The Sun.
London, England, 1830-02-20 00:00:00

111 PE R.LIL PA itLIAM ENT:

HOUSE OF LORDS-(LAST NIGHT.

Mr. Draper, from the Treasury, presented the last Re.
port of the Commissioners of Revenue Inquiry.
MALT AND BEER DUTIES.
The, Marquis of BUTE presented a petition front th:
• Inhabitants of Banbury, praying for a repeal of the Al,l
end Beer Duties.—Adjaurned till Monday.

1101.1 SE OF COMMONS--(LAST NIGHT.)
This being the 4ott day for the rivtption of petitifins
Private Bil!s, a considei aide nut!-er were presented to
liouse.

LIMERICK ELECTION.
The SPEAKER informed the House that be h.d re-
ceirell a letter from ti:e Hanaper Office, in Dublin, enc!oa-
ing a petition from Mr. M. air.-son, which complained of
the undue return of Mr. P. Grady for the county of Li-
merick.

lIUNGERFORD MARKET.I
Mr. 11011110 USE presented a petition from certain o.
the inhabitattts of Westminster, praying leave to bring is
the Establishment of a Market in Hungerford-
•treet, Strand.

PORTBIAN MARKET.
Mr. BYNG ►resented a petition from xertain of the in-
habitants of the parish of Marylehone, praying leave to
bring in. a Bill for the satablislanent of Portman Market
in that parish.
These petitions were referred to Committees.
WIGAN RAIL ROAD.
The Repert of the Committee havir,g stated that th,
Standing Orders, with respect to the Bill in this case,
7•atl been complied with, and that the parties were at li-
ber, to proceed,

STANLEY moved tit a petition; which he had
presented from the Liverpool and Leeds Canal Company
,:gaittit the Bill, and complaining that the Standing Or-
ders kali not been complied rith, be referred to the original
Conttnittee.

After some ettnrrations fr,:m the STEALER, Lord At-
-rnottr, 11311,4 !Qr. N. CALvsseT, the petition RIM referred
So the Comittee.

TRADE WITH INDIA.
-
Mr. EGERTON presented a petition from the Mayor
and other inhabitants of Congleton, praying that fusthn
restrictions be imposed on the? East India company's ex-
desire trade.

PUBLIC DISTRESS.
Mr. BRIGHT presented a petition from the inhaliitants
of the parish of Christ Churets) Bristol, complaining of
• Distress, anti praying a redaction of Taxation.
Sir J. ASTLEY presented a petition from the
Nobility, Genttree Clergy, and Freeholders of Wiltshire,
- • complaining of Agricultural and General Distress. The
/lota Beronet supported the prayer of the petition, and
ea:pressed his surprise that Government and the House
ehould (Hanley so much indii erence. to the !offerings of a
starring people.
Mr. BENETT also stprarted the prayer of the petition,
end observed, that a county meeting would have been held
but for a consideration of the great distance which some 01
ette FreeireMere would he obliged to travel in the depth
of
winter to attend that meeting.
Tire petitio:n was then ordered to be printed.
Mr, DUGDALP.: presented a petition from Kenilworth,
complaining of distress ; end a petition to the same affect,
from several othet Piseiwitis in Warwickshire,
Lord W. POWLISTT presented petitions of a similar
ratnre from Anifnit';' and from five ether places in the
c"nntY of So".thampton.
QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE.
Mr. LITTLETON rose to present a petition involving
a eurstii nof the privileges of that House, The petition
eras from a will known attorney of great respectability,
at Birmingham, Mr. Thomas Eyre Lee ; of whose proles-
einnal employment, the conduct of private business through
the Hemet of Commons was a branch. Mr. Lee stated,
'that hewing, in the month of November last, given notice
in the: Newspapers of his intention to apply for a certain
0.11 in the text Session, he received a letter dated Great
George-street, and signed William Behert Sydney, infiarn-
ing him that the writer had entered into partnership with
Mr. Daniel Whittle Harvey, es- Parliamentary Agents;
end that his practice and experience for several years gave
hies facilities in conducting Parliamentary business, which
veseald be found very advantageous to his clients, indepen•
t:lently of the alliance which he had formed with Mr.
Ile.rvey. The letter wee franked by Mr. Harvey, and
(mire under what appeared to be the common seal of the
Atm. Tilt, petitioner disclaimed all private or personal
reaotiv.es, hut prayed that the House would take into its
Nee-ions cm:side:re:ion whether the praetice here disclosed,
oaf Members peseinisiog an interest in Bills which were in
'irogress through that House, was not one which ought to
disallowed. •
The petition eras then brought np. On the motion that
-it be read,
Mr. W. lIARVEY resae, and thanked the lion. 'Wern-
her ft* Staffindehire, for the candid manaer in which he
• had yesterday evening communicated to him his intention
ot presenting this petition. Whatever other sentiments
the House might entertain respecting the letter in question,
eonld not consider it defective in candour and open•
• nets. As to the petition, until- he'heard on the authority
ef the Hetose itself that professional persons pursuing the
breech ofethe profession which be pursued were to be in,
terdicted from pursuing the most respectable part of it, ii
they happened to' be Members of the House of Commons,
he should. riot believe that- such was the, law. He ad-
- emitted frankly and at once that the statement in the letter,
its it respected, himself was ,true.' If it were declared to
lie erentrary to the law of Parliament, no one would bow
twete readily than himself to that decision. -But the (pee.
siinri was one of much greaterin•portance than snit affected
him individually. The consideration of it ought to be co-
existent with the consideration of a very broad species of
reforms. Whatever princip'e en the subject the House
might think proper to recognise, no one would more cor-
traity concur in the recognition than himself. If it should
be determined that no person being a member of a Com-
mittee of that House should have the remotest shade of in-
tercet in the business under the consideration of that Com-
mittee) in such a determination he would heartily coin-
ride ; and he was reran vied, that it would be very satis-
/eatery to the country thus to thew that no Member of a
Committee would be exposed to any temptation, direct,
or indirect, to swerve from the line of his public duty.
He apprehended, however, that no Hon. Member was
prepared to contend that the Committee of that House
were se constituted ; and ha was glad tie petition
e4l2e when nothing had been done in Private Cein-
tnittees, and, therefore, early enough to admit of the ex-
reblishment of the principle which he had deseribed ; for
he would defy any one to say of hint that he had taken a
pert in any Ccnunittce, in the business betiire which he
had the tithe of a farthing of interest. Could every Mein-
her of a Committee say as much? Men in his branch of
the profession had frequently bad seats in that Houle,
continuing their practice. The late Mr. Smith, Solicitor
air the Treasury, was a Member of that House. Mr. Jones,
f,trtnerly Solicitor to the Commissioners of Woods and
Forests, was a Membee of that House. Would any one
say that they lied no sight to pitreue their general prac-
tice ? If ISO, the same might be said of the Attorney and
Solicitor-General. The profits of the Attorney and Soli-
.eitor-Genecal, as compared with the profits of a member
of his breach of the profession, were exceedingly great.—
Having been paid for drawing a bill, they nevertheless felt
an hesitation in afterwards coming down to the House,
deliberating and dividing upon it. If it should be es-
tablisher/ as a principle that: no Metnber of Viet House
could be a Member of a Committee on a matter in which
he had the remotest interest, that principle the public and
the House worn! perfivtly multi-stand. He for one
s'nould rejoice to see in e.tatilished that when a Member
entered a Committee-romn he should swear that he had no
interest, direct or indirect, in the matter under the con-
sideration of that Committee. Ile begged the House to
nrelerstand that the petition which ha.l been presented
by the Honourable Member for Staffordshire was not,
in fact, the petition of Mr. Eyre Lee, but was the peti-
tion of the officers of that House ; fur the course which
Mr. Sydney was pursuing was unfavourable to their cool-
snout( emoluments. He had a right to complain of the
enormous expense attending the soliciting of Bills in Par-
liament. Economy was much talked of, but what he
wanted to we was practical economy ; and he thought
that professional man deserved well of his country who
endeavoured to diminish the expense in question. What
was the object of the letter of which the petition com-
plained ? To inform solicitors that they nerd t.ot have
Parliamentary egLnte, who would put thtan to an expense
of 500/:, (lOW., and 700 t., and as he had known in some
ewes LOU ; but that the business would be transacted
at the same tate as ordinary law. proceedings. That, to
propose a saving of time and 'money was, in his opinion,
nighty laudable, and he would not sorink from his part.of
the responsibility attached to the proposition. At the
::airs time, be was quite ready to submit to the opinion of
the House if they determined that no Member of that
Howse should have any connection or interest of that na-
tnre, and if they applied -the principle in all cases rigidly,
sternly, and satisfactorily. But he was sure the House
acrd';' not apply to any individual a restriction, however
ev --!•sorite if till-gilt beCruiSidered,-frotn which
tits .'lent-
uete atexeunt,• wh4terer decision, hew •

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