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"Aad I will war , st leastin wards , ( And—chouTdmy chancesohappen—deeds , ) WithtUwhowarwlth Thought !" « I think I hear a little bird , who singi The people by-and-by will be the stronger . "—Bno » t We ate indebted to theiVene ( Paris journal } for the following details of the Prussian Administration , fonnicg an interesting supplement to the " Statistics" giTen in a farmer namfaer .
ORGANISATION OF THE GOVERNMEST OP PRUSSIA . Frederick William IV . was bora on the 15 th of October , K 85 , and bas consequently entered his 51 st year . Harried in the year 1823 to Elizabeth Louisa , daughter of the King of Bavaria , born in 1601 , he has no children . He ha * reigned since Jnne 7 th , 18 * 0 , the day of the death of his father , Frederick William III . Kb brother , Frederick William Louis , bord tie 22 nd of March , 1797 , is Prince Royal of Prussia . In Prussia the government belongs to the King exclusively ; he exercises tbe Sovereign power with the assistance of a Council of State , of a Minister of State , and of Privy Councillors . The Council of State is composed of a president and a vicepresident , of the Princes of the Royal Family having
attained the age of eighteen years , of the Hinisttrs of State , of the commanders-m-chitf and presidents of provinces , of sixty officers who attain their seats in the conoril through the confidence of the government The Ministers of State are composed of the Prince of Prussia Bodof all the Privy Councillors on duty , The private fiJaistries are nine in number , viz ., the Hinistry of the Sing ' s Household , divided into two departments ; 2 , the Ministry of War divided into two departments , under the direction of General Von Bojsn ; ? , the Ministry of Public Worship , of Pubic Instruction , and of Medical Affairs , three departments , under the direction ef Br Xichborn ; 4 , fee Administration-of the Treasury and the Hint , directed by General Toe Thile ; 5 , the Ministry of the RevUten of the Laws , directed by Dr Savisxy ;
6 , the Minister of Foreign Affairs , of which the head is the Baron de Canitz ; 7 , the Ministry of the Interior directed by Baron Von BodelschiSng— -Vdmede , at present Boyal Commissioner to the thuted Diet ; 8 , the Ministry of Justice , under the direction of the Privy Genxdllor TJhden ;* , the Ministry of finance , divided irito four compartments , under the ctntrol of Che Privy Councillor Puesberg . There are , moreover , certain central or superior authorities "subservient to the depart , ments of the Ministry , The fir . t are—the'General Tribenal of Censure attached to the Ministry of Justice , the Direction iff Public Work * , the « Consulting Cooiraittee of Arts and finances , the General Direction of the Lottery , the Committee of Examining Commissaries attached to the Ministry of Finance , the Archives of
tire-State and of the Cabinet , nndar the special direction ef the Ministers of the&oyal Household Trad of Foreign Affairs . The second are the Court « f-Accounts , the fost-Office the Gessral Administration of the Debts of the State , the Commercial andStatistkdieSces , and the General Commission of the Rjyal 'Command ! . The < tourihas likewise its officers—the stand chamberlain and the grand marshal , the master of theHlojal hounds , a general inspector of the Aulic music , a grand butler , 3 grand master of the ceremonies , amersfaal of thecourt , = and inferior officers , such as prefectstif the castles of Scenigsberg , Stotenfelds , Breslaa . tThe state budget for the year 1647 presents the most perfect equilibrium ., The revenue aai ibe expenditure -amount equauj ^ io " 64 , 033 , 697 dollars . Direct taxation . figures for 19 , 319 , 96 $
dollars ; the indirect taxes amount to 35 . 782 , 33 t dollar * ; the salt monepoly to 4 . 932 200 dollars , and the produce -of the courts Otgustice to 4 , 032 . 215 dollars . In the expenditure , the national debt figures fer 3 £ 19 , S 20 dollars , the ministry of pcKic worship and instruction for 33 770 , 5 ( 6 dollars—nearly one half the expenditure exclusive of the .-national debt . The remainder is -absorbed by the other administrations . There does not-appear to be any fund for secret serric ? m nty . The am > y on the peace establishment is-comnosed of the infantiy of the royal gaard , 11 , 202 men ^ fiD regiments of tbe line , 63384 men ; cs . Talry , six regiments of the guarfi . ? 3 , 764 men ; 32 regi ments of the&ue , 19 , 360 men ; artfCery , a brigade of the guard , and eight brigades of the ifce , 15 , 651 men : engineer * , 2 , 5 * 4 lcen . Total army of lie line , 115 . 905 men . To ihesemost be added the Lwdw ' ehr of the first cUsi ,
70 , 643 infonby and 10 400 carafay ; -and tbe Laadwehr of the second clcss , 339 , 561 men . Ihe war establishment consists ofSOS . OOO troops of the fiee , 1 SQ . O 0 O of the first -class of the Landwebr , and eveij man between the ages of 32 and 39 of the second class of tie Landwehr , and , " in fine , the Lannstnrm , which comprises every manfroaJl " 4 o 50 jearsof age capable of beering arms . A series of articles has recently appeared in the 2 tforn % J& £ umher , under the title of "England and Germanv , " reported to befrom a memoir ofiDr ^ Frederick -list , the erainenti € ennan writer- These articles , the first of which we give this week , were written to-ehow the value andconditions of an alliance between England and Germany ; they contain some curionsspeculations concerning the * destiny-of ¦ this county , highly Interesting to the political , thinker-
SSGUSB AND « GB 3 MA 5 Y . X . THEiPoacr of the Pbesekt -ahd or tbe Fssobs Itis -our full conviction that on : the subject which we propose to treat in this essay , depend not only the future iappiness of both nations , but for a large space office thatof all mankind . Thestatesmea of prosperous aadndghty nations nsneUy "Breier dealing with the interests present rather than those of th » fcfeare . They have thaun common with the prosperon&and the powerful . It as more pleasant to eajay * hefutnse , than to give way to ideas of possibility or jKcbabUity of future vicissitudes . But if we reflect natardy-on the mode in which prosperous and pewerfal nadanshave attained to the possession of their present , power , we cannot refrain from mating the obaeiraticn ' that their present prosperity , theic present power , is a ] plant , wi « ge seed * were placed in the earth by the sen of old .
That the wants of the present are ifer more pressing than those of the fatore , and , moreover , of a yet remote future , can as little be disputed , as that he who lets his views wander too far into the future , exposes himself to the risk oflosin- tbe right path in tfce . present ; we will also willingly allow that in ordinary times the ere for the fatore U eemn&ed in the care for stlse present . It is , however , otheredse in times in which the political and social eoaditios of nations , as also that of humanity in general is in a complete state of reorgaaisation . In tuca epochs , statesmen who limit their « ews exclusively
to the present wants and advantages of itheir country , incur the danger of paying for their narrow-minded exertions after the applause of their couteasjeraries and their country , with the reproach of after generations that ihey have contemned tie fatore , and posterity will the snore severely judgsthea , the greater the influence of linen * nation « n the a £ ai « of the world , andsaest severely . when they stand at the head of those nations oa whose jolby depends for a tang series of coming centuries the £ * fpiness or misery of mankind . Sueh a deewive movement is the present , aad that nation on whoai the decision depends is England .
fi . Thc TaAssrrios P £ mod . —Since the year 1770 , the . earlier condition of the world has been in a « t £ te of dissolution . In this comparatively brief period < KI 0—1840 ) the following great changes and events are included . Sojth America , formerly a thinly populated colon / of England , obtained in independence and grew to a nation , wfeieh , after the lapse of a few decenniums , will in poser aad wealth range itself by the side of the greatest sations of the earth , eren if she do not surpass them . Frauce-eSseted , in this period , her moral , political , and eeouoHac regeneration , and although as regards maritime power and colonies , conHstrce and industry , she is now in comparison with England , she is infinitely weaker than iefore , and destitute of all hope of ever again attaining her former importance ia these respects , che has grows , within this period , to a land power incomparably greater than before .
Germany has certainly , after the fall of her long super , animated constitution , not yet been able to attain her politico-aationalregeneration ; but the German people , in its agriculture and industry , as well as in its general , and especially in its political intelligence , has now made immeasoreable progress within this short period . As however , the in ( isrmanj stfll so powerful Bureanocracy , jrhicb certainly has done good service in its time , bnt ¦ ias now loag outlived itself , has rather retrograded than Mfaanced ; and as this half ¦ oriental excrescence , like a parasitical weed , gradually enveloping in its grawth the whele fabric to which it has attached itself , now holds &jtbin its embrace every member of the State , the
mo-Mttbaal as well as the aristocratic and tbe democratic « lemeel ; fettering their every movetBenr , while it regards ¦• ndteeatt as revolutionary movemeate every effiirt of SaaisidBals for the attainment of nationality and political ¦ Justiiutjaas corresponding to the degree of culture attained by the nation , a wide abyss muit for the tims exfo ia & country between the people an * the gwernmeafr , an sbyss which must appal the clear-righted statesman , « d he not perceive tt » t the « xisteaee and futnre destiny af Prussia rests on the political regenera tion of Germany , and that the high spirit of the present ruler of Prussia is fully adequate to the solution of this great problem . —f rhis was written before the issue of the Prussian constitution by the Sing . ]
The Ottoman empva , after forming for centuries the wall of division between Africa and Asia , on the oae * iie , andEorcpeon'tne other , as regards religion , poli . iies . ani commerce , is now internally so corrupted , that it cannot , by its own strength , hold itself erect , and is advancing towards ils inevitable dissolution . Asia . Africa , and Oceania , have been opened to the European spirit of enterprise , and now weigh heavily in the balance of power , while formerly they scarce came into consideration . Enssia has withiB this period risen from a barbarian country to an European power of the first rank , and now menaces Asia on the one hand , and Europe oa the other , Bith her unceasing craving after aggrandisement .
The French revolution has in this period shaken to the foundations the political institutions of every attenuation of Roman descent—Italy , Portugal , and Spain—and laid ^ bare their deep , moral , political , and economic decline . The two latter countries have in their struggles for political organisation , net only lost their possessions in Sooth America , bat also almost all their political in . fluenee in Europe . - The ggmh American State * , uniting to toe moral ,
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olitical , and economic weaknesses which they inherited f rom their . mother-countries , also the weakness peculiar to themselves ; of an intermixture witn inferior and uncivilised races , were unabla torn tke any reasonable use of their independence ; they are and will remain a ball for the sport of more powerful nations . While these immeasureable changes were taking place , science effected a vast number of discoveries in the modes of production and transport , which completely transformed commerce and industry , and particularlj the economy of nations . a 1 * $ *»* 1 anJ MMdAmlft WpnVnp * M *_ R Wrtlf » tt tf % a « ! nl » k !> . i
England lastly , she having placed herself at the head of these discoveries , and especially of every other species of economic progress , as she a ' . rtady for centuries haa been the first country of the earth as regarded the moral , religious , and intellectual condition of her people , but still more as regarded her political institutions and poli . tical advancement , rose in this period to a height of na . tional strength and national wealth , which cannot be compared with that at which it stood at the commenceraent of this period , and above all cannot be compared with the condition of any nation of ancient or modern times .
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• - WEST INDIES . JAMMCA .-. Thelegislatnre has been prorogued after a double session of twelve weeks . BBHjn ) Bi ; - rbe co ; onial parliament met on the 21 st iof A pril . The Highland costume of the 42 ndthebattaiion of whom landed part at Hamilton and partat Ireland ' s Island tm tte 15 th—had created quiteasensation ammgthe'Moodiatu . Subscriptions ladbeenraisedfortheieUefofthedislressedinScotlarat and Ireland . _ Barbujoes . —Thecolonial legislature meton the t-1 ° [ ^ arch * S ' 8 howers had fallen in April , which had much relieved the yoanjt crop , without interfering with catting operations . Immense quantities of sugar hatfe been manufactured . Grenada—3 fc this island the weather has been most propitious , and the enro eiueh larmrfKan that
o } tne preeedfsg season . AKnGUA . —Tue only item « f news from thiswilony relates to a riot among the feib urers . The wstry of Jst John ' sparishproposed te levy a tax on hads and tenements unattached to estates . Herenpsn , from 300 to m iabourera colteeted , and by their riotous and threatening demeanonr within the crert house , compelled the meetingof 5 th April to adieurn withottttransscting the business before them . The fjHARnsi Lasb « PLis ra Gcim . —Governcr Li-httipened the conrtfmed courtforthe dispatch of
, toefistncuJ business of the year , en the 23 rd of March . The combined court is ceeposed of the College of Financial Representatives . sittinR in coijjBaction witti the Conrtof Policy ( the legislativeiissembl y of the < colony ) . The governor stated mi the course of Wardress , that within the last few days seventy nattveiabourers had % uui ; ht an estate , DcnAmEtel , for wtich they laid dawa . as a first inttshnent , 10 , 000 € ols ., secured f ^ QO more in tvo ! J ™* Sj 'w" ? themselves to pay , with interest E 5000 additional m twovenrs .
. „ FRANCE . AMmsTKRut CBisis .-The Paris papers of Satur-: flay brought theintellieence of the resignation of the . French _ Minister of Finance ( Ltcave Laplace ) , of ; War ( General'St Yon ) , and "Marine ( Admiralt IS ?™ ^^®™^* " chaBili eP had refused < mei of the credifa demanded by the Minister of Marinci M . de MackanTiad previously -declared that ifthat ; particular credit were not granted , he would resign . ! hi > J- ?* To ^ c ^ red , on Friday , ie the ! talle de s ew / irsnees , that the -treatment he had re-i ceived , ' n the Chamber was such , that he would ; tnro wupthewardepartmpnt . M . LacaveLaplagne-* as unwillinerto " resign " and appears to haveiwen ! therefore dismissed . The Scni / atr of Mondayeon- ! tained the following nominations : — j
M . Dumon , Secretary of State for the department * of Public Works , to be Minister of Finance , m-the ! wace of M .-Lacave Laplagne . M . Trezel , Peer of r ranee Lientenant- . General , commanding the 12 th ' military division , to be Minister of War , in the place ! w Lteutenant-GenerailMoline de Saint You . The ! Duke de Montebello , Peer oTFrance , Ambassador attheCourfcorHhe Kins « f the Two Sicilies , to te ^ fiHKterof Marme and Colonies , in the place of Admiral Baron de Maekau . - M . Jayr . Peer of France , Pre-i feet of thejaepartmentofthe Rhone , to be Minister ofPubue - . Worfes . intheplaK ! of M . Dumon , nominated Minister of Finance . The fifth ordinance charges M . Guiznt , Hunter of Foreiga Affairs . 1 with the interim of the Ministry of Marine and Colonies , during the absence of the Duke de Montebello . .
n A njo't extraordinary scene was exhibited In the ! Chamber ofDsputies on Monday , on the occasion of the debate-npon the propontioh of M . Creraie » x . i that no member of the Chamber should kold the ! place of dh-eetor of a company , and especially ofai railway company . M . Grandin ascended theiribune . and declares that there were sixty-nine depufies'whoi were directors of railway companies . This announce- mentprodBeeda scene such as it is quite impassible ^ adequately to describe . Tne worst disorders ever ! witnessed in the House of Commons , or even-in the ; House ofRepreseGtatives at Washington , were nothing to it . This concert lasted more than anfoour . The rioters were not composed of either of the ex- tretne parties , but of the conservative and ministerial members , who , steeped totne lips in corraption , be owed against theexposur&of their crimes .
The returns respectinB the-Paris Savings Sarilts demonstratethe continual drain of money from those establishments . The lodgments in the safisogs x « » r na on tbe 9 * ^ in stant , amounted to & > 3 , 036 f . and the withdrawals to l , 071 , 129 f .
SPAIN . AlWIVER « iRT-OP THE iN-SURKBCnOK OP 1803 . —fie Madrid journals of the 3 rd came out with blaek mournine borders , in remembrance of the victims who . on the 2 nd of May , 1808 . were slain by orderof ¦ ftapoleon for hawng risen against the French . Tfce day was celebrated with great solemnity . The lead-Mgcolumnsof all the journals were filled with irapafisioned appeals to the patriotism of the uatioa , and with not less impassioned declarations of a determination to maintain the national 'independence of Spam at any and every cost . Tfce Progressistaijournals announce that Generals Rfldii and Nogueraa have been atnaestied by the Queen . * On fche 5 th , the Cortes was prorogufifl , without any day-being named for its re-assembling .
The news from Catalonia is unfavorable ; various manufacturing establishments have besa closed , and disorders feared in coasequence of tie number of workmen thrown out of-employment . The ^ ueen left Madrid f or Arasjera « n the 5 th . An lamense croffd was { assembled on b « th sides of the streets along which she had to pas ? . The ground was kept by fte troops , and * he was accompanied by a considerable military escort . She was in an open carnage with ier uncle and cousin , bat was not accompanied feyfcer husband . She was very ead , and her face bore evident traces of long and bitter weep . Ing , i S "" ained in the palace . Tfae removal of her Majesty to Aranjeaz has rendered more 9 ^ kin 8 v and « ffessively manifest the estrangement
PORTUGAL . ^ w ™ War . —An arrival from Lisbon of the 30 th ult ., bnngs news « f an attempted revolt in that capital , which failed . A great number of prisoners were liberated , but mo ? t of them were recaptured . Donna Maria ' s soldiers are reported to have behaved with great brutality . A great number of the recaptared pnsoners . though unarmed , and emaciated with starvation and dungeon-disease , were horriblv murdored by the brutal soldiery . Colonel Wyld was still negotiating with the Junta , with whatsuceesa was not known .
GERMANY . ¦ BISIHESS OP THE PEOPLE . —PJUONE RIOIg . Account * from Thorn , received atKoniEsberg on the 1 st of May , say that the distress in the smaller towns on the frontiers—for instance , Gollerb—is exceedingly great . There is a want of work , and the people cannotliveontheirwages . Crowds of children covered with rags , and many in a state of nudity , follow the travellers with lamentable cries . The accounts from Poland are not so distressing , but eren there a famine is apprehended . Accounts from Lauenberg state that a famine is at haiid , the bakers not bans able to obtain any more com ; and accounts from Kolberg say that since the opening of the navigation , the exportation of corn , not onlv to the
nrovinces , but also to foreign countries . continue without ceasing , and that provisions of all kinds are daily ^ nusg oearer and more scarce , the prices keep up , and the bakers are partly in want of money , several havereased working , and bread is stai very dear . At Frankfort the house of Rothschild has undertaken to pay the bakers a sum of 6 kreutzer upon every loaf , jothat the poor may be all supplied . That house has already placed 5 , 000 bread tickets atthedisposal of the guardians of the poor . In the electorate of Hesse ; the government has commenced taking an official account of the corn and potatoes . Very confaadictory reports have been in circulation respectiutheactualauantity m the country , and it is honed
that this official inquiry will furnish some definite resulte . So muei is certain , that an immense eaautity of the haryesfc of 18 i 5 is kept stored np , with the newof ulfiraate gain . Heavy fines have been imposed u Por several persons who hare been guilty of this crime—one landowner in Cassel was fined 700 H . Fossh , April 30 . —Riots caused by the dearness of pro 7 raonsbrokeoutqnihe 29 tiiiu this town . Several dnnking-neuses , warehouses , and shops , were entered by the populace and plundered , and the mob ga * e themselves up to the wildest excesses . Thousands of women joined in the uproar , and assisted in plundering the carts containing corn and flour which were in the market place . Everything is now comparatively quiet
Wurxkhbbrg , Stottgardt , May 4 . —Most serious disturbances have taken place at Stottgardt , in consequence of the high price of provisions .. Incendiary proclamations had previously been circulated ; and the government , fearing some demonstration , bad taken precautionary measures . The troops of the garriwu . and a portion ef ( he National Guard , had
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received instructions to be ready , and troops and , artillery had also been ordered from Ludwigsburg . Oa theeveningof the 4 th , ' the house of a baker , in the Hauptstaetten-atrasse , was attacked by the mob , conslating of woikmen of every description . At 8 o ' clock the National Guard was called eut , and the governor of the town , Count deLeppe , accompanied by Prince Frederick of Wurtemberg at the head of the cavalry , and some detachments of infantry , made their appearance , but their exhortations to the mob only increased the tumult . The troops endeavoured to clear the streets , but they were assailed by a Bhower of stones ; a barricade was thrown up and a shot fired . ___ . ' . '_ -- '•' . - . "* -
Some of the officers and men were wounded by the stones . The cavalry then charged , and the infantry stormed the barricade ; the mub was dispersed , but speedily re-assembled in other quarters . Stones were thrown on the military from the roofs of the houses . The King , accompanied by the Prince Roval and his staff , proceeded to the scene of the disturbances . At the Masenbach-bridge a detachment of infantry fired upon the mob , which was approaching the person of the King . One man was killed and several wounded . It would seem that the emeute had a somewhat political charaoter , for cries were uttered insulting to the Kin&and wishes were loudly expressed that he should yield the throne to his son .
Later News . —The riots at Stuttgardt nave been put down , and calmness has been restored at Ulm ; but Wurterobergi 8 not yet free from outbursts of this kind . Its university town ( Tubingen ) has also to deplore acts of violence . On 5 th May an attack was projected on the rniil of the brothers Schweickhardt . Precautionary measures bad been taken by the authorities , ana the students of the University were called upon to co-operate in the maintenance of order . At ten ' at night a considerable mob had assembled before the mill in question , and ona of the doors was smashed in and the pillaging commenced . A body T ) f students , armed with rapiora , interfered and compelled the pillagers to restore all they had taken ; the place was then 'occupied by the military till four in the morning .
__ The Magd&ierg Gazette states that riots , occasioned by the high price of bread , have taken place at Seosnninsen , in the Duchy of Brunswick . Several incendiary letters were found , sn 4 numerous arrests , were made . Riots have taken place in several parts of Bohemia at Kger , and at Leittomtt . At the latter pfece the mob cut off both the ears of a corn dealer . Disturbances were also feared in kasBig . In thefistrict of Traatenau horseflesh wasseWing openly atapennv
per pound . Food riots ham taken place at 'Geisa-Hngen and Blaubeuren . On the 3 rd instant , u number of ¦ citizens assembled tumultupusly before the townJhouse in the latter TJlace , crying out forcom . FarthCT disturbance was , however , prevented'by ^ fiie bead magistrate pramiEting that a distribution of corn -should be made . Hn several towns of the 8 teby of Posen , the prevailing distress has also givenTige to excesses ; amonirst 'the rest , at Gnesen : anH Hopreen . Bodies of military have been sent to restore anaipreBerve order .
1 TALF . ¦ Rome . —Concerning the late festival in ¦ ccmmp . mowftionof thefountotion of Rome , held in the Baths of Titus amid a « on « surse of 20 , 009 spectators , 80 sittinedown to the banquet ; the correspondent « f the Daily News says— " The speech < Jf ( he -evening was that of the Msrquis Azelia , wfaidh eloquently denounced the presence and pride « f"'Gdths , Huns , and other VanM * . in Italy , and elicited thunders of applause . Theotllyother allusion wasto \ England , which the spedfcor designated our 'elder sister in ' manufactures , commerce , and freedom ! ' For obvious reasons noTeference was made to IFrance ; the recent instructions and conduct-of Count'Rossi hnr .
ing taken the erild off his eingeifbread-completely . Altogether . tHis-awakening exKbitionwlll not Ml to toll throughout Italy ; and if tKe "founder of the Baths , "the'beloved ofmankrod ; " were permitted to hover in -spirit over tbe scene , 'he could not repeat that "hehaaloBta das ' . " ' The new censors permitted * £ he pdBlication ef the speeches in a supplement to Hme'Cttctqporanto , but subsequently the copies of the said supplement were seized by the police . This wasregar'ded by the Romans as another concession to Auitria- ; accordingly , the first time « lbsequcntly that the 'Austrian minister ' s carriage was seen in the streets , that worthy was honoured * with a mob charivari .
Private letters from Bologna mention a curious fact . The censor has authorized the publication m the Bohgna- 'J < rurr , al of the iflenticil speechei which the Austrian Ambassador at Home'bad succeeded in having suppres-ed ! Durins a dinner given to Chekib Wendi , the Ottoman Ambassador at Vienna , on the occasion of his visit to Rome , the Pope ' s brother gave a toa 3 t tothe Sultan ' s health ; he added , that the . true dangersifor the Catholic teligion did notafrpreeent proceed from those who are in possession of Constantinople , but from those w ' eo coveted its po 3 Eessibn .
GREECE . DreaoLtm-w or the CaiMSBRiOFlRsopRBSBKr&TivGs . —Itappears'by the oflScial journal , the Jfoniteur'Cnac , that the sittings in the Chasfter of Representatives had become so stormy , that the ministry could -find no respite except in a dissolution . . This step was taken on-the £ Sth ult . , The royal decree erders that theelectoral colleges should meet within a delay -ef two months for the new elections .
UNITED STATES ARD MEXICO . HO * BOK « OF THE WA » . —HOW VEKA ' CBfDZ WAS TAXW . BUKIAWSU Of THK AHEKICAN BOLDIEBY . —ANOXBE VICTOST-OAINEO BT QEN . 'X 41 L 0 K . —« ESI 0 » H BEVOtM . —AKEEJCA *« -JTOSTDEEB TO BUTE BT 1 MBIANS . — IHSTALLATIOH AHD HAKIFMTO O » « A * TA ANNA . We have already reported the capture of Vera Cras , later : hiteHigenee represenU Major 45 eneral Worth as having eaterednpen the duties af commsading officer snfl governor of the town and castle . ¦ - .. - The destruetioncn the city wag most awful—one half of it is destroyed . Houses blawn to pieces and furniture scattered in every direction—the streets torn up , and the strongest baildingsserioualy damaged . '
We present oar -readers with au extract from a letter by a gentleman who was tin eye-witaesB of the op ? raVom at Vera Croc . His eccount differs Enmewhat from that furnished by the American prints , but having heard the « UtementofaTOwedj )» rtipaBB , perhaps it is well that we « honld read that of an impartial ( or it may be prejudiced ) efeserrer : — ¦ ' . "On board H . M . 8 . Darin * , Saerifictos , 28 th of March , I * t 7 . —Last night the town of Vera Cruz and the Castle of St Juan de Ulloa eapkulated to the Americans . Ths terms I cannot ascertaia with certainty , bat of this I am satisfied , that the latter have gained no honour in the business . It has been a dastardly affair on the part cf
the Yankees . Since the « th inst . they have had Vera Cras « arrounded bj 14 . 08 to 15 , 000 men , and , though it was only defended bjr 4 , 660 , one-half of . whom were militia , they dared aot attack it like men , but from adis . tance threw sbeWsinto it ttstU one-fourth of the town was in ashes , md a great number of women andchiidrea destroyed . The Mexicans baveshown uncommon pluck , The Americans gave it out that their batteries on shore were to play only on tbe castle , whilst their fleet attacked it on the other side . - They have not , however , had the courage to try their strength on the casde ( notwithstanding their heavy fleet ) , but have contented themselves with ingloriously shelling helpless Vera Cruz . "
On the 3 rd of April appeared at Vera Cruz the first nnmber of a newspaper , entitled the American Eagle . Several facts mentioned in its columns indicate that no very conciliatory temper wat ihown by the bulk of the invaders on the one hand , or by the natives on the other . ¦ ¦ - ' ¦ - ¦• ¦ ¦• . ¦ - . ¦ ¦ ; ' ¦ - - . . - :. - ... ¦ . On the 1 st of April General Scott found it necessary to issna a very emphatic order of the day , in which he appeals to the army not to allow themselves to be dishonoured by a handful of scoundrels , ' who scout all religion , morals , law , and decency . He states that man ; undoubted atrocities b » ve been committed in the neighbonrhood by a few wprthless soldiers , both regulars and volunteer ! . ' ' ' ¦ - " '
'' From the American EagU we learn that it was dangerous for small parties of Americans to stray outside of their lines . The case of a small party is mentioned who had advanced about seven or eight miles into the interior on the 28 th of March , They returned with an account of their having been attacked by Bancheros , " who had killed eight of their number . ' - Gen . Scott , having resolved to leave 600 men to garrison the city and castle , was preparing to advance , by Jalapa . upon Mexico , with 14 , 000 men 1 , 590 waggons , and a heavy train of artillery . Colonel Harney , of tbe 2 nd Dragoons , left Vera Cruz on the 2 nd of April , to take possession of Antigus , a town about eight mllei northward .
Letters from Philadelphia of April 17 tb , contain the following : —Advices frna the Brawl , to the 2 nd Inst ., have been received . It h / reported that the advance of General Taylor had overtaken ( hat portion of the Mexican army , under General Urrea and Canalee , near Tula ; A fight took place , which lasted seven hours , at tbe expiration of which time -General Taylor came up , and a gensral engagement ensued . The ^ Mexicans ' were defeated with great loss . Both the generals , Urrea and Canalei , were taken prisoners . Colonel Doniphan h
reported to have continued bis advance after occupying Chihuahua , and to have taken three' otber townsnames not mentioned . The following is an extract from a letter of a gentleman attached to the company of Santt P 6 traders : — " This province is by no meaes subdued and the inhabitants require but little stimulus to rise en matte , and murder every American in the country . There is no land fit for cultivation except a few acres on tbe rivers . The remainder is mountainous . : I t mil cost the government winch money , and many lives to defend it , even from the Indians . "
Bisings of the Mexicans against the Americans have occurred at several places in California . A number of Americans incluling Governor Ben . tof Santa F 6 have been surprised and put to death by . the Indians , who cruelly tortured them . t . General Kearney ' s expeditian from SaOta Pe to San Diego , appears to have been exposed to the n . 'O 6 t frightful privations . The horses of his dragoon * perched in the desert from fatigue and want of water ; an . 4 in the absence of other provisions , the men were compelled to sat the flesh of tbe dead animals . All the mountain passes were disputed by the natives , and in forcing . them twenty men were killed and fifteen ( including the g ( . newlkinuel /) wounded . Being reinforced by several mtQ
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from . Commodore Stockton ' s squadron ^ a t-San Diego , General Kearney succecced in re-occupjing "' Angelos , al . though opposed by 700 men ( Mexicans , EngllBh ^ arideven Americans ) , with several pieces of artiUry . After su ' ffe ™** U the norrors of anarchy for several days , the city of Mexico had been restored to a state of tranquillity by the arrival of Santa Anna and his assumption of sov « . reign power . On bis way to Mexico ' he was everywhere greeted with the acclamations of the people , and triumphal processions went forth from every village to meet him . ¦¦ ¦ ¦ i later accounts from Mexico concurred in representing Santa Anna as present in the city and at the head of affairg on the 1 st of April . He had demanded from Con gress authority to raise a loan on any terms to the amount of twenty millions of dollars . The receipt of the intelligence of the surrender of Vera Cruz in tho capital , had only elicited the expression of u determina-«"—" . . .
tion to continue the war . ' Wb subjoin Santa Anna ' s noble address on assuming 6 mpreme power ; which it will be perceived was written » ft 6 r the capture of Vera Cruz was known : — K&Mimxo o » Sahta Anna , —Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna , interim President of the Mexican Republic , to his Fellow-countrymen : "Mexicans ! Vera Cruz isalresdy in the power - of ' the enemy . It has fallin . not under the weight of American valour , nor even under the influence of its good fortune . We ourselves , shameful as it may be to say it , have ferottgbt upon ourselves this dire disgrace , by osr interminable discords . The government owes you the whole truth ; you are to arbitrate on the fateofthecouttry , if it is to be defended , you will be those who shall stop the triumph ant march of the enemy that occupies Vera Cruz ; if he shall advance one step
more , tbe national independence will he buried in' the abyss of the past . I am resolved to go forth to the encounter of the enemy . Whatia life ennobled by national gratitude ^ the country suffers a reproach which shall cast a stigma on the front of every Mexican ? My duty is ti -offer tnys . lf as a sacrifice , and I shall know how to fulfil th * t duty . The haughty Americans deBire to ob . tain ipessessionofthe capital of the Aztec empire ., I shall > sot witness such a disgrace , for lam decided sooner lo die in combat . It is a critical moment for the Mexican nation .: It is as glorious to die in the struggle , asfcafamous to acknowledge a defeat without an effort , « defeat too by an enemy whose rapacity is as far removed from valour as from generosity . Moxicans ! hive you , a religion ! Defend it . Have you honour ! ¦ Save it from infamy . Do you love your wives and yo ' ur
¦ children Rescue them from American brutality . Sat it is deeds , not vain demands , nor sterile wishes , which are to be opposed to the enemy . The national cause is supremely just . Why does God appe » r to have abaudonedit \ His displeasure will cease if we present , as an expiation of our crimes , the sentiments of a sincere UBion—of a true patriotism . Thus the Eternal will bless our efforts , and we shaH be invincible for , against the decision » f ei ght mHKons of Mexicans , how . sball eightor ten thousand Americans prevail when they have ceased to be the instruments of Divine justice * I « penk to you for the list time : ; * for' the sake of God , listen to me ; ' you must n « t hesitate between death and slavery ; and if the et fewy shall 'vanquish you , at least kit your resistance be respected , itis now time that there-should be no thought bat for the common defence . The hour of sacrifices has strutfc , Awaken ! the tomb 'opens at your
feet . Win a laurel , that it may be reared over it . But the cation-will not perish : I will answer for the triumph i of Mexico , nay , will swear , for the result , if an unanimous and sinoerc cooperation shall- only second iny desires . ( Fortunate will be the hutaiKnting affair of Vera Crcz . If the fate of that city shall inspire Mexican breast * with the enthusiasm , the dignity , and the generous ardour -of true patrioti 8 M , it will unquestionably have been the salvation of the country ; but should Kexico -succumb she will bequeath -her shame and her dishonour to those egotists who -have , sought notto ie ' - fend her—these traitors who have < proseouted their own personal . combats , damaging the national character . Sexioans ,= the . fate of the country lain jour hands ; you , ¦ not the Americans , will decide it . Wera Cruz cries for vengeance : ; hasten to nipe out the foul blot of her < HsL % meur— ' { Signed , ) Amio » ioLopb « » eS * nta Anna . — Mexico , March 81 , 1847 .
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DREADFUL CASE OF POISONING
"Some days ago great consternation and exeitement prevailed in Devonport , owing to a " rumour that several persons had been poisonoa at the Victory of China beer shop , Pembroke-street , kept by Mr W . M . Addend , and thatoneof thejpartieshadactHally died from the effects of the poison , 'fhe fpUowin » are the particulars : —On Weaiiesday evening the deceased , at the above hoHse , drank several pints of beer and porter , and continued to drink freely . In thecourae of the eveningdeeeasedbecameacquainted withafeiaale , and with whom ie remained in the house'during the night . The deceased stated to his companion that his name was Henry Gilbert , that he « as twenty-one years of age , and that he was an officer on board her Majesty ' s . ship Caledonia . The
young-man , on rising the next morning and coming down stairs , proceeded to call for teer , and continued drinking , with little intermission , till half-past eleven , when a seaiman , called Pedlar , of the ( jueeB , < same into the room in which deceased aad some females ; were'drinking . Shortly afterwards Pedlnr filled a glass with porter Bevaral times , and at the same time drew from hw trousers pocket , some white powder , mixed it with the beer . and then successively handed a glass of the mixture round to each of the company , including the landlady of the house . Unfortunately 4 he deceased and one of the females Kesiah Cook ,. drank the poisonous draught , the remainder of-the company observing the movements and suspecting Pedlar ' s designs , refused to drink Shortly after drinking the . pbison , deceased and tbe
female Uoek became exceeding ill . The deceased lingered till about three o ' clock on Saturday afternoon , when he expired . The girl Cooke is in a reoovenng state . Shortly ' , after the porter wasadrainis . tared , redlar , on hearing his ' name mentioned in connection with the transaction , suddenly decamped The borough police were then brought and acquainted with , the circumstances of the case , and several of that body immediately placed themselves on the alert , and active search was made to apprehend the murderer . The prisoner . was captured in Cornwallstreet by . four watermen , who had previously received information of the circumstance and a description of the prisoner . On being taken into custody , the prisoner became flushed in countenance , and appeared suddenly seized with a tremor , which was taken bv the bj-standers . as indication of guilt , and therefore no time was lost in lodging him at the station-house . On being searched , a shilling , some coppers , and a letter were taken from , his waistcoat pocket ; nothinc
was discovered wnicli was supposed to have any reference to the transaction in question till theprisoner had divested himself of his waistcoat , when the watch-pocket and a portion of prisoner ' s trousers appeared suffused with a white powder , answering the description . of that which was said to be put into the porter by . the prisoner . Three of the females who were m company with the prisoner in the afternoon at the Victory of China , were at the station house wnen toe prisoner wa 3 brought in , and immediately identined him as being the person who administered the fatal glass to the deceased . The prisoner , on being charged with administering poison to certain parties , gave utterance to something which was altogether unintelligible . He afterwards , however , anxiously inquired whether " the man who was said to nave been , poisoned was dead ? " On this point he was not then satisfied . The , prisoner was then locked up . An inquest was held on the body , and the particulars detailed above were proved . . -. ... '¦ .
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Roval Lotal Humbco . — 'I ' ne Qubkw and ^ Jenni Lino . —That beastly journal , ' "the parsons' favourite paper , V John Bull , " on Sunday last , has the follow , ing disgusting morsel . We hope it will not act asan emetic . upon our readers : — " The Queen , as already stated , arrived before the commencement of the overture . Daringthe performance of the opera her MajeBty gave frequent indications of the delight' she experienced by bestowing her applause withanenerm scarcely turpaasedfy any lady in the theatre , ' and at the close of the opera , - when the fair cantalrice was
summoned before the curtain to receive tbe final stamp of approbation frera the audience , her Majesty to far threw aside her Queenly dignity as to cast a superb bouquet , whtch " , lay beforeher in the Royal box , at the feet of the debutante . The incident—certainly u nparalleled on any former occasion in this countrywa a unobserved by the great majority of the audience all of whom were at this moment in an extreme state of excitement ; but ' the gracious act of condescension , did not escape the fair songstress , and a profound curtsey acknowledged the Royal recognition of her success . " .,, > ..
An African Kiso and the Qubbk of Spain . —The African King ; Maria de ; Gallyna , has addressed a letter to her Majesty , in which he styles ' -her his sister , and sympathises with her Majesty and all Spaniards . He says that they are the only foreigners he permits to enter his vast realms . iHis epistle is rather a curious one—he requests herMajesty to send him a . sugar-loafshaped hat , with along red feather : aBurtout with the longest skirts , a cane with a gold head as large as an orange , and red trou-Berswtha gold band . Her Majesty has determined on sendinghim all he applies forand moreovera
, , scarlet mantle , with gold embroidery on its collar [ If his woolly-headed Kingshi p will send to his " sister , " the Queen , of England , there can be no doubt that" her Majesty" would forward him that duck of a hat , Prince Albert ' s Own . Such a frightful addition to his Kingshi p ' s head-piece would render his Majesty invisible in war , as at thesight of him , so accoutred , hii enemies would be sure to take to their heels . Why , O Maria de Gallyna , sigh for a sugar-loaf hat , when you might be blessed with Prince Albert ' s immortal four-antlnineli
The Carlisle Journal" mentions that many persons on the borders have lately suffered from scurvy , which is attributed to the scarcity of vegetables . Pembroke . —Captain Child has declared his intention of again opposing Sir John Owen . Sir John beat him by 3 ponderable majority at the last election .
Tmptruii Pnt5in*M»
tmptruii pnt 5 in * m »
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MONDAY , Mat 10 . HOUSE OP LORDS . —Pooe Relief ( Ibm . a » d ) Bim . —Their lordships ngain wmt into committee on this bill , and the remaining clauseB were after some diacuSBion agreed to . . Lord Staniet then moved the introduction of b clause similar to that proposed by Lord George Bcntinck In the House of Commons , viz ., that it should not be laffful for any occupier of rateable property holding under any lease or agreement to be made or entered into after the passing of the act , or from yenr to year after the 1 st of January , 1849 , to deduct from tho rent to which he may be liable , any amount whatever in respect of any rate which mny bo imposed subsequent to tho date of such lease or agreement , or subsequent to such 1 st day of January , as the case may be . The noble
lord , in tbe course of a lengthened address , asked whe . ther any government would be prepared to follow out the principle to its consequences by passing a similar law for England after it had been adopted for Ireland , without a safeguard such as he proposed ? He even doubted whether such a system would be safe in Scotland , with all the advances that agriculture had made there . If , therefore , such a principle could not be trusted in England , and was doubtful as regarded Scotland , he contended that , if applied to Ireland , it would lead to absolute and entire ruin . The only hope tor the resUrationof Ireland was by making'it the interest of the occupier to increase the amount of labour , which stimulus could only be supplied by requiring the
occupiers to employ the labourers or support them when unemployed , and he called upon the houso to beware how they rejected his proposal . He sought to interfere with no existing agreement , to violate no existing lease , bnt merely to affirm a principle , sound and just in itself , that the occupier , who alone had the means of giving employment , should ba made responsible for doing no . With the existing amount of pauperism in Ireland , relief could only be expeotedfrom the employment of an increased amount of labour , either by breaking up of now land , or by an improved system of agriculture . That was the only safeguard of the country ; and if his proposition were rejected , tho Mute improvement , of I » eland would be impossiblo , .
The Marquis of Lansdowne , in opposing the amendment , characterized it as one which would be disastrous in every way to Ireland—hazardous to the peace of the country , and iacompatible with the successful operation of the measure before the house . The object of the bill was to equalise the burden as between landlord and tenant , and it was essential to do tbis if they would carrj with them the feelings of the people of Ireland in carrying out the measure . Would they be takiug thc beat way in which to carry the feelings of the people with them , in throwing , when they were about to impose a "great nnii unknown burden" upon Ireland , the whole burden upon the occupier , to the exemption of the landlordt 1 I « did iot agree with Lord Stanley that they could safely or should be regardless of the impression which might be made by a measure of that or any other
nature . It would be vain f « r them to attempt to convince the Irish occupier that it would be for his benefit that such an amendment should be engrafted upon the bill , Ee thought that ' Lord Stanley would have the greatest difficulty in convincing an O'Sullivan in the county of Kerry , or an O'Brien in the « ounty of Clare , that such would be the case . Even were the principle of the bill mrjust , it might be expedient for the landlorde to concede it to the occupier . In the matter of the Ivish tithes , the church had already done this—in abandoning tbe tithes when they became difficult of collection and endangered the peaco of the country . Ho trusted their lordships would refuse their concurrence to the proposition submitted to them by the noble lord . The
experiment which they were abnut to mate with regard to Ireland he could not eall a perilous , but . an adventurous one , and he trusted that the house would consent to no amendment which would not only controvert its working , out subject to unnecessary hmard the tranquillity of tbe « ountry . After a protracted discussion , during which more ftan one noble lord who had voted for the limitation of tbe bill expressed himself opposed to the amendment before the house , Lord Stanley , in consequence of the opposition he saw arrayed against him , withdrew his amendment , with the intimation of . bringing it forward on the report , Dut not with tne intention of dividing tha house upon it . The report was then ordered to be brought up on Friday .
HOUSE < JF COMMONS , —Use op Gbain in Dismw :-BIEB , AND SHJIPENSION OF CoBN LAWS . —Mr BAIIUE said it bad some time since been inquired of the government whether they contemplated introducing any measure for tho restriction of the use of grain in distilleries . The answer at that time had been to the effect that no such measure was then contemplated . Since that , however , the price of corn had risen in the market some 30 s , per quarter , and there was every probability of a further rise ,. Under these circumstances he thought he might again repeat the question , whether there was any intention of prohibiting the use of grain distilleries ? ¦
. Lord JiRnsseiL . —I was not prepared for the question , and ; therefore , I will not undertake to-day to answer it As it has been put , however , I may as well state that on nn early day it is my intention to propose the continuance of the suspension of the duties upon the import of corn . ( Loud cries of "Hear , hear , " from the ministerial side . ) . Tbb P » E 8 B » T Cuibib . — . The order of the day for the house to go into Committee of Supply having been read , and the Speaker having left the chair , TheCnANCEitoaofthe Excheqdee submitted a resolution to allow discount at the rate of five per cent , to such persons as may make advances en account of the instalments ef the £ 8 , 000 , 000 loan on or before the lStli of June , and at the r « te of i per cent . ' to such persons as may make advances oh the instalments on or before the 10 th of September . The Bight Honourable Qentlemtn explained the reasons which induced him to have recourse to this measure , together with the increase of the Interest on Exchequer Bills to threepence
a day , with the h » pe of relieving the pressure on-the money market . He said that these two measures were indispensable to maintain the credit of the government , and to ease our monetary transactions , which they would do , not so much by tho actual amount of money they will let looBe , as by removing alarm and restoring confl dence . He assemdthat , in all respects , the money market was easier than it had been , and he quoted the authority of the Governor of the Bank for saying that , considering the moderate demands made upon the deposit of Exchequer bills , considering the amount of Dutch gold that had been imported , and considering that the exchanges from America showed a likelihood of a cessation in the exportation of bullion , our monetary affairs are much . improved in aspect during the last few days . But the rise in the price of grain waa the cause of most serious apprehensions ; and to obviate the difficulties that might arise from that cause , the Prime Minister hag taken a measure , notice of which he had given to the house .
, Mr Home said that unless Sir R Peel could give a better explanation of the working of the Bank Act of 184 A than the Chancellor of the Bxchequor , it was full time to reconsider that measure . Mr Masteeman proposed , as an addition to the resolution , that tbe committee is of opinion that nothing would tend bo much to relieve the pressure on the money market as an assurance given by the Chancellor oi the Exchequer that he would appl y to Parliament for powers to enable the Bank of England to make provision for any advances that might ba required for the July dividends , out of the issue department of the Bank of England , instead of out of the banking department . The Honourable Member declared that , in his opinion , it would be impossible for the Bank of England , under the Act of 1844 , to meet the demands of the goverament and to give the-necessary public accommodation . The . Chairman of the Committee decided that tbis , amendment could not be put .
Mr Brown expressed , in very strong terms , his eense of the extremity of the present pressure . Confidence , which wa » tho life of a commercial country , was almost extinct in the ' country ... Men dared not enter into contracts with each other . He was afraid that the last nccountB from the United States were not so nattering as to lead us to believe that there would ba in that market a greater demand for our produce , or a less demand far our gold . We must send gold to the United States or our people must starve . He . then proposed a plan for alleviating the present-presjure on the money-market , but owing to the indistinct tone in which he spoke we are not certain that we understood it correctl y ; but it appearod to us that he proposed to call in theprecent gold circulation , and to substitute for it a portion of bank-notes , taking bullion as security for part of the notes 10 issued , and the security of the Bank for the remainder . , . ,
Mr Newdeqate observed that on the experience of practical men , he had venturned to predict , in the year 1814 , that the results of the Bank Act which Parliament then passed would be euch asthey had been graphically described to be that evening , One of its most remarkable result * was ; that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had been obliged to discount bis own loan to meet the claims' of the public creditor , and that he could not . be blamed for having done so . He ( Mr Newdegate ) had then stated that the Bank Act of 184 * was only a boat forfair weather , and that on the first appearance of a storm it would be found incapable of resisting its pressure . If the proposition of Mr Brown wer « to be adopted , and if the Ban '* were to be allowed to increase the amount of its circulation on securities , he hoped that that increase would be of a permanent , and not of a temporary character ; for if it were not , we should have a pnnic lifce that which followed the temporary issue of £ 1 notes in 1893 , and which developed itself in the course of the year 1625 .
After speeches from Mr FoebBs and Mr Fincb , Lord 6 . Bentinck could only regard the expedients proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer as very miserable efforts to relieve the pressvre of the money market—expedients that seemed calculated rather to save thc Chancellor of the Exchequer hims 5 lf than to preserre the trado and commerce and monetary concerns of the country . The right honourable gentleman pro . posed to disoount his own loan , but he had lain no foundation for tho supposition that the contractors of the loan would have anydeBireto avail themselves of the discount of flvo per cent , when at this moment meney web worth seven and eight per cent . For bis part , he was not very sanguine of the success of tha measure , and wai of opinion that the right honourable gentleman would be compelled to call on the bank to ' assist h ' mwith . fte July dividends . The noble lord turned to the condition of the grain market , and said he had hoped that the
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Goveriimenrwotild have brought forward ; mbri 1 efficient measures , seeing that the price of corn had risen to 12 Qg , a quarter in Mark . lane , and that stocks were very low in those places from whence eur supplies usually come . Were thty , ho would ask , to go on endeavouring to bring back gold . to the coffers of the Bank , at the hazard of diminishing tbe supply of food to the people » The Prime Minister thought that the re d uction of the duty on the importation of corn would remedy the latter evil ; but the noble lord should remember that , under the old Corn Law , no duty could at present be leviable on con . ' ' . ¦ - ¦ ...
He could see . no early prospect of a return of gold to this lountry , and yet to attain this object the trade and commerce of the country w « re perfectly paralysed . Lord George instanced the extraordinary fact within hisowa knowledge that one house , ^ which had in its ccffe » £ 60 , 000 in silver coin ,, were yet wholly unable to raisfr money upon it . He maintained that by the course the Government were pursuing they were itarw ing the people in order to feed with gold the idol they had set up in the Bank Charter Act—an act that should be repealed without a moment ' s delay ..,
Mr Cabdweil defended the Act 0 / 1844 , which he con . tended , had not yet had a fair trial . Mr T , Bartkq asked , could the Act of 1844 be said to operate properly when respectable merchants were offer * ing enormous discounts in order to raise even small sums ,, and when even good bills at a fortnight ' s date were re » fused discount ? Was it a state of things to be permitted to continue when even the possessor of £ 60 , 000 of silver coin ceuld not raise money upon it to meet his engagements , because the Bunk of England waB compelled by the Act to limit its ordinary operations 1 'Without adverting to the policy of the Bank Act ,. he would say that itcould notbemadc applicable to emergencies . and it could not be otherwise , at such times , than enormously injuriont to the trade and commerce of the country .
Mr Disbaem laughed at Mr Cardwell ' s assertion that thc act of 1844 had saturated England with gold , and showed , by various returns , that if England had'been saturated with gold , the prooess-of saturation had taken place before that act was passed . In reply to the lamen--tations which some speakers bad indulged , that the Bank had not contracted its issues ' when the danger first appeared , he showed , 'first , that the lamentation was not founded in truth ; and next , that by the Bank Charter , if the Bank had mismanaged its concerns , it was . their affair and not ours . Sir R . Peel , therefore , had no right to turn round upon the Bank as he had done ; for the conduct of the Bank was not liable to the imputations which he had cast upon it , but was entitled to the highest
praise . Thc Bank Act of 1844 was , however , in distress , —a scape-goat must be found f ov it ; the Bank of England was mads that scape-goat , by an act of injustice which could not be tolerated and ought not to be defended . He then proceeded to show that it was owing to tho prudence of the Bank of England that wo had been enabled tO ' import 6 , 000 , 000 quarters of wheat during tho last winter , and that we were now enabled to export to Franco some of that wheat so imported , and were thus bringing buck gold to our own shorn . He then made a fierce onslaught on the act of 18 * 4 , contending that it had failed in every object which it wne passed to accomplish , and that it prevented none of the mischief , but much of the benefit , which occurred under the law * in force before its
enactment . Its failur * bad been predicted by all the great banking firms in Lombard-street ; and he was sure that , there was not one of them who was now ashamed of ths memorial which they had presented against it whilst it was yet in embryo . He further denounced that act as » gn . nt delusion , which only became a reality when it locked up that part of the treasure of the Bank which was . in the department of issue , in tho coffers of the Bank . He left it , therefore , in the hands of the house to decidewhether it would continue any longer to support a measure which did not prevent fluctuations or panics—which , did not regulate the amount of notes or bulliondid not control the arbitrary discretion of the Bank—and which only enabled the government to lock up £ 10 , 000 , 000 in the Batik vaults , and to throw tbe key afterwards into the river Thames .
Sir R . Peel would have been very glad if Mr Disraeli really had left it in the hands of the house to decide on < the merits of the act of 1844 , for the house was at present ' ' discussing the great principles and practice of currency in tho most inconvenient form possible , and without tha ' slightest chance of coming to any decision upon them . The Chancellor of tbe Exchequer made a proposition , of which he cordially approved . No sooner had he made it than Mr Master man came to the table and proposed an amendment , which he waB told could not be put from the chair without violating the usual forms of the house . He hoped that before the house consented to take a new course with respect to tbe currency , it would not only consider tbe nature of the evil with which it was called upon to contend , but also the great variety of the reme «
dies proposed for it . \ He hoped that it would consider also whether it was a small modification of the act of . 1844 which was wanted , or whether it was not a sub . version of its great principle . He then took a review of < he present debate , and showed that Mr Masterman , Mr ' Browne , Mr Newdegate and Mr Finch , haa each proposed a different system of currency varying from a limited circulation of £ 1 notes for a limited time down to a perfectly Inconvertible paper currency . In the course of his comments Sir R . Peel called up Mr Masterman and Mr Newdpg ate repeatedly to explain , and on each occasion amused the house by pointing out what he conceived thefallocy of their explanations , and by exulting over their repugnance to admit their own statements , when they were submitted to the houso no longer ' obscurod by
rhetorical artifics . He warned tbe houso to be cautious lest in seeking relief from the repeal of the act ofl 8 U it should not be incurring the risk of iiggravating incalcu . lably the present difficulties of the . country , "We were now suffering from an unexpected scarcity of food—from a spirit of speculation which had run riot in 1845—and from an extraordinary failure of tho cotton crop , which had increased to an unprecedented degree the price of the raw material of one of our staple manufactures . Now there was no country , exposed to the triple pressure of three such cases , which would not feel it severely , no matter what modification might be made in the charter of its bank , or what amount of £ 1 notes' it might be entitled to circulate ; He then repeated the declaration which he made on a former occasion , that , if experience
had convinced him that the public interests required a modification of the banking law which hehadintro . duced , he should be ashamed of himself if he wanted courage to propose the necessary modification of it , " But he wanted that coriviotion , and therefore he could not consent to propose any alteration in it . Had gentlemen considered what tho law was to be if the act of 1844 were repealed 1 Were they anxious to restore the law before thattime , by which thecountry banks had the power of unlimited issue , and the Bank of England the powerto issue notes on its own responsibility and without reference to the exchanges ! In that case they would have no security against the recurrence of the disorders of 1838 and 1839 . The main object of the act of 1844 was to
ensure the convertibility of paper into gold , to limit the circulation , and to prevent the temptation of giving accommodation b y the issue of paper , thus purchasing temporary ease by measures which must nfterwards aggravate every pecuniary difficulty , and lead to those panics which . inevitably produced a demand on the Banfe for gold . That object even Mr T . Baring admitted that it had accomplished ; for he had told the committee that on the present occasion there had been no panic and no run on the Bank for gold . He utterly denied the position of Mr Disraeli that we had no right to criticize the proceedings of the Bank , —that Bank to which we bad granted large privileges and a great monopoly , and which exercised so much influence over the circulation of
tho country . He then repeated , that he gave his cordial support to the resolutions of the Chancellor of the Exchequer , but admitted that he shared in theapprehensions with which some gentlemen viewed them . The rise in the price of corn that day was not an encou . raging circumstance . The pressure in the corn market wasnot confined to tins country , but extended to every other in the northern parts of Europe . We must , therefore , expect an increased pressure within the next two or three months . He was glad to hear , however , of the prospects of improvement in other quarters . Ho lamented that the difficulties of the money market were causing embarrassment to the manufacturers of
Lancashire . If he thought that tho relaxation of this act would afford them any relief , he would offer no Impedl . ment to it ; but it was his firm belief that a temporary issue of 2 , 000 , 000 of Bank nows , and an advance of money on Exehequer-bills to the same amount , without an increase of capital , would only purchase for them a temporary relief at tho risk of much greater ultimnte danger . He concluded by expressing a hope that we should be able to pats through the present crisis with , put tampering with those sound principles of currency which we had had so much difficulty in re-establishing , after the long period of their suspension in the interval between the years 1797 and 1819 . '¦ - ¦ '
The Marquis of Gbanbx moved the adjournment of the debate . ; After aotae discussion the amendment was negatived . The resolution was agreed to , and ordered to be reported on Tuesday , " . . . . ' . '' .. ¦¦ . Health of Towns Bin . —Lerd Moepeth , in votU poningthe second reading of this bill to this day , said it was not the intention of the government to proceed with the whole measure , as he proposed it to the house , in the present session of . pariiameut .. After having many interviews on the Bubject with members of the Metropolitan Health of Towns Association , they proposed to confine ; the bill to those towns that had corporation * —to tho » e , in fact , to which the Municipal Reform Act extended , n . nd . which had regularly-constituted bodiei , by whom tho powers proposed to be given by this bill might b < i applied . They would drop that provision of
tbe bill which enabled the crown to nominate one-third of the eommiSBioaerB . ( Hear . ) It was not their intend tion to include the metropolis in the till , not that he did not think it less required it , but be thought with the < £ / Earl of Lincoln that it was large enough to form the' « H \ v subject of a separate bill . The bill would give the com- jj | missionera the power of constructing gas and water * 'W |^ works where none existed , and of contracting wltngat * $ l and water companies where they did exist . They pro . 9 * 1 posed that the value . of the property should be estim \ ted ' 93 1 as in the Land Consolidation Clauses Act . Tlwsewve S the chief points of the bill which excited opposition , & , He hoped that next session they would havo more lei- S ] sure to apply themselves tothe biUjfor the metropolis- ^ than they could devote to it at present , when more pressing , though he could hard hardly say more important matters demanded their attention . IIIear , hear ;) The houie adjourned at a quarter . Dast one ^ ;
Untitled Article
May t& , 18 * J » * THE NORTHERN STAR . ^* I "'¦¦ i" ¦¦ ¦"¦'*¦ '' '
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), May 15, 1847, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1418/page/7/
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