The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-25 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.
HOUSE OF LORDS, April 24.

Their Lordships met at Five o'clock.
SALE OF SPIRITS ON SUNDAY.
The Earl of REDESDALE presented a petition from the
inhabitants of the royal burgh of Inverness, in public meeting
assembled, praying that a stop might be put to the sale of in-
toxicating liquors on the Sabbath-day.
SIESSAGE FROM THE COMMONS.
Messengers from the House of Commons brought up several
Bills, which were laid on the table.
CHARITABLE BEQUESTS ACT.
Lard BEAUMONT presented a petition from a person pro-
fessing the Roman Catholic religion, residing in
Lancaster,lsho
complaining of the interference of the Roman Catholic
with certain moneys bequeathed for charitable purposes, and
praying that the House would order that the funds should
be applied for the purposes for which it was intended.
NEWENHAM'S DIVORCE CASE.
Lord BROUGHAM wished to present a petition to their
Lordships which referred to the case of Wm. Burton Newen-
ham. A petition had been presented to that House which,
upon the suggestion of his Noble and Learned Friend upon the
Woolsack, was set aside on the account of informality. It was con-
sequently withdrawn, and an amended petition had been framed,
which upon being submitted to his Noble and Learned Friend
t
had met with his approval, and he now begged to submit
to their Lordship? consideration.
Lord CAMPBELL had understood that the parties t.o that
petition had never met together as man and wife,
sb.uattnele','"anYd
had met together as man and wife in a single t
there had been isms from that marriage,
decidedly oppose the reception of the petition.
THE he "'should most
THE CORN-LA.WS
The Duke of CLEVELAND held in his hand
otiftiothnetior
which he particularly desired. to call the
connected with the landed
attentionape
Lordships. It was from parties
interest, and was signed by pwesards of 2,500 individuals. It
and prayed that the
came from that class of persons
nisuw ,w,ho are most materially affected
by the existing corn-laws,
they now enjoyed might
amount of protection
not he reduced. Ills opinions upon the subject were
too well known to render it necessary for him to say
not only that he asseated to its prayer, but that he
heartily concurred in their opposition to the re-
duction of the protection which this country now enjoyed.
He would not weary the House by going through
the petition, but he would just read the heads of it.
The Noble Duke then proceeded to do so. Some of the
statements were to the effect that the petitioners were
of opinion that a free trade in corn would be the
ruin of the home grower. He concluded by declaring he
believed that the petitioners were right, while that the pro-
ceedings of many representatives were in direct contradiction
of the promises they made at the last general election.
ABOLITION OF DEODANDS BILL.
Lord CAMPBELL mid, in rising to move the order of
the day upon this Bill he would say but a very few words.
Their Lordships were already aware of the utter inutility of
inflicting deodands. The formal manner in which they were
imposed before the coroner was such as might be supposed
would stand fire in the Court of Queen's Bench, but
these proceedings were invariably qua•ihed in
Mr. Wakley, the coroner for the county of Middlesex,tha Court.
Mr. a gen-
tleman of great experience, had assured him, and had autho•
rised him is say that no benefit whatsoever arose in
regardin any
toin-
stance from deodands under the present law.
the other Bill, which formed a past of the same measure, it
would be enough to read the preamble, which contained
two assertions.—( Hear.) lie asserted, that according
to the present law of deodand there was no remed
yfor a
death
caused. Under the present law the doctrine was, that
ashen death ensued the life of a man was so valuable that no
estimate could be put upon it, and accordingly no
remedy was to be obtained for its loss. If a
man had a limb broken on account of the negli-
gence of coach proprietors or of railway companies,
ie had a legal remedy to resort to, but i; their negligence had
been of a still grosser character, so that death ensued, there
was no remedy to be given to the surviving relations, and the
widow of the man was thrown upon the world. The general
rule of the English law was, that where there was a wrong
done the law should give st me compensation ; so that in
cases of murder there was not only a puni,4nent to the crimi •
pal, but a compensation to the surviving relatives. That law
was not put in practice, but he believed that it was admitted
in Enelend, and also in all the continental nations.
He trusted they would allow these Bills to be read a second
time, without offering any opposition to them, as ha would
require egain to draw the attention of their Lordships and of
her Majesty's Government to them. He had, within the last
fire minutes, been told that the railway interest was
so enormous in the House of Commons that it
would be utterly impossible for these Bills to have
the chance of succeeding. Otte earnestly alone, he was told,
could muster as many as eighty votes. It might be that there
were many railway proprietors who were Members of Parlia-
ment also ; but he hoped that they would magnanimously forget
that they were railway directors only, and that they woul
consider that they were citizens and subjects—that they were
men—and, therefore, beurel to do full justice to their feilo.v
men. The Noble Lord concluded by moving the second read-
ing of the Deodand3 Abolition Bel, and the second reading
of the Death by Accident Compensation Bill.
Lord LYTTELTON said it might be remembered that last
sear he had introduced a Bill having similar objects with them
introduced by the Nettle and Learned Lord opposite. He was
glad that the matter had Helen into abler hands than
his own. He would willingly give the measures his sue-
port, and he trusted they would meet wish no opposition en
the part of the other branch of the Legislatu te. The Bill of
last sewinn, to which he had referred, had received the sanction
of the legal authorities in that House, but he understood that
the legal authorities in the Lower House had met it with
some objections.
Lord BROUGHAM said that he entirely agreed wi it
the Noble Lords who had already spoken upon this
measure. He (Lord Brougham) was one of those who
attended in Committee upon this subject, and he
could only say, that every attention had been given to
the preparation of these Bills ; and he was therefore sorry to
hear that they were likely to be objected to in the other House.
Ile considered that if a slight alteration could obviate these ob-
jections, they ought to introduce them. As regarded cow-
pen3ation for the lose of life, the law of England
yam. T-=ri. ion to the law of every other country.
Ihe law on the sebject had 'Joon, that rift wag an
no conapeesation teld be given for it. However logical that
might be, he could pest give his assent to it. Ha thought it was
high time that this opproormai to their law should be removed,
and he thanked the Noble and Learned Lord for taking the
matter up, and introducing the measure.
After a few words from the LORD CHANCELLOR, to
the effect that they should make themselves satisfied or' the
grounds on which objections to these Bills had been taken, SO
that on technical grounds there might be no pretext here-
after for rejecting them, the Bills were put and severally read
a second time.
LOAN TO THE IRISH PEOPLE.
The Marquis of CLAN RICARDE presented a petition
from a „place indreland, the name of which did not transpire.
in the,praysr of which he could not agree, though it was
couched is respectful terms. It concluded with asking l'arl.a.•
meat for an immediate loan of three millions sterling, with an
annual loan, for the construction of public works in Ireland.
CHARITABLE TRUSTS BILL.
The Earl of ELDON presented several petitions against
the Charitable Trusts Bill. The petitions were from the
Masters of 'trinity House in Hull, the masters and wardens
of the Paper Stainer? Corporation of the City of London, from
Illiddlewieh, in Cheshire, and the rector and churchwardens
of St. Mary, Whitechapel, in the county of Middlesex.
THE NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.
The Marquis of CLANRICARDE said that he was not
about to move that the report of the Select Committee on the
rebuilding of the new Houses of Parliament should be taken
into consideration, in consequence of the opinion which their
Lordships had expressed on the last occasion the subject was
introduced, that it would be better that the matter should be
left in the hands of her Majesty's Government. Ho would,
therefore, beg to move that the order of the day should be
discharged. But he would beg leave, before he would do so,
to hear his Noble Friend the Commissioner of Woods and
Forests make some statement on the subject. As yet he had
made none, and he very much feared that their
Lordships' interests were not properly taken care
of. If he was not deceived, Mr. Barry, in an-
swet to a question put to him, said that their Lordships
had not any foundation, from the evidence given at the Com-
mittee' for the supposition that they would have their House
ready for their reception by the commencement of next ses-
sion. He begged leave to say there was not one Noble Lord on
that Committee who was not led to believe that such would be
the fact. That it would not only be most possible, but
most easy to effect it.—( Hear, hear.) And when they looked
to other countries and saw the works which wore daily carried
on of a much greater magnitude, they should conclude that their
interests were not taken care of, especially when they became
aware that the House of Commons had ordered the preparation
of fifteen or twenty rooms for the immediate reception of their
Committees. This might, he had no doubt, be most eon-
venient for the dispatch of public business ; but he did say
that it did afford a very strong ground of suspicion
that.o their Lordships' interests had not been attended 1
ewho
wG.rreeasto inconvenience arose to the
House for the law Lords,
good as to sit many hours in the day in that I
R.
wished,
therefore,
of the dispatch of public business. j
to prevent the elder and more impor-
at present in exist:, to know whether there was any obstacle '
tauthet !me
accommodation?b sOt the Rouses of the Legislature from obtaining
Relative
what
w.the:rileseenwtisheoedgtiotiolzronffrom his Noble
at the present
fitniosrhdesdh:i
p.angde t
tei
moment, the buildings
especially
c intoal ly
ef the Houses being prospect there was
what likelihood there was of thYeir
their own Chamber at the begianin
He did hope that during the ensuing Zetoci next session?
paltry squabbles, which he had understood tso none of those
the works of late, would be suffered eve impeded
fere with their future progress, for he deemed the CO inter-
m
to be altogether unworthy of parties so specifically
under the direction of her Majesty's Government. If such
squabbles and disputes were not suffered to exist, not only
would there not be any intermission of the works, tut they
would be so rapidly advanced as to enable their Lordships to
take possession of their new House at the beginning of next
year.
Viscount CANNING, before answering the question of his
Noble Relative on its main grounds, would beg to reply to his
remarks with respect to the House of Commons.. On the Ist
of the present month the Speaker had sent notice that
a considerable addition to the number of committee-
rooms would be wantmi on the 27th instant, and at the
irolucement of the Speaker and Sergeant-at-Arms, an endea-
vour was made to secure two or three houses in Palace-) ard,
but they were ultimately found to be quite insufficient
for the purpose. He then spoke to Mr. Barry,
by whom it was agreed, that the committee-rooms
in the new Houses might be made ready by that time.
With respect to the accommodation of their Lordships, there
were in the new louses nineteen committee rooms, which
were precisely in the same condition as time committee
rooms of the Commons at the time Mr. Jerry un-
dertook their preparation, and he believed that ,r it
were needed, they could be got ready with equal expedi' ion.
If their Lordships should require further accommodation, he
had taken care to guard against that by desiring Mr. B trry
to open a further access to their rooms en the river front, to
which their Lordship
Noble
would have exclusive accese. He was
:Lorry to e
Lor say he could ni t answer some other parts of the
vv dhi,:h their? question,Lrdh particularly with regard to the time at
regretted to sa s ips' House was likely to be finished. tie
Hess as hail
y that they were not in such a state of forward-
Lies alluded to by .
ixpected. But with regard to the sq
t ween Dr. Reid Noble Friend, as having taken place be-
much to be regretted that till:al-1.y, he begged to say that it was
these two gentlemen were of a' fferences that had arisen between
mere squabbles. It appeared rnts.lmore serious character than
been laid upon their Lordship,' treat,,,from the report that had
were of BO momentous a character that those differences
investigation were to take place, unless a Government
he put to an enormous additional expehnse,coanintry"old
the delay would be much greater. He believe ultimately
been clearly shown that the system of ventilation adaod never
Dr. Reid was such as would suit the Flosses of Parlirjettd by
was, in fast, at all feasible, although the apparatus' Oirt
required Txtended over eight or nine acres
land.—(Hear.) Would their Lordships then peril the
safety of the New Houses by any hasty seep ?
He had considered that the best course which could be followed
would be to select three gentlemen, whose eminent positions and
professional and scientific acquirements would ensure a sound

opinion being given, and would enable Government to act with
confidence. The three gentlemen selected with that view were
to follow the instructions given to them, and they had been
requested to consider how far practicable, and if practicable,
how far it would be advisable to apply Dr. Reid's system of
ventilation to the New Houses of Parliament, an I to all the
subordinate offices. Also whether the application of the
system should be restricted to the New Houses of Parliament
generally, or to a more limited portion, and whether it wouildtbheo
of advantage to apply the system to different portions
building separately and independently. The Governmeanq weralso anxious to ascertain how far Dr. Reid's system wf.a
These
com-
patible with the rendering the building fire-proof.
gentlemen had, lastly, been desired, accordingo -0
they formed on these points,
Dr. how
had been
the building building as were necessary for
nquisihaietde,toanhdimto report h
Reid far suceh opinions
sonosf
him,
oanwd
Heardwicke, a gentleman well
gentlemen selected were lair.
hat whether
extent, fu r t hne rd infoi what
manner. wo b e
There
Graham, a professor of chemistry
in Lincoln's Inn ;
Professor
Mr. George Stephenson, who
known as an architect, who had constructed the new buildings
in the London University ; _
object to this course, but he could
was known as an engineer
ho vofetagraetaitone experience, einncees: ando. whoAt had
paid great attention to tthe
first plush the House mighth
nation he had assure their Lordships oil-oast
statedips t awt
without
ohtavde
rny otnt
actonmr
ee
atnod tahnea
idoentse rnmo
ni
sideration, and he felt that, on taking upon himself this
responsibility, he should at once submit the matter to the
consideration of their Lordships. He had reason to believe
that the inquiry need not take up more than a very few days,
and they should have an answer in that time. When the
opinion of these gentlemen should have been commu•
nicated to her Majesty's Government, if it should
be necessary to take such a course as would in-
terfere with the arrangement already existing between
the Government and Dr. Reid, or if those gentlemen should
prescribe a course in any way at variance with the plans already
existing, it would be right that the Government, before any
steps were taken in the matter, should state their intentions to
Parliament, to give an opportunity to Noble Lords and Hon.
Members of making any remarks they might think fit.
He thought that it was better that he should fortify himself
with the opinions of the gentlemen he had mentioned, before
coming down to the House to propose that they should go on
at all hazards and risks, or relieve the burden from one or other
of the gentlemen through whose misapprehensions these delays
were occasioned.
Lord BROUGHAM said that no man in that House could
doubt that the Noble Lord had given net only a clear and satis-
factory explanation, but that he had adopted the very best
course he could under the circumstances. The inquiry was
now brought within a reasonable compass, and he thought
the course proposed by the Noble Lord the very best that could
be adopted. Their Lordships at present suffered most severely
under the processes of Dr. Reid—(Laughter)—he meant under
the processes of ventilation brought into use by that gentle-
man ; and for himself he could only say that, sitting there from
ten o'clock in the morning until five at night, he never suffered
more from cold in his life than he did while attending to his
legal duties. On that day he had suffered most severely.
What the reason was he could not say; whether it was that
additional fuel had been put en—(Laughter)—or whether there
had been a complete stoppage of external air—or perhaps it
might have arisen from the want of their Lordships presence.
At all events, he could not say from what particular cause the
cold had arisen, but cold it certainly had been. He could
assure the House that the Noble Marquis had not exaggerated
when he had spokeu of the severe services of the law Lords.
It was diametrically opposed to the fact that they could not get
into the House within a short period, for the whole evidence
before the Committee up-stairs proved that they might have
got into their new House in eight or ten months at the
furtherest. He did not mean that they were to wait until
every nook, and cranny, and crevice, and rat-hole in the House
was ventilated.— ( Laughter. ) He thought that the plan of
ventilation under which he had suffered that morning was the
most xtravagant principle that was ever brought before the
notice of Parliament. He trusted that the inquiry would go
on, and he was sure that no better men could be chosen than
the men named by the Noble Lord. He hoped he should not
be considered as detracting from the opinion of the Committee
if he added that some of the questions submitted to them
answered themselves. There was no difficulty whatever in
coning to a conclusion, and that before many days. He took
no part with either of the individuals implicated in this quarrel,
but he considered it was their bounden duty to see that no
squabble should interfere so as to detract from the progress of
this public work. He had heard the other day, when up-
stairs, with the greatest indignation, that the works had been
suspended for several months, in consequence of the disputes
between the two pantie:. Such a state of things should be put
an end to.—( Hear, hear.)
Lord CAMPBELL considered the Noble and Learned Lord
had been too severe in the speech which he had just made. He
would not enter into the controversy between 31r. Barry aial
Dr. Reid. He would throw no blame on Mr. Barry, who might
have conducted the works with perfect skill and the greatest
care, but he must say that the Noble and Learned Lord was
prejudiced in the case. The fact was, the ventilation was per-
fectly successful. They had only to look to the House of
Corrirtie)ns, where this ventilation had been most successful;
b ,th in respect to the temperature, heat, and air, it was the best
place of legislature ever built. He hoped that the sneers of
the Noble and Ltsarned Lotd would not be allowed to prejudice
Dr. Reid. He admitted at the same time that while the yen-
tile' ion of the House of Commons had been perfectly successful,
the ventilation of their Lordships' House had been unsuccessful.
At one time thee were in Greenland, at another in Bencoolen.
Noble Lords who came there from five to seven to listeo to
amusing speeches, such as they had heard, could not speck of
the matter as he did, who sat there on Scotch appeals often
for six hours in the early part of the day. Therefore he belied
that they would have some comeassion on them, and that no
relaxation would be made in their efforts in order to get the
new chambers.
Lord REDESD ALE hoped that, though they admitted the
importance of getting the House ready as soon as possible, they
should take care nut to manage matters as they had hitherto
been done. The House of Commons had only to say "We
want a certain number of committee-rooms by a certain day,"
and it was done directly. Now these committee-rooms were
n-nt in a state o t greater forwardness, when that order
was issued, than their Lordships' House. In fact their House
was now in such a state that it only required the completion of
the ventilating apparatus ; for the 11 ioring and ceiling and the
fear walls had been finished ; and with regard to the vehtila•
tton, he beleve.l that there tvcre two chambers for that pur-
pose, one beneath the flooring of the House and the other over
the roof, and the apparatus required nothing more now than a
permanent fitting-up. If those fittings-up should b • made in
one of the chambers he had mentioned, and should be found
not to answer, then the only inconvenience that could arise
was the removing of those fittings from one of the chambers
that he had mentioned to the other. If, therefore, their
Lordships did not come to some resolution now upon the sub-
ject, they need not expect to get into their House before the
next two years.
On the motion of the Earl of ELLENBOROUG H,
several Bills were advanced a stage, and the House adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS, April 24.
The SPEAKER. took the Chair at Four o'clock.
GLASGOW HARBOUR RAILWAY.
The report on the Glasgow Harbour Grand Junction Rail-
way Terminus wa3 brought up, the amendments and altera-
tions agreed to, and the 13111 ordered to be engrossed.