The Express.
London, England, 1847-12-21 00:00:00

THE RAILWAY DEPARTMENT.

Mr. B. CAitPia Mic;dtlLsl3;;;Cdentoitb; Board of
Trade whether the Board of Trade, en pubic grounds, con-
, tarred is and approved of the opinion and advice expressed
Iltstayth e commis itoon ehrLo zilsviity=l:l4 letter riothe h3e
t h u f
com-
missioners of railways elated, " That they were of opinion
that no case had been made out to c.ill for a special ref sr. nce
on the suhject of the Maths and Hants (meaning the Hun-
gerford Extension) Railway, under the Act 9 & 10 Vic.,
c. 105, sec. 10; and that he was under a wrung impression
in supposing that the cam has been already referred by the
Board of Trade to the commissioners of railways under the
act of parliament above-mentioned."
Mr. LABOUCHERE said the hon. member misunder-
stood the position of the railway department with reference
to the Board of Trade. The departments were separate,
and he, as President of the Board of Trade, bad nothing to
do with the corn sivmdenee to which the hon. member re.
ferred. It was true he had stated that he bad " referred " a
letter of the hen. member's to the Board of Trade ; but the
word " referred " had not been used in the sense put upon
it by the hon. member.
CITY OF DUBLIN ELECTION.

Mr. O. A. HAMILTON, after Mating that he undetetood
the government wonld not oppose hie motion, moved
the
the
eonsideradop ?t:
..,
the petition EdwardEdwardOrog-an,-E!,

.. •
M.P. (presented 17th o:eember), complaining that
reoognisance entered into by the petitioners against the
return was not in the form prescribed by the Act 7 & 8
Vie. e. 103, and that the same he referred to the committee
to be appointed to inquire iroo the petition presented by Sir
Willoughby Jones, Bart., M. P.
Sir 0. GREY maid he did not think it would he fair to
treat this petition dill rently From that the house had already
referred to a committee, and he should therefore accede to
the motion.—Agreed to.
CO SUTTEE OF PRIVILEGES.

Sir G. GREY nominated the Committee of Privileges as
follows:—Mr. Bernal, Mr. W. Wynn, Lord J. Russell, Sir
R. Peel, Lord Vb.count Palmerston, Mr. Goulbarn, Lord
0. Bentinck, Mr. Hume, and Mr. G. A. Hamilton, and all
the knights of the shires, gentlemen of the long robe, and
merchant, in the hou.e.

Mr AGLIONBY not object, but thought the com-
mittee would be rather unwieldy, if all the gentlemen of the
long rot* in the house were to serve upon it.
Sir G. GREY said the c •mmittee of 1840 was similarly
constituted, and they Lad made a very elaborate and useful
re part.
The motion was then agreed to ; the committee to meet
on 'Wtdneaday, the 7th of February, and every succeeding
Wedneatlvy, and Friday..
NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT BILL.

Mr. LABOUCHERE moved the second reading of this
bill, whereupon
Mr. GLADSTONE, pursuant to notice, inquired of her
M jesty's povtrnerient whether the answer of Governor
On y •o that part of the despatch of Earl Grey, dated the
23rd day of December, 184 G, which related to public lands
in New Zealand, had yet iwen received, and whether it was
intended to lay it at an early period on the table of the
house ?

Mr. LABOUCHERE said every particle of information
received by the government on the subject of New Zealand
bad been laid on the table of the house.

After a few b.erva•ions from Mr. AOLIONBY, the bill was
read a second time, to be reported Friday, Feb. 4.
THE CHELTENHAM ELECTION PETITION.

Mr. WALPOLE nominated the select committee for the
consideration of the petition of Sir Willoughby Jones, Bart.,
M.P. Mr. Walpole, Mr. Attorney General, Sir F. Thesi.
ger, Sir G. Grey,Sir It Peel, Yr. Serjeant Tolfourd, Mr. G.
Turner, Mr. Boma', Mr. Greene, Mr. Wrightson, and Sir
W. Reathonte.

-----
Lord J. RUSSELL did not object to the committee, but
observed that two hon. and learned gentlemen, the Solicitor-
General and Mr. Romilly, who had taken an active part in
the debate, were not nonsinatt.d. He mentimed this feet ;
but he replied that he did not wish to alter the coestitu.
tion of the committee, the ha. so as it was probable that he
might not, under any circumstances, consider himself bound
by their decision.
Mr. WALPOLE d..fendcd the list, but said if the go-
vernment pressed the appointatmt of any other members,
he should not object.
Sir 0. GREY said It had been observed to him since he
entered the house that all the legal gentlemen upon the com-
mittee, except the Attorney-General, whose opinions ho did
not know, had already expressed themselves favourable to
one view of the question. He thought the hon. gentleman,
during the Teems, had better consider whether he would not
put on the committeo the names of other members.
Mr. WALPOLE repeated that he should be exceedingly
glad to put on the committee the names suggested by Lora
J. Russell, if the noble lord would permit him to add the
names of two members from his (Mr. Walpole's) owa side
of the house.

Tejo committee as nominated was then appointed.
The house adjourned at half-put eight o'clock.

MUSKETS for IRELAND.—A policeman at Man-
chester Ku been di.missed from the force, very properly, fur
buying lire-arms from the pawnbrokers for the purpose of
aanding them to Ireland,

DEATH FROM LEAVING THE POKER IN THE FIRE.
—An inquest was held last week on the body of E. Terre', a
child about five years old, whose father is a joiner, living in
Chorlton-upon-Idedleek. On the Thursday morning pre-
vious the servant girl had put the poker between the bars df
the grate, in order to make the fire burn; after it be-
came red hot, it fell out at the feet of the deceated, the
bottom of whose night-gown it immediately set on fire. The
servant was unable on the instant to extinguish the flames,
having a younger child on her knees; but the mother, bear-
ing the screams of the children, ran down stairs, and wrap-
ping the cradle blanket round the deceased, succeeded an
extinguishing the flames, an abo.it four minutes from the
falling of the poker; but not before the deceased was so se-
verely burnt that she died on the Saturday. "
Ac-
icidental death."