The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-26 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.
HOUSE OF COMMONS, Apric 23.
BRIBERY AT ELECTIONS BILL.
(Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.)
Mr. NEWDEGATE of j ‘cted to the declaration
upon the principle that it would have the effect of bring-
ing all declarations into contempt.
Lord J. RUSSELL Lit bound to vote against the
clause, expressing his opinion that the Bill would not
even, it' carried into stringent effect, be sufficient to
prevent the practice of bribery under the cloak of
giving a fair remuneration to a voter for the
expenses which he incurred in going to the poll. The
Noble Lord then cited the case of Mr. Strutt, and stated
his firm belief that no man could have been actuated by
higher motives than that gentleman--(Loud cheers)—
and yet he had been unseated by the decision of a Com-
mittee, and if this Bill had been the law of the lard, he
could not possibly have come up to the table and make
the declaration which it required.—(Loud cries of
" Hear, hear.") On the whole he thought that the Bill
would produce more of injury than benefit.—(Gear.)
Sir ROBERT PEEL was induced to object to this Bill
because he conceived that it was only leading the House
to take delusive securities. The Right lion. Baronet
then went on in a very happy strain of humr, to show
how the provisions of the Bill might be avoided by any
clever solicitor in a small borough, where he was a man
of influence, and who chose to take his reward in the
shape of a Government office instead of a pecuniary re-
turn. He had merely made these observations with a
view to show that the security, if taken, would be only a
delusion, and that it would be simply giving the dishonest
and unscrupulous an advantage over the sensitive and
conscientious man.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. BROTHERTON said that although there was an
evidently expressed desire for the suppression of bribery,
yet the question still remained—was:that really the case?
He could conscientiously say that he had never been
guilty of bribery—(Cries of " Hear, hear")—but yet his
election had not cost him less than 4,0001; and he knew
that the expense of such affairs must always be consider-
able.—(Hear, hear.) If this Bill were not sufficient for
its purpose, the measure of his lion. Friend the Member
for Montrose (Mr. Hume) was so. Members of a consti-
tuency generally supposed that they were doing a candi-
date a wonderfully great service by sending him to that
House; but what he (Mr. Brotherton) wished to impress
upon constituencies was, that Members were sent to that
House, not for a privilege, but to do their business.—
(Hear, hear.) At any rate this was a move in the right
direction, and he should support the proposition of the
Hon. Baronet.
After a few words from Mr. Sharman Crawford, from
Mr. Hume (who said that if his proposition with re-
spect to the ballot was adopted the mischief would be
avoided altogether), and from Mr. Aglionby,
Sir J. PAKINGTON, in reply, said that after the
opposition which had been offered to this clause of the
Bill, ho did not feel justified in putting the House to the
trouble of a division, but still it was due to those Hon.
Members who had supported him to proceed in the way
which they deemed to be most advisable.—(Loud cries of
" Divide, divide.") He was satisfied with the testimony
which had been borne to the singleness of his purpose
in introducing the Bill.—(Cries of " Divide, divide.")
The House then divided, when there appeared—
In favour of the clause ... 54
Against it
Majority against the clause . . 92
On re-entering the gallery we found
Sir J. PAKINGTON speakine,r, and moving that the
Chairman report progress and ask leave to sit again.
This was agreed to.
BANKRUPTCY (IRELAND) BILL.
This Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be
committed.
SUNDAY TRAVELLING ON RAILWAYS.
Several petitions having been presented both in favour
of and against this B

Mr. LOCKE said that, in moving the second reading
of this Bill, he should have thought that he might have
relied on the good sense of the House to affirm its pro-
visions, especially when,his only object was to attach a
certain number of carriages to the trains which were
already teluired to run under the authority of the law,
and he should not have felt justified in occupying any
considerable portion of its time. But after the nature
of the opposition which had been developed, he did feel it
necessary to say something to justify his determination
to proceed. It might be necessary to premise that he
did not propose to add a single additional train on the
Sunday. By the Ist and 2d Victoria, chap. 98, all
railway companies were compelled to provide carriages
for the conveyacce of the mails, on any day, et. at any
time of the day, which the Post-office authorities might
require. All he proposed to do was, to add some car-
riages to those trains which already ran ; and if Hon.
Members were as well acquainted as he was with the
numerous cases of great individual hardehip, they would
agree with him in the neceisity for some remedy.
Among others he might cite that of the Duchess of
Sutherland, who, in consequence of a notice of the immi-
nent danger of her father, had posted all through the
north of Scotland to the terminus of the Caledonian Rail-
way, having sent messengers before her to secure a
place in the train; but, on her arrival, was refused a
place, and as all knew, had arrived too late to find her
parent alive.—(llear, hear.) The lion. Gentleman then
cited the case of a physician in Glasgow, who had re-
peatedly been prevented either from attending his
patients, or returning to his practice, on the Sunday.
No later than last Seeday an Hon. Member of that
House, who had posted from the Highlands of Perth,
before parting with his postilion, but after the latter
had received his fee, was told by him that he hoped he
was going to London to vote against this Bill, and on
being asked why, answered, because it was the only
day on which he had any business.—(llear, lacer.)
The Hon. Member then went on to show that the provi-
sions of the Bill could be carried out without employing
any viditionel hands, with the exception of a clerk
to take and give tickets to the passengers. Before
railways were thought of, mail-coaches, ferries, and post-
horses had been employed in travelling on Sundays in
Scotland, and he would ask the opponents of the Bill
why the people of Scotland were to be deprived of those
advantages which they possessed before railways
existed? Not a single petition had been pre-
sented from the working men, who would be most
affected by the measure, against it, but, on the contrary,
he believed meetings of their body had taken place in
order to petition in favour of the measure. The
Honourable Member then proceeded to contend
that the greatest demoralization existed in Scot-
land, which ho attributed to the strict stop put
upon the innocent recreations of the people there, under
the semblance of the observance of the Sabbath, and
concluded by moving the second reading of the Bill.

Mr. WIVAN thought that a mope obnoxious or
tyrannical measure than the present could not bo intro-
duced. More bad been made of the Duchess of Suther-
land's case than it called iur. He thought the case of
the railway- servants ought to be taken into con-
sideration, and that soint thing ought to be done
to give them rest on the Sabbath-day. Ile be-
lieved also that it was the wish of the Postmaster-
General to lessen the labours of the officers of the
Post office on Sun(lays. He thought the House ought
not to legislate on the question of travelling on railways
on Sunday; but that the solusion of the question should
be left to public opinion, end entertaining those opinions
he would move UT:A the Bill should be react a second time
th Lt day six clonil:s. _ _

Mr. MACGREGOR. opposed the second rtadingof
tis Big, as being directly opposed to the religious feel-
ings of the ueonle c f Se9tland.
LA.BOUCIIERE claimed for the House
the full rii;lit to legislate on this quesion, and
in anything he might state he Legged it to b.: under-
stood that he was speaking personally, and not as a
Member of the Government. B,lieving, that tho Bill
would give a great shock to the feelings of a large
number of the people of Scotland, he should vote
against the second reading of the measure.
His impression was that they had better leave the mea-
sure to the progress of public opinion, and such being
the else, he should certainly vote against the second
reading.
Mr. PLUMPTRE said that the Hon. Gentleman (Mr.
Locke) wished to introduce a new principle into legisla-
tion. He wished to make a human law to induce people
to break a divine law, when they had no inclination to
break it. When he and his late friend, Sir A.
Agnew, had brought in a Bill, to oblige a due
observacce of the Sabbath, they were accused
of endeavouring to make people religious by Act
of Parliament..—(Hear.) Such an absurd idea never
entered their head, ; but he might observe that this was
a Bill to make people irreligious by Act of Parliament,
and this, he trusted, would never be countenanced by
that Howie.—(Wear.)

Mr. HUME- said that, as a representative of Scot-
land, he was bound to say that he had presented twelve
petitions from the burghs which he represented against
the Bill, and three in favour of it ; but in making this
statement he was also bound to remember that he did not
sit there as the representative of one particular
place, but to consider the interests of the
whole empire.—(Hear, hear.) No one was more
desirous in this country than he was to preserve a due
observanca of the Sabbath-day, but so far as he could
observe no attempt had been made to grapple with the
real arguments of the case. At any rate they had not
been answered—(Hear, hear)—and he was, indeed,
astonished to hear the decision of the Bight Hon. Gen-
tleman, one of the Ministers of the Crown, had come to, to
oppose the second reading of this Bill. He must protest
against any such dogma as that which had been pro •
claimed, that railways were to be treated as private pro-
perties. The very grounds
or
n which permission had
promote
been craved by the of those railways was,
that they were to be made for thes public benefit.—(Hear,
bear.) Such being the case, what became of the objections
which had been made to the proposed to be
given to the people of Scotland to am:laoilntthhemselves of
e abbath-
the benefit of railway communication
Sabbath-
day? ? Taking the matter only in its theological
was well worthy of the consideration of tlae
vi7utheaiti
They had it in the evidence of Mr. Hill anothelir
one of the great causes of crime was the
rational amusement to the people. What was the preventione of
that the people of Glasgow and of Edinburgh wereason
more deeply immersed in criminality than those even of
the large manufacturing towns of England? Nothing, ac.
cording to the best authority, but the deficiency of op-
portunities for reasonable recreation. Again, it should be
observed that by the enactment of this Bill they would
be reducing the amount of labour employed on the Sab-
bath-day, for according to the Hon. Member who brought
in the Bill, only ten persons more were required to give
full accommodation to the public than 'those who were
already-engaged in the transmission of the mails. All
these reasons combined to induce him to give the Bill
his most hearty support.
Mr.IHEALD reiterated Mr. Plumptre's arguments, and
having expressed his opinion that the mover had be€n
emtuated by the best intentions, concluded by asserting
his intention of voting against the Bill.
Mr' BAILLa CuCHRANE couceiyed that the het
*Polon haQ9444lctediaistaelf.

Mr. PETO said that he would yield to no one] in that I
House in his dcs're to secure a due observance of
the Sabbath-dsy, but then he conceived that it cught, in
order to be useful, to be an intelligent observance,
anl he trusted the House would affirm the principle of
this Bill, in order to give to the people of Scotland the.,
whole advantage which the railway system was calculated
to con'er.
Mr. F. 11IA.ULE said that it was a singular circum-
stance that petitions signed by upwards of 36,000 per-
sons had been presented against this Bill, and but very
few in favour of it. The principle of the Bill was alto-
gether against the feelings of his countrymen, and he
should give it his decided opposition.—(Hear, hear, and
cries
Afterof ba‘ Divide,etd we rdisv i d e." )
from Mr. C. BRUCE,
The LORD-ADVOCATE brif fly expressed his dis-
approbation of the Bill.—(Loud cries of "Divide.")
Mr. CIIARTERIS arose, in the midst of repeated
cries of " Divide," and said that he had but one word to
say in reply to the remarks of the Hon. Member for Mon-
trose on the moral state of Glasgow by reminding him that
It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest."—(Hear, hear,
and laughter.) It was evident that the system of rail-
way communication had superseded all other means of
conveyance, and some means were evidently necessary
to obviate the evil which such a monopoly was likely to
occasion.

Mr. MOORE said that the Right Hon. Gentleman at
the head of the Board of Trade had justly stated that
this Bill was a balance of two evils. That Right Hon.
Gentleman had come to one conclusion, but he (Mr.
Moore) had come to another, and should support the
Bill.
Mr. REYNOLDS said that he found by a return that
there were sixteen railways in Scotland in active use,
eight of which were worked on Sunday, and eight of
which were not; so that it appeared after all that it was
merely a geographical question, and the religious and
the irreligious railways were set against each other.
The Honourable Member was proceeding in a
humorous strain to descant upon the assumed sanctity
of those who opposed the measure, when the feeling of
the House was so expressed that he refrained, and con.'
eluded by regretting that any theological consideration
should be mixed up in a question which was purely com-
mercial in its character.

After a few words from Mr. SCOTT, who expressed
his opinion that the feeling of the whole of Scotland
was against the Bill, the House divided, when there
appeared—
For the second reading ... ... 122
Against it
Majority against the second reading... --9
The Bill is consequently lost.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of
and the House adjourned shortly before Six. o'clock.