The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-18 00:00:00

Master of the Rolls, in giving judgment, said he was
there to administer the law as it stood. He (the
Master of the Rolls) had prepared a bill,
which would have reduced the defendants to two
or three; but his measure was not adopted, and this he
added was the way the opinions of practical men were
set aside, and that of English conveyancers adopted in
their stead. Those serious restrictions imposed by the
Court of Chancery on the transfer of property could
have no other effect than that of retarding agriculture,
and keeping Irish society in its present miserable condi-
tion. The lion. Gentleman then adverted to the opinions
of an eminent member of the Irish bar, who, he believed,
was a member of the English bar also, on the subject,
pointing out the difficulties and obstacles in the system
in operation in the Court of Chancery in Ireland, and
suggesting a mode by which its machinery might bo
,nodltied and the sale of encumbered estates facilitated
and rendered far less expensive. He also threw out
some suggestions respecting the redemption of encum-
bered estates; and recommended the appointment of a
local board of commissioners, whose duty it should be to
ascertain precisely the nature and character of titles, and
*ho should have a power to confer upon purchasers a
pure and Parliamentary title in the estates which they
might purchase.—(Hear, hear.) The lion. Gentleman
then directed the attention of the House to the system
of tenant tenure in Ireland. The Right lion. Baronet
the Secretary for Ireland had brought in a Bill on that
subject last session, which he was sorry he had not per-
severed in, and which ho hoped to see the Right Hon.
Baronet introduce again.
Sir WILLIAM SOMERVILLE—It has been intro-
duced this session, in the House of Lords.
Mr. SADLEIR would have been better pleased had it
been first introduced into the House of Commons, as
they could deal with it in a less embarrassed manner.
He had look( d into the system of tenant tenure in
many other countries, and saw great advantages attend-
ing it in those countries ; but in Ireland how different
was the case. There, they had their " leases of lives
renewable for ever," and in their operation they were
calculated to discourage industry, and productive of the
worst effects in every point of view. They were gene-
rally renewable upon the payment of half a year's rent
to the landlord, or on the payment of a ".peppercorn,"
or sometimes on the presentation of a pair of roast
fowls.—(Laughter.) But that was not all ; the condi-
tion sometimes was that " the tenant should deliver to
the landlord, on each life, as much parliamentary whisky
as would make 172 glasses of strong whisky punch."—
(Great laughter.) There was another system of abuse
in operation with respect to tenant tenure in Ireland—
that practised in relation to the collegiate lands in that
country. The Provost and Fellows of Trinity College,
Dublin, had an immense mass of land in Ireland, and
their practice was, even in the present year, to grant
such a system of tenure as encouraged " middlemen,"
—a system most pernicious, and which would not
be tolerated in this country. It was the duty of the
present Government to adopt measures to discourage
and put an end to a system fraught with such evils to
society. The tenants should have their lands at a fair
rent, and the system of " middlemen" should be put an
end to.—(Hear, hear.) There were many landed pro-
prietors in Ireland who had too much land. The Mar-
quis of Lansdowne was one of those who bad too much
land in that country. No property, he must say, could
be better managed than the estates of the Marquis of
Lansdowne in the counties of Kerry and Meath, and
than the Noble Marquis there was not a more humane
or a more liberal landlord in Ireland; yet ho took the
liberty of saying that, for the Noble Marquis's own
sake, and for the sake of the tenants, it would be well
if he were not in possession of so much land in Ireland.
—(Hear, hear.) He felt assured that.much good could
now be done by the Government if they would only
show that !they have a will equal to their power, by
making Ireland's exigencies their best opportunity; nor
did he see how any party could oppose any mea-
sures calculated to relieve the landed condition of the
country, particularly as far as the Court of Chan-
cery made the transfer of property.—(Hear, hear.)
He (Mr. Sadleir) could not anticipate any opposition
from any party to such plain and practical measures as
he then called on the House to assist him in carrying
through, and assured the Government, notwithstanding
their misgivings, that incalculable benefit would result
from them. He knew that it had been often said, both
in the House and out of it, that the small tenants must
become labourers; but lie would ask where in that coun-
try was •there a market for labour? or, where were
those labourers to obtain a return for their capital—
namely, their labour? Echo answers, where? Again,
he thought it idle and useless to make cross-channel
comparisons about the taxation of this country being
high, while that of Ireland was very low.—(Hear,
bear.) He could not refrain from expressing his as-
tonishment that the Noble Lord (Lord Johu
Russell) should make such invidious comparisons, as
that the people of this country paid 12,000,0001. per
annum, from which the people of Ireland were totally
exempt. Ile hoped that such comparisons would be no
longer made, for he felt assured that it was the desire of
all persona that the two countries should be assimilated
as much as possible. Ile had before adverted to the
beneficial results that would emanate from the invest-
Ment of the surplus money in the Bank of England in
the mortgaged estates of Ireland, for such would greatly
tend to facilitate the transfer of property in the Court
of Chancery. He, therefore, called the attention of the
House to appoint a Select Committee to inquire into the
best mode of facilitating the transfer or property in
Ireland.
Mr. J. O'CONNELL seconded the motion.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said, that although he
admitted that there were many evils attending the Court
of Chancery, yet he should say that they were not con-
fined to Ireland, and he was happy to state that there
was a great step already taken to reform those evils
in both countries. He begged to remark to the
Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Sadleir) that when he
spoke of the sale of estates in Ireland, that he did
not then attack the Court of Chancery; but the titles
by which the lands aro held, and which are not
marketable, and these titles, he thought should be re-
reformed together with the judicial procedure of the
Court. With respect to the Encumbered Estates Bill he
should say that Government had devoted their most
anxious attention to all the points adverted to by the
Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Sadleir). He was also happy to
state that a great change had taken place in the opinion
of the House and of the public with regard to the
Court of Chancery in England, and that Ireland would
also reap the benefit of that change in a short time,
through the Encumbered Estates Bill, which, together
with other additional measures, would confer the greatest
benefits and blessings on that country. With respect to
the poor-law, he should say that there was an in-
creased facility through it to remove persons from
their tenements, when not able to pay their
rent, and to induce them to go elsowhero,
tdv n-
u
tawhshsauet rrteehditsh theterya
nucsooi
tuui
sloden gettwhao
tos
ludapf pt
be
err t
as ; 0
myee yet
paint
if h
mo lee o
ogs her
,eo
aubludtnl
not lr yr
fur-
ther enter
a
a.hsdoami .
ever, it would be the source of beneficial resul ts. et
ebsewould
of theo mi a
into the details of the Hon. Gentleman
(Mr.
Sadleir).
Mr. Jr. O'CONNELL said that ho felt glad to hear
n dt
fromat reason the
al
etahsaurt
from her Mejesty's Government that they intended to
bring in a series of measures calculated to prevent the
t angde st
that it was
sdfoour h
would
evils attendant on the transfer of property in Ireland
through the Court of Chancery; but he was sorry to
say—
Here an HoN. MEMBER moved that the House be
STthrearnegebresinwgeorenityhe3nl odmreemrbedertsopwreitshednrt,aw.
the House ad-
ourned at Half-past Seven o'clock.

THE EXETER POST-OFFICE
ROBBERY.

others,rrtt
that
uaeTuesday
Thefsotd acl
eyooywnn
wereviwi
ngi
ecghsrt
sent
ntoPoole,iotnnLfon:foos
ncs
iednNonontcni
Exeter Nightingale,
Lott,
Coiot nthdoi
Ciyty
e clariehul fromardasipsnst
Prison,
the Exeter attir.llgs
aPal ewr Harrap
ptgehca
made
declared
ramoed
on
chaplain:—
" 5, 1849.
" Rev. Sir,—According to promise, and from a firm
and steadfast resolution of amending my future course
of life, and as the only means of obtaining that peace of
mind which is the necessary accompaniment of every
penitent sinner, I have written you a full explanation of
the unfortunate event that occurred on the 25th of March,
1847—namely, the loss of a parcel from Plymouth to
Exeter, for Torquay, containing 60 51. notes of the Bank
of England, the suspicion of stealing which, unfortu-
nately, fell on Mr. Edwin Hyett, at that time a clerk
in the Exeter Post-office, and his brothers as accessa-
ries. I (Samuel Harrap), late letter-carrier, hereby
acknowledge myself to be the only and actual transgres-
sor. The said parcel arrived safe to Exeter on the
evening of the 25th of March, 1847, by the up Ply-
mouth mail, and by accident was thrown into the basket
with the newspapers that was my duty to wort in com-
pany with Smeath, another letter carrier, since dead,
God rest his soul, I hope, and who I firmly believe to have
been a strictly honest man. Not being able to withstand
the temptation, I took it, supposing it then, from its
softness, to contain some kind of ladies' work, but to my
great astonishment, on opening it, I found it to contain,
as aforesaid, 60 51. notes. Not knowing what do with
them for fear, I hid them for a short time in the thatch
of a stable that I then rented at Northern-hay, but soon
after, being in want of money, I ventured to exchange
some of them, and at different times and places I ex-
changed twelve of them. Shortly after there was an
outcry of some of the said notes being circulated. This
had such an effect on me that I was ill for some time.
I then told my wife of it, who was entirely ignorant of
it until then, and as you may suppose caused such grief
and sorrow that had been hitherto unknown in my farnil,
My wife, an affectionate and honest creature, begged of
48 ; and
to her entreaties, and I burnt the remaining
rtnhedsosukgoi
huf
dgmuii
wife,lntdy
would to God I had done so with the whole rather than
to have undergone the anguish of mind I have endured,
me to destroy them to prevent further trouble.e I
or caused such disgrace to fall on the heads of those in.
yielded,
nocent young men. The above is a true and correct
s unfortunate fot
wr tou ny ae taercircumstance,
from
the eyesad which
upwards of
le
could not have prevented me from divulging it before ;
tobifucet
usciiiHr,
sayndouolffmebnnecacetn,, oal chsoianudgr man,ko
ow :tolh:aat distress
:all
i,as statementbeen uopfw
an