The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-15 00:00:00

RAILWAYS BILL

Lord GRANVILLE moved the second reading of this
Bill The object of the Bill was to allow Railway
Companies after giving due notice to the Railway Com-
missioners, to extend the time for the completion of
their works. This would give relief to shareholders
aid to the public, and would tend greatly to relieve
the money market.
Lord STANLEY, considering the object of the
Bill to be a desirable ono, would not offer any
opposition to the motion. It must be remem-
bered, however,• that the longer they protracted: the
time granted -for the 'construction of a railroad, the
loner they protracted the incuni,enier:ce to the land-
owner and the demoralization of the district in which
the railway was in the course of construction. He
thought power should be given to the Commisgioners to
extend the time not at which the works should be com-
pleted, but the time at which works not' jtt undertaken
should be commenced. He thought also that the clansea
of a majority of the shareholders should be sufficient to
authorise the stoppage of the works, instead of requiring
the consent of three-fifths present at a meeting.
• Lord MONTEAGLE thought the sugges:ions very
valuable. This Bill had been rendere necessary by
the erroneous system of legislation which they had
adopted with regard to railways, by sChich they had
authorised 250,000,0001. sterling to be raised by these
railway companies. The-Noble Lord concluded by
giving notice of his intention to bring in a Bill for the
more effectual auditing of railway accounts, by
which he would give the shareholders in any
railway the power to apply to the Commis-
sioners to appoint proper persons to institute
a searching investigation into the state of the accounts
of such company, and that on such `application being
made, the Commissioners should cause such audit to Co
instituted. If the classification of Railway Bills, sug-
geited in the Lords' report in 1845, had been adoptel,
there would have been a material diminution in the
number of railway Bills passed last session.
Earl GRANVILLE said that after the recess the
Government intended to move for a Committee of their
Lordships to consider, and to classify the railway Bills
which might come up from the other House.
Lord STANLEY explained.
After a few words from the Earl of MALMESBURY,
the Bill was read a second time.
MASTERS- OF WORKHOUSES.

The Earl of ST. GERMANS asked if it was intendo.l
to introduce a measure granting superannuation allow-
ances to retired masters-of workhouses?

The Marquis of LANSDOWNE was understood to
say that the matter, was under the consideration of the
Government.
BOARD OF TRADE RETURNS.

Lord STANLEY asked if there would be any objec-
tion to lay before their Lordships the monthly returns
of the trade and commerce of the country, prepared by
the Board of Trade ?

The Marquis of LANSDOWNE would make inquiries
on the subject.

Their Lordships then adjourned.
[ln the-Parliamentary report of last enning it was
stated that certain petitions had been presented by the,
Bishop of Durham. This was an error. The lii,;ht
Rev. Prelate who presented the petitions in question was
the Bishop of Llancaff, anit itol the Bishop of Durham.]

•
HO SE OF - 'COMMONS. . .
• COMNIERCIAIa DISTRESS. - - •
(Contiaued, (rum our Afternoon Edition.)
Mr. WAKLEY thought that the resolution appoint-
ing the Committee ought to be r,seinded. There was a
genera: _opinion abroad that this Committee was only
appointed for the purpose of slirking- a full and fair
inquiry into the oprraCon3 of the Bank Charter Act.
He admitted that the R4,,ht Han. Bironnt the Clian•
cellor of the Excheqw,r Ras placed in a very difficult
pozitiona• It was difficult to prescribe for a patient in
any case of disease, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer
had act only attempted to pre,:cribe, but he had to choose
the doctors:who should prescribe. But do these doctors
come free from con victloo ? NO; they will not be changed
in their opinion by the reault of any inquiry. The
Right Hon. Baronet -has had to select the doctors
who have already prescribed fur, and already
nearly killrd the pa-tknt, John Bull.—(Laugh-
ter.) .One of the doctors said that ,there was some-
thing the matter with the spine ; ano:her that
the patient had a difficulty of breathiiig:; another
said that there was som:ahing wrong with: the
state of• the :circutation--(Laagtter) —that the circu
lating 'medium *as oat" of onfer.—(LauOiter.) The
duetors have alretsfly ptreural their mode of treatment
for the patient in oppositi.-in to the opinions of all ine
partial-and philosophic men; they were wrong in their
coarse; but they mere entitt,rl to their mode of procedure.
The merahers of the Con:matte trerc so pledged that
there was no hope, that otit of any investigations that
might •be mare, they would be inductd to altar their
opinion of the state of the patient, or of the temedics
regnired: One of the doctors will WIT go on working;
with his-digeTtive remtdia!s at the stomach, another will
continue probing the spine, one will try his
^ohien•remedy,- another his caustic or salve remedy.—
Hear, hear.) There -wail no doubt that they would
gain hate tne -old prescriptions, because the majority
i were n tavour of the ohl retnedies.----( [fear, hear.) Now,
why not try a prescription, at once ? Why all this
waste of time ? What was the use of keeping
twenty-six men for months in such a process
of inquiry ? Why, an old Dorking hen in
a farm-yard would in three waeks, by an assiduous
attention ro her unties; hdclaaore'valtie to the farm than
thi3-Committee if r it coMinued sitting for cix months.—
Langhter.) He begged of the Committee not to sit at,
all, they would hatch nd brood ur fine ehiskens—

(Laughter)—at bent they would only addle the eggs.—
(Renewed laughter.) Ile meat sincerely trusted that the
Governmeulwould reconsider their decision and give up the
idea of employing 26 men fur a length of. time upon to
fruitless an inquiry. He knrw that already Hon. Gen-
tlemen shrunk from an inquiry into the detects of the
Act of 1844. The inquiry was to be an inquiry into the
commercial distresa Why, they could not come to the
Bank Charter till next June or possibly June, 1849.
Now some of these doctors had been already at work.
Some had received their fees, others had not. But there
was now another party who were expectants, and ex-
pected to be called in ; that was the Radical party.
Now, of that party he saw only one name upon the Com-
mittee. and 'that was the Hon. Member for Montrose
(Mr. Hume), and he had' declined to serve. Now,
he (Mr. W akley) proposed to put' in his place
another name; the name of a Radical—the lion.
Member - for Birmingham (Mr. Muntx). lie
was a hardwire man, a hard headed man, a man who
had got brains, and, speaking physiologically, he should
say, brains'of the right soh.—(Laughter.) A person
bad only to-look at him, and it was enough to see that he
understood the question. There was no doubt that this was
a question which had engaged much of his attention.
He (Mr. Wakley) proposed, therefore, that the name of
Mr. Muntz should be inserted instead of the Hon.
Member for Monttoie (Mr. Hume). It was not neoes-
sary that he "should offer any apology to that Hun.
Member. -.He had declined to serve. There was
no person in that House who would more value
the services of that Hon. Member upon the Committee
than he would.—(llear.) He (Mr. Wakley) had a great
regard for the health of that Hon. Member, and at his
period of life he ought not to be placed in such a situa-
tion.—(Laughter.) The Hon. Member behind him
(Mr. Muntz) could,
he thought, &Lind the difficulty ; he
was a manefacturerund an employer of labour; be had
investigated the jeet; he was also
merchant, a
,vety large a. foreign
foreign merchant, and under-
stood the question of the e anges. He (Mr. Wakley)
believed that the Guvernmelreiht
beside3of opinion
was but one man that there
(sir
R. Right, Ron. Baronet the.
Member for Tamworth
who did under-
stand that question. That gentlenacan)alwas, he believed,
so that be was
a very wealthy man, and he was told
Ile wished
very desirous of increasing his wealth.
lions.peGakenftulerm; wahoot
to speak disrespectfully of any
was not present in the House to
Upon a question of this kind, which afteted the inidmusselry.
of the country and the condition of ni!llions of the poor
people of the country—(Hear, hear)—a .wcelthy u,„„,
and a covetous man, was the last that ought to be cen-
salted ou the eauestion.—(No, no.) Well, it W4S ,aid
that he MIS a covetous man. It was eith great
regret thzt he made any allusion to that Hon. Gentle.
man, but he feed been told that that Hoe. Gentleman
had absolutely refused to incur the legal expenses ne-
cessary in order to enable him to take his scat in that
House.—("lSo, no." from Mr. Wdeon and other Hun.
Members.) The Hon. Meather for Westbury appeared
shocked by such a statement, but he would hear a great
many stranger things in that House before he had
been long there. (Hear, hear.) This, however,
he (Mr. Wakley) did say, that a case affect-
ire?" the industry of the country, and the millions
of its poorer classes, rich men—he would not indi-
vidualise them—were not the first that ought to be
ceneulted; they had in general a morbid desire to secure
what they already possessed, and to obtain as much
more as possible.—(Laughter.) The Chancellor of the
Exchequer had selected the " ins and outs " and the I