The Sun.
London, England, 1853-04-12 00:00:00

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[ PRICE SD.

ther evidence, whether bribery did extensively prevail .
at the last election, and if they reported in the affirma-
tive the address would then come before their lordships
in due form. (Hrar, hear.)
The Duke of NEWCASTLE said that he was rather
surprised at the remarks which had fallen from the noble
lord who had just resumed his seat, when he recollected
the part he took when the bill upon which this proceed-
ingto
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the consideration of these questions, quite independently
implicit reliance on the reports of committees of the
But,
was founded was before the house. The noble lord
bneofworetold them,
natevtebie-theeyiles:e,nlie
evidence before
the m they
but h ey
were weret not
e btoe
bound by' the report of the committee of the House of
Commons ; and that unless they could maintain that the
vpsissima verba of the act of Parliament had been
adopted by that committee, they were not entitled to
place their own interpretation either upon the report
of the committee or upon the evidence upon which it was
founded. If these were -not the words of the noble
lord, such was 'certainly the necessary conse-
quence of his argument. If they were to be bouzii '
by the particular words used in the repo_re coM-
mittee of the House of Commons ; if, as Mr-been sail,.
they had nothing .to do with the evidence which haa
been adduced before that committee, for what purpoee
had they gone through the farce of, sending a message to
the other house, aid requesting they would present them
with a copy of the report and of the evidence taken
before'the committee They would not have done this
except in order to form their own opinion. and to decide
whether they should then agree to the address which had
been sent up from, the other house. He would not at-
tempt td enter into the legal discussion with the three
or four noble and learned lords who had taken part in
it, for as two had adopted one view and two the other,
he might be spared the ne.iessit3r. - He would Say, in-
deed, with all respect to these noble and learned lords,
that the question was not altogether one of dry techni-
cality, but it was one on which every lay member of the
house was as capable of forming an opinion whether he
was doing substantial justice as any one of those noble
and learned lords. He found, from. an examination of
the evidence, that not only had extensive, but almost
universal bribery prevailed at Canterbury at the last
election, and he must ask, therefore, whether it would
be wise or just to oppose any obstacle to this, the
first preliminary step—not to disfranchise the borough,
but simply to obtain an investigation into alleged cor-
rupt practices ? (Hear, hear.) He believed, because
he sat in that house and knew its temper and dispo-
sition, that it was sincerely desirous of checking
these practices ; but the public out of doors would
not give them credit for this desire, if, after reading
the blue-book, and finding that bribery had prevailed,
as he had already said, not only extensively but almost
universally, they yet found that that' house refused to
agree to this address, . because the committee of the
House of Commons had omitted to use the precise words
of the act of Parliament ; and that they declined to give
to the words of the report a latitude of construct on
which the couits in Westminster-hall would extend in
matters of importance, and which were of a final and
perhaps of a penal character. The public would cer-
tainly iti that case believe that their lordships had soine
sinister object in screening these practices, and that they
did not want them to be thoroughly investigated, if it
could possibly be avoided. The noble and learned lord
opposite said he believed the committee of the House of
Commons must have some reason for using the words
they had done, and not those prescribed by the act.
Whatever reasons they might have had, unquestionably
those reasons did not-go to mitigate their sentence, and
prevent the course now taken. Who had moved the
address to the Crown carried by the House ofCommons ?
The hon. gentleman the chairman of the committee ;
and he took on himself to say that it had not been 'by
inadvertency of the precise words of the act that he had
not used those words, but that the intention of the com-
mittee was to carry the inquiry up to the direct limits
of the act. He (the Duke of Newcastle) said that their
lordships ought to look a little to the effect of their de-
cision out of doors, and he was strengthened in that
conviction by one of the arguments used by the noble
and learned lord opposite, who had endeavoured to ex-
tract from the address of the House of Commons, an
argument which 'would go the length of putting a
very awkward interpretation on the word " exten-
sive " used in the act; Whatever might be the
case in reference to previous elections, as regarded
the recent election the committee had only stated
that the sitting members were concerned in it.
But the sitting members must have been returned
by a majority of the constituency, and therefore a ins.-
jority of the electors for the borough of Canterbury
might, for aught their lordships knew, have been guilty
of bribery ; yet the noble and learned lord had tried to

extract fiv-m-the address of the House of Commons that
it did not necessarily follow, but was rather an indica-
tion of the reverse, that there was extensive bribery.
His noble friend said they were not entitled to interpret
this report any way they pleased, but must be bound by
its words. If they wanted any interpretation of the re-
port, they had it in the fact that this address was moved
by the very man who drew up the report ; but they had
in the report itself an interpretation which the public
would understand, and which every member of their
lordships' house understood. ,When they had it in
evidence that 2,000 colourmen had been appointed and
paid on several occasions in the borough of Canterbury,
and other similar facts, he hoped they would not be in-
duced to avail themselves of a technical objection, such
as that now proposed, and that in this preliminary stage
of proceedings they would look at the subject in a point
of view more rational than that suggested by the special
pleading they had Award on this occasion. The noble
and learned lord finished his address by saying that' the
responsibility of this step would rest with the Govern-
ment. On behalf of the Government he had a right to
say, that that responsibility they willingly and cheer-
fully accepted. They were perfectly prepared to incur
any responsibility which might be thrown on them in
recommending their lordships to agree to an addresis to
the Crown ; but one responsibility he should certainly
be sorry to incur, namely, that a by indication or
by any direct act f his being a party to preventing any
investigation which he believed to be absolutely neces-
sary from the circumstances of the time. His noble
friend who spoke last had expressed his view of the
great uses of the House of Lords, and he said that one
of these was to check hasty and, perhaps, unfair legis-
lation by the House of Commons. He (the Duke of New-
castle) recognised that great attribute of their lordships ;
but he did think that if there was one thing more than
another in which they were bound not to lag behind the
spirit of the times, both in Parliament and out of It, it
was this of the prevalence of corrupt practices in the
election of representatives of the people. He believed
that for some years past there had been a growing feel-
ing that this was one of the vices of 'our representative
system most likely to destroy it ; and he believed that
if their lordships were to show any disposition to adopt
either such a course as was now recommended, or by
any other approaching to it, they would lose much of
that respect of the country which he hoped they would
ever continue to enjoy.
After a few words in explanation from Lord ST.
LEONARD'S and Lord REDESDALE,
Lord LYNDHURST said that, having done his duty
in submitting his views to their lordships, he did not
not think it necessary to go any farther.
Lord CAMPBELL hoped that the commissioners ap-
pointed would proceed speedily. By so doing they
would entitle themselve,s to the thanks of Parliament
and the country.
The question was then put and agreed to, and the ad-
dress ordered to be communicated to the House of Com.
mons.

cok _ Railway (Barnsley) ; Montgomeryshire Rail-
way ; Newry and Enniskillen Railway ; North and
South-Watern (Hampstead and City Junction) Railway;
Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton ItAilwayecirol-
verhamptOn Station, &c.) ; Peebles Railway ; Portadown
and Dung•annon Railway • Roscrea- and Parsonstown
Junction Railway ; Saint Ives and West Cornwall Junc-
tion Railway • Severn and Wye Railway and Canal ;
Shrewsbury, Ironbridge, and Bridgmarth Railway ;
South Wales Mineral Railway; South Wales Railway
(Monmouth) ; South Wales Railway (Pembinice, &c.) ;
South Wales Railway (Power to Purchase, a.) ; Swan-
sea Valley Railway ; Wimbledon and Croydonliailway ;
Worcester and Hereford Railway ; MilfortE:Haven
Docks.

PETITIONS.
Mr. TURNER presented a petition from Liverpool
against the opening of the Crystal Palace on Sipulays.
Mr., ,M. SMITH presented a petition from the Arch-
deacon of Rochester, against the admission of JeWs into
Parliament, and a similar petition from Ponbridge.,.
Mr. THORNELY presented a petition from Wolver-
hampton, in favour of international arbitration.
Mr. DUNCAN presented a petition from Dundee,
against VniVersity Tests.
Mr. BROWN presented a petition from the post-
masters in Lancashire praying for a modification of the
post-horse and carriage tax.
Sir R. H. INGLIS presented a number of petitions
from various parts of the country against the admission
of Jews into Parliament.
Mr. BUTLER presented two petitions—onti,from
Bishopsgate, and the other from Berniondsey—aoinst
the opening of the Crystal Palace on Sundays. •
Mr. EWART presented a petition from a place in
Scotland,, praying for the repeal of the taxes, on know-
ledge.
Mr. E
AO 1T presented a petition from Winchester
agai ning of the Crystal Palace on Sundays.
N presented a petition from Maidstone,
'praying the house to introduce a clause into the Crimi-
-1 nal Assaults on Women Bill, sanctioning corporal pun-
, ishmeut.

Mr. COLLIER presented a petition from the Guar-
dians of Plymouth praying for a revision of the law of
settlement. •

ELECTION PETITIONS,
The SPEAKER acquainted the house that he had
received a letter from the agent to the petitioner in the
case of the Carlow election petition, stating that it was
not intended to proceed with said petition ; 9,150 a letter to
the same effect from the agents in the cases of Lisburn,
Salisbury, and Cashel.

NOTICE OF MOTION.
Mr. HENRY DRUMMOND gave notice that when
the motion came on for the repeal of the Ecclesiastical
Titles Act, he should move for a call of the house as an
amendment.

Col. HARCOURT gave notice of his intention to
move an amendment to the 4th clause of the County Fi-
nancial Boards Bill.
Mr. WILSON gave notice that, on Thursday next, he
should move for the production of papers connected with
the Customs, and he should take that opportunity of
stating the alterations which _Government proposed to
make in the management of the'Customs.

CLERGY RESERVES.
Sir J. PAKINGTON wished, to al Lord John Rus-
sell what, in the opinion of her-Majesty's Government,
will be the force and effect of the guarantee upon the
Consolidate Fund, in sec. 8, of the act 3 and 4 Vie. o.
78, in the event of the Clergy Reserves being secularised
by the Legislature of Canada.
Lord J. RUSSELL said the Government had not
asked for a written opinion from the law officer of the
Crown, but they had communicated to him verbally that
in the event of the secularisation of the clergy reserves
there would be no claim madvn the Consolidated Fund.