The Sun.
London, England, 1855-07-25 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMI ?ANT.

tion from Poplar, praying that that township might not
be included in the same district with Bow and Bromley.
The Earl of FORTESCUE presented a petition from
Somers-town against portions of the bitl.
Lord WODEHOUSE then moved the second reading
of the bill. He stated that the Government of the me-
tropolis as regarded local affairs was of the most com•
plicated and unsatisfactory character. There were no
less than 250 local acts relating to different portions of
the metropolis, and as many separate local bodies. B€-
sides these there was the commission of sewers. Since
1847 there had been no fewer than seven different com-
missions of sewers, and they had incurred a debt of no
less than half a million, and the cost of management was

HOUSE OF LORDS--(YESTERDK
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the w no lsack
at five o'clock.
The Duke of BUCCLEIICH preseeted a I ition
from the Presbytery of Lorn against the Scotch luca-
tion Bill.
resented
The Duke of MONTROSE p petitions NI ainst
the Scotch Education Bill.
THE FIBRE COMPANY'S BILL.
The Earl of HARDWICKE rose to move that eii con-
sequence of the proceedings upon the Fibre Col ni iany's
Bill having been superseded, by reason of the it roduo-
tion of a. general measure upon limited liability, and. as
there is now little prospect of such measure again
ti
me.
the the present session, it is expedien t_ la
the said bill be allowed to. be read a secor Limited
ited
The noble lord said it was understood that h
Liability Bill would effect all that was asked tbyeel ta
Bill, and that it might be inconvenient to legisla rte on aa
private bill simultaneously with the introd
uuscti
idcE trei but
general measure on the same subject; it was
respectful to such an argument that it should be I listened
to. The session had now, however, so far advent( el as to
make it almost certain that the general measure cannot
pass this year for want of time, it being only now ill com-
mittee in the other House of Parliament, and 'it was
therefore sought that the Fibre Bill must be allo i_wedto
proceed. His motion was based on two
fgrurmouu, t
his e; lv st ,
The importance of the rite
i ery
s a was calculated to e eoinote.
great public adventage
ed, As respects the standing order 176 ; the ye ry con-
siderable doubt whether that order was applic able to
the Fibre Bill ; tend the perfect impossibility of the
promoters of the bill to comply with such order, and to
-conform at the same time to the requirements a nd pro-
visions of the Joint Stock Act, which now regulm eed the
preliminary proceedings, of all companies. The import-
sacs of the meaure might be gathered from the fact
that it proposed to give poWers for providing a .remedy
for one of the greatest wants of the present day, viz.,
the supply of a cheap material for paper. The promo-
ters felt that they could not find a better argot tent in
support of their views than that furnished by t be con-
tents of an article published in the last June nu tuber of
the " Quarterly Review." It was entitled, "'I he Sup-
ply of Paper," and commenced thus
The literary world is just opening its eyes to an im-
pending evil of no little magnitude—even a sea: •citer of
intellectual food. Stubborn facti and figures v ern us
' that, unless extraordinary efforts are made to ar-ert the
calamity, we shall soon experience all the intone a niences
arising from the deficient supply and conseque at high
price of paper. Already a rise in price of ox e half-
penny per pound in that article has seriously effected
our public journalists, causing a loss, it is
said, to the Times newspeper alone of 10,0001.
or 12,0001. per annum, and inducing the propri 'tors of
that journal to offer a reward of 1,0001. to any • ne who
can discover a new and readily available material.
"The cause of our present dilemma is the it creased
consumption of paper evithoot a corresponding ineeease in
the supply of rage. In the five years from 1830 -:o 1834,
both inclusive, the amount of paper manufactured in Great
Britain was on an average 70,988,131 Ibe. per annum.
This was prior to the reduction of duty on first-class papers
from 3d to its present equalled rate of lid. per lb. Tak-
ing the five years from 1849 to 1853, we find hat the
average annual quantity prcanced had risen to 151 .234.175
lbs. The prorluctiou of t irear 1853 was 177,6:'3,0091.,
being above 23,000,000 lbs., or 10,000 tons more than the
preceding year, and requiring for its production an ex-
cess of not less than 13,000 tons of raw material. The re-
turn for the year 1854. canetinues to show an increase,
caused by an increased 4inert demand ; but the amount
does not greatly exCeed:Viat of 1853. The figures are
177,896,221 lbs. Takipeleiln account the higher price of
paper-making mateeialeeqtlis estimated that tho cost of
roduction to our ma.nuf,cturers during the ,presont year
will exceed that which the same weight of papee would
have cost in 1852, by no less then 1,000,0001. sterling.
" This increased consumption of paper in Great Britain
is due to the vast demands of our periodical literature, the
more widespread ability to read and write ai'iong the
lower classes, the cheapness of books and newspapers, and
the facilities of communication by poste'
The deficiency was becoming so much greater by rea-
son of our supplies of flag and hemp from Russia, having
been considerably reduced in consequence of the war.
From the thorough test , which the proposed new flax
material has undergone at a very considerable cost
from the fact that an edition of the Times new.ipaper
has been published upon it—the Fibre Company ryes in a
position to pledge itself that, should the Parliamentary
powers, sought by their bill, be granted, they would be
able in a very great degree to solve the difficult problem,
and to supply the pressing requirement of a subsiitute for
rags. The necessity for the adventure being carried out
b y a company must be evident from a consideration 'of the
magnitude of the operations required to prOduce a sensi-
ble effeet, and the wide range to which they must ex-
tend ; indeed it may almost.he seid, that to supply a re-
quisite quantity of the new material for paper making
would be as far beyond the capability and prudence of
private enterprise as it would be to undertake to supply
the whole of 'England with' bread from one individual
purveyor. The noble lord then proceeded to comment
on the standing order, and contended that it was 'at
variance with the practice of the house, and therefOre
the bill ought to be read a second time.
Lord REDESDALE opposed the motion. The noble
earl bad argued the case just as if there was no way in
which cheap paper could be obtained except through the
instreinientality of this company ; but a patent lied been
granted for making paper of fibres ; and of that patent
any person or company might avail themselves. He
begged to remind theirlordships that this was the first
hill in which they had been asked to allow a limited Ha,
bility to an exclusively trading cOmpany. He believed
that what made the promoters so anxious to press this
Measure this session was a wish to buy up the potent to
which he had referred, and thus establish a monopoly.
He denied that the standing order 176 was obsolete or
contrary to the acts of Parliament he had named ; nor
did he see any reason why the order relating to the pe-
riod at which private bills should be read a second time
should be set aside. It was true that the parties laid not
pressed their bill, but they had abstained from Join so en-
tirely on their own responsibility, and not inconsequence
of any premise on the part of the Government. He
trusted that, the house would reject the motion, if only to
put a stop to a practice which he was sorry to see again
springing up, the practice, namely, of personally can-
vassing peers in support of private bills. (Cheers.) It
was highly necessary, for the character of the house,
that they should discountenance any attempt to resort toe
- that practice by every means in their power. (Hear.)
The Marquis of CLANRICARDE, in supporting the
motion, declared that he had not the slightest personal
interest in the bill. He did not know that any one of his
acquaintances had aqy interest in it, but he had been so
far personally canvassed, that a statement of the com-
pany's case had been put into „his. bands, and after per-
using that statement be had come to the deteamination
to support the company's application.
Earl GRANVILLE admitted that he bad recom-
mended the postponement of the bill until the Govern-
ment measure should have been brought before them.
The Government had no intention of abandoning their
bill, although he was certainly not able to promise that
it. would be passed during the present sessiO.,: He
thought that if a standing order was a bad one it might
to be repealed, but so long as they kept it on their books
they ought to enforce it, unless good cause was shown
to the contrary. On this ground he should oppose the
present motion.
After a few words from the Earl of HAIIDWICICE in
hply,
The Earl of DERBY said he thought this comnany
had been hardly and unjustly dealt with.' They 'Were,
net responsible for the delay which had occurred, itias-:
much as they wrought in their bill in good time, and they
were not permitted to go on with it, as it was stated
there was a bill for limited liability in general, which it
was expected would vises this session. That bill, how. •
ever, had not passed through committee of the other
hewn), and they had passed the day on which their lord-
ships had determined they would not, except in - case of
exigency, read a bill a second time which came from the
Commons. He was himself in favour of the tPle f
limited, liability, bat he was not in favour of iPnrt'rnoeducin°'g
the principle of limited liability without ample
ia'
pletlimiebaeelci
and
leisure to consider. it. After the feeling w
expressed healid not think it would be discreet in his
noble friend to go to a division, as he would probably
be in a small minority ; but however small the minority,
if be did go to a division, he would support him, '
The motion was then negatived without a division.
THE BARONY OF FERMOY.
The Earl of DERBY said he wished to put a ques.
tien to his noble friend the President of the Council which
affected their lordships'
privileges. Borne time ago he
felt it to be his duty to bring •
under their lordships notice
'•
the circumstances under which the. Crown Was' edvised
to grant letters patent conferring the barony of Fermoy
on a gentleman lately a member of the other "hones of
Parliament, -arid at his instance the question her', been.
• referred to a select committee of that house.- Ile., had
• supposed-that the honourable-gentleman--he- supeoeed
. be must call him--• When the validity of his patent, was
impugned, would have taken _measures to establish
his
right, and have claimed. his right to vote for a rearesen-
- tative peer of Ireland. He had not thought fit to take
• that course ; and at this period of the year, tied the
period of the session, when many of the learned judges
whom they would have to consult, could not be is at-
• tandance, and when,
' to
spa ee, consequently, it would be dieicult
take shay se:inee"eld3l", he (Lord Derby) should note
eeutveourse, but atean,: early period, neat
session, unless'
the 6risiderat..o4 sfut9ent brought
and
subject andejej
eman w el their lordshipe,-- and unless-the
t 1 h
7: gentleman ose ,avour the patent -had been issued
_;eb"eple}-_tltenk proper to clamel hikright to vote,` he Rhould.
citi
bring the question b pea
wished to kneez whethee anything
would-Fe-46ns in the
meantime to prejudice the question.
//id G:leth4at/sTti2VelL,riLubßiee. he had peen ender telex.
earlaid would himielf 1;1i," for fleeing waited geveral the
nitttheadti,tvehipm:.r itbeemcl.
pectation
ward the question,
askednnble lord (Lord
w(11;:ite
vote as
did s nhaea tar think
epcureeu
• he should`
claim his right to
- fore the eenualittee "of Privileges- He eenselted his.
• nohle friend on the weereAek: rhe tOd biro it -
COMMONS—(ITERMA.
• ; • too late, to etag decieion'‘thiaseesient. recount ehea ee-..1-fYk-ro-ce
al once of indeee and therefereile(Eari Oreneeeei ,• ;trite Seeeaeit, took the chair at 12 o"cloOk.
' till another sessio-billet were
advised h,itenehlairiend Wait_ Ile ,The..-Tierele!lateeeeelseente to - the following bi were
u.- same eeeitit..atc,illey..i.ri_itawdring the,qUeetien as.tc, considered and agreed to :-.4.ircirie "Rural :District Po-
, whethei -Government w'octlii take any 0(4,3 to act on Bill'; .East iiene Rail way (Extension, to
interpretation of: the la vi 7-33atthe ha (lid. net'knew he. Dever) Bill ; and the Surrey Gas Bill. , •
• the'. It was eight togiv: ap aeswer to a qu'stion ITENSI%ITS' IMPROVEMENTS COMPENSCOMPENSATION • ing toe prerogative of the Crown. but he might see' that
lieeeMajei ty's .Goet f with ereeithe
_LColthd spaiti (.:R.tEILAND) BILL.
eleeet wet& nee -
- • v+lise.her jp-kty to rcler of the da.
ee Tfor restuning the discussion
any act 'which ‘,1*..64.11.1. -on this tee •
prejudice en.eleteere.. -. , _ •- •• • Tre
- • - •• *IR.ReSTON roseand said.he felt _b_oUnd, tn.
ETROPOLIS 1.160.er effierre. eeeerete-1 fethWee;teeetee Leteees. -
session,
.14 vernineet had been prepared. to yield
On the order of the day e_o exot,lettltereemeeeedeele with this
their own opinihni to what bill, for the second reading of :this
The Marquis of WEBTIGNSTER Notated a peti-ight-be.considerea the
general PP°Ple onrelud, and' they took
feeling of the

as much as 281 per cent. on the expenditure. There
was to be an end of this commission, and of the nume-
rous local bodies he had referred to. It was proposed
to extend to all parishes the provisions of Hohhouse's

Act, as regarded the election of vestries, and in the vo.-
rious parishes wards would be constituted. The parishes
of the metropolis were divided by the schedule of the
bill into two classes, schedule A and schedule B, and
they might be called parishes sole and parishes in
union. These parishes were 23 in number. The
rest of the metropolis was divided into 15 districts,
making a total of 38 districts, each of which would
elect a board. To these boards would be trans-

ferred the superintendence of paving and lighting,
besides the management of the local sewers. As
regarded the rating it would remain as at pre-
sent, the occupiers paying the paving and
lighting rates, and the owners the sewers rate. It was
also proposed that there should be what was called a
Metropolitan Board of Works, which was to be composed
of forty-six members. The central board would have one
most important duty to perform, namely, to consider a
plan for remedying that which was becoming every day
a more serious evil, the condition of the River Thames.
They would have to devise some method of preventing
any of the sewage of the metropolis from being poured
into the river ; and if that object alone were accomplished
a very great benefit would have resulted from this mea-
sure. After having thus explained the main previsions
of the bill, his lordship concluded with a recommenda-
tion of it to the most serious consideration of the house,
as one affecting the welfare of all the inhabitants of this
metropolis, who formed so great a portion of the people
of England ; and he moved that the bill should now be
read a seeond time.
Lord PORTMAN regretted there was not time
enough remaining this session for the consideration of
the details of this bill, though he recognised its value,
and thought it most important that it should pass into
law. He had some suggestion to offer for its amend-
ment. The great questions were, the division of the.
town into districts, and the mode of electing the district
boards. He thought it was hardly safe to invest a newly-
created body with all the functions which had existed
by virtue of some 250 local acts of Parliament, which
were now to be repealed, unless the house were better
informed than it was at present of the nature and extent
of those variong powers. .
Earl FORTESCUE also intended to propose •an
amendment in committee. By this bill four great London
parishes, St. George's, St. James's, Marylebone, and
Pancras would continue for a time the election of their
vestries in the present mode, being exempted so far from
the obligation imposed upon other: parishes and districts
of adopting the mode of election prescribed by this bill;
and in the meantime all the new powers which were
given by this bill would be exercised by the old vestries,
including the appointment of officers, fixing salaries, and
deputing representatives of those parishes to the central
board. He considered this was objectionable.
The MarqUis of 'SALISBURY thought the Govern-
ment lied d .ne well in attempting to improve the local
management of the metropolis, but expressed some
doubt whether this measure would prove Mote efficient
for the sewerage than other metropolitan sewers. com-
missions which had been create .4, in vain.. He recom-
mended that, as in the case of the New Poor Law, this
measure should be only a tempserary operation at first,
for a ti-in of three or fire years, so that its faults might
be corrected by experience. '
The Earl of CAqNA.RVON Supported the obj >diens
which hail been taken by Earl Fortescue to the 7th
clause of the bill, relating to four large parishes of the
.metrepolis ; he thought it involved not only a practical
injustice, hut almost a constitutional grievance, to em-
power bodies which had been elected for a different pnr-
pose to peiform duties which neither they nor their
constituents ever contemplated.
The Earl of DERBY concurred in expressing his re-
gret that this bill came before their lordships at a period
of the session. when it was physically imp issihle for them
to bestow sufficieut attention upon it ; beep he frankly
admitted the great importance of passing' the measure,
and the diligent consideration it bad obtained from the
House of Commons, as well as from the Government.
He thought it improbable that he should be able to attend
when it was discussed in committee ; but he felt confi-
dent that Government would readily consider any sug-
gestions that might be offered. There was one feature
of it on which he would make some observations—he
meant the enforcement of an uniform system of voting
in, and election of, vestries throughout all the different
parishes.. At present only a very small proportion of
the parishes in London were under the operation of
what was called Hobbouse's Act. This bill did not
formally introduce that act in all the parishes ; but in
effect it did the same thing ; for while it repealed
Hobhorise's Act, it introduced the provisions of
that act, extending them over all the parishes, and
thereby established single voting, and negatived
the system of plurality in voting. Now he thought there
was a great deal to be said in favour of the system of
'plurality of votes, as enabling the persons who contri-
buted most largely to the rates to• exercise a proportion-
ate influence over the expenditure. Bat many parishes
had had this question referred to their own decision ;
and the very class of persons who by this bill or by Hob-
house's Act would have the exclusive franchise conferred
upon them, had resolved that they preferred remaining
under Sturges Bourne's Act, which they thought was
more conducive to the good government of the parish.
Now he (the Earl of Derby) was not advocating one
principle more than the other, but he would put it to the
Government whether for the sake of uniformity in the
mode of election in all the different parishes and dis-
tricts, they would make it compulsory upon them to adopt
a system which the ,parishioners did not prefer. He
did not see.why it should not, be left to their option.
No inconvenience would result from the central board
being composed' of members elected by different consti-
tuencies, in different ways ; for example, the Senate of
the United States consisted of two representatives of
each state, but elected under different state laws and by
various constituencies. The working of the, metropolitan
system constituted as he suggested would afford a valu-
able illustration of the problem of the best mode of elec-
tion, and the representatives of each locality would try
to rival others in good management.
The Earl of POWIS throughout the vestries of large
parishes, like St. George's, were not suitable for the
transaction of such affairs as would by this bill be com-
mitted to them. He apprehended, also, that the effect of
the first clause would be, though unintentionally, to put
an end to the burial boards, and to the commissioners of
baths and washhouses. It was inconvenient to begin
the operation of the bill on the Ist of December, when
the accounts 'of parishes were commonly made up at
Easter or Lady-day.
Lord WODEHOUSE briefly replied. With regard to
the obeervatione of the noble earl opposite (Derby), al-
though Sturges 'Bourne's Act was a general act applying
to all parishes throughout the country, in the metropolis
a large number of parishes had got special acts ; and
there were scarcely two alike in the mode of electing
their vestries. If the arrangement suggested by the
noble earl were adopted, be feared it would excite more
heartburnin,gs and jealousies than 'the application of one
un;form'rule. - , .
The bill was then read a second time.'
DISSENTERS' MARRIAGE BILL.

Lord BROUGHAM moved the second readingof this
bill, which he stated to be for the purpose of remedying
a great evil to which dissenters were now subject.
Under tts.e Dissenters' Marriage Act of 1836, when a
marriage between dissenters took place by the registrar
or by a dissenting minister, it was necessary to give
notice to the clerk of the board of guardians, and if the ,
marriage was to take place without a license, a znotice
was to be read at three successive meetings of the poor
law guardians of the district in which one of the parties
lived. Many most respectable persons objected to
this, and many were thereby l'ndeprived of the benefit
intended by the act of 1836. The object of the bill
was to substitute another mode of proceeding, and in-
stead of notice being given to the clerk of the guardians,
and the notice being read three times at different meet-
ings of the guardians, the notice was to be given to the
superintendent registrar, and be affixed in some conspi-
eu9lia Plaee in his office for 21 days. The measure was
After
r°l2ll. considered in the other house by gentlemen of all
sects,lll
their
of the Church-and dissenters, and bad come
he 'following Vila
lordships' honse with their full sanction.
a few words from Lord R EDESDALE the bill was
read-a Wend time.
Court of Jnii,elietito"' 86c.
;
were read a second time :—The
Stage Carriage 1%1.
tion with United States Chinese Passengers' Ships;
of Wales-Island) ; Conven-
tion Removal and Dis-
eases Prevention Aotir
Ecclesiastical J-Urisdictionnilidatiou and Amendment ;
orinuance ; Lunatic Asy-
lums and Regulations Acts
Tmendment ; Militia Offi-
cers'urnpike Trusts Arrange.
Qualification; and the
m
Dissenters Relief Bill after a short discussion was
he s Lill- .
sie
T
witbdra7e.
The 'rrei,nrer of Counties (Ireland) gm, and the Sale
nance Bill, the -NN,
of Spi: its (Irel ii rid) Bill, eai4 seeond time
were severally r
Loans Relief
arrangement Bill eat Ind.
The Turnpike Acts Contiu
Bill, "and the PtiblioLibrarielaB
and Moaenres Bill were read a third time a.ndpa,t,,ed.
:The Piers and. Harbours (Scotland) Bill, the. Crown
:Suits Bill, -and the Lunatic Asylum (Ireland) Ilia, W , were
severally passed through committee. _
Tile report of the amendment in the Merchant Ship.
ping Act Amendment Bill was brought up and agreed to.
moRTMAIN BILL.
On-the motion of Lord BROUGHAU this bill was with-
drawn.
"clock.
_.: Their.lordships adjourned at nine p -