The Sun.
London, England, 1836-03-08 00:00:00

TOI3ACCO DUTIES.

Mr. ENVART presented a petition from the tobacco manu-
facturers of Liverpool, praying for a repeal of the Excise re-
strictions on tobacco. When it was shown that these restric-
tions were a burden upon trade, and it was not pretended to
say that they prwented smuggling, he trusted that that House
would no longer allow such anti-commercial principles to be
acted upon. —( Hear, hear.)
Mr. Thornely, Mr. Morrison, and Mr. Scholfield, supported
the prayer of the petition, which was then laid on the table.
IRISH CORPORATION REFORM.

Mr. J. O'CONNELL presented a petition from Athlone,
praying fur a complete measure of Municipal Corporation
Reform fur Ireland.
AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS.

Mr. L. OLIPHANT presented a petition from the City of
Perth, complaining. of agricultural distress.
IRISH MUNICIPAL REFORM, AND TAXES ON

KNOWLEDGE.
Mr. \l' A LLACE presented three petitions from places in
Scotland in favour of Irish municipal reform and the abolition
of taxes on knowledge.
IRISH TITHES.
Mr. HENRY GRATTAN presented three petitions from
certain parishes in the county of Meath, praying for the aboli-
tion of tithes, and the duty on materials employed n the building
of chapels in Ireland. The petition on the subject of tithes was
signed by Lord Gormanston and his family.
DISTRESS OF AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS.
The Marquis of C HAN DOS presented a petition from
certain labourers in the county of Buckingham, complaining of
distre-:s. The petitioners stated that they were obliged to
support themselves and families on one shilling a day, which
was all the wages they received, that they had made applcation
in vain to the Poor Law Commissioners for relief, and they
now threw themselves upon the protection of that House.
MUNICIPAL REFORM (IRELAND.)
M S. CRAWFORD presented a petition from Belfast,
in favour of the Municipal Reform Bill, and that a measure of
Municipal Reform should be extended to Ireland on the same
principles of those which have already passed for England and
Scotland. The petitioners state that they wish to have the town
of Belfast included hi the provisions of any Bill that may pass
this House, as its Corporation has been for a considerable
period inoperative for any useful purpose, or for the good local
government of that important place. Ile (Mr. Crawford)
would respectfully
request the attention of the House to the
prayer of the petition. It would be in the recollection of
Hon. Members that a petition had been presented a few
nights ago by the Members for Belfast with a directly
opposite prayer. The petitioners, whose wishes he now
stated, felt it unnecessary' to trouble the House on the sub-
ject, confiding in the wisdom and justice of the Le-
gislature in extending to them a measure based on
the principles of the Acts for England and Scotland. They
did not intend to forward any petition on the subject until they
had heard of that which ,was presented by the Honourable

Member opposite, and which he (Mr. Crawford) must
say was smuggled through Belfast:—(Cries of " Hear,
bear.") That petition doubtless never saw the light o'
day until it was presented in this House. No notice of the
intention to get it up was given, and the inhabitants of Belfast
first heard of it from the notice given by the Hon. Gentle-
man opposite of his intention to bring it forward. The petition
which he (Mr. Crawford) held in his hand reached him on
Tuesday last, but too late to present it with that entrusted to
the Hon. Member for Belfast. That Hon. Gentleman, when
he presented his petition, stated that it was signed by. 8,000
individuals. In this -he thought there was a sligiit mistake,
for, on enquiry at the Report Office, he (Mr. Crawford) found
there were attached to it only 4,364 signatures. He was sure
the Hon. Member did not wish to deceive the Hbuse, but some
person had deceived him on the subject. He (Mr. Crawford)
would not compete with the Hon. Member in the number of
signatures to the respective petitions, but he would defy him
to impeach the respectability of those who signed that
which he was about to present..(Hear.) Tey were
all men of interest and weight in Belfast, and the Hon. Mem-
ber would see among the signatures, the names of those with
whom he had formerly associated in standing forward
to assert the rights and liberties of the people.—(Loud
Cheers.) He would see the names of men who were
his associates, when he so eloquently and so determinedly ad-
vocated popular rights. The Hon. Gentleman had cast off the
principles which he maintained in his juvenile days ; he had
cast off the friends with ss hom he associated in other days, and
he discarded the principles of which he was once the asserter.
He was not surprised at the manner in which the petition had
been kept in concealment while it was within the limits of
Belfast; he was not at all surprised that when the petition
came to this country it should be the object of the
Honourable Member to increase its importance—( Loud
cheers)—but notwithstanding all that, be would fearlessly
lay the petition he had now to present on the table of the
House, challenging any Hon. Member to deny its respect-
ability.
Mr. DUNBA R fully concurred in the sentiments that were
expressed in the petition, and bore testimony to the efficiency
of the course adopted. In proof of that he would refer to
the Report of the Municipal Commissioners, who had stated
that the Corporation of Bangor was an instance in which pro-
perty was preserved with care, and its income usefully ex-
pended.
Mr. EMMERSON TENNENT complained of the most
unwarrantable, improper, and unhandsome attack which had
been made on him by the Hon. Member for Dundalk—
( Hear)—on the occasion of a petition that bad been presented
by him on the same subject. He hoped the House would pardon
him for a few moments while he replied to it. He had been
charged by the Honourable Member with misrepresenting
the number of signatures attached to that petition, and
he (Mr. Emmerson Tennent) need hardly tell the House
that he had not in that instance complied with a
form which no other Hon. Member adopted—that of counting
over the names attached ; but the House would, he trusted,
believe him when he stated that he had correctly communi-
cated to it the information he had received. The lion. Member
had been instructed to say that he would in a few days present
a petition, which would embody the sentiments of the inhabitants
of that town, and the present he presumed was the petition which
the Hon. Member alluded to. The circumstances under which
that petition had been got up, were a good practical illustration
of whit might be expected from the working of that political
party, not only in the town of Belfast, but in every other part
of Ireland, when called into active operation so soon as that
Bill was passed, which would establish annual contests for the
election of Councils and Aldermen in these boroughs.—
( Hear, hear.) He would only say that, as far as regarded
the petition, he must protest against its being received as em-
bodying the the opinion of the town of Belfast.
Mr. S. CRAWFORD begged leave to say that he had
not made any objection to the petition presented by the lion.
Member being receive 1. He had only said that it did not ex-
press the general opinion of the peop'e of Belfast upon this
subject.
The petitons were then laid on the table.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER rose to
present a petition from the city of Londondei ry (as we under-
stood) most numerously ar,d respectably signed, praying that the
Bill for the regulation of Municipal Corporations in Ireland
might be founded on the same principle as those on which the
English Municipal Reform Bill was founded. The peti-
tioners complained that the funds of the Corporations had been
misapplied, that the administration of justice had been impeded,
and various abuses had crept into the corporation,and they traced
all these etrors to the want of due popular control, such as
they hoped would be found in the Bill now before the
House.—( Cheers.) •

Lord C-ASTLERE AG H presented a petition from Newry,
praying the House to raise the qualification of voters under
the Irish Corporation Bill, from 51. to 10/.

Mr. BRAIiY said that the majority of the people of Newry
were favourable to the Municipal Reform 13111 brought in by
his Majesty's Government. The Hon. Member was proceed-
ing, when he was interrupted by cries of " Order."
The SPEAKER reminded the Hon. Member of the regu-
lation which had been adopted to prevent discussions on the
presentation of petitions.
BREACH OF PRIVILEGE.

Mr. G. F. YOUNG—Having given notice of a motion
affecting the privileges of that House, and the character of one
of its Members, he begged to know whether it was t'e plea-
sure of the House that he should :proceed at once with it, or
defer it to anolher occasion.

Lord J. RUSSELL said from the importance of the busi-
ness before the House, he would suggest to the Hon. Gentle-
man to postpone his motion until to-morrow or Wednesday.

Mr. WKRBURTON thought as the motion affected the
character of a Member of that House, it should be proceeded
with at once.

Mr. G. YOUNG agreed to adopt the suggestion of the
Noble Lord.
IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT.

Mr. HAWES, seeing the Right Honourable Gentle-
man the Attorney-General in his place, begged to
know whether or not it was his intention to re-
new for abolishing imprisonment for debt ?

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL fiad hoped that a Noble
and , Learned Friend of his would have introduced the Bill
in the other House of Parliament early this Session, but ho
regrett"d that his Noble and Learned Friend was prevented
by indisposition from attending his duties in that House. If,
however, the Bill was not ►ntroduced by some other Noble
Lord, he begged to state that he would take an early oppor-
tunity of renewing his Bill in that I-10113C.
Mr. JACK SON asked the Attorney-General for Ireland
several questions respecting appointments of a legal nature in
Ireland, but the Hon. Gentleman spoke in so low a tone as to
be totally inaudible in the gallery, except as to the last, whe-
ther or net Mr. J. O'Dwyer had been dismised from the office
of Crown prosecutor on the Noithern Circuit, and a Roman
Catholic Barrister ( Mr. Sauze) appointed in his place.
Mr. O'LOUGHLIN said, Mr. Sauze had been appointed
not by him, but by his predecessor.
Mr. BERNAL brought up a Report, which was o:dere I t•
be received.
VOLUNTARY TITHE COMMUTATION.

Sir R. PEEL said he had last year stated his intention to
bring in a Bill for promoting the voluntary commutation of
tithes. Ile would without observation move for leave to bring
it in now and have it printed.—Agreed to.
Sir R. PEEL asked the Secretary of State for the Home
Departmelit what course he intended to pursue regarding the
Marriages and Registration Bills ?
LorSJ. RUSSELL proposed to proceed on Wednesday,
as it was at present arranged. On Tuesday followinc, he would
propose the House should go into Committee on the English
Tithe Bill, and the proceedings on the Registration and Mar-
riages' Bills would depend on the length the debates would ge.
CONSTABULARY BILL (IRELAND).
_ _ . _

An HoN. MEMBER on the Opposition B niches asked a
question relative to the proceedings on the Constabulary Bill
( Ireland), aad whether ht was the intention to go on 1N ith it on
Wednesday.
Lord MORPETiI said that would depend on the length of
the Debate this evening, and upon the circumstances of a
postponement of the discussion._