The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-20 00:00:00

names of ships, and captains, and where from ; also
tonnage and how laden, coming and going.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

Captain ROUS begged to give notice that he
would, on an early day after Easter, move for returns
of all persons who had been fined for using deficient
weights and measures in England during the last
three years.
MAYNOOTII COLLEGE.

Mr. WARD said he held in his hand a motion of
which he intended to give notice, but before he did
so he would wish to ask the Right lion. Baronet at
the head of her Majesty's Government a question,
namely, whether it was not customary, in moving for
a money grant, such as that of the proposed grant to
Maynooth, to first bring it before a Committee of the
whole House.
Sir R. PEEL said that the Hon. Member opposite
was correct ; such was the course pursued by the
House in all cases of motions for money grants, arid
such certainly was the course he intended to adopt
in reference to his motion for the increased grant to
Maynooth.
Mr. WARD then begged to give notice that he
would, at the time it was most fitting to do so, move
that all further money grants for the purposes of re-
ligion he made out of the funds at present appro-
priated for the maintenance of the Protestant Epis-
copal Church.—(Hear, hear.)
UNIVERSITIES.

Mr. CHRISTIE moved for the following re-
turns :—Amount of paper duty remitted to each of
the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in each of
the last ten years; distinguishing the amounts re-
mitted for books in the Latin, Greek, Oriental, or
Northern languages, and for Bibles, Testaments,
Prayer-books, and Psalm-hooks. Account of any
annual payment to the Universities of Oxford
and Cambridge, charged on the stamps and taxes
revenue, with the origin of and authority for
such payment. The date of the first payment of each
of the sums voted in the Miscellaneous Estimates of
1844, to professors in the Universities of Oxford and.
Cambridge, with a statement of any conditions at-
tached to the grant of any of those sums. Copy of
any Correspondence or Treasury Minute relative
to the discontinuance, in 1826, of an annual vote of
1001. to a Professor of the Laws of England in the
University of Cambridge. Copy of so much of a
Treasury minute, dated the 28th day of August,
1832, as relates to payments to 'the Universities of
Oxford and Cambridge, charged on the Civil List till
1834; and a statement as to which of these payments
are now charged on the land revenue of the Crown,
and which are now voted in the annual estimates.
Sir R. H. INGLIS would make no objection to
those returns, as he understood they were sanc-
tioned by her Majesty's Government, but he would
move, by way of addition, for returns of the pay-
ments made by the Universities of Oxford and
Cambridge.
Mr. F. SHAW would move for similar returns in
relation to the University of Dublin.
The returns were ordered.
Mr. DODD presented petitions from the Croydon
Railway Company praying for leave to bring in a
Bill to extend their line into various parts of Kent.
Sir G. CLERK brought up the Customs' Duties
Bill which was read a first time, and ordered to be
read a second time, on Monday the 31st inst.
DARTMOUTH ELECTION COMMITTEE.
Mr. TUFNELL moved that the minutes of pro•
ceedings and evidence taken before the Select Com-
mittee on the Dartmouth election petition be printed.
Mr. PAKINGTON said he believed that very
exaggerated statements had been made to the public
as to the facts which had come out before that Com-
mittee. It had been his intention to make a similar
motion to that of the Hon. Gentleman, but as the
motion had been made, he had great pleasure in
seconding it.
Sir R.. PEEL thought it would be advisable to
adopt a general rule, that the proceedings of all elec-
tion Committees should be printed, as it was some-
what invidious now to move that the proceedings in a
particular case should be printed. Points of law
might arise on election petitions which the House
ought to be in possession of. He therefore thought it
would be better to establish a general rule.
Lord MAHON would venture to remind his Right
Hon. Friend, as a Member of the Printing Commit-
tee, of the large expense that would be incurred in
carrying out such a rule.—(Laughter, and cries of
" Oh, oh.")
Mr. SHAW wished to know whether the Noble
Earl at the head of the Woods and Forests had any
objection to lay on the table of the House the papers
he had in his possession relative to the Ornithological
Museum in Ireland.
The Earl of LINCOLN had no objection to the
production of the papers.
Mr. DENNISTOUN wished to know whether it
was the intention of the Government to support a
measure for preventing burial in towns, and whether
that was intended to be extended to burghs in Scot-
land?
Sir J. GRAHAM was not prepared to prevent in-
terment in towns.
RAILWAY FARES.

Mr. MORISON, in putting the resolutions of
which he had given notice, thought that the House
and the country were satisfied that the railway system
was permanently established in the country. It was
needless to refer to the great advantages possessed
by this system over the old plan of communica-
tion. It was not only advantageous to the
trade and commerce of the country that greater fa-
cilities should be obtained between the great depots
for merchandise, but it was in many cases a matter
of absolute necessity. He thought it was unwise to
look upon railways in the extent to which they were
established, for he believed that so profitable
would they prove, that the whole country would
soon be intersected by them like net work.
He believed that the advantages derived from rail-
ways was comparatively a very small part of that
which would be enjoyed, when men of science and
ability had a few years longer turned their attention
to the means of improving them. He would not
speak of locomotive or atmospheric railways,
for it was his impression that these, if
not superseded, would be rendered much more
useful than they now were, when the House con-
sidered the great advantages which were possessed by
the manufacturing interest in holding more frequent
and rapid communication with their agents in distant
places, and also with the persons who purchased their
goods. Indeed, from the facility and cheapness for
this communication, he could only compare
the effects of railways upon commerce with the
improvements wrought in manufactures by machinery.
No class, perhaps, would benefit more than the farmers
by lowering the cost of railway travelling. They
would be able to go through the country, and in that
way see the improvements which were being made in
agriculture. The farmers of the west of England, where
agriculture was not so well understood as in Norfolk,
England,
means of improver sot
ther
lowered,io the labourers could not
might visit those
ucsultivation of the land.
Is,L,hinni
counties,ecehsoslntl
:earn nefdad
oraetbphsspee,
ri n_ele,
doer ret ththoe
vo af
l
possibly avail themselves of railway travelling, but in a
short time he hoped to see the fares lowered to a half-
penny per passenger per mile.—(Hear,. hear.) In
that case they would be enabled to leave those parts
of the country where wages were low, and go to those
places where labour was permanently high, or
where there was a temporary demand for it.
Fuel and provisions would he cheapened considerably
where they were now dear—as an instance of which
he would mention, that fish, which before the
railroad system was very scarce and dear in
Manchester, was now plentiful and abundant.
If agriculture were to be improved, it must be by a
mixture of the soils. There was scarcely a railroad
in existence which had not almost entirely superseded
the coaches and waggons. The canals, too,
were almost deprived of their whole traffic,
Another reason in support of his argument was, that
the expense of constructing a railway was much less
now than formerly ; for instance, an old line of rail-
way which cost, say 60,0001., might now be constructed
for 10,0001. or 12,0001. Then again, the expense
of working the lines was much less now than
what it was some years ago, and the expense of main-
taining what was called the permanent way was now
almost reduced to a certainty. There were parties to
be found who would undertake contracts to keep the
lines in repair at a specified sum for a num-
ber of
years, and he could, therefore, see
no objection to his motion on the subject,
for every day brought reductions in this respect.
Railroads were the safest sort of speculation, and their
capabilities to accommodate the public had not yet
been fairly tested. The whole question must come
before them at a future time. With regard to rail-
roads, their construction and management had now
become a great national question. They had scientific
power, and the command of iron, more than any
other nation, and ought to construct railroads more
cheaply than any other country. Yet, instead of
having the cheapest and best railways, they were
likely, unless something more effectual was done, to
have the dearest line than any.—(Bear, hear.) Taking-
population and wealth together, this country was the
most densely peopled in the world. France had
taken advantage of their experience and their
mistakes; and there were many things in which
they might copy from the French.—(Hear, hear.)
The Hon. Member then stated the comparative rates
of charges on the Orleans, Belgian, and English
lines, and allowed how much cheaper the former were
than the latter ; but the exact figures were uttered in
so low a voice that they could not be heard in the
gallery. He was understood to say that if the mea-
sures he suggested should be supplied, the great bene-
fits of which he had been speaking of would he
sure to follow, and they were benefits to which the
public were entitled.—(Hear, hear.) With regard to
tolls he had heard a good deal; but if the railway
companies were to be made toll collectors, the tolls
could not be collected. Some years ago an Hon.