The Sun.
London, England, 1824-03-03 00:00:00

NEGRO SLAVES.

Earl SPENCER presented a Petition from Wellingborough,
in Northamptonshire, praying for the amelioration of the con-
dition of the Slaves in the West Indies. The subject to which
the petition related, his Lordship observed, was one of the
greatest importance, and he hoped that it would meet with
the serious consideration of that and the other House of Parlia-
ment. He moved that the petition be laid on the table,and
printed.—OzeAPrEAlS.
'Lord KING wished to call . their Lordships' attention to
a subject which appeared to him to be of great importance.
He rbund that his attendance was required in that House
for hearing Appeal Causes at the bar. Now lie wished to
learn, from such of their Lordships as were better acquainted
with the subject than he could pretend to he, whether he was,
in consequence of this order, which required him to hear
causes, also bound to vote on them ? If he must vote, he was
also desirous of knowing whether, in the case of his happening
to withdraw himpelf before the hearing of a cause should be
concluded, he should still be obliged to give his vote upon it?
If these inquiries should be answered in the affirmative, he
would then be,glad to be informed how he should act on a
cause which was about to come on, he believed on Monday
next. The cause to which he alluded was entitled " Connolly
and wife," and had been heard before. For his part, how-
ever, he knew nothing of it, and he must therefore beg for in-
struction from their Lordships how he was to vote. He had
no idea whatever of the case, and was most anxious to do no
injustice either to Connolly or his wife. But would none of
their Lordships tell him _what he was to do ? Was he to take
a hint front some one of the big wigs, which their Lordships
occasionally saw rising a few inches above the bar? Or was
he to be directed by that equilateral triangle hat which lay there?
(looking towards the woolsack.)—Or might he vote, as was
done in some cases, without hearing any thing on the sub-
ject, by proxy ? Their Lordships had, in their wisdom, de-
termined that each Peer was to hear only fractions of causes;
but how was this to, be reconciled with the mode of voting by
wholesale ? Now, if vote he must on the case of " Connolly
and wife," he hoped that their Lordship's would put him. in
possession of the means of voting rightly. Ile should doubtkss
be furnished with the notes which he supposed the -Peers who
had already sat on the case must have taken ; for they were
the judges, and it was the practice of judges to take notes of the
causes which were heard betbre them. Their Lordships well
knew the value which was placed on notes of judges, and he
would wish those taken in that House to be printed. If, how-
ever, it should unfortunately happen that the Peers who
had heard this case of " Connolly and wife" had taken no
notes, and yet that he would be required to vote on it, then
he would most humbly beg of their Lordships w be pleased
to amend their order, and direct that all Peers sitting on ap-
peals should keep notes of the cases they hear. Thus their
Lordships would have before them the wisdom and informa-,
tion of their predecessors, and the labours of the sitting part
of the Peers wouldunable those who had to vote, to perform
their judicial functions properly. This new mode of hearing
Causes, he believed, had been invented for the purpose of ex-
pediting the business of the House ; but it appeared to him to
have only the effect of keeping away the Noble and beamed
Lord whom he considered the most efficient judge of appeal
causes. -The Noble and Learned Lord was a very great friend
of the church ; hut what would the Noble and Learned Lord
say to a rector, who, wishing to. be relieved from the burden
of his clerical duties, should get a curate to perform them
for him, but instead of paying the curate out of his own emo-
luments*e
singular ou would doubtlesssarrangement.hod i appeara‘c
Having
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tea
oi
and
db
Learned
et the
ed parish
aa,
eTv
hiriyes
should, with their Lordship's leave, sue ecclesiasticalan case,
would be thought of a bishop, or a clergonsaen, 4tolesTi.ould de-
clare from his pulpit that a person had stated an utter false-
hood ? What would the 'Noble and Learned Lord think of
the reverend person who should thus express himself respectin
the character of another, in a place where what he said could
not be answered ? He was quite sure that the Noble and
Learned Lord would be the last man in the world to give his
approbation to such conduct.
IRELAND.
The Earl of D'ARNLEY had to apologize. to Noble Lords
for the change he had thought it necessary to make in his mo-
tion for summoning the House. They were aware that he had
given notice of his intention to bring forward on this day a very
important and extensive question relative to the state of Ire-
land ; but as he could not at the present time expect the assist-
ance of many Noble Lords intimately acquainted with Irish af-
Nrs, and as he had reason to hope that those Noble Lords would
be able to attend at a future ..penod, he had resolved -to post-
pone .his motion. Another reason had also induced him to post-
pone it, which was his wish to collect the most accurate and
sample information before lie proceeded to call their Lordships'
Attention to the subject. He had intended to move this day
for a great variety of papers tending to illustrate the state of
Ireland, but he would now confine himself to those documents
to-theproduction of *hich he understood there would be no
objection. Though he would not enter into any discussion
on the affairs of Ireland, he hoped he might be permitted to
make a few observations. It appeared from what had taken
place elsewhere, that it was intended to take off the bounty
at present granted on the exportation of Irish linen—to take
it gradually from the fine, but immediately from the coarse.
Considering the state of Ireland, this was a most important
feature in the financial arrangement" of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer for the year ; and he was surprised that it did
not occur to his Majesty's Ministers, that taking off the bounty
on Irish linens, and especially so suddenly off the coarse
linen, must tend greatly to increase the evil under which
that country laboured, which was the want of employment.
He thought that the same political consideration which had
last year prevented the removal of the duty on foreign linen,
should have on the present occasion saved the infant manufac-
ture of the north of Ireland. If the bounty were taken off the
coarse linen, the manufacture of which was but recently esta-
blished, a great addition would be made to the distress of the
starving population. Here he could not help noticing an item
of the public expenditure, as it had been arranged in another
place in consequence of the receipt of part of the debt due to
this country by Austria. He had formerly expressed an 'opi-
nion, that not a .farthing of that debt would be repaid. The
sum received was called a " God-send," and he had no oh-
tectton to the term, but thought it would with great propriety
be continued, if the money were employed in rescuing the dis-
tressed population of the south of Ireland from starvation. In
this way it would be much better applied than to Royal palaces,
or building churches, to which objects, however, as far as they
were necessary, he had no objection to the application of public
money. He believed that in the metropolis the power Of hear-
ing divine service -was confined almost exclusively to the rich,
and in Ireland the greater part of the Protestant churches were
in a state of dilapidation. He must again express his surpriie
that the Austrian God-send was not allowed to fall upon Ire-
land, instead of being applied in the way proposed by the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer. He must, however, again say that lie
had no ejection to building churches, if they were really want-
ed, and ke had always been an advocate for keeping Windsor
Castle in repair, but wished that no sum beyond what was ne-
cessary should be so expended. With regard to the papers lie
wished to obtain, he should now move for an account of all the
sums granted by Parliament for public works, and for the em-
ployment of the poor in Ireland during the last seven years ;
for sums advanced by way of loans of Exchequer bills or
otherwise; the sums paid on the presentments of Grand Juries,
the payments out of the consolidated fund; &c. But lie did not
think he could do full justice to the task he had undertaken
without stating the truth, and the whole truth, respecting the
church establishment of Ireland. He therefore intended to
move for an account of the number of parishes and parish
churches in Ireland ; the extent of the parishes; the number of
families residing in each ; the number of communicants in the
established churches ; the number of Roman Catholic families ;
and al - documents of this kind. In moving for these papers,
he had no other wish than that of bringing under. the conside-
ration of their Lordships the real situation of Ireland. The
Noble Earl concluded by moving for the rapers he had de-

scribed ; and also that their Lordships be summoned for Mon-
day the sth of April next.
The Earl of LIVERPOOL intimated,. that he had noob-
jection to the motions now made by the Noble Earl ; but he
wished to say a word or two on some of the facts which
had been alluded to in the observations with which he
preceded those motions. If their Lordships were not aware
of the contrary, it might be suppoled from what had been
stated by the Noble Earl, that no part of the public money
was ever applied to the carrying on of public works in Ire-
land. With respect to the financial arrangement for the year,
it was true that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had appro-
priated a specific sum in it to the building of churches, but did
the Noble Earl soppose that any body would therefore conclude
that nothing was done for Ireland ? On the contrary, very large
sums had been voted for that country ; and it was a sintrular
fact, that Scotland and Ireland were the only parts of the
United Kingdom to which "rants of money for public works
had recently been made. There was no instance'during the
last 20 years of any such application of the ptiblic money in
England. There had, it was true, been advances by way of
loans of Exchequer Bills, but no Parliamentary grants for
public works, except that for the building of churches. The
aim granted for Scotland withirrthe pariod of the Noble Earl's
motion, was 31)0,0001.: and for Ireland, not less than one mil-
lion. In short, no indisposition had ever been shown to vote money
for public works in Ireland. On the subject of the Irish linen,
'he would say, that though scarcely any thing was more absurd
than the granting of bounties on exportation, yet it was a dif-
ferent question, the getting rid of such bounties when they
exist. The export of fine linen being established, pru-
dence required that the repeal of the bounty on it should be
gradual ; but there never was any export trade in the coarse
Irish linen, which was merely a domestic manufacture, and
consequently the immediate repeal of the bounty on it could do
no harm.. He thought it necessary to say. this much by way of
ekplanation ; as to the general question, he should reserve him-
self until the Noble Earl's motion brought it under the con-
sideration of the House. _

Lord KING was aware there was no want of grants of the
public money. There were Irish jobs, Scotch jobs, and Church
jobs in abundance, but the most enormouS job of all was the
100,0001. a year to the Irish churches. . _

The Earl of DARNLEY explained; after which the mo-
tions for papers were agreed to, and the Peers were ordered to
be summoned for the sth April.
The Marriage Act Amendment Bill was read a third time,
and Passed ; and the other Bills on the table were forwarded
in their respective stages.
Mr. llumc and others from the Commons brought up a
message, requesting a copy of the Report of their Lordship's
Committee on the petition of the Chamber of Commerce of
Glasgow in 1820, and on the Bill for the Regulation of Weights
and Measures. The Report was delivered forthwith.--Ad-
journed to Thursday.