The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-24 00:00:00

WEDNESDAY EVENING,

MARCH 24, 1852.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS, March 23.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his scat on the Wool-
sack at Five o'clock.
LilW OF WILLS.
The LORD CLIZINCELLOR—My Lords, I rise to
move the second reading of a Bill for the amendment of
the law with resrect to wills. When I introduced this
Bill the other night, I stated to your Lordships the diffi-
culties which it was intended to guard against. By a
statute passed in the reign of Charles 11., all devises in
writing were to be attested and subscribed by three or
four witnesses in the presence of the testator; and it WBS
said that a will was:good if the name of the testator was
found at the head of the will; and therefore, if a man,
for example, began in these terms—" I, John Styles, do
make this my will," that was held to be a sufficient sig-
nature. Now, my Lords, this was thought to be an
abuse; and, in order to guard against such an abuse, a
new Act of Parliament was passed in the first year of
her present Majesty, for the amendment of the law of
wills, which provided that every will should be signed
at the foot or end thereof by the testator, in the pre-
sence of certain witnesses. I had stated to your Lord-
ships that the effect of that enactment was (and I
dare say it was a surprise upon those who framed the
Act) that unless the name of the testator followed im-
mediately atter the disposition of the will (if there was,
for example, a little more than an inch of space lefe
on which the name might have been introduced),
if the name was placed a little lower, the ease was tried,
not by the rule of law, but rather by a rule of space, and
the will was held to be void; and, upon that construc-
tion, my Lords, hundreds of wills have been held to be
invalid, and misery and wretchedness have found their
way to hearths where wealth, and peace, and comfort
ought to have found their liabilities. My Lords, the
proposition is to amend the present law by providing
that where the name of the testator is found after the
will, so as to give, by its place and situation, a sanction
to the will itself—so as to show that it was intended to
sanction the will by the signature after the will, that
shall be held to be valid. Now, my Lords, no question
ever arose in the vast number of wills which were made
after the Statute of Frauds in the reign of Charles 11.,
which I have mentioned—no question, I say, ever arose
as to whether the name of the testator being after the
will was in its proper place or not, and therefore
the removal of the obstacle which has been occa-
sioned by the decisions will remove all the difficul-
ties, and no question hereafter can arise, as it ap-
pears to me, my Lords, with regard to the execu-
tion of such a will. My Lords, I believe there will
be a general concurrence in this measure, and I be-
lieve that nothing can be more desirable, as people die
daily, and as men must have made their wills, and as a
great majority of wills would be held to be valid but for
the rule of law I have referred to; and, indeed, I know
that many of your Lordships, in consequence of what
you have heard, have done exactly what I have done
myself, namely, I have looked at my own will to see
whether it was executed so as to carry my own inten•
tions into effect, having a very great doubt in my mind
whether the appearance of the thing upon paper might
not invalidate it, for I might have put my name a little
lower than the rule of law required. And I think, my
Lords, that it is of the utmost importance that a man's
will should be considered valid and sacred where the
mere form only is in question, and the substance is not
in question. Therefore I propose, with your Lordships'
permission, to carry the Bill through all its stages now,
so that your Lordships may be enabled to pass the mea-
sure before Easter, and send it down to the other House
immediately. My Lords, there are other points which I
have endeavoured to cope with, and which may be open
to more observation, and which may draw from some
of my Noble and Learned Friends objections to its pas-
sing without more mature consideration ; and, my
Lords, if that should be so, I can only say that I should
at once feel myself bound to withdraw those clauses,
because I mean to put forward nothing that in my
opinion shall endanger this measure, which is one which
I think so exceedingly important. My Lords, the two
clauses to which I refer will, I think, remedy a great
abuse. The Act of Parliament of her present Majesty,
as I have told jour Lordships, requires a will to be
signed at the foot or end thereof, in the presence of two
witnesses. That my Lords, I have disposed of. It
then goes on to require that the signature of the testator
shall be made or acknowledged in the presence of the
witnesses. Now, my Lords, this difficulty has arisen
upon that—it was not required by the Statute of
Frauds: but this difficulty has now arisen. Your Lord-
ships will bear in mind that what the Act requires is,
that the signature of the testator shall be made or ac-
knowledged in the presence of the witnesses. Now,
my Lords, it often happens that when a man has
made his will and called in the witnesses to
attest his will, he is anxious that they should
not see any part of the provisions of that will;—
suppose, for example, that it is written on a sheet of
letter paper—you have it before you, and two servants,
perhaps, come into the room to witness the will, and
the testator desires that they shonld not read any por-
tion of the will by glancing over that part which is
above the signature, and that has induced a man fre-
quently to hold down the will so as to hide from the
witnesses the portion above the signature, and in doing
so they have folded down the signature itself. And, my
Lords, it has been held, that as the statute requires
that the signature, not the will, should be made and
acknowledged in the presence of the witnesses, that
unless they have seen the signature the will is void.
Now, my Lords, that was never the intention, and with
your Lordships' permission I propose to amend that
state of the law in this manner—by enacting that if
the signature of the testator be in its proper place, and
it is not proved to have ben placed there after the
witnesses affixed their signatures, and if the testator
at the time acknowledged the instrument to be his will,
that that shall be sufficient. Now, my Lords, I enter-
tained a hope—which hope I have rather abandoned
within the last quarter of an hour—but I had
hoped that this proposition was free from objec-
tion, and would meet with none from any of my
Noble and Learned Friends, because, if a testator ac-
knowledges an instrument to be his will, and if the will
come to be examined, and the name of the testator is
found to be in its proper place at the end of the will,
where is the danger? What is it, my Lords, that you
have to guard against? There is the signature—the
testator has signed it, and properly speaking it is not
his will unless he has signed it. If, therefore, he did
that which was requisite at the end of it, which is ne-
cessary to give effectual operation to it, I ask your Lord-
ships whether it is reasonable to allow men's wills to be
set aside upon a distinction of that sort. I should pro-
mise your Lordships that if any obstacle be opposed by
any of my Noble and Learned Friends to this provision
being carried now—a provision which I should think it
not proper to attempt to force upon your Lordships—if
any of my Learned Friends should have any objections
to offer, I shall think it highly improper to attempt to
ask your Lordships to pass this provision without full
consideration being given to it; and therefore I shall
withdraw it, so as not to endanger the ultimate success
of the whole measure, though undoubtedly I shall intro-
duce it for further and more mature consideration upon
another occasion. My Lords, there is another improve-
ment, if your Lordships should think proper to concur
in it, that I propose to introduce. The statute requires
that the witnesses should sign in the presence of the tes-
tator; nod, my Lords, it has very often happened that
when a man is making his will in extremis—when he is
lying in bed, and is incapable of being moved, but still
in a state of perfect capacity of mind—it has frequently
happened that witnesses who have come round the bed-
side, and witnessed the execution of the will, and seen it
signed by the testator, all due solemnities being ob-
served, in order not to disturb him, have retired to the
adjoining room, and there attested the will; and then
the question has arisen—is that, or is it not, a com-
pliance with the statute, which requires that a will shall
be signed by the witness in the presence of the testator?
Now, my Lords, in order to meet the difficulties of the
case—with a natural desire to give effect to men's wills
where there is no fraud, and where the statute has been
substantially complied with, the courts have made
this distinction, that if the witnesses sign in such a
position in an adjoining room, that they are within
the line of light, so that the testator, if he liked,
might see them (although nobody pretends that ho
did see them) the will is good; but if they happen
to retire a little beyond the line of light, the table,
for example, being out of view, and they all sign
the will, then the will is void. Now, my Lords, what has
been the consequence ? Why, my Lords, this—that
juries have not been found who would, though upon their
oaths, find a will so signed to be void. They would not
find a will to be void, though it was clear that the tes-
tator was not in a position in which he could have seen
the witnesses sign. And, my Lords, we have had
several instances of this sort. Several trials have been
sent down to juries once, twice, and thrice, to decide
that question upon a will, in cases in which there was
no doubt about the fact that the witnesses were not
within the line of light, and the juries have upon every ryoccasion returned a verdict in favour of the will,
re-
fusing obedience to the law, because theyt thought
Now, this
verdict according to the rule of law wouldeel! gshtritphpaitnga
the rightful owners of their just posseshsleold to juries to
is an invitation which should not be
compel them to come to a verdict at.:aria
own consciences. My Lords, there is
La their
Lordships what it
dif-
ficulty ; but before I. state. to y
and ludicrous.
variant©
undoubtedlywith
a blind man'swill,
is, I must state that it is almost absurd
as
well
The statute applies to
as to the will of a man who, therefore, that under
the statute, although the is possessed of his eye-
sight ; and it has been held
ewitnesses are to sign in the
presence of the testator, yet if they sign in the pre-
man a good signature. But
acne() of a blind man that I.
ill be astonished when
your Lordships
w
you—
although nobody
would find fault with it, because it was
in furtherance ofateatamentary power, and it would be
hard, because a man was deprived of his sight, that he
making a testamen-
tary
should be deprived of the power of
disposition of his property—that the courts have
made this rule, which surely must startle most people—
viz., that the same same rule, that which I have spoken
of to your Lordships as to the line of light—applies as
well to a blind man as to a man that can see; and the
courts have decided that it a blind man is not in a posi-
tion in which if he was blessed with sight he could see,
his will is void. And so, in the case of a man being
wholly incapab!e of seeing, if the witnesses are there,
his will is good if' they happen to sign within the line
of light. Now, my Lords, surely these are anomalies
in the law of England which ought not to be allowed to
prevail; and I must say that the first case that I put to
your Lordships, in which men's wills have been held to
be void because the signature was not put in the proper
place, is a case arising under a law which in its opera-
tion is a disgrace to the country. My Lords, it is very
easy to point out what I have been stating to your
Lordships upon the last head. It will not be perhaps so
easy to persuade some of my Noble and Learned Friends
that I have provided a satisfactory remedy, although I
bava often and anxiously takes the subject into consi-

deration; but, my Lords, this is no busty conclusion of
mine. I have no doubt some of my Noble
and Learned Friends will think that I have not
provided in the most satisfactory manner for the solu-
tion
of this question; but what I propose to provide for
is this, that where witnesses, without fraud, end as part
of the same transaction, without quitting the house or
place where the will is signed, do sign a will after see-
ing the testator sign it, all due solemnities being observed,
that shall be held to be a valid will. Now, my Lords,
no doubt it may be said that this would open a door to
some fraud, or to a substitution of one will for another.
My Lords, those are not the dangers alter all which we
have to avoid. It may be said that because the dangers
have not occurred these laws have prevented them. But
the lsw has not stuck at fraud; the law has destroyed a
man's will, which was open to no substarvial objection.
The law has not prevented the frauds which, whenever
the parties had been determined to carry them into exe-
cution, they have been able to do so in spite of it. Ido
not say that they have all been successful—men have at-
tempted it skilfully, and it may be successftely in some
cases, and they have taken care to adhere to all those
rules which would destroy men's wills, in attempting to
impose the solemnities required. Now, my Lords, I
must state in conclusion that if any of my Noble and
Learned Friends object to either of these two latter
clauses I will not retain them. But if I should have
the concurrence of my Noble and Learned Friends to
the first clause, which I heartily expect, I shall be
very well content to have the Bill passed in that
shape; if not I shall liste❑ with respectful attention to
what they have to suggest. But, my Lords, I cannot
promise that I shall not, upon a future occasion, bring
into your Lordships' House a measure founded upon the
two last propositions, which may then be more fully con-
sidered. And, as lam addressing your Lordships upon
the subject, and speaking of future measures, I would
draw your Lordships' attention to a measure as to wills,
which may require the attention of this and the other
House of Parliament. The statute of the first of Queen
Victoria for the first time imposed the same solemnities
upon the disposition of personal estate as in the time of
Charles IL (with variations) were imposed upon the
disposition of real estate, and it was said, how very ab-
surd it is that you cannot dispose of half an acre of
land without three witnesses, and yet you may dispose
of 100,000/, of personal estate which is even fluctuating
without any witnesses at all. Yet, people do not desire
every day to alter their testamentary dispositions; but
they make variations in the disposition of their personal
estate by codicil or by legacy to be payable out of their
personal estate, however large it may be; but now no
man can make the slightest alteration in his will—he
cannot give 51., nor alter a certain legacy, without call-
ing in two witnesses. It was said of a great man, that
the faults which we denounced in him died with him;
but I might say with greater truth, that owing to the
difficulties which the law throws around them, many
codicils die even in thinking. These are points, how-
ever, which we must consider hereafter. The Noble
and Learned Lord then concluded by moving the second
reading of the Bill.
Lord BROUGHAM agreed with his Noble and
Learned Friend that at all events the first provision of
the Bill should be passed. With reference to the pre-
sent state of the law some test must be taken. It had
been decided that if the witnesses were in a position to
be seen by the testator that was sufficient; and it was
difficult to see how the law could be otherwise construed.
He recollected that a question arose on the Duke of
Roxburgh's will, as to whether the witnesses signed on
a particular table in the adjoining room, where they
could be seen by the testator, or not, which was decided
by a court of law. He did ❑ot object to give the whole
Bill a second reading; but if there were doubts-as to the
second and third clauses, it would be well to withdraw
them for the present.
Lord CRAN WORTH did not object to the first clause;
but he thought the other clauses required further consi-
deration.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGII thought that all the
statutory provisions having reference to wills should be
embodied in one Act of Parliament.
The Bill was then read a second time.
THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.

Lord BEAUMONT rose to put a question to the
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs relating to the
' present state of the Argentine Confederation. It was
not his intention to criticise the policy of former Go-
vernments with regard to this Confederation, but simply
to obtain information as to the present state of our rela-
tions with that quarter of the world, and to press
upon the present Government the absolute necessity
of commencing negotiations in that part of the
world, and not to lose the present golden opportunity of
extending our commercial intercourse, and to attempt to
establish there a permanent peace. The Noble Lord
then proceeded to contrast the progressot
greatthe etwenotginseenatt
races, Anglo-Saxon and Spanish, in the
of America, and attributed the inferiority of the latter
to the propensity of the Spanish Government to
exclude as much as possible all European intercourse.
The independence of the Banda Oriental had been
established by a treaty between Brazil and Buenos
Ayres, in 1828, which independence it had always been
the policy of the English Government to maintain. In
the year 1830 war existed between France and Buenos
Ayres, and during the period of the war the French used
I to avail themselves of the independent country of Monte
Video, in order to make it the basis of their operations,
and carry on their hostile movements against Buenos
Ayres. General Oribe happened to be the President of
Monte Video, and ho objected to that country being
made use of by France. A revolution arose—he need
not say how—in Monte Video. General Oribe was
driven from there, and General Rivera was appointed in
his stead. He joined the French in their operations, and
an invasion of Buenos Ayres took place, In which he as-
sisted. At that time, as well as since, there raged tsto
violent parties in the Argentine Confederation, going by
the names of Unitarians and Federalists; and so hostile
were they that not a single proclamation of the Govern-
ment was issued without being headed " Death to the
savage Uuitarians." There was no doubt that the Uni-
tarians from Buenos Ayres went over to Monte Video,
and carried on their hostilities against Buenos Ayres,
for, alter the French had left, General Rivera continued
the war, and invaded part of the Argentine Curt-
federation. General Roses availed himself of Oribe,
who was then in Buenos Ayres, placed him at the head
of a large body of men, and sent him to meet General
Rivera, who was completely routed. Oribe continued to
press on the Banda Oriental, claiming to be the legiti-
mate President; he roused the whole country of Uru-
guay; he surrounded and besieged the town of Monte
Video, and it being thought necessary to interfere, we
sent out Mr. Gore Ouseley, as the successor of Mr.Man-
deville, and the French Government also sent out a ne-
gotiator. They went to Buenos Ayres, but could not
get Roses to adopt any terms of peace, in consequence of
which they went over to Monte Video, which was then
engaged in hostilities against Buenos Ayres. which was
blockaded by an English squadron, and an English force
was landed to defend Monte Video. In spite of all this,
Generals Rosas and Oribe maintained their footing, and
pressed Monte Video extremely hard. Mr. Ouseley
proposed terms which Roses did not then think proper
to accede to. After that the British Government sent
out Lord Howden, and with him went out, on behalf
of France, a :distinguished person who was now the
ambassador to this country. After a short time Lord
Howden, although that was a joint intervention, thought
it better at once to break the blockade and do away
with our interference, leaving Buenos Ayres and Monte
Video to fight it out as best they could. They
ac-
cordinglyfretnthat moment did so, the blockade was withdrawn, and
the joint intervention must
have been considered to have come to an end.
This state of things continued; and after that
another person was sent out, and finally Mr. South-
ern, who was the only negotiator who seemed to
have anything like success. At that period a treaty
was framed between General Roses and this country ;
and that treaty, as was well known now, had merely
for its object the acknowledgment of the independence
of Monte Video and the inducing of Roses to withdraw
his force from that country. In all these treaties, not-
withstanding the instructions originally sent out to ne-
gotiate for the opening of the River Plate, and
te
notwith-
standing on one occasion we forced the opening of the
river tmh setmanednitn
neverriver dParana,id t
e
sysetatnoatn; and
ul; was Roses
rivers. Mr. Hood proposed to open the
Paraguay, as internal rivers, yet so suspicio and no
that he objected to do so; the negotia failed,htlioZ rivers. When
notwithstanding
tothOSaprtraeFstthilse
attempt had since been made to open those
our interference
affairs had come to this point,
had gained no ad-
matter; and up to that moment
'nt of view, although we had
was concerned, there was au
vantage in a commercial
pot's) the treaty of 1828, and ac-
ppaoswsteeadr to be an end of the
of Monte Video. After
knowledge the independence
which totally changed our rela-
tionscompelled Roses to act up
that circumstances arose d
ened up an o
relations. After Rosas had withdrawn
hie as to that country, an oP pportunity of
rawn
atd the independence of Monte Video had
his troops,
acknowledged, the Brazils entered into four or five
been etrsteaabtilcisshwinitghnMeownte which he trusted would be laid
on the table of the House. Some of those treaties were
treaties of commerce, and others urged the Corrientes to
raise the flag of rebellion. Corrientes was not in a con-
dition to be successful. It was supported by Brazil
(which had never declared war) very much in the man-
ner we supported Monte Video on a former occasion.
General Urquizs next went to the Parana and defeated
Rosas, who was abandoned by all his followers, and
Was obliged to escape with his daughter on board the
Locust, one of our vessels. Gneral Urquiza was at this
moment in the Banda Oriental, and he (the Noble Lord)
was informed by letters ho had received that the Brazi-
lian flags and Argentinaliens wore now both flying in that
country. In this state of affairs Brazil, having assisted
Urquizs, would, of course, demand high pay fur the
services she had done his cause; and it was stated that
the Gibraltar of the Parana was to ha surrendered to
Brazil; and that a large portion of the Banda Oriental
had been ceded. It was to ascertain, then, who was to
be considered the proper authority—whether the Argen-
tine Confederation was to be consider the proper autho-
rity—in the Banda Oriental, that he bad asked the
questions he had risen to put to the Noble Elea Ile
would also strongly urge on her Majesty's Government
that, in the present state of affairs, the should lose not
a moment in entering into negotiations with the coun-
tries which were touched by the rivers Parana and Pa-
raguay for free navigation through all those countries;
amongst which he included not only the Argentine Con-
federation, but also Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay—which
we had not yet, but which we ought to have, considered
independent— (Hear, hear)—and the Banda Oriental.—
(Hear, hear.) Under these circumstances, he begged
to ask the Noble Earl whether he could afford them any
r
information on the subject; and also whether he could
give them any hope that the great object they had in
out
t emetesnus ione ee sos ff
nel tyr
tchoamnmi
te
hadrce
wasview—namely, ew - -
likelyn a mtt yn,
, theea ireiged iti
before been under General R.asas i—(Cheers )
The Earl of MALMESBURY reworked that, after
the detailed account which the Noble Lord hadgiven,
it would be perfectly
y unnecessary for him again to go

id

through the transactions to which the Noble Lord ha
alluded, and which had extendA over so many years.
It was not very likely that any Government in which
her Majesty placed confidence would have neglected to
see the vast importance of these transactions, both as
respected the subject itself, and as respected the oppor-
tunity which had been offered to her Majesty's Govern-
ment to interfere, with a view to the interests of British
commerce ; but it had been a subject which had (Neu-
E.,piveedrithsoe
laotntegntsigoon
as
sf
Itshoes.G:.vheernnmthernitiofmore
pmoapnhyamyears•
made an attack upon Buenos Ayres, it was shown befi'Ciarde
a court-martial how invaluable it would be as regarded
the eomeiunications with those rivers which fell into
the Five, and certainly it would be most desirable, to
have an unbroken communication between all the coun
tries through which they ran and the Atlantic, and dins
with this country.—(Hear.) The independent Rep but
urns
of Paraguay, which we bad not yet aeknowledge,
which he thought we ought to do as soon as possiblte--
(Hear, hear)—and which appeared to be Upheld at his
moment by a man who was the most advanced of bis
race, had agreed to accept commercial relations with
this country.—(Hear.) It appeared that when Sir
Charles 'lota= went up to the Parana, he had
Com-
rats:
siutinahei ctEao trii,)og. riltason wdfie;ot Idt theia chiefthat
the
tel)%f, thato gr e
at countryst -
of these rivers were in favour of coni2rteclits intercourset
itntneuse advantages that England and the other Euro-
pean countries ws:uld derive, he thought that there could
and when they further considered tbo
be no doubt that all the nations in Europe would take
the same view as that which the Noble Lord and /ter
Majesty's Government entertained. (Cheers.) a!
h e heed
now, in answer to the questions which the Noble Lord
had put with respect to the political state of °clic'
countries at the present moment—officially the Govern',
went bad no account of anything beyond the ton"
defeat of Roses,
ships. They had no accounts, either official or ()te!:
wise, as to the flags which the Noble Lord bad s!ilea
perti?i!
were flying in the Banda Oriental; or that any
and his eaht on board of one of our
of that territory had been ceded. They had no {heist
or private information as to what the Noble Lord said
ili.l
been given up, but he had reason to believe that itu t'f,
remained what it was by the last arrangeineht•--( eetaa-
hear.) With respect, now, to the conduct of her
bad
jesty's Government under these circumstacces. It tha
been siml tis. Within 04 hours after receiving
us
commercialuwn saotui
nations
duasrr of
contribute
news of Hosas's defeat, he (the Noble Earl) lit° P
tna. gtE interestsipnurgreos
p se
Europe.—(Cheers.)
bt(ohethh
himself in communication with the Government of to%
French Republic, and invited that GOVeratl6llt t 0).
as
,—...,,er5.)
could not answer thexpect
Lord, and he thought their Lordships question
would not
him to enter into the details of srutiChhi plane as the Govern.'
negotiationsop
efact peace
i soef
oietthrelotuahnnetdsreyt shoteantaod the!
r_
meat lied in contemplation upon a subject which thhelt
Furhera tobfe Ilt that re
considered to be of as much importance as ens
thing t
now occupied the civilised world.—(Cheers.) he bad
The Earl of ABERDEEN remarked that* 11,9,1,-,t be
frequently had occasion to refer to this suuJe—'ieg
could not help taking this opportunity of expressing
the great satisfaction he felt at the tgliiirjwil Ain
which had taken place of the war. 11,1,e,,,, - had
object of the interference of this eeentre .ned.
only now for the first time been fully °L)t" tel.
namely, the entire independence of the Banda Oriene_ta
(Hear, hear.) That was not the case with the last tr 1,20
between t,his country and Roses, because, ettlaotiell the
independence of the Banda was recognised in term% or
army of Roitte was left in the Oriental States in a übad
dition to pursue hostilities against them; and it it
rebellion
not been for the interventioof Brazil and the retie.; s
efoCorientes (as the Noble Lord bad called it) ag,,un:.,
heeded
sas, it was very probable that he would havne,s_el)
ceded in obtaining possession. He (the Noble v"
was most happy to hear from his Noble Friend tb a t
_tll
Government had proposed to renew with the Fre:top
Governmentby the
those negotiations which were put a etrY
to -
—a proceeding
separate treaties concluded with thi"leeel)
proceeding which at the time he (Lard Aber(
and
had taken the liberty of saying was not justified,
which the French people might 0 a certain degree,rf
sent, and to which they had testified their great,
.ne,°:_t
content. He thought that nothing could exceed IN
perfect cordiality and good faith with which the Fr,
whole
Government had acted throughout the this the
he therefore hoped that in reeewing • tbe
flexion and concert with them we should proceed in s
1
--(Cheerrst..
same manner that we had hitherto done.
No doubt it was impossible to exaggerate the itnl)°,,e
ance in a commercial point of view of free access to ore
internal rivers of South America: but, although l "It
exceedingly easy to declare the navigation of A rive_
free, much remained to be done after such declaratiou:
He recollected when the navigation of the Rhine was
declared free, but it took twenty years to regulate thu
conditions upon which that free navigation should tail
place.—(Hear, hear.) He was exceedingly glad to fiL',
the various states in favour of free communication wita
Europe; but the Eastern _Republics bad never been de-
ficieut. Tney had always the utmost liberality, and
11°
trusted that the Argentine Confederation in their new
condition might share in this very salutary. feeling."
(Hear, hear.) He thought it would not be wise to enter
more particularly into the specific acts of the
Govern
went. No doubt the Noble Earl was very fully iresfero;
with the importance of the object in view. aith h the
one would give them credit for pursuing it w.
greatest assiduity.—(Hear.) He hoped that he
(Lci
Aberdeen) was not carried away with the venicTooic
1 authorship, bat it had that day happened to him
to long
j
l
a
at the instructions, which he had not seen r
1fo845; ai..,
years since he bad first drawn them up in
there wee
he really thought, as far as he might judge,
nothing in them that he would alter at this moment. a
u
i
3t a
After a few words from the Earl of lisaaows
Lord STANLEY of Alderley, had
Viscount CANNING inquired if the Government of
any information with respect to the independence
Paraguay. a-
The Earl of MALMESBURY answered in the Deg
five.
Lord BEAUMONT had listened with great pleasure
to what had tidies from the Noble Earl, and erg'cit..%
htoadknow whether the Government had any paP,T vie-le
not already been laid on the tthe PoLytli-'
table o a nat.,
The Earl
of MALMESBURY said they 113— eaa
except
the dispatches related to the defeat of Bosse, e
his escape to the Locust.
Lord BEAU 01'1T was understood not to p
the :4 teas for
pr(Auction of these dispatches, and
T heir Lordships adjourned.

-
HOUSE OF COMMONS, March 23! he
Mr. KEOGH gave notice, that on Thursday nexter ' it
Act
would ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer wheth
was the intention of the Government to repeal the
relating to the grant to Maynoeth.
In reply to a question from an HoN. MENDSB,
it
Mr. STAFFORD said it was the intention of the
Government to send out the expedition in search of
J. Franklin, which was now fitting out.
HOP DUTIES.
Mr. FREWEN brought forward a motion to the,
effect that, in the remission of taxation, the repels'
of the Excise duty on hops ought to be taken into
serious consideration by the House. Though till,
duty brought comparatively a small amount into the
Exchequer, yet it pressed with excessive severity upnd
on
his unfortunate constituents. What with free trade a
the imposition of this duty, there was ruin and
distress in every direction of the hop-growinir
districts, end he thought the sufferers were entitled
to demand redress. The fact of there being such a ta%
gave rise to excessive gueabling as to what would be the
amount of duty paid or
Bayingfcmg year, and he had
the best authority for
forthaht large bribes wera
given to the Excise officers _
_t e perpoie
of
ascer,
gathered in Per'
taming the number of pounds of hops
titular
Mr. 1101)(xE.S corolla y d
supported the motion, end
hoped that the remission of the h
the early attention of the next-Popardlivatrynewnto.uldlreg;:gri
third year 54)001819, when the current eheng"
of distress among wtahse
Cher© bad been complaintsgrower9
of hops.
The CHANCELLOR bought
of the EXCHEQUER t
eine
his Hon. Friend had proposed a very modirate arirdfrictlY
perate res ilution.
aware of the sufferin Thei Government were Pe re-
presented by his II gto the part of the cour?lr, '
. on. Friend, and if it their
were le
power by a proposition to remedy the sufferings °f
8111°
class of her Majesty's subjects, they would reteet
only b°
readyCasi,,htise
Hcome forward.
,nourable Friend had justly stated - •
would be improper
any d_,•l3. to press the Government tt.°l:.
.ee, ite expression of opinion "en the el%
" (Hear, hear.) All he asked was; tu°
if a revision of taxation took lace the question of hoP:
might not be overlooked; tied he coolant sure him tblo
such would be the case. '.rhe Governme and
consider it their duty to give their utmost attention
would alway!
consideration to any representations which might be'
made to them from any class of the People'
Mr. HUME said, though this was brought for duty
°elaes.
an agricultural question, he considered the f,
on hops pressed most unequally uP°llo,ed,
class, and therefore ought to be ret- and
They had freed the food of the poor man from ts'ioe?
why should they not relieve his beverage 01 t°llt 013'
In Belgium and Bohemia beer was untaxed and la Gen'
to a large extent for the purpose ° Gen'
venting intoxication.—(Laughter.) notrourabo'eld eb-
tlemen might laugh, hut when a man
tain good beer ho would seldom have recoutlectouerd,,eautt
spirits, and if the House sincerely wished toy earrteroDuce
its social and- free-trade policy, they woud aTo
abolish the tax on malt.—(Hear, llear)aal ea
Protectionists protested that they sv3af this
opportunity to relieve :the farming interest °loot
country from unequal taxation, and if they reilliYhowie;
what they said, here was a capital chance for
that they were in earnest.—(Hear, hear.) ,he
Mr. DRUMMOND said, the speech ef,'"
be
nourable Member was one of the most emberextrsorale
had ever heard, when he remembered the Hon. had
antecedently, for year after year he and othercepieor
been attempting to obtain a repeal of this tax, sp tJtee•
after year had the Hun. Member voted against 03
tion.—(No, no.) tee'
Mr. HUME—I always voted in favour of the
tion.—(Hear, hear)
Mr. DRUM ,lOND admitted this splendid elCePs op.
but Mr. Coblen and Sir James Graham had slewraLthers
posed it.—(Hear, hear.) Both those Hon. !be
when they were advocatieg the repeal °`
corn-laws told the farmers that the were
tax could not stand after the corn-law°
their
gone, and he now called upon them to fulfil
prophecies.—(Hear, hear.) a to
%
Mr. COBDEN disputed that the malt-tax wea cod
upon the tamer. It wee paid by the coneeffeeor, for she
therefore it was a tax upon the people. cbs
hop duty, it was certainly of a very obnolllly o • sig''
n
rawer, while the amount it produard was zot.
nificant ; but when they came to treat of tu.:(Liott
tax it became a much larger cilloti°iliof, 004
440 J prOcluoicl a largo gum on"