The Express.
London, England, 1848-08-26 00:00:00

Mr. J. O'CUNNBLL thoirecht that if the aka. were re-
tained it would prevent tit', Pepe from seeding any person
to this country. He would suggest to the hon. and learned
member for Youghai not to persevere in his amendment.
Mr. ANsTRYO*A that he would withdraw his amendment.
(lilear,hear.) 1, be hon. and learned gentleman moved other
verbal anno..iments, which were negatived without a din.
sion.-I%m house then divided on the clause
For the clause 79-57
Against it
The clause was then agreed to.
. .

Gn the third clause,
Mr. C. P EARSON moved the following amendment :
" To insert, in the second lino of the third clause, after the
words, ' that nothing herein contained,* the word. °flowing •
shall authorac any intercourse or communion with tne see
and chore i of home upon ecclesiastical and spiritui.. matters
now forbidden by law. •
The committee divided—For thest amendment 29
Againt
Mr. ANS'IEY moved the omission not
certain words which
seemed to I.vour the retention of penal statutes agiunst the
Roman esthetic..
Lord J. RUSSELL said that any measures that might be
brought ie hereafter for the repeal of those statutes %mud
of course do away with the words referred to by the hon.
and learned gentleman.
The eavnitinent was negatived.
Mr. ANSTEY said he would divide the house on the
entire clause.
' The cony:letters divided—For the clause
Against it -73
The clause was then agreed to, the bill passed through
committee, and on resuming the house adjourned to
six o'clock.
The house resumed at six o'clock.
COUNTY COURTS BAILIFFS.
In answer t question from Capt. recto:et,
Sir G. GREY stated that it was in contemplation to do
away with the s.erices of high bailiffs to county ceurts
in
agricultural district, in which case the assistant bailiffs, on
whom the duties would devolve, would have a claim for
increased remuneration.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
Mr. F. .3COTT asked whether in the regulation proposed
for Port Phillip and Sidney both districts would be included
in one tail. or would there be a separate bill for each ?
Mr. HAW ES said both would be included in ens bill.
LEICESTER WRIT.
ate. HUME, in musing that a new writ should i.sae for
the borouen Leicester, lead that his orieinai opinion as,
that no writ should issue for any of the borough, in which
bribery had been proved until the corrupt practices bill had
come into operation ; but as that bill had b. en rejected else-
where, he had now no course left but to move the issue of
the writ.
Mr. PACKE regretted that a speci a inquiry hod not been
instituted is the cote of Leicester, the bribery and corruption
there havicg bet n gr. ater than at any other place.
Motion aniseed to—writ ordered to issue.
TILE CHARTIST CONVICTS.
Mr. WAKLEY, in referring to the petition he had pre-
sented compmioing of the treatment of the persons who had
been convicted at tho Old Bailey of a misdemeanor in con-
nexion e ith the late chartist meeting', said that the peti-
tioners appeared to believe that the Home Secretary had
issued special oilers that these prisoners should be treated
with mere than ordinary severity while undergoing their
punisement in the House of Correction, and that it was
therefore ueeless to petition the Home-office or. its subject.
Believing that its notions of the petitioners were altogether ,
unfounded, he was anxious, seeing the hon. member I
for Maidstone, who was one of the visiting megistrates of the
prison, iu his piece, to inquire whether it was true that any
special instructions had been issued to treat these nrisoners
with unu.ual or undue severity—whether they were treated
as convicted felons—whether the allegations of the petition
were -correct as to the condition of these prisoner,— ar
whether they bed made any complaint to the visitrig justices
with regard to their treatment ?
Sir G. Ci REY, before his hon. friend answered the quer
time which had been put, might be allowed to advert to that
part of the petition which referred to his own conduct in the
matter. The petition, though worded in the plural number.
was signed only by one person, a Mr. 1). Grey, as chairmaa
of a meeting, nor did it appear that it had emanated from
any stet, meats made by any one of the prisoners. The peti-
tion alleged that special instructions had been sent from the
Home-etiice an to the treatment of these prisoners. To that
statement he gave an unqualified contradiction. (Hear,
hear.) The Secretary of State had, in fact, no power to give
such instructions. The prisoners in the House of Correction
were classed under regulations made by the visitteg marts•
Crates, and approved by the Secretary of State, as required by
the act of parliament, and he had no power afterwards to
interfere w,th them. With regard to the statement that it was
useless to address the Home-office, the truth of that might bi
gathered teem the feet that two of the prisoners had actually
addressed a memorial to him (Sir G. Grey), which he had
referred to the visiting magistrates, by whom the statements
it contained would no doubt receive that consideration which
was fitting and just. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. DODD confirmed generally the statement of the rieht
hon. baroutt, and added that the regulations under which
the prisoners in the Hou eof Correction were classed were
made when Lord Normanby was at the head of the Home-
office, and no alteration had since been made.
'I HE CONVICT JOHN MITCHEL.
Mr. ROBINsON had been informed 1, a letter from riper
genet friend of hie residing in Bermuda that this convict had
been treated since his arrival at that station more as a state I
prisoner than as a person convicted of felony ; that he had two
rooms &dotted to him fcr his use; that he had a servant to
wait en him; that he was not subject to any kind of labour;
that he wore no distinctive dress; and that, in short, his
position there was much better than that of many of the
officers in her Majesty's service stationed in that island. He
had no wish to press kanhly on this unhappy individual—
far from it ; but he wished to ascertain whether the laws
were fairly, justly, and impartially carried out in his case.
(Hear) It was with that view that he bad given notice
that he would put certain questions to the government The
first question referred to the treatment et Mr. Mitchel on
board the Secure, while on his passage to Bermuda. It
had been stated, and was believed at Bermuda, that he
messed with the officers of the ship. He wished to know
whether this *tett anent was true ? He wished also to ask
wheth, r any special orders had been given by the Secretary
of State for the Home Department as to the treatment of
Mr. Mitchel on his arrival at Bermuda? Also, whether
any communication had been made to the Home-office from
the authorities at Bermuda as to such treatment ?
Sir G. GREY replied that, with regard to the treatment
of Mr. Mitchel while on board the Scourge, and his messing
with the officers of that ship, no information corroborative of
the statement to which the hon. gentleman referred had
reached the government; but from the information they did
possess, and the nature of the instructions given to the cap-
tain of the Scourge, he wholly disbelieved that statement.
(Hear.) The hon. gentleman must remember that Mr. Mit-
chel was not sent out in a convict-ship but in a man-of-war,
and as it was not usual to seed out convicts in this way, special
instructions were given to the captain, which instructions
were issued by the Admiralty, directing him to take every
precaution tor the security of the prisoner while at sea, add-
ing at the same time three as the prisoner was in a delicate
state of health, he wee to have a separate cabin for his con-
finement, at the door of which a sentry was directed to be
placed, and where his meals were to be conveyed to him.
He had heard nothing to the contrary, and therefore he pre-
sumed these instructions had been carried out. When the
prisoner was landed at Bermuda, a letter was delivered to
the governor, from the Secretary of State, calling his atten-
tion to the case of this particular prisoner, which was Waal-
panied by the medical certificate of the medical officer at
Siike Island, as to the state of the prisoner's health. With
regard to the treatment of the prisoner since his arrival at
Bermuda, government had received no information corro-
borative of the statement of thehon. gentleman. The only
information they had was contained M a despatch, dated July
4, in which the governor, addresaiag Lord Grey, states that
the medical inspector of convicts at the island had reported
that the prisoner was suffering from chronic affection of the
lunge, sod had been removed to the convict hospital ship.
Since that, he (Sir G. Grey) understood that he hail been
transferred to another convict-hulk, but he presumed the
state of his health was such as to prevent his being employed
in the bard labour to which convicts were ordinarily sub-
jected.
PROVISION FOR IRISH DISTRESS.
Sir D. N WIRE YS said that, in consequence of the statement
of the noble lord (J .Rumell), that government would take upon
themselves the respousibatte of meeting the distress of Ire-
land for the present, and that should the failure of the crops
render it necessary, parliament would be called together
at an early period, he would withdraw his notice of motion
on this subject.
APPOINTMENT OF AUDITOR-GENERAL OF THE
MAURITIUS.
_

In reply too question from Lord G. BENTINCK,
Mr. lIAWES explained that Mr. Kerr, who had been
appoinwl auditor-general, would receive the usual salary
of 1,2501. a year ; he hud for some time filled the office id
assistant auditor, and was promoted in due course on the
retirement of the late auditor-general, who, in consideration
of his long service (having been appointed in 1816), had
been allowed to retire on the full pension of 8001. a year.
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.
In reply to a question from Lord 0. BENTINCK,
The CH ANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER announced
that the Spirit Warehousing 13111 and the Copper Duties Bill
would be taken at the evening sitting on Monday. It was
also arranged between Lord Palmerston and Mr. Urquhart
that the discussion on the Slave Trade (Muscat) Bill should
be taken on the third reading.
POOR LAW (IRELAND).
On the order of the day for the committee of ways and
means being read,
Mr. P. SeltOPE rose to move the resolution of which he
had given notice, " That no future appropriation of moneys
"taken from general taxation be made in aid of the poor rate
of Irish unions, er.cept on condition-1. That it be expended
in the productive employment of the able-bodied poor. 2.
That repayment be secured by a lien on the property im-
proved by the works, as well as on the rateable property of
the union." lie said, the present mode of expenditure was
wastetu 1 and demoralising ; and before parliament separated
it was most desirable that it should be decided whether such
a system was to continue or not. He was favourable to
giving a right to relief; but he thought that the parties
obtaining it should be employed upon productive labour.
The only. employment given to the poor by the commission-
ers was etonebreaking, which they admitted was wholly un-
productive, and chosen because of its disagreeable character.
Many requests and appeals had been made to them to alter
thia plan, but they stated in reply that every proposition for
employing the poor in reclaiming waste lands, draining, and
other 'AMU,' works, was surrounded by such insurmount-
able aitticultiss that they could not consent to entertain any
of them. In this he conceived lay the error, for he was satis-
fied that there was not a part of Ireland, he would
say not a single union, which did not afford ample
means of employment by public works for all the able-bodied

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