of all the better tendencies of society, and for the escape or harmless display of those that are of an opposite character. Where the good and the evil naturally contend together, the institutions of the state should interfere with their influence to give the victory to the former. If there be any principles at work, which let alone would lead to evil, the fabric of the national polity ought to be so constructed as if possible to correct them and turn them to good. In this way alone can a great nation be built up. These views, indeed, would make political science a much larger and more complicated study than it is as exhibited by many of its expositors; but they make also all the difference that there is in this department of speculation between a profound and real comprehension of the subject, and an ignorant and superficial charlatanism. Reduced to practice, the two schemes-that which attends to such considerations, and that which altogether neglects them-are calculated to produce effects as opposite as would probably be produced on the human frame by a nice and difficult surgical operation, according as the knife were applied by a person learned in all the minutiae of anatomy, or by a half-taught tyro or presuming quack. If nations ever again fall into barbarism, or greatly retrograde in civilization, it will be through their submission to the treatment of the incompetent political doctors, who would thus narrow and lower the whole science of government into a mere affair of police.

We have been led to these remarks by the appearance of what we deem a very gratifying document, namely, the Report of a Select Committee of the House of Commons, which was appointed soon after the commencement of the present Session, to consider the best means of securing open spaces in the vicinity of populous towns, as public walks and places of exercise, calculated to promote the health and comfort of the inhabitants." We hold the object here announced to offer a perfectly legitimate case for the interference of the state. It is one which goes directly to promote, not the comfort merely, but the general improvement and civilization of the people. It admits also of being advocated on the ground of its tendency to aid powerfully in the diminution of crime, and the better observance of the law.

that a great difference still exists between the healthiness of our town or manufacturing, and that of our country population. "I hold in my hand," he said, " a statement showing the mortality in different places of persons under twenty years of age. In a healthy country I find the num ber of deaths to be 3700 out of every 10,000; in a marshy country 4200; in the metropolis 4500, being about four and a half out of ten. in the city of Carlisle, which is partially a manufacturing town, 5600, or rather more than five and a half in ten; in Preston, Stockport, Wigan, Bury, and other places in Lancashire engaged in the cotton trade, the num ber of deaths is 6000 out of 10,000, that is, six out of ten; whilst in Leeds, where woollen and flax manufactures are carried on, the mortality is rather more than six out of ten; so that six out of ten of the population of the manufacturing towns die before they reach twenty years of age." From these facts the honourable member inferred the necessity of something being done to procure for the inhabitants of our crowded towns some greater means than they now possess of occasionally breathing the fresh air, and enjoying recrea tion in the open fields during their hours of leisure.

The committee which was appointed in consequence of this motion, sat on eight days between the 9th of March and the 3rd of May inclusive, in the course of which they examined twenty-five witnesses, who gave evidence in reference to thirteen towns, comprising some of the largest in England; namely, London, Bristol, Birmingham, Walsall, Hull, Liverpool, Leeds, Bradford, Blackburn, Bolton, Bury in Lancashire, Manchester, and Sheffield. The committee commence their report, dated the 27th of June, by expressing their opinion that, from the evidence which had been adduced before them, the following points may be considered as established, "1st, That during the last half century a very great increase has taken place in the population of large towns, more especially as regards those classes who are, with many of their children, almost continually engaged in manufacturing and mechanical employments. 2nd, That during the same period, from the increased value of property and extension of buildings, many inclosures of open spaces in the vicinity of towns have taken place, and little or no provision has been made for public walks, or open spaces, fitted to afford means of exercise or amusement to the middle or humbler classes. 3rd, That any such provision of public walks and open places would much conduce to the comfort, health, and content of the classes in question."

In the debate (on the 21st of February) on Mr. Slaney's motion for the appointment of this committee, the honourable mover addressed to the House the following striking comparative statement of the increase, during the present century, of the different descriptions of our population. "I hold in my hand," he said, “an abstract from the Population Returns, which shows that, in the first ten years of the present century-from 1800 to 1811-the increase in the population of England and Wales was 15 per cent.; in the second ten years from 1810 to 1821-it was 17 per cent.; and during the third ten years-from 1820 to 1831-it was 15 per cent. During the same interval, the increase of population in London was, in the first ten years, 17 per cent.; in the second, 21 per cent.; and in the third, 20 per cent. In Manchester the increase was, in the first ten years, 22 per cent.; in the second, 40 per cent.; and, in the third, 47 per cent. I find that a proportionate increase of population took place in all the great communities of the kingdom, so that, in the course of the thirty years to which I have referred, it appears the increase of population in four rural districts was 30 per cent.; in London it was 58 per cent.; in ten of the large manufacturing towns it was 80 per cent.; and in three of the largest manufacturing towns it was no less than 100 per cent., or exactly double." "At the beginning of the present century," Mr. Slaney after-walk dry, and with some shelter from the sun, in which they wards remarked, "about one-third of the working population was engaged in manufacturing and mechanical pursuits, whilst two-thirds were occupied in agricultural labour. Now, the proportion is exactly reversed, two-thirds being engaged in manufacturing and mechanical employments, and only one-third in rural occupations."

Upon several of the points to which the committee directed their inquiries, considerable diversity of opinion is expressed by the witnesses; but, among all those examined, only one person seems to be wholly opposed to the notion that any good would be done by affording the manufacturing population additional opportunities of recreation in the open air. In answer to the question, "Is there any open space, any public walk in a park or public gardens, open to the middle and humble classes of the neighbourhood of Blackburn?" his answer is, "None whatever." He states also that there is no water or stream near the town in which bathing can be had, and no place to which the children may resort for any game or exercise. But when asked if it is his opinion that additional facilities for exercise and walks are required for the humble and middle classes, he replies, "I do not think they would avail themselves of it if there were more facilities afforded;" and when the question is again pressed upon him, "Do not you think that the more decent among them, if they had places in which they could could walk in company with their wives and children, or neighbours, would be more likely to take exercise than if they were obliged to walk through wet footpaths and undrained fields?" he still rejoins, "I do not know whether they would take advantage of that; I do not think they are likely, because we have good walks in the neighbourhood, by the road side and path roads." He also says, when asked if he thought there were any persons in the town or neighbourhood who were likely to subscribe or make donations towards the formation of a public walk for the inhabitants, "No-I do not think it would be received with any degree of favour there,-I do not think it would."

It appears that, owing to various causes-to the improvement in the habits and accommodations of the people, as well as to the advance of medical and surgical science, the health of the general population has greatly increased since the commencement of the last century. From the year 1700 to 1780, the annual amount of deaths was one in thirty-seven of the whole population; from 1780 to 1790 it We have noticed the evidence of this witness thus particuwas one in forty-five; from 1790 to 1810, it was one in fifty-larly, because, while we dissent from his general conclusions, four; and from 1810 to 1820 it was only one in sixty. Not- we perceive, in what he says, an impression which we hold to withstanding the decided rise, however, that has thus taken be to a considerable extent correct, as to certain of the views place in the value of life upon the whole, it would seem entertained by the committee, and by some of the other

witnesses. Several of the latter, we think, are too sanguine as to the immediate effects which they expect to result from the new accommodations and means of enjoyment which they propose should be given to the inhabitants of our great towns. Unquestionably, it is not to be hoped for that the benefit will for some time be either fully taken advantage of or appreciated. We fear that it will go but a very little way to elevate the habits or the condition of the existing generation of our operatives. The fresh air and the fields, to those who have been accustomed from infancy to their enjoyment, are almost necessaries of existence. If they are not the indispensable breath and sustenance of life, they are its light and inspiration--that without which neither body nor mind has its proper spring. But it is altogether otherwise with him who from his birth, "in populous city pent," has been inured to the deprivation of the fair face and free ex-boot; but I know that a feeling of much sensitiveness, as to panse of nature. His tastes and habits have all been formed and fashioned in accommodation to his prison-house; he has become attached to those amusements and relaxations exclusively with which alone he has ever been familiar. Public walks, however inviting, can hardly be expected to lure many who have been so trained from the public house, nor the sports of the green from the social board within | doors. To the labourer living in the heart of an immense town, indeed, the house must always have many advantages, in the way of attraction, over the fields. The one is close at hand; the other must be often at such a distance as to demand the greater part of his short leisure to get to it. The comforts of the one are the same in all weathers and in all seasons; the other, during half the year, cannot be resorted to at all either in the morning or the evening; and a rainy day may at any time divest them of all their pleasantness. Either a walk or a game out of doors requires an exertion which is given with some reluctance after the toils of a laborious day. The enjoyments of the beer-shop are all of an easy, indolent kind, which, even when they most excite the mind, leave the body in repose. Here, too, are various enjoyments which the fields never can have to offer, at least in the same perfection, and all of a sort congenial to the tastes which are formed by a town life-the exhilarating beverage-the social talk or game-the newspaper, with its weekly or daily freight of fresh excitement. To the man habituated to spend his evening leisure among these things, the purer pleasures to be gathered under the eye of nature in the fields, are comparatively insipid and without allurement.

The case being so, we would deprecate as altogether unwise and unadvisable certain recommendations which we find to have been laid before the committee. In the first place, we do not think that public walks are exactly the thing that is wanted; and we hold it to be rather unfortunate that the title of the Report should be such as to convey the notion that this is what is principally contemplated. Walks will be almost useless without large open spaces, like our parks in London, which the people may traverse in all directions, and in which there may be room for the games of childhood, and the manly sports of maturer age. The walks might be frequented on Sundays, but they would never be resorted to at any other time. To appear on a public promenade is an affair of display-a thing which the working man would only do when he had dressed himself

in his best.

Some of the witnesses, and especially the honourable mover and chairman of the committee, reckon much upon the pleasure and pride the poor man may be expected to have, when these walks are formed, in exhibiting himself and his family there in better attire than he would otherwise have been tempted to purchase. "There is one point of view," said Mr. Slaney in his speech, "-(and to this part of my subject I beg the attention of my right honourable friend, the Vice-President of the Board of Trade)-in which I think that the opening public walks would be very advantageous. I mean, that it would be a stimulus to industry, and would lead to an increased consumption of finer articles of clothing than are generally worn by our artizans. What I mean by public walks being a stimulus to industry is this:-and he is little acquainted with the workings of the human mind, who supposes that clothes are worn merely as articles of covering. A plain man, like myself, or like my noble friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, might, to be sure, wear coats and waistcoats for no other purpose than covering, or to keep him warm. But this is not the case with ninetenths of the members of this House, or of mankind gene

rally; and, without offence be it stated, of the other sex also, who wear clothes chiefly as the means of gratifying that ruling passion, the love of distinction. This principle pervades all ranks of the community; and the servant girl, or daughter of the artizan, is as proud of her new riband, as the lady of her fine equipage, or the duchess of her diamonds. The artizan feels a degree of pride in the decent appearance of his family, and he is stimulated to increased exertion that their appearance may be becoming. If, how ever, there are no public walks for the artizans, and their wives and families to exhibit themselves in, is it not evident that there is a drawback on that wholesome stimulus to industry, which operates so powerfully with so little encourage ment? I happen to be a plain person myself, caring nothing as to the peculiar cut of my coat, or the neat fit of my matters of this sort, operates on mankind generally, and in all countries. I will not insist further on this part of my subject, but I am satisfied that it is not a matter of little importance. I recollect that late able and eloquent statesman, Sir James Mackintosh, said:- You begin with necessaries; you proceed to what are called artificial neces saries, and then to luxuries; and those things which are necessaries to one class are luxuries to another. For instance, a watch-riband, which would be considered a luxury by the workman, is an article of necessity to the gentleman. But whatever of truth there may be mixed up with this sanguine speculation, we fear the good effects anticipated are not likely to be realized by the mere formation of public walks, nor until a good many years shall have passed away, and other causes shall have produced a material change in the condition of our labouring population. It ought never to be forgotten, while we are considering this subject, that at present at least, and in the beginning of the plan, the people will require to be wooed to the appropriation of its advantages. The difficulty will be to get them to relinquish the other enjoyments to which they have been accustomed, for this new enjoyment. Until they have acquired tastes which they have not at present, everything must be done which is possible to throw the utmost attraction around the rural pleasures in which they are to be invited to indulge, and no feature, whatever may be its other recommendations, ought to be introduced into the scheme, which may have the chance of augmenting an indifference, which in too many cases is likely to be considerable enough at any rate. On this account, we would set ourselves altogether against the notion urged, or suggested by some of the witnesses, of making the people pay for admission to the places of recreation which it is proposed to open. Let the sum demanded be ever so trifling, we are confident that its exaction would be utterly fatal to the success of the measure. Do not let the semblance of anything private and exclusive be given to a place which is intended to be the general resort of the whole public. It ought to be as free as a common. In this way only will it ever draw to it the great body of the labouring population-those for whose use and benefit it is especially instituted. The demand of money for liberty to enter it, perverts it at once from this its proper character, into a place of formality and restraint, which the people will never learn to visit habitually. While there, and going thither, every man should feel as if he stood on, or were proceeding to his own grounds. And in the same spirit we object to the institution of any particular apparatus of police for preserving order in these places of amusement. We do not believe that anything of this kind will be at all necessary. On the contrary, we think that a system of rigid surveillance, offensively obtruded upon the notice of the persons present, would be the likeliest thing in the world to beget a tendeney to disturbance and other sorts of misconduct. The ordinary means which exist, or ought to exist, in every large town for securing the public tranquillity, would be found, we are certain, quite sufficient for the preservation of order here, as well as elsewhere.

The witness whose evidence we have quoted above appears to consider it unlikely that many wealthy persons would be disposed to come forward with their assistance in providing the funds necessary for the formation of these public walks, and other places of recreation; and several of the remaining witnesses concur with him in this opinion. Others, however, express a very confident belief that large sums of money would be forthcoming in this way, if Parliament would grant the requisite facilities, and remove the obstacles which under the present state of the law, and of the

.

In this state of things, no question, we think, can be entertained as to the desirableness of establishing such means of recreation for the inhabitants of our large towns as the present Report recommends. Our chief apprehension is, as we have stated above, that the long-established habits of this part of our population will make it not a little difficult, for a considerable time, to induce them in any great degree to avail themselves of the proposed facilities, were they to be put in their way. But the design ought not on this account to be given up. What it may not be possible to do for the existing generation, ought to be done for their children and their grandchildren. The obstacle that has been created to the immediate operation of the benefit has arisen from its having been too long withheld. This ought not to be made an argument for still further delay in providing it. We must refer to the Report itself, or to an article in the last Supplement (No. 90) of the "Penny Magazine," for a particular account of the recommendations of the Committee. In specifying the additional places of public resort and recreation which they would propose to form or to throw open, they have confined themselves to the metropolis and its vicinity, in regard to which alone the evidence collected was sufficiently precise. The walks and fields open to the public, which they enumerate as already existing in and near London, are St. James's Park, the Green Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens, in the west; the Regent's Park and Primrose Hill, in the north; and, on the south side of the river, Kennington Common, and the Terrace Walk near Lambeth Palace. There is also another short walk on the north bank of the river, near the Penitentiary.

municipal institutions of many towns, exist to prevent such improvements being properly effected. Speaking of the town of Manchester, Mr. Potter, the member for Wigan, says, "I think a large subscription would be raised. I have heard several gentlemen say that they would subscribe." "I think," he afterwards adds, "that those who have become rich in that place of trade, and having been so long in business, ought in a very great extent to contribute; and I might mention that Mr. Heywood, the late member for the county, did propose to make a public bath in the neighbourhood of Manchester, but there were some difficulties which afterwards prevented him." We agree with Mr. Potter, in regarding this as a case in which the wealthier classes ought to come forward liberally with their contributions. It is an opportunity which, for their own sakes, they should be eager to seize. The benefit to be conferred is one which the mass of the population are to enjoy; and never can the upper orders have a fairer occasion of showing their interest in the welfare and happiness of those around them, and earning the goodwill of their country men by a munificent gift graciously bestowed. These are the acts by which those who are in the enjoyment of opulence and a superior station may, notwithstanding the elevation that separates them in place from the bulk of the community, preserve themselves in secure union with the basis and real strength of the political fabric to which they belong, and most effectually cement all its parts together. They have the deepest interest both in gaining the attachment, and advancing the intelligence and morality of the humbler orders; and here is an opportunity presented to them of doing much to secure both these objects. "I have no hesitation in saying," one of the witnesses examined by the Committee observes, "that no gentleman who has been on the Continent, but finds the poor labouring classes more content and healthy than the labouring classes are here; and it arises in a great measure from their having those places for recreation." This same witness, (George Offor, Esq., one of the magistrates for the town limits), whose evidence presents a curious detail of the successive encroachments that have been made in the metropolis within the last half century upon the places of recreation that were wont to be enjoyed by the public, does not hesitate to describe the present state of the labouring classes, thus driven from all their former haunts of innocent amusement and healthy exercise, as a very fearful one." And the following is the description given of the condition of the working classes in Manchester, by Dr. Kay, an eminent physician of that town "The operative population of Manchester enjoys little or no leisure during the week, the whole available time being absorbed by their occupations. The few hours which in- To meet the evil as far as possible, the committee propose tervene between labour and sleep are generally spent either that the space, consisting of about fifty acres, called Copenat the tavern, or in making some necessary family arrange- hagen Fields, should be purchased and secured to the ments. On Sunday the entire working population sinks public; that public walks should be formed on Hackney into a state of abject sloth or listless apathy, or even into Downs, otherwise called Bonner's Fields; and that the emthe more degrading condition of reckless sensuality. It is bankment along the river-side, from Limehouse to Blackimpossible to produce, by any process whatsoever, a sudden wall, called the Mill Wall, should be improved and extended. change in the manners of the people, and therefore it is They also strongly recommend for consideration the advanvain to hope that the artizans will speedily be induced to tages which might be derived to all parts of the metropolis frequent the places of worship. It would be very grateful from the formation of public walks along the banks of the to see them preferring healthful exercise in the open air river. There are some reasons for believing that a conto their present gross and degrading pursuits, and through siderable space on both sides of the river belonged origithis process they must pass ere they will listen to the in-nally of right to the public, and that the private erections structions of their public teachers. At present the entire by which both banks are now almost everywhere covered labouring population of Manchester is without any season are illegal encroachments.

66

of recreation, and is ignorant of all amusements, excepting that very small portion which frequents the theatre. Healthful exercise in the open air is seldom or never taken by the artizans of this town, and their health certainly suffers considerable depression from this deprivation. One reason of this state of the people is, that all scenes of interest are remote from the town, and that the walks which can be enjoyed by the poor are chiefly the turnpike-roads, alternately dusty or muddy. Were parks provided, recreation would be taken with avidity, and one of the first results would be a better use of the Sunday, and a substitution of innocent amusement at all other times, for the debasing pleasures now in vogue. I need not inform you how sad is our labouring population here. The health of the lower classes is much depressed by the combined influence of municipal evils, and their own corrupted manners and constant toil; but the total absence of all honest sources of amusement, and the neglect even of healthful exercise, are features in which I would fain hope we are singular."

It is evident that, except for those residing in the west end of the town, there is no sufficient provision here of the means of healthy exercise. The inhabitants of the eastern, and of the north-eastern districts in particular, are without any open fields which they can get at, except by travelling for some miles along the high road. They may be therefore considered as, in point of fact, cooped up in the midst of the noise, and dust, and smoke of the city, except for a rare occasional holiday, from the beginning of the year to the end of it.

If there are still a few fields in different directions, the property of individuals, which the public are allowed to enter, they enjoy this advantage only on sufferance, and they are losing it every day. The progress of building is fast shutting them out from all their old haunts of this description. Some of the witnesses examined by the committee state a number of curious particulars as to spots which were open to everybody some years ago, and are now covered with houses, or on other accounts shut up.

DUTIES ON TEA.

THE proposed opening of the China trade renders it necessary that some new arrangements should be made for the sale of tea, and the collection of the duties upon that article. Hitherto the trade in tea has been exclusively in the hands of the East India Company; and the importation has been confined to the Port of London. No duty has been received upon the article at the Custom-House; but that which has been payable, being an ad valorem rate, or rate proportional to the price, has been collected by the excise upon the sales made by the Company. The subsequent removal of packages from one place to another has also been regulated by permits granted by the Excise.

It being now, however, proposed to allow the importation of tea into all the principal ports of the kingdom, it becomes necessary to transfer the collection of the duties upon it from the Excise to the Customs, and also to change the

guineas for each diploma. The remainder, amounting to
57,6837. 4s., has been applied for the general purposes of
the college. The number of diplomas granted during the
ten years therefore must have been about 3746, or about
374 per annum; and the whole sum paid upon each
diploma about 207. 128. 9d. The largest sums received in a
year, were 96017. in 1827, 96447. in 1829, and 99297. in 1830;
and the smallest, 60887. in 1823, 60237. in 1824, and 60657.
in 1831. The amount received in 1832 was 76257.
The total amount received in the same ten years by the
Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, has been 20,050%.;
being for diplomas, 7500l.; fees for registry of pupils on being
bound apprentices to members or licentiates of the col-
lege, to qualify them to obtain diplomas, 11,4007.; and from
licentiates on being elected members, 1150l., each paying a
fee of thirty guineas. The average yearly amount received
for diplomas, therefore, by this college, is 7507.; but the ac-
count supplies no means of arriving at the annual number
of diplomas granted. The number of pupils annually re-
gistered, however, would appear to be about 108. In this
college the members perform the various duties of presi-
dent, examiners, &c. without fee or reward; and even the
late secretary had only received an occasional remunera-
tion to the amount of about 6007. in all for his services
during the period of fifty years. The above-mentioned sum
of 20,0507. has been exclusively applied to the erection,
preservation, and repairs of the buildings of the college; the
formation, augmentation, and preservation of the museum;
the purchase of books for the library; and the payment of
wages to servants, and salaries and gratuities to the house-
keeper, registrar, and curator of the museum. No state-
ment is given of yearly income and expenditure.

duty from one ad valorem to one of fixed amount. These | bers, has received 19,7767. 5., being at the rate of five are the objects of a bill which is at present on its way through the House of Commons. It provides, in the first place, that tea may, after the 23d of April, 1834, being the day on which the present charter of the East India Company expires, be imported into the United Kingdom" from the Cape of Good Hope, and from places eastward of the same to the Straits of Magellan, and not from any other place." This enactment, it will be observed, goes to prohibit the importation of tea into this country either from the United States of America or from the continent of Europe. It may be considered as introduced by way of protection to the contemplated free trade with China, which, at least in its commencement, may be thought to require such absence of competition. By a subsequent enactment the duties are proposed to be fixed, according to the different descriptions of tea, at one shilling and sixpence the pound on bohea, two shillings and sixpence on congou, twankay, hysonskin, and orange pekoe, and at three shillings on souchong, flowery pekoe, hyson, young hyson, gunpowder, imperial, and other sorts not enumerated. These duties, the collection of which is to be under the management of the Commissioners of Customs, are somewhat under those which have usually been received on the East India Company's sales; and therefore if the private traders shall be able to import their tea at the same cost at which the article has hitherto been imported by the Company, its price to the consumer may be expected to be lowered under the new state of the trade. The remainder of the bill consists of regulations for carrying the proposed changes into effect, and for the management of certain matters during the intermediate period. The last provision is, that the Lords of the Treasury may discontinue the practice of requiring permits for the removal of tea, and establish in their stead any other regulations, either of Customs or Excise, which shall appear to be necessary for the security of the revenue.

APOTHECARIES' ACT AND ROYAL COLLEGES

OF SURGEONS.

The account of the funds, income, and expenditure of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is made out from Lammas, (the 1st of August,) 1822, to the same day in the year 1832. The whole number of diplomas granted during that period of ten years has been 1632; the annual numbers in their order being 114, 138, 147, 156, 199, 169, 201, 162, 195, 151. The total amount of the fees received WHEN We sent to the press the article in our last Number upon these diplomas has been 87721. 13s.; of which sum on the bill for the repeal of the Apothecaries' Act, it had 17197. 188. has been paid to the examinators, and the reescaped our notice that the bill had been for the present maining 70527. 158. has gone to the general funds of the withdrawn; and we are obliged to the kindness of an anony- college. The whole fee on each diploma, therefore, apmous correspondent for calling our attention to the circum- pears to be about 47. 58. 6d., of which one guinea is paid to stance. On the 9th of July a resolution was reported from the examiners. The total regular income of the instituthe committee on the bill to the following effect: "That be- tion for the ten years in question appears to have been fore any bill to amend the laws for regulating the practice 18,4897. 158. 1d., (in these accounts the diversities of naof apothecaries throughout England and Wales shall be tional character are curiously illustrated by the reckoning passed into a law, it is desirable to inquire more fully into even of farthings by the Scotch, the omission of pence by the subject than can effectually be done during the present the English, and the disregard of every denomination save session of parliament." This resolution, in consequence of pounds by the Irish,) of which sum the principal items are, which the bill has been for the present session withdrawn, from diplomas, as above, 70527. 158., entry money of fellows was come to in consequence of the opposition of the Edin- 57677. 15s. 3d., fees of indentures 16047. 16s. 9d., and diviburgh College of Surgeons to the clause by which it was dends on property 32957. 28. 14d. At Lammas, 1822, there proposed that their graduates should still be subject to an was an accumulated fund of above 10,000l., to which 2100%. examination by the Company of Apothecaries before being was afterwards added by the sale of the Society's old hall. allowed to practise in England. The graduates of the The regular annual expenditure for the whole ten years universities, it may be recollected, were to be released even has been 95967. 188. 04d.; besides which, 74977. 7s. 4d. has from the necessity of undergoing this examination, as well been laid out on the collection and preservation of a muas from that of serving the five years' apprenticeship. seum, and 19,060l. 5s. 114d. on the erection and fitting-up Whatever opinion may be entertained as to the claims of of a new hall. The accumulated money had in this way the graduates in surgery to a like exemption with those in been reduced to 76317. 15s. 54d. on the 1st of August, medicine, we think the bill, even although it did not concede 1832. this point, would have formed a great improvement on the present law; and therefore we regret that it has been withdrawn. But there can be no doubt that it will be again brought forward either in the same, or in an amended form next session; and it is in the meanwhile a great point gained that the most objectionable of the existing regulations, that requiring the five years' apprenticeship, appears to be given up on all hands. We believe the Company of Apothecaries themselves will not attempt to resist the abolition of this absurd and oppressive part of their present monopoly.

REFORMS IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY. WE have noticed, in another place, the large reductions which have been made in the several Government offices by the present Administration, in addition to similar reforms, also of considerable extent, effected by their predecessors. In order, however, to have a complete view of the length to which the application of the principle of economy in the abolition of useless places has been carried, we subjoin a statement of the reductions that have been made in the Court of Chancery, from a speech which has just been de

We take this opportunity of subjoining an abstract of a paper which has been lately printed by order of the House of Commons, containing accounts of the sums received dur-livered in the House of Commons by the Solicitor-General. ing the last ten years for diplomas by the several Royal Colleges of Surgeons of London, Dublin, and Edinburgh. By this paper it appears that from 1823 to 1832 inclusive, the London college received for diplomas the sum of 77,4597. 98,, being at the rate of about 7,7457. per annum. Of this sum the court of examiners, consisting of ten mem

From the newspaper report, it might seem that the offices alluded to by the learned gentleman were only about to be abolished by the bill, the third reading of which he was then moving; but the fact is, that they are already abolished by another act which was passed last year-the and 3 Will. IV. c. 111. That statute provided that the several offices in