The Sun. — London, England, 1827-06-18 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. • 4 It is a weil-knownsemark tipon •English party polities, that the Government is always more secure for having a Parliamentary opposition to contend with. The notion is reasonable and experimentally just ; for an opposition so com posed and guided as naturally will be the case when men of property are its members, and when its directors are men brought up in the principles and maxims of British policy, although it may succeed in attaching a considerable por tion of the national esteem to itself, affords, nevertheless, a recognized and harmless channel through which the censure which it excites against Ministers may discharge itself—leaving behind it a purer atmosphere, and a sky more cloudless and serene. There is another species of oppo s sition, likewise, which serves the Government by a different and somewhat shorter method. The Wellington and Eldon opposition, for instance, —half from blind rage against Mr. Canning and his Cabinet, half from habitual contempt for the people,—instead of striving . to impel the anger o f the coun try at large against the Ministers by the accustomed means of Parliamentary argu ment or declamation, have contrived to appro priate to themselves, as to a common focus, the whole floating mass of contempt and hatred which is on the average dispersed throughout society, and to exhibit the rare (though not singular) example of an oligarchy out of office making war at once upon Ministers, Crown and people. It is obvious that, happily, such a war must end in the defeat and ruin of the aggressors themselves ; and if taunt or solicitation could be made available to their rescue, we—who have no feeling of personal enmity towards them, but should, on the other hand, rejoice to see their Lordships still capable of serving the country, in so far as any man with a character not totally ruined may be converted, as opportunities offer, to _some sort of public use—would even take pains to save them. In fact; however, the business of Mr. Canning's Ministry has been done by the Tory opposition more effectually than the Right Honourable Gentleman could, in his most sanguine moments, have anticipated. Their conduct, with regard to the Corn Bill; has affixed to their persons a sentiment of national disgust, beyond what we have ever known to exist in this community against any portion of its members. After the Duke of Wellington had declared in Parliament his full approbation of the principle of the Corn Bill, and after he had effected, in its details, the precise meta morphosis which he wisely recommended, thus conferring on the measure a twofold title to his own protection,=--nay, after asking a question which led all the world to believe that, since the Ministers could not conscientiously support a law thus disfigured, in their estimation, by what improved it in that of the Duke of Wellington, his Grace would himself step forward as the guardian of this his own doubly-begotten child , and move the third reading, which of course he could have carried in the teeth of Lord Gode rich ;—after all these successful manoeuvres, the illustrious Tory, with the concurrence of his apostate "Whig-friends, lets the bill - perish, unborn. The scheme, then, is manifest. It is to defeat the Corn Bill, not to improve it, that this mongrel opposition has been raised. It was itot enough to embarrass the plebeian minister—the plebeian body which he represented was also to be pinched and weakened by low diet—that so much of the feudal princi ple enforcing the prostration of the lower orders, as is recoverable and maintainable in modern times, might be secured for the benefit 'of a race of beings not unworthy to succeed the4itled barbarians of the 12th and 14th centuries. Poor Mr. Western has, we hear, consented to assume the vacant office of Sir Thomas Lethbridge, and to draw upon himself the mixed odium and ridicule enjoyed of late by that worthy -gentleman, their share of which the Tory Lords begin to find more troublesome than they had expected. Mr. - Western is to propose a Bill founded on the oppressive one of 1822, which the new proposer himself resisted at every stage with &at:ewe pertinacity : but this foolish attempt will fail—such a bill is an insult to the nation.—Tinzes. The very cavalier manner in which the House of Lords disposed of the Corporation Funds' Bill can only surprise those who are unacquaint ed with the composition . of that branch of the Legislature. In such cases as the Corn Bill, or the Game Laws' Amendment Bill, involving a possible diminution of rent or of feudal privi leges, or a Catholic question, or a motion for enquiry into the State of the Nation, the ex citement will assemble a number of Peers, and engage their attention. But all appeals, and business which demands a little attention and ap plication, are, in fact, decided by the Lord Chan cellor for the time, and two or three Peers, who, from particular circumstances, have been led to acquire habits of business. With regard to Ap peals, it has been long understood that they are decided by the Chancellor, and fortunate it is for the character of the jurisprudence of this country that they are so decided ; for, were so multitudinous a tribunal as the House of Lords to persuaded of its ability , to decide causes, and (what would be really miraculous) were to become po;sessed of the necessary habits of ap plication, every principle would be unsettled.— A Minister, by trig application of certain well known means, can in general insure something like consistency in the creciaions of a numerous body ; but what a state would the Law of the country be, were the Ministers to carry the sen tences in Appeals by their influence ? In practice, therefore, it is wisely-ordered that the body of Lords in Appeal cases should be merely present for show, like the .Senators of Venice in the Play. In Legislative matters the machine does not, however, work so well as those which are judicial. This very case of the Corporation bands' Bill affords a pregnant instance of it.— The business of a Judge is to declare what is law ; the business of Legislator is to inquire whether the Law is adequate to its object, or re quires improvement. But we observe almost ,always, in the individuals who think for the House of Lords, a disposition to deem the circumstance of a practice being in accordance with the existing law a suffi cient reason for 'sanctioning it. In the dis,. cussion on the Spring Gun Bill, Lord Eldon ex pressly said " it was extremely dangerous to take upon themselves to say what was the law upon such a subject (as the setting of springguns) ;" and because, in the existing state of the law, it was extremely dangerous to say what was law, this was a conclusive reason for not interfering to alter the law; In the same manner, because Corporations can not, under the law as it exists, be prevented from mi sapplying the Corporation funds for the purpose of influencing electors, that seems to be deemed a perfectly valid reason by Lords Lyndhurst and Eldon for throwing out a Bill for the purpose of preventing such misappli cation. We are alluding now merely to the prin ciples laid down by the present and the Ex- Chancellor, leaving out of consideration the statemen t made by Lord Lyndhurst, which was positively untrue, that the case against the Cor poration of Northampton was not proved, for paythentl . were proved and admitted before tho Committee, If, by the Constitution of thN country, the elective franchise is given in a num-! her of instances to the inhabitants of Boroughs and not to the Corporation, while the latter names the Returning Officer, the application of the Corporation funds, for the purpose of secur ing Members agreeable to the Corporation, is in reality transferring the Election from the Inhabitants to the Corporation, and making the Returning Offi cer a partizan. To sanction such an application of money by a Corporation, is to sanction corruption ; because, if the Corporation advance money to in fluence the Election, the inhabitants must either subject themselves to outlay, to secure their right to elect Representatives in whom they can confide, or the Candidates must consent to advance the money. The Corporation funds, though at the disposal of the Corporation, are held in trust by them for the benefit of .their community ; but an expenditure which imposes on the community a heavy expence to secure their constitutional right of suffrage is any thing but beneficial for such community ; the alter native is corruption. We are glad to find that Mr. Spring Rice is determined to bring the matter be fore the House of Commons as a matter of privilege on Tuesday week.—Morning Chronicle. We have long been opposed to the principle of arrest for debt. We have shown that it is a cruel and absurd practice, equally at variance with good policy and the civilizing spirit of the Christian doctrines. The vicious system of cre dit which induces people to live beyond their means, and leads to so much extravagance, mi sery, and pauperism, in society, more especially among the working classes and persons of mode rate fortunes, has grown out of this practice, and would perish with its abolition. It is therefore .we support any legislative measure which has for its object to limit the power of arrest, for we do not admire that class of politicians, who will have every thing or nothing, and would allow a bad system to remain unaltered because they could not succeed in obtaining its complete re formation. On this ground we advocated the Bill brought into the House of Commons by the Solicitor-General, to prohibit arrests for debts under 20/. We regret, however, that it was not the Attorney-General who undertook the task of bringing in a Bill of this nature, as we are to infer, from the remarks which he made on this subject upon a former occasion, that he would have fixed the amount below which arrest could not take place at 1001. Still, however, some advance towards improvement in this part of our legislation being made by the present Bill, we are favourable to it. The first Bill upon this subject did not go further than 10/., the second one (which was temporary and expired in the former Session) raised the sum to 15/., with the exception of debts on bills and promis sory notes. The present Bill, as we have stated, fixes r l ise sum at 201. without excepting debts on bills or promissory notes. So far there is an evident improvement, and the spirit of legislation on this subject, though not advancing by either. large or rapid strides, has got upon the right road, and that is something. Yet even this little improvement, we find, was opposed when the House went into Committee on the Bill on Friday night. And by whom was the opposition given ? By one who got into Parlia ment upon the extreme doctrines of " Radical Reform"—by one who has been among the most violent declaimers of his day in favour of the li berty of the subject—we mean Mr. Hobhouse. It is this champion of freedom who contended that a Law Officer of the Crown was doing too much for the liberty of the subject ; and, alarm ed at the liberality of the Solicitor-General, wish ed him to retrograde rather than advance gislation, and to fix the sum at 151. —or, in other words, to renew the old Bill, instead of intro , ducing a new and improved one. Really these Westminster " champions of freedom" are very strange sort of people. One of them—Sir Francis Burdett—sits behind Mr. Canning, like his shadow, and applauds him " to the echo," though he told Mr. Canning, some time ago, that it was no wonder he advocated an extravagant and corrupt system, under which he and his family got so much of the public money by hocus focus tricks. Yet, at the present moment, Mr. Canning receives more of the public money than he did then, as he holds now two offices, one having a salary of 6,000/. a-year attached to it, and other 4,000/. ; whereas, at that time, he had but one office. Seeing that Sir Francis Burdett acts in this way, who can wonder that Mr. Hobhouse distinguishes himielf by express ing alarm lest the Solicitor-General should be too tender of the freedom of British subjects ? We were glad to observe the decided manner in which Lord Althorp and Mr. Hume met this pseudo-statesman, by declaring that they should have been better pleased if the power of arresting for debt on mesne process had been abolished altogether.—Morning Herald. It is worth while. to show the low trickery of that portion of the press which has arrayed itself against the Government. Deprived, as they are, of all materials for honest and manly com plaint—of all grounds of fair and constitutional remonstrance—they can only ply their trade by means of falsehood and calumny. In the New Times of Saturday there was a paragraph ex posing the gross misrepresentations put forth by a Morning Paper of the preceding day, re specting the appointment of Lord Mountcharles, and the bestowing of the Garter on the Marquis of Hertford.. If the writer of those misrepresen tations had chosen to say, that two sons of the Marquis of Conyngham keep an oyster shop in Drury-lane, and that the Marquis of Hertford drives the cabriolet, No. 37, he would not have stated any thing more foolishly untrue than that which he did state, in his eager desire to asperse Mr. Canning. Now, what is the course pur sued by one of those journals, which .has just started into existence, under the auspices, a s it is loudly proclaimed, of those who are styled he New Opposition ? It copies, word for word, from the 'New Times, the tissue of falsehood, but leaves out the refutation ! thus wilfully propagating that which it knew to be false. And this disreputable course is pursued for the chance of imposing upon a few persons the notion that Mr. Canning has dispensed his patronage, as Prime Minister, from motives that would be open to imputation. With what thorough contempt such artifices must be viewed, even by the political opponents of Mr. Canning ; and what a tacit admission it is of the Minister's integrity, when he is assailable only through the medium of the grossest falsehoods !--New Times. We are happy to learn that the hints which we threw out a few days ago, with respect to the amelioration of Ireland, have attracted gene ral attention. It has, indeed, been stated to us that the Irish poor are not by any means so un educated as is generally imagined, and so far as education is comprehend e d , i n b e i ng a bl e to rea d a little English, we are not very much disposed to question the statement. But this is not what we mean by education, although it makes a part of it. It is very evident that the mere mechani cal acquirement of joining syllable to syllable is quite compatible with very gross ignorance. Of those who merely learn to read at school, not one in a hundred has the inclination, and not one in a thousand the opportunity of prosecut ing their studies in after life, nor of turning their acquirements in that way to use. To make education, even of the lowest description, of per manent advantage. to the individual,, or the corn-, munity, it must be accompanied ley moral re straint and moral discipline. The habits which these are calculated to generate are not, like the beggarly elements of education, forgotten when the scholar goes out upon the theatre of life, or of small use when remembered ; they mingle with every step of his progress, and offer their present aid, in every conjuncture in which accident or fortune may place him. It is this moral restraint and discipline, impressed upon them in their na tional schools, and in their early years, from which all the better parts of the Scotch character are derived ; and it is, therefore, not unim portant, when considering a question of this kind, to attend a little to the nature of those schools. It cannot be denied that the institu tion for parochial education, considered as a whole, has greatly fallen from the condition in which it seems to have been the object . of its projectors to place it. The mistaken parsimony of the landed interest, and some injurious regula tions introduced into the last Act, have very much tended to narrow the means and lower the respectability of the teachers. Neither is it pos sible that the effects of their labours should be so obvious or so highly appreciated when applied to a soil which has long been subject to cultiva tion, as when they were applied in the first in stance to that which had not previously felt the hand of culture. But although tine and neglect have, to a certain degree, impaired the utility, and, in a great degree, the beauty of the machine, its working is still highly worthy of investigation. The Act of 1696, to which we formerly alluded, is, with some late modifications which affect the details rather than the principle, that by which the parochial system of education of Scotland is regulated. The school-master must be a Member of the Established Church—this is a sine qua non, as, otherwise, he could not be made amenable to its jurisdiction—and he must take the oaths to Government before lie can claim his salary. His attainments, under the old regulations, used to be a tole rable acquaintance with Latin, and a perfect knowledge of the more ordinary branches of education. In point of fact, such are the attain ments of about nine out of ten of the present in cumbents, as may be seen from the official re turns published by order of Parliament last Ses sion. From the same document it will be seen, that to these a very great number add Greek, and one or more of the modern languages.. The person who possesses all this learning is a man of no mean consequence in his little circle, and, with all the drawbacks that poverty necessarily entails, he is looked up to by the common people as, next to the Clergyman, the wisest, if not the greatest, man in the parish. It may be ' easily imagined that a child which is placed for some five or six years under the rule of a man, on whom a superior education has exerted its or dinary influence, and whose station and charac ter give weight to his precepts, will gradually be come, to a certain degree, assimilated to his mo del, and go forth to the business of life with much more correct notions, not speculative but practical, of moral propriety, than if lie had aleaned the elements of learning from a master of irregular habits, limited knowledge, or vulgar manners. The first great requisite, therefore, in any system of education, which aims at achiev ing what education has actually achieved in Scot land, is a set of respectable masters—a requisite which can be obtained only in one way—namely, by making the office of schoolmaster an object to men of fair talent, and by surrounding it with all that is necessary to procure it respect. The election of schoolmasters in Scotland is vested in those who pay their salaries—the proprietors of land—the possession of a certain rental being required as a qualification, The clergyman has also a vote, but no veto, nor has the slightest practical evil resulted from denying to him a power which few wise men would wish to pos sess, and fewer to exercise. The master is re movable for any such moral or criminal offence as is incompatible with the purity of character that ought to belong to a public teacher, as well as for offences more strictly official. Such is a brief outline of the Scotch Education Act, and of the instruments with which it works. The common school books used in Scotland are so numerous, that their number has be come a nuisance, and it- were to be wished that some general regulation were adopt ed and enforced for the attainment of greater uniformity in that respect. There is one book, however, which is taught in all schools— which is, and we hope will ever remain, a sine qua non, as well as the religious profession of the master—we mean the Bible. We leave, of course, to men whose peculiar functions better fit them for the task, to descant on the infinite value of that Sacred Book, as a record of the will 6f Heaven ; but, as laymen, we may be per mitted to say, that, as looking to it only in rela tion to its less important features, we know no composition that contains so many solid rules, , for the guidance of every day conduct—so many literary gems in narrative, in poetry, and in ora tory—and so much pure and undefiled English. To the circumstance of their being early taught to read the Bible, and to their being intimately conversant with its style and its contents, much of that elevation of thought and solidity of judg ment which the Scottish peasantry possess is to be traced. It is, indeed, their text-book, from which they draw on all occasions of life and bu siness. Some preciseness and some appearance of cant may, in consequence, be occasionally per ceived in their conversation, and their knowledge will, doubtless, like knowledge of other kinds, be sometimes misapplied, but, upon the whole ; it will hardly be denied, that, compared with the mere peasantry of most other countries, the balance of intelligence will be found greatly on their side. If ever a system of national education be introduced into Ireland, we hope the advantages, and we wish it to be understood that we here speak of the in tellectual advantages only, which have in Scotland flowed from the teaching of the Bible, will be at tempted to be secured. We are by n o means dis posed to treat with levity or harshness the con cientious scruples of our Roman Catholic brethren ; but it is well known that the refusal of the Bible as a book of instruction is not a measure, of the propriety of which the more enlightened among them approve. The cost of education in Scotland is very small. From a casual inspection of the Par liamentary return to which we have already referred, it appears to average about eight or ten shillings a year. The regulation of the fees is left by law to the judgment of the parties who elect the mas ter. We have two objections to schools entirely gratuitous; they make the master indolent, and t h e parents careless; the former cannot, accord ing tothe principl es o f h uman nature, h e expecte d to labour hard for what may be equally attained by la bouring lightly; and the latter cannot be supposed very highly to value what costs them nothing to procure. We should, therefore, say, that in all cases of schools for the poor, the payments ought to be small, but there ought to be payments of some kind. We have formerly stated that the Scotch Act would, mutatis ,nutandis, serve for Ireland, and we shall now in a few words sum up what appears to be the peculiar advantages of that Act:-Ist. The mode of election is admirably calculated to put down all jarring or dispute in-respect to the fitness of condi.: dates, for the obvious reason that they are chosen by those who have a direct and natural interest in selecting a proper person. 2d. The superior attainments requisite, the permanency of his office, its emoluments—not sufficient to enable him that holds it to dispense with labour, yet still raising him above that poverty " which bringeth contempt"— give the master a powerful hold over the parent, as well as over the children, and add to his instruc tions the moral influence, without which education is in a great measure useless, and often worse. 3d. The nature of his election, and the mode of his remunera tion, are effectually calculated to remove all those fears, religious or political, that connect themselves with the agents of a powerful society, whose ultimate views are looked to with a suspicious eye. 4th. The system comes recommended by its extreme cheapness-20,0001. a year is about the annual rent charge on all Scotland for the purposes of education, and it has been calculated, that about double that sum, or a little more, would put the Scotch schools on a footing of the highest efficiency. sth. No pos sible harm can arise from the masters being members of the Established Church, nor from the use of the Bible as a book of instruction (botli of which we look on as absolutely essential, for the reasons we have already stated), because it is impossible to suppose that the electors would select a proselytizing bigot, or a fanatic, any more than they would a person destitute of the more obvious qualifications of a public teacher.—lbid. INDIAN ARMY. Head-Quarters, Calcutta, Dec. 80, 18516. At a General Court-martial, held at Trichinnpoly, on the 7th of November, 1826, Lieut. W. Fothergill, of his Majesty's 48th Regiment of Foot, was arraigned upon the under-mentioned charges, viz. : let. " For carrying a message from Ensign E. G. H. H. Gibbs, of the 48th Regiment, to Ensign Leech, of the same regiment, at the house of the latter, in Tri chinopoly, on the evening of the 14th October, tending to provoke a duel, when it was known to the regiment that these two officers had been prohibited, in their original quarrel, by express order delivered to Ensign Gibbs, is presence of the Major of the Regiment, on the 20th day of August : such conduct being subversive of military dis cipline, and tending to disturb tlas harmony of the re giment." _ _ ed. "For conduct unbecoming the character of an of ficer and a gentleman, while eMployed in delivering the message above alluded to, in making use of the following expressions to Ensign Leech---' You are a d—d coward ; the meanest rascal that ever joined the 48th ; I'll be d—d if I do not shoot you to-morrow morning, if you do not take it up :' such language being in direct disobedience of the articles of war, and the established usages and customs of the service." Upon which charges tile Court came to the following decision : Finding and Sentence.—" The Court having maturely weighed and considered all that has been adduced in sup port of the prosecution, as well as what has been brought forward on the defence, is of opinion, that the prisoner, Lieutenant W. Fothergill, of his Majesty's 48th Regiment, is guilty of the first part of the first charge, viz. ' For car rying a message from Ensign E. G. H. H. Gibbs, of the 48th Regiment, to Ensign H. Leech, of the same regi ment, at the house of the latter, in Trichinopoly, on the 14th October, tending to provoke a duel.' fhe Court ac quits the prisoner, Lieutenant W. Fothergill, of the re maining part of the first charge. " The Court is further of opinion, that the prisoner, Lieut. W. Fothergill, is guilty of the second charge. " The Court having found the prisoner, Lieutenant W. Fothergill, guilty of the first part of the first charge, and also guilty of the second charge, which are in breach of the Articles of War, in such cases made and provided, does sentence him, the prisoner, Lieutenant W. Fothergill, of his Majesty's 48th Regiment, to be cashiered." Approved and confirmed, (Signed) COMBERMERE, Gen., Commander-in-Chief. Remarks by the Right Hon. the Commander•in-Chief: —Difficult as it is to the Commander-in-Chief to recon cile it to his sense of duty to remit the penalty, consequent on a conviction of conduct unbecoming the character of an officer and gentleman, lie trusts, that there are circura atattcea in, the ease now before. hint, Wish& will authorise his doing so without compromising the.honour of the army. His Lordship has come to the opinion, on a perusal of the evidence of Lieutenant Fothergill's commanding and brother officers, bearing the highest testimony to his cor rect and gentlemanlike conduct previous to the occasion under investigation ; and his Lordship, from this very strong circumstance, hopes that lie may consider the con duct of Lieut. Fothergill as an intemperate ebullition of youthful temper, or the consequences of unguarded passion, as designated by the Court, in their solicitation for mercy, rather than as a proof of vicious habit or want of principle; this impression on the minds of the members of the Court, justified their strong recommendation, and is the ground on which his Excellency hopes he may be justified in ex tending to the prisoner the remission of sentence which has been requested. The acquittal of the prisoner on the second part of the first charge exhibited against him in some measure palliates that offence, and his Lordship trusts that he may rely on the prisoner's strong and apparently sincere expressions of contrition, and this severe warning for a security against future misconduct. His Excellency now desires, that the officer commanding the 48th Regiment will assemble the officers of the corps, and after reading to them the precedings of this Court Martial and his Lordship's observations thereon, will, in their presence, severely admonish Lieutenant Fotbergill : be will likewise take that occasion to point out to the offi cers generally, the consequences of discord amongst them selves, assuring them that such spirit must be extinguished, and that any further instance of its existence which may come to his Lordship's notice must be followed by the most serious consequences. Lieutenant Fothergill will then be released from arrest, and return to his duty. - The foregoing order is to be entered in the General Or der Book, and read at the head of every regiment in his Majesty's service in India. Head Quarters, Calcutta, Dec. 80, 1826. At a General Court Martial, held at Triehinopoly, on the 15th and 16th of November, 1826, Ensign E. G. H. H. Gibbs, of his Majesty's 48th Regiment of Foot, was arraigned on the folloiving charge, via. Charge.--" Ensign 1. G. H. H. Gibbs, his Majesty's 48th Regiment, placed in arrest by me, for sending a challenge on the evening of the 14th October to Ensign Leech, 48th Regiment, to fight a duel, being in positive and direct disobedience of my orders as commanding of ficer, delivered to Ensign Gibbs, in presence of the major of the regiment, on the 20th day of August in conse quence of the original quarrel having been made a subject of complaint to me by Ensign Leech, such conduct being subversive of military discipline, and in breach of the Ar ticles of War." (Signed) JAMES TAYLOR, Lieut.-Col. Coming. H.M.'s 48th Regt. Upon which charge the Court came to the folios' ing decision : Finding.—" The Court, having maturely weighed and considered all that has been adduced in support of the pro secution, as well as what has been brought forward on the defence, is of opinion, that the charge has not been proved, and does therefore acquit the prisoner, Ensign E. G. H. H. Gibbs, thereof." Approved anti confirmed. (Signed) G. T. WALKER, Lieut.-General. Ensign Gibbs is released from arrest, and will return to his duty. The foregoing Order is to be entered in the General Order Book, and read at the head of every regiment in his Majesty's service in India. By order of the Commander-in-Chief, A. MACDONALD, Adjt.-Gent. of H.M.'s Army in India. ANECDOTE OF THE DUKE or CLARENCE. —When his Royal Highness visited this port about three years ago, he dined-with the officers of the Royal Marines, who in justice to the occasion spared no expense, but pro vided a sumptuous, elegant, and costly banquet. His Royal Highness received in the most flattering manner the com pliment intended to be thus conveyed to him, and during the 'evening, contributed much to the general hilarity, by g i v i n g full scope to the urbane, generous, and convivial qua lities, by which' his character is so strongly marked : but on rising to take leave, he said " Gentlemen, I hope to have the pleasure of again partaking of your hospitality, though I would beg as a favour, that on any future occa sion, you will not make any extraordinary preparation, but receive me as you - w ou ld a f r i en d v i s i t i ng your mess, on one of your public days." This' was an instance of con descending consideration, which reflects th‘r highest credit upon the character of his Royal Highness. --Plymouth Journal. SECOND EDITION. SUN OFFICE, Five o'clock; IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woolsack at five o'clock. The Bishop of BRISTOL presented a petition from Huntingdon, against any further concessions to the Ca tholics. Lord Althorpe and others from the Commons brought up the Bill for preventing corrupt practices at elections for Members to serve in Parliament, and to regulate the expencv. Sir ALEXANDER GRANT and others brought the Land Tax Commission Bill. This Bill was of such a very large size that the Lord Chancellor was unable to carry it, and was therefore obliged to procure the assist= ance of one of the officers of the House. The Disembodied Militia Bill ; the Grant of Sites for Public Works Bill ; the Public Works Bill ; and the Game Certificate Bill. Mr. Spiller presented the third Report of the Commis sioners for Building Churches in the Highlands of Scotland. Lord KING presented a petition from Robert Gourlay, against the discretionary clause in the Larceny Consoli dation Bill. Lord KINGSTON preSented a petition from the pu of Kilinacaby, praying for the removal of the Roman Ca: tholic disabilities. Lord TEYNHAM, in moving for a return of the num ber of Crown Leases, refused by the Commissioners of Land Revenue, from 1820 to 1826, inclusive, alluded to the refusal to renew the lease of Spring Gardens chapel. Lord CARLISLE said that Government had no wish to refuse any information that could be granted, but he wished the motion to be confined to the particular case al luded to. The reason for refusing that lease, was for the purpose of bringing the Chapel under Episcopal jurisdie tion. The parish of St. Martin's had applied for a site for a Chapel, and it was intended to appropriate the site of Spring Garden Chapel. - REGULATION OF BANKERS. Lord REDESDALE said he held in his hand a Bill for the further regulation of keeping Bankers' account 4, on which he wished to make a few obervations. It was notorious, that in some countries, bankers were obliged to produce a regular statement of their accounts annually. By the law of Holland, this was strictly adhered to, otherwise bankers when they became bankrupts, were not considered entitled to their discharge in the manner they would have been if they had regularly balanced their accounts. This the Noble Lord thought an excellent guard for the public safety. He once knew a large banking-house, which he considered highly respectable and very solvent. As a trustee, he had money to the amount of a hundred thousands pounds in that banking-house. After some further observations on the subject, the Bill was read a first time, and ordered to be printed. (Left Speaking.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. The SPEAKER took the Chair, at the usual hour, and the House proceeded to business. Mr. SPILLAR brought op the Report of the Commis sioners for Building New Churches.—Laid on the table. Mr. EASTCOURT brought up the Report of the Se lect Committee on the Alehouse Licensing Rill, which was ordered to be taken into consideration this day month. TEST AND CORPORATION ACTS. Petitions were presented in favour of a repeal of the above Acts from several places in Nottingham, by Mr. Birch ; from Chelmsford and other places in Essex, by Mr. Western ; from Bridgenorth and other places in Shropshire, by Mr. Whitmore ; and from Camberwell, Surrey, by Alderman Waithman. Mr. KENNEDY presented a petition from the Proprie tors of Fisheries on the river Tay, in favour of the Salmon Fishery Bill. BOROUGH OF EAST RETFORD. Admiral SOTHERON presented a petition from the Bailiffs and Aldermen of East Retford, stating that the evi dence taken before the Committee only imputed bribery to five persons, and therefore calling upon the House not to proceed upon such grounds to deprive the petitioners of the most cherished right of Englishmen, that of choosing their own Representatives. After a few words from Mr. TENNtsom and Admiral SOUTHERN, the petition was ordered to be printed. Lord ALTHORP presented a petition from Chichester, in favour of the Bill for preventing bribery and corruption at elections. Mr. FLEMING presented a petition from a parish in Hampshire, against any alteration in the Corn Laws. COMAIISSION OF IRISH INQUIRY. Mr. PERCENAL brought up the appendix to the report of the Commissioners of Irish Inquiry. Mr. SPRING RICE said, thaf the Cornmissoners os of Inquiry had cost the country above 900,00011. within the last few yearsr The. minoriity had discresion from the opinion of the majority, and not only expressed the dis sent, but introduced the grounds of that dissent into the report. The object of the 'Commission was completely nullified by this proceeding, for the object of appointing a Commission of Inquiry was to obtain the joint opinion of a nnmber of intelligent genttemen, and not the indi vidual opinion of any particular member of the Committee. Mr. F. LEWIS defended the course he had pursuad as a Member of the Committee. As to the expense, what ever value may be set on the labours of the Commission of Irish Inquiry, he had no hesitation in stating, that the Commission of Irish Revenue Inquiry had done more good than would compensate tenfold for the expense of all the other Commissions appointed for Ireland. Mr. J. GRATTAN acknowledged that the Commission of Inquiry into the Irish Revenue deserved the thanks of every Irishman. He objected, however, to the practice of individual Members of Commissions putting forward their own opinions. The proper way for the Members of such Commissions was to defer in all cases to the opinions of the majority. After a few words from Sir J. NEWPORT, the report was brought up and ordered to be printed. Mr. CHAPLIN presented a petition from the Wharf ingers on the River Umber, complaining of the conduct of one of the Tax Officers. Mr. J. WOOD brought the Bill for regulating the manner of taking polls at the election for Preston, which was read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time. Mr. LUMLEY presented petitions petitions from Sal ton, Ashley, and Newark, against tbe practice of burning Hindoo Widows. POOR LAWS. Mr. SLANEY moved for returns of the number of per sons supported or employed under the Poor Rates in each parish in E ng l a nd o r Wales for the year 1827. Mr. Secretary STURGES BOURNE suggested that some amendment should be made in the form of the Re turns, and the Hon. Mover consented to withdraw his motion for the present. Mr. WILSON presented a petition from a Lady named Sneyd, residing in the Island of St. Vincent, praying the House to reconsider some measure for the benefit of Negro Slaves. Lord MILTON asse to present a petition from a body of manufacturers in Gloucestershire, playing for an altera tion in the Corn Laws. He observed, that the circum st'amstanees which had taken place elsewhere within the last • few called forth the present petition. He did did not say that the rejection of • the Corn Bill had thrown disgrace on' that body of iftdiiidualti, by whose instrumentality it was lost but he would aay thai they' were not endowed with sound knowledge on com nurcial affairs, and that they did not display that feel ing which the aristocracy +-this country was bound to evince for the interests of the lieupre—(Hear, hear.)--- lie trusted, that late as was the period of the session, some means would yet be devised for preventing the population of this country from suffering under the baneful effects of the existing Corn laws for another year.—(Hear.)—The petition was ordered to be printed. CORN. LAWS AGAIN. NEW RESOLUTIONS. Mr. CANNING said, that he rose with an intention of moving that the House should to-morrow resolve itself into a Committe on the Corn Laws. He did not know whether the Honourable Gentleman opposite (Mr. Western) meant to proceed with the motion of which he had given notice for this evening : but whatever course the Honourabte Genttleman might adopt, he (Mr. Canning) informed the House that he had prepared a series of Resolutions en the part of his Majesty's Govern ment, which it would be his duty to lay before the Mouse. The course he should take in moving those resolutions, boy/ ever, would depend, in a great measure, for the result of that which the Hon. Gentleman thought proper to adopt. Mr. FRANKLAND LEWIS thought it was due to the county in its present most appaling position, not to delay the consideration of this most important question for a single day. General GASCOYNE, we understood, expressed the same opinion. Mr. CANNING said he was aware that the Hon. Gew tletnan opposite (Mr. Western) was in possession of the House, but if the Hon. Gent. did not choose to proceed' he (Mr. C.) would give notice of moving the Resolutioo* to which he had adverted. If the Hon. Gentleman thOught proper to avail himself of the motion of which he ba d , given notice, he (Mr. Canning) reserved to himse l f the discretion of moving the resolutions in the shape of so amendment to the motion of the Hon. Gentleman.' (Hear, hear.) ' Mr. WESTERN heard nothing calculated to induce him to alter the course he had ptevionsly'detennined upon' —Murmurs, and - cries of go 0 . 1)4 Mr. CANNING said the' Hon..GentleManhad thoUgl' t proper to put the House in . possession of the reasons which indueed him to go on, after the intimatio n thrown out by him (Mr. Canning.) After a few more words from Lord MILTON, which we could not collect from the noise in the House. The House resolved itself into a Committee on the Corn Laws, and Mr. WESTERN proceeded with his motion, and was [Left Speaking.] TATTERSALL's THIS DAY Ha =past Five o' Clock. The Betting Rooms presented a - busy scene to-day, it being the Settling-day for the Ascot Races. Every thing appeared to go off welt; and, with the exception of some small fry, we did not hear of any Levanters. Towards the close of the dry some brisk betting took place upon the St. Leger, at the following odds : ' ST. LEGER, 1000 to 60:agst Lunaria 20 to 1 agst blatilda 25 to 1 agst Lumley's colt 28 to 1 agst Antiope st Malek. 9 to 2 agst Mameluke 9 to 1 agst Granby 11 to 1 agst Nonplus 12 to 1 apt Reviewer 30 to 1 al It was understood Glenarti thing ails Mameluke. i will not start unless sonic" MEETINGS OF CREDITORS. LONDON DI ARY.—TvitsDA: Commissioners, Moore, G., Carey-street...... 1 M , Leod, T., Chichester..—.. 1 Pstetson, J., Camberwell... 1 rice and Co., Baldwin's- e ourt T a sTS t a a aji n r tuf rn e r gl a t r t a CI T T-91: . ;t 1 :11 B e eS : a t tr l jt °nhthil( grtel y itif Thompson, A., Mite-end road ll Thorrington and Co., City road Tooth, E. Hastings Toy, T., Penryn Webb, J., Stroud. Wright, J., Peekharo......••:* gardens Pyrke, T., Ratcliffe 1 Richardson and Co., Ken sington Rivers, G., Chelsea ll Sharp, L., Smithfield ll Smith, J. Henry-street,Wa- s, terloo-road l', COUNTRY DIARY.—WEDNESDAY, AINS 20. Berthon, J., Liverpool—White's, Manchester........„ 10 Brimmell, J., Tewkesbury—Hop-pole, Tewkesbury Fernihough, J., Frognall—Wheatsheaf, Cheadle Flower, T., Melksham—White Hart, Bath Hutchinson and Co.. Stockton-upon-Tees—Black Lion inn 11 Stockton Jefferies, L, St. Philip and Jacob, Gloucestershire—Swan , Bristol Kenyon, J., Blackburn—Royal hotel, Birmingham Nightingale and Co., Manchester—White's, Manchester .....• „; Strange, T., Cheltenham—Royal hotel, Cheltenham 'ridbury, K., Woodford-mills, Northampton--George, Mar- " ket Harborough Ansa 21. Aspell, J., Manchester—Royal hotel, Manchester i Berthon, J., Liverpool—White's, Manchester 1 Clarke, F., Great Yarmouth—Bear inn, South Town, Yar mout h Gough and Co., Salford—White's, Manchester .... .. ..... Hutchinson and Co., Stockton.upon-Tees—Black Lion inn Stockton Lane, C., Oxford—Lamb, Oxford ll Scholfield, R.; Pilkingtou—Star, Manchester TO BE DISCHARGED , tl-street, Lincoln's Inn Fields , AT NINS, Bill, T. U p t on Izzard, J., Spits Melds Bunkell, M., Great Massing- May, J., Peldon ham, Norfolk . Muggeridge, S., Peckham Cohen, J., Chelmsford Otley, G., Regent-street Cooper, J., Shoreditch Parker, J., Leeds Cowland, S., Hackney Stevens, W., Little Pulten eP Duncombe, J. jun., Bateman's street buildings Wilson, J., Clerkenwell Gould, J., City-road Wright, J., Old-street Howell, S., Stepney COUNTRY.—At the Court-hor 90, INSOLVENTS APPLYINI Petitions to be heard at Portus JUNii 22, Ten o Amor, T., Kingsland-road Anderson, G., Oxford Bathe, J., Rotherfleld Peppard Beale, S., Oxford Day, J., Oxford teighbourhood, R., Uxbridge Osborne, J., Charlton-upon-Ot use, at Oxford, June •'dock. Poor, J., Southstoke lag Powers, Wm. jun., ChiPP T s w m . l4 ih i i ° t eee t r y i t , , i :J s n r . : , , EEn H ., o so l l yw ox f o l r l d Underhill, T., Abingdon Wells C., Holywell • moor Pettit, L., St. Clement's At Wakefild, Atkinson, J., Keighley Batty, J., Parkhead Berry, D., Heekmondwiek Clarkson, J.,,Bramley Crowther, J., Dewsbury Dawson, I. Keighley Dickinson, Raw Marsh Dyson, 1., Dean-brook Ellis, E., Batley me day, at Ten. Emmott, 1., Sutton Firth, W., SkelmenthorPe Fox, 1., Keighley Hepworth, R.,"Batley Mutfitt, V., Selby Robinson, 1., Hanging-hent on Sanderson, C., Honley Smith, T., Leeds On Tuesday morning, about eleven o'clock, s woman, in the presence Of a number of persons, was de livered of a fine boy, hi the churchyard of Whatton-in the-Vale ; it being the feast of that place, many strangers red every on to be pid her. Sh e were in the town . Mr. Morle y , the parish o ffi cer, being apprised of the c ase, took her into custod y , and with g reat ta hum anityken vine the Chesterfield attenti Arms. This a is the thi rd was child which she has 'been delivered of in the open air. Nottingham Review. BIRTHS. On the 17th inst., in Great Russell-street, BloolusburY , Mrs. David Francis Jones, of a son. On the 15th inst., in Bedford-street, Bedford-sqUal* the lady of John Reid, Esq., of MARRIED. On the 16th inst., at St. Mark's, Kennington, by the Rev. C. D. Hill, F. G. Godsell, Esq., of Streatham Pa draaguognh,tetrooCf : f a r. James Buchan Harriet Hal, third about p daug hter .of Thomas Hill, Esq., of Kennington. On the 14th inst., at St. Giles's, Camberivell, Mr. C• Marsden, of Camberwell, to Sarah Caroline, yonngest Sibbald, on his DIED. (1 of Novembe r last, at sea, on board the James On the 2 passage back to Bengal, from the Mauri tide, where he had b een for the recovery of his health, C apta i n Alfred Garstin , fou rth son of the late Major-Ge neral John Gars tin. On the 14 th inst., at Kenilworth, after a short illness, Bayes Cotton, Esq., in the 71st year of his age. On thelSth inst., after a few days' illness, Mr. 'Thos. Ashton, nephew of Messrs. M. and S. Ashton, of Gray's Inn-line, in the 21st year of his age. On the 12th inst., in her eighth year, Mary Atme, only child of George Greenwood, Esq., of Grove-place' Hackney. .6vv:t• Paexissei by 1N ( : YOUN(4 at the SintA)Trzei;Na 112, Stnud, I