The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-22 00:00:00

he would bring forward the measure on Monday, the
31st inst., when he would state to the House the course
which he intended to pursue with respect to the Bill.
RAILROAD BILLS.—ADJOURNED DEBATE.
Mr. HUME moved that the order of the day for the
adjourned debate thereupon be discharged. The Com-
mittee had met, and from the progress which they had
made, he thought it would render unnecessary any further
debate upon the subject.
The order was accordingly discharged.
PRISONS BILL.
Lord MAIION wished to know when the Prisons Bill
would be brought before the House ?
Sir GEORGE GREY proposed to proceed with the
Bill on Thursday, the 3d of June.
ENCUMBERED ESTATES (IRELAND) BILL.
Sir F. THESIGER asked the Noble Lurd when it
was proposed to proceed with this Bill?
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that he had promised
the Recorder of Dublin that he would give ample notice
before that Bill was proceeded with. He also took that
opportunit3 of stating that he would proceed with the
miscellaneous estimates on Friday next.
POOR-LAW COMMISSION.
Mr. FERRAND wished to know if the estimates of
the Poor-law Commission would be taken on that
evening.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that the estimates would
not be proceeded with before further progress was made
with the Poor•law Administration Bill.
INTERMENT IN TOWNS.

Mr. MACKINNON wished to ask tke Noble Lord
he intended to proceed with this Bill during the presen,
session?
Lord MORPETH said that he saw no prospect of
passing the Bill during the present session.
Mr. MACKINNON would like to know if he saw any
prospect of passing the Bill next session?—(Laughter.)
Lord MORPETH said that he was very confident of
being able to pass the Bill next session.
USE OF SUGAR IN DISTILLERIES.

Mr. BARKLY asked the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer what are the additional facilities which he intends
to give for the use of sugar in distilleries, and whe-
ther it is his intention to propose during the present
session, so much of the Act of the 6th George IV.,
c. 80, as forbids all attempt to distil in combina-
tion with grain, or checks use of sugar in ex-
isting distilleries, more especially of the 4th
clause of that Act, which prohibits distillation at the
same time from sugar and grain; the 45th clause, which
requires six days' notice to be given by the distiller of
his intention to use sugar; and the 46th clause, which
requires an interval of one month between distilling
grain and sugar. or sugar and grain-separately.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said
that he had stated on a former occasion that he did not
intend to bring forward any measure to prohibit the
use of grain in distilleries. He could only give the same
answer to the Hen. Gentleman as he gave to the Hon.
Gentleman (the Member for Montrose) a few evenings
ago, that he would give every facility, for the use of sugar,that was consistent with the existing laws. The chair-
man of the Board of Excise had also got instructions to
the same effect, and to give every facility for that purpose.
He thought that he bad a paramount duty to keep up
the revenue.—(Cheers.) To the latter part of the ques-
tion of the Hon. Gentleman he begged to say that he had
no intention whatever to repeal any part of the Act
which had been passed for legalising the distillation
from sugar. With respect to the Hon. Gentleman's ob-
servation, that one month was necessary before distil-
lation from grain could be resumed after distillation from
grain had been used, he begged to observe that; it was
quite a mistake; for, in reality only six days' notice was
necessary before the work could be resumed. In fact
Rowe and Co., of Dublin, and Messrs. Leman, of Rat-
cliffe Highway, were now working upon that system.
He theretore thought that any interference with the
excise was unnecessary.

Captain BARCLAY explained that he did not wish
to throw the slightest blame upon the Government, for
he did not inculpate them in the least for allowing dis-

illation from grain.
ACTION OF THE POOR-LAW.

Mr. FERRAND said that a handbill had been circu•
lated in Sheffield, stating that a person named John
Darwin, who he understood had formerly been in highly
respectable circumstances, bad lately died in the work-
house, and that his body had been cut up into quarters,
and sold.

It was furthei stated that the Mutilated mem-

bers had,.five weeks afterwards, been taken to St. George's
burial ground in a coffin and interred. The question
which he wished to ask was whether any information re-

specting the circumstance had been communicated to the

Government ?

.....................
Sir GEORGE GREY said he had never heard of the
handbill till the Hon. Gentleman had given notice of

his question. There was no reason for supposing that
any such occurrence had happened there, and he did
not think that the reports were sufficiently authenticated
to warrant further notice of it.

THE PAUPER DISFRANCHISED.
Mr. STAFFORD O'BRIEN asked the Solicitor-
General for Ireland whether the fact of having received
relief under the Poor-law Act since the registering, dis-
franchises the voter; and in the event of his reply in the
negative, to ask whether it be the intention of her Ma-
jesty's Government to bring in a Bill on this subject
during the present session.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL for Ireland said the
question involved great difficulty; for Committees on
special cases had differed from each other invariably,
and came to contradictory conclusions. It appeared
that in England, after the passing of the Reform Bill,
any person receiving relief within a year of the county
registration was not entitled to be registered. But in
Ireland the feet of receiving relief did not disfranchise
the county voter. The game law affected the burghs.
SEDUCTION AND PROSTITUTION BILL.
Mr. SPOONER, in
_reply to a question, said there
were only seven names opposed to the Bill. Ho did mot

know whether these seven
gentlemen were necessarily

seven wise men; but he- begged distinctly to set;
that he would proceed with the first reading of the 13111
at the earliest opportunity, without consideration of the

convenience of tiwsse ilon:G eml, men.

ALLEGED FALSE IMPRISONMENT.

Mr. FEHR AND called the attention of the Eight
Hon. Gentleman, the Home Secretary, to the case of a
girl which he bad already brought before the House—
the individual in question being illegally, as he could

prove, confined in the House of Correction at Wake-
field. He wished to know whether directions for her

release would be given before the recess.
Sir G. GREY said—A case had been brought to the
Home. office in reference to the matter to which the

Hon. Gentleman alluded, but there was nothing
to convict the magistrate concerned in the matter
of anything like illegallity in his conviction in question.
RELIEF WORKS (IRELAND).
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER observed
that he had, at a former period, moved that 300,0001.

should be advanced, by way of loan, on the security of
rates in Ireland. He now gave notice that he intended
. _

on Friday to move that the House should agree to ad-
vance a further sum of 300,0001. for the same object for
which the last bad been granted—that is, to the relief

committees.

Lord G. BENTINCK bad hoped that when his Right
Hon. Friend mentioned that he intended to propose
300,0001. for relief works in Ireland, that he might at
the same time have incidentally stated to the House that
the Government had a well-founded hope it would be
able soon to reduce the enormous expense with which
the distribution of relief had been accompanied. The
Government had reduced the numbers of those receiving
relief from 700,000 to (he thought) 240,000 persons; but
the expenses of the staff still continued.—(Hear.) That
expense was at the rate of 17,000/. a week, amounting
to about 900,0001 a year, of which a large portion was
charged to the Government, and would of course have to
be paid out of the finances of this country. He had
hoped that his Right Hon. Friend would have told them
that he had reduced the staff in proportion as he bad
reduced the amount of relief.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER ex-
plained. The 300,000/. were not for public works. He
had in the month of March proposed that 300,000/.
should be advanced as a loan, on the security of the
rates—he did this in order that that mode of relief
might be substituted for public works. His Noble
Friend might be assured that the moment the public
works maid be discontinued the expenses of the staff
employed would be at an end ; and they might at any
time have been prevented, if it could have been proved
that the resident gentry would take upon themselves
the duties performed by the staff, and thus aid the Go-
vernment.

Mr. HENLEY wished to know whether there would
be any objection to state how many of the persons re •
ceiving a portion of the 17,0004 a week might be
electors ?

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied,
that he did not quite understand the purport of the Hon.
Gentlemants question. Many of the staff were officers
sent over from this country. The overseers of works
should cease to be employed as soon as the works them-
selves could be discontinued. As to whether that class
of persons were Parliamentary electors or not, he really
did not know—they were persons recommended by the
relief committee. Their employment must cease with
the discontinuance of the public works, or as soon as the
new system could be carried into effect. It was no fault
of the Government that the persons thus employed in
Ireland had not been discontinued before now. The
necessity for employing them had been forced upon the
Government by the extreme difficulty that had been
experienced in inducing the relief committees to exert
themselves.
Mr. STAFFORD O'BRIEN said that he considered
that the present was a fitting
opportunity to complain
that the second question which he asked had not been
answered, he wished to call the attention of her Ma-
jesty's Government to that question, and inquire whether
it was their intention to bring in any Bill upon the

subject.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER saA
the Government had determined to take the matter into
consideration.
DISTURBANCES IN PORTUGAL.

Mr. HUME wished to ask a question of considerable
importance. It was rumoured that her Majesty's
Government had so far interfered with the
affairs of Portugal as to send out a deputation
there to make certain arrrangements under the
superintendence of ColonellWilde. Ile wished to know
what powers or directions Were given to this officer, as
to any interference with the belligerents, and whether
such a course would not cause a dancer of this
country being involved in a war. It lifiil been stated
also that the British officers had been treated with in-
sult, and the nation thus subjected to degradation. He
wished to know whether the Noble Lord was prepared
to lay upon the table any papers or instructions given
1 with reference to this subject.
Lord J. RUSSELL said that at present the Govern-
ment were not prepared to lay upon the table the papers
atersen
sought for until the proper time came. They would then
be placed before the House.
Mr. HUME then gave notice that immediately after
the holidays he should bring the subject under the =-