The Sun.
London, England, 1831-09-06 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

110 USE OF COMMONS, SICti'EMBER 5.
Colonel EVANS presented a petition from the inhabi-
tants of the four districts of the tohni of Manchester, rela-
tive to the coneeptenees of certain 'clauses of the Reform
Bill, and praying that such alterations might be made as
would extend the franchise. The petition wat T 5. OH by
John Whittle, as chairman of the meeting at which it was
adopted. The lion. Member moved that it he printed.
Mr. HUNT said the chairman of this meeting we.s the
proprietor of a Newspaper, who had before reed out for
" the Bill, the whole Bill, and nothing but the Bill," but
it appeared now that be was dissatisfied with the Bilk
After a few words from the SPEAKEn, and one or two
other Members, relative to the printing of the petition,
which could only be taken as that of the person who signed
it, Colonel Evans withdrew the motion for printing it.
The petition was then read, and ordered to lie on the table.
The same HoN. MEMBER then presented another peti-
tion !--.) the same effect.
'Mr. BRISCOE presented a petition signed by the Se-
cretary ott behalf of the Labourers' Benefit Society, No. 51,
relative to the Bill now in Parliament, by which parishes
Were to be empowered to hire land to the extent of 50
acres, for the purpose of letting it out in small allotments
to the poor. They prayed that instead of limiting the
quantity of land to 50 acres, every parish mieht be em-
powered to hire as much land for allotting to the poor as
the wants of the poor of the parish might require; and
that also every parish in the metropolis might have the
power to rent land for a similar purpose within ten miles
of the parish. The Hon. Me:nber said he concurred in
the prayer of the petitioners, and he would reserve his ob-
servations upon the subject until the Bill should ba in
Committee.
The HoN. :MEMBER neat presented a petition signed by
950 inhabitants of the metropolis, praying for the abo-
lition of punishment for religious opinions, and pray inn
also that the House would address his ilLjesty to remit
the remainder of the sentence upon the Rev. Robert
Taylor, us an act of grace at the approaching Coronation.
Deprecating as he (Mr. Briscoe) did the opinions of that
individual, and lamenting their influence on the minds of
the people, he must still say that he highly disapproved
that an individual should be subjected to a punishment
disproportionate to the character of the offence, and he
thought that Mr. Taylor had a very just cause of com-
plaint, when he found a very different sentence passed
upon Richard Carlile, in an adjoining county, for a simi-
lar offence.
Mr. HUNT concurred in the prayer of the petitioners,
and expressed his hope that the Hon. Mtmber, who was
a Magistrate for Surrey, would exert that influence which
he possessed, to procure a remission of the remainder of
Mr. Taylor's sentence.
Mr. BRISCOE said the Hon. Member greatly over-
rated his supposed influence.
The petition was read and ordered to be printed.
Mr. FOLEY presented a petition from the noaltsters of
Dudley, in Worcestershire, against the use of molasses in
distilleries. _ . .

Mr. M. O'FARRELL presented four petitions from as
many parishes in the county of Kildare, against the grant
to the Kildare-street Society ; also a petition from the
Patriotic Insurance Company in Ireland, praying for a
repeal of the duty on marine insurance.—They were read
and ordered to be printed.
Mr. STEWART presented a petition from the diocese of
Kilmore in favour of the grant to the Kildare-street So •
eicty.—Ordereil to be printed.
Mr. FLUME presented petitions from the Catholic
Clergy and Laity of Myress, in the county of Cork, and
also from Eden, against the grant to the Kildare .street
Society. The petitioners prayed, that as the
street Society had not answered the expectations of his
Majesty's Government, no more money might be granted
for its support, and that whatever sums might be in future
grantad for education in Ireland might be so appropriated
as to he properly applied to each creed, the objection of the
petitioners being that the children in these schools were
educated by persons of a different persuasion. 'I Hon.
Member then presented a petition from the parish of
Marylebone, agreed to at a public meeting, complaining of
the heavy rates levied in that parish, and their mismanage-
meet by a self-elected vestry. They prayed for the abolition
of theaelf-elected vestry system. The Hon. Member said, this
pal ish was kept in a state of irritation by the proceedings of
this self elected and irresponsible body, by whom the parish
fonds were illegally and unconstitutionally appropriated. He
therefore hoped that his Majesty's Government would
speedily put an end to a system which caused so much ill-
will and dissatisfaction.
The petition was read and ordered to be printed.
Mr. HUME then presented three petitions, one from
the inhabitants of Dudley, the second from certain inha-
bitants of the metropolis, and the third signed by 5,000
inhabitants of Manchester and Salford, complaining of the
prosecutions for religious opinions, and praying the inter-
position of the House with his Majesty for a remission of
the sentence upon the Rev. Robert Taylor. The Hon.
Member said that he understood the signatures were those
of respectable persons, but he was bound to add that the
first name on that from the metropolis was that of Mr.
Taylor himself.—(A laugh.) The petitioners especially
deprecated the prosecutions being conducted by a self-
constituted body, calling itself the Society for
the Suppression of Vice. In presenting these petitions
toe Honourable Member (Mr. Hume) wished to tea
understood as not in the lcatt identifying himself with the
opinions of Mr. Taylor, and he regretted that individual
hail forced those opinions en the public ; but still he was
the decided enemy of all prosecutions for religious opi-
nions, and be considered the prosecution of Mr. Taylor a
disgrace to any conntacy, in which the inquisition was not
established. So many petitions, signed by such numbers
of persons, upon this subject, had been presented to this
I louse, that he entertained a hope that the attention of hie
Majesty's Government would shortly be called to it.
The petition was read, and ordered to be printed.
[At this stage Mr. Straw, the Recorder of Dulilin, and
a'ely returned for that city, was introduced, and took the
oaths and his seat.]
Captain GORDON was anxious to embrace the oppor-
tunity furnished by the reference that had been made to
the Society for the Suppression of Vice, to state
shortly from an official prospectus its constitution and
principles. Their first object was to olieck the !rade in
licentious pictures ; and since the institution of the So-
ciety 69 prosecutions bad been instituted, of which ;into one
or two had failed of success. The second head of the Society's
plan was to repress blasphemous publications, and thirty-
three places formerly notorious fir the sale of Mich pro-
ductions had been discontinued in consequence of the So-
ciety'sexertions. This alone, the Gallant Officer submitte
was an advantage of no ordinary value to the welfare of so •
viety. The third object was to enforce, as far as pos-
sible, obedience to the laws for the preservation of the
Sabbath. Their prosecution' tinder this bead amount,
to no less than two thousand, many of which had been
undertaken at the solicitation of magistrates and ministers
of religion. The Hon. 'Member considered it a duty
which he owed to the House to make this statement
he was willing that the Society should be. canvassed,
but if it was impeached, the ilariseaehment should
be Faced n a knowledge of the real objects and operations
of the Society. Ile would only say it hail been found worthy
of the advocacy of a Portent and a Bishop Watson.
Mr. HUME said it was the duty of his Majesty'' Attor-
ney-General to undertake all such prosecutions, and he could
not ace why any private individuals, whose n ones were
unknown to the public, ought to institute and carry on
such prosecutions.
Colonel GORDON was quite ready to furnish the Hon.
Member with a list of the members of the Society.
Mr. PRINGLE bore testimony to the good character,
ljects, and successful operation of the Society.
HUME presented a petition from a number of per-
sons in the metropolis, stating their regret that a great
many individuals had been arrested and confined under the
16th George 11. chap. 23, usually called the Hawkers and
Pedlars' Act, for selling publications in the street. As
ten individuala were now imprisoned, they prayed for corn-
palliation for loss of time, and that the House would pass
a Bill of Indemnity to those liable to prosecutioas.
Colonel SIBTHORPE thought this subject very im-
portant ; and as a new species of article h now been got
"P in the shape of a political handkerchief, printed on
cotton, measures should be taken to suppress it. Ile con-
sidered it a fraud upon the public, on the revenue, and on
those Editors of Papers who were obliged to pay for stamps.
Mr.Alderinan WOOD had hail a person before him to-
day, who had been in the Compeer since Saturday, for
selling these tracts; and, after hearing the whole case, he
had felt bound to discharge him, being
confident that what
he had done was only to save himself from starvation.
Mr. HUME bad no hesitation in saying that many of
these publications contained a good deal of dangerous mat-
ter, but be thought the best way to
,put
S ro '
publications woo to abolish the Statute an end tute alto.ethe
lfe had not the least doubt, unless that was done, everykind
of article would be made use of for the purpose of enabling
parties to put forth these sort of publications.
The HON. Muaosan presented petitions from Stockport,
the Brunswick Brewery, in Kent, front the Golden-lane
Brewery, and from Stepney, against any alteration being
made in the Beer Laws as they at present existed. In doing
so, the Hon. Member hoped the present session would
hot pass by without a Bill being brought forward, giving