The Express.
London, England, 1848-05-27 00:00:00

agents, stating that whether they took Stafford,
Vae,riefrTck,-I.pswich, or other place., the system of bribery
would be found to have spread considerably. Lord Palmer-
Am in 1837, deslared his opinion that, "at the preeeding
derkon bribery had exceeded anything that ever was known
within those walls." The fault was, that under the present
law every one was interested in concealing bribery, and no
one was interested in exposing it. What he would bays was,
either an effectual prevention of bribery, or an effectual
punishment for it. He therefore desired that a second sche-
dule to this act should contain all towns with above 10,000
iababitants, and that in the event of a conviction for bribery,
the nearest unrepresented town to that convicted should have
the member, thus giving it a dialect interest in the conviction
of the town in which bribery was said to be committed. The
effect of this would be to secure in every use a searching and
conclusive inquiry. Suppose, for example, Horsham was
convicted, Croydon, a town of 18,000 inhabitants, would
have the franchise. If Derby were convicted, Helper, hav-
ing proved the case, would be united with it. He asked
for this alteration as a small instalmetit of reform. •
Mr. BANKES opposed the bill. He denied that the Hor-
sham committee had made any impeachment of corrupt pose.
Hose splint the electors of that borough
Mr. N KWD E 0 ATE opposed the bill.
Mr. 11013 HOUSE considered the bill to be partial,
unjust, and oppressive, and as such demanded the strongest
opposition. Ile would tell the hon. member for Lambeth
that the borough which he represented oontained a consti-
tuency as ure as that which sent him to hat house.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL 'aid thatt the violent opre
'Bien to the bill was not properly directed. The question
before the house was whether they were determined to put
dewn bribery and corruption. It was very well to say the
wu partial ; but would those who opposed it on that
ground support a general bill, if such were to be brought
in f He did not believe they would. The bill proposed to
examine into the cases of bribery which had been proved to
exist in certain boroughs ; end if it was contended that the
majority of English boroughs were sorrupt, he denied most
strenuously that such was the fact. It was all
very well for the presect honourable member for
Lincoln to defend the purity of that borough as far ss be was
concerned, but former election proceedings in that place had
not been so pure ; hut on the contrary, a select committee
had reported to the house that in the election before the hat
a gross system of treating and bribery had prevailed there,
In which the hon. and gallant member for Lincoln had been
stated to have tiken part. (Col. Sibthorp here exclaimed,
That is felse."l The bill before the house was calculated
to chece such practices in particular cases where they were
proved to have occurred, so as to operate upon the whole of
the borough constituencies, sad he sincerely trusted the
Insises would not delay further to go into committee upon it.
Mr. STUART opposed the bill, not because it prevented
bribery, but because it sought to inquire into what was
alleged to be bribery in an illegal and unconstitutional
manner. It was a bill inflicting pains and penalties on the
poorer clued voters—(hear, haul—and it was brought for-
ward by the hoc. member for Montrose, who complained
that the suffrage was not sufficiently extended. It was a
piece of ex post facto legislation, and as such should meet
with his decided opposition. (Hear, hear.) Ile conjured
the house gravely ti consider the provisions of this measure
before they pledged themselves to a course which might
pluntio tho whole electoral sy-tem into interminable dif-
ficulties.
Mt. HUME said, that the object of t..e bill was inquiry,
not punishment. As to the accusation of its beta ex post
facto in its character, every trial was an ex post facto pro-
ceeding, and in this case legislation was a necessary conse-
quence of acts which had been discovered by committees of
that house.
Mr. HENLEY said, that the bill was not to try a man
for an otheee he had committed, but to pass a new law
creating a new offence. Ile objected to it as including a
great number of boroughs against whom soy different
amounts' of corruption were charged, end gg to them
ell the same sweeping condemnation.
Mr. COCKBURN would give his cordial support to the
bill, and he hoped the house would, by passing the bill, show
its determination to put down bribery in every shape.
(Hear.) The object of the hill was nut to disfranchise these
boroughs, but tee institute an inquiry, by means of commis-
sioners on the spot, who would have the opportunity of
examining witnesses upon oath, which a committee of the
house could not do. There was nothing of an inquisitorial
or es posi facto nature in the bill.
Mr. AGIAONBY said that the whole object of the in-
quiry was to ascertain whether the offences had been com-
mitted. With regard to the question as to whether the
giving a man a glass of ale or a government situation in a
dockyard, to influence a vote, was to be considered corrup-
tion, he looked upon the one as well as the other as an of-
fence which ought to be put down.
After a few words from Mr. Austwittoor, which were
sot beard, the house divided—
For going into committee 166
Against it 7B-83
After a few words from Sir J. Hummer, Sir H Willoughbv,
and Lord Courtensy, the house went into committee pro
fornui, and on the house resuming obtained leave to sit

again.
TOBAGO RELIEF AND IMMIGRATION INTO
BRITISH GUIANA AND TRINIDAD BILL.
Oa the order of the day for the second reading of this bill,
Sir ii. WILLOUGHJIY observed that he had nothing to
say against the amount or object of the grant ia this bill.
lie admitted that the sum (5,0001.) was small but he did
i not think it was competent for a minister of the crown to
make any grant of money, however small, without the sanc-
tion of the Rouse of Commons, at least while that house was
sitting.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER 'aid that
the grant was made at the discretion of the executive govern•
ment, subject to laying the subject before the house. They
were informed that a hurricane had overwhelmed many of
the labouring population, and that extreme destitution
was
the consequence. That discretion was accordingly exercieed,
and it was only in such a case that the exercise of it was

Mr. HUME still doubted the right of government to 1.
grant 5,0001. while parliament was sitting. He wished to I
have some explanation also of the advance of 200,0001., men-
tioned in Lord Grey's letter.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied
that the despatch had been written under very urgent cir-
cumstances, and certainly nothing had been done under it
'of which parliament was net already cognisant. He had on
a previous occasion stated that the former government had
authorised the expense to be incurred of sending coolies
from the East Indies to these two colonies. The expense, and
that of relieving them, was to be defrayed by loans to be
raised by the colonists themselves, and ordinances had been
passed for that purpose, but, after the emigration had
taken place, in consequence of a technical legal difficulty
in those ordinances, it was found by the agents of the colonies
in this couatry impossible to carry them into effect, or, in the
then state of the money market, to raise the loans on
any reasonable terms. All the expense had been incurred be-
fore the present government had come into office ; but, on the
day parliament met, aft, r the holidays, he had stated the whole
circumstances of the matter in respect to which there had not
been any concealment ; and therefore he felt that the go-
vernment were justified in answering the liabilities which
they found their predecessors had incurred, and in making
the advance stated, to prevent innocent parties who had
conveyed the Coolies home from the loss which would other-
wise have been entailed upon them. Still he admitted that
he was notinepared to say. that the course taken was one
which ought to be drawn into a precedent ; while at the
same time the peculiar circumstances of the case afforded a
full justification to the government for this proceeding.
Mr. HUME expressed himself satisfied with the explana-
tion, but hoped that this trausaction would not be permitted
to be followed as a precedent.
The bill was the. read a second time, and ordered to be
' committed on Monday next.
SUNDAY TRADING.
On the motion of Mr. lON 'HAT, seconded by Mr. BRO.
nw, leave was given te bring in a bill to amend
the laws against Sunday trading as far as relates to the me-
.

tropolis.
THE AFFAIRS OF SPAIN.
Lord PALMERSTON brought up papers relating to
the affairs of Spain, which were laid on the table and ordered
to be printed.
The house adjourned at a quarter to I o'clock.