The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-08 00:00:00

desirable. He merely said that if any hon. member of
that house or any noble lord moved the appointment of a
committee upon this subject, the Government would not
oppose the inquiry. The proposal of the noble earl op-
posite was, however, of a very different character, be-
cause if the Government appointed a commission it would
be a distinct intimation to the country that they were
dissatisfied with the law, and attributed to it evils which
they desired to remedy. The Government had arrived
at no such opinion, and they were therefore not prepared
to recommend the Crown to issue a Royal commission
upon this subject.
The Earl of DERBY said that unless he bad entirely
misunderstood what fell from his noble friend (Lord
Harrowby), he began by admitting that inquiry, at a
proper time and in a proper mode, was desirable.
The Duke of ARGYLL—At the proper time.
The Earl of DERBY—What did the noble duke
mean ? If he was to take him to be the exponent of the
Ministry, the Government had made up their minds that
an inquiry was not necessary, because they had no in-
tention of altering the charter. Then, what were they
going to do ? Were they prepared to renew the Bank
Charter as it stood ? Did they think it was desirable
that that charter should go on from year to year, with
a perpetual liability to be put an end to at .the expiration
of 12 months ? If this were the intention of the Govern-
ment, it seemed to him very like an intention to tide
over a difficult question with which they did not know
how to deal, and to throw upon others a responsibility
which onght to fall upon themselves. (Hear, hear.) ,
The Duke of ARGYLL said that it was the intention
of the Government to tide over a difficult question at a
time most unsuited for dealing with it,
Earl GREY said that, if there was to be an inquiry, he
did not see how there could be any time which would be
better for that inquiry than the present. By the act of
1844 there was a time fixed before which the Bank Char-
ter could not be revoked, and beyond that period the
act gave to the Bank an indefinite tenure of its privilege,
terminable after the giving of a certain notice. .(Hear.)
The fixed period was now passed, and • we could never
get any nearer to the actual termination of the Bank
privileges until the notice bad been given. He could
have understood the Government saying that the act of
1844 had worked perfectly, and that, therefore, no in-
quiry was necessary ; or that that measure was an incom-
plete one and require amendment ; that, therefore, they
proposed to inquire, and that the earlier that was done
the.better. Although he differed from the noble earl op-
posite (the Earl of Eglinton) as to the faults which he
attributed to the act of 1844, he was ready to admit that
that act was imperfect, because it did. not carry to their
full extent the principles on which it was founded ;
and, therefore, he believed that an inquiry into its opera-
tion would be a very proper measure. (Hear, hear.) He
wee, however, quite at. a loss to understand the line now
taken by her Majesty's Government. (Hear, hear.)
They said that inquiry was desirable at a proper time
and in a proper manner, but he could not conceive how
there could be a better time than the present, and he
thought there was much soundness in the arguments
used by the noble earl opposite (the Earl of Eglinton) as
to the advantages possessed by an inquiry by a Royal
commission over one by a committee.
Lord RAVENSWORTH said that this subject had
excited much attention in the country, and he thought
the Government might have given some more definite
intimation of the course which they intended to pursue
with regard to it. •

The ['notion was then withdrawn.
OUT-PENSIONERS (GREENWICH AND CHEL-
SEA) BILL.
This bill Was read a third time and passed.
AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS BILL.

On tbe report of the amendments to this bill,
The- Earl of DERBY suggested that, as the oecu-
pants of farms frequently changed on Lady-day, the
date on which_the books containing their names should
be annually made" up should be altered front the lsr of
February to the Ist of May.
L ,rd STANLEY of ALDERLEY expressed a doubt
whether this date would allow time for the sufficiently
early distribution of the forms of returns, but primineel
to consider the suzgestion of the noble earl.

The Earl of DERBY thought that three months would
be stacent time for the preparation and distribution of
forms. He would not suggest the Ist of April as the
date to which the books should be made up.
Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY proposed an
ameudrneut, the effdet of which was to render the non-
filling up of the returns punishable by three months'
imprisonment ; but, it being opposed by the Ries of
Derby, Hardwicke, and Malmesbury, it was ultimately
withdrawn.

The rep )rt; with amendments, was then agreed to.
Their lordships ajourned at five minutes before 7
o'c►ock.

HOUSE 01? COMMONS.--(' 'YESTERDAY.)
The SPEAKER took the chair at the usual hour.
• Mr. COWAN presented a number, of petitions from
Edinburgh, Galashiels, Paisley,. D ilkeith, and other
places, against the present practice of billeting the mi-
litia.
ENCUMBERED ESTATES COURT (IRELAND).
Mr. BLAND moved for returns of the number of pe-
titions filed in the Encumbered Eitatei Court in Ireland
from the Ist day of August, 1853, to the 30th day of
December, 1851, inclusive, in which sales have taken
place, and the number in which final schedules have
been settled ; of the number of petitions filed in
raid court from the 30th day of December, 1854, to
the Ist day of February, 1856 ;• of the number of such
last-mentioned petitions upon which absolute orders of
Bale have been made, the number in which sales have
taken place, and the number in which final schedules
have been settled ; and, of the number of petitions filed
in that court, from its commencement to the Ist day of
February, 1856, irr which no sa!es have taken place.
—Agreed to.