The Sun.
London, England, 1846-05-02 00:00:00

MR. SMITH O'BRIEN, M.P.

ber for Limerick calledary
to
oer
moraktheeitieleanidrsiesofatnhde Hon. Aftleimei-r
residence ill Old Palace. yard. The
room in ii.h-hilcliell;.°O.:Brien iosfimprisoned, is half-way between
the entrance to the Houses
carYdsesat tcnia.37 a.
great
(
Lords and Commons. The (loot
leading to his apartment is the second door on the left (there
being no door on the right) after passing the entrance to the
House of Commons and entering within the boarding which.
runs from the House of Commons to the House of Lcrdl.
The room is on the ground fioor, and may be known by the
iron railing outside the Window. There are two window aso
railed; the first is the window of a room through which one
must pass to enter that in which Mr. O'Brien is confined.
His room is of small dimensions, and furnished neatly but
scantily; it contains a folding bed, a table, a few chairs, a
wash. hand-stand, and fender and fire-irons, and is carpeted
with cocoa- fibre matting. It was reported that on Thurday the
Hon. Member paid it a visit, and had some furniture put into
it ; but the rumour was incorrect. On Tuesday, however.
two
two gentlemen, having measuring rules, wereedritscoArember the enter room, which is generally usedas
a,,swe belong to
room. On being questioned, they„ answeredmessenger was not,
the press, and may go anywhere. T
thhowever,eirbusinoemfthe same opinion, and ordered them to go about

On Thursday evening, while the House was deliberating
on Mr. O'Brien's case, the Bon. Member remained standing
at the library door, in a state of great excitement, frequently
clasping his hands together in a very agitated manner. OD,
being taken into custody and lodged in his apartment, Mr.
• Bellamy waited on him to receive his instructions as to the
hours at which he should like to breakfast, dine, Sze., and
whatm nature;
the viands and liquors that would be agreeable. Mr. O'Brien's
answer "All
Iwanrt is
simply
any hathwouilrl sustainta tea
aan was,
toast to breakfast and dry
ay suit
you. I should dine between two and three on anything you
please, but let it be simple ; and for tea I shall only have
tea and dry toast. lam determined not to pay any tees. I
shall pay for nothing but for what I eat, and that shall be at
the simplest and least expensive kind." Mr. Bellamy in-
quired what wine, ale, stout, &c., the lion. Member would
prefer ? and the answer was, "None at all ; neither wino?,
beer, nor anything of the kind." The Hon. Member is
locked in his room at night, and one of the messengers is
stationed outside
to attend on him. lie cannot be permitted
to leave the precincts of his prison :cithout the leave of the
House, except on Sunday, when he will be allowed to go to
chapel in custody of the Sergeant-at-A rms. Whilst beton
the Commit'tee of the House of Lords yesterday, the lion
Gentleman was attended. Avast number of idle '
idlersloitered
i
about Palace-yard yesterday, n the vain hope of •
Hon. Member, who in the course of the ev • seeing the
lated the passage leading to the ~ Lor,_, _ evening perambu.
not permitted to proceed further. ta "tranCel" but WM

ACCIDENT IN FLEET-STREETS—Last night, abou t
o'clock, a boy, apparently between fourteen and
fifteen years ot f
aenge.
whilst crossing Fleet-street, opposite Bouverie-street, was knocked
down by an omnibus which was proceeding at a rapid pace towards
Temple-bar, the wkeels passed completely over the boy's body (who.,
from his dress, belonged to some printing-office in the neighbonr-
hood). He was picked up insensible, and immediately conveyed to
the hospital. In the boy's cap were found some proof-slips .1 a 10-
view, apparently from some weekly paper.
Lord John Manners and the members of the Cam.
bridge Athenaeum Club will give their annual dinner at the Clarendon
Hotel on Wednesday next.
8111T1Tohfemi
C. H. Hyde, rector of the pariah.
onnheaybfiotratnhtespout;p(otmofbvererwseenlunl hgaav e
testimonial subscribed
to its
elargsty:

IMPERIAL -PARLIAMENT.
HOUSE OF LORDS, May 1.
Their Lordships assembled at Five o'clock.
CHARITABLE TRUSTS BILL.
Lord DENMAN presented a petition from the London
Missionary Society, praying to be exempted from the of era-
tiens of the Charitable Trusts Bill.
DIF,DANDS BILL.
Lord CAMPBELL moved the order of the day for going
into Committee on this Bill.
Lord DENMAN expressed his approbation of the Bill in its
present state.
Lord BROUGHAM also expressed his concurrence with the
object of the Bill. He thought that if an officer like the
Procurator Fiscal in Scotland was instituted in England, it
would be a great means of forwarding criminal justice.
Lord LYTTELTON supported the Bill.
The LORD CHANCELLOR was in favour of the Bill,
which had been unanimously agreed to in Committee up stairs
as a measure very desirable.
Their Lordships then went into Committee on the Bill, and
the several clauses were agreed to.
IRISH GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.
Lord REDESDALE presented a petition against the Irish
Crest Western Railway, viz., the line from Portarlington to
Galway. Ile said it was signed by a large number of share-
holders, at least the parties signing it purported to be such,
and to represent 121,0004 He would recommend the peti-
tion to the attention of the House.
The Marquis of CLANRICARDE said he had heard
of a great many shareholders in the Irish project who
were just as anxious that the line should be forwarded.
This petition had been got up by a person who styled
himself a secretary to a rival company. The
haed
up.
sharess
WIC row selling at 21. discount ; if any person purchased
these shares they would be entitled toreceive
21. per share when the affairs of the company were wound
Their Lordships would see that this would"
gHeegpresented a
.
reat encou-
ragement to gambling speculation in ailway
petition from the chairman and directors, pras.
ying their Lord-
ships to pass the Bill.
Lord BROUGHAM wished to lay
on th
somee subjectinforma oftio be-
foren
rail-
way speculation. He had
the House which he
hadre receivedceived a letter from a sharebroker,
which stated that his business made him acquainted with the
opinions of other brokers on the state of that speculation, and
they coincided in his own sentiments, which were thus stated in
the letter: I beg to call your Lordships' attention to the fact that
within the last few days the mania of railway speculation has
been revived with all its former fury. Established are at from
201. to 301. per cent. premium, and the scrip of lines which
are of a doubtful character have gone from a discount to a pre-
mium. The consequences will be more serious than is gene-
rally imagined. First, it will enable new companies to get a
majority of three-fifths in favour of carrying them on, and se-
curely cloak interested parties and the frauds of others ; and
last not least, we shall have another panic." This showed the
necessity of adopting some effectual measures to meet the im-
pending evil of undue speculation, during the continuance of
which the gambler made his harvest.—( Hear. )
Affer a few words from the Marquis of SALISBURY,
which were inaudible in the gallery,
Lord MONTEAGLE was of opinion that all the Bills on
the table of the House should be suspended until the opinions
of the shareholders could be obtained respecting them. He,
saw considerable injustice in suspending the test respecting
some Bills and applying it with great severity to others.
There never was a year, in his opinion, in which a more ex-
traordinary and extravagant proposition had been made to
either House of Parliament. He agreed with the Noble Mar-
quis behind him, that they ought to make one rule govern all.
On these grounds he had taken the liberty of stating so much,
because, having originally opposed this Bill, he felt himself now
precluded, and he should consider himself acting not in
a very unjust manner in refusing the passing of this Bill.
He did not know whether his Noble Friend had moved the
third reading of that Bill, and he would now move that the
Bill be read a third time.
Lord REDESDALE explained the grounds which he
had taken with respect to this Bill on a former occasion.
There was no doubt that the petition which he formerly pre-
sented, embodying, as it did, so large a body of wealthy
andowners was deserving of considerable attention. That pe-
tition represented the wishes of the owners of 5,000 shares, or
211,0001. out of 800,0001., which was two-thirds of the esti-
mated cost. He thought that, after all that had been stated,
it would be better to let this Bill go on. At all events, after
what he bad stated to their Lordships, he should decline to
offer any opposition to the third reading.
The LORD CHANCELLOR then put the motion, that the
Bill be read a third time, which was unanimously agreed to.
MULLINGAR AND GALWAY RAILWAY BILL.
On the motion of Lord MONTEAGLE, this Bill was read
a first time.

RAILWAY DEPOSITS BILL.
Lord MONTEAGLE then said that he rose for the pur-
pose of moving that the Railway Companies' Dissolution Bill
be read a second time.—(oh, oh, and laughter.) He begged
their Lordships pardon, he meant the Railway Deposits Bill,
to which motion he hoped there would be no opposition. In
the early part of this session their Lordships' attention was
called to the fact of the very great inconveniencewhieh might be
produced, and which he believed ought to be produced, upon
the money market with respect to the law on railway deposits.
He was glad to find that this Bill passed in the other House of
Parliament without opposition. He believed that Bill was
one which would serve the public interest, though it was
thought at the time that it would give railway companies very
great influence ; that, however, was not the case, and he
trusted it would now be read a second time.
The Duke of BEAUFORT said, that as several Noble
Lords who took a great interest in the measure were absent,
he thought it advisable to postpone the second reading till his
Noble Friends had an opportunity of expressing their opinions.
The second reading of the Bill was then postponed.
The BISHOP of EXETER wished to know from his
Noble and Learned Friend on the Woolsack, when the House
would go into Committee on the Bill (the Religious Opinions
Relief Bill), which was read a second time on the pre-
vious evening ?
The LORD CHANCELLOR feared that the Right Rev.
Prelate judged his powers of expediting matters according to
his own character fur facilitating things. lie might depend on
it there would be no unnecessary delay, but the precise time
he could not say.
The Bishop of EXETER said, there had been no hurry
it appeared in puothing forward the Bill. It had been intro-
duced in the beginning of February, and for three months it
had been before the House ere the second reading was taken.
And then but little intimation had been given of the intention
of taking the second reading. He hoped, therefore, they
should have accurate infcrmation of the day of the Committee
on the Bill, as there were many nice points to be considered.
There were two points which he intended more especially to
oppose, unless they were altered. The one was, that pro-
posing to repeal the prohibition against the extolling of Papal
supremacy ; aad the other, the restriction on the circulation of
Papal bulls. Except those were amended, he should certainly
divide the house.
RAILWAYS DISSOLUTION BILL.
The Earl of DALHOUSIE moved that the House resolve itself on this Bill.
Earl RADNOR rose to offer a few observations before
going into Committee. He could not consent to the Bill passing
without considerable modifications. If it were agreed to in its
present shape, many good schemes would be put a stop to
by very unfair means.—(Hear, hear.) This was
confirmed by a letter he had received that morning,
from a gentleman, from which he would read an extract.
( The Noble Lord then read the extract, which was to the effect
that he had taken up shares in some of the best railway pro-
jects—in the South Wales, the Waterford and Kilkenny, and
other lines.) He had taken up the shares as a boncifide in-
vestment, with the intention of paying up the instalments;
but in the present Bill a power was given to parties to break
up those companies by improper means. This gentleman's
position, as he stated, was a very hard one ; because it was
well known that a deal of gambling had taken place in shares,
for the purpose of putting an end to schemes, for the purpose of
realising a profit out of the sharing of the deposits Tins was
a great hardship upon those who had embarked in good
schemes, and very general injustice would result from the pro-
posed measure. There would be many cases of hardship under
the operation of the proposed measure. He thought that by a
little management such hard,hips might be ayes ted. It ap-
peared to him that there would be no great deal of difficulty in
carrying out an arrangement by which, when a majority of
the shareholders were in favour of a dissolution of the com-
pany, the minority should have the power of putting in a
claim to continue the company.
The Earl of DALHOUssIE—They would then get off
their liabilities.

Earl RADNOR—Their deposits would be returned out
of the money in the hands of the company, or which was de-
posited with the Accountant-General. He did think that some
clauses should be introduced to meet this state of things, and
that it should be postponed for a day or two for that purpose. If
the Ifouse (lid not do this, the result would be great injustice to
the parties, and great injury to the public.
Earl DALHOUSIE sail, that as some clauses were to be
proposed be the Noble Lord opposite to the effect suggested by
the Noble Lord who had just sat dosn, perhaps it would be as
well that he (Earl Dalhousie) should reserve what he had to
say upon the subject until those amendments should be pro-
posed, as by that means the House would be saved Coe nect's-
airs of having the same ground gone over a second time,.
Earl GRE Y
said he should object to the measure being
postponed on account of any amendments which he might have
to propose, beeau4e the nature of those amendments might de-
pend upon what the nature of the measure should be. He ap-
prehended that great e•'l mischiefs would arise from this
Hill as it now stood, if some and
should not be intro-
duced. He considered trlaet subject ought to be postponed
for a few days in order that the overnment might give the
matter more mature consitleratio They had a right, hr.w-
ever, to call on the Government to state their views on the
subject.
u
The Earl of DALIIOUSIE said if the Noble
sub-
mitted his amendment to the House lie should feelit his Lord
dy
tH
to do all in his power to induce their Lordships
If the Noble Earl had been in his Place le the earlierto reject it.
s
the Bill, he would have known that he (Lord Dadhousielgb'o'‘.l
in introduoing it and in the second reading, discussed the points
advised by the Noble Earl. '1 hese points had also
been considered by her Majesty's Government, who
had constantly endeavoured to avert the evil of
undue speculation, but they thought it impossible
to provide a remedy for the evils of which he complained.
The Noble Eafl complained that gambling had been going on
in shares for a double purpose—namely, gambling for the pur-
pose of making a profit on shares, and gambling for the pur-
pose of influencing, the proceedings of companies by purchasing
a quantity of their stock, and so obtaining a majority of votes.
Now, he had thrice admitted, and he now admitted, that
gambling had been going on in the stock market, but that could
not be urged as an objection to this measure, neither would
their rejection of it. But if they did reject it, they would
render many companies fifty times worse than they were at the
present moment, because they would leave them without the
means of dissolution, thus leaving them to speculate from
month to month whenever there was the least semblance of a
chance of making any money by their shares. Scrip passed
so constantly from hand to hand that it was almost impos-
sible to trace those who originally held it—in fact, they were
like a bank-note. The object of the present I3ill was to enable
any company which had not come before Parliament, or which
were not before the House, in consequence of having failed to
enmPly with the standing orders, to wind up their affairs.
Tfhere were 1,200 registered companies at the commencement
of the session. There are now in actual progress before the
loithzea not more than 430, and the whole of the
from „sea:reta.
,i. a condition utterly incapacitated
each p,,„„ taming fully what was the liability of
have Lord on the opposite hit hand. N N,,''''''tethat was the object of the Bill he held in
minority should
power of co t• '
e side suggested that a
existence; and tteb'property t- nin uing the company in
them. He objected a ofutlian should be vested in
Those who wereretciht•t"leh
titled to the property of the
from th,
eo°n4ras b 'ing unjust.
Plans and w t
were the only property
h
course be
lost.
whiec.:zpany, f,,, "tha n should be
.en-
getting up the plans was of couruld be
saved
se to profess to sitisslti
that five, ten, or fifteen persons, I hveaxsP. 4 sleozol
the company to go on, should be entitled
let
them
pm.ra'aesrty should la-e
when the company was wound up? All thetopa" the property
sold, and if the minority desired,
and theta for 5/. they ei,uld put themselves in the condition Planfs' newly-registered company. By such means they 9, o' a
creating a nucleus of a new company, with a capital coonusilsdcbe
of the stock of an abandoned concern of a worthless company, with a nominal capital to trade upon. They would be creating a nest egg upon which the lowest kind of speculators would in: ettbate ; next year they would have a brood of these