The Sun.
London, England, 1848-06-02 00:00:00

POOR-LAW RETURNS.

Mr. CLEMENTS moved for returns of each poor-
law union in Ireland, specifying the name of each
electoral division, and the valuation thereof ; the total
amount per pound on the valuation of the rates made
for each such division during the year ended the 25th
dayofMarch(n 1848 ; the amount to be collected by
such rates (not including previous arrears) ; and
the amount actually collected (including previous
arrears) to the 25th day of March, 1848 ; of
each poor-law union in Ireland, specifying the liabili-
ties of such union, on the 25th day of March, 1847; the
expenses of the year ended the 25th day of March, 1648;
the total expenses and liabilities; the amount in the
treasurer's hands on the 25th day of March, 1847 ;`,the
amount actually collected during the year ended the 25th
day of March, 1848; the amount received from all other
sources during the year ended the 25th day of March
1848 ; the amount available for expenses and liabilities
during the year ended the 25th day of March 1848 ;
the excess of assets over liabilities ; the exeess of
liabilities over assets ; the amount of rates uncollected
on the 25th day of March, 1848; and, of each county,
and county of a town in Ireland,
Specifying
name of each barony or half
countybarony,ecify
ing of
a
andtehiety;he poor-law, valuation thereof ;
the present half-yearly liabilities of each such barony
or half-barony, or of the county at large, for repay-
ment of any advances from the Treasury (except under
the Temporary Relief Act of 1847), during the years
1845, 1846, and 1847, distinguishing the Acts under
which the advances were made, the total amount of such
liabilities, and the rate per pound on the valuation.
Agreed to.
AMALGAMATED RAILWAYS.

Mr. DODD moved that theiebelaidbefords the
Housemaps, showing th© amalgamation of railways,
the existing lines, and those in progress, for Great
Britain and Ireland.—Agreed to.
VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.

seeing the flight . Tion Hon. Gen-
tlemangecretary for the Colonies in his
place,Mr. we:ti.h7sAeheNljdBntTdoeEraY-sk him, whether he had ft
objec-
tion to lay upon the ;table of the House the dispatches
which had been received from the Lieutenant-Governor
of Van Diemen's Land, in reference to the dismissal of
cl.no g
one of the judges of that colony, and the prwawnhhoei
tcthhheerwr,
ander
Government ebein g takenwhether
e intended a
d referencean y
too
bt
jaektcoet
ot
shnteet
ps dismissalo o
proceedings
the restoration to office of these two functionaries?
Mr. HAWES said the dispatches had only just been
received, and as they had not yet been perused by the
Secretary of State, he trusted the Hon. and Learned
Member would allow his question to stand over for a
day or two.
Mr. C. ANSTET gave notice that on Tuesday next
he would move for the production of the papers.
state t e w
secure
ni
ofs
ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE.
On the motion of Sir G. GREY, itwas resolved that
the House at its rising. should adjourn' till Monday.
NAVIGATION-LAWS—ADJOURNED DEBATE.
On the question being put for resuming the adjourned
debate,
Mr. GLADSTONE rose to request the indulgence
of the House while he endeavoured to lay before them
the view he was inclined to take of this important and
by no means uninteresting question. He could assure
them that he should refrain entirely from troubling them
with figures and particular details, for enough had been
done and no doubt would be done by other gentlemen
in that way, and he should confine himself to the
grounds upon which he had arrived at the opinion he
now entertained upon this subject.—(Hear, hear.) The
question at present under consideration was not exactly
whether they considered the plan of the Government in
all its details, or even in its view, to be the best plan that
could-possibly be adopted, but the real question for them
to consider was involved in the motion of his Hon.
Friend the Member for Stamford, namely, as to whether
they were prepared at this time to make an extensive
change not only in the details but in the principle of the
navigation laws. He was afraid that many who read the
motion of his Hon. Friend had no difficulty in giving it
such a construction as to make it mean something equiva-
lent to nothing, because many said that no inconvenience
had been proved as atteuding the navigation-laws, and
that they could not be altered in any particular
without endangering our maritime interests. He, however,
had understood his description of the principles of the
navigation-laws to be equally clear and succinct. He un-
derstood him to say that the principle of these laws, as
regarded our domestic and colonial trade, was to secure
an absolute and exclusive right to British shipowners ;
and with respect to our foreign trade that the shipowners
of different nations were entitled to a reciprocity of deal-
ing; and that the navigation-laws in that latter sense ought
to be altered, and that the present was the mast season-
able time to make such alteration. In his (Mr. Glad-
stoneopinion,
proof) was more distinct that they ought to legislate than
there never was an instance when the
at the present moment. From the attitude assumed
by foreign states, it was absolutely necessary for
them to decide finally whether they should continue in
substance their present commercial code, or whether
they should proceed upon a different basis. His Hon.
Friend had spoken of Prussia in slighting terms, but he
begged to say that we carried on no more important
trade with any country in the world than we did
with Prussia, and that her commercial power was of the
first class in a question of that description, and ought to
be dealt justly with by this country. The menace
which she uttered against us was perfectly fair and
equitable, because she gave us an opportunity of

knowing, in the event of our not rel fixing our commercial .
laws, what her real intentions were. It had been stated
that because the colonies failed to deluge the House with
petitions for an alteration in the laws there was no ur-
gent necessity, so far as regarded those colonies, of taking
them into consideration at the present time.—(Hear.)
If they did not bear of the grievances of the colonies in
the form of petitions to the House, or in any other
way, they might depend upon it that the time was
not far distant when they would speak in a language
that would not be misunderstood.—(Loud cheers.)
Look at the case of the Australian colonies—
they derived no benefit from the protective laws. Those
laws compelled the grower to send his wool to this country
at a great disadvantage, whilst the wool of Germany, which
had to come but one-fourth the distance, was unduly
favoured. The Australian wool grower was compelled
to see ships by which he is most anxious to send his
wool leave the port of Sidney in ballast, and
on the same principle the copper of Chili and
Cuba could be conveyed without that restrictions to
which the Australian wool producer was subject. The
same might be said of the produce of Jamaica. It
might be brought into the market at a cheaper rate,
but the possessor was liable to be injured by
competitors who possessed those advantages which
were denied to him. The Hon. Gentleman the Member
for Stamford said he was ready to make all the foreign
trade of the country a matter of negotiation; he was
ready, for instance, to allow the planter of Cuba the
power of sending sugar in American vessels to this
country; but he insisted that that with respect
to Jamaica that existed should continue; he was
prepared to give to the planter of Cuba advantages
which he was prepared to deny to the planter in Ja-
maica. But this was the time of all others for the
repeal of the Navigation Laws, for we had, by our
recent commercial legislation, done more than we could
do again in a similar period to stimulate the shipping
trade of the country, by increasing our imports,
and consequently to find avenues to employment
which did not before exist. The noblemen and gentle-
men of England opposed the repeal of the navigation-
laws, because they believed such a course would have the
effect of the impairing the utility of the maritime power
of the country—(Cheers)—and if he could bring himself
to entertain a similar opinion he should oppose the Bill;
he could not go the length of agreeing in the
mighty flight of the Hon. Gentleman the Member for
Manchester, because he believed when the benign con-
tagion of increasing commerce spread its way througk-
out the world that the abrogation of these laws would
be found one of the most salutary measures thot
the House had ever adopted.—(Hear, hear.) It
could not be said that their repeal would destroy the
maritime'power of the country. By a recent statement
of the Colonial Secretary, it appeared that in 1792,
when the war broke out, that the naval force of the
country consisted of from 16,000 to 18,000 men. The
mercantile navy the❑ consisted of 1.500,000 men ; now
it was somewhere about 4,000,000. The real question
was, what would be the mercantile effect of removing or
continuing the Navigation Laws. Would the repeal
of the Navigation Laws give an impetus to the ma-
rine, or would it dwindle it down to nothing. He
believed that the effect of a judicious alteration in the
Navigation Laws would be to strengthen the commerce
and navigation of the country. Who had the country
to fear ? The Dane and the Swede ? Certainly
not. It was said that the country had great ground
to fear them, because they could get cheap seamen
and cheap ships ; but if there was any ground for
fearing them, how came it they only had not been
driven out of the trade of the world ?—(Hear, hear.)
The Americans victualled and manned their ships
at far greater expense than this country did, but they
did not fear either the Dane or the Swede. The
truth was that it was not the cheap country
but the dear one they had to fear—the
had to fear the country that had capital, and not
that which had not. It would not be fair or right
to assume that this measure involved a censure
upon British seamen. He believed that the abi-
lities and the knowledge of seamen in their profession
would be brought to a much higher point by a less
restrictive mode of competition. On several grounds,
therefore, he could not hesitate in saying that
the time had now come when they ought to
have an extensive alteration in the navigation-laws.
and he had only to state to the House what appeared to
him to be the character of the measure now before the
House. He could have wished that the spirit
of the Bill had been this—that the Govern-
ment were disposed to make conditional concessions
with other countries, and were, in fact, ready to echo
the words of Mr. Bancroft, the American Minister, when
he said, " We shall do what you do—if you do much we
will do much—if you do all, we will do all." He was of
opinion that the fears of British shipowners
as to a freer intercourse with other countries
had been greatly overrated, and that in reality
very little difference would result to them if
the navigation-laws were altered. He could wish that
there were with America on the one hand and the
Baltic on the other, a free and unconditional intercourse.

[LEFT SPEAKING].

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS, June 1.
NAVIGATION-LAWS.
Mr. FREWEN presented a petition against the Bill
proposed by her Majesty's Government for altering these
laws.
Mr. FAGAN presented a similar petition from Cork.
SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS.
Mr. FOX presented a petition from Oldham, prayinr
the House to restrict the sale of intoxicating liquors on
the Sabbath.