The Sun.
London, England, 1848-05-10 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.
• HOUSE OF LORDS, May 9.
Their Lordships met at Five o'clock.
Messengers from the Commons brought up certain

Bills. -
resented petitions from the
Earl FORTESCUE p
mayor and town council of Torrington, from Thornbury,
.•
and various other Places, in favour of the Jewish Diets-
:f • bilities Removal Ir3iil ; also several petitions from various
lodges of Odd Fellows, praying for the legalization of
their society. -
Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from the
Lord Provost and Corporation of Edinburgh in favour'of
the Jewish Disabilities Removal Bill.
Lord CAMPBELL presented a petition from Wishart
and several other places in favour of the Jewish Disabi-
lities Removal Bill.
Lord STANLEY presented several petitions praying
for the legalization of the Odd Fellows' Society.
Lord KINNAIRD presented several petitions in
favour of the Jewish Disabilities Removal Bill.
The Bishop of LLANDAFF presented four petitions
against the Jewish Disabilities Removal Bill.
The Marquis of CLANRICARDE presented several
petitions in favour of the Jewish Disabilities Removal
Bill ; also, a petition from Drogheda praying for some
alteration in the law of arrest for debt.
Lord LYNDHURST presented several petitions in
favour of the Jewish Disabilities Removal Bill,
DR. POTTS' INVENTION FOR PILE DRIVING.
The NOBLE and LEARNED LORD then presented a
petition from Dr. Potts, praying their Lordships to
institute an inquiry into the merits of his invention for
driving piles by means of pneumatic pressure.
The Duke of W ELLINGTON and the Earl of AUCKLAND
bore testimony to the merits of the invention.
PETITIONS.

The Earl of EGLINTON presented several
petitions in favour of the legalization of the Odd
Fellows' Society.
ODD FELLOWS.

Lord BEAUMONT presented several petitions in
favour of the Bill for the legalization of the Odd
Fellows' Society.
, Several other Noble Lords having presented various
petitions with a similar prayer,
Lord BEAUMONT moved the second reading of the
Bill. After stating the history of the Odd Fellows', the
(. Foresters', and similar societies, which had been decided
to be illegal, as coming within the provisions of the Act
• , • •of the 39th of George 111., cap. 76, the Noble Lord ar-
gued at some length that, as they were purely of a chari-
table character, they ought to be put on the same footing
as all those other societies which were within the pro-
visions of the Benefit Societies Act. At present the
surplus funds were invested in the names of individuals
as trustees, as the society could not make an investment
in its own name. This was an evil which ought to be
remedied. He proposed by this Bill to render these
societies legal; and another object (sf the Bill would be
to provide that means should be taken to ascertain thatid
the tables on which the calculations for sickness and
death were made were more accurate than he wthaes ssoar2e•
to say they were at the present time.
A
time he might state, that great difficulties were expe-
rienced in calculating correct tables, not only by the Odd
Fellows', but by all other societies of this nature; and
he would venture to suggest that the Government should
call together three or four of the most eminent actuaries,
such as Mr. Davis, Mr. Tidd Pratt, and others, and that
they should construct a set of tables which might be
taken as the standard by all the societies throughout the
country. With these observations, he begged to move
the second reading of this Bill.
The Marquis of LAiNSpDedOimWeNntEin saidthe
whaeywo
afsreldieet-'
de-
sirous not to throw any m
being granted to the evils complained of : at the same
time he must state that he could not assent to the
principle of the Bill as moved by his Noble Friend, who
proposed to legalise all societies affiliated together and
communicating by signs. By the provisions of this
Bill it would be extremely difficult to ascertain whether
such societies were kept within the legitimate objects
which, of course, they would profess; and, therefore, in
giving his assent to the second reading of this Bill he
must not be considered as agreeing to the principle
,farther their a desire ter see- thins • particular society,
which certainly had a clsiessaisortife attention of their
Lordships' provided with a remedy tor the evils of
which they complained. If, therefore, their Lordships
should agree to the second reading, he trusted that it
would be so framed in Committee as to limit its provi-
sions to this society. With regard to the defects in the
internal regulations of the society be considered that a
serious evil, and he might mention that Mr. Tidd
Pratt had been engaged during the last fortnight
in investigating the abuses which had lately been
detected in some of the savings' banks in the south of
Ireland, and which were said to havo originated in
defects of the law. Those abuses had resulted, he was
sorry to say, in the loss of an immense amount of pro-
perty which belonged to the poorer classes of society,
thereby still further aggravating the calamities which
had already spread consternation and dismay among the
people. He mentioned this to show the necessity of
stringent regulations upon the subject, and with these
observations he would offer no opposition to the second
reading of the Bill.
Lord BEAUMONT said, with regard to the abuses '
of which the Noble Marquis complained, the societies of
which be was the advocate were fully aware of their own
defects, and their great object was, that they might be
exempted from these evils. He should be very willing
when in Committee to endeavour to frame the Bill in
conformity with the views of the Noble Marquis.
The Bill was then read a second time, and, on the
motion of Lord BEAUMONT, was referred to a Select
Committee.

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