The Sun.
London, England, 1841-02-20 00:00:00

SYRIA.

On the motion for the House resolving itself into a
Committee of Supply,
Mr. HUME said it would save the time of the House
if instead of making a motion for an address, of which
he had given notice, he were to ask a question of the
Noble Lord. It would be in the recollection of the
House, that at the commencement of the Session the
Noble Lord had consented to lay upon the table of the
House all papers relating to the Syrian garfare. Three
weeks had elapsed since that promise had leers male,
and the papers had not yet been laid on the table. Now
be wished to ask the Noble Lord whether it was his in-
terition to lay those papers before the House, and if so,
when it was likely they would be laid on the table ?
When they were laid on the table it was his intention
to bring the whole question before the House.

Lord PALMERSTON e ►uld assure his Hon.
Friend that no unnecessary delay had taken place.
There was a great mass of papers to be arranged and
printed, and at present there was a great press of cur-
' rent public business in his office. He could not fix
any particular day, but he could assure his Hon. Friend
that no unnecessary delay should take place.
Mr. HUME hoped the papers would be laid on the
table as soon as possible, as the Noble Lord had stated
that the object of the Treaty of July having been accom-
plished, there ought to be no delay in bringing the
papers before the House.
AMERICAN BOUNDARY.
Sir ROBERT PEEL wished to ask the Noble
Lord whet was the precise posifon in which this coun-
try stood in relation to the United States, and the
North Eastern Boundary. Two Commissions had
been appointed to ascertain the •Boundaries between
the Province of Maine and the State of New Bruns-
wick. NVhat he wished to know was, whether, since
some portion of those Commissioners had made their
Report, any steps had been taken, in concert with the
Government of the United Stites, to bring the ques-
tion to a satisfactory settlement ?
Lord PALMERSTON said, that a convention bad
first of all been proposed by this country, to which the
Government of the United States had objected, and had
sent over to this country a draft of a counter-propo-
Lition to that. Her Majesty's _Government could not
agree ; and in the early part of last year they had made
a third proposition, to which he hoped the Government
of the United States.would have agreed. They, how-
ever, had not done so ; but, in reply, had sent another
counter-proposition, to which her Majesty's Govern-
ment could not agree, and to which they had sent a
reply. A survey had, however, in the meantime, been
ordered to be made, for the purpose of acquiring an
accurate knoa ledge of the geographical features of the
country, by Commissioners appointed by her Majesty's
Government, without any reference to the United
Statee. These Commissioners had reported, but, of
course, the Report, although there was no reason to
doubt its accuracy, ciould only be looked upon as an
ex-parte statement, and not at sll binding on other par.
ties. The United States had also sent Commissioners
of their own to make a survey, without any reference to
the Government of this country.
Sir R. PEEL understood, then, that the Report of
the Commissioners had been made without reference to
the United States, and that there was no General Com-
mission actlig on behalf of the two countries, and that
no proceedings bad been undertaken in concert between
them, to bring this question to a settlement. The plain
fact was that reciprocal propositions had been made by
the respective Governments of Great Britain and the
United States, which had been reciprocally rejected.
Lord PALMERSTON wished to explain. The
two Governments had agreed upon the principle of the
question at issue, but they had not agreed as to the de-
tails by which it should be carried into effect. Mr.
Featherstonhaugh had been sent by the authority of the
British Government without the authority of the Ame-
rican Government, although the American authorities
had afforded him every facility.
Sir ROBERT PEEL was desirious of knowing if
the American Government agreed to any arrangement
for the settlement of the points in dispute.
Lord PALMERSTON—The American Govern-
ment had at first proposed a Convention of one kind, to
which the British Government had agreed ; they then
proposed a modification of that arrangement. The
American Government then proposed a Convention of a
different kind, containing a provision for the appoint•
meat of a Commission of Arbitration. The first Con-
vention contained no proposition for the appoint-
ment of a Commission of Arbitration ; they then
proposed such an arrangement, to which and to
that change we had agreed, as we thought it
desirable to have some arrangement for arbitration. The
two Governments were agreed on that point. He did
not think it right to enter into further details, as to the
negotiations. The difference between the two Gevern-
meats was not as to the principle, but as to how the
principle was to be carried out.
ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS.

Mr. HAVES wished to ask the Noble Lord
whether it was the intention of the Government to in-
troduce any measure with reference to the Ecclesiasf-
cal Courts, and if so, whether it was intended to make
such measure applicable to the questions at present in
litigation before those Courts. It was exceedingly de-
sirable that the jurisdiction of those Courts should be
defined, and that some measure for the regulation of
the proceedings should be adopted.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that it was the in-
tention of the Lord Chancellor to introduce some mea-
sure for the regulation of Ecclesiastical Courts into the
House of Lords, whether it might also be necessary to
introduce some measure of a similar nature in that
House he could not at present say.
MUNICIPAL REGISTRATION.

Mr. BARING wished to know whether it was the

intention of the Noble Lord to introduce any measure
to remove the difficulties that bad been found in the
registration of voters in municipal corporations. In
Liverpool and Leeds such had been the difficulties in
the registration, that they had been obliged to proceed
upon the registration of the fcrmer year.
Lord J. RUSSELL said, that from what had oc-
curred in two or three towns, he believed it would be
found neeesary to bring in a measure upon the subject.
The other Orders of the Day were tl.en read, for the
purpose of postponing them.