The Sun. — London, England, 1846-03-27 00:00:00

ieraLs in tv lat an off e "hour CO; chase the' Dpy Was Tr ed the lira f tunnels a, mile. l b° 10 per cent; be about pted for the to-morrol s '' t at twelo th J Corn f a petition Hall, iron. s su rveyed to propose .emises. ;htstnso w ad drawing ss throue d oorn A oa' ant of the 11 would 18 , other PI" correctoei t s ssrs. Hall! would 0 01 1 fouudli, at the 13 138 lithe opr Lion "rola to be laid d the pro' erted from Dy Messr s ' n the file' Ch. work , !en there , ole of as f rom 159 d, there Is Df any use , a with Os o T 1 arroW• belongs to he build- Iveniencer workmen. r, and has ,srs. increasing I interred' )f the i n' would or &tiled 0 would b. O 'Ord, a 5. 16 of the ur b-Easters r the prr e railere ferenee to s viaduct se, and' maga, b° .ce giceri e any 1' :oonslii►sa uuld SLOP prevente d Id be a'; ittee, t. , Steveto. rially prOVe' ih during ry Mar nt of the interfere ws of the e church . betweel leriatiol rd. The Lv would lanoaer' r Claude , n g pirti i a verf In bells° lxendeo• le Cow' _ rely td v Wl' park be' sort =lent& could be 'cause of d there . Pr open e 1 *d e th, ser i es of the 1 3114 ‘ ar k to I &tee ill li n e, bi tviour'Of ard► e n fitted " a:treedf hsa 2 , 1- hear d ' ,d sUCh pet- L better w hiCTh . .,10 014 &i 3 be- tatt th e 8 he ° II est it. L yzlc to $" Sat il r g i o c es ; he l ine he dir be.rl- ef i T ll Cady a top. Year, Upon this quantity he expected to save ss. ti ra 6d e . .if he obtained these facilities he expected to cons . mar At to 3,000 tons more to make at least 10,000 tobns)rokfinligme;vhich Present he believed that coal was scarce at these for that article was the dearest place in England. l i Westem Corn reasons he preferred the branch of thehseou Committeei- in 1844, any. He had been present before t wieen many promises. had been made the:btehoenilyttinfosynpilisee'srly Comibelny ; but they had Lt.i..4..xt0xr_0_v!,,,,,,,a01.z, Mr. Bothwell To the' Cnsanimazx ard Lord tog-. ^se a ton. At replied that; coals at Dorking were about o. .• , eia resent he boug:2t his coals a ship boat at a time atm th e en in store at his wharfs at Kingston. It was now cus tomer:, to get coals down to nei g ate by the Brighton Rail way, s e a . yre it eves seven miles te) Dorking, but the road was a bad one, e ghile that from Epsom wale a good one, although I little longer. Mr. Nelson , the .architect of Charlerestreet, St. James's esquare, extensively „ea:aged in the erection of houses in London, stated that, w iiii :aledon Park, which contained 700 acres, had been taken for build; mansions and villas of the and part of the build first elites. The plans have been maw_ rots ir 4l's raised close to the Wimbledon sta In addition to Hess, in consequence of th e extension oftheSouth-Yiresternßail vay to Richmond, the whole of that district had been olm.ed for e ut mieg purpre. - ee, and he calculated that 1,00 t; !louses . a Year would be built in that suburb of the metro p eDs. .For buillinge, whether large or small, the use of good lime Was requisite. Dorking lime was the best, but it wa super led at present, to a very great extent, by the Northfieet which was far inferior but it was cheaper; and it was ' , amen practice with builders to make the river lime of a darker colour, in order to imitate Dorking lime; and even where the contract specified that Dorking lime should be used, the lime from Northfleet was often substituted, It was .t 1 every way advisable ta use the best lime, as it ren de r ed uildings stronger and more substantial. To Mr. Monica. the witness replied that the grey Medway which was Is. to Is. 6d. per yard cheaper. he works for that line were established in consequence of the dearness of the Dorking lime, to which_ it was far inferior, although if had supe e - seded it. .To the RBIAN, the witness rep::,!sd, that from his know of the geology of the district, he o i ,g,:dd Fay that there W as l no doubt whatever of opening works to any tent in the _,orking hills. Upwards of 50,000 tons of lime were ;;:"": 1 1 ) 1 i used in London, and as much more in the provinces, ana Dorking lime could be supplied for it almost interminably. Mr. Pryor, chairman of the Coal and Corn Committee of t!!,.' City of Londen, stated that he had an establishment at f 4 ea - castle as well as in London, from which he sent 80,000 !). 100,000 tons of coal each year. The South-Western ',.`•slrpaos , already afforded great facilities at their wharfs at ne Efnas, where the frontage was 150 feet long, and it W as about being largely increased. He, himself , deposited ti 2, 000 tons in a year at those wharfs, arid by the alteration ey wonld be able to take the smaller classes of sea- going col ts up to the wharfs themselves, by which the expense of li ghterage, and the disadvantage of the breakage of coals t w o Nlel be seve. They had already taken a vessel of ninety ON and he believed that vessels of one hundred tots could is taken there. By the official papers he found that be tween last July and February the' e had been 354 vessels of IMO tons, and 541 between that rate and 150 tans , and 4 , ` 0 between that rate and 200 tons which discharged Weir cargoes in London, and each of their vessels made, on ;)`: was five voyages a year. In saving the lighterage, Z e '!re was also another advantage gained, for a machine had :veil invented which was capable of raising 300 toils of coals a day, and depositing them in the railway waggons, saving s r , breakage 3d. a ton. The coalwhipper's charge was now •._ a ton for discharging cargoes. The advantages, together Le savings of 3d. for deeckarging, Bd. in lighterage, and 7d. n taking out of the lighters, and ls. 6d. for breakage, F.:llg altogether a saving of 3s. a ton in favour of the new in, at least 2s. Bd., so that the coal after it is placed in / L s railway wagns is absolutely cheaper than it is in the W O. The wharf go at Nine Elms is a public wharf, where no toii r fags is ever charged. Immense quantities of sea-borne a xin are daily transmitted to the interior of the opt try, and when the South-Western Railway was ed, at the reqnest of Sir John Easthope, Mr. Prior had fi u .sented to open the trade, and sent coal down the main Ir .! Of the South-Western Company, and the consequence te `s e that from 335., the price of coals had fallen in that dis- Zr, tto 28s. a ton. If this line were opened he could under- Ze to deliver coal fit for lime burning and gunpowder mak i"4 at 15s. 10d. a ton at Epsom. At present the best house ekr:jog coal was 14e. to 16s. a ton, so that it could be defi le.' on an average at 17s. 10d. a ton at that place. t o 'tr. Bothwell being recalled, said that it chat ss. a ton theyls from Epsom to Dorking, including one gate, so could get good coals in that neighbourhood at a la Smore than 235. a ton. orzt Prior being further examined, said that ho lis,d hard te:r ge Croydon plan tor the laat four years. He had astit es down by the Croydon line from that place, and the ex ar. es vrere-Bd. lighterage to Coal Blow, near New Cross ; th ee t anal dues; towing 1 3 Ad. ; wharfage 6d.; and rail e ol igge 25.-making a total cost of 4s. 4:%e1. a ton to Croy tri,,Elicit was eight miles further, giving a further expense e ar l°• per ton, winch witk the 6d. a ton for discharging the e 41,, would cost 6s. 27a d. to Epsom by the Croydon Rail • giving a contrast of ls. 9.1., the cost by the South the'rt,ern line, against tas. 24d., and showing a gain in favour of th e ° auth-Westena line of 4s. bid ; or. including t'.e coals, 14 1 fference appears by this line 17s. 10d. a ton for house Coal against 225. 2d. by the other line. Taking all to c gs as they were, he should prefer the South tile fere line for the facilities afforded to the trade, even if . r eest of the two lines were exactly equal. (),;° _,Mr. Mee:nen-It appears that the charge for carriage to fe k iin . ... was only 11d. a ton per mile. The 12,000 toss of t t4n 7 o hich witness delivered at Nine Elms was for making r the Company. The small vessels would, of course, fitted for going under the bridges, and lie did not believe 14',.skere was practically any difference in the freightage of tlarweesels and small ones. He knew that several indivi - It ik , l. ere preparing to lower their masts and to go into the Of coue the machine of which he had spoken would as- h i it sem i i n the Pool as at Nine Elms. ti e, le - exarnination by Mr. Muumma, Q.C., Mr. Prior it : Unit in consequence of having a less d e ep hold to 'into, and from there being a less weight to shake together th ° voyage, there was less breakage in small vessels than rge one s . keiethe CHAIRMAN-The machine was tried at South- Lan.. b° Mr. Br Ewrx-r and Lord PomaxoTow, Mr. Elliott, r y., st a t e d that the charge of the South-Western Company li d e serying coals was for 15 miles, 2d. for , 5 miles, an NI" ton for every greater distance B th e d. Act the toll 1, 1.. 7, and not the rate of carriage, was . regu y late fla kea • e G.S . tone, a , coal merchant at Ewell, who supplies the lakti,remiltes in Jewell, Epsom, and the neighbourhood, said obtained his coals by barge to Kingston, and thence Stac ts °wrl waggons. His general sale was 2,000 tons a-year, P4course a reduction in the price would increase the 31t e kr f i.. taytion. His impression was that about 20,000 tons a ,t,11 consumed in the district. e p " aghorn, the owner of extensive clay potteries at a k i s ,_syho exported largely, sends 2,000 to 3,000 tons of Nine Elms in a year. Large gas-works are situated e e 0:: Place, where a great questa , y of his clay earth is used. of isollines from 2,000 to 3,000 tons of coals annually, all tat e :!) , he brought from Vauxhall. He supplied other gas 4 is , t u atnents, but the London gas-works took one• half of t see: 3 ! earth, and the Waterloo-bridge terminus would be a i t tuenee for supplying the City. tbe r ; Charles Hall, who sends 200 sacks of flour per week 0 kr,.1,, would, if this line were made, save 70 to 80 of his carriage cost. 4 4„„ e 4 7r 11 , an extensive ironmonger at Epsom, stated that f t 7raed 100 tons of hardware from London. lit r. ` l ;,an observation from the CHAIRMAN, 44,ilenymen stated his object was to show that, as the to fib Birmingham Company had bought the railway er lo '"° banks of the Thames, that the formation of this tSta k " would save the expense and delay of such goods s,g through London, a point which the testimony went -w • tlei r ,'Laniley, of the Spread Eagle at Epsom, and chief toe ° - taaster of the town, testified that three Ones as much „ the etne to the west-end of London as that which came At "Y. taii, Ull a • . pomt the CHAIRMAN intimated, that as it might fe t f save time and expense, he thought it right to inti kn). .st there was no probability of the Committee coming nvLher decision than that at which they had formerly' ,F ‘tet, 4l this, however, Mr. BLZiVETT expressed his dissent, trtj' e e ,, r oom was cleared. 4, 4 14 r lte public was heatre-amtted, ke ii tsa i s ' l , l AreatAs said that ought he had been stating 1 4 , b e :.'Enous feeling of the Committee, but one of them sea r " out of the room ; and they were, of 'course, ready kikfte r t n Y evidence that might be adduced. 01), agreed that the evidence should be continued, and "malttee then adjourned till to-morrow. r GROUP XIX NI ; -....0 n1m • • ittee ascien•bled at twelve o'clock this day; _ • Lord Harry Vane (chairman), Earl of Match, Hon. k k ,..." De otf, Mr. 1). Morris, Mr. Phillip Bennett. ) 31 1 7TZTL, TOPSHAM, AND EXMOUTH. ti t N_ e xamination of Mr. Samuda was resumed, who under jl,t4rv!ry. _F o igid cross-examination and re-examination by 4 :: p tC ..t u io n n se , l f ori the part of the opponents of the Bid, as the atmospheric principle, on passing the t h t , jlear the River ' Exe. He gave a very descriptive as to the manner it was -to be effected, but admitted W JtL i as the firsttrial of this principle under w a t er; but 4 N io .g was elicited in the cou of his evidenc calcuated the impracticability of rse its success in this e instance. p:, 4 :rurner, member of the Town Ginned and Alderman ;tto', was in favour of the proposed line in preference to eter and Exmouth, as he considered the latter line p o ?not only injurious and detrimental to property, but 'll l ,‘ afford that facility and accommodation to the public ‘;'51 1 : 11 e now under consideration. ill!tat_Challis, a fisherman, at Lirnster, stated that great ',eh' as ? 41 11 be conferred on the mercantile and the shipping Oet h would afford safe shelter and anchorage to •N intime of distress, by the construction of the pro -10% 4 .0 and pier. th t tr rut e 3 _ Dunham, who also followed the occupation of a ,l'o hh ! s t at Liinster, corroborated the opinion expressed by lili 4 er witness. i t ,h 4l 7 , Poster, a malster, residing at Exmouth for the last 149 in favour of the projected route, as it would uot a 7,a3e and,benefit his business, but promote the in ‘1,71% vio prosperity generally of Exmouth. eod, clerk, then handed in proofs relating to the hi, a nd dissents. )q , cl osed the case on the part of the promoters of the 111 e lietietlatnittee then proceeded to consider a petition from itp,,„We appeared on behalf of the petitioner. .ies , • Aty W ou ,. were called in order to show the injury her pro- N 04 :o sustain consequent on the proposed line being %,,kte ( I „._ iPeti, l 'olinittee then went into the consideration of the Qt g line. s ra o re er kburn and Mr. Rowe appeared on the part of the of the k 4 4t ''. ZZETER AND EXINIOUTII. 4 , i _liennedy, a magistrate and late mayor of Exeter, ' 4 l v () Cate mid supporter of this line, stating his prin ,,i,Sl4,`;eti.oLn to the other route was the impediment created Loe canal 4 il, 4 l vo ll ` r ci , of Exeter, said the inhabitants of that city were t r of the proposed scheme, but would prefer the one Ite ls iderat ; the other crossing and likely to inter li`elap; no d9on of , the canal. L"olE _,w too r o clock, they Committee adjourned until to-morrow (Fri GROUP XXI. tio 'P h e 04, ZONDON ATZD oxranD. Kt • b.rnitte re.assembled this morning at the usual DT 'lncb in the chair. 'elite.°lncters proceeded to call witnesses in support of ItV . tl rst tik Tho_ nness called by Mr. Hildyard was W y , 'Us Treacher, who stated that he bad resided in rer, , ° llibe all his life and that he was a chair mann , of mer chat' t and* small farmer He said the 1)o,, " 418 dur n„ last f years Nirisi r tn. teq uet €,,nt i their the coals in our nt small quaifies, 4o and paid, itte, 2s. to 2 s . 2d. more p er t on . Ab ou t 1,000 t r n i lolly columned by the inhabitants. The proprie• ~.. -,~ .r these ------__ _ ._. ....._ ... . tors of paper,mills, ef, which there were a (.:onsiclerable num- Ily, the line - , beivbought their own coals, and not from the oial-thercharits in the town. - If the Coals they tied w( r, a chehpened, manufactures would receive a gr,r.,:at inrpetus. or lather an extension of it towar:., the; north, sad to A,yleS bury', a conimunication With the irpo):tant coal districts. athe the north Would be opened iip. , . He 1... ad made i 'cukitlation price of Cu.(al if they had the railwaY) and found thatl hehtecoals which he was neiv selling at 35s= might b e wad for 275. or 28.4• per ton, Tbe reduction in price woul , l greatly increase the c Q ukiwiptiorl, A cheap colpm*A,tioo I with. the nolb of Vagillid ibr Ploiirst of Wilicil" Feat alum -- manu f a cuis t 4 in Hi g h Wypc•nibt , , and in the eur --.. required, Ai.... ‘ , l-"Alf gf Ole ber rounding districts. chairs manufactured there were sent. to which they had no available water communication. if they had the railway, they could send. chairs to Lon don at threepence less earl! than their transmission now cost. They had to card chairs intended fur London to 'firing ? 19 miles from High Wycombe. The proposed branch of the Great Western to the - town would not be of great advantage. [No point of any consequence was elicited in this witness's cross-examination by Mr. Wells.] Mr. W. Chareley, a farmer at Woburn, e4amined by Mr. WAnntor—He grew, on the average, annually 120 quarters of wheat, 200 quarters of barley, and WO quarter of °Rig, which he generally sent by waggon, at ponsiderqble expense, the Uxbridge market. By'the proposed railway he should b enaltio.... s d to send his corn to other markets, and to attend them iti.roself-2-Caford and London, for instance—and to compete more efl:ectually_ with the great gro , i ers of corn. The branch of the Great Vip§Egrn ? not I..tintAlirect, iyonlct not be of much advani.op. By the CtraiamAx—Had formed ;m estimate of the ex pense of conveying goods by the Oxford and Lon4pq or by the brocti of the Great Western, and along its course to London, He poul4 fend flour to London by the proposed line, Breyer uses the Bath 64 Mr. R. Cuwiug, of the tirip of Claming . , btonehat - q, and Co., drapers. gruyere, ac., Wycombe, received 7QO tons of goods annually, the carriage cf which post about 800/. a year. They received grocery mostly from London, and a great portion of the dr;:pery from Manchester, but they ge- • Derally bought them hi the London market. If there was direct communication with Ifaneheater they shOuld buy the gigaier part of their goods there. Aro doubt, in that case, he should go to ill,arcthester himself to purchase gqods, !yet would save the exp4use of gprtey, tfke. The railway wouici of great advantage to th - tm in their bttsiness, as the carriage of their goods would be consequently reduced; but he was of opinion : hat the proposed branch of the Great of the town instead of Western would injure. the trz•;,.l. benefiting it, because the five coaches whjoii 4,7 f ran through the town would be reduced in number; not more than two trains would run each day, and the fregneosy of communica tion with London and Oxford consequently deoreased i After the examination of several other witnesses, the Com mittee adjourned till to-morrow, GROUP XXV. The Select Committee appointed to consider the merits of the lines comprised in this group, re-assembled at the usual hour this morning in the Westminster Sessions House, the Hon. Mr. Discelles in the chair. 1111.11WICTel AND ZASTEnN COUNTIES 3UN CTXON. The examination of the merits of this scheme was re sumed. Mr. John Braithwaite, the engineer of the line, was examined at some length by Mr. Ogle, on behalf of several landholders, who complained that the line would inflict leo-e irjury on their property than the competing.line. Mr. JAMES submitted to .the Committee that all the cases were simply matter for compensation. The Committee concurring in this opinion, the cross•exa- minaiien was not persisted in. Mr. I3raithwaite was then examined at some length. He said he had never heard, until he entered that Committee, of there being any trade between Ipswich and Harwich. His object had been to obtain the shortest line between Harwich anti the metropolis; but if it .‘ ere thought that the line ought to accommodate Ipswich, there would be no difficulty in having a fork at the point of junction with the Eastern Union, one branch pointing to Ipswich and the other to London. Tho distance from Ipswich to Harwich, was twenty miles by rail, while by the Orwell it was only nine miles, and there was a cheap steam-boat communication; passengers were carried, he believed, for sixpence a head. Captain Richardson, one of the directors of the line, having been one of the deputation that waited upon the Board of Admiralty with reference to the two proposed lines, proved that the Admiralty preferred Mr. Braithwaite's line to Mr. Lock's, which ran along the coast. The matter was discussed in the presence of Ceptain Beaufort, who was decidedly in fa vourof Braithwaite's line. He had seen the C a ptai n th a t morning, and asked him to attend before the Committee and • give evidence in favour of the line, but the Admiralty were averse to his appearing before the Committee in the capacity of a witness. He could state, however, positively that th:: .Admiralty had adopted their plan for the pier at Harwich, and rejected the Eastern Ut ion plan. Mr. RODWELL objeuted to this evidence on behalf of the Eastern Union Company, because he should be in a position to show that the Admiralty had refused to receive a deputa tion from the Company lie represented. Mr. JAMES thought this could hardly be possible. The CHAIRMAN asked if the Eastern Union Company had submitted any plan of a pier to the Admiralty? • Mr. Romvem, replied that they had sent to ask the Admi- ralty to allow a deputation to wait upon them with plans; but the Admiralty refused to receive it. Mr. JAMES said he held in his hand a copy of a plan which the Eastern Union Company submitted to the Admiralty, and wnich the Admiralty rejected. The Cu:sin:um; submitted that if the Committee sanc tioned the Eastern Union line, how could it be carried out if the Admiralty opposed it? Mr. RODWELL said they were prepared to alter the plan of their pier at Harwich to r. it!t the views of the Admiralty. Mr. JAMES said it was impos , ible for the Eastern Union Company to depart from their deposited plans and sections. TheCnammate—Then the case stands thus :—The Eastern Union Company say they have not h-en heard. Now if it should turn out, or if it can be proven, that their line was considered with the one now before us, and the latter me , adopted by the Admiralty, we shall be inchned to attach importance to that opinion, although we are-not bound by it or at all disposed to surrender our functions to that board. Mr. JAMES said the Admiralty had an objection to their officer attending there in the capacity of a witness, and, therefore, they could not prOve the opinion of the board from official authority, but there was this paragraph in one of the reports of the Board of Trade, which was pretty con clusive on the point:—" But when the circumstances of the port of Harwich are taken into consi&ra tion, national interests become mixed up with and form important ingredients in the question, especially as such project contemplates the erection of a pier. A commu nication had, therefore, been made by this board to the Lords of the Admiralty on the subject, and they have stated, that though they do not consider their objections to the Eastern Union scheme of such vital importance as to be at once fatal to it, they think Braithwaite's is, upon the whole, the most expedient, and the best for the _public interests. Therefore, notwithstanding the Eastern Union scheme only requires eleven miles of new railway, we are of opinion that the state ment which we have received from the Admiralty is con clusive against it, and that on public grounds Braithwaite's Harwich Pier Railway is preferable to either of the others." Mr. TALBOT objected to the Committee assuming that the Admiralty had decided against the Eastern Union line, with out first consulting the officers of that board on the subject; and even supposing the board had, upon an ex parte state ment, decided against them, the Committee ought not to adopt this decision as their own. The Committee objected to having any private 'communi cation with the Admiralty on the subject, and ultimately it was decided that a Speaker's order should be sent for Capt. Beaufort to attend and give evidence on the point. Captain RicsiunDsoistated that he understood the objec tion of the Board of Admiralty to the coast line was, that in time of war it would be liable to attack from the enemy's vessels passing up the Orw,ll. Mr. H. Blanchard, a retired East India merchant, and the owner of a large estate in the neighbourhood of the gave evidence of the local advantages of the scheme. Other ge neral evidence of this nature, showing that the majority of the inhabitants of the district preferred Lir. Braithwaite's lie to the coast, line was adduced, after which a communication was put into the hands of the Chairman, who intimated that its contents informed him, that as Captain Beaufort was the confidential adviser of the Admiralty, it would be utterly inconsistent with his office to appear before the Committee to give evidence in his official capacity, and therefore (added the Hon. Gentleman) they could only take it for granted that the Admiralty assented to Mr. Braith waite's line, but not to the one running along the coast. Mr. COCIMURN stated that the aintnisliioners of Woods and Forests had been applied to for their opinion on the subject of the tw•o lines, but they declined giving a preference to tither line. _ Thie closed the case for the promoters. The Committee then adjourned till twelve o'clock to morrow. PARLIAMENTAH V BUSINESS. (From the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Commons.) WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25. Railways and Canals Amalgamation,—Committee nominated: — Sir George Clerk, Sir George Grey, Mr. Pakington, Mt. E. Denison, Mr. G. Hope, Mr. Craig, and Mr. Patten. The following Petitions tor Railways ►ere reported, and the Bills ordered to be brought in kr the undernamed lion. 31einhers : Leeds Central Railway Station—Mr. B. Denison, Mr. Beckett, and Mr. Aldsm. Kilmarnock and Troon—Lord G. Bentick and Mr. Oswald. Kilmarnock and Ayr Direct—Lord J. Stuart and Mr. Bouverie. STANDING ORDERS' CO3I3IITTEE. The following resolutions were reported from this Committee:- 1. That, in the case of the Wakefield Improvement petition, the standing orders ought not to be dispensed with. 2. That, in the case of the Birkenhead, Lancashire, and Cheshire Junction Railway petition, the standing ceders ought to be dis pensed with :—That the parties be permitted to proceed with their Bill. 3. "chat, in the ease of the Hull and Lincoln Railway petition, the standing orders ought to be Ispensed with :—That the parties be ctiioi ls deposited permittedtopocweeid with the w clerksiththe of the peace their Bill opnaempr the ding county'thepl oansf theand a p c e c a o c r e d fo w r l h flag e parts pl a o i f is L a i n• n d d s s e e 3 c . t e l i o t n s o deposited , w s° it l as t t t l o t e m cl a e k r e k tol m e and on inserting in figures on the cross sections the present rates of inclination of the pubic carrier , roads passed by the railway. 4. That, in the case of the Newport and Pillgwenly Waterworks petition, the standing orders ought to be dispensed with :—That the parties be permitted to proceed with their Bill on procuring adds. tional subscribers, duly bound according to the provisions of the standing orders, to the amount of 1501. at the least. That the Committees on this and the preceding Bill do examine, in the first place, how far such order %has been complied with, and do report the same to the House on the report of the Bill. Second, third, and fourth resolutions agreed te.—Report to He on the table. SECOND READINGS OF RAILWAY BILLS. WEDNICSDAY, APRIL 1. Preston and Wyre Harbour and Dock (New Deck and Railway). Preston and Wyre Harbour and Dock (Longridge Junction). THE BELGIAN EASTERN JUNC- TION R ‘ILWAY. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Str,—ln the report of the meeting held at the London Tavern yesterday, which appeared in The Sun of last night, it is stated that " The meeting shortly after separated ? having come to no determination ; but the understanding ap peared to be that the work should go on, as there appeared to be no legal mode of dissolving the Company." Now, Sir, this is the very reverse of that which took place; it is true there was some discussion as to whether the Com pany could be dissolved legally, but at length Mr. La Mert, the chairman of the committee appointed by the share holders, proposed a resolution for the immediate dissolution, which was seconded by Mr. Field, and carried by an over whelming majority, I trust you will insert this contradiction in your paper of this evening, and remain, Sir, your obedient servant, HEISTRYPEIILIPPS, Solicitor to the Committee. F.S. I refer you for a corroboration of the above to the report in the Morning Herald of this day. No. 4, Sise-lanv, March 26, 1846. Lord Brougham received at dinner, on Wednesday, the Marquis and Marchioness of Clanricarde, the Earl of Auckland, and Miss Eden, Viscount Goderich, the Vice-Chancellor of England, Mr. and Mrs. A. Montgomery, Mr. and Mrs. Stanley and Lady Dillon, and Jiro, J. Tewuley. TrtE st7N, LONDON, FRIDAY MOANING, MARCY , " 27, 1 - I MPERIAL PARLIAMENT. , . riot/8E OF LARDS, M a i Th 26. Their Lordships net at the usual hour. ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE. The Duke of RIOIIMOND wished to ask the Noble Dtike (Wellington) when he should move the adjourn ment of the House for the Esster holidays ? The Duke of WELLINGTON—I propose to move, on Tuesday, the 7th, that your Lordships should adjourn until Tuesday, the ii.llst of April. The puke of RICHMOND said it would also be very coovonient to their Lordships to know when it was likely OP eg.rl4-1"w Rereal Bill won:a h:,... " w rought up from the II had thought it very probable that it would be brought up before the 27 th. wiuse of commons. Ile The Duke of WELLINGTON said, cert!inl,7 not before the 2fth of A rii. Lcrd BROUGHA—The Noble Duke must be aware that it cannot be I rought up before the 25th of April s because they were going into " coeNiqn" pe4t week. The pfilLe pr WELIING TON said it would cep, tainly not 19 brought up before the Psth, THE REGULA rioN OT gliAlirilito. A BIGHT Ray. DRET.4TE presented a petition against the second r&adink of this Bill, which stood for to morrow. Messevgers from the Commons brought 1.11 'i.:6 - tiersti Bills. TIDAL twoons , COMMISSION. The Eat' of ELLENBUROUGH presented ti report from this Commilsion, OUT PENSIONERS (GREENWICH.) On the motion of the.NOBLE EARL this Bill was read a second time. LINCOLNSHIRE JUNCTION RAILWAY. Lord ST4NLEY presi.nwti a petition from a gentle man named Stainford (as we unckrstood) against this railway, on account of its separating his residence from his garden, stables, whey property, by a deep cut ting, and because there Ivspi a railway between the parts of the counfry_which it wasyroposed to accommodate. notwithstanding the breviate was not laid on the table till Wednesday the 25th day of March.—Agreed to. TEN HOURS' BILL Dr. BOWRING presented a petition, signea by fifteen medical men of Bolton, in favour of a Ten Hours' Bill. GOVERNMENT MEASURES. Mr. NE WDEGATE presented several petitions from Hampshire and other Places against the measures of the Government. POOR-LAWS. Colonel ROLLESTON presented a petition from Not tinghamshire, praying for an alteration in the present law of settlement ; also petitions against the measures of her Majesty's Govq/toent with reference to corn. m r . GP ri.pleal nreseuted a petition from the poor • tAS'' poor is guardians o _Lane—ester, praying for an alteration in 00 lay; of settlement, Mr. WO.I4HOUSE presented four petitions from Norfolk aptust the measures of the Government IRISH POOR-LAW. Mt. J. O'CONNELL presented a petition from the Kilkenny union, setting forth that the present tax fell unequally on the community, and praying for a more equal distribution of the tax. RITTOL QV THE UNION. The To!. MpilitEß also presented a petition from a t p i l v a : e uni in o l n. reland in favo ur o f t h e repea l o f the legisla- THE MILITIA. Mr. S. CRAWFORD presented a petition against the eulliug out of the militia. CORN-LAWS. Mr. COBDEN presented a petitition from Southamp ton, in f ►your of the repeal of the corn-laws. SOUTH MIDLAND RAILWAY. Mr. TROTTER presented a petition against this railway. Mr. S. O'BRIEN also presented a petition in favour of the line, and one against it. NOTICES OF MOTION. THE CHELTENHAM POST:`37FICE. Mr. CRAVEN BERKETY,,`; gave notice, that on Tuesday next, the copy of Lb:: order or orders by which the deputy-post n27.l;ier of Cheltenham was entitled to demand a penny •:.11:1 of March, he should move for a extra on letters in certain respects delivered in that town, THE ORDERS OF THE DAY. Sir W. SOMERVILLE gave notice, that on the ques tion being put for the first reading of the Bill for the Protection of Life in Ireland, he should move that the other orders of the day have precedence. THE LAW OF SETTLEMENT. Mr. SMITH O'BRIEN wished to ask a question of the Right Hon. Baronet the Home Secretary. He wished to know whether, in the proposed Government measure for giving a settlement to persons who had been employed for five years in any manufacturing town, that it was the intention to include Irish and Scotch poor ? Sir J. GRAHAM said, the measure was intended to extend to all persons, without any distinction of country whatever. CORN-LAWS. Sir ROBERT PEEL presented a petition, signed by the deputy• lieutenant, commissioners of supply, the justices of the peace, the clergy, freeholders, tenant farmers, and occupiers of land in the county of Aber deen. The petitioners stated, that having maturely con sidered the subject of the corn-laws, they had come to the conclusion that they operated prejudicially to their interests, and prayed the House to remove them front the statute•book. Also a petition from the town council, mayor, aldermen, and burgesses, of the town of Manchester, who stated that there was a great em barfassment in trade, in consequence of the delay in the decision of the House upon the question of the corn laws, and praying that the House would speedily pro nounce its definite judgment. Also a petition from mer chants and manufacturers of Nottingham, also praying a speedy settlement of the corn-laws. COLONIAL TRADE. Mr. HUME wished to ask the light Honourable Gentleman at the head of the Government, whether it was intendsd to carry out the principles of free trade, as regarded the colonies, by amending certain existing Acts ? Sir R. PEEL wished to know whether the Hon. Member's question had reference to sugar. ADJOURNMENT OF TIIE HOUSE. Sir R. Pe.EL, in answer to a questionpultohim the other day by Mr. Hume, stated that it was his inten tion not to propose a longer recess at Easter than eleven days, and that he would not even pledge himself to move so long an adjournment. Mr. MILNER GIBSON wished to know whether the Coercion Bill would take precedence of the orders of the day. On subsequent consideration, he thought it would appear to the Right Hon. Baronet, that it would be desirable to proceed with the Coercion Bill on Monday instead of the cern question. sir R. PEEL said that the course the Government intended to pursue, and the reasons they had for adopt ing that course, would not be depirted from in any par ticular. The Coercion Bill should be the only business to interpose between the consideration of the w Corn Bill and other business. He proposed that the Bill should be read for the first time on Monday, and it was pro posed by her Majesty's Government that that should be the only business to interfere with the discussion of the corn• laws. SETTLEMENT OF THE POOR. Mr. BANKES rose to move for a Select Committee to inquire into the law of settlement and removal of the poor. It would be observed that the Right Honour able Baronet at the head of the Government had introduced the measure as an accompanying one to that of the corn-law, and it wa3 in that point of view that now, when the Corn Bill had approached the stage of second reading, he considered it right to direct the attention of the House to the measure, conceiving that both might be considered at the same time, with a view to their going to the Upper House at the same moment.—(Bear.) There were other measures introduced as accompanying ones to the Corn Bill, but, in his opinion, they were of little importance, and there fore he was not prepared to take the same steps in reference to them as in the case he then introduced to the notice of the House.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) It was far from his intention to charge the Right Hon. Baronet, or any other member of her blajesty's Govern. ment, with intentionally misleading the public on this subject, but from the recent statement of the Right Hon. Baronet they expected something different to the measure which had been laid on the table of the House. Now, he did not presume to make any such charge against the Right Honourable Baronet or any other Member of the Government, or even to say that the public were right in the conclusion they had drawn, but cer.ainly the conclusion was very different from the measure which was now before the House. It would be by no means satisfactory, that the Corn Bill should be passed and sent into the other House, before this Bill should be discussed, and understood, and put in point of progress on an equal footing with the other. He was not prepared to say what might be right or what might be wrong in the changes which it contemplated, but this he would say, that his own opi nion coincided with the general feeling, that a residence for a period of five years—(ilear, hear)—or even a shorter one of three years, should confer the right of settlement. The Bill was set down for a second reading oa Monday next, and he was of opinion that it could not attain to such a progress ' • and he, therefore, bad a right to draw the attention of the House to the subject, in order that they might understand precisely what were the views of the Government with reference to the principle of the measure. The Bill might be divided into two parts, that which in volved the removal of the peer, and that which regulated the ma c hi nery by w hich its provisions were to be carried out. He was prepared to object to that portion of the measure which conferred new power on the Poor-law Commissioners.—(Cheers.) To this he would give his decided opposition. The second portion had only reference to the machinery of the Bill, which would involve considerable discussion, and might well be postponed, but the principle of the Bill ought to be discussed ; it was of the utmost importance, and could not be discussed too anxiously or too soon. But retaining that part of this Important principle, they would in fact be accomplish ing the great advantage which was intended, namely, the benefit to the poor man himself, to the full extent of the proposition of the Right Hon. Baronet. That principle he conceived was, that in consequence of a residence of a smaller number of years—three years— theY should give a right of settlement as well as a right to relief. Now this comprised the whole subject of the question, and would be rectifying a great omission of the present poor-law. It was already granted that the residence of five years should not only entitle him to relief, but in the event of any inducement being held out to the poor man, so as to bribe him to go to a country district, should be visited by a penalty, and he perfectly agreed with the Right Hon. Baronet that it was a hardship in the ex treme to induce any man who was suffering from misfortune and poverty to go to a county with which all connexion was lost, with which all his ties were broken, and with which he could have no rela tion o t h whatever, e r._( at e daby in fact, any inducement to re turn hear.) This was o ne o f the great the measure prop ose d, making difficulties t ure created or,r l this alteration in the law of settlement. He thought it was not wise or right, after, perhaps, a long residence in a manufacturing town, to induce any one to go into an agricultural district. He therefore hoped that, after having obtained the benefit of the right to relief they would not deprive him of some sufficient right of settlement, for it was only, in fact, offering him an invi tation, at the best, to reside in the workhouse. For these reasons he trusted that the Government would not refuse to grant this modification of the law of settlement, while at the same time it maintained all the position which they sought to obtain by th e i r new Bill. He trusted that no Member in the House would consider this question to be a party one, or that he had brought Opposition side of it forward for the purpose ei a political party. He be lieved he might say that he might calculate on the support o th f e th H e o m os s e. jorit T y he of G . th or o e s r e n e m v e c o n t ohfadtatted that th e y the were anxious to consider the question of the settlement of the poor, and he would ask, why had they not set about carrying out their desires? In many towns in this king dom there was an anxiety, and he must admit that.'it was a justifiable anxiety, to have the question fully learn from considered and settled. He believed th at it w ould be much better settled by a S e l ect Com mitteeulear, hear.)than a HCeosm.omolidttehee mostof wholetahnexioosto the members of the Government why it was that having the principles which they had professed to entertain on this question they had stopped short in carrying them into effect ? And why it was that, having con sidered as the Right Hon. Baronet did in that most able statement, to which he (Mr. Bankes) bad before alluded, that the labourer had earned his rights, he he sitated to confer them upon him ? He wished also to know why it was that under the law as shadowed forth by its proposer, if an operative should go for a time to seek his . bread in the agricultural districts, and he returned, the doors were shit against him in the manufacturing districts which he had left ? (Cries of "Hear, hear.") They would tell him then that he had no settlement, and that ho had no right to return. They would tell him that he had no right to continue in the inariurectur'ing towns in w hich ho had spent the best part of his exist ence, but if h e c h ose to go into the agricultural districts in eeareh of employment, he must take his chance ; that he had, in fact, become a gambling speculator in his industry, and that he must now be content without any sort of re - lief, because he had the rashness to leave his usual place.of labour. He returns, perhaps, after two or three months' aboence, and after all his exertions to get employment in other places, he was compelled to say, hetd coma badge to that place where he had worked al, his life, and where only he had a claim for relief. It was for this reason he would move for this Sele c t C omm i ttee. A discussion for two or three days, at the most, would enable them to form a Bill, which would be more acceptable to the agricultural and other int erests generally than the measure proposed by her Mejeety's Government. It was to give the poor man something like a settlement that he would move for a Committee, and he was sure that it was in the power of Parliament to do so, and to place this question at rest. Mr. SPOONER, seconded the n mce• A Sir JAMES GRAHAM said, the o H . woe would bear with him whil e h e ma d e a few remarks upon-the notion li proposed by the on. Memb er who had just sat down. The Hon. Member had alluded to the speech of his Right Hon. Friend (Sir Robert Peel) upon this question. Now, he considered that the speech of the Right Hon. Baronet was clear and perfeetly intelligible. The ques tion raised by the Hoe.. Member was from a forced and strained construat;Zin of the two exp ress i ons w hi c h f e ll from his Hon. Frt-; ls j. The first of them was the proposed alteration in .'he law of settlement, and the second was its bearing upon the Corn Bill. He must say, that had it been his lot to open this question to the House, the subject could not have been better stated with reference to his opinion. His Hon. Friend had clearly described the precise object of the introduction of this Bill. Ile spoke under the correction of the highest legal authorities in that House, and he believed it impossible to alter the law of removal without altering the law of settlement, fo r the principle in either case was th same. His Hon. Friend said that a permanent settlement was not intended to be pro posed by Government. Tim question was not by any means connected with the alteration of the corn-laws. It was an nounced in that tseuse as a measure brought forward by her Majesty's Government in connexion with the landed interest. It was a measure conducive to the public good, and which might stand by itself, perfectly independent of the other mea sures to which the Hon. Gentleman referred while calling the attention of the House to the other measure. He (Sir James Graham, was prepared to support the Bill without reference to the corn-laws, and he was also prepared to vote for the Corn Bill in its present shape, even though it should be the pleasure of the Legislature to reject the other Bill. He must say that in the course of allhis experience in that House, a more extra ordinary motion was never made than the one just made by the Hon. Gentleman who had just spoken, and who proposed that the subject should be referred to a Select Com mittee before the second reading of the Bill. They had a Bill then before them which had received the first reading, and stood for the second. Many of the most im portant provisions, with reference to the law of removal, were conclusively not injurious, but, on the contrary, highly bene ficial to that portion of the community likely to be effected by it. Now it struck him that the proposition of the Hon. Gen tleman was rather an extraordinary one, as it gave the go-by to that already before the House ; though every abject sought to be gained by the Hon. Gentleman could be accomplished after the second reading, on the motion that the Speaker do leave the chair, and the House go into Committee.—( Hear. ) The first proposition of course would be, that the Bill be divided into two parts, which he (Sir J. Graham) would de. cidedly oppose. The Hon. Gentleman, however, said there were certain portions of the Bill that did net meet his full ap probation. lie (Sir J. Graham) had the honour of proposinq a similar measure to the present at a framer period ; but then he accompanied it with several alterations as regarded parochial settlement, instead of settlement under the old system, which he did not press, in consequence of the opposition of Hon. Members. If that opportunity were lost. there would be great difficulty in hereafter settling the question ; while the arrange ment, as it now stood, was excellent and fair, and it was for the House to determine whether it should be carried out. It was true there were matters of detail which it might be neces sary to alter, but they could easiiy be arranged when the Bill got into Committee. The principle, however ; ha believed, could not be objected to, and he, for one, was prepared to give his most hearty and uncompromisiug support to the Bill. It ' a s his most decided opinion that it was equitable and fair, and viewing this question irrespective of any other measure before the House, it was one well worthy of support. Many of the alterations proposed to be made in reference to the poor were humane and just. The Bill itself had been most carefully pre pared, under the advice and guidance of the highest legal authorities of the country, and he was quite satisfied its machinery could not be altered with advantage. Under these circumstances he should most certainly give his decided opposi tion to the motion of the Right Hon. Gentleman. MESSAGE FROM THE LORDS. Messengers from the Lords brought down certain Bills. SISbONER wished that the motion of his Hon. Friend would be ::greed to • and, with regard to what had fallen from the Secretary for the Home Department, namely, that he had never held out the proposed measure as one of compensation for the passing of the corn-law, he would only refer to the statement which he made when he introduced the Bill, namely, " that he believed that it would give a very material relief to the agricultural interest ;" and the First Lord of the Treasury said, " that they intended to accompany the Corn Bill with arrangements calculated materially to advance the interest of that portion of the community which would be called upon after the lapse of three years to relinquish protection." How then would they get over the great difficulty by bringing the measure on the next night? He quite agreed with what bad fallen from the Hun. Member for Oldham, that this matter was not at all un derstood in the towns ;as the measure at present stood, it was likely to create a greater evil than that which existed under the present poor-law, if the evil it contained was to be carried out. It might lie all very well if confined only to the indus trious poor, who at present were occupied in towns. But how were they to distinguish between the industrious and vagrant poor, if the laws remained, as the Right Hon. Baronet proposed—after a certain term of residence ? The poor man could not be removed, even with his own consent, should he fall into sickness or meet with an accident, to the care of those who were best fitted for rendering assistance and consolation necessary under such circumstances. He should, therefore, contend that a Committee of the whole House was not the proper place for the consideration of such a subject. It ought to be dealt with by a Committee up stairs. There was another practical difficulty. There were three parishes in Birmingham ; and supposing a man to live in one, and work in another, and had to change his residence within the five years, he would be deprived of all benefit under the law in such a case. His object was, that some practical men would consider these difficulties up stairs, and be prepared, against the second reading of the Bill, with some plan to meet them, so that the matter might be fairly and satisfactorily set tled at once. These were the grounds en which he supported the motion. Sir R. PEEL said, that his Hon. Friend who had just spoken did not misunderstand her Majesty's Government on this question. What that Hon. Gentleman said was entitled to the greatest consideration, as he had great experience on the subject, living, as he did, in a large town, and knowing the condition of the poor Therein. He said that the object of the Bill, as explained to the House, was to substitute immovability for removability, and not to confer rights. He, at least, had no doabt on the subject, respecting the expressions used as to what were the intentions of her Majesty's Government. He (Sir R. Peel) would again say, th a t th e intention of the mea sure did not relate to the right of settlement, but to substitut ing irremovability for removability. He proposed the measure because he conceived it would not only be a benefit to the landed interest, but a good in itself, and fraught with great moral and social advantages.—( Hear, hear.) And when the Hon. Mem ber for Finsbary (Mr. Duncombe) said he attached ~the n d hoped he y mo r ed dt t h h a e n y s did u r , noth i n g Ministers.and hoped they (the Go v er n ment) a l so d id, he did noth i n g mo r e t h an express the feeling of her Majesty's M i n i sters at tach great importance to it. He (Sir R. Peel) said the Go vernment considered themselves under the positive obligation e g r ea t estx prs s ot Government) importancem l e i n n feeling f to Pi dt l ih ai s est h y lne 's e of doing everything they could to secure the advantages of the proposed arrangement, not only for the benefit of the landed interest, but for the interests and comfort of the poorer classes. He could not consent then to discuss the principles or provisions of the measure, so as to interfere with the pro gress of the Corn Bill before the House, but he would intimate that he should do everything in his power to make the pro posed alterations a good and efficient measure of relief.-- His Hon. Friend who had male the motion wished to give the right of settlement, and his Hon. Friend who had seconded the motion had expressed himself as most decidedly opposed to the right of settlement—( Hear hear)—and the mode in which he proposed to deal with the question was, by having a discussion en the second reading of the Bill, and that they should consent to a Select Committee for the purpose of taking into consideration the laws relating to the settlement of the poer.—( Hear, hear.) It bad been stated by the Hon. Mem ber who proposed the appointment of a Committee, that cer. tain impressions had been propagated throughout a great por tion of the towns of this kingdom, that the Government intended to bring in a Bill to confer the right of settle rmeemnotv;ingantdhohsee i p m ro p p r os es e s d ion t s h . e C N o o mzi c t o t n ee sid f e o r r in t g he th p e urp sag os a e cit o y f of the Hon. Member, he should have thought that he would have been the last to propose any such course. He (Sir R. Peel) hoped that his Hon. Friend would permit the House to proceed in the usual course with respect to the Bill relating to the settlement of the poor.—( Hear, hear.) Mr. COLQUHOUN rose, amidst cries of " Divide, divide," to say, that he hoped bis Hon. Friend would, after the speech of the Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for the Home Department, withdraw his motion.—( Hear, hear)— because it did appear to him that the course picked out by him would be the best.—(Divide, divide.) Sir R. H. INGLIS also hoped that his Hon. Friend would not press the House to a division.—(Hear, hear. ) Colonel SIBTHORPE hoped, on the contrary, that his ho t o h s e e R te igh m t ak H e o .— n. (BHaeroarn,ethheaard. bear.) From Kta s i s eg whic hht c Hon. Friend would divide the House on this question.— ( Hear, hear, and lauglater)—for he did think that, after the (Laughter)—no reliance ought to be placed on any pledges o hw w n eh h a m i e ve n yh r the. the old pl3ee d A s mN g y m e e s e andthought would he be oetuhlbed:nuiorgt brought see wf withdrew use forward. de.w hi s 1845 to 1846, a sum, not less than 52,0001 . bad been expended any longer. t f s motion, p st u o rs od uin f o g r h i e a t should like her Majesty's _Government to have a fixed day El n u measure second reading on Monday next, but it did not appear likely that it would come on then, and under those cireamstances he thought that a fixed day should be named for the decision. Sir ROBERT PEEL said that it would be impossible for him to name a fixed day on which to bring on the discussion on the measure. The second reading of the Bill was fixed for Monday, and if it were possible then to proceed with it, the principle of it could be affirmed. Mr. VERNON SMITH would only make one observa tion. The words " industrial residences" had been used by several Hon. Members in the course of the debate, and by the Right Hon. Gentleman himself. Now there was no mention at all in the Bill of the words "industrial residences." Unless these words were introduced, the Bill would not fulfil the intention of the Right Hon. Baronet himself. Lord EBRINGTON hoped that no delay would take place in passing the Law of Settlement Bill. Sir R. PEEL said he would take this Bill immediately after the decision of the House was taken on the Corn Bill, and on the Bill for the better Protection of Life and Property in _ Ireland. Sir W. JOLLIFFE had paid great attention to the Bill, and had consulted magistrates and others concerning it, who concurred with him, in the opinion that the Bill was one which ought not to pass. In the present state, however, of public business, he would suggest, that his Hon. Friend should withdraw his motion, and renew it when the Corn Bill had been disposed of. After a few observations from Mr. P. SCROPF, Mr. BANKES said, after what had been stated by the Right Hon. Baronet, he did not think he should deal properly with the feeling of the House if he pressed his motion to a division. He should, therefore, withdraw it; but, whilst he did so, he begged leave to inform that Right Hon. Gentleman NORTH DEVON RAILWAY. Earl FOIdE'SOVE presented a petition from pertgin owners and occupiers of land in the county of Devon, againgt the ENet,er gnd crediton Railway (as we under stood). The petioncrs complained that this set:rine, if allowed to proceed, would interfere With better lines, and they prayed to be heard against the Rill, The Noble Ler.i thfll propeeded to gay that the lin e he appeared in faiour of was one which he found could not come before this House in the present session owing to sc:ree enfinperi f ig oversight or defect but if the 13111 which opposed that line, and which was now before their Lordships' should pass this House, then they would by passing g seeond hest line fora best line, and the great evil would exist of having two lines conspetiDg with each other, without doing the least good to themselvea or to the country, Ile trusted therefore that if the North Devon line should not come before Ole Rouse this year, they would suspend their judgment upon the present Dill until they had beard the merits laf this. MESSAGE FROM THE COMMONS. A Messenger from the House of Commons appeared, praying the permission of their Lordships' House to Lord Malmesbury to give evidence before a Committee of the House of Commons, to which their Lordships assented. THE CASE OF MR. PARKER. _ _ Lord BROUGHAM intituat;cl thatlWPOstponed a motion of which he had given notice (the purport of which did not reach the gallery) till after the Easter holidays. He also stated that shortly after the holidays he would bring under the consideration of the House the conduct of the Poor-law Commissioners towards Mr. Henry Walker Parka.. IRISH POOR-LAW AND FEVER BILL. The Earl of CLANCARTY, after presenting several petitions from Ireland in favour of a reduction in poor law taxation and rates generally, said he wished to take that opportunity of putting a question to the Noble Earl (the Earl of St. Germans), of which he had given notice. it would be in the recollection of the House, that on Friday last a Bill for the providing temporary relief for fever in Ireland passed that House. The standing orders were dist), used with in order to admit of its im mediate progress through all its stages. To that course he had no objection to make, con sidering the object in view, only he would observe, that had he been in the House on that occasion, instead of beieg uutivoidebly absent, he would have considered it his duty to have made some irquiry as to the circume etances under which the Bill was introduced. It ap peared as if the Bill was to make better prevision for the poor who were attacked by fever. Now, in the poJr-law of 1843 poor-law guardians were empowered o make provision, and it appeared by bringing forward the present Bill, that a new power was to be employed, as if the board of guardians had not done their duty in this respect—that was a reflection cast upon them. If this was to be understood the poor•law for Ireland might as well be repealed at once, and the power given by it to the eealthier classes of Ireland taken away. He was anxious to hear from her Majesty's Government whether in proposing the Bill which had lately been passed, they had been induced to do so from any neglect or indif ference on the pert of the Boatel of Guardians? The Earl of ST. GERMANS had no hesitation in assuring his Noble Friend that the Government had had no intention of casting any reflection whatever on the boards of guardians throughout Ireland. His Noble Friend would ob-erve, on referring; to the provisions of the Fele r Bill, that powers were given to the boards of ivardiaus to give out-door relief to persons suffering rem fever. They were empowered both to give medi cine and nutriment should it be required. The Earl of CLANCARTY expressed his satisfac tion at the answer of the Noble Earl. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY presented a peti tion from the grocers of the City of London, against the Act at present before their Lordships' House, entitled An Act for the Administration of Charitable Trusts," and praying exemption from the operation of the said Act, in common with the universities mentioned in the 59th clause. They also prayed to be heard at the bar by counsel. Lord CAMPBELL presented a petition to the same effect from the company of Cullers._ BELLEROMON AND RODNEY. The Earl of HARDWICKE begged to call the at tention of their Lordships to a statement made two or three days ago by a Noble Lord, relative to the extra ordinary exertions which were made by officers and men belonging to one of her 111,jesty's ships down at Portsmouth. The Noble Lord did not appear to know the whole of the case, and he should no: have alluded to it without having fully informed himself of the matter. He had expatiated on the merits of the officers and men of one of the vessels which were fitted out on that occasion very deservedly, but he (the Earl of Hardwicke) thought that it would have been only fair in him to have alluded to both ships which had been then equipped and made ready for sea. He merely mentioned this, in order that the public might be aware that equal exertions and equal ability were evinced by the officers of both those ships. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH thought no mis take could exist on the subject, as it was generally Known that the officers of both the ships were deserving of the greatest possible praise. Tke — Marquis . of LONDONDERRY considered that it was a very inconvenient practice for any Noble Lord to rise up in that House and to praise the exertions of any officer in the discharge of his public duties, because he considered such praise ought only to emanate from the First Lord of the Admiralty or the First Lord of the Treasury. It was well known that the Bellerophon and Calcutta were fitted out of the crews of the Rodney and Albion. If the practice was continued, great difficulty e.mld not fail to result, because an officer might be unduly praised by a Noble Lord to whom he was well known. It wa, net the opinions of individuals which they re quired, but the opinions of those who had been placed by her Majesty at the head of the naval department. CONSOLIDA ED FUND BILL. This Bill wa4 read a third time. THE INSOLVENT DEBTORS (INDIA) BILL. This Bill Was real a second time PROTE , ,TION. The Duke of RICHMOND presented a petition from operatives in the Tower Hamlets, which was agreed to at a public meeting against free trade. They stated that they had suffered adversity, and had learned in a severe school—that they had been exposed to the in jurious effeit: of grinding competition during the last twenty years, and, therefore, earnestly called on the House to throw out the measures proposed by her Majesty's Government, and to give to home industry that protection and security which it enjoyed in the olden time. He perfectly agreed in the prayer of the petition. IRISH NORTH MIDLAND, AND DUBLIN AND ENNISKILLEN R AILWAYS. The Earl of RODEN presented several petitions in your of the Irish North Midland Railway. The Noble Earl also presented two petitions against the Dublin and Ennishillen Railway. The Earl of ABERDEEN presented a petition against the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway. 1 HE GUANO TRADE. Lord STANLEY moved for the returns which had already been laid before the other House of Parliament, namely, the number of vessels (with their tonnage) em ployed in the guano trade during the last five years.— Agreed to. Their Lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS, March 26. The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four o'clock. SECOND READINGS. _ . The following Bills were read a second time, and or dered to be committed, viz.:— Cornwall Railway. Scottish Midland Extension Railway. Glasgow Southern Terminal Railway. Surrey Iron Railway Company Dissolving. Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, and South Staffordshire Junction, No. 2 (Coalbrookdale Branch). THIRD READING. The York New Waterworks Bill was read a third time and passed. SHREWSBURY, WOLVERHAMPTON, AND SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE JUNCTION RAIL WAY. On the motion that this Bill be read a second time, Mr. THORNELY said he had no objection to offer to the second reading of the Bill, but he wished that a certain clause referring, under the A malgamation Act, to the construction of bridges, should be assimilated to the provisions of that Act. The Bill was then read a seeond time, and ordered to be committed. RAILWAY AMALGAMATION BILLS, Mr. WILSON PATTEN, in bringing up the Ninth Report of the Classification Committee, moved, " That no Amalgamation Bill mentioned in that report should be allowed to be read a second time before May 1." The motion was then agreed to. SURREY IRON RAILWAY. Mr. GREENE moved that the Surrey Iron Railway Company Dissolving Bill be read a second time, according to the notice given at the Private Bill Office, that he should avail himself of every opportunity which was afforded him by the rules of the House, to bring on a dis cussion on the subject of the law of settlement, before the Corr - Pill was finally dish osed of. The motion was, therefore, withdrawn accordingly. CORN- LA WS. —ADJO URNED DEBATE. On the order of the day for resuming the debate on the Corn Bill being read, Mr. FINCH wished to claim the indulgence of the House on this second occasion of his addressing them on the present subject. The Right Hon. Gentleman, the Member for Ports mouth, had endeavoured to show the inefficiency of the sliding scale as compared with the results even of a fixed duty. In his (Mr. Finch's) opinion there was very little difference between a fixed duty and a sliding scale. It had been said that a fixed duty could not be perpetually maintained. But these were matters of very little moment. The principal question was, what was the best mode of giving fair protec tion to agriculture. The Right Hon. Gentleman had also alluded to the proceedings which might ensue in the other House on this subject. He (Mr. Finch) had always under stood that the other House possessed constitutional rights as indefeasible as those possessed by this House, and if in their wisdom, and the proper exercise of their just prerogative, they should think proper to reject the present measure, they were fully justified in so doing, and were in no way amenable to that House. In fact, nothing could be raore equitable or right, or more for the benefit of the nation, if the other House were to reject this measure. He thought that the question involved a fivefold revolution. First of all a social revolution would ensue. The result of free-trade must tend in an in creasing ratio to do away with the poor-laws. He conceived that a revolution in the social state of the country would be the first consequence of the repeal of the corn-laws. The Hon. Gentleman then quoted from Malthus, Buchanan, and Adam Smith, to show that principles of free-trade, when car ried out to their fullest extent, necessarily involved the total repeal of the poor-laws. The colonial system of the country would alse undergo a change, and that was a very important element of the question in consideration before the House. Again, the financial constitution of the country would also be greatly affected by the proposed changes in the differential duties. There was besides a two-fold political revolution in valved in these alterations. For upwards of a thousand years, from the period of the Saxon rule, protection to the land had r b a e n e g n e m d e e e n m ts e . d a There primary woe o 3 a elementtemilne tendency politicalin the organicand fi .;eal changesar- se hich were contemplated, not perhaps to o_verturn the monarchy, but to give it a more democratic character. The argument 3t ie Hon. Gentleman then entered into a long statist to show the number eat! value of the various interests United Kingdom which would be more or less affected by in the t operation of the proposed measure. Considering the amount of those interests her Majesty's Ministers would be fully justified in relieving themselves of a portion of the responsibility by shifting it on to the people at large by an appeal to the con stituencies. He was of opinion that the Right Hon. Baronet at the head of the Government, although an accomplished statesman and a transcendent orator, was still as fallible as other mortals. The Right Hen. Gentleman, like the Arch bishop of Grenada, preferred the speeches of his later days to the productions of his youth What, he would ask, would the manufacturers think if a measure were brought forward jeopardising the mercantile and mane.facturing - interests ? He thought, therefore, that some allowance should be made for the apprehension of the agriculturists. The whole quantity of corn which would be disposable for England from all Europe, according to the accounts from their consuls in the different places abroad, was 2,200,000 quarters. And from America and Canada the quantity was 500,000, making altogether 3,000,000 of quarters. He would ask them, would not this quantity, if yearly imported into England, cause a glut and a panic in the market, and have a most prejudicial effect on the agriculture of the country ? From 1842, to 1815, the quantity of wheat actually imported was 4,300,000 quarters altogether; but if, according to the previous calcula tion, 9,000,000 of quarters were triennially admitted, he thought that the effect would be an inevitable paralysis of all agricultural operations. The principle of protection was supported by Russia, Prussia, and most of the minor states of Germany; the Ministers and Parliament of Holland, the Ministers) and Parliament of Belgium, of France, and of America ; thus proving that the principle of protection was ad vocated by the greatest men of the most civilized rations of the world. In 1826 and 1827, the exports of this country amounted to 36,800,000/., and in 1844 to 5 8,000,000/. ; thus proving that under the ope ra ti o n o f protect i on, the country had attained a most extraordinary degree of prosperity. (At this part of the Hon. Gentleman's speech, not a single soul was to be seen on the Opposition benches, Mr. Hume, the only remaining Member, having changed his solitary position and gone over to the Government side of the House. This circumstance attracted the attention of the Hon. Gentleman, and excited general laughter.) He proceeded to say that he perceived his arguments were so convincing as to put an end to all opposition.—( Great laughter.) He perceived that he had silenced all the brass guns which they had mounted on the other side.—(Laughter.) One Hon. Gentleman had main tained his post as long as he was able, but, finding his position too hot for him, he was at length obliged to surrender at dis cretion. This was surely an argument in favour of protection. (Laughter,) The free-traders had gone about the country deceiving themselves and deceiving every one else up on t h is important question. He regretted seeing the light manner in ashich this measure had been treated by those gentlemen who supported her Majesty's Government. It was too bad that they should not be present that evening. Instead, however, of their being present during the debate that evening, the fact was, there was but one Member (Mr. Hume) present on the opposite side of the House. It was proper that the country should know this ; it was necessary that the agricultural com munity should be informed of this disrespect towards the gen tlemen in that House who supported, or rather advocated their interests. Tne Honourable Members could attend during the time the safety of the measure was doubtful.— ( Hear, hear.) They could then be present, and make speeches lasting some three or four hours.—(Laughter.) He could assure them, however, that they would fail to hurry the mea sure through the House. He would, himself, continue with his speech.—(Laughter.) He felt that the present was a question involving the interests of the most loyal, the most con sistent supporters of the Church and State, and for that reason he, in common with other Hon Members, would give it his mast strenuous opposition. It was said that the repeal of the corn-laws would operate upon our foreign relations to the ad vantage of this country. It Iva, also said that America would be our steadiest friend, but: he was of opinion that that country would not abate her demand one jot, but would, at the first moment of England being involved in a war, renew them.--( Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member then proceeded to quote the opinions of Mr. Grattan in support of protection to agriculture, after which he said that he was at a loss to find out in what the free-traders were consistent. They cried out against limiting trade, and yet they were for limiting the hours of labour. He was also for lessening the hours of labour; he was not for overworking the young rersons, who were now used more like slaves than human beings. Much had been said against agricultural protec tion, but he contended that that protection had never been legitimately carried out. If that had been the case, the labourers would have been better paid, and the distress said to exist would be much less. The agricultural labourers could be paid according to the price of corn, and thus they would have a direct interest in the protective laws. He would now give a proof of this, though they might be called chimerical fears. Look at the Liberal party, the Repealers, and the Church party. He would contend for it that many of those supported this measure because it was a bad measure. The enemies of the Church Establishment believed that a severance of Church and State would be the result of the increased misery of the people, and that the democratic principle would then bo more difficult. The repeaters also were in favour of it, because it would, they conceived, bring them nearer the attainment of that measure. In fact, he could not conceive why the Govern ment hut introduced this measure, except they laboured under some strange delusion. These were his reasons fog opposing this measure. If those who concurred with him should succeed in their opposition the country would be grateful to them ; and if they should fall, they would fall with honour. Lord RENDLESHAM said it was not often that he troubled this House, and he would not do so now at any length. But upon a question like the present, he did think the country had a right to expect a detail of the rea sons that actuated Hon. Members in the vote they should give on this measure ; and also the country, in his opinion, should he informed of the reasons that actuated Ministers in changing their opinion upon this question. The Noble Lord then read a long letter of Mr. Huskisson, which he contended established the necessity for protective duties upon corn. His Lordship then went on to say that he could see no more reason now for doing away with these duties than there was many years ago. He begged to remind the House, that in the agricultural dis• tricts the rate of wages entirely depended upon the price of agricultural produce. When the farmer received a remunerat ing price for his produce, he naturally raised the amount of his labourers' wages. A chart time ago he sent for one of his tenants, a large farmer, and that farmer stated that he would be obliged to throw a great quantity of land into pasture, and discharge one half of his labourers, if this measure should pass. , Mr. FELLOWS b egge d to as sure the House that to hat wa s not give not his intention to snake a long speech. He intendedindoing so his support to those who opposed this measure, and he believed .f those he whomwould he be acting ndg the in ii accordance onourto with represent. th e senti ments In 1841 h in favour of protection ; and if he should have changede was since,his opinion he would long since have c eas ed to hold a seat in this House, for, after such a change, he would feel bound to return to the hands of his constituents the trust they had reposed in him. In speaking of this question he would not go so far back as the year 1600; but he could assure the House that he was aware of many districts of country which at one time grew nothing but reeds and rustles, but now, under the laws of protection, producing large quantities of wheat; and in other districts, where but a comparatively small quantity was produced a short time ago, that quantity had of late been very much increased. He could not believe that this measure had been rendered necessary by reason of the failure of the potato crop in Ireland, unless he heard it asserted by the Hon. Baronet himself; because this measure could not have that effect, at least it would not have the effect of stop ping the progress of the apprehended famine, inasmuch as it would occupy some weeks in discussion before it culd be passed. He thought it might be stated, that sending corn to Ireland would he perfectly useless, unless they provided the people of that country, in the first instance, with the means of purchas ing it.—( Hear, hear.) He was not one of those who spoke with levity of the misfortunes of that unhappy country, as he would have given all the assistance in his power to alleviate the impending scarcity threatened in that quarter; but he should protest most strongly against bringing forward measures of a permanent nature to meet temporary exigcncies—( Hear. ) Ile would ask what the effect of the measure would be on prices—whether to lower them to 40s. per quarter, or to raise to 60$. per quarter ? He believed the effect would be to lower them considerably, and at the same time to cause great fluctuation. Some Hon. Gentlemen, members of the Anti- Corn-law League, thought the agriculturists had nothing else to do but improve the land, and make it produce more than it did at present. He believed the land capable of producing more than it did atpresent, but they wanted time to improve it, and make it mere productive; and he hoped to see the day, when, such being the condition of the land, they would require little or no protection.—( Hear, a h s ear.) Goy T e h rn e mt l oe i n o tth n ,e . t Member for Portsmouth asked Hon. Members on his side of th e H ouse if, havi having with another d o t h t ehr measure e proposition satisfactorych o e u y n 7rwere prepared . Now, his answer to that was, that the agriculturists would be perfectly satisfied to remain as they were.— (Hear, hear.) Again, the Hon. Gentleman asked, were they prepared to un dertake the responsibility of defeating the measure? For his own part he should say he was perfectly prepared for any re sponsibility when acting in a manner he believed to be fair and conscientious.—( Hear, hear, and cheers.) It was very well for the Right Hon. Baronet at the head of her Majesty's Government to tell them that he looked to pos terity for his reward, and for the Right Hon. Baronet the First Lord of the Treasury to say that he buried in oblivion all his past declarations. Such might be sufficient for them, but it would not be sufficient for the country.—( Hear, hear. ) The Government might think there was a settlement of the question, but he believed, that before many months, when the people would be called upon to exercise their elective fran chise, they would tell the Government what their opinion was in plain terms.—(Hear, hear.) Speaking for himself, he could no longer place the slightest confidence in a Government that had betrayed the country ; and in future he should look with great suspicion on every measure that might emanate from the Treasury benches—( Hear, hear)—and he believed, when the time arrived, the country would show the Govern ment that they disapproved of their conduct, by dispensing ever after with their services.—( Hear, hear.) After a few words from Mr. FULLER, in which he was understood to oppose the measure of her Majesty's Ministers, Mr. P. BORTHWICK said he was glad to perceive the Hon. Member for Lambeth in his place, as astonishment hal been expressed at his (Mr. Borthwick's) side of the House that no answer had been given to the statistics of that Hon. Member, However, he hoped the House would indulge Is'm for a short time whilst he proceeded to refute those statistics. In the year 1797, and during the five following years, we had not only a free trade in corn, but a bounty given upon its im portation. He would quote " Macpherson's Annals of Com merce :"—lt is stated that it was found necessary to hold out an inducement for the importation of corn, and therefore a bounty was granted on all foreign corn imported. For every quarter of grain weighing 4401b5, 20s. ; for every quarter of wheat weighing 4241b3., 16s. ; and for every cwt. of wheat and flour is. In the five years to which he was now referring the country had abundant libations of the sweets of free trade ; but what was the effect ? In 1797, the price of wheat was 77e. Id.; in 1798, it was 50s. 3d. ; in 1799, it was 675. 6d. ; in 1700, i was 113 s. ; and in 1701, it was 116 s. ; and, if the Hon. Gen tlemen would allow him to quote an a ddi t i onal year, they would find that in 1802, the price ranged beyond 116 s. Taking any five years of protection about the same period, they would find that the price never varied more than 7s. per quarter. Mr. Canning had said in that House wason t s l n i a tdenoecictaifusiona,s fi tht g a nres, no w th it i h ng th e brought i 0 f n o o rs f v a f r a d ets... there laugh)—and he (Mr. Borthwick) said on the present occasion that they had something more subtle than figures, " and more slippery than facts," and that was the principle upon which public men proposed to conduct the Government. Hon. Gen tlemen would believe him when he quoted the authority of the Right Hon. Baronet at the head of the Government, when, ors a former occasion, he advocated protection, arid adduced in its support precisely the same arguments and data which he now adduced in support of free trade. When addressing his consti tuents from Tamworth, he had quoted M'Culloch in support of protection, and he now quoted the same words from the same author in support of free trade. The Right Hon. Baronet had appealed in several instances to the country. He had done so, in the case of East Gloucestershire; and the result was the. return of the Noble Lord (the Marquis of Worcester) who made such an excellent speech the other night against the mea sure. All the recent elections showed that the feelings of the country were against the policy of the Government. He had almost forgotten Nottinghamshire, where also the representative: of the Government was defeated under very painful circum stances.---( Hear.) He (Mr. Borthwick) did not speak as the advocate of any mere political party, however great, but he stood there to record his vote on a great issue—a great question between the powerful few and the feeling many—between ac cumulated capital and suffering toil. That was the question, they had to settle, and on which he would record his vote against the attempted domination of capital. He stood there on the recorded words of Burke—that the rich were but the pensioners or bankers of the poor, and that it was the duty of the Legislature to see that the latter were protected from any attempted mal-administration of the funds placed in the hands. of these pensioners or bankers. It had been said that the feeling of the Canada, was in favour of the measure, but he had recently received a letter from a gentleman in Montreal, which stated that the news of the measures of her Majesty'. Govern ment had depreciated property there at least 50 per cent. The residents of the colony considered faith had been broken with. them in regard to the Canada Corn Bill, passed in 1842.. It was the duty of the Government to protect the colonies from the competition of their neighbours, instead of exposing them to that competition, as would be the case with the Canadas and the United States. They ought to bear always in mind the opinion of Burke, that it was most dangerous to tamper with agriculture. Even the greatest political econo mists, Mr. Deacon Hume, Mr. M'Culloch, and also Mr. Ricardo, and Dr. Adam Smith, opposed absolute free trade in corn as chimerical and inexpedient. They on"ht to be guided by the wisdom of their ancestors, which the Hon. Member for Liskeard (Mr. C. Buller) had attempted to turn into ridicule. According to that Hon. Member they were to abandon the light of Bacon and Thurlow, and the wisdom of Hume, with the other great luminaries of English law and history. All these, as well as the wisdom of Burke, and Pitt, and Fox, and Sheridan, and Grattan, were to be set aside as nothing by the Honourable Member for Liskeard, and the Honour able Member for Bassetlaw (Mr. Vernon Harcourt). He had listened the other evening to the speech of the Hon.. and Learned Member for the university of Dublin ( Mr.. Shaw)---a speech which was most satisfactory, and one it would not be easy for the supporters of the present measure to grapple with. That speech the Government had not yet re plied to, and the Noble Lord the Member for the city of London (Lord J. Russell) had not thought it prudent to touch it. In fact, that Noble Lord left the Right Hon. Baronet to fight his own battle, waiting till a favourable opportunity, after the passing of this measure, occurs to turn him ont of office and take his place.—(Hear, hear.) Yet the Lord Chancellor asked them on that side, what measures they intended to intro duce, if they were able to form a government, with his Grace the Duke of Richmond at their head. It was for her Majesty to name the ministry, but it was for the individual Members of the I-Touse to give an honest vote; and could they, therefore, vote for the measures of the Right Hon. Baronet, believing as they did, that those measures were not calculated to be of benefit to the country? He was anxious that it should be in derstnod that he recorded his vote against this measure, not be cause he wished to ous t th e G overnment, b ut becausehe could not shut his eyes to the extreme consequences that would follow it. He trusted that the interests of the agriculturists would long, despite of these measures, be one of the objects to be recognised by a British House of Parliament. He trusted that the interests of the agricultural labourers would not be left to the tender mercies of the manufacturer. He thanked the House for the attention paid him, and he hoped that Hon. Gentlemen opposite would follow the example of the Gentlemen on his side of the House, and never rise till they had something to say—(Laughter)—and having said so, to sit down again immediately.—(Continued laughter.) He would oppose the measure introduced by Government. Afr. CHARLES BULLER said that he was exceedingly obliged to the Hon. Member for Evesham for the very flat tering personal compliments he had paid to him, but the Hon. Member did him less than justice when he accused him of laughing at or ridiculing Hon. Members opposite for following the wisdom of their ancestors.—(Hear, hear.) What he did marvel at was the extraordinary perverseness of those Hon. Gentlemen opposite; who adhered to the obsolete dogmas, the " wise sayings" of their ancestors, while neglecting the grand landmarks of true wisdom and experience. The lion. Member for Evesham came forward with great self-complacency, and quoted these sayings, as in favour of the policy he himself ! advocated, and Hon. Gentlemen behind him vigorously cheered these quotations, whether happily applied or not, so long as they were made by one of their own party.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) If he (Mr. C. Buller) had wished to quote the wisdom of their ancestors against restrictive laws ou the food of the people, he should assuredly have quoted the same sentiments which the Hon. Member had more than once quoted from the celebrated Burke, as warning them of the folly of tampering with the food of the people. There had always been one great feature in the wisdom of our ancestors compared with ourselves, and that was the compara tive brevity of their debates.—(Laughter.) He did not be lieve that there was a parallel, either in our own or any other country, to the fact of a debate lasting three weeks upon a single subject. He was willing to do justice to the strength and variety of the arguments of Hon. Gentlemen opposite, but he must say they would have done their arguments just as much justice if they had made their speeches shorter. He would not now enter into the question of free trade. It was too late in the stage of the business to discuss that subject. The good sense of makind had made that the general opinion of the world long ago. Since the year 1815, the whole course of the policy of successive Governments had been to diminish the pressure of the corn-laws upon the people. They had shown by their policy that the corn-laws were an exception to the sound principles of trade ; and, in dealing :with the corn-laws, their main object had always appeared to be to get rid of them as speedily and as safely as possible. Hon. Gentlemen opposite had thought proper to applaud Gen tlemen f r theircons istency. seif, because, u Hep to twocouldc o claim t o io n mhiersiitdoenotfhthatealcicoournt fo r himself, , voted d defended restriction ded th e R ig hotn Hon.the trade Baronetin corn.th r e e ye N a v r h s opposite, be was defending himself. For some time p as t, i t i a go , l e, therefore, e a r d e had been evident that the opinions of the Right Hon. Baronet were undergoing a change. For several years the arguments which had been used to support the corn-laws had been given up one after the other, until nothing was left for them to, stand upon. He thought the Government might have commenced their change of opinion earlier. He would, however, put it to any reasonable man, whether, under the present :circatristances of the country it would have been possible to maintain the corn-laws longer. He would frankly avow that his opinion had been very much changed since be first entered that House. Who could say that they had never ne could tell the precise alluded always was gradual, and no o Gentlemen opposite had changed their opinions ? A change like that to which be moment when it occurred. Hon. been pleased to laugh at the famine in Ireland, and would n o t admit that as an argument in favour of the . present measure. Now Hon. Gentlemen opposite had in this shown their incon sistency, for nothing could be more marked than their tone in the first debate on this subject. They then admitted the great distress in Ireland, and that it was the duty of the Government to provide immediately for it.—(No, no.) It was not until they found their own argument cut from under them that they denied that they had adopted such an argument. It did appear to him to be most extraordinary for Hon. Gentlement to come forward and on such evidence deny the existence of such an evil as the famine in Ireland. They now came forward and said there was no .famine in Ireland, and yet they had only a short time ago said that the Government ought to have provided for it by a temporary measure. The Right Hon. Alember for the University of Dublin, (Mr. Shaw) came for ward with private letters, and with stories told by one mart to another; and upon this authority he denied the existence of the famine. The price of potatoes had been quoted as an argument. Whyithat was worth nothing. The potatoes were perishing, and, therefore, they were lavishly consumed in Ireland, and this, of course, would have a tendency to keep down the price, because all dealers would be anxious to get rid of their stocks. In an article that was not se immediately perishable, the supply of course would affect the price, and by the price the extent of supply could be judged of ; but in the case of the famine in Ireland, the argument as to the price of potatoes was not by any means a sound one. But even this argnmentiwas notsiupported by the facts, as the price of potatoes in Ireland had doubled within the last few months. This terrible condition of the Irish people was one which Hon. Members opposite could not deny, but, as he had al ready stated, they admitted its existence ; and while doing so some of them have thrown out suggestions as to the mode in which it ought to be relieved, but these had been sufficiently answered by the Government themselves. They were going to relieve the immediate wants of the Irish people, aided by the assistance of private individuals ; and, as a proof that some Hon. Members opposite admitted the soundness of this policy, he might direct attention to the fact that the Hon. and Gal lant Member for Lincoln had offered to subscribe 3001. to wards carrying out this object. Colonel SIBTHORP—I never made such an offer, but I should like to know what you intend to subscribe.—( Cries of " Order, order.") Mr. CHARLES BULLER said he had no intention of offending the Hon. and Gallant Member, in alluding to this circumstance; on the contrary, he thought he was stating something that was to the credit of the Hon. and Gallant Member, and he was under the impression that the Hon. and Gallant Membs r, feeling it to he so, when reminded of his promise, would come forward and stand to his word. To re turn, however, to the subject before the House, the people of Ireland were starving, and the Government had adopted a right and proper contrivance for removing this distress. Some Hon. Members, however, complained that the Government ought not to have proposed a repeal of the corn-laws, but to have met the exigencies of the moment by throwing open the ports. Did Hon. Members, however, imagine that the ports could be opened without an alteration in the corn-laws following such a proceeding? The ports were thrown open, in 1826, by Mr. Canning, and what followed that step ? Why, the Govern ment came down to the House of Commons, and, after asking for an Act of Indemnity to themselves, called upon the House to make an alteration in the then existing laws. N ow , h e wanted to ask Hon. Members opposite a question with regard to this temporary suspension or the law under the pressure of the Irish famine. He wanted to know when they would propose to shut the ports? That was a material question. Would any Hon. Gentleman take upon himself to say how long the potato disease was likely to last? True, one Hon. Gentleman had consoled them, by producing a sample of po tatoes grown by the Duke of Porland. This potato was free from disease ; but they could not conclude, from such a fact, that the disease was at an end. By examining samples of the crop at the present moment, who could tell whether the po tato crop of next year would be a failure or not ? The example of America was before them, and it afforded a terrible warning of the increasing nature of the disease. How could any Go vernment, then, with these facts before their eyes, avoid taking , the in ass