The Sun. — London, England, 1821-02-27 00:00:00

We recommend to the particular. attention, not only of our Readers, but of our Legis lators :and the people at large, the article signed. FrnEl DEFElis6n, • (see our First Page), concluded this day • from the SUN of yester day. It is worthy• of the" 'deep attention of !,• unr gratious Sovereign, the Inheritor of his re vered Father's Religious Faith, as well as of his Empire. The Royal Family in general are deep ly interested in the staject, and we hope that the Duke of SussEi in particular will maturely weigh the argumentS and facts which it comprehends, and then we canhave little doubt that he will pause before he again 'advocates the pretensions of those who enjoy every possible latitude of re ligiout-tOleration, and who ;can now only act from a desire of political anthority, which never can be granted to them without the danger of the total. subversion of our present establishment in . . Church anditate: . - - We hail with great pleasure the Petition from the Clei-by of the . A rchdeaconry of Leicester against the Roman Catholic Claims, which was . r Presented to the House of Com mons b y M r . KECK on Friday evening last, and learn that it is likely to be succeeded by a Petition of a similar nature from the Magistracy and Laity of the same loyal and independent County. We trust that these laudable examples will be fol . lowed up by as many other Petitions as the very , limited period before the discussion of the Ques tion takes place Will allow. These are not times for Protestants to slumber; and at the Meeting of a new Parliament, or rather when a new Par- IPar liament is ab ou t t o cons id er t h e most i mportant c o nstitutional Qu e sti on o f mo d ern t i mes, i t be 7 mes doubly necessary for all true friends of our Px::ellent Cowtitution iu Church and State to e.israise the utmost vigilance, and to d?fend those Institutions• which. were raised by the 'wisdom and cemented by the blood of their ancestors. " Nolumus leges Anglia' ?ntetitri," we hope, will ever be the motto of Englishmen; and that. this will be the watchword throughout the Island on the present occasion. The Earl of I)o Nouctimol E, in introducing the Roman Ca tholic Petition into the Upper House the other d ay, alluded to what he was pleased to call an unpledged" Parliament, and to something like an " unpledged" Monarch. It is very easy to understand what his Lordship meant ; and while we are disposed to give the Noble' Earl every credit for his conduct upon • a late occasion, we tru s t that neith er the Monarch nor the Perna nrerit,will remain lOng " unplecbied" upon the important subject to which we have referred. It would indeed be lamentable were the Q U EEN : f all to become the precursor of what is it v lsOy .• designated Catholic Emancipation.- 44 1- have, however,.. no fear on the point, dil l 'We fervently" hope that. the PEOPLE their not be backward in rallying around Sovereign, as they did around his revered his`rjerated Father, and in enabling him and trliament to preserve inviolate the Throne ) urch, an d t h e P rotestant Asce ndancy.---. up There is on e S tatesman peculiarly to he looked G a 2 Ti the pr esen t occas i on, and at the present i 4r 1 . ", 1 1. crisis — we need scary Say we re f er t o re , 'EEL, a ma n w h os e b r illi ant talents have on leated occasions carried conviction to many a "ing mind, and delighted an admiring au dience.a,d We feel persuaded that this eloquent L' al)! CI • r e tampion of the Protestant Cause will u . it ,° ll tid at his post; and, if necessary, that he 4c , ; ive the Senate the benefit of those splendid ;. 11.14ctountretnents, which h ave l ong since placed - him 411., .so envied a p i nnacle of political distinctio, u integrity. tl Si r ' -A R COURT LEES.—At a late Meeting of the Iwriand.Orange Lodge of the County Donegal, the -"ap_wing Resolution was unanimously agreed to : I.,‘‘ "'"' s ° l Y'ecl, That the most cordial thanks of this Grand Itjearejustly due, and hereby ,given, to Sir Aincoun:i L . EEs, the - .0 'trai l s distinguished worth, his unrenuttmg exertions, d 11•4.f,_ c lioary talents he..has the dfenc% l t- ,and 1 4, 4 I_4l4ured RING, and-in support oour venerable to C o lstitu- Tlneidn.,hurch and State. We are also anxious express .our Ilt.e ; n e 'f, 41,Probation of all his works, which we con s ider to have ic t ile Most cssential service to the British Empire. 11 ,1 1 04 E!"; N i TRA D E ..-- r r he Wit ne s ses exam i ne d (), , I's Committee yesterday, were En wARD. . u ic;i i rs ,;: tSq. M r . BOIITIIIVIEK, of L e ith, an d M r. l i , 8 3 of th e 'C us t oms. .... iso Qoubt .' D ISTILLERIES.—The re appears to be great 4 tio nt . ~4 8 to the regulations intended to be 44c1`,,eit r especting Irish Spirits. The English l 'e li 13cw;:h Distillers' haVe had recent inter ''esto.s, w;: h. Government on the subject, but the ' °I them is not yet known. Al 1 t4l, "re is a report, that it is probable Ilis MA tl IC mill visit:the University of Cambridge in i t , ca 1 , 1 til se .of the present year. 11/,,. ~te Agriculturists .are greatly indebted to ter ‘471-rtts, M. P. for his attention to their in in e,',ts• The inquiry. he recently made respect tii7 gle prohibition of the use of Wheat in the dis (l Qll es, is deserving of the most serious consi- Nti oo. Tit . tyro ere is, we understand, great want of specie I °, out British North America. b el "ere are not less than from 350 to . 400 ships tho",ging to the Port of Newcastle engaged in dirt,-01onial - Timber trade, which, should the ilp n j of twenty shillings per load be imposed e rr il it, will, it is thought, be thrown out' of P'oyment. ' llt - - 4ss ,. e learn from good authority, that the KING, G U , by her Royal Highness the Princess Au of s ; s rA, will hold a Drawing -room at the Palace h, Iluckingham House, on the Vd of th e ensu i ng -., 00 , 1 •. , o • it is said, too that his M AJESTY Will i i . ve a series of six several Balls in the course of !atioseason at Carlton House ; and that the invi ns will be use by any p01i6:41 1tig.,....._. feel k Morning Paper.) • Ita3 spread itself all over Italy; and in many parts of Germany; it cannot be de nied that every legitiniate Government in Europe has 'reason to be alarmed, and has ti right to adopt the brst means for its own security. But, et present, as we have observed, we hear but one side, and every wise; just, and candid Politician wait -pktientiv, though not without solici tude, for the Declaration of the other, and the progression of Events. i & TR i: CARMINA CANTABRIGIENSIA: (No. I.) STANZAS WRIf TVS ON WALKING civEn TUE FIELD OF BATTLh AT HASTINGS, JULY 13, 1610. Lo ! where, in purple pomp array'd, 'he Westering sun retires, While . sculpturvd° cliff and wood-rob'd glade Bathe in his,kindling fires ! Still on the distant waves he plays, And o'er their flickering summits strays, In tints of ever-varying hue ; Or,. glancing from the broad white sail, Each moment, flings a crimson trail Athwart the glittering blue. Who, now that hears the shepherd's Oat Its peaceful carol pour, Could deem the clarion's brazen throat Had here presum'd to roar ? Deem that yon sun, whose calm decline, Like virtuous eld, the tranquil sign Of coming happiness appears, Could Death's bnght panoply illume ; exult on War's ensanguin'd plume, And paint his dancing spears ? Yet not a flow'ret blossoms here By patriot blood undew'd ; And Knight and Soldier; Prince and Peer, Have mann'd this solitude; Each sunbeam on the hill that sleeps, Each teardrop bright that Evening weeps, Falls on some hero's sainted grave ; No billow wakes this blest retreat, But murmurs o'er its pebbly feet A requiem to the brave 1: Fair is the scene—but not too fair • The scene for war can bloom, If Freedom swell her death-note there, " To Victory or the Tomb !" Nor lovelier, in Eurotas' tide, . She stemm'd the flood's advancing pride, Or curb d, unveird, the fiery steed, Than, arm'd, in proud Thessalia's fight, She rush'd to c o nquest an d to n i ght, And quell'd th' insulting Mede ! Mourn not, my Country ! 'twas thy doom By tyrant's steel to fall, Nor envy, for the freeman's tomb, ' The despot's joyless hall : Living, his suffering people's dread, Their children curse his Empire dead And ev'n sepul c h ra l d ust deny, , While Nature decks the glowing scene, And flings her robe of liveliest green Where England's heroes lie ! JOANENSIS. The cliffs about Hastings have the effect of being sculptured with a chisel. PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. THE. MORPETH PETITION. A Petition of the Free Brothers of the Borough of Morpeth, in the. County of Northumberland, was presented to the House of Commons on the 22d instant, setting forth, That the ancient and prescriptive Borough of Morpeth at present consists of Freemen, who alone enjoy the privilege of returning Members to Parliament, although the Free Brothers or Free Burgesses, who are upwards of 300 in number, are possessed of the right of common and everyotherprivilege belonging to the said Borough, with the solitary exception of the one above-mentioned ; that the Petitioners, the free Brothers of the said Borough, consist of the ' sons of Freemen, who at the age of fourteen years have been ad mitted by the right of patrimony into the Trade or Company to which their fathers belonged, and of such persons as have served a legal apprenticeship, either to a Freeman or Free Brother ; that there are seven Trades or Companies in the Borough of Morpeth, out of which the Freemen are chosen in some Compa nies by election, in others by ballot, and when such as are elected are all of full age, they are then sworn as Freemen by the Steward of the Manor Court of the Right Honourable the Earl of Car lisle ; the number of Freemen elected by the several Trades or Companies are as follow, viz. : Free Freemen. Brothers. - Freemen. The Tanners, which consist of 4 I 6 6 Merchant Tailors - 30 25 4 Fullers and Dyers - 36 14 3 Blacksmiths - 25 46 3 Weavers - 30 19 3 Cordwainers • - 17 100 3 Butchers 14 106 2 - - - but although a number of Free Brothers of mature age are al ways ready to become candidates for the Freedom ot the Bo rough, yet it frequently happens, from motives perhaps not the most pure, that the sons of Freemen are put in nomination and elected by the Trades or Companies to which they may belong when they have merely attained 14 or 15 years of age, and as the ' Steward of the Manor Court will not permit them to be sworn and admitted as Freemen until the whole of the said 24 above enumerated have attained their respective ages of 21 years ; by such means the number of Freemen are greatly limited, whilst the facility to bribery and corruption is rendered more easy, and the Petitioners are for a number of years deprived of the enjoy ment of their just and lawful privileges, and, in many instances, through life ; that it appears by the 'returns of the different Trades or Companies in the said Borough• that there arc at pre sent only 14 Freemen belonging to the Trade or Company of Skinners, Glovers, and Butchers, while the same Trade or Com pany contains 106 Free Brothers, of whom by far the greatest part have undergone a long servitude of eight years, th roug h the hope of obt ain i ng an d enjoying the rights and privileges of a Freeman ; that in the Trade or Company of Cordwainers the inequality, in point of numbers, between the Fre emen , who are in the full e nj o y ment o f t h e i r rights and privileges, and the Peti tioners is nearly as great, there being only 17 Freemen, while the same Trade or Company, at this present time, comprises 100 Free Brothers ; that the Petitioners consider it as absurd as unjust, that after having undergone a long servitude of eight years, the chance of their ever en joy i ng t h e r i ghts and privileges of a Freerean,should depend upon the uncertainty of an election by ballot, or the still more serious alternative of incurring the great and unavoidable expellee which generally attends a con tested Election in the Trade or Company to which they belong ; that by extending the Elective Franchise to the Petitioners the number of voters would be increased from 196 to upwards of 500, by which means it would render it wholly impossible for any one or two opulent families to influence the voters of the said Borough, which the Petitioners blush to acknowledge is too frequently the case ; that the Petitioners having with great plea sure witnessed the nutherons Petitions which have from every part of the United Kingdom beten presented to the House, pray ing for a inaderate and constitutional Reform in the Representa tion of this Kingdom, and feeling confident in the beneficial re sults which would be derived therefrom by the United Kingdom in general, and by the Borough of , Morpeth in particular, most earnestly and respectfully beg leave to submit to the House the propriety of extending the Elective Franchise to the Petitioners, I regulated in such manner as to the wisdom of the House shall seem meet. We are happy to say that the Duke of York is so much recovered from • his cold and hoarse ness as to be able to leave York House yester day, and proceed to hi 4 office to transact mili tary business as Commander in Chief. ENGLISH OAK.—The use of Oak has been lately revived for the purpose of furniture ; and among the fashionable and expensive luxuries of the present day, has become not only the rival of some of the beautiful woods of distant coun tries, but, in point of expence at least, has ac quired a high character. To establish this fact, it is only necessary te mention, that a set of dining-tables, made of English oak, by a Lon don cabinet-maker, brought the enormous sum of 600 L -sterling. The High Sheriff of Sussex has appointed Mr. MANI., of Storrington, his Under Sheriff. Sir GEORGE CREWE, High Sheriff of Derby, has called on the Nobility and Gentry of that county to do away the practice of having Assize Balls, considering that a most improper time for pleasure and amusement. Sir 'GEORGE proposes the KING'S Birth-day and Autumn Sessions as more proper periods, PARLIAMtN". HOUSE OF LORIJS, Filn. g 6. A Report was pr'esented from the Comrnis sioners of New ShOretam Harbotik--Ordered to lie upon the Table: The Masters in Chancery in attendance (Messrs. Stratford and Harvey), brought up from the House of Comrnbns, in answer to a message from, the Lords, a copy of the Report of the Commit tee on Foreign Trade. —Ordered to be printed, and referred to the Committee :an Foreign Trade. PetitionS .Were presented by the Duke of 144Torthumberland from North and South Shields, Newcastle, and Hartlepool, against any altera tion in the Ti m b er D uties, ; by the - Earl of LIMERICK from the Gentry, Clergy, Freeholders, Freemen, and other Inhabitants of the City and Liberties of Limerick, complaining of distress,' and of the obstructions thrown in the way of the' admission of Irish Spirits into the British market . ; by Lord KING, from 'Guilford, for the Restora tion of the Queen to the Liturgy and other rights; arid by the Earl GREY, from Stockton-apon-Tees, for a revision of the Criminal Lawsi and against the frequency of the punishment of death.--.or. dered to 116 upon the Table.. NAPLES, &c. • The Marquess of LANsnciwii, in consequence of the indisposition ;of the Earl , of Liverpool, which rendered:the Noble :Earl unable to attend in his place; -postponed his motion respecting Naples, &c. from • to-morrow : , till Friday next. His Lordship observed, that had the Noble- Earl been in his place,.he had intended to have asked . a ,question respecting the . Declaration supposed to have been issued by Austria respecting Naples. It was, now, however, unnecessary, as he un derstood from the Noble Earl that no Decla ration issued by Austria had been received in any authentic shape by Government, though his Majesty's Ministers were in possession of the substance of a Declaration intended to be issued by that power. He was aware that until the Declaration had been received . by Government in I.n authentic form, it could not regularly be laid before Parliament; but he trusted there . would be no objection as soon as it was received . to lay it upon the Tabl e o f t h e H ouse, and to have it printed. The Order for summoning the Lords for to morrow was discharged, and renewed for Friday: LAW OF TREASON—IRELAND. Lord HOLLAND, pursuant to notice, presented a Bill for extending to Ireland certain provisions of an Act of William the Third, relative to Trials for Treason. His Lordship observed, that great part of the provisions of the Act alluded to, which were undoubtedly wholesome, wise, and humane, had already been extended to Ireland. by Acts of the Irish Parliament. There re mained, however, two provisions which had not been so extended, namely, one requiring an act of Treason to be proved by two credible wit nesses, and another enacting that a prosecution for Treason must take place within three years_ after the commission of the act of Treason. The. , latter provision rested entirely upon this act, it never having, been before-a part of the law of England. With regard to the former enactment, the history of it was more coMplicated-; by an Act of Edward the Sixth, it was declared that every act of Treason must be proved by two com petent witnesses, but by an Act of Philip and Mary all the Acts respecting Treason were re pealed, and it was enacted that that offence should be tried according to the common law.— The question then arose, whether, under the com mon law, it was necessary for an act of treason to be proved by two witnesses, and it subse quently appeared, that all the Judges, with the exception of Lord Coke, were of opinion that two witnesses were not required. This question, however, was set at rest in 1695, so far as regard ed England, by the Act alluded to of William III.; and it having been decided by the Judges of Ireland that the common law did not require two witnesses to prove an act of treason, he was anxious to assimilate the law upon this subject in Ireland to the law of England. lie therefore wished his Bill to be now read a first time, and after the prints were on the table, which would probably be to-morrow, he should take an op portunity, if no objection was intimated in the mean time, of moving the second reading either on Friday or Monday. The Earl of LIMERICK expressed his thanks to the Noble Lord for thus assimilating the laws of England and Ireland, being convinced that no thing could tend more to civilise arid harmonise the feelings of the people of Ireland than assi milating thir laws as much as possible to those o England. The Bill was read a first time, and ordered to be printed.—Adjourned till to-morrow (this day.) HOUSE OF COMMONS. The House met at about four o'clock, and was engaged a considerable time in iransacting busi ness relating to Private Bills. VARIOUS PETITIONS. Mr. DICKINSON presented a Petition from certain Inha. Jitants of Wells, in Somers2tshire, praying for an Amendmen of the Penal Code. Sir T. LETHBRIDGE presented a Petition from the Land holders of the same County, praying for a relief of the distress generally sufnred by the Agricultural Interest. The Peti tioners stated, that without such relief they would be compelled to witlidwa,w their capital from the County. Sir C. COLE presented a Petition from Neath, in Mon mouthshire, condemning the proceedings against her Ma jesty by Ministers, and praying for an Inquiry into their conduct. The Honourable Member stated, that he felt him self bound in candour to inform the Petitioners he could not sup port their Petition, though he felt it his duty to present it. Sir EDWARD KNATCHBULL presented two Petitions from certain Landholders of the County of Kent, praying that the House would take into consideration the present Agricultu ral Distress. Similar Petitions on the same subject were presented_by Lord GRANVILLE SOMERSET, from Monmouth ; by Mr. LAMB, fromßoyston and Broad water, in Hertfordshire (pray ing also for Parliamentary Reform) ; by Mr. RICE, f rom Li merick ; and by Sir T. AcLAND, from Devonshire.—All the foregoing Petitions were read, and ordered to lie on the table and to be printed. Mr. W. WILLIAMS presented a Petition from certain In,. habitants of London, against the London Bridge Bill.—Ordered to lie on the table, and be printed. Mr. ANSON presented a Petition from certain Shipowners of Yarmouth, in Norfolk, praying that no alteration might be made in thy existing laws respecting Foreign Trade. The Honourable Member said, that it was not his intention to enter into an examination of the general policy of those laws ; but - he considered that the benefits held out by those who proposed , what was called a free trade, to be-very doubtful and precarious. Mr. MARRYATT presented a similar Petition from the Ship Nynex% of E . Ondon. The PetiLxiers stated, at Sam:, length, the distress to which they would , be reduced by an alto ration of, the present law. Mr. GREI BENNETT said, that.the Petitions came from intert sted persons. He thought their prayer was inconsistent with the soundest principles Of political ec o no m y. Sir M. W. RIDLEY - conceived that the -Petitioners' had an kl undoubted right t o come to that conceived, state their case. He was not prepared to gilce an cipinion on 'the subject until it had undergone a full dischssion in the committee above stairs. The Ship Owners were a class of th'd highest respectability ; and their preSent PetitiOni were offered in order to save them selves from total ruin. After a few words frdm Mr. ANSON, the Petition was or dered to lie on the table, and be printed... Mr. S. WORTLEY'present a Petition from the Inhabi tants of Whitby, in Yorkshire, praying an amendment of the Criminal Law.—Ordered to lie on the table and be printed. Mr. ELLISON presented a Petition from the Ship Owners of Newcastle, praying against any a lt erat i on of the Laws relating to Foreign l'rade. Sir M. W. RIDLEY spoke shortly in support Of-the Pe tition. Mr. BENNETT said, that there never was any .measure adopted for the general good, which did not i n s ome way inter.. • fere with the interests of individuals. ,Some years ago, the City of London petitioned against Turnpike Roads—(A laugh), but the City of London was not attended to, and as the. House hr.d turned its back upon the City Of London fdr the purpose of advancing the general good, so he trusted the ,House would turn its back upon the Petitioners. Mr. T. WILSON conceived it ii:ould more proper to wait for the Report of the. Committee above stairs, before forming any opinion upon the Laws alluded to. Mr. JORDAN presented a petition, similar to the last, from the Merchants of Aberdeen. Both petitions were ordered to lie on the table and - be printed. A Message from the Lords was delivered at the Bar request ing the House would send their Lordships a copy of ;the Report of the Foreign Trade Committee, and of the Evidence adduced before it.—Ordered. Mr. T. WILSON presented a petition from the Ship-Owners ,of Liindon, against the Hull Poor-Rates Bill. The petitioners staled that they were alarmed at the principle of the Bill.—Or dered to lie on the table and to be printed. - 'The LORD ADVOCATE brought in a Bill for regulating the practice of the Court - of * Session in Scotland. The Bill was read a first time ; and on the Speaker putting the question that the Bill hould be read a second time on Thursday se'nnight, Mr. CREEVEY objected to the motion on the ground that there was not sufficient time for Honourable Members to consi der the Bill. After a conversation between the Lord Advocate, Mr. J. P. Grant, and Mr. Creevey, the second reading was fixed for Friday next, with an understanding -that a sufficient delay should intervene previously to the Bill being committed. Mr. LAMBTON presented two petitions ; one from Sunder land, and the other from Stockport, against any alteration in the Laws relating to Foreign T ra d e .—O r d ere d to li e on the table, and to be printed. Mr. Sheriff WATT fi DIAN appeared at the Bar, and presented a petition from the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Colin, cil of London, praying to be heard by Counsel upon the London Bridge Bill.—Ordered accordingly. SCOTS ADMIRALTY CLERKS. The LORD ADVOCATE moved the Order of the Day for the ftirther consideration of the Report on the Compensation to the Clerks of the Admi ralty Court of Scotland. On the motion that the Resolution be read a second time,. • Mr. CREEVEY rose to move as an Amendment, that the Bill be ,read a second time that day six months. The Hon. Memberread the Resolution of the CoMmittee upon whose Report the Bill was. founded, recommending a compensation to the officers whose places might be abolished in consequence of that Report. It was, the Hon. Member observed, a,contingent prospective reso lution; and . if he (Mr . . C.) understood the pre sent question, the Resolution was -the sole foun dation of the present Bill.—(The Lord Advocate assented.)—The Report spoke of an officer called the Admiral,- who received 1,2001. a year, for 30 years, and had never during that time done a sin. gle day's work for it. The Report suggested, and very properly, that- the Clerk should be re quired to do all the duty of these several offices for 600/, a year; but it appeared that Scotland had taken alarm at a prospect of the abolition of a sinecure, and had as a remedy brought forward this Bill of Compensation.—(A laugh.)—The Report had been made upon the fullest conside ration; it had never been objected to by any of these officers ; and he thought therefore that they had no claim whatever to compensation. The Hon. Member concluded by moving as an Amend ment that the Bill be read a second time that day -six months. The LORD ADVOCATE said, that the. sole ques tion to be considered was, whether, under the circumstances, a compensation was not the equi table right of those officers. Indeed, he 'wished the lion. Member had made better use of his time than it appeared he had ; for he wished the Hon. Member had brought himself to understand the whole of the Report. The fact was simply this : The proceedings of the Court in question were all upon paper; were long, and consequent ly were very expensive to the suitors. This was a grievance which had been felt some years ago. Ten years since ail -Act had been made for short. ening those proceedings, but Parliament then took care to make a compensation to the several officers. The Iion: and Learned Lord referred to . the Compensation Act in question. The ar rangements now proposed would take away those fees altogether, which would be a great public advantage; but as those fees were taken away without the slightest fault being attributed to the officers (who hold their places for life), it would, he submitted, be contrary to every principle of justice to takeaway their situations without rnak. ing . tliem a compensation for the loss. -The amount of the compensation was to be settled, as it had been in the former case, by a, reference to the Barons of the Exchequer.' Mr. J. P. GRANT pointed- out a formal irregn, larity in the amendment of his Hon. Friend (Mr Creevey), and proposed another, th e e ff ect _ _ which would, at a future day, bring the main principles of the Bill under discussion. Mr. llumE thought that those Officers were not entitled to any compensation. , • Lord ARCHIBALD IlmutriroN agreed, in prin ciple, with the last Speaker, that the Officers were not entitled to any compensation. He thought, too, that the Resolution to which refe rence had been Made was too general. A desultory conversation followed between the last Speaker; and Mr. G-In.ANT's Amendment was ultimately agreed to. On the motion of Mr. WitAnToN, it was or dered that the Muse should resolve itself to-mor row (this day) into a Committee upon the Gene ral inclosure CORN AVERAGES. Mr. ROBINSON moved that the House should resolve into a Committee upon the several Acts with respect to the Corn Averages. A MEMBER under the Gallry, .whose name we could not learn, took occasion to ask the Right Honourable Gentleman, the President of the Board of Trade, whether, in consequence of this measure, it was to be understood that the proposition would not be agreed to intended by an Honourable Member to bring fib& ward for the appointment of a Committee to in• quire into the gener all y distressed state of Agee- cultore in the COdritry. Mr. RdarstsoN replied; that he could hot fore see what m i g ht be the d e ci s i on df the -House upon the propositiOn to whieli the Honourable Member had alluded; hilt he thought it quite clear. that the measure which he had in flew; and which related merely to the Mode of-taking ave. 7 rages upoa corn, could not interfere in - any de gree with the large and much more important questkin of an inquiry with respeCt• to the state of Agriculture in the Cotintry: , * The House having resolved into the Committeei Mr. F. It ouiNsos re e. lie bielieved• there Was nothing in the.tnetion he *as. about-to pro pose which would invite general disCussion; as he should confine himself to the point immediately in view ; a' consideratiOn of the trickle of taking Corn Averages. Ii e would shertly.itate the' law upOn the presehi subject, which law had produc ed much intricacy and s confusion : —Th e preient law *as c o nt a i ne d in four Acts of Parliament, Con.: taming together no less than 120 clauses: — The two last of these Acts repealed; not directly; but indireCtly, and by , inference, a part. of; the two former Acts, bat : in terms so obscure; thatit.wa s a:matter of considerable difficulty- to ascertain what the present law really was The first object of FIN notion would .therefore be, the abolition of all the presentlaws, and the collection intt:'one Bill of all that it should be found desiiabits td re-; tain Or to add.—(hear, hear; hear !)—The.ad-: vantage of this measure would be obvious When he stated that it q - ould compress the. law' into a third of Its present space. The next considera tion would be that of the proprlety of alterati on arid addition with r ef erence t o the present law a 3 it stood. This consideration would naturally in volve several points, some of great and others of minor importance. - With a view to- the clearly stating these pointS, he would take a curiery view of the present Mbde of taking the averages. The country was divided into districts, and the returns were forwarded to and obtained f;om each of those districts separdtely. The taking of the first average was in towns. The amount of averages of each town was added, and .the total was divided by the ntimbet" of towns. This form ed the average of that particular district. In like manner, the amount of the averages of each district was added, and then divided' by the num ber of districts; the result of that division form ing, of course, the general average. The effect and the inconvenience of the present mode was this,—it allowed each individual town a consider able influence in forming the district average, for it had been found that it was perfectly easy for an in- , dividual . - of any town, at a small sacrifice, to oh 4 Lain a fictitious return of that town, which pro duced ultimately 'no inconsiderable impression on the general average. It was quite clear that the law was, in this respect, imperfectly execut- , ed.- The remedy would be ascertained in detsil in a future stage of the proceedings ; hat at pre sent he would observe, that it was contemplated to abolish the system of districts, to substituta that of counties; and to divide one by the oilier. This, he apprehended, would either prevent -or check the present system. He ironld here,ob serve, that the counties of Kent, Surrey, -and Essex formed no part of the districts, the-- ave rage for London-being considered the average.of' those counties. • 11e Would suggest the adding,of these three counties, for reason and principle corn hined•in support of the argtiment for their intro duction. lle thought, too, that,a more extensive power should he given to the King in Council : to alter the town from 'which the averages _w_ere:tc, be collected. By the present Law, the Kin-gin Council had no such power without the assent ;of the Justices for the County ; and he thought,it but reasonable that the King in Council should have a general discretionary power. The-con sideration of the inland districts would spew that the system was more inconvenient in tlibse districts than it was in the maritime. The next • subject to which he would call their atten tion was the salaries paid to the inspectors. • At present, the salary of an inspector was about 131. a year ; and, by the present law, the Jus tices of die Peace were empowered to raise that salary ; but the increase was to fall upon the county. He proposed to give a power to the Justices to increase the salary to a sum not ex ceeding 301.; and as the present was a national rather than a county question, he suggested that the increase should not fall upon the county. There were several other points which he wound bring under the consideration of the Committee. For instance, an indirect mode had prevailed, of defeating the law by the practice of individuals baying uP corn at a high rate, in order to increase the return. The returns thus caused could not he resisted, but they had of 'course a very al - is. chievonss effect. He should propose a remed vfor this inconvenience. There were several other points of minor consideration), with which, at present, lie should not trouble the Committee ;, but he would just mention that he proposed thiii 'the Board of Trade should have the appointmont of the principal officer ; as this would enable that part of the Government to facilitate the execo don of the law.—As the law at present stood, the Inspectors were not obliged' to make returns of any- Corn,except Is hat was termed British Corn and although the intentien of the last Act was to the Corn of England and Ireland on the same footing, by some Custom House technicality, the Irish Corn was left out of the averages altogether.. 09e object of the present Bill would be toremedy that omission. It would make no difference in the averages, as the Irish. Corn was "ge nerally of better quality than the English.— The Right honourable Gentleman 'concluded by: declaring, his intention of going more at length into the subject when the Bill which be should do himself the honour of asking leave to introduce should come before the House. He moved, " That it is the opinion of this Commit tee, that it is expedient that several Acts of thh 31st, 33d, 46th, and 47th of his late Majesty's Reign, relating to the Importation aml,Ekporta tion of Grain, Meal, and Flour, be repealed, Other regulations provided in lieu thereof for the United Kingdom." , which it was I Mr_ C urn t m 4. cs t