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

NEW WRIT.

Lord RENDLESIIANI moved for a 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
[Tenniker, who had accepted the stewardship of the
Chiltern Hundreds.—Agreed to.
RAILWAY BUSINESS.

Lord GRANVILLE SOMERSET called the atten-
tion of the Reuse to the resolutions of the Svlcct Com-
mittee appointed to inquire as to the best mode
of facilitating the railway business before the House.
The first ruolution was to the effect, that a portion of
the railway Bills should be allowed to commence in the
frouse 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 rate; in such Bills. The
Committee also considered it necessary, in order to give
increased means of employment to the people of
Ireland, that facilities should be given fur the
early introduction of Irish railway Bills. Now,
in order to facilitate the passing of those mea-
sures, this proceeding was recommended, and therefore
ho 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
beved leave to move the adoption of the report.
dlr. 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 113
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 beyond the
English Bills. Indeed, he believed he could show pretty
clearly that there was no substantial benefit whatever
conferred on the Irish Bills by this arrangement.
lie:found, 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 Fad 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 Loris; 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 barrister. In the House
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 materiel saving would be made.
Mr. BERNAL was tot 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-
sent, 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 it
was known that the amount of deposits irrespective
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. lle did not think
that Ireland and Scotland would jump at this preference
as a great boon, for they knew that if the English rail-
ways were first attended to it would cause an influx of
Irish navigators, who would be well employed. He did
not think that a railway running to the southern part,
or any other part of Ireland would he any remedy fur
the destitution that prevailed there. lle 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 he believed 0-tt. in the present year
they were so little able to cops
these schemes?means Totbesoserr.
eincqnuirie.sw with the ebedai difficulties
elltli ecsonof.
ducted by
vthaetTisohenems
oia
n,t
ct
answere
or matters
on into consideration.
toD wo hsa tntssion appointed to take
y'.
hadisht fallen l to
inake
a few
fromeiG)seenr--
cthmeinni
tleman who had just sat down. Th e who
drew up the present report consi • dered that it would
be most advisable to give employment to the people
of Ireland during the months of the
sununer, when it was feared they would suffer mocsetTon' ing
the failure of the potato crop, viz., the months rcom-
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 Lords. Tho Hon. Gen-
tleman who had last spoken teemed to say that it
would be no benefit to the Irish that preference
should be given to the Irish railway Bills for this
reason, that the Irish poor could obtain employment in
the formation of the English railways. Now he (the
Wenner Don) for his own part felt that it would be
much better to give the Irish labourers employment in
Ireland, inasmuch as they could then share with their
families the products of their labour.—(Hear, hear.)
notwithstanding the statements that had been made with
respect to the potato crop in Ireland, he could assure
the House that in the county of Sligo especially the
blight on potatoes had been almost universal.
the
Mr. AGLIONBY opposed the adoption of report.
He perfectly agreed with the objects which the Com-
mittee had in view, but he could not consider how those
views could be carried into effect by compelling Irish
railway business t s commence in the House of Lords;
he thought it more desirable that they should
be allowed the option of commencing in the House of j
Commons if they were quite ready so to do.