The Sun.
London, England, 1848-02-12 00:00:00

duplicate, one part to be presented to the Railway Com-
missioners. As to the expense of the audit, he thought
the party who called for the audit should pay the expense
of it, it, in the judgment of the Railway Commissioners,
the call should appear to have been unnecessary. The
effect of this measure, and of the separation of the
capital from the revenue accounts would be to prevent
the misapplication of the capital, and to secure the
public against being deceived by a fallacious appear-
ance of continued prosperity. The Noble Lord con-
cluded by moving that the Bill be read a second
time, observing that he should postpone the Committee
until it should suit the convenience of all parties.

The Earl of GRANVILLE said, a measure was
wanted that should prevent the large privileges given
to railway companies from being abused, and money
being expended in a manner in which it ought not to
be. He did not think the Bill went so far as that, but
as far as it did go, it was beneficial and should have
his support. Shareholders had a just claim to know
how their property was disposed of, and, although the
Legislature had made provision for that object, there
was an impression in the public mind that the inten-
tions of the Legislature had not been fulfilled. The
auditors of railway companies were chosen from persons
most active in the management of the concern, and the
public impression was that there was something not
quite sound in railway accounts.
Lord KINNAIRD did not oppose the Bill, but he
did not approve of unnecessary interference with rail-
way interests, It was true that great powers were
given to railway companies, and it was ♦ery desirable
that they should be placed upon a better system ; but
constant attempts to interfere with the management
of these great interests was a serious evil. The Bill, he
thought, would be to a certain extent ineffective ; for it
would take such a time before any person could go
through the accounts (which must be examined most
minutely), that some months at least must elapse before
a report could be made.
Lord ASHBURTON agreed with the Noble Lord
who had just spoken, that any vexatious interference
with these great interests, in respect to their profits,
would be the grossest injustice; but he did not consider
that to be the aim and intention of the Bill, which
merely obliged railway companies to do that which
every public body was ready to do and in the habit of
doing. This audit would not give the power of reveal-
ing any honest secret connected with the interests of a
company; but if a company was going on a false prin-
ciple of profit, paying a dividend of 10 per cent. when
the real profit was only 6 per cent., that was a fact
very proper to be disclosed. The persons most inte-
rested in the audit were the shareholders themselves,
who comprehended widows, and orphans, and others,
whose whole property was invested in these great un-
dertakings, and who ought to have an opportunity of
knowing what was the real state of the company, and
that they were not risking their money in a concern
which rested upon an unsound foundation. He con •
fessed he should himself prefer a regular periodical
audit of railway accounts; tor, looking at the compli-
cation of these accounts, capital being blended with the
revenue derived from traffic, it was a difficult thing for
shareholders to unravel and understand them.
After a few words from Earl FITZ WILLIAM, who
approved of the Bill,
Lord MONTE AGLE briefly replied in explanation
of some of the details, and
The Bill was read a second time.
Their Lordships then adjourned to Monday.

ROUSE OF COMMONS, Feb. li.
The SPEAKER took the Chair shortly before Four
o'clock.

GLASGOW WATERWORKS.

Mr. MACGREGOR presented a petition from the
Lord Provost and town council of Glasgow against
the Glasgow Waterworks Bill.
ELECTION COMMITTEES.

Mr. FOX MAULE brought up the second re-
port of the General Committee of Elections, report-
ing that they had selected the following Members
for the Committee to try the merits of the return
for West Gloucestershire :—Mr.Grainger (Chairman),
Sir John Walsh, Mr. Aglionby, Major Cumming
Bruce, Mr. R. J. Thcrnely ; and for the Committee
on the Great Marlow election petition, Sir J. Peking-
ton (Chairman), the Hon. E. Mostyn, Sir J. Duck-
worth, Sir R. Price, and the Hon. H. Fitzroy.

SECOND READINGS.
The following Bills were read a second time, and
ordered to be committed :

Bristol and Clifton Gas Light Amendment.
Clifton Bridge (Extension of Time for Completion
of Works).
Dover Landing Pier.
Edinburgh Municipality Extension, and Trans-
ference of Police and Paving.
Glasgow Waterworks Acts Amendment.
Manchester Corporation Waterworks Acts Amend-
ment.

Rutherglen and Strathbungo Turnpike Road.
Worcester Turnpike Trust.
JEWISH DISABILITIES.
Mr. E. DENISON presented a petition from
Bolton in favour of the Jewish Disabilities Bill.

Mr. CHRISTOPHER presented petitions against
the Bill.

The Earl of ARUNDEL and SURREY pre-
sented petitions in favour of the Bill.
Mr. LOCKHART presented petitions against the
Jewish Disabilities Bill.

Sir J. Y. BULLER presented a petition from
Higham Ferrara against the Bill.
Petitions were also presented against the Bill by
Mr. Hodson, from Carlisle; by Major Beresford, from
Saffron Walden ; by Mr. Plumptre ; by Mr. Buck,
from Ottery St. Mary and Ottery St. Peter, in Devon•
shire ; by Mr. Miles, from Frome.—Petitions were
presented in favour of the Bill by Mr. C. Lushing-
ton, from Westminster ; by Mr. Cobden, by Mr. S.
Crawford, by Mr. Osborne, by Mr. C. Pearson, by
Mr. Hindley, by Lord Duncan, by Mr. G. Thompson,
by Mr. Shafto Adair, and by Mr. Gibson Craig.
ARMY AND NAVY.

Sir J. Y. BULLER presented a petition from
Torquay, praying that both the naval and military
establishments of the country might be abolished.

RAJA OF SATTARA.

Petitions were presented by several Members pray-
ing for an inquiry into the case of the late Raja of
Sattara.

POOR REMOVAL BILL.

Mr. BAINES brought in the Poor Removal Bill,
which was read a first time, and ordered to be read a
second time on the Ist of March.
ADMISSION OF THE JEWS.

Mr. Stafford presented a petition from a place in
Northamptonshire against the admission of the Jews ;
as also did Mr. Hudson, from York, Mr. Alderman
Thompson and Hon. Members from Leicester, Sussex,
Presbytery of Dundalk, and the Marquis of Granby;
and.in favour by Mr. Ellice, from Coventry and Woles-
ton, in Warwick.
ROMAN CATHOLICS.

Captain PECIIELL presented a petition in favour
of the removal of the Catholic disabilities.

THE CURRENCY.

Mr. HUME presented a petition signed by the
Chairman on behalf of a society calling themselves
" Cogitators"—(Laughter)—who held their meetings
at 79, Great Portland-street, Marylebone, approving
of the resolution of the House to inquire into the
currency, and praying them to send for Robert
Owen, whose 30 years' experience would enable the
Committee to obtain a great deal of useful informa-
tion on the subject.
THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.

Mr. HUME hoped the Hon. Gentleman (Mr.
Osborne) who had given notice of his intention to
call the attention of the House, on the reading of the
order of the day, to returns which had been pre-
sented with respect to the new Houses of Par-
liament, would postpone doing so until a
future day. He was perfectly alive to the
importance of the subject, but nothing would be lost
by postponing it until Monday.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. OSBORNE said, though he considered the
matter more important than the Chief Commissioner
of Woods and Forests, he was most unwilling to
oppose the with of the House, and should therefore
postpone his motion and endeavour to bring it on
next Monday.
REMOVING TENANTS (IRELAND.)
Mr. SCROPE said he wished to correct a statement
which he had made on the strength of a pamphlet
written by a Mr. Tuite, a member of the Society of
Friends. On the faith of Mr. Tuite, he stated that Mr.
Walsh, a landlord in Tipperary, haft turned 140 of
his tenantry out of their cottages on to the common
road without food or shelter. It appeared that this
was incorrect, inasmuch as it appeared that posses-
sion was taken by Mr Walsh of 140 of the houses of
his tenantry, but that he had not turned them
out ; therefore, they did net suffer the
miseries which Mr. Tuite had described. He be-
lieved the pamphlet had since been withdrawn, which
led to the inference that the writer considered that
the statements he had made were incorrect. He
(Mr. Scrope) believed it to be his duty to take the
earliest opportunity of correcting the error into which
he had fallen.