The Sun.
London, England, 1838-02-20 00:00:00

HOUSE OP COMMONS, Fzs. 19.

The SPEAKER took the Chair at the usual hour.
Lord BRABAZON took the oaths end his seat for the County
of Dublin.
ROXBURGH ELECTION.

The LORD ADVOCATE appeared at the Bar, and re-
ported from the Select Committee appointed to try the Rox-
burgh petition that John Elliot, Esq., was duly elected, but
that neither the petition of Hon. F. Scott, nor the opposition
to the said petition, was frivolous or vexatious.
Sir CHAS. B. VERE said that the Roxburgh Election
Committee having unanimously decided that there had been
riotous proceedings during the election, he judged it necessary
that the House should be in possession of the evidence taken
before the Committee, in order that the House might take such
measures as it thought fit, to prevent the recurrence of
such riots at any future election. He should therefore more
to-morrow that the minutes of the proceedings and evidence
taken before the Roxburgh Election Committee be laid upon
the table of the House.—(W
Hear.)
NEW RITS.

Now Writs were issued for Portsmouth, on the motion of
Mr. BARING, in th© room of Mr. Bonham Carter, de-
ceased; and for West Kent, on the station of Sir EDWARD
KNATCHBULL, in the room of Sir William Geary, 'who has
accepted the Chiltern Hundreds.
NOTTING-HILL FOOT-WAY BILL.

Lord GEORGE LENNOX moved the second reading
of this Bill.
Petitions against the Bill were presented by Mr. G. W.
HorE and Mr. Bv
Mr. G. W. HOPE submitted to the House that this Bill
ought not to be allowed to pass. A gentleman took a lease
of ground at Notting Hill, which was intersected by a public
foot-path, and which he attempted to stop up by force and
violence. The obstructions were removed by the inhabitants,
who conceived that they had a right of passage, for which
actions were taken against several of them by the party who
took the ground. He did not succeed in his actions, and
he now applied to Parliament for a Bill to enable him to
effect that by their assistance which he had failed of attaining
by the Courts of law. Now he apprehended this was a prin-
ciple which the House would be cautious in sanctioning.
Unless the party could show that some public benefit were in-
tended to be conferred by this Bill, it ought IRA to be allowed
to pass. It had been stated, to be sure, that it was for the

convenience and amusement of the public, the ground being
devoted to the purposes of a race course; hut then the
proposition excluded all those who did not pay the
sum which he had fixed as the price of admission.
Under these circumstances he thought that the Bill should not
be suffered to pass, and he would therefore move, as en amend-
ment to the second reading, that it be read a second time that
day six months.

Mr. HUNIE wished to ask the Noble Lord who had moved
the second reading of the Bill, in what state exactly the con-
troversy was between Mr. Whyte and the inhabitants of Ken-
sington. He understood th it actions had been brought by
Mr. 'Whyte against several of the inhabitants, and if such
were the fact it would be a most extraordinary proceeding if
the House were by this Bill to interfere pending the decision
of a Court of Law.—(Hear, hear.)
Lord GEORGE L ENNOX said that the actions had been
withdrawn.

Mr. HUME said a petition had been laid on the table
against the progress of the Bill, signed by the Rector and
1,200 of the inhabitants.

Lord GEORGE LE NNO X believed that at the meeting
there were not more than eighty or ninety persons present.
As to the hardship of the exclusion of the public, he really
thought that if ever there was a Bill which ought to be
carried, this was one.---( Laughter.) A great deal had been
said about giving places for public recreation —( Hear)—but
if this footpath were to remain in its present state it would be
impossible for Mr. Whyte to do justice either to himself or
to the public. Before the last races the amusements were
carried on with the strictest propriety—there was no gambling,
no booths, and no gin was allowed to be sold.—( Laughter.)
At the last races the public claimed the right to come into
th• footpath, and the place was crowded with thimble-
riggers, and people selling beer and spirits.--( Loud
Laughter.) He believed there was a much nearer way
for the public, which Mr. \Vhyte was willing to make,
but this was to be left to the decision of the Ma-
gistrates. He trusted the House would allow the Bill to go
into Committee—(Hear)—and if it should be likely to inflict
injustice on any individual, he could only soy that he
(Lord George Lennox) would not be a party to carrying it any
further.

Mr. SLANE Y felt some interest in this matter, because it
seemed to bear on the.case of depriving a considerable number
of persons of an open space in the vicinity of large towns.
But having heard from the proprietor a statement respecting
the paths, and understanding that he had a proposition to
make which would meet the view of all persons inclined to
aid the amusements of the humbler classes, he would suggest
that the Bill should be allowed to go into Committee, that
the proposition might be heard. Should it not be a reason-
able proposition, and beneficial to the inhahitants in the vicinity
of the place, it would be in the power of the House to reject it.
It had been stated to him that the footpath went through fields
uhicli had been very little used until Mr. Whyte had made the
place an object of great attraction, and of great amusement to
the middle-classes, by the establishment of races.—(Hear,
hear.) He understood that the preprietor proposed to give
the inhabitants a public path across the grounds, so that they
would have a nearer way to the terminus than they now had ;
as there was some question about the right of the inhabitants,
the proprietor proposed to give the poorer classes admission to
the grounds during the four holiday weeks every year, at as low
a price as the House might think fit to name. Under these
circumstances he thought the House would not object to allow
the Bill to go into Committee.
Mr. J. JERVIS hoped the Hon. Member for Weymouth
would not persevere in his motion, and he hoped also the pro-
moters of the Bill would consent to postpone it for a fortnight,
because if the inhabitants bad a right to the foot-
ath it would be scarcely fair to compel them to pay the
expense of opposing the Bill.
Lord GEORGE LENNOX would bo ready to pay any
reasonable proportion of the expences.
Mr. HOPE then withdrew Lis amendment, and moved
that the second reading of the Bill be postponed for a fort-
night.
Mr. AG L IO NB Y understood the object of the Bill to be to
divert a public pathway. His objection to the Bill was founded
upon principle : he thought it dangerous when parties wanted
to shut up a foot path to come to the Legislature, it having,
already given power to Magistrates to decide such questions.
—( Hear, bear.) He thought the proper course would be
in the present instance to apply to two justices ;
because in that case the parties might appeal, if they were dis-
satisfied with the decision of the Magistrates, to the Quarter
Sessions.

Mr. HARVEY said that the motion of the Hon. Member
for Chester, that the Bill should be postponed for a fortn;ght,
in his opinion, would not effect the object he had in view, as it
was impossible to calculate upon unanimity in the large parish
of Kensington. He thought that the suggestion of the Noble
Lord was most excellent, that any fair expenses that might
be thrown upon the parish by resisting this proceeding,
Mr. Whyte would make good. He thought that the
alteration of this property was a benefit rather than other-
wise to the parish of Kensington, as it was rated at the
present moment to the poor at 7001., whereas some short
time since it was not rated at more than 100/. That, how-
ever, ought to be no consideration if the recreations of the
poor were interfered with.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL thought that it was but
fair that the Bill should go into Committee. How far he
would vote in favour of it he would net say; but if the rights
of the public were to be effected by it, he should give it his
most strenuous opposition. If the whole of the object of
the present Bill could be effected by two Magistrates, then
lie should say that the Bill ought to be thrown out,
but it must be ri_cellected that a bargain had to be made with
Mr. Whyte, by which the poorer clisses were to bo greatly
benefited. He hoped the Bill would be proceeded with then ;
let them get it into Committee ; at the same time let it be well
understood, that the House would not be pledged to vote in
any particular way, unless the Bill did complete justice to all
parties.

Mr. HOPE said, upon such an understanding, he would
be most happy to withdraw all opposition to the Bill.
The Bill was then a second time, and ordered to be com-
mitted to the Middlesex list.

Mr. CHALMERS presented a petition from the Magis-
trates of Arbroath, in favour of the Glasgow and Edinburgh
Railway.

Mr. W. ATT WOOD moved the second reading of the Lon-
don and Greenwich Railway Bill.
The SPEAKER said the House had come to a resolution
last Session that no Railray Bill should be read a second time
except on Tuesday or Friday nights, at fire o'clock.

Mr. HUME thanked the Right Hon. Gentleman for calling
the attention of the House to that, the first Bill of the kind
of the Session. He moved that the Bill be read a second time
to-morrow.—Agreed to.
The ATTO RNET-GENERAL presented a petition from
the Chamber of Commerce in Glasgow, in favour of the
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Bill.
MILTON AND SITTINGBOURNE IMPROVEMENT