The Sun.
London, England, 1841-02-19 00:00:00

CANADA.

Mr. PAKINGTON, before the regular business
of the House proceeded, wished to put a question to
the Secretary of Stata for the Colonies. It would be
in the recollection of that Noble Lord that on the
29th of January in the last Session certain ordinances
passed by the Governor and Council of Lower Canada
were laid on the table of the House ; now, what he
wished to know was, whether among those ordinances
was the one for the incorporation of the Seminary of
St. Sulpice. He alio wished to know whether the
ordinances laid on the tildc had been printed.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that among the
ordinances laid on the tilde on the 29th of January in
the last Session, was the ordinance with respect to the
Seminary of St. Sulpice. As to tie printing of the
ordinances, he behaved it was not only unusual, but con-
trary to Act of Parliament.

Sir R. PEEL wished to know from the Noble Lord
whether he had received any despatches from Canada
of a later date than those laid on the table last Session?
Lord J. RUSSELL—Yes.

Sir. R. PEEL, such being the care, wished to
know whether any had been received relative to the
union of the two Canadas ? With respect to printing
the ordinances, he believed it could not be objected to.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL thought nothing could be
expected more than the production of the ordinances
as they arrived. With respect to the Right Hon.
Gentleman's question, he had only to say that he had
received within the last two days a despatch from
the Governor-General of Canada, informing him that
some difficulty had occurred in the consummation of
the Union. But it was hoped that the measure would
be completed by the Bth or 9th of February. There
wan t,o o•jectien t lay that despatch upon the t tble.
TLere were also some despatches tel thing to emigta-
tion, which it e as his intention to lay before .Parliament.
ADMINISTRATION OF J[JSTICE (IRE-

LAND).
Mr. SHAW begged to ask the Noble Lord the Se-
cre.ary for Ireland, whether it was intended to intro-
duce into the B:11 for the better administration of the
liw in Ireland, an assimilition of the salaries and
superanuation allowances of officers of the superior
Courts in that country to those in England ?
Lord MORPETH replied that it was his wish to
rte the Courts in the two countries as much as
possible ; but some inquiry was necessary before be
could be prepared to assimil ite the salaries and super-
annuations of the officers of the Courts.—(Hear.)
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT.

In answer to a question from Lord MAHON,
Lord PALMERSTON stated that he would to-
morrow be prepared to give information respecting the
present state of the negotiations on the subject of inter-
national copyright.
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.
The Members of the General Committee of the
House on Election Petitions, came to the table and
were sworn.

CLAIMS OF CAPTAIN SNOW HARRIS.
Lord ELIOT trusted he would receive the in-
dulgence of the House while he called its attention to a
subject in which much interest was generally
felt. It might be recollected that a Commission
had sat in April, 1839, to inquire into the
merits of the plan of Captain Snow Harris for the pro-
tection of ships from the effects of lightning. That
Commission was appointed at the suggestion of the
Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Tamworth, and
many scientific gentlemen were examined before it. The
Report of that Commission concluded in the following
terms :

" Having now completed our remarks on the several
points to which their Lordships' Instructions directed our
attention, we trust we have shown from the evidence of
facts, derived from experience of many years, et s well
as by the opini.ms, not only of scientific. but of professional
igwhlitirciihnghave been lost
Conductors;
the immense amount of property which has
banyntd';i; .gohtilti's:iiriti(e'grffii;nega efficacy
to fnUinr;bel-riaorf" isv lives
been destrovel, as shown by Mr. Harri 3, and is still ex-
posed without adequate protection ; the inconvenience
which has arisen, and is still liable to arise, from the
loss of the services of ships at moments of great and
c itical importance; the difficulty of procuring new spars
in times of war on foreign stations (not to mention
the great expense of wages and victuals for the crews
of ships while rendered useless till repaired); we again
beg leave to state our unanimous opinion of the
great advantages possessei by Mr. Harris's plan above
every other plan, affording permanent security at all times,
and under all circumstances, against the injurious effects
of lightning, effecting this protection without any nautical
inconvenience or scientific objection whatever; and we,
therefore, most earnestly recommend their general adop-
tion in the Royal Navy."
flaying brought the subject last year before the House,
be felt it to be his duty to inquire from the Admiralty
what steps have been taken in consequence of that re-
commendation. If he had been rightly informed, the
Admiralty did not consider the experiments which
bad lately been made, with uniform success, in
ti:e opinion of all naval and scientific mer,
were sufficient, but they were prepared to enter
upon a new course of experiments, they having, as he

belie;•ed, adapted Mr. Harris's conductors to some
ships, but they had withdrawn the plan altogether from
(.x Eltr.e;-icteridc ;ee of tl.e inventor. A considerably
larger expew e had ti.e-e ote Leen occasioned than
if Mr. H Irris had had the superktendenee
of it., besides the injustice inflicted on that individual
by depriving him of the advantage which was given to
very inventor of superintending his own invention.
They had 111(..lvise provided a large number of her
Majesty's ships with Mr. Edge's plan, which
had been pilfered from Mr. Harris's. If the
Admiralty held that the experiment had not
been fully tried, be should have a strong case against
them. Something had been said on the ground of the
expense ; that subject, however, had been ful'y dealt
with by the Commissioners. He would not advert to
it further at present, reeving t) himself the right to go
int) the queAion in his reply, if that argument should
be made use of in opposition to this motion. The
Commissioners bad stated it as their opinion that no solid
objection had been urged on that head. Undoubtedly
the expense of the improved conductors would be
some.vhat greater than by the present inefficient
conductors now in use; but when they considered
the cost of a line•abattla ship, which amounted
to upwards of 100,000/., and the possible loss
of life which might happen in consequence
of her being struck with lightning, he thought they
would b: of opinion that 300/. was not an enormous
sum to he paid for an effic:eet conductor.—(Cheers.)
'That was the extreme sum which it would cost, and
for that cost the conductor would be applicable for an
unlimited period, and might afterwards be sold for old
copper, so that the actual expense would not amount
to that sum.—(Hear, hear, hear.) Report had as-
signed to a Gallant Admiral, whom he did not
then see in his place, and whose absence he regretted,
as he had hoped to hava seen him on that occasion, the
future command of her Majesty's fleet in the Mediter-
ranean, and if that should be the case what would be
that gallant officer's fetliug when the thunder should
be roaring around him, when his ships should be ex-
posed to the raging of the thments, whit., his gallant
salons trembled for their safety—what would be his
feeiings of regret that prejudices and jealousy
should have prevented his enjoying that safety which
might have been afforded him. He (Mr. S. Harris)
was not unknown in the scientific, world. It was
one of his papers that had led to the formation of the
new compass now is use in her Majesty's service.—
(Hew, hear.) He (Lord Eliot) held in his hand papers
which that gentleman had contributed to philosophical
works. 'He had devoted a large portion of his time and
uncommon abilties to the prosecution of these researches,
acid in doing so he had brought to light a means of
securing
.to the Navy of England one of the most for-
midable engines of warfare. He had been subjected
to an examination before the Committee of the Royal
Society, consisting of such men as Wollaston, Davy,
Young, and many others, whose names he could men-
tion, and • after the full and satisfactory experi-
ments which had been made it was rather
hard that when he came to the Admiralty and
askee, not for large grants of money, but for a rea-
sonable and fair compensation for his labour and ex-
pense, the Admiralty should turn upon him and say
" We admit that you have the merit of drawing atten-
tion to the subject, but we do not admit that you
have any other merit whatever." It appeared to
him (Lord Eliot) that this was not only a cruel but an
unjust thing. It was but a few nights since that a pen-
sion was proposed to be granted to a distinguished
officer in her Majesty's set vice—a pension of no incon-
siderable amount. 'That night they had a notice on
the paper of a proposition for erecting a monument
at the public expense ter Sir Sidney Smith. God for-
bid that he (Lord Eliot) should grudge any re-
ward to the living, or any honour to the den'], if
they had deserved well of their country ; but he did not
think that the facts of science or the triumph of philo-
sophy were to be held as of no account. Nor did lie think
that Hon. Gentleman opposite would entertain that

...
tentitnent.—(Hear, hear.) Many liberal rewards had
been-dealt out to literary and scientific individuals. He
had a list in his hand of gentlemen who had been thus
selected for reward by her Majesty's Government ;
and though he would not mention any individual on
that list, or make any invidious comparison, he
believed that on that list there was no man
who was more richly entitled to such a re-
ward than the gentleman whose claims he was en-
deavouriog to advocate. He would not detain the
House any longer at present. He had endeavoured
very succinctly, and as shortly as the case would admit,
to lay before the House the exact state of the ques-
tion. The motion which he had made was not one
he believed that would meet with any opposition on
the part of her Majesty's Government. It was simply
for information► as to whether any and what means
had been taken for giving effect t' that recommendation.
He continued fervently to hope that Hon. Gentlemen
on both sides, however they might differ in other
respect,, would take this opportunity of expressing to
the Government, and of making known to the country,
their decided opinion that the navy of this country
ought no longer to be deprived of this means of protec-
tion. If the statement of tlie Hon. Gentleman opposite
should render it necessary for him t) advert more in detail
to the papers with which he was provided, he trusted
that the House would be good enough to listen to him.
The Noble Lord concluded by moving " That an
humble Address be presented to her Majesty, praying
that she will be graciously pleased to direct that this
House be informed whether any and what measures
have been taken for giving effect to this recommenda-
tion."
On the question being put,

Mr. MORE O'FERRALL rose and saki that no
forcible objection existed against the motion of the
Noble Lord, nor would there have been much occasion

for his (Mr. O'F.'s) rising, if the Noble Lord did not
seem to imply in his speech that considerable blame at-
tached to the Admiralty in this matter. There was
great merit due to Mr. Snow Harris for the exertions
which be had made, during the la t 1.5 or 16 years,
to draN the attention of her Majesty's Governme ,t to
the danger to which ships were exposed by lightning ;
and not only for calling the attention of Goiernment to
that subject, but for his writings and his lectures to sea-
men who bad raiticularly strong prejudices aga;nst
having lightning conductors attached to ships. It was
owing also to the exertions of Mr. Harris, that the
Commission was appointed to inquire into that im-
portant subject. The House should bear in recol-
lection that ships having the most imperfect conduc-
tors escaped. When the Report was referred to the
Admiralty, it became matter of consideration there
whether a cheaper plan—and one equally good as
recommended—might not de provided. It there-
fore became the duty of the Admiralty to sup-
ply the deficiency of the Commission, and that was
whether a system might hot be adopted avoiding all
the evils of the old conductors ; and, by reverence to
the Report of the Commissioners on their assembling,
Mr. Snow Harris laid a system before them of the amount
of the costs of the different lightning conductors, and
he had stated that a conductor for a first-
rate would cost 3.50/. Now scient fic gentlemen bad
ascertained that the siza of the conductors could
be reduced, and by which the expense would be lessened
to about 2-161. ; since then other discoveries had been

made, by which it was found they might ha further re:
duced to 219/. The Board of Admit a.ty, before decid-
ingupon Mr. Snow Harris's conductors, wished to see

if they could not adopt some mode by which they might
avoid the evils of the old conductors, and they adopted
part of the French plan, part of Mr. Snow Harris's, and
Mr. Edge's. It bad since been discovered tat it was

not necessary to introduce any of Mr. Snow Harris's

plan ; and the plan which was now adopted by the
Admiralty would cost only 621., and be far more
effective. He was willing to admit, that the Admi-
ralty would be to blame, if, after the Report of the
Commission, they had adopted any system which ea-
dan2ered her Majesty's ships. In the course, however,
which they had pursued, they had taken care to pursue
such a plan as would not have that effect. With regard
to the reward Mr. Snow Harris was entitled to, he con-
fessed that he met that subject with much difficulty.
If every successful inventor were to be rewarded, there
would be no end to the claims that would be pressed
upon that House. The amount allowed to the Ad-
miralty for the purpose of rewards was limited to
2,000/. ; and if they ultimately adopted a part of Mr.
Harris's plan, he would be entitled to a portion of
that sum.—( Hear, hear.) But, according to his own
estimate of his claims, if they gave him the whole sum
it would be only one-seventh or one-eighth of what he
comidered himself entitled to.—(Hear, hear.) If that
gentleman's plan were found to be the best, it would
be the duty of the person holding his (Mn. OT.'s.)
office to come down to the House and move for an

adequate reward.—(Hear, hear.) But whilit the
experiment was still proceeding, for the purpose of
determi:hing whether the expenditure should Le 2621.

per ship, or 62/., it would be premature on his part to
say that Mr. Harris was entitled t) the very large re •
ward which was chimed for him.—(Hear, hear.)
Lord INGRESTRE said that after the clear, dis-
tinct, and unanimous Report of the Commissioners, he
did not understand why there was any hedtation on
the part of the Admiralty, in giving a fair trial
to this scientific invention.—(Hear, hear, hear.)
[The Noble Lord then read an extract from the Re-

port, in which the Commissioners pronounced their
unanimous opinion in favour of the invention, and affirm-
ing its superiority over every other in all circumstances,
and recommending its adoption in the Royal Navy.]
He would venture to say that the conductors generally
used in the Royal Navy were comparat;vely useless, and
the lives of the men were consequently endangered by
them. Then with regard to the expense of Mr. Harris's
plan, he did not think that a few hundred pounds, ►nore
or less, . was to be put in competition with the
loss of the vessels and the lives of her Majesty's seamen.
Why it did not amount to 6d. per cent. upon the pro-
perty in the way of an insurance. He did not think
the objection of the Hon. Secretary of the Admiralty at
all valid, and he could not help thinking that there was
some under current working against Mr. Snow Harris,
which could not bear exposure to the light of day.
.He
had a letter which bad been addressed by Mr. Harris to

the Lords of the Admiralty on the subjeA, and
the reply was rather a caustic one. It was to
ti e effect that tine Lords of the Admiralty,
alttnough willing to admit that he had t;.e
alerit of di: ectmg public attention to the subject,
of preventing injury to ships by lightning, yet did
not think him entitled to compensation. Now,
instead of Mr. Harris having directed attention
to the subject, he had shoal] that be had brought
the invention to a state of perfection, and he
must say that it was a bad way to treat men who had
devoted their time, their energies, and their talents to
any new and important discovery. Ile thought it was
easy to see that there were persons who had more
powerful friends and greater political influence at the
Board of Admiralty, and that would account for their
plans being in the course of adoption. Unfortunately for
Mr. Harris, he thought it his duty, in exercising his fran-
chise, not to support the views of her Majesty's present
Government, and thus an invention of considerable im-
portance to the country was marred by political dislike.
He was glad the Hon. Gentleman had no intention of
opposing the motion of his Noble Frie id, and he
trusted the result would be the placing the merits of
Mr. Harris's invention in its proper light before the
public.
Mr. WARBURTON said, that there were two
questions raised by the motion. The first was, why
after so very decisive a Report on the merits of Mr.
Harris's invention, as appeared on the face of the docu-
ment, tl.e invention had net been generally adopted
for ships of the Navy ; and the second was, why,
after such a Report as that, Mr. Harris had not
received any compensation. When the question
ha I been last before the House, the: e bad not been a
doubt raised as to the expediency of using metallic
conductors in order to avert the dancer to vessels
from lightning. The only question vas, as to the
particul it merits of the contrivance of Mr. Harris at
all times and under all circumstances ; and that was the
only matter referred to the consideration of the Commis-
sion. It appeared, however, that the Commission had also
examined other contrivances having the same object in
view, and that Mr. Harris's invention was aacertained
to be superior to every other. The Secretary to the
Admiralty had told them that there were other plans
which bad been subsequently taken into consideration
by the Admiralty, and some of those had been thought
capable of supplying the pl ice of Mr. Harris's inven-
tion. The Hon. Member the Secretary to the Admiralty
went further, for he threw doubts upon
.the value of
metallic conductors, for he-Zn7d 'there had been a parti-
cular ship, with a metallic condUctor, struck by I;ght•
Ring, and that conductor: was melted, while another
ship, not defended by a metal conductor, was struck and
escaped.—(No, no.)
Mr. MORE O'FERRALL had said that light-
ning having struck a vessel defended by an iron con-
ductor no damage had ensued.
Mr. WARBURTON said, that such a circumstance
could prove nothing in the ca: e. Many ships without
met illic conductors had escaped, but that did not mi-
litate against the value of the invention. Much, no
doubt depeneed on the magnitude of the current of
lightning ; and that should b taken into consideration
in any experiment by the Admiralty. It was now as-
certained that Mr. Harris's was a successful plan—that
both in point of experience and scient;fic adaptation, it
deserved to be generally introduced into the Navy ; no
further delay was required, and Mr. Harris ought to
be reasonably compensated for his invention.—( He Ar,
hear, hear.) He should like to know whether the
other new experiments alluded to by the Hon. Secre-
tary had been referred to the same Commission, for
that would be the proper way of tre itin,g Mr. Harris.
(Hear, hear.) He thought the Noble Lord had
quite made out his case, and some reasonable compen-
sation ought to be made. The adaptation of metallic
conductors ought to be introduced into the Navy, at
any rate for the present.

Sir R. PEEL wished to say a few words, as the
Commission, he believed, had certainly originated at his
suggestion, for he thought that a Commission of scien-
tific and naval men would form the best tribunal to
judge of the comparative advantages or disadvantages of
the plan. No doubt it was quite open to the Govern-
ment at the time to have objected to the Commission ;
but when they had undertaken to appoint a Commis.
sion, and they themselves bad the exclusive nomination
of the persons appointed, he would not say they were
conclusively bound to act upon the recommendation: of
the Committee, but they were bound to show a very
strong case why the recommendation of that Committee
should not be adopted. It did appear to him that that
department was taking upon itself a very great respon-
sibility, by refusing to adopt the conclusions of the
Commission. Nothieg could be more conclusive than
the Report presented by an officer, whose scientific skill
and nautical experience were known and appreciated by
all, be meant Captain Fitzroy.—(Cheers.) That gal-
lant officer had reported the result of his experiments
on board the Beagle ; she was a small vessel, which during
five years had been cruising on every variety of coast,
exposed to all varieties of climate and to every variety
of weather. That gallant officer in bis report to tl:e Lords
of the Admiralty st tted that the Beagle had sailed on
her last voyage in 1831, that she had been at sea for j
five years exposed to eery variety of climate—that she
had been fitted up with Mr. Snow Harris's lightning
conductors—that she had been frequently exposed to
lightning, but had never received any damage, although
it bad beene' supposed that she had been struck on two
occasions—that on each occasion a hissing sound had
been heard proceeding down the masts, and a tremu-
lous motion of the ship had been experienced, indi-
cating that something extraordinary had occurred, and
that if allowed a choice he would always prerer haring
a ship fitted up with Mr. Snow Harris's conductors to

one without—( Hear, hear)—and that even in such
small spars as the royal masts of the Beagle the plates
of copper had been found to increase their stteagth
rather than otherwise.—(Loud cheering.) The Ad-
miralty had been withheld from adopting this pl ►n by
motives of economy solely ; tbese motive; were, he
would admit, on ordinary occasions, ery laudable, but un-
der the circumstance; of the pre eat. case he thought the
Lords of the Admiralty were taking upon themselves
a very heavy responsibility. The Hon. Gentleman
hail stated that the sole object of the Lords of the Ad-
miralty had been to endeavour to find a conductor, if
possible, at a less expense ; but the Commissioners had

stated that they had examined all the other conductors,
and that Mr. Snow Harris's possessed a decided supe-
riority over them all. The Hon. Gentleman had not
referred to that part of the Report. They stated not

only their entire approval of the plan of Mr. Harris,
but they stated that the result of their experiments had
been to prove decidedly the great advantage of Mr.
Harris's plan above every other plan that had been pro-
posed. Such was the expression used, and it did,
therefore, appear to him that the Admiralty, unless
they could show some conclusive evidence to the con-
trary, were bound to adopt the recommendation
of the Commission. Upon the subject of compensation
he should reserve his opinion, but looking at the secu•
rity of the navy, he thought the expenses suggested
ought to be incurred.
Sir THOMAS COCHRANE observed that none
were so much aware of the importance of the measure
as those who had been at sea, and had witnessed the

effects of the absence of efficient conductorp. From the

want of those valuable instruments one single flash of
lightning might send hundreds to an untimely grave.
The Hon. Gentleman the Secretary of the Adiriralty
bad mentioned the case of a New York packet, which
had encountered a thunder-storm, she placed her conduc-
tor, and she was struck with lightning ; the conductor
was fused by the lightning, and the vessel escaped. He
(Sir Thomas Cochrane) had no doubt that that con-
ductor was one of those suited to a man-of-war ; now,

he would ask what would be the condition of that
packet if it unfortunately met with another thunder-
storm ; and such was frequently the case ? Vessels of
war were often left in stations where thunder-storms
were not once, twice, or three times in succession to be
met with, but much more more frequently. In the
case to which allusion had been made, that vessel
might have been exposed to a second thunder-storm,
and if it unfortunately had been, it would have been in
all probability destroyed ; whereas, the conductor re-
commended by Mr. Snow Harris was calculated to
guard against the danger of lightning, without injury
being possibly sustaned by itself. The Noble Lord
stated, that, in placing the conductors according to the
system now in use, accidents of a serious nature fre-
quently occurred. The Noble Lord had stated so
rightly. He (Sir Thomas Cochrane) said that on one
occasion, in the frigate which he commanded in the
West Indies, he encountered a thunder storm, and the
mars who was sent to bring up the lightning conductor
was, on bringing it upon deck, knocked down and very
nearly killed. It often happened thus that life was
lost, and pot only that, but also the ship was liable to
be destroyed. The Hon. Baronet here proceeded to
show that the plan recommended by scientific men,
who had taken every means to prove the superiority of
Mr. Harris's conductor over that of any othe-, ought
to be adopted in preference to that recommended in a
! report coming from ships which were in a distant part
of the world, and which might not be placed in circum-
stances of the most imminent danger.
Sir R. INGLIS said, that as this was a que,tion
he was glad
thatwseheorly
Secretary
alltr unconnectedypetor s
theon s
y
nd
Admiralty,
tthsidpearotithPelitile, except the
concurred in the claims of
Mr. Harris, to which he hoped the House would accede.
Slr C. LEMON said that the Secretaries of the Ad-
miralty were at variance, one of them having stated to
Mr. Harris that he need not expect compensation. It
was in vain to deny to Mr. Harris the merits of the
invention ; he need only refer to the number of papers
published by him, and to the rewards conferred on him
by the Royal Society, to establish that fact. The
Hon. Secretary informed him that the reward was
withheld, because the experiments had not yet been
deemed satisfactory; but he would beg the House to
consider what was the state of the case. About 20
years ago Mr. Harris published his plan,. and no im-
provement or alteration had been effected in it, which
was adopted by the Admiralty 10
years
ago ; and it
was only when Mr. Harris called upon them for com-
pensation that these new improvements were suggested

:EVENING .EIDITION.

and brought to light, the only object of which Could bi
to dispute his claim to the rewa:d to which he was en-
titlerl. At the time Mr. Harris hid his plans before
the Government, be was told that they might or might
not succeed,—that he must wait, till it was ascertained
by experiment whether they would succeed or not. Tea
experiment had lasted upwards of I 0 yemee M. Harris had
leen out of pocket 3,000/. anti 2,00t1/. en accennt of
the Government.• The Hon. Seerutary now turned
round upon Mr. Hefei-, and said he roust wai". until a
series of experiment=, carried on perhaps for ten years
more, would enable them to judge of the efficiency of
the pl tie Now be should like to ask the House how
the ease would steed supposing Mr. Harris bad taken
out (as he had an undoubted right to do) a patent to
protect his invention ? Would not all the recent im-
provements be consicie:ed (wad justly so) an infringe-
ment upon his invention ? Mr.. Harris might have pre-
vented the gentlemen from alortiag toe present plan
without giving him comrereatloe.—(llear.) He (Sir
C. Lemon) had let pride and plea,Aire in supporting
the Government in t e eneoulaeemeet of science;
bnt he regretted that their treatment of Mr. Harris was
cleaved to act as a discouragement to ingenious men,
—(Hear.) He. sincerely hoped the Admiralty would
let the House know at once whether they intended or
not to acknowledge that gentleman's clams for tea
years' assiduous services.
Capta'n ATOURT alas astonished that the Admis
ralty hesitated one moment in alerting a plan which
had been recommended by such high authority.--6
(Hear, Ilea%) They would incur a heavy responsibility
if they did trot immedietely introduce it into every ship
in the nary.--(hear.)
Admiral ADAM said that his Gallant Friend oppes
site went further than Mr. Harris himself; the latter
gentleman requiring no more than the gradual introduc-
tion of his plan into her Majesty's ships.--(Hear, hear.)
For his part he had no objection to see full justice done
to Mr. Harris ; for though economy ea; a good thing%
he admitted that it ought not to be put in oppositior, to
any reasonable claim. Mr. Harris, however, required
a sum of 7,000/. as a compensation for the loss of his
time and his labour. The a iswer of the Admiralty
was, that though the ievention was a valuable one, they
did not think it worth 7,0001, They stated at tire
some time, that Mr. Harris had dune considerable good
by directing attention to the subject ; but every one
must still have known that after the researches of
Franklin, the plan could not be considered
altogether en invention, The Noble Lord, the
Member for StiTurdellirre had said that there-eivas some
under-current—that there were some private ear tives—
for the conduct of the Government in rt;grerel to Mr.
Harris. Now be (Admiral Adam) coal' assure the
House that he never knew how Mr. Harris voted at
el2etions either at Plymouth or at .Deremport ; and
more than the', he had letters from his friends at De-
vonport, recommending Mr. Harris's plan for ;adoption.
Mr. COLLYER said that the motion had his entire
concurreE ere
Lord SANDON protested against the principle
adopted by the Admiralty of waiting for multiplied ex-
periments before they decided on the claims of an indi-
vidual.
Mr. M. O'FERRALL said that the Admiralty had
only followed the usual practice on such subjects. He
would take the opportunity of saying that the plan of
Mr. Harris, and that of wire twee; now in use, were
both equally efficient ; and the only question that re-
mained to be d clad was whether they could be applied
with equal facility.
Lord ELIOT replied, the Hoe. and Gallant Admi-
ral had st tel that he thought 7,000/. ;voile be au ex-
orbitant remuneration. He (Lord Eliot) was not pre-
pared to say what amount of compensation ought to be
given, but he thought it would he but fair if the Hon.
and Gallant Admiral woull say what be considered
would be a fair and proper rentuareration.—(Hear.)
Tne Noble Lord, in conclusion, expressed the greet sa-
tisfaction it had afforded bins to eiteess the unanimity
of the House upon this subject, and he trusted that
unanimity would compel the Admiralty to turn their
attention to it —( Hear, hear.)
The motion was then agreed to,
POOR-LAWS.
Colonel SIBTHORP postponed his motion for the
evidence taken before the Coroner for the county of
Middlesex, relative to certain cases connected with the
administration of the Poor-law.

COUNTY CORONERS.
Mr. PAKINGTON, in moving for leave to 'bring
in a Bill to alter the mode of electing county coroners,
expressed his regret that her. Majesty's Government had
not thought it right to take up the subject. Nobody
could deny that the mode of taking elections under the
Reform Bill was very advantageous, and: he proposed
that the elections for county coroners should be taken
in the same manner. Ile proposed,- by his Bill, that
the counties should be divided into a number of
districts in proportion to the number of coroners
in those counties—that the election should be
held for each coroner only in the district in which he
waa to act, and that the election should be taken in one
day. These were the alterations he proposed with re-
gard to the mode of taking the election. But be also
thought it was desirable that some alteration should
take place in the constituencies by which coroners were
now elected. Every g.enticmake who had given the least
attention to the subject, must know that very great
abuses,. and very great frauds w.ere practised under the
existing system. Every freeholder was now entitled to
vote, but he believed it was merely by custom, for there
had been no distinct law or statute defining the consti-
tuency. In a late election of coroner for the county of
Shropshire, between 80,000 and 40,000 persons
voted, when it was well known that there Was nothing
like that number of freeholders in the county.—(Hear,
hear.) He proposed that the registry of Parliamentary
electors should be the- registry of electors for county
coroners. It was his desire to limit the Bill as
nearly as he ccul 1 to those objects. At the
same time, there were other evils which it
would be desirable to have remedied. One was the
inability of county coroners to hold inquests in detached
parts of other counties, near their own localities. In

some cases great expense was incurred, in others the
important object of holding inquests on dead bodies was
defeated altogether. Ile, therefore, propcsed that
county coroners should have the right to hold inquests
in detached parts of counties, adjlcent to the counties
in which they acted. It would also be desirable that
some rule should be laid down with regard to the right
of allowance established in ceitain cases. These were
the p►ineipai alteration: propose(: by his ildi, and which

he begged to move for leave to bring in.
Mr. Sertzeant JACKSON seconded the motion.
Mr. HUME did not doubt but that some regula-
tions with regard to the election of coroner were ne-
cessary, but he could not consent to any measure for
naming the constituencies for the election of coroner,
and placing it on the same footing as the county con-
stituency under the Reform Bid, which deprived all
freeholders, under the value of 405., of the right of
voting. Ho was not for any such limitation. The
fre, holder to the smallest possible amount had now the

right of voting for coroner, and the life of the poorest
mu:;, or the vote of the smallest freeholier, vas of equal
value with the life or vote of the richest man in the
realm. lie should not oppose the bringing in of the
13ill, but he would oppose, in every future stage, all at-
tempts at narrowing the constituency.

Mr. Sergeant JACKSON thought the public were
' under great obligations to his Hon. Friend for having
brought forward the subject. The same evils were felt
in Ireland in the elections for coroner. An enormous
expense was entailed on the candidates in consequence
of the enormous extent of the constituency, and as there
was no registry there was no check whatever upon
fraud. He hoped his Hon. Friend would extend his
measure to Ireland.—(Mr.Pakington here expressed his
dissent.) He had hoped that such would have been the
case, and in that hope had seconded the motion. The
• giving the franchise to the 19r. freeholders was surely
going low enough, and if the constituency was narrowed
' on the one hand by the exclusion of freeholders under
it would be enlarged on the ether by the admis-
sionwho possessed the franchise
of the leaseholders,
under the Reform Bill, and who were a better class of
constituents. It would be a great advantage to have
the voters registered, as candidates could then tell ex-
actly who would have to be brought up to the poll__
there would he an effectual check effered against fraud,
He trusted the Bill would meet with no opposition.
Mr. IVARI3URTON would not oppose the bring-
ingi
nof theßill ;as fee. as it afforded tare it facilities
fo
the
poll it met with his concurrence, but
wirin takingtiiey ,
talked of narrowing the constituency, he
hoped
if such a design were persisted in,
the Bill at its second reading would meet. with the
ethat, if
most doped resistance from the House.—(A laugh
from the opposition.) When they considered the im-
portant questions that sometimes came before the
coroner, particularly in cases of death by the military,
they would see how necessary it was that the franchise
should be widely extended, and that the coroner should
be a supporter of popular privileges. Above all, it was
necessary.that such cases as the Manchester massacre
should be investigated by elected
a very popularly
officer.

GALLY KNIGHT supported the motion as
the coroner was at present the most anomolous officer
in existence. He had been formerly possessed of great
powers, and the visions of these still haunted Lim. It
was necessary that some legislative regulat ons should
be adopted, for at present the coroner was regulated
solely by the unwritten law. He was not mentioned in
the statute book, and had only tic visions of his for-
mer power. He sometimes interfered with Magis-
trates and Sheriffs, thinking he was of as great
consequence as formerly. This Bill would regu-
'ate the manlier in which he was to perform the
motions of his office. The alteration in the man-
acr of election he also thought a great improvement.
He thought that coroners for counties should be al-
lowed, in case of ilkess, to exercise their office by
deputy. He kne.v there tve-e inst ►nces in which the
late Mr. Stirling, the coroner for Middle: ex, had had
his office performed by deputy ; be had been blamed
for it, but that gentleman had not adopted that course
till he he had discovered a precedent for it. Another
point to which he hoped attention would be paid, was