The Sun. — London, England, 1847-02-02 00:00:00

IMPORTANT DECISION. GILLESPIE V. REID. Counsel for Respondents—Charles Nesves ; agon Francis J. Bringloe. BANK OF MAURITIUS. A meeting of the shareholders in the above bank was held in the Mauritius on the 28th of October last. The meeting was summoned by requisition for the purpose of submitting resolutions for the immediate liquidation of the bank, and to select the most suitable means for effecting that liquidation. According to the statements made to the meeting, on the 17th of August last, the bank owed, by the admission of the directors, 144,000 dolls. immediately exigible. To meet this sum they cal culated upon-- Two:fifths of resident shareholders —534.000 Ditto London ditto In the chest Accounts current, due on the 18th 26,000 1-18,000 These resources were very doubtful, and prove how dependent was the bank upon the recovery of current ac counts, composed of bills and mortgage claims. Under such circumstances a voluntary liquidation offered great advantages and no inconveniences. The quarterly ac counts of the last two years demonstrated a rapid dimi nution of profits, and augmentation of losses. The cur rent accounts figure for the sum of 340,000 dolls., the recovery of which would be indefinitely adjourned unless the liquidation were at once confided to men equally prudent and firm, and independent of the high commer• cial body who were the principal debtors; delay could only be prejudicial to the shareholders; and the sugar estates which there was reason to fear were at the charge of the bank only involved the shareholders in the risks of such speculations; they ought to be put a stop to at once. The expenses yet amounted, on the 17th of July, to 572 dolls. per month, irrespective of the rent of premises valued at 25,000 dolls. ; and the pro- posed liquidation could be accomplished at a monthly expense of 200 dolls. Finally, experience had demon strated that without this liquidation the shareholders could entertain no hope of knowing really and truly the state of their affairs, and of escaping future dangers. It further appeared, that the cash accounts had dwindled down from 50 accounts, amounting to 204,800 dolls. on the 17th January, to 14, amounting to 21,900 dolls., on the 17th July. In two years the directors had only diminished their account current by a trivial amount, the sums being in January, 184.5, 369,699 dolls. against 340,196, in July, 1846. In the same period mortgages had actually increased from 45,472 dolls. to 93,410 dolls., in round numbers. An account for 92,000 dolls. for bills returned stood in the report. The motion was opposed, on the ground that it was one not of a simple liquidation, but a dissolution, which required the sanction of the London shareholders. It was, however, contended that the charter simply au thorised the London shareholders to appoint agents to represent them. Whether it did so or not, a meeting legally convened was fully competent to decide upon every question brought before it. Finally the motion against the vote for liquidation was carried.—Muuritius paper. THE NEW PLANET CHRISTENED.—The Bureau des Longitudes of Paris has agreed with the principal astro nomers of Europe, such as Encke, Gausz, Herschel, and Struve, in giving the name of Neptune to the new planet discovered by M. Le Verrier. The sign of this planet in celestial maps is to be a trident. —Calif/nee/. ENROLMENT Or THE DOCKYARD ARTIFICERS.—In furtherance of the arrangements ordered '33 , the Admiralty circular for this purpose, Commander Robert Jenner, re cently promoted, is appointed to superintend the drilling of the battalion in the ship -gun exercise. The number of vo lunteers from this dockyard amounts to 2,000. The enrol ment into different companies and battalions will take place immediately, The drill is to commence on the Ist of April. —Hampshire Telegraph. FALL OF A GRANARY AT PORT-DUNDAS.--Yester day (Friday), at twelve o'clock, a large granary at Port- Dundas, belonging to the heirs of the late bliss sidd, sud denly gave way; the south wall, fronting Clyde-street, falling ourtowarda the street, and the beams, joisting, and flooring, precipitated to the ground. At the time the build ing fell, it contained about nine thousand bolls of the finest English wheat, a considerable portion of which will be de stroyed. Considerable danger was apprehended to the ad joining properties, but workmen were speedily set to take down such parts of the building as was dangerous. Fortu nately there was no life lost, although two of the store keepers were in the upper floor when the building gave way ; but they eslaped by the staircase, without suffering any injury.—Scotch ReArmers' Gazette. MADAME SCHROEDER DEvRIENT.—This lady, who for some time has been residing quite secluded in the small town of Rochlitz; in the Saxon Swiss, and had almost been forgotten, en the 10th ult. made her re-appearance on the Dresden stage, is her favourite character of Romeo, in Bel lini's opera of Romeo and Juliet, with immense success. The management has re-engaged her for several years, to the great satisfaction of the public. Although she may not be so great a singer as in those days when she was wont to carry the audience away by astonishment and enthusiasm, she is still the Schroeder, the Siddons of the German stage.— _ Musical World. EMBEZZLEMENT OF DIAMONDS.—MF. Forrester, the distinguished member of the London detective force, has been in our neighbourhood (Dover) this week, on the out look for a party who has absconded with diamonds of the value of 3,3001. in his possession. We learn that the indivi dual who has absconded with the diamonds landed at Folke stone, about a week ago, from a vessel, (of which he was the commander) belonging to Greenock, bound from Monte Video to London, having the precious articles in his posses- Sion ; that ho came to Dover on Monday night last, slept at we Rope Inn, Pier, and started on Tuesday morning, per ran. no one been knew where. The most vigilant search had made to discover the fugitive ; but he bas, as yet, eluded detection boxes, they tons; The diamonds were contained in two I part of the cargo of the vessel, and were regularly entered, g..___oo:th the amount of bill of ladin their value on the IMPORTANT DRcistae. sitti Wednesday, at th e t i i - in this town, in the case of S. IN BANKRUPTCY. On Peaks, an insolvent, m r , g c o judgment upon the novel rntnissioner Burge deliv e r e d argued by the town-clerk Point which had and Mr been ably buying and selling of railway sh . Reynolds, whether the such a trading as to bring the e a se of and scrip constituted bankruptcy law. The decision was, thaat def aulter under th e And selling were so carried ou, and to such an such buying cause the party to be publicly known as an extent, as to shares or scrip—(he made no di ff erence tett aler it' suchn„ and the other)—such buying and selling of shar es een the --e a broker did not constitute such a trading as tobr ing party under the operation of the bankruptcy laws. A n n g d t h e s dtcided that the transactions of Peake were of that limited nature.—Hull Advertiser. - REMOVAL OF THE SCOTTISH HOSPITAL FROM CRANE-COURT.—At a Court of Governors last Thursday, a ProPo3iticer frqnb.-titio Woods and Forests to purchase the ppiniises fornitheScottish Hospital are favourably enter tilned,-andit was all, but positively agreed upon to accept their terms. The Nyovds vad forests require the premises At a record office. , (From the Glasgow Saturday Post.) A case of considerable importance to the interests of the colliers and miners of Scotland came on before the High Court of Justiciary on sa. urday last. A collier named Walter Blith had been hired to work 2 pit of Messrs. a terry and Cunningham, in the No. at Carnbroe. 4 In a complaint against him foundedn the Act, Geo. se rvant. It was IV., cap. 3 4 , relative to masteerde e and a verbal agreement, alleged ho had been so hired u and entered the service in October, of January, 1846, however,cßtolybbr, 1845. On the 29th along with the other co lliers in the pit , entered into a new agreement in wr iti n g with Messrs. Merry and Cunningham, in the „ following terms : Carnbroe Iron-Works, 9 9 th of January, 1846 . Stoo p and Room. Messrs. Merry Cunningham. Ge ntlemen, We, the under signed, ned, do hereb) ag ree to work y our s p lint coal ( stoo p s an g d room) in your No. 3 pit, and to become subject to the rules and regulations of your works, and agree to work every lawful day that the engine is going (if in health), and put out in each fortnight not less ti:an thirty carts of clean riddled coals, weighing thirteen cwt. per cart. The rate to be paid for such thirty carts shall be one shilling and tenpence sterling per cart, and one penny per cart additional for each cart above thirty per fortnight ; but should there be less than the said thirty carts, the price to be paid for such fortnight's output at the rate of one shilling and nine pence sterling per cart. (Signed) inter alias Walter Blyth."—Blyth wrought under this agreement from January to September 1846, when be was summa rily apprehended, and taken before Messrs. Kidd and Davidson, coalmasters, Airdrie, as justices of the peace for the county of Lanark, for an alleged breach of the verbal agreement of October, 1845. The subse quent written agreement of January, 1846, was not founded on iu the complaint, but was concealed until it was brought out in the evidence of the manager, Mr. Reid. The justices, notwithstanding, disregarded this agreement, and convicted Blyth of a breach of the verbal agreement of October, 1845, and sentenced him to 40 days' imprisonment in the prison of Airdrie. A Bill of suspension and liberation having been presented, came on for discussion this day before the High Court of Jus ticiary (a full bench), when their Lordships suspended the conviction simpliciter, and found Blyth entitled to expenses. Immediately after disposing of the above case, their Lordships proceeded to hear another case. Arising out of precisely similar circumstances, the sus pender being another collier in the Carnbroe Works, and the respondent the principal manager of the works. After hearing Messrs. Inglis and Neaves, counsel for the parties, their Lordships thought there were certain alleged irregularities on the part of the Justices which required to be inquired into before deciding the case, and they accordingly continued it for that purpose. Thereupon, and with the view of expressing his disap probation of justices (themselves coal-masters) eethig as judges in such complaints, the Lord Justice General said—My Lord, I would rather suspend saying anything till we bad this case brought back again. My Lords, the remit to a magistrate must be attended with very peculiar circumstances indeed in many cases. We had to express our disapprobation in the Court of Session of the conduct of justices of the peace in regard to persons exactly in the situation of these colliers at these coal works. The one master takes up and decide 4 the case of his neighbour, being the party the one day, and his neighbour takes up and judges his another day. Now, that is a matter that re quires very grave and serious consideration, for if there is any interest, or any illegal interference, the law will not sanction his judging between them. lam clearly of opinion that it is a matter that requires legis lative attention. It is importaut to observe that a jus tice or an agent cannot act as a justice so long as he is practising, but it appears from these cases that the one master does lend himself to try the petitions and com plaints of the other master against his workmen, men who stop work without notice to their employers. Lord Cockburn remarked that all those cases were competent before the Sheriff. _ _ Counsel for Suspenders—John Inglis ; agents, Messrs. S. and P. S. Beveridge, S.S.C.; Robert Watt, writer, Airdrie. PETITIONS ON PRIVATE BILLS. HOUSE OF CONINIONS. (Room 22, before Mr. Examiner SMITH and Mr. A istani Examiner FRIs:RE.) UNOPPOSED LIST. The.customary formal proofs were completed in the fol lowing cases : South Union Insurance Compan7. Midland Railway Extension via Bedford to Hitchin, and to Northampton, Huntingdon, and enlargement of the Leicester Station. Midland Railway (Leicester and Swannington Railway, widening Deviations, and Branches enlargement of Leicester Station, and extending powers as to Ibstock Branch.) Heywood Improvement. Leicester Waterworks. Wolverhampton Rates. South-Eastern Railway, widening of the Greenwich Railway, and arrangement and enlargement of the London-bridge Station. South-Eastern Railway, London-bridge Station, arrange ment and enlargement. OPPOSED LIST. SOUTH-YORKSHIRE, AND DONCASTER AND GOOLE RAILWAY. This adjourned opposed case was then resumed. The pe tition was strongly opposed by the Midlands, the Sheffield, Barnsley, Doncaster and Goole Companies, several land holders, and one or two corporate bodies. The case occupied nearly the whole of the day, but only two allega tions were sustained, and these were of no very great im portance. The allegations went to impugn the accuracy of the sections; but the engineer of the line explained that, in point of fact, the defects arose from the phrinking of the paper upon which the plans and sections had been prepared. The case was adjourned. (Room 23, before. Mr Examiner MAY and Mr. Assistant- Examiner GUNNELL.) II NOPPOSIID LIST. In the following unopposed cases the customary formal proofs were completed : Paisley, Barrhead, and Hurlet (from Paisley to Barrhead, with Branches to Laigh Parks and Townlaead ; frsm Barr head to Kirkton Field Bleaching Works, with a Branch to Gateside Mills; from West Toll-bar of Paisley to Haugh Engine Coal Pit; with Branches to New Nitshill Alum and Copperas Works, and Househill Wood ; and from Branch to Nitshill Alum and Copperas Works, to Victoria Coal Pit and Slates). Liverpool, Crosby, and Southport Railway and Branch. Midland (from the Erewash Valley to the Nottingham and Mansfield, with branches to Mansfield, and also to the Al freton Iron Works, and Alteration and Purchase of the Mans field and Plinxton). Leeds Waterworks Act Amendment (construction of fur ther works). Clarence and Leeds and Thirsk Amalgamation. Thames Conservancy. London ( City) Small Debts. Bridge House Estates Debt. London (City) Improvements. OPPOSED LIST. Exeter, 'Venvil, and Dorchester and Branches from Exeter to Yeovil, with Branches or Extensions to the Bristol and Exeter, Sidmouth, Chard, Ilminster, Bridport Harbour, Bourdenbridge, Charmouth, and the Wilts, Somer set, and Weymouth at Yeovil, with power to amalgamate with the London and South-Western Company, or to enable such company to subscribe towards, or to purchase, or to take a lease of the undertaking). This opposed case was next gone into. It was memoria lised against by several landholders, but the opposition was not persevered in, and the customary formal proofs were allowed to be completed. Cornwall and Devon Central and Plymouth Railway (Lines from Exeter by Okehampton to Truro and Plymouth, and Branches to St. Austell to the West Cornwall Railway, St. Columb, Padstow to the Taw Vale Railway and Cr.. diton, and at Plymouth, with powers for the London and South-Western Railway to make or purchase the line, or subscribe towards the same, and provisions for authorising arrangements with several of the Companies.) In this case also the customary formal proofs were put in. The opposition was adjourned till to-morrow. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Feb. 1. This being the last day of term, a considerable number of motions were disposed of, and several judgments delivered, none of which, however, presented the slightest feature of interest to any other than the parties immediately concerned COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, Feb. THE FLOGGING CASE AT HOUNSLOW, THE QUEEN V. NEALET AND COOKE. Lord Dr.xmANgava judgment in this case on Saturday, a full report of ,which appeared in 772. Sun of Saturday evening. This was the last day of the term. The greater part of the morning was occupied with applications to enlarge rules to the next term, and with short cases of minor interest. The Court will sit at nisi prius to-morrow, and in banco in the Bail Court. The Court intimated that during the sittings after term they would take the new trial paper in the ordinary course, and would not make any exception in favour of country cases. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, Feb. WOOLET v. DAVIS. In this registration appeal, the last of the list remaining for decision, the Court this morning gave judgment in favour of the appellant. Th e case came from Monmouthshire, and the point raised was respecting a notice of objection served on tie appellant. The notice in question was addressed to the residence of the party, but the name 1* the superscrip tion was not the proper name of the farm, or place of resi dence, but another by which it was alleged the place was usually known. The Revising Barrister decided the notice to be good ; hence the present appeal. CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT John Pater son surrendered to take his trial upon an in• dictment charging him with wilful and corrupt perjury. Mr. Doane and Mr. Robinsou prosecuted, and Mr. Clark. son appeared for the defendant. The case occupied the court a considerable time, owing to ,he number of technical objections that were taken in the course of the trial by the defendant's counsel, but the facts out of which the proceeding arose lay in a very small com pass. It appeared that the prosecutors of the indictment were Messrs. Brocksopp and How, tea dealers iii the borough of Southwark, and the defendant, who carried on the same trade at Tonbridge, had had dealings with the firm, and in the month of June, 1846, he owed them about 801. In the fcourse of that month, according to th e ev id ence f or th e pro secution, he called upon Mr. How, and represented that he was in difficulties and very much pressed by his creditors, and he expressed a desire to give the firm a warrant of attorney to secure their debt. Mr. How, accordingly took him to his attorney, and a warrant of attorney Ares at onee drawn up, an attorney in the neighbourhood being called in to act, in conformity with the statute regarding instruments of this description, as the defendant's attorney, and the evidence for the prosecution was, that the document was read over to him, and that he was perfectly aware of the nature of it. However, it ap peared, that shortly afterwards the defendant became bank rupt, and when the prosecutors attempted to enforce the warrant of attorney to recover their debt, the defendant asserted that he had never seen the warrant of attorney, and that his object when he applied to Mr. How was merely to give a bill of sale, and that he was not at all aware of the nature of the document that was really executed, and he made an affidavit to such effect, which affidavit proved the ground of the present indictment. The jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty. SPRING ASSIZES. The following Commission days have been appointed for he Circuits, as under:— HOME CIRCUIT. Hertford, Tuesday, March 2. Chelmsford, Monday, March 8. Maidstone, Monday, March 15. Lewes, Monday, March 22. Kingston, Monday, March 29. MIDLAND CIRCUIT. Nottingham, _ Monday, March 1. Okeham, Friday, March 5. Lincoln, Saturday, March 6. Nottingham, Friday, March 12. Derby, Tuesday, Ma:ch 16. Leicester and Borough, Saturday, March 20. Coventry Division, Wednesday, March 24. Warwick, Thursday; March 25. NORTHERN CIRCUIT. Lancaster, Monday, Feb. 15. Appleby, Thursday, Feb. 18. Carlisle, Saturday, Feb. 20. Newcastle, Wednesday, Feb. 24. Durham, Monday, March 1. York, Saturday, March 6. Liverpool, Saturday, March 20. OXFORD CIRCUIT. Reading, Saturday, Feb. 27. Oxford, Saturday, March 6. Worcester, Thursday, March 11. Stafford, Tuesday, March 16. Shrewsbury, Tuesday, March 23. Hereford, Tuesday, March 30. Monmouth, Thursday, April 1. Gloucester, Monday, April 5. WESTERN mom. Hampshire, Saturday, February 27. Wiltshire, Saturday, March 6. Dorsetshire, Thursday, March 11. Devonshire, Wednesday, March 17. Cornwall, Wednesday, March 24. Somersetshire, Wednesday, March 31. EXTENSION OF THE SEWERAGE OP TRH METRO , r ous.—Friday afternoon a Court of Sewers for the limits of the Holborn and Finsbury division was hold at the office of the commissioners, at which it was resolved to construct the following new sewers :—ln John-street and Rodney street, Pentonville, 980 feet long; in Penton-street, &c., 1,020 feet long; in Castle-street, Finsbury, 230 feet long; in Compton-street, Clerkenwell, 790 feet long ; in Turn mill-street, Clerkenwell, 280 feet long ; and an outlet sewer at the nortk end the Liverpool-road, and in Henry street, Hampstead-road, a length of 1,400 feet. The Court then took into consideration, and agreed to ths_propriety of a further extension of the sewer towards Holloway, commenced at the termination of the City sewer in 1839, and which had been carried beyond Ball's-pond. It was now proposed to form a tunnel sewer to Holloway, 6,100 feet long, which would cost 7,9301.; and a branch one from it 2,500 feet in length, at a cost of 3,0001. Mr. Rowe's (the surveyor) annual report was subsequently read, from which it appeared that 35,038 feet of sewers had been formed last year ; and that above 100 miles had been practically flushed. MURDER IN A RAILROAD CARRIAGE. —The Swiss National Gazette of the 27th ult. contains the follow ing details of an atrocious murder committed in a railroad carriage :—" A person, whose name is unknown, took his seat at Manheim in a railroad carriage, with a ticket for Carlsrhue. Three other individuals of respectable appear ance shortly afterwards placed themselves in the same car riage, strangled the first, rifled his pockets, and quitted the carriage at Heidelberg. The crime was not discovered until the train arrived at Carlsruhe, when the man was found in the corner of the carriage dead and already cold. The crime appearstnmeiibtientoLunique in the annals of ra il roa d s. " TEMPL E , J AN . 30 . —Th e underment i oned sworn tbe this society h av i ng b een called to the bar were before the b enc h ers this evening in the dining hall :—Mr. T. Sier, Mr. T. Smith B a d ger , M r. J . W. Bittle- I tostone, Mr. C. Cecil liejT T r aff ord, Mr. Boldam Ca s tl e , M r . ppertopperß yv ti . r t ß on i b IN In T ro. J . v H. Stewart, Mr. Chris- Cali-nen, Mr. C. W. D are, Mr. Albert Mr. P. StewartJnkin, Mr. J. Smith, M r. J. H. Proctor Leresche, C. Owen Snow. Mr. Morg an Lloyd, Dir. T. Oldadd, Mr. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS, Feb. 1. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Wool sack shortly before Five o'clock. NEW PEERAGE. The Earl of ELLESMERE was introduced by the Earl of Wilton and the Earl St. Germans, and having been sworn took his seat on the Earls' bench LUNATIC ASYLUMS. The Duke of RICHMOND gave notice that he should, to-morrow night, move for the re-appointment of the Se lect Commitee on Pauper Lunatic Asylums which had existed two years ago. THE POOR IN IRELAND. After a few words from the Marquis of WEST MEATH, Lord BROUGHAM suggested the propriety of post poning the motion until an opportunity had been afforded of consulting the officers of the courts in Ireland. Earl MOUNTCASIIEL, although he thought it a matter of great importance that the returns he had moved for should be obtained, still had no objection to postpone his motion for a short time. USE OF SUGAR IN DISTILLERIES. Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition, numerously signed by la n d e d propr i etorsAtenant-farmers, and others, in the county of Stirling, in Scotland, complaining that the duty proposed to be levied by the Government of 4id. per gallon on rum would leave the distilleries of Scot land worse by Bd., the present amount of duty levied upon malt whiskey being 4s. 10d. This was a point,in the Government plan, which, when it was brought before their Lordships, would no doubt cause considerable diffi culty. It was, however, no pc,rt, of the plan of the Govern ment to prevent distillationifrom malt, bat only to admit auger to be used in distillation pari passu. He would not go into any discussion on the subject at the present moment. LIVERPOOL AND THE IRISH POOR. Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition signed by the Mayor of Liverpool, Mr. Lawrence, the magis trates of the borough, and by several of the most respectable and opulent inhabitants, calling the attention of their Lordships to the great additional bur den imposed upon that parish by the immense influx of destitute Irish poor, and praying their Lordships would pass a law to compel the Irish people to support their own poor, like the people of this country. The petition deserved the most earnest attention of the House. It stated that in fourteen days 11,104 paupers had come ov e r f rom I re l and and located themselves in that town, namely, 5,737 men, 3,497 women, and 1,870 children, making an average of 800 per day during the last six weeks. By a letter from the mayor, it appeared that on Thursday last upwards of 1,100 came over. He said, "Therahave arrived to-day (the 29th) by two steamers only, no less than 1,124, and we have received information that thousands of persons are begging their way t o th e I r i s h ports in Ireland, with the intention of seeking food in this c w o e u r n e t c ry ollec a t n edby and chiefly in this town of Li verpoo l . " These mela nc h o l y facts were undoubtedly true, as they the officers of justice and the muni cipalvations on thi s s peßna u fojtyo b t eoe j rrse e nt: c hytt t ibe,cose. u nAi nlrolcti Lordships , 71 Ministers the me i.se but u r measures he e l i officers. 11e thought it best to postpone any obser e vations could lately pro posed thenot hel a p f a sa e w e ep f dl a a c e, se las t having likeayvienaLgr vi relation ee rrptohoel to e r sp t e h h r b callingm)r e a h f w t teteetrhrhr. the i r Majesty's had the power of sending immigrants to the places from whence they cam e , b ut they were compelled to do so at their own expense. The counti es wore comp e ll e d, ho w ever, t o p a y a portion of the expense of this transmission. A subsequent Act was passed which threw the expense upon the unio ns . B ut the expense was frequently cons iderable, as delays often took place in finding their proper settlements, or that during the interval they were thrown upon an ex hausting and exhausted population. Liverpool was already overburdened with her own poor, and the result was that these immigrants located themselves in the poorest districts, and increased the poverty and disease. That was one object. But there was another evil and another mischief — that was the mischief which arose from what he called preaching. Very nice preaching for the preachers, for it coat them not h i ng b u t for those thhoese said, it t he w m as igk a t sty le very tah vary ry p r different e a chees! matter Bu , expensive business for the preach era. like his friend, Mr. Horsley, who absolutely paid 9001. a y ear , for the support of the poor—the Irish poor—on . the atthec e o n s t whom e b re em se g e b a u l i l l e d d in o g e s e of ef hi t s hesehard. warehouses. N earte o d w, w retches much abuse had been poured—for, as his late Noble Friend Lord Ellibank had said, and be perfectly agreed with him, Chat it was an erroneous doctrine that the poor were entitled to be fed from the land. It Was said that they had the land, and that the joor had_a right to be fed from the land. This doctrine fie denied. He denied that the poor had any right to pe fed from the land. Ho denied that the poor had any right to be fed by the Government, or to have work trovidod by the Government. But they had a right, hey had a claim., they had a right to be fed by their The Marquis of CLANRICARDE laid several papers on the table relative to the state of the poor In Ireland. PROPERTY IN IRELAND. Earl MOUNTCASHEL moved for the returns of which he gave notice the other night, for all the present ments which had been made to the Court of Chancery in Ireland, and all the attachmt rag that had been issued by that Court, distinguishing those which respected the property of lunatics and minors, together with the accounts showing how far the moneys had been paid during the last year. Lord BROUGHAM said it was utterly impossible to obtain the returns, even if they were confined to the specific object, at least for any useful purpose. The LORD CHANCELLOR said, that they could only be obtained by some officer of the Court searching through all the documents which had been presented at the Court between the Ist of January, 1846, and the Ist of January, 1847 ; and even if they were obtained, it would be at so late a period as not to be available for the present session. At the same time they must, of neces sity, be very imperfect. Lord BROUGHAM—Of course ; for even if the docu ments were searched the accounts would be wrong, for the payments on affairs of previous years would be neces sarily mixed up with the return. Earl MOUNTCASHEL said that his desire was to obtain a fair representation of the state of affairs in Ireland, especially when it was likely there would be great calls upon it ; and that it would prove of great service if the returns were made, for the information was necessary not only for the House but for the eounary, and that was the reason why he desired to obtain them. They were not sufficiently informed as to the state of property, or the management of landed property in Ireland. He was sure that if their Lordships know the truth they would not form so mistaken a judgment of the liability of the landlords and those interested in the soil of Ireland ; still, if their Lordships were of opinion that this was not the proper mode of obtaining the information he required, he should be happy to adopt any other form. The LORD CHANCELLOR thought the object the Noble Lord bed in view might be obtained by the adop tion of a cimplo form, namely, by stating the amount paid by receivers in that year, and moneys paid in to account of lunatics. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE did not think that a motion so worded would answer the purpose, for it would altogether depend on the manner in which the tenantry paid the rents. As far as he (the Marquis of Clanricarde) could understand, his Noble Friend com plained that they paid no rents at all. He understood his Noble Friend to wish for a return of the real state of property in Ireland, and he thought, therefore, that some way should be adopted to get from the receivers the sums paid in by thorn to the Masters in Chancery. The Earl of MOUNTCASHEL then withdrew his motion. IRELAND.—MORTGAGED ESTATES. The Earl of MOUNTCASHEL then moved for a return of the total amount of the sums appearing to be due for debt, damages, and costs, upon all decrees, orders, and judgments in Ireland, re-docketed pursuant to the Act of 9th Geo. IV., cap. 35, or registered pursuant to the 7th and Bth Viet., cap. 99, and now appearing to be re-docketed or registered in the office for registering judgments in Ireland ; distinguishing those which are in debt from those which are in case. The Marquis of WESTMEATH thought that if this motion were carried out the officers of the Court would be always employed upon it and the other business of the office. If the Noble Lord could frame his motion in such a way as not to incommode or hinder the other business of the Courts, he should be very happy to give his consent to it, but, as at present framed, the motion was quite impracticable. The LORI) CHANCELLOR agreed with the Noble Lord who had last spoken, that the order would, in the first place, be impracticable, and, in the second, useless, if obtained. When it was so eery difficult to find out a judgment in one particular case, he would leave their Lordships to judge of the impracticability when applied to all mankind. They would have a return of debts comprising, perhaps, two or three hundred mil lions, and yet they would not be able to say what pro portion of that sum remained unpaid. Lord BROUGHAM—There was another reason which completely demonstrated the inutility of the re turn. In every case the balance remaining unpaid was no test whatever of the burdens affecting landed pro perty in Ireland, because it only applied to such property as came into the Court of Chancery or any of the courts of common law. If a proprietor were fortunate enough to keep out of the Court of Chancery or any of the courts of law, no matter how much his estates were mortgaged, the court would have no knowledge of it. Earl MOUNTCASHEL said that had he moved for a return of the four courts his motion would then have been open to the objections urged against it; he had, however, only moved for a return of " the total amount of the sums appearing to be due for debt, damages, and costs, upon all decrees, orders, and judgments, in Ireland re-docketed pursuant to the Acts of 9 Geo. IV., c. 35, and 7 and 8 Viet., c. 99." Under the letter of those Acts a particular office was established, in which was to be registered all the different c l aims to the property in Ireland. Since the passing of that Act those claims had been registered, and it was only a return of those claims so registered that he wished to obtain by his present motion. The LORD CHANCELLOR—The Act of 9th Geo. IV. was passed a great many years since, and, in order to obtain the returns made under that Act, a great deal of trouble and extensive research would be required. All the judgments had no doubt been re-docketed since the time of the judgments having been delivered, and the result, when obtained, would give only— Lord BROUGHAM—An erroneous view. The LORD CHANCELLOR--Just so ; and the first of his objections would still remain unanswered namely, what amount of debts remained at present unpaid. took tr od th n e ed oanthys his scl brother Mr. HOUSE OF COMMONS , F e b . 1. The SPEAXEE took de Chair a t F our o ' c l ock. NEW MEMBER. en Mr. J. O'Connell. a ',C haying n i j , RAILVAY BILLS. for if. D r npd. O n c Reports were brought ip from the Examiner of several Bills, and the following sere read a second time : Bristol sad Exeter Raiway (Branch from ea Bl don to Wells, Glastonbury, ad Street). East Lincolnshire Railyay (Deviation at Boston, and Branch to Great Grimby and Sheffield Junction Rail way at Grimsby). East Lincolnshire Railvay (Branch from Louth to Lincoln). Glasgow, Barrhead, andNeilston Direct, and Glasgow Southern Terminal Ralways Amalgamation. Glasgow, Barrhead, and Neilston Direct Railway . Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmanock, and Ayr Railway, and Glasgow and Belfast Lnion Railway (No. 1), Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmanock, and Ayr Railway (No. 4). Hartlepool West Harbotr and Dock (Dock Extension). Hartlepool and Stock ton Junction Railway. Leeds Central Railway Etation London and North-Weston Railway (Newport Pagnell, &c., Branch). London and North-Weston Railway (St. Alban's, Luton, and Dunstable Branch) London, Brighton, and Seth Coast Railway (London bridge Station, Enlargement, and Arrangement). London, Brighton , and Seth Coast Railway (Extension to London -bridge.) London -bridge Railway "ermini General Enlargement. London, Brighter!, and S'aith Coast Railway (the Kent Railway to Maidstone, ;anterbury, and Tunbridge). Manchester, Sheffield, aid Lincolnshire Railway (Sup ply of Surplus Water to Manchester, Salford, and Stockport). Manchester, Sheffield, andLincolnshire Railway (Station Approach in Manchestei). Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway (Branch from Ashton• under-Lyno to Oldham). AMALGAMATION OF RAILWAYS. On the motion for the second reading of the Bill for the amalgamation of the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lin colnshire Railway with the Midland Railway, Mr. ELLICE said, that as this was the first Bill for amalgamation introduced this session, he begged to give notice that to-morrow week he should ask a question of the Noble Lord at the head of the Government whether it was the intention of the Ministry to bring in any Bill re specting the amalgamation d lines of railway? He should do this because he had last session the honour of being chairman of the Committee appointed to consider the amalgamation railways, and be therefore thought it his duty to draw the attention of the House to great abuses which had been found to exist. In one case, in conse quence of the notice of amalgamation of one line, from which it was ant'cipated that only a revenue of three per cent. would accrue, but for which an agreement was entered into to pay the lessors tee pa cent., the capital was so raised in value that the proprietors were enabled to raise the capital to 250 per cent. in value. The Committee over which he presided had accordingly ma de a report to the House strongly drawing the attention of the Go vernment to the reports of several of the lines for which Bills had been obtained, and expressed a hope that some measnres would be taken in the present session to remedy the evil. As it was now known that several of the companies who obtained their Bills last session, but who had not put a spade into the ground, were coming t o t h e H ouse for powers o f ama l gamat i on, he trusted the Government would provide some means of stopping the abuses to which he referred. Mr. HODGSON said, that in the case to which refe rence had been made, no doubt great mischief had en sued, but th e ev i l had not extende d to any o f the direct n orthwitrd and south ward lines. He trusted, however , that the recommendation would be d atte dto attended by th e Government. Mr. STRUTT • quite agreed that this was a subject of great importance, and a Bill was already in a very for ward state of preparation, which would be introduced at as early a peri o d as possible; M but as his Hon. Fri en d the ember for C oventry had given notice of the question he intended to himself of propose to-morrow week, he w ou ld ava il that opportunity to enter more f u lly i nto ex planation of the The ntended provisions of the Bill. Manchester and Lincolnshire was then re a d a Amalgamation Bill second time. s SE COND READINGS. The iollortirig Billa were geo read a moond own labour, an by nothing else. The duty of Govern ment was not to feed the people, or to provide work for them, but tleir duty was to remove all obstructions out of the was of the people that might hinder them from obtaining work, and that might prevent them from earning food. And who was it th at was attac ki ng the political economists ? Why, the disciples of Mr. Pitt. It was mid that Mr. Pitt was a disciple of that great man Adrm Smith, who ought never to be men tioned without respect. This was all a mistake, for the fact wee, that the only bad part of Adam Smith's work, his " Chapter on Finance," was written after he came to London, and knew Mr. Pitt; and me of the worst things Mr. Pitt did was to preven, the utility to the wor ld, w hi c h would have been derived from the talent s o f a grea t philosopher, by leaking him a commissioner of Customs. The cry in Ireland was, " Send us no more public works, give us 20,000,00)1. for Irish r a il ways, " i n order that a railway in the meth might take the people away from the cultivation of tie fields in the middle. Raise the price of shares in railways, and we (the shareholders) shall imme.liteely drop a great number of our shares.—(Laugiter.) The best plan in the world is to send pillions after millions to Ireland for public works" they had tried it—" for private works" they were goire to try them. It was his duty to state, for it was he real and his decided opinion, to , thaptro.. it was no part o the duty of any Government vide food for he people under their care. It was the perversion of be fact to suppose that that was the case, and the conseqteuce would be that they would make the Irish landlordsand the Irish peasantry look to the Go vernment next year ; the consequence would be that they would lo,k back to the year 1847 with feelings of envy and reget that their po s i t i on at t h at time was not equal to swat it was in that scarce year. He had read a mot able pamphlet by Mr. Holmes, with whom he did nc upon every point agree, for Mr. Holmes WAS a repealer, ut he was an honest repealer, and he told them that no gents of money would ever stop their cry for repeal. Ile (Lord Brougham) hoped and trusted that they wouldsot p"oceed one other step in the wrong direction. Whs the right direction was it was for their Lotdships and th Government to say ; but let them not be forced into th wrong direction by the threats of the discontented, or coaxed by appeals to their huma nity ; for thee must take care that they did not lay the fondatioa for new d eman d s b y re leasing Irish peprietora and the Irish p eo pl e f rom the duties of theustation by a mistaken relief from pre sent difficulties. le was sorry that his remarks on the army of ten thoasad employed under the Labour•rate Act had given offence in certain quarters.— (Hear.) It was upposed that his strictures referred to certain of the superior officers. He assured the House that it as not so; he knew that many of them were ma of great humanity and abililty, and he could oily express his regret that he had been supposed o depreciate the value of their services. What was to be done with this cruel case of the people of Liverpool 1 The case would soon be the same with the people of G2asgow, of Greenock, of Bristol, and of Manchester. Something must be done in accordance with that principle of political economy b which he had referred— that principle whist every man admitted when put to him calmly but which they were all too apt to overlook in tb midst of party clamour, or in the presence of sufferini and distress. The Marquis of WEa'MEATH said that his Noble and Learned Friend haimade a long statement, which, if unanswered, would bmg a very considerable degree of odium on the presmed author of these calami ties, namely the Irish proprietors. But who was to blame for the pretest state of Ireland ? who but the English Governrent, which had sanctioned the course of legislation whit had been pursued towards Ire land. There existed the wettest difficulty in enforcing the law in Ireland. He would give their Lordships several instances of wht had occurred upon his own estates. In one case se let a fine piece of land on lease to a tenant, the ease contained a provision that the ground should notbe sub-let, it was, however, let out in " c o nacre '. h e b roug ht his action against the tenant ad obtained a verdict, but subsequently the verdit was set aside on appeal to the Court of Com mon P l eas, the judges considering that letting in conacre ws not sub-letting. He had this morning received he stated h receiveda lettrtt ho had from his g a o g t en t t w i e n ut l y re w la r n i c t l s , in which against the person, fo arrears of rent, but he p on e i S son ag eln h s o t o co ff u e l r d ed not a gsthianlliny p g e r i s n a t h t o e s e p r o v u e n , d o h a e ha r. iir d e h b ad fost hee o n f t t h o e any person we o ld m s e t r h v e e wr e i m t s . obtained were gone to thepublic works, or to Scotland, and perhaps some of themto Liverpool, with his money in their pockets, and takirrthe soup of that town for nothing. On the estate itself the windows of the houses were filled with stew, and they had altogether the appearance of a besiegd city. This agent had en deavoured to tempt tern to pay their rents, by bribing them with a pomise of remitting in some cases one-half of the aments due, and in others one third, if they would only pre the remainder; but all the temptations were of no avail. This was owing to the laws of this counry, which encouraged the people in their fraud, aid held out to them an inducement to knavis ness by allowing them to go free of the punishment which they justly merited. There was a piece of land it Westmeath which the law called his, but he did nt derive any advantage from it, and were the Government to come forward and say " You must pay for the support of the poor on that land?" lie felt deep regret at the statements put forward in tht petition; but such a state of things did not warrait the repeated insinua tions—for they were direct charges—which were made towards Irish landownas. No one—no Irishman —felt more grateful thou ha did for the relief which this country had girn to the poor of Ireland ; but he apprehended the the Irish landlords were not to blame, and, therefore, he considered such statements ought not to go forte without contradiction. He, for one, did not want money from England. " Give the benefit of my estate, and I will do with out it." He regreted if he had speken with warmth, but he coulde?t help it, as th ese sent i ments had been " boiling in his breast" for years, and as he wished to show that th. class to which he belonged were not to blame. Lord BROUGHAMexplained that he had studiously avoided making any narges or insinuations derogatory to the Irish landownes. He admitted that the Irish landlord had not the same power over his land as the English landlord. Their Lordships thenadjourned. Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway (Branch to Chapeltown and Thurgoland Coal Branch). Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway (Ash ton Canal Purchase). Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway(Branch to Bagsworth). Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway (Shef field Canal Purchase). Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railways, and Manchester and Lincoln Union Railway, and Chester field and Gainsborough Canal Amalgamation. Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland (Newcastle, Anniskinnan, and Baltrasna Deviations). Newbury Cementry. Norfolk Railway (piss Branch). Norfolk Railway (Bury St. Edmund's Branch). Rochdale Canal (Sale to Manchester and Leeds Rail way Company. Scottish Midland Junction Railway (Amendment and Branch to Laurencekirk). Sheffield Canal Act Amendment. Sunderland Markets, Bridge, Ferries, and General tin provement. Warrington Gas Light and Coke Company. Mist, Somerset, and Weymouth Railway Amendmen (No. 1.) Windsor Railway. Yeovil, Bridport, and Exeter Railway, with Branches. LONDON, OXFORD, AND CHELTENHAM RAIL. WAY AND BRANCHES. On the motion that this Bill be read a second time, Colonel SIBTHORP said, that it was almost impos sible to hear what was going on in that House— (Laughter)—because, what with the noise of Members passing up and down the House, and the low tonein which the names were read by the clerk at the table, it was almost impossible to hear the names of the several Bills. He knew that it was exceedingly difficult to take the sense of the House—(Laughter) —or even to look for anything like a favourable result as regarded any. opposition to the Bill, but he was determined to pursue the independent course he had always adopted, by assenting to none of them.—(Loud laughter.) He knew that he would be unsuccessful in opposing the second reading, but he felt bound to do so, as he had taken very great pains in looking over all the papers relative to this, and the opposition line (the Cheltenham and Oxford) which was then before the examining Committee. He was no friend to railways, and would rather meet a respectable highwayman than a railway surveyor at any time.—(Laughter.) The Bill, despite the Mon. and Gallant Member's opposition, was read a second time. SUPPLY OF SEED (IRELAND.) Sir J. DUKE presented a petition from Clare and its neighbourhood (as we understood), from a number of tenant-farmers occupying from 20 to 60 acres each, praying the Government to render them some assistance in obtaining the seedinecessary for sowing their landoind thereby obtaining crops in the ensuing year, and pre venting a recurrence of the sad visitation which had afflicted the country in the present year. TEN HOURS' BILL. Mr. PLUMPTRE •presented a petition in favour of the Ten Hours' Bill. IRISH DISTESS. Mr. D. O'CONNELL presented a petition from the corporation of Dublin, praying the Government to adopt some speedy measures to meet the prevailing distress in Ireland. FOOD FOR IRELAND. Mr. MACARTHY presented a petition from the poor-relief committees of Cork, setting forth that there were 4,757 persons at present in the workhouses con nected with that city, and 174 persons in the fever hos pital; and that, notwithstanding that the soup deptits distributed daily 7,000 quarts of soup, the amount of distress was still most alarmingly on the increase; that the prices of provisions were already double the usual price, and they prayed the Government to adopt some measures to obtain a supply of food, to keep down the present rising prices of provisions, and thereby mitigate the existing distress. LIGHT-HOUSES. _ _ _ Mr. BELL presented a petition praying for the aboli tion of the light-house dues. THE COLONIES. Mr. GOULBURN presented a petition, praying that the measures promised last session with respect to the introduction of sugar, might not be of a temporary, but of a permanent nature. IRELAND. Mr. S. CRAWFORD presented a petition from Carrie mickcross, setting forth that the want of proper security of tenure and legalised compensation for the improve ment of the soil were the causes of all the agrarian dis turbances that had taken place, and praying for reme dial measures. TEN HOURS' BILL. Sir R. H. INGLIS presented a petition from the clergymen of Huddersfield in favour of the Ten Hours' Bill. NOTICES OF MOTION. Mr. F. FRENCH gave notice that, in Committee on the Poor Relief Bill, he should move amendments to the first and second clauses. Mr. O'CONNELL also gave notice of his intention to move amendments in Committee. Mr. ROEBUCK gave notice that, to-morrow, he should move for a Committee of the whole House for the purpose of extending the Poor-law Act to Ireland. Dr. BOWRING gave notice that, to morrow, he should make an inquiry respecting the committal of two children in the county of Essex, who were said to have been sent to prison and heavily fined for taking a small quantity of turnips from a field. Sir B. HALL gave notice of his intention to move for certain returns connected with the poor -rates of Ireland. Mr. GRATTAN gave notice that, to-morrow, he would move for returns of the rich absentees from Ireland, specifying names, numbers, county, and property, as tar as they could be made up. A return of the poor had been ordered, and he thought it ought to be accompanied with a return of the rich. FOREIGN WINES. Alderman THOMPSON moved for a return of the. number of gallons of foreign wine imported into this country. HOUSE OF KEYS. Dr. BOWRING wished to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if any correspondence had taken place with Government with reference to the sub ject of reform in the House of Keys, in the Isle of Man, and whether any memorials had been presented on the subject, and if so, whether such would be produced ? Sir GEORGE GREY—Such correspondence had been received, and there was no objection to its production. HAYDOCK LODGE ASYLUM. Mr. OWEN STANLEY wished to know from the Right Hon. Gentleman the Home Secretary, if Govern ment intended to take any steps with reference to the disclosures made at this establishment, Sir GEORGE GREY said that a report had been received from the Commissioners of Lunacy, and it' was intended that that report, with the evidence on which it was founded, should be laid before the House, till which time he did not think it expedient to say what steps should be taken in refe rence to it. ➢lr. STANLEY wished again to ask if it was pro posed to make any amendment v, ith regard to the 8 and 9 Viet., chap. 26, in reference to county asylums. A very great difficulty had arisen with regard to borrowing money from the Consolidated Fund. Sir GEORGE GREY was not prepared to say that there was any Bill then ready to be brought in on the subject. WELLINGTON STATUE. Captain POLHILL wished to know from the Noble Lord opposite, whether it was intended to allow the Wellington statue to remain in its present position? Lord MORPETH said that Government had inti mated to the sub-committee their wish that the statue should be removed from the place where it now was. LABOURING POOR (IRELAND) BILL. On the order of the day for the second reading of this Bill being Jead, Mr. WILLIAMS rose to propose the amendment, of which he had given -notice—" That the second reading (and all other stages in this House) of the Poor Relief (Ireland) Bill, shall have precedence of the sa id Labour ing Poor (Ireland) Bill.' , The course which the Go vernment had adopted was rendered most necessary. It was called for by OA whole population of Ireland, and the Government had responded to that call. The Hon. Member for Limerick had said that the Government ought to be impeached for their conduct. He hoped that expreszion escaped from the Honourable Member in the heat of debate, and was not his deliberate opinion. He, however, considered that the Poor-law Amendment Act ought to take precedence over all other measures. In his opinion it would be the only means by which a recurrence of those calamities which had occurred could be averted. All remedial measures with out an additional poor-law wuold be useless. As England had suffered so much from her misgovern ment of Ireland, he thought it was time for her to take some decided step. Had an efficient poor-law—had the present English one— been introduced last year, instead of the Labour-rate Act, the country would have been saved an almost useless expenditure of four millions of money. The people at this time of the year should be engaged in the fields preparing the land for the next harvest. in stead of which they were all running after this half idle kind of labour on the public works; there was no security that the same distress should not recur aguin next year. To avert this the true course was to introduce an efficient poor-law. The Bill now proposed was entitled " The Destitute Persons' (Ireland) Bill," and, on looking it over, he found that the first clause provided for the ap pointment of a vast number of officers; and, further, the Government was empowered to do what they pleased, and spend what money they pleased. The measure was limited to the Ist of October in the present year, before which time it was calculated that seven millions_ of money would be required. Now he thought that by this time the eyes of her Majesty's Government ought to have been opened, and that a measure of p!r manent relief would have been introduced, in stead of such a t em p orar y sc heme as the present. a No other mea sure wou ld su ffi ce to meet the existing 'amity and p rov id e a permanen t remedy but an were efficient riteu c. i poor-law. Th a t th e reso urces of Ireland sufficient to supp or t all its population was well known. It had been admitted the other evening by the Noble Lord at the head of the Government, that Ireland could, if duly cultivated, support seventeen millions of a population. It that the people of that country was, therefore, too had try should be continually dependent on the funds raised by the distressed and overtaxed working population of this kingdom.—(Hear.) He had also received in the cours . e_ . of this year a ve r y ex t raor di na ry proof of the capabilities of Ireland. He moved for, a return of certain imports to this country last year, and ho found that a quantity of corn, and swine, L cat tl e , sheep, had been imported. He also rece i ved sterling from Ireland, in the course of last year, an ac count of the quantity of butter, cheese, and oth er quantity suppled articles imported, us well M the to the army and navy, and the whole amount, together with the seven millions already mentioned, would amount to ten millions. These were most extraordinary capa bilities on the part of a country in a state of starvation— a country that could send from its shores this quantity of food. He trusted that her Majesty's Government and the Right Hon. Secretary fur Ireland would take means to ascertain what had become of, and into whose pockets these ten millions had gone, before they called on the House to vote away this large sum of money, taken from the hard earnings and labour of the people of this country. He was aware that out of 98,982 people in the workhouses in Ireland, on the 2d of January in this year, 18,988 were able bodied persons, and he would ask the House, were such grants to be made to keep people who were capable of labour? He had doubts, too, whether the law could be carried out while a distinguished member of the Government (the Marquis of Lansdowne) had stated that it was almost impossible to carry into effect out-door relief ; but still there were classes of persons for whom some thing ought to be done to secure them relief, such as the aged, sick, and infirm. After such a declaration it was highly important that this measure should be settled first. The Bill did not contain provision for en forcing its clauses, and he thought this defect ought to be remedied. A case occurred only the other day et the Castlebar union, which fully proved this. The guardians assembled to consider the bankrupt con dition of that union, and Mr. Otway, the chairman, pro posed that 600 paupers should be received—the number for which the house had been erected. Thirteen voted against the proposition, and but three in its support. Mr. Otway then proposed to the board an arrangement by which the 106 paupers in the house—less than the third part for which it was erected—should be provided for, but that arrangement was not agreed to, be•. bause the collector stated that he would not be able to collect the rate without the aid of the mili tary power. Now, the country must be in a very dreadful state when such means were necessary. It appeared, however, that rents could be collected without any difficulty. In the Conciliation Hall a Mr. F. Riley, a solicitor of the county of Mayo, in speaking about the collection of rents, stated that " amidst the general destruction of the crops in that district the landlords were enforcing the payment of their rents." At the last sessions there were no less than sixteen Bills for the recovery of rent. In point of fact, Lord Devon's Commission proved his argument. Workhouses to the number of ninety-nine thousand two hundred had been built with borrowed money. The Exchequer advanced one million and forty thousand pounds. An Horf. MEMBER —It will be repaid. Mr. WILLIAMS was exceedingly glad to hear it, but it would be the first public money lent to Ireland which would be so.—(Cries of " Oh, - oh.") Tee Noble Lord had quoted , the statement of Sir Thomas More the other evening, respecting the condi tion of the people of this country upwards of 300 years ago. But what was the cause of the great change for the worse which then took place? It arose from a change of landlords, the property being taken from the monasteries and religious institutions, which had maintained the poor, and given to the parasites and favourites of the Court. Let them introduce a proper poor-law into Ireland, Se' as to give proper security to life and property. Let them pursue the same course that was pursued when the 43d of Elizabeth was passed. Before the passing of that Act, executions and other punishment fur offences against life and pro perty were prevalent to an enormous extent, but on its introduction. These offences at once diminished. Let the same course be pursued towards Ireland, where there were at present existing a million of people who only received 2s to 2s. 6d. per week wages. Seeing where, in this country, the condition of Ireland was the subject of conversation, and the cause of all their wretchedness and suffering was to be traced to their be longing to a particular:place. For himself, however, he did not attribute the distress to this cause, because in Canada and America there were large _quantities of Irishmen competing and successfully too with Scotchmen, Eng lishmen, and in fact with persons who had emigrated from the most distinguished and industrious nations of the earth. The truth was the idleness of the pet;ple of Ireland was to be traced to the deficiency of their wages. What could be expected of a man who only received 2s. 6d. per week ? He had only one more observation to make before he sat down. He wished to call attention to a class of gentlemen that he thought ought to bear the burdens of Ireland much more so than the hard working people of this country. Now it had been stated by an Irish nobleman of high rank, namely, the Earl of Mountcashel, that the rental of Ireland was thirteen millions per annum, but that at least ten lions were paid for incumbrances. The land lords should also be taxed. There was another class who should be considered in reference to this sub ject. He would compel the mortgagees of land in Ire land to pay their shares, because the interest upon mort gages in Ireland bore a higher rate than elsewhere.— (No, no.) Now that class (the landlords) were very much favoured with regard to taxation. The taxation upon articles of consumption in this country was exceed ingly heavy, while in Ireland it amounted to only four millions and a half. There was no country which had less taxation for her population or ability than Ireland, He would conclude by moving the resolution. Mr. BERNAL OSBORNE said that the speech of the Noble Lord, the First Lord of the Treasury, was so ex tensive in its nature, and so important in its conse quences, that without making any observation on it, by way of praise or censure, he was bound to say that it was drawn up with the greatest care, amid the greatest difficulties. Whilst he participated in the sentiments of his Hon. Friend, the Member for Louth, regarding it, and was of opinion that it was characterised by clear statement, lucid arrangment, and deep research, he must also say that he could nut expect, from the plan proposed by the Noble Lord, any permanent improvement in the condition of Ireland. It app, ared to him that the scheme of the Noble Lord was nothing more than what had been proposed to be done by all preceding Governments, to go on legislating hit by bit and temporary expedients, without laying any permanent foundation for the im provement of Ireland. Parliament hal not now for the first time to learn the great amount of distress which prevailed in Ireland. It was well known to them that 2,500,000 people of that country were in more than an ordinary condition b a state of the greatest destitution, and he could not, therefore, approve of any measures which would merely have the effect of temporarily relieving the evil results of the bad legisla tion of that House. He thought that the Irish Mem bers did their duty in callime; upon the Govern meat to send over food to the Irish people; and, not withstanding the mistakes which had been made in carrying out their measures, he was of opinion tha Government was doing its best to second the efforts of the Irish Members. He would now take a review of the measures which the Noble Lord proposed to bring forward. With regard to the Act of the 9th and 10th Victoria, he thought it difficult for any Member who had witnessed its operation to speak of it favourably; .it was the general opinion that it broke up the roads, impoverished the gentry, demoralised the people, and burdened the finances of the country.—(Hear, hear.) It was not his intention to attack the Noble Lord for passing this Bill. August legislation is apt to be a hurried affair, especially when there is a chance of grouse shooting. But the Noble Lord should have called Parliament together at an earlier period than he had done. If he wanted a precedent, he had one in the year 1800, when Parliament was convened in the early part of November, in consequence of the high price of provisions. As to the futile excuse that he did not like to inconvenience the Irish gentry, or to take them away from their estates, it struck him that thee- could have been much better spared then than they could now. He felt persuaded that if the Noble Lord (the Lord Lieute nant) had had his own way, they would have had rail ways and harbours, and similar productive works, con structed, instead of what had been done by the authority of the Board of Works. He must protest against the prin ciple of the Labour Act, which went to charge the real property of the country with the calamity. He thought the Government was neither justified by circumstances nor precedent in throwing the burden on the land. It was stated that the gentry were to blame for the lavish waste of money under the operation of the presentment sessions. To that he would answer that the money in many instances had been voted under protest, and that the most of it had been expended under the authority of the Board of Works, which, with its brilliant staff of officers, amounting to 11,587, had taken the whole matter out of the hands of the landed proprietors. However well qualified generally these officers might be on local matters and the business of the various districts, they had shown the greatest ignorance. It was, therefore, too bad for the finger of scorn to be pointed at the Irish landlords. With respect to the change from the present I.) stern of public works, .he did not see how it was to be done. It appeared that these parties were in the position of the dramatis personce in the play of the Critic, who were all down on their knees, and the author was at a loss how to effect their exit. The Noble Lord was in the same predicament. He was at a loss how to effect the change. He thought himself' that the• Noble Lord would have ex ercised a much wiser discretion, if, instead of an addition to the rates for the purpose of establishing soup-shops, he had taken into his serious attention the great impor- Portance of tilling the land for the next harvest. 'th ere were 750,000 farms in Ireland, and about one- half of them were under twenty acres. There was a grant to these farms of 50,0001. for seed, which would give about twopence per acre, or would cultivate 25,000 acres, out of all this quantity of land. If there was any public work to be undertaken let them give free labour to all farmers under 10 acres, as that class of farmers had suffered most. The Noble Lord did not deal justly with the Marquis of Sligo when the Noble Lord attacked the Noble Marquis of Sligo the other evening, because the Noble Marquis not only sa crificed a large deer park, but expended 701. a-week in supplying the people of Westbourne with food. The fact was, the Noble Marquis, last autumn, called upon the Government to take off the 4s. duty upon the importation of corn. No doubt the Noble Marquis had been reading a letter, addressed from Edinburgh, in November, 1845, and signed "J. Russell ;" but then the Noble Marquis made his request in November, 1846, instead of November, 1845. • The Hon. Member for Winchester, too, towards the close of last session, warned the Noble Lord that he had better take off the 4s. duty, but the Noble Lord heeded not the warning, because the corn-law question had just before been set tled. The Noble Lord could not be well informed as to the real condition of the people of Ireland in certain places. And, to show that this was the case, he would put the House in possession of the contents of a letter which he had received from the inspector of the . mining company of I re l an d. The milling company et Ireland, a l t h oug h they paid wages to 800 men at ls.6d. a-head, had a l most b een on the point of clos i ng their mines, because th e p eop l e f oun d i t a l most i m possible obtain food. It was a ver y goo d t hi ng f or a man t n_ Ireland to get Is. 901. a day, and y e t bad it not been for ! the munificence of the mining company, with which b 8 was connected, these people would have starved, and they absolutely laid in bed from Saturday night till Monday morning, with money in their Pockets, unable to obtain food. And why 2--because there - was no food in the country, There was anothe r ubject to which the N o ble Lord had turncd his attention. The Noble Lord had estimated the WOW lands of Ireland at 4,600,000 acres, which he propo sed i t* reclaim. Mr. Griffiths estimates these lands at 6,290,000 of which he consid ere d 3,725,000 capable of impro ve.. ment ; bet of these 2,400,000 acres Were only fit tol e reclaimed for coarse p as t urage f o r sheep, l e aving 0 I about 1,425,000 which we re fit to be reclaimed for corn purposes. Then what did the Noble Lord expect 0 gain from these waste lands? What was the evidence on the subject which hail been laid before the corm:ant. tee? Why, the Government had had sufficient e.xee ence of the reclamation of waste lands on their model 'farm in the county of Cork. They had a model farm at : place called Cobellowkeith, not a very harmonio us nailm d truly. This farm was taken i n King William'S 1 hire 1836 Mr. Griffiths had estimated the returns. s-. .st account the attempt had been made to reclaim the wo r st description of soil. It was called flow bog, and "s'ed, fact, neither more nor l ess th an a sort of loose ma The cost of reclaiming this land is 91. 9s. 10d.sbene0 the whole of the va l ue o f th e re turns had f 0 251. 12s. 6d. in four years, g i v i n g an average °take loss of 11. 9s. Bd. per acre. He would no l7. the next kited of soil. This was a more co m p kind of soil. The cost of rec l a i m ing this soil riff 6/. 3s. per acre, and the returns from it were on ear; average, and the whole of th e p ro duce in four Yor e. . was 221. ss. 3d., showing a loss of 1/. 175. 9d. Per r t be He was one who thought, that for the good 00, commonwealth that any man's estate ought to ,bb, ye tercd upon and taken possession of; but it Incs' ed extreme case which justified such a step, , 141 the thought that when this money was to be taken NTT, oat people of England to reclaim this land, he thought to it required no little consid e r a ti on; and if they wer e - 0 0 iake this model example he & oug ht they W 'i i feS hesitate to expend it on these waste lands. BY' del Griffiths's report, the whole of the return from the Whey farm was, during three years, only 231. 9s. Bd. " A o f the Noble Lord came down to the House and taito reclaiming these 4,600,000 acres of land did he c° l:l ' - ts el what was the worth of that l an d. H e had calculi the money to be expended on these 4,600,000 acres,,Tch found that it would amount to about 4 s . an acre, o° o was to be expended on land worth about half a-cr e et s an acre ; he never knew a greater bubble, or had heard a more stupendous attempt on the part ol vi lih Government to imp ose u p on t h e H ouse . Then, d to respect to anoth er su bj ect , t h e N o bl e L or d seerc e e , to conceive that small h o ldi ngs were a grea t boleo. Ireland. How many holdings did the Noble Lor d his tend to divide these 6,000,000 acres into. Fo r o ne own part he believed the small holdings to he toe t, of the greatest ev il s t o w hi c h I re l an d was ° e , to and if the Noble Lord had ever read the blue in the which he had so often referred, and which eontainel he evidence taken by Lord Devon's commission ; et 1 0,511 could take the Noble Lord into the county of A l. ";,01 he would show him that the prosperity of a On to was not in proportion to the ratio of p o nulatio o ap ed acreage surface, but in the ratio o f the capital efig on that surface. The Noble Lord seemed to he ties, unaware of the state of Ireland, and seemed to co ° '', - 0 1 that it would be wisest to employ the people in the t eo Ovation of corn. He would tell the Noble Lord that, DI potato wqs the only produce that could be o btain e e u r ol sufficient quantity to feed the people, and that e lr produce sufficient for the purpose never could 1 . 0 Sit tained to support the people. And if he could take he H. Kean and Mr. Kingcade into Ireland, lt 0 would show that it was so. He had W u lf ° 1102' great number of cottier tenantry, and ° A T' eblv been obliged to pay the rates for them all. The Lord at the head of the Foreign Department, 'w e % ) bite . one of the best landlords in Ireland, could have tev",e o sti if they had had any conversation with him in the cau s to,,, that on one of his estates of 600 acres, the holden were divided into only an acre and a half each, on h /v : t at least a population of 2,000 was located, and tP et eek never received 1001. from the estate in his life, 6 , 13 ‘: elk on a nominal rental of 4,0001. he did not recell'o They could not get food of the land, much less paY el eieS their rent or their rates. In another place 013 ale of 212 acres, there were 700 peop l e d om i c iled, an J udi establishment of the soup kitchens would have a s ar se effect in alleviating their conditions as the other roc tea which had been proposed. This Bill was only t r- iOO% on the 29th of January last, and there would be i a e tt ett objection to it until the people of Ireland had m o ded opportunity of considering its provisions. It retel rito el him of the account given of the cholera by 6 with of his, who said it was a disease which begat' tclo° - death ; and if the Nobl e L or d propose d to givPi l e e less relief to the aged, the sick, and the destitute ii if new poor-law, there would be no objection ; h ut v ial' persevered in giving relief to able-bodied labourert by out the workho use t es t, it wou ld b e _ b r i n ging IT; / ice, introducing a system that would commence w it the violence, and revolution. It would be destrerT s g atrir last spark of self-respect in the minds of the P e lt,' °f and deprivin g th em h erea f ter of any probe° ta ke the helping the mse l ves. W ou ld t h e No bl e Lord ,- the consequences of thi s system ? Th e vi t i ate h li e t he rental in Ireland was estimated at 10,000,0001e2500,00. number of the destitute poor were estimate d relief in the persons, and as he believed the Irish rate ef eonsequ oce poor-houses was rated at Is. 9d. each , th e would be that the cost, as he had h wil° lB be 11,379,0001. This would not onlY absorb t e on _ i of the rental in Ireland. but a great portion of the r of England also ; and he thought a tktronger argeteea__ could not be adduced to the landlords of England the this was. They wished to put the screw on the hit; lords of Ireland, and he believed they were right ; they might put the screw too far, and it should be rece" lected that the landlord only paid half the rates, and th° pe ers tenant farmer the other. If they were to have the calculated it, would law of England in Ireland let them have it altogeth e r ; for the landl o rd s wou ld pre f er that to th i s bit-hre. system ; but if they did d o so l et t h em reco ll ec t the nul l ber of tenant fa rmers i n E ng l an d . If t h ey i n trosice d , the present p oor -l aw th ey wou ld h ave to i t il d vance at least four or five millions more—(Bear) --4 10 of what use was a poor-law in the time of fami ne. 1547, within three years after the pet favourite ofdt,", Hon. Member, the 43d o f Eli za b et h h a d b ee n pas se a .ny in dearth occurred i n th e country, an d i t was ev er — s of allowed that the p e opl e were starv i ng from the v ra- e es food. Eight y ears a f ter t h at another famine had cur red, and a Committee of that House had WO to do quire into the causes , an d t h ey h a d unan t m ouslY '" a report that it was utterly beyond the power of a mi l d law to prev en t the sufferings of the people. lic vi re c e ° ere it then obviate the present c damity of Ireland. s" - e ble was another great omission in the plan of Liu? t hat Lord. He would not speak of emigration, for who would be to set the whole country against anY.lc itn for might have adopted a system of wholesale colonisation ble the country, and he was surprised when he saw so tea a man as the Lord Advocate among the Govereic e- üb. man who had turned his attention so muc h to the 0 0 jest—he was su r pri se d t h at h e h a d not b een con sulteu oc i. • this important point. H e was not f or a d opt i n g SO g re w less system of colonisation, for he would place it ti it so the direction of the minister's religion, and hav e but managed that no evil should result to the colonists' t oe :.hat a great b ere fit s h ou ld b e o b tained for the n°lll3/- There was one oth e r grea t om i ss i on i n the speech e. t re. Noble Lo r d, f or h e conce i ve d t h at no system for thienet generation of I re l an d wou ld b e comp l ete which di p ', its altogether obviate the ev il s o f that system.—(Hear' ) measure could be succes s f u l th a t d i d not en tirelY; do the condition of th e agr i cultura l c l asses , and +sir away with the small holdings in that CO for it had destroyed the agricultural labourers as ac la n s id The Noble Lord Complained that the Irish peasant w if e- in work in London or Liverpool, but would not tvc r ' us e iwv while hheine hi n he England Ireland trot a his intd, w hh o ee r I sought oa w usg a s hbta r d e i alqyui vain p re a d i and d,f.or employment, p w e a oe s y Ireland. What was the reason of that ? why, becu- 'd, more able, a more industrious labourer in the world th a t the Irish peasant, but in Ireland it was useless to attel f to work.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member °- Limerick (Mr. S. O'Brien) complained of the absentee landlords, but there was a much more mischievous c his ' o s than that, and that was the class of nominal owner s i id raw w ae c ns ll t,n p o, o l: l property, men who were at the mercy of some agent , sr who could neither help themselves or be of use to --- p body else. This was a class which ought to be got rid for if they really meant to improve the condition of fe e ; land, they must go to the root of the evil, do away with this effete system of granting loans, and The, the whole system of real property in Ireland. - J• e u r ; they must also alter the system of government in ie land. They must either do away with their Lord tenant, or make him a king in reality; and they O ng take steps als o f o r P ar li amen t' meet i ng at state d sea s° in the Castle of Dublin. If the Lord Lieutenant "lure be an efficient agent, he must be made a member e 'i e d d s ,_ i flir t i t yc i .l. n ne g oge b ) e tl h , i 7 n al d h Cabinet. It was of no use to have a rson in fr e ,' - i n a l r e o c o a u g n m o h another i s nn t o g a n edsi.s vehicle,ta r n ' ht in cdtte ; w e : s 7l V s: there mu . st be none of that bitterness of disposition , ' acerbity on score of religion, that odium theologialt that forgets the charity nhieh believeth all things,ll e- b all things, which is first peaceable, thenand ic pure, tbe thinketh re' over e el r rusmo t h nb e e no ; for if they did not look4to thig , union, however binding it might appear to he , with religious diffsrences, never prove anythinfa more than a party diff erence . I t was a sp i r i t t h a t wou but. back th e waters o f c i v ili sat i on to the 16t h century' , in the words of the poet, he warned them-- " Nor deal damnation round the land On each he deems his foe." This country owed a vast debt to Ireland for its centu ries of misgovernm en t, an d i t was n ot to be cancelled by be a mere pecuniary compe ns ation only. It could only_ cancelled by that House passing a law for the relief f o f Ireland in a wise, large, and comprehensiv e spirit, ree from sectarian intolerance, and parochial bigotry,— ' (Choc' s.) and he did not think he House upon this all -absorbing t o pic, Mr. S. O'BRIEN wished to address a few words to the he had imposed upon himself could better accomplish th e . p s dutyinthe order they were adverted to than by following at the head of the Government, when be Loourstdehethe other eveniu„.r. The Noble Lord, in melancholy statistics with the first place, re ferred abdYdrtehsesedNtotibeleil. re gard to Ireland which had latterly been brought under the coat lie occasion, would, ahnodwev comeer, the obvious deduction from them that they were the to draw c e i - Zi t ir l , i hear.) He to those mel sicleration of P a rliament ; but the Noble Lord did not a ppear r g e t s o e n rv e : ‘7l) that part . to the question of distress. Now it was not fair to say there had been a loss of so many acres of potatoes , w hi c h, under ordinary circumstances, amounted to a , certain result of quantity ; but it was their duty to calculate what was the amount of corn which it would be necessary to receive, misrule. — (Hear, f i s theru l e 8 . to replace that loss of potatoes. Proceeding upon such a cal culation, it appeared to him that the loss of potatoes could only be replaced by a certain quantity of corn. Now, the loss sus: could not by Ireland, by the destruction of the potato-crop, a not be computed at less than twenty or thirty millions sterling , and he asked the House in what way that loss was to be m ad e .. up, At all iveuts it was quite c l ear. that ..1 It , ) in order . 1. 2, 1847. Ini 012 mi wc pow aVi rally !Mil of t Eng prei and auto nati grel