On this page
-
Text (2)
-
Ko. 421, April 17, 1858.] T H E _ LEADER...
-
PUBLIC MEETINGS. TIIK COTTON SUPPLY ASSO...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Motion
manner in which funds are raised to defray the expenditure thereon ; and moved that the House resolve itself into a committee , to consider an address praying her Ma jesty to direct that measures may be taken for giving effect to the recommendation of the Select Committee on Lighthouses of 1845—namely , "that all expenses for the erection and maintenance of lighthouses , floating lights , buoys , and beacons , on the coast of the United Kingdom , " be henceforth defrayed out of the public rev enue . " Our coasts are very badly lighted , at a great expense , and without any uniform system , while in Franc and in Scotland the expense is less and the result far better . He thought there should be a central board to attend to such matters , and that it should be under the immediate control of Parliament .
Mr . Henley wished that Lord Clarence had limited his motion to the management of the lights without touching the question as to who is to pay for them . The management of cur system of lights is not so bad as had been represented , though , possibly , under a central management the whole expenditure might be reduced . A change of system , however , would entail a large outlay for superannuations . The Government , would willingly issue a Royal Commission to look into the whole matter , with all its difficulties , which are not a few .
Mr . Linbsay insisted on the injustice of taxing the shipping interest as a body for lights , which it is the duty of the nation to maintain . '—Mr . Lowk agreed with Lord Clarence Pagkt that the cause of the great expenditure for lights is the double government of the Trinity House and the Board of Trade ; and so long as that double government exists , it will not be in the power of the Board materially to reduce the expenditure . Still , he disagreed with the motion , which he should oppose . —Mr . Cardwell observed that a single Government means nothing less than that a large expenditure and the patronage it involves should be at once transferred to the Board of Trade . There is really no double Government and no divided responsibility . He should
support the proposition for inquiry . —Mr . Bentixck recommended Lord Clarence Paget to adopt the suggestion of Mr . Henley . —JLord Palmerston joined in the same recommendation . Further inquiry he conceived to be necessary before any steps were taken . —Mr . White contended that the whole cost of the lighthouses should be transferred to the Consolidated Fund . Other nations set them the example of exempting their ships from light dues , and he thought they should follow it . —Mr . A . Smith regretted that the accounts laid on the table of the House with regard to the expenditure by Trinityhouse were not as complete as they should be . There should be some reform in the constitution of that body . —Mr . R . N . PiiiLirs said he began to tremble for the Consolidated Fund , when he heard the proposal to transfer the cost of lights to it . If the system of transferring
charges to it were to be continued , he feared it would " thaw and resolve itself into a dew . " ( Laughter . ' )—Mr . Cowan suggested that one of the reasons why the system of lig hts upon the French coast is superior to our own may be found in the fact that the compact nature of its shores renders the facilities for the erection of lighthouses much greater than can be the case in these kingdoms . —Mr . Ewakt could not concur in thinking it expedient that the whole of the proposed expenditure should be thrown upon the Consolidated Fund . It was , however , he thought , a question well worthy of the consideration of the Government , whether it would not be desirable to free the coasting trade from the operation of those dues which press so heavily upon it , and which amount to a sum of only G 0 , 000 £ per annum . —Lord Clarence Paget . feeling satisfied with the assurance given by
Mr . Henley , withdrew his motion . TKIUUNALS OF COMMERCE . Mr . Ayrton rose to move the appointment of a select committee to inquire respecting the expediency of establishing Tribunals of Commerce . The honourable and learned gentleman said that he should udd to the terms of the notico ho had given , the words , " and of otherwiseimproving the mode of procedure in notions and suits ol a commercial nature . " A tribunal of commerce m France consists of a body , including » jud « u who is a lawyer , and the chief mag istrates of tho district , who very much resemble a special jury in this country . 1 his tribunal possesses sovereign powers »» cases of commercial do not
difference , and , in districts where such tribunals exist , a local judge , resembling vi-ry much a county court judge , takes cogni / . nnou of such matters . In cases exceeding 60 / ., an appeal is given to the superior courts of the country . Mr . Ayrton waa not prepared tosay that thin plan should bo carried out in all its details in this country ; but lie might mention that such a tr ^ bunal exists in London , uiul ho wished that other towns in England iniglit , if they pleuaed , havo the same pnyilegor H 6 ^ 'di'd" * lIot ' ~ clesiro' - fo ~ poJnt ) -ou t--nny-part » oulttr moans for carrying out the object which ho had in view , but asked for the appointment of ft Hdloot committee , to doviso meuna for conferring a great benefit , which is important , not only to tlio City of London , but to every
commercial town in the kingdom . Tho Somcitviu-Genkkai ,, though not opposing the motion for a committee , reminded tho IIoubo that , through the operation of County CourtH , suits had been Bhortonod to the very amallest limits . Commercial men In this country would not bo sntianod with courts which
decide on a case in a day or two . They desire to have their differences decided by superior courts , and would not consent to submit them to a private tribunal . —Lord John Russell believed that some good might arise from investigating the subject , though he was very much of the opinion of the Solicitor-General that these tribunals would not be satisfactory in this country , so that he was not very sanguine as to the result of the inquiry . —Mr . J . D . Fitzgerald did not expect to be able to import these tribunals from foreign countries , but thought that some of their principles and forms of procedure might enable us to improve our administration of commercial law . —Colonel Sykes alluded to the outline of a plan drawn up in Calcutta by the free merchants and the native community , stating that in this scheme a decision would be obtained in twenty-four hours as to whether
goods delivered corresponded with samples . This he thought a great advantage to commerce , and , considering that some such system could be beneficially introduced into this country , he gave his hearty support to the motion before the House . —Mr . M'Mahon agreed with the Solicitor-General that the continental system of tribunals of commerce is a remnant of barbarous ages , and not suited to our jurisprudence . These tribunals had been tried in this country for centuries , and had proved an utter failure ; but he approved of the inquiry in the hope that means would be devised for removing the necessity for an appeal from law to equity . —Mr . Blake denied , from personal experience , that tribunals of commerce in this country
had proved a failure . —Mr . Collier supported the motion , believing that it would lead to more frequent circuits , and to judges visiting towns not visited at present . Mr . Buchanan considered that great advantage would arise from the establishment of tribunals of commerce , which would give decisions upon viva voce statements within twent 3 -four hours . — Mr . Horsfall did not think that tribunals of commerce- would have the advantages which Mr . Ayrton appeared to anticipate , but thought that a satisfactory county court system , based upon the tribunals of commerce , might be framed by the select committee to which the subject was to be referred . —Mr . Ayrton then briefly replied , and the motion was agTeed to .
TIIK COURT OF CHANCERY . The Solicitor-General moved for leave to bring in a bill to amend the course of procedure in the Court of Chancery . The objects of the bill are two , both having one end—to enable a suitor to obtain in one court the complete relief he required . One object is to empower the Court of Chancery , in applications for an injunction , or for specific performance , to award damages ; the other object is to obviate a difficulty in that Court in trying questions of fact , by authorizing it to call a juryto try such questions , instead of sending an issue to a court of law , the witnesses being examined in open court . He proposed that for the present this power should be not compulsory , but discretionary , in the judge . —After a short conversation , leave was given to introduce the bill . —Lord John Manners obtained leave to bring in a bill to confirm a contract for the sale , by the Commissioners of her Majesty ' s Works , of certain lands to the Commissioners of Chelsea Hospital . The House adjourned at eleven o ' clock .
Ko. 421, April 17, 1858.] T H E _ Leader...
Ko . 421 , April 17 , 1858 . ] T H E _ LEADER . 365
Public Meetings. Tiik Cotton Supply Asso...
PUBLIC MEETINGS . TIIK COTTON SUPPLY ASSOCIATION . Tine strangers present at the annual meeting of tills association were entertained nt dinner at the Queen ' s Hotel , Manchester , on the evening o ! Friday week . Mr . Chcethnm , M . P ., presided , and Mr . Ashworth , in proposing " Success to the cultivation of Cotton in India , " made some observations on that important subject . Ho remarked : — " They should expect better things from India than had hitherto come from it . Tho land tenure is the lending question . Hitherto it has been vested in the Company , and it has been next to impossible for Europeans or native * to obtain a yard of land that they could call their own . How is it
possible to expect that India can be cultivated by servants at will , any more than wo can expect large cultivation in Kngland by capitalists or farmers who nro tenants at will ? But , worse than that , whilst in England oven tenants at will have got some sort of nominal rent which they have roason to expect will satisfy tho landlord , in India that description of runt which will satisfy the landlord is just what tho collector chooses to tuko . Hence tho poor Hindoo labourer on tho soil has never known what is his own ; tho little capital ho onco posscssod has been carried awny piecemeal , from year to your , until at hut tho men who began life , with a good hut with scarcel
house over their heads , end in a mud y food to keep himself alive . It might bo asked , Is there anyHonoJuaaoJbiiyJai ^ UjliJjrjyyjpJifilo ^^ US ^ iJ ^' H people ? ' After the potato famine in Ireland , and the passing of tho Encumbered Estates Act , it wan found that Irishmen bought tho chief part of tho cstatos ; and , perhaps , it might bo found , after all , that thoro arc people in India who poaaoss the moans to buy land when ofU'ied thorn . Tho ISaat India Company have often been in want of money ; they have- something like ( 50 , 000 , 000 / . of debt , and ho believed a largo portion of that belongs to India . If the Americana had followed our example , they would not havo been sending us
three millions of bales of cotton . - The Americans sell their land in fee simple , and provide roads , railways , and canals . Why , therefore , should we hesitate to demand that India should follow the example ? And no doubt , if the example were followed , India would in due course of time supply cotton to an extent that would satisfy reasonable wants . They who made these demands asked for no protection ; they asked only that obstacles should be removed . " Mr . A . J . Otway responded , and spoke in a similar strain . He denied some statements that had been made by Colonel Sykes , to the effect that large sums of money had been expended by the East India Company on roads . lie believed that the roads are in a wretched state , and that the expenditure under the head of Public Works was chiefly for barracks and other military erections . The House of Commons , however , is now giving some attention to Indian affairs , owing to " the eloquence , vigour , and earnestness of one great man—Mr . Bright . "
Other speakers addressed the meeting , and one of them—Mr . A . N . Shaw , late revenue commissioner for the north of India—asserted , in opposition to statements by the East India Company , that American cotton can be grown successfully in India , and that that country is the only one which can compete successfully with the UnitedStates . Sir James Brooke , K . C . B ., in responding to the toast of " Our Colonies and Dependencies as additional fields of cotton culture , " said he was totally unqualified to speak on the subjects of cotton supply and cotton manufacture , but wished to call the attention of the meeting to the fact , that ; whereas slavery exists in the cottonproducing districts of America , there is no compulsory
labour in India . The natives of that country might refuse to cultivate cotton ; they might prefer to cultivate sugar , or coffee , or anything else . " It would never do to speak merely of the enormous area on which cotton can be grown , and assume that cotton would be grown in consequence , because such was really not the fact . Wherever we could go in India , we should choose the best points—those most accustomed to our presence . There are plenty of them , and we should content ourselves with some of those districts longest settled , and where the tenure is least opposed to change . Probably some of the indigo districts in Bengal and Madras , where Europeans have been long resident , would supply an enormous quantity of cotton with the least violent changes . "
MR . LYN 1 JSAY , M P ., AT TYNEMOUTH . Mr . Lyndsay has been addressing his constituents in the Albion Assembly Room ; the Mayor in the chair . Alluding to the two India Bills before Parliament , he observed : — "Lord Palmerston ' s bill said there should be eig ht members of the council elected by the Queen ; Lord Derby ' s s . aid eighteen . From what he knew of the business of the East India Company , he was of opinion that eight are too few and eighteen too many , and that twelve would be abettor number . With the qualifications he could not agree . As a man of business he knew them to be utterly impracticable and altogether absurd . For instance , one of them was that a man should have manufactured goods for , or shipped goods to , India to be eligible . Now a man might be engaged
all his life in manufacturing goods for India , and know nothing at all about that country . ( Jlear , hear . " ) His friend the chairman manufactured a great many iron cables and chains , which wore probably used in India ; but did he thereby know more about thut country than he would have done otherwise ? Then another qualification was a residence of ten years in India , and there was a restriction as to districts . The residence ho did nut find fault with—he thought it essentiul ; but ho would not confine tho selection to particular localities , for , if ho could find a better man in Bengal than in Madras , ho would at once take him . Ho would sweep away all these minute details , which would make- tho
bill utterly unworkable , and would adopt tho proposal to havo men named in the bill as the members , and when they went out of office by rotation , he would have them appointed by tho executive ' Over tho persons appointed ho would put a check to this extent : tliut an uddross from both Houses of Parliament should nl any moment , if they wore not attentive to their duties , suporeedu them , and ho would take away from them altogether that great stumbling-block of- patronage . There was one clause in tho bill of tho present Government in which ho heartily agreed : that was tho ono providing for tho appointment of a committee to inquire into tho finances of India . "
VO'l'IC MY IIALLOT . A sin ' n ' u was hold at tho FrcoinaHons' Tavern , on Wednesday evening , in honour of Mr . Nicholson , the founder ol tho system of voting by ballot in tho colony cTf"viot ^ fi in "^ i ^~^' ^ ~^ ^ ' y " " ' n' '' ~ ' —®* Arthur liallam Elton moved tho adoption of u complimentary address , which was signed by Mr . Berkeley , Mr ( Jroto , Mr . Bright , Mr . Cobdon , Mr . Milnor Gibson , Mr ! W . J . l ° « x > Mr . Miull , Sir Arthur HaUam Elton , umi others . Mr . Nicholson thon addrcsaod tho company , and thanked them for the honour that had been conferred on him . Sp ' ooohofl were afterwards delivered by Mr . Morloy , Mr . Ayrton , Mr . Wyld , Mr . Konpoll , & c , and the party broke up .
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), April 17, 1858, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_17041858/page/5/
-