The Sun.
London, England, 1837-05-13 00:00:00

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LONDON,
SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 13, 1837.

In the House of Lords yesterday, on the presentation
of a petition from some persons in Bristol, adverse to the
working of the Municipal Reform Bill, there incidentally
arose an interesting conversation on the subject of their
Lordships having adopted the proposition of the Duke of
WELLINGTON for deferiug the committal of the Irish
Municipal Bill.
Lord WHARNCLIFFE, after telling their Lordships that
the use which had been made of the English Municipal Bill
for political purposes ought to be a warning to them, deter-
ring them from introducing a similar system into Ireland,
expressed surprise that the second reading of the Irish
'lithe Bill had been postponed by the House of Commons
to the 9th of June, the very day to which their Lordships
had deferred the committal of the Irish Municipal Bill.
Lord BROUGHAM did not think surprise could be felt
by any person. The course the Commons had adopted
was the natural consequence of that adopted by the Lords.
It would be far wiser, and infinitely more manly, in their
Lordships, if they were bent on throwing; out the Bill, to i
openly declare their intentions, than to keep en postponing
the Municipal Bill as often as the other House postponed
other Bills relating to Ireland.

A Conference with the Commons on the subject of the
esolutions against Canada was fixed for Thursday next.
Petitions relative to Church-rates, and one also in favour
of Poor-laws for Ireland, were presented. The Recorders'
Court Bill was read a second time, and the House then
adjourned to Thursday.
In the House of CORIRIORS Sir FRANCIS BURD.ETT and
Mr. ELLICE took the oaths and their seats respectively
for Westminster and Huddersfield. The Hon. Baronet
was received into the bosom of the Opposition with singular
satisfaction.

Among the multitude of petitions on various subjects
presented were, one from Londonderry, praying that the
National Association might be put down l—and another,
entitled to consideration, from certain poor prisoners, com-
plaining of the imprkoament and hardships they had suf-
fered, and praying the enactment of the Bill brought in by
the ATTORNEY-GENERAL, or of some similar measure.

The LORD ADVOCATE, in answer to a question put by
Sir W. IiAE, said that he was not prepared to state
whether Glasgow would be omitted from the Scotch
Corporation Bill, or whether so important a town would
be made the subject of a separate Bill.
Some interesting conversAion succeeded on a subject in-
volving the important question of the rights and purposes of
petition. We refer the reader to our ParliamentAry report.
• -Lord JOHN RUSSELL having moved that the Housc, at
its rising, should adjourn to Wednesday next, Mr. Max-
WELL proposed, as an amendment, that he should have
leave to bring in a Bill to give publicity to the prices of
hand-loom weaving. The amendment was ultimately lost
by a majority of 82 to 39.

- Lord PALMERStON, in answer to a question from Mr.
O'CONNELL, stated that there sv,:s roaon to believe the
recent introduction of slaves into Texas under the Ame-
rican ilig.

The rwomainder of the evening was almost wholly occu-
pied with the consideration, in Committee, of the Irish
Tithe Bill, in which measure much progress was agai❑
made. The subsequent proceedings consisted in passing
resolutions, in a Committee of Ways and Mean; to provide
for outstanding Exchequer Bills, in the committal of the
Concealment of Births Bill, in passing the Annual Indem-
nity Bill, and in a notice given by Col. SIBTRORP relative
to the expenie of the various public Commissions.
The House adjourned at about One o'clock.

The Lords are beginning to perceive the illeonve-

nience of the course which, in their wisdo:n, they
have determined to pursue with respect to the Irish
Corporation Bill. When, in the face of all precedent,
as well as in defiance of common sense, they post_
potted the committal of the Bill until the sixth week
after the second reading, on the pretence that they
could not discuss one measure relating to Ireland
until they knew the merits if all that were in-
tended for that part of the empire, but in reality to
hold a whip over the head of the refractory Commons,
their Lordships were warnf:d by Lord BROUGHAM
of the consequences likely to result from the step
they were taking. The Noble and Learned Lord
pointed out to them the great probability, that the
representatives of the people might not altogether
relish a species of treatment which very much resem-
bled that applied to schoolboys when they are put
upon their good behaviour, and might possibly follow
the example set them by retaliating upon the Lords.
It will be seen by a little bye-play that took place in

the House of Lords last night, that Lord BROUGH A M'S
prediction has been fulfilled to the letter. Lord
Wit A RNO L FFE, duriii9: a discussion on ;.he merits of
the English" Municipal Act, arising out of a pe-
tition from Bristol, broke off into an expres-
sion of " great surprise" at a circumstance
which had just come to his knowledge. This " sur-
prising" circumstance turned out to he the fact, that
the House of Commons had put off the second read-
ing of the Irish Tithe Bill until the 9th of June, the
identical day to which the Lords had prorogued the
committal of the Irish Municipal Bill. Our heredi-
tary Legislators must now be sensible that they have
gone a little beyond the bounds which prudence—to
say nothing of precedent or courtesy—would have
prescribed. It is perfectly clear that their professed
object of adapting their amendments on the Corpora-
tion Bill to the provisions of the Tithe Bill, must be
entirely- defeated by the postponement of the second
reading of the latter Bill, as, if they go into Com-
mittee on the former on the 9th June, they can know
no more of the Tithe Bill than they do at this
moment, or than they might have known when the Duke
of WELLINGTON moved the postponement which has
occasioned so much inconvenience, and which may
occasion still more. What will the Lords do next ?
To he consistent, they cannot go into Committee on the
Municipal Bill till the other has passed the Committee
in the Commons. Will they carry their childishness
any further, or give in at once ? They did not see in
time, that the Commons might heat them at their own
game. The best thing they can do is to throw down
their hands, and shuffle the cards for a new deal.

The London Gazette of last night contains two
Orders of the KING in Council, for the future regula-
tion of the trade between this country and Portugal.
The first imposes a tonnage duty of ninepence per
ton upon all Portuguese shipping entering any of the
ports of the United Kingdom ; and the second im-
poses an additional surcharge of one-fifth of the duties
now levied upon the productions of Portugal when im-
ported in Portuguese vessels. As these Orders in
Council are purely retaliatory on the part of his
Britannic MAJESTY, the Portuguese Government will
have only itself to blame for the immense injury Nyhich
they must inflict upon the commerce of Portugal. The
first Order in Council but reciprocates, after several
months of dignified endurance on the part of Eng-
land, the injury attempted to be done to our trade by a
Royal Decree of the Queen of PORTUGAL of the
24th of November, 1836, imposing an additional duty
of from five to thirteenpence on British shipping en-
tering any of the ports subject to her Most Faithful
MAJESTY ; and the second is but the counterpart of a
Decree of the QUEEN, dated Jan. 10, 1837, imposing
a higher duty on British goods imported into Portugal
in British than in native bottoms. That Portugal
should have wantonly provoked England to impose
such a heavy, and to her merchants, all but fatal re-
striction on her export trade, must astonish the merest
tyro in a knowledge of the natural and artificial pro-
ductions of the two countries, and of the principles
which ought to regulate the commercial relations of
nations so circumstanced and situated. In no possible
way could the natural or manufactured productions of
Great Britain interfere with the proEts derived from
the native industry of Portugal, even were her Most
Faithful MAJESTY to throw open her ports, duty
free, to British goods. We neither grow wine nor
fruits, though among the greatest consumers of both in
the world ; and it is hopeless for Portugal to dream
of enriching herself by the establishment of foundries
and cotton manufactories. While, therefore, we con-
fine ourselves to the bartering of cottons for wine, and
hardware for fruit—while we only export to Portugal
articles-of which she is in want, and offer to take in
exchange goods in which she superabounds—it is both
her interest and ours to remove every restriction on our
international trade, and to make our respective ports as
free as possible. The less restricted the trade the more
lucrative it must become ; particularly where reciprocal
wants form the basis of reciprocal interests. This
maxim applies with equal force to our commercial re-
lations with Spain, Russia, and Turkey.
While the right of England to retaliate upon any
nation imposing high duties upon her shipping and
manufactures is unquestionable, the policy of such a
proceeding cannot always be successfully defended.
In the case of Portugal, for example, British mer-
chants will sustain considerable loss by the retaliatory
orders in Council, though not to a fiftieth part of the
extent to which the Portuguese must suffer from
them. Happily for. the peace and social welfare
of the world, the international system is so regu-
lated, than even a retaliatory severity can not
be resorted to, without a modification of the
evil which provoked its adoption. We of course con-
fine our observations to measures affecting trade alone.
If we might lay down a general rule on the sub-
ject applicable to England, we would recommend a
free trade with every nation under heaven, quite re-
gardless of whether they opened or closed their ports
against British shipping. If others are so blind as
not to see, or so stupid as not to understand their own
interests, we ought not needlessly to injure ourselves
to convict them of error.

We direct public attention to the subject of a peti-
tion presented in the House of Commons last night by
Mr. WARBURTON, from Mr. STEVENSON, surgeon,
of Limerick, praying for an abolition of the monopoly
enjoyed by the Irish Apothecaries'.Company. The
case of Mr. STEVENSON is one of great hardship, and
the evil of which he so justly complains calls for some
intervention on the part of the Legislature.

The Paris Papers of Thursday are so taken up with
discussing the merits and anticipated results of the
Amnesty, that every other topic is at present forgotten
by them. The more liberal the journals, the more
lavish the praises bestowed upon tl►e KING, for so un-
expected an act of clemency.
On Tuesday evening all the political prisoners con-
fined in St. Pelagic were set at liberty. Such of them
as were destitute had money given to them for tl►e
purchase of ►necessaries.

• Letters from St. Sebastian of the 6th, and from
Bayonne of the 7th inst., fix the commencement of
operations on a grand scale, about the 12th or 13th,
as the inspection of the army would occupy EsPA
tt-
TEIZo some days after his arrival at General EvA NS'S
head-quarters. Early on the 6th, the Carlists made an
attempt to drive the Christinos from their positions
beyond the Urumea, but they were driven back with
the loss of eighty men killed and wounded, besides
fifty prisoners. The Christinos had only a few men
slightly wounded.

FRENCH FUNDS.—PARIS, MAY 11.
Five per Cimts., 07f. 4Cc. 50c. 60e.
Four and a Hallner Cents. 10011 611 c.
Four per Cents., W.f. tiCc.
Three per I cuts. 7Sf. 115 c. 76f.
Rente cc l'ap!es' 991. 40e Vic. 50c.
Roman Fly tp,rCents.,
Spanish Actives, t.:5 24%
Spanish Passives, 5T,,,„
Belgian Loan, live per Cents, 101
Portuguese Threi. per Cents, 29%,
EXCIIANC.II UN LONDON.
One month, paper, 250 35e. ; money, 251. 32 4c.
l'hree months, 251. 13c. ; money, 25f. 12,4 -
Authenti2ue.
LAST PRICES,
Five per Cents., 117 f. Si,c.
Three per Cents. 751.
Bente de Naples, VIE 60c.
Roman Five per Cents., IOJ3'.
Belgian Loan, IW,
Brussels Bank, 1,420 f.
Pc rluguese Three per Cents., 29%.
Spanish Actives, 2,34,
Spanish Passives a
:Tanis]) DifFeres, 7.
Belgian Society, 1,0170 50c.

Madrid papers to the 4th inst. have been received.
On the 3d, the Finance Committee, appointed to in-
ginre into, and report upon the documents submitted
to the Chamber of Deputies by MENDIZABAL, pre-
sented their Report, in which they stated that the ac-
counts furnished by the Minister were not satisfac-
tory. When the mails left Madrid MENDIZABAL
was defending his accounts from the Tribune,
and it was expected that the discussion on

the Report would be one of the most important, as
regarded the Government, that had arisen since the
the re-establishment of the Constitution. MENDI-•
ZABAL has many enemies, who will take every ad-
vantage of this report to destroy his moral influence in
the Peninsula. These journals bring no news of any
moment from the Provinces.

Coals are now selling at Whitstable at 19s. per ton.
Three weeks ago they could not be obtained under 403.