The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-13 00:00:00

IMPERIAL P‘RLIAMEN.

'IOUS P, OF 11S Jitly 12,
SI FE' FOR SCHOOL 4.
Yrn it I,,rdship, they .ent into C,itutmit,te on this BT.
L rd BEDE:SIM LE propo-t,d a clause to en,toe
14.'41 is tp grunt. p.ett!,s of lat.d. not ,xceening fire
•:.CrtiS each, tor tht purd.tse• tot normal
Ihe Ntogitis of LANSDO NB was understood
,ay ito sh.-tuitt opp,ts, th • c4t4se.
After a ft ,w words from L•ird CAMPBELL the clause
wtt, agre, d to.
The Earl of POWIS then propos'd a clause to facili-
tate the exehartge it sits for aebo 1,
Le•rd REDESDA LE objected to the clause, because
it W. s contra!y to the provistot s of to, mer t\ CTS On thts
sui jeer.
Tue elause was negatived wi.hout u division, and the
was rpported to the H tus
Loud MONTE AGLE pre,4, ilt,d a petition frln en
individual in favour of the Railway Accouats Audit
BIL Also a p,..tai,,Tk flow the ~.notch afis of an u,,ton in
Ireltud, signed ity Lord Stuart de Decie4, as cl.airman,
praying her the appointment of a resident a,sessor iu eiich
un on to ft!,SSI the goardiap%
Their Lordship!, then -.4joturned.

HOUVE OF o.'1) '..1 ii :)NS. July 12,
VAN DIEM EN'S LAND.
On the motion for going into a Ci.ternittee of Supply,
Mr. ANSI EY moved fer an address to her M.ejest),
on the subject of certain illegal ordinances or aces ot
Council for the taxation of the people of Van Diemen'.
Laud, the attempts of Lieutenant-Governer Sir W.
Denison to intimidate the Judges of the Supreme
Court of that Island into declaring such ordansatces
or acts to be L-gal. and the grievances complained
of by the eclonists of that island in their ptea-
Lion present( d last year to her Majesty, and printed
by order of this House; and that her Majesty may b,
pleased to direct the local authorities in future to re-p- C'
the independence of the judaial tuections of that t'our'.
and also to signify her disallowance of any ordinaa,ce or
act subsequently passed by the said Li utenant. Go
vernor in Ceutictl, fer giving to such illegal ordinances
or acts the force of law. This motion, he said, involved
as much the conduct of Earl Grey as it did that
of Sir William Denison, because he had neglected ti
advise her Majesty wiih respect to the memorial wt ich
had been transmitted by the inhabitants of the colon)
to the Government of this country. One of the eh- roes
in the memorial was, that the Governor, Sir W. Denison,
had interfered, by pri.ate solicitation, with the Judges
of the Supra me Court, in inducing One of them to absent
himself ter eighteen mouths on full salary, in order to
enable the Gevelionent to appoint a successor who
would give a decision in favour of the Crown in re.
feretice to certain actions which were thin pending be-
tween her Majesty and same of her subjects in thee colony.
He would conclude simply by moving the resolution by
way of amendment of which he had given notice.
Mr. it A WES was untlarstool to say—but was
very indistinctly heard amid the buzz of conversaien
in the House—that Sir William Detaison, the Governor
of Van Dietnen'e Land, in what hy had done in the met
tars referred to by the Hon. Member (Mr, Ansley )
had acted entirely in conformity with the
opinion of the law officers of the Crown.
Sir William Denison then :passed an Act through the
House, which was the 11th Victoria, which had come
home; and there was a peculiarity about it, namely,
that though it had come home, and had not yet
received the sanction of her Majesty's Government,
all proceedings under it were valid. He was unwilling
to do anything which should reflect on Sir William De-
nison, as with one e-xception, and that would be better
da scribed as an error of judgment, there was no fault to
be found with him. On what ground was it then that the
Hon. anal Learned Gentleman made this motion? There
was no other point in this case to which he wished to
call the attenti,n of the House.
Mr. HUME wished to know whether her Ma-
jesty's Government refused to lay upon the table the
letter conveying the disapprobetion of the Colonial
Secretary to the Govern, r. It was fortunate
that in such distant colonies there were independ ant
men, and he believed that judges had always maintained
a character for indepandence. It the Governor had
dime wrong in Li tertering with Judge Balder,
he thought that all the circumstances of the case ougle,
to be laid before the House. He could not think that
the House would be satisfied with less than a disavowal
of such conduct, couplet with an introduction of all
the documents rela.ing to this point.
Mr. GLADS CONE said he thought the Government,
in di-sueding the House from calling for these papers,
was right, as he co ild not see any advantage to arise
from their production. He wished to observe that all co
lonial judges had not that entire independence of the
executive which they had in this country. He defended
the conduct of Sir William Denison in his government
of the colony, which entitled ham to the gratitude of the
House, which ought not to do more in this caae than the
Secretary ter the Colonies thought requisite, particu-
larly as ample justice had been done to the Chief Justice.
Orr these grounds he was prepured to tupport the reso-
luti,n if the Governmant.
Mr. P. WOOD said if the case of Mr. Justice Pedder
was to pass unnoticed, the po.-idon of a judge in a colony
was not en enviable one for an honourable man to occupy
The misfortune in this case was that the Governor was
a military man, and it seldom happened, in that case,
that such a Governor and the judges went on amicably
fur three years together. The military t Meer
considered any disobedience on the part of the judge es
an act of mutiny.—(Hear, hear.) When the judges in
this case pronounced these ordinances illegal, the Go-
Governor declared there was only one emote,. open to
him, and that was to suspend the judges. Judge Mon
fugue was removed fur being in debt, and yet the getale-
man who succeeded him had 25 judgments roc rded
against him, and so great a hardship had the colomst.
felt that removal to be, that they sent home a remon-
strance against it. He (Mr. Wood) had nu feeling per-
sonally towards the Governor, but for the adreintetra
don of justice and as owing to the character of the
Judges, there ought to be a public reparation made tor
the ii,jury the Governor committed un the judges of
Van Diemen's Land.
Captain HARRIS charged the Hon. and Learned
Member, who spoke last with attributing personal mo-
tives to Sir %V. Denison, but he entreated the House not
to form an opinion of that earnest and distinguished
officer from what they had heard from the Hun. Member
who received his statements iu his brief.
Mr. ROEBUCK cared not where his Honourable and
Learned Friend round the facts he stated, for the ques-
tion was, were they true? He granted that the jtoges
at first certified the ordinance laid before them for th.dr
opinion to be legal, but when the question was raised,
and the matter discussed before the legal tribunals, of
which they were judges, they decided according to their
oaths, and against the opinion they had previous!) giv. n.
The Governor then interfered and removed them, which
he denounced as most arbitrary and unconstitutional. The
Governor was a military officer, and he agreed with
his Honouruble and Learntd Frie,ll, when he said
that the frame of mind of such men, accustomed, as
they were at all times tocommand, rendered them ux-
! trumely unfit to be constitutional governors of any.
colony. On the present discussion the Governor wrote
a lever to Mr. Justice l'erfler, telling him it would be
extremely convenient fur him if he absented himself for
18 months. the lion. and Gallant Oilier stood up to
defend his profession, but was. the character of the
judges of no importance.? SI, hat would have been said
of the Government at home', if, when the Lard Chief
Justice of England differed from that House some
years ago. they wrote him a letter. telling him it wouiai
be expedient for him to go to Italy fur a year and a
half?—(Hear, hear.) But Shen, said the Right Hoe.
Gebtleinait the Member ter Cambriage, the judges in
the colonies were, not like the judges at home. But why
should they not he so, seeing that the lives and peeper,
ties of the colonists were at their disposal?—(liar,
hear.) And, if they were not what they ought to be,
shame ou those who were the cause of it. He asked the.
Noble Lord at the head of the Colonies, was that the
way to treat new colonies, and if it be not the lir,t of
their dmties to watch over and guaid the administration
of justice? It was not on the former conduct of the
Governor they were to decide, but on that one act, and
in his opinion he had interfered with the pure atiminis
tration of justice in one of the most important calonies.
Mr. E. VENISON should not enter into the merits ce
the question at either side, for it did not become him to
do so, but this he might be allowed to nbierve, that he
deeply regretted what had taken place. The question,
however, before the House was, whether a certain dis-
patch should be produced, a,41 he, for has own part, was
most anxious that it should be done, for he had no doubt
that the Gallant Officer referred to would be found to
have discharged his duty on this, as on former occasions,
with integrity and honour.
The House then divided, when the numbers were—
For the motion
Against it ... ... ... ... 72
Majority •• •
••• . —4B
Mr. HUME wished to ask whether the— Government
had any objection to produce the .!i:paieh sent out by
Earl Grey, disapproving of the Governor's conduct?
Under any circumstances he should move tor its pro,
Auction.
Lard J. RUSSELL observed that his Noble Friend
at the head of the Coloniel-office communicated to Sir
W. Denison the disapprobation of the Government, but
considering the difficulties under which the colony was
placed, he did not think there was any use in giving more
publicity to that disapprobation; he thought the better
course would be not to produce the dispatch, and should,
therefore, resist the motion.
Mr. ANSTEY asked how it was the Government
could refuse the production of the dispatch tor which
the Hon. Member for Montrose moved, when, on the
25th of April last, they consented to the production of
the correspondence between Governor Grey and Sir W.
Denison, on the taxation of the colony, and the removal
of Judge Montague.
Mr. HAWES said that had nothing to du with Earl
Grey's dispatch expressing disapprobation at the removal
of Judge Pedder.
Mr. ROEBUCK said that in a population so dan-
gerous and disorganised as that in this colony, the Go-
vernor should be above all suspicion; and he thought it
the dispatch was not produced, he could not safely, under
the hidden censure of the Government, efficiently dis-
charge his duties.
SUPPLY—ORDNANCE ESTIMATES.
The order of the day was then moved for the House
to resolve itself into Comtnitteu of Supply, and the
Speaker lift the chair.
Mr. HUME hoped that the Ordnance Estimates might
stand over till Monday, till it could be ascertained
whether the report of the Committee now sitting would
be ready this session, which would enable him to speak
from facts arid figures.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, that it would be only
fair to give the Government time to consider the evi-
dence taken before the Committee, when it was com-
plete, which they would net have an opportuiiity of
doing, if the subject was to be brought before the House
immediately upon the presentation of the report. He,
therefore, could 291 MIMI to $139 gostinewas pf then
eigaistsh.

51 p-

51j