The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-16 00:00:00

urging your Lordships to pass this measure with the least pos-
sible delay." But it appeared this langu,ge conveyed an opi-
nion too strong for them to agree in, and it was left out, and
in the place of it, " That it ought to pass with the
least passthie delay."—(Hear, hear.) But they did not al
them to throw out the measure, and he wished their Lordships
to remember that this petition, which was presented as a coo"-
ter-petitit:n to the one he (Lord Grey) had been entrusted
with, stated that there should be no longer delay in passing it
into a Lw,

Alter a few words from Lord ASHBURTON,
Lord BR OUG II AIM said it was inlaertant they should know
whether those petitions represented or did not repressint the
feelinee of those from whom they were stated to have emanated.
His Noble Friend did not represent that it emanated from all
the merchants but frnm a very respectable portion of them. ,
One thine shsuld not be lost sight. of in referring to this pe
!Rion. By striking out that passage they showed that they
Were not for unneces-ary delay, and they felt that if the bill
was to pass, the soreier it passed the better. He hoped their
Lordships would boar that in mind, es they were just now going
into Committee. If en amendment were there proposed, a
delay of sem? months would take place, and the prayer of tne
petitioner; Wel be thereby fi ust rats d.
Lord COLVILLE, who wa, very inaudible, VI is understood
to say :hat he had listened with very great attention to the ar-
guments used by the Nehle Lord (Lord Startle, ), and he felt
that they ware perfectly conclusive on the subject. He did
not confiae himself to its operation nn landed proprietors,
farmers, and cultivators of the soil, but he believed that it
would be injurious to all classes of the community, and was
only a link in a chain which would entail the most disastrous
results on the people of this country. He Should, therefore,
oppose it in all ii stages. During the period he had the
honour of (sees:ply:no, a seat in teat House, ha had great plea-
sure in fighting under the banners of her Majesty's Govern-
ment, but in the pre-ent measure he regretted he could not
give them his sueport-
The Bishoe of ST. DAVID'S rose for the purpose of calling
aft,- n ion to a statement made in a speech, and delivered by a
Noble Lerd whom he regretted to see was not in his place.
He would venture to say, however, that the Noble Lord had
been totally mtsiniormrd on the subject, or he would not have
endeavoured to impress such an erroneous view on their Lord-
ships' attention. llie referred to a distinction which had been
drawn by a Noble Lord (Lord Stanley) between the sources
of the revenues of the Right Rev. Prelates on the bench, and
the other portion of the clergy. He was we the Noble Lord
did net intend any reproach upon the Right Rev. bench, in
alluding to that subject, hut as it was commented upon else-
where, and might possibly he misconstrued by the country at
large, he was entitled to show that the facts on which he
grounded his observations were totally erroneous. A, to his
own income he had to say that the one-third of it only was
derived from fixed payments, and that two-thirds was subject
to the variation of the prices of agricultural produce. Fie
did not mean to make any observations on the income of any
of the other pre!ates, but with respect to his own he was suffi-
ciently well informed, and the statement he had now made was
perfectly correct.
Lord STANLEY complained of not having been informed
of the intention of the Right Rev. Prelate to refer te this sub-
ject. The Right Rev. Prelate did not hear what he (Lord
Stanley) said on that occasion. The speech of the Right Rev.
Prelate which called forth his remarks had been addressed to
the subject of motives with regard to the passing of the Bill,
and he had stated, that ab hough their Lordships might not he
influenced by selfish motives, yet such an opinion would attach
to their character out of doors if they did not pass it. In com-
menting upon these expres,ions. he (Lord Stanley) said that
the Right. Rev. Prelate would be as little inclined to be influ-
enced by his own interest as any of their Lordships, in coming
to a vote on that question. If any thing offensive was said, it
was entirely on the part of the Right Rev. Prelate. All that.
he (Lord Stanley) had said was that his (the Right Rev. Pre-
late's) motives would be as pure as those of their Lordships, and
that snoWd the eresent Bill pass, the parochial clergy, whose
incomes fluctuated with the value of corn, would become
losers unless all other articles fell in the same ratio as corn. The
Right Rev. Prelate stated that two-thirds of his income was
derived from a source subjected to the variation.: of the price
of agricultural produce; but as there was one-third of it, be
admitted, derived from money payments, he (Lord Stanley)
endeavoured to show that, under those circumstances, he
would not be a loser by the ch,nge. Had the Right Rev.
Prelate consulted him in private, he would have explained to
him that he intended nothing derngatery to either him or any
of the other Prelates on the bench in the observations he had
thoutrht it h's duty to make on that occasion.
The Bishop of SALISBURY was not in the }lmes the
other night when the observations that occurred took place;
but it was stated to him in a somewhat invidious manner, and
was commented upon more invidu malt:. He was ashamed to be
called on to expla'n. He could not be influenced by such motives,
in giving his vote nn that Bill. There were twenty-six of his
Right Reverend Brethren who occupied seats in that House,
and of that number fourteen of thsm could not in any degree
be classed in the category of the Noble Lord. The injustice,
however, to the parochial clergy, he apprehended did not
arise from the passing of the present measure, hut from the
hill for the Commutation of Tithes, and that opinion he had
iformly held. With regard to four of his Right Reverend
Friends, three of them paid annually to the Ecclesiastical Com-
missioners fixed and certain charges, and the operation of the
Bill, if it reduced the price of corn must necessarily be injurious
to their interests. Yet three of them recorded their votes in
favour of it. Two-thirds of his Right Reverend Friends were
therefore removed from the imputation of being influenced by
such motives, and though one-third of them were certainly in
the habit of receivin e a fixed income; he did
not believe that in deciding on the merits of the Bill
selfi•hriess would form any ingredient in their decision. He
claimed no exemption from any charges fairly brought forward,
nor from any strictures made on the character of the bench, but
he thought that, with regard to the present, the imputation
made upon them was by no rtica-1 deserved.
The Earl of MALMESRURY was of opinion that the
Right Rev. Prelate who had just spoken had evinced too much
susceptibility, with regard to the observations made by the
Noble Lord ( Lord Stanley). There was not a single Peer in
that House who would more unwillingly utter a word berdering
in the slightest degree to in pugn one sentence which had fallen
f. om the Right Rev. Prelate ; but he could not but disagree
most strongly with him in an imputation which he had made
against the Noble Lords who differed with him on that question.
The Right Rev. Prelate stated that the Noble Lords were
actuated by selfish motives and interests in the course they
were pursuing on the present question. The Right Rev.
Prelate had misrepresented a speech of his with respect to the
manner in which the clergy of this country would be affected
by the Government measure. Now what he had said was, that
the people would see a wide difference in the condition of the
clergy and the Right. Rev. bench, and judge accordingly of the
comparative injury which the measure would entail on both.
Not one word had dropped from him which could, in the
slightest degree, cast n imputation on the Right Rev. Bench.
There was one Right Rev. Prelate, for whom he entertained
the greatest respect, and by whose councils he would ever he
guitisd, out of that House, as far as the infirmities of human
nature would allow him, but this he would say that however
superior the Right Rev. Prelate might be out of the House,
he (the Noble Lord) was in all civil matters his peer in every
degree.
The Bishop of ST. DAVID'S, in a very low tone, ex-
plained. The Right Rev. Prelate was understood to say, that
he had not imputed selfish motives to the Noble Lord, nor to
those Noble Lords who voted contrary to him (the Bishop of

St. David's) on this question.
Lord HARDWICKE defended the Right Rev. Prelate,
who he did not consider to have used one word contrary to
the rules of debate in that House. Nor did he think that
anything had been said by any Right Rev. Prelate who ad-
dressed the House on this question till the speech of the Ritiht
Rev. Prelate the Bishop of Oxford. The Right Rev, bench
had always abstained from indulging in anything like harsh or
unseemly language. The conduct of the Right Rev. Prelates
in the debates of that House was a bright example for their
Lordships, and it was to be regretted that one Right Rev. Pre-
late had so broadly differed from the others. This wee, n•
doubt, owing to the want of knowledge of how the debates
were confiumed in their Lordship? House, arid not from any
wish to deal in harsh language. Firma whatever cause the
imputations of the Right Rev. Prelate had been made, it was
to be exceedingly regretted.
The Bishop of OXFORD said it was necessary for him to
say one word in reply to the lecture which had been read him.
He fearlessly challenged any one of their Lordships to show
him that he had used anything which could be called im-
proper. He might, on a great public question like the pre-
sent, have used words in the heat of debate, which he would
wish unsaid, hut he was not aware that he had done so—if lie
had offended any Noble Lord he humbly begged his pardon.
He could not, however, allow himself to be taunted with being
a young man, and therefore unqualified to understand the
rules of their Lordships' House. Why, he had been reading
for twenty years and studying books, men, and things, and
that being the case, he thought himself capable of giving a
plain opinion on a great national question like the present.—
( Hear, hear.) He did complain to their Lordships of the
pseudo lectures which had been read to him, because he
thought that he had not deserved it.—( Hear, hear.) He bad
been the intimate friend of the Noble Lord who last addressed
the House. but could not allow him to impute motives to him
(the Bishop of Oxford) which he could not prove.
The Earl of WINCHELSEA said, that if ever there had
been a lecture delivered in that House it was delivered by the
second Right Rev. Prelate who addressed the House in the
debate on this measure. The Rig.ht Res. Prelate was pleased
to designate a speech made by a Noble Lord on the other side
of the House (Lard Stanley) as one the argument of which was
total rottenness. The Right Rev. Prelate said that this was
totally a landlords' question. This he denied, and, not with-
standing the eloquence of the Right Rev. Prelate, he had
failed to prove it. so.
The Earl of GALLOWAY said, that he saw nothing in the
speech of the Right Rev. Prelate but what was perfectly con-
sistent with this rubs of that House ; and he, for his own part,
sincerely thanked him for the information he had given on the
subject ; for that speech certainly convinced him (the Earl of
Galloway) of the necessity of the measure.
LUNATIC ASYLUMS BILL.

The Duke of RICHMOND wished to know from her Ma.
jesty's Government whether they had taken the Lunatic Asy.
lum9 Bill into their consideration with a view to its amend.

ment ?
The Duke of WELLINGTON said that her Majesty's Go-
vernment would re-consider the Bill before it was again brought
before the House.
The Duke of RICHMOND said that with this explanation
he was perfectly satisfied. He had to present a petition from
Droitvvitch on the subject. He also wished to know if her
Majesty's Government had taken into their consideration the
subject
of providing an asylum for juvenile offenders after the
term of their imprisonment had expired?
WELLINGTONe said that he had inquired
introfhtheDmukateteorf
, and there would, no doubt, be a Bill brought
in to provide for the deficiency which existed with regard to
juvenile offenders.
RECOVERY OF SMALL DEBTS BILL.
The Duke of BUCCLEUCH moved the first reading of this
Bill.
The Bill was accordingly read a first time, and ordered to be
printed.
THE CORN IMPORTATION BILL.
Their Lordships having resolved themselves into a Committee
on the Corn Importation Bill,
The Duke of BUCKINGHAM rose and said, that it was
then his dory to
,nto,
itpi notice onon
ea move th amendments which he had given
which
evening. The Bill before their Lord
would do great and inealculable injury
to the agricultural interests of this country, and it was to
avert, if passible,
in
nof that evil which caused him to
propose that all te any portion
the first clause, after the words " in
the schedule to this Act
of
annexed be omitted." The effect
of this would be, that insteadas at
when corn was at 48s.
present proposed by the
Bill, there would he a p;otection of
The protection given by the measure
wasat 48s. only Is., and
Os.
this cool .1 not be looked upon as protection,
trary, it was a delusion. He hoped that now
but on. the con.
the 1
11 was read
a ,e,ond time, Noble Lords, who had voted fur
the
l
withoutcy to
and spirit of the Bill, would now be found read eiple
support the interests of the agriculturists,
at all sacrificing their votes on a former occasion.
He would not further occupy their attention. His object- was
that, after 1849, the schedule now in the Bill should still con-
tinue in it. He would now conclude, by moving that the
words in the clause, " after the Ist of February, 1849," be
omitted.
The Earl of RIPON rose to oppose the amendment just
prop ,sed. A Noble Lord, who spoke the other evening,
stated that he could not see how they came to introduce a mo-
dified sliding scale, unless it were a species of comprOmise in
order to satisfy those who had an objection to it. He (Lord
' Ripon) meant to oay most distinctly it was never introduced