The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-24 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS-(YESTERDAY.)

The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Wool-
sack at five o'clock.

Lord BEAUMONT • gave notice that, on Friday, he
would call attention to a treaty concluded relative to
the succession to the Crown of Denmark,

The Earl of MALMESBITRY gave notice that, on
Friday, he would put a question to the Foreign Secre-
tary as to the negociation going on between Russia and
Turkey.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH gave notice that on
the 6th of June, in moving for correspondence he would
comment on the measure which was to be introduced on
the 3d of June, in the other house, for the government
of India.

Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from Sir A.
Stewart, complaining of the depreciation of property in
the West Indies. The noble and learned lord touched
at some length on recent colonial legislation, and also
animadverted very severely on the attempts lately
brought to light to introduce slaves on the coast of
Cuba. He concluded by asking the Government whether
they were aware to whom the blame of these proceedings
was to be attributed ? _ _

The Earl of CLARENDON said he was sorry to say
that the slave trade was carried on to a considerable ex-
tent in Cuba, and that, although our Consul-General at
the Havannah was indefatigable in his efforts to bring
these proceedings to light, he was, owing to the peculiar
laws of Cuba on the subject, unable always to suc-
ceed. - He could, however, assure the noble and
learned lord that no endeavour on the part of
the Government would be spared to put an end to the
traffic. The Spanish Government had recently given
the most solemn assurances 'that the treaties should be
rigorously adhered to.
After a fe. ve words from Lord BROUGHAM and Lord
WHARNCLIFIPE, the subject dropped.
INDIA.---TREATAIENT OF THE NATIVES.

Lord ELLENTOROUGH begged to know whether
there was any objection to produce the proceedings of
three courts- maeial which had been held in India, on
Mr. --, a lieutenant in one of the Bengal cavalry re-
giments. In 1850 this gentleman had been tried for
drawing his sword on his superior officer on parade, and
since that time he had been tried, within little more
than one month, on three separate charges, for striking
three natives—one of them a member of a caste in high
esteem with the Hindoos. For these offences he had
been fined six months' ,vay and put back several steps ;
but he was still allowed, it would appear, to remain an
officer of the army—that army upon the fidelity and de-
votion of which depended altogether the maintenance of
our dominion over India, which fidelity and devotion
depended on their respect ,nor their European masters.
(Hear, hear.) The house might be assured there
was great danger in perm witting persons who had
been guilty of such outrages as these upon the natives
to remain in the army. (Hear,. hear.) He trusted that
the officer to whom he had refArred would be taken to
answer for his offences before the Supreme Court, and
if found guilty, which there seem.exl little doubt he would
be, be dismissed the army. Should the Court of Direc-
tors decline to dismiss him, it was competent in her
Majesty, by an order under her sign manual, to dismiss
the offender.
Earl GRANVILLE said, that the ]mome authorities
anxious to do all in their power to protect the natives of
India from cruelty, oppression, or other wrong, had
issued a general regulation that any officer in the Indian
army found guilty of having committed any such offence
against the native population should be cashiered, and,
sent to England. He had no doubt that the next mail
would brine- word, if the offenee complained of had been
proved, that the offender had been punished iu pur-
suance of that regulation. (Hear, hear.) .

COMMON LODGING-HOUSES BILL.
The bill passed through committee pro forme!.
CHIMNEY-SWEEPERS' REGULATION ACT
AMENDMENT BILL.

The Earl of SHAFTESBURY moved that the report
on this bill be received.

The Earl of CLANCARTY opposed the bill. With
respect to Ireland, the result of his inquiries was, that to
a great extent the act which the noble earl desired by the
present bill to enforce uniformly had been carried out ;
but in some instances it was found impracticable to apply
machinery to old houses. In the west of Ireland peat
was burnt, and the soot arising therefrom got into a
hard cake, which it was found impossible to remove by
the machinery at present used. In order, therefore, to
prevent crude and impracticable legislation, he should
move that a select committee on the subject should be
appointed, and that its report should be considered
before the bill was read a third time.
Lord BEAUMONT wished the noble lord who had
just sat down had moved the rejection of the bill, which
appeared to be erroneous and dangerous in principle, and
in its details ineffective and miserable. This was not a
bill to prevent boys
going up or descending chimneys ;
for already, he was sorry to say, an act for that object
had been passed, but it was a bill to prevent boys, he
might almost call them young men, under the age of 16
from carrying a bag and a brush for the purpose of as-
sisting the cleaners of chimneys. If their lordships
passed an act to prevent that occupation he did not
know where they could stop, and, where it not for the
high character of the noble earl, the originator of the
bill, lie should be disposed to designate the measure as
the effusion of pitiful cant and pseudo-humanity. He
wished that the existing act had never been passed, be-
cause he believed that the effect had been that a few
more houses had been burnt than would have been other-
wise. He admitted that there was cruelty in forcing
children up ill-constructed chimneys, but that might be
obviated by laws having reference to the construction of
chimneys. lie objected to this constant interference by
the Legislature in all matters of private trade, and he
suggested that the bill should be reported that day six
months.
Lord PANMURE deemed iit not unbecoming in that
house to throw the shield of its protection over infants
not able to protect themselves. That had been done in
respect to factories, and it was , especially necessary to
do the same in the case to which the present bill referred,
because there was no trade in which infants were ex-
posel to so much wanton cruelty as in the trade of chim-
ney-sweeping. He knew that the lives of many hun-
dreds of poor children had been saved by the existing
act, and as that prohibited the master sweeps from taking
apprentices under 16 years of age, the present bill was
' intended to guard against the evasion of the law by pre-
venting children under 16 years of age being employed
in the chimney-sweeping business under the name of
assistants, and being then forced into chimneys because
the owners of the houses would not incur the trifling
expense necessary for rendering the flues adapted to
1
machine sweeping. He did not regard this as an in-
fringement of the principle of free labour ; but he con-
ceived it to be just such a protection as their lordships
were bound to throw round a class of persons who were
too helpless to protect themselves.
Lord ST. LEONARD'S thorght their lordships
,should be careful not to adopt any course that might
t end to destroy the chimney-sweeping trade. It was a
t rade which they could not do without, but at the same
ti me every body must be desirous to remove any abuses
th at were connected with it. As the law now stood,
ch iinney-sweeping by boys was not only prevented, but
also cruelty to boys, and therefore to that extent the
xtrica te necessaryul e
m machine
ch i to
jilts
heensotdtepgveoernts
ouinnpsthat
uhpea providedhithm 0:
chimneysnuo
ers
y.e,i
nHe
which had 0
nbeen
flue informed
communicated
CAM) was
with
on t
occasions
c ca extricatesi
s where the
tmheaeihnisntersuf
iwhenmp
impossible
age
absolutelyto
extricate
without sending. somebody up. (Hear, hear.) If a man
was too large, then a boy must be sent up—not to sweep
I:i:floe:beer timeswas
the chimney, but to extricate the machine.. Now, by
the law, ItE it stood at this moment, a boy might