The Sun. — London, England, 1835-03-18 00:00:00

PRICES OF CANALS, DOCK STOCKS, ASSURANCE COMPANIES, &c. &c. LONDON, TUESDAY, MARCH 17. Number Dividend Price CANALS Shares. Annum. Paid. 1,482 O. Ashby.de-lesZouch Average 113/. sh. 65 1,260 Basingstoke . . lOOl. sh. 51. 1,005 51. Brecknock and Abergavenny 1501. sh. 85 4,00015 h. 121. 10s. Birmingham, i share 17/. 10s. 237 4,00,1 Ditto and Liverpool Junct.... It .0/. sh. all pd 29 000 Bridgewater and Taunton ....100/. sh. all pd 61 4ro 51. Chelmer and Blackwater 100/. sh. 103 500 421. Coventry 1001. sh. 790 4,546 Croydon Average 311. 2s. 10d. sh. 2 2,600 f 31. 10s. , Dudley lOO/. sh. 6'7 600 61. Derby 1 001. sh. 120 3,5731 Ellesmere and Chester Average 1331. sh. 86 231 43 . Erewash .. . 10t.1. sh. 550 1,297 22.81. Forth and Clyde Average 4001. 16s. sh. 600 11,:;11i 121 . Grand Junction lOOl. sh. 240 1,521 Grand Surrey l, Pl. sh. 129,000 f. 31. percent. Ditto (optional) Loan lOOl. 71 3,04)6 ... ...... Grand Western 600 la. 12s. kl. Glam-rganshire, Average cost 172/. 13s. 43. 280 1,91)0 Gloucester and Berkley 141 , 1 sh. 240 740 0/. Grantham "0/. sh. 202 6,238 11. 10s Huddersfield Average 571. Os. 6d. sh. 331 100 Kensington 10415 h. all pd. 10 25,328 1/. ss. Kennet and Avon, Average 29/. Bs. 10d. sh. 221 2,897; '2O/. Leeds and Liverpool 100/. sh. 520 - 543 12!. Leicester l4Ol. oh. 170 1,907 41. Leicester and Northampwn...Aver 03/. 10s. 79 to 80 550 5/. per cent. Liskeard and Looe Uni0n......251. sh. all pd. 25 70 1411. Loughborough Average 1421. 17s. sh. 1,640 2,4 , 9 11. Monmouthshire 100!. sh. 180 .250 1/1. Melton Mowbray 100/. sh. 1911 500 231. Mersey and Irwell lOO/. sh. 361 3,000 Macclesfield 10431. sh. all pd. 52 247 151. Neath 100/. sh. 300 109 1,786 321. Oxford 100/. sh. 613 2,400 11. Peak Forest Average about 781. sh. 102 21,418 14s. Regent's (or Landon) Aver. 33/. 16s. 841. sh. 161 5,60 31. per cent. Rochdale Average 851. sh. 121 500 8/. Shropshire 125/. sh. 138 800 10/. Somerset Coal 150/, sh. 170 45,0001. 61 per cent Ditto Lock Fond Stock l2l. 10s. sh. 13 7CO 36/. Stafford and Worcester l4ll. sh. 700 30 , 1 st Stourbridge 3,147 11. 10s.• Stratford-on. Av Ai ...Average 79/. 9s. Bd. oh. : , s1 533 191. Swansea 100/. sh. 216 3,762 11. Severn and Wye and Railway ...Av 351. sh. 191 2,600 ish. 32!. 10s. Trent and Mersey, I share 100/. sh. 620 8,149 Thames and Medway...Aver. 191. Is. Bd. sh. 1 1,1:00 shre 15/. Warwick and Birmingham 100/. sh. 278 1,090 ish. j 980 124 Warwick and Napton lOO/. sh. 2'20 • 0,000 31 19s. Worcester and Birmingham...A v.78/.8 , 4. sh 2',000 ss. Wilts and Berks ... Average 1111. 17s. Sd. sh. 511 126 ....... Wisbe.tch lO5l. sh. 45 901 11. Wey and Arun llOl. sh. 221 DOCKS. 497 ,, ,fili7f /. 3,2,3.01. '2l. ss. p. ct. London Stock 57 Ditto Bonds lO3 1,350,0100/.:3!. per et. \Vest India Stock 95 :4..01 3/. to. 4d. Bristol Average 1471. Its, sh. 70Aof I 8,3.2.41. ;:'.l. per cent. Ditto Notes, various amounts lid 1.352.7' , 2 3pr e! nt. St. Katharine Stock l'Q 500,00) 4f per cent. Ditto Bonds loli 200,000 4 per cent. Ditto Bonds for 10 years Shoreham Harbour 257k BRIDGES. 5,000 5,000 Id. '2s. Ditto, Old Annuities of 8/. ... 6O/. pd 26:12:1 5,000 19s. 3d. Ditto, New Ditto of 71. 40/. pd 2.1 a22} fO,OOO/. M. per cent. I'it'o Bonds ll5 6,000 1/. Vauxhall Average 70/. 10s. 3.d. sh. 21 ASSURANCE COMPANIES. 2,000 21 103 Albion 500/. sh. 30/. pd 76} ..„,„ noo (5 per cent.l , 1 Mance, British & Foreign 100/. sh. 101. pd 12 and ss. 3 50,000 6 per cent. Ditto, Marine 100!. sh. 5/. pd 51 24,000 10s. per ch. Atlas 1,200 -1811. 4/. Birmingham Fire ..............251)1. sh. 55!. pd It 20,000 41. per cent. British Fire 2W. sh. 301. pd 44 12,000 V/. per cent. British Commercial 301. sh. 5/. pd 7 3,000 31. per cent. Clerical, Medical, &c. Life...loo/. sh. :21 Ins pd 3f 4,000 2/ 103 County 'OO/. sh. 10/. pd 42 6,000 5.5. Eagle 50/. sh. 51. pd 5{ 200 trssrl ; O c l e l3 n s t. . l Economic Life lOOO/. sh. '2301. pd 315 2,271 41. percent. European Life c.:ol. sh. all pd W. 50,000 '2s. Ditto, New 'O/. sh. 2/. pd if 1,000,000/. 71. per ct. Globe Stock 150 . ..0,000 11. Guardian 1001. sh. 201. pd 33 Fire 5 pct., 44) ." t Lite 8 p et. 3 Hope 50/.Bh. 5/. pd 6} 2,1{!0 5/. 73. 6d. Imperial Fire 500/. sh. 502 pd 116 7,510 9s. Imperial Life 100/. sh. 102 pd ti 5/. per cent. Indemnity Marine 1 , 0/. sh. 8/. pd 12 3,900 11. London, l'ire 251. sh. 12/. 10s, pd '23f 31,001 1/. London, Ship 25/. sh. LL 10s. pd 23f 40,0 , 10 :/. per cent. Palladium Life 50/. sh. 22 pd 2/ 5s 25 0 ,001 Is. 6d. Protector Fire 's)l. sh. 21. pd 1/ 103 2,500 11. Provident Life llOl. sh. Pl. pd 19i 100,000 ss. Rock Life 7 201. sh. Y/. pd 519 s 684,220/. 5/. per cent. Royal Exchange...; Stork... 182 50,001 4 per cent. United Kingdom Life 2/. pd 212 s 6d JOINT STOCK BANKS. 5,000 Australa , ia 4Ol. sh. 231. pd 26 10,000 10 per cent. Birmingham Ban,k 5O/. sh, 51. pd 13/al 50,000 20,000 7 per cent. Provincial Bank of Ireland...lool. sh. 23/. pd 44i 10,000 National Provincial 1001. sh. 25/. pd 19 10,019) 10 per cent. Gloucestershire .50/. sh. 54 pd 11 6,000 GAS LIGHT AND COKE COMPANIES. 2,500 11 12s Bath 2O/. sh. 16/. pd 293a30 5,000 61. per cent. British 4O/. sh. 161. pd 23 5 sLpercent 'l Ditto Provincial 2Ol. sh. 19/ . p d 24 3 ," [and Bs. ss. 844 51 lOs Birmingham 5Ol. sh. 100 4,251) 2103 Bristol 1.500 ..- ..... Brighton 2Ol. Bh. 14 7:50 Ditto, New 201. sh. lel. pd 12 2,471 33 per cent. Brighton General 20!. sh. all pd 19 4,000 3/. Continental Cansolidated lOOl. 51i/. pd 64 1,000 101 City of London lOO/ sh. all pd 1923 1,000 6/. Ditto, New 4.000 41. Equitable 3Ol. pd 32 6,000 6/. per cent. East London 51. sh. 4/. pd 4f 10,000 5/. per cent. Imperial 3O/. sh. 411-exd 800 5/. per cent. Isle of 'l'hanet 23/. s h . 201 . pd 213 2.350 6/. per cent Independent 3O/. sh. all pd 54) 9,000 4!. per cent. Phcenix 50/. sh. 391. pd 253 1,000 4/. per cent. Ratcliff 100!. sh. COl. pd 45 4,000 ...... ... South Metropolitan s!'l. sh. 131. pd 143 8,200 5/. per cent. United General 5O/. sh. 441. pd 41 240 5/. per cent. Warwick. sn/. sh. Si) 400 115 s Wakefield 25/ sh. 22 32,000 3! . Westminster Chartered 5O/. sh. 473 6,000 124. Ditto, New .50/. sh. 101. pd 9ex d WATER WORKS. 4,800 4,133 51. East London lOOl. sh. 138 1 1 4,500 21 lOs Dr.aid Junction ....Average 411. 13s. 4d. eh. 58 2,000 21. Kent 1001. sh. 46a47 3.kS 101. Liverpool Bootle 2201. sh. 300 1,500 2110 s New River London Bridge Water Annuities ai 6,18 i 11. Manchester and Salford lOOl. sh. 47 1,000 4 per cent. South London 100/. sh. 83 B,* 00 31. West Middlesex ....Average 631. 12s. 9d. sh. 79 1,360 11 14s York Building Co. Lessee Prop 100/. sh. 31 IRON RAILWAYS. ..... .... Cheltenham 100/. sh. 7d Clarence lOO/. sh. 1001. pd 33 Forest of Dean 5O/ 28 Grand Junction 1001. sh. 20/, p i 23+ 5,100 0 per cent. Liverpool and Manchester 100/. sh. 100/. pd Ditto Quarter Shares 25/. pd 49+ 20,000 ••....... London and Greenwich 2Ol. sh. 131. pd 141 25,000 2,500 ...... NO 2,i)00 2,500 19s. MINES. 10 4,000 ..... .... Alten 151. sh. 101. 10s. pd 1 2 S ,000 Anglo Mexican, isa. 51. pm.... 100/. sh. all pit 1,500 ......... English 11,500 ......... Real del Monte, Unregistered 34 5,000 United Mexican, isa. 2pm —.30/. sh. all pd 41 LITERARY INSTITUTIONS. 1,000 1,500 ......... London University 1001. sh. all pd 24 700 .7 4 King's College 1001. pd 4 MISCELLANEOUS. - --- - - 1,040 I/. Auction Mart -- 50/. sh. 18 6,0:0 British American Land Company 8/. pd 01 10,000 61. per cent. Canada Company 100/. sh. 204 pd 200,000 51. per cent. Upper Canada Loan lO7l City Bonds, 4 per cent loli 15,000 1/. per cent. General Steam Navigation ...151. sh. 131. pd 19i 101. per cent. Hudson's B a y St oc k 256 2,000 IL London Com. Sale Rooms Av. 75/. sh. 18 2,754 4/. per eent. Reversionary lnterestSoc...lool sh. 100/. pd 132 9,633 41. per cent. Ditto New 100/. sh. 45L pd 70 4,000 10,000 Van Diemen's Land 100/. sh. 161. pd 7 LIST OF SCOTTISH COMPANIES' PRICES, MARCH 2, 1835. BANKS. 1,500,0004 81. p. et. Bank of Scotland 83/. 6s. Bd. sh. all pd 200 p. ct. 2,000,0001. 51 p. ct. Royal of Scotland 100/ . E h . a ll pd 1701. 500,0004 p. et. British Linen Company 100/. sh. pd 240/. 3,000,0001 Fl. p. ct. Commercial 5OOl. Eh. 1001. pd 170/. 5,000,0004 5 p. et. Nation a l lOO/. sh. 10/. pd 10/os.p.sh 2,00',0001. 2il. p. ct. Glasgow Union 2io/. sh. 501. pd 601. 4,000,0001. 6p. ct. Western of Scotland ' , OOl. sh 30/. pd 32/. INSURANCE COMPANIES. 250,0005 h. sp. ct. Scottish Union 9 0/. sh. 1/. pd 11. 7,500 sp. ct. Hercules 1001. sh. 101. pd 111. 100,000 sp. ct. Insurance Co. of Scotland....lo/. sh. all pd 7110 s 50,000 6p. ct. North British 2001. sh. 10/. pd 15/.' 1,000 sp. ct. Caledonian Fire 1001. sh. 101. pd 13/: 5,000 6p. ct. Edinburgh Life 1001. sh. 101. pd 131. 100,000 4p. ct. West of Scotland lO/. pd hl. MISCELLANEOUS. 4,81.0 ...... Edin. and Glas. Un. Canal 501. sh. all pd 8/ lOs Ditto Allocated... 98/. sh. all pc! 601. 5,400 5 per cent. Edinb. Joint Stock Water 251. sh. all pd 33/. Carron Iron Company 250/. sh. all pd 4504 2,001. h. 15 per cent. Shotts Iron;Founuery 50/. sh. 3 4 /. pd 18/. 10,000 3 per cent. Edinburgh and Leith G1a55...20/, sh. all pd 71. 4,500 10 per cent. Edinburgh Coal Gas 251. sh. all pd 641. 4,450 10per cent. Glasgow Gas 25/. sh. all pd 5 4 /. 730 6 per cent. Leith Coal Gas XOl. sh. all pd 33/. 1,200 5 per cent. Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway-501. sh. 781. 3,000 5 per cent. Equitable Loan Company...2sl. sh. 101. pd 104 It is said to be in contemplation to include Hamp shire in the Home Circuit ; and should the arrangement be agreed on, the Western Circuit will probably commence in future entirely at Salisbury and Devizes.—Hants Advertiser. The family of Colonel Drummond, of Underdown, were alarmed by finding the bed-room door of Martha Bell, the housekeeper, locked, in the temporary absence of a person that was entrusted to attend upon her, as she had previously shown symptoms of insanity for the last two or three days. The foot man was called, and broke open the doorwith the coal-hammer, when upon entering the room, she was found upon her knees, with her head leaning upon the bed and her throat cut, a razor lying near her right hand in the blood. Medical assistance was immediately sent for, but she died before any could arrive. Upon examining the wound, it was found to be four inches long and three deep, the left jugular vein and the carotid artery being completely severed.,-Hereford Times. The paragraph quoted from the New Monthly, stating that the late Rev. Edward Irving acted in Ryder's Company 24 years ago, and was then passionately devoted to the stage, does not contain a tittle of truth. Mr. Irving was master of the Mathematical Academy, Haddington, in 1811, and in 1812 went to Kirkcaldy in a similar capacity. He never was in Ryder's company, nor any other company. He was not then, nor ever was passionately devoted to the stage. We remember his going to Edinburgh to see Kean the first time he came down, and having his coat torn in the strug gling to get in at the old pit door. Perhaps some mishearing and misreporting of this simple fact may have led to the above nonsensical story.--Greenock Advertiser. CRUEL SPORT.---The trotting match from Haver fordwest to Carmarthen, a distance of 31 miles, reflects dis grace on all the parties concerned. One of the animals broke down about a mile before she reached Carmarthen; and the winner, a valuable mare, died, we understand, the morning after the match was decided. We have no language in which to express with sufficient force our abhorrence of the wanton cruelty of riding to death so fine and useful a creature as the horse, merely to gratify a sordid passion for gambling, or to ) i , A f e ed t( t.ontemptilge pride of po ssess i ng an an i mal capable of hat no man i n hi s senses, and influenced by the reeSNlilig . iif humanity, would think of exacting from it.— _ Treiebtint.. • •,, • f',6%\ aaa.kt i uZ IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, MARcir 17. The Earl of SHAFTESBURY, in the absence of the Lord Chancellor, occupied the Woolsack. The NOBLE EARL presented a return of the number of causes tried in the ;Court of Session in Scotland during the past year ; also a return of the number of schools in every parish in Scotland, for the purposes - of edu cation. The same Noble Earl moved an humble address to his Majesty, that he would be pleased to direct that there be laid before the House the last report of the National Vaccine Establishment. CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. The Duke of GORDON presented a petition from a parish in Banffshire, in support of the Church of Scotland. The Earl of SH A FTE SB UR Y presented a petition from a parish in Stirling, in favour of the Church of Scotland, and praying for additional Church accommodation. , EAST INDIA COMPANY. Mr. Campbell (an Officer of the East India Company), brought up the account of the compensation granted to the reduced Officers of the Company. ABOLITION OF OATHS BILL. The Duke of RICHMOND brought up the Report of the Committee on this Bill, and moved that the Lords be sum moned on Thursday next, when the Bill stood for the third reading ABOLITION OF SLAVERY. The Earl of INIUL GR AVE wished to put a question to the Noble Earl opposite (the Earl of Aberdeen). He wished to know whether the Noble Earl had received official information respecting the manner in which the emancipation of the negroes in the West Indies had proceeded, corresponding with the in formation received from private sources. Those who were most sanguine of the success of that measure stated that they would take the first crop as a criterion whether or not that portion of labour under the apprenticeship system and the additional hours given to the labourer, secured a suf ficiency of labour for the cultivation of sugar. He was happy to state that from the sources of intelligence which he possessed, in fact from all quarters, he understood that in almost every place, without exception, sufficient labour was afforded to enable them to carry on the cultivation of sugar. If the Noble Earl were able to give the intelligence he re quested, it would afford general satisfaction to the country. which took a great interest in this measure. There was another point upon which he would say a word. There was great difficulty still, from a circumstance to which he would call attention. There was a number of proprietors in the Island of Jamaica who were not connected with the soil, but who possessed gangs of slaves whom they used to let out for jobbing land. In consequence of the great increase of labour in the neighbourhood of Kings ton, and other places, many of those persons found that this sort of jobbing did not answer their purpose, nor was it profitable to maintain those gangs of slaves. This description of negroes had always been least in esteem as to disposition, least as to comfort, and being least of all con nected with the soil, were in the habit of leaving their masters. While he was in Jamaica he had been very anxious to esta blish a system of vagrant laws. He wished to know if this in formation was corroborated by the official information of the Noble Earl? The Earl of ABERDEEN said that it gave him great pleasure to be able to confirm the statements of the Noble Earl with respect to the working of the Negroes, with a view to the carrying off the present crops, which from the accounts he had received from all quarters, and from the statements of the Governors themselves, were likely to be as great as the last season.—( Hear, hear.) He would take that opportunity of saying that not only in Jamaica, but in British Guiana the same result was likely to take place. With respect to the other point to which the Noble Earl had adverted, he had received no information on the subject ; he could not believe that it existed to any great extent; that insulated cases might take place of la bourers running away he fully admitted, but the case referred to must be, he thought, an insulated one. He was not aware that any new Vagrant Law had been enacted, but he thought that in December last a provision had been introduced into an Act, by which wandering apprentices might be arrested and punished. He quite agreed with the Noble Lord that some Vagrant Act should be established. Earl MUL GRAVE felt great pleasure in the statements he had just heard from the Noble Earl. The Duke of BUCKINGHAM said there were no less than 30,000 individuals in Barbadoes who had run away‘l from their masters. After some observations from the Karl of MULGRAVE the subject dropped. EAST INDIA COMPANY'S INDEMNITY BILL. Upon the motion of Lord ELLENBOROUGH this Bil was read a third time and passed. ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS' BILL. Lord BROUGHAM wished to know whether in the Bill which had been introduced by the Attorney-General the other night in the House of Commons-, for the purpose of con solidating the jurisdiction of Ecclesiastical Courts, there was a clause for abolishing the Court of Delegates, and giv ing the jurisdiction to the Privy Council. He asked this question because he understood that the Attorney-General had stated that such a clause was included in the Bill, and that it would be productive of great good. The LORD CHANCELLOR was certain, that the in formation the Learned and Noble Lord had received was in correct. It was out of order to refer to proceedings in the other House, but he would assure the Noble Lord there was no such clause in the Bill. Lord BROUGHAM was happy to hear that no such clause had been introduced ; for the Bill he had brought for ward in the last session—he was sure Noble Lords would bear him out in this—had had the effect which any such clause would have given. It might be very well for the members of the present Ministry to hatch his eggs, and sit upon his chickens—( A laugh. ) He must confess that when he first received information that such a clause was to be introduced, he had felt considerable alarm. The LORD CHANCELLOR was quite sure that no such clause was in the Bill. He was quite satisfied that the At torney-General had never made the statement referred to by the Noble and Learned Lord. After a few words from Lord BROUGHANI in explanation, the conversation dropped. The Earl of WICKLOW presented a petition from the attorneys and solicitors of Ireland, praying for the re peal of a Bill which had been passed last Session, for the purpose of facilitating the loan of money upon land ed security in Ireland. The petitioners did not object to the principles of the Bill, but they preferred the repeal of it altogether than that it should continue in its present form. OATHS.-ABOLITION BILL. . The Duke of RICHMOND, in answer to a question from the Marquis of Camden, said that he would postpone the third reading of the Oaths' Abolition Bill until Friday. ESTABLISHED CHURCH (SCOTLAND.) The Marquis of BUTE presented two petitions from pa rishes in the county of Ayr, praying for the support of th e Established Church in Scotland. Lord BE XL EY presented a petition from the Presbytery of St. Andrews, in support of the Established Church of Scotland, and praying for extension of accommodation for the means of instruction. POOR LAW COMMISSIONERS. The Duke of BUCKINGHAM presented a petition from the parish of Stoke Poges, in the county of Bucks, in which the petitioners complained of the power given by the Bill to the Commissioners—they stated that for upwards of forty years they had had a workhouse of their own—that wages were very high in the parish, and that they had, at the present time, very few paupers—that their poor rates had been diminishing gra dually. Last year they had to raise 1,1001. ; but this year they had to raise only 8001. Yet the Commissioners of the Poor Laws had decided upon forming a union of parishes— that one to be the central of thirty. To this the petitioners had most strongly objected and remonstrated, but the only favour they had obtained was, that in place of thirty pa rishes, the Union should consist of only nineteen, and that the central workhouse should be removed .to a distance of four miles from their parish. That w as a great grievance—. it was removing these poor people, as it were, to a foreign country—( A laugh)—to them that distance of four miles might appear as much as a journey to the Pyrenees to their Lordships. The story that he was about now to tell was almost incredible, but he had made every inquiry into it, and now believed that it was correct.—( Hear.) An assistant Commissioner had gone down, and made a statement to a most respectable cler gyman that out of the 19 parishes which were to form the union 12 had workhouses, and it was the intention of the Commissioners to take advantage of those twelve for the purpose of classifica tion, so that now the poor man was to be sent to one place, the poor woman to another, and the children of those parties were to be separated from them entirely, thereby separating husband from wife, and children from both. That was not the law of England, and he would ask if the time bad come when parties were to make it so ? He complained that there was no responsible person, for by the Act of Parliament the Commissioners were not allowed a seat in Parliament, and that petition had been sent to the Se cretary for the Home Department, who very justly said that he knew nothing about it, because neither rules nor regulations had been sent to him from the Commissioners. It thus appeared that by this Act the Poor Law Commissioners had been called upon to make regulations for the people of all this kingdom. The great inconveniencies that these Commis sioners experienced from the powers thus vested in them had compelled them to transfer their privileges to the over seers of the several parishes in the country, so that the poor were now left to the caprice of these local autho rities.—( Hear.) He thought that he had stated all that he deemed necessary to lay before the House, but be fore he concluded, he would assure their Lordships that the people of England were sensitively alive to the evils of this Bill, and that they were carefully watching and suspecting, (and suspicions arose in their minds which their fears not only created, but magnified) that the evil should be removed. If these evils were not removed—if the people of England saw their children sent away from them—if the wife was to be separated from her husband, and both from their offspring, great discon tent must arise ; and at this moment, when people were abroad exciting discontent, nothing should be more avoided than the introduction of any topic at all conducive to aggravate such excitement. He was amazed that the Commissioners themselves did not foresee the evil consequences of this Bill, but he would entreat of their Lordships, for God's sake, to set the minds of the people at rest on a subject which he ad mitted was very difficult to be contended with. It must have a very bad effect to have different rules established in different parishes, and such was the consequence of the contradictory regulations that now prevailed. Different mea sures of justice were now dealt out to the people, and he sin- I cerely hoped that their Lord s hip s wou ld g i ve th e i r ser i ous and early attention to remedy the evils which were so generally complained of. The Duke of WELLINGTON observed that the Noble Duke had spoken of the circumstances mentioned in the petition, but not of the means of ascertaining whether they were founded in fact. This, however, might have been ascertained very easily, for all the proceedings of the Commissioners were recorded, and they were obliged to furnish a copy of them when required. On coming into that House he had received a paper on this very subject, but not having had time to read it, he should like to have till the next day to produce a statement which he was sure would exo nerate the Commissioners. The Duke of BUCKINGHAM said that the petitioners had already written to the Commissioners, praying them to consider the subject of the petition ; but that he had no ob jection to postpone the petition till the next day. Lord BROUGHAM did not complain of the Noble Duke presenting this petition, but he must be permitted to say, that he lamented, lamented without blaming the occurrence, as having a tendency to alienate the public mind from that confi dence which ought to be bestowed on the Commissioners, who, he would venture to say, deserved it most fully, not only from their character but from their conduct, and to which they were most especially entitled from their conduct in their present office. These statements had a tendency to alienate the public mind from these Commissioners—to sow suspicions as to their actions—suspicions which had no foundation whatever, and which were absolute chimeras. The Noble Duke presented this petition, as he was perhaps bound to do, having had it laid before him ; but the Noble Duke would be the first to be satis fied with the answer given to it, and so far it was gratifying to reflect that the presenting of the petition afforded an opportu nity of at once contradictinc , the mis-statements it contained—• mis-statements which had been pretty widely circulated. There was one thing in which it was impossible to agree with the Noble Duke, namely, that things had been threatened which had not been done, for he should show that it was not so ; but there was one thing in which he fully agreed with the Noble Duke, that things were apprehended which were not even threatened, and he should show their Lordships that things were apprehended which had never entered into the minds of the Chief Commissioner, or of any Sub-Commissioner, which they bad never even dreamed of, and which had never been imagined but by these petitioners themselves. The Noble and Learned Lord was about to comment on the matter of the pe tition, when The Duke of BUCKINGHAM proposed that the petition should be read at length by the Clerk of the House. The petition was accordingly read. Lord BROCGHANT entirely agreed with his Noble Friend opposite, that men viewing things in a certain frame of mind, were apt to apprehend proceedings which had no existence in action, in intention, or in the imagination of those against whom such apprehension was entertained. That was the case in the present instance. It would appear from the petition now before the House, that the union of the eighteen or nineteen parishes of which Stoke-Poges formed a principal part, was a voluntary act on the part of the Poor law Commissioners; and that although many objections had been taken, and inconveniences urged by Stoke-Poges against such union, yet that the Commissioners had obstinately and un precedentedly, and almost without consideration or inquiry, persisted in this combination of parishes. But how in reality did the fact stand? The attention of the Commissioners was called to the subject of this petition by memorial—which was presented—by whom, did their Lordships suppose ? By the several parishes in the two hundreds of and Stoke ? No ; but by one parish only. And by whom was that memorial signed ? Was it by the landlords of the parish—by the assist ant-commissioner—by persons connected either with the Go vernment, or with the Bard of Commissioners, or with the magistracy ? No such thing ; but by the poor them selves—by the paupers of the district, complaining of the bad management of die poor in those parts, setting forth the par ticular details of that mis-management, and urging upon the attention of the commissioners the propriety of interfering on their behalf, and of executing the law in their case, by form ing an union of the several parishes in question.—( Hear, hear.) The Commissioners sent an assistant-Commissioner down, who, on the spot, might examine with his own eyes, and hear with his own ears, all that could be urged upon the subject. This assistant •Commissioner went to the various parishes in the neighbourhood, and found ample confir mation of the statement previously made to the Board, of the necessity of an union being formed. But that able individual was not satisfied with this ; he went to Salt hill, as a central position of the parishes, and by public announcement he summoned a meeting of the inhabitants of the several parishes, without any distinction of persons or any exclusion whatever. The meeting was most numerously attended; and he then distinctly stated to the persons present the powers of the Commissioners ; he dilated upon the repre sentations made to them by the paupers of Stoke Poges, res pecting the management under which they lived, and he men tioned to them the disposition that existed—no formal plan, no arrangement having been concluded upon—on the part of the Commissioners to accede to the prayer of the memorial of the paupers. After some conversational discussion, the whole meeting, without one dissentient voice, earnestly and warmly approved of the proposition, that the parishes of the hundreds should be united—the nature of that union and the conse quences of it having been fully explained to them. The Duke of BUCKING HAM asked the Noble and Learned Lord who the persons were that attended at the meeting? Lord BROUGHAM could not say that was it was a very numerous meeting. The first objection to the proceedings of the Commissioners was, that they had volunteered to form the union of these parishes ; but could it be said, he would ask, that they had entered upon this matter, without being called upon to do so ? Then it was objected against them, that having once determined to interfere, they carried on their interposition without due inquiry. On the contrary, he did not think it was possible that any men could have exercised greater caution. Now, he would show their Lordships what the fact really was (for nearly all the principal facts stated in the petition had been placed before the Commissioners), and he would then leave it to their Lordships to say whether the Commissioners were disinclined to consider the objections of the petitioners or not. The Commissioners being anxious to meet the wishes of the parties as far as was consistent with their duty, sent for the Assistant-commissioner, and conferred with him on the proposed union (which would have included up wards of thirty parishes), and after an attentive consideration of the subject, they found themselves enabled to form two unions, in one of which Stoke-Poges was comprised, toge ther with sixteen other parishes, which arrangement prevented the necessity of building a workhouse at Stoke ; one of the objections to the plan of the Commission ers , b e i n g the build ing of a workhouse on Stoke-Poges Common. Having thus far complied with the wishes of the parties, the Com missioners did not think it right to comply with any other of their suggestions. He would now advert to what was stated in the petition before their Lordships. The statement of the petitioners was, that the affairs of the parish of Stoke-Poges were excellently well administered; that, by the blessing ?f God, they had few if any of the evils to complain of in their parish which affected other parishes ; that the men were well employed and all in a flourishing state ; that the farmers were contented with their servants, and the servants with their em ployers ; that the rates were coming down very much ; that there was no agricultural distre ss i n the parish; that the workhouse could not be better managed ; and that, in short, Stoke-Poges was as well off as it could be with respect to the poor ; and they therefore complained of any interposition by the Commissioners. Alas ! he was sorry to state, that from the view he had taken of Stoke- Poges, it did not appear to be so well off as other parishes ; and the reason why the parishioners supposed it to be was, that they did not know how much better off other parishes were whose affairs were differently administered. Their content would be very much disturbed when they heard what was the condition of other parishes ; for it was only by comparison that they could really understand their own. It struck him, however, that on some other day Stoke Poges would raise its voice upon the subject of agricultural distress, and all that fairy prospect which was de scribed by them would be obscured by a thick cloud whenever the unfortunate monosyllable Malt should be united with their prayer._( Laughter.) Their Lordships no doubt would hear with surprise, that the Scale system prevailed in Stoke-Poges with the greatest degree of exacerbation—that that very worst of all the worst consequences of the mal-administration of the Poor-laws, could be found nowhere worse than what existed in the Parish of Stoke-Poges. The next topic on which the petitioners boasted, was the admirable condition of their work house, and especially the economy of it. Now it had been as certained, before this controversy arose, that the management of the workhouse at Stoke-Poges was exceedingly bad in all the main essentials, and particularly as to its internal economy. They boasted of the manner in which the children were taught. There were three bastard children there between thirteen and fourteen years of age, who were nominally em ployed in chipping wood ; nothing could be less cleanly than their persons, and their progress in letters was such, that they did know what letter followed the letter A.—(Laughter.) But a beginning was better than nothing. Then with respect to the test of eco nomy, viz., the great lowering of the rates. He had obtained a list of the whole seventeen parishes included in the proposed union, and he found that the expense per head for the paupers, was in one parish, 3s. ; in another, 3s. 2d. ; in another, 3s. 4d. ; in another, 2s. Bd. ; and in another, as low as 2s. 6d. The latter parish was Donney—which really was well managed ; but the parishioners did not complain of the union, nor brag of the excellent management of their workhouse.—( Cheers.) But he now came to Stoke Poges, where the rate per head was 4s. 2d.—(Loud cheers)—and which did brag of the management of their workhouse.— (Cheers.) There were but two parishes at a high er average —Eaton being 4s. 10d., and Raisbury, 4s. 4d. per head. Then if the amount of the rate was compared with the popu lation, the same result would be found with respect to Stoke Poges. In 1831 the proportion of the rate to the population, in one of the parishes, was 11 s. 9d., whereas now it was within a fraction of 15s. Now one great argument urged during the discussion of the Bill last Session was, that the great mischief was going on every day with an accelerated pace. The consequence of the union would be this : that instead of each parish having to main tain a separate workhouse, with a separate set of officers, one set of officers would be able to manage the affairs of the whole union, greatly economising thereby, besides greatly facilitating the superintendence of those to whom the management of the workhouse would be intrusted. But it was said—why include Stoke Poges ? The answer was, that it would have been perfectly absurd to have made the union without it, because it was almost the central parish. The Noble Duke had given their Lordships a caution (and nobody was more fit to do so) not to be deceived by any statements that might be made; but he (Lord Brougham) had to give the most positive, the most distinct, and the most peremptory contradiction that words could give, to the whole of the state ment respecting the alleged threatened separation of husband and wife, parent and child, in that union. There never was any intention of the kind entertained, nor was it ever dreamed of. One or two of the workhouses in the union were designed to be used as hospitals, because, of course, the sick were not to be kept with the sound No child, for instance, would ever be taken away from the parent, much less would husbands be separated from wives. But the name of an honourable and reve rend gentleman had been used as having given currency to this statement. The Duke of BUCKINGHAM said that he did not knots the honourable and reverend gentleman ; all that the petition er alleged was that they had been informed of it by that reve rend gentleman. Lord BROUGHAM was quite aware that the petitioners had been misled. It was said that the Commissioners had re fused to deal out the same justice to Stoke Poges as they had to the parish of Egham. But, the weight of that charge de pended upon whether the circumstances of the two parishes were the same. A Noble Baron behind him had, on a former occasion, made some observations respecting the Commission ers not having issued any rules or regulations in pursuance of their powers. He felt it due to those Commissioners to state that they had endeavoured, by all manner of means, without making any new general rules in abrogation of the Statute law, to encourage the parishes to introduce improvements themselves ;_( Cheers)—to do what they could with the law as it now stood ; to get it into the best possible state of admi nistration, and to postpone to the last moment any alteration by the Commissioners. He (Lord Brougham) thought they had acted most wisely, soundly, and discreetly.—( Hear, hear.) They had effected unions to the amount of fifty, inducting pa rishes to the amount of one thousand. But some persons were so prejudiced against the new law, that in a certain parish in the county of Buckingham, a certain person had such an ob jection to the Board and the Act of Parliament, that when he mis-stated the law and was told to read the Act, he exclaimed —" Read the Act I neither have read that Act, nor will I ever look at it."—( Much laughter.) It was very likely that persons under such equanimity of temper, and of such just in tentions, would make mistakes in matters of fact as well as in law. To show that the proceedings of the Commissioners had been attended with good effects, the Noble and Learned Lord said, that with ou t th formation of unions they had succeeded admirably in many places, and in none more than this metro polis. In one parish a saving had been effected of 11,000/. a year, and in eighteen parishes the saving had been 40,000/. in one year. This had been done by the steadiness,,the deter mination, the suggestions and assistance of the Commissioners, without recourse to new laws or the consolidation of unions. Buckinghamshire had greatly benefited in consequence of the suggestions of the Commissioners. Many poor persons, mostly women and children, who were without em ployment in their own parishes, had been sent to Manches ter, all of whom now obtained a livelihood by their own industry. They had a common saying among them, that all the horses in Buckinghamshire would not draw them back again. Among other cases, the Noble and Learned Lord mentioned the following :—" Bans of marriage had been published a first time, but the moment a union of the parishes were formed, the bans were suspended, because the parties expected when they married to have the pa rish allowance. But the Act had taken away from them their " ways and means :" deprived of their budget, they had no longer any estimates to make.—( Laughter.) The consump tion of spirituous liquors had considerably decreased since the passing of the Act. The proprietor of one gin-shop in Lon don had declared that the. Act had been from 40/. to 501. a week out of his pocket. But these were only the begin nings, and while they were in the green good.—(Cheers.) He gave them as mere samples of what a little attention, sys tematically bestowed, by a Central Board, having all parties under its view, would accomplish. He could add that the ap plications under the Act of Parliament for certificates from Friendly Societies had, within the last six months, been doubled. It was absurd, however, to expect the full results of the law within the time since the Commissioners had been appointed. It would be as preposterous as the conduct of the great German Potentate, of whom it was said that, like a child, he planted a bean, but did not wait till it had grown, but was always taking it up to see how it thrived—if Parliament were to encourage these complaints, and call for inquiries into the working of the law, absolutely before it had been experimented at all.—(Cheers.) After a few words from the Marquis of SALISBURY and the Duke of BUCKINGHAM, which were not au dible in the Gallery, the petition was ordered to lie on the Table. The Duke of BUCKINGHAM then said, that in conse quence of what had passed this night, he should take an early opportunity to move for a copy of the Correspondence be tween the Commissioners and the Overseers, and other autho rities respecting the union including the parish of Stoke Poges, in order that the parties might have an opportunity to support, if they could, the statement which had just been so flatly contradicted. TRANSFER OF AIDS BILL.—EXCHEQUER BILLS (15,000,0001.) BILL. These Bills were brought up from the Commons, and read a first time. The House adjourned at seven o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS, MARC!! 17. The gallery was not opened until half-past four, in conse quence of two ballots having taken place for Committees to try the petitions presented against the returns for Rochester and Droitwitch. There was a very large attendance of Members, particularly on the Opposition benches, among whom we observed Mr. O'Connell, wearing a large bunch of shamrock. WATERFORD ELECTION. The SPEAKER announced to the House that the petition against the return for the city of Waterford was discharged-- the petitioners not having entered into the required securities. Mr. A. G. SPE llt S brought up the report of the Com mittee on the Cart Navigation Petition which was laid on the table. ROCHESTER ELECTION COMMITTEE. The Rochester City Election Petition Committee were then called in and sworn, consisting of the following Members : Greene, T. G. Locire, W. Colborne, N. W. R. Loch, J. Bo'ling, W. Wilbraham, G. Scourfield, W. H. Lefevre, C. S. Thompson, P. B. Marsland, H. .... M'Taggart, J. PRINTERS' NEW BILL. Mr. ROEBUCK presented a petition from George Wood, a printer in Bath, in favour of the Bill introduced by the So licitor*General, relative to the penalties incurred by Printers, and sued for by common informers. The Hon. Gentleman, in consequence of his ill health, was allowed to move the appointment of a Committee upon National Edu cation, otherwise he must have made the motion at a very late period of the sitting. The motion having been agreed to, Mr. HUME moved that the proceedings of the Committee of last year be referred to the present one.—Ordered. EDUCATION. On the motion of Mr. ROEBUCK, the following Com mittee was appointed, pursuant to the order of March 3 : Roebuck, J. A. Bowring, Dr. Pusey, Philip Russell, Lord J. Mosele) Sir 0. Hawes, B. Peel, Sir R. Warburton, H. Knatchbull, Sir E. Graham, Sir J. R. G. E.stcourt, T. G. B. Molesworth, Sir W. Strutt, E. Parker, J. Lincoln, Earl of Plumptre, J. P. Goulburn, H. Rice, T. S. Thomson, C. P. Hawkins J. FL Hoy, J. B. Verney, Sir H. A s hl e y, Lotel Clay, W. Grote, G. Divett, E. Mordaunt, Sir J. Sandon, Lord Finch, G. Morpeth, Viscount Kerry, E ar l o f Smith, V er n o n William, R. Gladstone, W. E. Baines, E. Mr. ROEBUCK then presented two petitions, praying for a system of national education.—Referred to the Committee. DUBLIN ELECTION. Mr. WYSE presented a petition from Thomas Dixon, of the city of Dublin, praying for the remission of certain fines incurred by him, in consequence of not entering into the required sureties on forwarding an election petition to the House against the return of Colonel Thomas for the borough of Kinsale. The petitioner alleged that he had been betrayed into those irregularities in con sequence of the clerk of the Hanaper office having failed to give him all the necessary information. He would, how ever, not press the petition upon the House, but move that its consideration be deferred until to-morrow. Mr. C. W. WYNN did not object to the motion ; but he believed that the excuses made by the petitioner were not well founded. The Act of Parliament required certain se curities to be entered into within a given time, and that Act was imperative. Mr. HUME made some observations in justification of the Hon. Member for Chester, to whose care the petition had been entrusted. Mr. C. WYNN made a few observations, and The petition was ordered to lie on the table. DROITWICH ELECTION. The Droitwich borough election petition committee were then called and sworn, consisting of the following Members:— Lewis, D. Neeld, J ,, hu 1 Arbuthnot, Ho% H. Wi'liams, R. Landon, Lord , Scott, Lord John Bradshaw, James Hoskins, K. Marsktad, T. Mosley, Sir 0. l Weyland, Major R. . . „ . Mr. bUEST presented a petition from the manufacturers of woollen cloth from a town in Yorkshire, praying for relief from the distress they labour under. LONDON UNIVERSITY. Mr. TOOKE presented a petition, praying that there be laid upon the table of the House a copy of the charter incor porating this Institution. Mr. WARBURTON addressed the House, but was inau dible in the reporter's gallery. TOOKE hoped that whatever regulations might pre vail, all members of the medical profession, no matter where inctructed, would, if qualified in other respects, be not rejected by the Medical Board. Mr. ROEBUCK was desirous that whatever privileges might be conceded, the claims of the Dissenters should not be overlooked. CLERICAL MAGISTRATES. Mr. F. O'CONNOR gave notice that on Monday next he should bring forward a motion, that all clergymen holding the situations of magistrates in Ireland should be forthwith dismissed from the Commission of the peace, as their continuance in that capacity was highly detrimental to the peace of the country, and to the true interests of religion. He also gave notice that on the same day he would renew his mo tion relative to the Rathcormac affair; and that on the motion that the House should proceed to consider the orders of the day, he should move as an amendment on it, the introduction of a Bill to remove the difficulties existing between landlord and tenant, relative to ejectments. A conversation took place concerning a petition presented by Alderman Woon against the return for Gloucester, in con sequence of its not having been presented within the time limited by law. Alderman Woo)) ultimately agreed to with draw the petition. Some reports were brought up from the Court of Chancery. NEW WRIT FOR NOTTINGHAM. Colonel VE R NON moved for a pew writ for the county of Nottingham, in the room of Lord Lumley, who had been called up to the House of Lords. CHURCH OF IRELAND. Lord JOHN RUSSELL then rose and said he was anxious to postpone the motion now standing for Monday the 23d, as he intended to defer the motion of which he had given notice, respecting the Church of Ireland, until Monday the 30th instant, when he should move that the House be called over. CORK COUNTY ELECTION. Mr. LF,FRO Y presented a petition, that an amend ment might be made in the description of one of the sureties in the petition against the return of the pre sent Members for the county of Cork. The name of one of them was represented as William Mannix, of Blamire, in the above-named county. Now, the fact was, that there was no such person as William Mannix, and the peti tioners sought that the name of Henry might be instituted for that now standing, as the remaining part of the petition was virtually correct, with the exception of this in formality. lie hoped, therefore, the House would grant the prayer of this petition, and allow the alteration to be made from William to Henry Mannix. Mr. O'CONNELL said there was no such allegation as had been stated by the Hon. and Learned Member opposite in the petition at all, and therefore his argument could not apply. Mr. S. RICE thought that this was a case in which the House could not interfere. In ordinary cases of miscon ception, the House would of course give the relief which was necessary ; but this was an actual application to substitute the name of one person for another, or in other words to allow the substitution of one security for another.—( Cries of " Hear " from the Opposition Members.) Under these circumstances, unless they were prepared to set at nought every principle which had been laid down for the guidance of petitioners, and the protection of the Members of that House, they could not pos sibly accede to this proposition—( Hear, hear.) He was ready to admit the respectability of the parties from whom the petition emanated, but in this instance they had evidently committed a blunder, and if the House allowed them to set aside the provisions of the law because they had committed a blunder, there would be no use in laying they rules for the regulation of proceedings in that House.—( Hear. ) The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said the parties had un dertaken to verify the allegations contained in the petition, and it would he hard if the House refused to afford them an opportunity of doing so. It was not, as had been stated by lion. Members on the other side, an attempt to substitute one person for another; it was, as had been alleged, a mistake of the name of one person for that of another. (Mr. Spring Rice here made an observation across the table.) It was so stated in the petition. Assuming for a moment that there were two brothers of the same name, then the allegation in the petition was that they had mistaken the name of one brother residing at Blamire for that of the other residing in England. This circumstance would convince the House that it was not in tended to substitute one person for another. It was a very different case from that brought forward by the Honourable Member for the City of London, because, in that case, the petitioners had given in no names, and had pleaded ignorance of the law ; but, in the present case, they had been anxious to obey the law, but had made a mistake in the Christian name of one of the securities. It appeared to be a mere mistake, and it would be rather hard to visit it with severity, the House having the power of ordering the error to be corrected. If a person did, or intended, to fulfil all the requirements of the law, and committed some unintentional mistake, he thought that the House should give it a lenient consideration. Mr. O'LOGH LEN said that the allegation of the petition was very different from the view of the case taken by the Hon. Member. The petitioners merely stated that they had given the name of Henry, and had since discovered that it was Wil liam. That was the sole foundation of the petition. Mr. C. W. WYNN contended for the strict enforcement of the law. That had always been his course, and he consi dered it to be the safest. In fact it ought never to be deviated from except in very extraordinary cases, upon grounds of a very unusual and important nature. Sir R. H. INGLIS differed from his Right Hon. Friend. The great object which the House had in view was to give due bona fide notice to parties interested in the securities to tender their recognizances, in order that people might not be subjected to vexatious proceedings by having men of straw signing election petitions. Here there was a competent person, who it was not denied resided in the parish of Blamire, in the county of Cork, and of whose qualification, the Hon. Member for that County said he was satisfied. There were general cries of " withdraw," and the petition was, as we understood, accordingly withdrawn. DISSENTERS' MARRIAGE BILL. Sir R. PEEL.--Mr. Speaker, the object of the motion with which I shall this night conclude is to effect the settle ment of the question with respect to which very great public interest has been taken, which has long remained un settled, and in respect to the settlement of which, va rious hut ineffectual efforts have been made, which if it had been settled would have a tendency to promote har mony and peace between those who adhere to, and those who dissent from the doctrines of the Church. The object of the measure which I am about to ask leave to introduce, is to provide relief, in the case of marriage, for those Dissenters who object to the ceremony of marriage, as performed ac cording to the rites of the Established Church. ( Hear. ) I have no doubt but that it is well known to every one by the Act passed in the year 1754, viz., 26 Geo. 2., commonly called Lord Hardwick's Act, a great alteration in the law of marriage was made in this country. That Act provided that the marriage ceremony shall be performed by a clergyman of the Church of England, according to the rites of the Established Church, with the exception of the cases of Jews and Quakers. The Dissenting body object to that ; they say that there is no relation of life more important to the habits of indi viduals in society than the contract of marriage, and they object to a legal enactment which invalidates the contract when performed, unless it be performed ac cording to ceremonies to which they entertain a formal objection. They ask, therefore, relief from the Legis lature, and such an alterat;on of the law as will enable them to contract the marriage ceremony, without being compelled to solemnize it in a manner from which they dissent. They object to that, and that objection being made, we are bound to suppose that it is sincerely made, and if so, no one can deny the justice and policy of affording relief. The Church of England can attain no object by compelling those who dissent from her doctrines in performing certain contracts, to pursue the course followed by those who assent to her doctrines. Society can have no interest in enforcing that obligation. On the per formance of that ceremony the parties to it subscribe to no new doctrine, but they receive a solemn benediction, expressly given for the purpose of giving religious sanction to the rite. Dissenters object to that benediction. They object to the manner in which the ceremony is solemnized. Under such circumstances it becomes ne cessary to consider in what mode that rite can be performed satisfactory to them. Now it occurs to me that there are only three modes by which the object of the Dissenters can be obtained. In the first place, it has been suggested as a remedy, that it would be possible to alter the ceremony observed in the Church of England. Now, the alteration would be an open violation done to those who, ad hering to the doctrines of the Church; approved of the cere mony.—(Hear, hear.) There is nothing in the ceremony which they object to ; on the contrary, the benediction and the ceremony contain the vital principles of their faith. But besides this, the Dissenters not only objected to the ceremony which they were obliged to go through, but they also objected to the law by which the marriage could alone be contracted ' in one place • they objected to the law which rend ere d th e mar riage invalid unless the ceremony was solemnized in the Church. Now,'in regard to that objection, nothing would be gained by a mere alteration in the form of the ceremony —( Hear)—and he apprehended that by such an alteration they would run the risk of giving dissatisfaction to the adhe rents of the Established Church without satisfying all classes of Dissenters. His feeling was, that they ought to endeavour to devise some alteration in the present law, which would be likely to give satisfaction to all classes of Dissenters.—( Hear, hear.) This might not be the case if a mere alteration of the ceremony were adopted. There were some classes of the Dis senters who objected, he believed, to any religious rite at all in the ceremony of marriage.—( Hear, hear, hear.) Others might object to the principle of having the ceremony per formed only in the churches of the established religion, or only by the ministers of the Established Church—(Cries of " Hear, hear, hear")—and the result might be, that by an alteration they should do violence to the consciences of many scrupulous adherents of the Established Church, without giving satisfaction to the Dissenters themselves. He therefore apprehended that it would not be expedient to make any alteration in the present form of celebrating marriages in the Church of England, especially without knowing whether such an alteration would meet with the general concurrence of the members of the Church.—( Hear, hear.) But even if the concurrence of the adherents of the Church were obtained, he did not know whether it would be proper to adopt the plan, for he could not hope to make such a change in the present ceremony as would give satisfaction both to all classes of Dis senters, and to the members of the Established Church. He therefore dismissed from his mind all hope of settling the question by the adoption of that plan—namely, by an altera tion in the Liturgy of the Church of England.--( Hear, hear.) The second mode of relief proposed--and, indeed, the mode hitherto almost universally cried up as the only real relief— was by a provision which would allow to the Dissenters the privilege of performing the ceremony of marriage in their own chapels ; and various Bills had at different times been submitted to the consideration of Parliament, since the ques tion began to attract attention, which was about the year 1824, some of which had passed through the House of Com mons, but were rejected in the House of Lords, and all of which were founded upon that principle—namely, that Dis senters should be allowed to perform the ceremony of mar riage in their own places of worship. In the year 1824, a Bill was introduced for that purpose, but its operation was limited simply to Unitarians; and in 1825 another Bill exactly to the same effect was introduced. In 1827 a third Bill was intro duced, but in its principle it was different from those which preceded it. But the last Bill which was introduced was in 1834, when the Noble Lord opposite (Lord John Russell) attempted to satisfy the Dissenters by permitting them to so lemnize the ceremony of marriage, under certain regulations, in their own places of worship. He believed that the provi sions of the Noble Lord's Bill were the following :—He should mention, that in devizing any plan for the relief of Dissenters in respect to the ceremony of marriage, three distinct matters were to be held in view. The first point was the notice ne cessary to be given on application for bans or a license, or whatever other form was adopted to prevent fraud and decep tion in the contraction of marriage; the second was, as to the nature of the contract or ceremony of marriage to be re quired ; and the third was, as to the mode of registration. N o w, the Noble Lord, in the Bill which he introduced, pro- N;ided this—that the bans should be published in the Church of England, by an established clergyman of the sale° Church ; that a declaration should be made by the Mi nister of the Established Church, that the bans had been published ; and it allowed that upon such a declaration being given by the Minister, the ceremony of marriage niigh, be performed in the Dissenting chapels. The Noble Lore s Bill also provided that a licence should be given to any Dise stinting chapel to have the ceremony of marriage performed_ within it, provided a petition to that effect were signed by.2o householders living in the neighbourhood, and attending denute worship at that chapel. If such a petition were presented. to the Quarter Sessions, the justices were allowed no power withhold the licence, and in that case Dissenters were allowed t to solemnize marriage within that chapel. Then, with respee r to registration, it was provided that the minister, preacher, o teacher, should keep the register of the marriages, and that the registration should be made at the expence of those who attended divine worship in the chapels ; and that aft er a cer tain time specified, the register should be sent to the registrar of the diocese, there to be kept for preserva tion. He w all , sure that this Bill had been introduced s° by the Noble L e i ? with the best motives and intentions, and with a sincere lei' to settle the question ; brit it was in his ( Sir Robert Peels) opinion, liable to several objections.--( Hear, hear.) In the first place, and this was a most powerful and formidable o bjec- • tion to the whole Bill, it gave no satisfaction to the Dissenters themselves.—( Hear, hear.) And accordingly it became t he , ground of various petitions to that House from Dissenters 01 all classes. He would read a part of one of the petit ions p re- _ sented in the course of last Session, which would v erif y h is statement as to the objections felt by the Dissenters themselves to the Bill. The Right Hon. Baronet then read the petitielle in which it was stated, that the petitioners solemnly protests; against the adoption of the Bill ; in the first place, beeau-s they objected to the celebration of the ceremony of m arriage in places of worship exclusively ; in the sec en d place, Of objected to the publication of the bans by the clergymen 0, the Established Church ; and in the third place they ob j ected to the declaration and subscription of the bans by a clergyina a of the Established Church, before the marriake could tare place. And they further objected to a provision which t Noble Lord had introduced into his Bill, by which it was re quired that a notification should be placed upon some spicuous part of the building to show the fact that th chapel was licensed. Now it would be seen from thtse, that the Dissenters objected, in the first place, to th s exclusive celebration of the marriage ceremony of worship ; secondly, to the intervention of the clergye man of the Established Church, in the matte,. o f th .. publication of the bans ; and, thirdly, to declaration and sub scription of a Minister of the Established Church, before th e ceremony of marriage could be solemnized ; and they als o clere objected to the marriage being solemnized exclusively by gymen, and to the issuing of the licences by the Surrogate (I the Established Courts. The last of these matters objeetell pee to, was a mere matter of regulation ; but he ( Sir R. thought that there were other and serious objections to tb Noble Lord's Bill, upon general grounds. The Noble Lora in place allowed the ceremony of marriage to be celebrated in a l l place which had obtained a licence, in consequence of the pe tition of twenty householders. Now lie ( Sir R. Peel) lea s , sure, that all parties, however widely they might diffe r as was their opinion in points of religion, would admit that it was of the utmost importance to the interests of' so ciety, as well a s the happiness of individuals, that ample provision should be made against fraud and clandestine marriages.—(Hear, bearZe) Dissenters were equally interested with the adherents of the Established Church, in securing the peace and happines s _e ° their . families, as well as the general good of society ; and . 'se provision was already made to prevent fraud and clandestenee marriages among the adherents of the Established Church ! e . did not think he was going too far in saying that the Vis e senters themselves had a peculiar interest in having such frau_ carefully guarded against.—( Hear, hear.) If peculiar eel! were not taken to guard against clandestine marriages, till Dissenters would be exposed in an especial m anner --ar e particularly the females —to those tricks and frauds which tr designing were so apt to practise ; and which not °elle wrecked the happiness of the individuals, but, as it was enue. clear, was most prejudicial to the interests of society in er° neral.—( Hear, hear.) Now, by the Noble Lord's Bill , the be was not, in his opinion, a sufficient guard to preve nt , t ee commission of fraud. In requiring the licensing of M e _ of worship, no notice was requisite, nor was any test o e 4 _ mended. Any parties wi s hing to obt a in a licence had 1 : thing to do b u t t o mak e an a ppli ca ti on , s igned by tw o householders, to the euarter sessions; and on 2s. 6d., it became licensed, without the justices haying, tie power of refusing. It was not even necessary that the,P a e, licensed should be a separate house. If parties ashen e a . cense for a room in which twenty persons met for the P pose . of worship, on payment of 2s. 6d. the granting °,,,f licence must follow ; and he begged of the n? t r e to . observe how easy it was to get a licence, nitre if any twenty persons made the application the instiee had no authority to deny it. He thought, therefore, t where the licence was risk that those frauds would take place.—( Hear, hear.) ? e l; with regard to the ceremony of marriage, the 1 : 4° „ ! . Lord allowed it to be performed by any chosen itlin is ' 7 e 's preacher or teacher. Now in some of the Dissenting blel there were Ministers, and to these the Noble Lord's to would apply ; but the object of the Legislature should he ir Peereent the proceed so as to devise a mode of relief which would a P e P p e to all classes of Dissenters—(Hear.) Yet there wer e s i - bee classes to whom this provision would not apply at all, fli' . er ) had clergymen of a fixed or stationary character.—(H t e et Then, with regard to registration, the registry was to be e t, by the minister, preacher, or teacher of the Dissenting el i P te e, The registry was not only t o b e i n th e wr iti ng o f that mon s big preacher, or teacher, but it was also to be left for a time l e i t y custody. Now he conceived th a t thi s gave no proper s e : li t r e - 0 for such an important object as th a t o f reg i s t ra tion, and it would not be a means of making such reg istration effect tie —(Hear hear.) But as th e Bill h a d b een objected to by t e e •!cry persons for whose r e li e f th e N o bl e L or d had introdue; it, it was the less necessary that he (the Chancellor of.ees Exchequer) should rec a pit u l a t e an y o f t h e o ther ohi e e e e ti g - io made to it—( Hear, hear.) He had re f e r r ed to two ginu — t be which it had been proposed that r e li e f s h ou ld be given to ti e, Dissenters—the first was by an alteration in the marriageis remony ; the second, the mode adopted by the Noble Ler , his Bill, which wa s , th a t th e b ans should be published bi er clergyman of the Established Chur c h, and that the mart be might be solemnized by a Di sse nti ng m i n i s t er ; and as the said before, the first of thes e plan s was no t a dmissible, an iye e second had not been s a tisfactory t o th e Dis se nters theels,ei be It now remained t o b e co n s id ere d w h a t mode cot n ' a ea devised which would give satisfaction to all parties! 0 at the same time be an indiscriminat e mode of rehe lad all classes of Dissenters. But the Noble Lord's ,P e to were not only unsatisfactory to the Dissenters, but and the ministers of the Established Church—( Hear, hear , "„ r e e li- They objected to their being the medium by which thFbt be minary steps might be taken in a ceremony which m f g rebus completed by any person having a licence to preach' elovr the Noble Lord's plan was objected to by all parties . or ) the principle which he (the Chancellor of the Exe lleci e would propose to adopt would be this—and he pr opos to because it appeared to him to be the most effective of 8 ebt' plans proposed, and the least liable to the objections breoetiee in opposition to former plans. He proposed that there Sher a be two ceremonies of marriage—the one a civil, the n t " t t he religious ceremony.--( Hear, hear, hear.) His plan , t i !e et is same time that it encouraged the celebration of the r ejle e tieg ceremony, did not make it imperative upon those contra fee marriage, nor as essential to the validity of the marriag e eee be proposed,. on the other hand, that the civil ceremony sh e e t fie - essential to the validity of the marriage.—( Cheers./eely would fain hope, though the religious ceremony was n o se tial, that that circumstance would not tend to divest ee ...-- of its religious attributes. He believed that it would nh the (Hear,.. hear.) He believed that those who went thrl loos civil ceremony would, in most cases, superadd the relit ceremony—( Hear, hear)—but he doubted whether it wo e ore have more real religi o n in it, if th e su pe r addition et . l'theal left to the good feeling and discretion of the parties bee r.) selves, than if it w ere enf o r ce d by th e law.—(Hear, shed If the ceremony were not confined to the Esta state Church, he could not see upon what grounds the ewe , sh . ould require that the religi ous ceremon y should he the so niaed at all._( Hear.) The object was to encourageewe it lemnization of the religious ce remon y, and it was een ' t i rr ary iage t ° t would be solemnized in all ca ses w h ere it was not the consciences of the parties contracting the m ar ther e. but in that case it was not prescribed, and it was ' er eoliP fore, that he said, encourage the religious " r e li g ious but not exact it.—( Hear, hear, hear.) The r re e e g ta ceremony might vary among the different sects acco fey to their several tenets. The same ceremony would not a P e r rr iage Unitarians that would be performed to solemnize the in oy did of another class of the Dissenters ; but still the eere ll ' ilD i r pre net appear to lose any of the religious sanction which o f tlie viously had, merely by leaving it to the determinatiotieeee it parties themselves by which of those forms they wool° he waS solemnized.. In adopting this plan he was happy te, fi . n e a was acting in conformity to the provisions of a Bill %vele.. Mr' veggie troduced into that House in 1827 (we believe by to te l, e Smith), and which pro cee d e d i n the House of Lords of third reading, and would have passed but for the late P;iteiplee the session at which it was brought forward. The q e e 131 of that Bill were in exact conformity with the present an d . that Bill the bans were to be published in the c hurch ;before a case both parties were Unitarians, they were to appea r magistrate, who was to be empowered to conclude the in "reeec and the magistrate was to give a certificate, urn the_,P Novi tion of which the parties might claim to be registereoereeepe this was exactly the principle of the law of Englan a Po e Oa to the Marriage Act which passed in 1754.—( Common Law previous to that Act, marriage was strictly. rely Hear. civil contract, and did not require any ratification her ' ee of gious ceremony.__( Hear, hear.) In the faniouse;!e -" Dalrymple v. Dalrymple," which was tried before T , e 0 1 0, Liam Scott, the present Lord Stewell, that Pr ine e Tied 1115 clearly laid down by the Learned Judge, and he suPP, $ own opinion by quoting that of Lord Holt, who 13 .?"ei r t ' vier e ; perfectly similar opinion. The words of Lord H° of .that " He agreed upon the whole that if a c.onera t_ t ' s g oo o_ riage were entered into per verba de prcesenti, Waseyeept marriage, which could not be dissolved by any a ere s e; ere se i ; that effect by the parties themselves ; for that seeh bs e be!, it . be ef ee! was as much a marriage in the sight of God as if solemnized in facie Ecclesice." And in another part a ba •or Per I/ A a t that a contract either per verba de prcesentz, cou l d a ss 0 ,futuro, was so binding, that in such a case persone_ ces, be punished as being guilty of fornication. Theo , t ee ' e, whie: of Lord Fitzmaurice, the son of the Earl of Ker',liio Nob occurred before the Court of Delegates in 173?, e ; 1 / 200 Lord and a young Lady had entered into an obb i g Iwo on e following words :—" We swear that ive ehalt In this' casie another," and each party s i gne d the obligatiere d a ce° an v ow the Court found for the v a lidity of the marri a g e eee case, wee mission of review, which was p e titioned for urn t refused. This was th e s t a t e of the law of t his conatry 111 :• - "ft---