The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-21 00:00:00

NOTICE OF MOTION.

Mr. OLIVELRA—To ask the Noble Lord the Secretary
for the Home Department whether the recent opening of
the passage in the north side of St. Paul's Cathedral did
not establish the necessity of adopting it permanently
when Cannon-street be accomplished, as a means of dimi-
nishing the pressure of traffic from Ludgate-hill going
eastward.
STAMP DUTIES.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved the
resolutions on stamp duties he had referred to at an earlier
period of the evening.
The resolutions were put and agreed to.
CUSTOMS DUTIES ON SPIRITS BILL.
This bill passed through committee.
UNIVERSITIES (SCOTLAND) BILL.
_ _. _ .. .

On the order of the day for the second reading of this
bill being read,
Lord J. RUSSELL stated that it was intended to take
this bill on Friday next, at twelve o'clock.
Colonel BLAIR protested. against bringing forward mea-
sures requiring discussion at morning sitting, at a period
of the session when the majority of hon. members were
engaged on committees, and could not attend in the house
in the daytime.
SHERIFFS' COURT (SCOTLAND) BILL.

This bill passed through committee.
EDINBURGH AND CANONGATE ANNUITY TAX
ABOLITION.

The house went into committee on this subject.
The LORD ADVOCATE said that the bill which he in-
tended to introduce was to abolish a tax at present paid for
the support of clergy, the collection of which led to great
strife and unpleasantness. It was not intended to pay any-
thing out of the Consolidated Fund, but that tho city of
Edinburgh should pay a certain sum into the Treasury,
and that it should be repaid from thence to the clergy.
Mr. COWAN complained that no communication had
been made to him on the subject of the bill.
The LORD ADVOCATE said a few words of explana-
tion. The bill was partly of the nature of a private bill,
and would have to go to a select committee.
Mr. HADFIELD protested against bringing on such a
subject at such a late hour.
The LORD ADVOCATE said it would be early enough
to discuss the subject when the bill was actually brought
in.
Mr. PELLATT wanted to know whether this was not a
church rate transferred to the Imperial Treasury ?
The LORD ADVOCATE said that it was proposed even-
tually to pay the money out of the funds arising from cer-
tain ecclesiastical sinecure offices, but in the meantime the
city would have to pay about one per cent. The object of
the present committee was merely to enable the bill to be
brought in.
The resolution was then agreed to.
RESIDENT MAGISTRATES (IRELAND) BILL.
This bill was read a second time, after a few observations
from Colonel DUNNE, and other Irish members.
PUBLIC WORKS LOAN BILL.
This bill was read a third time and passed.
SOAP DUTIES BILL.

On the motion that the Speaker do leave the chair,
Mr. PELLATT briefly defended the soap trade from im-
putations of a fraudulent intention which had been cast
upon them.
The Speaker then left the chair.
Mr. WILSON said it was first proposed that the duties
should cease on the sth of July ; but it had since come to
the knowledge of the Government that extensive arrange-
ments had been made by the dealers to export largely
under drawback, for the purpose of re-importation. To
defeat this attempt the Government proposed that the bill,
both as regarded foreign and Irish soap, should not take
effect till the sth of July, 1854. It could, however, be
amended if the Government found that there had been
no large exports under drawback. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. PELLATT said the soap trade complained that they
had not been allowed a drawback upon their stocks as had
been done in previous remissions of duties, but as the Go-
vernment had decided against that, he thought the course
mentioned by the hon. gentleman was the best that could
be taken. _ _ _

-- The bill bill then passed through committee, and the house
resumed.

PUBLIC LIBRARIES ACT, 1850.

Mr. FORTESCUE obtained leave to bring in a bill to
extend this act to Ireland.

REGISTRATION (DUBLIN) BILL.

Sir J. YOUNG obtained leave to bring in a bill to
authorise the appointment of banisters, for the purpose
of effecting a complete annual revision of lists and registry
of voters for the city of Dublin.
The house adjourned at two o'clock till five this day.

LORD PALMERSTON AND THE LATE WAR-ROCKET
SEIZURE.—Lord Palmerston has acted very judiciously,
as well as leniently, in virtually abandoning the prose-
cution against Mr. Hale for the illegal manufacture of
war-rockets. The original seizure was at best unpo-
pular, because it bore the aspect of a vindictive pro-
ceeding, directed much more against M. Kossuth than
Mr. Hale. Then followed those disagreeable revelations
concerning spies, which however plausibly they may be
glossed over, can never be rendered palatable to an
English public. However necessary, in certain emer-
gencies, such instruments are not the less detestable ;
and the conviction that they are in daily use for the
purpose of detecting, or it may be entrapping, certain
individuals into a violation of the law, was calculated
to damage any government. Lord • Palmerston is not
the man to occupy this position in the public eye a
moment longer than he can help, and his instructions to
the Attorney-General not to call the defendant up for
judgment is a significant sign of a willingness to efface
unpleasant impressions, if not to retrace his steps. In
regard to Mr. Hale further proceedings would have
been absolute cruelty. As he himself says, " The law
has now been sufficiently vindicated ;" and he might
have added, that he has been more than sufficiently
punished by the seizure of his property without the
slightest previous intimation that he was violating the
law.—Sunday Times.
THE REGISTRATION OF VOTERS.—On Saturday notices
were issued in the city of London, and the boroughs of
Westminster, Marylebone, Finsbury, Tower Hamlets,
Lambeth, and Southwark, that all persons claiming to
vote in the election of members of Parliament in respect
of 101. occupations, must, on or before the 20th of July
next, pay all the poors' rates and assessed taxes due
from them in respect of such premises previous to the
sth of January last past, or they will not be placed upon
the register now about to be made out. All persons
claiming to be placed on the register to vote for county
members, must send in notice of claim to the Overseers
of the parish in which the qualification is situate ; the
notice must state at full length the nature of the qualifi-
cation, the place of abode, and name and surname of the
applicant. Persons already on the register need not
make a new application, unless they have changed their
qualification or place abode.

ELECTION COMMITTEES.-(THIS DA Y. )

LIVERPOOL-DECISION.

MR. FORBES MACKENZIE AND MR. TURNER
UNSEATED.

The committee met to-day shortly before one o'clock,
and remained in deliberation until five minutes past four.
On the doors being opened,

The Chairman announced the decision of the commit-
tee, which unseated the sitting members, Mr. Turner
and Mr. Forbes Mackenzie, on the ground of bribery
and treating. The committee considered it had not been
proved that the bribery and treating had not taken place
with the knowledge of either of the sitting members.
They did not think it necessary to recommend the sus-
pension of the writ, or that any further inquiry should
be instituted.
The committee then broke up.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS-(THIS EVENING.)

The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.

TRANSFER OF LAND.
Lord LYNDHURST, after reading an extract from
the report of the commissioners appointed to inquire
into the subject of registration of titles, asked the noble
and learned lord on the woolsack whether he had in con-
templation any measure relating to the subject of faci-
litating the transfer of real property.
The LORD CHANCELLOR said that he had no
plan in immediate preparation ; but the moment the bill
for the registration of assurances passed the other house,
his attention would be anxiously turned to the subject.
He considered registration as but the first step to-
wards a complete amendment of the present system of
the transfer of landed property.
Lord BROUGHAM and Lord BEAUMONT ex-
pressed their satisfaction at hearing the answer of the
noble and learned lord, and agreed with him
that registration, of itself, was not sufficient to remedy
the evils of our present laws relative t) the tenure and
transfer of landed property.
Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from seve-
ral of the town councillors of Bath in favour of the
Charitable Trusts Bill.
INCOME TAX BILL.
The Earl of ABERDEEN moved the second reading
of this bill. When the present Government came into
office he had announced to their Lordships that a finan-
cial crisis would speedily take place, in consequence of
the speedy determination of the income tax. Having
deeply considered the subject, her Maje'sty's Govern-
ment had no hesitation in proposing a renewal of the
income tax in order to supply that deficiency. There
was something, however, in the nature of an income tax,
notwithstanding its immense advantages, which was
open to radical objections. Its inquisitorial character,
inseparable from such a tax, was highly irksome,
and the facility, not to say the encouragement, which
it gave to fraud, which not only caused considerable loss
to the revenue, but also was highly injurious to the
morality of the people, was also an objection of great
weight. Besides this a growing feeling had long existed
that the tax itself was unequal and injurious from the
mode in which it was imposed ; it was felt that to tax
trades and professions the same rate as land, and that
to tax precarious incomes in the same manner as
realised incomes, was in itself unjust. This opinion
had gradually spread so as to embrace the whole public
opinion, and a general feeling was expressed in every
quarter, both in public life and in the press that some
change should take place by varying the rate of taxation
according to the different sources of income. That
principle also received additional weight from having
been adopted by her Majesty's late Government, and
who announced it by their organ in the House of Com-
mons as their intention to adopt it, although without
explaining any special mode which they professed to be
in possession of, and which, not having announced, it
was possible they had not yet discovered.

(LEFT SPEAKING.

HOUSE OF COMMONS-(THIS EVENING.
The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The Lords' amendments to the Londonderry, Ennis-
killen, and Sligo Railway Bill were considered and
agreed to.

The following bills were read a third time and passed :
—Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee Railway ; and West-
minster Improvements.
The following bills were considered and ordered to be
read a third time :—British Electric Telegraph Company;
Great Southern and Western Railway (Ireland); Liver-
pool, Crossby, and Southport Railway.
The Spitalfields to Shoreditch Improvement Bill was
read a second time.

Sir W. MOLESWORTH moved that the Spitalfields
to Shoreditch Improvement Bill be referred to a select
committee, and that the committee do consist of Sir
William Molesworth, Sir William Clay, Lord Robert
Grosvenor, Lord Seymour, Mr. Osborne, Sir Robert
Harry Inglis, and five to be added by the committee of
selection ; three to be the quorum. That the com-
mittee have leave to sit and proceed upon Monday next.
—Agreed to.