The Sun. — London, England, 1834-04-26 00:00:00

Place since 1825, which could hare led to his changing his mind? What objection in principle or in justice could he have to a concurrence in the proposed resolution to address his Majesty to the effect proposed by the right hon. mem ber for C arribridn•e ? The hon. and learned gentleman bad said that in the articles of union it was expressly stipulated that if there should be any surplus revenue collected, it should be expended for the benefit and im- Erevetnent of that country, and that there had been a ii r k e ach of thi s st i pulation. He (Sir Ro b ert P ee l) s h ou ld e t° know whether any such surplus revenue existed? w e would admit there was in the articles of the union a "..'lPtilation, under certain circumstances, of the kind re lerred to by the hon. and learned gentleman ; but then he (1 1 ' , :fged to inform him that the circumstances referred to th e not . occur, it having been no longer necessary to keep , elute la n d matters of Ireland separate from those of En.g the"- The debts of the two countries, like the countries leartn_seh•es, were now merged together. The hon. and the"ed gentleman had asked who would venture to deny e evils of absenteeism ? No one, he (Sir Robert Peel) fen ugnt, would deny that absenteeism was an evil ; but supposed, would imagine for a moment that the se as to be cured by repeal. What was the cause of a_b nteeisM but that cursed agitation which made life atid Property in secure i n I re l an d, and compelled those .„:° Possessed the means of quitting it to seek for Ili a " and safety in other parts of the empire ? ,` l n l ense cheering.) The honourable and learned ' en tleman h a d also said, that while the barns and granaries the rich in Ireland were full, the poor were starving. • hat had nothing at all to do with the question of repeal ; T ,i a _ re se from the want of proper laws, or the imperfect ad housesaf those that existed,ust as while the ware of the manufacturers in England were full of the niost valuable goods, some of the lower classes, from the Z t : of a proper administration sito poor laws, might be the ering from want. It was thhappened there were extremes of riches and poverty. The hon. and learned Zgentleman had told the house that he (Mr. Sheil) was not ti .ed by those phantoms which the imagination of hon. union ens had raised up as the consequence of a repeal of the gen -0 4 ° C He ( Sir R. Peel) would tell the hon. and learned eman that he was, andthat the Protestants of Ireland ”'er Prorid so must all men of common penetration who had ) -a e a ' r ,Perty at stake. It was said that there had been 600 i t „ s °, misrule in Ireland, in consequence of the English t ,, en ee maintained thre by dint of corruption. If the g r le "'ere so, he would contend that it went to prove the si eater necessity for the maintenance of the union and . a In l egislature. It was impossible that there could exist ei se r , e la , nd a separate legislature claiming the right to exer th, 41 "ePendent functions without the very evils occurring e„ - P r oof of which the hon. and learned gentleman and his IsOrters thought conclusive of his . case. An independent %ttire was, in fact, a fallacious idea; Ireland never pos- Z ed it, and never could possess it, consistently with e f I n,aintenance of the British sovereignty. The people ~.„r e land had it not even in 1782, that favourite period I l e i ,,_ Ln the hon. and learned gentleman. In what did an in thmrident legislature consist? (Hear, hear. ) Why, in e control of the public purse and of the executive go weasrutin, ent. From 1782 to the period of the union, this ne state of the law ; no measure could be passed by b e parliament without the intervention of the great seal of 4,ngland, and th e great seal of England could be fixed only by the advice of the Lord Chancellor. He had the power ta ti.. ne gative every bill ; not only to refuse finances, but also tt g e slightest improvement that could be made. Why, what rtai_ockery of an independent legislature was this, that the ict not pass an act without the authority of a servant of )17 not ? Suppose the Lord Chancellor had refused fr 7 co nsent to th e bill, believing it to be injurious to the r ests of this country,, would the Irish parliament have I )Z a r eh ed him ? And if he had ac t e d b on a fide as to his Ih, of the i n j ur i ous tendency of the measure, how could ' peattadrilament have impeached him? (Cheers.) He re 'lent b en, that not only Ireland never had an indepen patregislature, but he believed she never could have one. e .. se th ey repealed the un i on, and restored the Irish sesse;nent with f unc ti ons s i m ilar to those that were .pcn trati,,` by the I r i s h parl i ament i n 1782 , was the admims of E n for Ir e l an d to be separate from the administration be ,"gland, as was the case with Hanover? or was it to Poin te ' rPonent part o f th e a d m i n i s t ra tion of England, ap titter by the advice given to the King by his Prime M oat ; If the I r i s h mem b ers were to b e appo i n t e d with to tiecie r ence to th e E ng li s h m i n i sters, w h o wou ld b e f oun d ( El ea ; the responsibility consequent on such a course ? W et , Who would co nsen t t o h o ld office in England, h en e King had servants in one part of the empire over con troi conduct the minister here could not exercise any wer e t ? (Hear, hear. ) If the government of Ireland olv e d ; , 0 form part of the government of England, which tas at, " existence to the confidence of the English parlia "(el-6,4' what manner could the Irish house of legislature eated 8 -e any control over its ministers? What a compli kollejslern of government would not this be? As regarded W ow i t , what control could such a legislature possess? reir ah , eo . t such an institution be, then, the ., greatest . con elist:le libel on representative government . Would . it not trie t , t , e Xhibiting the mere shadow of representative govern- Po er " Corruptio optimi pessima. ' If it had the set ? of taxation, what were the limits which they would Enpli s , S oPpose the Irish parliament departed from the ding of avliament, what remedy would there be ? The •/ , o‘ad b e egland had the right to determine whether there t anc t as t o w r lor t he determined that as well for Ire ! r°P°3 " l , th e Wand; but if affairs were changed as was w°41,1 be '‘ War i ng would have to consider whether Ireh e._ It w as , 0 , 5 1?,0 , 1ed as well as England to th s in uro th rt e war t ake "! which s ii:sible that Ireland might I- It into her scars not deeply interest—, and she E might 1 , 1 1 sh e wou , , bead that if the matter were left to ng "on,contribute the whole expense. Would the wa s d learned gentleman tell him (Sir R. Peel) how a (Ch e Was to be carried on under such circumstances? ke rif ers • The remedy adopted by the Ame r i can govern was to determine f o r eac h s t a t e b e f ore h an d t h e pro bcgovern- `t of the expenses of the war th a t eac h s t a t e s h ou ld e ,r • Jefferson, in his Correspondence, said, that before l ess , a alteration, some states contributed more and some and some nothing. (A laugh.) This was very un 1, o us, therefore anoth er course was pursued, and they T his left t o l eg i s l ate as regarded their village politics. P...4 li 7 h as , in fact, consolidating the un i on . W ou ld th e (if war parliament, then, foreseeing th e p oss ibl e case , A le tertnirte beforehand what portion Ireland should foresee,su 4.110, e ` %% a llot think ‘ this possible, unless they could 400 mo, ar to cost 40,00°001-' PPose th e v , would be the future state of that country. illdeed if c" or 4 ,000 should Ireland pay t • th e E n ,000/., or any ? (Cheers.) . And, what w g ish Parliament simply decided the ques ts ment ? B arli a "Id become of the independence of the Irish B ut if the English Parliament were compe , at to decide this matter, was it not also competent to Nide oth ers ° ‘lvert_ , ? (Cheers ) The right hon. baronet next th, "tercial to the differences . which might arise as to the th a t coentry s .)st em to b e p urs u e d in reland. .Suppose ad b:),f ..nu• 21)ted It a commercial system differing from of amounted to a aemonstration that a ail the u n i on was impracticable. Ireland might ahe rent system of commercial policy ; in which hatedhay ee nrse would not trust to British cruisers, but th e e cruisers of her own. The result would be, • a Ppo e ~rted b Misers of both England and Ireland must be eiafr E t r o Y i a fleet. These fleets would necessarily meet th at 4 ater e 4` l se Channel, for the protection of the commer iqg they WO of both parties, and it could hardly be supposed re4 r ; r :'illi s h l. l l n not come in a way to provoke hostile feel ia djfeed th e I ncreasing, would probably lead to a vi ar. s culty rt‘ gency, the hon. and learned gentleman felt \i - Cattie t ,, In 1785, the Parliaments of England and Ire \ith''' said ePposite resolutions on the regency question. En he the hon. and learned gentleman on this subject ? as 1 3 t lis h f a o r Vd get rid of the difficulty by allowing the ~ngli + ,!ament to settle that matter. Important t rieCsh p'",en, lie felt sufficient confidence in the 4 tit ar nament for this business. Past expe litt:Wo 07: u nfortunate in this. (Hear.) There were 4 W ert 4 .: as f le ns on which the Regency had to be settled rravid ed in 'i e `letl. e e Countries, and on these two occasions they o f An act passed in the reign of Henry N 4„ l4,l '!gla nd ex Press t erms , th a t w hoever was de facto King Eugl n$ thiashould.be de jure King of Ireland. Notwith ir Proviso, when illiam 111. was King of 'lat„,, t hat th e Land chose James ` II. It would, perhaps, be bei tt - il . -e ro were peculiar circumstances in this case, be C r , a Roman Catholic ; but so there might be hoany ease that might occur hereafter. C Hear. ) in baronet then went into a long historical 11.4' the defence of Mr. Pitt and Lord Castlereagh, k r a f r t ge that they had fomented the rebellion in 'l (14er elan Debi i: w ; e , P purose of enr gichin te English treasury ,of Ireland. The hon. h and learned mem lzatit he h had, on the faith of a certain document, t ,a(l evidence that government was fully cog- Prk et . !le treasonable proceedings of some parti- N, lees vivals, vet allowed them to continue their r ile t h } '!) , 4 1t M er i sIurbe - d, alleging as a . reason for so doing, 1 : 1 4,,0u. atid afraid of disturbing the public peace. li ne eyed learned member for Dublin might have t _ that it • ve r y difficult indeed now f, was sometimes e a.. h — a et against persons disturbing the public " th w e re )The Government, when prompt in t , a tt th, abused for being too rigorous, n,as t h . Parti es might have found some clever advisers eit tt :ow ;Ir solicitor and their counsel (Cheers), to tell th eY might ith present security to their Parttis4e as ,le P ro c.eeding b inthe hope of in being - able ai t t o . Part. ly to overwhelm those.authority if d. w er ( Cheers) What security had they, a . I`"oer a ;:'ellii ) e e stablished in Ireland, that the hon. and ; 1 ? r ,.,,, f 0r Dublin would submit himself . . to its i) rou gh th tee 4 kk-beering. ) Had they not, within the } ' f ore, t h e e, str e 4u array of physical strength marched a ti d nen. a ' of the Metropolis? and, only three days rep toittasked the m learned member came down to the h i ;o rted nte ere , 11? to make Ireland independent. .Had I‘ . ser ti sp eeet.. " Ins services as counsel to the union? Oltin al l tl"' of his represented him to have tendered IN. al ow h• 'en' secret adviser, on condition that they ' l ary a " le 141 to act gratuitously. (A laugh. ) The i) eY) ar ued e h a s, member for Colchester (Mr. D. W. a l on. volunt lt•c a e _ me rb _ eered to become their solicitor. If (Jung., : 2 1 ' for Dublin could take this course ha't which he had comparatively little in eilheratt, by se at e tt u r .... itY_ could he offer to them that he' "3 of Irish et. Ph • ysical force control the nsh legislature ? (Hear.) The right hon. baronet then read an extract from the speech of the King to the Englis'i mar nele, in 179 i, describing the disturbed state of Ir ! nl, rci t r s';ing alditional powers. He referred also to !.si): , c.:ll,!' Ca.-rao, who opposyl the bill brought in in pte..: ;ante of the reco..lmendi!ion of the Crown, and charged Mini.ae:s with desiring to excite un necessary alarm by spreading reports of an invasion. The right hon. gentleman Caen ridiculed the idea that the re bellion was fomented by Mr. Pitt and Lord Castlereapii, and, in refutation of such a supposition, pointed out the' preparations which were made to oppose a foreign enemy, and the reluctance that existed to send an unnecessary large force to Ireland. Mr. Ponsonby moved for returns of the whole of the troops in that country at that period, and, being closely pressed to do so by parliament, sent, on the 22d of February, 1797, 10,000 men. Sir Laurence Parsons, a hot opposition member, moved that 50,000 men be sent to Ireland. This motion, however, was opposed by that government of whom it had been said, that they wanted an excuse for raising an immense army. He did not know whether the restoration of the ancient monarchy was or was not the object of the honourable members who supported the motion for the committee, but if it was, he hoped that the theory and practice of legitimate succession would prevail. (Hear, hear, and laughter. ) He disclaimed any intention of presuming to interfere in the arrangement of the Irish crown, but from the judg ment he was able to form from his reading of Irish his tory, there was no person, in the event of the ancient monarchy being restored, who would be better entitled to the dignity than his hon. friend, Mr. Fergus O'Connor. (Loud laughter.) He ( Sir R. Peel) owed a deep debt to Irish hospitality, and he was proud to acknowledge the courtesy and kindness which he met in Ireland ; and in re turn he would hope for that country, if it should return to its ancient system of government, that one of the an cient race, in the person of the hon. member for Cork, should assert his rightful supremacy. (Renewed laughter. ) He (Sir R. Peel) was more confident of the hon. and learned gentleman's title, as he remembered to have read in an ancient history, that, immediately preceding the in vasion of Ireland by the English, one DermotM‘Mur rogh (Laughter) loved, and so far condescended from his station as to steal away the wife of O'Rourke, king of Bre n aided and assisted therein by Roderick, or, as others had it, Roger O'Connor, then the general mo narch of Ireland. There were . two other kings in Ire land at the same time. Now, if it occurred at that pe riod that the other kings, scandalized by the conduct of King Murrogh (Laughter), sought to repeal the union of the monarchies, and that Murrogh refused to accede to the request, in what shape, under a select committee, should it be moved for, " To inquire into and report the means by which M'Murrogh held on to the empire, on the effects of that holding upon Leinster, and upon the labourers in husbandry, and operatives in manufactures in Ulster, and the probable consequences of continuing the union ?" ( Loud laughter.) But to quit this mood, and turn seriously to the subject; he must confess that, in his view of it, he doubted whether absolute separation would not be better than the miscalled link of gold which had been proposed, but which in reality was the clay and iron, which hadbeen found so destructive of other monarchies. He must again refer to the ancient monarchies of Ireland, for it had just occurred to him that lie had been too liberal in handing over the succession to Mr. O'Connor, as there were cer tain preliminaries to be performed which were absolutely necessary before the power and title could be assumed. It appeared by an extract from an old author, but of high and recognized authority, that the ceremony of the installation was thus performed :—First, a white cow was to be sacrificed, and then the monarch postulate was to strip stark naked and bathe in a vat, after which he was to eat of the flesh and drink of the broth of sacrifice. The custom of the ceremony with the title he would take leave to hand over to the hon. member for Cork, premising that the office required some culinary skill, as it was indis pensable that the Monarch should make his own soup. (Loud laughter.) But to return to the question, and he trusted that in the consideration of it men's feelings would rather administer to their reason than to their passions, and that they would look calmly to the interval which the question involved. The union had now lasted thirty-three years, but a period which comprised within itself the events of centui 13s should not be calculated by the measure of ordinary time. ( Hear, hear, and cheers.) The house had been told of many complaints of English injustice, and a great deal had been said of two-fifteenths and other proportions of taxation. Were these petty objections to be set against the history and the advantages of the period? Was it nothing, on the other side of the account, that from 1803 to 1814, a period when a most desolating war dis tracted Europe—at a period when every country was cursed with invasion, and the whole Peninsula was overrun by the unbounded ambition of Bonaparte—was it nothing in the balance that at such a period England was un touched and Ireland safe from attack ? (Loud cheers. ) Then, indeed, all national jealousies were sunk, a wider horizon was opened, a freer scope was given to the energies of Ireland, and she saw her Grattan, to use his own words, " like an oak of the forest transplanted," not attracting the envy, but winning the respect and admiration of Englishmen. (Loud cheers.) There was no national jealousy when the British Legislature was presided over by Castlereagh and Canning. The British army, too, in its glorious career of conquest, proceeded onward with out distinction, and was commanded by the Duke of Wellington (Loud cheers), an Irishman, as con summate in the Cabinet as he was glorious in the field. It was he who, with his back to the sea, stood at the rock of Lisbon, from whence he surveyed Europe, de sponding, and did not cease in his efforts until he lifted her into freedom. When peace was established by his victo rious arm, he still was the benefactor of his country, and worked well in the field of Iriih politics, by removing the disabilities which affected a portion of his countrymen and perfecting equalization amongst them. (Continued cheer ing.) Was this, then, the time for bringing forward such a measure, after the union had been submitted to such an ordeal, and had passed through it unscathed? Was this the time to seek a dismemberment of the empire which had effected so much ? Would it not be in part consenting to dismemberment to go into the proposed committee ? Was this the time, when Catholic disabilities were removed —when the measure of reform threw new elements into the constitution—when the borough interest was abolished ? These measures would make the constitution of Parliament widely different ; and at such a time, under such circum stances, was it wise—was it well—to propose such a mea sure ? The question for the house to consider was, whe ther they could so regulate the course of antagonist powers as to render unnecessary the centripetal force which dwelt in the midst of an united legislature. In his opinion, to work such a miracle would require a power like that Al mighty one which separated light from darkness, which gave laws to the planetary system, and bade the myriads of worlds revolve in that ocean of space, too vast for human imagination to contemplate. (Loud cheers. ) Mr. D. CALLAGHAN rose amid loud cries of " Question," which continued for some time, and at length prevailed. The house adjourned at three o'clock, until Monday next. The foreign exchanges, in consequence of the flourishing state of our commerce, are beginning to turn in favour of this country, and this, among other causes, will materially assist in those monetary opera tions contemplated by this government in the course of the present year, and above all, in that regarding the reduction of the 4 per cents. Silver is still, however, shipped to the Continent in large amounts, one capi talist having sent to Calais, in the latter end of last week, silver bullion to the value of more than 400,000/. This transaction, however, in the existing state of the exchanges, must be looked upon as one purely of a commercial nature. Captain Glascock, whose " Naval Sketch- Book" has given so much amusement to the public, has just published two volumes under the same title as " a New Series." They contain some interesting papers ; among the rest one on impressment, to which we may afterwards call the attention of our readers. The book abounds with animated sketches of naval opinions and character, described in that characteristic style, which only a thorough-bred seaman can handle. —Times, April 24. COURT OF CIIANCERY.—The number of appeals and causes decided by Lord Eldon, between November 22, 1823, and the sittings before Easter Term, 1827, was 75. By Lord Lyndhurst, from that time to November 22, 1830, it was 119 ; by Lord Brougham, from that date to the pre' ent time (the return is dated April 15, 1834), it we 237. Appeals set down in the year from November 22, 1823, was 3 ; in 1824 it was 41 ; next year 40 ; next 56 ; next year it was 35 ; in 1828, 51 ; in 1829 it was 42 ; next year 52 ; next year 62 ; in 1832, 50 ; in 1833, 52 ; and to the present time 21. Appeals for judgment, first day of Michaelmas Term, 1826, 44; same day, 1830, 10 ; same day, 1833, 1. When Lord Eldon went out of office in 1827, 97 appeals stood for hearing, the first of them dated so far back as June 3, 1823. When Lord Lyndhurst went out in 1830, there stood 103 ; and the first day of Easter Term this year there were only 43, the first of which was set down June 7, 1833 ; the number set down before November 6, 1833, was 12. On the first day of last Easter Term one appeal stood for judgment, and no causes. What an answer does this abridgment of a Parliamentary Paper, deli vered on Friday, make to the calumniators of the Lord Chancellor. BRIGHTON.—The body of a male child, newly born, was found buried, a short distance under the soil, on Sunday, on the Downs, near Brighton, just within the verge of the adjoining parish of Oving dean. It bore marks of bruises on its skull, and had evidently met its death by unfair means, and in all pro bability at the hands of an unnatural parent. Exertions are making to discover, if possible, the perpetrator of this atrocity. The body is supposed not to have been buried more than two days when thus discovered. CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SU.A. SIR,—As a member of the established church of Scot land, nothing gives me more serious - concern than the headstrong race which its parties appear to be engaged in, for the purposes of alienating from their cause every man who has a mind of his own—every man who dares to have a proper regard,for his Christian brethren, even although they should happen to cherish a wish to go to heaven in their own little path of dissent; and, further, every one who dares to follow the standard of reform, and not to truckle to the parish priest, not only in matters spiritual, but tem poral also, from payment of teipds down ;to the ringing of the church bell ! That such a feeling predominates amongst the clergy of our church, with comparatively few exceptions, is also self-evident—as witness any disputed election in Scotland, from Tweed to Inverness. For the truth of such assertion, I refer to the hon. member for this district of burghs ; for well does he know the stamina of the holy league betwixt Toryism in civil and religious matters! Such is their bigotry or blindness ! ! Even in the remotest corner of the land, our clergy could not do less than add their little " cup of venom" to the general turmoil ; and in order " that honour may be awarded to them to whom it is justly due," allow me, Sir, to lay before the public, through your widely circulating pages, a simple unadorned statement of a few facts ; for be it known, that the sun of reform has not yet arisen upon Cie Tress of the North—in fact, it is 50 shrouded in Cim- ' merian darkness. During former incumbrances, the people of this town and parish used to assemble for public worship on the Sab bath, at eleven o'clock, a.m., and at two, p.m., as I be lieve is yet the case in every other town north of the bor der ; and at these hours, the town, as well as the parish bell (attached to the kirk), was rung to assemble the diffe rent congregations, be they of the establishment, secession, or independent persuasion. About 20 years ago, we lost our parochial clergyman, and Isis successor, finding either that two English and one Gaelic sermon on the Lord's Day were harder work than his constitution could stand, or that his parishoners were not so kirk greedy, did away with the two English discourses, substituting one, at twelve o'clock, noon, in lieu of them, the bells being rung at that hour only. Soon after, however, the then secession cler gyman having complained that as he continued to give his hearers two sermons, as formerly, he was disturbed in the most serious part of the morning service by the tolling of the - townbell; it was discontinued for a certain period, and again resumed, whether upon the death of this highly re spectable old gentleman, or from some other cause, I know not. Matters went on as usual, the bell annoying the Seceders, till about the year 1823 or 1824, when the parish minister at length determined to conform to the usual prac tice in the neighbouring boroughs, and to favour his con gregation with two sermons every Lord's Day, upon which occasion the ringing of the town bell was for the second time during his incumbency altered to half-past eleven, a.m., thus accommodating all the three congrega tions, who once more assembled to worship God at the same hour. This plan was not, however, long persisted in—only for one season, I believe—thereafter the one ser mon system was resumed, to the annoyance at least of the Seceders (if not of the kirk-going folks), who were again exposed to the old annoyance of the town bell, and the rat tling of the equipages of the nobility, as they passed to the parish kirk, and thus affairs continued until November last, when, upon a free election of magistrates and council having taken place, for the first time, they expressed a wish to reform this amongst other abuses, and a petition having been presented to them by the elders of the Sece ders' congregation, complaining of the grievance, they re solved that in future the town bell, being the property of no particular sect, but of the public, should be rung at such hours on the Sabbath as might be found most convenient for all the different con g regations. The council soon found that the Secession and Independent elders and hearers were friendly to their proposed alteration, but that with the parish clergyman the case was different, rumours being soon spread abroad that the radical council was going to lay the established church at the feet of the secession, to please the Provost— that such a grievance could never, would never, be sub mitted to. Meanwhile the council, anxious to deal out even handed justice to all, and wishful to unite all sects in Christian unity, at the same time being most averse to en croach upon any vested right, however unreasonable, how ever ungraciously claimed, consulted their Edinburgh agents, through the Provost, who, of date 12th February, stated to them as follows:—" That there were three sepa rate places of worship in Nairn, the kirk, secession, and in dependents. That a few years ago, all parties saw the incon venience of one congregation meeting for public worship at a different hour on Sunday from the other, to one of whom, in particular, the ringing of the town bells during the most solemn part of the service, to convene the kirk congrega tion, was most annoying. The consequence was, that for a brief period the town bell was not tolled—but was soon resumed, and had ever since been continued. That the secession congregation had lately petitioned the magistrates on the subject, wishing them to interfere, so that, for the future, it might be arranged, as in every other town, all the congregations in Nairn might assemble on Sunday at the same hour, and the town bells be made useful to the whole community. That in consequence of this applica tion, the magistrates referred the matter to the council, who again referred it to the private determination of the respective sessions. That, however, the kirk session was apparently reluctant to yield its supposed supremacy ; and the parson also, lest he should be obliged to give two dis courses on Sundays. They, therefore, obdurately opposed innovation, forgetting public inconvenience, in a desire for personal ease—threatening prosecution, if the hours of the bells ringing were altered—asserting, that because the parish kirks contributed to building the gaol, they, therefore, were as well entitled to regulate the ringing of the bells as the magistrates or council. They further stated that the dis senters were ready either to meet at eleven o'clock, a.m., as in all other boroughs, at half-past eleven, or at a quarter before twelve, in order, as far as possible, to accomodate themselves to the present hour of commencing service in the parish church, which would only put the parson fif teen minutes out of his way, concluding with the following queries :-1. Have not the magistrates and council full au thority, as builders of the gaol, to make what regulations they please in respect to it, keeping in view the ringing of the bell ? 2. If the magistrates have not such power, who has, as, surely, a public institution under civil manage ment exclusively, cannot be controlled by ecclesiastical I interferences ? 3. Hall the usage, and authority of magis trates and council are to be broken through to satisfy the caprice of a single individual, particularly hostile to this council, have not those who are annoyed by the ringing of the town-bell, while they are in the performance of solemn religious service, a right to endite against the nuisance ? In course of a short period, an opinion by an eminent counsel was received in reply to the above queries, nearly as follows :—" The magistrates are entitled to make such regulations as they deem expedient, in regard to the ring ing of the bell in the town-house ; that bell is peculiarly their property, and they are entitled to regulate the use of it, as well as of any other part of the burgh establishment, under one only restriction, i. e., they must refrain from ringing at any period, when doing so would be productive of nuisance. The town and parish church having already a bell of its own, neither the heritors nor minister can have even a pretext for interfering with the magistrates in the matter. The right of the magistrates depends neither on statute nor usage ; it belongs to them at common law. The above opinion was enclosed in a note from the burgh agents in Edinburgh, who add, " In the above opinion we fully concur ; and were any particular remark called for, we would add, that the unreasonableness of the parish minister ought to be checked by the magistrates exercising their undoubted and exclusive control over the bell within the burgh." Thus fortified by legal advice, the Council, at next meeting, ordered their bell to be rung at half-past eleven o'clock a. m. ; and next day the parish minister called together a meeting of his kirk session, who came to a resolution to make the following communication to the Town Council ; previous to narrating which, however, it may be proper to state that of the session, twelve in number, no fewer than six were members of the late Tory Council of Nairn, poli tical opponents of the present one, and who were removed at the last election. After narrating that the meeting of ses sion was constituted by prayer, it goes on to state, " Whereas, it is conceived by the Town Council that the ringing of the town bell should be discontinued at the hour of beginning public worship, on the Sabbath, in the parish church, and rung only at such hours as it is well known the Dissenters meet, it was unanimously agreed to by the Session, that, in their opinion, such proceeding on the part of the Town Council was unjustifiable in itself, and contrary to the established usages of the country; that the established church has ever been considered as part of the British Constitution, and eminently calculated to pro mote good order, morality, and respect to the laws, and, as such, deserving the protection and support of the civil magistrate ; that it is the invariable practice in all the burghs in Scotland to ring the town bell, as a warning to the inhabitants of the appointed hours of worship in the established church, and from time immemorial such has been the practice in the burghs; that the Session are the best judges, and have the right to determine what hour is most suitable for the parishioners to assemble, and they consider the hour in practice (12 at noon) as the most suitable, in a parish where many people have a long way to travel to church. Therefore the session must view any attempt to interfere with their rights, by any other power, as _unconstitutional, officious, and indicative of high disre spect by such power. That the session further cannot but con sider the conduct of the Town Council of Nairn as a violation of that duty and protection, which they, as civil rulers, are bound to give to the established church, as one of the legal institutions of the land, do solemnly protest against such conduct, and call on the Council to review their proceed ings, to rescind and retract their resolution passed by them on Tuesday last, and to order the town bell to be rung as heretofore. The session further direct their clerk to transmit an extract of their minutes to the town clerk for immediate communication to the Council, and to request their answer thereupon ; and in the event of such retrac tion being refused, to crave that the session be furnished with copies of the memorial referred to, and opinion of council, on the subject of said resolution. "—Closed with prayer. At the next meeting of Council this production was laid ')fore therm 1,-lien it was moved and resolved that it should )(3 laid on the table, as being informal, untrue, and irre evant ; informal, as not being addressed in form of a peti tion, in place of which it appeared rather as a mandate to the Town Council of Nairn, who disclaim owing any alle giance to the Kirk Session of Nairn. Untrue-Ist. Be cause the session asserts that the town bell was to be dis :!ontinued at the time of beginning public worship on the Sabbath, and rung only at such hours as it is well known the dissenters meet ; whereas it must be well known to the session that none of the dissenting congregations have ever net at a quarter before 12 a.m., and the present change in the time of meeting was proposed to accommodate the parish minister, as must also be well known to one and all of the Kirk Session. 2d. Because they assert that from time immemorial it was the custom to ring the town bells of Nairn, as a warning of the appointed hour of w irship in the established church. Now this is untrue, be tause it was given up for one session, on account of the annoyance it occasioned to the Secession congregation, and was first in- ; troduced by the present incumbent. 3d. Because, without interfering with the rights of the Session, as to whether 12 noon be or be not the most suitable hour for the pa rishioners to assemble, such f act was ne cr found out until the present parish priest's induction, his predecessor having always given two sermons on the Sabbath, and commenced divine service at 11, or at latest, at half-past 11, a.m. Thus it would appear that the labour of the parish minister, in place of keeping pace with the wants of his people, have decreased in an inverse ratio to their wants, and also to the amount of stipend received. Irre levant, as entering on a detail of what the Session are pleased to consider as the British Constitution and the rights of the established church, neither of which subjects were before the Council. Finally, it may be remarked, that, although according to the Session the measure was carried entirely fon the accommodation qf, if not by, the Dissenters in the Council, yet the simple fact is, that every member present, except two, voted for the alteration in the ,hour of ringing the bell, and when I add that of the Coun cil, consisting of 17, only six are Dissenters, the true esti mate of what confidence can be justly placed in the assertions of the Kirk Session, is most apparent ! ! As a friend to free discussion, and to the liberty of con science on all occasions, I have no doubt but you will find a corner in an early number of your public spirited, jour nal for this long statement of facts, and by so doing oblige a numerous body of readers. I remain, Sir, Your most obedient servant, Muir, Culloden, April 5, 1834. VERAX. THE LADIES' UNION-PETITION TO THE KING. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Ste,--I am a Nery old and constant reader of your paper, and one of the earliest members of the ladies' union, a society formed before any other that I ever heard of, and, though unfettered by secret oaths or other compact, bound to maintain, and if possible, improve, the manners and morals of the nation of which we form a part. We have accordingly met at this crisis, which seems to demand the attention of all well wishers to order and decorum ; and have chosen ten delegates, not too old to do their duty firmly, yet sufficiently venerable to insure respect. These ladies are instructed to wait upon Lord Melbourne in form, and to intrust him with a petition now lying at my house for signature. I send you a true copy, in order that when you may have occasion to notice the recep tion of our delegates at the Home Office, you may not be at a loss as to the real nature of our petition to our gracious Sovereign, whom God preserve. I am, Sir, your obedient servant and well-wisher, HERRARA. To the King's Most Excellent Majesty, the humble peti tion of the members of the Ladies' Union of Great Britain and Ireland, Humbly showeth; That your petitioners deem it a most sacred duty they owe to themselves and to posterity, and also to your Ma jesty, thus to declare to your Majesty the intense interest and anxiety with Which they have contemplated the pro ceedings of various bodies of your Majesty's subjects with regard to the sentence lately pronounced on the six agri cultural labourers at Dorchester ; and participating in the feelings of compassion which have no doubt actuated the better part of the petitioners who have preceded us, we beg humbly to submit to your Alajesty's gracious consideration, that these poor men, and others of a similar class, in various trades, have been trained on by the specious promises of good, held out by various persons (having private ends of their own to answer) to the very verge of crime ; and that, although they have incurred sufficient guilt to justify fully the sentence pronounced upon them, yet that, being but the tools of more educated, more cunning, and more unprincipled persons, the punishment. might, to the great satisfaction of very numerous bodies of your Majesty's sub ' jects, be mitigated in the manner which we, the Ladies' Union, now humbly propose to lay before your Majesty. We cannot, and do not presume to suppose in any in stance that .the inferior members of any society, union, cor poration, or club, can be of equal value with the heads of such society, union, corporation, or club, any more than that the units in our numeration table are equal to the tens. Still, there are relative values which may be computed, and perhaps if we value the six poor Dorchester men, at four of those chiefs, whose counsels, direct or indirect, they have . followed to their cost, your Majesty may be graciously pleased to confirm our valuation, and to remit the punishment of the six ignorant men alto gether, on the condition that four of their principal chiefs—military, ecclesiastical, legal, and senatorial, be transported to the strictest colonial place of pu nishment in their stead. We, the members of the Ladies' Union, are persuaded that the restoration of the poor working men to their families, great as will be the bless ing, will not procure half the comfort to the country, nor half the security for the love of your Majesty's affectionate subjects towards your Royal person, as the removal of the four aforesaid mischievous and malignant chiefs from your shores. When they shall no longer, by the perversion of the great powers with which the Almighty bath • endowed some of them, and by the impudence which assumes importance in the others, urge on the working classes to revolt against the laws of nature and their country, when their malignant in stigations shall no longer help to persuade the people that their best friends are their oppressors ; A - hen their situa tions in the world as members of Parliament, lawyers, and priests, shall no longer be abused to countenance crime ; nay, by example, to teach it; then the unions in Great Britain will be made to cherish trade, and not to undermine it ; and the Whitefeet and the Orangemen of Ireland will no longer be secretly instructed how to outrage the laws with the best chance of security, nor receive the price of blood from a collector of rent from the people. Further, as we are not ignorant that your Majesty's de sire in punishing a criminal is to reform him, we trust that seven years passed in reflection upon past acts, will materially alter, and consequently improve, the views and principles of the said military, ecclesiastical, legal, and senatorial counsellors, so that they may return harmless, if not useful, members to the bosom of that country which they have endeavoured first to corrupt, and then to destroy. In lending a gracious ear to this petition, your Majesty will confer an incalculable blessing on the country, now and for ever. And your Majesty's petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray for all temp Oral and eternal blessings upon your Majesty, your family, and dominions. There will be a meeting in support of the distressed sailors' Asylum on Thursday the 15th of May, at 11 o'clock, at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, Sir Edward Codrington in the chair. It is understood that Mr. Justice James Parke, and Mr. Justice Alderson, will be immediately removed to the Exchequer, while Mr. Baron Vaughan will go to the Common Pleas, and Mr. Baron Williams to the Court of King's Bench. . . ----- - We understand that the Mayor carries with him to London, for presentation, a valuable gold box, containing the freedom of the borough of Liverpool, which was voted to the Duke of Wellington in the year 1830, but which his Grace was prevented from receiv ing in consequence of the melancholy accident which took. place on the opening of the railway in that year. The box and the freedom are of course intended as retaining fees for the noble Duke's expected opposi tion to the bill for disfranchising his " brother free men."—Liverpool Albion. S ALT.— The New York Gazette states the quantity of salt manufactured at the Onondaga salt springs, as shown by the annual report to the Legislature for 1833, to be 1,848,841 bushels. Foreign salt seldom paid more than its freight; but if the Americans go on thus manufacturing, it will not be worth more than ballast to homeward-bound ships. A SOLDIER'S LlFE.—Under this title a nar rative of the Life of an English officer of rank is about to be published. The volumes will be filled by details of events in which the gallant writer was personally concerned; and in; these will be embodied accounts of military service in the West Indies, and of life in general in those islands ; of Irish insurrections ; of the expedition to Walcheren ; of the war in Portugal and Spain (including original anecdotes of Sir Rowland Hill, Sir Thomas Picton, Marshal Beresford, Sir W. Ponsonby, and the Duke of Wellington), and copious particulars relative to the battle of Waterloo, and the subsequent entry of our troops into Paris. CONJUGAL DISCIPLINE IN THE EAST.— My friend's method of keeping a woman in order was a striking one. He had occasion, one day, he related, to correct his wife, and lie took up a bridle for the pur pose. Unfortunately the iron bit, which was at the end of it, swaug round and struck her on the side, and then he knew that she was really hurt, for she lay down upon the ground and moaned. He was very sorry, 'very sorry indeed, for he never would have struck her to hurt her in such a manner ; but he preserved his dignity, and walked away, and moreover he kept aloof from her for two days, when she came and assured him of her humble contrition, and promised not to offend again. " However," added the .t_.-hah, " I determined never to strike a woman again except with my hand— never except with my hand ; and I am not sure that it is not good not to strike a Ivoman at all ; for I I ave seen your countrymen's beebees in India, and they are not beaten ; but then again, your women have under standing, and do not make fools of themselves. —Lieut. Conolly's Travels. The gay assemblage of distinguished indi viduals who have for some time past graced the Duke of Rutland's beautiful domain at Belvoir have dis persed. His Grace has been entertaining them in a princely style. There is one part of the noble edifice which is called Staunton Tower, and when any of the Royal Family visit the Duke, the Rev. Dr. Staunton, who lives at Staunton Hall, 10 miles off, brings a golden key of that tower, which is a part of his pos session, and dines with ie royal guests. This key is always kept at Staunton Hall. AN IRON INTlO.—The adventures of Edward Wortley Montague (son of Lady Mary Wortley) have made much noise in this kingdom. His parts are not proportionate, but his expense is incredible. His father scarce allows him any thing ; yet he plays, dresses, diamonds himself, even to distinct shoe-buckles for a frock, and has more snuff-boxes than would suf fice a Chinese idol with a hundred noses. But the most curious part of his dress, which he has brought from Paris, is an iron wig ; you literally would not know it from hair. I believe it is on this account that the Royal Society have just chosen him of their body. —Walpole's Correspondence with Sir Horace Mann. During the severity of the winter season in Canada, milk may be carried to market in sacks. And in some parts the French population on the banks of the St. Lawrance break the ice, and catch astonishing quantities of small fish, called Tommy Cods, which freeze the moment they are taken out of the water, and in this state are occasionally given as food to cattle. It may appear strange, that, after being in this frozen state for some time, on being put into cold water and thawed, they again exhibit life. TILE LIFE OF A SOLDIER.—This work is the Autobiography of a British Field Officer. It is a narrative of twenty-seven years' service in various parts of the world, and details most of the late fa mous battles in Spain, Portugal, and the Low Coun tries, particularly the decisive conflict of Waterloo, in all of which the author was present. It abounds also in anecdotes of the distinguished leaders of the British army, and amusing particulars connected with a soldier's life at home, in camp, and in garrison. The 76 deaths which have occurred in the year, in the Lunatic Asylum at Hanwell, have been, with the exception of those who have died from an advanced age, principally caused by the disease of the brain, of the lungs, and the complaints brought on by those deadly potions of ardent spirits in which the lower classes seem more than ever to indulge. In a very great number of the recent cases, amongst both men and women, the insanity is caused entirely by spirit-drinking. This may, in some measure, be attri buted to the younc , not being taught to consider the practice disgraceful, ° and to their being tempted, by the gorgeous splendour of the present gin mansions, to begin a habit which they never would have commenced had they been obliged, fearful of being observed, to steal into the obscurity of the former dram-shop.— Front the Report of the Middlesex Lunatic Asylum at Hanwell. FORTIICONIING NOVELTIES.—The follow ing New Works will be published by Mr. Bentley, New Burlington-street, on the 29th inst. : I LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF HENRY SALT, Esq., F. R. S. His Britannic Majesty's late Consul- General in Egypt. By JOHN JAMES HALLS, Esq. 2 vols. Bvo., with two Portraits. ROOKWOOD. A ROMANCE. 3 vols. I See how Ruin, with a palsied hand, Begins to shake this ancient house to dust. lII THE LIFE OF . A SOLDIER. A Narrative of 27 years' service in various parts of the World. By A FIELD OFFICER. Agents for Scotland, Messrs. Bell and Bradfute, Edinburgh ; for Ireland, Mr. John Cumming, Dublin. I `.* Orders should be forwarded immediately to prevent disappointment. A virago, a sort of Lady Barry more, named Suzanne Herbez, but styling herself the Princess Acmet Abdulahan, Countess of Wolten, has within the last fortnight twice figured before the Court of Assize at Paris, charged with robbing hotels. On the last occasion she appeared in court with a huge mask upon her face. She advanced with a military air having upon her shoulder a thick b a r o f i ron , which she had contrived to bring from the prison un known to the gaoler. The first witness called was a lady named Mathias, who deposed that she perfectly recollected the prisoner Suzanne having come to her hotel on the 23d of February, 1833, and that she took away with her the linen and' silver cover with which she had been supplied. The President (to the pri soner)—Have you any counsel? Prisoner (with ve hemence)—No, Sir, I have no counsel, but this is my defender. On saying this she brandished the bar of iron several times over her head with great dexte rity. ( Much laughter.) The officers with some dif ficulty took away this formidable weapon, when she suddenly seized upon the sword of a municipal guard who was placed near her. He, however, wrested it from her. She then persisted in striking the bar with her reticule which was filled with keys, and it required the strength of two or three persons to make her re linquish her'hold. The Court was compelled to sus pend the proceedings for several minutes. The infu riated woman at length sat down, and addressing her self to the President, said, " You may do as you like, but I shall find a way to punish my guilty judges if they again condemn me." The prisoner, having been found guilty, was sentenced to two years' imprison ment for the robbery. She had before been sentenced to five years' imprisonment for another offence. INTERESTING SALE.—The effects left by the late Mrs. Burns, at the sale at Dumfries on Thurs day and Friday last, realised a handsome sum of money, apart from the plate, books, and pictures, and retained relics of particular value, such as the desk upon which the poet wrote, and the shelved press that contained his small but well selected library. During the first day's sale the attendance was large, and included per sons of the highest consideration. The auctioneer commenced with small articles, and when he came to a broken copper coffee-pot there were so many bidders for even a dilapidated relic, that the price paid ex ceeded twenty-fold the intrinsic value. A tea-kettle of the same metal succeeded, and reached the high point of 2/. sterling. Of the linens, a table cloth, marked 1792, was knocked down at 51. 75., which speak ing commercially, may be worth half-a-crown or ss. Many other articles commanded handsome prices, and the older and plainer the furniture the better it sold. Still not a few things went below their value, particularly such as were handsome and of modern construction. On Friday, the attendance was much thinner, from the impression that few, if any, relics remained on hand ; but this was a mistake, and as the day advanced the spirit of competition became very keen. The rusty iron top of a shower bath, which Mrs. Dunlop (of Dunlop) sent to the poet when afflicted with rheuma tism, was bought by a Carlisle gentleman for twenty eight shillings; and what is more extraordinary, a low wooden kitchen chair, on which the late Mrs. Burns sat when nursing her children, was run up to 31. 7s. The crystal and china were much coveted, and brought, in most cases, splendid prices. Even an old fender reached a figure which would go far to buy half a dozen new ones, and everything towards the close at tracted notice, down to grey-beards, bottles, and a half-worn pair of bellows. The poet's eight day clock, made by a Mauchline artist of the name of Brown, and which stood originally in the house at Mossgiel, and accompanied him in his removals to Ellsland and Dumfries, attracted great attention, from the circumstance that it had frequently been wound up by his own hand, and, for more than half a century, had chimed or struck " the wee short hour ayont the twal," and every other in the twenty four. In a few seconds it was bid up to fifteen pounds or guineas, and was finally disposed of for 35/. The purchaser had a hard battle to fight ; but his spirit was good, and his purse obviously not a light one, and the story ran that he had instructed Mr. Richardson to secure a preference at any sum under 601. The said clock is a most interesting relic, and however highly tempted, we trust the present spirited possessor will long be enabled to retain such a precious heir-loom directly or indirectly in the family.— D laq/ries Courier. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. Mr. O'Connell having misspent a large purti nof breath 4:1 the propcsitim that the Beitish Parliament had never exercised a supreme dominion over Ireland, whch country was, as is allowed on all hands, governed b y a P ar li ament of her own, alleges next that the union with this country possessed no character of a valid contract, by reason of the unprincipled means through which it was accomplished. Now, here the ingenuity of the repeal advocate C'eserts him. Ile labours keg, if not successfully, to prove the exalted mei of the Irish parliament after 1782. He dwells upon certain commercial advances which the kingdom had made under that honourable and patriotic Parliament. He at temptS not to insinuate that Ireland had ever been ruled over by a better Parliament, or one constituted on purer principles. In fact, he eulogizes and regrets tl , at departed body, and talks of the period during which it reigned as one glorious memory for Ireland. Well, then, what was the final aet, of that excellent and virtuous legisla'ure? Why its own sale for a large sum of money to the British minister. Ay, it made itself over, body and soul, for. says Mr. O'Con nell, 1,000,000/. of money, which was:aid out in the pur chase of borough interests—that is, in an indemnification of borough proprietors for the loss of seats of which they used to make an annual profit by the votes of thegentlemen who were put in to represent them. It is useless to ask us, who have always held the memory of that, and, indeed, of every Irish Parliament, in execration—it is useless, we say, to ask us, whether Ireland was legitimately governed by such a body, or could be legitimately put up to auction at its ilea:ure. We lament that Ireland never had a good legislature; but that has nothing to do with the matter: Mr: O'Connell, it appears, was satisfied with it, and pronotificesi, it to have been far more virtuous than the Parliament of Great Britain. Such as it was, moreover, it had the supreme power in its hands ; and as political power, abso lute and unlimited, must be lodged somewhere in every community, and Blackstone says that the authority of Par- Lament knows no limit ; as, besides, other portions of this empire had already incorporated .themselves with England —Wales in the first place,'and Scotland afterwards ; and as the boroughmongers of Ireland, let them have been morally as corrupt as you please, gave up, by the most formal of legislative acts, the right to the future repre sentation of their own boroughs, vesting by a vote (which must have been valid because it was passed while the Irish parliament, so much panegyrized by Mr. O'Connell, still existed) the future right of election for Irish meth= . bees of the Imperial Parliament in certain other constituencies, we can, for our parts, on Mr. O'Cotez nell's principles, conceive no possible flaw or defect iri the instrument of transfer thereby executed ; nor, what ever may be our own deep sense of the habitual and incor rigitle baseness of that College-green Parliament, can any thing but the most enormous inconsistency be imputed to the reamed puffer of its perfections, when lie impeaches as now untenable, the most solemn, and most important of all its proceedings ? To break up the consolidation of once= separated countries, except. under circumstances of &Are*. necessity, would be endless evil. Belgium and Holland would not have flown asunder had the terms of the con: tract of 1815, expressed and implied, been respected by the latter country. The general voice of Europe, including that of England, would never have been raised against the continued annexation of Poland itself (cruel as had been the origin of that disastrous revolution), had not the sworn faith of Russia been so grossly and shamefully violated. But can any man cast the shadow of imputes Lion upon England for having broken the unich en= t enements into which she entered with the Irish 011ie: ment ? have they not one and all been more than fulfilled / If, in spite of a vast increase of commerce, and of the means of subsistence manifested by an extended consump tion,—if in spite of all this, of a free trade in corn granted to Ireland in 1806, and her being actually changed from a country importing grain, to one from which millions of quarters are now annually shipped without duty to the British markets,—if in spite of the Channel trade of Ire' land being put on the same footing in all British ports as the coasting trade of England herself,—if, in spite of the assimilated currency, by which an intolerable nuisance was got rid of ; or in spite of the acts for encouraging fisheries, for working mines, for supporting public works, for improving harbours at a profuse expense, for amending the grand jury laws, for the discouragement of joint tenantcy, for amending the sub-letting act, for preventing vexatious distresses on the poor, for abolishing vestry cess, with others which we cannot enumerate,—if, we say, in spite of all this kindly and b e n e fi c e n t legislation, the country' remains one wherein English capitalists dare not settle, anil which Irishmen of property are compelled to quit, what is the cause of such a seeming contrariety ? It is agitation —it is disturbance—it is bloody ferocitv—it is demoraliza tion of the great mass of the community, which, whatever may be their peculiar position in some respects as com pared with the same class throughout Great Britain, it is impossible not to see hai been dreadfully and sedulously aggravated from motives which will not bear the light. A discussion so various and so vast as this, which has been opened upon the repeal question, it is utterly impracticable for a daily journal to follow with any regularity. A point here and there, more prominent than its neighbours, is all that we can venture to touch. The Irish repealers must be strange economists when they make' a national grievance out of the fact; that such immense quantities of butcher's meat and other produce are " taken oat of Ireland" for English consumption. Would they' like it better if Ireland had no exports, and therefore' nothing wherewith to pay for what she cannot produce o i advantageous terms within her own boundaries ; or would they consider it a boon, if England should shut her ports, and place Ireland on the same level as the rest of Europe in respect of native Irish productions ? Thie would make, we suspect, a magnificent grievance. Yet is it one which the repeal wiseacres must learn to endure, if Ireland be led at their instigation to enrol herself among those "foreign countries" to which England shows no preference or favour, but leaves to shift for themselves. The extensive law reforms which have within these two or three years taken place in Ireland we omitted to enu merate among the benefits derived to her from the superintendence of the British parliament, and no one of which —nor reform of any kind, political or financial (no, neither emancipation nor retrenchment), would she have obtained to this hour from the blessed College green Parliament, the meanest and most profligate body that ever oppressed or disgraced a subject people. Without dipping further into the volume of Mr. Spring Rice's masterly and memorable speech, replete with knowledge, and with materials for accurate reasoning, we shall on this occasion just refer to one or two topics powerfully treated by Mr. Littleton, and with a brevity which doubled their impression. Before we had read a syllable of the report of what fell from the Irish Secretary, we recounted in our article of yesterday some of the happy consequences which every man who knew much Of the state of Ireland, and had carefully watched the manoeuvres of the Agitator, must be prepared to anticipate from repeal. Mr. Littleton calls the sentiment in favour of it one of artificial concoction, and of recent growth, and the right hon. gentleman's statement is unanswerable. From 1800 to 1832 not a syllable was ever heard upon the subject, but when the Catholics, as such, had nothing more to complain of, and there appeared some risk of the restoration of na tional tranquillity ; when the law of the land and those by whom it was administered would be apt to draw towards then the deference and attention of the people, it became indispensable to procure a fresh grievance, - lest the dema gogue power might fall into disuse, and the taste of the multitude for intoxicating stimulants be weakened. " Re peal" was found out, and had the double but somewhat cu rious effect of persuading the people that they were utterly impoverished, and that the path to riches was to tax them selves for the profit of him who duped them. Among those fruits of the College-green Parliament to which we had ourselves adverted, and of which' an interesting catalogue is given in Mr. Littleton's speech, foremost stands a scheme of confiscation. Mr. O'Connell promised the miserable creatures, who hung upon his lips as if manna and honey flowed from them, that not only should all landlords not resident in Ireland pay to his treasury 75 per cent., but even those who had the virtue (we may add after this, the gross folly) to be resident should have property nowhere but in Ireland : that is, they should forfeit their Irish estates, for by no other means could such a prohibition be realized. " A pretty nostrum this," says Mr. Littleton, " for bringing capital into Ireland !" Never, indeed, as Mr. O'Connell, not in irony, but solemnly, though uncon sciously blundering on the truth, boasted—never could ' Irishmen " hope to have such a law enacted but by an Irish Parliament !" Now, the tragical part of all such absurdity is, that the besotted multitude believe it,—ay, as devoutly as any miracle of the dark ages. The fact, however, equally tragical, should a repeal be effected (which we should suspect it will not), must be the necessity under which Mr. O'Connell would feel himself for fulfilling all such odious threats, and perpe trating (or off goes his head) the whole catalogue of terrible than crimes that he promises. No sooner had h ,,,.b e u,oyi e gu ar lradirs r i i bfn e ae d gvot h h is ner pt r. ooerugieriprdeeosa offe s rs ' e t 0 1 0 aiftasonc, outbidl n a l ae s i i s o r y ab m nil tfryac andpoi competitors ep,ee anarchyaat i cn t hd o rmso swifttoti rior other f that of Jacobinism in its most revolting stages. Nor was the independent condition of the College-green Parlia ment, when it should be convened and in full activity, painted by Mr. Littleton in less striking colours. If the College-green senators don't do their duty —which, iii other words, means the learned gentleman's bidding -what is the remedy ? Sent back to their constituents? No such thing : the constituents save the government the trouble of a dissolution, and the members that of a re-elec tion—they repair in a body " some fine morning to College green, with certain short sticks " in their hands, and with a flourish of the shillelah over the Speaker's wig, they tell the house to " take care and do its duty !" So much for the way of doing business under the O'Connell dynasty. But the subject is inexhaustible : on Monday we shall resume it.— limes. ESCAPE OF A PRISONER. On Wed nesday evening last, one of the Frenchmen imprisoned in Boston gaol for smuggling, contrived to make his escape by cutting his trousers, &e., into strips, and by that means lowering himself from the wall whilst the gaoler.was locking up the other prisoners for the nijht.—Boston Herald.