The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-03 00:00:00

AMENT

CRIMINAL LAW.
Lord LYNDHURs'F wished t'.) know what progress
had been made in carrying out the recommendations of
the Commissioners for the Reform of the Criminal
Lsw?—(Hear, hear, from Lord Brougham.) He wished
to know whether it was intended to act upon the report
of the Commissioners, or to pass it over entirely.
The LORD CHANCELLOR Bald that a tew days
ago his Noble and Learned Friend had, in the way of
ordinary couv•rsatton, aiuded to it, but not in the way
to impress him with the idea that he intended to allude
to the subj,-ct publicly. Hi- had no reason to thick that
it was the introtion of the Government to advance any
more money to prosecute the inquiry.
Lord BROCG HA VI said that, before Easter, he had
put a nearly similar question, and his Noble and Learned
Friend on the Woolsack had undertaken to inform him•
self on the subject. He had addressed a letter to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer on the subject, and
had learned, to his surprise and regret, that it
was not his intention to . renew the Commission.
He had, three several times, brought in a Bill
digesting the criminal law, and it had been admitted
that the Bill ought to Le referred to a newly con-
structed Commission—an pinion in which he entirely
concurred; and us he understood it was agreed that
such Commission should be created, and that the Com-
mission should make a final examination, and
hat to them the propose I code of cri-
minal procedure should be submitted for final
examin,tion, he was much disappointed when he found
that no such Commission was to be appointed. By this
refusal to renew the Commission the country would be
deprived of any ben. fit they mieht have derived from
the labours of the Criminal Law Commissioners.
The subject then dropped.
REGIS ['RATION OF ASSURANCES BILL.
Lord CAMPBELL moved that the order of the day
for the consideration of this Bill be discharged ant post-
poned to the first day after the Whitsuntide holidays.
After a few words from Earl Foswilliam, Lord Oran-
worth, and the Marquis of Westmeath, the motion was
agreed to.

PETITIONS.
Lord CRANWORTEI presented a petition in favour
of the Absconding Debtors Bill; also a petition from a
person who held some municipal office, who complained
that he bad not been deprived of his office (which
would have entitled him to compensation), but that
he had been deprived of the profics of his office.
The Earl of ENNIeKILLEN presented numerous
petitions from various places in Ireland against Pepel
agerression.
Lord MONTEAGLE reminded their Lordships that
these petitions were not in favour of the Bill beture the
other Hou.e of Parliament, because in that case they
could not be presented, hut against Papal aggression; and
he reminded their Lordships that the petitions against
the measure could not be presented until the 13ill was be•
tore the Louse; and he declared that there was a stroeg
feeling in the country against the measure bt fore the
other House, or any measure fur imerferung with the
Roman Catholic hierarchy.
ARREST OF ABSCONDING DEBTORS BILL.
Tee Earl of HARROW I3Y moved the second
reading of this Biil, the object of which was to
facilitate the arrest of absconding debtors, by
enabling county court judges to issue warrants
for their arrest in the name manner as such war-
rants were issued by the Judges of ieVestnainster-hall at
present; it ea. propo,el to give a similar power to com-
missioners in bankruptcy fie. issuing warrants.
L ird BROUGUUA believed that. some such measure
as this was gr. tidy want d. He thought, however, teat
some means shouia be isdept.d to ascertain whether an
alleged debtor was reel!) iu debt or not.
After a few words free) Lord Cranwortb and the
Lord Chancellor, and an explanation from the Earl of
Harrowby, the Bill was read a second time.
PUBLIC WORKS IN INDIA.
Lord WHA IeNCLIFFE then rose, in pursuance of
his notice, to move ter papers rely tog to public works
and intert•al improvement:, in lodis. As be believed
that the Noble Lord on the opposite benches who pre-
sided over the administration of affairs in that country
concurred in the propriety of producing these papers,
aad as he did not believe that any other of their Lord-
ships would oeit-ct to their production, he might perhaps
have abstained from offering any remarks to their Lord-
,hips; hut, coma& ring the nature and importance of
the subject, he hoped that be might occupy the attention
of the House for a short time white be explained the
grounds on which he made his motion, and the position
of the cowry which would be elucidated by acceding to
it. It had been said on a former evening by the Noble
Lord opposite (Lord Broughton), that the East India
Company were the trustees of the Crown for the benefit
of the people of led's; tied if that were true, he trusted
that he might add that the Legislature and the Crown
were also the trustees of Providence for their benefit.
Such being the case, and there being nu question as to
the importance of the motion, he must remind their
Lordships that in the year 1842 the la'e Sir R. Peel, in
proposing a. plan for the arrangement of the finances of
that part of our empire, called the attention of the
House of Commons to the manner in which the condi-
tion of England was influenced by the flourishing or
depressed condition of the finances of India. He (Sir
I R. Peel) spoke of the condition of India in a financial
• point of view, but he (Lord Vilharocliff,) should proceed
to view it as a great social, moral, and commercial
question. He was justified in asking for these papers
pu those grounds, but he had also other grounds for
requiring their production. The communications made
to Parliament respecting the internal improvements of
'lndia were singularly rare. There had been an objec-
tion to proceed with any public works in that country
without the previous consent of the Government at
home, and the consequence had been that amid ail the
I multiplicity of papers transmitted by the i Ecials of the
East India Company to the directors at home, on com-
mercial, judicial, pelitical, and military subjects, there
was only to be found one single paper, from 1834 to
1851, respecting public works. That in its. Ir was a
suffieient reason for requiring further information. In
tne time when the ancient dynasties of India ruled over
that vast empire, large ceuuls and other works for
draining and irrigating the country existed in the
north-western province. of India and near the sources
of the Junius and Ganges. It was a reproach to
the present Government of India, that such
works had been bellowed to fall into decay and rune..
The Noble Lord re fermi to the Canals which have been
constructed in Incite, and to the returns which they have
yielded, but he so low a tone of voice that it was impos-
sible to hear more than all iiccasiouel word. As to
roads, there appeared to be very few parts of India in
which hood practical roads existed, and where they did
they were ()item rendered useless by streams which there
were no regular means ot crossing, so that the eliffieuity
of removing from one part of the country to team her
was exceedingly great. The stoppage of interne' traffic
from the want of good roads and bridges Wes so
great that grain was sometimes sold at a famine pries
in one part f Indi., while at another, not more than
300 miles distant, it was sellieg at the lowest conceivable
Price. Though the necessity tor grain in one place was
most urgent, and though it might be most abundant in
another, the want of the proper means of communication
rendered it impossible to supply the deficiency. It was
a singular fact that in Mysore the roads were in far bet-
ter condition generally than in any part of the
.British
territory. Be contended that, as a metier of prireciple
it was the du'y of the East India Company to proceed
as far as it possibly could iu the execution of public
works in that country, so as to develops to the ut-
moist extent its great and growing resources. Of
course, the means of doing so must depend very
much upon the state or the Indian finances. He found
that from the close of the great BUFM-se war down to
1838 there existed in the Indian Exchequer a consi-
derahle surplus; iu the years 1835-36 37, it amounted
t 3 470,000/. Prim that time to this, however, there
had been a successien of military events by which the
company had necessarily been driven into great expen-
diture, and in 1848 49 the surplus had been converted
int t a d. ficiency (as we understood) of 2,800,0001.
This state of matters was, no doubt, inimical to the con-
struction of public works; but, nevertheless, ho could
net help thinking that much more ought to have been
done, and that the cessation of public works had in it-
self proved injurious to the Indian revenue. For the
last 20 years the revenue of the East Indic Company
had be en 16,000,0001., making an amount of 320 000,000 L
during that period, while the greatest sum expended by
them in any one year on public works was 238,0001.
It was but justice to the 'adieu Government to say,
however, that there were several canals now going on.
Ho trusted that the prosp• ct before them was better
than fer some years past, that they would not have so
many military calls upon them as unfortunately had
been the case, and that therefore the East India Com-
pany would be able to enter upon the execution of

. . HOUSE OF LORDS, June 2.
Tlie LORD CHANCELLOR Wok his .seat on the Woolsttek
at Poe &cluck.

COURT OF CHANCERY.
Lord LYNDHURST understood that the Bill intro-
duced into the other House by the Prime Minister had
been abandoned, and that a now 13111 (with the drawing
up of which he hoped his Noble end Learned Friend
on the Woolsack had had more to do than he had
had with the former Bill) was about to be intro-
duced. In the last session a Bill for the reform
of the Court of Chancery in Ireland had been intro-
duced by the present Master of the Rolls ; that Bill
had passed into a law and the result had been most
satisfactory. In consequence of that Bill 694 petitions
had been presented and only twenty-nine bills had been
filed for proceeding in what had previously been the
ordinary mode. That was satisfactory so far as regarded
plaintiffs, and as regarded defendants not one had pe-
tioned to proceed by bill instead of petition. The law
officers in Ireland had testified to the admirable working
of this Act, and he hoped his Noble and Learned Friend
would consider these facts; and he had been assured that
at the conclusion of this term there would not be one of
these 694 petitions on which a decree would not have
been pronounced. He commended these facts to the at-
tentive consideration of his Noble and Learned Friend.
The LORD CHANCELLOR hoped that the Bill
now in the hands of the Prime Minister would meet the
expectations of his Noble and Learned Friend. He
could well understand that all matters now brought
forward by bill might be brought forward by
petition, but he did nut think that would materially
aid the administration of justice. His Noble and
Learned Friend had said that upier.rds of 400 oases had
been disposed of, and be should have been glad it in an
equal number of cases in this c iuntry, counsel would
have ceased speaking. He thought that such an entire
alteration in the administration of justice should be
adopted with caution; he would make inquiry into the
subject, and was obliged to his Noble and Learned Friend
tor having drawn his attention to the matter; and would
be at all times happy to receive any suggestions from his
Noble and Learned Friend, on a subject which ho so
well understood as the administration of justice in the
Court of Chancery.

The Cork and Waterford Railway ; Great Northern
Railway (No. 2) ; Killarney JJection Railway ; Man-
chester Improvement ; Manchester Waterworks ; Mary-
port and Carlishi Railway ; Ulverston and Lancaster
Railway ; Waterford and Kilkenny Railway, and
Wicklow Harbour.
The Newark-upon-Trent Improvement and Market
Bill was ordered to be re-committed.
NEW FOREST DEER REMOV AL, &c. BILL.
On the motion for the second reading of this Bill,
Mr. G. BERKELEY moved that the Bill be read a
second time this day six months. He complained that
the measure would d•prive the poorer inhabitants of the
forest of the rights of commonage to 20,000 acres.
Mr. COAIPTON would not support the amendme,
but he suggested that various additions and alterations
should be made in Committee.
Lord SEYMOUR &fended the Bill, and said it was
called for by the present circumstances of the New Forest.
The House then divided, when there appeared—
Fur the second reading ... ••• 82
Against it •.. ••• 28

Majority ••• ••• ••• —54
The Bill was then read a eel:3°nd time, and ordered
:o be committed.

PETITIONS.
Mr. REYNOLDS presented several petitions from
places in Ireland twainst the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill.
Sir D. DUNDAS presented a petition from a place
in Scotland against Papal aggression.
Mr. G. BERKELEY presented a petition from Glou-
cesrershire. praying for an equalisation of poor-rates.
Mr. MOORE presented petitions from the county of
Sligo against the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill.

Mr. HEY WOOD pre-ented a petition from Burnley,
praying for the repeal of taxes on knowledge.
Mr. F. MACKENZIE presented a petwou from Perth
&pilafs; Papal aggremen.