The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-23 00:00:00

LONDON',

1846.

• e
lan all cecas;ens, and unlersli• Governmenl suppoit
those measures which he the ght most beneficial .0 the cnan.ry.
.fu-tge Perrin, at the last Spring assizes in belated, speaking on
the couduct of the magistrates and she grand juries appointed
for the special occasion, for carrying the provisions of an Act
into execution for the benefit of the people, and who had re-
fused to do so, said that they had been guilty of a high misde-
meanour and were subject to a prosecution. lie would, therefore,
impress upon English Members the danger of placing such a
power in the hands of the magistrates of Ireland, who had
themselves set the law at defiance. • .
Mr. SEYM ER said, when he• recollected that the Noble
Lord (the Member for London)-had.proputed'a Bill of a similar •
nature, . and that the protection party had voted for its first
reading, it appeared to him tliat the time hid Arrived when, by
a strong muster of all parties. it was hoped to place her Ma-
jesty's Government in a minority, and the party who sat upon
the Opposition benches, ,on those at present occupied by the
Treaeury. And taking all these facts into consideration, he did
not think the Secretary-at- War, when he reproaehect the Noble I
Lord (Lord Bentinck )- fey the incopaisteocy of -the course
which he had pursued, and when he excused the party led by
the Noble Member- for Londriti, he had 'beiti quite fair in his
• observations, for he had not been equally just. The Noble
Member for Lynn and his party had eianged their votes with
a view to &fest the Al:nis!rw, who, they think have not acted
in a Ixi,tcifide manner on the qu stion of coercion.' But the
.Member for London and his party had equally changed their
votes-for the purpose of defeating the Ministry uncondition-
ally. —( He r, hear.) He would wish fir a moment to con-
eider 'what was the nature of the measure on which such great
party. divisions were to take place ? or to "ask; hod -Hon. Mem-
bers, read toe Bill? "for he had Sottgetiotibtt'at' te' that; always
'excluding the ,'Hnn:'
.11deraber -who • hid last ad.;
dressed= the House,. andswho - had., appeared: to have
given the subject: ,seep attention. But the- observations
of some' Hon: Members had induced him to believe that they
had not read the Bill then before:the House. -It was not, as
had, been asserted, Proposed:to coerce the wfICIi7 of Ireland—
the Bill was only a temporary one, and it did not-fellow that
any one country, or any one parish, should be coerced.: When
a necessity arose a district might be coerced, but not until then.
Whatever might be the faults of the Government; and he for
one would not justify them, he consicldred that they had
acted in a just and generous spirit towards Ireland.—( Hear. )
That was his opinion ; and a similar one had been expressed by
the Hon. Member for Cork on the occasion of the Maynooth
Bili ; and such having been the case he was prepared to, ac-
cede to the powers proposed to be vested in the -Government.
As long as parts of Ireland remained in such a
state as they were at present they . would re_qoire_ a coercion
Bill, and he was of opinion that no Government should he
allowed to hold office which was not prepared to propose such
a Bill in such a state of .ciecumstances ; and if they abused the
p6wers vested in them, or the people of England and Scotland
saw a desire to oppress. Ireland, they would not termit them to
remain in office, for they would knowthat it they permitted
such a proceeding their turn would come next. The present
state of things could not be allowed to continue with safety ; if
the people were not protected, they would take the
law into their own hands. They had heard a great
deal about the • liberties of Ireland, but he would like
to know what, amount of liberty existed in Ireland.
He Would - tike any five charges from the list of the state
of crime in Ireland, and he would read them to the House.
One was a threatening notice to a steward not to collect his
master's rents; another was a notice for a man not to pay a
debt he owed to a certain man, but to his wife, from whom he
had separated ; another was to prevent a man from proposing
for a widow for whom another had proposed.—( A laugh.)
Hon. Members might laugh, but it was no laughing matter.
They could thus see that a steward could not do justice to his
master, nor could a man marry the wife of his choice. They
were told that things ware a better aspect, and that therefore
coercion was unnecessary. but he was disinclined to doubt the
statement, and they knew that former Coercion Bills had been
successful, though they had never been put into operation..
He would ask them bow could landed proprietors be expected
to reside on their estates unless they were affsrded protection ?
He would support the Government upon the present occasion,
and he could not see the consistency of the course, that,
having voted for protection, he should now be called on to
vote against the Coercion Bill ; in other words to assist in
bringing in a Government more favourable to free-trade than
the present, and which would be strongly urged to take off the
proposed three years of protection which had been afforded.-
The Hon. Member for Stockport wr uld, of course, be in the'
Government—( Hear, hear)—and he confessed he would not
be sorry to see him there. He (Mr. Cobden) had already
done them all the mischief in his power, and if they were to
have bad measures, why they would have the consolation of at
least having good speeches.—( Hear, hear.) Nothing surprised
him more than the strong party spirit which was evir.ced at
the present moment by the party to which he had the honour
to belong. When lion. Members met in the streets, after
the first observation of the heat of the weather, the next ques-
tion was " What will you do on the Coercion Bill ?" "Oh,
I will take the straight course, and vote against the Bill."
( Hear, hear.) The straight course ! as if no other course-
was straight. Now, he would be almost inclined to call it the
crooked course, but if his course was allowed to be straight in
supporting the Bill, he would allow the contrary course to be
straight also.—( Hear, hear.) But if his course was not
called: straight, he would be obliged to quarrel—what he most
wished to avoid. Again, if he met in a club-room, he would
be told, " Oh, we count upon so many honest and true men to
defeat the measure." Now, he was not so foOlish as to take
offence, but he felt his face getting rather hot—( Hear, hear)—
when such language was used. He was attached to
the principles 'of protection to British industry, but he
also believed that the present Bill would be
beneficial, and ho would therefore vote for it.
He would just instance in the Secretary-at-War, a man who
never took a course hut-such as was perfectly consistent with
honourable feeling; and he did so because he knew the Right
Hon. Gentleman ; yet that gentleman, be ventured to say,
would not stick at applying in debate those hard names which'
had been made use of by the Hon. Gentleman. The case of
Fox had been introduced in exculpation; bist he would answer
that by a single line of the Latin poet—
" Distat eloquent/a' vitiis
Let HOn. Gentlemen imitate Fox in his eloquence, and leave
him alone in his use of hard names and hard
words...( Loud cries of ," Hear, hear.") There was one
sentiment used by the Learned Recorder for. Dublin in which
I.e con' d not concur. Tnat Hon. and Learned Gentleman
had said in effect, that it would be welt if her Majesty's pre-
sent Ministers were li!plaeed by the Noble Lord, because
then they would have no more of those painful scenes, those
hard words, and t e (Mr. Seymer) thought he added, vitupe-
ration ; hut he (Mr. Seymer) rathe: expected that in op-
,sitiou these hard words, and hard names would be revived.
At the same time, he felt it was the duty of every Memetr
is that House, to assuage, as far as pass hie, all personalities,
and the use of hard names.—The Hon. Gentl n:an sat
down, after stating that he would oppose the amendment of the
Right Hon. H Toilet (Sir W. Somerville) opposite.
Mr. C. POWELL said, he never hear I opinions expressed
in Parliament, founded more upon ignorance of thecondition
of Ireland than those uttered by the Hon. Gentleman who had
just sat down. That Hen. Gentleman could not surely have
beard the admirable speech which had been delivered on the
subject by the Member for Oxfordshire. That Hon. Member
had shown to demonstration, in his able speech, that the docu-
ment on which the Hon. Gentleman had rested, the Govern-
ment returns of crime in Ireland, was incorrect, and could not
be relied upon. He hid shown that out of the 2,000 cases,
which was the gross amount stated, 803 were merely threaten-
ing notices, and 8)2 of these notices, which were never
followed by injurious acts—he (Mr. Powell) believed had been
got up by the scouts of the police. Instances might be quoted
from the annals of crime in England to parallel what had
taken place in some parts of -Ireland ; but he would
not detain the House. He could not imagine a severer
satire on her Majesty's Government than the present
measure. That Government, the strongest that had
existed. came down now, the eighteenth time in the
political history of Ireland, for a coercive measure—a Bill giving
them the command of physical force—a measure to annihilate
the liberties of the people of Ireland. It might be said to him
that the present measure did not apply to all Ireland ; but his
reply was, that it did, if the Lord-Lieutenant chose. Her Ma-
jesty's present Government on this occasion, found Ireland in
1841 in a state of perfect tranquillity, the authorities in the
country had the confidence of the people ; and the present Go-
vernment selected for the highest offices in the administration
of the law, the most obnoxious individuals in the country—indi-
viduals who had for years been in the habit of reviling the
people of Ireland. If there was an obnoxious person in the
erovincial localities they made him a magistrate; and if there
was not such a man in the district; they set about hunting him
up from another quarter ; and having done so, that Govern-
ment came down to Parliament and asked for power
to put down the disturbances which had been excited
by these gross abuses. Her Majesty's Government had
endeavoured to represent these disturbances as non-
political. But he thought that the great mass had
withdrawn their confidence from the constituted authorities in
the country, and was not that political ?—( Hear, hear, from
Mr. Sheil.) The repeal agitation had been c, nstrued by an
Hon. Gentleman opposite into high treason. He (Mr.
Powell) though an advocate for the repeal of the union, enter-
tained the strongest wish for the British connexion ; and he
further thought that, repealer as he was, the measures which
he would support would tend more to cement that connexion
than those-which had been proposed by the Hon. Gentleman
who had thought proper to characterise repeal as a dismember-
ment of the empire. Why, for 490 years that connexion had
continued to exist at the same time that there was a separate
Legislature. As be had already said, the returns on which those
fears were founded were incorrect, for out of 2,090, the total
sum, there were 805 mere threatening notices; and from these
805, only. three had been followed by overt acts. Now, as to
these notices, he himself had received a Paper, which he
held in his hand, addressed to Mr. Powell, M.P.
Inside there were these words, " Look what comes, death to
the Saxon."—(At least so we understood the Hon. Gentle.
man to read, for he read with great difficulty.) Then followed
a coffin and cross-bones, and these words, " Mr. Powell's sur-
tout. Here is your fate, if you vote for the Coercion Bill."
(Laughter.) Now, he believed that many of these cases were
got up as hoaxes, but many of them were excited by the secret
service money of the Government, which, since their acces-
sion, had been freely distributed among the people of that•
country.—(Hear, bear.) He knew it. Many lived by it,
and it was" called " doing business ;" and those persons were
known as " Paddy M'Kerrs." He (Mr. Powell) was sure
that the social order might be sufficiently, maintained in Ireland
by the ordinary means of law, if these were used by those who
had secured the confidence of the people. That, however, the
present Government had not acquired, and he thought never
would ; and he believed further, that their resignation would
be hailed by the people of Ireland. Very different would have
been their feelings, if a sentiment uttered by the Hon. Mein-
her for Oxfordshire had prevailed some time before in that
House, when he asked whether any honest man could, upon
the evidence supplied by her Majesty's Ministers, sanction en-
croachment upon the liberties of the people of Ireland?
Mr. COLLETT said he would-support the second reading
of the measure on the same grounds as the first, for since he
had uttered his opinions on that occasion he had not heard
anything to remove those reasons which he then gave for
so voting. There existed a certain set of robbers, assassins,
and marauders in certain counties in Ireland ; and as soldiers
were sent out to apprehend this class of persons in Naples and
Sicily, he did net see why the same means should not be
adopted in Ireland. For a period of eight years there had
hardly passed a day in which outrages had not been committed.
There had arisen a sympathy with crime which he could not
account for—a sympathy with these roaming assassins. And
why should not the police have the power to suppress it? He
knew that there was a price for crime. He
knew—and it might seem strange to them—that
the price, was 21. 10s. for crime when the
man was not shot dead, and 6/. when the man was killed.
Would he for a trifling saving of 500/. or 1,0001. per annum,
send 500 men loose upon the country-500 men accustomed to
the use of gunpowder, and weapons of every description ?
( Hear.) No, he could not do it as 'a Briton, or as an
Englishman. Let them not be deceived by, the temporary lull
that had occurred, for he believed that if this Bill did not pass
the second reading, there would be riot and exultation at the
failure of a measure which would pat a stop to the crimes of
these marauding assassins. He believed that a temporary
Coercion Bill would be of benefit to the country. He ha I
always felt well disposed towards the Irish, and had done all in
his power for them, but still bethought that this Bill was neces-
sary. The keeping of people in their houses from sunset to
sunrise was not the question. It was the question of whether
there was to be any security for life and property in Ireland—
( Hear, hear)—and they were bound to give protection to people
who were well disposed towards their fellow-countrymen, and
who received nothing but injury in return. He received
accounts of crime and outrage every Rowley marairig from

‘.w,..r.:

kllalue; and his wee:aryl:A on four oceasicns:neen stopped,.
1w was ref urningwith only half notes. Before he sat
downfhe would beg to say only one .word:: He-was surprised
to find it recordSil .that he had dissented fiom the present
Measure, hut he felt triutel to say that he -would on this occasion
give his cordial support to her Majesty's Iginiaters.
Mr. HALSEY said he opposed the Pia non a solemn
ccinViCtiori -that' the state of crime in Ireland did not afford to
them a sufficient ground for the introduction of.such,a. mea-
sure. Did the state of crime in Ireland show an increase
'over fpriner years?—( Hear, hear.) •There-had, certainly, been
atrocious cr naea..-consm it ted in .Irelatabettnd there appeared
marked -e“npathy for the criminals, but flirts-ARV-iv-as a most
irritating as well as a most-unconstitutional Measure. And
' with regard-to-the-intimidation of witnesses, it.did not in any
way provide against that, evil. The Bill was. not what ft
should be—an encouragement to the people of Ireland to seek
measures of conciliation with their superiors. He did vat seek
to put the question on personal grounds, but he did conceive
' that it was a fair ground of discussion to speak of the-condaet
of public men. certainly found fault with the conduct of
the promoters'of this measure, as they had saed that the success
of the Cord Bill was.depetident on the pasiing .of-this measure:
He did not see what connexion there could! Da lietweerea toys
mercial measure, which was to arrive _at maturity in three.,
years, and 'a temporary and unconstitutional measure.—
( Hear, hear.) He did not wish to judge of the motives of bet.
131ajeity's Ministers in bringing forward this measure: They
might have been of opinion that it was necesaary hie the stat,e
of Ireland, but if they were of. web an oStiokbosAllY44l4M•
not press it forward at once? for under-such circumstances
delay was little short of a crime. -Under these circumstances_e
he should give the Bill hii most strenuous. oppositiett. *"
Mr. V. STUART was not 'prepares todenY, that crltrfe7
existed to a fri4itful extent in Ir.dand, but. he fiiily believed
that this Hill was not at all .the one likely to suppress. it.
There was not one member of that. House. who knew ab.thing
of the state of mind of the people in Ire'end, who did not
knt,w that th y hid a great want of confidence in the laws;
and was the present opsressive and. =constitutional measure
the one which would restore that confidence? Weresthe hits
in exist nee with regard to Ireland at it calculated
to restore that • confidence? Did not tl a judges
inform them that laws were made for the' benefit of'soCiety' •
and did their application bear out that fact ? He had seen the
law prostituted to the worst purposes. He bad seen whole
fiord les driven out upon the roads, their cottages unroofed,
and their cattle driven away. He hsd,seen them working by
the toadside'ill the hopes of obtaining . redress; not from .the
middleman who had turned them out, but from that superior
landlord. These landlords Were, no donfit,-willing to redress
the wrongs of their tenants, but they had it not :irk-their
power, under the peculiar systems on which their estates were
managed. There was in Ireland a most singular feeling with
regard to being galled by' unnecessary interference; and the-
practice of offering motley to obtain evidence wasone of the
most mischievous character. The_ man who, Was induced to came,
forward by such motives was not unilaterally regarded as a degras
tied man. This Bill would not, in his opinion, answer the ends
for which it was intended. It would produce a temporary
lull, but its permanent effect would be to increase the evils
for the abolition of which it wets created. Let them not at-
tempt coercion, but give fair- pla7 to those laws calculated to
inspire a confidence in the legislature .en the part of the people.
ear. ROEBUCK said, he had weal censideredahe.effect,of
this measure now before the considereetion of the House, and
without referring to the recent vote he gave in that House,
he would speak of the vote which he si!sould give 'in accord.
ante with those principles which hail at'svays directed his
political career. In accordance with all those principles whiCh
he had derived from a careful study of the business, the science,
and the art of legislation and Government, he was inclined
strongly to believe that ail those modes' of legis-
lation in all those sorts of Bills and Acts
of the present description were mischievous ; b•ecause, in
the first place, they were ineffieacious in a great measure for
good. They were in as strong a measure efficacious for
evil. If he looked at the situation of the peop;e of Irelgnd,
and at their past history, still stronger was his feeling that it
was folly and injustice to cirry such a measure. He wanted
to know, More he made up his mind how he should vote
upon that occasion, what it was that. actuated the protec-
tionist party, headed by the Noble Lord the Member for Lynn,
and the Whig party, led on by the Noble Lord the Member for
the city of London, in givfog their opposition to this mea-
sure. In the first place, then, the Noble Lord the Member
for Lynn, in his speech upon the first reading of the Bill—
which, by the way, he supported—remarked that murders com-
mitted in Ireland would rest upon the heads of those
who delayed the passing of that measure, and yet'
he was now opposing it himself,—(Cries of " Hear, hear.")
What was it, then, that had induced the Noble Lord to change
his course? Why, it was because—to take the Noble Lord's own
sentiments—because he had no confidence in the Right Hon.
Baronet the First Lord of the Treasury. The Noble Lord op-
posed the second reading of the Bill, because the Right Hon.
Baronet had done one great thing—because he had relieved
free trade from the shackles of monopoly—because he had car-
ried the Corn-law Bill—because he had done that which the
country desired.—( Hear, hear.) Well, then, if the Noble
Lord succeeded in hoisting the Right Hon. Baronet from
office, his opposition would be at an end, and he would no doubt
be prepared to support the same measure if it were brought
forward by a monopolist party.—( Hear, hear.) Well, but what
was it, he wanted to know, that induced the Liberals to support
it ? Before he could make up his mind as to the vote he should
give, he must satisfy himself that it was dictated by no vindic-
tive or party spirit.—( Hear, hear.) Now, then, let him recall
to the recollection of. the House, that. in 1832 a
certain Bill, which literally was a disgrace to the
statute-book, was brought in and passed by a Liberal ad-
ministration. What was it that had worked so great a change
in the opinion of the Nob!e Lord since that period.—(Hear,
hear.) Again in the year 1832, a very rigorous measure of
the sort, which contained the well-known domiciliary visita-
tion clause was passed by an overwhelming majority, acting
under the advice of the Noble Lord ; and in 1835, Lord Mor-
peth, who was then Secretary for Ireland, introduced another
Coercion Bill for Ireland, though, as compared with the Bill of
1832, it was an exceedingly modified measure. Now, Lord
Morpeth on introducing that Bill made some remarkable de-
clarations. The Noble Lord, for , instance, admitted that
crime was on the decrease .in Ireland, but neverthele'si the
country was in such a state that it could not be governed with-
out the aid of a Coercion Bill, with far-more stringent provi-
sions. than were to be .found in the Bill then.
under discussion.—(Hear. 'bear.) The Hon. and Learned
Member for Cork (Mr. O'Connell) one would have supposed,
after listening to his speech against the present Bill, must have
opposed the Bill of 1835. But what did Mr. O'Connell say,
While the measure of 1835 was under discussion ?—( Hear, hear. )
Why, the Hon. and Learned Gentleman! after admitting that
the Measure was highly calculated to reduce the amount of
agrarian outrage in Ireland, went on to say, " The present.
measure, if he rightly understoed it., was to- prevent parties
being out at night without being • able to give an account of
themselves, or for unlawful purposes ; and, if so, he could only
add that he was convinced its operation would produce the
greatest benefits in Ireland. He only wished, in fact,,that'its
provisions had gone a little further." Mr. Grattan, who was
another member of the Irish party, on the same occasion, ob-
served, " That it was impossible to let things sso on in Ireland
without something being done." True, the observation was rather
ambiguous, but there was no mistaking the speech of the Hoe.
and Learned Member for Cork.—(Hear, hear.) He wanted
to know what actuated the Hon. and Learnei Member for
Cork, in his present opposition to a measure of a much more
modified character than the one of 1835.—( Hear, hear.) He
now came to the Noble Lord the Member for the City of
London, and before he could make up his mind as to the rote
he should give, he wanted to know what it was that had pro-
duced so extensive a change in his opinions upon the subject
of Coercion Hear, hear) He well knew that when
the Noble Lord returned to power, in 1835, Lord Beshoroitgb
was to have been sent to Ireland noon the expressed under-
standing that the Coercion Bill should be proceeded with with-
out del ,y.—( Hear, hear: )
Lord J. RU SSE LL— t hat is not true.—( Hear, hear. )
Mr. ROEBUCK continued. He must take the Noble
Lord's denial, but still he gathered this fact from the history
of Coercion Bills, that this was the first time the Noble Lord
ever opposed one. Now, under all these circumstances,
before he could make up his mind to oppose the Bill, he
must be satisfied those who opposed it were consistent in
their opposition. From the extraordinary combination of
circumstances in the opposition, he found the votes of Gen-
tlemen voting against the Bill who never voted in that way
before. He found that the object of the one was to throi•

out the Administration, while the other was actuated partly
by the Same object, but principally with the view of facilitating
their return to office. He could not help looking at both their
oppositions in a similar light; and he thought the opposition
of the Noble Lord the Member for London was most unfair.
It was'urged at an inopportune time, but,with opportune ef-
fect—urged with the view of unseating the present Admi-
nistration, while there was not the remotest hope of a better
coming in.—(Hear, hear.) But he could tell the Noble
Lord that he was not in a position to govern this country,
and if he succeeded in obtaning office, it woulrl prove the de-
struction of the Liberal party. —( Hear, hear.) He believed,
in fact, that it would produce a recurrence of the events of
1640, 1841, and 1842, when the 'Whig party continued in
power for ne beneficial purpose—brought in measures only to be
rejected—a party in fact with the minority for its support, and
a Government losing credit wish every other nation and country.
--(Hear hear.) Now before he could join the Noble Lord, he
must have his assurance that he had abandoned Coercion Bills
for ever.—(Hear, hear.) Let him declare his intention to apply
wise and conciliatory measures to that unfortunate country, and
ho might rely upon it he would then, in the event of his taking
office, be able to govern with credit to himself and honour to the
.nation.----(Hear, hear. )
Lord J. MANNERS said his objection to the measure was
one of principle, and if he asked himself how such men as Wind-
ham, and Swift, and Bolingbroke would have voted upon such a
measure, he could not fail ,to receive an answer that they would
have voted against such a Whig proposition.—(hear, hear.)
A ease:of paramount necessity had not been proved for its
introduction, either by the statistical reformation placed before
the House. or by the conduct of the Government in pressing
the measure through the House. The clauses of the Bill did
not 'reach the evil. The offences complained of were com-
mitted for the most part during the day, and the proiisiens of
the Act did not give any protection during that period. It was
therefore inapplicable even if there was a case of paramount
necessity made out or proved to the House, and he would,
therefore, vote against the Bill.
Sir J. GRAHAM said, he did not ri e to addles? the
H use immediately after
athteoanvHecoe,wn.itshhAaeldtemtthobeehrai7 freoers
sepnßotakehn,
was
toas n he
considered that there might be some Member on the same side'
the
question. tit e thest io House,
e whoad twouldted h
o. a
constitutional measure, an i he did not agree with the m;
xim
of the Hon. Itlembe.., that desperate diseases should have
desperate remedies; for he considered, that thy could not, nor
ought not, to pass such a measure as the present, unless there
could be a case shown of paramount nec ~sity; and it would be
on these !rounds alone, that he would ask Hon. Members to
vote with him in support of the Bill. And, with reference to
the charge of delay, he would observe, that the
Honourable Member for Lambeth was the only one who
had done justice to the Government upon the occasion; for he
had said that, reviewing the whole conduct of the Government,.
Ahiaoetrn.
htbeherer
ofcorodrneLsri dos
heaerdliiedr npoetri considerod.
a thatnust
saythey t
hcaotultdheha;,:bilnetreorudcedrepirtoauethaend
the
sthaerpGriosev(eirhnimme.nt
The
eh
Bdedllaye,amine
downcibre umfsrtoanlncetshethLat,
rsdosmienwhat
bear.) He had
end of March, and an Hobtnhe.,
lA,
No Member
do:Htioovet e
the
erh, et of
trhateiodnayo,fatnhde
he eshlioeuveld,l
further to observe that the overnment, having to consider
n-
discussing, it' had
don supported nini in that motion.—(Hear,
especially the question of an alteration in the corn-laws, and
to decide
dmeeeidaseurelikniseeh
that
ty
that
te now discussing,
was of primary
importance, and that which, though important also, was still
but secondary. Now the state of Ireland, the necessity and
destitution of the people made an alteration in the corn .laws a
question of primary importance. If then, the primary im-
portance of that question were admit`ed, it would seem, he
said, that no delay could be charged against the Government in
the progress of the measure now before them. Thus much on
the first point. He was unwilling to detain the House with
the repetition of facts which hild already been laid before it ;
hut an attempt had been made to show, that whatever might be
the case in reference to certain parts of Ireland, yet,'in refe-
rence to the whole of Ireland, crime was not on the increase:
Now, he was not there to prefer an indictment
against the whole of Ireland ; but certainly, though
there had not been an increase of crime in 1845, still, in
the who'e of Ireland crime was not on the increase. The Bill
was founded on five counties, viz. ;—Tipperary, Roscommon,
Clare, Leitrim, and Limerick, and he knew there in certain
circ Waco crime, unless checked, would spread, and i %had

MeiS;,,Alter'4.:V`''
rt:
been spreading. He would e oniris-c these ss 3tt ';' Titil. .t vi
whole of Iceland.. The pepul,tion of the whet: • i.. '1 wat\
:, ~.—,
8,403,000.; the peed:at:on ottleese.five..cpun Niiir.., /- t!..4,0,,,,,,,,
~..... \
one-sixth of thewhole. The area of Ire. eeele e*.efe . , :_,
itacres,-and of the Ilva ,counties, 3,5a0,00J 44 :-.-7.
,_. „_-.e..;
crime io the five colintiea for live months r ..-..g. , ;,.___, ---__ ~,_-, ~
1,074.: The return for these counties duri
,e,44
is e', elifir_is_
tr.q. , .. ,
of 1845, gave 1,323, or an increase equal ''r4 af'..;.........,,z, '
insurrectionary and agrarian crime for five kik e
.i_ • wio
gave 779 kir 1345, and 933 for 1846, bein:. -`7,i`
'''' •- Whole
' • - 4.1c411 ' -
per cent: Taking these-five counties,ss comp ,
_. .ie ,r_ •
of lielaed, the following was the return sof speciae crm of
Homicides in those ecouetlies increased .in 1846 at the ratewl2
36 per cent:- as compared with all Ireland; firing at the per....
at 68 leer cents ; aggravated assaults at 45 per cent ; assault. 1
With intent to injure life, at 38 per cent. ; demand and . D.P1...,5
of arms at 72 per cent. ; murderous .intention in the use Z:
arms at 80 per cent. ; administration a trozvifill neth,..,!i 1
' t •• assaulting and taking dwelling.houees at set per
per cen •,• -
the whole nil ita8.4518:167.1:44-3665;;
h.-eTleheeftoitraelia
showing an increase of the
,proportion of GO per
Load In opposing -this Bill, it. was observed by,tbe Noble Lee.
only
i inn thoselB46 aped pBe7c2i eclancrdi mfhoetre.
Member. fur .Newark, _that this Bill was inefficacious, or
s, f all the
Lord the Member for Durban') has moved for a return of .
with
maidErs cemmit fed in Ireland during the present year, d
:..eilic&eieseis_aeainst crime committed by eight. The Noble
all the circumstances atteedirg it, toe, ther.wiili the
•or by night. With respect to these returns, the facts he was
,abbut to state were well worthy of the attention of the House,
asst was directly against the argument that the Bill would be
iqffieacious with reference te crime, and they were mostly. corn-
lreuarnby day
,mitted•by day. The returns shoved that the numbers of mnr-
tiers committed between sunrise and sunset was 27, and 45 13-
Ivcrekt sunset and sunrise. showing a majority of one
half, or nearly so. The attempts at murder be-
tween sunrise and sunset were only 13, while be-
tween sunset and sunrise they numbered 45. It was
.
murders
necessary to slate to the llonse something with reference -to
the comparisons drawn between the ceremitted in
England anti those committed in Ireland. Between the }.ears
1811 and 1845 the average number of murders committed in
England was 110, including infanticides, which made up a pro-
portion of more then half Of them ; and during the,same periods
the number of homicides committed in Ireland was, -exclusive
of infanticides, 128 ; being a proportion. of one homicide to
The proportion
efanticide. the population was one to 100,000.,
64,000 of the papulation ; while to England, exclusive of in-
meceunts Of the
- and in..lreland one to F0,4,-. ,Be had received , .
of convictions in England wine one to 32 I,4ths of the criminals,
most • hideous . _murders in Clare and other counties ;
add" it . was - very , evident, from all accounts, that
the number of crimes was net at - all on .the decrease,
The:number of harnicidee ecnamitted in Irelaed during the last.
four years amounted to 446, rtn:l he hai aseerta',ned that most
of the partiei the offence was committed against belonged to the
lahniiiiing • classes. . 261. °tette, number were labourers and
servants, while other'S were night wine:ere and bailiffs. The Mlle
might he said with regard to attempts at murder. The number
was 436, while of parties against whom the offvnee was com-
mitted 94 were farmers, and 39 were labourers, awl the rest
wood-rangers, - stewards, and servants.—(Hear, hear.)
The Honourable Member for Cockermouth bad stated
that Government brought forward this measure not,
from a'cienviction of i's necessity, but to -satiqy their partisans
hi Ireland. So fae, b'osiever, from this being so, he could
assiele tlicMne that even last summer, from the accounts be
receiredirom disinterested parties, he had begun to be im-
pre§scd" with the temviction that somesuch measure as this
would have to be pnssed.--( Hear, hear.) He admitted that
the position of land in Ireland was originally the primary cause
of all the crime in Ireland; but then they must bear in mind
that althoiiph the immedia'e crimes themselves were connected
with no religions or political causes, they had become so exten-
sive a's to shake the very foundation of society itself. This
rendered it clear that something must be done to reduce the
amount of crime in Ireland, and it was the knowledge of this
fart which had induced the Government to bring forward this
Bill.— (Hear, hear.) The Hon. Gentleman said that the
poor should receive relief. Why there were no less than 14,000
able-bodied men receiving daily wages in Ireland under the
Public Works Act ; and as to schools for agriculture, they had
been already established, and an Act for draining land had re-
ceived the royal assent. He had, moreoser, the satisfaction to
' state that children to the amount of 400,000 were
receiving edueation. The Secretary-at-War had also
laid a Bill upon the table of the House for advancing a mil-
lion of money to the landed proprietors for the purpose 'of
ereconraging them to drain and improve their estates, and
tthheesexiiwone.re
Malel
mthe bermiea(sTurhees
nwhigihch had t
Hon.ben eßarreenceotmtmheeended read a.
document for the purpose of showing that the people in
Ireland were accustomed to conceal the criminal, and not to
bring him to justice.) The Noble Lord had said that he (Sir
J. Graham) had not dealt fairly in changing his opinions on,
these great questions, without apologising for language which
he' had used in oppositicn. He would not be compelled to
defend particular expressions, but he would remind the Noble
Lord of his having overthrown Sir Robert Peel's Government.
in 1835, in a measure for the appropriation of the property of
the Irish Church ; and yet,: when in office, he had abandoned
that measure in a way which he would not characterise. Ile
said_there_was this to be said for himself and his colleagues,
that whatever change of opinions they had adopted, they had
adopted them under circumstances of necessity, and had car-
ried those changes into effect, at a sacrifice to themselves, per.
haps, of their power. The Noble Lord 'opposite and those
with him had changed their opinions as often as circumstances
had made it appear necessary. . The Bill before the House had
been contrasted with that of the same nature which was intro-
duced in 1835. The contrast had been well depicted by the
Hon. Member for Bath. The present measure was very much
lees stringent than that introduced in 1835. Now he begged
to draw their attention to the state of crime when that Bill was
introduced. In 1835 the total amount of crimes
was 10,225 ; in 1836 it had fallen to 8,067 ; and in 1837
when a motion was made for repeal of that coercive Act, crime
had fallen to' 6,775. In the year 1835, his Noble Friend thought
that he was justified in passing a measure of a less stringent
character, and one more calculated to enlist the feelings of the
people on behalf -of the Government. The Noble Lord said,
that though he trusted he was justified in thinking that the as.
pect of affairs in Ireland was not so menacing as before, yet the
state of crime had not-been sufficiently reduced as to call upon
the House to dispense with the powers contained in the Act.
This was the oiinion of the Secretary for Ireland. Mr.
O'Connell said that the end for which such a measure should
be introduced should be to punish, and not to prevent. •
That was the object with which he had intro-
r duced if to the Hone. He would observe that
during the whole of Lord Melhourne's Government, from its
first commencement to within nine months of- its close, they •
.poesessed a measure niorr stringent in many respects than the
one he was then introducing, and it received the concurrence of
Mr. O'Connell. •During its existence crime fell very much,
but When iii !Mit steel at anend crime rose rapidly; and from
being about 4,000, it in the course Of the four following years
came up to 8,000. The first s‘rong coercive measure was in-
troduced •by Lord Grey, with Air: Fox. The second was in-
troduced by Lord Melbourne, the Noble Lord tt e Member for
the city of London being then Home Secretary'; and
the state of crime then was not half so Sargent there as
it was now. That' measure had received the sanction
of Lord Lansdowne, and Lord Melbourne had written a letter
to the Repeal Association, stating kis opinion that this measure
had been too long delayed.' On the outset, he had admitted
that the-Bill was unconstitutional and harsh in its provisions,
but such a measure was required by the existing circumstances.
and he agreed that no one Member of Parliament shouldvote
for such a measure unless he believed in its necessity.,--(Hear,
hear.) The Hon. Gentlemin, the Member for Newcastle-
Under-Line, had, in the course of the debate, asked him a ques-
tion with regard to the Bill, which, like others, was purely,
matter of detail, and be could .answer that in Committee. Go-.
.verrtent would be glad to make the clauses as much recon-
cileable with the views of Hen. Members as they could.—(Hear,
hear.) Before he sat down, he must remind the House that
for the last five years they had fortunately been enabled to go..
vern Ireland without having recourse to a measure of this sort;
but he must, at the tame time, remind the House
that the time might come when such an Act might be
required, and on his conscience he declared that Ministers were
firmly convinced that that time had already arrived, and no
matter what Administration might be in office, Ireland 'could
not be governed without the aid of a measure like the one be
now asked the House to read a second time.—( Hear.)
Mr. LABOUCHERE would not detain the House for any
length of time at that late hour, but he could not allem a single
moment to pass without answering the charge the Right Hon.
Baronet had thrown out against him, with regard to the sugar
duties.—( Hear, hear.) It was not the first time the Right
Hon. Baronet had made the same attack, and he really, till
now, fancied that he had effectually silenced the Right Hon..
Baronet on that point.--(Hear, hear.) The Right HMI. Ba-
ronet, toe, ought to be the last man to make a charge of in-.
consistency against him, for he was not aware that he had ever
suddenly turned round and changed his opinions on particular
points. Nor had he ever attempted to persuade the House
that be attached considerable importance to principles and
opinions which he had long before abandoned as being im-
politic, unsound, and oppose to the best interests of the coun-
try —( Cheers.) Now the Right Hon. Baronet had, fOr the
second time; charged hint with having, a few years back.
while in office, argued in favour of the exclusion of slave-
grown sugar from the Briti,l markets ; but he begged the
House to rememher that this was the construction the Right
fault
wasth e
against is
? (
Hon. Baronet himself put upon his words, and not his own
meaning,
,What be did say
.was, that slavery having been so
Heir, h
recently abolished, the colonies ought for a time to be protected
against all foreign-grown sugar, bat not against any particular
'class of sugars;--(Cheers.) zNow, With tegard to the question
of Ireland, the Right Hon. Baronet badßtiaguhnttedth
of nthstletntly raisin:
not being able to govern Ireland without having recourse to
Honourablewitll
ICevh.:yr,cionitßiwllsa.s Butthe whfoa_ecit
them.—(Hear.)
Baronet and his party, who were
-
But to make a compliment of the liberties
the cry of "No Popery"
be- the best method of making people won
repeaters of all the country
gentlemen in Ireland, and he, therefore, didthat
Members would give their votes upon the measure according
to their conscience. •He 'et•al '• not pledged to support the Bill.
because he voted for its first reading every person was man%
that that .Was only e. formal proceeding.
Mr. STAFFORD 011111IEN moved the adjournment of
the debate. • .i••
The following Bills were adjourned until Monday next:—
Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Bill (Second reading); Eject-
merits, Ireland, _ liii] , (Second eeading); Leases, Ireland,,
(Second reading). • .
The Joint Stock Banks (Scotland and Ireland) Bill, wait
postponed until Thursday next.
- The Coroners' (Ireland) Bill was adjourned till Wednesday

next.
Service (CSoemotllnaintctle.
County
.un
(Scotland) Crown Charters.(Scotland)
Bill,
Presentments (Ireland) Bill was read a thirdtime and passed.
Colonel PEEL moved for leave to bring in a Bill to continue.
the Act to authorise and facilitate the completion of a survey:of
tnt
workso throughf lierps
Great Britain, Berwiek-upon-Tweed, and the Isle of Man, to
31st December, I 851.—A greed to.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of,
and the
House adjourned at a Quarter-past One o'clock.

alternately—the bo.
[ A.DVBRTISEMENT.] ---BOTANIC WATER AND BEAR'S
GREASE.—When the hair is becoming thin, and Calling off,
tohf ethoenlty9oeffacbcotuval,
nrea
mai eeddy
a,
rbtieeslied:
asphpalvi
ei ndg the head, is the use
tank water to cleanse the roots from scurf and r.is a stimulant,
and the bear's grease as a nourisher. . If any further evidence
Mr. Catlin's account cf the quantity used,
and 1 -
was recitir.d of the virtues of bear's grease sir renovating and
the North A me..
rican Indians, would be a sufficient answer. Ross and Sons,
119, and 120, Bishopsgate-street, who first introduced the use
prese
thervi lnegnth
of bear's grease in this country, and who fat and kill
length hair,of air obtained by soma of t
the ani_
mals, recommend the public to purchase none other but with
their names and address printed on the pot, or the chancres an,
their obtaining a spurious article. All vegetable oils applied to
the hair are worse than useless.

[ ADVERTISEMENT.] —EXTRAoRDINARY CQRga or.
DROPSY BY 11OLLOWAY'S PILLS.—Emma Williams, a servant 'living
with Mrs: Smitlibrs, Oldhatu-road, Manchester, hal lately Dome
of such• a size froftl dropsy as to appear, (to use her own expre,
nas big As a Mitt- Every usual treatment wa stried ,but
Sion), as
in this sad state she hid recotirse to Holloway's Pijl 1,4
by them tlfe water vs entirely removed ftmn her system, and 1137
effectual cure perfected in about six weeks. These pills were lately
tried upon two dropsical patients discharged as incurable from one of
the largest hospitals in London, and• they also were both shortly
cured by this famous medicine.—Sold by all druggists, and at Pro.
fessor Holloway's Establishment, 244, Strand, London.
George Clarke, a pedestrian, hasuitzeeded in wake
ins 11500 miles in 1,000 succoolve h 0 Norwich.

THE NEW NOVEL.
:Ow ready at all the L ibraries. in 3 vols.,
MRS. MABERLYS " LEONTINE."
A
ELTBTORICAL NOVEL OF THE FRENCH COURT.
Henry Celburti, Publisher. 13, Great Marlborough-street.

Now ready, in two vols. small Bvo., with Illustrations, Klee
all. bound.
ECHOES ftomthe BACK WOODS;
Or,
SIETCRESy
Ca TR
nAN'SATLANVIC LIFE.
Bptai LEVINGE.
Henry Colburn. publisher, 13, Great Marlborough-street.

NEW WORK ON ALGIERS.
Now ready. in 2 vols., with Illustrations, 21s. bound.
VISCOUNT FEILDING and CAPTAIN
KRNNEDr3 TRAVELS in ALGERIA, in 1643.
" We ftel special pleasure in recommending this interesting and
entertaining work, as one which throws much light on the cu.stoms,
and condition of a brave but unfortunate people, and affords much
valuable information as to all that is remarkable in the country
they inhabit."—Hood's Magazine.
Henry Colburn. Publisher, 13, Great Marlborough-street.

RAILWAY SHARES BY PUBLIC SALE.
MESSRS. LAMOND, SMALE, AND
LAICOND, Railway Share Auctioneers, beg to thank their
Friends and the Public for their continued support and patronage,
and to announce that their Public Sales of Railway Shares, &c.,
take place every TrTzsDAY and FRIDAY, at One o'clock, at the
Hall of Commeree, Threadneedle-street, London, to which place,
favours, containing instructions (with a reference), are respectfhlly
requested to be addressed.
All Scrip and Share Certificates must be deposited, at least
one day previously to their being offered ; and advices of results
will be forwarded by the first post {after the sale, an I the proceeds
immediately disposed of according to instructions.
Offices. Mall of Commerce. Threadneedle-street, London.

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.
Signer FORNASARI hes the honour to acquaint the Nobility
Patrons to the Opera, his Friends, and the Public, that his BE;
NEFIT will take place on
THURSDAY NEXT, JUNE 25,
When will be performed Verdi's celebrated Opera. entitled.
NINO,
Mutts, Signor Foniasari ; Idaspe, Signor Corelli; Orotasphe, Signor
Botelli ; Fenena, Mdlle. Corbari ; Abigail, Mdlle. Sanchioll.
To be followed by a New Divertissement, entitled LA BAC.
CHANTE. In which Madlle. Lucile Grahn and Si. Perrot will
appear.
After which (for this occasion only), Gnecco's Opera Baffa,
LA PROVA D'UN OPERA SERIA.
Cecilia, Madams Grist ; Campanone, *iignor Lablache ; Pedeco,
- Signor Corelli ; Orden°. ignor F. Lablache.
To conclude with the highly successful new Grand Oriental Ballet,
by M. Perrot ; the Music composed and partly selected from
Felicien David's Ode Symphonique of " The Desert," by Sig. Fugal,
entitled.
LALLA ROOKH ; or, THE ROSE OF LAHORE. _

The principal parts sustained by 31 Ilia. Cerito,-31..1lle71..iiiglioni,
M. St. Leon, and M. Perrot. Principal Dances : Tableau.—Pas
Symbolique, by Mdile. Cerito, supported by Mdlles. Demelisse,
'2,assan, James, and Honore, and the corps de ballet. Tableau.—Le
Chiboack, Pas Seul, by Mdlle. Cerito. Last Tableau.—Feast of
Roses, Pas de Corbett% by Mdlles. L'Amoreux and Julien, and the
corps de ballet ; Pas de Nenf, by Mdlles. Cerito, L. Taglioni, and M.
St. been, supported by Mdlles. Demellsse, Cassell, James, L'Amoreux,
Julien, and Honore.
Applications for boxes, stalls, and tickets to be made at the box
office, Opera Colonnade. Doors open at Seven, the Opera to com-
mence at half-past Seven o'clock.

HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.
THIS EVENING,
Will be performel Donizettre favourite Opera, entitled,
LUCREZIA BORGIA.

Lnerezia, Mdlle. Grist ; Amin!, Mdlle. Brambilla ; Gennaro, Signor
Mario; Alphonso, Signor Lablache.
To conclude with the new Grand Oriental Ballet, entitled
LALLA ROOKH; or, THE ROSE OF LAHORE.