The Sun.
London, England, 1851-03-28 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat upon the Woo'
sack at Five o'clock.
COUNTY COURTS.

The Duke of NEWCASTLE presented several peti-
tions against Papal aggression from places in Notting-
hamshire also a petition praying fur a further exten-
sion of the jurisdiction of county courts to Chancery
cases. .

Lord BROUGHAM supported the prayer of the peti-
tion, inasmuch as the present constitution of the Court
of Chancery amounted to an absolute denial of justice
in cases in which the amount of litigation was less than
5001. He intended on Monday to introduce a Bill au-
thorising the county courts to interfere in cases which
really could not go before the Court of Chancery.
Lord LYNDHURST had, by the orders which be
had issued, saved the suitors in Chancery 50,000/. a year.
Lord BROUGHAM could bear testimony to the suc-
cess of the exertions of his Noble and Learned Friend
in the diminution of the court fees.
HOUSE OF LORDS, March 27.
THE CENSUS.
The Bishop of OXFORD presented a petition from a body
of clergymen in the diocese of Oxford, complaining of their
being called upon to answer certain questions contained ill
the papers issued from the Registrar-General's office, inncuouni_
flexion with the census. The questions referred to the
holars
ber of persons attending churches, the number
attending national and Sunday schools, and other of
scholars
l) queries
a similar nature. The petitioners objected to thesebe made to
ints of
being issued-1, because replies would fail
stowhich might
them in many instances ; 2, because any re
be made must necessarily be vague
conducive to
3, because the general result must be
eanlied incorrect ;
n truth ; 4, be'
the propagation of error rather
tbs.
obtained ' would
cause the incorrect information thd%se of the great
be made available to the
interests over which the ministers lOfretihueb:
be sent in by
to watch. The returns of the census
should be lost in con-
Cushturch were bound
opinion of that
Monday next, and therefore no time
of
the
veying to the clergy an indication
unity had been af-
House as to whether they should reiLlyportto the queries which
had been put to them or not.
l'ullis brother prelates on this
forded him of consulting many ocnisly s of opinion that the
subject, and they were a be what the petitioners
effect of answering the queriesalluded to in their Lordship?
w"
and, q consequence of what passed
stated. The subject
a 04,. had been issued from the
House a few days since;
on that occasion, anotherpsetia,ting
that no person was bound
Registrar-General's office'w r the queries objected to. It ap-
under a penalty to
,areythat this was not all that should
to intimate that answers to the
peared to him, howeanvessrs
at all. .
queriesbe done. It was nece
ted
so fallacious as facts except were not
.expweeas
sta-
served that niptinnarle were true, generally, how much more
such garbled statistics as must be
tistics. If that rem,ivl,3, to
closely would it e
obtained in answer to to the proposed queries. Authentic in•
attainable when demanded under a pe.
formation was
natty. Under°tese circumstances, he hoped that Ministers
e o jectiona e queries
be insisted on, and, if the information sought
would intimate that answers to th 1). • bl •
would not now
for should continue to be thought requisite, an enactment
. previously to the g ofthe next census
miht oe pa
which would render it imperative on takinclergymen and others
to answer the queries intended to elicit it. If consulted by
the clergy of his a. •
diocese as to the course they ought to pur-
sue, he should be inclined to advise them not to answer the
queries,
.and yet he was unwilling to place himself in an an-
tagonistic position towards the Government in this matter,
and to seem desirous of thwarting efforts which could only
originate in good intentions.
Earl GRANVILLE believed that the public expectation
would be disappointed if the Government were not to attempt
to obtain statistical information respecting spiritual and
secular education. At the same time it had been thought
right that the public should be distinetly informed that
replies to the queries could not be enforced by any legal
obligation. Beyond that point the Government did not
feel justified in going. One observation only he would
make in reference to what had fallen from the Right Rev.
Prelate,
namely, that if all other bodies of persons in the
State,
except the clergy, returned the information which was
required from them, it would not redound to the credit of the
latter.

The Bishop of SALISBURY said there was no objec-
tion on the part of the clergy to give the fullest informa-
tion in their power upon any matter which came under
their supervision; but they alleged, and he thought truly,
that returns which it was left to the voluntary act of indivi-
duals to make or withhold could never present results upon
which any dependence could be placed. It was certain that
in 80 large a body as the clergy a considerable number would
object to make the returns called for, and he confessed
that he participated in the objecion. The result would
be, that only inaccurate and partial information would be
obtained.

-ii;11-+ITZWILLIAAI was understood to say, that clergy-
men ought not to be called upon to state the number of per-
sons attending their churches, that being a point on which it
would be bAter for them to be ignorant than well-informed
in some cases.