The Sun.
London, England, 1831-03-05 00:00:00

REFORM IN PARLIAMENT.

The LORD CHANCELLOR rose to pre,ent 31 peti-
tions from different parts of the country on that subj•ct
which now occupied the attention of the whole nation—
Reform in Parliament. It was his intention to follow
the excellent example which bad been adopted by other
Noble Lords, and retrain from entering into the discussion of
this most important subject till the ►natter came
regularly before the House. He did so because he was
convinced the subject would meet elsewhere the calm and
deliberate discussion which a subject of such magnitude
and importance deserved.

The Doke of BUCKINGHAM wished to know whe-
ther any of the petitions were in favour of the billot.
The LORD CHANCELLOR thought the Noble Duke
was impo•int an arduous task upon him, but he believed
very few of them were favourable to it, being generally pour
Scotch burghs, and he did not understand the subject of
the ballot had made very great progress in that part
of the country; he would, however, read over the
names of the petitions, by which the Noble Lord
would probably be able to see which were in
favour of the ballot and which nut. His Lordship then
rat,' Over the petitions, which were from St. Pancras,
Dew bury, Fife, Ludlow, Lyme Regis, St. Luke's, Rox-
burgh, and twenty other places. The Noble Lord
apologised at considerable length to the petitioners for
reading over the names of their petitions in such a b•ad-
roll sort of way, but he did so from an anxiety not to oc-
cupy the valuable time of the House by reading them one
by one.

The Duke of NORFOLK rose to express the great
gratitude he felt towards hi• ,Majesty's Government for
having brought forward so effectual a plan of Reform
as was now under discussion in another place. He
felt confident that it would give general satisfaction
to the whole country. As a proof of that he need only advert
to the meeting that had taken place of the Common
Council of London and 'Westminster to express to his Ma-
jesty their high rratitude for what had been done. lie was
persuaded the treasure would tend to allay those troubles
the country had been labouring under—(Hear)—and that
when it was passed into a law England would again
see golden days. As an individual he might be supposed to
sustain some loss from this measure, on that score he had
no regret—(Hear, hear)—if it were ten times as much he
should glory in the sacrifice if it tended to the liberties
and happiness of the people.—(Hear, hear.)
REPEAL OF THE UNION.

The Earl of WICKLOW had a petition from the nobi-
lity, gentry, and occupiers of land in the county of Wick-
low, each of whom had, with his signature, put down the
number of acres he occupied, and the object of it was to
deprecate, under any pretence, a repeal of the Union, and
to call on Parliament to adopt some strong measures to
put down the agitation which prevailed in Ireland on that
subject.—(Elear, hear.)—He had only to add that, in the
commencement of the session, a Noble Viscount had
stated that he had several measures to bring forward with
respect to Ireland, and he could not help expressing his
surprise that not one had yet been introduced.—(Hear.)—
When, however, any measure for the benefit of Ireland
was produced, lie would co-operate with it with the utmost
sincerity ; and he only hoped that his Majesty's Govern-
ment were aware of the awful situation in which the
ccuntry was placed.
Earl GREY was perfectly aware that a repeal of the
Union must lead to a separation of those countries, which
would be equally fatal to both. He had no hesitation in
declaring that, on all occasions, he Ivould give that ques-
tion his most decided opposition. Now, with regard to
that part of the prayer of the petition which called for an
enlargement of the powers of the Executive, he could only
say that he should be prepared to come to Parliament
whenever he was convinced that the present authority of
law was )—While on that point,
igfosrubfficn.(
eariegivti—ng!i.ieislestimony and approbation
to the could
wise,n
vigorous, judicious, and judicial measures
ht he e
o
which had been lately adopted in Ireland to put down that
spirit of agitation which, he agreed with the Noble Lord,
wasut
detrimental
othose to
measures rfiaetna
dl toof thehis
le
ha
deluded people who set it in activity. —(Hear.) —With
respect
d promised to introduce, he would only say that no at-
.
tenti on tto
the country
which at
a large,
Nob
had been spared to the several topics which were
to form the groundwork of these measures; but they hail
not been produced because some technical and other diffi-
culties existed to their completion. One of those measures
only, the Sub-letting Act, could be presented in the first
instance to their Lordships; and, tkough it had been ap-
parently matured, on inspection it was found to be deficient
in sane respects, and it was sent back to Ireland for cor-
rection.
The Duke of WELLINGTON begged leave to inquire
from the Noble Earl if it Wii9 his intention to propose a
renewal of the Act for preventing illegal assemblies in
Ireland, which would expire this Session. At the same
time he begged to express his satisfaction at the vigorous
and judicious proceedings which had been pursued by his
majesty's Government in Ireland.—(Hear.)
Earl GREY had no hesitation in saying that it was his
intention, before the end of the Session, when the Act
would expire, to ask for its renewal.
After a few words from the Marquis of LONDONDERRY
the Earl of Wroreow, and the Marquis of LANSDOWNE,
The Marquis of SALISBURY brought up the evidence
taken before the Committee on the poor laws, so far as it
has been taken. lie would not allude to the views of the
Committee, or the conclusion which had been adopted,
further than to say that the plan of giving patches of
ground for gardens to labourers was generally approved of.
The Duke of RICHMOND wished that it should not
go forth, as he was afraid it might, in consequence of the
declaration being made by the Chairman of the Committee
that the only remedy adopted by the Committee was that
of giving gardens to the labourers.—(Hear.)—Un-
doubtedly the plan would do some good, but it was not of
sufficient importance to be made the subject of a special
report, and it could only ameliorate and not get rid of,
the evils which were so generally admitted. In his opi-
nion the true plan of giving relief would be by facilitating
emigration.
After a few words from the Marquis of Salisbury, Earl
Stanhope, the Duke of Richmond, Lord Suffield, Lord
Teynharn, and the Earl of Carnarvon,
Lord CARBERY presented a petition from the mer-

110 USE OF COMMONS, 211..4nca
The fifEak. ER took the Chair precisely at '1 hree o'clock.
The gallery, as oti fotrner .renins, was exceedingly
crowded.