The Sun. — London, England, 1834-07-24 00:00:00

not think it would be possible altogether to acquit the Govern ment of all particifiation in the charge brought a g ainst them in the person of th e Ri g ht H on . S ecre t ar y of War. The House was told they would be establishing a bad precedent in acceding to the motion. In his humble opinion they would be adopting a much worse precedent in refusing it. In more points than one they would be adopting a bad precedent in re fusing the Committee for which they sought. It. was said that if an Hon. 'Member on being accused of improper conduct was able to make a defence resting altogether on mere verbal allegation, the House could not grant a Committee of Inquiry into the matter without treating the party so accused as a liar, and one altogether unworthy of belief. Surely a worse pre cedent than that ceuld not be establilled.—( Hear.) It was at all events a precedent which he implored the House, as they valued their character in the country, not to sanction. In his opinion nothing was more calculated to render the present case one of frightful enormity, than the opposition which the Go vernment had off2.red to his motion for an investigation. An Honourable Member (Mr. C. Buller), had committed an outrage on those splendidly imaginative faculties with which bountiful nature endowed him, in attempting to prove an identity of• conduct between the Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary at War and Scipio Africanus ; but he put it to the House to say if the speech of that Hon. Member, or the speeches of those who took a similar view of the subject with his, were at all calculated to satisfy the public mind that the public money had not been showered forth in God alone knew how many places by the Treasury, for the purpose of securing the return of their immediate partisans.—( Hear.) What had been the conduct of an unreformed Parliament upon an occa sion in every respect similar to the present ? An accusation was brought against Mr. Windham Quin, an individual whose character at the time tile accusation was preferred stood in the public estimation at all events as high as that of the Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary at War, and although he offered a defence which in the opinion of a great portion of the House was deemed satisfactory, a Committee of Inquiry havirg been moved for was granted, and in the result evidence was ad duced which brought home the charge to-that person, and in the end was the means of putting a stop to his political career. And even the Reform Parliament, that Parliament so much vaunted as the palladium of the people's liberties—that Par liament to which the people were told to look for redress and support—was the Reformed Parliament, he asked, prepared to resist an inquiry into a matter so deeply affecting the constitu tional rights of the people, that even a boroughmongering Par liament could not, had it been proposed to them, refuse it ? The affair was called " a butterfly."—( A laugh.) It's but a butterly Born in a -- a committee-room he supposed, and was melodiously warbled forth with every possible variation by the Hon. Member the iiventor of the Scipio Africanus imagery and his friends; but was this, he asked, the way a question of such magnitude and importance ought to be treated ?—( Hear, hear, and laughter.) Ought such a question, he submitted to the House, be treated with a degree almost, if not altogether, amounting to indecorum ?—( Hear, hear.) The Government sought to smother the subject by the exercise of the influence they possessed in that House ; but he could assure them the time was passed when they could expect to carry every thing by influence, unless indeed it was the influence of public opi nion. Let the Government not outrage that opinion. It had been with them for some time past ; let them take care how they hazarded it. The public attention was narrowly directed to their conduct, and one false step, a step of the character they were about to take, might sink them irrevocably in the abyss of unpopularity. It had been asked in the course of the then discussion, " If it be enough to be accused, who will be innocent ?" But might not he (Mr. O'Connell) with much more reason ask, " If it be enough to deny, who will be guilty ?"—( Hear.) Let the Reform Parliament, he again said, take care how they refused the inquiry. The reformed people expected it ; let not their representatives disappoint that expectation. Great indeed was his surprise, and great indeed, he doubted not, would be the surprise of the country, when it was ascertained that the foremost in opposition to his motion for inquiry was the great patriot of Reform, the Noble Lord the Member for Devonshire (Lord J. Russell.) The Hon. Member near him ( Mr. C. Buller), the Hon. Member whom he would henceforth dub with the title of " Scipio Afri canus"—( A laugh)—had spoken of an appeal to the gods, and he (Mr. O'Connell) was bound to say the appeal had been promptly responded to.—( A laugh.) No sooner was it made than up started the Noble Lord the God of Reform Idolatry, who, parmulci NON relictd, threw over his Right Hon. Friend the broad shield with which his former valiant deeds in the cause of the people armed him.—(Laughter.) He besought the Government to recollect they were opposed by two parties in that House—firstly, by that which was accused of going too far) and, secondly, by that which was said not to go far enough. Let it not, under such circum stances, go forth to the public that the motion was supported by those who were deemed inimical to public liberty, and opposed by that party to whom they looked up as their friends.— ( Hear. )—Satisfied at all events he was it would be said that the sole motive which could actuate the Government in re sisting the motion was a fear that the result might prove un fortunate; and if there was no reason for entertaining such a fear, and he would go so far as to say he believed there was not, he earnestly and solemnly implored the Noble Lord and his colleagues to accede to his motion, and grant the investi gation prayed for.—(, Hear, hear.) The House then divided, when there appeared— For the amendment. ll4 Against it 34 Majority -80 The original question was then put and negatived. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE. On our readmission to the Gallery we found Mr. BARING putting a question to Lord Althorp on (as we understood) the course the Noble Lord proposed adopting respecting the business of the House ; but, owing to the con fusion occasioned by the return of strangers to the Gallery, neither question nor answer reached us. When order was in some degree restored we understood Mr. C. WYNN to suggest to the Noble Lord the propriety of looking over the Order Book, and expunging therefrom such of the Government Orders as he saw no prospect of proceeding with during the present Session. Lord ALTHORP, in the course of some observations very indistinctly heard in the Gallery, was understood to say that the only measures 'which the Government considered it was of essential importance should be passed during the present Session were the Irish Coercion Bill and the Irish Tithe Bill. The Bill of the Hon. Member for Lancashire for the admis sion of Dissenters to Universities he both wished and hoped might be passed during the Session ; but, as it was of by no means such pressing emergency as to time as the measures to which he alluded, he trusted the Hon. Member would not bring it forward until they were disposed of. An HON. MEMBER asked if it was intended to proceed with the Church Rates Bill during the present Session ? Lord .ALTHORP saw no chance of the Government beino alie to pass that measure until next Session: Neither did he think it would be possible to proceed with the Registration Bills for the present. It would, however, be the duty of Government to take care that those measures were brought LeFore Parliament in the early part of the ensuing Session. Au HON. Mumcza wished to know whether the Imprison ment for Debt Bill was to be abandoned for the present sessior. Tit?. ATTORNEY-GENERAL was unable to give any positive answer to the question. It was truly observed that— " Love gives hope where reason will despair." Ills attachment to the measure induced him still to hope it might be possible to carry it in the present session, although, when he looked to the state of public business and the advanced period of the session, he had every reason to fear his expecta tions must be disappointed. EXPLANATION. Mr. O'CONNELL availed himself of the opportunity to do an act of mere justice to a Noble Lord, whose name he had been obliged to mention, when on a former evening he read an extract from the evidence of Mr. Barrington before the House of Commons' Committee, relating to the management of Lord Stradbroke's estate in Limerick. He understood that it was generally supposed that the statement of Mr. Barrington had reference .to the present Lord Stradbroke,• but of his own knowledge he (Mr. O'Connell) was able to state that the cir cumstances mentioned in it occurred so far back as thirteen or fourteen years ago, and consequently during the lifetime of the late Lord. Having thought it necessary at all to allude to the subject, he trusted he might be permitted to say that he knew of no estate in Ireland better managed than that of the Noble individual who at present bore the title of Lord Stradbroke. FOREIGN ENLISTMENT ACT: Sir H. HA RDINGE wished to know when the Foreign Enlistment Bill was likely to be brought forward? It had been in the order book at Yeast eighteen or twenty times, and on every occasion he had waited, sometimes until twelve o'clock at night, in the expectation of its being brought under consideration. As his patience, if not his health, was at Jenp-th altogether worn out, he trusted some day might be fixed for its further progress. The LORD ADVOCATE said he was quite as anxious as the Right Hon. Baronet could be to proceed with the Bill, but as yet no opportunity had presented itself. He could only say that as early as possible he should move the next stage, but it must be obvious to the Right Hon. Baronet he could not s pecify any particularday for that purpose. The order of the day for the Committee on the Irish Dis turbances Bill was then read. On the question that the SPEAKER leave the chair, THE TRUE SUN. Mr. F. O'CONNOR, in ,purstianCe of a notice, rose to move an Address for his Majesty's pardon to Mr. Patrick Grant and Mr. John Bel, editors of the True Sun Newspaper, now imprisoned in the King's Bench Prison for a seditious libel. The Hon. Member commenced by referring the House to ex tracts from several Newspapers and periodicals, and amongst others from the Standard, the Albion, the Morning He; ald, the' Guardian and Public Ledger, Blaeliwood's Magazine, the Examiner, the John Bull, the Morning Post, and the Times, in order to. show that, in the opinion of the. public of all Classes, the prosecutions to which the individuals in whose be_ half his motion wv.s brought forward had been subjected, w as both unjust, ill-timed, and.n direct variance with the policy of the case. The editors of the True Sun were imprisoned for giving the same advice to the people which on another occasion a Noble Individual, once a Member of that House, and at pre sent occupying a seat in the House of Lords—he meant the Earl Fitzwilliamh a d offered them. That Noble Individual, when Lord Milton, said he would refuse to pay the King's taxes unltirthfentaltlits granted, and while the editors of the Traf - :".;":761 1 Pw.foli r recommending the people to fol -10,7k4/eXt'unt takNo c Lord had not undergone even a pr.t,.. lap- A . .. t. , a Newspapers of the land had on j a r .1 ) a , • .., ir...o** • .tfo th the same principles in the same . t i . nstead of prosecuting them, had la ' . .....51 e, "IT' 0 :111-n e,, „,, a ifig; ti c i6 - their,: uct. Even the Times, that haft 'it -*:\,' ;1( 0 4*Qy th upon the True Sun, had ackno it_ivs 1. at t ~ the prosecution was impolitic. s,. 0)e The proprietors of the True Sun had been hardly and unjustly deal with. The Attorney-General had told them that s would not call for judgment if they made__ _2y concession, and because these G en tl emen h a d been so, manly , and honourable as not to concede or retract where they believed themselves in the right, they were now suffering in gaol. As the law now stood the most virtuous proprietors of the press might be prosecuted for exposing the most flagitious conduct of the most flagitious Government. He believed that public opinion was never wrong in the long run, and that therefore the press should be the judge of public or even of private cha racter. The law of libel had often been tortured to suit the temper of those who administered the government. He would recommend Ministers to entrench themselves behind the bar rier of public opinion, and not to seek safety in prosecutions of the press. He would appeal in its behalf to the clemency of Ministers, especially as men who were acknowledged to be guilty of worse offences were allowed to be at large. He concluded by moving that an humble address be presented to his Majesty, praying that his Majesty would be graciously pleased to grant a pardon to Patrick Grant and John Bell, the proprietor and editor of the True Sun Newspaper, now in confinement for libel. Mr. HUME seconded the amendment upon public prin ciples. Ministers in this prosecution had belied all their former opinions, and he was at a loss how they could give to that House opinions so contrary to those upon which 'the law officers of the Crown had acted in this case. The Attorney- General had either acted upon his own responsibility or upon that of Ministers, and yet the Lord Chancellor had given his opinion before a Committee of that House against resorting to such prosecutions. He would not in this case appeal to the mercy of Government, for he deemed it a case of common justice. There was a period at which it became a virtue to resist a tax, and when a writer pointed out the faults of any existing system of taxation, and advised the people tq refuse quietly to pay a tax, he ought not to be subject to a prosecu tion. An editor did not do his duty if he conscientiously be lieved a tax produced evils and did not avow his opinions. The only tendency of such prosecutions was to make men corrupt slaves, and to stifle the voice of truth.—(Hear, hear.) He called upon Ministers to expose themselves to the fullest dis cussion upon all their actions.—( Hear.) The question was then put from the Chair. 'The ATTORNEY-GENERAL would briefly state to the House the part he had taken in this transaction. The ex officio information had been filed by his predecessor, but it had been filed with the full concurrence of all the Administration, the Lord Chancellor included. It had been purely from the mere accident of his predecessor being confined by illness, that lie (Sir J. Campbell) had had anything more to do with the transaction further than to call a witness from the Stamp Office to prove the proprietorship of the paper. He did not, how ever, mean to shelter himself from any responsibility, for he entirely concurred in the prosecution, and he would maintain that Government would not have done its duty if it had not instituted the proceedings. This he believed was the first time that an attempt had been made, under such circumstances, to supersede the prerogative of the Crown. If too harsh a sentence had been passed, the Crown u as the legitimate source of mercy, and if the motion were to be carried the prerogative of the Crown would be superseded; and, with all due defer ence to the functions of the House, he could not but think that the prerogative of the Crown had better remain where the Constitution had reposed it. Another objection to the motion was that the record of the case was not before the House. The defendants had alleged that they were prosecuted be cause they had abused his Majesty's Government. This in itself was nothing but a g joss libel, for lie never would have sanctioned, and never did sanction, a prosecution for any attack that might be made on the Government to which he belonged, or on the character of any public man belonging , to it. Let there be the most ample discussion.of the con duct and characters of public men and their measures. With these he would never feel disposed to interfere.—( Cries of " Hear, hear, hear," from Mr. Hume.) The Honourable Member for Middlesex cheered those sentiments ; but lie (the Attorney-General) would say that if those sentiments were true they ought to be expressed, and if not they ought to be suppressed.—( Hear, hear.) With respect to the law of libel, he did not wish that it should continue as it at present stood. He thought that it was a disgrace to the law of England that the truth should be shut out from the consideration of the Jury in cases of libel. The Jury ought to be left to judge of the malicious intention of the party prosecuted. Another great evil he considered to be, that when an action was brought for libel, and only a farthing damages recovered, this amount of damages should carry costs, thus sanctioning by the state of the law this pettifogging sort of action. This was his gene ral opinion on the existing law of libel with reference to the points he had mentioned ; but when publication went to excite to a violation of the law, it became necessary that the law should be vindicated. Mr. HUME—A free expression of opinion should be a; lowed. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL—If a free expression of opinion were suffered to the extent that the Hon. Member for Middlesex would seem to imply, what would the Hon. Member think if a pamphlet were published instigating to bloodshed, to treason, to the burning of stacks and houses ? Surely no Government could be sustained if publications of this nature were to be suffered to go forth with impunity ? As to libels that were merely hurtful to the feelings of individuals, it was ridiculous to speak of them as deserving of prosecution. It was like telling Shylock that he might have his pound of flesh, but no blood. In former times ex-officio informations were filed against persons for abuse of his Ma jesty's Government or of either House of Parliament ; but this should never happen in his time. Where, however, pub lications were calculated to lead to a breach of the public peace, he should be always found ready to vindicate the law by prosecuting such publications. What, he would ask, was the nature of the publication that was the subject of the present discussion ? It was not an abuse merely of the House of Com mons, but a direct incitement to supersede the House of Com mons altogether, to pull it down, and that a reformed House of Commons too.--( A laugh.) This prosecution was not, in fact, for a libel at all, but for a direct instigation to disobey the laws. Indeed, the Hon. Gentleman who brought forward the motion, would not find the word " libel" in the whole infor mation. He would let the House see what the character of this publication was. The words of the publication were these The House of Commons stands in all its unseemli ness before us directly in our path. Are we to go out of our way ? No. We must make the House of Commons go for ward. It cannot stay where it is, or, if it does, we must leap over it.—( A laugh.) We cannot bear to look on it day after day. It is a thing too venomous, and brings on us gloom and despondency; We have hitherto tried to soothe it ; now we must try the effect of threats, and if the threats should operate no better than our attempt to soothe, we must carry our threats into execution. Let us in future petition Heaven, but not the House of Commons, for we are past man's help ; and, above all, let us resist the payment of taxes." What was this but saying that the House of Commons had lost all respect, and ought to be resisted ? And one of the defendants, when brought up for judgment, had repeated in his speech the opinions he had published, for he said that the state of this country now was worse than any state of anarchy that could arise. This publication took place on the Ist of May, and on the next day a letter appeared in the same paper of an equally violent cha racter: That letter said that as Parliament had opposed defiance to the people, the Parliament should be met with defiance and resistance ; the people must take their Effairs into their own hands ; and that a Committee should be formed for mutual aid and ad% ice to resist the payment of taxes. Could there be any doubt that this advice would soon be adopted, and that associations of the nature recommended would be forint(' ? Reference had been made to an opinion said to have been ex pressed by the Lord Chancellor on the law of libel with respec to prosecutions of a political nature. He did not think that this opinion of the Lord Chancellor should have been quoted if he even had given it.. The proceedings of the Committee where that opinion was said to have been given were secret, and no Member of that Committee had any right to divulge what took place there, as no report of the proceedings had yet been made. The evidence was only printed for the use of the Members of the Committee, and was only circulated amongst them with a caution that it was only to be perused by the Hon. Members themselves. If, however, the Lord Chancellor had expressed such an opinion as the lion. Mem ber had attributed to him, all he (the Attorney-General) could say was, that he totally dissented from that opinion, and he knew that the Lord Chancellor himself had on several other occasions expressed very different opinions. Surely it could not be fair or just to punish those who committed offences against the law and breaches of the public peace, while those who were the instigators to such acts were left to go un punished. Let it be considered what was the state of the public mind at the time that this publication took place. At that very time associations were formed to resist the payment of the King's taxes, and in several instances where goods had been seized for taxes they were rescued from the sheriff's officer. It became, under such circumstances, indispensable that a pro secution should be instituted at such a time. Could the Hon. Gentleman who brought on this motion say that the trial was not fairly conducted, and the Jury not fairly chosen ? Was not the charge of the Learned Judge on the occasion in per fect accordance with the law, ail did he not put a most equi table construction on the case of the defendants Even the defendants' counsel had admitted this. He would allow that the House had a right to interfere with an address to the Crown for mercy, and would be well justified in doing so when individuals were overwhelmed with ex-officio informations. But could it be said that he had been forward, or that the present Government had been forward, in urging such prose cutions ? The House would judge of this by the fact that the case in question was the only one of an ex-officio information that had been filed during the last three years and a half. As to the individuals who were the objects of this prosecution, and of the present motion, he had no wish to press upon them with any undue severity. He believed that in their private capacity they were very respectable persons, and he regretted the suffering to which their own conduct had subjected them. Individual feeling he could have none upon the question ; but he could not help saying that he thought the defendants had greatly aggravated their offence by the language they used on being brought up for judgment. Mr. Bell on that occasion maintained his former published opinions, that the country was then in a worse state than the greatest degree of anarchy could reduce it to. After this how could the Government be car ried on if such language and such publications were to go un punished? It had been said that the Government had re frained from prosecuting others who had been guilty of simi lar offences; but he utterly denied that either the Govern ment had been remiss, or that any others had beep guilty of a like offence. Reference had been made to certain language that had been used by a Noble Lord when a Member of that House, and by another - Honourable Mem ber who had expressed some strong opinions at a public meeting; but be should consider that the Government would be disgracing itself if it instituted any prosecutions on any such grounds. Were the Government to send spies to I watch every expression that fell From a ,eiber of that House at a public meeting ? And as to what had been said, by any Member in the House, it was well known that that must be considered sacred. But it had been said, why not prosecute those who published such sentiments and expressions ? Never with his consent should any one be prosecuted for publishing what appeared to be a fair report of the proceedings either of that House or of any public meetings? The Hon. Member for Middlesex had said that the present Government were per secutors of the press ; but how did he sustain that assertion when it appeared that only one ex-officio information bad been prosecuted against the press since they had been in office ? Let the Hon. Member look at this as compared with the pro secutions under other Administrations. Sir V. Gibbs filed no less than twenty ex-o f ficio informations one morning. Another prosecution that had been instituted by the present Govern ment had he understood been alluded to on a former night by the Hon. and Learned Member for Bath when he (the At torney-General) was absent, and he was now desirous of CN: plaining the circumstances under which that prosecution took place. He should mention, in the first instance, that that was not an ex-officio information, but proceeding by indictment before a Grand Jury. It was the case of a man who published the most scandalous and outrageous attack upon his Majesty personally, as well as upon the Government, in a handbill which he sold about the streets. Out of respect to his Ma jesty he would not read that part of the atrocious libel which referred to the Throne.—( Cries of " Read," and " No, no.") He (the Attorney-General) would certainly not read that brutal and disgusting language unless it was deemed ne cessary by the House that he should do so.—( Here there was a call of " Read, read," from one or two voices, but an almost universal cry of " No, no.") He could pass over then that part of the libel, but would read to the House the other part, which was little less deserving of prosecution. It ran thus :—" Every man has a right to vote for the making of those laws which he is called upon to obey. If that._ be denied to him he is nothing better than a despicable slave. Let all the honest friends of Reform stand forward ; now is the time to support the good cause. If the House of Com mons will not repsesent yourselves, let every county, city, and borough elect its own delegates, and let them turn out those mock Representatives, who are only waiting for notice to quit.—( A laugh.) The National Convention will then be complete." Was the Government to wait until the National Convention should be formed, or was it not bound at once to check by a prosecution this open and avowed intention of destroying the Constitution of the country ? The publisher of these handbills carried them in packages to Covent-garden market, and there sold them at a penny a-piece, crying out, " The National Convention for one penny l"—( Laughter.) The man was seized by the police, and, an attempt having been made to rescue him, blood had very nearly been shed even on that occasion. The Calthorpe-street Meeting soon after took place, avowedly to establish the National Convention alluded to in those bills, and then blood was actually shed. Numbers of the persons at that meeting went there armed, determined to resist the police, and the consequence was a fatal result to one of the police, and several of them were stabbed. He would not now express any opinion of his own upon that transaction, but should merely observe that a Committee of that House appointed to inquire into all the circumstances acquitted the police force of all blame. These, then, were the circumstances under which the second prosecution was instituted. He should fearlessly and boldly do his duty to his Sovereign and his country whenever occasion called for it, regardless alike of the praise or censure of the Hon. Member for Middlesex. He was not afraid that, for doing his duty he should, as the Hon. Member for Middle sex had said, incur the displeasure of his own countrymen, because he knew that since those prosecutions had taken place he had been returned to Parliament by a large body of his countrymen, notwithstanding that the Hon. Member for Mid dlesex had written a letter to them advising them not to return Sir John Campbell. He could not help taking this opportu nity of saying that he thought the Hon. Member would have been better employed in attending to his own affairs than writing such a letter. His Right Hon. Friend the Secretary at War had been censured for interfering in an election ; but that was not near so bad as the dictation attempted to be used by the Hon. Member for Middlesex.—( Oh, oh.) He was not afraid to rest his character upon the conduct he had hitherto pursued in his public office, and he should continue to be, while he held it, equally the defender of the prero gatives of the Crown and the rights of the people.—( Cheers. ) Mr. HUME said that as the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had alluded to a letter he (Mr. Hume) had written to Edin burgh, he should also have told the House of a letter he wrote to Dudley, at the request of the Hon. and Learned Gentle man, in favour of his interests there.—(Hear.) It was not fair to refer to one without naming the other. The letter he had written to Edinburgh was never intended by him for publica tion, but was an answer to one he had received asking his opi nion of the respective candidates. The ATTORNE Y- GENERA L—The Hon. Member has not told the whole truth. The letter that the Hon. Member wrote to Dudley was declining to give any advice or opinion, but the letter to Edinburgh was of a very different kind • and from what he (the Att orney - G enera l) k new o f the Gentleman to whom the letter was written, although he was opposed to him in politics, he was quite sure that Gentleman would never have published it without the consent of the writer. Mr. HUME said that the letter he wrote to Dudley was in answer to one he received from Mr. Cook of that town, and if that letter were produced it would be found not to be of the neutral sort that the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had repre sented. He called upon the Hon. and Learned Gentleman to produce that letter te-morrow ; or if he did not he (Mr. Hume) would, and he had no doubt that he should stand in a more favourable light as regarded its contents than the Hon. and Learned Gentleman. Sir 11. HARDINGE said that it was not his intention to take any part in the discussion as to what happened at Dudley or at Edinburgh, but he should confine himself entirely to the motion be fore the House as it regarded the claims of the pro prietors of the True Sun to the lenient consideration of the Government o r the Crown. He did not think that the per sons in question had any claim whatever to be relieved from the just punishment under which they were suffering on account of the nature or character of the offence they had committed, because when the law was violated, as it clearly had been in their case, they could lay claim to no mitigation of their sen tence. The wilful violation of the law he would always punish. But the ground upon which he was disposed to support the motion of the Hon. Member for Cork was, that persons in much higher stations than the proprietors of the True Sun had done the same thing with impunity, for which those persons were now suffering in prison. Why, the Hon. and Learned Member for Southwark, and a Noble Lord now a Member of the other House, had recommended the very same course that had been pointed out by the True Sun: that was, to resist the payment of taxes. Now it seemed to him rather too hard that people in a low station should be punished while the brother of the Lord Chancellor and another exalted person should not only escape with impunity, but be preferred to office after such conduct. Perhaps the proprietors of the True Sun might have thought that they were pursuing the best mode of getting themselves raised to office.—( Laughter.) The Noble Lord opposite (Lord John Russell), he believed, received a vote of thanks from a body of persons calling themselves the Political Union at Birmingham, which body had been declared by a high judicial character to be a treasonable assernblage.—( Cheers.) The Noble Lord, a Cabinet Minister had, he believed, returned thanks to those persons for their favourable opinions.—(Loud cheers.) He did not agree with the lion. Member for Middlesex, or with the Hon. Gentleman who brought forward this motion, that the motives of persons violating the law were to be considered in cases of this sort, or that persons were not to be punished because they only published the opinions they entertained. If men spoke, or wrote, or published treason, must they not be punished because their intentions might be good? This would be a most dangerous principle to act upon. The present Chief Justice of England to be sure, had, when he was Attor ney-General, held language somewhat similar to what had fallen from the Hon. Member for Middlesex that night. That Noble Lord had said that the happiest moment of his life was when the sentence of a person whom he had prosecuted was remitted by the Crown, and that as long as men only wrote and published their honest opinions he would never be inclined to prosecute them, because he was a friend to the liberty of the Press, and no torturing power behind the curtain should ever influence him to oppress it. How could editors of News papers be expected to refrain from publishing libels when they heard language such as he had described coming from an Attorney-General and from the brother of the Lord Chancellor, and that neither of those persons received even as much as a rebuke from his Majesty's Ministers ?—(Loud cheers.) Those who allowed this conduct to go unnoticed were now bound to interfere and prevent the proprietors of the True Sun from suffering any further punishment. —( Cheers.) The Attorney-General was perfectly right in his determination to do his duty, but from the speech which that Hon. and Learned Gentleman had himself that night de livered it would be impossible for any man to know what was or what was not the Law of Libel. He said he would not punish the publishers of any attack on the House of Lords or the House of Commons.—( Hear.) Now, in the days of Mr. Fox, those days of the pure old Whigs—(Cheers) —it was not at all an uncommon thing to institute prosecutions for libels on either House of Parliament. Then again, the Hon. and Learned Gentleman would not prosecute for the publication of anything said at public meetings, if fairly reported. But sup pose treason was spoken at those meetings, and afterwards published, would not the Attorney-General feel it his duty to prosecute the publisher if he could not get the speaker? The Attorney-General told them to-night to punish those who excited to sedition rather than the ignorant and deluded per sons who were or might become their victims. Why this was the very principle for which they contended in the Coercion Bill, and upon which the Government refused to proceed. The acts of the Government were quite different to their prin ciples. It appeared to him that a case had been made out in favour of these men, who had done no more than was previously done by persons in higher station. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL explained. The Hon. and Gallant Officer must have mistaken what fell from him. He never said that he would not prosecute any libel upon the the Houses of Parliament, however gross. The sentiment he wished to express was, that he would not be disposed t o pro secute constituents for any observations they might make on the conduct of their representatives. With respect to libels that might be uttered at public meetings, his observation was that they could become known only through spies and infor mers, and such he would not be disposed to employ. He would not abstain from prosecution in any case where sedition should appear to have been uttered at public meetings. Sir H. HARDINGE was sorry to have attributed to the Hon. and Learned Member wLee he did net say. It eves quite enough for him that the H on . an d Learned Gentleman de' nied it. Mr. O'DWYER supported the motion. The Lord Chan cellor in his evidence before the Committee strongly con demned prosecutions of this kind. Newspaper articles might TfIE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY, JULY 24, 1834, do mischief in France,"but act in this country. They might lead to the raising of barricades and to a revolution there, but an Englishman under such temporary excitement would only swallow down a little more beer, and smoke a little more to bacco. An HON. .MEhitiva supported the motion upon the ground that persons of rank and importance in the country had been equally guilty with these men, and were not punished. What yr as good for the goose was good for the gander. The only difference he could see in the cases was that Downing-street was nearer to the Yorkshire Stingo than places where similar libels were uttered. He supported the motion on the same ground as the Hon. and Gallant Officer ( Sir H. Hardinge.) The Hon. Member was scarcely audible. Sir H. HARDING E explained. His principle was that the law ought to be carried into effect ; but as similar condudt in higher quarters was allowed to pass unnoticed he thought this formed a ground for taking the case now before them into consideration. Lord ALT HORP thought there was very good reason for this prosecution. It was said that no act of a criminal nature followed this publication. He would not say that certain acts which afterwards took place were occasioned by it, but cer tainly resistance was made after it to carrying the law into effect. He was as little disposed as any man to prosecutions for libel. He was the advocate of free discussion and free in quiry, but he considered Government bound to prosecute in cases of excitement to a breach of the laws. He did not mean to say it ought to be done in every case, b r ut certainly this was one in which the power was very properly exercised. Mr. TENNYSON did not think it would be right to take out of the hands of Government the power of prosecuting in cases of seditious libel, or of libels tending to a breach of the law. It should be, however, taken into consideration that this libel was published at a period of much excitement, and that similar language was uttered by persons high in station. As far as he recollected, this publication only recommended a tacit resistance to the law. Considering all the circumstances, it would give satisfaction to the country if pardon was extended to these men. Mr. MAXWELL said, the individuals who were now suf fering had the example set them for their conduct by men of rank and men in office. The paper in which this libel ap peared was the only representative of a certain class 9f opi nions, and ought on that account to be viewed with sonie little indulgence. He should be better pleased to have this ques tion postponed, and held some little time longer suspended over Parliament and over the Government. If something was not done he would then be ready to support the motion of the Hon. Member for Cork. He was himself often guilty of the same offence as that for which these men were now suf fering. What this newspaper contended for was that taxes should not be extorted from the poor, who were unable to pay them. Mr. O'CONNELL did not see how the experiment al luded to by the Hon. Member could be made, that of extort ing money from those who had none to pay. It was only in his country that a thing of this kind could be done.—( A laugh. ) Their code of laws was in some parts detestable ; but no part of it was more disgraceful than the Law of Libel. He brought in a Bill upon the subject, but a wet blanket was thrown upon it by the Committee. It was suffocated. He hoped they would have the Report of that Committee before long. The Attor ney-General denied that the law considered anything a libel which hurt the feelings. The law was so laid down by Lord Ellenborough and the Court of King's Bench in the case of Mr. Cobbett. Lord Hardwick was spoken of as a Cambridge shire sheepfeeder, and Lord Redesdale as a stout special pleader, and this was pronounced to be a libel. He denied the correctness of the position laid down by the Attorney-General in reference to the Libel Committee. It was not a Secret Committee in the sense attached to the words by the Hon. avid Learned Gentleman. And there was nothing to prevent him or any other person from stating what occurred there, and under the correction of the Chair he would now mention part of the evidence. The Solicitor-General, and not the Attor ney-General, was in the Chair when the Lord Chancellor was examined, and that Noble and Learned Lord did most empha tically condemn all prosecutions of this kind. The question was put, " Does your Lordship mean to include in this con demnation the prosecution of the True Sun?" " Oh no," was the answer, " that prosecution was a very proper one." With respect to attacks upon the House of Parliament, was it to be supposed that they could do any serious mischief ? They were read one day and forgotten the next. The induce ment to this prosecution was that it led to breaches of the law. The only case of resistance to the law occurred six weeks or two months before it was written. It could not be the cause of what took place before it was in existence. The ATT ORNEY -GENERAL—The cases of resistance were subsequent. Mr. O'CONNELL wished there was a jury to decide that point 'between them. Cases of resistance took place before the libel was written, and of these at least it could not, even in Ireland, have been the cause. Some women, he believed, did afterwards rescue a chest of drawers and a few old chairs, but was it to be supposed that a publication of this kind could produce a general spirit of resistance to the laws, or be pro ductive of any serious mischief ? The Hon. and Gallant Officer ( Sir H. Hardinge) supported this motion ufon the ground that Sir Thomas Denman expressed certain opinions on the subject of libel, for which, though he might have been censure(' by some of his colleagues, he was now Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and at the head of the criminal law of this country. He supported it because men of rank and persons in office were guilty of a similar offence, and went unpunished. The Honourable and Gallant Member was a good General, but here he showed himself to be a bad advocate, and he might be assured that poor Bell and Grant would derive very little benefit from such advocacy as this. Perhaps these unfortunate men were too strenuous in sup porting Reform ; but they were now suffering in gaol, their families were suffering, and it could not be said there was any resistance now to the payment of taxes. Under such circum stances he would be rather disposed to leave the matter to the kind consideration of the Noble Lord. He would recom mend to his Hon. Friend to withdraw the motion, as the de cision might seem to depend upon considerations not properly connected with the merits of the question itself, considering the grounds upon which some Hon. Members supported it. He should be better pleased to leave the matter with the Go vernment than come to any decision upon it. Mr. F. O'CONNOR said he could not feel himself justi fied in withdrawing the motion unless he received some as surance from the Noble Lord.—(" Oh, oh," and " No ; no.") The House then divided, when there appeared— For Mr. O'Connor's amendment Against it _ lO3 Majority . -62 DISTURBANCES SUPPRESSION (IRELAND) BILL. On our return to the Gallery we found the House in Com mittee on this Bill, and Mr. O'CONNELL objecting to the 28th clause, and say ing that he should move that it be omitted. The next clause to which he should call the attention of the House was the 31st, by which the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended. The effect of this clause was that the Habeas Corpus Act would be suspended all over Ireland, and that a person might be committed to gaol for three months for a bailable offence without being allowed to put in bail. By the 32d section the pol;er of bail was taken away from the Magistrates. He submitted that there was nothing in the present state of Ire land to justify in the slightest degree the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act in that country. He hoped therefore that there would be no resistance on the part of the Commit tee to the expun g ing of those two clauses out of the Bill. Th e Hon. and Learned Member concluded by moving an amendment to the effect, having the 28th and 31st clauses repealed. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL contended that the omis sion of those clauses would rather aggravate than mitigate the severity of the proposed law. If the Hon. and Learned Mem ber for Dublin expunged those clauses ' the consequence wou ld be that the tri a l s o f p ersons m i g h t b e delayed six months, ac cording to the time of holding the Assizes, whereas, by the thirty-second section of the Bill, persons taken into custody must be tried within three months either before the Quarter Sessions or in some other way. The effect of the enactment was that persons might be kept in custody for three months, but no longer. He considered that there was an unnecessary jealousy as to the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, as a return to it was only good in cases where delay in trials was absolutely requisite. Mr. O'CONNELL wished to be understood, for he did not intend to propose the omission of the latter part of the 32d section. By doing away with those clauses offences of capital felony would not be bailed, but bailable offences would b 2 liable to be so. Sir R. PEEL could not refrain from expressing fiis surprise to the House that a discussion on a measure of such vast im portance should be carried on without having the Bill before them. There were only two copies of the Act, one that was on the table of the House, and the other that belonged to the Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin. He would defy the House to carry on the discussion on this measure, or to know what the Hon. and Learned Member meant, unless they had the Act before them. How could th e y say to t h e peop l e of Ireland that they had discussed the Act of which the present one was to be a continuance if they had not the Act in proper form before them, parts of which w ere t o b e suppressed and ot h er s retained, but which, upon the whole, was at any rate to be mutilated ? 7 -( Hear.) It was most m ons t rous to di scuss a ma tter of such importance in such an imperfect state. If delay could be pleaded, there might be some excuse, but what ob jection could there be to place the Bill in such a form that the magistrates might know what they had to interpret, and the people understand the l aw t h ey would be compelled to obey? What objection could there be to printing the Act? It had been incorrectly said, that he objected to it because it was a short one. On the cont rary , so muc h t h e b etter if the Act we re shortened, since in so doing it would gain in precision. He for one would not delay the passing of the Bill one hour, but he would ask whether it was not reasonable that the people who were to obey the law should have it in a proper printed form before them ? The ATTORNEY -GENERAL said there were prece dents for allowing the Act to remain as it was. The immortal Acts of the Right Hon. Baronet, and which bore his name, repealed certain Acts entire, and others, partially, and yet those Acts remained. It was certainly necessary for the dis cussion that Hon. Gentlemen should have the other Act before them—(Rear)—and he considered that it was their duty to have a copy of the former Act. If they had taken that pre caution they would be enabled to see what clauses were en forced and what clauses were not. Mr. T. WALLA CE said that if the debate of the former night were compared with the Bill which was not before them, away, as no one last night th oug h t t h at the on l y tr ib una l per sonsit N - o o u p l d b p r es e s e s d e seen utlhda appeal to wa s a m ili tar y on e. He hoped t the wh o l e a t b at d e b a t e was thrown that the whole Bill would b e pr i nte d an d su b m itt e d t o th e House, so that any person of ordinary intelligence might know what the proposed measure was to be. The Bill had been so much altered that it was impos,Able for any one to know what the new law was to be. Mr. LITTLETON rose to call the attention of the Com mittee to one fact respecting the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. He held in his hand a return of eight different species of offences committed in Ireland in the months of April, May, and November of last year. The persons guilty of them were found out under suspicious circumstances, and, owing to having the power or detaining them in custody, their cases were disposed of within a month from the time of their arrest. Most of them were guilty of capital felonies. Mr. O'REILLY objected to the .Habeas Corpus Suspen sion Clause, since by it innocent persons might be taken up, and, as they would not be allowed to put in bail, the conse quence was that they would be kept in prison until the time of their trials. Mr. H. GRATTAN commenced to address himself to the conduct of the police towards his tenantry at Monaghan, when Mr. O'CONNELL rose to order, and put to his Hon. Friend whether there was not enough in the question itself to occupy the House without introducing extrinsic matter. After some conversation, Mr. GRATTAN said he should go into the case on the Report. Mr. LYNCH maintained that the Government were bound to show a necessity for the measure, which they had as yet failed to do. Mr. S HEIL called upon the Government to bring forward the Bill with the clauses in it, so that the House might have an opportunity of discussing its provisions in detail, and not be called upon to enact them in the mass, as the present Bill proposed to do. He contended that it was against the law to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act beyond the time at which parties had a right to claim their trial before the Judges. He gave notice that he should move on the Report that the Government be called on to re-enact the Coercion Bill clause by clause. Mr. H. GRATTAN took the same view, and said he should divide against the clause. Mr. F. O'CONNOR said he should not detain the House by any arguments, because he was convinced that whether he argued against it or not the Bill would be carried through. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL v i n di cate d the course taken by the Government. Mr. IIUTHVEN said the Bill was unintelligible to a great number of persons, and the Attorney-General's explanation of it had been given with great hesitation, and was controverted by Hon. and Learned Gentlemen on that (the Opposition side of the House, who were quite as competent to give a opinion on the matter as himself. The Hon. Member consi dered the whole Bill as a compromise to retain office. After a few words from Mr. O'CoNNELL and Mr. LITTLE TON, the Committee divided on the amendment-- For the amendment Against it 3 L ai / 6 t a 3 g r reed to. The clause was On our re-admission we found Mr. O'CONNELL on his legs, proposing a clause to om from the original I3ill the clause relating to signals. The clause was brought up and read a first time. On the motion that it be read a second time, Mr. LITTLETON opposed it; the clause which it pro posed to expunge was one of the most important in the Bill. After a few words from Mr. RUTHVEN, The ATTORNEY-GENERAL supported the origina clause, which he said related only to cases where it was clearly proved to the Jury that the signals were made for an illegal purpose. 35 - Mr. H. GRATTAN said that on. St. John's Eve the pea santry were in the habit of lighting bonfires, and that it would be very hard to subject them to punishment for so doing. The Committee then divided— For Mr. O'Connell's clause ............... 9 7 Against it Majority ................ -45 On our re-admission to the Gall er y, we f ound Mr. - LYNCH on his legs, making some observations on the powers of the courtmartial. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL explained. Mr. O'CONNELL complained that though the Bill gave the Lord Lieutenant the power to prolaim any district ho pleased, it did not give him powerto revoke that proclamation. After a few observations in reply from the ATTORNEY GENERA L, the preamble to the Bill was agreed to, and the CHAIRMAN reported progress. The House resumed, and the Report was ordered to be received to-morrow (this day). ARMS (IRELAND) BILL. On the motion of Mr. LITTLETON, this Bill was read a first time. The Roman Catholic Marriages (Ireland) Bill was corn mitted. The Excise Revenue Management Bill was also committed. AUSTRALIAN 'COLONIZATION BILL. Mr. W. WHITMORE, in moving the second reading of this Bill, said its object was to extend great relief to England and Ireland, by affording facilities to able-bodied labourers who could not obtain adequate employment at home to emi grate to a new Colony about to be planted in Australia, and, if the experiment succeeded, emig - ration would be ca-ried on to a great extent to the benefit of the Parent Country, and the expenses would be defrayed by the Colony, and this country would not be called on to pay a shilling. The motion having been seconded, Mr. F. O'CONNOR opposed the Bill. The object of it was to drain the two countries of the able-bodied labourers, and leave only the infirm at home. In Ireland there were not able-bodied labourers enough for the demand. It was so in his own parish. He should rather see employment fur . nished to the labourers at home than see them expatriated. Mr. SHEIL thought it paradoxical for the Hon. Member to object to the exportation of labourers from Ireland, where there was a superabundance of population. So far from their being an insufficiency of labourers there was rather an insuffi ciency of labour. In his own parish able-bodied labourers came to the doors of the gentlemen, and said, " Give us food or labour." Food they sometimes could not give, but labour they could never give. Mr. S. RICE hoped the speculation would succeed. A case was certainly made to induce the Government not to oppose it. Yet the Government did not stimulate the friends of the measure. It steered a middle course between refusal and encouragement. He (Mr. S. Rice) had the Swan River project before his eyes, and he did not, when applied to, hold out any strong inducements of support. But he proposed, by way of guarantee against loss to the public, that there, should be a sum of 20,0001. available for public security. That was an amendment on the original plan proposed by him. Mr. HUGHES thought it a bad system of emigration to send men to " waste and unoccupied lands," as the Report expressed. It was a bubble speculation. It was too late in the night to discuss a measure involving so many interests at that late hour, and he would move that the Bill be read a second time that day week. The motion was seconded. Mr. O'RE ILL Y asked were the children to be sent out also, or were they to be left a burden on the country at home ? Mr. W. WHITMORE said the labourers and their wives only were to be sent out, and not the children, unless the ex pensemere defrayed from some other fund. After a few words from Sir 11. WILLOUGHBY, the House divided, when there appeared__ For the second reading For Mr. Hughes's motion Majority... ............... In answer to a question from Mr. SHEIL, Mr. W. WHITMORE said the great object was to send out unencumbered labourers of both sexes. Individuals with families would not be sent out at all. Mr. S. RICE, in answer to a question from Mr. Ruthven, said that, so far from his holding out to applicants expectations of appointments in the new Colony, he expressly stated to them that until Parliament disposed of the Bill he could make no premises. If the Bill passed then the appointments to the Colony would be the same as to all other Crown Colo nies. The prerogative of the Crown was to be perfectly free, and the salaries were to be the same as in all the other Crown Colonies. -16 The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and he House adjourned at Three o'clock. The herring fishing has commenced at Thurso, but as yet has been attended with very little success. The few first taken were, however, of good quality. Great preparation is going on at Wick, and a number of people have already col lected from all quarters, in anticipation of immediate employ ment ; but, although it is almost a month later than the usual period for commencing the fishing at Wick, a single herring has not yet appeared on the coast. At Shetland, the early fishing has been very successful. The great merchants of Lerwick, Messrs. Hay and Ogilvy, have sent off no less than five cargoes for Hamburgh, and are at present making prepa rations for curing 30,000 barrels. Ninety Dutch vessels were lying at Lerwick about the beginning* of the month, but they had not then been very fortunate.—Caledonian Alercury. EFFECTS OF TIIE LIGIITNING.—On Friday even ing, about 7 o'clock, as James Hooper, a carman in the employ of Mr. Graves, a cheesemonger, in Tottenham-court-road, was driving a horse and cart with some goods, on passing Charing cross he was knocked down by the lightning, and deprived of his sight. The horse was also knocked down and had one eye injured. Hooper was taken to a surgeon's, and afterwards conveyed home in a cabriolet. Great hopes are entertained that he will ultimately recover the use of his eyes. , A heavy thunder -storm, at Rahon, near Doyle, ac companied with rain, had forced a number of labourers to take shelter under a shed, in which also were three carts laden with hay, one having three horses, and the other two, and a couple of oxen each, when the lightning struck the shed, killed the two horses and their driver, and set fire to the inane of the third horse ; it likewise killed two of the oxen, knocked down two of the labourers, one of whom was killed, and set fire to the shed and adjoining barns.—French Paper. LUNAR RAINBOW. —One of those beautiful ap pearances so frequent in tropical climates, and so rarely met with in ours, a lunar rainbow, was observed in the neighbour hood of this town, on Tuesday evening last, at about half-past ten o'clock. A short time previously the moon had been shining through a highly-rarified atmosphere, with more than usual brightness, above a ridge of black clouds in the south-west, with a mildness in the line of sky beneath of surpassing beauty ; the whole scene breathing poetry, and reminding those who were fortunate enough to behold it of a delicious Eastern even ing, when a shower of light rain falling in the opposite guar ter of the heavens, reflected her rays in a perfect bow ; and though, indeed, not strongly enough to define with distinct ness the prismatic colours, still with sufficiently powerful re fraction to produce the faint outline of an exterior bow a few degrees above it. Intruding clouds, in the course of a few se conds, •infortunately destroyed the remarkable and beautiful phenomenon.—From a Correspondent. THE ARMY. ( From the Limerich Chronicle. ) We this day received letters from the 69th regiment at Vincent's, dat e d t h e Ist o f June. The cors was in good hea Shf: l 5 A reinforcement f rom t h e depot at Tra'lee arrived- i n the • land the 24th of M ay . Charleville has aga i n b ecome a military stat i on , CaP taia St. Maur's comp an y of the 51st h av i ng marc h e d there fr' Buttevant on Sat ur d ay l ast , to occupy a hired barrack. Laid tain Flood's comp any 51 st i s quartered at Donera ile an Castletowa Roch e . The 46th regi men t marc h i n a few days from Weed °n t° Manchester; and th e 93d Hi g hl anders, from Canterbury au c, ceed the 46th, aft er a b r i e f stay at Chatham. tle- The 33d regiment h ave move d f rom Lichfield to NeWeaS under-Lyme, wher e five companie s an d h ea d- quar t er s are n ° stationed; three at Stafford and two at Leek. Captain Piggott, 60th Rifl es, i n th i s garris e n, has el' changed into the 64th regiment. The long and anxiously-expected B reve t f or th e old Silba l " terns previous to 1816 is looked for about the first week in M g : gust; there are ia the service about 200 of this class of offiecr,, The vacant Ensigncies will al most ent i re l y go b y pureha g ", and from the half-pay, c hi e fl y can di dates preferring °cis' claims. . • The Staff of the N or th C or k Mili t i a underwent a Imnut? inspection by Lieutenant-Colonel Robinson, 30th regimen t ' - the 9th last., at Fermoy. Major Barlow, o f th e 14 t h F o C t, i nspected the f o llowil Militia Staffs :—On F r id a y, t h e R oscommon, a t Boyle; .° Saturday, the Sligo, at Sligo.; and on Monday, the Leitrieb Carrick-on- Shannon. The IllargZ:WTH'untley transport arrived at Cork Ye ste fo r ; day, to emba r k th e fi rst division of the 30th Regiment Bermuda. Sir Hussey VisAan has returned to Dublin from Louden' and resumed the command of the army in Ireland. i Major-General Si r F re d er i c k M u l caster, K. K. will appointed Inspect or -G enera l o f Fortifications, vice the i t Major-General Pilkington, and Colonel Si r H owar d EIPP; , j stone, now commandi ng th e Engineers at M a lt a , w ill sue° to the vacant Commandership. At an inspection made by Major-General Sir T. Arbutlill et°l } Saturday, of th a t exce ll ent corps, the 51st, after the un i t i n g °f the service and depot companies, Sir Thomas expressed hil; he self in the st ro n ges t poss ibl e terms of praise as to the tlis pline, appearance, and exem pl ary i n ' er i or arrangements o f t regiment. Lieutenant-General Sir J o h n O swa ld h as arr i ve d in P al? lin for the purpose of inspecting his regiment, the 35tht an presenting them with a new stand of colours, the present b 3 mg been in use upwards of nineteen years. i ts ve The Irish Governm en t an d t h e B oard of Ordnanee pd., arranged that all b arrac k fi xtures and furniture requi r i, throughout the poli ce b arrac k s o f I re l and shall in futur e v, issued by the ordnance department, the same as the na tal are now supplied. A transport from the Thames with reinforcements for regiments at Cape of Go o d H ope and Ceylon, has arrived at Cork. A general courtmartial w as or d ere d to assemble in this q3r rison on Monday next, 21 s t i nst . f or tr i al of prisoners,--l' e t , ; tenant-Colonel Clark, K. H., 7th Dragoon Guards, P r eside ; o' one captain and subalte rn , 7th Dragoon Guards ; one lie e . t h nant, Royal Artillery ; Major Kell, and two captains, 31 , 0 regiment ; one capt a i n an d two su b a l terns, 60th Rifles ac ne field-officer, three capt a i ns , an d f our subalterns, 91st. I , ° two field officers, se ven ca pt a i ns , an d seven subalterns. Li e " „t • Colonel Mansel, B.M. Acting Deputy Judge-Advocate. The Orestes transp or t arr i ve d at C or k yesterday to embar the 30th regiment for Bermuda. li; One squadron o f th e 9 t h L ancers marched from Dun A da n y yesterday for N ew b r id ge, w h ere they will arrive on M o n next. One squadron of the 15th Hussars marched from Dun -- yesterday for 'Dublin, where they will arrive on Monday. b e d Two companies and h ea d- quarters o f the 60th Rifles alarc-tbe from Mullingar for Kilkenny yesterday, and will arrive col 24th instant. The 12th of July having passed over quietly, the 27th 01 521 regiments have resu me d t h e i r march, the former for 0 1 lingar, the latter for Enniskillen. On Saturday last the staff of the South Mayo Militia ri e „.. inspected at W es tp or t, b y M a j or Jackson, of the 85t h rev ment. Major Monins, of the 69th depot, reviewed the staff of the Kerry Militia at Tralee barracks on Monday last. e t to Captain Carrother s , l a t e o f t h e 28t h reg i ment, has le`jds, join the staff as Adjutant of th e A ntr i m tia, at On" - town, having been appointe,l thereto last month. t e t Monday evening as C a pt a i n Whi tney of the 14th Fe° 'for present stationed in Athlone, was proceeding to Clogilan' o t the purpose of joining his detachment, he was fired at by assassin from behind a hedge in Ballinahoun, but most 0 nately without effect. 0 1 TIrE WE A T HER.—L e tt ers f rom various parts -- ia the country stat e th a t th e ra i n o f t h e l ast three days has l et the corn crops, and it is feared that much injury has been fected.—Dublin Freeman's Journal. At Angouleme, on the 12th instant, at ten o'ciffek; at night, the Palais d e J ust i ce was struck by lightning. —tv shivering the fl ag - s t a ff t h e e l ectr i c fluid made its way int ° , - r t• library, where it di s p erse d t h e b oo k s in all directions, and us,je, ing up throu g h th e roo f, w hi c h was covered with lead, it ;ill! scended by the b e ll- w i re i nto the street, and entered he ground between t wo women, w h o were slightly injured by shock. About the same t i me the lightning also struck `,„tv Prefecture, and aft er pl ay i ng a b out the conductor for s°".., time, it entered th e groun d c l ose to the feet of the rrt,e:e, ie without doing him a n y i n j ury . Th e same night, the e l e c ;, fluid fell in the h am l e t o f Vi c-sur -Ai sne, Department of Ai? b, and set fire to 10 ho uses an d 21 b arns and cottages, whlceif with all the furniture and produce they contained, were en ter b. consumed. In one of th e h ouses a c hi ld was burnt to de s —French Papa.. 1 , 'g SHAMEFUL SALE OF A CHILD.—The fouolv-''a disgraceful and u nna t ura l transact i on has occurred in this W„, during the p a st wee k :—A child of pe cu li ar ly s i ng ular 3 e pearance, with pink eyes and very light hair, attracted ; he attention of o ne o f t h e s h owmen who has been exhibiting t ° ti e public during the fair. This man, perceiving the unfortualie child was particularly adapted for his purpose, applied t ° o parents, who, with ou t much difficulty, wer e i n d uce d to d'sr , e , - o r of their offsp r i ng t o t h e i t i nerant for the paltry sum °I shillings and sixpence per week. The child is to be t s „ about the cou n t r y an d to b e exhibited as a Chinese. Pre difficult to imagi ne h ow a f ather and a mother for such Po, carious pittance could have made such a monstrous barq e s Thi ite s d a abandonment theo child f or so revolting a purp° s , e , - d, g exc strong feeling of indi gna ti on i n the revolting hbour'w -Leeds Times. CORONER'S INQUEST. —DEATH FROM - - , t he DitIVING.—On Monday a ft ernoon an I nquest was held al . , j Middlesex Hospital b e f ore M r . Stirling, on the 130' 3 1 01 0 Francis Purse, a hackney-coachman, aged sixty, la° ; run over by a hi re d ca b r i o l et, N o. 696, on Thursday D!the last, in O x f or d- s t reet . M r. F lower attended to waV" at proceeding on b e h a lf o f M r. Ki ng, a gentleman resiclieb, e o Islington, who was d r i v i ng t h e vehicle at the time the occurred, and who, together with John Hatcher, the c„i, driver, was exa m i ne d at t h e M ary l e b one Police Office on ray, day. After the e xam i nat i on o f several witnesses, the consulted together for about three-quarter s of an hour, returned a verdict of " Manslaughter" against James l i ' r e The Coroner then i ssue d hi s warrant, and the witnesses `! 1 bound over to prosecute. ,j , 1 LIVERPOOL COTTON M ARKET, JULY '" 0 "; There has been a very numerous attendance in our e°l—e'cl market to-day, and a very lively demand has been experienco, for most kinds. Upwards of 10,000 bales have been sold at i; per lb. advance—viz., 2,oo9 ..Pernambucos, 110 to 12 t o 1,000 Maranhams, 110, to 110. ; 1,000 Bahias, . I ler 11d. ; 600 Sawginned Maranhams, 0-a-d. to 10d. ; rerea":oo in American, from 7d. to 00. ; Orleans up to iod, ; and , La Guayra, 10d. t o 104-d. Ab out 2,000 taken on spec ulatl°!:, A DEAD S II 0 T.—A f ew d ays s i nce, a gentionoel;, Johnstone observed a fi ne o ld ow l s l eeping in the cliff of a tr o r and resolving that it s h ou ld b e t h e l ast sleep of the Sage °cid, cillor, got his joe manton to bear on him. A first, a s e r o r and a third s h o t was l eve ll e d at him, but t e remained ~) moveable. " J um p u p, b oy , an d see whether that fellov'tille shot or not." Up went the boy, but the owl stared him In face, and regarded him as little as he did the gunner beT e The boy screwed hi s courage to the sticking point, I°o firmly by the throat. "Ye hae shot him dead enough," c y the boy, throwin g d own the poor bird, " for he is quite si';" Ah," said the gunner, taking him up, "but he is stuff:gil t° —Glasgow Courier. MAR RIE D. On the 23d inst., at Ma r yl e b one Ch urch, Samuel E. F*l Esq., third son of the late Sir Samuel Falkiner, Bart., to third daughter of James Bouwens, Esq., and granddaughter t‘ late Sir Richard Rycroft, Baronet. On the 10th inst., at Bordeaux, Thos. Brown, Esq., to Ile' Wilhelmina, daughter of H. N. Flovy, Esq., Consul for the therlands. On the 10th inst., at Bordeaux, Edwards Brown, Esq., too' eldest daughter of Edwards Southard, Esq., Sardinian C General. * fie°i On the 21 s t i ns t. , the Marchioness of Headfort, at her res t Cumberland -terrace, Regent's Park. Aj 131 0 1 On the 2lst i ns t., a t th e h ouse of Dr. Anderson, ' w Dorset-gardens, Brighton, Mrs. Dorothea Rachel Young , de.'" of Thomas Y oung , E sq ., o f D oc ki ng, Essex. 1 1 °' On the 18th in s t., at Weymouth, L aura V enne r, Y° daughter of the late John Venner, Esq., of Canterbury- tof t ' °- On the 22d inst., in Harley-street, Mrs. H o l ro yd, relic late Stephen Todd Holroyd, Esq.. in her 66th year. lii / f On the 22d inst., Patrick Heatly, Esq., of Hertford-stree t, fair, in his 82d year. „ fscl' On the 22d inst., Willia m , th e youngest son of Daniel Biu" of Brompton. ao e. On the 21st inst., a t M onmouth, Amy Anne wife ',. j Palmer Budd, Esq., o f S wansea, Glamorganshire., • London: Printed and Published by MURDO YOu' at The Sun Office, No. 112, Strand. Elle n tOd-] To IVI 33 , 0 to ant order ( their of ups Etr uss4 'lega n 48, 3d Silky fashic o seaso n age dv, arriuuti ln rcnti di n 6, zr. in 'tbout 9 b us lY b FR EE Lo r°4 to 4 1 1 . 4 ! 11 , ' Per b 3uT for Vgo/ ."ESIR A t th e - wit scab litpy Crawfobr'cr 13e 4 lease t, r, 18,31 11. 4 b f , e 4 warc S Nti h 4 11 1 , 1t , r 13- ' change At their THE (if Will /1 4 4 ! 1 e Of f t S, an ( tui. 4ll tied (1 , r past 4 zen i r 1 4 4 / 4 1 Ples 2 .4 4 ,1 se hold ? U ff-bc -,o c k c °liL,y ar t , t i , ~l a t o ,„ 0 -ed w as , ~atiy ‘„, kti ' st and l no eard, 411)k eh Itai , 4 11 a r it 'Qls et, la r a y i , br q o ary. W lte , ' ! 4 01 Jew e k„,Print s and &c.Af4Tner( t: atm aY b, t}on ry es h„'-stat, T"se . 0w , 4 L. ar er s i, meg as At .t h toil e C°ll 'r okiu t rkt, 11 'I .- 1 ' 4l, l) 4' ' * Q t.lse eri es 4, 1 and • :iq. i "kr t ,. 4 11 ,4 tr ey 0 I l ' e 4; linslo„. , e ; si 4 bl e i! ) . ll(1 'AN "er of it I Olahtis al Dr, 4 ,10 t ,C A i' Lg f iM a hon 11 ,pwr i l. t he p' 4-nt 11.. 1. s , t ow ,. tc, L uOiti ►hp ri c o 4 Tri s s l4 g i n to I, o 4 Pri,i o g • "'r Nig :Ir. , I ' l ll "4, and e 44 4 4 ,, a4 d th e a : 41 4 `" Ye ar - , t w lle 4 , 4 it es pet, A►tyl ay t °frer c 4 11,. , stai lyr . , to ° l O ea ' I 14,, k w li art, !IQ ' lh H`lfo rdr i s te undo kiet" 101 ........ _ rapto 3d inst. On the 2, in Pul BIR TH S. tney-street, Bath, th e l a dy o f - • Dewell, R.A. of a son and heir. „iv o r On th e 18th inst., at Leamington Warwickshire , the 13 "' Captain P u lt eney, 12 t h L ancers, of a ' daught er . gid On the 21st i ns t., a t D u bli n, t h e lady of Lieut.-Colone l lady' ' I of a daught er . lOn the 22d i ns t., i n Park-terrace., North B r i x t on , the . 3 G. M. Von Dadelszen, Esq., of h son. On the 22d i ns t., th e l a dy o f W m. Platt, Esq, of Upper -EtelV ley-street, Portman-square, of a daughter . • ______-/ MARRIED. oLll:i t ' sf v On the 23d inst., at Ma r yl e b one Ch urch, Samuel E. '7O rp Esq., third son of the lat e Si r S amuel Falkiner, Bart., tr ) '" ) t11 1 third daughter of James Bouwens, Esq., and granddaughter t, , late Sir Richard Rycroft, Baronet. 0 0 Irll ' On the 10th inst., at Bordea ux . Th os. Rm.,. v..... to I' , :e• , 11 V • 1 •