The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-02-26 00:00:00

BRITISH AusEum.

Mr. BANKES said he would not at iteltent trouble the House
with any statement respecting the Museum ; lie would, however,
give it hereafter. Ile would then content himself with moving,
that a sum, not exceeding 15,41#1. be granted to the Trustees of
the British Museum, for the year 1025.
On the question being put,
Mr. CROKER took the opportunity of repeating an observation
which he had made lost year. Ile was sure the Hon. Member
would rather be obliged to him than otherwise, kr directing his
attention to the subject. It was in reference to the catalogues
nothing could be more desirable than that these should be cheap,
and act essible to every one ; at pec;ent they were most expensive ;
they cost six or seven guineas, so that the poor scholar was debarred
of what might be the key of the Must urn. Nothing could please
him more than that a sum say 5001. should be granted to the
trustees of the Museum, to enable them to sell their lists cheap;
he, however, would not press the matter then, as it was, perhaps,
'better to wait until the Royal Library, about to Le added to it,
should be properly arranged and classified.

Mr. BANKES replied, that be felt very strongly the force of
the lion. Members suggestion ; and he assured him he woeld not
forget it; but as a rumen of fact it was bet right to state that the
catalogues, instead of seven guineas, cost but foot.
Mr. HUM"; said, that more than twelve thousand persons
visited the Museum last year. It would be a great Public COO.
veadeace if Tuesday and Thursday were added to the number of
days on which the public were admitted. Many parties came up
from the country, and were obliged to stay in town at expense, in
order to have time thoroughly to examine the Museum. He there-
fore repealed, that it would b_ a great good if another day were
give° to the country. (Hear.)
Mr. BANKES replied, that one of the principal reasons why
the public were excluded those days was, that many persons curious
in natural history, and also many foreigners, were anxious to visit
the Museum private, and thereby avoid the general crowd.
Many parties were formed for the private days, of pause of *clams
and so on. (A laugh.)
Mr. HUME submitted that it was rather unfair that two days
should be reserved for the few, and only three devoted to the ma-
wucity. Might not one day be given to private partial ?
Mr. CROKER said that it was highly necessary the students
should have an opportunity of studying without interruption. As
for what had been said of foreigners, he was not disposed to give
_ _

inconvenience, eery t. _ . -
trustee of the British ffluseuni offering to give them to them, on
the conditon of being rci:nburied to the amount he had expended
only. This he stated to be 6,0001. It was found, however, wet
one of the articles a sarcophagus, was saddled with& claim, which
Mr. Salt was obliged to pay. On mentioning this to the trustees
they refused to retain it, subject to the additional charge, but
offered to dispose of it for Mr. Salt, and were in treaty with the
late Mr. Belzoni for that purpose : they could not agree with that
gentleman as to the price, and so the matter at present rested. The
Hon. Member said he felt for Mr. Salt, anti the great loss he was
at. He had in the first instance been sent but 4,0001., and there
was the additional loss of what he paid for the sarcophagus. He
regretted extremely that when any gentleman came forward so di:-
in:crested:4 as Mr. Salt did, that tie should be so inadequately
rewarded.
The vote was then agreed to.
CIVIL CONTINGENCIES.

Mr. HERRIES moved, that a aura not exceeding 260,0001. be
granted to his Majesty to defray the Civil Contingencies. Mr. H1.731E asked if certain papers, which he bad before asked
for, coeineetcd with this vine, were then prepared w be Leal before
the House?

Mr. W. HORTON replied, that all were not-ready--sotne were.
Mr 111.751 E--" Well, then lot us hive those that are ready."
(A laugh.)
The vote was thou agreed to.
The House resumed, and the Report was ordered to be brought
up on Monday.
ILLgll A L ASAOCIATMNS IN IRELAND.

....
Mr. tiOULBURN moved the Order of the Day for the third
in
reading of the Bill to put down Illegal Associations Ireland.
On the question being rit from the Chair—
Mr. LEYCESTER said, th,:re were two o'r three reasons why
he should oppose the putting down the Association. First. because
they ought to tolerate the Association as it at present manta!, lest it
should assume a character more formidable. Secondly, because it
did not infringe on the Constitution ; and, thirdly, because he con-
ceived it did preot good, though this might be denied by the
lion. Member fur Soinersetshire (Sir T. Lethbridge), who, on that
occasion, relied more on his own prognostics than on faith. (A
laugh). Ile (ide. Leyces_ter) felt that the Association did serve
much to tranquillize Ireland. Ile was anxious not to put down
those whom he looked on as conservators of the peace of Ireland.
( llear.) When he contemplated the present measure, the words of
the poet occurred strongly to him—
" Oh navis novi to referent in mare fluctus,"
. .

and desperate and unthinking must be those who would drive Ire.
land front her anchorage. He was anxious to have the Association
exist, because he thought that existence incompatible with the ab-
sence of Catholic Emancipation—(hear, hear)—incompatible also
with Orange outrage. (Hear, hear.) But demolish the Asso.
elation, and you deprit e them of the means of checking that out-
rage. If the House did not believe that, let th;nl for a mo-
ment consider how anxious the Orangemen were to put
down the Association, (Cheers.) That proved a meat deaL
' And ia answer to those who said the Association was in.
finical to the latter, lte contended that the existence of that
body etas more likely to be the stanolition of the Orange faction
than at liesanclpAtion. The Honourable Gentleman pm-
eeedod to say, that be never could join in the reprobation of chat
phrase which had been so much talked of, the " bate to Orange-
men," until he could think it wrong to extract good from evil, to
convert poison into medicine, or to extract the thorn from the
I thistle. Another reason against the Bill was, that it was calculated
to change the colour of the Administration from its present piebald
or skew...old hut-, to downright Orange. (A laugh.) In conclusion,
he begged to say, that he did ataibute more power to the
Foreign Secretary than that possessed by a man of old, who boasted
he could, by stamping his foot on the ground, raise thirty thousand
men. Now, if that Right Hot,. Gentleman made one step towards
that side of the House, he would succeed is raising six millions of
men.

:Ur. S. RICE said, that he would not abase the indulgence of
the House by detaining it any length. Though he was prepared
to support every act of the Association, still he must lament the
necessity there was for its existence. The proposed Bill had many
objectionable provisions, but there was one that surpassed all others
in its objectionable nature, and he intended to move that it be
omitted. It was that clause which empowered Magistrates to in-
vade the sanctuary of every private family. He would read it to
the Haw I—
" And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful to
and for any Mayor, Sheriff, or Justice of the peace, and they a:e
hereby respectively authorised,. empowered, and required, within
his and their respective jurisdictions, to command all meetings
hereiubofore declared to be Unlawful Assemblies, immediately to
disperse; and if any such meeting shall not thereupon imme-
diately disperse, to apprehend all persons offending in that behalf,
and to demand admission into any house, outhouse or office, where
they shall respectively hare good reason to believe that such
Unlawful Assembly shall be, and, if refused, to enter by force."
Though many of the Magistrates were his most intimate friends,
still he would not entrust such powers as these in their hands ;
many of them were, however, persons nut likely to abstain from
abusing their authority. Such a Bill as the present had no pre-
cedent, escept perhaps in an Irish penal statute. Ilia fears as to
the Magistrates were nut founded on the statement of the At-
sudat,on or of agitators but on facts—on the verdicts of coons
of law. A ease occurred on the Leicester Circuit, in the year
/an; an Honourable Member of that House Ullr. Doglierty)
was Counsel fur the plaintiff: it was an action brought by a
man named Patrick Carrol, against a Magistrate named Falk-
ner, for false imprisonment. Carrol went to execute a warrant;
at the house of the person whom he went to arrest the defendaut
was ; and because the plaintiff' refusal to take off his hat when
desired by Fullmer so to do, Falknor committed him under the
Insurrection Act, for breaking into a (louse at night, in company
with armed persons, and these armed persons, by the way, were the
police that went to assist in executing tile warrant. (Hear, hear.)
At the trial the Hon. Member made a declaration, in which lie
(Mr. S. Riot fully agreed. It was—' In Ireland the poor man
has no protection front the law, and that there was one law for the
rich and another for the poor." He implored the House,
therefore, to pause before it again gave the power to a Ma-
gistrate of committing a man, because he refused to take off
his hat. In another case. where a man had bee.i accused of
taking some sea weed, belonging to a Magistrate of Waterford,
named Power, he ordered out the police, anti in consequence of his
instructions to them, a man was deprived of lite. On this trial,'
Chief Justice Uushe, observed, " That nothing was more to be de.
plated than that magistrates should resort to such means for the
maintenance of their power; and that, if they continued to rule
with so high a hand, the people could not entertain either respect
or attachment for their superiors ;" and yet to these men, thus
characterised by the Lord Chief Jostice of Ireland, you are about
to commit the power of breaking into any man's house, upon bare
suspicion of an illegal act. It they were driven to look at the
matter without the context, what is there in the avowed opinions of
the Catholic Association stronger or more vehement against the
comluct of the magistrates than this condemnation of the Lord
Chief Justice ? He would nut thus intrude upon the House, but
they were told from the other aide, that general assertions were un-
fair. Could they then be blamed for bringing forward particalars?
In another case, in Waterford, a tenant had been apprehended and
confined for some supposed felony. lie remained 15 weeks confined in
a Bridewell, without any other means of support than what he
received from his own family. His case was at length brought be-
fore the manager of a great property, an individual universally
esteemed—he meant Colonel Cony, of Lismore. That upright and
honest Magistrate, upon hearing the facts, immediately ordered
the whole of the prisoners confined its Tallagli to be transmitted tol
Waterford. Then, and not till then, the prosecutor, Mr. Loyce,
consented to release the man upon his giving up his farm, anti pay-
ing ten pounds in hand. He wou!d do his Hots. Friend opposite,
the Secretary for Ireland, the justice to say, that his letters reflected
the highest credit upon him, and the Government. He had said,
that the defendant was utterly unlit to remain in the magistracy,
and he had been rerr.uved from it; but would any one ray that this
purification had been sufbesznt—that the removal of one or two in-
dividuals, charged with such crimes as these, would leave a body
tit to be entrusted with such a power as was contained in this Bill ?
No. he would go farther ; he would say, that lie would not trust to
the Magistrates of England—no, rot to the Magistrates of Utopia--
• power to break into their fellow.subjecfs' houses at their own dis-
cretion. lie would trouble the House with Übe ease more ; the
third. he would observe, on the same circuit. This was & commit-
ment under the Insurrection Act, by a Scotsman. a Magistrate of
Nenagh. The iinfurtlnate object of his abuse of power, was an

it much weight. (Hear, hear.) But on these palette dope I of the House. if a Bill armed with smelt fo
artists and students attended, and they ought not to be appealed to the Secretary fm Ireland, if, tic
Mr. HU:VIE asked if it were not possible to have the Munn* ceestry, he could say that it would not be i
open on one day more than at presents relearn! results? Yet, while he gave this
Mr. CROLEIt—Of those days on which the public am eat. opposition. he wss disposed to, do *eery
eluded, one is set apart for climates the Mu rn. vernrnent. Wasteeorilmelioratiolta had take
Mr. LOMAS, ilia- begged *awl/ tha • a frelesum or oe pe6plreit the administradost nY to
to a circumstance connected with the Egyptian-collection. Mot ttr coley die lis the Pleb Cithiner,:distY 'Lc:
Mr. Salt to the Museum. That the_
was appointed to the merit. Be saw in that Government the elei
Egyptian Consulate in 1816: he succeeded in collecting, at a great the same time—and bc regretted be eras c
inconvenience, a number orrery curious articles ; he wrote to the an evident ioability to carry theltlatertioni
._.