The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-19 00:00:00

SUMMARY.

Mr. POULETT SCROPE would not have troubled the
House had it not been for the speech of the Hon.
Member, who had said nothing of any measures to be
adopted for the relief of the impotent poor in Ireland. The
plans of the Government wore calculated to afford relief to
the able-bodied poor ; but how, he would ask, were the
impotent poor to be maintained ? The Government
looked either to voluntary contribution or workhouses
for the relief of the impotent poor. Both these, it was
manifest, were inadequate to meet the circumstances of
the case, and he desired to know how it happened
that the duty of preventing starvation in their respective
neighbourhoods had not been imposed on th• local autho-
rities appointed under the Poor-law of 1837.
_ _ _

Mr.LABOUCHERE rose under a deep sense of the reron-
sibility which devolved upon him. He wished he co-ald say
that the statements of the extent of the distress in Ire-
land, as described by the Hon. Member for Limerick,
was overcharged. In considering this question, it should
be remembered that this calamity had befallen a people
who under ordinary circumstances were worse fed, worse
clothed, and worse housed than any people in Europe,
and upon this people a calamity had fallen unparalleled.
in modern times. By a mysterious dispensation of
Providence, the crop upon which the people almost
wholly depended for food had been swept away.
It was calculated that the total value of
the potato crop in Ireland was 15,000,0001,
of this three-fourths had been lost, and amounted in
value to 10,250,0001. The oat crop had also failed—
one hind had been lost, and this added to the loss in
potatoes inflicted a loss on the people of Ireland, in
money value amounting to 15,911,0001. The loss of po-

tatatoes was 8,437,000 tons, and of oats 5,227,000 qrs.
But the amount of pecuniary lois conveyed a very ina-
dequate idea of the consequences of the destruction os
the potato crop. Its effects upon all ranks were such of
to totally break up the structure of society in Ireland.
The Hon. Gentleman had charged the Government with
being responsible for the deaths in Mayo. Was it fair
to charge the Government with not being able to avert
these terrible evils, notwithstanding they had used their
utmost exertions to do so ? The pledge given by the
Noble Lord at the head of the Government, to which the
Hon. Member had alluded, was that he would not interfere
with the import trade of provisions into Ireland, and
most fortunate was it that the Noble Lord had adhered
to that pledge. If the Government had exported food
into Ireland, it would have put a stop to
the import of trading, and the Government having
undertaken to do that which no Government can per-
form would have failed, and the distress would have
been greatly aggravated as the corn trade would have
been paralyzed. He rejoiced that the announcement
had been made and had been adhered to. With regard.
to the retail trade his Noble Friend had said there were
parts of the country in which it might be
necessary, in consequence of the absence of
retail traders, for the Government to interfere, but when
there were retail traders then the interference of the
Government would do more harm than good.
The circumstances of last year and those of the present
were different. Last year we were living under a
prohibitive system, and Indian meal was unknown.
The Right Hon. Gentleman therefore did right to im-
port Indian meal. But he did it in secresy, and
it was an experiment which could not
be repeated. Traders would not be twice
caught in the same way. When the Government came
into office, they found that the House had :ap-
proved of the principle adopted by the late Go-
vernment of employing the people in public works,
and on that principle they proposed the Poor Employ-
ment Bill, but that measure was never intended
to provide for the whole labouring population.
of Ireland. They had anticipated that it would act as
a stimulus to the landowners to give the people em-
ployment. In that anticipation they had been
disappointed. In accordance with the wishes of the gen-
try of Ireland, he (Mr. LABOUCHERE) had written the let-
ter of which the Hon. Gentlemen had threatened him with
mpeachment, but he thought that when the Hon.
Gentleman proposed the impeachment, he would not
find another Irish landlord to back him. At
present, not less than 450,000 persons were em-
ployed in Ireland, under the superintendence of the Board
of Works, and when the Hon. Gentleman brought
these accusations of neglect against the Government, he
must have forgotten the gigantic operations which had
been undertaken by the Board of Works and the
enormous array of officers employed by that beard.

PLACES OF MEMBERS IN THE Housz.—Tha seat
usually appropriated to the leader of the Opposition was
occupied by Lord Lincoln ; about three seats below Lord
Lincoln, on the front Opposition bench, were Lord George
Bentinck, Mr. Disraeli, and Mr. Bankes; and on the bench
immediately behind sat Mr. Ferrand.

MM
TEMPTATION AND ATONEMENT • . Gore's
clever novel " Men of Capital," is to be succeeded by
" iTffeermenpttastitoynle and
and
inichente,x"—hihaittsaleth7ietxtetnraioclin
nrn very
y
versatility of the author's genius.
townhe
The heart stirring
different
earnestness of Godwin is said to be rivalled in the pages.
of this story, which is one of the most thrilling interest,
urinntaetreeet:
and appeals to all the better sympathies of
Its appearance will, doubtless, be hailed with satisfaction
as affording proof that one of our most popular
of the
writers,
has not been slow to profit by the h
and is turning her unquestioned talents to sterling uses.
6. ACCIDENTS IN THE PARK.—Yesterday the weather
continued its severity, the thermometer at the highest being
at 30 degrees, but more generally
leas low 24,orsixctegre:di
degrees;
below freezing point. rather
in the afternoon in the eastern suburbs fall
urbs of snow o
of the metropolis;
very little, however, fell at the same time in any other dis-
trict. About ten o'clock last night the wind shifted, and tha
thermometer rose to 32 degrees. The ornamental waters in
St. James's-park were frequented, as usual, by numerous
skaters. Towards evening an accident occurred to a gentle-
man named Scadding, residing at Pimlico, who,_ while skat-
ing, came in violent contact with another gentleman, when
both were thrown down, and Mr. Scadding's arm was broken
and his skull severely fractured. Several other accidents
occurred, owing to the breaking of the ice, &c., but the
prompt assistace rendered by the officers of the Royal
Humane Society prevented any loss of life.
BREACII OF TRUST BY A BANE
Ronald Gordon, late secretary and accountant to the Ex-
change Bank of Scotland, Edinburgh, was found guilty, at
the High Court of Justiciary, on Wednesday, of embezzling:
the funds of the bank to the extent of from 2,000/. to 3,000 t
lie was sentenced to fifteen years' transportation.