The Sun.
London, England, 1849-06-30 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PA
(TH!$ 11

RLIAME
AY.)

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
The SPEAKER took the Chair shortly alter Twelve
o'clock.

TIIE CHOLERA.

Mr. FREWEN wished to put a question to t'te Right
Hon. Baronet at the head of the Home Department.
From accounts that appeared in the paprs, it was stated
that several very bad cases of cholera had cccurred in
London, and that that dreadful disease was considerably
on the increase. He wished to know whether the Go-
vernment had taken any practical .proceedings to secure
the health of the metropolis, and more particularly whether
anything had been done to put a stop to interments in
the churchyard of St. Margaret, near that House?
Sir G. GREY said that the Board of Health had taken
every precaution to prevent the spread of cholera in the
metropolis, but they had no power to prevent burials
in metropolitan churchyards.
POOR RELIEF (IRELAND) BILL,

The House then went into Committee on this Bill.
On the 12th clause bring proposed,
Mr. HENLEY said ho feared the operation of the
clause would he found very prejudicial, and would give
great encouragement to oppression and litigation by ex-
tending judgments to small sums.
Mr. NAPIER thought the observations of the Hon.
Member applied to the 13th rather than to the 12th
clause.
Sir D. NORREYS considered that there ought to be
a cl•+use to give additional facilitation for the collection
of the rates.
Colonel DUNNE agreed with the Hon. Member for
Oxfordshire, that the clause would lead to oppression
and litigation.
Mr. FRENCH objected to the clause.
Mr. S f AFFORD thought that the effect of this
clause would be that there would be no such thing as a
tenement left in Ireland.
Colonel DUNNE wished to explain a statement which
the Hon. Member for Northamptonshire had frequently
made in the course of the debate, that the majority of
Irish Members had voted against the maximum rate ;
now the real state of the case was that the majority of
Irish Members who had voted for the maximum rate
was as great as the minority who had voted against it.
Mr. SCULLY thought that if this clause were
passed it would be greatly to the benefit of Ireland.
After a few words of explanation from Sir G. GREY,
Mr. HENLEY thought that it was necessary to con-
fine the remedy which was proposed to the district
in which the poor-rates Were raised. In many parts of
Ireland receivers were appointed, and he thought this
system was a great curse to the country. In those parts
where the rates were not paid they would find receivers.
He would throw a suggestion to the promoters of the
Bill that the receiver should be obliged to pay the rate
when a civic Bill was handed over to him.
Mr. SCROPE referred the House to the evidence of a
deputy-lieutenant of the county Mayo, by which the ap-
pointment of receivers was declared to be of great benefit.
Mr. NAPIER thought that the suggestion of the Hon.
Member for Oxfordshire was provided for in the 13th

clause.
Mr. HENLEY could not see that it was.
After a few words from Mr. NAPIER and Sir GEORGE
GREY,
Mr. MONSELL thought that Government had been
guilty of several omissions in the enactment of this Bill;
and, especially, in not limiting the operation of this
clause to the electoral division.
Mr. GROGAN decidedly approved of the
suggestion of the Honourable Member fur Oxfordshire.

Mr. STAFFORD said, disguise the matter as they
would, the effect of the clause would be to make one
man pay the debts left unsatisfied by the preceding
tenant, who might have left his rates unpaid. He was,
therefore, much opposed to it.
Sir LUCIUS O'BRIEN denied that Irish proprietors
wished to sea out their tenants, and was glad to see the
Noble Lord at the head of the Government in his
place. He insisted that the recommendations of the
Committee should be embodied in the Bill. The 41.
rating clause w,is the cause of the evictions in Kilrush,
and the landlords had not received any rent from the
tenants for several years. Last year he had to pay one
hundred pounds in rates for small houses on his pro-
perty, from the tenants of which, he had received rent;
but next year such would be the condition of that pro-
perty that he should be compelled to summon the
tenants. He stated other cases of injustice to landlords.
Mr. P. SCROPE objected to landlords being allowed
to have any summary powers beyond those they pos-
sessed to eject tenants who were in arrear with their
rates. At such a season, when crops were failing and
the tenants could not pay their rents, surely they would
not add any other stringent powers to the hundreds that
had already b. en passed by landlord Parliaments.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL thought his Hun. Friend
(Sir George Grey) was quite right in not committing
himself to any future clauses which the Committee might
have to consider, because it was obvious that this
was a question of great difficulty, and that it would be
very inconvenient if the Government were to be com-
mitted to future clauses, and called upon to enact that
which, on consideration, they might not think ex-
pedient.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") The proposal of
the Hon. Gentleman the Member for Limerick, seemed
very feasible—that, in the first place, the rates should
be levied on the electoral division, and, in the second
place, that the landlord should have the power to come
into the possession of his land, for the purpose of enabling
him to pay the rates for which he had become
liable. On the one hand, the second seemed a fair
proposition; but, nevertheless, the objection of the 11.
Member (Mr. Scrape) was a strong one. Indeed, he
should be sorry to give further power ofejectment in Ire-
land in order that tenants might be turned out when these
rates becama due. On the other hand, a landlord
who finds that his tenant would neither pay rent nor
rates, he thought to make the landlord liable for a long
period of arrears, when, if he had been in possession (d
his property, he could have paid it, would be a great
hardship.—(Hear.) He thought, therefore, that some
limitation of time as to his responsibility in this respect
would go to some extent to remedy the inconvenience
complained of.
Colonel DUNNE said, he had expected some provi-
sion would have been made in the Bill before the Howe
srith respect to the arrears of rent due from the tenants.
Mr. VESEY thought there ought to be some provi-
sion to prevent a landlord being made liable for the rates
of an unfortunate tenant, between whom and the eel-
lectors there might be some c dlusi,es. It some such
provision as that was introduced into the Bill, he would
vote with the Noble Lord at the head of the Govern-
ment; if not, he would vote against it.
Mr. NAPIER agreed in the propriety of that sugges-
tion, but thought it was not involved in the clause under
consideration. _ _

Lord J. RUSSELL said he would endeavour to bring
in a clause which would carry out the suggestion.
After a few words from Lord NAAS,
Mr. GROGAN said he would put the case of an oe-
cup) leg tenant who got into arrear with his rates. He
was summoned into a court of law, and a judg-
ment obtained agaitut him. The probability was
that he was in arrear with his rent also,
and the landlord would naturally take the course o
putting an end to the tenancy. A judgment at-
tached to the tenant's interest in the land; the landlord
put an end to the tenancy, and what became of the
judgment creditor?
Sir G. GREY made an observation on the case put
by the Hon. Member (Mr. Grogan) which was inaudible
in the gallery.
Sir L. O'BRIEN said with respect to land lying
waste, there were cases in which a long period
occurred before the landlord could get possession of it,
and when the landlord ejected the tenant, he (the land.
lord) found that he had not only lost his rent, but was
liable for a very large sum for poor-rates. He (Sir L.
O'Brien) did think tne Government ought to make some
provision for a case of that kind.
Mr. STAFFORD suggested the postponement of the
consideration ot those twoclauses until they were brought
up in connexion with `the clauses which, as he under-
stood, the Government had pledged themselves to
bring in.
Mr. HERBERT was opposed to the principle of selling
one man's property for the debt of another.
Sir W. BARRON could not agree to the clause with
out some positive understanding that there should be
some limit to it, and that the House would not give the
power to sell without giving also the power to take
possession of the land from the party for
whose debt the land was about to be sold.
He protested against the statements made from
time to time by the Hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. P.
Scrope) with regard to the tenure of land in Ireland.
which were mere theoretic statements obtained from
pamphlets, rather than from an actual knowledge of the
country.
After a few words from Mr. VESEY and Colonel
DUNNE,
The clause was agreed to without a division.
Lord NAAS moved as an amendment to the next
clause, that the words " electoral division" be substi-
tuted for the word " union" in the 43d line.
Mr. HENLEY said, as they were dealing in a very
violent and dangerous manner by ex post facto legisla-
tion with men's property, he thought some limit ought
to be introduced as to the priority of certain claims for
arrears of poor-rate. This limit he considered should
apply both with respect to time and amount.
Sir G. GREY preferred the word " union" to " elec
toral division."
The Committee then divided, when there appeared—
For the amendment ..• 40
Against it ••• 72
—32

Majority
(LEFT SITTING.)

STAMP AND TAX-OFFICE ASSURANCE SOCIETY.—
On Thursday, the 28th inst., the directors of the above
institution gave their annual excursion on board the:
Gem, Captain Hoskins, in aid of the funds, and visited
the Wellington, Captain Gordon, lying off Sheerness,
where they were kindly welcomed by the lady of th,
Commander, the officers, and their wives (sieknesb
alone preventing the Gallant Captain receiving th,
company himself), and allowed to dance on th,
quarter-deck of their splendid ship. The director•
knew no compliment equal to express the great gratifi •
cation all felt at the indulgence allowed them but b)
ptrdiely acknowledging it, after a day spent to the de-
light of at least 500 persons. The Gem returned tt,
London-bridge about 10 o'clock, landing the whole ol
her company in safety.
A GOOD EXAMPLE.—The committee of the Bath
General Hospital have come to a determination to dis-
continue the interments in the burial-ground belongink
to the hospital, situated immediately opposite the Com
snercial Rooms on the north side of the old borough wall
The ground has seen covered with a stratum of concrete
Aye iuches thick,—Lancet,