The Sun.
London, England, 1841-02-26 00:00:00

PETTY SESSIONS.

The Earl of DEVON, in moving the second reading
of the Petty Sessions Bill, observed that it would be
necessary for him to trespass upon their Lordships' at-
tention for a short time, while be laid before them those
details, upon which it ;Appeared to him an alteration of the
law wet; necessary. He felt confident when their Lordships
should hate been fully aware of the present state of the
law, and the manner in which it operated upon the
public interests, they would agree with him that it
ought to be immediatel3 altered, and he hoped it woul.l
be considered that the present Bill would effect the
necessary remedy. The propositions on which he
ventured to ground his hopes, that their Lordships
would proceed with this Bill were, first, that the present
state of the late, with regard to the trial and punish-
ment of offenders, in which the circumstances were
simile and the pecuniary value small, presented anoma-
lies which it would be slostremely desirable to have re-
moved. The present state of the law operated
most injuriously upon various prosecutors and offenders.
Toe Noble Lord had after stating shortly the provi-
sions of the 8.11, and his firm conviction of its neces-
sity, observed tkat he had brought in a Bill last yen.,
which was net persevered in, but he would refer to the
Report of the Committee on that Bill to show that the
Committee were favourable to his views, and that the
pre.eat state of the law had failed to encourage
prosecutions where punishment ought to follow
the committal of crime. That Committee had
examined a good deal of evidence, and had put several
que.tions, which were very important to the considera-
tion of the present question. The Noble Lord then
read long extracts from the evidence to show the neces-
sity that ezistad for some such measure as he proposed.
and the insuffiicency of any that should be confined to
juvenile offenders. He concluded by moving the second
reading of the Bid.
The Marquis of NORMAN BY was not prepared
to give any opposition to the 13111 in its present stage.
In Committee he would consider the provisions of the
Bill one by one, and he would then state to the House
how far be thought they ought to be allowed to pass
into a law. He admitted that the present state of the
law was anomalous ; the whole question of secondary
Ipunishment was at the present moment under the con-
sideration of the Government.

Lord ELLEN BOROUGH felt bound to say that
in the district in which he was a Magistrate the provi-
sions of the Bill could never be carried into effect. He
admitted the grievances under the present Bill, but he
thought there would be great difficulty in getting in
small places so many Magistrates together so frequently.
The Marquis of SALISBURY concurred with the
observations of the Noble Lord who bad just sat down,
as to the difficulty of carrying but the provisions of the
Bill. He agreed with the principle of the Bill.
Lord BROUGHAM would not take any part in
the present discussion, but in refraining from doing so he
begged to be understood as not thereby agreeing with
the principle of the Bill. He admitted there were great
gtievances in the present state of the law, but whether
the present Bill would remedy'those grievances be was
net prepared to say.
After a few observation's from the Earl of DEVON,
the Bill was read a second time
LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS.

In answer; to a question from Lord •MOUNT
EDGECUMBE,
The Earl of MINTO said that the Admiralty were
ready to consider any claim that might be preferred by
Mr. Snow Harris, for galling the attention of the public
to his improved liglantng conductors for shins, but that
at the present momet.t there were no regotiations be-
tween the Admiralty and that gentleman on the subject.
The
,House adjournel at. Twenty Minutes before
Senn o'Clock.

ROUSE OF COMMONS, FEL 25.

Tlie SPEAKER took the Chair at the usual hour.

Mr. GORBALLY presented sel e:al petitions from
places in Meath, and two petitions from parishes in Go-
vat., in fa,our of Lord Morpeth's Irish Registration
Bill, and against the Bill introduced by Lord Stanley.
Mr. FITZPATRICK pmeatcd two petitions from
plac,Js in the Queen's County to the same effect,
Mr. JAMBS POWER presentei petitions from
Waterford in faveur of Lord Morptth's, and against
Lard Stanley's Bill.

Mr: REf)DIN GTQN presented a similar petition
from Galway.
Mr. HOD.GES presented a petition from Canter-
bury against the New Ponr-law, mien similar petition
from the clergymen of a district in the county of Kent,
containing upwards of 30,000 inhabitants. Also a peti-
t;on to the same effect from the working men of Mer-
thyr At the request of the Hon. Member
the 131.Coti was read by the Clerk at the table. The
petitioners complained of the operation of the new Poor-
-1 tws, 'and declared that they would opposa their con-.
tineance by all legal means, and would vete for no Mem-
ber of Pariiamcnt who in any way suppfirted those laws.
Capt.in IiRYAN presented petitions from rlices in
the county of Ki!lcfmny a‘minst..lod-St.anley'3 and in
favour of Lora Morpeih':Bid.
Major N A. NI Alt A presented- similar petitions
from the county of Clare.
S:r C. GItEY pre,ientei a petition from master
mariners and ser.men of VI:: port of Teignmouth, pray-
ing for an equalization of paytne7ts in &flaw ports to
the seamen's fund.

Mr. FIELDEN preEeoLd yetitiani horn Leeds,
Ashburton, and three other places, against the new
Poor.law system.-

Gcl. RAWDON frompresentfaevilopuertiotifonLsord to :
petition from Lime-
fie county of . Down, Tyrone, and Armagh,r.„%eaisn'snt
Lai‘ridriStlayn.leity'ca3Billi,Eaoptireisnented a 1 lorpeth's.
rick to the same effect.
Sir THOS. ACLAND presented a petition from
some place in Devonshire praying for additional church
accomnaodatian.
Dr. STOCK presented petitions in favour of Lord
Morpeth's Bill, and against Lord Stanley's.
Colonel CLEME N TS presented a petition . from
Cavan, against Lord I\dorpetb's Bilt.
Captain PECHELL presentul 'petitions from
Arundel, and other places, against tLe dissolution or the
Gilberts' Unions.
Sir WILLIAM SOMERVILLE presentrd peti.
tions from places in the county of Tyrone, 'agaitst Loi d
Stanle%'s Bill, and in Eiveur'ol. Lord Morpeth's.
Mr. DARBY p.eserte.l a P‘itition from a pl tee :n
Su:geN, against the Ne.w, Po r-law Bill.
Mr. EITZS'FE2iIEN FRENCH, presented peti-
t this (rpm places in tt.e county of Roscommon, against
Lard Stanley's 1111, and in favour of Lord Morpeth's.
Sir CHARLES BURRELL presented a petition
from Reigate, a7aMst tne provision of the Poor-law
Bill, which
dirais that the bodies of paupers dying in
m
,•n.o,riits.,ldi to the
ontofouses shall I,e buried in the burial grounds at-
t‘Deati.
workhouses,land' also a petition from the
"UW r lzlpe in favour of the l:
Bill for the Abolition of (Ai
Panish
,aces in tho he ()CONNOR DON, presented petitions from
places
StanlQ's Bill,
and in
county of
.Roticommon, against Lord
' Mr. M. J. flivrmr of Lord Morpeth's.
places in the e O'CONNELLjuwyotK presented petitions from
v,rnmeat measure for Lisa fl.y, in favour of the Go-
AZO Nandprseisueln:etd:rdstration, and against
LoLdorSdtaunitleyAisu.
also a ill'
at a public meeting,
persons againSt- Lord Stanle'se Bill upwards of 5,000
a petition. agreed to
and in favour of
all; the respectable merchants of Dub-
sLigonrded Morpeth's p
almostetll' petition to the same effect,

lin ; alio, a similar petition from Maynooth, in the
county of Kildare.
Sir F. BURDETT presented a petition from some
place in North Wiltshire, against the Poor-law Amend-
ment Bill.

Mr. O'CONNELL presented 35 petitions from dif-
ferent plaCes in Ire!and, including the counties of Long•
ford, Clare, Antrim, Donegal, Down, Roscommon,
Wexford, Wicklow, Leinster, Limerick, Westmeath,
G 01,5 ay, Cork, Armagh, Derry, and Sr. Katharine'?,
Duhltn, in favour of the Bill for the extension of the
franchise in Ireland, and against that for its extinction.

Mr. FOX •MAULE brought up the Turnpike Act
Continuance 1331, which was read a first time.

Mr. HUME presented a petition from the countf
of Cavar, and another from the city of Kilkenny to
the same effect.

10 Mr. GISBORNE prrseatel a petitioc from the
county of Londonderry to the SIIMP effect.

Sir ROBERT FERGUSON presented petitions
from the coma es of Londonderry and Donegal to the
same effect.

Lord CLEMENTS preserit -d_ a petition from the
county of Clare to the same aft cf.

Petitions against Lord Stanley's Bill, and in favour
of that of the Government, were pretence,' by Mr. V.
Stuart, G ; Mr. M. O'Neriall, 2 ; Mr. E. Roche, • 10,
from the county. of Cork, and by Mr. H. Grattan,
from the counties of Monaghan, Cavan,and Ferma3agli.
Petitions in favour of Lord Stanley's 13111, were pre•
tented by Colonel Perceval, and k..ord Stanley.
Colot:el WOOD presented a petition from the
Trustees of the Poor of all Saints in Poplir, agAinst
the Pooi-law Amendment Continuance Bill, and
praying Cm House to give the rats-payers in all
parishes a cor.trol over tl e expendltute of their own
money.

Mr. SHAW presented a petition from cettain lett r-
press printers of Dublin, eumplaining that combination
had been I..lstly imputed to them in a pe.tiun presented
by the lion. and Learned Member for Dublin.
Mr. O'CONNELL wiahed to say a few words on
the subject of the paition.—(Order. order.)
The SPEAKER said that the Hon. and Learned
Member eosin net, according to the rules of the House,
make any observations on a petition unless it was on a
matter personal to himstlf.
Mr. O'CONNELL said that the subject did con-
cern him personally. Ho had been
,represented as
having stated that combination ex'sted among the
letter-press printers of Dublin. lie bad, however,
stated. no such thing.— (Hear.) He had merely read
a passage in tl.e petition entrusted to him, which at-
tributed a burning in Dublin to malicious reasons, and
suggested that it might base occurte.l in con-
sequence' of combination of some kind. He am also
represented to bay,: said that he intended to bring
iu a Bill for the purpose of putting an end to combi-
nation. He had merely expressed a wish that the
Burning' Act, which was in force in the city of Dublin,
might be extended to the to-t of Leland.
Mr. H. GRATTAN presented a petition from
Wicklow, in favour of Lord Morpeth's Bill for the re-
gistration of voters in Ireland.
Mr. SHIEL presented a similar petition from a place
in Tippreary.