The National Register.
London, England, 1822-06-24 00:00:00

191

'2lll.ertal atiarltamtnt.

DOUSE OF Loans.
Koxiwir.JUNL ►7.

The House met at tour o'clock.
Lord 'toile. the Doke of Rattan.', Lord Exmouth. the Bishop
of Chester, and the lt:shop of St. David's presented a coosidera•
able number of petitions against the 'roman Catholic Peers' BilL
Tile Earl of Shaftesbury alio presented several petitions of a
similar tendency. Thoy were severally real and laid on the
table.
Lord HARDWOOD presented a petidou front die wool trade
of London. against the importatien duty on titi op wool.
The Nlarquis of LANSDOWNE presented a petition from
eertoin owners and occupiers of land at Scarsdale, complaining of
agricultural dist real.— I .a id on the tulle.
TRADE AND) NAN-hi ATION BILLS._

The Earl of LI VER PO. /I. rose to propose the second reading
of the Commercial Statutes Repeal Bill, the Navigation Act
Amendment Bill, and the importati nof Goods Sill. The noble
Earl said, flee first of these bills was to repeal not less titan 300
.of parhirimuit, which had passed prior and subsequent to the
reign of Charles the Second. This repeal would prove an a:•sen-
tial hem& to the commerce of the counity. One advantage would
he. that it would enable the merchants to know what could be
done by law. The multitude of statutes on the subj.•er of navi-
gation had ocraisintital great ineoir:cuiitice, which would be obvi-
ated. With respect to the Navigation It Ils, the principle of the
navigation laws had hot been violated. The two great principles
were these, first, that no goods should be imported from Asia,
A Inca. neat Amens a, milts, they crime in British ships; the
other was, mat culouics, in dittl•rent parti of the world were allowed
to export their own commodities in their own ships. It b:came
necessary to look at all the branches of foreign trade ; and the
hid gave the power of importilig to this country, in Spanish ships.
The effect would be, to coal a direct intercourse with Spanish
South Amerira.—With respect to Asia, Africa, and America,
the law remained unaltered. Another brinch of trade was also
opened. British ships were allowed to bring the produce of Asia,
Arrica, and A•ncri:a, not oilly foe home consumption, but for ex-
portation. The object was to make tai, coun•ry a depot for the
coimuoilities of alt di: world. It was proper to give up all the
nano x views of commerce. it had been always supposed that
restricting foreign COI,I4IIOCC was beneficial to British commerce,
!Yu the elrret was quite the reverse. By encouraging foreign
cuinmerce, and enlarging the trade of over nations, England.
undoubtedly, extended her own trade. The noble Earl conclu-
ded by moving the second reading of the bill.
alli'her a few words trout Lord Iturewtrod, the bill was read the
second time.
The other bills were alai real the second time.

Lord kIl1t:11sT then rose to move the second reading of
lice Colonial and West India Trade Bill. The noble Earl stated
Cie dtffieulties wbi.h had attended the colonial trade from the
West Indies to the tinned States. and the first Bill was to enable
3 te trade with the United States to be carried oat directly instead
of indirectly. It was intended to lay a small duty on produce
brought in American vessels. The duty was not to amount to
prohibition, but to glee the trade of Great Britain an advantage.
The Marquis of BUTE did not rise to utter any opposition to
the Rills, but he called the attention of the House to the slave
trade, which was connected with West India Trade. Ile was
loxious dim should be a better rei,eistration of slaves. He ex-
pressed a hope that the noble Lords at tile head of his Alij sty's
C.-odernineta would turn ditir attention to the subject. He con-
sidered the Parliament of EnAland competent to make a law that
would effectually ans .er the purpose of preventing the Slat,:
Tr sic.
The Bills were then read a second time.
Ihe Bankrupt Laws Bill passed through a committee, and
was reported wiliout amendments.
T. e LORD CHANCELLOR, as we understood, laid on the
tab:e another Bill on the same subject.. The House adjourned.
TUESDAY. JUNE IS. _ _ _

Mr. Tomlyns presented an account of the quanti7 of gold hul-
Eon an i bars imported into this country, under the 29tb of
Georg the Third.
en, ions against the C.lthedic Peers' Bill were presented from
the weavers of Glasgow— p.trisit and borough of liungerford
—the clergy of Son CAle-'e—the parish of St. Botolph—the
Welsh clergy, &c. Read and laid on the table.
The Bank,upt Laws Bdls was read a third time and passed.

The %Veit Itidia Intercourse Bill went through a comittittee.
Th.: Colonial Trade Bill, Ancient Commercial Staudt-a
Bill, and the Navigation am went through committees.
Ea 1 11. k N I.E Y moved for a 'Turn% of all correspondence
ar'th the Government ut Ireland, respecting the statiumtry of
Ireland. °Wired.

Ito. Duke of RICHMOND rresemed a petition from Arthur
Chichester, Esq. si.:oinst the Multiage Act Amendment
pedron comp!.thed that the II would roofer veiiid the
Murretgc ots the Duke of Donegal, to the great itijuty of the
petitioner.
MARRIAGE ACT AMENDMENT

On the motion ot! Lord ELLENBOHOUGII, the Howie went I
into a conanntee on the Marri-ge Act Amendment Bill. The -
noble Lord then said, lie rose to taldres.s the House under great
anxiety, particularly when he considered that noble Lords of
great t were ready to give their opinion on the bill. The
hold: land then stated several cases which rendered the bill ne-
e retry. In the cases he brought before the House, marriages
had barn set aside in the must lamentable manner, in conse-
quence of the real or implied want of consent to the marriage by
a toner or truant an. It was quite unnecessary for him to state
to the House all Me miseries occasioned by the defects of the
Marna,. e Act. Marriages could be set aside, either by the man
who hair conimitted a fraud on the woman, or the heir at law of
property. Iloue ought to consider what must be the state
of society living under the irregularil of such an act. Pub:re
nnirals were hot OLl4,.untitimin‘ (1, but a sort of bounty was laid
out as if it were for crime. The bill before the House would repeal
the clause of nullity in the Marriage Act, from which all the oils
had arisen. The bill allowed parents and guuttlians a limited
time to nullify marriages. Believing that, by the law of God,
every marriage contracted by persons competent to enter into
the contract, was valid ; he could never believe that marl-lege&
ought to be ilia °lves', which had once been concontracted
When eace formed, he conhdered a marriage incapable of being
',moiled—unless by the adultery of one of the patties. Ile en-
treated the House to reflect on the retrospective clause. In the
'lawman which hail just ben read, the petitioner was in error
wnen lie stated that no marriage had bten affirmed Ly a tetros-
pective act. In 1781 acts wet,: pissed to render certain ma riages
valid. H e did not think that the bill went tar enouli in *Flail-
ing to existing n.arriattes—it ought to extend to the marriages of
their fathers. He pressed toe rieee-nrity of altering the law as it
wood, arid in wishing to extend tne retro..,Fective ciattse, he had
to desire to alter the state of property. To the security of pro-
perty they owed the secarity of the state ; but every man who
laboured for property, did it for Cis children, not fur persons who
inert seize it from his childten upon a clause of the marriage
act. lie was convinced the ltoose would mme to the consZer•
a tan of thii retrospective clause with the saute feeling as himself.
Ice lef, tne Bi,l to the Hausa, and particularly to the noble and
/tamed Lord, who generally directed his mind to the examination
o: boas tar this kin....
Lord t•TO WEL entered r.:to a luminous view of the subject,
and opposed some of the Fr.ivitrious of tic Bill, as calico:at& to
dr, more an:chief than they were intendal to remove. '1 he noble
ar.:ll,...rned Lot loonsidertat the bill brought in at too late a
addle sttsion. tiripeateel that it should be pestFonva to
rieletalssacio, then te lee taken up early and well considered.
too hail d WI,..IMORLAID, and several etliet Lords,