Zebatts 1Prombings in Varliainent.

STATE OF THE COUNTRY.

In the House of Commons, on Monday, Lord Howacx called atten- tion to the following passage in the Speech of the Lords Commissioners, which he caused to be read by the Clerk at the table- t' Her Majesty fears that it [diminished receipt] must be in part attributed to the reduced consumption of many articles caused by that depression of the manufacturing industry of the country Ty which has so long prevailed, and which her Majesty has so deeply lamented.' He next moved, that the House do now resolve itself into Com- mittee upon the passage of her Majesty's Speech which had just been read ; and supported that motion in a speech of great length. His object was to call on the House to pronounce a decided opinion whether the distress under which the country now unhappily laboured was not of such a character as to impose on them the imperative duty of some legislative interference with respect to it He disclaimed all hostility to the present Government in bringing forward the motion, and only regretted that they had not further carried out the principles which had been so ably expounded by Sir Robert Peel and Mr. Gladstone last year. He believed that the situation of the country was one of great danger, but that Parliament had it in their power to avert the over- whelming evils with which they were threatened. He admitted at once, however, that the House ought not to assent to the motion except with the view to a practical result. He described the actual state of the country— The time was now to be reckoned, not by months but by years, during which the manufacturing and commercial industry of the country had been in a state, to use her Majesty's words, of depression. That distress, which in the first instance affected only one great branch of the national industry, had lately— as must, in his opinion, always be the case—extended its operation to all others. It could not be questioned, that the agricultural interest was now suf- fering great depression. The consequence was, that the farmers were every- where exposed to very great difficulties ; that, in many parts of the country, these difficulties extended from them to the agricultural labourers, whose wages had in several districts been materially reduced ; and even where wages had suffered no reduction, there war, he believed, almost universally, a growing scarcity of employment, often seriously aggravated by the return to the rural districts of numbers of men, who in more prosperous times had foryears obtained ample employment in the great seats of our commerce and manufactures. The mining and shipping interests of the country more than participated in the general pressure of distress. The retail tradesmen and shopkeepers, both in the Metropolis and throughout the kingdom, were in a similar unfortu- nate condition. These classes were exposed to great difficulties by the increasing weight of the poor-rates; and it was well known, that in many towns, in the course of the last summer, it had become a matter of no inconsiderable difficulty to collect those rates. But the classes to which he now referred were suffering also from most frightful diminutions in their business ; diminu- tions which naturally followed from the reduced earnings of the working classes, as well as from the diminished incomes of persons in higher and more wealthy stations. Indeed, a large proportion even of the more wealthy classes were directly or indirectly dependent for their incomes on the prosperity of some branch or other of the national industry : they too were beginning— though he feared at the present they were only beginning—to feel the effects of the present lamentable state of affairs; and even those whose incomes had not at once been affected by the prevalent distress had been exposed to that reduction of income which was occasioned by altew and direct demand to meet the exigencies of the public service. The consequence was, that whether in E Aiwa: or whether in the lower, there was scarcely a family in the as not compelled to retrench some former expense, or to give or indulgence to which they had formerly been accustomed. to be an unexaggerated statement of the actual condition of ew Lord How ick supported by details, derived espe- rland to illustrate the condition of trading towns, and to illustrate that of the rural districts; describing the f the coal and shipping trades in Sunderland, of the retail trades, the diminished consumption of butcher-meat, the increase of poor-rates, the low price of live stock caused by that diminished consumption, the distress of the farmers, now beginning to press on the labouring agricultural class, the distress of the retail traders who sup- ply that class and their difficulty of collecting debts, the aggravated competition in the country from the migration of workpeople from the distressed towns, the increase of casual poor from the same cause ; [particulars of the same class which have been repeated times innumer- able in the newspapers, at public meetings, and in Parliament itself last session, and therefore not needing repetition here.] Thence he passed to the deficiency in the Excise, of 1,157,3001. on the year, 717,0001. on the quarter, as a test of the deteriorated condition of the people. He compared the Excise revenue with that of 1840, (that for 1841 having been swelled by the efforts to reduce the balances in the hands of collectors,) when it amounted to 4,016,0001. ; the amount for last year, 3,022,0001., leaving a deficiency of 994,0001. That statement could not be affected by the Temperance movement in Ire- land, as the returns related to England alone ; but its sole cause must be a forced economy, painful to every class : even the wealthy felt the privation of accustomed luxuries—how much more the poor man, com- pelled to reduce his scanty expenditure I It was awful to think what would have been the distress if the winter had been a hard one : but such a state of things could not continue much longer, without extreme danger to the institutions of the country ; and he pointed to the dis- turbances in the North as warning, and as proof of something radically wrong— An historian, whose loss they bad lately had occasion to deplore, had ob- served that the great mass of mankind were so constituted that they could rarely feel serious political distress unless when suffering from personal want, and that they were driven by this cause to feel discontent with the institutions under which they lived, and consequently to become impressed with the desire for change. Now these observations, he thought, were no less just than new; and the cause was traced by that eminent historian to the instinctive feeling in men's minds, that when they suffered general poverty it must be owing in some manner to the fault of their government. Lord Howick believed this was an instinct which did not mislead ; for was it possible to view the world around, and observe in what rich abundance the Creator had given the means of sup- plying all men's wants without the conviction that it was not his inten- tion that the condition Of man should be one of privation and suffering, He believed, then, that the distress which this country was now afflicted with, and which had continued so long, afforded a presumption that there must be something wrong in the political organization of society here ; for if not, whence came it about that this distress had been of so long continuance ? Was not the country still in possession of all the natural advantages of soil, climate, and position, which it had hitherto enjoyed ?—examined, with considerable minuteness, causes to which the evil had erroneously been ascribed on former occasions,—the want of extended paper currency, refuted by Sir Robert Peel in the Birmingham correspondence ; the pressure of taxation, though taxes had not been augmented before the period of distress, and the taxes imposed for revenue are not disproportionate to the means of meeting them ; over-production and the increase cf machinery, pronounced by Sir Robert Peel, though conducive to local and temporary distress, on the whole coincident with the general prosperity of the country ; the New Poor-law, though there has been no change in the Poor-laws of Scotland since her thriving prosperity was an example to Europe of successful industry, and though Paisley attests that the distress is as great as in England ; the "grinding tyranny of employers" though the Gazette proves that the employer bears his full share of the distress. This was one of the most formidable symptoms of the distress— It was sad to contemplate a state of things in which the low returns of pro- fit for capital and the reduced rate of wages reacted upon each other with in- creasing evil—when the whole produce of the industry of the country was not sufficient to produce any thing like an adequate remuneration to the two par- ties between whom it was to be divided—namely, the master on the one hand and the workmen on the other. It was a terrible symptom of the disease when it threatened the impossibility of production. The excessive competition of labour would be the cause assigned by Lord Howick for the distress ; and the remedy was, to make a new opening for their energies— The rational field for natural exertion was cabined, cribbed, confined, by ar- bitrary barriers, which it was in the power of that House at once to remove. In the first place, there were laws upon our statute-book which went directly to the restriction of importation, not incidently arising nor introduced by acci- dent in providing for increase of revenue, but directly checking importation from foreign countries. These laws had operated most successfully for the pur- pose contemplated in their enactment ; and if modified tomorrow, would open to this country a large and important commerce in all articles of consumption, but more especially in the staple one of food. This was the foundation of his argument. If importation were increased, an additional stimulus would be given to industry. In support of this position, he quoted Mr. Gladstone's remarks on the Tariff last year, when be said that the importation of 50,000 head of cattle would cause but a small decrease in the price of meat, but would eventually lead to the export of 500,0001. in British manufactures; and he cited other authorities and arguments to make out these two propositions,—first, that we might largely increase our imports but for the obstacles imposed by our laws for that very purpose ; and next, that a large increase of our imports would be attended with a very great increase in the exportation of our manufactures. If his arguments were said to be merely theoretic, he retorted, that the whole system of restriction was built upon a theory, which no one could now defend; a theory which took its rise in the notion that gold and silver consti- tuted wealth—that all that a nation gained by trade went to increase the amount of its gold and silver—and that to increase its exports and decrease its imports, in order to have a favourable balance, was a wise policy. He pointed to the advantages which had accrued to England from the removal of restrictions on the trade of Ireland and Scotland at the Union, and of the United States at the Separation. With a direct appeal to Ministers as to the responsibility which they would incur by rejecting his proposition, Lord Howick concluded by moving-

" That this House do resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House, to consider so much of her Majesty's Speech as refers to ' that depression of the manufacturing industry of the country which has so long prevailed, and which her Majesty has so deeply lamented."

Mr. GLADSTONE felt the solemnity and weight of Lord Howick's appeal, and did not quarrel with his general description of the state of the country ; though he thought it open to some qualification,

The Income-tax, for instance, had been mentioned as conducing to that distress, by pressing on the middle and upper middle class : yet it had the peculiar merit of reaching the enormous accumulated capital of the country. There had also been special causes for the depression of the shipping-trade- the cessation of emigration to Australia, and great over-production in the trade of shipbuilding. He referred to the deposits in savings banks, to show

an improvement in the condition of the working-classes : he would read to the House the sums received from and paid to the savings banks in South Lanca-

shire during the three several periods of the three months ending 31st January 1841, 1842, and 1843 : during the first period, he found that the savings-banks received 14,250!., and paid out 2,7501. ; during the second period, the savings-banks received 7,9504 and paid out 10,3001. ; and in the third period, they received 22,1001., and paid out 3,250!. With respect to the deficiency in the Excise, Lord Howick had compared the quarter of 1840, when the sum paid for the malt-duty was very large, with the quarter of 1842, when the sum paid for the malt-duty was very small.

He had asked for a Committee of the whole House : to what useful end ?— What for? To consider the Corn-laws ? the Sugar-laws? to undo this year what they did last year ? No such thing ; but to consider " the state of the country." Was it possible to conceive that any good could come from such a motion ? He was sure the noble Lord in bringing forward his motion must

have been convinced of the certainty of its rejection. But the inconvenience of this proceeding was not its only ground for rejection : he did not think that any thing could operate with more pernicious effect on a feverish and languishing state of commercial industry than such a proposed inquiry. Did not the noble Lord opposite charge his right honourable friend last year with unsettling every thing by the propositions he made ? and it was notorious that on the declaration of the changes intended to be effected, trade became stagnant, employment was diminished, and capital rendered redundant. This was the temporary effect of a plan which was definite and specific : his right honourable friend did not propose to go into a Committee to fish out what might be desira- ble or not, but he laid on the table of the House a specific proposition ; and even that was sufficient to disturb men's minds from one end of the country to the other. But the noble Lord, who felt the evil of this state of things, proposed now to renew these agitations with tenfold violence ; for he had not thought fit to state the measures on which he depended for the relief of the distress of the country.

Was Lord Howick's objection to the commercial laws concentrated on one particular law—the Corn-law ? That, indeed, was the real offender. Mr. Gladstone, had expected that Lord Howick's speech would lead to the naked proposition of simple free trade ; but he did what he last year accused Sir Robert Peel of doing, and " halted between two opi- nions," hesitating to declare how far he would remove restrictions on trade. He was sure Lord Howick professed that which he felt, and did not undertake to defend the interests of the people from any personal or party object : still it appeared to him that the present motion served a purpose which no other motion with which he was acquainted could effect— The noble Lord the Member for London was determined last year to lead the attack on the Corn-laws; and he arranged with the gentlemen who sat behind him—be did not know whether that noble Lord could still call them his friends, to quote an expression of the noble Lord—that he should commence the move- ment of the session with the debate on the fixed duty. The debate on the fixed duty went off with eclat. The noble Lord mustered the whole strength of his party, and, all circumstances considered, made a respectable appearance. But what became of the Member for Wolverhampton ? The noble Lord took all the bloom off his motion, and the honourable Member for Wolverhampton had nothing but stale dregs to offer. (Continued laughter.) After he and his friends had passed muster, and helped to swell the minority of the noble Lord, they were allowed to have a separate debate. Very few Members attended, and the noble Lord joined in increasing the majority against them. It might have occurred to the minds of these gentlemen, that this was a disadvantageous posi- tion to leave the Corn-laws in, and they had determined no longer to march in the rear of the noble Lord while waging his own battle. This being the case, a difficulty might be felt how to unite the body, which was so divided in its opinion as to what ought to follow the repeal of the Corn-laws; and he thought that it must have been clear that the movement in favour of the fixed duty could not be repeated. (Cheers and laughter.) But then it was said, that the motion was for an inquiry into the subject of the distress ; and that there was something so satisfactory in its first aspect, that though it did not pledge any- body to anything, yet at the same time it testified the interest Parliament took in the condition of the people. The difference between Government and their antagonists was not really so great as the Opposition made out, but was one of degree only— The question raised by the noble Lord, it was manifest, was by no means whether restrictions should be altogether removed, for there the noble Lord and his right honourable friend at the bead of the Government were agreed in the negative ; it was not whether restrictions ought to be judiciously relaxed, for there the noble Lord and his right honourable friend were agreed in the affirmative : and he must say, that although much had been proclaimed concerning the doctrines of Free Trade put forth by his right honourable friend, he was not struck with the novelty of those doctrines in the mouth of his right honourable friend, because it appeared to him in the ab- stract to be indisputable that the policy of this country bad been founded on the recognition of the validity of those doctrines ; the whole question between the two sides of the House being, not merely whether there should be a judicious relaxation, but in what degree would the country bear the application of those principles. The noble Lord and honourable gentlemen opposite did not wish to displace labour at home by the employment of labour abroad, but so to dispose the legislative measures of this country as to obtain a great augmentation to the demand for British productions, and thereby not only to maintain labour at home but at the same time to increase the com- merce abroad. His right honourable friend the First Lord of the Treasury intended and designed precisely to pursue that course, and to attain that object by increasing the employment of the people, by cheapening the prices of the articles of consumption as also the materials of industry, by encouraging the means of exchange with foreign nations, and thereby encouraging in return an extension or the export-trade ; but, besides all this, if he understood the measure of the Government last year, it was proposed that the relaxation should practically be so limited as to cause no violent shock to existing indus- trial interests, such as would have the tendency of displacing that labour which was now employed, and which if displaced would be unable to find another field. As far as present experience had gone, he did not think any person would maintain that the proposition of last year had produced a great shock upon any commercial industry, or had displaced English labour.

One great object of the measures of last year was to give a stimulus to trade ; symptoms of which already appeared, and could be proved by figures : and Mr. Gladstone cited examples of this progress in the timber-trade, showing increased consumption, at better profit to the dealer, in Quebec yellow pine ; with similar results in oak-bark, in- digo, hides, olive-oil, furniture-woods, turpentine, pearl and potashes.

Suppose, however, that Lord Howick were to gain his Committee, and the Corn-law were to be repealed, by what measure would it be fol- lowed, with the variety of opinions among Opposition Members ? Lord John Russell's fixed duty had met with sorry treatment from Members behind him ; Lord Palmerston advocated a mere revenue-duty ; Mr. Cobden argued against such a duty, that an equivalent impost must be laid on home corn. If asked, why deal with corn on a different prin- ciple from that of dealing with other commodities, Mr. Gladstone had a very good temporary answer—(Opposition cheers)—he replied, be- cause it had been so dealt with for centuries, and enormous investments had been made under the faith of such a principle. He still adhered to the opinion which Lord Howick had quoted respecting the import of 50,000 oxen, that exports would be increased in a corresponding degree on the relaxation of restrictions on imports ; but the application of such a proposition must be carefully watched— It was a principle which might be very safe with reference to the importation of 50,000 head of cattle, for that would not produce the displacement of Bri- tish labour : in such a case, it might be well to trust to the operation of the natural laws of exchange between man and man : but it did not follow that the law on which the masses of the labour of the country were dependent should be abandoned. Let them honestly ask themselves this question—whether or not they were in a condition to repeal the Corn-law without displacement of a vast mass of labour?

Mr. Gladstone explained his use of the word " temporary "-

Though he had used the epithet " temporary " with reference to one pro- tective law, it was an epithet which would apply to every commercial law. There was no commercial law that must not be regarded as temporary. Since 1765, they had had twenty-five corn-laws. He did not know why that which had been mutable heretofore was all of a sudden to become permanent. (Loud cheering from the Opposition benches.) The form of corn-law had been changed from time to time, and regulated according to the circumstances of the country and the necessities of British labour and capital. The principle had been per- manent ; and that principle he was not prepared to abandon whilst the prin- ciple of protection was applied to the admission of other articles of commerce.

He denied that the maintenance of the Corn-laws was a question of rent ; for however rents might be reduced, the redundancy of labour would make the pressure be felt less by the landlords than by the labourers. Mr. Gladstone volunteered an admission— If a change in the Corn-law were to take place, and if that change were to procure an increased importation of foreign corn, and if that importation of foreign corn were to be paid for in British goods, he thought it would be taking a most short and false view of the interests of British agriculture to view that importation of foreign corn as so much displacement of British agricultural commerce. (Loud cries of " Hear!" from the Opposition benches.) Why, the first effect would be that it might reduce prices ; but undoubtedly it would give a demand for the labour of those now unemployed, and thereby create a new class of producers, and raise the wages of those who now had low wages, and thereby enable them to consume more largely. More wheat, he doubted not, would be consumed in a state of comfort than in a state of poverty ; and even if more wheat were not consumed than the amount of wheat was increased by foreign importations, no doubt there would be a further increase of and demand for other articles of agricultural commerce. He had not the least hesitation in admitting that ; and that admission, he thought, might save a great deal of time in that House—it was a proposition which could not be disputed. ("Hear, hear ! " and laughter on the Opposition benches.)

But he would not admit the assumption involved in the proposition : the question was, were they without knowledge, upon speculation, to assume that increase of trade which Lord Howick presumed, but which he had not endeavoured to demonstrate ?

That increase of trade might be indefinitely distant. Were they, without increasing the means of employing the population, so to encourage the import of foreign corn as to displace the British labour now employed in agriculture? Were they to pursue such a course without having taken those measures o hich would secure the prospect of those results by which alone such a change in the law could be rendered advisable? How were we circumstanced with regard to foreign countries ? The three countries from which we chiefly derived corn were Russia, including Russian Poland, Germany, and America. What were our circumstances as respected those countries with regard to the exportation of our goods ? What tariffs bad been imposed in those countries ? and what effect had those tariffs had on the exportation of British goods ? He showed the working of' foreign duties in neutralizing the benefit of greater cheapness of imported commodities as compared with those produced at home— The complaint of the manufacturer of this country against the Corn-law was this, that he got from the British farmer a smaller return for his manufactured goods than lie would obtain from the foreign farmer. Suppose that corn were one-fifth dearer in England than America, he (the manufacturer) said, " I give 100, and only get back 80." He valued at 20 the tax paid for protection to the British agriculturist. He did not take into consideration the manner in which the general standard of prices was affected by the protective duties of the tariff; but he contended that he paid that amount as a tax to the British landlord. Suppose that to be true—grant the allegation—and suppose he sent his 100/. worth of goods to America, upon which in England be only got 80!., when he got there he found he must pay 40/. as a tax to the American Government. The present tariff of America levied a tax of 40 per cent ad valorem. What better was the British manufacturer, if he escaped paying 20 per cent to British agriculture, and bad to pay 40 per cent to the American Government ?

It might be said that we ought to teach foreign countries the true principles of trade : but the recent augmentation of the French duty on linen-yarns, of the German duty on goods of mixed woollen and cotton, and the American tariff, showed how little disposed foreign countries are to follow our example. He believed that there was no

one country on the face of the globe to which the changes of the last

year in our tariff had been so extensively valuable as they had been to the commerce of America. Summing up his arguments, Mr. Glad-

stone observed that Lord Howick might have spared himself the trouble of advancing abstract principles, where the real question was one of time and degree— That view had been recognized in this country for the last twenty-five years by every Government which had successively held office; there was no one who bad held office during that period who bad not introduced measures in the nature of relaxations of our commercial code. But he must say that the Government to which right honourable gentlemen and noble lords oppo- site belonged was, of all others, the most slack in introducing such measures, until the memorable year 1841.

Mr. LABOUCHERE supported the motion ; bantering Mr. Gladstone for the ability with which he argued on both sides of the question, and answering particular points in his speech. Sir Robert Peel had pro- mised that the operation of the Tariff would enable people to meet the Income-tax by lowering prices: now Mr. Gladstone told them that

it bad not lowered prices in any assignable degree. He protested against the " temporary " nature of the arrangements respecting the Corn-laws, and to receiving " temporary " answers from a Minister of the Crown. Mr. Gladstone's speech was calculated to excite alarm in the country as he believed it would in the House— It was true, they had been told by the right honourable Baronet at the head of the Government, that he intended to propose no change during the present session of Parliament ; yet he had not told them what he intended to do next year: but no one could listen to the speech of the right honourable gentleman the Vice-President of the Board of Trade, without perceiving that he at least had made up his mind as to the necessity of an alteration in the Corn-laws. The secret of Mr. Gladstone's resistance to the motion was to be found in a single sentence which escaped him respecting Free-trade principles— The right honourable gentleman said, "The whole question is, in what de- gree the country will bear the application of these principles ?" He sus- pected the right honourable gentleman bad omitted one word from that sen- tence : he should have said, not the country, but "the whole question is, in what degree the country gentlemen will bear the application of these principles?"

Mr. FERRAND advocated returning to " the principles of our fore- fathers,'.'- as opposed to free trade ; and he condemned the Government fist having departed from the principles which they were sent into the House to support. He quoted from various pamphlets, letters, &c. pas- sages to show the mischief of free trade and the condition of the work- ing-classes. Among these elegant extracts, was a poem sold at the Anti-Corn-law Bazaar, which he attributed to Dr. Bowring, who "had lately turned poet " : it was headed " Died of Starvation—Coroner's Inquest ";: and it seems to have begun by describing an encounter with Famine"-

" Lo! a sceptre wreath'd of snakes In her withered hand she shakes, And I heard the hag proclaim

Bread Tax is my sceptre's name.'

On remorseless mission bent, Maiming, murdering as she went, Spreading death from street to street. Oh ! I hear the hag repeat, (Shuddering while I heard and saw)

Mine is RIGHT and MIGHT and LAW! •

God ! thou God of mercy ! tell— Can the very fiends of hell In Thy name their pandects draw, And declare their licence law ? "

Mr. Ferrand moved, as an amendment to Lord Howick's motion, that the proposed Committee should inquire into the depression of the manufacturing industry alluded to in the Speech, into the effects of machinery, and into the origin of the disturbances mentioned in the Queen's Speech. The debate was adjourned at one o'clock in the morning.

The debate was resumed on Tuesday by Mr. EWART, with an able Free-trade speech ; starting with the remark, that all the principles of Mr. Gladstone's speech were in favour of free trade, and all his paren- theses of protection.

Mr. Ewart declared his belief that an opinion was gaining ground in the country in favour of direct taxation, as a means of reducing the Excise and Customs duties, the duties on raw materials, and on the means of the operative's subsistence.

Mr. LIDDELL, admitting Lord Howick's general correctness as to the distressed state of Sunderland and Northumberland, imputed it to dif- ferent causes,—the competition of Durham, and especially Hartlepool, in the coal-trade, the intricate and expensive machinery of the New Poor- law, the bill system, and the drought of last summer. Other general causes were, the deficient harvests of the last four or five years, and the financial difficulties of America.

Lord Wonseee believed that the distress of the agriculturists would be greatly increased by want of confidence in the stability of the Corn- laws, which Mr. Gladstone called a " temporary" measure.

Mr. GALLY KNIGHT, imputing the distress to improvements in machinery, which disengage labour, recommended a tax on machinery coupled with a regular system of emigration. Mr. Gladstone's use of the word " temporary " did not alarm him ; for any thing that was not perpetual was " temporary ": human existence, for instance, was but a temporary trial. Mr. WARD supported the motion, with details of progressively in- creasing distress in Sheffield since 1836, when there was not an able- bodied man of decent character out of work. To many statistical proofs of the distress of the usual kind, he added one which looks partly new— Of the silver-platers and saw makers who had been formerly in employ- ment, not one-fifth could now find work, and many of these only for a few days a week. A reaction was found to take place with regard to land. An informant wrote to him, " These two trades are generally supplied by the sons of respectable families from country districts, well educated, and who give pre- miums with them. Of fifteen young men who have just served their time, three are partially employed, four are upon the parish, and eight have returned to their parents or friends. Of fifty-one who have come of age in the last two years, only seven are partially employed ; the rest are living either upon the parish or their friends. There are ten other trades still supporting their own poor; 1,000 families, averaging four in each, subsisting upon is. 3d. per week per head."

Mr. Gladstone had spoken of the illiberality of the American tariff, which fixed duties of 30 to 40 per cent upon British products ; but he forgot that the duty in this country upon American corn is about 90 per cent.

Mr. DISRAELI apprehended the question before the House to be, whether it was advisable by any sudden and extraordinary means to extend the commerce of the country, as a remedy for the existing dis- tress : but he protested against the proposal to apply any one remedy for every market to which England had access, however various and contrary in their character all those markets might be— Our markets may be divided into three general heads; those of the East, of Europe, and of the West. In the European markets, we addressed ourselves to a society so well instructed and so well informed, that it was perfectly ob- vious we could not extend our markets in that direction except by negotiation. Mr. Ewart had recommended a commercial treaty will Holland and Java; and the reason why we do of already possess the commerce of Java was, that

in

there was once a body ' country that treated with contempt the idea of a convention with that country. The treaty with France of 1840 might have been signed, and now in force, had not a feeling been produced among the French that the feeling of kindness for France expressed by the Ministry of this country ten years ago had been departed from. An endeavour was new making to establish a treaty like that of 1840, and it would do more for Shef- field than both the Americas. There might have been a treaty with Brazil; but we offended the Brazilians, an ostentatious people, by not sending a spe- cial envoy in 1841, when the Emperor attained his majority; though every nation in Europ-, except England, sent to congratulate him. The failure of the treaty with Portugal was the fault of the negotiators ; and our mixing our- selves up with parties in Spain, and thus disgusting every Spaniard, bad deterred the Regent from concluding a treaty. It was indeed only by treaties that any commerce ever had been carried on between any two countries. Lord Palmerston had once said, that we must look to no extension of our commerce with Europe : no assertion could be more unauthorized by the circumstances of the case; he firmly believed that British commerce with European nations would be greatly extended. In the advancement of the arts throughout Europe, he be- held a foretaste of the increase of our trade with it. Honourable gentlemen were too apt to forget the immense growth of the population of Europe of late years ; and, though other nations like ourselves had advanced in their know- ledge and practice of the arts, those very circumstances had tended to increase also the wants and dzsires of the people ; and he was of opinion that no finer prospect for our European commerce ever existed than at the present moment, and that in the course of the next two or three years our trade with the whole of Europe would be increased at least 25 per cent. With respect to the mar- kets of the East, negotiations must be carried on in a different manner, so as not abruptly to shock prejudices ; for in the East there was not that diffusion of information by means of newspapers as in the West ; and if our commercial intercourse were carried on in the same way, we must always expect that our trade must be liable to an unnatural collapsing and paralyzing influence. The Levantine, the Chinese, and the Indian markets, however, were opening to Bri- tish capital and commerce a field of enterprise and wealth; and another channel for our trade might be opened by proper negotiations in Asia Minor. The course, then, in one of those temporary periods of depression common to a commercial country, was, to proceed with courage and patience ; taking care, that in the mean time property should contri- bute to alleviate the suffering. No improvement could be expected from altering the Tariff or Corn-laws, or entering. upon an inquiry which would last as long as the trial of Warren Hastings.

Mr. Ross declared the opinion of Belfast to be in favour of a fixed duty on corn, say 8s., declining ls. every year.

Mr. B. HOPE pronounced the motion unnecessary and futile ; and the debate was then adjourned, at a quarter-past twelve o'clock.

Dr. Bownrxo, the first speaker on Wednesday, drew attention to the state of Bolton ; which he said had grown even worse than it was last year. Among individual instances that he mentioned, was that of an engineer who had been out of work for nine months, and in that time had travelled 1,100 miles in search of employment, during a great part of the time in a state bordering on starvation. Mentioning another

man, who had only butter-milk and bread for his family's dinner, and said that he had been driven mad by misery, Dr. Bowring remarked,

that " perhaps his was a privileged one compared to those who were daily doomed to a slow and lingering death " ; and he added, that the cases he had mentioned were isolated instances, but that "numbers of men

were daily reduced to misery from the operation of those laws." There had been a decrease of 3,7001. a week paid for wages in twelve trades at Bolton, equal to 185,0001. a year. With these statistical details Dr Bowring mingled appeals to the apprehensions of the House—

If he could not appeal to the humanity of wisdom or the House, be would appeal to their own interests. He was bound to tell them that the state of the country was one of extreme peril. No person could answer for the conti- nuance of peace when human nature was driven to the extreme point of en- durance. They might rest assured that the feelings of the people would speedily assume a very formidable aspect, if some change for the better were not made. He did not speak this in the spirit of menace, but in the spirit of prophecy. * • • It might he well for those honourable gentlemen who i

revelled in every enjoyment to excess—who never knew what it was to have a desire ungratified—who had vast resources to supply them with every luxury from every quarter of the world—to turn a deaf ear to the prayers of the suf- fering millions ; but he would entreat them, if not from regard to their own duty as legisla.ors, or to the peremptory claims of humanity and the voice of Christianity, to lend a willing attention, and seriously to enter on inquiry whether some means of alleviating the distress could not be found. In conclusion— He saw evils increasing everywhere, yet still he nourished hope that a day- star was arising; and that day-star was free trade. Let our markets be ex- tended, our ports opended, and we should find many willing to deal with us. But if it was determined to pursue the selfish and sinister policy which had already created so much suffering, and would create more, then he could only look into futurity with a despairing spirit, and anticipate for this great country a downfal as rapid as its rise had been.

Mr. Smear WORTLEY blamed Dr. Bowring for the inflammatory nature of his language, and for assuming that there could be but one opinion as to the Corn- laws being the sole cause of the distress ; which Mr. Wortley was prepared to dispute. If corn were imported in large quantities, no doubt the price in this country would be reduced ; but the question was, whether there would not be in other quarters a reduc- tion that would produce as much distress as it was the intention to ob- viate. Mr. Wortley argued generally in favour of the Corn-laws ; at- tributing the distress mainly to the operations of the Joint Stock Banks; and declaring that he believed, if LordHowick succeeded in carrying his motion, he would be at a loss how to follow it up.

Mr. WALLACE described the distress as generally increasing. He last year read a list of towns subject to it, which had since been very much extended, while not one of the towns which it included had reco- vered. The slight stimulus given to trade by the announcement of the peace with China has died away. In Greenock, " public begging " in groupes is winked at by the authorities. In Edinburgh, Government humanely employ displaced artisans in constructing a carriage-road. At Paisley, there were on the 14th, 4,654 individuals on the relief-list, receiving an allowance from the soup-kitchen at the rate of le. aday, besides a thousand more in a state of destitution. There is not a ship building at Greenock, Glasgow, or Dundee. Within the last two years the imports and exports of Glasgow have fallen considerably. In the country at large, shipping is unsaleable, bankruptcies multiply, bankers cannot make money, and no new trades are coming forward.

Mr. BICKHAM Escorr remarked that the distress was admitted on all hands ; but he had listened in vain to know whether any practical

remedy would be proposed. If Lord Howick's motion had no party object, how was it that he had abstained from introducing two points, either of which would have destroyed his chance of a respectable minority on the division : a " moderate fixed duty" on corn would have caused the motion to be rejected with scorn by those Members who regarded such a duty as a fixed tax ; and if he had proposed total repeal, he must have foregone the support of the old Whig party. He obtained some clue to Lord Howick's object, however, in a document lately written by Mr. Labouchere-

Some Anti-Corn-law lectures had been delivered in the town that the right honourable gentleman represented, which excited a considerable feeling there ; and the consequence was, that the people sent a memorial to the right ho- nourable gentleman, requesting that he would vote for a total repeal of the Corn-laws ; and not only this, but it urged also that all the taxes upon con- sumable articles should be likewise repealed. (Hear, hear!) To this the right honourable gentleman returned an answer, addressed to the Bailiffs of the borough of Taunton, declining to comply with their request that he should .Vote for the total abolition of the Corn-laws, but at the same time stating it as his opinion that a considerable reduction of the duties on the various articles of general consumption, such as corn, sugar, and coffee, would be productive of great benefit to the country, and that he would zealously advocate such altera- tion ; but he could not consent to an immediate and total repeal of existing duties, as if such a change were assented to 10,000,000/. of revenue would be thereby surrendered. He went on to recommend a moderate fixed duty on corn. Mr. Labouchere, however, did not state what was a " moderate fixed duty." It would appear as if the present motion were made with a view to enable those who held conflicting opinions between a fixed duty and no duty all to adjust their differences, and come to the conclusion of adopting some small fixed duty. Mr. CHARLES WOOD, who began with some statistical details to show the distressed state of Leeds, replied to Mr. Escott, that it was not for Lord Howick to make a specific proposition : it was to the Government, .-with the information they possessed, that the House and the country ought to look for a specific proposition. Mr. Wood went on to argue for the extension of markets abroad by removing restrictions on com- merce, and especially by altering the Corn-law s ; quoting returns to show how much the consumption of corn in this country depends upon the price— Towards the close of the last session of Parliament he had moved for a re- turn of the quantities of wheat sold in six of the large market-towns of the kingdom during eight weeks of each of the three years of 1836, 1839, and 1842; and honourable gentlemen would be surprised at the extraordinary dif- ferences which presented themselves. The six towns were Leeds, Wakefield, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and Nottingham. In 1836, the average price of wheat was 49s. 7d., and the quantity sold was 16,000 quarters; in 1839, the average price was 70s. 7d., and the quantity sold fell to 7,000 quar- ters; in 1842, the price was 61s. 11d., and the quantity sold rose again to 12,500 quarters : between 1636 and 1839, the diminution in the quantity of wheat consumed was more than one-half.

At the same time, he felt bound to say, that he did not attribute that exclusive importance to an alteration of the Corn-laws which was attributed to it by some persons : but he believed that the country suffered most from the fluctuations in price which were inseparable from the sliding scale ; and if there was a point on which a compromise might be made between opposing parties, it was on the principle of a moderate fixed duty : in the North of England, the opinion was extend- ing in favour of a reasonable, moderate, and even a small fixed duty. The object of Lord Howick's motion was to hasten the course begun last year ; when they had done too much to stand still now.

Sir JAMES GRAHAM remained unenlightened as to the real object of the motion, respecting which Members on the Opposition side of the House entertained the most conflicting views. Mr. Wallace had said, that if this were not a substantive inquiry into the state of the country, which he thought necessary, he should vote with Sir Robert Peel ; Mr. Ross evidently thought it was meant for inquiry into the state of the nation ; Mr. Ward said be should vote for it with mental reservations of his own. Let him not be supposed to doubt that the distress was prevalent and severe ; but he did not think it desirable, that, in the face of the civilized world, the Representatives of Great Britain should hold the language of despondency. Nor was the assertion that the distress was unexampled supported by any proof: a falling off in the exports was a symptom, which, in a commercial country, demanded the anxious attention of Government ; but the late Chancellor of the Exchequer would hear in mind, that in the years 1837-8 there was a fall in the de- clared value of the exports, from 46,000,0001. to 36,000,0001. ; and there had not been since that time, certainly not last year, a decrease so great : in 1838-9 there was a rise of 7,000,000/., nearly the amount of the pre- vious fall. Mr. Wood had said that the distress was " marked by famine and death" : let the House test that description by the statistics of mortality, in returns which related chiefly to the manufacturing districts— The number of deaths in Wolverhampton in the autumn of 1842 was 414, while the average number for the corresponding quarters of the four previous years was 515. The difference on a like comparison in the case of Blackburn was 359 to 474; Wigan, 334 to 459; Ashton, 1,066 to 1,124; Sheffield, which bad been so much dwelt upon, 456 to 674; Huddersfield, 444 to 516; in Leeds, another place spoken of as presenting an appalling picture of misery, the . number of deaths was but 982 last autumn, while the average of the four pre- ceding autumns was 1,159. The contrast with regard to Hull was 257 to 326;

Sunderland, 293 to 381 ; Newcastle, 392 to 516 ; Liverpool, 1,724 to 2,022. But he would not trouble the House by going through all the other towns which he had on his list : he would state generally, that there was as consider-

able a diminution in the mortality of other manufacturing places—Dudley, Birmingham, Stockport, Macclesfield, Preston, Sheffield, Rochdale, Bury, bat-

ford, Bradford, York, Gateshead, Carlisle, and Kendall. In the Metropolis,

the mortality of the autumn of 1842 u as 11,631 ; and the average of the four previous autumns 11,861; not, certainly, a very great difference. But what was more striking, and more completely demonstrative that his honourable friend was mistaken in his statements, was, that the aggregate number of deaths in 114 districts was 39,368 last autumn, while the average mortality of the four antecedent autumns was 42,003.

To show a favourable reaction in trade, Sir James quoted a report by Mr. Horner, the Inspector of Factories in the cotton districts, exhibit- ing a comparison between the number of mills out of work in 1841 and in 1842, as well as a comparison in respect of those working short time

•• In the year 1841, there were out of employ 138 mills in Mr. Homer's dia- . trict, which comprehended the greater portion of Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. Those 138 mills comprised a horse-power of 3,397, and were calculated to give employment to 16,774 persons. In the corresponding period of 1842, there were out of employ only 96 mills, with a horse-power of 2,691, and requiring 12,064 persons. Therefore, in the year 1842 as compared with 1841, of those mills in employ there had been an increase of 42 mills, of nearly 1,000 horse-yower, and giving employment to not fewer than 4,710 persons. The facts with regard to short time work were still more extraordinary. To- wards the end of the year 1841 there were, in the same district, on short time, 139 mills of 5,801 horse-power, and giving partial employment to 27,764 per- sons. At the close of the year 1842, there were in that district only 61 mills on short time, having 2,609 horse-power, and employing but partially 11,469 persons. That was to say, there were 78 mills, with horse-power of 3,192, and giving employment to 16,295 persons, working full time in 1842, as contrasted with the 139 mills of the corresponding period of 1841. But that comparative

view was not the ivliole of the case he wished to present to the House. He had said that the effect of that fictitious credit of which he had spoken was not yet entirely done away, because, as it was contended on the other side, there was a decline iu the demand for manufactures. Well, there had been a large decrease in the short-time work. But there was a still more remarkable cir- cumstance—namely, that in that district, during the last twelve months, there

had been brought into operation 47 new mills, with 1,398 horse-power, and giving employment to 3,524 persons. The general result was, a great increase in the number of mills in full employ, and in the extent of horse-power, and in the number of persons in work.

Until now, he had not ventured to hope for an abatement in the ap- palling distress at Paisley ; but he had that day received a letter from the Sheriff of Renfrewshire conveying the following information from his Substitute at Paisley- - Employment continues to increase here, but very gradually, and the tran-

quillity of the town continues undisturbed. For each of the three weeks ending the 7th current, the numbers upon our relief-list stood at 9,678, 8,885,

and 8,031 ; showing a decrease in each of 558, 793, and 854 persons.' He was gratified to find that the letter contained satisfactory intelligence with respect

to Glasgow—" Our measures for procuring employment from Glasgow have dune good ; and I understand that all our first class weavers, or nearly all, are now engaged." Sir James Graham ridiculed the supporters of the motion for their want of union : Mr. Wood himself had not made up his mind whether he would have a moderate, a reasonable, or a small fixed duty ; not even to that extent were the leaders of the great United Movement party prepared to be decided. Government was charged with having

begun last session with an inadequate measure : he doubted much if in the history of this or any other commercial country so great a change in its tariff had been made in so short a time— Prohibitory duties were swept away. The duty on raw produce had been reduced to 5 per cent, that upon half manufactured articles to a maximum of 10 per cent, and that upon the manufactured article to a maximum of 15 to 20 per cent. Our Colonial system had undergone most material alterations ; foreign produce might now be introduced into our Colonies at from 4 to 7 per cent duty; and the export-duties upon all our articles had been abolished practically. After all, it was absurd to make Free-trade principles the subject matter of such disputes as too often arose in that House, as to who had the merit of originating them— By most men these principles were now acknowledged to be the principles of common sense—(Cries of " Hear, hear ! ")—and the outline of these prin- ciples was now disputed but by few. (Cheers from the Opposition benches.) The time had long gone by—(Loud ironical cheers from the same quarter)- the time had long gone by when this country could exist solely as an agricul- tural country. tRepeated cheers.) We were now a commercial people. As long as Great Britain remained, as she now was, the mistress of the seas, she must be the emporium of the commerce of the world ; and he felt perfectly satisfied that agricultural prosperity in this country, if deprived of the support of manufacturing prosperity, could not and would not long exist. He would even go further than this : he would say, that with the increasing population

of this country—increasing as it did at the rate of somewhere about 220,000

per annum—it was indispensably necessary that there should be a progressive extension of commerce, and that none were more deeply interested in securing such extension than the landed interest of England. (" Hear, hear !") There was an increasing population ; that increasing population must be em- ployed; it could only be employed by payment of wages; wages could only be paid out of profits; and profits were dependent on demand. (Renewed cheers.) He held these to be the piinciples of every man of common sense. (Cries of " Hear' hear! " and laughter.)

But Lord Worsley had stated, that in consequence of the recent mea- sures investment had been checked among the farmers and the cultivation of new lands had been suspended ; which showed how cautious they ought to be in the path of alteration, lest in tampering with the agricul- tural interest they should produce distress even more wide-spread. Sir James quoted Adam Smith, who said, that of all ways agricul- ture is the one in which capital can be employed with most advantage to society ; Colonel Torrens, who said that the immediate effect of free

trade would be to produce agricultural distress ; and Mr. 31`Culloch, who said that a preponderance of manufactures is dangerous to a coun- try, and that they ought to be kept subordinate to agriculture and more stable businesses. 'Towards the close of his speech, Sir James called the attention of the House to what Government had been enabled to effect since their accession to office— He did not ask honourable Members to give them the credit for the reduction which had taken place in articles of general consumption ; the bounty of Pro- vidence had done more than man could ever have accomplished : but the abo- lition of prohibitory duties had certainly had the effect of preventing the sud- den rise in the price of food ; and so far much good had resulted. Was this not

beneficial to the commercial interest of the country ? But her Majesty's Go-

vernment bad been enabled to effect much more than that. Since they had entered upon office, an honourable peace with China had been concluded. They found a war in India, and it was now brought to a successful termination. Canada was in a state of rebellion : it had now a constitutional and well-esta- blished Government. The United States of America, when the present Admi-

nistration accepted office, was engaged in a dispute with this country : that im-

portant and difficult question had been satisfactorily settled by the interven- tion of the present advisers of the Crown. If they looked to France, the ex- asperated feelings towards this country. would be found to have been soothed by the policy pursued by her Majesty s Government. Both at home and abroad they had accomplished much.

At midnight the debate was adjourned for the third time.

Before the recommencement of the debate on Thursday, Mr. MILNER GIBSON put some questions to Sir JAMES GRAHAM ; from whose answers it appeared, that Mr. Homer's report included, among "new mills," new firms who had acquired old mills that had been out of work.

Mr. BORTHWICK took up the discussion, with remarks on the diver- sity of opinion on the Opposition side; himself attributing the distress,

not only to over-trading, but to the falling-off in foreign markets, pro- duced by the policy of Lord Palmerston.

Sir CHARLES NAPIER enlivened the debate with some facetife. He wished that Sir James Graham had quoted the mortality-returns for

whole years, instead of the autumns only : but if he proved any thing, he proved that, as the mortality was less in 1842 than in the four pre- vious years, while the distress was greater, the more the people were starved the longer they lived. From the returns respecting the new mills and the extension of employment another extraordinary fact was to be deduced—that the more the people were employed the more dis-

tress must exist in the country. Sir Charles likened the sliding-scale to the " sliding coffin " of an undertaker w ho had a monopoly of coffin- making in Jamaica— After the war his business fell off: he invented a sliding bottom, which was put into the coffin ; and he bribed all the gravediggers, when an interment took

place, to slide out the bottom, and to drop the body into the grave, so that one

coffin served for a great number of persons. (Laughter.) This went on for some time ; but at length the contrivance became public. A great agitation was got up—something like the Corn-law agitation—which was supported especially by the sick and invalids. The circumstance reached the ears of the Governor ; who insisted that the man should have fixed bottoms, and give up the sliding system; and he was ultimately compelled to abolish the sliding- scale. (Loud laughter.) Sir Charles remembered also, that some years ago a sliding gunter- mast was introduced into the Navy—

It in some measure resembled the Corn-law sliding scale ; for when the wind went down the mast went up, and when the wind got up the mast came down.

The sailors were anxious to confer some honour upon the inventor; and after some cogitation, they bestowed upon him the name of " Sliding Gunter Bob." (Roars of laughter.) He regretted that the right honourable Baronet, the First Lord of the Treasury, was not in his place. (Laughter.) He hoped that Si; Robert Peel would come to some compromise with the Anti-Corn-law League, to establish a fixed duty in lieu of a sliding- scale : let it be Ss., 6s., or 5s.

Mr. COCHRANE approved of inquiry into the admitted distress of the people ; and confessed that he considered the state of society pregnant

with danger. They should look beyond the lower orders of society : among the middle classes great doubt and uncertainty prevails—a fear which, in its consequences, could scarcely be exceeded by the realiza- tion of the dreaded evils ; and among the higher classes he beheld a kind of supineness—a slumbering—a reliance upon Providence, that, because affairs had heretofore proceeded well, they would not eventually turn out ill. Bat the discontent, though not outwardly so loud as in the distress of 1816-17, is more formidable, because the distress from which it arises has occurred after twenty-five years' peace. He attri-

buted the depression of the agricultural interests—he found the price of wheat in Dorsetshire lately to be 47s.—not to importations, but to want of confidence in the present Corn-law ; and he contrasted the existing Government unfavourably with the last— What was considered the great fault of the late Government ? What was the cry of the country before their retirement? 6' Give us a firm Government

—a Government upon which we can depend." They had a firm Government now—he was sure they bad a sufficient majority. But he would say for him- self, that he saw little difference between a tottering Government with firm principles of action, and a firm Government which was vacillating in its principles.

Mr. CHARLES VILLIERS thought that a Committee on the state of the nation ought long since to have been appointed ; and the variety of

opinions expressed on the Ministerial side of the House made inquiry the more urgent, as it had been impossible to elicit what were their views of causes, or of the course that Government ought to take. They ought to consider whether the present state of things was not in some -way connected with the present bent of legislation : that position seemed to be disputed on the other side ; and if so, that alone was round of inquiry : if it were not disputed, then there was ground for legislating immediately. He repeated his often-expressed opinion, that the true cause of the distress is, the disproportionate power of produc-

tion compared with the power of consumption : hence every trade com- plained that there was not the same reward for capital or the same em- ployment for labour as formerly. The consequences of such a state of things were alarming—

Looking at this state of things, he could not help thinking that there was ground of alarm as to the liabilities of the country in respect of the great charges with which it was burdened : he meant the public debt, the public ex-

penditure, and the provision for the poor, all which were to be defrayed out of the resources of the country ; and he thought that the moment those resources were touched, and there was reason for alarm that they were so already, that moment the danger of confusion began. For though the honourable Member for Durham maintained the firmness of institutions, and instituted a compari- son between them and those of North Ameria, yet when the time came—and he thought it was not very distant—when a fresh tax would have to be imposed for the sake of supporting the revenue, we should have the true test of the sta- bility of those institutions. The imposition of such a tax had been talked of in the House and in the country, and it was from the country gentlemen that they had heard whispers of it. He had heard a Member for a county state, that if the Corn-laws were repealed he should join with those who talked of the " cant of public faith." Ought they not then to inquire %.1 'ther there was no cause of alarm, of permanent depression, with a view to provide for the future?

Sir Robert Peel had said last year, that he expected to reduce the cost of living by his financial changes, and, by giving activity to trade, to

increase our exchanges with foreign countries : if that were the true

principle, why not extend it? Was there no need further to reduce the cost of living ? had the people so much employment that they did not

need more ? Yet both in the case of Brazil and America, which had produce of their own to send us, nothing had been done to increase the exchanges ; while the hardens of the people have been increased by the Income-tax. That obliges them to reduce their expenditure in taxed articles, and the other branches of revenue fail ; so that the Income-tax itself fails of its object. Mr. Gladstone vindicated the restrictive principle of the Corn-law, because it had been the rule in the whole course of le- gislation to treat corn in a peculiar way-s--- " A rule! why, of course, it has—not only with respect to corn, but with respect to every thing affecting the interests of men who have complete and irresponsible power: it is a rule of human nature to serve own interests at the expense of other people's. (" Hear, hear!" and laughter.) Ever since the landowners have been the dominant class in this country, they have been making laws about agricultural produce. The honourable gentleman says there have been twenty-five corn-laws : why, I can tell him there have been forty, or about one in every twelve years, for five hundred years past ; and it has been the rule ever since the Conquest with the landowners to help them- selves. And what a lesson ought it to teach them as to such legislation as that about corn, that they change the law every ten or twelve years I It ought to show them how impossible such laws are to last in a free country."

Let it be remembered what ludicrous legislation there had been of that kind-

" That they opposed the produce of Scotland coming into England is known. Then they resisted all trade with Ireland to protect themselves here. It is only about a century since a petition was presented and discussed in this House from one county to protect it against another. One county (I forget which it was). prayed to be protected against the beans of the neighbouring county coming into its markets ; and pleaded its native industry, according to the ap- proved fashion of the present day. ("Hear, hear !" and laughter.) Then the landed interest in the Metropolitan counties interfered to prevent good roads, for fear it should bring the produce from distant counties to London— for fear they should not have the exclusive supply of the town. And they were right, if you are right : it is one and the same principle throughout—it is protection of some against the good of all."

Referring to the various suggestions on the Ministerial side, and es- pecially to Mr. Disraeli's question why they did not extend trade with foreign countries by treaty, Mr. Villiers exclaimed-

" Why, don't you go to'get wine, and oil, and silk—in fact, every thing but food, where you eau get it cheapest and best ? This was the real character of the arguments against free trade. There was nothing like it but that story of the Member for Cork's, who described one of his countrymen as having a horse that got so exceedingly thin that he called in a neighbour to consult about it, and whom he assured that he had done every thing in his power for him—that lie had bled him, and blistered, doctored, and fired him ; but he only got worse. 'Upon which his neighbour asked, if he had ever tried corn ?" He concluded by vindicating the League, as well occupied in the dif- fusion of political truth : it could only be put down by doing justice.

Lord SANDON argued for protecting the " home market," and for not depriving agriculture of the protection extended to many trades ; ob- serving, that, if new markets were opened abroad, it would be well that measures should be adopted to limit the too great facility of credit, which had always been at the bottom of the evils under which the country laboured.

Mr. MENTZ did not approve of the motion : it was not straightfor- ward, not English-- Whilst it bore upon the face of it an inquiry into the distresses of the coun- try, the details changed that face ; for the noble Lord who moved it repudiated all distress except that caused by the Corn-laws. But as it bore upon the face of it an inquiry into the distress of the country, and as he knew how much that distress had increased, he felt that he would not be doing his duty to his constituents and to the country if he did not take some part in the de- bate, and eventually vote for the motion.

The Tariff had reduced the prices on some articles ; but instead of improvement in the country, it was proceeding from bad to worse. It was not right to give protection to corn without giving protection to wages— Our Corn-laws raised the price of food here fifty per cent higher than in the rest of Europe, whilst our Money-law depressed the wages just as much per cent. They fixed the value of the ounce of silver by law; having fixed that value, they fixed the rate of exchange by that value; having fixed the rate of exchange, they fixed the selling price of every article of export; and by fixing the selling price of every article of export, they fixed the rate of wages. They gave an artisan 5s. and expected him with that 5s. to buy 7s. 6d. worth of bread.

He complained that things were not regarded in their natural aspect : everybody looked through spectacles of the wrong material—Tory spectacles, Whig spectacles, or Radical spectacles : he exhorted Sir Robert Peel to become "natural."

Sir JOHN HANMER objected to the motion, but recorded his opinion that much might be done to remedy the existing distress. He trusted the Sugar question would be settled on a better basis ; that the treaty with Portugal would be pressed to a conclusion, or that Government would arrange such terms with France as would settle for the future the pretensions of Portugal to supply us exclusively ; that the Corn-laws would be altered, a fixed duty being established ; and that the fallacy of protection would be abandoned. He was opposed to organic changes in the constitution •, but if the changes which he advocated were not touched, the other kind of change might be brought forward with a force which it might be difficult to withstand. (Sir John was much and frequently cheered by the Opposition.) Mr. P. M. STEWART, continuing arguments that had been already advanced, took occasion to warn the &use against drawing too strong inferences from the " prosperity " of the years 1825 and 1836, and ex- pecting too much benefit from the late abundant harvest and slight re- action in trade— The characteristics of those years were these: they were preceded by great abundance, and each of them was followed by foreign loans; in 1825. to South America; in 1836, to North America ; and the melancholy result of these loans was a great temporary demand on the industry of the people of this country, and a false prosperity for the moment : and so he maintained it would be again, if too much reliance was placed upon the temporary prosperity which had lately taken place. He attributed the distress of the shipping-interest to the cessation of emigration ; and called upon the House to consider, whether by a sound system of emigration they could not do much towards relieving the wants of our people at home, and towards contributing to the strength and power of our Colonial possessions.

Mr. COLQUHOUN also entered extensively into many grounds of argu- ment already traversed.

Mr. F. T. BARING defended some of Lord Howick's positions which had been attacked. The motion itself was a perfectly Parliamentary proceeding—to refer the declaration in the Queen's Speech, that great distress was prevalent throughout the country, to the consideration of the House in Committee. He contended that no Member was precluded from coming before the House with a principle, though unprepared with plans and details : all discussion might as well be abandoned at once. He gave a new turn to Sir James Graham's favourable statistics of mortality— In reference to this deeply interesting point, it was to be borne in mind, that the beneficence of the Great Lord of all, which had been so graciously mani- fested in an abundant harvest of the last year, was in reality the cause which, amid our fearful distress, the mortality of the period in question had been nu-

merically less than in former similar periods. The House could not but call to mind, that the four preceding years which had been cited by the right honour- able gentleman were years of high prices ; while in the autumn of last year, the prices of corn, by God's mercy, was considerably lowered. This was a most important point for consideration ; as it showed that, even where there was great distress—where there was terrible want of employment—broken down, as we had been during the last year—yet the cheapness of provisions had contributed mainly to save the lives of the people. That was a great admission. Another great admission was, Sir James Graham's declaration that principles of commercial freedom were principles of common sense ; and that admission entitled Mr. Baring to ask why, the distress of the country not being lessened, they should not be acted on? Changes, indeed, are difficult ; and if everything had been settled, he might have said, allow the measures of last year more than a temporary trial : but Sir Robert Peel had unsettled everything and settled nothing. Was the commercial world settled—the Tariff— the Sugar-duties—the Corn-law ? One thing only was settled, by the most remarkable official correspondence of the year—the Velveteen Cor- respondence—the important point of Sir Robert Peel's dislike to em- broidered velveteen.

Mr. GOULBERN insisted that the motion was for a vote of want of confidence in Ministers ; and as to Government's leaving the Corn-law in a state of uncertainty, would an eight-shilling fixed duty settle it ?

Here closed the fourth night, at a quarter past twelve o'clock.

CORN TRO3I CANADA.

In reply to Mr. LABOUCHERE, on Thursday, Lord STANLEY explained the intentions of Government with respect to the admission of Canadian corn-- As the law now stood, the produce of the United States was exported into Canada free of duty, and there converted into flour ; and it had been imported for many years into this country as Colonial produce, and et Colonial duties. The effect of that was, that this American or foreign corn was imported in its most convenient form—namely that of flour—at a maximum duty of 5s. and a minimum of 6d In the course of the discussion last year, the honourable Member for Limerick had urged her Majesty's Government to do that which had been urged repeatedly upon them by the Colonial Government—namely, to admit Colonial wheat and flour into this country at a nominal duty, or without duty at all. Lord Stanley had then answered the honourable gentle- man precisely in the same spirit and on the same grounds as those on which the Government had written to the Governor-General of Canada in the commence- ment of March. The answer was to this effect. Inasmuch as a great propor- tion of the corn introduced into this country as Canadian produce would only have passed through Canada, and would, in fact, not be Canadian but American produce, her Majesty's Government saw some difficulty in the proposed plan. He had no hesitation in saying, that the despatch which he, in concurrence with his colleagues, had sent out to the Governor-General of Canada, bore upon it that fair, natural, and legitimate inference which the Legislature of Canada had put upon it—namely, that if an equivalent duty was put on the importation of corn from America to Canada, every disposition would be shown to allow bona fide Canadian corn to be imported into England at a nominal duty. The Legislature of Canada, acting upon that, bad passed an act im- posing such a duty. He had received a despatch conveying that information an the month of December last from the Governor-General, with an intima- tion that the next mail would bring out the full information which the Go- vernor-General was anxious her Majesty's Government should have upon the subject ; and accordingly they expected it by the January mail, but circum- stances had interfered to prevent it. The information they now wanted was in no way connected with the main question, but related to the measures ne• cessary to be taken for the prevention of fraud. Before April he expected to be in possession of that information; when he would take the earliest oppor- tunity of laying the measure he proposed on the table of the House. In con- clusion, he would repeat, that in passing the act imposing a duty of 3s. on wheat imported into Canada, the Canadian Legislature had put a proper con- struction upon the despatch which, with the sanction of his colleagues, he had addressed to the Governor-General.

LAW OF DEFAMATION AND LIBEL.

In the House of Lords, on Monday, Lord CAMPBELL moved for a Select Committee to inquire into the law relating to defamation and libel ; the boundary of which needed to be defined, 'Ph" e=1.?:ei;i1 code had been improved and simplified, the criminal code rendered at once more humane and more effective ; but the libel law rested upon the common law as it existed in the time of Richard the First ; which surely was not adapted to the wholly altered circumstances of the nine- teenth century. The law made a strange distinction betwen written and spoken slander— If the words containing the libellous matter were in writing, the party was liable to an indictment ; but merely spoken words, however severely they might reflect upon individuals—whatever imputations they might convey against the characters of individuals—were never made the subject of criminal proceedings. For illustration : if a man had proclaimed at a public county meeting that the Member representing that county in the House of Commons had murdered his father, no criminal proceedings could be instituted against him for so infamous an accusation ; it would be necessary to proceed against him by a civil action. Why make this distinction?—for words spoken were as calculated to make a breach of the peace as words written and printed. For words merely spoken, no reparation could be obtained unless by a civil pro- cess—unless reflections were made upon a man's professional character, or you accused him of having a contagious disease. (Laughter.) A man might be called a liar or a scoundrel, and he had no remedy ; but simply assert that he had got the pooping-cough or the measles, and the case was immediately altered. ( Laughter.) Proceedings, indeed, might by the present law be instituted in the Ecclesiastical Court ; but the only penalty that could be enforced by that Com, was making the defamer do penance in a white sheet, and even that would be abolished by the bill before the House of Commons for abolishing the Ecclesiastical Courts. With regard to libels of a personal character, that was considered as a libel which had a tendency to bring an individual into contempt, odium, or ridicule. He was not sure whether even a caricature ought not to be considered libelous. In the case of an ex officio information filed against the Liberator news- paper in 1704, Chief Justice Holt said, that it was considered libellous to reflect upon the Administration of the day ; and Hawkins, in his Pleas of the Crown, delivered a similar opinion. In fact, there was no law that authorized the discussion of the conduct of Government. The plea of truth in justification of libel on an indictment was the subject of another strange anomaly—

The Criminal Law Commissioners had given it as their opinion, that in order to make a libel indictable, it must be false as well as libellous. In 1702, Lord Holt had laid down the law down to the same effect. It had, however, been established by numerous cases, that in an indictment on information for libel the truth could not be received in evidence. In the cases of the King versus Finerty, and in that of Sir Francis Burdett, it had also been decided that the truth could not be received in mitigation of punishment. By such a rule, the law confounded those who were guilty, and who ought to experience certain punishment, with those who had not incurred any moral guilt, but had only stated what was the truth. Mr. Starkie, who was placed at the head of the Law Commission, had, in his admirable Treatise on the Law of Evidence, given it as his opinion, that in the present state of the law no court or jury could punish a libeller except on the supposition that the libel was proved. Another absurdity was the law of " publication " : in former times, a man who had laughed at a libel was liable as a " publisher." In punish-

ment also, distinctions ought to be made as to relative degrees of guilt. He had not brought in a bill upon the subject, because he bad not suf- ficient confidence in himself to propose that his views should be at once adopted by the Legislature, and because lie thought the whole subject required thorough investigation and deliberation.

Lord Baocouam, the Lord CHANCELLOR, and Lord DENMAN sup- ported the motion : though the two former regretted that Lord Camp- bell had not at once introduced a bill. The motion was agreed to. The following Peers form the Committee—

The Lord Chancellor, Lord Privy Seal, Lord President, Marquis of Lans- downe, Earl of Shaftesbury, Earl of Clarendon, Earl Auckland, Bishop of Lincoln, Lord Lyttelton, Lord Somerhill (Clanricarde), Lord Roseberry, Lord Brougham, Lord Denman, Lord Abiuger, Lord Ashburton, Lord Cottenham, Lord Langdale, and Lord Campbell.

THANKS TO THE FORCES IN CHINA.

The Duke of WELLINGTON called upon the House of Lords, on Tuesday, to express its approbation of the services of the Fleet and Army employed in the late operations in China. He minutely reca- pitulated the historical facts ; confining himself to those operations which took place after the breaking off of the negotiations in January 1841, and beginning therefore with the attack upon Canton by the combined sea and land forces, on the 20th February. Here commenced a series of ope- rations which were really quite surprising ; of which he believed there was no example in the military and naval history of this country, or any other-

" Our Fleet and Army have been manceuverino. on the rivers and coasts of China, and defending themselves against large 'bodies of the enemy in the field ; and at the same time attacking fortified positions, some of which were deserving:the name of citadels; and they have performed these manoeuvres with the utmost facility, and with uniform success : and they have done this, my Lords, how ? By the activity, energy, and zeal of the officers, petty officers, and seamen of the Navy, in marking out the spots at which the large ships were to take their station with a view to the operations to be carried on, and to enable the Admiral and the General to combine these operations. We have seen the fleet attacking strong forts, built of masonry, and well provided with ordnance; whilst the army, being landed at a spot previously, agreed upon, has assisted the fleet in its operations ; and the success of their combined aces has been uniform, and I must say, wonderful."

The Duke successively described the nature of the operations at Amoy, Kolangsu, Chusan, (second capture,) Chinbae, Ningpo, Chapoo, Wosung, the occupation of the Yang-tse-kiang at the crossing of the Grand Canal, and the taking up a position at Nankin, which led to the final negotiations. The conduct of the Army itself was most praise- w orthy-

" I have every reason to believe that those engaged in this service displayed uncommon proofs of discipline and good order—emean, of course, both fleet and army. I have read several accounts of the sobriety which they observed, avoiding that great temptation in war, the use of spirituous liquors; and 1 have beard and read with great satisfaction, that they treated their enemies on all occasions with the utmost humanity, so much so, that I umlerstand the feeling in China was, 'These barbarians (as they called us) are our best friends, and we canot look upon them as enemies.' " The Duke explained, that Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane could not be included in the vote of thanks, because he was necessarily detained at an important position at the mouth of increr. away from

the scenes of 1..."=;: operations ; and he mentioned with respect Sir Le Fleming Senhouse, who died of fatigue during the attack on Canton. The Duke moved the following resolutions-

" That the thanks of this House be given to Licutent-General Sir Hugh Gough, Baronet, G.C.B., Vice-Admiral Sir W. Parker, G.C.B., and Commo- dore Sir Gordon Bremer, K.C.B., for the distinguished skill, intrepidity, and indefatigable zeal with which they have conducted the combined operations of her Majesty's naval and military forces on the coasts and on the inland waters of China; whereby a series of brillant and unvaried successes has been con- cluded by an honourable peace on the terms proposed by her Majesty. " That the thanks of this House be given to Major-General Lord Salton, K.C.B., Major-General George Burrell, C.B., Major.General Sir Robert Bart- ley, K.C.B., Major-General Sir James Holmes Schoedde, K.C.B., and the other officers of the Navy, Army, and Royal Marines, including tilos.: in the service of the East India Company, both European and Native, tor the energy, ability, and gallantry with which they have executed the various services which. they have been called upon to perform. " That this House doth ackuowlege and highly approve the gallantry, disci- pline, and uniform good conduct displayed by the petty officers, noncommis- sioned officers, and men, of the Navy, Army, and Royal Marines, including the

troops in the service of the East India Company, both European and Native; the cordial .good feeling which has subsisted between all the branches of the united services; and the honourable emulation exhibited by all in the discharge of the various duties required by the peculiar nature of the operations to be performed ; and that the same be communicated to them by the commanders of the several ships and corps; who are respectively desired to thank them for their gallant behaviour." He also moved, that the Lord Chancellor be requested to communi- cate the foregoing resolutions to the officers named.

The Earl of AUCKLAND seconded the motion ; remarking that he him- self had appointed Sir Hugh Gough and Sir William Parker. And he

said a word for the devotion and gallantry of the Sepoys ; whom the Duke of WELLINGTON apologized for not mentioning more particularly ; an omission which he iupplied by praising the conduct of a company of Bengal Sepoys at Canton, whose guns were unusable from the wet, and they kept a large body of Chinese at bay with the bayonet. The motion had the concurrence of the Marquis of LANDSDOWNE, Lord BROUGHAM, (who said that the Duke of Wellington's panegyric would be more valued than the votes of both Houses of Parliament,) the Earl of HADDINGTON, (who put in a word for the crews of the East India Company's steamers,) the Earl of MINT°, and the Earl of ABER- DEEN ; the Earl of Aberdeen, speaking in terms of warm commends- tion of Sir Henry Pottinger's services, which had been alluded to by Lord Lansdowre ; but the Duke of WELLINGTON explained that they could not be included in the vote, which was limited to the naval and military services.

2 The resolutions were carried unanimously.

The same resolutions were moved in the House of -Commons by Lord STANLEY, (as Secretary at War,) with a similar statement. He re- marked at the outset, that the motion was totally divested of a party character, for the three officers who had the chief conduct of the opera- tions were all selected by the late Ministers. Alluding to the remark- ably effective combination of sea and land forces, he observed, that the operatioits at Canton, though of a military character, were not con- ducted exclusively by military means- " On the contrary, as well on this as on every subsequent occasion, there appears to me to have been among all the troops engaged, of every description, an allerity to forget all the peculiarities of their respective services, and cor- dially, sedulously, and willingly to devote themSelves to the service of the Crowiaand of their country, in whatever capacity and under whatever circum- stances their services might be called for."

The motion was seconded by Lord PALMERSTON ; who claimed a share of the credit for Lord Auckland: and he remarked, that although Mr. Canning had ridiculed the idea of sending out " sixteen thousand bayoneted philosophers," the humanity and forbearance of our troops bad mainly contributed to the success of the military operati -ns. The motion was supported by Sir CHARLES NAPIER, who said that the skill displayed by Sir William Parker was unequalled in the naval history of the country ; Sir GEORGE STAUNTON, who looked with satisfaction to the prospect of introducing Christianity into the Chinese empire ; Sir ROBERT INCLIS, who observed, speaking of the peace, that, as Christian legislators, they ought to express their gratitude to that Great Source from which all blessings are derived, though it could not decorously be put to the vote; and Mr. Iltme, who asked why Sir Henry Pottinger was omitted ?

Sir Roamer PEEL said, that it was of great importance in such matters to adhere strictly to precedent, or else every omission that happened to be made in such a vote would imply censure; and the House ought to pause before it, for the first time, established a precedent of including diplomatic services in a vote of the kind- " I can well enter into the feelings of this distinguished man—distinguished not only for his civil qualifications, but for his military service—when he sees this public acknowledgment of the brilliant achievements of his brothers in arms, and feels that he cannot partake in the thanks of Parliament. As a proof of the entire approbation which her Majesty's Government entertains of Sir Henry Pottinger's services, and of the confidence which we place in him, 1 may say, that finding him appointed by our predecessors, we took the earliest opportunity of assuring him that any position of public confidence connected with her Majesty's service in China was entirely at his command. Finding Sir Henry Pottinger in office in China, we entreated him to give to the public the advantage of his services, by continuing in a position to conduct the affairs of

Great Britain in that quarter of the globe. I fear that his answer will be in the negative. He has this excuse, that such has been his devotion to the public service, that for the last forty-six or forty-seven years he has been em-

ployed in India, and yet in all that period has only been absent one year and a half. We have, however, entreated him to remain until we can benefit by his

opinions and advice upon many important matters connected with the adjust-

ment of our future relations with China; and I assure the honourable gentle- man, that if Sir Henry Pottinger will recall his decision and remain perma- nently in China, Le will possess the entire confidence of her Majesty's Govern- ment, and we should think that we had succeeded in making the arrangement of all others the most beneficial to the country."

' The resolutions were agreed to ; and the Speaker was directedto com- municate them to the several commanding-officers whose names were included in them.

FORCED EXCHEQUER BILLS COMPENSATION.

In the Hong,' "c Pr■mmons. on Monday, the CHANCELLOR of the Ex- CHEQUER stated the views of Government whit t to the compen- sation for the holders of the forged Exchequer Bills put in circutatioi by Beaumont Smith, and his accomplices Solari and Rapallo; and he called upon Parliament to give effect to those views. He incorporated with the exposition of his own opinion, a summary of the conclusions arrived at by the Commission of Inquiry ; whose report, be said, had materially affected the objections which he at first entertained to making compensation— The Commissioners had to report "concerning the manner t,f the issue, cir- culation, deposit, or possession, of every such document, and especially in what manner the owners or holders of such documents received the same, whether in exchange for other bills, and if so, in what manner such exchange was made; or whether by purchase in open market or otherwise, and if so, at what rate of purchase; or whether by way of deposit as securities for loans of money, and if so, at what rate of interest and for what time such loans were made; and whether such loans were renewed, and if so, how often and for what time; and also, whether the owners or holders of such documents received the same in the usual course of business, and whether they employed any and what means of inquiry into the genuineness of such documents." The claimants had been divided by the Commissioners into four classes. The first of these comprised the great bulk of the holders of those forged bills, who had become so in the usual course of business, and without knowledge or suspicion that the bills were other than genuine, or bad been improperly obtained. The amount claimed by these was 187,0001. They were entitled to the favourable consideration of the Muse. The second class included parties whose united claims amounted to 49,000/. ; and of these the Commissioners said, as of the preceding class, that they had become the holders of the bills in the usual course of business, and without any knowledge or suspicion that they were other than genuine, or had been improperly obtained; and, while they had cast sonic doubt upon them, implying a comparatively less degree of caution than the others, they added, " If that question were left to our judgment, we should decide that there is not, upon the whole, sufficient grounds for such an imputation against either of them." In this view of the Commissioners he felt bound to con- cur.,The third elms consisted of Messrs Ransom, who claimed 22,0001., and Messrs. Price and Co., who claimed 26,000/.; and they bad used still less cau- tion: But there is a difference in the practice of the City and the \Vest-end banking-houses; the latter often making Inlvances on Exchequer Bills which would be refused in the City. Messrs. Ransom bad known Solari for twenty years, and he bad at times deposited valuable property with them. Rapallo afterwards appeared as the agent of Solari's widow. Price and Co. had made advances under circumstances which would cause a refusal by banks in the City; but that, he would submit, would not justify their exclusion from the general rule to which he had referred, or the stamping them with a charge of negli- gence or the want of proper caution. With respect to the fourth class, the

case was different ; Rapallo and Solari, unaided, could never have effected their frauds upon this great scale. They had placed bills to the amount of many hundreds of thousands of pounds in the hands of Morgan, and as much more in the hands of Mariner.

The result of all was, that forged Exchequer Bills to the amount of 377,0001. were put into circulation, and formed the subject of the inves- tigation by the Commissioners. Of these there were bills to the amount of 262,0001. for which be thought the public were justly called upon to provide. Mr. Goulburn cited several moral reasons for that conclu-

sion— sion-- -

The House should bear in mind, that these transactions arose in a crime committed in a public department ; that it was from a Government office these bills were issued ; that the man by whom they were issued Was the Govern- nient officer at the head of one branch of that department; that that officer was in .possession of the papers, the engravings, and the water-marks used in ge- nuine bills; that he also possessed the seal usually put to them ; and that it was he who put the written numbers to 'them. In fact, the only part of these bills which could be called a forgery, was the signature of the Comptroller-Gene-• ral ; and as the law at that tune stood, that signature could be legally put by his deputy. The bills then came out in almost all respects as genuine vhaving no- thing in the paper, the engraving, the water-mark, the seal, and the signature, by which the most cautious and intelligent persons could tell the'differenee be- tween a forged and a genuine bill. The Commissioners stated, " it was almost impossible that any of these instruments should have awakened (so far as their external appearance was concerned) the suspicions of those to whom they were offered."

He concluded by moving, " That her Majesty be enabled to direct an issue of Exchequer Bills, to the amount of 262,0001. to replace others which had been forged and got into the hands of bona fide holders." , A desultory debate arose on the proposition ; which was, however, directly opposed by no one. Mr. WILLIAM WILLIAMS objected, that the Commissioners had not made the inquiry sufficiently arching thus to act on their report ; and he cited several questions which they bad not put to the witnesses, to prove his position. He alleged, that in some of the cases in which compensation was to be given, there had been cul- pable negligence. And he declared, such had been the negligence of the officials, that there was no course for the security of the public but the funding of all Exchequer Bills ; a course_ recommended -the fact that the Chancellor of the Exchequer pays three' per cent interest in the market, while bills bearing his own private signature could readily be discounted at two per cent. Colonel SIBTHORP recom- mended that part of the deficiency should be made good byLord Mont- eagle, and that an humble address should be presented. to, the Queen to remove him from office. Mr. HUME called for further _information, which he believed to be in the possession of Government; but contended

for compensation, on account of the apparently genuine character of the

documents. Mr. ROEBUCK asked whether the forgeries bad not taken place during six months' absence of Lord Monteagle? A question which Mr. GOULBURN said it was impossible to answer; but Mr. FRANCIS THORNHILL BARING afterwards said that returns moved for by Lord Monteagle proved the contrary. Some members objecting to the ob- scurity which involved the release of Rapallo and the whole law pro- ceedings, Mr. GOULBURN said, that Government had acted on the ad-

vice of those by whom the prosecution was conducted ; and that Government had withheld no information. He also stated, that assets in the possession of parties to the fraud would be appropriated; though they were inconsiderable. From the precautions that were now taken, under the recommendation of the Commission, he felt assured that no' frauds of the kind would ever take place in the department again. It was intended to issue 262,000L Exchequer Bills as compensation for the forged Exchequer Bills, with interest from the time at which they were signed.

The House went into Committee, and the resolution was agreed to- ,

MISCELLANEOUS.

DISTRESS AT PAISLEY. On Tuesday, Mr. WALLACE nominated the- following Committee to inquire into the distress at Paisley— Robert Grosvenor, Mr. Manners Sutton, Mr. Fox Maule, Sir Robert Harry Inglis, Mr. Young, Mr. Patrick Stewart, Mr. Hattie, Mr. Pringle, Mr. Smollett, Mr. Horsmau, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Aeland,. Mn Colqu- houn, and Mr. Wyse.

HEALTH AND IMPROVEMENT OF TOWNS. Mr. MACEINNON obtained leave, on Tuesday, to introduce a bill to improve the health of towns, by preveuting interments within their precincts; Sir JAMES Gnettept threatening the future opposition of Government, on account of the details of the measure.

THE BANK CHARTER. The Duke of WELLINGTON Stated, on Monday,. in reply to Lord MONTEACLE, that it was not the intention of Govern- ment to introduce any measure for the alteration of the Bank Charter, or on the subject of banking, during the present session. A continua- tion of the act by which the operation of the Usury-laws was relaxed as to bills of three months' date was, however, contemplated. A similar intimation was made in the House of Commons by Sir ROBERT PEEL.

THE INDIAN ARMY. The motion of thanks to the forces in Af- ghanistan, in both Houses, has been postponed from Thursday last to Monday next, in order to the reading of the voluminous papers.

SCINDE. Iii answer to Sir T. E. COLEBROOKE, on Monday, Sir ROBERT PEEL said, that by the treaty of 1833, the Ameers of Scinde became bound, not only to assist us in the Afghan war, but they were not to conclude any treaty with any other power without first communicating with our Government. The Ameers had been charged with infringing the spirit of the treaty ; and a communication had been made to them by the Indian Government, which communication was intended to form the basis of a new treaty. By the last Indian mail, they had received accounts from the Bombay Government, which intimated a confident expectation that the Atueers would accept the communication made to them, and that a new treaty would soon be concluded with them. " - BRITISH PRISONERS IN BOKHARA. In reply to Dr. BOWRING, 011 Wednesday, Sir ROBERT PEEL said, that a despatch received from Colonel Sheil, and dated Tehran, the 12th November last, with a post- script dated the 23d, left no doubt that Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly had been murdered at Bokhara. Government were also in- formed that the representative of the Emperor of Russia had exerted all the influence he possessed with the Ameer in order to save tLe lives of two British subjects, but unfortunately without success.