The Sun.
London, England, 1856-02-26 00:00:00

pellate jurisdiction of their lordship,' house, and
port their opinion to the house.
The house adjourned at 7 o'clock.

HOUSE OF COMNIONS.—(YEsTERDAY.)

The SITAREtt took the chair at the usual hour.
The Sheriffs of London and Middlesex appeared at the
bar of the house, and presented a petition from the Cor-
poration of London against the bill for the abolition of
the loeal dues npon shipping.
Colonel FREISTUN presented a petition from the
medical and surgical practitiontrs of Weymouth in
favour of the bill now before the house to alter and
amend the law's regulating the'medical profession.

PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The following bills were read a second time and or-
dered to be committed :—Cleobury, North, &c., District
Roads ; Isle of Wight Stearn-bridge and Approaches ;
Stockton and Warrington Road ; Stockton and Darling-
ton; and Newcastle and -Carlisle Union Railway.
A number of petitions were presented in favour of the
abolition of local dues on shipping, and also against the
opening of the Crystal • Palace, British Museum, ani
National Gallery on Sundays.

NEW WRIT.
A new writ was ordered to he issued for the county
of Rutland in the room of Sir-Gilbert J. Heathcote, who
has accepted the stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds.
Mr. T. DUNCOMBE asked the Secretary of State
for the Colonies whether the conduct of Sir Henry
Young, in abruptly proroguing the Legislative Assem-
bly of Tasmania, pending the sitting of a committee
appointed to inquire into the working of the convict
system in that colony, had received the approval of her
Majesty's Government, and what steps had been taken
in censepaence.
Mr. LABOUCRERE said the papers that he would
shortly lay on the table of the house, would fully explain
the transaction. The hon. gentleman then entered into
a statement of the facts of the case, in the course of
which he stated that he thought the Governor had acted
wrong in not allowing the officers to attend and give
evidence as was required' of them. He trusted the new
constitution under which the new legislature was assem-
bled would merit all the good that was expected of it.
Mr. KER SEYMER asked the Government whether
it was their intention to sanction the establishment of a
dead meat market on the site of the late Smithfield
market ?

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the
Government bad come to no decision on the subject.
They had submitted the matter to the President of the
Board of Health, the Under Secretary for the Hense
Department, and a Lord of the Treasury, who would
report. upon the subject.
Mr. SEYMER—When the report of these gentlemen
was received, would there be any objection to lay it oa
the table of the house ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he
could give no promise about the report until he had
s9en it. He did not think there would be any objection
to lay the report on the table.

THE CRIMEAN COMMISSION.
Mr. ROEBUCK gave notice that in going into Got".
mittee •n Friday next he should more the following re

o ution

" That to appoint a commission of general officers to
report on the report of Sir J. M`Neil and Col. Tulloch
s to substitute an inefficient for a very efficient means
of investigation, and that such appointment will tend to
strengthen the opinion already prevalent, that the real
purpose of such a proceeding is to shelter incompet4ney
and excuse the misconduct of those by whom the various
departments of our army have been subjected to the
command of proved incapacity."
In reply to a question from Sir 11. WILLOUGHBY,
Mr. MONSELL said that of the sum of 175;0001:.
granted in, a supplemental estimate the year before last,
between 40,0001. and 50,0001. bad only been expended.
125,0001. was voted last year, out of which 10,0001. wore
for lodging the militia in Ireland, and 250,0001. were taken
in the army estimates for last year for lodging the militia,
making together 335,0001., in addition to the 390,0001.
voted. Increased accommodation had been provided
during the year for 45,000 reen and 3,000 horses, and in
a month or so accommodation would be provided fir
5,000 men and 3,000 horses.
WAYS AND MEANS.
This report was brought up by Mr. Finn(); anti was
agreed to.

THE M'NEIL•TULLOCH REPORT,
Mr. ROEBUCK gave notice that to-morrow, on
going into supply, he should move that the names of
the commissioners appointed in consequence of the re-
port of Sir J. M'Neil and Colonel Tulloch be laid on
the table, anda, copy of the report be laid on the table.
Mr✓ Watson, Mr. Hewllatn, Lord Hotham, and other
hon. gentlemen presented petitions from various places
affected by the bill against its second reading ; and Mr.
Hadfield, Sir J. Duke, Mr. Lowe, and others in favour
of it.

LOCAL DUES ON SHIPPING, &c., BILL.

On the motion for the second reading of this bill,
Sir F. THESIGER said, in asking the house to refuse
its consent to the second reading, ho felt justified in taking
that course, by the absolute refusal on the part of the Go-
vernment to listen to the just claims of those whose Inte-
rests were affected by it. It was a bill which shook to its
very foundation the security of the whole of the corporate
property of this country. When he listened to the speech
in which the right hon. gentleman the vice-presideut of the
Board of Trade (Mr. Lowe) inti educed his bill to the house
he had been stattled by some of the doctrines which he heel
propounded ,• but when ho came to look into the provisions
of the bill he confessed to have been struck with utter
amazement. The right hon. gentleman had based hie measure
upon the principle that the corporate towns of this kingdom
had no property exclusively their own, that they held all
which they possessed at the will of the public, that they
might be stripped of their possessions at pleasure. When
he(Sir F. Thesie r) heard such doctrines as these mentioned
he could not help being reminded of those discreditable
periods of English history when the charters of corpora.
tions were rescinded. But the difference between those
measures and the present violent preceoding was this—
that at lewd, in times past, some pretence was made of de.
relic tion of duty on the part of corporations ; that at least
some semblance of a judicial proceeding was gone through;
but in the present case they found a liberal Government,
without any reason assigned, purposing, by the endue
exercise of the power which Parliament possessed, and with-
out one single allegetion of improper application of fuude,to
confiscate the property of corporations to the use of the state.
(Opposition cheers.) Happy it was that the corporations
had this protection, that they could not be despoiled
unless Parliament became the instrument of the in•
justice. He (Sir F. Thesiger) was indeed surprised at the
infatuation which the Government had raecelly shown.
The house had seen them reviving an obsolete and ques-
tionable prerogative for the purpose of impairing the here-
ditary character and privileges of the House of Peers. (Op-
position cheers.) And in this matter they were found arm-
ing their Vice-President of the Board of Trade, as their
champion, with maxims and principles snore arbitrary
than the most arbitrary portion of English history had
theretofore brought forth. (Opposition cheers.) The Go-
vernment seemed anxious to make applicable to themselves
the words of an tumoinpronsising opponent of the former
malpractices against corporations, who described the then
offender " as masking the charters of corporations fall down
before him like Jericho, and as carrying away their spoils
like the spoils of Gaza." The bill before the hosts., was
conveniently divided into four parts. The first portion
referred to the question of passing tolls. Had the
bill gone no further thau this question, he (Sir F. Thesi-
ger)—though lie thought its provisions were open to
some observation—would not have been found amongst
its opponents. The fourth past related to various mis-
cellaneous matters, and matters of detail, with respect
to which it was not noeussary then to trouble the house.
To the second and third portions only therefore would he
direct the attention of hon. gentlemen. The second part
proposed that all rates and duties leviable, on ships or
goods carried in ships, within the United Kingdom, and
which were possessed by corporate towns, should be trans-
ferred to the Commissioners of Customs, and be applied
according to the direction of the Board of Trade. The
house should know that there was nothing (whatever in the
bill determining the dues—(hoar)—and, for all that ap-
peared in the measure, these duos might be continued to
the end of time. (Hear.) The third portion of the bill re-
lated to thedifferontial duties. The house was aware that
the former policy of this country was to impose a higherdnty
upon foreign than upon British vessels. In 1810 and 1815
reciprocity treaties were entered into withPortegal and Ame-
rica, by which the vessels of those countries were placed on
the same footing as those of Great Britain. In 1819, when
the legislature abolished these differential duties in favour of
these two nations it was considered that the corporations en-
titled to these increased tolls would be deprived of the ad-
vantage which they had derived, and the legislature previa-
whichweould arise from
corporations abolitioniosadd
eocfl
thoset a t t hduesdifference
should
be, made-up to the rp
others entitle to receive them out of the consolidated fund.
This state of things was continnwedhebnyaontyhenrataicotias
receivedo f Pa r -
liantent in 1838 and 1852. In the latter latthteeriryeoawrupower s r
ew
ea was
the
hisprhivseplae:
ports. But the same
t.shgivennegmli
English ships
nshhieliarpr.Moanj privilegesy.
sianmien fCouncil,oetin g
British
principle of compensation was observed, and payments
eharttaoll fromlhoel
oc
attentionat
li md duos,
et os timefi
hwe a
sh been
ontheee
from the coneolidaiettsehpclerfceuirganaldlrya
t
to the farictetwhaot,wl
intention of the Government to take them from the coreoe
ration and convert them to its own use—(No, from Mr.
Lowe) —while they abolished the differential dues. The
right honourable gentleman said No; he (Sir F. Thesiger)
should like the negative to be pointed out in the bill.
(Hear, hoar.) The ground upon which the Government
proposed to take this step, as set forth by the right hon.
gentleman, was that corporation property was public pro-
perty—that there was a clear distinction between private
rights and possessions and corporate rights and possessions
—that the latter belong to the public. It was necessary to
consider the different classes of corporations, to which, of
course, different observations applied. He would not take
into account those corporate bodies the members of wb
of
joined their funds for the purposes of trade ; the propert that
it was so clearly of the nature of private property
that which was self-evident. The other classeso it was not necessary to detain the house in order tfocporrove.
rations were two : those which were estachblisabsd simply
werehno createdright teionr
panuyblcieorppuotreamteseps,rotpheertinyd; ivainddutahlsosoef.wwhhL.h
nd privileges
on eges
on individuals by a general description, a prevent
property of the
vicdouraploigrataionntstoasetahchoßemetombwehricohf
order to be the medium of conferring rights and rifl
,egoceihs , and
individual _member
possessed a
he had last referred, each
..1
theth e corporation. necessity
o f nn
dc
The sight boo. gentleman hied classed toge-
corporation.
in introducing this
ther all corporations, and had applied the same rule to all.
vested The interests; but
right and share to and in
over and over again this house has decided—and I think it
bill,
will not go back from that decision—that iu this matter
rightami
said
: _h
0.
fg
courseen t
thes.o shalli ei
there is the widest possible distinction between corporations
or public bodies and private individuals. Mr. Hallam, a
high authority on such points, says, iu the first volume of
his Constitutional History of England,' that Parliament,
although bound to respect the legal interest of private per.
sons is not withheld by any such rule withregard to corpora-
tionF." The right hon. gentleman did not give any Vifereno
•
to this pane in fir, holism's work ; and he (Six F. Thep if