The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-17 00:00:00

PAR R'S.

Mr. RENNIE gave notice that on Tuesday next the
21st instant, he should move that an humble Address be
presented to her Majesty, praying that she would
be graciously pleased to direct the Commission-
ers of the land revenue to take measures to
render more safe the amusement of skeiting on the orna-
mental water in St. James's and Hyde Parks by
adopting measures to render the depth of those waters :n
no place greater than four feet.
MISCELLANEOUS ESTIMATES.

Sir R. PEEL said he wished to move for a paper, to
which it would he desirable to call the attention of the
House very shortly, connected with the execution of the
avoiks which were now in progress for the building of the
New Houses of Parliament, and the adoption of measures
fur warming anti ventilating these Houses. In
making that motion it would perhaps be for the general
convenience of the House that he should lake that op-
portunity of stating the general course which he meant
on the part of her Majesty's Government to pursue with
regard to the public business of the House. Notice had
born given for taking into consideration to-morrow those
estimates of which complete provision had not yet been
made during the late session of Parliament. That vote
would refer to the miscellaneous services of the year.
One half of the sum required for those miscellane-
ous services had been provided by the late Parlia-
ment. He proposed to adopt the estimates without
exception, as they were framed by her Majesty's late
Ministers, and to submit them to the consideration of the
House, exactly in the form in which they were submit-
ted during the late session. On former occasions the
course pursued had been to take by one vote the remain-
ing stun which was requisite for the purpose of providing
for those services. But in the present instance the esti-
mates themselves had not been submitted to the detailed
consideration of the House. A sum on account was
taken during the late session, and he apprehended that
it would be more satisfactory to the House
that the estimates in detail should undergo consideration
then ; that one sum in gross should be taken to provide
fur the public service. He proposed, therefore, in the
ordinary way to submit the estimate of each service in
detail, and to take a separate vote with respect to each.
He was not aware that it was necessary to make any
proposition to the House with respect to any other ser-
vices than those which were included in the estimates pre-
sented during the last Session ; but there was one torm
of expenditure to which it would be his duty to
direct the attention of the House. It was connected
with that particular item of expenditure to which he had
before referred, viz. the additional sum which would be
required in connection with the construction of the two
Houses of Parliament. The works were advanced to
such a period, that if the two Houses of Parliament
should determine on some mode of warming and venti-
lating the new House:, similar to that which had been
provided for the present House of Commons. it would be
necessary at once to make provision for that Pur-
pose. The state of the buildings was such, that the
floors and other works necessary to carry out
that design must be immediately provided.—(Hear.)
Ir these works were to be undertaken they must be
begun without delay. But he thought they were of such
a magnitude that they ought not to be undertaken
without the previous sanction of Parliament. On a
former occasion, upon a question of a similar nature,
Committees of both Houses of Parliament had been ap-
pointed to consider the subject ; in his opinion it would be
convenient that a similar course should be pursued on
the present occasion. The works would amount, if car-
t.ed out according to the proposals of Dr. Reid and Mr
Barry, to between Be,oool. and 90,0001 ; and such a
large expenditure, in his opinion, should not be in-
curred without the consent and approbation of Par-
liament. If any Committee should be appointed,
he trusted that it would limit its inquiries entirely to
the heatihg and ventilation of the new Houses, and that
it would not in any ray interfere with the progress of
the works. It also would be his intention to propose a
Continuance Bill, to continue those laws which would
expire at definite periods without the previous interven-
tion of Parliament. There were some laws which ex-
pired at definitely fixed periods. There were other laws
which would expire at the end of the first session of
Parliament. He should submit the propriety of con-
tinuing those laws for a definite period. The most im-
portant of all those laws was the Poor-law Act.
That part of it, constituting the Poor-law cc mmisnion,
expires on the 31st of December next. He should pro-
pose that Parliament should provide that the Poor-law
Act, as it now stood, should continue in
operation until the 31st of July next, in order to
enable her Majesty's Government to consider
what it might be expedient to propose with regard to
that Act. Other Bills of considerable importance, and
others of less, would expire at the end of the present
Session, or on at given day. He should propose also to
continue those laws to a certain period. The continu-
ance of the Pour-law Act Ives. of the. most itnportancr,
and it would he -for the House to decide whether it
should continue by the General Continuance Bill or
otherwise. a If it were dcsieed. by the .House that it
should be continued by a separate Bill, he would
certainly have no objection, although he thought
it would_ be inconvenient to lead the statute book
unnecessarily. With respect to election petitions it
appeared to him that it would be better that no pre-
cedent should be adopted at present. He believed that
under the pi eaent law no Act of the House was required fur
suspending proceedings. It rested entirely with the general
Committee on Election Petitions to appoint the days on
which they should be heard ; and he trusted, that it
would be considered that the House had expressed
its opinion of the inexpediency of proceeding with
the consideration of any election petitions at present.
With respect to the financial arrangements of the coun-
try, his Right Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer would, on the earliest day on which a Committee of
Ways and Means could be appointed, state to the House
what was the extent of the deficiency to be provided for,
namely, the deficiency between the revenue and the expen-
d iture of the country for the present year. He apprehended
that it would be found not to fall far short of the estimate
given by the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, and that
it was probable a sum of 2,500,000/. would have to
be provided for the service of the present year.
Into the details of the particular classes of
deficiency. his Right Honourable Friend would
enter on the occasion to which he had already alluded,
viz., when the House resolvedh itself into a Committee of
maileahsiumresselfheofitohteant
doepd-
oriueldthaev
Ways and Means, andhcrate:Nvlne'
pOrtUnily of stating, v.v
for ma tuie
With
ry provision fur reliev-
so propose
ing that deficiency. respect to measures
of a more permanent character, for the purpose
of equalizing the revenue and expenditure of the
country, it was not
his intention during the pre-
sent meeting
of Parliament to submit any
measures for the consideration of the House. He
had already expressed his, opinion that it Was
absolutely necessary to provicie some effectual means
for equalizing the revenue and expenditure of
the country, and they would avail themselves of
the earliest opportunity, after mature consideration
of the circumstances of the country, of submitting to
Parliament measures for the purpose of removing the
existing evil. Whether that would be best effected by
diminishing the expenditure of the country, or whether
it must be clone by increasing the revenue, or whether it
must be done by a combination of these two means—viz.,
the reduction of the expenditure and the increase of the
revenue, he must postpone for future consideration. It
was enough for him to state that it was im-
possible for the country, consistently with the public ser-
vice, to proceed in the course which, perhaps unavoida-
bly, had been pursued of late years, without in-
curring -considerable debt. But as to the mode of
raising that deficiency, he inuat ask for that degree
of confidence from the House, which he had on all oc-
casions experienced; and in the meantime her Majesty's
Government would give it their most serious con-
sideration.
With respect to other measures of a more
permanent and important character, he must make the
same appeal to the confidence of the House. It was '
quite true that for some days past, he (Sir R. Peel) I
his colleagues had been in possession of the ant
Govern-
ment of the country, but the House would readily admit
that the arrangements he was obliged to make with regard
Government
to the constitution of the had not placed
him in a much better position to pronounce an opinion
on measures of such importance than, before.— (Hear,
the o
hear, and a laugh fromopposition benches.)
He could assure the Henze that be had no
wish to propose any unnecessary delay
account of the deficient attendance of Members,Oonn
account of the temptations of other avocations to which
they would be subject, there might be some delay; but
his own opinion was, that all considerations of, i
this description should be sacrificed to the public t
business.—(Hear, hear.) Those considerations oughtr
not to interpose the slightest difficulty in
thet kind. He was auxion.s to call the attention ofo

Parliament to measures of an important character arising
under the particular circumstances of the country.
He might depend on the expressions that were
made use of before the last election, that there
was a general desire on the part of Hon. Gentlemen op-
posite to give a fair opportunity of considering those
measures. It was for the public benefit that such an op-
portunity should be given on the earliest possible occa-
sion, when the opinion of her Majsty's Govern-
ment would be stated to Parliament. But, con-
sidering the great importance of the measures
to which he alluded, he was of opinion the interests of
the country would be best taken care of by allowing
a fair time to the new Government to maturely
consider the questions connected with the finan-
cial arrangements of the country. (Hear, hear.)
The Right Hon. Gentleman concluded by moving for a
copy of the correspondence between the architects of the
New Houses of Parliament and the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, relating to the ventilation and other arrange;
meats of said Houses.

Lord J. RUSSELL said, that with respect to the im-
mediate purposes for which the Right Hon. Gentle-
man had moved for those papers, • he (Lord
J. Russell) was certainly not likely to differ
from any measures which might be proposed agreeably
to them. He had entire confidence in the course which
he conceived that the Right Hon. Baronet might
think fit to adopt on that score. With respect to any
apparatus that might be required for the end aimed at,
he had no doubt that the Treasury—especially the
Right Hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer, would take care not to leave that
unattended to. Of course, with respect to the estimates,
to the voting of which he as well as the Members of the
late Government were a party, he would not offer any
opposition to the granting of them. He (Lord J. Russell)
should think it his duty to take an opportunity
to-morrow, before the House went into Committee of Sup-
ply, to state the view which he took of the present state of
public affairs. He did not think that it would be conveni-
ent now that he should enterinto those considerations. The
course which he proposed to take before the House would
go into Committee of Supply was consistent with the
practice of the House. He regretted till Right Hon.
Gentleman's statement with respect to his intentions
of not proposing any measure of importance in the
present Session of Parliament. He did not say that
during the last ten days, in which the Right .Hon. Gen-
tleman was occupied, agreeably to the power vested in
him by her Majesty, informing an Administration, the
Right Honourable Gentleman could have paid any at-
tention to those important measures; but, considering the
leng .h of time which had elapsed since measures on
those important subjects were proposed by the late Go-
vernment—considering the present state of the country,
I he must say, that in his opinion the Government ought at
once to lay before Parliament the measures it intenued to
propose. He (Lord J. Russell) inferred from the Right
Hun. Gentlman's statement, that his intention was,
having obtained the necessary supplies—having made
temporary provision for the public credit, and having re-
newed the Poor-law to July next, the House of
Commons should not again meet till the ordinary
time at the commencement of the year.—(Hear.)
He considered that course not advisable in the
present state of the country, and as the Right Hon.
Gentleman had said the House of Commons ought
not to attend to questions of personal convenience
when matters of public importanee were to be
attended to, he would not now enter further into
those matters. He would only say that he would state his
opinions on those two questions to-morrow; and he
might be allowed to add, that it was by no means his
wish to embarrass whatever course the Eight Hon. Ba-
ronet might think proper to adopt.

The m7)tion was then agreed in.
COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.

Dr. BOW RING said that he had given notice of his
intention to move for certain returns relative
to the commercial regulations of other countries with re-
spect to our own ; but, as he understood that some
progress had been made in preparing those returns,
if the Right Hon. Gentleman the Vice-President of the
Board of Trade (Mr. Gladstone) would inform him that
they should be presented to the House, be should be
glad to leave the matter in his hands. At the same time
he would suggest a regulation which would he of great
advantage, namely, that, from time to time, the changes
:rade in commercial regulations should be reported to
the House.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. GLADSTONE said that in the month of June
last the Right Hon. Gentleman, the late Vice-Pi-esi-
dent of the Board of Trade, had announced to the
House that one of the Secretaries of the Board
had bestowed great labour in collecting information
respecting the tariffs and customs of foreign countries,
and he had also stated that when that information was
obtained it should be laid on the table of the House. The
Noble Lord (Earl Ricon) at the head of the Board of Trade
entirely approved of that intention of his predecessor,
and Mr. M'Gregor had received instructions to proceed
with the preparation of that infortt ation.—(Cries
of " Hear, hear.") The House must be aware that
this was a work of very considerable difficulty, and
one requiring great accuracy, but it should be put in
hand immediately, and as soon as it could be pre-
pared it should be laid on the table of the House.
He (Mr. Gladstone) also entirely concurred in
the suggestion which the Hon. Gentleman had
made, that arrangements should be made with Govern-
ments abroad to obtain information respecting the
changes in their commercial regulations.— (Hear.)