The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-08 00:00:00

LONDON, 7 I-1 URSDAY, APRIL 8, 1869.

In a speech of considerable abili!y, Mr. MACMUR-
ROUGH KAVANAGII, one of the members for the
County Carlow, supported an amendment moved
yesterday afternoon by his colleague, the other mem-
ber for the same County, Mr. HENRY BRUEN, to the
effect that the second reading of the measure then
under the consideration of the House, to wit
the Poor Law (Ireland) Amendment Bill, should be
fixed for that day six months, or, in other words, be
set aside altogether. The intention of the Bill is, as
is well-known, to extend to Ireland the principle of
Union chargeability already enforced in England,
thereby putting an end to what the author of the tuea-
sure, the member for New Ross, Mr. PATRICK NI`MA-
HON, conceives to be the altogether abnormal system
now and hitherto existing in the Sister Island. An-
other Irish member, the member for Limerick, Mr.
SYNAN, proposed the intermediate course of
referring the measure to the consideration
of a Select Committee, a suggestion which received
the support of the Chief Secretary for Ireland,
speaking in the name and on the part of her MA-
JESTY'S Government. After complimenting Mr •
KAVANAGH, in the strongest terms, upon the double
fact of his having shown so much knowledge
of the question, and so much power in dealing
with it—a remark which elicited loud applause
from the House—Mr. CHICIIESTER FORTESCITE inti-
mated, on behalf of himself and his colleagues, the
readiness of the Government to support the amend-
ment, not of the member for County Carlow (Mr.
BrtuEN), but of the member for Limerick (Mr.
SYNAN)—namely, that the bill, instead of being
altogether shelved, should be referred to a Select
Committee. The discussion upon the original
motion for the Second Reading of the bill,
and for the rival amendments, was continued
some time afterwards—being intentionally prolonged
by the opponents of the measure. And the noble
lord the member for Tyrone was yet speaking, when
the minute hand of the clock confronting Mr.
SPEAKER, pointed inexorably to the fatal quarter to
six o'clock on a Wednesday afternoon, the arrival of
which forty-fifth minute is a death-blow to any mea-
sure under similar circumstances. That time being
reached, Lord CLAUDE HAMILTON received a ringing
cheer from the antagonists of the Bill, the motion for
the second reading of which was thus indefinitely
adjourned. Although the subject involved in the
bill has thus consequently been set asi Ic for this
while, it is intrinsically of so much importance that,
before dropping it out of view altogether, we would
refer to some of the many striking reina! ks thrown
; out yesterday by the member here first named by us,
that is to say, the member for Carlow, Mr. KAVA-
NAGII. The hon. member said, among other things,
that so far as be could gather, there were three main
9..-ouinerits uted in support of the prireiple of tlii6
bill--firstly, that the principle had been adopted in
and should therefore, be applied to Ireland ;
sEe:::nladtd
iry:
that union rating would remove the en-
cot: raffetnent which electoral rating held out to land-
lords to clear their properties of the labouring classes,
lest they should be taxed for their support ; and,
thirdly, that the high rates on town electoral divi-