The Sun. — London, England, 1834-07-02 00:00:00

conclusion to which they had come ; and their lordships bad heard statements which, he thought, justified that conclusion. But he would trouble them with another do cument, a letter written by Lord Oxmantown, on the 9th of April, 1834 ; and, in mentioning that nobleman's name, he could not refrain from observing that the greatest praise was due to him for the excellent manner in which he discharged his magisterial duties (Hear, hear) and for his judicious exercise of those powers, which he had not shrunk from re commending, under circumstances of great difficulty and dan ger. The noble lord, after giving, in the letter to which he had referred, an account of the state ef the districts which had been proclaimed, proceeded as follows :—" Under all the cir cumstances which I have stated, the measure which I feel it to be my duty to recommend Government to adopt is, to proclaim the barony of Garrycastle under the 3d Wm. IV. without de lay, and to direct that the misdemeanors thus created should be tried by the ordinary tribunals of the country. Whether the Quarter Sessions had jorisdiction in such cases, without a special enactment, he was not aware ; but he consi dered that they would be better adapted for trying such of fences than any other tribunal, because they cold be adjourned from time to time, and if they had not such jusisdiction, he thought it would be expedient to apply to the leg-islature to give it to them. As to the power of the Quarter Sesssions to try such offences, he ( Earl Grey) had great satisfactfOn in stating that the government had the opinions of the AttorneV- General of Ireland, and the Attorney-General of England, who gave it as their distinct opinions, that the Quarter Ses sions had such power to try ordinary cases. There were other parts of this letter extremely worth reading, particularly one part which showed the effect of the proclamations in prevent ing the spread of offences to districts which lay beyond the bounds of the county to which the proclamation applied; but as he had already trespassed longer than he ought upon their lordships' attention, he did not think it necessary to go further into them. He had great satisfaction, however, in thus show ing that when he proposed a relaxation of the severity of the law, as it related to trials by courtsmartial, he was proposing a relaxation which was justified by circumstances, and which would not in any degree diminish or impair the general effi ciency of the measure. With this single exception, it was his intention, in presenting to their lordships the bill which he should call upon them if they were so pleased, to read a first time this night—it was his intention to present a bill renewing the Act of last session, with all its other provisions. Those provisions might be classed under three heads. The first were those that protected property, and went to the preventing of thoie meetings which might assume a dangerous character, and which it was known were conducted in such a manner as to be i njurious to the public peace. The powers for that purpose were contained in the three first clauses of the Act, commonly known as the Proclamation Act, which was passed in 1829, and which it was the intention of his Majesty's Ministers to renew, but which expired in consequence of the sudden dissolution of Parliament. The next head into which the provisions of the bill were divided consisted of those which related to nocturnal meetings and acts of spoliation and violence ; for the effectual control and prevention of which in the four districts of Ire land the necessary powers were given by this bill. With re spect to the latter head, and to the powers which enabled the government to meet offences of this kind, and to prevent them he thought he had stated grounds which could leave no hesita tion on the minds of their lordships as to the propriety of such enactments. With respect to the remaining class, it was not difficult to show that an evil existed which called for a remedy for if it was necessary to put down with a strong hand that combination and those excesses which assumed an insurrec tionary and almost a revolutionary character, it was no less ne cessary to meet by legislative enactments the causes by which they were produced. He knew no distinction that was made between what were called predial outrages and the effects of political agitation. He was aware it was contended that they were perfectly distinct, and that the one had no relation what ever to the other; but to that position lie would not by any means subicribe. ( Hear.) He could not believe that any man who had attended to the state of Ireland, and observed with a calm, tranquil, and philosophical eye, the general work ings of human nature, could come to the conclusion that the perpetual system of agitation which had been pursued had no influence upon the disturbances which prevailed. The minds of the people were influenced by exciting topics—their preju dices were courted—their passions appealed to—they were re proached as the slaves of oppression and the victims of injus tice, and were called upon to resist it and shake it off; and would any man say that these political addresses could be made to the people without exciting a general spirit of resistance to authority, and disobedience to the law which led to excesses, such as we had witnessed in Ireland, and which it was the object of this bill to prevent? Those excesses might not have been intended by the persons who were the original causes of them—they might have exceeded the limits within which those persons themselves would hare wished to confine them ; but when the passions of the people were excited, it was not easy to restrain them. He said it was not the part of a wise legislature, or of a just and humane man, to enact severe laws against such crimes as we had witnessed in Ireland, and to neglect those preventive measures which would remove the causes which he believed had led to them. It was true the powers of the act, in this respect, had not been exercised since it was passed, except in two cases of proclamation on the 10th and 17th of April, 1834,—the first against the Association of the National Political Trades' Union ; and the second against the Association of the Irish Volunteers. It was true, also, that meetings had taken place, and subjects had been discussed, of which their lordships must disapprove, and particularly one subject which, above all, had been pronounced by Parliament as of a most injurious and fatal tendency, he meant the repeal of the union. Meetings for this purpose had been held, and petitions had issued from them—which was a proof, at least, that the government did not wish to interfere except in cases of actual necessity. They had let such meetings assemble under the ordinary powers of the constitution, and suffered them to take their course, so long as they did not assume the character of a formidable combination, threatening the peace of the country. But, although the possession of these ex traordinary powers had not induced the Lord Lieutenant to prevent those meetings which had different purposes in view from those of the associations, which were the objects of the proclamations of April 10 and 17, he asked their lordships whether, looking at the state of Ireland, they would think it ; afe to suffer such proceedings to be continued ? and if not, whether they did not consider it their duty to arm the govern ment with these extraordinary powers ? He asked whether it would be safe to leave the government unprovided with the means of checking the proceedings of a central association in Dublin, sitting as a Parliament, with all the forms of a Parlia ment, directing other associations connected with it throughout all parts of the country, and enjoining a general organization for the avowed and undisguised purpose of carrying into effect measures which must be subversive of the security of the coun try and destructive of all peace, order, and law ? He could not think that their lordships would answer in the affirmative to this question, He could not think but that they would say it was necessary the Government should be provided with powers to check in time an association which was dangerous to the pub lic peace ; and from the statements he had made, he hoped he might say, with some degree of confidence on the part of Go vernment, that if their lordships intrusted these powers to their hands, they had a security in their former conduct that they would not be abused. It was not necessary to detain their lordships much further, and he hoped that, after what he had stated as to the general state of Ireland, and as to the effects of this law, where it had been carried into execution, with respect to insurrectionary offences, and that important branch of it which went to prevent political meetings, lie might venture to solicit that the bill might meet with favour in their lordships' eyes so far as that it might be read a first time to night. There re mained only one point to which it was necessary for him to ad vert, and that was the time for which the law should be renewed. He wished he could judge that, within any very short or given period, the state of Ireland was likely to be such as to remove the necessity of these or similar powers, to strengthen the hands of the government against the offences contemplated by this bill. But although he could not hold out such an expectation, yet he certainly thought that, in a case of this nature, where great and extraordinary powers were given to the government, it should be for a limited and short time, so as to give to the country a security that they must, of necessity, be brought under the revision of Parliament, which should be enabled to examine in what manner those powers had been exercised, and to form a deliberate judgment as to the necessity of resorting again to the same or others, according to circumstances. He should, therefore, with this view, propose the extension of this bill only to the Ist of August, 1835, being an additional year from the time when it would expire, and he trusted their lord ships would feel that while his Majesty's government were endea vouring to provide against those dangers which called for extra ordinary enactments, at the same time they were not inatten tive to the principles of the constitution, but were desirous of bringing the subject under the attention of Parliament at an early period, not only to enable them to consider of the neces sity of renewing it, but also to examine into the conduct of those who had carried it into effect. He had detained their lordships longer than he could have wished, but he was anxious that the conduct of his Majesty's government and the nature of the measure should be thoroughly explained, particularly as to the point in which this bill differed from that of last session. The noble earl concluded by moving that the bill be read a first time. The Earl of WICKLOW said he could not withhold his humble meed of approbation, not only of the clear and satis factory manner in which the noble earl had brought the sub ject before their lordships, but also for the honest and manly course which he had taken when he thought it his duty again to come forward and perform what must be to him a most dis agreeable and onerous duty. He fully concurred in the motion of the noble earl, but he would beg to remind the noble lord that the reason given on a former occasion for creating courts martial was the inefficiency of the juries of the country. If his Majesty's government had received any information which led them to believe that the juries were now prepared to perform their duty in a manner in which they were not able last year to discharge them, he regretted that the noble earl had not taken an opportunity of stating it. Earl GREY said he had forgotten to do so. The noble earl then proceeded to give some explanation, but the only par of it that could be heard in the gallery amounted to a re t petition of his former statement, that the quarter sessions would be the proper tribunal to investigate offences under the bill. The Earl of WICKLOW said that the bill in its mitigated shape must give satisfaction. He would beg leave to ob serve, however, that it was last year accompanied by a bill foe the change of venue, and when he urged that the latter bill should be continued for five years, the answer of the noble earl was, that it would be better it should be enacted only for the same time 'as the Coercion Bill, and that it should be open to Parliament again to consider it. He hoped the noble earl had turned his attention to this point. There was one more sub ject upon which he wished to say a word. It had been trumpeted forth by all the declaimers upon the ills of I re l an d that there was one only cure for the disturbances of that country—namely, the tithes, and that if that cause were talteu away there would be no occasion for coercion bills, nor for soldiers to enforce them. Now it appeared from the noble earl's statement that the disturbances had materially decreased, except where the bill was in force, and yet the tithes bad not during the whole time been collected, or demanded in Ire land. This proved that tithes were not the cause of the dis turbances. The bill was then read a first time, and the second reading fixed for Friday next ; after which their lordships adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS, July 1. The SPEAKER took the chair at half-past four. Two ballots were fixed to-day for Dungarvan and Monag han. Only the first was taken, and the last postponed. The members of the Dungarvan Committee were afterwards sworn at the table. DEATH BY BOXING. Mr. O'CONNELL asked the noble Secretary for the Home Department whether it was intended to bring in any bill to prevent more effectually the loss of life in boxing matches? Lord HOWICK answered in the negative. Mr. O'CONNELL said that he would submit a motion upon the subject on an early day. DISTRESS IN IRELAND. Mr. SHE IL begged to know whether it was the intention of Ministers to take any measures for the relief of the distress which at present prevailed in some of the districts of Ireland ? He should not now have repeated the question which he put so recently, had he not received a communication from Thurles (Tipperary), stating that several thousands in that neighbour howl were in a state of utter destitution. Mr. LITTLETON replied that the Government of this country as well as of Ireland had taken the subject into their most anxious consideration. He had received communications from the district referred to, and he admitted that there the distress was of a very lamentable nature • but he begged clearly to be understood as statin g that distress was by no means general in Ireland. He would not at this moment say whether it would be necessary for Ministers to apply to Par liament for a grant of money, but if such a course should be deemed expedient, he trusted that those who had property in the vicinity of the distressed districts would think it their duty to subscribe liberally towards the support of their suffering fellow-creatures. Mr. COBBETT hoped that hon. members who had come down to vote upon the Poor Laws Amendment Bill would bear in mind the state to which Ireland had been reduced, as that measure was calculated to place England in a similar con dition. Mr. O'CONNE LL suggested the propriety of the Irish Government opening a communication with the gentry in the neighbourhood of.distressed places, to inform them that if they were prepared to do their duty, Ministers were ready to make good any deficiency of funds. He was glad to confirm what had been said by the right hon. gentleman, that distress in Ireland was by no means general. Mr. O'C ALL AG HAN was confident that the gentry of the county he represented would be ready to come forward now, as they had done formerly, for the assistance of the poor. Mr. SHE IL would bring forward the subject again to morrow. Mr. LITTLETON asked in what manner he would bring it forward ? Mr. SHE IL should move an address to his Majesty, pray ing him to take into consideration the distressed_ condition of certain parts of Ireland. CHOLERA ACT. Mr. O'DWYER asked if it were the intention of Ministers to renew the cholera act, which was on the point of expiring ? Mr. LITTLETON was understood to answer in the ne gative. A petition was presented flona a person of the name of Daniel O'Keefe, complaining of ill usage, because he had voted in favour of the unsuccessful candidate at the last elec tion for Marlow. Mr. VIG ORS presented a petition from St. Pancras, against the Poor Laws Amendment Bill. Lord J. RUSSELL presented several petitions from Devonshire, in favour of Church Reform. Dr. LUSH IN GT ON presented a petition from Whitechapel, against the Poor Laws Amendment Bill. Sir S. WHALLE Y presented petitions from Mile-end, and St. Dunstan's, Stepney, with the same prayer. POOR LAWS AMENDMENT BILL. Lord ALTHORP moved the order of the day for the third reading of the Poor Laws Amendment Bill. Mr. LAW HODGE S felt it to be his duty to oppose the bill, and to move that it be read a third time on this day six months. It had been said repeatedly that the measure was favourable to the agricultural interest ; few men suffered more from the present state of the poor laws than he did, but after the most mature consideration he could not discover that the agricultural interest would be benefited in any way, or to the slightest degree. Four main propositions were contained in the bill, and they remained as objectionable as ever. 1. The alteration of the law of settlement. 2. The alteration of the law of bastardy. 3. The establishment of unions in the country, and the consequent erection of workhouses. 4. That the new law was to come into operation on the Ist of June, 1835. He especially disapproved of the changes as to settle ment and bastardy, and he believed that the public did not sympathise with the house in its desire to pass the bill, by which a new and heavy burden would be thrown upon the parishes. If unions were effected of course new workhouses must be built ; but he contended that the experiment of unions in Suffolk had failed, and. he apprehended that the change of diet for the poor contemplated would prove very detrimental to their health. After the Ist of June, 1835, it was intended that not one able-bodied man in the country should have relief from the poor-rates. He dreaded what the effect of the attempt might be upon the labourers of the country, since they would either be driven into open resistance, or, if they had not courage for that, they would be converted into thieves. He looked upon the present measure as a sequel to the Cur rency Bill of 1819 ; and had those who voted for the bill of 1819 contemplated this addition to it, he thought they would not have had courage to support it, without some precautionary steps. Concomitant with this bill ought to have been some plan for the relief of the poor of Ireland, in order to prevent their index into this country. The total repeal of the malt tax ought also to have preceded a bill like that before the house. If at any time the people came in collision with an armed force, it would never be forgotten. The affair of Man chester was well remembered ; and a similar affray at Bristol, many years earlier, had comparatively recently been visited on the regiment engaged in it. Sir H. WILLOUGHBY seconded the amendment, ex plainine: that he, like the hon. member for Westminster, had voted for r the second reading in the hope that the bill would be materially improved in the Committee : but it had expe rienced no such improvement. His leading objection to the bill arose from the opinions he entertained respecting the workhouse principle. He anticipated the worst consequences from the workhouse clause. It would operate most injuriously on the morals of the poor. The discipline and regulations of the workhouse are intended to be or the most stringent kind, the fare is to be of the most homely description, and the inmates are to be altogether treated in such a way as to hold out the least possible inducement to enter these houses. The object of this severe discipline and homely fare was undoubtedly to encourage emigration. He thought himself warranted in inferring that that was intended, as the house had entertained the emigration clause. He was satisfied, however, that little benefit could be derived from emigration by the labourers of this country, so long as no measures were taken by the house to put a stop to the immigration of Irish labourers into England. The right hon. gentleman (Mr. Spring Rice, as we understood) had pronounced, the other evening, a very high and well-merited eulogium on the views of Mr. Horton on the subject of emi gration. He ( Sir Henry Willoughby) had read all the works of that gentleman on the subject, and in every instance they concluded by saying, that so long as the Irish labourers were permitted to immigrate, as at present, into England, there was no chance of any sensible relief being felt by the lower classes of this country from any extent to which emigration to other countries was likely to be carried. And not only did England suffer from the immense number of Irish labourers that were constantly coming over to this side of the channel ; Scotland also was beginning to feel the evil effects of the circumstance. They were content to live in the most wretched hovels, to live on the coarsest fare, and to wear rags. Their wives either worked or begged, as the case might be ; and they therefore accepted any wages, however low, that were offered to them. The evil, he was sorry to say, was one of growing magnitude ; and it was necessary that some effort should be made by the legislature to provide a remedy. With regard to the clause of the bill which related to the powers to be conferred on magistrates and the overseers of the poor, he thought the power was too great. It had been objected, by the friends of the measure, to the pre sent system of poor-laws, that they allowed too ample powers to magistrates and overseers of parishes, and yet this bill actually increased, instead of diminishing, those powers. He thought that a discretionary power ought to be vested in magis trates and the guardians of the poor to .a certain extent, but certainly not to•the extent which this bill conferred. He was afraid that in many instances the power of withholding relief, which they possessed, would be converted into an instrument of oppression to the poor ; if, indeed, it did not in some cases lead to starvation. The hardships to which the aged paupers would be subjected by this bill would not only be great but gratuitous ; for they could be supported as cheaply where they were as they would be when in the workhouse. On the question being put from the chair, Mr. Benett and Mr. W. Whitmore rose together, but the former having given way, Mr. WHITMORE said that the hon. gentleman who had just sat down, seemed to think that the greatest evils would result from this bill in every part of the country. He (Mr. Whitmore) was convinced that the hon. gentleman would find himself mistaken when the measure came into operation. He was equally convinced that he was in error as to what he had alleged with respect to the extent to which certain evils con nected with this question already existed. The hon. gentle man had alluded to the surplus labouring population of this country. His (Mr. Whitmore's) opinion was, that that sur plus population was, in a great measure, created by the exist ing system of poor laws. It was necessary, therefore, that that system should be altered. To trifle with it any longer would be ruinous to the country. The present system was produc tive of very great injury to the labouring population, in accus toming them to depend upon their support, when they chose to apply for it, out of the poor rates ; that was a very great injury to them, both morally and physically. He should give the proposed measure his firm and decided support. With refererXe to the allowance system, the hon. gentleman quoted from a pamphig written in 1795, by Burke, on the subject of a general scarcity, in which that high authority gave it as his opinion that the magistrates had greatly erred in introducing that system. ( Hear, hear.) Mr. BENETT said, that if the hori, member had looked over the large blue books which contained the cif4eial reports on this subject, he would there find details which refuted all his arguments. His inferences on the subject of the expense of wages were wholly nullified by the facts stated there, that THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY , JULY 2, 1834. Poor rates were excessive , the labouring popthation n; g while in Shropshire, where the t c o condition tion bill. The great ob ject rates sv"" e starv bile in Kent, where the wa g es were 48 i andthe wages only 38 /. a - year , tha t elac- much lower, of people were, com paratively speaking, wel l off. Mr. BUL TE EL supporf:eu , the , motion. jec N t i o r u . ought to b e t ROBINSON O alleviate objected lation for that would bri n g of the labouring p opu about everything else that was cl.esirable. But this bill had no tendency whatever to effect that alleviation, nor to relieve the poor from their pre sent degradation and misery. All that it tended to effect was the erection throughout the country of a system of workhouses compulsorily filled with a pauper population, thrust in there with no distinction between the aged and the young, the infirm and the able bodied, the deserving and the infamous ; all who could not obtain labour by their own exertions were to be locked up in these workhouses. This monstrous proposition, if admitted, would be a canker to our social system, which would never l be eradicated. Instead of mending matters this bill would institute and perpetuate a much worse s t a t e o f things. Even the commissioners themselves, in page 92 of their re port, admitted that without a provision for the amelioration in the condition of the labouring population, no measure for the amendment of the poor law system would be found effective. It was said that the present measure would give relief to the agricultural interest, but would it add to the security of pro perty, or would it place those who had property in a better situation than they were in before ? ( Hear.) It was recom mended to them to return as nearly as possible to the prin ciple of the 43d of Elizabeth. Now, he would ask if they could hope to bring the country back to the state in which it was at that period ? Did any public debt exist then to any extent? Had we not had changes in the currency which had naturally affected the lower classes ? There had also been a vast increase of machinery, which had been brought into com petition with human labour. He alluded to machinery, not because he was opposed to it—he believed it tc have been, on the whole productive of benefit—but solely for the purpose of showing that the state of society in the present day was essen tially different from its state in the reign of Elizabeth, and therefore required to be legislated for on other principles. It was a fact that the wealthy classes, since the introduction of steam power, were much more independent of the labouring classes than they were formerly. The noble lord opposite appeared to doubt it ; but the proposition seemed to be self evident. The question was not so much one of surplus la bour, as it was whether there was sufficient capital possessed by the farmers to enable them to cultivate their farms. ( Hear.) In fact there were not too many labourers, if they were em ployed to the extent to which they might be ; but there were. absentee landlords, who would not cultivate the land to a greater extent than they thought was to their personal advantage. ( Hear, hear.) He objected to the bill on the ground that it did not afford the labourer any alternative. He agreed with the honourable baronet, who declared that the noble lord had been obliged to make so many concessions, that the result was, the commissioners had ob tained too great a degree of discretionary power. He had heard some persons declare that the condition of the poor had been improved—others that it had got worse. This bill, how ever, admitted the deterioration ; but how did they propose to legislate for the evil ? It appeared to him that they ought to have endeavoured to ascertain the causes before they came forward with a remedial proposition. It was as great an in sult to the poor, and to the public at large, to say that the bill would be a boon to the labouring classes, as it was to pretend that the bastardy clause was a boon to the female po pulation. The advantage of the old law was, that it brought the wealthier classes into contact with the poor man. When this bill had passed into a law, the poor man would feel that he was an isolated being--that there were none of his more wealthy neighbours who sympathised in his distresses. He was confident that in a very short time the legislature would be called on either to repeal the bill, or to make some very ma terial alterations in it. In opposing the bill he did so..con scientiously, and without any reference to the feeling which existed on the subject out of doors. Mr. SL ANE Y said that the supporters of the bill were reproached with trying, on this occasion, an unjustifiable ex periment ; but, he would ask, was there no case made out ? He would not name any particular county ; but were there not several in the south of England which had been in a state of moral insurrection ? For the sake of the poorer classes themselves, as well as for that of the richer, whose property was insecure, it was the duty of Government to endeavour to apply a remedy to the present state of things. There were certainly sonic portions of the bill which he held to be objec tionable; for instance, he thought that the aged ought to be allowed out-door relief. But though there were parts of the bill which he considered capable of improvement, he approved of it on the whole, and would contend that the experiment ought to be tried. In addition to the improvement which an amended system of poor laws was calculated to produce, by checking the increase of surplus labour, it would be well to promote the education of the poorer classes residing in popu lous manufacturing towns, and also to accommodate them with open places in the vicinity for healthful recreation. Mr. C OBBE TT was desirous of showing what were the real objects of the present bill, and what the consequences likely to result from its passing into a law. With regard to what had been said concerning surplus labour, he was asto nished, after the evidence which had been so frequently laid before them upon this subject, to find it still insisted upon that there was such surplus. The contrary was the fact. Instead I of there being any surplus labour, there was, in truth, a want of hands to cultivate the land. In a report before that house, a report, too, in which he had been savagely libelled, seven hundred and seventeen gentlemen gave it as their opinion that there were not too many labourers ; and as far as related to Lincolnshire, so far from there being a surplus, that very re port stated that there was not a sufficiency in the harvest time. A committee sat in 1828, of which the hon. member for Shrewsbury was chairman, to inquire upon this very sub ject of surplus labourers, he replied that there was not. And he added, that he was grieved to see, in one part of the coun try, forty young men harnessed to gravel carts, and doing the work of horses. He was asked, was not this a proof of super abundance of labour, and replied that it was not ; that there was labour for them on the land, in hoeing, draining, and ditching ; but that this labour was not entered upon, though necessary, because the farmers had not the means of under taking ;it. Why, he (Mr. Cobbett) would ask—why had they not the means ? Because of the distress and ruin created by the Currency Bill of 1819. ( Hear, hear.) He hoped that this Poor Law Amendment Bill would not increase the misery which that measure had brought on the farmer and labourer. An hon. member, the member for Shoreham, said the other evening, that he 61r. C.) was the cause of the out rages in that country, and the libel in the commissioners' re port said the same. They insisted on this, notwithstanding the evidence given on the trial of the rioters. Now, he would show that the report of the poor law commissioners stated the real cause. The hon. gentleman here read a passage from the report of evidence given before the commissioners, in which it was stated by the labourers that the harsh treatment of the overseers was the cause of the outrages ; and that if they had been treated with civility they would not have so much minded being poor. He was opposed to this bill because he believed its object was to reduce the labouring poor of England to the wretched condition of the poor of Ireland. (Hear, hear, and No, no.) In one part of the empire the labourer had his snug parlour, his neat cottage, his curtained window ; and in this part they had their old English poor laws. In another part of the country the poor laws had been violated; for poor laws had existed in Scotland before they existed in England, and they were done away with because the reformation took a more violent turn there. The Scotch members worked with the Ministry to chip them away ; and the consequence would be seen in the report of the commissioners in (he believed) Ap pendix B, fig. 1. He wished the hon. member for Middlesex was present to say whether he would wish to see England reduced to that state. In that part of the empire a mongrel system of poor laws have reduced the labouring classes to the lowest state of wretchedness. In a third part of the empire there were no poor laws, and what was its condition. Let the phi losophers revel then in theories. There the people were not only without shoes and stockings, but half naked. (Hear, hear.) Nay, in some instances they were entirely naked. (A laugh.) It was none of his statement, it was in the reports. ( Hear, hear.) Let the philosophers luxuriate in Ireland, that fine land, where the inhabitants were not brutalised by the degrading allowance of the poor rate ! Let them look there and see the consequencies of their fine theories in the ever lasting rebellions, and he would say justifiable rebellions of the people. They were resolved to reduce the other two parts of the empire to the condition of Ireland for the purpose of putting the amount of the poor rates and tithes in the pockets of the landlords, that these latter may be thereby enabled to meet the demands of the fundholders. He understood that if it were found that the poor rates had diminished, or were stationary, there would be no measure enacted lest any hazard might ensue. Now it had been found by the returns for England and Wales, that there was a diminution to the extent of three and a - half per cent. Why not stop then ? The amount of the assessment for the poor was eight millions, but of this there were two millions which they did not receive. He might state the amount of what they received at five, perhaps but four millions ; but let it be stated even at six millions. Did the Government propose to interfere with the two millions which did not go to the poor. Oh, no I—they were very brave where the poor were concerned—they would face them. There was ano ther reason against this interference with the poor-rates. By comparing their amount with the taxes paid by the poor for the last century, it would be found that the former had consi derably decreased in proportion. Again he would repeat there were no grounds for this bill. It was evident that the ultimate abolition of the poor-rate was intended, and the go vernment deceived the House of Commons if they denied this. Why were not the instructions given for the commission of inquiry laid before the house ? There were two things in these instructions to which he would particularly allude. The draftsman was desired so to manage the thing, that the people of England might be gradually reduced to a coarser sort of food; and the other was, that the number of workhouses should be reduced to 200. If the number of parishes were divided by this number, it would show that the object was to unite 60 or 70 parishes in one union ; and if a poor man or poor woman wanted relief, it would be necessary to send them perhaps 40 or 50 miles from their homes. What would the people of England say if they were honestly told that the government wished to reduce them to a coarser sort of food —to potatoes and sea-weed ? only tell the parishes that, only tell it them, they would soon find it out. Such was the intention of this bill ; and the house was not able to prevent it, for uncontroled power was given to the commissioners to make regulations themselves. These regulations were, many of them, of a very harsh, degrading nature. Amongst ether things, a man was to be stripped of his furniture and clothes, and compelled to wear the workhouse livery. Was this fit treatment;? The commissioners, in their report, mentioned one parish, in4hicit'e , iery fainter the last 30 'yeara 444 Mlle upon the poor-laws. Were these men to be thus insulted ? How-many of the tra.deinien in Fleet-street and the Strand would come upon the poor-rates before that day twelve months ? Were those tradesmen, who for many years had paid taxes and !poor:rates, and supported the government, to be compelled to Twear a workhouse dress? These were the recommendations of the commissioners ; and the parties who recommended them were the parties to whom the working of the bill would be entrusted. He could, therefore, come to no other conclusion than this. For the commissioners still acted as the Mentor to the noble lord, who might be aptly compared to the minis terial Telemachus. ( A laugh.) And what was the bill to do ? Why, they said it was to raise the character of the English labourer, and make him more independent. Inde pendent ! Why, who, he would like to know, was the most independent,—the English labourer who went to the over seer, and demanded assistance as a right, or the Scotch beggar, who wandered about with a license in his pocket, to entitle him to receive alms from his Majesty's lieges? The object of this bill was to rob the working people, and to enrich the owner of the land ; not that he believed they had any such expectations in view, he would do them that credit. Then it was said it would relieve the farmer. Why, how could it relieve the farmer ? He had a farm for which he paid 1601. a-year ;it was true he had it on lease, but suppose he was te nant from year to year, 801. would be taken off for poor rates. The landlord would, f course, raise his rent to that amount, and the next thing he would do would be to say, " Strike off the tithes, and that will put 451. a-year more in my pocket." He would have the friends of the Church remember that. To say that this bill would raise the condition of the labourers was either the grossest ignorance or the grossest hypocrisy. And though it was said that the allowance system was an abuse of the poor laws, it was a very good abuse for the labourer, and to the existence of that abuse in the southern counties he at tributed the superior condition of the labourers in those coun ties. ( Hear, hear.) But he should like to inquire whether Parliament had the right to pass the bill. He knew they had the power —but the question was, had they rightful power ? Blackstone, in treating of the rights of per sons, declared that every man was by law entitled to every necessary for his support. Paley also said that a provision for the poor formed a fundamental portion of the constitution of England. And yet they were going to violate the consti tution in such a manner as might possibly justify the people in acts of resistance. If the house determined to dissolve the bonds of civil society, they must expect them to go back to this state of nature. How would they like that ? He was very sure .the Parliament would not pass this bill. If any future Parliament did it, they would in effect raise the cry of war to the cottager, which he trusted in God would be an swered by a cry of war to the homestead of the landowners. The Bible cursed those that oppressed the poor—Deutero nomy, chapter 28th. Many curses were threatened,. but he' would only select one for them; that which threatened that God would smite them with the plagues of Egypt—with the scab and the itch. (Oh !) The Bible told the people how to deal with those who were guilty of acts of tyranny. Moses slew the tyrannical Egyptian task-master. The landowners told them to read the Bible, and he would tell the poor so too —but he would them tell to read the bill along with it. Of this he was sure, that if ever there was an attempt to carry this bill into execution in this country, something would take place infinitely more terrific than any thing that has been known for the last century. Mr. GORING said that it was true that the hon. member opposite was not himself at battle, but one of his emissaries was lecturing them. Mr. COBBETT—Name him, name him. Mr. GORING could not name him, but it was a notorious fact ; and moreover it was the opinion of the farmers of Sus sex as well as the gentry, that the riots in Sussex were attri butable to the writings of the hon. member. The hon. mem ber charged the magistracy with having been in a conspiracy against him wifh regard to Goodman's confession, but he could assert that he received the original confession of Goodman, undictated to by any person from the hands of the high sheriff himself. It was remarkable that the riots always took place in counties where there was a difference between the wages of single and married men. He should support the third reading of the bill. Mr. - G. F. YOUNG would have supported a moderate measure, but he felt himself bound to oppose a bill which so far exceeded the necessity of the case. Lord E A STNO R would not have risen but to make one remark, which appeared to him to be called for by what had just occurred. He could not deprecate in language too strollg the conduct of any individual who should endeavour to make the poor of England discontented with their situation, or quote Scripture to justify any acts of violence which discontentment might drive them to commit. (Loud cries of " Hear.") Taken by itself, the measure might, perhaps, in part be objection able; but, taking into consideration th e ex t en t of th e neces sity, he was of opinion that it was calculated to do much good, and he should therefore give it his support. Mr. FRYER contended, that when they had got this bill, they would find that they had got the Bottle Imp, which would disappoint all their expectations. ( A laugh.) The parish workhouses would be parish gaols ; and would be a terror to the poor. The emigration scheme was only another name for transportation. He perfectly agreed with the principle of the bill, that no able-bodied man ought to receive compulsory relief; but then it must be under very different laws from those at present existing. Let all restrictions on labour be abolished, and we should not want to send the population out of the country, for we should have a Van Dieman's Land in Eng land. ( A laugh.) But the great evil was the wicked, cursed corn laws. ( A laugh.) Those who supported the corn laws, never considered the real interests of the poor of England. They courted the Tories, and every other little party ; but they never thought of the people of England. The noble lord opposite put on his tail in Downing-street like a great kangaroo. [Here the laughter was so loud, that we were un able to hear the conclusion of the sentence.] It was that wicked corn law which had done all the mischief; that wicked measure which the landed aristocracy of the country had de termined, per fas et nefas, to support. (A laugh.) Lord ALTHO RP felt himself called upon briefly to state the grounds on which he thought the bill was calculated to improve the condition of the labouring classes of the people. No man who considered what had been the conse quence of the allowance system, namely, that of redu cing the wages of the labouring classes to the lowest amount upon which the magistrates might think it was pos sible a family might be supported, but must admit that that system had been the cause of great degradation and evil to the labourer. The object of the present bill was to remove the allowance system. The hon. gentleman who had moved the amendment, expressed his conviction that the system under the bill could not be carried into effect without producing a collision with the people. If he (Lord Althorp) were of that opinion, he would not have proposed the measure ; but he did not think that any thing of that kind was to be ap prehended.. Undoubtedly there might be danger in some places, if the change were to be sudden, and if relief were to be all at once denied. But the very object of one of the alterations which had been introduced into the bill by him (Lord Althorp) was to give a discretion to the commissioners to dispense with such a sudden change, wherever the dispen sation might be felt expedient and necessary. He was per fectly satisfied that that alteration would avert the danger which the hon. gentleman feared. The hon. baronet who seconded the amendment spoke of the large towns from which petitions had come against the bill, and estimated the number of the petitioners at 9,000. Now, if the number of the peti tioners was only 9,000, that was assuredly a proof that the bill was not unpopular. The hon. member for Oldham op posed the bill, and asserted that the object of the authors and the supporters of the bill was to deprive the country of poor laws altogether. That he (Lord Althorp) distinctly denied. The lion. member had adverted to the miserable state of the labouring classes in Ireland, and had ascribed that state to the non-existence of poor-laws in that country. Now it might, or it might not be advisable to establish poor-laws in Ireland ; but he (Lord Althorp) denied that the distressed condition of the labouring classes in Ireland could be justly attributed entirely to the want of poor-laws • and it was well known to be the opinion of some persons who were intimately acquainted with that country, that the establishment of poor laws would be injurious to it rather than beneficial. The hon. member for Oldham had spoken in high terms of the comfort of the poor classes in this country. He (Lord Althorp) wished he could say that he did not think the picture of the' hon. member was a flattering one. He was glad, however, to hear the hon. gentleman's description, although it was cer tainly not very consistent with some of his former statements. But though no one could be more desirous than he (Lord Althorp) was, that the labouring man should have a comfort able home and a comfortable garden, and all the other com forts described by the hon. member for Oldham, yet every body knew that such was not the case, and that the very re verse was the case especially in those parts of England in which the poor-laws were in a state of the greatest activity. Some of the opponents of the bill had argued against it as if it were precisely the same as the report of the commis sioners. Now the bill had never gone to the extent of that report—it had never gone to the extent of declaring that no relief should be given out of the workhouses. It had been stated that there was a surplus population in the country, and that it was impracticable to employ that surplus po pulation in workhouses. There might be a surplus population in some parts of the country, but he denied that there was a surplus population in all parts of the country. So far from it that in many parts it would be difficult to get in the harvest without the assistance of Irish labourers. But if there actually was this surplus population, he did not see how it was incon sistent with employment in the workhouse as a part of the mode of giving relief. Let them look at those districts in which the workhouse system had been carried into effect. Let them look, for instance, at Nottinghamshire. At first there appeared to be a surplus population. At first a mum her of persons came to the workhouse, but now the number was s mall, and the labourers were in a much better condition. With respect to the aged, the sick, and the infirm poor he felt that every attention ought to be paid them. It would be en tirely inconsistent with the law of the country that they should not receive that attention.. But he could not see why it would be inconsistent with the comfort of such persons to place them in a well regulated workhouse, where they or their friends may contribute to their support. Some hon. members had objected to the present bill, on the ground that it was a de parture from the statute of the 43d of Elizabeth. But that statute confined relief to the aged and infirm, and partially to the able bodied labourer who could• not find employment. The principle of the bill under consideration was the same. There was nothing in the statute of Elizabeth about workhouses. But the principle of the present bill, like the principle of the statute of Elizabeth, was, that no relief should be given to the able-bodied labourer, without he was first placed in a situation worse than that of labourers who were em ployed. (Hear.) The present bill proceeded on the principle of the statute of Elizabeth ; although its detOls were different, in consequence of the different doe tWQ Peri* lie 4 4 bQenIiittutect with the alterations in the bill, the introduction of which he had allowed, He did not think, however,- that -any -of those alterations - had proceeded from the opponents of the measure ; they had been suggested by those who approved of it generally, and who wished- to faci litate its execution. It was clear that the present system could not go on without amendment. It was true that it had been contended, that the present proceeding was not the only alternative, and that some other bill might have been introdu ced ; but as no other bill had been introduced, the only choice was either to continue the present system or to adopt the mea sure under consideration. Among other objections to the measure, it was said that too much discretion was given by it to the commissioners. That discretion was necessary, for if they had fixed in the bill the precise time at which the intended changes should take place all over the country, such an ar rangement would have been found impracticable, or, if not impracticable, at least very inconvenient. But by giving the commissioners a discretion of introducing the changes gradually, they would enable them, while they diminished the poor rates, not to diminish the means of subsist ence of the labouring classes; but rather to increase those means without destroying their independence and demoralising their character. He was persuaded that the effect of the measure would be to increase the wages of the labourer. Where a similar system had been pursued a similar result had been produced. In Nottinghamshire the average wages of the labourer was 13s. a week, and in Northamptonshire 9s. a week. He would not trespass longer on the patience of the house. They had already decided in favour of this bill by large majorities, and he hoped that on this last division they would give it the same support. Mr. LEACH, although extremely sorry to do so, should feel compelled to vote against the measure. The effect of it would be to place the local authorities under great restraint ; and on that, and other grounds, much as he condemned the present system, he would rather that it should go on, than that the syStem proposed in the present bill should be sub stituted for it. Mr. O'CONNELL said, that as the bill had no relation to that part of the empire in which he was more particularly in terested, he would confine the declaration of his opinion upon it to a single sentence. It was impossible for him to vote in its favour, because it would destroy all parental feeling to wards the poor on the part of the local authorities; because it would create an unconstitutional tribunal in the country; be cause it would give an accumulation of votes to the wealthy over the poor classes ; because it would confer the privilege of voting by proxy; and because, at the very moment that the legislature was abolishing imprisonment for debt, it would in stitute imprisonment for poverty. Sir CHARLES BURRELL could not agree with the noble lord the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that there was any thing in this bill which went hand in hand with the 43d of Elizabeth. Mr. TOWER, while he admitted that the existing state of the poor laws called for amendment, expressed his regret that he could not consistently support the measure under con sideration. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the House divided, when there appeared, For the third reading lB7 For the amendment 5O Majority for the third reading —l37 On our return to the gallery we found Mr. Law Hodges on his legs, moving a clause by way of rider to the bill • but the noise occasioned by the rush of stran gers i n t o the gallery pre vented us hearing it. Lord ALTHORP said the object of the clause was to ex tend the jurisdiction of the borough magistrates, so as to em power them to visit workhouses in districts, where, at present, they could not act. He saw no advantage that would accrue in giving this new power • on the contrary, much possibl e disadvantage ; for it certainly was far from desirable to extend the jurisdiction of borough magistrates. He should oppose the motion. The clause was then negatived without a division. Mr. AGL lONB Y moved the following clause :—" That if either of the parties shall have included in the statement sent, as hereinbefore directed, any grounds of removal or of-appeal, which shall, in the opinion of the justices determining the appeal, be frivolous or vexatious, such party shall be liable, at the discretion of the said justices, to pay the whole or any part of the costs incurred by the other party in disputing such grounds ; such costs to be recovered in the manner hereinbefore directed as to the other costs incurred by reason of appeal." Lord ALTHORP expressed his approbation of the clause, which was ordered to be added to the bill by way of rider. Colonel WOOD moved that a clause of the bill, which had been withdrawn, without notice, at a late hour on Monday, when there were scarcely half-a-dozen members in the house, should be restored. It was the 56th clause, regarding the power of visiting justices. Lord ALTH OR P opposed the motion. The clause was then agreed to, as were several others, the purport of which was not heard in the gallery. Mr. BL AMIRE moved, pursuant to the notice he had given, the omission of the bastardy clauses, namely 61, 62, 63, and clause H. Lord ALTHORP could not consent to their omission. After a few words from Mr. AGLIONBY, the motion was negatived without a division, and the clauses, as amended, agreed to. Thar. JERVIS then moved that the clause 0, page 48, which is intended to give security to the commissioners, be omitted, as ample protection was given to them by clause 82. Lord ALTHORP had no objection to the omission of the clause, as he did not think it essential to the bill, and did not see how its omission would injure the measure. The clause was withdrawn. On the motion being put from the Chair, that the bill do pas's, Mr. P. SCR OPE had given notice that, on the third read ing of that bill, he should move a resolution, " That this house would be justified in pas s i ng a measure for securing a more rigorous administration of the English poor laws, and it did not contemplate the early extension of a similar law to Ireland, whose labouring population having no legal provision secured to them, are forced to resort in large numbers to this country for employment, thereby driving an equal number of English labourers upon their parishes for support." But he felt, that at this late period of the session it was too mo mentous a question to bring forward, and more especially as he felt confident that it was the intention of his Ma jesty's Government to bring in a similar bill for Ireland early next session as that which they were about to pass for England. He would therefore merely give notice, that if a measure to that effect were not brought forward by the Go vernment in the early part of next session, he should himself consider it his duty to bring one forward. He took the oppor tunity of asking the right hon. Secretary for Ireland when it was likely that the report of the commissioners on the state of the poor in Ireland would be laid upon the table. He hoped that the right hon. gentleman would pledge himself that the report should be laid on the table before next session, and meantime he (Mr. Scrope) thought tt might be well if the commissioners made some sort of parliamentary report similar to that made by the English commissioners, for the purpose of preparing the minds of the people for the proposed change. Mr. LITTL ETON was not able to give the hon. member such information as to when the report might be expected. It was his hope and belief that the report would be before Par liament by the beginning of next session. Mr. RIC HARD S bad lost all confidence in the intentions of his Majesty's Government, since he had observed that Mr. Tufnell, who had stated it as his opinion, that means should be taken to get rid of poor-laws in England altogether, was on the commission. Lord ALTHORP had merely to say that Mr. Tufnell was not on the poor-law commission, but on the church commis sion. (A laugh.) The bill was then passed. Mr. POWELL BUXTON withdrew his motion relative to the amount of loss sustained by the destruction of the mis sionary chapels, as compared with the amount of compensation proposed to be granted, because he had understood that go vernment had made a proposal to the parties concerned, which was likely to . he accepted. Mr. SPRING RICE believed that the proposed arrange ment would be satisfactory to all parties. In answer to a question from Mr. RICHARDS, The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said that he was very anxious to advance his bill for the Abolition of Imprisonment for Debt, a step that night. BRITISH COLONIES; Mr. BUXTON, in rising .to move for an inquiry into the state and condition of the native inhabitants of countries in, and adjacent to; colonies under the dominion of Great Britain, said that he would content himself by stating, in every place where we had established a colony, the native inhabitants, in stead of being benefitted, were injured by our presence among them. This was the case in Australia and Africa, and in North America, as had been remarked by a well-known writer, British brandy and gunpowder had done their work in thinning the natives. In South Africa, it was considered the most meritorious action a European could perform to shoot the na tives. It was high time that some measures were adopted, with the view of arresting the rapid decrease which was tak ing place among the native inhabitants of the colonies. Justice and humanity alike required it. He would content himself with moving that an address be presented to his Majesty, praying that he would be graciously pleased to cause an in quiry to be made in the state and condition of the native in habitants in and adjacent to colonies under the dominion of Great Britain. Mr. SPRING RICE seconded the motion. He was pre pared to furnish the hon. gentleman with all tile information which he possessed on the subject. If his hon. friend should think proper next session to bring forward a motion for a com mittee of inquiry, he (Mr. Spring Rice) would most willingly support it. But while he thus expressed his cordial approval of the principles which the hon. gentleman had advanced on the subject, he must differ from him as to the amount of the evils to which he had referred. There must be evils to a cer tain extent, consequent on the introduction of civilization into a savage country. And these evils, though he could not hope to be able to do away with altogether, he would use every ex ertion to reduce. Mr. PEASE was happy to hear the speeches of both the hon. gentlemen. The motion was then agreed to. Mr. BUXTON then moved for the production of certain papers and documents connected with the subject of his pre ceding motion..— Agreed The ATTORNEY-GENERAL then moved for leave to bring in a bill to enable certain companies and associations to sue and be sued in the name of their officers. This was a mea sure of very great importance. It would be pro d u ctive of great advantages to the community, especially to the commercial part of it. He intended to introduce a proviso to the effect that the measure should affect the Bank of England. Leave granted. The lion ! avid learned GENTLEMAN then SAKI ilat he had 19 rmova !'or leave to bring in a bill o. 4 :;;lnch greater conse quence then the preceding. 1t was a bill to render uniform and to regulate the execution of all wills of real and personal property. It was not his intention to go into the partieularg of the measure. The existing laws relative to this subject were barbarous in the highest degree. Though in some cases it was utterly impossible to devise property, and in others difficult, yet the present course was so circuitious, ex tensive, vexatious, and often inefficacious, that he thought a very great improvement in the law might be made.- One object of this bill was to enable parties to dispose of disposable property inter vivos—and another great object was to render the execu tion of wills uniform. In the conveyance of real property, though only to the amount of Si., he proposed to make the attestation. of three witnesses necessary ; and in the case of copyhold and personal property, though it amounted to 5,0001., he did not think it necessary to have more. In the conveyance of funded property, he thought the attestation of two witnesses would be sufficient. Mr. AGLIONBY, after thanking the hon. and learned gentleman for his bill, from which he expected the best benefits, pointed out a verbal error into which there was danger of falling, when drawing up the bill. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said he would be most happy to alter the wording of the bill in any part of it so as to meet his (Mr. Aglionby's) views. Leave was then given to bring in the bill. IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL rose to move the second reading of his bill, relating to imprisonment for debt. He expressed his anxiety to forward it that stage. Mr. RICHARDS said that several hon. members had left the house, in the full expectation .that the second reading would not be proposed at so late an hour. The AT TORNEY -GENERAL said, that scarcely one hon. member had any objection to the general principle of the bill. He trusted that the bill would be read a second time, with the understanding that the discussion should take place on the order of the day for going into committee. Mr. RICHARDS said that this bill would bring every landed gentleman within the operation of the bankrupt laws. Were hon. members aware of that? Mr. TOOKE pressed the postponement of the bill. The second reading of the bill was ultimately fixed for to morrow (this day). The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and the house adjourned at a quarter to two. - , POLICE INTELLIGENCE. • MANSION-HOUSE. GREAT STEAM CHASE.—On Monday morning a most ex traordinary contest took place in the Thames between the Brilliant and the Comet Gravesend steam-vessels, the former the property of the-Old and the latter the property of the New Company ; and yesterday morning it was renewed with addi tional energy, notwithstanding the very great hazard of the experiment in a river crowded with small vessels. A repre sentation of the affair was laid before the Lord Mayor imme diately after the second race from Gravesend yesterday by a gentleman who witnessed it. It was to the following effect:— The informant of the Lord Mayor stated that on Monday, the Brilliant and the Comet left Gravesend at' half-past six o'clock, and sustained their flight together as if they were con trolled by one power until they , reached Limehouse, when the Captain of the Comet directed that the speed of his vessel should be abated. The consequence was,' that the Brilliant reached the wharf at London-bridge about half a minute before her rival. To describe the state of the river during the race would be a matter of some difficulty. The object of all the small craft seemed to be, not to pursue their course to any de finite place, but to get out of the reach of the frightful surge as well as they could, and at whatever inconvenience. On the' rivals went as if all the water under them was boiling for the purpose of giving the impulse. It was in vain that customers hailed them from Northfleet, Purfleet, Greenhithe, Erith, Woolwich, Blackwell, or Greenwich. There was no stop, no check to the fury of their competition, until they reached the pool, and it was really a matter of astonishment that some disaster did not occur to give variety to the morning's enter tainment. The Loan MAYOR—And is it possible that this disgraceful conduct was renewed this morning ? The informant said that the two vessels started for their se cond race at seven o'clock that morning. A boat appeared from Grays with a passenger, and hailed the Brilliant, which was on that side of the river, but no notice was taken of the movement, and the Comet was in an instant at too great a distance to offer accommodation. Soon afterwards a boat from the Kent side hailed the Comet, which immediately stopped her speed to take in the passenger, a gentleman of the bar ; the moment, however, the hook caught the stem of the boat back tumbled the passenger on his seat, and over tumbled his hat and wig into the water. The Captain advised -the learned gentleman to step into the steamer, but he rowed back, shaking his bare head, in quest of his property. By this delay the Brilliant got ahead, but the Comet soon reached her old situation, which she again lost opposite to Erith by stop ping for another passenger. A third time the Comet was alongside of her indefatigable rival, although the latter, amidst cries of " Shame, shame," endeavoured to run her aground, to prevent her from maintaining the superiority which she had unquestionably established. A fourth time the Comet checked her power to receive a passenger at Woolwich; and again she made up for her delay by rapidity or skill, or both. The two vessels then "flared up" together so closely that there was not the space of a yard between their conflicting engines until they entered the pool, when the Captain of the Comet ordered that the race should discontinue. Many were the curses the bargemen and boatmen bestowed, not only upon the steamers themselves, but upon "all that in them were," as they passed over the " deep profound, and raised a hubbub vast and wild." The LORD MAYOR gave directions to the Harbour Master upon the subject, and should wish that passengers who might witness any further disgraceful proceedings of the kind would supply him with the particulars. GUILDHALL. Yesterday the fifteen Italian boys, who hid been in custody several days awaiting the result of the personal applications of Mr. Alderman ATKINS to the Government, were brought up and discharged, the difficulties in the way of having them sent back to Parma at the expense of e ith er t h e British or Austrian Government being insurmountable. A few days since ten of these miserable boys were taken be fore the magistrates at Manchester, and the country will swarm with vagrants till the Legislature interferes and prohibits their importation. MARLBOROUGH -STREET. William King alias Johnson, and Charles W. Penn, were charged with fraudulently obtaining 21. from Earl Craven.-- The prisoners were remanded. MARYLEBONE. Yesterday a middle-aged woman, decently attired, who gave her name Ann Jones, was charged as follows : A police constable, on duty in Wells -street that morning, found the prisoner lying on the pavement in apparently a dying state, surrounded by a mob of persons, some of whom were pouring brandy down her throat, and others putting money into her hands. On opening her eyes, however, and seeing witness, she immediately jumped up, and exclaiming " Thank God, I'm better now," was about to walk off, when witness, suspecting that she was an impostor, stopped her and took her into custody. Mr. RAWLINSON committed her to the House of Correction for one month. THAMES POLICE. Yesterday Captain Corbyn, master of the Hamburg steam vessel Columbine, appeared to a summons, charging him with having, in defiance of the regulations of the Admiralty, made his vessel fast to the King's moorings off the T Aver, by which he had incurred a penalty of 101. The fine was instantly paid. OLD BAILEY. • THE ENS UIN L SUMMARY STATEMENT, DESCRIPTIV rG SESSIONS. 'E OF THE VARIOUS OFFENCES WITW vERALLY STAND CNAROED. Stealing from the person 43 Receiving stolen goods Larcenies Bigamy Uttering Counterfeit Coin, hav ing been before convicted 1 Uttering Counterfeit Coin (first charge) 9 Having base coin in possession, with intent to utter 1 Fraud:.•"...y o .. 000000000000 5i5.•.....•• 1 ... WHICH THE PRISONERS SF . Cutting and maiming 3 Unnatural Offence 1 Burglary 1 Highway robbery 3 Returning from transportation I Housebreaking 9 Assault, with intent to rob a Coining 1 Horse-stealing I Forgery 4 Stealing in dwelling houses 2 Embezzlement 7 Manslaughter. Of the above number, 4S:are chai City, and 191 in the County. Total ...... 23 0 with crimes committed in the STATE OF HIS MAJESTY'S GAOL OF 11TEwGATE, . MADE UP TO TUESDAY EVENING. Males. Females. Prisoners under sentence of d eat h ................ . 0 '0 Prisoners under sentence o f transportation tOr l i fe 4 1-1 7 years .... 17 49 Ditto, sentenced to vario us t erms of imprisonment, having been convicted of felony, &c. I Ditto, for trial at the ensuing Sessions .... ........ IR 51 Ditto, acquitted on the ground of insanity, but remain dur ing Royal pleasure ..., 5 0 Ditto, whose judgments are respited ........... .• Ditto, committed by the Commissioners of Bankrupt; .„, 2 Di c Ditto, m co o m n m p i l t e t a ed s by the Courts of King's B enc h an d a Ditto, committed by Commissioners of Taxes 1 0 Ditto, remanded from the last Sessions 1 0 Z3l 123 Total Among the prisoners for trial there are 29 eommittedibr offences which are still deemed capital. BIRTS. On the Ist i nst , Lady Suffield w as safely delivered of a son. On the 29th ult., at the vicarage, Wilmington, the lady of the Rev. Remy Stevens, of a daughter. MARRIAGES. On the 30th ult., at Otford, in Kent, by the Rev. Mr. Alcoek, Anne, eldest daughter of Mr. Thomas Selby, of Town Mailing, Kent, solicitor, to Henry Cousins, of Albany-street, Regent's Park, London, Eici• Helen'A s, 13ishopsg a t e - street-with i n, on the Ist inst., by the Rev.t S. Mr. Blenk arne , J o h n Aires, jun., of the above place, to Mary Gentle, only daught er o f th e l ate W . Gentle, of Edmonton. On the 30th ult., in his 82d year, Samuel Wilde, of New Palace yard, Esq., Deputy Teller of his Majesty's Receipt of Exchequer. On the Ist inst., Mrs. da Costa, wife of Antonio da Costa, of Clareniont-terce, Pentonvsl,ille, aged 35. On the 28th ra ult., aged Aldxander Clugston, Esq., of St. Helen's-place. On the Ist inst., Catherine, the wife of Augustus Warren, Esq of Charlotte -street, Bedford-suir:re, in her 78th year. On the 27th ult., in k's 35tft year, Mr.' John Humphrey Fuller, of Ray- of mill, Maid• - l ea d, B er k s . Thi s young man, cut off in t h e flower ripy coi; s la a ti g o e n , a h n a d s b l e n f p th et i b s a s t o , r t r b o u w u g - fu rbl his el a s t t i a o y n s b e a r and hasft i b e n e e d n s b t b e dsheoarvte,urheed to meritisgon e to by a a life far of exemplary try . to gain an pi n the rc et. w y ard he co' London : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, at The 5149% OMOV, No. 112, Stra24l