'64t Vutunurs.
Birmingham has subscribed for and erected a statue of Sir Robert Peel. It was designed by Mr. Peter Hollins, is composed of bronze, and was cast in the foundry of Messrs. Elkington. The figure, eight feet six inches in height, stands on a granite pedestal, resting on the right and advancing the left foot. The right band grasps a scroll, the- left rests upon the hip. On the pedestal is the single word " Peel." It stands nearly opposite the Town-hall. On Monday this statue was uncovered and delivered over to the Mayor by the Testimonial Committee, in the presence of the municipal authorities and a great crowd. The 'chief point of interest in the ceremony, however, was the speech of the Chairman of the Committee, the Reverend Grantham ?dunton Yorke, Vicar of St. - Philip, and brother of the Earl of Hardwicke. After having formally stated the origin of the statue, and caused it to be uncovered, amid great cheering, desired to say a few words expressive of the high e,stimation in , which he held that "great and good man" Sir Robert Peel.' "The public events of the last two years have been so great and dbsorbing as well nigh to erase from our minds those which interested them most deeply in the years preceding. The war in which we are engaged in close alliance with France against the 'vast power of Russia may well have deadened the memory of the great social achievements of peaceful days. But, sir, if recent transactions present themselves in such gigantie propor- tions to our view as to shut out more distant objects of public interest, the same cannot be said of the public men who are the actors in the present scene. There are none as yet who can claim to fill the void left in our mili- tary history by the death of Wellington, nor has any statesman arisen of character and iefluenew sufficient to lessen our deep sorrow for the loss of Peel. There is not a man among us, I venture to say, that has not felt deeply from time to time how invaluable the counsels of Peel would have been to the nation during-the dark and troublous events of the last two years. How many a perplexed Member of the Commons House of Parliament must have called to mind/hat great statesman's conspicuous quantum, his noble self-denying patriotism, -his calmness and eloquence in debate, his official ex- pmience, his vast-resources, his knowledge of detail—all that gave weight to his advice whether in the Cabinet or the Senate. How often must these men who were accustomed to feel and acknowledge the-force of his character and talents in their own political career—how often, I say, mud_ they have been ready to exclaim, amid-the.doubta.and perplexities of recent disauseimm on most momentous topics—' Oh for one hour of Peel !' (Loud and-eon- tinned cheering.) My belief is, Mr. Mayor, that, if we will candidly test our own estimation of the man in some such practical way as this, we shall arrive at the conclusion, in spite of party henna and conflicting political theories, that Sir Robert Peel was one of 'those rare men to whom an en- lightened people will turn with confidence in great emergencies--with eon- ce, I say, in such a man'sintegrity, highmindedness, -and self-devotion, as well as in his political sagacity, experience, and practical ability.. Such a character, sir, it is the glory as well as the wisdom of a great and frecipeople to honour, whether in life or in-death ; although, alas ! it is too frequently only when the man has passed from the scene that we begin-to estimate hie character aright. Sir, it was the conviction that one possessed of these great qualities had just been snatched-away from among us by the hand of God, after a long life of single-hearted devotion to his -country's welfare, that roused the working men of this town, hearing of the death of Sir Robert Peel, to call a public meeting and to set on foot a subscription for -a monument to his memory. They felt at that time, and I believe they still feel, and will never forget, that the whole energies of his-later life were devoted to the improvement of their condition, ins,greatest fitiancial achieve- ments had for their object the relief of the labouring classes. It is not my business to prove that every hope of Peel was realized, or that every pre- diction-of his wisdom and experience was fulfilled. Yet, sir, I think he Is a bold man who will venture to say that the condition of the great mass 'eY the people has not been most materially and providentiallyitoproved ; that the changes effected by Sir Robert Peel in our system of taxation have not produced a vastly improved state of feeling between the different classes of society, and especially between the agricultural and manufacturing inte- rests. (long-continued cheers.) But, sir, in recalling these -great sets, 'a generous people Villa& forget the:ceet Of the man himself at which these' benefits were obtained for them. They will not forget, that-to purchase-hie- country's welfare he willingly forfeited all that was most dear to his own heart as a public man, except that country—his political friendships, his power, and his peace. It has been said of a great orator and statesman of the last century, that he 'for party gave up what was meantlor mankind '- Sir Robert Peel has given us a noble examp el of the reverse of that epigram; For mankind—for the benefit of the great body of his countrymen—be cheer- fully gave up' all the personal consequence he enjoyed, all the vast power be wielded as the leader of the ruling party in the state, and retired amid the bitterest obloquy into what might be called a private station. Yet not as some Men renowned in history did he retire. His was not the selfish. re- tirement of wounded vanity. He never deserted hie country to Bulk in a so-called philosophic obscurity. (Cheers) He remained at his post .to the last, and was taken away with the words of a most calm and impressive. speech on an important question of foreign policy trembling as it were npon; his tongue. Such, air, in my estimation at least, was the late Sir 'Robert Peel; such the'mkn-to whom a few—I think, eir, too 'few—of the inhabi-;_ tents of this great manufacturing town-have sought-103de honour by erecting wet:MAN to hie memory." :(Cireat'oheering.) • - - • - " The annual meeting of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce took place on Monday ; Mr. Heath in the chair. The proceedings were con- fined to the reception of a report, stating the legislative changes made in laws bearing on commerce during the session. In the course of a speech on the report, one of the Borough Members, -Mr. Horsfall, told an anec- dote connected with the passage of the Bills of Lading Act, which amusingly illustrates "midnight legislation." A bill was drawn by the American Chamber of Commerce, and Mr. Baring, Mr. Cairns, Mr. Brown, and himself, presented it ; and as the law now _stood the holder of a bill of lading had not only .a right to the property to which it'referred, but the right of recovery should it be damaged, or in a case of short delivery. The promotera of the bill were desirous that flower should be taken under the bill to detain any foreign vessel until the claim had been settled for damage or short delivery. To this the Vice-President of the Beard of Trade, Mx. Bouverie, objected ; and, on a division, the House re- jected the clause. In looking over the list of the majority who vated against the clause, he found eighteen Members of the Government, and two Members who intended to vote with them, but did not. The hill did not come on be- fore one o'clock in the morning, and the Scotch Education Bill had occupied the whole of the evening. It was not an interesting subject to many ho- nourable Members; many were fast asleep.; and two admitted to him after- wards, that in voting for the Bill of Lading they thought it was the Scotch Education Bill. (Great lauskter.) Mr. Wooler was not formally committed for trial for poisoning his wife till last Saturday. On that day the depositions were read over ; some witnesses made corrections in their evidence ; and the Chairman asked the accused if he had anything to say in answer to the charge. Mr. Wooler replied— "I thank God Almighty that lean say from the bottom of my heart that I am as innocent as any of you three gentlemen .aitting- there ; and I trust that Almighty God, -before whom I stand, will bring to light the atrocious criminal who has perpetrated this foul deed."
'The inquest on Mrs. Emma Candy, at Clapton in Somersetshire, has ter- minated. At the last sitting, a woman who bad formerly- been servant to Mr. Candy detailed what Mrs. Candy had told -her; which, if true, would show that Mr. Candy had been guilty of 'the grossest familiarities with his cousin the dairy-maid. Mrs. Candy had talked of committing suicide. No further-evidence was adduced to show who administered the arsenic to Mrs. Candy ; and the Jury -returned a verdict that she had died from poison, "by whom given we-have not sufficient evidence to prove."
The village of Cudham, near Bromley -in Kent, has been the scene of a frightful crime. Beagley, a labourer, left his wife and very aged mother in his cottage in the morning : on returning home in the evening with his son, he found the door fastened ; when he had forced an entrance the discovered his wife a coipse, and his mother insensible' both having been beaten on the head with a pair of tongs. The cottage had been plundered. Old Mrs. Beagley hits survived as yet, but has not recovered consciousness. Suspicion has fallen on two men—that is, it is thought that °neer them committed the murder, not that both were engaged in it. They are very bad characters, and they left Cudham on the day of the crime.
'Two schooners came into collision off Whitby on Sunday, and one, the Charles of Lyme, sank : four of thecrew perished.
'A short time back, the schooner Henry, while lying at night in Dover Roads, was run down by the Vivid mail-steamer, and some of the crew were drowned. Very contradictory testimony has been given as to whether the schooner exhibited a light ; but the Coroner's Jury came to the conclusion that she did, for they returned a verdict of "Manslaughter" against John 'Watson, master of the Vivid, and Kidham and May, the look-out men.
A document was then read, stating that the Committee did thereby hand over the statue to Mr. John Palmer, the Mayor, to be held here- after as the property of the Corporation ; and on behalf of that body Mr. Palmer briefly returned thanks. [This took place on the eve of the com- mencement of the Musical Festival ; fifteen years ago, Sir Robert Peel, coming from Drayton to attend the Musical Festival, was hooted and insulted in the Amens of the same town.]
Some time since, Mr. Adderley, M.P., offered ten acres of land at Salt- ley for the formation of a park for the people of Birmingham; but he de- sired a nominal rent to be paid to him, to have a voice in framing the regulations, and a guarantee for the proper laying-out of the ground : apparently from 40010 misunderstanding of the scope of these conditions, the Town-Council declined Mr. Adderley'm offer. Determined that the public shall not suffer from this, Mr. Adderley has announced that he will se i aside the ten acres as a playground for all alums net attempt- ing to fence or plant the plot.
There are two candidates for the seat vacated by the succession of Lord Mandeville to the Dukedom of Manchester. The Liberals have put forward Mr. lleatheote, Chairman of the Huntingdon Board of Guardians; the Conservatives have named Mr. Rust, Chairman of Quarter-Sessions. The latter feels little confidence in her Majesty's Ministers, but he will support them in the vigorous prosecution of a war undertaken not only to defeat the Ruseian plans of aggrandizement for the present, but to se- cure an effectual guarantee for the future.
Mr. S. B. Yarde Buller, a son of Sir John Yards Buller M.P., has offered himself for the auffisges of the Conservative electors of Totness. As the present Duke of Somerset, who has ceased to be Member by his succession to the Peerage, has not yet returned from the Baltic, no candi- date in the Somerset interest has been put forward.
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