The Sun.
London, England, 1849-05-16 00:00:00

THE CHARTER.

Mr. F. O'CONNOR gave notice that on Tuesday, the
sth of June, he would move a resolution that the House
recognised the great principles that labour was the
source of wealth, that the people were the source of all
legitimate power, that the labourer should first reap the
fruits of his own industry, and that taxation without
representation was mischievous.
PROTECTION OF YOUNG FEMALES.

Mr. HUMPHERY presented a petition from St.
John's, Southwark, in favour of the Bill for the pro-
tection of young females.
COLONIAL LEGISLATION OF CANADA.

Mr. HERRIES said he took that opportunity of
asking the Noble Lord at the head of her
Majesty's Government, whether he had received any
authentic information respecting certain grave
matters which were reported in the public
papers in regard to Canada, and whether he was
prepared to lay that information en the table of the
House? He would also take the liberty of asking, with
reference to a question which he had put to the Noble
Lord on a former occasion, whether her Majesty's Go-
vernment were now in possession of extracts from the
votes and proceedings of the Legislative Assembly
of Canada relating to the Bill of Indemnity for losses
sustained by the rebellion in Canada? He asked the
question, because the Noble Lord informed the House
that the Government was not in the habit of laying the
votes and proceedings of the Colonial Legislature of Canada
on the table of the House. He (Mr. Herries) knew
many instances, and especially a recent one—viz., when
the question of the navigation•laws was before the
House—where the Government had laid on the table of
the House extracts from the votes and proceedings of
the Colonial Leg islature of Canada.
Mr. ROEBUCK said, before the Noble Lord answered
the question, he wished to put another which he thought
would save the time. Inasmuch as the Indemnity
Bill was a money one, he wished to know if
Lord Elgin had received instructions as to how he
should act with respect to it from the Home Government.
A message must have been sent by the Government of
Canada to the Parliament, asking them to pass the Bill.
The consent, he believed, of both was necessary before
the Parliament of Canada could be brought into ope-
ration.

Lord JOAN RUSSELL—Mr. Speaker:—Sir, with
respect to the very serious events which have occurred
in Canada, I have to state, in answer to the first question
of the Right Honourable Gentleman, that a dispatch
has been received from the Governor-General of Canada,
directed to the Secretary of State for the Colonial De-
partment. That dispatch was only received at four
o'clock this afternoon. I have not myself seen it: it is
a document containing an accoult of the disturb-
ances at Montreal ; and there will be no objection
to lay it on the table of the House.—( Hear, hear.) With
respect to the next question of the Right Hon. Gentle-
man, and with regard, likewise, to that of the Hon.
Gentleman who has spoken last, I will only say
that Lord Elgin has stated that it is his inten-
tion to write by the next mail a dispatch stating
all the occurrences that have relation to the Bill for the
indemnification of losses in the late rebellion; and that
dispatch way be expected by the next arrival in this
country. I do not think—l will not, however, be positive—
that he has sent home extracts of the proceedings
and votes of the Assembly; but I conclude that all the
documents which he has received upon the whole matter
will he seat, and in that case there would be no objection
to lay the dispatch and the account of the whole pro-

ceedings before the House. Under these circumstances,
and the willingness of the Government to lay before the
House all these documents, as to the reasons under
which Lord Elgin felt he was justified in the
course he adopted, in assuming the respon-
sibility which he has in the exercise of the
functions entrusted to him, it would not be well to enter
further at present into the matter, until the Earl of
Elgin has had an opportunity of stating the whole of the
facts of the case, and the Government has had an op-
portunity of laying before the House an account of this
very serious affdir.

Mr. ROEBUCK said the Noble Lord had not answered
'his question—Was the course Lord Elgin adopted, iu
sending the Bill to the Parliament, sanctioned by the
Home Government and the Government of Canada?
Lord J. RUSSELL repeated that it would be far bet-
ter to postpone any further discussion of the matter
until the House was fully in possession of the whole of
the facts.

Mr. DISRAELI drew attention to the fact that on
the 22d of March the Under-Secretary for the Colonies
stated in reply to a question from his Right Hon. Friend
(Mr. Herries), that no instructions had been given to
Lord Elgin with respect to the introduction of the
Bill, or in contemplation of such a measure.
The Governor-General had the complete confidence of
the Government. That was a distinct answer. Though
no one wished to press the matter unnecessarily, yet it
would be satisfactory to know whether the reply of the
Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Hawes) was authentic or not.
Mr. ROEBUCK then repeated his question to Mr.
Hawes, who had just entered the House, and whose
conference with Lord J. Russell whilst the Hon. Gen-
tleman was putting the question, caused some laughter.
He wished distinctly to know whether instructions had
been sent out from the Colonial-office at home convey-
ing her Majesty's commands that her Ministers in
Canada should go down to the Houses of Parliament there
and propose this Bill. He asked this question, because it
was right that the responsibility of this measure should
rest on the proper shoulder. At the proper time
he should be enabled to explain the circumstances
which had given rise to the Bill.—(Order, order.)
Lord J. RUSSELL declined going furtherin to the mat-
ter; but in reply to the Honourable Member for
Buckinghamshire, he must add that all that had been
already stated on the subject was perfectly correct.
Mr. HAWES admitted that he received the note from
the Honourable Member for Sheffield, and he sent it up
to his Noble Friend at the head of the Colonial Depart-
ment, to enable his Noble Friend the First Minister to
be prepared to meet the question.
Sir JOHN PAKINGTON, in connexion with this
subject, wished to know if a petition, emanating from a
large and respectable assembly at 111,mtreul had not been
received at the Colonial-office, pra)ing, for the recal
of Lord Elgin, and that her Majesty would be pleased
to withhold her Royal assent from the Bill; and whether
any petitions to the same effect had been received from
other parts of the province?

Lord JOHN RUSSELL replied that, as the dis-
patch had been received so recently as four o'clock, he
was not prepared to answer the question, except in so far
that the newspapers stated such petition had been sent.
Mr. BRIGHT asked the Noble Lord if he was willing
to inform the House whether Government had received
any information to lead them to hope that the disturbance
had been put down.

Lord J. RUSSELL said the dispatch stated that the
province generally was tranquil, and at the time it left
Canada only public meetings were being held in various
parts of the province.

- Mr. P. HOWARD asked whether it was the inten-
tion of Government to increase the forces in Canada—
(Oh! oh !)—to send out some of the Guards—(A laugh)
—or some of the other troops.—(Cheers.) Was it the
intention of the Government to strengthen the power
of the Executive in the province, and to secure the Vice-
roy from anything like personal insult?
Lord JOHN RUSSELL was understood to reply in
the negative. There were but two constables in the
civil force of Montreal, and hitherto they had been suf-
ficient (as w© understood the Noble Lord) to preserve
order.—(A laugh.)
The sunject then dropped.
EMIGRATION FROM IRELAND.

Mr. MONSELL then rose, pursuant to notice, to call
the attention of the House to the importance of encou-
raging and promoting emigration from Ireland. It was
difficult to introduce such a question, as matters con-
nected with Ireland had become quite irksome
to the House. He perfectly agreed, however, with
the sentiments expressed by the Hun. and Learned
Solicitor-General, that what was wanted for Ireland was
a series of beneficial measures, and he did not in the
least imagine that emigration alone would be serviceable
in all parts of Ireland, or that in any part of Ireland
it could produce alone the results that they all desired.
The last time this question was brought forward was in
February, 1847, by the Honourable Member for Gates•
head, and in June of the same year by the Noble Lord
the Member for Falkirk, and it must have struck all who
listened to the remarkable speeches made on those two
occasions, that all the'prophecies then made had been since
literally fulfilled. •Every statement made with regard
to the results that were to be apprehended if the sug-
gestions then thrown out were not attended to had been
more then verified, and he thought that was a very good
reason why Government should take the subject into
their early consideration.—(Cries of " Hear, hear;')
He was anxious to occupy the time of the House
as briefly as possible, and therefore he should touch but
little on the existing social state of Ireland, with which
unfortunately they had been made too well acquainted
by the repeated debates which had taken place in the
House on the subject, and the statements which
were to be found in the newspapers and
the blue books. By this time every gentleman
in the House must be well acquainted with the fact that
no country in the world had ever been in a worse con-
dition than Ireland was at the present moment. The ex-
isting state of things in Ireland was unparalleled in the
history of nations. Never had a country suffered so
much as Ireland had done during the last few years.
Any gentleman who referred to the Poor-law Returns
would find that while in England the sustenance of a
pauper for the year cost something like 41., the suste-
nance of one in Ireland did not cost so much as 11.;
and notwithstanding the difference, the rates were so
high in Ireland that persons could not pay them, and
there was every prospect o the state of the country be-
coming gradually worse. A most remarkable statement
had been made with regard to the west and south of Ire-
land, by a distinguished foreigner who was well known
to Members of that House, and whose knowledge was
only exceeded by his philanthropy. He said, he had seen
in his perambulations round the world humanity in most
of the latitudes and longitudes, including the aborigines
in North America, the South Sea Islands, New Zealand,
and Australasia, but nowhere bad be seen misery of such
an aggravated character as in the western unions
of Ireland. He (Mr. Monsell) freely admitted
that emigration would do no good at all in some districts
of Ireland, for the people were reduced to such a state
of misery that they would not make good emigrants,
and therefore it would be idle to attempt emigration
in their case. But, on the other hand, he believed
that in as many as thirty unions, in which distress was
not so acute as in the eight or nine unions of which they
had heard so much, emigration might be beneficially re-
sorted to, and he moreover believed that it would rescue
them from becoming as bad as other parts of Ireland.
He was perfectly certain if they did not comply with the
petition of the Limerick board of guardians, which he
had alluded to, that in the county of Limerick the
same scenes of distress would be witnessed that had
occurred elsewhere. In the union of Ballina such
was the misery that some of the population had scarcely
a human appearance, and many time before the As-
sistant Barrister to pray that he would transport them,
saying, that they would rather work in chains abroad
than be at liberty at home without enough to keep
them alive. Even the landed proprietors were ruined,
their goods were distrained upon, and they were
left in fact without any resources for their support.
How was it that the potato failure of 1847 found Ire-
land in the position it was? The population had been
for years excluded from all the privileges of subjects,
they had been reduced to the lowest possible state of
degradation, they were satisfied with the lowest
possible amount of human food ; there was
no other country in the world where the people were
contented with such a low amount of the means of sub-
sistence. The potato failure of 1847 found them in the
position of passengers on board a ship who had been
living on short allowance. He thought it must strike the
House at once that their condition could be
only relieved either by some means for in-
creasing largely the amount of the food in
the country, or else by removing the people to some
other country where they could procure it. Compare
their condition with that of the people in other coun-
tries. In the ten years from 1821 to 1831 the popula-
tion of Munster, for example, increased 15 per cent.
In England there were 53 persons to each arable acre;
in Ireland there were 60; but in Ireland three-fourths
of the population were wholly dependent on agriculture,
whereas in England only a fourth or a fifth were de-
pendent on agriculture.—(Hear, hear.) In France
there were only 39 persons to 100 arable acres ; whilst
in Ireland there were 60 persons to each arable acre ;
and it should be recollected that there was in France a con-
siderable amount of manufactures, whilst in Ireland there
was hardly any. Under those circumstances, was it won-
derful that the unemployed people were eating ofthe very
vitals of the country, and hanging like a millstone round
the neck of every person who endeavoured to exert him-
self ? So long as that social state remained it was
utterly impossible to introduce capital into Ireland, and
he believed every remedy which they could introduce
would be utterly ineffectual until they removed that great
and most tremendous evil. The only chance of getting
any portion of capital into Ireland was to make the so-
cial condition of Ireland such as would attract capital.
He did not believe that the grants they had made
had conferred all the good that was claimed
for them.—(Hear, hear.) Why, all the money ex-
pended under the Land Improvement Bill, which was
an exceedingly good measure, did not employ 20,000
people, who would not be permanently benefited
by what was done in this respect for them. Had the
money been employed in emigration the country mould
have been relieved, and the poor emigrants would them-
selves have been materially benefited. The result was
not so bad as was stated, since successful emigrants al-
most invariably sent over money to their friends at
home, thus forming as it were the funds for future emi-
gration. It was said that the emigration was excessive.
What was its nature?—(Cries of " Hear, hear.")
Those who had read recently the accounts of the
class of persons going to New York must perceive
that they consisted of the middle class, the very
persons who employed the labouring class; therefore an
irreparable injury was inflicted upon upon the country.
The Hon. Gentleman read statements from Inspectors
in various parts of Ireland in support of the accuracy of
this statement, and to show that many corn merchants
had become bankrupt because the farmers to whom they
had lent money had sold off their stock and made for the
new world.—(Hear.) He denied that assisting emi-
gration would prevent, as heretofore, voluntary emi-

gration.—(Hear, hear) The class he sought to benefit
were just those who could not help themselves. It was
said that the natural resources of Ireland were
so great that they might support treble
~
present population.—(Hear, hear.) He did n°:
think that question bore upon the profitable employ/Dem
of those who could not obtain it at home. Undoubtedly
the resources of Ireland were great,
but what was their
value if the means of developing them were wanting 1
The other day the Under-Secretary of State seemed to
intimate that the Irish were bad emigrants. Now the
evidence adduced before the Emigration Commission
tended to show that the Irish were adapted for works f
great strength, that they were excellent workers
when hen they had it to do, and that they did not seep
assistance when they could obtain labour.
thought it,- therefore, most injudicious and unjust t:
cast aspersions upon people who were willing to " give
a fair day 'a labour for a fair day's wage" whey
ever or wherever they couid get it.—(Hear)
There was not the least doubt that the United States
were ready to receive and avail themselves of an/
amount of labour which could be sent out from Ire'
land. Mr. Mackay, in his able work upon the Wee
tern World, said that if half a million of Bored-
peen emigrants were to go to America, 85
were well distributed, that they would find a read!
,1
demand fur their labour in the States. In fact lus
country was in a position to absorb almost any amount
tn
of labour. He presued,Trom the information wh t,
ie
had just been received from Canada, that there was little
chance of the colony being in a position this Year
to give employment to any large numbers of emigrant!'
but there could be no doubt that many great publiled
works might. be undertaken in Canada, which will
give employment to thousands, and willow
upon their completion, would pay an ample Per
tentage. There was the Quebec and Halifo
Railway, and also the extension of the Erie Canal, both
which he thought ought to be undertaken by the Ge,'
vernment. It' Canada were annexed to the United Stat
such a great national work as the Erie Canal would uti
commenced in less than five years, because it Woe's
afford a channel of transit for the production
of that vast and enormous tract of country'
To turn to another colony—that of Southern Africa. .1,
was divided into two parts, and one part contained s
much fertile land as Scotland, producing in great
abundance Indian corn and excellent cotton'
1,700,000 bales of cotton had been grown
"
Southern Africa in one year, and in what
condition would this country be by the failure of that al"
tide in any one year ? One-half of our exports 10
cotton goods came from Southern Africa ; and eyed
Hon. Member, especially the Hon. Members for the
West Riding of Yorkshire and Lancashire, would see the
importance of cultivating that article in Southern Africa'
And now he came to consider the means which, it on'
curred to him, might be adopted to promote emigration
from Ireland. He should take the liberty of suggestiog,
two means. In the first place, he would sugge!'
that greater powers and facilities should be con'
ferred upon the guardians for raising mopes
to promote emigration. Power ought to be conferred
upon the boards of guardians to raise the money uP°,ll
the security of the rates, the money to be repaid le,
periods of five, six, and seven years.—(Hear, hear./
That was one measure. The other was to eolli
far a similar power on the landowners
L°
Ireland, who would be glad to borrow money upon tue
security of their lands to enable their unproduoti,r3
tenants to emigrate.—(Hear, hear.) The money to 11
advanced in this way might be raised by Governraend
on Irish Consols. The loan would be for the benefit
Ireland, and, of course, Ireland ought to be responsible
for its repayment.—(Hear, hear.) Without some such
measure as that, there was no hope for capital beipf
attracted ; and he should leave it in the bands 0
Government and the House, trusting that the'
would lose no time in adopting his suggestiont
• and put an end to the plague that at preSe"
paralysed the energies of the Irish people.—(Elea L'
hear.) Repeated had been the proposals for pro'
moving emigration from Ireland, and it was to be re
gretted that some of them had not been adopted before
this.—(Hear.) He hoped no one dreamt of the conditi°l3.
of Ireland ultimately being reformed by fain
and death, since such a feeling and such a pohear
was far more cruel than the practice of the Chinese./
who sacrificed their children to keep down the poPirs
lation.—(Hear, hear.) Without troubling the bic)ttst,
any further, he would conclude with moving e
address to the Crown for the production of an'
papers in the possession of her Majesty's Governnlea
relative to Irish emigration to the North American
colonies.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. J. W. FITZPATRICK seconded the motion.
Mr. JOHN O'CONNELL moved as an amendment
to substitute for that motion the following :--" That
emigration is, at best, a partial, tardy, and most expert'
sive remedy fur the evils of Ireland; and that it is 10'1g
immediately necessary at present to endeavour to thee.
the disastrous emigration of the farmers and small caps'
talists of that country, by giving them security agates
wanton ejectment, and loss of the fruits of their industrs
and enterprize, rather than to stimulate their depal"
tore, or that of the labourers who would be employed bit
them if such security were given, But that the 10!
immediate and pressing object for this House to coast;
der is the frightful progress of starvation, disease, an;
death in Ireland ; the total insufficiency of local mean.'
as well as of any assistance now afforded by the State If
arrest that progress, and the urgent necessity that eXi"<
for additional contributions from the State to save hurt'
dreda of thousands from perishing, and whole counties
from being depopulated. That therefore this House
do forthwith resolve itself into a Committee to cone
sider of further advances for the relief of distress ill
Ireland." He did not agree with the Hon. Member as
to the benefits of emigration, if it could be accomplished'
But the practical question to come to was, where W 0
the money to come from? Would the cost of emigrant./
end with the charges attendant upon their removal to •
new soil? The Hun. Member had not stated the number
of the Irish people that is would be necessary to renlqn
to effect this benefit. What number did he mean
of
take? Then the next question would be, the cost
removing each individual, and then the cost of renlold
ing and locating the whole. And, having once aster
tamed that, the next inquiry would be whether the
money could not be better spent at home. He to
it down as a maxim that the more you did for 50",,,
individuals the less they would rely upon therusel";„
Witness the public works in Ireland. Remittances wet,
now sent home by Irish emigrants to assist their rely
dons to follow them. Let the State once take up vitt
matter, and those remittances would instantly stop. -11-'
sides, the poor peasantry were not 'in a condition to Bb
ej
removed from their own country. Their physical strength
was completely gone, and in their preent condition they
would be unequal to the exertions that emigration w°ll.o
require. The exertions of the Society of Friends
Ireland were known to everybody, and he paid to the"'
~.
his unfeigned tribute of admiration. Nothing could 1,
said too high in praise of their charity, their hurnalll
and their wisdom too, in aiding the poor Irishman,
put him in the way of earning a subsistence. lie heir
now stated some objections in detail, but his general .0
jection was that the cost of wholesale emigration wool
be enormous. The first thing they ought to do wad
to to try to save the resources of the country. They waste
4
the assistance of that capital which the smalls
farmers would take away with them if the,
f'
emigrated. The small capitalist must be encourage
to spend his means on the soil, and there propene
came in the first part of his amendment. He now ea,c_e
to the second part, and the more important part, u.ee-
cause it related to the immediate salvation of hurt?;
lite. Even the Opposition newspapers were now admittle
ea
that life was wasting away. The Hon. Gentleman hero
read a portion of the charge of Mr. Sergeant Howley
the Tipperary Grand Jury, descriptive of the wretch
condition, the calamities, and the misery of the int
bitants of that locality. The Hon. Gentleman then rnyi
ferred to documents showing the state of the west
Ireland ; 860 deaths had taken place in one week 1,1
Bellinasloe workhouse. Persons were found dead 0,,
-
3
the roads and in the fields, famishing people were found
lying by the wayside with wasted forms, clad in raga;
and dying with hunger, and the churchyards in y 0 d• were overfilled with the carcasses of the dead
The selections he had made were of the slightest a;l3
most trivial kind from the mass of materials at his air,
posal, and he asked the House what it intended to rin
in such a case? It was evident that Ireland had mad
a great effort, but it was breaking down under tP,
pressure ; the tenants were flying from the counta:
notwithstanding the expenditure of Government ;
tractors for unions were giving up their contracts;
rates could not now be collected in suffieie;',
amounts to preserve life, and how was it possible then
raise an additional rate for emigration? Notwithstan
ing all that they had done, he did not undervalue
the House had done, yet having taken upon itself t
burden of the Irish people, and deprived them of • thedo
natural protector, a domestic Parliament, they trust 0,
something more. He would not propose the last Parma
graph of his amendment, which called upon them to
repeat;
into a Committee forthwith. But this he would rens
that unless they were prepared to agree in those lies
cursed doctrines of political economy which Perafes
calling themselves Chartists advanced there and e'9oo
where—they must immediately take into considerate,
other and more efficient measures than doles of 01,3h/e
by small instalments. They must act promptly qv%
tide of pauperism was rising higher and engulf). rs
all classes—it was sweeping away those who a few Yet,.
since were living in comfort. Remedial measa,r"
which it was hoped would be effective in the c0',.0,
of a few years, would, he feared, be found to be failures'
In In the mean time, society would be destroyed, and t
Noble Lord would only find that he had made a des
and called it peace. Something must be done to all.ele
the downward tendency of all classes, more extenslhe
than any thing yet proposed—and he called upon t"0,
House to go into a Committee for the purpose of
diately arresting death and starvation. He did not ea
rn
whether the measure he might propose were looked upon
as a
revolut'onary ; they were not a whit more revolutloeareo
than those proposed by that great anti-revolutionist ~,
Right Honourable Member for Tamworth. He said one
absentees from Ireland were deserters from their count
try.
nd
try. They ought to be in Ireland—they ought to
home, in order to take counsel with the people' It
spend among them whatever rents they did gel•
yl. t,
was said that property should support 13,°er _eland
Well, then, let them have all the property ociltloo
to support its poverty, not a part. In ada curiti
this measure, let them pass a measure giving se e one
to tenant farmers; and also carry out land drainage one
• that
improvements as auxiliary and secondary mesdureisn
waste would be
step which would save much time now
House, and promote more efficient legislation,
to send a Committee of the most eminent alto ‘r Aar
chat dt h
eMy e
mibgehr
ts
soefe tfhear tt Hh
eomu
sseel
soevse
what rietsl ane
cd;ni..sel
he
snore
dition was, and a practical judgment on the
,e__ldedge
House would then be able to legislate with a
.1030
as he
of the nature of the case. He ended by sipirt in Do
began, that he brought forward his amend_ but
casineu...,a is
simplyspirit
a fear t o
that
motionu the
e ofni colt
1 Hon.w se .n •

would tend to continue a wrong impression in that House
as to the actual condition and true remedies for the 1
country. The Hon. Member concluded by moving the
amendment on the paper, with the exception of the
concluding paragraph.
The amendment having been seconded,
_ Mr. MOORE said it was with great pain that he
found Irish Members neutralising each other in that
House. How could they expect that they should exer-
cise any influence in it if they acted in this way? With
respect to the amendment, it was ill-timed, ill-reasoned,
and inconsistent. As to the objection that emigration
was not a large and comprehensive remedy that would
Cure all the evils of Ireland, he would simply say that it
Was only charlatans and impostors who professed to cure
11. bad leg of forty years' standing by a universal oint-
ment. The simple question was, whether they should
support the people as paupers at home, on outdoor
relief, or give them the means of emigrating to lands
Where they could support themselves. But the people had
settled this question for them. They were, as far as pos-
sible flying from the country, end he wished to know how
the Hon. diember would prevent them? Lie might as well
attempt to prevent an eagle escaping from a slaver in
the middle passage. The real object ought to be to
assist and regulate it in the way best calculated to pro-
mote the interests of all parties. Whether by grants
,froth the Imperial Treasury, or by confiscation of the
bankrupts' estates, something must be done to fulfil the
first duty of all civilized states, namely, the preservation
of life. They must nut think that anything they had yet
done was sufficient for that purpose. and however much
be might differ with the Hon. Member as to the amend-
ment, he united with him in earnestly imploring that
House, in justice to its own character and to the people
of Ireland, and with a view to the judgment of posterity,
to come forward and discharge the duties which devolved
upon them, with a due regard of the heavy responsibili-
ties attached to these duties.—(Hear, hear,)

Sir GEORGE GREY said, the motion which had
been brought forward by the Hon. Member for Lime-
rick (Mr. Monsell), was a most important one, and
the manner in which he had dealt with it was most ju-
dicious. He should regret, therefore, if the few ob-
servations he had to make should tend to discourage that
kind of emigration which would be useful for Ireland.
He thought, however, that the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. J.
O'Connell) had not dealt fairly with his Hon. Friend
opposite, when he ascribed to him the opinion that emi-
gration was the only remedy for the evils of Ireland.—
(Hear, hear.) On the contrary, his Hon. Friend had
expressly said, that he looked upon it as one of a series
of measures which were requisite for that purpose.—
(Hear, hear.) He agreed with his Hon. Friend, that in
some cases emigration might be beneficial. There were
districts in which it might be said there was a con-
gestion of population, and their removal would, un-
doubtedly, be useful, and, in these cases, emi-
gration was, perhaps, one of the speediest re-
medies. But his Honourable Friend had, he
thought, underrated the present emigration from Ireland,
and also undervalued the assistance which was actually
given by the Government. The Hon. Gentleman said
that the emigration now was that of small farmers, who
carried away with them the capital which was wanted
in Ireland. He doubted, however, whether that class
formed a majority of the emigrants from Ireland. Last
year upwards of two hundred thousand emigrants had
left this country for British North America and the
United States, and nine-tenths of the emigration from
Liverpool was Irish, the great proportion of these were
merely labourers. In the first four months of the pre-
sent year the number was 120,000 (as we understood),
and he believed that small farmers did not predominate;
tut even if a number of that clase did emigrate, he
would ask the Hon. Gentleman if that would not be a
benefit to the colonies, who complained that they were
overstocked by persons who had nothing but their
labour?—(Bear, hear.) During the last year no less
than half a million was remitted from Irish emigrants
to their friends and relatives in Ireland, for the
Purpose of bringing them out to that country, and
he mentioned this circumstance to show that all the
money necessary for the purpose of emigration was not
supplied by Irish capital. With regard to the proposi-
tion of the Hon. Member for Limerick, that some power
should be given to boards of guardians to advance
money from the rates, to promote emigration, if it were
embodied in a clause, and submitted to the House, when
the amended Irish Poor-law Bill was under discussion,
the Government would give it their best consideration.
Having alluded to the several clauses of the Poor Relief
Acts, which enabled boards of guardians to assist emi-
grants, and stated that they were found practically ina-
dequate, he expressed the greatest desire that they might
be amended; and assured Hon. Members that he was
most anxious to have practical suggestions with that
view. The proposition for enabling landed proprietors
to encourage emigration also deserved consideration; but
he could not consent that the money already advanced
as loans from the Imperial Treasury for the purposes
of land improvement, could be diverted from its original
channel. He thought the colonies benefited by a well-
conducted system of emigration. When the Honourable
Gentleman's propositions came prominently before the
House, as they could in the form of clauses for insertion in
the new Poor-law Bill, they would meet with favourable
attention from the Government. With regard to the
amendment of the Hon. Member for the city of Lime-
rick, he thought there was much exaggeration in his
statement of the extent of Irish distress. Destitution
was, no doubt, very severe, and the privations the people
suffered were most distressing; but the statistics of
misery and starvation which the lion. Gentleman quoted
were quite incorrect, especially in the case of the Balli-
nasloe Union. The Right Hon. Baronet then proceeded
to justify the measures taken by Government for the
prevention of that distress, and having alluded to the
report of the Society of Friends, and quoted several
paragraphs from it, to show the great exertions which,
the Irish Executive had made, he concluded by reiterat-
ing his willingness to meet the views and wishes so ably
put forward by the Hon. Member for the county of
Limerick.

Mr. E. B. ROCHE was not one of those who de-
tracted from the great value of the grants made from
the Imperial Treasury; but while 119 was willing to
give credit to the Government fur the exertions
already made, he felt bound to state that the con-
dition of the labouring population was worse than
ever, and that unless active measures were at once
adopted, by employing that class in the cultivation of
the soil, the Government would, in the words of Mr.
Twisleton. become parties to the destruction of a fine
and a noble nation. The landlords, although they were
now doing their duty to a great extent, had formerly
neglected it, and many of the evils which afflicted the
worthy farmers were in a great measure attributable to
their misconduct. With regard to the proposition of
the Hon. Member for the county Limerick, he objected
to any extensive system of emigration, because of the
great expense it would entail. Besides, he did not think
they could do any good by their plans with respect to
emigration. Immediate measures were required, and
unless they were adopted on the heads of the Govern.
went would be the result.

A messenger from the Lords brought up a copy of
the proceedings in the case of " Smith O'Brien v. the i
Queen in error."
Mr. F. O'CONNOR said he had abstained from taking
part in the discussion on the Rate in ALI Bill, because
he did not wish to interpose any delay to the enactment
of a measure of relief for the suffering people of Ireland,
but when he found the subject of emigration brought
before the House, and the duties of the landlords
attempted to be thrown off their own shoulders,
he telt that to remain silent any longer would be
criminal. Was he to be told that this House,
which could deal with taxation, which could deal
with the property of the country, was to be called upon
night after night to do that for the Irish landlords which
they would not do for themselves ? Their notions of
Ireland in this country were derived from the conduct
of the middlemen, the representatives of the absentee
landlords, who resided in this and other countries. What
had been the cause of Irish misery and destitution was
this, that the Irish landlord cultivated his estate accord-
ing to the standard of political patronage, and not ac-
cording to the measure of its productive power. The
Hon. Member then proceeded to argue that the so-called
free-trade system had inflictedgreat mischief on Ireland,
and that many of those who had given their support to
the measure were now so convinced of the mischief that
had resulted, that if the question were again to come
before them they would vote against it. He had told
them, above a year ago, that they would lose Canada, and
they were now about to lose that colony. And he now
told them, that before another year they would lose Ire-
land; and if they did lose Ireland the fault would not
be so much in the Government as in the landlords of
Ireland. As the present was an Irish debate, and the
subject was that of emigration, he would say, God for-
bid that he should be a party to separating the people of
Ireland from the land of their birth. Ireland was a
country which might be great. Ireland was a country
which had been great, and which would yet be great, in
spite of the conduct of its landed proprietors.
Sir J. YOUNG said that the Hon. Member(Mr.
b
O'Connor) bad stated that Ireland had been
it ruinedn
free trade. Now he (Sir J. Young) thought by
would be
easy to show that the miseries of Ireland were to be
traced to other and very different causes.—(Hear, hear.)
The Hon. Member (Mr. O'Connor) had also stated that
every Irish Member, without exception, had informed
him that such was their
change of sentiments regarding
free trade that they would now, it they had the opportu-
nity,io. vote against it. So far, however, from that being
his (sir J. Young's) opinion, he thought that, on the
contrary, no part of the empire had benefited so much
by the measure of free trade as Ireland.—(Hear, hear.)
The Hon. Member then went into statements to show :he
extent and character of the distress that prevailed in the
county he had the honour to repro sent (Cavan), a county
in which the landholders had done their duty ; and the
opinion generally prevailed that nothing but a well-re-
gulated system of emigration could afford beneficial re •
lief. He supported the measure of emigration because he
had not much faith in many of the measures which had
been proposed in that House. He had every confidence
in the industry and energy of the people
of Ireland, and
he believed that the only class on which the people ould
place dependence was the people themselves.—(hear.)
Mr. SCULLY was opposed to any measures of emi-
gration when there was 'so much need of the people
remaining in Ireland to cultivate the soil of Ireland
(Hear, hear.) He thought, at events, that no mea-
sure of emigration could be useful unless it could be
made general. Another portion of the speech of the
Right Honourable Member for Limerick (Mr. John
O'Connell) was directed to show that means should be
taken for the preservation of life in Ireland, and he (Mr.
Scully) would give every support to any measure having
that object in view.
Mr. BOURKE supported the proposition before the
Horse, on the ground that it would produce imme-
diate benefit to the people of Ireland. He believed
that a well regulated system of emigration would meet
with the support of the great body of the people of that
country.
The douse then divided, when there appeared—

For the motion
For the amendment
Majority
PRISON

THE

-33

Mr. PEARSON then rose to move for the appoint
merit of a Select Committee to inqu:re and report upon
the practicability of establishing an uniform system of
discipline, punitive, reformatory, and self-supporting, to
be applied to all prisoners convicted of crime; and com-
menced by observing that the prisons of England cost
400,000/., irrespective of the expenditure incidental to
the punishment of prisoners by means of the huiks and
transportation. He undertook to prove that the criminal
class could be made to support themselves, without a
shilling of expense to the nation, and that, too, without
having recourse to slave labour, upon a reformatory
principle, and without interfering with the just rights of
labour. It was now twenty-five years since his atten-
tion was first directed to this subject as a member of the
Prison Discipline Society. Ho was twice Under-Sheriff
of London and Middlesex, and he at present held the
situation of public prosecutor for the city of London.
having made himself fully acquainted with the subject,
he was prepared to prove his case if the Hoese granted
him a Committee. His fit st proposition was in favour
of a uniform system. The cost of the prisoners
varied to such an extent as in itself demanded correction.
He saw by the inspector's report of the northern district,
that there had been recently erected a prison in this
country at a cost of 1,200/. per prisoner. The Milbank
Prison cost 5001. per prisoner. The New Prison, under
the new system—that at Reading, for instance—cost
2201. per prisoner. The enunciation of this fact entitled
him to a Committee of Inquiry. If that system of sepa-
rate imprisonment be carried through, it would cost the
country six millions of money to erect the necessary ac-
commodation that would be required for the purpose.
The enormous increase of crime in this country was
enough to startle every considerate man. Ile had ex-
amined the statistics on this subject, and took upon
himself to be answerable fur the truths of these figures.
The number of commitments and re-commitments in
England and Wales to trial on criminal charges bad in
creased within the last forty years upwards of 400 per
cent., whilst the population only increased within the
same period 65 per cent. The committals for
trial had increased, in 1846, 428 per cent. beyond
what they were in 1810. He was aware that
this enormous increase of crime was not to be attributed
entirely to an increased depravity on the part of the
people. The transition from war to peace hed its in-
fluence in respect to it. Then, again, the vigilance of
the police had so increased that crime was more effec-
tually detected than heretofore. Again, the altered state
of the law, by which the county was made to bear the
cost of prosecutions, had an ell ct in increasing the
number or persons convicted of crime. But the changes
made in the law since 1810 had the greatest influence
in causing this increase in respect to the statistics of
crime. He begged just to mention that it had been in-
timated to him, that if he did not apply at once for his
Committee he should lose his House.—(A laugh.) Well,
he had no desire to lose his Committee; but it was
necessary, in order that he should obtain it, to lay
before the House the grounds upon which he claimed
it—and if those persons connected with the Govern-
ment, whose duty it was to keep a House, did so on
this occasion, he would be enabled to lay sufficient
grounds before it to warrant him in asking for this Com-
mittee of Inquiry. The commitments to prison for lar-
cenies and petty offences which were punished with
imprisonment varying from seven days to six months,
were about 80 per cent. The committals for trial in
1846 amounted to 26,851, and the summary committals
during the same year amounted to 65,992, making a
total of committals of 92,843. Under the present sys-
tem prisoners were better fed, lodged, and cared for,
than such a class of persons when out of prison. In
acting in this way, they did an injury to the class of
persons in question, and they inflicted an injury on the
ratepayers.
An Hon. MEMBER here moved that the House be
counted, but there being more than 40 members present,
Mr. PEARSON resumed, and said that four-fifths of
the criminals were led to crime from intemperance,
which was also mixed up with idleness. The point
upon which he rested was, that the great body of the
male criminals consisted of able bodied men, and who
could, at liberty, not only maintain themselves, but
five other persons. Now, there was a feeling in this
country against slave labour, and the Hon. Member for
Montrose regretted that they could not look this ques-
tion in the face. Still it was justifiable. It was de-
clared in scripture, he that steals should be sold in
bondage, and their Saxon ancestors carried that prin-
ciple into practical effect. The scripture further says—
if a man do not labour, neither shall he eat. The scrip-
ture was part of the law, and was recognised by them
all. There was nothing new in the proposal he should
make, that prisoners should maintain themselves. In
Massachussets prisoners were enab'ed to maintain them-
selves and pay the salaries of the officers of the institu-
tion. They were also enabled to give each prisoner, on
his liberation, a suit of clothes and a gift of money, be-
sides appropriating an annual sum towards the liquida-
tion of the original cost of the building. The same thing
was done in Belgium and France. lie, however, objected
to the American system, because it was not adapted to
this country. The employment of prisoners displaced
the work of honest artisans, and flooded the market of
honest industry. In France and Belgium machinery
was used, and as the prisoners could not, on their libera-
tion, purchase machines, they, of course, could not earn
their bread when they came out of prison. He, there•
fore, did not approve of such systems, but sought to
establish a better system. In this country, however, they
adopted this system with all its disadvantages without
its benefit, as was the case in the Pentonville and Mil-
bank prisons. What was the case with regard to the
continental systeni? They received the produce of prison
labour in this country to displace the labour of our own
free artisans. It was beyond doubt that various articles
of prison manufacture were imported into this country
from Belgium. He denied that Mr. Howard was favour-
able to the separate and solitary system. He would also
quote in favour of his suggestion the names of Arch-
bishop Wheatley, Archdeacon Paley, and Captain Ma-
conochie. They should apply to prisoners the prin-
ciple that if a man do not labour neither should he eat.
All men were stimulated to exertion by present enjoy-
ment and futuro independence. Why not give the same
stimulating impetus to prisoners? He asked them to try
the experiment, to make the period of their imprison-
ment and the quality of their food depend upon their
industry. That would be extending to them the prin-
ciple of present enjoyment by the quality of their food,
and that of independence by shortening the period of
their imprisonment. He proposed that prisoners should
be employed upon the land. He maintained that a thou-
sand acres of land would support a thousand prisoners
and two hundred officers. He did not himself possess
any broad acres, and might not be regarded as
an authority upon the subject, but he had the
opportunity of communicating with the mem-
bers of the Farmers' Club, from whom he
had received a hundred letters, in which it was stated
that a thousand acres would produce all that was requi-
site for the support of a thousand persons, estimating
the food of the parties on the highest scale of allowance.
He had already stated that it would be sufficient to
clothe them, and to a great extent to pay the salaries of
the officers. He would prefer putting the prisoners on
the land, because it was a natural occupation, it was
easiest to be learned, and particularly suited to these
parties, who wore between twenty and forty years of
age. It was also the most healthy, which was worth
consideration, as it was stated as a reason for the great
expense incurred for the maintenance of prisoners, that
it was necessary to feed them better in idleness than if
they were engaged in industrial occupations; that in fact
they were, during their confinement, in a state of disease;
besides, the prisoner would not be in the condition of the
Belgian, who, on his liberation, would want a machine
to engage in industry; all that would be required in
this case was a spade, which was easily obtained. He
had the certificate of two eminent architects, and was
prepared to prove it before the Committee, if he got one,
they could get one thousand acres of land, say at 40/. an
acre, build a wall around it as high as that of Millbank
Prison, and all that could be done at one-half the cost
which the prisoners now imposed on the nation. He
came to that House to discuss and promote that use of
it, and if he were not able to prove all he asserted ho
should resign his seat into the hands of his constituents.
Why should not the tailors in prison make clothes for
the prisoners, why not the shoemakers shoes, and the
women spin—and, in fact, why not a prison community
support itself? All prison discipline carried on in this
country was bad, but that now in particular favour was
especially bad, namely, the system carried on at Reading
gaol. He should say nothing of the expense to the
country in building prisons, which must amount to at
least six millions; because, if a reform really took
tfsrhet
prisonerseh ofreadyeHouses meeap g.
place, no expense should be spared; but the separate
or silent system, he contended, was a total failure. That
a
should
ageo
:umt ;et:
haunMtnommutwni
treatment
rat:
eyhe
an,eodyfo
hnftoeohwureoer
system was religious instruction, amusing labour, diet,
magistrates, rab tuerss, t dukin
laduegschr)i—b-
-at
the
eLßodeueadsdcirnli
gap laughter.)
description
ei.r.
given)
THhoeef
Hon. Gentleman then read an extract from the Rev. Mr.
Field's work on prison discipline, describing the manner
in which prisoners were treated at Reading, and which
appeared in this paper during the discussions which took
place in the City of London Institution in February last.)
That was the description of the manner in which sheep
stealers and criminals were treated, and he had no hesi-
tation in saying that such a proceeding would in the
space of 18 months destroy the morals of the moat
honest in society. It was well known that the silent
system, if applied with inhumanity and parsimony, we-;id
allowed it
prove P in Reading
and iftha het awerreisonw. _
producemittee h insanity, e
w ould
gaol was now a lunatic in Bethlehenl Hospital in conse-
quence of the treatment he nceived. The entire sys-
tem was a failure as a mans of reformation. He wished
to as that hard
know from the Right Hon. Baronet, the Secretary of
State for the Home Department, why it w
as directed by the Gaol Act, the 4th of Geo. IV.
labour was not provided for prisoners in the model pri-
sons,
calendars
The number of prisoners sentenced for .hard labour to
Reading gaol, as estimated from the printed
and though sentenced to hard labour,
—being those alone discharged at assizes—from 1844 to
1848, was 1,625;
were subjected to the effeminate indulgence of that gaol,
crime
instead of being deterred from committingfurther
by severe punishment. He had now, thanks to the kind
statement, and being
indulgence of the House, made his
convinced that no more useful subject could be dis-
cussed; recollecting that the Noble Lord at the head
of the Government had declared prison discipline to
be a problem which was yet to be solved, he should
persevere in bringing it forward before the House, on
every occasion which should present itself. He only
asked to deal with prisoners in gaols as they did
with persons not imprisoned, or guilty of crime ; to
act upon the principle, that if a man did not woi k
neither should he eat, and believing a reformation not
impracticable, he should conclude, again thanking the
House, by moving for a Select Committee to inquire
and report upon_the practicability of establishing an uni"

SUN, LONDON, WEDNIRSDAY

form system of discipline, punitive, reformatory, and
self- supportieg, to he applied to all persons sentenced to
imprisonment for crime.
Mr. OSBORNE seconded the motion.
Sir G. GREY said he should give every credit to the
Hon. Gentleman for the trouble that he took in bringing
the motion forward. He should also say that he agreed
with many of his arguments on the matter; yet he
would suggest to him not to press his motion for the
present, unless it were the general wish of the House
that he should do so. He should at the same time
observe, that while the Honourable Member alluded
particularly to the Model Prison at Reading, that
ho had altogether excluded from his catalogue
of prisons Millbank, Pentonville, and others, where the
prisoners were employed in works of labour under the
separate system, and that even much of what he had
stated respecting Reading was not by any means
applicable to his motion. He hoped that the Honourable
Member would admit that the object of every prison dis-
cipline was to reform and inflict just punishment at the
same time, and that such was practised at Reading he
had not the least occasion to doubt. He also considered
that the Honourable Gentleman had not done justice to
the recent improvements made in prison discipline, for
he (Mr. Pearson) stated that he was for a uniform
system of discipline, but did not point out the means by
which it could be universally adopted. When he agreed
with the Hon. Gentleman that there should be no useless
expense, he (Sir G. Grey) should inform him that the
expense,of 1,2001., to which he alluded in the improve-
ment of one gaol, occurred 25 years ago, and that the
present separate model system did not then exist.
Mr. PEARSON said that he quoted the words of the
inspector of prisons, who asserts that it amounted to
1,2001.
Sir G. GREY—When the Hon. Gentleman alluded
to the increase of committals in the several gaols in Eng-
land, he (Sir G. Grey) was at a loss to know whether
he made a comparison with the time of Howard, or with
any particular period since then, as he (Mr. Pearson)
should understand that his comparison of late years
with former might be true in one sense, because there
were formerly very few police in the country, and that,
therefore, those few did not perform those duties due to
justice and society, as well as the force that now exists,
and consequently there were then fewer committals; but
he hoped that the Hon. Gentleman would admit that
there were great improvements in society of late years,
though there were more committals, and that, therefore,
his opinion was, that the prison discipline was more effi-
cacious than the past system of other days. He did not
think that he alluded to the discipline of the days of
Howard, and would be therefore glad to know to what
time he alluded.

Mr. PEARSON said, that if the Committee were
granted, he would then show to what time he alluded.
Sir G. GREY said, that he was also at a loss to know,
whether those 1,000 prisoners, in 1,000 acres, at a cost of
1,0001., were to have separate sleeping places, or to be
together day and night, but he supposed that that too
would be given in evidence before a Committee. There
were three reports of the Inspectors of Prisons in 1779,
and solitary confinement was strongly approved of in all
of those reports ; also Archdeacon Paley concurred in
that opinion, as did also Mr. Howard. He perfectly
agreed with the Honourable Gentleman, that labour
should be associated with the system of separate con-
finement, and that it would be of very great advantage
that the prisoners should be employed in the open air.
He should next ask the county Members whether they
were prepared to afford 500 or 1,0(h) acres for those pri-
sons, but he (Sir G. Grey) thought that the expense would
be too great, though he, at the same time, fully concurred
that the shoemaker and the tailor should be employed
at their respective callings, yet be subject to such sepa-
rate confinement as would give them a distate for pri-
son discipline. At the same time it should be borne in
mind that the work of these men should not interfere
with the labour-market, for then the honest man would
be interfered with in his employment. In fact, he (Sir
George Grey) did not see what the Committee could do
in that matter, but at the same time that he would op-
pose an inquiry, but not a speculative one, if it were the
general wish of the House that such should take place.
But when he (Mr. Pearson) said that the present system
was destructive of its object, he did not at all agree with
him, for it was obvious to every one that the condition of
the age, strength, and morals of prisoners should be con-
sidered, and that justices of prisons should have a dis-
cretionary power of relaxing or remitting punishment,
under the sanction of the Secretary of State, according as
they consider the prisoner worthy of such remission.
Nor did he see what was the plan that the Hon.
Member intended to substitute instead of the present one.
He looked upon the plan of 1,000 acres for 1,000 prison-
ers, at a cost of 1,0001., as merely speculative, because
it should be considered that prisons in one locality
would cost twice as much as in another, through stone
and other necessaries being contiguous or remote; and
also that in buildings near towns, that the ground is
also a much higher item than that more distant. He
thought, from the opinions of the most distinguished
men on that subject, and also from his own experience,
that the separate system was the better one for the im-
provement of the moral and social condition of the pri-
soners, and that by it there is not now any additional
expense; whereas, if the Hon. Member's plan were to
be carried out, there would be a double expense; first,
that those prisons already built should be kept for per-
sons not convicts, according to him (Mr. Pearson); and,
secondly, that those buildings to which be alluded would
be of such an enormous and exorbitant expense, that
the country was nut prepared to meet such a heavy
pressure at present. Ha also agreed with him that
the dietary should be less; but should remark, that
he (Sir George Grey) had for some time had to com
ply with the regulations in that department which were
in force on his accession to office as being established
by the Right Honourable Baronet the Member for Ripon
(Sir J. Graham)., and that that was now considerably
altered, he hoped for the better, so as to make the dis-
cipline as distasteful as possible to the prisoners. He
should say that Mr. Merry, the inspector of the Read-
ing gaol, totally disagrees with the Hon. Gentleman as
to the number of recommitments, and that he (Mr.
Merry) states that they are less by 10 per cent., and that
the reports of the recommitments are very unsatisfactory.
He had been informed by the Hon. Member for Berk-
shire (Mr. R. Palmer) since he (Sir G. Grey) had come
into the House, that the inspectors and officers of the
Reading gaol courted inquiry. He hoped, however,
that he (Mr. Pearson) would not press for a division on
his motion, as it evinced so much of a speculative
scheme.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. R. PALMER said that he considered that the
case of Reading gaol was exaggerated by the Hon. Gen-
tleman (Mr. Pearson), and he could assure him that Mr.
IMerry and the other persons connected with thatestablish-
eat had not the slightest objection to any inquiry. From
his experience of fire years, during which time he
had been a visiting magistrate, he considered that there
were very great improvements in that gaol. He would
read two letters from persons belonging to the Reading
prison confirmatory of his assertion. He explained that
there was a great difference between solitary confinement
and separate confinement. Solitary confinement was one
of the greatest punishments that could be inflicted upon
human beings, but separate confinement involved no
more than the enforcement of a discipline which was es-
sential to the good order of a gaol. He apporoved gene-
rally of the plans suggested by the prison inspectors.
The Hon. Gentleman made some further observations,
but they were so imperfectly heard in the gallery that
their purport could not be gathered with certainty.
On the motion of Mr. BROTHERTON, the debate
was adjourned till to-day.
The Grants of Land (New South Wales) Bill was
read a third time.

The Grand Jury Cess (Ireland) Bill went through
Committee.

The House adjourned at Half-past Twelve o'clock.

THE SEA SERPENT.—Many have been the state-
ments of late respecting this lusus natura having been
seen in its natural element. Much to our surprise, we
find that what has hitherto been deemed a fictional
monster, is likely to be soon exhibited in our own me-
tropolis. We observe in the Newcastle papers, that a
strange and hitherto unknown fish, nearly thirteen feet
in length, and possessing many of the characteristics
which the captain of the Dtedalus enumerated in his
description of the great Sea Snake, has really been
caught off the Northumbrian coast, by the Cullercoats
fishermen, and has been exhibited in Newcastle, where
it has created the greatest sensation. The members of
the Natural History Society of that town have duly re-
ported upon it, and expressed their opinion, that it is a
young specimen of the genus Gymnetrus, only four of
which species, and those very rare, are known to
icthyologists; and described by Cuvier and others as in-
habiting the Indian, Mediterranean, and White Seas.
To this new and extraordinary one, the name of Gym-
narus Northumbricus has been given, specimens of which,
in their adult state, have most probably led to the
astounding descriptions hitherto published of the set,
serpent. The present specimen has become the prov,ety
of a Newcastle merchant, who has presented it
to the
Museum of that town, and we hear, that in a'Jcordancestin
with a very general wish of most of our 0.
Aguished
naturalists, it is on its way to the metrope:iis,
pur-
pose of being exhibited. If its appe
strange as the report of the Nature r eance be really as
for the
presents it to be, it is likely to ".ttract as much attention
Nature', History Society re-
-../
in London as it already has -
of the great marl ..
:lone in the north, and fully
to account for the man .
"je monster.
seemingly fabulous descriptions
M. Git(n*At's TULIP Snow.—The private view
of the
itlY.,ual show of tulips at the grounds of the cele-
brate u floriculturist Mr. Groom, at Clapham, took place
on Monday, and was attended by' a more than usual
number of the nobility and gentry, florists, amateurs,
&c. Amongst them were the Duchess of Marl-
borough and party, Madame Bunsen, Lords Manners,
Falkland, Minto, Ilawarden, Gage, Northwich, Lilford;
Lady Langdale, Miss Coutts Burdett, &c. The appearance
of the filwers, about 2,000 in the bed, under cover,
'howed what art could do to counteract the niggard-
ness of an ungenial spring and the cutting in
fluence of an easterly wind. They were of extra-
ordinary splendour, and amongst them were
some specimens of the most exquisite beauty. Tho
flowers in the grounds not beneath covering had suffered
from the cold, and were consequently inferior to those of
more propitious former seasons; indeed, it is known that
in most places the labours of tulip-growers have been
this year completely lost, and not only the flowers, but
the roots themselves have been destroyed. Amongst the
most excellent of the specimens were those known as the
Addison, Duke of Devonshire, Norfolk, Victoria, Louis
XVI., Michael Angelo, Catalini, Bacchus, Nourri
of a perfectly new description.
Ef-
fendi, imperatrix florum, and one unique and novel spe-
cimenJ
F. Denham, the rector of St. Mary -
morning the Rev. J. LAMB AND FLAG RAGGED SCHOOLS.—On Sunday
powerful the
re
discourse,
at St. Mark's Churc , rentonville, to a crowded congre.•
gation, who respondedthe Rev. Henry llughes, the in-
cumbent 351. In the evening
s
ha
to the appeal by the subscription
le. Strand, delivered
of these schools. The im-
pressivecon-
gregation discourse insupport
further sum of 171.
Gordon square, delivered an
gra ti