The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-17 00:00:00

EVENING SUN

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS, Sept. 16.
The SPEAKER took the Chair a few minutei before
Four o'Clock, at which time there was but a thin atten-
dance of Members. Sir Frederick Pollock, Sir H.
Hardinge, Mr. Goulburn, Sir W. Follett, and some other
Members of the new Administration, were, however,
present.

Sir Robert Peel entered the House shortly afterwards,
and the Right Hon. Baronet, 'accompanied by the fol-
lowing members of his Ministry, advanced to the table,
and took the oaths and • subscribed the Parliamentary
roll: —Sir W. Follett, Mr. 1-1. Goulburn, Captain Boldero,
Mr. Milnes Gaskell, Sir H. Hardinge, Sir F. Pollock,
Colonel Jonathan Peel, Mr. Bingham Baring, Lord
Ernest Bruce, Lord Jermyn, and J. A. Smith.
Mr. E. W. Gladstone immediately afterwards entered
the House, and having advanced to the table, the oaths
were administered to him, and the Right Hon. Gentle-
man subscribed the Parliamentary roll.

NEW RffS.
On the motion of Sir T. FREMANTLE. a new writ
Was ordered to be issued fur the election of a Member to

serve in Parliament for Portarlington in the room of the
Right lion. George Dawson Darner, who had accepted
the office of Comptroller of her Majesty's Household.
Also a new writ for the County of Cavan, in the ,room of
John Young, Esq., who had accepted the office of one of
the Lords of the Treasury.

ELECTIO'N PETITIONS.
The SPEAKER then informed the House that he had

received reports from the Committee of contested elec-
tions, to the effect that the recognizances entered into
upon the petitions against the returns for Wigan, Brid-
port, and Belfast, were unexceptionable.

I)UBLIN ELECTION.The RIGHT HON. GENTLEMAN also informed the
House that he had received a communication from
Messrs. Atkins, Hanton, Gibson, and Christopher O'Con-
nell, the petitioners against the return of Mr. Grogan,
for the city of Dublin, to the effect that it was not their
intention to prosecute their petition.
Lord John Russell here entered the House, and, after
having conversed for a few minutes with the Speaker,
too k the seat formerly occupied by Sir Robett Peel on
the Opposition benches.
NOTICES OF MOTION—SKAITING IN THE

Mr• Irrp PARKS.
ave notice that on Tuesday next e
21st instant, he should move that an humble Addressth be
presented to her Majesty, praying that she would
be graciously pleased to direct the Commission..
ers of the land revenue to take measures to
render more safe the amusement of skaiting on the orna •
mental water in St. James's and Hyde Parks by
adopting measures to render the depth of those waters in
no place greater than four feet.

MISCELLANEOUS ESTIMATES.
Sir it. PEEL said he wished to move for a paper, to
Which it would be desirable to call the attention of the
Douse very shortly, connected with the execution of the

works which were-now in prcgress for the building of the
New Houses of Parliament, and the adoption of measures
for warming and ventilating these Houses. In
making that motion it would perhaps be for the general
convenience of the House that he should take that op-

Portunity of stating the general course which he meant
on the part of her Majesty's Government to pursue with
regard to the public business of the House. Notice had
"11 given for taking into consideration to-morrow those
estimates of which complete provision had not yet been
Made during the late session of Parliament. That vote
would refer to the miscellaneous services of the year.
One half of the sum required for those miscellane-
ous services had been provided by the late Parlia-
ment. He proposed to adopt the estimates without
exception, as they were framed by her Majesty's late
Ministers, and to submit them to the consideration of the
Mouse, exactly in the form in which they were submit-
ted during the late session. On former occasions the
course pursued had been to take by one vote the remain-
ing sum which was requisite for the purpose of providing
for those services. But in the present instance the esti-
mates themselves had not been submitted to the detailed
consideration of the House. A sum on account was
taken during the late session, and he apprehended that
it would be more satisfactory to the House
that the estimates in detail should undergo consideration
then ; that one sum in gross should be taken to provide
fur the public service. He proposed, therefore, in the
ordinary way to submit the estimate of each service in
detail, and to take a separate vote with respect to each.
He was not aware that it was necessary to make any
proposition to the House with respect to any other ser-
vices than those which were included in the estimates pre-
sented during the last Session ; but there was one form
of expenditure to which it would be his duty to
direct the attention of the House. It was connected
with that particular item of expenditure to which he had
before referred, viz. the additional sum which would be
required in connection with the construction of the two
Houses of Parliament. The works were advanced to
such a period, that if the two houses of Parliament
should determine on some mode of warming and venti-
lating the new Houses, similar to that which had been
provided for the present House of Commons, it would be
necessary at once to make provision for that pur-
pose. The state of the buildings was such, that the
floors and other works necessary to carry out
that design must be immediately provided.—(Hear.)
If these works were to be undertaken they must be
begun without delay. But he thought they were of such
a magnitude that they ought not to be undertaken
-without the previous sanction of Parliament. On a
former occasion, upon a question of a similar nature,
Committees of both Houses of Parliament had been ap-
pointed to consider the subject ; in his opinion it would be
convenient that a similar course should be pursued on
the present occasion. The works would amount, if car-
ried out according to the proposals of Dr. Reid and Mr
Barry, to between 80,000/. and 90,0001. ; and such a
large expenditure, in his opinion, should not be in-
curred without the consent and approbation of Par-
liament. If any Committee should be appointed,
he trusted that it would limit its inquiries entirely to
the heating and ventilation of the new Houses, and that
it would not in any way interfere with the progress of
the works. It also would be his intention to propose a
Continuance Bill, to continue those laws which would
expire at definite periods without the previous interven-
tion of Parliament. There were some laws which ex-
pired at definitely fixed periods. There were other laws
which would expire at the end of the first session of
Parliament. He should submit the propriety of con-
tinuing those laws for a definite period. The most im-
portant of all those laws was the Poor-law Act.
That part of it, constituting the Poor-law commission,
expires on the 31st of December next. He should pro-
pose that Parliament should provide that the Poor-law
Act, as it now stood, should continue in
operation until the 31st of July next, in order to
enable her Majesty's Government to consider
what it might be expedient to propose with regard to
that Act. Other Bills of considerable importance, and
others of less, would expire at the end of the present
Session, or on a given day. He should propose also to
continue those laws to a certain period. The continu-
ance of the Poor-law Act was of the most importance,
and it would be for the House to decide whether it
should continue by the General Continuance Bill or
otherwise. If it were desired by the House that it
should be continued by a separate Bill, he would
certainly have no objection, although he thought
it would be inconvenient to load the statute book
unnecessarily. With respect to . election petitions it
appeared to him that it would be better that no pre-
cedent should be adopted at present. He believed that
under the pt esent law no Act of the House was required for
suspending proceedings. It rested entirely with the general
Committee on Election Petitions to appoint the days on
which they should be heard ; and he trusted that it
would be considered that the House had expressed
its opinion of the inexpediency of proceeding with
the consideration of any election petitions at present.
With respect to the financial arrangements' of the coun-
try, his Right Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer would, on the earliest day on which a Committee of
Ways and Means could be appointed, state to the House
what was the extent of the deficiency to be provided for,
namely, the deficiency between the revenue and the expen-
diture of the country for the present year. lle apprehended
that it would be found not to fall far short of the estimate
given by the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, and that
it was probable a sum of 2,500,0001. would have to
be provided for the service of the present year.
Into the details of the particular classes of
deficiency. his Right Honourable Friend would
enter on the occasion to which he hid already alluded,
viz., when the House resolved itself into a Committee of
Ways and Means, and he would avail himself of that op-
portunity of stating what were the measures he intended
to propose for making temporary provision for reliev-
ing that deficiency. With respect to measures
of a more permanent character, for the purpose
of equalizing the revenue and expenditure of the
country, it was not his intention during the pre-
sent meeting of Parliament to submit any
Measures for the consideration of the House. He
had already expressed his opinion that it was
absolutely necessary to provide some effectual means
for equalizing the revenue and expenditure of
the country, and they would avail themselves of
the earliest opportunity, after mature consideration
°f the circumstances of the country, of submitting to
Parliament measures for the purpose of removing the
existing evil. Whether that would be best effecte by
diminishing _ the expenditure of the country, or whether
Lt Must be done by increasing the revenue, or whether it
Must be done by a combination of these two means—viz.,
the reduction of the expenditure and the increase of the
revenue, he must postpone for future consideration. It
IVRS enough for him to state that it was im-
Possible for the country, consistently with the public ser-
neely~, to proceed in the course which, perhaps unavoida-
had been pursued of late years, without in-
curring considerable debt. But as to the mode of
raising that deficiency, he must ask for that degree
of confidence from the House, which he had on all oc-
casions experienced; and in the meantime her Majesty's
Government would give it their most serious con-
sideration. With respect to other measures of a more
Permanent and important character, he must make the
same appeal to the confidence of the House. It was
quite true that for some days past, he (Sir H. Peel) and.
his colleagues had been in possession of the Govern-
ment of the country, but the House would readily admit
that the arrangements he was obliged to make with regard
le the constitution of the Government had not placed
him in a much better position to pronounce an opinion
on measures of such importance than before.— (Hear,
hear, and a laugh from the Opposition benches.)
He could assure the House that he had no
Wish to propose any unnecessary delay. On
account of the deficient attendance of Members, on
account of the temptations of other avocations to which
they would be subject, there might be some delay; but,
his own opinion was, that all considerations of
this description should be sacrificed to the public
business.—(hear, hear.) Those considerations ought
difficulty not to interpose the slightest in a case of
that kind. lie was anxious to call the attention of