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London, England, 1849-05-02 00:00:00

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[PAICE 6D.

MR. JOHN O'CONNELL
It has pleased Mr. John O'Connell, in the plenitude
of his wisdom, to move that Mr. John Joseph Lawson,
the printer of " a newspaper called the Times," be ar
reigned at the bar of the House of Commons for breach
of privilege. Mr. Lawson's alleged guilt consists in the
fact that Mr. John O'Connell's speeches are not reported
at length in the columns of the journal in question.
Now, it appears to us that, considering the language of
the sessional orders with regard to the publication of the
reports of debates, Ur. John O'Connell's mode of seek-
ing redress is of the most Hibernian description. He
accuses us of yielding too implicit an obedience to the
sessional orders as far as he is concerned. What if we
should not report him at all? The world would not be
much the loser; the Times would be infinitely the
gainer; and the orders of the House of
commons would
be implicitly obeyed. Thus all parties would be satis-
fied. The sessional order in question is one of those
ridiculous anomalies which are so peculiarly suited to
the meridian of dear Old England. The greatest
pains are taken to construct galleries for the accom-
modation of the reporters of the various newspapers.
The presence of this boily of gentlemen is just as ne-
cessary to the proceedings of the House as that of Mr.
Speaker; nay, we doubt if the absence of even teat
learned functionary would be so great a loss as that of
the reporters. But more than this, in the Upper House,
but the other day, an animated conversation occurred,
in which more than one Noble Lord complained of the
false system of acoustics on which the House had been
constructed. In many cases it is an impossibility for the
reporters to record the proceedings of the Upper House,
in consequence of this defect of construction, and the
Peers had the good sense to notice and regret the defi-
cient nature of the accommodation afforded to the regis-
trars of their proceedings. Even in the Lower House
we recollect many occasions on which the presence of
the reporters was referred to in the course of the de
bate, and the integrity and ability of their reports
mentioned in terms of the highest commendation.
We remember, in particular, one passage from the
speech of an Irish Member during the debate on the
income-tax in 1845; but that Irish Member was a very
different sort of personage from Mr. John O'Connell.
" Can: there be a greater injustice," said Mr. Shell,
" than to tax in the same propel-don the First Lord of
the Treasury and the gentlemen who report his speech
on the income-tax in the gallery of this House?" Thus
much of Mr. Sheil's speech would be sufficient to prove
our point; but we are tempted to add the next sentence,
rather as a compliment to Mr. Shell than to the body of
which he is speaking. " There are men," continued he,
"in that gallery of liberal education, and of minds em-
bellished with every literary adornment, who by great
labour, by great wear and tear of body and mind, acquire
an income which falls within the range of the tax, al-
though it is far from being commensurate with the abi-
lity or the usefulness of a class to which some of the first
men in England have belonged." So, then, it seems at
justice
is the sessional order is clean forgotten, and
is sometimes rendered even on the floor of the House to
the unwearied industry, to the nice discrimination, and to
the great judgment with which the corps of Parliamentary
reporters discharge their duties to the House and to the
public. Consider for a moment what wou:d be the effect
if the system of reporting suggested by the modesty of
Mr. John O'Connell were once adopted. We should
ourselves be curious to ascertain what is the percentage
of the readers of the Times who do more than read over
the Parliamentary summary, as a guide to the speeches
in which they are each especially interested. ,Of course,
those of the foremost men in the House upon noticeable
occasions are read and re-read. We are not, of course,
speaking of these exceptional cases, but of the average
stock of Parliamentary debates. With the best inten-
tions and the most superstitious reverence for the wis-
dom of the knights and burgesses of England, it cannot
but be so. This is a busy country. We can tell
Mr. John O'Connell, who probably never troubles him-
self to read any speeches but his own, that to follow the
discussions of the two Houses, from their meeting to

their prorogation, is in itself a laborious and a nut very
agreeable pursuit. As it is, matters are bad enough,
but, were the system of stereotyping senatorial breath
once adopted, the result would be that the debates iu
Parliament would never be read by any individual in his
right mied throughout the length and breadth of Eug
land. This is no idle hypothesis, no vain assumption
on our part. In Germany Mr. John O'Connell's system
has been adopted, and the result has been what we have
described. It falls, perhaps, more iu our way than in
that of most persons to have such matters brought under
our notice. We have beard many complaints from
Germans of the evil arising from the method adopted
in their assemblies of . giving the speeches of mein-
hers in extenso, without any exercise of discriminto
don. In England we give such prominence to a topic
of debate as it deserves, and a Member is reported ac-
, cording to the value of the opinions he delivers. 1,4 e
do not profess to satisfy the vanity of individuals, but to
give, within such limits as our space permits, a faithful
record of all that is of public interest or value in the
proceedings of Parliament. It' Mr. John O'Connell is
not a wise man, nor an eloquent man, nor a discreet man,
that is no fault of ours. Let him say things worthy of
being recorded, and we will record them; but we cannot
undertake to sacrifice a column of much more valuable
matter in order to find room for a corresponding quantity
of crarnbe repetita upon Irish affairs. The public has
been favoured with all Mr. Ji,tin O'Connell's favourite
arguments many hundreds of times already, and has pro-
nounced upon them no dubious sentence of rejection and
disregard. Why should our columns be made the me-
dium of inflicting upon the empire a repetition of matter
to which all men have agreed to turn a deaf ear for the
future ? As far as. regards Irish debates generally.
we are in the recollection of the readers of the Times
if what Mr. John O'Connell stated yesterday in the
House of Commons be or be not the fact. " The most
trivial English debate," said he, " upon the most pass-
ing subject of the day was faithfully reported; but, let
a subject of the deepest interest to the people of Ireland
be brought forward, and they found the debate slurred
over, and the speeches of Members mangled or misre-
presented." The phrase of " construing through a
brick wall" used to be applied in our younger days to
the persevering German commentators who endeavoured
to extract sense out of the disjointed choruses of such
lbithierlitokneiroomf
dAliffisccuihytileuss,ofna like
nor does Mr.
nature.
Although the files of the Times for the last half-cen-
tury are thus in flat contradiction of his ricliculons asser-
tion, ho does not hesitate for one moment. We will make
Johnplays O'Connell as the
6
him a safe pledge. Whenever he shall utter matter
worthy of record he shall never have reason to com-
plain of being left unreported. Meanwhile, he would not
do amiss to reflect upon an unusually sagacious remark
dropped by himself in the course of his indignant appeal
to the House,—" It might be said that he thought too
much of himself and what he said." Wo have no just
cause of complaint against the tone adopted by the other
speakers in the course of the discussion, with one single
exception. Mr. G. Berkeley was so cruel as to suggest
that Mr. John O'Connell should for the future send his
speeches to us instead of making them in the House.
Now, this shifting of painful burdens upon the shoulders
of other men who have done nothing to merit the in-
fliction is scarcely evidence of a generous mind. When
Mr. G. Berkeley proposes to favour us with literal
transcripts of the orations in question, instead of listening
to them in his own proper person, we would remind him
of Baillie Nicol Jarvie's exposition of the golden rule of
practical ethics:—Let A do to B as he would have B
do to him, and the product will be universal felicity.—
Times.

DUTIES ON WINE.
To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled.
Ihe humble petition of the undersigned inhabitants
of London and Westminster acd their vicinities.
That your petitioners, viewing with regret how
the high duties on wine not only impede trade, but ren-
der this best of stimulants totally unattainable by the
poor, and even by those of moderate fortune, humbly
pray that, as no duty exists on home-made wines in
England, and, as our best malt liquor is 001) subject to
a tax of two pence the gallon (regulated by the duty on
malt and hops), so the duty on our colonial wines should,
in no instance, exceed such an amount.
Indeed, inasmuch as colonies require bounties on pro-
duction
exports
ilyonaaingtmoetahteemd,baynditsouieredrormasees,tiict
rwopoportpiounlastl
becomes a serious question if any duty on colonial wines
shoUld exist at all, or, at least, if it should exceed that of
beer, particularly as the whole amount of duties collected
on colonial wines has never amounted to more than
50,000/, per annum; while the duty on hops and malt
exceeds 5,000,0001., and if one were substituted for the
other, the national revenue would not be diminished.
Your petitioners humbly call the attention of your
Honourable House to the tact, that since it has been ge-
nerally known what excellent wines can be produced in
Australia, many industrious German settlers
oa eb tel
en is
is:
grated thither. Foreign emigration would,
rous useful
for the satue reason be promoted among gook
ek
settlers from southern Europe, who 100, in quitting
their native land, for congenial settlements, where they
thatlabour to which they had
could profitably follow
been accustomed. Added to this, all such emigrants
would take with them the knowledge relating to the silk-
the cultivation of the olive and other fruits, whichworm,
would greatly add to the future exports of our southern

colonies.
swheretauds thtneo:ti vine i:tenelar el.() yanadietnr tag e -
eased
and which, if engaged to act as a
militia force, would very soon dispense laith the neces-
sity of maintaining the large standing army, which costs
England more than a millien sterling per annum.
Your petitioners respectfully beg to point out also,
that brandies distilled from colonial wines, should be
subject to no higher duties than attach to rum or British
spirit% And it is proper to observe, that, inasmuch as
the value of our West India possessions has been notori-
ously depreciated by the abolition of slave labour, ar.d ii;al:9,l°,);up teci
titunlAt
population,iifai tcd..
ex-
periments on growing wine there have never been mode,
it ought to be ascertained how far wine, or spirits distilled
from it, might not create more profitable exports than
sugar. . .

Your petitioners also verily believe that if colonial
wines were taxed no higher than the ordinary beverage
of England, no measure would so much tend to force
such European countries as refuse au equitable recipro-
city in commerce, to follow our example, especially us
they would foresee that in the future import of wine, we
coutd soon do without them.

Ither then viler W-,-yrrrpgraonertAalee
the duty on them may be lowered at
and they have no doubt, as in the ease
increased consumption would prevent
revenue: Should the reeult prdva
Honourable House should reflect, that
.k as well as eat; -and-common sense
were just and wise to take off all duty
....lety of manufactured articles which we
can produce; and on the production of which, our whole
population is mainly dependant, it would be far wiser to
lessen the duties on wine, which we cannot produce; and
that such reduction would be more likely fo effect that
I.9niprocity in free trade or commerce, which all other
devices have hitherto failed to accomplish.
Added tfi, this, your Honourable House, indisputably
constituting art best versed in Scriptural readmg of ail
legislative assembly in the world, should also rstl et that
Scripture, which seldom speaks of temporal itatis, not
even to recommend the union between Church and Slate,
so far varies in its course, when recommending mod,-
rate use of wine, as distinctly to tiay, " A little wine is
good for all men." From this "little," bosvever, all but
the rich are unhappily excluded by high tax.i.tiou; Khdu
the poor, according to another passage in Scripture, a.p..
plicable to the use of wine, aro lain, after the toil and
labour of the day, " to gladden their hearts,' by having
recourse either to ardent spirits or strong beer; the first
of which maddens the mind, and alike tenos to till 'sir .
gaols and lunatic asylums; while beer, thoug., t•te-rablt,
for those destined to out-dour labour. is n0,,,.ri-its), !Lee-
judicial to pei-soes of sedentary habits, or suet' as Leis
by mental acquirements.
Your petitioners humbly submit that your Honourable
House should also bear in mind that t. e lowest. p.
which genuine wines can now be retail. d is 2, a
tle for those of foreign, and Is. 6d., tor tho,e of c
growth; whereas, were the duties s:tered as lore
mentioned, foreign wine could be sold at Is. 61., .101 l
'.colonial would soon fall below a shilling, Inc
tittaitotble by the poor. It would then be available
for
Jrhat'it is known to be, namely, the best in
Cases of ape and low fever, and to which, it need no( lie
stated, the pescr are more exposed than any other
of society.
It would doubtless, also, in many instanc, correct 11,e
vicious and selfish practice of aol.tary druukent.e,,
common among heads or lathers of 'am In s, eobblieg
them instead, to gladden their own neat is and no•e
their wives and children, by partake g of so
wbol.st set
a stimulant with their social in.-11..1 on the day or rest.
Your petitioners therefore buvibly pry ihst y- or
Honourable House will be pleased to grunt the reduotkuti
of the duties on all wines imported into eire—Thattl
Kingdom. -
And your petitioners will ever prsy. •

TO THE SECRETARY .OF THE
METROPOLITAN REFORM ASSOXIATION.
Sir,—On Monday the 30th of April, thk• Poor Laws
(Ireland) (Rate in Aid) Bill was read a thik'd time and
passed, with a majority of 129 to 55.
On Tuesday the Ist of May, the Member fOr Dum-
fries (Mr. Ewart) made his motion for the abok Lion of
the punishment of death. The subject was or inc.-eased
interest from the circumstances of the times. It is.
plain that public opinion is gathering fast, and the
subject must be set at rest; and the question is, hoN.
A practical suggestion which seems capable of eat en-
sion and improvement, is that a state of punishment
should be prepared for criminals in whose cases circum-
stances may in the actual condition of things'prevbnt
the application of death, and see whether some-
thing cannot be prodiwed to which the public, upon
experience, shall be willing to entrust. the repression
of crime in its deepeet dye. Experiment upon
second-rate murderers As in corpore vili, and:
perhaps also upon the guilty of crimes which have
with great hesitation been taken out of the category of
death punishment, such as violatlon and house- burning;
and see what the promise is, with respect to the final re-
pression of the whole black list. Ti
iere needs no great
delicacy with respect to crimes like these; especially the
first, which is said to have doubled in frequency .eilice
the removal of capital punishment from it.
Secretaries of State may boast; but the known truth
isohat transportation though declared to be for hie,
has not the necessary terrors in the public evt.
There is no doubt it may be made bud enough;
bat the badness is not trusted. There are' ndistinct
ideas afloat of emancipists who keep their carnage
abroad, or come home to brave those they have in-
jured here. And though it is certain thees are the ex-
ceptions and not the rub., the effect is debt; naive,
upon salutary terror. It there must be murder,,
there must be punishment be, ring some ade-
quacy to its repression. Death has hitherto been tried,
as the cheapest and most efficacious. It a substitute
is to be found, it must have as many as possible of
the attributes of death. There must be a punishment
!rpm which, as floor the hangman's grasp, there shad be
no return; save only the single chauce of the future pr, of
of innocence. ExCept for this chence, the criminal
choler' as nearly as possibie be annihilated. A.ll island
prison in the ocean, where the inmates should
be confined to the regimen of something between
a monastery and a poor-house, would stem 40 be the
thing to start with. Aud there ought to be no reath.siun
or return .but by an. Act or Parliament. It tie cry is
raised of interference with the prerogative of the Clown,
iirecedeuts may. be found where tbe prerogative has been
.voluntart deputed for the putiiic good. If the
Grown had all the prerogative which could be
exercised up to the moment which answers to
the drawing of the hangman's bidt, it would have
nothing to' complain. of. Either make it punishment
which, with the single exception of innocence discovered,
Shall be as decisive and mew diabie
bans on. Public, men w.ll .1 course go hailing between
pvtvopiniuno, till the set:unwind, B 01 general feeling
drives them to some practical tfeeisMn:
It has been rieurd u,ged, that the experiment of
raising the scale of punishment in the prop,. ed,
would be derogatory to tie d,guity of murder. Al order
must have a bed tor itaeit, arid therefore you must not try
to make another bed to fit it This is et Vainly
a wide departure from the times, when the scuthild was
a bed that fitted all crimes, down to a starving .woman's
shoplifting; but it does not therefore follow that it is
exact. To insist on it, seems to be refusing the practi-
cal step which gets over obstacles. Ihe dread of the
public at present is, that no punishment shortof death can
be found sufficiently strong for murder. The dread of
the objectors is, that murder should lose pre-eminence.
Mr. Ewart's motion was lost by 75 against 51. A
considerable improvement on the last, which was 122
against 66.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
AN OLD REFORMER.

London, May 2, 1849.

THE RAJA OF SATTARA.—Yesterday a ballot was
taken at the East India-house on the following question
—viz., •' That this Court is of opinion that the treaty
concluded by the Bombay Government in 1819 with
Pertaub Singh, Raja of Sattara, and subsequcntly renewed
with his brother and successor, the late Appa Sahib,
conferred upon and guaranteed to those princes the he-
reditary sovereignty in the principality of Sattara; and
this Court being further of opinion that the heirs and
successors to those princes, whether by adoption or in
right of blood, are intitled to the inheritance under the
terms and conditions of the said treaty, this Court cou-
siders it to be right and necessary to record its opinion,
that no case has been made out to justify the annexation
of the said principality of Sattara to the British terri-
tory." At six o'clock the glasses were closed and
delivered to the scrutineers, who reported that there
were—

For the question ...
Against the question

Majority against the question... 201
BIRTHDAY OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.—
Yesterday, agreeably to the usual custom, a numerous
party of gentlemen met at the Albion, to celebrate the
birthday of the illustrious Duke. The chair was occu-
pied by Mr. Field, who was supported by Mr. William
Cubitt, Itt.P., and assisted by the stewards and their se-
cretary, Mr. B. Graves. The dinner was served in the
usual complete manner by Messrs. Staples, and the
hilarity of the evening maintained till a late hour. after
paying due honours to the heitith .•f the inustrieus -
Duke. His Royal Eight's SS Prince A.bert, attend. dby
Lieut. Colonel the lien. A. Gordon, nom urea the liuke
.its, a visit at Apsterhouse, to otter his congratulations
to his Grace on the auspicious return of his natal day,
which cewpletea his 80th year.
COLLIERY EXPLOSION AT AGECROFT.—An aLrm-
Ing expluelun took place oil Mohdity wonting, ai the '
Ages:l-tilt new coal mine, the property of Messrs.
Knowles. The mine is situated about a quarter or a
mile from the hignwAy. to Bolt n, and roar the Man-
chester and Bolton Railway. The depth of the shalt
is about 900 feet. It appears that there are' two mines
at present in working condition, and in herb of these
mines, we cud rstand, 80 or 100 men and boys are ens.
ployed. That in which the accident ..ecurred is
:l known
41
e
as the "Four-toot mine." It set-m's that about 6
yesterday morning the colliers had' d. sceud, a to them
work, and, as woe!, bad carried with them their .lety
lamps; but it appears to be their practice, atter e X mai-
lig the mines with these lamps in the mot n.lig Yt twit
they o,gui work, to lay aside all prec .utione, tin, use
nakt d candler. A buy, want d Richard P. tee, about
eight o'clock, took his candle to an old wotkii.
t:omediatehea ;. itthpi llots foot
tn owast
which 3 quantity carburetLed hydrog4n had
the thsehhat;t6;'laLinudeleay.ery The
report dan iescape
ex-
ertion was made to facilitate the of the
an
ws :d
at
who were employed in the variousp
pares of the
mine, and who had, of course, been much alarmed b • the
explosion. It was ultimately discovered a e 3
that a yi
named Jacob Barker, had been
killed by the explosion,
that his brother, Israel Barker, was seriously injured,
and that Price himself had been severely burned übout
the head and face. John Barker, the father of these two
lads, with some other men, was employed behind that
part of the mine where the explosion took place, and haft
to make their escape through the sulphur, but with, the
exception of having been much shaken by the explosion,
and having inhaled a considerable amount of sulphurous
vapour, they escaped uninjured. We understand that
the Messrs. Knowles compel the colliers in their employ
to use the " Davy" lamps, but the practice appears to
be entirely confined to the examination of the pits in
the morning, atter which they work with exposed an-
dles; and to such an extent does this system prevail, c
that
they are in the habit of leaving the mines when they find
tan Barks up
any accumulation of explosive gases, rather b
the candle for the safety lamp. The odh
of y r
was removed to ahthe
his fer's house, at Pendlebnr, where
, •
it now lies awaiting ft he s inquest.-111a ynchester
Examiner and 7 imes.
A deputation,
consisting of Mr. R. Ormsby Gore,
M.P., Mr. Jobs Fiolliott, M.P., Colonel Percival, and
Mr. "A. Letroy, had an interview with Lord John
Russell yesterday. A deputation, consisting of Lord
Bernard, Mr. W. Fagon, Major Ludlow Beamish, and
Sir Denham Norreys, had also an interview, with the
Noble Lord yesterday.