The Sun.
London, England, 1834-03-07 00:00:00

famine would prevail. They would sea here, as in the
land of Egypt, seven years of famine and seven years of
plenty. It was, in fact, impossible for human foresight
to provide a remedy against such evils, unless by allowing
free intercourse with other countries. The present laws
were no protection against low prices ; they were, in fact,
the reverse. All the laws, in fact, against the free im-
portation of grain had led only to ruinous prices or ruin-
ous fluctuations. (The bon. member then entered into
details, for the purpose of showing the injury done by
corn laws for more than a century.) The law of 1828
had as yet worked best, but it had not bad a sufficient
trial. He called on the house to consider the state of
other countries, and more particularly the north of Ger-
many, and see the danger which might arise if the Ger-
man states should join with Prussia in increasing the
tariff on British manufactures. The learned gentleman
stated it as his conviction that the high honour of the
IBritish farmers was rapidly wearing away, and that the
present system, if not beneficially altered, would be pro-
ductive of the most injurious consequences.—(Hear.)
Mr. EWART rose to move that the further considera-
tion of the subject be postponed till to•morrow.—(Hear.)
It was quite obvious that a question of such deep im-
portance could not in one evening receive the ample dis-
cussion to which every member in that house must feel
it was entitled.—(Hear.)
After a few observations from Mr. LEECH, even the
tendency of which was unintelligible in the gallery, the
further consideration of the question was adjourned till
this evening.
SPIRIT LICENSES (SCOTLAND).
Mr. GILLON said that in moving for leave to bring
in a bill for better regulating the grantingof certificate, to
retail ale, spirits, wine, &c., in Scotland, as he did not
expect he should be opposed in this preliminary step, he
would not detain the house by going at any length intro the
subject, but would very briefly advert to the changes which
be proposal to effect. His object tv,s to make the ma-
chinery less cumbrous, and be hoped more satisfactory to
all pirties concerned than at present. Ist, As to the
jurisdiction ; this he proposed in counties to transfer from
the justices of the peace to the sheriff, and be did so, be-
cause lie conceived that the power of granting licenses,
instead of resting with an unpaid and irresponsible magis-
tracy, liable to be influenced by local prejudices, should
be vested in a paid and responsible officer, who was be-
sides at the head of the police of the county, and respon-
sible for the peace of the district. Had the old system of
self-election continued in the royal burghs, he should
certainly have proposed to transfer their jurisdiction
also to the sheriff ; but seeing that those magistrates
were now popularly elected, that the control of
public opinion was a guarantee that they would not
abuse the power reposed in them, and that they
had also the best means of judging of the qua-
lifications of applicants, besides being responsible for the
good order of tber several burghs, he was disposed to allow
the power efgranting certificates to remain in their hands.
He would introduce a clause conferring a similar jurisdic-
tion on the magistrates of parliamentary burghs. Having
thus fixed the jurisdiction, he meant to curtail considerably
the discretionary power of the magistrate, and to bind him
by fixed rules contained in the bill, and to simplify the
operation very much by dispensing with the annual appli-
cation for renewal of licenses on the part of those who
formerly held them, and bad conducted themselves with
propriety. Some suggestions had been made to him as
to separating ale from spirit licenses, making the one
cheaper than the other. This and some others did not fall
within his original intention, and he did not propose to
embody them in the first draft of the bill; but they could
be easily incorporated with it in Committee, should it be
permittal to reach that stage.
After a short conversation, the gallery was cleared fur
a division, when the numbers were,

Ayes
Noes

Majority in favour of the motion... —27
HOUSE TAX.

Whilst the gallery was cleated for the above division,
Lord ALTHORP moved for leave to bring in a bill for
the repeal of the house tax, and did so even at that I tte
hour of the night, as he did not contemplate any objection
to the introduction of the measure. The noble lord stated
that the extent of relief which the bill proposed would
afford to the public amounted to no leas a sum than
1,170,0001., and in selecting this tax as a measure of re-
lief in preference to that of the window tax, his deter-
mination had been founded on the consideration that he
should give relief to 62,000 houses which contributed to
the house tax, and not to the window tax.
The motion was agreed to.

Lord JOEIN RUSSELL obtained leave to bring in a
bill to provide for the trial of charges of general bribery
and corruption in cities and boroughs sending members to
serve in parliament.

Lord Viscount AIOLYNEUX brought up tLe repor
of the Warwick Election Bill Committee.

Mr. HALCOMB thought the house ought not to allow
the further progress of this bill, till the petition, to which
he bad alreldy adverted on former occasions, praying that
Leamington Priors should not be joined toWarwick, should
have been fully considered.
After a few words from Lord illor.vNEux and Mr.
RUTHYEN,
The SPEAKER put the question, and said, " I think
the Ayes have it."
Mr. HALCOMB here declared the Noes had it.—(A
laugh.)
The gallery was consequently cleared for a division, but
none took place.
The report of the Smuggling Acts Amendment Bill
was further considered.

The Anatomy of Criminlla (Ireland) Bill went throng'
a committee.

Lord ALTHORP presented a bill for repealing the
house duty, which wds read a first time, and ordered to
be re id a second time on Monday.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL presented his bill to provide for
the trial of charges of general bribery and corruption in cities
aid boroughs, sending members to serve in Parliam.nt.

Mr. SHELL deferre,l his motion relative to communi-
cations mule between this country and Russia, relative to
the late affairs of Russia and Turkey, till Friday, the 14th
March.

Mr. FOWELL BUXTON gave notice that he would
move f)r an inquiry into the state and condition of the

native inhabitants of the countries in and adjacent to the
colonies under the dominion of Great Britain.

The house adjourned at twenty minutes past one.

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL.

Yester lay a Court of Common Council wai held.

Mr. C. PEARSON addressed the Court upon the neces-
sity of adding all they could acquire to the evidence which
had been taken by the Corporation Commissioners, and

then moved resolutions to the following fleet:—
" That the Court was highly gratified to learn that the Cor-
poration Commissioners had expressed their satisfaction with
the manner in which the City officers, and particularly the
Town-Clerk, had given their evidence ; that as Reports would
be made by the Commissioners upon the evidence they had
taken, it was expedient that the Court should carefully examine
the evidence given by their officers and others, and that they
should express a Corporate opinion upon the alterations, if any,
which it might be desirable to make in their municipal institu-
tions ; that a Committee, consisting of the Lord Mayor, all the
Aldermen, and all the Commoners (any 21 members to form a
quorum), to examine the evidence, and to report their opinion
thereon with the utmost practicable despatch, in order that the
Court might, if they saw fit, submit the same to the Commis-
sioners before they made their report."

Mr. TICKNER thought that the interference of the
Court would he a usurpation of the functions of the Com-
missioners. --(No, no.)
Mr. Alderman WINCHESTER thought that the interfer-
ence was premature and unnecessary.
After opposition from Alderman Brown, Sir Peter
Laurie, Sir C. Marshall, Deputy Westwood, Deputy
Wood ; and support from Mr. Wile, Deputy Blackett,
and Mr. Galloway, the resolutions were carried without
a division.

It w.ta stated that the Court of Aldermen had deter-
mined to apply to Parliament for leave to bring in a bill
to consolidate the day and night police.
Mr. FIGGINS was proceeding to make some remarks
upon the adoption of this step, after the failure of the mo-
tion in the Common Council, when
The Lotto MAYOts arid the acts of the Court of Alier-
men must nut be discussed there.—Adjourned.

A MONSTER.—On Monday and Tuesday
last, a man named Daniel Bindley, a pearl button maker,
at Birmingham, was examined before the magistrate, at
the public office in that town, on a charge of having wan-
tonly stabbed several females in the public thoroughfares of
that neighbourhood. It appeared by the evidence that
five respectable females had been stabbed on different Sun-
days, in the same neighbourhood, by some miscreants, and
they all identified the prisoner as the person.—A Mrs.
Wait .m, of Handsworth, was struck by him on two occa.
sions ; on the latter she was wounded in the thigh. The
instrument used appeared to the witnesses, from the nature

f the wound it inflicted, to resemb:e an awl. Tne pri-
soner, who is about thirty years of age, and has a wife and
iwo children, appeared quite unconcerned during the ex-
amin4tion. He was committed for trial at the next Staf-
ford assizes.—Manchester Guardian.