The Express.
London, England, 1851-05-01 00:00:00

NOOSE OF COMMONS.—WZDNESDAT, APRIL 30.
The Semetzis took the chair o'clock.
The following bilewere read ••12 third time and passed :
Derby. end Ashborne Road Dill, Duffield and Sheffield
Turnpike Road Bill, Regent** Canal Company Bill.
ADJOULINXILYT OF TIIE HOUSE FOlt THE
EXHIBITION.
Lewd J. RUSSELL mired that the house, at its rising,
abould adjourn till 6 o'clock on the following day. The
made lord said he thought it would be convenient fur mem-
bers who might wish to attend the Exhibition on the fol-
lowing day, tithe house did not meet till 6, and no practi.
eel ineouvenienee would result from that arrangement.
Sir R. INGLIS said the reason advanced by the noble
lord would apply to an adjournment fur a longer period.
He Wok it for granted that his noble friend proposed that
they should not meet till six, in order that he, all the other
members of her Majesty's Privy Council, all the great
lords of state, and all persons who had taken mama tickets,
might be enabled to attend the approaching ceremonial ;
but that was an equally good reason for a longer adjourn-
ment. He begged, therefore, to more that the house should
adjourn till k ridgy!.
Mr. F. IIAULE said the general committee on elections
had appointed the following day for swearing in the mem-
bers of the Harwich committee, and he feared that if they
were not sworn between via and seven on that day, the
inquiry would, according to the act of parliament, fall to
the ground.
Mr. BANICES believed the next meeting of the house
would enable the hotre to satisfy the provisions of the act.
He should certainly support the amendment.
Lord J. RUSSELL said he could, himself, very well
attend the house at four o'clock. it was rather on account
of other members of the house, who might not be able to
get away so soon, that he proposed that they should meet
two hours later. The Exhibition would not be open after
seven o'clock, and, therefore, there could he no reason why
the house should not meet. The objection to the house not
sitting was, that Thursday was one of the days which the
house had agreed should he an order day, andd if that day
were lost, the business of the session would, of course, be
delayed. There might be orders of the day on the paper
which were not agreeable to his bon. friend the member
for the University of Oxford—(laughter)— but, if the
house did not meet, they would time on at some future
time. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. TRELAWNY could not consent to the adjournment
el Friday, because on 'thursday he proposed to nominate
the church-rate committee.
Aftera few words from Sir It. IsoLte,

The howl° divided—
For the motion
AgainA it
Majority for Lord J. RowWe motion
HIGHWAYS.

In reply to a questioninlm S;II..TYLER,
Mr. C. LEWIS Raid a bill relating to highways, which
would include South Willi., as well as the rest of the king-
dom, had been prepared by the government ; but, as he
Raw little prospect of sumers in the present state of
public business, and considering how little encouragement
such bills had hitherto met with, it was not his intention to
introduce• it in the present session. It would be for the
house to decide whether the case of South Wales should be
trcatud as exceptional.
ST. ALBANS' ELECTION.

Lord J. RUSSELL moved that an humble address ho
presented to her Majesty, praying that she would he
graciously pleased immediately to tone her royal proclama-
tion, otforing such a reward as her Majesty should think
proper 14 discovering, appreto nilimt, and dettining George
ICorgett, John Ileywartl, James Skeggs, and Thomas
Bircham..

Mr. HANK MS ft-gondol the motion. He hoped the
chairman of the:committee would explain why the committee
had not availed itself of the 1101,014 of an net, introduced by
the noble lord, entitled "An art for the better di.coverieff
and prevention of bribery and treating at the election of
members of parliament." That art, he was informed, had
never yet been put in bare, but its provixions were pre-
cisely applicable to the ease before them. The second Ber-
ton was at follows And lie A enacted that if any com-
mittee, nomin ited to try an election petition. shall recom-
mend that further inquiry :old investigation should be
mule reitarding brihery at curb diction, in that ease the
tipeaker dull nominate an agent to prosecute the investi-
gation into th" matter of the said bribery, and the said
emninitb within fourteen days from the time of
their bovine in tile their report on the election petition, re-
assemble, and shall inquire unit ascertain whether bribery
was or was not prartiwil at the said election, and to what ex-
tent, and shall specially report to the liou.e all such matters re-
lating to the said bribery, and the parties implicated or con-
e, rnml therein, as to such committee ,hall seem expedient."
The act I 114.• well framed for it. oly et, and he regretted
that the committee h.ul not direelr lattention to it in making
their report. He (Mr. Hanker) thought the hest medium
of investigation would be a einunsiwion composed of mem-
bers of that home.

Mr. K. ELLICE, jun., said the motion before the house had
refereniv to a proclamation tor the apron pension of certain
persons who hail invaded the ruku of the house, and to that
motion tb hon. and learned member's remarks did not ap-
pear to lieu to apply. As the chairman of the committee it
would la. los duty to ask tin: house to sanction a resolution,
and in donut .0 he would state the ground. on which they
Led rot,kd as they had done. (Hear, hear.)

The Stll.lelToll-(IEN Mitt. said that he could under-
stand the Oh. :rvation. of the hon. member for Dorsetshire,
if rt hail been alleged that th.• defaulting witnesses had been
kept out of the way by the sitting member, hut nothing of
the kiwi eras stated, and under these circumstances, he did •
not think that the eommittee could have pursued any other
course than that which they had taken. With reganl to
the other point that this was a case for a spreial report, and
for brinaing into effect the art of the sth and 6th of Viet.,
e. 102, * hie h lead been intnehared by his noble friend, that
sourly nii_ilit Live brea followed, if the committee hall re-
ported that any portion ,of the totem had been corrupt. But
they stated that there was general bribery ; and, under
61,e etwunevances, the issuing of a commiwion as proposed
by the committee, would be more elliewious, than a pmpo-
St ion fora further inquiry, for any recommendation proceed-
ing from the to •roivr woulei lee far more likely to obtain the con-
sent of lei:le ionises of parliament than if it conk from a euen•
mitt.•.. of that house aloe,•. Iketiale., there was a doubt as
to whether the committee was a sitting committee at the
time, and it would neeessary to determine that fart if
th • course piloted out by the hon. gentleman was followed,
whereas there was no eloolet at all if the other course, of
Truing e•nwmission, was followed.

Mr. J. SMART did not think the hon. and learned
flobettor.lieueral had been very sucressful iu defending
the einduct of the committee. Ile did not think the corn
mitt, could hare ("Howie! a course which wan more likely
to screen who hail been guilty of bribery than that
which they bail taken. The hon. and learned gentleman
said that it lid not appear that the sitting member was
charged with keeping back the witnews. But it appeared
on the minutes of the committee that the counsel for the
petitioner had charged the agent of the sitting member with
bring the cause of the alssawe of the witnesses. lle had
further statist that he was prepared to prose the question
of agency; but the committee bad not thought it right to
inquire into that. If that were on, the recommendations of
a committee that had acted with on much neglect, and
caused notice to he haled, were, in his opinion, entitled
to little consideration us to the issuing of a commission, or
any other tussle of I.TlPMegling whirl. they might suggest.
Mr. ELLIS said that hr would not lie induced by what
the him. and learned gentleman had Said, to detain the
house by goin; over the wholo of these prneeedings again.
Mr. II UME said that they were not now trying the con-
duct of the isimmittee, but he did not think it seemly on
the part of the members of that house to be condemning
their own tribunal*. (Hear, hear.)

. ,
Lord J. III:SSELL said he thought it would have been
better if the hun. gentleman (Mr. Ilankes) hail deferred his
remarks till the hon. gentleman, the chairman of the com-
mittee, hail muted for the commission. It might be a sub-
ject for inquiry why the committee had nut made use of
the powers of the act which he had the honour of intro-
ductal; ; but he thought the better course would be to
issue a eontinission. Ile had intneluced a bill (or the lim-
ing of commidonse subeequeutly to the passing of the act
referred to, but owing to the lateness of the session it did
not pass the other house of parliament. He hoped, how-
ever, that some more general power than existed at present
would lie given for the issuing of commissions; for an in-
quiry by commission would carry greater weight and would
be looked upon as more important than an inquiry con-
ducted by some measliers of ono of the houses of
parliament. With regard to this particular ewe, it
was enough that great doubt had been thrown on
the regularity of the proceedings of the committee,
in eon...quince of their frequent adjournments. It was no
"newer to that to say that the committee had made a report,
and that they considered themselves a committee, beiause
the question of their competence had not been raised by
counsel on either aide. Ile thought that the existence of
that doubt was sufficient to justify the recommendation of
the committee to proceed by commission. With regard to
the observation of the hon. member for Montrose, who
complained that the time of the house was taken up with
narrow questions of this kind, whilst he had hirasellf raised
the gen, ral question of parliamentary reform—(laughter)
—he had only one observation to make. The hon. gentle-
man seemed to think that the whole of these complaints of
bribery arose from the limited number of electors, and that
if each constituency was mined to 1,000 or—what he said
would be still better—to 2,000 electors, it would offer a
complete guarantee against anything like bribery. Ile
(Lord J. Huseell) owned that his experience did not lead
him to the same coneluelon. (.. Hear," and laughter.) He
thought he heard a good deal with respect to towns with
large constituencies, such as Norwich and Nottingham,
which showed that it wasnot enough to have a constituency
amounting to 1,000 or even 2,000 electors to guard abribery. (Hear, hear.) He thought be heard somethfralnga:
the same kind with respect to other towns with still Lager
etlastitueneies (" Hear, hear," and cries of" Dnblin.") The
increasing of the number of the constituents tol,ooo, there-
fore, would not neuniarily prevent bribery. (Hear, hear.)
On the other hand, there were examples of boroughs with
small eonstitatestie• with veep* to which he lad heard no
complaint of balmy. (Hear, bear.)
We. weld wish le hum the arms of those
m ei= wish men
hem)
whisk the =Me
la. (Herz, hem) llfbee be eseleaded fur
wee, leser ebb lizemeseedeeermlee Hue wee leer
efle dee le where Ike euseetseeey ;
ertireall=tee4.4.abis lave leer euereiteteeies
and the k weld he Se wet ego-
tuAl way ef_perol4 ea sad to Ewa..
W. ,11$ wad it was asterlaue that the voters
is n=eed erehl be beeshe and esY as readily as
dam is ma Set web Seams wee se seem*