The Sun.
London, England, 1848-04-11 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

PROTECTION OF THE CROWN AND GOVERN.
MENT BILL.
(Continued from our Afternoon Edition.)
O❑ clause 2, which extended the operation of the Bill
to Ireland,

Mr. J. O'CONNELL rose to move that the Bill be
amended by striking the clause out of it altogether, and
also that portion of the preamble which related to it. He
believed there was no necessity for this Bill in Ireland;
but if there was, it would be brought out on the trial that
would shortly take place in Ireland. It the Government
insisted that the clause should remain part of the Bill he
should divide the House against it.
Sir G. GREY did not see why that which was treason
in England should not be equally so in Ireland, and he
must, therefore, persevere in retaining this clause as part
of the Bill.

Mr. F. O'CONNOR objected to the Bill, because ac-
cording to its provisions one witness could prove the
treason, whereas in England it required two.
The ATTORNEY•GENERAL said that after the
passing of the Act it would require two witnesses to
prove the treason in Ireland the same as in this country.
After a few observations from Mr. HUME and Mr.
Jolts O'CONNELL, clause 2 was ordered to stand part of
the Bill without a division.

On clause 3, which takes away the punishment of
death for treason and substitutes that of transportation,
Sir G. GREY said that in this clause it had been
thought necessary to ask increased powers with
respect to those who made speeches calcu-
lated to endanger the Crown. He admitted
that this was a great alteration of the law, and he was
willing to be guided by the wishes of the House with
respect to the enactment. He, however, thought that
some provision was necessary in order to prevent and
put a stop to speeches that were calculated to effect in-
calculable mischief. He was willing to adopt the pro-
viso of the statute of Anne, but he could not consent to
take away the provision that made the offence felony.
Mr. F. O'CONNOR said he had repeatedly been tried,
and had suffered under the present law, and ho could
assure the House that it was amply sufficient to meet all
cases of sedition.

After a few words from Sir GEORGE GREY,
Mr. AGLIONBY wished to have the opinion of
tho Attorney-General upon the construction of the
third clause. The clause as it stood provided
that all parties who should compass or advise the depo-
sition of the Queen, of her royal name, or the rights of
her royal Crown, either in the United Kingdom or any
of her colonies, or dominions, should be liable to traus
portation. Any person, therefore, who should advocate
the separation of a colony from these kingdoms would
be subject to transportation; and ho thought such a law
as that would be most unfair.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said the clause would
not bear the construction the Hon. Member put upon it.
The clause provided simply that those who advised by
force of arms that the Queen should be deprived of any
of her rights should be liable to be transported.—(Herr.)
Mr. AGLIONBY said the explanation of the Hon.
and Learned Gentleman was as intelligible as the clause
itself, and he should move, as an amendment, that the
wording of the clause should be simply that any person
who proposed to depose her Majesty should be liable to
transportation.

Mi. OSBORNE asked if the Right Hon. Baronet who
had charge of the Bill would consent to the admission
of the word " forcibly," so that the clause should pro-
vide for the transportation of those persons who should
advise the forcible deposition of her Majesty.
Sir G. GREY declined to accede to the proposition.
Mr. MARTIN gave it as his opinion that, if the
clause were passed as it now stood, it would be felony
to advocate the repeal of the union.
Mr. ANSTEY said the Lion. and Learned Gentleman
was mistaken.

After a few words from Mr. R. PALMER,
Mr. MOWATT said they were legislating under the
influence of panic and fear, or the House never could
think of passing such a clause as this. He therefore
called upon the Government to amend it.
Mr. G. THOMPSON protested that the clause as it
stood was, no doubt, dangerous and uncertain, and al-
though the Attorney-General might construe it in a
manner favourable to the views of the House, yet, as
that Hun. and Learned Gentleman's opinion would
not prevail in a court of law, the clause ought to be
rendered intelligible to the meanest capacity.
After some further discussion,
Mr. AGLIONBY said he would not press his amend-
ment to a division.

The CHAIRMAN said he would now read the clause
clearly over. _

The clause having been read,
Mr. AGLIONBY proposed that the word " utter"
should be omitted.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said he could not
consent to the omission.

Mr. F. O'CONNOR hoped tho Hon. Member for
Cockermonth would take the sense of the House on his
proposal.
After a few words from Sir W. CLAY,
Mr. AGLIONBY said he would not divide.
After a short discussion

Sir G. GREY moved—" That the Chairman do re-
port progress, and ask leave to sit again to•morrow."
The motion was agreed
The House having resumed, the CHAIRMAN reported
accordingly.
The House then adjourned till Five o'clock.

The SPEAKER resumed the Chair at Five o'clock.
ALTERATION IN THE LAW OF DEBTOR AND

CREDITOR.
Mr. Sheriff fill appeared at the bar in his robes of
office, and presented a petition from the Lord Mayor and
Aldermen of the city of London, in Common Council
assembled, praying for an alteration in the law of debtor
and creditor.

KINSALE ELECTION.
The SPEAKER stated that he had been informed by
the examiner of recognizanees that the proposed sureties,
with respect to the petition against the return for the
borough of Kinsale, were unobjectionable.
REPEAL OF THE UNION. Mr. J. O'CONNELL presented three hundred peti-
tions from various towns in Ireland, and one from
Glasgow, praying for a repeal of the Legislative Union
in Ireland.
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH ROME.
Mr. COWAN presented a petition from the Inverness
Presbytery of the Free Church of Scotland against the.
Bill for establishing diplomatic relations with the Court
of Rome.
GLASGOW WATERWORKS BILL.
Mr. M‘GREGOR moved that a petition of the chair-
man of a meeting of landowne:s and house factors of
Glasgow and its suburbs, against the Glasgow Water-
works Acts Amendment Bill (presented 11th February),
should bo referred to the Committee oa the Bill.
After a few words from Sir W. HEATHCOTE, who
opposed it, the motion was withdrawn.
SECURITY TO TUE CROWN AND GOVERN-
MENT.
Mr. WOOD gave notice that he should propose, as an
amendment to the 3d clause of this Bill, the insertion of
twhingtwwoor)d.esatr—s la'fltefrstuhceh_ppuasbsliincgspoefakin should
the
occurthe 9in fowlli

SMALL DEBTS.
Mr. B. COCIIRANE gave notice that he should move
for leave to bring in a Bill to repeal the small debts Act.

BEIVDLgY.

Captain RUSHOUT moved that the Speaker do issue
his warrant to the Clerk of the Crown to wake out •a
new writ for the election of a burgess to serve in this
present Farlignent for the borough of Bewdley, in the

room of Thomas James Ireland, Esq.,. whose election
has been declared void.

Sir J. HANAIER moved, as an amendment, that the
return for Bewdley having been declared void for bri-
bery and corrupt treating, and other corrupt practices,
stated to have prevailed there, it is necessary to consider
the condition of the elective franchise in that place, with
a view to its reform, and in the mean time to suspend
the writ. _ _

He said that the Legislature, after what had taken
place at some of the elections, ought to adopt some
conrse by which corruption might be obviated, as such
proceedings brought the House into contempt and dis-
satisfied the people, as they were led to conceive, with
some show of truth, that they were not fairly represented.
He did not wish to deprive the House of its discretion,
but he was anxious that the House should be compelled
to act according to its discretion. He thought that
some steps ought to be taken before they issued a new
writ for Bewdley in order to see if something could
not be done to place the constituency of that
borough upon a more sound and honest foundation.
It was seldom that these cases of bribery were properly
sifted to the bottom, for it invariably happened, that
when enough bad been proved to unseat the sitting
Member, the agent abandoned the further prosecution of
the inquiry. With regard, however, to treating, he
thought the House was rather too prudish
upon that point. Members ought to be unseated
for simply exercising the ordinary customs of hospitality.
In this case, however, a bad practice of treating
the voters to an extravagant extent, and con-
sidering the limited number of the constituency of
the borough of Bewdley they could not well look over
these abuses.—(Hear, hear.) Ile moved: this amend-
ment from no party motives whatever, but from
a desire to have the evils which existed in
the borough of Bewdley remedied. His motion did not
specify any plan by which that end could be accom•
plished, but simply proposed that the writ should be de-
layed till some improvement could be made in the fran-
chise of Bewdley.
Mr. HUME seconded the motion. Ho bad upon a
previous occasion brought forward a motion having for
its object the delay of the issue of all new writs in
cases where the Members had been unseated for
bribery or corruption until a general committee had been
appointed to inquire into the circumstances connected
with the cases of every such city, borough, or county.
With respect to the borough of Bewdley, it appeared
to him that a most serious amount of demoralization had
taken place, and he should, therefore, give his most
cordial support to the amendment of his Right Hon.
Friend. He hoped that the Noble Lord at the head of
the Government, who proposed to bring in a Bill with
respect to the borough of Horsham, would include this
borough of Bewdley in the same measure.
Mr. BLACKSTONE said, as the House had con-
sented to issue a new writ for Harwich, after the bri-
bery that had been proved to have been practised at
the last election, he saw no reason why they should not
accede to the motion for issuing a new writ.
Sir J. HANMER explained.
Sir C. WYNN was understood to support the suspen-
sion of the writ for a short time.

Mr. MART thought if any step were taken that it
snould emanate from the Government.

Lord CASTLEREAGH said, as he was the only
member of the Committee who underwent the
penance of sitting fourteen days upon the inquiry,
he would merely state that as evidence of bribery
and treating at the last election had been ad.
duced before them that the representation of that
borough 'should be placed upon an improved footing.
He thought that strong ground, had been brought for-
ward for the House to consider well before they issued
a new writ for the borough of Bcwdley. He thought,
however, the same measure of justice should be meeted
out to Bewdley that had been granted to ll,rwichl
Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the
House divided, when there appeared—
For issuing the writ
Against it ....

Majority in favour of issuing the writ —42
The writ was, therefore, ordered to issue.
REPEAL. OF THE UNION.

Mr. JOHN O'CONNELL, after presenting several
petitions from different parts of Ireland in favour of
the repeal of the Legislative Union, rose pur-
suant to notice to move for leave to bring in a Bill
to repeal the Legislative Union between Great Britain
and Ireland, and to enable her Majesty to summon her
Parliament of Ireland, and was

(LEFT SPEAKING.)

COURSE OF EXCH.
Dir.% at sight• ...... 12 4
Rotterdam .... • 12 7%
Munburgh .... • • 11.8.
Altana ..... • • .... 44,, --
Paris, 3 days' sight .... 24 70

. . ...
Ditto, •••• .. • • .... • •
Marseilles •...... •.. • .
80urdeaux......... • •
Frankfort en Maine....
Petersburgli, Sit. ltble..
Berlin.. ...... .. • • • • • •
Vienna, effec. ti 0......
Trieste, ditto.... ......
511drid ••.. • • ...... • •
Cadiz
Bilbao.. .• • • .. • • ...... —,
Barcelona .. ...... ....
Saville.. •• •• •• •• •• •• •• —..•

LNGE.-(THIS DAY.)
1ibra1tar.............. ..... _

Leghorn 32
roeiloa • • ...... ...... 27
Allan •• ........., —
Naples
Palermo, per oz
Lisbon-- ••...... 50N
Oporto .•..••. . • • • .. bO%
Rio Janeiro

Buenos Ayres
New York, 21 days'sight
Philadelphia
IitIOES OF BULLION, TILE OZ.
Foreign Gold in bars.. XS :7 9
New Dollars ...... 0 0 0
Portugal Gold Coin .. 0 0 0
Spanish Doubloons .. 0 0 0
4fiver is bars ...... •. 0 0 0

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
THE IRISH SQUADRON.
Her Majesty's ships St. Vincent, 120 guns, Captain
Sidney C. Dacres; Prince Regent, 90 guns, Captain W.
C. Martin ; Canopus, $4 guns, Captain Fairfax
Moresby, C B.; and the Amphion frigate of 36 guns,
Captain Williarns, are ordered to prepare for sea, at
Cork. Sir Charles Napier was at Kingstown on the Bth
instant, with his flag flying on board the Dragon steam
frigate, Capt. flail.
The line of battle ships have completed provisions
and water for two months' consumption, and now await
orders.

Sir Charles Napier was in frequent communication
with Lord Clarendon, th© Lord• Lieutenant, at the
Castle of Dublin.

PLYMOUTH, APRIL 9 .—The Agincourt, ordinary
guard ship, has been removed from the jetty to the
Bellona hulk, and will go to her moorings in a few
days.
The Nautilus, 10 gun brig, was commissioned as a
tender to the San Josef on Friday.
The troopship Apollo, Master Commander Pearn,
arrived at this port on Friday, having on board the
service companies of the 35th Regiment from the Mau-
ritius. A body of these soldiers were immediately
marched to the citadel.

The Havannah, 22, Captain Erskine, sailed on Thurs-
day with mails for Madeira, Cape of Good Hope, Sydney,
and New Zealand. _

on Royal Dockyard battalion for the
Thursday evening. It comprised
these season ohne fit
wholeorosirfcipr: nlehalec of
officers, sergeants, and corporals, who
will continue their drill two nights per week during the
month. The whole of the battalion will commence drill
the beginning of next month, and continue two nights
weekly until the end of August. On account of their
age and infirmities, several of the officers have been per-
mitted to withdraw from the battalion.
A reduction is to be made in the number of sawyers
in this dockyard, by the superannuation of those who
are unfit for service. By order of the Admiralty, the
following arrangement is to be adopted by the superin-
tendents of her Majesty's dockyards, viz.:-1. To insert
for superannuation the names of those considered inca-
pable. 2. The last made topmen are to fall back to pit-
men. 3. The last made pitmen to labourers. Accord-
ing to the present arrangement of the board, no hired
artificer will be employed in the yard during the financial
year of 18489.
Mr. Hicks, master sailrnaker, has been superannuated
on a persion of 1251. per annum; and John Hancock,
mate of the Sheerhulk, on 241. per annum.
The name of the Audacious, ordered to be built as a
screw vessel at this yard, is to be altered to the James
Watt.

The Albion is having her tanks put on board, and will
be masted to-morrow, and reported ready for commis-
sion. The Racer and America will be put out of dock
next spring tidos.
THE EAST INDIA COHNAND.—Rear-Admiral Sir
Francis Augustus Collier, C. 8., K.C.H., is at Ports-
mouth, superintending the orders for fitting out his flag-
ship, the Hastings, 72 guns, which was put in commission
yesterday. Mr. Price, senior clerk in the Commander-
in-Chief's office at Portsmouth, is selected by Sir Francis
as his secretary.

RAILWAY SHARE MARKETS.
LIVERPOOL, APRIL 10.
STOCK Excrwroz.—The market is not so much depressed
to-day as it was oa Saturday, but the amount of business
done was smaller. The following are the quotations :
Eastern Counties, 12% c.—Great Northern, 10% dis.—Great
North of England, 151. Shares, 14!4 p.—Huddersfield and
Manchester, 814 dis. c.—Lancashire and Yorkshire, Fifths,
21% dis. c,—Ditto (late L. and B.), Halves, 13 dis.—Lon-
don and North-Western, 120 c.—Ditto, Fifths, p.—Ditto,
New Quarters, 1 p. c.-51idland Stock, 91—North Stafford-
shire, 3% dis.—Shrewsbury and Birmingham (A), 41e dis.
c.—South-Eastern and Dover, 213 x —Ditto, No. 4, Thirds,
4 dis.—York, Newcastle, and Berwick (G. N. E. Purchase),
1 dis.—Paris and Orleans, 20—Rouen and Havre, 6.
MANCHESTER, APRIL 10.
STOCK Excirawcis.—The sales are—Birkenhead, Lanca-
shire, and Cheshire Junction, 7 dis.—East Lancashire, New,
81,2 dis.—Great Northern, 101/a dis.—Lancashire and York-
shire, Quarters, 41k dis.—Ditto, Fifths, 2 dis.—Ditto (West
Riding Union), 3:44i dis.—Ditto, I'reston and Wyre, halves
(A), 2% p.—Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, Pre-
ference, 1i dis.—North Staffordshire, 314 dis.—Shropshire
Union, 3% dis.—South-Eastern and Dover, No 4, 4 dis.

PRESERVATION OE ORDER.—It has been suggested
that should the Chartist agitation continue gentlemen
of Lincoln's Inn, who have been sworn in special con-
stables, should volunteer their services as an armed
company, disposable by the Government. It is pro-
posed that each of the gentlemen of that society, wil-
ling to serve (of whom more than four hundred mus-
tered as special constables yesterday in the garden),
should, after providing himself with a plain forage cap
and dark frock and trousers of a uniform colour, apply
to the proper military authority for a supply of arms
and accoutrements similar to those furnished to the
outpensioners. The Learned and Gallant Beneher who
acts as commander of the special constables of this
society would, doubtless, afford his cervices as chief of
such a corps.
ABBOTSFORD.—Weunderstand that this celebrated
mansion will shortly be occupied after the fashion of
more prosaic places, it having been let to a Mr. Hope, a
London merchant, a relation of the youthful proprietor.
Whether this will interrupt the visiting to it we cannot
say, It was occupied for a short while by a family a few
years ago, and two hours in the day were allowed for
iters at that time; and at present it is open from eight
o'clock till dusk.--Border Advertiser.