The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-12 00:00:00

of the subject, and did not mean to offer any opposition to
the introduction of the bill. Leave given.

MARRIAGES OF AFFINITY,
Mr. M. MILNES, in asking leave to introduce the bill
of which he had given notice, observed that the bill of last
year was lost on an amendment which, was carFiAby a ma-
jority of five. Ther purport of that'itraend‘inewali that it
was impolitic to make any further disparity between the
laws affecting marriage in the three kingdoms. After that
amendment the bill was withdrawn, so that it never came
to a second reading. The house would therefore bear in
mind that if the bill this year reached a second reading, it
would be the first decision taken on the principle, This
year the bill would include Scotland and Ireland, its pro-
moters being very much fortified by the goodwill with
which its principles had been received in the latter coun-
try. Ho believed he should be able to present a peti-
tion from the City of Dublin, signed by a large num-
ber of the Protestant clergy of that city and almost
all the principal inhabitants. In fact, he was informed
that half the Protestant bench of Ireland was in favour
of the motion; and with regard to the Roman
Catholics, after the evidence of Cardinal Wiseman, it was
needless to allude to their views. A recent decision, the
state of the law in some of our colonies, and the position of
hundreds of families, rendered it most important that this
question should be settled.

Mr. WALPOLE, although not opposing the bill in its
present stage, saw little in it to alter the opinion he bad
expressed last year. There was one objection to it, and
that the strongest, that it would be most unjust to permit
a man to marry two sisters, so long as a woman was pro-
hibited from marrying two brothers. (Hear.) Until that
was settled any change in the law would be merely provid-
ing different marriage privileges for the two sexes.
Leave given. -

CHURCH RATES.
Sir C. DOUGLAS, in the absence of Sir J. Trelawny,
moved for leave to bring in a bill to abolish church rates.
Mr. S. ESTCOURT gathered that the bill was a cowl-
terpart of that which had been rejectei last year, and there-
fore he did not think that introducing it was making any
real progress. He sincerely wished to see the question set-
tled. (Hear, hear.) He would not meet the present mo-
tion with a direct negative, but on the second reading
would move a resolution objecting to the crude character of
the proposed measure, and pledging the house to some
principle upon which final and satisfactory legislation might
be founded. (Hear, hear.)

Mr. GRIFFITH heard with great pleasure the ot servo-
tions of the right hon. member who had just sat down, and
was sure that all moderate men on both sides of the house
were most anxious for a settlement of the question. (Hear,
hear.) He believed that, fanaticism on the one side and
high-church feeling on the other would now be found in
the minority, and that the majority would gladly seize the
opportunity for settling the question.
The SPEAKER pointed out the irregularity of introduc-
ing a measure which was likely to be opposed by deputy.
The indulgence was only granted in the case of unopposed
motions.

Leave was then given.
METROPOLIS LOCAL MANAGEMENT ACTS

AMENDMENT.

Mr. BRISTOW moved for leave to re-introduce his bill
of last session on this subject.
Mr, LOCKE observed that since the introduction of the
bill last year the report had been published of a very im-
portant committee which had sat on the local taxation of
the metropolis. Amongst other questions which that com-
mittee had considered was one connected with the Metro-
politan Board of Works, and the mode of electing its mem-
bers. It would be a moot point whether the board repre-
sented the ratepayers at all, for it was elected, not by them,
but by the vestries. It was true that the vestries them-
selves were chosen by the ratepayers, but the mode Of
election at second hand had been found defective in every
case in which it had been adopted. Ho hoped, therefore,
that during the progress of the bill through the house either
the hon. member for the Tower Hamlets or himself would
be prepared to introduce provisions for establishing a direct
representation of the ratepayers.
Leave was then given.
CONVEYANCE OF VOTERS.
_ _

Mr. COLLIER obtained leave to bring in a bill to pro-
hibit the payment of the expenses of conveying voters to the
poll in boroughs. The hon. gentleman stated that his pro-
posed measure was founded upon the report of a select
committee. In two successive sessions he had introduced it
before, but he had been asked to withdraw it in conse•-
quence of a statement from the right hon. gentleman' the
Secretary of State for the Home Department to the effect
that he was about to bring in a more comprehensive mea-
sure. That comprehensive measure, however, had never
been passed ; and he begged to say, therefore, without the
slightest disrespect or discourtesy to the right hon. gentle-
man, that it was his intention to press the bill irrespective
of any more comprehensive one. (Hear, hear,)
CHURCH RATES COMMUTATION.
Mr. NEWDEGATE obtained leave to introduce abill to
establish a charge in lieu of church rates, for the commuta-
tion thereof, and to affurd facilities for the provision of
other funds applicable to the purposes of church rates.
THE PRINTING OF THE HOUSE.
Mr. PEEL moved for a select committee "to assist Mr
Speaker in all matters which relate to the printing executed
by order of this house, and for the purpose of selecting and
arranging for printing returns and papers presented in
pursuance of motions made by members of this house." Sir
J. Pakington, Sir F. Baring, Mr. Walpole, Mr. Henley,
Mr. Cardwell, Mr. S. Estcourt, Mr. Bonham-Carter, Mr.
Divett, Mr. Gaske]l, Sir S. Northcote, Mr. Greene, Mr.
Peel, and Mr. H. Russell. Three to be the quorum.
Agreed to.

RETURNS ORDERED.
UNIONS (ENGLAND AND WALES) .—On the motion of Mr.
ANGERSTEIN, returns of the unions in England and Wales,
giving their names and population, which have acceded to
the non-separation of aged couples beyond sixty years of
age, and the number of instances in each union in which
this has been permitted ; and, of the number of unions in
England and Wales in which the sane are not intermixed
with the insane, and where lunatic wards have been estab-
lished; the number of lunatics in each separate ward, to-
gether with the number of lunatics received into all unions,
from January, 1861, to January, 1862.
EDUCATION (REVISED CODE).—On the motion of Mr.
PULLER, addreess for copies of all memorials and letters
which have been addressed to the Lord President of the Coun-
cil or to the Secrete] y of the Committee of Council on Educa-
tion, on the subject of the revised code by the authorities of
any educational society, board, or committee, or of any train-
ing school ; of any correspondence between the Committee
of Council on Education and any of her Majesty's inspectors
of schools, or any managers or teachers of schools, on the
subject of the revised code : of any correspondence between
the Committee of Council on Education and the Lords of
the Treasury, or the Civil Service Commissioners, respect-
ing candidates for employment in the public service who
have been in receipt of public payments as Queen's scholars
in training schools, and of two circulars addressed by the
Committee of Council on Education to training schools
(males), dated respectively the 14th day of April, 1859, and
the 23d day of Nov., 1860, on the same subject. And of
the correspondence which passed in January, 1861, between
Mr. Holland Echeraby and the Committee of Council on
Edue Alen. and in April, 1861, between Mr. John G. Bell
and the Committee of Council on Education, relative to
their respective applications for permission to accept ap-
pointments in the public service.

The house rose at a quarter past seven o'clock.

NEW BILLS IN PARLIAMENT.

Yesterday copies of several bills already intro-
duced in Parliament were issued.
Two bills have been presented in the House of
Lords by Lord Ebury. One of them proposes to
amend the law respecting the declaration of assent
to the use of the Book of Common Prayer requried
of ministers and others of the Established Church,
by making it lawful for every person required to
make a declaration, to do se either according to the
form at present in use or according to the follow-
ing one—" I, A. 8., do declare that the Book of
Common Prayer [stating the full title of the book]
may be lawfully used as such ; [adding, if he be in
holy orders] and that I will myself in public prayers
and in the administration of the Sacrament use the
form in the said book prescribed, and none other."
The other bill of his lordship is entitled,
" An Act to amend the regulations for the pub-
lic worship, rites, and ceremonies of the United
Church of England and Ireland. In a schedule
consisting of twenty-one clauses are numerous
alterations referring to the distribution and order of
the services of the church, and the use, omission, or
curtailment of some of the forms. The directions in
this schedule it is proposed shall be deemed to form
part of the Book of Common Prayer.
Lord Redesdale has brought in a bill intended to
protect certain garden or ornamental grounds in
cities and boroughs. It is proposed that gardens in
squares, &c., of 50 years' standing, shall be freed
from neglect, encroachments, &c., and vested in a
committee of rated inhabitants, or, if such decline,
in the Metropolitan Board of Works, or the cor-
porate authority.
Mr. Hadfield's bill rendering it needless to make
and subscribe certain declarations as a qualification
for offices and employments is very brief, and was
sufficiently described by the hon. gentleman on the
first night of the session. It bears the names of Mr.
Hadfield, Sir M. Peto, Mr. Baines, and Mr. Kershaw.
A bill has been introduced to abolish whipping for
offences committed by criminal prisoners, and pro-
viding in the case of juvenile offenders that the
convicting justices shall specify in the sentence
which they pass the instrument to be used and the
number of strokes to be inflicted. The bill is pre-
pared and brought in by Mr. Hadfield, Mr. Kin-
naird, Mr. Briscoe, and Sir F. Smith.