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^™f 185L • . -THE NORTHERN g TAR _______...
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MIDDLESEX SESSIOXS. The Febrnary Adjourn...
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COURT OF ALDERMEN. On Tuesday a court wa...
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Proposeb Emplo tmest of the Enrolled Pen...
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RESULTS OF THE TWO YEARS INQUIRY INTO TH...
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; Navigating Balloon-.—It will be rememb...
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frnmm\ parliament
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MONDAY, Fbhruart 17. 'HOUSE OF LORDS.—Va...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The Wey The Dead,Body Of A Man Unkho^T^T...
ffies , » te 3 , and by every pound that they make these less , Fjeatbreating a demand for more . " Tbs Tbe Papal AaoaRssios . —The parishioners of sSt ^ 5 L Xicbolas Without , in the city of Dublin , met on 5 Mondj [ onday afterneon , Patrick Sweetman in the chair , tfto prto protest against any . legislative inteference with tithe Cthe Catholic Church ; Similar meetings were held iiin thin the parishes of Stl George and St . Peter . Co ! Cork School of Desigs . —The Lords of the ( ComiCommittee of Privy Council for the Board of Trade thavehave appointed Mr . Robert Scaulan head mnster of ttJ » < the Cork School of Design , at a salary of £ 300 per lanncannuin . Their lordships , in compliance with tbe irecoitecommendation of the Local Committee , have al ? o 1 bees beea pleased to raise tbe salary of the second mas-I ter , ter , Mr . Knight , to £ 150 per annum .
D Dariso Attempt of a Deserter to Escape . —On San Sunday evening a coporal and private of the 9 th FooFoot were escorting a deserter from Mullinaarto Dnl Dublin by the Midland Great Western Railway . Wh "When within about seven miles of the Dublin , and Bea near Clonsilla station , the prisoner managed to re-Iiei Iieve himself of the handcuffs , and having cantioi tiously opened the carriage door , jumped out . The coi corporal in charge , on misring the prisoner , at on once wade a spring outafter him , although at a « im imininent risk of his life , the train going at the ra : rate of fully twenty-five miles an hour at the time . Oi On the arrival of tbe train in Dublin , the matter wj was reported to the superintendent , who returned on on an engine to where tbe accident occurred , under th the impression that both parties roust have been eii either killed or so disabled as to remain where th they jumped out . On reaching the place , he found be both the corporal and prisoner quite safe , and proce ceeding on their march to Dublin .
^™F 185l • . -The Northern G Tar _______...
^™ f 185 L . -THE NORTHERN g ___________ 1
Middlesex Sessioxs. The Febrnary Adjourn...
MIDDLESEX SESSIOXS . The Febrnary Adjourned General Sessions of the I Peace for the county of Middlesex commenced on 1 Tuesday morning , at tbe Court House , Cierkenwell . Sentence . —Owen Sullivan and William Thonip-S son , convicted at the last session of picking pockets i in Parliament-street , on the 4 th inst , were brought i np for judgment . —The officers proved that Sullivan ] bad been convicted nine times , and Thompson once . ! The former prisoner was sentenced to be trarisi ported for seven years , and the latter to be kept to ] hard labour , at Coldbatb-fields , for nine calendar j months .
Defective State of the Law . —John R . Smith , convicted of having defrauded the London Dock Company of half-a-crown , was placed at the bar —The prisoner was a labourer iu the London Docks , and the offence of which he was convicted teas that of having , by means of a forgery , ootaincd a day ' spay more than he was entitled to . —Mr . O'Brien , tbe prisoner ' s counsel , submitted that the indictment was bad , inasmuch as the specific coins obtained by the prisoner were not set forth , and the court reserved this point , in order to take tbe 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 ^ peint , and the result was that be bad now to order the prisoner to be discharged , and in so doing would remark that it was highly desirable that some act of parliament should be passed to do away with all these monstrous absurdities .
Impedes ! Robbery . — John Smithers , 16 , and Thomas Sturgiss , 16 , were indicted for stealing 1 , 219 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 loth inst ., at about five o ' clock , the housekeeper observe ! the prisoners in tbe hall , endeavouring 10 steal out unobserved , tbe prisoner Sturgiss having Lis boots in his hand ; Suuthers 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 she found that the prisoners had got in through the parlour window , and that the drawers in several of
tiie up-stairs rooms bad been opened and ransacked . One of the farm servants was at work upon the lawn and be saw the prisoners go along the carriage drive towards tbe bouse , but he took no particular notice of them , supposing they bad business at tbe house . In a short time , however , he saw one of them ( Smithers ) run from the house to one of the shrubberies , ami having then some suspicion , he followed , and eventually captured bim . lie was given into custody with the other prisoner , and on beins searched some lucifer matches were found upon Smithers . When they were locked up in the
case Sturgiss was overheard by a policeman to say to Smithers , " Wbat did yon do with the beads and medal ? " To which he replied , "I threw them into the shrubs . I hope they wont -find them ; if thevdo , we shall be done . Ton 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 the shrubbery , tbe beads and medal were found , and thev were now identified—tbe beads as the property Of Miss Jane E . Oakley , and the medal as tbe property of Mr . John Jeffries Oakley . —The prisoners were found Guilty , and tbe court sentenced each of them to six months * bard labour .
Thief Tratxiso . —George Jackson , a man paralysed in the left arm , was convicted of stealing a piece of bxcon . —The prisoner bad been convicted five or six times , and it appeared , from the evidence of two City detective officers , tkat he was a regular trainer of young thieves . One of them slated that ie had been the officer in nine cases where boys vrJio had been taught to thieve by the prisoner bad te ? n sentenced to transportation , and several of tbem be had known , before they fell into the prisoner ' s clutches , to be good , respectable boys . lie was tbe recognised " captain " of a regular tribe of younj thieves whom be systematically drilled to make them perfect in the practice of their trade . — The learned Judge said this case forcibly showed lhe Strange defect that existed in tbe jurisdiction of
this court , which , nnfortmiately , would have the effect of preventing tbe 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 tbe court could not in the regular and formal manner receive and act . on tbe evidence of the former convictions , it could not pass sentence of transportation upon him . He certainly hoped this defect would speedily be remedied , and , ere long , a deputation of the magistrates -would , no doubt , wait upon tbe Secretary of State upon the subject . The court would pass upon him tbe same sentence as was passed upon the keeper of a place called " The Thieves' Kitchen , " where thief training was carried on , which sentence was that of eighteen months' bard labour .
A Pickpocket . —William Dyer , 16 , was convicted fif stealing a hankercbief of the value of 2 s ., from the person of William Walter . —The prisoner had been convicted of the same offence six times previously . —Sentenced to ten years' transportation . Sieauxc Uabxess . —George Brown was convicted of stealing a pair of double reins and hand pieces , value £ 2 * 10 s ., the property of Sir Wyndham Anstruther , Bart . —Sentenced to three months * bard labour .
Stealixg a Fowl . — James Reynolds was indicted for stealing a tame fowl , the property of James Kuicbt . —The prosecutor was a wharfinger at MileendT and kept a quantity of fowls at his wharf . Up wards of twenty had been stolen since Christmas , and , on a strict watch being kept , the prisoner was detected enticing the fowls out of the yard by throwing down corn . He was seen to catch one up and conceal it in his trousers , where it was found on bis being apprehended shortly afterwards . Guilty . Three months' hard labour .
Two Military Offesoers . —Richard Maxwell , a private in tbe Fusilier Guards , was convicted of stealing a parasob a cloak , and other articles , tbe property of a prostitute . —He was sentenced to eight months' hard labour . James Lee , a private in the Grenadier Guards , was indicted for a watch , key , Ac , value £ 7 Us , the property of Richard Balland , from bis person , lie was found Guilty , and sentenced to cine months ' hard labour . ItoBBEnv by a Iasdmjw , —A man bearing the singular name of Albion Plnsb , -was indicted for having stolen a watch from tbe person of Eliza Wedding . Mr . O ' Brien appeared for tbe prisoner . —It appeared from the evidence that the prisoner
was the keeper of a lodging house in Wcllesleystreet , Sorters-town , in which the prosecutrix lodced . On the 32 nd of last October she went home in a state of intoxication , but she perfectl y sell remembered that at the time she armed there her watch was safe , being suspended from her neck by a guard chain , and fastened to her side . She was accompanied by a man , whom the prisoner turned out of the house , and he then carried her up to bed . On awaking tbe next morning she missed her watch , and on communicating her loss to the prisoner , he said it would teach her better for the future . Shortly after that she was away from the bouse for seven weeks , and on her return she learned from the prisoner that be aud his wife had quarrelled , and that he bad turned ber out of doors a week before . In consequence of a message she waived from th * prisoner ' s wife , the
prosecutrix went to her , and from information then comnuMcated , she procured the assistance of a policeconstab ' e , to whom Mrs . Plnsh handed tbednjdi-« te of a watch , which on being seen at tbe pawnbroker ' s , proved to be that of which the prosecutrix had been robbed . She then saw the prisoner » pon the subject , when he said that his wife bad stolen the watch , and that they had gone together to apawnbrokcr ' s and pawned it . The shopman , however , deposed that the watch had been pawned ° J a man only , and that the prisoner had admitted that be was that man . The prisoner , when given into enstodv , did not make any answer to tbe charge . —The defence was that- this charge wa « Preferred against the prisoner through the malice aad vindictiveness of his wife , who had since be had been in custody sold off aU his furniture and & tf gone to live with a man of the name of Ford ,
Middlesex Sessioxs. The Febrnary Adjourn...
well known in Somers-town b y the alia * of " J * rd Brougham . " She , it was alleged , was the guu \ ty party . —The jury found the prisoner Guilty , and bt was sentenced to one year ' s imprisonment with hard labour . . . , . . Siealixo Fixtures . — S . Hill , a married woman , wasmdictel for stealing a quantity of fixtures , the property of W . W . Kempton . —The husband of the prisoner held a house of the prosecutor tinder an agreement , but being in arrears of rent and in difficulties , he . resigned the agreement to Mr . Kempton ' s agent , and left upon the premises certain fixtures , which he gave into the agent ' s possession , in part satisfaction of the arrears . The prisoner got a duplicate key , and went with a
carman , ' and carried off some of the fixtures , which she sohfata broker ' s . She exulted in what she had done , and declared she did not care how she was punished , as she had bad revenge . —The prisoner said tbe prosecutor had before that put in a distraint , and had swept off goods , the value of which was more than sufficient to pay the arrears , —The agent said the value of these goods was forty shillings . —The jury found her Guilty , with a recommendation to mercy . —Sentence deferred . Pfiisos Discipxixs . —A diminutive ragged boy named Triverton pleaded Guilty to a charge of theft—The prisoner said : . They treat me very well in prison . I have been in twice and do not mind it . ( Liughter . )—Sentenced to a month ' s hard labour and a whipping .
Assaultiso the- Police . —John Mowles pleaded Guilty of having assaulted a police-officer , in tbe exe 2 ution 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 & very excellent character , and he expressed great contrition for the offence he had committed . It was urged on his behalf that he was intoxicated at the time , and that he did not deliberately kick the officer in the way be bad done . —The learned judge said it was a serious case . The defendant bad been in prison a month , and the sentence was that he be further imprisoned and kept to hard labour for five months . Robbixo- Childbeh . —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 tbe 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 tbem to go into « ome bye-street on some pretence or other , whilst she made off with tho articles which she had promised to take care of until they returned . She also was in the habit of p lundering children of their clothes , enticing tbem 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 .
A Prisoner ' s Defence . —James Baker , 21 ,: who was stated to be an accomplice of the convict Hackett , who , some time ago , escaped from the , Pentonville Model Prison , was indicted for stealing two watches , the property of Carl Zuoher . 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 tbe business of a tobacconist . "While Mrs . Zucher was engaged in serving him , he reached across the counter and took down two watches from a line on which they were hanging in the window , and ran off ; and , although Mrs . Zucher ran after him the distance of some hundred
yards , he got clear away . The second case against him was his having stolen twelve shillings from tbe till of the Hoop and Grapes public bouse , in St . George-street . This was proved against him by the barmaid , who saw him in the act of leaning over tbe counter , and helping himself to the contents of the till ; and in both cases his identity was positively spoken to . When tbe officers apprehended him on the charge of stealing , tbe watches , the 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 tbe Hoop and Grapes , he said , " You are wrong there ; and if that young girl { the barmaid ) sticks to me and gets me twelve months , I'll beat her brains but . " The
prisoner , when called upon for his defence , said" I ' m innocent , for it could not be me as did it , as at the time it was done I was doing six months in Coldbatbfields for another felony . I was tried bere in the name of John Austin for stealing a portmanteau on the loth of last July , and was sentenced to six months , so I was not let out till tbe loth of last month , and these here robberies was done afore them . "—This assertidn was contradicted by tho prison officers , but tho Court intimated that timo should be afforded for full inquiries to be made respecting it . —The jury 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 ho was charged with was stealing a jacket . The officers proved that the prisoner was
tried and convicted on tbe 19 th of March , 1 S 50 , 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 bard 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 hy the vigilance of tbe officers . A man was committed for non-payment of a fine of 5 s ., 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 name 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 the trick was discovered , and Baker was compelled at once to resume bis own clothing . Dad Baker got out , the other man would then have made the mistake known , and claimed his liberation .
Court Of Aldermen. On Tuesday A Court Wa...
COURT OF ALDERMEN . On Tuesday a court was held for the purpose of receiving tbe return of tho election of an alderman for the ward of Walbrook , in tbe room of Michael Gibbs , Esq ,, resigned , and upon other business . The Sloases . —Alderman Wilson requested to be informed why 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 Xewgate 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 Newgate , he could not conjecture . —Mr . Alderman and Sheriff Garden said that as the sentence upon the Sloanes was imprisonment for two years without hard labour , they were , in conformity with the established usnag e , detained in the Gaol of Newgate , as tbe national prison . ( Hear , bear . ) If the sentence bad included bard labour , tbe 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 the care of the medical officer of the 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 tbe prisoners bad been tried . —( Bear , hear . )—Alderman Lawrence said the public might be led into a mistake by the mention of " solitary confinement iu a cell in Newgate , " and he wished to prevent anv 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 wboie 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 tbe gaol . ( Dear , hear . )
Swearixo ix of Albebmax Wire . —The swordbearer having announced to the Lord Jfayor that Mr . David Williams Wire , was ready to be sworn as alderman of Walbrook ward , Mr . Wire entered the court , accompanied by Baron Rothschild , M . P ., Sir Moses Montefiore , Mr . Travers , Mr . Deputy Watkias , 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 .
Proposeb Emplo Tmest Of The Enrolled Pen...
Proposeb Emplo tmest of the Enrolled Pensioners for Armt Recruiting . —Lieut .-Colonel Tullcok , in his evidence before the committee of the House of' Commons last year , gave his opinion to the effect that tbe pensioners distributed througout the United Kingdom could , with great facility and economy , be employed in enlisting recruits . He recommended that bis 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 fortv sub-division officers . The Naval and Military Gazette , in alluding to this proposal j calculates that by its adoption a saving of £ 18 , 000 a year would be effected . ' ' ' ' _ '
Foreign Articles fob the Exhibition . —It is believed that about 1 , 000 packages have already arrived in the port of London for the Exhibition , brides numerous arrivals of the kind at the various outportsin the king dom ; but it is supposed that a very small proportion , of the expected arrival has as yei takes place .
Results Of The Two Years Inquiry Into Th...
RESULTS OF THE TWO YEARS INQUIRY INTO THE GOVERNMENT OF CEYLON .
An article on . «« the Mysteries of Ceylon , " in the " Quarterly Review . " for . December , presents an admirably lucid sketch of the'events which led to the ; Parliamentary Committee of inquiry into the bloodless " rebellion " „ Ceylon in 1846 . and the bloody rigours exercised by Lird Torring ton . after tranquillity had been fully restored ' there ., The article is intended as some counteraction to "; that Fabiau dexteri ty which has hitherto nearly smothered the main results of the inquiry , and which would yet veil its disgraceful termination . We shall offer some assistance to this good" object by epitomising the article for our readers , as a preface to the further proceedings in Parliamen t this session .
In 1816 , when perhaps tho resignation of Sir Colin Campbell , after a long , peaceful , and prosperous administration , 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 , iu illus tration , and in 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 prudently 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 " nothing could be more dangerous or prejudicial " , than rash or theoretical meddling unguided by local experience and a thorough acquaintance with the habits and genius of the people , " who , although enervated aud apathetic , are remarkable even amongst the various races of India for their adherence to ancient habits of immemorial'custom . "
Theexperienced and master-hand selected was a nobleman who had spent bis youth in the Seventh Fusileers as a subaltern , and some mitureryears as an amateur experimentalist in the rearing of commodious cow-sheds in Kent , varied by severer financial exercises asjebairman of one of the most criticised of the railway schemes which were extemporised in 1845 ; but who at the age of forty had manifested no disposition to take a part in the unpaid public business of the nation . Viscount Torrington , the first cousin of tbe Premier , was se « lected to try his 'prentice-band at a government in the distant and lucrative post of Governor of Ceylon .
On reaching Ceylon , his Lordship discovered a state of financial affairs " so contrary to banking principles and to commercial policy " which re ^ quired to be remedied promptly . For remedy the quondam railway-director invented seven new taxes ; of which four only need be alluded to , —a road tax , a shop tax , a gun tax , and a dog tax . It so happens that you could scarcely seleet four taxes comparable with these for violating " the genius and habits" of the Ceylonese , and those " immemorial customs" which the Ceylonese are remarkable even amongst the various races of India for their adherence to . " Sixteen of the leading firms of Colombo immediately presented a petition to Lord Torrington correcting his errors by their local
experience , and respectfully praying the revocation of his steps . They explained that the road labour would be regarded as a renewal of the odious Rsjakaraya , a system of compulsory labour only recently abolished by the chiefs in concession to the universal feeling of the people ; and furthermore , that the Buddhist priests , 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 some shops ; that the gun tax , with other taxes on guns recently imposed , would take away as much as the whole value of the gun in the third year ; and that the dog tax would be totally impracticable in the country districts . Lord Torrington forwarded this petition to Ea " rl Grey , with the simple
statement that it proceeded from deluded natives or disloyal and bankrupt Europeans , and was altogether unworthy of notice . On the 6 th July , 1848 , however , a large body of unarmed Cingalese flocked into the town of Candy with the avowed object of complaining to the government agent residing there . The police , panicstricken , called in tho 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 tbe tact and eloquenc * of Sir Emerson , as the instruments of this delightful 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 the national sovereignty , who with twenty thousand armed bloodthirsty rebels had already met her Majesty ' s forces in the field . Five days afterwards , cawe word that Lord Torrington had sent a police-Inspector into the interior to see what was the matter . On his way , the inspector had met Mr . Waring , the resident magistrate and his police , in full retreat , and fortunately all uninjured : these fugitives reported that 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 tbe British supremacy had been upheld at the 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 abandoned by their protectors or owners . At Kurnegalle , whence the police retired " underan understanding" with Mr . Bernard , the private Secretary of Lord Torrington , that the natives should be unchecked "till they had committed somo disturbance which should enable the authorities to bring them to justice , " ( a parenthetical point
which suggests the flagitious principle of the whole proceedings ) , there was a similar display of English chivalry : at that place " one officer and twelve men of tbe 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 tho military credit of the feat should be duly apportioned . Major-General Smelt , the commanding-officer of Ceylon , remained quiet at Colombo during the 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 lhe more striking considering that neither had the assistance of two years' experience in the country which they so completely subdued .
After military subjugation , there succeeded tho vindication of transgressed law . For between two nnd three months after tbe 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 he
"highly satisfactory , " was one of the atrocities which first astonished and aroused public opinion 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 the 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 , he should be shot to-rnorrow . ' The priest was shot , and not in official robes . When tbe echo of English indignation ha d sounded over the east and entered Lord Torrington ' s ears , he proposed measures to his Council for the indemnification of himself and his military ; and one of tbe points he made was that " it was utterly impossible at the time"to be always certain '' 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 of
or was not : shot . Twice did Lord Torrington - ficially communicate to Earl Grey that "the pretender" bad been shot-that he bad been put to death on two occasions ; yet it proved at last , mat "the pretender" had never been killed , even once , and it being found that he still remained on hand , he was " . flogged and transported for life , lhe Council passed the act of indemnification only by a majoritv of one vote—tbe casting vote of Lord Torrington himself . As the indemnity act was in a sense his sole act , it was 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 be the sole parties who should decide . what acts should come within , its indemnifying scope . . > - ¦ Having thus-subdued-rebellion , vindicated the outraged ] aw and indemnified the-vigorous actors who had stepped beyond the law , Lord Torrington turned togrosftecfiTe policy , Qomumm ^ S t »
Results Of The Two Years Inquiry Into Th...
his Council Earl Grey ' s approval of tho four objectionable taxes , he repealed one as ineffectual for if . ° ? ° ' a aDan ( fcded a second as impracticable , surrendered a third on the remembered representations of the respectable deputation which had been previously contemned , and amended the last in the very , mode suggested by the memorialists whom he had called deluded or disloyal and bankrupt . The rapid transition of policy was not more . mystifying to the Council at Ceylon than inexplicable and irmating to . Lord Grey at home ; for his Lordship nau written : many pages in didactic approbation of tnese
. yery taxes , and of tbe vigorous policy by which they had been enforced . Earl Grey could not restrain a rebuke : "I am compelled to say , tnat on comparing your present despatch with your original explanations of the grounds upon which tne taxes now abandoned were adopted by you , I ca . nn 0 & reconcile the decision you have now come to with the supposition of your having well weighed Detorehand the advantages arid disadvantages of tnese taxes , sinco the objections which you report as having induced you to repeal them are in a great measure such as a preliminary investigation would have elicited . "
When Parliament met in February 1849 , "Mr . uenry Bnllie , M . P ., for Inverness-shire , moved | or a . Select Committee on the conduct of Lord torrington . Mr . Under-Secretary llawes defended the excellent Governor in the Commons ; and scattered invective against Mr . Bailie and Mr . Hume , as vindictive ; ignorant , and weak puppets in the hands of desi gning conspirators in Ceylon . Lord Grey declared in the House of Lords , that he should be prepared to defend his nominee on all points whenever the proper time should arrive . The Committee was appointed . It could discover no opinions whatever by the Law officers of Ceylon on tbe necessity for the martial law which had been proclaimed , or the need for prolonging its
operation' so long after tranquillity was restored . Lord Grey loftily refused to vouchsafe any light ; so the Committee recommended a Royal Commission 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 should be fetched to this country as the Committee , would nominate . The Committee unanimously requested Mr . Baillie , as their- Chairman , to take the task of selection ; and Mr . Hawes and Mr . James Wilson , tho Ministerial nominees in the Committee , consented that he should name the witnesses required ; but when parliament rose , Earl Grey objected that Mr . Baillie was constitutionall y incompetent to do the duty of the Committee , and he refused to summon the . witnesses , on tho score of expense . In the session of 1850 this dodge was thoroughly exposed ; and . the Minister being nearly
left in a minority—100 to 100—on a motion to send for tho witnesses by return of post , he promised they should be forthcoming . About this time Sir Emerson Tennent had arrived , in England . Mr . Baillie complained that Earl Grey had not only kept back the adverse witnesses , but had brought forward his own . Mr . Hawes declared that Sir Emerson Tennent had not been sent homo or brought home at all ; he was at home on his own affairs , " quite promiscuously as it were , " and on private leave . Yet in the account , since published , of expenses for bringing tho witnesses from Ceylon who were examined before this Committee , the largest sum appears opposite the name of Sir Emofsbn Tennent— £ 1 , 703 13 s . Id . But either he was sent for , and Mr . Hawes said the thing which is not ; or he was not sent for , and ho was allowed a large sum to which he had no rightful claim . ( Sir Emerson has since been promoted to the Governorship af St . Helena . )
One now arrives at two episodes of personal scandal , Captain AVatson ' s proclamation , and Mr . Wod <' bouse ' s confidential communication . Erery one will remember the indignant horror of Captain Watson at tbe blood y Cingalese proclamation he disowned in a well-written letter to the . 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 really 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 . Wodchouse having impartially exposed the financial position of the colony for some years past , and so shown tho delusions under which Sir Emerson had laboured
in the preparation of his celebrated report to Sir Colin Campbell , the "Knight of tbe Grecian order of Christ , " complained to the Committee that all the civil servants of the colony had banded to annoy and thwart him ; and he asserted that Mr . Wodehouse in particular had disavowed and censured acts which during the rebellion he had approved . Mr . Wodehouse rebutted this by quotinga passage from a letter addressed by Lord Torrington 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 . Wodehouse was compelled to disclose all : 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 failures to the underhand misrepresentations and suggestions of Sir Emerson Tennent ' . "
The reader will bear in mind the lofty indignation with which Earl Grey announced that he should bo 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 . liases 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 tho 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 , and shattered the reputations they were intended to
defend : accustomed to . official discomfiture and deceit , when he beholds the complete failure of the official defences in the open Pnrliamenlary field he will hot be surprised to find that some 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 rejection of 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 further investigation . " This was the coup-de-grace . Lord Grey never came forward with the preferred defence ; tho " proper timo" never camo and now it scarcely-ever can come : the little shield of Mr . Hawes must be lowered in silent unacted grief . The officers who were summoned over here to upsef , but who fatally established , the almost incredible charges made against the local government , bave 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 the ocean rock of St . Helena . Yiscount Torrington is quietly dismissed . '
; Navigating Balloon-.—It Will Be Rememb...
; Navigating Balloon-. —It will be remembered 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 balloon employed was in shape something like a fish , and beneath it was an apparatus on the clockwork principle , which propelled it by moving wings at the sides , and a sort of rudder at the tail kept it in the required direction . In some of the experiments , public and private , the balloon was propelled indifferent directions , and against the wind , but the latter trials were not 80 successful . Since
thenthe inventor , M . Julien , a poor workman , has constructed a longer balloon ; it is fifteen yards long ; and on Mondiiy 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 he calculates that 20 , 000 fi \ 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 . He would , indeed , ( the Presse says ) , have died of hunger , if M . Arnault , the director of the Hippodrome , bad not assisted him . —Paris Paper .
Earth Ligh t . —Humboldt has shown that the earth , itself is luminous ; that our planet , besides the light which 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 b y a little the li g ht 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 nor Star
in the firmament , nor snow upon the ground . Granting that a portion of this earth light is due to the chemical or electro-magnetic phenomena taking place on its surface , may not a portion of it- be due to the emission of light absorbed during the day ? These inquiries are perplexing , but they are full of interest : to many of them the solution lies out of the reach of philosophers ; but an investigation of others would probably lead to discoveries of a remarkable character . —Clnmbm' s Papm for the People ,
Secession from the English Church . — It is said that on Saturday last the Rev . & . A . Johnston , lately a beneficed clergyman in the Cburch of England , was received into the Romioh . communion , at Prior Park , by tbe Rev . J , B .-Mossis , the former tutor at Exeter College .
Frnmm\ Parliament
frnmm \ parliament
Monday, Fbhruart 17. 'House Of Lords.—Va...
MONDAY , Fbhruart 17 . ' HOUSE OF LORDS . —Various petitions upon the subject of 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 mensuroi in order that they might go forth to the country . Their lordships adjourned shortly before six o ' clock . HOUSE OF COMMONS . —A large mass of petitions , praying for the remission of various taxes , having been presented , The house resolved itself into a Committee of Ways and Means .
The Chancellor of tbe Exchequer prefaced his statement of the financial condition and prospects of rhe country by an announcement , that all his estimates and calculations wore based upon the presumption that tho 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 totals for a financial year which would not expire until the 5 th of April next , he thus stated the principal items of income nnd charge for the current and the prospective twelvemonths . The estimate he had ventured in his statement last session of the public income for the current year was £ 52 , 285 , 000 , but , owing principally to enhanced importations of grain , tho real' proceeds had been
£ 52 , 810 , 000 for the twelvemonths ending in Jnnusiry last , and those for the financial year ending in April might be taken at £ 52 , 650 , 000 . Tho estimated expenditure had boen £ 50 , 785 , 000 ; tho actual outlay would be about £ 50 , 134 , 900 , showing a probable saving of say £ 640 , 000 , and promisinc ; a surplus upon tbe year ' s account of £ 2 , 521 , 000 . Respecting the futnre produce of the taxes , he estimated the customs for the year ending April 5 , 1852 , at the same amount as had accrued this year , namely , 20 , 400 , 000 . The excise he took at £ 14 , 000 , 000 , being a reduced amount , in consideration of the diminished barley crop from the late harvest . From stamps he expected to derive £ 0 , 310 , 000 ; from assessed taxes , £ 4 , 348 . 000 ;
property tax , £ 5 , 380 , 000 ; Post ofSoe , £ 830 , 000 ; crown lands , £ 160 , 000 ; miscellaneous , £ 262 , 000 ; and sale of old stores , £ 450 , 000 . The total presumed income for tho 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 the consolidated fund £ 2 , 000 , 000 . The armv would cost £ 6 , 593 , 945 ; tho navy ,. £ 0 , 537 , 055 ; and the ordnance , £ 2 , 424 , 171 . Respecting these military items , the Chancellor of the Exchequer offered some parenthetical remarks upon the 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 Pembroke dockyard and Portsmouth harbour ; and also that some addition has . been , made to the navy and army contingents by some improvements that were effected in the comforts and allowances of tho men . Notwithstanding these increments there had keen an economy effected upon the war expenditure of £ 240 , 000 , sinco the last financial statement , and of more than tbreo millions since 1847 . ( Cheers . ) Proceeding with his computations , he 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 , constituting a gross total of expenditure amounting to £ 50 , 247 , 171 , and
p romising a surplus upon April Stb , 1852 , of £ l , S 92 , 0 U 0 . Adverting to tho proposed renewal of . the income ' tax , Sir Charles Wood confessed that ho had opposed the imposition of the tax in 1842 , but had since admitted that , by the abrogation of burdens pressing upon industry and trade , the impost had been justified ; and therefore , after supporting tbe renewal in 1845 , and proposing it himself in 1848 , he now , once more asked for a prolongation of the term , requesting the houso to determine the point speedily—hinting that , if refused , his successor at the Board of Exchequer 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 . First among financial duties heplaced tho payment of debt , not by violent efforts , but hy prudent application of accruing assets ; and after recording the pleasant fact that £ 2 , 330 , 000 would , have been paid off during the year now about to expire , ho laid 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 the announcement 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 , spirits , tea , tobacco , wine , & c , we raised
£ 20 , 893 , 400 : from malt-, hops , aud British spirits , £ 10 , 927 , 338 : total , £ 31 , 820 , 798 . Upon manufactures , including paper , silk , soap , Ac , the duties wese £ 2 , 452 , 000 . Timber , tallow , and agricultural seeds produced £ 764 , 000 ; the duties on trades and professions , consisting of licenses , stamps , marine insurances , and income tax schedule B and D , £ 4 , 404 , 000 ; coach and railway traffic , £ 048 , 000 ; newspapers ,. £ 511 , 000 ; and assessed taxes . £ 1 , 491 , 000 . Thus the whole impost upon industry was something more than forty-two millions . On property the burdens comprised stamps on deeds , tire insurance , income tax schedules A and C , land tax , window tax , & c , and amounted to £ 12 , 451 , 000 , to which about thirteen millions of local taxes must
be added , With this preface he stated successively the changes he proposed to make in the taxes of the ensuing year . First , lie should abrogate the window duty entirely as at present collected , compensating in somo measure tho loss to the revenue hy the enactment of a house tax , charged at the rate of Is . in the pound on the rental of all new or improved houses above £ 20 in annual value ; and upon existing houses , commuting the window duty for an annual charge of two-thirds , the amount now paid . This modification would remove all objections to the taxupon sanitary or architectural considerations , and would , besides , be a large diminution in the amount paid by almost every class of dwellings . Tho only exceptions would be in the case of a few
buildings , such as shops , farm-houses , Ac , now exempt , and which hereafter would be taxed at 9 d . in the pound on there rental , but the charge in those instances would be trifling ; and on tbe 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 , he 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 Gd ; and 4-1 . per lb . by an equal 3 d . —
( hear , hear)—and including chicory , whoso employment in admixture with coffee he looked upon as innocuous , and eren useful , in the 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 . Gd . per ton . ( Hear , hear . ) Fourthly , he intended to transmute tho duties on agricultural seods , the only " raw material , " he observed , on which tbo 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 , ho proposed to transfer a proportion of the charges for pauper lunatic asylums from the local rates to the
consolidated fund . Altogether , ho calculated that the gain to the public would stand thus . —From the 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 pauper lunatic asylum charge would not bo a gain in tbe whole , but a relief in detail , and would cost the public revenue £ 150 , 000 ; and there was , in addition , a further loss to be expected upon the sugar duties , under acts passed in previous sessions , amounting to £ 338 , 000 . But though the taxpayers would be relieved to tho extent thus estimated , the revenue would not loso the entire sum . , A part of tho reduction would bo mado . upby increased consumption , and he
calculated that upon the balance he ' should lose £ 1 , 280 , 000 , leaving for future years a surplus of about £ 612 , 000 ; and , for the now ensuing twelvemonths giving him nearly the million he wished for to pay off debt , because the reduction would not take effect until the October quarter . After briefly defending the principles on which the measures he had indicated were based , tho Chancellor of the Exchequer deferred taking any vote for 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 house against making any necessary modifications in " tho impost when the bill came specially before them for discussion . ( Cheers . )
Mr . IIkrries 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 tho topics adverted to by the Chancellor of the Exchequer comp laining that so little was done to reduce expenditure , especially in the colonies , and declaring that tho general result of his plans for alleviating taxation would be unsatisfactory . ( Hear , hear . ) Lord Duscix approved of the abolition of the window tax , but would have liked it better if the gift had not been accompanied by a houso duty . ( Hear , hear ' , ) Sir J . TTRBLLmadeBQme , allusions to local burw thecs , after whisk
Monday, Fbhruart 17. 'House Of Lords.—Va...
Mr . Willums contrasted the exp enditure if tho year 1845 with that estimated at present , and which showed an increase of two millions . The govern , ment , he feared , would never duly undertake the task of economy until they were forced by strong pressure from without . ( Hear , hear ) Alderman Smss * recommended the houso " to refuse any assent to the income tax until the ministry bad promised to adjust the burthen , nnd relieve the unjust pressure it exerted upon incomes derived from commercial and professional industry .
Air . llonoES trusted that the taxuponhops would not bo overlooked when future opportunities offered . Mr . Slaxey hoped that the ministvv would persevere in the course they had adopted this year , nnd continue to pass measures by which the moral , sanitary , and social condition of the working man miirht be improved . ( Hear , hear . ) ° Mr . Frewes enforced the necessity of relieving the hop growers , who were much distressed . ( Hear . ) Mr . Cowan complained of the burden of the income tax , and of tbo taxes on knowledge . ( Hear . ) Sir B . Hall declared that he should take tho
sense of the house upon the proposed house tax , and inquire whether the impost was to be extended to Ireland . Mr . Alcock wished to see barley relieved from the tax now imposed 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 . Jolikfe had listened with pain to a most lame and unsatisfactory financial statement . Tho promised remission would not save a shilling to tho tennnt- ' farmcrs many of whom would have , in addition , to pay a new houso tax . Lord D . Stuart having reiterated the question as to the extension of the house , tax to Ireland , ¦ The Chakceuok of the Exchequer replied that he did not purpose creating a new impost iu that part of the United Kingdom .
Mr . NEwnEQATE observed that they were purchasing , at the price of the income tax , a continuance of the destructive free trade system . 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 by Mr . G . Bar . kes , Mr . Mitchell , Colonel Sibthorp , Mr .-Muntz , Mr . W . Brown , Mr . Sandars , Mr . A . B . Hope , Mr . C . Anstey , and Mr . Henley . The Chancellor of the Exchequer , in reply to
various queries , stated that no tax would be charged upon warehouses , manufactories , or any buildings that wore not dwolling-houpcs ; that tbo assessment upon existing houses would bo commutablo to a charge levied upon the rental , calculated upon tho basis laid down in the original house duty , and amounting generally to two-thirds of the abolished window tax ; and that the proposed transference o £ the costs , or part thereof , of pauper lunatic asylums , was to have effect in all parts of the United Kingdom ,
Captain Harris , Mr . Newdegate , Mr . Wakley , Mr . Hildyavd , and other members , having added some observations , the chairman reported progress , and the house resumed . Mr . Hawes moved the second reading of the Passengers' Aet Amendment Bill , which was aereed to after a few remarks from Mr . Sidney Herbert and Mr . Henley , and the committee fixed for Thursday next . On the motion nf Mr . C . Anstey , leave was given to bring in a bill for establishing muncipal councils in counties in Ireland . Sir W . Somerville obtained leave to bring in a bill to amend tho laws relating to the valuation of rateable property in Ireland . The house rose at a quarter to twelve . TUESDAY February IS .
HOUSE OF LORDS . —Lord Hardwicke presented several petitions , complaining of agricultural distress , and contended that the result of the free trade measures had been 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 thorn , that the expression of opinions by those on the Protectionist side , whoso predictions had invariably proved true , were at least entitled to attention and respect . ( Hear hear . ) Nor could any assembly be fitter judges of this question than their Lordships , who were , for the most part , largo possessors of land , and intimately acquainted with tho wants and wishes oi tbeagricHlrur . il population . ( Hear bear . ) Besides these petitions , he was enabled to lay before the
house other evidence on the subject , derived from letters addressed to bim 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 talto a decided line ono way or the other , but not to delude the hopes of tho farmers by such a pitiful boon as the reduction of £ 30 , 000 on agricultural seeds . ( Cheers . ) Earl Granville would not deny tbe ability and clearness with which Lord Hardwicko had stated his views on tbe subject ; but was obliged to differ from him when he ' claimed the exclusive right of prophecy with regard to the result of free trade measures . ( Hear , hear . ) When lie was told that the prophecips of noble lords opposite had all proved true , ho must say 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 the house that the labourers did obtain employment , they were told that it was under accidmital and exceptional circumstances , and that if they waited six months longer they would see what the condition of the agricultural labourer would be . ( Hear , hear . ) The noble lord then combated the statements of Lord Hard wick , and before be sat down called on Lord Stanley to state what were bis views on that great question ; - whether the agricultural interest were to look for a speedy 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 thoy were to he removed .
Tbo Duke of Richmond contended" that Free 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 tbe United States , ( 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 Wodehouse denied that so much distress existed in the asricultural districts as was asserted . The Ilarl of WrwciiiLSKA said , that for tiro years past he had seen with deep regret the cultivation of the country going rapidly back . ( Hear hear . ) If the present system was persevered in , such
discontent would arise among the agricultural interest as would make the strongest government tremble . ( Hear , hear . ) Lord Mauiesburt said , that without entering into the question of prophecy , it was clear that there must be agricultural distress , for the Royal Speech admitted and lamented its existence . ( Cheers . ) After that admission it was only natural to conclude that somo roeaiures of relief would have been proposed—( hear , bear)—but the debate in another place . and the assistance given to tho government by Sir James Graham , had , ho supposed , frustrated those measures . Tho noble Lord opposite , and his colleagues , had forgotten their old principles , and uttered their oki ' i sentence of condemnation in the speech from tho Throne .
Earl Fitzwilliau attributed the low price ef corn and consequent distress in certain localities to the bad quality of the corn from the last harvest . ( Hear , hear . ) He vindicated the policy of the government , justified the conclusion of advancing prosperity , and contended that 110 attempt to reverse the Free Trade measures now in operation verse the Free Trade measures now in operation
n could prove successful or safe . ( Loud cheers . ) A pause of somo seconds then ensued , but no other ; r noble lord rising , the petitions were ordered to lio io upon tbe table . The . houseroso at half-past nine 0 clock , HOUSE OF COMMONS . —Viscount Duncan kx gave notice of bis intention to bring forward his lis motion for a total repeal of the window duty on on Tuesday week . Sir B . Hall also announced his intention of of moving that the Income and House Tax be extended led to Ireland .
Mr-. P . Scope moved for a Select Committee to to inquire into the infovmulavity of the Poor-law in in England , Scotland , and Ireland , but had not pro- proceeded with his argument when an boa ., member ber moved that the house be counted , and there being ing but twenty ^ seven members present , the house ad « ad « journed . WED 2 « ESDAY Febbuakt 19 . - HOUSE OP COMMONS .-Tua house met at at noon . After some notices of motion ,
Lord J . Russell gave notice that he would on Monday next move for a committee of the wholo house to take into consideration the Oath of Abjuration , with a view of relieving her Majesty ' s subjects of the Jewish ' per 8 Sir W . Clay moved the Compound Householders Bill in all respects the same as Its object was to remedy an the machinery of tbe Reform were disfranchised who werelnf enjoy the franchise . -Mr ; Mac ™* thought i be afforded for considering that it be read a second time
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 22, 1851, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_22021851/page/7/
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