The Sun.
London, England, 1848-02-25 00:00:00

GAME LAWS.

Mr. BRIGHT postponed his motion respecting the
game-laws till that day fortnight.
LAW OF ENTAIL.

The LORD ADVOCATE moved for leave to bring
in a Bill to amend the law of entail in Scotland. He
considered that the evils of the present system were
such as to call for an effectual remedy. The remedy he
proposed had been long maturing; he was fully disposed
to respect direct vested interests, but he thought it most
desirable to remove the inconveniences now resulting
from the more remote contingencies which attended
entails in Scotland. He wished to give Scotch entails
the same protection, and in the same way that was
given to entails in England. He proposed to alter
the age at which the heir to an entail should be
legally qualified to act from twenty-one to twenty-five
years. The Bill would give power to such heir to
disentail an estate—which was equivalent to what was
styled in England " suffering a recovery," which
should have been entailed after it had passed into a
law, upon his reaching the age of 25 years. The Bill
would also have a retrospective action, for he proposed
to insert a provision whereby all entails already existing
should be deemed as dating from the period of the
passing of the Act, and the next successor to the
estate born after the Act should be entitled to disen-
tail it on his attaining the age of 25 years. In cases
where the consent of the next heir should be necessary
for the :possessor of an estate to disentail it, he pro-
posed to give such power to the next immediate son,
disregarding the claims of ulterior or collateral heirs.
The Learned Lord entered into some further details
respecting the measure, which were imperfectly com-
prehended in the reporter's gallery, and concluded by
moving
for leave to bring in a Bill to amend the law of
entail in Scotland.
Mr. C. BRUCE said that the Hon. and Learned Gen-

delimit had rightly characterised the two principal laws
of entail in Scotland, namely, the Montgomery Act and
the Aberdeen Act, as being at the root of all the evils
that prevailed in the system of land in that country.
He had not in the least exaggerated the bad conse-
quences of those laws which, notwithstanding they had
been framed for the express purpose of doing good, had
rendered the position of landlords in Scotland quite in-
tolerable. He should defer all observations on the
details of the Bill until he had enjoyed an opportunity
of examining it and of understanding its details, In
the meantime he gave his cordial assent to the principle
on which it was based.

Mr. B. COCHRANE concurred with the Hon. Mem-
ber who spoke last in his praise of the Bill, but thought
it was deficient in not possessing a retrospective power
over entails.

Mr. SCOTT said, that in so far as the prospective
operation of the Bill was concerned, it might do good in
preventing the entailing of property at present unre-
stricted, but he feared that its retrospective provisions
would find very little favour with the landed proprietors
of Scotland.

Mr. F. MACKENZIE saw many features in the Bill
to which objection might be taken. He trusted that
the Learned Lord would reconsider it previous to
moving the second reading.
Mr. J. S. WORTLEY would not commit himself to
an opinion on the Bill until he had bocome acquainted
with its details. All he could say was, that, as a pro-
fessional man, he should be glad to give the Noble Lord
every assistance in his power in oarrying it through the
House. One feature of the Bill he had heard described
with great pleasure, namely, that which gave it a re-
trospective as well as a prospective action. Nothing
could be more injurious to the interests of the country
than the present state of the law of entail in Scotland.
Leave was then given to bring in the Bill.
SELECT COMMITTEE ON PASSENGERS BILL.

Mr. LABOUCHERE moved the nomination of the
Select Committee on the above Bill.
Mr. WAKLEY asked whether it was intended to
make the superintendents of passenger-vessels medical
men, or to make the employment of the latter compul-
sory? He could assure the Right Hon. Gentleman, that
there would be no difficulty in finding a sufficieat num-
ber of professional men for the duty. The Hon. Mem-
ber then read a letter from Mr. Carmichael, of Dublin,
to the effect that that city alone could supply the neces-
sary number of fully qualified practitioners.
Mr. LABOUCHERE said he had given the subject
his best consideration, but could not think of rendering
the employment of surgeons compulsory, in opposition
to the advice of the Emigration Commissioners. Besides,
he feared that medical men could not be got to fulfil the
office of superintendent for the small remuneration of 201.
and a free passage back. If qualified gentlemen would
offer themselves on those terms, there was no doubt but
that the Emigration Commissioners would give them
the preference. Six hundred and twenty vessels had
sailed with emigrants last year, and, notwithstanding
what had been said by the Hon. Member for Finsbury,
he feared that there would be a difficulty in supplying
such a number of vessels with surgeons. The Bill
would be referred to a select Committee, where he would
be happy•to hear and to attend to any suggestions which
the Hon. Member might offer.
Mr. S. O'BRIEN thought that the best mode of pre-
serving the health of passengers would be to give the
captains of emigrant ships a bonus for each passenger
they landed at the port of debarkation free from disease.
The Committee wns then nominated:—Mr. Labou-
chere, Mr. Cardwell, Mr. Vernon Smith, Mr. Gladstone,
Mr. Stafford, Mr. Herbert (Kerry), Mr. M. J. O'Con-
nell, Mr. Clements, Viscount Melgund, Col. Thompson,
Mr. Forster, Mr. T. T. Hodges, Earl of Shelburne, Mr.
\V. Brown, and Mr. Monsell.
LEASING OF MINES (IRELAND.)
Sir W. SOMERVILLE, in moving for leave to bring
in the above Bill, explained that its object was to remove
certain restrictions which were at present imposed on
the lessors of mines in Ireland.—Leave given.
SLAVE TRADE.

Mr. lIIJTT moved for the nomination of the following

Select Committee on the Slave Trade :—Mr. Hutt, Mr.
Gladstone, Mr. E. Stanley, Mr. Hume, Earl of Lincoln,
Mr. Cobden, Lord H. Vane, Mr. Jackson, Sir IL H.
Inglis, Colonel Thompson, Mr. E. Denison, Lord Cour-
tenay, Mr. Simeon, Mr. M. Milnes, and Lord J. Hay.
Captain PECIIELL hoped the nomination would be
postponed. lie regretted to see that no Member of the
Government was named.
Mr. 111NDLEY asked why the name of the Hon.
Baronet, the Member for South Essex, was not included
in the Committee ?

Mr. HUTT explained that the Hon. Baronet was en-
gaged on the West India Committee, which sat four
times a week. For the Noble Secretary for Foreign
Affairs, whose avocations would prevent hie attendance,
he had substituted the name of the Hon. Member for
Cheshire.
Lord PALMERSTON was of' opinion that the list
was as fair a one as could have been made.
The Committee was appointed.
PAPERS TO BE PRINTED.

On the motion of Mr. SCHOLEFIELD, it was
ordered that the petition of the electors of Walsall be
printed with the votes.
On the motion of Mr. GROGAN, it was ordered that
the copy of the judgment pronounced by the Court of
Exchequer Chamber, Ireland, in the case of " Dickson
v. rape," laid on the table of the House, Feb. 3, be
printed.