The Sun.
London, England, 1847-02-12 00:00:00

Lrnflj Ant

LONDON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1847.

The House of Lords met at Five o'clock.
Ai o l-xisiness of public importance w:
N
Oiler the presentation of several petitions
their Lord-
sitilis adjourned.
-----_
" The Commons met at Four o'clock.
Several private Bills were forwarded a stage.
In answer to Mr. TuonNELY,
Mr. MILNER GIBSON stated that a Bill was in pre-
paration to enable joint-stock companies to wind up
their concerns.
Lord Jon:" RCSSELL stated, in answer to a question,
that it was the intention of the Government that the

Poor-law Bill for Ireland, and the Bill for lending
money to the proprietors of land, should proceed pari
passu, so as to go up to the other House together.
His Lordship also stated that in a few days he would
propose a measure for the organisation of the Poor-law
Board in Ireland.
Mr. SHARNAN CRAWFORD then moved the resolution
of which he had given notice, the object of which was to
secure to the tenant in Ireland a sufficient permanency
of tenure, or full compensation for all benefits created
by the expenditure of his labour and capital on the
lands in his occupation.
Sir D. NORREYS thought that the stamp duties should
be done away with, and that where leases were given
for less than thirty years, that all local taxation should
be thrown on the landlord.

Mr. MITE desired that the property of absentees was
as well managed as that of the resident gentry.
Lord CASTLE:LEACH could not support the motion of
the Hon. Member for Rochdale, as it would be produc-
tive of the greatest mischief to the landed proprietors
of I. eland.

Colonel CONNOLLY opposed the motion.
Mr. LABOUCHERE acknowledged that the subject was
one well worthy the attention of the house. Had the
Hon. Member pursued the course he had pursued on
former occasions, and proposed to introduce a Bill, the
Government would not have objected to its introduc'ion,
lout he considered that it would be injudicious to agree
to a general resolution on the subject. more particularly
when, as in the present instance, the choice was given
to the House of adopting two alternatives. He also ob-
jected to the resolutions as vague and indefinite.
It would alter the law of property to give permanency
of tenure, but he conceived that the house was already
committed to the principle of giving compensation to the
tenant for improvements.
Mr. FITZSTEPHEN FRENCH said that the tenant right
was a most unfair and mischievous practice.
In answer to Mr. SMITH O'BRIEN, it was stated by
Mr. LABOUCHERE that the Government hoped to intro-
' duce a Bill on the subject referred to in the resolutions
before Easter.

The motion was then withdrawn.
On the motion of Mr. AGLIONBY, leave was given

bring in a Bill to amend the Commons Enclosure Act.
Mr. SHARMAN CRAW FORD obtained leave to bring in a
Bill for the better collecting the poor's rate in Ireland.
Mr. C. O'BRIEN moved for certain returns relating to

the proceedings of Captain Wynne as an officer of the
Board of Works, which, after a short conversation, were
agreed to.
Mr. STRCTT, as the Chairman of the Railway Com-
mi•sion, then rose to move for leave to bring in
a Bill for the regulation of railway business.
With regard to new Bills, it was proposed that the
promoters of them should deposit a sufficient sum
to defray the preliminary expenses of a survey, and that
then they should be authorised by the Commissioners to
enter on the survey of lands, giving the Commissioners
power to award damages for any injuries occurring in
consequence of such survey. It was:proposed that stakes
should be driven into the land to mark the line of the
proposed railway, and that a public officer should be
sent down to receive suggestions from owners or occu-
piers as to any proposed deviations, which if the

promoters were inclined to receive, they should have
power to do, and to include such deviations in
their deposited plans. He proposed that proofs of
compliance with the standing orders, should be received
by the Railway Commissioners, and that the officer sent
down by them should report upon the deposited plans
and sections. He proposed that counsel should not be
allowed to be heard, or to examine witnesses before the
Commissioners. He proposed that the Commissioners
should have power to report to the House upon all
matters relating to tolls, fares, engineering, amount of
capital, construction of the line, number of shares, and
power fur borrowing money, to be granted to the com-
pany. He proposed that in Committee, with regard to
questions of fact, which might be the subject of dis-
pute, he proposed that either party might complain,
and hare the Bill referred back to the CommiS-
sioners, and if the complaint should turn out unfounded
that the parties so applying should bear the expenses.
He did not propose to give the Commissioner power to
authorise railway companies to borrow capital, or to amal-
gamate, without coming to Parliament, nor did he propose
to limit the rate of interest on the dividends of railway
companies. He proposed that the power of revising the
rates of fares on railways, every ten years, should be
,given to Parliament; and he proposed that every existing
railway company which came to Parliament for an ex-
tension of its powers should be subject to this revision
of tolls and fares, and that the same power should
be vested in Parliament with regard to all railways.
He also proposed that when any company intended to
make alterations in their fares, such company should
give due notice thereof to the Commissioners, stating

at the same time their reasons for such alt, rations,
With regard to the Post-office service, ho thought that
distinct and definite charges should be made for it,
such rates of charge to be agreed on between
the Post office and the Companies, and to be

reported to the Companies in the same way
as the rates of fares and tolls were reported to
them, limiting the contract for carrying the mails to the
period:of five years. To ensure punctuality, he proposed
that bills of the times of arrival and departure of each

train should be conspicuously exhibited at every
station, that they should be forwarded to the Com-
missioners, and that they should make an annual
report to Parliament of the speed of the diffe-
rent trains throughout the country, calling the
attention of Parliament to the punctuality or want
of punctuality- in the different trains run by the
different companies, and their influence upon the safety
of the public. He proposed that, with regard to cheap
trains, the time of arrival, departure, and stopping
at the different stations should be reported to
the commissioners, and that at night there should be
lights in the carriages ; and that in every carriage
should be affixed a notice, stating the number of pas-
sengers every such carriage was to convey; and that any
infraction of such rules should be punished by fine. He
proposed also to give the Commissioners power to re-
gulate the time of the arrival and departure of third class

trains where two companies meet, so as to answer the
accommodation of the public, and to employ police et the
expense of the company where their employment might
be necessary to insure the preservation of the public
peace. _ _

After a short debate, leave was given to bring in the
Bill.

On the motion for the second reading of Lord G.
BENTINCK'S Bill, for advancing 16,000,0001. to the
shareholders in Irish railways,
Mr. SMITH O'BRIEN appealed to the Noble Lord. the
Member for Lynn, to postpone his motion, in order to
give time to the Irish Members to consult their con-
stituents, as the Government had held out an un-
generous threat that they would resign should the
motion be carried.

A long and angry discussion ensued, in the course of

which

Lord JOHN RUSSELL said he would not consent to any
postponement of the Bill. If it were too late to proceed
with it that night, he would give up to-morrow, which was
a Government night, to the discussion of the measure.

Eventually the second reading was adjourned till
to-morrow (this day).
The Brewing from Sugar Bill was read a third time.
The Railway Commissioners' Bill was read a first time.
The House adjourned shortly after Eleven o'clock.

Upon the decision of Parliament on the Irish
railway scheme, introduced by the Noble Lord the
representative of Lynn, the Prime Minister has an-
nounced his intention of staking the existence of the
Government. Had Lord JOHN RUSSELL done other-
wise, he would, without question, have been charged
by the Opposition with tenaciously clinging to
office, after a possible defeat upon the grandest
of all matters of Ministerial polity at the pre-
sent moment—namely, the salvation and resto-
ration of Ireland. Under any circumstances,
indeed, the present Administration would have
been liable either to invidious insinuations or to
a positive impeachment—under any circumstances, it
would have been pierced with the poisoned arrows of
party rancour—under any circumstances whatever,
saving the peculiar circumstances in which it is placed
by Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S announcement. In speak-
ing as the Noble Lord the head of her MAJESTY'S
Government has spoken, he has acted with a boldness
arid a candour most honourable to himself and to
his colleagues. As a conscientious statesman, it
was impossible for him to sanction the reckless ap-
propriation of an enormous loan of 16,000,0001. to
any purpose, however benevolent, unless the applica-
tion of that amount was proved to tally with the
principle of the golden rule of legislation—" the
greatest good to the greatest number." Unless it
was
ostensible to the Ministers of the Crown that the
effects of this
gigantic piece of generosity and confi-
dence would inevitably
y beathn d
the r ebsatpopr
tant
ems ns ofan thed att
starv-
ing peasantry to health
of
e
same time the emolumenth
whom the requisite sixteen
millions
individuals from
unless this reciprocal advantagem:esrewdere borrowed_
demonstrated to
be the natural and necessary result of Lord Graoacia

BENTINCK'S proposition, it would have been criminal
in the members of the Government to give their coun-
tenance to any such stupendous venture. "Nothing
risk, nothing gain," is all very well in the atmosphere of
CROCKFORD'S, and might be emblazoned with some
point on the lottery-wheel of the Art-Union, but
in the conduct of a Legislature the proverb would be
a sample of very paltry philosophy. The rulers of
au empire are, by the assumption of authority, ipso
facto invested with a vast and sacred responsibility.
The national resources are not to be squandered away
like the gold of a gamester or the reputation of a
concubine. It is not just, it is not honest, it is not
consistent with their characters as the guardians of
one of the sublimest Constitutions of Christendom,
for the Ministers of Great Britain to lavish sixteen
millions at a time upon the suggestions of a political
adventurer, aided by the clamours of an interested
i minority.
Now, it is manifest to every sensible and dis-
passionate man, that the railway scheme of the
1 Noble Lord, the Member for Lynn, originating pos-
sibly in a benevolent and patriotic sentiment, is one
of the maddest games of legislative hazard ever con-
ceived by the mind of the most speculative politician.
Ireland is destitute. By a common and spontaneous
sympathy the less afflicted people of the United
Kingdoms evince a readiness to assist the sufferers,
and, in accordance ss ith that general manifesta-
tion of philanthropy, the Parliament, the Minis-
try, and the SOVEREIGN coincide in passing
measure after measure for the relief of
the indigent. For a while the unanimity which is
[ exhibited is complete and uninterrupted; boon after
boon is conferred upon Ireland; immunity after im-
-1 munity ; advance after advance ; stimulus after sti-
mulus. The consequence of this splendid munificence
is obvious. There is a pause in the distribution of
bounties. A consciousness gradually insinuates itself
upon the minds of the people, of the Parliament, and
of the Ministry, that enough has been bestowed
by Government—that an extension of this assistance
would be injurious if not absolutely fatal to exertion
on the part of the Irish multitude themselves.
CURTIUs and his horse, armed cap-a-pie, had been
plunged into the chasm, the sacrifice of anything
beyond that was unnecessary, and would have been
little short of insanity. As we have said, there
was a pause therefore. The Ministry and the
community at large felt more fully than ever
the wisdom of that noble old motto, " GoD helps
those who help themselves." And having shown the
impoverished peasantry of Ireland an example of
activity, and the landowners a model of timely muni-
ficence, they paused. The work which they had
already accomplished in behalf of Irish penury was
the verb of a great movement of renovation and re-
generation. More on their part would have been un-
wise, and might have proved actually ruinous. That was
the position of affairs when Lord GEORGE BENTINCY
1 advances to the table of the House of Commons, and
Iproposes the transfer of sixteen millions of money
over .and above all that has been done already, to
Ireland, to relieve the Irish landlords of any burthen
whatever, and to saddle the industrious people of
England with all the woes produced through the
mismanagement of those same landlords, and in accord-
ance with the all-wise dispensations of the DEITY. Six-
teen millions of money—to set business astir again
in Capel-court, to impart its pristine importance to
scrip, to pamper the able-bodied " navies" of Great
Britain, to protect the agriculture 'of Ireland from the
most reasonable liabilities—to sow new winds, in
short, for the simple purpose of reaping new whirl-
winds. 'The alternative of the Government was
visible. Lord JOHN RUSSELL has acted with a
wisdom and courage in this delicate position which
cannot very quickly be forgotten.

The clouds are gathering thick and fast arsund
the self-dishonoured Minister. The storm of public
indignation, as we predicted would be the case, is
ready to burst over the head of M. GUIZOT. On
every side severe and justly-merited retribution
threatens the man who descended from the high posi-
tion which he held, a short while since, almost uni-
versally, in the eyes of Europe, to become the servile
minion of royalty. M. GUIZOT has betrayed
his country and blasted his reputation.
When he banished every sentiment of honour from
his breast, which, in justice to France, should
have punctiliously ruled his every thought
and action as her high functionary for Foreign Affairs,
he broke a sacred trust, and recklessly abused the
confidence which a generous people had reposed,
under the excusable delusion that his integrity was
as pure as his ability was undoubted. His talents
still remain unquestioned ; but his integrity, without
which the former are worthless, except for mis-
chievous and malevolent purposes, has been discovered
to be nothing better than a skilful counterfeit. Now
that the lacquer has been subjected to the healthy
friction and trying test of public opinion, the basis is
found to consist of the coarsest metal. M. GUIZOT,
in order to continue to bask in the royal sunshine,
wantonly trifled with the interests, and shamelessly
dimmed the lustre of the honour, of his country. The
French Nation are profoundly sensible of the injury
which has been inflicted upon their national cha-
racter, and are already loud in their murmurs
against the perfidy of the Minister. We speak not
of the French Chambers, which, as we have recently
written, present no real constitutional type of the
interests and sentiments of our chivalrous neighbours.
The intelligence from Paris renders it highly
probable that M. GUIZOT must almost immediately
retire from the Ministry, notwithstanding that the
Address will be carried in the Legislature by a strong
majority. That M. GUIZOT should succeed in passing
the Address in the terms couched by the Government,
and yet be constrained to resign, is precisely the
anomaly which proves how farcical is the representa-
tive system in France. It proves, moreover, that
public opinion cannot be imperiously slighted, and it
is a satisfaction to England to know that France can-
not be fairly judged of by the acts of her Executive
or Legislature, between which and the people there
is no real sympathy whatever. Had any English
Minister been guilty of such duplicity and dishonour-
able conduct towards France as M. GUIZOT has ob-
served towards England, he would, in all probability,
have been unable to have shown his face in the House
of Commons. In the first place, his constituency
would have immediately demanded the resignation
of his trust into their hands ; and if this requirement
had not been complied with, the House of Commons
would have prevented any administration, associated
with such a colleague, from carrying an address to
the Throne, by moving a vote of direct censure, and
immediately cashiering them from power.
The speech of the Marquis DE MIRArLORES, in
Madrid, on the Ist instant, has completely put to the
rack the mind of every honourable Frenchman. The
Marquis has declared M. GUIZOT was " most
inexact" in stating that he, when Minister, ever
made any overtures respecting a marriage be-
tween the Duke DR MONTPENSIER and the In-
fanta. The Marquis denies it in toto---nay, he
asserts that he told M. BREsSoN such a marriage was
quite out of the question, in fact, impossible; and that
he could not laulerstand the necessity of the nuptials of
the royal sisters beiny simultaneously solemnized. The
Marquis appeals to M. BREFSON for the truth of his
assertions. The Marquis admits he was in Paris in
July last, and had frequent interviews with the KING
and conversed over the question of the Spanish mar-
riages. The Marquis does not deny that he sought
to impress the KING with the desirableness of a
Prince of COBURG being selected for the
hand of the Queen of SPAIN, which Lord
PALMERSTON alleged (as his belief) the
Marquis was disposed to try and accomplish.
The Marquis is silent on this point, but he declares
that he went to Paris in a private and not in any of-
ficial or diplomatic capacity. If he repaired to the
French city at the instance of Queen CHRISTINA,
he could not have gone officially, for the QUEEN-.
MOTHER, not being a member of the Government,
could not have conferred any such authority upon the
Marquis; neither could his mission have been a di-
plomatic
aloneaticone,havfeor
invested him
himthe
with Minister,
could
a function. Therefore the speech of the Marquis
DE MIRAYLORES completely bears out, in substance,
everything advanced by Lord PALMERSTON in his able
dispatches, and henceforth no man can place the least
reliance upon M. GUIZOT'S veracity. He will be
offered up as a sacrifice by his wily SOVEREIGN to
appease the offended dignity of France and of civilized
Europe. Lours rza.zrz will have no feelings of