The Sun.
London, England, 1848-08-18 00:00:00

not to have been attended to. The person recom-
mended by the Hon. Gentleman referred to, was, be
understood, in every respect suited to the place ; but
it was a mistake to suppose that Lord Clanricarde bad
given the patronage ot the appointment to Mr. Gardi-
ner, he merely received that gentleman's recommenda-
tion. He could not agree that the Postmaster-Gene-
ral was to pay greater attention to the recommendation
ot his political enemies than to that of his political
friends.

Colonel SIBTHORP said he could not swallow the
explanation just given by the Noble Lord, and as to the
Bill before the House he denounced it as a most ini-
quitous measure.
Sir C. BURRELL complained of the patronage of the
Post-office being conferred upon a new resident in the
borough of Shoreham, instead of its being given to a
person in whose behalf a strong recommendation had
been forwarded to the Postmaster General.
Mr. H. DRUMMOND could not understand why
Hon. Members on his side of the House should com-
plain that patronage was bestowed on the supporters of
the Government. He bad been asked to recommend a
person for a situation in the Post-office. He told the
man he had no influence with Lord Clanricurde, whom
he had never, to his knowledge, seen. He however did
write a recommendatory letter to the Noble Lord, and
he received exactly such an answer as he expected,
namely, that the appointment had been already made.—
(A laugh.)
Mr. MULLINS wished to ask Lord John Russell
whether any person had been appointed by the Govern-
ment Sub-distributor of Stamps at Cirencester since
May last, and whether such appointment had not been
placed at the disposal of the Hon. Charles Ponsonby, or
his solicitor or agent in that borough. He understood
that a Mr. Harris, who was clerk in the bank there, had
been appointed by Mr. Newmarch, solicitor to the Hon.
Mr. Ponsonby, who would therefore know the number
of stamps which other solicitors in the town used.
He hoped some inquiry would be instituted into the
subject.
Mr. TUFNELL defended the general principle
upon which appointments were made by the Post-odke,
as regarded local postmen. They were usually the re-
sult of recommendations from persons acquainted with
the respectability and character of the party recom-
mended. With respect to the appointment of Mr.
Harris, he really did not know till that moment what
position Mr. Harris occupied inCirencester.
After a few words from Mr. C. Burrell, Mr. Tufnell,
and Mr. Newdegate,
Sir H. HALFORD explained.
The motion was then agreed to, and the report was
brought up.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL then moved the fol-
lowing clauses:—Ciause B to be substituted for sections
17 and 18, " And be it enacted, that it shall be lawful
for the Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury, out
of any moneys which may have been. provided by Par-
liament, to make orders for the payment of the,neces-
sary expenses of the inquiries under this Act ; and
every Commissioner acting under this Act shall be
paid at the rate of five guineas for every day
that he shall be actually employed in conducting
any inquiries under this Act, over and above his
travelling and other expenses; and each such Commis-
sioner shall from time to time after he shall have made s
report, or his final report to her Majesty, under this Act,
in relation to the city or borough for which he shall have
been appointed, lay before the Commissioners of her
Majesty's Treasury for the time being a statement of the
number of days he shall have been employed under this
Act, with respect to such city or borough, together with
an account of his travelling and other expenses ; and the
Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury may order the
payment to such Commissioner of the amount due to him
in respect to the number of days he shall have been so
employed, and in respect of his travelling and other ex-
penses. And be it enacted, that the Speaker of the
House of Commons may appoint an agent or agents to
prosecute before the Committees appointed under this
Act, or any of them, or any Commissioners appointed
under this Act, any inquiries or inquiry to he
made under the provisions of this Act ; and every
such agent is hereby authorised from time to tints
to certify under his hand to the Commissioners of her
Majesty's Treasury, what sum or sums of money is or
are required to meet the necessary expenses for
effectually prosecuting such inquiries or inquiry as such
agents may be appointed to prosecute, including the
sums proper and necessary to be paid to and for the
witnesses who may be required to attend under this Act; and the Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury may advance to such agent, from time to time, such sums as
shall be needed for the purpose aforesaid out of ell
monies which may have been provided by Parliament:
provided always, that in every case the amount required*
for such expenses Shall be examined and allowed by:
some person appointed by the Speaker for that purpose.'
Mr. ANSTEY wished to know if the Speaker would
have the same power over the allowance to be made to
the Commissioners, that he would have with respect to
the agents ?
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said there was at pre' =
sent a control sufficiently effective.
The clause was then added to the Bill.
The LORD ADVOCATE then proposed to insert
the following clause :—" And be it enacted, that where
it shall be necessary to institute in Scotland any further
.
inquiry or investigation regarding corrupt practicet
either under the report of any Committee appointee
under this Act, or of any Election Committee as afore'
said, the Speaker shall certify such report to the senior
Lord of Justiciary who shall have gone the preceding
circuit in that district in which the county whe,rei.l
such inquiry or investigation is required to be made le
situated; and failing such senior Lord of Justiciary, or
if such inquiry or investigation is required to.he madeia
any county nut included in any circuit, then the Speaker
shall certify such report to the Lord Justice General, 'or
President of the Court of Session, and such senior Lord
of Justiciary, or Lord Justice General, shall appoint:
an advocate, of not less than seven years' standing,
and who shall not be a Member of Parliament, to be s
Commissioner, for the purposes of such inquiry or in-
vestigation, who shall thereupon possess and exercise all
the powers, and shall discharge all the duties conferred;
and imposed upon the Commissioner to be appointed
under this Act, as hereinbefore set forth. And it shal!,
be lawful for such senior Lord of Justiciary or Lord,;
Justice General, in case by reason of the death, illness,
or absence of any such Commissioner appointed in Scot'
land, such inquiry or investigation cannot be proceeded
with by him, to appoint an advocate qualified as afore;
said, to be a Commissioner in place of the Commissione
whose death, illness, or absence, renders such new sr
pointment necessary. And every Commissioner to be
appointed in Scotland, shall take the oath by this Act
,
required to be taken by Commissioners, before so,
Judge of the Court of Session in Scotland."
The motion was agreed to, and the clause added.._te,
the Bill, which was ordered to be read a third time te4
morrow (this day).
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH THE COlOll
OF ROME BILL.
Viscount PALMERSTON,. in rising to move the
second reading of this Bill, said—Sir, it is not my uteri tion to detain the House by. going into any historrA detail with reference to this measure.
In point of fact the grounds, it appears to me, for this change, or rstber
declaration of the law, are necessarily so plain Ofd
ie
simple, and lie so entirely upon the surface, that
cannot be requisite for me to have recourse to .acJ
abstruse or refined argument, in order to show the
diency of the measure which I now bring before woe
House. Sir, doubts—and doubts only—bare existed
to whether, under the interpretation which is to b°
put upon words in ancient Acts of Parliament, it
to
or is not lawful for the Sovereign of this country
hold diplomatic .intercourse with the Court of Bonne*.
The chief doubt Wises upon the construction of th:,
word " communion," and under the interpretation 01;
section of an old law, the Sovereign of these realMo4s,
prohibited from holding communion with the Court
Rome. In my opinion the only object of such a 3'4
must have been to enforce that principle, which
no doubt
is 'a fundamental principle of the constitution, that the Sc:
'rereign of thiscountry must be of the Protestant religioc;
and the communion contemplated by that Act I hold to he;
spiritual communion, and not what in vulgar parlance
commonly viewed as intercourse,
and the interehingebee
the ordinary relations between different nations. BO this as it may, as great doubts have arisen upon theft,
ject, it is now expedient to apply to Parliament tote'
move existing uncertainty, and make lawful diplotals
intercourse and relation between the Sovereignty 0f.,,,u'1r
country and the Sovereign of the Roman States. ffleej
Sir, two questions here arise. First: what objecticho
can be urged against such a course? And next,
advantages are likely to accrue from it? Now the OP.. ,
.
.objection which- present themselves to my mind as '5„
pable of being started against this measure, would be 'to
jections founded upon that principle of the
constitutioled
which I have already adverted; viz., objections fonacqo
upon the presumption that to legalise diplonit,
intercourse between the Crown of England and th
vereign of the Roman States, would tend to endaTje
the observance of the fundamental Protestant prinr.ro,
of our constitution. I confess that lamat a loss Oro
gine how any rational person can suppose that trot.
should be anything in the presence of a British Mime
at Rome, or in the presence of a Roman MinibLerief
London, which would tend to shake the religiousuvl 0
of the Sovereign of this country. It is in my opinicli tau
...b
absurd and ridiculous a supposition, that it does n°`is for the slightest argument to refute it. Diplomatic
Vrith
tions cannot be considered as having any connexion.
religious faith; the Sovereign of this country haswi diP
matic relations with Pagans, with Mahometans, Pro-
fessors of the Soonee, of the Sheeah, and, indet'oef,
every form of belief except the Roman Catholic "ITU-
which is in fact only a modification of the Christiec,bese
gion. We are not to suppose the Sovereign of ;;Iter.
realms becoming Mahometan in consequence of her 'sole
change of diplomatic; relations with a Mahomet",ioosl
reign; and I, therefore, cannot conceive of any rt., 0.
person founding an objection to this measure upOnl%
my
sumption of this kind. Well then, Sir, the question;
_sr
opinion is, whether there is any means for diplomat;
wle,
municationa between this country and Rome, &DLL, o-
ther any advantage will arise from authorising Lucille, I
tablishment. The onus probandi upon this Pe°„rirna
think, must lie with those who deny thin, because tre.suld
facie, there is no reason why the Roman *tat.:
nrrer
tou the
form an exception to our general rule—there t
son why, if this House is not just yet converted our
opinion of the Hon. Member for Stafford, that °should
diplomatic relations with every foreign
thiscountrZ
net the
cease—there is, I sey, no reason why, ifßowan
opinion of Parliament or the country, that In-
states should form a solitary or invidious excenttup% say
te
deed such an exception, unless it be founded ;
reasonable or substantial ground, must opous a
r
mentally And injuriously to our g interests ao
o_
commercial and trading community. !ogee
states may not constitute one ert_ the th
; but, tents
powers of Europe—it may not rank
_ererthe-
highest class of foreign states
as compared with the other Italian
less, it is a state of considerable importance:tante:m:ls by
and,