The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-21 00:00:00

INCREASE OF BISHOPS.

Mr. R. PALMER presented a petition from the
Church of England Lay Association, complaining
that the present number of bishops were inadequate
to the spritual wants of the country.
SUPERANNUATION FUND.

Mr. NEWDEGATE presented petitions in favour
of a superanruation fund.; also two petitions against
the admission of Jews.
JEWISH DISABILITIES BILL.

Lord J. RUSSELL brought up the Jewish Dis-
abilities Bill, which was read a first time. The
Noble Lord said he proposed to take the second read-
ing on Monday, February 7th.
Mr. SPOONER rose to express his regret that
the Noble Lord had taken so long a time for the ad-
journment of the House.

Lord J. RUSSELL :—it has not been moved yet.
—(A laugh)._ _ _

SPO-ONER :—Oh, I beg pardon.—(A laugh).
Colonel SIBTHORP regretted that he was un-
able to be present at the discussion on the
passing of the resolution which had been carried.
He should not be at all surprised, after what had
transpired upon this Bill, to hear the Honourable
Member for the University of Oxford, the Noble
Lord the Member for Lynn, and the Honourable
Member for Bucks, proposing that anybody and
everybody should 'be admitted into the House ' • but
he wanted the Noble Lord who introduced this
Bill, to say whether he intended to make any
exception for Jews as to Friday and Saturday
sittings. Suppose there happened to be " a call" of
the House on a Saturday, would the Jews be ex-
empted from attending ?—(Great laughter.)
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that should such an
unusual event as that suggested by the Hon. and
Gallant Member arise, no doubt those Hon. Members
who neglected to attend would be committed to the
custody of the Sergeant-at -Arms ; but he could
assure the Hon. and Gallant Member that such Jews
as might become Members of that House would be
quite content to pay the fines and suffer the penalties
consequent upon their absenting themselves on a
Saturday.
Colonel SIBTHORP—Friday—I said Friday.'
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said it did not matter
whether the call were made on Friday or Saturday,
he could answer for it the Jews would be quite wil-
ling to pay the fine.—(Hear, hear.)
ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL moved that the House,
at its rising, do adjourn till Thursday, the 3d February.
He did not think it necessary to propose an earlier
day for the re-assembling of Parliament than the day
he had named. The Queen's speech having been de-
livered, and the address passed, there could be nothing
upon the re-assembling of Parliament to prevent the
House from at once proceeding with business. He
begged therefore to move, that the House at its rising
do adjourn till Thursday, 3d of February.
Mr. SPOONER regretted that the Noble Lord
had thought fit to move the adjournment to so late a
period; he could only attribute his asking so long an
adjournment to his total ignorance with respect
to the real state of the country. The popu-
lation of the great iron manufacturing districts
was in a most distressing state. In Staffordshire
and in Wales vast masses of the people were dis-
charged, and were now being discharged, and the
wages of those who were employed were now under
very considerable reduction. What had been done
by the House towards alleviating the dis-
tresses of the country? It was true that they

had appointed a Committee, but the report of that
Committee would not be ready for some months.
They had to a certain degree arrested the distress to
which the large houses were subject, but the distress
was now falling upon that class of society whose
employment was absolutely necessary for the safety
and prosperity of the country. The House had
stopped commercial failures among the large houses,
but they had broken down the industry
of the country. The capital of the poor man was his
labour, and if employment was not found for that
labour, the result would naturally prove disastrous
to the interests of the poorer classes of society.
He declined upon the present occasion to enter into
any discussion as to the causes of the reef nt commercial
di-tress. He was not one of those who denied that
there had been improvident speculations in railways,
but if the monetary system of this country had been
a sound one, the results of such improvidence would
have fallen only on the improvident. It was
adding insult to injury for the House to
say that it had no power to prevent
these sudden and recurring seasons of commercial
distress. He maintained that Parliment could and
ought by some legislative means to put a stop
to this state of things.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.")
The same distress that had been felt in this country
was beginning to be felt in America. They had
raised the rate of interest there, in order to get
back gold, and in fact there was a scramble between
the two countries who should get the most of that
precious metals. He thought the Government were
not justified in adjourning the House for so long a
period until they had done something to remove
from the Bank of England the shackles that
were imposed by the Act of 1844. It was
not far from improbable that events might occur
before the House met again which would
render it imperative that some relaxation
should be made with respect to the re-
strictions on the Bank. He would therefore
moved, as an amendment to the motion for the ad-
journment of the House to the 3d of February, to
strike out the words " the 3d of February," and in-
set " the 15th of of January."
Mr. NEWDEGATE seconded the amendment.

Mr. MONSELL said, though he was not prepared
to second the motion of the Honourable Member, he
wished to occupy the time of the House for a few
moments, whilst he called their attention to the
condition of the able bodied destitute poor. He thought
he should best discharge his duty, not by support-
ing the amendment, but by urging upon the Govern-
ment the absolute necessity of their considering the
condition of those unfortunate persons before the
meeting of Parliament in February of bringing
forward measures at that time to place the
relations of capital and labour upon a bet-
ter footing than at present. Unless they
were prepared to bring forward such measures at the
time he mentioned, it would be utterly impossible
to encounter the distress of the spring and summer.
As an Irishman, he wished to express his
unfeigned gratitude for the aid which Parliament
afforded last year to his famishing countrymen.—
(Hear, hear.) But the sums so generously voted
were employed in removing the effects of Ireland's
suffering, not the cause. After the recess
he should call the attention of the House
to the state of the able. bodied unemployed poor, and
the necessity of measures for placing the relations of
capital and labour on a better basis. Out of 921,576
families dependent for their support upon manual
labour 840,963 were in an impoverished estate.
This number included the heads of families possess-
ing land up to five acres. In 33 unions of Irelan d
the poor • rate averaged 18s. per head of
the population, whilst in one of our worst
agricultural counties—Dorsetshire, for instance---the
rates amounted to 4/. Bs. per head. Now, let him ask
the House what would be the condition of that country
if the population was increased fivefold, without any
increased means of subsistence. Such would be
found to be the position of one-fourth of Ireland at
the present moment. Having referred to the
opinions of Ricardo on the probable fate
of an impoverished nation, he proceeded
to say, that unless measures were taken to create a
change in the social condition of Ireland, the whole
population would sink into misery and ruin, and
those who now enjoyed comforts would every day be
added to the ranks of those in abject misery,
and the country would present a much more
miserable aspect than it does at present.— (Hear.)
He trusted, however, that before Parliament met
again Government would have prepared some mea-
sure sufficient to meet the calamities he had described;
and he could assure them, if they did so, they should
have his cordial aid and assistance in carrying them
out.—(Hear, hear.)

Mr. P. SOROPE could not allow this motion to
pass without expressing his earnest regret and sin-
cere disappointment, that Government had not
thought it necessary to take the opportunity of this
short session to introduce and carry through Parlia-
ment some measure which should have the effect of
facilitating the operation of the Irish Poor-law.
A large number of the poor must inevitably be thrown
upon the parishes within the next few weks, and it
was therefore of the highest importance that some-
thing should have been done to facilitate and extend the
operation of the law. He trusted, however, that the
Government would take the opportunity of the recess
to consider and mature some measure to set the
unemployed labour of Ireland upon the immense
unemployed waste lands of the country. The
people of England were bound to look into this
matter. The emigration was not that of an ordinary
kind, but one which resulted from a state of fearful
distress, consequent upon the failure of the potato
crop. He trusted that the Government would think it
right to adopt some measure for the employment of
the people upon the waste lands of Ireland, as a means
of improving the condition of the people.
Lord LINCOLN said that in the course of last
session he brought before the House a motion with
respect to the establishment of an efficient system of
colonisation; that motion was assented to, but
the answer which he received from the Noble
Lord at the head of the Government was, that
he could not recommend her Majesty to appoint a
Commission to inquire into the subject in accordance
with a portion of the resolution, but that inquiries
should be made upon the subject through the
Colonial-office. He wished, therefore, to ask
the Noble Lord at the head of the Government
whether he was in possession of any reports
so when those reports would
ep erne
ready
ye
tobe subjectlaicia
uponif
the table of the House ?
Mr. HINDLEY felt bound to complain of the
want of energy and stringency which had charac-
terised the measures whi-Jh the Government had in-
He thought, with respect to
that it had been very unfairly
thetr in-
troduced d
Bankuc ed andcha r
tpe passed. se d.
Act,
dealt with in its operation. He thought the Bank
of England had been the cause of all the distress that
had taken place.
Mr. GLADSTONE did not wish at present to
enter on the discussion of any of the important ques-
tions which had been adverted to, but rose for the
purpose of making a remark on another subject.
Some days since, the Noble Lord said he did not ex-
pect to be able to introduce the measure announced
by her Majesty in the Speech from the Throne with
respect to the laws concerning navigation at a very
early period after the recess. He must say that he
had heard that announcement with very great regret.
He was not surprised that the Noble Lord should
find a difficulty in introducing every measure at as
early a period as he could desire • but he apprehended
that it needed no argument to ;how that the present
period was one, especially after the Committee of last
session, eminently fit for the comprehensive con-
sideration of the laws relating to navigation—
(Hear, heat')—and that he should carry with
him the feelings of both sides of the House when he
said that it was pre-eminently desirable that the de-
cision of Parliament on this most important subject
should be taken during the present session. He
thought it would be quite consistent with the answer
of the Noble Lord, and it might•tend to give satisfac-
tion to the House if he were able to assure them that,
con introducing it at such a time that
although he did not contemplate introducing the
measure at an early period after the recess, yet he
did template
both Houses of Parliament should have ample oppor-
tunity for considering it in the course of the present
session,
so that they might entertain a reasonable ex-
pectation that, whatever the views of Parliament on
that question, the shipping interest of the country,
and all whose expectations were excited by that ques-
tion, should not be kept in a state of uncertainty and
suspense, but should have all the means of knowing
what conclusion was to be arrived at in the course of
the present session.
Colonel SIBTHORP wished to ask, as Parliament
was about to rise, what had they done since they had
been there, and why did the adjournment take place ?
Was murder still to flourish in Ireland, while the
Noble Lord and the other Ministers were passing
their holidays shooting, hunting, and dancing.—
(Laughter.) He thought it important that the
House should know how long the Noble Earl now in
Italy
was to be absent, and whether he received the
public money during his absence.—(Continued
laughter.)
Had they at all relieved the distresses of
the people ? They had appointed a Committee to
sit, and sitting God knew how long, what would be
the result ? He thought that they ought not to ad-
journ at all • ' but of two evils it was right to choose
the less, and he should therefore vote for the adjourn-
ment for the shorter period.
Sir LUCIUS O'BRIEN said he wished to call the
attention of the House to the distressed state of Ire-
land, and more particularly of the western part of it,
with which he was more immediately connected. He
would never cease to bear testimony to all that had
been done for Ireland by this country during the last
year, and he regretted to have heard some of the
language that had been used in that House on the I
subject. But it was right that the House should be
made acquainted with the difficulties with which the ,

gentry of Ireland had to contend. They were sur-
rounded by starving multitudes whom it was
impossible for them, by any effort, to provide with
sustenance, and he greatly feared that in many
parts of the country any exertion they could make
would be wholly insufficient to keep the people alive,
and that the task would thus again fall on that
House of saving the people from starvation. He
was of opinion that Parliament had taken the proper
course in passing the Bill for the suppression of crime
and outrage in Ireland, in the first instance, but he
hoped that after the recess they would lose no time
in considering other measures for the relief of that
country. Considering that the crop on which de-
pended the whole support of the people had been alto-
gether destroyed, it was no wonder that the great
distress which prevailed last year should have existed.
The efforts made by Parliament had no doubt the
effect cf saving the lives of many of the people ; but
it should not be forgotten that one consequence of
these efforts was, that the people were taken away
from the cultivation of the soil, and that there was
necessarily a great diminution in the crops for the
present year, and a proportionate want of the means of
support. He was glad, however, to be able to say that
he saw the prospect of a much more extensive culti-
vation of the soil next year.

Mr. HERRIES said he rose to exress a hope that
his Hon. Friend would not press his amendment.—
(Hear, hear.) He was quite sure that no Member
of the House would hesitate to sacrifice or postpone
his own interests or convenience for the public good,
but on this question he was willing to place confidence
in her Majesty's Government, and to rest satisfied
that they would not have fixed on any period for the
adjournment that was not in conformity with the
public interest. He hoped and trusted that the state-
ments which had been made that evening by the two
Hon. Members for North Warwickshire as to the
sufferings of the manufacturing operatives in their
district would not be lost sight of by the Government.
—(Hear, hear.) They had also heard something
about the distress existing in Ireland. Very little at-
tention had been paid by the House, during the recent
sittings, to the embarrassment under which the
manufacturers now labour, and to the distressed con-
dition of the operatives. It had been stated, he be-
lieved, on authority, that t o•fifths of the working
classes in the manufacturing districts were out of
employment, and that of the remainder, a portion only
were in full employment; that there was a very large
number of factory mills now working short time, and
no inconsiderable number not working at all. He
believed that it was also an undoubted fact, that there
were merchants from abroad who purchased the raw
cotton here at a lower price than our own merchants
had it in bond, and who sent it to be manufactured in
other countries where labour was far cheaper than
here.—(Hear, hear.) This was a subject which de-
served the most serious and anxious consideration, not
only of her Majesty's Ministers, but of Parliament.—
(Hear, hear.) He hoped that Parliament would not
be re- assembled long before this matter was brought
under their attention. There was also another subject
which attracted much interest throughout the coun-
try, and that was the present state of the currency
and banking laws.—(Hear, hear.) He would not
say anything that could by possibility lead to a dis-
cussion on that question at present, but as he had
been called upon from various quarters to take it up,
and as he had even on that day been entrusted with a
petition signed by 130 respectable firms in Liverpool
(which, owing to an accident, he was unable to pre-
sent that day), alluding to the obstructive character
of the existing banking laws, he felt it to be his duty
to take that opportunity of stating that he hoped, at
the earliest day he could select, after the meeting of
Parliament, to bring the subject under the attention
of the House. Wishing that the Bill relating to the
suppression of crime and outrage in Ireland should
have precedence, he had been induced to postpone his
motion on this subject until the notice of the adjourn-
ment of the House rendered it impossible for him to
bring it forward at the present short sitting. He hoped
that her Majesty's Ministers would admit the great
importance of the subject, and aid him in bringing it
befcre the House at as early a period as possible.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL—I mean to address my-
self in the first place to some observations that fell
from the Honourable Baronet the Member for Clare
(Sir Lucius O'Brien). The Honourable Member
referred to great distress existing in various parts of
Ireland, and to the exertions made by gentlemen of
property in various parts of the kingdom to alleviate
that distress. I cannot, unhappily, contradict his state
ment of the distress which prevails, and I am happy to
say that I draw from all the accounts that have been
received that great exertions have been made by gen-
tlemen of property to alleviate the distress which ex-
ists, and I believe the number of applications that have
been made under the Land Improvement Act shows
a general wish on the part of those possessing pro-
perty in Ireland to give employment to the poor
in their neighbourhoods. But when the Honourable
Baronet goes on to express his expectation and hope
that relief will be given by Parliament to meet the
prevailing distress, I must say that, in the first place,
I think it would be necessary that we should have
proof that every exertion possible has been made to
carry into effect the law passed in the last session of
Parliament for the better relief of the poor in Ireland
in the various unions in that country.—(Hear, hear.)
I certainly do not in any way regret the relief we
voted last year, but at the same time I cannot forget
that we considered at the time—and the event has
since proved that we were right—that even that re-
lief would be a serious burden on other parts of the
kingdom. I believe, myself, that the failure of the
harvest of 1846, in this part of the United Kingdom,
would not of itself have afflicted this country with
the very high price of provisions which we know has
prevailed during the present year, but that from the
steps taken in order to enable the distressed in Ireland
to obtain food, the consequence was a very high price
of provisions in this country, extending to a rate
which had not been known before since the cessation
of the war.—(Hear, hear.) In the next place, the
increase in the speculations in corn, which has thus
been encouraged, has led, in a great extent, to the
commercial distress that has lately taken place.—
(Hear, hear.) Ido not say that this is a reason why
we should not, in any extreme case, afford assistance
to the distress in Ireland; but I beg, at the same
time, to call the attention of the Honourable Baronet
and of other Honourable Members of this House re-
presenting Irish towns and Irish counties, to the
statement that has been made, and I believe very
truly made, this evening by the Hon. Member for
North Warwickshire, respecting the great distress
and want of employment which prevails in the manu-
facturing parts of England.—(Hear, hear.) I
think we are entitled to say, that as no
one asks, or probably will ask, that persons who are
out of employment in this country, and who
will have to be sustained by the poor-rates,
shall be sustained by a grant from the Consolidated
Fund, so likewise we cannot propose any vote of
ofi With
theregrd
poor
a
money from the Treasury for the support of those
who are in distress in Ireland until all possible efforts
shall
tf for rthehave carryingobser
beenvoautit thenms a
which
made.—(Hear,
h( fefHo for theal r h
fr oe relief 1)i ef
. the Right Hon.
Gentleman who has just sat down, I beg to say that
I am glad to find that he does not approve of shorten-
ing the period which we propose for the adjournment
of the House. I think it is far better that we should
adjourn till the month of February, with the determi-
nation of seriously endeavouring to encounter the
business that must then come before us.—(Hear,
hear.) The Right Hon. Gentleman says, that at
that time he will have a motion to bring forward
respecting the commercial condition of the country.
I have only to say, that when that motion
comes on we shall be ready to state our views to
the House, and I rest confident that though we may
differ from the Right Hon. Gentleman with respect
to the Act of 1844, we shall not differ with him on
one chief point, that he will be as desirous as we are
ourselves of preserving the convertibility of that part
of our currency which is in paper into gold, and that
he will not give the sanction of his high authority to
any of those various measures which gentlemen in
Birmingham put forth, and the adoption of which
would, I have no doubt, prove most injurious to the
interests, and to the character and good faith of the
country.—(Hear, hear.) The Right Hon. Gentle-
man the Member for the University of Oxford has
asked me a question respecting the time when we in-
tend bringing forward the consideration of the
navigation-laws. I certainly hesitated making a
promise that that question would be brought
forward immediately after the recess. I beg
the Right Honourable Gentleman to consider—
and the subject is one within his knowledge—
what a small proportion of the time allotted to busi-
ness is given by the Howe to her Majesty's Govern-
ment for bringing forward the measures which they
think necessary to bring under the consideration of
Parliament.—(Hear, hear.) There are but two days
in the week, or eight days in the month, on which the
Government are allowed precedence, and this very
evening the Right Hon. Gentleman the Member for
Stamford (Mr. Herries) has asked us to give one even
of those days for the discussion of his motion.
(Hear, hear.) Feeling what a very short period is
allowed for the debates on Government measures, I
certainly felt myself unwilling to state that we would
fix on an early day to bring forward the subject of,i
the navigation-laws, and at present I am not prepared
to say whether, until we have all the returns re-
lating to the revenue before us, after the
recess, we shall bring this question under
the consideration of Parliament.—(Hear, hear.)
Therefore I wish to reserve to ourselves
a discretion as to the time when we shall
bring the subject forward; but at the same time I
can assure the Right Hon. Gentleman that I am quite
willing that the question shall be brought on at such
a time as that parties interested in it shall be fully
able to bring under consideration all matters con-
nected with it.—(Hear, hear.) Another reason why
I cannot now fix the time more closely is that we

wish, immediately after the recess, to bring forward
some of the Irish measures of which I have spoken
on a former occasion, and to which I am desirous that
the House should give its most anxious consideration.
—(Hear, hear.) The Honourable Gentleman op-
posite said that though we had passed a measure
for the prevention of crime and outrage in Ireland, he
doubted whether we would proceed to act upon its
provisions. I think the Honourable Gentleman may
spare himself all anxiety on that subject, because
my Noble Friend the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland has
applied himself to the consideration of the state of
Ireland, and that consideration, I can assure the Hon.
Gentleman, will not end in mere empty declarations
or words—(Hear, hear)—for he is prepared to act
with that vigour and energy which belongs to his
character in carrying out the law which this House
has passed for the restoration of tranquillity in the
country.—(Hear, hear.) Let me add, that Ido think
that the Parliament and the Irish Government should
not be frustrated in their attempt to effect that object,
and that I shall be ready on the part of the Govern-
ment of this country to give every support to my
Noble Friend in those steps that he may think neces-
sary to take for the prevention of crime in any
exigencies that may arise.—(Cheers.) The Noble
Lord asked me a question with regard to emi-
gration. I can only say that the information
which has been received on this subject will be
laid on the table of the House, and if the Noble Lord
had spoken on this subject a day or two since, the
papers would have been prestnted this evening. I
must, state that in North America, and mere espe-
cially in Canada, a very great prejudice prevails
against emigration from this country, arising from
the unfortunate state of a great portion of the emi-
grants who went over during the last season from
Ireland, and of whose melancholy suffering the Noble
Lord is no doubt aware.—(Hear, hear.) We shall
be ready to present the papers in a few days, and if
the Noble Lord thinks it necessary to bring the sub-
ject forward again I shall he prepared to state my
views regarding it. I cannot say that we intend
bringing in any measure on the subject of emigra
tion this year, but we shall be prepared to lay all
papers containing statements or views on the subject,
that may be received from time to time on the table
of the House. In conclusion, I have only to ex-
press a hope that the Hen. Gentleman, seeing what
the sense of the House is, will not persist in propos-
ing an earlier day for the re-assembling of the House
than has been suggested by her Majesty's Govern-
ment.—(Hear.) _ _ _

Colonel DU-NNE said he hoped her Majesty's
Government would take into their consideration a
subject which attracted much attention in Ireland,
regarding the rating of unions as electoral divisions.
Such ratings could not now be adopted unless the
guardians were unanimous, which he need not say
was very seldom the case.
Sir B. HALL said he was determined to oppose the
voting of any further sum for the relief of distress in
Ireland until they saw what the working of the last
Poor•law Act was in that country. From the last
return of the expense of the poor-rates in England
and Ireland that had been laid on the table of that
House, and which came down to the Ist of January,
1847, it appeared that while the average rate for
England was Is. 7td., the average rate in Ireland was
only 814.—(Hear, hear.) He hoped that his Right
Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home
Department would take care to have laid on the table
as soon as possible a similar return up to 'the Ist of
January, 1848. The people of this country were
most anxious to see the distress which prevailed in
Ireland relieved, and they were ready to agree to any
measures absolutely necessary to effect that object,
but they thought that a just share of the burden
should rest on the property of Ireland in the first
instance. Hon. Gentlemen from Ireland seemed
to forget that great distress prevailed in this country.
They were, perhaps, not prepared to hear that in
Marylebone above 140,000 persons, or 17 per cent. of
the population, had received relief.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. H. GRATTAN said the Hon. Baronet over-
looked in his calculations the immense sums that
went out of Ireland annually to this country.
50,0001. a year left the county of Wicklow alone
annually to go into the pockets of absentees. The
Hon. Member appeared not to know the vast sums
that Lord Portsmouth, and Lord Lansdowne, and
Lord Devon, and other great Irish proprietors resid-
ing in this country, drew out of Ireland. If the
House would send back the rich absentees, he would
be quite willing to undertake on the part of Ireland
the payment, not of is. Bd. but of 2s. in the pound for
the support of the poor. If they did not take care,
they would by their out-door relief reduce the Irish
gentry to such a state of poverty and destitution, that
they would be found coming over here just as the
French refugees did after the Revolution, and then
the House would have to give them a shilling a day
for their support, as they gave the French.—
(Laughter.) He would beg of the Noble Lord at
the head of her Majesty's Government, in bringing
forward any measure for the relief of Ireland, to put
out of his mind altogether anything that fell from the
Hon. Member for Marylebone.—(Renewed laughter.)

Sir G. GREY said-the papers to which the Ilini.
Baronet alluded would be in the hands of Members
in a few days. He begged to add, that the return
alluded to by his Hon. Friend was for the year 1846,
but he would find that the rates for the present year,
as far as Ireland was concerned, would be very much
beyond Bd. With regard to what had fallen from
the Hon. and Gallant Geutleman the Member for
Portarlington (Colonel Dunne) he had only to say
that, under certain circumstances, the guardians had
power of making a union rating instead of an electo-
ral division rating ; and in some few cases, where such
a system of rating was adopted by paid boards of
guardians, they had necessarily received the sanction
of the Commissioners, and no doubt, if any valid ob-
jection could be urged, that sanction would not have
been extended.

Mr. DEERING begged to remark, in reference
to the rating of England and Ireland, that in seven
parishes which constituted the constituency that he
had the honour to represent, the average rating was,
he was certain, not under 65., and in his own parish
it was 6s. 6d. in the pound. When Irish property
was rated to that extent, then he thought they might
complain, and ask for relief from his constituency,
but not sooner.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. SPOONER said that as the sense of the
House appeared to be against him, he would ask
leave to withdraw his amendment.—(Hear.)
The amendment was then withdrawn, and the
original resolution for the adjournment of the House
at its rising to Thursday, 3d of February, was
agreed to.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER.
Mr. BROTHERTON gave notice that it was
his intention to move, immediately after the recess,
for a Select Committee to inquire into the expe-
diency of abolishing the office of Chancellor of the
Duchy of Lancaster, and of tranferring the duties of
the office to the Home Secretary.
SUNDAY TRADING.
Mr. HINDLEY gave notice that he would, after
the recess, move for leave to bring in a Bill for the
amendment of the law affecting Sunday trading.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN PRISONS.

The Earl of ARUNDEL gave notice that he
would, after the recess, move for a Select Committee
to inquire into the discipline and regulations now in
force in the prisons, penitentiaries, houses of correc-
tion, and other places of confinement for criminal
offences in Great Britain, with the view of ascertain-
ing the best practical means of securing to every
prisoner not in communion with the Church of En-
gland the benefits to be derived from a due observance
of the religious duties of his faith ; and also the best
practical means of securing the proper attendance of
his priest or other minister of his religion, for the
purposes of religious instruction._