The Sun. — London, England, 1840-02-25 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION. METROPOLITAN ANTI-CORN- LAW ASSOCIATION. A meeting was held yesterday, called by private cir cular, of gentlemen favourable to a repeal of the Corn laws, to consider of the propriety of forming a Metro politan Anti-Corn-law Association to act in conjunction with the Manchester Anti-Corn-law League. Mr WARBURTON, M.P. was unanimously called to chair, and amongst the gentlemen present we noticed Mr. Hume, M.P., Mr. Villiers, M.P., Mr. G. Phillips, M.P., Mr. J. B. Smith, the Chairman of the Man chester Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Alderman Cobden, Mr. T. Crawfurd, Mr. Roebuck, Mr. Travers, the Messrs. Ricardo, Dr. Bowring, and a considerable number of influential gentlemen. H. S. Chapman acted as Secretary. It was moved by JOHN TRAVERS, Esq., and seconded by JOHN ROBERTSON, Esq. First---That the persons present at this meeting do hereby constitute themselves into a Society, to be called the Metropolitan Anti-Corn-law Association. Carried unanimously. It was moved by J. L. RICARDO, Esq., and seconded by WM. GREIG, Esq. Second—That the object of this Association shall be, by means of lectures and discussions, public meet ings, petitions to Parliament, the influence of the press, and otherwise, to procure the repeal of the Corn-laws. It was moved by HENRY WAYMOUTH, Esq., and seconded by PETER A. TAYLOR, Esq. That a Committee be formed to carry the above objects into effect, and that the said Committee consist of the following members, with power to add to their numbers :—John Travers, Esq., Peter A. Taylor, Francis Place, Esq., W. A. Wilkinson, Esq., J. L. Ricardo Esq., J. Loyd Jones, Esq., R. B. Whitesides, E N', W. Coates, Esq., T. F. Gibson, Esq., William Greig, Esq., Samuel Wilson, Esq. A number of gentlemen immediately put down their names, and a subscription was entered into to carry the objects of the Society into effect. A good deal of discussion took place on moving the resolutions, but as it was rather a private than a public m eeting, and the discussion was altogether of a friendly colloquial character, we prefer stating the substance of it, to undertaking to give anything like a report. Two points were mooted, both by Mr. Hume: the first was the l lnciPle on w hi c h t h e S oc i ety was to procee d as t o the extent, total or partial repeal ; and the second was the possibility or impossibility of success, unless the assistance of the masses was obtained, and how that could be got. On the first point Mr. Hume suggested ,that the members of the Anti-Corn•law League who were present should give the meeting some information. Mr. J. B. Smith and Mr. Cobden both complied with the suggestion, and described at some length the pro ceedings of the League. Mr. SMITH pointed out the great sufferings of the Manchester people, the small portion of- the cotton manufacture which is consumed by the persons con nected with the land, about one tenth of the whole, whose consumption too had been considerably less in 1839 than in 1838, as may naturally be expected from the short harvest and the low wages of the agricultural labourers, and condemned the arrogance of these con sumers of one tenth of the manufacturers' produce, pre suming to dictate how they were to dispose of the other nine-tenths. Mr. Smith mentioned the progress the League had made, the means it had employed, the lecturers it had sent out, the publication it had established, and he pointed to the late triumphant anti corn law banquet, the largest festival perhaps that ever was held in the world, as a proof of their growing success. One fact he mentioned deserves notice for the sake of the landlords. A lecturer from the League had been to Great Torrington, Devonshire, where he could get lei room to lecture in, and was obliged to lecture in the fields and road sides. He persevered, and the conse quence was that an Anti-Corn-law Association was formed at this agricultural village of Great Torrington, and eight or nine petitions for the abolition of the Corn laws were on their road from that place and its neigh bourhood. Mr. Smith said that in London the effects of the Corn-laws had not been felt so ruinously as at Manchester, but by and by the people here too would feel the effects, and would then make.corres pending exertions to procure the repeal. Mr. COBDEN assured the meeting that the success of the lecturers at the different places, and the success of the League, had been mainly owing to their advocacy of the total and immediate repeal. He defended tile justice and propriety of adopting that principle, and de clared that he was convinced, and the lecturers were con vinced,that had they advocated either a fixed duty on the sliding scale, or the postponement of the repeal, that they would have been beaten in argument, and would have obtained no success whatever. He, of course, recommended the Society to follow the League, and de clare for the total and immediate repeal. No opinion was pronounced by the meeting on that, but the cheers with which the statement was received proved to us that no other principle than that will, and no other, we are sure, ought, to receive the approbation of the gen tlemen present. The o th er po i nt concern i ng the masses, st ill more important, occasioned a discussion of some length. All agreed that without union arid co-operation of masters and men, the middle and the lower classes, success against the organized power of the landlords, comprising, as .Mr. Warburton said, more talents and More means than ever the people had to defeat, was impossible. In that all agreed, and all a gree d i n earnes tly wishin g t o o b ta i n th co-operation of the lower classes. All agreed, also, in saying that those classes had much to complain of besides the Corn-laws. All appeared advocates of the extension of the suffrage ; all were of opinion that this was about one of the last chances that were offered to reconcile the masses and the middle classes, and secure the great progress of reform. There was, however ; a good deal of difference of opinion as to the extent of the alienation, and a Mr. Coates of the Tower Hamlets, as well as two of the Corn-law League lecturers who were pre sent, assured the meeting that the masses did not pre -1 fer to the extent supposed agitation for the Charter to agitation for the repe a l o f th e C orn -l aws . I n th e T ower Hamlet s , a t Gl asgow , at Oldh am, an d ot h er p l aces, re solutions favourable to the repeal of the Corn-laws had been passed by overwhelming numbers, in the face of the adverse Chartists. There were also great differences of opinion as to the means by which the masses should be brought to co-operate. Mr. ROEBUCK, who made a very neat and terse speech, suggested that the Association should pledge itself to the masses, to promote their views after the Corn-laws were repealed. The suggestion, however, found no favour with the gentlemen present, such a course was described as alien to the object of the So ciety, which might hope to unite men of all parties. They were favourable to the extension of the suffrage, but any pledge of the kind might impede the useful ness of the Society. Mr. M. PHILLIPS suggested that the masses should be invited by their leaders to be present at the discussions, and that their objects should be discussed in a friendly way with the lecturers and other members of the Association. An amendment to that effect was introduced into the resolution, and while the best feelings were expressed towards the masses, a hope was expressed that on this honourable understanding, as Mr. Roebuck and all their peculiar friends avouched for their abhorrence of the Corn-laws, though they have a still greater abhor rence of being unrepresented, they will be induced to agi tate with the middle classes to put down the monstrous monopoly of the land owners. Such a hope was more con fidently expressed, inasmuch as the masses would be bet ter able to achieve their own objects after the Corn-laws were repealed than at present. We earnestly hope that the masses may see it in the same light, and unite with the middle classes to obtain a certain good, which. with all the other advantages and improvements they and we equally desire. Towards the close of the proceedings the room was crowded, and the whole proceedings were enthusiastically supported. We consider the Metropolitan Anti-Corn Law Association, therefore, to be at last fairly launched, and we trust it will make a prosperous and glorious voyage. The League was set afloat before it, but the vast wealth, power. and numbers of the metropolis, should make the Metropolitan Association overtake, if it do not outstrip, its precursor. A plumber, of Sherborne, has in his possession a most extraordinary specimen, not only as regards its peculiar growth, but its weight also. It resembles fourteen potatoes of apparently perfect growth, cemented in that position to resemble a star in every direction. Lewis Levy, alias Emanuel Levy, the keeper of a cigar-shop and smoking-rooms at No. Bow-road, ap peared in the Court of Excise on Thursday, to answer five in formations laid against him for sell.ng wine and spirits without being duly licensed. The defendant pleaded guilty, and the Court in consideration of the poverty which the defendant pleaded, and to a certain extent proved, the fine was mitigated to 2.5 guineas. Several informations which had been laid against the daughters were withdrawn. THE UNITED TORIES.—A requisition calling on the Recorder of Dublin to resign his seat for the Univer sity, in consequence of the vote which ho gave in favour of the Municipal Corporation Bill, has been got up in Dublin. EXECUTION Olf Two FRENCH MURDERERS.— The Gazette des Tribunaur of Friday gives an interesting account of the E xecution of two men, named Caron and Car pentier, who had been guilty of murder. They were confined in the prison of St. Omer, and were accompanied to Arras, the place of their execution, by four of their friends. On arriving at Arras they were received by the priests, to whom they acknow ledged the justice of their sentence, and entreated them to join in imploring pardon from God. We will not enter into the dreadful details of the last moments. The guillotine performed its dreadful office in the usual manner. But we wish to hold up to the execration ofour readers an act of tyranny and injustice which immediately followed the execution, and which even Papists will join us in condemning. Just as this just but terrible ex piation had been consummated, and as the crowd, thoughtful and silent, were returning to their homes, it was publicly given out that the daughter of Carpentier (one of the men who had just expiated his crime by death and repentance) had been spurned and thrust ou t f rom the convent of Cambra i , i n w hi c h ehe had taken the veil as a nun. The girl was of an amiable disposition and irreproachable conduct, and the only reason as signed for this arbitrary act is the disgrace resulting from her father's fate. In spit e o f the remonstrances of the respectable bishop, M. de Belmar, the convent persists in refusing to re testate the girl. Thi s act of bigotry and fanaticism, emanating from those who profess themselves the dispensers of mercy ..n(1 daarity, has excited univers a l disgust. SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS. FROII THE EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY. (From the Globe.) The Tories cannot be accused of neglecting oppor tunities for attacking their opponents. Indeed, they seem to hope that, by assailing all points, a practicable breach may be found or made. This, perhaps, is the wisest policy for so divided a party. The troops will not act together ; and from their recent murmurings against their leaders, there is reason to expect open mutiny. A week ago stratagems were tried ; false colours were hung out ; and protestations of attach ment to, and prayers for the happiness of, the Royal pair, were paraded with due pomp of phraseology for several days. The scheme having failed, they return to insults and misconstruction. By one of those accidents which occasionally occur even with those best acquainted with our forms and ceremo nies, and which may easily be accounted for and as rea dily excused in a Prince so recently arrived among us, the Address voted by the House of Commons to Prince Albert on his marriage was not received at the time fixed for its presentation. This accident is immediately pounced on by the Tory Press, and tortured into a pre meditated insult to the Representatives of the people. (From the Standard.) The Globe of Saturday affirms that the Tory press has asserted that the navy of England has been dimin ished in strength and deteriorated in efficiency. This is another contribution to the system of " enormous lying" by which her Majesty's present government at tempt to reply to the charges which are brought against them by their Conservative opponents, The inquiry as t,) whether the navy of England is or is not in as effi ci e.nt a state as it was in any previous year of the pe.sce, is one that has never once been mooted. Th e simple question is, whether it is or is not. adequate to the exigencies of the nation at the present moment. Having discussed this point so fully when the motion of Lord Col chtester was brought forward in the House of Lords on the , 6th instant, it would be idle to go over the same ground again. Lord Melbourne has himself admitted that our navy is not adequate to the protection of our cots.coerce in time of peace ; but pleads the poverty of our resources for not making it' more efficient. This, as I tas already been seen, is a penny wise and pound fooli sh system of economy. If we continue to exhibit the weakness which we have hitherto displayed in South Anti rica, China, and elsewhere, we shall be involved in hosti;lities which it will cost us ten times the sum now demanded to put an end to. (From the courier.) Sem eral very important amendments of the new Irish Corp oration Bill will be moved in Committee in the House of Commons, and if adopted will tend to remove the pirinzipal objections entertained by the Conservative party in Ireland against this joint measure of O'Con nell rind the Ministry. When Lord John Russell gave notice of his intention to introduce this Bill, the Conservatives of the House of Commons seemed to re ceive the principles, as then stated, if not with decided approlation, at least without signs of discontent. The consideration that the passing of the Bill would not affect the strength of the Conservative party in Parlia ment in any remarkable degree, appeared to have influ ence on many of the Members, who, on former occasions, when. the proposed alterations in the Irish Corporations were no der discussion, expressed themselves adverse to the intended innovations. This might be a good reason for ac quiescence in the Ministerial measure, if the secu rity 0 1' the Conservative party in Ireland could be en sured loy the transfer of the established rights of the Pro testan is to the Roman Catholics. On Saturday last the young man who made the attack of t Wakeling, his grandfather, as noticed in our last, was again examined. It appeared that when Wakeling was going u p Cranham-hill he saw his grandson behind him, and stopped to ask him to lead the horse ; as soon as the grandson came up he attacked him with a bludgeon. but Wakeling de fended I iimself some time before he was knocked down. The stub in a wood has been found from which the bludgeon was cut. The prisoner was taken the same night on his way home, as if nothing had happened. He was fully committed for trial. Wakelit ig still liesin adangerous state. — Chelmsford Chronicle. The increase of letters received in this town, since thi .1 establishment of the penny post is in the proportion of abo at three so one ; and the loss to the revenue about four seventl is of the former amount. We anticipate a considerable increase as the convenience, of the new system become better known ; but it will be absolutely necessary to have additional assista) 3ce in the delivery of letters, and some better contrived vehicles for carrying•them out than the old letter-bags, which are nosy totally inadequate to the purpose intended. The public suffer considerable inconvenience from this source.— D erby Repos ter. A NICE POINT.—At Guildhall Police Court on Thus sdav, James Jones, a cab-driver, attended before Mr. Alder= in White, to answer the complaint of Mr. B. Brown, one of th e members of the Common Council, for exacting from him foul pence more than the legal fare for carrying him from the Brie klayers' Arms to the door of Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Co-"s banking-house in King William-street. Mr. Brown stated th at for six months past he had been in the habit of riding over the same ground frequently, and he had never paid more than Ist. until the defendant insisted on having Is. 4d. The driver replied that his cab was the third on the rank, and he was en titled to claim for every yard the wheels moved before the gentleman got in at the door of the Bricklayers' Arms. He was satisfied the distance exceeded a mile and a half, and that it was, th erefore, more than a shilling fare. Mr. Brown thought it was not probable that the defendant was right and so many aft er cab-drivers wrong, and he therefore demanded a measures tent. The distance was accordingly measured, and found to exceed a mile and a half by 66 yards. Mr. Alderman White w: as called on to assess the compensation to be made to the driver for loss of time on a portion of two days, and Mr. Brown w as adjudged to pay ss. for the measurement, 3s. for the sums tons, and ss. for defendant's loss of time. TWE NTY MILES AN HOUR.—This match, for 201. a 'let ?, which was made a few weeks ago, between two sporting g entlemen of Nottingham—for a horse that ran in one of the coaches to perform twenty miles within the hour--came off Frida.y week. The spot fixed on was the Newark road, the start to he from the ninth mile stone from Nottingham, and at the stated time, the umpires and the referee being appointed, Stagg (l saving a watch fastened upon his arm to enable him to regulate the pace of the horse) mounted the high-spirited ani mal, and. the signal being given,_ he started at a pace which good jud vs thought too rapid. The first ten miles was accom plished :in twenty-six minutes, and the backers of time began to look rather blue • but on returning, and when within 3* miles of home, the horse broke down of his near fore leg, having twelve rtninutes to do the distance.—Nottingham Review. FRE',NCII EMIGRANTS FOR SOUTH AMERICA. —The S entinelle of Bayonne says that emigrations for South America are continuing from that part of France; and that a vessel, wi th 292 emigrants on board, sailed from that port on the 12th inst. for Montevideo. Among them were 50 women and 17th..childrea. Our .excellent Contemporary, The Sun, inserted on Wednesday a letter signed " John Dixon," on the subject of the Town Meeting of Saturday, to address the Queen and Prince Albert, which letter is a pompous imposition. Had the Reform erti at all bestirred themselves, they could have far out number cd the fag-ends of faction, but they had no expectation that dec iency would have been outraged to so flagrant an extent on such an occasion. With respect to the Address, which party trick succeeded in carrying, it was only objectionable on the score of informality. lriumph there was none, save a triumph over propriety.—Hull Advertiser. CAUTION TO TRADESMEN.—Within these few days there has been an extensive circulation of forged 5, notes, purporting to be of the Bank of England. The circula tion of them has been amongst extensive linen-drapers and haberdashers at the West end of the town, by a gang of fe males (foreigners), and, from the elegance of their attire, not any suispicion was entertained of the notes being forgeries. They are executed in so excellent a manner as to remove the slightest idea of their not being genuine. The purchases are generally of a trifling amount, not exceeding 10s. or lbs. It is needless to state that the addresses given proved fictitious. From. the excellent manner in which the spurious notes have been executed, it is'oupposed thatlthe plates have been engraved at Birmingham. Tradespeople cannot be too cautious in taking notes of strangers, however respectable their outward appear ance may be. DREADFUL GIG ACCIDENT.—On Wednesday afternoon, between two and three o'clock, as a gentleman and a lady were proceeding in a gig along Farringdon-street, the horse suddenly took fright, and darted off with tremendous speed towards Holborn-bridge. The gentleman, in his endea vour to pull the horse in, broke the reins, and he was hurled with great violence against the pavement. The horse now being without control, redoubled his speed, and on arriving at the end of the street, the lady being still in the gig shrieking dreadfully, a gentleman named Roberts, solicitor, of No. 1, Childe's-place, Middle Temple, at the imminent risk of his owe life, rushed forward and, exciting the animal by the head, succeeded in arresting his progress, and in all probability saving the life of the lady. A few days since died, at the residence of his brother, in Norfolk, Wm. Bessey, better know as " Black Will." Deceased carried a basket of oranges and cakes about this town, and for the last twelve years lodged with Mr. Carter, near the bridge. It appears that he died possessed of 8001 in Three per Cent. Consols, 300/. in Messrs. Sparrow and Co.'s Bank, besides 2001. in Long Annuities. How he accumulated so large a sum is not known ; he was some years since in the service of Mr. William Prentice, of Goldhanger. His mode of living was most penurious, denying himself the common necessaries of life, and always complaining that he could not afford the luxury of a fire. Ile had two brothers, one of whom is, it is said, of a similarly saving disposition, and to them and a deceased brother's wife, the above property i s l e ft. Hi s exe cutors are Mr. Plum, of Moulsham, and one of the brothers. THE ESTABLISHMENT I !--REFUSAL TO INTER.—On Monday morning considerable excitement was raised in the parish of St. Thomas, near this city (Exeter), in consequence of the clergyman of the parish refusing to perform the rites of burial upon a deceased child of Mr. Fouracres, of that parish, upon the plea of non-baptism in the Church ; the consequence was, a platform was erected adjoining the church yard, and as near as could be to the grave, when the Rev. Mr. Alford. the Baptist Minister, performed the ceremony ; which was attended by an immense concourse of spectators. Surely the clergy of the Church of England are either mad or blind, or both, thus to rouse the prejudices and passions of the multi tude ! !—Devonshire Chronicle. llt is consolatory to know that ruin and destruction always follow madness of this sort, and that the retributive hand of justice will sooner or later visit an Establishment whose members dare thus wantonly and disgrace, k oa N vc 7 helhe, other hip a , wickedly to violate the best and holiest feelings of human nature.] TORY TRICKS. —The Hull Tories have been ro t thrat t etti h heyo e deno i y, r nitolny n at t o ,,,raeh t e o seas r ctu i cai o nir u grii i et. y f,hio e uert o nhp r ite r othm u y: p rw t oo . wenf t ro r beur i e :nst k tudh s obe—sfrs sexes, pur poses. busyhe m to a their f duringg ea tt loyalty,ehre p in o g se m s. one W y h to ils b t e without distinction to party, the factious Tories were raising' funds to bribe the burgesses. To each old burgess, of the ;it colour, was given half a soverAgn, und er th e specious pretencel of loyalty ; but, in fact, with a view to his vote on a general election. When an application was made by a party not a bur gess, the reply was either that they had no more funds, or, if they found him to be a voter (though not a burgess), he was invited to a dinner. Thus (lid the loyal Hull Tories pervert the day of rejoicing into a means of exercising their corrupt practices, and demoralizing those to whom they offered their bribes. With expressions of loyalty on their lips they were, by their acts, plotting against the Government and the Queen._ Hull Adcertiser. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, FEE. '24. At Four o'Clock the LORD CHANCELLOR, the Earls Of S7IAFTESEURY and CLARENDON, took their scats on the Woolsack as her Majesty's Commissioners, for the purpose of giving the Royal Assent to the Transfer in Aids Bill. After which their Lordships adjourned to Five o'clock, when The Marquis of WESTMINSTER presented a petition relating, he said, to . a number of Charities, which were placed in an awkward position by the Munici pal Reform Bill. The Noble Marquis spoke in so low and indistinct a tone, that it was impossible to col lect the designations of the petitioners, or the particular charities to which the petition referred. He was under stood to say that the Municipal Reform Bill contained clauses which involved charities (formerly under the con trol of Municipal Corporations) in great uncertainty as well as expense in the appointment of trustees ; so that, in some instances, the whole of the funds were swal lowed up in applications to the Court of Chancery ; and, in others, the trusts could not be fulfilled, from the want of authority in the trustees. The LORD CHANCELLOR said that the griev ance of which the petition complained was real, and was occascd by the Municipal Reform Bill. That Act very clearly determined the estates of the old Corpora tions, but it did not determine into whose hands the le gal estates passed. He (the Lord Chancellor) had been applied to to transfer such estates, and he would have been very glad to do so, if he had any means of determining in whom the estate was. There was an other inconvenience to which those charities were sub jected by the law in question, as when the power over the charity estate was in a number of persons, it was necessary to have the concurrence of the whole to do certain acts, which was sometimes impossible. There was another inconvenience, attended with still more difficulty—that was in the case of charities whose funds were too small to defray the expense of an application to the Court of Chancery, to renew trustees i and continue the trusts. He would feel it his duty to submit to the House a remedy for those things, if any were sug gested to him. At all events, he thought that what was suggested by his Noble Friend (the Marquis of Westminster) namely, the fixing of the legal estate, could he effected by an Act of Parliament. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY wished to ask a question concerning a paper that bad been laid on the table relative to the temporary occupa tion by the French Government of King's Island, in Port Mahon. The Noble Earl had stated he was quite aware of what had taken place, and it was quite satisfactory, but it did not appear so to him ; he referred to a letter in the dispatch, No. 4. (The Noble Mar quis then read a long extract from the dispatch, and proceeded.) It appeared to him there was a great differ ence between occupying houses and barns in the island of Minorca, and occupying King's Island, in the centre of the ports ; there was not a single reason given why a build ing and barns upon the island of Minorca were not given instead of this island, and he believed that any one who knew the position of this island, would state that if the French were to have possession of it for two years, unless they were prevented from making fortifications, if ever we returned,to a con test with that country he was convinced it would be on the waters of the Mediterranean ; and therefore he could not but look with jealousy at their possession of an island in the centre of that port. He wished to know therefore whether any communication had taken place, to know why a build _ _ „v, ...... ing and out-house in the Island of Minorca was not given instead of a separate island. He thought the subject very important, and on some future day should bring forward some motion on the subject. The Earl of CLARENDON said he did not see what right the Government had to call upon the Spanish Government for not having adopted a resolu tion of a Committee of the Cortes. This, amongst other matters in the Committee, had been used to excite great opposition against the Govern ment. The lease having been granted they saw no reason to rescind it. The warehouse and hospital so leased; belonged first to the United States, and was in a strange manner handed over by the Spanish Go vernment to the French, who wished to keep it as a depot for coal, and there was no reason for refusing it to them on the same terms as the American Govern ment. There was a clause in the lease that stipulated if any seaman required the use of the hospital it should be given to him, and in the last renewal of the lease for two years, it was only in the event of the Spanish Government not wanting it, inquiry had been made of the French Government what wore their intentions respecting the place, and the answer was they merely wished to use it as a coal depot, and it appeared to him there could be no objection to their using it for that purpose. the Noble Earl, then Ambassador at Madrid. In the last Session he had charged the Government with the treaty which was sanctioned by Colonel Wylde. If that officer had not authority from the British Go vernment, he would say that, in the twofold capacity of a British officer an 1 a Spanish Commissioner, he acted in a very reprehensible manner. H he had that authority, in what way could the Government of the Noble Viscount opposite get out .of the obligation, to see these brave men who were now wandering about the streets without the means of sub sistence paid the full amount of their claims? At a public meeting of the officers of the Legion, held at St. Sebastian, Colonel Wylde attended, and declared that he was authorized to act as a Commissioner, both for the Queen of England and for the Queen of Spain, and that the British Minister at Madrid had instructed him to say that the Legion should be paid a portion of the arrears before they left St. Sebasjan, and should receive good bills for the remainder. But that pledge had not been re deemed. The Noble Lord the Secretary for Foreign Affairs was reported to have said, in toe other House, that the settlement of the claims upon the Portuguese Government was left to a British and Portuguese Commissioner, and that if Portugal refused to satisfy them, lie would enforce the satisfaction. Now if he could use such power in coercing a weaker Government, sin ely it would be more becom ing the greatness of England to exercise the same force over Spain, which had more resources than Portugal. What was the amount of 250,0001. or 300,000/. to Spain? Certainly the finances of that country were in difficulty, but yet the Noble Viscount must know very well that the Spanish Government could easily raise so much money. But the officers and men of that Legion had received nothing but the bank-notes (as they were called) of General Alava, and those certificates were at a discount of 25 per cent. They had got into the hands of Jews, and though he would not say the agents of the Spanish Government bought them up yet a re port to that effect was current. He allowed that all the officers were not so badly off. Fifty-six of their number had been promoted in the British service, and in India, over the bead of much older officers. That was done at the recommendation of the Foreign Office, to relieve that department from their importunities He found that many of the officers of the Legion had been promoted. Sir Charles Shari had been knighted, Col. Fitzgerald had been appointed Consul at Cartha gene, Col. O'Connell bad been appointed Secretary in New South Wales, Capt. Brown had been named to a clerkship in the Foreign Office, Mr. Considine had been appointed Secretary in the West Indies, and Colonel Wylde Equerry to his Royal Highness Prince Albert. He had gone only through a part of the list, and there were 26 of them in all. How, he would ask, did it happen that all the officers had been provided for, while the men had been aban doned. A Commission had been appointed, it was true, but how had they attempted to carry into effect the measure for which the Commission was instituted ? They had fixed a certain time for sending in claims, he believed it was the 9th of September, and they had stated that no others should ever be attended to. They had, however, given no notice to claim ants in Ireland or Scotland on the subject, or to any of the relatives of those unfortunate men who had addressed him on the matter. He was sur prised that it had not been done by any officer or other individual connected with the service. —(Hear.) The conduct of the Commission had, he understood, been most unfair--they had refused pensions or medi cal certificates without any just grounds—pensions had been refused to some officers who were entitled to them under the British regulations, and allowed to others who had no right to them. Gratuities were denied to some officers who had done good service, and refused to others who had either retired or been dismissed the service. Such was the sum and substance of the information he had received, and he believed these unfortunate persons had been kept out of their money from the intrigues of the Spanish Govern. ment and its agents. He trusted the Noble Viscount or the Noble Earl opposite (Clarendon) would feel it their duty to bring the question to a speedy issue. If he found there was no im mediate prospect of that, he should feel it his duty to move an address direct to her Majesty, praying that immediate steps might be taken to induce the Spanish Government to have these just claims settled. The Noble Marquis concluded by moving for a return of all decisions of the War-office respecting pensions and compensations granted to wounded officers of the British Legion, and also for a return of the number of all outstanding claims of officers and men, not presented before the passing of the resolution of exclusion by the Board. The Earl of CLARENDON was happy to see that the unfortunate men who had been so long and unceasingly the objects of the Noble Marquis's ridicule and vituperation, and for whose eminent services he had never had a single word of approval, were now become the objects of his warmest solicitation. He should confine himself to the two points referred to in the Noble Marquis's speech, and should ad dress himself more particularly to the guarantee said to have been given by him for the payment of these men at the time the first portion of the Legion left for England. He certainly, as Minister in Spain, had no official right to interfere to procure payment for those individuals ; but it was impossible that he should remain indifferent to their wants, and he did use his best exertions with the Spanish Government to procure the fulfilment of their engagements with them, and every claim brought forward was listened to, and, as far as possible at the time fulfilled ; and under those circum stances he wrote to General Evans, informing him of the Spanish Government having accepted his interven tion. What was the consequence of his intervention ? Every soldier who went away was paid, except 250 Lancers, as fully as if they belonged to the British army. The Noble Marquis laughed at that ; was he prepared to deny it ? The Marquis of LONDONDERRY Push it farther.—(Laughter.) The Earl of CLARENDON—Push it farther ? With respect to the list of Officers that were appointed to various situations, which the Noble Marquis said was done by her Majesty's Government to get rid of their importunities, he (Lord Clarendon) thought the Noble Marquis could not be serious in making such a statement. A great part of the officers whose names were read, he believed, were among the most distinguished officers in her Majesty's service, and he was sure the House would not think that their having been employed in a service of which the Noble Marquis did not approve, should be a bar to their future employment. He believed there was not one of those individuals who had not distinguished himself greatly, and, taking them individually, not one whose appointment the Government was not prepared to defend upon its own grounds. He should be glad to see the list, and give the reasons why they were appointed. Then with respect to the claims of the soldiers not having been paid, he first observed their whole pay had been received, everything to which they would have been entitled if they had been serving in the British army. The Noble Lord shook his head, it was easy to do that. He repeated his statement, but it was true they had not yet received their gratuities. Now there were more reasons than those which arose from the inability of the Spanish Government to account for the non-settlement of these gratuities. The accounts were of a most complicated nature; and required to be carefully examined and audited. He (Earl Cla rendon) could state with confidence, that the whole of the proceeding s of the Spanish Government had been in the utmost good faith. The Noble Mar quis might have cause to regret his unwarrantable accusations of fraud and insincerity. The Commission had been appointed in 1838, and were engaged in their labours for nine or ten months, during which, claims to the amount of three thousand had been gone into and certificates granted. At the end of that time, as there was no reason to suppose that more claims were outstanding, and the Commissioners felt that the public expense on their account should be put an end to, they published in August a n otice, that after a month from that time, no fresh claims would be received. Was there any sceresy in that ? Why, it had been p u bli s h e d i n a ll the newspapers, ante posted in a ll th e towns where the Legion had first been re cru it e d. Was it not, then, evidently a bona fide transaction ? Now, after this, the time had been ex tended till November. It might not be inconvenient— as this discussion would go abroad—that he should state the composition of the Commission. It was com posed of persons of high character, selected ba the Legion themselves, as possessing their entire con fidence, and the referees were of the highest and most u nblemished character, as their Lordships would believe when they heard that th ey were—General Alava, and Sir R. Dundas ; every disputed point being appealed on to the War-office, and no step taken with out the sanction of the Secretary-at-War. Again he asked, was not this a bona fide transaction ? The Noble Marquis had said that lie had ma d e inquiries on the subject, but he would beg of the Noble Marquis to say, whether he had made his enquiries of any persons worthy of credit.— ( Hear, hear.) Would it not have been more natural for him to have gone in the first place to General Alava, or Sir Robert Dryades, if he had been anxious to redress the grievances ref the claimants ? That would have been better than to stigmatize as fraudulent trans actions in which men of ch erecter had been engaged. He would then have found that since the Commission had commenced its labours 1,000 claims had been de cided, and he would also End that those labours were not yet closed, and that the most ample provisions had been made against any loss on the part of the c laimants. These provisions had been made justly and honourably, and in such a manner as might have been expected front. the character of General Alava. There were many persons who were interested in having the Commission closed, and he could assure the Noble Marquis that those were very useful sources of information. If he wanted the means of making a motion on the subject he should have had from him (Lord Clarendon) every information it was in his power The Earl of ABERDEEN said that the matter was one of considerable importance, and it was not the first time the French had endeavoured to establish a footing in the island. They had already requested per mission to place a depot there ten years ago, but the Spanish Government had then refused its per mission to allow the French to make any such esta blishment. The Noble Earl had said that the matter had excited a good deal of alarm and of interest in Spain, and he (the Earl of Aberdeen) did not wonder at that, as he thought those feelings very natural. The Opposition of the Cortes had taken up the question, and he was afraid that the Oppo sition in their Lordships' House would also find it necessary to take it up in order to show that it was a point which might lead to vary serious consequences.— (Hear, hear, hear.) The Opposition in Spain had recommended that if the French formed an es tablishment of the kind it should be on the mainland, where they could not have an opportunity of making a port, which might afterwards be formidable. The Noble Earl had said that the lease was a tem porary one, and that they had no right to interfere in the question. He thought, however, that they had the best possible right, as the matter deeply concerned the security of their position in the Mediterranean, and he believed that they had a right to complain to the Spanish Government of its having done what might lead to serious consequences to this country. The Noble Earl had not told them that the French bad been prevented from strengthening their position in the island ; and, unless he could show that they were not allowed to raise an edifice or con struction of a military character, the case was an impor tant one. He should conclade by observing, that, consi dering all that had taken place in that part of the world, no one could be surprised that there should be some degree of anxiety felt in this country on the subject. Lord ELLENBOROUGH wished to know if the French had erected any building in the island besides depots and hospitals ? The Earl of CLARENDON was not aware that they had erected any other. He believed that there were none but invalids there ; and there had never been more than one sloop of war at any time in the island. Lord ELLENBOROUGH said if no new buildings were to be erected by the French, and no ulterior objects attempted, he thought their end might be considered as innocent. Lord CLARENDON—I haven't a doubt about it. Lord ELLENBOROUGH was not satisfied with the Noble Earl's being satisfied about it, and he was surprised the Noble Earl, at the time, had not made in quiries upon these points. The Earl of CLARENDON—I beg to say that I did make inquiries upon these points, and I was told distinctly that very few French had been upon the island, but it is some time since I have been in Spain. Lord MELBOURNE—If the French had endea voured to have a hold on the island of Minorca, I think the jealousy of this House and of the country might justly be aroused, but it strikes me that it is not possible they could have had any ulterior objects, or that they have acquired any great facilities for carrying them into effect, if they do entertain them. CLAIMS OF THE SPANISH LEGION. A SCENE. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY begged their Lordships' permission to bring forward a subject which he had given notice of on last Friday, when he was pre vented by the early rising of the House. It related to the claims of the Auxiliary Legion on the Spanish Government. " I can assure your Lordships," said the Noble Marquis, " that I am not about to make any at tack upon the Government—(Lord Melbourne laughed) II —I think they must have had enough of attacks, enough to kill half-a-dozen Governments.—(Lord Mel bourne laughed again, and said in a merry mood, Oh, no pointing to his colleagues around him.) As l the Noble Viscount laughs—(proceeded the Noble Marquis with some warmth) I can tell him that he does not follow the example that has been set him in France, where Ministers resign upon a mino rity of 26 ; but the Noble Viscount and his colleagues, notwithstanding that they were beaten by a majority of 104, and again by a majority of 10, continue in their ignoble position of a stedfast adherence to place and pay.—[The Noble Marquis had by this time thoroughly worked himself up, evidently exceedingly irritated by the easy, good-natured indifference, nay, the positive amusement with which Lord Melbourne regarded him.] —Notwithstanding that he must feel that the Right Hon. Baronet, the Member for Tamworth and his party ought to be in the places now filled by the Noble Viscount and his colleagues. Yes (exclaimed the Noble Marquis with still greater violence) as the Noble Vis count taunts me—(Lord Melbourne good humouredlv, No") —I can tell him and his colleagues—but, how ever, my Lords (said his Lordship somewhat recoveri ng himself) th;s is foreign to the question before your Lordships, and I was only excited to it by the taunting manner of the Noble Vi scount. —(Here Lord Melbourne laughed outright, and in a mock deprecatory tone said, "Oh I no indeed.") The Noble Marquis then proceeded to state that he had received several letters from parties who had b, - longed to the Legion, who were now suffering under great distress, in consequence of the withholding of their claims, and who entreated him to bring forward the subject. These unfortunate persons, he said, had the distinct guarantee o f a settlement from to give, THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1840. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY said he would be the last person to say anything against the promo tion of those officers to whom he had alluded. They had been the victims of the Government and its false policy. There were,-however, a great many individuals who considered that the claims of the non-commissioned officers of the Legion should not be considered, because they were led away by false expectations. But were they to say that that should be :a bar to their claims, and that men who bad distinguished themselves in a foreign service should now be abandoned ? It was a singular fact that fifty-six officers should have been pro moted, and that the others had been neglected. The Noble Earl had said that the pay of the British soldiers had been granted, but that the gratuities were not yet given to them. He (the Marquis of Londonderry) could not enter into details of those transactions as to the accounts of all the parties, but he could say there were 28,0001. not yet paid, whether on account of gratuities or not. The Noble Earl had asked why he had not gone for information to General Alava or to his own Government. The Noble Eerl had also stated that the matter was in a very satis factory condition, as he bad done before in the case of Minorca. He had said that it would have been suf ficient for him to have gone to General Alava, who was under the Noble Earl.—(Laughter.) Others had al ready consulted Sir Robert Dundas, who had made a fine speech on the occasion. The deputation went away as they had come. He now wanted to know whe ther or net the Government would call on the Spanish Ministry to pay the claims in question; and he wished to be informed as to the course which they intended to follow in case there should be any delay on the occasion. Lord MELBOURNE would not follow the Noble Marquis through the strange mixture and medley in which he had indulged, but would confine himself to the returns moved for, and the questions asked. After the Commission had sat eight or nine months, it was announced that no further claims would be entertained after the Gth of August. The Noble Lord, the Secre tary for Foreign Affairs, remonstrated with the Com mittee, and obtained an extension of the time to the 30th of Septeniber. The a n s wer to the returns in this case would be nil. The papers which the Noble Mar quis moved for from the War-office related, he appre hended, to certain communications which bad taken ' place between his Noble Friend Lord Palmerston and the Secretary-at-War, for the purpose of obtaining in formation for the Commissioners as to what were the rates of compensation for officers in the British service fur wounds, loss of limbs, &c. He did not think the House would require a return of such communications between one Secretary and another. The Noble Marquis asked if any final ar rangement had been made by the British Government with that of Spain for the settlement of those claims ? His answer was, that there was no such arrangement. The Commission sat to ascertain what the amount of those claims was. It lay with the Spanish Government to arrange for their settlement. The Noble Marquis asked what would her Majesty's Government do if the Spanish Government did not settle the claims ? Ho (Lord Melbourne) answered that it was the duty of her Majesty's Government to use all just, discreet, and proper means to obtain the settlement. But great allowance was necessary for the situation in which the Government of Portugal was placed. With a civil war in the heart of the country it was quite impossible that many claims should not remain unsettled until the termination of that war. But he had no doubt that everything would be done by the Portuguese Govern ment to give a satisfactory settlement, and that every thing would be (lone by this Government to obtain jus tice for those who were unquestionably entitled to its assistance and protection. These were his answers to the questions and to the motion, and he had only to say that he did not know why the Noble Marquis intro duced the names of those officers who had been pro moted in various departments at home, in India, and in the army. He must say that when the Noble Mar quis had read that list, it struck him that he never heard a list read which appeared to be more creditable to the Government than that one. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY said as the Noble Lord had thought fit to deny the production of these papers he certainly should not press for them, but as the statement made with respect to the probable liquidation of these claims was not satisfactory he should feel it his duty, as he had already said, to move an ad dress to her Majesty after Easter. The motion was then withdrawn, Lord DUNCANNON laid on the table the Report of Mr. Elliott and the Land Emigration Commission, and despatches from Sir Wm. Nicolay, relative to the Hill Coolies. He was not aware of the precise paper the Noble and Learned Lord (Ellenborough) alluded to on a former night. Lord ELLENBOROUGH said he was not in pos session of information that would enable him to specify any particular paper. Two years ago their Lordships had before them letters of Sir William Nicolay, con- taining accounts of the losses sustained on board ship, and soon after that an order was issued directing that no more native Indians should. be allowed to be taken ; but between the date of that despatch and its arrival in India many vessels must have sailed with Indians on board, and if such were the caso, there must be some despatches relating to those individuals. Lord DUNGANNON said there were despatches respecting several vessels, but they related only to the loss, and not to the treatment of the Indians on board, which he understood, to be included in the required s t a t e ment of the Noble Lord. Lord ABINGER presented a petition from the Soldiers' and Sailors' Friend society, praying the House to take measures to prevent the spread of Socialism. The Marquis of NORM ANBY presented a peti tion from Marylehone, praying for the repeal of the Corn-laws. CHINA. Lord ELLENBOROUGH wished to ask the Noble Viscount whether he was prepared to answer a question which he (Lord Ellenborough) had addressed to him on Friday, as to whether any arrangement had been made between the Government and the Court of Directors with respect to the proportion of the expense of the expedition to China. Viscount MELBOURNE—No such arrangement has been made. Lord ELLENBOROUGH—Perhaps the Noble Viscount will tell me whether any communications have taken place on the subject, and if so, whether he is prepared to lay those communications on the table. Viscount MELBOURNE—No communication has been made on the subject, except that of the President of the Board of Control, announcing the fact to the Court of Directors. The Marquis of L ANS DO WNE laid on the table papers showing the state of the commerce of the country, from January 1839 to January 1840. AFRICA. Viscount STRANGFORD gave notice that on Friday next he should present a petition from mer chants engaged in the African trade, and that ho would then state to the House the course which he meant to pursue in the following week in the shape of a substantive motion on the original question. CHURCH PATRONAGE. The Marquis of BUTE presented potitions from Ayr and other places in Scotland praying their Lord ships to adopt measures for an alteration of the law relating to Church patronage. The LORD CHANCELLOR, in the absence of his Noble and Learned Friend (Lord 'Denman) moved that the Order of the Day for the co•n iideration of two Bills which had been introduced by that Noble and Learned Lord be discharged, and rAppointed for Thurs day next.—Agreed to. Their Lordships adjourned at Twenty Minutes to Seven o'Cleck. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Fin. 24. The SPEAKER took the Chair a felff minutes before Four o'Clock, when the House was summoned to the Lords to hear the Royal Assent given by Commision to the Transfer of Aids Bill. On the return of the Speaker re.e ssengers from the East India Company, the Treasu , :y , and other public offices, brought up certain annual re! airns. The Weston-super-Mare Road Bill was read a second time. Lord STANLEY brought up t lie Report on the Lancaster and Preston Junction Rail . ora y. Mr. STRU TT brought up the Re?, )rt on tl.e Chester and Birkenhead Railway. Mr. W ALL ACE presrnted the B;11 for incorpo rating the Scottish Widows' Fund Scc iety (as we heard Mr. BROTHERTON moved the Second Reading of the Manchester and Salford Canal Bill. Sir G. CLER . K, brought up the Fr tauntord Improve ment Bill, and Mr. SANFORD the Chard Can: )1 Bill, On the motion of Mr. BOLT 'ON 'CLIVE the Hereford Improvement Bill was read; it se c owl time. Captain WEMYSS prevented p etitie n s a gainst in trusion in the Scotch Church, and agi .inst t h e Corn Laws. Mr. BANNERMAN presented a petition against Church-rates, and petitions against into ision in Scottish parishes ; also from the Printers in an establishment at Whitefriars against the Copyright Bil' , ; and a petition in favour of the Irish Corporations Mr. CRAWFORD presented a l )etition from the East India and Chinese Association, o f the City of Lon don, praying the House to take iat o its consideration the laws affecting trade with Inclip_ Mr. SOMERS presented tw,,, t , j etitions from the County of Sligo, praying for MAnicil )al Reform. Mr. BAINES presented a_ petition. a from the Society for the Promotion of Unive,rsai and Permanent Peace, praying the House th-.lt measures ; might be taken • for securing the objects of the S o c i ety Also peti tions from the counties of York to the H ouse f or th e a b o liti on of C urc t 1 -rates, , end the discharge of John Thorogood. nd Ess ' ex . praying Mr. LIDDELL presented a p e ti lion from Stocicton on-Tees, praying that M r.es Eva might b e discharged from the cust , oly the Arms ; also from Southampto, for 'erj u e r a ch Ex-; g ( tension, and against further g' rants to M. 131 )03 t h College. Colonel SA LWEY presented a petition from York shire, praying for the abolition of Church- rates and the release of John Thorogood. Lord SANDON - presented a petition from the County of Gloucester, praying for Church Extension. Also from the East India Association of Liverpool, pray ing for the equalization of the duties on East and West India produce. Mr. FOX MA ULE presented petitions from Scot land against the intrusion of unacceptable Ministers into parishes in Scotland. Mr. LITTON presented a petition from 31 persons holding office under tbc Corporation of Dublin, pray ink for compensation in the event of their being deprived of their offices by the present Bill. Mr. Alderman THOMPSON presented a petition from the ward of Dowgate, praying for the release of Mr. Sheriff Evans. M r . Alderman COPELAND presented a similar petition from the ward of Bishopsgate. Mr. O'CONNELL presented thirty petitions from parishes in the King ' s County, Nicklow , Lon . donderry, D own , Tyrone, Cavan, Longford ; Galway, Wexford, Tipperary, Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Cork, Armagh, Meath, and 'Westmeath, praying for an extension of the franchise, and for Corporate Reform. The Hon. and Learned Member also presented a peti tion from a person named Ebenezer Shackelton, a mil ler in Kildare, in favour of the Flour Importation (Ire land) Bill. SHORT-HAND MONOPOLY. The HON. and LEARNED MEMBER also presented a petition from Messrs. Morton and Walsh, short-hand writers, complaining of the present system of short-hand writing carried on by Messrs. Gurney, showing an enor-• moos increase of expenditure in consequence of the: monopoly of those gentlemen, and proposing that: the business of short-hand writing to the Houses oS Parliament shoulr' be thrown open to the profession. generally. The Hon. and Learned Member moved that the petitio n should be printed with the votes, and it was his intv,ntion on Wednesday next to move for a Select Com•mnittee to take the matter of the petition into consideration. Sir JAMES GRAHAM presented a petition from Glasgow against the intrusion of ministers into th , .t Scottish churches. Mr. COLQUHOUN presented sixteen petitions from different parts of Scotland to the same effect. On the motion of Lord SANDON, Li v ,, f p 37 ,1 East India ~ Varehouse Company's Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed. On the mc,tion of Mr. WALLACE, the Green( )elc Improvement Bill was read a second time, and order •ed to be committed. Mr. WALLACE presented a petition signed by certain carriers against the Chester Railivay Bill. Mr. EWART presented a petition from the Pro testant Disenters of a parish in the County of Cot praying for abolition of Church-rates and the reform of the Ecclesiastical Court ; also, petitions from Hudders field, and various parishes in Yorkshire, to the same effe The Hon. Member presented petitions from sevt: ral parishes in Lancashire, and one from the town of H ull, in favour of the immediate abolition of the Corn-lal vs ; also, three petitions from Hull, against the Inl and Warehousing Bill, and a petition from the same town, praying for the pardon of Frost, Williams, and Jones. Sir It. H. INGLIS presented a petition from the Corporation and citizens of Dublin, against the Ir . ish Municipal Corporation Bill. Mr. T. DLINCOMBE presented a petition fr om Huddersfield for the abolition of Church-rates. Mr. BROTHERTON presented petitions to the same effect from the Society of Friends and a eon! ;ro gation of Dissenters, Huddersfield ; and a congrega . :ion of Dissenters at Buckleigh. RAILWAYS. Mr. LAI3OUCHERE presented a petition :from some Railway Company, complaining of the pre sent unequal system of taxation on Railways.—Referre d to the Committee. Mr. BROTHERTON moved for Returns of the Duties o❑ British Manufactures exported to the East and West Indian Colonies, for the years 1836; and Mr. LAMBTON gave notice that in the C om mittee of the Ecclesiastical Duties and Revenuer .bill, he would move an instruction that the revenues c ,f the Cathedral preferments be applied to the religious ] minis trations of the Established Church, in the fin ,t in stance. INLAND BONDING. Mr. GOULBURN gave notice that on the I nland Bonding Bill, second reading, he should move for a Committee to inquire into the expediency of ex tend ing to inland ports the privileges of warehousing ; and the regulations advisable for the due security o. f the revenue and the protection of the trading interest s. Mr. LABOUCHERE said the Bill would not come on to-night. Mr. DENISON moved for returns of the :ships which had cleared out from the port of Lond;o a in 1838 and 1839, for the British Colonies, recent \lf es tablished in Swan river, New Zealand, and so on , dis tinguishing the number to each. DUTY ON MAHOGANY. Lord SANDON wished to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether there was any intend , )n of making any alteration in the duty on the importation of mahogany, as considerable anxiety was at p 1 •,3sent entertained on the subject ? Mr. LABOUCHERE said it never had beer, I the practice of persons in the situation he held to ex press any intention to propose an alteration of the duty until they were prepared to ask the House to make that altera tion ; and he was sure his Hon. Friend would be th z last person who would wish him to deviate from the re ;alai. practice. The subject had been brought uncle, • the consideration of the Board of Trade ; but what ; the determination of that Board would be, he was i not cepable of stating. BOTANIC PLANTS. Mr. HUME said, seeing the Lord Steward in the House(Earl Surrey), begged to give notice that he Ishould to-morrow ask that Noble Lord whether it was the :in tention of Government to remove the collectica i of bo tanic plants from Kew. TITHE COMPOSITION. Lord STANLEY moved for certain rettirms, to which there was no objection on the part of the C govern meet, setting forth a list of the incumbents enti fled to arrears of tithes in Ireland, with the sums due, a end the amount paid on account thereof to the several 'incum bents, on account of composition. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS (IREL. AND) Lord JOHN RUSSELL moved the Order •of the Day for the House going into Committee on the , Muni cipal Corporations (Ireland) Bill. Mr. LYNCH presented a petition from th a inha bitants of Galway, complaining of the bounder'' , is fixed by the Bill, which would deprive a large numlw rof the freemen of their franchise. Mr. SHAW presented a petition from an is i iividual in favour of the Bill. Colonel VERNER did not rise for the pr enose of prolonging a discussion upon the merits of the Bill, but ' he wished to say a few words in explanation of the vote he had given a few nights since, because he s hould be sorry to have it supposed that ho obstinately pre ferred- his own opinion to that of many 3 (Lafleur able Members with whom he had always acted. He felt, however, he should not lower himse If in the estimation of his friends, by giving his vine . its sup port of those principles which he consci ei a tiously believed to be correct, notwithstanding t k‘o: it op position. Ho would not now go into tli e argu ments on the question, which had alreati ly been. so frequently discussed, but ho could not under stand why they were now called upon to devil ate from the course which had been pursued on former o ccasions. He could not see why they should deprive them of those rights and privileges which they had posit ,essed for a great number of years, to give them to °the rs, more especially when they recollected that those ti ghts and privileges were originally given to them for idle pur pose of curbing those into whose bands it was : r row pro posed to transfer them. He would state the reasons why he had voted against the second reading ; of this Bill, and why he was now prepared to vote ' against going into Committee. The House would recollect the time that and been taken up during the last two Sessions i n discussing this Bill. Every cr. sposition had been manifested by that side of the Hous a to give a Biel to which they could conscientiously , assent. Amendmeo is had been proposed with a view of effecting this, and how had they been met by the Noble Lod—with the most decided opposition. The Hon. and Learned Member for Bandon, upon the second reading of the Bill, said that the present Bill was a much more mischievous Bill than any for Tiler one , and he called upon the House narrowly to w. itch its progress. He for one would attend to that warn in. It was some consolation to him and those who thot tght pith him that, when the Bill passed through that House, it did not become the law of the land —it must go to another place, where the suggestions I iorn that side of the House would meet with some re spect, and where those suggestions would be em bodied in the Bill—that those alterations would be made he had no doubt, and he had as little doubt t bat they would be unacceptable to the Hon. Gentlen ten opposite, and that if they were made it would, as befo re, be rejected. His firm conviction was, that the Will would greatly tend to the advancement of Popery, though ho did not charge that intention upon all those who supported it. He would have been better pleased with the former proposition, which bad emanated fr om . this side of the House. He thought that the totat I .bolition of corporations would have been g reatly for the. benefit of the country. Captain POLHILL gave notice of his.. o inte .. n i t . i l o e n_t x o_- mo rrow to put a question . to the Chancellor t _t . h chequer relative to the transmission of the Parliamen tary papers by the post. The House then wen t into Committee on the MAI Municipal Biil. Clauses 1,2, 3,4, a nd 5 were agree d On clause 6 being p roposed, to. Mr. SHAW rose to move an amendment. He should not accompany his 'motion with any arguments, I a s the subject had been so frequently discussed, but 839, EVENING EDITION. would simply state what his amendment was. Clause 6 related to the Parliamentary franchise' to free men. The object of this Bill related solely to the regulation of municipal corporations, and it was not intended to make any alteration in the Irish Reform Act. He thought, therefore, the Noble Lard would admit it was not necessary to make any change that was not required for the machinery of this Bill. The principle for which he contended had been agreed upon by both Houses in 1838. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman concluded by moving an amend ment to the clause, the object of which was the reservation of the parliamentary franchise to freemen leaving the provisions of the Irish Reform Act unaffected by this Bill. Mr. PIGOTT called upon the Hon. and Learned Gentleman to point out any clause in :ne Bill in which the Parliamentary rights of the freemen were net fully preservr . d and p ro vid e d f or . That clause was framed to do precisely what the Right Hon. and Learned Gentle man wished to do. He was not now discussing clauses 7 and 8 ; these s t oo d unr.rs a perfectly distinct foundation, might be dealt as the House should think fit, but he was debating the clause now proposed, and which had been proposed with a v i ew o f prcv idi ng f or t h e pre servetion of the Parliamentary rights of the freemen, and he would here affirm that no possible case could be imagined for which this clause had not provided, and he would call on the Hon. Gentleman opposite to point out any such case, and having done so, he would state the strong objections there were to the course proposed to be pursued by the Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman opposite. They had to pro vide for the preservation of the Parliamentary rights of the freemen. Now, what were those rights he would ask ? and he would beg the House to come to the con sideration of the subject, and not debate on m e r e t erms o f phraseology. That clause provided for all su c h cases , and he would ask the House whether it was not b etter to provide for those rights, without any ambiguity of language, which might let in a great deal which it pro fessed to exclude. The rights which were to be p rc ... vided for might be divided into two classes--Ist, those who had been admitted to their freedom—and, 2d, those who had not. The first class might also be divided into two sections—lst, those who had been admitted to the freedom and were on the list of Parliamentary electors ; and, 2dly, those who had been admitted to their freedom, who were trot on the rogisicr of Parliamentary electors. Now this clause pro vided completely for the preservation of the rights of the first class of freemen ; they could not possess any ima ginable right which was not provided for by this clause. He called upon the Learned Gentlemen opposite to point out to him what more clear or specific legislation could be applied to effect two objects ; first, the pro tection of the rights of every registered and admitted freeman who was entitled to be registered as a Par liamentary elector ; and secondly, not to confirm any right that was contrary to law. He courted the most searching inquiry on this subject, and he challenged his Hon. and Learned Friend to point out a single case which the words he had alluded to did not meet. He could not understand why this amendment had been moved. The words of the Act were, " That all persons now entitled to vote, should continue to enjoy such right, as if this Act had never passed." Now, the amendment might be construed to mean (which he was sure the Right Hon. Gentleman did not intend), that every person now a freeman wasentitled to vote.---( Hear.) IHe did not see any necessity for the proposed addition—in fact, every case was provided for in the Bill, and he trusted the Right Hon. Gentleman would abandon the attempt to introduce equivocal language into the Bill, in which every possible ease was provided for. He trusted the Right Hon. Gentleman would withdraw his amend ment;' but if not, he trusted he had said enough to induce the House to abide by the plain language employed in the Bill. Mr. SHAW thought the words of the clause had been a great deal more discussed than they deserved ; but the speech of the lion. and Learned Gentleman opposite sa tidi ed him that he had an object in inserting this clause, which he (Mr. Shaw) had before suspected. He felt con- - vinced from the arguments of the Learned Gentleman, that he sought by this clause to introduce some more strin gent construction of the 7th and Bth clauses than their plain and ordinary words would bear. If, however, the Learned Gentleman would strike out the 7th and Bth clauses, he (Mr. Shaw) would offer no opposition to the 6th. He could not help thinking but that the phroscology of the 6th clause had been framed with a view to the 7th and Bth clauses, and if the Hon. and Learned Solicitor-General would give up these clauses he would not press his amend. ment. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL was unable to per ceive any connection whatever between the clause now under discussion and the 7th and Bth clauses. The 6th elause had been framed without the slightest notion of any effect to be produced by the Bth clause. The Lord Chancellor last . year, in another place, made precisely the same objections to the clause which he (the Soli citor-General) now made to the clause of tile Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman, and he could ass ure t h e Right Hon. Gentleman that in framing it he had no inten tention of affecting the claims of any human being. Mr. O'CONNELL said that confusion always resultsi when people jumbled up two or three separate matters to gether. They ought not to mix up the consideration of the 7th and Bth clauses with the 6th. The Right lion. Gentleman bad been challenged to point out any person who would lose a right in consequence of the 6th clause—he had not only not done so, but be had ad mitted that the clause as originally proposed did not materially differ from his amendment. He therefore ad mitted that the clause as it stood by itself, was one that ought to pass ; he would thereforiesay they ought to pass it ; and if the 7th and Bth clauses were found to affect it improperly, the Right lion. Gentleman would. afortiori, have a strong argument against those clauses, as impro• perly interfering with what the House had already agreed to. He hoped the House would allow the 6th clause to be passed, and proceed to the discussion of those clauses which the Hon. and Learned Gentleman (Mr. Shaw) him self said were the only clauses to which be really objected. Mr. SHA W thought the phraseology of his amendment was better than that in the clause, but he had no objection to withdraw his amendment. After a few words from Sir R. PEEL and Mr. P icom the amendment was withdrawn, and clause 6 was ordered to stand part of the Bill. On clause 7 being proposed, Mr. SIIAW said that previous to the Reform Act, there was no right of admission in consequence of mar riage. Now, be Shad looked closely into the subject, and he found that the right had existed for at least a hundred years, but it was called the right of courtesy. Mr. PIG OT said that the clause of the Bill now quarrelled with, so far from being framed with any refs rence to the sixth clause, adopted the phraseology of the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite. He was ready to con cur in any modification that would secure the existence of any right that was interfered with by it at present. Mr. Sergeant JACKSON said this was not a Bill pro fessing to deal with the Parliamentary Franchise. That was the object of the Bill he had introduced. Consider ing it a subject of first-rate importance, and one which the Government had systematically neglected, his only object was to effect a bona fide registration of Voters in Ireland. But this was not to be made an argument for trying to bring in now a heterogenous collection of clauses. Mr. O'CONNELL asked why should not this, as well as any other opportunity be taken of effecting a de sirable object? All these clauses related to freemen; and it was only sought to put the law, on this bead, on the same footing as in England. The Learned Sergeant bad certainly treated the question in a conciliatory manner. Right had been talked of. Now, did the law ever give a right without conferring the remedy? No remedy now existed to enable a freeman to claim his right by birth, servitude, or marriage. It had been tried repeatedly at the bar without effect. Else, would the Catholics, for forty years, have been excleded from the corporation of Dublin ? That being the case, where was the right ? Could these things co-exist.—a right to have a freedom, and a right in a corporation to take it away ? For the corporation of Dublin could refuse to allow the right, unless with the sanction of the Aldermen, as well as citi zens. No man conld be a freeman without the sanction of both branchis of the corporation : at present the Bill could not be left as it was, and it was fairly altered by these clauses. Mr. SHAW said, Chief Baron Joy had give% a most elaborate judgment in favour of the ex i stence of the right in freemen. Mr. O'CONNELL denied the fact. Mr. SHAW re-asserted it. He protested against the changing the law in a Bill not designed for the purpose. Mr. PIG OT (across the table) assented to some modi fication of the clause : what it was nobody heard, except those just opposite him. Mr. LITTON said, that the Learned Solieltor-Gene ral for Ireland had declared that he did not wish to alter the law as to freemen ; yet these clauses would create a disability not existing now. The Learned Member for Dublin's argument was, that the clauses could destroy ao right, for that none existed. If the right did not Lxibt, how could the clauses be needed? But he (Mr. Litton) declared the right did exist, and that question was to be decided. Why should the House be called on now to alter the Irish Reform Bill, not now in question, uor legi timately before them ? Lord MORPETH said, existing rights ware not to be affected ; but the clauses referred to practices which could not ho defended as rights—such as conferring freedoms on the sons and daughters of honorary freemen. That was an abuse which was now sought to be remedied. The clause was —or, at least, the Government were willing to make it —ldentical with the parallel clause in the English Bill. Mr. Sergeant JACKSON said, the Noble Lord was going to oo what the Irish Reform Bill had not been strong enough to do. The Irish Courts of Law had ch.- eideci that the freemen had the right, though the corpora tion had a discretionary power to refuse it. Mr. O'CONNELL said a right might certainly exist, qualified by a power in a higher tribunal to take it away for any moral objection. But the Irish corporations had the power to take away the right without assigning a reason. To call that a right was quibbling. Why in England a freeman who was refused his right might have a mandamus directly, notwithstanding all the rest of the corporation were against him. That was indeed a right. Sir R. PEEL did not wish to pronounce on the merits of the question, but be wished those provisions to be made the sub ject of a distinct statute. There was a Bill called a Municipal Bill, with 130 pages. 230 clauses. An altera tion was wanted in the Reform Bill of Ireland, and on this bad principle of introducing alterations that had nothing to do with the Bill, the amendment was forced in here. Mr. LYNCH said the only object was to confirm the Irish Roform Bill.—(" No," from the Opposition.) Mr, SIIA \V said no freeman had the right but by birth. Mr. O'C 0 N NEL L—l am happy to hear the admission. Numbers have been admitted, not one of them whose father I was free. -I I