The Sun. — London, England, 1839-02-09 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PA RL lAMIEN T. ROUSE OF LORDS, FEB. 8. The Duke of R UTLAND presented a petition from Leiceater, praying for a remedy against the pre valence of tile injury to public morals from beer houses. THE ANSWER TO THE ADDRESS. The LORD CHANCELLOR said be had to ac quaint their Lordship's that her Majesty had been attended with the Address voted to her by their Lord- Alps' House, in reply to which her Majesty had been pleased to return the following most gracious answer : " My Lords, I thank your Lordships for your loyal and Vutifiii Address. Relying entirely on your wisdom and patriotism, I can have no greater satisfaction than find;ng myself supported by your agreement and con ctrrenoe." On the motion of Earl SHAFTESBURY, her Majesty's answe r was ordered to be placed on the Journals of the house SLAVERY. Lord BROUGHAM said that seeing his Noble Friend, the Secretary for the Colonies, in his he Wished to ask whether any satisfactory inforrnatioa had been received respecting an end to slavery in the Mauritius. Lord GLENIELG said that in answer to the ques tion of his Noble Friend, he had sent a dispatch to the Governor of the Mauritius, requesting him to bring the termination of the apprenticeship system before the Council, with a view to have it put an end to by the Ist of February. He had not yet had an answer to that dispatch, but he had no doubt the Governor would bring it before the Council without delay, and as little doubt that the Council would accede to it. He had further to add that if the Council did not accede to it he had taken a measure to effect the term nation of the apprenticeships without the Council. Lord BROUGHANI said that nothing could be more satisfactory to him, nor, he was sure, to every person who took an interest in this question. But he wished to ask the Noble Lord whether the dispatch had been sent cut so recently as that it was impossible now to have had an answer, and also whether the measure which the Noble Lord had adopted had been a con ditional one ? Lord GLENELG said, that the dispatch had been sent out in July last. The mea sure he alluded to was not until October ; and that measure was simply passing an Order in Council enabling the Governor by proclamation to name a day for the termination of the apprenticeship system, if necessary, without the consent of the Council. RESIGNATION OF LORD GLENELG. Lord GLEN ELG then spoke as follows :—My Lords, I will take this opportunity of saying a few words referrirg to myself personally. Although I have aaswered the question put by my Noble Friend, with reference to a period w h en I was responsible for the measures of the Government, I am not at this moment any longer ut possession of office.—(This announcement. ap peared to excite great sensation in the House.) My Lords, I felt it my duty to tender my resig nation this day. I make this communication with a full sense of the peculiar inconvenience of such a step as that to which I have at tl period, and with a consciousness that it may create injurious suggestions, and cause great delay iuyour Lordships' proceedings. But,my Lords, in a few monu nts I can state the reasons which induced me to come to this resolution. My Lords, a communication was made to me on Tuesday morning utterly unforeseen, and unexpected by me, which involved—it was a communication from the Cabinet—which involved alterations in the arragement of offices—utterly, as I before s tid, unexpected on toy part, but which it was said had been resolved upon. My Lords, to that change of the, distribution of offices, after the maturest consideration, I found it impossible for me to accede ; consequently, I felt it my duty to tender my resignation. My Lords, among my re grets on this subject, it is painful for me that this event should take place at such a moment as this, whrn Colonial subjects ins olve so much discussion in Parliament. But., my Lords, I can fairly say , that no other reason but the necessity under which I felt myself could have led me to such a step—in fact I found no other alternative be fore me hut to take that course ; at the same tune, my Lords, upon any of those measures connected with Colonial affairs, which naturally cane under discussion, I shall, of course, be ever in my place ready to support and defend those for which I am responsible, and to give any information, and sup -1)1,), any expla na ti ons w hi c h it may be in m y p ower to g i ve . Ihe Noble Lord spoke in a low tone of voice, and added to his remote position from our gallery, rendered him to us rather inaudible, but we believe we have given nearly hi s exact wor d s. A t t h e c l ose o f h i s address their Lordships seemed to be engaged in conversation 'spoil the important announcement. CO RN-LAW S. Lord BROUCUA.M. roan to present a petition of very great importance ; and it was the fiat which had issued from the body from which it came ; it was a peti tion from the new municipality of Birmingham—it %yrs si red by the Mayor ifis behalf of the Corporation, hut he had to apologise for the absence of the Corporate Seal, which had not been affixed to it, only becausii it had not yet been completed. In the absence of the Seal, tile petition could only be considered formally, as the pe tition of the Mayor. It was upon the subject of the Corn-laws, and prayed for a speedy and effectual relief from the pressure of those laws, he ( Lord Brougham) wished to state that he believed some worthy and respected individuals were anxious for something, which according to his recollection of what had formerly taken place in the House of Commons, if the orders of both Houses were the same in this respect— he believed was not according to precedent, namely, to be heard by Counsel and evidence at the Bar against the Corn-laws. Now he was afraid —he wished it were otherwise—that there was no in stance of Counsel being heard against a law which had actually passed, though they had betri t heard against a Bill while pending before Par liament. He believed, however, that there was this exception, that counsel might be heard against a tax the year after it had been imposed. The petition which he had presented did not pray to be heard by counsel. Ho would now give notice that on Friday—although from the unavoidable absence of sortie Noble Friends he might be induced to postpone it until Monday— be would bring forward a motion on this subject, which motion would be " That evidence be allowed to be pro duced at the bar against the Corn-laws, not by Counsel and parties, but eviderace in the regular mode for the satisfaction of their L'jrdships." This, he believed, would be in accordance with the precedent of the Orders in Council. ,He thought their Lordships would consider that, upon this important subject, the sooner the atten tion of Parliament was called to it the better.—( Hear.) Earl RIPON could not allow the first opportunity that offered to pass without asking the indulgence of their Lordships while he attempted to set himself right in the House, and defend himself from what he consi dered a n i mputat i on. It was with respect to a subject which agitated the public mind—he meant the Corn-laws. He always understood that the present Cabinet had been formed upon the principles with respect to those la ws laid down by the Noble Viscount in the debate upon tho Address. With respect to that he knew nothing. He had since, however, seen it stated that a very high autho rity had said that Lord Grey's Administration had been formed upon the same principle ; end that the Corn -law was considered an open question with that Cabinet. lie did not say that that high authority bad said so, but that it had been so stated. Whether it was said or not, he felt himself bound to 'Mate, that, while he had the honour of belonging to that Cabinet there existed no such understanding. It was utterly i mposs ibl e f or hi m to suppose that Lord Grey ' s Governm en t was formed upon such principles because, in 1833, when a Noble Friend of his brought forward the question, Lord Grey asked him (Earl Ripon) to oppose the motion, and to prepare himself to answer the observa tions of his Noble Fricnd, and be did so because it 'was the duty of these who administered the Government of the country to take the earliest opportunity of giving a direct and unequivocal statement of their "ritime;As upon a subject of such great importance. Upon I.is honour, if he had the slightest suspicion that there was any doubt whatever as to the principles upon Govennnent was formed with respect to the Corn-laws, he never would have made such a speech; for he certainly at that time considered that he spoke the ,•entiments of the Government, and as a Government; and if he had made such a speech as he did upon that occasion, while there was even a doubt as to the priteiples of the Government, he would have been degrading himself and the Howe, and abusing the confidence of the public. He knew that in that, as in all Cabinets, there was a difference of opinion upon many subjects, and amongst others upon the Corn-laws, but he zolemly declared that he knew that upon that question they would act as a Cabinet—a combined Cabinet upon the question of the Corn- laws, and according to the speech he then made. Ile felt it due to himself—he felt it due to Lord Grey, and he also felt it due to those not now belonging to the Cabinet—and he called upon them to support him in the truth—to give a flat denial to that which wes reported to have fallen from one high in of fice in the present Government. Lord FITZ WILLIAM did not rise to answer any aceu sati°ft against himself, for every one knew that upan that I,7,bjeet there was no accusation to be brought against him. he question he believed was not whether Lord Grey's i? over nment was formed on the principle of the Corn-law both the an open question,, but whether that farmed prinei-le of her Majbsty's present Administration. With k' tlnhere respect to the opinions of Lord Grey's Goverantent could be no doubt of the opinions of that Govern ,lehTlt, because of the conduct of the Government on that Ile begged to state that he was entrusted with a : b Zt hutne r of petitions on important subjects,which he was bi si l / 4 1 0 to present to that House. He did not know whether for ble 'Friend had been judicious in fixing so early a period deci T e e , discussion of that question—he was not quite le „ u that point; but he would say that it would la„vevetituall y wren." from them by the people at the petitions of a suffering, but neverthele . is a noifo!t• people, sufferings thriugh the infliction cauireju.dicieus laws—he would say injudicious laws, be en he they had been enacted in ignorance of likely rks tlwy knight pro , ,nee, and 'which they were still to produce. The Noble hoped that the might b® allowed to read certain parts of the petition, he was about to lay upon the table. The Noble Earl then read certain extracts from the petition. He confessed it was a matter of great regret to him to see the exagge rated statements that had been made on both sides of the question. It appeared to him that on both sides the statements were exaggerated—on the one side we have exaggerated statements of the effects of the repeal of the Corn-law, and on the other side exaggerated state ments of the state these laws have actually produced. That these effects were mischievous—that they Were dangerous to the future prosperity of the country, and that hitherto they had been found mischievous he entertained no doubt, but he did believe that the effect of these laws had been exagge rated by those who had felt them ; and he was convinced that the fears and apprehensions of those who resisted their repeal, were equally unfounded. Of course, on an oc casion like the present, he would not enter into the arguments upon the subject. It would be out of place on the present occasion to do any thing more than to express his opinions,: but he believed that when the opinions of the manufacturing classes themselves were examined into, and when their petitions were before the House, and he trusted that their Lordships would examine into them also, be had every reason to believe that they would find that they would be perfectly satisfied with much less than they were represented to claim, and per haps did claim, in some of the petitions which had been pre sented to their Lordships. They all knew that it was the common course of mankind to be in the habit of asking somewhat more than they expected, and therefore if these petitions went to the full length of calling upon their Lordships to abrogate all Corn-law and put an end to every regulation, even for fiscal purposes he apprehended they would not form a just estimate of what were the views and expectations of the reasonable and thinking portion of the petitioners. That there might be among them large classes of people collected together, many of them of sanguine temperaments and extravagant views, there was no doubt but these sanguine temperaments had probably given vent to their feelings upon the subject ; but his conviction was that if they acceded to the motion of which his Noble and Learned Friend had given notice, and enter, as he trusted they would into the whole question, by both Houses giving the petitioners an opppertuuity of proving their case, he was satisfied that they would discover a satis factory adjustment of the question, and they would find that they would be able at least to satisfy a large portion of the just expectations of the people on that subject ; but if they turned a deaf car to the petitioners, then he did not think that it was in the power of any man to answer for what the con sequences might be, if it should please l'rovidence again to afflict this country with a harvest as deficient as that which they bad just passed.—( Hear. ) lie trusted their Lordships would approach the question with calmness and consideration, and not to fester in their minds en opinion which, upon examination, might turn out to be an un founded prejudice, but that they would listen to the petitioners, and =Mow them that opportunity they claimed of making out a case which they believed would make such an impression upon their Lord ships and upon the other House of Parliament, as would lead, if not to the entire repeal, at least to a better adjust ment of the present Corn-laws. The Noble Lord con. eluded by presenting the petition, which was from the parish of Pudsey, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Lord BR OUG HAM would not follow his Lordship in the very able remarks he had made upon the subject, but after having received a rebuke from the Noble Lord he wished speak in extenuation, although after judgment had been pronounced, for he was in the unfortunate situation of a party punished—( Laughter)—who was allowed an op portunity of speaking afterwards in his own vindication. He was hsppy to think that his Noble Friend would be found with him, but he was sorry to find that there was any difference upon the subject of time, for it was only on the question of time that judgment or discretion could be exercised. His Noble Friend seemed to think that he had not acted very judiciously and that he had not chosen the very best time. He ( Lord B. ) had had no choice ; and he was now about to show that if he had said any thing in that house upon the question, for it must be ob served that he never alluded to what passed elsewhere —( Hear, hear, and a laugh)—that was the fact, and who ever stated otherwise stated an untruth.—( Hear, hear.) He alluded to what passed out of doors, which it was his duty to do, and if any one in the other House of Parlia ment, he that individual the highest authority there, said that lie had done otherwise, such individual was mis informed by somebody having told him an untruth.— ( Hear, and laughter.) By the votes of the other (louse, which were public. and which were even sold, so that any person could know what they were, he observed that a notice; of motion similar to the one he had given was entered on those votes, and stood for the 19th of Fe bruary, and which was only a day later than that for which his motion stood. Now, his opinion, and which he had stated to the Birmingham gentlemen whom he saw in November last, was that this was the fit course to take, and he stated to them that he should, at an early period, make this motion. And his opinion also ware that if there was any evidence to be taken—that if there was one place better than another to take that evidence in, it was that House, where they were fettered by no rules of evidence, but acted strictly on judicial evidence. Now he greatly grieved his Noble Friend bad adopted a different course upon another point which was of great importance to himself. Ile had taken upon himself to say, on behalf of their common clients, that it was not a total repeal his clients wanted—their Lordships were not to believe that was what they meant; they would be content wit'a a great deal less. Whether that was dis cretion or not he would leave to the Noble Lord upon de liberate consideration: for his own part, when he was at the Bar, he had never entered the Court, and said that his client, although he claimed 1,0001. admitted he never dreamt of getting more than 201, ( Hear. bear, and laughter.) He had never thought of such a thing, but he ought to set their Lordships right. His Noble Friend was totally mistaken; he had had commu nications, not with wild enthusiasts, or sanguine individuals, but with some of the most temperate advocates of a Repeal of the Corn-laws, with whom he had discussed the matter over and over again, anti with some even from this very town, that morning, who were neither enthusiastic nor im moderate in their expectations of what ought to be done for their relief; but men more likely to know their own minds--less likely to say they meant one thing when they said another—less likely to say they meant a partial repeal when they called for a total repeal, could not possibly be found; and if he mentioned the name of Mr. Jamph Sturge, a great corn factor for the last twenty-four years, he appre hended that the mention of that name to those who knew that most respectable individual, would be sufficient to satisfy him that any man more able to undertand a subject to which he applied his very perspicacious mind, it would be difficult to find. Other names of gentlemen he might also mention highly qualified to judge of the question, with whom he had also consulted. He, therefore, would not join his Noble Friend in saying that the petitioners did not desire an entire abolition ; and to show that this was a practical opinion of theirs, he had been furnisfied with a resolution which, if he had thought he would have been called upon to have entered thus fully into the subject, he should have read to their Lordships in the first instance. The resolution came unanimously yesterday from the Dele gates on the Corn-laws, and when they came to him he told them he would have nothing to do with taking away what they called the protection of the farmer, if he was also to take away what they called the protection of the manufacturers and the shopkeepers. Upon that they came to the resolution, unanimously, to remove all restrictions on the importation of goods geuerally, and of putting them precisely on the same footing as they desired their Lordships to put the Corn-laws upon. He thought if anything could be that was a proof that their views were not limited to a partial, but to a total repeal, which in his (the Noble and Learned Lord's) opinion was the more safe, as it would be the more convenient as well as the more judicious course. Earl FIT ZWIL LIA M presented a petition from elec tors and others of the borough of Sheffield, which he said was signed by thirteen thousand persons. Lord BROUGHAM remarked that he could only at tribute it to the anxiety of the Noble Earl to bring the petition early before their Lordships, or it would have been signed by at least twice that number of petitioners. The Earl of ABERDEEN observed that he found it stipulated in the treaty entered into between this country and Austria, that British vessels entering certain ports were to be admitted on the same footing as Austrian ves sels. Now the ports referred to were riot under the do minion of Austria but of Turkey, and therefore be could not understand how it was that there could be a stipulation between Great Britain and Austria that such should be the case, or how British Ministers could sanction any such stipulation. At the time of the former treaty, the navigation of the Danube was con sidered of very small importance. Having seen it put forward that the free navigation of the Danube was a very important addition to the treaty, he was anxious to know what the explanation of the Noble Viscount on that sub ject was. _ _ - BEER BILL. Lord BROUGHAM said that last year he had given notice of introducing a Bill to repeal et.rtain provisions of the I3,er Acts'of 1830, 1831, and 1835, which allowed beer to be sold and drank on the premises. He would now place that Bill on their Lordships' table; and, in doing so, he wished to state a great mistake had gone abroad of his having changed his opinion on this subject, Now there never was a greater mistake.—( Cries of " Hear, hear.") He brought in a Bill in the House of Commons to enable beer to be sold, not to be drank on the premises ; there was a prohibition against its b2ing drank on the premises. Mr. Caleraft's Committee recommended that it should be drank on the premises. He (Lord Brougham) protested against that ; but the House of Commons decided in favour of that recommendation of the Committee. Therefore, he Lad never alt e red his opinion, and every day's expe rience convinced him more and more that that opinion was originally well-founded.—( Hear.) There was one clause which he had thought necessary to add to the Bill which he had introduced last year, and that was a clause to prevent evasions, by consuming beer in the neighbour hood of the premises. The Noble Duke opposite last year sufrgested that this measure had better originate elsewhere. 11,.; had taken that suggestion into considi ration, and given it all the weight which a sn7gest!on coming from so high a quarter deserved—(llear, hear)—and, he was of opinion there were reasons upon the whole, why the Bill should be brought into . the other H ouse . First, there was a Noble Friend of his in the other House who was likely to bring it in. That Noble Lord being ill he laid that Bill on their Lordships' table, obliging himself to go on with it if that other B:11 should not be brought on, or if brought on should be dropped or fail. CANADA. Lord DURII A M—l take occasion to say, on the papers relative to North America on the table of the House, that it is not doing justice to this report that there should be a publication of the conclusions to which ill it report came without bringing ftrward the premises, I will therefore impress on your Lordships the pa ramount importance of laying more p:pers before the House, that you may decide whether it is proper to legis. late on them or not. 1 do not call on th e N o bl e Vi scoun t for an expre3sion of his opiTn, or that of Her Majesty's (k,vernment on matters contained in the , y., papers. Before I . sit down, my Lords, Permit rub to say cue word with re spect to a question which may be ccinulered somev,hat personal. My Lords, I have been made acquainted with the fact, that attempts have been made in other quarters to prejudice me in the public mind with respect to my personal expenses and fitting out. lam sorry, my Lords, to bb obliged to enter into th ese s t atemen ts, but after what has gone forth, it is necessary for me to say that every shilling of the expense for illy fitting out, for my wine, or for my table— ,- -eVery thing relating to all those subjects alluded to ;it another place, has been defrayed by myself personally. Now, my Lords, my position is this—l have received no salary, and have incurred the loss of a sum of money not far short of 10,0001. —( Hear.) Lord MELBOURNE—It is unnecessary for me, my Lords, to corroborate what has fallen from the Noble Earl. With respect to the other question putty the Noble Earl, I can only say that I cannot in any way account fur the way in which so large a portion of the Noble Earl's report should have transpired, almost before it was known to the Government. —( Hear, hear, from Lord Brougham.) It is impossible for me to conceive, my Lords, in what way that publication could have arisen. It, however, leaves us no discre tion as to whether we shall lay the Report upon the table of the House or not, because it would be ex tremely idle for me to v, ithhold the Report when so large a portion has been given to the public, and it is evident that the person who could give so much can give the rest. I beg leave therefore:to say that I will lay the report on the table of the House on Monday. Earl WICKLOW was astonished that such a charge should have been even insinuated against the Noble Earl as that he would communicate that to a Newspaper before it was laid before the Legislature. Earl DURHAM—The Noble Earl is labouring under a mistake. I am not charged with having furnished the report to the Newspaper. Indeed lam not in the habit of taking in the Paper in question. Earl WICKLOW—The Times. Earl DURHAM—Yes, the Times. My attention was called to the matter this morning, which caused me to send out for one. The Paper only says that it is enabled to give the repott made by me. —( Laughter.) Earl WICKLOW—Oh, I did labour urubr a mistake. Lord BROUGHAM—Every one who is at all acquainted with the character of the Noble Earl would find it indeed difficult to fall into the same mistake as the Noble Earl opposite. The Earl of WICKLOW said that no doubt the whole of the Report did not appear in the Times. It was stated they had not time to give the whole of it, although they had it in their possession. Lord DURHAM suggested that, if the ,Noble Earl looked at the paper, lie would find himself in error. Lord DUNCANNON presented reports relative to re ligious instruction in Scotland; and also a return of the number of persons acquitted, during the last ten years, on the ground of insanity. Lord PORTMAN moved for a return of the quantity of wheat admitted into this country, from the first of Ja• nuary 1829, to the Ist of January 1839, with the amount of duty thereon.—Ordered. THE EARL OF DURHAM. The Marquis of LO NDO NDERR Y inquired, as we understood, when the Noble Earl opposite ( Durham) would bring forward a di s cussion upon Canada? The Earl of DUR II A Nl—My Lords, I do not know that lam at all in a position to answer that question. I have been a a servant of the public, and a zealous a nd faithful servant. I have given an account of my mission, and that report it is for your Lordships to decide upon. As to the course which I may feel called upon to pursue, I do not feel myself at liberty to communicate to anybody, and certainly not to the Noble Marquis, of whom, from his political opinicns, I am least of all dis posed to make a confidant.—( Laughter, ) The Marquis of LONDONDERRY—I am not at all ambitious of the honour. There are certain circum stances, not relating to the question, between the Noble Earl and her Majesty's Government, upon which I am de sirous of making some animadversions on a future day ; and I supposed that as the Noble Earl would naturally be anxious to have a discussion at the earliest possible period, that lie would, from courtesy, inform me of the course he meant to take, that so I might shape my course. The Earl of DURHAM—I am happy to know the motive of the Noble Marquis, which appears to be to have the best opportunity of making animadversions upon my conduct. 1 can assure the Noble Viscount that either upon this or any other occasionl shall be willing to answer any alle gationshe may bring against my public conduct, convinced, as I am, that however it may fail to meet his approval, it will secure the approbation'of my country, and I trust eventually of my Sovereign.—( Hear, hear.) The Marquis of LONDONDERRY—The Noble Earl has gone out of his way to speak about animadversions which he thinks lam to direct against him. Now, I have said no such thing, and I don't know what induced the Noble Earl to think so —he must be very sensitive to fancy so ; I said expressly, that the animadversions I was de sirous of making, were not upon the question between the Noble Earl and her Majesty's Government. I have stated distinctly that I conceive no person ought to censure the Noble Earl till full information was presented, and I should be the last person to take such a course, and I think it rather hard that the Noble Earl should charge me with what I have shown no intention of doing. Earl RODEN seeing the Noble Viscount at the heal of her Majesty's Government in his place, wished to state the course he intended to adopt relative to brin g ing the subject of certain parts of Ire land un der the notice of their Lordships. His Noble Friend below him had petitions to present on the subject from the Magistrates of King's County ; and there were also other petitions which would be pre sented from other parts of Ireland. Ile thought that it would be important that those petitions should be on the table of the House before he submitted his motion. He should therefore wait till that period, taking care that ample notice should be given to Noble Lords residing in Ireland who might wish to be in attendance. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY stated that it was his intention on Thursday next to propo,e certain ques tions to her Majesty's Government ref tive to what he conceived to be not a military but a very unmilitary pro ceeding, according to the information that had been pub licly promulgated at a certain military festival. He was desirous of knowing what communications had been made to her Majesty's Government on the subject, and what measures had been taken to afford ammunition. Unless he was much mistaken the officer in command was greatly to blame for what had taken place. the Rev. Edward Mangles and Cie BLcretary to the Lord Lieutt , napt, in October NI; 'their Lordships then adjourned until Monday next. HOUSE OF COMMONS—FEB. 8. The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four o'Clock. Mr. BANNERMAN presented a petition from Aber. deen, praying for leave to bring in a Bill for the improve ment of Aberdeen harbour. Mr. GLADSTONE presented a petition front the Pro prietors of the London and Birmingham Railway Com pany, praying for leave to bring in a Bill to enable them to rase a further sum of money. CORN LAWS. Mr. HANDLEY presented a petition from Spalding, against any alteration in the Corn-laws. Mr. WALLACE had a petition to present, about which he felt very great difficulty, as he knew net bow to deal with it. The petition was from Pollock shavvs, and prayed for a total repeal of the Corn-laws. He believed the best plan be could adopt was to move that it be printed with the votes, in order that he might have an opportunity of making such observations as he felt bound to offer to the House. The SPEAKER— Do you give notice of a motion? Mr. WALLACE--I move that it be printed with the votes, and taken into consideration on Monday. Mr. KINN AIRD presented a petition from Perth, praying for a repeal of the Corn-laws, and a petition from the Bakers' Corporation of Perth to the saute effect. Mr. CHRISTOPHER presented a petition from Lin coln, praying that no alteration might take place is the Corn-laws. Mr. DUNCOMBE presented a petition from Selby in Yorkshire to the same effect. EDUCATION (IRELAND). Mr. JACKSON presented a petition from the parish of St. Peters Athlone, in the diocese of Elphin, on the subject of Education in Ireland. The petitioners were anxious for the diffusion of religious education and useful knowledge, but they had conscientious objections to the system of education adopted by the Na tional Board, by which the humbler classes of Protestants were excluded from any participation in it. In three pro vinces of Ireland, the system was exclusively Roman Catholic both in its managemt'nt and with regard to those who attended to it, and the consequence was the Protes tants in these districts were almost entirely destitute of edu cation. Also a petition from the Protestants of Fruity, dio• cese of Elphin, county of Roscommon, to the same effect. And another petition from Kdinean, signed by the rector and other clergymen, to the same effect. The Honourable and Learned Member then presented a petition from 20 policemen who had been dimhsed after twenty-five years' service without any compensation, and praying the House to take their case into its consideration. The SPEAKER observed that the petition evidently contained a prayer for pecuniary relief, and it would be csta blishing a dangerous precedent to receive it. He sug gested to the lion. Member whether it would not be better to withdtaw the petition for the present, and have one drawn up in another form, praying the House to take into con sideration the general condition of the constabulary force in Ireland, and that would remove the objection. The petition was then w ithdrawn. Mr. GROTE presented a petition from Cirencester in Gloucestershire, signed by three hundred persons, praying for the protection of the Ballot. The same lion. Member presented a petition from a parish in the county of Longford, in Ireland, complaining of wrongs sustained by poor tenants from their landlords, on account of their religious and political principles, and praying for the pro tection of the Ballot. Mr. LEADER wished to be allowed to ask a question of the Noble Lord, whom he saw in his place. He had seen a great part of the report made by Lord Durham, in the Times of this morning, and he wished to ask the Noble Lord how long a report was to be withheld from the House of Commons after it bad appeared in the columns of a Newspaper ? Lord JOHN RUSSELL could only say that he had seen the report himself with the greatest astonishment. In regard to how long it was to be withheld, he had only to say that the rough draught had only been received by the members of the Cabinet on Thursday or Friday morning. It had been presented, signed by Lord Durham, to her Ma jesty on Monday, and by her , Majesty's comwnd it would be presented to the House on Monday next, with all the other papers on the same subject. Captain PEC HELL presented a petition from a Cler gyman in Brighton, praying that the law with respect to the new Churches lately built, might be settled, as the Archbishop was unable to say whether baptisms might be performed, or women churched in them. Colonel LYGON presented a petition from a place in Worcester, against the Beer Bill. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE begged to ask the following question of her Majesty's Ministei s—whether it was their intention to introduce any new Bill respecting the Poor law Commission, more particularly that part of the proceed ings which had reference to the relief of the poor. Lord J. RUSSELL did intend to introduce a Bill to that effect, but he could not say at present at what time. RECOVERY OF SMALL DEBTS BILL. Mr. BULWE It stated that he had several peti tions in his possession relative to the recovery of small debts. ile begged, therefore, to ask the Noble Lord if it was the intention of the Government to intro duce a Bill on that subject during the present Session, fur if it were not their intention to adopt that step, it would be needless for him to present the petitions with which he had been entrusted. Lord J. RUSSELL gave a reply to the Flom Member, which was inaudible in the gallery. CORN-LAWS. The Earl of DURHAM said that he did not understand exactly what the Noble Marquis alluded to. lie under stood him to refer to something that had taken place at some military festival, upon which he meant to found some resolution. If it was in reference to the aff drs of Canada Mr. CIII.ISTOPER gave notice that when the Mem: her for Wolverhampton brought forward the motion for the repeal of the Corn-laws, he should move the House be called over. while he was in the office of Governor there, he should like the Noble Marquis to state with a little more particularity what it was to which he alluded ; because if it alluded to anything in which he was concerned, he should be pre pared to give the Noble Marquis the fullest informa tion ; but he felt at present quite unable to know what it was to which the Noble Marq'iis referred, inasmuch as he had not even mentioned whether it was in North America or in Canada the affair took place that he wished to inquire about. He hoped, therefore, the Noble Marquis would state it a little more particularly. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY said the Noble Earl might be assured that he would bring forward nothing of which he had not given previous notice. Ho begged the Noble Earl to understand the notice he gave this evening for Thursday should be confined to an inquiry of her Majesty's Ministers relative to a proceeding which had taken place, and which, if it bad not taken place, the Noble Earl ( Lord Durham) would be able to deny.-- (Cries of " Where ? where ?") The Noble Marquis having sat down, still retained his seat. After the lapse of a few minutes, Lord HILL rose and said--Will the Noble Marquis have the goodness to state where ?—( Hear, andllaughter.) ThejNoble Marquis still retained his seat.--(Cries of " The Marquis of Londonderry—the Marquis of London derry—where, where ?") The Marquis of LONDONDERRY then rose and said he thought the Noble Lord could not doubt where that military festival was, which had been known, he be lieved, as much as that those who ran might read the proclamation of the Noble Earl. He thought it rather unfair to be asked to state where it was.—( Laughter.) He did not think it necessary to do more than to give notice that on Thursday next he should put certain ques tions to her Majesty's Ministers relative to a proceeding which he believed had created as general a sensation in this country as any other circumstance which had occurred during the Administration of the Noble Earl, and he should put those qoestions relative to that matter, which must have made an impression on the mind of the Noble Governor who was a Member of the Government, and who ought to have a constitutional, as well as a military feeling. Under these circumstances he (the Noble Marquis) did not think it necessary to slate more than he had done. Lord HOLLAND said he rose merely to say one word to the Noble Marquis. What use can there be in giving a notice of motion when the ground on which that notice is founded is not stated ? The question ought to be such as would desire information, and in his opinion should be such as should state definitively the nature of that informa tion, and the particular grounds on which it was desired. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY—What I want to know is, whether the Noble Lord (the Commander in- Chief), has taken any measures to answer the question which it is my intention to put ?—( Great laughter.) Earl MINTO thought that there should be a notice given of the time, place, and circumstances, to which the Noble Marquis alluded, in order to enable the parties concerned to know to what point the notice tended. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY had no objection to do so. The individual to whom he alluded, and who was one of the Noble Earl's Council, had made declarations of principles which he ( Lord Londonderry) confessed had astonished him. He did not think it was the province of that individual to have put forward such declarations, either in his civil or his military capacity. Lord HOLLAND said the Noble Marquis had quite misunderstood him. Ile had not asked the Noble Marquis's -opinion. It would have been quite disorderly on his part to have done so, or to put such a question to any Peer. What he meant was that as the Noble Marquis had named an indivi. dual, he should also, as the Noble Lord the Commander in-Chief had requested, state where the occurrence had taken place. Having given notice of a motion of a military nature his Noble Friend has certainly right to know all the particulars of the subject; but he did not ask, nor did he think the Noble Marquis was hound to enter into, any explanation of his motives or opinions.—( Hear.) The Marquis of LONDONDERRY thought lie had sufficiently explained himself, and was anxious to meet the wishes of every body. Having given the Noble Lord no tice that lie would ask the question —having gone to the Horse Guard s f or th a t very purpose, surely he ought not now to be met upon a mere point of form. The Marquis of L A NSDO WNE said the question was not whether the Noble Marquis had given notice to the Commander-in-Chief, but the question was whether he had given a sufficient notice to that House. They had nothing to do with arrangements which might have been made out of that House, but the question was whether their Lordships had had a proper intimation of the question, and in his opinion they had not. The conversation then dropped. Lord COLCHESTER moved for some returns, the purport of which we did not bear. On the motion of the Earl of RODEN, a return was ordered of the correspondence which took place between , On do motion of Mr. BAINES a return wai ordered of the quantity of corn liberated from bond in the port of London during the year 1837, with the date a•id amount of such delivery, and the sum paid as duty thereon. THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY, -EVENING EDITION, --FEBRUARY 9, 1839. trade &id pt. , .rfest equslity. It was signed I)/ 13,000 in. habitants. Sir G. CLERK put a question to Mr. Ward lenitive td the petition, which, together with the reply, was from the noise in the House quite inaudible. COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY. On the motion of Lord JOHN RUSSELL the House went into Committee of Supply. Mr. BaRNAL in the chair. That part of her Majesty's Speech relating to the esti mates for the rear was then read as follows " I have directed the amnia' Estimates to be prepared and laid before you. " Adhering to the principles of economy, which it is my desire to enforce in every department of the State, I feel it my duty to re commend that adequate provision be made for the exigencies of the public service. I fully rely on your loyalty and patriotism to main tain the efficiency of those Establishments which are essential to the strength and security of the country." Mr. HUM E said it had been usual on such occasions as the present, when objections were taken to the policy of the Government, to state those objections, particularly when the grievances of the people were not attended to, or when they had complaints of serious moment to bring before the House. He was sorry to say that every day the chance of obtaining a redress of their grievances was every day farther of. The first day they had met they had been told, by a very large majority of that house he admitted -4.26 to 86 —that the Reform Bill had answered all its pur poses—( Loud cries of " No, no.") It was the same thing.—( Loud cries of " No," and laughter.) They had put the proposition, and the other side denied it.—( Cries of " Oh, no.") He was sorry that Hon. Members had come to that decision, for the people of the country would think so.—( No, no.) Ho (Mr. H.) said so, and thought so. Oslo, no, and much laughter.) Hon. Gentlemen might excuse themselves for the vote they had given on the plea of the time being improper, but he could not help ex pressing a hope that time might come when the trammels of an Address would not prevent men from expressing what their opinions were upon such important subjects. It appeared to him to take that form from not having the right of stating the nature of, or interpreting the wants with which petitions were charged. That this resolution will be taken by the great bulk of the people in the coun try, as a practical resolve to prevent a proper statement of their grievances, there was no doubt.—( Hear, and cries of " No.") It was on that account that he voted as he did. We have now declared that this usage is to continue, not withstanding that its introduction is so novel, and that it has so little to recommend it. When the house was about going to vote away the money of the people in the Committee of Supply, he hoped some Honour able Gentleman on the opposite side of the House would make a specific motion • that this question should be settled by a confirmatory vote of the House. They ought to have the public Ministers put on the same footing as individual Members in regard to giving notices. He would submit that when they went into the Chair— (Great laughter)—he meant to say that all notices should be given by the Minister of the day when the Speaker took the Chair, or at five o'clock, in order that Members might know what was likely to be brought on. For instance, last night a notice of a Committee of Supply was given just before the House adjourned, when there were only about ten Members present, so that scarcely any one was aware of that notice until they saw it in the votes the next day. He submitted it would be desirable that Members of the Government should give notices at the same time that other Members were bound to give them. He wished to enter his protest against money being voted, as it had heretofore been done, while all redress was re fused to the people. Mr. WARBURTON was not present during the dis cussion of the motion of the Hon. Member for Sheffield, not being aware that it would come on so early ; but if he had been present, he would have stated, that although he was perfectly willing to admit the convenience of the rule generally that had been adopted, yet that they ought not to take away the right of debating on petitions. During the first ten years that he sat in Par liament, he remembered that debates occurred upon this very Corn-law question, until nine o'clock in the evening, when each Member who presented a petition had not only the right of debating upon one question, but of debating on four. There was first the question—" That this petition be brought up ;" next, there was the question, " That this petition be now read ;" then there was the question, " That this petition do lie on the table ;" and then came the fourth question very often, " That this petition be printed." So that every Member presenting a petition had not only the opportunity of speaking on the full merits of all the subjects adverted to in the petition, but had the op portunity of speaking not less than four times—a right which applied to no other sort of motion.—( Hear, hear.) He could not disguise from himself that except from the right of repeatedly debating questions on which petitions might be presented from the people, it would have been impossible to have carried many great questions that. had been carried.—( Hear, hear.) Where would Negro Sla very—the Emancipation of the Catholics, and the Reform of Parliament have stood, if it had not been possible to debate those questions again and again until the people were excited upon them, and came forward with petitions. If this right were taken away from them, there were other modes left. It would not be difficult to introduce the Poor-laws. Ile would recommend those individuals who thought the attention of the public had not been sufficiently drawn to the Corn• laws to take that step. He always thought that was an assembly for the purpose of legislat ing. He never thought that the object of petitioning was to produce that effect, or that lion. Members would de scend to dilate on petitions for that put pose. Colonel CONOLLY said he could say, from his own experience of what had taken place for the last four years, so far from limiting the right of the public, it had done much towards facilitating the object of peti tions. He' thought that the speech of the Right lion. Member for Tamworth had exhibited the subject in a pro per point of view. But that the motion recently disposed of was not to increase the right of the subject of petitions, but to give a facility to every person to dilate, and give a paraphrase separate from the petition itself. Ilis mind was satisfied that the right of a petitioner remained unimpaired. fie had remarke I last Session that many petitions sent from London to the country had been forwarded to the House. He concluded that these were the class of peti tions which the lion. Member for Kilkenny thought might be classed 300 in one. His purpose in alluding to them was to spew that they had no other object than the excite ment of the people, instead of their legitimate object — the submitting their grievances to the deliberative assemblies of the country. Ile presumed, as the Hon. Member for Kilkenny had passed the whole of the vacation among his constituents, he referred to their particular grievances. Mr. O'CONN EL L thought the Hon. and Gallant Member had made a trifling mistake, for be had called this a deliberative essembly.—( Laughter.) That was certainly going a great way. The Gallant Colonel came here quite uncertain how he should vote; it was only by the result of the debate that he was induced to vote either one way or the other, but all Hon. Members were not so unprejudiced—(Laughter)—and it was therefore a mistake to say that this was a deliberative assembly. His Hon. Friend near him had also fallen into a mistake, in stating that petitions formerly were spoken to four times, but the old practice of the House really gave an opportunity of speaking on them eight times.—( Laughter.) There was a great difference between that plan of proceeding and a Gagging Bill to prevent petitions from being discussed at all—( Hear, hear)—which was the greatest violation of the old principle that could possibly take place. It would make the House disreputable in public opinion.—( Hear, hear.) The sooner the public were aware that the House treated their petitions with contempt by not deigning to listen to them the better; the remedy would come the sooner, and the public, who petitioned in vain would then clamour in such a way that though the Gallant Officer might not be intimidated, a strong impression would be made on others, which would be likely to induce them to go a little further in the round of Reform.—( Hear.) Mr. CLAY said they were now acting on the plan of deciding first and speaking afterwards.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) The practice which bad been formerly pursued, by the recent division seemed to have become a rule, and Honourable Members had been securing convenience to themselves at the expense of the rights of the public. He believed that short and animated de bates on petitions, were much attended to by the people, such debates presented opportunities for stating locsl facts and circumstances which now could never be brought before the House at Hear, bear. ) The House then went into Committee pro forma and resumed. LORD DURHAM'S EXPENSES. Col. SIBTHORP gave notice that on the 21st inst. he should move for the following returns, and take the sense of the House thereon. The expenses of the appointment of Lord Durham, as Lord High Commissioner and Go vernor-General of Canada, distinguishing the amount of salaries paid or to be paid to Lord Durham, or the officers connected with the said Commission ; also the expenses of the outfit of the Governor-General and suite, as well during their residenco in Canada as on their return to this country. PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS. Lord JOHN RUSSELL moved the Order of the Day for resuming the adjourned debate on the presentation of public petitions. The Order h2j2 : g been read, The SP E AWOL?, said before the clerk read the petition it would be desirable to read the resolutions of the house of the 6th of February, 1833, which necessarily had rela tion to this subject.—( Hear, hear.) It was to the follow ing effect :—" That when a petition has been presented, and the prayer stated by a Member, the Speaker do desire such Member to bring the same to the table, and direct the clerk to read the same, without allowing any other Member to speak or put any question on such petition before the same has been read, unless it shall appear to the Speaker, or any Member, that the matter of such petition relates to a In-each of the privileges of the House, or that, according to the rules and orders of the House, such petition ought not to be received. Mr. HUME said that it would probably be as well if the resolution of the 11th March was also read. It provided that any Member who presented a petition should have previously read it, and be able to state the substance of its contents, and be prepared to say that in his judgment it was couched in proper lan guage, and contained nothing disrespectful to the House. He suspected that this resolution would answer the inten tion, as it would leave it to Hon. Members to say whether the petition contained matter for discussion or not, leaving it to the Speaker to interfere if he were wrong. He con sidered it would be better to abide by the resolution of 1817. Lord J. RUSSELL asked whether the Hon. Member was not now infringing the resolution by speaking a second time? Mr. HUME was justified by what had just been read. Mr. WYNN proposed that the resolution should be en tered as read. —.._.......____ The Clerk then read the resolution and also what had been stated by the Speaker on this subject last night. Mr. WALL ACE said that he was desirous that the petitions that were presented should be printed with the votes to be distributed to the Members. He would state to the House a practical fact, illustrating what at present took place with regard to the presentation of petitions. Ile had presented a petition to that House on tl.o 27th of July last, hoping that it would be taken into consideration on the first notice day. He had been in his place every day during the time that Parliament had sat, and that petition had Levor been taken into consideration yet. One day during the interim an election petition had been presented to which there was no opposition. A de!ay of half an hour took place, the House actually sat 25 or 26 minutes without transacting any business, and he (Mr. Wallace) proposed in desperation that the petition that he had previously presented should be then taken into con sideration, when the Speaker interfered and prevented him, no doubt very properly so, and the petition had remained unconsidered up to the present hour. It was a petition of the greatest public importance. It prayed that the Acts of Parliament should be printed in a cheap form and sold at a pri ce not dearer than the votes o f that House. Un less acme regulations were adopted , it would be totall y impossible that petitions could be conside red, as if he g were to ri se to speak on t h e su bject, the Hon. Member for Salf or d might get up and say it w as twelve or one o'clock, when he (Mr. Wallace) m i g ht be told that it wa s a new subject, an d t h at h e wa s not entitled to enter on it a t a ll . If they were to d o that by notice, that would be ceived at a ll or conunerted upon. Th e subject therefore Putting an end entirely to pet itions bein g re upon which the House was now engaged was one of a se rious nature. Ile thought that it was right t hat no entr y should b e made of any resolutions on the Journals but that it sho u ld b e left to the discret i on o f Members.—( Cries of " Oh, o h. e) Lord JOHN RUSSELL then moved that the resole lion adopt e d b y the House, last Session , with ros p ect to receiving p e ti t i ons should be adhere d to. Mr. WARD then rose and sa id, that after the full dis cussion the s u bj ect had rece i ve d y e sterday, it was not his intention t o occupy the time of th e House. He should content himself b y en tering a p rotest b y a division against laying down a rule, which he conceived to be extreme( y prevented discussion upon im portant and det rimental to the interests of th e people, as it questi ons. Hav i ng divided the Howe upon that only he should p resent the et i t i on according to the rules now laid down, ob serv i ng that he wished to be bound by a distinct rul e , and not by on e that was liable to be mia. understood. Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the Housq divided, when there appeared: — For the Motion ........................ 183 • Against it ................... 43 Majority ........................ —.140 On our return to the G a ll er y we found Mr. WARD on his leg;, presenting the peti tion f rom Sh effield, pray i n g for the entire abolition of the Corn•laws, and the establishment of a system of' (No BANK OF IRELAND. Mr. O'CONNELL seeing the Chancellor of the Ex chequer in his place, wished to ask whether it was the in tention of the Government to introduce any legislative measure with respect to the Bank of Ireland? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCUEQUER said that he proposed on an early day in the Session to intro duce a measure upon the subject. PARLIAMENTARY ELECTORS. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved for leave to bring in a Bill for the Registration of Parliamentary Electors. He had on a former occasion framed a Bill on the subject, which had passed that House, but in conse quence of a clause that was introduced at the suggestion of the Honourable Member for Ailcsbury, relative to the right of Trustees to vote, the House of Lords had sent down the Bill expunging that clause ; and as he did not wish to be considered as going against their opinions, he had thought it right to move for leave to introduce the pre sent Bill. . Leave was then given to bring in the Bill. Mr. lIAWES obtained leave to bring in a Bill to pro vide a general form of affirmation for all persons who be lieved the taking of any oath to be forbidden. The Bill was brought in and read for the first time accordingly. Mr. BARNEBY obtained leave to bring in a Bill to amend the laws relating to highways in England and Wale.. The Bill was brought in and read the first time accordingly. Lord J. RUSSELL move d f or l eave to b r i ng i n a Bill for safely keepi ng an d aut h ent i cating certain Reg i sters o f Births or Bapti s m s , D eat h s or B ur i als, and Marriages. After a sh or t conversat i on b etween Mr. W YNN an d L or d J. RUSSE LL , w hi c h was totally inaudible i n t h e ga ll er y, leave was obtai ne d. Mr. GILLON move d f or returns o f t h e S oa p made in each town in G rea t B r i ta i n, di st i ngu i s hi ng hard from soft, from sth J anuary 1838, to sth J anuary 1839 : —of Soap exhorted, specifying the port from whence shipped, and the amount of drawb ac k paid thereon, from sth January 1838 , to sth J anuary 1839 :—of the quantity of Soap, distinguish ing hard from soft, and the amount of all allowances and drawbacks ma d e to th e manu f a cturers of woollens, linen., silks, and others, from sth January 1838, to sth January 1339 :--of all Soap exported to Ireland, hard and soft, the port from whence shipped, and the amount of drawback paid thereon, from sth January 1838 to sth January 1839 : —of all S oa p i mporte d int o Great Britain, hard and soft, the port at which it was imported, and the amount of duty paid thereon, from sth January 1838, to sth January 1839: —of the names of all persons convicted of defrauding the Revenue arising from Soap, the dates of conviction, the amount of the several penalties, whether the person so con. victed had been previously convicted or fined, o r h a d pe nalties compromised, the amount paid to the seizing officers for each conviction, and the names, dates, and the amount of penalties paid in all cases which have been compro mised, from sth January 1838 to sth January 1839.' General JOHNSTONE moved for a return of the number of names of the Unions to which any order for a withholding out-door relief to the able-bodied has been sent since the date of the last return to that effect, on the 22T1\lovrinbor, la`3l, up to the end of the year 1838, with the dates on which such orders hare been sent. The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned at six o'clock. MESMERISM. (From our Morning Edition of Wednesday.) We were a few days since present at seme interesting experiments in Mesmerism, or animal magnetisneat Dr. Elliotson's iessidenee in Conduit-street, Regent-street. There were about seventy or eighty gentlemen present. including several eminent physicians and surgeon?, and scientific gentlemen. Previously to the commencement of Doctor Ellietson's address, a little boy about le years old, the son of a re spectable shopkeeper, who had been in a delicate state of health almost front his birth, and who had, for the last fort night been unable to rise from his couch, was brought into the centre of the room on a reclining chair. The boy who had a very intelligent countenance, and had been af flicted with epilepsy two years and a half, was accompanied by his father and mother, who watched the proceedings with great interest. Dr. Elliotson commenced by observing, that perhaps some of the gentlemen present acre not acquainted with All the diseases of the nervous system. Ira some of these there was loss of power or sensation— in others, there were diseased sensations. Then there was stupor of the brain, or coma, as it was called ; and besides all these, there were other affections which did not very frequently occur—such, for example, as somnambulism, or walking in the sleep, and other extraordinary phenomena which could not be ex plained by any known laws. It was known that in the case of persons walking in their sleep, places had been passed over, and feats performed, which the somnambulist could not possibly accomplish when awake. It was known that persons had walked along the parapets of houses, crossed rivers, and climbed precipices, which they would not yen- Lure to do if wide awake. In some of these cases it could appear as if the powers of the mind were very much increased, and many were known to compose much better than they could when awake. These occurrences were generally allowed, although they were not very fre quently seen. But there were other phenomena which it was impossible to believe, unless they were seen or esta blished by very powerful evidence. The chief of these was having a new sensation, which was sometimes, although improperly, called seeing with different parts of the body. Some persons in a diseased state of the nervous system, were said to be able to read what wss written, even al though a piece of wood, or other opaque body, was inter posed between their eyes and the writing. There was a lady residing in the West of England, who was said to be in that condition—in this case there could be no deception, no delusion ; the facts were verified by a respectable Phy sician and by an Archdeacon in the neighbourhood. and by many others. Many similar cases were on record, but they had been disregarded as absurd. It was known that some persons bad an extraordinary power of smelling in disease, and could tell at a distance who people were by the sense of smell. There was another extraordinary occurrence well known, that some persons could not pass a hay field without having a fit of asthma—their eyes and noses became violently affected ; and it would ap pear as if the exhalations from animal and vegetable sub stances produced effects upon some persons, which were not produced upon all. Ile would mention another very extraordinary example of nervous affection. Ile bad a patient who was peculiarly affected by the exhalations from human beings, when the powers of life were sinking and the system was very much reduced. There could be no doubt that there were certain emanations from the human body, which were sometimes excessive, or diseased, although the generality of persons could not perceive them. He had seen, and could vouch for the accuracy of this statement, that the female in question —not every day, nor at all hours of the day, but in certain states of the system —when brought within a certain distance of persons whose powers of lite were greatly reduced, could scarcely lift her arms or legs, feeling a great degree of oppression and sickness ; and in proportion to the low state of the person, and her proximity to the individual, was she more or less violently affected. Now, when it was known that peculiar effects were produced by the exhalations from ani mal and vegetable substances upon certain persons, although not upon all (and, in the present case, they were not produced upon her at all times, but only in certain states of her nervous system), these sensations in her had nothing wonderful in them. These had nothing neces sarily to do with animal magnetism, as it was called, and might be quite independent of it. Another thing further appeared, that there was a certain agent or agency (lie did not want to give it any precise term or definition) atnong living beings, which most medical philosophers had passed over, but which had been known to some individuals at dif ferent times. Because this agency could not be brought into action unless under peculiar circumstances, the greater part of the world did not credit its existence. lie (Dr. Elliotson) was quite convinced that such an agency exited. All were aware that persons were capable of exhi biting the phenomena of magnetism, galvanism, and elec tricity, by being placed in particular circumstances, and sparks could be made to flow from the body by insulating persons and placing them in particular circumstances. \Vith respect to Mesmerism, he would remark that it was not every individual who exhibited its phenomena; some ex hibit them almost immediately, and sonic few instantly. By pointing the fingers to individuals, towards the face in particular, and passing the hands down repeatedly, sleep is often induced. It was not common sleep which was thus produced, because, if it were carried to a certain ex tent, the patient could nut be awakened as in ordinary sleep. He had known persons knocked about, thrown upon the flour, and their cars boxed, without their bt ing aware of it ; and yet if the operator's Bands were sepai - ates horizontally, or if the fingers or thumbs were moved across the eyebrows from within outwards, the patient immediately came to himself. These were facts which any person could ascertain for himself, by standing before another and making what were called vertical passes be fore the face for sonic time. These were the most common effects produced, but some persons exhibited much more extraordinary effects,—in truth every thing, however strange, that is ever known to occur in affections of the nervous system. In some persons spasm was pro duced and violent pain, and in other instances perfect in sensibility of different parts of the body, or complete loss of motion. He had made persons pass from a state of coma into somnambulism, in which they walked about, talked, wrote, and did many other things; but if the thumbs were passed across the eye-brows, they immedi ately awoke in the natural state, and knew nothing of what had occurred. Some could, as it were, see things with different parts of their bodies, and even when an opaque body intervened. A large number of these facts he knew to be true—how many more might be true, Ire could not say He believed just what he had seen, and with re spect to the rest he neither believed nor disbelieved, but remained neutral until these phenomena were either confirmed or disproved to his own experience. 11 would show them the result of his experiments upon the subject, and it was for others to say whether they were not sufficient to induce them to examine for themselves. He would now mention to them the circumstances of the case of the boy before them. The gentleman on his right (the boy's father) bad come to him the previous day, saying that his son was subject to epileptic fits--that he had been for several months under the care of a medical gentleman, and that the fits were very bad. He did not expect to see anything more than an epileptic patient with extreme weakness. Ile went to see him, and found the trunk and neck paralysed, so that on being raised, his head fell upon his shoulders, and his body fell upon the couch. The father and mother told him that if, when raised on his couch, he was held up, he fainted. He (Doctor E.) raised him up, and in a few minutes he was senseless, but he found that it was not fainting—the pulse was as good as before—the face did not grow pale, nor did he gasp for breath. The eyes were shut, but on raising the upper eyelid, the eyes were quite out of sight, and he was told that the boy always came to with a sigh. Now patients in Mesmeric stupor generally recovered with a sigh ; their pulse while in that state was not weaker, but rather (pricker, as his was, and they . came to with a sigh. It struck him that the boy had, by disease, been brought to that state which was in duced in others by experiments which he bad frequently made. It appeared that about ten or twelve days before, he had been deprived of all power from his hips upwards. If he was placed upright upon his scat he immediately fell backwards, and if the head was not supported, it also fell 'back. De (Dr. E. ) tried the usual manipulations, pointing his fingers towards the patient's face, but without touchline and succeeded in drawing him upright cut of the bed. The boy followed him to the end of the room, and thence out into the shop, fur he had been lying in a parlour adjoining the shop, being all the time fast asleep. Ile extended his arms, and the boy did the same—he stood upon one leg, opened his mouth, and turned round, the boy imitated him in all these things : and in alew minutes afterwards, when he had fetched a sigh and come to himself, the transverse passes having been made, he recollected nothing about it. He had then attempted t o rai se him, but as before ae boy could not support his head or trunk. Doctor Eillotson now raised the boy upon his couch, and supported him sitting upright. In the meantime several of the gentlemen present questioned the father as to the boy's age, and how long he had been in that state. To which he replied, about three years. fie was also asked whether he bad called in Dr. Elliotson under the idea that a cure might be effected by Mesmerism ? fie replied that he had no idea of the kind. In the course of two or three minutes the boy fell back app ently quit e insensible— there was no change of colour, nor was there any altera tion in his pulse—his eyes were turned completely out of sight, and the extremities were cold. Dr. Elliotbon said that was spontaneous Mesmerism, if he might so call it, induced by disease. After remaining in this state for about five minutes, the boy fetched a sudden sigh and recovered. Doctor Elliotson then proceeded t o ma k e " vertical passes" before the boy's face, and he immediately fell off into the same s t a t e of stupor—the hands and feet were then raised repeatedly, by Dr. Elliotson' i pointing his fingers toward s t h em, and drawing them ulwards, without touching the boy. He next raised the head in the same manner from the couch, and then passing his fingers across the eye-brows, the boy awoke or recovered his senses. Doctor Elliotson said he would mention another cir cumstance which showed the agent or agency was only analagous to th e ph enome na of light, electricity, heat, &C. &C. The Mesmeric power might be communicated to inanimate bodies, to certain metals such as gold, silver, nickel, and platinum, and water ; and might also be reflected by mirrors like light. With respect to one individual he had found nickel to be the most power ful, but in all other instances gold was the most power ful. Next in power was mercury, then silver, an d then platinum. Ile believed it could also be commu nicated to pure tin. Effects were sometimes produced by lead and copper, under certain circumstances. li e had never seen the little boy before them till yester day, but ho had made some trials upon him with metals, which he had made upon patients in the Hospital, and the effects were precisely the same—precisely the same as those which had been ascribed, he knew not why, to imp_ sition. All, however, were not affected alike, for he I d charged his watch yesterday, anti placed it inh pbay'st.l3 hand, when in his natural state, but no effect had been produced. • The Father—Oh yes, after you went. Dr. Elliotson—What was it—how did you feel? Boy—l don't know—it was very curious. • Doctor Elliotson—l was not aware that any effect: bad been produced. It appears that it took, a longer time to act. The boy was again thrown into Mesmeric stupor by Dr. E. in the usual manner—a sovereign, charged by being fur some time held in the Doctor's baud, was put into the boy's hand, and the body and limbs immediately became rigid—the teeth were fixed and were separated with great difficulty—the arms and legs remaining in whatever po sition they were placed. The Doctor observed that this was a complete state of catalepsy. In the case of one pa tient, the girl Okey he had found that nickel produced very dreadful effects—indeed, so violent were they, that he had very great reluctance to try it again with her. The muscles at length suddenly relaxed, and the stupor became very profound. From this he was awakened by rubbing the eyebrows outwards. The Mesmeric stupor was aeain induced by a repetition of the vertical passes , and by movements of Dr. E.'S hands at a distance, he was raised from the chair and got upon his legs—the ryes appeared to he quite closed, and he followed- the Doctor several yards across the room. The Doctor then extended his arms, stood upon one leg, opened his mouth, and turned round, in all of which he was imitated by the boy ; in at tempting- to follow this last movement, however, the boy, from weakness, had well nigh fallen, but he was carried back to his chair, and recovered by rubbing the fingers across his eyebrows. Ile was then asked if he recollected having walked across the room? The little fellow smiled, and shook his head incredulously. He was asked if he had not attempted to turn round, and his reply was—" How could I turn round when I cannot walk?" Several of the medical gentlemen present having pu t questions to the father and the little boy for the purpo se of satisfying themselves on particular points, the boy was removed. Dr. Elliotson said the next patient he should bring be' fore them was the girl Okey, one of two sisters who were brought into the hospital, subject to epileptic fits. Various means were resorted to, and all the established modes of • treatment tried, both by himself and other gentlemen , without effect, and the cases were given up as hopeless. At last he resolved to try Mesmerism, and both the cases s were cured. One of the girls had not had a fit for the previous twelve months, and the other not since the Ist of September. A gentleman present inquired how often had they at tacks previously ? Dr. Elliotson—At various intervals. Sometimes there were two or three in a week. It would appear to hirt that there was predisposition to the disease in their consti tutions, for their great grandfather and grandfather had died of apoplexy; their father has been subject re fainting fits. The girl to whom he referred, showed the Mesmeric phenomena in a higher degree than alines any other person upon whom he had operated. TheY were both little girls of the greatest probity, and he could answer for their integrity in every particular. He could as :tire the gentlemen present, that there was no impropriety or deception in their conduct, and he could answer for there with his life. Ile had watched them narrowly for a long period. Their father had been a chaser of silver—he rya' educated in Christ's Hospital, and his family was in th e highest degree respectable. The children had been ad mirably brought up, and the statements made respecting them, he knew not why, were most unfounded—they bad been most cruelly and grossly traduced. The elder was a , great favourite with the matron of the hospital, wh o ha d her repeatedly to spend the evening with her, an the Chaplain gave her a most excellent character. • This little girl exhibited very extraordinary phen e ; mena. He could produce sleep directly—he Couto draw different parts of her body—affect her by metals' and send her into a state of somnambulism, when she would answer questions although fast asleep. She wa s very much affected by mercury and gold, and violently bY nickel. Iron never produced any effect. On the other hand, it took away the effect of the other metals. A i !, cordingly, as one metal or the other was employed, the effects were different. If charged silver was applied, sleeP and somnambulism were induced—if gold, sleep and lirium. Where very violent effects were produced by the de - application of metals, the patients for some time after wards were not susceptible, and no effect could be pro duced upon them. Now, in the case of the girl Okey, when gold, or water strongly charged, or nickel was ar plied, very violent. effects were produced, but for some time afterwards she was insensible to their effects. lie would bring the girl in her natural state, to enable those gentlemen who had not previously seen her, to judge of her manners and character. Dr. Elliotson was then asked several questions as to the girl's age, her habit of body, &c. lie said she was about eighteen years old—small for her age, and of a weak state of body. He observed further, that it was said she line gone to Irving's chapel to prophecy. Now, that s tate: meta was altogether untrue ; it was a gratuitous fals ehood, as was also the assertion that he ever took her i nto the wards to prophecy on the fate of a patient , or that ho had had a party of students, large or small, at h is house this season. The girl Okey was then brought in. Her app ale has been already described. She is of low size, Pale a n • thin, with very d i Clark hair and eyes, and an expressive, in:. telligent countenance. She was addressed by several er the gentlemen present, who had previously seen her. 115 manner was rather diffident and retiring, and she spoke In a low melancholy tone. After being placed in the chair a p iece of Mesmerised silver was put into her hands, and in a few in", nutes Mesmeric coma or stupor was induced—her eyes clos et ' and her head fell back. The silver was then taken out of he r hands, and she passed into a state of somnambulism. He r eyes were open—she walked about, knew the persons pre' sect, and conversed with them in a low tone of voice. A gentleman inquired in what I.er present state di" fcred from that state in which she was when she e ntered the room, for he saw no difference ? Dr. Elliotson said [she knew much less in her present state than before, and could do far less. A boy was then brought into the room, who was eubjee; ( Dr. Elliotson said) to dreadful epileptic fits, and it ha e been found impossible to affect bins. It sometimes bar. veiled that patients in a Mesmeric state could affect orhoefisd and he wished to try it now. The girl, however, e ," b0 not be induced to pass her hands before his face, age was taken away. Gold, Mesmerised, was now placed in her hands, an d most extraordinary change took place. She fell ba her sen seless, and on awaking, her face became animated, to eyes lighted up—she started from her chair, and began. „ talk in a loud voice with great rapidity, misprono unoe l most of her words. (Dr. Elliotson observed that this wen, a state of delirium.) This state continued for a very her period, during which Mesmerised water was applied to ost lips, face, eyelids, hands, and other parts, producing al immediately spasms, and vi o l en t contr a ctions of the muse `t. N'Vhen applied to h e r gums t h e t ee th b eca me firmly S t e le , In the course of the exp er i men t s s h e g o t hold of a g elh fi t c l man's gold-headed cane, and complained that she e° s y not get it - away from her b a nds—that it burned he r ve il much. Dr. Elli o t son f eare d t o em pl o y nickel, and s t a be that its peculi a r effects are correctly described ill it Lancet as very violent; so that, on a certain occas ion r was not thou g ht r i g ht t o a pply it again for half an bo ar . a t Ile added, th a t th e y some t im es do not occur till the par to which it h as b een app li e d i s r ubb e d with somethettn q ,_ else. Even su b s t ances w hi c h cannot be charged d ire ber from the body so as to affect her, may be made to affect vas by being put in c o nt ac t w ith charged nickel. The p ee lea d effects of nickel, said to have occurred when copper or , b a d was rubbed upon a part, never did occur unless nicker, or been applied to the part before it was rubbed with the leTiied• copper, or to the lead or copper before they were aPP an . Mere friction of a part to which gold or nickel has been st n plied, will re-produce their peculiar effects again an d e g os s without any fresh application of them. These circure ste u p e e a are all omitted in the worthless account which has Th e . published of these experiments. Indeed a very large o f . ber of beautiful and convin c i ng ex p er i me nts were ma'ree's. which no account i s given, (no doubt for the best of „cis sons), and what arecalled failures were results all 811)1'84 ble to any one in the least acquainted with the subject, bet capable of phil oso phi ca l observation and research. " the be repeated every ex p er i men t ag ain and again, and fo und results perfectly conclusive. The experiments had not concluded when we left. We make no comment upon them, but leave the public to their own conclusions. The exportation of the precious metals frota : e a u , P a ort London, for the week ending on Saturday last, co nsisted according to the official returns, of 118,000 ounces a s ilver - 4 - 1 ; 5 131,2'27 ounces of silver coin, 4080 ounces of go ld bars. and to ounces of gold coin. The silver bars were disposed of betwectiCalen' arid Madras, 28,000 ounces being sent to the former, and 90TH cab the latter place. The siver coin was forwarded as foll ows 500 cutta, 44,000 ounces; Madras, 40,000 ounces; Lintin; ounces ; West Indies, 20,727 ounces ; Boulogne, 1,500 ou nc , ii t to Rotterdam 1,500 ounces. Ofthe gold bars, 1,350 oun ces weres'n,s; Rotterdam; I,2ooounces to Calcutta; 780 ounces to the Maurirt6ls and 750 to Boulogne. The gold coin was shipped thus :- -- :!„ "c cs ounces to Rotterdam; 1,800 ounces to Madras; an d 1,000 to Calcutta. C (trea t CHURCH-RATES—Mr. Joseph Sub, o f duste r mm Coggeshall, was summoned for non-payment of 61. ls. lld r 1 tho Church-rates. Mr. demand, but the defendant did not appear, and the order 10a upon him. „ t i C llla l SLANG AT PUBLIC SCHOOLS,—A ge- not long since told me that he had to entertain a you th just re`l- % . ,,I,at from Eton. He asked him if he had any brothers or sisters. 14 . 0 0 , was his reply ? He "believed there was a chap at home ?" frecta . is it possible that this affectation, even if for the present i t be a ou tft, lion only, should not engender cold - blooded selfi shness. A Y- tiog such as I have described, has been evidently und er a detoriogs system of artificial education. I speak of education as not of the only : everything is education that is said or done by er I : e „ed ; young. Ile will read slang, and think himself sufficie ntl y he will talk slang, and think himself a wit; ho will grimace i t, If pronounce himself a gentleman; he will look it, and fancy independeut. Ile will put it on biro with his very clothes Is it, drink it, and smoke it, sleep upon it, and wake upon it, till tvi "`l little better than an ape: and an ape will he be to the end a hi' l t t. e c i for even his walking upright is artificial, and not as nature liate"-C he should.—Blackwood. CIVIL ESTABLISHMENTS OF RELIGE OI4.— : to meeting was held at Lanark on Thursday, the 31st of J anu3 7 ' d• prove that Civil Establishments of Itei g i o n were unscriPt" 3 " u n just, and despotic, and consequently injuriousto civil and rel i g i°', liberty. The meeting was large and respectable, co 1" g m __„ e d Churchmen and Dissenters. Mr. Brown, of Orchard, was eh meeting in an able, eloquent, to the Chair. Mr. Andrew Nicol, from Edinburgh, addressed deavoured li,v,,l to establish the above propositions. Liberty be ing :n ' to any Clergyman or Layman to reply, Mr. Stark, theedTo at and forcible speech, in which he great length, Missionary, came forward in the Kirk's defence. He in- and upon the S c ript ure text, " Whether ye cat or drink , or whatso , e it e l : on Magistr a t es ac ti n g in their officia l capscitY, ye do, do all to the glory of God." The meeting listelo_ great patience, and no t a few with great wonder and adtnir the bde. the ingenuity of the Learned Divine ; but, at th e close of _ bate, it was moved, that he had completely failed to answer ad speech of Mr. Nicol ; which, although oppose d b y a few Kir that mirers, was carried almost unanimously. Mr. Nicol stated then timedid not permit him to address them f arther —it beinl, past midnight—but proferred a challenge to Mr. Stark, ba the at any future opportnity. Whether Mr. Stark posseUes courage than the Rev . Mr. Gibson, be seen.—Glasgow dirgus. of Glasgow, or not, remains se Mo n rntn GENRii L€ " One Vr't is e " His Story„, , 's.. T whi ch t 7 ai 1 0 '; ...... e e x historiC S k] 11 IS Yttin & irib tv , a Ip"ons great krev RI iUT 2w 4, 1 1 4 A 4 I Pwas t i; ; t'er so 4; n ; my 34I ng, H V , [l), 14 x., '2,Yer Septriday. e , day . end. , Sll e , blikeltrsd, 4 14 COI tti val z z 16 ,1 0 r Sitti mails. ' i ber s , 4te, call IVIO of 15 A aril Thosc pit h the ' : me to Su,l Oft 8 "" p etlis~ : as usua To SE Sk l , i