The Sun.
London, England, 1838-02-17 00:00:00

PRIVATE BUSINESS OF PARMA-
MENT.-(YESTERDAY.)

SUB.COMMITTEE ON PETITIONS.—No. I.
Mr. SJINW LEYETRE in the Chair.
HALEWORTHY ROAD.
Petition for Bill read—Notices proved—Unopposed.
The Commissioners of the Road wish to borrow 4,0001., having a
'minty to offer of a surplus income of 280/. a.year, which is improvable;
and it was stated by the Solicitor to the Biil that the sum sought to be
borrowed would materially increase that income.
Strangers were ordered to withdraw, when the Committer decided in
favour of the prayer of the petition.—To be reported to the House.

ELECTION COMMITTEES.
(YESTERDAY.)

IPSWICH.

The scrutiny still continues. The class of objections founded on
change of residence having been concluded, the Committee adjourned
at Half-past Three.

ROXEUR GH.
The Committee met this morning at eleven o'clock.
Mr. George Potts was then called, and cross-examined by Mr. Sergeant
MEREWETHIM He stated that here was another agent in attendance
at the booth, on the part of Mr. Scott, besides himself Mr. Oliver at-
tended the booth in that capacity durtog the first day of polling. Thinks
there were many voters for Mr. Scott who polled after the adjournment
of the poll. Cannot say whether tl:ere were 115, but there were a good
many.

To Mr. Slum—Lord Minto does not usually act as a Magistrate in
the Fiawick district, but does in the Jedburgh district.
To Mr. Sergeant MINLEKETIIER—BeIieves that Lord Minto's presence
in Hawick tied the effect of preserving the peace.
Mr. John Scott, W.S., was then called in, and produced an examined
copy of the indictment and conviction of James Cairns and others who
were tried at Edinburgh for rioting at the last election.
Mr. Ausm said that he had now closed the evidence which he intended
to adduce In this case, and although that evidence presented itself
hi rather a mutilated form, in consequence of a decision of the Com-
mittee, which shut out much that he considered important to the case
of the petitioners, yet there was abundance to justify him in calling on
the Committee to pronounce a judgment in favour of his client. The
Learned Counsel then proceeded to address himself to the points of law,
on which he relied. In the first place, he contended that the Sheriff,
having adjourned the poll for two hours on the first day, he was bound,
by the 32d section of the Scotch Reform Act, to grant another day's
polling, and that his refusal to do so voided the election. He next
addressed himself to the rioting, and confidently appealed to them
if a sufficient case had not been made out by the petitioner to show that
his voters could not venture to the poll, unless at the risk of their lives,
and that therefore the electors could not be said to hare exercised a free
choice. The Learned Gentleman then proceeded to sum up the evi.
dence which had been given in support of the allegations of the per,_
Lion, and contended that they had been fully borne out. He con-
cluded by again repeating, that he confidently relied upon their decision
being given in favour of his client.

Mr. Sergeant MERZWETHEIL then rose to reply, but had not concluded
when the Committee adjourned, at half-past three o'clock.

BRISTOL.
Mr. William Ody Hare, the Under sheriff, produced the polLbooks.
the numbers at the election were declared to be for Mr. Miles 3,838,
Chit should have been 3,841 ; for Mr. Fripp 3,156; and for Mr. Berkeley
2,212, which should have been 3,013.
Several questions were put to the witness, with the view of proving
Mr. Cunningham and other persons to have acted as the agents of Mr.
Berkeley; but they were objected to, on the ground that the conversa-
tions had not taken place in the presence of Mr. Berkeley.
The Committee decided that the declarations were not admissible for
the purpose of establishing the fact of agency.
The witness next stated the proporticn of Mr. Berkeley, for the ex-
pense cf the poll boothe, to be 1581. 9s. Id., and produced a document fos
the purpose of proving the undertaking of Mr. Berkeley through his
agents to pay the expense.

This proceeding was objected to, and the Committee had not decide 1
the point when the Sp,aker was announced to be at prayers. An ad-
inurement then took place until to-morrow morning at Eleven o'Clcck

SLIGO.
The Committee met this clay at half-past three o'clock, when the usual
forms were gone thr nigh. The I:3t and statements were exchanged,
and the Committee adjourned to eleven to-morrow.
The objection to the sitting Member (Mr. Somers), against whom the
petitioners appeal, is non-qualification.

BELFAST

The Committee Issmibled at the usual hour.
Mr. WHITESIDE, on behalf of the petitioners, entered into a long,
legal argument, to establish the insufficiency of Mr. Gibson's
qualiflcatio■ to take his seat in Parliament. He contended that ti_ is
qualification, as it consisted in a property which was held on a
lease for byes, was renewable for ever. Mr. Gibson could not be hAd to
hare such an absolute and indefeasible estate for his own life, or
some greater estate in law, as, according to the words of the Irish law
of Tenures, would give him a right to sit in Parliament. And he
referred to the Drogheda and Cork cases, in which Messrs. O'Dwyer
and Fergus O'Connor had, upon the same ground of objection, been
unseated.

Mr. ANDREWS, in defence of Mr. Gibson's qualification, maintained
that, though Mr. Gibson's life was not inserted in the lease of the pro-
perty for which he claimed, he having the power of renewing the three
lives for ever, his estate did, in fact, amount fully to an estate for life.
About twenty minutes to four, the Learned Counsel being rather in-
disposed, the Committee adjourned.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT,

HOUSE OF LORDS, FEB. 16.

- - - -
The Loan Cit•Ncst.tott took his seat on the Woolsack at Five o'Clock.
Lord SE AFOIID presented petitions from two parishes us the county
of Gloucester, praying for an alteration in the user Act. Also a pcti-
tio: from Gloucester, praying for the abolition of Negro Apprenticeship.

II A LLOT.
Lord RADNOR presented a petition from the Mayor and Corpora-
tion of Richmond, in Yorkshire, and also one from the Inhabitants
of Richmond, praying for Vote by Ballot.
Lord BROUGH A3l presented petitions from Iloibeach and the
Borough of Leeds, from Castleward and Slone Ward in
Shrewsbury, from Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, from Braintree,
in Essex, and from a Disseniine place of Worship in Carrier
veil, praying for an extension of the Suffrage, the shortening of
Parliament, and Vote by Ballot. The Noble and Learned Lord sae!
these petitions, with many which hepresented last night, relat;el to a guts-
ject which he perceived by the votes of Parliament, had just occupied the
attention of the other branch of the Legislature ; and, though knowing
their Lordships as he did, he might be disposal to congratulate them
on the divisien which carried, no doubt what appeared to them to he a
proper vote, by a majority of 117 ; yet he was afreid, and be felt borne'
to say it, that another such victory would be their Lordships ruin ;
because his side of the question had been supported by 198 votes, ex-
eluding the two tellers, which was an addition of about one-fifth to the
whole number of those who had supported the motion on the last oe:a-
elms ; and he must say that unless their Lordships made up their minds
either to this measure or some measure of this sort for the pre-
tection of electors, the time appeared to him to be come, that at all
events there was so large a proportion, even with the interest of Go-
vernment against it, of the constituency i❑ favour of some more ef-
fectual protection to be given to the voter in the exerciseof Ids elective
franchise—and he knew it was equally so in Scotland—if some effective
protection was not given, it woi.ld be the solitary case within his
experience of a greet measure in which the public interest was
excited to a great degree, going on from year to year increasing, till at
last it reached the climax of a large number of the constituents and their
representatives marshalling themselves in combination in favor of a
measure—it would be the solitary instance either in his experience, or,
as far as he knew, in history, of any such measure so increasing in favor
with the people and their representatives, not sooner or later becoming law.
The sooner, therefore, that their Lordships made up their minds to
some so. h measure as this, the better would it be for them. The
Noble and Learned Lord then presented a petition from the parish of
Birstal, in the county of York, in favour of the Bill which he had in-
troduced into Parliament for a system of national education.
Also a petition from the Gorbala against the further endo vment of the
Church of Scotland ; a petition from Wigan, in favour of Vote by
tt ; a petition from Dundee, in favour of an alteration in the Consti-
tution of the Sheriffs' Courts, Scotland ; and a petition which he would
wish to be read at length by the Clerk. The petition was from Montrose,
and it stated that petitioners had heard with surprise that his Majesty
the King of Hanover, although at the head of a foreign Power, was still
in the receipt of funds from that country, which they prayed the House
to take into its consideration. The Noble Lord then presented petitions
from Lisburn, praying for an alteration and revision of the Criminal
Law; from Cirencester and Walsall, against the system of Negro
Apprenticeship ; from Ardrossan, in Ayr, for the protection of
the Elective Franchise anti a system of National Education ;
from the procurators of Cupar, against any law for the
regulation of their practice; from Brechin, against the endowment of
of the Church of Scotland ; from Bradford, for a reduction of postage;
from the Popular Institution, in favour of national education; from
Dunbarton, and from 5,000 inhabitants of Glasgow, for a re-
peal of the Cotn Laws; from Braintree, Lambeth, and Buckington,
against compulsory measures towards the Canadians; from Stafford,
for a reduction of postage ; from Berwick-on-Tweed, Leicester,
and Gateshead, in favour of the system of National Education ; from
the Debtors in Lancaster Castle, in favour of the Abolition of Impri-
sonment for Debt; from the Procurators of Kilmarnock, for an
alteration in the Scotch Law Courts' Bill.

Lord WHARNCLIFFE--When the Reform Bill had passed, it had
been objected by many Noble Lords on his side of the House
that it would pave the way for the questions of the
Vote by Ballot, and also the Extension of the Suffrage.
That view of the case was likely to be realized, and instead of the
Reform Bill being final, they would now have to light against the
questions of the Vote by Ballot and Universal Suffrage. In his opinion
the people of England must have a very extended sufPrage if they had
the Vote by Ballot.

Lord BROUGHAM was of the same opinion as the Noble Lord he
thought giving the Ballot, without an Increase of the Suffrage, would
be detrimental to Parliamentary Reform.

The Marquis of SALISBURY presented a petition from the Mayor
of Hertford against the Vote by Ballot.
NEGRO APPRENTICESHIP.
Lord BROUGHAM read, and laid upon the table of the House, the
resolutions which he intended to propose on Tuesday next relative to
negro apprenticeship.—The resolutions were ordered to be printed.
NATIONAL EDUCATION.
The Earl of ABERDEEN wished to know from the Noble Viscount
opposite, whether, after the Reports that had been laid on the table of
the House, and the discussions that had taken place within the last
three years, it was the intention of her Majesty's Government to take
any measures for increasing the means of religious instruction in Scotland ?
Lord MELBOURNE said the subject was under consideration.
BANKING AND TRADING COPARTNERSHIP BILL.
The House then resolved itself into a Committee of the whole House
en the Banking and Trading Copartnership Bill, which passed through
the Committee, and was reported, without amendments.
The House then adjourned till Monday.