The Sun. — London, England, 1846-03-11 00:00:00

• , , •, liiitttton SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clock. RAILWAY COMMITTEES. (THIS DAY.) Sub-Committee No. 3, The Committee resumed its sittings at the usual hour this morn ing, in Room No. 8. There were present Mr. Aglionby (In the chair), Mr. Aldam, Mr. Stanfield, and Mr. E. Buller. DARTMOUTH, HRIXHANS, TORBAY, AND EXETER. The, object of the petitioners in this case was to make a railway from Dartmouth, Brixham, mil Torbay, on the south coast of De vonshire, to the city of Exeter. The capital of the Company was 700,0001., and the cost of the line was estimoted at 630,0001. The line was opposed by several petitioners, and only the formal proof'; were taken to-day. oxpozn, 3;vx X N , CHELTENHAM, AND GI.3ITCMSTZ2. The opposition to this case was then resumed. Mr. VENABLEB appeared to support the petition of two occupiers of property near Cheltenham, which was proposed to be taken for the purposes of the railway, hut the promoters had neglected to give them notice of this fact. The same petitioners also complained of alleged omissions and defects in the plans and sections. One allegation was that a cottage near to Cheltenham, proposed to be taken by the railway, was not marked on the plans. .lr. DEANS, en behalf of the promoters of the Bill, admitted this allegation. It was not a cottage, as alleged by the petitioners, but a small brick hut. Mr. AGLIONBT did not find any exception of small brick huts in the standing orders. Standing* orders not complied with. The petitioners then proved that their cottages, for which they piid a rent of 41. per annum, were placed upon the plans and sactions, but no no!lce had been served upon them to that effect. Standing orders not complied with. Mr. VENABLES said he had a petition against the Bill, signed by landowners on the line, who complained of omissions in the plans and sections of property of which the petitioners themselves were not the owners and occupiers, while the property alleged to be omitted was situated at a considerable distance from that part of the country, while the petitioners' property was intersected by the railway. Mr. DEANS demanded that the consent of the occupiers or owners of the property alleged to be omitted to the presentation of the peti tion in question should be proved by Mr. Venables before he was beard upon it. Mr. IrENABLES apprehended that as this was an objection open to the general public, it was net necessary for hhn to prove such consent. Mr. AGLIONBY said it was true that it had already been decided that suzh allegations were open to the general public, but each case must be taken upon its particular merits and particular facts, and if the particular circumstances and particular facts of the case did not justify the hearing of a general petitioner, not Immediately interested in the property alleged to be omitted or incorrectly described, it was competent for the Committee to refuse to hear evidence or arguments upon such petition. That was the opinion of the Committee in the present instance, and the petition therefore could not bs admitted. Several allegations urged by other petitioners, of omissions and defects in the plans, sections, and books of reference, were substan tiated, and allowed by the Committee. The Committee then adjourned. Sub-Committee No. 4. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition.) CALEDONIAN (CARLISLE DEVIATION). The Committee found that the stall:ling orders had been complied with, CALEDONIAN (I;MA6GONV TERMINI AND BIZ/VErCaIES). The object of this Bill was to enable the Caledonian Railway Com pany to form certain branch and terminal railways in the vicinity liiaagow, wtach were as follow, viz.: a branch from the Polloc and Govan Railway, near Govan ironworks, to Clyde-terrace, in the barony of Gorbals, and thenct.: across the river Clyde, to or near Dunlop -street and Argyle-street, in the city of Glasgow ; a branch from the said proposed branch to join the' joint line of the Glas gow, Pak=ley, and Greenock, and the Glatow, Paisley, and Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railways ; a branch from the trst mentinned branch, to join the last-mentioned proposed branch ; and a branch from the Polloc and Govan Railway, near Cook-street, Tradeaton, to the river Clyde, with depots, stations, &c., on those proposed lines. Parliamentary agents, Messrs. Grahame and Cc. The Committee found that in the ease of this Bill the stsuding or eers had been complied with. CALEDONIAN (LANGHOLIK BRANCH). The object of this Rill was to enable the Caledonian Railway Company to make a branch railway to the town of Langholm. l'arliamentary agents, Messrs. Grahame and Weems, London. The Committee found that the standing orders had been complied with. CALEDONIAN (GLASGOW, GARNXIRX, AND COATBRIDGE PURCHASE). The object of this Bill was to enable the Caledonian Railway Compaity to, purchase the Glasgow, Garairk, and Coatbridge and the petition set ibrth that the same would be of great public advantage. - The Commitfee torrid that the standing orders had been complied with. • SCOTTISH CENTRAL (ALLOA BRANCH). The abject of this Bill was to enable the Scottish Central Railway Company to make a branch railway, by the Alloa Ferry, to Tilli coultry. Parliamentary agents, Messrs. Grahame and Weems, London. The formal evidence having been heard, the Committee found that the standing orders had been complied with. SCOTTISH CENTRAL. (CRIETT BRANCH). The object of the promoters of this Bill was to be empowered to make a branch railway to Crieff, in the county of Perth. Parliamentary agents, Messrs. Grahame and Weems, London. The formal evidence having beer completed, the Committee found that the standing orders had been complied with. SCOTTISH CENTRAL (DENNY BRANCH). The object of this Bill was to enable the promoters, the Scottish Central Railway Company, to make a branch railway to Denny, in the county of Stirling. The estimated cost of the undertaking was 50,0001., and the petition prayed that the promoters might be authorised to raise any further sum that might be necessary for the completion of the undertaking, in any manner that might be agreed upon at any extraordinary meeting of the Company held for that purpose. • Parliamentary agents, Heisrs. Grahame and Weems, London. The formal evidence having been heard, the Committee found that the standing orders had been complied with. OLLQC AND GOVAN AND CLYDESDALE TUNCTXON ATVLAZ GA EVLATION. The consideration of this Bill, which had been postponed, was re. Burned.. The Object of the Bill was to amalgamate the Polloe and Govan Railway with the Clydesdale Junction Railway, and to authorise certain deviations of the Clydesdale Junction lino. Parliamentary agents, Messrs. Grahame and Weems, London. - The formal proofs not being completed, owing to the absence of some necessary evidence, the fluther consideration of the Bill was postpoeed till to-morrow. • STIR,LINGSIIIRE 'MIDLAND JUNCTION. The object of the promoters of this Bill was to obtain powers to coustruet a railway from the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway to the Scottish Central, to be designated as above. The amount deposited was 15,0091. ; Parliamentary agents, Messrs. Grahame and Weems. Tho formal evidence having been heard, the Committee found that the standing orders had been complied with. STRATZITAT AND BREADALDANE. The object of the promoters of this Bill was to obtain powers from Parliament to construct a railway from the line of the Perth and Inverness Railway to Aberfeldy, to be called the Strathtay and Breadalbane Railway. Parliamentary agents, Messrs. Grahame and Weems, London. The formal evidence having been completed, the Committee found that the standing orders had been complied with. CALEDONIAN NORTHERN DIRECT. The object of this Bill was to mate a railway from the Forth and Clyde Junction Railway, to be called as abcve. Parliamentary agents, Messrs. Grahame and Weems, London. The formal proofs having been heard, the Committee found that the standing orders had been complied with. This was the last case on the list for to-day, and the Committee adjourned ,hortly after four o'clock to twelve o'clock to-morrow. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. (THIS DAY.) HOUjE . OF COMMONS. • CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition.) Mr. FINCH was not opposed to the whole of the principles of this Bill, because he thought that some of its provisions might with very great safety be adopted ; as for instance that which went to iepeal•the law 'by which schoolmasters were regulated, and which he thought might be very judiciously abolished. But there were other points to which he en tertaineh strong and insuperable (ejections. He was aware that there were parties • belonging to the religi . ous community of the Roman Catholic Church who held in all its force - the doctrine of the political supremacy of the Pope.—(Cries of " Where, where ?") The authority to which he would refer was the late . Charles Butler, the barrister, who it was well known was himself a Catholic, and who hal stated that this doctrine was held in the Vati can and 'its precincts.—(A laugh.) He might add. that the sanse principle ras supported by the celebrated Bellarmine. And further,: he might cite the oath as administered under the provisions of the 31st Geo. 111. Mr. O'CONNELL—That is not the oath now administered to Members of the House. Mr. FINCH had just had the book put into his hands, and be was therefore not responsible for the error, but he still must contend that there *ere many individuals who held the doctrine of Papal supremacy. There might be no imme diate danger, but he could see in future years, and that at no distant period, ample cause for apprehension:if this Bill were carried. There might be cases of conscience in which the impositiOn of an oath would be felt as a hard ship, but he believed they were very few, and there was on the other hand, an evil to be guarded against. Many young persons were lecl, at an age when they were incapable of jutlging of their future course, to take re ligions vows from which, at some after pet iod, they would be very glad to be released, anti he conceived that a very advan tageous change might be made in the regulation of religious communities. Each of these establishments might be visited by a Commissioner, appointed by Government, who might see each o f t h ese young persons separately, and take measures to oect their lib erat i on whenever it was desired. (A laugh.) With regard to the observation of the Noble Lord respecting the Jesuits, h e did not conceive that any securitycould be taken against them:Tilt least any that wasworthy of the name. This was in 1829. ITar.) He understood that ex pression. It was that the Right Hon. Baronet had left be hind him all his formersAtrn.iolt!, and that Hansard should be laid aside. Still he Peaces.intell) would say this was a constitutional principle.sur man ugh a Catholic country, had seen it uecesssry to of its religions orders, as inconsistent with the Government of the country, and other nations had clone the same., ' s h o e m re e fo e r o e,u t n t o ol . thing inconsistent in this:country exerreeiSTna: , t and other over such orders. At present Sisters of At religious bodies were springing up, distributientistracts, and using every exertion to make proselytes, and interfered with ; yet it might come that in a Gfiievye-earesnsoitt would be necessary for a Protestant • to interfere with the proceedings of tu r o n n ul as e t r : l orders. If the Roman Catholics, however, con'- Metered the subject well, .he was sure they would not venture on processions, in which the host, they so much vene rated, might be 'liable to insult. There was one other point .to which he would refer. The clause which gave the power for Roman Catholic prelates to assume the legal title of bishop and archbishop could not but be offensive to the tlignitalies, of the Protestant Church.. Nothing could be more offeitive than for a Roman Catholic .bishop to take the title of Archbishop of Canterbury. He thought that the Catholic clergy would, if this Bill passed, assume the titles of the Protestant clergy. lie deprecated the spirit which was at present so prevalent among all sections of the Protestant clergy to look favourably on Roman Catholics, and to make unjust concession to them. Having these opinions, he would oppose the second reading of the Bill. Sir J AXES GRAHAM wished to detain the House for a short time while he stated his reasons for giving his support to the second reading of the Bill. He supported it, because he was favourable to its spirit and because he conceived that that was the spirit of toleration.—(Bear, hear.) If there be such penalties in the statute-book, he for one was satisfied that they should be inquired into, with a view to ascertain if, without danger to the community, they could not be re moved.—(Her, hear.) The Hon. Gentleman the Member far the UniVersity of OxfOrd had endeavoured to show that the Act of 1829 was one which should be swept from the statute-book. He (Sir James Graham), so far from con curving in that opinion, thought it one of the brightest pages in the statute-bcok, and was a consummation which h e , Irons the -part h e took in it, should always back upon with delight. Ile did not see why they should have any ob jecti at to this Bill, or why they ghouls think that it swept away auy of those saf eguar d s which it would be desirable to have, for it did not go so far as the Bill in the other House. AINi 3311 in tht Wilda= pro Tided relief fo r a 111)4 seaters, t ri.,4 , ,,=- , ,,, '"Z''• - :,....„ 1 -1 - :::,(: 1 \ 4 , 4-4,-. F04 ,, , -„, ;,,..„.„ ( ...,,,,,.„,„.. ~„,.,,:,,,,,: „... .....,,,....••.,0, THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING. MARCH 11, 1846. while. this one proposed to remove those only which affected • Roman Catholics. In some other respects also the Bill in the other House went farther. He had the greatest veneration and respect for the religion which the Hon. Member for the - University of Oxford professed, but he was sorry to sap that, in his opinion, the policy of that Church towards Roman Catholics, in former times, was most unhappy and unwise. —(Hear.) He believed that in eerie quence of that policy the British Crown had been deprived of the assistance of the ablest men in England. The Hon. Member for the University of Oxtbrd had admitted that there were penal Acts on the statute-book which ought ;o be repealed; yet he was opposed to the second reading of this Bill, which proposed to repeal the greater portion of those Acts. For his (Sir J. Graham's) own part, he confessed that if there were such penal statutes as had been alluded to, it was the bounden duty of the Legislature to r e p ea l them. And what had been the defnce set up with reference to the clause respecting Roman Catholic schoolmasters? The Hon. Member for Oxford ad mitted that there was another clause, but that it never came into operation. He also admitted in the course of his speech that that statute ought to be repealed, and yet he said that he would oppose the second reading of this Bill which proposed to repeal it. He (Sir J. Graham) was most anxious that this Bill should be passed into a law as quickly as possible. He was not, however, prepared on the part of her Majesty's Government to sanction the second reading of the Bill. He also reserved to himself the power of proposing, in Committee, some alterations with regard to the concluding clauses cf the Bill. The Hon. Member had said that 'this Bill proposed to repeal the Act of Supremacy, but it pro posed no such thing. He (Sir J. Graham) would, in fact oppose the repeal of that Act ; nor did the Bill which was now in progress in the other House of Parliament propose the repeal of the Act of Supremecy. He did think that, co isidering the immense number of the Roman Catholic subjects of her Majesty, penal ties should no longer be enforced against them in either a temporal or spiritual point of view. —(Hear, hear.) He would again say that he really thought that the great settle ment of the year 1829 should, so far from being regarded as unhappy, be considered as a most politic and wise settle ment.—( Hear, hear.) To that settlement he was determined to adhere. With the reservation to which he had already referred, he was prepared to give his most cordial support to the second reading of this Bill.—(Hear, hear. ) Mr. WYSE would gladly have left the introduction of a measure of Roman Catholic relief to the good feeling . and in tentions of Protestant Members of that House, rather than a measure of that nature should have originated in conse-; quence of' any complaints made by the Roman Catholic por tion of the House. He did not think it wise to keep on the statute-beak the remnant of a law condemned by the general feeling of the people of the country. His Right Hon. Friend seemed to have misunderstood the subject before the House. The House was not at present in Committee, where objections might be taken to this or that clause of the Bill. They were discussing the general principles of the measure. if these enactments were useless, as the Right Hon. Baronet had stated, he would ask why were they kept on the statute book ? He thought, therefore, that his Right Hon. Friend was bound, in consequence of his own showing that the laws were ineffective, and were continually evaded, to support the second reading of the Bill ; while, at the same time, Hon. Members on his side of th e H ouse were no t b oun d to re pudiate the measure in consequence of any observations which fell from the Right Hon. Baronet. He (Mr. Wyse) considered it perfectly impossible to attempt, by any legis lative enactments, to bind the opinions or consciences of any class of her Majesty's subjects.--(Cries of " Hear, hear.") If the House would look through the Act, they would find enactments compelling the citizens of a free country, differ ing from the established religion, to attend the ,read ing of common prayer. He could not be blind to the benefits conferred on the country by the wise government of Queen Elizabeth and the politic measures of her statesmen ; but he could not help attributing to her the bad policy which had been observable on the subject throughout the succeeding reigns. With regard. to the observations of the Hon. Member ferßutlandshire, he gave him due credit for good feeling ; but he wished that he had been more accurately informed of the opinions of Catholic writers, and of the nature of Catholic prayers. There was no sue . ' thing as a recognition of the tem poral supremacy of the Pope in any place beyond the Papal dominions. Such a belief was well suited to the dark ages, but not to the present time ; and he would join all Europe in deprecating the extent of the power of the Pope beyond the Papal dominions. With regard to what had been said about an enactment for the suppression of the Jesuit., and the forcing open of conventual institutions, or that there should be at least an inquiry instituted into their practice a sort of inquiry of lunacy,' perhaps—did the Hon. Member not know that those institutions were perfectly open, and that females entering them were allowed a certain time to consider before they assumed the title of nuns ? With regard to the title of bishop, it should be re collected, that though it was different in Ireland, in England no Catholic bishop took his title from any English see, and there was no Roman Catholic bishop who took his title from an existing see, except when the Protestant title had ceased, as in the case of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, and in that case there was no Protestant title. Therefore he hoped that that House would not longer con tinue this relic of an age of bigotry, of which he, if he were a Protestant, would be utterly ashamed. On these grounds, then, he trusted that in this House he should hear no more of non-right of dignitaries of the Roman Catholic Church to the titles which they now bore.—(Hear.) Mr. COLQUHOUN was anxious to state the grounds upon which he should support his Hon. Friend the Member for the University of Oxford. He admitted that there were Acts bearing upon this subject to be found in the statute book, which he was perfectly prepared to get rid of; and so far as they related to educational matters, he agreed with the observations which had fallen from the Hon. Member who had just sat down. There were parts of this Bill to which he took exception, but if those parts were expunged in Committee he did not know whether he might not be in clined to assent to the measure.—(Hear.) He, however, certainly did not agree with the Right Hon. Baronet the Se cretary of State for the Home Department, that because a Bill contained enactments which were wise and just in them selves, he was justified in voting for it second reading, while at the same time there was a paramount part of the Bill which was considered highly objectionable and contrary to the spirit of the constitution.—(H ear .) • And, without going back to defend the reign of Queen Elizabeth, distine guished as that reign was for the - advancement of religion, and the promotion of literature, because any one who looked into the works of Spencer or Shakspere, or studied the works of Lord Bacon, must be convinced that it required no defence. He would contend that the paramount part of the Bill to which he objected was decidedly opposed to that wise and equitable spirit which ought to actuate them in the present day —(Hear.) The constitution of the country was based upon one recognised and constituted authority ; they must take care not to allow an authority to exist that was above the authority of the Crown and the Parliament of the country. He found that it was the opinion of many parties connected with the Church of Rome, that that Church had power over all ecclesiastical matters ; that in this respect it had supreme control. This was asserted by many writers who concur in this view of the power of the Church. If so, let them take the case of an election. A. vote given in an election would be considered an ecclesiasti cal matter, though an elector was considered alone respon sible in a political point of view to the country. That a vote at an election was an ecclesiastical matter, was stated by the Church of Rome, and in proof of that they had the evidence of the Committee appointed in 1835. It was shown before that Committee that the Church of Rome held this opinion. Mr. O'CONNELL said it was not so. Mr. COLQUHOUN said the lion. and Learned Gentleman could not dispute the fact, as the evidence taken before the Committee fully bole that out. It was held to be an eccle siastical matter, because an oath was taken at an election. Mr. O'CONNELL—The Church of Rome does not say so. Mr. COLQUIIOUN said the best course was to look to the practical proceedings of the Church, and not the mere words. It was their duty not to ask what the Church taught, but what she practised. He (Mr. Colquhoun) did not seek the mere words on the authority of books, but what was practised and continually acted on, and that it was as he had represented it to be could not be denied. As long as he had a seat in that House he would oppose every attempt at ecclesiastical domination, lie would always be the advocate of the right of free judgment and the right of conscience. -The Jesuits had ever aimed at this domina tion, and he called upon them to take all legal steps with a view to undermine their power. He did not wish to re move them from the soil in fact. 'that was not a policy which he would recommend, but he thought that every means should be taken to prevent ecclesiastical power from superseding the civil. Now, as the Act of Supre macy, the Ist of Elizabeth, went to put an end to that power, he considered that it should not be repealed. He must, therefore, offer his decided objection to repeal these laws, though lie did not wish at the same r to be considered one who would support his religious prin t ciples by penal enactments. He objected to any intolerance, as it was subversive of all religious principles, of all Pro testant feeling. Intolerance was not the doctrine of the Church of England. The Church of England recognised the right of the exercise of private conscience and judgment. —(Hear, hear.) But he found that it was admitted on all side ,- , by every body in point of fact who looked at the present aspects of the day, that we were advarcing to a very important period in the history of Europe—(Hear, hear)—a period in which we were engaged in a great struggle between the ecclesiastical autho rities and the civil power. —(Hear, hear.) His Honourable and Learned Friend the Member for Rutlandshire had alluded to the movement within the Church of England. Well, lie (Mr. Colquhoun) did not mean to say it was not one which foreboded great and serious danger to the Church ; and he did not mean to say that if it increased he should not shrink from asking the Legislature to interpose for the purpose of arresting the progress of that dangerous movement. He, for one, would not shrink when the proper time arrived from grappling with the difficulty. The Honourable and Learned Member had said; that there was a Mr. Wharton, and an Archbishop of Rhodes, and another gentleman, Mr. Green, who had objected to take the oath required by the Act, and had consequently suffered great annoyance, but the Hon. and Learned Member had said that it was not the oath of 1826 that they objected to, and he had also refused to read the oath. But what did the oath require ? Merely that Roman Catholics should deny the civil authority of the Church of Rome, and yet the Honourable and Learned Member had called upon the House to approve of his Bill because a certain layman and an Arch bishop had experienced some inconvenience because they did not choose to take the oath in question. He (Mr. Col quhoun) contended that if this Bill were passed it would en gender most urgent and serious dangers which, in his opi nion, it was not wise to increase in .times like the present. whoselfthe L c e oo g un i ld sl u a c t gt ure passed this .Bill without any mo difi cat i on, theyati would d just as it wiawyseopurltodhe be g pos ro e s d t by hLearned Isis Hon. and Friend, support to those men calculated, ne stsu g in . ut ,in t h e most fcoatmalemfraonmnehristhHeolniberties and constitution of this country. Chancellor —come, Hon. and Learned Friend, or from the Lord should give his most fact, from what quarter it might—he the present, whether it :cats ed opposition to a Bill like ether or opposed by the Government, or wheth was backed or con demned by the , hi hest authority in either House of to the constitution of Parliament. He should, in utmost every attempt to break down the Great Britain.—(hear, hear.) He would notconisvteit port to measures like the present, which helbLeve(li jo l t fatal to the constitution and liberties of Englishmen—liberties obtained at a period which his Hon. and Learned Friend looked back to with contempt, but which he (111 r. Colgo_ holm) regarded with the greatest of veneration and respect. Mr. O'CONNELL said the .Free Church of Scotland had reps;_ dieted the principle of ecclesiastical; supremacy in temporal matters. His opinion was that in ecclesiastical matters ecclesias tical government should be supreme, and in civil and temporal matters the civil power should be supreme. With reference to the speech of the Right Hon. Member hia for w which University of Oxford, he had stated m a n s world have been better if considered in Committee. He could assure the House, that as regarded any processions of the kind being exhibited in the streets of London or other large towns, he had too much veneration for that solemnity to expose it to the ribaldry, and perhaps to the insult of them who differed from him in their opinions upon that subject. He would, however, state to the House, that at Malta an officer of the British army conscientiously refused to fire the accustomed salute at the time the procession of the Host was by,. yfas punished by the Government of this Ma' try for not doing so, by being deprived of his commision. 'He (Mr. O'Connell) however brought the circumstances under the consideration of the House, and undertook his defence on the ground of his conscientious scruples. He did not think he could allow himself to be silent upon the istonaetic order. There was no how to prevent those institutions. There was no law to prevent the superiors of convents keeping nuns in their house. The doors of the convents are al ways open, so that the nuns might leave at any time they thought proper.—(Hear t hear.) They had not however done so. The Eight Hon. Baronet seems to be impressed with unfavourable notions regarding the Jesuits. He had had opportunities of looking over the history of that illustrious order. He was convinced there never were greater friends to the advancement of literature than they had been. He believed that:their virtueswere their crime. He defied any man to state, kith name and fact, anything derogatory to that illustrious order which he was not able to refute. Their lives *ere spent in the performance of the most arctic virtues. They are compelled to spend a number of years in a course of training at their colleges, to enable them to teach others, and at the expiration of that period they may or may notbe admitted into the' order. They have produced many great men in all branches of literature and science, which no person can but admit. The authority of Pascal, although a great and fascinating writer, yet he does not attempt to look into the facts of the case ; and he (Mr. O'Connell) believed that there was not a statement put forward in that book that he was not able to refute. Blichelet was not either any authority to be quoted upon the subject of the Jesuits, nothing could be more atro cious than his bock. As to Eugene Sue, the writer of romances of the most attrocious nature, he states no fact whatever of the Jesuits. He succeeded by drawing largely upon hie imagination to turn his work into a most gross and unatural romance. There is not a single fact recorded in it. They had been persecuted by ',many countries by reason of their superior moral lives. Spain and Portugal had ba nished them from their countries, and no person could say that those countries were et all in an enlightened state. He thanked God that the order was now reviving again, that in the la ~t year 40 missionaries had been sent to a great portion of the most uncivilised parts of the globe. They would probably double their number in the next year.- He begged pardon of the llouse for introducing to their notice the sub ject of the Jesuists ; it was the first time he had troubled the House with such a subject; and concluded by stating, as his firm and settled conviction, that' they were the greatest benefactors to the literature and science of this country.l - Mr. PAKINGTON, though' a member of the Protestant Church, would gladly support the principle of the Bill, which he believed was to remove those enactments against Roman Catholics which had now become obsolete. But, at the same time, 'though perfectly willing to make any concession to his Catholic brethren, he could not go so far as the principle contemplated in the Bill. He could not support a measure calculated to remove these safeguards of the British constitution' which were framed at the time of the passing of the Catholic Emanci pation Act in 1829. Mr. JOHN O'CONNELL could say that he had been educated at a Jesuit college, and from what he had seen there, he believed that they were good Christians, enlightened gentlemen, and loyal subjects. Mr. NEWDEGATE thought that it would be found that the order of the Jesuits would be difficult to be traced; he would not deny that there might be among them some cha racters remarkable for their attainments. Several countries, however, which the Hon. Member for Cork must be aware of, had found it necessary for the preservation of internal peace to banish them. Mr. O'CONNELL stated, in reply to the Hon. Member, that the forty missionaries he hid alluded to had not been labouring in England or France, but their labours had com menced at the Mores, and ended at Cochin China. ' Lord JOHN MANNERS could not see what possible good it could do to the ILonourable Member for Oxford, or any other Protestant, to witness the continuance of these laws upon the statute-book. The Honourable Ba ronet said he would remove them when some prac tical grievance resulted from their enforcement, but what was that but carrying out the old adage of not shutting the stable till the steed was stolen? Ile could not agree with the fears expressed by Hon. Members in refer ence to the Jesuits. About 100 years ago a similar feeling prevailed in this country against the Templare. There was no atrocity of which they were considered capable. The Spectator, a few years ago, stated that the feelings pre valent about Jesuits were " more suited to circulating libraries and romances tban grave political discussions." These opinions were absolutely ridiculous. The Jesuits were a body of learned. and intelligent men, and had of late carried the Gospel to China, and conferred a great amount of good on benighted lands. Ile thought they should rather imitate their example, as well that of the Christian Brothers and the Cistercians of Mount Melleray, than sully the dignity of the British House of Commons by heaping aspersions upon them which were utterly devoid of truth and unworthy of their character. Mr. ESTCOURT apprehended that the enactments of 1829 were not inoperative and useless, for the speech of the Noble Lord proved distinctly the reverse. The Noble Lord dwelt at some length on them, and considered them of little consequence; but he was old enough, to remember that con siderable importance was attached to them when they were under discussion. He should most willingly support, the amendment of the Hon. Baronet. Mr. P. BORTWICK supported the second reading of the Bill, because it was founded upon the broad principle of cha rity—the child of Christianity and the mother of the Church of England. He considered the works of Eugene Sue ex ercised a more pernicious influence on society than any act the Jesuits had ever Committed. Mr. M. MILNES would have preferred that this discussion had taken place upon the Government Bill. He passed a great portion of his time in Catholic countries, and had even heard the service of the Church of England under the walls of the Vatican. He considered that the re moval of these disabilities would have a good effect on the Roman Catholic religion abroad. He hoped that they would eschew these absurd delusions about Jesuits, and remove for ever from the statute-book these odious penalties and dis abilities. Colonel SIBTHORP said he would adopt in reference to this measure but one course, and that was the consistent course, and the same that he had pursued in reference to the grant to the College of Maynooth. He did hope that the Hon. -Member for Oxford would take a division on his amendment; and ► here, let him say, that he did think that the Protem tent religion was much indebted to that Honours ble Member for the manner in which he had defeat led it. With regard to this measure he would sit down by a tying, that he would support the sug gestion of the Hon. Umber for Oxford, becauss lie feared that to leave the mei tura of the Right Honourable Baronet unsupported would bays the effect of undermining the Pro testant religion in ti tis country. Captain HARRIS said he quite agreed with many Hon. Members that many of these. penal Acts should be repealed; but at the same tine e he should oppose the present measure, because he conceived it to be too general a measure. Lord J. RUSSELL , said he wished to put a question to the mover of the Bill. e would wish to know whether certain penalties which had b ern alluded to would be repealed ? Mr. ESCOTT said he would be very glad to introduce a clause to the effect it st: abolishing those penalties, though he believed that in the,. existing state of the law these penalties could not be enforc a d.—(Cries of " Divide, divide.") Mr. P. HOWA 'D said the lion. Member opposite was mistaken as to the e xisting law in reference to Jesuits. Mr. B. ESCOT' C -replied. He said the Bill would contain a clause to prevent ; processions of Roman Catholics in this country, which sho raid have a malicious or offensive tendency. He had heard Hot e Members contend that other Acts affect ing other persuash ins injuriously ought to be repealed. He fully agreed with t liem ' • but then he would say, i n re f erence to the Acts w h ioh this Bill proposed to repeal, that they were either in `ssolete or penal, and in either case they should be repeal 'ed.—(Hear, hear.) If they were obso lete, then they were s so use, and ought to be abolished; and if they were penal, t hen that was a still stronger reason for their repeal.—(Loud t cries of " Divide, divide.") Strangers were thez ordered to withdraw, and the House divided, when there al 'peered— For the second reading Against it ..... .Majority I's k r the second reading —43 MANCHESTER, I lUDDERSFIELD, AND GREAT GRIMSB Y DIRECT RAILWAY. This Bill was read a'. second time. OUT-PENSIONERS' PAYMENT (GREENWICH AND eE ELSEA) BILL. Mr. SIDNEY HER:, BERT moved the second reading of this Bill. Captain PECHELL briofly expressed his dissent from the principles of ti ;is Bi 11, as its operation was by no means calculated to 1 penefit the interests of, or to give satisfaction to, tho sse veterans. Mr. SIDNEY HI eRBEI .IT defended the Bill as a measure that would inflict r bare ,ship on the pensioners, but rather be a means of prot. scti . ng, them. The Secretary -at-War had no power to withho grant pensions, but it was provided that the payments aloe Id be made through him. Instead of pensions being paid, s hitherto, by a clumsy and cumberous process, they would be paid directly by a staff officer, under the general superintes sele, see of the Secretary-at -War. After a few remarki fro' U. Captain PECRELL; the Bill was read a second time ai ,d ot elered to be committed on 'Friday next. SUPPLY. The - House then resi dyed itself into a Committee of Supply, when, on the motion i if - The CHANCELLI )R C f the EXCHEQUER, 800,000/. was voted to the use f her Majesty. THE METRO 'W. ,ITAN BUILDINGS BILL. This Bill was read third time and passed. The report on the Siauth Sea Company's Bill was then brought up, and agreei I.'to, LACE 'FACTORIES BILL. Mr. THOMAS S. I DUNCOMI3E presented a petition from 3,426 individuals' engaged in lace factories, praying the House to pass a Bill fil r the limitation of , the hours of night labour in all factories, where bobbins a.'ad net and warp lace machinery was in 13 se. They stated that the present hours of labour fere so lon g th a t t h e i r h ea l th and morals were ( les t t e r n oYe t d n , igh tn t. d they prayed that the Horse might 'Ass' a Bill to et .or t en th e i r h ours of labour per day,. comme Ac i rl i at six 'o'clock in the morning and closing a t not la'zer that , ll Ordererl to 'de or t the% table. The Ho. N. Abu man 1 hen , introduced a Bill ground e d on the above p etitio a, eald that AI petition had been received by, the House he is, v ed. tbal, rtr , opposition would be offered to the Bill. Sir JAMES; GR &BAY- had aliv : ays bad an objection to interfering witl , the hour sof laboui. The Hon. Gentleman had stated veil • fair ly,f.aat. he had not refused his asse n t to such a Bill as I this being brer,ght in. ; He did this because until he , had enj rayed au opportunity of considering its provisions; l• ie , had always understood that th e . lace trade was " different, from those in which the bulk of the business; in. which. machinery was the chief means of production; In d that,' therefore, there was not the same objection to lon g hours in this , business ; but when the Bill was brought ik he would be - able to state more explicitly his opinion respei Ail -ig it. ' . Mr. FOSTEI t said that ;the Bill thus announced was in direct °ppm ition •to the rules , which had always been laid down,l of not interfering between the adult labourer and his employee .It was going in the teeth of all they had been doing durin; -, the last twelve years. He had another ob jection to this Bil, i, for it appeared thst it would allow children of tender age to 43 er.giged during the excessive hours of from six in the evenin'; i; till ten,at night; and he thought, there fore, that it VI out dbe but wise, in the Hon. Gentlemen who were about to brie .. ig in this Bill, to attend to this particular _ e . : Colonel ROLROLLS:STON.had observed with Pleasure that t the the men ma steerfs similar andli 4: h li on. Gentle•an oppoi,ite had presented a petition from e ep s i h ri o t u t l o d t b h e at h w ap h p r tohegihvaedh-ptsrefseeenbtled i presented from greatthe p r s o n m e o s t .i i l on a i V; ta a t n y o fmeas wh i churet h iv e h i p li t - it N i v e a n s e r likely o both h o abate e s r o s o 7 ed th in e number of and men, compl led. •'• - • ' Mr. HEATH Cl )TE stated, th a t h e h ad found it beneficial nuoffaehteour3rl he w to hie h h is the or' pets r i s u S were employed in , , re sis to reduce would support t h e lintroduction of.the Bill. Mr. T. DU ~S7r, s , )MBE, said that th e proposal of his BM was pet not to com . . t ' a persons employed i n th e l ace and 1 . bobbin.net manufacture to - work for sixteen trade hours a d to prevent them workinm at all but . , ~, hours of the ,' Tio bought it would be better, in Q01)80- queue of th 0 Pt. ' 4. - v., DV ' . of the p re ven t cue, tbott ? pro f re oilias nisi•-. . - • . the secondreading of the Bill, a Committe should be appointed to inquire - into the circumstances of the case. Mr. FEILDEN said it had been proved that in many cases young children were compelled to work twenty hours a-eay, and that with two sets of hands, who worked ten hours each ; he thought that there could be no necessity for such night work when there was so much machinery. Sir J. GRAHAM said, perhaps the Hon. Member would allow some time to elapse before the second reading, in order that he (Sir J. Graham) might have an opportunity of making some inquiry With regard to this very important subject, as considerable caution was required before any alte ration could be introduced. Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. Mr. BROTHER roN moved for a return of the number of bricks upon which duty has been paid in each year, between the sth day of January, 1838, and ;the sth day of January 1846, in England and Scotland ; distinguish ing the number of bricks upon which duty has been paid in each county, and the amount paid thereon respectively (in continuation of Parliamentary paper No.- 217, of session 1838). —Agreed to. Captain PECHELL moved for copies of all letters from the Poor-law Commissioners and the Assistant Commissioner, from the 2?d day of March 1842, to the 7th day of November, 1845, respecting the erection or alteration of buildings or places for mills or other machinery for the purpose of grinding bones and preparing bone dust ; likewise, copies of all rules, orders, or letters issued to the several boards of guardians resi.eding the employment of vagrants and part rs in pounding a grinding bones.—Agreed to. The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned at half-past Five. WEST LONDON RAILWAY. (THIS DAY.) The half-yearly meeting of the proprietors of this rail way was held at one o'cleck this day, at the London Tavern, fur the transaction of the ordinary businesa'of the company. But 'a small number of shareholders were present. H. H. Grounds, Kiel., occupied the chair. The advertisement convening the meeting having been read; and the seal of the company affixed to the register of proprietors, - • The CHAIRMAN said he had great pleasure in meeting the proprietors, as the directors had succeeded in bringing the affairs of the company into a very small compass. They had indeed hoped to have had it in their power to have report3cl this day that their affairs had been finally wound up, but circumstances had prevented the full accomplishment cf so desirable an object. They, however, fully expected that the two or three small out standing matters would be satisfactorily arranged in the course of a few weeks, when, as he stated at the last meeting, the expenses of conducting the business of the Company would be reduced to the lowest limit consistent with the proper protection of their property and interests. He'was happy to inform them that the lease of the line to the London and Birmingham Company had at • length been executed, and that the counterpart was then on the table. The delay which had occurred in getting this important matter concluded, though it had caused the directors . a good deal of anxiety, had been unavoidable. In the expectation of being able to lay before them the award . of Mr. Hudson; Mr. Glynn, and Mr. Stephenson in the' matter of the reference respecting. the shares, they delayed calling the meeting until the last day allowed by the Act of Parliament. It , had, however, been found impossible to get it ready in time. They were assured, however, that it was in the course of preparation, and as soon as they received it, a special general meeting would be called for the .purpose of submitting it to them. A delay of no more than two or three weeks would take place. A Bill had been introduced into Parliament for the London and Birmingham and Great Western Companies jointly,. for the impr o veme n t cf this railway and for extening it to the Thames, and he believed that, not withstanding a temporary obstacle, it would receive the sanc tion of the Legislature. The line which had been adopted was on the opposite side cf the Kensington Canal to that pro posed last year, iii order to avoid the estate of Lord Kensington. As soon as this extension line was constructed, and they were informed that the works would only occupy a short time, they might expect a large traffic from both the London and Birmingham and Great Western Railways over their present line to the Thames. TLe traffic on the Kensington Canal had greatly increased, and they were of opinion that a farther accession would take place, but they considered that it would be necessary, during the ensuing summer, to expend a sum of money in permanently repairing it, and as soon as they had ascertained what surplus would remain out of the 60,0001. to be received from the London and Birmingham Comany, they proposed to call a special meeting of the shareholderS and to bring the subject before them. The SECRETARY then read the report, which was simply an echo of the Chairman's address. _ _ A statement of the reCeipts and disbursements for the twelve months ending 31st December, was next submitted to the meeting, of which the following is an abstract :—Re-• ceipts to June 30, 236,7401. 3s. 7id. ; London and Birming ham Company, on account of purchase-money. 3,7111. ss. 60. ; interest on debentures due Dec. 18, 1845 received from that Company, 497/. Bs. ld ; calls on original and first-class preferred shares, 105/. 16s, 10d. ; furniture and share account, 81/. 17s. 5d.; Kensington canal traffic and canal and railway rents, 397/. 10s. 6d.; drainage 50/.; total, 261,5841.15. op. Disbursements to June 30, 256,307/. 14s. 11d. General disbursements, including land and compensation in terest on debentures and debentures paid off, gratuity of 5001. to secretary, &c., 5,0041. ss. 4d.; leaving a balance in hand of 272/. Os. 90. On the motion of Mr. GuNTER, seconded by Mr. HENRY, the report was received and adopted. . . . . In the course of a prolonged discussion it was elicited that the Bill introduced into Parl;ament had a twofold object, namely, to carry the line on to the Thames, and across the Great Western - Railway to the Paddington Canal, where it would form a junction with the London and Birmingham Railway. One or the plans which had been deposited at the Board of Trade had been lost. lt specified the way which they proposed to cross the Great Western Railway, and could not therrfore affect the proposed extensious. They had, however, no reason to apprehend that this accident would prevent the • ultimate passing of the Bill. They would participate in the benefits wising from these extensions without contributing anything towards their construction. .Some disapprobation was expressed at the execution of the plans of the line by Mr. Chappins, the draughtsman to the London and Birming ham Company, - instead of Mr. Goodwin, the gentle man whom they employed, but it was explained apparently to the satisfaction of the shareholders, that as Mr. Chappins had executed imilariplans for the Birthing ham Company, which were approved of by that body, time and expense might be saved by employing him to furnish them with copies, and that Mr. noodwin had seen them, and was satisfied of their accuracy. However the plans were ordered to be forwarded to that gentleman, in order that he might go carefully over them again. • Mr. WHITE considered that the Queen would rather travel in herjourneys to and from Windsor by tiv.ir line from junction with the Great Western toa station as contiguo us to Buckingham Palace as possible instead of going to Paddington. By using the West London Railway, her Ma• jesty would save several miles over her ordinary route. • On the motion of Mr. RIGBY, 595 shares, which stood on the books in the name of the Secretary (Mr. Thompson), were ordered to be merged in the undertaking. Mr. GUNTER movai that the deed be printed, 'and - the plans annexed lithographed and circulated amongst th 3 shareholders, which was seconded by Mr. J. WIIITE, and carried. The retiring directors having been re-elected, and votes of thanks passed to the chairman and directors, and Mr. Rigby, for the assistance which he rendered to the Company in the preparation of the deed, and suitably acknowledged, the meeting separated. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. THE FRENCH STEEPLE CHASE. Weights for the Grand French Steeple Chase. Pioneer, 12st Blb Vanguard, tifearaligli:ez,l, list tl t t 3 4 113 :b 1 b Lancet, list ilawkstone, list Pledge, lOst 131 b Recruit, lost 101') TheA Cu u r s e Foxberry, lOst 121 b Crcesus, list 101 b Ragman, 10,,t 12'b Tiger, list 81b Eugene Sue, 10d i Ilb Eagle, llet 71b Regalia, lOst 10Ib Alice Grey, list 61b Saerifice, lO s t 101 b Chance, lift 41b The Spy, lOst 101 b Patriot,' llst 41b Coheiress, lOst 101 b Culvertborpe, 1 Ist 41b Grace Darling, lOst 91b Forester, list 21b Mayday, 10st 71b Cottonian; 1 Ist 21b The Kicker, lOst Mb The: Premier, llst 21b Wilton, lOst 41b • The Hack; llst 21b Little Tommy, lOst 31b Jack, list 21b - Consul, lOst Latitat, list Candle, lOst Discord, 11 st Veluti, 9st 10'b Carlon, list Scavenger, 9st 71b The. Roarer, I Ist , Artful Dodger, 9d 21b Alice Gray, 5 yrs old, as named by Mr. Crethieux, is a wrong nomination, and nil' pay forfeit. To declare forfeit before five P.M. of the 20th instant. (RECEIVED THIS DAT.) BETTING AT MANCHESTER-TUESDAY. THB TuteISTWESA; CovENTRIT.-6 to 4 asst /antass (t). CHESTER CUP. —l7 to 1 agst Sweetmeat (t), 22 to 1 agst Miss Burns (take S 5 to 1), 25 to 1 aget Mermaid, 25 to 1 agst The Baron, 25 to 1 agst Best Bower (t), 25 to 1 agst Clumsy (take 2S to 1), 25 to I agst Fitzallon (t), 50, to 1 agst Crim. Con., 50 to 1 agst Miss Elis, 50 to 1 agst St. Lawrence, 1,000 to 10 agst Mervis (t). DERBY. —5 to 1 aget Sting (t), 15 to 1 agst 13rocardo (t),23 to 1 agst lago (t), 25 to 1 agst Tlbthorpe (t), 40 to 1 agst Fancy Boy (2), 50 to 1 agst Nutbourne (t). IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. II MOUSE OF LORDS, March 10. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woolsack at the usual hour. IRISH PACIFICATION BILL. Lord DENMAN agreed with his Noble Friend (the Earl of Wicklow) that a great hardship would be imposed on those persons who would be taken up under the Bill, unless a pro vision was made. If a sessions was only to be held once a week, accused parties, besides being confined for three or four days in miserable and badly-ventilated eelle, would often have to wa k twenty miles, in order to be examined. He would wish the Noble Earl (the Earl St. Germans) to state what he intended to do respecting gaol accommodation, which at present was so very bad. The Earl of ST. GERMANS said that difficulty could be overcome by making temporary accommodation at the police stations, for parties that might be waiting for examination. The expense of this could not be very great. Lord DENMAN remarked that there was no such place adopted at present. The Earl of ST. GERMANS said the difficulty stated fre quently existed under the present administration of the law, but it could be met by attaching accommodation to the police stations. Lord 111 ONTEAGLE said that the question of commitment in the present case was totally different from that of any other. In case the party who was apprehended had an er t en- unity of defending himself, and had the power of exonerating him self, he, in common with his Noble Friends, objected to his being conFned for seven days and seven eights in the police station before he could prove his inno cence. Let them not teal too harshly. Let them nut add any unnecessary severity to this severe enactment. He would suggest that no unnecessary harshness should be em ployed to increase the difficulties attendant on the measure, and be b dieved that this could be done without impeding the prac tical operation of the Bill. . The LORD CHANCELLOR said that he should be very sorry that this Bill should go to the other House of Parliament under such circumstances, to create an impression that it had not received the general assent of all the Members of that House. He would, therefore, propose to the Noble Lord, that the consideration of the question should stand over until Thurs day, and he would endeavour by that time to see if a clause could lie passed so as to remove the difficulty. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE said that he cordially agreed with the Noble Lord who had spoken on his side of the House. He believed that it was important that one magistrate should have the power of discharging any man, who might have been arrested by the stupidity or partiality of the police. He did not attach one single particle of evil to such a power, for if a magistrate were afraid to do his duty by discharging or committing a prisoner, as occasion required, he ought to be discharged from the commission of the peace, and the country would be benefited by his. removal. Great and serious mis chief had been done by the timidity of magistrates on the one hand, and the oppression of magistrates on the other. The magistrate need not make it a matter of necessity to commit the man on.his own authority, he might wait for the decision of other magistrates; by such a course he would not render himself obnoxious. The magistrate might hold the prisoner to bail, if he did not think proper to dismiss him.—( Hear, hear.) He for one hoped that, if the law was to be altered, the alteration might be printed by Thursday, so as to be easily attainable by their Lordships. Earl ST. GERMANS said that he did not consider that the clause, as now proposed, would be any hardship upon indi viduals. If the alteration proposed were carried into effect, it would be difficult to get magistrates to act together. It was quite clear that this course would not be judicious, because if a man wile should be bailed were really conscious of his guilt, be would certainly make his escape. The proposition now before the House was, that the power shall be given to one magis trate to admit to bail, or to discharge, or to commit ; which would, in fact, be making that magistrate the sole judge of the man's guilt or innocence, and this result might be that a most dangerous character might lie let loose upon society. The Duke of RICHMOND was opposed to the suggestion of the Noble Lord on the Woolsack. It would really be too had to have a man taken twenty miles to the county gaol, and twenty miles back again, and then have his innocence proved. He was, therefore, in favour of a prisoner being taken before a magistrate imme diately, and to take bail for him, or discharge him, if he had a prima facia case, or to convict him if there should be a clear case against him. If there was an objection to one magistrate acting in this capacity, it would amount to saying that the Irish magistrates were rot fit for the discharge of their duty. If the Noble Lord should press his motion to a divisionsshe would cer tainly support him. The Earl of DEVON hoped that the Lord Chancellor would postpone his motion. The Marquis of NORTHAMPTON thought that if they wished the law to be respected in Ireland they would not add any unnecessarily severe clauses to the measure under consi deration. He did not agree with the remark that the magis • trates would by the amendment of the Noble Lord (Earl of Wicklow) be constituted the judges of the crime!; he would only, after all, be'required to judge whether the individual taken be fore him should be bailed or not. Earl ST. GERMANS said he did not wish to pees , the clause against the wishes of Noble Lords. He should there fore withdraw it for the purpose of its being re-considered. The Earl of WICKLOW was perfectly convinced, from the discussion that had taken place that night, that the clause in its present state would never have been carried. He was, however, satisfied with the admission made by the Noble Earl, and would not press it to a division. He trusted that they could send the measure to the other House in a better state than many of the Bills emanating there came up to them. The LORD CHANCELLOR said that by the Bill, as it at present stood, parties were to be brought up before the petty sessions, who were to decide upon the evidences of their crime? The difficulty was that the' petty sessions might not sit for a week, arid, therefore, the Noble Earl suggested that they shou d be carried at once before two magistrates, who would decide whether they should go before the petty sessions or not. lily the present amendment, it was desired that the magistrate should at once either discharge, or send them for trial, without the intervention of the petty sessions. He confessed that, of the two, he preferred the course which had been usually fol lowed in similar Bills. After i few words from the Marquis of CLANRICARDE, Earl GREY suggested that if tke Bill was seed a third time, it should be reprinted as it hatbeen amended. The Earl of St. GERMANS said that he had proposed at first to bring up "the report on Thursday evening, when the amendments could have been printed, and had only consented to bring it up to-night at the strong suggestion of their Lord ships, so that no time might be lost. He would take care that the Bill should be printed before the third reading. The amendments under consideration were then agreed to. The Earl of St. GERMANS then proposed that the 16th clause, respecting the "arrestment of persons," should be amended with the addition of the words " under suspicious cir cumstances,' when, after a few words from Lord CAMPBELL against the severity of the clause, Lord COTTINGIIAM thought that there was no analogy whatever between this Act and the Whiteboy Act. This was much more severe and oppressive, and applied a more stringent punishment to offences of a less venial kind. The LORD CHANCELLOR said that the operation of the Act referred to by the Noble Lard applied to the country generally, but this Act would only affect disturbed districts, and - consequently ought to be more revere Lord CAMPBELL said that the offence which was punished by this Act with transportation, was, by the White boy Act only treated as a misdemeanour, and punished w ith fine and imprisonment. After a desultory conversation between thy Lord Chancellor, Lord Cottingham, the Earl of St. Germans, and the Earl of Wicklow, the clause was agreed to. The remaining clauses of the Bill were then agreed to ; the Bill, as amended, was ordered to be reprinted, and the report on the amended Bill to be brought up on Thursday, The third reading was fixed for Friday. Their Lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS, March 10. EDUCATION IN WALES. Mr. WILLIAMS then rose, in pursuance of notice, to move than an address be presented to her Majesty for inquiry to be made into the state of education in the principality of Wales, with the means afforded to the labouring classed of ac quiring a knowledge of the English language. He said that the state of education in Wales was much more neglected and deficient than in any ether part of the United Kingdom. The consequence was, that there were no works produced amongst that people which had been an addition to literature for ages, neither had there been any translations of English works into their language, either on literature, the arts, and sciences, especially in those most important to the interests of mineralogy, agriculture, or the useful arts. That was the position in which they were placed, and he thought until the Gwernment sh suld have taken measures for such an intro duction of the English language as would - increase the intelligence and information of the community in general throughout the principality of Wales, no great improvement was likely to take place. His motion only asked for an inquiry in the same way as had been grantel to England and Scotland. A Committee had been appointed to inquire into the system of education in England and Wales, and many valuable reports resulted from that inquiry so far as England was concerned. Now out of all this inquiry only one part of Wales was alluded to. Why that was the case he could not tell. The report from that district, however, gave such a statement of the destitute state of education, that he considered it binding upon her Majesty's Government to remedy the evil. There were 250,000 children in the principality of Wales, from the age of fourteen years downwards, who ought to receive education, and who were at present, in a great measure, with out the means of obtaining it. He had received various letters on the subject, in one of which it was stated, that of the 25,000 children a very large proportion of theta received no education, or of so inferior a description, it may be only called nominal. That Gentleman states, that those 250,000 children had immortal souls, and they were left without the means of receiving a proper education. In Merthyr Tydvil, and four parishes in Monmouthshire, con sisting of 85,000 inhabitants, he states, that the means for affording education in those parishes consisted of forty•seven schools, thirty-three of which were for children, and there remained 8,026 who received no education whatsoever. Many of these schools had masters who were themselves the most ignorant men, and, of course, were incapable of giving instructions to those under their care. He could give mane proofs of what he had stated to the House, but he would not take up the time of the Hon. Members by reading more than one or two of the statements which he • had received in confirmation of the state of education in that portion of her Majesty's dominions. Sixteen of the masters of those schools were unsuc cessful in retail trades. Eleven masters were miners or labourers, and only ten had received any education with a view of becoming fitted for the instruction of youth. Four were dissenting preachers, and such was the mode by which at present the schools in Wales were governed. Ho states that the instruction afforded to the children of the labouring classes could not be expected to have much per manent effect, either in raising their habits or correct ing their dispositions. He found the greatest dis position among the people to avail themselves of instruction, and the district to which he had alluded, contained eighty Sunday schools, at which a large number of adults attended for several hours of the day, in order to be enabled to read their bible.—( Hear, hear.) He would refer the House to the statement of Mr. Tremaherne. In making his statement as to the mental destitution of the people, he said, the men engaged in the furnaces and in the mills got from 255. to 60s. a week wages. The miners and colliers got. 21e. to 255. ; the artisans lbs. to 245. ; and the commonest labourer 12s. to 18s. Now, what was the mental condition of that population, so physically well off? Mr. Tremaherne said scarcely one instance existed among those men earning 50s. a week of any savings being Made. He said that these men, industrious to the last degree, were so destitute of mental means of enjoyment that they were obliged to resort to the public- house, and there they spent their earnings. It might be asked,what was the cause of all this apathy and indifference towards this people ? He could not answer the question; but it appeared to him snore than extraordinary to perceive etch indifference practised towards a mass of people who needed so much moral, mental, and, he would add, physical improvement. He very much feared that some strong feeling of indifference prevailed amongst the gentry and landed proprietary of the country ; and though there were, to his own knowledge, many most excellent and worthy gentlemen amongst them, yet, he should adhere to what he had originally stated. He had no doubt if the landed proprietors were compelled, as were the gentry of Scotland at one period, to form schools in the various diatriets„ that the outlay would be tenfold repaid them, not t alone by the improved habits, and superior manners of the people, but also by the superior style of cultivation which they then would be certain to practice. He should state that there existed the most intense desire amongst the people of Wales to possess the means of acquiring a knowledge of the English language. In support of this he begged to refer to the report of her Majesty's Commi,sioners appointed to inquire into the state of the principality of Wales. The Hon. Member then read an extract from the reports of the Committee appointed to enquire into the state of educa tion in North and South Wales, which set firth that the it ant of a knOwledge of the English language by the inhabitants of the principality was a great drawback to their improvement, as it prevented the proper working of the laws, the administra tion of justice, and threw great difficulties in the way of the essertions of the Church of England and its members. There were but few churches, and so low was the state of !corals as to almost cripple individual exertions, the consesi:Sence was that many farmers and their fee reach of improvement. They families were almost bestow.; also attributed the recent poi;steal excitement to the ignorance amongst the people. The i'Z.Tort wa' signed by gentlemen of great influence, whose authority was sufficient to induce the House and the Government give the . subject the earliest and filest considera.'Qn• If he could induce her Majesty's Government and that House to confer upon the people of this country the benefits of a sown', education, the beneficial results would be beyond calculation. Ile would now call the attention of the Right Hon. Baronet the Secretary of State to the' statements made by the gentlemen ho had named. 'fhey said that the want of the knowledge of the English language, arising from a want of proper education presented the most serious obstacles to the administration of justice. It were impossible for him to furnish evidence more striking of the consequences of the want of education than those statements appeared to be. If the House wished, he could multiply such statements a hundred fold ; but he would just confine himself to two or three per sons who were well known to that House, and to the country, and who he was sure would receive that attention they deserved. He would beg leave to quote the opinion of -a gentleman, who was in an especial manner worthy of their attention. Ile meant the gentleman who was sent by the Times newspaper to Wales to inquire into the dis turbances which prevailed there some few years ego. He was in that country for a considerable period of time ; he was a gentleman of high education, a barrister, and one who was peculiarly qualified fur investigating into the condition of the people. He was the same gentleman who was lately sent to Ireland under the name of the Times' Commissioner, and who had sent to this country those very able reports which had appeared in the Times. He meant Mr. Forster. The Hon. Member went on to read an extract from the reports which had appeared in the Times newspaper a few years ago with respect to the disturb ances in Wales. That gentleman stated, that after a long sojourn in that country, he had found that the state of the education of the people was lamentably deficient, which was the main cause of the disturbances which had broken out, and that they were, in fact, completely destitute of that which led to improvement and civilisation—complete and sound education. He also stated that there could be no ex tensive, sound, and feasible plan of education, unless it were based upon the principle of waking the English lan guage the only means of communication.—( Hear, hear. ) The useful sciences, and indeed the whole principle of ad vancement depended upon, the cultivation of the English lan guage. The Welsh people were well aware of this circum stance, and were exceedingly anxious to obtain the means of teaching their children English. This, he was convinced, was the only means which opened the road to promotion. He there fore thought that this was the only way to increase the pros perity of the country, and to render the people permanently happy. He would now add to the testimony of this gentleman, other evidence of great importance. It was the testimony of a gentleman, distinguished alike from his high position, and for the extent of his attainments as a scholar, and his char acter as a man. He alluded to one high in the estimation of the Bench of Bishops. He meant the Bishop of St. David s. In one of his late charges that learned functionary had stated, for the instruction of his clergy, that it was a remarkable cir cumstance, which had come to his knowledge, that several of the children of the Welsh in, the rural districts, from their knowledge of the English language, had been the mail means of instructing their parents in the principles of morality and religion. He thought, therefore, that the utmost efforts should be made to extend the knowledge of the English lan guage throughout the whole of the Principality, for he believed it depended greatly upon this means of communica tion being extended, ehether the Welsh community advanced or retrograded in religious knowledge. Now he (Mr. Williams) thought that no better testimony could be given than this for the promotion of the English language. All these circum stances combined to convince him, and to show that the only means of promoting extensive usefulness was the one which the Learned Prelate bad pointed out ; and he trusted that the same feeling which had been exhibi-ed in these reports would find a response within the walls of the House, and that it would be carried out to the remotest parts of the United Kingdom. The lion. Member then proceeded to read another statement, and he would state, as an apology fur trespassing so long on the patience of this House, that it was the first time that this House had been called upon to consider the education in Wales. The statement to which the Hon. Member referred was written by a proprietor and editor of one of the leading journals in Wales, and who was intimately acquainted with the condition of the people of that country, and who had written many articles in favour of establishing a better system of edu cation in that country. He had stated, when referring to the late " Rebecca" disturbances, that such a violation of the law betokened the general state of uneasiness and disaffection in the country, and proceeded to say that if the people had been acquainted with the English language, and had had a proper education, instead of being, as they then were, a prey to designing hypocrites, with religion on their lips and wickedness at their hearts, they would be, from their geographical position, and their great natural advantages, the best, the happiest, the most peaceful, and the most prosperous people on the face of the earth. He (Mr. Williams) considered these remarks as a strong evidence in favour of extending en improved system of education to that country. The present state of education in Wales was well known, and when he saw these proofs of the existing state of ignorance, he was compelled to ask himself, what could these people he doing to allow themselves,to re main in such a state? A great portion of the people of the north of Scotland and the north of Ireland, were in the came condition as the people of Wales. What would be the conse quence of an improved system of education? What had Scot land done for herself ? An Act was passed in 1833, far este Wishing schools in Scotland. A tax was imposed upon the landowners to defray the expenses . attending these schools, and hew well had they been repaid' for their outlay. The prosperity of that country was , principally owing to the improved system of education ' which bad been so successfully introduced. There were in that country an average of three schools •to each parish. But not content With having done all that for the instruction of the people, they had also appointed a Committee to inquire. and report to the Council on Education as to the working of the system. Every means were taken to give effect to those schools that the Government could possibly adopt. Although he had always been an advocate for curtailing public expendi ture, yet he never on any occasion ceased to advocate the out lay of public money for the purpose of education in any part of the United Kingdom. Now, as he said before, the conse quence of the system of education in Scotland had made the people of that country the most intelligent of any people in Europe. Let them talk to whom they would, they would hear it stated how intelligent and how industrious were the Scotch. What had they done for Ireland? They had done for Ireland what reflected the highest credit on the Government. They had done that which, in his opinion, would re move many of the evils and the crimes which ' existed there, because they were of a social character and would be removed by education. He would just relate to the House what had been done for Ireland. ' So early as the reign of Henry VIII. an Act of the English • Parliament was passed to establish schools in' every parish in Ireland. .Subsequent Acts were passed in the reigns of Elizabeth, George 1., George 11., and George 111., but the system of education provided by those Acts being of a sectarian nature were con sequently unsuccessful ; but in 18C6 the Crown appointed a Commission to inquire into the funds and revenues granted by public bodies for the purpose of education, and also into the state of public schools in Ireland. Subsequent Commissions were issued, and their reports were submitted to a Committee of that House, and in the year 1831 a most extended system of education was founded on the report of 'that Committee, a system which has already produced the most beneficial results. Schools were immediately put into operation, and the result was that in the year 1841 nearly half a million of poor Irish children were receiving the blessings of education ; and he had no doubt that in 1846 the amount was doubled. The Government established normal schools, which were attended by two professors, who gave lec tures on the art of teaching and conducting _schools, in the English language, and in geography ; and there were now ex periments carried out which would unite the instruction of agriculture. Last year there was voted, for the building of three colleges in Ireland, the sum of 100,0001., and a further sum of 21,0001. for endowment, and 26,0001. for the repairs of the College of Maynooth. It might be said that the clergy cf Wales ought to provide for the education of the people. They ' were too poor to do so. In ten parishei in Carmarthenshire the tithes were 5,9351., and out of that 2,2261. went into the pockets of the proprietore, thus leaving only 7001. for the clergy of' these parishes.—(Hear.) He had seen a report of a meeting of clergymen in January last, for the purpose of education in Wales, in which they la mented that no feeling had been manifested by the laity for that object, and that all the money that had been subscribed had been obtained from the clergy. He hoped that the House would not throw any difficulty in the way of his proposed in quiry. Ho did not wish the House to believe his single state ment. The most irrefragable testimony shall be furnished of the destitute state of the Welsh people with respect to educa tion, and of their strong desire to be properly instructed. If the landed proprietors were co m p e ll e d t o es t a bli s h sc h oo l s on their several estates, he (Mr. Williams) had no doubt that in a little time they would be amply repaid for their trouble and original outlay of expense. He had never conversed with any intelligent Welshman who did not bear testimony to the uni versal dearth of education among his fellow-countrymen. There existed no porti on o f thi s em pi re w hi c h was more at tached to the institutions and habits of the English than the Welsh people. It would excite the deepest sympathy and commiseration in that House, if he were to relate some of the circumstances that had occurred in Wales with respect to the administration of justice in that country. All the proceedings in the courts of law were conducted in the English language, which was a language that the people; to a very great extent, were unacquainted with. The judge charged the jury in English—the counsel addressed them in the same language —and the most farcical and some times melancholy occurrences frequently happened in conse quence. He ( Mr. Williams) had heard from one of the local magistrates that he had very frequently known the ju r y g i ve a verdict in direct opposition to the evidence of the witnesses and the direction of the judge. When the jury were asked why it was that they had gi ven so s t range a ver di c t, t h e rep l y was in variably that they did not sufficiently understand the English language to know exactly what was going forward, and there fore they considered it remit: be advisable to give the prisoner the benefit of their ignorance, and acquit him. A case had happened of a man convicted of a crime for which he was sen tenced to be hanged. While the judge was passing sentence, the prisoner looked round and inquired what tke judge was say ing. When informed that sentence of death was being passed, the prisoner seemed astonished, and immediately declared that the witnesses had sworn falsely against him, which, after a further investigation, was discovered to be the fact. He (Mr. Williams) would trouble the House with one more circumstance. A person surrendered to take his trial for a felonious assault. On the jury being empanneled, it was notified to the Court that eleven of them did not under stand English, upon which the judge observed that the twelfth juryman could explain the case to his brethren, and the trial proceeded. The counsel on both sides addressed the jury, and the judge summed up, and the result was that a verdict Ras returned against the prisoner, who was sentenced to be krn prisoned for 4 months with hard labour. Tbe next morning eleven of the jury said they were of opinion that the man was not guilty, and actually signed a memorial to that effect to be presented to the Secretary of State. He (afar. Williams) bad not yet heard whether or not the man was discharged from cus tody. If there existed in this country any institution of which they were more proud than any other, it wa s in the adminis tration of justice ; but here was a case which could not be paralleled in the proceedings of any other country. He did not wish to bring any charge against her Majesty's Govern ment.- He was only saying that great neglect towards the Welsh people had been allowed to take place, which he trusted would in a abort time be rectified. The people do not ask you to translate the laws into their language, but they re g aels you to send the English schoolmaster among them that they may be enabled to understand the laws, and be guided rightly by them. Why, in the most despotic States, Russia, Austria! Prussia, and other nations, there existed a more efficacious and general system of education than in this empire. Loa: at our neighbours, the French people. 'fheyconueneef!,,lo 1830 under their present enlightened sovereign , and 'll3 continued progressively until the presen t period to es tabm t an unequaled system of education. This year they ha ve voted upwards of 700,0001. for the purpose of education among the Teeple, while we have voted only 73,0001. for the sant! purpose. If the schoolmaster had been sent into every Ps', of Wales there would not have been found any not understanding the administration of the law in an d NI Welsh people would not have been placed in the disgrace wetO position &scribed by the Bishop of St. David's, that they destitute alike in religious instruction and in moral knowleett; Mr. MORIIIS was of opinion that it was highly desirso_ thst the English language should be more generally knowtt: Wales, especially as there was now every prospect of ther„ it e countries becoming more intimately connected frone..rio f mutuel intercourse being increased. The only grant in w; r educational purposes consisted of thepaltry sum of 4 013 `__.* complaiutthoei to the college of St. David's. When he considered the laic egiounts which had been given for a similar purpose to tbe t s , nriittheurs, he did think the Welsh people were entitled te4 lareer participation in* the benefits which education wow confer. Sir J. GRAiLOI did not intend to trespass on the attentiotes of the House at any length, nor was he dispossed oltie_een, the general principle as stated by the Hon. Member• ti e , t he tirely agreed in the sentiment that the establishment, re national system in Ireland had been a most happy circus:o9l7i It was true that the Scotch owed the high po3ition _Po to their education, and he considered that it would tend g"" es ; t o s ee e:ser the administration of justice in Wales if a n"rehete' tended knowledge of the English language was introduced t . 0 , He did not censider that the lion. Gentleman had done .1 .0 , heir tics to the effort: of Government to promote education " the Welsh. After the year 1839, the Government el di ti o_ duty to direct their special attention to the mor al con wle y the people in that district, and it had been their earnest! those your ever since to secure, especially to the working clas'-`st.oled benefits which it was admitted vould arise from a n " lob ed education. A national system of educe:ion had been e 9 , ta o d t hat in England, Ireland, and Scotland, and Let w ould to co in it could also be extended to Wales. But he would not u e l ik e sel That House would accomplish such a wished-for event. l est consider, however, that a sectarian or separate educatte„udol far preferable to having none at all. In the very • to by the Honourable Member, after the report o f th ( ?;7 1 ruittee of Council had been received, there had been est i t ib d bests districts"-• no less than eighty-five schools, and a sum of 10,000 1 s p a on ce/ granted for the purposes of education. What he would PL ' to e would be that a Committee of the House should send fors" t he in ' inspectors to inquire into the beit means of instruction" gout° English language, and that they should report to the i t without delay ; the House could then 'pursue what ae"" on e i t might deem most proper. For his paFt he was tat s cincerely impressed with the conviction of toe 00 importance of the subject introduced ; adopted therefore most anxious that some means could be L I ;00 1 for carrying out the proposed object. lie e' )e 7,, , 01 that the education should not be merely secular. He a " sever the secular from the religious. Th e difficulty se reconcile the two. It was a difficulty w hich be felt, bet the would not despair, even to the latest moment of life, th a in t d Government should absolutely fail in the acconiplisreww-ltb such an object. If, therefore, the Hon. Member wow' m eet draw his motion he would pledge himself that the Gore; best should immediately send an inspector to report uPen should means of effecting the proposed object, and his report be without delay placed upon the table of the House. nia l of Mr. WILLIAMS would at once consent to the preP,-01iP the Right Hon. Baronet, but he would remind hi m io 28,3,000/. were granted for the purposes of eduee'—repre England. and Wales, only 2,676/. reached the district be, Boom sented, though it contained nearly half a million a' o ptl' While Staffordshire, with something about the saw° lation, received 1.1,0 4 . 4 to Mr. WYNN considered he would not be doing Inane the landed proprietors in Wales if he did not bear hi s tes t; to their exertions in extending education to the re side his oito their property. In North Wales he could state, from 131 t hree knowledge, that there was not a parish without two or three schools. The exertions of the clergy of the Est t ifyini Church.wav beyond all praise, and they were, it was K ri s s e e : to state, efficiently seconded by the Weslyans, Hap ti, and g? "." Dissenters. In some parishes the schools were unite"' o wn' did not know of one in which there was any host.litl A ba t tested.W against particularand said that h igious opi e wasnior.s. rejoiced to t o t ellY Mr there was such a desire for education in Wales, isiedeist de' rejoiced that the Government were anxious to Won' " OW? sire. -He had experience in his own country of tho le. 10 tages of education in the improved habits of the Pe e .P o 0 , 8 former periods that anxiety was not so much felt, Is e. leeP lf ; benefits of education were becoming known to the riot and although the advantages of improved education-sr7rottoe fully developed, in about ten years they would see that ' o rir was not inferior, but that she was superior, to any otb er act° try in education. The full benefits were not yet to hiititits but in a short time it would appear in the imprer ee pro' of the people—in their greater regard for , d if! perty, in their greater respect for truth,, "I'esee.A. their improved habits of industry, morality , at t 'urr: He remembered when the question of education was wtooti°," in that House, in the year 1831, that it was the n whether edncation was a benefit or an evil to the Peloostri would be a great anomaly and disgraceful to the pr ie• when every other portion of Europe -had recognised t .:plel ciele, and the necessity of giving an education to the n ot t ee a sound system of morality, that the subject shoul d fi s s. I I - with the warmest support from her Majesty's A linist! ted ti3s the discussion which formerly took place, it was sa a ' c ' t , of the , a necessity existed to promote education by 11 ' 0— ,,n a s : :Members of the House. Though he did not lay it de - t ioe fixed or general rule that there should be a mixed edoel,,,,ters' every country, still he thought that the right to make `ider ° sions for the purposes of mutual conciliations ought t ° . poia is all parties to come to an arrangement on th e 'd soca where divided interest and divided religion creat e o so opposite feeling between the Catholic and the Protestadjittist he for one hoped that there would be a school in everi ilo equal to its population. The State made it irriperSt,fili% every man should be informed, because it made it ini_ctioa that every one should know the law ; and without ednoseit' was hard for them to know the law, and thereby avoid s ac ting crime. It was incumbent on every Government o f Pi vance education, and he could perceive that they eling_ito country was gradually' advancing towards a gater conciliation. -- The motion was then withdrawn. THE CHARTIST CONVICTS. • oca bi Mr. T. DUNCOMBE rose to present a petition, lagroyilig 822 respectable tradesmen, artisans, and householdnaneena for the liberation of the convicts Frost, Williams , Sir G. STRICKLAND presented a similar Peti,' ao p a.le" also one signed by the merchants, shopkeepers, 'I weavers, cordwainers, and spinners of Preston. srei e ., 'naile r r 111 r. FIELDING presented a petition with 3s' _A a 49 t hs Mr. T. DUNCOMBE again rose, and present , '" a of •,i f tions, very numerously signed, praying for the rele: s i o ss t i o , Chartist convicts. It would be, the Hon. Gen t i le reed 0 0 too tedious to enumerate them all, but he wolf. pelf, names of a few of the principal petitions osol4 ° o , from Exeter, from Bath, from Dundee, .... ' fr o t io utbns tit, kern Newport, from Bridgewater, Granby, I "° ° _„`",l ben'et from the town of Leeds—altogether 249 petitions ; w". 2 toot t he safely say that they represented the feelings of ut n u el 6es their fellow-subjects. He begged to call the attea t a l- 0 114 .d re House to one petition in particular, which was eig o nes,; o l. of the inhabitants of Abergavenny, as among the ° an d ° v ela six of the jurymen who tried Frost, Williarne , ,_ t t hel,.,o# The 'person who subscribed that petition states tn s t i te y o .,oo the only six of the jurymen that he saw; and tha t ; o pto 'i o ta fully signed the petition. Three mere of the P T. / „ jori be ir dead, and two he could not find, and the rerne , nf.,; io to could not write. They did not attempt to .lanoold"10 petition the conduct of those men—but they saiLiog tot the the state of the country at the time, and looe „ os. examples before them, they were humbly of orio'7clisid°oo chartist convicts should be liberated like eth er I s e P el eb If be could receive the slightest intimation that thotioa obit would undergo a favourable attention—the att,. en- stoola the they demanded on the part of the Governmente—Dlioust°,iste say one word, but leave the question of those iset, l ooo co° if Government ; feeling that due justice would he `' a iree'oto eat with the sound policy which such a decision reg t bst P o se the Government could give him any assurance on the he would willingly desist from the task of bringi w a bet before the House. o ° n•, re lies Sir JAMES GRAHAM said, that if the his I would send in his statement, be would let him lin" t fine on the subject. O s ' die dos — • to • Mr. T. DUNCOMBE said, that it was soni c t d r e le h ere cuinbent that the House of Commons should iorl eo ses w o ol. alleged grievances of petitioners. There were se ni onsr ai h r , be the House ought to interfere, and there were Pee a nd th stances which justified Members for interferinifv ou gb tor e lieved the present was one of that kind, and b e h tbo . „, e ens House was bound to do so from the manner in who e lerY ;eel were tried. In the first place, he thoug ht th the o rie ls had been taken to induce the Government , ea r w aar se e xtee e re , 40 of the Crown to those misguided persons. Last ) tt goo without end passed through his hands to the Rig i o r t he t". o Baronet for the purpose of being laid at the fee! t istifi ed 1 10 41 The Government did not then feel themselves cl od feet t t ee ceding to the prayer of the petitioners. He l oo king l 'atb ° state that Government would be justified, vie d • so ot it offence for which the parties were tried and On k places t heir circumstances under which that conviction t r o e o i _ uo d to_ f t he once granting a free pardon, which would Mativer'ef,i/ credit and their sense of mercy in using the prerue s piederss•-, Crown. He thought that there was a very ge'L e fa ct u wo o. of public feeling on the subject, and that it wag_ 1 . : eo , Be_ aa tbi l throughout the country with reference to these lide j sn' r f," o $ now ask, what was the reason of that se:clely-eaT i ar ose i ' ao sioo He believed that it arose from two caner' r t he P° l a to t , doubt that existed in the minds of four.fit'im:aioat tbosioret; of the country, that the conviction had . l e . „. d o ubt rjoid. ;vas not altogether fair. That there was gre- sot i tr„, at tb: irg their conviction was universally admitted `en !Jr was not alone felt amongst the people, but ev" lawyers themselves. Of the fifteen judge!, t vr ° 3 :o ' etir ta j s . ; point raised was referred, six were of opinionnis. bo o _ 4 . while nine decided otherwise, if the objectio t he . 01 0 : 0 , in time. He had not the slightest fault to find _r d obi t s uch net in which the trial was conducted; and be d di d tbst „„ t is . • od lip ped e r a il duce the subject with any party feeling, a • • cussions 11 0 would not be entertained during this die ogo tions which he had presented were geues?l:Y__ 000 0 0 , 00 .0 parties and all classes, and many signed V , T tlat the t ip and charitable motives. He had also to se d y theft , t' h the of the Crown on that occasion perform:. to the pro wo o manner which did honour to themselves a who, Pributettigi::;stil; to which they belonged. He also admitted were t f o were most ably defended by the Righthlit oceas i°n. ail s posite, and by the Chief Baron on t a d - at the tr ; tb c b well known that a point was reserve had OW was referred to the fifteen Judges, point. He might as well state whatth_,._t°t'he story; If was reserved, although' he did not think . In' tleman present would require to know making a defence against similar charg!sr.a..t let ter a' is was this, that, according to the tbe law, when any person is indicted forot. high eel necessary that a list should be given n.Pr_weliittnsehstis; particular period when copies of the h i e (mu" believe d he o w is s bed sered to the parties indicted. Now, ere not Alr he coil, • in saying that copies of the indictment w T o the same time when the indictment was re of t ke het to t the indictment was furnished on Thursclaytioallu poia t ' Tuesday. No lawyer had any doubt Dame tits obje cti l both must be delivered at one and the shat,pas the c i so w w a a s s fraetsselrvtoedt,haentdrisailxs, ofanthdeijluindegedseediedeei,di etr4.t_t.t hre was valid, but that it was t oot made in wa s is ion the objection t c c _ a , nine positive:3r deciding that on tne Ho n w What was the opinion of the Chief Baron e hia of p:n _ re to His conduct was creditable to his heart ' ;the caVorWe'our.e., equally so to his understanding. Su tilne , he ' Fred eric ; come before the Chief Baron at the prop , _.,_ .. via , Sir _ aev eo would be of the same opinion as svhe s r; ot dd be li e: Que en ! Pollock, and the opinion of the Judge at t ,hse seven. Were the trial to have take,: g pl it e t ' ed. k W n l7 O t r! Bench the prisoner must have been t a 'aid wouldthe Judges?e—e been hat good,if thea and d o b wi je u c i t i t o n n h,a. li v e_ s e f e b : F io t . s lo:11 1 j c e tea l L ib eolt t r hi: tion of the unhappy men. Lord 13ron.,o c a o w n bad been b le time s se it of must Lords , have said, been held difgood, the fob prevented their being liberated. oijodeithr'sotma COURT CIRCULAR. The Queen took a drive in an open carrisge on Mon day afternoon in the vicinity of Osborne House, attended by the Marchioness of Douro, Lady in Weiting. llis Royal Highness Prince Albert was on horseback. Co• loud Arbuthnot and Major General Sir Edward Bowater were in attendance on horseback. The Hon. and Rev. C. Leslie Courtenay left Osborne House on Monday. Yesterday their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the Princess Royal, and the PrincesiAlice, were taken airings in the pleasure grounds of Osborne House. Her Majesty and her Royal Consort took their accus tomed early walk yesterday. The Duke of Cambridge visited her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester yesterday at Gloucestn House. Mr. John - Wood, Chititnian of the Etcise, had an in terview with the Chsnoellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at his official residence in Dawning-street. The elegant and almost drawing-room character of the decorations and accessories of the Qpera House has already done Much ) afid iliiil neeessarilydo ifiore, ftl fetrive that fullness of dress which i n the pihniest days of fashion \resits distinguishing feature. This is as it should be : and the most aristocratic temple in the word, devoted as it is to the cultivation of the highest intellectuality, ought at least, to have for its votaries those *hose taste beanies at once apparent by an acme of refinement in their toilet. The purest white for ladies' dresses is especially distingue any where ; but at the Opera, where the general effect is now that of the rising sun, it becomes almost necessary, from Its peculiar fitness as a harmonious contrast to amber tones. The same observations equally apply to the white tinker. chief ; and it would appear as though a-patent, recently taken out for the security of the pattern of a " cravat collar, made with golden flax linen of the most snowy whiteness, was a forethought of its ingenious inventor, induced by the knowledge of its necessity for the present brilliant season. " CONFESSIONS OF A PRETTY WOMAN" IS the title which Miss Pardoe, an authoress already known to the public by several charming productions, has given to a three volume novel now on t h e eve of publication; and a work more likely to excite conjecture as to the cause of the pro mised revelations, and to create nti eager desire to profit by them amongst all classes of her Majesty's liegeS, where such privileged culprits are to be found, it is impossible to co,i ceive. It is reported in the best informed circles that the title of this attractive book is not more piquant Shan the materials of which it is ccomposed, § l4l ‘ t v# 3 41 10 4° ~d '`°' to; Pri rth '°n€ "11Id tvtlo h % Loul d f e ' •, t qf Y°lll