The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-07 00:00:00

LOCAL BURDENS.

Lord BEAUMONT gave notice that, on a day next
week, to be afterwards named, he should move that a
Committee be appointed to inquire into the burdens
affecting landed property, more particularly poor-rates,
and what was generally termed local taxation.
GENERAL BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.
Lord CAMPBELL said, that before the House ad-
journed, he should wish to make a suggestion to their
Lordships, as it had been determined that certain Railway
Bills might be originated in their Lordships' House, so
he thought it would be expedient that measures of a ge-
neral nature contemplated by her Majssty's Government
should in the same way be begun in their Lordship's
House. At present they only met to adjourn again, and
they would go on in probably the same way until within
two weeks of the prorogation, when there would be sent
up Bill after Bill, and their Lordships would find that
they had no means of duly considering them. If Bills
were to be brought forward at all, it was necessary for
their due consideration that they should be introduced
in' time. It would bo well if the Government would
follow the example proposed for railroads in the intro-
duction of measures of great national importance.
The Duke of WELLINGTON said he would take
care that the suggestion of the Noble and Learned Lord
was conveyed to the proper quarter.—(Hear, hear.)
• The LORD CHANCELLOR intimated that he should
also see the matter attended to, only he thought that any
decision on it should stand over for several days in order
that it might be properly matured.
Lord CAMPBELL said it was important that they
entered on the business early in the session, so that the
measures proposed might be properly considered. The
early part of the session they usually had nothing to
do. It was July before they had any business brought
before them, and then the Bills were read the first,
second, and third time, in such a hurried manner, that
it was perfectly impossible to consider them. The ar-
rangement he proposed would be far more satisfactory.
The LORD CHANCELLOR said that if the Noble
and Learned Lord had employed his leisure with as
much advantage to the public as he had done in his re-
cent learned work, the public would have no reason to

regret.
Their Lordships then adjourned at six o'clock.

ROUSE OF COMMONS, Friday, Feb. 6.
The SPEAKER took the- chair at Four o'clock precisely.

RAILWAY PETITIONS.

Numerous petitions for leave to bring in various rail-
way Bills were presented, of which the following were
among the most important, viz.:—The Leeds, York, and
Manchester; the York and North Midland Junction;
the Rugby and. Huntingdon; the South Wales; the
Eastern Counties Extensions; the Great Eastern and
Western; the Monmouthshire; the Liverpool and Leeds;
the Cambridge and Lincoln; and the Great Western
Extensions.

A groat number of oqier railway petitions were pre-
sented, the nature of which could not be heard in the
gallery, owing to the noise which prevailed in the House.
They were all, however, referred to the Committee on
Private Bills.

NEW WRIT.
Lord RENDLESHAM moved fora new writ for
the election of a knight of the shire for the eastern
division of the county of Suffolk, in the room of Lord
Hwnniker, who had accepted the stewardship of the
Chiltern Hundreds.—Agreed to.
RAILWAY BUSINESS.

Lord GRANVILLE SOMERSET called the atten-
tion of the House to the resolutions of the Select Com-
Mittee appointed to inquire as to the best mode
of facilitating the railway business before the House.
The first resolution was to the effect, that a portion of
the railway Bills should be allowed to commence in the
House of Lords ; and that in the case of all
Bills thus commencing in the House of Lords
this House should not insist on their usual pri-
vilege with regard to the clauses fixing and
regulating the toll rates in such Bills. The
Committee also considered it necessary, in order to give
increased moans of employment to the people of
Ireland, that facilities should be given for the
early introduction of Irish railway Bills. Now,
in order to facilitate the passing of those mea-
sures, this proceeding was recommended, and therefore
he trusted the House would not hesitate to adopt the
report. He did not know that it was necessary for him
to make any further observations upon the subject. He
begged leave to move the adoption of the report.
Mr. F. FRENCH—The resolutions proposed by the
Noble Lord were of such a nature as to affect two classes
of Bills, viz., all Irish Bills, and all such other Bills as
were in the position of that of the London and York.
The Noble Lord had recommended that all Bills thus
circumstanced should go at once before the House of
Lords; but this, he contended, would be a most inconve-
nient course for the Irish Bills. And here he must observe,
that he could not see the necessity for announcing with
such a flourish of trumpets that the Irish Bills had been
peculiarly favoured ; at least he, for one, was at a loss
to see that they were in any way favoured heyond the
English Bills. Indeed, he belieyed he could show pretty
clearly that there was no substantial benefit whatever
conferred on the Irish Bills by this arrangement.
Helfound, in going through these resolutions, that if,
the Committee report that the standing orders have
not been complied with, the Bill is referred to the Stand-
ing Orders Committee. Now this was most unjust. He
contended that they should not be allowed to do so, as they
thus put the opposing parties to renewed expense, just'
as if they had not made out their case. There was one
facility for the passing of Irish railway Bills which could
have been recommended, but which had been unnoticed ,
by both Houses. There was a difference in the practice'
of the House of Commons and the House of Lords; in
the former, in Irish bills it was only necessary to prove
the service of the proper notices by an affidavit, sworn
before a judge or an assistant ,birris.ter..foin Iludiouse
of Lords, however, it was necessary to bring over every
person who had served these notices, in order to prove
them, and sometimes between 60 and 70 persons were
brought to London in order to follow out that" rule. Now
if the practice of the House of Commons was adopted, a
very material saving would be made.
Mr. BERNAL eas not prepared to give
any preference to Irish schemes until he saw the
justice of such-,:a preference, for when they con-
sidered the number of English schemes at pre-
terit, aid the mystery that was everywhere prevalent as
to their ultimate success, they would see that such a
'preference was contrary to justice. He believed that '
lt
was known that the amount of depositsieeespeesiee
._. of Irish or Scotch schemes, but merely on
-English ones, was about eleven millions and a
-half. The report recommending such a preference
• would assuredly disappoint the public. He did not think
that Ireland and Scotland would jump at thprlatfehrence
as a great boon, for they knew that if then
rail-
ways were first attended to it would cause tiiissfl uxef,
-Trish navigators, who would be well employed. He dit
not think that a railway running to the southern part,
br any other part of Ireland would be any remedy°l.f
the destitution that prevailed there. He also thought
that the Noble Lord on the Committee might be pre-
pared to come to this House with some scheme which'
would alter the enormous expense attendant on these
-railway schemes, and some better way of disposing of
them. Would it be believed that in the present year
they were so little able to cope with the difficulties of
• these schemes? These inquiries might be as well con-
ducted by means of some commission appointed to take
thesu matters into consideration.
The O'CONOR DON wished to make a few obser-
•'vations in answer to what had fallen from the Hon. Gen.
: tleman who had just sat down. The Committee'who
drew up the present report considered that it would
be most advisable to give employment to' the people
of Ireland during the months of the coming
summer, when it was feared they would suffer most from
the failure of the potato crop, viz., the months com-
mencing with March and terminating with August.
Under those circumstances they recommended,
in their report, that for the purpose of giving
employment to the Irish poor during those
months precedence should be given to the Irish
railway Bills, and that they should be introduced in the
first instance into the House of Lonls. The Hon_. Ger.l-
Conau who had last spoken seemed to say that
.1c
it
c
' would be no benefit to the Irish t,hat preference
should be given to the Irish railwity Bills_ fur this
reason, that the Irish poor could obtain employment; in
the formation of the English railways. Now he (the
. O'Conor Dpa) for his own part . felt; Lhat it would be
much better to give the Irish labourers cmploymegt in
• Ireland, inasmuch as they could then share with 4heir
• families tie products of their labour.—(Hear, iilta};tear.). notwithstanding thstatements that had been made with
respect to the potato crop in Ireland, he could spore
the House that in the county of Sligo especially the
ezitt492
Btaibeen almost universal.. ,
• ikeAii. opposed the ad • e
option et the repo t. •
with Use ob'eete iii KA r
3 is ch 44,1 ra-
-4 z- ..:.• but but he could not•'`-
i e 15...,: •
_l7eosnid..,-4_,
," ied into effect b'eccilsulev /1"141148° , cotope i„,ti
be . 1y... .t. • • commeace•in the House 0174107
.40
c
..,1,4 .. -40_,...: i .I.e:- ore desirable that they .sh aa
besq. . tbe*lon of commencing in the House of
s'..4Ciministisif tit3ere quite ready so to do.
_