The Express.
London, England, 1853-03-15 00:00:00

THE MERCANTILE MARINE.

Mr. ILlC:tifiTOT;igc4to ii;kllielcesidii;iof the Board
of Trade whether he meant to legislate on all the subjects
on which he had spoken when he introduced the Pilotage
Bill, and if he intended to bring in bills on each subject ?
Mr. CARDWELL said that when he gave notice that he
should introduce the Pilotage Bill, he also gave notice that
he should make a general statement of the views of the gc-

yernment with regard to the mercantile marine. He had
made that statement, and to hoped before Easter to bring
in a bill which would include all those subjects. (Hear.)
On the question that the house proceed to the orders of
the day,
Mr. NEWDEGATE observed that the course in which
the noble lord was conducting public business was most un-
fair. He had completely altered the course of business by
declaring that he was not going to proceed to-night with
the Canada Clergy Reserves Bill, but that he was about to
proceed with the Jewish Disabilities Bill. This was a great
inconvenience. The noble lord had made the change with
the sole view of taking the third reading of the Jewish 1:14-
abilities Bill before the recess. There were many petitions
against it being prepared, and the consequence of this
course would be, that they could not be presented till the
bill was disposed of in that house. He trusted the noble lord
would not oblige them to take • position which he, for one,
should deprecate, bat it was their duty to do everything
they could to prevent the attempt now made to pass this
bill in despite of the feeling in the country against it.
Sir J. PAR [ROTOR having sat for many years opposite
the noble lord, while the noble lord was leader of the house,
was bound to say he had always found him evince a great
desire to consult the convenience of the house, but he must
say the house had some reason to complain in the present
instance. The postponement of the Clergy Reserves Bill
was no inconvenience to him, but several friends of his had
remained in town on purpose to be present at the discussion,
and he submitted that a bill of that magnitude ought not
to be postponed on the very day for which it had been
fixed; and with regard to the Jewish Disabilities Bill, he
submitted whether it was not unusual to take the committee
and:the third reading of such a bill in the same week.
Lord J. RUSSELL said the change he had made in the
order of business this evening was in order to act with the
utmost fairness to the house. He meant to propose, which
he had already given notice of, an alteration of considerable
importance in the Clergy Reserves Bill, and he thought
that if he proposed it without notice, hon. members
opposite would have reason to complain. Therefore as
soon as her Majesty's government had determined that the
alteration which he suggested should be made he proposed
that the bill should be postponed, in order that he might
give notice of it. With regard to the Jewish Disabilities
Bill, the hon. member for North Warwickshire complained
very much that that bill was not postponed for a consider-
able time in order to allow the petitions to come up. Now
the house had been aware, and the country had been aware,
for a long time that that subject would be brought for-
ward, and he believed that it was more than a month ago
that be gave notice of it, and there had been sufficient time
even before be introduced the bill to presrst petitions on
the subject. No great number of petitions, however, were
presented until the bill approached the second reeding,
and then the industry and the pains which had been taken
in order to introduce petitions had certainly produced some,
though not a considerable, number. The subject itself was
one net new to the house, and the only difficulty was to
find a new argument on it. He saw no sufficient reason
for postponing at this time a bill on which hon. members
had generally made up their minds.
Mr. CAYLEY suggested that the Clergy Reserves Bill
should not be brought on tilt after Easter, and said he
should be disposed to agree to it if it had a prospective, and
not a retrospective effect.
THE PROSECUTION OF THE " HOUSEHOLD