The Sun.
London, England, 1840-03-21 00:00:00

tfit gun.

LONDON:
SATURDAY, MARCH 41, 1640.

The Peers met as usual and presented a few petitions.
A. brief discussion took place on the Corn-laws, on the
Earl of ROSEBERY presenting a petition from Stirling,
for abolition, which the Noble Earl, for sundry reasons,
could not support. He advocated a lower scale of
duties. The speech of Lord ASHBURTON we have else-
whero noticed. Their Lordships rose before 6 o'clock.
In the Commons, after a great number of petitions
had been presented, .Mr. MACKI NNON gave notice that
he will move for papers relative to the Hill Coolies.
Mr. ORD, from the Committee on Election Petitions,
reported that Mr. CoPpocK, the agent for one party in
the Ludlow disputed election, had protested against the
proceedings of the Committee on the ground of illegality.
It seems doubtful whether Sir ROBERT PEEL'S Bill will
work well.

On Lord JOHN RUSSELL moving the order of the
day for the third reading of the Printed Papers Bill,
Mr. T. DUNCOMBE presented a petition from Mr.
JOSEPH STOCKDALE, praying to be heard at the bar.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL objected to the petition being
received, as it was an insult to the House. A short
debate ensued, in which the conduct of Mr. STOCK-
DALE was approved of, because it wrs according to
law, and condemned because it was insulting to privi-
lege.

Mr. T. DUNCOMBE deened to withdraw the peti.
lion, and on a division the House refused to receive it
by 196 to 25 votes.

Sir R. INGLis =Ted an additional clause to the
Printed Papers Bill, the object of which was to give
protection to all the proprietors of newspapers regis-
tered at the St,:mp-office for publishing any Parliamen-
tary papers.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL opposed the clauic, he-
cause they were not reviewing the Law of Libel. He
observed (and we quote his words, thAt they may be
known and remembered} —" He hop,!,i the time would
anon come when that law would be reviewed and dis-
cussed and altered--(ll,,ar)—wben truth should not be
deemad to be a libel, and when it would be a sufficient
defence to any proceedings to say that the allegations
contained in the libel were true."
The clause was withdrawn, on the suggestion of Sir E.
SUDDEN.

/ The Right Hon. Gentleman then moved that the se-
cond clause of the Bill, putting an end to all actions
I which have hitherto been brought, should be omitted.
On this question the House divided, and the clause was
retained by 110 to 40. The Bill was then read a third
time and passed. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL, Mr,
WARBURTON, Mr. HUME, and others, declaring their
objections to the measure were as strong as ever, and
protesting against it.
On the motion for going into a Committee of Supply,
Captain BOLDERO called the attention of the House to
the discip ine of the Academy of Cadets at Woolwich,
and complained that several young men had been dis-
missed, oral their prospects in life blasted, for offences
which he thought might have been less severely pu-
nished.
Sir HUSSEY VIvIAN entered into a long vindication
of his conduct in the government of the Academy, and
explained ,the several cases of dismissal, from which it
would appear that the young men had not been particu-
larly obedient and well behaved. Fifteen, Si
had been dismissed, one of vvhoin had been restorhed. ,
Sir HussitY also vindicated hirnselt from sundry
ch irges of serv.ng the purposes of Mr. O'CONNELL,
end uioe: his patronage to szrve bis political friends.
We arc not sorry to see the Gailaet Officer noticin the accusations of the Press, because he had a most
,gcellent defence, and because it only served to con-
firm the character now universally given to the Tory journals of caring nothing for truth, so they can wound
dA oppowalt.