The Sun. — London, England, 1839-06-05 00:00:00

EVENINC4 EDITION. objecting to the proposition. Those reasons were not at all satisfactory to the House, and he was defeated by a considerable majority. The clause of Lord Chandos remained, and it was thought that could induce the Lords to accept the Bill. He agreed, therefore, that to Point of fairness and justice, if he was asked whether t he 1 01. householder, without the limits of the borough, had a right to vote as much as the householder resident within the limits of the borough, he must say decidedly and at once that be thought he was.—(Hear, hear.) tie thought it was unfortunate that the 50/. tenants at-will were ever introduced into the Reform Bill.— (Hear, hear.) He certainly did not wish to deprive t !'em—he did not wish to deprive any one who enjoyed b u tts und er t h e R e f orm Bill, of those rights ; he thought it led very naturally to the mo tion whi c h th e H on. Baronet had just made. Now, a to the objections to be made to that motion—in the he Place, i n regar d to the motion as made that night, 4 e th oug h t the question, as th e H on . B arone t hi mse lf ha d admitt e d, was of such great importance, that it was : ne of an admission of so large and so extensive a t vr elass of voters, that it could not be expected either Government or that House should entertain such a Pro position at t hi s t i me of the Session.—(lronical cries ' 3 . 1. ." Hear, h ear .") H e t h oug h t lik ew i se, even putting "'de that objection, whi c h was a sufficient one, a ga i nst th e • immediate adoption of a great change, that there w ere very serious and. substantial objections to the pro- Position itself, at whatever time brought forward.— ( 1 9ries of " Oh " from the Radicals.) He thought the I 4 , Q1) . Bar onet hi mself, i n the course of his speech, bad e u ocled t o some o f those o bj ect i ons—he had stated what tle conside re d was t h e i nequa li ty wh i ch now occurred l j e it le respect to vo t ers i n B oroug h s return i ng Members e 't Parli ament. It would be necessary to take some t st inction, and to revive the distinction made in the Reform Bi l l , b y which it was intended to provide that :Person holding property in a borough, by which pro perty he was ena bl e d to vote in that borough, tepee th l'util not by the same property be entitled to vote in w e county. That distinction, whether wise or unwise, t aS the disti nc ti on ma d e i n t h e R e f orm Bi ll, and i t 4 °lll d be n ecessary , before the p resen t mo ti on cou ld b e j ' 'reed to, t o enter into the wh o l e ques ti on o f th a t dis octioo. Another important question was, as to what r w i ould be the practical effect of such a change on elec 'aat ° o s for count i es. T he i ncl i nat i on of h i s opinion was the electoral body would be rather improved than il'etheizise by such an addition.—( Loud cries of " Hear, : a r• ) At the same time he must say he bad not made efficient inquiry —that he was not sufficiently informed e 5 to the effect which such a change would have, to be pbled t o pronounce a decisive opinion upon it. Ti g ere was another objection that might be taken to w rets (ms who had well considered the Reform Bill, which 4 48 t his—they might look upon this change not merely the Principles extension of the right of voting, in conformity with e ! Principles of the Reform Bill, but as an extension '''h& beyond the Reform Bill, and giving a f ir right of voting not conferred by that Act.—(Hear.) e j e Was only stating these as objections which it was f e te would be entertained, and which he thought -er e ,i,, objections of a sufficiently serious character to in- L 'ee any Government not only to say they declined to bee to the proposition of the Hon. Baronet that night, t , f a i _ t that they would deny giving him any reason to sup -4.." that if brought forward on another day and at ,?either time, it would meet with their concurrence._ Other hear, and No, no.) The Hon. Member had w e e e , hi t uett for some explanation, not merely with regard to e itt °4 l proposition but with regard t o th ose o f a s i m il ar u re. In accordance with that wish, and the wi s h o f p an oi Y who had asked his opinion with regard to certain 4 s, he would first state generally there were three t P O 4t , t e ie s• There were a considerable number who, adhering ." letter ofßeform Act, yetwished to restrict the f,a_. o , 4 lehlse given by that Act—who afterwards vexati lee 3 ' °PPosed the voters maint a i n i ng th e i r f ranc hi se , an d • , o f orward to restri c t it by means o f i n ti m id at i on an d by r re ru Ption•—(Cheers from the Mi n i s t er i a l b enc h es , met Th -e, PPosition cheers.) With those he entirely differed. ~bl e re was another class, one of whom was the Honour tla, Member for Dublin, who said the Reform Act tiv ° been a total failure, and that it was necessary to v i e ! the franchise far more extensively--(Cheers)—pro iCMg for the shorter duration of Parliament, depriving vo e Crown of the prerogative of dissolution, and pro fogine a secret mode of voting. This was a proposal , t the entire abandonment of the Reform Act as it at rege nt te existed, and he would only say that he could not e4: it e 4 With that proposal. There was a third system, and to Consisted of taking th e R e f orm A c t as th e b as i s t ime e ‘l o ll t di. og upon it such improveme n t s as m i g ht f rom Which h ' ll le be required. That w as th e genera l op i n i on e Ref e (Lord J. Russell) ent er t a i ne d w i t h respect to con s ] d °rm Act.—(Hear, hear.) It was necessary to Th e ":" What amendments might be properly proposed. Year Attorne y- General had introduced a Bill several Wi t ; / 1 a go, and it was now b e f ore th e H ouse aga i n . ti e „ , . r espect to that measure, relating to the registra trae i . . I n „, -Ppeared to him that the vexations incident to the th e n.e.lse were more extensive than be had supposed v h ",. to be.—( Hear, hear.) When there were se eee„-1-five barristers going to different parts of the p p : 4l T to decide on difficult qustions, and there were -, ?aria ready to go to any expense to question the s tt of voters, it became a hardship and inconvenience l ie 'eh imperatively called for amendment.—( Hear, Al an ') Th e G overnment propose d two years ago, a The Government the number of Revising Barristers, end making mg fi e; a , instead of a fluctuating court of seventy re, t Permanent court of ten or twelve. That Bill was Otherc ed bY the House of Lords.—(Hear, hear.) Auns 0. kit b ----. was proposed last year, to diminish vexatious hjections, but even that Bill was acceptednot Heo by L rd John I t touse of Lords.—(Hear, hear.) be was not prepared exactly to say what should s'e the details of the remedy, but he was prepared to l 't)' that the whole system of registration ought to be I , l together revised.—(Cheers.) It would be necessary have a permanent court of a smaller number of Re ,ling Barristers, and to provide that the voter should '''t be ca ll e d upon so p er p e t ua ll y t o d e f en d hi s r i g h t , lied ~ have th e ex pense and vexa ti on o f a con t es t i n 'e courts of the Revising Barristers. There was another i l le estion w hi c h re l a t e d to t h e mo d e i n w hi c h t h e voter l ed the right to place his name on the list of voters. Z t he Reform Bill it was provided that the voter t ° , (l not only have the property necessary to confer e franchise, but pay sufficient rates and taxes to show that he was the bone fide holder. Experience had con ei'eed hi m t h at t hi s was go i ng f urt h er than was neces beY to insure the respectability of the voter.--( Hear, j ar .) The general principle was a right one , w hi c h t ight to b e a dh ere d t o ; b u t if it cou ld b e ascerta i ne d t ight the person really paid the rates, those restrictions w ght not to be put on the voter, which deprived m an y h° Were entitled of their right to vote.—( Hear, hear.) Billae with this view that he last year introduced the L b Which was carried through the House, by which I: time o f p a yin g ra t e s w as changed. If there h a d heta payment of rates for a certain number of " n "ths, he thought the payment of the assessed o l ,es ought not to be insisted on.—(Cheers.) Instead t he ri g ht of voting being granted to persons who were e t e ° • entitled, there were hundreds entitled who did not rithe 3° Y franchise, owing to the manner in which these 'uses were framed. He had already stated the ge t'eral p r i nc i p l e on w hi c h h e was di spose d to go. T hat i t l i ri neiele would be to adopt an amendment, any correc " in conformity with the general principles of the te e r e urin Act—an analogy to the general provisions of . "e Ref orm A ct , b u t no t a lt oge th er an y new sc h eme o f .e Presentation. It was unnecessary for hint to state his e heral views on the subject, as he had done so on se , ve ral former occasions. All he wished to state now I) ° ,as th a t not agree i ng w i t h th e H on . G en tl eman i n Q lB Present m o ti o n, not giving any promise that the i o vernm en t would in future concur in it, yet he thought ' t f4 irie entitled to the consideration of the House. It j e ' e" a ,s a question fairly brought forward, and would not be roduci ng an y very d angerous i nnova ti on , but at the ' a rtie time it was not one to which he on the part of the G overnment could give any concurrence. Mr. WARBURTON said it might be fairly col 'eeted that a large majority of the people of England a nd of the Member s s itti ng on th e Lib era l s id e o f th e U nited were not s a ti s fi e d w i t h t h e representat i on o f t h e kieited Kingdom as it now stood.—(Hear, hear.) The 1 c loestion then was, whether the Membe rs s itti ng on th e L iberal side of the House—(Tory laughter)—would be satisfied, unless the Government were prepared to take 1 e ar l amendment of the Reform Act in hand.—( Hear, "ear.) If the Government were prepar e d t o propose th e to reicedy the evils of the pre sen t system , Members sitting on the Liberal side of the House I.old be prepared to leave those amendments in the tiandS of th . e Government. The Liberal Members did ^ot wish to press on the Government in the present sta ge of the Session, to produce all the amendments W hich were necessary, if they would only receive sugges gestions from the Members of the Liberal party, ***-- (Tory la u ghter)—in the same manner as previous to th e h , introduction of the Reform Bill. What he com plained of was the many unconnected changes that were b rought before the House. There was the measure of ‘ 4O Ri g ht lion. Baronet, the Member for Tamworth, to , In elee an irr partial tribunal to settle all questions which c ame before Election Committees. That was a legiti olate object, but it was a detached measure, and would 4 0t cure the difficulties which arose out of election pe titions. Th e wa y to reduce the expense would be to 'flake the registry final, and thus take a great number °I cases out of the record. The Government were bound t o do that which the Liberal party called upon it to do, and that was to give notice of their intention to prepare 4 Bill for the amendment of the Reform Act—(Cheers) and that Bill should embrace the variou s subjects to w hich h e had adverted, and many others to which he had tot adverted.—(Hear, and laughter.) If they did that, i nstead of the Liberal party ',nee d as they now were—(Tory being depressedrciiee)—te spirits and dieui'toi tho is R e f orm party would be raised,s and h instead es of b eing" almost afraid to meet a general election (Continued cheers from the 'Tories) —and anticipating di scomfiture, such an announcement would make th em m ore ready than Hon. Gentlemen opposite to meet a general election.—(Cheers.) But if the constituency r emained i n it s p r e s ent state, lie anticipated discomfiture f or th e Lib era l par t y a t th e next election, and he be- ~ 1 "eved th a t a t ever y future general election their sitna tion would be worse and worse.—(Loud cheers from the Tories.) He liked to state what his real opinions were. He wished to tell Hon. Gentlemen opposite that the Liberal party felt satisfied that they were the most numerous, the most powerful, the most wealthy— (Laughter from the Tories)—and the most influential party, and would not submit permanently to be left in that position in which they were now placed, and therefore if the Government could not place the Libe ral party in the position in which they had a right to be placed, the Liberal party, independently of the Go vernment, must act for themselves.--(Loud cheers.) The division upon the Ballot would show what the numbers of the party were. If the smallest encourage ment were given by the Government, by taking the amendment of the Reform Bill into their own hands, there would be forbearance on the part of the Reform party ; in fact, the Liberal party would gladly leave the matter in the hands of the Government. But if the Ministry would not take this course—if measures like those proposed by the Hon. Baronet were not fairly considered by the Government—(No, no, from some of the Liberal Members, and laughter from the Opposition) —the Noble Lord had not, in his (Mr. Warburton's) opinion, dealt quite fairly with the subject ; he under stood the Noble Lord, however, to say that his own impression: was in favour of the proposition, though he could not give it the support of the Government, He (Mr. Warburton) thought this was a fit opportunity for Members of Liberal opinions to give vent to their sentiments.—(Hear, and laughter.) It was for those members to decide what course they would take, either to vote apinst the Government, or to leave the subject in the hands of the Government. For his own part, he repeated his hope that the Government would make some declaration of their intentions as to the amend ment of the Reform Act. Sir R. PEEL said he did not think the Noble Lord had been so equivocal as the Hon. Member for Brid port seemed to consider.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord had distinctly defined to what extent he would admit of alteration in the Reform Bill. The Noble Lord had said that as to the registration of voters the present system was deficient—that he thought there should be some relaxation of the rate-paying clauses— that for the poor-rate some additional time should be allowed—and that the assessed taxes need not be so imperatively required. So that the Hon. Member for Bridport was too late in calling upon the Government for a declaration of their opinions upon this subject.— With regard to the present proposition the Noble Lord had said that he thought the Hon. Baronet (Sir H. Fleetwood) was fairly entitled to bring it forward. Now what were the arguments of the Hon. Baronet. that the 101. householders out of the borough were as respectable, doubtless, and as entitled to vote for the county, as the 101. householders in the borough. All he (Sir R. Peel) could say was, that this had not been the principle of the Reform Bill.—(Hear, hear.) And if that principle were good in one case, it was equally so in another, and pushed to its full extent, would do away with any distinction in the right of voting.— (Hear, hear.) He should undoubtedly resist the pro position of the Hon. Baronet. The Noble Lord had said that there were three classes of opinions with re gard to the Reform Bill : that there were those who were of the Noble Lord's own opinion, who were prepared to maintain it, though with various improvements ; there were those who were wholly dissatisfied with it ; and those who while adhering to the letter of the Bill, wished to deprive persons of their due rights under it. Now he (Sir R. Peel) belonged not to either of these three classes.—(Hear, hear.) He was for maintaining the spirit of the Reform Bill— he belonged to a fourth party—to those, who having originally been opposed to the Reform Bill, had yet consented to accept it in a frank and fair spirit, as a constitutional settlement of a great question—as final as any measure of legislation could be expected to be. It would be madness to expect more—(Hear, hear ) —and he utterly abominated any attempt to deprive persons of their legal rights under that Bill, either by corruption or from intimidation.—(Cheers.) He hoped that the advice of the Hon. Member for Bridport would be rejected by the Government. The Hon. Member seemed to wish the Noble Lord to make some vague declaration, to deceive and bewilder the country —(Loud cheers from the Opposition)—not for the purpose of improving the Constitution of the country, but to enable the Reform party to fight under better auspices their election contests.—(Continued cheering.) If the Hon. Member was the representative of the Liberal party, no wonder they had lost the confidence of the country.—(Cheers.) If such were the principles upon which they acted, no wonder they feared to meet their constituents.—( Renewed cheering.) It was the duty of the Government to be explicit.—(Hear hear.) If the Reform Bill was to be altered, it should be altered immediately.—(Hear, hear.) He protested against this new system of transacting the public business— measures should be maturelyj considered—in principle and in detail—and then fairly submitted to Parliament under the responsibility of the Executive, instead of by this system of vague declarations, confounding the functions of the Executive and of Parliament.---( Hear, hear.) No doubt the Honourable Member for Brid port, would be well content that Parliament should continue till 1842.—(Laughter, and cheers.) No gentleman could be more easily satisfied with the smallest modicum, not of reform, but of the profits of it—(Cheers)—only that he might cut a better figure upon the hustings.—(Renewed cheers.) But the firm and manly course was, if the Liberal party had lost the support of the country, let them try to regain it by an open avowal of their real principles, and not by be wildering and misleading the country.—(Cheers.) Let not the Government lay the flattering unction to their souls, that if this measure affection. the 10/. house holders were carried, it would be taken as a final settlement.—(Hear, hear, from the Liberal Members.) Yes, the avon , al was made, that this measure was pressed upon the Government only as an stepping stone for something more.—(Cheers.) And if this measure were granted, to conciliate what was called the " shopocracy"—(Laughter)—it would only give the unrepresented in the cities and boroughs, a stronger pretext for pushing their claims for a further ex tension of the suffrage.—( Hear, hear.) " Oh," but said the Hon. Member, " if these our moderate demands are not conceded," and he (Sir R. Peel) really trembled as he uttered it—(A laugh)—" we, the Reform party, will actually press our independent measures on the country." Why, he (Sir R. Peel) was not aware that the Reform party had manifested any remarkable for bearance hitherto ; they had pressed such measures, for instance, as the Ballot, and the repeal of the Corn laws. He had given the Reform party heretofore however, it would seem greater credit than they de served, if the Hon. Member for Bridport was to be considered as their representative—(Cries of " No, no,' from the Ministerial benches, and roars of laughter) Well, he would still give them credit for having to the utmost, by all constitutional means, pressed upon the country their political principles.—(Hear, hear, hear.) His conviction was, that the most proper course for all parties, in future, would be, instead of continually pressinc , for vague,, declarations as to fresh changes, to apply themselves carefully to the discharge of their duties as representatives of the people.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. HARVEY concurred in the suggestion of his Hon. Friend, (Mr. Warburton) that the Members of the Liberal party should take this opportunity of ex pressing their opinions fully and unreservedly—he thought they owed this not only to their constituents, and to themselves, but to the Government.—(Hear, hear.) For himself he was not in any degree sur prised, notwithstanding the expectations which had by some persons been entertained—at the course which the Government had on the present occasion pursued. He never anticipated any other declaration than that which the Noble Lord had so clearly, so unequivocally, and he would say, so manfully, made to-night.—(Cheers.) Eager as he was for further reforms—determined as be was to remain to the last consistent in his advocacy of those reforms, he owned that he for one, should have deeply rgretted if the Noble Lord, after his reiterated declaration upon this subject, had, from any party mo tive—to which he was persuaded the Noble Lord would never yield,—if the Noble Lord bad. in order to conciliate the opinions of the extreme Liberal party, and to purchase a short truce of hostility, attempted some feeble concession.—( Hear, hear, and cheers.) In voting, if he should vote for the motion of the Hon. Member, he wished it to be understood that he only did so for the purpose of giving the country an opportunity of knowing who were disposed to go further in the path of reform. He concurred with those who thought it was not desirable to deal in dabbling ribrms.—(Cheers.) He should like to see the Government bring in a Bill to be called a Reform of the Reform Act, but he should not be contented unless the provisions of that Bill were ample and final, so that the time of the House, and that of the country might not be wasted in preparing mea sures that were of no value. He thought the Hon. Member would not satisfy the country by gettin ,, the Government to assent to a restrictive measure like the present. The Suffrage must be largely extended— ( Hear) —the duration of Parliament must be limited, and a proper exercise must be given to the Suffrage by the Ballot. He was anxious to express an opinion upon another point. He was not one of those who consi dered that without reform they were incapable of pro ceeding in objects of useful legislation ; quite other wise, because he maintained that that House possessed within itself the elements of sound legislation. His decided conviction was that the people themselves, the constituent bodies throughout the:country, must purify themselves before they could lay claim to being pure in political obligations. He maintained that in all towns where there was a constituency of 1,000 electors there was the power to protect their own virtue pro vided there was the disposition. In Colchester there were 1,200 resident electors, and why was it that they could not send Reformers to that House if they were the real friends to Reform instead of their present re presentatives ? 'The reason was plain—they were not the friends to Reform but of Conservatism. He had stated these things because he was heartily tired of those continual struggles between parties in which need less speeches were made and nothing done.—(Cheers.) It was necessary that some step should be taken by i which a Government should be formed that would secure THE SUN, LONDON, WEDESDAY, JUNE 5, 1839 the Tory party—he did not know. He made these re . marks with the deepest regret. It was with pain, regret, and sorrow that he saw the course the Ministers were , determined to pursue. Their fate was sealed, because a general election, he had no hesitation in saying, would give the Tory party a majority of sixty or seventy.— (Cheers, and cries of " Oh, oh.") The Right Hon. Baronet said that no man disliked bribery and corrup tion more than he did. The honour of the Right Hon ourable Baronet forbade him to doubt the accu racy of the statement, but would any man out of a Lunatic Asylum, say that be believed that the Tory party hated bribery and intimidation.—(Groans.) He liked those groans —to him they appeared the workings of a troubled conscience. If they were such haters of intimidation, why not throw the shield of the Ballot around the voters ? He was not dis heartened with the aspect of affairs. He was satis fied that the country would soon awaken to her true interests, and insist upon being properly represented in that House, and it would be impossible for any party to resist the demands of a united empire. Mr. SLANEY had heard the manly' declarations of the Noble Lord with the greatest satisfaction.—(Dis approbation.) He had always voted for reform, and he thanked the Noble Lord for having acted in such a man ner as precluded the necessity of his (Mr. S.) voting against him. He believed the great body of the re flecting people of the country were satisfied with the Reform Bill as it at present stood, and if they were to go to the country upon the question, only the moderates of each party would be returned. Mr. P. HO WARD should grieve if such a motion should be conceded without similar concessions to Scot land and Ireland, because great dissatisfaction would be produced.—(Laughter from the Tories.) If conces sions were made to county voters, without extending it to towns, no permanent satisfaction would be given. During the prog ress of the R e f orm Bill , h e h a d vote d with the Noble Lord ; and if there were no other rea sons for inducing bim to stand by the, Noble Lord on this occasion, it would be that he coveted not the igno miny of deserting his friends in danger.—(Laughter.) Sir H. FLEETWOOD replied. He had heard no arguments adduced against the Bill ; but as the princi ples of Reform might probably be better carried out by his withdrawing the Bill, he would do so if Honourable Members had no objection.—(Cri es of " No, no.") Before they went to a division, be wished to place, in a right point of view, the declaration made by the Noble Lord (Russell). He understood _Lim to have said that he did Rot, at the present period, give any support to the measure, and that he would not promise to support it on any future occasion ; but the Noble Lord had not stated anything which could induce any one to consider that he had pledged himself to oppose it if brought forward at a future time.--(Laughte r from the Tories.) The gallery was then cleared for a division. The numbers were— For the Bill Agairut it Majority against the 8i11....,, 126 The Bill is consequently lost. ELECTION OF CORONERS. Sir H. FLEETWOOD then moved for leave to bring in a bill to limit the taking of the poll at the election of Coroners for counties to one day, and for increasing the number of polling places. Mr. WAKLEY said that some alteration was neces sary in the law respecting Coroners, but he did not like this sort of patch-work. If the Hon. Member would withdraw his Bill he (Mr. W.) would, in another Ses sion, give him all the aid in his power. Mr. PAKINGTON objected to the Bill being brought forward at:this late period of the Session. Mr. J. JERVIS thought it would be better that the Bill should bo printed in order that Hon. Members might be aware of its nature. After a few words from Mr. WYNN, and Mr. CRIPPS, Mr. O'CONNELL said there were many evils in the; existing system—among them the length of the elections—( Hear, hear)—and he thought the Bill should at least be introduced.—(Hear.) The Bill was then ordered to be brought in. REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS. Mr. E W ART was to have moved for a Bill to ren der final the Registration of Electors. To both parties this measure would be exceedingly beneficial. The re gistration would by this Bill be rendered final till the next return of the Revising Barristers ; and the Com mittees of that House would be prevented from entering into questions of disqualification, which had not been entered into before the Revising Barristers. The Bill would extend to counties, and would also extend to Ireland. However, as during his absence from the House, the Hen. Member for Ipswich (Mr. Gibson) had introduced a Bill with a similar object, he would withdraw his own motion, and endeavour to render the Bill of the Hon. Member as perfect as possible. POOR LAWS. Mr. WAKLEY moved for copies of communications to or from the Poor Law Commissioners, relative to the erection of a workhouse in Dunmow, Essex. He would reserve his statement for a future occasion. The Returns were agreed to. EDUCATION. Lord ASHLEY moved that the House be called over on Friday, the 14th June, the day upon which the subject of„Natiqual Education _ is_ to House. The Noble Lord opposite motion.—(A laugh.) cße Lord JOHN RUSSELL said he certainly would, according to his promise, second the motion.—(- Hear, hear.) In doing so, he wished to notice some misre presentations which had gone abroad as to the tendency i f m oo p a o d se i d m po upon impossible the to adoptwhoe l and nature of the pr o p ose d sc h eme. It had been said o th o a u t nt i r t y. was No to w, be it uniformly been formly the principle either of the National Society, or of the British and Foreign School Society —the former being exclusive to the Church, th e ot h er excluding religious instruction by the teach ers o f diff erent creeds. It had, therefore, been proposed to have a chaplain of the Established Church—taking care at the same time that the children of all Dissenter s be instructed in their peculiar doctrines. Another mistake had been gathered from a few words in the Privy Council report ; that with regard to Roman Catholic children, they might use their own version of the Scriptures ; from which it had been inferred, that both versions would be used in discriminately, and then, it would be argued —not un naturally if the fact were so—that by the use of ver sions which differed in some respects (though not so much as had been stated sometimes) there would be confusion and doubt in the minds of the children—an argument which would not apply, however, for the ver sions were to he employed separately and distinctly, confined respectively to the children of each persuasion ; and it ought to be remembered, that at the present time, pauper children in workhouses, were permitted to have religious instructors of their own sects ; and, of course, the Roman Catholic teachers would use Catholic and not Protestant books of in struction.—(Hear, hear.) Yet this and other topics had been dwelt upon with such determined misrepre sental.ion as would be an effectual obstacle against carrying into operation a t present t h e G overnment plan. The excessive eagerness upon this subject which had been manifested in some quarters was really sur prising. He had that day received a letter informing him that a clergyman had actually in his sermon read the petition against the Government scheme—(Hear, hear)—and he had also received a placard, calling upon the public to petition against the Government plan, " for excluding all religious instruction from national education," which was a gross misrepresentation, for certainly, whatever faults were alleged against this scheme it could not be justly charged with de ficiency of religious instruction. (Loud cries of Hear, hear.") It had been urged as an objec tion to the G o vernment plan that thereby the children of different persuasions would he so mingled together that their religious belief would be unsettled, and infi delity produced. It was extraordinary that this zeal should have slumbered so long, till, according to the re ports of the inspectors of prisons and the gaol chap-, lains, hundreds of prisoners, in all parts of the country, were to be fouud utterly ignorant, not merely of the elementary arts of reading and writing, but even of the existence of a God.—(Hear, hear.) He hoped that the discussions upon this subject would have the effect of promoting the great object of education. For him self he would be perfectly satisfied to bear all the obloquy which had been directed against the Government respecting this proposal,---if he be lieved that the extent of ignorance in this country would be diminished.—( Hear, hear, hear.) Under all these circumstances the Government did not propose at present to found the normal school, but only to dis tribute the education grant as usual, between the Na tional, and the British and Foreign School systems. At the same time, with that he was far from being satisfied. He was glad to find that sinca his address to his con stituents the subject of education had been much more discussed than it bad formerly been. He trusted that the opinion of the great majority of that House would be that they ought to promote education on the princi ples of Christianity, and secondly, that in promoting it they wou ld no t exclude from i t persons dissenti ng from the Church. After what he had stated he would leave ;experience he had never witnessed it to the Noble Lord to follow his own course. Cheers.) He Mr. GOULBURN said that during the whole of his parliamentary ;ex o o f pp se o c s o it o e d .— ing ( a the adopti on of a course so extraordinary as that pur sued by the NobleLrd had taken the opportunity motion for a call of the House to discuss one of the most im portant questions that could come under the considera tion of Parliament, namely, the general education of the country. The Noble Lord, if he understood him r i ghtly, had now told the House that he had entirely abandoned the plan, which no longer ago than Friday, he had stated his determination to bring forward, and for which he was anxious to have a full attendance in that House.—(Cheering.) The Noble Lord bad taken that opportunity to make attacks upon persons who had presented petitions stating their conscientious scruples. He (M r . Goulburn) had:petitions from the University he had the honour to represent, against the plan of edu cation that had been laid before the House, and had a working majority in that House which would carry out useful measures. He for one could see little dif ference between those who occupied the benches on which he sat and those on the other side of the Howe, and he trusted that an experiment would be made by some country gentlemen to address her Majesty, pray ing her to appoint such Ministers as had the confidence of that House.—(Great cheering.) In his judgment such a Ministry might be formed, and such a majority might be obtained, for the two parties had nothing to do but to weed the dead timber in their ranks, and then a strong Government might be formed capable of carry ng out measures of useful legislation.—(Great cheer ing.) He did not say this for the purpose of having it unerstood that his attachment to the cause of Reform was at all impaired, but his firm conviction was that it would be far better to let Reform take its own course, till some intelligible measure could be brought forward with a certainty of being carried, than to allow the time of that House to be frittered away in useless discussions, which only injured the cause they were intended to support. Colonel DAVIES opposed the motion. Mr. HUME concurred with the Right Hon. Baro net opposite that there was no mistaking the present times. The Right Hon. Baronet had spoken out manfully—he had stated that if anything was to be done with respect ito the extension of Reform, it was not to be expected from him.—(Cheers.) He (Mr. H.) was in hopes that they would have heard from the No ble Lord an expression not of his own opinion alone, but also that of his Colleagues. He was in hopes that he would have stated whether they meant to do anything, not in perspective, but immediately. He had been dis appointed, but any rate this was to be known from the speech of the Noble Lord as to the finality of the Reform Bill. With respect to what the Hon. Member near him had adverted to, he had entertained a better opinion of both parties:than to:suppose that the coali tion he had adverted to would take place.—(Hear.) He placed that altogether out of the question, and he would say, if his statements were correct, that the majority of the present electors were against Reform, that was one of the strongest inducements any Go vernment could have to bring forward the means of extending the suffrage. It was the strongest reason why the Government that wished to govern according to the wishes of the country should extend the suffrage. At the present moment there was not in this country one in seven'that had a vote in the representation of the country. Such being the case, was it to be wondered at that the people should be anxious to have a greater share in the suffrage. The Noble Lord had forgotten the pledge he had lately given. He had declared they had lost the confidence of the House of Commons, and afterwards he had declared that he had again assumed the Government, for the purpose of protecting the Queen against a party who wished to destroy not only her public but her private comforts. Did the Noble Lord expect that by the course he was now pursuing he would obtain the confidence of the country. He surely must have forgotten that in all the addresses which had been presented to the- Queen from different parts of the country, she was entreated to call to her councils such men as had the best interests of the country at heart.—(Hear, hear.) Did the course pur sued by the Noble Lord show that such were his wishes on those of his colleagues ? The declaration of the Noble Lord would create the greatest disappoint ment in the country, and those who were within the walls of that House could do but little if they had not the people to support them.—(Hear, hear.) The time had come when there ought to be a clear understanding what it was the Reformers wanted, and what it was the people required.—(Hear, hear.) He had no hesitation in stating that Ministers instead of stifling Reform ought to give it free discussion in and out of that House.— ( Hear, hear.) Ministers ought not to interfere to pre vent the discussion of the question of the Ballot, and no man ought to be prevented from giving a vote according to his own conscience.—(Hear, hear.) He lamented the situation in which the House was placed, but he thought it better than allowing the country to be deluded as it had been. The result of that night's vote would show who were inclined to go forward, and who were determined to stand still. Mr. WARD concurred with those who had stated that the present question would put an end to the wil derness of delusion.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord in a former speech that he had made on this sub ject, had stated that kis opinions had been misrepre sented by some. Now, for his own part, he (Mr. Ward) had always represented them as he had under stood them. He admitted the manliness and honesty of the Noble Lord ; he admitted his right of making such a declaration ; but what he regretted was that it would be impossible to hold together a party two-thirds of which went far beyond the line traced out by the Noble Lord. That night decided the fate of the strug• gle between the twe factions.—(Cheers.) The Radicals must now of necessity form a third and a distinct party in that House.—(Loud cheers.) They would support good measures without reference to the party from whom they came, and they must be prepared to go to the country upon their principles, by which they must stand or fall.—(Hear, hear, hear.) He considered the motion of his Hon. Friend drew the line between the two factions ; the division would show how many of the Members of that House were in favour of progressive reform. He professed his anxiety to advance, to extend the franchise, and to do all in his power to make the House 'more- responsible to the country at all times and seasons, without any reference to the will or convenience of the Minister. lie now knew no difference between the two parties, only that the one sat on the right and the other on the left of the table. Both were determined that the Re form Bill was to be final, therefore he saw no reason why they should not join, because that heretofore they had differed. They had seen differences made up. Those whom he was proud to follow in 1833, were now to be seen in close amalgation with the Gentlemen opposite. Why should that amalgamation not be carried further ? He regretted the new line of demarcation which that night's debate must produce, but he felt bound not to flinch from the duty he owed the country. Mr. WAKLEY rose for the purpose of asking the Noble Lord how it was that he and his colleagues were again in office.—(Cheers and laughter.) He should like to have that question answered, but he would not get it satisfactorily done unless he were to apply to two ladies who were not far from that House.—( Laughter.) That was a trifling with the great interests of the greatest nation in the world, which was altogether un precedented in the history of the country.—(Cheers.) He was prompted to put the question not only in conse quence of the speech of the Noble Lord, but in conse quence of the speech of his Noble colleague in another place on Friday night—that was a good Tory speech, and had he read it from Lord Eldon in 1817 he would not have looked twice to see whether he was correct in his estimation of its parent.—(Cheers.) Now if the Noble Lord apprehended such dangers as be predicted in that speech, from the principles of Reform, how was it that he was again at the helm ? Was it possible that the present Administration could continue in office ? —(Cheers.) They knew they could not, holding their finality doctrines. How then had theylagain taken office ? He was not one of those who for a moment desired that the Noble Lord should attempt to obtain support by any promises which were not intended to be fulfilled —he gave him credit for his manliness, but he certainly had hoped after the speech of the Right Hon. Baronet, the Noble Lord would have whispered to one of his colleagues to get up and say, " No, no, he's pinning me too close—that will never do." But no, the Noble Lord was silent. The Right Hon. Baronet had got him into a net—be whisked him this way and that way in the water, until he was nearly drowned-4A laugh) until he was almost ready for an inquest to be held upon him.—(lmmense laughter.) They bad nothing to expect—he was not disappointed. But again he asked why it was that Ministers were again in office ? He was one of those who approved of their conduct with refer- ence to what had taken place lately at the Palace.— (Cheers.) He regretted that occurrences of such a momentous character, connected with the great interests of the Crown, had been allowed to pass off in that House in empty speeches. He deeply regretted that they had not been recorded on the Journals. It was a maxim of the Tories that the Crown could do no wrong—then the Right Hon. Bart. must not deny that he was in the wrong. 'Cheers and laughter.) He thought he was fair in putting that interpretation upon the Right Hon. Baronet's conduct, because he had frequently heard the maxim come from his own mouth. He admired the conduct of Ministers upon that occasion ; but if they thought the Right Hon. Baronet wrong why not have come to that House, and if possible have got an address to the Crown ? As a lover of the monarchical institutions of the country, desirous of seeing them maintained and loved by the people, he rejoiced at what had been her Majesty's conduct on the late occa sion ; he also rejoiced at the conduct of the Right Hon. Baronet, because it showed what Toryism was in the present day.—(Cries of "Oh ! oh !") It had lost none of its desire for power, none of its love of place. He knew that the Right. Hon. Baronet's soli loquy to himself was something like this,—" These foolish Whigs: have thrown the ball into my hands—l will use it for some purpose. If they have not the courage to change their policy—if they have not the sagacity to come forward according to their professions as a Liberal Ministry, let me once get into power, even under their own Reform Bill, and I only hope my head may not ache until they get m e out again."—(Loud laughter.) Her Majesty had acted nobly,—she gave full power to the Right Hon. Baronet for the formation of a Ministry, but when he demanded the sacrifice of her friends— (Cries of " Question, question")—if they would only be patient, they would hear but little more of it, but if they were impatient, they must hear a great deal. The Queen then said, " No,—l have personal rights , which are quite consistent with the maintenance of the prerogative of the Crown, these also will I maintain."--(Hear, hear.) She, no doubt, was happy and proud that the Ministers of her choice were in office again, but how long her pleasurable sen sations were likely to last when she was told that her friends had forsaken her, that they had that night deserted her and thrown her captive into the hands of waited several days for an opportunity to present it, and those who signed that petition were as fully capable of understanding the resolution proposed by the Noble Lord as he was himself.—(Hear, hear.) He did not think the present was the proper time to go into so im portant a discussion in so thin a House, and he thought it would have been only fair, if the Noble Lord meant to go into this discussion, to have given notice of it. Notwithstanding the statements of the Noble Lord he must say, that if any parties had brought forward measures to defeat general education it could not be laid at the door of the members if the Church of England. He agreed with the Noble Lord in de ploring the evils that prevailed from defective education, but when the Noble Lord said that it was owing to the people not having had an opportunity of instruction, he must beg leave to tell him that that was a fact that that ought to be proved. For his own part he believed it would be found either to arise from their parents or from the aversion on the part of children to receive education. He considered that the plan that had been laid down by the Government was calculated to create a laxity in religious truth.—( Hear, hear.) Mr. HUME, though he regretted that the Noble Lord had been obliged to give up his measure, felt bound to admit that considering the manner in which it had been met in the country he was not at all sur prised at it.---(Hear, hear.) The Church of England had set themselves up against it for the purpose of designedly keeping the country in ignorance. When the Lancasterian system was first proposed every at tempt was made to put it down, and that course seemed to be pursued in the present instance. He con sidered it to be the duty of a Government whets they had an Established Church neglecting its duty to interfere. Ho regretted that the discussion had not come on because he felt satisfied if it had that many of the ab surdities that had been promulgated would have been cleared up.—(Cheers.) He trusted that the people would demand loudly for justice until it was ac ceded to. Lord MORPETII did not think that the proceed- ing adopted by his Noble Friend at all called for the rebuke of the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite. It was the duty of his Noble Friend to take the first oppor tunity of rebuking the offensive and mendacious rnisre iwsentations—(preat cheering)—which had been made with respect to this plan and the project of the Privy Council. No person could take up a paper in which those misrepresentations were not to be found. His Noble Friend, in the course that he had adopted, had not forestalled any debate upon the subject, because he had only stated that it ryas not his intention to prematurely bring the subject forward, when he found that be was likely to meet with so much opposition. He (Lord Morpeth) trusted, however, that the people would force any Government that presided over them to adopt an efficient plan for their education. His Noble Friend would, on the night of which he had given notice, ask for the sum of 30,000/. to be distributed between the two Societies to which he had adverted.—(Hear.) Sir E. KNATCHBULL said it was the first time he had ever heard a Minister of the Crown presume to say that the petitions of the people were offensive and mendacious.—(Great cheering and cries of " No, no.") He was at a loss to know to whom these expressions applied, unless to those who had petitioned against the measure. The Hon. Member for Kilkenny had stated that this was a Church and party question— that it was brought forward for party purposes. If such was the case, he would ask by whom were the greater number of petitions presented? Why, by Honourable Members on the other side of the House.—(Cheers.) The Wesleyan Methodists and the respectable part of the country had with one voice deprecated the measure proposed by her Majesty's Ministers. He had taken it for granted, that the Noble Lord when he said he would second the call of the House, would have done so in a re gular and proper manner, but he would leave it to the House so say whether the course he had pur• sued, was consistent with the usual practice of that House. Lord MORPETH said, that the expressions be had used, did not refer at all to petitions. He did not even mention them, or have them in his mind. Lord HOWICK denied that his Noble Friend had brought forward the present motion in an improper man ner. For his own part, he could conceive nothing less improper nor less unfair for his friend, at the time he was seconding a motion for a call of the House, to state that he did not intend to call upon the House to come to a vote on the plan that was now upon the table. What advantage had his Friend obtained by the course he had adopted ? He had simply explained what his own views were ; and if he had given any advantage to any one, it was to his opponents, because, when he brought the measure forward, they would be enabled to answer any of the statements he had made. Mr. LITTON regretted the course that had been taken by the Noble Lord, because be thought, upon a question in which the country felt so deep an interest, they had a right to have a deliberate discussion. It was alleged by the Noble Lord that the intentions of Go. vernment had been the subject of mistake and misre prqsentation ; now, if that was the case, why, he would ask, bad he shrunk from public discussion It was a plan which he and five•sixths of the people of this country believed would altogether destroy re ligion. He made the assertion ; the Noble Lord denied it: He challenged him to come forward with the dis cussion upon the subject, and set the matter fairly be fore the public. Of all the bad measures of the present Government, the present was the worst. Secular in juries might be repaired, but that plan struck at the religion and morals of the country, and would prove the certain destruction of civil and religious liberty in the country. Mr. O'CONNELL said, the speech of the Hon. Gentleman proved that there was very great ignorance prevailing in this country. Was be aware that in every other country in Europe, all classes of religionists were educated together. Had he looked at Mr. Nichols' Report on Education in Holland, where the Calvinist, the Lutheran, and the Roman Catholic were educated together ? That gentleman found the Lu theran master t eac hi ng the C at h o li c catechism, and he was assured the Catholic would as faithfully teach the Lutheran catechism—that was the Christian principle, w hi c h was wor th y o f imitation. The Right Hon. Member for Cambridge University said the Church was willing to educate the people, but he took good care not to say the whole people, but only those who would come between the Caudine forks of the Established Church. The 30,0001. was not be granted out of the pockets of Churchmen more than out of that of the Dissenters of every denomination—were the Dissenters not then entitled to participate in the benefit of • the money ?—( Hear, hear, hear.) The Catholics were the most numerous of any class or sect in Ireland, and every one opposite well knew that that sect was not diminishing.—(Hear, hear.) The Catholics turned round upon the Churchmen, and said " Shame upon them, they were afraid of education—they wished to keep them in ignorance for the purpose of con verting them to their faith." He was sorry that the Noble Lord had so far modified their plan as to confine the grant to those Societies, for practically that was to exclude the Catholics, as they allowed only the authorized Scriptures to be read. They might apply Church money as they pleased, but national money ought to be applied for national purposes. Col. SI BTHORP said, politically the Noble Lord shuffled out of every possible measure, but those tricks would not do long—they would soon be found out by the country. Mr. SLANEY supported the Government, when he was interrupted by Gen. JOHNSON, who rose to order. There was other business to come before the House. The ques tion before the House was, whether there should be a Call of the House on the 14th of June, and they had got into the general subject of education. The SPEAKER said many of the previous speakers had travelled wide of the question. Mr. SLANEY would reserve himself for another opportunity, which he understood would soon be afforded him. Mr. .GODSON requested that Honourable Mem bers would reserve themselves until that occasion. Mr. WYSE would only protest against the with drawal of the Government plan. He objected that public money should be given to any sect or society—it ought to be applied to national purposes. He rejoiced to find that the Church was now roused from its slumber. If the people of England were instructed as they ought to be, would such things have occurred as had taken place a short time ago in the county of Kent ? (Cheers.) That was the result of the high Tory Church slumbering so long.—(Cheers.) An HON. MEMBER, on the Opposition side of the House, trusted that when the Noble Lord again men tioned the measure, he would be prepared to state what he intended to do, because there had never yet been any explanation given. Lord ASHLEY thought it was quite unnecessary for the Noble Lord, the Secretary for Ireland, to have made the remarks in which he had indulged, and trusted he would be prepared to explain what he meant when he applied the terms " offensive" and " mendacious " Lord MORPETH had no hesitation in saying-, that he applied it to three-fourths of what had ap peared in the papers on this subject.—( Hear, hear,) Mr. F. FRENCH asked if the Noble Lord meant to persevere in his call under the circumstances? Lord ASHLEY replied that he did. Most of hi; Hon. Friends had left the House under the impression that the call of the House, seconded as it had been by the Noble Lord, would not be opposed.—( Hear.) Dr. LUSHINGTON said ❑othing should induce him to vote against the motion of the Noble Lord, for he thought it was understood that the call should take place. Mr. SIIIEL submitted that the call was not now necessary. Lord ASHLEY said Ile did not at present know whether the call might not be as necessary with the new plan as with that which had been abandoned.--(H„,) If when the nature of the new proposal was known, it should not be found so important, he would move that the call be rescinded.—( Hear, hear.) The motion was then agreed to. NEW POOR LAW. • General JOHNSON moved the following returns : —l. Return of all Workhouses and Buildings erected or purchased or hired, and converted into Union Workhouses, under the Poor Law Amendment Act, with the costs of erecting, purchasing, hiring, and converting the same into Workhouses, and of the seve ral principal sums borrowed for those purposes, and from whom, and at what rate of interest, and of all sums of money now due for principal and interest upon such principal sums respectively, and of the expenses attending the borrowing thereof. 2. Return of the amount of all sums annually levied under the denomination of Poor-rate ; and, also, the amount of the sums paid for the actual relief and main tenance of the poor in eaeh union, including and dis tinguishing in and out of door relief. 3. Return of the amount of salaries, and the law expenses, and incidental charges, in each union. 4. Return of the salaries, expenses, and other charges for Corn missioners,with name of each As sistant Commissioner and officers belonging to the esta -1 blishment at Somerset House, and the travellingexpenses incurred by each of them ; such and each of these re turns to commence from the passing of the Act, up to the Ist day of January last, distinguishing each year. 5. Returns of the number of names of the Unions to which no order has been sent for withholding out of door relief to the able-bodied poor ; stating the date of the formation, and the population of such Unions, from the passing of the Act up to the Ist day of Ja nuary last. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE seconded the motion. Mr. FOX MAULE would not object to the re turn, but would state it was an extremely intricate one, and therefore, perhaps, might not be laid on the table so soon as desirable, and he also thought as it might give a partial view of the subject, the Poor Law Commissioners ought to be permitted to make any further returns they might think fit. After a short conversation the Returns were agreed to. General JOHNSON, in answer to an inquiry from Mr. T. Duncombe, stated that the Assistant Poor-law Commissioners at the Union of Boune, had been guilty of putting nauseous drugs into the wine for the use of the poor, in order that they might not drink it, and this statement he was prepared to substantiate. Sir R. FERGUSON obtained leave to bring in a Bill to declare the right of joint tenants in cities, towns, and boroughs in Ireland, to vote in the election of Members to serve in Parliament.—Leave given. Mr. R. STEUART moved that it be an instruction to the Committee on the Caledonian Canal to inquire into the state of the Crinan Canal.—Agreed to. The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned at Eleven o'clock. NATIONAL EDUCATION. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. " Above all, establish a system of National Education upon the sure foundation of religion and of morals, but according to the sacred principle of civil and religions liberty,"—Loan BROUGHAM. SlR,—The permission in the Government plan of National Education, that the children of Catholics may read the Holy Scriptures in the DOUAY VERSION, appears to have excited considerable alarm in the minds of several Churchmen and Wesleyan Methodists. With a view to allay the apprehensions of worthy men, whose conscientious fears deserve the utmost respect, I have transcribed, and shall be happy to see made generally known, through the medium of your exten sively-circulated journal, the opinion entertained of the Catholic version, by that sound Protestant divine and distinguished ornament of the Christian world, the great and good Dr. Chalmers. In his examination before a Committee of the House of Commons, as exhibited in a pamphlet which was printed in 1832, and entitled " Evidence given by the Rev. Thomas Chalmers, D.D., and the Right Rev. James Doyle, D.D., before a Select Committee of the House of Commons on the state of Ireland," Dr. Chalmers averred (page 63), that " in regard to the authorised and Douay versions, the difference between them is not so great as to make it a thing of practical importance which of them should be used; though that in point of decorum and good taste it were better that the school Bible should be our authorised version, and that the Catholic Priest would evince his wisdom and liberality by making ao objection to it." The difference being here expressly declared by a most competent judge, whose prepossessions, as a Protestant clergy man, would naturally against the Catholic version, to be not so great as to render it of practical importance, but merely a point of de corum and good taste, it is unnecessary to add an other word respecting the version itself ; and I proceed therefore to the objection against the NOTES which are said to accompany the translation. From the above mentioned pamphlet it appears that the following ques tion was put to Dr. Doyle, (page 106.)—" You are aware that in the Roman Catholic editions of the Scrip tures there were many .Notes, some of which were considered to be objectionable and offensive to per sons of another persuasion ; in the late edition to which you have referred, have any of those Notes, to which objection vk as taken, been expunged ?" To this inquiry the Catholic Bishop thus:replied :—" All the Notes to which objections were at any time taken have been expunged, not only from this last edition, but from seve ral previous editions, from the time when those Notes were first brought under the observation of the Catholic Bishops : they were expunged before I was a Bishop. I heard of an unauthorized edition of the New Testa ment being published by some person, wherein some of those Notes were preserved, and which caused a great outcry ; but, however, we were no more responsible for that edition than if it had been printed in Calcutta. The discipline of our Church requires that no printer shall pub lish the Sacred Scriptures unless with the approbation of the Ordinary of the place ; and no Ordinary;of ours in Ireland [and, a fortiori, in England] has granted a licence fer:the publication of the Scriptures with these objection able Notes for a long time previous to my being of that body." As the Douay version to be used by Catholic children—the permission is restricted to such—in the Government schools would of course be the edition which is authorized by the Catholic Prelates, nothing offensive to Protestants would be allowed. The other objections made to the proposed plan of National , Education have been so ably refuted by Dr. Kay in' his very temperate and excellent letter to Mr. lii , mnedy, inserted in your paper last Monday, that I respectfully refer such of your readers as may wish to examine the question fully, to the Doctor's reply. The instructive evidence given last year by Dr. Kay, before the Committee of the House of Commons, on the education of the poorer classes in England and Wales, and his valuable communications on education to the first volume of the Transactions of the Statistical Society of London. evince that gentleman to be a com plete master of the subject ; and it augurs well for the proposed plan of national education, that the Commis sioners have made so judicious a commencement, as to appoint Dr. Kay Secretary to the Board. I am, S:r, your most obedient Servant, J. W. PIGG. St. Simon's Academy, Norwich, May 31, 1839. COURT OF ALDERMEN. Yesterday a Court was held for the dispatch of business. The requisition for an Address to the Queen Dowager on her safe arrival in England haring ben withdrawn, in consequence of the letter of Lord Howe to Sir Peter Laurie. Nothing was said upon the subject. NOMINATION OP SHERIFFS FOR THE ENSUING YEAR. The Lonn AIATOR nominated the following gentlemen to be put in nomination for the office of Sheriff on Mid summer Day : Samuel Prior, Esq., citizen and glover. Henry Wilson, Esq., citizen and fishmonger. Thomas yoynder, Esq., citizen and stationer. Arthur Pott, Esq., citizen and grocer, Thomas Mills, Esq., citizen and fishmonger. Frederick Perkins, Esq., citizen and brewer. Thomas Brandrarn, Esq., citizen and wsxchandler. John Wheatton, Esq., citizen and cordwainer. APPLICATION OF A HANOVERIAN TO BE MADE r RIE OP TIIR CITY. Sir PETER LAURIN rose to present a petition from Mr. Herman Christopher Bose, praying to be admitted to the freedom of the City ; and stated that the petitioner was born at Brenstadt, in the kingdom of Hanover, in the year 1810, where he lived until 1827, when he took up his re sidence in London ; and being desirous of commencing business, he made application to the Cooks' Company for admission. Ile obtained the freedom of that Company ; but previously to admission as a Liveryman it was neces sary to obtain the freedom of the City. An objection was taken by the Town Clerk, that Mr. Bose, as a native of Hanover, was an alien, and hence arose the present appli- C ition. Now he (Sir Peter Laurie) submitted that there was no ground for this objection, Mr. Bose being born when the Crowns of England and Hanover were united, was in allegiance to the King of England and Hanover, and therefore entitled to all his privileges as a British sub ject. He always understood it to be a clear principle that allegiance was due to the Sovereign, and not to the country. Ike presumed that this subject would be referred to the law officers of the Court, for the purpose of being examined and reported upon. The petition referred the several cases in the law books which bore upon the point, and he was glad to say they were all in favour of the application, especially one called Calvin's case, in Lord Coke's reports, where the question was whether a person born in Scotland, in the time of James I. of England, was an alien. The report concluded in these distinct terms- 7 - "So albeit, the Kingdom (which Almighty God of his infinite goodness and mercy directs) should by descent be divided and governed by several Kings, yet it was resolived that all those who were born under the natural olfedienee while the realms were united under one Sovereign, shoull remain natural born subjects and no aliens." Sheriff Woon said the subject was one which required consideration. He appeared to entertain a doubt of the existence of the privilege as regsrded a person born in Hanover ; at the same time that he was most d ec id e dl y opposed to the monstrous evil of shutting out the people from the privilege. The petition was then referred to a Committee of the whole Court. The Court, after the transaction of some business of no public importance, adjourned. EVENING EDITION. FROM LAST NIGHT'S G-AZtTTA BUCKINGHAM PALACE, JUNE 3, 1&39. This day had audience o f her ?Majesty : Prince Esterhazy, Ambassador Extraordinary from the Em peror of Austria, upon his return to this Court from leaie of absence; RechiCl Pacha, Ambassador from the Sublime R.rte, on going abroad on leave of absence; And also his Royal Highness the Hereditary Gpand Duke of Saxe Weimar, attended by the Count Pozzo di Borgo, the Rus sian Ambassador, and two Aides-de-Camp, upon his arr;val in this country ; To which they Were respectively introduced by Lord 'Vis count Palmerston, her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and conducted by Sir Robert Chestft, Knt., Master of the Ceremonies. WHITEHALL, MAt 31. The Queen has been pleased to constitute and appoint his Grace the Duke of Richmond, K.G., the Most Honourable the Marquis of Salisbury, Lord Eliot, the Right Honourable Lord Atherton, and William Saidcrs Sehright Lascellrs, Esq., her Majesty's Commissioners for inquiring hitt° the state of the roads in England and Wales. WHITEHALL, JUNE 2. The Queen has been pleased to present the Rev. James As pinrll, A.M., to the rectory of Althotpe in the county and dio cese of Lincoln, void by the resignation of the Rev. Charles Lacy, ➢I. A. OFFICE OF LORD CHAMBERLAIN TO THE QUEEN DOWAGER MARLBOROUGH -HOUSE, MAT 23, 1839. Her Majesty the Queen Dowager has been pleased to appoint the Hon. William Ashley Cooper to be Master, Governor, and Keeper of the Royal Hospital, a free chapel, of St. Katharine, in the Regent's-park, vacant by the decease of Lieutenant-Go neral Sir Herbert Taylor, G.C.B. OFFICE OF ORDNANCE, JUNE 3, 1639. Royal Regiment of Artillery—First Lieut. R. Luard to be Second Captain, vice Brewer, retired on half-way ; Second Lieut. E. W. Rodwell to be First Lieutenant, vice Luard, May 23. Corps of Royal Engineers—First Lieut. 14. Servante to he Second Captain ; Second Lieut. A. H. Freeling to be First Lieutenant, vice Servante ; Second Lieut. H. St. Georg, Ord to be First Lieutenant, May 27. Commissions by the Lord Lieutenant of the Count_ Palatine of Lancaster. J. C. Satterthwaite, Esq. to be Deputy" Lieutenant, May 20; C. D. Archibald, Esq. to be ditto, May 21 ; S. Horrocks, jan. Esq. to be ditto, May 19. 2d Regiment of the Duke of Lancaster's Own Militia—R. Phibbs, Gent. to be Ensign, May 10. Commissions by the Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire. Queen's Own Royal Staffordshire Regiment, of Yeomanry Cavalry.—Cornet L. Hall to be Lieutenant, vice Robinson ; Cornet C. Boethby to be ditto, vice Turner ; Cornet . W. Wilson to be ditto, vice Tomlinson ; Right Honourable G. G. Lord Leveson to be Cornet, vice Boothby ; J. Clowes, Gent., to be ditto, vice Wilson, May 27. BANKRUPTS. ADAM DICKEY, linen factnr, Old Jewry, to stirrender, June 12, at one, and June 16, at eleven , at the Court of Banks. ruptcy. Lacki ng t on , C o l eman -street-buildings, official assignee; Turner and Hensman, Basing-lane, Bread -street. EDWARD PARKER, perfumer, Piccadilly, June 14 and July 16, at eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Green, Alder manbury official assignee ; Knight, P an t on - s t reet, H aymarket. WILIZIAM CLARK FARR, licensed victualler, Frede rick-street, Vincent-square, Westminster, June 15, at past one, and July 16, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Groom, Abchurch-lane, official assignee; Pollocks, Red Lien square. EDMUND TAYLOR, drysalter, Liverpool, June 14, and July 16, at twelve, at the Clarendon-rooms, Liverpool. Holden and Clarke, Liverpool ; Walmesley, Keighticy, and Parkin, Chancery-lane, London. HENRY TOMPKINS, victualler, Bromyard, Hereford shire, June 20, and July 16, at twelve, at the Black Swan Inn, Hereford. Douglas and Cragg, Verulam-buildings, Gray's inn London; Taylor, Bromyard. YOHNJONES, wine -merchant, Chepstow, 'Monmouthshire, June IE, and July 16, at two, at the Commercial-rows, Bris tol. Bevan and Brittan, Bristol ; White and Whitntlft, Bed ford-row, London. JOHN RUNCORN, cotton-spinner, Chorlton-upon-Med lock, Lancaster, June 17 and July 16, at ton, at the Commis sioners' Rooms, Manchester. 'Milne, Parry, Milne, and Morris, Temple, London; Slater and Heelis, Manchester. JOHN BINNEY and THOMAS BINNEY, merchants, Sheffield, June 18 and July 16, at eleven, at the Town hall, Sheffield. Rodgers, Devonshire-square, Bishopsgate street, London ; Rodgers and Son, Sheffield. JAMES STELFOX, grocer, Manchester, June 19 and July 16, at two, at the Commissioners' Rooms, Manchester. lihnson, Son, and Weatherall, Temple, London; Hitahcoc, Manchester. JOHN COOMBE, currier, June 17 and July 10, at eleven, at the Commercial Rooms, Bath. Pinniger and Westnialiett, Gray's Inn-square, Gray's Inn, London ; Dare, Bath. DIVIDENDS. At the Court of Bankruptcy, Basinghall-street. W. 11. Alexander and C. Bolton, hardwaremen, Upper Clifton-street, Finsbury, June 25, at half-past twelve—J. 0. Beckett, merchant, Compton-street East, Brunswick-square, June 25, at one—B. Parker, wholesale grocer, Botolph-lane, June 25, at half-past one—R. Smith, woollen draper, Regent street, June 25, at twelve--E. Watkins, tailor, June 25, at half-past eleven—T. Newbould, Jun., merchant, Sheffield, June 25, at eleven—W. J. D. Arnold, and T. 11. Johnson, coal merchants, Norway Wharf, Westminster, June 27, at twelve—C. Saville, grocer, litomford, June 27, at one—S. Minton, woollen raper ' Minories, June 25, at elev en . S. Simpson, cheesemongor, Oxford-street, June 27, at eleven. in the Country. J. Mitchell, victualler, Essex, June 27, at one, at the Old London Inn, Exeter—H. Froom, grocer, West Teignmouth, Devonshire, June 27, at two, at the Old London Inn, Exeter— J. Gascoigne, joiner, Sheffield, June 28, at one, at the Town Hall, Sheffield. CERTIFICATES—Jr; J. Last, printer, Edward-street, Hampstead-road—E, B. Brown, coal merchant, Bryanston-street, Tiryanston-square-- F. Bray, dealer in pigs, Bromyard, Herefordshire—J. Lai; woollen draper, Bristol—G. Peach, woolstapler, Northampton. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED. J. Wall and W. Godfrey, brewers, Chatham—T. mid J. Rideal, wine merchants, Union -street, Southwark—J. We. terer and J. Ives, salesmen, Smithfield-market—B. and F. Clibborn, Liverpol—W. and J. Rigby, ironfounders, Ha warden, lillintshire—T. C. Callow and R. Gray, lace manu facturers, Nottingham—J. and H. W. Whaley, gun makers, Strood, Kent—J. and T. Heath, engravers, Stafkirdshire Pot teries—H. Sanford and J. Booth, ironmongers, Bishopgate street Without—l. and H. C. Rentell, plumbers, Camberwell J. and V. R. A. Brooks, stationers, Oxford-street--J. and W. D. Pickering, tailors, Margate—T. Read, T. Read, Jnn., and W. Read, wine merchants, Bath (so far as regards W. Read)—J. Sircom and J. Blackborow, coal merchants, Bristol —F. and T. Law, millers, Hamer Corn Mills, Lancashire—. S. P. Jackson, R. Ainsworth, and J. R. Harding, wholesale ironmongers, Bristol—R. G. Parry and J. Jones, attorneys, Welchpool, Montgomeryshire—J. and H. Nicholl, worsted spinners, Lillypot-lane, City,—C. H. and F. Dcrmcr, tallow chandlers, Camden-street, Isington-green—G. W. Noth and .1. Morcom, West India brokers, Bristol—W. J. and J. G. Marshall, wholesale grocers, Cousin-lane, Dovvgate-hill—S. J. Burford and W. Crowe, grocers, Harliston, Norfolk—ll. Varley, R. Fairbrotber, and J. Varley, brass founders, Saint Helens, Lancashire (so far as regards R. Fairbrother)—R. and J. Davies, druggists. LAW INTELLIGENCE. HOUSE OF LORDS, Juivs 4. Their Lordships were to hare met to-day at ten o'clock in a Committee of Privileges, for the purpose of consider ing the claim of the Earl of Sefton to Vote at the election of Representative Peers for Ireland, and also the claims to the Tracy and Rutherford Peerages, but on account of an insufficiency of Peers attending to form a Committee, seven being required, the different claims were postponed to Thursday, at ten o'clock. VICE-CITANCELL OR'S COURT, JuNir 4. Cause petitions, of no public interest, occupied his Honour the Vice- Chancellor the whole day. INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT, Jurx 4. GAMBLING TRANSACTIONS —Thomas _Henry _Horatio Canty, who was before the Court on two former() ccasiona and reported, again appeared. In this case evidence was required as to the souree from whence the money was derived to purchase the property at Brussels, in the insolvent wife's na►ae, and ito as to the application of 2881., part of a gambling transaction, - sent by the insolvent to Brustel. The attentiance of a was required. It appeared from the evidence of Mr. Fiske, that he mks present in October last, at Brussels, when Mr. Reviolds and Mr. Irvine handed over to the insolvent, who as a housekeeper, certain bills, accepted by a gentleman named Thompson, for a " play" debt. The reason was, that Reynolds and Irvine were " running all over the world," and that the insolvent should present the bills when due. Mr. Fiske had a smell " interest" in the bills which bed been struck off in an account he had with Irvine. Mr. HUMPHREY asked Mr. Fiske whether be was pre sent when a large sum of money was won from young Mr. Wellesley Mr. Fiske said he was, and in answer to further ques tions, stated that the sum then won was not 2,0001., it was about 1,0001. It was paid in hills given to the insolvent. Those persons on the occasion did not have an equitt share. Mr. NICHOLS said they had no further evidence, aid it was proposed that the property at Bru9seli should be given up, subject, of course, to the mortgage, and that 100.. should be paid into Court for the furniture at Brussels which had been sold. A long discussion took place, which ended in the case being adjourned to pay 1001. into Court, with an intimation that the insolvent would be remanded for making awsis- with his property after his arrest; the Court observing that he wei.t there to sell all he possessed of a tangible descrip tion. It was, however, stated that a further sum would be paid to redeem the case. NATIONAL EDUCATION.—A Correspondent of the Somerset County Gazette has suggested the pre priety of publishing a form of a petition for the imrikedist e use of the friends of National Education and Religion Liberty. Our Contemporary suggests the following : " To the llonourable the Commons of Great Britain in Parliament assembled. .‘ The humble petition of the undersigned inhabitants of (or members of the congregation of " Shevreth,—That your petitioners behold with feelings of deep regret the unconstitutional demands „pada by the Clergy of the Established Church, to have rk oxclusive superintendence and control of all moneys which may, in ibe wisdom of Parliament, be granted for the education of the people, and the determination manifested to render natiqnal education an engine of proselytism, and, in practice, an instrument of oppression. " Your petitioners believing that, however varied the sentiments of mankind may be on religious subjects, those differences ought not to form a harrier to their equal pli f _ tic;paticn in the benefits ofall laws, which the progress cif Society may point dut as nec essar y to be adopted.Ma ef o e f the re'please your Honourable Hou se to make noy i t grants tllr public money for the purp os© o f ri ie ts Education, without satisfaction being obtained as to their equitable appropriation and efficient application, upon principles accordant with the civil equality of all religious denominations. A n d your petitioners will, as in duty bound, ever T. Gisborne, M.A., prebendary of pray, The Durban', has given 2001 towards the endowment of Holy Trinity Church, Darliugton. ,~+.s