The Sun. — London, England, 1844-02-17 00:00:00

• a nd L earned Alember for Bath, a n d th e N o bl e L ord the 1 i t t ur i tnber a^d for --4 uraterland, th a t they unlit not maintain the rlestroy the Church Establishment.—( Cries of ITt• "' o h , " from the Opposition benches.) He supposed they ? ( d ie. t hats . t.lou se to represent the people of the Uni ca att a ,Th ee i'• Che people of the United Kingdom were n t They to there wild and revolutionary doctrines. sten Nvisl.ed to "see a steady course of improve did • adopted in Ireland and elsewhere, but they et •riot wish to see amelioration attempted be the clumsy work ,hdestroying the Established Church.—( Hear, hear.) But f 4 , 1 . - , !. was a third party in that II ,use—the party of her Zsty's Government. Ile believed that their policy was to alietittain erstahlishra,nts= not to maintain their abuses ; hut to j,,eityat:fctuhy nr.provina them ; and he believed that ,the ma fie people ot P EngLind were with them on that point. h was cert!,,n that they were not for the grant of 8,0001. , C e h: a ! ccalain that they were not for the destruction of the of . r Cu.' He believed that they would hest consult the feelings tieeir tesnstituents, and the welfare of the country, by giving " : : 4 .4 negative to the motion of the Noble Lord, having for ti s ta tJeast nothing that was intelligible, nothing that was prac eemi e,. nothing that was even respectable enough to be called `ii.utionary.—( Heir, hear. ) r • C. BULLER, who was scarcely audible in Coln p peing hi s address, said that before he addressed himself to the u4,,leet b e f ore the Hoare, he would advert to t wo d oc t r i nes tio ntch hall b een thrown but in support of that novel applica heal:. of the doctrine of conspiracy, which had been brought to N it . against certain Members of that House; where, by ali st l h a g, tether half of one Member's sentence and half of spade er, ember's sentence, a very formidable charge was e rst out of which neither Member was in fact guilty. The great t " h tgc was that broached that evening ; and v‘i th e ,"-stonishment he saw the Noble Lord the Secretary for ta klelonies take a note of it.—( Laughter.) On the oafinisor.etihd,ofihtehye speech of Ins Hon. Friend the Member for were charg , d with conspiring to repeal the Act ast'ettleinent. The Noble Lor I himself (Lord Stanley) had h ee3 ,3, t spok en upon this sulject.---( Loud cries of " Hear, S G a. ,' and laughter. ) They had only heard the v i ews o f th e )o , ...seri t nent expounded to them by the [lon, and Gallant taruer for the county o f Donegal, who, he mustsay, laaa unne cessary pai ns to re li eve hi mse lf f rom a very great , oe at th ant of odium un d er w hi c h h e supposed himself to labour. that Reside of the House.—( Hear, hear.) He could assure th e , .o• and Gallant Member that, however opposed to him pe r : n in ig be in politics, he believed there was no feeling of ill , nal Itostilitv to him on the part of 11,11. Members gene tea?' on that side of the House.—( Hea a hear.) On the con trea3;' w hen he made inquiries among those Members who were N ti ° PPosed to him, they all said that he was a very worthy ha turi en tall, and he (Mr. C. Buller ) thought he seemed a very good N e Zeisd.aad kind-hearted man. —(Laughter and cheers.) side of" the li on. Friend, and he supposed all of them on that th 41. toe House that he had no feelings of hostility towards ho'n, a !le retorted a l so t o spo li a ti on . H e cou ld assure the to sa „ i r .`o Gallant G ent l eman t h at h e had not the least wish him.--( Laughter. ) He wished to relieve him of 4id I ,ras. (Laughter.) He must say that that gentleman h a ,. 0 : the straneest language he had ever heard. He said tit I . • t a• ke " Non meus hie sermo, sed quod precepit Ofellua, Rusticus ab normis an ghter ) The Gallant Colonel said that they were go o ,1 3 a• e a adivest him of his religion.—( Laughter. ) He would not ata i „ s uch a cruel thing for the world.—( Great laughter.) /t h e 04deat thing he ever saw that religion of his, and lieZ 3 s ure he did not wish to spoil him of it—(Continued of if er er )--and if he might use a little variation, for the sake iatai t ' e l l un, he would observe that the Gallant Colonel seemed Ne a e ,' to take good care that they should not-4 Laughter ) G N I ! ne thought one wAtd would dispel the alarms of Hon. Th a , ernen opposite with regard to the Act of S . ettlement. houi`eo4fetas intended to guard against the claims of the de ad b Stuart,6 and as all the members of that house were 'COL:: ` li d not see what danger could exist in that quarter. ee te ,a—i and lauAter.)lThere was another charge to which foen:stpartitularly refer, because he recollected its ?fficiericy in (i lea vr ti en „ --the charge of alliance with Mr. Connell.— , 13 4 L he ar.) He ( alr C. Buller) would not flinch from 4 r. t ri g a r ge - --he had generally—almost invariably voted with N en upon all Irish questions except the repeal of the voted ith lle Was not as h ame d o f h av i ng d one so . H e h a d koehn him whe n hi s a id was use f u l to t h e L i b era l party, the e r e . w nlild not sh r i n k from his aid now that he was under tht o el ghtof a Government prosecution.—e( Loed cheers from et.sition benches.) He would declare in that House e had stated re p eatedly elsewhere, that he believed no tea - A r lan had done so reueli for his country as that. Hon. and itideaned?..entiensan nierefore, viewing his policy on one the Ponca of. "his opponents on the other, he was not '46 4 o Carp P', every fault, or to run him down for every tfllietieti°ll, hilt he stand by him now that he was under . to r 'ow', he was of opinion that the Irish question rest s , - upon whi6ll it was worse than tr . eachery 'este,f t eal their opinions on the grounds upon which they the •If there really did-exist in the state of Ireland any t he 1 7 w hich was not to . be apprehended in any other part of 4 th nited ki ngdom, he thdught the worst thing they could do a tter: a ir , uountry was to conceal it. It was in fact useless it tvosht," co ncealment—all the world knew ;the facts,. and it kne lt. ue folly to endeavour by air solemn muttering, or '3 / 4 'o feel ' to gull the world into net believin in she:alSence of a danger which they perceived themselves. th e t eit Was he thought the House would give him credit the —ne erity and earnest conviction that induced him h to 4 14, 4 and even if he might shock some gentleman by tou d c t „ te Pies which on ordinary occasions it was not pru en Z l t, s ' i," 88 in that House, the necessity of the case shoed he Rat th e se ' Another ground of excuse he thought should be cloe se e l were aware that the tone in which they spoke in that , Il thri w as More in unison with the state of public feeling ,' s ed to be. Theycou'd not disguise that the state of t'oLesio,,,,eling and their own feeling, as shown by their ; u se eat,° that;House, was different from what used;to be—that '45 Wutte were aware that there was some mischief in is. a Ppli ett a te . which was not to be counteracted by temporary ta a „lculs of the old method of treatment, bot which must ,'t th e "'erected forthwith it they meant to maintain the peace stnpire. They knew that, and that it was an encreas ;list;4", and that many ancient prejudices which used to ashe a s w ere fast fading away, and that our countrymen, beim, ave t the man who spoke the truth, would Ray 'hther gralefulr%o o him and still more grateful to t5l l. yer , r ,s°4 who would suggest a remedy for the th The evil which they had to deal with l e t. e alleged disaffection of the Irish people. He was very ktea l b to have to use, in that House, words that had been 1-) rs o Y gentlemen on the opposite side who represented the !hat Party in Irel an d. H e need hardly say, lie was sure in va n ,_en he used those terms he totally repudiated the spirit • e " they vver aplied. But still he felt it impossib . le to is l e that, in certain limited sense of the words, there existed qti:teriand disaffection, not, indeed, to the Crown, but to the Co uld and some of the institutions of the empire. d. He s Wth rt t s doubt it hen h looked to some o the cee n l atist e , a 4 , ls h Peopl e w to the e language of those f sons persons who i h gd I ,tter ea , : ,ht with them • and when he looked to the language of a v • Nation) which, having been only started . about (tiger tir a go, had, within six months from that period, d a aehan cation s of tertsD kt th e indieu'a:tion than anpaper in Ireland—when he lo . oke manifested by the public meetings, teeeivehe compared t host - s e t r hin s with the private accounts he Ihe e d it ° m Individuals he could nut doubt that throughout there existed part of the Roman ' Catholic population of Ireland, Mete h : l sted the greatest alienation from this country. In tv;trned I,. wa i t Was prepared to believe that fact. We had go '''uts o f • e 'and as if our object had been to alienate the affec he e , the R —omen Catholic inhabitants of that country, and /ft suprised atour having in a peat degree succeeded. * a 41 1 — ' 1 this t htl not without consideration, and ;144 i ntention oig to Y exaggcrate. It - was a frightful tug to admit the existence of such a state of things pytl n u•;ion of the people, to believe that one-fourth of the a "ste..... 4 ', e n (4 the ern • as Roman Catholics of Ireland aia4 o w re hostile Pi t r o e— the Government of England as the po lhaPulaptl; n ' Poland wa s to the Government of Russia, and the ° 1 Lornbd Austria. Was he not borne out in • oy the the Government ? By what tenure •qv , words of h., 6 531,1 g read Ireland ? Was it not the same tenure by which `;wer o ; ° Poland, and Austria held Lombardy, namely, the j P utif t • an Overwhelming military force ? If he was , a• be those matters, lie should have much pleasure .e.„ Natee corrected. But he was not to be cor- Le site TY. the mere expression of repugnance to b.,7e g• But it was necessary for the Government . to i„ ard with proofs of the good disposition of the Irish e:trie‘Coader to sho th t h was wrong. In the meantime e i - "anti usto e - , t ake the evidwencea of ' the facts that were before the ',1. 4141 by hose facts . he ' could come to no other de,,,e.a.nAthat the alienation of the Irish people was not con galeßas t o deep extensive, but also of a permanent nature. It kik'le.on of religion and race.—( Hear, hear.) It ,ytitot.,testarltalTnation of Roman Catholic Ireland from lt v ith at England ; and it was evidently tending to ea Ng tied end to which the alienation of people -et a . tinder th e a . I tla k : r icted . 'me Government must inevitably tend if not a a . Ati ati They said that the Irish were aiming at total t als en ' and the Irishpeople themselves avowedly asked for et."elteit arat ien from us . P Now, he must confess that when gre as e d at at the course that discontent was taking, he was the as Real and etm lieu it presented—the numbers—their a. lee, eentrated zeal—their beingmarshal)ed under the all 'lle a , of "'" o o ne man —their exhibition of the most theeerganisation and of the greatest elige e 4f li tli et asWere fe;tures that combined to t present a than t i n 03 peat, He believed there was no Govern itn th at :jrorld that possessed a more powerful machinery itbstii e n tell was to be met with in Ireland, by the side of, tail j °'co n i e ) * the regular Government. He believed that ta ki lnes of thl.ll exercised the most perfect control over . six Sy s ° f th at e° nntrxmen. The exertions of even an inert had m agnitude would be very dangerous, but t hes e noe, pe a a leader Mr. O'Connell, who wielded lhetisti4e ri b Y an agency the most powerful ()' Qtl l.-- he did Y that means, and by the organisation of local 4 051 11 411 w • not exaggerate, surely, when he said that Mr. to e, saa tlod ielded all that mass as though they had but one ilana Ind Y ' He told them when and whither they were to d h 6 Still... 1, Wn len they were to be for action or inaction a tlaa: v a lways implicitly obeyed. To any think thely.'ll, the he most formidable feature in the aspect Vea t P r eger ved "' People presented, was the . quietne:.s Ke y es nao-1proro: They broke out into no partial riots, and the ,wait e a t Z a two could not force them to appeal to arm-. 41, lb ' , rio t to t e,ere a s if conscious of their strength, and detr ltst Prop er n row it away in any rash attempt, hut to strike Nis tj, 4 'I et th e n ' en tent, and with good effect. Therefore it was itto e t lait, statern not disguise the fact from themselves. T . hat the` e tat o , ' of thing s in Ireland. They had a reflecting ah' i n iength Y . w .... !! l ,ing for the moment when they could show ei e It was (H ear, hear.) Now, was that a state of things a tid t ,rene e? Ve and just to th,iir countrymen to conceal Netd ' et, tees • as it not rather the wiser course to point out , tt Paly o Mat:ers, with a view to seeing where they a elir ttly site r,enriedy The policy of the Government was Ito to es sed e o e u t e• It was that of mere coercion. They had they t hey %Nee the e of the grievancea of Ireland. They had removed ad give thewsthe in whom the people had confidence, and I 'av e Z t tY wh o n hole of the executive authority to that Phy li sd th e to n t the rest of the nation detested. They had tneeee,aill the with troops, and under the shield of that koa a e ta eY had seized the lands af the . people, and a ka v et , "te .to penalties under a very questionable law, te,.:.lteaoleted:Jaieateieas.ti,oenpraebslie o m ni e y ans. That was the policy which 4, 41, 4 the Irish ! , d to prevent t he immediate movement, but it ao Peo I any ulterior movement, by ual e * But Peior by preventing all hope of . future ke, t. eelat ed at any rate it would be admitted, that it was p la t!i s t el h4 as , per ati r theeor:ciliate the people ; on the contrary, ,, it and his belief was that, all the Govorn te e 'a done had ' 1 ; 1 tl ie aisti ng feel , been simply and greatly to exas tticteieki;i.m pii7itister let a l l t g r b s .' and he trusted it would be O'Connell to prevent any out -BPos' • ,t l eal em not deceive themselves with th e the t a n a ea that they had done anything to alter the t v wo u l d "f the Irish at as g° on wth People. They might depend upon e~!le e a Perfeet a an assurance of ultimate success, and atlibisleciewnyt:eedehption of the plan they meant to Put.- tb e a nten t , s Ile t e h adti dtheaskh sthem thing for whitherth their r l ( t t h h a e t G w o a_s thirty With view s —he wa o t ng t o anythi ng of s sur . e he did not desire to charge ti o s w a ll seeeti G s il u , P w Po h r . t_ t_ th e i r p t r h e e sen k t in p d o , li w oy he n he said that the best would be al immedia'e nniwould, in all probability, be ultimately put ejlsa.„ eertiaci r t tilieuntry ea , did not mean to sa from the character taesit h a d ttat the instant resistance was disarmed, and t h il e th e h e 4n li d ev_. o b au e g se un,,,tcheirugene_rous feelings would not step t 9se ab tti e:t s th a t con Z a l ssi e ariel be altogether forgotten. _ fat Which could on would step in and sweep away tas long now be so much better removed. Ile Air. O'Connell led the Irish people, THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 17, 1844. there was no danger of an insurrection ; but ho asked if the general peace of Europe were broken, and in the event of a war, if foreign enemies landed in Ireland, would they not find a large portion of the people of that country a friendly popula tion ?-- No, no," from both sides of the House.) They knew full well that that danger was not unreasonably appre hended before, and it was averted, not by any want of ability on the pare. of our enemies, but because fhe Irish people were not inclined to rise against this nation. Ile had touche 1 upon that subject very l'glitly, and he ventured no assertion of his own upon it.—( Hear, hear.) But, he asked, was there nothing in that subject which would point. out a want of security in Ire land, in the case of a war? Was not the contingency of war publicly di:classed in Ireland, and in America? And did not Louis Philippe, simple as he was—( A laugh)—possess an inkling of the matter ? Those were only the probable evils of the present state of Ireland ; but the real evils whieli it. im posed were the enormous expense—the constant violation of the constitutional principles and free form of government under which we lived—and, above all, the total impossibility of taking any measures to ameliorate the condition of the people of Ireland. The state of Ireland—the turbulent disposition and utter misery of the peasantry of that country—made it the great eye sore of the whole of Europe. Intelligent travellers from all countries—men conversant with the state of every nation of the continent of Europe—drscribe the destitution and misery of Ireland as being beyond that of the peasantry of any country in the world. This is a frightful thing; it is more—it is a scandal to us who have governed Ireland. And yet, exist will till they removed the religious grievances of the people, for it was totally impossible to ameliorate the condition of a disaffected people—it was totally impossible, till the first was effected, to do any good. The great evil of Ireland put out of the question any plan that wisdom might. suggest for the improvement of the people.—( Hear, hear.) Now he had stated the existence of this disaffection without justifying it, without palliating it, and even without reprobating- it ; for he wished to represent it simply to the House in a practical point of view. —( An Hon. Member on the Opposition benches, we believe Mr. J. O'Connell, expressed his disapprobation of the word " disaffected.") He wished to present that feeling to the House in a practical point of view, namely, as one that they could nst dream away, that they could not doubt away, and that they could not allow to exist unheeded. He had been guarded in his use of the word disaffection—he had guarded himself against any mis aprehension, by stating his wish to present it to them as a thing with which they must deal as " a great fact," one to be taken into consideration as the basis of all their policy with regard to Ireland. It would not do at this time of day, to lay all the blame of the agitation on agitators and demagogues, because the world at large had pretty well arrived at the con clusion that a people 'might be provoked, but never instigated, into a re ;olt. They must use the knowledge of this feeling, in order to direct them in applying a remedy. They must not be misled in endeavouring to apply that remedy, by attending merely to what the people asked ; it was their business to at tend to that cry so far as it led them to an acquaintance with their grievances, and those grievances it was their duty to re lieve when they discovered them. He did not say that, because the people of Ireland demanded the repeal of the union, they were to discuss that question as the only remedy, or to apply any remedy except that which might be most just and the most practical. . It was impossible to look at the state of Ireland, without seeing that the real grievance which had alienated the affections of the people, was a religious grievance, else why was the agitation going on through all the Catholic population of Ireland? Why were the Catholic priests the leaders of it, and why did the present outbreak take place on the accession of an Anti-Catholic Ministry to power ? (Cheers. ) These coincidences showed that it was a religious grievance. And when they looked round on the state of Ire land, and asked what it was that called forth the in digeant feelings of the people, they saw that which the voice of the world hail pronounced to be a gfeater outrage on religious feel ng than was to be found in any part of it—the ascendancy of the English Church in that country. He knew that there wet e some gentlemen who maintained that the hos tility to the English Church, on the part of the people of Ire land, was a sort of point of honour—a feeling far too fine for people of common sense—and who looked on the mass of the people as a set of beasts, who, as long as their bellies were filled —( Hear, hear, from an Honourable Member on the Mi. nistei ial side)—had no business to trouble themselves with any point of the kind. Those who held this opinion Leal!) , overlooked the fact, that almost all great movements of a national character that had ever taken place in the metro polis had been caused by outrages on national feeling, rather than by injuries to national interest.—( Hear, hear.) It seemed to him that the ascendancy of the English Church in Ireland had every characteristic of an outrage on national feeling. First, it was a great and palpable injustice—the maintenance of the English Church as an establishment in Ireland, was a thing so opposed to every principle on which Church establishments were maintained by any rational set of men, that no one could doubt that they ventured to keep it up, solely from a scornful disregard of the feelings of the Irish people. Why, the only national principle on which he had ever heard the connexion of Church and State de fended, was that it was their duty to provide for the religious wants of the majority of the people, and, above all, tor the religious instruction of the poor. Now, what was it that they had done in Ireland? They had plundered the many of the provision made for their religious wants, in order to establish a sinecure Church for the few.—(Cheers.) They had robbed the very poorest people in the world, in order to gorge the avidity of the rich.—( Hear, hear.) The Irish Church was associated w ith more reco ll ec ti ons o f suffering and grievance than any other instituti on i n an y na tion with which he was acquainted. He thought it was not too much to say that—taking not-only the intensity of its per secutions at particular intervals, the long period it had lasted, and the numbers 'over which it extended ; but also, the evils that had been their results —a greater amount of human misery had been caused by the attempts made by Queen Eliza beth, and since the time of Elizabeth, to force the Protestant religion on the people of Ireland, than by any other cause that ever operated to the detriment of any nation. It was impossible that in the minds of the Irish peasant the English Church could ever be viewed except as surrounded by a dark aloud of recollections of conquest, of repeated massacre, of as oft-repeated confiscation, as the source of the laws that made his religion penal, that broke the peace of society, and severed the ties of families —the laws that pronounced unnameable barbarities as the punishment of the teachers of his own faith—as the source of evils from which he had himself suffered, or mise ries from which he had seen others suffer. It was impossible for any man to look on the Church in Ireland but as associated with these evils and mischiefs, or to regard it but with feelings of alienation and hatred. But he would go further ; he would say that there was not one evil in the present state of Ireland with which the ascendancy of the English Church was not connected, either as cause or concomitant. He attributed entirely to that ascendancy the alienation of the rich from the poor, the horrible relations of landlord and tenant, the neglect of a proper provision for education, and the perverted administration of justice, which had deprived the people of all confidence in their magistrates. The peasantry had always been ill-treated under the name of Papists, and did they wonder that they hated the institution by which all this wrong had been perpetrated ? He would new only ask one more ques tion on this subject. If this was the feeling with regard to the Church in the mind of the Irish peasant, what must be the feeling of the Irish Catholic gentlemen, and still more in the mind of tke Irish Catholic priest ? The Irish Catholic priest was fully cognisant of all the horrors of the past—he was fully cognisant of all the evils that afflicted his country—he was per fectly acquainted with the position his Church occupied in all the rest of Christian Europe, and he deeply felt its humiliation in his own country. Above all, he deeply felt the mortifying position in which that humiliation placed him. Under the influence of the common feelings of human nature, could lie feel anything but hostility to the ascendancy of that Church which he believed was he retical, and which he ,knew to be obtrusive ?—( Hear, hear. ) His opinion of all these facts, therefore, was, that the great barrier to all improvement, to the tranquillity of Ireland, was the present position of the Engli 1 and the Catholic Church in that country. And until they removed that, and other grievances connected with it—which he might call Church grievances—such as the defects of the franchise and of the municipal corporations, it would be impossible for them to do anything for the amelioration of the condition of the people of Ireland. He was aware that he had used very strong lan guage, and which he feared might give offence to some gen tlemen. He saw with pleasure the sensitive manner in which the Hon. Member for Kilkenny had taken up this ap plication of the term disaffected to the people— ( Hear.) He applied it in a limited sense, and he wished now to explain by an instance which he wished particularly to press on the atteetion of the Right Hon. Baronet opposite ; it was one that showed how easy it was, by a simple course of justice, to remove the most unequivocal disaffection. Ile wished to call the attention of the House to an instance that had occurred within their own experience, and of which they were cognisant. They remembered the state of Canada in 1838. During that year there were no less than two insurrections in that colony—(Hear, hear)—and in that insurrection, nearly the whole of the French population of the colony was implicated, either by having taken part in it, or by being known to be friendly to the insurgents. He was sure that no one doubted—at least no one did when he was in Canada—that had a foreign army made its amearance, it would have been able to have held its ground. The steps taken to redress the grievances of Canada were founded en tirely on two recommendations. One was the union of the two provinces—the second was to establish a responsible Parlia mentary Government. He did not allude to the union of the two provinces as a step that quite alleviated the French discon tent. Lord Sydenham was not able to alleviate that discon tent. It went on increasing till the Hight Hon. Baronet sent out Sir C. Bagot to administer the affairs of that country. Sir C. Begot adopted the system of responsible government, that is, he admitted the leaders of the French party to office, and what effect did this step produce on the French popu lation? Why, within six months the whole of this devoted people were offering up prayers in their churches for the health of the Governor who had granted the boon, and for the prosperity of the mother country, to whom they were grateful for it. He brought with great pleasure this instance before the Right Hon. Berenet, because it was an instance of the conciliation produced by his own wise measures. He had seen the effect of conciliation in Canada. Let him try its effects in Ireland. Let the Government act in the same spirit as that is which they had acted in Canada, and he was bound to say that, however strong the feeling of the people might be, they would be conciliated by acting with jus tice and in a liberal spirit. He was not going to take up the time of the House —( Hear, hear, from the Ministerial benches ) of the valuable time of those important gentlemen opposite.— ( Laughter)—but he thought it was absolutely necessary that he should specifically state how he thought these grievances might be remedied. It could only be by establishing perfect religious equality. He was always glad to have recourse to any preced ents when it was possible. and he believed it would have been the best thing for the country had Mr, Pitt been able to effect the large and comprehensive plan on which he conceived the union. tie believed he intended first to emancipate the Catholics with respect to their civil rights. Secondly, to have grante4 payment to the Catholic clergy ; and, thirdly, to have effected the union. But the order of those measures was reversed, the union was carried, but the other parts of his great and sound policy were not effected. This was deeply to be regretted. If, at the time of passing the union, these measures had been car ried, Ireland would have been as tranquil and as well governed a country as any in the world. But he feared that the time for those measures had n ow p asse d away . H e f eare d t h a t they wereinscribed in one of the Sybil's books that had been irrecoverably consumed : —(Cheers.) In 1825 they might. perhaps, have coupled with their liberal policy a measure for the endowment of the Catholic clergy, but now they would distrust the spirit in which they made the offer.—( Hear, hear.) It would be believed that their object was, as indeed it was avowed to be, to bribe the priests, and to seduce the leaders from the people. The offer would be entirely re jected, and would be viewed from one end of Ireland to the other with feelings of hostility. And more than this--he be. lieved if they have to do this without the consent of the Catholic priests or people they would be paying a costly price for an instrument which would not he of the slightest service to them. If the Catholic priests were to take the pay of the Go vernment, they would immediately lose all their hold on the people ; anti thus would be utterly destroyed the influence the Government relied on. On the other hand, he did not believe that the prejudices of the people of this country could be got over, unless the Government openly de clared that a measure like this was absolutely necessary for securing the tranquillity of Ireland. And how could they declare this, when both the people and the pries . ts of that country rejected their proposal? — ( Hea r, hear.) They must then give up their plan, and produce equality in another way. NON the plan he had to propose had been already alluded to I by the Noble Lord the Member for the City of London, and the Noble Lord the Member for Sunderland. The Learned Mere ber the Recorder of Dublin had stated that the adop' the congregational principle of paying the ProtestgintS clergy would be equivalent to stripping it of character as a national establishment. That was re"o — ely the ground on which, he would say, they :oujeiX to adopt the principle.—(Hear, hear.) He beheired it was not so much the amount of the money paid to the church that was objected to by the Irish people. What they objected to was the, dominancy of the Church.—(Loud cheers.) th Protestants of the Established Church were paid in t4ratd manner as those of the Presbyterian Church, he thougct.ebe6 . l the discontent would be in a great measure appease should wish, in the change which he proposed, to see a let regard paid to existing vested intere s t s —( H ear , h ear ) —Vdslie did not believe that there was a single Irish Catholwho would not wish to have a proper regard paid to existitfikin terests.—( Loud cheers.) Let them take the whole property of the State Church into the hands of Government, let thermpay the clergy of that Church on the congregational principle, saving the increase as the incumbents died off; let them make a fair and liberal allowance to the ministers of the Established Church in Ireland, and they would have done all that was ne cessary on this point to remove the indignation of the people of Ireland.—(Cherrs. ) This measure must be preliminary to every other measure. This would remedy the religious ine qualities, hut it would not better the physical condition of the people. But itmust precede every measure for bettering their ph) sleet condition, in order to prepare their minds for the re ception of those measures. Hence arose his chief repugnance to the landlord end tenant commission. He did full justiefro; the talents and character of the Noble Lord who was at the head of that Commission.— ( Hear, hear.) But the Right Hon. Baronet had begun at the wrong end.—(Cheers,) The Right Hon. Baronet thought that the appointment of ! this Landlord and Tenant Commission would allay all the discontent in Ireland without a remedy of their religious grievances. It would be impossible to allay that discontent. unless those grievances were first remedied.—( Loud cheers. ) It was not giving the remedial measures a fair chance.— ( Cheers.) He was convinced that if those religious grievances were redressed, it would not be long before they would secure the material prosperity of a country which long wanted justice done to it, to develope its great natural resources. Loud cheers.) He was grieved to find that her Majesty's Govern. had taken their stand on maintaining the existing religious ine qiiality.—(Cheers. ) They depended on the majority by which they were backed i n t h a t House—( Cheering and coun ter-cheering )—and they placed reliance upon the prejudices of the people of England; prejudices which had frequently been brought to bear.on these questions.—( Iseult cheers.) lie was prepared to meet them upon that point. England never dealt, fairly with the people of Ireland on this question.—( Cheers. ) They had never fairly placed before the people of England the horrible injustice which the maintenance of this system perpetrated in Ireland.—(Loud cheers.) They had been kept in ignorance of it..—(Cheers.) He was sure that all the efforts to govern Ireland upon their present principles would be wholly useless, and would only add another chapter to the disastrous history of that most injured country, Lord STANLEY would not deny he had no desire to deny to the Noble Lord, the Member for the City of London, the credit of having made on this important question a most able and clever Opposition motion—(Cheers)—and a most able and clover Opposition speech.—(Renewed cheers.) It was a most able and clever opposition motion, because, in moving merely for a Committee of Inquiry, the Noble Lord hoped, that, in the certainty of the rejection of that motion—and without that certainty, the Noble Lord would hardly baxe ventured to make it—(Loud cheering from the Ministerial benches) —the Noble Lord trusting in that certainty, hoped that he might hereafter be able to al lude to the rejection of that motion ; a motion, as he would say, merely for inquiry, and tamit the majority by which he had been opposed as heaping injustice, injury, and insult upon the people of Ireland.—(Loud Opposition cheers.) A motion for inquiry into the grievances of the Irish perwle had been rejected, it would be said, with contempt by a arliamentary majority.—(Cries of "No, no.") No, not by the Noble Lord. The Noble Lord would hold no such language, but the Noble Lord knew well that there were those among his sup porters who held, and who would hold, such lan guage.—(Loud cheers from the Ministerial side of the House. ) The form of the motion was intended to afford them the greatest facility for holding such language.—( Renewed Ministerial cheers.) No one in the House could doubt but that the motion was intended as a, direct and palpable vote of censure on her Majesty's Government.—(Tremendous cheers from the Opposition.) Such was the intention, but such were not the terms.—(Cheering.) It would have been more manly and straightforward in the Noble Lord to have proposed a direct vote of censure —( Cheers)—but not so politic.—( Cheers.) For the debate afforded ample opportu nity for insinuating charges against their political opponents, while the avowed object of the motion was only to suggest a remedy for grievances. He would not go to the whole length to which the Hon. and Learned Gentleman who had just sat down had gone, but he would admit that he viewed the case of Ireland with care, with anxiety, and with some alarm. He did net believe with the Hon. and Learned Gentleman that if a foreign army was to land in Ireland they would find a friendly greeting from the greater part of the Irish people.—( Hear, bear.) He had a higher opinion of the loyalty and good feeling of the people of Ireland.—(Loud cheers.) If such, indeed, were the case ; if in the event of a foreign war, a great portion of the people of Ireland would be ready to welcome any army that should be hostile to Great Britain ; if it were true, as the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had stated, that Ireland was not only disaffected but revolted—a revolted people coolly awaiting the moment to show their hostility—excited almost to mad ness--at the command of one man who could either lull them to temporary repose, or excite them to action as might suit his ulterior purposes—if that were the state of Ireland could they conceive how, at such a moment, such a motion should be proposed for mere party object—when everything ought to be merged in patriotic feeling.—( Hear, and cheers.) Could they conceive anything more tremendous than the responsibility of those men who had once served the Crown, who might hope again to serve the Crown, and who yet at such a moment could bring forward a motion calculated to cause every possible prejudice in the Irish people, whose feelings were already ex cited to the verge of madness—(Loud cheers)--and who en deavoured, by every species of misrepresentation, to obstruct and to thwart those who under such tremendous circumstances were charged with the safety of the empire?—(Loud cheers.) Now, what had been their course under these circumstances? Had it been as ',the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had stated it must and would be ?—(Cheers.) No.—(Cheers.) There had been no violation of constitutional principle.—(Tremen dons Opposition cheers.) What prineiple had they violated? —( Cheers and counter-cheering.) What law had they strained? —( Immense cheer ing from the Opposition.) What new powers had they asked for ?—(Ministerial cheers.) What rights or privileges had they restrained ?—( Renewed cheers.) They were told that the country was in a most dangerous state ; that. Mr. O'Connell was at the head of a people actuated by hostile feelings. and acting, or ceasing to act, according to the direc tion of their leader ; they were told by the Noble Lord that Mr. O'Connell possessed the confidence of the Irish people, and the Noble Lord intimated that they ought to be guided by the councils of Mr. O'Connell. A snore forgiving man than the Noble Lord he had never heard of.—(Ministerial cheers.) They had been reproached— nay, they were even now reproached—by Hon. Gentlemen op posite with not having interfered earlier.—(Cheers.) They had, however, pursued a steady and a legal course.--( Cheers. ) Without any violation of the law—without asking for any in creased power—(Loud cheers)—but trusting to the law alone, they had brought to judgment and to conviction the leaders of the band. —( Cheering and counter-cheering.) They told him that the danger was not over—(Loud Opposition cheers)—that they had not effected their object—(Opposition cheers)—that the conviction had driven the people to madness.—( Cheers. ) And before the record could be received of that conviction— before the law-officers of the Crown could appear to face their charges and their calumnies, they thought it right—(Cheers) —they thought it decent— ( Cheers)—they thought it patriotic —(Cheers)—there, in that House of Commons—(Cheers) — to excite this already maddened people, by remarking in that assembly, trusting to such reports as alone they could have yet received, upon the conduct, upon the words, upon the voice, aye ! even upon the gestures of the highest functionaries of the law.—(Loud Ministerial and Opposition cheers.) He was sorry to see Hon. Gentlemen opposite so strongly-ex cited.—( Renewed cheering.) The Noble Lord, at an early period of the debate, had charged the Government with occu pying, but not governing, Ireland.—( Loud Opposition cheers. ) It had been made, for a considerable time past, a matter of charge against the Government that they restrained the people of Ireland by military force, and not by law.—(Opposition cheers.) The Noble Lord had commented on what he deno minated the fallacious returns of the amount of military force in Ireland which had been produced by his Right Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department. An Hon. Gentleman had called for returns of the rasik and file in Ireland, for every year since the year 1830; those returns had been produced, and the result had been to show that this Govern ment, which was charged with having introduced a military despotism into Ireland, with having superseded law by military force, had actually during the two years which they had been in office, up to the commencement of 1843, maintained in Ire land a force lower, on the average, by '2,000 men than the average which had been maintained by Hon. Gentleman oppo site during the time that they administered the Government. —( Cheers.) In 1832, the military force in Ireland amounted to 19,301 men. In 1833, to 23,998.—( Hear, hear.) In 1834, to 23,055. During the next five years, from 1835 to 1841, the average force in Ireland was 16,810 men. The lowest amount of force was 14,687 men. During the two years 1842 and 1843, the average force was 14,833 men, and in the month of May, 1842, the force in Ireland was below 13,000 men, being the lowest force since the union that had ever been retained in Ireland.—( Hear, and cheers.) The Noble Lord moved for a letter of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, offering to give up four or five regiments to quell the disturbances in England in 1839. Why, in 1839, the force in Ireland was 16,260 men, and if the whole four regiments, being of the ordinary strength of regiments, had been sent out of Ireland, they would not have reduced the force in that coun try below the average at which they were kept by her Majesty's present Government.—( Cheers.) But in 1843 commenced that system which he might venture to describe as a system of pernicious agitation—( Hear, hear, and cheers. ) Mul titudinous meetings were held in every part of the country which, if nut of themselves strictly illegal, were of such a character as to cause reasonable and serious alarm—not of immediate violence, because that was not the object of the leaders, at whose beck the people would rise or be still ; but no man would tell him that a succession of those meetings, at which 100,000 persons were assembled to petition Parliament, but who did not petition Parliament.--(Cheers)—using exciting language, selecting scenes calculated to excite rancorous hos tility to England— (Cheers) using at those meetings language, the tendency of which was to create hatred and ill-will between the two countries—if he said those meetings were not in themselves illegal, their tendency was to create a rersonable apprehension, if not of an immediate dis turbance of the public peace, at least of an attempt to overthrow the functions of Government. —(Cheers.) Would any person tell him that the responsible Minister of the Crown would be justified, seeing, day by day, and week by week, meetings of 200,000 persons taking place, arrayed and disciplined, and boasting of their strength, with a leader, who, according t o th e Honourable and Learned Gentleman who spoke last, had but to hold up his finger, when they would rise up in their strength and might—would any person tell him that the Cove! 'anent vvonld be justified—nay, would not be deserving of impeachment—(Loud cheers)--if they did not meat that display of physical force by the exhibition of physical force, sufficient, thank God, not only to check an outbreak, bat even the possibility of such an outbreak ?—( Cheers.) He admitted that, in 1843, they added a large increase to the military force in Ireland; yet, even now they bad not increased it to the same amount at which it stood in 1834, nor had they raised the whole force in Ireland above what it was in 1834 and 1835. And though at an early period of the Government they had somewhat reduced the military force, the House would recollect at the same time, that a large in crease was made to the police—( Hear, hear)—and this Go vernment, which t a lk e d o f no thi ng but moral influence, and governing Ireland by the means of that influence, had, if not so large a military force in Ireland, in point of fact, as large physical force. ( Hear, hear.) If the House would permit him, he would now deal with some of those topics in which the Noble Lord and other Members of the House dealt, and he must take the liberty of saying, that the whole course of the debate exhibited the prudence of the course pursued by the Noble Lord in bringing forward a motion for a Committee, and not a substantive motion ; because, though there was great unanimity in condemning the Govern ment on account of the present state of Ireland, there was great discrepancy as to the causes which produced it, and great dis crepancy as to the course which ought to be pursued, and as to . . - the.nreastrresswisteir the Government, which was to succeed her pg6sy'sitrieet;rst Government, ought to adopt with regard to kir.aland.,.:-Medtiens had been urged to the c turse adopted by d 7 tht,, , ktpsn,qs . --an objection was taken for not interfering soyidurr..4. ItA4erobjection was made for interfering too seen— '•irsnfrfe4Yaid' they, issued the proclamation too late, but he I)iiiiight his . - Right . Hon. Friend proved, by fair statements of .4-sles,'-tfiArit"-tstas impossible the proclamation could have been lirecr o t.,siiy,Sooner after the inte n ti on o f t h e party b ecame krspae.rs,•( observation was here made which did not reach its:4 L i clk A a w rit Stanley) believed th a t ques ti on h a d b een set alit 4ot weary the House by repeating what had - 14 4 subject by his Right Hon. Friend, and was rtsWskellfer leave.ihe statement to the‘ House and the country. - - - CsOfisAtA:tittr-:) 1 .But Hon. Gentlemen opposite gave him an :irclikkbal'phor;,vvlsen he said they did not strain the law ; and 'Seqtrki Ttra gentleman rise up and tell him, the House, and the country; - whit dam' had been strained ?—( Hear, hear.) What course had been pursued by the Government which was not only justified ley circumstances, but compulsory upon them ? With regard to the accidental omission of the names from the general jury list, it was a question with which the Government had nothing to do. Ile merely mentioned it as an instance of the haste, the breathless haste, with which gentlemen pressed assertions against the Government before the circumstances were known.— ( Hear, hear.) They heard over and over again. unite ad nauseam, that sixty Catholics—("" No, no)"—well names, were excluded from the list. The Government had nothing to do with that ; but if that was so, why was the charge Made against the Government? It was said that the prisoners - being Catholics—or a majority of them—were prejudiced in having a fair trial by excluding the names from the jury list, many of wlurn were of the Roman Catholic persuasion. Was it e fi r f e t e o o n m w i t e t e r d e ? fr No, m n n e o p r a t r h i s i r h t y ; , a b n u d t twenty-four; t e tLo s w of these he did not know, nor did the Recorder, whose state ment he followed—( Hear, hear)—who were Roman Catholics and who Protestants ; but this he did know, that the gentle man by whose negligence, or in consequence of whose omit stop, those names were left out, was himself a Roman Catholic. —( Hear, hear.) And yet it was made a charge against the Government that they were emitted to prejudice the tra versers, being Roman Catholics, on their trial. This was the charge with regard to the omission of the names. Then with regard to striking the Roman Catholics off the jury— Lord J. RUSSELL—Challenging them. Lord STANLEY thanked the Noble Lord. He did not use the accurate expression —which was challenge. What was the fact ? The Noble Lord contrived to omit the distinction be tween a common and a special jury, and omitted to tell the H dus e this, that if they had a common jury, which they might have had, it would have given the Crown a power of causing personsto stand by, and they might then be charged--perhaps unjustly charged—with packing the jury. They sought no such advantage ; they applied for a special jury—they applied for it as the last special jury list stood. The traversers corn • ptained that it was not correct, and they applied for time to have a new list framed. The Crown acceded to that request, and gave them time to have a new jury list. Was this done by any law introduced by them, or according to any mode or arrangement of theirs? No, but according to a law, framed, he presumed, to facili tate the due administration of justice ' and introduced, h e believed, by Sir M. O'Lo g hli n , wh en Attorney-General of Ireland. What were the conditions of that law ? Forty eight names were to be taken by ballot from the general jury list. From this number both the Crown en the one hand and the traversers on the other hand had the right of striking out twelve names each, and no discretion whatever was left them in the exercise of that right ; but then it was said that the officers struck off all the Roman Catholics. His Noble Friend stated—and he was sure any statement he made would not be for a moment doubted—that psitive directions had been given by the Irish Government, which had the cor dial approval of her Majesty's Government here, not to strike off any person on account of his religion. Ten Roman Ca tholics were struck off who were Repeaters, with one exception. Mr. SHEIL—No, no. Lord STANLEY—The Right Hon. Gentleman possessed a great advantage over him, because he had a little professional bias in the question—(Laughter)—he was counsel for the parties. He (Lord Stanley) was not.—( Cheers and laughter.) It was sworn by the officer who struck the list, that the Roman Catholics were Repeaters, to the best of his belief.—(Cries of " No, no," and" Hear, hear.") If the affidavit was not put in, a statement was made on the part of the Government officer, that he believed they were members of the Repeal Association. On the other hand another affidavit was put in by the traversers, to the effect that they were not Repeaters. —(Cries of " No, no.") He believed, in the first instance that an affidavit was offered, stating that they were not Repeaters, or connected with the Repeal Association. But after a considerable time it happened to be mentioned that it was not.forthcoming. The solicitors for the traversers then came forward and filed an affidavit, that to the best of their belief two of the number were not rtepealers.—(Cheers and laughter.) The Right Hon. Gentleman, the Member for Devonport, conceived that, with regard to those who were members of the Repeal Association, they would not be justified in leaving them on the jury. One of these two was at the time believed to be a member of the Repeal Associa ationr,equiaanitdion h f e or b a e i e r v e e p d e al at m e e l t e i a n s g t . that rhe t h e e n th sig p n e e r. l son was struck off not because he was a Roman Ca tholic, because at the period of striking the jury he was H P , r ,a o r te , Protestant in ) a r n e d l religion h o b u n g t h a t i y o t Protestant—(Hear, because upon making ha fi te r r m ocn l o y gu lc b do e gn l i i av e ee v r e ve d aotn u i fiv o er t mp o a n rto l inquiry in Dublin (at least so he was informed), he was re gistered as a Protestant on the part of the Conservative in terest.-( Cheers.) He was not struck out on account of his supposed religion, and yet the greatest prejudice had been excited on this subject, because it was said that they were struck off, because they were Roman Catholics, were insulted, and it was supposed they thought that Roman Catholics could not be believed on their oaths. He had now received the affidavit which had bean alluded to in the course of the debate.—( Cheers.) It was signed Wm. Kemmis, and sworn before Mr. Bourne.—(Great cheering.) Now the deponent in that affidavit stated that he did not be lieve that eleven persons professing the Catholic religion had been struck off from the jury on the late trials in Ireland. Mr. SHEIL—But he did not say that eleven Repealers had not been struck off.—(Great cheering.) Lord STANLEY—CouId any one doubt, after that observa tion, that the Right Hon. Gentleroan had brought into that House the quibbles and quirks by which, in courts of law, it was sometimes sought to impede the course of justice?— (Hear, hear.) The Crown was charged ssith striking off ten Roman Catholics from the panel of the jury. Now supposing that to be so, which he denied, what had the traversers done ? —( Hear, hear.) Had they struck off any but Protestants ? ( Hear, hear.) He did not blame them for doing so. —( Bear, hear.) They were entitled to adopt such a course.—( Hear. ) If a party thought A would be better for him than B, the constitution of the country gave him the power of striking A off the list, and God forbid that it should be otherwise.— ( Hear, hear.) He hoped that he had now disposed of this question of striking off jurors.—( Hear, hear.) But then it was said that it was a matter of certainty that it was im possible for Catholics to have a fair trial in Ireland.—( Hear. ) He would appeal to that House, he would appeal to the country, whether the late trials had not been conducted in the greatest spirit of fairness.--( Hear, hear, and cries of Oh, oh.") Hon. Gentlemen might sneer—( Hear, hear) — but this he would assert, that no law had been strained, the charge of the Chief Justice had been most impartial—( Hear, bear, and cries of " Oh, oh")--and it was not fair on the part of members of the legal profession in that House to use the privilege they possessed to endeavour, if possible, to in flict a slur on those who administered the law of the land. --(Hear, hear.) The law had been framed long since ; the Chief Justice, in summin g up to the jury, did not pronounce his own opinion —( Hear, ' hear)—but the unanimous opinion of the whole Bench.—( Hear.) Then with respect to the jury, he believed there was not one man in that House that would not say that they had shown, in the most praiseworthy manner, their determination not to violate their oaths—( Hear, hear) — and before they pronounced their verdict of guilty, they acted with the greatest discrimination. —(Hear, hear.) There was no haste on their part—( Hear, hear)—and no man could tell him that the jury had not employ e d their time and attention fully to consider the case of th e t raversers. — ( H ea r, hear.) Well, these trials had taken pla ce ; t h ey had been con d u cted by the Government in the greatest spirit of fairness—( Hear, hear, , and " Oh, oh")—and had been brought to a conclusion with out a violation •f the p u bli c peace.—(Cr i es o f " Oh, oh.") Such being the case, was i t right—was i t j us t —to come forward and ask for a C omm i ttee of Inquiry?__( The Noble Lord who had brought f orward the present mo tion had ex pressed in general terms hi s resolut i ons.— (H ear , hear.) In doing so he had stated his p ure venerat i on o f j u stice. —(Hear, hear.) He (Lord Stanl e y) agreed w i th a ll h e had said with respect to that subject ; but he could nut accede to what had been stated by the Noble Lord with respect to the Govern ment.—( Hear, hear.) If it was meant to be inferred that the Government, in the late trials, had connived at injustice, he denied the imputation with the utmost disdain. '1 he Noble Lord had told them that the franchise was wretchedly confined, and that the people, in order to vote, had to go great distances. The Noble Lord had said the franchise ought to be increased. expressed by their leader Mr. O'Connell, so as to meet the wishes of the people of Ireland. Now, if he, Isere to take the wishes of the people of Ireland, as they were would say that he would not take Mr. O'Connell as his guide. —( Hear.) The Noble Lord said, why not place the people e o d f Ireland on an equality with the people of England as regard ed the franchise? He would answer the Noble Lord, that if t into o fi pen Registration Law in force in this country was put he (Lord Stanley) diminish tion, it would, instead of increasing very materially It was action in Ireland, with the English interpretation and quali ca the existing franchise in that country.—(Hear, hea r.) further stated by several Hon. Members who had s poken the other side, that there was no lasting peace, no contentment for Ireland, as long as the Protestant Church Establish me nt on existed there.—(Hear, hear.) Did the Noble Lord answer that declaration? It was a very exciting question to bring forward at any time, but especially dangerous at the present moment, unless they knew the result. The Noble Lord dif fered widely from those who:now joined with him ; echoed by those Hon. Members, he did not hesitate to bring into this subject topics which were highly calculated to increase the dis content of the people, and which could not, by any possibility, produce any practical result. Now, it the responsibility of office were thrown upon the shoulders of the Noble Lord, he would not, he could not, he dare not, propose the measures, without which he now declares it is impossible to think of satis fying the Irish people. Could anything be more miserable— more wretched—than the suggestions or propositions thrown out by the Noble Lord? He attacked the Landlord and Tenant Commission, and used expressions well calculated to inflame It was a most lame and impotent the tenantry of Ireland, and then t urned round and said it was a most difficult question.—( Hear , He did not say he bates."—(Hear, could propose a remedy, bait, if n as u k m ed be f r or o o f ne, the N oble Lord could only say, " increase t he sti pend iary magis , but he thought s"Ton(fifoeratri;ehleeaard'el of a party, for one who had been a Minister of the Crown, and hoped to be one again.—( Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord said he did not wish to destroy the asy principle, said the Noble Lord, is equality between all religious denominations.; but yet, when he came to act upon this high sounding term equality, he would s l h 'r e o h te a s d ta t r o it o mChnuehrchweaolrthim. pair her revenue find how impracticable it was. The Catholic Church might be endowed with the revenues of the Protestant Church, or the present revenues of the Established Church might be divided and distributed, viz., 500,0001. among the Protestants, Catholics, and Presbyterians, a third to each, or on the more strict principle of equality, to divide seven - eighths of the re venueshea .) e iogfhrtthhhee between No ble Protestant LordProtestantst hChurche A amongand Member e pr , be the rf Catholi cs , an d th e other rosrb Pr esbyterians.—( Hear, Sunderland had spoken out, and spoken truly. It was not the wretched ques tiono of the appropriation clause — that , the Noble L or d sa id, in that Act than that would never give any content. The real question was, would sin, they or would they not destroy the Protestant Chu rc h i n Ire land ?—(Hear, which guaranteed the seem ity of the Prote s t ant Church Esta blishment. The Noble Lord then quoted from the a dd ress o f H n o e a provision hear.) vsion w a The h m e o r Act c s t t r o i f ng Uenn:ton Contained a provi sion, both Houses of Parliament, and from the Act of Union itself, pas sages in which the security of the Protestant Church was gua ranteed. He also quoted from the speech of Mr. Grattan, in 1613, in introducing a Bill for the removal of Roman Catholic disabili ties, in which he expressed his confidence that the securities of the Protestant Church would be strengthened and maintained by admitting Catholics to equal rights. The Noble Lord quoted from a declaration made by the Catholics of Ireland in 1757, in which they disclaimed and disavowed in the most solemn manner any intention of subverting the Protestant Church Establishment ; but that if they were admitted to an equality of civil rights with their Protestant fellow countrymen, they would support the Protestant Church as established by law, and would not endeavour to injure or impair it. In 1808, the I Roman Catholics declared, in their petition to the House, that they did not in any way seek to injure the rights, privileges, or possessions pertaining to the bishops or clergy of the Church as by law established ; that their petition was an humble ap plication, praying that they might be governed by the same laws, have the same privileges and be admitted to a participation in the same civil rights as their countrymen of a different persuasion In 1824, Dr. Collins said he believed, and would make a solemn declaratio n , that there w as no t th e s li g ht es t di spos i t i on on the part of the Catholic hierarchy or clergy to disturb the rights, privileges, or possessions of the Protestant Church, and that he was satisfied they would not seek to disturb it. In 1826, another declaration was published by the Roman Catholic bishops, stating that they solemnly determined to uphold all the rights and privileges of the Church—that they cons:dered the Roman Catholics did not entertain any feelings against the Established Church, and that they regarded all the revenues and temporalities of the Church as established as the property of those on whom they were settled by law.—( Cheers from the Tory benches.) He had been told by Hon. Gentlemen oppo site that this property had been plundered from the Roman Catholic clergy, and consequently should in justice be restored, and that until this were done the Catholics would not, nor ought not to be content.—( Loud cheers from the Tory benches, answered by " No, no," f rom t h e O ppos i t i on.) It might be convenient just now for Hon. Members to call out " No, no" at this moment, but hg was sure there were Hon. Gentlemen on the other side of the House who would long hesitate before they would consent to any measure that would tend to thisresult.—( Cheers and laughter from the Ministerial benches.) That former declaration had been over and over again made by the lion. Member for Sheffield. Mr. WARD rose to explain, but was, owing to the noise, vociferation, and cries of " Order" from the Tory benches, quite inaudible in the gallery. Lord STANLEY said ha hail quite forgotten the principle which the Hon. Member had laid down. He ( Lard Stanley) would allude to that by and bye. Previous to the passing of the Emancipation Act. his Majesty, in his speech at the opening of the session, in 1829, said—" They (the Par liament) were to consider, solemnly, whether those, and what enactments against the Roman Catholics of Great Britain Protestants o a t e s stan ts established bishops by lcouldlaw w; and removed e t o ove d the r i w g h i t t h s s a a n fe d t y privilegesthe C Church, r and clergy of this realm, for those institutions which should ever be supported." Such were the words of his Majesty in 18 9 9 ; and, in reply to this speech of his Majesty, the House of Commons did not content itself with acknowledging the speech; it also stated that these Are institutions which should ever be maintained in their integrity, and stating that that House thanked his Majesty for his gracious announce ment of his determination to support them. So far as it was possible to be bound by a solemn declaration—by a declara tion as strong as it was possible to embody in language—that declaration of their intention to support that Church, had been made by Parliament. Nay, even that declaration on the part of the Roman Catholics, one and all, had been given that they had not the slightest intention to weaken the Church.— ( Hear, hear, and cheers.) That was the language used preiious to emancipation, and his Right Hon. Friend at the head of the Government declared that he trusted in their pro fessions, and rejected a proposal made by a Right Hon. Friend of his, now no more, to prevent Catholics from legislating on any subject which might affect the Established Church. His Right Hon. Friend the First Lord of the Treasury said he had framed the oath sufficiently stringent to prevent the re sult anticipated ; that he believed the declarations of the Roman Catholics, and would adhere to his original determination. The subject which he now came to was one which he trusted would not be considered offensive to any Roman Catholic, because he thought a Catholic had as good a right to legislate upon any subject as a Protestant, provided only that he adhered to what he considered a conscientious conviction. After this statement, he thought the course he should pursue could not be deemed offensive, and that he had a right to'quote the oath required to be taken by Roman Catholic Members of Parliament, anti which had been enacted for the protection of the rights -of th`r.Protestant Church. The Noble Lord then read the oatfilitlidst much cheering from the Ministerial benches ! and continued to say this was the oath which had . b'eed taken by *e Roman Catholics, and he thought the spirit ,of it must be evident to every per son. again said lie had no intention to impute any want of coiispjentious pritaisiPle to the Catholic gentlemen, but still he thenaght that the question of 4upporting the Established Churith was one of too much importance not to require the utmost precaution. The Hon... Member had alluded (as we understood, from the manner in which he dropped his voice) to the Settlement Act. Mr. WARD (amidst nrinfroetoise and confusion)—The in ference put on my expressions are not correct. What I stated was that since the battle of the Boyne the Irish had never been averse to the Act of Settlement. Lord STANLEY said he was going on to explain when the Hon. Member interrupted him, that the Hon. Gentleman had since withdrawn those expressions which had fallen from him in the heat of debate. But he (Lord Stanley) did not think the Hon. and Learned Member for Liskeard had very much im proved the case, because he said that the oath was unnecessary, seeing that the intention of that oath was to exclude the Roman Catholic descendants of the House of Stuart. Mr. C. BULLER-1 did net say a word about the oath. Lord STANLEY—The Hon. Gentleman said that the ob ject of the Act of Settlement was to exclude the Roman Ca tholic descendants of the house of Stuart, but the house of Stuart was extinct, consequently the Act of Settlement was a dead letter. How then could this be an insult to the Roman Catholics, seeing that it was to operate against a Roman Catholic family which did not exist? Was it not so ? It was not because this country felt that Roman Catholics were not fit to enjoy civil liberty that such an imposition was placed upon them. With regard to him self he could say that he was prepared, sod he was sure that her Majesty's Government were prepared, to give the same privi leges to the Roman Catholics that were enjoyed by Protestants. But they would never consent to the d es t ruc ti on o f th e Pro testant Establishment.—( Chee r s. ) He did not think that it was at all inconsistent, in doing the fullest justice to the Roman Catholics, and in removing their grievances, if such grievances remained—it was not inconsistent with the removal of those grievances, if, at the same time, they firmly maintained the ex- iszence of the Protestant Church.—(Cheers.) What was it that the Roman Catholics asked with regard to the existence of the Established Church ? Did they ask to be endowed with the proceeds of the Protestant Establishment ? No such thing. They would refuse it. They would not take it if it were offered. They would neither take a division nor the whole. They did not want the plunder that had been taken from them to be given back to them. They did not, ask for the violation of all those prescriptive rights which had been acquired by a pos session of three hundred years. What, then, did they ask ? They refused to enter into an alliance with the Protestant Establishment—that Establishment which submitted to the law. How, then, could the Catholic Chnrch claim or ask to be . placed on an equality with the Protestant Establishment? The Noble Lord (Lord John Russell) said the Catholic Bishops 'ought to be placed on an equality with the Protestant Bishops. Did the Noble Lord mean that those Bishops should have seats in the House of Lords? He (Lord Stanley) would like to know that. Mr. C. WOOD—No, he did not. Lord STANLEY—Then the Noble Lord denied that inten tion, which had been imputed to him by an Hon. G en tl eman who was sitting immediately by him. But if the Noble Lord did intend to advocate the admission of Roman Catholic Bishops into the House of Lords, did he mean that those Bishops should be appointed by the Crown ? No such thing ; they would be the appointments of a foreign potentate.—(Hear, and cheers.) lf, then, they refused this alternative, what became of their equality ! Would they remove the Protestant Bishops from the House of Lords.—( Cheers from the Opposi tion.) That was a favourite doctrine with some gentlemen opposite. Why did they not try their hand in this matter, and bring forward a motion on the subject ? He would beglad for them to take the sense of the House of Commons, and the peo ple of England, upon a motion for the exclusion of the'Bishops from the House of Lords. He (Lord Stanley) trusted that the Noble Lord opposite did not represent the Roman Catholics of Ireland; but sure he was, that whether he did or not, the sweeping propositions he had brought forward, amply proved that he did not represent the Protestants of this country. He ( Lord Stanley) would not support anything in the way of compromise inconsistent with the maintenance of the Protestant Establishment. He had been particularly sorry to hear the Monourable Member for Kildare (llr. More O'Ferrall) repeat the reflection which had been cast on the Lord Chancellor by the Noble Lord (Lord J. Russell), that he had been raised to his present position on account of his hostility to the Irish people. He regretted to hear that senti ment fall from the Noble Lord; but he believed that it had been made in the midst of a very excited speech; and he was sure that it was not the deliberate opinion of the Noble Lord. But he regretted more deeply having heard that sentiment fall from the Honourable Member for Kildare, because it showed that it was a deliberate opinion of the Honourable Member.— (Hear, hear.) The Hon. Gentleman said his hostility to the Established Church in Ireland was not a religious one. His objection, was that the Protestant had so much power of interference in secular affairs. He said that if he wanted a power of attorney, he was obliged to obtain the signature of a Protestant clergyman. Now, he ( Lord Stanley) knew not if this were correct, but of this he was certain, that the Protest ant c l ergy would have no objection to the abolition of such a practice; on the contrary, he believed that they would feel much indebted to any one who would abolish such a custom. Well, then, the Hon. and Learned Gentleman said -that the certificates of marriages and of baptism must be obtained' from a Protestant clergyman. Now, what was the grievance in that respe c t ?—( H ear, hear.) He felt that he was tres passing too much.—(" No.") But if there were any grievance really affecting the Roman Catholics in Ireland, he wished to show that her Majesty's Government were disposed to remedy it.—( Tory cheers.) In England, before 1836, there was a real grievance in respect to marriage and baptism— (Hear, hear)—for the law was that a Roman Catholic clergyman or a Dissenting minister could not celebrate marriage except in the presence of a clergyman of the Established Church, and, according to the forms of that Church. In Ireland, no such grievance existed now. But on the contrary, a marriage by a Roman Catholic priest, accord ing to the forms of his own Church, was perfectly valid ; and if any question arose in a court of lay, the evidence of the Roman Catholic clergyman would be legal and complete proof. —( Hear, hear.) What, then, was it that the Right Hon. Gentleman required ? The certificate of the minister of the Established Church was at present necessary, because he was obliged to keep the register. And was the Right Hon. Gen tleman sure that the Catholic clergy would be willingto under take the duty of keeping the register ? Was he quite sure that they would not say " if you place us in that position, and im pose upon us the labour and responsibility of keeping the register, we would rather be without any advantage which it might confer?—( Hear.) Hon. Gentlemen opposite knew well that there was no question of greater difficulty, and that, in a Committee of the House of Lords last year, copious evidence was taken upon this subject ; but that evidence had not yet been published, because, as he believed, the inquiry had not yet been completed. —( Hear. ) Another statement from the other side of the House was that the Roman Catholic clergy would not accept an endowment from the State. Now he thought that the objection was not confined to one party in the case. In the first place he was not aware that it was intended to offer them any endowment—(Cheers and laughter)—and, secondly, he believed that, on the part of the great body of the very hgreat spoken disinclination with to contempt of a proposition which appeared to him (Lord any people such grant. this T he Hon. there Gentlemana Stanley) to carry with it a very great recommen dation. That was, to give to the Catholic priest a hood, and their flocks, a greater security for property, whtch might be voluntarily endowed in their Church, and this could he done without offending the feelings of the Pro testant people in this country. The proposition was to en able the Catholic clergy, or rather persons in trust for them, to hold real property in the same manner as it was held in this country by Catholics and Dissenters. Before the passing of the 23 Wm. IV., real property was not allowed to be held by Roman Catholic priests, qua Roman Catholics for the pur pose of their religion. That Act, however, gave them the power, and it was proposed to e x t en d th e prov i s i ons of the Act to Ireland, and to allow the Catholic gentry and Protestant Dissenters to endow their respective clergy. This would give the Roman Catholic clergy a fixed status, a power of acquiring property in land, which they did not at present possess. This ought not be taken as any indication of hostile feeling on the part of the Government towards the Ca tholics of Ireland.—( Tory cheers.) He would say, if there were grievances affecting the Catholics in Ireland—if there were any assistance which the Government could give them in removing those grievances —bigots as gentlemen opposite might think them, they would not End any want of that consideration which was due to the priesthood of so large a portion of the people.—( Tory cheers.) But if it were truly the purpose of the other side to extinguish, covertly but entirely, the Estab lished Church in Ireland, he would ever raise his voice against that policy. [The Noble Lord then turned round to his teat and appeared to be about to sit dawn, when an Hon. Member rose and moved that the "debate be now adjourned," where upon Lord Stanley returned to Cie table with a book in his hand, and said]- 2 Sir ' I have rot done yet.—(Gre a t l aug h ter. ) Before sitting down, he would" call to the recollection of the House the sentiments of a Noli;le Lord oppcbtte to him (Lord Palmerston), who was then a member of her Majesty's Go vernment—no, he begged pardon, not a member of her Ma jesty's Government, butane who had assisted that Government in carrying the Emancipation Bill into force. At that period the Noble Lord said, and said most wisely, that the changes which the Catholics aimed at could only be brought about by the consent of the whole melon. lie might suppose an administration introducing a measure against such consent, but the end of it would be to prove that they were . tottering in their seats, and the effect would be to give to their opponents te n ti mes the strength which they might previously have possessed—for every honest and independent Pro testant would stand by the institutions of the country, and s,veep with ignominy from their seats the men who by such aids would endeavour to alter the ancient and admitted limits of the Constitution. SuCh, in 1829, was the opinion of the Noble Lord (Palmerston) as to the fate, and the well-' merited fate, of any Administration that would coalesce with any party whose desire might be to weaken the Protes tant Constitution of these realms. He (Lord Stanley) would not use terms more strong; but this he would say, that while with the bulk of the English people, he was most anxious to preserve to, and respect, every civil right of the Catholic body, there was another feeling he shared in common with them, and that was a fixed and unalterable determination to maintain and uphold, in every portion of the empire, the Protestant Estab lishment of the country.—(Loud cheers.) The debate was then adjourned until Monday next. STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATES —IRELAND. Lord EBRINGTON moved for a return of the number of stipendiary magistrates appointed in Leland, from April, 1839, to August, 1811. Lord ELIOT took occasion, in assenting to the granting of the return, to correct an error which had been made on the subject. For that purpose, he begged to mention that four of the magistrates mentioned in the return were appointed five weeks previous to the dissolution of the Iste Government. Sir J. GRAHAM said the return wont,' show that between the let of June and the Bth of August, seven new stipendiary magistrates had been appointed by the Irish Government, and one was appointed on the 7th of August, the very day, if he mistook not, before that on which they retired from office. Mr. LABOUCHERE said, that the Right Hon. Baronet had availed himself of an erroneous return to prefer against the late Government a charge, the gravamen of which was that seven magistrates had been appointed by them in Ireland under circumstances which led the House to have an impres sion that they were appointed not for the purpose of maintain ing peace in that country, but in order to effect a mere job. It now appeared, that there were three vacancies, and that they had only filled up those vacancies. Sir J. GRAHAM said it was better to postpone the discus sion until the return was made. Lord ELIOT said he had inadvertently been led to state that the whole of these seven appointments were made between the 15th of June and the 25th of August. It now appeared' that three of the magistrates were appointed in the spring of 1841, and the other four between the 12th of July and the 27th' to 7th August. Four new magistrates were appointed, he did not say for %hat purpose—in the last five weeks during which the late Administration held office. Mr. F. T. BARING said what appeared remarkable was that the explanation of the Right Hon. Gentleman did not confirm the statement of the .Noble Lord. He would be glad ter know if the returns would show whether the appointments were made to fill up vacancies, or whether they were new ap. pointments? It. was stated that one appointment was made on the very last day ; it might be to fill up a vacancy caused by death or resignation. Sir J. GRAHAM—No, no. Mr. F. T. BARING said he believed the practice of the Treasury was to fill up all vacancies which occurred while the Administration were in power. Lord ELIOT said he had searched the Government Ga zettes that morning, in which it was customary to state whether, appointments were new, or made in the room of others, and it appeared that four of these were new appointments.—( Hear.) Colonel SIBTHORP said he could make some allowance for the soreness of the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, but he hoped that that soreness would not be removed by their coming over to that side of the House. In reply to a question from Mr. M. J. O'CONNELL, Lord ELIOT said he would endeavour to ascertain for what districts the magistrates in question had been appointed, and whether they had been retained. The return was then ordered. The House then adjourned, at a Quarter to One. ebtrZT Mtittion I'll E FUNDS--(CLOSING PRICES.) BRITISH FUNDS. Bank Stock 3 per Cent. Red. 3 per Cent. C0n5...... 974 Ditto Old Annuities — 34 per Cent. Red....,.. 103 A Ditto New Annuities — New 34 per Cent 102% Ex. Bills, 1,0001. 14d. 70 pm New 5 per Cent. Long Annuities to expire Ditto 5ma11..... 71 pm Jan. 1860 Oct. 1859 Jan. 1860 FOREIGN FUNDS. A utrian, 5 per cent.... Portuguese, b per cent.. 111,1gian. S per cent — Ditto, New Ditto — Brazilian 80nd5......... Prussian, 5 per cent — 131,3ncs Ayres 6 per cent Russian, 5 per cent — Ctilian, 6 per cent ' 1 'Ditto Metallic . .... Colombian, 6 per cent 134 Spanish, 5 per cent Ditto. 1824 Ditto, 3 per cent — Cuba Bonds, 6 per cent. 93 Ditto, Deferred.... . Danish, 3 per Pent — French, 5 per cent. —f. ..,. Greek, 1825, 5 per cent — Exchange .... —f. —c. 11exican, 5 per cent. ... 344 French, 3 per cent. —f. —c. Ditto, 6 per cent. 1837 Dutch, 24 per cent. 55% Pernvian,lB2s,6 per ct. 31 Ditto, 5 per cent.... 1018 SHARES. Birmingham and Derby (100 paid) ... ...... Bristol and Exeter (70 paid) .. ••• .., Eastern Counties (23 paid) Ditto New Shares (25 paid) ... Ditto Extension (1?s 4d paid) Edinburgh and Glasgow (50 paid) — Ditto New Shares (124 paid) Liverpool and Manchester (100 paid) Ditto Quarter Sharos (25 paid) London and Brighton (50 pa d) London and Birmingham ( paid).. ..... Ditto New Thirds (2 paid) London and Guildford Junction ( 5 paid)... 74 London and South Western (411 . 6 s 10d pd) 77% Ditto Eighths (15s. paid) London and Croydon Railway ( Trunk) ... 16 Manchester and Leeds (70 paid) Ditto New Quarter Shares ( 2 paid) lO Midland Counties Railway (100 paid) Norwich and Brandon (2 paid) ..... Newcastle and Darlington Junction(ls paid' 354 Northern and Eastern (45 paid) North Midland (100 paid) B7 Ditto Half Shares (40 paid) Paris and Orleans (20 paid) Paris and Rouen (20 paid) ... . .... Yarmouth and Norwich (13 paid)..... ... York and North Midland (50 paid) .. .. 119 b 9 68i 10A 12i 54 42 233 IMPORTANT NEWS FROM SPAIN. The Messager of yesterday contains the following important telegraphic dispatch : " BAYONNE, FEB. 12. " On the 7th the insurgents evacuated Murcia, into which the Authorities and the National Militia, who had' retired, were on the point of re-entering. " The disarming of the National Guard at Malaga has excited some disorders, which have been promptly repressed. In all the other cities of Andalusia the disarming is taking place without difficulty. Galicia is tranquil. On the 4th the events at Alicante were known at Corunna." SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF THIS DAY. GLOBE.—We regard it as a piece of great weak ness to keep harping upon the Catholic oath ; and we are surprised that Lord Stanley should have wound up an able speech with a topic ineffective, when not offensive. From whom, after all, proceed most of the attacks on the Irish establishment ? From the Roman Catholic Members ? By no means ? Why, one of the most outspoken recent sallies on the subject of that Church, as exclusively e; ablished in Ireland, proceeded from the Gal lant and most Protestant Member for Westminster, Captain bons. We have before us a pamphlet, pub lished by Mr. D. Perceval, containing his father's speeches on the Catholic question, in an appendix to which we find bitter and just complaints of having been taken iri to vote for Captain Rous, as a Pro testant Conservative. Now, if that is all the depend ence Protestant Churchmen can place on their own members, what possible use is there in twitti ng Roman Catholics with hostile conduct towards the Pro testant Church? Are the Roman Catholics the only Dis senters in Parliament who must express no opinion on that subject? If they may express opinions, are they to express their own opinions, or some others ? To have made this oath good for anything as a defence of the outward Protestant Establishment, it ought to have been an oath, or engagement, neither to speak nor vote on any subject affect ing that Establishment. All general pledges are per fectly useless, the object of which is to withhold one' section of the Legislature. from doing what all the rest. may do. If the Catholic oath had succeeded in imposing this exclusive restriction on Catholics, it would have produced a second Catholic question. If then g were no Protestants who attacked Protestant ascendancy, the supposed Catholic pledge to abstain from doing so might be pleaded more colourably. But to say Roman Catholics must hold their tongues, and withhold their votes, on public ques tions, on which all other Members may speak and vote in what sense they please, is to talk idly. And what would be the consequence, if Roman Catholics acquiesced in this doctrine ? The conse quence could be no other than this, that they must all turn . Repeaters in a body—all at least, of those who regard it as their duty to act upon their Church feel ings in Parliament as elsewhere. Every one of them must throw their weight into the scale of separate Roman Catholic legislature, if the Perceval, and, it would seem, Stanley construction of their oath could be brought hometotheirconviction. Lord Shrewsbury said, very justly, last year, that " until both Houses of Parliament combined to give a different interpretation (from Lord Camoys) of the oath, Roman Catholics would be justified in giving their opinion in the Legis lature even on subjects that might trench on the esta blished religion of the country. On any other terms he would not condescend to sit in Parliament." Would the party in power think the British con nexion with Ireland greatly strengthened, if every Roman Catholic, who thinks himself bound to act in favour of his church on all occasions, could be convinced , ... --......_ that he was not at liberty to do so within the Hall ~ of Parliament ? 'Why then, let them pasta a declaratory' Act of the stringent sense in whkell the oatiftaken by' Roman Catholics is understood by ra rliament,.lf they 4 A nt T t could make their majo r ity re l ax •c 9 Lisp; A they can ma k e t h em tighten Catholilittifsv won't do so —th at i t wou ld annoy them ama ' , l'l if • Roman Cath o li c 3 took them at their word—consi 'defe a d theinselves, as they a ffe c t t o cons id er t h em, d e b arre 'd a ll free expression on Church subjects—and thereur on succeeded en masse, and took service, as loyal Repeal auxiliaries, under Mr. O'Connell—proves, as wo began by stating, the weakness of talking everlast ingly about an alleged engagement they shrink from enforcing. It would seem our opponents have got such a habit of talking about this oath, that it always comes uppermost when they find they have nothing else left to say. But whatever colour there might be for throwing it in the teeth of a Whig majority, there is no shred of pretence now for a single word more about:it. " Vou say the oath's evaded—why then, take it— I'm all submission—what you'd have it MAKE IT." All this whining is utterly ludicrous with a large majority in both Houses. It is your fault if Roman Catholic consciences are ensnared an hour longer by general terms. Make them so stringent, that no zeal ous Roman Catholic - can speak or vote henceforward on any Church question. Every straightforward Tory (as Sir C. Wetherell) derided your oath, as securing establishments. Every straightforward Tory (as Mr. Perceval) demands, if you make anything of it, to make it stringent and penal. And Mr. O'Connell will be much obliged to you. What need we say more ? LATEST FROM CHINA. (From the Devonport Independent.) We have received letters, by the last Overland mail, from Hong-Kong, China, dated November 30th, 1845, from which we extract the following :—" The ward-room officers of her Majesty's ship Minden have, at their sole expense, erected a neat monument to the memory of their late messmate, Mr. Thomas Hancorn, late master of that ship. About 200 men have invalided from the squadron, and will shortly leave for England, in the Rattlesnake, troop-ship. The Cornwallis, Dido, and "Vixen steamer, will sail as soon as the two mails which are now due arrive. As soon as the hospital at Hong- Kong is ready, the sick soldiers will leave the Minden, and be taken on shore. The ship has been moved about two miles further out from the town for the benefit of the sick, amounting now, in all, to seventy-five—twenty-five of whom belong to the Minden. The Rattlesnake has about forty of the 55th Regiment on board, the Sapphire about fifty, and the Lansier more. Admiral Sir W. Parker will leave here (Hong- Kong) on the Ist Novemb er . M essrs. All en and Rogers, assistant-surgeons, of the Minden, go to England in charge of the invalids m the Rattlesnake. The Cornwallis, flag-ship, sails to-morrow (Ist December), and the Admiral, it is said, will return in May. All the troops will be taken out of the Minden, and sent to Chusan, so that ship will only have her own sick in hospital on board." Hong-Kong barracks will be ready in about two months. There has been a survey held on board the Samarang, sur veying -vessel, Captain Sir Edw. Belcher; her copper being all off, it is certain that the destructive worms of these seas will soon make great havoc in her, and the officers have re commended that. she shall be hove done. 11Ir. Gordon, Mate of the Cornwallis, is appointed acting Lieutenant of the Starling; Mr. Spreat, Master command ing the Rattlesnake, has invalided, and is superseded by Mr. King, Master of the Agincourt; Mr. Elliott, Master of the Dido, is appointed to the Agincourt; Mr. Allen, Master of the Vixen steamer, to the Dido; Mr. Giles, Second Master of the Starling, to the Vixen. Lieutenant Wade, of the Samarang, is in the Minden's hos pital. Lieutenant Heard, of the same ship. has been thrown from a horse and dragged along the ground, which disfigured him very much, but he was not at all dangerously hurt. Captain Call, and his father, Paymaster of the 18th Regi ment, go home on sick leave. Mr. Sullivan, Master, is appointed Consul at Amoy. On the9th of November a_plot was discover e d f or bl ow i ng up the markets here (Hong-Kong). Had it succeeded there is no knowing what the consequences would have been : it is very likely one of the victualling stores and the commissariat, would have been destroyed. One Chinaman has been appre hended, and he will be hung. The police are now burning down a range of buildings, occupied by a disaffected body of Chinese. The guards are all doubled, and armed boats now guard all night. On the 11th November an alarm of fire was given, and it was found that fifty houses were burning at once here. Sir Henry Pottinger is at Canton, and is not expected here till Hong-Kong is more healthy. The gunner of the Samarang has been tried by Court-martial, and broke for drunkenness. We have also received a letter from a medical gentleman at Hong-Kong, from which we extract the following : " Sickness prevailed to a great extent; fifteen have died in the last week, and about thirty are expected not to recover. Strange to say, that although the Admiralty have fitted out the Minden, hospital-ship, with every comfort, the men have a great dread of being sent to her, preferring to remain in their own ships even to death. A large house has been taken for a military hospital. Mr. Rae, R.N., is ill in the hospital. The Kejudice against the Minden is so strong, that it is thought no more sick will be sent on board her. The soldiers are to be taken out of her, and sent to Chusan ; therefore the Minden will only have her own sick on board." We ought to have held Chusan, it being worth a hundred islands of Bong-Kong, and I think we only wait for a fair chance to take it again ; for if we do not America or France will, if we allow them to do so. A great " squabble " has arisen between the nobs here, the Governor supposing the Admirals and General have not paid him proper respect as to salutes. Sir W. Parker has been unwell, but is recovered, and has returned from Macao. The Starling, cutter, Lieutenant Gordon, has been con demned, being found rotten. The Castor, frigate, is expected to arrive daily. COLONEL STODDART and CAPT CONOLLY. We regret to have to state, that accounts were yesterday received at the Foreign-office from St. Petersburgh, stating that the Russian Envoy at Teheran. in a dispatch dated the 15th (27th) of December, had reported to his Government, that the information which he had indirectly obtained from the Envoy of the Ameer of Bokhara, who had arrived in Teheran, had only to surely removed all uncertainty as to the tragical end of Captain Conolly and Lieutenant-Colonel Stoddart, for he positively asserted that the first had been executed for having shown on many occasions great par tiality for the Khan of Kokan, at that time at war with Bokhara; and the second in consequence of the discovery of a secret correspondence which he kept up with his country men at Caubul, through the channel of Indian merchants established at Bokhara. The Russian Envoy adds, that although the truth of these details can hardly be questioned, an Envoy from the Shah of Persia, who is about to proceed to Bokhara on a special mis sion, will be expressly instructed to collect on the spot the most precise information as to the details which accompanied the death of the two English officers. The Russian Envoy further says, that the agent from Bokhara, whether from fear or from delicacy, had evaded Lieut.-Colonel Sheil's attempt to obtain information from him as to a catastrophe which must painfully shock the British representative.— Times. TROOPS IN IRELAND. An Account of the Total Rank and File of all Arms in Ire land, on the Ist day of January in each year from 1830 to 1844, both inclusive : Years. Rank and File., Years. Rank and File. 1830 1831 1832 1833 - 1841 1834 1835 1836 1837 Adjutant-General's Office, OHN MACDONALD, A.G. reb. 14, 1844. FIRST REPORT from the SELECT COMMITTEE on RAILWAYS. The Select Committee appointed to consider whether an and what new provisions ought to be i n t ro d uce d i nto suc h Railway Bills as may come before this House during the present or future sessions, for the advantage of the public and the improvement of the railway system, and likewise to consider whether any and what changes ought to be made in the Standing Orders relating to Railways, and who were empowered to report their opinion thereon from time to time to the House ;—have considered the matter referred to them, and have agreed to the following Report:— Resolved, That it is the opinion of this Committee that the following clause be inserted in all the Railway Bills now coining before, or passing through Parliament; viz., "And be it further enacted, that nothing herein contained shall be deemed or construed to exempt the railway by this or the said recited Acts authorised to be made from the pro visions of any general Act of Parliament, or of any general Act relating to Railways which may pass during the pritent or any future session of Parliament." METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS.—Yesterday the large area of ground in Broad-street, St.. Giles's, which has been obtained by the removal of the houses at the north end of Mon Mouth-street, was opened to the public, a granite road-way having been completed and laid down. The demo lition of the houses and the formation of the new thorough fare have added greatly to the improvement of this locality, as a very spacious thoroughfare has been made. At the end of Belton-street, adjoining the same spot, some houses have been cleared away, which has considerably widened that part, and which, when paved with stone, will open the com munication from Waterloo-bridge to St. Giles's. In Belton street (for the line of this new street), nearly half the houses between Broad-street and Long Acre are taken down, on the west side. Among the number was the Guy Earl of Warwick public-house, which was established a great many years ago. Upon a site near to this house, a chapel of ease to the pari s h church of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, will be built. INCENDIARY FIRES.—On Tuesday morning last another of those detestable outrages which have, to the county's disgrace, been lately too common, was committed at Foston, near Grantham, Lincolnshire. A wheat stack (con taining the produce of 11 acres) which was standing in a field about a mile from the village, was discovered to be on fire at about six o'clock. Assistance was immediately obtained, but no efforts on the part of the villagers could prevent the de struction of the whole. The stack, which was the property of Mr. John Watkinson, was fortunately insured. THE EARL OF CARLISLE.....-The last accounts from Castle Howard give a more favourable report of the condition of the noble invalid. The party assembled at the seat of Mr. Fergusson, at Pitfour, in the Highlands of Scotland, intended to have separated at the commencement of the present month ; but in consequence of the roads being impassable, arising from the heavy fall of snow, they were still detained there. " Father, what do printers live on ?" " Why, child ?" " You said you had 'not paid him for two or three years, and yet you have his paper every week ?" 4 , Take the child out of the room, what does he know about right or wrong ?" FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAZETTE. BANKRUPTS. ESTHER JONES, dealer in iron, West Bromwich, Staf fordshire, Feb. 24, at eleven, andilarch 25, at hall-past eleven, n at the Birmingham District Court. Whit ffi more ; o d Lon , ocia Giles, l assignee, Birmingham ; Giles, Gray' s Inn-sguare, mingham. HE NRY MITCHELL, fellmonger , N o t tin gham , Feb. 23, and March 22, at one, at the Birmingham District Court. Christie, official assignee , Birmingham; BowleY, Notti ng h am ; Smith, Birmingham. THOMAS NUTTALL, pork botcher, Rochdale, Feb. 27 11 111