The Sun.
London, England, 1837-04-18 00:00:00

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LONDON,
TUESDAY EVENING, APRIL 18, 1837.

In the House of Lords yesterday, the sitting was occupied
pith the presentation of petitions and an incidental discussion
on the Poor Laws, which will be read with interest.
In the House of Commons, the alleged evasion of the
Standing Orders by the agents of the London and Brighton
Railway (Stevenson's line), led to some smart discussion.
Mr. FA ZAKERLY presented a special Report from the Poor
Law Committee, charging an Evening Paper with a breach
cf privilege, by publishing evidence produced before that
Committee, and not yet presented to the House. The Re-
port was ordered to be considered to-day.
Afterwards a great deal of time was wasted in a purely per.
sonal discussion, the nature of which will be seen by the fol-
lowing extract from the " Votes and Proceedings of the
House of Commons" :

" Notice taken of a report of a debate of this House in the
Morning Post Newspaper, in which certain words were attri-
buted to Sir James Graham respecting Sir Edward Codring-
ton ; and Sir Edward Codrington having called upon Sir
James Graham to state whether he had made use of the words,
Sir James Graham declined to make such statement, consider-
ing that such a practice would be contrary to the freedom of
debate, and the privilege of the house ; and Sir Edward
Codrington having intimated an intention of taking notice of
the words out of the House, he was called upon to assure the
House that he would not pursue that course; and having de-
clined to give the Iloui=e such assurance, Motion made, and
Qaestion proposed,—' fhat Sir Edward Codrington he taken
into the custody of the Sergeant at Arms attending this
House :'—And Mr. Speaker having stated, that Sir James
Graham ought not to be called upon to state whether a report
in a Newspaper, of certain expressions made use of by him in
this llouse, was or was not correct, Sir Edward Codrington
submitted himself to the House, and assured them that he
would not pursue the matter any further ; whereupon Sir
James Graham stated, that he had now no objection to state
that he had not made use of the words attributed to him :
Motien, by leave, withdrawn."
The remainder of the sitting was occupied with a debate on
the affairs of Spain. Sir 1-I. HARDINGE made his meditated
attack on the Foreign policy of his Majesty's Government,
moving, pursuant to notice, " That an humble Address be
presented to his Majesty, praying that his Majesty will be gra-
ciously pleased not to renew the Order in Council of the 10th
of June, 1835, granting his Majesty's Royal Licence to British
subjects to enlist into the service of the Queen of Spain
which Order in Council will expire on the 10th of June ilex
and praying also that his Majesty will be graciously pleased o ;
give directions that the marine forces of his Majesty shall not
be employed in the civil contest now prevailing in Spain,
otherwise than in that naval co-operation which his Majesty
has engaged to afford, if necessary, under the stipulations of
the treaty." Sir STRATFORD CANNING seconded the moti n ;
and after Lord LEVESON GOWER, Mr. C. WOOD, Lord F.
EGERTON, and Mr. O'CONNELL had severally spoken on the
question, the debate was adjourned to this day.

The debate in the House of Commons last night on Sir
HENRY HARDINGE'S motion on the Spanish question, was
enlivened by no fact or argument which the country has not
heard adduced an hundred times by the supporters of
Queen ISABELLA 11., and the partisans of Don CARLOS.
Of course its adjournment was studiously promoted by the
Government, with a view to afford an opportunity to such
Hon. Gentlemen as might wish to enlighten the House
with the brilliancy of their non-reflection and inexpe-
rience, to shine out before their constituents ; and thus
remove, by a single debate, one great cause of the
constant interruption experienced by Ministers in the prose-
cution of their system of domestic legislation. Every
Tory stripling in either House of Parliament cannot
but be supposed eager to display before his astonished coun-
trymen the extent of his rambles in foreign countries,
and the extraordinary nothings which he has collected on
the subject of the Government, laws, institutions, and ha-
bits of the people among whom'he sojourned in stage-
coaches and at inns ; and therefore we think the Noble
Foreign Secretary acts wisely in clearing the political
stage for the self-exhibition of these embryo States-
men. The old Tory hacks—whose sole aim is to re-
gain possession of the Treasury Benches—arc men
of a different stamp ; but the safest course with respect to
them is to allow them to develope the plans which they
have propounded, as the basis of their policy, in the event of
their being again entrusted with the reins of Government.
The speeches of Sir H. HARDINGE and Sir S. CANNING,
the mover and seconder of the Resolution which formed
the subject of the debate, sufficiently prove this. Both are
opposed —or at least profess opposition—to the Spanish
policy of Lord PALMERSTON ; and yet what is the policy
which they propose to substitute for it? The recognition
of Don CARLOS as Sovereign of Spain ? The nullification of
the Quadruple Treaty ? The reduction of our naval
force on the Spanish coast ? Nothing of the kind. On
the contrary Sir STRATFORD CANNING assured the House
that " he had ever abstained from throwing the shadow of
a doubt on the policy of the Government, in recognizing
the authority of the Queen of SPAIN. It was enough for
them that they found the QUEEN governing—not only
de facto, but that Government resting on well-established
grounds, inasmuch as it was recognized by all the authorities
i❑ Spain. The Queen of SPAIN met with no opposition to
her claim to the Throne from the Cortes ; all the grandees
recognized her authority ; the whole army sent in its ad-
herence ; and everywhere except in the Basque Provinces
her sovereignty was acknowledged." From admitting
the sound policy of our Government in recognising the
Queen of SPAIN, the Right Hon. Baronet went on to defend
the Quadruple Alliance as a masterpiece of statesman-
ship. That treaty had been the means of preventing
a war between Spain and Portugal—otherwise una-
voidable. The Spanish Pretender had established him-
self in Portugal, and under the protection of Dos MI-
GUEL, whom FERDINAND VII. had recognised as the
legitimate Sovereign of that country, and there had formed
the " nucleus of a force intended to be afterwards employed
against the rights of the Spanish QUEEN." The Spanish
Government, failing in its efforts to prevail on the Usurper
to refuse sanctuary to an avowed enemy of her Catholic
MAJESTY, was only prevented from declaring war against
Portugal by the signing of the Quadruple Alliance. On
these grounds, therefore, Sir STRATFORD CANNING de-
fended the Treaty as just, necessary, and statesman-
like. Sir HENRY HARDINGE, without questioning the
soundness of the policy which dictated the recognition of the
Queen of SPAIN, and the signing of the Quadruple Treaty
denounced Don CARLOS as a monster of cruelty in terms
the most unqualified. He boldly avowed that he had no
hesitation in saying that he despised—that he abhorred—
that he detested the policy which dictated the Durango de-
cree. It was a monstrous—a barbarous outrage
against all the rules of civilized warfare—against

the laws of humanity itself. And if anything could
disqualify Don CARLOS for holding the Throne of
Spain, that decree would disqualify him." This settles the
question at once. No Englishman will be found to deny—
in the face of our own glorious Revolution—that an
heir to the Throne cannot by crime disqualify himself
for reigning. In 1830 the Duke of WELLING-
TON stated in the House of Lords that Don AIi-
&DEL'S perjury constituted a just ground of disqualifica-
tion for governing ; and it will not be disputed that murder
is a greater crime than perjury. If crime can disqualify,
says Sir HENRY HARDINIRE, Don CARLOS iS disqualified
by the Durango decree. This admission on the part of an
English Member of Parliament is ample enough. Crime
can disqualify ; and therefore, on the showing of an invete-
rate Tory, Don CARLOS, has no better claim to the
Spanish Throne than the meanest bandit in his service.
And when all is done, what plan do the Tories pro-
pose ? Why the recal of the British Auxiliary Legion,
and the confining of the operations of the Marines to
their ships. Such, after all, is the pigmy offspring
of the Conservative mountain, of whose long-expected
travail the world has heard so much. Parliament
is called upon to sanction a paltry, pitiful scheme
of retrograding, which, without materially serving any pur-
pose or any faction, would cast disgrace upon the nation, ex-
pose us to the just scorn and indignation of the betrayed people
of the Peninsula ; and hold us forth as a laughing-stock to
all Europe. Mr. C. WOOD cited precedents in abundance
in support of the employment of a naval co-operating force
in land expeditions ; and Lord LEVESON admirably re-
futed the arguments of Sir STRATFORD CANNING, by
pointing out the triumph which the legitimists of France
would obtain over us by the withdrawal of our gallant
auxiliaries from the Peninsula.

We yesterday recommended to some influential Member
of Parliament, the moving of an amendment on Sir
HENRY HARDINGE'S motion, pledging the Government to
direct and avowed intervention, as the only means of putting a
speedy termination to the civil war in Spain. We beg
to repeat this suggestion. We are confident that, if
not opposed by Ministers, it would be carried by
a triumphant majority, in spite of all the shifts and
tricks of the Tories. Should a land force be voted
for this service, we will readily support a propo-
sition for placing Sir HENRY HARDINDGE himself at the
head of it. He is a gallant officer, and would do more to
support the honour of Great Britain in the field than he
is even likely to do in the Senate.

At the rate at which the Parliamentary business is pro-
ceeding, it may, we suppose, be completed somewhere
about Christmas—certainly not sooner. Honourable Gen-
tlemen seem to think that they have been sent into the
House of Commons for no other purpose than to
talk. As old COBBETT used to say—it is all talk,
and no do. Our Representatives are not now-a-days
content with a long discussion on the principle of a Bill
at its second reading ; there must be a regular palaver at
every stage of a measure—first, when it appears in the
embryo state of a resolution, and then respectively on the
first, second, and third reading—to say nothing of the ex-
penditure cf breath when a Bill, with 150 clauses, gets into
Committee, with 658 aspirants for fame eager to signalise
themselves on each several clause. Nor is this all.
This passion for longwindedness has broken in upon the
wholesome practice of concluding a debate at one sitting.
Such a phenomenon now hardly ever occurs. It is re-
garded as stamping a question with the seal of inferiority
or insignificance, if its discussion does not extend through
more than one sederunt. Now, this waste of the public
time is, in our opinion, a serious evil, and something must
be done to remedy it. Gentlemen given to eloquence must
really prescribe some limits to the exercise of their gifts.
If we might be allowed to propose a suggestion on
such a subject, it would be this—that no speaker should
be allowed to say anything that had bee❑ said before,
during the debate, under the penalty of being committed
to the care of the Sergeant at Arms. The rule is simple,
easy of execution, and, we venture to say, will accelerate
the public business in a very wonderful degree.

THE FUNDS.--(THIS DAY.)

CITY, TWELVE O'CLOCK.

Our arrivals this morning are the Hamburgh mails French
mails due). Ship-letters from China, St. Helena, Berbice, and
Demerara,- Singapore, 29th Oct., Calcutta, 6th, 10th, and
and 17th Dec.; Van Diemen's Land, Ceylon, 24th Dec., Cape
of Good Hope, 14th Feb., and from Mauritius.
We have received Cape of Good Hope Papers to the 12th
Feb., Hobart Town Papers to the 2d November, Launces-
ton to the 4th Nov. The Cape of Good Hope Papers contain
two documents relative to the emigrating from the colony to-
wards the north and east, of which so much has been said of
late. Fifty men, it seems, have left Mr. Buchan's Field
Cornetcv, and twenty-six have passed over the boundary--so
far the emigration does not appear to be of a very formidable
nature.

The Hobart Town and Launceston Papers are ♦oid of in-
terest. The ship-letters to-day from the East Indies are of
old dates.

( From the Cape of Good Hope Papers.)
Extract of a letter from Uitenhage, Feb. 2 :—" Friday last
the Lieut.-Governor arrived in town from Caffreland. On
Saturday his Honour visited Port-Elizabeth ; he arrived in
Graham's Town on the 2d inst. It is reported here that many
of our migratory farmers are returning, and that the remain-
der will return when they have lost all their property."