The Sun.
London, England, 1847-02-18 00:00:00

POOR REMOVAL ACT.

The Earl of STRADBROKE presented a petition
against the Poor Removal Act from a number of per-
sons in Suffolk.

BANKING.

Lord EGLINTON said, that on Monday next he
would move for copies of the correspondence which
passed betsveen the Government and the Scotch and
Irish bankers.
DESTITUTE PERSONS (IRELAND) BILL.
The Earl:of SHAFTESBURY brought up the report
upon this Bill.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said that he viewed
the Bill with great distrust. It assumed that the
people of Ireland would be capable of giving money for
the food to be supplied. He saw no measure yet passed
by Parliament, or known to be in progress, which would
effect the object to be attained by the Bill within the
limited period for which the measure was to remain in
operation. It was to bo substituted, as he understood,
for what was improperly called the Labour-rate Act.
He confessed that he had a feeling almost of despon-
dency with respect to the future in Ireland, from the
reports contained in the large blue book upon the table.
That feeling did not arise from the state of the potato
crop, but from the picture contained iu that large blue
book of the intimidation under which the relief
committees acted, and the jobbing which pre-
vailed in the administration of the law.—(Hear.)
He confessed that he had great doubts as to the suc-
cessful operation of the present measure. It was his
opinion that it would not work as well as the Labour-rate
Act of last session. The landlords of Ireland, he appre-
hended, would not take advantage to any extent of the
provisions of the measure, and the people, therefore, would
not secure those benefits which the Government contem-
plated. Some great measure of public works would be
of far greater use than any of the plans now proposed.
He confessed he thought the principle of the Labour-rate
Act of last year preferable to the one now proposed.
No doubt the present was a good measure as an
auxiliary to other measures, although standing by
itself it only meant an Act to take from the
e other
specifiede e
sums, u ,
yets thehe
attention of the Noble Lord to the form of the Act,
theyt
hard-
earned money of the people of this country, to give
food to the people of Ireland, without any prospect of
a return.
Although
was T he
given
ato Marquiseu m
Parliament ofe f LeAnlNyS3tDoo
00,
O advance WONi E
wa w h
wished to direct
sa
r m
Noble Lord would find in the 17th clause that a power
might think fit.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH—The
clause says
" granted."
- I
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE—What relief the
committees might think proper to recommend, that the
Parliament had power to advance or grant as they
might think fit. The Noble Lord had expressed much
veneration for the former Act.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH—" Oh, no."
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE--He was not cer-
tain whether the Noble Earl was present when he (the
Marquis of Lansdowne) had moved the second
reading of this Bill : at that time he had stated to
the House his own opinion, that it would be bet-
ter if they had considered these Bills concur-
rently with the others before the Legislature
on the same subject. He considered that this measure
would stimulate labour in Ireland ; and although the
Noble Earl had expressed an opinion that landlords
would not avail themselves of the Government offer, he
(the Marquis of Lansdowne) entertained no doubt that
they, and especially landlords of entailed estates, would do
so. He did believe that the efforts of the Government had
been of the greatest service in obtaining the advantages
which were anticipated from this Act. The Noble Earl
(Ellenborough) had allowed that there was a great
moral principle in the Labour-rate Act; but he was sorry
to say that the Government had found that great abuses
had been practised under this Act ; and that,
above all, great intimidation had been used
for the employment of parties who ought never to have
been engaged. No man could more sensibly feel the
injury arising from these abuses than he (the Marquis
of Lansdowne), but he must say that great advantages
had been enjoyed under the Act, and the efforts
of her Majesty's Government had been very effectual in
putting down these abuses, and great progress had been
made in different parts of the country in the prevention
of this employment altogether, and, he was happy to
say, that the employment of labour was new being
carried on in the most peaceable manner; and he could
assure the House that her Majesty's Government had
great hopes of putting down this intimidation altogether.
And he did believe, if he might use such a phrase, that
the system would be rendered watertight. Under all
the circumstances the matter was too important not to
secure the vigilant attention of her Majesty's Govern-
ment. He proposed to move the third reading of the
Bill on Monday.
PORTUGUESE TROOPS.
Lords BEAUMONT and BROUGHAM both rose at
the same moment, and a slight altercation as to priority
of right took place, but ultimately Lord Brougham gave
way, and
%Lord BEAUMONT said, that he rose to put the
question to the Noble Marquis, of which he had
given notice the last time the House met. The
question he wished to ask, was respecting the treatment
'
of the prisoners taken by the Queens troops in
Portugal after the late battle of Torres Vedras.
In putting this question he wishes to guard himself against
any supposition that he desired to interfere with the do-
mestic affairs of any other country, except where British
interests were at stake, whether in a case of war or
otherwise, he conceived that there was no right whatever
to interfere with the internal affairs of any other country.
But in the present case, for the Government to remain
passive was only to increase the difficulties attendant
upon the position of affiairs in Portugal. The circum-
stances of the case were as follows. A division of the
army opposed to the Queen's Government, under the
command of Count Bowfin, advanced to Torres Vedras
with the intention of moving on to Lisbon,
and after a severe battle, which terminated
in the success of the forces of the Queen. The
remnant of the division, under Count Bomfim, retired
into the castle of Torres Wares. The. Duke of
Saldanha, commanding the Queen's forces, called upon
them to surrender,—they refused to de so, but subse-
quently they surrendered on condition of receiving all
the honours of war. To this proposition the Duke of
Saldanha agreed, and the stipulations were drawn up in
writing, and signed by the Commander of the
Queen's Forces. On the faith of these stipula-
tions the remnant of the division in the castle
surrendered. But notwithstanding the agreement and
stipulations were drawn up in writing, the officers of
that division were marched to Lisbon and taken on
board a frigate lying in the Tagus, where
confined, with scarcely any of the necessaries
of life, with scanty clothing, and the poorest
description of food. In consequence of sone