The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-05 00:00:00

ITALY.

Tuscany
The Grand Duke of arrived at Gaeta on
the 24th ult.

The Alba of the 24th ult. publishes the following
decree of the Roman Assembly :
"In the name of God and the People : The Roman
National Assembly declares that the whole Republic is
accountable for all the losses the generous Ferrara or
any other portion of the Roman territory may suffer from
the invasion of Austrian oppressors.
(Signed) " GALLETTI, President of the Assembly.
" IlLoPopm, Secretary.
" Rome, Feb. 21, 1849."

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.
(THIS EVENING.)

HOUSE 0F LORDS.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat upon the Wool-
sack at Five o'clock.
The Duke of RICHMOND presented several petitions
against the Scotch Registration Bill.
The Earl of CAMPERDO WN presented several
petitions with a similar prayer.
The Earl of EGLINTON presented a petition from
some town in the county of Edinburgh against the Scotch
Registration Bill.
The Earl of ABERDEEN presented several petitions
with a similar prayer.
SCOTCH MARRIAGES BILL AND SCOTCH
REGISTRATION BILL.
Lord CAMPBELL moved the third reading of the
Scotch Marriages Bill.
The Earl of ABERDEEN said that he bad received
several letters complaining of the haste with which these
Bills were hurried through the House, notwithstanding
the numerous peri.ions presented against them.
This was not a party question ; it was one
which affected the social condition of the whole
people of Scotland. and the only justification offered was
the wretched object of rendering more perfect a system
of registration. In England they had been obliged to
authorise persons to contract matrimony before the re-
gistrar; but the necessity did not exist in Scotland, because
those persons might be married before whom they liked.
If a man in Scotland gave a written contract to marry,
that was considered a marriage,_ and it was perfectlyjust
that it should be soo
e
sßLthotls Bill, they were holding
out an indemnity f
Seduction was much
more frequent in England titioan
in the
Scotland, in conse-
quence of the difference the marriage-laws
of tho two countries. This alteration would
lead to incalculable misery in Scotland, and her
could not but deprecate the levity with which it was
proposed to interfere with a law which had existed in
Scotland for 300 years. It should have had a Commit-
tee of Inquiiy, and have ascertained the feelings of the
people on the subj,'ct. The Scotch were exceedingly at-
tached to their own system of jurisprudence, and had
supported a proposition of his Noble and Learned Friend
to prevent clandestine marriages, but since then his
Noble and Learned Friend had become more reckless,
and he could not join him in supporting this measure.
The laws of marriage in Scotland had been frequently
referred to. in both Houses during the debates on Lord
Hardwick's Marriage Act, and also during those on the

Registration Bill in 1835, but no one had even
thought of proposing any alteration in them of the
nature now proposed. He Mt bound to protest against
the measure.

Lord CAMPBLLL said this was the third 'session
during which these measures had been before the 'House;
and the Bill had been already referred to a Select Com•
mittee, where it had been considered clause by clause.
he thought, therefore, there was was no foundation for
the accusation brought against him of hurrying forward
the Bill. It was certainly material for the sake of the
wife and the offspring that there should be some
certain method of ascertaining whether marriage
had been contracted or not. There was no
means of ascertaining it under the present system
Surely if the law required certain solemnities to make
valid a contract for the sale of a small portion of land,
it ought to take the srme care to make valid a contract
for marriage. In no part of Europe was a marriage
valid without a written contract. In France the civil
contract was entered into before the Mayor, and that
was necessary to render a marriage valid, and Scotland
was the only country in Europe in which any such un-
certainty could exist as to whether or not persons were
really married, and in a great majority of cases brought
before the Scotch courts within the last few years the evi-
dence was so uncertain that to this day the parties did
not know whether they married or not. He hoped the
Bill would meet with no further opposition.
The Bills were then read a third time and passed.
Lord BROUGHAM postponed until to-morrow the
presentation of the petition for the contributors to the
Dublin Savings' Bank.
Lord STANLEY presented a petition from some union
in Ireland against a rate in aid. The Noble Lord also
gave notice of a question on the subject of certain aims
removed from her Majesty's stores for the avowed pur-
pose of being handed to the Sicilians. The Noble
Lord also expressed his surprise that notice should have
been given for going icto committee on the Brib ry Bi.l
on Friday, more especially at a Noble and Learned
Lord who had taken part in the discussion on the
second reading was on circuit.
The Lord CHANCELLOR was willing to postpone
the Bill if the House wished it.

Lord BROUGHAM hoped his Noble and Learned
Friend would not object to proceeding one stage with
the Bill, after which he hoped the further proceedings
would be postponed until the Chief-Justice should be
present.
Lord REDESDALE urged the postponement of the
Bill.

The LORD CHANCELLOR would postpone tho Bill
until to-morrow week.

After a few words from Lord STANLEY, the subject
dropped.

VICE•GUARDIANS OF UNIONS (IRELAND)

BILL.

The Marquis of LANSDOWNE moved the second
reading of the Vice guardians of Unions (Ireland) Bill.
Lord STANLEY would not oppose the measure, be
cause he felt that it was necessary that the
Poor-law Commissioners should, for the present,
possess the power of appointing Vice-Guardians
hut it was an evil, and he hoped the system would
not to continued one moment longer than was
necessary. It was impossible that these vice-
guardians should possess a sufficient degree of
kcal knowledge to perform their duties satisfactorily to
the ratepayers.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE explained.
The Earl of WICKLOW said that any sugges-
tions that the Noble Lord might wish to make
would be considered in the Committee on the
Bill. He considered the whole responsibility should
rest either on the guardians or the vice-guardians,
but he objected to a divided responsibility.
Both systems were liable to great abuse, but the abuse
would be aggravated by the mixture of he two.
Lord MONTEAGLE considered that nothing more
objectionable in principle had even been proposed than
the present measure for vesting immense powers in the
hands of the vice-guardians who possessed the power of
taxing districts with which they had no local connexion.
He, however, acknowledged that the necessities of the case
required the adoption of anomalous measures. Admit-
ting, however, the necessity of appointing vice-guardians
be was compelled to state that persons had been ap-
pointed who were quite unqualified for the performance
of their duties. He would not oppose the Bill,
but he trusted that great judgment would be
exercised in appointing the persons to whom were to be
confided the exercise of these enrrmous powers. The
power of determining that most difficult question as to
whether or not there should be a union rating was
confided to the Vice-Guardians. This was a power they
ought not to possess. Parliament alone should deter-
mine questions of such vast importance.
The Bishop of CASHEL supported the Bill, and bore
witness to the admiral way in which the vice-guardians
in his district bad performed their duty in a manner
which contrasted most favourably with the conduct
of the guardians ; and he felt thankful to those
who had sent such honest, painstaking men
to supersede the guardians, and both the ratepayers and
the poor felt exceedingly grateful to them. These paid
guardians had, by their efficient management, more than
saved their own salary, and he only regretted that the
measure was a temporary one, and was not extended to
the whole country. He should wish to see paid guar-
dians in every union in Ireland.
The Earl of LUCAN thought that some inquiry
should be instituted before an elected Board of Guar-
dians should be dismissed, and he was not at all
prepared to say that an application to the
Court of Queen's Bench, should be necessary to remove
an elected guardian. He complained of the manner in
which the vice-guardians had exercise tteir powers.
The Bill was then read a second time.
RELIEF (IRELAND) BILL.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE moved the second
reading of the Relief of Distress (Ireland) Bill.
Lord BROUGHAM considered it a grievous thing
that there should still exist a necessity for proposing
another grant for Ireland. Their grants were to
small to afford efficient relief and to large to be granted
He objected to accustoming the people of Ireland
to look for relief from anything except their
own exertions. A. national polity was in
a most diseased condition, in which the
people were taught to rely habitually for their living
upon anything, save upon their own exertions. He
blamed no one in particular for the present state of
things. He hoped this would be the last grant of the kind.
After a few words from the Marquis of LASDOWNE,
The Bill was read a second time, and their Lordships
adjourned,

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
TheISFEAKER took the Chair shortly before Four
o'clock.

TAXATION OF RAILWAYS.

Mr. BROTHERTON presented a petition from the
sli areholddrs of the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln-
shire Railway, praying for a supervision of the present
sy stem and an equalization of the taxation on all rail-
way s.

THE PEACE MOVEMENT.
Mr. MUNTZ presented a petition very numerously
signed by the inhabitants of l3irmigham at a public
meeting, in which they say that the system of war had
ben] declared in a variety of ways to be anti-Christian
aad impolitic for all people, and praying that the House
would take the subject into consideration, and to in•
qe ire how far the system of arbitratiou could be
carried out, and praying further, especially, that the
house would take the matter under their especial at-
tel Aiwa.