The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-20 00:00:00

BILL.

On the motion of Sir JAMES GRAHAM, this Bill
was read a third time and passed.
DRAINAGE (IRELAND) BILL.

This Bill was read a third time and passed.
Sir J. GRAEIAM explained that under the former

Act the assent of two-thirds of the parties interested in

the drainage of certain districts was necessary before a
plan of that purpose could be adopted. The Bill
in its original state provided that the onus
probandi should fall on the dissensients. ',The

'Honourable Gentleman, the Member _ for Kildare,

had, however, suggested that the old plan should be
adopted, which had been agreed to, and a provision
to that effect was introduced into the Bill.
INTERFERENCE AT ELECTIONS.

Mr. COLLETT stated that before he brought forward
his motion, of which he had given notice, he wished to
have the standing orders upon the subject read. This
request having been complied with, the Hon. Member pro-
ceeded to state that he had always been an advocate fur
short speeches,and upon the present occasion he would not
act in opposition to his conviction, but as no other lion.
Member had given any notice upon the present subject
he considered the occasion opportune for trespassing a
short time on the attention of the House.—(Considera-
ble laughter was caused in the House in consequence of
the Hon, Member reading his speech.) The Commons
(continued the lion. Member, glancing at his paper) had
suffered by the interference of Lords of Parliament, Peers
and Prelates, at their elections. He (Mr. Collett) assured
the House, that in default of a better man, he considered

it his public duty to call the attention of the House to this
infringement of the Lords on the liberties, the
privileges, and the standing orders of this House.
---(Laughter and cries of " Order.") He did not
himself propose any fresh remedy ; he considered
the law, as it stood sufficient for the purpose. He
had commenced by getting their clerk to read to them
the standing orders of the House upon the subjecs.—
(Considerable laughter, in consequence of the Hon.
Member's continued glances at his paper.) He should,
upon this occasion move for a Committee of Privileges
to inquire into this point, and report the result of their
inquiry to this House. He would then have an oppor-
tunity of showing the country the defects of the Reform
Bill, and also how the country was mocked by this Bill
in not obtaining those benefits which bad been
presented to them by the Noble Lord the
Member for the City , of London. Numerous
instances were well known where improper use was
made by parties to influence others in procuring seats
in that House.—(Cries of " Order, order.")
• The SPEAKER said he hoped the Hon. Gentleman
was not reading his speech.—(Shouts of laughter.)
Mr. COLLETT said he always endeavoured to check
wrong by doing right. He was sorry to see a Member of
Parliament not returned to that House after vacating
his seat, while others more inefficient succeer.ed to that
honour.—(Laughter.) Her Majesty was pleased to ap-
point a certain lion. Gentleman to an office of
high trust and honour—he meant the Secretary
to the Colonies. He was a . gentleman of much
~;uished abi:ity and talent, ar.d use who would be
very useful to the Right Honourable Baronet on the
present occasion in forwarding the measure now beforo.

. .
the•House.—(Great laughter.) He would, however, give
his vote without reference to any party, as his object
always was, and would continue to be, the improv..
ment in the 'condition of all the loWer and Ulla
die classes.—(Loud cheers and laughter.) But
"Man, proud man, dressed in a little brief authority,
Plays such fantastic tricks before high Heaven,
As make the angels weep."—(Great laughter.)
were
He asked the House, he asked the country, why
they deprived of the presence of these Right
Gentlemen. Rona
• Echo answered, why? and the voice of en
outraged country—(Loud laughter)---demanded why Mr.
,_..:
'3,ladstont, did not come forward to represent Newairet .
The answer was, because the Government, of vat. n
the Right Honourable Gentleman was a member,
was in opposition to the views of the patrons
of Newark. and .they had ordered their countrit
agent to look out for some more tractable Aleta,ild
-(Hear, hear.) Nearly the same circumstances n
taken place in the representation of Chichester &al
Buckingham, because their Graces of Buckingham age
.Richmond were not the same way of thinking 35 ' d
Minister. • They therefore returned two inexperienece_
ae
youths.—(Loud laughter)—and the country lost ._..a
services of Sir Thomas Fremantle, whose it;
seemed irreparable—(Hear, hear, and cheers)—ateek
present moment, as he was preparing a number of ;L:,:id-
that would confer vast benefits on Ireland. He
' lea
now call -the attention of the . House to the Gee
roughs of Buckingham, Chichester, and
and he would read a copy of his charges in referen? r'gr.
them, for the sake -of making the case Plafintelis
[The HoneMernber then read the standing orders eon of
House on the interference .of Peers in the electi ber,
Members of Parliament down to tiler 14th of D, eew,,iee
1699, and proceeded to detail the precedents wl,t.i
the records of Parliament presented on the subjecreg,
On the 18th of November, 1702, a case ecieuakee-
Woodsto _
when a charge was . preferred by Sir John '-' 4er.
ham against Dr... Boyle, the Bishop of W"reee.,"sde
wah
Fite consequence of this was that an inquiry s -do,
into the nature of the settlement into which te . ir,
veroment had entered. On inquiry, and under theo,cor,
cumstances, it was decided that the Bishel? cif „,. of
cester had committed a breach of the privireF -est
the House, and an address was presents(' Wanes,
Majesty, the Sovereigu of the time, Quee" ' ' stet
to advise her to remove the Bishop of IVorce de,
fom the post of Lord Almoner to the Crown. The r
eision had been confirmed by the Learned Attorabed
General of the period. Another circumstalisle
occurred which had respect to the Bishop of taa' fete
and in which Parliament had felt it a duty to inter
vin
In that case the decision of the House Was 110
by a majority of 156 against a minority of 13`',„ of
might refer to a fuller case, of the 13.1D-oc&
Chandos, where,• in consequence of an interferoes
e ith the town. of Southampton, Sir Pb
Bridges had been deemed guilty of u breach of the I of•
leees of the House. This was allowed to be a brew that
the privileges of the House. He trusted, therefore' pi
that House would come to the same opinion whiellbeioll
already formed, and which was quite in conformity cee
the opinion of the Attorney-General on the O"estilt,,bt
He then came to the boroughs against which he hiireoads
the charge. He had in his hand a book called "i', 05
Parliamentary Corn r anion," in page 101 of which r"cei'
openly and unreservedly stated
cheater was under the influence
that the borough ajeeto'
of the Duke of 13ueho'Ligll
ham. He found that the Members returned for this berept)
were Lard Arthur Lennox and John Abel Smith'
to do'
John A. Smith he did not wish to have anything tieo
He believed that the election of Lord Arthur e3tire
for Chichester in 1841 was carried by the Conger.vp the
interest. The next election for Chichester vEt'slo is
last year, when Lord Arthur Lennox, doubtle 05
' consequence of his talent and qualification, ocre •
promoted to the office of Clerk to the Oral: oP'
Ile was again elected- for Chichester witheatoese,
poSition—at least he found on the notices of the ' lac!
dated January 22d, 1845, an entry of the,
L of Lord A. Lennok' having taken his seat. One d e'+have supposed that for that time the Noble VI, the
secure in his seat ; but no, he found in the return Feb'
he had sccepted the Chiltern Hundreds on the 3d ceaf rat
ruary, and the seat for Chichester was again • oil
Now, with respect to the city of Chichester, be of rya
believed that the rights, liberties, and privileges /41d
Commons of England had been infringed by i'-' feel'
Gordon Lennox, Duke of Richmond, and DO', 010
tenant of the county of Sussex ; for, in the firs'ceril4
that noble personage had been instrumental in Precle lard
the resignation of a seat in that liaise by EP, or
representative of Chichester, Lord Arthur Lettene","etorii
had been immediately concerned in procuring tuec.ore
of its present representative, Charles Henri ate'Lord Lennox. He now came to another ease, V
' that of Newark, and ho found, in reference to tide li
rough; " Dodd's Parliamentary ConspanionliPiob,4l)
stated openly, unreservedly, and directly that tl c "ieetl'i,
Newcastle exercised considerable infltwnce in th eae 'tb
of its representatives. Now, the Members returndliosi
influence in 1841 were Lord John Manners and 0,0 rei;
Gladstone, Esq., but the latter some short tlinc jiro o,
signed his seat, and John Stuart, Esq., WO, rw ate!l
by the same influence to serve in Iris
.ere s,,
—(Slime impatience was here manifested bY„' The
Hon. Members, whilst others cried ~Go on) of '
Hon.. Member then proceeded to consPlal3t.eualii;
similar unconstitutional interference being n'_'' ;Ord
made by the Duke of lalarlb- rough wit".„ i•fei
to the election of the m mber for Woodstock. „',.." sig,'
of his assertion he quoted theinstance of Sir F. ":",:or j,
return previously to his appointment to the Att"r"-,-lieit'ii
neralshipof England. All this. he v,rily believed,htei,,liot;
be able to prove ; and, in additeni, that Or' '( ' '!i 1
Maritorough's g.nt, e hose rente a as, flee itt Ito ltpe
understood) ~ail oe eta appoieted by that nel,l! In loft
the office or a Magistrete and Deputy-Lit utei,on,,, ),!t;
county, as a reward f ase er adi .tire) eV 'i je. io,oet
Thesiger'e return for that borough. He had thereforczooet
i in his place in Parliament that the privileges of the .speav
of the United Kingdom had been intringed by Ge'rgead flat
Churchill, Lord-Lieutenant of the county of Oxford, a fen 0
• of Marlborough, in the election of a representativeiford, °of
borough, in 1844, when his son, the Marquis of 131 an ea ;
red
returned returned ; in 1845, when Viscount Loftus was real eleo
at the election of its present representative, Lc' establi'pe '
Churchill ; which, as he said, he should be able t° ;to pie
before a Committee of the House. Then, with re'veroeoY r
borough of Buckingham— but he (Mr. Collett) lud ,`; beet, 0
stances in which the privileges of that House hal Jiatl'fiale
fringed by Peers of the realm that he had some he-r-oad
calling attention to the whole of them for fear of 'Cea- '1'01;0
House.—( Cries of "Go on.") Well, then, the sfone Tv 0,
applied with equal truth to the election of Sirot iii/i,
Fremantle and the Marquis of Chandos in the Pre'veartisa
without opposition, to represent that borough in ' eafo'-r.)
With respect to that borough, he had to state in 1;81.10V:et
(Signs of impatience on the part of the House, and h-ercilurft
Gentlemen might think it a laughing matter, bet rut,' fore
think it was. The subject was of the highest liorb. as be,ol
affected their privileges, which they ought to protec" ririleil,
ho had to state in his place in Parliament that the Pokisl,fre
that House had been infringed by the Duke of 13horeag or
and Chandos with respect to the elections of Sir T f chkstiag,
mantle and its present representative, the Marquis °to Or Di
r, itioe by
Having made these charges, which- he had reduced elude rye
he begged to tender them to Mr. Speaker, arid e
moving lot a Committee of Privileges, to intlutr"l4ooschi'
causes that led to the vacation of their seats ID thsly of tit'
the Members lately representing in Parliament the clad P1:0;
cheater and the boroughs of Newark, Woodstock, "to° efo
ingharn ; also to make inquiries as to the elections &to the,f so
bers now representing in Parliament the said city at' esi,e`sof
three boroughs, and to report whether or not in ant'sotoa
in what cases, either as to vacation or election, the re- „eel
this House had been infringed. „ivg
The charges and motions of the Hon. Member b 101
read, pet t° Ile
Mr. WILLIAMS rose and said he did not expo°elool
been called upon to second the motion of his Hoc' ~,,,i;ioe, fur
expected that the Noble Lord the Member for -ul'lsieriis to
(the Marquis of Chandos) or the Noble Lord the ' sesEeei&
Chichester (Lerd H. Lennox) would have been bearrtsro
klear'bese latf'
have come forward to second this motion—(
order that an inquiry might be instituted intaie lee bell'
charges which had been made against those two4le to of
and the still more serious charges against their PGeorort,
He expected that some Member of her Majestia, iiee se, tf
would have made some answer to a motion of so unte,'%,l4o:oeo
involving so deep a stain upon the character of i'meee -; lii
the chages contained in that motion could be Pr° sialtlie
a similar motion was brought forward, some year her a earl'
an Hon. Member (Mr. Manners) charging & 'fleeeteet that
then Noble House of Holland, who had to a great - Wed))
elected by the corrupt influence of certain Peere'cotlera, toi
occasion the Prime Minister of the country (Lord .ttee sc,eoo
stood up in his place, and said that such a Coooolo9'ooo'
tally unnecessary, from the notoriety of the fact, thstbe bor,ooo
that House were elected by such influences Under 0 o°titieirio
mongering system of that day. The fact ten,ll-ear• were t
as theshining at noon day. -- t oho `106,,
Was the House to understand that peers es the r,, that
_ejele
trample on the most important sessional order et_ by se:eer
and also to stain the character of their proceednirbe 1 ;10
parties to represent and maintain their position see tblnee
of the country at large. Those were ebaloat leo a,
House of Commons ought not permit to rest olio-toed toe 1
Two er three years ago an Hon. Member had the 000,
believed certain members were returned tom . Wl' feet
the grossest bribery and corruption. He ( that °clot fad
believed that a committee then appointed stated
uld tie soo'
00;
were fully proved, but that no imputation CO Tnue,h; to
the parties charged with using improper influertheo ° ri,:oarg
Member for Bath stopped very short of what Duk-esli it it';
have done. The charge against these Nohle_d ied t oef th"r
brought by Mr. Flaihurst—was, that they, ha
__en,Ders e the'li
fluence and power, and demanded certain u:sers fritbieral,
House to resign their seats, because those riseineruvieent,ivteroio
duty to support measures introduced by G'v bee and rogn of
those measures w• re opposed to the influemnber, todeoe 4
of those Noble Dukes, and ordered those itle et,d the lia.rolcitie
consequence. These were charges which pia.
_, znd__. .
Commons in the deepest state of degractatt7sed mei_•of.;
htly P ' oe, ,t, 1
such serious charges as' hould not be silk of Comte gueo' 013
(Mr. Williams) asserted that the flous
..,1 spy
ie
~ 0e53.,,
bound to inquire, not because those Peers. badfi •:)--I.°'ejoel °lt
their personal .character—(Cries of " o.cs_iocaseeere , hero
their property gave them an influence Iv'
was well known their great property had The ew ejejtet).,,
fairly by those Noble Lords. He spekewol tahemvasate ree,ritni,eree,a,:
procuring Members sears in that ',ease;
beta
of
her L.' „woo',
one of great importance to the country,
sures of gre;4o sect(
Government had brought forward
melat that the" urPc'seeto
tance to the nation, and the country fe
__ for illeitir,e, is, to
persons to represent places in that Hoir,rave ch_lteeniai.
thwarting those measures. When fnic_i!seb: it howbeliov's,artill
brought against the character of the 1-101
_ad erhatn.t:.o,l _
inquire whether such influence was exerted'.'aid uouNtr"ender,,,,,,,
"without ' coley
cases were brought under their notice.,
they could refuse to grant such inquir,Y ,_..(1 peel
5.
toy
their characters. The greatest indignr ee D
her Majesty's Government by thosey y,veteYe in- euisitsest:enr.lert'itl
charged the Right Hun. Baronet Nan
id that c o.ool'l jo.
7, ~, ~) He 5a Id t he ueh
conduct.—(Cries of " No. n •
_de. u ~ m ler'
gross and calumnious had been meat ca, quite
il the c1....,1 bik
them, that the Right Hon.
wea say the Pauelia
terested in land as any of the:
ence that exists between them and 11 ive PI the P err
ests g -ot for -dratt
—ar rCill.lneers.) ili,dy thig bro
(Sir R. Peel) made his private intrev ~,
care. - d not
good, while they exclaimed that e TheY earceir owe P: elin
interest if it interfered with theirs.,
"ri rovided th
ovoy 1.13%, 0.
the public good was to be sacrifice
.1.",,h
av a irer
,_O3O w _
.cb
er, s gem."
interests were attended to. i et- •
ettaitiee by tl'aod,
1:17e,
ought not, in his opinion, to be. E
entlemen of Engefoble obi%
sumed to themselves a title of (on tee the eople euree.
the Par _.l it
a manifestation of feeling on eduree eY til rbe eildroceti
and their supporters would not bet e
ons„
not
htad .
eep )intil
country, and he considered that i
that
_nil' _,,,e D,_
arA se to we asaara
Was it to be supposed that aftersuer u 14,„iu
against h prectvw"
with the inputatioa which Re
them the country would thissee, e•-s-w- 0411146'