The Sun.
London, England, 1845-02-14 00:00:00

fa arnia

LONDON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1845.

In the House of Lords--_
,■ Lord STANLEY took the
oaths and his seat.
Lord CA:to-nem. brought in the Law of Process
Bills for England, Ireland, and Scotland, which he
bad proposed last year.
After various petitions had been presented, and
eome returns ordered,
The Earl of DALnousic laid on the table certain
reports from the Railway Department of the Board
of Trade, and took the opportunity of vindicating the
Members of the Board from the aspersions which had
been cast on them, and of explaining the principles on
which the Board had come to their decisions. The
Noble Earl distinctly stated that the Board had never
considered the claims of private interests, which
were reserved exclusively for the consideration of
Parliament, and that their reports were never intended
to bq of a conclusive character. He also denied that
any information had been surreptitiously given by
any Member of the Board, and described minutely
the means adopted to prevent the decisions of the
Board from transpiring until they should be published
in the Gazelle.
Lord BROUCIAM ridiculed the idea that the
decisions of the Board would not operate upon Par-

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liament, and asked if those decisions were not in-
tended to operate upon Parliament, where was the
use of taking such extraordinary precautions for
preventing them becoming known until published
in the Gazette f He thought a Board exercising
such immense power should consist exclusively of
the sworn advisers of the Crown.

The Marquis of LANSDOWNE thought the instal-
tion of the Board was of incalculable advantage.

Lord STANLEY said that the Government never
sought to influence the votes of Members on railway
matters, and defended the proceedings of the Board
of Trade.

After a few words from the Marquis of LANs-
DOWNS and the Earl of DALUOUSIE, the House ad-
journed.

In the House of Commons the SPEAKER took the
chair at Four o'clock.

- Various petitions were presented, and notices of
motion given. Among the latter was one by Mr.
BRIGHT for that day fortnight, on the subject of the
game-laws.
Lord GRANVILLE SOMERSET stated, in answer to
Mr. WALLACE, that there were persons on the pre-
sent Railways Committee who were interested, more
or less, in railway speculations.
Leave was granted to the Sergeant-at-Arms to
defend the action brought against him by Tuomas
HOWARD.

Sir C. NAPIER then moved for the appointment of
a Select Committee to inquire into the manner in
which the money voted since the year 1835 for the
construction of ships had been expended, and if the
ships constructed are an improvement upon the old
system. The Hon. and Gallant Gentleman in the
course of his speech went into a detail of the various
experiments which had been recently tried in ship-
building, and gave an elaborate critique of their re-
spective merits.
Mr. llumE seconded the motion.

Sir G. COCKBURN, while admitting the justice of
many of Sir C. NAPIER'S observations, vindicated the
conduct of the present Admiralty from his animad-
versions. He considered a Committee of the House
of Commons to be the very worst tribunal to which
the subject could be referred, and concluded by
stating that he knew what the strength of the
French navy was, and he knew what that of Eng-
land was, and he was happy to be in a position to
state that the naval force of England was much better
and larger than that of France, notwithstanding all
that had been said to the contrary.
The House was then addressed by Captain Rous,
Mr. C. Wool), Admiral BOWLES, Captain PECHELL,
Mr. CURRIE, Captain HARRIS, and Mr. WAKLEY.
On a division the motion was lost by a majority of
61, the numbers being, for the motion, 32 ; against
it, 93. _ _ _

Mr. C. HOPE then moved for leave to bring in
certain Bills relating to the management of the pro-
perty of Greenwich Hospital.
After a short discussion the motion was agreed to.
On the motion of Mr. TIIORNELY, certain returns
relating to Trinidad were ordered to be laid on the
table.

The LORD ADVOCATE obtained leave to bring in a
Bill for the appointment and payment of constables
in Scotland.
On the motion of Mr. CARDWELL, the Printing
Commission was appointed.
Sir J. GRAHAM stated, in answer to Mr. HUME,
that Sir R. PEEL would commence his financial state-
ment at Half-past Four.

The House then resolved itself into Committee on
the Railway Clauses Consolidation Bill. Some
opposition was manifested when the first clause was
proposed, and Mr. AGLIONBY and Mr. WARLEY
urged the propriety of referring it to a Select Com-
mittee. Ultimately Lord GRANVILLE SOMERSET
consented that the Chairman should report progress,
and stated that he would declare on Monday what
course he would pursue with regard to the measure.
The House adjourned at Half-past Eleven.

In reference to a letter, which we insert, from
" J. V.," who dates from Stepney-green, we cannot
help expressing our own earnest hope that the Pre-
mier may include in his financial propositions',
this evening, one for the large reduction or total
repeal of the duty charged on fire-insurance policies.
In every possible point of view, this is one of the
most objectionable imposts which a Government can
levy. It operates as a direct premium on the apathy
or improvidence of some parties—as a most iniquitous
tax on the misfortunes and poverty of others. The
former of these classes are deterred from availing
themselves of that security to which every prudent
man, in a community like ours, resorts against the
mischief and ruin which are likely to be in-
flicted upon him by the calamity of a fire consuming
his property, or his stock, house, furniture, &c. They
look at the large amount of the duty (on the average
about one-third, rather than one. half, we believe of
the premium on the insurance), and between the cer-
tainty of having that burden to bear, and the uncer-
tainty of being exposed at any time to the calamity
in question, postpone indefinitely insuring till the
catastrophe occurs, and perhaps in one hour reduces
them from competency—from affluence, even —to
beggary or destitution. The latter class, with every
disposition to insure, and perhaps after putting by,
with many a struggle, out of their hard earnings suffi-
cient money to pay the premium upon the amount they
would cover by a policy, cannot find the wherewith to
pay the further amount, between a third and a half of the
premium, required for the stamp duty. They, too,
may be hopelessly overwhelmed by a similar destruc-
tive visitation, but aggravated by the conviction that
but for the tax which a reckless Government had thus
imposed on the exercise of a meritorious forethought,
they might have been no sufferers beyond the mere
temporary inconvenience of shifting their abode.
This domestic and social point of view is not the only
one in which the matter should be looked at. It is
well known that small policies, to a very consider-
able number, and of course to a large aggregate
amount, are effected every year by English house-
holders and others with the insurance offices in Holland,
in order to escape the operation of this most iniquit-
ous and impolitic duty. Sir ROBERT PEEL will de-
serve great credit if he remit it. We hope that an
Hon. and Gallant Member, whose political principles
and prepossessions it is not our wont to praise, be•
cause we cannot concur in them, but for whose con-
sistency we can feel every respect, will be at his post
to-morrow afternoon, to urge upon the Government,
if necessary, his old appeal for the remission of the
duty on fire insurances. We allude to the Member
for Lincoln (Colonel SIBTHORP), whom we have had
so recently to thank for putting certain questions
that have elicited important explanations touching the
working of the new Board of Trade's Railway Corn-
mittee.

Madrid journals of the sth inst. have been received,
from which we learn that almost the only subject of
conversation in the capital was the expulsion of a
Deputy from the lower Chamber. It appears that at a
ball given by NARVAEZ, some time previous, certain
articles of plate were missing, and there being no
evidence to impute guilt to the servants, a strict
watch was kept at a subsequent ball given, when one
of the guests was caught in the act of secreting some
valuable articles. lie was immediately seized, and
turned out to be Senor QUINTANNILLA-Y-
-MONTOYA, Deputy for Seville. As the affair
had got abroad the Chamber was compelled to
take it up, and in a secret sitting instituted
an inquiry which left no doubt of the Deputy's
guilt, and he was expelled by a majority of 105 to
18. A letter was read from MONTOYA, in which he
admitted that he had the plate in his possession, but
was incapable of taking it for unworthy purposes.
11e is said to be a man of good family and fortune.
It is also stated in these papers that the commandant
of the fort at Europa Point, Gibraltar, who fired on
a Spanish vessel and sunk it some months since, had
been superseded.
On the .sth, the Three per Cents. closed at 32 9-16,
at 60 days ; the Five per Cents. at 24, the Coupons
at 261, and the Debt without interest at 61, at 60
days.

All interest in the proceedings of the French
Chamber is now suspended till Monday next, when
the debate on the Secret Service Money Bill is to
commence. Both parties look forward to the contest
with hope, but especially the Ministry, who confi-
dently trust that they will have a considerable ma-
jority in their favour. At all events it is to decide
the fate of the GUIZOT Ministry, and should the Con-
servative waverers hang back and leave their party
with only a small majority, as in the vote on the
PRITCHARD Indemnity, the Coalition—that is, the
MOLE and TDIERS' party—must come into office.
The Ministerial organ, the Journal des Debals,
challenges
h andthe
candidlyopposition to a fair trial,
a small majority, the ivaivinoiwstsrythwatillifatthoenyceharvee
only.
sign. "If the Opposition be willing,"it says, " the
battle will be decisive. But doest he Opposition
really desire to give battle, orwill it give itself the
air of being satisfied with its pretended success on the
Address—a success which, however, was confined to
obtaining a fine minority It little matters to us,
after all. If the Opposition draws back, and abstains,

its defeat will not be less evident to every one. For
our part, we allow, without any hesitation, that,
whilst the discussion on the Address gave the Mi-
nistry the majority, it did not sufficiently decide the
question of the Cabinet. It requires to be known
whether the vote which reduced the majority to eight
is an accidental vote, or one applied to the groundwork
of the Ministerial policy. The Secret Service
Money Bill will clear up this decisive question ; and,
if the trial turns against the Ministry, it will, we are
convinced, retire at once—it will not hesitate one
moment—for a Government cannot be carried on
with a majority of eight. For the last fortnight the
Chamber and the Ministry, the Opposition and the
Conservative party, have been in a state of crisis, to
which the Secret Service Money Bill must put an
end, one way, or the other. We called for this
Bill with impatience, and we thank the
Ministry for having loudly challenged the
Opposition to the combat. It has assured to
itself, by this frank and courageous manner of
placing the question, a victory or a withdrawal
from power, equally honourable. We hope for vic-
tory. The Conservative party has united again. The
abuse of M. THIERS' journals, and the threats of M.
BILLAULT, have only caused them to close their
ranks. They will not fail the Cabinet, for the Cabi-
net only remained in power in order not to abandon
the Conservative party ; and, henceforward, they
can only conquer or be beaten together."
Some of the Opposition journals regard the con-
test as already decided, but GuizoT and his friends,
like the British at Waterloo, are so stupid as not to
know when they are beaten. The Courrier Francais,
which is rather in a desponding mood, thus upbraids
Ministers for fighting after they are virtually extinct :
" The Ministry demands then a second battle. What has
passed since the last contest to give the Cabinet hopes that
the Chamber will declare itself in a different manner, and
grant to it a posthumous majority? What new facts have
arisen? By what acts has the Cabinet acquired to-day the
confidence which it did not possess yesterday? After the
vote on the Pritchard indemnity, the Cabinet ought to have
retired. It did not, however ; and why should it do so on the
question of the Secret Service Money ? Where is the neces.
sity of a second trial when the fact was so decisive ? Is it
intended to multiply the number of games, in order to have
the more time to load the dice ?"
There is little doubt, however, that GulzoT will
have a sufficient majority. The Opposition journals
have at last discovered the paragraph in the QUEEN'S
Speech which recommends an increase of the navy
estimates, and are highly indignant at a measure which
can have only one object—the universal dominion of
the seas. After giving a long list of islands and
promontories and continents which England has ap-
propriated to herself by the most nefarious means, the
NaConal resigns itself to despair:—
" England can now dare anything. Has she not imposed
upon France a man of her own as first Minister? What
counterpoise can there henceforward be to her power in the
balance of Europe ? Has not a French Chamber consented to
indemnify a Pritchard, because he was not quite unrestrained
in his attempts to have Frenchmen assassinated ? There is
not a continent, not an archipelago, not a commercial route,
which does not bear a sign of servitude. By the right of
search she can destroy all rival commerce, and we know in
what way she exercises this right. Let her then display
with pride all her means, let her augment her steam-navy,
in order to add new rights to those which she already enjoys
for the happiness of the world and her own subjects. We
see nothing to oppose it, unless Europe should at length be-
come weary of being governed by the agents and interested
friends of England."
The following ara given as the principal clauses of
the treaty agreed to between the French Envoy and
the Chinese Commissioners, at Macao, on the 24th of
October :

" 1. France is to be placed on a footing of equality with
the most favoured nations, as respects customs' duties.

"2. She is never to be subjected to the payment of any
periodical tribute to the Sovereign of the Celestial Empire.
"3. She may establish a factory at Canton on the plan of
those possessed by the English, Dutch, Danes, Swedes, and
Spaniards.
4. She will be permitted to trade at Tchang-tcheou,
reserving the right of the Crown of Spain, which enjoys a
privilege in that city.
"5. She may establish factories at Thamen, Tchao-hing,
and Ningpo.
" 6. Finally, she will have the right of trading in every
place that may hereafter be opened to the most favoured
nations."