The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-03-04 00:00:00

WEDNESDAY.

Petitions were presented by Mr. BAINES, from Mr. Jonathan
Peel and other magistrates, residing on the borders of Lan-
cashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire, in favour of the
Police (Counties and Boroughs) Bill.
On the order for the second reading of the Contractors Dis-
qualification Removal Bill, Mr. MITCHELL, after stating the
reasons which had induced him- to introduce the bill that the
present law was evaded, that the proper constitutional check
should be the responsibility of the Ministers of the Crown,
and that the exclusion of contractors from the House narrowed
the field of competition, and to that extent operated to the
detriment of the public service—said that, 'as he found there
was a strong prejudice against the measure, and as Mr. Br-
CA.RDO had announced a motion for a committee to inquire
into the whole subject, he moved that the order be discharged.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he was glad
that the bill was withdrawn. He thought it was not desirable
to alter the law as to contracts with different departments
which were not submitted to Parliament, those departments
having power to vary the terms of the contract and to grant
indulgences, thereby influencing the contractor. The objec-
tions to the present law, that it was not difficult to be evaded,
and that sometimes persons inadvertently entered into con-
tracts while members of the House, and thereby incurred pe-
nalties, applied to almost all penal statutes. As to loan con-
tracts, committee of last session had come to the conclu-
sion that they were of a totally different nature from the
other. Loan contractors were mere go-betweens, the parties
being the Executive Government and the public; the negotia-
tions with the loan contractors were preliminary only; they
were not completed until sanctioned by Parliament, and until
the engagements, binding on both parties, were carried into effect
by an act; and the Executive Government could not vary the
terms of the contract. In his opinion, the decision of the
committee was well founded, and he was disposed for the pre-
sent to let the question rest upon that decision.—After some
further remarks, the order was discharged, so that the bill is
withdrawn.

Mr. COLVILLE, in moving the second reading of the Justices
of the Peace Qualification Bill, stated that its object was to
enlarge the qualification and to extend it to personal property
—Sir G. GREY said, although objections might be taken to,
some parts of the bill, they might be removed in committee,
and he did not object to its principle, that landed property
should not be the-sole qualification for the office. After a short
discussion, the bill was read a second time.

- On the order for the second reading of the Annuities Bill,-
the CHANCELLOR, of the EXCHEQUER, adverting to the debate
upon the first order of the day, repeated that he had no doubt
of the rectitude of the decision of the committee of last year;.
nevertheless, he could not shut his eyes to the fact that per-
sons of great weight did entertain doubts upon the point, and
it was necessary to clear up those doubts one way or the other.
He proposed, therefore, to introduce into this bill, when in
committee. a clause of indemnity for subscribers to the existing
loan, which would not throw any doubt upon the decision of
the committee of last year, The bill was then read a second
time, as were the Consolidated Fund Bill and thr Exchequer'
Bills Funding Bill; and the house then adjourned at ten
minutes to 2 o'clock.