The Express.
London, England, 1848-04-14 00:00:00

the Emancipation Act, in no one instance had any
such license been applied for. The government had
no official knowledge of any each persons coming into
the country, and could give no further information on
the matter, but he would attend to it. Lord BEAU-
MONT did not believe the Tablet was in any way con-
nected with the Jesuits, but was the pro-
perty of an individual who had been a
quaker, and was now a catholic. The Jesuits
had now no refuge in any other part of Europe, and
they seemed to have hope in being allowed British
hospitality, which, he trusted, if they did no overt
act to excite the disapprobation of the government,
they might be permitted to enjoy.—The question of
the second reading of the Removal of Aliens Bill gave
rise to a somewhat protracted diecussion, not only on
the principle of the measure, but with referenee to the
past and present state of affairs on the continent, in
which the Marquis of LANSDOWNE, Lords ELLEN-
BOROUGH, GREY, BEAUMONT, BROUGHAM, GRAN-
VILLE, STANLEY, DENMAN, MALMEBBURY, REDEs-
DALE, the Duke of RICHMOND, and the Marquis
of CLANRICARDE took part, at the termination of
which the bill was read a second time, with notice of
passing it through its remaining stages on Monday
next. _ _

In the House of COMMONS Sir W. SOMERVILLE,
in reply to Mr. I. O'CONNELL, relative to Colonel
BROWNE, and the "pike" case in Dublin, read a
passage from a letter of the LORD LIEUTENANT'S
to Dr. GILAY, stating that he could not too strongly
express his abhorrence of the conduct of any man
who should seek to entrap others into the commission
of crime with a view to delivering them into
the hands of justiee.—Mr. TIIORNELY, as chairman of
the committee on public petitions, presented a special
report from the committee, on the subject of the
Chartist Petition, which was read by the clerk at the
table, from which it appeared that the number of sig-
natures attached to it, instead of being 5,706,000 as
stated by Mr. F. O'CONNOR, was only 1,975,496; that
many of the consecutive sheets were all in the same
handwriting, and names attached of distinguished
individuals, who could not be supposed to concur in
its prayer. There were also a variety of names alto-
gether fictitious, and other words and phrases
which, though written in the form of signatures,
and included in the number reported, the committee
would not hazard offending the house, and the dig-
, pity and decency of their own proceedings, by report-
ing, though it might be added that they were signa-
-1 tures belonging to no human being. Mr. F.
O'Coveoa' amidst some interruption, said he should
certainly move for a committee to investigate the
matter; and if the house still doubted that the peti-
Lien had received the signatures of five million per.
sons, he would undertake in a very short time
to produce them a petition signed by double
or treble the number.—Mr. THORNELY de-
fended the accuracy of the examination made by
the persons employed for that purpose, and, with re-
ference to a previous statement of the hon. member
for Nottingham, that the petition weighed 5 tons,
its weight was only 51 cwt. After some observations
from Lord J. RUSSELL, the Earl of ARUNDEL and
SURREY, and Sir It. INGLIS, as to the exaggerated
statements respecting the late demonstration, Mr.
Caters rose, and begged to affirm, without
fear of legitimate contradiction, that the committee
had taken every pains that there should be no mis-
take on the subject. His own attention had been di- I
rected to the matter from the very moment the hon.
member for Nottingham made the audacious state-
ment that the petition was signed by five millions and
a half of persons. On investigating the matter,
he had ascertained that of every 100,000 signatures
8,200 were these of women. He did not wish to
throw ridicule on the petition, but he did wish to
throw ridicule and obloquy on the hon. gentle-
man, and he for one should say that he
should never believe the hon. member again.
He hoped the house would not cast such a censure
upon the committee of petitions as to appoint another
committee to inquire into the subject. Mr. F.
O'CoNtion said an explanation was required on three
points ; on two, relating to the petition, he should
explain to the house; on the third he should have an
explanation elsewhere. In the first place, he did not
believe the persons appointed for the purpose could
have counted the number of 1,900,000 names in the
time stated; and, in the second, he did not consider
himself responsible for what might have been written
in the way of signatures to the petition. After some
further conversation, and an explanation from Mr.
Caters that he did not intend to offer any insult to
the hon. member for Nottingham, but merely to as-
sert that he did not place any coefidince in his state-
ment, Lord J. Russet'. moved that the hon. member
in question be ordered to attend in his place forth-
with, which motion was agreed to. At a further
period of the evening the assistant eerjeant-at-arms
appeared at the bar, and reported that he had seen
Mr. F. O'CONNOR at the Norther); Star office, and
served him with the order of the house, but which
order the hon. gentleman declined to obey. On
the motion of Sir G. GREY, Mr. O'CONNOR was
then ordered to be taken into custody. At a later
hour the Serjeant-at-Arms reported Mr. O'Comeoe's
caption, when, oa the motion of Sir G. GREY, the hon.
member was discharged oat of custody and resumed
his place in the house. After an address from the
SPEAKER, and mutually satisfactory explanations be-
tween Mr. Caters and Mr. O'CONNOR, the latter
gentleman said he had a further and higher duty to
perform to himself and to those who had entrusted
him with the petition, which was to state, that after
the unequivocal expression of opinion on the
part of the house he should not proceed with
the motion of which he had given notice
for this day, but should leave the matter to be
settled between the house and the government,
and between the committee and the petition itself.—
Mr. FAGAN'S motion for a committee of the whole
house for Tuesday dext, on the subject of ministers'
money in Ireland, was, after a debate, rejected by a
majority of 76, the numbers 149 to 73.—Mr. Hume
proposed to call the attention of the house to the
special report of the Lyme Regis election committee,
charging Mr. ArrwooD with bribery, and to submit
that the ATTORNEY-GENERAL be directed to prose-
cute that gentleman ; but at the suggestions of Mr.
BANKES and Sir 0. GREY did not persevere in press-
ing it.—Mr. B. COCHRANE, after referring to the case
of Mr. PoLLETT, specially reported in the Daily News,
moved for leave to bring in a bill to amend the
County Courts Act. After a short discussion, in the
course of which Sir. G. GREY intimated that Mr.
PoLLErr had made no application to him on the subject
of his treatment in prison, leave was given to bring in
the bill, and the house adjourned.

SOME of our cotemporaries publish a letter, of which
a copy was found in the Tuileries, in a portfolio be-
longing to Louis Pititirre. It is a long exculpa-
tion by that prince, addressed to his daughter, the
QUEEN of the BELGIANS, of his conduct in the matter
of the Spanish marriages. It brings forth, however,
not one new fact, and merely serves to confirm the
popular and settled opinion on the subject—which is,
that the KING of the FRENCH having solemnly pro-
mised not to marry his son to the INFANTA until the
QUEEN should have a child, not only broke that promise
by the marriage of the INFANTA at the same time as
the QUEEN, but defeated everychance of the great object
of that promise being attained, by marrying the QUEEN
against her remonstrance and desire, to a Prince,
whose defects were so notorious as to necessitate,
were it but for appearance sake, a very shameful in-
quiry on the part of Louis PaiLirre himself.
M. GUIZOT, personall!.-, is, indeed, somewhat excul-
pated by these letters. They prove, at least, one cir-
cumstance in his favour, which is, that he desired at
one time to marry Queen ISABELLA to Don ENRIQUE.
A stronger power, however, intervened and prevented
it. The French envoy in Belgium,RuNtioNv, when asked
to exert himself to get round Don ENRIQUE and send
him to Paris, declined. M. GuIZOT accuses him of
want of address. But this was not the true reason of
his reluctance. It was no other than that, whatever
were M. GCIZOT'S views, Louts Pnitiree never had
any other than to render ISABELLA sterile, and secure
the crown of Spain for his son.
We wish the NIONTPENSIERS joy of it, if they get
it. The position of a continental king is at present,
and apparently in future, so little desirable, that
really we can conceive no one, willing to accept
the place, unless he be a knave or a fool.
And even then we have striking examples how, in
these times, knavery cannot save, any more than lay
can protect, a crown. For the moment, General
NARVAEZ reigns, by the support of the army and his
own address ; bat his power is based on nothing.
Not only is he detested by the citizens, and incapable
of forming a free and liberal Cortes, but even the
packed moderedo Cortes has been sent about its busi-
ness, lest it should upset him. The bourgeoisie,