The Sun.
London, England, 1840-02-18 00:00:00

cestor of his being one of those engaged in the struggles
of those times.—( Hear.) Ha did not, however, think
that any intent to invade the liberties of the country could
now proceed froin the Crown, but that they were in
greater danger from the usurpations of the House of
Commons.
Mr. MATTHIAS ATTWOOD made some observa-
tions which were very indistinctly heard in the gallery.
We understood him to say that the House was commit-
ting itself by the course it was pursuinz.
The motion of LORD JOHN RUSSELL was then
put and carried.
Mr. O'CONNELL wished to know what was to be
done in the other actions.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, that before be an-
swered that question, he sbould•find it necessary to call
in one of the Messrs. Hansard, on whom the action had
been served by. the Clerk of Mr. Howard. Ho would
move, therefore, that Mr. Hansard should be called in
and examines'.
4r. Hansard was then brought to the bar and examined.
By the ATTORNEY-GENERAL—Was it OD OU
the summons had been served in the fifth action brought
by Stockdalc v. Hansard ?—Yes.
Was notice of the inquiry served on 3ou in the actions?
—lt was.
When was it served?
last.

'-0a the afternoon of Wednesday

By whom ?—lt was a person who called himself Pearce,
a clerk of Mr. Howard.
Is that all you know of him ?—I questioned him whe-
ther the document was in continuation of an action of
which we had already received notice.
What answer did he give ?—He replied that it was.
Were you srved with notice of the five actions ?—I was.
When were you served ?—Last week.
Where were you then?—ln a public-house.
By whom were you sz..rvt.d ?—I believe by a son of Mr.
Howard.

Was it the same person who served you in each of the
actions 7—lt was.
Did he say who be was ?-11e said he was a son of Mr.
Howard.
By Mr. LAW.—Have you discontinued the sale of the
papers on which the action was brought.—Yes, the copies
are out of print.
In point of fact, are they out of print ?—They are not.
Have you received any advice from any one not to sell
them as usual ?—I have not.
You have not been directed to withhold the sale of that
publication ?—No.
By Mr. HUME.—Are not you aware that orders have
ken given by the Secaker that,whenever the number of
papers in your hands are below fifty, you are to stop the
sale, and retain them for the Menthols of the House ?—I
am aware of it.
By Mr. LAW.—Had you any communication with Mr.
Parke on the propriety of discontinuing the sale ?—I
had not.
When was the last copy sold ?—I cannot say without a
reference to cur books.
Is it to be understood that the partners had no such
communicetion ?—I believe so.
The witness was then ordered to withdraw.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL wished to make a
motion, that Mr. Pearce and Mr. Howard, jun., should
attend at the House to-morrow.
Mr. LAW said that he hoped the Attorney-General
would not press his motion, as ho was sure he would have
trouble enough without adding, to the number of. those he
had to.eontend with.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said he had no hosti-
lity to Mr. Howard, and he regretted that he should base
suffered any inconvenience in the case. But it was his
desire that all vexatious actions should be discontinued, and
it would be quite in vain to prevent Mr. Howard from
proceeding in the case if they allowed his clerks to act for
him. He also wished to-deter others from following the
example of those they had already punished.
Mr. SHAW wished to ask the Learned Attorney- Ge-
neral if he believed the course he was pursuing would be
effectual, and if he thought that, though every clerk
in Mr. Howard's office, or every servant in his house,
should be seized on, that there would not be
hundreds of other attorneys ready to act as he had done?
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL-1 will answer the
question of the Learned Recorder by putting two questions
to him in return. Does he believe that we have any pri.
vileges ? D .09 he believe that we have any means of
maintaining them 7—( Hear.)
Mr. F. SHAW said to that he would shortly reply
that he believed the House had privileges, and means of
supporting- them. But he believed that they should be
supported by submitting the point to a Court of Law, and
then appealing on writ of error to the House of Lords.
(Ironical cries of " Hear, hear.")
Sir E. SUGDEN could not vote against the present
motion, though he should against any commitment. He
begged his Learned Friend not to divide.
Mr. LAW said he would accede to the sug-
gestion, though be did not think it best to catch the par-
ties first and indulge them with the slender hope of es-
caping afterwards.—( Hear, and laughter.)
Lord HOWICK said he did not withdraw the opinion
he had before expreacd, that the severity of that punish-
ment should be increased, which had been meted out to
the parties who had brought their action, and who had
nut only been betrayed into the contempt of the privi-
leges of the House, but had deliberately and wilfully per-
sisted in it—who had not, as in the cases of the Sheriffs,
been induced to act as they had done from a sense of
duty, but had acted so from personal motives of profit
alone. They had yet sustained no punishment at all, but
mere confinement of the person. They might be restricted
from seeing their friends, except with the order of the
House—they might be kept in dose confinement.—( Hear,
hear.) It might perhaps be said that this would be con-
trary to the Prisons Act. He denied this. The parties
'were not at present even under the common rules appli-
cable to general misdemeanours:—(Hear, hear.) If the
House had in former times hesitated in exercising the
powers it possessed, where would be the privileges it now
enjoyed for the benefit of the people ?—( Hear, hear.)
Still, as the only effectual course would be to prevent the
carrying on of the actions, he should concur in the present
proposal.
Colonel SIBTHORP said he had proposed the health
of the Sheriffs at a public dinner, •' with three times three
and loud cheers." Such was the feeling of disgust created
by the course pursued by the Liberal party.—(Laughter.)
Liberal I—(exclaimed the Gallant Colonel.with ineffable
disdain, and amidst great merriment.)
Mr. GODSON submitted, that unless the Sheriff were
discharged, be could not form an opinion as a free agent,
whether he would act in conformity with the privilege.
The motion was then carried.
FIRST FRUITS AND TENTHS.

--
Oa the Order of the Day for the Committee of Supply,
Mr. BAINES said he rose to call the attention of the
house to a subj -et of deep interest and importance, for
it affected the vital interests of a class of men who must
have necessarily a great inflaence on the welfare of the
country, he meant the clergy of the Established Church.
And he sincerely trusted that those who wished well to
the Church, would join with him and support a motion
which had for its object to establish a competent provision
for the poor clergy—better than they now possessed—out cf
the revenues of v. Church, m)re amply endowed than any
other in the wothi, and to be bestowed, he would add,
on the most laborious and most devoted of its mi-
nisters. Oa a former occasion, when he brought this sub-
ject forward, he had the gratification of finding himself
supported by a majority of two to one. The subject was
now moll better understood than it had formerly
and therefore he would not trouble the I-louse with what he
might call the historical part ofthe question. tic mig,ht. how-
ever, be allowed to state thus much, that the Fist Fruits
and Tenths be] formed an impost, existing from the earliest
period in this country, he believed, from the very form ition
of parishes, for at least six hundred years down to
the present time. The first. fruits and tenths •had for-
merly been under the See of Rome, but at the Refor-
mation they were appropriated to the State ; and under
Henry the Eighth a valuation had bccn framed of the
livings and benefices; a document was now to be found in
the Rernernbuncer's.office, tailed "Liicr Regis," in which
all the liVings Were rated according to their then existing
value. Au Act was also passed, providing that any person
withholding the first fruits or the tenths should be consi.
dercd an intruder into his livin -7, and fined doable the
amount so withdrawn. From that time • the amounts
were levied with much strictness till the time of Queen
Anne, with the intervention of a short period under
Philip and Mary ; and Queen El'zaheth re-enacted the
Act rendering it penal for the clergy to withhold the first
fruits or the tenths when due. In the reign of Queen
Anne, her Majesty, under the very legitimate idluenee of
Bishop Burnett, resolved to appropriate the first fruits and
tenths—alienating them from the State revenue—to the
better maintenance of the poor clergy ; and an Act passed
to regulate their appropriation. tier Majesty sent a mes.
sage to Parliament, announcirg her gracious intention;
and so much importance was then atteched to the mea--
sure, that many similar documents expressive of the na-
tional gratitude were presented, and amongst others an
address, expressed in the most glowing lanontage,.from the
Convocations of Canterbury and York, under the authority
of the Archbishops, Bishops, and Clergy. To show what
was the importance of the trust, it was only necessary
to state who were the trustees employed to carry her Ma-
jesty's benevolent intentions into effect—they were the '
Bench of Bishops, the 'Speaker' of the House of
Commons, the members of the Privy Council, the
Lords Liutenants of all counties of England and Wales,
the Deans and Chapters, the Chancellors and Vice-
Cancellors of the Universities of Oxford and

Cambridge, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City
of London, and a large number of other fnnetiotaries not
necessary to enumerate. But instead of the vast revenues
which were expected to pass through the hands of such
trustees, the last report showed the following--
Receipts from the Bishops, Dignitaries, and Beneficed
Clergy in England and Wales, in the year 1833, paid
into Queen Anne's Bounty Fund, and charged upon the
said Fund as salaries, &c.

£13,179
As First RECEIP CS.
t Fruits and Tenths.....

Paid for Salaries bISBURSEMENTS.
Taxes ~. P'ees, Rents of Offices, and
........

6,346

To beLm clistribute,l amcu £8,233
gst the poor clergy, amountingbers to Intween .even and eight thousand, being