Feb. 10,] 



THE NEWSPAPER. 



Qmnttaf winch distinguished the Attorney-fieneral for Ireland, f racnt of children and young persons in factories. This Bill wiii 



he was not prepared at the instance of political opponents, to 

 vield to the demand that that right hon. gentleman should be 

 iCnomiriioosi < missed, as a member of his own profession had 

 in his absence that evening called upon the Government to do.— 

 Mr. Shaw warmly defended the Attorney-General and called np 

 Serjeant Stock, who testified to his talents and amiableness of 

 character. After a long continuance of this discussion the 

 iloosr me back to the proposition before it, and divided on 

 Mr. Crawford's amendment, when there appeared for striking 

 out thr paragraph, 35; against H, 141 1 majority, 107-— Mr. 

 Fke.vi •( now made a charge on the Government for appoint- 

 ing Knclishmen and Scotchmen to aitnations in Ireland, an 1 

 stigmatised the nomination of Lord Devon as a fresh insult 

 to Ireland.— Sir R. P«« L replied, and Mr. S. CaAwroao expressed 

 his thanks to the Government for having appointed the commis- 

 sion.— Mr. Dim 'iubi withdrew his amendment respecting the 

 county franchise in Ireland. The Address was then sgreed to. 

 —Sir R. Pkki. stated the Government did not intend to institute 

 any new inquiry respecting Jomt-stock Ranks, but that they 

 would on their own respoosibili')-, introduce a measure affecting 

 the ink nf Kngland and Joint-stock Banks generally. The 

 Metroje)in Improvement Hill was read a first time. 



Jfturday.— On the motion of Sir R. Pkkl It was resolved that 

 In oonsr i 1 -nee of the death of the Duke of Saxe C« rg (i otha, 

 the fa' f Prince Albert, the order for presenting the Address 



to her Majenty by the whole House be rescinded, and the Ad- 

 dress be presented by such Members as were Privy Councillors. 



Mond -Earl Jkkmyn appeared at the bar and read the an 

 srwer of her Majesty to the Address. Various questions were 

 asked, one relating to the Oregon territory respecting which Sir 

 R. Paar. Intimated that negotiations were still pending, and 

 another by Mr. Hlewitt relating to the rumour that her Majesty 

 was In debt, and that a consequent increase of the civil list 

 would be necessary.— Sir R. Punt, gave this an emphatic contra, 

 diction, remarking that the whole course of her Majesty's life 

 and habits might have shownthat there wan not asyllableof truth 

 in the rumour, and that her Majesty is not one shilling in arrcar. 

 — Mr. Of .sinTovK, as President of the Board of Trade, moved 

 the appoint mm' of a select committee to consider the standing 

 orders relating to railways and the course which it might be 

 expedient f.,r Parliament to take with respect to applications for 

 Hew - <>r for new powers In relation to old lines. He in' 



ted that it might be fitting to reduce the amount of deposit 



a» reqn by the standing orders, and having rerard to the 

 growing importance of the subject he suggested that r.« rail- 



way bills si id be referred to the Board of Trade before the 



mtr< etion of them into the House of Commons. Hi< present 



motion w nclnde any inquiry into the checks which it 



might be desirable to provide against the alleged a w of exist- 

 ing railwa There were Indications of a disposl n to 

 apply for ting lines ; but such lines wonld not produce all 

 Chose advantages to the public which are cons; erf as attaching 



to com pet n in other matters, and he was not without hopethat 

 such advantages might be ohtamed from the good sense of the 

 existinr companies without any unlimited encouragement to 

 competing ! «. The object he chiefly desired was a reasonable 

 arrangement for passengers of the third-class, which he thought 

 there was a disposition to concede, and which he believed would 

 be attainable without breaking down the fair principle of the 

 general charges.— Mr. I.tBoi/cnsaa, while agreeing generally 

 with what had been advanced by Mr.Gladstone, was not disposed 

 to undervalue railway competition. If competing lines sometimes 

 did no good, at all events they did no harm ; and there were cases 

 in which they were beneficial, as, for instance, the South Western 

 •nd the Great Western railways to a certain extent competed 

 with each other, and contributed thereby to lower rates of car- 

 riage. Any one who had travelled abroad and had witnessed the 

 effectt of low rates on the continental railways, of which an izans 

 availed themselves in proceeding to their employment, would be 

 sensible of the importance of the subject of third-class passengers, 

 which was to be referred to the runmittee. and which he hoped 

 would not be unnecessarily restricted in its investigating.— \f r 

 Roebuck did not like the half-and-half way in which it was 

 proposed to deal with the subject. Why not include railways 

 passed, as well as railways to come ? Those alreari v in existence 

 had obtained monopolies at the expense of the public, and it was 

 not desirable that the committee should be fettered. He should 

 like to prevent such connections between railwavs as would 

 amalgamate in"tead of keeping them competing lines— as gas 

 companies were said to unite, and cheat the public by their unity. 

 The subject of third-class passengers was also extremely import- 

 ant. On the (ircst Western there was a third-class train, but it 

 went by night, not by day, the passengers had to stand, there 

 was no covering, and at the stations there was neither fire nor 

 shelter for them— evils aggravated by the time occupied, for while 

 the first-class passenger reached his destination in 6 hours, the 

 third-class took 24. The expense at which railwavs had been 

 constructed was pleaded; but if advancing science showed that 

 2000/. a mile would suffice where 60,000/. had been expended, the 



P ? .i! C T, ere " 0t t0 be the suff erers.— Mr. C. Re ss«ll, chairman 

 of the Great Western Railway, gave a contradiction to some of 

 *■* Roebuck's allegations. The third-class carriages were fur 



limit the labour of children between the ages of eight and thirteen 

 to six and a half hoars a day ; yoong women between 13 and 18 

 will be restricted by I 1 12 hours' labour ; and women of every 

 age, in cotton, silk, wool, and flax manufactories, will be con- 

 fined to 12 hours' labour. With respect to education, he said that 

 the experience of last year had determined him not to interfere 

 with the quality of the instruction given to the children. It had 

 been the desire of Government to form some scheme of instruc- 

 tion comprehending Scripture reading independent of doctrinal 

 differences, but he was now convinced that reliance must be 

 placed on the exertions of the millowners themselves. And it 

 was no vague reliance, for he felt con v inced that an honest rivalry 

 had arisen between the Church and the Dissenters, and that great 

 efforts would be made to diffuse the blessings of moral and reli- 

 gious education amongst the dense masses of the manufacturing 

 population. At all events, he was not prepared to interfere, 

 directly or indirectly, with the quality of the education to be given. 

 All he asked the House to do was, to give the children an oppor- 

 tunity of attending school for at least three hours each day, 

 except Saturday.— Mr. Hcmk designated this attempt at legisla- 

 tion as "a perfect folly."— Mr. S. Wobtlev, Mr. Hindley and 

 Lord Ash ley complimented the Government on their proposed 

 measure, and leave was obtained to bring in the Bill. 



On the order for going into a committee of supply, Mr. Craw- 

 roan moved a long resolution, setting forth a host of grievances 

 and intending to be in the nature of a stoppage of the supplies. 

 The resolution was twofold, the first half insisting on its being 

 the immediate duty of the House to make inquiry into grievances 

 alleged or complained of ; the second denying the competency of 

 the House to grant supplies, or to perform any legislative func- 

 tions whatever, by reason of defects in its constitution.— Mr. 

 Williams seconded the motion.— Sir R. Pkkl exposed its im- 

 practicability, even if comprehensible. If one-tenth of the 

 "grievances" enumerated In this lengthy composition were 

 inquired into by any commission of the House, the real business 

 would have to be postponed to the Greek Kalends. Besides the 

 House would hardly be so silly as to vote itself **a criminal," 

 which it would do if it agreed to this resolution propounded.— 

 Mr. Hi/me objected to the resolution, but nevertheless gave it 

 his support.— On a division there were— For Mr. Crawford's 

 resolution, 22; against it, 130: Majority, against it, 108.— 

 A convcrsatioti touching the appointment of the landlord and 

 tenant commission in Ireland followed, in which Sir R. Peel com- 

 plained that, after selecting persons with the view of being 

 agreeable to the Opposition, he found that they were still dissa- 

 tisfied. — After explanations given by the Loan Advocate of 

 Si ot lasts respecting certain imprisonments arising out of a riot 



[1844. 



frost. A change of temperature, however, has since t L 

 place, and the snow on Wednesday had disappeared ^** 

 The Alias Prize Essay.— Some months since tk. 

 proprietor of the Atlas newspaper offered three nrU Ji 

 100/., 50/., and 25/., for the three best essavs ^u' 



and Professor Wilson. The arbiters have decided that \c 



Samuel Laing, late Fellow of St John's, Cambridge 

 entitled to the premium of 100/. ; that the writer of tk. 

 Essay bearing the initials " B. C. E." is entitled to the 

 second premium of 50/. ; and that Mr. Edward Baines rf 

 Leeds, is entitled to the third premium of 25/. * 



Clergy Orphan Corporation. — The annual general court 

 of the governors of this institution was held on Saturda 

 afternoon at the Freemasons' Tavern, to receive the report 

 of the committee, and for the election of candidates for 

 admission into the school. The Archbishop of Canterburr 

 presided. The Rev. Dr. Sheppard stated that the affair! 

 of the corporation were in a most satisfactory position* 

 and that there were at present 140 orphans in the schools' 

 The Rev. Doctor then read the auditor's report, from 

 which it appeared that the annual subscriptions amounted 

 to 1,422/. 15*. ; donations, 322/. 10$. ; dividends on stock 

 2,879/. 5s. lie/.; legacies, 1,600/. ; which, with other 

 items, made a gross income of 6,611/. 9s. lid. The ex. 

 penditure amounted to 6,527/. 1*. 2d., leaving a balance 

 of 84/. 85. 9d., in favour of the institution.. The appren- 

 ticing fund for the past year amounted to 795/., of whici 

 262/. lOd. had been contributed by the trustees of the 

 Cholmondely charities. There had been 18 boys and girls 

 apprenticed out, with whom 355/. had been paid in appro 



„.. v . ** ce ^ ees * The balance had been laid out in the purchase 



at Roskecn, the House went into a committee of supply pro °* ? Exchequer bills. The report having been received, the 



&**•* *!: * mJumr t ? obt4 ^ l> . t ^ J—— to ***** in two t""« relat- j Bishop of London, after adverting to the valuable assist- 



• ».»»..»•.» . *. ance which the institution had derived from the counte- 



Mr 



nished with commodious seats, and though they had no covering 

 the company was extremely anxious to promote the comfort of 

 the passengers, it it could be afford? d at a reasonable expense 

 But no company could convey passengers at a rate which was 

 not remunerating.— Mr. Wallace remarked on the monopolising 

 tendencies of the railway companies, who nought, he said, their 

 own self-interest, and not the advantage of the public at iargc 

 —Sir R. Pkkl . ited out that it was im-ortant not to interrupt 

 the progress of legislation by retarding the period when the com- 

 mittee might report on matters affecting the interests of the 

 various companies now applying to Parliament. The expense of 

 these applications was very great \ and it was right that as little 

 delay as possible should be permitted to elapse before they ascer- 

 tained the conditions on which their applications would be com- 

 plied with. They hid a perfect right to make new terms with 

 new companies ; hut though not insensible to the evils of mono- 

 poly he contended that there was a great difference between new 

 companies and those who had completed their undertakings on 

 the faith of acts of Parliament. Mr. Wallace objected that they 

 looked to their own interest. What else would yoa have them 

 to do? Is not self-interest the vivifying soul of all commerce > 

 We should take a comprehensive view of the subject, and never 

 forget that it was private capital alone that achieved all these 

 great enterprises; and though some companies might divide 10 

 or 15 percent, more than was originally anticipated— though the 

 snares of one might be quoted at 153, and another at on, we must 

 remember that there were others which had yielded no return, 

 and if we deducted from the profits of the successful we were 

 equally bound to compensate the unsuccessful. It would perhaps 

 be well for railway companiea to direct their attention to the 

 results of the experiment of the Atmospheric Railway in Ireland 

 which had effected a great change in the opinions of many prac- 

 tical men ; but though the House of Commons might devise' means 

 to keep up fair and open competition, it should squatty avoid 

 interference— After some furthei conversation, concluded by 

 some hearty denunciations of all railways from Col. Sibtiiorp 

 the motion for the committee was agreed to. The only other 

 business of the evening was the renewal of the select committe 

 on the Merchant Seaman's Fund, g 



T««rf«//.-Ami)tig; other notices if motion Mr. Connicv pave 

 notice, for Tuesday week, to move for a select committee to 

 inquire into the effects of import duties on tenant-farmers and 

 farm-labourers.— In reply to Mr. Laiioi-chrrr. Sir R. PEKLstated 

 that he coi lered our commercial negotiations with Portugal 

 to be at an sod, and that no advance had been made since last 



sess-.on in our neg >tiatfonfl for a commercial treaty with Pranee, 



— Sir J. Graham moved 'or leave to bring in his Bill for the better 

 regulation and amendment of the laws relating to the emplov. 



ing to the recovery of small debts. 



Wednesday.— After the presentation of a few petitions, Lord 

 Palmer- roil -gave notice, for the 19th inst., to move an address 

 to her Majesty, praying her to consent to no modification of the 

 treaties now in force for the suppression of the slave trade, which 

 might render more easy the perpetration of so detestable a crime. 

 —To a question put by Mr. Wvse, sir J. Graham said Govern- 

 ment was not yet in a position to come to a definite opinion re- 

 specting the grants that would be made this year for educational 

 purposes.— Mr. Hume gave notice of his intention to move for a 

 committee to inquire into the frauds that have been committed 

 in the tobacco aud silk trades ; also to inquire into the expense 

 of the Coast Guard establishment. 



Thursday.— Lord Ash lev moved an address to the Crown 

 praying her Majesty to take into her consideration the situation 

 and treatment of the Ameers of Scinde, and that she will direct 

 their immediate restoration to liberty and the enjoyment of their 

 estates, or with such provision for their future maintenance as 

 may be considered a just equivalent. The Noble Lord commenced 

 his speech by saying that he had thought of abandoning this 

 motion until the appearance of a letter in the papers bearing the 

 signature of Sir Henry Pottinger had rendered his case irresist- 

 ible—for in that letter Sir Henry described the proceedings that 

 had taken place in Scinde as the most unprincipled and disgrace- 

 ful that had ever stained our faith and honour. His Lordship 

 then reviewed the history of our connexion with Scinde, and 



rcbly dwelt on the claims which the Ameers had established 

 on the consideration and sympathy of the British House of Com- 

 mons. He contended that they had been long and constantly 

 faithful, with the exception of their last sole falling off; that they 

 had been caressed and treated with the utmost delicacy when we 

 wanted their assistance, and that now when they were fallen we 

 had treated them with unnecessary harshness, injustice, and 

 cruelty. If they had become our enemies it was only in the 

 height of our prosperity; they had ever been friends to'us 

 during the period of our adversity.— Mr. Roebuck then rose 

 and in a three hours' speech proposed three resolutions con.' 

 demning Lord Auckland's conduct as the foundation of Lord 

 Ellcnborongh's recent measures, and calling on the House to 

 treat the Ameers with every consideration.— Mr. Emkrsom 

 Tbvvavt denied the authenticity of the letter purporting to be 

 written by Sir H. Pottinger. and Sir J. HoBHOusareplied'to Mr 

 Roebuck's attack upon Lord Auckland.-Sir R. Pkkl having 

 declared that nothing could justify him in consenting to the 

 motion, was ready to consent to agree to that moiety of the 

 address which prayed her Majesty to take into consideration the 

 situation and treatment of the Ameers of Scinde. To the remain, 

 der he objected because it would be a vote of censure on the 

 Government in India, and because he believed it impolitic ad 

 unwise to attempt to make rules here to retrain the actions of 

 the Executive in so distant a part of our empire. 1 he Ameers 

 should be treated with every consideration and respect due S 

 their former state and their present misfortunes.-Lord 

 Jocclvv supported Lord Ashley's motion.-Sir C Nap.kr 

 ouposed it.-iord J Rcsseu. would not take on hunse.f 

 the responsibility of voting for the motion; but even f 



hov Wer fw nut Carr , ,ed ' thc NobIe **** who Proposed it would 

 have the consolation of knowing that if there had been 



A r nfeTr a,1 %H° inf ^ tio " of showing proper rrspect towards "he 

 Ameers, this motion would serve to effect that object-Lord 

 As„,.,v not being willing to accept the compromise Tf£red him 



motion n« m,Cr ' "\ a l l ° * divi8ion ' when there were for the 

 motion. 6s : against it, 202; majority, 1 84. -Mr. Divktt then 



moved an address to the Queen, praying her to disJi"" F R 

 Bonham, Esq. from the office of Storekeeper of the Ordnance' 

 The hon. Member's charges against Mr. Bonham, which "were 

 made amidst repeated peals of laughter, denounced him as the 

 confiden tial electioneering agent of the Conservative "part? to 

 confidential friend of the Prime Minister. &c Rut *s ?h» I 

 Member could not find a seconder his Stfon TfelUo the erouna' 

 J?T The s """ enured «he House at the usual tirne 

 bu there being only 34 members present at four o'clock The 

 right hon. gentleman adjourned the House. ' 



CITY. 



Money Market, Friday. - Consols for the account 



equer 



iHctropolts an* its Ffcfofto 



The JVealher.-A heavy fall of snow took place on 

 Saturday morning, succeeded by another fall on Sunday 



ell L °^ a k\r eV with fr ° St SCt ^ and the ther *omete y r 

 tell to 22; Fahr., with every prospect of a continuance of 





nance given to it by the Most Rev. Prelate in the chair, 

 moved that his Grace be requested to continue to presid? 

 over the charity. The motion having been carried unani- 

 mously, His Grace said that he accepted the office with great 

 pleasure. He had been connected with the Clergy Orphan 

 Schools for upwards of thirty years, and though he was 

 now well stricken in years, and could not be supposed 

 to render any very efficient service, still he felt it his duty 

 to do all in his power to promote the well-being of an 

 institution which he was aware must be a great consolation 

 to his poorer brethren, from the prospect that it afforded 

 of a good education for their orphan children. The 

 vacancies in the schools were then filled up by the election 

 of five boys and two girls, and it was agreed that the Rev. 

 Dr. Sheppard and Mr. C. Barnewell should henceforth be 

 joint treasurers. 



State of the Streets. — At the adjourned meeting of the 

 Commissioners of Sewers on Tuesday, Mr. Gore, the con- 

 tractor, announced that he had come to an arrangement 

 with the Patentee of the Street Sweeping Machine, and 

 that one-sitth of the City would henceforth be cleansed by 

 the machine. It was then reported by the inspectors, 

 that about 200 streets and lanes had not been cleansed 

 after the fall of snow on Friday and Saturday. A motion 

 was made to rescind Mr. Gore's contract, but ultimately it 

 was agreed to wait until the court could judge of the 

 arrangement effected with the patentee of the machines, 

 Mr. Gore being given to understand, that for every neglect 

 on the part of the machines he would be held responsible, 

 for the members of the Court of Sewers, as well as the 

 public at large, were determined to have the streets of the 

 City kept in a clean and proper state. 



Victoria Park. — On Monday, the term having expired 

 for clearing away the land lately purchased by the Crown 

 at Old Ford and Bethnal-Green for the commencement 

 of the new park, the Crown took possession of its newly- 

 acquired property. No other preliminary steps, however, 

 have as yet been taken, although nearly "three years have 

 elapsed since the passing of the Act empowering the Com- 

 missioners of Woods and Forests to purchase the land 

 required for the formation of the park. 



Exclusion of Catholics from Juries. — A public meeting 

 was held on Wednesday, at the Freemasons' Tavern, for 

 the purpose of considering the propriety of addressing her 

 Majesty on the conduct of the Law Officers of the Crown 

 in Ireland in excluding Roman Catholics from the Jury on 

 the State Trials. The room was crowded long before the 

 commencement of the proceedings. On the platform were 

 Lords Camoys and Stourton, the Hon. C. Langdale, Mr. 

 Howard, M.P., Sir D. Vavasour, Bart., P. C. Maxwell, 

 Esq., and several other gentlemen. Lord Camoys was 

 called to the chair, and read the requisition, which was 

 signed by 104 persons; his Lordship also stated that among 

 the requisitionists appeared the names of eight Peers, and 

 the adhesion of the Earls of Traquair and Shrewsbury had 

 since been received. Lord Stourton proposed the first 

 resolution—* 4 That the abolition of civil distinctions on 

 account of religion was the avowed object of those who 

 introduced and understood the principle of the Act for the 

 emancipation of the Roman Catholics." Several other 

 resolutions were put and carried deprecating the late pro- 

 ceedings in Ireland in selecting the jury panel, and adopt- 

 ing an address to her Majesty on the subject. . 



Anti-Curn-Law League The third weekly meeting of 



the League was held on' Thursday night in Covent Garden 

 Theatre. Mr. Wilson presided, and the meeting ^as 

 addressed by. the Hon. Mr. Villiers, Mr. Cobden, and Sir 

 De L;icy Evans. 



London Free Secedcrs.— The Presbytery of Edinburgh 

 have suspended and deprived the Rev'. James Hamilton 



