The Sun. — London, England, 1847-03-02 00:00:00

- - rhult would have been also different, and what had now been 7ecessful, would have been successful. ~.tle CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER having 11 , UME said that they should get the best terms for the s e they could, and if they had put up the loan so as to raise the'recleetition, they would probably have got better terns. He, tl ikte l e 'rei did consider that the publie did not get a fair : ir • WILLIAMS considered that there had been no corn th). eei if it was not a secret, he would desire to know who „tee parties were who made the offer for the loan. sc!_e C HANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that it t i PO secret, for that it was probably very well known by the "I'ci that they were the Messrs. Rothschild and the Messrs. ng, After theri same conversation the resolution was agreed to , an d noese resumed. e t the POOR RELIEF IRELAND BILL. ei q _ e order of the day that the House do go into a corn- C r ? the o f Relief Ireland Bill, 6 isee ° HN RUSSELL said that he did not rise with any li ssee laof provoki ng a discussion but in order to let the tic„, k now earli er than it otherwise would what his inten sit I` . o ' e . , r e , he propo se d th a t th e y s hould go into committee tine ee tt "'Y next, an d t h at t h ey at present wo uld go into com ah4 pro fi"iia• With respect to the first clause of the bill, een suggested that although the guardians were re etst o reliev e the destitute out of the workhouse, yet, that or to t f ru ght arise w h ere ow i ng to t h e wor kh o use being filled, iltitdi a e t : er i it would be impossible to fill it, and the ee, e ci therefor e , refuse to give relief. In order to tr sh b t such mistakes ' from occurring, a clause should be in tlitb'il7l, req u i r i ng re l ict to be afforded to t h e f u ll ex t en t of the to ct. iiY of the un i on . I n c l ause 9, th e G o vernment propose Ple e l h the liability of persons to be rated. They proposed to ses snt e charge of maintaining the poor up to . a exceededcenain la rge 2l. ed.in neon the electoral distr let, but that where it the pound it should be charged to the union at Ittrdi They also proposed to alter the number of ev-rfficro , a ns• In England, all magistrates, who served as le"Ltates in the union, were members of the board g l, "(lia ris• In Ireland, however, they were elected It Est number of ene-third of the whole board. tit , b 'ae Government proposed was, that the magis elected to the number of one half of the whole body. Ts t % ' g Oald_lik . ewise introduce . a clause similar to that in the tine ages Relief Bill, giving power to the Government to re . - ditty, andvd of guardians for the non-performance of their °as Placing paid guardians to act in their stead. There s hre ati t c h .ther p o i nt to which he would allude. The House were Isd" in England poor relief was not given to persons who Th e lisaf fi eient means of subsistence of their own. life n b'ase might re co ll ec t that it was proposed by the Hon. rviee ) :i r f ar Dublin that no relief should be given to persons less thug above half an acre of land. If they said that per *tiled be required te possess any land whatever, there licee d then a danger that some, indeed many, poor persons, pl ot deprived of the occupat i on o f a cottage , or their little 101.501 garden. O n th e ot h er h an d, s hould relief be given to date,:' Possessed of any land whatever, there would be a °f giving ence uragement to persons of small rflugv, which wou ld, as h a d b ee n suggested to him, eos me ° 't dangerous to the general prosperity of the to °its The small holdings had been represented two most prominent evils in Ireland. Between those ,they-t,°,_" , of danger the Government were undecided, and Jet , * r 'ed to t a k e some ti me f or con sideration. Her Ma tiai t a " ov ernrnent, however, felt the necessity of some defini 'Ned 1 , 0 what class of persons should be entitled to relief. He aii t '' tl conclusion, propose to go into Committee pro f,)rma, kit; stole. should then proceed with the other two Bills as quickly e S HAW said that he understood the proposition it the th efi r " ° rd to be as follows: With reference to 11l 54, 5 t clause, h e intended to grant relief to tia 'night require it. Now, he would suggest ,; fe e : to relief would neeessitate a law of settlement. ti ght ) -e nt , the House should recollect, there was no absolute tl 4O ?relief existing in Ireland. With regard to the second sane, ii i te perfectly acquiesced in it ; and with respect to . the t ' ll att ,sei that no relief should be charged as far R 3 possible gist )11 e meality, and that where it exceeded a certain sum tot c , lo it should b e c h arge d upon t h e un i on at large, he also i ßsie:i red t for as at i present advised he saw no tangible objec t i on ) S p l 'Ach a principle. vd r e ;;HERT PEEL wished to know whether the Nob l e 'ble —e the vestry the same right in the union as they had in 11, d ins; 'HAW asked whether he was to understand by the which re f used relief to t h ose h o ldi n g land, if those in °Vt ' tl: ° ° of certain small holdings would be entitled to relief, tiot 4 t all with large holdings, above a certain amount, should 1 " l t „itted to relief? t a l r le d ",.."RN RUSSELL said, in regard to the first questi o n 114 i `' oll . and Learned Gentleman, in reference to the i t sites ed g l , ! ing the right of cut-door relief, the guardians were L t ;° give out-door relief when the workhouse was full. s h i: ; e :t necessary to make this provision, supposing such a toe *hall arise as that the people might be starving, at a Rss t o they could not be admitted into the workhouse. It till;meet s „ an emergency of that kind, and to empower the ht th l i s l to give relief out of door. As to the question put thecadoff e ,ght Hon. Baronet, he said it would not be exactly liff e - '„ e as it was in England, for in England there was this Ir eland s that relief was given in full; but it was not the 'rels si e of the Government to make it exactly similar in A r. pen 'aci „ `-IN O'CONNELL thought that the clause intro and ' b e ex -o ffi cio gu ar di ans wou ld wor k very badly in Ireland ; Rion ) ! f eared, that as regar d e d re li g i ous questions and reli th Ginstructions to the inmates of the workhouse, he hoped Pco e te et r n atent would introduce some means which would !CSir t a h t N e ei s in that ore in wNayORREYS s cald he was surprised at the s ' : Lord he had been guided in introducing . the ti,:..g.Ctlauses into the Bill. That Noble Lord had partially h o u e lt t il a. the question before the house, and he was bound to thm he the opinion of the House ; but he understood Iri sh ig had allowed himself to be guided by some of the . Pitt.. , embers. Had he taken the opinion of the whole Irish smelt Perhaps complaint would have been out of place; but he ieei, ) 1 1 , ilo wirig the complaints made from Ireland . on the su °Pps ist - ,, - ”e brought it before the House, and given them an . ° l'alio -n ` t Y of snaking their statements and laying down their Lora ee ° °Pon it. In common sense and justice, the Noble fled su 'r bound to have taken this course, and not to have set " gettj, d a question in his private closet. He might say it was esrae f the Noble Lord had made up his mind, an he 11 0 , 4 avveard with his opinions and pressed them upon d the e ' and they were not likely to be able to change them. He 1 , 11 - i lost a ll confidence i n h i m as a l ea d er . All t h e con fid ence th.2a had b een begotten by his conduct on the Factory Bill, 41 43, 11 0 0 th Bill, and other gliestions. Olt. M. J. O'CONNELL said the Hon. Gentleman wished have discussion, and he promised he would have an opportu brY; he hoped to see the question of rating , of a un i f or m r a t e , ought before the House. His opinion was, that any patching ' 4 O tinkering of a mease would be injurious, as they would °a out ere five years ha ur d elapsed. g 2llr. SMITH O'BRIEN could not allow that opportunity tb - _Pass without protesting against the proposed constitution of lLboard of guardians. The Noble Lord, it was well known , e -s ' w t _he popular support for his Government, and yet he came ard with a proposition to make one-third or one. fourth of li t et - i w „hole beard ex officio members, and thereby bade for op t' - „T . , ° °. He thought if persons were fit to be guardians they th c ,,"' be elected by the ratepayers, and if they did not have is badlygua r i,!°nfldencedians of the poor and the ratepayers , they ou g ht not ), POVLETT SCROPE said that many improvement s tt e C e t ell made in the Bill—many more had yet to he m ad:. Ind he must observe that in those made already , great t at's° allowed that evening by the Noble Lord, land ]th e oncessions had been made in favour of tnee,ord. There was one, however, which he must th,,, tt° ,o with all prominency in justice to the Noble Lord, via , th, w elch gave the right of out-doer relf, at least, where I%s„„wcirkhotise was full. As in England, s o re in Ireland, he was 44,0' Where the law was that no one should be allowed to reli,7' for then the poor man might in either country claim th e ri o e nder th e l aw. At the same t i me he did not think that on e ale Lord wou ld h ave l e ft it to the guardians to starve th e e rion of thepeople at their will. liut he admitted that Th ei . -k ase was a very large concession in favour of the liner. O t f;i tl • e d e e 7 ln a s one clause which gave the Commissioners the right s , g outdoor relief to all classes of the poor. That was fall a dvantage and much in favour of the poor, but he was 'all; ' t o ) ace it limited only to tines; when the workhouse was d ra te i e t ee ,; ( : , h i e o n it might be considered dangerous to a - case of infection from fever. The . next tt acin " " in favour of .tie ratepayer was, the clause intro cone g the ; eZ °ffiCio d' s That' he considered, was a great litios " fti arid on e f which he doubted not but that the 1110,11:hae‘'14121tger. Another rnm oncession was, that small far- A -ei - ,, t hu not be allowed to claim relief unless they gave up 'id no l t u- That was not a provision in the Scottish law, it 'We lk require th e poor f armer t o g ive up his croft before it Ale,l l ) ° °' relief. ke, i s * MAULE.—I does not allow relief. 141„ f the • but it did not make . it neces '„ is a er ' n e e small fanner, previous to his receiving aid, to give tort o f ; and for saying that he was supported by the last re_-_ Is e l e `ue Poor-law Com - missioners' inquiry for Scotland. If ° f la nd the law should be that farmers of three or four ac h res t T.°ltet and s there were several hundreds of such t , ( rrti s '' ; - ;" it should be necessary for such to give up their t he ele e t e l , th ee fell into circumstanes of difficulty and distress, Pola r would be ruinous, and the law would be most unpo --l• --knother clause in the sill worthy of attention, was . 2 "fine the out -door relief to the permanently die 4. 3ou 10 % oi e d , otel t not know exactly . how that phrase. permanently ti,„ • 13 nt : I ,4_ti be explained, for . It was a new distinction in the of The this he knew, that it dis.tinguis_hed_a very small por erjrireiss; Nor recipients of relief in England. The Poor-law nnins.:e" in this country had divided all the classes of the . Med but ine, and this class of permanently disabled ut ace 5 0, 4 of these. He was sorry to think that this pro- Persons ~° -s : " offer but very ' inadequate relief to the class of ta d - ‘ lO ought really to have come under that des i g nati o n, Prop,r re gretted it th e more so as Government, by ta ki ng ;mete steps ow. and making adequate provision for the poor in e ntin e leountry, would have adopted the best means of pr e- Asea; . et crowds 0 poor fthat immigrated into this country e t, . . 'a rid "he relief which they could not obtain in their ••• obl e One thing he was anxious to know from the P t h re t , s sion " ,: f ° Was, what - steps be meant to , take for the sup s _ l t i n „ e mendicancy and vagrancy . He recollected L ord, d, i n Poor-law Bill introduced .by the f N h tPpre t i; e cember 1837, there were clauses introduce or the °rd, che ,`! of naendicancy and vagrancy, and that the No e oas es, r a _u i that occasion based the whole Bill upon these t plesti, rl Wattrpririciple of suppressing these. The clauses in the Ho e tr e however expunged after they l left the Commons,one, Ha ving SaLi s e, of Lords, an d passed without them in 83s till a t Qull much, he would postpone what be had to say arr. L, ls , s eeasion. Pa that v s u 'i n ci e :l r ea e d iieo l' t( ! had a question to task of the Noble Lord at th e Government. It was, how far was it his intent workhoue test should be earned out before ou alrePr°Perl granted He hoped also that while this matter e4ThaideYeeacr.ended to, the subject of union-rating would be etrn ' i t by eke as the system of electoral voting was much de r. CA L E` A T Ii Jreland. the t onion- e t • ten. ereani la s tl y s of treaintingo.f wished to say a few td a wo e rds on the „ eri citi sena C a o : i n t g : He had lately presensteena of p ratingtition from than mace or soatifacti for a more eatensivesy He was decidedly of opinion that unless a Feting was established, there would be no Pro posal on in Ireland. He also regretted to hear h r the Government for increasing the number of !lit end `" guardians, as it would cause great dissatisfaction, and na ve ZeT e l!aitie s c . in to the boards who in many instances would e verest in the raising of the rates they were called on Mr, T i N tr • tvlo e h, of r_ZGERALD agreed with the Government in the In 50tw 'sting proposed in the Bill. Lord er to a question from Mr SHAW °o nside /A t "N RUSSELL said the Government had under un a Vagrancy Act for Ireland. The vleuse then went into Committee on the Bill. ° 0 14 13 4 1 Was agre e d t o pro forma, and ordered to be re- LA on Mond ay next. L N) ED PROPERTY (IRELAND) BILL . f ur °l'd j ° ll l4 RU"' o iinRUSSELL moved that the ord er o f th e d a y P°nF into Com m itt ee on t hi s Bill b e read, i n order to post i‘eit. Nlonday next. the O'BRIEN complained of the postponement th and . •. , considered great inconvenience would arise ore, -I n: At oft p-eaent time the people rover engaged on an unpro,lactive nature, and y day lost el Lo the seal seri ° , iniereyraent of the present Bill would be inflicting a POsedi that lreland. With respect to the poor-law pro las not a measure to enrich Ireland. ever believe that free trade would lead to more harmony be tween foreign countries and Great Britain, But it was not be cause free traders were disappointed in that respect, that he was disposed not to listen to any unwise or foolish reductions in our military or naval establishment, nor was he inclined in any way to expose the security of the c ointry to the intrigues of foreign nations.—( Hear, hear. ) Dr. BOWRING said the Noble Lord had evidently taken an erroneous view of the opinions of free traders. He had heard with regret some of the favourable terms of olden times, such as silly and miserable rednctions, rash retrenchments, and so forth, for he believed the people entertained a strong hope that the military and naval establishments of the country would be diminished. For himself, he thought our merchants were a far better protection to the country than either the army or the navy, and whatever might hereafter pass on the hustings, he could only say that he had already received more than one strong remonstrance, more that; one severe lesson from his con stituents, to take care not to lend himself to any unnecessary augmentation of the funds appropriated to the support of the army and navy.—( Hear, hear.) Unlimited control was placed in the hands of the Government over the finances of the nation, and they ought to show their respect of that confidence by economising in the army and naval departments as much as possible.--( Hear, hear.) Mr. WILLIAMS would make but a very few observations at this period of the debate. He was quite prepared to admit that any expenditure, however extravagant, would be defended by professional gentlemen connected with the army and navy, so far as they were concerned ; and perhaps they were justified in doing so.—( Hear, hear.) He had hoped that the Noble Lord the Prime Minister would have followed the example of the Governments of Earl Grey and Lord Melbourne of which the Noble Lord himself was a distinguished member. The first act of Earl Grey, after reforming the House of Com mons, was to propose a reduction in the expenditure in the army and navy ; and when Lord Melbourne came into office, he made various further reductions in several departments, till at last they were brought down to something less than eight mil lions. Ile was surprised to hear, the other night, the Right Honourable the Secretary for the Admiralty, state, that the available army for Great Britain only amounted to 20,000 men. Now so far from this being the case in the year 1836, reducing, from the aggregate number, the men required for Ireland and the colonies, there was left a force of 77,000 men disposable in Great Britain, which could have been brought down to the coast at any moment, to destroy the French army had they at tempted an invasion —( Hear and laughter.) It was therefore hit intention to propose a reduction of twenty thousand men when the Estimates came before them, and still,' after that reduction was made, the army would consist of 32,084 men more than it did in 1835. He should propose that the Horse Guards be reduced to 500 men, and he could not see how the House could reasonably object to this, for no one ever saw to many as s(io guards on duty at once.— ( Hear, hear.) He would also propose a reduction in the Foot Guards of just one half, viz., from 5,260, to `2.630; the cost of this reduction would be 105,452/.—(Laughter)—the cost of the reduction of the Life Guards would be 115,040/.--(Laugh ter)—making a total cost in the reduction of these two depart ments of 220,4921.—( Renewed laughter.) Mr. B. DISRAELI—Is that the cost of the reduction? Mr. WILLI AAI S—Yes.--( Continued laughter.) The Hon. Member then went on to allude to the dead weight of the country—the pension list. The total amount of pensions was 3,702,0001. A great portion of those who received these sums had done nothing for the public service. He had no ob jection to see merit and services duly rewarded ; he would maintain in respectability every body who had lost his Ffe in the public service —( Loud laughter)—or rather his widow and children. The Hon. Member then proceeded to state lis be lief that if this country were to reduce its military establish ments, France would do the same ; and proceeded at some length to show that the financial condition of that country rendered it imperatively necessary for the French Government to adopt that course. Mr. BROTHERTON protested against the time of the House being wasted in the manner it had been by the llon. Member who had just sat down. He should feel it his duty, if the course were pursued, to move the adjournment of the House.—( Hear, hear.) It was a great interruption to public business.—( Hear, hear.) He thought the House ought to go into Committee, and get at once to business.—( Hear, ) The House then went into a Committee of Supply. ARMY ESTIMATES. Mr. FOX MAULE said he thought the Hon. Member for Coventry (Mr. Williams) would not quarrel with him if he stated his opinion to the House, that he thought they were much indebted to the Hon. Member fur Salford ( Mr. Bro therton) for the remarks he had just made. It would have been much more convenient to have discussed the several points which had been adverted to by the Hon. Member as they had arisen in Committee, than that he should have made a statement mixing up together the army, the navy, and the orunance, and thereby rendering it almost impossible to meet at once the Irish police, the Archbishop of Dublin, and the numerous other complaints of the Honourable Member. — ( Laughter.) With respect to the remarks of the Honourable Member for Montrose upon the army estimates, to the effect that there was a decrease upon the effective, but a large in crease upon the non-effective force, the Hon. Member should have recollected that he was at least an accessory before the fact, because he was one of those who asserted as cordially as any other Hon. Member to the remission of the charge upon the poundage of Chelsea pensioners, amounting to a sum of 50,0001. He would not then take upon himself to enter into the question of the general policy of the Government, but would confine himself to the business immediately before the Committee, if the Committee would bear with him for a few minutes while he made the usual financial statement of the military affairs of this country. He thought he should best ecnsult the convenience of the Committee if he applied himself to the estimates immediately before the House, and afterwards allude generally to those topics of military interest of which the Committee might be desirous oflearning something at his hand. Upon reference to the estimates, it would appear that the number of men to be voted in;the aggregate for the ensuing year was 138,895, the gross charge for these would be 5,155,8481. The gross charge for the nen-effective force during the present year was 2,175,2271., making a total gross charge of 7,331,0751. From that sum, however, there fell to be de duelled the sum paid for 30,497 men by the East India Com pany £972,211 Appropriations in aid of the effective force ... .. 52,375 Balance from the Royal Military College Appropriation in aid of the Royal Military Asylum 6,145 Appropriations in aid of the non-effective force 7,137 Lord JOHN RUSSELL thought the measure of such importance that he could not agree to its passing without the greatest consideration. It should be gone through clause by clause, and all its provisions duly weighed and considered. Their so doing before sending it to the other House was the most safe and practical course, and this would take up some time. The Honourable Member Lad also complained of the proposed poor-law, and said that it would not be a measure to make Ireland rich. He (Lord John Russell) did not say that it would do so, but it would have the effect of inducing the ganged proprietors and the farmers to employ the people instead of supporting them in the workhouse, and thus lead to the improvement of the country.—( Hear, hear.) With regard to the money now spending, it would enable the people to earn something to keep them alive. The most important question for the Go vernment now was, not whether the labour was productive or not, but to enable the people to keep alive. Still he thought that even the roads which had been made, and which were said to be - utrproductive, would turn out most useful and advan tageous. He could further assure the Hon. Member that the Waste Lands Bill would be shortly introduced, and that that, with the New Poor-law, would be proceeded with without delay. With respect to the Bill now under conside ration the Lord Chancellor had gone through the clauses, and thought them highly important and practical; still as the practice; if the Court of Chancery in Ireland differed somewhat from the practice of the English Cou, t, it was con sidered the best course to delay the Bill a little, in order that its provisions might be fully matured, and that it might, there fore, work satisfactorily.—( Hear, hear. ) Mr. HUME said no one could see the exertions which the Government were making without being satisfied that they were doing their best ; still he could not agree with the Noble Lord that the money now expended was not unproductive. He (Mr. Hume) did not see any evidence of its productive ness, while its application was taking the people away from the cultivation of the land. No time should be lost in carrying the Bill, to enable the landed proprietors to receive loans in order to employ the people on the lands. There was no doubt but that the land would pay for the capital expended on it. Only the other day he learned that land in one of the most distressed counties in Ireland, Kerry had sold for 27 years' purchase. He thought that as so many of the estates in Ireland were in Chancery, a Bill should be passed to enable the proprietors to sell their estates, and apply the results to liberate themselves from their present unfortunate position. Lord G. BENTINCK said he could not agree with the Noble Lord in the picture he had drawn of the benefits which would arise from the roads that were making, as from a report of a meeting held the other day in Ireland, at which Mr. Bianconi, who had been referred to as a great tautly rity in that House, had spoken. That gentleman had spoken at the meeting, represented the roads to be in a most deplorable condition, and of little use for the purposes contemplated. (The Noble Lord read an extract from the report of the meeting to this effect.) Lord J. RUSSELL had not said that he was very sanguine of the benefits which the roads would produce, but that he considered they would benefit the country, and be the means of employing the people so as to supply the means of sub sistence. Sir JAMES GRAHAM entertained a strong opinion that every farthing expended in Ireland, should be spent in a repro ductive manner. lie did not, however, rise to give this oei nion, but to express himself that he thought it unfair and unjust to press the Government in this period of awful and unexampled difficulty, or to blame them for delaying to bring forward the measures which they thought necessary to meet the crisis. But he would express .his opinion in reference to permanent measures for Ireland, that none would be better calculated to give relief than a Measure giving facilities to tenants for life to relieve themselves of their incumbrances by the sale of portions of their land.— ( Hear, hear.) Suet' a measure was absolutely required, and he rejoiced to hear that the Lord Chancellor of Ireland had directed his earnest attention to the question, in order that some relief in this respect might be given to holders of property.—( Hear.) There was a clause to put this on equitable principles, but what was the consequence ? Why, Lord Langdale, Lord Campbell, the Lord Chancellor, and Lord Lyndhurst had all allowed that the principles of the Bill were inapplicable to the circumstances of the country. These principles had been fully agreed to in that House, and yet these great law Lords had all assented to the agreement that the hill was quite un tenable. On the one hand, there was the difficulty which must be felt in the Legislature at passing Bills to which these Lords could not give their consent, Yet he considered that obtaining the consent of the other tHouse to the improvement of the Poor Law was of the greatest possible moment, and he trusted the necessary measures for that purpose would be taken. Mr. L A BOCCHERE could not but regret the opinion that the Right Hon. Baronet opposite had expressed as to the two courses, one of which it was determined that Parliament should pursue. He deeply regretted that the word of his Noble Friend the first Lord of the Treasury had not been sufficiently at tended to. The Right Hon. Baronet seemed to think that his Noble Friend conceived that it was immaterial what works were entered upon, and whether they were useful or unprofit able works ; but if he had examined sufficiently into the state of the facts, he would find that none of the works on which the public money had been expended could he called unproductive works. and that the expenditure which had been made had been of much service in the improvement of property,of the country. slindetrhaeticoonnsoifdtchraetimonatotectshbise- fqoureestthioenm,,tahneyd t m o u s s a t v g e o th to e tshaecrcifionce of human life, and to prevent the extent of human suffering, and for that purpose they were anxious to promote this mea sure. But it had been made a charge against the Govern ment, that these people had net been employed upon reproduc tive works, and that if the money were to be expended, this ought to be resorted to. But were not these people already or indirectly, in the c ultivation of the soil. eHnegshgaedd:tdaicttreedolvyer and over again, that the object of the Go vernment in the planning of these works, was the employment of the people with a view to the preservation of human life. But, as the Right Hon. Baronet had observed, this could only be attained by the expenditure of a large sum of money. The great question was, as to how this plan would succeed in the improvement of the country. What would have been the circumstances had this grant not been made. Why, the probability was that the suffering would not have been relieved, and yet the money would have been equally expended, and therefore it was that he was re joiced that they had given their assistance, and that the people had been employed upon public, rather than upon re-productive works. He would not trouble the House with further remarks, but could not help expressing his regret that their measures had not met with the approval of the Hon. Member for Dor - setshire (Mr. S. Herbert), whose opinion was always of so much weight in that House. Sir D. NORREYS—The Noble Lard was desirous of de veloping the resources of Ireland. Let him do so in a manly manner, and let no man take up a mine or any other public work without the sanction of Government. Would it not be better now, if the Noble Lord has any measure in it a s a us waseist p ef t ee h taeld t i b t ee e i t or t re h r n e oat B . o b a aT r n d hki s o forW principleao Wks, and see whether b an se d ry o d He would now give an instance of this Act. He had an offer publmicighrtosbdee from some gentlemen to erect a mill at an expense of from 14,0001. to 15,0001., but he could not accede to their offer bocause he could not force the occupants of certain lands to give him a right of way to the entrance to the m i ll. Then there was another case which had come under his notice. There was a limestone quarry which could not be brought into play, because the original holders of the land refused to grant their assistance to the conveyance of the stone from the quarry, and he was quite satisfied that unless some measures were taken for expe diting the means for enabling public works to be carried on it would be utterly futile to pass any measure for the improve ment of Ireland. Mr. BAILEY believed that unless there were some mea sures for enabling the proprietors to get rid of their entailed estates, any measures to which the Government might accede would be of no use whatever. Mr. J. O'CONNELL said that a great misunderstanding prevailed on this subject. He had himself been largely en gaged in the appropriation of the means provided for the im provement of Ireland, especially in the most cultivated districts in Ireland. He meant those about Dublin. The great object was, to give employment to the people, and they had found that the making of roads had been of the utmost possible advantage, for they afforded to the most destitute immediate employment. One fault only had, as it appeared to him, been committed, and that was the endeavour to do the work which required 17,000,0001. with a grant of 10,000,000/.; a grant which was totally inapplicable to the purpose. Sure he was that if the Governmer.t acted consistently they would not find the gentle. men of Ireland behindhand in rendering their assistance. Mr. SHAW was unwilling to say a single word, but he thought that the Bill of the Government might have been sooner brought forward, and he regretted this the more as there was an evident desire on both sides of the House that it should be carried forward as speedily as possible. Mr. P. SCROPE wan anxious to know the result of the Drainage Act of last session, for it appeared to him that it had not been sufficiently followed out. He had had communi cations from Ireland in which it was stated that the land in the neighbourhood of the writers was quite under weer, and he felt assured that if that Act had beers fully carried out, that no difficulty would have been experienced respecting those public worts. After a few words from Mr. BAILEY, Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that he should be prepared to answer the question on Monday next, and he could not without preparation undertake to answer all the questions respecting the measures which had passed this House. With respect to the Drainage Bill, of which complaint had been made by his Hon. Friend (Mr. P. Scrope), all he could say was that every opportunity had beers taken to render the Act as avail able as possible, and as there was to be another discussion, he might say with respect to the question of his Hon, Friend, that he would then be able to learn what the intentions of Government were. The Earl of LINCOLN bad listened with much attention to the observations of the Hon. Member of St. Germains, and did feel that the intentions of the Act of last year had not- been fully carried out, and that the sanction of the Government had been fully justified. And the more so that from 120 to 130 per cent. of the funds bad been applied to the purposes of this Act. Mr. SMITH O'BRIEN regretted that no intimation had been given by the Government of the plan which they intended to adopt ; fur, if they had, he felt assured that not only would the system itself have been most satisfactory to the country, but that it would be more eminently instrumental in the pro. motion of the public welfare. The vote was then postponed until Monday next. ARMY ESTINIATES. On the motion that the House go into a Committee of Supply on the army estimates, Mr. HUME said that he exceedingly regretted that the Government should have takers the course which they had adopted in the arrangement of these estimates, for he saw n beo reason whatever for the increase o f the sum voted for these estimates. Since the year 1822 the estimates for this purpose were upwards of 20,000,000/. in excess of what they were, and for this he saw no reason whatever. During the years 1835, 6, and 7he found that the whole of the estimates for the purposes of war were upwards of 43,000,0001., giving an average for the three years of more than 14,473,0001., and since the year 1813 they had increased to the extent of more than 3,000,000/. He did not see any reason for this, for the difference was not great between the present year and that of 1828, when the army had been re duced. For his own part he .lid not see that there was any great necessity for a larger military establishment than that which existed in 1792, and to that standing he thought the army ought to be approximated if it were not reduced to that extent. These were matters well deserving of inquiry, and he trusted the Government would net allow the matter to pass without sufficient investigation. Sir DE LACY EVANS could, as he believed, make con siderable pretensions to the character of a liberal Member of that House, but he would never be a party to embarrass the Government by such a reduction of the army estimates as that which had been suggested by the Hon. Member for Montrose (Mr. Hume).—( Hear, hear.) The wants of this great empire were not to be satisfied by a meagre force. with regard to what had fallen from the Honourable Member for Montrose upon the subject of economy, he could only say, that at no hustings would he ever give a pledge to make any silly or foolish reductions in the public expenditure, and thus jeopardize the defences of the country. Lord GEORGE BENTINCK said nothing could be more rash and silly than reductions at the expense of the security of the country. He had heard with great surprise from free tra ders opposite, that no sooner had they es. ablishea free trade, than they were obliged to increase their military operations; be cause they were once told, that the effects of free trade would be to produce peace, lay desolate fortifications, disband enemies, and do away with the navy. Now he, as a protectionist, never saw that any of these consequences would arise, nor did he THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENT NG, MARCH 2, 1847. they might be found, might be always maintained throughout every company in an effective state. The vote of 108,398 men for the land service for the ensuing year was then agreed to. The vote of 3,728,737/. for the payment of the land forces of Great Britain and Ireland and the dependencies, except East India, for the ensuing year, was then agreed to. Sir C. NAPIER said they had now proceeded with two votes for the army, and agreed to them ; he hoped, according to the promise of the Noble Lord, that the Government would now proceed with the navy estimates. There were several Hon. Members besides himself who had waited the whole of the night in the hope that the Noble Lord would fulfil his pro mise, and he trusted that even yet he would do so. Mr. FOX M AULE said that would be mere waste of time. Sir C. NAPIER (lid not see that it would be any waste of time. Several Hon. Gentlemen had been waiting for the ex press purpose in the House the whole night, and he himself had been waiting anxiously, and he hoped they would proceed im mediately to the navy estimates. He had to go to Portsmouth, so that it was impassible for him to be present if it were to be postponed ; indeed, it was not fair to postpone it. He could not accede to it. _ . who had the interests of the army at heart would not object to an occasional increase of this vote,. This year it was proposed to give 1,0401. to officers as rewards for meritorious services The next vote was the pay of general officers. In this vote it was proposed to make an increase of 33,0001., but that vote contained the expenses of the arrangements against which the Hon. Member protested—the expenses of the brevet. Deduct ing, however, the extra quarter of last year, which was 16,0001., the real increase over the vote of last year was re duced to 17,000/. And a brevet going to the extent it did with an increase over the ordinary estimate of only 17,0001. was not a matter which could afford grounds for any dissatis faction. The next vote was for the retiring full-pay. This vote was estimated at 13,000 a , while for that of last year it was 15,0001., so that on this vote there was a reduction of 2,0001. He now came to the half-pay, and his Hon. Friend said that this was a vote continually increasing. Mr. WILLI ANlS—Only a part of it. Mr. F. MAULE—His Hon. Friend said only a part of it. Well, he held in his hand a paper which gave the state of th:s vote from 1830, from which it appeared that it was going on gradually decreasing from 720,000/. to 420,0001. There was an actual decrease this year of 14,0001. He now came to the foreign half pay. The vote last year was for 50,281/, but for this year it was 49,136/., so that there was a decrease of 1,145/, He now same to the widow's pension. The vote last year was 138,8191., and for the pre sent it was proposed to he 131,854/., so that there would be a decrease of 6,965/. He held in his hand a comparative state ment of this vote from 1830, and it was gradually reduced from 143,000. 1 . to 131,854/. There was also to be a reduction on the next vote. The vote for the compassionate allowances was also to be reduce d. Last year the vote was 102,0')01., and for the present year it was proposed to be 98,0001. On the vote for the pensions for Chelsea and Kil mainham, calculating the four quarters of last year, there was a small increase in the estimate of last year of 1,9731., which went to the establishment at Chelsea. He now came to the out •pensioners, for whom the largest vote in the service was required. This year showed an increase of 43,383!., the whole charge being 1,236,073/. Last year the charge woo 1,191,315/. It was necessary to explain the cause of this increase. He found that there were 961 more men on this list than last year, whose pensions amounted to 14,051/. The commuted pensions amounted to 1,500/., and others, of smaller amount, to 1,744 L, which would have re duced this vote, but for the increase of numbers to which he had referred. The House had relinquished the charge formerly made on out pensioners, on the payment of their allowances, which had led to an increase of 50,000/.; but he thought this was simply an act of justice, to which he was sure no one would for a moment object. Next there was a charge of 60,000/., to which he wished to call particular attention, for organising a body to proceed to New Zealand, under the command of Capt. Tulloch. The object was two fold. They proposed sending, under the charge of 6 officers, a body of 500 men, with their families, for the purpose of being located there, under certain advantages to which he would allude more fully at another period. He would state, however, that they were to be located in settlements, and to perform certain duties for a period of seven years, at the expiration of which they were to be put into possession of the land with the view of their becoming valuable settlers in the colony. They would afford a de fence to the colony, and would be liable to be called out for that purpose by the Governor, in short they would, he was quite sure, at a moderate expense, be the means of doing great service to the colony in a wholesome and proper way.— (Hear, hear.) The general charge, of which this was an item, was 291,000/., making an increase of 61,677/., for which 16,939/. had to be deducted, so that there would be an increase in the vote of 45,0001. It had been stated that there was an increase of 9,0001. in the superannuation allowances ; but this was not the case, as the expense of this year would be similar to the last. These were the details of the non -effective I service, in which there was a gross increase of 254,890/. ; but there was to be set against that 218,9711., which really reduced the increase to only 35,911 ; but if that was taken from the de crease in the effective service 62,6171., it would show a de crease upon the revenue of the year of 46,860!., (as we under stood). He thought. the Committee would admit that the War-office had paid attention to economy in framing the esti mates for the ensuing year. Before, however, he closed this part of his statement, he wished to allude to one ob servation—to an observation which had fallen from the Honourable Member for Montrose —a statement which he believed he made somewhat accidentally—he said every department seemed to think it their duty to make their estimates as high as possible, but for his department he ( Mr. F. Maule) might say, that its object was to make the estimates as low as possible, and if he would consult those who were in the service I f that department, and those who were seeking to gain anything from it , he would find that his statement was ethnetiraerimy, rr he o wouldousa— yne ano ther word further than this— that its efficiency was such as it always had been, and such as e La t lea sayr .) With regard to the efficiency of he trusted it would always ma i n tain. With respect to the un healthy state of the barracks in the West Indies, and in Jamaica and other parts, he might state that black troops were in the habit of doing duty in many of these places, instead of the white troops ; and he might state that the mortality in these islan cent. ds. veith the exception, perhaps , o f Cuba, was 1 3-10ths per From a return which he held in his hand, showing the healthy in the Mediterranean, u unhealthy islands, it appeared that was 1-30th per up to the 31st of March, 1846, the mortality . d .. cent. ; and in the year 1836, 2-30ths ; in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda, up to March, 1846, 1 3-10ths ; in 1836, 2 1-10th ;in New south Wales and the Cape of Good Hope, in 1846, it was - ,l 4 10ths an d nearly the same in 1836 ; in St. Helena, the Mauritius, and Jamaica, in 1846, it was I 9-10ths per cent. ;'and in 1836 it was 91 men in every 1,000. But the improvement of the rations, and the improved con struction of the barracks had done much to improve the health of the troops. In the unhealthy stations, in Ceylon, for in stance, he might state that the whole mortality was greater than could be wished at the present moment, as it was 4 4-10ths per cent. ; but, in 1836 it was 7 5-10ths per cent. In Hong-Kong it was also considerable, but he hoped, by the aid of colonial troops instead of British troops, that less sacrifice of life would take place. He had all the means of knowing the mortality in India, but he had little means of con trolling it. He hoped, however, that it would be considerably reduced by the introduction of improvements No man was more impressed with the importance of those improvements than the Noble Lord who held supreme com mand in India, and be hoped when his mind was less occupied with the condition of India, that he would realise the intention he had often expressed of introducing improvements in the Making a total to be deducted from the gross barracks, and that before he retraced his homeward steps, he charge of Leaving a eLarge on the present year of 6,275,074/, and the India, whilst not required in the field, in barracks number of men to be voted 108,393, making a small decrease erected in healthy situations, in the highlands, and upon the number which was taken last year, of 210 men. particularly in the mountains above Madras, for There were some charges of course in the different arrange- those in that part of India. With respect to the ments of this number, and h e th o ught it right to state some moral training going on in the army, he proposed taking a vote of those charges to the Committee. There has been a decrease of 2,000/. for establishing schools in connexion with the Mili in the regiments coming from f ore ign ser vice. Five regiments tary Asylum. They proposed establishing a school for le the which will arrive from foreign service, had, during the time training of schoo lmasters —a model school—on the princip of they were abroad, borne a strength of one thousand men, the regimental schools, and an infant school for the orphan those regiments would be reduced upon their arrival children of British so ldiers. This g rant was proposed by his at home, each of them, to eight hundred men, Noble Friend who had preceded him in his office, and in future That reduction, together with a reduction of some nen- com- years the army would look on him with gratitude. He be missioned officers, would cause a total reduction of 1,075 men. lieved it would lead Rot only to the education of children, There was also another small reduction, amounting to 37 men, but be the means of imparting education to the which would make a total reduction of 1,111 men. With the adult soldier, which, perhaps, might be the means exception of 210 men, those diferences were supplied in the of enabling him to do something for his support in old age, following manner, and as it involved a Principle, he would make whether pensioned or not pensioned. The army libraries had, a statement upon that subject to the Committee, in as short a be was happy to state, been increased by 10,000 volumes dur i ng time ss possible. It is proposed to raise a body of 682 men, the year, and he proposed taking a vote of 2,000/. for a similar including officers, for the service of the garrison at Hong- With dto the disciplinein the army, he had purpose.regar Kong, and itso, that was also proposed to add this body to the Ceylon only to state, and he experienced satisfaction in doing corps, and in adopting this mode of providing for the service since January last up to the close of the year, only five of Hong Kong, the Government would be acting and he plc which had formerl been - cases of corporal punishment had occurred ; a s . principle much discussed in that House a expected to see in a short space of time, the practice ot in upon which ho had very considerable opinions, ' inflicting'punishment • h (Cheers.) that was the mode of and such a dying away altoget er.— coloni applying, wherever it was possible, the The army prisons were working well—as well as could pos al corps, for the purpose of takingin Great charge of the colonial sibly be wished. There were nine of these prisons in possessions.—( Hear, hear.) This mode one in in point of administration, infinite! e was more economical Britain and 'related, of which four were in Ireland and y more economical 'in a Scotland, bta there were cells in all the barracks, and from the still more essential point of view, he alluded to he Lion of the health and lives of soldiers —(Hear,th i e , preserve- returns he had received, which were most satisfactory , oldiers was ear)--and found that their effect upon the morals of the 5 therefore it was that the Government had come the conta to the resolu- most imortant, as the soldiers were separated from tion that, instead of keeping British troops at Hong Kong, mination of the civil gaols. The improvement in this respect yeas where he was sorry to say that they had fallen h army; a prey o ne of the most important ever introduced into the British _ to diseases incident to that climate, it would be better, •months, under and whereas it took days and .veeks, and sometimes they had accordingly proposed that the garrison of Hong the old system, regiment. to make a man available to his Kong should be occupied by a corresponding number of men There is no one instance of any soldier being in the least de drawn from the Ceylon corps. Another increase,and this, gree injured by the punishment ; and however violent they although the first, he was afraid would not be the last increase, were, going in, they in all instances came out better ; whereas, in the Cape corps. The Governor had already added two under the old system, the soldier going into the civil gaol never companies to that corps , am ountin g to 174 men. But Sir H. came out better. The labour in the prison was severe,d cone- Pottinger and Major-General Berkley, who had recently gone plaints were made against it, but he was not disposed to out there, had been instructed t o add four more com p anies to attend to them, as long as it did ro injury to th e men. The that corps, and he would say that it wa s in contem p lation fur- labour was Se severe, and such was the vigilance exercised, that ther to consider the means of pr ovidin g for the de• no soldier was known voluntarily to go into prison, for the pa went in that r- fences of the extended territory of that co lon y , b y means of , pose of shirking duty, and there was no man who colonial corps, so as to relieve this country of a did not come out, most heartily intending to don is tab best no which considerable portion of the expense. T here was g o in again. Those were the especial pnt also another small addition of 45 men , making a to tal addition he would at present allude. There were other matters t d o wh i of 901 men, which taken from the 1 , 111 men left an actual de- the attention of the Government would be turned by egrekess. Ch crease for the ensuing year of 210 men. The Hon. Member mo re p articularly to the comfort of the soldiery in the barracf . for Coventry (Mr. Williams) proposed to effect a reduction of The proposal which he should have the pleasure of making or 20,000 men; for his part he would say that if the Government the purpose of limiting the service of the soldiery, a u prove could spare 20.000 men, without reference to the defences of to the army at large the anxious care of the Governmehnet over the country, but simply with respect to the general operation of their interests, and he did trust that, following up what saw the relief of the burdens upon the country, he should be happy to be the feeling of the House—namely, that the army was a had been too to do so. His belief was that if the Government wished to service the interests of which in some respects relieve their regiments in anything like a proper man- long overlooked—they would attend to their h comf h orts ner—( Hear, hear)—the most effectual manner of pre- with a greater minuteness, for let the House believe im wen venting their doing so would be to diminish the force he, assured it, that the more they too k ea , eof the soldiery in in the., mode prescribed by the Honourable Member the time of ,peace the more disposed they would be teo serve for Coventry. He believed that there was at the present them faithfully in the time of war. —(llear, hear.) He did it period no regiment which had not been in India for a period of trust that consistentl y with the maxims whic h that the was upwards of 1.4 a years, and he believed that there was now no the d ut y of the Government to inculcate, y regiment at home which had remained in this country for more would be able to promote the happiness and welfare of than four years, and he hoped that in the course of t ime (for the soldiers, and that they would induce the people it would require time to effect it) that the Government would of the country—not the outcasts and re r f a u b s i e , of:Tc , i s e i t o y n —i i t , o w eli j ta be able to bring down the largest term of absence of any the service, to esteem i h t e a r s Ito i childr°en"to ernh i lr r k, e. in which at regiment from this country to a period not exceeding they might eneouraget paid to their Moral training, and from which thirteen years. He would then pass on to the next vote— tension will be a back improved and worthy members the charge for the land forces for the ensuing year. they would receive nem Upon the land force charge there was a decrease to the public of society.—( Loud ch s e a ers.) Hone that the statement whieh had been of 44,151!., owing to appropriations in aid. Had it not been Mr. WILLIAM S_ Hon Gentleman was the clearest and most for these appropriations there would not have been any made by the Right h he ever had the pleasure of hearing since he reduction o n thi s charge. The next vote to which he came ableexposition whit: o f having a seat in that Hous e . He di d was the staff. On that vote there was an increase of 8,343/, had the honou r proposed a reduction of twenty thousand men, which was occasioned by the force they were obliged to send to intend to have with his friends, he had received very little the Ce of Good Hope, and I think the Committee will be of but, on consulting an _ seeing no possible chanee of success he opinion that the worst way to endeavour to settle the little encouragement, d the harmony of the debate. wars was to do so in a little way. The effect of the contrary did not intend to interrupt d he himself, had His great confidence that mode of proceeding was . apparent at the Cape, for the friends around him, an move- ment that had • taken Government would be in office next year wh , en place had completely paralysed the the present ain voted d, an that then a very Caffres, and had laid the foundation of the hope of these estimates would be ag submission. No corps could acquit themselves more allantlgreat reduction would be mad e .. _ __ _ , than that which was commanded by Colonel Somerset. g y g General Sir DE LACY LNANb said he experienced On that vote, therefore, there would be a a i i ncrea as h e had v ery great satisfaction indeed from the statement made by the stated, of 8,343/. The fourth vote on the estim s les was in Right Hon. Gentleman. He hoped that the Government the Public Department, and the increase on that was 2,0931., wou ld torn their a ttention to the establishment of disci p li ne which was caused by the increase of postage, and was cause companies, whi ch had been done in almost all other services. by the increase of, work in the department. The next vote He would also p oint the attention of the Government to the was for the Royal Military Asylum. The estimate for this accommodation afforded to the soldiers in barracks, which was year was 17,633" and for last year 14 ,082 1 ., there being exceedingly deficient, there not being more than one foot be. an increase of 3,571/, for a vote to which he would tween each of the hods in most of them.—( Hear. ) allude more particularly by and bye—one for the fur- Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT said he was very well pleased theranee of a new system of education in that establish- at the statement made by the Right Hon. Gentleman his sue ment, but he would at present pass on to the other votes. cessor in office. He hoped that the Government would en- The next vote was for the volunteer corps , which it was Pro- deavour to introduce vaore extensively the system of rewards posed to increase this year to 3,9291. In the estimates last and examination. year a vote of 36,5001. was taken for the unprovided services, Mr. ET WA LL said he was disappointed to find the small hut i t was not proposed this year to take any vote for them, amoun t o f e i g ht or nine thousand s pounds voted f or the purpose but to leave them to be paid for at they might arise. Taking, o f e d ucat i on i n t h e army. He would express his hope then, the sum of these respective increases, 17,9361. from this that a far larger sum would be set apart next 36,5001., the vete for the unprovided services of last year, a year for that purpose. lie was sorry al so to perceive that balance of 18 , 5641. would be left, which, if added to the de- there was only required a sum of 2,000/. to pay interest upon crease on the land force, would make altogether a decrease in moneys lodged in the regimental savings' banks. He for one, the effective services of 62,705/. Ho now came to the non- as a Member of the British Legislature, would ever seek to effective services. The Honourable Member for Non- advance the interests of the army intellectually. trose said that there was a large increase on these Mr. GOULBURN said, after the observations which had services. He said there was a steady increase on every vote. fallen from the Hon. Gentleman in regard to the reduction Now he (Mr. F. Mauls) did not think the Hen. Gentleman of the colonial corps, he felt he must decidedly enter studied these estimates with the care he usually bestowed i upon h his protest against any . such p h roposition. He would grant them, because a co mparison of this year's estiriiatevsewtetheft lastose that in particular colonies, a w ere the expenses fell heavy of last year, was not a fair one, inasmuch as the on the . British subject,. _reduction might be effected while the vote of this without injury ; but against the proposition of a general year comprehended merely three quarters, _ re year extended over four. He (Mr. F. Maul ) e should, there- duetion of the colonial corps, he would certainly . enter his pro fore, would state it test • for that might be done in a tiof take the account in its various details, and to the House. The first vote was for the reward of distin- sma ll saving o f expens e, but, i n a time of war, difficulties would guished services. On this vote there was an increase of 3,740/. arise in collecting sufficient force to meet the necessities of such The estimated charge of last year (four quarters) had been 1 a ti me w hi c h wou ld more than balance any trifling saving they calculated would have amounted to 16,0791., w hile for this i could effect. But another point which he wished t o impress e ear the vote was 15,7401., so that, in point of fact, there 1 upon the House was, that every portion of the troops, wherever was an actual decrease this year of 339', though there was an 1 they might be located, in Australia, Canada, or anywhere else. apparent increase. This, however, was not a vote on which should be looked upon and treated as an integral portion the Hon. Member would like to see a steady decrease. Those of the imperial army. lie said this, that the forces, wherever Lord JOHN RUSSELL said he had hoped that the army estimates would have come on at an earlier period of the even ing, but he was afraid that at that late hour nothing could be done if they should turn now to the navy estimates. Sir C. NAPIER said he would not agree to this. He would not accede. A promise had been made that the navy estimates would have been taken that night ; unless that were done, he must beg that Mr. Greene would report progress. Mr. WILLIAMS objected to the House going that night into the navy estimates He could not agree to it, and thought it would be but wasting time. _ . Sir C. NAPIER said it was not a waste of time at all. Why, he supposed that eight or ten votes might be got through. He had much to say upon them, and business would not allow him to be present if they were postponed to another nigbt. Mr. FOX MAULE—The Gallant Admiral is bent on delaying the public business. Mr. WILLIAMS objected to their going into Committee on the navy estimates. Sir C. NAPIER said he had reason for acting thus. He had the promise of the Noble Lord that the navy estimates would come on that night, and he could not be present on Fri day night. LordJ. RUSSELL said he might meet both parties. He promised that the ordnance estimates should come on en Friday night after the army estimates, instead of the navy. Sir C. NAPIER agreed. The following votes were then agreed to:— The vote of 177,778/. for the expenses of the general staff officers for the ensuing year. The vote of 96,532/. for the Public Military Department for the ensuing year. The vote of 17,633/. fcr the Royal Military Asylum for the ensuing year. The following votes were also agreed to :- 86,304/. to defray the expenses of the volunteer corps. 15,740/. to defray the expense of rewards for distinguished services. 82,0001. to defray the charge of the general officers in her Majesty's service. 59,000!. to defray the charge of the retired officers of the land forces. 420,000/. to defray the charge of the half-pay of the military officers of the land forces. 49,136/. to defray the charge of the half-pay of foreign officers who have been engaged in the British service. 131,859/. to defray the charge of the widows and orphans of those who had been engaged in land forces. 95,000/. to defray the charge of the royal bounty. 36,623'. to defray the charge of the Chelsea and Kilmainham Hospitals. 1,236,732/ to defray the charge of the out-pensioners of Chelsea Hospital. On the vote of 35,000?. being proposed for the charge of the public departments of the land forces of Great Britain and Ireland, Sir DE LACY EVANS complained of the way in which the Government had acted in respect to the granting of medals, and hoped the matter would be attended to, in order to remove the impression which existed in the army on the subject. Lord JOHN RUSSELL, in some observations which were very nearly inaudible, was understood to say that the Govern ment had it under their consideration to issue medals to all those alive who had been engaged in any engagements on be half of this country. Sir R. PEEL wished to know whether or not the Govern ment had come to any decision with respect io a public monu ment to the memory of Sir Robert Sale, General Nott, and the other eminent officers who had distinguished themselves in India ? . . . . Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that he understood that it was the intention of her Majesty's late Government to erect some testimonial to the memory of all the officers who had fallen in India, and the present Government intended to carry out the proposal. Sir R. PEEL thought, instead of having a separate statue on each, it would be best to have some public record of the two battles, which should commemorate the actions, and at the same time to have a separate medallion for the specific services performed at each battle. Sir C. NAPIER said that as medals were to be given to . . the officers who had fought in India, he wished to know why the same honour had not been granted to the officers who had behaved themselves so well in Syria? The taking of St. Jean D'Aere was considered at the time a very wonderful aehie7ement. He saw nothing wonderful in it, but still he thought if medals were given to officers in India, the same ought to he given to the officers engaged in Syria. He did not care for these things himself, but still the officers and men naturally asked what was the reason that, when others were rewarded, they were forgotten? Lord J. RUSSELL reminded the Hon. and Gallant Mem ber that no decorations had been granted for the battle of Algiers and of Navarino. Sir C. NAPIEIt said that the persons engaged in these battles ought to have been rewarded. Algiers was one of the strongest towns in the world, and it had been taken by four or five sail of the line, and probably there was no other man besides Lord Exmouth who would have undertaken the task. With respect to the battle of Navarino, that was a very differ. ent thing ; but even there the officer in command had taken an inferior fleet into a narrow harbour, and defeated a force superior to his own. It was no excuse, therefore, to refer to these instances. The vote was then agreed to. A vete of 60,0001. for the half•pay pension to the army serving in India, was, after a few words from Mr. WlLLiwais and Sir Da LACY Evaws, agreed to. The House then resumed, and the Chairman reported progress. CONSOLIDATED FUND (8,000,000/.) LOAN BILL. This Bill was read a second time. DRAINAGE BILL (AMENDMENTS). Lord J. RUSSELL postponed the notice which stood fcr to morrow (this day), respecting the constitution of the Ecclesi astical Commission Bill, till to-morrow week. Sir G. GREY brought in the Drainage Act Amendment Bill, which was read a first time. LIMITED ENLISTMENT BILL. Mr. FOX MAULE moved the first reading of a Bill for li miting the period of enlistment in the army. He did not pro pose to enter into details ; he would simply state that the period in the infantry would be limited to ten years, and in the ca valry to twelve years. Mr. HENLEY hoped that a week, instead of twenty-four hours, would be given to the person enlisting to consider. The House then adjourned at Twelve o'clock. PARLIAMEN TARY BUSINESS. From the Votes and Proceedings of the louse of Commons.) MONDAY, 111ARCII 1. The following Railway Bills were presented, read a first Line, and ordered to be read a second time : FRIDAY. MARCH 5. RAILWAYS. Select Committee on Group No. 12. Sir J an Guest discharged; Colonel Paget Beate I, and added t co - the Committee. The ( 3ommittee of Selection have discharged the Select Commi ttees to whom the Groups Nos. 5 and 6 have been several ly referred, and have postponed the meeting of the Select committees on those Groups to the week commencing notida. r , March 15. SMI iLL MEASURES FOR IRELAND TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. See, —At a moment of almost unparalleled difficulty, when ti se lives a n d p ro p er ti es o f m illi ons of the people of this grt eat empire hang, with a painful importance upon the me. 'sures of the Government, and upon the fiat of the Le gisiature—when the heart must be permitted to bring her dictates to the wisdom of the bead —may so humble. an individual as I um be permitted, through your k ind courtesy, to offer a few remarks upon the all impose ant subject of legislating for Ireland, to bring iny feeble taper to the blaze of light which is now, through the columns ,of an unrivalled press, thrown over her ' wante, and her misfortunes; and to crave your indulgence while I take a short notice of the ungenerous tone which has, on this subject, been adopted by what I may call the great history of " the Times." Feeling, Sir, with other Irishmen, very grateful for much that this influen tial jo,arnal and its talented commissioner have done, from time to. time, to rouse our It ish landlords to a sense of the duties and responsibilities of their position, and assured that it is often impelled to do or say what may wound. by a stern sense of public duty, still I can find in these sentiments little to palliate, nothing to justify, the recentmost unfair, violent, and sweeping attacks, iu that paper, upon Irish landlords, but am very reluctantly obliged to join in the almost universal feeling of painful indignation with which these statements have been re ceived. No one is more aware of the high, and often onerous, duties which the press has to perform in wield ing for the public good the enormous power which its own talent, and public confidence, may place in its hands—no one more anxious to hear humble testimony to the wisdom, moderation, and justice, in which it, has generally upheld this sacred trust, no one more ready to admit that where strong feel ings are aroused, it is difficult to stay the pen of an honest and enthusiastic writer ; still I would ask, in all courtesy, if, while the dark clouds of a mysterious and deep affliction, still hang over this ill-fated country, while the hand of the Almighty has let loose upon it the withering scourge of famine and of pestilence, while we know not where His mercy may place a limit to our sufferings, if, it is only, Sir, at such a season the Times can strike with such cruel and unrelenting blows the already overtaxed, overtoiled, and overabused Irish gentry, why is it that in this instance, as in that of the Court-martial, in the seventh Hussars, last Septem ber, we find the bulky influence of this journal thrown so readily and so recklessly into the scale of public prejudice and misconception—defeating only the poor ambition of the writer? Colonel Whyte and Lord St. Laurence, the Adjutant of that distinguish( d regi• ment, in the strict and proper performance of a most painful duty, carried with them ii a great degree the sympathy of a right-minded and intelligent public, when the Times assailed them and made that feeling universal. My present object, however, in addressing you, Sir, is not so much to offer a feeble vindication of my gallant brother officers of the British army, or to Irish landlords, as to express my grateful admiration of the manner in which my talented countrymen have met their ungenerous assailants; they have replied to empty words by energetic action, they have met irritation and anger with forbearance and manly temper, they have borne down prejudice and opposition, by an eloquent and earnest vindication of their character and of their rights ; they have appealed in enlightened argument, in a high spirit of confidence and courtesy, to a noble public, end they have been met with universal sympathy and respect. Their time, their money, and their health, are freely sacrificed to relieve their starving fellow-countrymen. and God will bless them for it. Most truly have they proved themselves worthy to cope with the great and afflicting exigencies of tbeir unhappy country—they have fairly won the admiration of a world, and can well afford to pass by such statements as some of those in the Times and House of Commons, in the consoling convic tion that such must ever carry with them their own best refutation, their own most complete condemnation. Having thua performed a pleasing duty towards the great Irish party—a noble confederacy in a noble cause—you will, Sir, I am sure, permit me once more to assure you of the regret I feel in being obliged thus strongly to ex press my disapproval of the unmeasured length to which this paper has carried its condemnation of Irish land lords, a vast number of whom are not to be surpassed in the civilised world for every feelin e which can adorn their position or benefit mankind—enlightened, gene rous, and humane, the condition of their properties best attest their worth ; while I must now join in deep dis approbation of another class of Irish proprietors, from whose " penny wise," short-sighted views, reckless or rapacious conduct, spring up, in my opinion, the chief sources of Irish discontent, poverty, and outrage. A man comes to one of these gentlemen with 4004 in his pocket, to take a farm of a hundred acres. The really needy, or habitually im provident landlord, asks him what fine he is prepared to pay him, as there are many who wish for the farm, and he cannot afford to let it without one. The man offers one, or even two hundred, but the previous infor mation of an agent or bailiff gets from him finally the third hundred pounds, and he goes into the farm a san guine but a ruined man. Glad to get a respectable wife and family settled, the poor hard-working fellow struggles on for years, perhaps in want, privation, and in waning hope, to inevitable beggary, when the exasperated land lord enters the house with an execution in his hand, cud drives out upon a cold world an intelligent, respectable, and industrious, but heart-broken man, involuntarily to swell the number of those homeless and forlorn beings who goad and sting our unhappy country into madness, misery, and crime, while the wretched landlord loses ie the non-payment of his rent, and deterioration of his land, four times the sum for which he blindly sacrificed perhaps an entire family ; all the high rewards of his position, and all the be s t feelings of his heart. In this, Sir, and in small holdings, below the yearly value of 10/., lies the master evil which afflicts this country, and until this class of Irish pro prietors recognise their duty and their interest to be identical with the great principle of " Live and let live," we can hope for little to amend, little to amcloriate. How great is the contrast, how different the results on the properties of such landlords as Lord Farnham, Lord Erne, Lord Besborough, Mr. Sharman Crawford, Lord Devon, Lord George Hill, Lord Abercorn, Mr. Fortes cue, Sir A. Brook, Col. Bruen, and, thank God, an hundred others. Here you will see the reciprocal duties of landlord and tenant wisely and warmly recognised. Here you aill see men protected, contented, and happy, whose sole ambition is in all things to evince their gratitude to their landlord, and to hand down to their children a fair farm and a fair fame. When such feelings spring from the heart, you may feel assured that the moral and social condition of that people is sound. Which is best—l would ask of Irish landlords—the shot of the midnight assassin, the howl of the starving incendiary around them, or the long loud shouts of joy which welcome back to his home the friend, the benefactor, and the guide? Surely, it must be such sounds as these v,hich make the happy man happier, the good man better ; it must be such sounds as these which open wide the fountains of the heat t, and sends the glad current of life bounding in joy and triumph over the cares and crosses of a fickle world. I agree very much with Mr. Hamilton, that it is a series more of " little measures " which we require than of great and sweeping changes ; but as few have pointed any such out, or seem willing to do so, I am sure I will be allowed to offer one or two suggestions which may at all events lead to a better and more practical considera tion of this important subject. In the first place, I cer tainly think an " absentee tax " would be only a fair instalment of the compensation due to this country for the money yearly drawn and spent out of it ; and, al though I also concur with Sir G. Wood, that some of the absentee landlords are among the very best, and might naturally enough strongly object to be thus taxed to swell the public Exchequer, cause the funds so raised to be spent on their own several estates, in giving pre miums for green crops, cattle, and cottages, draining, farm servants, and fencing, and I %ill answer for it you will annihilate their opposition ; for this reason—that although these enlightened landlords do at this moment spend, and have for years done so, large sums in the advancement of agriculture and improvement of their estates, they will have simply to withhold such portion of that sum as may be equivalent to the new tax. They are thus no sufferers in their in come, and all their best objects are equally attended to, while the like benefits are compulsorily conferred on the poor tenants of the thoughtless, the reckless, and the improvident, and to give them still a direct and pleasing interest in the benefit accruing to their estates, they could point out six names of their most respectable farmers to the nearest deputy-lieutenant of the county, who should nominate three of these as judges for the year, for the distribution of such prizes as the tax on the property may yield. In the next place, Sir, I propose I that money be at once, and for many years to come, perhaps, advanced in loan from the Consolidated Fund, for the purpose of giving a stimulus to manufactures in Ireland—" the steam-engine, the loom, the print work, the mill, the manufactory—these elements of wealth, this issue for an over agricultural population," as the talented Member for Dublin, Mr. Gregory, justly terms them ; these are, indeed, what we really require, and although warmly and gratefully recognising the generous and manly sympathy of Lord George Bentinck, and with ardent best wishes for his success, I did fear that there were some points in his measure, in the moment and manner of bringi n g it before the country, which would cause it to be objected to by b present chief Minister of the Crow n, situated as Lord John Russell is, and I still think every enactment of the kind he proposed must be imp erfect, unless aided and illustrated by the important auxiliary one of encourage ment to manufactures, which must always afford the most certain security for the discharge of interest and the repayment of capital if something like the following v ery simple plan could be ad o pt ed :—When an indivi dual, or a company, lay out, in raising mills or factories, say B,OOOL, and when this outlay is duly certi • fied, by accounts furnished to, and attested by, a board composed of the three nearest magistrates, the execu tive, on receiving the same from them, accompanied by a policy of in: in a lice on the property so far completed, may surely think themselves safe and well secured in advancing an equal sum to that already expended. In doing so a generous and enlightened Minister justly claims for himself everlasting honour in thus becoming the happy medium through the high influence of which is infused into an impoverished country some small share of surplus English capital, in return for the hundreds of thou sands annually drawn from poor Ireland, and squandered in rich and happy England ; and for the repayment of which I can imagine no better security than what it here proposed. I would earnestly recommend, also, tha, money be advanced on the same principle, as nearly as can be, to encourage the construction of a capable and 17 state, and somewhat less irksome ,_ to themselves. It is a fallacy to assert that the greater portion of spirits ma nufactured in this country is consumed by the lower orders ; it is not so, and its consumption, therefore, is not attended with a demoralizing effect. Consequently there will be no materially increased demand, and no ill effect to be apprehended in doing away with the re venue police, if the duty on whiskey is wisely reduced. I would at the same time reduce the duty on West India rum, in such a degree, as while it did not interfere with the Irish distiller, would at the same time operate to prevent any attempt at an exaggerated profit, and a consequent revival or extension of an illegal competition. Should, however, old prejudice still hang around the minds of some, or a real apprehension that as " the pledge " wears away with time, and Providence sheds a greater abundance on the land, illicit distillation may once m9re gain ground. I would say, reduce still more your duty; I would still implore you to abolish the principle of inculcating sobriety by the bayonet, or of upholding morality by hunting the people like wild beasts upon the mountains. Depend upon it such a course is unwise, as it is degrading to the country—as uncalled for as it is detestable. Let me beg of some Honourable Member in his place in Parliament, to move for returns of all stills, whiskey and malt, taken or de stroyed by the revenue police within the last five years; also, for returns of the sums expended in the maintenance of the establishment; and I would then ask the Government and the country if the amount of the one is at all an equivalent for the ex penditure of the other, furnishing as it does one of those many channels which divert the Irish revenue from the Imperial Treasury, and resulting only in those cruel taunts against our country, that in our union with England we are her degradation and her bane. Do away, I beseech yon, with such a force, and spend the money it costs this country in a well-digested system of agricultural, religious, and moral training of the rising generation, and you will reap a rich reward in the sti mulated industry, happiness, and wealth of a grateful and a regenerated people. If I have, in thus trespassing upon your valuable space, overcome a painful reluctance and owe to you, Sir, and the public, some apology, I feel assured my only motive will be permitted to plead one for me, better than any words I can offer. I am, Sir, your very faithful and obedient servant, JAMES HENRY TODD. Buncrana Castle, County Don( gal} 22d Feb. 1847. Great Indian Peninsula—" for incorporating a Company, to be called ' The Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company,' and for giving powers to the East Indian Company and the Governor-General of India in Council, to enable the said Railway Company to make a Railway from Bombay to Allah, with Extensions to Mhuse and the Pera River, and Branches or Extensions to Sholapoor, Hyderabad, Kandeish, Indore, and Hos hu ngab ad." ST. JAMES'S THEATRE. FRENCH PLAYS. A new consedia vaudeville, entitled Le Mari qui se derange, was produced here last night. It is either a revival of an old French vaudeville, or a new play written to an old plot, for we remember that some twee ty years since a comedy (confessedly an adaptation from the French) by Poole, was produced at the Haymarket, in which Farren acted the part of Mr. Dotrington, the plot of which was precisely similar. That plot may be told in a very • few words. Maurice Durosel (M. Lafont), the Mari qui se derange, is married to a delightful woman, but still he has his bachelor propensities, and he deter mines to go with his friend Berthollin (Cartigny) to a masquerade, and make a " night of it,"_ leaving his wife at home. The wives of this precious pair also determine to go to this entertainment, and each husband unwittingly makes love to his own wife. After a certain series of regular misadventures, the plot is dis covered by Maurice, who has engaged in a flirtation with a fair masque, retusing to carry the affair any far ther, ou the plea that he has " a wife whom he adores." She unmasks, and he discovers that he has been making love to his own wife. The admirable acting of Lafont, as Maurice, made this trifle go off very agreeably. He w•as excellently supported by Mdlle. Vall4e, as the wife, and by Cartigny, as Berthollin. The vaudeville was preceded by Le Demon de la Nuit. The house was well and fashionably attended. Colchester, Stour Valley, Sudbury, and Halstead (Lease to the Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund's Railway Company)— •' to enable the Colchester, Stour Valley, Sudbury, and Hal stead Railway Company to grant a Lease of their undertaking to the Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund's Railway Company." Leeds, Dewsbury, and Manchester (Ossett Branch and Dewsbury and Morley Stations)—" for enabling the Leeds, Dewsbury, and Manchester Railway Company to make a Branch Railway to Ossett, and to provide additional Station Accommodation in the Town of Dewsbury, and at or near Morley, all in the West Riding of the county of York." Oxtord, Worcester, and Wolverhampton (No. 2—Exten sions and Amendment)—" to enable the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Railway Company to snake a Railway from Stourbridge to join their Railway near Dudley, and to Halesowen, with certain Branches therefrom, and for other purposes." _ _ Mold (from Mold to join the Chester and Holyhead Rail way)—." for making a Railway from Mold, in the county 01 Flint, to join the Chester and Holyhead Railway , in the parish of Hawarden, in the same county, with Branches, to be called, ' The Mold Railway.'" Birmingham and Oxford Junction, and Birmingham, Wol verhampton, and Dudley Railways Amalgamation—" for uniting the Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway Com pany, and the Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and Dudley Railway Company into one Company, and for authorising the sate of the Birmingham' Wolverhampton, and Dudley Railway, and other new works to the Great Western Railway Company. The following Railway Bills were read a second time, com mitted, and referred to the Committee of Selection : Eastern Union and Hadleigh Junction (Sale to the Eastern Union Railway Company). Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund's (Extension to East Dereham and to Aylsham). Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund's (Branch from Ipswich to Woodbridge). Herne Bay and Canterbury Junction. Royston and Hitchin (Extension from Royston to Cam bridge, &c.) Royston and Hitchin (Sale or Lease). Caledonian ( Branches from the Clydesdale Junction to the Douglas and Lesmahagow Mineral Fields, and to Strath avon ). Caledonian (Extension of Motherwell Branch of Clydesdale Junction Railway to Auchinheatk Mineral Field, with Branches to the Wisbaw and Coltness Railway, Cander side, and Hamilton). Caledonian (Purchase or Lease of Wishaw and Coltness Railway ). Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction (Deviations be tween Duntocher Limeworks and Bowling, &c.) Strathtay and Breadalbane Extension. Wilsontown, Morningside, and Coltness (Branches to Benhar Coalworks and Edinburgh and Glasgow Turnpike Road). Newry and Enniskillen.' Colchester, Stour Valley, Sudbury, and Halstead (Extension from Lavenham to Bury St. Edmund's). Colchester, Stour Valley, Sudbury, and Halstead (Extension to Melford, Lavenham. and Clare). Colchester, St ou r Valley, Sudbury , and Halstead (Stour Navigation Purchase). (Deviations and Bidef or d an d Taw Vale Railway and Dock South Molton Branches). Aylsbam and North Walaham. East Lothian Central. Duffryn Llynvi, and Porth Cawl and Llynvi Valley Rail ways Amalgamation. Guildford Extension, and Portsmouth and Fareham. London and South-Western. COURT CIRCULAR. The Queen and Prince Albert honoured the performance of the French Plays with` their presence yesterday evening. The royal suite consisted of the Marchioness of Douro, the lion. Miss Paget, the Earl of Listowel, Colonel the Hon. Charles Grey, and Colonel Bouverie. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, attended by Lady Fanny Howard and Sir George Couper, also honoured the French Plays with her presence last evening. His Royal Highness Prince Albert rode out on horseback yesterday, attended by his Equerry in Waiting, Colonel Bouverie. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales anddy the Princess Alice took their usual wa lks and rides yesteran the royal gardens. Viscount Clifden has succe eded Lord George Lennox as the Lord in Waiting to his Royal Highness Prince Albert ; and Colonel Bouverie ha s relieved Captain the Hon. Alexander H. Gordon in the duties of Equerry , in Waiting to his Royal Highness. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge and his Serene Highness Prince Frederick of Hesse arrived at Ca shiobuq-park, Herte, the residence of her Majesty the Queen Dowager, yesterday, m orning, haying travelled from town by the London and Icorth Western Railway. Lady Augusta Cadogan and Mr. Edmond Mitch - nay were in waiting on her Royal Highness. The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Frederick of Hesse partook of a dejeune with the Queen Dowager. In the after noon the Royal Duchess' and his Serene Highness took their departure on their return to town. Lord John Russell and the Chancellor of the Excheq uer , accompanied by the Lords of th e Treasury and the Secre taries of the Treasury, received yesterday morning the gen tlemen from the city o f L on d o n , on t he subject, of the new loan of eight millions. Mr. J. B. Heath, the Governor of the Bank of England, an d t h e D eputy- G overnor, attended t h e meeting. Lord Macdonald and Mr. H. J. Bailie, had an inter view with Si r G eorge G rey yesterday at the M.P. home-office. A deputation from the South Lancashire coal proprietors, consisting of the Hon. Colonel Lindsay, M.P., Mr. Fletcher, Mr. Dartington, and Mr. Watkins (solicitor), had an inter view with the Right Hon. Edward Street yesterday , at the office of the Commissioners of Railways, in Great George street. Mr. Colquhoun, Diplomatic Agent for the Hansa Towns, had an interview with the Right Hon. T. Milner Gibson yesterday, at the Office of the Board of Trade. A deputation of the Directors of the Waterford and Kil kenny Railway Company, consisting of Mr. P. S. Butler, M.P., Mr. George Anderson, Mr. George Emery, Mr. Charles Hulse, and Mr. M. J. Currie, had an interview with Lord , Jelin Russell, yesterday, at his official residence in Downing street. His Excellency Prince Callimaki, Ottoman Minister, was among the company who visited h er Majesty's 'Theatre on Thursday last. NOTICES GIVEN AT THE PRIVATE BILL-OFFICE. Th e following Railway Bills are appointed to be read a second tirae:— Taw Vale Railway and Dock. London and North-Western (Lime-street, Liverpool, Station Extension, ea-) London and North-Western (Portobello and Wolverhampton Branch, &c.) Cambridge, St. Neot's, and Bedford Junction. Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund's (Branch from Stowmarket to Sudbury). Edinburgh and Northern (St. Andrew's and Newburgh Harbour, Branches, and Road Crossings, Newport Railway Extension). Blandford and Bruton. strong description of vessel, and thus make dee fishing as hat it is not, and ought to be, a great Fl\AV:.:; jl . 1:4 of national profit and employment. The next Ao consider most essential is, to infuse a more hsiei tone it to the rural population of the country, by ate sa e A,:', l ?7D - :."2 .. .. lating industry and self-reliance, by the gradual abblir ' '-- tion of small holdings, and by a better and more cm" ‘2, j S i ttiC7l pact allotment of tillage land to farmers, all nearly of which may be accomplished through a wise system of encouragement to emigration, and which might be thus carried into effect:—Let a man, desirous to go to our North American Colonies, obtain a certificate from his landlord, clergyman, and nearest local magistrate, stating his desire to emigrate, with a wife and so many chil dren, and that he has only part, or no part, of the money requisite for that purpose, the Government agent at the nearest port of embarkation should, on such a voucher being handed to him, be empowered to provide them wi h a passage, enclosing it again with a state ment of the expense incurred, to the secretary of the grand jury, to be by that body assessed on the county at large, or, as I should much prefer, to the chairman of the electorial division to which the emigrant belongs, to be recovered by an additional rate, because it is better for the rate-payer thus to get rid of a whole family of paupers by at once paying a certain sum, than for them for ever to be a burthen on the union, while the evil of small holdings is pointed out in a most intelligible manner—titrough their pockets —to the rate-payers and public, doing more to undermine and make unpopular than all th e s p eec h es , wr i t i ngs and enact the system, ments of the last half -century ; the landlord, of course, in the first instance, having bound himself in his ccrtifi ;ate that the holding will not again be let to a separate tenant, but will be added to the farm of the nearest and most improving tenant. The late Chancellor of the Ex• chequer does not think that any Government ought to be • intrusted with power to di aw for an indefinite amount on the Consolidated Fund, but that the Minister should come to th House of Commons from time to time for the sum, however large, he may require. There is a cold propriety in this which will gain some little popularity tit the day book and ledger portion of a community ; but in it we can all perceive a holding back, a paralysing of the hand of succour to be held out to Ireland, and a clogging of the machinery for her relief. No Minister will come down to the House of Commons, day after day, or year after year, with demands upon his liberality, knowing the long and vexatious debates, and, perhaps, divisions, to which he will be subject, and with which money Bills are indeed so sure to be assailed in that House, and especially in certain quarters of it. The time I may hope is past when Ireland can be legislated for in such a spirit, which seemingly confers what it in reality withholds; better tar to fix at once a large and liberal sum as the maximum to which the Minister may proceed, when all that the most pinching economist can require is a full statement, from time to time, to be laid before the House of the monies expended to benefit the country ; I would reiterate the necessity of a revision of the Grand Jury Laws, especially as regards the great power of assess ment, and of those relating to salmon fisheries, as I can not help thinking that almost all recent enactments in regard thereto have much tended to oppress and embar rass the proprietors, while no one (Ise is in any intelli gible degree benefited, unless, indeed, such people as would grasp and poach a property they well know they have nu other right to than what is conferred by an unfair and unwise law. If some early enactments do not throw these people further from the entrance of salmon streams, this description of property will, in a few years more, be little worth legislating tor. Lastly, Sir, I would draw the attention of Irish M mbers to a force which this country has to support—the revenue police— the existence of which I cannot help thinking an indig nity to Ireland, which, happily, she does not at this moment afford a satisfactory pretext for having in dicted on her. Reduce the duty 2s. a gallon on whiskey, and then to assert, as some gravely will, that such a force is more required here than in England or Scotland, is in my mind exceeding a formal imbecility? Thanks to Father Mathew, and the great aid given to that good man by the clergy and gentry of all creeds and classes, it is indeed not so ; but it affords large patronage, and will consequently find many friends and arguments to uphold it ; but I shall still hope that the day is not far distant when justice and sound policy will assail the existence of a most ex pensive and unnecessary force ; far be it from me to say one word which can pain or disparage a body of men which in zeal, efficiency, and good conduct are hardly to be surpassed by any in the service of her Majesty. I should simply rejoice to see them absorbed by the Irish constabulary or the army, where I am certain their services would be of some greater value to the \ t hought of the to had island failed )n of a ampled 3y bad which shmen, iy ex- was looked irles to sperity y :that iilway• k y s the , r line excerft l an rae hat the the le eks in ) wevert • tale in (Mt . a w ere to Nu .. The emp loy ?Ewe in p ersons tember, cott• ountry had 1 1 ' 4 acation. nyinee s Id hoe hick be id a y or notice !. )tion of anY venieot m oot to ies. day 1111 not in' wed re- ,ra do go xespass vations. 10.00014 counted Crs, ho c coup' he case did not n poud , t , shut collect vitation n of the — op Pe r" tubject. )11 tbbi !d into ,he pre • on t hat :ntirell ircuir Wee Of aet• t. , the Irtien that The the 309 r be' 1d in un til u ntil ut ill d uP d be 3 IT I% .11ot a ll BY bed the g et If a . the