The Week.

£ 300 , 000 . Her Majesty ' s Government had not thought it right to send in such a demand ; hut they were willing , as were also the Peruvian authorities , that the matter should be referred to arbitration . In answer to a question from Lord It . Cecil , Mr . Layard said the Government had received no information respecting the Beterhoff ' s mail bag , beyond the intimation from Lord Lyons , that Mr . Seward had seat

instructions to New York that the letters should be forwarded to their destination unopened . The lion , gentleman added that Mr . deivard had informed Lord Lyons that a special agent would he sent to England to settle with her Majesty ' s Government the principle upon which mail hags should be treated for the future in similar cases of seizure . Mr . AValker raised another

discussion on the revised code by moving two resolutions allowing State grants to the poorer schools , which , although not enjoying the advantages of certificated masters ancl pupil teachers , satisfied the conditions as to attendance and examina tion ; but his proposition was negatived by 152 to 117 . Mr . Bouverie to go into committee on a portion of the Uniformity Act , but the motion was lost by 157 to 135 . —On AA ednesday

the House had two Church-rate Bills before it . One was introduced by Mr . Newdegate , ancl had for its object the commutation of church-rates by the imposition of a charge upon property . After a debate it was negatived by 94 votes to 36 . The second bill was brought forward by Mr . Alcock , and proposed to enblc persons to redeem church rates in the same way as the land tax is now redeemed . It also was negatived

¦ b y SI votes to 72 . The House then went into committee on the Security from Violence Bill , which see 7 s to introduce flogging as a punishment in cases of crimes of violence . A long fight * took place ' on the clauses , but eventually the bill passed through committee . Some other bills were advanced a stage , and the House adjourned .

GENERAL HOME NEWS . —The Registrar General has just published his return of births and deaths throughout the kingdom , for the quarter ending in March last , ancl the return of marriages for the quarter ending last Christmas . The birth rate had been well sustained , and it has been high far the . last two years . On the other hand , the marriage rate is unfavourable ; it is slightly lower than the previous year , and about 2000 fewer than in 1860 . The main decrease is of course in

the unemployed districts , but there are other districts where the marrying and giving in marriage shows a falling off- but in London and other districts there is an increase . The mortality , as may have been gathered from the weekly lists , has also been high , for though the winter has been unusually mild it has also been very unhealthy . Lard Hatherton , who had long suffered from a seirous illness , died at his seat in Staffordshire , on

Monday afternoon . The deceased nobleman , who was much better known as Mr . Littleton , occupied a seat in the House of Commons from 1 S 12 down to 1 S 35 , when lie was raised to the peerage . In 1833 he was the unsuccessful opponent of Mr . Maimers-Sutton in the contest for the Speakership . The title descends to his eldest son , Colonel Littleton— . The Spectator informs us that Sir Charles Trevelyn , the finance minister of

India , has a . surplus of nearly two millions , and that in presenting his forthcoming budget he will propose , with certain exceptions , to replace the existing Customs duties by a uniform ad valorem charge of five per cent . The exceptions , according to our contemporary , are the tariffed piece goods and spirits , which will remain as they are , and the duty on beer which will be reduced to lid . per gallon . It is added that Sir Charles hopes next year to be able to abolish the income taxwhich he leaves

, untouched for the present . At the weekly meeting of the Metropolitan Board of AVorks the Chairman contradicted ; a report which has been put in circulation , that the board had already exceeded its borrowing powers by a million and a quarter sterling . Of the three millions allowed them by Parliament the board had only expended £ 2 , 200 , 000 , leaving £ 60 , 000 stil

as a margin . A report from Mr . Bazalgette showed that fa ; r progress had been made during the month on the various levels of the metropolitan drainage . Mr . Bright , and a number of the trades' unionists who took a promineut part in tbe recent demonstration at St . James ' s Hall in favour of the Federal cause , waited upon Mr . Adams , the American Minister in London , on Saturday evening , to request him to forward to President Lincoln the address adopted at their meeting . Several

members of the deputation addressed His Excellency , who , in reference to an allusion made to the possibility of a war between England ancl America , remarked that , although he thought "it almost impossible , under existing circumstances , to prevent some things springing up that might occasion a collision , " still he trusted that by mutual forbearance friendl y relations would be maintained between tha two countries . The returns from the local relief committees in the cotton

manufacturing districts show that in the week ending April 25 , as compared with the last week in March , there was an increase of 33 , 816 in the number of operatives fully employed , and of 1300 in tbe number working four or five days a week , while the number of persons wholly out of employment was less by 24 , 954 . There are still 294 , 904 persons receiving relief from the committees ; but this number , large as it is , is 61 , 007 below the return for March . Mr . Farnall ' s weekly report shows a decrease

of 5373 iu the number in receipt of parochial relief . Lord Russell has informed the Council of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce—in reply to a memorial from that body urging that the Foreign Enlistment Act should be made more efficient—that the Government cannot see how any improvement can be made in the act . During thepast few days one or two officials have been actively engaged at Liverpool iu completing the evidence to be adduced against the' owners and builders of the

alleged Confederate gunboat Alexandra . The captain of the Ward Jackson , has been fined £ 50 and costs , by the Gravesend magistrates , for an infringement of the Supplementary Customs Consolidation Act . The Ward Jaclcson was the vessel which recently made a luckless voyage to the Baltic , with supplies for the Poles . She took on board , at Gravesend , a cargo' which was returned as " hardware , " but this hardware proved to be munitions of war , ancl the authorities ordered her to be seized . The captain , however , at once left Gravesend , cai-rying off with

him two Custom House officers , who were landed at Southend , a place at which the Wavd Jaclcson called for the purpose of taking onboard a number of Poles . The captain , as the Customs' solicitor said , had rendered himself liable under the Foreign Enlistment Act , but the only offence with which he was charged , was that of taking his departure from Gravesend . The body of a man has been fished up out of the river opposite St . Katharine ' s Dock , which the police affect to believe is that

of the murderer of Emma Jackson . The description given of tho man who entered the house in George-street with the unfortunate woman is said to tally exactly ivith the appearance of the corpse found in the liver . Moreover , the drowned man had his hands tied , from which it is assumed that he committed suicide . There is not at present , however , any evidence to show that the body is that of the supposed murderer , and it will hardly do for the police to relax their exertions in tracing

the perpetrator of the crime on the loose theory that he has committed suicide . . A murder is reported from Manchester . A labouring man named Smith killed his wife . Sha had been drinking , and having quarrelled with her , beat her about the head with a poker until she died , The body of a young woman , named Jones , was found near St . George's Hall , Liverpoolon Thursday niht last . Death had been caused b

, g y a stab , which had penetrated the lung , and it was at first supposed that the wound had been self-inflicted . Subsequent investigation has , however , proved the incorrectness of this theory , ancl there can now be no doubt that the girl was murdered . She was seen with her sweetheart , a seaman named Pennington , on Thursday evening , and tho evidence given at the inquest as to the proceedings of this person led the jury to

return a verdict of wilful murder against him . An inquest has been held relative to the death of AVilliam Cooper , who died from the effects of a wound on the head , inflicted by a blow with a hammer , by AVilliam Claynrd , a cab-master , living near Fitzroy-square . A verdict of manslaughter was returned , and the prisoner was committed for trial . The mortality of London last week exhibited a downward tendency . It

omounted in all to 1374 , which is the lowest point it has reached since the first week in March . It is , however , still 87 more than the ten years' average . Of these 68 cases were from small-pox , which is verv prevalent . The births were 1975