The Sun.
London, England, 1851-02-07 00:00:00

THE SUN,

were intended to be taken, to prevent the recurrence of
such disasters? But ho understood that the Hon. Mem-
ber for Lancaster was now in Rome. In the event a
that lion. Member's absence ho had intended to ask the
Noble Lord the Member for Tetnes (Lord Seymour)
the same questions; but not seeing the Noble Lord in
his place, he trusted that some member of the Govern-
ment would have the kindness to give a reply, as it
would tend greatly to relieve the public anxiety on the
subject.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said
that the amount of damage was exceedingly trifling.
Mr. LAWLESS wished to know how that could be.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said
that the place where the fire occurred was nearly empty
at the time it broke out.
OATH OF ABJURATION.

Mt. PAGE WOOD wished to inquire whether there
was any intention on the part of the Noble Lord at the
head of the Government to take any measures
for carrying out the resolution adopted by the House
of Commons on the sth of August last, for taking into
consideration the oath of abjuration.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that he would take an
early opportunity for carrying that resolution into effect.
Mr. P. WOOD—The earliest opportunity?
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that the Honourable
Member was aware that he had to bring on a very im-
portant matter to-morrow evening—(Hear, hear, and
cheers)—and until that question was disposed of it
would be impossible for him to say what course he
should pursue.

LONDON,

return of papers from public offices must go through
wo stages before the returns could be obtained.
He (Mr. M. Gibson) begged to suggest that it would be
reasonable to except returns from public offices from
the operation of the Noble Lord's resolution. He wished
the Noble Lord would explain the effect of his resolu-
tion upon a motion being made for returns from public
offices.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said—lf there were any
opposition to any returns which might be moved for
from any public office, his resolution certainly would
have the effect of causing the motion to pass through
two stages, but he did not apprehend that that
would occur, as such motions were not generally
opposed. The Right Hon. Gentleman who opposed
this resolution said that it affected the liberty of the
individual Members of that House; he (Lord John
Russell) could not agree with the remark of
the Right Hon. Gentleman, because it was not her
Majesty's Minister who decided upon the address to
the throne, but a majority of the House. The Right
Hon. Gentleman had said the resolution would be found
inconvenient in cases where any opposition was made in
any matter relating to any Member of the Royal Family,
but such matters were not usually opposed. It had
been said that the Members of the House had
suffered disadvantage from the interference with their
privileges, but if any had suffered disadvantage it
was the public. It had been said that this resolution
would affect the privilege of Members making motions
without notice. It had been deemed most conve-
nient for Honourable Members that the ,course of
giving notice of the motions should be acted upon, but
those cases in which Members had made motions with-
out giving notice of them would not be affected by his
proposition.
Mr. GOULBURN said, in considering the resolu-
tion proposed by the Noble Lord, the House ought
not only to consider the immediate effect that it would
have upon the privileges of Hon. Members, but the
ultimate and general effect it would have upon
them. The resolution appeared to him (Mr. Goulburn)
to lay down a new principle to that which the House
had been in the habit of acting upon. The resolution of
the Noble Lord produced this difficulty, that when a
motion was opposed a different course must be pursued
to that when it was agreed to. A single " No" on the
_ _

part of an Hon. Member would have that effect.—(Hear.)
The great part of the business of the House was done
through the medium of addresses. Papers were moved
for which, being in the Secretary of State's office, it was
impossible to get at except by the medium of moving an
address to her Majesty. Let them consider how
this would operate. If a party in opposition required
information on certain matters not pending at the time,
but executed and done with, the records of which were
lying in the Secretary of State's office, it would be pos-
sible, by a simple dissent from a Minister, to put an effec-
tual stop to any steps taken to obtain this information.
Lord BERNARD suggested that an occasion might
occur when an address of want of confidence in the
Ministers would be moved, and by the adoption of this
measure a second chance would be afforded to Minis-
ters of getting out of a similar crisis to that they were in
in the time of Lord Melbourne's Government.—(Hear.)
Sir G. GREY did not think the Noble Lord particu-
larly happy in the illustration he had chosen of the
working of the resolution proposed by his Noble Friend.
He had read an address agreed to by the House in 1841,
but he seemed to forget that that was an address in
answer to the speech from the Throne, and that, there-
fore, it went through precisely that process which was
now proposed, and which every such address had to go
through.—(Hear, hear.) That address, having been
moved in the whole House, was referred, as usual, to a
Committee, and was reconsidered. on a subsequent day.
—(Hear, hear.) The effect of the resolution seemed to
be imperfectly understood by the Right Hon. Gentleman
opposite. It seemed to be supposed that the mere oppo-
sition of any one Member of the House would stop the
debate. That, however, would not be the effect of it.
The debate would go on, and, if the House should re-
solve that an address be presented to her Majesty, it
would be remitted to a Select Committee, to be reported
on on a future day.—(Hear, hear.) The object of the
resolution was to have a second step taken in all such
cases. If the House, however, was not prepared to
adopt the resolution at once, perhaps it would be bettor
to take time fully to consider its terms, and postpone the
matter to a future day.—(Hear, hear.)
Sir ROBERT INGLIS understood, from the last
observation of his Right Hon. Friend, that it was in-
tended by the Government to depart from the usual
course of proceeding in voting addresses to the Crown.
He had always understood that the practice of both
Houses of Parliament was the same, but if this resolu-
tion was adopted discrepancy would be caused which
might occasion great inconvenience.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that, perhaps, it would
be better to take time for a little more consideration,
and he would therefore move the adjournment of the
debate till Tuesday next.

Sir B. INGLIS thought that it would bo impossible
;o come to a derision on Tuesday.

Lord J. RUSSELL thought it was just the same
thing whether he withdrew the motion or postponed it
till Tuesday.—(No, no.)
Mr. DISRAELI said the project of the Noble Lord did
not appear to be so mature as to warrant his taking
Tuesday next.—(A laugh.) Besides, there stood an im-
portant motion for that night.
Lord J. RUSSELL did not mean to take any prece-
dence over the motion of the lion. Member for Buck-
inghamshire on Tuesday.
The motion was then withdrawn—to be renewed on
Tuesday.
The following Members were appointed as the Select
Committee on Public Petitions :—Mr. Thornely, Sir
Robert Harry Inglis, the Earl of Arundel and Surrey,
Captain Jones, Mr. Mackenzie, Mr. Brotherton, Lord
Alfred Hervey, Mr. Scott, Mr. Carter, Mr. Clements,
Mr. Lushington, Mr. Duncan, Sir Charles Douglas, Mr.
Adderley, and Mr. Owen Stanley.
Mr. M. GIBSON obtained leave to bring in a Bill to
establish county financial boards for the assessing of
county-rates, and for the administration of county ex-
penditure in England and Wales.
The Queen's Speech having been considered, the
House adjourned.

CONVOCATION OF THE CLERGY

Wednesday having been appointed for the meeting of
the two Houses of Convocation, a large number of the
elected members attended at the Jerusalem Chamber
adjacent to Westminster Abbey, although no writ had
been issued for " the dispatch of general business."
Shortly after twelve o'clock his Grace the Archbishop
of Canterbury arrived. His Grace was accompanied by
the Worshipful Sir John Dodson, Knight, the Queen's
Advocate, and Vicar-General of the province of Canter-
bury; Francis Hart Dyke, Esq., her Majesty's Proctor
and Registrar-General of the province of Canterbury;
and Felix Knivett, Esq., his Grace's secretary. His
Grace was attired in his state and archiepiscopal robes.
The members of the Upper House present were the
Bishop of Exeter, the Bishop of Oxford, the Bishop of
Salisbury, the Bishop of Chichester, and the Bishop of
Bath and Wells.

The Lower Honse assembled at the same time. There
were present the Venerable Thomas Thorpe, D.D., Arch-
deacon of Bristol, and Rector of Kemerton, Gloucester-
shire; the Venerable Archdeacon Harrison (Canter-
bury); the Very Rev. William Rowe Lyall, D.D., Dean
of Canterbury and Prolocutor of Canterbury; the Rev.
William Hodge Mill, D.D., Regius Professor of Hebrew
in the University of Canterbury, and Canon of Ely; the
Rev. Gabriel Edwards Gillett, M.A., rector of Waltham,
Leicestershire, and Rural Dean, &e.
Some delay was occasioned by the circumstance that
the Bishops of Oxford and Salisbury proceeded to the
Chamber without their episcopal robes. Messengers
were sent to the House of Lords, and very shortly after-
wards the robes were brought, and the Right Rev. Pre-
lates made their appearance in due form before his Grace
the Archbishop.

The Lord Archbishop having taken his Boat, the usual
preliminaries were gone through, when
The Bishop of CHICHESTER rose, and said he had to
present a petition from the clergy and laity of the pro-
vince of Canterbury. It had been entrusted to the
bishop in whose diocese they were at present assem-
bled (London), but in consequence of that Right Re-
verend Prelate's inability to attend, the duty of present-
ing the petition devolved upon him. His Lordship then
handed to his Grace a petition, of which the following
is a copy:—

" TO THE MOST REVEREND THE ♦RCHBISHOP AND THE

RIGHT REVEREND THE BISHOPS OF THE PROVINCE OF