The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-13 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

The SPEAKER took the Chair at a few minutes before
Four o'clock.

PETITION FROM THE CITY-CORN-LAWS.

The Sheriffs of London, Messrs. Chaplin and Laurie,
appeared at the bar, clothed in their insignia of office,
and presented a petition from the Lord Mayor, aldermen,
and citizens of London, in Common Council assembled,
in which, after stating their approbation of the general
policy pursued by her Majesty's Ministers with respect
to the commercial interests of England, regretted that
the total repeal of the corn-laws was to be delayed for a
period of three years.

NEW WRIT.
A new writ was moved for by Mr. BERESFORD, for
North Nottinghamshire, in the. room of Henry Gaily
Knight, Esq., deceased.
RAILWAY BUSINESS.

Lord DUNCANNON brought up the report on the
Manchester, Matlock, and Buxton Railway Bill, which
was ordered to be read a first time.

The following Railway Bills were read a second time,
and ordered to be committed:—Wakefield, Pontefract,
and Goole Railway (Methley, Askern, and Oakenshaw
branches) ; Sheffiuld, Rotherham, Barnsley, Wakefield,
Huddersfield, and Goole Railway ; Leeds and Bradford
Railway (alteration of levels in Bingley).
Mr. STRUTT brought under the notice of the House
the fact tint several petitions for private Bills had been
received by the iiow-e in consequence of some irregu-
larity which they contained having been overlooked.
There were several instancEs where the standing order,
111 A, had not been complied with.
Mr. GREENE gave a notice of motion to the effect,
that in :all cases of private Bids no petitions should be
received unless thty had been prepared and properly
signed by the parties themselves.
Mr. iINT WISLE said, that complaints had fre-
quently been made of the operation of the standing
orders nt reference to matters of a minor and very trivial
nature, and parties were often put to enormous expense
by being compelled to attend here, and then all
that was lost by reason of the Bill being
thrown out upon some matter of a very trifling
nature, and they were told that they had been defeated
by a non-compliance with the standing orders. With
regard to what the lion. Member for Lancashire had
said, i[be would just make this observation, that the
number of petitions was so great thot that it was quite
impossible for this House to take cognizance of the con-
tents of the whole of them. It would be well, there-
fore, if some measure were introduced to prevent this
useless expenditure of thousands of pounds before a Bill
had paisysed the standing orders.
STRUTT said his observations did not apply to
the Standing Orders Committee, but to the commissions
of this House. .

Mr. E. ELLIS said that much inconvenience had
arisen by reason of the vague manner in which the
standing orders required the notice of a Bill to be in-
serted in the " first part" of the petition, without defining
the particular part.
Mr. GISBORNE said he could not at all understand
on what grounds his Hon. Friend had submitted his
motion to the House. The house itself had established
certain rules, and they were neither few or unimportant,
with which all public companies were compelled to
comply. He believed they amounted to about 120 or 130,
the slightest infringement of any one of which was suffi-
cient to cause the rejection of their petitions ; and
now Jheru were petitions presented to them by parties
who had only two standing orders to comply with.
He thought it, therefore, extremely unreasonable
to Ink for this indulgence in the House, with-
out any notice having been given of the intention
to present them, although they concerned property to a
very large amount, and when in fact the House knew

no more about them than if they had just dropped from
the clouds. He could see no reason for assenting
to the proposal of his Hon. Friend, and if his motion was
persisted in, he should certainly divide the HouEe ageinst
him.

Sir W. HEATHCOTE begged to explain that the
resolution upon which the Committee had acted was
one which had been imposed by the House. It was not
founded upon any general apprehension of the standing
orders, but was a specific direction of the 111th clause.
Although many directions of the standing orders
were general in their character, yet, whenever any
particular rule of proceeding was to be observed, it was
clearly laid down, as aas the case in No. 9. The Com-
mittee, therefore, could not dispose of this case, aed he
conceived the Hon. Member for Dt rby was perfectly
right in repeating it to the House, instead of disposing of
it summarily.
After a few observations from Sir GEORGE CLERK
and M.r. GISBORNE, which did not reach the gallery.
Mr. R. HODGSON said if the parties referred to had
made a mistake, they might petition the House to allow
them to rectify it. The case was precisely similar to one
which occurred in the House a few nights ago. The
27th order required that a list of the assents and dissents
to a Bill should be delivered to the Clerk for
Private Bills, who was desired to endorse the fact of
their receipt on the back of them. In the case
to which he referred, this endorsement had been
omitted. The parties petitioned the House to permit
them to rectify the mistake, which was granted. The
case was perfectly analagous, and the parties in this
case might adopt the same course.
The report was then ordered to lie on the table.
Sir JOHN YARDE BULLER presented a petition
against; the Birmingham and Leicester Railway Bill.
Mr. BARRY BALDWIN presented a petition against
the Direct Union Railway Bill.
Mr. VILLIERS gave notice, that he should, on
Wednesday next, move for a return of any direction of
the Poor-law Commissioners for the incorporation of the
parish of Farnham, in Surrey, with other parishes in
a poor-law union, and
the copy of any memorial that
may be presented against it.
LORDS OF THE ADMIRALTY.

Mr. FERRAND gave notice that he would, on Mon-
day next, put a question to the Right Hon. Baronet at
the head of her Majesty's Government, (if he should
then be in offiee)—(A laugh)—whether it was his inten-
tion to fill up two offices lately vacated—he alluded
to the offices of Lords of the Admiralty—(Laughter)—
as, in the event of his not doing so, he (Mr. Ferrand)
should move that the offices be abolished as being quite
useless to the country.—(Renewed laughter.)
LANDLORD AND TENANT.
Mr. SIIARMAN CRAWFORI) gave notice of his
intention to put a question to the -Right Hon. Baronet
the First Lord of the Treasury, as to whether it was the
intention of Government to propose any measure on the
subject of landlord and tenant in Ireland.
'MERCHANT SEAMEN'S SOCIETY.I
An Hort. MEmnErtinquired whether it was the inten-
tion of Government to bring forward any measure in
the present session in reference to the Merchant Sea-
men's Society, as the matter had been strongly recom-
mended to the consideration of the Legislature by two
Committees appointed on the subject?
Sir G. CLERIC replied that he had been for some
time in communication with some of the most eminent
merchants on the question, end he hoped in a few days
to be able to give a satisfactory answer to the question.
Mr. FORSTER said he had no doubt the petition
spoke the sentiments of the Ship-owners' Society. lle
must, however, protest against these parties coming for-
ward in the way they had done of late, and stating that
they spoke the sentiments of the great body of ship-
owner.s That society had been invariably opposed
to relaxation.—(Cheers.) He was not, however,
opposed to discussion on the subject of which
they complaineo, as the more they entered into the in-
vestigation they found that they had no reason to com-
plain.

Mr. LIDDELL said he was not desirous of bringing
on a discussion then, but he could not allow the re-
marks of the Honourable Member for Berwick
to pass without a reply. It was his intention to make a sub-
stantive motion to the effect, that the petition be printed, when
it would stand before the House on its own basis. The chair-
man of the General Society of Shipowners had signed the
petition, and he believed it expressed the opinions of the whole
of the members of that body. It was a matter of little conse-
quence to him whether Hon. Members said the petition was got
up or not.— ( Hear.) By printing it, it would be placed before
their observation. He should take an early opportunity of re-
feet ing to the subject.