The Sun. — London, England, 1849-02-07 00:00:00

EAST INDIA HOUSE. (THIS DAY.) A Special General Court of the Proprietors of tbi. Company was held to-day, at twelve o'clock, at the East Irdia House, at the desire of nine Proprietors of East India Stock, as expressed in the following letter : " London, January 17, IS4O. " To the Chairman and Directors of the East In iia ComPany. " Honourable Sirs, " We, the undersigned Proprietors of East India Stoclr, duly qua lified by law, request that you will convene, at your earliest conve nience, a Special General Court of Proprietor% for the purpose of t aking into consideration the accompanying Resolutions, and that You Will be pleased to publish the same with this, ear requisition. " We have the honour to be, " Honourable Sirs, • " Your obedient Servants, "JOSEPH HUME. " ARTHUR J. LEWIS. "J. SULLIVAN. "CHARLES FORBES. "JOHN POYNDER. "GEORGE FORBES. " JOHN BRIGGS. "CHARLES GRANT. "J. W. GRAHAM." "That by the treaty concluded between the East nil a Company and his late Highness Pertaub Singh, Raja of Sattara, on the 25th September, 1819, the territories of Sattara were secured to him and to • his heirs in perpetual sovereignty. That by the supplemental treaty of September, 1839, the said territories were confirmed to his brother Appa Sahib, as the next collateral heir and successor, and to his heirs, on the saws terms as specified in the treaty of September, 18;9. That this Court has heard with feelings of the deepest surprise and alarm of the contemplated seizure, confiscation, and annexation, by the East India Company, of the Sattara territories, in v i o l a ti on o f the rights of the lawful heir ; believing, as this Court does, that such seizure, confiscation, and annexation would be a most flagrant breach of the said treaties so solemnly entered into and confirmed, would be a disgrace and stain upon the British character, and would se riously weaken the confidence hitherto reposed by the princes and people of India in the justice and good faith of the East India Com pany and of the British Government. " That under such circumstances this Court deems It to be their imperative duty to declare their solemn conviction of the impolicy and danger, no less than of the Injustice of such a proceeding, and to express their earnest hope that the Court of Directors and the Board of Control will withhold their sanction from such a measure." "JAMES C. MELVILL, Secretary. The attendance of proprietors was very large. Sir S. Lushington took the chair at the appointed hour. Mr. HUME, M.P., rose and said—Mr., Chairman, as ono of those who have been instrumental in calling together this Court, and as the proprietors will no, doubt expect some explanations as to the grounds on which they have been called together, and the object which the requisitionists have in view, I will proceed at'once briefly to state them. It will be remembered, that in December a Court was summoned. I was one of those who signed the requisition; but, being absent from town, I was unable to attend. The object of that meeting. was to ascertain whether the Court of Directors contemplated the suspension of the treaty made with the late Raja of Sattara, and thus to deprive his heirs of the property which appeared legitimately to belong to them by right. I confess I was among those who believed that no such Proceedings could take place without 'some further infer !alio!), which the Directors were not then, however much they may be now, possessed of. Had I been presente at that meeting I should have moved adjournment of the Court, on the an nouncement of the Chairman that the whole matter was under the consideration of the Court, toge ther with the papers which had just then arrived from Ind ia. —(Rear, hear.) Such was my impression, and I I,lubsequently took an opportunity of stating that was my 1131 P re ssion to some of the Directors whom I now see within the bar. I regretted much that any discussion sho uld have taken place at that meeting, as I am convinced that any discu ss ion, without the documents t~eessary to form a sound opinion, must inevitably lead Varriving at a conclusion opposite to that which we r n ould arrive at if we had bad an opportunity of pe seuohing the requisite documents. The possession of e means of judging are necessary before we can ° l ll te to a sound conclusion upon all the questions which ; s gage the att ent i on o f t h e C ourt , b ut more es p ec i a lly is a course necessary when we have to decide upon P ub lic questions of great importance; and this question i t t . i one in which are involved the most momentous condi tions If, Sir , I am correctly informed, after Mr. et ' s , in the sence of Mr. Sullivan, had made his thatement and submitted his motion, upon which the De p ut y Chairman rote up and proposed onthernadojtoinoranment of the Court, you said that the for the adjournment was submitted ground that the question was receiving the .con siderationthe directors , of the directors, that is was sub judice before theetors, who would bring to it the best considera tioneY were enabled to do. You went on to state, that as the papers which had ly ar . rived from India weree.. under the consideration oft he directors, it would e . al Lar better to adjourn the Court, in order to afford SL e for their production and perusal by the proprietors. That.nn statement would have induced me to advise my Zerourable and Learned Friend to postpone any fur s_ s remarks until the directors and the proprietors had agZru I an opp ortun i ty of considering the papers. Now, ~e , apprehe n d th at w h at was state d t h en l e d t h e pro t_etors to i mag i ne t h at the papers conta i ne d somet hi ng b Qw-- something whi c h h a d not up to that time been r l eught before us i n thi s C ou rt. It is quite possible that tI es e Papers may be of a very important nature, and ~Y tend i n a great measure to alter the opinion which "" h ave formed. I d o n ot know that this is likely,but I that I have stated with respect to nclycsteilofnmoy ail tr ue • . svitn regard to others. beTo h r e e the proprietors can Papers Papers is ebsolutely . necessary 4.l(ionatnhehonaett o rs pi h n r io n n u , g d a c ry ome to an equitable deciaion ht before them; and it would be must unfair, I think, to the whole of the proprietors for the directors to come to a decision with respect to a questi on which has been so long before the public, until the fullest information has been afforded them. Now, Sir, the Court ajourned to give the directors an opportu nity of producing - these papers. lam sorry to see the Chairman shake his heade—(Laughter.) I would merely observe that a conventional feeling guides the conduct of ' gentlemen is every - station, and in every court, by which a fair opportunity is afforded to every o ° o of candidly expressing his opinion before a deter Inination is arrived at:---(Hear, hear.) lam sure every m an in the Court as well as myself, had I been present, would have concurre d i n t h e a dj ournment, an d concurred it in the belief that the Court of Directors wished for ' 6 l ,short time to consider as to the course which they tL'll'3°ld adopt.—(Hear, hear.) I understood, in fact, the the 3d day of January had been fixed as sop day on which they were to meet the Itosprietors, and to explain what they intended to do, s:2°,,yould take their opinion as to its policy and justice. ~,,k_ile r, heir.) I say every man present , and every one h o full has read the remarks made on that occasion, must Ives' impressed with the belief that the documents p ee , e t ° be produced, and that the adjournment was pro eniat_,l order t h at t h ey m i g h t b e pr i nte d an d cir like wise '.g among the Proprietors, and that they ofmight be enabled to have an opportunity e eomine s - ant out e . 0 a decision before any orders were •---.(o h to India with respect to the territory of Sattara. high s e t er . B .) Now it is quite possible that men in stay ado ions may resort to expedients to deceive, they ; a 1 a a y nd such Opt a course inconsistent with fair dealing, but 41 the conduct will not answer with the public. st a te -again, therefore, that the fair interpretation of the I h e nt of the Ch • ave at i airman at the last meeting was what Pap er s tate d _—that the Proprietors were to have the th 5 before them; and having had these papers berore em, at th Which i s eY ere then to take the whole question_ rot, l one _ of the greatest importance—into consider. t: , hai mula u , nl sorry to find, from the intimation of the ..pnaii ttt the tilluation was th t he denies that any such in given. Your intention, then, seems to tl 4ve been gain time. It was stated by an Hon. Gen ur adieus last meeting who objected to the question Pa- e -- rinlent, that they might again meet without the te.,ii. Papers having been " 40 , '. y ou produced, and that they might be iesira:ituethhaeyt_atuh_ eahraevteoo late —the question has been decided - denied, . , no longer any right to interfere." Ilai distils° that tors was Y 7 °lll d te,k„ would so act was repudiated— ertlecytersltch an advantage of the proprie sh E s of the Now, Sir, I complain on be at th It ass' that that the e promi we; held, to adjourn,andthe th e a Court . we have been deceived — h -13 enments fin n pled o g rd e er given, L e _en br e k e , s. _ s t... o m India should be published, have ve: not p " ro lblear.) ed . I complain that the Directors ve a . deci" - these papers, and they have come orrdnrgent, to n' - in conjunction with the Go „e era have . seize the Satter°, territory, and Z.the whole sent ?ter sent out for ' the appropriation 4thout re " fer l e territory of Sattara to the Company th th e de ri ce to any provision for the heirs s e t t ease, teased R a j a . Now, Sir, if that is eetnen moret I d iftve out e to say that a trans nt.zi tuj;iscreditable, more dishonourable, and r z l4 lic tniod,i_ likelyhas to have a deep effect upon the Pe!ieee_ The never in my long life been my lot to t ors Is ' 4 rhe charge I thus make against the Direc- Plai . a serious o, Q_ one, and must be investigated. I com• neon C s ir, that you have stolen a march es; i 7_ Proprietors , to use a common phrase. Von us m ‘'_ore_ . plain that you have stolen a march I :,r, if i t 4 36 r nnfairly, most improperly, and I ask you, ° Y v s ight that you should have acted thus, and his Jou refused toafford Rap ers? Y of discussine the the Proprietors an opportu . „IsOn what ground have after the production of the fo r "' We possess f,f ave you denied to us the right i e e sp ecially• discussin g all matters such as this, k one in which COllee the honour of the / 11 , 4 rned, the faith of treaties, company ‘. l nr of the English nation is invol and d the cha ilear, hear.") For, Sir, if there is ve ?—cOries of tt:rOitable than' another, it is that theything more faith of - d ICS entered into between state and state th in g s more ea u . L enly violated , And, Sir, I feel this the should be aa d 'e during the long period I have been a, more b•a thi, ott all occasions in which I h oprietor, have attended sa e Court AI - ce ll ,s, have repeatedly stated that the t a of ° th e the East India Company- was not owing m ore had n - °wee of its arms than to the good faith which it °taint - held, e , amed with native chiefs; and I have alway s goed,,,Qtr, that the combinations of native chiefs for no ee ea tl e see tl3 ° B o were broken asunder and rendered powerless, wan - -es siren th in • e,Y*l4,, e _ g ened his relations with this corn be Y . e etlie "ae they had no confidence in each other, as C o Pli t i t f u.not be trusted, and that they put the most f s i ll attr w l t tti b- in this company on account of the strict prat' or all Which it had kept, before the wort I, the 4 etl th hi % * Sir , 6 , eng agements into which it had chit-red; ''t beer' You are about Lu b, teak ugreewelits which . entered into with you in good faith—if you are 'HE )N. e por- ced to hes of )n ap ien of ument tubers imilar way, invite le tie sub- mally or re- !lasses bores; upon tee as n ge ?; not, ,11 who Free ises - to them. unma ig that ►use of 3any a a be ncy of a bore there y feel, be no eknea 1 tend .etedly again night t, and •ement Auced eaving eechei onsent )37 . the ,hough mends ar can num- goes ) rou- ) very orator ir; but ice till s ever. crying end to "you ed my House orator would .mbers, would (ration. iarsher Dg. It ) intro- answer lumber ie very me out among 3 some 3ncy. irtinent of the 'don of d their parties, lest for he did pension t might rwards. e, who he will Ee one on the to; for ere was ith the to be roposed at all uded in ie One The livisioa DAY. rn Ter- His on and I morn- ities as e Cap ,ties as tended Queen ;astle. formed Adieu. an ini. ,rnoon, were— quis of Vis of the .11, the lat one li Earl )1 Mr. rilliam erview Is and 'ester- icellor nce in tation Hon. and of lonial lies. taken) 1 aget o 2)— ) to 1 i to 1 Saucy aken). 1 agst -aldine ) agst (t)-- THE SUN, LONDON, about to set aside treaties solemnly entered into without the sanction of the Proprietor 3, who by the tenor of the i Act of Parliament un d e r which we are incorporated are themselves Governors, and you are only appointed by them to carry on the government, that confidence which has been heretofore reposed in you will be irre shaken.—(Hear.) I say you have acted most Prauanfabiriry, because you lel us to expect that our decision would be sought upon the matter before you came to a final decision. Under these cir cumstances I will not enter into the general ques tion whether treaties have been violated or not, whether a young man who had been named as the suceessor of the deceased Raja, both by adoption and lineal descent, is ent.tled to the territory; and I be lieve the person who claims to be the heir to the territory has been indicated by the 1-de Governor-General, Sir Robert Grant, as the real heir—indicated, too, as such in all your docutneats. The que - tion of his right, therefore, is quite inde dendent of the question whether Pertaub Singh has betrayed or violated the treaty. Th e quest i on i s , is his family to be punished for any acts of which he may or may not have been guilty? Mr. CLARXB said the Hon. Proprietor was out of order, unless he intended to conclude with a motion. - _ Mr. HUME replied that the Hon. Proprietor must know little of his practice it he thought that he intended to conclude without a motion.—(Laughter.) He was not, however, about to enter into the general question. He merely wished to state that the successor of the deceased Raja must not be held, in common parlance, implicated in any of the guilt which was laid to the charge of his grand uncle. Having been informed by the First Minister of the Crown that it was a , fact that orders had gone oar, with the approbation of the Board of Control, to confiscate the Sattara territory, he expressed his sincere regret that the Directors had adopted so precipitate and uncalled-for a step, he begged to move that the Court do adjourn for a fortnight or three weeks, in order that the papers might be in the hands of the Proprietors. By law, he believed that the Pro prietors were entitled to copies of all documents which were laid before the House of Commons. He had spoken thus strongly because he felt strongly the dis grace—he would call it the infamy, which attached to every one connected with the East India Company, in consequence of the course it had adopted. If disgrace attached to persons in private life who committed a glaring breach of faith, how much more so must they condemn a great Company who committed such an act as this? It was not so much with respect to the stain of the deceased Raja's family that he spoke thus, but of the faith of the treaties which were about to be violated. and the disgrace which would thereby be brought upon his name. The Honourable Gentleman subsequently amended his motion, and moved for copies of the papers which he had moved for in thEr House of Com mons, in order that they might be circulated among the Proprietors.—(Cheers.) The CHAIRMAN said he had no hesitation nor objec tion on the part of the Directors to have the papers re ferred to published and circulated arnoag the Pro prietors.—(Hear, bear.) The proposition for the ad journment of the Court could not receive the assent of the Directors. It wou'd take some time to prepare the papers, and when the Proprietors had perused them, the Directors would be happy to • attend to any requisition that might be presented to them for the purpose of calling another meeting.—(Hear.) He cou►d not, however, resume his seat without calling the atten tion of the Court to the very hard terms in which the Hon. Proprietor had spoken of the Directors.—(Hear, hear.) At the last meeting he did not make use of the observation which the Hon. Gentleman had imputed to him. Indeed it would have been most unconstitutional in him to place executive powers in the hands of the Proprietors. A PROPRIETOR rose to order. The motion had not been seconded. Mr. HUME then proposed Ms motion in express terms— " That the papers connected with tho appropriation of the Sattara territory, and the decision of the Court, and any minutes connected with that decision, should be laid before the Proprietors as speedily as possible." He had consulted the President of the Board of Control on the subject, and he was of opinion that that was the best form in which to frame his motion. Mr. LEwis seconded the proposition. Mr. CLARKE said no pledga was given by the Chairman at the last meeting that he should produce any of the papers.—(Hear) No such inference or deduction could be made from the observations which the Chairman sub mitted to the meeting. The Cl/AIRMAN - was glad the Honourable Pro prietor had made the statements he had, as it prevented him from replying to the hard terms used towards himself and the Directors by the Hon. Proprietor (Mr. Hume). He could only truly and distinctly state that no pledge of the kind was given to the Court of Proprietors. He only said that the papers had arrived, and that they were sub judice under the consideration of the Directors. It never, he assured the Proprietors, entered his mind that first of all they were to be submitted to the Court of Proprietors, They were not the executive government ; the time had not arrived when the directors were to surrender that power to the Proprietors. The Honourable Member had been correctly informed by the First Minister of the Crown, that the question of the right to the territory of Sattara had been settled in con junction with the Board of Control, and that the confis cation of the territory had been determined upon. It was not improper .for the Proprietors to discuss the mat ter then, but it appeared to him that they would not be in a position to give a fair opinion until they had had an opportunity of perusing those papers which, as he had said, would be circulated among them with the least possible delay. He was unwilling to name any parti cular day for the adjournment of the Court. When the Proprietors had made themselves acquainted with their contents another meeting might be called by requisition. Mr. DONALDSON said he was present at the last meet ing, and certainly his impression of what the Chairman stated with regard to the production of the papers was ex icily as that stated by the Hon. Gentleman who had just sat down.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. LEWIS, as the mover of the resolution:at the last meeting, might, perhaps, be allowed to state what his impression was upon the subject. When he had con cluded by moving his resolution, and after he had stated his arguments in support of it, and it had been duly seconded, the Chairman rose and stated that he felt it to be his duty to adjourn the Court -on the ground that the time had not Arrived for the consideration of the subject, as it formed a matter then under the deliberation of the Court of Directors.— (Hear, hear.) Now he put it to any person who heard that statement whether the plain and only intelligible inference to be drawn from that declaration was not that before an actual decision was come to on the Sat tare question, and before a final dispatch was sent out to India confirming the decision, that Court would have an opportunity of stating their views and opinions on the matter?—(Bear, hear.) That was the plain and common sense inference to be drawn from the Chairman's statement. True, he did not actually say that the papers should be laid before them, but the only inference to be drawn from the tone and manner of the Chairman was, that the papers would be forthcoming, and the Court would have an )they opportunity of fully and impartially discussing the question before the Executive came to a final decision upon it. That was the natural inference which the statement of the Chairman led to; although he did not mean to say that the Chairman made any pledge, but he represented that it was dis tinctly understood that they should have an opportunity of discussing th's question before the dispatch was sent out.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. lIEWSON really could not understand what ground of complaint the gentlemen who had been instrumental in calling the meeting could urge against the Directors. The Honourable Gentleman who had just addressed them said they were to have another opportunity of discussing the question. For his part, however, he thought they had already had the fullest opportunity for discussion and placing their opinions before the Court of Directors, who, no doubt, had given them all the consideration that they were worth. —(Hear, hear.) The Court of Directors was the only tribunal to decide the question. The Court of Pro prietors might give its opinion upon it, and the Hon. Gentleman who had just sat down and his friends en tered at large into their views at the last Court, and he was quite surprised that the Honourable Gentleman who had introduced the question today had not well consi dered the proceedings of the last Court before he ven tured to make such sweeping charges against the Court of Directors.—(llear, hear.) It was an odd thing that he should now bs called upon to defend the con sistency of the gentlemen who took part in the discussion at the last Court, who had certainly pat a construction upon the;statement of the chairman which by no means justified his being told that his conduct and that of his co-directors was repugnant to every principle of honesty or fair dealing, and a violation of good faith and the law of na tions, and calculated to cast an indelible slur and stain -upon the character of the Company.—(Bear, hear.) How could that be? The Hon. Gentleman sag-. matised their conduct in those terms because they had not allowed the question to be discussed before they came to a decision upon it. Why the Honourable Gen tleman who introduced the resolution at the last Court entered into long arguments to prove the truth of his position, and he was followed, true, not at great length, by a seconder, who insisted that, according to the laws and usages of India, the heir a the late R ije, ought to be adopted and acknowledged by the Court.—(Hear, hear.) Well, then, these gentlemen, and every man who attended the Court, had had an ample opportunity of giving their opinion upon the subject. At the last Court, the fullest latitude was given to them for doing so, while the directors in no way attempted to stop the investigation. No doubt the directors were dis posed to be influenced by that discussion as far as • its merits deserved, and he was quite convinced they considered and duly weighed the arguments adduced, on the last occasion of their meeting, before they came to the resolution to send out the dispatch ; and he was satisfied they were undeserving of the vituperation which had been heaped upon them. Major OLIPHANT said, it appeared to him that there was very little difference of opinion amongst them on the point in dispute; but he could assure the proprietors that the majority of the gentlemen behind the bar would be ready and willing to give their reasons for the course already they had pursued when the Court met again. In the mean te time he might perhaps be allowed to state that could see co n was no difference of opinion in the Court of Directors upon the question, and as lithe Chairman had Consented to tfoortahneypfruordthucetriodniscouf papers,discussion.—(Hear,) Sir ,y. w . n (l i e a r h , e ) league that th ocG agreed with his honourable col the Direction ere was no difference of opinion in papers for ove n: . to the propriety of producing the Proprietor or 3 gentleman, no matti-r whether a a Director,' was equally int,?rested iu the settlement therefore highl • y d el,ir o a l bl k publ this question. It was laid efore the public; that the papers should be oi and the matter disposed of as speedily as possible.—(Hear, he sr.) He thought no person who had read the discussion which took Dlue at the last Court could sympathise with the sentiments of the Honourable Gentleman who had opened the debate.—(Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Hume) made charges against his Hon. Friend the Chair men of this Court, in language which he was sure the Hon. Gentleman would regret when he read it over in his cooler moments. The Hon. Gentleman made use of the words " dishonourable," " disgraceful," and " ill-advised," and the only comment he should make upon them might be compressed into one sentence. They fell harmless upon his ,Hon. Friend the Chairman, and only proved injurious to the person who had used them. But he was more astonished at the doctrine the Honourable Gentleman had laid down with regard to the constitution of the Court of Directors and the formation of the Company, and he was the more surprised at this doctrine, because it came from the lips of a gentleman who was supposed to b 3 an authority on matters connected with India. They were told by . the Hon. Gentleman that the Court of Proprietors formed the Executive Government.—(No, no.) Some gentlemen cried " No, no," but that ,was the meaning of what the Hon. Gentleman said ; but if that was not the meaning of what he said, his words and observations were altogether devoid of meaning. He said it was the province of the Court of Proprietors to determine the powers of their executive, but he very much doubted whether the Hon. Gentleman would be: able to sustain that doctrine. Now, how stood this matter? When the discussion took place at the last meeting, his Hon. Friend the Chairman said the question was sub judice. Then said the Hon. Proprietor who introduced this mo tion, it was the duty of the Directors, according to the Constitutional Government of India, before they decided upon the question—before they communicated their decision to the department who co-operated with them in the affairs of India—to call the Proprietors together and consult them upon it.—(Hear, hear.) Now, that was the statement of the Honourable Gentleman, but he (Sir J. Hogg) denied that that was the constitutional Government of India. Everybody could see the peril and the error at once of allow ing a controlling body to form part of the Exe cutive Government. It would be an endless source of danger for the Executive Government to be continually consulting the proprietary body upon matters like these. They had example of this every day—every session they bad example of this, more par ticularly in the Foreign Department of the Executive Government. A question was asked respect ing some matters pending, in the course of negotiation, and the Foreign Secretary rose and stated that the matter was sub judice. It was under considera tion, and :he could not answer the question for rea sons which the Executive Government and the Minister representing her Majesty did not feel disposed to state. P, rhaps a week or a fortnight afterwards the same question was repeated, and the Member was informed that the thing was done—accom plished; but the Minister was willing and ready to lay the papers before the House, that parties might pass their judgment upon the conduct of the Executive Government. then some one jumped up and said " We are always too late or always too soon," upon which the Minister replied that be had acted strictly in accordance with the constitu tion. If the constitution was wrong, alter it, but while it existed adhere to it. It was at least the duty of their Executive Government, to adhere to it, and there was, therefore, no cause of complaint. That was exactly the same in this Court. It was not competent for the Court of Directors to wait for the decision of the Proprie tors before they deti rmined any question ; but it would be physically and morally impossible to place;the government of this`Company in: a proprietary body numbering upwards of 2,000 persons. They were, therefore, bound to select some body to form an Execu tive. If, however, that system was wrong, it was com petent for the Proprietors to change it, or at least make an endeavour to do so, but do not let Hon. Proprietors get up in the manner they had just witnessed, and apply allorts of ill names to the Chairman and Directors, because they bad done their duty in acting according to the constitution and laws of the Company. (Hear, hear.) But when a man used harsh or hard language, it induced him to arrive at one of two conclusions, either the party using such language had a bad temper or a bad cause.— (Hear, hear, and laughter.) Now his Hon. Friend had not a bad temper. He was known in the House of Commons to be of an excellent temperament. He had been tried beyond all men in the House, and had been proved to be the man least open to give offence, and the least open to offence. It was admitted by common consent that, amidst the heat and strife of parties, he was one of ;he best tempered men in the House. He never said a bard thing of any body, and seldom or never took offence at any one, although he frequently had good cause to do so. The conclusion he had come to at all events was, that he never lost his temper, and he could not for the life of him help think ing that he must have a bad cause.—(Hear, hear.) It often struck him that whenever the Hon. Gentleman got up to speak upon this unfortunate Sattara question he felt a little uneasy in his temper. He could not help thinking that the Honourable Gentleman felt within himself as though he would rather say, " Alack-a-day, what a miserable hour it was when I first took up this unfortunate Sattara question. lam perfectly ashamed of it myself, and of the part I have taken in it."—(Hear, and laughter.) He could not for 1 the life of him, with all his constitutional good humour, preserve his usual equanimity of manner and feeling when he got up to speak upon this topic, and he (Sir J. W. Hogg) could not help thinking that the Hon. Gentleman heartily regretted that he was ever drawn into becoming the advocate of such a cause as this.—(Cheers.) Mr. Hume must really be allowed to say a word or two in explanation. Often as he had occasion to complain of the Honourable Baronet being in the wrong he bad never known him so far wrong as he was now.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) But, not withstanding the observations of the Hon. Baronet, he did not regret one word, or ono argument he had made use of; but he must complain that the Honourable Baronet bad taken his words without the previous remarks. What he said was this, the Court separated, as far as he knew, with the understanding that they were to be informed of the decision of the Court, and to have the papers before them before a final settlement was come to of the question. An adjournment took place upon that understanding, and it was in that belief that he made me of the words re ferred to.—(Hear, hear.) With regard to the ex planation of his Honourable Friend, in reference to the constitution of the ',Company, the instance he had mentioned was exactly in point, for upon one occasion he called for papers which were not produced. The Hon. Gentleman said, in that case, he (Mr. Hume) had no right to pass an opinion upon what followed, but what was the case? Why, when these papers were produced he himself moved in the House of Com mons a vote of censure upon the Minister for what he had done. It was, therefore, not inconsistent with the constitution to discuss the decision of the Directors, and his Honourable Friend, in future, when he got upon the high horse, would do well to take care that he did not ride him into the mud.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) He would not do more now than simply say that in applying the epithets he had done he did so sincerely, believing that the conduct of the Directors merited them, while he could assure the Hon. Baronet, and he would give him credit for truth, when he said the Hon. Baronet was mistaken in supposing that he (Mr. Hume) fancied his cause was a bad one.—(Hear, hear.) Sergeant GAZELEE gave it as his opinion that those repeated adjournments of the Courts called for special purposes were illegal and unconstitutional, and begged to give notice to the Hon. and Learned Gentleman who was then standing counsel of the Company, and who who was considered the highest authority in the kingdom upon such points, that at the next Court he should put a question to him upon that matter, and he hoped the Hoe. and Learned Gentleman would come prepared to give him an answer.—(Hear, hear.) A PROPRIETOR begged to asked if the notice of motion had any relation whatever to the question before them? The CHAIRMAN—It has nothing whatever to do with it. Mr. Sergeant GAZELEE said, however that might be, he was quite sure that the Honourabte and Learned Gentleman would make a note of his notice and be prepared to answer his question at the next meet ing. He would now proceed to the matter in discus sion. He had always expressed himself in that Court in courteous terms, and he had never failed to treat every one with courtesy and respect. He could not, however, help regretting that the Chairman had been placed in a most untortunate position, because, assuming for a moment that the epithets applied to the Hou. Gentleman were not applicable to him, it would, at all events, be admitted that he had been unfortunate in his words and expressions, if they had led to a misunder standing. It was a most extraordinary fact that in this Court when words were misunderstood, they were always misunderstood against the Proprietors and their rights, and in favour of the Directors.—(Laughter.) One would almost think that the words addressed from the chair were intended to be misunderstood, but he ven tured at the last meeting to warn the Proprietors that they ought to discuss the matter fully then, for he was quite certain that when they came again they would be told it was too late; but the words of the Chairman no doubt intentionally induced the meeting to think otherwise.—(Hear, hear.) He agreed with his Hon. Friend that the impression he and others went away with was, that the question was to be submitted to them sgain before any fresh decision was come to upon it, and it was a breach of good faith on the part of the Di rectors not to have kept that promise.—(Hear, hear.) The CHAIRMAN--I trust the Hon. and Learned Gen tleman will not misinterpret what I did say, but I will presently read to the Court what I said. I deny most posi tively that I intended such a construction to be put upon my words as to lead to a belief that the question of the Raja of Sattara would be submitted to their future consideration. Now this is what I did say, and whether the fact I have stated is correct or not the Proprietors will see. I should be ashamed of myself if I ever said a single word holding out a deceptive belief. The whole conduct of my life will gainsay anything of the sort. I will read now to the Court what I did say, and after that, I will not answer any further complaint that may be made. Mr. Sergeant GAZELEE-It is exceedingly disagree able to be interrupted in this way. The CHAIRMAN—I call you to order, because you make a most unwarrantable attack upon me. This is what was taken by the short-hand writer:— " It is not my intention to reply to the statements and arguments advanced as regards this case; when the pro per time arrives I shall he ready to express my opinion in regard to the appropriation of tlio Sattara territory; but in fact I am not prepared for it now, and therefore shall nut say a word in answer to the Run. Proprietor. I may state that the general questio4 is sub judice. All WEDNESDAY EVENING, the documents are before thi Directors, who will duly consider them, I am sure, with every attention to what is right and proper. I know they will act in con,istency with the expressed opinion of this Court, that it is bet'er to leave the matter at present in the hands of the Executive whom the Proprietors have no minated. All, therefore, I have to say is, that it will be in the recollection of the Court of Proprietors that, no longer ago than two or three months, a motion was made in substance precisely the same as this now before the Court of Proprietors. Under these circum stances, I am quite sure that I shall have the support of the Court in adopting the same course which was then taken—moving the adjournment of the Court. That is the course which was pursued on that occasion, and certainly should again be followed, now the matter is under the consideration of the Court of Directors. I therefore move that this Court do now wijourn." Now, if any Proprietor can put a construction upon that to the effect that before the Court of Directors came to any decisio n on t h e su bj ect , it w ould b n submitted to the Proprietors, I cannot egreo vtith him. I had: no intention whatever to hold out such an impression, for, as I said bcfore, it would have been unconstitutional for me to do so, as the Pro prietors have nothing to do with the decision; and Irmust confess that I am rather surprised that the Hon. and Learned Proprietor should have attacked me in the manner he has done. The DEPUTY-CHAIRMAN then rote to address the Court, but w as called to order by The CHAIRMAN, who reminded him that Mr. Sergeant Gazelee was in possession of the chair. Mr. Sergeant GAZELEE, after complaining of the unwarrantable interruption of the Deputy-Chairman, and complimenting the Chairman for his impartial conduct in putting his colleague down, proceeded to in sist, that with regard to the question of integrity and honour he stood upon an equal footing with the Chair man or any other member of the Court. The Chairman had read them his speech from the short-hand writer's notes, and he should be glad to know who it was that paid for those notes, or whether the short-hand writer was _paid only for reporting the Directors, or for reporting everything that occurred. If the latter, he must say that some very garbled reports had been made of his speeches, indeed in many instances his speeches had been so altered that he did not know them when he saw them again.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) Now, with regard to the subject -matter in dispute, lie did not impute any improper motives to the Chair, but be did maintain that the Chairman had been placed in an unfortunate position by his language at the- last Court having been misunderstood ; for, intentional or not, the words ad dressed from the chair induced a belief that another occa sion would be afforded them for discussing the question. But he must be allowed to enter his protest against the system which prevailed in that Court, whenever a troublesome question came on, of the Chairman moving an adjournment. He appreciated the value of the entertainments and good :dinners given at the East India house as much as any man, ' but neither good dinners nor any other in ducement ought to lead to the shirking of this question of the Raja of Sattara. It seemed to be always arranged that whenever it came on the Chairman should move an adjournment, and now they were to be put down by being told that their cause was a bad one becanse thty did not keep their temper. —(Hear, hear, and laughter.) Did they see him out of temper? On the contrary, he was never more cheerful and inclined to be good humoured in his life.— (Hear.) Now came the question. Up rose Sir James Hogg, and turned all this into fun; but what was fun to him was death to the Raja of Sattara and his friends. Sir J.Hogg, had very great tact in turning things into fun and ridi eule, and that was the way in which the poor Raja of Sattara and his affairs were treated. He (Mr. Sergeant Gazelee) agreed with Sir J. Hogg, it the constitution of the Court of Directors was bad, that it should be altered, and if any of the Directors were bad that they should be turned out. It was all very well for those men in power to say, " Turn us out." The fact was, that the Act of Parlia ment constituting the Court made their seats annual. The Directors never gave him (Mr. Sergeant Gazelee) any invitation to any of their grand dinners.—(Laugh ter)—and he said from the bottom of his soul, turn them out.—(Renewed laughter.) The more people saw of the mockery of their proceedings the more would it be seen to be necessary that honest and upright men should be sent into the Court of Directors. When Sir J. Hogg likened the Court of Directors to the Foreign office of the House of Commons, it was a very bad pre cedent. With great respect to him, he Mr. Sergeant Gazelee) would suppore that Sir J. Hogg was a member of a large constituency. Suppose a question of great importance came on for discussion, would Sir J. Hogg condescend to ask his constituents not to give up the re presentative character, for that would be treating it as a matter of delegation, but to ask their advice ? He was sure in such a case Sir J. Hogg would not say that the way in which he would act would depend whether the election was near at hand or not.—(Laughter.) Sup pose the question was one of education, would he consider it as infra dig. to consult the Dissenters upon it, or would he treat them, as he did the Proprietors, as men of straw ? He (Sergeant Gazelee) did not mean to say that the electors were to control the votes of the representative, but he said every man would not consult his constituents, and say " Mr. So-and-so, you are the mover, and you, tMr. So-and-so, are the seconder of my nomination, what are the wishes of the constituency on such and such a question, I don't mean to say it shall influence me; but just, if you can, say what Mr. So-and so thinks, and I don't think, it will affect my dignity to attend to it." That was the whole question. It ono of the Directors held up his hand, fifty others of the Di rectors held up their hands immediately ; if one of them cachinated, there were fifty ethers who cachinated im mediately. But if Sir J. Hogg could divert their atten tion from a matter by his fun, if he could make them laugh and turn them from the subject under consideration, why his purpose was gained. Let the meeting contrast their demeanour when in office with their deportment when, as candidates, they came bowing and scraping to ask the opinions and the suffrages of the Proprietors. When those gentlemen got into the direction, was it to be tolerated that they w ere to t rea t th e Proprietors with contumely. He cautioned the Proprietors not to be mis led ; the Directors were endeavouring to put this matter on a false point ; they were misinterpreting Mr. Hume's words, and were endeavouring to make the Proprietors believe that they, the Proprietors, wanted to take upon them the settlement of this ques tion. Even if the Proprietors were willing to do this, why they would be swamped by the influence of the body of Directors, and there would be an end of the matter. He (Mr. Serjeant Gazelee) claimed it as a right, not to dictate to the Directors, but to give his opinion. They might treat his opinion with contempt, but all he asked and prayed for was, that they should do him the favour of listening to that opinion, which was fearlessly expressed. But let not the Proprietors be misled; the attempt was not to alter the constitution of the Court of Directors, but it was to advise in the matter. He thought if the places were given away a tittle more according to merit, and less according to nepotism, the Directors would come out of these matters with a great deal more credit, and the Proprietors would not be laughed at. He be lieved the Chairman to be a most honourable man. He (Mr. Sergeant Gazelee) believed he had no sinister intention; but he said it was a little unfortunate that he led the Proprietors to believe that before the matter was settled they should be called together, not to dictate, but to advise in the matter. An lION. PROPRIETOR said it might be in the recollection of the Chairman of the Court of Directors that he was present at the last meeting, and that he then made a suggestion after the Chairman's amend ment, IN hich the meeting was pleased to approve of, and stated themselves ready to adopt; and therefore he was now anxious, particularly if Mr. Hume should be present, to state his views of what really took place, which he was bound to state as an independent proprietor fully confirmed the report which the Secretary had been pleased to read. He should be very brief in the observations he had to make, because really it could be stated in a minute. There was a motion made by Mr. Lewis, and seconded by some other gentleman, after which the Chairman immediately moved the adjourn ment of the Court, in the words reported, as nearly as possible, by the Chairman himself. There was then some discussion as to a matter of form only, and on that he (the Hon. Proprietor) suggested to Mr. Lewis and the seconder of the then motion to withdraw it.—(Hear, hear.) He made that suggestion, because the Chair man's amendment would then, as a matter of course, fall to the ground. What then took place? If, as Mr. Hume supposed, the Chairman had made his amendment with the intention that the Di rectors would prepare the papers and lay them be fore the Proprietors, was it credible that the mover and seconder would have immediately withdrawn their motion? Theyj continued the discussion for some time aferwards. Therefore he (the Hon. Proprietor) hoped, at least, after what he had stated, his Learned Friend, Mr. Sergeant Gazelee, would see he must have been altogether mistaken about the matter. Surely, after the statement now made, his Learned Friend would retract anything he had said harshly of the Chairman. !Ho (the lion. Proprietor) had no interest in the matter further than to see that dis cussions of this kind among V° Court of Directors and the body!of Proprietors were conducted with decency and propriety.—(Hear.) It might be Mr. Sergeant Gazelee was a candidate for the directorship.—(Laughter.) H e could not say wether that was so or not, but at present he (the Hon. Proprietor) thought he, Mr. Sergeant Gazelee, had rather confounded the two characters of proprietor and director. Mr. LEWIS thought the sooner the discussion was dropped the better; but there was one question which he wished to put to the Chairman. Mr. Clarke had asked the Chairman at the last meeting whether or not he had referred the question to Mr. Elphinstone? The meeting all knew that Mr. Elphinstone was a per son competent to decide that question, and therefore it was necessary to see what his opinion was, both as to the construction of the treaty, and as to the position of the parties. He (Mr. Lewis) wished to know whether the Chairman had done so? A PROPRIETOR said that it was a most extraordinary thing that those who propounded the laws should have the power to explain them. It was for the judges to explain the laws, and not the Directors. The CHAIRMAN said when the Proprietors saw the papers they would see w hether Mr. Elphinstone's name was mentioned or not. Ho could not answer the ques- tion further. Mr. LEWIS thought the Chairman would find that to be the opinion of the meeting. The public would be startled to think that this question had bon argued without reference to Mr. Elphinstone, and that the thing hail , been concl u d e d w i t h ou t his being ew,u!ted. flurne't: th,lt the pipers be printed stud circulated ainuag6t the Proprietors, Was then put to the meeting and carried. The court then adjourned. FEBRUARY 7, 1849, IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT (THIS DAY.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. The SPEAKER took the Chair at a few minutes after Twelve o'clock. On the motion of Mr. Wilson Patten, Mr. Evelyn Denison was added to the Committee on Standing Orders. IMPERIAL PAaLIAMENT. ROUSE 05 LURISS, Feb. 6. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Wool sack at Five ci"c'ock. LAW IDF MA.RRIAGE IN SCOTLAND. Lord CAM:PBELL laid upon the table two Bills, one for amending the law of marrirge in Scotland, and the other fur es' stblishing a registration of births, deaths, and marriag•es in Scotland. 1; would no doubt, he said, be in the recollection of their Lord ships that the se two Bills passed their Lordships' House last session, and were sent down to the other House; but at so / ate a period as to prevent them from being passed. A strong opinion, however, was ex pressed in th_eir favour, and he trusted their Lord ships would permit them to go through their various stages with as much expedition as the forms of the House would a now. Lord BROUGHAM was exceeding,:y rejoiced to find that these Bills had been re-iveo. They were measures of the utmost i mportance to Scotland, and he trusted no delay would take place in passing them through both Houses of Parliament. Lord CAMPBELL said he proposed to appoint the second reading of the Bills on an early day, if their Lordships had no objection to his doing so. The Bills were then laid upon the table and reed a first time. EDUCATION. Mr. PLUMPTRE presented a petition from Maid. stone against grants in aid of Roman Catholic Schools. REGISTRATIONS OF BIRTHS, &c. In answer to a question from Mr. MAHER, Sir W. SOMERVILLE stated that the Bill for the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in Ire• land, was under the consideration of the Government, hut he could not now undertake to say when it would be brought forward. HEALTH OF TOWNS BILL (IRELAND). _ _ In reply to another question from the SON. MENBER, Sir W. SOMERVILLE said it was the intention of the Government to introduce th© Health of Towns (Ire• land) Bill. INLAND REVENUE BILL. The second reading of this Bill was postponed. RELIEF OF DISTRESS (IRELAND). The House went into Committee - upon this Bill. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in rising to move that a vote be granted in order to afford relief to destitute persons in the west of Ireland. said it would probably be in the recollection of Hon. Members that a similar vote was proposed at the close of last session, and that the Government gave answer that it did not then think it expedient to bring forward any measure on the subject. They did, however, request the House to entrust them with some small discretion for the actual preservation of life in that country, and there appeared to be a general concurrence in favour of that course. In calling attention to what had been done during the recess, be said it would have been seen by the report of the British Association that, although a larger quantity of potatoes were planted last year, the failure of the crops was ne,lrly as bad as in 1847, and of course it was necessary that further relief should be afforded. The British Associa tion having exhausted all the funds placed at their dis posal, applied to the Government for a grant, and, in compliance with that application, 3,0001. had been ad vanced by the Government. Having thus stated what had been done, the Right Hon. Gentleman alluded to the necessity which existed for further allowance being made towards the relief of certain portions of the western coast of Ireland. He regretted that the papers upon the table of the House did not give a greater amount of information, but they would bo found to con tain sufficient to justify the vote he was about to propose. He considered that it would be much more advisable that relief should be afforded by the Treasury of the United Kingdom, and that the poor-law was the best machine through which that relief could be administered. It was necessary that the most stringent regulations should he adopted to carry out any plan of relief, and it seemed to him that the poor-law would meet the state of cir eumstances, which was owing to the failure of that food upon which so large a proportion of the population existed. The Honourable Gentleman then read selec tions from documents, sho ng the amount of dis tress which existed in various portions of the country. By a list of those who were in arrear for highway rates, it appeared that out of twelve, there were only four on whose lands there were effects at all, the rest being en tirely waste. As an instance further of the state of the country, he might say that out of the lands in one union, which altogether was assessed at 11,919/., tl - 3 acreage on which 11,4921. was assessed, were altogether either given up to the landlords, or in the hands of tenants so destitute as to be utterly unable to pay any rates. I any Hon. Gentleman would only look at the amount of rates collected, the expense incurred in collecting them, and the amount voted for the relief of the inhabitants, he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) was assured that he would see that it would be utterly impossible to avoid granting the relief which he had to propose.—(Hear.) He had already stated that in the Ballina union the sum of 10,0001. had been expended, but that it was altogether inadequate to pay the expenses. The same was the case in the Dublin union, and in several others beside. The amount received on the rates had nevertheless been on the in crease during the last three years. At the end of Sep- tember, 1846, it came up to 871,0001., at the end of September, 1847, it reached 63R,000/., and at the end of September, 1848, it was 1,127,000/. derived from the land. It was, therefore, manifestly evident that no ade quate sum could be collected for the relief of the poor from that source, and that it was impossible that the poor could be sustained unless the House came forward with that aid which was now imperatively required. He did propose, therefore, that in granting the supplies, they should vote a certain sum for this specific purpose; and he was happy to say that there were means by which the money could be given without any public inconvenience whatever. He had last year proposed the grant of a certain sum from the Consolidated Fund; that sum was 1,700,0001. Of that amount he was authorised to borrow 100,0001., but from the increased revenues of the country that had been unnecessary, and it still lay in the Exchequer. Further, he had found that it was unnecessary to spend the whole of the sum entrusted to him for the relief of Ireland by the sum of 106,0001., which still, therefore, formed a portion of the Consolidated Fund. Thus there was a sum at present quite available and ready for this purpose. He had also the satisfaction of saying that a sum of 78,0001. had bcen repaid for advances made during the previous year, which he thought might properly be applied, and might very fairly be applied, to the object of this grant. When laying his improved estimates before the House last year, he had stated that in his opinion the available in come of the country would be equal to its expenditure within the amount of 292,000/. From the agreeable fact to which he had just alluded, viz., the increased re venue of the country, he had been very satisfactorily mistaken, and he was happy still more to say that from the estimates which had been prepared for the present year he had full reason to believe that the revenue of the country this year will be fully equal to its expendi ture.—(Cheers.) Taking all these circumstances into consideration, he was quite prepared t ask for a sum— a comparatively small sum—from the Consolidated Fund, of 50,0001. for the relief of Irish distress. This was, as he had stated, a small sum, but with the recol lection of what had already transpired, he was not dis posed to give much at a time, and with the 184,000 7 already on hand, he believed that would be sufficient et any rate for all present purposes.—(Cheers.) The Right Hon. Baronet then proposed that the sum of 50,0001. should be granted from the Consolidated Fund for the relief of the distress in Ireland.—(Cheers.) Mr. P. SCROPE was glad to see that the Govern ment were at last alive to the necessity of not only re• lieving the distress in Irelleld, but also of seeing that the money which was voted by the House should be judiciously expended. He had voted most readily for the Irish poor-law, but unfortunately that law had been accompanied by a waslaful mode of granting relief, and of dispensing .11zge sums in the mcst extravagant manner. Some two or three years ago tliey had granted 8,000,0001. or 10,000,0001. for the relief of Ireland, and a great portion of that amount had been applied to public works, and nearly the whole of which had been almost entirely thrown away. Indeed, he had been assured by a gentleman who was a witness to the fact that upwards of 100/. had actually been paid to the peasantry for breaking a heap of stones, for which, in the ordinary payment for labour, would have cost only thirty shillings. By this and numerous other in stances which he could cite he was convinced that it would be worse than useless to grant further moneys unless they took a security on the land. If there was no stock on the property, then if the advance was not re paid, let the land be sold to repay it. Next, he was unwilling to grant this money unless it was also to be use d i n th e emp l oyment of productive labour; for unless it was so employed they were only increasing the evil which they desired to avoid. That there was ample opportunity to employ :his labour pr o fit a bl y was ev id ent f rom t h e f act that, in eight unions, which comprised no less than 2,220,000 acres, there were only 221,000 acres, or less than one tenth, under cultivation. Now, in those eight unions, during the year ending 29th September, 1848, there had been granted in relief 222,311/., of which only 44,1951. had been collected in the shape of rates, while a sum of more than 160,0001., more than four times the sum collected from the inha bitants, had been given by the Government almost, he might say, as a premium for idleness. The Right Hon. Gentlemen had spoken largely, and he believed justly, of the resources of Ireland; and he quite concurred in the view that that country, if rightly administered, was fully competent to sustain all its own poor. But under the plan which they had now been adopting they were doing nothing more than rendering the work houses of Ireland like the national workshops of Paris, injurious alike to the adz= and to the country. They were, in fact, giving a premium for throwing lands out of cultivation, and rendering labour unproductive. The deaths in the workhouses amounted to one. fourth of the actual inmates, and in the course of the year in these establishments the amount of mortality was very great. It had been admitted by the . Right Honourable Gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) that Ireland was in an abnormal state, and he would ask why the Government hesitated to apply an abnormal remedy ? Having apologised for detaining the House so long, the Hon. Member con • eluded by proposing the following amendment as an ad dition to the resolution:—" That no appropriation of moneys taken from general taxation be in future applied in aid of the poor-rate of Irish unions, except on con dition; 1. That its repayment be secured by a lien on the rateable property of the union; 2. That it be ex pended, as far as it is practicable, in the productive em ployment of the able-bodied poor." (*Err SITTING.) FlRE.—This morning, about half-past two o'clock, an alarming fire broke out in High-street, Shadwell, on the premises of Mr. Piper, stationer. The fire was discovered by the police on duty, and the engines were speedily on the spot, but the fire was not extinguished until the house was totally gutted. The cause of the fire is not known. The property is insured in the Phoenix Fire-office. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—A. most singular Cure of a bad Leg by Holloway's Pills r • 1 Ointment.—Mrs. Eli zabeth Hartrer of Willunga, Adelaide, had been suffer ing for nearly thirty years with an ulcerated bad leg produced by a blow, and which was thought incurable as it had defied the skill of c.everal practitioners both in England and the co'ony. At last, r:lourse was had to Holloway's Ointment and Pills and by their efficacy the kg has been perfectly healed, pre-enting sea-cely the trace of a wound. This case has excited so much asto nishment in the colony that the agent for South Aus traba has published it in the Adelaide Observer of the 12:h February, 1848. These surprising medicines are sold by all Druggists and at Professor Holloway's Esta blishment, 244, Strand, London, , - RETURNS. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE laid upon the table returns relating to the management of a :lain unions in the west of Ireland, and pacers connected with the Royal Mint. TIIE NORTH WALES R ;ILWAY. Lord MONTEAGLE said he understoothl officer of the House who served their Lordships' order relwive to the North Walls Railway upon the Board of Trade, and the Secretary of the Board of Tr; de were in Etttmd ance, and with their Lordships' perwissirn he would move that they be called in. The motion having been agreed to the parties were called in and examined by the Noble Lord relative to the service of the order directing the North Wales Railway Company to return their accounts to the Lord MONTEAGLE elicited from the officer of the House that he served tlyqr Lordshipr' order upon a clerk of the Board of Trade, and from Captain Harness and other offsoials connected with toe Board of Trade ; that in pursuance of that order a summons commanding the chairman of tho North Wales Railway to produce the accounts of the com pany was forwarded by post to the company's office. One of the messengers of the House proved that he served a subsequent order on Mr. Chadwick, the chair man, and Mr. Mariner, the secretary of the company, late in October. The parties were then ordered to withdraw. PROTECTION. The Duke of RICHMOND presented a petition from the farmers of the county of Pembroke, complaining that they were suffering distress from the effects of free trade, and praying their Lordships to return to a system of protection. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE. The LORD CHANCELLOR informed the House, that pursuant to their Lordship's resolution of last session, the Assistant-Clerk had b3en in communication with the Clerk of the House of Commons on the subjt.ct of en grossing Bills. Lord - aIONTEAGLE said it would isr: ably be in the recollection of the House that this resolui a was passed to enable the officers of the Hot- • to cow oaunicate the Ilouae of Commons preparatory to tue Ldoption of some plan for putting an end to the iceonvenient, dilatory, and expensive system of engrossing Bills and in transmitting them from one House to the other, and for adopting in their stead Bills in a pEnted shape. He would propose now that a Committee be appuiuted to tak , the result of that communication into consideration. The LORD CHANCELLOR agreA with the sug gestion, and a Committee was accordingly appointed. Their Lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Feb. 6. The SPEAKER took the Chair shortly before Four o'clock. A gentleman from the Bank of England appeared at the bar and delivered in certiOu papers which had been ordered by the House. STANDING ORDERS. On the motion of Mr. WILSON PATTEN, the Standing Orders Committee were appointed. The Com mittee will be composed of ele following gentlemen:— Mr. Wilson Patten, Mr. Ord. Sir Robert Ferguson, Mr. Greene, Sir John Yarde Buller, Mr. Aglionby, Captain Jones, Mr. Home Drummond, Mr. Wrightson, anu Mr. Compton. ECCLESIASTICAL LAW. Mr. WALTER presented a petition, praying for an alteration in tho ecclesiastical law, so as to enable cl.r gymen seceding from the Church of England to officiate as dissenting ministers. IRISH POOR-LAW. Colonel DUNNE presented a petition from a grand jury in Ireland, praying for an amendment of the Irish poor. law. An HoN. MEMBER presentel a petition from the grand jury of the county of Galway, complai- ing of the prevalence of distress in Galway in particular, and in Ireland generally, and attributing it to the operation of the poor-law. Lord ASHLEY presented a petition, praying the House to suppress the sale of intoxicating drinks on the Sabbath. NEW WRIT. On the motion of Mr. TUFNELL, a now writ was or dered to issue for the county of Stafford, in the room of Viscount Ingestre, called to the Upper House. TRANSPORTATION. Lord MAHON gave notice that on an early day he should call the attention of the House to the system of transportation and the treatmentof convicts. LIFE ASSURANCE. Mr. FAGAN gave notice that, on the 22d instant, he should move for leave to bring in a Bill to meke life policies of assurance assignable at law. PUBLIC LIBRARIES. Mr. EWART postponed his motion for - the appoint ment of a Select Committee on thc) existing public libiTries in Great Britain and Irclawl, and on the best means of extending:the establishment of public libraries, especially in large towns. FINANCIAL REFORM. Colonel SIBTIIORP gave notice that when the esti mates were brought forward he should take the earliest opportunity of obtaining the sense of the House with regard to the reduction of the salaries of the high civil officers of her Majesty's Government to one•half their present amount.—(Laughter.) SUB-DIVISION OF PARISHES. Lord ASHLEY gave notice that he would move for leave to bring in a Bill to sub-divide cii parishes in England and Wales the population of w1..3h exceeded 4,000. 0 ATLI S. Mr. PAGE WOOD gave notie- , that he would on an eat ly day move for leave to bring in a Bi l to substitute an affirmation for an oath where partief, obj. cted to take au oath on religious grounds. COLONIES. Mr. MACGREGOR gave notice that he would move that day fortnight for certain returns with respect to trade and navigation with the colonies and foreign countries. OATHS OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT. Lord J. RUSSELL gave notice that on Monday, the 19th, he would move for leave to bring in a Bill to alter the mode of taking oaths of Members of either House of Parliament.—(clear, hear.) GUIANA. Mr. HUME gave notice that tomorrow he would move for a copy of all dispatches which had been passed between the Governor of Guiana and the Colonial Office since the date of that laid on the table . of the House esterday. CEYLON. The HoN. MEMBER presented a petiti , in from the inha bitants of Ceylon, entering into a long catalogue of gl'ev ances which they now laboured under, complaining 'hat the amount of taxes levied last year amounted to two thirds of the whole gross produce of the island ; that the conduct of the Government, which they conceived was arbitrary and unfair, had produced discontent and rebellion, and concluding by a prayer that some redress might be afforded ,to them. The Her. Member stated that he would call the attention of the House to the prayer of the petition when it was print-d. LANDED PROPERTY (IRELAND). In reply to an Hon. MEMBER, Sir WILLIAM SOMERVILLE statci that a return of the value of landed propel .y in Ireland sold by PI order of the Court of Chancery in Ireland wo: ' I be laid on the table with the least possible delay. THE BUSINESS OF THE IIOUSF. _ _ Mr. lIUME gave notice that he should to-morrow propose the renewal of several orders trioptA, on bis suggestion, last session, but which hal not been com plied with. SERVICES IN INDIA. The Horz. MEMBER said, seeing the Pres:dent of the Lard of Control in his place, he wished to ask, whether, as medals have Seen given icr retrosvetive military ser vices in the Peninsula, and to the navy for exploits at sea, the veterans of the armies of the Crown and of the East India Company are to have a similar attention paid to them for the n Atles of Assyo, Laswaree, Titabuldee, Mahadpoor, Kirkee, &c., &c., and, if not, the grounds on which such honours were not to be presented ? Sir J. C. I.IOBHOUSE replied that the m edals could not be granted in the cases to which the Hon. alluded. It had been expressly ordered in J that they should only be granted to generalsune, 184 7 command ing and other officers, which order hadbeen compliede with. If it was thought necessary t o t 3 ex it must be ac s to all actually engaged in theseim battles, complished by a fresh regulation. Mr. HUME wished to know why the honours had not been conferred on all? Sir J. C. Hobhouse A gave no Y. reply. VANCOUVER'S ISLA , N _ pAN _ BAY COM . THE HUDSON'S Lord LINCOLN inquired of Lord J. Russell whether he would have any objection to lay on the table a copy of the charter granting Vancouver's Island t o t h e Hudson ' s Bay Company w hether he had any obj ec ti on to furnish a con tinuation of the papers on this subject l a id on t h e table last, year, and also a copy of the reprt which he understoel was now in the Colonie office, pre pared by the Government officer apF zlted by the Governor-General of Canada to investigate certain com plaints respecting the government of tne Hudson's Bay Company. Lord J. RUSSELL had no objection t) lay copies of the doeumenti in question on the table. He did not know whether the report to which the Noble Lord referred had been received at the Colonial-office, but he would make inquiry. COMMITTEE ON THE IRISII POOR-LAW. In reply to an 110 N. MEMBER, Sir W. SOMERVILLE said it was his intention to nominate the Committee to-night or to-morrow. ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS. Mr. lIORSMAN inquired if the Government had any mepsure with the vie - a- of altering (as we understood) the composition of the Ecclesiastical Commission ; also, whether the Government was prepared to introduce any measure for the union of the episcopal and common funds, in order to render them more efficieat for t h e promotion of spiritual education ? Lord J. RUSSELL replied that it was intended to prop - se a Bill in the present session with r espect to the composition of the Ecclesiastical Co mmission, p ar tl y i n conformity with the report of the Committee of last session and the views of the Government. The Go— vernment had decided on ictroducing a measure in tlie, course of the present session with respect to the union of the episcopal and common funds. He could not, how. ever, state when the last measure would be Introduced. THE VERNO..O GALLERY. Mr. HUME wished to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether any steps had been taken, as recom mended by the Select Committee of the House of Com mons of the last session, to provide a proper situation is the National Gallery for the reception of the valuable and noble collection of paintings presented to the nation by Mr. Vernon. Lord JOHN RUSSELL replied that the Go►ernment were not prepared to propose at present any expendi ' ture of the public money on the gallery in question beyond what had been expended in providing the exist• ing temporary accommodation. Mr. HUME referred the Noble Lord to the report of Committee of the House upon the subject. THE COLLECTION OF ,POOR-RATES IN IRE. L A ND. On the motion of Mr. FRENCH, a return was ordered of the number of military and police employed in Ireland in the collecting of the poor-rates, between the Ist October, 1848, and the Ist February. 1849, distinguishing the number of the force employed upon each oceasion. DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN THE LEGISLA TIVE COUNCIL AND THE SUPREME COURT OF VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. Mr. ANSTEY wished to ask whether the Govern ment had any objection to lay upon the table of the House copies of the several papers which had passed between the Home Government and the authorities of Van Diemen's Land respecting the dispute which had arisen between the Legislative Council and the Supreme Court of that colony; copies of all correspondence (not al ready laid before this House) between her Majesty's principal Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land, respecting the taxation ordinances passed by the Legislative Coun cil of tnat colony, which were recently declared by the Supreme Court of the colony to be illegal; or respect ing the removal of Judge Montage, or of any ordinance subsequently passed by that Council for giving validity to any suoh taxation ordinances. Lord JOHN RUSSELL did not feel disposed to gips those papers. Mr. ANSTEY then would give notice that-on the 15th inst. he should move that an humble address be presented to her Majesty respecting tho illegal ordi nances which had been passed by the Council in Van Diemen's Land. ENDOWMENT OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN INDIA. Mr. ANSTEY gave Notice that he should on an early day move an address for copies of all treaties and acts, or ordinances, of the Local Legislatures of India and thu Colonies, whereby or under which provision is made for the ministers of the Roman Catholic Church in India. Sir ROBERT INGLIS was proceeding to make some remarks upon the subject, when The SPEAKER reminded the Hon. Member that whatever observations he wished to make must be made when the motion was regularly before the House. COMMERCE WITH BRAZIL. _ _ _ Lord PALMERSTON raidthatthell;r7..Gentleman (Mr. Bankes, we understood) opposite had asked him whether there had been A ny alteration made in the tariff of Brazil under the late treaties. To this he had to reply that though the alteration had been decided upon, it did not corn into effect until the Ist January, 1850. Mr. BRIGHT wished to know whether the alteration of the tariff of Brazil depended at all upon any legisla tion, or any expected legislation in that House. So long ago as 1845 it was understoci that there would be an alteration in the Brazilian tariff, which had not yet taken place; and ho was, therefore, anxious to know whether that alteration depended at all on the proceed ings of the British Legislature ? Lord PALMERSTON—CertainIy not. BRITISH FLEE f IN THE BAY OF NAPLES. Mr. URQUHART wished to ask the Secretary for the Foreign Department if he would lay on the table of the House the papers connected with the now concluded negotiations which led to the presence, in the course of last year, of a British squadron in the Bay of Naples. Lord PALMERSTON would do so at the proper time. Mr. URQULTART wished to know when that time would ho? Lord PALMERSTON could not say, but there was a " good time coming."—(Laughter.) ASSESSMENT OF PROYERTY IN IRELAND. Mr. G. HAMILTON moved for a return, showing, as respects each union and each province in Ireland, the annual value of property rated to the poor-rates; the expenditure for the relief and maintenance of the poor; the rata in the pound on the value of rated property of such expenditure; the total number of paupers relieved ; the proportion per cent. to the population of the persons relieved ; and the rate per head on the total number of paupers relieved, for the year ending the 29th day of September, 1848; also a return, showing the total sum expended during theyear ending the 29th day of Sep tember, 1848, for the relief of the poor in Ireland, under th• present poor-law system; distinguishing the amount and proportion of such expenditure applied in actual relief to the poor in food and clothing, in and out of the workhouses; and show ing also the amount and proportion of such expendi ture applied in defraying officers' salaries and expenses, whether vice-guardians, inspectors, officers of work houses, relieving officers, and all other charges not com prised in actual sustenance, by food or clothing, of the poor. Sir W. SOMERVILLE was ready to grant the returns. IRELAND.—SUSPENSION OF THE HABEAS CORPUS ACT. Sir GEORGE GREY said he rose, in pursuance of the notice he had given on the first night of the session, to ask for leave to bring in a Bill for the continuance, for a limited period, of the Act of last session for the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland. Her Majesty's Government would gladly have dispensed with such a motion if they felt they could have done so consistently with their duty, and that the time had arrived when they felt that the ordi nary powers of the law, with which the Government had in ordinary times been entrusted, would have been sufficient to enable the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland adequately to discharge those responsib!e duties which attached to his office. Tho Government were deeply sensible of the gravity of the proposal which he (Sir G. Grey) had now to make to the House. They were not insensible to those serious objections which might, and ought to be entertained, with respect to a temporary suspension of the constitutional rights of the people of this realm—(Hear, hear)—but they felt at the same time that there might be exceptional cases in which those objections could not obtain, end that there might be a conviction—and a conviction entertained by the best statesmen of the best times—that there were circumstances in which the very spirit of our Constitution demnnded a temporary and partial suspension of those rights, in order to enable the Government to maintain the constitution itself, and to defend it against the assaults of those men who might be seeking its overthrow. It is one of those oc casions which was held to justify the appeal which her Majesty's Government made in July last for the Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland, to which appeal Parliament cor dially responded, thereby giving moral effect to that measure, without which it must have been compa ratively useless. But it was with a deep sense of the responsibility attaching to those to whom the adminis tration of affairs in Ireland was confided, that the Government had felt it impossible, consistently with their duty, to recommend to Parliarnev_, that these extraordinary powers should eease• u stating the grounds on which the Governmenttad had arrived at that conclusion, and on which he at once ask Parliament to assent to their proposal , he now admitted that the circumstances under whic h d Ireland wer d e e y made this proposal as respected Ireland Government he sho uld different from those under which t s ension of this asked to carry out the temporar y 1 recent—had taken any recent insurrection— imwtehere were parties now in Act in July last. Ho was notditahteeryesungw to state that place in Ireland, and that IFeland. They rection in July last had been told the insur aid that the mock insurrection, arms against their Sovereign in was a the Government to suppress measures taken b d'sproportionate to the occasion. mock l insurrection on th e part of chance l of the success of the it t were mig h t unnecessarily e b s e s e a n r i l a_c y y those who got it up —CHear , hear)—ho d id not pretend insurrectionary movement ist that country, for it would there state ere w a that h e i n remotest p te a s r t t have been put down by the loyalty of the people of that le Ireland.—(Hear, h ear.) Although success coun try, and by the efficient and va l ua bl e constabulary might foree have attended the combined loyalty of the sub jects of her Majesty in Ireland, and the soldiery, and the constabulary force there, it was frightful to think of the horrors through which the inhabitants of that country might have passed before that insurrection was entirely suppressed • and he must say that the reproach which rather attached to the Government in July last was that they had been tardy in coming to that House to ask for those extraordinory powers was to some extent merited. The House could not have forgotten the exhibition of violent and threatening language which occurred in the papers for many months—day after day coming from persons in Ireland inciting the peo ple to take up arms against their Sovereign, and endea vouring to seduce her troops and the constabulary force from their allegiance, nor the details which appeared in those papers, showing how the people might defeat and de stroy those soldiers) and that constabulary force, in the execution of their duty. It was not right to treat that insurrection as a contemptible affair because it had failed. In June and July last he could not enter that House without gentlemen putting into his hands letters from persons in that coun try, detailing the extremities to which the insurrec tionary spirit was carried, and how, in some cases, gen tlemen had had the lead torn off the roofs of their houses, to be fused into bullets for the rebels. Those were the circumstances under which the Govern ment had come to Parliament last July for increased t th t e he ll n oLse ur b r y ed re , f b e r u there was one or two documents be felt bound to powers, and those circumstances have been proved to ha ve t He existed by every day's experience since. really felt h e should be almost wasting the time th o a f• ring further to the circumstan ces [ER. )er. old. nes. )tiMa• tart' war ; the now earn &the f the wore ,hors , ...