The Sun.
London, England, 1846-03-14 00:00:00

IRISH PRODUCE.

As the alleged scarcity of provisions in Ireland, and the
necessary consequent inconvenience arising to the immense
mass of the inhabitants of the sister kingdom, continue to
occupy an important position in the councils of the Legis-
lature and the consideration of the public generally ; with a
view to the adoption of the best means for its partial allevia-
tion, an enumeration of the list of the principal importations
of provisions which have taken place within the past week,
in continuation of that previously given in cur columns a few
days since, may prove of utility and interest. On Wednes-
day, the 4th inst., four vessels arrived in the river Thames
from various other ports, having on board, collectively, 2,772
packages of bacon, 675 of pork, 300 of beef, 1,015 of butter,
88:5 of lard, 41 hampers of hams, 530 barrels and 450 quarters
of oats, 161 barrels of porter, 55 packages of whisky, 395 of
eggs, 142 of other descriptions of provisions, and 77 pigs, in
addition to a quantity of malt, paper, leather, and vat ious
other articles. On the following day, the imports into the port
()f London, from the same quarter, consisted of 509 packages of
butter, 1,062 packages of bacon, 424 of lard, 47 of pork, 700
quarters of oats, a quantity f hams, several packages of
potatoes, and various other articles. On Friday, 1,225 packages
of oats, 93 of hams, 61 of eggs, 33 of butter, 70 of bacon,
67 of malt, 51 of beef 122 packages of porter, a quantity of
spirits, linens, and other articles the produce f the Irish soil.
At the same period, the imports into Bristol from Ireland
consisted , of, in addition to a quantity of linens, whisky,
and other articles, 299 packages of bacon, a quantity of
lard, seed, farina, 300 packages of butter, 61 of feathers,
214 bushels of oats, 37 sacks of barley, and several packages
of pork, oatmeal, wheat, pollard, and malt. The following
is the list of provisions imported into the port of Liverpool
from the Irish ports for the past week, being from the 27th
ult. to the sth inst. exclusive :-2,718 firkins, 138 half-
; firkins, 453 casks, and 120 boxes of butter; 2,625 barrels and
317 sacks of wheat ; ;,4,698 sacks of flour; 34 barrels and 150
bags of oats; 22 sacks of barley; 530 sacks, 115 other
packages, and 120 barrels of oatmeal ; 250 bags of meal ; 3
barrels, 25'tierces, and 52 hhds. of hams ; 497 barrels of bacon ;
28 bags of feathers; 27 casks, 26 firkins, and 1,147 kegs of
lard; 488 sacks of farina; 501 boxes and tierces and 10 bar-
rels of linens and cottons; 309 barrels, 5 tierces, and 12 kegs
of pork; 15 barrels of tongues; 13 barrels and 6 kegs of other
descriptions of provisions; 392 sacks of malt; and 39 casks
of whisky. Finally, the following articles were imported
into the port of London at the commencement of the present
week, viz., 435 packages of pork, 153 packages of butter, 684
of bacon, 68 of hams, 5 of tongues, 34 of porter, and 59 of
eggs, in addition to a quantity of linens and other articles,
the whole being the production of the Irish soil. It will be
for those most competent to form an opinion of and most in-
terested in the matter to judge of the inferences deducible
from the enumerations of the importations of provisions
which have taken place in the course of a single week from
Ireland for consumption in this country, viz., the capabilities
of the country for the production of food of every description
for the supply of its numerous inhabitants; and, in the
second place, as to how they can be spared for extraneous
purposes at a time when so much distress and want is stated
to exist in that kingdom. This is not the place to enter into
a further particular consideration of the matter, otherwise it
would be worth while to suppose the immense quantity of
provisions which must be contained in so many large pack-
ages, and to draw a conclusion as to the amount of relief
which the salutary distribution and disposal of them through
proper channels in their native country would afford.

ST AFFORD ELECTION.
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
FRIDAY, 6 P.M.
The polling for the rival candidates, W. Sleigh, Esq.,
on the. Protectionist interest, and the Hon. Captain
Carnegie, on the Ministerial side, took place this day.
The polling throughout was in favour of the Hon. Cap-
tain, and at the close, the numbers were :
Carnegie
Sleigh
Majority
On the poll being closed, tha Mayor stated the
numbers, as gi%en above, and the newly-elected
Member and his opponent subsequently addressed the
ele?.tors. The whole of the proceedings were conducted
in an unusually quiet manner. Mr. Aeland, from the
League, was at Stafford, and addressed the electors in
the course of the day, in favour of Captain Carnegie.

COURT CIRCULAR.
The Queen and Prince Albert, accompanied by the
Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the Princess Royal,
and the Princess Alice, and attended by the Marchioness
of Douro, Colonel Bowles, Colonel Arbuthnot, Major-
General Sir Edward Bowater, and Dr. Preetorius, left
Osborne House at half-past nine o'clock yesterday
morning, crossed in the Fairy steam-packet to Gosport,
and travelled to town by a special train. The royal
party arrived at Buckingham Palace from the Nine
Elms' terminus in four carriages and four, at half past
one o'clock, escorted by a party of Light Dragoons.
The Queen, Prince. Albert, the Prince of Wales, and
the Princess Royal, were in the first carriage and four;
the Prince Alfred and the Princess Alice, accompanied
by the Dowager Lady Lyttelton, were in the following
carriage; Colonel Arbuthnot and Major-General Sir
Edward Bowater were in the third chariot and four; and
the Marchioness of Douro, Colonel Bowles, and Dr.
Pre:itorius, were in the fourth carriage and four.
tier Mjcsty and her Royal Consort were received, on
their arrival at the Palace, by Lady Caroline Cocks,
Hon. Miss Devereux, the Lord Chamberlain, Viscount
Hawarden, Lord George Lennox, Captain Meynell,
Captain Francis Seymour, and Lord Charles Wellesley..
The Countess of Charlemont has succeeded the Mar-
chiono:s of Douro as'the Lady in Waiting to the Queen.
Lady Caroline Cocks and the Hon. Miss Devereux have
succeeded the Hon. Misses Stanley and Dawson as the
Maids of Honour.
Viscount Hawarden has succeeded Lord Glenlyon as
the Lard in Waiting to the Queen, and Captain Meynell
has succeeded Colonel Drummond as the Groom in
Waiting to her Msjesty.

DRURY-LANE THEATRE.
Benedict':,
iimnag,nifieent opera, The Crusaders, draws
n
overfloaing 3es here every night. It is by far the
most perfect opera that has hitherto been produced upon
the English stare. As might have been expected, it is
heard now to much greater
solo
greater advantage than it was OR
the first night. performers are more perfect
(wi
in the music—the choruses ;at massively magnificent
w ohores they are !) go better as the chorus-singers get
more used to the music —and the
eortchestra is as one
vast instrument, discoursing excellent
"aspiration of one master-mind. tinily musicfrom
is the greate
besot)' of this opera. It is one piece of :n'soiteciig can
whole
and inlivisuble ; nothing can he added to it, nothing
be taken from, it without marring that harmoniousn one-
ness which is its distinguishing characteristic. It
Itisa
;;rest musical epic ; and, as the Dial, o
Para-
dise Lost, er the Jerusalem Delivered, must be
read again and again, and not only read but
studied to thoroughly appreciate the genius of Homer,
or Milton, or Tasso, so must The crusaders be lis-
tened to attentively again and again, and be studied
before its beauties can be properly appreciated. At the
first hearing the mind is lost in admiration at the
magnificent whole. It is only by hearing it repeatedly
—by dissecting it, as it were—that the excessive beauty
and fitness of the various parts of which that whole is
Composed, can be comprehended, or that the mar-
vellously, harmonious manner in which those parts are
combined can be thoroughlt appreciated. The Crusaders
is, indeed, a great opera. U. Benedict has produced a
work which "the world will not willingly let die."

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.
HOUSE OF LORDS, March 13.
Their Lordships met to•day at Five o'clock.
REPEAL OF THE CORN-LAWS.
Earl FORTESCUE presented a petition from the
southern division of the county of Devcn, praying that
all duties on the importation of corn be totally and im-
mediately repealed. He would state that the petition
emanated from a meeting called on behalf of protection,
most numerously and respectably attended, but which
agreed to the present petition by a large majority.
THE DIRECT NORTHERN RAILWAY.
Lord KINNAIRD presented four petitions in favour
of this railway.
Messengers from the House of Commons brought up
the Direct London and Portsmouth, the London and York,
and the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway
Bills, which the House of Commons had puscAl, and pray-
ing their Llrd.hips' concurrence.
Lord CAMPBELL presented a petition from Rath-
farnham, in the county of Dublin, against the 8.11 for
protection to life in Ireland, at present before their Lord •
ships' House. The petition was couched in very strong
language, and contained some very f,)rcible epithets, but
he believed there was nothing in it which prevented its
acceptance by their Lordships. The Noble Lord was pro-
ceeding. to point out objections to some of the clauses of
the Bill as it now stood, when he was interrupted by a
Noble Lord, who suggested that it would be better to
reserve his remarks till the third reading was moved.
He accordingly gave way to the
Earl of ST. GERMANS, who moved the third reading
of the

IRISH PACIFICATION BILL.
Lord CAMPBELL wished to call their Lordships'
attention to the 11th clause of this Bill, which he con-
ceived to be rather an anomalous one, and one which he
hoped to see corrected before it wentdown to the House
of Commons. That clause in its present shape was a
most arbitrary one, because it provided that it' any spi-
rituous or malt liquors should be found to have been
" sold or consumed " in any house or cabin, the parties
therein assembled were liable to a charge of misde-
meanour without one word about " suspicious circum-
stances," so that if two or three persons assembled in a
house upon a social occasion, and drank a glass of beer
or a glass of gin, they would be liable to a charge
of misdemeanour upon no other grounds whatever;
for the words were not accompanied by the other
qualifying words, " under suspicious circumstances."
In the Bill there was a slight exception in favour of
travellers. The eleventh clause was most stringent and
highly dangerous in its effects. Suppose that in a village
within a proscribed district parties wished to provide
themselves with provisions ; groceries, perhaps, or other
necessaries. Now, if the grocer happened to have
spirituous liquors in his house, and that he had persons
at his table drinking, or that he presented his cus-
tomers with a glass of spirits, that person was liable
by this clause to be transported. If a messenger went
to the doctor's, and it should turn out, as no doubt it
would in a country district, that the doctor kept an
apothecary's shop, that, under the clause, would be a
place of public resort, and the messenger would be liable
to transportation.. He hop. d their Lordships would not
send this clause down with the others. Then there was
another clause equally objectionable.
The Earl ST. GERMANS hoped his Noble and
Learned Friend would take one clause at a time.
Lord CAMPBELL—No doubt it would be far more
convenient to do so.

vv
The Earl ST. GERMANS was sure that his Noble
and Learned Friend on the Woolsack bad not shown
any objection to consider the alterations suggested by
his Noble and Learned Friend (Lord Campbell). There
were a class of houses commonly called shebeen houses,
and the owners of which were not bound to receive tra-
vellers ; but rather than have any risks run, he had no
objection to the proposed amendment.
Lord CAMPBELL said that, in his opinion, the
amendment of the Noble Earl would not answer the
purpose, as it was very bard to say what houses, in some
instances, were houses of public resort ; for instance, it
might be said that grocers and apothecaries' shop Were
places of public resort within the meaning of the Bill.
The Marquis of WESTMEATH said, that any person
acquainted with Ireland must know that a strong party
was raised against the selling of groceries and spirits in
the same house in Ireland, and that it might he hard to
know how to distinguish in such cases.
The LORI) CHANCELLOR said, it might be bard to
prove the sale of spirits in a house, but it was easy to
know when it was sold, notwithstandine..
Earl DEVON said that the Noble Lcrd opposite
(Lord Campbell) seemed to have great sympathy for
the class of persons likely to be affected by the Bill, but
he wished to ask the Noble Lord if he entertained an)'
sympathy for the unfortunate labourer and tenant, who
were the marked objects of assassination ?—(Hear.)
The Marquis of WESTMEATH would wish that
the Noble Lord (Lord Campbell) would fancy himself
in the mountains of Spain for five minutes, surrounded
by banditti, and calling out for the protection of the
Habeas Corpus Act.—(Laughter.) He (the Marquis of
Westmeath) was of opinion that he would require some
other and better panacea for whole bones.—(Renewed
laughter.)
The clause was then agreed to.
The Bill was then read a third time and passed.
PROTECTION AGAINST RAILWAY
COMPANIES.

Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from Mr.
Hibble, of Greenlaw, near Paisley, Renfrewshire, which
contained allegations against two railway companies,
which, if true, struck at the privileges of that House in
a material degree. The petition had reference to
the Glasgow, Paisley, and Greenock, and the Glasgow,
Paisley, Kilmarnock, and Ayr Railway Companies,
which had a joint line, and it was respecting this that
the comphint was made. The petitioner said that when
the measure was before Parliament the plans showed
that it was the intention of the projectors to take
the line through the lawn in front of his
residence. At considerable expense he came to London
to oppose the project, and it was eventually arranged that
a protective clause should be introduced into the Bill in
favour of the petitioner. He went home under this ar-
rangement, but judge his surprise to notice that when
the Bill was issued the protecting clause was struck out.
It was in regard to this that the petition was now pre-
ferred. A more gross and scandalous fraud on the Par-
liament and that House ho (Lo;d Brougham) never
knew, and they were bound to make inquiries, and
adopt such steps as would prevent such mal-practices.
Another charge was, that the parties had made use of
totally different plans to those which they had produced
when the Bill was passed. The Bill was passed in
1837 ; but, however long ago it might be, if it could be
proved that parties had been guilty of such a gross
breach of faith, or such a gross deception on the House,
it was the duty of their Lordships to inquire into it.
LONDON AND YORK RAILWAY BILL.

Oa the motion of the Earl of DALHOUSIE, this
Bill was read a first time.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and
their Lordships adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMOLVS, March 13.
The SPEAKER took the Chair at a quarter to Four
o'clock.

NEW MEMBER.

Lord HENRY BENTINCIC,;iIOvIW introduced by the
Earl of March and Major Beresford, took the oaths and
his seat for North Nottinghamshire. The Noble Lord
was cheered on his entrance from the protectionist side
of the House.