Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1855-03-29

'Ne'e" "e'o 10 stHkihg dIucle on Inc
subject of"Privatc Bill Legislation" which
is as worthy OF attention in this country as
in England for, although there is as yet
no comparison between the two countrie.
in the amount OF this exceptional legislation
yet the tendency here, as in England, 10 to
convert legislative bodies into mere ma.
chimes for advancing the interests Of indi.
viduals and associations At the expense of
the public.
The number:of personal, private, and To-
cal acts in force in Great Britain the re-
viewer states to be over twenty.six thous-
and, and The larger portion of these have
been enacted during the reign Of Queen
Victoria. at is," says he, "a remarkable
fact, that, although the private acts Of the
United States Of America up to is45 arc
comprised in a single Svo., the local and
personal and private statutes OF the reign of
Victoria alone occupy upwards Of 10 huge
folio volumes" II is frightful to think OF
such mass of legal number. But the
compliment to the Unitod States is more
apparent than real. The great mass of
private Legislation in Great Britain is in
reference to corporations, and with these
the United States can have but little to 60.
The Legislation of the States must be search
ed to discover the remainder of the afore-
said Seventy huge folio volumes" We
may hope that even this search would no,
quite iii up the blank, but it would 60
great way. ,a u.. .....
In one. respect we are confident the Uni
ted States are far behind Engand-fortu-
nate inferiority and that is, in the expense
of this private legislation. The most strk-
ing illustration of this Is found in the case
Of railway Legislation. We think it is safe
TO assert, OF the strength of evidence that
has come before US from great variety of
British publications, that not much less than
One-third Of the entire cost of the British
railway system has been incurred, in the
first place, in getting railway system char
ters through Parliament, and, in the second
in projecting before that body the interests
Of existing railways from destructive rival
projects.
In the case Of the Great Northern Rail-
way it was shown that the Parliamentary
expenses, before spade was put into the
ground, amounted to the enormous sum of
over two millions of dollars. The direct
ors of the Southeastern Railway recently
stated that their Parliamentary expenses in
the effort tobeat of competitors had amount
ed during the last nine years to an annual
average of two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars. These are specimens merely of
the wasting character Of such Legislation.
Every railway has MT merely to wage a
costly war for its first establishment, but
it is in state of perpetual Parliamentary
war forever after; and for all this it has to
lay. We are not quite 10 bad as this but
how long will it be before the copy rivals
the original ?-[ Charleston Mercury.
DEATH OF A NAVAL Acting MASTER
We regret to have to state that positive in.
formation of the death of Passed Midshir-
man Thos. w. Brodhsad, acting master OF
the U. s. sloop of war Falmouth, has been
received in this city. The vessel was in
the West Indies when he died on the 20tlr
ult., Of yellow fever. This event is the
more distressing from the TACT that Mr.. b.
was young gentleman Of much profession
ly promise. lie was the only remaining
son of our fellow citizen, Dr.. Brodhead, Sec
ond comptroller Of the treasury.
A Commander for the Nep Arctic Er-
pedition.-Lieut. Henry J. Hartstene, U.
8. NJ, has been ordered to the command Of
the Governments expedition to the Arctic
seas, authorized by Congress at its last
session. He was not long since in COM.
mand of the mail steamship Of the line be-
tween New York and San Francisco via
Panama.
This expedition Ito consists Of one stea-
mer and one sailing vessel,) will fit at the
New York navy yard, and will pn'bably
sail as early as June lst next As yet the
sailing ship has not been procured
Washington Star.