The Sun. — London, England, 1842-06-02 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, June 1. Their lordships met this day at Two o'clock, for the purpose of proceeding with the other House to the Palace, to present the •Address to her Majesty, on her escape from the late treason able attempt of the miscreant who discharged a pistol at her Majesty on Monday evening. Ou our admission to the gallery, shortly before two o'clock, we found that several of the Peers had already assembled. The body of the House presented an unusually gay and animated appearance. All the Peers were in full dress, the ma• jority of them in uniform, and some few in Court dresses. The Knights of the different Orders, wearing their decorations. The Duke of Wellington was dressed in the uni form' of the Constable of the 'lower, and across his breast he worethe riband of the order of the Garter. Lord Hill and the other military Peers appeared in full uniform, and the appear ance of the House was rather that of a ball-room than of a legis lative, assembly. The scene was picturesque in the extreme, and for.. splendour and magnificence has seldom been equalled. The Earl of SHAFTESBURY, in the absence of the Chancellor, took his seat upon the Woolsack at Two o'Cleck. The Bills on the table were forwarded a stage. The LORD CHANCELLOR entered the House at twenty five minutes after Two o'Clock, and their Lordships imme diately adjourned till to •morrow. The Clerk at the table then called over the names of the Peers present, commencing' ith that of John Lord Campbell, as the junior Peer present. Each Peer as hi 3 name was called, rose and left the House to take his place in the procession. Among those present we observed the Duke of Wellington, the Duke of Leinster, Lord Redesdale, the Earl of Eldon, the Earl. of Warwick, Lord Bexley, the Marquis of Ely, the Marquis of Thomond, Lord Hood, the Marquis of Downshire, the Marquis of Camden, Lord Fever sham, • Lord Somers, Lord Camoys, the Earl of West moreland, the Duke of Roxburgh, the Marquis of Headfort, Lord Poltimore, Viscount Duncannon, the Earl of Aylesford, Lord: Stafford of Jerningham, Lord Crewe, Lord Monteagle, Viscount Canterbury, Lord Campbell, the Earl of For tescue, Earl Bathurst, the Earl of Wicklow, the Mar quis of Northampton, Earl Radnor, Lord Bateman, Lord Abinger, the Archbishop of Armagh, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Lincoln, the Bishop of Chester, the Bishop of Worcester, the Bishop of Derry, the Bishop of Ely, the Bishop of Llandaff, the Bishop of Rochester, Lord Lovat, Lord Colchester, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, Lord Glenelg, the Marquis of Lansdowne, Viscount Hawarden, the Earl of Cawdor, the Earl of Home, the Duke of Richmond, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earl of Clanwilliam, the Earl of Devon, Lord Cottenham, the Earl of Dalhousie, Lord Bolton, the Earl of Walsingham, and Earl Minto. HOUSE OF COMMONS, June 1. ADDRESS TO HER MAJESTY. There was a very full attendance of Members at two o'clock, the House presenting a very brilliant and animated appearance, from the large number of naval and military uniforms, and from the number of Members who appeared in the full-dress of Deputy-Lieutenants of Counties. The number of gentlemen in full Court dress was also considerable, as the throng was broken up into detached groups round the table and on the floor of the House, engaged in animated conversation, with the brilliant light of the tine summer's day streaming down upon the crosses and decorations and floating plumes ; a more splendid sight has rarely peen afforded on the occasion of going up with an Address. Among the most prominent of the assembly was Mr. O'Connell in his robes of office as Lord MayciFof Dublin ; he occupied the seat in front of the chair of the Sergeant-at-arms, and was for some time' engaged in conversation with several Hon. Members. Mr. Macaulay, Sir W. Clay, and Sir .1. C. Hobhouse wore the Windsor uniform. None of the Cabinet Ministers were present, as their presence was required at the Palace. The Speaker wore the full robes of his high office. One of the most soldierlike and remarkable figures in the House, was . Sir,Howard Douglas; Mr. Ferrand appeared in a yeomary cavalry uniform, of a very hussar-like description, and Dr. Bowring and Mr. Brotherton, wore Court dresses. Not above four Members out of the large number present, appeared in plain clothes. • The SPEAKER. took the Chair at a quarter-past two, and after an interval of a few minutes, Sir. T. FREMANTLE moved the adjournment of the House till five o'clock. The motion was agreed to, and the Speaker, preceded by the Mace, and followed by all the Members, quitted the House, to accompany the House of Lords to the Palace with the A ddress. The House resumed at Five o'Clock. LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAIL WAY BILL. On the motion of Sir HOWARD DOUGLAS this Bill was read a first time. NORTHEIIN UNION RAILWAY BILL. The Lords' amendments to this Bill were con sidered, and agreed to. GREENOCK HARBOUR BILL. The Lords' amendments to this Bill were also con sidered, and agreed to.. Mr. BROTHERTON presented a petition from the Guardians of the poor of the Salford Union, against certain clauses in the Poor-law Bill. Mr. HINDLEY presented a petition from the licensed victuallers of Ashton-under-Lyne, against the clause proposed to be introduced in the Public Houses Bill by the Hon. Member for Droitwich. Lord A. PAGET presented a petition from Lich field to the same effect. Mr. BECKETT presented a petition from Leeds, against the new Turnpike Bill ; also a petition from the operatives of Leeds, praying that the hours of labour might be restricted to fifty-eight hours per week. - Mr. G. BANKES presented a petition from two individuals of the name of Bright, praying for an alteration in the Act . of 2d and 3d of George :HT. c. 71. SOUTHAMPTON ELECTION. ,Mr: WARD presented a petition from Southamp ton, which bore reference to the motion of an Hon. Member opposite. It was a repetition of a former petition signed by .1.51 persons, all of whom agreed in opinion with the 171 who had signed the former petition. The petition comprised the names of some of the most respectable and wealthy in habitants of the town of Southampton. 'They stated that they were deeply impressed with the truth of the Report lately made by a Select Committee appointed to try the merits of the late election, which stated that the purity of election had been grossly violated. They further stated that this was the second time within the last nine years that the Members for the borough had been unseated, which led the petitioners to believe that the election had.bcen accomplished by fraudulent means'; and, judging.froin the past, they were firmly convinced that the same practices would be repeated, whereby they would be prevented from exercising their Parliamentary franchise; they, therefore prayed the suspension of the writ for a fresh election for the borough of Southampton until steps could be taken to prevent such demoralizing and unconstitutional prac tices. BOROUGH 'OF LICHFIELD. Southampton, complaining that certain persons, not°' being upon the register of voters, had fraudulently ' signed a petition, which was presented to the House on the 9th of May, purporting to be from the inhabitants of Southampton being electors, in con tempt of the authority and privileges of the House. The Hon. Member moved that the petition be read at length by the Clerk at the table, and that it be printed and circulated with the Votes.—The petition was accordingly read by the Clerk. On the motion that the petition be printed with the Votes, Mr. WARD wished to know whether it was the intention of the Hon. Member to found any motion on the question ? Mr. FLEMING having shown the fraud that had been committed, would leave it to the House to say whether they would call upon any of the parties to support these statements. He did not intend to tale any further steps upon the subject. Mr. WARD had only asked the question because the Hon. Member stated that it was his intention to found a motion upon the petition. Sir J. EASTHOPE had received intimation from parties of the statements and impressions in tended to be conveyed by the petition. He felt no hesitation in saying that there had been no inten tion on the_ part of any person to commit a fraud against the House. Lord J. RUSSELL doubted, after the statements of the Hon. Member, whether it would be right .or necessary to have the petition printed. Sir ROBERT PEEL said the rule had been broken through the other evening, when a petition was ordered to be printed, although contrary to the rules of the House, because it would throw light upon this very case of the Southampton election. Mr. MACAULAY thought the cases were hardly parallel. If the Hon. Member for South Hampshire undertook to affirm that the present petition was cal culated to throw light upon the subject they were about to discuss, and would state that on Thursday, or some other day, he would draw the attention of the House to the subject, then there might be some reason for printing the petition. Mr. MACKINNON said, that the motion for printing the petition was not a substantive motion, but an amendment.—(Hear.) How did Hon. Mem bers know but what it was his (Mr. Mackinnon's) intention to postpone moving for the writ until to morrow ? Mr. THOMAS DUNCOMBE thought that the House had acted very properly in deciding that the petition of John Wrenn should be printed, because it was calculated to throw light upon the discussion on which they were about to enter. If the present petition had been calculated to throw light upon the subject, the Hon. Member ought to have presented it before—as he had had it for more than a week in his possession ; but it ap peared that it would not suit the purposes of the Con servatives of Southampton to have light thrown upon the subject. Mr. BARING thought that the Hon. Member for Hampshire had acted very discreetly in abstaining from presenting the petition until this evening.— (Hear.) He had attained his object, which was to show that the petition presented by the Hon. Baronet was a fraudulent one. He (Mr. Baring) did not say that none of the persons who had signed the Hon. Baronet's petition were respectable, but certainly vast numbers of them were not what they had repre sented themselves to be. The Hon. Member for Hampshire, having gained his object, he saw no rea son for having the petition printed. Sir JOHN EASTHOPE rose amidst loud cries of " Spoke, spoke," from Members on the Ministerial benches. The Hon. Baronet resumed his seat with out addressing the House. Mr. FLEMING rose, and was met by cries of " Spoke, spoke," from the Opposition benches. The Hon. Member said his object in rising was merely to with draw his motion.—Motion withdrawn. _ _ _ _ Mr. FLEMING again rose and said he had a petition to present of a greater importance than the last. A petition from John Wrenn had been printed, and, the present petition, which was numerously and - respectably signed, was from persons who stated that, in their opinion, that in dividual was not to be believed upon his oath. In a very few hours the petition was signed by up wards of 250 electors of the town, and if it could have remained longer it would no doubt have been signed by four times as many. The petitioners stated that they heard with astonishment that John Wrenn had presented a petition with relation to the corruption which he said took place, with a view of delaying the issue of the writ. They stated that the said John Wrenn did not in any degree possess the confidence or esteem of his fellow townsmen — (Laughter)—nor was the estimation in which he was held such as to afford any grounds for confidence being placed in his statement. That opinion was entertained by persons of all political creeds.—(Oh, oh.) The petitioners prayed their Hon. House not to give cre dence to statements coming from such a quarter, and that they might not be deprived of their political privi leges.—The petition was ordered to lie upon the table. The Hon. Member then moved that the petition be printed and circulated with the Votes. On the question being put, Sir JOHN EASTHOPE said, he was sure he only expressed the opinions of the great and respect able portion of the inhabitants of Southampton, when he said, that he should be anxious that everything the Honourable Member had said should be printed, and put into circulation.—(Hear.) A statement was brought forward for the purpose of producing an effect upon the House. The parties who signed that petition were parties who were on the former register, and who expected to be on a future register. Hef had received a letter from a respectable individual in Southampton, and he stated that the wish of the inhabitants was that the fullest investigation should take place. Mr. H. HINDE said he hoped that the Honourable Member would not proceed with the motion for the printing of the petition, as the continuance of that discussion was only calculated to keep alive ill feeling on the subject. If they agreed to the motion of the Honourable Member for Hampshire, they could hardly agree to the issuing of the writ that night. Under these circumstances, he hoped the Hon. Gentleman would withdraw his motion, in order that they might come at once to the main question. Mr. REDLNGTON said he hoped the House would not set aside the statement of a witness on oath for the statement of a petition. All he could say was, that as the unseated Member lost his seat upon the evidence of Mr. Wrenn, if that evidence was not to be believed, then the unseated Member had been hardly treated. Mr. O'CONNELL said that any one who had read, the evidence could not be surprised that Wrenn had refused to give all the evidence in his power. He now asked for indem nity. It would strike a person unacquainted with Southampton but by the evidence, to find that Wrenn was disbelieved by the whole town, when it was shown that he was a regular election agent. —(Loud cries of " No, no.") It was stated that he was the principal objector in the Registry Courts where the battle of the Constitution was fought, and who also possessed the confidence of the Conser vatives, and who fought their battles at the election, by distributing money to the voters. Mr. FLEMING said he would withdraw his motion. Mr. MACKINNON said, that in rising to move that the writ be issued for the town of Southampton, he could assure the House that he did so from no personal motives. It was matter of perfect indiffer ence to him whether the writ was issued or not. All he desired was that perfect fairness should be done ; and if bribery and corruption were proved, such practices ought not to escape ; but, if no fresh evidence were adduced, or arguments urged, he trusted the writ would be issued. He hoped that the same meed of justice would be dealt to Southampton - which was dealt out to Ipswich. The Reports of the Committees in both cases were almost the same.. In the case of Ipswich the Committee reported that they were of opinion that extensive bribery prevailed at the last election for that borough, and that the writ ought to be suspended until the evidence was printed and submitted to the House. That was the Report — but what was done ? It was decided on Thursday that the writ should be issued. Was not that in direct opposition to the Report of the 'Committee ?—(Loud cheers from the Opposition.) But it was done to do jus tice to the Borough of Ipswich—(lronical cheers) —the House not thinking there was vfficient evidence before them to deprive the people of their just rights. The Report of the Southampton Cotbmittee was, that evi dence was given before them . that an extensive system of treating was carried on by means of local associations, that large sums of money were paid to voters, and that a sum of nearly 5,0001. had been expended, which was too large a sum for the legal expenses of an election ; and that these facts were deserving the serious attention of the House. At the previous election there had been a much greater expenditure ..on both sides.—(" hear, hear," and laughter.) But did they withhold the writ then ? And were they going to commit the monstrous anomaly of keeping back the writ. now, when they had granted it before ?—(Laughter.) Did they never hear of anybody having been bribed before? and would they, on the Report of this Committee, disfranchise for a given time from 1,400 to 1,500 voters .? The Committee had discharged its duty with zeal and ability, and there was no evidence that any other Committee was required. Were they going to assume the monstrous principle that after an Election Committee had decided on a petition and made their Report, if any vagabond of any borough town chose to present a pe tition re q uirin g another Com mittee, they were to comply with it. Of all th e extra ordinary precedents that had ever been established in that House this was the most extraordinary. Twenty vacancies might occur and the House might be called , upon by twenty vagabonds to suspend the writ.--:(11ear, hear.) He submitted that unless some substantial ground Were stated, they wbuld be 'violating' the Constitution and law of this c.op4try.,bx postpcning.jhe Issuing-of th e • writ uratt the 'were plum fan llirrenia. With: Mr. ROEBUCK presented a petition from Lich field, stating, that at the last election gross bribery prevailed, by which the character •:). the inhabitants was injured. The petition also stated that a number of persons, who were bribed, had received appointments, with salaries amounting to 100/. a-year, which they believed, to be a more dangerous species of bribery than bribery by money, as it influenced not only the voters themselves, but also their friends. The petitioners prayed the House to take the petition into consideration, and -to adopt such measures as would prevent these scandalous practices. He (Mr. Roe buck) was, bound to say, that the petition was signed by only eight individuills, who gave their names and ailixecltheir descriptions. Mr. DIVETT begged leave to say a few words on the subject of the petition, as one of the Committee who sat upon the petition. A very stringent in .vestigation of every thing which took place at the election was gone into. No Committee could be more fully disposed to investigate the case; and with regard to his own feelings, he confessed, that Awhere any petition alleging cases of bribery came under inquiry, he was most desirous of hiving them fully investigated.— (Hear, hear.) But considering the circumstances which came before the Committee, he did not think the present petitioners were justified in coming before the House. The Committee entered upon the scrutiny of a few votes, and after deciding on them the petition was abandoned ' • but there was no 'evidence of any bribery, although there was a good opportunity, and full disposition, on the part of the Committee, to inquire into the matter, if the parties had any inten tion of. doing so. If anything had come before the °opt:a - hue, he thought the parties would be justified in I pr&lentillgthe - petition ; but that not being so, he thBueit, it was .'not fair to bring the petition before the Mr. ROEBUCK wished to observe that he hoped the House Wthild'nOf . consider him answerable for any Part of the' petition. Th e petition was then ordered to lie upon the table. , MERSEY CONSERVANCY BILL. Lord. GRANVILLE SOMERSET moved that the order for the reference of the Mersey Con servancy Bill to the Committee of Selection be dis charged"- that the said Bill be referred to a , Select doMmittee, composed of the following Mem bers,:—Lord Granville Somerset, Viscount Sandon, Mr.' . Wilbrahain, Mr. Mark Philips, Mr. Wilson Patten, Sir Philip Egerton, Mr. Ta.tton Egerton, Mr. Blackburn, Mr. Labouchere, Mr. Charles Wood, Mr. Rice, Capt. Berkeley, O'Connor Don, the Earl of Lincoln, and Captain Gordon ; and that all petitions for or against the said Bill be. referred to the Select Committee. • '• Lord R. GROSVENOR moved that the debate on the question should be adjourned. After a short conversation the motion for adjourn meut was withdrawn, and the order agreed to. HER MAJESTY'S ANSWER TO THE _ADDRESS.' The SPEAKER then said, I have to report to the House that her M4csty has been attended this day by both Houses, with their Address, to which she has been graciously _pleased to return this most gracious answer :—" My Lordtcand Gentlemen, I receive with heartfelt, gratification the loyal and dutiful address from the two Houses of Parliament. I am thankful to" the ,Almighty, whosu merciful care has pro tected me, and I . humbly rely on the good providence of Gr-'4 , who is able to preserve me from every danger is, an—, A. trust, and sincere in nly desire td promote-thepiness of my people, anA comforted aTid supported the. renewed as surance of your attachment and:loyalty:l. 130.1r.F4IAMPTON ELECTION . . • - ALr. ELMlLia.pleu presented . a petition from air...a mu SUN, LONDON. THURSDA'I MORNING, JUNE 2, 1842. out detaining the House further, he would now move tha the Speaker do issue a writ for the election of two burgesses to serve in Parliament for the borough of Southampton. Mr. W. B. BARING seconded the motion. Mr. W. 0. STANLEY said that in rising to move the suspension of the writ for the borough of South ampton, in opposition to the Honourable Member for Lymington, he was aware that he was taking a very ex • traordinary course ; but he thought that in the minutes of the evidence taken before the Southampton Election Committee, there was sufficient reason why the House should pause before they consented to the issue of the new writ. It had been proved before the Committee that bribery and treating to a largo extent had been prac tised at the late election for the borough. It appeared to him that after the special Report to which the Com mittee had come, the House ought not to accede to the issuing of a new writ, without some inquiry into the evidence taken before the Committee: He would feel it his duty to comment upon the evidence given before that Committee by an Honourable Member of that House, (Mr. Fleming). It was found from the bankers that that Honourable Member had supplied a sum of 5001. for defraying the expenses of the election. The Hon. Member, when called before the Committee, to himself the right of forming his own opinion upon each particular case. With regard to Southampton, lie read over the evidence attentively, and he must say that the expenditure at that election seemed to him to be too lavish, and that the treating was too expensive. —(Hear, hear.) But he feared that the system of treating was not confined to Southampton, but that it existed also in the country to a great extent.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") lie knew that it did not partake of the legal character of bribery, but the practice was most pernicious. It might be said, that as he voted for the Ipswich writ lie ought also to vote for the Southampton one; but the cases were distinct ; for, in the case of Southampton, 300 electors petitioned the House of Commons for an in quiry; there was also the petition of John Wrenn, who appeared at the bar of the House ; and from what he (Sir R. Peel) then saw, he did not perceive any reason why he should be thought unworthy of credit. The alle gations he set forth made a great impression on his (Sir R. Peel's) mind. What were they? (The Right Hon. Ba ronet here read a great portion of the petition.) Now, after the allegations he had read, and acting on purely judicial grounds, he was of opinion that the writ should be suspended.—(Load cheers.) He should vote that it be suspended for a certain time, but he confessed he thought it would be desirable that the House should have time to consider what course they ought to pursue. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE thought the Right Hon. Baronet exercised a sound discretion in adopting the course he had done—(Hear, hear)—and also in attaching import ance to the petition of John Wrenn, who was called ve racious John Wrenn by Hon. Gentlemen opposite.— (Laughter.) If he was rightly informed, John Wrenn was not only the political agent of the Conservative party in Southampton, but was the intimate associate of some of the most respectable persons there—(Hear, hear)—even of the Hon. Member for South Hants him self.—(Laughter, and Hear, hear.) He believed this person was the life and soul of the Conservative convi viality of Southampton—(Laughter)—and was invited to meet the Hon. Member at dinner. He believed that it was said to him, " Mr. Fleming is coming; mind that you come also Wrenn."—(Great laughter.) Now, what was the cause of all the vituperation which was cast upon Lim ? It was because he would not agree to perjure him self before a Committee of that House. Mr. Fleming said that Mr. Abrahams denied making any suggestion to Wrenn about bribing a voter ; but here (said the Hon. Gentleman, holding in his hand a small book, with a blue cover) is the record of your misdeeds.—(Cheers and laughter.) This book contains the authority for Wrenn's giving 51. to a voter. That was a grave ques tion, and ought to be inquired into.—(Cheers.) He would, however, let Mr. Wrenn speak for himself—he would read to the House a letter which he had received stated that there had been a great deficiency of money to meet the expenses of the election, and that he had undertaken to make a collection among his friends in the neighbourhood of Southampton, and that he had received subscriptions from them which he had put to the credit of the Conservative party ; also, that he could not give the names of those persons without a breach of confi dence, and, therefore, he put it to the feelings of the Committee if he ought to mention them. The House would bear in mind that the Hon. Member had in his place in the House refused to answer the questions put to him, and he was directed by the House to answer them on the following day to the Committee. Subse quently the Hon. Member stated that the sum alluded to was 500/., which, with the two other sums, increased the amount to nearly 1,0001. It appeared that a sum of 2001. had been paid to the agents, and that likewise 801, had been paid to the Town Clerk for the legal expenses of the hustings, but it was evident that the sum of 1,0001. had not gone in any legal way to pay the expenses of the election. He thought that if a Bill were granted for indemnity to witnesses coming before Committees upon that point, very important evidence would be elicited. There was another system of bribery that had been carried on at the elec tion, which was by the means of paying messengers, colourmen, and others, the sum of 31. for their votes. They had it in evidence that a Mr. Lysle had received a.sum of 6001. ; half of that was paid to the chairman, and the other half to messengers, colourmen, and others. Added to this the town of Southampton was divided into five wards, in each of which were Conservative Associa tions, a member of which was named Cheeseman, and that individual had received 4001. which had come from the Committee Fund, to which the candidates had sub scribed largely, and they found that out of the 5,0001. which had been raised, 2,0001. had been subscribed by the:Conservative candidates. The Hon. Member, after reading several portions of the evidence, stated that he would now refer to that of Mr. Wrenn, and he felt bound to admit that though the Hon. Member had had no personal communication with Mr. Wrenn, he had had constant information of what was taking place. The Committee had no reason for doubting that Mr. Wrenn was any ether than a person employed by the Conservative party. He had endeavoured to withhold evidence. There had been great difficulty in getting him to answer questions ; he had continually appealed to the Committee not to be compelled to answer ques tions, on the ground that he might criminate himself ; and he had refused to answer many questions. Imme diately after the Report had been pritited, a great deal of angry feeling had been excited in Southampton. Mr. Mackay, an agent of the Conservative party in that bo rough, had gone before the Mayor and made an affida vit that Wrenn's evidence, as far it related to him, was untrue. Wrenn had gone before the Mayor to make a counter-affidavit ; the Mayor, however, had re fused to swear him, alleging that he had no right to do so, and that he had torn up the affidavit of the other party. Mr. Wrenn had then presented a petition to that House, which had been . printed, and was in the hands of Members; and considering the allegations made in that petition, and also the fact that the two Members for Saithampton had been unseated by the Committee on the ground of bribery and treating, he thought he was not asking too much, in asking that the issue of the writ should be suspended until further in quiry should be made into -what had taken place. He did so on the ground that an extensive system of treating was carried on at this moment by the Conserva tive Associations. No doubt money was subscribed and given to those Associations for the purpose of treating with beef, plum-pudding, and grog, the voters of South ampton. It could be proved that 200 electors on one side had received bribes at the late election ; he thought, therefore, they ought not to issue the writ at this time, and allow those parties again to exercise the franchise. This was not a case simply between the town of South ampton and their electors, it was not only whether Southampton should be prevented for a short time from sending Members to that House, but taking the Report of the Committee in this case, in conjunction with the other Reports, it would be seen that a gross system of demoralization took place at the last election ; it was, therefore, the duty of the House to take the matter into consideration, to pass a law to prevent its recurrence at future elections , and in those boroughs where it did take place last time, to suspend the writ until the law should be passed. He should move, therefore, that a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into the extent of bribery and treating at the last election for South. ampton, and that the writ be not issued till some pre ventive Bill should be passed by that House. Mr. WARD seconded the motion. When he coupled the evidence taken before the Committee with other evi dence which had since come before them, and the pe titions which had been presented, he thought it was the bounden duty of the House to prosecute the inquiry to the fullest possible extent. The evidence which was given before the Committee disclosed an admirable and well-or ganised system of bribery, and the principal witness who gave that evidence now offered to complete that evi dence if the House gave him protection. Hon. Gentle man opposite attacked his character now, but as long as he was true to their colours they gave him protection.— (Hear, hear.) He now offered to produce the book, which he did not do before, and which he (Mr. Ward) had reason to believe was in existence. He also stated the name of one of the returning officers who desired him to bribe one of the electors. That was a grave, con stitutional charge, and were they to refuse evidence of such a fact, because Hon.:Gentlemen opposite now chose to calumniate the character of a person whom they em ployed for five years, who for 20 years was an elector of Southampton, and for 14 years voted for the same side ? He would remind the House that they should attach but little importance to the squabbles of individuals in a borough where parties were so divided as in South ampton, and that they could not put much trust in their stories of mutual recrimination. He had, for instance, himself, received a statement to the effect that Mr. Dawkin, whom an Hon Gentleman opposite had de scribed as an honest and respectable tradesman, was a man on whose word no reliance could be placed. But these were not matters for the consideration of the House ; they had to decide whether they would now, without any further inquiry, issue a new writ for a borough which would in that case be sure to be dis graced by scenes similar to those which had taken place at the last election. The SPEAKER, havinc , put the question, Mr. FLEMING said' he was unwilling to take any part in this discussion, but it was impossible he should hear the statement, just made without endeavouring to disabuse the House of the erroneous impression which those statements were calculated to produce—statements which he must characterize as false, scandalous, and un founded.—(Cries of " Order, Order," from the Oppo sition benches.) The SPEAKER said, that those were words which were not to be permitted to be used in that House to any of its Members, and that he must call on the Right Hon. Member to withdraw them. Mr. FLEMING said, that in deference to the opinion of she Speaker, he would withdraw the words, though it was very hard to do so, after what had fallen from the Hon. Gentleman opposite. Mr. MACKINNON said, that the words used by the Hon. Gentleman opposite were, that the Hon. Member (Mr. Fleming) would have enough to do to defend his own character. Mr. WARD had merely said, when very severe cen sure had been cast upon the petitioner, that the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Fleming) would have enough to do to defend his own conduct. Mr. FLEMING went on to say, that he was living near Southampton, and that he was anxious to support the character of its inhabitants. Though forty-one witnesses had been examined before the Committee, only five cases of bribery had been found. Mr. MACAULAY would confine his observations to a few words, because the whole matter lay within a very small compass. The whole argument of the Hon. Gen tleman was confined to this point, that because they had issued the writ for Ipswich on Thursday last, they should issue the writ for Southampton to-day. He regretted this because he thought it was inconsistent with the course, a most praiseworthy one, he must admit, which had hitherto bedn pursued by the Right Hon. Ba ronet. To do him justice, however, he must say that the present was a stronger case than that of Ipswich. In the present case they had had plainly and distinctly indi cated to them that the Committee could not obtain the information they desired. The party referred to stated that he was in possession of most important information, but his evidence was to be set at nought. Notwithstand ing all that had been said he believed that that side of the House was clear of all party spirit in the matter, and it was his firm belief that if the writ for Southampton was granted, the worst consequences might be anticipated. Sir R. PEEL thought when the subject was last be fore the House, and at the present time, that the issuing of the writ involved a judicial consideration. Upon judicial grounds he meant to vote when he came down to the House, and upon those grounds he intended to vote now. He agreed with what had been stated, that nothing but a cordial co-operation of all sides of the House would prevent the great curse that was undermining the purity of the House of Commons. They were the popular branch of the institutions of the country, their power was de rived from the people, and if it was shown that th ey abused that power, the influence of that power would be materially shaken. He should be prepared zealously to co-operate, as far as consistently with his own sense of justice he could do so, for the purpose of providing a remedy for this great grievance ; but when he had to deal with ,a judicial question he must apply judicial principles. With respect to Ipswich, if he had to give his vote again, he would give it in the same manner as he had done. He had formed his judgment ftem the evi dence taken before that Committee ;_.but, in addition to that, he thought that if Ipswich did.not, reforrnitself, it would become the subject of severe condemnation. With -re;spect to Newcastle, and other places, he would reserve from Mr. Wrenn that morning.—(The Hon. Gentleman here read the letter alluded to. in which the writer stated that he had sent him (Mr. T. Duncombo) the memorandum book mentioned in the petition, as con taining the signature of the returning officer, autho rising the offer of a bribe to an individual. The writer then went on to state, that the ill opinion expressed of him by Mr. Fleming and others, could only have been framed within a short period, for that no longer ago than the period of the death of the late Lord Elgin, he had been requested by one of the Aldermen of the town, and also by the Sheriff, to attend a meeting to promote the interest of Mr. Mildmay as a Conservative candidate for the borough, at which meeting Mr. Fleming was present. He further stated, that the only reason wy he had been thus persecuted and branded as a vaga bond was, because he would not perjure himself before a Committee of the House of Commons ; and that a person during the time the Commit tee had been cleared the first time had come up to him and offered him a sum of money if he would make Mr. Martin secure. It was because he would not commit perjury, that this man had been persecuted and calumniated. He (Mr. T. Duncombe) knew the name of the individual who had made Wrenn the offer, and also the amount of the sum offered. Wrenn's answer was, " No, I will not perjure myself. I will not tell more than the Committee force me to tell, but what I do tell must be the truth."—(Cheers.) This in itself was a serious charge, and required investigation. The Standing Orders of the House declared that any person tampering or attempting to tamper with any witness giving evidence before any Committee was guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor. If the Committee were appointed, that charge also must be gone into. He believed that Wrenn would be able to prove every allegation he had made ; and after the opinion expressed by the Right Hon. Baronet, he trusted the Hon. Member for Lymington would see the propriety of withdrawing his motion (Hear, hear)—and he would recommend the worthy Aldermen and others of Southampton, who had stated that they would not believe Wrenn on his o 411, to be pretty sure of their facts, before they put their signa tures to a petition maligning the character of an indivi dual quite as respectable as most of the Conservatives of Southampton.— (Cheers and laughter.) Mr. HODGSON HINDE regretted that personalities should have been mixed up with this debate. He con - sidered the evidence given by Wrenn before the Com mittee as irreconcilable with the statements contained in his petition. That individual had already rendered him self amenable to the law, and the House ought to be very certain that he could and would give them addi. tional and valuable information, before they passed a Bill of Indemnity for him. Mr. WYNN had great pleasure in stating his entire concurrence in all that had fallen from his Right Hon. Friend on this subject. The opinion of the Right Hon. Baronet agreed entirely with that which he (Mr. Wynn) had come to after reading the evidence taken before the Committee. Whatever might be the character of Wrenn, the House ought certainly not to shut the door against receiving his evidence ; what they would do with it was another question ; but it might be supported perhaps by documents tending to establish its truth. He thought it right, also, that the inquiry should be gone into as to the existence of similar practices on the other side—(Cheers.)—for, from the general character of the borough, he thought it exceedingly probable that such would turn out to have existed. They were not there to discuss how far Mr. Wrenn might be able to substan tiate his allegations, but he thought they should at least make inquiry into the matter. He would recommend his Hon. Friend (Mr. Mackinnon) to withdraw his motion for the present. But it appeared to him that the writ should be suspended but for a short time—the period of postponement ought not, he thought, to exceed a fortnight. Sir R. PEEL said that the Bill of the Noble Lord (Lord J. Russell) would be brought under the notice of the House on Friday next ; and they would probably, after that Bill had been before them, be better enabled to come to a decision upon the issuing of the writ. He would recommend that it should now be suspended for a fortnight. Mr. W. 0. STANLEY approved of the suggestion of the Right Hon. Baronet. He should, if that course were adopted, withdraw his amendment. Mr. MACKINNON said that he should yield to the suggestion of the Right Hon. Baronet. He would with draw his notice for the present ; but he should give notice that he would again move:the issuing . of the writ on that day fortnight. Mr. REDINGTON stated his conviction that, under the circumstances of the case, the House was perfectly justified in suspending the writ until further inquiry had been entered into. Mr. GODSON observed that a passage contained in the book read by the Honourable Member for Fibsbury, and communicated to him by Mr. Wrenn, was entirely at variance with a statement made by the witness befdre the Select Committee. Mr. O'CONNELL said that he saw nothing contra dictory in the two statements. Mr. MACKINNON then withdrew his motion, and gave notice that he should renew it on that day fortnight. Mr. W.. 0. STANLEY also gave notice that on the motion for a new writ being made on that day fortnight, he should move its suspension, until some inquiry had been entered into relative to the alleged corrupt practices at the late election. BOROUGH OF NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME. Mr. ADDERLEY withdrew until to-morrow hi notice of a new writ for the borough of Newcastle-under Lyme. Mr. HUME also withdrew until to-morrow his notice for a Select Committee to inquire into the extent of bribery at the last election for the borough of Newcastle under-Lyme. PUBLIC-HOUSES BILL. On the motion of Captain ItOUS, the House re solved itself into a Committee of the whole House, for the further consideration of the Retort on this Bill. Clauses up to 5, were agreed to without any discussion. On clause 5 being put, Captain PECHELL objected to the principle of pre venting refreshments from being served on board of vessels during the hours of divine service. Captain ROUS said 'that the clause applied only to vessels in port at the time. After some discuaSion, the clause was agreed to with some verbal amendinents. Mr. B. WOOD then proposed the following clause:— And whereas, under and by virtue of the provisions of the above-mentioned Act, all persons duly licensed thereby are forbidden to open their houses except for the reception of travellers, or to permit or suffer any beer or other exziseable liquor to be conveyed from or out o f their premises during the usual hours of the morni ng and, afternoon divine service in the church or chapel of the parish or place in which their houses are situate, on Sundays, Christmas -day, or Good Friday, and doubts have arisen as to what shall be deemed refo d to e re beetchlaeraud and sualhoursof enacted, divine that service frnm ; and it after the passing of this Act, the usual hours of divine service, on the respective days aforesaid, shall, for the purposes of the said Act, be deemed and taken to be from eleven o'clock in the forenoon to one o'clock in the afternoon, and from three o'clock in the afternoon until half-past four o'clock in the afternoon : provided always, that nothing herein contained shall extend; or be taken or construed to extend, to alter or affect the hours during which the houses of licensed victuallers within the Me tropolitan Police District are directed to be closed by the provisions of a certain Act passed in the second and third years of her present Majesty, intituled, " Au Act for further improving the police in and near the metropolis." Captain ROUS seconded the motion. Mr. M. SUTTON opposed the motion. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE considered the clause an en croachment on the rights of the owners of those houses, and a source of great inconvenience with respect to the wants of the persons who frequented them. He trusted the House would successfully resist the motion. As for himself, he certainly should give it his utmost op position. Mr. HAWES warned the Hon. Members who pro posed and supported the clause, against pressing it, for if they did, the Bill would not, he could assure them, pass in another place. - Mr. - HUME requested his Hon. Friend to withdr \ aw his amendment. After .a few• words from Mr. B. WOOD and Mr. AGLIONBY, Mr. MijislTZ declared that it was monstrous, while Members — of that House repaired to their clubs and coffee-houses on Sundays, and there ate more than was I conducive to their health—(Laughter)—that the puor man should be compelled to bolt his food, and immediately leave his tavern, without being allowed time to quench his thirst. While such a course was pursued by the Legis lature it must create nothing but contempt and disgust towards it amongst the people. After a short conversation the House divided, when there appeared— Fjtthe clause 59 Against it 23 Majority -36 Mr. B. WOOD then rose to propose the following clause :—And whereas it is expedient that so much of an Act passed in the 24th year of the reign of his late Majesty King George the Second, intituled, "An Act for granting to his Majesty an additional duty upon spirituous liquors, and upon licenses for retailing the same, and for repealing the Act of the 20th year of his present Majesty's reign, intituled, `Au Act for granting a duty to his Majesty to be paid by distillers upon licenses to be taken out by them for retailing spirituous liquors, and for the more effectually restraining the retail ing of distilled spirituous liquors, and for allowing a draw back upon the exportation of British-made spirits, and that the parish of Saint Mary-le-Bonne, in the county of Middlesex. shall be under the inspection of the head Office of Excise,' "as relates to the recovery of debts for the sale of spirituous liquors not amounting to the sum of twenty shillings, so far as it regards the sale of spirituous liquors not to be drank or consumed on the premises of the vendor thereof, should be repealed ; be it therefore enacted, that from and after the passing I of this Act, so much of the said last-mentioned Act as declares that no person or persons whatsoever shall be entitled unto or maintain any cause, action, or suit for, or recover, either in law or equity, any sum or sums of money, debt, or demands whatsoever for or on account of any spirituous liquors, unless such debt shall have really been and bona fide contracted at one time to the amount of twenty shillings or upwards, and that any particular article or item in any account or de mand for distilled spirituous liquors, shall not be allowed or maintained where the liquors delivered at one time, and mentioned in such article or item, shall not amount to the full value of twenty shillings at the least, shall, except as to spirituous liquors sold to be drank or con sumed on the premises of the vendor thereof, be and the same is hereby repealed. After a suggestion from Mr. GREENE the clause was withdrawn. shut as well as public-houses. He would therefore bring forward a motion to that effect on bringing up the Report,— (Bear.) The CHAIRMAN reported progress, the House re sumed, and the Report was ordered to be brought up on Wednesday. - SUDBURY DISFRANCHISEMENT BILL. Mr. REDINOTON moved the second reading of this Bill. Mr. BAGGE objected to the second reading of the Bill, on the ground that it was not fair to disfranchise a borough because some of the voters were corrupt, and he was bound to say the most corrupt portion of the constituency were the 101. householders, and not the freemen. Mr. Alderman HUMPHERY denied the general cor ruption of the household constituency, and was surprised to hear the Hon. Gentleman say that Sudtfury was Conservative. Did he mean to say that all the Conserva _ tives had been bribed?—(A laugh.) Mr. DARBY objected to going on with a measure of such importance at such a late hour. Sir GEORGE CLERK said it had hitherto been the practice in all similar cases to serve a copy of the Bill upon the returning officer of the borough, before pro ceeding to read the Bill a second time. That had not been done in the present instance, and he would suggest the postponement of the second reading until a copy should have been served upon the returning officer. Mr. REDINGTON thought that defect had been cured by the motion of the Hon. Member for Mont gomeryshire. Mr.ViTYNN had merely given notice of his intention to bring forward a motion on the subject on going into Committee on the Bill. Mr. REDINGTON had no intention of pressing for ward the Bill without serving a copy on the returning officer; but he apprehended there was no necessity for serving it on him before the second'reading. Colonel RUSHBROOKE had presented a petition from the inhabitants of Sudbury, in which they stated that they considered it a great hardship that Sudbury should be treated in this way, when there were other boroughs equally bad. Mr. BLACKSTONE did not know the locality of Sudbury, and therefore could not say whether throwing open the borough to the neighbouring hundreds might not cure the . corruption. In the borough which he represented that had been the case. Before the Re form Bill, it was one of the most corrupt boroughs in the kingdom—that measure had added eight or ten ad joining agricultural parishes to the constituency, and had by that means completely put a stop to bribery. He did not think it right to discuss a measure of such im portance at so late an hour. He also thought it advis able that the - House should hear the opinion of the Right Hon. Gentleman at the head of the Government on the subject, and for these reasons he should move that the debate be adjourned. Mr. PAKINGTON, although he had originally con curred in this measure, had serious doubts whether it ought now to be proceeded with. Bribery of an exten sive nature had been discovered to exist in so many other boroughs, that he doubted the propriety of making Sudbury a solitary victim.—(Hear, hear.) He thought the wisest course would be to draw a veil over the past. Mr. STUART WORTLEY considered this notice a mere local question. The House was called on to affirm a principle. They were called on to determine the exact amount of corruption which should be punished by dis franchisement. The case was surrounded by difficulties, which required the most mature consideration. He should, therefore, support the motion for adjournment. Sir R. INGLIS supported the motion for adjourning the debate. _ _ Mr. PAKINGTON moved the next clause, on the subject of which he had received strong representations from the licensed victuallers. The clause was exactly the same as one which passed without any controversy in a Bill relating to Liverpool. It was the habit to pay workmen their wages on Saturday night in a public house. He considered that it was not right to expose them to such a temptation, and he hoped the House would not sanction such a practice. The Hon. Member concluded by proposing the following clause :—And be it enacted—That any licensed victualler or other person who shall open his house for the sale of wine, spirits, beer, or other fermented liquors, or shall permit the same to be sold therein on Sundays, Christmas Day, or Good Friday, before the hour of one in the afternoon, shall be liable to a penalty not, exceeding five pounds, to be recovered within three calendar months after the commission of such offence, before any two Justices acting in Petty Sessions for the county, city, or juris diction within which such offence shall have been com mitted ; any portion of such penalty, not exceeding one half, to be awarded, at the discretion of such Justices, to the informer, and the remainder to be paid to the trea surer of the county, city, or jurisdiction within which such offence shall have been committed, to be by him applied towards defraying the expenses of such county, city, or jurisdiction • and if such penalty, so adjudged, shall not be.forthwith paid, it shall be lawful for such Justices to commit the offender to any gaol or house of correction within their jurisdiction, for any term not exceeding one calendar month, such imprisonment to cease if such penalty shall be sooner paid ; provided always, that nothing herein contained shall extend to prevent refreshment to travellers. Mr. ROEBUCK was not one of those who wished to favour drunkenness, although he opposed this clause. He thought the enactment would create a greater evil than the one against which it was aimed. The Hon. Member himself admitted that the clause was ambigu ously worded. It went to ereate wholesale crime, avid next it went to encourage informers. Persons more unfit to administer the law than worshipful Justices in quarter sessions he never saw. The law in their hands was like battledore and shuttlecock. There was no cer tainty in their decisions ; and yet, without publicity, without the presence of a watchful bar, it gave to two of these Justices an opportunity, in a private parlour, on the information of an informer, to decide upon a doubtful point of law. Three months might elapse before the in formation was laid, and then if the publican could not prove that he had sold merely tea and coffee, he was to be sent to prison. He did not want this sort of legis lation, and he protested against this attempt to extend police regulations throughout the country. Captain ROUS opposed the clause. The sailor had no home in port but the public-house, and if they drove him out of the public-house, they would drive him to a worse house.—(Hear, hear.) It was impossible to carry such a clause into execution. The last Govern ment were not so absurd as to lend themselves to the introduction of enactments of this nature in the Liver pool Watch Bill, and he trusted that the present Go vernment would, in this instance, take a leaf out of their book. None but a policeman could now lay an informa tion of this nature ; and this clause proposed to call into existence a race of informers. He would rather almost drop the Bill altogether than consent to the introduction of this clause. Mr. M. PHILIPPS thought it unfair to the working classes to shut up every place where they could obtain refreshment until one o'clock on Sunday. He should vote against the clause. Sir R. INGLIS supported the clause. He thought wages ought to be paid on a Friday night. He had little expected to have heard such an attack from the Honourable Member for Bath on the unlearned Magistracy of the counties, when the Honourable and Learned Gentleman was willing to confide to a Committee, composed of members of that body, tho decision of all the delicate legal questions which must arise in considering the election compromises. The plan now proposed had been found to work well in the metro politan districts, and there was no reason why it should not be extended to the rest of the kingdom. Mr. ROEBUCK explained. Sir JAMES GRAHAM was of opinion that the County Magistracy discharged their important duties in a manner greatly for the advantage of the public. He should not now, however, discuss that question, but con fine himself to the question before the House. He was not disposed to extend the metropolitan law regulating public-houses to the rural districts. He agreed in the objections of the Hon. and Learned Member for Bath to the machinery by which it was proposed to carry the clause into operation, and he considered that the penalties imposed by the clause were of an unnecessarily harsh and stringent nature. He thought the heavy penalty of St. for drinking a glass of ale on a Sunday morning, was quite unproportionate, and much too heavy. He went further than to disapprove of the machinery of this clause ; he thought indeed that, in the rural districts, it would be a great hardship upon the poorer classes, where many people were in the habit of taking their breakfasts in public-houses. A glass of ale and a crust of bread and cheese, would do no man any harm, and any endea vour to prevent that would be an attempt at the curtail ment of the innocent recreations of the people.—(The Right Hon. Gentleman sat down amid cheers from both sides of the House.) Mr. HARDY opposed the clause. Mr. MUNTZ expressed his gratification at what had fallen from the Right Hon. Baronet. He knew, in the manufacturing districts, that the poor people were in the habit of going out very early on the Sabbath morning to take a walk, and it would be very hard to deprive them of their glass of ale.—(Divide.) Mr. T. DUNCOMBE was of opinion that the pro posed clause would not prevent drunkenness ; for when the people got their money on a Saturday night, and knew they could get nothing to ;drink on the Sunday morning before one, they would lay in a large supply of gin and other stuff, on the Saturday night, and would get drunk at.home. He should oppose the clause. Lord ,SANDON said that he had been at first dis posed to support the chiuse introduced by the Honour ' able Member for Droitwich, but he confessed that after all he had heard he doubted the wisdom of adopting the proposal. He would suggest that public houses should be allowed to be left open until ten o'clock on Sunday mornings, and that they should then be closed. Mr. PAKINGTON had heard nothing which could induce him to withdraw his proposal. Mr. J. JERVIS was favourable to the principle of the Honourable Member's proposal, but he thought it was most defective in its details. He would therefore recommend to the Honourable Member to withdraw his proposal for the present. Mr. FERRAND opposed the clause. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the Committee divided, when there appeared — For the clause Against it Majority against the clause ---103 The clause was, therefore, lost. On our re-admission to the gallery we found Mr. Alderman HUMPHERY on his legs, moving the introduction of a clause, that public houses in the country might be opened during divine service on Sundays, after the hour of one o'clock. Sir J. GRAHAM thought the law, as ii at present existed with respect to public houses in the country, should not be disturbed, and he should therefore oppose the clause of the Hon. Alderman. Mr. HUME would support the clause. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE thought that some uniform system should be adopted. Mr. S. WORTLEY believed that the licensed vic tuallers in the country did not wish any alteration in the law as it at present existed. They had no desire for any additional privileges. Captain ROUS had omitted this clause from' the Bill, merely because he feared that they were so heavily laden they would strike on tbe rock of the Right Hon. Baronet's (Sir J. Graham's) opposition.—(Laughter.) Mr. Alderman HUMPHERY was surprised at the Right Hon. Baronet's opposition to the clause, which was a most reasonable one. Sir C. NAPIER said, that if the Right Hon. Baronet was for shutting up the public-houses altogether on Sunday, he would vote with him, on condition that all the hotels should be shut up at the same time ; and he would go further,, and- say other houses too.—(Cries of " Name, name.") The Committee tlien divided. The numbers were— For the clause ' 27 ligainst it • ' 69 Majority against the clause ...... —42 Mr. HUME said thathe thought the House would be acting very unjustly if clubs and other places were not Lord SANDON thought they would never create a moral feeling against bribery, by hunting down boroughs in this way. He would suggest to the Hou4e, before they decided on disfranchising a borough with 2.000 inhabit ants, to consider what they would do with a borough with 40,000. The most effectual remedy, he thought, would be to send down a Committee to inquire, and let that Committee publicly disfranchise every individual guilty of corrupt practices. Mr. THOMAS DUNCOMBE had presented a peti tion from one hundred and fifty electors of Sudbury in which they stated that they entirely concurred with the Committee in the opinion they expressed of the ex istence of corruption at the last election. They also ex. pressed a desire that every corrective means should be tried, before recourse was had to disfranchisement, and they suggested that extending the present constituency within the limits of the borough, and giving that consti tuency the protection of the ballot, would effectually put an end to all corrupt practices. He thought it right, having presented the motion, to remind the House of it. He heartily concurred in the motion for the adjourn ment. Mr. P. STEWART saw no other course before him, than to move that the second reading of the Bill be post poned for a week. He should withdraw the motion. He begged to move that a copy of the Bill be served upon the Returning Officer of the borough of Sudbury. BRIDPORT ELECTION. Mr. C. BULLER felt that it was his duty to resume the adjourned debate on this question. The House having resolved that an inquiry should take place into certain corrupt practices alleged to have taken place at Bridport ; he wished to find out the manner in which that inquiry should be conducted. He wished not to mix up with this inquiry any personalities which had existed in the former debate; he thought that this bo rough should have been the first into which the Qom mitte of the Hon: Member for Bath should have in quired. He should move that the Order of the Day be read. Mr. GEO. BANKES could not agree with the Hon. Member opposite ; he did not think that the petition of Mr. Warburton should be treated in any manner dif ferently from the 'petitions of any one else, He thought the House would have acted more if it had not been so hasty in adopting the proposition of the Hon. Member for Bath. He should indeed tremble to carry that principle out to any extent. A certain num ber of decisions were contravened, and had not been carried out because compromises had been made. That principle he could understand ; but the principle which was now proposed he could not understand ; but he did see a great deal of harm in it. With respect to the ma jority the other night, it certainly was a very - large one ; but Honourable Members did not appear to be at all decided in their ulterior views. —(Hear, hear.) Was, this a subject for a Bill of Indemnity ? No ground had been shown for such a Bill, and he, for one, would never concur in the passing of a Bill of In demnity on such grounds as had been stated in the pe tition of Mr. Warburton ; and without such a Bill, to conduct the inquiry proposed would be utterly useless. For these reasons, therefore, he should oppose 'the proposition of his Learned Friend, the Member for Liskeard. Mr. BROTHERTON said, that if Hon. Members would not postpone questions that were opposed, he bad no other alternative than to move the adjournment of' the House.—(Cries of Hear, hear," and "Go on.") Dr. BO WRING seconded the motion. Mr. C. 13ULLER said that his object in bringing this question forward was, that his Hon. Friend's Bill should not be disposed ef before the present question was decided. Mr. ROEBUCK had no desire whatever to have this matter referred to the Committee he had obtained, but he wished to set the House right as to the mode in which the matter stood. The Hon. Gentleman who had spoken last was mistaken in supposing that the House had in trusted any powers to him ; all that it had done was to appoint a Committee, and to entrust the powers referred to to that Committe. For his own part. he was averse to any more cases being referred to the Committee, he thought it had a suf ficiently heavy burden to deal with at present. With respect to the observation made the other night by the Hon. Member for Bridport (Mr. Mitchell), relative to his (Mr. Roebuck's) absence, he must observe that in making the motion for the Committee which had been granted, he had not, in his opinion, subjected himself to , listen to all the tediousness which was to be uttered re specting bribery. If the House thought that this elec tion should be referred to the Committee, he (Mr. Roe buck) must bow to its decision. Mr. B. COCIIRANE said, that if Hon, Members re ferred to the petition, they would find that he was not charged by the petitioner with bribery, but with having spent sums unknown ; which merely meant that the peti tioner did not know what amount of money he (Mr. Coch rane) had expended. He had no objection to having the petition referred to the Committee. Mr. DARBY thought the Hon. and Learned Member for Bath pursued a course in the present case which was scarcely justifiable. Mr. ROEBUCK rose to order. He did not think the Hon. Member was in order in using that expression. Mr. DARBY said he used the words "scarcely jus tifiable," and he never knew that such language was un parliamentary. The motion of the Hon. and Learned Member was for an inquiry into corrupt compromises, and not into cases of bribery. When the Hon. and Learned Member made his motion this very objection was urged. He could not, therefore, consent to the motion of the Hon. Member for Liskeard. Lord SANDON said the real question before the House was whether the case of Bridport was parallel to the other cases which had been referred to the Com mitteee of the Hon. and Learned Member for Bath, the question that the case of Bridport be inquired into was already decided. Now in the case of Bridport it was ac knowledged that compromises had taken place, and the gentleman who presented the petition stated that he entered into those compromises in order to screen certain electors.—(Hear.) He therefore thought that Bridport stood in the same category with the other boroughs, and for that reason he would vote for its being referred to the Committee, which was obtained by the Hon. and Learned Member for Bath.—(Cheers.) The House had nothing whatever to do with the motives which induced ' parties to bring this case forward.—(Hear.) It was enough to know that compromises had taken place. Mr. ROEBUCK trusted the House would permit him to defend himself against the charge which had been brought against him. He had been accused of having adopted an unjustifiable proceeding. He had made a motion. It was complained that the motion was not suf ficiently definite ; lie had altered it, still it was not considered sufficiently definite. He had made a third attempt, in which he had succeeded, and had introduced certain alterations at the suggestion of the Right Hon. Baronet at the head of the Government. At that time the House was full. Every Member's attention had been drawn to the subject. One Hon. Member, who hid, since given notice of, a motion on the subject, had actually alluded to this very case of Bridport. How, therefore, could he be accused of anything unjustifiable ? It was absurd to imagine that he Could palm off a motion in that way on such acute men as the Right Hon. Baronet, • and the Noble Lord the Member for London. He trusted therefore, that he stood acquitted before the House and the country of having had recourse to any unjustifiable proceeding. Mr. DARBY explained. He had never meant to cast any imputation on the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, who had quite misapprehended the purport of his observation. After a few words from Sir Jorot WALL . 11, strangers were . ordered to withdraw, and the House di %tided — -- For referring the case to the Committee •.•. 44 ' Against it IVlajority —2B WITNESSES INDEMNITY BILL The second reading of the Bill was deferred till Friday. The other Or:lers of the' Day were disposed of, and the House adjourned at a Quarter to Two o'Clock. PROCESSION OF THE TWO HOUSES 'TO PRESENT THE ADDRESS. The scene outside the House was of the most animated de scription. The sun shone brilliantly, and a finer day could not have been selected to add lustre to so e n li v e nin g a scene. At half-pact two the Speaker left the House in his elegan t state carriage, and he was immediately followed by the other Hon. Members in rapid succession. ihe Lord Chancellor and the Peers also set out at the same hour. As we have stated in another part of our columns, their Lordships and the Mann; - bers were all in full dress; add to this, the magnificence w the equipages, the noble-lookinz horses with rosettes in -their thr heads, the glittering harness, and last, though not lest, gaudy dresses of the servants ; and we thin k our readers will I easily imagine that such a scene as we describe, is -not to be witnessed every day in our mighty city. A few slight cow temps occurred, such as the breaking of a few carriage legar , and the splintering of a pole or two, but there was nothing happened of which we h ear d •of a nor e serious character. We need scarcely add t ha t the whole 0 4 1 from the Houses to St. James's Palace was lined with noxious spectators. We did not observe any particular marks eitheer of respect or disrespect paid to any Me mber of either How. All passed off very quietly. On the arrival of the Members of the two Houses st the Palace, they were most loudly cheered by the assembled multi' tulle. Never before has there been so full an attendance of Pee rs • and Members of Parliament to go up with an address. On her return from St. James's Palace to Buckingham r lace, her Majesty wasgreeted with the most enthusiastic cheer" ing, as she had been on her way to St. James's in the morning; Her Majesty repeatedly acknowledged the einigratulations 0, her subjects by bowing gracefully. It seemed as though h er , Majesty took pains to show her subjects the unbounded vat' she reposed in their loyalty and devotion. --- ELECTION COMMITTEE. BELFAST. The Committee selected to try the merits of the petits"iinci co mplaining of the undue return of Mr. Emerson T e nnent s Mr. J. Johnson, for the borough of Belfast, met at eleres ,o 4 o'clock yesterday in Committee-loom No. 2. The following Members composed the Committee :--11r"1$' I 1$ Hayter, Chairman, Sir A. L. Hay, Mr. Ward, Captain hill, Mr. Baldwin, Mr. W. Barge , and Capt ain H. Bere &: , The Counsel engaged for the petitioners are Mr. Austen, IL Cockburn, and Mr. Leahey ; Agent. Mr. Coppock ; for s itting Members, Mr. sergeant Wrangham , Mr. Talbot, $ll Mr. Whiteside; Agent, Mr. Bates. The Clerk said there were three petitions, two froth' Lo rd Innishowen and Carrickfergus , and one from the el ectors, r°""' plaining of bribery. The CHAIRMA N asked if it would not be better to have the room cleared to come to the usual resolutions ? ' Mr. AUSTIN said, it was the mote usual course to hale I. petition first read. Mr. TALBOT said that, before the petition was read, it heel his painful but bounden duty to make an application to g Committee. The Learned Gentleman who had the condo oso of the case was Mr. Sergeant Wrangham, and It was only 1 0 ', the last half hour be (Mr. Talbot) was informed that Mr. geant Wrangham was not, in a condition to attend this day. 1 0 4 held in his hands a note from him , in which he stated W t s e was confined to his bed—that he hoped he would be ableii attend to-morrow, but that it was impossible be C 0 do so this day. Although he (Mr. Talbot) " .. n s not shrink from any duty which may be cast uPi e him he hoped that the Committee , and more particularly ti, Hon. Chairman who belonged to the same profession 0,',0 himself, feeling that a larger share of responsibility a ttachea o , the person who conducted the case , and that he was himself ti prepared to discuss a question which he d id not sa y would, '''of which may arise, would adjourn until he had an opportuni t i t e conferring, with his Learned Friend on the subject. It was n' $ ; 0 11 communis famae that such a question may arise, b ec a u se it d been made matter of discussion in the House of Common 4, $ he wished to consult with his Learned Friend on the subject Dot Mr. AUSTEN said that under the circumstances it ws , his intention to offer any opposition to the application. Ile seen the note to which Mr. Talbot referred, and it 0 01 / happen to any of theni to be in the same position. He sb ° not therefore offer the slightest objection. The CHAIRMAN—Had we not better adjourn; then, to alder the resolutions I spoke of before. Mr. AUSTEN was afraid the Committee could not c° any decision, considering the question that may arise. The CHAIRMAN—Then lam afraid we 'll be sb' e come to any resolution. Mr. AUSTEN—The Committee might (II and agree upon resolutions they were to prom The Committee then adjourned till ele row, but remained in the room some time lutions. The petitions were not read, but we be they contain are those of bribery, obstructs and intimidation. THE STRATHBOGIE M (Abridged from the Edinburgh A meeting of the General A,seml Monday last, the 30th inst., when Robertson, minister of Ellin, the Re minister of Lamington, the Rev. Dr. the Rev. John Wilson, of Walston, House ; as also the Rev. Alexander C Rayne, Rev. Dr. James Grant, ministf Rev. Dr. Stirling, minister of Galston minister of Haddington, Rev. Thom Lpgiepert, Rev. George Peter, ministi Rev. William Mearns, missionary at taken. their places at the bar, Dr. GORDON read the Report of pointed to deal with the eleven breth appeared that the parties adhered to declarations they had previously avow Dr. COOK stated for himself, and fr tained the same views as he did, that I protest they had formerly given in, a, interfere in the case. A Protest was then presented, is eleven brethren, bearing their respect natures, as enumerated above. Dr. MAKELLAR moved that the suspended from their judicial functi , their respective Presbyteries, and of Church judicatories, aye and until tl of March next. Mr. BUCHAN, of Kellee, seconded t Judgment of suspensions was acc the House, after which the parties en against the sentence. THE MARKETS.-YE .e will not be aoi. discuss the questio. romulgato to,. morO ct men o'clock to- 0 ,. e discussing the r' ,;00 relieve the allegs..l3o tion, illegal dec isis —... VIINiSTE O i Advertiser.) 411, sbly took, pla c ed' n the r Rev. P f ! ley. Charles 11()111 Jamesitryce? 110, n, members o f t .oi Cushnie, mini o lo , ter of Soutlt I' ',.i, n, Rer. John u ° / ins Hill, mini ster t ter of Kenmay, ii Glenrienes, o' o'l! the Committee iren, from whic:lll the principles wed and rook- , for those who env:, they adhered to t' l 4 ` and resolved cot' '. °1 a the name 0,4 , :five names and 7 r Y. several minist er :/ ions as, inemb!i.iY f the ' other •54 4 5 1; the first Wedne .. the motion. j :ordingly pai s— . ntered their r . iMIIIIIMII A 1 ' iISTER PA 3E. .-„. Pi have been snnaotso the trade in a du,,"., e ?rices. • Flour 4 " :ET. ais ej, :i t prices were s'',",t" nail. Raw Sal? ' lumps, Os. 6c l. " ii • 4 ,4 .2 were not di 3 O-ce i s Conine., Is. c 4 ET. „oh' Y. C. on the s e a The stock i' he ; T. I, but Brand)" filj j flat, at 10s. Pell b r :et.day, 23 I , 01 raddyll'sHattoll "‘I Pei Hetton ...."5 ; ,:f 1 tdLamhton ..... ,: a , id Musgrove ..,";., l t i.. nd hteivot s .••''',- 5) id Whitwell ...,..,, o f ) nd Tees Hewn :,, )1 d'l eta ••• • ,,, ,, ,A .. "....., ,A 1 8."411:::;i:;*; ......... nech Coal ...... •-•::.;!? ad Elgin ........• ..., nented deat h eri tom to be csit °I 0r i f 0 the eztensilool',l convenience , 1 0 1 l ,r ' ' ma a 'sudden o i 4 ,ve undertake) 4, the creditor s t D o' If n the chair , `..' Al' read a' stat e , sd t 049,0 181. 'ilt i l ingto 37,6711', 6" for which 50002 .. J. M. F ie ,es r dto manage .: y 4 cutter rilf l i ili 'ersity rowe l I Regatta 0° bi. 1 I Thames Y ec t) ' i forward to f l i Oje r ly known t „,,;1 , large coneolirjel alace to St. ;', f. 4, The earriali 041? k, by which $, t itl: i by thouss". r!. t1.,11' i or 1 d stools, 043 ,„ 0 late nto the l'er; Do t view of th e ' J b k p t tb P lig illppoSe_ 00 en m tow ? of , { ges , ,„o 4 , 'ship, Br, tl-06'',01 .orn Osts!"" , s f k Tower,efte' of w- lv i l / don, the is , daughtcr" of (t* ' ,of Bri%tee, wif th e stroinster, , 0 [ghter• be ll . k, of oite j , , j su.eg• ~,,,,,,,,, D , .oer.,, ~,,,„, „on, Jones j t Aebes°°' vie CORN EXCHANG The arrivals of Grain since Monday h. weather being so remarkably fine keeps t 1 and every article remains at Monday's pi sell quite so easily as of late. COLONIAL MARK Transactions were on a small scale, but and the quantity pressed for sale was sm steadily, but Refined was dull ; standard ' TEA MARKET. The Market was very dull, but holders submit to any further decline, Company's TALLOW MARLE' Holders were firm at 48s. 6d. for P. Y the trade operated with much caution. ' SPIRIT MARKS' Rum met with a fair sale at full rates, of sale, and prices lower. Corn Spirits COAL MARKET. Ships arrived since last market. •,. d. Bell, Robson k Co. Hartley 16 9 W. E. Brad Carr's Hartley Holvwell Main Nelson's West Hartley...." 17 5 Walls En, New Tanfield M00r... Ord's ltedheugh ll 6 Walls End South Pontop West Wylam la 3 Wal s E Wylam Walls End Clennell . Walls End Killineworth Walls End Wharncliffe. l7 6 I.langennt Walls Endßelmont Hrrenni.—The sudden and lam, Pierson has caused an inconceivable glo, town ; and we understand that owing to modatien afforded by his bank, great incur tress, will be caused to those upon whor now be made by the inspectors, who haw up the affairs of the bank. A meeting of en the 20th ult., the Rev. F. Sullivan in Mason. the solicitor for Mr. Pierson, rt which it appeared the liabilities amounted to meet which there were assetsamounting leaving a deficiency of 2,3461. 4s. &L. estates of the late Mr. Pierson and. Mr. ample. A Committee has been appointed and put them in order. SPORTING. — The eight-oared tween the Oxford and Cambridge Univers'. place on the 11th, and the grand Henley and 15th inst. The feats of the Royal which come off en Saturday, are looked interest. Although it w•as not generally Majesty would hold a levee yesterday, a large sons assembled from . Buckingham Pals on the first appearance of preparation. to arrive at St. James's about one o'clock, along the line described, was thronged police s on the present• occasion, allowed or anything of the kind, to be taken in► that the public might obtain a perfect Queen.. STRANGERS IN TOWN.—It is S _fifty thousand strangers will have bee: present week. —New York Herald. The Antwerp Company's steam• tain Main, arrived on Tuesday morning from her passengers at St. Katherine's wharf, T of thirteen hours. BIRTH& On the 29th ult., at Effra-grove, Brixf Rev. Evan Edward Rowsell, A.M., of a On the 29th ult., Mrs. Henry Campin,t boys. On the 31st ult., in Park-street, West Richard Rushton Preston, Esq., of a daugh MARRIED. On the 26th ult., Mr. Peter Horlick, Miss Mary Ann Heath, of Pulhorough, Si On the 28th ult., at St. George's, Hat Bence Jones, Esq., M.D., son of Cel Dragoon Guards), to the Lady .Millicent the Right Hon. the Earl of Gosford. On the 31,t ult., at Hillingdon Churpeici3'll-7e°11:6, Bullock, of High Holborn, to Miss Green 0 1 I I 61 r . DIED. a i t eti On the 30th ult. ,in Thayer street, Mr. Jac,.°oo6 i ota On the 31st ult., Sarah, the wife of Mr' Camberwell New-road. f ' 4lr. o ti rl On the 28th ult., at Deal, Martha, th e vri.e Dallaway, aged 90. r "o osta a 0 f a' On the 21st ult., at Emmishofen, nea st George James Hope Johnstone, R.N. o° )ii On the 26th ult., the Rev. William linrrao , t s t. whartorlo f Stanwick, York• w ife ° c au, 0( Os *a %halts, Chelstieki, Kent, " ar • , Warlug, n ) 113:04) - - London t. Printed and Published Al tl ic i 7 1 r1i 5 41. No. 112, Strang, at The SuP• O ffi ce , a pe 2r . the County of Middlesex, Thursday', s Lav e Vane NEV OLI EC ALE Ap tNalif Ne 1 1 7'° i at, st 'l,, t , i , , Nti: