The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-22 00:00:00

IRISH COUNTY ELECTIONS.

Mr. F. FRENCH wished to ask the Right Hon.
Baronet whether there was any intention on the
part of the Government to introduce any Bill for
shortening county elections in Ireland.
Sir J. GRAHAM—It has &ready been stated in the
course of the present session that her Mljesty's Govern-
ment intended to introduce a Bill for amending the Act
which regulated county elections in Ireland. The Bill
was already prepared.
SIR ROBERT DICK.

Sir DE LACY EVANS hefiered that the Government
Punjaub were:aware that Sir R. Dick.had fallen in the
campaign, as wQII es the other officers whose memory
it was the intention of Parliament :,to honour, and ht
wished to know whether this gallant officer was to be
remembered along with them?
Sir R. PEEL—In the course of the several conversa-
tions which have arisen on the Punjaub campaign, I
have stated that it is my intention to recommend the
same memorials should be erected to all the officers en-
joying the rank of Major-General, and I shall there-
fore deem it my duty to recommend the same tribute of
respect to Sir R. Dick as to the other gallant officers
who have fallen in this contest.

CANADA TIMBER.
Lord G. BENTINCK said that he rose to ask for an
explanation of a false return which had been made to
that House. He had had the honour of moving for a
return of the prices of Canada and bevelled timber
during the last seven years, he made the motion for that
return the last week in January, or the first week in
February ; that part of the return which appeared tohim
to be false is dated from the Landed Surveyor's-office en
Feb. 13, and it was consequently on the 13th of Feb.
that the return must have been made before the
Board of Trade. That return was not presented to the
House until the Ist of April.—(Hear hear.) The object
of his moving fur the return was to throw some
light on the debate which was then going forward on
the timber duties. The return! which had be,qi
made to the House had given the following as the
prices of bevelled timber. It stated that the prices in
1840, were from Si. ss. to Si. 10s. per load, duty paid
In 1841, it stated the prices were from 51. ss. to 51. 7s. 6d.
In 1842, the prices were stated to be from 41. 17s. 61
to Si. per load. He begged pardon of the
House, he had been giving what he believed
to be the real prices of timber during the periods
he had mentioned, and not the returns furnished by the
Government. The following were the returns presented
by the Ministers ;—ln 1840, the price per load of be-
velled timber duty paid was said to vary from 81. to
81. ss. ; in 1841, it was said to vary from 71. 15s.
to 81, and in 1842, from 71. 15s. to 81., the
duty being 555. per load. The average of the three
years he had mentioned, by referring to the returns laid
on the table by her Alaje•ty's Ministers, was 81. ls. Bd.
In 1842, the Right Hon. Gentleman at the head of the
Government introduced his changes w;th respect
to the duties on timber, and he reduced
the duty to 255. per load in 1844. The return went
to state that the prices in 1842 varied from Si. ss.
to 51. lOs ; in 1845, from Si. to 5/. 7s. ; and in
1846, from Si. 12s. 6d. to Si. 17s. 611., making an
average of 51. 12s. GI Now, the result of these re-

turns went to show to that House, and to the country,
that the consumers had gained by the remission of 30s.
duty, not only the whole amount of duty of 19s. 2d , over
and above the duty, making the whole gain 495. 2d. by
this reduction of 208. alone upon timber. Now he be-
lieved it to be the fact, so far from these returns being
true, that if a true return had been made to the House,
it would have been found that the prices from 1840 to
1842 were as follows :—ln 1840, 54 10s. per load ; in
1841, 51. ss. ; and in 1842, 51. se. ; showing an average
of 5/. 65., the duty 555. per load, whilst in the last
three years since the duty had been reduced from 655.
to 303. He believed that if a true return had been
made, it would have shown that the prices were 41. 53.
in 1844, 41. 55. in 1845, and 4/. 12s. 6d. in 1846, showing
an average price of 41. 7s. 6d., so that the consumers
upon the average of three years since the duty was
taken off; instead of gaining, as it was represented by
the return,49s. 2d. per load, only gained about 19s. 2d.,
while the balance went into the pcckets of the producer.
Now it was a most important matter to that House
that they should be able to rely on the truth
and accuracy of those statistical papers which were
laid before it by the Board of Trade, and on which the
House founded its legislation. fie considered it a serious
matter, and his first intention was to move that
the subordinate officer should be called to the Bar to
explain his instructions and his object in imposing
upon the House. It might be all very well for
gentlemen connected with the commercial inte-
rest to discover these false returns, and to be
uninfluenced by them; but these returns passed
current with the vast majority of the people
and with the House, and leading articles, written by
learned editors of newspapers, were founded on
them, proving the great advantage to be
bounden derived
from free trade. He considered it therefore
his
false duty to explain these circumstances, and
re-
turn had lain upon the table of the House
the
eforpsreovpeetri
weeks, and it was not until the•lst of April
and correct one had been given.
Sir ROBERT PEEL said heacrgouulnidennott
ufepeolnthe
subject, but merely him-
self justified to
enter
nto state the facts. His attest-
tion had not been called to the error until the Noble
Lord had intimated his intentions to the Govern-
ment. As to the returns, though made by her
Majesty's Government to the House, he was sorry
to say that it was impossible for any Minister to un-
dertake to be responsible for their faultless accuracy.
Having discovered that an error had occurred, he had

ordered that a correct return should be immediately
presented to the House, and it would be in possession of
Hon. Members to-morrow. He bad also made inquiries
as to what department of the Customs the error had
oecurred in, and he held in his hind a letter from
the officer by whom the accuracy of the re-
turn was certified. The letter was to the
following effect:—ln answer to your requisition, calling
on me to state in what department of the Customs the
error in the return on the Memel and Canadian
timber arose, I regret to state that it was
in the landing surveyor's department. The mis-
take appears to have arisen from the officer
taking the average price from the price current, which
is not an official document, and in which the prices are
quoted, sometimes including the duty and sometimes
not. He. Sir R. Peel) apprehended that there could be
no doubt as to how the mistake had arisen. He could
only express his regret that the mistake had occurred,
but he had taken every measure to rectify it.
TENANT RIGHTS IN IRELAND.
Mr. P. SCROPE rose to put a question to the Right
Hon. Baronet on the subject of the legality of tenant
rights in the North of Ireland. There were one hun-
dred millions of property unprotected in the north of
Ireland. The public should be made aware of the bad
state of the law on this subject before they proceeded to
discuss the present law of landlord and right. It should
be ascertained beyond all doubt whether the outgoing
tenant in Ireland had really any right to sell his good-
will to the property which he was about to give up, or
whether the tenant was entitled to compensation from
the landlord when he ejected him. That claim had been

recognised in a great part of the north of Ireland for a
long series of years, and to a very great extent. To
such an extent, in fact, had that right been recognised
that in some instances the outgoing tenant sold their
good-will at five, ten, fifteen, twenty, and sometimes
even more years' purchase on their rents. It had there-
fore become a recognised practice ; the tenant had in
fact gained a sort of ownership in the soil, which he
might dispose of when and as he pleased. Evidence of
that right being recognised regularly in Down, Armagh.
and the other counties of Ulster, was given by several
witnesses before Lord Di von. ut it appeared that the
landlords were now invading that right of the tenants,
and continued nibbling at it till they hoped they might
destroy it. IF the tenants were not in fact
.entitled to
,uch right., the public should have a definite answer to
that effect from the Government ; and, after it had been
recognised fur so long a period, he wished to know
whether the landlords of Ireland had it in their power
to call in the aid of the military or civil force to eject
their tenarts, without giving them any compensation.
There were cases in which a number of tenants; mere
located on large tracts of land, and where the sheriff of
the county was called upon to eject those tenants, with--
out any reference to the right that the tenant had to the
sale of the good-will of his farms. The Hon. Member
concludedby reading his question.

Sir JAMES GRAHAM said that the questiore -put
by the Hon. Member involved no fewer than threes other
questions—namely, P. question of common policy, a
question of common right, and a question of common
ar.) With regard to the civil rights of the
tenants in the province of Ulster in Ireland, he begged
to say he believed that such a right was not recognised
by the written law of the land, but by the law of
usage ; and if he were asked whethir that right
was rec'gnised by the Courts of Law in Ireland„
he should say he believed it was not.— (Hear„
hoar.) With regard to the law of ejectment err
habare, in such cases the sheriff had no right whatever
to exercise any judgment of his own, but to proceed to
execute the writ ; and it was the duty of all authori-
ties, civil and military, on the requisition of the sheriff,
to attend him and assist him in the execution of tbat
writ. Therefore, if a writ of injunction, or habore,,
were issued, it would be the duty of the sheriff, and or
the civil and military authorities, to act as he had des—
cribed. Again, he had only to say that the question, of'
the Hon. Member was one of law and not of policy.
THE INFERNAL MACHINE.
Mr. CALEB POWELL wished to draw the attention of
the Right Hon. Baronet the Secretary of Stale for the Home
Department to a statement which had appeared in a local
journal, stating that a machine, which had been aptly called an
"infernal machine," had been found in a warehouse in Sheffield.
The mischief that had resulted was comparatively trivial, but
this was nothing when compared to the fear which was engen-
dered in the public mind by such a state of things, and which
those by whom these machines were invented, were desirous to
uphold. Now if such a statement had been furnished, he
wished to know whether it was in the contemplation of the Go-
vernment to found a Bill upon it, for the better protection of
the lives of that portion of her Majesty's subjects, on whose
premises such attempts had been made ?—( Laughter. )
Sir JAMES GRAHAM said he had heard by accident of
the machine to which the Hon. Gentleman had adverted. He
was understood to say that the Government did not intend at
the present moment to introduce a Bill on the subject., prefer-
ring to leave the punishment of the offen,lers to the law.
PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY
(IRELAND).
Mr. C. BULLER said he wished to call the attention of the
Government to a subject in which the promotion of the busi-
ness of the House was involved. On the 20th of March he
moved for certain returns, with respect to the outrages re-
ported by the constabulary of Ireland since 1941, which he had
hoped would have been laid on the table of the House before
this. Similar returns up to 1841 had been furnished and were
now in the library of the House. He did not wish to make any
disturbance about the matter—(A laugh)—but he was anxious
to know when the returns moved for would be laid on the table
of the House ?
Sir JAMES GRAHAM, who spoke in a low tone, was un-
derstood to say, that the returns would be laid on the table of
the House with the least possible delay.
Mr. C. BULLER said, looking at the way in which the
public business of that House was conducted by the Right
Hon. Baronet—(Hear, hear)—he was sure no unnecessary
delay would take place.
Mr. J. O'CONNELL also inquired when certain returns
he bad moved for with rest ect to the number of agrarian out-
rages in England, would be laid on the table ?
Sir JAMES GRAHAM also said no unnecessary delay
would take place in supplying them.
The dropped orders of yesterday were then disposed of.
THE CORN IMPORTATION BILL—CUSTOMS