The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-15 00:00:00

11-Ining r- it

LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 1845.

The House of Lords met at Five o'Clock.

In consequence of the continued indispcsition of the
First Lord of the Admiralty, the Earl of MINTo post-
poned his motion on the subject of the naval force at
Oteheite, until after the Easter hol:days.
The Fresh Water Fish (Scotland) Bill was read a
second time.

Lord BROUGHAM stated that he did not intend to in-
tro:lace the Bill of which he had given notice on a pre-
ceding evening, on the subject of the non-free traders
of the city of London, and moved for a return of the
number of non-freemen admitted to the freedom during
the year ending April 1844.
The Earl of RossnvN gave notice that, on Tuesday,
he should put a question to the Government, on the sub-
ject o! their intentions with regard to the scotch bank-
ing system.
The JewiAA Wild Bill was then read a third time and
passe I, after a *hurt but energetic Epeech in its favour
by the Duke of CAMBRIDGE, and the House adjourned.
The House of Commons met at twelve, and immedi-
ately went into Committee ou the Railway Clauses Con-
solidation Bill.

The Bill passed through Committee, and was ordered
to he repirtr.d at twelve o'clock on Monday.
The House then went into Committee on the Land
Clauses Consolidation Bill.

The Bill passed through Committee, and the House
adjourned to Five o'clock.
On the re-assembling of the House,
The Souctiron..GEsEßAL gave notice of his intention
to move for leave to bri,T in a Bill for the protection of
property in the British Museum, and other public places.
On the motion of Mr. WAKLEY the petition from
Finsbury, on the subject of Post-office espionage, was
ordered to be printed.
Mr. G. W. HOPE gave notice that, on Tuesday, he

should bring forward a motion for papers for the pur-
pose of giving the New Zealand Company an opportunity
of substantiating the charges which they hat brought
against Lord STANLEY and the Colonial Department.
A short discussion followed, in the course of which
Mr. AGLIONBY and Mr. MANGLES expressed their readi-
ness to substantiate every charge they had made ; and
the latter Hon. Gentleman designated the Colonial De-
partment as a plague and a nuisance.

ment for the propriety of the new legislation which
the association deprecate so much.
But it is said " That these increased facilities for
debtors getting out of their difficulties should have made
creditors more cautious in giving credit;" that" they have
the power of withholding credit, and that if they will
give credit, they must take the consequences." "If they
will give credit?" Why, they must give credit. Busi-
ness could not go on tt single day without giving credit,
and the general stoppage of further credit woutd bring
the whole country to a stand. There is a vast number
of tradespeople who cannot be ready-money men. Men
whose labour must be completed on certain materials
before they can ask for their money. To say to such
people " You must not give credit "—is equivalent to
saying " You must do no more work ;" and to say to the
shopkeeper, " You must not give credit," is equal to
saying to him, " You must close your shop." The fact is
that credit must be given and taken from the highest to
the lowest; from peers of the realm down to peasants at
the plough. _ _

Sir R. PEEL had no wish to force on a discussion on
the general question, but his Noble Friend, at the
head of the Colonial Department, having been accusfd
of bad faith, was desirous that the House should not
separate for the recess until he had an opportunity of
vindicating himself.
Mr. IltimE and Lord J. RUSSELL suggested that the
charge against the Colonial Government should be
taken on a Government night, and the charge against
Lord STANLEY personaliy should be taken separately on
a motion night ; and on

Very well. If this excessive credit be essential tt,
the present extent of trading, give it. But don't let
tradesmen insist, on the one hand, on the necessity et
continuing an admitted evil practice, that they
excuse on the plea of its being essential to their suc-
cess and prosperity ; and on the other, ask the Legis-
lature for heavy penalties on those on whose heads
tile accommodation afforded by this practice turn&
out to be actual loss, instead of the contem-
plated profit of the tradesman who has given it.
When we read the list of the members of thh
Society, we pictured to ourselves, in reference
to their trades and addresses, sleek oilmen, it
Bishopsgate-strect, portly leather sellers, wealthy
ironmongers, ruddy salesmen, &c. &c., of Thames-
atrcet, Milk-street, Newgate-market, &c. But we soon
found our error. At p. 11 we learned they were but
" shadows of their former selves," mere walking anato -
mies ; their natural fluids exhausted, or replaced by
the atrabilious secretions consequent on bad- debts
and worthless schedules. " All these legal evil:
combine to giving credit—and yet credit must
be given—precarious; and to make the life of a
tradesman a corrosion of care—and the conduct of
business anxious and perplexing in the extreme." W.
had prepared other extracts from this paper; but it,
is hardly needful to press further such self-evi-
dent and post-dated appeals from the late
decrees of the Legislature to the angry and
interested passions of one class of the community:
with a view to reinforce the absolute severity of the
law upon another. The "remedial" propositions tt
be pressed on Parliament include one for taking thk
cognizance of all debts for sums over 201., and no:
above 1001., from her MAJESTY'S Courts at Westmin-
ster, and giving this jurisdiction to the Sheriff !

Mr. G. W. HOPE repeating his expectation of being
able to bring cn the matter on Tuesday, the conversa-
tion dropped.
Various questions were then asked; after which the
House went into Committee on the Sugar Duties Bill.
Mr. HAWES moved " that provision be made in the
Bill for the drawback of the amount of the duty re-
duced, on such duty•paid sugar as now remains in the
QUEEN'S warehouse."
After some discussion, Sir ROBERT PEEL stated
that there would be, he thought, no objection to allow
upon sugar in bond a drawback equivalent to the actual
loss sustained.

With this announcement Mr. HAWES expressed him-
self satisfied and withdrew his motion.
Several other amendments were subsequently pro-
posed, all of which were lost ; and the Bill eventually
passed through Committee.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of,
and the House adjourned at Half-past One o'Clock.

We have received a copy of the "Address of the
Equitable Debtor and Creditor Association to the
Members of the Trading and Mercantile Interests,"
the object of which appears to be to induce the great
community of the latter to join the "tyrant maj mity"
of the former in a very determined crusade against
those worst of modern infidels, the men who run in
debt. To say the truth, at the outset, we have not
often perused a document less marked by evidences of
a Christian spirit of charity for the unfortunate, or of
common equity in considering the relations between
those who have fallen, and those who maintain their
places, in our social system. Indeed we do not remem-
ber to have once stumbled, in passing through sixteen
well-filled octavo pages in which the "Address" is
composed, on the words "charity" and " misfortune."
After announcing that the addressers, "being men in
trade," have an " entire and practical knowledge of
the evils under which they now labour in conducting
their business"—which may be supposed likely
enough—" and of the legislative remedies those evils
require"—a fact much more problematical, they
observe, that " for thirty years last past successive
Acts of Parliament have passed hostile to the
interests of the creditor." They omit to notice the
converse of this allegation—that for centuries before
the statute-book had been loaded with " Acts of Par-
liament" hostile to the interests of the debtor. There
are other omissions of essential facts, tending towards
conclusions very different from those which the " Ad-
dress" endeavours to establish, which we can readily ac-
count for. The party or parties who have framed this
document appear to have been so completely preoccu-
pied by sensitiveness to the supposed peril of their
own immediate interests under the present state of
the law, that they could entertain no considerations
which did not lean, like the trees for many miles in
the vicinity of Liverpool, all in one direction. For
the same reason, too, they rest their whole case on
premises which have reference to the wrongs of
tradesmen exclusively, not to those of the commercial
classes, who are included merely in the superscription
of the "Address." This is a species of egotism
which we have often noticed in the constituency of
the addressers. The course of Government on great
national questions—the policy of the measures it may
have adopted in vindication of the national honour—
the ultimate results of so vast a disturbing action as
that of the Reform Bill—these are always put in the
same category with a proposition for repealing the
small receipt stamp duty, or the duty on rice. "The"
question with every tradesman, and the only one he
ever dreams of in connexion with any measure of the
kind, is—" Will it make good for trade ?" An
Emperor dies, and there is a court mourning here,
and there are sanguinary tumults, with fearful
violence, elsewhere. The court mourning goes down
to the credit of the event; the consideration for the
mass of human misery which accompanies it appears
nowhere on his books. A man like ROMILLY, or
BUXTON, passes out of existence : there is no court
mourning, but a voice of lamentation from the friend-
less, the indigent, and oppressed. His death, however,
does not "make good for trade," and on that account
is " not" a matter of congratulation with the thrifty
London trader. Eight hundred thousand of our
fellow-creatures, negro slaves in our West Indian
colonies, are, by a magnificent act of retributive
justice and British magnamity, set free in a single
day. Eight hundred thousand human beings spring,
at a bound, from the lowest depths of social degra-
dation to the status and relations of freemen—a
noble spectacle, worthy of a festival holiday in its
honour to be celebrated by all the races of civilised
mankind in all time to come. In London it was
difficult to show that this mighty manumission
" would make good fur trade ;" and on that account
no entries are to be found in its day-book or in its
ledger to record this proceeding as matter for con-
gratulation.

The Property and Income-tax Renewal Bill ha-
passed the House of Commons. All that could have
been hypothetically urged against it on the argument
derived from its inequality, its anticipation in peace of
the resources which should have been preserved inviolate
for the exigencies of war, the tendency of its operation
to repress exertion or industry both in material am'
intellectual enterprises or occupations ;—all this ha-
been conceded by its Ministerial supporters—and the
House of Commons have passed the measure withoui
even dividing on the question of the passing. What
ever objections could be sustained to the vexation an(
inquisitorial nature of the machinery, by which alone
it has hitherto been possible to assess or to collect it ; ti
the lowness of the point or extremity at which the amoun
of income liable to pay this impost shall commence; to tla
hardship of that liabilityon the recipient of 150/. per annum,
from which the recipient of 1491. 19s. 11d., or any lesser
sum per annum, is wholly exempt ; to the gross injus
tice of mulcting, in the same proportion, the income al
ready befow the demands of the most modest, or evee
needy household, and the incomes of many superfluous
thousands ;—all these have been taken, discussed, and
overruled. Yet the Bill has passed the House of Com
mons. The Premier, when he first brought the scheme
forward three years ago, admitted that any tax was a,
evil. It has been admitted since, by his own partisan
and colleagues, that this tax has about it all that evi,
which belongs to a severe impost, without even taking
into account these aggravations of them to which we
have just referred. And yet it has been adopted by the
Commons after defeating, in the most signal manner,
every proposition for its amendment and modification,
however reasonable or equitable it might be. But
the last debate elicited certain other acknowledgment:.
of inherent defects and vices in the working o'
this tax which make it almost incredible that
even on Wednesday night, at the eleventh hour, es
Sir ROBERT PEEL or Mr. GOULBURN would say—Or
the penultimate proposition of the third reading—oa
even the final question " that the Bill do pass"—some
vigorous stand should not have been made on the part
of some independent Members for the institution of
searching inquiry into the matters which had then been
brought under their notice.
What were these ? There was, first, the strongly
propounded hypothesis of Sir ROBERT INGLIS—the inti-
mate and confidential friend, supporter, ally, of the
Premier especially, and of his Government generally—
" that the income-tax was meant to be perpetual." This
hypothesis was neither denied, nor objected to, by the
Government or by the Premier. If ever " silence gives
consent," the inference is irresistible under such circum-
stances as these. Is it the desire and meaning of tin
House of Commons that this tax shall be perpetual
How do they propose to answer for such consent to the
electoral constituency whenever they shall be sent
back to give an account of their stewardship? ID
the second place, Mr. WAKLEY brought forward
the case of Mr. FIELDEN, the late benevolent
Member for Oldham, whose name is associated with a 1
recollections that are honourable to the integrity of the
head of a vast manufacturing concern, and the extensive
charity of a capitalist whom prosperity has novel
made oblivious of the humbler beginnings from whence
it has raised him. It may be remembered that
three years ago the Messrs. FIELDEN protested against
the assessment which had he en made upon them
in respect of income from the profits of their
e,tablishment. They demurred to the assessmen
on the very reasonable ground that, upon an average
of the three years on which the assessment was to be
taken, their works had been carried on at a loss, insteai
of any profit. After a fruitless correspondence, the pre-
test was overruled, and their property was distrainee
upon for the original assessment. Since this, the Local
Commissioners have thought proper to assess the profit
of their concern at 24,0001 per annum—an assessment
which, it may be imagined, they at once disputed. The
Local Commissioners, finding-that Messrs. FIELDEN in-
tended to resort to the means of legal appeal agains,
their assessment, requested Mr. JOHN FIELDEN to allow
the matter to stand over till after the ensuing Easter
quarter. He did so ; and in the meantime they have
actually claimed, and propose to enforce the assessment
on profits of 24,0001 a year, in the face of the same par-
ties' declaration to a similar effect as that made by them
in the first instance. Mr. WAKLEY might well severely
animadvert on this proceeding. It was distinguished
alike for its bad faith, its insolence, and its
inquisitorial oppressiveness. The Chancellor of
the Exchequer's answer was—like the answers of Sir
JAMES GRAHAM and Sir ROBERT PEEL himself, on al,
q:trstiona addressed to them in respect of the gross mis-
conduct of Government functionaries of any kind:—" The
Chancellor of the Exchequer knew nothing about the
case. It was the first time he had heard of it." Doubt-
less. So trivial a matter as the assessment of profits at
24,0001 a year, where the parties were prepared to show
they had worked rather to a loss Shan any profit at all,
Lad no pretensions of gravity sufficient to disturb the
epicurean repose of the gods of Downing-street. Be
this as it may, Mr. GOULDURN'S answer was
ready and conciliatory to a singular degree. "If
the Local Commissioners were in error, it was to be re-
gretted that Mr. FIELDEN had not personally waited on
the Chief Commissioners under the Act in London, who
would have given hies every assistance in getting it rec-
tified." A pretty dilated expression this " error, " if
Mr. FIELDEN'S complaint be well grounded ; for such an
outrageous and fraudulent proceeding as the assessment
in such case amounts to on the part of the Local Com•
missioners. The remedy, too, so simple. Mr. FIELDEN
Nsc uld have only to come up from Lis "dear, native vale
of 'Coda:Kaden," as we have heard him call it—fi om one
extremity of Lancashire to the capital, in Middlesex—to
obtain that justice which it has been sometimes con-
t, nded, "is virtually to be had at every man's door."
Yet even this case does not so powerfully illustrate the
intolerable and unconstitutional operation of such a sys
tern of taxation as the very significant fact distinctly
stated by Mr. BRIGHT, that the most shameful cases of
arbitrary and excessive assessment occurred in the coun-
try, owing to the Income-tax Commissioners, in
many instances the same individuals as the land-tax or
other Commissioners of the district, who, from that
position, often exercised their power to annoy and over-
charge in the most unscrupulous manner their rivals in
trade or their opponents in politics. Yet still this Bill
has passed—we might have almost said, unanimously—
the House of Commons. Is there any hope of getting
its odious injustice modified, at least, elsewhere ?

It is really pleasant to contemplate the emotions of
resentment with which the Address adverts to the
statutes that have ameliorated the severity of the old
penal law against debtors. " This hostility consists
in the furnishing of increased facilities to the debtor
to get rid of what is mildly and tenderly termed his
difficulties.' " Of course these could not possibly be
the result of " his misfortunes." These latter-day
evils of mitigation are attributed, among other causes,
to the Insolvent Debtors Court, the abolition of
arrest on mesne process, and Lord BROUGHAM'S late
Act "until, at length, the creditor is left without any
power" ! !—(there are no writs, no judgments, no ex•
ecutions, no costs, no imprisonments, now, then ?)
" and lays (lies) entirely at the mercy of his debtor."
That is, we suppose, the debtor can proceed against
his creditor fur giving him credit, and only abstains
from so doing as an act of mercy " Formerly the
debtor was at the mercy of his creditor." Now, there's
the rub. Why should the Legislature have ever
taken away from the creditor the useful and delicious
pow ers of ingeniously tormenting ? Alas, for the
good old times when a creditor was armed,
like a cat, with strong legal talons and
unescapable eyes, aril paws and mouth, to frighten,
toss, worry, agitate, wound, mutilate, and destroy his
victim, for his wholesome sustenance, as well as for
his pleasure and amusement! In 1845 we could not
have anticipated that one hand would be raised again,
as it is here, stealthily, in favour of the arrest on mesne
process, and that we should hear a Jeremiad over
the days that are gone of swarming prisons, with
broken-hearted unfortunates herded up together with
fraudulent and felonious swindlers, knaves, and cheats.
Why, we know that in the eighteen months subse-
quent to the peace of December, 1825, produced by
one of the many convulsions which Sir ROBERT
PEEL'S Currency Bill of 1819 has already occasioned,
and, alas ! is still destined to generate; no less than
101,000 writs for debt were issued from the Ccurts
in -England alone. Is it to this wise and humane
and politic state of things that this " Equitable" As•.
sociation would desire to force the country back ?
We know that in the-year ending sth of January,
I SW, to the several prisons of London alone, 7114
persons had been committed for debt, of whom 1547
on that day were still confined. Is this the standard
number of hecatombs which the Association's pro-
pensity to victimize would still demand ? The As-
sociation seems to rely for a confirmation of its amiable
views on a very foolish speech attributed to Mr.
Commissioner Evaisis, who, if ever he pronounced it,
was guilty of a strange excess of judicial indecorum
so to express himself of the very Act of Parliament,
the provisions of which he was sitting expressly to
administer. The spirit in which the address is con-
ceived may be further inferred from this passage :
" The workhouse has been rendered as repulsive as
possible, to induce persons to support themselves by
their own industry and conduct ; but the Insolvent
Courts have been rendered as attractive as possible to
people in difficulties ;" and then comes the ugly argu-

The accounts from Zurich are to the 10th instant,
,A hen the Diet was still sitting. The note of M.
G UIZOT had caused much excitement among the Liberal
Members, who regard it as put forth in aid of the
Jt,suits rather than for the purpose of calming the ex-

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING-, MARCH 15, 1845.

citement. A correspondent, who writes from Zurich,
on the 9th, gives the following remarks made by some
of the speakers:—

" M. kera, the deputy for Thurgau, was the first who
alluded to the subject. He said that the communication was,
to say the least of it, strange, considering that the French
Ministry must have been perfectly aware that the instructions
given jo the deputies relative to the corps francs, are almost
unanimous in favour of the suppression of tha t force. M. Drouey,
the deputy for the canton of Vaud, went into a lengthened
examination of the dispatch, which he considered as a direct
intervention on the part of the French Government in the
internal affairs of the Confederation, which ought to rouse
the feelings of the country. M. Neuhaus, the Deputy for
Berne, also considered the dispatch as an insult to the Swiss
nation, and an auwarrantabla interference on the part of a
foreign Government. He demanded of M. Mounson, the
President, what answer he had made to the note. The
President replied, that no one was more anxious than he was
to repel anything that could militate against the liberty
and independence of the nation; but he would not allow his
anxiety to respect the susceptibility of his countrymen to go
so far as to compromise their relation with foreign Powers
who were friends and allies of Switzerland, by misconstruing
the intentions of those Powers in lending their advice. The
Deputy for Bale accused the Jesuit party of having begged
the dispatch from the French Government as a means of de-
feating their adversaries. This accusation was strongly re-
pelled by the Jesuit party, and especially the deputy for
Neufchatel, who said that the position of those with whom he
acted was a painful one, because, though disapproving of the
conduct of their adversaries, they could not avoid being in
some degree involved in the severe censures which that con-
duct had drawn upon the whole Confederation. The Diet
then took up the question of the corps francs, and after a long
liscussion the subject was referred to the same Committee
as has a'ready been appointed to consider the question of the
Jesuits."

The Gaza& de BaZe draws the following comparison
between Lord ABERDEEN'S note and M. GUIZOT'S

"Whilst the former breathes sentiments of kindly feeling
towards the Confederation, although England is less inte-
rested in Swiss affairs than France, the note from M. Guizot
is, on the contrary, in a decided tone, like a newspaper ar-
ticle, and not like a diplomatic instrument. It contains
lessons which are orders, notices which are threats, and is
thus offensive. It must, however, be admitted, that it speaks
the truth in respect to the free corps. It is a great humilia-
tion to Switzerland to be told, that a country situate in the
centre of European civilisation is not to be made the instru-
ment of barbarian anarchy. As the disturbances of the free
corps mad• be said to have been over, this note was no longer
necessary."

A Bill has been brought into the French Chamber of
Deputies to prevent electors from voting in arrondisse-
ments whore they do not pay at least 501. of direct taxes.
The law at present Allows electors paying 2001. to choose
the college in which they are to exercise their right of
voting, and the opponents of the measure consider this
perfectly in accordance with the object for which a De.
puty is returned to the Chamber. The Conservatives,
on the other hand, fur the Bill is brought in by them,
contend that it is not just to allow voters the privilege of
turning the scale of victory in a college with which they
have not the slightest connexion ; and that some amount
of taxes ought to be required to prevent such an abuse.
The general discussion closed on Wednesday, but
none of the Ministers had spoken on the motion.
At the commencement of the sitting, the Minister of
Public Works presented a Bill for a vote of 80,000,0001.
(3,200,000 L) for improving river navigation, and espe-
eially the Yonne, Seine, Sarthe, and Mayenne. It is
proposed to make a canal along the Marne between Join-
edle and Vitry, for the purpose of linking the ironworks
of the Upper Marne to the great navigable line of the
iarne, to the Rhine, and the Paris market. The plan
also contains a proposition for another canal, that of the
navigation of the Upper Garonne, and for establishing on
he height of Lannemezan, from which there are nume-
rous streams, a cluster of reservoirs for the purpose of
rrigating the country. In the Chamber of Peers the
estimates were under consideration, when it appeared
,hat in a previous year, 1,500,0001. had been voted
or improving and fortifying the harbour of Algiers.
One of the Members objected to the amount, but Baron
CIikRLES DUPIN supported the vote, and regretted that
it should be limited to such a small sum. Admiral
Ilackau, after supporting the grant, said, the works at
Algiers were now in such a state that the place could re-
sist with advantage any attack on the sea side. The
leading articles in the journals relate chiefly to the
note of M. GuizoT addressed to the Swiss Diet. The
Opposition rapers denounce it vehemently, and contrast it
infavourably with that of Lord ABERDICEN, which they
praise for its moderation. In reference to this sub-
ject the Journal des Debuts says :
" This is the note, equally discreet and firm, which the
journal of M. Thiers, carried away no doubt by its recollec-
tions of the last campaign in the East, calls a Matti sheriff, a
eisir's ordonnance. While it is the vein of figurative lan-
guage, the Constitutionne/ permits itself to go so far as to
lay that M. Guizot treats the Swiss as a Pacha would treat
troops (f infidels, or a Tartar a tributary race of people.
This criticism on the note of the French Government would
not have been complete, had not the Constitutionnel added
its eulogy upon the note of the British Government, and
exalted the moderation, reserve, and politeness of Lord Aber-
been, in order to thrown out with greater prominence the
harshness and arrogance of M. Guizot. Leaving to the
Constitutionned the full enjoyment of its oriental style, we
shall content ourselves with simply restoring to facts that
true character which has been so strongly denaturalited by
it. We shall begin with affirming that Lord Aberdeen, as
far as regards the effects en the general policy of Europe
that would be the result of any change in the constitution
if Switzerland, speaks in a manner fully as significative as
NI. Guizot; and if the English Minister does not express
himself in equally explicit terms on the subject of the free
•orps, it is from the simple reason that this question touches
France much more closely than it does England. In the
+Hairs of Switzerland, France has interest in common with
the other great Powers—those which may disturb the general
balance of power in Europe; but she has, moreover, parti-
cular interests of her own, resulting necessarily from her
geographical position."

Tho Duke DE BROGLIE, it appears, has postponed his
departure for London to hold a conference with Dr.
r.ESIIINGTON relative to the right of search. On this
subject the Const:tat:onnel says :—" Two systems are
spoken of for the arrangement of this difficult question
—one would consist in the establishment of mixed crui-
iers, placed at the entrance of rivers, and in the ordi-
nary rendezvous of slave vessels, and the reciprocal right
of search between English and French ships would be
suspended ; the other would consist in two means of
putting down the slave trade ; first, the destruction of
the slave establishments founded on some points of the
.11 the negro chiefs on the coast who carry on the slave
roast of
ATfrhiicsasecondly, a declaration of war against
journal objects to both systems; but there
is nothing to show that either will form the basis of the
approaching conference. The following are miscella-
neous extracts from the papers :

.. -
The Gc.zate des Tribunaux says :
" We understand that warrants were issued on Tuesday
against several of the persons who took part in the meeting
in which M. Dujarrier, the responsible editor of the Presse,
was killed. We take this opportunity of declaring that it
was by an error we designated MM. Granier de Cassagnac
and Solar as seconds of one of the parties. These two gen-
tlemen had nothing to do with this deplorable affair."
Two new articles have just been added to the postal
treaty between Franca and Great Britain. They have
for object—l. Tu place the post-office of Boulogne in
direct correspondence with the post-office at Folkestone,
oy means of the private steamers between the two ports.
2. To regulate the transit through France of the letters,
paid or unpaid, from Great Britain and her colonies and
possessions for the kingdom of Greece.
The Grand Council of the -Vaud, in it 3 sitting of the
ith inst., appointed a Committee of 15 members to draw
,Ip a new constitution.
THE BOURSE-,-THURSDAY, MARCH 13.

First Highest Lowest Last
Price. Price. Price. Price.
Fre•neh Five perCentB•• •• •• 118 .. 118 25 .. 118 •• 118 20
Three per CentB.• ••• 85 10 .. 85 20 .. 85 10 .• 85 20
New Loan •• •• •• 86 10 .. 86 10 .. 86 10 .. 86 10
Bank of France
Gouin Bank, I,ooof. Shares— 1090 —lO9O "1090 . • 1090
Belgian Fives, 1840 .. • • .... 105 .. 105 .. 105 .. 105
1842........ 106% •• 107 .. 106% 107
Four-and-r-Half, ... 103% .. 1633( .. 10334 •• 1035{
6paniah Active ........ 59% .. 39% .. 39% .. L 9%
Three 5............ 41% .. 41% .. 4154 .. 41%
Passive 6;•4 .. .. 6y ..
rortuguese Five per Cents• • 70 70 • • 70 •• 70
.. 101 75 .. 101 75 .. 101 7b .. 101 75
4onian

THIS DAY'S NEWS.

DARTMOUTH ELECTION COM-

MITTEE.-(THIS DAY.)
The Committee sat this day at eleven o'clock, pursuant to
adjournment. . . _

The CHAIRMAN announced that it was the wish of the
Committee that that part of the petitioner's case, founded upon
the allegation that the sitting Member was a Government
contractor, should be closed before any other point could be
considered.

Mr. W. Prout, the town••clerk of Dartmouth, was then
called, and he proved that Mr. Somes had been a candidate,
had addressed the electors, and was elected, &c.

➢lr. Sergeant WRANGIIAM then proposed to close this part
of the case, and sum up upon it.

The CHAIRMAN said he considered it would be better and
more convenient to all parties to close the whole of the evi-
dence first.

The room was then ordered to be cleared, and upon our
re- admission,
The CHAIRMAN said, the Committee had come to a resolu-
tion to the effect that, as there appeared to be some misap-
prehension amongst the counsel for the petitioner and the
sitting Member as to the rules the Committee had adopted,
they would not object to counsel summing up on the branch
of the case that had been closed; but this should not apply
to any other allegation.
Mr. Sergeant WriANcinkm wished to know, if his Learned
Friend Sergeant Kinglake, were now to sum up, would he
be prechtded fiom entering upon the allegation of bribery?
The CHAIRMAN said, that one of the first rules of the om-
tnittee was not to allow any other allegation to be gone into
without a special application to the Committee.
Mr. Sergeant KINGLAKE then proceeded to sum up. He
said he would be very brief indeed in his observations, for
he had only to contend that it had been clearly proved that a
case of disqualification had been made against Mr. Somes;
and he (Mr. Kinglake) hoped to be able to satisfy the Com-
mittee that not only was Mr. Somes disqualified at the time
he was elected, but that it was utterly impossible for him to
have got rid of that di qualification. He believed that the
undisputed facts in this were, first, that Mr. homes was a
ship owner in the month of December, 1844, and
that he had also been engaged in Government contracts at
the time. Certain charter parties had been produced before
the Committee, in which persons of the name of Lackland
and M'Leod appeared as contractors. It was true that these
persons were the contractors under the Admiralty in law;
but then Mr. Somes would still be disqualified, unless it was
made apparent that those parties did not hold those ships in
trust for kina. The charter party said that it was executed
for and on behalf of the owner, and be (Mr. Kinglake)
would insist that Mr. Somes was the legal and equitable
owner of those vessels on the 27th of December, 1844, though
he made an attempt to get rid of the ownership on the 17th
of December, 1844. The Learned Counsel then read sec-
tions from different Acts of Parliament, and opinions of
various legal authorities, which, he contended, bore
him out in his assertion that Mr. Somes was
disqualified as the owner of those vessels, un-
less a release, of which he had heard something,
should be produced from Messrs. Lackland and M'Leod. He
would also contend that, independent of Mr. Somes' owner-
ship in the vessels themselves, he was also the owner of
articles for the use of those on board the ships, furnished by
him and at his expense, and therefore those .articles were his
property, and were on board those ships while they were at
sea on the 27th December, 1844; and, therefore, that fact
would disqualify him, for such was the law. The Learned
Counsel opposite said they admitted that Mr.
Somes was an owner of those ships at that
time; if so, then that was his (Mr. Kinglake's) case,
for it would be idle to attempt to divide the ownership into
two parts, and say that, though Mr. Somes was the owner of
one part or portion, he was not the owner of another. Then
there was the additional fact, that in December, 1844, the
Admiralty owed a debt of 50,000/. to Mr. Somes for
services rendered by him through these ships, and
under the charter party, and Without the production of
which the debt could not be recovered ; and this debt
could not be assigned, for there could be no such
thing as an assignment of a contract ; if there were,
then the whole policy, the whole intent, the whole wisdom,
and the purport and object of the Registry Act would be ren-
dered totally void and useless. With these observations he
would conclude, again repeating that his case had been
made out by the admission that Mr. Somes was the owner
of those vessels in December, 1844; or that if there was an
assignment at all, it was only a colourable transaction, done
to effect a certain object.
(The Committee was sitting when our report left.)

MARKET NEWS.-(THIS DAY.)
COVENT-GARDEN.
In consequence of the prevailing extremely cold weather,
the supply of Vegetables here exhibited a considerable fall-
ing off; hence the demand was firm, and prices had an up-
ward tendency. In Fruit, only a moderate business was
doing at our quotations. Potatoes, from 3s 8d to 5s 3d
per cwt ; Turnips, 2s 3d to 3s 8d ; Carrots, 6s to is ;
Coleworts, or Greens, 3s 3d to 4s 6d; and Leeks, is 3d
to 2s per dozen bunches ; Apples, 2s to 4s ; Pears, 3s to
8s; and Onions, 2s to 3s per half sieve ; Forced Po-
tatoes, 8d; Pine Apples, 8s to lOs ; and Filberts, is to
is 6d per lb; Savoys, is 3d to 2s per dozen ; Forced Rhu-
barb, is 8d to 2s 3d; ditto Asparagus, 6s to 8s; Horseradish ;
2s to ss; Brocoli, 2s 6d to 4s ; and Celery, is 3d to 3s
per bundle; Oranges, 5s to lls ; Lemons, 8a to 12s ; and
ITorced French Beans, 3s per hundred; Forced Cucumbers,
3s to 5s each.

EtTNGERPORD.
The supply of each kind of Meat here was somewhat ex-
tensive. Prime qualities commanded a steady inquiry, at
full prices ; but, in other kinds, only a moderate business was
doing. Fruit, Vegetables, and Fish sold slowly, at barely
late rates.

Week
ending

NAME OF RAILWAY.

Mar. 8
7

Arbroath and Forfar ..........

Birmingham and Gloucester.. • • • • • • • •
Brandling Junction .
Bristol and Gloucester ...... . • • • • • • •

Chester and Birkenhead . • • • • • • • • • •
Dublin and Drogheda..
_, ... .. ___

Dublin and Kingstown . • • • • •
Dundee and Arbroath .
Durham and Sunderland . •
Edinburgh and Glasgow . • • • • •• • • • •
Eastern Counties and North Eastern..
Glasgow, Kilmarnock, and Ayr .. •• .
Glasgow and Greenock
Grand Junction .. •••• • • • ..

Last
week.

136
3,318

450
2,070
3,512
1,544

Great North of England • . • • •• .....
Great Western . • • • • • •

Liverpool and Manchester
London and Birmingham . • ..... •••
London and Blackwell..
London and Brighton . ..

London and Croydon. .........

London and Greenwich . •• •• •• • • • • ••
London and South Western. • • • • • • ••
Manchester, Bolton, and Bury •• ••
Manchester and Birmingham• • • • . •
Manchester, Leeds, and Hull Assoc• •
Midland Counties

706
7,917
1,722
13,165
4,746
14,336

695
2,634

833
4,494
874

6,532
9,179
1,095
1,380
327
1,277
4,078
4,140

Newcastle and Darlington •• •• •• •• ••
Newcastle and Carlisle ... • • • •• ••
Newcastle and North ......Shields.•
North Union and Bolton and Preston
Paris, Cornell, and Orleans•• •• •• ••
Paris and Ronen •• •• •• ••
Preston and Wyre— ... •.•• ..

Sheffield and Manchester...........
South Ea5tern.....................

G 34
3,337
791

I g
4,-
2.1..;
t,l
c.) 1'
4,,.!..4t4

11G
1,931

523
1,972
3,416
1,270

705
6,690
1,555
11,544
3,771
13,500

b 36
2,382

614
4,GGO
759
2,858
5,,;43
7,111

1,364

Taff Vale
Ulster . ........... ....... ..........
Yarmouth and Norwich •• •• ••
York and North Midland . • • .• •••• ..

304
1,179
3,776
3,761
195

495
2,5.)9
563
543

205
2,211

1,951

MONEY MARKET and CITY NEWS.

jJji ICi iiihjt

There was not a large business done in Cotton at Liver-
pool yesterday. Sales 5,000 bales, including 400 American
and 600 Egyptian on speculation. Surat, Brazil, and Egyp-
tian were nearly l/2d. per lb. dearer than yesterday week,
but the prices then quoted for American were realised with
difficulty, especially for cotton in bond.--:-A large busi-
ness was done in Railway Shares at firm rates. Grand
Junction and Birmingham were in good request. Bir-
kenhead, Manchester, and Chester, 8% .% ; Blackburn,
Burnley, and Accrington, 5%j Bolton, Wigan, and Liver-
pool, 8% (3 ; Caledonian, 8 % ; Cambridge and Lincoln,
6% 4 ; Chester and Bir enhead, 42 41% ; Ditto, New
Shares, 33:Y z) Ditto, Half Shares, 21% ; Chester and Holy-
head, 814 8 ; Chester and Preston Brook. 4% ; Churnet
Valley, 6 % ; Clydesdale Junction, 7% ; Cork and
Brandon, 4 ; Dublin, Mullingar, and Athlone, 2%; Dun-
dalk and Enniskillen, 2% ; Eastern Counties, 21 ; Ditto,
Perpetual, No. 1, 51. 13s. 4d. ; Ditto, No. 2, 245. 6d ; Ely and
Bedford, 2% 1/2 ; Glasgow and Dumfries, 175., 17s. 6d., IBs. ;
Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock. 164 ; Ditto, Half Shares,
734; Grand Junction, 229_ ; Ditto, Half ' Shares 115 ; Ditto,
New Quarter Shares, 45% ; Ditto, Eighths, 19% ; Great
Grimsby and Sheffield, 4 ;Ditto, xtension, 71/ N/4 ; Great
Western, 177 ; Ditto, Half Shares, 1001, ; Ditto, Fifths, 40 ;
Lancaster and Preston, 531, ; Ditto, Three-quarter Shares,
324 ; Limerick and Waterford, 41. 6s. ; Liverpool and Man-
chester, Half Shares, 103 ; Liverpool, Ormskirk, and Pres-
ton, 31. 2s. 3/. ss. ; ondon and Birmingham, 233 ;
London and Brighton, 64; London and Croydon, Third
Shares, 5; Londonderry and Enniskillen, 21. 6s. 3d. 21 ;
London and York, 31/ 1/2 ; Direct Northern, 4% ;
Leeds and West Riding Junction, 7% ' • Manchester and
Birmingham, 644 ; Ditto, Quarter Shares, %;
Ditto, New Shares, 5 premium ; Manchester, Bury, and
Rossendale, 14; Manchester, Bolton, and Bury' 165 ; Man-
chester and Leeds, 143 1421 A; Ditto, Half Shares, 64 ;
Midland Railway, 139; Ditto, 401. Shares, 13% 12% ;
North British, Half Shares, 4%; Preston and Wyre,
304 ; Sheffield and Manchester, 1071 ; Sheffield
and Lincoln, 14 ; Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton,
and Birmingham, 64 %; Shrewsbury and Grand Junction,
61,4 %; Shrewsbury, Oswestry, and Chester, 3/. 31. Is. 6d. ;
South-Eastern and Dover, 43 ,• Ditto, New, No. 1,162 A ;
Ditto, New, No. 3, 81,4 ; Worcester and Tring, 3% ;
Bordeaux and Toulouse (Mackenzie's), 2%; Bordeaux and
Cette, 51s. ; Boulogne and Amiens (English), 10% ;
Northern of France (English), 6 ; Paris and Lyons (French),
3%; Paris and Lyons (Ganneron's), 21,4 ; Paris and Or-
leans, 51 ; Paris and St. Quentin, 7a. 6s..prem. ; Verona and
Ancona, 21s.

There are no ship arrivals with late news of interest.
The banks of Scotland, during the four weeks to the Ist
inst., diminished their circulation by 83,350/, but those of
Ireland augmetred theirs by 15,442/. as regards the private
and joint-stock establishments, and by 8,000/. as respects the
Bank of Ireland.

The Bank of England, in the week to Saturday last, in-
creased its paper issues by 69,970/. ; its bullion by 146,374/. ;
its rest by 2,095/. ; and its deposits, public and private, by
about 458,000/. In the seven-day and other bills, however,
there was a decrease of 9421.

There is a steady market for Consols, but the transactions
are limited. The quotations have been 993/4 to % for pre-
sent transfer, and 100 to 1/4 for Account; Exchequer-bills
are 675. to 655. premium; Bank Stock for Account is 2171
to 215.

The Foreign Stocks are very dull, though firm. Spanish
Three per Cents. realise 30% 1,4 ; Portuguese Converted, 67
to 67%; and Mexican, 36%. Dutch Two-and-a-Halt per
Cents. bring 63%.
This is settling day in the Share Market, but there has
been a good general business, chiefly in the scrip and small
shares. Caledonian shares have advanced again, and Shrews-
bury and Wolverhampton have been in favour; the York
lines have been quieter; Brighton have rallied. In the
French shares there is not much doing.

BRITISH FUNDS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK.
(From the Official List.)
3 per Cent. Consols Aims 99%3/
India Bonds 1,000/
Ditto under 1,000/ 75
South Sea Stock
Ditto New Annuities
Bank Stock for Account. 2171% 215 216
Consols for Account
Exchequer Bills 13/4d, 11,4 d.
1,0001.
'5OO/.
Ditto Small
Ditto Advertised ..... pm.
PRICE OF FOREIGN FUNDS AT ONE O'CLOCK.

Mexican Bonds, 1837, 5 per Cent 36%
Portuguese Bonds, 5 per Cent —
Ditto Converted
Ditto for the Account 67%
Spanish Bonds, 5 per Cent., 1840 30%4
Dutch 2% per Cents
Ditto 4 per Cent. Certificates

PRICE OF SHARES AT ONE O'CLOCK.
RAILWAYS. PAID. PER SRAM
Armagh, Coleraine, P3rtrush 1% 134%.... to
Birmingham and Gloucester 100 l3l
Bristol and Exeter
Ditto, New
Bristol and Gloucester

Caledonian
Cambridge and Lincoln ... 1%
Chester and Holyhead 5 ...... 814 A... to
Churnet Valley
Cornwall
_ _

Diss, Beccles, and Yarmouth 1% 2 to
Dublin and Belfast Junction 21,4 6ll ~.... to 6
Eastern Counties
Eastern Union
Ditto Extension
Ely and Bedford 1 IA 2% to
GrEat Grimsby and Sheffield... 2:h 3s to 4
Great South and W. (Irish)... 5
Ditto Extension

Great North of England ..... .100 1V8'....... to

Ditto New ... .... : ...... ...... 5
Ditto New
Great Western
_ _ _

Ditto % Shares 5O lOl
Ditto Fifths
Guildford, Farnham, Portms.
Hull and Selby SO

Ditto Half Shares
London and Birmingham lOO 233 to

Ditto Thirds _
Ditto Quarters
London and Brighton... .. 50
London and Croydon
Ditto Guaranteed 5 per Ct. 4
Loudon and South Western.. 41%...... 80
London and York ... ..... .... . . 212...... 3%%% to
Manchester and Birmingham 40
Midland

Ditto New
Midland, Birm. and Derby ...100 10414 to 107
Newcastle& Darlington :iiinc. 24 ...... 46
Newcastle and Berwick
North British

Ditto New 1 .. ... 41/4—., .... to 4%
Noi th Kent
North Wales l4 2% to
Rugby, Worcester, and Tring 1
Shrews.,Wolver., Dud., Birm. 21
South Eastern and Dover ... 33% ...... 42%3A to
Ditto New, No. 1 8
Ditto New, No. 2 2 12% to
Ditto New, No. 3 2% 84 %%% to 81/2%
South Wales
West Cornwall
York and North Midland ... 50 ......102% to
Ditto Selby
Ditto, Extension
FRENCH RAILWAYS.
Bordeaux and Toulouse
Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Cette 2

Great Northern of France ... 4 6 ...
to 534
Orleans and Bordeaux ... .. 2
Paris and Lyons ( Laffitte) ... 2
Paris and Lyons (Ganneron's) 2 ... ..V2
2%
to

Paris avid Orleans ' 20 ...... 51

t•5O

Pans and Rouen
Paris and Strasburg 2 .. 234 to

MANCHESTER STOCK EXCHANGE, MARCH 14.—The sales
are :—Birmingham and Gloucester, New Shares, 31/2 %;
Eastern Counties, 2014 ; Lancaster and Preston, 533/4 ;
Manchester and Leeds, Sixteenth Shares, 71% ; Manchester
and Birmingham, Quarter Shares, 9 15-16 ex new and ex
die. ; Ditto, New Quarters, 4 15-16 5 prem. ; Preston and
Wyre, 293/ 1/, ; South-Eastern. No. 3, 814 %; Barnsley
Junction, 7 ; Birkenhead, Manchester, and Cheshire Junction,
8 % ; Blackburn, Darwen, and Bolton, 4% ; Bolton, Wigan,
and Liverpool, 81/ ; Caledonian, 81/2 % ; Cambridge and
Lincoln, 614 ; Dublin and Belfast Junction, 6 Ely and
Bedford, 2;(4 ; Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction, 3% 3/4 ;
Kendal and Windermere, 4%; Leeds and West Riding Junc-
tion, 7 6% ; London and York, 3% 3-16 ; Manchester and
Buxton, 2 1 15-16 ; Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton,
21/s ; Scottish Central, 41/s ; Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junc-
tion, 235. 9d. ; Shrewsbury and Grand Junction, 714 ; Shrews-
bury, Wolverhampton, Dudley, &c., 6% 6 ; Southport and
Euxton, 3 1-16 ; Trent Valley, 16% ex new; Manchester
Fire and Life Assurance, 11%; Union Plate Glass, 18%.

LLOYD'S SHIPPING.-(THIS DAY.)
LONDON, MARCH 15.—Wind, Northerly, fresh breeze and
hazy, but fine.
DEAL, MARCH 14.—Wind E.N.E. to N.E. by E., mode •
rate.—Sld. Louisa Campbell, New Zealand ; Lady Clarke
and Orlando, Calcutta; Sea Witch, Gambia ; Great Britain
and Lady Seaton, Montreal.
PORTSMOUTH, MAnot 14.—Wind E.N.E., fresh breeze.—
Feires, St. David's, for Valparaiso, and is come into the har-
bour to take in a patent slip. Std. Thorney, Close, St. John's,
New Brunswick. Arrd. Tagus steamer, Brooks, Constanti-
nople, left on the 22d ult., Smyrna 24th, Malta 28th, and
Gibraltar 7th inst.

PLYMOUTH, MARCH 14.—Wind E.—Arrd. Robert Clive,
Mercer, St Helena.
WHITSTABLE, MARCH 14.—The Prince Albert, Holder-
ness, of Wisbeach, for Sandwich, got in contact with the
smack Sophia. of London, during a gale at midnight of the
12th inst., and received damage ; she took assistance, and
has gone into Faversham Creek.
CORK, MARCH 12.—The Lucy Ann, of Bristol, from Icha-
boe, stranded at Kinsale, has been towed in here by her Ma-
jesty's steamer Dee.
DUBLIN, MARCH 13.—The Burly, which was stranded at
Arklow, has been towed into the Liffey by the Adelina
steamer.

LIVERPOOL, MARCH 14.—Wind variable and light.—Arrd.
Mississippi, Hillyards, New Orleans. Sld. 13. Jamaica,
Barbadues. 14. Bidston and Princess Royal, Calcutta;
Hartland, Bombay; Sandford, Rio Grande; Zephyr, Africa;
Oregon, New York. Off; Nais.
CLYDE, MARCH 13.—Wind variable.—Sld. Eglinton, St.
John's, New Brunswick.
WARRENPOINT, MARCH 13.—Wind E.—Sld. Orissa,
Bombay.
HULL, MARCH 13.—Arrd. George, Cornelison, La Guayra
for Hamburgh, put back from off the Elbe, on account of
the ice. 14. The Clyde, from Gainsborough to Whitstable,
grounded on a sand bank, off Burton, 9th inst., and upset and
filled, but was subsequently righted and brought in here—
crew saved.

NEWPORT, MAncii 13.—S1d. Trinidad, Grenada.
PLYMOUTH, MARCH 14.—1 t has blown a heavy gale from
daylight to the present time (3 P.M.), and continues without
sign of abatement.
SHEERNESS, MARCH 13.—The Jack, White; got on the five
fathom Middle Sand, during a snow-storm this morning, but
was assisted off in a sinking state, and brought in here.
SWANSEA, MARCH 13.—The Little Avon, Gregory, of
Christchurch, came ashore in here this morning.
SOUTHWOLD, MARCH 13.—The Industry, of Whitby, is
riding at anchor, close in shore, off Dunwich.
GIBRALTAR, MARCH 6.—The Duc Sorelli, Peri, from Ali-
cant to this port, was in contact with the Carlota, Lagana,
from Liverpool to Palermo, 11th instant, off Carthagena, and
sank ; crew saved. The Carlota received but trifling damage.
The French vessel reported to have been wrecked near Tarifa
proves to be the brig Henriette, of Sa:des D'Obnine ; she
struck on the Cabezes Rock, came off leaky, was run ashore
to prevent her sinking, and has since gone to pieces. '[he
American barque Grand Turk, Mayo, bound from Cadiz to