The Sun.
London, England, 1834-03-19 00:00:00

REPEAL OF THE UNION.

Mr. JEPHSON alluded to certain notices which had
been given by the hon. and learned member for Dublin,
one of which stood, relative to the legislative union of
Ireland and England, for the 15th, but had been with-
drawn, whilst that for the 22d of this month substantially
embraced the same question, and still stood on the orders
amongst the notices. Now he wished to know whether it
was or was not the intention of the hon. and learned mem-
ber to bring forward the latter on the day for which it
was fixed ?

Mr. O'CONNELL said if, instead of making the ques-
tion new put a sort of pretext for making a personal attack
on him, the hon. member had in the way of courtesy asked
him the question, he should have felt proud to give him
out of courtesy an answer; but, put as the question now
was, he saw nothing in it which required him to give it
particular attention.—( Hear, and a laugh.)
CHELTENHAM POST-OFFICE.

Mr. CRAVEN BERKELEY rose to move for a select
committee to inquire into the circumstances under which
the sum of Id. was demanded for the delivery of each
letter and newspaper within the limits of the town of
Cheltenham, and other cities and towns. He should not
detain the house at any length in urging it to agree to the
granting of the committee which he sought. The charge
made he considered unjust, and one that ought to be re-
moved. He knew not why the Post-office should have
sanctioned such an arrangement—why a penny should be
asked if individuals desired to send for their letters of
the local office. He thought the practice indefensible,
and one well worthy the attention of a committee. It
the committee were granted, he had no doubt a case

would be madc out sufficient for them to recommend the
abolition of the impost against which be complained.
An Hon. MEMBER, whose name we could not learn,
seconded the motion.

Mr. VERNON SMITH said it was the uniform prac-
feltthe
prac-
tice of tue house never to investigate questions which
should properly come before a legal tribunal of the coon-
;advt:
try. Other towns were similarly circumstanced with
t Cheltenhambey andn
advantage
ahgee hoofn .
the m
arrangement
gewithm
ent muchaga ingenuity,ns w hich
did not overlook them ; they were quite silent, because
the house was called upon to interfere. Cheltenham
ought to be the last town from which remonstrances on
the present subject should come. In 1825, n panny was
demanded for the delivery of each letter, and a few years
afterwards it was thought advisable to frame certain re-
gulations for the expediting of the post; and the conse-
quences were, that the delivery at present was over by
eleven o'clock, which before was wont to extend to three
or four o'clock in the afternoon.__( Hear.) Ought Chel-
tenham, then, to remonstrate?—(Hear, hear.) Lord
Mansfield bad said there ought to be limits beyond which,
unless specially authorised, no charge could be legally
made. Such limits were attended to in the borough in
question ; therefore he (Mr. Smith) knew not the reason
of the present motion. In commercial towns, it was true,
a free delivery might be permitted, inasmuch as trade
deserved every attention which could possibly be paid to
its interest and convenience. Cheltenham was a place of
fashionable resort, where numbers congregated for health
and pleasure—where festivity was the order of the day,
and where, of course, a slight charge for the prompt
delivery of a letter or newspaper could not be a matter of
great individual or public importance.—(Hear, hear, and
laughter.) A committee, such as the hon. gentleman re-
quired, would saddle the country with a heavy expense,
and indeed, in fairness to the gentlemen of Cheltenham,
he thought it would not be right to summon them to
London to give their evidence. Such a journey might
injure their health, by withdrawing them from the scenes
of gayety and waters of recovery to which they were so
much attached.—(Much laughter.) He doubted the
prudence of bringing them up.—(Renewed laughter.)
He had before adverted to the trifling charge made upon
each letter. Now he (Mr. Smith) knew no place where
the prompt delivery of letters and newspapers was more
essential than in Cheltenham, nor where they were more
required to furnish topics for daily conversation.—(Hear,
hear.) He had treated the motion with as much gravity
as it could possibly have permitted, and he would now
put it to the hon. gentleman whether it was worthy of a
statesman's view of the question, to ask a select committee
to inquire into such a subject ?--(Hear.)
Sir S. WHALLEY would support the motion, and
alluded to certain charg es made in London on the delivery
of letters, which he said affected himself as well as others,
and he hoped the house would concede the committee
then sought.

Lord WILLIAM LENNOX—If the demand be not
legal, it ought to be resisted; if legal, the course the hon.
mover should have pursued would have been to have
brought in a bill to remove it.—(Cheers.) He must have
been aware that many improvements were made, and are
making, in the department over which a noble relative of
his (Lord William Lennox) presided, and he doubted not
every attention would be paid to any arrangements that
might be contemplated for the removal of the slightest
abuse in the system. The hon. gentleman who had pre-
ceded him had talked something about limits, but bad not
specified those limits. Where were they?
An Hox. MEmaEa—No where.—(Laugliter.)
Lord WILLIAM LENNOX—No where ! Well, if so,
why the complaints they had just heard ? He should not
further detain the house, but hoped the hon. gentleman
would not press his motion to a division.
Lord ALTHORP said a few words, but from the very
low tone in which his lordship spoke, it was totally im-
possible to hear him distincly in the gallery, but as far as
we could presume upon his meaning, we understood him
to say that he would oppose the motion, as being unneces.
sary and uncalled for; and as for the metropolis, it had a
most extensive circle, and letters were delivered in so rea-
sonable a time that there could not be the slightest cause
for complaint.
Sir EDWARD CODRINGTON would support the
motion for inquiry. The impost of one penny was heavily
felt in Plymouth, Falmouth, and Stonehouse. An inves-
tigation was prayed for, and it ought not to be denied.
Mr. CRAVEN BERKELEY replied, and the gallery
was cleared for a division ; but the motion, we understood,
was negatived without a division.