The Sun.
London, England, 1853-08-03 00:00:00

sauces. He trusted that the whole subject would receive the
serious attention of the Government, in order that they
might not have this scandalous system acted all over again
by their election agents, in the event of another general
election. These persons were scarcely to be blamed, for
they were acting strictly within the letter of the law. It
was the law that was defective, and it required amend-
ment. For his own part, he believed the Grenville Act
was a great blunder, and that the house ought to have
kept these matters in their own hands. He did not blame
Mr. Brown, he was the solicitor and agent for the Carlton,
and it was doubtless his over zeal for the party that em-
ployed him, that had led him into these mistakes. It
appeared, however, that his services were fully appreciated
by the party, for it had come out in evidence that he was
afterwards appointed by the late President of the Board of
Control as the solicitor to that department, purely out of
consideration for his services to the Carlton Club and the
tory party. The right hon. gentleman the member for
Stamford (Mr. Herries) was not present, but if he were he
would ask him whether he remembered, in the whole
course of his long experience, any Government having
made so profligate an appointment. (Hear, hear.) What
would be said by gentlemen opposite if Sir. Coppock had
been appointed solicitor to the Home Department or to the
Treasury ?. Why, they would never have heard the last of
it. (Hear, hear.) He believed the right hon. baronet who
was now at the head of the Board of Control had so far
retrieved the mistake of the right hon. member for Stam-
ford, that Mr. Brown was no longer the solicitor to that
board. He had been let down as easy as possible by the
office of solicitor to the Board of Control being merged into
that of some other department. (Hear.) But with regard
to the Carlton Club, he had heard since he came into
the house of certain conduct of theirs which showed that
they were the most ungrateful people he had ever heard
of. Some correspondence, it appeared, had taken place
between Colonel Dixon and the conservative party in Nor-
wich as to what had become of him (Mr. T. Duncombe)
and his motion ; and in one of his communications, the
colonel said he was glad to say that Mr. Brown had not
only been dismissed from his situation at the Board of
Control, but also from his situation at the Carlton Club,
and that a friend of his had been appointed in his stead to
fulfil the duties at elections which had hitherto been so dis-
gracefully performed by the gentleman of the Carlton Club.
He had never heard any good reason for this decision of
the club. Some said it was because they had got a coali-
tion Government, and that there were as many members
of the Carltoa Club upon the Treasury bench as of the
Reform Club. (A laugh.) He did not know how that
might be, nor whether the Carlton was on a visit to the
Reform, or the Reform to the Carlton ; whichever way it
was he hoped the visit would be short, for he believed there
would be very little chance of parliamentary reform till it
was concluded. (Hear, and a laugh.) He again urged
upon the Government to consider the subject to which he
had called attention during the recess, with a view to the
introduction of some measure early next session.
Lord J. RUSSELL would not enter into the subject of
the Norwich petition; but with regard to the subject the
hon. gentleman had brought under discussion he agreed
with him that there was great abuse in the withdrawal of
election petitions under the existing law. (Hear, hear.)
And he had to state further that the matter would be ma-
turely considered by, the Government, and that a bill for
the amendment of the present law for regulating the trial
of controverted elections had been already drawn, and after
consideration (and there were some important details which
required to be considered carefully) would be introduced in
the next session of Parliament. (Cheers.) He wished,
while upp his legs, to call attention for a moment to the
notice given by his hon. friend the member for Oxford
University, to bring under consideration the report of the
select committee upon the office of Speaker. He was em-
powered by her Majesty to give her consent to the proposi-
tion recommended by the committee • but as the matter
was important, and might require discussion, and as it
could not be brought on to-day at 6 o'clock without inter-
fering with the arrangements for the Government business,
perhaps his hon. friend would not object to defer it till
Thursday or Friday next,
Sir R. INGLIS would fix it for Thursday, and hoped he
should be permitted to bring on the motion the first thing
on that day. _ _

THE METROPOLITAN POLICE.
Lord D. STUART called attention to a motion he had
on the paper for a select committee to inquire into the
cost, maintenance, and general administration of the me-
tropolitan police. He complained that the cost of the
police had increased by 100,0001. within the last five years.
The number of police had been increased by nearly 1,200,
there being now 5,500 men in the force. The inhabitants
of the metropolis did not think it necessary to have so
large a force, and the metropolis was not a bit better
watched now than it used to be when there were fewer men
and the expense was less. He had reason to speak on that
point, because his constituents contributed one-fifth of the
expense of the police ; and, as well said by the hon.
member for Devonport on a former occasion, the cost of
the old watchmen of Marylebone was 10,0001. a year,
while that of the police was 25,0001. a year, the number of
men being the same, namely, 211—and under the old
system Sir Robert Peel had eulogised that borough as
being a model of public regulation. Although population
might have increased, yet the number of policemen was
out of all proportion, as they had increased 50 per cent.
since their establishment. The expense of the police was
complained of, and it had been admitted to be too great
by the government of the noble lord (J. Russell), for the
right hon. the member for Morpeth, when Home Secre-
tary, had introduced a bill to decrease the police rates ;
but he suddenly altered his mind, and at one o'clock one
morning discharged the order for proceeding with the bill;
and that without notice, thus being guilty of a breach of
faith towards the inhabitants of the metropolis ; and he
gave no reason, except that it was notorious that there
were v.pprehensisns of disturbances at that time (184'9.
Were there any such apprehensioas now ? The people
never were so prosperous, tranquil, or well disposed, and
the Govelinment ought not to disturb that tranquillity by
refusing an inquiry on this subject. All he asked was a
select committee to inquire if the police force was greater
than was required, or if any reforms were required in its
management, and if it was true that the expenditure could
not be reduced, that would be shown, and the peoplewould
be satisfied. lie believed that the result would be diffe-
rent, and that it would be proved that the police might,
be as efficient as they were now, and more so, with a re-
duction of the amount which was paid for it. It was said
by some persons that the police could not be improved,
but he did not subscribe to that opinion, for, although
they were efficient, yet they might be made still more so,
and one mode of doing it would be to increase the num-
ber of their officers, and give those duties to a better
class of men, who would be more fit to command the men.
As it was, the officers were all raised from the ranks,
and wore not sufficient in number to keep the men
to their duty, and that was one of the reasons why a
policeman was never to be found when wanted, but were
loitering about areas instead of being at their posts. Some
offences had been committed by the nolice which needed
inquiry. He had more than once mentioned in that house
a case in which some policemen attacked with their cut-
lasses an unoflending man, broke his arm, and then charged
him with assaulting them. The case was dismissed by the
magistrate, but the men were not brought to trial for the
offence by the commissioners, although they were dismissed
the force. There was another flagrant instance of miscon-
duct which occurred a month or two ago, when a respect-
able woman, the wife of a labourer, who was passing a
police office, was attacked by three policemen, who called
her a prostitute, and struck her a severe blow in the face,
and their treatment of her ended in a miscarriage. This
woman deserved protection as much as the wife of any
member of that house, and it was monstrous that such
an outrage should have been committed by the guardians
of the public peace. The men were brought before
the magistrate, and the one who abused the woman
-was fined 10s. and 2s. costs, while the other, who had
struck the woman, and who was in court and heard the
matter going against his colleague, slipped off, absconded,
and had not been taken since. All this sort of thing in-
disposed the public towards this force, and there would
be a still greater indisposition towards it unless the Go-
vernment granted an inquiry. When the late Duke of
Wellington lay in state at Chelsea there was great cause
to complain of the arrangements made by the police for
the management of the crowd ; the policemen on duty
were quite overpowered, and it was not until the guards
were brought on the ground that order was restored, but
in the meantime three lives were lost; and although the
police arrangements at the funeral were excellent, and
such as to induce the Queen to thank the police, yet at the
lying in state they were disgraceful, and the deaths which
occurred were chargeable on those defective arrangements,
For these and other reasons which he could bring forward
he thought there was very good ground for a select com-
mittee, but of course he should not move for it on the 2nd
of August. The Government had pi evented him from
bringing forward his motion at an earlier period, and
all ho could say was, that he would try it again
next session and bring on his motion at a still earlier
period.

„.. . CASE OF THE PARSEE MERCHANTS.
ixtr l-•G. PHILLIMORE rose to move ” That an hum-
bleaddress be presented to her Majesty, praying that she
-would be r,ra •
. etously pleased to cause the case and memorial
of the Parsee merchants, Jevangee Mergee and Pestongee
Mergee, to be referred for the examination and direction of
the Judicial Committee
The hon. gentleman thenofd her Majesty's Privy Council."
chants, who were native describeds tehf e
tcha se eB or
if t
itahhe
Gs ee
vme I
me r-
-
ment, and had had the m
tricts in Berar, in the territories
of certain cotton dis-
liforioeslof the Nizam, as the most
cruel, short of injury to i• imb that had ever come
before Parliament. They complained, he said, that in spite
nts deliberately signed,
of solemn declarations andwirnoruecrni
Tu3;tt.he Nizam, and the
they had been grossly
possession
for their
East India Company had not only
sion of the very
had advanced money
protection, butwere at this moment in
exnded almost
lands upon the mortgage of which they
to the Nizam, and that money had been
exclusively for the support of the contingent,
troops of the company themselves. In supporte(),TP,Ted of
tion Mr. Phillimore entered at much lengtpeh
'eaunnidawiryiKsgZ
minuteness, into the particulars of the
tions and the Nizam, and their correspondence with his
minister, Cbundoo Lall, and the British resident at riv—
derabs.d, and stated that the balance due to the merchants
was • 260,0001. In considering the law of the case, he ar-
gued that, by every code, hypothecation carried its burden
with it • that even had these persons been subjects of the
Nizare;instead of being British subjects, the East India
v, having come into possession of the districts in
C°inP
questionali
-subjectto all the Nizam's obligations were legally
SMITH seconded the motion, and declared
liable to this undisputed debt.
Mr. J. A.
t and true, and he read a letter his conviction conviction that the facts of the case which he reca-
pitulated, were c Generale F
razer, formerly resident at
cently written by
Hyderabad, to the Parsee merchants, strongly in favour of
their
Mr.
claims.
these Parsee mercants, but un-
Sir C. WOOD disclaimed all desire or intention to
de-
preciate the character of
lliore or dertook to show that there were grounds forh resisting this
claim, which had not been alluded to by
Mr. Smith, and which wero of such paramouPhnt iforcem that
he should grossly neglect his duty if he did not conjure
the house to resist the appeal made to their feelings, and
to maintain a policy which had been the salvation of our
Indian Empire. The person by whom these merchants
had been wronged was the Nizam, and the sole question
was, whether the British Government were bound to com-
pel that Prince to pay this debt, the British Government
owing these parties no money, and having done them no
wrong. The Nizam denied their claim ; but, conceding
that he did owe the money, the &Aim was upon him. Sir
Charles gave a counter-history of the complicated dealings
between the merchants and the Nizam, who had assigned
l
not only lands as security for the advances,
due by certain zemindars ; and he Direed that
the moneys
com-
pany would not have been justified
arranb,yent interfering on be-
half of these parties. Recently an
entered into with the Nizam, who had
in
rear of his payments for the contingent, by which certain
long in ar-
districts had been, not conceded, but put inof tphreorvTze„i
4,,, British Government as a means on
,„,,,yments in future, and among those districts providing
4-0,1•06 .. of the lands formerly assigned to theso parties. iia,
' thiire• ;,,caved the law of the case, contending that the
wolf . g.i. , t of land by a native prince to any British sub.
4--eckt VAL'. ontrary to oar municipal law,which these patties
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