The Aberystwith Observer

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. In the House of Lords on Friday, March 15, lord" Carnarvon asked the Government whether they had received any infor- mation which would shed light upon the telegrain from Turin, announcing the positive cession by the King .of Sar- dinia of Savoy to France. The Duke of Newcastle appealed to the House against the practice which was growing ul., of founding questions upon telegrams published, in the news- papers. lord Malmesbury acknowledged the right of the Govern- men: to refuse to answer questions, but could not allow that j noble lords should forego the privilege of putting them. Their lordships then adjourned. In the House of Commons Mr. Bright called attention to certain imputations which Mr. Xewdegate had made upon Mr. Cobden, to the effect that that hon. gentlej nan had be- come Xapoleonised, and had expressed admiration for tiie J Government of Russia. Mr. Bright having read a letter from 11 r. Cobden utterly denying the truth of the allegations made by Mr. Newdegate, called upon that gentleman to ex- plain or retract his statement. Mr. Newdegate stated his authority to be A Private Correspondent" of the Manchester Guardian, and proceeded to indulge in a general attack upon Mr. Cobden, in the course of which he was repeatedly called to order by the Speaker, as well as by the House. On the motion for adjournment till Monday, a long array of subjects, fourteen in number, stood on the notice-paper for discussion, comprising a sufficient variety to satisfy the most ardent supporter of free debate on Friday evenings Each of these subjects was broached, and most of them to a limited extent debated; but the only one of any import- ance was the answer of Lord J. Russell to a dispatch of Lord Bloom field, our Ambassador at Berlin, dated the 3rd of March respecting the overture of Prussia on the annexation of Savoy and Nice to France. After some debate on this the motion for adjournment was agreed to. m (,t *(,n After numerous questions and answers, Mr. M. Milnes made an earnest appeal to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that he would act with generosity towards those public ser- I vants who might lose their situations in consequence of the altera! ions in the Customs and Excise duties. Sir. Gladstone protested against the doctrine of Govern- ments o>-Houses of Commons being what is called generous with the public money, but assured his hon. friend that the Chairman of the Board oi Customs would make the altera- tions which might be necessary, in accordance with the strictest principles of justice and equity, and with every disposition to prevent or mitigate personal distress. In answer to Mr. Edwin James, Mr. Gladstone made a further explanation respecting wine licenses. lie said that as the bill stood, beerhouses would be able to obtain licenses for the sale of wine. On the order for going in a Committee of Supply, Sir De Lacy Evans, who had given notice of a series of resolutions oil the subject of the expedition against China, drew attention to the vast armament which was to form that expedition, and which must cost, he said, an enormous sum of money, with little chance of its being repaid by the Imperial Government at Pekin. He thought it would not be desirable that the troops should march upon that capital, and he hoped that Lord J. Russell would be able to inform the House that strict instructions would be given for the conduct of the expedition. He fore- bore to move the resolutions of which he had given notice, and substituted a resolution founded upon the wish expressed in Her Majesty's speech on the opening of the present Session:—" It will be gratifying to me if the prompt ac- quiescence of the Emperor of China in the moderate de- mands which will be made by the Plenipotentiaries shall obviate the necessity for the employment of force." Lord John Russell said with respect to the military opera- tions it would be very inconvenient and unwise to prescribe such strict injunctions, that the commanding officers would find themselves bound thereby, so that whatever circum- stances might occur, they would be compelled to obey them. As to marching upon Pekin, there would be no need of it, unless all fair and reasonable terms should be refused but it would be wrong to give particular instructions not to march thither. J«o one could possibly regret more than he did the necessity of this expedition, but the persons and property of our traders must be secured, and he thought that our Ministers in China should have the power not only of going to but of residing at the capital. It might be more convenient that he should permanently reside at Shanghai, but he should be at liberty to proceed, if necessary, to Pekin. He con- sidered that we were entitled to an indemnity, but he was convinced that no man was more anxious to maintain peaceful relations with China than Lord Elgin. A warm debate ensued, in which Mr. Bright, Sir J. Pakington, Mr. Whiteside, and Mr. Cochrane condemned the policy of the Government, which was defended by Mr. Sidney Herbert and Lord Palmerston Mr. Hope, Sir H. Vrney, and Mr. C. Bruce also defended the conduct of Admiral Hope and Mr. Bruce in the attack at the mouth of the Peilio. Ultimately the amendment, though understood to have been moved, was not put from the Chair, and the House went into Committee of Supply, when, on the motion of Mr. S. Herbert, a vote of credit of 850,0001., on account of China, was agreed to. Certain bills were forwarded through their respective stages, and the House adjourned. In the House of Lords on Monday, March 19, Lord Teynham, in a long speech, moved that it is expedient, in the election of members to serve in Parliament, that the votes of the electors be taken by ballot," and stated that he neither wished for the vote by ballot of America nor or Victoria, which was not secret, but of the other colonies, whose particular system he did not specify. The Duke of Newcastle was at a less to discover, during the hour and a half he had listened to Lord Teynham, any connexion betwen the speech of the noble lord and the evils he wished to remedy. He did not look upon the ballot as a party, but as a social and moral, and, in a certain sense, as a political question. The ballot would never work without greater attendant evils than those sought to be rectified, and those who desired to introduce the ballot into this country argued upon a false analogy between this country and her colonies, where the state of society and the organisation of labour wa3 on a totally different footing. The abo- lition of bribery and intimidation was not to be effected by legislation, but by that which had already effected so much- the improved moral tone of the people of this country. The vote of every man was a trust given him for the public good, and it was not right that he should be relieved of his responsibility in its exercise, as he would be by the pro- tection of the ballot, especially when it was considered that publicity was one of the principal elements of morality and freedom. Their lordships then divided upon the motion, when the numbers were— Contents 4 Not-contents., SO Majority -35 The motion was accordingly los. In the House of Commons, Mr. Kinglake, in addressing certain questions to Her Majesty's Government relative to an appeal made by the Swiss Government to the Powers of Europe, and also to the dispatch which Lord J. Russell had stated on Friday he had received from Count Thouvenel, said that he had received within the last hour and a-half a telegram informing him that the Municipal Council of Nice desired to remain united to the kingdom of Sardinia or, if Franco insisted that the annexation of Nice to Sardinia was incompatible with her safety, Nice wished to 1)3 independent. Lord John Russell, in reply, said Her Majesty's Government had not received the Swiss note and, with reference to the other inquiries, he asked the forbearance of the House, observing that questions of this nature tended seriously to embarrass the Government. THE REFORM BILL. On the order for the second reading of the Representation of the People Bill, ,1.1 Mr. Disraeli observed that the framers of this bill had claimed for it the merit of simplicity, but simplicity was of an ambiguous character. The end proposed by the Bill was "to amend the laws relating to the representation of the people in England and Wales," and its principles were the extension of the suffrage in counties and boroughs, and a new distribution of Parliamentary seats but he did not see in this Bill any allusion to tiie primary and necessary topics of registration and facilities for voting. Its omissions were, indeed, its principal features; some of tl;e provisions inti- mately connected with the franchise were entirely ignored. I With reference to its first principle, the extension of the franchise in boroughs, he remarked that the late Govern- ment, in their Reform Bill, did not look only to numbers, but to the fitness of those who were to receive the suffrage; this was not, however, the prin- ciple upon which the present Government had pro- ceeded. The existing borough constituency of England was 440,000, to which number this bill would add 217,000, and this addition would consist almost entirely of oue homogeneous class. It was important to consider how this new constituency must act upon the old. In some boroughs the constituency would be trebled, in others doubled, and about one-half of the boroughs would be under the influence of the new class about to be enfranchised. He wished to put before the House the probable result of these facts. Had the new class shown no inclination to combine, or were they incapable of organisation ? Quite the reverse. The working classes of this country had shown a remarkable talent for organisation, and a power of discipline and com- bination inferior to none, and to these classes the bill was about to give predominant power. He thought a measure which founded the constituency upon the principle of numbers, not fitness, and which added 200,000 electors, composing one homogeneous class, having the same interest, who would neutralise the voices of the present borough con;, stituency, was not a wise and well-considered one. The next principle was the reduction of the county franchise. In reducing the qualification for this franchise one considera- tion should, he said, be observed the constituency should be fairly connected with the chief property and the chief in- du stry of the country. This great consideration was not observed if freeholders in a town, where votes might be split, were to bo allowed to vote for a district with which they had no local sympathy or connection. Then the 4tli clause, which would disfranchise a great number of voters for counties, would greatly reduce the influence of the landed interest, and he objected to the bill because the reconstruction of the county franchise tended to diminish that salutary influence. The third principle of the hill—the redistribution of Parlia- mentary seats, he objected to on the ground that it went too far, or not far enough, and that it was radically unsound. Then the question was, what ought to be done? It was a very bad bill: he knew only two members who approved it, —its author and the member for Birmingham. His opinion was that by the bill of 18r)g the franchise would have been p more extended thau by this bill but he was not prepared to say that he would reject the bill upon the second reading. He hoped, however, that ultimately this uncalled-for and mischievous measure would be withdrawn. Mr. Leatham said that if the measure of her Majesty's Government was regarded mainly as a suffrage bill, it fully deserved the hearty appreciation with which it had been met throughout the country. As a suffrage bill it appeared to him to be incomparably better than any other measure hitherto laid upon the table. One of its great merits was its simplicity, and another its reality. There was no attempt to jugg'le with the franchise there was no attempt to conceal unpleasant or sinister features behind a cloud of fancy franchises. The noble lord did not filch with one hand what he had bestowed with the other. His left hand was perfectly welcome to know what his right hand did. The people were admitted in a broad and unimpeded stream. One of the main objects of the bill was the admission of the working classes. It appeared to be at one time thought that the working classes coultl not be admitted without at the same time admitting another class-a class represented by petty traders, notoriously of few political sympathies, of small independence, and of very limited education. It was thought that this class was peculiarly ill-fitted to contend against those corrupt influences which might be brought to bear on it. THE LODGER FRANCHISE AND THE WORKING-CLASSES. The right hon. gentleman who had just sat down had criticised the bill, and it would be distasteful to the House that a young member and debater should attempt to follow the right honourable gentleman methodically through his criticism. But there weie a few observations made by the right hon. gentleman to which he (Mr. Leatham) might perhaps be permitted to reply. The right hon. gentleman had stated that the effect of the bd I would be to transfer the predominance of power in some oiling like ons-half of the boroughs of England to another class; but the right hon. gentleman admitted ill the course of his speech that already the working classes exercised great influence upon the franchise—and that, in fact, in the very boroughs in which the change that he deprecated would take place, that pre- dominance had been already in a great measure secured. The right lion, gentleman referred to a fancy franchise, and ;;))oke much about a lodger franchise, but a lodger franchise ,was no fancy franchise at all. A lodger franchise would merely admit the remainder of a class that had been already enfranchised. The fancy franchise, as he (Mr, Leatham) understood it, was a franchise that would select for emfranckiscment the individuals of a class not already en- franchised. The right hon. gentleman spoke about Americanising their institutions, and he (Mr. Leatham) could not understand what he meant. The phrase, he believed, did not originate with the right honourable gen- tleman, and it was a phrase which he (Mr. Leatham) was puzzled to comprehend. NO MENTION OF THE BALLOT. A Bill further to amend the laws relating to the represen- tation of the people," appeared to him (Mr. Leatham) to be a comprehensive and ambitious title for the measure of the noble lord. It would appear that he undertook to deal with the entire electoral system—to remove anomalies-to reduce inequalities, and to abolish injustice and, regarding the measure in that comprehensive point of view, he regretted he was unable to extend to the remainder of the Bill the same humble and hearty approbation. (Hear, hear.) He regretted that there was no mention whatever in it of the ballot. Such was his apprehension of the difficulty and in- convenience that might occur from the exercise of intimida- tion towards electors in a subordinate position in counties, that if he did not believe that after this Bill was passed the ballot would become inevitable, it would be with a feeling of reluctance he would support the clause in the Bill that dealt with the franchise in counties He had also to complain of the tender and limited way in which her Majesty's Govern- ment proposed to deal with the privileges of the micro- scopical constituencies. WHY ARE THE LITTLE BOROUGHS NEGLECTED? Was the noble lord unable to find a borough so diminu- tive or so corrupt but that it must continue to have a voice in the Legislature equal to the gigantic constituency of Sal- ford? Whatever might be the arguments by which the noble lord defended the existence of those diminutive constitu- encies, he (Mr. Leatham), although he yielded to no hon. member in that House in the very profound respect and hearty admiration which he felt for the noble lord—and although it was therefore wiih a feeling of great hesitation and diffidence that he ventured to criticise anything that had fallen from the noble lord-he must say he did not un- derstand the remark, that it was to the petty boroughs they must look for their statesmen. Did not the observa- tion imply that the larger boroughs sent persons to that House who were absorbed in trade-that the counties sent persons who were absorhed in agriculture—but that it was from the petty boroughs alone sprung that divine race to whom, thoughigaorant perhaps ot commerce and agriculture, Providence had committed the care of the great agricultural and commercial country ? But that argument was one that was not altogether original. AN INSTALMENT OF REFORM. The noble lord had expressed his great compassion for the keen and acute feelings of the constituency of little Ped- dlington. The noble lord had said that the feelings excited in their representatives were equally acute and keen, and that if they were interfered with the result might be that the Government measure would be thrown out. Against that argument he (Mr. Leatham) had not a single word to say. All he regretted was that the noble lord should have expended all his compassion on the electors of little Ped- r dlington, and that there was no pity left to him to expend upon the hundreds of thousands of electors throughout the country who smarted under the sense of being inadequately represented, in order that the keen and acute feelings of the electors of Little Peddlington should be consulted. The noble lord had offered this bill as "an instalment to the country, and as an instalment let it be accepted. But he would venture humbly to suggest whether it would not be more statesmanlike to have dealt with a great national question without reference to parliamentary majorities. AN OPPORTUNITY THROWN AWAY. He regretted that her Majesty's Ministers had not thought it consistent with their duty to follow that course, because he foresaw that the work which engaged them at that mo- ment would engage them agaiii-to the prejudice of the legislation of the country. He regretted it, too, because an opportunity for securing the confidence of the people had been flung away, and so long as they persisted in the policy advised by the right hon. gentleman opposite-a policy of apprehension, suspicion, and distrust-so long would they have ta deal with a suspicious and distrustful people. But' if ever they should have courage enough to take this great nation completely into their confidence, and should pass a measure which would recognise that confidence, his firm conviction was, that in place of the evils which the right hon. gentleman anticipated, they would add new life to the State, new lustre to the Crown, and glorious centuries to the history of England. Mr. Bailliesaid, ifthe property qualification in boroughs were abandoned, he should prefer household suffrage and, with respect to counties, he objected to reducing the franchise so low as 10Z. He objected, likewise, to the retention of small borough franchises. Mr. Baxter believed that the extending of the franchise to the working classes would strengthen, not impair, the founda- tions of our institutions. Those classes were intelligent, and he did not think that the people of this country were in the habit of voting in classes. The Bill had, he admitted, defects. He objected to the fourth clause, which required the building occupied jointly with land to be of the value of 51. to give a county franchise and the redistribution of seats was not, in his opinion, satisfactory. Mr. Rolt said, if he rightly understood this measure, it made a large step towards severing the representation of the people from the property of the country. This he took to be its true principle. The bill of 18 i2 did this professedly, and it was now proposed to do this a second time in little more than a quarter of a century. He warned the House that they could not stop at this point; they must proceed to household suffrage, and then to universal suffrage. An example of this step-by-step legislation and its results would be seen among a people with notions akin to burs, in the State of New York, the conventions in which furnished traces of an agrarian law. The effect of the American system upon the Executive was that opinion was coloured and action dictated by the masses, while the Legislature was represented by their own writers to be demoralised. These were the results of reforming their Constitution by men of our own race, and he thought that we should take some lessons from them. If this measure did, as he believed it did, weaken and disturb the connexion between property and the representation, he should give an emphatic" no" to the motion for the second reading. After some remarks from Mr. Campbell and Mr. Lid dell, Mr. Bright said he was in one respect in the same condition as Mr. Disraeli he did not desire to reject the second reading of the Bill, but 118 should not endeavour to persuade the House that it was a dangerous and fatal measure; on the contrary, though anxious for a good measure of Par- liamentary reform, he was ready to make due allowance for the difficulty of dealing with this question. It was evi- dent that the Bill met with two kinds of objectors—one who thought it went too far; another who wished it to go further. He did not oppose or advocate it upon either ground. He regarded the measure as the fulfilment of a pledge given by the Government. As to the redistribution of seats, he had thought it would be better that the reform should be by steps, and this was a Bill for reducing the franchise in coun- ties and boroughs; it did not settle the question of disfranchisement, or the transfer of seats it rather un- settled it. If it passed, it would not add more than 160,000 to the borough constituency. And how many of these would be working men? Not more than 100,000; and how could it then be said that they would swamp the other classes ? The objection that the measure did not go far enough was more difficult to answer, and was a rational objection. He thought this parsimony on the part of the House was a mistake that the character of the lower classes would justify a more liberal view of the matter. But if 300,000 or 400,000 were admitted to the franchise, he could not refuse the measure, because in his opinion these numbers ought to be doubled. He thought the Bill failed in certain points. He objected to the rate- paying clauses, to the 4th clause, and to other details of the Bill. With regard to the ballot, that question would be brought under consideration upon a future occasion, and he was convinced that, under this Bill, there would be a still U greater necessity for that measure. Upon the whole, he urged upon the other side that, under the circumstances of the country, it was their duty as well as their interest to accept the Bill. After some remarks by Mr. Knightley in opposition to the Bill, the debate, on tke motion of Mr. Stansfield, was adjourned. On the report of the Committee of Supply, General Peel entered into a variety of details connected with the army estimates, and especially upon the subject of the China expedition, upon which inquiries were also made by Sir H. Willoughby, Sir J. Elphinstone, and Colonel P. Herbert, and replies and explanations were given by Mr. S. Herbert and Sir C. Wood. The report was agreed to, and, after some further busi- ness, the House adjourned. In the House of Lords on Tuesday, March 20, the Earl of Shaftesbury asked if it were true that the Militia Artillery are to be disembodied. The Earl de Grey said that Lord Shaftesbury had not been correctly informed. There were at present thirteen regiments of militia artillery embodied, and it was intended to disembody four of them, but the dis- embodiment would not go further at present. The Earl of Ellenborough wished to know whether the Royal Artillery was to be reduced in strength. He had heard that such was the intention of the Government, and he strongly deprecated this change. The present condition of public affairs was by no means such as to justify a dimiuu- tion in our strength. The Duke of Newcastle could assure the noble lord that the report to which he had alluded had no foundation whatever. Several private bills were read a third time. The Packet Service Bill passed through committee. The Consolidated Fund (4,500,0001.) Bill passed through committee. The Earl of Derby said he should ask the Government on Thursday, at what time they proposed to adjourn for the Easter recess; Their lordships then adjourned. In the House of Commons Mr. Edwin James asked the Attorney-General whether executors and other persons interested in obtaining grants of probate and administration interested in obtaining grants of probate and administration can at present obtain them in the principal registry of the Court of Probate by personal application, as they are able to do in the several district and, if not, what impediment exists to their ability to make such personal application without the intervention of professional assistance. Sir R. Bethell said that in the Act it was stated that for the present applications must be made through a solicitor or proctor, so that in the London district application must be made through a professional person. That course had been taken in consequence of the want of accommodation in the principal registry, but he was assured that accommodation would be afforded as soon as possible, so that the evil would then be remedied. Colonel Herbert asked the Secretary of State for India whether his attention had been drawn to a very painful account of the state of our soldiers, or discharged soldiers, on board the hired transport the Great Tasmania, lately arrived from India. Sir C. Wood said his attention had been called to the circumstance. The vessel had been visi- ted by the officials of the Government, and a strict inquiry was at present going on. Some of the provisions were put on board by the Government and some by the captain. THE BALLOT. Mr. Berkeley rose to move for leave to bring in a bill to cause the votes of the electors of Great Britain and Ireland to be taken by way of ballot.. He proceeded to refer to the committee from which resulted the Corrupt Practices Pre- vention Act, which, he said, instead of being called a Corrupt Practices Prevention Act, should have been called a Corrupt Practices Protection Act. He asked the House to allow his bill to be read a first time, so that it might have the same chance as the bill of the hon. member for Nottingham (Mr. Mellor), and the hon. member for Suffolk (Sir F. Kelly). He must say he should be very much surprised if the House did give him that permission (laughter). It was a bill founded upon that principle which he con- sidered calculated to give electors at the polling booth that protection which was necessary to secure purity of election, the absence of which was such a foul blot on the national escutcheon. Mr. Marsh gave a description of the effects of the ballot in Australia (speaking of New South Wales), which differed from Mr. Berkeley's. He did not attribute the prosperity of the colony to the ballot, which, in his opiniomhad produced grpat evils. Mr. C. Fortescue said he had given but one vote, several years ago, upon this question, and that was in favour of the ballot. That vote was given without sufficient examination since that time he had thought a great deal upon the sub- ject, and the more he thought the less he liked the ballot. In most cases, he believed, it would atford no protection against intimidation, and in the others the protection would be purchased at too great a cost, the sacrifice of character and honesty. Mr. Lawson, in supporting the motion, argued that from the want of a better organised machinery5 in tbe Reform Act of 1835, bribery and intimidation had not decreased and that the only remedy which could be effectual was a preventive one,-the ballot. Lord Palmerston gravely assured Mr. Berkeley that nothing in his speech had altered the opinion he had entertained. He still thought that the franchise was a trust, and not a right. If it was a right, a man could do what he liked with his vote, so that Mr. Berkeley's doctrine would go to legalise bribery. As long as it was held to be a trust, a man was guilty of a moral and a political offence if he bartered it away. Every political function in this country was exercised in the eyes of the public and if the ballot became law he repeated that, in his opinion, it would degrade and demoralise the people of this country and turn the electors into law-breakers or hypocrites. After a brief reply by Mr. Berkeley, the" House divided, when the motion was negatived by 2oi to 147. After some unimportant business, the House was counted out. In the House of Commons on Wednesday, after the trans- action of a good deal of business, Lord John Russell stated Government thought it of pressing importance to bring on as soon as possible, the resolution as to the Income-tax in Committee of Ways and Means He should, therefore, propose to bring on that resolution to-morrow (Thursday) and also the adjourned debate on the Representation of the People Bill. In reply to Sir F. Kelly and Mr. Sotheron Estcourt, Lord J. Russell stated that in case either oi those questions could not come on to morrow, it should be brought on on Friday. Mr. Dillvvyn moved the second reading of the Endowed Schools Bill. Ho entered at some length into a history of preceding bills on this question, condemning the introduc- tion of the principle of usage which had been imported into the subject, and declaring the bill of Lord Cranworth in the other house was merely a homoeopathic remedy, and would be totally unequal to meet the grievance that was felt. Afr. Hadfield seconded the motion. Mr. Lowe, on the part of the government, opposed the bill. He considered that the bill would seriously interfere with Church property, while it would not place Dissenters in so good a position as they would be placed in by the pro- visions of another bill before the house. Mr. Selwyn, considering that the bill admitted of no com- promise, moved that it be read a second time that day six months. Mr. Longfield seconded the amendment. The whole of the provisions of the bill tended to infliet grievances rather than to heal them. After some remarks from Lord Fermoy, Mr. Baines, Mr. Roebuck, and other gentlemen the House divided, when there appeared for the second reading, 120 against it, 190. The bill was therefore lost. The Mutiny Bill was read a third time and passed. The Marine Mutiny Bill was read a third time and passed. The Municipal Corporation Mortgages Bill was read a third time and passed. The Inclosure Bill was read a third time and passed. On the motion of Colonel Dunne, the" following returns were ordered:—Of the number of officers, non-commissioned officers, and men in depot batalions belonging to regiments serving in India. SimilarreturTi for regiments serving in the colonies, and similar return for regiments serving in the United Kingdom. Of the expenses incurred ior the com- mission appointed to inquire into the state of the store establishment at Weedon, detailing the expenses of pre- paring the accounts, auditing them,- expenses of witnesses, and all other objects. The House then adjourned.

BOLD VICTOR EMMANUEL! The official act of the annexation of the iEmilian provinces to Sardinia took place on Sunday at Turin, when Signor Farini handed over to the King, in public audience, the legal document, containing the returns of the votes by universal suffrage of the people of the .IEmilia; and the King, in receiving it, deli- vered a speech to the effect that lie henceforward would feel proud to call the people of the Æmilia his people. The report that a delay would take place with regard to the annexation of the Romagni, has, there- fore, not been verified. On the contrary, King Victor Emmanuel took particular care distinctly to add that he accepted the offer made by the people of the Komagna likewise, without, however, failing in his devotedness to the Chief of the Church, to whose sovereignty he was ready to pay homage, and to whose exchequer he was ready to contribute. The King reserved the assent of his Parliament to the step taken by him, but this did not prevent the decree of annex- ation being published at once in the Official Gazette. It is expected that the annexation of Tuscany will follow in a few days. The city of Turin was en fete on Sunday evening, and so was Pi lore iiee, where, on that day, the publication of the result of the vote had been celebrated by a solemn religious ceremony, the Archbishop himself intoning the Te Deum."

The Times makes the following comments upon this matter:— The King of Sardinia, dpig taken the step for which he has so long been He has laid his hands unon the Datrimoni of St. Peter. Modena and Parma had already been\allowed to;gravitate. to the forming mass of Italian power, and the mere appearance of the decree which annexed them to Sardinia would have caused but slight sensation. But this formal State paper is accompanied by a declaration whicll startles many who have accustomed them,-elveato believe that there was real power latent under the threatenings and la- mentations that came to us from, Rome. This King of a half-formed Kingdom, Ostentatiously deserted by his great protector, denounced as & sacrilegious robber by all the adherents of the old Papacy throughout Christendom, and bitterly hated by every nation which, like Austria and Spain, makes religious bigotry the spring of its civil system, advances as calmly to seize a province of the States of the Church as an English soldier would walk up to take a jewel out of the head of an Indian idol. When Farim-Iays before Victor Emmanuel the resuli of the suffrages, his master de- clares his acceptance not only of the States of Modena and Parma, but also of the Romagna, which has already separated itself from the Papal Government."

THE LATE MR. BARON WATSON. We extract the following biographical sketch of the late Baron Watson (who, it will be remembered, died suddenly last week at Welshpool, whilst discharging his judicial functions) from the Solicitors' Journal The 13th of March has of late proved a fatal day for the English bench. It was not many years since that on the 13th of March the people of Stafford witnessed the terribly affecting scene of a judge dying in the public court arrayed in his judicial robes, while his solemn but glowing words were still ringing in the ears of those who were present. On the 13th of the present March another and not less distinguished or beloved judge was removed from his labours, under circum- stances strangely similar. Mr. Baron Watson, we believe, was born at Ban- borough, in 1796. His father was a colonel in the army, who died young, leaving a widow and the late Baron, his only child. After the death of the colonel, his widow made application to the late Duke of York for aconmission for her son, which she obtained in 1811; and thus it was the late Baron commenced life as an officer in the 1st Royal Dragoons, and served in Spain and France under the Duke of Wellington. He was at Waterloo, and was amongst the ranks of the allied army which entered Paris after the final defeat of Napoleon. When peace was proclaimed, Mr. Wat- son exchanged his sword for a student's gown, and the excitement of the battle, field for the quiet seclusion of a pleader's chambers. Having retired from the army in 1817, he entered himself a student of Lincoln's Inn, and after the usual probation, commenced his legal life as a special pleader outside the bar; and as such lie enjoyed for many years a very large practice, which ultimately so much increased as to oblige him, for the sake of his health, to seek relief from the too sedentary occupation, in the more exciting career which was open to him at the bar. It was not until the year 1832 that he attained the dignity of a barrister-at-law, although long before that period he had earned the reputation of an accomplished common lawyer. Mr. Watson soon joined the Northern Circuit, where, after some time, he acquired a considerable business, and the position of one of the acknowledged leaders. In November, 1856, he was appointed a Baron of the Court of Ex- chequer, and, according to the usual custom, received the honour of knighthood. The late judge was in Parliament during two sessions. He sat for Kinsale from 1841 to 1847, and for Hull from 1854 to 1856. He wrote two learned and valuable works, which have become standard text- books on the subjects to which they relate- Watson on Arbitration," and "Watson on the Office and Duties of Sheriff," are well known to every English lawyer, and are so often the subject of reference and quotation by all lawyers that they need no encomium from us. As a writer upon legal subjects his language is clear and his exposition of the law sound. The deceased judge was most popular on his circuit. In his practice in London, a "leader" of the bar is only brought into communion with men of junior standing in the hurried intercourse of business crowded hours. On circuit he lives in public view of a small community. He is in hourly contact with its members. Some he leads in court, with some he chats, with some he walks, and some he advises. The day thus spent is crowned by the social mess. Thus he becomes known to all. To a man of genial disposition like Mr. Wat son, 'the opportunities thus afforded of pleasant converse and friend-making are the source of infinite pleasure. He fully enjoyed them, and by his amiable qualities' secured to himself so much regard as to pro- cure him hearty sympathy in his repeated disappoint- ments of promotion. Many a junior will long remember him as a kind-hearted, accessible man, whose amusing anecdotes have enlivened many a passing hour. He was a successful advocate, though his style of speaking was far from ornate, not to say involved and un- grammatical. Yet its honest, hearty outbursts, homely but forcible, frequently won upon those who were deaf to the vociferous and well-rounded periods of more ambitious declaimers. One instance of this comes back; to us as we write, the celebrated case of crim, con. -=- -=- -= Evans v. Robinson," first tried before Mr. Justice Crowder, at Liverpool. One and the same act of adultery was sworn to by three witnesses, yet the learned counsel, in spite of their evidence, and in spite of the efforts pf a formidable selection of rival brethren, induced the jury to give him a verdict for the defend- ant. It was clearly against the evidence, and a new tnal was in consequence granted. The deceased judge was of active personal habits. Riding and walking were a large part of his recreation. His memory was most retentive, especially of a period so interesting" to his younger hearers as the two or three years preceding 1814. From that date he could recal anecdotes of Wellington and his victorious army bring- ing to a close their brilliant deeds in the Peninsula and South of France. One personal quality he prided himself on was his recollection of faces and the names of their owners. This quality of recognition he retained to the last; and many a man who deemed himself un- known, or likely to be forgotten, was delighted to find that he was remembered; and the judge was not too proud to recognise him. Perhaps his fame as a judge would have stood higher had he been earlier elevated to the bench while his powers were in their prime. No one, however, can deny that he had an untiring love of justice, an honest sympathy with right, and hatred of wrong. His promotion came to him when his heart was sick with hope deferred, but it was a fair recom- pense for long recognised claims. A just and true- hearted man, many will mourn him. Baron Watson was twice married. His first wife was Miss Armstrong, iiister of Sir William Armstrong, wno has of late become so famous as an inventor of new artillery. His second wife, Lady Watsou, survives; and we trust that it may be some consolation to her in her present affliction to know that the blow which has fallen upon her has been felt throughout the entire pro- fession, who, probably without an exception, regarded the lata Baron with feelings of high respect and of affectionate regard. r-"D.7-

SWITZERLAND HAS "BELLED THE CAT." The Times' correspondent, writing" from Paris upon the question of the annexation of Savoy to France, says:— Amid the jeneral silence of the Governments of Europe on the annexation of Savoy, one State—and that not the most powerful—has raised its voice against that act. Switzerland, remembering, perhaps, the stand she made on the Neufchatel affair two or three years ago, or the memorable courage of less recent date, when she braved the anger of Louis Phi- lippe's Government, and the invasion of her territory by 25,000 French troops, ready to punish her for the asylum she affor(led to Prince Louis Napoleon in 183,t, -Switzerland has "belled the cat." I sent you a telegraphic message last night, announcing that Dr. Kern, the Swiss Minister in Paris, had deposited in the hands of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs a protest similar to that which has been forwarded to the Sardinian Government. Switzerland, thinking she has cause for uneasiness at the consequences which the absolute absorption by France of the provinces ofFaucigny and Chablais would create for her own neutrality and independence, and taking her stand upoR existing treaties, appeals to the Great Pewers who have signed them. She may take her stand, among other thing-s, ou the 92nd Article of the Final Act signed at Vienna by the Plenipotentiaries of Austria, Spain, France, Great Britain, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, and Sweden, specifying that "the provinces of Chablais and Faucigny, and the whole of the territory of Savoy to the north of Ugine belonging to His Majesty the King of Sardinia, shall form a part of the neu- trality of Switzerland, as it is recognised and guaranteed by the Powers. The note which Switzerland addresses to the Powers who have guaranteed her neutrality will doubtless be fortified by additional arguments. In the meantime Dr. Kern, the Swiss envoy in Paris, has presented to M. Thouvenel, the French minister, a formal protest against the proposed annexation of Chablais and Faucigny to France. A similar protest has been made at Turin. Perhaps the Emperor himstelf would not be indisposed to admit the claims of the Confederation, as brought forward in their protest but there are other influences at work, so liberal and so radical as to resist every juster feeling, and to absorb the whole of Savoy, neutralised provinces and all. What Prussia will do remains to be seen; but I believe that, in spite of her differences a couple of years ago with the Confederation, she is, on the present question, of the same mind as Switzerland.

The Morning Post has the following:— This question, if we are not misinformed, stands thus at present Sardinia is about to cede Savoy and Nice by treaty to France. France will then consult the popula"- tions as to whether they choose annexation to France or a separate independence. If they select the latter, 'then Savoy will be constituted an Independent State. 'If the former, the result will be communicated to the Great Powers. In the case of serious disapproval and opposition on the part of the European States-which, however, is not anticipated—then France would probably consent to the establishment of Savoy as an independent State but these are, as the French say, eventualities of the future. What is positive is, that France -will never consent, under any circumstances, to the retention of what are called "the French slopes of the Alps," by Sardinia, enlarged, as she French slopes of the Alps," by Sardinia, enlarged, as she will be, to a power inferior only to Prussia.

NEWS FROM SEBASTOPOL. 2- A vessel named the Eltham has just arrived from Sebas- topol, from the captain of which we fgleau the following particulars Captain Pollard states that Sebastopol remains in the samo forlorn and dilapidated condition as when our troops left Baialdava. Inkerman aud the Redan bear the same traces of the besieging forces. A few old houses have been converted into habitable dwellings by the Russian soldiers who resided in them. Lord Raglan's house and the churchyard also remain in the condition in which they were left, nor has anything been done in the shape of restoration of the hospital, once one of the most magnificent buildings in Sebas- topol. One portion of the city, which was rendered not wholly uninhabitable, has been patched up by a few poor Jews, who get their living, by going over the desolated fields of battle, picking up the leaden trea- sure, and shot, and shell. During the captain's stay one oi them ^'ho had picked up a shell accidentally let it fall, and the missile not previously having been discharged, burst and killed the poor fellow on the spot. Aitho-Ligh these men have been engaged for a. long time in gathering the shot and shell, and digging the earth for bullets, yet there is an abundance left in all directions. The harbour has been partially filled up. The American Company engaged with the sunken vessels have raised about forty. Ihis work and the making of a patent slip for a dock are almost the only means of employment for the inhabitants. At the beginning of November 1,000,000 roubles, con- tributed by the inhabitants of St. Petersburg, were dis- tributed amongst the residents who had had their pro- perty destroyed, and with this assistance a few have commenced either to rebuild their old property, or erect c new buildings, so that another new field for labour may now have sprung up. The Russians have taken away all the guns from Fort Constantine and the bat- teries. Th Malakoff and Mackenzie's Earm, and the Alma, also remain as when left by our troops. The only tiling noticeable by way of commendation are the roads made by the allies, those made by the English being in every respect superior to those of the French.

THE FRIDAY EVENING INTERLUDES IN PARLIAMENT! In the debate in the House of Commons on Friday evening, Mr. Bouvcrie renewed his complaint upon the subject of the waste of time every Friday evening upou the motion for the adjournment. He believed the practice of discussing all sorts of miscellaneous questions, without order or regularity, was not only a neglect of public business, but was contrary to the standing orders of the House. They had had ten minutes devoted to the coroners of Kent, which no- body would say was a pressing matter. Then a Scotch member (a rare occurrence) committed the error of occupying their time for twenty-five minutes about the Nawab of Carnac. Then two members adopted the new practice of making speeches on asking Ministers if they were prepared to produce certain papers; after that came a ten minutes' talk about Sandhurst College; then three or four minor Indian subjects were discussed then the extension of trade to Central Asia and Thibet; windin up with a mon- ster Irish debate about removing the poor. After that the hon. member for Pontefract occupied them for some time on matters with which the House of Commons had nothing to do. Then the hon. member for Launceston came in for twenty minutes about the French fortifications at St. Pierre and Esquilon, and at least half an hour more upon Savoy, with a state- ment from the Foreign Minister, very interesting. but very much out of place, made in the dinner hour to almost empty benches. The character of the House of Commons as a place of business was being de- stroyed, and the business on Friday nights resembled more than anything else the medley song with which Mr. Albert Smith wound up his entertainment. Ho should on a future day move that thenceforth the day when those irregular performances were to take place should be Thursday instead of Friday.

A TALE OF A CARPET-BAG. The Perthshire Courier, narrates the following amusing story of the adventures and misadventures of a man with a cai-pet-ba. The other day a worthy citizen of ours proceeded to the south on some commercial business in fact, like the blue bonnets, he was bound for the Border. -tie carried with him a carpet-bag containing inter aha_a variety of documents necessary for the discharge ol his business. As he was desirous of killing two dogs with one bone, he took along with him an old foreign print, which had long been in his possession, with the view of disposing of it to some of the Edinburgh prmtsellers. On reaching Modern Athens he went away, carpet bag in hand, to try his luck with the print, and the latter being rare, and probably unique, he soon effected a sale at a handsome price. Seeing that he haa done so well, our worthy friend considered that the very best thing he could do, in the circumstances, was just to treat himself to a gill by way of recompense for his trouble. Finding the carpet bag an inconvenient burden,' he called at a friend's shop in Princes-street, and, making some little purchases, obtained leave tD let the big lie there for t short whi e. Til of incumbrances, he dropped in the nearest tavern, a treated himself so handsomely that when he managtSBfj to get out he had become so obfuscated that though retained some sort of hazy recollection of having left 'J his carpet bag in a shop, he could not, for the life of I' him, recall to mind in what shop lie had left it. Hoff- ,1 ever, along Princes-street he sallied, lurching like a B galleon in a gale of wind, and looked into this shop R p and into that shop inquiring Did a man leave a | carpet bag here ?" The universal answer was, "No, 1 no." The boys about the streets, noticing the thing, 1 began to conceive that this was the veritable man I with the carpetbag" whom they had frequently been h warned by placards to beware of; and as boys aryfy prone to mischief they soon raised a disturbance whicSjt caused our friend to beat a retreat into the first taven^Sj he could find. W Next morning he returned to Perth, because he cong not proceed a single step in his business without hi9 j papers;. In a few days the bag reached him by train*# everything safe and sound—his friend having sent ilR to Perth, on finding that he did not call for it. Over^B .joyed at the recovery, our hero started again for i Edinburgh, and intended, after transacting some little J business there, to take the south traia but on going | into the station he felt a strong craving for a reviver," so, handing his carpet bag to a porter who ( appeared to have charge of passengers' luggage, he went and had, his glass.; but unfortunately falling into conversation with an old acquaintance whom he ac- cidentally encountered, he overstayed bia time, and when he returned to the platform the train was gone, and neither the carpet bag nor the porter could be seen! What could be done ? Surely there was "magic in the web of this. Our confounded-friend had again nOt" other resource but just to return home. But when hek reached Perth—wonderful to relate-he found that tb carpet bag had been delivered at his residence, soiw^ hours previously! The. mystery was easily solved. The address put upon the bag by the Edinburgh shop- keeper had never been taken off, and the man at the Edinburgh station, seeing the address, thought that the bag was meant to be sent on to Perth, and dispatched it accordingly. We have not heard whether olu' | traveller has started a third time with the bewitched bag.

NAPOLEON'S POLICY. 1 The Press, in an able article entitled The NeW Revolution," thus describes Napoleon's policy :— Louis Napoleon believes in the great contest of opinions predicted by his uncle and he is resolved to anticipate and to lead it. By so doing, he hopes to give to it a State instead of a popular character,—to make it an orderly though violent, instead of an anarchy and revolutionary movement. He de- sires to forestall the natural march of circumstances he In- augurates, in oider that he may head, the New Revolution. Meanwhile he coquets vigorously with the two opposite prin- ciples. He will break with neither party till the hour strikes. lie holds on till the cycle of the stars brings round the great war. Everything is unstable; the European system is reap- proaching an hour of dissolution., And he holds himself prepared alike for popular risings and for the leagues of Governments. This was his grand motive for inducing the Italian war. It was a counter-irritant tointernal disaffection, -a stroke for immediate glory,-the pioneer of a future policy. France had associated herself with the cause of Liberty how could the traditional idea be better gratified than by waging a war for the liberation of Italy ? What enterprise better calculated to persuade France that she is still the champion of freedom, although she take so little of it to herself? France, too, is devoured with a passion for military glory and what glory so captivating as to revive the memories of Marengo and Castiglione, and to see the white uniforms of Austria once more refluent before the eagles of a Napoleon ? It was on the plains of northern Italy that the first Napoleon won those military laurels which prepared his brows for the Imperial crowii. Upon what add could the second Napoleon more fittingly revive the memories of the empire, and emulate his prototype as a victorious gene] al ? Three months before the outburst of hostilities, the Emperor was seen riding in the streets of Paris attired in a gray redingote, the war-dress of his uncle. It was a symbol of his resolve,—an omen of what was coming. -===-

A CONTINENTAL MURDER TRAGEDY. The small town of Ehrenbreitstein, which lies at the foot of the gigantic fortress of that name in Germany, has just been frightened out of its propriety by the commission of a dreadful murder within its quiet precincts, of which the following are the particulars: At the Coblentz Carnival on tShrove Tuesday no character was more conspicuous than Herr Meder, a well-to-do proprietor of a tavern adjoining the post- omce inEhrenbreitstein. Disguised as a buxom matron, supposed to be celebrating her or 2.5th anniversary of her wedding-day, he sat in a huge van drawn by eight horses. Seated by the side of his consort, he dispensed nods and smiles to the admiring crowd. A band of musicians, in grotesque dresses, -Le' occupied the front of the vehicle, while a humpbacked cook, in appropriate attire, waited on the wedding- feast, and replenished the spacious bowl of Rhine wine from which both bride and bridegroom indulged in frequent potations. In the evening, at the bal masque at the theatre, he was again the observed of all observers, his jovial countenance darkened by no shadow of the fate impending over him. On the Thursday night following he was brutally murdered while asleep in his bed, with his wife and child, the_ occupants of another bed in the same apartment. His head was literally smashed to pieces with the repeated blows of an axe found lying at the foot of the bed. About three o'clock, some hours after the commission of the deed a ser- vant, who slept in a room above, was attracted' by the cries of his mistress, who was found tied hand and foot behind the door of the room. She declared that about eleven o'clock two men suddenly entered the apartment and at once proceeded to their bloody business, one striking her sleeping husband a succession of blows, the first of which must have been instantly fatal, his companion at the same time threatening her with a E- similar fate if she made the slightest noise or resist- ance. She was then gagged and bound. The men then proceeded to rob a secretaire in the adjoining aparfc- ment of nearly 200 thalers, and then decamped. It is impossible to describe the sensation occasioned by this shocking tragedy in Coblentz and Ehrenbreit- stein. The funeral of the murdered man, who was highly esteemed, was attended by an immense multi- tude, and gossip was rife as to who had perpetrated the deed. At .length, after the country bad been scoured for many miles, suspicion fell upon those nearer home. At a respectable school in Coblentz was a teacher named Keller, a well-educated man, of pre- possessing manners and person, but of loose morals. It was whispered he carrier on a licentious intercourse with the wife of Meder, a young and attractive woman. On the day preceding the murder, but after the termination of the Carnival, he hired a beard and blouse. The former he returned on the following day, but the blouse has not been forthcoming, and the ac- count he gives of it is highly unsatisfactory; but sus- picion is not confined to him, His paramour, the wife of the murdered man, is deeply implicated. By en- tries in Keller's memorandum book it appears he has lately received considerable sums of money from the woman but the darkest discovery is that of a bloody footmark near the secretaire containing the money of the unfortunate man, in the room adjoining to that in which he slept, and which exactly corresponds with the foot of the woman; but, as she was discovered bound hand and foot, and incapable of moving, it is presumed she herself assisted to the secretaire, and then submitted to be bound, in order to give an appearance of her being rather a victim than an ac" complice in the deed. However, Keller is in prison and the woman under strict surveillance. At the July assizes in Neuwied, where the trial will take place the facts, such as have been collected, will be fully disclosed, and the guilt or innocence of the suspected persona pronounced. In the meantime the occurrence excites the greatest interest in the neighbourhood.

ENGLAND AND FRANCE CONTRASTED. The conduct of France is that of a family (says the Tvm-e$< or an individual, who tries to do everything himself, an(j makeaslittleuseas he can of tlieProvidenfcial variety ofhllrnan circumstances and powers. You may here and there ftnd a man teaching his own children, digging his own garden, painting and whitewashing his °W1V ?lencijn^ his own furniture and implements,—perhaps, > clothes,— helping his own servants at all th si c, writing and keep- ing accounts that any-clerk would d employing his leisure hours in ma5in511aii Vnwhms fi bo'U' takinS bail photographs, of"hift« llnf? his clock to pieces, and going to all soits o siutts not to add another item to the tailor's or the shoemaker s hill, at the very time that he is running into the most needless expenses. His rule is to make his servants do everything at home., Xliey roast and grind coflee, wash, brew, bake, and ia solne out-of-the- way places even make the.r own candles and soap they cure their own bacon, preserve their own fruit, and at thb proper season are busy for weeks making elder, currant, raisin, orange, and cowslip wines. Tiie result is that he fills his house with ill-made commodities, from the domestic eau de Cologne down to the burnt bread, sour ale, and fermented preserves. He defrands twenty honest neighbours of their share in his custom, leaving them nothing, not eve.11 the means of huying what he luxs to dispose of wei'e it worth their while, tills is the snijr^jiKj object of French ambition.. France wishes to do everything by herself and so becomes commercially insulated. But like a va'in man who sets himself against the world she finds the world too strong; o her. England is content to work onlv as one of the great brother hood of nations. She gives and "takes in turn, and asks no more than she is ready to bestow Hence it. is that she he- come the world's great benefactor when she aims chiefly at modestly receiving all the benefits which the world is glad, to heap upon her. She accept the services of all who offer and makes them her useful and obliged friends. Thisisto use the world. Our neighbours do not start from the right point. They want to do and be everything to them selves, and then make the world her debtor. This they will hardly do. If they would enjoy our prosperity, they must follow our example which is to suppose the rest of the world as good —neither better nor worse thau ourselves,-— at all events, having a right to share with us the gifts of nature and the benefits of any moral or mental qualities Providence may have given our nation. jumiiiimin'THYiii 1ff':JQ8:C

It is stated that upwards of 40,0001. has already been raised for Mr. Cobden, m* sums ol not less than 400J. One gentleman put down 5,OOOt