The Sun. — London, England, 1850-07-13 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, July 12. Their Lordships mot at F.v.. o'clock. CONFERENCE. Certain Peers were appointed, of whom the Marquis of WESTMEA.TH was one, to manage a conference with the Commons on the Naval Prizl Balance Bill. The Noble Marquis, on the return of the Noble Lords, laid on the table a paper containing the reasons of the Commons for dissenting from the Lords' amendments. COURT OF CHANCERY BILL. --- Lord LANGDALE introduced this Bill, which was read a first time. __ METROPOLITAN INTERMENTS BILL. Theitrr of CARLISLE moved the third reading of this Blil. Lord REDESDALE moved a proviso to afford pro teetion to persons entitled to the inheritance of land which may be sold for cemetery purposes under this Act, and to prevent the sale, under certain circumstances, of entailed land and family mansions. The Earl of CARLISLE opposed the proviso, as it would be injurious and obstructive to the working of the Bill. He wished t ) disahwe the House of the notion that there was any f, , regone conclusion as to the pro perty to he taken f tr the purpoe of a ceme.ory. Lord MONTE AG LE supported the proviso. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGII considered this Bill as of more importance than any railway Bill that had ever passed, as it concerned the health of three millions of people. Ho th)ught parks the best of all places that could be taken for cemeteries, because there were no houses there empt the family mansion. He therefore opposed the proviso. After a few words from Lord REDESDALE and the Earl of CARLISLE, their Lordships divided, when there ap peered— Contents (for the proviso) ... 24 Non-contents (against it) ... 42 Majority against the proviso ... —lB The Bill was then read a third time and passed. RAILWAY ABANDONMENT BILL. _ _ On the order of the day for the consideration of the Conamons' amendments to this Bill, The Earl of GRANVILLE moved that the amend ments be agreed to. _ _ Lord RE - DESDALE opposed the motion. Strangers were ordered to withdraw, and their Lord ships divided, when there appeared— Contents ... 3 4 Non-contents 38 Majority against aveeing to the I Commons' amendments ... PARLIAMENTARY VOTERS (IRELAND) BILL. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE moved the third reading of this Bill; and, After a few remarks from Lord REDESDALE, the motion was agreed to. On the question that the Bill do pass, The Marquis of WESTMEATH said, he had not beard of a single petition being presented in favour of this measure. It had been said that the constituency in Ireland bad dwindled down; but he denied the fact, though, no doubt, the number of registered voters had dwindled away. The Si. franchise, proposed by the Government, would have been neither more nor less than a paiiper franchise; and, notwithstanding all that had been said about the alteration male by their Lord ships to 131. , be believed it would still be little better than a pauper franchise. The Bill was then passed, COUNTY COURTS EXTENSION BILL. Lord BEAUMONT moved that the House go into Committee on this Bill. Lord BROUGHAM said, he bad already given their Lordships notice that he would propose certain amend ments in this Bill, those amendments being similar in their nature to enactments which he bad embodied in his Bill of 1833. These were to give parties the option of going either before the 'ripener courts or the county c ourts, in cases where the amount was between 201. and 5 0/.; also to give the po eers of appeal on points of law; and to create in certain eves a concurrent jurisdiction (the precise nature of which we did not hear). He gave no opposition to the Bill, but he thought there was every reason why this important measure—the most im portant that has come before their Lordships for many years—should be sent before a Select Committee. It was a most important measure, inasmuch as, though SOL was named in the Bill, the average of all cases tried in England, Scot! and, and Ireland, were for sums under 401. He had once shown their Lordships that for the whole county palatine of Lancaster during the spring ass;zee of one particular year, the average in 188 cases was for sums either of 15/. 163., or 16/ 155., he could not now re member which; and, therefore, he held that it was im possible to over-estimate the importance of the measure. He might instance also the extreme interest which was felt on the subject throughout the entire country. Never in all his Parlietnentary experience had so many letters and petitions been entrusted to him on any sub ject, and from many different parties he had received numereus sue,gestions and amendments which he was repested to propose. Many of these referred to matters of detail, and required careful consideration, first on ac count of their merit:, and secondly, in order that it might be seen whether they did not interfere with other parts of the Bill. He had therefore come to the resolu tion of suggesting that their Lordships should not pro ceed further the' day with the Bill, but should agree to send it before a Select Cemraittee, where those clauses of the Bill of 1833, which he proposed should be adopted, might be takoa into full aed deliberate con sideration. He did not propose this Committee with the slightest intention of delaying the measure ; for if he found that t were was any intention of that kind, he would at one i move that the Chairman report progress; and he gave this notice to whoever might in tend to vote for delay in the Select Committee, that he would be the first to meet that attempt at delay by moving that the Chairman report progress, and then let the flouin deal well the Bill in the best way it could.— (Hear, hear.) That, he thought, would be a guarantee to the public that this measure would not be delayed longer than was absolutely necessary to its efficiency. He was delighted to state to their Lordships (and he was sure they would all rejoice at the intelligence) that his Noble and Learned Friend Lord Lyndhurst was so far recovered, after the late operation to which he had been subjected, that he would be able t atten 1 in his place on Monday or Tuesday next—(Hear)—when they would have the value of his advice on that measure. He be lieved he might say his Noble and Learned Friend approved of the measure, subject to certain modi fications. His Noble and Learned Friend (Lord Denmin) was unable from bad health to attend in the House; but he was in communication with him on this subject, and but fur the late Post-office alterations he might be able to receive and lay before their L Tdshipa on Monday next a full state ment of the doubts entertained by his Noble and Learned Friend and the amendments he proposed. But, at all events, on Ttiesd.sy he would be in possession of a corn mueicetiiin from him embracing a statement of his views. He hoped they also have the attendance of his Noble Friend (L r.l Wharncliff.), who last year so ably and so industriously repreaerve the great mer cantile interest of the city of Lond )n on some most im portant matters. The Noble and Learned Lord then proposed that the Bill should be sent to a Select Com mittee. L trd WFINENCLIFFE thought, that if their Lord shipl were certain there was sufficient time, it would be highly desirable to send the Bill before a Select Com mittee; but, unfortunately, at the present period of the session, they could not he wi:hout d.luh , s on the sub ject. At the same time he did not see that it woul lbe necessary to have a very pr.donged investigation, and on the whole, ho thought that such a course was likely to lead to an improvement of the measure. Lord BE AU MON T, knowing. as he did that the Noble and Learned Lord (Lord Brougham) was a most sincere supporter of the Bill, and also perceivin 2: that he, as well as many of their Lordships, were anxious that the Bill should go out in as perfect a form as possible, would be very reluctant to decline sending it befot e a Select Com mittee. Hiit Noble and Learned Friend proposed three important alterationa in the Bill. One of these was the optional clause, to w hich he must say he had no objec tion, as be thought, if both parties agreed, they ought to have the power of going betbre any court they chose. The nest amendment was to give an appeal on points of law, and this he also thought might be highly desirable. But with regard to the third amendment, which related to the concurrent jurisdiction, ho should regard it as a death blow to the Bill. He should, in fact, consider it as Equivalent to the total destruction of the measure; and he hoped that the Noble and Learned Lord would leave that clause to be considered after the Bill came from the Select Committee. Lord BROUGHAM said he had the concurrence all the great law Lords in the proposals whichhehd of announced to the House. They were de c id e dl y of aopi nion that the only condition on which they could sup port the Bill was the adoption of the amendment to which the Noble Lord (Lord Beaumont) so strongly objected. The Bill was then ordered to be sent to a Select Com mittee, Lord Beaumont consenting to the proposal on the thorough understanding that it was not done for the pur pose of delay. The Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Bill was read a second time. The Court of Chancery (Ireland) Bill went through Committee. Lord WHARNCLIFFE presented a great number of petitions in favour of an alteration in the law of marriage. Lord MOUN IVASIIELL presented a petition against the system of national education in Ireland. The Earl of lIARROWBY presented several petitions against the licensing of beer-shops, and against the ad mission of Jews to Parliament. The House adjourned shortly after Seven o'clock. HO US E OF COMMONS, July 12. MEDICAL CHARITIES BILL. (Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.) Sir R. FERGUSON moved the insertion of the words " one competent physician or surgeon," the effect of which would be to have but one responsible paid medical officer en the board. Sir W. SOMERVILLE was understood to oppose the amendment. The House thee divided, when there appeared—. ~.itecto l w ameudment ... •.. ... 18 - l Agaiiit ti k. 5 ts."o: ... .. ... 58 ~.‘ • id*T it ]... -;. ... ... .. —4O U The ommittee again. dOided on the question, whe ther the medical officer.a4ald.be of seven or ten years' stand )3 . g. ".The rumbp# were— .vccieu yeelva - '4,ik; ; ... ... ... 27 r -\ , ' ,Zr ' seven yorg:• : /: ... ... ... 50 I.#•+ —23 Lo „NAAS ;unit a/proviso, that eve r y ac t o f th e tti MulioaLtommiesioupss should bt deemed to be the act of the Poor-law Commissioners. hin SCULLY did not think the proviso necessary, iztaan,(:•‘l2 an the Commission could not act without the lignentioii Of the Chief g'oot-law C:gamissiguer. After some discussion, the Committee divided, when there appeured— For the proviso Against it ... 24 ••• .•• ••• 60 ••• ••• Majority The proviso wls consequently lost. Colonel DUNNE still insiated that some words ought to be introduced into the Bill, to throw the responsi bility of the Commis'ion upon the Poor-law Commis sion or some other authorities. Sir WM. SOMERVILLE said the Government would be responsible for the operation of the Bill. Lord NAAS gave notice that, on the bringing up of the report, he would take the sense of the House upon the proviso which the Committee had negatived. The clause was then agreed to, after which the House resumed, when the Chairman obtained leave to sit again. -36 entertains of the services rendered to the state by Sir Robert Pe , l, desired me to inform Lady Peel that her Majesty was anxious to bestow on her the same rank as was bestowed on the widow of Mr. Canning.— ' (Cheers.) I received an answer from Lady Peel, which I immediately consmunicated to her Majesty, and that answer was, that it was her o•wn wish to bear no other name than that by which Sir Robert Peel was known.—(Hear, hear.) Lady Peel has intimated that there is a special direction which has been left for his family by Sir Robert Peel, that he desires that no one of his family will accept any title or public reward in respect of any services which he may be supposed to have rendered.—(Loud cheers.) This is a stronger reason why this House should desire that some testimo nial should remain by which this House at least may testify its feeling with respect to an event so sudden, and a calamity so great. I do not mean to enter into any notice of the services of Sir Robert Peel, or of the measures of which he was the mover. I think it far better that I should refer to the example which he lately gave in the Commission which has been directed by her Majesty to consider the mode in which the arts may be made to contribute to the ornament of the House of Commons with rn.peet to the sta•ues that are to be placed there. A committee of that Commission, composed of persons belonging to different creeds, have considered that the two men who ought to have statues erected to their memory there should be John Hampden and Lord Falkland. I imagine that what these gentleman who were on the Commission fit was that they were both men, who, by their splendid talents, and by their own virtues, adorned the age in which they lived, and that however different their rank, however various their talents, they were only animated by the love of their country.—(Hear, hear.) Let us not wait till a long period has elapsed before we take occasion of doing honour to the departed statesman ; let us do now what was not done till two centuries after the time of Hamp den and Lord Falkland. What I propose to do is to follow the precedent adopted in the case of Lord Chatham. When he died Co onel Barr - 6 moved that a public funeral should take place in honour of his memory. A gentleman who was then in office in the Administration, to which Lord Chatham was at that time opposed, suggested that it would be better to have a monument erected to his memory. That suggestion was immediately assented to by the House, and Lord North, then the Prime Minister, who came into the House before the debate was closed, gave to it his concurrence. It is, perhaps, a remarkable thing with regard to that event, that Colonel Barrio who made it had been himself at one time opposed as strongly as any politician could be to the opinions of Lord Chatham. It is another remarkable circumstance that Colonel Barrio was introduced to Lord Chatham, and made some apology far the severe language he had applied to him, when Lord Chatham said he himself had used equally harsh language to Sir Robert Walpole, and he (Lord Chatham) was far from resenting any language which had been applied to him by Colonel Barr•i. I think that the conduct of Col. Barrio showed that on an occasion of this kind. we should rather en deavour to forget for the time that natural encounter which the great interests of the country requires us at other times to enter into, and that we should endeavour to show, when we seek to bestow on the man who has devoted his talents to the service of the country, that it is not the time to consider his peculiar opinions or senti ments—(Hear, hear)—but rather that we should en deavour to show that we participate in the general feeling of regret which pervades all classes through out the country on this melancholy event. The House then went into Committee on the motion of the Noble Lord, and on Mr. BERNAL putting the question it was agreed to in silence. NEW WRIT FOR TA MWORTH. Mr. GOULBU RN then moved that a new writ be issued for the borough of Tamworth, in the room of the [ate Sir Robert Peel.—Agreed to. SUPPLY. The order of the day for going into Cemmittee of Supply was then read. On the question that the Speaker do leave the chair, Mr. S. CR A.WFORD rose to call the attention of the House to petitions presented on behalf of the depositors in the Rochdale Savings Bank, with reference to losses sustained by means of the defalcations of the late actu ary of that bank. Those pe itioners represented that msny persons had deposited their savings in the Roch dale Savings Bank, with the view of making provision for their maintenance in old age; that by the defalcations of the so cuary their property had been to a great extent lust; and that neither the Government nor the trustees could be made responsible for the defalcations. The petitioners complained that there had been a want of proper care in the management of the bank, and that sufficient guarantees had not been required from the officers. They further stated, that although subscriptions had been raised by benevolent individuals to cover the defalcations to the amount of about 17,000!., there would still remain a deficiency of 9,4001.; and, they prayed tithe House to take measures for the relief of the depositors. He would remind the House that the influence of the higher classes had, in many case?, been exercised to induce the working classes to invest their savings in tee savings banks, and the children in the Sunday and other schools were taught to deposit their halfpennies and pennies weekly in these banks. He thought a strong precedent was afforded for consenting to the request of the peti tioners by the course which had been taken by Govern ment with regard to the Exchequer-bills forgery in 1812. The State made good th se defalcations to a very Large amount ; and he called upon the G , vernment to treat the rich and the poor in the same manner. He maintained that the depositors had a claim en the jus tice of the House; and he begged to ask the Chancellor of the Exchi-quer whether he iatended to propose any measure to Parliament for the relief of depositors who had suffered in such cases ? Ho trusted the Right lion. Gentleman would nit refuse his acquiescence to some measure for their relief.—(Hear.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied, that he was certainly not premed to take upon himself to propose any motion to the House for indemnifying the persons to whom the Hon. Member had referred for the losses they had sustained. The subject was under investigation by a Committee of that House, and till the Committee had made theiereport he thought the Govern ment ought not to give any opinion on the matter. In reply to a question from Mr. V. SMITH, as to the progress that had been made with the estimates, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the whole of the Ordnance estimates had been voted. There were ab .ut six votes at the end of the navy esti mates which remained to be taken, the remainder of the navy estimates having been voted. Votes on account only had been taken for the whole of the army esti mates; and votes on account had also been taken for the civil contingencies, and the whole of the paper No. 3, for civil services. The estimates in papers No. 1,2, aed 4, had been voLd, with the exception of eight votes, including those for Buckingham Palace, the Board of trade, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, public works in Ireland, secret service, and the National Gallery in Rlinburgh. He proposed to proceed to-night with the rem sitting civil service estimates, and afterwards to take the postponed votes. Sir H. WILLOUGHBY bad been requested by seve ral persons who had come to town as deputations on the subject of savings banks, to inquire whether it was the intention cf the Government to proceed with the Savings Banks Bill this session. The CIIANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied that as many objections had been taken to the measure, he wished to give Hun. Members an opportunity of ex pressing their opinions on the subject. He, therefore, intended to take a discussion on the second reading of ilia Bill at a mot ning bitting early in the we,k after next. The course he would ultimately take with regard to the mes,ure would be ♦ery much decided by what took place on that occasion, but he hoped it might be possible to pass the Bill this session. THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, JULY 13, 1850. but necessary duty, were endeavouring to establish peace, order, and prosperity in the Eastern Archipelago. Mr. HENRY DRUMMOND had never seen Sir James Brooke, and when he heard the attacks upon him he was greatly surprised. But an Hon. Gentleman op posite having expressed a wish that he should look into the subject, ho had done so, with what result the Muse should leer. It appeared to be denied by Hon. Mem bers o,iposite that these natives were pirates at all. Now, all the authorities concurred in saying that the people of all these s, as were nothing but pirates, end never had been anything but pirates. But, as Hon. Members opposite eared little for the authorities on this point, he wished to remind them that the Chambers of Commerce at Manchester and Glasgow had never left off teszing the Government until they had esta blished these two settlements.—(" Hear, hear," from Mr. Hume.) He begged pardon; don't let the Honourable Member be rash; the impetuosity of youth was very great.—(A laugh.) These commercial bodies especially asked for the establishment of these settle. ments, on the ground that they were necessary t suppress piracy in those seas where it was now said by Hon. Ge !demon opposite there was no piracy at all. The Mancnester Chamber of Commerce declared that the settlement at La man would be a terror to the pirates, and the Manchester Commercial Association followed in the same strain, representing that Labuan would be a commanding point for the suppression of piracy. The Glasgow Chamber of Commerce spoke of the necessity of occupying Labuan in order to suppress the Malay pirates. The tilssgow East India Association declared that mea sures ought to be taken for the suppression of the piracy that had so lung prevailed in those sets.—(Heir, hear.) Oh! they admitted now, did they, that piracy did exist in these seas? The London and Liverpool East India Associations made the same representations. It had been said that Mr. Wise had seen reason to change his opi nion of Sir J. Brooke, but he would show that Sir J. Brooke discarded Mr. \Vise long before that, and that this circumstance was at the bottom of the whole story. It was necessary the House should bear in mind that everything done by Sir J. Brooke in the suppression of piracy was in virtue of a treaty.—(Hear.) The, third article of the treaty with the Sultan of Borneo distinctly stated that in consideration of the cession of Labuan, the English Government engaged to suppress piracy, the Sultan and the chiefs affording them every facility therein.—(Hear.) It was said that these persons were not committing any piratical acts; but the answer to that assertion was, that the judge before whom the case was*tried remitted the hearing because there was not evidence enough. Witnesses were then brought who were parties in piratical acts at the time.—(Hear, bear.) Now, the Hon. Gentleman said that the House ought to believe him, and not the parties who were en gaged in these acts.—(Llear, hear.) He had received fir his perusal the journal Of a boy who was engaged in the expedition against these pirates, and which went to establish the same facts. But then they were told that it was cruel to attack these people with 9 pounders. But if they were pirates it was right to destroy them, and so much the better if they had been 24 pounders. It was Mr. Wise who was the teal author and instigator of this Aborigines Protection Society, and who had got up this public company that Sir James Brooke blew up. And that was the cause of the antipathy of the Hon. Member for Glasgow (Mr. Macgregor). He (Mr. Wise) had teased Sir J. Brooke from beginning to end of their connexion in order to draw him into a commer cial speculation. But Sir J. Brooke continually refused, and the real charge against him was that he cauld not be brought into the scheme. They wished to get possession of the whole territory that was ceded. Mr. MACGREGOR—I rise to, order.—(A laugh.) The Hon. Member has linked my name with Sir J. Brooke, with whom I never had the smallest con nexion. —(A laugh,) The SPEAKER—The lion. Member will have an opportunity of replying afterwards. Mr. DRUMMOND had before him the prospectus of this " East. rn Archipelago Company," in which the names of the directors were printed in Saxon cha racters ; and here, in double Roman capitals, was the name of John Macgregor, Esq , M.P., chairman."— (Cheers and laughter.) He had before him the letters of Mr. Wise to Sir J. Brooke, with whom he was a partner for a time. Mr. Wise, in these letters wrote to Sir J. (then Mr.) Brooke to say that he hoped to obtain a baronetcy for him—(A laugh)—in acknow ledgment of his efforts in the cause of civilization. Mr. Wise was indefatigable in endeavouring to tempt Mr. Brooke to engage in commercial speculations, which Mr. Brooke felt to be incompatible with his habits, with his objects in settling there, and with his duty to the Go vernment at home.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member proceeded to read quotations from Mr. Wise's letters, to establish this point. In one letter Mr. Wise said there would be no limit to Mr. Brookes' gains if he could get the fee simple of Sarawak assigned to him, but that he perceived his reasons for steering clear of partnership transactions. These letters were written before July, 1944. In 1845 it appeared that Mr. Wise "commenced proceedings for the establishment of the Borneo Com pany."—(Hear, hear.) Was be (Mr. Drummond) right or wrong when he said that to this gentleman was to be attributed the whole origin of that company? But he did more. Captain Keppel, it appeared, published a book containing an account of his operations on the coast of Bonet), and off went this indefatigable Mr. Wise to the publisher, got hold of the work, suppressed the first volume altogether, and put forth some writings of his own instead, which would go to the world as the work of Captain Keppel.—(A laugh.) What he wanted to im press on the House was this—that Mr. Wise throughout ndeale ured to hook Sir James Britoke into a partner. ship, and that the latter steadily refused to be led into any such project. The Hon. Member, reverting to the documents befire him, read extracts at considerable len . L.;th from the letters of Mr. Wise to Sir J. Brooke, in which the advantages of a commercial alliance were strongly insisted on, and great stress laid on the per sonal attachment of the writer to the Raja. Mr. Wise stated that " he had finished the revision and arrange ment of Keppel's book, the publication of which he trusted Mr. Brooke would find conducive to his in erests in its altered form." He begged of Mr. Brooke "Not to hazard his valuable lite in operations on the coast—he held Mr. Brooke's posthumous fame elt ar to him—acknowledged his disregard of money, and had ever been animated by a wish to omit no opportunity of serving him." In fact, every attempt had been made to get Sir J. Brooke to act as the agent of this company, and, on his refusing to do so, they had used every effort to malign his conduct and character.—(flear.) Mr. Wise continued to say that if he had not stopped the first edition of Keepers book, and the correspondence with the Foreign-office, he doubted if Mr. Brooke would have been in his present high position, and that the assurance he had given that the company should receive every support he could "lawfully" efferd them had been laid before the board, and was fully appreciated. He (Mr. Drummond) thought the House had heard enough of Mr. Wise and of his assiduity. It was not a pleasant office at any time to expose misconduct, and he should turn with pleasure to the much more grateful task of eh° sing to the Government and - to the country the real sentiments of the man they had employed, to prove to them how worthy he was of their confidence—to satisfy them what a noble public servant they had got, and to encourage the Government to repel the slanders which had been heaped upon him.—(Cheers.) ( The Hon. Member then proceeded to read extracts from the cor respondence of Mr. Brooke with Mr. Wise, in which he distinctly stated and reiterated his objections to the establishment of any large commercial company, and declared he believed speculations of the kind would be injurious to the country; that he did not wish to embark in them, and that " his great desire was to be clear from trade and from responsibility," as his habits, tastes, education, and life, had not suited him to em bark in such pursuits. The operations of any large company must interfere with the natives, and he discou raged "any plan which might be based for its success on the destruction of the native population.'—(Hear.) After the prospectus of the Eastern Archipelago Company had been actually published, Sir J. Brooke wrote to Mr. Wise to say he had just seen it, and that he thought it right to remind Mr. Wise that he (Sir J. Brooke) had told him there was no part of the country in which there was security for life and property except in Sarawak, and that as to the third paragrape of the prospectus, it would give the people to understand that the Sultan of Borneo had given the company the exclu sive right of working the coal mines for 150 miles, whereas he had merely given them the right to work the mines, and did not at all justify them in infringing on the rights of the owners of the soil. Sir J. Brooke concluded by expressing his belief that his re fusal to join the company would be found not only of great advantage to their interests, but to his own good name. He thought he had said enough to show that the Government had a most valuable servant in Sir J. Brooke—(Hear, hear)—that they could not entrust their business to a more faithful and honest man. But this indefatigable Mr. Wise, understanding what a country this was for humbug, and seeing how easy it was to work on the feelings of the pious, said, after some re ference to the instability of the then Administration, and some complaint of systematic shuMing on the part of the Government in being handed over from one depart ment to another, that he was convinced their only chance was in their own exertions, and in organizing an agitation on the Manchester plan; that he was considering the best means of doing so; and that, aided by the press and Members of both Houses of Parlia ment, as well as by rousing the apathy of the religious world—(Hear)—the Government would be compelled to bestir themselves.—(l-lear hear.) He added that he was now "stirring up the Philanthropic Society"—(A laugh) —and urged that no element of agitation should be allowed to lie dormant, and that all parties and all creeds should partake of the proposed movement. Ac e )rdingly out came a thundering prospectus from the Peace and Aborigines Protection Societies, stating that the Dyaks were never known as pirates till Sir J. Brooke 'described them as such. Mr. James Bell, a treasurer of the Aborigines Protection Society, had written a letter, in which it was said the movement against Sir J. Brooke originated solely with the Peace and Aborigines Protec tion Societies. That was what was called a religious society. A clever and able agent so long as he was the faithful agent of Sir James Brooke, Mr. %Vise was as indsfst gable in the line he had since taken. It had been shown that he was at the bottom of the Peace and Abori gines Protection Societies' movements; that he had sup plied every particle of the information on which Hon. Gentlemen opposite relied; a proof that "Death has no pangs like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a trader spurned," —(Cheers and laughter) Mr. MACGREGOR rose to explain that he had only become the Chairman of the Berneo Company after going over the matter with Captain Keppel and others who were mainly interested; that they had confined their exertions to the raising of coals, anti that the com pany's means had always been sufficient to meet the claims upon it. Mr. BAILLIE COCHRANE bore testimony to the high and honourable, chivalrous, and noble character of Sir James Brooke, whose only desire was to proceed in a philatuthroPic spirit, - and coy with justice WM* those over whom he was placed. It was somewhat re- 1 markeble, he thought, that when Sir James Brooke re turned to England, after an absence of nine years, ho was received with enthusiasm by thoss very Gentlemen, some of whom he saw opposite, who now brought all sorts of charges against him. Those Hon. Gentlemen waited until Sir James Brooke had left this country to make those att,cke against him of which previously there hal not been a whisper. Addressing himself more immediately to the subject under discussion, the Hen. Gentleman contended that our treaty with the Netherlands in 1824 made it obligatory on us to aid in the suppression of piracy in the Eastern Archipe lago; and the very object in view in stationing our ships on that coast was to suppress such piracy. So far from Sir Thomas Cochrane and Sir W. Parker considering the/ Sir James Brooke was an unfit person for the posi tion be held, it was known that when that individual became Raja of Sarawak they contemplated recom mending that the whole of that country should be placed under his con'rol in lieu of the Sultan. In the absence of Sir James Brooke, he thought it savoured somewhat of inhumanity to attribute to him mere motives of plunder; and it was equally unjust to impute such motives to the British 11:et. lie trusted the members of the Peace Society would exhibit a sufficient sense of justice not to repeat that charge again, and that even the lion. Member for the West Riding would render justice to the high and noble character of the distinguished officer whose acts hid been cal d into question. Colonel THO UPSON observed that nu contradiction had yet been essayed to the simple assertion of the Ho nourable Member for Montrose, that the men whose blood we had paid for were not pirates, and that every proof had failed to show they were pirates. The pro ceedings which it p!eased some to call piracy wore in testine wars, carried on between various native tribes, and there was a total lack and absence of evidence to show these men were pirates iu any sense in which an English statesman could have a right to interfere. It was said that Sir Christopher Rawlinsou had given a de cision that these men were pirates. He (Colonel Thompson) regretted that the present transition state of the Government did not permit them to have a law officer in the House to offer an opinion on the point—(A laugh)—but he believed the Bishop of Calcutta quite as much entitled to deliver such a judgment as Sir Chris topher Rawlinson, whose functions ought to have been confined to the collection of evidence. No evidence bad been adduced proving these men to have been pirates. He asked, theref,re, of the House an impartial consi deration of the case; and from the hostile verdict of that House he was prepared to appeal to the verdict of the country. _ _ _ Sir H. VRRNEY quoted from the Singapore Free Press, to prove the existence of piracy in this quarter of the world, and cited the cases of two vessels laden with sago, and on their way to Singapore, which had been plundered. He also referred to the previous testi mony of Sir Stamford Raffles, to establish the fact of piracy in this particular region. This country had never been served by a more discreet and judicious officer than Sir James Brooke had proved himself' to be; and the statements of the Honourable Member for Montrose with respect to him, although not founded on intentional were certainly founded in complete error. He therefore desired that a declaration should go forth to the world that the House of Commons were unanimous in their approval of the conduct of Sir James Brooke throughout the whole of these transactions. Colonel RAWDON thought it unnecessary to add a single word to the already complete defence which the proceedings of Sir James Brooke had called forth. Sir R. H. INGLIS observed that this was not a question of cant and hypocrisy, as had been asserted, but a question involving the character of one of the ablest, most gallant, and humane men who ever exercised authority in any foreign country in the name of the people of England—(Hear. hear)—and he could not refrain from expressing his strong feelings in di f e n ce of such a man. What better evidence of the existence of piracy in these seas could be procured than the deposi tions either of the witnesses to the acts of piracy or the victims of them?—(Hear.) When it was contended that this piracy had not been committed on British subjects, he only wished that Captain Aaron Smith could burst in upon the House as he had upon the peace meeting.— ( A laugh.) He thought the conduct of Sir James Brooke had reflected honour on the name of England; and he felt it a privilege to be able to call himself the friend of a man so distinguished.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. COBDEN observed that a great deal had been said about the transactions of Sir James Brooke, and about his correspondence with Mr. Wise, and abeut other matters referring to the personal character of Sir James Brooke. Nuw, he did not at all know that Sir James Brooke was responsible for the massacres men tioned by his Honourable Friend the Member for Mon trose, for it was essential to know what were the instruc tions of Captain Parker. His Honourable Friend hied moved for a copy of the instructions of Sir Francis Collier; the House ordered the return, but the Govern ment had not furnished it; and he therefore wanted to know why these men had been massacred, who mas sacred them, and who was to be held responsible for the act? He very much suspected teat Sir Francis Collier would have agreed with the views entertained by his (Mr. Cobden's) friends with regard to these transac tions; and he called upon the Right Hon. Gentleman (Sir F. Baring) to be explicit ou the subj.-ct. When that Right liou. Gentleman brought in his Bill for the repeal of the Head Money Act, he said he had received a communication from Sir F. Collier, recommending al terations in the system. Now, he should like to be fur nished with that communication, in order to see what Sir F. Collier's opinions on the subject really were, Well, the Head Money Bill was repealed; but if these men were really pirates, he (Mr. Cobden) could not con ceive a time when a head-money Act was necessary. And yet no sooner did the Government receive intelli gence of the massacre of some 1,000 or 1,500 D e aks, than one of the first measures of the Governm«nt, in the month of February, was to repeal the Act awarding head-money for the destruction of pirates. Now, he asked the Government why, immediately on the reas sembling of Parliament, they had asked for a repeal of this Act, if something had not been going on on the coast of Borneo, for which head-money was to be paid? The Head Money Act of 1825 had reference to pir ac y in the Carribean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and was passed in order to incite our navy to increased efforts for the suppression of that piracy. But the parties called pirates on the coast of Borneo bad no sort of resem blance to the pirates of the Gulf of Mexico and the Car ribeen Sea. The Hon. Member for Newport (Mr. Plow den), in attempting to prove piracy in the Indian Archi pelago, was out of his reckoning by 500 miles as to the place where the proceedings had actually occurred. The Government, it was said, had a defender in the Singapore Free Press ; but the Dyaks, it appeared, had a friend in the other newspaper of that place. ro quote the opinion of Sir Stamford Raffles, given thirty-eight years ago, as an authority in this case, was an insult to the under standing of the House. They had been forced to bring in a Bill to give 25,0001. for the destruction of these 1,200 poor persons; for there was nut the slightest evi dence to show that they were pirates.—(Hear, bear.) If they . went 500 miles to the north, he would admit that they might meet with many pirates. He admitted that the Malays, the inhabitants of Celebes, Soul so, and Ma cassar, and the S•raits of Malacca, were pirates, but he denied that the persons who bat been destroyed were ever convicted of any act such as was contemplated to be piracy when the Act passed.—(Rear, hear.) The Hon. Member for Bedford, who followed his Hon. and Gallant Friend, had quoted the inAence of a boat laden with provisions having been plundered on its way to Singa pore. It appeared that a boat laden with sago had been destroyed; but whether this had been done by the Dyaks or any other people did not appear, but the value of the cargo was estimated at only a few shillings. It ap peared that the Dyaks went on an expedition to destroy Matoo, and they were repulsed with a loss of twelve men. What he complained of was of our naval forces being sent to destroy men merely for quar relling and going to war with their next neighbours. —(User, hear.) This country had nothing to do with their going to war with Kure); we had nothing more to do with these people at Matoo than with any savage tribe on the coast of Africa. What would this country have thought if some most powerful nation came and made an attack upon us because, until lately, we had been for some centuries at war with France.—(Hear hear.) Such, however, was a case exactly analogous to that before the House. Lord Stanley, in his interpre tation of the minute, expressly stated that people should not be considered or treated as pirates, unless they at tacked ships under the British flag. If any one could show that the poor Dyaks had ever attacked any Eng lish vessel he would give up the whole case.—(Elear.) They had not only squandered away 25,0001. for the de struction of these men, but by their slaughter they had succeeded in bringing disgrace on the name of England. He might be told that he was attacking the British navy. —(Hear.) He denied there was any ground for such an assertion. Indeed he believed the Bill which had passed on the subject of pirates' head-money had been brought in at the instigation of a naval officer, and it was recommended to the Admiralty by Admiral Collier himself:—(t - leer, hear.) You had insisted on sending ships to attack these people with shots and shells, and a great number of boats had been destroyed with the people on board, and it did not appear that any of these were armed even wile a musket. By such proceedings not less than 1,500 persons had been destroyed; and he considered and did not hesitate to call it a human butte.— ( dear, hear, and cries of " Oh, oh.") He did not be lieve such a disgraceful occurrence had happened since the proceedings of Cortee in Mexico, where such un provoked massacres took place, and which could bring but little glory on the authors of such transactions. He did not charge the navy with these proceedings, as he believed Admiral Collier and other naval officers would not incur the responsibility of such acts without orders. —(Herr, hear.) He was not going to discuss Governor Brookes transactions with Mr. Wise, for that matter had nothing to do with the question before the House. His Hon. Friend asked to have a Committee to inquire into the circumstances which attended the heavy loss of life and slaughter of parts of certain native tribes belong ing to the northern parts of the island of Borneo, called Sarebas and Sakerran, and reported to be pirates; and her Mejesty's Government met this motion by nar rating the quarrels which took place between Go vernor Brooke end Mr. Wise. The circumstances as narrated did not reflect much credit on Go vernor Brooke, for Mr. Wise had been for fifteen years his confidential friend and adviser. Under such circumstances any attack on Mr. Wise must fell bail on Governer Brooke. When they came to the vote for the salary of Governor Brooke as Governor of Lahuan, it would be the proper time to consider his proceedings as the gotiernor of that place. If there was any species of 'intervention which he condemned more than another, it was one for the destruction of pirates, because they were at war with their neighbours.—(Hear, hear.) Some thing hail been sail about the state of New Z eland; but Captain Cook, who was a great man, did not act towards the natives of that place as Governor Brooke h.'.d to wards the inhabitants of Borneo. Captain Cook found that the people there wore not only savages and can nibals, send deicribed with harm Che cimonetillice 0 reallytheir atie g a b . o utw Althoughi with them two o b o a f sk t e h t es crew w h u o te l r ie : s e ed s ! I ' de hod been treacherously not let loose upon them his 32-pounders, heeP,..ch had the island a numeer of domestic animals; ant: that they been their rapid improvemeat since that tame, eenr e e a re-- now promised to be..otne a most distinguish d a t meseacred by the native :aeed on They Lai been told that Governor Brooke we, s ee leir. man because he had destroyed thesepilvratttehs,hbourtallese. Cobden) regarded such proceedings tearled his Hon. Friend for having brought this tee Lion again before the Hums--; and notwithstaue'he se es insinuations of the Hon. Member for Surrey , b e ing b e ing sure the country would also give him credit for in his actuated by the purest motives in this as well its other proceedings. re,BARINGand he had dd heard argued h the same m q e d I S y i r b } e ' io so oft n, as to there being no evidence, that 6 b c elled hardly have been induced to rise, had be not bee As lee upon to do so by tee Honourable Meraber.eoleped Elonnarrable Gentle man would hear him a gain' h eess eete the House would excuse him if he repeated the e glom which he had given on former occasions. i ll u r e em ent Ve l istrib ee s. Gentleman had asked how was it that the ueeasstisoenr as:enrol:10 had brought iu a separate 8.11 regulating be , d n ot be Lion of pirates' head-money, and that it shout e li tes. given to any until they had been proved to be,l;aesse. That Bill had nothing whatever to do wit h the e ,` „ore tion la fore the House, for it happened tha t thet,"e e , Btll had been under consideration some: time, and e e d bu t which was drawn last was to have been introdueed that for circumstances that th en o cc urred. It hall'? o ar a change took place in the Admiralty; an d the t quence of his Honourable F r i e nd, then secretary , n ot e as department, having quitted that office the Bill ". so s then brought in.—(flear, hear.) There T ee the doubt that some reward should be given le re' destruction of pirates. If the Hous e gs g eth wards fur services in the navy, they must b e e g b e bill not only when there was a hard battle or U 0 ,1,0 also something must be given in transactiene wore might apparently require tbe same gallantry, 13°13%005 the service was often of an arduous sod d* C o lley° nature. The Hon. Gentleman said he did no t be' there was any resistance on the part of th e Pi r neae tioee cause no ore was killed on our side in the tea , oh ese , This, however, was no answer to the case Th wh ore ers been put in defence of this proceeding• eaerntaeo at once to proceed with th e Bill a lluded to --- e t f e e the ee t another circumstance whi c h i n d u ced the - l ee which suddenly came u p on th em t o pay 100, 09° ‘ r e cos' el . destruction of pirates. Thi s a pp eare d to be aT e siderable sum, and it add e d t o the conviction slyer, already existed that the law required revision..6.oitel hear.) It was quite true that that gallant officer, 4 1 1 10! Collier, had held some private communications w ilt tble on this subject, and in which he said he tbeelg 0f the some alteration should be made in conseleenee, bed' large amount this country had to pay as pirate t ere money. The Hon. Member for Montrose mov ed ehdr ' w ho turn of the orders under which the officer a ct ttea to had destroyed the s e pi ra t es . H e had no obi late to their production, but h e h a d not been able hit iee efi obtain a copy of them. They were not at the Al a to he had therefore w ritt en t o Admiral Che ri e die" send them over ; that gallant officer, however, l o iselit before his letter reached him, and some delay 11 , 13 ;ree tiou S therefore, on this g roun d. H e h a d a lso given "'" coP I that Captain Farquhar should be written to for der et' of them, but he had left his ship when the (W ho r e , rived. It was quite clear that Captain Farq u e s eete e l a ceived orders under which he acted, and thereeekle° be no objection to prod uce th em as s oon as thee' " ° procu Mr. red. bit e° asked whether Captain Farquhar al complained of these orders ? ewe Sir F. BARING replied that that gallant oe . , Tee not complained in th e s li g ht es t d egr ee.—(Oheersilter, is Hon. Gentleman had also written to him e. le r eeelS t which he charged hi m wi t h h av i ng garbled a P e e beg eieg paper before it was laid before the House, a n° et as:: him net to garble any more public do et leir (Laughter.) The Hon. Gentleman said be eed e ser Baring) had garbled information; but he had loos e w est; all the papers, and he c o uld not fi n d any grotiolie bag ever for such an assertion.—(Hear, hear.) , se ee asked the Hon. Member to point out the iee 'ber be which he had garble papers, but the Hon. Mete ides' never done so; he (Sir F. Baring) eupposed Gentleman was too wise to do so.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. HUME said there were cases of the kind . „„ Sir F. BARING.—Then why not point out e teePe ticular instance of the ki n d ?—(Hear, bear.) e— eottl e Gentleman who spoke l as t complained that th e Y--.o ol° determine this question as to whether thel Le/el were pirates or not, without referring to Sir % l e er bite Raffles, and other autholitiee. The Hon. binretetletsitt no business to interfere. Was the Hon. et Pe; aware that a specific treaty existed between Gtr d oe t he fain and the Government of the Netherlands, fin earri stipulations of which both nations were bowie' r t ecel into effect as arrangement for repressing piracy one fee" seas.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Gentleman he the, very differently from him on this subject; for anions books which he had consulted, ho found adrois sl° ) fi e the existence of piracy in these seas.—(flear, herseero was surerised, also, that the Hon. Gentleman ha ll g reet no notice f the extracts from the report of . E 6h t e eer f ° ,f, commercial autheritiei, which the Hon. De e ,ree d t e; Surre y had alluded to. He (Sir F. Baring) a"" y e ti P, 1 ,, the representations which had been drawl:l er/ el e - Chambers of Commerce in different large ° re - 00W vari 'us parts of the empire, in which the, cod ment was called upon to protect tee h o beerse coerce of this country in -those seas.- - e`e o teP e e , Surely these persons might be assumed as beieg e ee e the tent to know the particular circumstances °Ampu l e commacommerce in those seas, and as to whether any ris k Tb d run from the attacks of pirates?—(Hear, hee r e e i offer: Government have repeatedly been called upon t e e 5 01 1 protection, and put an end to the piracy the. beee 0 It was clear that the merchants who were ene hl eeste r e the Chambers of Commerce at Leeds, gap e-- f ele Glasgow, and other large towns, entertained aidisioo different opinion from the Hon. Member, In eueeiott to this, there were parties who, from their local Pf s e th e in these parts, might be supposed to be familiar /e t re' subject. The Government bad received repeatediolii sentations from the merchants o f Si nga pore conel 3 „' il e e." of the pirates in those seas not b e i ng driven e a t e e ot e el ° (Hear, hear.) The Hon. M em b er b a d t h a t nireeif f e . an attack upon the F ree P ress o f Si ngapore . Pe e : r ed Baring) did not int en d to d e f en d al l that aPPeeeefeo°, the press on one s id e or t h e ot h er; but he per in the other Singap ore paper an addrees of th e e° or chants of Singapo r e, i n w hi c h t h e y sta t e d tha t C - des' gauised system of pir ac y ex i ste d w hi c h w as u l Tbe Qati gerous to those seas, and which must at eu h `, bee": down to insure confidence. Surely, it Intle"d with mitted that those gentlemen must be acquaile t :, o B.l what was taking place in their own neighhea r ". - d tb s. (Hear, hear.) Then, aga n, the Hon. Member O l e is all he called for was inqui r y. H a d there not b° better quiry?—(Hear, hear.) What could they be v e ° . ju dg e than a plain and open inquiry b e f ore a n Englis h eel ° ,e and an English lawyer?—(Hear, hear.) It wa s e rre d easy a matter to prove facts before them as it W h ore to be thought in the House of Commons.--( e ee ar, t e tbe eo In this case the judge was net only satisfied tha se tete l - was the appearance of piracy, but that there wa s so d piracy, and that there were many piratical Prae e e e rebe; boats in those seas.—(Hear, hear.) His Ille h see thee, and Gallant Friend (Colonel Thompson) eta t tel he had been assured that the judge had cba n e e e e" opinion. It was true in the fi rs t instan ce the Christopher Raelinson said he was not satisfied °denote proof et piracy. If Honour a bl e G en tlemen eve hl e vet!: stilt the papers they would see that Sir Christophe r bid linson said there was not suffici e nt evidence be f or e b e to satisfy his mind that these parties were Pir a 'eetle° therefore required further evidence. Further. el l e etc was brought before this learned judge, who th e e i l egre; Oared that he was perfectly satisfied.—( l le a '' e t IP - Thus it appeared that they had the declaration s -- a tbe e Chambers of Commerce in this country, thee' r e ed °' address of merchants residing in the neighbour"eder these people, and they had the decision of a court ) (jo ar lice which had carefully inquired into the whole CI ( 4 10 stances of the case, and were satisfied as to these P old being pirates; but th e y were t o ld th e y must 955 00° so there was not a tittle of evidence in support of suell assertion.—(Cheers.) ere ° Sir E. COLEBROOKE wished merely to e e le ie to in a few words the reasons which would induce e' l e, for support the motion of his Hon. Friend the Neosho vise Montrose; but in giving this vote he knew he wa s WO' against the general opinions of the House. Th e e cod, Member for BedteeTl (Sir Harry Verney) b ee ,. foe Wattled of his Hon. Friend the Member for Montre'ss having said there were no pirates on the west co s , et Borneo. His Hon. Friend spoke on the authore"eoS, Mr. Lowe, who wa s connecte d w i t h L a b ua n, 413 'ote well acquainted with Sarawak, and who distinctly st i , the that piracy w as not carr i ed on by the inhabitant s ° Or' western coast of B orneo . H e had the extract Wi n e , l o t Lowe's work in hi s h an d, b u t it was unnecess e e r e i t eo o him to detain th e H ouse by rea di ng it. Th a t ge°7 - oor also stat e d th a t t h e p i rates came f rom t b e no rth °' et et neo and the Sooloo Islands, and the neighbouring P of and made attacks upon the southern and western ['° the that large island, and had even made attacks ePhelestier town of Borneo itself. The real question was, ro b the persons who had been attacked and destroyed those really pirates. Personally he knew nothing parts ; but he had read the diaries of Cu s eee Mundy and Keppel, and the evidence furn'rellte by Sir J. Brooke, Mr. Wise, and Mr. Lowe. 90 0 5 conclusion he had come to was that the p er gad who had made these attacks were MalaYeeptia those who came down the rivers, not in prabute ale canoes. There were, no doubt, many persons 0 9. ' ,, e re coast who would plunder boats, and so far tbecd to pirates.—(Laughter.) If, however, it was inte n u n ost attack all parties who pursued such courser, they de / extirpate the whole of the population of these ishoi a 0 0 (Hear, hear.) If u British force was to be ernP l o,l o o i t such proceedings, the House should, at least, saue' t ed with their eyes open. The question was, w hether nt at were prepared to uphold and defend the settleine dee bt Sarawak. If this was to be done, there wee 130 : he s is they would have to put d own man y o ther tr.' t tle Borneo. He did not regard Sarawak as a British I d ea meat—(Bear, hear)—but surely some one eh ° 11 0 made responsible for the proceedings at that pla ce *, concurred also that na va l o ffi cers s h ou ld have sour w ere creation allowed them as to the course which they their directed to pursue. He believed the best c ourse e to could pursue was to make G o verno r Brooke r ete e .r uP),, Labuan. That c o l on y wou ld i n hi s (Si r E. Colebr°:oo opinion pro ve o f t h e greatest use in t h e repress e l n e e eee piracy, as it w as 300 mi l es nearer to t h e no rth of v al ve than Sarawak, so that the pi ra t es wou ld be Pr ° coming down the coast. The House then divided, when there appearsd-e. Fir the motion—Ayes 29 Noes ... 169 e Majority against the motion...--e —i t The House then went into Committee of SePlo A vote of 109,8501, to defray the expenses 0 1 , litia, was agreed to. Is FRIENDLY SOCIETIES BILL. The Friendly Societies Bill went through Committee, and the report was ordered to be brought up on Monday next, at 12 o'clock. The House then adjourned till Five o'clock. Th© frouse resumed at Five o'clock. NEW WRIT FO[ SOUTHAMPTON. On the motion of Mr. HAYTER, a new writ was ordered fur the election cf a burgess to serve in Parlia ment for the borough of Southampton, in the place of Alexander James Cockburn, Esq., who had accepted the office of her Majesty's Solicitor-General, and thereby vacated his seat for Southampton. NEW WRI r FOR DEVONPORT. On the motion also of Mr. HAYTER, a new writ was ordered to be issued for the election of a burgess to serve in Parliament for the borough of Devonport, in the place of Sir John Romilly, who had accepted the office of her Majesty's Attorney-General, and had thereby vacated his seat for that borough. PETITIONS. Mr. SPOONER presented a petition from a gentle man at Harwich, praying that the House would allow him to use the short-har. ,:'s notes of the evidence taken before the House on e.,e Harwich Election Coln mitt?e. Alderman THOMPSON presented a petition against the Friendly Societies Bill. Mr. CARDWELL presented a petition from Liver pool to the same effect. Mr. WOOD presented a petition against certain clauses of the Savings Bank Bill. Mr. COBDEN presented several petitions from Scot land to the same effect. Admiral GORDON presented a petition in favour of protection to native industry. Lord C. MANNERS presented a petition from a place in LeiceBtershire against the Jews Bill. Mr. GOULBURN presented a similar petition. LUNATICS. _ Mr. ALEXANDER HOOD moved that the follow ing returns be re-printed ;—A return to an order of the House of Commons, dated 21st February 1839; returns made up to the latest possible period, of the number of lunatics, against whom the commissions of lunacy are now in force, and the total amount of their annual in comes, and the total amount of the sums allowed for their maintenance, No. 378, of session 1839 ; also, the continuance of a similar return, up to the present time, from the date of the lagt return. NEW RIDE IN KENSINGTON GARDENS. On the motion that the House at its rising should adjourn until Nfonday next, Mr. COCHRANE asked her Majesty's Government, whether they would support a humble address to her Majesty, praying her Majesty to assign a part of Ken sington Gardens as a ride for next . year, in considera tion of the ground which would be take' f m the Exhibi tion, and the injury done to the ride in Rotten-row. Lord SEYMOUR replied that a motion for an address would be quite unnecessary, because her Majesty had some time since given directions that an inquiry should be made with the view of ascf-rtaining what turther accomm Lion ought to be given to those who rode in the park without tntert-ring with the enjoyments of any other portion of the public. IMPOSITIONS ON EXPORTS OF PORTUGUESE WIVE TO ENGL I.ND. Mr. Alderman THOMPSON wished to know whether the Noble Lord the Secretary for Foreign Affairs had revived any satisfactory answer from the Portuguese Government to the remonstrance of the importers of wine, the produce of Portugal, against the impost of 6Z per pipe levied on wine exported to England, when 6d. per pipe only was charged upon wine exported to America. _ _ _ --- Lord PALMERSTON said communications had been made to the Portuguese Government on the subject, which was of considerable importance to the British consumers, but ho was not able at present to state that the Government had received any satisfactory answer. There could be no doubt that this difference of duty was not only a great injury to the British consumer, but also a great ii , jury to th•s Portuguese wine grower. The Hon. Gentleman might be assur•d that her Majesty's Government would make those represen tations which they thought most likely to induce the Portuguese Government to alter their intentions. SUNDAY LABOUR IN THE POST-OFFICE. Mr. SPOONER asked the First Lord of the Treasury , whether it was the intention of her Majesty's Govern ment to lay before Parliament the report of the Com missioners appointed to inquire into the working of the Post-office regulations respecting Sunday labour, toge ther with the evidence taken before those Commis sioners; also, whether permission would be given to any pirties who might require it, to produce evidence betore such Comrnissi,iners? Lord J. RUSSELL said he would lay the report of ae Commission on the table of the House as soon as it was made. With respect to the other question, he did not think that it would be necessary for that Commission to talc , any evidence except of a documentary character. _ _ TRIiiL OF PATE. - BARON ALDERSON'S CHARGE. Mr. G. THOMPSON rose and said—Seeing the Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for the Home Department in his place, I rise to put some questions to him on a matter, as I conceive, vital to the character of the English bench, and the administration of crimin4l justice in this country. In the newspaper re port of the proceedings at the Old Bailey yesterday, during the trial of a person of the name of Pate, who was found guilty (without any recommendation to mercy) of a cowardly and brutal attack upon the Queen, I find certain words imputed to Baron Alderson, who acted as judge, and passed sentence on the prisoner. The Learned Baron is reported to have said, while in the act of awarding punishment :—" Con sidering the station of your family and your own posi tion, the Court will not inflict the disgraceful punishment of whipping upon you. The Court has some respect for you, though you had no respect for others."—(Eiear, hear.) Now, Sir, as these are words of a most ex traordinary kind, and, if truly reported, do most se riously affect the character of one of our judges, and the equal aod just administration of the law, I wish to ask the Right H in. Gentleme i—first, whether he has seen the reports to which I ri f,r? if he has, whether he pur poses to communicate with Baron Alderson, with a view ascrtainie,g their accuracy; and whether, in the event of their correctness being confirmed, he will consider it his duty to advise the Crown upon the subject:, involving as it does the honour, the dignity, and the impartiality of the bench, and calculate 3, as the words I have quoted obviously are, most seriously to impair the respect hitherto entertained by the people for the administration of criminal justice within this realm?—(hear.) Sir G. GREY—Sir, in reply to the question of the lion. Gentleman, I beg to state, that I have ri-al the report of the proceedings at the trial to which the Hon. Gentleman has referred, but still I have not telt it to be my duty to call upon the judge for any explanation of what he said in passing sent.-nce—(Hear, hear)—be cause I do not feel myself justifi.-d to call upon any , judge to give reasons for what he does or says in the ex ercise of his judicial function,,.—(! leer, hear.) The motion for the adjournment of the House till Monday was then agreed to. MONUMENT TO SIR ROBERT PEEL. Lord JOHN RUSSELL then rose and said—Sir, in rising to move that this House do resolve itself into a Committee on the subject of an address to the Crown, praying her Majesty to be graciously pleased to di rect a monument to be erected in Westminster Abbey to the memory of the late Sir Robert Peel, I do not think it necessary to recall or relate to the House the political history of that Right Hon. Gentleman.— (Cheers.) I take it for granted that this House would be desirous to testify its sorrow at the loss the country has sustained in the death of that Right Hon. Baronet, —<Hear, hear.) I take it for granted, because on the very first intelligence of that melancholy event, the House spontaneously agreed to adjourn its proceed ingsfotrhae day.—(Hear, ear,hea r.) pltraekveniiltson n for tgranted ,issubject, be cause has b een very deeply regret whic h felt and genera lly ex pressed. (Hear.) I ta k e granted, o bec a u se w h en I made some observations, Pr should be offered the family sing that a public funeral of the lat e Ri g h t Honour able Gentleman, t o show the respect in which he had been held by the House, the observationsrrhl .—. h Sir,seemed may to meet perhaps allowedimous concurrence.—(Cheer o o used that which ence e besides( ae m e r a s h d . general testimony of r e sp ec t an d esteem which t e ra been manifest in this count r y, in threewhiallhasforeign countries there have been remarkabl e demonstr atil's s of a similar character—(Cheers)—and the eve n t to which the the refer is considered to affect no leas the interest of he the United Kingdom than it does Europe and the world at large. (Cheers.) Sir, I believe it is without precedent that the National Assembly of France agreed to enter the words of its President upon their minutes to testify its respect for the character and sorrow at the death of a British statesman.—(Cheers.) Therefore, viewing these circumstances known to all and felt by all, I cannot but believe that this House, which has so often witnessed the exercise of those great abilities with which he was endowed, will be also anxious to place on record some permanseut tes timony of its respect for his worth and virtues. Sir, in having stated these matters, it now remains to be consi dered in what way that testimony shall be conveyed. I have referred to the proposal I made for a public funeral, which was at once declined by a Right Hon. Gentleman who was a near friend and coadjutor of the deceased Right Hon. Gentleman. and who informed the House that the late Sir Robert Peel had made a special request that his funeral should be private. — (Hear, hear.) Of course I cannot think that in the present instance such public acts will apply as were accorded by this House to testify its respect for the memory of Mr. Perceval.— (Hear, hear.) It would be remembered that the House agreed to make some provision for the family of that great man who had been so distinguished in'his publicservicea. There remains, therefore, only what I mean to propose — a public monument—by which we can show, or en deavour to show, our sense of the loss we have sus tained. Perhaps I may in this place state that her asty,litiriag been allZi9ll4 to shot the sense the Crowa EXHIBITION OF 1851. Colonel SIBTHORY then proceeded, pursuant to no tice. to call the attention of the House to a copy of a letter from the Commissioners cf Woods, &c., to the Lords of the Treasury, on the subject of the ground ap propriated for the site of the exhibition of 1851. lie said that very great excitement existed in the public mind with regard to the kite of the proposed exhibition, and there appeared to be a general feeling of dislike—he would almost go so far as to use the term " disgust"— with respect to the proceedings of the Government on the subject. Many peiple in the country concurred with him in thinking that there never was a greater humbug, fraud, and injustice than the contemplated exhibition of 1851. The Commissioners scarcely knew what was to be done to provide funds for paying the expenses of the exhibition. When he bad complained that trees were about to be cut down in Hyde-park, preparatory to the erection of a building, the Government and the Attor ney-General gave very evasive replies to the questions put to them on the subject by himself and other Hon. Members. The letter to which his notice referred stated that the Queen bad given her consent that the Commis sioners should be allowed to take possession of the ground in the park required for the building. Now, that letter was dated the 15th of June, and some ten days ago they were told by the Attorney-General that he believed her Ma jesty would give her consent to the occupation of that site. It appeared, then, from this letter that when that answer was given by the Attorney-General, the Queen had already signified her consent. His (Colonel Sib thorp's) belief was, however, that her Majesty had never w aa3r wouldc h t i t o e architect been consulted on the subject. The proceeding of the Commissioners was a gross attack upon the rights of public property. It was said that 60,000/. would be pay ye a ci d u re t e o ci l de forx pheitnmhsee raised by subscriptions to meet the expense; but an eminentooo/re not moval? e e nm s d s than who building; th of a t i ts The foreigners pcoultd no money, and as to the matet'l for they had no ing for it, th a t was outria 'ofs being sold and pay had been told t h at t h e poor the que s tio n . Th ey labourers •in the country were saving up their shillin g s, s be able to come up an d see t he ex that they might would take take ca re o f their fa%nx7 l i is on. But w h o during their absence? Wh at would becomee— (Aor th laugh)— tity and modesty of the u nsuspecting vioa mao e f ch a!- this . great metropolis?—(Laught er .) P er h aps the Cmum" s ioners would look after it.—(G reat laughter.) What er.) Wh at , too, would become of our mechanics? They wou ld suc cumb to the foreigner, for foreign goods "cheap and nas ty " would be b ro ught over, and, because they were foreign, would be bought.--(Hear, and laughter.) God grant that something would happen to prevent that which he believed would be prejudicial to the best in terests of the country taking place; and he felt confi dent the people of England would rejoice at it. He therefore called upon the people to unite either in an ad dress to her Majesty or in a petition, before it was too late, to prevent such a subversion as be believed the ex. hibition would be of the best iutercti of the country. The subject then dropped. BORNEO. Mr. HUNIE then said he had to bring forward a sub ject connected with the cAuse of humanity and the cha racter of this c.enitry. He rose to move an Address to her Majesty to appoint a Royal Commission t inquire in'o the causes which hal led, since the sear 1841, to the employment of the naval and military forces of her Majesty and the Hon. East India Company on the north western coast of the island of Borneo, and which re sulted in a heavy loss of life on the part of certain native tribes of that island, called Sareb is and Sakerran, re puted to be pirates. In a dispatch of Captain Parker, dated the 27th of June, 1849, he detailed the proceed ings with her Majesty's ships of war in attacking the natives on the west coast of Borneo, whom he desig nated pirates. Upwards of 1,500 natives were killed in the action, and more than 1,000 were destroyed after the action, without the loss c f one man on the part of the troops. It was extraordinary that her Majesty's troops and the East India Company's forces should be employed to carry destruction and death to such an extent without the House being able to know in what character the interference was to be considered. He was aware that the attack was stated to have been against pirates, but no act of piracy was proved against those who were massacred, as ho thought, in cold blood. What right had we to deal thus with these natives? for that they had iutcrmeddled with us there was no proof. In 1813 some of her Ma jesty's ships had destroyed various Dyd; towns, and he wanted te know under what authority that aei!ressien was perpetuated. la 1844 Sir 11. Pottinger had ad dressed a letter to Sir T. Cochrane desiring him not to attack alleged pirates, as there was the greatest diffi culty, on account of their not being acquainted with the language, in ascertaining wbo were or were not pirates; and, although that was apparently limited to the coast of China, directions were given to her Majesty's ships in those seas not to attack alleged pirates, unless it was known that they had committed an act of piracy, or in structions were given by an admiral on the station. He had no doubt there were some pirates, but they were few; whilst it was very doubtful whether her Majesty's ships had not destroyed some of the royal fleet of China. But, notwithstanding the directions which had been given to her Majesty's ships, on the 31st of July last a squadron under Captain Parker, and acting under the orders of Sir J. Brooke, did attack a fleet of the Bornese, and Sir C. Rowlinson, Chief Justice of Prince Edward's Island, said that not one single person was brought before the Court to prove that any act of piracy had been committed by the persons who were so attacked. Sir C. Rawlinson issued a commission to determine whether the persons massacred were pirates, and the commission was addressed to Sir J. Brooke, the individual who had perpetrated the massacre. Sir J. Brooke alleged that he acted under the orders of Sir F. Collier, but he (Mr. Hume) had vainly endeavoured to obtain a copy of those orders horn the Government. He was informed that Sir F. Collier had, in a letter, expressed disapprobation of the transaction, and re ferred to the persons destroyed as" alleged" pirates. It was not his intention to deny that some of the men killed were pirates. A party had gone eastward on a piratical expedition; but they were not engaged in acts of piracy against the English. They had been plundered a few years ago by the party against whom they sailed. It was not his intention to jus tify plundering expeditions under any circum stauces; but he did not approve of the inter ference of British ships between native tribes. On the return of the expedition it was attacked and destroyed by our ships of war. (Here the Hon. Member gave a description of the attack upon the pirates, and the pro ceedings subsequently adopted by the British forces, the details of which have already been more than once given to the public. He also read extracts from a work pub lished by a Mr. Low, in 1848, and from a journal writ ten by Mr. Brooke in 1840, with the view of showing that the inhabitants of the western coast of Borneo were a comparatively inoffensive race of people.) Of these transactions there were other accounts than those to which he had called the attention of the House; he held in his hand the account of Mr. Vigors, who accom panied the expedition; and he described the English forces as having been for a very considerable time in ambush, where they remained in position till the end of the month, when, at seven o'clock in the evening, a spy- hoat returced with the long-wished for in telligence that the pirates were at length within their power. The Nemesis immediately attacked the enemy, which speedily fell an easy prey, grape and ca nister having been discharged with fearful effect; and after all this Sir J. Brooke was called upon by the judge to prove the commission of acts of piracy, and he did so by his own affidavits. At present there was a gentle man in London prepared to contradict the statements that had been made in extenuation of the conduct of Sir J. Brooke, and who wrote to Lord J. Russell and to the late Sir Robert Peel, the latter of whom, in his reply, said he trusted that the Govern ment would make an immediateinquiry into the circumstances referred to by the writer of the letter in the paper which he had addressed to the First Lord of the Treasury, but that he (Sir R. Peel) should, for his own part, feel bound to suspend his judg ment on the proceedings of Sir James Brooke until all the facts were fully brought under the tiotice of Parlia ment. Now, there was nothing before the House, nor in any papers or documents accessible to him, which went to show that the naval officer on this station had not acted without orders. He contended that to massacre these people was not only barbarous and inhuman, but it was inconsistent with the law of nations and of treaties. He thought he had said enough to show that some inquiry was necessary, and he hoped that the Government would direct their attention to the subject. He held that these so called pirates had no mere right to be hunted as they had been, and put to death, than he had, for though they bad been carrying on war against other tribes in the same islands, they had done nothing to justify their being proceeded against as pirates. The lion. Gentle man the Member for West Surrey (Mr. H. Drummond) hal alluded on a former occa,ion to Mr. Wise. Mr. DEW AMON D—l did not name him. Mr. HUME—Mr.W . ise was a pDlitical agent, and when he saw the accounts in the new,papers on this subject he was astonished. He wrote to Lord John Russell, but though that letter had been asked for it had not been produced. He also wrote to Sir R. Peel, with whom much correspondence took place on the subject of the settlement of the Island of Labuan, an d t hi s was th e answer of that eminent statesman:— " Whitehall, Nov. 28, 1849. " Sir,—l thank you for the communication with which you have favoured me. I trust that her Majesty's Govern ment will feel it to be their imperative duty to make an immediate and complete inquiry into those circumstances vrhi h have induced you to address yourself to the First Lord of the Treasury. I read with great pain the as count of the transactions to which you refer, but shall suspend a final judgment upon the proceedings adopted by Sir James Brooke against some of the Dyaks in Bor neo until fuller explanations with regard to them be given.-1 am, Sir, your obedient s ervant. (Signed) " R. PEEL. " Henry Wise, Esq., 34, Cornhill." He had waited in vain to obtain the dispatches under could hearths. understand which Captain Farquhar acted, and as fir a s th e y had as yet any information , there w as 2otbing to sh o w that he had acted witnout orders. He held, th a t without any proof of acts of piracy , from 1,000 to 2,000 p eo ple had been destroyed; aid that not only on board their ' y prahus, but they had been followed up t h e r i vers an d h Sir , J. a ß d r o b o e ls e e l without u own cou in the habit of carrying on these ra zz i as upon en un il e d to n n death right e thatt their h e offending people since 1843, and he (Mr. Hume) felt bound to avail himself of every opportunity of r te t" p o s ing against such proceedings on the part of any representa tive of this country. If these pr a h us had interfered with our commerce, or alticked our vessels, he could understand that there might have been some justifica tion for the course Sir J. Brooke h a d ta k en, but thus to follow up and destroy a people wh o were sound of fire-arms reflected anything but honour to this country. The Hon. Member concluded by • moving his amendment as above stated. Mr. COBDEN seconded the motion. Mr. PLO WDEN felt he should not discharge his pub lic duty if he were deterred by private considerations from bringing before the House any information which his acquaintance with the Indian seas enabled him to furnish, and this he felt to be the more necessary when he recollected thet an honourable and gallant profession had been spoken of with extreme and entirely unde served harshness, and that another distinguished indi vidual had been charged with offences amounting to murder, although his exertions had been of the most praiseworthy character, full of patriotic zeal for the public service and of the noblest exertions to improve the commerce of England. Such a man must be re garded as a great public benefactor. He had himself, in the voyages which he made, frequently visited the Indian Archipelago, and he could of his own knowledge state that all those coasts were infested with pirates of the most sanguinary character. Nothing but the fear of European power restrained them from continued acts of the utmost enormity. Although the vessels in which he sailed were of that great size which rendered an attack of Bornean pirates not likely to succeed, they nevertheless found it necessary to maintain a constant watch during the whole of that which had, owing to those pirates, beets rendered a most intricate and dangerous navigation. If by any accident a vessel struck upon a coral reef, she was immediately attacked, and such would always be the case so long as . those men were allowed to exi st . A s to the conduct of Sir James .Brooke, he must say that nothing could be more incon sistent with the character for humanity which he had always borne than to suppose that he had sanctioned any acts of cruelty whatever. There were several papers before the House which showed clearly that these Dyaks were guilty of the most enormous cruelties, and if any further proof of this were required he might call their at tention to observations and statements upon this subj-ct which appeared in a journal called the Frieridof where the writer complained of the proceedings of the Abarigines Protection Society, the members of which had endeavoured to get up an outcry against Sir James Brooke on account of the well-merited chastisement which he infixed on pirates, wh o , is al lowed to continue their depredations, would soon put an end to the peaceful pursuits of industry. The Friend of Lelia further proceeded to say, that it was necessary for England to teach that pirivical community a lesson which neither they nor their descendants would readily forgot. The English were the paramount naval power in the east, and the commerce of that district looked to us for protection. England maintained the maritime police of those was; a distinguished individual had greatly contributed to th e success of that police, and now, instead of crowning hi m with a wreath of honour, they were threatening him with a prosecution. If civilization and commerce were to be extended and promoted in the eastern seas, the best mode of effecting these objects would be by putting down with a strung arm the pi ratical tribes who infested those seas.—(llear, hear.) Away, then, with the sentimenta • lity which was enlist ing the mind and feelings of Englishmen against in dividuals who, in the discharge sof a stern ann painful) tt