The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-10 00:00:00

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TION.

I COU.RTIOF COMMON COUNCIL.

Yesterday a court was held for the despatch of public
business.

D&W OF SETMENSNT.
Mr. R. B. Warmum moved—" That this court do
present petitions to both houses of Parliament in favour
of a bill for the abolition of the existing laws of settle-
ment and poor removal, and for the more equitable dis-
tribution of the charge for the relief and maintenance of
the poor." The law of settlement, which was esta-
blished as it now stood in 1662, had at intervals bees
modified, so that although the principle upon which it
was first founded existed at the present moment, yet very
little of the effect which it was calculated to produce now
resulted from it. Relaxations in the amendment acts,
more particularly that of 1834, and subsequently the re-
moval act, and the act passed for charging all persons
irremovable on the common fund of the union, had
tended in a great measure to repeal the positive law of
settlement as originally passed. It would be found that
for the various 020 unions in England and Wales, nearly
one-half of the expenditure of the poor-rates was now
charged upon what was called the common fund, which
common fund was raised upon a different principle to that
which was originally intended by the act, and it there-
fore so far relaxed the original as intended to apply
to the 14,000 parishes of England and Wales. There
was a bill before Parliament which sought to abolish the
compulsory law of removal ; by which bill it was pro-
vided that every person who became destitute, wherever
he might happen to be, should receive relief from that
union, and that this and all other expenses should be
charged in equal proportions upon distant unions. If
such a bill were passed, it would improve the present
condition of things, and would, he conceived, be a step
towards the settlement of the verydifficult and important
question which he had brought under the notice of the
court. The law of settlement was cruel in its operations.
It was no crime for a deserving person to be poor. Why,
therefore, should he be dragged before a magistrate and
sworn to his place of birth or servitude He (Mr.
Whiteside) twenty years ago was elected churchwarden
of a parish in the City, and the first act he had to per-
form was to sanction a sum of Si. for an outfit for a poor
woman to be married to a pieman. (Laughter.) The
woman had been a source of great trouble, and had some
illegitimate children. At that time the duty of the parish
was to try how many women they could get married to
men in other parishes, and scores had been married under
that unholy system. He had known persons indicted
and found guilty of perjury, for falsely swearing that
they belonged to a particular parish, with a view to their
not being removed. Such a system, therefore, ought
not to be continued.

Mr. ABRAHAM seconded the motion.
Deputy LOTT moved as an amendment,. «That this
court views the bill with distrust, inasmuch as it will in
the opinion of this court necessarily lead to a national
rate for the relief of the poor, or to charge their mainte-
nance on the Consolidated Fund, which system of
chargeability would ultimately lead to recklessness and
extravagance in the management of the poor, to an ex-
tensive system of vagrancy and roving, and would tend
to weaken the interest which men take in local affairs,
and thus destroy one of the best safeguards of the free-
dom of the country."
Mr. PERKINS seconded the amendment.
Mr. C. HAWKINS said it was not for the court to ex-
press its opinion respecting any particular'hieasure, but
to affirm the general principle ,that the present law of
settlement was unjust, and should be repealed., ." He was
in favour of the motion.
Mr. Barkly, Mr. Cox, and Mr. Anderton opposed the
motion.

Mr. ELLIOTT thought the best course for the court to
take was to negative the motion. The question of pau-
per policy had distracted the public mind, and confounded
the judgment of some of the soundest philosophers for
years past. Nothing could be more pernicious or more
corrupting to the feelings of the poor than the system of
equalising the poor rates.
Mr. Davis found fault with the existing law because
of its tendency to tie a man down to remain and work
at the place of his birth.

Deputy INGLEFIELD and Mr. BARNES supported the
motion.

Mr. WHITESIDE having replied, the court divided,
when there appeared—For the amendment 46, against
it 42 ; majority 4.
The amendment having become the original question,
Mr. Cox moved, by way of amendment, the previous
question.

- Deputy HOLT seconded the amendment, which was
put and carried amidst applause.
LONDON FEMALE DORMITORY AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITU•

Mr. Mumma. presented a petition from the com-
mittee of this institution for a grant of money. The pe-
tition was referred to the coal, corn, and finance com-
mittee to examine and report.
Petitions praying for grants of money were also pre-
sented from the board of managers of the London
Orphan Asylum ; and from the Rev. J. H. Simpson
M.A., incumbent of of St. Stephen, Kent-street, South'•
wark, for schools in that district.
The petitions were referred to the coal, corn, and
finance committee to examine and report.
Deputy HICKS presented a petition, signed by in-
habitants of the ward of Castle Baynard, for widening
the carriage-way at the west end of New Cannot-street,
in St. Paul's church-yard. The petition was referred to
the improvement committee.
The court then adjourned.

UNIVERSITITY INTELLIGENCE.

OXFORD-MARCH 9.

The Vice-Chancellor has given notice that a new sta-
tute will be proposed to Convocation early in Easter
Term, the principal objects of which are-1. To enlarge
the power of the Vice-Chancellor to permit junior mem-
bers of colleges and halls, on application from the heads
of their respective societies, to reside in the town with
their relatives or others, under special circumstances,
approved by the Vice-Chancellor. 2. To provide better
regulations for the lodging-houses in which students are
allowed to reside. 3. To permit colleges and halls to
annex to themselves, subject to certain conditions,
" affiliated halls," or houses for the reception of their
members, such halls being under special regulations, in
regard to economy, or otherwise, at the discretion of the
college or hall to which they may be annexed. 4. to
permit the establishment of " independent halls," to be
exclusively placed under special regulations for dimin-
ishing the expenses of the students.
A meeting of graduates in the faculty of Theology will
be holden in the Convocation-house on Monday next,
the 13th inst., at 10 o'clock, when the name of the Rev.
Philip Wynter, D.D., President of St. John's College,
who has been nominated by the Vice-Chancellor to the
office of Examiner, under the provisions of the statute
De Disciplin,c2 Theologicci, will be submitted to the ap-
probation of the Faculty.
The examiners appointed to award the Hertford (Latin)
Scholarship have given notice that the examination will
commence on Thursday, the 23d instant.
An election of two Fellows will take place at Oriel Col-
lege on Friday, April the 21st, with a preference as to
one of them for natives of the county of Dorset. Candi-
dates must be Bachelors of Arts who have determined ;
and they are requested to present the usual testimonial;
to the Provost of Oriel as early as possible.
The list of determining Bachelors for 1854 has been
this day published. It appears that Bachelor of Arts
degrees have been taken—at Christ Church, by 31 under.
graduates ; at Exeter, by 29 ; at St. Mary Hall, by 19 ;
at Pembroke, by 17 ; at Balliol and Wadham, by 16 ; at
Worcester and Magdalen Hall, by 14 ; at Oriel and
Queen's, by 13 ; at Lincoln and Trinity, by 10 ; at
Itrasenose, by 9 ; at St. John's and Jesus, by 8 ; at New
College, by 7 ; at Merton and University, by 6 ; at Mag-
dalene, by 5 ; at New Inn Hall and St. Edmund Ma,
by 3 ; and at Corpus, by 1 student.

PRPYS' DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE : New and Di-
proved Library Edition in 4 vols.—The preceding edi-
tion being exhausted, onr friend Mr. Pepys comes again
before the world in a new dress, even more oonvenient
than the last. The Diary is now included in four vole.
dewy octavo, by which change space is afforded for a
good deal of fresh illustration by the editor. Lord
Braybrooke has not only duly revised and corrected the
last edition, but has found room for many fresh notes
and illustrations, and has been able to add to the corre-
spondence several letters hitherto unpublished. It is
now an admirably edited book, carefully and worthily
to ways,find aonnd
altlruwleyfid-fensrenrivaihnegd
obfootkhseheitacese.
whichn te di
t oughtinali
—Examiner.
THE LAW oP UNLIMITED LIABILITY.—Another illnw
tration has been furnished of the working of the Law of
Unlimited Liability. On the 27th of January it was
mentioned that Vice-Chancellor Stuart had given an im-
portant judgment, to the effect that a certain share-
holder in a concern called the Sea Assurance Company
was not liable to be sued for a fresh call, he having
al-
ready paid the amount of his shares in full, while there
were many shareholders who had only paid part, the
deed of the company, moreover, having stipulated that
no one should be liable beyond his subscription. The
affair at the time attracted considerable attention, since
not only the judgment itself, but the remarks by which
it was accompanied, seemed to warrant an impression
that the Joint-Stock Companies Act afforded more of
the advantages of the system of limited partnership than
had hitherto been supposed. It now appears, however,
that an appeal was made to the Lord Chancellor, and
that a fresh judgment was delivered yesterday, reversing
the fornser one. The course of the affair has there-
fore been, that the order was first made by a Master
in Chancery, that it was declared void by the Vice-
Chancellor, and the money directed to be restored, and
that it has finally been re-established by the Lord Chan-
cellor, the whole costs of the proceedings falling as an
additional weight upon the few shareholders in the entire
concern who have been found capable of paying a far-
thing. One good effect, however, has resulted, inasmuch
as, from the observations of his lordship, the public are
now given clearly to understand that the impression
hitherto entertained, that there is no legal way of escap,
ing unlimited responsibility in such cases, is perfectly
correct, and that all statements that may be Put forward
to the contrary in the prospectuses of speculators are to
be regarded as gross attempts at delusion. In the pre.
sent instance it was decided that, even according to the
terms of the deed entered into by the shareholders of the
Sea Assurance Company among themselves, there was
no clause that could exonerate any party ; but, Putting
that point on one side, the Court took the opportunity
of distinctly pronouncing that no construction of the
Joint-Stock Companies Act, nor any deeds, agreements,
or notices that may be entered into or published by
shareholders, can have the slightest effect in shielding
theni from the full personal liability for every claim that
the creditors of the undertaking may be able to (*tough.