The Sun. — London, England, 1837-03-11 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, MARCH 10. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat at Five o'Clock. The Bishop of BATH and WELLS presented petitions from Wells, and certain other parishes in the County of So merset, against th e a b o li t i on o f Ch urch-rates. .the Archbishop of CA NT ERBURY presented a petition from the Clergy of the diocese of the City of Armagh, against the present s) stem of National Education in Ireland. Also petitions from Peckham, Sudbury, and other places, against the abolition of Church-rates. Lord VERUL AM presented petitions from Egham, and several other places, against the abolition of Church-rates. The Bishop of E X ETER presented petitions from Clifton and other places, to the same effect. Lord R E DESD ALE presented a petition from Clapton to the same effect. Lord ASHBU RT 0 N presented petitions from Croydon, Ealing, and several other places, to the same effect. Lord BRO UGIIAM wished to know from the Noble Lord, whether he was not aware that the great bulk of the petitions which he had presented, proceeded upon the notion that there was to be some plan for letting the Churches go to ruin altogether, because the lan guage of many of them was to that effect ? He deprecated an} system that would prevent the Churches being kept in proper repair. Now, none of the petitions which he (Lord Brougham) had presented, of so many hundreds, had the least idea that the Legislature meant to bring forward or sanction any measure that would have this effect, nor would they for a moment countenance any such thing. Lord A SHBURTON said that the petitioners in this case certainly had presented their petitions without knowing the precise object of the Bill which had been brought into the other House. Undoubtedly the petitioners were moved by this consideration, that they saw a large body of persons in dif ferent parts of the country with feelings hostile to the Established Church, and they certainly did present their petitions under an apprehension, that it was wished to do something to the injury of that institution, and that a system of spoliation of the Church property would be adopted. Lord BROUGHAM said that only showed that had the petitioners been asked their opinion upon the plan proposed, they would have petitioned tile other way, and in support of what was called the abolition of Church-rates. Lord HOLLAND stated that he must really say, that he had presented a large number of petitions to the House against Church -rates, but not one of those by whom they bad been undersigned had avowed any hostility to the Church ; on the contrary, they desired that a better provision should be made for the repair of Churches, and he was persuaded when the Bill for this purpose was considered by the country and the House, it would be found to be a measure of relief, not for Dissenters alone, but for all parishioners and for the Church also, from its present dependent and precarious circumstances.—( Hear. ) The Bishop of EXETER said that he had presented one hundred petitions to their Lordships' House, and lie could state that the purport of the whole of them was to implore their Lordships to maintain the present mode of collecting the Church-rates--( Hear)—or at least to insist that the present charge should be continued, as an ancient—he would say the most ancient charge—( Hear, hear, from Lord Holland)—which existed upon any other species of property. He held in his hand a petition in favour of Church rates, which he begged should be read at length—it was one from the inhabitants of Clifton Morrisson, in Devonshire, and had already been on the table of the House. The Clerk then read the petition at great length. The prayer of it was, that their Lordships would not consent to the abolition of Church-rates. Lord RADNOR then addressed some observations to the House in reference to the petitions presented by the Right Rev. Prelate, but he spoke in so low a tone that they could not be collected in the gallery. The substance of them was, we understood, that the forms of these petitions had been printed in London and sent down to the country, and that this was the manner in which they had been got up. . Lord WHARNCLIFFE defended the petition, and in quired of the Noble Earl if the course he had referred to in getting up the petition had not been continually practised in getting up petitions on his side of the House.—( Cheers.) The Earl of RADNOR said that he had never been a party to any thing of the sort. The Bishop of EXETER said, that whether the petition was a copy of sprinted form was entirely out of his knowledge. He had, however, the strongest assurances that the feeling of the district from which the petition came, was almost unex ampled in favour of the ancient rights which they possessed. Supposing the facts which the Noble Earl had furnished rather than affirmed to be as he stated, what did it amount to ?—why that such was the confidence and feelings of the people on this great question, that they are invited to look to a form of a petition, and see whether it did not embody their views, and the expression of their feelings. He could hardly conceive anything more fair than putting before parties petitions of that kind. He had been informed—and he did not complain of it— that thousands of blank forms of petitions were sent from Lon don by one of the Post-office receiving-houses in a single night. H o did n ot compl a i n of them, but on the subject of the petitions now under discussion, the people, whether in a printed form of petition or not he would not take upon him self to say, had expressed their determination not to sacrifice their dearest interests. Lord HOLLAND, with great respect to the Right Rev. Prelate, did not think the authorship was worth much conten tion—( Hear, and a laugh)—because, if he was not greatly mistaken, the petition contained as much unsound law, and • Perverted history of facts, as it was possible any piece of paper could contain. The Right Rev. Prelate had talked of • the ancient impost on the people of this country to pay Church rates. When the proper time came for the discussion of this Matter, it would be for the Right Rev. Prelate to make out how the original intention of the donors or the founders of Churches was perverted, and that both, for the support of the hands an d t h e support o f a certa i n party , were ta k en f rom t h e 'lnds of the clergy, and put upon the people of the country. It might have been right so to do, but the Right Rev. Prelate would find it difficult to prove what was asserted in that petition ; be cause the intention of the donors was. directly the reverse, and shove all, the principles of the Primitive Church of England, and the principles for which Protestants, more particularly in all the countries of Europe-, contended, were quite the reverse. Re could not help thinking it was irregular, inconvenient, and unparliamentary, to discuss the merits of a question which was not really before the House, and by which the public and the House were only led to misunderstanding by taking at by piecemeal. The Earl of FALMOUTH said that to present a printed petition for the purpose for which the Right Rev. Prelate had so well explained, was not only a perfectly legitimate mode of proceeding, but one most conformable to the practice of the present times. But to accompany it with an earnest entreaty to sign it was anot h er t hi ng ; an d h e b eg g e d, t h ere f ore, to ask the Noble Earl, whether the Archdeacon accompanied the printed form of petition to individuals with an earnest entreaty that they would sign it ? The Earl of RADNOR—Upon my word, I really don't inow.—(Hear, and a laugh. ) The Bishop of , E XETER—Not one of my petitions was printed. The Earl of RADNOR did not mean to say the petitions were printed, but there was a printed form accompanying th ,em• His inf ormant h a d to ld hi m th ere was a p r i nte d f orm ()1 a Petition s en t roun d, an d t h e p e titi oners were requeste d to sign it. Lord BROUGHAM presented petitions from Ward Chapel, 1 -, 3 andee, an d f rom Pennicuik, against Church-rates, and against all State grants, whether to Protestant Dissenters or Catholics ; o petitions against Church -rates, from New Broad -street Ch apel, London ; Edinburgh ; Aldburgh, Boroughbridge, and other Places in York ; from places in Worcester ; and from the D7? t e i gregation of the Independent Chapel, Hounslow, Middlesex, vonport and Stonehouse, and other places. The petition aom Devonport and Stonehouse had been agreed to at a meet g c alled together for that purpose. The petitions which he _ es ,ented differed in thi s respect, t h at a ll th ose f rom S cot . ad were not only against Church-rates, but against any grant, whethe r regium donum or otherwise ; while those from England were confined to any imposts in the shape of Church -24 or throwing the Church-rates on any general fund. rd Ho L L AND . presented petitions from Kingston ullenThanles and Carmarthen in favour of the Abolition of Chu: en -rates. !I -Message f rom the House of Commons Private Bills. brcsught up two Mr. Elsee presented Earl of DEVON from the Bank of England. papers hear the name o_ presented petitions from . (we could not I the place), praying for an enquiry iirnthe othe op erat i on of the Poor-law Amendment Act bpetiti Noble L or d t h en said he held in his hand a number of eep ells on th e same subject as that on which so many had n presented: one of them was from Exeter, agreed to at one of the largest public meetings ever hold in that place. The petitioners could not refer to the particular measures about to ibrought w forw ar d, b ut on the other hand they did not peti n_urer the app re h ension that the reparation of the Church would not by some way or other be providedstill they desired that the onus forproviding for the repairs of t he Church should not be rent d P In h. ovefrom the land, upon which it at present It devolved. .t is view of the question he entirely concurred. e k ,: a . i mpossible to regard this measure except as an at .,e pt at an evasion of that rate which properly belonged to the land ; and the petitioners, under the supposition that it w4ould.. take f rom t h e Church her established right of claim ingtrom the land that which she was entitled to, have for her repairs intreated their Lordships not to sanction any 'such The petitions came b e f ore t h e i r L or d s hi ps not an expression of opinion, but upon their decided objet let to a which oval of that burthen towards the support of the Inca welch they now sustained, and which they were desi rous of having continued. and T a he NOBLE LORD then presented petitions from Darlington rates. great many other pl aces , aga i nst the abolition of Church- Lord WHARNCLIFFE said he bad a petition to present against the abolition of Church -rates. Lord HOLLAND asked if it were printed. Lord \V H ARNCLI FFE answered in the affirmative. Lord HOLLAND said he understood it was contrary to the Order of the House to receive printed petitions—h e had Many petitions which were printed, and which he had been anxious to present, but had been overruled. If a Committee tad be en appointed their Lordships would find that it had been sl e d ruled that p rinted petitions should not b e rece i ved in t hat H ouse. L ord WHA RNCLIFFE said he understood that numbers of printed petition o s us h:d been presented to and received by their Lordships' He. Lord D EVON said th a t t h e ru l e not to rece i ve suc h peti tio.ns had existed up to three or four years ago ; but on the ...teea,sion of the abolition, of slavery, or some other important been printed petitions were received after the subject had iscussed, and they had now been received for three or -1011 r Years. Lord HOLLAND said he would beg to observe that un less some decicion wa s come to w hi c h would permit such petitions to be received, he would take exceptions to any that would come before their Lordships.--( Hear, hear, hear.) It was the rule of that House not to print any petitions presented to it, and it would be monstrous if they did not print petiti ons p resente d to t h em, t h at t h ey s h ou ld rece i ve petitions which were printed.----( Hear. ) This question was therefore a more important question than at first sight it ap peared, and was one on which a decision should be come to in one way or the other ; for he could not understand how the rule of the House could be got rid of by an understanding or a mere conversation over the table. Lord L there was no order against the reception ofprinted petitions, and hundreds and thousandsof them had been presented on the subject of the abolition of slavery, and the underatanding under which this occurred was just as much an order as that alluded to by the Noble Baron, as there was no written order on the subject. The petition was then presented and received. A Right Rev. PRELATE then presented a petition from a parish in Oxford, the prayer of which he stated was not only that Church-rates should not be abolished, but that their Lord ships would enforce the existing law respecting them. The Earl of RADNOR presented petitions in favour of the abolition of Church-rates. Lord WODE HO USE presented petitions from Suffolk, praying for the reduction of the duty Fire Insurance. Also, a petition from Waltham against the abolition of Church-rates. POOR LAWS. Lord STRADBROKE presented petitions from Suffolk in favour of the new Poor Law Bill. The Noble Lord cor dially concurred in the prayer of the petition, as he considered the Poor Law Bill had been productive of the best effects. In one of the parishes from which one of the petitions came, there were sometime since no less than 600 families receiving parochial relief; at the present moment there were very few, if any. Lord DUNCANNON laid on the table the Report of the Inspectors of Factories. Lord STRANG FO RD presented a petition from the ship bread bakers of the town of Liverpool, complaining that the foreign corn in bond was converted into biscuits for ships. Lord MELBOURNE said that he was not acquainted with the facts stated in the petition, but would inquire into them. The Bills on the table were forwarded a stage, and the House adjourned to Monday. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Mamcm 10 , The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four o'Clock. Mr. WALLACE brought in a Bill for the formation of a railway from Glasgow, through Paisley to Greenock. The Bill was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time. Captain A L SAGER presented a petition from the Trustees of the Surrey roads against the Westminster, Southwark, and Greenwich Railway Bill. On the motion of Mr. FINCH the Stamford Water Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed. Sir John WROTTESLEY brought up the Report of the Standing Order Committee on the Belfast Harbour Bill, declaring that the Standing Orders had been com plied with. The Honourable Baronet also presented a petition from the proprietors of the Birmingham Canal Navi gation against the Grand Connection Railway Bill, and pray ing to be heard by counsel in opposition to it. Mr. CRIPPS presented a petition from Cheltenham against the Cheltenham and Tring Railway Bill. Mr. INGHAM presented a petition against the Clarence Railway Bill. MANSERGH INCLOSURE. On the motion of Lord LOWTHER the Mansergh (West moreland) Inclosure Bill was read a second time. SADDLE WORTH RESERVOIR BILL. Mr. AINSWORTH presented a petition from the exe. cutors of a Mr. Fletcher against this Bill. EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW RAILWAY. The Lord ADVOCATE presented a petition in favour of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Bill. Mr. W. PATTEN brought in the Bolton and Preston Railway Bill, which was ordered to be read a first time. CHURCH-RATES. Petitions against the abolition of Church-rates were pre sented by Mr. G. Palmer, by Mr. Marsland, by Mr. R. Pal mer, and by Colonel Rushbrook. Sir W. BRABA Z ON presented fourteen petitions from I3allinrobe, the parishes of Ballisakeery, Kilgarvan, The Neale, and Kilvine, county of Mayo; and the Union of Ern lafad and Kilmorgan, county of Sligo ; praying for vote by Ballot, the extinction of Tithes, and Municipal Reform. In the parish of Kilgarvan there was no church or resident clergy man, and the payment of tithes pressed with great severity and injustice upon the Roman Catholic inhabitants. He begged to express his entire concurrence in the prayer of those petitions. Mr. WILDS presented a petition from the town of Boston praying for an abolition of the duty upon insurances on farming stock ; also a petition from Windlington in Durham, and places in Suffolk and Essex, praying for the abolition of Church-rates. Mr. W. DUNCOMBE presented ten petitions from places in Yorkshire, in favour of Church -rates. Mr. FARR AND presented several petitions to the samo effect. Mr. INGFIANI presented a petition from Gateshead in Durham, praying that in any measure for the abolition of Church-rates, the rights of the lessees of Church property • would be preserved. The LORD ADVOCATE presented. a petition from Leith, complaining of the registration of fictitious votes; one from the Corporation of Merchants of the same town, pray ing for the abolition of the duties on insurances against fire ; one from an engineer of Leith, praying for a reform of the patent law ; also petitions from the Relief and other Congre gations of Leeds, praying for the total abolition of Church rates; and one from Leith, and one fioni Dunkeld, in favour of the Small Debts ( Scotland) Bill. Mr. LONG presented a petition from a place in Wiltshire, praying for an abolition of the duties on fire insurances. Captain ALSAGER presented a petition from Croydon, signed by nearly 300 individuals, against the abolition of C hurch-rates. Mr. D. BROWNE presented twelve petitions from places in the County of Mayo, praying for the vote by Ballot—the abo lition of Tithes, and for a measure of Corporate Reform equal to what had been granted to England and Scotland. Sir R. INGLIS presented a petition from Denham and another parish against the abolition of Church-rates. Mr. E. STANLEY presented a petition from Anglesey, praying for the total abolition of Church-rates. PRIVATE BILLS. Mr. C. BRUCE presented a petition from Forres, in Scot land, against the present system of carrying on Private Bills in the House. They complained of the expence and inconvenience of the system, that the number of Members was too large, so that it was impracticable for all the Members to attend, and that many Members decided on the Bill without hearing the evidence. He further complained that this gave rise to a system of canvassing. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS (IRELAND). Mr. PO‘VER presented petitions from Ireland, praying for Municipal Corporations and the extinction of Tithes. Sir R. NAGLE presented petitions to the same effect from parishes in the counties of Meath and Westmeath. THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCIi 11, 1837. Hon. Gentleman of the conduct of the Marine Corps in all parts of the world.—( Hear, hear.) All that had been said did not at all exceed their merits—by land and by sea they had proved themselves worthy of all that could be said of them. Admitting, the statements of the Hon. Gent. with respect to the extreme age of the officers, and the slowness of promotion in that corps, yet it was to be remembered that the promotion there was carried on entirely by seniority, which was a plan that had been often urged upon the Ministry in that House. It was not true that the Admiralty had done nothing on the subject ; it had engaged much of their attention, and alterations had been made by them. The Noble Lord (Lord George Lennox) had asked for a Committee, which he (Mr. Wood) was obliged to refuse. Ile could see no good from, it, because the facts were admitted on all sides. —( Cries of " Hear, hear.") The Noble Lord said, " Give me a Committee," but he (Mr. Wood) said, " Give me money."—(liar, and laughter.) Money was all that was wanted in order to allow the aged officers to retire. The Order in Council of 1824 was still in force, Ind unless it were chaier"ed, the reti rement o f t h e pre sent aged officers would increase, by retiring allowances, by a quarter of a million. The Gallant Captain (Boldero) had deprecated any comparison between the Marines and any other corps. He mentioned it not for the purpose of di minishing the respect for the Marines; but the fact was, the retirement of invalid officers from the Marines was as one in three, while those from the Artillery was as one in four (we believe.)—( Hear, hear.) The question had occupied as much of the attention of the present Board of Admiralty as of any former one. The subject was now under the consideration of the Board, who were attempting to find out some plan of allowing them to retire without increasing the public burdens, and in his opinion the whole subject might be safely left to the Board of Admiralty, who had great anxiety to afford relief, if possible.—( Hear, hear.) With respect to Major Owen lie could only state that he be lieved it was the intention to include his name in the late Brevet, but through some informality it was omitted. He thought a Committee could not elicit more than the country was already in possession of. Lord HOT HAM thought no corps in his Majesty's service was more entitled to consideration than the Marines. He was greatly gratified at the statement of the lion. Gentleman, the Secretary for the Admiralty, and should be content, at pre sent, to depend upon the assurance of the Government, reserv ing to himself, hereafter, the right of bringing the subject under discussion, if the Admiralty were neglectful of the in terests of the Marines, or if the House were unwilling to grant the supplies necessary for rewarding them. An Hoist. MEMBER, whose name we could not learn, wished to know from the Gallant Gentleman the Member for Chip penham what he meant by stating that the reports of the Navy Officers were not in general favourable to the Marines? He was sure there was not a blue jacket who did not always feel a most friendly disposition towards those who served in the naval forces of his Majesty. Captain BOLDER() said the stronger the reports of the Navy Officers were in favour of the Marines the stronger was the necessity for promoting them. Captain BA RCLA Y hoped the matter would be left in the hands of the Board of Admiralty, who he was sure would do justice to the corps ; especially us before he left the Admi ralty he had received a request from the Noble Lord at its head to take the case of the Marines into consideration. He hoped the Noble Lord would press his motion to a divi sion. Sir HENRY HA R DING E said that the answer which the Ilenonourable Gentleman the Secretary of the Board of Admiralty had given was satisfactory. The Honourable Gentleman had very properly requested the Noble Lord and his Gallant Friend behind him to rest on the assurance which he gave, that the Admiralty would perform every thing that was necessary in this business.—( Hear.) But the Honourable Gentleman had not concluded with what he (Sir Henry) considered an es sential point in this discussion—namely, that he did not press the granting of a Committee for this purpose, to take into consideration promotion in the Army. He thought that an essential principle, and he hoped they would never see the day when the officers of the Army, Navy, Artillery, or Marines would have to look up for promotion to the House of Commons.—( Loud cheers.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER thought the introduction of the present question was beyond the legi timate duties of the House of Commons, and that the matter should be left altogether to the discretion of the Crown. • Mr. HUME thought it was the duty of the House of Com mons, when injustice had been done to any branch of the ser vice, to interfere. If the prerogative of the Crown were im properly exercised, it was the duty of that House to take up the question. He cordially supported the motion of the Noble Lord, and if he went out alone he (Mr. Hume) would accompany him.—(Hear.) Were promotion to take place ' with great rapidityin other corps because they were officered by branches of the aristocracy while the Marines were passed by ? Was it to he supposed that human nature could bear that ? In 1827 he brought the case of the Marines before the House, and showed the injustice that had been practised to wards them, but without the least effect, for nothing had been done. If the House of Commons allowed this to go on, they were depriving themselves of the controlling power which they possessed.--( Cheers.) In his opinion a Com mittee ought to be appointed to enquire into the subject. No service deserved better or was less rewarded, and the course pursued towards them was the height of injustice.— ( Cheers.) It had been said by the Secretary of State that the money was wanting ; he would venture to say, if a proper case was made out, no sum of money would be refused by the House to do justice-4 Cheers. ) After a few words from Admiral Adam, Col. Thompson, Mr. G. F. Young, Captain Gordon, and Sir C. B. Vere, Lord G. LENNOX said he was gratified that such ample testimony was borne from all sides of th e H ouse t o th e serv i ces _ _ of the Marines. It was his intention to press the question to a division. Captain BOLDERO, as the seconder of the motion, was averse to a division, and thought, after what had takemplace, it would be better to leave the subject in the hands of the Secretary of the Admiralty. Mr. C. WOOD certainly thought that the Board would have no hesitation to apply to his Majesty for an Order in Council to carry into efFect some satisfactory arrangement with respect to this subject. The gallery was then cleared for a division, but, on our return we found that no division had taken place, and it was understood that, in the terms stated, the motion was withdrawn. AFFAIRS OF SPAIN. Lord MAIION said that the motion which he had to sub mit was closely connected with the voting of the estimates that would be brought forward in the Committee of Supply, inas much as it partly related to the employment in a foreign ser vice o f a portion of our marine force. The course which he meant to take was this: to move that the House should go into Committee, and take the discussion upon his motion upon the first vote in Committee of Supply. The Hon. Member f'or Middlesex had a motion on the list, and he wished to know whether he would acquiesce in this arrangement, as otherwise he (Lord Mahon) would stand upon his right, and bring for ward his motion before the Speaker left the chair ? Mr. HUME was anxious to bring forward his motion before the House, but if the Noble Lord was determined to stand on his right of precedence he would not place any obstacle in the way of the arrangement proposed. Colonel THOMPSON also had a motion on the list which he was anxious to bring forward in the regular way. The SPEAKER, as he understood that the motion of the Hon.'and Gallant Member was connected with the Armv Esti mates, did not thick it was his intention to bring it forward until the House were about to go into Committee on those Estimates. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER thought it would best suit the public convenience and satisfy the anxiety of the Noble Lord to bring his motion before the House, if the Speaker should leave the chair and the House resolve itself into a Committee of Supply. The Speaker then left the chair and the House went into Committee. NAVY ESTIMATES. Mr. C. WOOD rose to make his statement to the Hluse, but was very imperfectly heard in the gallery. He said that, having given general satisfaction in the course he had pursued when he had the honour of moving the Navy Estimates last year, he proposed adopting the same plan at present. The first head which he had to mention was seamen's wages. In this item a difference would be found of ab'iut 12,0001., arising from the necessity of keeping a greater number of men afloat. Mr. HUME—I cannot hear one single word which is ut tered. The Hon, Gentleman ought to speak up. Mie C. WOOD h ere turne d round to the Hon. Member for Middlesex, and directed his attention to him during the rest of his speech. In doing so he necessarily turned his back to the reporters' gallery, which caused him to be at, times imperfectly heard. He th e n con ti nue d. H e t h oug h t in making his statement it would be more convenient to use the designation of the several items to which Hon. Members were accus tomed. Some changes had taken place since last year, and the House would more readily know what was meant by hear ing it called No. 9 or No. 10 than by his informing them that one item had been incorporated with another. The next sub ject was No. 4, which referred to the registration of merchant seamen. This had before taken place at the Navy Pay Office ; but at present an office had been set apart for the express pur pose. The vote o f l as t y ear amounte d t o 1,5001. , but it would, he believed, be found inadequate for the purpose. This regis tration was attended with great labour, and it was found neces sary, since last year, to increase the number of clerks con siderably. Even with this addition, he was sorry to say the labours of the office were much in arrear ; and some months he feared must elapse before the number of merchant seamen who were registered could be accurately known. The House would, however, be glad to hear that, in consequence of the strict observance of the registration, it was ascertained that at least fifteen thousand men must be on the books at present— ( Hear, hear, hear)—and 12,124 apprentices to the merchant service had been regularly enrolled, about t o b ecome here after a pro lifi c source o f able-bodied seamen for the King's service.—( Hear, hear.) The next it em, No. 5, was the scientific branch. On this head a considerable increase of ex penditure had taken place. The expense of observatories, particularly at Greenwich, was necessarily great, and it was es sential that attention should be paid to astronomicel observa tions, which were so intimately connected with nautical affairs. But a still greater source of expense was found in the publi cation of the " Nautical Almanac." This work was not only of importance to persons- engaged in maritime affairs, but Co the community at large. It was of g enera l ut ili ty. The sum of 13,000/ . had b een given for carrying on the work, and it was hoped that the sale would in time meet the expenditure. It was not sufficient that the calcuLtions should be made for a single year in advance. To render the work really service able it was necessary to calculate three or four years at least in advance, so that. vessels going on long voyages might refer to it up to the time of their return home. Thus a vessel going out in this year- ought to carry with it a nautical almanack calculated up to 1841. An accession to last year's grant would be required of 2or 3,0001. When the navy estimates had been voted last year it was not known that a necessity would have arisen for this increase. The additional expences had been paid by the Admiralty, and he thought it better to state thus to the House at once that the additional sum was re quired for the printing and paper of the work. The next item, No. 6, referred to the salaries of artificers in our esta blishments at home. On it he had nothing to remark as the amount was nearly the same as for the past year. Mr. H UME really thought the Hon. Gentleman would act more fairly by merely stating the different items at present, and leaving all explanatory matter to the next time the subject was before the House. Mr. C. WOOD said that the course which he was then pursuing had been universally adopted ever since he had held a seat in the House. As the House seemed to sanction it he would proceed. No. 7 related to his Majesty's establishments abroad. They required considerable sums for their mainte nance, but the expense this year would be about 2,0001. less than the preceding one, chiefly owing to the breaking up of the establishment at Si erra Leone. The next item, Nos. 8 and 9, referred to wages to artificers in the dockyards. A considerable increase had taken place in the number of hands employed in the present year, amounting to between 4,000 and 5,000. This was occasioned by the necessity which arose for a great manufacture of ropes and other objects of nautical use. The articles in storo last year had been made of mate rials which, on examination, were found literally rotting away. It was to procure a supply in their place that the number of men had been increased. Last year machinery had been erected to some extent at Chatham for carrying on the manufacture of naval stores. A strike of the workmen since June last had de layed the works, and rendered it impossible to estimate the ex pense at present. In four or five months he expected to have the works completed. The House would perhaps expect, as he was on this part of the subject, that he should allude to the contracts made for timber, which generally caused a great quan tity to lie on hand. This year, however, the quantity was but small, and it was intended in future to keep such a stock as would enable them to go to market on favourable terms. The contracts now in existence would cease in autumn, and then any person could apply, as the contract was one of open compe tition. The last cause of expense in this item was for ship_ wrights, as those before engaged in the dockyards were not found to be sufficient. Many objections had been made by Hon. Gentlemen opposite on the number of ships which were built, though in their opinion not wanted. He could now gra tify those Gentlemen by informing them that for two years none were required. In addition to the usual business of the, dockyards the Post-office packets were now placed under the same jurisdiction. No estimate had been made for these vessels since they had been transferred. An intelligent officer was now employed in obtaining information respecting them by vi siting the different stations where they had been before placed. When this Gentleman returned and gave iii his report a sup plemental estimate would be submitted to the House. He thought it not improper to state that he disapproved of the custom of employing-the men in the dockyard?, for only five days in the week. There was th:s disadvantage attached to it, that the superintendents were kept up the whole year round, though the duty was for only the five days in each week.—( Hear, hear.) In addition to these matters, which had led to the increase of the head of " artificers' wages," sum of 2,0001. was to be put down for damage occasioned by the late storm. In No. 11 there was a heavy item for erect , ing buildings in the:r own yards for the m.treifeeture of steam boat boilers and machinery. Upwards of thirty vessels were attached to the Post-office Department, and it was deemed necessary to have these under the dockyard jurisdiction. The Committee would see the proprity of not running any risk of suspending the communication between this country and Ire land, even for a single hour. In No. 13, the item of miscel laneous expenses, a considerable reduction would be found to have taken place. In No. 14, which referred to the half-pay to officers of the Navy and Royal Marines, he had only to re mark, that he fully agreed with those Hon. Gentlemen who had given their mood of praise to the Marine officers of his Ma jesty's service. The reduction on the item to which he had last referred, would be found to be more than 3,0001. On Nos. 15 and 16, relating to military and civil pensions, the reduction would amount to about 6,0001. He did not think lie had any further statement to make. He would just turn back to make a remark or two on the first item; it, as the House might bear in mind, related to wages for seamen and marines. It might be remembered that last year an increase of men had been de manded. The state of Europe required that an increase should be made. It had been thought advisable also to send out an ex perimental squadron to keep up the knowledge of the seamen, which they were likely in a measure to have impaired during their duty on scattered s erv i ces i n var i ous parts of the world. " A squadron of 18 ships had been sent to the Baltic. and the House would, he imagined, not deem that the number of men granted, amounting to 11,000, was too great. He felt much satisfaction in being able to prove to the Committee that the grant of last year had not been abused. In the summer months a greater force had been kept on foot than was neces sary afterwards. A portion of this force bad been put down, as the state of the service allowed it; so that on the Ist of Ja nuary of the present year there were 2,000 men on service less than the vote of last year allowed. At present the reduction was as low as 4,000 men. Seeing then that the same cause existed for keeping up an additional naval force in the coun try, and that the vote of last year had not been abused, he trusted that no objection would be made to the number of Ma rines demanded. Mr. BERNAL then put from the Chair the question,-... " That 9,000 Royal Marines should be granted during the ensuing year for the service of his Majesty." SPANISH AFFAIRS. Lord MAHON then proceeded to call the attention of the House to the present state of Spain. In all the discussions which had taken place on the subject of Spain he (Lord Mahon) had always admitted that the Quadruple Treaty, having been once ratified, ought under no pretence to be broken through. But he must say that succeeding events had clearly shown the impolicy of the additional articles which had been appended to the original treaty. The principle on which they were founded was very different from that on which the Quadruple Treaty had been made. On the 18th of August, 1834, the additional article was signed, sanctioning our inter ference in the internal affairs of Spain. Now he ( Lord Mahon) perfectly admitted the obligation of this additional article of the treaty ; but he at the same time must condemn the policy which had conducted them to that point. Why could they not have left the affair of the. Spanish succession to be settled by the Spanish people, and why force upon Spain the interference of a foreign country ?—( Hear, hear, hear.) He for one could not see any good reason for the policy of the Noble Lord, nor could he understand how his active non intervention system could be justified.—(Loud cheers.) A few months after the signature of the article the Government of tite Noble Lord was dissolved, and he was succeeded in office by the Duke of Wellington. The Noble Duke, strongly as he disapproved of the policy of the Noble Lord with re spect to Spain, yet, finding the faith of the country pledged, at once determined to adhere not only to the letter but the spirit of the treaty. —( Heer.) A change of Administration having again taken place, the Noble Lord again resumed the office which he now held, and what was his conduct in re spect to the affairs of Spain ? Not satisfied with the former article, an order was issued suspending the operation of the Foreign Enlistment Act, and thus 10,000 Englishmen were permitted to enlist under the banner of the Queen of Spain._ ( Hear, hear.) He now appealed to Hon. Members who heard the predictions uttered within these walls when that event took place, and he asked them whether the result had not justified the anticipations which were then put for ward ?—( Hear, hear.) He might be told of the gallantry displayed by the British soldiers in Spain. He never did, lie never could, doubt but English soldiers would display, under any commanders, determined courage and the most undaunted valour ; but it did not follow on this account that his Majesty's Government was justified in placing them in a position which could neither reflect honour nor advantage on the country that gave them birth.---( Cheers.) The Noble Lord, during the Peninsular war, was Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and cer tainly of his conduct on that memorable occasion no one could complain. But how different were the circumstances under which he then acted ; and upon what different terms did the soldiers of England at that time enter Spain.. They went, not to assist one party of Spaniards against another, but they went to assist what Mr. Canning emphatically called the uni versal Spanish people.—( Hear, hear.) They assisted a noble cause—a cause honourable alike to Spaniards and to English men. He now asked the Noble Lord whether it was worth while to endanger the peace of Europe for the prospect of any possible advantage to be gained by this unwise interference in the internal affairs of Spain? Might not other States, upon equally valid pretensions, have interfered to assist the cause of Don Carlos ? And was it worth while to endanger the ge neral tranquillity for such an object ? . " Pax Missa per orbem Ferrea belligeri compescat limina Jani." But if the Noble Lord wished to open the Temple of War let him throw open the gates at once, and not a little side door, and let not British soldiers be continued in a position in which his Majesty's Government ought never to have placed them— ( Hear.) He had read a statement on the Bth of November of the number of Carlists killed in battle, and by the accounts he bad seen the loss was estimated at 313,129. Now, if the Carlist army was only estimated at 30,000 it must have been killed ten times over, so that her Majesty's forces must have sur passed Alexander the Great, who " thrice slew the slain." ( Laughter.) It was now exactly a year ago, namely, March, 1836, since Count Mold, the Premier of France, stated that a proposition had been made to him by Lord Palmerston, offer ing to permit the French army to take possession of Fort Pas sages, in Spain, in consideration of the French Government co-operating with England in sending out an increased force to assist h er M a j esty t h e Q ueen of Spain.--(Hear.) The French Government. it was true, had not availed themselves of the offer of the Noble Lord ; but was he on that account the less blameable ? Time next point to which be should ad vert was the revolution brought about by a military insurrec tion under a sergeant in the Queen's army, named Garcia. What was the poli c y o f th e N o bl e L or d a f ter that event had taken place ? He seized that very moment to lavish fresh fa vours on the Court, and every imaginable means were resorted to in order to sustain the Government of revolutionary Spain. Had his Right Hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth, or the Duke of Wellington, fallen short in the smallest degree in the observance of this treaty, no doubt loud complaints would have been made by his Majesty's Government.. Already had England expended upwards of 540,0001. Indeed, he had good reason to believe that the suns was much greater. Ile again admitted the obligation of England to comply with the terms of the treaty ; but lie slid confess he expected more sympathy from sonic Hon. Members opposite, who had been strenuous advocates for economy in the expenditure of the public money, and above all, he did not expect that the Hon. Member for Middlesex would have permitted half a million of money to be voted away without knowing the grounds upon -which it was to be disposed of, and the purposes to which it was to be applied, or without inquiry into the nature of the advantages we were to receive in return for so profuse an ex penditure.—(Hear, hear.) He found no fault with the representative of this country at the Court of Madrid, be cause it was his duty to act in accordance with the direc tions of the Government at home ; but there was one fact which he might state in support of his assertion—namely, that almost every application on the part of British subjects who had grievances to complain of land been utterly disres garded, and their wirongs unredressed.—( Hear, hear,) Ho would just read an extract from a reemerial addressed Iby a t., most all the British merchants resident in Alicante to Lord Palmerston, which he thought conclusive on the subject. The memorial was dated March 16, 1836 :—" My Lord,—l r i s notorious that British interests and British security have for many years past been totally neglected by our representatives at the Court of Madrid, notwithstanding the representations repeatedly made by British residents in Spain. England car ries off at least three-fourths of the whole produce of Spain, and Spain takes very little from England in return. All our applications to the Ambassador in Madrid have been of no avail ; on the contrary, seeing the little zeal displayed by our natural protectors, the local au th or i t i es conce i ve that we can be treated with the greatest impunity. We have the intole rable satisfaction to see that especially the Ministers of France and America, when under the necessity of having, to make complaints, obtain almost immediate satisfaction." Notwith standing, then, all the services rendered to this country by England, notwithstanding the men and monev which they had supplied to support the cause of the Queen's Government, they had now the mortification to find that the grievances of French subjects, and of American subjects (although the latter country had not interfered in the affairs of Spain), were at once re dressed, while the complaints of British subjects were wholly , disregarded. But the complah?ts of British merchants in Spain • were not confined to Alicante. In every part of the country there were many grievances which called loudly for redress. Amongst the taxes to which British merchants were subject there was one which he could not avoid mentioning. It was called, " Po r lib erat i on d e l R ey, " w hi ch, translated, means— " For the delivery of the King." This was a tax imposed during the captivity of Ferdinand, but it was found too lucra tive to be given up after his release, or even after his death ; and it is to this day levied with impunity upon British mer chants in Spain. lf, then, as had been shown, the whole ex 'penditure which this country had been at had done nothing to advance our commercial interest, he would ask, had it none anything for the furtherance of the object which it professed to have in view ? It could not be pretended that it bad usefully proinoted the cause for which it had been undertaken. Was it to support such au Administration as that of Mendizabal that .such expenses should be incurred —the Administration of, one who, in addition t o th e mur d er of prisoners, added the' de frauding of the public creditor —one who had liberty in his mouth, at the same time that he had the bayonet in his hand ? To say that any aid thus afforded was to promote the cause of liberty was a most unjust perversion of that name.— (Cheers). There was another branch of the•sebject to eliich he woold call the attention of the House, namely, that which related to the rights and liberties of the people of Navarre and Biscay. Was it possible that the House might n be aware of the fact that these people were possessed cf rights and liberties which were asilear to them as the constitutional rights of the people of this country —won by them by strug gles as glorious, and secured to teem by contracts as solemn, ? —(Cheers.) If Hun. Gentlemen were now for the first time aware of that•fect, he was sure they would join with him in requesting that the British Government would inter. cede for the restoration of those rights.—( Hear.) They were rights which had existed for centuries, and they were endeared by every tie which could possibly endear there. He repeathad s e e t n h ea rumourspam phle i t a o e n ir t c h u e l a s t u i l l ec r t e t s h o p:c Snafucst ig m i ; e t it s t e s l2 l t v ° h h u i ( 1 7 d h I:: , : i t i e d t • heard it spoken of as containing Noble Lord the bead of Foreign Affairs was supposed to entertain. The writer of the pamphlet contended that this was not a struggle for privilege on the part of the Biscayans ; and why ? Because, it was added, tney were antiquated privileges, which never had a real existence, and were never of any great - value. What were the pt•oofs adduced in sup port of this ass er ti on ? Wh y, t h at they terve(' under Gene rals who were not natives—such as Villareal and Moreno_ and, therefore, they could net be engaged in a struggle for privileges. Why, such another argument could be urged against Spain is general ; and it might las said that the Spa niards bad no national predilection, beceusu they fought under Blake and O'Donnell, and another General, who was a Swiss. The pamphlet went on to argue that Lord Carnarvon referred to old times and antiquated feelings ; but why should the antiquity of privileges be supposed to weaken an attach ment to them ? If any writer on the Constitution of England had used such an argument now would it have been received ? Would the Reformation, the Bill of Rights, and the events of the 16th century, with the privileges which they conferred, be deemed less valuable than those of later acquisition ? Cer tainly not. The Noble Lord would perhaps remember a re cent instance of the tenacity with which the Biscayans ad hered to their privileges. Those conferred by the 15th arti cle on the Guipuscoans and Biscayans were considered so va luable in this country that it was said after the peace that if' they could be induced to give them up, it would form one of the strongest reasons for ceding Gibraltar. In the 19th page of- this very pamphlet there was a fact which would go most strongly to prove the value which was set upon these privi leges. In 1818 a levy was set on foot in Spain for the pur pose of re-conquering South America. This levy being un popular, the Biscayans claimed the right of an ancient privi lege to commute their quota of troops for the payment of a certain sum of money. Recent events had proved that the Biscayans were no cowards, and that they only availed them selves of the privilege through an unwillingness to oppose their Transatlantic brethren. They therefore purchased im munity from the levy at the cost of ten millions of reals. Sup pose these privileges were of no absolute value the question was, were they not endeared to them. The Noble Lord could, it was to be presumed, suppose a case where privileges, though of no absolute value, might be endeared to a people. They might possibly be endeared by the glory which had attended their acquisition, or they might be hallowed and consecrated by ancient custom. In this country at least, where men could buy an inheritance of ancient rights, it was not difficult to understand how, even without any actual value, they might be venerated by others.—( Hear, hear.) Some here, perhaps, might not set the same value on those privileges as on these fresher ones conferred by the Constitution of Madrid ; but, though they were not so fresh or new, it was not for the house to say that no value was set upon them by those who possessed there.—( Hear, hear.) He would refer to one sentence not to he found in the pamphlet of Lord Carnarvon. It was a noble passage, quoted by Blancas, from the Acts of the Cortes of Arragon in 1451 We have always heard of old times, and it is found by experience that, teeing the great barren ness of this land and the poverty of the realm, the folk would go hence to live and abide in other realms and lands more fruitful if it were not for the liberties thereof." This sentence showed the attachment of 'the people to their privileges. He knew of no object more worthy of the sympathy of this coun try than the privileges of the Basque provinces. Admit ting that all which had been said with respect to Don Carlos were true-athat he was a monster, and a tyrant_ still why should the parties for whom he (Lord Mahon) pleaded be affected by his conduct? The conduct of Don Carlos did not make against his argument, nor invalidate it in the slightest degree. The Queen's Generals defended their cruelty by a reference to the acts of Don Carlos. Such ! a mode of reasoning might be good as against Don Carlos, • but it was no answer to the people of England, who abhorred cruelty in any shape.-_( Hear.) He was not the partisan of Don Carlos, nor did he take a partisan's view of the subject. He took his stand upon English ground. He would not be a party to a cabal, got tip with private views. —(Cheers.) He would repeat he took his stand on English ground, and would insist that cruelty on one hand could not be palliated and glanced over with the answer that there were faults on the other side. He felt that a stronger case—stronger in the cir cumstances than in the advocate—had never been made again - a a Foreign Minister. There was scarcely any variety of opinion on the subject throughout this countrve_(hle a e.) He did not mean to say that the general opinion of the country • was in support of his views, but the general policy of the Go vernment was considered so good that it was supposed capable of covering this particular instance—that it could bear this defect.—(Ministerial cheers.) He meant that this was the opinion of those who preferred the party of the Noble Lord. It was, however, to be regretted that they could not in return derive consolation from the from the foreign policy to counte nance or palliate domestic errors—( Opposition cheers)—and the cheers from the other side only went to prove that the fo reign policy was tolerated rather on the score of other Govern ment measures than from any merits of its own.--( Renewed cheers.) He hoped he had fulfilled this duty without exhibit- , ing any acrimonious feeling—(Cheers) —and he called the attention of the (louse to the subject, because lie felt in his conscience that it was one which involved as well the honour of England as the happiness of Spain. Mr. C UTL Alt FE RG USS ON, after bearing testimony to the courteous manner in which the question had been. brought forward by the Noble Lord, from the beginning to the end of his speech, begged leave to offer an opinion or, one or two points.. It was admitted by the Noble Lord that the Quadripartite Treaty should not be preferred; on the contrary, the Noble Lord had admitted that it was the intention of the Government of which the Noble Lord formed a part to have carried it into effect to the letter. The treaty in itself was a most justifiable one. The change made by Ferdinand, by which he reverted to the ancient law, had the approbation of the people, of the Cortes, and of the British Parliament.. The Hon. Member for Sandwich (Mr. G. Price) shook his head at this. He should like to have the Hon. Member snow that any part of the Spanish nation exhibited such a feeling in favour of the Pretender, or if such a feeling was ever en tertained by the Cortes. Under these circumstances, Eng land and France, having offered their assistance, were bound, to enter into that treaty. The first treaty entered into had reference only to Portugal, but still it was one made for Spanish purposes, and to prevent the Pretender fro m making inroads upon Spain. Eventually Don Carlow and Don Miguel put themselves under the protection of till% coon try. How was that protection repaid? When Lots Carlos was saved front Rodil, his return for the protection afforded to him by this country was to be found in the decree of Durango, by which British subjects were murdered.—( Hear, hear.) After France and England had acknowledged, as they had a right to do, the Queen of Sp a i n ' s G overnment, they entered into an alliance for the expulsien of Don Carlos from that country- Then came the arlditioital articles, which the Noble Lord said the (level-renew had gone beyond. Now, if 1116 Noble Lord would but refer to the second article, lie would see that the - engagement was to furbish such supplies of arms and naval steree as might be required, and else to fureish a naval force. This country was also bound to the extent of supporting the - Queen's Throne. Reference had been made to the military' revolution of La Granja. There was no person who looked with the eye of a statesman at military revolutions but moat be opposed to them. For his own part he detested such re. CHURCH-RATES, Mr. BELL presented petitions from Cumberland in favour of Church-rates. Lord PO LLINGTON presented two petitions from places in the county of York against the abolition of Church-rates. Mr. T. D UNCOM B F. brought in the Bill which he obtained leave to introduce last night, for abolishing the necessity for the payment of rates required under the Reform . Bill before a party was qualified to vote. The Bill was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time on the 10th of April. Sir GEORGE STRICKLAND moved that the petition of Lord Howden, presented on the, ith of March, against cer tain clauses in the York and North Midland Railway Bill, should be referred to the Committee.—Agreed to. SOUTHAMPTON RAILWAY. Mr. Alderman WOOD presented a petition against the Southampton Railway. DUTY ON TOBACCO. Mr. HUTT presented a petition from 300 of his consti tuents, praying for the repeal of the duty on Tobacco. CHURCH-RATES. Col. ANSON presented petitions from parishes in Stafford against Church-rates. — Mr. R. STEUART presented petitions to the same effect. Mr. L AMBTON presented similar petitions from parishes in Durham. Sir F. POLLOCK presented petitions from several places against the abolition of Church-rates. Mr. FOSTER presented a petition from Walsall against the Ministerial plan for the abolition of Church-rates. HoNITON WATER-WORKS. Mr. VIVIAN brought up the noniton Water-works Bill, which was ordered to be read a first time. FOREIGN WOOL. Sir G. STRICKL A ND presented a petition from a parish in Yorkshire, praying for a repeal of the duty on foreign wool and olive oil. CORPORATE REFORM (IRELAND). Mr. G. S. BARING presented several petitions from the county of Cork, praying for Municipal Reform for Ireland, fur the vote by Ballot, and for the total abolition of Tithes. CHURCH -A. Mr. ALSTON presented a pet ß ition TES from a parish in Hert fordshire, praying for the total abolition of Church-rates. Mr. C. BARCLAY presented petitions against the aboli tion of Church -rates, from places in Surrey and Essex. Mr. BAINES gave notice that on Monday he should move for a return of the annual revesue of every Archbishopric, Bishopric, Archdeaconry, Deanery, and Prebendary, in England and Wales, according to the Report of the Commission appointed by his Majesty for the three years ending the 31st December, 1831, with the average sum paid each year as first fruits, on the induction of each incumbent, as pro vided by the 2d of Queen Anne. Mr. PEASE presented two petitions, praying for an al teration in the Clarence Railway. Mr. WI LBRA II AM presented two petitions from Cheshire, praying for a repeal of the duty upon raw Cotton. Mr. BERNAL presented a petition from Rochester, pray ing for the abolition of Church -rates. LONDON AND BRIGHTON RAILWAY. Sir G. SINCL AIR presented a petition against this Railway. SOAP DUTIES. Mr. BAILEY presented a petition from Worcester, pray ing for a repeal of the duty on Soap. BOROUGH OF HYTHE. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL would take that oppor tunity of correcting a misrepresentation that had gone abroad with respect to what he had said on the occasion of a petition being presented by the Hon. Member for Hythe (Mr. Marjo ribanks). He (the At torney-Geueral) had b een supposed to expr ess an op i n i on that the Mayor of Hythe had greatly misconducted himself. He had expressed no such opinion. He had stated that he was entirely ignorant of the facts, and he merely said if the Mayor had misconducted him self, he was open to the tribunals of the country. He had reason to believe that the Mayor had conducted himself under the best advice which the English bar could afford, and he be lieved that the charge brought against that gentleman was wholly unfounded. Mr. Sergeant JACKSON trusted the House would pardon hint if he occupied its time for a few moments relative to the case of a gentleman of the county of Limerick, named Potter, who considered his character to have been impugned by the statements made by a Noble Lord ( Clements) a few nights ago. The House would recollect that the Noble Lord had stated that Mr. Potter was a Tithe Proctor ; that afterwards he became an anti-tithe agitator; and ultimately became an attorney. He ( Mr. Sergeant Jackson) had received a communication from Mr. Potter, in which he stated that the whole of the imputations against him were totally unfounded, and every charge untrue. He stated that he never was a tithe-proctor —that he never became an anti-tithe agitator—or held the office of an attorney. He had been an agent to one of the Beresford family for upwards of fourteen years. He was afterwards agent to the ecclesiastical body of the county of Limerick, which situation he now held, and had done so for a long time. He denied the whole of the imputations that were made against him. Lord MORPETH was not aware of the particulars of the transaction to which the Learned Sergeant had referred. He believed his Noble Friend (the Member for county Leitrim), who made the statement was then attending the assizes of that county.—( Hear, hear.) COUNTY OF LIMERICK. Mr. Sergeant JACKSON wished to know whether the Noble Lord had received any information respecting the state of things in the county of Limerick. A clergyman in that country had been attacked by a band of fifteen ruffians, who had set fire to his house, shot a valuable horse, fired shots after the clergyman himself, and had kept possession of the high road from Limerick. This was the in formation he (Mr. Jackson) had received of the state of things while the assizes were going on in that county. Lord MORPETII—I have not received any accounts of the affair to which the Hon. and Learned Gentleman refers. Mr. POWER pre'sented petitions in favour of corporate reform for Ireland, from the inhabitants of West Shiel, Ma her, Bargie, Duncormack, Killay, Kilcoon, and Ballyconnick, county of Wexford. Also, petitions from the same places for ,he total abolition f Tithes. Also, from Gorey, and St. Mary's, New Ross, with similar prayers. SOAP DUTIES. Col. SEALE presented a petition, praying for the Aboli tion of the Duties on Soap. CHURCH ENDOWMENTS (SCOTLAND.) Sir W. RAE wished to know from the Noble Lord the Secretary of the Home Department whether the Report of the Commissioners, some time since published respecting the Church Endowments in Scotland, was taken into con sideration by Government, and whether they were disposed to introduce any legislative enactment on the subject? Lord JOHN RUSSELL said the Report referred to by the Hon. Baronet was, he believed, laid before the Govern ment on the 21 s t of February, and it was stated that other Re. ports were to follow. Undoubtedly the subject was under the consideration of Government, but he could not pledge himself to bringing forward any legislative measure respecting it dur ing the present session'. CHURCH-RATES. Mr. D. W. HARVEY wished to inquire from the Noble Secretary for the Home Department whether there would be any objection on the part of Government to divide the resolu tion respecting Church-rates into two distinct parts. There were by that resolution two distinct objects contemplated : the first related to the abolition of all Church-rates in future, and the second to the mode of providing for the maintenance of the fabric of the Church. As regarded the one, he was quite disposed to support it, but upon the other he had considerable doubts. Lord J. RUSSELL would at once answer the question of the Hon. Gentleman, by saving that he should object to di viding the resolution. The Honourable Gentleman should see that the object of the Government was not alone to abolish Church rates, but to provide for the deficiency thus created. The Hon. Gentleman, and some few Members, might be content with carrying the resolution abolishing Church -rates, and yet would not be prepared to agree in the mode of supplying means for maintaining in future the fabric of the Church. Now that was not the object of Government, and he should, therefore, object to dividing the resolutions. POOR LAWS (IRELAND). Mr. VESEY begged to ask the Noble Lord (Russell) when the discussion upon the Irish Poor Laws would come on, as a great number of the Irish Members had been detained from their attendance at the assizes on that account. Lord JOHN RUSSELL said it was his intention .to have taken the discussion upon the second reading before Easter, but he was very doubtful if that could be now done; nod if it would suit the convenience of the Irish Members, he should defer it till after Easter. CHURCH ENDOWMENT (SCOTLAND). Sir W. RAE said the explanation of the Noble Lord was so unsatisfactory with respect to the intentions of Government upon the subject of the Church Endowment (Scotland) Com mission, that he should soon after Easter bring the whole sub ject before the House.—( Hear, hear.) PROMOTION IN THE MARINES. Lord GEORGE LENNOX, in rising to bring forward the subject of Promotions in the Marine service, of which he had given notice, would not trespass long upon the attention of the House. Honourable Members were aware that in that service there were but three corps—the Artillery, the Engineers, and Marines ; and in comparison with the Ordnance, promotion was extremely slow. It should also be borne in mind that officers of the Marines, having nothing to look to but their promotion from length of service, could not under the present system expect to arrive at the command of a division until they were upwards of 70 years of age. In his opinion the policy towards that corps seemed to have been to consider, not what might be granted, but what might be withheld from them. They had been considered even unworthy of holding the rank of colonel in their own service ; but it was sufficient for him to show that by the pre sent system of promotion the officers were nearly ineffec tive, particularly in the higher ranks. , The senior colonel commandant was seventy-seven years old—another had been 55 years in the service, another 59, and the age of the youngest was 58 years. One Colonel Commandant had re peatedly stated, that from his advanced age anti infirmities, it was impossible for him to perform the duty with satisfaction to himself, or with advantage to the service.—( Hear, hear.) The average length of service of the Lieutenant-Colonel s Commandant and Majors was from forty to forty-four years: One of the majors, who had the duty of turning out the guard, was actually obliged to go either in a gig or a fly, from his in ability to ride or walk. The two senior captains in the Marines had been forty years in the service—the eight next, thirty nine years, and the other thirty-eight—and even the junior captain had been twenty-nine years in the Marines. The ten senior lieutenants in the Marines had served twenty-nine years—the next fifteen lieutenants, twenty-eight years, &c. He would ask the House whether officers who had served 40 years, and who could not have entered the Marines till they were 20 or 21 years—he would ask whether a fair pros pect of the advantages given to other corps was held out to them ? In 1825 the Senior Captain of the Artillery had served 24 years—had he been in the Marines he would have held the situation of 24th Captain—if the case were reversed then the 24th Captain of the Marines would have been a full Colonel. At the present time the Senior Captain of the Artillery would be sth Captain in the Marines, while the sth Captain in the Marines, had he the good fortune to have beep in the Artillery, would have arrived a: the rank of Major-General. There were many such cases, but he would trouble the House with only one other.—( Hear, hear.) During the war, and in one of the most brilliant actions of it, the contest between the Shannon and the Chesapeake, the Second Lieutenants in the Navy were most deservedly pronuted ; but L eu e;ant Law, of the Marines, who was acknowledged as brave, and who had boarded as soon as the others, was still a Lieutenant in the Marines. Having thus called the attention of the House to these few facts, he would not weary them by entering into further details. He did not intend to east blame on the present Board of Admi ialty—it was against the system he complained, and that sys tem required further reform. The Marines, it must be admitted, had not received that fair share of promotion to which they were entitled. Were they not equally deserving ? —( Hear, hear.) He entreated the House to grant a Com mittee, and to do justice to the Marines. The Noble Lord concluded by moving for the appointment of a Select Com mittee to inquire into the subject. Captain BOLDER() seconded the motion. He would undertake to say, that upon inspection the Marine forces would be found as efficient, as deserving, and as well qua lified, in all respects, as any other part of the service. The conduct of Government towards Major Owen was, in his opinion, most disgraceful. He thought the system referred to by him a bad one, and he was happy it was destroyed ; but in the mode of destroying it they inflicted some injury upon the service. If they would not reward officers for the gallant services they had rendered to the country, how could other men be induced to act bravely by the hope of promotion? The Government might say they were not in office when these things had taken place, and that, conse quently, they had not the means of ascertaining the truth of the statementi ; but what he asked was a Committee to enquire into the circumstances, that the House might have the opinion of experienced officers upon them. He thought enough had been stated to show that the Government did not act pro perly in the matter; and he should, therefore, with great pleasure, second the resolution. Sir E. CODRINGTON sincerely hoped the Government would not oppose the present motion—inquiry was at least due to that body..---( Hear, Hear.) He having witnt.ssed their effi ciency in action upon more than one occasion, would say that they had done their duty nobly.—(Cheers. ) With respect to the statement made by the lion. Member who had last spoken, of Colonelcies having been given away, he would state, that 8,0001. had been added to the estimates for that purpose, and the commissions had been given to meritorious naval officers. The great misfortune of the present system of promotion in the Marine corps was, that no matter how a man might dis tinguish himself, he could not be rewarded in the way he me rized. It was not quite fair to refer to individual cases, but he %,ould state that Captain Mallett was an exception. No man had more distinguished himself at the battle of Trafalgar, and the Admiral had declared he considered him more than equal to the bast Lieutenant in his ship. That officer had never received the smallest reward until lately, when his Majesty had conferred upon him the Guelphic Order. Ile sincerely hoped that the I p-esent motion, to which he gave his cordial assent, would be .--eccdcd to. Mr. C. WOOD said though he could not agree to the ap pointment of the Committee, yet he entirely concurred in the g: o Lter part of what had fallen. from the 'Hon. Gentleman. lie was most happy to add his approbation to that of the