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

allude to in order to show the fallacy of the doc trine that had of late sprung up. that the in surrectien was not an insurrection at all, and that there was no necessity for taking the precautions that had been taken. He would pass over the circumstances that had taken place at several of the trials in Ireland; but there was one document he must shortly allude to, as it had been the subject of great discussion else where, he alluded to the letter of Mr. M'Gbee, ' who took such an active part in the transactions that had taken place in Ireland. That letter appeared in the New York Morning Herald. (The Right Honourable Gentleman then read several parts of the letter. of Mr. la,i'ahee, particularly those parts in which the writer spoke of the revolution that had taken place France, the Suspension of the H abeas Corpus Act in July last year, the harvest in Ireland, the Confederates, the oganization of the 500 Club, and stated that their object - and determination was to burn down the cities of Ire land, as the Athenians did Athens, intimidate the troops, and render it impossible for them to do their duty to their country or their Sovereign.) Now, after such a letter as that, he must confess that he was astonished that Hon. Gentlemen should get up in that House or elsewhere to assert boldy that the 'insurrection was a mock insurrection.—(Hear.) He was aware that the authenticity of the letter had been denied; but he believed it had been clearly proved that 'such was not the case ; he believed that now the most sceptical persons did not doubt its authenticity, indeed Mr. M`Ghee himself had re-asserted the authorship of it in his answer to a letter that had boon written against the first letter that he wrote, and that answer had been punished in the New York paper of which Mr. M‘Ghee was the editor. It was towards the close of last session that the Act was passed, and its duration was fixed so as to enable the Government to carry through the recess, and to say when Parliament met again whether the powers it granted should cease or be continued. During the recess they had anxiously considered the subject, and had arrived at the conclusion which he had already stated to the House. The ques tion was, looking at recent occurrences and the spirit and organization which still existed in Ireland, and was ready to flame out again whenever an opportunity was afforded, whether the House should adopt the same means which were contemplated and sanctioned last summer. He was not prepared to state that conspiracy still existed, but he would pledge himself that the most anxious devotion had been directed to the sub ject by the Lord-Lieutenant and her Majesty's Govern ment, who had collected information from every avail able source, and they had come to the irresistible con closion not to shrink from recommending the con tinuence of the Act. The Right Hon. Gentleman then referred to a communication which had been received from the Lord-Lieutenant, stating, that although the f iilttre of past attempts had weakened the confidence of the disaffected, there still remained a feeling of insubor dination among them which, unless timely measures were taken by the Government, might again beccme ac tire. All the evidence which had been collected tended to confirm that opinion. Within the last few days there appeared in Dublin an advertisement in one of the pa pers, to the effect that an extraordinary publication would appear on the Ist of March next (that date having of course reference to the expiration of the Act; sus pending part of the constitutional liberties of Ire land)—a most extraordinary publication, containing the most spirit-stiring effusions, to be dedicated to the young men of Ireland. It was described to be a publi cation the richest and moat racy of its kind.—(Laughter.) He (Sir George Grey) had said nothing to lead the House to imagine that the Government en tertained the least apprehension of the success of any movements of the kind referred to. He hoped that the events of the last few months would undeceive the most credulous, and shake the confidence of those who, from vanity or other motives, took upon themselves to lead the people. Many were impressed with the great clemency which the Government had shown in the administration of this law, at the same time that they had vindicated the law, and maintained the peace and tranquillity of the country; and he considered that the Lord-Lieutenant was entitled to the confidence of all loyally-disposed persons.—(Hear, hear.) He had now stated the reasons why the Government were of opinion the Constitution should for a further period be suspended. The powers which the suspension of the Act had con ferred upon the Lord-Lieutenant had been exercised, he was proud to say, in a conciliatory spirit, with the earnest purpose of promoting the peace and happiness of the country; and the law had been administered in such a way as to prevont any complaint being made in a single in stance. No blood had been shed on the scaffold in pursuance of the sentences that had been passed. The only blood that had been shed was that of the deluded victims, whom he would not say had been led, but who had been driven to their fall, and who had sacrificed their lives in a vain attempt to achieve an impracticable purpose.—(hear, hear.) In eliding to the temperate way in which the Lord-Lieu tenant had exercised the powers with which he was vested, he felt that he should not ren der him all the justice that was due to him if he did not read an address which had been presented to him from the Corporation of Dublin, a body not very likely to wish to take away unjustly any of the rights which their fellow-subjects possessed. ( rho Right lion. Baronet then read an address, which compli mented the Lord-Lieutenant upon the temperate spirit with which he had acted in an unpre cedented crisis.) There was one point, however, which he should not omit to mention in stating the gr )unds on which he was asking the House to continue the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act— namely, that at former periods on which Parliaments h a d agreed to the, suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act for.a given period, severe measures were either in ex ieteece or were at the same time put in force. Forinstance, in 1803, e. 11 , .)n the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act was renewed, a Bill empowering the proclamation of martial law in Ireland was passed at the same tires.; and again, in 1817, the Insurrectionary Act was passed simultanc oucly with the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, in order that partit s having arms in their possession might be compedcd to give them up without del ty. Such an Act was not now, however, in force; and, therefore, if the suiperodon of the lisb.,as Corpus Act were not tb' Government would not be in pea s .s,ion of the requisite powers to• rely upon for the preservation of the peace. The Honourable Member for Limerick alluded last night, with consider able displeasure, to the passage in the letter of the Lord.. Lieutenant which dealt with the evils of political agita tion. Ha had had, of course, no communication with the Lord-Lieutenant since the speech of the sic pourable Member, but he might obs2rve that h e was necessarily in constant communication with that Noble Lord, and that the House would agree with him when he stated that he did not object to political discus sion, but to that unt.ir discussion for impracticable objects, which was the bane of Ireland—the bfr,:c of her indus . ry, of her agriculture, and commerce, and of every other improvement, and to which he thought, a cheek ou4ht to be given, because ho thought Ireland should now enjoy repose from exciting agitation, and that the minds of the people should be direet..;cl to tt/e pursuance, instead, of m )re permanent objects on v; hi- her future welfare depended. He was anxious to read the reply of tha Lord-Lientenant to the addresses of the Corporation of Dublin. (The Rielit Hon. Bert. then read the address, which stated, in effect, that there existed on the part of the gle 311 ' 3 Government, and on his own, a sincere desire to investigate the causes of the &cc ustent of Ireland, and to remedy the evils of which slip complained, to the best of their ability.) Flush were the sentiments of the Lord-Lieutenant, and t'aey are 'sentiments in which he cordially coucurrerl. It was on these grounds that the Government considered that the limited powers for which they asked should be entrusted to the hands of the Lord- Lieutenant, w ith a view to the preservation of the peace and welfare of Inland. There could only be one opinion as t o the spirit the advice Of* . the Lord-Lieut enan t ; not to look to agitation to t care the evils of that unhappy country, but that they, would come to the d colisideration of those evils. with an to i promote the development of her resou e r s c ir c e s, scai ndus f try, and, in brief, raising her in tho nations, which no ono would bo more scale hted to sin. than himself; to achieve which her Majesty's mutat would render all the as i s t a „ e • Govern ' in their pow'er. Instead of casting blame upon the Govern ment, and blaming them for not introducing measures of' those who really entertained sincere feelings towards Ireland ou g ht to stimulate each oth er to , pro - Mete that end. For these reasons he asked thel the to give, for a limit ed p eriod, the powers which Government believed necessary, for the due and t&fal administration of which by the Execu tive they bad the guarantee that the same care would be shown in their exercise for the future as during the past.—(Hear.) Thera could be no doubt that the powers now sought would be ex ercised in a temperate spirit, for the Lord-Lieute u,iuit had acted in a u enlightened manner atd, „with an earnest desire to p romote and con "rl43 the best interests of the country.—(Hear.) When last year the Government had asked for the con tineance of the Act for seven months, they had done so in order to ealow a certain time, with a margin for the meeting of Parliament, in order that the Legis lature .might judge whether the Act should expire. The time which they now asked for the continuance of the Act was six months, with a view to enable Parlia ment to judge before it again separated whether the Act shoed still be continued, whether this Act should expire or whether any other Act should be passed to increase or modify, or alter the powers of this Act. He should therefore now only move that the Act for the continuance of the suppression of the Habeas Corpus Act should remain in force for a limited period. Mr. Js O'CONNELL rose to move the amendment of which he had given notice.—(Hear.) He trusted that when the House was about to pass a Bill for the continu ance of an Act by,which all the powers of the Commons House of Parliament were to be passed into the hands of. the Executi ve , that they would at l eas t con sider -what they were about to do, and what objects they were about to serve, and whether indeed those objects would tend to any practicable purpose. The only point which he had observed i n the speech of f the Bight lion. Gentleman war, that if any Member of that 'House' should presume to say that he would do this,that, or the other, that they should not do it, simp • l y because he thought it was wrong. If th e B r i t i s h House of Commons were prepared to assent to any such principle, they would be assenting to one of the most tyrennans proceedings that could possibly be adopted. The o nl y effect indeed of such an Act was to .. deprive the people of all political rights: A Gentleman in that House had told him only yesterday that the people were altogether pre vented-from the right of petitioning - , for a meeting had within the last few days been hold, the object of which was to petition the Crown respecting a matter which had nothing whatever to do with politics ; but such vim On effect this that 119 woofing of THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 7, IRA= any kind could be held without first going cap in hand to the Lord-Lieutenant to ask him whether he thought it was advisable that such a meeting should take place. One thing they must remember, that what they were doing with regard to Ireland was equally applicable to England, and that if they confided such a power to any man, they might, by the agency of a wicked Minister, be equally subject in their own country to evils similar to those which they were inflicting upon Ireland. Was it because a graceless and disreputable fellow like Garcy M‘Ghee'chose to write seditious letters in America, that the whole country was to be oppressed? Who was Mr. Darcy M'Ghee? and what were his ob- jects in publishing that letter on which the Right Hon. Baronet so much relied as his case for the renewal of the suspension of the constitution in Ireland. Ho was a mere " refugee rebel," whose object was to represent himself as a " hero" and a " martyr" in the cause of Irish liberty, and ;so render himself popular with the " American sympathisers," his real object being to sell his paper. And it was upon the testimony of such a man as that that the Government called on the British Parliament to suspend the constitution in Ireland. Ho might add, that Mr. Darcy M‘Ghee was believed by many to be an auxiliary in carrying out the plus of the Government; and he thought that on the testimony of such a man the Parliament ought not to be led to give its assent to the proposed measure—a measure the actual necessity for which the Right Hon. Baronet had failed to make out, and which he confessed there was no new conspiracy, no new acts of an insurrectionary character, to warrant him in applying for.—([lean) He now came to the letter of the Lord Lieutenant, and he must say that there were a great many statements in it which were not quite true. One statement was that the Lord-Lieutenant had not brought the law into opera tion against personal liberty, unless where it became ab solutely necessary for the protection of the country. Now he knew a case in which this statement was not true, for a gentleman who was opposed to the Young Ireland party was taken up and put into prison without any proof that he ought to be made subject to this op pressive law. The Hon. Gentleman proceeded to com ment upon other portions of the letter, and contended in reference to a passage in it that the Goverument was not entitled to the love of the people of Ireland, because they had not upheld their promises to give an improved fran chise to the people of that country, or to give them the English principle identified with municipal institutions. If they went into Committee, he would show that the Government of .this country had no claims on the affections of Irishmen. He denied also that the few men and boys who met in the wilderness near Clonmel could be fairly designated as a "renewed attempt at insurrection." It was also said that the arms were net given up. Well, this might be a good reason for a more stringent Arms Bill, but it was no reason why they should destroy the constitutional privileges of the peo ple of Ireland. The principle of agitating for a repeal of the union was declared by the Judges of the land to be a legitimate agitation, and yet the object of this law was to crush agitation, which had in all periods of this country been the safeguard of the constitution. Englishmen were consenting to this law for Ireland, which they would not consent to for one moment if it was proposed for this country. But Ireland was struck down; her people were prostrate. Those that could leave the country were doing so, and those who remained were the sick and the helpless, and the conse quence was that the Government of this country acted as they pleased in respect to Ireland. But this would not be borne, and those who were in the habit of evok ing the opinions of the people ce Ireland, would try in their own persons, whether this law was to be brought into operation against the legitimate agitation of a ques tion—the agitation respecting which was declared by the highest authorities in the land to be legal. The Home Secretary had not, he said, brought this law forward in consequence of the personal cha racter of Lord Clarendon, and yet throughout his speech he constantly referred to the personal conduct of Lord Clarendon during the recent disturbances in Ire land. He admitted that in many instances the Noble Lord had acted wisely and well, but in many other in stances he had acted in:another very different manner. The object of the Government in Ireland was to allow the disaffection to get such a head, that they would find it easy to put down every description of agitation in that country. When the trials came on Call - Julies were excluded from the juries. In the Catholic county of Tipperary there were but eighteen Catholics against 300 Protestants on the panel for that county at the special commission at Clonmel. The Government committed a serious crime in tampering with the jury lists. He would now refer to the circumstances under which the Habeas Corpus Act had been suspended i❑ former times. It Ras suspended in 1805, when they were at war a ith Napoleon. At that time disaffection in Ireland was not cer,fined to writing artloles in news papers, but employed armed men as emissaries in France formed into a kind of regiment. What he asked for was a Committee of Inquiry. Ile thought he was eta titled to demand it fain the prcst nt Government, for lie had as a precedent a resolution proposed by Mr. Fox, who might Ito considered the apostle of Whig princi ples. At the same time he knew it aas of no avail to appeal to the Government. He was satisfied the Minis ter would not come to propose this measure to the House unless he was prepared to go all lengths in sup• port of his officer in Ireland ; but ho appealed to those independent Members whom they had so often supported in their efforts to obtain Pailiamentary reform and other measures of amelioration, if they allowed this en creachment upon the Constitution it would be vain for them to expect a reduction of expenditure or a refs rm in the financial system. They would not be able to withdraw a soldier from Ireland, and would find the) w.old hereafter have to pad• bitterly for this neglect of the defence of the Constitution. 'The Hon. Member concluded by moving the following amendment:—" That a Committee, consisting of twenty-one Members, be formed by ballot, to examice such documents as may be laid before them; and to report to this Home th , it opinion upon these documents, whether the continuance of the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act be a mea sure necessary to the trequillity of Ireland at the pre sent time." Mr. NIEAG HER, aster a short pause, seconded the atnendatent. Mr. F. O'CONNOR did not feel much surprised that the Rght Hon. Gentleman tt.e Secretary of State for the Home Department should have made such a pro posal to the House as that which was now under cousi deration when he saw the difficulty which the mover of the amendment had had in getting a seconder. The Right Hon. Gentleman seemed to him to be very much in the position of a weak and inadequate lawyer, who once said that he preferred a subservient jury to the best cause he could have in his hands. The Right Hon. Baronet had relied upon a subservient House of Commons to help him to destroy the remains of Irish liberty. The reasons which had been urged for the measure wore altogether unsatisfactory. It was said to be to enable the Lord-Lieutenant to carry out his policy; but it was not said what that policy was. The Right Hononrable Gentleman had also attempted to justify it by quoting a letter which had appeared in a New York paper from a man who had been frightened by tyranny cut of his own country; and here he begged to say that it ill became the lion. Member for Limerick (Mr. J. O'Connell) to attempt to cast a slur upon a man who had been driven from his country for resisting the tyranny of which ho himself complained.— (Hear.) There never had been such a vague, lame, im potent appeal made to any Assembly as that of the Right Hon. Gentleman to continue the suspension of the Habeas Corpus in Ireland, and in making it he relied entirely on the subserviency of the House, and not on the merits of his case. Let not the House he led away by comparisons between the speeches of different agitators, but let them contrast the policy of the different viceroys in Ireland. Lord Anglesey taught the people well. He told them to " Agitate, agitate, agitate 1" Lord Claren don used very different language; he said, " Rely entirely on me. lam the constitution ;-- " 'I am Sir Oracle; " 'And when I ope my mouth let no dog bark.' " If this measure passed no grievance would be redressed no beneficial measure would be introduced; but Lord, Clarendon would become the great gaoler of Ireland, armed with authority to seize upon every one who ven tured to oppose the Government now in office or agitate upon any useful question. But ho would tell the Go vernment that they could not put agitation down by such means as these. The present measure was not so much to destroy agitation in Ireland as in England. When ever fear was to be struck into the hearts of the people of the latter country, or whenever satisfaction and secu rity were to be afforded to the landed gentry on this side of the Channel, the blow was made at the hearts of the people of Ireland. But such steps now were vain. It was impossible for the people to remain content with the existing state of things, when every foreign country had obtained a new Constitution, or for the Noble Lord to hold on any longer in his present maud lin way. Ile agreed with the Right Honourable Gen tleman (Sir William Somerville) that it was not to that House, but to the landlords of Ireland, that the people were p t to o n l s o o t t a t f o rp t he r o G t e o e v t e i o r n n . m e T n t h e p r r e o p w o s e e r d e , t h o o make wever , n h o e landlords do their duty, and to force them to increase the national resources by reproductive labour, for the landlords were always ready, as the Government well knew. to sustain them in any measure against the liber ties of Ireland. When, on a former occasion, the Go vernment had proposed to restrain the expression of public opinion, he prophecied that secret societies would spring up, and that assassination and illegal bodies would prevail over the country, and the result showed he was right. Were the Government prepared to put down all agitation whatever? Had the Noble Lord for gotten how the Refor T m om ßil y l o w u a n s a c o ar f ri t e h d e ? HoHmaed-ohffiecfaotro ?—n Hh night a and r.) day ' upon him to head the Brunt gGoatnteenralthNeapleiettre,rcoaftling p d a iff s e s r t e h d e Basdlmbnychforcaea Li t in h a e ge N ra o m ble en L a o n r d d (Mr. O'Connor) bad when he sat on differebnetensidteasunotefd thebeforeouis.ae. thate The loyalty H of ous a e for miai h at i e s r lo w y h al o ty.— we ( n A t l e a v u e g r y h . ) quarter-day to like the Treasury differed widely from the loyalty..m of self; an alien in blood, religion, and language, himself; but he could tell the Noble Lord he never had unless been a Republican, and never would be a his mind became greatly altered.—(Laughter.) He would tell the House, it was his firm conviction they never could tranquillize Ireland till they had destroyed the dominant ionf conquest tchurch—thelProteatant Church, which was a and of oppression to the natives of that country. How had they treated the people during the late disturbance? They had retained Irishmen in prison, but the instant the American Ambassador in terfered on behalf of some subjects of the United States who had been arrested, they were set at liberty. Was that a proof of their strength? They talked of Poland, and compared her to Ireland; but, when had they ever heard of 1,000,000 of Poles dying of famine in the course of a year?—(Hear, hear.) And this was the country — said by the Noble Lord, and by the Right Hon. Gen tleman, to be is a state of calm — on which they were to press thus heavily, in suspend ing the Constitution. " Oh, but," said the Go vernment, " though there is that calm, the Lord-Lieu tenant sees revolution in the distance, and you must arm him with powers to suppress it." He could not tell how it was that the most industrious and hard-working people on the face of the earth were in such a state. He saw Hon. Gentlemen jeering and muttering at him, but he did not care one farthing for that. A party in the House had succeeded in carrying free trade; but free trade was a great grievance, and the cause of great dis- tress to Ireland. Sir J. GRAHAM—No, no. Mr. F. O'CONNOR—The Right Hon. Baronet said "No, no." Sir J. GRAHAM—I differ in opinion with you. Mr. F. O'CONNOR—Yes, the Right Hon. Baronet was the sentinel left there now by his commander-in chief; but he maintained free trade was at present in jurious to Ireland, though he would not deny it might be ultimately beneficial. To-morrow the House would be called upon for a grant to Ireland ; but the country wanted no grant if she got but justice. Every difficulty of which she had to complain he saddled upon the landlords, who were fed on patronage, and had left their estates to lie in idleness. For these difficulties he had proposed remedies, but none of them had been much attended to. In 1834 he proposed a poor-law— land premiums, labour premiums, and landlord premiums, but none of them had been approved of. He now warned the House that they must compel the Irish land• lords to give leases in perpetuity. If they did so there would be no more emigration and no more complaints, such as they had heard last night, of emigrants carrying away 10,000,000/. sterling out of the country instead of spending it at home. To show what perpetuity would do, he would tell them what had happened on an estate of Sir Nicholas Colthurst, in Kerry, over which Mr. Colthurst was agent. In 1808 he could not get more than 600/. per annum for it. In succeeding years he had let it on chance for 800/., but found it would not pay. He then said, "If you divide it, I will get you 1,0001. a year for it." He got 1,315/. ; and in another instance where Sir Nicholas had given leases in perpetuity the poor-rates amounted to 2id. in the pound, while the rates on pro perties occupied under a different tenure amounted to 6d. in the pound. It was hopeless for Ireland to look to the present Government, which was powerful when here but powerless when there. His only expectation was, that he should see them in the position for which nature de signed them ; namely, on the Opposition side of the House.—(A langh.) Then would men be found to stand up for economy, and to drive a Minister from office if he proposed an Arms Bill for Ireland ; then would the Noble Lord call on the Government to do its duty to the commercial and agricultural interests of Ireland and declare himself prepared to resist a Coercion Bill. In passing he would remark, that the Noble Lord who pro posed the Address spoke of the Chartist movement as having been put down in England. It had not been put down yet. With respect to the present Bill, he wished to God he had power to arrest its progress by means of the rules of the House. Was Ireland to be ruled by Government anticipations ? The maxims might be ap plied to Ministers, that those who must take care of themselves had no time to take care of others.. As he had opposed the last Coercion Bill he should oppose this; and with respect to the State trials and the attempt to put down agitation, he ventured to say the time might come when that which they now called criminality they would be obliged to extol as patriotism. Mr. E. B. ROCHE perceived that the motto of the Treasury bench was Sic volo, sic jubco. All that Mi nisters wanted was the blind and unreasoning support of a majority, and he feared they did not reckon without their host. The only ground on which the Right Hon. Baronet the Home Secretary had rested the argument in favour of the Bill was a letter from a gentleman named M‘Ghee, which was written to show why and how his party had failed to revolutionise Ireland. Mr. M•Ghee said the people were flocking to their standard, but a certain party interfered, and from day to day the people fell off. Who constituted that party? The Ro man Catholic clergy. What remedial measures did the Government propose for Ireland ? An alteration of the poor-law ; an extension of the franchise. Those measures came too late. Ministers said nothing on the subject of the tenure. It required a long and severe apprenticeship before one could know Ireland. When an Irishman stood up in Parliament it was said he did so to complain, and not to propose remedies. Re presenting, perhaps, the largest constituency in Ire land, he (Mr. Roche) did not shrink from that respon sibility. Let them, as men of business, view the Irish question as their own. He would begin at the head—with their mock court—their Lord-Lieu tenancy. Of what advantage was that to Ireland? — (Hear, hear.) No man, sent over trammelled as Lord Clarendon was, could act as a statesman. Then there was the Church of Ireland. There was a source of Irieh revenue to which, if they were practicable and just men, they might apply. Then there was the grand jury land tax, amounong to a million and a quarter of money, which was without control expended by those who might be called the English garrison. Then there were 50,000 troops stationed in Ireland; there was maladministration in almost every public office, there was ample room for retrenchment; and it was indeed hard that under such circumstances a fund could not be obtained for develop. ing the resources of the country. If coercion could pro duce beneficial results Ireland ought to be one of the most prosperous countries in the world. It appeared probable that Ireland would continue to be governed in the same manner until men should arise who had the hearts of Christians and the heads of statesmen. Mr. FAGAN regretted that Ministers had not evinced a more earnest disposition to redeem the professions which they made with regard to Ireland when they sat on the Opposition benches. Some excuse for their short comings might, however, be found in the circumstances to which they had been placed since they entered office, and he could never forget the services which some of the leading men of that party had rendered to his country. Heretofore, when any Government had asked for a mea sure such as that Pow demanded, a case of necessity or a semblance of one had always been made out; but on the present occasion not a single argument had been ad duced in support of the proposition. It certainly was the weakest case ever put forward to justify the suspen sion of the liberties of a people. For his part, he denied that there existed any general dispesi.ion to insurrec tion in Ireland. Would Ministers dare to attempt to put down the agitators of Manchester in the same manner?—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member then touched upon the manner in which the recent State pro secutions in Ireland had been conducted, and expressed his disapprobation cf it. In conclusion, he declared that, although he admired the talents and good, disposition of Lord Clarendon, he could not consent to place Ireland at his mercy. Mr. GRATTAN said that the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act was a hazardous experiment; it had often been tried, and as often failed. There was nothing in the character of the people of Ireland to disqualify them for the enjoyment of liberty,— "The feult, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings." In former ca-es how did the people of England act? Did they ever suspend the liberties of their country upon such a short notice, or without proof ? Did not Mr. Pitt and Lord Castlereagh come down to the House with large bags filled with let'ers and sworn informations be• fore the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended ? All that was wanting here. He contended that this measure was unnecessary. He maintained that Dlreland did not deserve this measure. The House was in laughter on the previous evening when they spoke of insurrection in Ireland. There had been none. It existed only in the minds of inte rested individuals, who could get up an insurrection at any time. If they would pay him for it, he would get up one in forty-eight hours.—(Laughter.) He remem bered hearing when he was a boy the cry of permanent pay—that was the cry of the Orangemen—and it meant that there was to be a Catholic rebellion got up, so that the corps would be increased and there should be per manent pay. He suspected something of the same kind at this time. Let them not manufacture spies. Let Ireland be governed by greater talent, and not by a second-class set of Ministers dressed up from some old clothes shop.—(Laughter.) The Lord-Lieutenant said that the people of Ireland showed nothing of a repentant spirit. They had done nothing to repent of ; for could it be said that the people of Ireland, the gentry, the Roman Catholic clergy, had joined in the insurrection, as it was called? Why, there was no such insurrection, no overt act was proved. O'Brien distinctly denied all participation with the party who were for violent proceedings. He had heard O'Brien charged in that House with having gone to France to solicit French aid, but M. Lamartiae bad indig nantly denied it. Did the Lord-Lieutenant mean to say that agitation was to cease, that there was to be no discussion of measures which they considered wrong and wished by legal and constitutional means to repeal ? All history proved that that should not be done, and he believed that if it were the disease would be aggravated. They might put down repeal, but they would set up se paration. What charm was there to Ireland in the con. nexion with this country ? Why should he as an Irish man like the English better than the French ? The French were as well mannered—as agreeable.—(An Hon Member—" And as good looking.") He did not think so.—(A laugh.) He liked the honest face of an Englishman better than those mustachioed fellows, beg ging the Hon. Gentleman's pardon.—(The Hon. Mem ber as he said this slightly bowed to Mr. Muntz, who was sitting near him, and a hearty laugh rang through the House.) It happened that on that day there was to be tried in Ireland an individual who had been in gaol seven months. The Attorney-General of Ireland was an able man, he knew, but with his unbap tized spaniels he was unable to obtain convictions. How was it that he could not instruct them to succeed? He was obliged to get packed juries to convict. Oh! if the Attorney-General were there he could make the blood fly from his heart, and the light from his count°. nance.—(Laughter.) Of 177 jurors impanelled to try one of the political prisoners (Mr. Duffy, as we under stood), 135 were Protestants and only 42 Catholics, four of whom were tradesmen in the employ of the Lord- Lieutenant and public contractors. How could Irish men be in love with law so administered? He entreated English Members to stay away from the division 'to night, and save at the same time the liberties of Ireland and their own reputation. lle declared that he would rather that martial law should be proclaimed in Ireland than that Parliament should go on in this way, suspend ing the constitutional privileges of his countrymen. He felt that be could move those who now heard him to tears if he were to relate what he had seen in the course of a recent tour which he had made through a portion of Ireland,—if he were to describe the ruinous devastation, the houses destroyed, the landlords ruined, and the tenants flying—(Hear)—and now theyand degradation were of fo his sd unhappy.climaxc, ~t u o n tt r h y e . sufferings rirnen knew how to dio as w‘il as Engilt•lieter.; ro .,s ii h aim knew how to the on the field of glory, but let not Irish men die in a ditch with dishonour.—(Cheers.) Mr. C. ANSTEX could not =cur either in the me. tion of the Right Hon. Baronet (Sir G. Grey) or that of thellon. Member (Mr. J. O'Connell). He would ad• mit the reality of the insurrection of last year, and the truth of nearly all the assertions contained in the letter of the Lord-Lieutenant. But he thought that a renewal of the Act was sought for on insufficient grounds, and that there were powers enough in the ordinary law suf ficient at all times for the conduct of the 'government. He did not hesitate to say that there were people in this country against whom charges of disaffection might with as much justice be levelled as against the Irish. It was, unfortunately, but too notorious that gentlemen went about in England, and especially in Lancashire, exciting the masses, and stimulating them to enter into leagues with an avowod purpose to deprive the Crown of our mighty colonial empire. Was there any lawyer in that House who could doubt that the language which those persons held was seditious, if not treasonable?- -(Hear, hear.) Was it anything less than se ditious to hold out the example of the American re public in the manner in which it had been presented to the discontented spirits of this land ? Then why should there be this selection, to the disadvantage of Ireland, and why should the Manchester gentlemen come for ward as they now did to swell the majority in that House against the rights and liberties of the people of Ireland? With respect to one of the grounds taken up by the Government for the purpose of supporting the proposition now before them, he wished to say that he was acquainted with Mr. M'Ghee, upon the statements made by whom much would depend in case the writ of error should fail. Now, what were the facts ? Mr. M'Ghee, down to the end of February, was engaged most earnestly in attempting to prevent even the appearance of Liberalism amongst the Young Ireland party. His letters at that time were full of loyalty and Conserva tism; and he remained in that train of mind until the bursting forth of the French revolution excited him to an unsafe and incautious pitch of enthusiasm. Mr. M'Ghee's letters from America ought certainly not to be permitted to injure the parties with whom he had been previously associated, for he was a poet, a good poet, but still a poet, and it was to be hoped that, as he never could intend to compromise the lives of his associates, so that effect might be avoided. Considering, further, that the letter of the Lord-Lieutenant afforded no ground for the pro posed measure, he should vote against the Bill; but he should by no means support the amendment, thinking a Committee of Inquiry in every respect inexpedient. Mr. BOURKE said, that in thus addressing the House for the first time upon a subject deeply painful to the people of Ireland, he felt bound frankly to state his con viction that there did exist in that country a necessity for the measure now before them. If the Bill were cal culated to excite a feeling of alarm on the score of fur ther rebellion, he should vote against it. If its tendency were to hinder commerce or agriculture, or if the Go vernment intended to make it permanent, he should on that ground also vote against it. He considered that the state of Ireland rendered a continuance of these powers necessary, to prevent an alarm which had been deeply detrimental to the interests of the country during the last year. As there was no intention on the part of the Government to render this measure per manent, and as it was not likely to produce any of the evil effects which had been anticipated from it, he thought all who desired to see peace and order estab lished in Ireland ought to give it their support.—(Hear. hear.) He, as an Irishman, would gladly support any measure which would insure, even for the shortest period, the continuance of peace in Ireland. What that country needed was peace, that the people might be allowed to turn their minds from politics and theories to the culti vation of domestic arts. The people of Ireland had been accustomed for many years to think more of fight ing than of farming—(Hear, hear) —more of contention than of commerce—(Hear, hear)—and hence they had failed to take measures to avert or remedy the disasters of the last year or two. A calamity unprecedented in the history of nations had overtaken them, and had found them unprepared with any means of defence to shield them against itsouslaught. But there was one feature in that dis aster which rendered it terrible to contemplate. A spirit was abroad among the people which made even famine more hideous than it would otherwise have been—a spirit that enabled men to tell the famine-stricken pea santry that the deaths of those who were near and dear to them were caused, not by the visitation of God, but by the effects of bad legislation—(Hear, hear)—that Ireland was ruined by its connexion with England—and that the Saxon sway ever had been, and ever would be, hostile to Celtic improvement and prosperity. This was a maniac spirit, an anarchist spirit, a traitorous spirit— (Hear, hear) —and they had to-night to decide whether such a spirit still existed iu Ireland. If any portion of the fire still slumbered there was a necessity for the stringent measures proposed by the Government. It had been said that the powers which it was now proposed to continue, and which had been held by the L rd- Lieutenant for some months, were intended to put down the Repeal body; but had there been any proof that such was the case?—(Hear, hear.) Not a man had been arrested who had not been deeply involved in the traitorous transactions of July last ; and i t was evident that this measure had not been intended to cramp the free and proper discussion of public ques tions. He was not surprised, however, at the strong opposition to it. Although not an old man—(A. laugh) —he was old enough to remember the time when the un fortunce MCA now in the prison of Dublin were shining lights and leaders in an association that had for many years held sway over the feelings and passions of the Irish people—when the members of the Loyal National Repeal Association were not ashamed to avail themselves of the prestige and traditionary influence of one who bore the ancient name ofO'Brien, and to welcome to their counsels Mr. Meagher, and enlist his talents in their cause. The fact was, that many of the members of the late confederation once obeyed the mandates of the leaders of the late Repeal Association; but where were hey now? The leaders were still legisletere in that House, while their followers were convicted felons.— (" Hear, hear," and a laugh.) The masters were Members of Parliament, but their pupils were immured in the dreary eels of Dublin gaol. He (Mr. Bourke) might prove the connexion that still existed between those Hon. Members and the unfortunate men im prisoned in Dublin.—(" Nu," from Mr. J. O'Connell, and loud cries of " Hear.") But he would not now pur sue the subject further. He would only remind the House of this simple fact, with which they were all acquainted—that Conciliation-hall begot confederation, and that confederation begot the miserable scenes of last year.—(Hear, hear.) Sir H. W. BARRON observed, that he resided in a district of Ireland where a strung insurrectionary feel ing had existed during the last summer ; but, having just returned from that district, he could assure the House, on the honour of a gentleman, that he never knew it in so tranquil a state.—(Hear, hear.) During the sixteen years he had been in Parliament he ha never known political agitation in Ireland so completely at a discount, or the leaders of the violent party so com pletely prostrate, as they were at this moment. Those among the peasantry who were active supporters of the late insurrection were now convinced of the folly and wickedeess of w t v h ei e :: m s e ws n ler w e h pw o orrfo l e e ne d go,y them into the move ment ; and the few junior clergy of the Roman Ca thelic Church who last summer were imbued with something approaching to au insurrectionary disposition tha c t ur h e e d, was so sasi f s t d y c— th o e n Te ian w ucge a dh s t n teh o re) t r o r ne among the ministers of that church, from the bishop to the humblest curate, who would sanction any attempt of an insurrectionary nature. He considered, then, that he should be a traitor to those who sent him to that House if he consented to abridge their liberties by supporting the proposal of the Govern ment. He believed that Lord Clarendon had adminis tered the law with judgment, with mercy, and with pru dence—cifear, hear)—but that circumstance would not induce him (Sir H. Barren) to abandon the liberties of his countrymen. He wanted to know what the British wanted so much as the power P ar lia m ent intended to do for the Iri s h peopl e ? It was not pol o i f tic o a b l ta r i i o g i h og rights ftohoadt and the means of subsisten6e,— they t something to stimulate the industry of the country and to support the starving thousands., who were now dying in cabins and ditches. Would a coercion Bill or the sus pension of the Habeas Corpus Act effect that object? Such measures would only drive thousands of sober-minded men in Ireland, who had been really anxious for the British connexion, into the arms of repeal. The conti nued suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act would in crease instead of mitigating discontent. He believed that in the hands of Lord Clarendon the power proposed to be given to him would not be abused, and therefore would not produce enormous mischief; but still he ab horred this constant recurrence to measures for the sus pension of the liberties of the subject; and until a clear case for the present proposition was shown, he must vote as determinedly against it as he had supported a similar one last year.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. MOORE, who was very indistinctly heard in the gallery, referred, as we understood, to some observa tions made on a former occasion by the Noble Lord at the head of the Government, to the effect that the House should inform itself of the circumstances under which extraordinary powers were d emanded from it , and should not proceed to pass judgment without due know ledge. He thought that statement just and reason• able, and in it was involved the whole question now under consideration, The Noble Lord consequently admitted that a Minister was bound to make out an ex traordinary case for the demand of extraordinary powers, and he (Mr. Moore), after the statement made on the part of the Government that night, asked whether an ex traordinary case, or even an ordinary case, according to the usage and practice of Parliament, had been esta blished for the suspension of the constitutional rights and privileges of a portion of her Majesty's subjects.-- (Hear, hear.) The tact was, that no rebellion had broken out in Ireland, simply because the p eo p le of that coun. try never had any i nten tion of rebelling — (Hear, hear)— anal those patriots of the United Irishman , who talked of throwing vitriol on the troops, had in reality scarcely any more influence with the Irish pe o p l e , or with any distahffiescoteodunptryor,tiaoondof were th opposed from first to last bye Irish people, than any Saxon in those in whom the Irish people had belief and trust.— d c r e e n t h e a n d w b i e t h o n w h e i x c it was impossible to speak in (Hear, hear.) With respect to the temper and dis ohrothiseedp,owers intrusted to Lord Claren don of too high praise; and he believed that in respect to that matter all classes and parties in the coun try would give great commendation to that Noble Lord. But he had no notion of entrusting the lives and liberties of his countrymen to the mercy of any individual, merely because he had confidence in that individual's discretion. —(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Mete ber then referred to that paragraph in Lord Clarendon's letter which al luded to the disaffection and disloyalty of a portion of the Irish population, and was understood to observe that Lord Clarendon, so far from exaggerating the amount of this disaffection, had rather underrated the extent of the surface over which it was spread; but though there might he a portion of the people disloyal, nine-tenths of the population were well affected to the Govern ment of this country from a natural and proper , regard for peace , circler, and the security of life and I?roperty. Lord Clarendon, in his letter, observed that Ireland had been too long trained to a system of agitation, and that it was to secure to Ireland continued repo te, so vitally essential to her prosperity, that he aske I for the renewal of those extraordinary powers.— He ( Mr. Moore) thought he could take to himself the credi .t of having opposed and discountenanced the agita tion referred to at least as long, as steadily, and as ho nestly as her Majesty's Ministers. He remained in pri vate life for years because he would not lay down his honour before the standard of agitation, while her Ma jesty's .Ministers were dispensing place and patronage from tin use (the Treasury) benches beneath the wing of one agitator, just as they were now sitting there under the wing of another.—(Hear, hear.) Nothing, he thought , was so bad as agitation, unless it was the aban donmeu t of public principle, and the persecution of for mer associates when they became no longer necessary. Mr. :MUNT2 regretted to be obliged to say, that he felt it q uite impossible to support the Government on this oc casion.—(Hear, hear.) He always wished to support them, when ho could consistently with justice and honour ; but, if the same circumstances existed in England as now existed in Ireland, he should not vote for the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act—(Hear, hear) —and, although there had been different circumstances, it appeared to him, from the statement of the Home Secretary, that they were so completely altvred that there was no pretence for this measure.—( Hear, hear.) As to the Lord• Lieutenant's letter, asking for certain powers in order to prevent political agitation, where would her Majesty's Ministers have been without political agitation ?—(Hear, hear.) Where would the liberties of England have been without agitation ? (Hear, bear.) Every one had a right to agitate, if he did it like an honest man, and he (Mr. Muutz) would oppose any Government that would coerce the people from doing it.—(Hear.) Lord J. RUSSELL—It is very easy to follow the course of the Hon. Gentleman who spoke last but one, and when the immediate urgency of danger is past, to laugh at that danger—(Hear, hear)—and when security is obtained, to make light of the precautions by which it was procured.—(Hear, hear.) I admit at once that the case we have to lay before the House is not similar to that which we had last year, when insurrec tion appeared to be impending—when the urgency was so great that this House almost unanimously passed in a single day a measure of such vital importance, and I will say as hostile to the general liberties of the country, as the measure now under consideration.—(Hear, hear.) But when the Hon. Baronet (Sir H. W. Barron) gives his reasons against the measure—(A laugh)—l own that they appear to me to be reasons which my Right Hon. Friend might very well have urged in his opening speech.—(Hear, hear, and a laugh.) The Hon. Gentleman says—" Waterford was in a state of the ut most alarm; it was expected that rebellion would imme diately break out; this measure was passed, and I now find that the country around is more tranquil than it has been for three years, that that alarm has subsided, that confidence has taken the place of panic, and that men feel they are no longer living under the apprehension of outbreak." Why, I should have thought that was as great a panegyric as could well be passed upon the effects of the measure.—(Hear, hear.) But the lion. Gentle man gives further reasons, for he says—" I must say, likewise, that the Act has been administered with great leniency, that nothing could be more judicious or more merciful than the conduct of the Lord Lieutenant in the administration of the great powers confided to him."— (Hear, hear.) If here is an Act which has not only produced the most beneficial effects, but which has been so administered that no fault is to be found with the au- thority to whom that administration is confided—l say here is a case for continuing at least for come time longer the beneficial operation of that Act.—(A cry of " Ohl" answered by cries of " Hear, hear I")—commit ting it to the same administrator—(Hear, hear)—and taking care not too soon to remove the bandage, lest the wound should bleed afresh in consequence of which you found it necessary to take your precautions.—(Hear.) The lion. Gentleman who spoke early in this debate laid great stress upon one particular paragraph of the Lord- Lieutenant's letter, and endeavoured to infer from it that it was on account of agitation, and because that agitation was for an unattainable object, that the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act is now proposed. Now I think, although there was some plausibility in that statement, it took its whole force from separating that paragraph from the general tenor of the letter, by removing it from the context, and thus not placing before the eyes of the House the whole case which the Lord-Lieutenant has desired to place before them. It would not, I admit, be any ground for the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act that an agitation was going on, and was for an unattain able object; but, when we have found that agitation, after continuing for many years, and displaying in its course a singuter mixture of vehemence and of patience, of continued disappointment and of revived hopes—a system which could only be kept up, as I believe, by the influence and the talent of one man—has at length led to what might have been expected some time before—the separation and division of those who agitated for that object into two parties, the one still clinging to a hope that by continued and organized agitation they might eventually attain their ehject; the other declaring that it was useless to expect anything from discussion—that the time had arrived when they must take measures to prepare and organize rebellion, and to attempt to wrest by physical force that which they had failed in obtaining by petition, by discussion and agitation,—then I say that the para graph of the Lord-Lieutenant's letter bears a more sig nificant sense, and is well worthy of being taken into consideration by this House,—(llear.) Such has been the course of events. There was a separations—the Honourable Member for Limerick speaks of it him self—a separation Ie:AA - eon those who said that there was still a hope of this which I maintain is an neat teinable object (in which I quite agree with the Lord- Lieutenant), and who still said that they would con tinue their organized agitation for that purpose, and an other party who in the most open way, in a way I believe to which there is no parallel in the his tory of the world, began declaring that their object was treason—(Hear, hear)—that what they wished was to drive the Lord-Lieutenant from the castle of Dublin, to plant there the rebel flag, to kill or to seduce hrr Ma jesty's troops, to thrust from the soil of Ireland every authority placed there by the Queen, to instal a Provi sional Government in the place of the legal Government then existing in Ireland, and to inflict a blow upon what one of them was pleased to call " the accursed British empire."—(Hear, hear.) Such was the language used and published, and the newspapers containing such open avowals of treasonable designs were, as I have been toll by Irishmen living in Ireland, having no efficial authority there, read with avidity by the peasants and tradesmen in the country and in the towns through a great portion of Ireland. The Hon. Member says that there was not such a course of prosecution taken by the Lord-Lieutenant as would have put a stop to that evil in its commencement. I totally deny that that was the case. As soon as the Lord-Lieutenant could obtain from the law officers an opinion that there was any chance of a successful prosecution, he directed those articles to be prosecuted.—(Hear, hear.) Those who remember the events that took place last year may re collect that, in some instances, those prosecutions were successful ; in several others they were defeated ; and I may say that, in those cases in which they were defeated, any man in this country reading the paragraphs that were prosecuted would have said that sedition was the mildest word that could be used with respect to their character.—(Hear, hear.) But the evil became more dangerous ; the effect of baffled prosecutions was to give increased power to those who sought to effect their purpose by rebellion. Clubs were formed ; those clubs were directed to procuring arms ; about 7,000 members were enrolled in Dublin alone ; the system spread with marvellous rapidity ; almost in every town there was a combination under some name or other with a similar object in view. Precautions were thought necessary. The lion. Member who spoke last but one says that the Lord Lieutenant made the giants first. g to e otafkwear very in and then slew them; all I can say is , that persons used tthoe field,waanddidwahootheinskhoiat,nbtehaeeiartkkntoksteraled great precautions—(Hear, hear)—lest an outbreak at Dublin or elsewhere should cause a surprise and a sud den loss of blood, although the triumph might ulti mately rest with the Queen's troops.—(Hear.) Such was the state of things when this House thought it ne cessary, on the demand of the Government for fresh powers, to pass the Bill for a suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. But although that Act was most effectual —although the attempt at insurrection very quickly failed, we are not to conclude from that that if no precautions had been taken, if those prepara tions for rebellion had been allowed to go on till harvest and the period immediately after hare vest, there would not have been a sanguinary out break in Ireland, and a contest, in which I have no doubt the Queen's troops and the loyal subjects of her Majesty would have been successful, but in which their success would have been attended with calamities such as every Member of this House would deeply deplore.— (Hear.) Why, then if, so far from its being "a mock rebellion"—if; so far from there having been no danger, there was considerable danger, and that danger was only averted by extraordinary measures, I do say pause for a time before you deprive the Lord-Lieutenant of the means of preventing the commencement of similar move ments having a similar object in view. —(Hear.) The Hon. Gentleman the Member for Waterford (Sir H. W. Barron) spoke with respect to some other matters, and, like many Members coming from his country, I think he confounded things which are within the power of Parliament, matters for which we may be Justly reproached and criticised, wit's matters over which we have no control whatever.—(Hear, hear.) He said there was great discuntont in Ireland, and that that was caused by the present state of poverty and distress in that country. Now, with respect to that distress, there are two circumstances most apparent. There is one, which is the infliction of the loss of the staple food of the country, beyond the power of man to avert; and there is the choice of that particular food as the staple food of the people, and that it was in the power of man to prevent. It is a food which every one knows is of so cheap and low a nature that those depend ing upon it cannot go to any cheaper food when they are deprived of it.—(Hear, hear.) It is a kind of food that does not keep beyond the next harvest like the corns of different kinds, and its deficiency in one year cannot be supplied by the abundance of another.—(llear.) It is, moreover, a kind of food liable to disease, that often sweeps away the greater portion of the crop. Now, in the last year, in Ireland, after repeated losses, espe cially after the losses of 1845 and 1846, it was—l will not say unnaturally, after being; for so long a time ac customed to it—but it was, as I have heard, the desire, the passion, of great masses of the people to revive that food—(Hear)—and there were no little means of comfort remaining which the peasantry were not ready to part nth in the hope of obtaining a renewal of the food, on the plautiog and produce of which they had so lung re lied.—(Hear, hear.) The failure of the potato, however, in the past year has been as bad as in any year ; preced ing • and many who were ill the hope ei obtglan abundance of food have been disappointed, and, being disappointed, remain helpless and almost hopeless in a land naturally fertile.—(Rear, hear.) It is cause of la mentation that they should have placed their reliance so entirely on the hope of a successful production of the food of the potato. It is cause for lamentation that it pleased Providence to defeat and disappoint those hopes. These circumstances are matters for reflection, or per haps for precaution against reliance for the future on that kind of food, but they are not reasons for coming down to the House and assailing the British Parliament and the Act of Union as being the causes of the calamity. —(Cheers.) (Sir H.W. Barron here expressed dissent.) I so understood the Hon. Gentleman; but if he did not mean to produce that effect his language ought to have been male much clearer, and I hope that another time when he introduces the subject he will take care to make the distinction more evident than he has done on the present occasion. —(A. laugh.) Let its be reproached, if you will, for our ignorance of Ireland ; reproach us if you will fur passing so many Acts of restriction on the I liberties of the people, but let us not be reproachd for that for which we are not accountable.—(Rear, hear.) The British Parliament found, at the time of the union, the people of Ireland living upon this staple food, and they have continued to live upon it up to this time, and with increased numbers. It was not the Act of the British Parliament that they should be dependent on this food; and therefore let us not be reproached with this calamity.—(Hear, hear.) If we can assuage that calamity, if any English or Irish Member will point out to the Parliament the mode by which the cala mity can be assuaged and the distress relie ve d, th ere will be every disposition, if that remedy or alleviation is thought effectual, to adopt it, and to act, not in the spirit in which we are accused of acting, of d o i ng that which is hostile to the Irish people, but with the unani mous wish, although not the original cause of the ca lamity, to do all in our power to alleviate its pressure.— (Cheers.) Having said thus much with respect to the Bill now before the House, and with respect to charges sometimes made, I shall not enter upon the subject of other measures with respect to which some Gentlemen have questioned me. When those measures are before the House I shall be ready to take part in the discussion regarding them. I will only say at present that we think it our duty to Ire land itself', and to this country also, that we should arm the Lord-Lieutenant with powers to pre vent the renewal of an agitation directly leading to rebel lion and insurrection—(Cheers)—that we believe that if on the Ist of March this .Act were allowed to expire, many of the same persons who have endeavoured to turn the distress of Ireland to their own purposes, would again be active—(Hear, hear)—and I should have some fear that they would again have a partial success, no doubt to be again defeated.—(Hear, hear.) But if this House wishes to preserve peace and tranquillity in Ireland—if this House wishes that there should be time for any measures of legislation to operate beneficially—if this House wishes to act in the manner the most useful to the,,people of Ireland, who have been misled by this species of agitation, then they ,will consent to the intro duction of this Bill, and consent to the renewal of those powers which it is intended to confer.—(Cheers.) Mr. G. THOMPSON said that he must repudiate the imputation cast upon certain Gentlemen for their votes on a former occasion. He believed they were influenced by the same feelings that influenced him on that occa sion, viz., that it was neither expedient nor necessary on that occasion to divide against the Government, inas much as they had information they should almost im ne diately afterwards be called upon to discuss the merits of the particular measure then referred to. He had paid the utmost attention to the Noble Lord, in the hope that he would justify Members of the House in voting for the measure; but he confessed that if the defence of this measure which was set up by the Secretary of State for the Home Department. was weak, the defence set up by the Noble Lord was still weaker. When the Noble introduced the measure six months ago, he assigned distinct and intelligible reasons for so doing ; he in formed the House that he considered it his bounden duty to make out a case of urgent and in• atant necessity ; he called on the House to re pudiate the measure then introduced, if he should 'ail to make out such a case, and produce reasons convincing to the understanding and judgment of the House ; and as the measure was precisely the same, the reasons for it should be equally strong now as those which were considered necessary and justifiable then. The Noble Lord on that occasion did not tell us, as he told us to night, that Ireland, throughout its length and breadth, was in a state of tranquillity, that the insurrection had no existence, that it was found easy to administer the government of the country; but he believed the Lord•• Lieutenant's letter, and all the admissions of Hon. Gen tlemen on both sides of the House, were concurrent with the fact that tranquillity did reign in Ireland, and the Noble Lord warned tliem'to assent to this for the purpose of continuing that tranquillity; but such was not the Noble Lord's argument when he introduced this measure six months ago. What was his own lan guage ? That when he called on the House hastily to sanction this measure, he conceived it was absolutely ne cessary he should prove three things as the ground of his justification for introducing the measure to the House. The first was that the present state of things in Ireland was fraught with evil. He asked, was such the aspect of things at the present moment? That we were on the eve of an outbreak, if not timely prevented. The se cond was, that there wore means sufficient to produce great injury and danger unless some measures were adopted to Avoid them; and the third was, that this was the remedy which appeared most appropriate in the present state of Ireland. He event on to establish these several propositions by a varite ty of extracts from recently speeches recently delivered, news pa pub lished, and he did produce on that ose casion an almost unanimous feeling in favour of the nes'essity of the measure which he then called on the Hous'e to adopt, and of the powers which he said ought to be placed in the hands of her Majesty's representative in Ire land.—(Hear.) But had the Noble Lord done so Gee the present occasion? Nothing of the kind; and there was this remarkable difference between the period when the measure was now brought forward and before, that whereas in the latter case the House was on the eve of an adjournment after a long vacation, they were now just assembled, and had six months before them, and if there was a necessity in the state of things in Ireland that these extraordinary powers should be placed in the hands of the Lord-Lieutenant, there could be no neces sity now, seeing that a totally different state of things prevailed, and that Parliament was in possession of means of receiving rapidly information, and instantly , applying a remedy. Not only did the Noble Lord de clare it to be his opinion that it was necessary he should make out a convincing and irresistible case, but the lion. Gentlemen opposite were of the same opinion, and the Hon. Member for Buckinghamshire, fol lowing close on the Noble Lord, said that they were called upon to vote upon grounds that were mado ; erfectly intelligible to the House. Were they called on to vote on such grounds as this tonight. They were called ou to vote in utter ignorance of what might have induced her Majesty's representative in Ireland to a k for thk se extraordinary powers. On a former occasion he had abstained from voting altogether; to-night he should vote with those who had offered their opposition to the measure. He could only regret that her Ma jesty's Government had not taken advantage of the pre• sent state of things in Ireland to inform the House that it was their wish that this Act should expire on the Ist of March; that they should come down, and, absolutely in the face of their own admission that the people of Ire land bad been penetrated by what the Right Hon. Gen tleman the Secretary of State for the Home Department had been pleased to call the clemency and forbearance of the Lord Lieutenant, should ask the House to act on grounds that seemed to be totally convincing against the passing of any such measure, Mr. SCULLY moved that the debate be adjournei.— (Loud cries of " No!" " Divider) Mr. J. O'CONNELL hoped the House would give those who were desirous of speaking against the mea sure an opportunity of expressing their sentiments upon it, which it was impossible they could do at that late hour. The gallery was then cleared, but no division took place; and Mr. SCULLY addressed the House. Ho said that he feared the Government, in endeavouring to suppress agitation in Ireland, would be adding to the evils at present existing in that country. The present mea sure would have the effect of preventing discussion altogether, and there were many subjects besides the repeal of the union which the people of Ireland were anxious to deliberate upon. He could bear testimony to the fact that the county of Tipperary, to which so many allusions had been made, was never in a more quiescent state than at the present moment. Had but the tenant occupiers a secure mode of giving employ ment to the people, there would be no discontent in that country, and, as this measure would not afford them that security, he should most strenuously oppose it. Mr. S. CRAWFORD could have wished to state the reasons why he should vote against the proposition of her Majesty's Government, but he thought he should better c,nsult the convenience of the House if be re served his observations till a future stage of the Bill. The House then divided, when there appeared— For the motion 221 For the amendment lB Majority for Ministers —2o3 Mr. GRATTAN gave notice that on the second reading of the Bill he should move a call of the House. On the motion of Sir R. H. INGLIS, a standing Committee o' 16 Members was appointed to assist the Speaker in the direction of the Library, viz., Sir R. H. Inglis, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord J. Rus sell, Sir R. Peel, Mr. Goulburn, Mr. W. Wynn, the Lord Advocate, Viscount Mahon, the Solicitor-General, Mr. Pendarves, Sir W. Somerville, Mr. Milnes, Mr. Gladstone, Sir D. Dundas, Sir J. Young, and Mr. Clive. ROMAN CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL. Mr. ANSTEY then moved for leave to bring in a Bill for the furthvr repeal of enactments imposing pains and penalties on Roman Catholics on account of their religious observances. When he stated to the House and to the Hon. Bironet the Member for University of Oxford that the psesent Bill was substantially the same as the one he introduced last session, and that the only alterations which had been made in it had been mado with a view of removing the objections of its opponents, he trusted that the courtesy which had not bcendenied to the promoters of any previous Bill on this subject, would not be refused on the present occasion, viz , to give him leave to introduce the Bill, to have it read a first time without opposition, and to take the discussion on the second reading. Sir H. INGLIS was sure the Hon. ;Member would acquit him of wishing to show any intentional dis courtesy, but he could not help thinking that when the Hon. Member produced a Bill which he told them was substantiAly the same as the one he had introduced last year, and which ho might hlve turt* told th e m was the same as the Bills of 1846 and 1847, he (Sir H. Inglis) was not asking too much of the House in wishing thal $9 decide 61 OLIN 11110049 r such LW 11191,114 he allowed to be again introduced or not. He should, therefore, though very reluctantly, feel it to be his duty to oppose the motion fur leave to bring in the Bill: The Earl of ARUNDEL and SURREY said he thought it would be a waste of time to press the Bill for ward so soon after the recent discussion.—(Hear, hear.) He had been a warm supporter of the principle of the Bill, but he begged the Hon. Member not to press it. this session, and he was ready to take the responstbaty of that advice upon himself.—(llear, hear.) Mr. ANSTEY could not agree in thinking that the Noble Lord had been a very warm supporter of the :Bill; on the contrary, he considered the loss of it upon a former occasion had been owing to the uncertainty of the course taken by the Noble Lord, which had left his friends on that side of the House in doubt as to his movements. He therefore could not accede to that or to any other hint he might receive from the Noble Lord —(L-tughter.) The Earl of ARUNDEL and SURREY—The Hon. Gentleman has arrived et a most monstrous conclusion with respect to my having caused the lo3s of the Bill.— (Hear, hear.) But lam not surprised at the tr. tatment I have received from him when I recollect that. 'which his supporters received at the close of last session. Sir G. GREY said that he feared, as the Hon. Ge ntlee man would not take a hint from the Noble Lord neither would lie take one from him.—(A laugh.) He would, _how ever, be taking a prudent and judicious course if be fol lowed the suggestion he had received; for, though he (Sir G. Grey) had been favourable to the measure, he could foresee nothing but waste of time, in the present state of public business, in bringing in the Bill at present, and he hoped that the Hon. Gentleman would take time to con sider whether his doing so would be of advantage to the object he had in view .—(Divide, divide.) Lord NUGENT also urged the Hon. Member to withdraw his motion, but without effect. The gallery was cleared for a division, when , there appeared— . - Against the first reading 43 For it . 41 Majority against it........ —2 The Bill was consequently lost. Mr. MOFFAT obtained leave to bring in a Bill to provide for the recovery of debts from persons baying privilege of Parliament, and for the exclusion of insol vent Members from the House of Commons, which was read a first time and ordered to be printed; the second reading to take place on the 14th. On the motion of Mr. THORNELY, the following Members were appointed members of the Select Com mittee on Public Petitions :—Mr. Thornely, Sir R. H. Inglis, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, Lord Duncan, Captain Jones, Mr. Mackenzie, Mr. Brotherton, Lord Alfred Hervey, Mr. Scott, Mr. Carter, Mr. Clement; Mr. Lushington, Mr. Duncan, Sir C. Douglas, and Mr. Adderley. On the motion of Lord DUNCAN, Lord Duncan, Earl of Lincoln, Sir R. H. Inglis, Viscount Jocelyn, Mr. Puse), Sir B. Hall, Mr. Langston, Mr. Trelawney, Mr. Cardwell, Mr. H. Drummond, Mr. 0-. Craig, Mr. J. Wilson, Mr. Mansell, Mr. Locke, and Mr. llayter were nominated the Woods and Forests Committee. Ou he motion of Mr. C. LEWIS the following Mem bers were appointed a Select Committee to assist Mr. Speaker in all matters which relate to the printing exe cuted by the order of the House, and for the purpose of selecting and arranging for printing returns and papers presented in pursuance of motions :—Mr. C. Lewis, Sir 11 H. Inglis, Mr. Posey, Mr. V. Smith, Sir J. Young, Lord Mahon, Mr. Hume, Mr. Cardwell, and Mr. Loch. On the motion of Mr. STAFFORD the following gen tlemen were appointed a Standing Committee to control the arrangement of the kitchen and the refreshment rooms in the department of the Sergeant-at-Arms : Mr. Stafford, Mr. Alderman Humphery, the Earl of Mulgraye, Captain Berkeley, Mr. Hastie, Lord Marcus Hill, aid Mr. Vesey Dawson. Sir G. GREY brought up a Bill to continue the Sus pension of the Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland, which was read a first time and ordered to be printed. The house adjourned at One o'clock. THE COUNTRY MARKETS. HULL,FEB.FEB 6. Messrs. Taylor and Bright's circular states that during the past. week a very good business has been done in most articles of the trade ; a consumptive demand has taken off a consi derable proportion of our best red wheats, and the advance noted last Tuesday has been fully maintained ; in the absence of foreign supplies, sales are now exclusively from warehouse. Farmers brought a small supply of wheat for this day's mar ket, and demanded a considerable advance upon the terms of last week ; millers bought pretty freely at about is to 2s per quarter more money. The show of foreign was small, and business limited, owing to a further advance being insisted on by holders. Fine barley continues saleable at late rates, and grinding goes off in retail at some advance. Beans go off somewhat better—if of fine dry quality—anything tender is neglected. Egyptians are saleable at 28s best descriptions. The sale of peas is quite in retail, and for oats we almost en tirely lack buyers. Without arrivals, there is but a small business in linseed ; the sales from warehouse are without quotable alteration in price, but the market is firm, and con sumption large. For linseed cakes we have experienced a some• what better sale, at the present low figure, full 31 per ton below their value this day twelve months. Rapeseed quota tions may be regarded as nominal, there being no sales. Rape cakes are quite as dear. Not much actual business in bones, but the market firm at 90s, the value of best quality. The following are the present prices of grain : a. s. S. Wheat, English, red 42 to 44 Peas, white and yel. 30 32 Do. white ...... Dan' zic and Ko- , Linseed Black Sea. 30 —4l nigsberg 5O 52 Do. Petersburgh ... 34 39 Pomeranian and Do. Riga&Archngl. 35 —37 Hamburgh . 44 47 Do. Konigsberg .... 32 36 Danish, Holstein, & Per ton. Fiiesland 42 44 Linseed cakes, Hull ... 71 lsa Russian and Odessa 40 42 Do. fine foreign Oats, English Do. Danish—. ...... . 14 16 Rapeseed, per 10 qrs. 261 to 281 Do. Friesland l5 18 Rape cakes, do. 008 Od Do. Russ. & Odessa 15 17 Tares, Englis oos 00 3 Barley, malting 29 31 Do. foreign 24s 283 Do. grinding........ 23 24 Guano 51 to 91 53 Beans 32 —34 Bones, do 87s 6d to 90s 05 Dolforeign ...... ..... 28 32 Rye meal 6 IPSWICH, FEB. 6. Wheat improved a shade the, early part of the market, but at the close prices were no better. Malting Barley was pretty firm, other qualities dull. Oats, beans, and peas, without alteration in value, Malt, dull sale. Flour, no variation. PER QUARTER.! PER QUARTIIt• Wheat 4os to 52s Beans Barley Oats... Rye ...... .... 24 to 27s1Floar, per sack A ERAGES FOR THE WEEK } /MING FEBRUARY 3, 1849. Wheat . Barley Oats Beans .. Peas LivnarooL, FEB. 6.—At this day's market there was s good attendance of dealers, and a fair show of wheat and flour. There was less buoyancy in the demand for wheat than ort Friday, but the prices of this day week were supported. Flour moved off very slowly, and full prices were realised with difficulty. Barley, Beans, and Peas were without change. Oats were id per 451bs dearer, and fine mealing samples were scarce. Oatmeal was held for rather more money. There was a good demand for Indian corn, and prices were Is to 2 1 per 480Ibs higher. BISHOP'S STORTFORD, FEB. 3.—We had a brisker trade for wheat than for some time past, fine new obtaining Is to 2 5 per quarter more than last week. The demand for barley was not so large, fine samples, however, in request, at about 6d per quarter more, inferior kinds were saleable at late rates. 111 other articles nothing doing. PETERBOROUGH, FEE. 3.—Wheat, new 40s to 445, fine 46s to 50s ; old 42s to 465, fine 50s. Barley, 26s to 28s, fine 31s, malting 00s to 00s. Oats, new 14s to 16s, fine 18s to 210, old 20s to Oos, fine 26e. Beans 36s to 38s, new Oos to 00e, per qr. Inspector's corn return for week ending Feb. Wheat, 1,092 qrs 0 bu, 43s2id ; barley, 254 qrs 3 bu, 28s Bid; oats, 134 qrs 4 bush, 15s ; beans, 85 qrs, 33s sd; peas, 0 qr 0 bush, Oos Od per qr. MARCH, Fan. 2.—Wheat 43s to 475, fine 48s to 001 per 4 1 1. • Oats 9d to 10d per stone. Beans 32s to 34s per qr. DALKEITH MEAL MARKET, FEB, s.—The following are the prices at this day's market:— Oatmeal, per sack, of 280 lbs. First Second Third imperial .. ... 27s Od 26s 9d 26s Od Barleyrneal, per ditto ... 21s 6d 21s Od 20s Od Peasemeal —s Od —s Od —s Od Flour —s Od —s Od —8 Od Od Pot barley ... —s 6d —s Od SERIOUS ROBBERY.—On Saturday night a robbery was committed at the Aston Villa Tavern. It appears that the landlady, having occasion to give some change, went to the room up-stairs, where the money was keptv and was much surprised to find the door open, as it was always kept locked. On entering she saw a man, vvho struck the candlestick out of her hand, ran down the stairs* and out at the front door. The landlady screamed, and her husband bParing her, saw the thief as he passsed, and pursued him, but in vain, as he escaped. The door had bEen opened by a picklock, and 601. stolen.—aria s Birmingham Gazette. BIRTHS. At Malta, on the 28th ult„ the lady of Henry Lord Jack . son, Esq., of a son. At Plumstead, on the Ist inst., the wife of E. Maberlf, Esq., Captain Royal Artillery, of a daughter. On the 3d inst., at Bute-street, Old Brompton, the wile of W. Locke, Esq., of a son. On the 3d inst., at Blackheath-park, the lady of F. IS' Hookey, Esq., of a daughter. On the 3d inst., at Bolton-hall, Yorkshire, the lady of 1 1 . A. Littledale, Esq., of a daughter. On the 4th inst., the lady of J. Mocatta, Esq., of Glocer ter-terrace, Hyde-park, of a son. On the 4th inst., at Ashbridge-house, near Tunbridge, M il ' Hay ton, of a daughter. MARRIED. On the 11th ult., at St. Mary's, Haggerstone, Mr. R. King' of Blomfield-street, Kingsland, to Mary Jane, only daughL" of J. Scarborough, Esq., Tokenhouse-yard, Lothbury. On the sth inst., at St. George's, Hanover square, Lou is ~ Maximilian Timmerman, Chevalier d e L eg io n d'llonneul and late Captain in the Corp s d e G ar d e , t o S ara h, widow' 1 ) ;, the late Sir George Marc u s D'A rc y I rv in e , B ar t., of Ca s t Irvine, county of Fermanagh. DIED. On the 27th ult., aged 56, Giles Rickaby, E s q., of Nu Monkton-ball, near the city of York, late Major of the 4 t (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards. On the Ist inst., at Hereford, aged 6g, John Holder ga t• thews, one of the senior magistrates of that county. • e . On the 3d inst., at Finchley-common, Miss Lomas GT° wood, aged 30. At Hampstead, on the 31 inst., at a very advanced ageoi Susanna, widow of the late Thomas Crawley, Esq' Welwyn, Ilerts. On the 4th inst., Sophia, the wife of Mr. Isaac Shaelcli of Old Bread-street, London. On the 4th inst ,at Blomfield-road, Maida-hill, Hurico Esq., late of Fitzroy-square, aged 74. On the sth inst., at Kennington-cross, Mr. George S,t ni m tli t ; On the Ist inst., George Mordaunt, Esq., of Clemen t and Debenhann Suffolk. On the Ist inst., at Cheltenham, William Ben, Es(l-, late Canton, aged 59. London: Printed and Published by MURDO YOUr fat No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, N O. 01 Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the coiJui Atiddlaitzt Foam*, Foingary 7, nig,