The Press.
London, England, 1853-05-14 00:00:00

IFv-

V rottebings in V arliantent.

THE litisH cOMPACT CHARGE.
Mr. T. BALI., on Monday night, insisting that
Ministerial virtue ought not to he suspected a mo-
ment longer than necessary, called upon the mein-
her fur Westmeath to give names and details .c-
-specting the charge of corruption he had brought
against the Whig Uo‘ernmeut, or their accredited

agent.
Captain MAOAN declined to answer such a chal-
lenge until the question it conveyed had appeared
formally upon the notice paper of the house.
Mr. BALI. explained that such a notice had been
prepared, but was not inserted on the paper on rie•
count of some technical informality. It was, hew-
ever, sufficiently well known that be had inteuded
to make his present application to the lion. member.
Lord J. Russeo. seized the opportunity of giving
the house a pledge that whereas the allegation in
question imported that. some person was authorised
by the Whig party, before the late Government left
power, to make some sort of contract with the Irish
members, to the effect that they would not be parties
to the imposition of an income tax on Ireland if
those members would vote against the late Govern-
ment, he had ealy to say that, according to his
knowledge and belief, there was no person so autho-
rised, and there never was any such proposition
made to the Irish party. (Hear, hear.)
Lord A. VANE renewed the endeavour to extract
some further reasons from
Captain MALIAN, who reiterated his refusal to give
any, except upon compulsion.
Colonel DUNNE, as an Irish member, saw no dis-
credit in the alleged compact. None such was ever
proposed to himself ; but, if it had been, he should
have deemed himself only doing his duty to Ireland
by accepting it.
Mr. Mooing went to the point of the matter. He
knew nothing of the alleged transaction, but he and
everybody knew that the supposed " accredited
agent " meant Mr. Hayter, whom he called upon to
defend himself.
Mr. RAWER rejoiced t't find an opening for that
purpose. Recapitulating the terms of the alleged
compact between Ministers and the Irish members,
ho repudiated any part in, or cog,nistince of, such a
transaction
"He never 'nal hcen authorised by any person or any
laxly of persons to mahe any such cismitunication to any
roam 4)r to ally party. He never had atti'lltled at any
meeting at ally time of his life of Irish members—( Ile«r,
hear, and a laugh. }—and he never lout stated to any per-
tain at any time that. he was autlanistsl iu any manner to
say that, if the thovemincut 1.))ol. Derby w 4.1.4) over.
thrown, the ligoventutent to he sttlistitut,sl in its place
would undertake not to put the income to% up! iii In•hoid.
He ti'llStl.ll that. the la anattable member would be sot Hic‘l
with this reply. ( Hoff, hoar.
Captain MALIAN said it. WAS all a mistake. Ile
had carefully used the plural number, and the
accredited agents he had alluded to were three
Irish members, whom he still refitsod to name with-
out formal notice.
On Thursday, upon the motion for going into the
committee of ways and means,
Capt. MAttAN at length entered into full explann-
tion. He had never intended to refer WI Mr. hurter,
met he had been wrong in stating three as the
number of interme4liarios between the Whig mi-
nisters expectant MO the members. Two hon.
gentlemen only were involved in his allegation. That
allegation, according to the veision Ito now gave,
amounted to this, that, being present at. a coital»
meeting, they asserted that, if the p.e.ty who ex-
pected to tune into ottive should succeed in rievont-
plishing their object, no income tax should he
imposed upon Ireland. 'The members alluded to
he named as the representatives for Roscommon and
Tralee, Messrs. F. French and Maurice O'Connell.
Roth of the named monhers successively 'droves'
explanations on their own weenie, the common
burden hieing, that, while confessing to the assenuice
they were charged with having given to the other
Irish members, their grounds for giving it. were
derived from sundry ntiserllimeous lobby conversa-
tions with Mr. I layter. That. hon. member had
always referred them to the budgets and speeeltes
of Sir C. Wood, whence they hail derived the pleasing
convietion that a Whig Chancellor of the Exchequer
had always opposed the extension of the income tax
to Ireland.
Mr. HAVTER, acknowledgitig thin prollahility that
such conversations had taken Olive, confessed to
having utterly forgotten them.
Sir C. Wool) interjected on his own a re-
mark that his participation in the affair wi.un.ed
only through the pages of Hensard.
Mr. MALINN, commenting upon tile singular dis-
appearance of the "aecredited regents" who had
figured so conspicuously in the former discos_
slow, charged the member for death with much
incaution in stating matterd of fact :