The Sun. — London, England, 1844-03-05 00:00:00

SPIRIT of . the PUBLIC. JOURNALS. FRGIS THE EVENING PAPERS OP YESTERDAY. GLOBE. The Repeal of the Union agitation spread through three out of the four provinces of Ireland. The population of these provinces is, almost wholly, of the Roman Catholic communion ; and those who look only on the surface of things, settled, in their own minds, the cause of this agitation,- they attributed it to the priests whose hostility to the Protestant religion and its Church was thus gratified. ' The fourth province is now the theatre ofagitation; Presbyterian Ulster is proclaiming its grievances ; and charges upon the English Protestant Establishment, and the claims of its" clergy to the exclu sive ssession of those powers which confer validity on Mf I otiS ordinances, the injury which has been inflicted t o on t e Presbyterians of Ireland. The occasion of this new ' commotion will be at once brought to the recollection of our readers. A man was charged at one of the Irish Assiees,..held about two years since, with bigamy. That • haled contracted two marriages was placed beyond a doubt by the evidence ;rand he was found guilty. His • counsel moved an arrest of judgment, on the ground that one of the marriages had been celebrated by a Presbyterian clergyman, and that one of the parties to the marriage being an Episcopalian, the ceremony was in ' valid. The question was referred to the Irish judges, who disagreed; but a majority held the objection taken ' to be valid. It was then sent to the House of Lords, where the opinions of the English judges was required; and a majority of these also affirmed the objection. The judgment of the Peers on the appeal was post poned—partly to give their Lordships time for conside ration; but principally to afford time for the preparation of a Bill to legalise all marriages previously celebrated under such circumstances, and to pass such Bill through Parliament with all possible rapidity. This course was imperatively necessary. Until this Declara tory. Act was announced, the consternation and fears of the families who had contracted such marriages in conformity with a custom, the legality of which had never been questioned, was extreme. To say nothing of the personal feedings of delicacy and propriety which this new state of things had alarmed, the succession to property, and other results, which the bastardizing of offspringw ould occasion, produced an uneasiness scarcely eamitting of description. The ex post facto law stayed this ferment. The decision of the House of 'Lords was hung up for a time. A few days since ''the question was argued by the Law Lords in the House of Peers ; and the balance of opinions pro and con. on this important civil and ecclesiastial question indicates not merely the difficulties which surround the subject, but the impolicy of legislating upon any great question—involving, as this question certainly does, civil rights and religious freedom—on partial views, and with relation to only one part of the United Empire. Had the law which confers on the different denominations of religionists in this country the power of celebrating - marriages in their own places of worship, according to their own forms, and by their own ministers, been ex tended to Ireland; this new source a vexation would .have been avoided. A- striking difference of opinion was avowed by the great law luminaries in the Peers. Lords Campbell, Brougham, and Denman, delivered their opinions in, favour of the validity of the impugned marriage —Lord Abinger against its validity. Lords Lyndhurst and Cottenham subsequently delivered their judgment, at considerable length, against the legality of such marriages. Lords Campbell and Brougham requested time for perusing the opinions and considering the arguments of Lords Lyndhurst and Cottenham ; and thus the whole question remains still in suspense. This , postponement is, we appre hend, the precursor of concurrence in the views of the latter Peers. The marriage on which the question was raised will, we have no doubt, be pronounced null. This result is, we perceive, anticipated by the Irish Presbyterians ; who aro indignant at the position in which their ministers are placed. They are preparing to get up an agitation of their own ; which, considering the vested interests in the celebration of marriage pos sessed by the clergy of the Irish Establishment, is likely to involve the. Government in a new difficulty. ' The heavy expenses of the appeal are reported to have been paid by a fund, to which one of the Irish prelates and several of the higher orders of clergy were contributors. STAN DARD.—Thela.te division in the French Cham ber is a great triumph; but of all who have a right to share in that triumph, the part of England—if she have any part—is surely the smallest. Much as the name of this country was mixed up in the debate, we have really had nothing whatever to do in the affair that led to it; and this, indeed, is our only claim to praise—the only ground upon which we can pretend to any part in the so signal victory won by the French Government. had the British Government or the British officers on the spot, taken any part, we can easily see what use would have been made of such actual interference by the arts resorted to to raise a constructive interposition on the part of the Government of this country. The triumph is, however, a glorious and salutary triumph, it is 'the triumph of peace and of justice —one in which all Europe will rejoice, and of which France may well be proud, and of which another generation of French men will be proud, if all do not now exult in it as much as they ought. The injustice of the deposition of Queen Pomare seems to be disputed by no one ; and from this • acknowledgment it follows that Admiral Dupetit Thouars had violated the duty of an honest man, a man of honour, and a gentleman, as it was certain that he had transgressed his orders as an officer of France. But, say the Opposition faction, the proceeding must be supported, in order not to dis courage our brave marine. What is this but saying that the French flag is henceforth to be the flag of pirates ; that, no matter what injustice or out rages may be committed under it by officers who spurn the authority of their instructions, the injustice or outrage mast be defended and maintained, the contumacious officers applauded and rewarded, in order not to discourage future perpetrators of wrong. Again, say they, nothing but English influence, or the fear of England, could suggest the correction of an in jnstice committed inadvertently o r p e r verse ly by a French officer ;—a high compliment, no doubt, to England, which is thus raised to the station Of lthe universal protector of the oppressed, but a com plitnent to which, in the particular case, England has no claim, and which we reject with scorn, from the foul libel upon the gallant and high-spirited people of France involved in it. For the plain inference from this asser tion of English influence in the affair is, that France is incapable of acting with generosity or justice except com pelled. The French Government has shown that it needs no prompter to be generous and to be just ; and we re joice to'see that a considerable majority of the Chamber tone= ia feeling with' the Governnient. 'The matter is in appearance a small one, we may say without a figure that prima facie Pugna est de paupere regno," but the principle involved in the debate is of immense importance, for it comes to this—are nations to be , pre cluded by fears of misconstruction and of jealousies f rom acts of spontaneous justice ? The French Government, , and the majority of the French Chamber, have demon strated--that no taunts, no suspicions shall cause them to persevere in a manifest wrong; and have thus, if we may .so speak, thrown' another fortress around the shrine of public law. It is thus that the Nam historian of France will present this bright page in her amnals. We rejoice that no act or word on tit • part of England has disturbed the honourable self .vinflication of our neighbours ; and, as members of the great European commonwealth, we rejoice also in the assertion of a 'high principle of justice, by a people so powerful and so, sensitive, and hence - so likely to be imi tated, where it sets an example of calmness and modera tion, as the people of France. CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.. • - • - - OLD COURT. .. PAGET V. HOLT. • , (Continued from our Afternoon Edition of Yesterday.) Lord Williarn Paget examined ' by Mr. DoArat —l' am the second son of the Marquis of Anglesea, and have b een mar ried to Lady Paget 17 years. I have a family of three sons. The oldestt, is now 15 years of age. In August last, from some communication made to me, I suspected the fidelity of my wife, and on the 7th of that month I gave certain direc tions to my valet and a person named Winter. Up to within three or four days of this time I was living with Lady Paget. Upon this day I received a communication from, my valet Thomas and Winter. , Mr.Wonmswontu here interfered, and said he apprehended they were not tolry the case of Paget v. Cardigan, again. He auggested - that the particulars of the communication ought not $0 Vbe gone into. *• • • • • Examination continued—l had a communication made to me, and.Limmetliately went home. Mr. Worloswonnt said the case might be shortened by simply askinl ..ord William Paget whether, i n p o i n t o f f ac t, . as the libel. Imaged, he did get up a plan to entrap Lord Car digan and to obtain money from him. Examination continued—l had an interview with Lady Paget, and afterwards sent a military friend, Major Close, to Lord Cardigan,. and subsequently gave instructions to my at torney, to commence an action. give you a me e t i ng ? Mr. Doarfp—Did Lord Cardi g an Lord - W. Pagect-rHe, did.not. . Mr. EloaxE--Now, my : Lord, I ask you, did you believe the repreSentation made to you by the parties referred to ? Lord:W. Paget—Odmy oath I did ; and I do still believe every syllable. • Mr. DoA-NE--L.Forgive me, my Lord, for asking you i but • had you the remotest idea of Obtaining money from, Lord Cardigan? Sir W. Paget—Before God I deelare I had not. I had not seen the witness till five minutes before the time in questiou, for twelve months. Mr. Doss-Iliad you any, intention of making a " plant" upon Lord Cardigan and your wife ? Lord W. Paget—On my oath, before Almighty God, no. Cross-examined by Mr. Wonnswourip—l never had any intention of obtaining money .from Lord Cardigan. ' Mr. WORDSWORTH—Was Winter laced under the sofa by your direction. ? Lord W. Paget—He was. ,He was placed there on two distinct days. Cress-examination continued—My action against Lord Cardigan was tried last week in the Common Pleas, and there was a verdict for the defendant. I read in the newspapers that the jury returned their verdict without having the sum ming-up of the Judge. The man Winter, was examined, and alsomy valet. I knew a gentleman named Hay. ' He was not a constant' visitor at my house at Portsmouth in 1842. I was on intimate terms with him,-because we had sailed together. He never dined once at my house. I do not reec/lect his being in the library with Lady Paget and witness on any occasion. I dent recollect having any altel•cation with Lady Paget in Mr. Illy's presence. I cannot speak positively upon the sub , ject, but .I do not recollect havingmade use of an angry word 'to Lady Paget. I never said to Mr. Hay that I was not easy in my mind, and proposed to Mr. Hay that we should take, a yacht, and live engarcon. I remember being at the Cavendish Hotel last September, and )Ir. Hay and a Mr. Fisk were frequently there, but on my oath I never said that a se tion tecanLadyPlget-would-be beneficial to me. I haveno para , recollection:of ever saying anything to those gentleman about LordVardigan:: I have. no recollection of saying that it would I - WS I I ' '' , 4 'ti; to quarrel with Loid Cardigan, for I would get 50/ • :'. : 'il . but ' of him at any time. I never said to Mr. Hay ~,, ~:.--.--.. e,',.. , , too btiAiness was planned - with my valet* and Wintr, e,Yr . .... - . •-. Ait:-il' - 'tell. him all the circumstances, and that I had put --' , ~.:"A riii - 'der the sofa. I was waiting in a cab in Berkeley ,l.-7(?:.. loquarey! 'n I . received the information, and it was ripen -,.. ; 132y go %home that I struck Lady Paget, I know fir. i r -, _.7 113 4.l l Ani e attorney. Winter was his, clerk. I also knew , -- il-. l Vilkt l 4 , y and Miss 'Bellew, I was one of the party who '---sette aided hiss Bellew to Paris,., and I understood there IN/ a S' ---. • ' _ • ' - THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVEN! law had' been justly administered, and that the una fortunate person had forfeited his life according ROUSE OF LORDS, March 4. to that law, and he was also bound to suppose The LORD CDANCELL" took his seat on the Wool - thatthat j ud g e was by no means i g norant of the law, nor sack shortly after Five o'clock. was guilty of maladministration or perversion of it. Earl POWIS presented several petitions from di f. He believed that the judge had not maladminist e red it was the law, and h e was con d emne d t o Bangor and St. Asaph. ferent parts of Wales, against the union of the sees of the law; die for aiding the escape of a slave. That was the IRELAND. . law of Louisiana; it was not the law of England —God forbid it should be. But he might The Marquis of WESTMEATH trusted that their Lordships would excusehim,for a few minutes humbly, and with every r espect towards the while he adverted to the letter which the other evening Government and Legislature of Louisiana, express advantage would be taken of had been produced by the Noble Marquis opposite, deny ing the statement which he (the Marquis of Westmeath)interval between this Apr il, had long _ _ and the 26th of - his fervent hope that when he . was condemned to die, for the sacred purpose had made. Upon that occasion, he had stated that in the county. of Westmeath, the Roman Catholic bishop of extending mercy to this criminal. He treated him as because the laws of his country had so dealt had suspended a Roman Catholic clergyman for having hh hopedthat refused to assist in the collection of money for the re- with him ; but e ope and trusted the humane a criminal, peal of the union. At the time he (the Marquis of and merciful consideration tu of the Louisanian l. Govern- Westmeath) made that statement, he thought it was ment would be extended this unfortunate individual. true, but when the Noble Marquis read the letter CORN-LAWS. purporting to correct it, he (the Marquis of Westmeath) The Earl of DEVON presented two petitions from hesitated as to its truth, and, in order to ascertain thethe county of Somerset in favour of the corn-laws. fact, he had written to Ireland upon the subject, and LANDLORD AND TENANT COMMISSION. the answer to that letter proved that what he had The Marquis of CLANRICARDE gave notice that stated was substantially the fact. What he had he should put a question to the Noble Earl opposite said was, that the Roman Catholic clergyman had (the Earl of Devon), as to the Landlord and Tenant been suspended from his living. Perhaps he would Commission. Some contradictory reports had been have been more correct if he had stated that he had in circulation, and the object of his question would be been superseded. It was intended to hold one of to elicit from the Noble Earl, the real scope, aim, and those monster meetings at Mullingar. This clergy- object of the Commission. man had exerted all his influence to prevent the col- NATIONAL EDUCATION. lection of money, and also to prevent his parishioners The Marquis of NORMANBY rose for the pur from attending this meeting. Previous to the meeting pose of presenting the petition of which he had given at Mullingar taking place, the clergyman, whose name no ti ce , f rom John and Elizab e th R yan, t h e k eepers o f t h e was Murray, and who had since died, was informed parochial school of Ballysack, in the diocese of Kildare, that a curate would be sent to his congregation for complaining that the interest of 2001., the legacy of a three Sundays. That was done, an d th e resu lt was , former rector o f th e p ar i s h, had been unjustly stopped that Mr. Murray was superseded in his own parish. for the last seventeen months by the Board of Cha r it a bl e Such were the real facts of the case, and in his Bequests in Ireland, in consequence of the introduc opinion the titular bishop had made the denial ad- tion of the national system of education i n t o th e verted to by the Noble Marquis in order to school. The petition prayed for a Committ ee o f prevent the odium that would attach to him for the Inquiry into the constitution of this B oar d. course he had pursued. Now, in order to show that In the year 1794 a Committee of the House of Lords what he (the Marquis of Westmeath) had stated was took upon themselves the examination and cont ro l o f no exaggeration, he would read to their Lordships' charitable bequests and donations in Ireland, and some of the expressions used by this titular bishop at they instituted prosecutions with a view to the resto- Mullingar. At that meeting, fifty-one Roman Ca- ration of sums which had been misappropriated. tholidtpmen attended. It took place on Sunday J ust prev i ous to t h e un i on i t occurred to the Irish the ay. The Roman Catholic bishop was in the Parliament that something should be done with refe chair at the dinner which took place after the meeting, rence to these trusts, and one of the last Acts of and during the course of his speech on that occasion that Parliament was to establish a board of charitable he stated that the Irish deserved and should have bequests and donations. That board was to be corn self government. He then expressed the great plea- posed of the Lord Chancellor, the judges of the Pre sure that he felt at the glorious demonstration that rogative Court, of all the common law judges in Ire had taken place that day, and he expressed the de- land, of all bishops, and of the nineteen rectors of termination on the part of the Irish people to follow the different parishes in Dublin. In the year the course they were adopting till they wiped off the 1829 a Committee was appointed to consi stigma that rested upon Ireland, and until they again der this subject, and very important evid en c e was given before that Committee by Mr. O'C onne ll. made her what she ought always to have been—a nation. Mr. O'Connell said, that many persons had c onsu lt e d Another person of the name of O'Higgins also made a speech of the same tendency, and in language him on the subject of this Board. They co m pl a i ne d equally violent.—(The Noble Marquis then read an of its composition. Mr. O'Connell stated that, owing extract of some length from a speech of the Roman to the Protestant character of that Boa r d Catholic Bishop Dr. O'Higgins, in which that re- , large sums of money had been lost to the verend person declared himself a zealous repealer, charities of Ireland. He, therefore, recom and denounced th e ma li gn it y o f the Government, mended an alteration and revision. From that which he said would be ineffectual towards put- time to the year 1838 nothing farther was done in tht a ting down the demands of the Irish people the matter. In that year, however, t h e Hon. Mem to legislate for themselves.) In bringing this ber forinthe other Hu Waterfordintroducedoseof pa a r b l am ill euzn butthe sub matter before their Lordships, he had only bee n i m - ject pelled by a sense of duty. It would be much more Bill never reached their Lordships' House. agreeable to hire if he could speak well of the Roman The Noble Marquis then read the will of Mr. Few, Catholic bishops and clergy, but he thought it the former rector of the parish, by which he left the was his duty as a resident magistrate to bring before interest of 2001. towards the support of the school. the House any facts of importance which came under He would now say one word upon the state of the his cognizance in the discharge of his duties as a parish of Ballysack, of which he knew something, landlord and magistrate. having had a residence there, to which he some- The Marquis of NORMANBY thought he would times retired when his avocations would permit him best meet the substantial justice of the case, to do so. That parish was supposed to contain about by denying the statement on the part of the 3,000 inhabitants, but it had since been ascertained that right reverend person who had confided his de- the number of inhabitants was only 1,300, and of that fence to him (the Marquis of Normanb l Yv number only 40 were Protestants. The present On the former occasion he had confined him- rector of the parish, Mr. Birmingham, had exerted self to a specific denial of the charge. The himself in a praiseworthy manner to make the school Noble Marquis seemed to have a strange mode of what it was at present. The former state of making out his case. The Noble Marquis had made the parish was this : there was a schoolmaster, a specific charge, which was met by a specific denial, w h o rece i ve d t h e i nteres t o f the g ift, b u t th ere upon which the Noble Marquis retorted, by reading was no school or scholars. At present there were not only a speech of the right rev. person, but the 78 Roman Catholic scholars, boys and girls, who speech of another titular bishop also. Certainly were educated under the regulation of a National that was carrying the doctrine of conspiracy rather B oar d ; t h ere were, h owever, on ly f our P rotestant farther than it ha been carried even of late years.— children went there, their parents making no objection. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) He (the Marquis of Nor- S uc h was t h e state o f t h e par i s h o f Bally manby) had received by this day's post a letter sack. Now, with respect to the Reverend Mr. from the Right Reverend person, Dr. Cantwell, Birmingham, he was originally curate of St. Bride's. who assured him that he had never either That gentleman had been appointed chaplain to the spoken or written a word to the late Dr. Lord Lieutenant by the Marquis Wellesley, he had Murray, parish priest of Clonmellon (four miles from been continued as chaplain by his Noble Friend op. the residence of the Marquis of Westmeath), and that posite and by himself. Under the present Ministry for the 14 years that he had been bishop of that the appointment to the chaplaincy had been, he was diocese, in which Dr. Murray had been 35 years the bound to say, of a more exclusively political cha incumbent of a parish, he had lived with that rev. racter, and Mr. Birmingham had been no longer con gentleman on terms of the closest friendship, and tinued chaplain. Mr. Brimingham had beenappointed had always regarded him with respect, esteem, and af- to the rectory of Ballysack. The system which had fection. He (Dr. Cantwell) attended at the funeral been pursued there had continued without interrup ,of the deceased gentleman, assisted by 30 clergymen, li on up to last year, when the Board of Charitable and nearly 3,000 persons attended at the funeral Bequests had thought proper to interfere. This in ceremony.—(Hear, hear.) Was not that a complete terference had been coeval with 'the admission to that answer to the charge that Dr. Cantwell had passed Board of certain ex officio members—namely, judges an ecclesiastical censure upon his subordinate Y On who had been appointed by the present Government what then did the Noble Marquis rest his charge of - gentlemen who had always exhibited themselves suspension ? That the aged and rev. gentleman, after as strong political partisans of the Protestant Ascen having performed the duties of parish priest for nearly dancy, who had attended the meeting at the Man forty years, left his duty to be performed by his sion-house in 1837—he meant Mr Baron Lefroy and curate, for three successive Sundays, shortly before Mr. Sergeant Jackson. Mr. Jackson had giVen utter his death. He (the Marquis of Normanby) would ance to such strong opinions on this subject that he had leave the statement of the Ri g ht Rev. Dr. Cant- been excluded from serving as a judge of assize un well in the hands of the House, an d h e th oug ht it so der the goveinment'of the Duke of Northumberland complete an answer that he would not add one word and Lord Francis Egerton. Onitbe 7tkof April, 1843, to it.—(Hear.) , Mr. Birmingham received a letter from Mr. Mathews, The Marquis of WESTMEATH sa id, that their secretary to the Board of Charitable Bequests, stating Lordships would decide between th em , b u t h e would that, in the opinion of the Commissioners the school not on any account state who the person was from was not properly conducted as a.Protestant parochial whom he had received his i n f o rm a ti on , f o r if he did school ; that in consequence the trust had not been he would expose that person to imminent danger. properly fulfilled, and that until the school should be He had heard the matter at the time, and he still made a Protestant school, the trust-money left by the firmly believed, notwithstanding the contradiction Rev. Mr. Pugh would not be paid. The resolution which had been read to their L o rd s hip s , wh o would of the Board, m consequence of which the letter had give it its full value when they recollected the language been written, had been proposed by Mr. Baron Le which he had just read as having been used froy and seconded by Mr. Sergeant Jackson. It had by the right rev. person. Their Lordships would been passed by a small majority, and among also judge whether he would make a personal attack the minority who voted against the resolution were upon an individual with whom he had no intimacy the Archbishop of Dublin and Chief B aron B ra d y whatever. There was another circumstance which The Noble Marquis then read an extract from the was, perhaps, of some importance. The Noble Mar- will, to show that it was the intention of the testator quis had spoken of the parish o f Cl onme ll on, b ut the to leave the system o f education entirely to the dis affair to which he (the Marquis of Westmeath) re- cretion of the clergyman. He did not think that the ferred took place in the chapel of Kilallen. Did the Board had any power to withhold the grant. Their Noble Marquis deny that the curate had preached l imited to the recovery powers were o f c haritable be there three separate Sundays ? quests which had been secreted, neglected, or misap- The Marquis of NORMANBY said that he had plied. Theonly expression in their constitution which made no mention of any matter of the kind to which they could so construe was, that which authorised the Noble Marquis now referred. He had confined them, in cases where the bequest could not be lawfully himself to the specific c h arge ma d e by th e Noble applied according to the will of the testator, to apply Marquis, and there was a distinct denial on the part of it sd as to meet as nearly as possible the intention of the Right Rev. Gentleman who had been made the the will. The Noble Marquis then read a letter from subject of accusation. the Bishop of Kildare to the Rev. Mr. Birmingham, The conversation then dropped. in which the Right Rev. Prelate informed that SIR AUGUSTUS D'ESTE. gentleman, that at a meeting of the Board of Chari- Lord BROUGHAM, in presenting a petition from table Bequests, severe strictures hadheen passed upon Sir Augustus D'Este said, th a t a f ormer petition of his conduct, and the Bishop warned him that he , that distinguished individual, respecting his right to brought himself within the provisions of the penal the titles of the late Duke of Sussex, had been re- Act of King Henry VIII., in his 28th year, "unless ferred to the Committee of Privileges. The Prussian he (Mr. Birmingham) should restore his school Minister, the Chevalier Bunsen, who was an important t o it s proper uses." But the fact was, witness in the matter, was about to proceed on Satur- the Act of .Henry VIII. was the 15th and day next to his own country, from which he would not the 28th, and its object was not to make the not return for three months, and the prayer of the schools Protestant, but to enforce the teaching of petition which he now presented was that the Stand- English. It was passed at a time when there had mg Order, No. 120, of their Lordships' House, might been no change in the intent, and it contained a special be suspended; and he now gave notice of a motion to enactment that the pupils should "tell their beads in that effect for to-morrow, in order that the evidence English."—(llear, hear.) That was a Protestant of that witness, de bene esse, might be taken previous enactment.—(Hear, hear, and a laugh.) The Act to his leaving this country. conta i ne d ot h er regu l at i ons re l a ti ng to the dress and After a few words from Lord CAMPBELL and the manners of the clergy. They were not to wear "satin Loma CHANCELLOR, the petition was ordered to lie shirts," nor to wear hair upon their upper lips.—(A on the table. laugh.) He did not wish to read the whole of the COMMITTEE OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL. Right Rev. Prelate's letter. His Grace was eighty Lord BROUGHAM laid on the table . a Bill for six years of age, and it might be supposed that Improving the Jurisdiction of the Judicial Commit- t h e l etter contained some expressions which his Grace tee of the Privy Council. at another time might wish he had reconsidered. The Bill was read a first time. As he did not read the second letter, he would not SLAVERY IN AMERICA. read the answer, but the Bishop, in the course of his Lord BROUGHAM said that he had received letter, states "he was anxious to rescue the property, many applications within the last few weeks upon a acid place from the hands of the National Board."— very painful subject, and though he had refused the (H e ar, hear.) It was not with the Board of Chari applicants to present any petition upon it, still he table Bequests, but with the minister of the parish could not help raying a few words upon the matter, that the Covtrol of the funds rested, till this most ex while he stated briefly the reasons for which he re- traordinary interference of the Board of National fused to present any petition. Nothing could Education. He would not read the Bishop's letter, be more painful than any interference whatever of because ha was aware that a threat had been conveyed either House of Parliament with any matter to the Rev. Mr. Birmingham that if he brought the or thing that was connected with the domestic policy case before Parliament it was possible a temporary of any foreign country, or belonging to the adminis- license of non-residence, which he had on account of tration of the municipal law of that country. He the illness of his wife, who was the mother of seven thought it was no reason for breaking that children, would be withdrawn from him by his dio rule, that it happened that any law of that coun- cesan.—(Hear, hear.) He hoped there was no foun try was re vo lti ng t o our feelings, because we d at i on f or this. He knew enough of the Bishop of bad nothing whatever to do except with our- Kildare to make him believe that such a step would a'Airea and our own law, and the administration not be taken. Having stated thus much with regard of ozir own jurisprudence, and we had no business to this case, he would, in a few words, call the atten whatevor to interfere with any foreign country in any tion.of the House to what the state of Ballysack respect wi;mi,soever, while that foreign country con- would be if it were not for their interference. fined itself to its own law and the adminstration of This case was an epitome of the state of Ireland. that law. , f fiat he held to be so sacred The same thing might be the case with five out of a principle, that he had refused to take six parishes in Ireland. It illustrated the struggle any step whatever on the question brought before between the two principles of government for Ireland him. But it was a case av;:iell greatly interested his —that which would govern the people with good will feelings. A man had be,eta condemned to death in and with the concurrence of the great mass of the the Criminal Court of I, , ,ousiana, with the population, and that which would govern her by con sentence passed by the 1. torned Judge, as straint and force. The Roman Catholic pastor had if he had committed int, .rder —with the been acting in concert with the rector of the parish appropriate language of such a sent 4, ence, as if such in promoting the education of their respective flocks a man had been guilty of the greates,. `• wickedness— —a happy state of things, which should meet with the with directions to the unfortunate man to improve encouragement of their Lordships. — (Hear, hear.) the interval between the sentence an d his .7.4715 upon He trusted the Government would at once interfere, the gallows—with reference to the sacred truil,.. of and apply such a remedy as was necessary, .in order religion, as if the man had committed impiously an to prevent the malappropriation of these trusts. When irreligi ous an d crue l an d b ar b arous mur d er. That ' -. Noble L or d s spo k e a b ou t I re land, they not only was the case to which his attention. had been s°ll' ' ignorant of that country, but actually to have a,-. drawn. He seernet, was bound to suppose thatthe L ou i s j an i an . a oot they had already learned of her. Why, I forgotten ), . '‘.... 4...44.. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. NG, MARCH 5, 1844. this very system of education which had been so de nounced, had been most strongly recommended by the Education Commission itself. The report of that Commission bore the signature of such names as the Primate of Ireland, the Archbishop of Cashel ; and the report itself was brought up by one of the most distinguished advocates of Protestantism, Mr. Leslie Foster.—(Hear, hear.) He feared the Irish Govern ment did not sufficiently discourage sectarian feuds and religious rancour. The address of the Pro testant Operative Association to the Lord Lieutenant contained sentiments of undis guished hostility to the great bulk of the Irish people, and should have been replied to in a manner which would- show them that the Executive discouraged all such indications. The Noble Marquis then read the answer of the Lord Chancellor of Ire land to the Rev. Mr. Birmingham's letter, in which that Noble and Learned Lord stated that it was not in the province of the Government to review the acts of the Board of Charitable Bequests. He (the Lord Chancellor) was a member of that Board, and if the application was made to the Board during its sitting he would call their particular attention to it. He could not, however, give any opinion concerning the merits of the particular application. The Rev. Gen tleman had applied since then, but was told the Board had not sat, and so the grievance was left unre dressed. He would earnestly call the attention of their Lordships to the motion. He feared that how ever anxious the Noble Duke opposite (the Duke of Wellington) might be to act in a straightforward and impartial manner, that the Irish Government must have a more determined will, and use a stronger hand in order to restrain those sectarian manifesta tions and govern with impartiality. It was not his intention to move for a Committee at present. He would confide the matter to the management of the Government; but on a future occasion, if the evil was not remedied, he would feel it his duty to move for a Committee, before which he would be able to sub stantiate all the allegations he had made on that evening. The Duke of WELLINGTON said he had taken great pains to inform himself of the particulars re garding the present motion, but had been unable to obtain much information on the subject. He believed the statement made by the Noble Marquis was nearly accurate. The Noble Duke then recapitulated the facts of the case as stated by the Noble Marquis, and stated that it appeared to him that the Noble Lord the Secretary for Ireland had taken the only proper course, in recommending the applicant to apply to a court of equity, which was the proper method of ob taining redress, as that court alone could have juris diction over the Board of Bequests. The applicant .had certainly applied to the Lord Chancellor of Ire land, but as he had not made the application to the Noble and Learned Lord in his judicial capacity, the Noble and Learned Lord gave him the only answer he could give him, as merely a member of the Board. As to the Bishop of Kildare, or the other matters mentioned by the Noble Marquis, he had nothing whatever to do with them ; but he thought it would very badly become their Lordships to appoint a Com mittee, when the legitimate course of application being to a court of equity had not been resorted to. He would, however, call the attention of the Govern ment to the subject. Lord COTTENHAM was of opinion that a court of equity was not the proper place to apply to in this case. In the first place, the whole amount, a trifle of 71., would be consumed in a single motion in the Court of Chancery ; in the second, the case in volved a point of much difficulty and disputation. What really was the power given by the Act of Par liament to the Board of Charitable Bequests ? The words of the Act did certainly appear to give great discretion to that Board, a discretion which might render nugatory all such bequests as the present, and which might be sought to be applied to the general purposes of education. He would earnestly call the attention of the Government to the state of the law on this matter, with a view to its alteration. The LORD CHANCELLOR did not think this was a case for a court of equity. He thought his Hon. and Learned Friend the Lord Chancellor of Ireland had given the only answer he could give by telling the applicant to apply to the Board when he was present, and he would call their attention to the case. The matter never had been brought before the Board since, else he felt quite sure the Hon. and Learned Lord would have fully redeemed his promise. day next to move the appointment of the Committee on the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, and he should on that occasion propose that the Committee on that Bill should be deferred for a reasonable time, as the question of referring the Bills for competing lines to the same Committee affected this Bill. The principle hitherto adopted by that House with respect to pri vate Bills, had been to appoint the Committees upon these Bills from Members connected with the local interest to which the particular Bill might apply. The Committee, after mature consideration, had come to the determination of recommending the House to de part from that principle in respect to Railway Bills to be introduced during the present session. It was felt by the Committee that, where two Railway Bills were proposed, the lines to run from the same or nearly the same termini, and to be established for the accommodation of the same district, that such Bills ought to be referred to the same Committee of that House. In considering this subject, however, the Committee had had to contend with several diffi culties. One was with respect to the rail way from the town of Ashton to Staleybridge, There were two lines proposed, and both were for the accommodation of the same town. One of those railways joined the Manchester and Sheffield Rail way; and the other, the Manchester and Leeds Rail way. The two termini of these railways were in two counties, for it appeared that the town stood on the borders of different counties. Now, this was a case of some difficulty. In former years an experi ment was tried, with respect to such a case as this, which was, that the Committee should be appointed from Members connected with different counties. This experiment, however, he believed, had worked in a most unsatisfactory manner, and had not been repeated. Although a railway Bill was in itself a private Bill, yet no one could doubt that the public had a great interest in such Bills. The Committee had, therefore, determined to recom mend the House to depart from the general rule with respect to the appointment of the Committees on Railway Bills. They felt in cases of competing lines that the number of Members on the Committee who were connected with or represented the local interests, should be materially restricted. He did not mean to say that this resolution had been come to without any difference of opinion in the Committee, of which he was Chairman. But after mature deliberation this was the conclusion at which they had arrived. They pro posed that there should be a limited representation of local interests, in the Committee, but they considered that the local interests ought to be made subservient to the public interests. The Committee, therefore, recommended this resolution to the consideration of the House, bearing in mind that the experi ment was only recommended for the present session. He should propose that this Committee should be composed of five gentlemen totally unconnected with the local interests of the particular places in which the line lay. The number of Bills which were con stantly under the consideration of the House, and the vast expenses which were occasioned to parties under the present system, and the time occupied in the in vestigation, rendered it a most important element for the consideration of the House. He was not aware that there was any other important point to which it was necessary for him to further allude, and he should therefore conclude by moving a resolution to the effect that, when any Bills were brought in to apthorise the establishment of twe lines of railway to one point, that they should be referred to one Com mittee. Mr. LABOUCHERE said the Right Hon. Gen tlemen who had just sat down had involved some most important points in his resolution. He thought it was a question to see whether the House would try the experiment of carrying on the private matters of the country—in fact, whether a tribunal could not be appointed to try private Bills, in the manner suggested by the Right Hon. Gentleman, and which might be also more largely and more effectively adopted by investing those Committees with a judicial character—(Hear, hear)—and, by purging them of all personal interest, and also by diminishing their numbers so much as to fasten upon each of those in dividual Members a particular responsibility, obtain the result which they sought, and which was so much desired by the public. This would tend to di minish the fearful expenses to which appli cants were subjected, and insure to those Com mittees that weight which impartiality alone could give them, and which Committees on private Bills did not possess now. He was not insensible to the difficulties by which this matter was surrounded, but still he should say that he was glad the experi ment was about to be made, and •an opportunity afforded of trying how far it would be safe to carry the experiment. There was another point of so much importance that he could not help alluding to it. He believed the number of Bills would require ten Committees, which would call for the services of about fifty Members. The main difficulty would be to find Members who would devote their time to private Bills in which neither themselves nor their constituents had any interest. The working of the plan depended entirely on gentlemen devoting their time to private Bills, and consenting to investigate those that might be referred to them. He hoped there might be no difficulty in finding fifty gentlemen to undertake the duty. He could only say that he gave his hearty support in the main to those resolutions. In some points he did not agree with them, but they were not points of essential importance ; in the main spirit and tenor of these resolutions he entirely con curred. They were a great experiment, and a novelty that he had always desired to see applied. He hoped they would have a fair trial, and he should not despair of this being the first step towards putting the private business of the House on a sounder foundation. If the House could effect this they would effect a very salutary change, and do that which would tend to raise the character of the House in the eyes of the public. After a few words from the Duke of WELLINGTON and the Marquis of NORMANDY in explanation, Lord CASIPBELL said he feared much time would not be gained by bringing the matter before the Board, considering the opinions that had been ex pressed by two Members of it, Judges Jackson and Lefroy. The Noble and Learned Lord defended the conduct of his countryman, the Bishop of Kildare, who, he felt sure, did not do anything harsh in this case, nay, very little responsibility was attached to him. The Bishop of EXETER contended that the rector of the parish was bound to apply the bequest in the manner most calculated to promote the prin ciples of the Established Church. He cared not whether there were 70 or 700 Papists in the school, the principle remained the same. The Right Rev. Prelate defended the conduct of Judges Jackson and Lefroy, and said he was glad to see that they had the manliness to act upon their opinions. Did the na tional system of education, he would ask Noble Lords, carry out the principles of the Established Church, and did it not rather pander to the feelings and preju dices of Roman Catholics and Dissenters ? Lord MONTEAGLE reminded the Right Rev. Prelate that the system of national education had ob tained the sanction of the Protestant Primate, the Archbishop of Cashel, the Bishop of Killaloe, the Provost of Trinity College, and Mr. Leslie Foster. The system was working well, and he trusted nothing would occur to embitter those sectarian differences which the national education system was doing so much to remove. Mr. H. HINDE said there was no information before the House to induce it to come to a contrary conclusion from that of former sessions. Before he was called on to give his vote, he thought he was entitled to see the evidence that had influenced the Committee in coming to this decision. No tice was only given of, these resolutions on Friday, and between that day and the present was the time when Members had the least chance of considering these things. Alterations had lately been made with regard to the Standing Orders affecting Railway Bills, but they had not turned out to be of the most felicitous character. The Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Gladstone) ought to give them some days for consideration. If he 'did not grant this,- he must at all events request him to afford the House a little more information on the subject of the fifth reso lution. What, however, he (Mr. Hinde) should most prefer would be a Committee of five gentlemen who were for excluding all local interest whatsoever. A system such as this would he far preferable to any yet proposed, and would give greater confidence to the country, and enhance the characterof the House. Mr. EWART said ha heard, with the greatest satisfaction, the proposition of the Right Hon, Gen tleman, and he believed the House and the country would join with him in that satisfaction. He agreed with the Hon. Gentleman who spoke last in the opinion' that when a' new principle was intro duced it ought to be worked out. He hoped that the principle which the Right Hon. Gentleman now in troduced with regard to railways would be applied to all private Bills, for it was equally applicable to all private Bills. He was ,sorry the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite and the Right Hon. Gentleman, the late President of the Board of Trade (Mr. Labou chere), did not give him a mdre ardent support than they had done, when two sessions ago he brought for ward a proposition on the subject. The principle now in.; troduced would remove all local and personal interest: He thought it was better that the number of the Committee should be diminished to five. The prin ciple had been most satisfactorily introduced into the House of Lords. There. was not a Member of the House of Lords who was not satisfied with the mode in, which, the principle had worked. The Parliamentary agents agreed that the system had worked well. In 1839 they said that this principle ought to be applied to all private Bills. In Committees on private Bills with regard to rate's,"" and a variety of other things, circum stances, riot only of a • local, but of a political cha racter were introduced. If he wanted the highest authority as to the utility of the principle, he need only appeal to the opinion of the Right Honourable Gentleman in the chair and 'Mr. Greene, the chairman of Committees, who, many years ago, proposed to diminish the number of Members on Committees, to increase their responsibili ties, and to remove all l oca l. and perional influence. The principle of the present proposal was sound, and would receive the approbation, not only of that 'House but of the country. He was convinced that the time was not ' far distant when the same principle would be extended to all private Bills. Colonel SIBTHORP said it was very well known to that House, and very well known to the country, that he had a great, an unchanged, and, he rather thought, an unchangeable suspicion, in reference to railways.--(Hear.) In his opinion, private pro petty ought to be treated with as much deli., cacy as ,any public- department of the Government. He was surprised that the late Vice-Pre sident of the 'Board of Trade a Liberal, forsooth , --should wish to limit these inquiries to five permanent Members, selecting each other for the office which they underted; to perform. He did not mean to impugn the character of these five persons, but he thought it- was hardly fair to submit great local interests to the control of so small a body, The Hon. and Gallant Member concluded by moving that the further consideration of the Report be post poned till this day week. Mr. WALLACE had always contended for the adoption of a- different principle in the appointment of these Committees, and he was glad to find that his opinions were gaining ground in high quarters. Tle thought that no difficulty ought to be thrown in the The Bishop of EXETER wished to hear from the Noble and • Learned Lord (Lord Campbell), he being the gravest law-authority in the House, as Lord Cottenham was not then in his place, whether it would be according to law for a clergyman of a parish interested, as in this case, in a bequest, to apply it to the puposes of education according to the princi ples of the Established Church ? Lord CAMPBELL jocosely observed, that as the Noble and Learned Lord on the Woolsack was the highest legal authority in the House, he must refer the Right Reverend Prelate to him for an answer. Lord LYNDHURST.—The Right Rev. Prelate is himself, I should say, the gravest authority on such a. point.—(Much laughter.) The matter then dropped, and the petition was laid on the table. Their Lordships adjourned at a Quarter to Eigl o'Clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS, March 4. Tht SPEAKER took the Chair shortly before Four o'Clock. DEVIZES ELECTION. The SPEAKER informed the House that he had received a communication from the examiner of the recognisances in the case of the petition against the return for Devizes, who reported that the sureties on that petition were unexceptionable. RAILWAY BILLS. On the motion of Lord RENDLESHAM, the Beccles Navigation Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed. Mr. G. DUNCAN presented a petition from Dundee, in favour of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Bill. _ Sir F. TRENCH presented a petition from Scar borough, in favour of the Scarborough Railway Bill. On the motion of Mr. WILSON PATTEN, the Manchester and Birmingham (Macclesfield and Poyn ton branches) Railway Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed. Mr. GREENALL presented a petition against the Norwich,and Grantham Railway Bill. Mr. ESCOTT presented a petition from Exeter against the South Devon Railway Bill. Mr. PATTISON presented a petition from various parts of London against the 41st clause in the Great Western Railway Extension Bill. Mr. RUSSELL _ said the Company had decided upon withdrawing this clause. They were also ready to submit to any provisions which the Committee might recommend, or Parliament Might think proper to adopt. SOUTH DEVON RAILWAY BILL. Mr. C. RUSSELL moved the second reading of this Bill. Mr. S. HERBERT rose for the purpose or stating that very grave objections had been made to this Bill. The Board of Admiralty had received several memo rials from persons interested, in the neighbourhood of Exeter. In consequence of their representations, the Board of Admiralty had sent down Mr. Walker to examine into the matter. He should, therefore, make no objection to th e secon d rea di ng o f thi s Bill , pro vided a distinct assurance were given by the pro moters of the Bill that the Committee would not b 3 appointed until after Mr. Walker's report should be received. Mr. C. RUSSELL was ready to accede to so rea sonable a proposition. Lord SEYMOUR wished to know at what time Mr._Walker's report might be expected. • Mr. S. HERI3ERT said he expected it' n about a fortnight. The Bill was then read a second time. On the motion of Mr. AINSWORTFI, the Bolton Railway Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed. • • RAILWAY BILLS. Mr. GLADSTONE, in rising to propose the re solutions of which he had given notice, respecting Railway Bills, said, he would take tbat opportunity of making a few observations upon the subject of those resolutions. A question had been raised before the Committee on Railways with re spect to competing lines. It was, intended oTh way of the formation of competing lines. It vias , flt only way of mitigating the existing monopoly , _A ir thought that the further consideration of these rM, I tions ought to be postponed. In the infancy ofralinn he had endeavoured to prevent the establishme 'bot these monopolies by permitting competing Mr. Spring Rice, the then Chancellor of the of .r,:.;._„se quer, had overborne him, and persuaded the 0 (7 1 ,, that it was in the power of the Ministe rw i Crown at any time to prevent the e stabli!P!, of monopoly by imposing taxes on the rail .10 The railway interest, had, however, prov e ' strong for the Ministry. He wished in eye stance in which capital sufficient could be Os e . to see a competing line of railway establishod4 could not see why railways should be del . e l s , against_ competition any more than turnpike' lo He should vote for the amendment, and if the ,10 Member would not press it to a division, be Ty Wallace) would take the sense of the House 011 subject. i r Sir JOHN HANMER said that considera ble terest had been excited among the proprietor"... steam-packets in consequence of a report that lroti the intention of several Railway Companies to it_ their surplus capital to the establishment of at e packets in connexion with their several lines' Q. was aware that that subject was fitter for the czcit sideration of the Committee than of the Houses It if such a course of proceeding were permitt e d;, would tend to aggravate the evil of the e monopoly. Mr. ESTCOURT would support the rese to t ) ! because a similar resolution had been agreed ~t b st the Committee of Selection, and as a Member or Committee he felt bound to support it. At the s it time he could not but admit that the adoption ot resolution was an abandonment of the principle whMr. had hitherto acted. ilt JAMES STUART WORTLEY wish „ 0 00 be understood, if they were to come to a vote 11 0 1 0 the resolutions at once, his vote would be giv e t i e the grounds laid down by the Right Hon. Gelb, man (Mr. Gladstone) in the ope n i ng of his sPa: lr and not on the grounds laid down by the 1: 1 °P' 0 ,0 . tleman, the Member for Newc as tl e . It was b e g what startling to him (Mr. J. S. Wortley) T eji ce that Hon. Gentlemen maintain th a t a ll local iun g the se and local action should be excluded from 00 Committees. It was impossible for any„ who had watched for a few years progress of private Bills in that House, not i that the influence of parties locally n terestet•of been materially diminished. Such a portion as' 4 ,o remained could hardly be looked upon as o ther; 6o , legitimate. In giving his vote in favour of th e 40 lutions it must be understood that he did so Mer e ' an experiment. ,„1 e ft° Lord SANDON said he tot a lly differed ex those Honourable Members wh o d es i re d the sion of all local influence and local mediatioe f o course of private Bills through that H ou se. •I't e ft 4', not prepared to give his support to an y s uch P' $ tion. They must consult th e l oca l intere s t ), their constituents either in th a t House, ° the Committees to which private Bills w ere er ia ferred. If they were precluded from coust.oo s and attending to those interests in C o mmittee, l io only in that House they could en d eav our to ' O ,O and this, he thought, ought, if p oss ibl e , t o be aLs It would not be worthy of so large and impeV , , assembly to do so—it was n o t th e b es t place' 1 00 1 nor the best way to effect that which they uticoll i it their duty to their constit uen t s t o a tt em pt. 1' t o ei tlf be better that such business should be done lye in Committee, than scra m bl e d f or i n that ta l The question was, wo u ld th e y b e a bl e t o find '4O cient number of indepe n d en t M em b ers - who., 'oil no local interest or conne x io n w ith the Bab 00' give sufficient attention and time to its considersor teo So long as they confined themselves to fire .0 11 Committees, they might be successful, but.tteof would they do if they had forty or fifty Comta l or teft He did not think that an ex p er i men t w ith five ! „0 Committees would be suffi c i en t. F or theser ffl e he would give rather a reluctant consent to ta'' tion before the House. ti Mr. GREENE said, the gr ea t an d prac, e re F. , . pection to the old system w as th a t the in" - '„1 arties were in reality the judges with re sc ie jco railway matters. Eve n th e ex i s t ence o f Or s oe would form a sufficient ground for appointi l 4.o) , other tribunal than that which was regarded as r After some years' experience of private Bill. s '? :n ioik House, he still a dh ere d most firmly to the Solt which he had l ong en t er t a i ne d , that it, was d:re to render these Committees as nearly j u dicial sible ; and he believed that the present step towards securing that object. do t' Dr. BOWRING was aware that, indePelimil anything like political interests, there was local influenc e ac t ua ti ng some of the decis' those Committ ees . H e could say that, from o' i,„e ed, tion, those Committees had not been impr ° ,, a o, ll ,,' far either as local or the public interests wer e ethaatgrbeyeddowinigthawthaye with any y M i e ni ti rai t7 t a: o Lancashire, that nots„,6" that could be attached to a member of the of being actuated by motives arising from 'L terests, it would tend mos t materially to elevate TA ivotti character of th a t C omm i ttee. The measur e ,s n tend to give the C omm it tee a j udicial charaator also to enforce th e a tt en d ance of the Metal'''. - the more efficient discharge of their duties. dv:; Mr. STRUTT said he believ e d the feeling,..4 be e many House was, th a t, in cases injustice n e t, done in conseq uence o f t h e i nfluence of local 111,4,01:01,; Such was his o pi n i on, b ecause he had (n1or", observed that a par ti cu l ar question had bee l ' Or d by a majority of the Committee, although : + 0,0" who were quit e unconnected - with l o cal o i r 7ol 6e : s dissented from th e reso l ut i ons of the C Of; By the fact o f th ose tribunals beil4,‘„ylv`r to be imparti a l, a ll appeals against the cisions would be lessened. As a Merab e _ Of in 0:f1 Committee of Selection he must say, in auswr„,:go Hon. Members for Taunton and Oxford, that no difficulty in getting the attendance of. SA 1 0 Although many Honourable Members jetted to this resolution, yet they had not P .17 001F proposed any one in substitution of them fectly agreed in the principle of this resolutio";moYo Mr. DENISTOUN expressed his opiilio_ A u constituents would be much better satisfieu public Committee. After a few words from Mr. JAMES, 1 , The House divid e d, ,w h en t h ere appearo, v" . ' Tor the resolutions Against them ' 3 / Majority f o r th e reso l ut i ons l9 The resolutions were then read seriatim- l‘ fr, In answer t o a recommendation f ro m BOUCHERE that the House sho u ld be 1 311 ", Pcdl the „ t ie , zession as quickly as possible of the names , 0 " . „oil; Li n Members the l Government proposed for t:ne 1,1 Mr. GLADSTONE said the list should be w oo the table of th e H ouse t h at evening, an dbe A . o m propose it to-morrow,—(Hear hear.) a leo Mr. S. CRAWFORD. 'presented a Pe t ''' . Rochdale agai ns t the Qas Bill. rteu n 5. o l eif MESSAGE FROM TAR La „ n, on ci t Messengers fr..b m th e L or d s rep Lordships had, agreed to th e amendmen ts PO' o ti the Counttnns, in (we believe) the Racing . Bill. sessions Ist d ay ( hishmeni th e o ff en tent or hers in e the lowe each yea 6 nement 1) ,,r).0(1 o vr. the January imprison unpri! tore the flitted, , colonies bldepotE of eorpol "eh of t harnenta Mr. 13 the oonie D collect sec ond t yould 134 stated th to be_dei they the; Sir j. that the po or-lave 14t rodue ~ netorie, the Holt °t{ li B CllB 1, • Until thi could Ile W PO( thi e'en to aCCOII . . POOR-LAW BILL. in C o y Mr. J. S. WORTLEYgave notice that w , 511°pt mittee on the, Poor-law Amendment Bill , 1 00 . "‘ move, in the sQcond clause, to substitute O P` • the six months therein named. " C 0 14 1: 1 1. g THE WIDOW OF COLONEL FAQ' hrior Captain BERNAL gave notice thath sijoao e , up the Repo r t o f the Army Estimates/ se cr t t, move for a copy of th e letter from!lief:0;0 tary-at-War to the widow of .Colonei . notwh bichec6aoed conveyed rd the, her info olrmiatiaconc,out that n ap p 99 of tha b° which' her husband met his death. tO t of Mr. STAFFORD e O'BRIEN wave notisetobervi would to-morro w move f or a return of th e %till s , tt° ,been in En g l an d an d W a l es i n w hi c h c 1 1 6 1 3;., t oo been appointed u p t o th e I st o f January l ets ' 13 0 number of inmates at that period. re Mr. S: CRAWFORD gave not i ce that be ° l e a F lf ' ev . enitg, on the motion th a t th e Speaker tio oe Chair, for the House• to go into Committee., sOm move a resolution to the effect , that the larni. foree.now kept up w as dangerous to civil liber. tp motie Mr. WILLIAMS also gave notice of tbe maoU at the same period. ; 131 ' The SPEAKER said that the notices Pe:rdool.; two Hon. T M h e e M y be h r ad s were not ab notth st o r s a e e w t h r ic i ll h iv t, e re o o tio rc t given. . House went into Committ ee , to make th e ,,,, o rd7 which they had given notice, but it was - s° t 'the ordinary practice of the Honse. • MILITARY PUNISHMENTS: ber..,ber Mr. HUME moved for an address, prar tl t t' e naP'itio jesty to lay before the House abstracts of „i t ice be r, of men belonging to the Royal Marines lot.'pecen:loo' Ist day of January, 1839, to the 31st day Doe 10 1. 1843, have suffered corporal punishment ;loses, d' ment; showing the nature of offences, 1 11 1 g stic,ber, which such punishment has been aw-arclu"tes'totna number in each class; and showing the gre 4 ion ge t ra eo and the smallest number of lashes, also 'the to ol' c ot shortest period of confinement awarded as t ) ose t i pil to each person, and the average period ni ec o i f so' ofa for each class of offence. Of the numW r w itsi e 0 0 3 belonging to the Royal Artillery in Gregt f, ; -1 ' 033 9 0,0 t 1 ry'9 ,3 o rP Ireland who, between the Ist day of Jann't the 31st day of December, 1843, have s*J: ere sale i l„ ih . punishment or imprisonment; showine, Ft,'" tbo, the offences, in classes, for' which such co rl 3° , 0%00 ment or imprisonment has been a'bvar de7 re ate rte s number in each class; and showing also it i e 7 o3 dsh e t he the smallest numbe r of l as hes, also the long! is out; an a oh ° period of ednfinement awarded as pulli 2llul ittiri l qep i l* average period for each class of offences ; - r number of soldiers belonging to regimen 's I st nfbl in Great• Britain and Ireland, who, since 1 ": 0 1 menu a o r r y, im lB p 3 r 9 iso , h n a m v e e nt su ; ffe an r d ed , wehitehneervercoei ri ,treci co o lr " epo tli i t t i t punishment Or imprisonment has been it ofL r same persOn more than once specifying 110 0 00 1 Tooe . has been so inflicted . ; With a'bstract of ... IL :0 , 0 01... soidiers belonging to regimoUtii-in—the evV7. Was some proposal of marriage between Mr. Cassidy and Miss Bellin ; but I apprehend it was broken off in consequence of something which happened at Paris. The newspapers of this country took a good deal of notice of the transaction at Paris. On my return from Paris, I had some encounter with the defendant upon the subject of an article in the Age, relative to that transaction. I was introduced to him by Captain M'Grath. After I had been to the Age office, we adjourned to a private room in a tavern in the Strand, and I remon strated with Mr. Holt on the article he had published, and wished him to hear my version of the matter, and if he be lieved it, to act accordingly. I did not ask Mr. Holt to spare my wife. I have no recollection of it ; but I in tended to ask him to spare the feelings of my wife and family, and not give publicity to a gross falsehood in connexion with that affair. Nothing ap peared for two Sundays. He did spare my wife, but he did not spare me, for he took my money from me. He did not ' spare my pocket for an hour. He refrained for two Sundays, but commenced attacking me again on the third, because I did not complete the whole sum I had promised to pay him. The defendant expressed his entire belief in my statement, and consented to spare the feelings of Lady William. I felt grateful to him, even upon such hard terms as I obtained. I swear that I do not recollect shaking him by the hand, and declaring that I should feel eternal friendship for him. I will not swear that I did not make use of the expression. I re member once dining with Mr. Holt after the transaction. Mr. Holt came into the Hotel Fricour one day, when, I was dining there ; and I believe we dined together, and a gentleman named Gompertz was also there. I have no recol lection of taking wine with the defendant, but I will not swear I did not. I remember, upon one occasion, Mr. Holt told me that he could not, all at once, in one article, give my version of the affair, but that he would let her (Lady Paget) down easily. When it was agreed that this article should appear, I undertook to take some copies of the paper, and I was to give the defendant thirty-five pounds. I think that Captain M'Grath was a party to the arrangement ; but I will not swear to the fact. I went into Mr. Holt's room when he was alone, and gave him 51., and, on two successive Fridays, I gave him 101., as the money was required on that day on which the paper was made up. A great many papers were sent to my house, and I will not swear there were not 5/. worth. These papers were to con tain the new version of the affair. I will not swear that copies of the paper were not sent on the second Sunday. I did not mean to say that I agreed to take Si. worth of papers, but it was arranged that a large number should be sent to me, for distribution among my friends. I gave him 5/. on one occasion, and 101. on two other occasions, and I was to have given 10/. more, but refused to do so. I don't recollect whether, on the second occasion, the money was paid in one note or two, but, to the best of my belief, it was not gold. I cannot recollect whether I paid gold or notes on the second occasion. Mr. Wonnswoßnl.—Do I understand your Lordship, in your present situation, to say you cannot re ether you paid the money in notes or gold? Lord W. Paget—Although I am a very and have not many ten-pound. notes, I cannot recollect whether I paid with a ten-pound note or not. Re-examined—Although I may have been in company with the gentlemen I have mentioned, Mr. Hay and Mr. Fisk, lam quite sure that I never told them that I had planted Winter under the sofa, in order to make a false charge against Lord Cardigan. I told the whole story to many of my friends. The transaction in Paris took place four years ago, and it had nothing to do with the action between me and Lord Cardigan. Lady Paget was to be spared from hav ing her name mixed up with what was called the Bellew af fair. The defendant said he was satisfied that my version of the affair was the true one. After he had said this he remarked that Miss Bellew was to give him 50/., and al though he knew I was a poor man, still I should not like to see him lose his newspaper, which was his bread, and he then asked what I would give him. I told him I would try and borrow 501. for him. He said he - would not be hard upon me, and if I have him 301. he would do the best he could for me. pon the occasion of my making the second payment, I said, I hope you will allow me to make it in three payments, and lie replied, Willingly. When I gave him the second payment, I promised to make up the 301. in four payments. By the advice of a friend I discontinued making the payments, and ever since I have been made the subject 'of .attacks that have almost driven me to self-de struction. I hold the rank of post-captain in the Royal Navy. Mr. Wordsworth, the counsel for the defendant, was thejunior counsel for me in the action against Lord Cardigan. Mr. .1. Rose, attorney for the prosecutor, proved the pur chase of the paper containing . the libel. Cross-examined—Witness is an attorney, and acts as clerk to Mr. Bebb, an attorney, whose name appears in the bill. I knew the man Winter. I saw him last Tuesday, when the action was tried, but I have not seen him since. I assisted . to conduct the case in the Common Pleas. I have not made any search for Winter since the trial. He was examined before the grand jury in support of this indictment. Mr. W. H. Watts, a reporter, was then called for the purpose of giving a definition of the meaning intended to be conveyed by the slang term " plant," which he described as applying to the case of a party entrapping persons into a position to have the appearance of guilt, either to substan tiate a charge, or to extort money upon a false accusation. The Clerk of the Court then read the words considered libellous by Lord Paget, which are as follow : " Tun LORDS CARDIGAN AND W. PAGET.—Without any desire to prejudice this case, which Lord W. Paget says lie intends to bring before a legal tribunal of the country, we think it our duty to state what other people say. There are very few persons in society who do not believe the whole af6ir was got up for a specific occasion, and consider that it, has been neither more nor less than a plant.' " We have heard it roundly asserted that a clerk of Mr. Hamer, the notorious lawyer (Lord William Paget's friend' at Andover, Paris, and other places), was placed under a sofa at his Lordship's residence when the Earl of Cardigan called there—we have heard that notwithstanding all that did not transpire there is evidence! to maintain that it did! We • have heard that there is not the shadow of a pretext, not withstanding all which may be sworn to the contrary, to sub stantiate one tittle of damages '—and we have heard that it is the intention of the Earl of Cardigan to indict the whole party for a conspiracy. We can only say that if his Lort4- ship has sufficient grounds to frame this indictment upon, and that if found, he can transport the party implicated in any such conspiracy, lie will be doing society at large the greatest possible benefit " In the absence, however, of all actual knowledge, what ever may be our suspicions, we at present only give the above as on dits, and only say (if?) a word in which there is said to be much virtue." Mr. CLAnKsoN said this was the case for the prosecution. Mr. Wonnswonnt asked whether the Learned Counsel did not intend to call Mr. Bebb, and the person Winter, both whose names were on the back of the bill. Mr. CLAnKsos said he did not intend to call Mr. Bebb, and he should certainly not call Winter as his evidence had been already diobelieved by a Jury. Mr. WiuuNs complained of the course that was adopted, and said that if Lord W. Paget were really anxious to ha v e the whole matter investigated,b the testimony of Winter would be very material. _ The RECORDER said that the counsel for the prosecution was not bound to call every witness whose name appeared on the back of the bill ; and where witness's evidence had been already discredited by a jury, he thought that he exercised a proper discretion in not calling him. Mr. WORDSWORTII then addressed the jury for the defendant, and said, the question they had to consider was, whether a paragraph which appeared in the Age, a newspaper published by Holt, was libellous or not. The Learned Counsel for the plaintiff' had stated that Lord William Paget was a most un fortunate man. He was truly an unfortunate man to have been placed in the position in which he had lately appeared before the public. He was compelled to come into a court of justice for the purpose of instituting: an inquiry into the circumstances which imputed infidelity to Lady 'William Paget, his wife, and the-mother of several children. He (Mr. Wordsworth) had no doubt but the late trial between Lord William Paget and the Earl of Cardigan would be fresh in the memory of the jury. The alleged libel went to state that the placing of the witness Winter under the sofa was "a plant," a defi nition which was liable to various constructions, and did not appear to him (Mr. Wordsworth) to be libellous. It also stated that it was the Earl of Cardigan's intention to indict "the whole party for conspiracy." 'The alleged libel was nothing more than a series of remarks on a mere topic of the day ; it mentioned no name; the words might apply to a great number of respectable individuals. The paragraph contained nothing more than an account of certain topics current at the time of their publication, a mere inuendo, and could riot, therefore, be considered libellous. He denied that the paragraph was intended to convey to the public the idea that an action then - pending against the Earl of Cardigan, was to extort moneyfrom that nobleman. He was instructed to say that no such intention existed in the mind of the writer of the paragraph. The RECORDER ia summing up observed, that it had for merly been held that it was for the Judge to decide whether the article which formed the subject of the indictment was a libel or not, and upon proof of publication the jury were bound to return a verdict of guilty. He had always been op posed to this view of the law, because he felt that it was the proper province of the jury to decide whether an alleged libel was so an fact; and a statute had since been passed which carried out that view, and the jury were now the parties called upon to say whether an article which formed the subject of indictment, was a libel or not. The jury would, therefore, look at the paragraph now in question, and upon a careful consideration of all the statements em braced in it, they would say what was the fair inference to be drawn from it, and whether it should be construed as malicious and defamatory of Lord W. Paget. If the inuendos ascribed to the article in question could fairly be taken as conveyed by it, he apprehended there could be very little doubt that it was a most libellous attack upon his Lordship; and the chiefground for their attention was, whether it was merely a statement of supposed facts, or whether it was pub lished with a malicious intention to injure the character of Lord William Paget. With, reference to the proceedings adopted by Lord William Paget, to obtain evidence of his wife's misconduct, his Lordship observed that whatever opi nion might be entertained as to the character of that pro ceeding, it was perfectly legal, and any gentle man w h o m i g ht entertain suspicion of the infidelity of his wife was justified in resorting to such a step to obtain the necessary legal evi dence, and it would not form any ground for accusing him of a scheme to make up a case for the purpose of extorting money. His Lordship then went through the whole of the evidence, and concluded by leaving the case in the hands of the jury. The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a verdict of Guilty. - The RECORDER said-he understood the defendant was al ' ready undergoing a sentence of imprisonment. Mr. DOANE said he was, and for an offence of the same description. The RECORDER then said he should remand the defendant to the same custody from whence he came, and he would confer with the Judges upon the subject of the sentence. I he were to pass a fresh sentence upon him at that time, it would have the effect of removing him from the custody in which he then was. The defendant was then removed in custody. THE WEATHER.-THE HIGH TID E -Until twelve o'clock on Sunday night the atmosphere was cloudless, the moon shining brilliantly, the temperature at 42 degrees, and the wind S.W. ; before five o'clock yesterday morning a re markable change took place, the wind had veered round to the N.E., the mercury descended to 34 degrees, the atmosphere beaame,liazy mid humid, which was followed by a heavy but very cOld rain; which continued without intermission till after seven o'clock in the evening. The day throughout was cheer less and gloomy, while the temperature, up to one o'clock, stood at no higler. than 35 degrees, with the w i n d E . N . E . About three o'eloek a slight change took place, the wind having shifted to the'westward; although it blew more vio lently than in the morning, .yet_it became wanner, the mer cury ascending. to 47 degrees, but slightly declined as the evening advanced; the wind again becoming easterly. About three o'clock the river again overflowed its banks in various places, but more slightly than on Sunday. CONSTITUENCY OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND.—kin Saturday a Parliamantaly paper was issued, giving a good deal of information respecting the registered electors of Eng land, Wales, and Scotland, showing the increase in 1849-3, as compared with 1839-40. It appears that the grand total of. registered electors for Great Britain, in 1842; was 941,782 and that, in 1839, the total was 907,903. In Scotland the total was in the same period 85,244, and 82,531, making to gether a total increase in 1842-3, and compared with 1839-40, of 33,394 electors.