The Sun.
London, England, 1837-12-23 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

The House met at Twelve o'Clock.
Mr. WAKLEY brought in the Finsbury Small Debts' Bill
which was read a first and second time, and ordered to be coin.
mitted.

Messengers from the Lords brought down the Slave-owners'
Compensation Act, and Prisoners' Conveyance Bill, to which their
Lordships had agreed as amended.
In answer to a question from Mr. MACKINNON,
Lord MORPETH said that he had no intention of extending to
Ireland the Cruelty to Animals' Bill passed last year. But if any
Hon. Member were to bring in a similar Bill for Ireland, he (Lord
M.) would give it his best consideration.
DUCHESS OF KENT'S ANNUITY BILL.
_ _

On the Order of the Day for the third reading of this Bill,
Sir G. SINCLAIR said it was painful to him to address the
House upon this subject, but a sense of duty compelled him to
make a few observations He could not conceive why an addition
of 8,0001. a year was to be made Ito her Royal Highness's income,
and he had always thought that the two additional grants which
had formerly been made to her Royal Highness on account of her
Majesty when Princess Victoria, were to cease when her Majesty
ascended the throne. He united cordially in all that had been said
of the deep sense of gratitude which ought to be entertained to-
wards her Royal Highness for the manner in which she had edu-
cated our beloved Sovereign ; but there was too often a tendency
in that House to exaggerate panegyric, to say nothing of ful-
some adulation. It required greater moral courage to oppose
the wishes of a Court than to resist the demands of the
people. He well remembered that in the year 1814, when
an additional grant of 10,0001. to the Duke of York was
proposed by a Tory Government, all the leading Whigs op-
posed it, and principally on the ground that the augmentation of
his Royal Highness's income should come out of the Civil List.
This was his (Sir G. Sinclair's) opinion with respect to the pre-
sent case. He would however content himself with merely pro-
testing against the passing of the Bill.
Sir ROBERT INGLIS thought that the question ought not to
be decided either by the smiles of the Court or the frowns of the
people. The Duchess of Kent being now the mother of the Queen,
was placed in a condition in which certain greater expenses must
be incurred in her establishment. He believed that the amount
now proposed was not the utmost which was originally proposed for
her Royal Highness, and that the country was indebted to the dis-
interestedness of her Royal Highness for the refusal of a much
larger sum in a different shape. There was a prevalent rumour
abroad which he believed to be true, that her Royal Highness the
Duchess of Kent had refused the payment of her debts, if she had
any, in addition to the sum proposed by the present Bill. He hoped
the House would give the Bill its cordial support.
Sir EDWARD CODRINGTON was sure the people of the
country would readily pay for any services that had been rendered
them, and would most cheerfully accedg to the increase proposed
in the income of her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent.
Colonel SIBTHORP—Though he had heard the Right Hon.
Baronet express his regret that the opposition to the Bill should
come from that (the Tory) side of the House, he must tell that
Right Hon. Baronet, that he might pursue what line of public con-
duct he thought proper, but at the same time he must leave him
(Colonel Sibthorp) the same liberty to pursue what line of con-
duct in public affairs which he thought it his duty to do. Though
he sat on that side of the House he would not be bound to the
politics of that side or any other. He could with perfect con-
sistency oppose any measure which he did not like, come from
what side of the House it might. The two Honourable Ba-
ronets who had preceded him had said it was with pain
they spoke upon the measure—it was with pain that he con-
sidered such an important subject had fallen to his hands, as
to oppose the nefarious doings of that Government which came in
on the principles of economy and retrenchment. He had no doubt
but there were debts, and it would have been much more honest
and manly, had the Government at once come forward and laid the
state of the case before the House. Though he had been unsuc-
cessful in his endeavours to reduce the allowance to 22,0001., yet he
would persevere in his duty, and bring forward other two motions.

The SPEAKER—Those motions can only be made after the
Bill has been read a third time.
Colonel SIBTHORP would content himself, then, with pro-
testing against the Bill, and would move his clauses after the
Bill had been read a third time.—(Hear, hear.) This grant
was unnecessary and uncalled for on every account. He
( Colonel Sibthorp) could not forget what he owed to the pub-
lic, and he would not buy favour from any one by neglecting
-what he considered to he a public duty. He had only expressed
his honest and undisguised opinions, and he saw no reason to re-
tract one single syllable of what he had uttered. But with such a
House as the present, it appeared to him totally impossible to op-
pose the Bill. He should no doubt have to give an account of his
conduct to the constituency he represented.—(Hear from Captain
Pechell.) He feared not what the Gallant Captain might have to say,
and he had no doubt that he should 'go with as clear a conscience to
his constituency as the Hen. and Gallant Captain would.—( Hear,
hear, from Captain Pechell.) He had no doubt the same result
would then follow as had followed the late election—namely, his
return to Parliament by a large majority of electors.—Cries of
" Divide, divide.") He did not intend dividing the House.
An HON. MEMBER, (whose name we could not learn), rose from
the Conservative Benches, and said he would never be a party to
throwing over by a side-wind that which a full House had agreed to.
On the question that the Bill do pass,
Colonel SIBTHORP moved a clause, to the effect, that if
her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent should marry without the
consent of both Houses of Parliament, or should reside out of the
kingdom for more than six months together, a portion of the'an-
nuity, not exceeding one half, should cease.
Lord JOrIN RUSSELL said—Sir, I must oppose the bringing
up of this clause. The annuity of 100,0001. a year to the Queen
Dowager was granted by the unanimous Vote of Parliament with-
out any restriction or condition—( Hear hear)—and I think the
House will agree with me that it would be very unbecoming to im-
pose any condition or restriction upon this grant to her Royal
Highness the Duchess of
.Kent.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.")
I must say there was a great temptation in her Royal Highness
having been born and bred a foreigner, and left a widow in this
country, to remove herself to a cheaper country, to which she was
more accustomed.—( Hear, hear.) But the Duchess of Kent felt
her duty to this nation obliged her to live here, and bring up her
daughter in this country.—( Hear, hear.) In 1825, an additional
grant was proposed to her Royal Highness. Did any one then
propose these restrictions ? If ever proper, they were proper at
that time ; her Royal Highness had then the care of her daughter,
whose education in this country was of the deepest impor-
tance to the nation • no such conditions, however, were proposed;
confidence was placed in her Royal Highneis, nor was that confi-
dence misplaced.—( Hear, hear.) And I may mention that her
Royal Highness desired the Archbishop of Canterbury and the
Bishops of London and Lincoln to examine into the education of
the Princess.—(Hear, hear.) In 1831 a new grant was proposed
to her Royal Highness, but no conditions and restrictions were sug-
gested ; and confidence was again reposed in her Royal Highness.
—( Hear, hear.) At the present moment, when they bad to ex-
press their gratitude to her Royal Highness for the care she had
taken of the education of the present Queen, it would be most
unbecoming and indecorous if any motion should be suggested,
having for its object to make conditions and restrictions implying
a want of confidence in the merits of her Royal Highness.
Mr. BRISCOE gave Ministers his support in this measure, from
the honest and deliberate conviction of his mind that they were
entitle to the support of the country. The Hon. Member sat
down amid loud cries of " Divide." _ .

Colonel SIBTHORP said he had discharged his duty in
bringing the subject forward ; he should therefore not press the
subject to a division.
The Bill was then passed and ordered to be taken up to the
House of Lords by Mr. Bernal.

ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE.
Lord J. RUSSELL moved that the House at its rising should
adjourn to Tuesday the 16th of January.
Lord G. BENTINCK moved as an amendment that the adjourn-
ment should only be to Thursday next.
Strangers were ordered to withdraw. The House divide&
when there appeared—
For the Motion
For the Amendment

Majority
CANADA.

Lord J. RWSELL gave notice that on the 16th January he
would move That so much of her Majesty's Speech as related to
Canada be taken into consideration, and that any measures which
might be founded upon such paragraph, have precedence over all
motions or notices, until the Ist of February. _