The Sun.
London, England, 1848-05-31 00:00:00

THE " MORNING POST"-BREACH OF
PRIVILEGE.

Mr. GRATTAN said be churned the right to speak
at this period or their proceedings upon a question or
ivileges relating to a report, which appeared in a paper
called the Morning Post, of what was alleged to have
fallen from him itt,t night. •
Au LION. MEMBER—Nobody cares for the Morning
Pot —(Laughter.)
Mr. CiRATTAN said, be that as it might, he must
take notice of it noy, beesuse what appeared in that
paper did not fall from him, but was a pure fabrica-
tion.—(Hear and laughter.) It was a mischievou.
taper, although it was perfectly harmlesir.—(Hear, hear,
and laughter.) But this was another instance of not
reporiii.g, but wilfully misrepresenting Irish Members;
end he begged to take that opportunity of
telling the House, that from what he had
seen in that House ald elsewhere, both of Government
and newspaper reporters, such as these upon this min•
rably•circulated paper—(Hear, hear, and laughter)—
he was quite convinced that they make a point of
always misrepresenting what falls from the lips of au
Irish Memher.—(Order, order.)
The SPEAKER asked if the Hon. Gentleman in-
tended to conctude with a motion ? _ _

Mr. GRATTAN ;aid he certainly did. He intended '
to move that the editor of this paper be brought to the
bar of the House.—(Loud laughter.)
Tne SPEAKER, said the lion. Member in a matter of
Pri"lette had a perfect right to make such a motion,
but the usual
,course was to hand the paper in which
the misrepresentatien appeared marked, to be read by
the clerk frem the table, before the motion was male.
Mr. GRATTAN said he knew the rules of the House
MGER•orit)ivOPEONovery well—(Hear, a..d laughter)—and he begged to
give notice that he would adopt that course to-morrow:
LliTt Ar
rose
epursuant BAKERS.
Lord R.
to notice to
move for a Select Committee to take into consideration
the petitions of the master and journeymen bakers,
presented to the House on the ad day last.
He
of April
fie said, in order to maintain his argument, he would
lay down a proposition which had been generally as-
sented to, but had been almost as generally
overlooked
through the seltishnees with which human nature was
inflicted. That proposition was, that men of all nations
were members of one great family, and that when one
member suffered any other member, either directly
or indirectly, suffered likewise. If that was true, how
much more strongly ought the truth to appear when
the sufferings to which he alluded were confined to one
particular class of periwig. Those who were engaged in
the baking trade had not to endure sufferings which
were only of a temporary or accidental character, but
sufferings which were of a normal and continuous kind,
andwhich they could not get rid of without the inter
vention occupied
vention of the House. Journeymen bakers
labour
which 18 to 20 hours a day in a description of
which was injurious to health. and which preclued
them from obtaining that mental and moral _ improve-
ment, or that domestic recreation, which the hard-
worked labourer ought to be allowed to enjoy after the
hours of business. They worked in a heated and un-
wholesome atmosphere, which not only destroyed
the health of the journeymen, but rendered them
old in constitution beture they arrived at
the prime of life. And it was upon those
grounds that the petitioners prayed that the House
might be pleased to piss some measure to remove some
of the grievances which so heavily weighed upon them.
The Noble Lord then read a number of docu-
ments descriptive of the condition of the
journeyman bakers and of the great necessity
that existed for the Legislature to adopt remedial
measures. He showed by reference to the evidence
of surgeons and others that the members of- no
rrade in the metropolis were so 01-I.v/44-Iced, and
that in such vitiated atmospheres that the,' be-
flame premal urely old and seldom lived look.
l'he bakers of the metropolis had confidence in the House
to do them j%.stice, and that the principles of Christianity
-would have great weight in inducing them to do so. Ha
fot convinced that the House would grant him the
Committee he asked. He was not an Utopian dreamer
d, of tha Louis Blanes achool--(A laugh)—but he