The Sun.
London, England, 1847-03-19 00:00:00

~f_

EIE SCA,

persons depOdent upon them, while in *Rochester
there were no less teen seventy. if they were to t.,4r
paid for in this wee. there would be always ready
advocates to supeort there. Persons would be found to
support witchcraft itself if it could be paid or; at d the
quarantine laws would never lack support while the State
paid 15.0001. a year to those who were their advocates.
For a long time, they had the support of medical autho-
rity in favour of these laws ; but, most honourable to the
proffssien, that support was withdrawn. The soundest
evidence had issued from places where the plague was
endemic, which had thrown such a light on the subject
as to induce the introduction of considerable moditica-
tioes in the sys,em. In 1838 Mr. Lewis, in an official
communication on the subject of these laws, writing
from Malta, where there was a great prejudice in favour
of the system, said, " It is notorious that the modes in
which plagues were communicated w ri imperfectly
known. that many of the grounds on which the conenu-
ance of these laws rests are little better than vague hypo-
theses." Again, Dr. Robinson, in speaking of Egypt
and Turkey, in an official communication in 1841,
stated that the frightful diseases prevalent in the se
countries arose from kcal cau;ei, and stated that the
plague could not be communicated in pure atmo-
sphere, but that he was not prepared to say that
it could not be communicated in confined places.
or in impure atmosphere. Mr. Grant also stated that
he was aware of thousands of casas where it had notcorn-
rcuniceted when there was proximity to diseased parties.
He had known instances of persons completely ex•
eluding themselves from contact with others, and taking
thef.
.to utmost,
being
nevertheless precaution
B‘uytri
attackedte tslhpeetch respect
most
tetsf
etheirea s clothingde remarkableshad
aasde ,
beene cir-
cumstance and
beco miiig victimsfu to
connexionit.
mwrelicitedsi
.(1.1)bli
subject
iyutl
nh:aaecils,
i,,of,
iry plague CommissionAcademyha :07 Inquiry,appointed
()
Medicineintewhich,ltot
quarantine,fprofessionalinabq,nr
atsdaivni
narc(sceioeansipfs,nu,ipi
tseo,
t)lnienstdti4t
hfieo4decf.
charaeter,
Governments Tc,lueled' iv ed
liemevery assistance
,beyffu w
mediahticellyi
put
iftsoirhieahebqrjrenruerus;e:l
ilortvface,e,aldrs,
localities
tgtiwitenebostse.oyi communicationenLta‘rlevi;:eairtuchdhtthey
with persons who had
report,autnisett
niendt io( p,ttnolbee,tlovmhatiunchshdet
they
chielbdse'eCi rarlcsya'r of evidence
which they had collected on the subject.
They stated in their report that the
facts they had been enabled to collect extending over
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as well
as up to a late period, proved incontrovertably,
that the disease had a spontaneous origin. The
conclusion come to by the Academy was that in
those countries which the plague had visited—in Egypt,
Syria, and Turkey, and in several other places in Africa,
Asia, and Europe—it was not spontaneous ; and
in those countries where it did originate, that
it was caused by animal deposits in the alluvial soils
adjoining such rivers as the Nile and the Eu-
phrates, by the action of putrescent animal and
vegetable substances, by insufficient and unwhole-
some food, and by physical and moral wretchedness.
With regard to the transtnissal of the plague by touch,
it would be in the recollection of the House that, three
sessions ago, he moved for a return of all the deaths
which had taken place in the lazereit is, in conse-
quence of touching the garments of those who had
died of the disease. The return was ' nil.' It had
been proved that after all the costly institutions they
had framed fur the prevention of this disease,
it could not be introduced. Clothes subjected
to a moderate heat would no longer commu-
cate it ; and the disease itself would not lie
latent for more than eight days. The most absurd
report and ideas were prevalent with regard to the
plague. Many supposed that it could be communi-
eated by clothes after the lapse of years, and one
writer had stated that the plague had been intro-
duced from Thebes from the unrolling of a mummy.
In many parts of the world a moment i n this
question was going forward. Russia was advanc•
ing, and public opinion was fast changing in
regard to these laws. Austria was also
stirring. In places where the greatest ignorance
prevailed opinion was becoming enlightened. Last year
there was a scientific congress held at Marseilles. which
though principally composed of contagionists. yet passed
resolutions that the present law requiroii m elification.
He believed that if the quarantine : ay.. bad not
existed the unfortunate people on board the Eclair
would have been spared, and no damage what-
ever would }awe occurred to the community
Ile would, therefore, move for any copies of the corre-
spondence which had taken place on the subject of the
quarantine laws:since the last session of Parliament.
Mr. HUME seconded the motion. lie thought that
the most convincing argument against the entire useless.
ness of these laws was, that during the hundred years
that the quarantine laws had been in existence, at
an expense of upwards of 140,0001. a year, not one
person employed to open the bales and air the
cargo upon vessels coining to the country under the
most suspicous circumstances had ever been effected.
The sum mentioned by his Hon. and Learned Friend
was scarcely a tithe of the expense of the main•
tenance of the quarantine system. The commerce
of the country had been delayed and impeded
by it. lie believed the general interest of the
community had stiff, red from the system to an extraor-
dinary degree, and, therefore, he was happy to have the
opportunity of thanking his Hon. Friend fur having
brought the subject forward.
Mr. MILNER GIBSON said it was unnecssssry for
him to dwell upon the various subjects which had been
introduced into the speech of his Honourable
Friend, because he was not .aware that there was the
slightest objection to the motion which the Hon.
Gentleman had made as to the production of the corres-
pondence moved for. There was not the slightest d,eibt
that the quarantine regulations in the various countries
of the world had been prejudicial to commerce, bu', as fur
as England was concerned, she hail reduced her regula-
tions so as in many cases to render them almost nominal.
For instance, ships from Turkey were now admitted
free of quarantine, provided they were net laden
with suscepteble urticles, and the same regulations ap-
plied to ships from Syria and Egypt. But in a matter
like this England could not act by herself. She must
have the co i peration of the other nations of Europe.
The necessity of quarantine was imposed by the opinion
which prevailed in foreign nations. lie would further
say that he had every reason to believe that those who
had charge of those laws were extremely anxious to make
them us little injurious as possible to the commerce of
the country. He, therefore, begged to say that there
could be no objection to granting the returns.
Mr. THORNLEY wished to impress on the Government
the necessity of an examination of these quarantine laws, for
he believed that inquiry would lead to their being done away
with altogether.—The motion was agreed to.
ABSENTEEISM IN IRELAND.
Mr. W. S. O'BRIEN rose to move—" That, inasmuch as
the non-residence of landed proprietors in Ireland is one of the
HOSPITAL AT PORT MAHON. cau'es of social disorganisation in that kingdom, it is expedient
Sir DE LACY EVANS gave notice that on a future to impose a charge by way of special assessment, in aid of local
day he should put a question to the Noble Lord the objects of an useful nature, upon the estates of absentee pro-
Secretary for Foreign Affairs with respect to a petition prietors, with avi7 to maked some compensation for the evils
which had been presented. praying that a military hos- resulting fromtb eir non-resi rrice." He was perfectly sensible
pital might be erected at Port Mahon.
that he had imposed upon himself a task which was by no
Mr. P. BORT !MICK informed the Hon. Member that means acceptable to. the House, as so many gentlemen in
England derived a large revenue from property in Ireland.
he had already given a similar notice. There was no person who had visited Ireland—there was no
Sir DE LACY EVANS withdrew his notice in favour
person who had lived there—who had not placed on record the
of that of the lion. Member. decision at which he had arrived, that Ireland had suffered
QUARANTINE LAWS. greatly from the draughts of propetty from that country.
1)r. BOWRING rose to move for a continuation of There were persons who called themselves philosophers and
the correspondence with respect to these laws. lie political economists, who professed tkat this was no injury.
said, although the subject was an uninviting one, yet He believed that Mr. Mackellar was the first person who
the discussions which had taken pla.e upon it broached the opinion,
Irelandut he believehe d that he list seen
treashon
had gone far to prevent undue espionage by the Crown. to withdraw
itit. a largew as Ittttribute, safornr thee retartibiounte wast in
country as if remitted
The discussion had also done much to remove many dis-
fact remitted in goods or money, and could it be said that the
abilities under which travellers and others laboured in
country would be as much benefited as if the goods
consequence of the existence of those laws. He was sure,
had remained in the country. It mattered net
also, that every additional discussion would tend towards whether the tribute was remitted in grain, in cattle,
the same end; and it was with that view that he felt it his or in money, but it was plain that if this property
duty to move for the continuation of the correspondence had remained in Ireland, it would have contributed to increase
which had taken piece since the subject was last under the earnings of labour, increase the promotion of art, and re-
hl c he
re-
the attention of the House. The sanatory condition of
greatests mn ceuh l hardlyevils polow
ward the exertions of
fed
dstbry
all
much
ands t didbenaol
rr
p ihni I otsbiioi s•
the people was intinsetely connec ed with those laws, and country.
thatltthewae;ialdarnoLftetaabtesdenyttheeei
he was not without hope that tii. e time was not far pliers,
sated., Absenteeism
distant when those laws would be removed altogether.a emPe
countryn -
it'd suffer, becatee the natural capital of the country—the
l'he best results had followed alterations in those
c'a
capital derived from the soil - was withdrawn from its legiti-
laws in the west of Europe, and in the Levantr ca
source of circulation, On the other hand, the advantage
Plague, like all other diseases, was materially increased of the proprietors of land residing on it were great, whether for
when circumstances concurred to promote its propaga- the purpose of giving or dispensing charity, for pre-
tion. Ile need not refer to any instances to illustrate venting agrarian outrage, and for the purpose of seeing
the truth of this proposition. That celebrated case in the law properly carried out, as magistrates or
Calcutta, where, out of 140 individuals, more than juries, the advantage of having resident proprietors
100 perished in a single night, was a melancholy proof were great ; in fact, proprietors whose ancestors had been long
„1 it. 'That fact was notorious to every reader of history, connected with the soil, partook almost of a patriarehiat cha-
let(' demonstrated the pernicious effects of unventilated meter. These, he knew, were all truisms, and he ought
and confined places. In the last session, at- almost to apologise to the House for dwelling upon them. He
ten den was called to the great mortality
on should, therefore, proceed to illustrate the difference between
residentby and non-resident landlords, a single case which
board the Eclair, and this mortality, which was not
had specially fallen under his own observation.
unfri quetaly to be found on beard ship, was to He wished, however, to premise that he slid
he attributed to the same cause, and bore evi- not intend to mention the case in any invidious spirit.
dente to the truth of the facts to which he called
Throughout the whole of his ob,ervations he wished to avoid
the attention of th House. Ina dispatch which had been any remarks which could give offence to any one. He hail
sent by Lord Palmerston to Lord Ponsonby in 1839, had an opportunity, by his connexion with the counties of
- been of knowing that the late Lord Egremont
year from his property '
he_ i counties. That Noble in those two
and which had presentedeeu troecutghneisedT.urkli slier 1
received Clare and2sL,iumoeorli.cak,
Divan, these truths had Lord, he believed, never saw his
considered that by
elements of disease would i estates, and he did not believe that he expended upon
provements of large cities, the that property, alter discharging the incidental ex-
t in this respect
be gradually removed. Au improveuien
the progrebss of the aanitary
penses, more than five hundred pounds a year.
believed that I f Lord Egremont therefore resided on his estates in Ireland,
was no doubt going on in Egypt,
in various other parts of the vie ell and he
~ and fulfilled the duties which devolved upon him in the same
hat acter of the in Turkey, and
manner that he did in England, who could calculate the
of those appri- amount of good which would be done to the locality. He
a greater knowledge of the causee and c
plague would tend to remove many been
ex- thought that nothing could exceed the moral heroism exhibited
hensions of groundless alarms which had
Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary for Ireland had done
cited in the minds of the timid. In the time by Sir Robert Gore Booth, and he was glad to see that the
of I Is,rodotus, Egypt was considered to be a very healthy Now, with respect to the amount of evil which
Ireland suffered from the operation of absenteeism, he would
country ; taut in consequence of the inattention of the
people, the marshy nature of some parts of the soil, the feel a great difficulty in submitting anything like correct in-
anarchyustice to it.
formation ; but, according to the beat calculators, it did not
which bad existed for centuries, and the
wretched character of its inhabitants, had tended to make fall short of 4,000,0001. a year, being nearly one-third of the
that country- one of the meat unhealthy in the world. whole rental obtlethte country. Now
through the
hpeee(raalre., S.r Oa'sfdif•airenal hadin
It was a well known fact that plague had never entered taken the trouble
wereg concgerred, it woguld beo 'impo4sible to
into any of the colder latitudes.
made from Eneland to India in a verypsrti'mate of their rentals, but he had gone
hee Peerage, and he would take the liberty
On the other aide of the Atlatitie, where great attention through
t.
e those Noble Lords who had properties in Ireland.
was paid to the health of the inhabitants in the United of mentionhinehey
-t derived enormous rentals, and who never
few days. form an
from which
States. There were 110 quarantine laws, and vessels
crossed the Atlantic in a much shorter time than they companies, and he would refer to the Irish Society, ;
did heretofore; in ten or eleven days Europe Londond
a
large revenue from Ireland, and. the Hon. Mem-
now communicated with America. These laws
webriLfthr rSeowuthwark (Mr. Alderman Humphery), whomr he saw
e
visited that country. In the first instance lie would take the
were founded in ignorance, and in ignorance they
this would
the House, could contradict him if he wasd iror.
wholil
formed their support and attachment to them ; this would give the names of many noblemen and gentlemenere absentees
was found strongest in those countries where the possessed large properties in Irela
_,
knowledge of medicine least prevailed. In those parts f rd, Conyngham, Lansdowne,
of Italy where the science of medicine was most back- Beilfard ; the Alarquisea ot' Hert
io
and Abercorn ; Earls For-
ward, such as Naples, they were most strict in the Anglesea, Bath, Ely, Dolinegad,
Audley, and Albemarle ;
preaervation and onservaeon of quarantine. But with wildam, Stradbroke, BeresforNo
rmanby, Congleton, Ashley,
from the country. The Dukes of D. eavnonshire, Buccleuele and
the progress of inquiry, and attention to the subject, the Lords Portarlington, Clifton,
Fortescue
and Ternoemore ;
alarm had become di)sipated, and the previous fears _S!anley, Lisle, Stahope,
Alessrs.ndS).,Adinrey Herbert,Ormsby Stafford O'Brien, Greville, Fox
ore. All these gentlemen O'Brien
were found to be without foundation. The end of all
this had been that great changes were extorted from Go- Lane,
considerable property. in Ireland,
vernment by the might and irresistible influence of public thought that theshould have no objection to aid him in en.
opinion. The quarantine laws, however, were connected deaveurieg to impose upon them a tax which would make som some
with the pecuniary interests of a vast number of persons. compensation to the country for their absence from their estates.b
and he (Mr. S. O'Brien )
The State paid 15,5901. a year for their maintenance,
and he found that in Liverpool there were ninety perfectly simple. To impose such a tax iv WC: UN 11211"""
e The mode in which that was to be done appeared to himi _to__,e..

The Earl of CLARENDON neknowledged that' the
tgq.xtion of the Noble Duke was well worthy of

atteatirm.
Thy' Bills were then read a second time, in order to be
committed tomorrow.
DRAINAGE OF LAND BILL.
On the motion o t Ear, of CLARENDON this Bill
was read a first time.
Their Lirchhips then adjourned.

HOUSE 01 COMMONS, Marsh 18.
The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four o'clock.
SECOND READINGS._

The following Bills were read a second time:—
Eastern Counties Railway (Enlargement of Stratford
stations, and Amendment of Acts).
Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway Act Amend-
ment and Branches. _ . .

South Devon Railway Extension and Amendment.

INCOME TAX.
Petitions from the collectors and assessors of the
income-tax and property-tax, complaining that their
remuneration was very inadequate, and praying the
flou.se to take steps to remedy the grievance, were pre-
sented by the following Members:—Mr. Sheppard, Mr.
Muirz, Mr. Keinble, Mr. Escott, and Mr. Johnstone.
Mr. HAMILTON presented a petition from th© High
Sheriff and grand jury of the county of Sligo, praying
the House to take means to develop the resources of
Ireland, and encourage trade and agriculture.
HORSE-RACING IN IRELAND.
Dr. BOWRING
,presented a petition from Kildare
against the impropriety of allowing the public money to
be used fur the purpose of encouraging horse-racing.
LAW OF MARRIAGE.
Mr. H. BERKELEY presented a petition from the
merchants and bankers:of the city of Bristol, stating that,
in their opinion, the present law preventing marriage
with a deceased wife's sister might be repealed. Also
another petition signed by between thirty and forty
Dissenting. ministers of Bristol to the same effect.
Mr. BROTHERTON presented a petition against the
use of grain in distilleries.
SMITHFIELD MARKET.
Mr. PATTISO ST presented a petition against the re-
moval of Smithfi-ld Market.
Mr. CHRISTOPHER presented three petitions from
the occupiers of land in the county of Lincoln, from
Sisaford, Stamford, and Lincoln, praying for the re-
moval of Smithfield Market.
Mr. STAFFORD O'BRIEN presented a petition
from certain graziers in Northampton against the re-
moval of the market.
Mr. MACKINNON presented three petitions from
parties in the neighnourhood of Smithfield Market,
praying. that the removal of it may be speedily effected.

POOR-LAW IN lIIELXND. -
Mr. S. CRAWFORD presented a petition from the
chairman and board of guardians of Carrickmacross
against ihe present row-law, and praying the House to
pass the Landlord and Tenant Right Bill.
UNION SETTLEMENTS IN IRELAND.
Mr. M. J. O'CONNELL presented a petition from the
landowners and rate-payers of Kildare, praying for art
union system of rating.
BLACK WALL RAILWAY.
Sir WILLIAM CLAY presented a petition from the
Tower Hamlets against the Bill of the Blackwell Rail-
way, now before the H )use.
ASSESSORS AND COLLECTORS OF TAXES.
Lord SANDON presented a petition from Broughton,
in the county of Hertford, complaining of the inadequate
remuneration now paid to the collectors and assessors of
taxes, and praying for an increase The Noble Lord
also presented a petition from certain traders and owners
of vessels in Liverpool against tiv? Birkenhead Docks.

FRIDAY

...t; ~,,,„,

40;

77'J

--. -r--------2---,,,01.-7- . -. ----ew..........wgpige,
' commerce, arid the Parliament of the country 'became more Vvoula more for tire papers of whicb he bad pnvtio tepelena.
free andimesheekled. No cenntry in the world more fiderisbe! then ! illustrative of this caste
did Ireland durine the short existence of that !reedier of trade i The CHANCELLOR cf the EXCHEQUER justified the ,--:-
1 andfree oe: of Parliament. Hertradeand martufactusesincressi d ' removal of i\ r. O'Meara from the office of Restistrar`ef Benefit I. je-
atnereeeern sedum, eied, and the weele condition Of the people Societies. The Noble Lord was mistaken in stating ,aiitlSTre-'-::
showed manifest spumonis of irnprovemeet. This gratify Mg O'Meora was a geistletnan of great experience. He hadohljfhaldvlS
state of things hutted up to the time of the union, bu' atter ' the office for six months, and he (the Chancellor of the Ezche-
that act was consummated, trade began to decline. Menefee- quer ) had acted upon what es-the admitted rule, namely, that
tures gradually dropped, until they became aimost extinct, and the person holding the office should chaise, with the Attorney-
by slow degress the country became miserably impoverished, General ; end the same rule also head in Scotland, for
and her population 'educed to a state of almost hopeless star- • every succeeding Lord- Advocate appointed the individual
vation. All this was owing to the absenteeism produced by the , who filled the office of registrar. The Right Hon. Baronet
union, and in this state would Ireland lemain until Parliament • then proceeded to read the names of the Attorneys-General
took steps to diminish that evil. English capitalists did not ob- for Ireland for a series of years, and the appointments which
ject to investing their money in some of the most disturbed parts : each had made to the office of registrar. He did not under-
of South America, but nothing would induce them to send it . stand that the commissioners had at all exceeded their duty.
to Ireland, and the reason why they would nut was ' He had consulted the Lord-Advocate of Scotland and the At-
simple and just. They knew very well that it was itn- ' torney-General of Ireland, and had been given to understand-
possible to compete with English manufactures in England, . by those eminent legal authorilee that there was not any-
and where was the use of their starting works and establish- ! thing in the construction of the Act to justify
meats in Ireland when there were no customers to buy the ' Mr. O'llleara's complaint. Neither did he see that
goods they might manufacture? These were positive facts, there wa- anythirg in tho construction of the Act
and any attempts of the manufacturers in that. country. which to justify the impression that there had been injustice cum-
had been made, had failed in consequence of the powerful op. mined in the displacement, of fib-. 0-Meara. The Right Hen.
position of English houses. Those persons were able to give Gentleman then read an extract front the Ac', to show the
credit to their customers, and the Irish manufacturers have' g pros isiens which affected this eartieular ease. If Mr. O'Meara
no capital to fall back upon, nor any home market to take off had arty reaosn to c ,mpltin of the oeticiency of his salary, he
their produce, had not, if course, been able to compete with ought to have asked for snore. It was idea% s customary, em
them in the markets. It was to meet these circumstances that an, change se the Attorney-General in Ireland, for the
the Hon. Member for Limerick had brought ferseare his motion officials under him to be changed also. and there was not one
for taxing Irish absentees. It had, however, been said that word io the /set, that he could discover, to justify the sup-
these Irish absentees were good and excellent laedlords, position that the system would be altered. With respect to
Why, then, if they were such good landlords, that was a strung the papers fir which the N.,We Lord bad asked, he had area
reason who they should go over to Ireland to reside, it could some parties on behalf of Mr. O'Meara, ant! though he did not
not be supposed that by their going over to that country they , see that they could serve any purone, he should have no objet ,
would become bad landlords, or 'hat they would change sky tern -0 (rant them.
and sun by going there. The Hon. Member then went on to Mr. GOULBURN could not sea that there 'was sufEci nt
repeat the statement! which he had made Pa a previous even- ' reason made out for the dismissal of Mr. O'Meara, for the
ing respecting the revenue of Ireland, and proceeded to show, Right. Honou-able Baronet must know that the real ob-
from the details of various returns made to the House, that ject for the attainment of which this Act was passed,
the remittances from the Irish to the British Exchequer, ex. was to obviate the inconvenience of changing the under officials
ceeded, by upwards of 0.00:),000/. per annum, the 'in the office of the Attorney-General. Then the Right Hon.
amount reedited from the British to the Irish Exchequer , Baronet arpeared to rely. anti laid areal stress on, the construc-
tion of the Act of Parliament; certainly, when there wee the
and called upon the House to insist upon those persons who
were drawing their rents frem Irish property to return to opinion of so many lawyses, ire-did not feel himself qualified to
Ireland, at least, to spend a portion of their incomes in that , give an opinion ; but when he looked to the fact to which he
couatrv, and by so doing tend to ameliorate the condition of . had just alluded, there was, in his opinion, sufficient reason to'
the people, and draw forth the resuuires of that impoverished I believe that this Act was not intended to affect such an inei..
country. vidual as Mr. O'Meara. It was admitted that an interval must
Lord CASTLEREAGH thought that at all events no elapse between the retirement of one, and the appointment of
charge could be brought against the Irish Members for an another Attorney-General. Now, during tha' interval, Mr.
unwillingness to make sacrifices, in order to meet the present O'Meara had acted as the certifier under the Act, audit was
I distressing emergency of Ireland, but, at the same time, as an highly important that the acts of that gentleman should be con-
Irish Member, he must protest against any precedent being set ' firmed and adm:tted as legal.
by a legislative measure of imposing conditions upon the After a few words from the CHANCELLOR of the EX.
possession of property, such as would be imposed if the CHEQUER in explanation, the motion was then agreed to.
motion of the Hon. Member for Limerick were acceeded to. GREECE.
Should the proposed poor. law measure be carried into opera- I...ird JOHN MANNERS postponed his motion on the
tion, there would be no doubt but that all the property in suteject of Greece till atter Easter.
Ireland would bear its portion to the support of the country, RAJA OF SATTARA.
but he did not think it would b' fair, if, in addition to the Mr. HUME then rose to move for copies of a -dispatch
charges which would be laid upon property by that measure, , from the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the
another tax were to be levied upon the absentees themselves. East India Company to the Right Hon. the Governor-General
There seemed to be a very general feeling in that House against of India, respecting the Ex-Raja of Sattara, dated the 24th
Irish landlords as a body, which he did not think they day of March, 1e46 ; and a copy of the reply of the Right
deserved, the Right Hon. Member- for Alarylebone had Hon. the Governor-general of India to that dispatch; toge-
exerted all the stores of his eloquence against that body, ther with copies of the several documents referred to in that
He (Lord Castlereagh) was happy to see that the Right Hon, reply, or connected with it; and of any other letters which
Member had received the reward of his exertions, in the shape have been addressed by the present Governor-General of India
of a vote of thanks from the parochial vestry of Marylebone, to the Court of Directors of the East India Company, relating
and he had no doubt that the Right Hon. Baronet would be to the ease of the Ex-Raja of Satara, from the period of his
pretty secure at the ensuing election.- ( Laughter. ) Lordship's arrival to the present time; also copies of the
Colonel RAWDON thought that this motion did not go minutes of dissent of members of the Court of Directors
far enough. He thought that the resolution of the Hon. which have been recorded by any member of that Court, and
Member for Limerick did not go far enough, for the evil of net hitherto published, relating to the case of the Ex-Raja
absenteeism was not confined to the nonmxpenditere of of Saltara, from the eoth of April, 184 in to the present time.
money. The absence of that moral influence which the Sir J. C. HOB i'iOUSE wished, as a favour, that his Hon.
presence
of the landed proprietary would have in improving Friend would postpone his motion till a future day.
,he social aad m,iral condition of the people was one of its worst Mr. HUME said be could not accede to the request of the
consequences. He thought that the House had a perfect lion. Member. the Right Hon. Gentleman had bad two
right to task those who had so greatly abandoned these duties. weeks to consider the motion, and he could not consent to
A great moral influence would be exercised by the landed pro- postpone it any longer. Tee Baja of Sattara's conduct had
prietors of Ireland if they were in that country to give their been impugned in connexion with the East India Company,
advice and assistance as grand jurors, and to fulfil the various and a i equest had been sent out to Lord Hardinge, the Gover.
other duties which devolved upon them. Their presence would nor-General, requesting him to make a report upon the sub...
also have the effect of greatly mitigating the horrors of the ject. The Noble Lord accordingly made a report, and that
distress which at present existed, and from a letter which he report had row been in the hands of the Government seven or
lately received from Armagh, he feared the statement that had eight months. If the document had been discreditable to the
been made with reference to the small holdings is that county Raja it would have been published, and he thought it nothing-
were very erroneous. - - - ---• but. right that it should-belaid•before the public if it contain
Mr. FITZGERALD thought that instead of a tax of 10 per any thing to his credit.
cent., a tax of 50 percent. would not be too much to impose. Mr. WILLIAAIS seconded the motion.
on those who had so greatly abandoned their duty. He was Sir J. C. HOBHOUSE said it was an unending task at;
very much surprised at the Hon. Member below him i Alder- any time for any Member of the Government to refuse the
man Humphery ) stating that the absentee proprietors spent production of papers. At the same time, ho thought the
more money in Ireland in proportion to their rental than the House would agree with him that those papers ought not to be
resident proprietors; but with all deference to the Hon. Gen- produced. His Hon. Frielid was wrong in his description of
tleman, he very much doubted the correctness of that assertion. these papers ; but, nevertheless, as a gent ral proposition, be
He had no doubt from the statement so eloquently made by did not think it was proper that the private correspondence be-
the Hon. Gentleman that the London Society had expended a teeen the Governor-General of India and his subordinates
large amount of money on their property, hut he did not think should be produced to the House. But, independently' of
that that could be said of many other absentee proprietors, these considerations, there was a fact. in connexion
Copieswiththesoet
Mr. R. YORKE rose amidst cries of " Divide." Ile said papers, which ought to negative their production.
he should be exceedingly brief in what he had to say. He these confieential. dispatches and correspondence had, some
wished to ask the House two questions; first, how, in pressing way or other, found their way to England. His Honour.
this question of absenteeism, would they define? and, se- abie Friend had tetown hint an envelope, which con-
condly, how, in pressing such a tax would they reconcile it vinced him of this, and he thought. was a sufficient reason
with the great constitutional question of an invasion upon per- why the papers should net he hastily produced.
sonal liberty? If they would answer these questions a. shortly He would ask the House whether they would sanction that
as he had put them, he should vote for the motion.—(Cheers which was evidently a fraud or breach of trust, and a perjury on
and laughter.) the part of the persons employed. If such proceedings were
Mr. W. V. STUART did not think that a 10'. per cent. to be sanctioned, the Government ef India, and not only that,
tax would be sufficient to induce the owners of property to re but all the other branches of the Government would be unable
side in Ireland. He should, however, vote for the motion. to carry on their proceedings. It was a most shameful trau-
Mr. S. CRAWFORD agreed in the general principles section, and that was the reason the parties bad not cared to
brought forward by the Hon. Gentleman the Member for make the matter public; they knew that they would be liable
Kilkenny (Mr. J. O'Connell), but found great difficulty :n to be asked how they obtained possession of the papers, and
saying that he should vote for the motion before that was a question ehich they knew they could not well
the House. He considered that whatever legislation answer. He would only say, that had not such
they took on the subject should not be confined solely to he- a course of nefarious conduct been pursued, be would have had,
land, but should apply to the whole nation.—( Hear.) If they no objection to produce the papers. As it was., however, her
!axed Irish proprietors who did not reside in their eountre, wculst most positively refuse to produce them, and called upon
,hey must decide, on the same principle, that an English the House to support him in the resolution to wh; -

ich he had

arrived
Mr. WILLIAMS thought that the papers ought to be pro-
duced, in justice to the Raja of Sattara.
Mr. BRIGHT w s well aware that there were many means
existing in India by which copies of the correspondence of the
officials of the Government c-uld be obtait ed ; and he thought
it rather hard that. because some dishonesty or irregularity
had taken place in obtaining copies of the correspondence, that
therefore, the official returns should be refused; especially as
they might tend to justify the character of the dethroned
Raja.
Sir EDWARD CO.LERROOK was of opinion that they
sht.uld have full information on this subject, unless the Right
Hon Gentlemen thought that it jury would rt suit to the Govern..
ment, by the production ,f the paper. He bad not given any
sufficient reason for their refusal.
Mr. AGLIONIsY st.ott.mt they were losing time in that
discussion, and es the Right Honourable Gentleman had not
objected to the production of the papers, and had only refused
them on account of the precedent this would establish; he
hoped the Hcn. Member for Montrose would rest satisfied at
present, and had no doubt they would be produced on a future
oc..asion.
Mr. B. ESCOTT thought that the papers should not be
refused, even if fraud had been commi;ted in procuring the
papers, as it was necessary that the House should have the
fullest information on fhe subject-.that it might. have an op-
portunity of pronouncing a correct judgment on the case of the
unfortunate Prince to whom they referred.
Sir ROBERT PEEL thought the Right Hon. Gentleman
was quite right in refusing the papers. If the House would
assent to this motion it would give its sanction to what was a
most objectionable and dishonourable proceedieg with regard
to procuring these documents. He thought, therefore, that he
was quite right in refusing them, and he should not have inti-
mated that he would produce them on a future occasion, as this
would be holding out an encouratfement to such practices.
Dr. BOWRING said the Raja had nothing to do with the
surreptitious way in which the papers had been obtained, and
therefore he trusted his cause would not suffer from it.. He
had known instances in which the House had printed papers
obtained in such a way.
After a few wrrdt from Lord PALMERSTON,
Mr. HUNIE said he considered that the papers might have
been abstracted from a sense of justice of the claim of the Raja.
(Oh, oh.) He had endeavoured to bring the subject before the
House for some time past; but he had not had an opportunity
of doing so until that evening, and he hoped now the produc-
tion of the papers would not be delayed on the ground of eti-
quette. He, however, had no objection to withdraw that part
of the motion to which the Hon. Baronet objected.
The motion so amended was then agreed to.
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN THE NAVY.
Mr. HUME moved for a return of the number of persons
flogged in the British navy in each of the years 1645 and 1846,
specifying the name of the ship, the offence, the sentence, and
the number of lashes inflicted; and also for an abstract of the
total number of corporaT fintishineets in the navy, and the total
number of lashes inflicted, in each year, up to the 31st day of
December, 1846.
Admiral BOWLES had no objection to the production of
papers which had reference to the itfbction of cor-
poral punishment in the navy, and the circumstances
under which the different punishments were inflicted.
He should rejoice when the hour would arrive that would
enable them to abolish eorplral punishment altogether. All
that he objected to was, the giving the names of the vessels, at
in many instances the continanders were compelled to resort to
corporal punishment to preserve subordir.atic.n. Neither had
they any opportunities to inflict sect nlary punishments such ars
the qrs.: had, by prisons and drills, for they had seldom room to
imprisoa more than three men. There always existed smoirsseikainnital
organisation in the army, but a ship mighth to
oe eoist
bring his men into
one year, and the officer in commandeoa
severity.aain
etolitbetlgein
Moreover, every three_a yearvan
entirely new crew to govern.
discipline, which could not be
whole without
task
as they generally h. d
hoped to be able to introduce a Bill that night
ser-
vices, but he
Mr. WARD admitted the difference between the two
didnot think that
establishment of home stations. He
which would enable them to introduce secondary punishments,
by the
corporal punishment could be entirely done away with, but he
wished -
to
have the wholesome check of public opinion over it,
_ _
exertion, and no officer, where it was required, would hesitate
to resort. to it.
Mr. FOX MAULE thought the claim was one of these
which ought to be confined to very narrow limits, although it
could not. be entirely done away with.
Mr. WILLIAMS heard with admiration the wish and hops
of the Gallant Admiral. Since the last returns had been
granted the punishment in the army had been lessened.
The returns were then agreed to.
LUNATIC ASYLUMS.
The ATTORNEY- GENERAL moved for leave to bring
in a Bill for the regulation of lunatic asylums.
BILL FOR LIGHTING AND IMPROVING TOWNS.
Lord MORPETH moved for leave to bring in a Bill for
consolidating in one Act certain provisions contained in Acts
for lighting, watching, paving, draining, and improving
towns.
Sir ROBERT PEEL wished to know if it was intended to
dispense with the necessity of applying for private Bills? If
they were only to have this Bill, he did not, think that it would
fulfil the expectations raised by her Majesty's speech onsana-
tory improvement.
Lord
sanatory
reformßPE
was T Hin
undertimate d
consideration,tha t a more
andgeneral mbeasu.re
on
-.
troduced on a future eay. The present measure was onelymtO
nportivthaitnekßitlhlse.
facilitate
Lord L
cp
or otrNe s.
deiodf
Bill so extensive as it
ought to be.
After a few words from Mr. AGLIONBY,
The motion was agreed to.
On the motion that the House go into Committee upon the
HARBOURS, DOCKS, AND PIERS-HARBOURS
BILL.
Mr. C. BERKELEY expressed his determination to sp.
pose the Bill in all its stages.
The committal of this Bill was, after a few words from Mr.
WARD. adjourned till Monday next.
GENERAL REGISTER HOUSE (EDINBURGH)BILL.
This Bill passed through Committee, and was ordered to be
reported.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and the
House adjourned at a Quartor-past One o'clock.

A deputation from the Great Metropolitan Cattle Market
and Abattoir Company, accompanied by Mr. Lane, deputy-
chairman, and attended by Mr. Henry F. Richardson, the
solicitor, waited on Viscount Morpeth, at the office of the
W 904 NA &redo, yesterday.