The Sun.
London, England, 1848-08-30 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS, August 29.

The House resumed its sitting at Half-past Six o'clock.
Sir H. WILLOUGHBY presented a petition from
the secretary of the Provident Society Bank. against
any alteration in the law with regard to savings' banks.
Colonel THOMPSON presented a petition from John
Snook, who stated that he had invented a life-boat,
which he had submitted to the Admiralty for investiga •

tion, but not receiving satisfaction, he prayed the 110 so
to institute an inquiry into his invention. As he did not
ask for any money, he would be permitted to lay the
petition on the table.
Sir D. NORREYS presented a petition from the grand
jury of the county Roscommon, against the Labour-rate
Bill, the Poor-law Bill, and the general system of admi-
nistering the poor-law.
Mr. HERitIES gave notice that early in the ensuing
session he would move a resolution founded on the evi •
dente taken by the Committee on Commercial Distress.
Mr. HAMILTON wished to put a question to the
Noble Lord opposite, in relation to a statement made by
the Hpn. Member for Athlone, with reference to Mr.
Whitty, the foreman of the jury which tried Mitchel,
that ho was a bankrupt; for, although the Hon. Member
did not impute anything improper to Mr. Whitty, the
statement might be prejudicial to him. He therefore
begged to inquire whether the Noble Lord had received
a letter from Mr. Macan, the Commissioner of Bank-
ruptcy, which stated that he found his affairs regular,
and that there was nothing in his bankruptcy to im-
pugn his character. He could further state, that his
creditors :were satisfied, and that he had obtained his
certificate.
Lord J. RUSSELL said he had received such a letter,
and that it corroborated the statement now made by the
Hon. Member.
Mr. KEOGH said, as he had been referred to, he
begged to say that he merely stated the fact that he had
been a bankrupt, and he did not cast any imputation
upon him.
THE HARBOUR OF SOUTHWOLD.

Mr. HUME said, that having received an assurance
from the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, that the
subject-matter of the motion which he intended submit-
ting to the House would be inquired into, he begged to
withdraw the following motion:—" That an humble ad-
dress be presented to her Majesty, that she will be gra-
ciously pleased to eause inquiry to be made into the al-
leged injury to the port and harboar of Southwold, in
Suffolk, by the inclosure of several thousands of acres
of land, the property of the Crown, that were formerly
covered with tidal waters, contrary to the Act of 1 Anne,
c. 67, 5.5, and, consequently, highly detrimental to the
interests of the Crown and the public."
Lord MORPETH observed that if the evidence in
connexion with the case were sent up to the office of the
Woods and Forests, he would take care to have it laid
before her Majesty's Attorney-General.
Lord J. RUSSELL expressed a hope that Hon. Mem-
bers who had notices of motion on the paper would post-
pane them until after the orders of the day were dis-
posed of.
Lord G. BENTINCK said that he had an important
notice on the paper, and he could not assent to the Noble
Lord's proposition.
Lord J. RUSSELL—I merely ask a temporary post-
ponement of the motion, in order to have the more im-
portant business proceeded with.

THE ASSEMBLY OF TOBAGO.

Lord ,G. BENTINCIC directed attention to the peti-..

Lion from the Speaker and Members of the House of
General Assembly of Tobago, relative to captured
negroes, presented on the 7th of August, which he had
intended to move should be printed with the votes. The
petitioners complained of Lord Grey having refused
them a share in the loan voted for the purposes of
immigration. He thought he was not out of place
in insisting on his privilege of bringing forward the
motion betore the orders of the day, one of which was,
that they should go into Committee for the considera•

Lion of the West-India Loan Bill. The petitioners re-
presented Lord Grey as having refused them a participa-
tion in the loan on two grounds. In the first place, as
alleged by Lord Grey, that they had not contributed to
the immigration of free labourers; and, secondly, be-
cause they had refused the supplies, which they were
unable to contribute, in consequence of the operation of
the Act of 1806 and the famine of last year. They
claimed equal justice, as regarded the loan, with other
colonies. Two•thirds of their buildings had been razed
to the ground, and a similar quantity of their plantations
destroyed. He thought it just, that when a measure of
relief to the colonies was before the House, attention
should be called to their condition, and that there should
be some expression of feeling on the part of the British
Parliament, in order that the Secretary of State might
know, that if he were disposed to visit on this ruined
colony his wrath, because the colonists were not in a
condition to furnish the supplies, the House of
Commons, at all events, would not be a party to such
proceedings. He begged to ask whether it was in-
tended, that the Secretary of State was to have the
despotic power of distributing as he thought fit, half a
million loan granted by the Commons of England, and
whether he was to be at liberty to vent his wrath on
every colony which, either from the ruin brought on it
by the Government measures, or the scourge inflicted by
Providence, should become unable or unwilling to grant
the necessary supplies for maintaining the expenditure
of those colonies. He farther desired to ask whether,
if Tobago, which was small and weak in itself, was to be
treated in this manner. Trinidad and British Guiana,
which also threatened to stop the supplies, was to be
put on the same footing as Tobago. If so, for what
purpose were they voting a grant of half a million? Was
it to be altogether monopolised by some servile that
dared not show its independence, or exercise the right of
refusing supplies, which belonged to an independent
people, when they thought they were subjected to into-
lerable governors? Having made this statement, ho
should not press his motion for printing the petition with
the votes, as he understood it had been already printed
in the usual appendix.
Tho motion was then, by leave, withdrawn.
THE RAJA OF SATTARA.

Mr. G. THOIIPSON postponed his motion, respect-
ing the Raja of Sattara case, until the third reading of
the Consolidated Fund Bill, on Thursday.
CUSTOMS SEIZURE OF SILKS.
Mr. JOHN WILLIAMS moved for a return of the
number of seizures of silks, lace, and shawls, made at
the Custom-house of London, from the Ist day of Janu-
ary, 1848, to the 25th day of August, 1848, on the plea
of under valuation of entry ; stating the kinds of goods
seized, the amount of entry, valuation of such seizures,
the amount paid by the Custom-house to the importers
of the goods, the amount of the proceeds of the sales of
such goods ; stating the number of lots into which they
were divided for sale, the several days on which they
were put up for sale, and whether sold or bought in, or
postponed, in each case, and the expenses incurred on
such sales ; and a balance account to show the benefit
or loss to the Custom-house department, and the amount
paid in each case to the seizing officer.
The return was agreed to.
On the motion of Mr. HUME, a return was also
ordered of copies of all correspondence on the proposed
establishment, extension, or improvement of Small Debt
Courts, within the towns of Calcutta, Madras, and Bom-
bay, which has taken place between the Judges of her
Majesty's Courts of Judicature in India, the Governors
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peace, particularly under the present circum-
stances of the country; and he intended to take the
sense of the House against it. On the 25th of February
last, when it was understood there was a deficiency of
2,900,0001.., he urged on the Government and the House
the propriety of bringing the expenditure within tb e
revenue, or of providing for the excess by additions it
taxation, and proposed a resolution with that view. Th:
resolution, however, was lost on a division by a larg 'e
majority. On the 13th of March he again proposed the
the income-tax should be limited to one year, in orde r
that in the meantime Government might take measure
for reducing the expenditure so as to bring it within tilt.
income. That proposition also was lost by a majority of
363 to 138, and the income-tax was passed for three years.
On the-20th of March he moved to reduce the number
of sailors from 43.00.0 to 36,000, but that motion,
together with a subsequent one, to make a similar re-
duction in the army, and another made by an Hon.
Friend of his, to abolish the worse than useless African
squadron, met with the same fate. All attempts, there-
fore, to effect reduction in the expenditure of the country
had been met with discouragement by the House and
the Goveinment; and it was now asked, the House hav-
ing refused to meet the deficiency by additional taxes, to
meet it by a loan. Though be had not opposed the loan
for Irish distress, because that was called for under ex-
traordinary
circumstances, he objected, as a principle, to
raising loans in time of peace. Looking at the prospects
of the country, the state of commerce, the competition in
trade, the decrease of profits, the large number anneal,
ployed poor, the enormous increase in the poor-rates, 'lie
contemplated with great alarm the tendency which, jiad