The Sun.
London, England, 1833-03-19 00:00:00

ne. or;

LONDON,
TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 19, '833.

The debate, or rather the fragments of the
debate, which the confusion usually prevalent
in committees of the whole House, when a large
number of Alembers attend, allowed to reach the
reporters, although, not as a whole, interesting,
presents one or two features of great importance.
In the first place Lord ALTHORP announced
that a measure was in preparation which, whilst
it secures to the clergy what is due to them, will

prevent the necessity of enforcing upon the people

of Ireland the Tithe Act of list session. In the
next place, Mr. STANLEY stated that, when
they reached the eleventh clause of the Bill, it

was the intention of the Government to move a
proviso by which officers, who had been per-
forming regimental duty in any disturbed dis-
trict, should not for one month he competent

to sit on any courtwartial upon the trial d

offences under this Act, an amendment, as im-
portant, indeed more so, than that requiring
members of courtsmartial to be of the rank of
captains at least, because preventing an evil likely
to be of more frequent occurrence, than that
which would have arisen from the youth of
some of the officers composing a court.
Mr. STANLEY also announced that it was the
intention of the Government to send over from
this country officers of high rank to sit on the
courtsmartial, and some who had served in Ire-

land. All these concessions are so many proofs
of the good effect of the petitions which have been
presented, of the opposition of the Radical sec-
tion of the House, both English and Irish, and,
above all, of the nece'sity his Majesty's Ministers
are under of making out a good case to enable

their friends to defend themselves. That the re-
sponsibility of Members to their constituents
has had great weight in bringing about the
modifications of the Bill already announced
is sufficiently established by the fact of the
Lords, who have no constituents, having
passed it in a week. We congratulate the
country upon'this result of the Reform Act, as
affording, in some sort, a guarantee that, al-
though measures of an obnoxious character may
be introduced into the House, they will not be
suffered to pass till all, or the greater part, of
their poison has been extracted. We have, as
yet, only reached the eighth clause of this Bill,
and hope, before we arrive at its termination, to

have the pleasure of recording still greater
amendments, although great indeed must they
be to reconcile us to its passing.

Mr. ATTWOOD, the Member for Birming-
ham, has addressed a circular letter to a great
number of Members of the House of Commons,
announcing his deterininatien to bring forward,
on Thursday next, the motion for inquiring into
the national distress, which was dropped on
Thursday last, it; consequence of its having been
called on very early in the evening, before Mr.
ATTWOOD had entered the House. We un-
derstand that the Hon. Member for Birmingham
intends to confine himself to a demand for a
general inquiry, without reference to the currency
question in particular, although he will attempt
to show that the sudden alteration of the cur-
rency has caused a great portion of the public
distress.

The French semi-official papers confirm the
statement which we were enabled to make from
an exclusive source, nearly a month ago, relative
to the determination of the French Government
to prevent the interference of Russia in the dis-
pute between Russia and Turkey, otherwise than
in concurrence with the other Powers of Europe.
The Journal des Debats contains an article
from Constantinople, in which it is stated that
the Porte had been induced, by the threat of the

Prince TALLEYRAND visited M. DEDEL,
the new Dutch Ambassador, yesterday ; but it
is reported in the diplomatic circles that there is
already some misunderstanding between these
diplomatists.

There is a report about town that a dreadful
catastrophe took place on Saturday last in Edin-
burgh at the sale of Lord ELDIN'S pictures ;
that the floor gave way, where an immense con-
course was assembled, that many persons were
seriously injured, and one (Mr. SAtITIi, a
banker) killed on the spot. The Scotsman of
Saturday, which mentions the sale of the pic-
tures, makes no allusion to the catastrophe.

We have before us a printed copy of the Bill
for the Reform of the Scotch Burghs, a Reform
not less needful than was that of the representa-
tion. We have only time to say that we
think it upon the whole an exceedingly
liberal measure; but that there are some pro-

visions we should like to see extended. The

preamble states that great loss, inconvenience, and
discontent having been occasioned by the right
originally vested in certain large classes of the
inhabitants of the Royal Burghs of Scotland, of
electing their Common Councils and Magistrates,
having been taken away from them, it is
expedient to abolish the present dose system.
The Bill then provides that the qualification of
a municipal elector shall be the same as that of

a voter for a Member of Parliament under the

Reform Act, and includes all within the limits
of the burgh when those limits are more
extensive than the boundary fixed by the Scotch
Reform Act. It next provides for the appoint-
ment of assessors, the mode of making and
keeping up the lists of electors. An appeal is
to be allowed to the Sheriff against the deci-
sion of the assessors. Then comes a very
important provision as regards the towns of
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee,
Perth, Dunfermline, Dumfries, Aberbrothwick,
and Inverness. It is provided that these towns
shall be divided into wards or districts, which,
says the clause, " together with the number
of Councillors to be chosen by each such ward
or district, shall be fixed and ascertained by
Commissioners to be named and appointed by
his MAJESTY, under the great seal, for that
purpose ; and such Commissioners shall have
regard to its being the purport and meaning
of this Act, that the number of electors
in each Ward shall be such, that each Ward
shall, at the first election to be made under

this Act, choose, as nearly as may be, the
number of -Councillors." What we object to
here, is the vague manner in which the principles
on which the Commissioners are to proceed are
laid down. This is a matter which must be
considered and amended in Committee, or we are
satisfied the foundation will be laid in each of these
great towns for endless bickerings and jealousies.
The next clause describes'the manner in which
the Councils are to be chosen, from which it
appears that the only
,qualification required in a
Councillor is, that he should be an elector.

The poll is only to be kept open for two days
in any burgh. In every burgh one third,
or as nearly as may be, of the Common Council,
are to vacate their seats annually, so that the
whole council will be re-elected every three years ; a
most liberal and yet guarded provision, introduced
in imitation of the example set us by several
continental States in their Legislative Assem-
blies. The Bill then provides that the Provost
and Magistrates shall every year be elected by
the councillors from among themselves. The
mode of meeting the expenses of the fresh
arrangements is then provided, and the Bill
winds up by placing the new Magistrates,
Council and office-bearers, in the same situation,
with respect to the administration of the affairs at ,d
property of the burghs as the old ones occupied
previous to the passing of this Act.

OXFORD ELECTION.—AL the close of the
poll on Sato/ thty the number,' were given nut as 101 l ovs :
Hughes 802
Towneley '7oo
Maclean

Number polled --1,963
The declaration and chairing were to take pi we yi et riia%.

THE LITERARY FUN D.—The Literary Fund
Society herd their general meeting last week. The Duke
of SOMERSET was re-elected President, and the vacant!)
in the Vier-Pi e•irluney, nee-mooed by the death of the
Earl of DUDLEY, wa• filled up by the election of Sir J.
MALCOLM. The Auditors' report was satisfactory, for,
though it offered melancholy witness to the prevalence of
literary distress, it bore grateful testimony to the conti
nuance of public liberality. The late ANDREW STRACHAN,
Esq., enabled the Treasurers to fund 1,2001. Consuls, and
to bare a balance in the hands of the bankers of nearly 4001.

COURT OF CHANCERY.-(THIS DAY.)

211PICIN3 V. NEVVTOY.

Mr. NEWTON appeared in person,npon a writ of habeas
corpus, to apply for his discharge, having been committed
(as was stated by a gentleman behind the bar) for not
putting in an answer to a bill filed against him in this
Court. Mr. Newton seemed to be a person experienced
in the affairs of life, and well educated; but his mind has
suffered considerably, probably from long imprisonment
and the privations he has latterly been subject to. IH,
was heard for a whole hour in stating his case. When he
eturned from America, the plaintiff, to whom he
stated he did not owe, and never had been indebted
to the amount of, one farthing, had attached his
funds in the Lord Mayor's Court, which was in the early
part of the year 1831. A Bill was filed againstlhun, and
his Honour the Vice-Chancellor granted an injunction to
restrain him from proceeding in the Lord Mayor's Court.
He had now answered, but exceptions for insufficiency
were taken to his answer. He had lived for the last 22
months solely on the prison allowance, which, in bread,
meat, and money, amounted in value to 2s. 6d. per week.
He bad frequently been compelled even to wash his own
linen, and subject to insults and all the inconveniences at-
tending confinement in Whitecross-street prison. He attri-
buted the whole of this: distress to tl o granting of the in-
junction by this Court in the:first instance. He was in prison
when the injunction issued, wbich was not disclosed to his
Honour ; and his prayer was that:he might now be dis-
charged, and have a proper compensation made to him hy
the Court for the injury that had been done to him by
the Court.

The LORD CHANCELLOR told him that he would take
time to consider his statement, but that he must, for the
present, return to prison.

VICE-CHANCERY COURT.-(THIS DAY.)

Nothing of the least public importance had occurred is
this Court, up to the period of our reporter leaving.

ROLLS COURT.-(THIS DAY.)

His Honour the MASTER of the ROLLS having disposed
of all the causes set down for hearing before kiln yester.
day, proceeded with further directions to-day, of which
his Honour has not more than seven to dispose of out of
to-day's paper. At the time of our reporter leaving, the
Court had disposed of nearly all the cases in the day's list,
none of which possessed the least point of public im-
portance.

COURT OF REVIEW.-(THIS DAY.)

IN RE MAIERLY.

Mr. MONTAGUE made an application to the Court on
behalf of the assignees of Mr. Maberly, that the sale of
a certain property, mortgaged for thirty thousand pnunds,
which had been fixed for the 16th of April, might be
put off till the 23d of May following. The assignees had
been advised to make this application, on being told that
great loss would be sustained if it were sold at the time
at present fixed.

The application was postponed till Friday, on account
of some interested party not having been served.
Most of the cases set down in the paper for hearing
to-day having been postponed, the Court adjourned till
Thursday.