The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-14 00:00:00

once to this bill, and the Leasing Powers Bill, and which ,
he had not at the time an opportunity of replying to.
Those observations took him entirely by surprise, and it
was with the greatest pain that he felt bound to ask the
attention of the committee to the subject on which he was
now about to address them. The right hon. and learned
gentleman then proceeded to read Sir John Young's speechbaI
,
on the occasion in question, to the effect that if these
been Government bills they would not have been proposed
at this late period of the session ; that nothing could
fairer or more courteous to him (Mr. Napier), than
course taken by the Government on these bills • that be
the
these
bills had passed the House of Lords, but the Tenants'
Compensation Bill, for which he was respodns biilblels had not
passed that house ; that these bills were gee, of them-
selves, but that without the Tenants Compensation Bill
he did not think they would be acceptable as a code of
landlord and tenant law. The right hon. and learned gen-
tleman proceeded to say, that it was perfectly true that he
had been treated by the Government up to the end of
Tuesday with the greatest courtesy, and till then he had
not a doubt on his mind that he was acting in full co-
operation with Government, and that they would use every
effort to pass the bills. The right hon. baronet said
these were not Government bills, and as the Tenants' Com-
pensation Bill had not passed the House of Lords, ho
did not think it right to go on with these bills. Now, in
the House of Lords, within an hour after the right hon.
baronet had made that statement, the Duke of Newcastle
said it had been always intended to persevere with thetwo
bills, if the circumstances of the session permitted, but at
the present period of the session, considering the lengthened
discussions which would probably take place upon them, it
was quite impossible to go on with them ; and that though
these bills were not Government bills, Government had
adopted them in their substance. Nothing could be
more fair than that. If the right honourable baronet had
said that from opposition raised which he could not put
dow, the bills could not be proceeded with, of course he
(Mr. Napier) could have had nothing to say, but the right
hon. baronet's ground was that the Tenants' Compensation
Bill which passed this house last session, had not passed the
House of Lords this session. He had been in communica-
tion in the most friendly spirit with the members of the Go-
vernment respecting these bills, and he understood the in-
tention of the Government was to pass' the bills as they had
come from the select committee of the House of Lords, but
he never had the slightest intimation that the Tenants'
Compensation Bill having been rejected by the select com-
mittee of the House of Lords was to be a reason for not
pressing forward these bills. That bill had been unani-
mously rejected, but the other two had been adopted as a
fair settlement of the question. They were sent down to
this house by their lordships, and he could not possibly have
thought from anything that has fallen frora the Government
that they had not had throughout a real and bona Me in-
tention of passing them ; but now, at the last hour, and for
the very first time he was told, that in consequence of the
rejection of the Tenants' Compensation Bill, the other two
bills ought not to be proceeded with. He could easily have
understood the case of the Government if they had from the
outset declared that the third bill was, in their judgment,
necessary to a fair settlement of the question ; but they had
never given him the slightest intimation that such was
their view. (Hear.) Mr. Napier then copiously quoted
Hansard, to show that the bills had been unreservedly ac-
cepted by the Government. Nay, even on Tuesday night,
he had received a letter from the right hon. baronet, con-
taining a suggestion regarding one of them. (Hear, hear.)
He would submit these facts to the house and the country,
and leave them to judge whether he had been fairly treated.
He would appeal to the honourable feeling of the noble
lord himself (Lord J. Russell) whether he had deserved
the manner in which his exertions had been met? (Hear,
hear.) There had been no time or labour which he had
not freely given to the bill. Nay, if he had been the Go-
vernment's own law officer, he could have done no more.
(Cheers.) He knew that the question was one of the most
important that could be conceived for the best interests of
Ireland, and that almost any settlement of it would have
been better than leaving it as it was. Yet after years of
labour, and after having been led to believe that the Go-
vernment really intended to pass the biils, he had now the
mortification of perceiving that things were now in a
worse position than they had ever been in before. (Hear.)
He owned that he had expected that a high-minded go-
vernment, and that high-minded gentlemen in every part
of the house, would have rallied round a measure which
the cabinet had acknowledged as their own. He would
freely admit that it was probably not all they would have
desired. Nay, it was not at all that he could have wished
himself. He would have gone much further if he had
been able ; but in a representative assembly, and under a
constitutional government, consisting of two houses, it
would be presumption for any individual to expect to
carry out all his views. Yet looking at the difficulties
of the case, he did think that the bills would have been
a fair settlement of the case ; and of one thing ho
was sure, that but for the singular ability of the Duke of
Argyll, who presided over the committee of the Lords, no
measure so liberal would have been obtained. But re
ference had been made to what occurred on Tuesday. Well*
he owned that what had occurred was exactly what he, i
had expected. He could not expect that the measure would
have been accepted by all the Irish members. On the
contrary, the settlement of the question would be ruin to
some people. (Laughter.) But he had found on the paper
so long ago as the 15th June a notice given by the learned
serjeant (Serjeant Shee) of an obstructive character; and
the right hon. baronet had therefore no right to advance
the opposition of the learned serjeant as an argument for
the course he had taken. As for the debate on Tuesday,
he could really have thought that he had been sitting all
the morning at Nisi Prius. He heard a good deal of abuse
from the learned serjeant, but to that he was accustomed.
Indeed, he might say with Dean Swift—
" When dunces on me are satyric,
I take it all for panegyric."
(Loud laughter.) The learned serjeant said he would not
trust him out of his sight. Nor did he desire him to do so.
He had no sympathy with the learned serjeant, and did
not wish for his confidence. (Hear.) Something, again,
had been said regarding the long list of amendments he
had put upon the paper. But those amendments were,
with a single exception, all mere matters of -verbal ascu-
racy. He had asked to have the bill re-committed pro
forma, in order to make those corrections; but that rea •
sonable proposal had been refused. Then it was that he
had sat down and spent nearly a whole day in making the
list which had been complained of. As fur the amendments
themselves, if they had been really objected to, he should
not have cared about pressing them. He must really
protest against the learned serjeant turning on him
anti charging him with having taken up the question
from mere political motives. He had done so at the
request of the two right hon. boronets opposite (Sir J.
Graham and Sir J. Young) ; and he did not think
that he was justly open to any personal imputations
on the score of his connection with those bills. (Hear.)
With regard to the bills themselves, he believed as a mat-
ter of principle, tenants were entitled to compensation for
any improvements they had made, if the improvements
could be ascertained and valued, but there was the diffi-
culty. What machinery could they establish to obtain
that information ? As far as they went, these bills made
a successful attempt to remove the difficulty, and he must
repeat his regret that they were not to be persevered with
this session. They were a fair settlement of the question,
and government having taken them no, and indorsed them
with their sanction, he must say he was never more sur-
prised than when he heard they were to be abandoned.
He was not responsible for their abandonment,
and heb ap-
pealed,
fearlessly, to the country, to decide
between
and the government as to who had been the
most anxiousUn
to peas these bills into a law, and set the landlord and
tenant question in Ireland at rest for over. (Hear.)
p
Sir J. YOUNG said before he attempted to laceebefore
the committee the view he took of tide matter, h
observe that the right hon. gentleman placed his complaintnst
upon two grounds; first, he said he had nut been treated
with fairness and courtesy ; and, secondly, ho said the go-
vernment were highly censurable for abandoning those
bills. Now, if he had been guilty of any want of courtesy
to the right hon. gentleman, he was sorry for it, but he
really was not conscious of having been guilty of anything
of the sort. With regard to the latter ground of com-
plaint he must remind the committee of what oc-
curred on Tuesday. A. month ago he had no idea of
the opposition that was likely to be raised to the bills,
and he certainly did hold out hopes to the right hon.
gentleman of being able to get them through this ses-
sion. On Tuesday, however, he was undeceived upon that
point ; it became quite plain that the opposition would
be of so formidable and protracted a character that it
was perfectly hopeless to persevere with the bills at
this late period of the session. Besides, the Irish sup-
porters of the Government had almost to a man requested
him to let the question stand over until next year, so that
the tenant class in Ireland might have an opportunity of
considering the proposals which had come down from the
Lords • and that being so, what alternative had he but to
consent to a postponement ? Either the bills were the bills
of the Government or the bills of the right hon. gentle-
man ; but, no matter whether they were the one or the
other, he thought he had acted wisely in recommending
that they should be withdrawn. That was the best course
which could be taken to bring about a speedy settlement of
the qnetsetihonim; but parties
if a
of influence in Ireland had repre-
sentedpostponement took place a compro-
mise might be arrived at before next session, which should
prove satisfactory to all part' What fll it would have
been, then, to proceed • parties.
with the bill nor the risk of
opposition
piautefdeeerlitniLand with the prospect of a bitter
anythinge circumstances he did not know
that he could saymore in reply to the right hon.
gentleman further than repeat his belief that if they were
to press these bills the
position than ever. If theyquestion would be placed in a worse
weret Government bills in
reality he should have no hesitation ta ion in withdrawing them ;
but if they were not, but were the bills of the right hon.
gentleman, he could only recommend
course, with the view of reviving him to the same
ing them early next session,
ctieuetstion in a manner which
and then finally settrylingalitkhee
ea
seul nee,du lbwßo
traidlsel
should be satisfactory
class of Ireland. (Hear, hear.)
,naahenveedot Irf .tiutngbhoateons:dett
hills, taken as a consolidation m
bill ; but as for the Tenants' Compensation
d. was advisable tlltha that
whether it was at all a practical
ground, if there was no other, he thought measure,
it andon
ight.
that the whole question should be postponed.
Lord J. RUSSELL must remind tli)cepbaceoemrmfoCirlitteeearo.
reason why these bills stood first on the
It was this : the right. hon. gentleman thepmembere-fno
University of Dublin, having stated the other evening rthhaet
be had grounds for a charge against the Government, he
consented, as well out of regard to the right hon. gentle-
man himself, as not wishing to let the Government remain
under an imputation, to allow his statement to be made
the first thing to-night, at the risk of delaying the progress
of the Bribery Bill. He submitted now, however, tA3 the
eommittee, that as the right hon. and learned gentleman
had fully gone into his charge, and the right hon. baronet,
r' the Secretary for Ireland, having made his explanation in
• . 'reply, they ought not to allow this matter to proceed any
- further. (Mr. Whiteside—No, no.) He (Lord J. Russell)
. - could riot prevent the hon. and learned gentleman from
continuing the debate, but his doing so might prevent him
from showing similar courtesy to hon. members opposite
'— on future occasions. (Hear, hear.) However, he would
move that the chairman should report progress, and then
the bills would be restored to their original position, which
would give the right hon. and learned gentleman an oppor-
tunity of bringing them on again if he should so think fit.
(Rear, hear.) He could not help feeling that this misun-
derstanding had arisen from a mistake in a word ; his right
- . hon. friend, the Secretary for Ireland, did not say that
Government could not "propose" these bills, because that
would have been inconsistent with his arid their previous
conduct ; but what he did say was that if they had charge
of them they would not think it advisable to press them at
this late period of the session.
(Hear,. hear.)
.
Mr. WHITESIDE said e
quite evident to him that
there had been some eompli.o was
ityiin
this matter between the
4-,_:'
Government and the Lon:,
for Xilk6oly, for when aend learned serjeant the memberi
~,,„ the by-play going
e4e7 : duce an old and practised memberaglaring
0.7 e. ii him that the Goiernment meditated
- . y.. g • ;(Sear, hear.) What had
Ti7,o
becauseoccurred
theri
cb to-nighteta sb,,enn 0.6
e -
o,,Seereiaryfw Ireland, told them the
'l4 " ' . -
,y,..., =re bills to pass into a law was the absence of an-
which the Lords hatt.throwu out, Now, would
fa ~ aiii that impression,
11.3-4i--,tc; ki ;-.