The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-30 00:00:00

SEWERS BILL.

Mr. KEMBLE moved the third reading of this Bill.
Mr. BARNARD opposed the motion, and moved that
the Bill be read a third time that day six months. There
was no necessity for the measure, and he did not see
why it should pass into a law.
Mr. KEMBLE could assure the House there was
great necessity for the measure, and he believed every-
body but the Hon. Member in-Committee were unani-
mous in favour of the Bill.

Mr. HAWES said that many of the objections he had
entertained to the measure had been removed, and
trusted that the Hon. Member for Greenwich would not
persevere in his opposition to the Bill.
Mr. BARNARD withdrew his amendment, and the
Bill was read a third time and passed.
SPANISH BONDS.
Lord G. BENTINCK gave notice that, on Tuesday
next, he would move that an bumble address be pre-
sented to her Majesty, praying that she would be gra-
ciously pleased to direct such steps to be taken as would
secure to the holders of unpaid Spanish bonds redress
against the Government of Spain.
THIRD READINGS.
The Masters in Chancery and the Naval, Military,
end Militia Ballot Suspension Bills were severally read
a third time and passed. They stood on the list of
dropped orders.
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL gave notice that, on Friday
next, he would proceed with the Bill for the suspension
of the navigation-laws, at twelve o'clock, and as a great
portion of the private business had been disposed of, he
proposed that the public business should commence in
future at half-past four.
NAVIGATION LAWS AND FOREIGN CORN.
Lord G. BENTINCK said, that on Monday last be
had put a question to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
relative to a return that had been made to the House
with respect to the quantity of foreign corn imported
since the suspension of the navigation-laws. That
return gave a total of 538 vessels, which were stated to
bring in 95,000 tons of provisions. Now it appeared to
him, and to the half of the country, to be a most myste-
rious return, and he wished to have some explanation
with regard to it.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER defended
the accuracy of the return, and read the following ex-
tract from a letter of Sir T. Fremantle with reference to
it :—" We are prepared to maintain that the ships, so
far as London goes, do mean foreign ships bringing corn,
which could not have brought it but for the suspension
of the navigation-laws. The return for London was
136 ships ; tonnage, 8,757 ; quarters of corn and rice,
72,846 ; and bags of rice, 9,160." And he believed the
returns from other places were equally accurate. He
was quite sure, however, that his Noble Friend would
not postpone the second reading of the Bill for the
further suspension of the navigation-laws till the returns
were amended, even supposing they were inaccurate.
Lord GEORGE BENTINCK said that the returns
might be investigated, and a report made in a few days.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that the object of the
return was to show the operation of the suspension of the
navigation-laws, but whatever might be the case with
regard to the importation of corn, as stated in the return,
he did not propose to postpone the Bill for the further
suspension of the navigation-laws till the Ist March.
ABUSES OF THE RELIEF FUND IN IRELAND.
Sir DENHAM NORREYS called attention to the
report furnished by the Relief Commissioners, in which
it was stated that in some of the electoral divisions a
greater amount of relief was actually charged than had
been expended. This ought to be looked into, because,
if true, it was highly disgraceful to Ireland, and if not
true, then he called upon the Government to take mea
sures to set this right before the world. He called upon
them to lay upon the table full extracts, to show how the
relief fund had been expended, in order that they might
lay this disgraceful transaction at the door of the proper
owners.

Mr.--LABOUCHERE said that the name of Sir John
Burgoyne was appended to this report, and that alone
was a sufficient warrant for its authenticity. He re-
gretted that the fact of these disgraceful transactions
should have been so well established, but he denied that
the report of the Commissioners was intended to convey
a sweeping charge against the gentry of Ireland. So
far from that being the case, Sir John Burgoyne and his
colleagues, in many of their reports, distinctly wished
it to be understood that they believed that the
abuses which did exist were the exception, and not the
rule. The Hon. Baronet sought a general investi-
gation into the whole operation of the relief fund, in
order that they might understand who had done their
duty and who had not. He could not recommend to the
Government to accede to this suggestion, the effect of
which would be to set neighbour against neighbour,
priest against layman, the common people against the
gentry. He trusted that bis explanation would be satis-
factory. and that the House would deem it necessary
not to sustain the suggestion of thenon, Member for
Mallow.

Mr. B. OSBORNE said that if the explanation of
the Right Hon. Gentleman was satisfactory to the Hon.
Baronet the Member for Mallow, he (Mr. Osborne)
trusted that it would not be satisfactory to the House.
The Right Hon. Gentleman had tried, with great
ingenuity, to prove that the reports of the Relief Com-
missioners were intended to compliment the people of
Ireland, and the impression which was conveyed to his
(Mr. Osborne's) mind was, that the whole was intended
as an insult to that country, and sorry be was to see that
to these reports an Irishman's name was appended. The
Government had acted throughout in a wrong manner,
for they had sent down to different parts of the country
to report upon them, officers just returned from India,
and other parts of the world, who were absolutely igno-
rant of the districts they were to report upon. If gen-
tlemen in Ireland were supposed to be guilty, the Go-
vernment ought to institute a rigid inquiry into the cir-
cumstances, in order that those who were guilty of these
things might be held up to reprobation.
Mr. ROSS was afraid that they were guilty of these
practices.—(Hear, hear.) There were, deubtless, many
gentlemen in Ireland who exhibited great generosity;
but there were others who placed their dometic servants
upon the funds of the Relief Committee, and for the
purpose of securing their rents, exerted their influence
to get their own tenantry upon the same lists. Bnt be-
cause he believed that this was true, he was the more
inclined to support his Hon. Friend's motion, and to
pray the Government to sift the matter to the bottom.
Mr. BERNAL said he could hardly believe that many
landowners were in the habit of placing their servants
for support on the sums voted by that House, still from
information he had received he believed that such prac-
tices did prevail, and he should support any Hon.
Member who would move for the production of the
names of those who had neglected
CLENIENTS drew a picture of the sufferings
of the destitute Irish poor from famine, and blamed the
Government ,for not having attended to his adviCe
at the beginning of the session—not to entrust the
responsibility of selecting who should be relieved and
who should not be relieved to a local board and commis-
sioners. He thought the Government had acted
not only improperly but criminally in passing
a Bill which did not properly define who
should be relieved and who should not. The
name of Sir John Burgoyne could not be men-
tioned in that House without respect—(Hear, hear)—
but Sir W. Rolfe, Colonel Jones, Mr. Twizelden, the
Poor-law Commissioner, and Colonel Macgregor, at the
head of the police department, who had instituted secret
inquiries by the aid of constables, had had more work
assigned to them in either department than they could
adequately perform, and consequently they could notgive
that attention to the starving masses which theydemanded.
Far more blame was attributable to the law than to the
landed gentry of Ireland. He considered that the Irish
poor-law could not be carried out, and would not, there-
fore, be of the advantage claimed for it.
Mr. LABOUCHERE said whenever the Noble Lord
thought proper to bring forward any charges against
Colonel Macgregor, who was an able and intelligent
officer, he should be ready to meet them.
Mr. AGLIONBY considered that the Government
had acted properly, considering the great responsibility
which had been cast upon them. He thought that soma
further inquiry was necessary, as the charges
which had been made should not rest upon
mere allegations. He regretted, therefore, that
the Honourable Gentleman • ( Mr. Labouchere)
had declined to produce the papers. It was but just to
the parties that they should be produced, in order that
the innocent might be discriminated from the guilty.
The Commissioners could not be blamed, as they were
placed in the most difficult circumstances, and were com-
pelled to rely upon the statements of subordinates.—
(Hear.) The members of many of the Relief Corn
mittees had been charged with fraud and favouritism,
and an inquiry was, therefore, due to Ireland, as well as
to England.—(Hear.)