The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-11 00:00:00

with, and on the very eve of the appointment of the select
committee to inquire into the merits of that pbtition, this
motion was made for the very purpose of inducing a com-
promise between the pal Lies, and the withdrawal of the
petition against the noble lord. If the house assented to
this course. they would be lending themselves to the com-
mission of a great breach of their own privileges.
Mr. MILES said that the conduct of the agents on both
sides required to be looked into. Petitions had been pre-
sented without the slightest grounds by, agents, and then
withdrawn and paired in a shameful manner. This was
mere playing and trifling with the house. The whole
system was wrong and wanted revision.
Sir J. TROLLOPE had seen with pain the privilege of
petitioning abused in the present session in a grosser man-
ner than he ever remembered before. The committee over
which he had presided had been made a complete stalking
horse for every kind of abuse. (Hear, hear.) Petitions
had been withdrawn or paired off, and the labours of the
committee of selection had been set completely at naught.
It would only be becoming the dignity of the house to take
some notice of these transactions ; but he questioned
whether the present was a very fitting opportunity, inas•
much as a petition in it was now pending. He thought,

however, that the house should take the first opportunity"
of marking its displeasure at these practices. (Hear.)

Mr. HEADLA-M said, if they zippointed a‘select.com-
mittee to inquire into the withdrawal of this petition, they
must do so in every case in which a petition had been
withdrawn.

Mr. MALINS had no doubt that Parliamentary agents
were a very necessary body of men. Mr. Brown and Mr.
Coppock were equally indifferent to him ; but this he said,
that these persons should be taught that the House of
Commons was to be treated with respect and in good faith.
The present was by no means a frivolous case, and he con-
tended that it was time the house took the matter into its
own hands and taught these Parliamentary agents that it
was not to be insulted with impunity,
Sir C. WOOD quite agreed that the system of petition-
ing and counter petitioning with the view of pairing off
was a gross abuse of the privilege, equally participated in
by both sides of the house. The whole practice was ex-
tremely disgraceful ; and he must say that the proceedings
in the present case came very much within that category.
But it appeared to him that if there were any complaint
it ought to he not against the withdrawal, but against the
presentation of the petition. (Hear, hear.) What he
thought, however, was a little suspicious was the " time"
at which the present motion was brought forward. He
' recommended, instead of appointing a committee in this
special case, that a committee should inquire into the
whole system generally, of the practice of withdrawing
petitions for the sole purpose of jobbery. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. WALPOLE concurred in the propriety f appoint-
ing a committee to inquire into the circumstances of the
withdrawal of election petitions generally, and regretted
that the hon. member for East Surrey bad withdrawn his
notice of motion on the subject. If the whole matter were
to be fully inquired into he should recommend his hon.
friend behind him not to press his motion. (Hear.)
Mr. L. KING said, he had not withdrawn his motion,
but, on the contrary, was anxious to bring it forward as
soon as possible.
Sir J. TROLLOPE stated, for the information of the
house, that the whole of the election petitions would be
appointed by the end of this month. At present there were
only eightlremaining to be disposed of, but others might be
presented in the interim, as there were a great many seats
now vacant.
Sir J. V. SHELLEY doubted the purity of motive of
bon. gentlemen opposite. He disapproved of the present
tribunals to which these matters were referred, and sug-
gested that there should be a different mode of taking votes
at elections.
Mr. WHITMORE instanced himself as, having been pe-
titioned against without there being the shadow of a case.
In fact, he had been a Coppock " butt," but not a Coppock
victim.
Mr. 'W. 0. STANLEY deprecated the whole system as
a mockery and delusion, and expressed a strong doubt whe-
ther the house was sincere in its intentions to put a check
upon the gross practices which notoriously prevailed.
After some further discussion, in which Mr. E.C. EGER-
TON, Mr. W. M. SMITH, Mr. S. HERBERT, Mr. T. DUN-
COMBE, and Colonel FORESTER took part,
Lord PALMERSTON said he did not mean to deny that
this might be a fit subject for inquiry, and it might be that
the inquiry ought to be directed rather to the causes which
led to the presentation of the petition than to its with-
drawal. He thought, however, that as an hon. gentleman
(Mr. L. King) had given notice of a motion for the 31st of
i May for a general inquiry into cases of this kind, the better
course would be to adjourn the debate for the purpose of
including the inquiry into this j:4rticular case in the pro
posed: general inquiry. He moved that the debate be ad
journed to Tuesday, the 31st inst.
The house then divided, when there were—
For the adjournment
Against it

.. 107

Majority

The debate was accordingly adjourned to the 31st of May.
On the motion of Mr. L. KING, a return was ordered of
the election petitions presented during the present session,
showing the names of the places, names of members peti-
tioned against, and in what manner such petitions may
have been disposed of ; returns of all reports, special re-
ports, and determinations or resolutions of any election
committees reported to the house ; of the names of all mem-
bers who have been unseated, and for what causes they
have been so unseated ; of the names of all places the writs
for which have been suspended, and to what dates they
have been so suspended ; and of the total number of select
committees which have sat on• election petitions up to
Whitsuntide. •
On the motion of Mr. CORRY, an address was agreed to
for a return of the number of persons employed in her
Majesty's dockyards and gun wharves, and other civil esta-
blishments of the Admiralty and Ordnance, who are en-
titled to vote at the elections of members to serve in
Parliament for each of the following boroughs :—Green-
wich, Chatham, Rochester, Harwich, Sandwich, Ports-
mouth, Plymouth, Devonport, and Pembroke.
Lord HOTHAM obtained leave to bring in a bill to en-
able the justices of counties to contract in certain cases for
the maintenance and confinement of convicted prisoners in
the gaols of adjoining counties.
The Whichwood Forest Bill went through committee.
DOCKYARD APPOINTMENTS COMMITTEE.

On the motion of Mr. J. WILSON, it was agreed that
a message be sent to the House of Lords, requesting their
lordships to permit the Earl of Derby to attend the com-
mittee on dockyard appointments.
The house adjourned at one ,o'clock.