict imposed by the other on his
family receiving the distinction of ennoblement, are
rather indications of diversity of temperament than
proofs of diversity of feeling. It is too soon to pry too
curiously into these things.

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL.
On Thursday a Court was held for the dispatch of
public business.
The principal subject for consideration was that of the
removal of Smithfield market, the adjourned discussion
upon which was fixed at the last Court.

FILE INQUESTS IN THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF SOUTH-

WARE.

The TOWN CLERK read the following communication
from the Coroner of the city of London:—
"My Lord and Gentlemen,—l trust you will permit
me fur a few moments to occupy your attention on a
subject of considerable importance to the city and its
liberties. The decision which you came to on the sth
instant regarding the communication I had the honour
to make to the Court on the subject of fire inquests in
London and Southwark, I presume I must consider as
an intimation of your opinion that those inquests ought
no longer to be held, As a justification of my having
continued to hold them to the present time, I may be
permitted to say, that when I revived those inquiries in
the year 1845 the proceeding we. honoured with ap-
proval by the Lord Chief Justices and other judges, by
the daily journals, the fire insurance companies, and the
public in general; and the Government Board of Health,
in their report of the 28th of May, 1850, have expressed
their opinions of these inquiries in the following terms:—
" The frequency of fires led Mr. Payne, the coroner of
the city of London, to revive the exercise of the coroner's
function of inquiring into the causes of fires most:usefully.
Out of fifty-eight inquests held by him since 1845, it ap-
pears that eight were proved to be wilful, twenty-seven
apparently incidental, and twenty•three from causes un-
known, including suspicious causes. The example of
Mr. Payne has been followed in several counties, and a
marked decrease in the number of fires has been ob-
served, whilst sufficient reason has been elicited for the
belief that a more regular and systematic prosecution of
such inquiries would be of great public advantage.'
" The Corporation readily paid the expense of those
inquests for three consecutive years, and although in the
last year the result has been much more useful than in
any preceding year, yon have declined to take any cog-
nizance of them.

"It is impossible for me to conjecture the cause of
this sudden change, unless it be intended as a means of
admonishing me that I am to hold them no more.
" I deem it right to state that the fees and expenses
paid by me on holding those inquests during the last
and the present year amount to 1301., of which I presume
I shall be the loser by my effort to render a public ser-
vice; and whilst in those parts of the metropolis in
which no inquiries aro instituted some hundreds of fires
occur in the coarse of a year, I have the satisfaction to
state that since the month of February last, in the ex-
tensive district of the city of London and borough of
Southwark (in which inquiries have been hitherto held),
there has been only one case of house-burning, and that
was aecid,,ntal. If it be not a matter of public impor-
tance whether incendiary tires occur in the city or not,
I am content; but if it he, I must not, under the circum-
stances, ha held revomible for the cessation of those
public investigations which by many are considered one
of the meet effectual means of checking and preventing
their occurrence.
"I have the honour to remain,
" My Lord and Gentlemen,
" Your faithful servant,
" Temple, July 18. W. PAYNS, Coroner."
Mr. 11. L. TAYLOR thought the question had already
been decided by the formal refusal of the Court to en-
tertain it, and suggested that the letter should be laid
upon the table. _ _ _

Mr. RICHARD TAYLOR said it would be a great public
calamity if inquiries of the kind were checked.—(Hear,
hear.) He considered that the causes of fires were ne-
cessary to be investigated as well as the causes of sud-
den deaths, at the same time that he admitted the pro-
priety of limiting the expenditure. Impressed with the
belief that the conduct of the coroner in holding the
fire inquests was highly commendable, he moved that
the letter be referred to the Coal, Corn, and Finance
Committee.

The great majority of the Court were of Mr. R. Tay-
lor's opinion, and the report was accordingly referred to
the committee.
REMOVAL OF SMITHFIELD MARKET.
The TOWN CLERK then announced to the Court that
the order to proceed in the adjourned debate upon the
reports of the Markets Improvement Committee must
next succeed.

The following is a copy of both the motion and the
amendment. Motion:—

"That this Court do agree with the committee in their
reports, and that it be referred back to the committee
with instructions to send an answer in conformity with
their report to Mr. Cornewall Lewis., and with power to
communicate or confer with the Government, if neces-
sary, and to report to this Court."
Upon which the following amendment was moved—
namely:—

That the consideration of the reports be adjourned,
and that the committee be directed to ascertain the na-
ture end extent of the powers her Majesty's Govern-
ment would be disposed to confer on this corporation for
the control and management of a new market beyond
the limits of the metropolis."
The Towas CLERK having read both the motion and
the amendment,

Mr. Deputy OBBARTJ considered that as a matter of
commerce the removal of Smithfield market would be
most unwise. He ea as quite certain that if the market
was removed frora the locality of Smithfield the inhabi-
tant tradesmen of Newgate-street and other localities
contiguous would feel it in a very great degree. He
thought thae, all things considered, it was for the benefit
of the entire metropolis that the heart of commerce
should lee confined to the city of London.
Alderman SIDNEY said, that he had taken great inte-
rest in the question then before the Court, and he would
at once state that it was his intention to oppose the
amendment of Mr. Norris, as he trusted that the Court
had too high a sense of its own dignity to condescend
to " ascertain the nature and extent of the powers
her Majesty's Government would be disposed to confer
on the corporation, &c." The market of Smithfield had
for 523 years been vested in the citizens of London,
and it did appear to him that the remarks which had
been made respecting the anxiety of certain authorities to
crowd live cattle into the City was a great mistake. The
fact was, that it was the trade of the City which they, as
guardians of the citizens were most anxious to preserve.
Improvement of the present market, certainly, ho ad-
mitted to be desirable, but for that the corporation had
provided. They were willing to stand in the gap, and
with regard to the removal they ought to say to the
Government, " You may remove the market, but in
doing so respect our rights as citizens."—(Hear.) They
had as much right as the greatest nobleman to ask for
the maintenance of such a privilege. For all losses
they were entitled to compensation, and it was only fair
for the country at largo to be asked, whether they were
willing to pay for the removal of Smithfield upwards of
a million of money out of the Consolidated Fund?—
(Hear, hear.) No joint-stock company, formed for the
purpose of providing a new market, would pay such an
amount; then, why should the citizens—the meat con-
sumers—be so taxed? No argument in justification of
the removal bad yet appeared, and therefore he be-
sought the Corporation to pause before they gave their
san.tion to the amendment.—(Cheers.)
Mr. BENNCCII said that the arguments which bad been
used by the worthy Alderman who had just sat down
were of the worn out and tattered character they had
been for some time in the habit of hearing. It had been
said that no complaint had been made as to Smithfield
being a nuisance.
.That was not so, as their present
Markets Improvement Committee had been formed in
consequence of petitions which had been read in that
Court, from parties who prayed that the market might
be enlarged. He wished, however, without further com-
ment to cut away all the extraneous matter which had
been introduced into the debate, so that he might inquire
into the real state of the matter. The simple question
put to them by the Government was this—" Are you
prepared to undertake the management of Smithfield-
market in a spot removed from within the City bound-
ary?"—(No.) The question before them was not so much
the enlargement of the market, as the management of
it.—(hear.) In the case of London-bridge, and the erec-
tion of docks some years since, the corporation had
acted most unwisely, and the City now felt the cense-
coences, as the proceeds in the shape of dues might now
have formed part of the revenues of the City. He be-
hoved that the crisis for Smithfield-market had then
come, and that the wisest course they could take would
he to agree with the Government and take the manage-
ment of the proposed market. As it regarded the pro-
posed plan of the corporatioa he admitted it to be ex-
ceedingly good, but the locality beat them. They were
"Cabin'd, cribb'd, confined;"
and it was impossible for them to do any good under
such straitened circumstances, however they might de-
sire to do so. He admitted that the present market was
moat admirably managed, but the situation was objec-
tionable, and he believed that any attempt to improve it
would be found to be perfectly abortive. Public opinion
he felt was against any such an attempt, and Mr. H.
Taylor at their last meeting had well said that he once
was "in favour of the continuance of Smithfield, but
be (Mr. Taylor) had found that times had changed, and
therefore it was for them to consider before they com-
mitted themselves hastily en that matter. He (Mr.
Bonnoch) considered that if they did not act carefully
they would be committing the suicide of the city of
London.

Mr. ELLIOTT believed that the parties residing in
Smithfield would be bonefitted rather than injured by
the removal, and that a great public benefit would be ac-
complished in consequence.
Mr. BARLEY said that be bad made several inquiries,
as the late chairman of the Board of Health, of medical
gentlemen; all of whom united in opinion that Smith-
field was decidedly a healthy locality.—(Hear.) No cater

of cholera had occurred either at St. Bartholomew's Hos-
pital or in the vicinity.
Mr. G. TAYLOR supported the report of the Markets
Imrevernent Committee.
Mr. Deputy PiNVTRESS argued that the parties con-
tending for the removal of the Trial ket had not made out
their cr‘.4,c, and thert:fore they (the corporation) ought to
defc,nd the continuance of the marks'.

Mr. Deputy STACEY was of a similar opinion.
Al Inman LAWItENCE that the corporation had
always dono their best for the public with regard to
Smithfield, but they had many times been opposed by
the Government, He contended that if the market
were removed to a distance from town the cattle would
inevitably cruse a greater nuisance than existed at pre-
sent, inasmuch as they must be driven through a much
greater number of streets. They had to deal with Mr.
Lewis's letter, and they ought, instead of rejecting the
proposition contained in that communication, to endea-
vour to ascertain by a conference with the members
of the Government its accurate report. The manage-
ment of a new market might be attended with
some advantage which it would be impolitic in
the corporation to reject. The new prison at
Holloway, although at a distance from the City, would
he still us much under the control of the City authorities
as was that which it would substitute. Such might be
the case with respect to the new market, under circum-
stances which it might be advisable not to re-
ject on the ground of public convenience and advan-
tage. —(lluir, hear.) He wished for the protraction
of a positive decision. There was time enough for the
consideration of this important subject. He was not
bound by the opinion he had expressed relative to
Smithfield-market. If he saw reasons for changing that
opinion he would with sincerity acknowledge the change,
in accordance with the example of a deeply lamented
and illustrious statesman, who did not hesitate to avow
the honest convictions of his understanding.—(Hear.)
Mr. J. WOOD, shortly referring to the position he bad
had the honour to hold in the Royal Commission, and
to his having undertaken the responsible duty com-
mitted to him (in conjunction with his colleagues) with
independent feelings and an unbiassed judgment, ob-
served that he had, after mature inquiry and delibera-
tion, conscientiously arrived at the conclusions to which
his name as a member of the Commission was attached,
and whilst, therefore, he did not feel himself called upon
to take part in the discussion in that Court, the import.
ance of the question required, and he was satisfied would
receive, the calm and serious consideration of every
member, and he hoped the result would be honourable
to the corporation and satisfactory to the public at
large.—(Hear, hear.)
_ _

BLAKE said it was certain that there was a load
public demand for the removal of Smithfield-market.—
(Mingled shouts of "No, no," and " Hear, hear.") They
were bound to know from the Government the exact
views entertained by the Government on the question of
the removal. He would not like to see the door bolted
and barred by any hasty or intemperate act of the cor-
poration. lle referred to a familiar instance of the im-
prudence of rejecting an offer of conciliation in the case
of the City gas companies, the directors of which bolted
and barred the doors against all concession, but soon
found that their opposition was of no avail, and that the
advantage which they might have obtained had totally
disappeared.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. ANDERTON—The gas question has nothing to do
with Smithfield-market.

Mr. BLARE —The corporation wore in a difficulty
similar to that in which the gas companies were plunged.
By adopting the motion they would bolt and bar them-
selves, and voluntarily surrender acy prospective advan-
tage.— (Cheers.)
Upon the motion of Mr. HALL the debate was ad-
journed.

A good deal of excitement prevailed during the day.

THE WEST INDIA MAIL.

SOUTHAMPTON, FRIDAY MORNING.—The Thames
royal mail steam-ship, Captain Abbott, with the usual
West India and Mexican mails, arrived somewhat unex-
pectedly at four o'clock this morning, having made an
excellent voyage.
The latest dates brought by the Thames are—Vera
Cruz, June 15; Tampico, June 12; Havatinah, June
27; Demerara, June 18; Jarea'ca, June 22; Trinidad,
June 20; Barbadoes, June 27; Antigua, June 29; Gre-
nade, June 23; St. Thomas's, July 1.
The Thames brings on freight 44,889 dollars on mer-
chants' account, and 282,733 dollars for the Mexican
dividends. She has also manifested 386 serons of cochi-
neal, 11 serons of julapa, 46 cases of cigars, 138 bales
of tobacco, 11 cases of pine applee, 29 turtle, 33 bales of
indigo, 252 packages of arrowroot, besides a variety of
other packages and merchandise.

Stations of her Majesty's Ships—At Halifax, the
Wellesley, Sappho, Plumper, and Helena; at Port Royal,
the Imaum and Trincomalee; at Barbadoes, the Ber-
muda, and Scorpion off Nassau.
The following is a list of passengers by this arrival:—
Mr. C. 0. Ledward, from Vera Cruz; Mr. and Mrs.
Holt, Miss Melville, Mr. Motgomery, Mr. Jackson and
servant, Mr. Hutchinson, and Mr. Laird, from Mobile;
Mr. Hencke and servant, Mr. Montero, and Mr. Arrietta,
from Havannah; Mr. Scott, Mr. Fryer, and Mr. Gar-
land, from Jamaica; Mrs. Doris and child, from Nas-
sau; Mr. Dawes and Mr. and Mrs. Lebret, from Dama-
ra: a; Mr. Wylie, from Trinidad; Mr. Da Silva Pcrto,
from Barbadoes; Mr. La Rosyery, and Mrs. Poncy and
three children, from Martinique; Mr. and Mrs. Garra-
way and family, from Dominica; Mr. Mackenzie, from
Guadaloupe; Mr. and Mrs. 'Manger and two servants,
from Porto Rico; Mr. H. Eisenblat, Mr. W. A. Andral,
Mr. G. Latrose, Mr. Hengelberg, and seven distressed
seamen, from St. Thomas's; Mr. Maitland and servant,
Bombadior Proctor, R.A., W. Chancellor, R.A.. and E.
Scantlebury, from Bermuda; Mr. R. Shears, Company's
officer.