The Sun.
London, England, 1851-07-26 00:00:00

(u'ltileveningt Int

LONDON, SATURDAY, JULY 26, 1851.

In the House of Lords,

Lord MONTEAGLE moved that it be an instruction to
the Committee on the Ecclesiastical Titles Assumption
Bill to insert a clause exempting Ireland from the opera-
tion of that Bill.

The LORD CHANCELLOR opposed the motion.

Lord CAMOYS, believing the POPE bad violated the
law of England, had voted for the second reading
of the Bill, but he protested against the extension of the
measure to Ireland.

The motion was opposed by Viscount CANNING, Lord
CRANWORTII, and the Bishop of OSSORY, and supported
by the Earl of ST. GERMANS.
The Duke of ARGYLL thought that the Bill was
specially required in Ireland to prevent the Romish
priesthood from establishing principles destructive to free
institutions.
After an explanation from Lord CLANRICARDE and
some observations from Lord Wicimow,
The House divided, when there appeared—
For the instruction ••• ••• ... 17
Against it •.- •" ••• ••• 82
Majority against the instruction . —65
After some discussion between the Marquis of LANa-
DOWNE and Lord ABERDEEN SS to the expediency of
expunging the words" or otherwise" from the preamble,
The House then went into Committee on the Bill,
when Lord KINNAIRD moved the omission of the first
clause.
After a short discussion, their Lordships divided, when
there appeared—.
For the clause ... 77
Against it „. 26
Majority for the clause ... —5l
The Duke of ARGYLL proposed to omit the clauses
introduced by Sir F. THESIGER.
The LORD CHANCELLOR opposed the omission.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH, the Earl of ELLESMERE,
and the Duke of NEWCASTLE, were favourable to the
omission.

Earl GREY said that the clauses would have very little
practical effect, and urged their Lordships not to run the
risk of sending the Bill back to the Commons.
The Earl of MALMESBErRY supported the Bill.
Toe Committee then divided, when the numbers were
—for the clause 61, against it 26.
The remainingiclauses were then agreed to, the House
resumed, and immediately afterwards adjourned at a
quarter to One o'clock.

The Commons in their morning sitting passed several
Bills through Committee.

In the evening sitting,
Sir B. HALL presented a petition from the electors of
Greenwich, praying to be heard by counsel in support,of
the claim of DAVID SALONONS, Esq., one of their re-
presentatives, to sit and vote as a Member of the House.
Mr. R. CURRIE presented a similar petition, with re-
spect to the Baron LIONEL NATHAN DE ROTHSCHILD,
from the electors of the city of London.
Both petitions were ordered to be taken into consider-
ation on Monday next.
Mr. REYNOLDS moved that the House at its rising do
adjourn to Monday, and made the motion an oppor-
tunity for delivering a lengthy speech, setting forth the
grievances of Ireland.
Sir H. BARRON seconded the motion, and also entered
at great length into the queatiun of Irish distress.
Lord J. RUSSELL opposed the motion, as it would in-
terfere with the progress of several measures relating to
Ireland, which stood for consideration the ensuing day.
Ultimately the motion was withdrawn.
On the motion of the ATTORNEY-GENERAL, the
Patent Law Amendment Bill was read a second time. _

The Emigration Advances (Scotland) Bill passed
through Committee.
The remainder of the evening was chiefly occupied in
Committee on the Metropolitan Interment (Advances)
Bill.

Inventors may at length begin with confidence to
count upon the recognition of their rights by the
Legislature. Disregarded as their situation has so
long been, there is at last some prospect of its
amelioration. It is gratifying to observe that there
are these probabilities of a change for the better in
reference to this question after the strenuous exer-
tions recently made to bring about some amendment
in the laws relating to patents. Having ourselves
from the very outset advocated the innova-
tion here implied, we may reasonably exult
in a-prospect so satisfactory to the community
at large, and so peculiarly agreeable to those
individuals who are solicitous to promote the cause
of scientific advancement. Yesterday evening the Bill
referring to this important subject was read a second
time in accordance with the motion of the ATTORNEY-
GENERAL ; and there is consequently every likeli-
hood that some beneficial change in the desired di-
rection may be effected before the approaching proro-
gation of Parliament. More particularly are those
interested in the matter justified in these pleasurable
anticipations when it is remembered that scarcely any
opposition whatever has been raised either within or
without the walls of the Legislature to the
course pursued in the present instance by her MAJESTY'S
Government. On the contrary, the feeling of satisfaction
at the circumstance is so prevalent throughout the
United Kingdom, that we are persuaded the vast
majority of those who happen to be in any way ac-
quainted with the question will be prepared to put
up with any deficiencies in the measure introduced by
the Cabinet rather than witness the perpetuation of
that legislative indifference which has repeatedly been
declaimed against as pernicious both to the inventors
themselves and to the mass of the population. It
cannot be altogether forgotten that the Bill now be-
fore the House of Commons was originally intro-
duced in accordance with the suggestions of
a Select Committee, to whose consideration
two previous Bills (one introduced by the
Vice-President of the Board of Trade, and the other
by an independent Member of the Legislature) had
been submitted. In obedience to the hints thrown
out by that Select Committee, the measure last night
brought anew under the discussion of the Parlia-
ment, was introduced to the Legislature by
the Government. Objections may undoubtedly
and reasonably be made to one or two of its clauses,
but those objections, being only, in fact, objections
of detail, might very allowably be delayed until the
Bill came on in Committee, if they might not
actually be tolerated altogether with impunity.
Hitherto the chief anxiety of the patent
law reformers has been to induce the
Legislature to move at all in regard to the evil com-
plained of. It would, consequently, be only impolitic,
to say the least of it, to thrust every imaginable
obstacle in the way of legislation upon the matter, now
that it has really called forth the direct interposition
of her MAJESTY'S Government. Looking upon the
question in this light, we cannot but regret the ill-
advised efforts of the Honourable Gentleman the
Member for S oke-upon-Trent, to impede the
generous endeavours of the Cabinet to accord
some tardy justice to inventors. It was,
consequently, gratifying to observe the earnest
support ginc to the arguments of the ATTORNEY-
GENERAL immediately on the close of these unfortu-
nate objections of Mr. J. L. RICARDO—a support all
the more gratifying from the circumstance of its
being spontaneously yielded by men of all parties and
sections of political opinion, representatives diametri-
cally opposed in other matters to the views enter-
tained by the Government.
Frequently as the injuries inflieted by the patent
laws as they are at present constituted have been
enumerated, they wera never more clearly ex-
posed than they were last evening in the
lucid and admirable speech in which the
second reading of the Bill of Amendment was moved
by the Right Hon. the ATTORNRY-GENERAL. Ac-
cording to his statement, it was shown in a manner
altogether undeniable that the evils of the system
objected to defy anything at all like excuse or pallia-
tion. Speaking of the patent as it is according to
present arrangements, Sir A. Cocitituale observed
very emphatically, that " its great vice was its cost-
liness." in illustration of this, be reminded the
House that in order to obtain the security of
a patent for the United Kingdom at the present
moment, an inventor was required to squander
upon fees and other incidental expenses no less
than 276/. altogether, namely, 941. odd for
a patent in England, Gal. for its extension to Scot-
land, and 119/. more for its further extension to Ire-
land ; adding that, when there happened to be two
persons interested in the undertaking, the additional
fees consequent upon that circumstance, raised the
sum on the whole to very nearly 3001.,
an amount
glaringly and shamefully exorbitant. These dis-
bursements, moreover, were traced by the Right
Hon. Gentleman to, the fact that every application
made by an inventor for a patent was oblige to pass
through seven different stages, going through as

many public offices in the process, and dis.
tributing tees in all directions to a multitude of
exacting and voracious subordinates. For example,
he showed that each applicant on petitioning for a
patent had his petition referred, in the first instance,
to the Secretary of State for the Home Department,
by whom it was submitted to the law-officers of the
Crown ; the law-officers then referred it back to the
Secretary of State for what was called the QuEsti's
warrant; having obtained the QUEEN'S war-
, rant, the applicant was directed to the Patent-office
for the QUEEN'S Bill ; then he was dispatched to the
Signet-office for the Signet Bill ; thence to
the Privy Council-office for the Privy Coun-
cil Bill ; and thence to the office of the
Great Seal, where the inventor at length 'ob-
tained the desired document. Remember, in con-
❑exion with all these facts, that some of our greatest
inventors have been poor men, men to whom time was
bread, and who consequently found all these delays
to be little less than absolutely ruinous, men, more•
over, often in the narrowest circumstances, and to
whom, therefore, all this monstrous expenditure was a
cruelty of very grievous magnitude. No wonder
then, while bearing these things in consideration, that
the ATTORNEY-GENERAL declared yesterday that
the great vice of a patent was its cost-
liness. Having enumerated the above facts, the
Right Hon. Gentleman demonstrated, we cannot
but think to the satisfaction of the whole House of
Commons, that by the Bill now before Parliament it
is proposed to sweep away the greater part of the
fees particularized and to have one common patent for
the three kingdoms, by which means the expense
consequent upon taking out a patent hereafter would
be very materially diminished ; in addition to which
the measure would yield the inventor this remarkable
advantage, namely, of dividing the sum total which
he would have to pay on taking out his patent into
three separate payments, the first and smallest to be
made on the granting of the patent, the next
at the end of three years, and the last and largest at
the expiration of seven ! Assuredly these are boons
of inestimable value to scientific inventors, when con-
trasted with the miserable system to which they have
hitherto been subjected. Exulting, as we do, in the
prospect of a change so peculiarly beneficent as this,
we shall continue to watch with all anxiety for the
passage of the Patent Law Amendment Bill through
its remaining stages in the Imperial Legislature.

The city of Limerick, or to speak by the card in
aocordance with Hibernian euphonism, " the city of
the Violated Treaty," is on the eve of being consti-
tuted the arena of an electoral contest, which will put
the patriotism of its citizens to a satisfactory test.
The Earl of ARUNDEL and SURREY, who found it
expedient to resign his seat for a family borough in
England, has transferred the offer of his senatorial
services to the sister isle, in the expectation that his
name may be received in all the odour of
sanctity, relying on his efforts in the House of
Commons to avert those grievous measures of
persecution which are levelled by a tyrant
majority against the vital existence of the meek and
tolerant Court of Rome. Nevertheless, such is the
perversity of fortune, and so true is the time-ho-
noured adage, that " there is many a slip between
the cup and the lip," that the venerable city of Se-
nanus is not to be permitted to boast of having se-
cured the services of a " real live lord" without a
manifestation of a
,considerable difference of opinion.
A gentleman of high mercantile standing in Limerick,
of estimable character, active in his liberality, munificent
in affording employment, in short, a good citizen in
the truest sense of the word, has signified his inten-
tion of soliciting the suffrages of his fellow-townsmen
at the impending election. True he is a Protestant,
but one of such extreme liberality as to view with an
eye of disfavour the provisions contemplated by the
Ecclesiastical Titles Bill ;
_on this score, therefore, he
stands on an equal footing with his competitor. The
cry of " Ireland for the Irish" has become familiar
to all who have ears to hear ; and, if we mistake not,
has been by no means unheard on sundry occasions in
the fair city of Limerick itself, whence have occa-
sionally emanated no very flattering or over-courteous
compliments to "the Saxon." Here, however, is a
fair opportunity afforded of proving whether this watch-
word be the expression of a genuine sentiment, or
a mere claptrap, " sound and fury, signifying nothing."
Both parties being on a level as regards Liberalism,
it remains to be seen whether the known and approved
merits of a fellow-citizen are to be cast aside for the
empty prize of the rank and prestige which attaches
to the scion of the noble house of HOWARD. It is a
fair fight between independence and toadyism, and if,
as we have heard stated, the Young Ireland party
will throw their votes into the scale for Mr. RUSSELL,
on the ground that Ireland should be represented
by Irishmen, they have, in this instance, at least, the
hearty good wishes, for the triumph of their cause, of
ourselves, and of all who wish for the success of politi-
cal honesty over humbug, and had rather see an impor-
tant constituency represented by one of its own body,
a man of independence, intelligence, position, and
industry, than handed over by Mr. Jowl O'CoresieLL
to a stranger who is a Lord—and that's all. Time,
however, will tell, and if the good citizens of Lime-
rick are doomed to be misrepresented by the pet of a
priestly clique, we trust, for the honour of the place,
he may be permitted to reap no unlaborious vic-
tory. If the independent Roman Catholics of Lime-
rick do their duty—and there is, we will be bound for
it, many a sincere Roman Catholic there who will
not withhold his support from a good man because
he is a Protestant commoner, and vote blindly
for a stranger who can know or care
nothing about local interests, merely because
he happens to be a Catholic noble—the electors
will have the proud satisfaction of having redeemed
themselves from a position among the constituencies
of the United Kingdom anything but foremost in a
due appreciation of the qualities which ought to dis-
tinguish the representative of an intelligent body of
electors. They have got rid of one nonentity; let
them not select another. Er nihilo nihil fit. The re-
commendation of their late Member ought to be of
itself a settler to his nominee. Mr. Joust O'CosneeLL
was a political nobody—a priest's catspaw, squeaking a
penny trumpet of patriotism, and making himself
ridiculous to all sensible men, Roman Catholic as
well as Protestant. He was a very poor counter-
edition of Sir RORERT INGeis, and has, wisely for
himself, resolved on retiring into that private life
which his personal amiability fits him to adorn (and
on his qualifications for the tranquil enjoyment of
which we cannot speak otherwise than in sincere
eulogy), in the same proportion as his incompetency
for political existence gave occasion of pain to his
friends and contemptuous mirth to his adversariea. We
shall look forward with interest to this approach-
ing struggle on the hustings. What topics will be
urged to convince the electors that they should open
their mouths to swallow an ARUNDEL ton-ton, when
they have wholesome viands at home, we cannot easily
anticipate. If they suffer themselves to be gulled we
shall be sorry for them—sorry for Ireland, who
wants some men of mark and solidity, such as Mr.
RUSSELL is by general repute, to attend to her in-
terests in the House of Commons—men who have a
personal knowledge of her capabilities and exigencies
—in one word, good home sense in preference to
imported ninny ism.

The Ministerial whitebait dinner is fixed to take
place on Saturday, the 2d of August, at the Trafalgar,
Greenwich.

MR. BALFE.—The talented conductor of the orches-
tra of her Majesty's Theatre takes his benefit on Monday
evening, the 4th ,of August next, when his Quattro Fra-
telli ( Les Quatre File Arnon) will be produced, cast in a
very strong and attractive manner. Cruvelli, Giuliani, Mas-
sol, Gardoni, Coletti, Pardini, Mercuriali, and Balanchi are
announced to take part in it. Mr. Balfe has written no less
than eighteen operas,
.three of which have been produced
in Italy, three in Paris, and the remaining twelve in Eng-
land. .Les Quatre Fils Aymoo has been highly successful in
Vienna, Berlin, Liamburgb, Frankfort, &c., and its produc-
tion in this country is likely to be an event of considerable
interest.

Inglis,
KING'S COLLEGE—Yesterday, the annual distribu-
tion of prizes took place at the above college, in the presence
of a large number of the pupils and their friends. Sir R. H.
-ALP, presided on the occasion, and awarded the
prizes to the successful candidates. Atter briefly explaining
the occasion of the meeting, and distributing the prises, a
series of recitations were well delivered, amidst the approba-
tion of the numerous company which filled the vast hall.
The Bishop of Lichfield proposed a vote of thanks to Sir R.
H. Inglis, which was received with acclamation, after which
the meeting separated.

APOTHECARIES' HALL.--Names of gentlemen who
passed their examination in the science and practice of me-
dicine, and received certificates to practise, on Thursday,
July i 4 :—Thomas Joseph William Marsh, London ' • Wm.
Praher, Exeter; George Wise Mackenzie, Maidstone; Henry
Gregory King, Kingston.