The Sun.
London, England, 1833-08-16 00:00:00

HUSH GRAND JURY BILL.

',lerlail:
did
dasit
out of
Lord MELBOURNE, in moving the second reading of
this Bill, th ught it would be min, cessary to detain their
Lordships long, considering that the Bill had been
so touch discussed. It would be unnecessary to sta'e at
any I.ngth the manner in which the present system had
grown in Leland. The expenses of public works, road
expenses, &c., were provided for by presentment to the
Grand Jury. The m •de was the presentment of a specific
sum of money to two or more persons who were inte-
rested in the performance of the wink, which was liable to
he called in question by a fre- holder ' by traverse.
This presentment, until the recent Acts upon the
subject, was grounded entirely upon affidavit. After
the various discussions their Lordships had had on the
subject, it wis unnecessary for him to go into the details
or the measure. The Noble Lord then stated the principal
provisions of the Bill, which were repeatedly before the
public last week, during the discussion of the Bill in the
Commons, and moved that the Bill be read a second time.
The Lari or veicaila.osli said he did not rise to (moos..
,he motion of the Noble Viscount, hut he could not allow
that the measure was necessary in consequence of the
evils of the present system, for many improvements had
tak, n place of late years, not in the law, but in conse-
quence of the nun al and honest actions and intentions of
the gentry of the country. He admi' ted its necessity, be-
c muse the penve had so much de ired it, and had petitioned
Parii..m.nt so often on it, and because so many dif-
ferent Governments had given pledges upon the subject.
While he w is ready to admit that improvem-ntsgsvmerie
necessary, he could not but lament that his '.Majesty's
it-
necessary to persevere in that Bill. The
niters had at this late period of the »ration, thhoueg
made
the oinion of
the session, but because it was contrary
ft
Ireland.p It was
the whole body of the repre-entarives o
that statement was not on account of tolriee7a7e period of
a curious fact that those
'all agreed in re
differing most widely in
"Pig :(') with•traw the Bill
commending his Majesty's Ministers
evident that Ministers
fur the present session. It Mer.ntniers many of them
sv
Svorking of the Bill, the
themselves were doubt.ul of
next session. This change
itityilleewhich it would not conlye
ihnatvui having
operation
till
io
ttaheeceltaiuloi
ef
ngth of time to remedy any
" a from his mind, because it
removed many ti
wood give a however a t. •
2 ques ion with
de.ects in the Bill. t , .
it
vias a prudent, right, or just mode of
him , healer
He .
did not mean to offer an opposition
y !O
legislation. If bound
he felt loniseto st ,te, r►otwithstanding
he Bull, as
deference to the
that had been said against i 't that
P it could not work
all
well, and in recommending Ministers not to persevere
it enacted, that instead of
- of those who thought it ought nut b opinions to e pushed
forward at present. It appeared to him that the Bill
the levies he ng made as at present, tl.e grand jury would
contained lour excellent features ;
be precluded, after the passing of the Bill, from issuing any
soots that had not been previously agreed to by a meeting of
with the measinurlei
Magistrates and rate payers ; it also assueiated with the

Magistrates a certain number of individuals called rate
payers, which bad not hitherto been the cue, in the third
place it appointed surveyers ; and, fourthly, it made it ne-
cessary that all sums to be levied and all presentments
granted should be properly approved of. He was wil-
ling to admit that all these principles were good.
He bad no objection to the principles of these features of
the Bill, but he doubted whether they had been so arranged
as that, though the principle was good, they might be
combined to make the Bill a measure that would work
well in the country, but he hoped the Bill would be re-
medied in Committee.
After a few words from the Marquis of WESTMEATH,
Lord PLUNICET, and Lord MELBOURNE, the Bill was read
a second time and ordered to be committed to-morrow.