The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-26 00:00:00

rTO THE SECRETARY OF THE
Sir,—On Wednesday the 21st was a debate on
what is called the Insolvent Members Bill. There
seems to be considerable confusion of ideas upon the
subject; aided, no doubt, within the House, by the
ultra zaal of Honourable Members who are afraid of
being considered as men likely not to pay their debts.
The key to the confusion seems to be, that it is one
thing for the House of Commons to give up the ob-
solete privilege by which its Members were protected
from personal arrest, and another thing to make a
parade of zeal to create a punishment beyond the law,
for what is to be punished by the ordinary law. In
all this there may be a strong apprehension that the
zealous are moved by a feeling for the possible exi•
gencies of their characters.
The origin of the freedom from arrest claimed for
Members of the House of Commons, is stated by
antiquaries to have been the seizure of some influen-
tial Member on his way to the House in the time of
Charles the Second of unhandsome memory, with a
view to prevent his presence at a particular debate
where the Court was concerned. But any danger
from similar sources may be considered as removed,
by the change in the law which has taken away the
power of corporal arrest except after decision given
on the claim in a court of law. If therefore the
House of Commons is in a fit of zeal, let it give up
any remains, if such there are, of impediments to the
execution of legal process against its Members, now
that the power of arbitrary and preliminary arrest
has vanished.
But a more important part of the objections to the
proposed Bill, is that its tendency is to bring on pre-
cisely the same kind of interference with the freedom
of election and independence of the House, which led
to the ancient freedom from arrest. Public rumour
states that the present Bill originates, in the fact of a
rich and powerful individual being anxious to secure
an election in a borough, where the great source of
opposition lies in the presence of a rival supposed
not unlikely to be exposed to the action of the
projected law. It is not enough that the
existing laws be set in operation on him now,
or at any time before the election which may be
chosen. What is wanted is to make a new law to be
held over his head, with the threat that if he goes to
the hustings and is successful, he shall find a law
ready to pick him up when he has taken his seat.
Is this for the honour and dignity of Parliament ?
Or is it for its dishonour and extreme indignity ? In
this way it is, that the pretences of the over-virtuous
fall to pieces on being sifted.
It will be gratifying to such as take this view of
the case, to know that Sir William Clay, an autho-
rity above all suspicion, has given notice of a motion
to throw out the Bill in a coming stage.
On Thursday Lord Dudley Stuart moved for
papers on the subject of the Russian occupation of
Moldavia and Wallachia. The motion was conducted
in an amicable spirit towards the Government, and the
Government replied in the same, to the manifest in-
creasing of its claims on public confidence for sound
feeling on the great interests of civilization and
general liberty committed to its charge. A " trum-
pet" of absolutism, as used to be Napoleon's phrase,
attempted a laudation of the Emperor of Russia;
which was responded to by John O'Connell, in
a way that left nothing to be regretted,
except what the more concentrated energy and ex-
perienced vigour of an older prophet might by pos-
sibility have added to the scene.
The value of all these questions is in the opportu-
nity they give for impressing the lesson, that Eng-
land's safety in times to come, must depend upon her
raising up a host of friends and not of enemies, who
shall be interested in seeing her hold the position of
leader in the race of civilization and political free-
dom. A splendid destiny, if grace be given to

pursue.
Friday's Parliamentary papers produce copies of
Instructions, ordered by the House of Commons to be
printed, given to Commander Wingrove, in relation
to the prisoner Mitchel whom he was to convey to
Bermuda. The whole correspondence is so splendidly
creditable to all engaged in it, that there can be no
end of thanks to the Conservative Member who vo-
lunteered the office of bringing it before the public.
Not the least curious point about the whole, is that
by one of those misadventures to which all human
affairs are subject, the instructi▪
ons of the Admiralty
do not seem to have reached Commander Wingrove
after all, but Commander Wingrove acting upon those
instincts without which a British officer would not
have been fit for the position he held, appears to have i
executed them with as much precision as if he had
lived in the times when men were expected to tell both
the dream and the interpretation thereof.
On Friday a dangerous and ill-advised amendment
was brought forward in Commi▪ ttee on the Navigation
Laws, for limiting the power of removal to cases when
reciprocity was offered. Luckily the shipping interest
did not see their chance ; which would have been to
join with the supporters of the amendment, for the:
sake of getting a majority against the Government.
As it happened, they took alarm at the idea of this
being interpreted into concession ; and when the
division came, they stole away. The end was, that
there were found 15 for the amendment, against 132.
Some precaution should be taken to prevent these
perilous chances from being given.
When a Government undertakes to remove an
avowed abuse and unmixed absurdity, nothing is
clearer than that a very extended confidence should
be placed in the Government, as regards the choice
of way. It is always to be presumed, that if the Govern-
ment avoids a point, it is because it sees some danger an d
difficulty in approaching it; and therefore the worst
service which can be done to the cause of general
progress, is
i to press upon the point and insist on in-
troducing t to the sifting of the enemy. Things
should be done with what our ancestors called "good
counsel," and young and ardent Members ought not
to push forward their unsupported notions to the in -
jury of the whole.
A great noise has been made about some altera-
tions and withdrawals by the Government. 111. y
notion of the matter is, that some partial privilege
intended to be given to foreign vessels in the coasting
trade has been withdrawn, on the ground that it
would produce complexity at the Custom-house. The
fact was, that the continuation of restrictions in the
coasting trade at all, was meant for a sop to the
enemy, and the enemy
nly, snappedoffered it ; for the reason among others, that he knew
it was of no value to anybody. The more the pity,
o,
an d presented
at the
twice.
handice. th nt
stlhioatuldfohrasvuecbheeanted
nonentitypresen a symptom of weakness
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
AN OLD REFORMER.
London, March 26, 1849.

THE FIREMEN OF THE LAND.
England, thou art justly proud
Of thy men so tried and brave;
Well thy voice may boast aloud
Of our Boatmen on the wave.
Gallant fellows ! well they grace
British song and Hero story;
They will take a foremost place
When valour counts her troops of glory.
But our cities long have shown
Those that match the sailor band;
Courage nobly claims her own
In the Firemen of the Land.
Give them Honour, give them Fame,
A Health to hands that fight the Flame.
When the red sheet winds and whirls
In the coil of frightful death;
When the bannered smoke unfurls,
And the hot walls drink our breath;
When the far-off crowd appears
Choking in the demon glare,
And some helpless form uprears
In that furnace of Despair.—
" Save! Oh, save!" the people cry,
But who plucks the human brand?
Who will do the deed or die?
'Tis a Fireman of the Land.
Then give them Honour, give them Fame,
A Health to hands that fight the Flame.
They who march to battle-field,
With the bullet and the sword;
They who go to take or yield
cri m
bladeson s
two a
blade;
d ;
,
They LifeT hewy uponhwomeasureho t
offer
e
Lest their names should bear a blot;—
shot for shot,
Lost their hearts be deemed afraid
Never shall such soldier live,
Never shall such sprit stand,
In the noble rank we give
To
d
iavn ;hem Fame,
And drink to hands that tight the Fla me.
ELIZA COOK.
—Wcekly Dispatch.
Thon tghieveFtihreemmeHnoonfotuhre, Lg. e

SUICIDE.—On Saturday an inquest was held at the
Sun, Little Sutton•street, Clerkenwell, on Henry New-
man the late proprietor, aged 52 years. Jalnes !ktarsh,
the ,potboy, deposed that the deceased's wife died last
Christmas, and that since then h.is manner was very
from the bar-parlour,. and after
strange. Sometimes he appeared insane. on Wednes.
olfiissesiwngitness went into the cellar, where
searching
c lasthin
gh et
the
eahs
he found him hanging from a beam and quite dead.
Under his feet was a stool, on which he stood to fasten
himself to the beam, and then kicked it from under
him. A candlestick, with a candle burned to the socket,
and two razors, were on the. ground. Since his wife's
death deceased repeatedly said that he was tired of life.
Mr. Henry Newman, the deceased's son, said that since
his mother's death his father became insane. He
laboured under an idea that a woman and three police-
men were watching
.him. The night preceding his
suicide witness slept with him, but did not know at what
hour he left the bed. Mr. Samuel Renton heard de-
ceased repeatedly threaten to destroy himself. Twice
he attempted to jump out of the window. Deceased's son
paid him every attention. Verdict—" Insanity."
ROYAL ARTILLERY.—WOOLNVICIT, MARCH 25.
Captain Turner, and the remainder of his company
, embarked yesterday, at seven o'clock, at the Royal
Arsenal, on board the Planet merchant vessel, for a
passage to Bermuda, to augment the Royal Artillery
serving at that station. The other part of Captain
Turner's company are at present serving at New Zealaud.