The Sun.
London, England, 1839-02-27 00:00:00

LEGISLATION.

The following is the mode of " doing business" in a
certain assembly :—The Speaker is furnished %lith a list
of Mcmbers having petitions to present that evening,
and calls them up in turn. Something like the follow-
ing scene takes place, the House being all the time in a
buzz :

Speaker—Mr. --
Mr. rises. I hold in my hand, Sir, a petition
from so and so, stating so and so, and praying so and so.
I move that this petition be brought up:
Speaker— brought up—this opinion say aye ;
opinion say no—the ayes have it.
Presenter hands into the clerk at the table.
Presenter—That it now be read.
Speaker—Now read—this opinion say aye ; opinion
say no ; the ayes have it.
Clerk reads—`` Petition of the undersigned—general
distress."
Presenter—That it lie on the table.
Speaker—Lie on the table—this opinion say aye ;
opinion say no ; the ayes have it.
Clerk takes up the petition and stuffs it under the
table.
Thus, in five minutes, is despAtched the labour of,
perhaps as many weeks, and if the noise is not too great
to ::prevent the reporters from hearing, the petitiower
may stand a chance of teeing somewhat like the fol-
lowing mention of it in the next morning's paper :
" Mr. presented a petition from some place (of
of which we could not catch the name), but what the
subject was, we were unable, from the confusion that pre-
vailed, to aseertain."—Morning Paper.

NEWCASTLE MURDER.-There appears to be
no doubt that in our next, we shall be enabled to give the
whole of the interesting trial of M-. Bolam. The parties
engaged for the prosecution as well as for the defence are
equally busy in their arrangements. Some of the parties
connected with the prosecution go to Carlisle, we believe.
this day, for the purpose of consulting with the counsel
who are to conduct the case at the trial. We have heard
the parties for the defence intend to adopt a similar course,
but of this we do not speak so certainly. Since we last
noticed Bolam, he has had an interview with Mr. Batson,
the magistrate, and the Mayor, but the result has not been
made public. It has been finally settled that the trial shall
take place in the Guildhall, and workmen are now em-
ployed under the direction of Mr. Stephens, the head of
the police force, in erecting the necessary barriers. Ac-
commodation is to be made for twenty additional reporters.
Tyne Mercury.

THE POPE.—We learn from a correspondent at
Rome that apprehensions had been entertained at the end
of last month as to the health of the Pope, but that the
indisposition of his Holiness had been less serious than
was supposed, and that he had been present at the mass
celebrated in St. Peter's on the anniversary of the en-
thronement of that apostle, which was attended by such a
concourse of foreigners that it could not be performed as
usual in the Sistine chapel.—Galignani.
PRIVATE BILLS.—The petitions for Private
Bills presented to the House of Commons since the c( m.
mencement of the Session, amount to 195. Of these Bills
twenty.bine are for railways, twenty-three for roads, seven
for harbours, twenty-five for enclosures, eleven for the for-
mation of joint-stock companies, five for canals, and seven
for the formation of cemeteries.
PUBLIC PETITIONS.—The total number of
Petitions presented to the House of Commons during the
present Session, to the 19th of February inclusive, was
1.556. Of these 1,224 wtre against the repeal of the
corn-laws, with 90,936 signatures ; 214 for the repeal of
those laws, with 369,857 signatures ; and in support of the
Church of Scotland 40, with 7,240 signatures.
DOUBLE MAIL TO IRELAND.—We under-
stand that arrangements have, at length, been concluded
for the conveyance of a second mail daily between Liver-
pool and Dublin, and that on the Ist of May, there will be
a morning and an evening mail departure from both ports.
The negociations which have been so long carried on be.
tween the Dublin Steam Company and the Admiralty for
this service have, we believe, been completed, and we anti.
ciliate much public convenience from the proposed change,
Liverpool Albion.
A Mayo Paper reports the supposed murder of
the 11ev. Mr. Barrett, a priest.