THE WEEK AT HOME.
POLITICAL.—Mr. Gladstone has been travelling in the North, and on Wednesday he delivered an address to the Association of Mechanics' Institutes of Lancashire and Cheshire. The occasion was the distribu- tion of prizes at the annual examination held in the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, and the speech, after a beautiful exordium in which the speaker mourned the distress he knew was around them, and praised the manly and independent character which abstained from parading it, turned naturally to examinations. Examinations had constituted, said Mr. Gladstone, the basis of the practical systems of Oxford and Cambridge, and were now extending till they formed the only passport to the Indian Civil Service and to the scientific branches of the army, and may be extended further till they become the main condition of employment under the State. The benefit of these widening circles has been very great, as, for instance, in Blackburn, where, during the present enforced leisure, crime has decreased. He would not enter into the comparative advantage of pass or competitive examinations, except to say that competi- tion was best for admission into the public service, where the main object was to prevent the admission of incompetency. He thought that with the attractions offered by modern careers, the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake was in danger of dying out, and needed such an external stimulus as these examinations. We must accept the conditions of the age in which we live. On Thursday, Mr. Gladstone received an address from:the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, attributing the patience of the working men under their sufferings to the legislation, of which Mr. Gladstone had been a prominent supporter. The Chancellorof the Exchequer, after a kindly acknowledgfflent of "eulogy beyond his merits," touched upon public affairs. The condition of our finance was, he thought, not satisfactory. In 1853 we had an-,expenditure of 551 millions and a revenue of nearly 59, or a surplus of 31 millions. That was "an
honest, a sound, and a healthful state for the finances of the coun- try. We stand now very differently." The present revenue is 701 millions, the largest ever raised by this country, even in time of war ; for in the last three years of the revolutionary war, with an income- tax of 2s. in the pound, the revenue raised was only 701 millions, and that in depreciated currency. This country is, however, in the main, a self-governing country. The expenditure has been demanded by the public voice, and must be reduced by the same means. We cannot go back to 1853, but we can make large reductions, and indeed the expenditure is not even now increasing. If the nation wished to spend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer could not resist. "If, on the other hand, it be the desire of the people, founded upon a perception of the true state of affairs, and founded also upon the knowledge that we have not now that thoroughly sound and good position in finance which we had nine years ago, that we should contract in some degree the scale of our expenditure, and re- establish a perfectly sound relation between the outgoings of the country and the resources of the Exchequer, then I say, gentle- men, that you know as well as I do that it will take no long time to bring, that result about." Mr. Gladstone then turned to the American war, which he characterized as a "deplorable struggle," waged for empire on one side, and independence on the other, and which, if the South were determined, could not result in a re- union of the States. He nevertheless thought the struggle for empire a most natural one. He referred to the distress that war had caused, the patience with which it had been borne, the alleviations offered by the result of the French treaty, and sat down amidst the most vehement applause. The Queen, it will be remembered, recently appointed a committee to advise on the choice and execution of a memorial to the Prince Consort, and on the 14th April the commissioners, Lord Derby, Lord Clarendon, Sir W. Cubitt, and Sir C. Eastlake presented their report. They have, they say, made every inquiry as to the possibility of finding a monolith within the British islands sufficiently large to answer the purpose intended, and have decided that the only one is a mass of granite, of a light red tint, in the island of Mull, supposed to be at least 115 feet in length. The width of the stone near the centre would, however, it seems probable, be insufficient, while the expense is very indefinite, and the entire stun at present subscribed would be absorbed by the obelisk alone. They believe, therefore, that success is doubtful, the expense incalculable, and the effect in all probably not equal to her Majesty's just expectation. On 19th April General Grey replies that her Majesty "sees no alternative but to acquiesce in the abandonment of the idea of an obelisk," and requests the committee to make some other suggestion. She would "merely throw out as a suggestion whether the opinions of some of the fore- most architects of the day might not be advantageously taken as to the means of combining the groups of statuary mentioned in my letter to the Lord Mayor (among which, of course, a statue of the Prince would be prominent) with some other design." On Wednesday, Lord Palmerston attended the inauguration of an exhibition of art and industry opened at Romsey, and made an humorous speech, declaring himself a Romsey man, and praising the exhibition for which he had foretold a failure, but which was a mag- nificent one. His Lordship said nothing of any interest, but the people of Romsey were delighted with his kindness and good temper. Mr. Maguire, M.P. for Dungarvan, has published a letter promis- ing to renew his motion on Irish distress, which was stopped by the adjournment, and callin,g upon all "friends of the afflicted" to send him authenticated cases of distress, and advising that "inquests should be held in every case that unfortunately may occur." He believes that many deaths have been caused by want of food, and appeals to his friends to trace the causes of as many deaths as possible. The letter seems to be regarded in Ireland as an appeal to the people to get up cases, but the words do not bear out that view.
Socren.—The distress in Lancashire appears to increase, and is admitted by Mr. Gladstone, and it is proposed to form a central com- mittee of Lancashire notables to receive and apply the proceeds of a national subscription. The first thing to be done is for the local au- thorities to state clearly and calmly the extent and nature of the distress. The crisis has come on so gradually that in the South men have an inaccurate idea of the misery it has entailed, and imagine that the poor must have resources other than the cotton manufacture. This idea once removed money will, we trust, flow in upon a scale equal to the extent of the suffering, which we greatly fear will in a few weeks be greatly intensified. At present the poor have nearly exhausted their credit, their furniture, and the resources of their be- nefit societies.
The great Volunteer Review at Brighton came off on Monday, and will be found described in another column ; and on Wednes- day the annual dinner of the St. George's Rifle Corps was held at Willis's Rooms, when Colonel M‘Murdo took the opportu- nity to explain the present position of the force. The fears of a falling-off in the numbers are, he says, wholly groundless. The re- turns are not complete, but the force amounts apparently to 160,000 men. From 102,000 of these accounts have been received, and the falling-off during the year has on that number been only 480. He believed there was no record of any body of troops of equal size having been transported fifty miles before breakfast. He preferred the Hampshire Mounted Volunteers for modern work to our best regular cavalry. At the annual meeting of the Yorkshire Mechanics' Institutes it was stated that the number of members in Yorkshire was 25,000, of whom about 70 per cent, are supposed to be operatives. They possess in 116 institutes 137,250 volumes, which increase at the rate of four- and-a-half per cent a year. Two institutes for females have been successful at Bradford and Huddersfield, but they are not generally recognized. The meeting seemed to be of opinion that more might be done to make the institutes attractive by providing means of recrea- tion—a very dangerous scheme. Since the suspension of trade in Blackburn, the libraries have all been full, no fees being demanded from men while out of employ. The International Exhibition will be opened on Thursday the 1st May, and the Comissioners have published their programme. The main feature of the ceremonial will be a procession, which will in- clude the Ministers, the personages specially selected to represent the Queen, the gentlemen employed on the works, the Poet Lau- reate (who is to march by himself,) all persons connected with the Exhibition (except. exhibitors,) royal personages, soldiers, trum- peters, and the rest of the usual machinery. An address will be delivered by Earl Granville and an answer returned by the Duke of Cambridge, and a special musical performance will be sung, in- cluding a poem by the Poet Laureate.
Law.—Lord Justice Knight Bruce, on 23rd April, gave judgment in the Windham case. He decided that the Justices thought "the presentation of the original petition, its prosecution before the Lords Justices, and its prosecution before the jury, were acts consistent with the original petitioner's duty legally and morally to Mr. Wind- ham, and to society." The petition, therefore, to fix the original petitioners with the costs was dismissed. It is evident from the tone of the judgment that the Justices adhere to their original opinion, and disagree with the jury. The Court of Common Pleas have granted a rule for a new trial in the case of Kennedy v. Broun.
FINANCIAL.—The new Russian Loan will be announced at the commencement of next week. The amount, it is said, is now fixed at 15,000,000/., of which one-third has been subscribed by the family and friends of the contractors, Messrs. Rothschild, here and on the Continent. It will be in a Five per cent, stock at 95, with a reduc- tion for payments in full, which will reduce the price to 92, and pro- duce 13,800,000/., less commissions. On these terms the loan will assuredly fail, for the present Four-and-a-half per cent. Russian Loan is at 91, 92. The Five per cent. are at 97 to 99. The credit of Russia has never been called in question, and her resources are abundant for any engagements she may enter into. At present this is.the only foreign financial scheme known to be coming upon the Market, but about 5,000,000/. is required as additional capital for the East India and Scinde Railways ; so that with the multitude of new under- takings of a Joint Stock character there are plenty of sources likely to be opened up for the absorption of capital. The Money Market is very favourable to all such applications, while, from the large influx of gold and decrease of discount, the metallic and note resources of the Bank continue to augment. The present stock of bullion is returned at 17,172,2011., the increase for the last week being no less than 428,7704, while the reserve of notes reaches 9°,930,850/. Since the return was made up, no less than 113,000/. more gold has gone into the Bank, and. there is plenty more to follow. It was thought that the Directors would have lowered the minimum last Thursday, but they did not do so, and it is therefore supposed that they will effect the reduction next week. Space does not allow of our entering into a discussion of this important question. The subject of the efficient audit of joint stock companies' accounts has been resumed by the resignation of Mr. J. A. Franklin, professional accountant, as one of the auditors of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway Company. Mr. Franklin conscientiously desires that his investigation into the accounts should be of a complete and perfect character, and not a mere formal acceptance of the figures placed before him. In this desire he infers that his coadjutor and the Directors do not coincide, and hence his resignation, with a report implying that the audit is not bon e fide. The importance of a proper, that is, a complete in- vestigation of the accounts of a public company cannot be over- rated, and it is to be regretted that shareholders are so generally indifferent as to disregard anything and everything said or done on the subject. The market for the English Stocks has had an im- proving tendency, in consequence of the favourable change in the weather, the better tone of the Paris Bourse, the quieter state of Italy, and the abundance and cheapness of money. The approach of the day when the New Russian Loan is to be launched has now, however, caused some distress, and checked the tendency- of prices. Consols have been done up to 91, and are now 931 1 ; New and Reduced, 921; Exchequer Bills, 17s. to 20s. prem. ; Bank Stock, 238-40. The Indian Securities are generally steady, and rather better. The Old Stock, however, has been heavy, having re- ceded to 226-28, being 2 per cent. decline. The New Stock is at, 1081 1; the Five per Cent. Rupee Paper, 1031. Turkish Scrip has receded to 11 prem. ; Egyptian Scrip, 11 prem.; Italian Scrip, 3 21 dis. ; Turkish Bonds have declined to 801, and 691 to 701; Mexican Bonds fell to 301, but have recovered to 31+ 1; Spanish Certificates, 81 j; Venezuela, 231 241. Railway Shares are weak, and business is less active. Midland, Caledonian, and Great Northern are 1/, lower, and other lines 10s. and 15s.
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