The Sun.
London, England, 1846-05-26 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENIMG, MAY 26, 1846.

Upon the vote of 72,4001. being proposed for frecco paintings• for
the new 'louses of Parliament,

Mr. HUME wished to know if those fresco paintings were only
intended for the House of Lords, or whether they were intended for
both Houses. lie certainly should regret seelig one painting more
in the House of Lords than in the House of Commons.
Sir R. PEEL said he could not qUite agree vith the Hon. Gentle-
man. There was more room in the House a' Lords for paintings
than in the House of Commons. There were to be statues in both
Houses, and the House of Commons would lave its full share of
them.

Mr. PETER BORTHWICK would suggest the propriety of not
being in a hurry to fill the new Houses with fresco paintings, for
that art had not as yet reached perfection in this country.
The vote was then agreed to.
It was then proposed that the sum of 19,2.?5/. should be granted for
the re-building of the Home-office in Downing-street, and that
4,0001. be granted for the ventilation of the sane.
After a few words in explanation from Sir R. PEEL and Mr.
CARDWELL as to the extent of projection which would take place in
the re •building of the Admiralty, the vote was agreed to.
Upon the sum of 85,6811. for a harbour of refuge at Holyhead
being read,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, in answer to a
question from Mr. Williams, that Holyhead had been chosen, not be-
cause of its affording the shortest passage to Ireland, but the most
facile, and also because the railway company, who were about to
form a line of railway from Holyhead to London, had agreed to cen-
tribute one-fourth of the entire expense, which had been estimated
at 620,0001.—The vote was then agreed to.
On 50,0001. being proposed for the formation of the Caledonian
Canal,
Sir DE LACEY EVANS and Mr. 'Timm suggested that this sum
would be more usefully employed in increasing the extent of the
National Gallery.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, that the canal had
teen formed and embankments made, and no alternative was left but
either to go on with the Bill, or subject a great portion of the country,
which was below the level of the canal, to a most destructive inunda-
tion.

Mr. HUME would wish to know in what state the canal was now,
and what prospect there was of its being completed? It had already
cost 150,0001.

Sir ROBERT PEEL said, tbat the work had originally cost
1,000,0001., and it then became a question, whether it would be
wiser to go on with it or destroy it. A Connnittee was appointed
to inquire into the state of the canal, and their report was
to the effect that it would cost so much to destroy the work, and that
as no private contractor could be got to undertake the coJlpletion of
it, the Government had deemed it advisable to comp ete it.
Mr. CARDWELL said he had been assured that the whole would
be completed in a very short time, he believed in about a year or
two. If he was correct In his impressions 10,000/. more had been
expended than was anticipated.
Colonel SIBTIIORP said that the Hon. Member was now quoting
the returns which would answer his expectations. Why not drain
this Caledonian Canal at once? We find that every drain in the
canal shares was a benefit to railroads. Why then was not this
canal turned into a railway ? This was only one of the
jobs which were as numerous on this side of the House as they were
on the other. He would instance that nameless one of the National
Gallery, which was a disgrace to the country. The minister outht
to boble to answer these questions, and if he did not he was not fit
to be the minister.--(Loud cheers.) They are called upon year
after year to vote those monies without any sort of explanation.
(Laughter.) He had it in contemplation to regulate the ealaries
which were drawn out of the pockets of the people. This is a sort
of legislation to which he should always set his face against, and if
there was to be a cause of dissolution, why the sooner it came the
better.—(Laughter.)
Sir H. DOUGLAS would remind the House that the object of his
vote was to change the canal into a railroad.
Mr. HUME would explain that the Hon. Member on the other
side, by stating that he objected to Members changing thcir opiniona,
while no one had done more so than himself.

Mr. CARDWELL said that the object of this motion was'to con
vert a valley through which a canal flowed into a marsh.
After a few words from Mr. COLLETT,

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER stated that the object
of this vote was a general one, and that the sum was by no means
excessive.
The vote then passed.

. -
The CHAIRMAN then put the vote that the sum of 21,452/. should
be voted for the improvement of the parks and public buldings in
Ireland.

Mr. IVILLIAMS objected to this vote, on the ground that there
was no sufficient evidence to justify the vote, and because he felt it
to be irrelevant.

Mr. CARDWELL said that the vote was suggested because it wa,
felt to be necessary, and he did not conceive that because the vote
had been thrown out in fermer years that it should not be agreed
to now.

Colonel SIItTHORP objected to this vote because it contained a
vote for 5751. for the repairs of the College of Maynooth, and he
would like to have a statement of the repairs for which this money
was necessary. He would appeal to the Hon. Member for Oxford to
know what those repairs were. There was 5001. here, and 50,0001.
there, and nobody knew ,N here the money was going, but he thought
it was high time that this expenditure was stopped, and that it
should not go ox without some Committee of inquiry.—(Hear, hear.)
It was possible to resist a packed treasury bench, but he thought the
old principle of " Scratch me and I'll scratch you " ought to be
stopped, and he put his protest against the vote.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that this vete was
simply to save expenditure in future years.
The vote was then agreed to.
It was then proposed that the sum of 12,5001. should be devoted to
the improvement of the harbour of Kingstown.
After a few words from Sir C. NAPIER, as to the expenditure last
year,
Sir R. PEEL said that the money voted last year had been devoted
to the improvement of the harbours of refuge, including Dover and
Harwich. _ . _

The sum of 29,3561. was proposed to satisfy the salaries of the
officers of both Houses of Parliament, when,
Mr. HUTT said, he had repeatedly moved for returns of this ex-
penditure. He trusted that before this sum was voted that these re-
turns would be allowed. He alluded especially to the salaries
of the House of Lords. The salaries of the officers of the
House of Commons had, it was notorious, been greatly reduced,
while those of the officers of the House of Lords had been
materially increased. This ought to be explained and rectified.
Mr. WILLIAMS objected to the expenses of the various Govern-
ment offices having been increased during the last year. He was
strongly averse to this disgraceful expenditure of the public money.
Mr. HUTT was convinced there was some unnecessary charges in
the expenses of the House of Lords.
Mr. HUME. wanted to know what the amount received was for
the House of Lords ?

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER believed the amount
was 50,0001.

Mr. HUME wanted to know whether the Chairman of Committees
in the House of Lords received any sum beyond the 3,5001. which he
received as a salary?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that he would
give an explanation on the bringing up of the report.
The estimate was then agreed to.
gfe gum of 56,0001. was then voted for the expenses of the Treasury.
A sum of 16,0001. was also passed to defray the expenses of thepffice
of Secretary of State for the Home Department.
The sum of 63,0001, was voted for the Foreign-office.
19,0001. was passed for the expenses incurred in the Colonial De-
partment.
The sums of 37,2551. and 2,0001., 29,5591., ani 16,1561. were then
severally voted to defray the expenses of the Privy Council and Trade
offices, Privy Seal, the Paymaster-General of the Forces, and the
Comptroller-General of the Exchequer.
The sum of 2,6501 was voted for the payment of the salaries and
expenses of the State Paper-office.
Mr. CHRISTIE thought that some arrangement might be made
to bring the State Papers into one place. The present arrangement
was very inconvenient.

The sum of 72,915/. was granted to her Majesty to defray the ex
penses of the Mint.

Also the sum of 12,6281. for defraying the expenses and salaries
of keeping the Public Records.

1,7551. was proposed to defray the salaries and expenses of certain
officers of Scotland, that were formerly charged upon the hereditary
revenues of that country.

At the suggestion of Sir. WILLIAMS, the vote was postponed.
23,2731. for the salaries of the Household of the Lord-Lieutenant
of Ireland. _ _

5,0461. for the office of the Civil Service in Ireland.
5,7981. for the Board of Public Works in Ireland.
244,1261. for the expense of stationary, printing, and binding, of the
the . ME complained several public establishments, were severally voted.
Mr.
quality of the stationery supplied
to
illiotrusewcasom very discreditable,
the quality
and hoped that it would be
better In future. _

---- ...........
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER thought that public
officers were hardly dealt with. If they attempted to save money
they were called shabby, and if they were liberal they were called
profligate.—(Laughter.)
The vote was agreed to.
A sum of 4,950/. was proposed for the printing to be executed by
the Queen's printers in Ireland.
After a few words from Mr. HUME, the estimate was itgreed to.
The House then resumed.

Mr. GREENE reported progress, and obtained leave to sit again
this day.
The other orders of the day were then agreed to.
The Report on the Corresponding Societies and Lecture Rooms
Bill was brought up and agreed to.
The House then adjourned at twenty minutes past twelve o'clock.