The Sun. — London, England, 1822-06-19 00:00:00

, . ''' . 'q, l • i s 7 , • ,/,' • .4, - --- tC.) B) ' ---' it -4' r , • ••••':', A - --;.- '.l(r---'7 7 ~. ..., ~.....,. ....., evk li , - --7•S'o'--xk-o-s'o-'J.,&'•-I,k -:,,,, <1 , 4 , 4 , 1 ,;5 ,- \,,,,':-• / . (a' /7‘, zefiy (‘t ,--1--6;* 7 -1-t-v_,- ..., -i- ,„ „ ~,, •-, //,2 4,,„-- . ," l SUN. 1~ l N UMBER. 9303.] WEDNESDAY; JUNE 19, 1.822. r s~ Pittei 'SivtNPE/iicg, WATERLOO SUBSCRIPTION. VICTORY OF WATERLOO. ON the Return of the ANNIVERSARY of mitt the important VICTORY of WATERLOO, the Coin have intrusted with the Management of the Subscription ve to state, that during the year expired, they have decided 2„ a_pplications, and have paid during the same period, T ° 45 0 Life Annuitants, the sum of - £11,619 71 1 ° 6 94 Annuitants for limited periods - 9,997 0 0 To 46 Children who have arrived at 14 years old, 7_ t° assist in binding them apprentices - 460 0 0 0 18 arrived at 21 years of age, or who have b eeLt married, in order to aid their settlement ; Vie, the sum of - - - To 14 r In addition to which, they have voted, ; Persons in a variety of circumstances, hav ing Claims on the Subscription, the sum of 1,630 0 0 810 0 0 £24,516 7 11 Th e Committee also subjoin a Statement of the Waterloo übscription for the year ending 31st May 1822, and 'will still continue their superintendence to carry into full effect the be terolent purposes of the Subscribers. St at „.. --meat of the Waterloo Fund for the year ending 31st May 1822. ttalance of Cash on 31st May 1821 • 4,1, Received since. 'tuitional subscriptions from Bom. oay 94 , 4 of 17,601. Consolidated 3 per Cents . 13,038 15 0 thvidends on. Public Funds 17,645 0 0 £2,903 16 5 61 15 3 1,745 10 3 £33,649 6 8 1p -, Payment. nnuities, Donations, Rent, and oftcial disbursements - 26,989 511 ( nrested in 50001. Exchequer Bills 5,053 15 0 1,043 0 1 lialance at the Bankers 31st May 1822 £1,606 5 9 Stock remaining. 1 7,3001. Long Annuities. J 5,0001. Exchequer Bills. J. P. WELSFORD, Sec. „.„'ICTUALL !NG- OFFICE, June u, sit. HE E COMMISSIONERS for VICTUAL ; ING His MAJESTY'S NA VY do hereby give No .”' Tha i on Friday, the Bth Instant, they will be ready „ ree ,eioe Tenders in writing (sealed up), and treat for the. 1 ,,i„ 111 , 1 / Of such antities of the under-mentioned Articles °e required for the Service of this Department, for the cf Twelve Calendar Mouths, vi:.:— ` 4111, 1) Sugar !totch Barley Pearl Barley Mustard Sa g , Itnen Calico Flannel Caps toclting s soap .., S Perrnaceti Oil 1 - , unauton Oil " `lansptes ot' most of the Articles, together with the Condi )„,"* of the Contracts, may be seen at this Office. , A "vo regard will be had to any Tender in which the Price ". 4 1 1 not be inserted in words at length, or th a t s h a ll .. ft be delivered to the Board before One o'Clock on th e 7 ,id 23th Instant: nor u nless th e P erson w h o ma k es t h e v en dor, or some Person on his behalf, attends to answer '7.4 called for. Tender must be accompanied by a Letter signed cc'wo responsible Persons, engaging to become bound with pe P arty tendering, in the Penal Sum 1.218001. for the doe O r rmanc e of each of the first mentioned Contracts, and in of tAat for Soap and Oil The whole of these Articles are to he ten • dered for together, so that they way he included in one Contract. DittO. To be in the Downs, 7tb July. FOR CALCUTTA DIRECT, . fir THE Fine SHIP WOODFORD ) A 1, Burthen 600 Tons, lying in the East 4 , 14 4, India Export Dock, ALFRED CHAPMAN, i. Commander. For Freight or Passage, apply to the Corn kprr, at the Jerusalem Coffee-house, or to JOHN CHAP **<.,.."....uLd Co., 2, Leadenhall-strect. for METROPOLITAN LAW SOCIETY, ir Pretuoting Fair and Honourable Practice, and prevent t, ing Abuses in the Profession of the Law. al t; ANNIVERSARY. DINNER of the JItpt ,. .MEMBERS of this SOCIETY will he held at the 44' •51 ASONS' TAVERN, on MONDAY NEXT, 24th of 4111. 7 ' ,1822111 1 YOUNG KNIGHT, Esq. Principal, in the Chair. STEWARDS. J i)n athan Brundrett, Charles Ellis, 'Warn a Beckett, I Luke Freeman, s 'eOr e • Capron, %V. R. James, n. Dixon, Roger Potts, n Dicki nson, W. R. Sidney, 1.• Deshor oug h,' Joseph Smith. T io‘ Dinner on Table at Half-past Fire precisely. file 'ts, One Guinea each, to be had of the Stewards, or 4ecretary, Quality-court, Chancery-lane, JAMES ANDERTON, Secretary. C ARROLL respectfully solicits the atten .l't GP' tion of bis Friends and th e Public t o th e S c h eme o f did I. .. A ND SUMMER LOTTERY, which contains a splen 'st of Capitals, amongst which are Two of C30,000 TWo C 6,, &c. &c. I , Ttk*; 3Bl3 and Money, and Not Two Blanks to a Prize ! "Ihs,-CAPITALS are CERTAIN of being Drawn in the t ht p ',TEN MINUTES on the First Day, t6th JULY ; and Nil ' l olly will have the chance of obtaining all those, as Itain4pst.t.he other Floating Prizes in the Scheme, fur the .. , Ik of • 38s. A Whole Ticket, 25 5. an Half, 1 is. 6d. an Eighth, 1 Dii 3 s. a Quarter, I 45..... a Sixteenth, . I:hcitlehasers may return their Shares alter the First Day, titlitbeyriacree. drawn or undrawn, at the above small Re , :!'lls • t. 4-)L I begs to remind his Friends of the Success which Lltb - o,,guish,d his Offices, 19, CORNHILL, and 26, 0X ..4 so l - t r.REF.T, in the La st and Late Lotteries, where he hr 1,426 Tee others of 30,000 ~...1 , 345 -Irony ................ ..:....811(41 '' a a 2,000 &c. &c. &c. lti a few Days will he published, „N A In '.l%vo c t o ti A L k Volumes, 8 ~,, x. I L E._ I t (' Je : I , /3 . B. O'MEARA, Esq. his late Surgeon t tl r 's,, le 'es parens et antis, de croire tout . ce quesle.Dmoce totis "ieara leur dira relativetuent B. la position ou je te q' ‘t auX sentimens que je conserve." NAPOLEON. r , llsit, Juillet, 1818 ''`tirtlli for W. Sim kin and It. Marshall, Stationers' Hall ?‘.44gate-street. tk.„TOOTH.ACHE AND EARACHE. t-t,-;!l'l7'S ESSENCE has received the sanc -10 4,1,1; and support of the most Distinguished Person- f 4 1 : firs t pt htrlsdoru, together with the united Testimony o pi)6 Ns i n • Y. si cians in Europe, and numerous favourable :ottdi , highly respectable Medical Journals, where it has h e ',?red to he the "Best thing ever discovered for the 0,4 t e x to Ear -ache." —It instantaneously relieves the fa rt h in g ,rei.o,,queia Pain reserves the Teeth sound and firm, .Illlbs:fsaste Dey', P effectoally cures the Scurvy in_th r e . 1 / 4 4 t ,ble in " 4 1 wage Teeth, and renders them Firm and Se 0• 1 1 ell" ` u e latest period, and effectually Prevents the k o °ld i n L. 4 ,,.4, ch ottles, at Is. lid. and 28.9 d. by Butlers, Chemists, 3.tqle.ltotaPside St. Paul's , 220, Regent-street, (near the V4;341440 - eon don ; 20, Waterloo , place, Edinburgh, and mile r , ik!sstreet, Dublin ; and by the principal Medicine 4104gbout the United Kindom. Ditto. " Ditto. Ditto. FOR. THE SUN MR. EDITOR-Presuming on the generally ad mitted principle that a Public Journal cannot be more laudably occupied than in promulgating any thing which may tend to the encouragement of genius, or the defence and advancement of our National Literature, I am induced ,to hope that you will grant a place in your columns to the following statement : Having read, in a Morning Paper, a paragraph, stating that a Three-act Tragedy, entitled Regulus, has been produced in Paris with great success ; and conceiving it probable that a translation from the same may shortly appear in this country, I feel anxious to give publicity to the fact of a Five-act Tragedy, on the same subject, having been written by me, and proffered to the Manager of Covent Garden Theatre, upwards of five, years ago; and also to make known the occurrences which have caused it to remain thus long in manuscript. This Play,' as soon as finished, was sent anonymOusly to Covent-Garden Theatre, where it remained for several weeks, and 'whence, at the close of the season, it was returned to me, with a letter from Mr. Fawcett, desiring that I would " occasionally look of it, with a view to alteration," during the recess, and present it again the following season. Having adopted such amendments as suggested themselves to my mind, I introduced myself to 31r. Henry Harris and placed the manuscript in his hands, receiving from him an assurance that he would peruse it immediately. On my next visit to Mr. Harris, he informed me that " it had been read, conjointly by his father and himself ; that they had both been highly grati fied by the perusal of 'it, and that he had every wish to pro duce it, bat that a month must elapse before he could give me a definitive answer, in which interim he wished the part designed for Miss O'Neil to be strengthened." This was done : fur ther delays were proposed, and eventually the production of the piece was declined. At this period I proposed publishing it, but, was restrained from so doing by the advice of some friends of refined taste and high literary attainments, who were very unwilling that it should appear in print unacted, and in the lat ter part of the year 1819, when 31r. Macready performed the character of Coriolanus, I submitted at to the perusal of that Gentleman, whose impression, as to its merits, was thus ex. pressed in a note addressed to me , have read with deep attention and with very great pleasure your Tragedy, and (as performers are but instruments in others hands) if Mr. Harris shall receive it, my humble powers shall be strained to ensure its 'triumph. Here is the limit of my means, though not my wishes, of serving the Author of Regulus," &c. Mr. Harris, however, still retaining his former objection, I had no further chance of success until that gentleman relin quished the management, when Mr. Charles Kemble (who had previously read and approved of the Play), accepted it for re presentation, and it would have been submitted on the stage, to the ordeal of public opinion, during the present season, had it not been for the impediment which has deprived the world' 'of many a Dramatic effort; namely, the impossibility of ren dering the actors satisfied with the parts allotted to them. Taking advantage of the engagement of Mr. Charles Kembl e at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, I have now offered the Tragedy to the consideration of the proprietor of that Houie ; and, in concluding this epistle, would merely observe, that (as my Manuscript has been in the hands of several persons, be sides those whom I have mentioned; and, as the intercourse between the Capitals of England and France has been, for a considerable period, so incessant and familiar, the circum stance of a Play, founded on the same portion of history as mine, being produced at Paris at this moment, is (to say the least of it) a very remarkable coincidence. I remain, Sir, Your very obedient servant, Kennington, June 12, 1822. JOSEPH LUNN. ANECDOTE of TURKISH TREACHERY. [From SiradDERT KER PORTER'S Account o f his Visit to Babylon, in the year 1818.] " The usual state ceremonies over, I set forth from the Turkish camp, attended by a troop of its horsemen, supported by a pretty strong party of Arab Cavaliers belonging to my old friend Keill Mahmoud. Bassam; and on my way I became acquainted with a transaction, at which my then untutored ex perience in Ottoman faith and honour, made me stand in amaze. It seems that nothing but a system of petty warfare had been going on between the Pacha of Bagdad's troops, on the insurgent Arabs, since the Kiahya's (the Turkish General) arrival on the banks of the Euphrates, the wary commander, vigilantly watching within his tent some opportunity of seizing an advantage over his enemy by surprise or stratagem ; and an opening for the latter, in the form of negociation, presented itself. Terms of honourable arrangement in the redress of grievances" were held out to the refractory tribes; and the ve nerable Mahmoud Bassam, always anxious to keep peace be tween his restless brethren and his friend the Pacha, found means to obtain an interview with some of the desert Chiefs, when by persuasion, and pledging his own faith on that of the Turkish Commander, he prevailed on the great leaders of the tribes to consent to a conference with the Kiahya in his tent— to assure them still more of their perfect safety in this signal act of confidence, the Kiahya dispatched to them his sealed attested oath taken on the Koran, that their persons should be held sacredly inviolable, and that all existing differences be tween them and the Porte should be speedily settled io their complete content. Thus pledged, twelve Chiefs attended by six or eight servants each, arrived at the Turkish camp, and were received with every mark of good will and respect. The Kiahya unbending from his usual cold solemnity, met them with animated professions of welcome and esteem. When the time drew near to execute his deed of treachery, that he might put his victims completely off their guard, and prevent inter position from the man who had innocently drawn them into the snare, he proposed to the honest and/simple-minded Mah n- oad Bassam that he should go to the quarters of a certain officer of rank, to inspect the kaalets (dresses of honour) pre pared there for the Chiefs, before they were presented to his noble guests. No sooner had the good old Arab en tered the tent of the officer, than he found himself a tem porary prisoner. No kaalets were in sight ; and guess ing at once the treachery intended, frantic with rage at his own faith in Ottoman honour having been perverted into a decoy for his confiding brethren, he conceived no fears for himself, but boldly, though unavailingly, demanded his liberty, that he might fly to the rescue of those whom lie had unconsciously be trayed. Meanwhile he anticipated the scene that was acting in the Kiahya's tent. " The moment he was aware that Mahmoud Bassam had passed beyond reach of hearing what was passing, and of com municating with his own Arabs, the treacherous host made a signal, and in an instant th e Ch iefs were surrounded, seized, and disarmed. Some were silent, in unutterable rage ; others expostulated against the breach of faith ; but the only answers given were abusive language, while not merely their arms were taken away, but their native Military dresses and rich ornaments were displaced for miserable garments and chains. They were thence conveyed to Bagdad, and, under every circumstance of insult and privation, thrown into prison to await the final sentence of their fate. I have since heard' that that coup de main of treachery has been distinguished with particular 9probation by the Higher Powers. So much for l'utkish :Faith :" PARLIAMENT, HOUSE OF LORDS, TUESDAY, JUNE 18. Prayers were read within a quarter to four O'clock, by the Bishop of LLANDAFF. Mr. Tomlyns, from the_Treasury, pr e s en t e d an account o f the quantity of Gold Bullion and Bars imported into this country since the 59th of George the Third. L a id on th e ta bl e . Petitions against the Catholic Peers Bill were presented by the Duke of Montrose, from certain Corporations of Trades in the City of Glasgow; by Lord Sidmouth, from Hanger ford ; by the Bishop of Chester, from St. Saviour's, Southwark; by the Bishop of London, from Sion College, and the parish of St. I.3otolph ; and by the Bishop of St. David's (ten petitions), from different parts' of his Diocess. The Bankrupt Joint Commissions Bill was read a third time and passed ; and the Bankrupt Laws' Amendment Bill was read a second time. The Colonial Trade Bill, the West India and American In tercourse Bill, the Ancient Statutes' Repeal Bill, the Importa tion of Goods Bill, and the Navigation Laws'Amendment Bill, passed through Committees. On the motion of the Earl of DARNLEY, Copies of the Correspondence between the Treasury and the Irish Govern ment, on the subject of the Irish Stationery, were ordered to be laid before the House. MARRIAGE ACT AMENDMENT BILL. The Duke of RICHMOND presented a Petition from Arthur Chichester, Esq., referring to the case of the Marquis of Done gal, complaining of the retrospective effect of this Bill, and praying that it might not pass into a law. Lord ELLENBOROUGH moved the Order of the Day, and the House resolved into a Committee on the Bill. After the preamble had been read, the Noble Lord proceeded- to ad dress the House in support of the Bill. He observed, that he rose to address their Lordships with a degree of anxiety he had never felt before;' but this anxiety was much abated on knowing how many Noble Lords were present on this occasion who agreed with himself in the principle of the present Bill, and who were certainly far More competent to explain all the mischiefs and all the miseries which arose out of the existing law. It was rumoured that the Bill now produced was in. tended to operate in a particular case ; but the fact was other wise, for its principle was comprehensive, and its retrospective effect went so far back as the 52d of George 11. It might be proper to remind their Lordships that this was the fourth time a similar Bill had passed the House of Commons and come up to their Lordships ; a pretty clear intimation of th e f ee li ng o f the other House of Parliament, that the existing law, in rela tion to marriage, required some revision. He must attribute the loss of the measure in this House to the want of such alter ations in the 'Bill itself as might have rendered it suitable to their Lordships ; and, upon this assumption, he had little more to do than state recorded facts, connected with circumstances arising out of the existing law.—(Here his Lordship referred to the cases of Riddell v. Lydiard, and Hayes v. Watts ; where the Learned Judge, in the former case, admitt e d th e marriage to be virtually good,: but added, that it was in vain to correct such anomalies as the law at present stood, and therefore a nullity' was the consequence.)—lt was necessary for him to draw some conclusion from such cases ; and the conclusion was, that none of their Lordships were secure in the possession of property or rank—however great that pro perty, or however high their rank; that they were not assured of transmitting those advantages to their descendants in the social order, in consistency with nature and truth, so long as the present law remained in force. Some accidental omis sion, some casual circumstance, in the marriage of a father, or even a grandfather, might bastardize all the progeny, and for ever blight their fairest and proudest hopes. It was unneces. sary, he trusted, to characterise to their Lordships the provisions Of a law which permitted the husband, after years of confi dence, the fruits of which had generated an issue, and when otherwise the union might be attended with every happiness, to dissolve that marriage which was obtained in the first in stance by perjury; or to be disconnected at the merciless mercy of some heir-at-law, who discovers some informality in the original bond. What were the effects of the present law ? It set husband against wife, brother against brother ; and intro duced endless broils in the struggle for property, so as to obli terate all natural affection, all bonds and links of honour.— Nor were these evils to be attributed to the intention of the testator or legislator, but to the unforeseen operation of a given law, whose mischievous results could never have ent ere d th e mind of its framer. It would be unbecoming the situation in which he addressed their Lordships, and was certainly the furthest from his intention, to affect an air of authority, or to read a lecture on morals to so august an assembly, while he wished to impress on the Noble Lords the very high import ance of not holding out a premium o i fraud. He felt satisfied that the Bill would go into Comn it ee without opposition, as the Marriage law could not pcissibly stand in its present state. He trusted that the first clause, respecting'nullity, would be repealed in the outset. It would then remain to consider how their Lordships should proceed to deal with minors and guardians, and as to the consent of parents; but the pre sent Bill retained the discretion as to nullifying of improper marriages, if done within a certain time, by instituting suits to nullify such marriages, whether by licence or banns. Clan destine unions might be obtained by banns, as they were licensed by suits of nullity, If the received opinion of the sacredness of marriage were true, it was not merely a form of words, and if contracted by persons of reasoning powers, it was binding in the eye of God. All that the Legislature could do, under such auspices, was legally to mark who in reality were to be regarded as man and wife, to impose those reciprocal duties and obligations which belong to die marriage state, and provide for the issue of such an union in the descent of property. —But at present the provisions of the Marriage Act were so framed that even a proper marriage might, by accidental cir cumstances, be rendered null, so as to stigmatise the parties who continue to live together, though bound in conscience as in honour to continue so to live. He wished to see established a more perfect prospective system; and were he to follow the dictates of his own feeling, it would prompt him to endeavour to throw all difficulties in the first instance in the way of mar. riages that were about to be engaged in without the consent of parents or guardians; but when such marriages had once been formed, the connection should never be loosened or vitiated except.on account of adultery. He was not, however, at all disposed to force opinions of his own ; and leaving here the question as it bore prospectively to their Lordships, he would intreat them to look calmly at the retrospective part of the present Bill. And h2re he could not help remarking, that the petitioner against the Bill was wrong in stating that no measure had been retrospectively passed ; for he must have forgotten Lord Bacon's Act, in 1781, and what w as urge d t o th e same effect in 1804 and 1808 by a Right Rev. Prelate, which legal ised all the marriages from 1754. Although it appeared that no Law Court would recognise the marriages he adverted to, yet, because the parties were contracted in the face of Heaven, their Lordships had, upon three several occasions, passed those three Acts expressly to confirm and consolidate the mar. riages. In his opinion, the present Bill did not go far enough in relation to existing marriages ; and he could not conceive why their Lordships, in such eases, if they legislated at all, should not take equal care of themAlves as their forefathers.— The abuses of the Marriage Act, as to nullifying of mar riages, were rather of a recent date ; this mystery of iniquity, for such many of these nullities were, was not so well under stood in former years; such processes had become more fre quent now, when persons were content, for sinister or other ends, to bastardise their issue and dishonour their wives; while, again, bad men, actuated by self.interest, had discovered the legal way of bastardising the issue of a brother. If, then, their Lordships should conclude on the necessity of prospec tive alterations in the existing Marriage Law, it was, he con ceived, still more necessary to amend it retrospectively; but perhaps, not going so far back altogether as to the period of passing the Marriage Act. Exc e pti ons oug ht certainly to be made in all cases where marriages—all cases in which nullity of marriage had already been pronounced by the Ecclesiastical Court, and also where the parties had discontinued all coha bitation. It was desirable, in like manner, that property should continue where it rested now, so that nothing but rever sionary interests could be affected by the proposed change.—. When so much was said respecting the rights of property, and the tranquillity due to the possession of property in its heri table course, let their Lordships put it to themselves what must be his disappointment, who, bequeathing property to his lineal descendants, 'should find that, by some statutable inter pretation, it had devolved to an heir at law, because his own son had omitted to fulfil all the provisions of the Marriage Act. 'With all the respect he felt for property, he would con jure their Lordships to remember that they were doing nothing, or worse than nothing, if they maintained the rights of pro perty in opposition to the principles of nature, to morality, and even to religion. Feeling this, he hoped that their ,Lordshipi , would come to the consideration of the retrospective clausti with feelings not uncongenial. With this earnest hope, he now left the Bill in their Lordships' hands; and trusting that the Noble and Learned Lord who presided in that House, and for. whose judicial characte r he felt the highest respect, would exert his knowledgeand faculties not only in discovering diffi culties in the measure and discrepandes in the language, but rather that he would employ his acuteness and understanding in removing those difficulties and correcting those discrepan cies ; for he was persuaded that by so doing the Noble and Learned Lord would do more to gain the love andadmiration of noble minds than by any other step. He could hardly, for himself, now imagine a more noble task for that Noble and. Learned Lord, in this instance than to reform the errors of his great predecessor % Lord Hardwicke. Lord STOWELL spoke against the Bill, but almost all his sentences were inaudible to those below the Bar. While he felt it incumbent on himself to oppose the Bill, he rejoiced (he was understood to say) that it had fallen into such able hands. The measure was, however, not new; for their Lordshipsmust recollect that a similar JIM had come up from the other House of Parliament for the four last years successively; that it had undergone much alteration in the very last stage, but failed to obtain, even so amended, the approbation of their Lordships. In speaking of the measure, he apprehended that it was not necessary to point out the existing evils of the Marriage Act; but, on the other hand, to prove that the provisions of the present Bill were calculated to remove those evils. With respect to the marriage contract itself, he still conceived that it was a matter to which the civil jurisdiction was quite competent. This contract, for such it was, rested on different grounds in civilised and sa vage States ; for in civil society, where the ceremonial stood pre scribed by law, and must be well understood, it was necessary that the law should be conformed to. Parties in such cases, and so circumstanced, were not to be a law to themselves._. In this Country, before the Reformation, the consent of a third person was required, and it remained so in Scotland to the present time. Many were the attempts made, 'subsequently to the Reformation, to revise the marriage law, but it was observable . that they all originated with the higher House of Parliament, and not in the Commons. Then came the Commission of Henry VIII. which annihilated all mar riages made without the consent, of parents first being had.— During the year 1677 a Bill was introduced in this House to prevent such marriages, when a very large Committee was ap pointed to provide for suitable penalties, and the Committee was ordered to examine such persons as it deemed fit and proper. A similar scheme was voted in 1691, but had no result of an im portant kind. He stated these historical facts merely to shew their Lordships what attention had been paid to the subject, which then remained in statu quo till the enactment of Geo. 11. commonly called the Marriage Act. It was very well known what abuses had prevailed, what illicit and ruinous matches were contracted, when youth even of the highest rank in the country . were entrapped in some unguarded hour, and even th e Fleet prison had its chaplains, who solicited young people to repair to their altar, and be married at once. The Act in ques tion had been in operation ever since, and nullified, as necessary to be done, such marriages by minors, when made without the consent of the parents or guardians of the youth. Even as the law actually stood at the present time, there existed no real bar or obstruction to marriage. The parties might be married at different houses, in. Church or out, privately or publicly, as the form and ceremony were solely in the contemplation of the law. Another course would probably tend to dissolve or frustrate good marriages_, and bastardise the legitimate part of children. It was not, indeed, the Marriage Act itself that decreed the nullity of marriage or the illegitimacy of children, but it was, substantially and undeniably, the non-compliance of the parties so contracting with the provisions of the Act. Marriage was, like all other sorts of contracts, to be voided if improper and illegal. It was most desirable, their Lordships must admit, to have the true character of marriage well determined, ab Judi°, and this the present law did. Parties so engaging were aware of the ceremony. They ought also to know their minds; for no law could obviate all the difficulties that might arise in after years. Difficulties were greater in those cases where the con sem of parents or of guardians was necessary to be had, and the difficulty and_ importance were enhanced when the con nexion to be formed had respect to persons in the higher ranks of society. All these considerations ought undoubtedly to weigh with Noble Lords in admitting such ameliorations as circumstances might call for. When nothing but the mere consent of the parties was necessary, there could be no dif ficulty in legislating ; but where that of others was required, the case was widely different. When nullity was in question he should not propose any unnecessary laxity ; on the con. trary he should limit the time for bringing such a suit to the shortest possible period after which the party seeking it had knowledge that it could be instituted. His observations had a threefold object, and went to the power of the parent or guar dian, to the right of the particle contracting, and to the power of instituting suits for nullity. The proposed measure left a family in suspense for eight years before it could be known whether a party had legally contracted a marriage or notain that time might be consumed if necessary ; and he hoped their Lordships would prevent the country from passing a measure which would leave it in so miserable a state. Beside, no pro per provision was now introduced to regulate the guardianship of children—none to prevent a mother, who might have shared her favours with twenty other persons beside her husband, from acting on the infant's mind, and advising a suit of nullity or 'consenting to a marriage contract. Such a person was not fit for the exercise of such a duty. Again, the proposed measure would leave the marriage of a Roman Catholic in a most doubt ful state, and surely their Lordships would not endanger the condition of any class of the community. What was to be come of parties during the intermediate state of entering into such a contract, and the period when its validity or its autho rity was to be decided ? The lateness of the period at which the proposed measure was brought forward was also a sufficient reason for resisting many of its clauses at this moment. On all •former occasions, Bills on this subject were originated by their Lordships, where the heads of the land were to be found, and who had the best means of 'going fully into the subject. He wished the measure to stand over till the next Session, when it could be taken up with more advantage than now, when so many momentous questions were still before their' Lordships. Earl WESTMORELAND regretted that any delay should take place in passing a measure which would prevent a course of robbery, injustice, and oppression. The passing of the pro posed Law would not alter the Law of the Land—in fact, Blackstone declared the existing Marriage Act to be a sub version of the Law et the Lend. If that law still continued, pro, perty would be unsafe, and the legitimacy of the first families a matter of great doubt. The object of the law was to prevent clandestine Marriage, and nullity could only take place after judgment had been given in some properly constituted Court. He thought the ceremony of ,marriage should be guarded with great care, and that young persons entering into it should be sufficiently protected. Now, parties had only to go to Scot land, or France, or under banns, and be clandestinely married:"... and thence the marriage would be confirmed. Parties wish ing secretly to marry, could go in a steam-boat to Scotland,; or Calais, anti have a realized and legal marriage contracted; such was the infatuated policy of the existing law. The object of the Bill was twofold, prospective and retrospective, and his difficuls ties were almost equal on both points. Last year every one was astonished at meddling with the ancient Marriage Act; now, the only objection was to the lateness of the Session at which it was brought in. Progressive nullifies were still however going on, and would be going on; and if any man for the future suffer ed his family to be married by banns, he would do an act of the greatest madness. There was no protection for them under such a marriage. Indeed the property and security of others depend ed on such a measure as that now passed. A few cases would best shew the cruelty of the present Marriage Act. Suppose a tenant for life married in the presence of the King, and by a licence froin the Archbishop of Canterbury—suppose that man to have a large family most honourably married, perhaps under age, but at the lapse of forty years these children could nothe certain they were legitimate, nor could the persons who lent that individual money be sure of ever getting it. Suppose the case of a lady deriving a fortune, then marrying, anti dying under age, what was to become of that property ? Why, if sold, the buyer could never keep possession of it. Again, if the property were personal, how was it to be disposed of? Could the trustee dispose of it? No. And if such a state of law did not require revision, he was at a loss to know what did. He considered the security of all parties would be protected by the Bill now proposed : all vested property would be secured, and the remainder-man's interest remain untouched. It was the duty of theft Lordships to de what was just and right, and ; from the commencement of our history, he took the liberty of stating, that no one ever h ear d of th e d u ty of consulting thein terest of third persons. The first Act he foUnd confirming rrarriages was the 32d of Henry the Eighth, when all previous marriages were confirmed. The first of Elizabeth did the same thing, and then came the Act of James the First, to the same I purpose. The 13th of Chailes the Second confirmed all the r marriage[ contracted dilring the civil wars, without any excep. tion whatsoever. 1n.1781 all,the previous marriages were cos., firmed, although C o u r ts O f Law declared many of them to have been null. Thep came the Act of 1816, . confirming all mar., • riages in India, when the proper consent had been previously t given. In short, the whole tenor of our laws chewed the neces. sity of revising thosemore especially which related to marriag e . • Parties contracting matrimony in ,Buie ecclesice should not be L allowed divorce, nor parties instituting suits be allowed a plea t of nullity, if not for crim es o f t h e , worst spec i es on the sid e of the other party. lie hoped that no man who voted against the L. proposed measure would ever find himself or any of his'family reduced to beggary by such a vote: The LORI) CHANCELLOR said, the question was not I whether their Lordahips should pass the Bill or not, but whether a proposed clans% should be agreed to, making all marriages valid which were now null and void. The proposed Bill had better be divided into two, to answer the purpose ofits framers and serve the interests of the public. A Bill like . the present could never pass in any house where a lawyer was to be found; that it should still have passed was matter to him of the greatest surprise. He considered it Would be more advantageous that parties, when married, should know after the ceremony whether they werehusband and wife or not, than be left in the situation in which they would he placed by the clauses in this Bill. The Noble and Learned Lord here adverted to the different clauses of the proposed Bill, and remarked that many of them would place parents and guardians, as well as the contracting parties themselves, in a state ofth e grea t est diffi cu l t y an d em b arrassment. He particularly objected to those clauses regarding the con• sent of parents, and contended that something certain and de fined should be substituted in their place. It was said that vested interests would not be affected by the proposed Bill—but he doubted that very muth. Perhaps, however, one of the greatest evils would be, that no one could know if persons marrying under 21 years of age, and the parent or guardian dyina•-be , fore that period, no man mild know, in such a ease, whether the marriage was valid or not? The clause respecting licences was one which he could not endure, and the clause respecting Banns was worse than - the clause in the former Act of Parlia ment, which did not visit with nullity of marriage any Omis sion of the clergyman. This Bill stated the duty of the clergy, man to be, to publish the banns, names of the parties, places of abode, &c. &c. but it made no excuse for any omission of the clergyman, who was indictable fo r a m i s t a k e , h owever un . intentional, in the publication of, the banns. According to the best view which he could take of this subject, he thought it Most important, and one which rendered it the sacred duty of every Noble Lord in that House to take care not so to legis. late, that no parties could know when they were man and wife. He objected principally to the intricate machinery of the Bill, and should therefore feel it his duty to oppose it. Earl of LIVERPOOL—If this were the first time that this Measure had been before their Lordships, he would not have demurred to the proposal that the consideration of this Bill should be postponed until the next session ; but when he cone sidered how often this Bill had been under their Lordships' Consideration, and how important it was to the general interests of society, he could not help pressing upon their Lordships the necessity of coming to some conclusiop before ,the end of the session. He was convinced that there was not one among their Lordships who did not f ee l t h e necess i ty o f some material alte rations in the Marriage Act as it now stood, and he should therefore propose that the clauses of the Bill should be taken separately, and discussed upon principle, in order to ascertain whether a new provision .better than any now in the Bill could be introduced ; and their Lordships would, after such a discus sion, be enabled to judge whether or not the Bill were in such a state as could be adopted this session. He agreed with his Noble and Learned Friend that the prospective and retrospective parts of this Bill should be kept distinct i and he would pro. pose that their Lordships would, in the first instance, take into consideration the prospective parts, of the Bill. With respect to the retrospective part of the Bill, lie, for one, had no hesita tion in saying, that the voidability of marriages at present was wrong, and ought to be repealed; but lie would not call upon their Lordships' to dispose of that part of that Bill in such a way as to preclude a second consideration. His principal doubt was, whether marriages once solemnized ought to be voided-- He only gave this as a conditional opinion ; but he would w out any reservation say, that nullity of marriage, as it existed at present, could not be defended on any ground whatever. Lord HOLLAND concurred with the Noble Earl in the mode proposed by him for the consideration of, this subject. Lord REDESDALE objected to the first clause, and su. Bested the propriety of introducing into th e Bill a c l ause , pro g .. viding that all marriages should, in future be preceded by the publication of banns. Lord HAR ROWBY supported the clause, and suggested that the sentence of the Court, declaring a marriage procured by the fraud of the'party" void, should amount to a conviction of perjury against the per. oh thus taking the benefit of his own wrong. The first clause was then read without a division. On the question that the second be read being put, Lord HOLLAND supported this clause, because it limited the time within which marriages could be voided, whereas, ac cording to the former Act, marriages wore voidable at any time during the lives of the parties, and in some cases long after their deaths. He contended; that the clause was founded upon the general analogieS of law. If it were necessary to enact any thing, it should he done on the principle of this clause.— There was nothing in the clause so mischievous as to induce them to reject the Bill. Ile should have no objection, how ever, to any amendment, by -which it might be thought the Bill would be improved: The Earl of LIVERPOOL said, he should feel disposed to propose, as an amendment, that suits should be instituted within twelVe months after the solemnization of the mar riage. lie thought, however, it would be rather sparing time to repott progress now, and consider the other clau ses a t some future period. _ _ • After a few-words from Lord Ellenborough, the Lord Chan• cellor, Lord Carnarvon, Lord Redcsdale, and Lord Lauder dale, Lord ELLENBOROUGH said, he had no objection that the consideration of this clause should be postponed for the pre; sent. He 'hoped, however, their Lordships would proceed to the other clauses of the Bill that night. After some further conversation on the subjectof postponing the further consideration of the different clauses of the Bill, to which Lord Ellenborough strongly objected, The CHAIRMAN reported progress, and asked leave to sit again.—Adjourned at Ten o'Clock. HOUSE OF ,COMMONS. The SPEAKER proceeded to count the House at four o'clock, when only 37 Members being present, the House adjourned till tomorrow (this-day). PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF LORDS FROM MERCHANTS AND DEALERS IN WOOLLEN IN LOND6N. That your Petitioners observe, with great alarm, Bills new under the consideration of Parliament, which will (if allowed to pass into laws) permit the introduction of foreign woollens into this country in order to be resexported to foreign coun tries duty free. Your petitioners beg leave :to represent to you? Lordships, that the foreign manufacturers are not subject to the general taxes which press upon the inhabitants of this country ; that few pay any taxes on the raw materials they use, and some have a bounty allowed on the exportation of the manufactured good's ; consequently the foreign manufacturers having such advantages over the English manufacturer, are enabled to .un dersell them in all markets to which they have access ; and, in fact, they do so far interfere with the English manu facturers upon the Continent of Europe, that the exportation of our woollen has gradually declined. Your petitioners ' there fore, are certain that if foreign manuf ac t ur e rs are allowed to send their woollen articles to this country, to be ex ported duty free, and thereby obtain the advantage of regular intercourse with distant markets, with which they have at• present no regular means of communicat ing, they must supplant the British manufacturer, and entirely deprive this country of beneficial commerce, and its population of the employment which enables them to consume and pay for the produce of the soil. " Your Petitioners, there fore, humbly pray that articles manufactured from wool may be excluded from the operation of the ‘l'arehousing Act. Last week a poor fellow employed in cutting chalk at Northfleet, fell from the top of the cliff, and was killed on the spot.