The Sun. — London, England, 1836-03-12 00:00:00

MPERI AL PARLIAMEN T. HOUSE OF LORDS, lIIARcn 11. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woolsack at Five o'clock. The Secretary of the Chanceller presented certain papers connected with the Bankruptcy Court, pursuant to order. LONDON PENITENTIARY. Mr. ORD presented a Report from the London Penitentiary, pursuant to the Act. MESSAGE FROM THE COMMONS. C Mr. To oKE , accompanied by other Members of the House of '-'oinmons, brought up a p r i vate Bill.—React a first time. Mr. A. TREVOR and others, from the Commons, brought up an Enclosure Bill.—Read a first time. The D u k e of CU STAMP MBERLA R ND, in ETURNI the absence of a Noble Friend, moved for a return of the number of stamps issued to country bankers from the year 1819 to the year 1835.—Ordered. The Bills on the table were then forwarded a stage. MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS. The Duke of NEWCASTLE presented a petition from S he Medical practitioners of Nottingham, praying that they might be allowed compensation for their attendance at coroners' inquests. ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS BILL. The Bishop of LINCOLN presented a petition against the Probate Clause in the Ecclesiastical Courts Bill. Lord NV HA RNCLIFFE presented petitions from the Proctors of York, Clifton, and several other places, on the same subject, and with a similar prayer. Tho Earl of RODEN gave notice of his intention to pre sent, on Monday next, a petition from the Archdiocese of Tuam, of which be had before spoken. ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.—WEST I Lord GLE NE LG rose to move the second reading of the ; 3.1 1 for t h e b etter admin i stration cf justice in the West He might rest on the general notoriety which t r e,vailed of th e ma l- a d m i n i strat i on o f j ust i ce i n the NVcst nuia Islands, but he would trouble their Lordships by st ating why thi s c h ange was propose d. I t was a su bj ect deeply affecting a great portion of his Majesty's subjects in the Colonies ; and one material reason for the Bill was the Want of qualification in th e j u dges wh o now preside over th e courtsin these islands.---( Hear, hear.) The judges were almost invariably connected with the suitors, and not Very onfrequently bore a part in the quarrels which they afterwards adjudicated upon. The Courts of Criminal and C ivil Jurisdiction were constituted under a Commission from She Governor, under an Act of the Local Assembly. It was issued, as in this country, from the Crown, but had its sanction. ° lle great disadvantage was, that in these Commissions there Was no lawyer named to preside over the Courts, and from the number of respectable persons upon it, few remained to act in t he Capacity of jurors, so that the effect was, the jurors w ere generally comprised of individuals not of the most intelligent class, and not unfrequently were connected With the parties in the matter brought before them.—( Hear. ) '`9 o greatest inconvenience followed from the state of the Judicature of the country, and as an instance of that he would mention that a few years ago three slaves were capitally convicted for murdering their master. Nine of the judges advised the Go vernor that the conviction was good, and the lives of the slaves aould not be spared; the Governor thought otherwise, and upon L ee case being brought before the Courts of this country, the convietien was declared illegal. The consequence of these L hi ege, if they continued, would be the total disrespect of all -Pf • If the state of the judicature in the West Indies was looked into, it would be found to be placed on an ex ceedingly bad basis. The judges were multiplied in too great slidegree, and many of them would be found to be but ghtly, if at all, conversant with the law. Such a state of t vi gs called f or amendment, and to give that amendment w as the obj ect o f t h e present Bi ll. The N o b le Lord then th e at et some length through several documents, to show alteredls that existed, and the means by which they might be 0.. In one of the documents it was stated that the Court s;at-;)lancory in one of the West India Islands had been pre be L ed es a nuisance. By the present Bill, the Courts would constituted of three Judges, the two senior going the Circuit, and the junior one transacting the business at home. By this th mea ns, he thought competent Judges would be obtained, and 0° a dministrati on of justice in the colonies properly carried The funds now supplied by the colonies would be quite 0 7 .t ient for th e purposes of the Bill , and t h ere f ore i t s h ou ld 1 3 ' 3 ; u necessary to make any provision with respect to that. Prothe measure they would have property protected, and law perly a d m i nistered. On these grounds, therefore, he now T he Earl of RIPON defended the conduct of the Govern ree„,of which be had been a member, in the course ) 2 * 3' had adopt e d w i th reference to th i s su b ject, an d expresse d hie in the measure. 't he Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be committed. Th e House then adjourned. -HOUSE OF COMMONS, 111.4Rai 11. T h e SPEAKE R took the Chair this day at four o'clock. EAST INDIA COMPANY. indkr. CAMPBE LL b roug h t up certa i n p a p ers f r om the East C ° lll pany's Offi ce , relating to Compensation Claims. BRIGHTON AND LONDON RAILWAY. yen7 oti r. , CI 3AWFORD presented two petitions ag ainst Ste s !me of Rail wa y, an d p ra yi ng t o b e h ear d by counsel s ' ef ore the Committee. andLONDON AND CAMBRIDGE RAILWAY. Ca l° N. MEMBER presented a petition against the London mbridge Railway Bill. Mr n tii; • OS brought up the Reports on several private . 8 , which were ordered to be read a first time.' L or LO NDON AND BRIGHTON RAILWAY. 4 d EASTNOR presented two petitions against pons'Stevend ,. and in favour of Sir John Rennie's, line of Railway, an 'trig to be heard by counsel or agents before the Comm ittee. Ste St e ore G. LENNOX thought the petitions in f a vou r as well thoseas renson's line shouM be referred to the Committee a r,,..agains it. . sid es • BULLER was of opinion that the petitions on both should go before the Committee. 0 Th e SPEAKER (as we understood) thought that petitions both sides should be referred to the Committee. MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL INCORPORATION BILL ti the m ot i on of Mr. TOOKE,. this Bill was read a third 'tie and passed. LON DON AND BLACKWALL RAILWAY. Mr. TOOKE presented a petition in favour of this Bill. m MID LAND COUNTIES RAILWAY. p ia ' r • R. TREVOR. presented a petition from Earl Lowe, u ii reg to b e h eard by Counsel, against the Midland Railway , Nv ""''S BRIGHTON AND LONDON RAILWAY. -4 P tai n ALSAGER, i n nam i ng t h e C omm i ttee on R en - R l e's Direct London and Brighton Railway Bill, wished to e v ?; l , 4 rely word s i n explanation of the course he had pursued, - respec t to referring the Brighton Railway to its present ritnittee. It had been recommended that the different 0 1 1 1 e 5 having the same termit.i should be referred to p o e se same Committee. —(Hear.) To this he had pro r., d that the Committee should consist, in the instance (10,.tite Brighton Railway, of the Surrey List, with the additi on Ii BO RIC of the Members of Sussex, and those Members resitl- Zg at its termini. Amon , ' those he had selected the four Mem -01 the City of London as being at one termini, and the je o eb r'rl l for Brighton, it being the other termini. The t i e Lord opposite had ob jected to that course, and as !he i 1 seemed seemed to be against the name of Mr. Crawford being li i 4 o e rer.. on the Committee, he at once . gave . way. He . should, rre, now propose that Rennie's direct London . and as Brig h ton, Railway should be referred to the same Committee i' 4 : 2 _, llo v sitti ng , w i t h out any addit i on. tak en, G. LENNOX thought the Hon. Member w as mis ." It was th e H ouse, and not h i mself, that objected to the name of Mr. C raw f or d . c w e „ i e Ptain ALSAG ER wished to know whether the House. bor 7l allow agents to have the . power of objecting to Mem- Z - --( A laugh.) 11 r. CRAWFORD said be was unwilling to take up the ofmm th e House, bu t - he really thought that the Com ailate bed ov er l oo k e d a su bj ect o f great cons id eration , ti his opinioa a great oversight had been committed. By lis ride laid down, this Bill would be referred to the Sussex, t erithough it would not pass through that county. It ought , p iZ o c i e s .:rlyi e t i y“ f i e o r e r vvf e e d arte t t o eini t ici h tei e nres S g Sur re y list, where the metropolitan Mem ted in the question, would have, an op. wh eth le 1)F, A KER Said the queStion before the House was the c' er the Bill b e referred to the ComMittee appointed by ?"uss e c tle i r i s at u . f the House. The Bill was then referred to the . EASTERN COUNTIES' . RAIL . WAY.. th e e r _CLAY presented a petition from Spitalfields against past gsLt'"n Counties Railway Bill, also petitions from the 0r the ondon Waterwork Company ; the rate-payers thoparish of St. .Georcre in vestry assembled ; the iti,siricohwartlens and vestrymen * of Whitechapel, and the Com ners of Pavement in Goodman 's-fields, rotou,',Rl m eat Commercial Railway. Also a petition against ,the Lon inhabitants of Whitechapel against the London an ; petitions from 13romley, and the Company iiiii%roerieturs of the East London Waterworks against the same ft peti t i on from the inhabitant householders Ntit , l -;:' en agai nst the Eastern Counties Railway Bill.'l ' l ieso air na involved an important principle, which had not yet been ,itai,.nt under the consideration of the House ; elineil_elportance did he (Mr. Clay) regard the principle to indeed, of th e a u le referred, that it was his intention to have moved for I.olTeintment of a Select Committee to consider the subject. iii:t..l,reieeiple involved in the various petitions which he had wertl,r,iSentetl, and the statements which they all agreed upon th e h e that no railroads should be permitted to come into t h e ,. , :a . rt o f the metropolis—that however useful or necessary io g i li m ri 'ght be in a general point of view, yet all these-converg tropoe:s coming int o an d terminating in the heart of the me erooded tr nght, if of sufficient number, destroy the most was • 1",!(1 i mportant parts of the city of London. That . vi sead,.,l:rincaple totally distinct from the general utility of rail eW._ .t.heir comparative importance in a public point of s o 4M -I_!t. was suggested whether these railroads, coming from t„,,,,i'n",Y((llll:erent parts of the kingdom should not have their T tamales Lwiutside the most crowded parts of the city.—( Hear.) tle that these apprehensions were not ill-founded, and (Nis. (-lay) Should of the petitioners were not unreasonable, he 1 )(1 if a Y) should state to the House what the result would torts °.‘se railroads were carried into effect in the crowded h blue metropolis. He in that calculation alluded only loodeor_uegh which he had the honour to represent, We city effect f to which he was about to call the at f the House was only as to the destruction of property At ' 1 t r o t ies Royal Exchange ; beyond the circle 'nit of ti 4 " 111 3 the inquiry had not been extended—the re. l ' el u'd 1 'e in quiry Was tl t these projected railroads had tt t() % tu L ei down n a o less than 5,934 houses and tenements ; in round numbers they had asked per of Parliament to turn out—allowing five persons to each house—not less than 30,000 householders.--(Hear, hear.) He knew that it might be said that those who were to be so turned out would receive compensation. He ( Mr. Clay) de nied that they could receive compensation. It would be im possible for any compensation to make up for the loss of those residences in which they had lived so long, with the esteem and approbation of their fellow-citizens. There was hardly an instance of sufficient compensation having been given for the injury received, but the greatest injury was likely to be, the diverting of the great lines of traffic ; and if all these rail roads were carried into effect, the thoroughfares of White chapel, Aldgate, and the Commercial-road, which were now so prosperous, would be completely deserted, and there would be grass growing in their streets.—( Hear.) It was said that the parties might oppose those Bills before the pri vate Committees. That was nothing but a mockery, as it would be impossible to do so without funds. These parties had not a right to touch a farthing of the rates for such a purpose, and it was as great a mockery as to say to a starving man, if you want a dinner, go to the London Tavern. The objection was, in his mind, of the greatest weight and importance as applied to the question of railways.—( Hear.) The objection was at all times of elle greatest importance, but more partieu- larly so at the present moment, when there was such a mor bid excitement at the present time on the subject. The question was indeed worthy of the attention of the House, for the public mind was in a state of very great excitement upon it. They knew that there were fifty-seven railway pro. jects before the House, involving an expenditure of not less than 28,000,0001. He had made inquiry and be found that what with canals, waterworks, &c., the projects amounted to 108, while the expenditure involved was 33,500,0001. The public naturally thought that this too much resembled the too memorable year 1825. Every one connected with the City knew there were many persons who had no connee,tion with business now selling annuities and other means of livelihood, for the purpose of embarking their all in the speculations. Considering all these things, he thought Members of that House would only be doing their duty in looking most narrowly -to see whether these projects were wanted or not. In the time of a great convulsion, in the time of pressure and distress, they might have to blame themselves for the waste of capital, and their's might be the fault, from so much misdirected energy. Mr. GROTE said he had three petitions to present on the same subject. The SPEAKER informed the Hon. Gentleman that he was out of 'order. Mr. GROTE trusted, that if he might not present his pe- , . . titions, he might be allowed to express his perfect concurrence in what had fallen from his Hon. Friend the Member for the Tower Hamlets. The feeling of alarm was very strong in those parts of the city from whence these petitions came, espe cially with regard to the London and Blackwell Railway, and the Commercial Railway. They would depopulate a great part of the parishes in question, and they were unnecessary ; for there was already a good tram road laid down upon which one horse could draw 10 tons of goods. One reason against them was that they would not only injure those who were compelled to re move, but by their transplantation, it would produce utter im poverishment to those who were left. The House would see that the passing of these Bills would, be a great calamity to the parishes in the east of London, and he trusted the House would see that there would be a commensurate advantage be fore agreeing to them. Mr. HUME had been waited upon by many deputations from those districts, and many of his constituents said if these Railways were brought into London, they would be ruinous to them altogether.--( Hear.) He had hoped, as the Government had taken up the question, that something would have been done, by which all parties might have been satisfied ; and he had advised his Honourable Friend to speak to the Ministry upon the question, for it was a peculiar case, and was deserving of a particular remedy. The parties had not funds to meet those who fought with a joint-stock purse. The subject must be specially brought before the House, otherwise he did not know what could be done. Friend as he was to railways, he thought the peti tioners had made out a good case, and he hoped it would receive consideration. The SPEAKER begged to call the attention of the House to the inconvenient practice they were now getting into on the presentation of petitions. Whatever objections there might be to bringing Railways into London ought to be urged in the Committee. . ..... Mr. HUME felt fully the weight of the observations that fell from the Speaker, but it was an imperative duty on his part which he owed to his constituents to call the attention of the House to the subject. Mr. HAWES hoped that before the Bills came before the House, his Majesty's Government would have an opportunity of considering them. All he asked was, that as the metropolis was very much interested in the subject, that it would be taken into the early consideration of Government. Dr. LUSHINGTON had five petitions to present on the same subject. After what had fallen from his Hon. Colleague, and other Hon. Members who had spoken, it was not neces sary for him to trespass on the time of the House—( Hear, hear)—except—( Cries of "Oh oh 1 ")—to state that, what ever might be the result of the Committee up stairs, he should feel it his duty to bring the subject under the consideration of the House, and unless he saw a change in their opinion, he would undoubtedly move the rejection of the Bill.--( Hear.) The petitions were then laid on the table. SOUTH DURHAM RAILROAD. On the motion of Mr. BOWES this Bill was read a second time. Mr. GROTE presented two petitions against the London and Commercial Railway Bill, and the London and Black wall Railway Bill. Mr. BROCKLEHURST presented a petition against the Bristol and Exeter Railway Bill. LONDON & DUBLIN STEAM NAVIGATION BILL. Mr. O'CONNELL moved. the second reading of the Lon. don and Dublin Steam Navigation Bill. Mr. G. F. YOUNG opposed the second reading of the Bill, as it was a measure for giving increased powers to a Company that at present existed. It was an Act to enable a Company to carry into effect and operation that which was within the scope of private individuals ; such being the fact, in his opinion it was calculated to do essential injury. Nothing in his opinion could be more. obnoxious to every principle of justice than the present Bill; he would therefore move that it be read this day six months. Mr. WI LK S supported the amendment. The present Com pany had obtained two Bills by which they were enabled to raise a capital of SOO,OOO/. If the object of the present Bill was to increase their capital, he for one would not object to it ; but not content with the powers they derived under these two Bills, the Company now sought to have themselves incorporated, and to be empowered to sue and be sued under a common seal. The reason given for this was, that they could not contract for his Majesty's mails without such an act of incorporation. Now he (Mr. Wilks) did not consider this reason by any means a valid one, and he must therefore be under the neces sity of opposing the Bill. Mr. O'CONNELL said, that some gentlemen might have private interests at variance with the present measure ; he did not of course allude to the Hon. Member for Teignmouth. Now for his part ho did not think the incorporation should be acceded to unless it should be found useful, and if it was so, he did not sec why the Bill should be resisted. Two English com panies were established, the first in 1813, called the British and Colonial, and another in 1834. But the present Com pany was an Irish one, which perhaps might be the ground of objection. Now he would state the reason why this act of' incorporation was rendered necessary. It was very well known that in a short time Government would give up having packets of their own, because this Company could .carry the mails for one half of the expense. Many Members of Parliament were members of this Company, every one of whom would forfeit a very large sum of money besides their scat in that House, if this Company contracted with the Government for carrying the mails.—( Hear, hear.) Mr. ROBINSON would like to know from the President of the. Board of Trade whether he thought the Bill ought to pass , • • if he did, he (Mr. R ) should vote for the second read ing and consider it in Committee. Mr. POUL ETT THOMSON had considered the de tails of the Bill as well as he was able, and there were provisions in the Bill to which be should most seriously object—those were the extinction of land car riage, and the power to borrow money on mortgage.—( Hear, hear.) He should vote for the second reading, and if those alterations were not made in Committee, he should certainly vote against •the third reading. Mr. WALL ACE should vote against the second reading of the Bill. If the Company obfained the powers they sought, the result would be, that they would have given to them a great monopoly, and it was upon the principle that no monopoly ought to be sanctioned by the House, that lie stood tip to oppose the second reading. No man was more desirous for the prosperity of Ireland than himself. Ile would like to see the Shannon covered with vessels ; but the prosperity of Ireland did not depend upon g iving to one Company a monopoly. With regard to their being contractors for the mail, he was very much mistaken if they had not already contracted for the mail, and if so, they were at that moment doing what was illegal. had ses s a e l l r a c o a n d) t r h s e ta a t t e a d ek t so ready v M t e o m t b a c k r e s ;t they y t h it e l y Ile objected to that Company having such a check over all d other a t (; r o i rn ou p s a e n i t e h s a up that trade the moment the power was given to them. On these grounds he should certainly support the proposition of the Hon. Member for Teignmouth, that the Bill be read a second time that day six months. Mr. O'CO NNE LI would acquit the Hon. Member of any intention of wilfully misrepresenting facts ; but he h a d b een misinformed in stating that the Company had the contract— they bad no connection with it. Sir H. PARNELL supported the Bill, as one in which his constituents were deeply interested. Ca. PE RC EVA L did not doubt the sincerity of the Hon. Member for Greenock, vvlien he professed his anxiety to pro mote the interests of Ireland i ; but he f e lt di s p ose d t o q u es. tion that anxiety w hen the interests of Scotland were put in competition with it.—( Hear and laughter.) He was sure the Honourable Member would very naturally give a pre ference to Scotland in all cases.—( Hear, hear.) He trusted the House would allow the Bill to be read a second time, as the Right Hon. Gentleman the President of the Board of Trade had acquiesced in the Bill going into Committee, with a view to the removal of any clauses that might appear 01- jectionable. An Hort. MESIBF.R on the opposite Bench, whose name we could hear, also supported the Bill. Mr. POTTER hoped the lion. Member for Teignmouth would allow the Bill to pass a sec ond reading—and suggested that he should withdraw his amendment.—( Hear.) Mr. W. ROC HE bore testimony to the honourable manner in whi c h th e C om p an y has always conduct ed its business. He should b e th e l as t t o i give the Bill his support if he did not believe th a t it wou ld b e ' gene rally beneficial. The Company had, in hi s o pi n i on , ma d e ou t a prima fac i e C 530 to receive the support of that Douse. THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 1826. Mr. P. M. STE WA RT thought this Bill gave very great privileges, and it would be impossible for any other company to compete with it. If, however, the objectionable clauses were to be struck out in Committee, he would not oppose the second reading. But it would only be on the distinct understanding that the only additional powers to be given to this Committee were, that partners being Members of Parliament should not hinder the Company from forming con tracts for the conveyance of the mails. Yet he would conscnt to the second reading of the Bill. Mr. GIL LON thought that a very unjust monopoly was intended to be established by this Bill. It was proposed to add large additional powers to those which had been formerly given. There was no saying how far this system of legislation should be carried.—( Hear, hear.) Lord MO RPETH said it was well known that this Com. piny had performed very great and signal_ services, an d t hi s h e thought a sufficient reason to extend to them an opportunity for future exertions. Any clauses that were objectionable might be altered or removed in Committee. On these grounds he asked the House to consent to the second reading. Colonel CONOLLY could bear testimony to the great' services performed by this Company, and the effect of this Bill would be to call forth all their resources, and to enable then to make still greater exertion. Ireland was much indebted to this Company. It had established a railroad between Dublin and the se; and it intended to carry on the work to the Shannon. Mr. F. FRENCH said that this was not an attempt to establish a monopoly for Ireland, but it was a monopoly that was sought by Scotland. He would support the second reading. After a few words from Lord SANDON, Mr. CALLAGHAN said there were some clauses in the Bill to which he was much opposed. If he could hope they would be expunged in the Committee, he would be most sorry to oppose a Bill which any one said would be good for Ireland. The gallery was then cleared for a division, when there ap peared, For the second reading ... Against it Majority • CARLOW ELECTION. Mr. R. COLBORNE was then called upon and brought up the Report of the Committee upon the affairs of the Carlow Election. There were general cries of " Read, read." The Report was then read by the Clerk at the table. After reciting the terms of the appoint ment of the Committee, it went on to state:—" That it appeared to the Committee that the subject divided itself into two heads—first, the contract between Mr. O'Con nell and Mr. Raphael, and secondly, the sum alleged to have been paid from one party to the other ; and they felt it to be their duty to draw the attention of the House very briefly to these two points. It appeared that Mr. O'Connell addressed a letter dated June 5, 1835, which contained an agreement for the payment of 2,0001. The Committee cannot help observ ing, that the whole tone and tenor of that letter was calculated to excite much suspicion and animadversion ; but upon a very careful investigation of what had pre viously taken place between Mr. Raphael, Mr. Tyrrell, Mr. Vigors, and others of the county of Carlow, they felt bound to add that it was proved to their satisfaction that Mr. O'Connell had acted on this occasion at the express desire of Mr. Raphael—( Hear, hear, hear)—and was only the medium of communication between Mr. Vigor:, and others in the County of Carlow, and Mr. Raphael. It appeared that the money was paid to Mr. O'Con nell's general account at his bankers in London, but was repaid the moment it was called for—some part of it in Bills, but the discount was allowed, and therefore the Committee were of opinion that uo charge of a pecu niary character could be attached to Mr. O'Connell.—( Hear. ) It appeared also that this money was expended under the direction of Mr. Vigers and others in the county of Carlow ; and the Committee see no reason to question the legality of the manner in which the money was expended." Mr. R. COL B 0 RNE,in moving that the reportbe received, said that this was the report of the Committee agreed to without any sacrifice of principle or sacrifice of opinion. He was anxious to make this statement, because it cannot fail to have its due weight with that House and the country. It w ould also prove that eleven gentlemen differing in political opinions can lay aside party feelings when called upon to perform a duty of so serious and important a character as that in which the Committee were engaged. If that House and the country at large would consider the evidence with the same feeling as they had done, they must arrive at the same conclusion. Lord JOHN RUSSELL then moved the Order of the Day, and made some observations which were inaudible in the gallery. Mr. W. S. O'BRIEN asked a question respecting the extension of an Act (the name of which was not heard in the gallery) to Ireland. Lord J. RUSSELL replied that the Act would only ex tend to England and Scotland. CLEAVE'S CASE.: Mr. WAKLEY wished to ask if what he had beard to-day was true, namely, that Mr. Cleave had been sent to Totten ham-fields Bridewell, and excluded from all communi cation with his relatives and friends.—( Hear, hear.) He was placed in the prison dress and put on what was called the silent system. He (Mr. Wakley) wished to know if such was the case, and whether the regulations of the prison justified such treatment? He hoped the Attorney- General would state under what Act of Parliament the con viction took place. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL was ignorant of the tran saction, nor did he know under what Act the conviction took place. If the Hon. Member had given notice of his inten tion to ask the question, he would be prepared to answer it. Mr. WAKLEY said he would renew his question on Mon day, and he trusted the Right Hon. the Attorney-General would be prepared on the subject. MARRIAGE BILL. Dr. BOWRING gave notice that in Committee on the Marriate Bill he should move that the number of householders necessary to sign certificates be reduced from '2O to 10, and the fees from fit to 21. ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE. On the motion of Lord. J. RUSSELL, the House at its rising agreed to adjourn to Monday. CORPORATION OF LONDON. Lord J. RUSSELL, in answer to a question from Mr. Wilks, said he had not yet received the report of the Comm issioners ap pointed to inquire into the affairs of the Corporation of Lon don ; but he expected to receive it almost immediately, and of course as soon as he received it it should be laid on the table of the House. CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. Lord JOHN RUSSELL, in answer to a question from Sir Wm. Rae, said he had not yet received the report of the Church of Scotland Endowment Commission, but he had received private information that the Repert might be ex pected immediately. WILLS. In reply to a question from Mr. AGLIONBY, The ATTORNEY-GENERAL stated that the Bill, com monly known as the Will Bill, would originate in the other House, the present Master of the Rolls having consented to undertake the charge of it during its progress. IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT BILL. reply to a question from Mr. HUME, The ATTORNEY-GENERAL on Monday next should be able to state positively whether this Bill would or i g i nate in the other House of Parliament. If it did not, he should certainly introduce it into that House without delay.__( Hear.) the number in the War-office alone, to 133.—(Hear, hear. ) Without troubling the House with the details of the sub sequent years, lie would merely state that in the beginning of February, in the present year, the whole number of per sons employed in transacting that business which 20 years ago occupied 215 persons, was reduced to 51, and the charge of the War-office alone was reduced from 71,245/. to 47,603/. per annum. For these reductions he, of course, could claim no credit. As lie should afterwards have no occa sion to ask the House to sanction certain superannuated allow ances to old officers, he thought it right to make them ac quainted with the extent of the reductions effected. With reference to the division of the estimates, and the separa tion of the efflctive from the non-effective service, he had only to remark that in the latter a still greater reduction had been effected; the amount of which he hoped would be aug mented by every successive year of peace and tranquillity. The -House would, probably, recollect that shortly after he came into office he obtained a vote of 7,6091. to affird an in crease of pay to general officers receiving less than 400/. year each. This vote had been already covered by the casualties that had taken place, and the estimates in this respect were, therefore,_ restored to their former condition. The general re sult of the whole estimates was a diminution of charge erro neously stated in the estimate as amounting to 96,536/.. but which amounted in reality to 93,0121. The propriety of ef fecting a strict separation of the services, in the charge for the extraordinary expenses of the army, had occupied a great deal of the attention of his Right Hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade, when he was in the War-office, but no definitive arrangement was come to until the spring of last year, when the Treasury (during the Administration of the Right Hon. Baronet opposite) issueda minute directing that the separation should be effected, as far as possible. Hitherto, as many Hon. Gen tlemen were doubtless aware, a variety of services of a strictly ordinary nature, which formed a part of the regular expense of the army, had been entirely defrayed out of the army cx traordinaries. The most important of these was the charge for the provisions of troops in the colonies. As this charge, when it had been defrayed by the commissariat, was set down together with that for the current expenses of the Ordnance and the provisions of the Convict Establishment, it was im possible to state its precise amount at present, but after further experience there was no doubt that in a future year—probably not in the next—it might be reduced to a strict matter of ac count. There were other charges of a similar description, including that for military labourers, which was a regular and constant charge, amounting to 7,900/. a year, transferred to the present estimates; the whole amount of which was 173,088/. This was the amount of tho apparent increase in the estimates, but there was in reality a diminution of 93,0004 There was another improvement which had been effected. The divisicn between the British and Irish establishments was found to be very defective, and furnished no sufficient infor mation to the House. It was, therefore, proposed that the whole business should be transacted by means of a general pay-office. He should be most happy to afford any further explanation in his power to any Hon. 3lember who might re quire it in the course of the debate. He begged, in conclu sion, to move that 81,390 men constitute the land force of the United Kingdom and colonies. Mr. HUME was sorry to see so little interest excited when the House was called upon to vote away a large sum of money (there were only about 100 Members in the House.) Although he (Mr. Hume) had on the preceding evening voted fur the postponement of a question for the taking off 120,0001. of a tax—he had only done so because he thought it would be better to postpone that particular question until the entire subject was regularly brought under the consideration of the House by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. With respect to the vote moved by the Noble Lord, he (Mr. Hume) could see no reason why so large a force should be kept up in this country. He, for one, was really at a loss to ascertain how it was that under a Liberal Government our standing army should consist of ten or twelve thousand men more than it did under what was regarded as an extravagant—which was a Tory Government.—(A laugh, and " hear, hear.") In 1822, our army consisted of 68,800 men ; of 1823, of 69,000 ; in 1824, of 73,000 ; in 1825, of 86,000 ; in 1826 and 1827 it was the same; in 1828 it was 90,000 ; in 1829, of 89,000; in 1830, of 80,000 ; in 1831, of 88,000 ; and in 1832 and 1833 of 89,000. Here was a gradual increase in the amount of our army, from the time of the Tory Government of 1822, and some subsequent years, to the present rule of the Liberal Whig Administration. He called upon all those flonOlem hers who were anxious to alleviate the burdens of the country to join him in endeavouring to obtain a reduction of the number of the army. One of the reasons which he (Mr. Hume) had assigned in justification of voting one million to the Irish Church, was, that it would enable his Majesty's Go vernment to diminish the number of the army. He regretted to see there was no disposition on the part of his Majesty's Government to carry this desirable reduction into effect. Ireland was at the present moment a complete garrison, al though in a state of the most profound peace.—( Hear, hear.) It had been asserted a few evenings since, by a Noble Lord in another place, that he never remembered Ireland in the enjoyment of such perfect tranquillity. That assertion had not been contradicted, and he presumed it could not be con tradicted ; and why, therefore, he asked, would no reduction be made in the amount of the army stationed there? Neither the internal state of the country, nor the state of the co lonies, warranted his Majesty's Government in asking for the continuance of so large a force. With the exception of a few outrages at the Cape of Good Hope, the colonies were in a state of the most perfect tranquillity. The Hon. Member concluded by moving that a reduction of 5,000 men be made in the number of our standing army. Sir S. CANNING had intended to have brought under the:consideration of die house the late occurrences at Cracow; but not seeing the Noble Lord the Secretary for Foreign Affaire in his place, probably the most convenient course would be to postpone it for the present—intimating, however, that he should take the opportunity of doing so the first occasion that presented itself when the House should be in Committee of Supply Mr. BOLDER° would have supported the motion of the Hon. Member for Middlesex, if his motion were for a reduc tion of expenditure, and not of the amount of the number of men . The expenditure upon our colonies was quite extra vagant. Upon the nearly impregnable rock of Gibraltar, we expended net less than from 150,0001. to 200,000/. per annum. Then there was about 100,0001. incurred in the civil expen diture of Malta, and a proportionably extravagant expenditure in the lonian Islands and Canada. Dr. 130 WRING supported the amendment of the Hon. Member for Middlesex. Colonel PE ltC E VAL said that one argument assigned by the Hon. Member for Middlesex for a reduction in the num bers of the army, was exceedingly fallacious—that was the tranquillity of Ireland. Neuer since the rebellion of 1798 were some parts of Ireland in so disturbed a state as at present--( Hear.) Mr. DUNLOP was understood to express his opinion that the land force was not larger than the exigencies of the country demanded. Mr. FINN rose in consequence of what had been said by the lion. Member for Sligo. The country was becoming more and more tranquil every day, notwithstanding all the provocations that were offered. This would continue as long as there was a man at the head of the Government determined to act with impartiality. After a few words from Mr. IloancE Twiss and Major BEAUeLERK, Sir C. DA LBINC observed, that the services of the Bri tish soldier was much more severe than those of the Conti nental soldier : it therefore vcould not be fair to increase their duties, which would be the case if the number of troops was diminished. Lord HO W ICK remarked that the lion. Member for Mid dlesex had made some allusions to the changes that had taken place in the opinions of Hon. Members with the change of situation ; he would beg the lion. Member to speak for himself and not for others, lie ( Lord Howiek ) had not altered his opi nion on this subject ; for if the lion. Gentleman would look to the divisions, it would appear that lie had not voted in any division for a large reduction in the number of troops. lie had voted, as lie Fhould to-night, while sitting opposite, and lie had seen no reason to alter his opinion. The present service in the colonies was so severe on the army, that it was utterly impossible to make any considerable . reductions. The lion. Member was fond of alludhig to the state of the public estab lishments in 1792, but if he took the • trouble to refer to the documents on the table, he would find that the number of troops in the old colonies at that time was 15,100. men, and the present number of troops so employed was 16,687, leaving an increase of 1,500. Its New South Wales, in 1792, there were only 420 soldiers, while at the present moment there were in that andahe adjoining colonies 1,974 troops. It was neces sary to keep a great number of soldiers there, in consequence of the pe cu li ar c i rcumstances o f t h e co l ony. Il e agree d, however, with the Hon. Gentlemen in Winking that it was to the colonies they must look for any great reduction in the number of troops, and he hoped that the time was not far dis tant when something of that kind might be effected. He would only add, that for every 62 troops now employed at home, 100 were sent abroad. Mr. HUME thought that he had assigned sufficient reasons to justify him in pressing the House to a division. The Committ ee thendivided _ _____ Ayes ... Noes . 136 Majority for the Estimate -9:1 Upon the resolution that a sum not exceeding 3,776,4131. 93. Id. be granted for the charge of the land forces for 1836-7, _ Sir W. MOLE SWORTII rose to mo ve that ..the Foot . G . nerds b e p l ace d on t h e same f o oting as the troops of the line." Ile considered those regiments as a great abuse, on account of the li • the privileges which they possess over the troops o f tie, in receiving a larger amount of pay fur fewer and less important services. The effect of his motion would be, to do evil to no specific individual ; to put the pay of a ll future officers of th e F oot Guards on the same f oot i ng as th a t of the line; to effect an ulti ma te large saving to the country ; to strike o ff one of th e pr i vileges o f t h e G uar d s ; an d if c arried, it would be tantamount t o a d ec laration on the part of the !louse t hat all these privileges should cease to ex i s t. —( Hear , h ear. ) The first privil ege w hi c h t h e F oo t Guards possessed over the t roo p s of the line, was with regard to station. Of the seven regi ments or b a tt a li ons o f G uar d, five were always in Lo ndon, one at Windsor, a n d one a t Dublin. Compare this w ith the station of th e troops cf the line ; seventy- fi ve reg iments were in the coloni es, fifty of them within the tropics , o r be y ond the Cape, and only t wenty -fi ve i n w h a t may be termed go od climates— namely, the Mediterranean and Nor th America. Of the twenty-eight at home, nineteen we re in Ireland, where till lately they w ere em pl o yed in the &strain in g for tithes. The effect of this privilege with regard to station was shown b y the Proporti on of deaths amongst the officers of the line and amongst tho se o f th e Guards which was as more than three to one. Thus, every thing else being the same, in an insurance, an annuity on the life of an officer of the Guards was worth an annuity on the longest of three lives of officers in the line generally, and eight in India. What had the Guards done to merit this most valuable privilege ? If nut a part and portion lof the army, if only a sort of Royal police decorated with military costume, surely it was most unjust to the rest of the army to bestow upon them the largest share of the honour and emoluments of military service, by the privilege they possessed of rank. This privilege was the most obnoxious one of all— a privilege unjust to the rest of the army, unjust to the public, and which the inf.intry of the line justly considered as the greatest possible grievance.—( Hear, hear.) The House was aware that in the Foot Guards the ensign had the army rai.k of lieutenant, the lieutenant that of captain, the captain that of lieutenant-colonel, and the major that of colonel. Thus the lieutenant, on becoming captain passes over all the captains senior to hi nt i n t h e service, pa ss es o ver all th e majors in the army, and attains that rank, viz., -lieutenant colonel, after which almost all promotion is by seniority ; if lie remain in the Guards, on becoming regimental major, he passes over all the lieutenant-colonels senior to bins and :.ttains the rank of colonel. Ti.e effect of this privilege is, that the Guards supply nearly the same number of general ofil..!ers to the army as the whole of the regiments of the line. Now, the seven battalions of the Guards were in number about 5,200 men. Its these estimates he found there belonged to these re giments no less than sixty-eight officers, who had the army rank of colonel and lieutenant-colonel, whilst the 106 batta lions of the line, amounting to 92,000 men, about eighteen times the number of the Guards, had only 126 colonels. Thus the officers of the Guards possess admirable facilities of ob taining rank in the army early in life, and it was, of course, of the utmost importance to the individual who made the military career his profession, to obtain rank in the army as early in life as possible, to become as quickly as possible a lieutenant colonel ; for after becoming a lieutenant-colonel, whether the individual remains on full or half-pay, whether he accompanies his regiment to the deadly climate of our colonies, or live luxuriously in London ; whether his time be passed in com bating the * Cafires at the Cape of Good Hope, in invading the pestiferous swamps of the Birman Empire, or be more agree ably spent between Crockford ' s and Melon Mowbray, or in lounging in the House, it is all the same ; his progress up the list towards becoming a general officer is equally unimpeded. Two-thirds of the officers of the Guards were generally on leave of absence.—(Hear, hear.) Yet, it was a well-known fact, for these favoured troops had particular facilities with regard to obtaining leave of absence—the detail of regimental duty being performed by the sergeants under the adjutant and com manding officers. The officers in respect to these duties were mere cyphers.—( Hear, hear.) Again, if the lieutenant-colonel of a regiment of infantry is removed from the command of a regiment by a brevet, which makes him a major-general, he receives only 3001 a year. Now, by the warrant of 183 0 , if a captain in the Guards be_ moved in a similar manner, by brevet, he receives 4001. a year ; if a regimental major in the Guards, 5501.; if a regimental lieutenant-colonel, 600/4 al though the line were called upon to perform services which never or rarely fell to the lot of the Guards. lie denied that these troops were necessary to Royalty. The most ambitious Monarch in Europe—the Monarch of France—had no guards. The Sovereign who sat upon the most ancient throne in Europe, the representative of the Caesars, had no guards— the duties of his palace were performed by the troops of the line. Were the troops in the British line inferior either in courage or in discipline to those of the Austrian service ? ( Hear, hear.) Surely not. No ; the Guards were not the pageants of Royalty ; they were the pageants of the Aristo cracy—a specious device, by means of which the wealthy and the powerful were enabled to promote their offspring over the heads of hard-worked and worn-out veterans.—( Hear. ) The resolution and the amen d ment upon i t having been read— Mr. HUME seconded the amendment. Major BEA UCL ERK supported the amendment. Sir H. VERNEY could not refrain from rising for the pur pose of declaring that to his certain knowledge not the sligetest jealousy existed between the officers of the line and those of the Guards.—( Hear, hear.) Lord A. LENNOX, after thirteen years of service in the line, in various climates and countries, could also positively declare that no such feeling existed between the officers of the line and those of the Guards as had been related by the Hon. Baronet. Lord HOWICK had great satisfaction in hearing what had fallen from the Noble Lord and the Hon. Baronet, because he must say that he had felt great anxiety at the assertion made by the Hon. Baronet (the Member for East Cornwall), that the gallant officers of the lino felt aggrieved and jealous at the privileges enjoyed by the officers of the Guards. From an other statement made by the lion. Baronet, the House would suppose that the officers of the Guards had arrived at a very early age at the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the army. lie had drawn up a statement of the number of officers who, by virtue of their standing in the Guards, ranked as lieutenant colonels in the army, and it appeared that of these there were, in the First Regiment of Guards, 26; in the Coldstream Re giment, 16; and in the Third Regiment, 16 more ; making al together SS, exclusive of those who were actually doing duty as field officers. Then as to the time in which these officers ar rived at such rank : the House would suppose, from the Hon. Baronet's statement, that a 10 or 12 years' service sufficed ; whereas, in point of fact, the average service was 24 years. Sir W. MO LESWO RTH explained. Lord HOWICK felt it necessary to make a few observations o the House. The Hon. Baronet, in the course of his speech, had given the number of officers, and stated that for every offi cer in the Guards there died three officers in the line. Not expecting any such statement as that would be made, he had not prepared himself to answer it ; but nevertheless lie could most confidently contradict it.—(licar, hear.) As no pecu niary saving would result from the alteration recommended, he hoped the house would resist it. Air. I. E A DER. said—l beg most distinctly, on the part of my Hon. Friend, on my own part, and on the part of those who think with us, to disclaim this small and paltry object of the mere saving of a few thousand pounds ; our object is to correct an abuse, or what we consider an abuse, in privilege, and i n promotion. The lion. Member for 13uCkinghain also said that the Guards were of use as well as of ornament to the public service. So far as ornament goes, I 9uite agree with him, they are very ornamental ; but as for their use, I must differ from him. The only use to which they are put, so far as I know, is mounting guard at the Palace and at some public offices, ap pearing on parade, and when any distinguished foreigner comes to this country going through the ceremony of a review fur his edification. They certainly fuse and gallant looking troops, but they must make but a small impression on a foreigner who is accustomed to see 20,000 or 30,000 men reviewed, from the ver) smallness of their number, which in London never amounts to more than 4,000 or 5,000. I can assure Hon. Members opposite that I mean and that I feel nothing hostile or disrespectful to the Guards. Nulli seen • des is the proud motto of the Coldstream, and I do really in my conscience be lieve that they amply deserve that motto, and that in gallantry, courage, discipline, and loyalty, they are inferior to no troops in the world ; but that is no reason why they should enjoy an unfair superiority over men equal) , gallant and well-disciplined as soldiers, and equally good and loyal as subjects-1 mean the infantry of the line. The Hon. Member for Buckingham stated that there was no good ground for complaint on the !c ;re of promotion. Neither that Hon. Member nor any other Mem ber has attempted to disprove this fact—that the Guards fur nish 70 to the list of lieutenant-colonels, whcroas the rest of. the infantry furnish but 126 lieutenant-colonels to that list. Here you have a corps of 5,000 men of the favoured guards supplying 70 to the list of lieutenant. colonels, while an army of 90,000 or more supplies but 126. Is this a fair proportion? Is there not favour and privilege here? This is a fact —uncon troverted and incontrovertible. - This alone is an abuse great enough to warrant our endeavours to change the present s3s tern. The Noble Lord the Member for Chichester states on his own knowledge, that there exists no jealousy on the part of the line against the Guards. I know not what his expe rience may be, but I will remind him of a passage iu a Me braced writer, referring to this very point. 1 fiod in the thirty-fifth letter of JUIIIU9 this passage, " They (the marching regiments) feel and resent, as they ought to do, that invariable undistinguishing favour with which the Guards are treated." I find a note on this passage by the same author, The number of commissioned officers in the Guards are, to the m wching regiments as 1 to 11. The number of regiments given to the Guards, compared with those given to the line, is about 3 to I, at a moderate computation ; consequently, the partiality in favour of the Guards is as 33 to 1. So much for the officers. The private men have four-pen:e a-day to subsist on, and 500 lashes if they desert: under this punishment they fre quently expire. With ,these encouragements it is supposed they might be depended, upon whenever a certain person thinks it necessary to butcher his fellow-subjects." The date of this passage is bec. 19, 1769. Thus we see that 'the evil was known and complained of more than fifty ye ors ago. There Was jealousy then on the part of the line against the privileged Guayas. 1 venture to say that there has been jealousy ever since ; but from that time to 1330, it was useless to bring the subject before Parliament ; for whether the Whigs or the To ries Were in power,' the influence of the aristocracy W 33 pre dominant in this' House ; and' it was well known that this fa voured corps was appropriatei to themselves, that they might enjoy military honour and military promotion without military service. But now that we have a reformed /louse of Com mons, I do hope and confidently trust that this abuse, as well as all other abuses, may be corrected. Sir 11. HARDINGE thought he might congratulate the House, that the lion. Gentleman who had just sat down had made some advances in the discovery of " Junius." So iden tical were the sentiments of the lion. Baronet who had brought forward this motion with those of the great unknown, that surely the source from which the I lon. Gentleman had quoted so copiously could be none other than the lion. Baronet him self,—( A laugh.) This was not all, for he thought he could track and trace in march and countermarch through the book before him, nut only the essential words of the speech which the Honourable Baronet had delivered, but even the very words.—( hear, hear.) The Honourable Baronet did the House the favour to state that his facts were taken from the King's Gazette ; if the King's Gazette meant The London Renew, then lie could understand the statement of the lion. Baronet. lie found in page 388 of The London Review passages which were most extraordinary for the likeness they bore to much of what the lion. Baronet had addressed to the House. Not only were these arguments used by the Hon. Baronet to be read in an article in The London Review, but were the very words. As regarded the jealousy imputed, lie had served the greater portion of his life in the line ; he had had the honour also to have sexed five or six years in time Guards ; and repeati9. from his personal observations, he could say that whether in the garrison or in the field, whether in time of war or during peace, that jealousy attributed to the officers of the Guards and the officers of the !hie did not exist. —( Hear, hear.) In reply to the statements made to the !louse, he might menti on t h e fact that time force of the first Grenadier Guards was renewed three times during the war. The losses in men amounted to 28,000. The Guards had also greatly distinguished themselves in Egypt and in America, and had most honourably conducted themselves during the Peninsular war, and particularly in the battle of Waterloo, on which oc cas'on their defence of flegoumont was the moat triumphant that ever took place.—( Cheers.) When he returned to En-g land he exchanged into the Guards, thinking that his bng.ser vice to his country entitled him to the repose of home service. If they deducted the interest of 4 per cent. from the price of the commission, an.l recollected that the officers in the Guards received neith er l o d g i ng money, nor wi ne a ll owanc e , to: mess allowance, nor allowance for arms, they would find that Lis income did not exceed Ms/. a-year. After deducting the price of his comm i ss ion, the Lieutenant -General received but SUL per annum.—( Hear, hear.) Ile would say this for the Guw..l4, that their :o ig experience both in the garrison and doing peace, gave them the sup er i or i ty of discipline. Captain HOPE said the saving which would be effected by placing the Guards on the same footing as the officers of the line, n• ild be 8,0321. per annum ; the compensation to them for the difference between what they bad paid for th e i r c munissioas and the value of the commissions of the line, would be 225,0031. odd.—( [tear, hear. )_ Several lion. Genlemen rose, and Mr. Kearsi c y amon gst elem. There were loud cries of " Kearsley," l‘ith much lauxhter. 1I r. K E A It S L E Y persevered, and when order was restored, spoke as fiallows :—Mr. Speaker ; the Hon. Baronet has brought forward this motion almost in a manner equal to that of a serjeant of 'The line—( Laughter)—backed by his corpo ral Junius, the Hon. Member for Bridgewater—(Shouts of laughter)—but, owing to his experiment . 9f to-night, I fear he will have orders to march to the right-about—(Renewed laughter )—and if he does, the corporal will find no services for him but that f the Hon. Member for Middlesex, " The Old Fogies. "—( Protracted laughter. ) Mr. T. DUN CO M BE would not discuss the question whether uniformity was desirable throughout the army or not, but if it was, he would maintain, that instead of lowering the Guards to the level of the line, they ought to raise the line to the standard of the Guards.—( Hear, hear.) The evil of the pre sent military system was this—the soldier was too frequently considered the slave of the State, instead of being placed on an equality with his fellow- c iti zens . Afters few words front Mr. LEADER, Mr. ROEBUCK remarked that exhibitions sometimes took place in that House with which be should be very sorry the public were acquainted. There was the o:d proverb "in vino veritav ;" lie wished lie could add, there was decency also.— ( Cries of " Oh, oh 1" from Mr. Kearsley.) In this debate charges had been made, not against the Guards, but against the system, and wh a t was desired was to hav e th a t system changed. In his opinion a distinction was mad e no t to k eep up the dignity of the Crown, but to favour a peculiar class in tai's country.—( Cries of " Oh, oh I" from Mr. Kearsley.) Sir IL HA It DING E did not feel it necessary to make any reply to the lion. Member who had spoken last, as his only object seemed to be to draw invidious distinctions between dif ferent branches of the same service. Sir C. DALBIAC remarked that every time the army estimates were discussed, the most improper attempts were made to throw discredit on the Guards. He should feel it to be his duty to defend them from every such attempt. Mr. C. BULLER considered that the system pursued with respect to the Guards was a system of as gross jobbing and oppression as ever had been exhibited.—( Cries of " Oh, oh 1") Hon. Gentlemen called out " Oh !" when he spoke plain English ; but he should say, to speak in the mildest terms, that it was a system of jobbing, corruption, and oppression. It was a system to promote gentlemanly men to higher offices than they could obtain by regular service in the army. Mr. E WART should vote for the motion of the Her. Member. _ _ _ Colonel PEEL stated, that the very mildest terms he could use with respect to the observations of the Hon. Member for Liskcard were, that they displayed the greatest ignorance of the matter upon which he had spoken. Sir W. AI 0L E S WORTH briefly replied. He stated that the Right lion. and Gallant Officer (Sir H. Hardinge) had remarked upon his making use of an article in the London Re view. He would say that, if any individual had a right to make use of an article in that Review, he was the person, as the Review was his property. He was therefore obliged to the Right Hon. and Gallant Officer for the kind manner in which he had spoken of it ; and he trusted that Honourable Members would purchase it.—(Hear, and laughter.) Ho could assere thorn that upon the sarrie subject there was an ad mirable article in the fourth number.—(Laughter.) The committee than divided. For the amendment 46 Agaiest it Majority in favour of the original vote The next vote, namely, of 153,6841. Bs. sd. for the charges of general staff-officers, officers of hospitals, S:c., was then proposed. Mr. Ii UME complained of the aristocratic influence which was allowed to prevail in the disposal of staff appointments. Ile was anxious to know whether any steps had been taken by the Government, in conformity with the resolution of the Committee which recently sat, recommending the occasional removal of staff officers at head quarters? Lord HOW ICK was understood to say, that the matter was one which rested entirely with the Commander-in-chief. Mr. HUME hoped that the House would mark its disap probation at the circumstance that the recommendation of one of its Committees had been rendered of no avail. If the Com mander-in-chief were a person opposed to Liberal opinions, it would be impossible to suppose that these appointments could be divested from political considerations. Lord JOHN RUSSELL agreed that the relo . u'ion of the Committee in question should be carried into effect by the Government by such means as they thought best. As to the military administration of the present Commander-in-chief, he believed it was almost unnecessary for him to say that there tea: not the :lightest reason to attribute to any influence on political grounds the appointments and promotions at the Hors.: Guards. Sir HENRY HA IMINGE thanked the Noble Lord for his open and candid testimony as to the perfectly fair adminis tration of Lord !fill, whose conduct as C o mmander-in-Chief he believed to be perfectly free from political bias. Colonel THOMPSON slid that as far as his experience went, he believed that all classes of political opinion received fair play front the Commander-in-Chief. Sir .1. ELLE Y stated that ho was a soldier who had gone through every grade in the profession, and be would most cer tainly declare, that from the time he had entered the army el to the present moment, the remotest degree of aristocratic ) in fluence had never been used in his favour.--( Hear, hear.) lie thought that the promotions in the army could not be bet ter disposed of than In the hands of the Noble Lord now at the head of the army. Mi. HUME said that the case of the lion. and Gallant Member who had just spoken was a glorious and honourable exceptioa to ;h.,general rule. Ile thought, however, that it could not be advanced as a general argument on the subject of army promotion. Air. C. FE IiGUSSON said that nothing could be more unfounded than the observations of the Hon. Member for Mid dlesex as to the management of business at the Horse Guards, which he believed to be entirely free from political influence. After a few words from Col. SIBTIIOItP and Mr. WAIMEA', Lord HOWICK admitted that the Government had not pressed upon Lord Hill the necessity of abolishing the prac tice of wearing side arms by soldiers off duty. lie believed, however, that the cases of serious accidents in consequence of that practice had been exceedingly rare. When, then, the in stances were so rare of abuse with regard to this practice, he considered it very inexpedient that the habit of self-con trol with which soldiers in the habit of wearing their side-arms were perfectly familiarised should be discontinued. —( l.iear, hear.) The consequence of such a change would be that ou occasions of strong excitement when soldiers were called on to act, and when they might not be under the immediate control of their officers, they would be much more like to transgress the bounds of duty than men who wen, always under the influence of salutary self-restrainti —( Hear, hear.) lie did not think that th we WWI any ground for affixing this rn irk of degradation to Cie character the of English nod, be lowering hint lii his own opinion, de priving him of a strong stimulus to meritarious cxertio.i. Mr. EWA I; r was of opinion, that iiistea . l of lowering the character of the sal.lier, lie should consider . himself raised in rank by being obliged to lay aside a useless but dau- gerous distinction. Mr. ROEBUCK ►ras strongly opposed to the practice of soldiers wearing their side arms, by which so many fatal affrays had been causa. Sir 11. IL A RDINGE thought that because five.nr six oc casions occurred in the course of the year when soldiers abused this privilege, it would bo extremely hard, on such slight grounds, to subject the British army to a degradation to which neither the French or G:rman soldier was liable. After a few words ''rorn M. 'f:ulk, Colonel Anson, Mr. Maclean, and all lI ►n Member, Mr. HUME observed that nothing could be more incensis taut than the opinions which the Gallant o:ileer (Sir 11. Ito-- (iinge) advanced with refvrence to the dignity of the NAO.!' soldier. When a proposition was made for doing away uith the abominable practice of II >g:4ing on the ground, among others, that it was continued in the British army alone, the Gallant Otli.:er maintained that the distinction in this respect was necessary to be preserved, for the reason, as he (Mr. Hume) supposed, that having male mat brutes, it was neces sary that they be made to preserve too character. Now when it was thought by many !lon. Members that the practice of Wearing side-arms was unnecessary awl dangerous, the custom that prevailed in this respect in other countries was deemed essential to the dignity don English soldier. After a few words from Lord llowica, A. Tau volt, and Mr. Snow, the vote was agreed to. The CIIAIIt M A N reported progress, and obtained lenvo to sit again on Monday next. STAFFORD BOROUGII 1)1 ritANCIIISENIENT BILL. On the motion of Mr. DIVETT, the Staff.rd Borough Disfranchisement Bill was read n third time and passed, DUBLIN POLICE. Lord MOUPETH moved for leave to bring in a Bill to emend the Dublin Police Acts.. The Noble L or d o b serve d that as the measure was identically simi ar to that which he had in troduced towards the close of the last SJision, he was saved the necessity of offering any exposition of its details upon the present occasion. It would suffice to say, that the object ho had in view was the establishment in Dublin of a police farce of the same character, and governed by the same regulations, ns that now to be found in the metropolis. Mr. SH A W coincided in the policy of several of the altera tions which the measure Went to effect, and therefore would not oppose its introduction. The details of the Bill would, how ever, require much consideration in Committee. Leave s then given to bring i n th e Bill. The other orders of the day having been disposed of, the House adjourned at a quarter past twelve o'clock. Our columns of this evening anuowice the sale of all the property of poor Charles Mathews, the great Come dian of his day. George Robins, who was so long his inti mate friend, is deputed to act the part of distributing to the public some valuable relics in his late abode in Great Russell bt rect. The sale will most probably create a great sensation. COUNTY COURTS BILL. In reply to a question from Mr. II UM E. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL had not prepared any Bill on the subject of county courts, and had no authority for saying such a measure would be introduced in the course of the present session. Mr. HUME begged to ask the Noble Lord, then, whether the Goveramentwiould think it -worth while to , brinir•in a Bill upon the subject?' Lord JOHN RUSiSELL replied, that if such a measure were brought forward, the Government would give it their support. It was a much more convenient course for the Go vernment to consider, before they brought in a great number of Bills, whether there was any prospect of their being en abled to carry them in the course of the session.—( Hear. ) THE CANADAS. • Mr. ROEBUCK had some time since asked for the pro-, duction of certain papers relative to. Canada. The reply was, they .were not ready for production ; and he had heard no more of the matter, until he saw the most important among them published in the Morning Chronicle of that day. He wished to know whether, now they had been published, if his Majesty's Ministers would allow the House to possess them ? Sir GEORGE GREY replied that Government could have, no desire to withhold the documents in question. The question was again put and carried, and the House re. solved itself into a Committee of Supply. ARMY ESrINATES. Lord 110 WICK rose to bring under the consideration of the committee the estimate for the army service of the present year. These estimates were in every respect almost precisely the same as those of last year; their amount continued un altered, and the force remained the same, with the exception of a very trifling additio n, which had been raised abroad for temporary purposes. Fo r au g ht he knew, the force might have at this moment actually ceased to be in existence, and under these circumstances he had considered it better, instead of adding the amount of the charge for it to the regular coti mate of the year—a course which would have occasioned some confusion in the comparison between this and the preceding year—to include it in a supplemental estimate. The lion. Member for Middlesex had given notice of a motion for a re duction to the amount of 5,000 men ; when he had heard the arguments by which that proposition was supported, he should be enabled to state to greater purpose the reasons on which his Majesty's Government objected to it. With respect to any in crease on the present estimates, the instances were very trifling. There was a very small increase—if it deserved the name at all— in the number of officers, first in the Royal African Corps, where it was rendered necessary by the casualties which had occurred ; and again in the two West Indi a re g iments, which consisted of ten companies. In the War-office very consider able redu c ti ons h a d ta k en place ; in this respect the Govern ment had foll owe d u p th e principle acted upon by the Right lon. Gentl eman oppos i te . In 1832 the whole nu mber of persons employed i n that office was 64 ; it was now reduced i to 51 ; and when various superannuation and other charges fell in, the annual amount of saving would be 4,810/. He held in his hand a return showing the number of clerks employed in, and the annual expense of, the War-o ffi ce in 181 5, 1820, 1824, 1828, 1832, an d 1836. It also showed the number of clerks which had been formerly engaged in other branches of public business, now transferred to the War-office. From this paper it appeared that in 1615 the number of persons employed in all these offices was 215, of whom 170 were in the War office, at an annual .charge of 71,2451. In 1820 the n umber of persons employed in all these offices was reduced to 171 ; 5 Dr' rove on' t itat" ) 01fe' Or )0 3 to°, tit" it I. 0. 11' 5 ' t ha i 5 0 5 ' til e l atli D