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man, not as that on which their success in life and their whole stake in society must depend.

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The letter in your paper of to-day from "A True English- Sons of the man" is a remarkable practical proof of the exclusiveness of the system. I doubt whether such a thing could take place in any eluded from other country as the utter exclusion from the army of men, gen- sions in the tlemen by birth and education, whose souls are engrossed with army. military thoughts and aspirations, and who have no fault but want of money. If they cannot be allowed to obtain commissions, let special corps of volunteers be formed for them, with chances of working their way to commissions, without the necessity of passing through the ordinary ranks, and thus losing caste as gentlemen; but, whatever the means, pray urge, till you obtain it, the abolition of this monstrous and suicidal system of exclusion. I am, Sir, your constant reader,

December 27.

A PRACTICAL MAN.

To the Editor of The Times.

SIR, I have read a letter in your paper of this day, signed "A True Englishman." My case is similar in some respects. I am the only son of a solicitor, and was educated at a military school for the express purpose of joining the army. My father died, however, when I was a boy, and my friends endeavoured at fifteen to procure me a direct appointment to India. They failed in their endeavours. I obtained at twenty-two a good appointment, but have ever had a great desire to serve my country. I have tried without success, and have remained hitherto content with my present occupation.

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Finding there was much need of soldiers, I applied for a com- Had the mission, but have not succeeded, under the plea of my being past twenty-one. I applied to two colonels of Militia; one has not condesccnded to answer my note; the other made an appointment with me at his club, stating that he should be able to give me an answer if I waited on him. I did so. His first question was, "Well, Mr., what is your object in wishing an in to join my regiment?" "Object?" said I, "Why simply to join si ot it." "Ay, ay; but what other object?" "Why,” said I, “to procure a commission in the line by volunteering." No sooner had I given this reply than the worthy colonel began:-"Ah, awe! it's very singular, but I had a letter from the ViceLieutenant this morning, and he seems determined not to grant any commissions. I can't understand it. However, where d you live? Oh I'll bear you in mind."

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Thus terminated my interview, and, although my appointment at this moment is worth £500 a-year and I am only 32, 1 am still willing to give up that to join the army in the Crimea, with all its privations and hardships.

Persons who are willing thus to act for their country ought, I think, to receive, and really do deserve, some consideration. I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

ONE WHO WOULD FIGHT FOR HIS COUNTRY.

December 28th, 1855.

LORD CLARENDON'S ACT OF HIGH TREASON.

THE RIGHT OF SEARCH.-DESTRUCTION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL LAW OF ENGLAND.

To the Editor of the Morning Advertiser.

SIR,-It has been disheartening to me to find so little notice taken in your columns of the destruction, by a British Ambassador, of the laws and rights of this nation without consent of the realm.

The right of search for and seizure of enemies' goods in neutral vessels by belligerents has never been denied. In the words of that great jurist, Sir William Scott,-"No man conversant in subjects of this kind has ever breathed a doubt of it." It is as much an inherent right in every man in this nation as is the right of being tried by his peers.

The magnitude of its importance is shown by the efforts of Russia to infringe on it by means of the armed neutrality in 1780, in 1800, and again in 1807; on all which occasions it was successfully maintained by England against a world in arms. The value of it is explained in three brief lines by the despatch of Lord Whitworth in 1800:-"If this right be ceded, all that is required is, to find in the civilized world some one neutral state sufficiently friendly to our enemics to be willing to lend her flag to cover their commerce, without herself encountering any risk; for once that power of search be taken away, fraud will no longer fear discovery."

Unlimited as are the mischiefs which the future will bring upon us in consequence of this cession, they sink into insignificance in comparison with the manner in which it has been effected.

SIR GEORGE GREY AND THE CITY OF LONDON,

A British minister has of his own act changed the fundamental laws of the realm.

If you submit to this, you virtually place the Foreign Office above Crown, Lords, and Commons.

This, Sir, is a plain, simple matter, which there can be no difficulty in understanding-about which there can be no discussion.

Lord Clarendon has dared to change the laws of the land: he is therefore amenable to the laws of the land. The people must do their part, and demand adjudication.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

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15th May, 1856.

STEWART E. ROLLAND,

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SIR GEORGE GREY'S SCHEME TO OBTAIN POS-
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Ir the citizens of London only display that energy and perscverance for which we have always given them credit, in their opposition to the Government Corporation Reform Bill, there cannot be a doubt that their opposition will be crowned with success. The measure reminds us of the school-boy whom every otir boy thought fit to "hit hard," on the ground that he had "got no friends." The bill of Sir George Grey is in the same predicament, It has not a friend in the world, save its unfortunate parent. All the members of the Government will, as in The Goduty bound, support the measure; but they will do so simply on the principle of obedience to their superiors. They know no other rule of action than that of doing as they are bid. They Aristocracy have no real affection for the bill: they cannot have even common respect for it. It is an absurd measure-a bungling bill. It is neither one thing nor other-neither flesh, fish, nor fowl. It is a bundle of inconsistencies. One part is at irreconcilcable antagonism with another. The clauses are so conflicting, that the wonder is, they do not actually set to and fight in the very types in which they are composed. Here we have a bit of as nice Liberalism as the most extreme radical could desire; there we discern the visage of Toryism glowing with all the beauty of a harvest moon. One clause extinguishes Aldermen altogether, after a certain period; another, by reducing the members of the

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Common Council to one-third their present number, would vest all the powers of the Corporation in a comparatively few individuals. The result would be that the Corporation would be converted, in effect, into quite a close body. It would become the scene of constant intrigues, and a field for the exercise of endless corruption.

All classes of the community and all sections in the House of Commons, must, therefore, be opposed to this mongrel measure, -this extraordinary mixture of Liberal and Tory ingredients. It is not a bill to be amended. It is essentially bad. It never cau, by any amount of tinkering, be made a measure which the House of Commons ought to sanction. Let the bill, therefore, be withdrawn altogether. Government ought to do that of their own accord. No one knows better than Sir George Grey, that it is everywhere received with disfavour. Let him, therefore, we say again, withdraw it at once. That would be his wisest course. The Government of which he is a member has no sehene for superabundant stock of popularity. They will require all the amount they possess of that commodity, to help them through poration of the session. If the event shall show that they have enough for that purpose, it will, we are certain, be no less evident that they have none to spare. It is not too late to retrace their steps. They may yet, seeing so clearly that the bill has no real friends. no spontaneous supporters, withdraw it with a good grace. if they foolishly persist in pushing the measure forward, and be defeated after all, they will only gratuitously damage themselves in public estimation. They will impair their strength, if they do not peril their existence as a Ministry. It is right we should apprise them of the fact, if they be not already aware of it, that the Conservatives have come to a resolution to oppose the second reading. That is the proper course to take; and, with the unpopularity of the bill among the Liberal party, it will be passing strange if the measure be not defeated at that stage.

London.

But

Let us by all means have Corporation Reform in the City. It is much needed, and ought to have been got before now. But, then, let us have an enlightened, consistent, and practical measure--not such a piece of preposterous, impracticable legislation as that which Sir George Grey submitted the other evening to the House of Commons, in the hope of receiving its sanction.Morning Advertiser, April, 1856.

BRUTAL RUFFIANISM OF A POLICEMAN UPON A YOUNG LADY.

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BRUTAL RUFFIANISM OF A POLICEMAN UPON A

YOUNG LADY.

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WE beg the especial attention of our readers to the following Attempted statement. On the day of the proclamation of peace Miss Clementina Archer, a young lady not out of her teens, went, with a lady with whom she was staying and another friend, to witness the pageant at Charing-cross. In consequence of the proclamacrowd, she was separated from her friends near to Farrance's; but, seeing them at a little distance, waited until the procession had passed, and then made an effort to rejoin them. Upon her making this attempt, a policeman seized her round the waist, and forced her back. Before she had time to remonstrate, he seized her by both shoulders. She asked him to allow her to join two ladies who were with her, but he refused, alleging that no one was allowed to pass at that point. Still he held her tight by the shoulders, and when she struggled to free herself, and had jerked herself half round, he drew his staff, and struck her a blow on the shoulder. At this moment a gentleman cried out, "Shame, shame. What are you holding her for? Release her immediately. You shall hear more of this." The scoundrel cowed, but still, true to a brutal instinct, threw her from him so violently, that she must have fallen, if the same gentleman had not supported her.

If Miss Archer had been, say, a policeman, she would probably not have suffered from such treatment; but she was almost a child, and our readers will not be surprised if the ruffian's grip, and the blow with which he followed it up, left their mark. Ier friends, Mrs. King, and Mrs. Henry Mayhew, came forward and bore witness to the state in which they found her. The fellow had struck hard, and left a bruise extending from her shoulder to her bosom, to testify to the vigour of his arm, and the cowardice of his brutal nature. But when she came to seek redress for the outrage she had suffered, although she positively swore to a policeman as the man who had assaulted her, the case was dismissed, because she had failed to identify him when a posse of policemen, amongst whom he was, was placed before her, and because she displayed the extraordinary ignorance of London topography of not knowing where Warwick-street was. Constables, indeed, swore that they were on the spot and that nothing of the kind occurred; the sergeant who had command of them, declared to the same effect, and alleged, moreover, that he had oaths as a

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