The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-25 00:00:00

TRUSTEES RELIEF BILL.

This Bill was read a third time and passed.
BANKRUPTCY (IRELAND) BILL.
Lord BROUGHAM moved the second reading of this
Bill, the object of .which was to extend to Ireland the
provisions of the Bankruptcy Bill.
Lord CAMPBELL saw no objection to the motion.
The Duke of RICHMOND opposed the second read-
ing, because no notice had been given of it.
Lord BROUGHAM explained, and the second reading
was understood to be postponed.
Lord REDESDALE presented a petition against the
London Corporation Bill.
The Bishop of HEREFORD presented a number of
petitions from the Clergy of his Diocese, praying for a
measure to provide religious instruction to the children
of persons receiving out-door relief.
The Boroughs Relief Bill passed through committee.
Several other Bills were advanced a stage, among
which were the second reading of the House of Com-
mons Official Offices Bill, the committal of the Joint-
stock Company Bill, the third reading of the Highway
R ites Bill, and the committal of the Petty Bag Office
Bill.

Lord REDESDALE objected to a clause in the last
Bill, on the ground that it tended to increase public
expense, by raising the salaries of clerks in the Post-
office.

Lord CAMPBELL assured the Noble Lord that the
clause had no such tendency, and that if he had any
apprehensions on that head, he would write to Lord
Langdale on the subject, and inform the Noble Lord
(Lord Redesdale) with that Noble Lord's opinion.—
(Hear, hear.) He therefore hoped that the Noble Lord
would not oppose the committal of the Bill, as he would
have time and room to offer any opposition he might
think proper, when the Bill was brought on for a third
reading.
This proposition was agreed to, and the Bill was
committed.

The Small Debts Amendment Bill was then com
mitted; and several other Bill 3 were advanced a stage.

THE BUSINESS OF THE SESSION.
Lord STANLEY said that they were at present within
three or four days of the termination of the session, and
now, ou the 24th day of July, many important Bills
came up to their Lordships' House from the Commons.
They had More them several important measures—
some to be read a first time, and others to be considered
in Committee. There were the Dublin Rating Bill, the
Poor Law Charges Act Amendment Bill, the Pavilion at
Brighton Bill; all of these he conceived might longsince
have been brought under the consideration of their Lord-
ships. There then was another Bill which had been
most unreasonably delayed. He meant the Pilotage
Bill, which was a matter of very serious importance,
affecting our treaties with foreign powers. It was a Bill
the importance of which could hardly be exaggerated,
and yet it had thus been delayed till the very close of the
session without there being the least necessity for any
such postponement. They had that day gone through he
knew not how many Bills; yesterday they had disposed
of 22. Now, he could not help complaining that they
should be driven into these slovenly modes of legislation.
He should be sorry to raise any impediment or occasion
any difficulty in bringing the session to a close; but it
did appear to him that many of those Bills, might have
been brought forward at an earlier period of the session,
and he did not see why they should have been so long
delayed.
Earl GREY said that the complaint just made by the
Noble Lord opposite was, to a certain extent, well
founded; but it was a complaint at least 50 years old;
it was made during every Administration and at the
close of almost every session. He was afraid that such
delay must be regarded as a necessary consequence,
proceeding from the constitution of the two Houses of
Parliament. He had himself not long since supported
a Bill which he had hoped would have mitigated the
evil, but he regretted that that proposition had not been
agreed to elsewhere, and he still believed that it would
have worked well. On the present occasion, however,
he thought there were no just grounds for complaining
of delay, and the Noble Lord must remember that the
forms of the other House gave only two days to the Go-
vernment, and even those were often taken away from
them by motions as amendments to going into Com-
mittee of Supply, and thus the time left for carrying
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present year, there were many measures of consi-
derable moment, which were brought up to their Lord-
ships' House at an early period of the session, amongst
which he might mention the Navigation Bill As to
those that remained, they were little more than continua-
tion Bills, or annual Bills; and with regard to the Pilot-
age Bill, it was merely a measure to give the Trinity
House and other authorities power to relax their rules,
if they so thought fit.
Lord STANLEY admitted the difficulties to which the
Noble Earl referred, but observed that the Government
might have obtained leave to bring in the Pilotage Bill
long before the 12th of July. As a proof of the slovenly,
careless manner, in which legislation was carried on, he
might mention the Defects in Leases Bill, for the cor-
rection of a blunder in which they now had another Bill
before them.

The Earl of HARROWBY presented a petition from
a place in Devon in favour of a superannuation fund for
officers under the poor-law.
The House thou adjourned till half-past four o'clock
to-morrow (Wednesday).