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Northern Star (1837-1852), 22nd February 1851, Edition 1 of 2, Page 7, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      PA and by every pound that they make these lesa , jreatnig a . demand for more . " TnE PiPi ^ . AaaRK 38 ios . ~ The parishioners of St Nicholas Without , in the city of Dublin , met on jjonday afteraeon , Patrick Sweetman in the chair ti , protest against any _ legislative ihteference with tbe Catholic Church . Similar meetings were held in the parishes of St . George and St . Peter . Cork School of DEsics . —Tne Lords of the Comm ittee of Privy Council for the Board of Trade have appointed Mr . Robert Scanlan head mnster of the Cork School of Design , at a salary of JE 300 per annum . Their lordships , in compliance with the re commendation of the Local Committee have also been pleased to raise the salary of the second master , Mr . Kuight , to £ 150 per annum . aa-rana ^ The PiPit AaaRKsi ( «—The ™ . ; = w „ - «

      Dabing Attempt of a Deserter io Escape —On Sunday evening a coporal and priva te of the 9 th Foot were escorting a deserter from Mullinoarto Pnblin by the Midland Great Western Railway Tflien within about seven miles of the Dublin , and Bear Clon 3 illa station , the prisoner managed to relieve himself of the handcuffs , and having cauti ously opened the carriage door , jumped out . The corporal in charge , on missing the prisoner , at once made a spring out after him , although at an im minent nsfc of his life , the train going at the rate of fully twenty-five miles an hour at the time On the arrival of the train in Dublin , the matter vas reported to the superintendent , who returned on an engine to where the accident occurred , under the impression that both parties must have been either killed or so disabled as to remain where they jumped out . On reaching the place , he found both the corporal and prisoner quite safe and proceeding on their march to Dublin .

      Untitled Article

      ^ MIDDLESEX SESSIONS . The February Adjourned General Sessions of the Peace for the county of Middlesex commenced on Tuesday morning , at the Court House , CJerkenwell . Sestesce . —Owen Sullivan and William Thompson , convicted at the last session of picking pockets in Parliament-street , on tlie 4 th inst ., were bronght np for judgment . —The officers proved that Sullivan had been convicted nine times , and Thompson once . The former prisoner was sentenced to be transported for seven years , and the latter to be kept to hard labour , at Coldbath-fields , for nine calendar months .

      Defective State of the Law . —John B . Smith , convicted of having defrauded the London Dock Company of half-a-crown , was placed at the bar . —The prisoner was a labourer in the London Docks , and the offence of which he was convicted was that of having , by means of a forgery , obtained a day's pay wore than he was entitled to . —Mr . O'Brien , the prboner ' s counsel , submitted that the indictment was bad , inasmuch as the specific coins obtained liy the prisoner were not set forth , and the court reserved this point , in order to take the opinion of one of the judges , no decision upon it in a case of fraud having been given . —The learned judge said he had consulted several judges upon the point , and the result was that he had now to order the prisoner to be discharged , and in so doing would remark that it was highly desirable that seme net of parliament should be passed to do away with all the 3 e monstrous absurdities .

      Impcdest Robbery , —John Sinithers , 16 , and Thomas Sturgiss , 1 G , were indicted for stealing l , 20 f » coral beads and a medal , the property of Jane Elizabeth Oakley and John Jeffries Oakley . —The prosecutor in this case was Mr . Oakley , of Grass Farm , Finchley , and in the afternoon of the lot * inst ., at about fire o ' clock , the housekeeper observe i the prisoners in the hall , endeavouring to steal out unobserved , the prisoner Sturgiss having his boots in bis hand ; Sinithers escaped and got into a shrubbery near the house , but Sturgiss was captured by the housekeeper , who having secured him , proceeded to search the house , when sho found that the prisoners had got in through the parlour window , and that the drawers in several of

      the up-stairs rooms had been opened and ransacked . One of the farm servants was at work upon the lawn and lie saw the prisoners go along the carriage drive towards the house , but he took no particular notice of them , supposing they had busi-Eess at the house . In a short time , however , he saw one of them ( Smithers ) run from the house to one of the shrubberies , and baring then some suspicion , be followed , and eventually captured him . lie was given into custody with the other prisoner , and on being searched some lucifer matches were found upon Smithers . When they were locked up in the

      crure Sturgiss was overheard by a policeman to say to Smithers , " What did you do with the brads and medal ? " To which he replied , "I threw them into the shrubs . I hope they wont find them ; if tfeoy do , we snail be done . You would not lie under that bed as I told you until it got dark , or , we should have got off . " On a search being made in fae shrubbery , the beads and medal were found , and tie ? were now identified—the beads as the property of Mks Jane E . Oakley , and the medal as the property of JJr . John Jeffries Oakley . —The prisoners were found Guilty , and the court sentenced each of them to six . months' hard labour .

      Thief Tbaisko . —George Jackson , a man paralysed is the lelt arm , was convicted of stealing a piece of bacon . —The prisoner had been convicted five or six times , and it appeared , from the evidence of two City detective officers , tfcat be was a regular trainer of young thieves . One of them stated that le had been tie officer in nine cases where boys who had been taught to thieve by the prisoner had besn sentenced to transportation , and several of taem he had known , before they fell into the prisoner ' s clutches , to be good , respectable boys . He was the recognised ' . ' captain " of a regular tribe of youn- thieves whom be systematically drilled to make them perfect in the practice of their trade . — The learned Judge said this case forcibly showed t ! te strange defect that existed in the jurisdiction of

      this court , which , unfortunately , would have the effect of preventing the court passing upon this prisoner the sentence he so richly merited . The offence of which the prisoner was convicted was one ¦ of simple larceny , and as the court could not in the Tegular and formal manner receive and act on the c-Tj . jence of the former convictions , it could not jsass sentence of transportation upon him . lie certainly hoped this defect would speedily be remedied , as-i , ere long , a deputation of the magistrates woaid , no doubt , wait upon the Secretary If State upon the subject . The court would pass upon him the same sentence as was passed upon the keeper of a place called " The Thieves' Kitchen , " where tHef training was carried on , winch sentence was iiat of eighteen months' hard labour .

      A Pickpocket . —William Dyer , 10 , was convicted cfs-toalingahaukerchief of the value of 2 s ., from tse person of William Walter . —The prisoner had been convicted of the same offence six times previously . —Sentenced to ten years" transportation . Steauxg Harness . —George Brown was convicted of stealing a pair of double reins and hand pieces , value £ 2 10 s ., the property of Sir Wyndham Ansiruther , Bart . —Sentenced to three months ' liii-d labour .

      Steiuxg a Fowl . —James Reynolds was indicted for stealing a tame fowl , the property of James Kuighi . —The prosecutor was a wharfinger at Mileend , and kept a quantity of fowls atfhis wharf . Upwsj-Js of twenty had been stolen since Christfflis , and , on a strict watch beins kept , the prisoner ^ as detected enticing the fowls but of the yard by throwing down corn . He was seen to catch one ii ? and conceal it in bis trousers , where it was found on Iris being apprehended shortly afterwards . Gailtv . Three months' hard labour . *

      Two MmiABT Offesders . —Richard Maxwell , a private in the Fusilier Guards , was convicted of stealing a parasol , a cloak , and other articles , the property of a prostitute . —He was sentenced to eight months' hard labour . James Lee , a private in the Grenadier Guards , " ^ is indicted for a watch , key , &c , value £ 7 14 s , tae property of Richard Balland , from his person . « e fas found Guilty , and sentenced to nine months ' fcird labour . . r » OLBERTBY A Laxblord , —A man bearing the psnlar name of Albion Plush , was indicted for naviny stolen a watch from the person of Eliza ••' edding . Mr . O'Brien appeared for the prisoner —It appeared from the evidence that the prisoner

      w * the keeper of a lodging house in Wcllcsleyf ? t , Sotners-town , in which the prosecutra « % ed . On the 22 nd of last October she went cojiie in a state of intoxication , but she perfectly *« H remembered that at the time she arrived there «» watch was safe , being snspended from her neck " ! a ? nard chain , and fastened to her side . She * as accompanied by a man , whom the prisoner ts med ont of the house , and he then carried her ^ P to bed . Oa awaking the nest morning she tt ' . 5 « cd her watch , and " on communicating her loss wtbe prisoner , he said it would teach her better * » the future . Shortly after that she was away £° in the house for seven weeks , and on her return ^ learn ed from the pri soner that he and bis wife * Q uarrelled , and that be had turned her out of SJ 013 a week before . In consequence of a message fc

      •~ received from the prisoner ' s wife , the prosecu-J- ^ cnt to her , and from information theneomjfssieated , she procured the assistance * of a policewusiai , ! > to -sthom Mrs . Plush handed the dupli-, *» of a watch 7 which on" being seen at the pawnros . er's , proved to be that of which the prosecu-~? had been robbed . She then saw the prisoner « pon the sal / ject , when he said that his wife had t ^ J « i the watch , and that they had gone together J P * irnbroker ' 5 and pawned it . The shopman , j ^ ver , deposed that the watch had been pawned fa- ? i ? an onfo ^ t ^ *^ e Prisoner na !* admitted - * « e was that man . The prisoner , when given cb cnstwl y . did not make any answer to the jarge—Tne flgfej ^ g wa 9 that ; this . charge was £ " - 'erred against the prisoner through the malice had , ^ ? tlvenes 3 of his wife , -who had since he J ! " ^ n in custody sold off all his furniture and " * gone to live wtb a naa of tto » m « of Ford *

      Untitled Article

      well known in S pmers-town by the aliatof "Loro aS ^~* t&K ' S labour ! * ° ^^ *»**—*'** irL ™ £ S lv w ? S ^ "tty ° fixtures , the EaESSm * f Wton .-The husband of the prisoner held a house of the prosecutor under an agreement , but being in arrears of rent and in difficulties , he resigned the agreement to Mr . Kflmpton s agent , and left upon the premises certain fixtures , which he " gave into the agent ' s possession , m part satisfaction of the arrears . The prisoner got a duplicate key , and went with a carman , . and earned off some of the fixtures , which she sold at a broker ' s . She exulted in what she had done , and declared she did not care , how she was punished , as she had had revenge—The prisoner said the prosecutor had before that nnt in a uistramt un ? S bz B . S 1 « . it . wasalleeed .-wMtWoniHw

      , and had swept off goods , the value of it » ZrTS San s , H * ™ arrear - ' . -The agent said the value oi these goods was forty shUlrngs ^ -The jury found her Guilty , with a tl commendation to mercy . -Sentence deferred Pmsoxr DISCIP 1 WE .-A diminutive ragged bov named Tnverton pleaded Guilty to a large tf £ Sr a 7 l K 8 ai ? : They treat me WUi r I . ' n * ave been in twice and d ° not mind it . ( Lnughter . ) -. Senteuced to a month ' s hard labour and a whipping . AssAULTixo th » PoucB .-John Slowles pleaded Guilty of having assaulted a police-officer , in tbe execution of his duty . —The prisoner it appeared had inflicted a serious injury upon the prosecutor by kicking him in a very cowardly and savage manner —The prisoner received a yery excellent characier , and he expressed great contrition for the lie had

      ouence committed . It was urged on his behalf that he was intoxicated at tbe time , and that he did not deliberately kick the officer in the way he had done . —The learned judge said ifc was a serious case . The defendant had been in prison a month , and the sentence was that he be further imprisoned and kept to hard labour for five months . ItoBBixo Chiujben . —Mary Evans , 18 , was indicted for having stolen from the person of a little girl , named Elizabeth Pitchers , certain clothing , the property of Mary Pitchers . There were five similar indictments against the prisoner . The prisoner was tried and convicted upon three -of the indictments

      against her , and it appeared from the evidence that she was a wholesale plunderer of children . Her plan of operation was this : on meeting a little boy or girl { preferring the latter for her victims ) carrying a bundle or basket in the streets , she would by a penny bribe , induce them to go into some bye-street on * ome pretence or other , whilst she made off with the articles which she had promised to take care of until they returned . She also wa 3 in the habit of plundering children of their clothes , enticing them into some dark court or passage , and then stripping them of the principal portion of their dress . She was sentenced to transportation for seven years . Pbisosek Defence

      A s . —James Baker , 21 , who was stated to be an accomplice of the convict Hackctt , who , some time ago , escaped from tho Pentonville Model Prison , was indicted forstealin * two watches , the property of Carl Zucher . There ; was another indictment for felony against the prisoner . The prisoner went into a shop , No . 21 , Cannonstreet , St . George ' s , where a foreigner , named Zucher , carries on the business of a tobacconist . While Mrs . Zucher was engaged in serving him , ho reached across the counter and took down two watches from a line on which they were hangin" in the window , aud ran off ; and , although Mrs . Zucher ran after him the distance of some hundred yards , he got clear away . The second case aeainst

      bun was his having stolen twelve shillings from tho till of the Hoop and Grapes public house , in St . George-street . This was proved against him by tbo barmaid , who saw him in the act of leanin " over the counter , and helping himself to tbe contents of the till ; and in both cases his identity wa 3 poaitirely spoken to . When the officers apprehended him on the charge of stealing the watches , tbe prisoner said , "So help me God , Charley , you tumble to me wrong ; " and on being told that he was also charged with a robbery at the Hoop and Grapes , he said , "You are wrong there ; and if that young girl ( tbe barmaid ) sticksto me and eete me twelve months . I'll beat her brains out . " The prisoner , when called upon for his defence , saidinnocent

      " I ' m , for it could not be me as did it , as at the time it was done 1 was doing six months in Coldbathfields for another felony . I was tried here in the name of John Austin for stealing a portmanteau on the 15 th of last July , and was sentenced to six months , so I was not let out , tiil the loth of last month , and these here robberies was done afore them . '—This assertion was contradicted by tho prison officers , but the Court intimated that time should be afforded for full inquiries to be made respectin * it . —The jary found the prisoner Guilty on both charges . —On reference to the records of the court , it was found that on the day named by the prisoner , one John Austin was tried , but instead of being sentenced to six months he was acquitted , and the offence he was charged with was stealin » a jacket . . The officers proved that the prisoner was tried and convicted on the 19 th of March 1850 in

      , , the name of Bailey , and sentenced to eight months ' hard labour , and he was discharged on the 19 th of November . —The prisoner was sentenced to one year ' s hard labour . —It may not be out of place to state , that whilst in the House of Detention the prisoner was on the point of escaping , and was only prevented by the vigilance * of the officers . A man was committed for non-payment of a fine ofos ., and Baker being aware that he was about to be discharged , prevailed upon him to exchange clothes , and to allow him ( Baker ) to answer to bis nhiie when called . This was done , but shortly before the time at which those prisoners committed for non-payment of trifling fines were to be discharged tbe trick was discovered , and Baker was compelled at once to resume his own clothing . Dad Baker got out , the other man would then have made the mistake known , and claimed his liberatien .

      Untitled Article

      COURT OF ALDERME 3 T . On Tuesday . a court was held for the purpose of receiving the return of the election of an alderman for the ward of Walbrook , in the room of Michael Gibbs , Esq ,, resigned , and upon other business . The Sloase 3 . —Alderman Wilsoa requested to be informed wby Mr . and Mrs . Sloane were exempted from the general treatment of prisoners convicted and sentenced to be imprisoned ? It was . he understood , the established custom to remove from iewgate all convicts under sentence , and why there should be a deviation from that practice in the case of the two persons be had named , and who were , it appeared , still in Newgatehe could

      , not coo ] eeture . -Mr . Alderman and Sheriff Carden said that as the sentenco upon tbe Sloanes was imprisonment for two years without hard labour , they were , m conformity with the established usuage , defamed in the Gaol of Newgate , as the national prison . ( Hear , bear . ) If the sentence had included hard labour , the removal to another place Of punishment would have of course have taken place . ( Hear , hear . ) -Alderman Sidney said that he and Alderman Copeland as visiting magistrates of the prison , had made the necessary inquiries into the subject , and found that it had been the invariable practice to make persons sentenced to imprisonment without hard labour undergo their sentence in Newgate . Mr . Sloane was bv his own

      choice in solitary confinement in one of the cells , and Mrs . Sloane was under tbe care of the medical officer of tbe prison , and was not yet in a condition to be placed with the other female prisoners . The court might rely upon the strict observance of the judgment of the learned authority before whom the prisoners had been tried . —( Hear , hear . )—Alderman Lawrence said the public might be led into a mistake by the mention of " solitary confinement in a cell in Newgate , " and he wished to prevent any misapprehension on the matter . The fact was , that even the condemned cells , as one of the rooms in Newgate was called , was one of the best rooms in tbe whole prison , that Mr . Sloane wished to be

      separated from the other prisoners , and that his being alone was not at all a part of the discipline of the gaol . ( Hear , hear . ) Swearing in of Aldkrmas Wirb . —The swordbearer having announced to the Lord Mayor that Mr . David Williams -Wire , was ready to be sworn as alderman of Walbrook ward , * Mr . Wire entered thecourt , accompanied by Baron Rothschild , M P ., « r Moses Montefiore , Mr . Travers , Mr . Deputy Watkins , and several others of tbe most respectable inhabitants of the ward . —Mr , Alderman Wire was then introduced formally to all the members and principal officers of the court , and , having received their congratulations took his seat .

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      ^ S ^ l ? ' iS ? * EARS SQUIRT 1 MO THE GOVERNMENT OF CEYCON . ; An . Mtora « tb . - W ^ drf-6 vloii l M inihe Quarterly Review » fwf Decemlier / p - reaerifs an admirabl y lucid sketch of to ' events which '' led to he Parliamen tary Committee of inquiry into the Woodless " rebellion " of Ceylon in 1846 . and tbe bloody ngonn exercised by Lord Torrington after tra . nqml hty had been fully r estored there . The article « intended as some counteraction to that ffcj d L exterlt y wh > ch has hitherto nearly smothered the mam results of the , inquiry , and wtiich 1 O J J 6 t ' ? il * dls 8 » ee ; nl termination . We shall offer some assistance to this good ohject by epitomising the article for our readers , as a preface to the further proceedings in Parliament this session . lN"rn -run ^^ rtJ ^ OYEARS INQUIRY

      , ? ° , iG when pwhaps the resignation of Sir tolin Campbell , after a long , peaceful , and prosperous administr ation , was already foreshadowed by signs in the official sky , Sir Emerson Tennent had signalised himself by the preparation of an elaborate report on the financial and social position of Ceylon ; the remarkable ability of which Earl Grey confessed himself struck with . Sir Emerson had been equally happy in history , in illustration , and m prospective advice . He had concluded that the time had at last arrived for removing " the old and vicious system of colonial taxation , " and for imposing " a sounder and healthier system , " which if prudentl y matured would render Ceylon " the most wealthy and independent colony of the Crown . " An experienced and master-hand would , however , be necessary in the delicate task of reformation ; for " notbinjrcouldbemoredinsernus

      or prejudicial" than rash or theoretical meddling ungutded b y local experience and a thoroueh acquaintance with the habits , and genius of tbe people , " who , although enervated aud apathetic , are remarkable even amongst the various races of SSfeiJoi *? herencetoanc ^ thabit 8 of imme-The experienced and master-hand selected was a nobleman who had spent his youth in the SeVenth Fusileersas a subaltern , and some matureryears a " an amateur experimentalist in the rearing of commodious cow-sheds in Kent , varied by severer finant iTfT ^ hair ^ of one of the » ost m-5 « / f ^/^ y schemes which were ext emporised in 1845 : but who at the aee of fort . v w

      manuened no disposition to take a part in the unpaid public business of . the nation / Viscount Torrington , the first cousin of the Premier was se-KsLn ? 'W *?" lian < 1 at goSSt fa CeylJn d lucratlve P 08 * ° * Governor of , * S ^ ^ yl 2 ?' - lii 8 - Iorillhi P Covered * JSjIW affa . rs » so contrary to banking principles and to commercial policy " which required to be remedied promptly . For remedy the of which four only need be alluded to ,-a road tax pens that you could scarcel y seleetfour taxes comparable with these for violatinir " the mti . - , ™ j

      Habits " of We Ceylonese , and those « immemoria customs" which the Ceylonese are "remarkable even amongst the various races of India for their adherence to . " Sixteen of the leading firms of Colombo immediatel y presented a petition to Lord Tornngton correcting his errors by their local ex-^ f S > a a T f ' f- P / L e "Wai-ion of his steps . They explained that the road labour would be regarded as a renewal of the odious Raiakaraya , a system of compulsory labour only recently abolished by the chiefs in concession to the uuiversar feeling of the people ; and furthermore , that the Buddhist pneBts . who were equally subjected to the law , are forbidden by their religion from labouring , or from possessing money . They showed that the shop tax would be an addition of twenty per cent to the rent of m < .

      shops ; that the gun tax , with other taxes on nuns recently imposed , would take away as much as the whole value of the-gun in the third year- and that the dog tax would bo totally impracticable in the country districts . Lord Torrington forwarded tbis petition to Earl Grey , with the simple statement that it proceeded from deluded natives or disloyal and . bankrupt Europeans , and was altogether unworthy of notice . On the Cth Jul y , 1848 , however , a large body of unarmed Cingalese flocked into the town of Candy with , the avowed object of complaining , to the "

      overnment agent residing there . The police parucstneken ,. called in tlie military . The Cingalese went home quietly , on receiving a promise that Sir Emerson Tennent would receive a deputation The deputation was met on the 7 th , and Sir Emerson so completely pacified them . by his interpreted eloquence , that on the 12 th ,. Lord Torrington wrote home , that the colony was peaceful , prosperous and contented . Mr . Hawes , in the House of Commons , especially lauded the tact and eloquence of Sir Emerson , as the instruments of this dcl ehtful consummation . "

      But on the 9 th of August arrived Lord Torrington s despatches , stating that Ceylon , with its million and a half of natives , was in full insurrection , under a " pretender" to . thenational sovereignty , who with twenty thousand armed bloodthirsty rebels had already met her Majesty ' s forces m the field . Five days afterwards , camo word that Lord Torrington had sent a police-inspector into the interior to see what was the matter . Qn his way , the inspector had met Mr . Waring , the resident magistrate and his police , in full retreat , and fortunately all uninjured : these fugitives reported thai the rebels were sacking the public stores and destroying the public buildings . Her Majesty ' s armies were at once set in motion , on the apparently forlorn business of

      defending the British Executive from an insurgent nation in the midst of which it stood . Two hundred soldiers marched all night ; there was a battle in the jungle ; in a few minutes upwards of two . hundred of the rebels were killed and the British supremacy bad been upheld at tho cost of one Englishman wounded in the thigh by a spent ball "from the field of battle . " After the battle one supposes , one friendly native was found tied neck to heels " in a very disagreeable manner " and a few buildings and plantations plundered after they had first been abandoued by their protectovs or owners . At Kurnegalle , whence the police retired " under an understanding" with Mr . Bernard the private Secretary of Lord Torrington , that the natives should be unchecked "till they had committed some disturbance which should enable tbe authorities to bring them to justice , " ( a parenthetical noint

      wmch suggests tbe flagitious principle of the whole proceedings ) , there was a similar display of English chivalry : at that place " one officer and twelve men of the Ceylon Rifles" killed twenty-six , wounded several , and took twenty-three prisoners , out of a host of "four thousand armed insurgents . " Thus the Cingalese insurrection was ' subdued by British arms ; and the military credit of the feat should be duly apportioned . Major-General Smelt the commanding-officer of Ceylon , remained quiet at Colombo during tho whole campaign ; four or five field-officers , all senior to lieutenant-Colonel Drought , all acquainted with the localities and with the character and language of the natives , were equally unemployed ; it was all done by Lord Torrington and Colonel Drought alone : the performance is the more striking considering that neither lad the assistance of two years' experience in the country which they so completely subdued .

      After military subjugation , there succeeded the vindication of transgressed law . For between two and three months after the rebellion had been crushed , the state of martial law was preserved . The result was , that eighteen persons were shot to death , nineteen were transported across the sea , ( a more terrible sentence than death to the Asiatic , ) seventy-two were imprisoned with hard labour , and fifty-eight were flogged . One of the most brilliant of the vindicatory exploits was the execution of " an influential priest * in full robes , " for administering or being privy to the administration of treasonable oaths . But this very exploit , which Lord Torrington paraded with exultation before Lord Grey , and which Lord Grey declared to be

      " highly satisfactory , " was one of tbe atrocities which first astonished and aroused public cpinion at home . The Queen ' s Advocate for the . 'colony had become satisfied that the witnesses against the priest were perjured , and that the very identity of tho priest was totally unestablished : he had , remonstrated , but Lord Torrington had said , " By God , Sir , if all the lawyers in Ceylon said that the priest was innocent , lie should be shot to-morrow . " The priest was shot , and not in official robes . When the echo of English indignationi had sounded over the east and entered Lord TorringWs ears , he proposed measures to his Council for the indemnification of himself and his military ; and one of the points he made was that "it was utterly impossible at the time" to be always certain " who were the exact parties implicated or not . " Indeed ,

      there seems to have been a total uncertainty not only as to who ought to be shot , but as to who was or was hot shot . Twice did Lord Torrington officially communicate to Earl Grey that "the pretender" had been shot—that he bad been put to death qn two occasions ; yet it proved at Inst , that " the pretender" had never been killed even once ; and it being found that he still remained on band , ho was "flogged and transported for life . " The Council passed tbe act of indemnification only by a majority of one vote—the easting vote of Lord Torrington himself . As the indemnity act was in a sense his sole act , it w& 3 fitting he should be in a sense . the sole administrator of it : its essential clause therefore established that his lordship and Colone Drought—himself and himself—were to le the sole parties ^ ho should decide what acts should come within its indemnifying scoi »;

      . nawag . thus subdued rebelliani vindicated the outraged law , arid indemnified , the vigorous actors who . had stepped beyond tha-law , Iiord Torrington tame d , to piOBpectWe Mljey ,. Oojumuaioatisg to

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      SthStSS ? reys a PProval . ofithe ; four ohits ofi £ 1 « . h" « P « H « l one -aa ineffectual for surrenff ' , , * ° < ¦ '•* second as impracticable , iSli tblr ?? wmemberedrepreaenta ' pSSomiJ L PMtal (! deputation which had been verj modi « n ntcmned ' ana tended the last iu the S 73 & XS ^ b ? Memorialists whom he rapid tratiS ' f Or .- disloyal and tankro Pt- The S the CoS . ° ! £ olicy wa 3 not ffiore mystifying ritatino ? 1 i ° l 1 at Ceylon than inexplicable and ir-S Stl ° Grey a * home 5 for his Lordship thesr vtrl f ma"y pages indidacfcic approbation of whthlhMf ? ' and ° f the porous policy b . v not restSn n d uT Cnfmed - E « rl G * e ? could that on r' 2 l ; ebuke : " compelled to say , oriiSi e , T ^ your P reseBt des P atoh ^ y <>« t " e axpfit ^ 0118 , of the groUDds u P ° which cannSLr ^ ^ o ™ adopted by you , I i ? ^ econclle !»> decision you have now to ¦ hm Council Earl rw . ., ,... t . ll ..,. _ .. ...

      : K come with tim ... — ¦ " * " *" " ¦"' " "« " / uu iicivu now come u > 2 refcW ° r y ° ^ ving well weighed ESl he advantage 3 and disadvantages of « Tfa&" ! f ) ' ol « ection 8 which you report £ rPiSo mduced . y ° to-repeal ; them are in a E ^~ fa , Preliffiinary inve 8 ti S ation HmJT-A ** ? " * met in February ' 1849 , Mr . Sr" 7 q i l > n - for Inverness-shire , moved Torrin !!! Blect Committee on the conduct of . Lord rh « « * T i « * Un ( 1 ( > r-Secretary Havres defended ! X «»? G . ovcrnorin the Commons ; and scattered invective against Mr . Bailie and Mr . llume , as vindictive , ignorant , and weak puppets in t ! 1 Tp ° , f desi g "' ng conspirators- in Ceylon . Uird drey declared in the House of Lords , that he should be prepared to defend his nominee On all

      points whenever the proper time should arrive , me Committee was appointed . It could discover no opinions whatever by the Law officers of Ceylon on the necessity for the martial law which had been proclaimed , or the need for prolonging its operation so long after tranquillity was restored . Lord Groy loftily refused to vouchsafe any light- ; so the Committee recommended a Royal Coinmission to inquire at Ceylon ; This recommendation Ministers got rejected by a majority of fiftyseven in a thin house : but Lord John Russell promised that such witnesses Bhould be fetched to this ¦ country as the Committee would nominate . The Committee unanimously requested Mr . Baillie , as their Chairmanto take the

      , task of selection ; and Mr . Hawos and Mr . James Wilson , the Ministerial nominees in the Committee , consented that he should name tbo witnesses required ; hut when parliament rose , Eftrl Grey objeotedthat Mr . Baillie was constitutionally incompetent to do the duty of the Committee , and he refused to summon the witnesses , on the score of expense . In the session of 1850 this dod » e was thoroughly exposed ; and the Minister being nearly loft in a minority—109 to 100—on a motion to send ftr tho -witnesses by return of post , he promised they should be forthcoming . About thi 3 time Sir Emerson Tennent had arrived in England . Mr . Baillie complained that Earl Grey had not onl ' v W .

      back the adverse witnesses , but 'had brought forward his own . Mr . Hawes declared that SirEmerson Tennent had not been sent homo or 'brought ; home at all ; he was at home on his own affairs , " quite promiscuously as it were j" and on private leave . Yet in the account , sinco published , of- expenses for bringing tho witnesses from Ceylon who were examined before this Committee , tlie largest sum appears opposite the name of Sir Emerson Tennent- £ l-, 703 13 s . Id . But either he was sent for , and Mr . Hawes said thething which is not ; or he was not sent for , and he was allowed a ln ' r ^ e sum to which he had no rightful claim . ( Sir Emerson has since been promoted to the Governorship af St Ilelena . ) .

      One now arrives at two . episodes of personal scandal , Captain Watson ' s proclamation , and Mr . Wodt'house ' s confidential communication . Every one will remember the indignant horror of Captain Watson at the bloody Cingalese'proclamation he disowned in a well-written letter to tho Premier ; which Lord John read with due emphasis to tho House of Commons . The Royal Commissioners from Madras have reported , that the proclamation which so awakened the captain ' s horror was reallv of his own issuing , and was signed by his own undoubted hand ; and it has come out in addition , that the spirited letter to the Premier was composed for the unliterary Captain by no less a person than Sir Emerson Tennent himself ! Mr . Woilehouse having impartially exposed the financial position of the colony for some years past , and so shown the delusions under which Sir Emerson had laboured

      in the preparation of his celebrated report to Sir Colin Campbell , the " Knight of the Grecian order of Christ , " complained to the Committee that all the civil servants of tbe colony had banded to annoy and thwart him ; and he asserted that Mr . Wode * - house in particular had disavowed and censured ' acts which during the rebellion he had approved ! Mr . Wodehou 3 e rebuttod this by quoting a passage from a letter addressed by Lord lorrington to himself .. The late Sir , Robert Peel objecting to quotations , and the Committee insisting that all or none of the letter should be before it , Mr . Wodehouso was compelled to disclose ( ill : it then appeared that Lord Torrington . had proceeded to say , in coarser terms than the Quarterly Reviewer cares to ^ transcribe , "that he chiefly attributed his embarrassments and f ailures to the underhand misrepresentations and suggestions of Sir Emerson Tennent !"

      ' Tho reader will bear in mind thelofty indignationwith which Earl Grey announced that he should be ready to make good at all points the conduct of his nominee' ' whenever the proper time should come and the histrionic and perfunctory agitation with which Mr . Ha * ea rushed to hold his little shield between the delinquent and the public : he will also remember how ' -the '" witnesses who were withheld were dragged forth with their evidencehow the marshalling of- the , evidence failed to pervert its ' real effect—how the episodical weapons . of calumny which were prepared against the characters of the independent members of the Committee only exploded in the hands " of the concocters , ' anil shattered the reputations they wore intended to

      defend : accustomed to official discomfiture and deceit , when , he beholds the complete failure of the official deferice 9 in the open Parliamentary field he will not bo surprised to'find thafsome' further dodges of "transaction" are attempted , to hide the defeat that could not be prevented . The sequel is of this consistently honest sort . After a severe struggle , and the rejectionof many draft-reports , a report was agreed to by the Committee , calling the serious attention of her Majesty ' s government to the evidence which the Committee had taken , and again recommending that a Royal Commission should be sent out , " unless some step should forthwith be taken by the government which might

      obviate the necessity of furthor investigation . " This was the coup-de-grace . Lord Grey never came forward with the preferred defence ; tho " proper time" never came , and now it soarcel y ever can come : the little shield of Mr . Hawes must be lowered in silent unacted grief . The officers who were summoned over here to upset , but who fatally established , the almost incredible charges made against the local government , have been allowed by the Colonial Office to return to Ceylon , and resume the execution of their responsible duties . Sir Emerson Tennent is despatched to succeed the worthy Sir Patrick Ross in the secluded government of tho ocean rock of Sfc . Ilelena . Tiscount Torrington is quietly dismissed !

      Untitled Article

      jSavigatiso Balloon . —It will bo remombored that last summer great sensation was caused by the announcement that the means of navigating balloons had . been discovered ,. and crowds flocked to the Hippodrome , where experiments were made . The balloou . employed was in . shape something like a fish , and beneath it was an apparatus on the clockwork principle , which propelled it by moving winga attiie sides , and a sort of rudder at the tail kept it m the required direction . In some of theexperiments ,. public aRd private , the balloon was propelled . \ a different directions , and against the wind , but tie latter trials . were not so successful . Since then

      the inventor , M . Julien , a poor workman , has constructed a longer balloon ; it is fifteen yards long ; and on Monday he succeeded in making it go several times from one end of the Hippodrome to the other against the wind . : M Julien proposes to construct a much larger balloon , if he can succeed in raising the funds , and ho . calculates that 20 , 000 fr . would be necessary . He has passed nearly tan years in making the . experiments . which have led to the present result , and during that time suffered dreadful misery , lie would " , indeed , ( the Preste says ) , have died of hunger , if M . Arnault , tbe director of the , Hippodrome , had not assisted him .-Pam 1 ' aper .

      » t - . £ ? . . T .-. Humbo ! dt has shown that . the earth itse ' . i is luminous ; . that our planet , besides the light winch it receives from the . central body—the sun-shows itself capable of a proper luminous act , or process The intensity of the earth-light is said to exceed , by alittle the li ght . of the moon in her first . quarter . To this luminosity is ascribed by M . Arago the pale diffused light' which serves to guide us in the open air in thickly clouded autumnal and winter nights , when there is neither moon norstai

      '" J" ? nrmam ent , nor . snow upon the ground . Granting that a portion of this earth light is due to the chemical or electro-magnetic phenomena taking placo on its surface , may not a portion of it be due to the emission of light . absorbed during tho day ? These uumiriw are perplexing , but they are full of interest : to many of tflem tbe solution lies out of the reach of philosophers ; -but an investigation of others would prqhabty lead to discoveries of a remarkable charaetei ; . - ' e'A «» i&ersV Papers fw the I'eople .

      Secession SRoaiHS . EsausH Church . — It is said that on . Saturday last the Rev . R . A . Johnston , lately a boaeficed clergyman in the Church of Engwno , was leoeived into the Romish communion , at f ' . iorPark ,. by the Rev . J , B , Morris , tb . e former \ utor atEwtep Allege ,

      Untitled Article

      . . . MONDAY , Febroaht 17 . HOUSE OF LORDS .-V . wiqus petitions .-upon the . subjectof Papal Aggression were presented and received . ,. . ' .-. ¦¦ . Lord Brougham , in fixing Friday for tho presentation of his new County Courts Bill , promised on that evening to explain the full details of the measure , in order that they might go forth to the country . . ¦ Their lordshi ps adjourned shortly before six o ' clock . . HOUSE OP COMMONS . —A large mnss of petitions , praying for tho remission of various taxes , having been presented , The house resolved itself into a Committee of Ways and Means .

      The Chancellor of the Exchequer prefaced his statement of the financial condition and prospects of the country by an announcement , that all his estimates and calculations were based upon the prosumption that the renewal of the income tax and Irish stamp duties would be conceded by the house . Leaving some margin to cover possible errors in the estimate of tetals for a financial year which would not expire until the 5 th of April next , he thus stated the princi pal items of income and charge for the current and the . prospective twelvemonths . 1 he estimate he had ventured in his statement last session of the public income for the current vear was £ o 2 , 28 d , 000 , but , owing principally to enhanced l ^ P ° i " . i ! " ns of grain , tho real proceeds had bucii

      * o ^ eiu , uyu tor tho twelvemonths ending in January last , and those for the financial year endmg . in April might be taken at- £ 52 , 056 . 000 . Tho estimated expenditure , had . been £ 50 , 785 , 000 ; the actual outlay would be about £ 50 , 134 , 900 , showing a probable saving of say £ 040 , 000 , and promising a surplus upon the year ' s account of £ 2 , 521 , 000 Respecting the future produce of the taxes , ho esti-Vlrn ¦ ? customs for the year ending April 5 1 & ) 2 , at the same amount as had accrued this vear ^ u n ^ nn n > \ - 00 () - T , lie excise ho to <* »* iI 4 , 000 , 000 , being a reduced amount , in consideration of the diminished barley crop from the ^ n o , S AAiJ , From st » mPS he . expected to derive * 0 , 310 , 000 ; from assessed taxes , £ 4 , 348 , 000 property tax , £ 5 , 380 , 000 ; Post offioe £ 830000 crown

      , , lands , £ 160 , 000 ; miscellaneous , £ 262 , 000 ; and sale of old stores , £ 450 , 000 . The total presumed income for the ensuing twelvemonths would thus amount to £ 52 , 140 , 000 . On the other side of the account , he calculated that the interest of debt would absorb £ 28 , 092 , 000 , and other charges on tho consolidated fund £ 2 , 600 , 000 . The army would cost £ 6 , 503 , 945 ; the navy , £ 6 , 537 , 055 ; and the ordnance , £ 2 , 424 , 171 . Respecting these military items , the Chancellor of the Exchequer offeretl some parenthetical remarks upon tlie critical state Of affairs still existing upon the continent of Europe which rendered any diminution of our land or sea forces imprudent , adding that a small vote would be included for military works at PembrokG dnnk .

      yard and Portsmouth harbour ; and also that some addition has been made to tho navy and army contingents by some improvements that were effected m . the comforts , and allowances of the men . Notwithstanding those increments there had been an economy effected upon the war expenditure of £ 246 , 000 , sinco the last financial statemont , and of more than three millions since 1847 ( Cheers . ) Proceeding with his computations , h reckoned the probable " miscellaneous" charges at four millions , in round numbers , inclusive of an occasional item , amounting . to £ 110 , 000 , to defray the expenses of the census , - constitute a gross total of expenditure amounting to £ 50 , 247 , 171 ; and promising a surplus upon April 5 th , 1852 . of

      ; U , b < J , 2 , 0 UO . Adverting to tho proposed renewal of the income tax , Sir Charles "Wood confessed that he had opposed the imposition of the tax in 1842 , but had since ' admitted that by tho abrogation of burdens pressing upon industry and trade , the' impost had been justified ; and therefore after supporting tho renewal in 1845 , and proposing it himself in 1848 / he now oncp more asked for a prolongation of the term , requesting the house to determine the point speedily—hinting that , if-refused , his successor at the Board of Exchequei would require all possible time to make new arrangements . The right hon . baronet then went on to describe the use ho intended to make of the anticipated surplus . i-Pirst aihons financial duties

      he placed tbe payment of debt , not by violent efforts , but by prudent application of accruing assets ; and after recording the pleasant fact that £ 2 , 330 , 000 would have been paid off during tho year now about to expire , he hid it down as a axiom of financial prudence that a surplus of one million ought always to be kept in hand in prosperous times , applicable , to'the reduction of the national debt . As a preliminary to thoannouncement of remissions and alleviations , he entered into a compendious classification of the incidence of taxation . ¦ From articles of food and personal consumption , including butter , cheese , coffee , corn , fruits , sp irits , lea , tobacco , wine , &c , we raised $ 2 ' 2 M f ™ " ? « & k J >!?> Britfsb spirits

      • , £ 10 , 927 , 338 : total , £ 81 , 820 , 708 . Upon manufacture ? , inc \ udra « puper , silk ,. soap , &q ., the duties wese £ 2 , 452 , 000 . Timber , tallow , " and agricultural seeds produced £ 761 , 000 ; the duties on trades and professions , consisting of licenses , stamps , marine insurances , ' and income tax schedule B and D , - £ 4 , 464 , 000 ; coach and railway traffic , £ 648 000 newspapers , £ 511 , 000 ; and assessed taxes . £ 1 , 491 , 000 . Thus the whole impost upon industry was something moro than forty-two millions . On property the burdens comprised stamps on deeds , tire insurance , income tax schedules A and C , land tax , window tax , &o ., and amounted to £ 12 , 451 , 000 , to which about thirteen millions of local taxes must be added . With this preface he stated successively the be

      changes proposed to make in the taxes of the ensuing yeitr . First , ho should abrogate the window duty entirely as at present collected , compensating in sonic measure the loss to the revenue by the enactment ofa house tax , charged at the rate of Is . in'the pound oh the rental of all hew or improved houses above £ 20 in annual yaluo ; and upon existin g houses , commuting ' tho ¦ window duty for an annual charge of two-thirds , tho amount now paid . This modification would remove , all objections to the tax upon sanitary or architectural considerations , and , would , besides , be a large . diminution in the amount paid b y almost every class of dwellings . The only exceptions would be in the case of a few buildings , such as shops , fiii'm-houses &cnow

      , , exempt , and which hereafter would be taxed atOd . in tho pound on there rental ,. but the charge in these instances Would he trifling ; and on the other hand , \ more than 120 , 000 houses of minor value , now paying duty , would be wholly exempted . The financial loss from this step he estimated at £ 700 , 000 . Secondly , ho touched upon the coffee duties , remarking , that although the import of the colonial article had . increased by five million lbs ., that of foreign production had fallen off ten millions since the year 1846 ,. under the influence of the differential duties . These duties he now intended to reduce and equalise , replacing the customs tax of 6 d . and 4-1 . per lb . by an equal 3 d . — ( hoar , hear)—and including chicory , whose

      employment in admixture with coffee he looked upon as innocuous , and even useful , in tho arrangement . Thirdly ,, he proposed to cut in half the import duty on foreign timber , reducing that of sawn timber to 10 s ., and hewn to 7 s . 6 d . per ton . ( Hear , hear . ) Fourthly , he intended to transmute tho duties on agricultural seeds , tho only " raw material , " he observed , on which the farmers paid tax , to a registration duty of Is per cwt . ( Hear , hear . ) And fifthly . although strongly opposed , upon principle , to any . extension of the centralising system , or removal of imposts from local supervision , he proposed to transfer a proportion of the charges for pauper lunatic asylums from the local rates to the consolidated fund . Altogether , he calculated that

      the gam to the public would stand thus : —From tjie modification of the window tax there would be an alleviation of £ 700 , 000 ; on timber of £ 285 , 000 ; on coffee , of £ 172 , 000 ; and on seeds , of £ 30 , 000 . ( Cheers . ) The . paupor , lunatic asylum charge would not be a gain in the whole , but . a relief in detail , and would cost tho public revenue £ 150 , 000 ; and there was , ' in addition , a ' further , loss to bo expected upon the sugar duties , under acts passed in previous sessions , ^ mounting to £ 338 , 000 . But though the taxpayers would be relieved to the uxtent thus estimated , the revenue would not lose the eutire . sum . . A part of the reduction would-be made up by increased consumption , and lie . calculated that upon' the balance he should lose

      £ l , 280 , 00 n ,. leavirig for . future years a surplus of about £ 612 , 000 ; and , for the now ensuing , twelvemonths giving him nearly tbe . million he wished for to pay off debt , because the reduction would liottake effect until the October quarter . After briefly defending the principles on which the measures he . had indicated were based , tlie Chancellor of the Exchequer deferred . taking any . vote fpr the present , requiring only an assent to the , general proposition that the income tax should be ' renewed for a period of three years , an admission which , he said , would not' ' pledge , the bouse against " making , any necessary modifications in ,, , the impost when . the bill came specially before themfpr discussion . ( Cheers . ) Mr . Hebr ' ies having briefly remarked upon the

      importance of the subject , and the necessity of giving it a mature consideration , Lord J . Russell agreed to take the discussion on Friday next . ¦ ...... . Mr . Hume offered some comments . upon tbo topics adverted to by the Chancellor of the Exchequer complaining that so little was done to reduce expenditure , especially in the colonies , and deolaring that thn general . result of his plans for alleviating taxation would be unsatisfactory . ( Hear hear . ) . ' . . . ' Lovd Luncah approved of the abolition of the window tax , but would have liked it better if the gift had not been accompanied by a house duty . ( Hear , hear , ) ' n . Bir J- ^ M-Jnade Bomo allusions to local bw > ' thens , after vhich ,

      Untitled Article

      Mr Williams contrasted the expenditure if tho year 1845 with that estimated at present , and which showed an increase of two miMofis . The govern , nent , he feared , would nevor duly undertake the lasK of economy until they were forend by strong pressure from withoufci ( , j h ^ , « Alderman Sidney recommended ihff house to £ rvhL a 9 SCni - ^ inco >« e tax until tho mi . « iLLmI P - ! Ised t 0 a ( i J tlie burthen , and derived from commercial and professional industry . Mr . Hodges trusted that the tax upon hop * Sufi n 0 be 2 l OoldWh ? "f lltr 0 0 PP 0 rt » nities 8 ered

      , :. ^ - P o ; Mr . Slanei hoped that the ministry would pCrsc vere in the course they had adopted this year and ] continue to pass measures by which the moial sanitary , and social condition of the working man miirht he improved . ( Hear , hear . ) ° Mr . Frewkn enforced the necessity of relieving the hop growers , who were much distressed . ( Hoar . ) Mr . Cowan complained of tho burden of the income tax , and of the taxes on knowledge . ( Hear . ) Sir B . Hall declared that he should take tho sense of tho house upon the proposed house tax , and inquire whether the impost was to be extended to Ireland .

      Mr . Alcock wished to see bailey relieved from the tax now impoBejl upon it . He calculated that tho crop of that article covered more than a ninth part of the cultivated ground in England , and paid , on the average , nearly £ 5 taxes per acre . Sir W . Joliffe had listened with pain to a most lame and unsatisfactory financial statement . Tho Tonnaed remission would not save a shilling to the tenant-farmers , many of whom would have , in addition , to pay a new house tax . Lord D . Stuaut having reiterated the question aa to the extension of the house tax to Ireland , The Chancelloii of the Exciiequkr replied that he did not purpose creating a new impost in that part of the United Kingdom . Mr . Newdegate observed that they were purchasing , at the price ot the income tax , a continuance of the destructive free trade svstem .

      Mr . French enforced the claim of the Irish people to some share in the remission of burthens . The debate , which had assumed a conversational character , was pursued b y Mr . G . Bankos , Mr . Mitchell , Colonel Sibthorp , Mr . Muntz , Mr . W . Brown , Mr . Sandars , Mr . A . B . Hope , Mr C Auatey , and Mr . Henley . The Chancellor of the Exchequer , in reply t » various queries , stated that no tax would be charged upon warehouses , manufactories , or any buildings that were not dwelling-houses ; that the assessment upon existing houses would be commutablc to a charge levied upon the rental , calculated upon tha basis kid down in the original house duty , and amounting generall y to two-thirds of the abolished window tax , - and that the proposed transference of the cost 3 , or part thereof , of pauper lunatic asylums , was to have effect in all parts of tho United Kingdom .

      Captain Harris , Mr . Newdegate , Mr . Wakley , Mr . Hildyard , and other members , having added some observations , the chairman reported process , and the house resumed . Mr . Hawes moved the second reading of the Passengers' Act Amendment Bill , which was agreed to after a few remarks from Mr . Sidney Herbert and Mr . Henley , and the committee fixed for Thursday next . J On the motion of Mr . C . AxsTET / leayo was given to bring in a bill for establishing muncipal councils in counties in Ireland . Sir W . Somkrville obtained leave to bring in a bill to amend the laws relating to the valuation of rateable property in Ireland . The house rose at a quarter to twelve . TUESDAY FEnnuAnv IS .

      • HOUSE OF LORDS .-Lord IIabbwicke presented several petitions , complaining of agricul . tural distress , and contended that tho result of thofrce trade measures bad l > ecn productive of so much suffering to a large class of the community , and had in many respects so falsified the predictions of those who advocated them , that tho expression of opinions by those on the Protectionist side , whose predictions had invariably proved true , wore at'least entitled to attention ' and respect . ( Hear hear . ) Ivor could any assembly be fitter judges of this question than their Lordships , who were , for the moat part , large possessors of land , and intimately acquainted with the wants and wishes of the agricultural population , ( ttcarhear . ) Besides

      these petitions , he was enabled to lay before the house other evidence on Uie subject , derived from letters addressed to him by gentlemen connected with agriculture . The noble lord then proceeded to read extracts from these letters , which agreed in describing the condition of the country as anything but prosperous , and concluded by calling on the government to tako a decided line one way or the other , but not to delude the hopes of the " farmers by such a pitiful boon as tbe reduction of £ 30 , 000 on agricultural seeds , ( diners . ) Earl GnAKvaLE would not deny tho ability and clearness with which Lord Hardwicke had stated his views on the subject ; hut Was obliged to differ from him when he claimed the exclusive right of

      prophecy with regard to the result of freo trade measures . ( Hear , hear . ) When ho was told that the prophecies of noble lords opposite had all proved true , he muatsay that he had some recollection of predictions' of the country being drained of its gold , of land being immediately thrown out of cultivation from one end of the kingdom to the other , and of the labourers being entirely deprived of employment . ( Hear , hear . ) " Last year , when noble lords on that side of the house tried to establish the fact that the labourers were employed , their statements were first met by a denial ; and when it was proved to the satisfaction

      of tho house that the labourers did obtain employment , they were told that it was under accidental and exceptional circumstances , and that if they waited six months longer they would see what tho condition of the agricultural labourer would be . ( Hear , hear . ) The noble lord then combated the statements of Lord Hardwiek , and before ho gat down called on Lord Stanley to state what wove hi 3 views on that great question ; -whether tho agricultural interest were to look for a spoedy recurrence to Protection , or to the removal of the local burdens on land , and , if to the latter , to give their lordships some sort of sketch of the mode in which they were to be removed .

      The Duke of Richmond contended' that Freo Trade had ruined tho tenant farmer , and that his only prospect was , should Free Trade doctrines be persevered in , either to go to the workhouse or to the United StatO 3 . ( Hear , hear . ) The people of Manchester , he contended , would soon find out that America could produce cotton prints cheaper than they could , and that their true policy was to look to the home market , which Free Trade had ruined . Lord WoDEnousE denied that so much distress existed in the asricultur . il districts as was asserted . The Earl of Winciiilsea said , that for two years past he had seen with deep vegret the cultivation of the country going rapidly back . ( Hear hear . ) If thopresent system was persevered in , such

      discontent would arise among the agricultural interest as would make lUe strongest government trcmWOi ( Hear , hear . ) Lord Malmeshurt said , that without entering into the . question of pvophecy , it was clear that there must bei agricultural distress , for the Royal Speech admitted and lamented its existence . ( Cheers . ) After that admission it was only natural to conclude that some moiuurcs of relief would have been proposed —( hear , hear)—but tho debate in another place , and the assistance given to the government by Sir James Graham , had , ho supposed , frustrated those measures . The noble Lord opposite , and his colleagues , had forgotten , their old principles , and uttered their own sentence of condemnation in the Bpeech from the Throne .

      Earl FiTzwiiuAM attributed the low price ef com and consequent distress in certain localities to the bad quality of the corn from the last harvest . ( Hear , hear . ) He ¦ vindichted the policy of tho government , justified the conclusion of advancing prosperity , and contended that no attempt to reverse the Free Trade measures now in operation could prove successful or safe . ( Loud cheers . ) A pause of some seconds then ensued , but no other noble lord rising , the petitions were ordered to lia upon the table . The house rose at half-past nine o ' clock . HOUSE OF COMMONS . —Viscount Duncan gave notice of his intention to bring forward his motion for a total repeal of the window duty on Tuesday week .

      Sir B . IIali . also announced his intention of moving that the Income and House Tax be extended to Ireland . Mr . P . Scope moved for a ' Select Committee ta inquiro into the mformulanty of the Poor-law in England , Scotland , and Ireland , but had not proceeded with his argument when an hon . member moved that the house bo counted , and there being buftwenty . Bcven members present , the house ad < journed . Y / EDXESDAY , February 19 . HOUSE OF COMMOSS .-Tbe house mot at noon . After some notices of motion ,

      Lord J . Russell gave notice that ho would on Monday next . movo . for a committee of the wholo houBe to tako into consideration the Oath of Abjuration , with a view of relieving her Majesty's subjects of the . 'JewaU persuasion . ( Cheer ? . ) Sir W . Clay . moved the second vending of the Compound Householders Bill , which , he said , waa in all respects the samo as the bill of last session . Its object was to remedy an accidental omission in themaohinery of tho Reform Act , whereby persons were disfrancbised who were intended by the act to enjoy the franchise . , ., Mr . Mackenzie thought that further time should bo afforded for considering the bill , and moytl that it be read a second time that day fortnight .

      Untitled Article

      Pboposed Employment , of the Esrollto Pessiokkhs fob Armt Uecrciiiso . —Lieut .-Colonel Tullcok , m his evidence before the committee of the House of Commons last year , gave bis opinion to the effect that the ^ pensioners distributed thrpugout the United Kingdom cou ' . d , with great facility and . economy , be employed in enlisting recruits . He recommended that his proposal , should be tried in a moderate way first , and ^ if successful , that it ' should be ; extended , so as to entirely do away with the existing . recruiting staff , which consists of nine inspecting field-officers , , and about forty smlMlinsion officers . The Naval and Mlifaru Ga-ette . in alluding to this proposal , calculates that by its adoption a saving oi £ 18 , 000 a year would be effected ¦• ¦ .- ; .

      . _ _ . Fobeigs Articles for the Exhibition . —It is believed that about 1 , 000 packages have already arrived in the port of London for the Exhibition . besides numerous arrivals of the kind at the various outports in the kingdom ; but it is- supposed that a very small proportion of tie expected ar .-rival bi » as yet tatea place .

      Jmjim'al Partfawmt. W ^..-^ *. ¦ .*...- ¦

      Jmjim ' al partfawmt . w ^ ..- ^ * . ¦ . * ...- ¦

      Untitled Article

      -, . - ¦ - ¦ - ¦ ¦ - •¦ ' - ^__^_ — - ' ¦* _ l — ^ """ ;

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 22, 1851, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1614/page/7/