The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-24 00:00:00

TflP SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 24, ISNR

that this elaborate contrivance was producing the most
extreme inconvenience here. A. person had now to ob-
tain a recommendation from a magistrate, then to go to
the Foreign-effice, then apply to the French Consul, and
at all these stages necessary delays took place. The case
of a young officer who arrived lately in town from the
seat of war in India would present these inconveniences
forcibly to the minds of hon. members. This gentleman
received on a certain Thursday a letter from a stranger,
telling him that his father was lying at Boulogne at the
point of death, and that every hour was of importance.
He applied to the Foreign-office for a passport, but was
told there was no resource for hire, except an applica-
tion to a magistrate. He was a stranger in London
{ he knew no magistrate, but at length a friend remem-
bered having once dined with a police-alagistrate, and
' furnished him a letter which procured him a recommen-
dation. He then went to the Foreign-office, which was
Iclosed ; he got his passport the next morning ; then he
had to go to the French consul : through the delay thus
{ occasioned he arrived at -Folkestone too late for
the boat, and only got across on the following morning*,
being detained by all these frivolons regulation!i fromthe
dying bed of his father. (Hear.) In another instance a
gentleman wrote to him to say that he was summoned one
Friday to see his child, who was lying ill at St. Omer.
He received the telegram at halt-past 2, went to the
Foreign-office just before 4, was desired to call next day
at 12, lost in this way much precious time, and arrived
at St. Omer just four hours too late—his poor daughter
was dead. (Hear, hear.) Here were caves which had
occurred within the last six weeks, and they were
only the first fruits of these unhappy passport regu•
lations. The Lord Mayor of London had declared
that it was impossible for him to grant all the applica-
tions made to him, and that it was his determination to
limit his recommendation to those whom he person-
ally knew, or to persons resident in his district. The
police magistrates stated that it was impossible for them
to go on with their ordinary duties and at the same time
perform the new functions with which they were so un-
expectedly clothed. As to the inconvenience felt by the
commercial classes in this country, it was hardly to be
told. Every shipowner was in continual fear that a ship
of his might be stranded on the coast of France, and that,
wheel at a surveyor would formerly be able to go at once
to the spot, the probability now was that the ship would
be lost and the cargo destroyed long before be had any
chance of reaching lit. Another disadvantage, surely
worth consideration, was that practically every passport
must now be granted in London ; because, although
the authorities at the Foreign-office said they were per-
fectly ready to send a passport into the country by re-
turn of poet, on receipt of a proper recommendation,
everybody acquainted with the machinery of a great
public office must know that it was impossible for them
to do so. Thus, a lady wrote to him complaining that
she sent for a passport on the 24th and only received one
on the 28th, which happened to be a Sunday, so that it
was net available until the 29th. Such instances were
not to be wondered at. They must t tour every day ;
and, as he was informed that all the duties in connec-
tion with this system devolved on two clerks, he
thought it quite impossible that the business to ,be done
at the Foreign-office should be performed even in such
a way as would carry out the tenour of the
present regulations, illiberally as they were conceived
The question for the consideration of the house was, what
description of passport should be given to an Englishman
so as to enable the Government to guarantee that the
person possessing it should travel under the protection
and egis of this country throughout the world. Tne
word " passport" was one of which it was difficult to
give a definition, but in his opinion it ought to be held
to mean nothing more than a mark of i fentification, en-
titling the holder to the protection of England. It was
absurd to think of making the passport a certificate of
morality or respectability, and so far as our Government
was concerned the whole matter turned upon the point,
nut whether a British subject should leave the country
or not, but with what privileges he should travel in
other lands. We were bound to afforl protection to
every Englishman who behaved himself with propriety
upon the continent, and who obeyed the laws of
the nation in which he happened to srjourn. He
might also observe, that it was extremely desir-
. able that the passport system should no longer
subsist in connection with our Foreign-office, inasmuch
as a great deal of confusion was thereby created. The
investigations of the committee to inquire into the con-
sular service which had been moved for on the previous
evening would, he thought, serve to show that fac Mies
bad been afforded to the members of that service to lay
unnecessary fees upon English travellers. Indeed, a
case had lately been brought under his notice in which,
although the passport had been properly vised both as
regarded England and the country in which the holder
happened to be travelling, yet expense had been in-
curred which need not have been entailed. Under these
circumstances, it would, he maintained, be extremely
desirable that the Government should direct their atten-

whose occupation consists in getting into their hands other
men's parses and property—•-all such " voyageurs forces" have
never been found in want of passports (feuilles de route)
which enable them to evade justice. Passports do not exist
in England. There the citizen who travels has no need, in
order to traverse the three kingdoms, to obtain the permission
of a police magistrate. There commerce and industry are not
exposed to such !impediments, but are perfectly unfettered.
there people come, and go, and stop, as it suits them, or as
it pleases them. The roads and streets arc free from all police
inquisition."

Those were rather strong terms for a French writer to use
in speaking of a domestic institution of his country, and if
they had been penned by an Englishman they would pro-
bably have been condemned as exaggerated and unfair.
But he had a still stronger passage from the works of a very
eminent French writer, who was perfectly acquainted with
the subject. That writer said :
"No inhabitant of Great Britain, excepting convicts, can
be expelled from the United Kingdom. Any infraction of
this clause (the Habeas Corpus Act) would be vie ted with
severest penalties."
After describing the Habeas Corpus Act, ho continued :
"In England those violations of a citizen's domicile, so
common in France under the name of domiciliary visits aro
unknown. In England the secrets of families are respected,
and correspondence remains intact. In England the first of
all liberties, that of going where you please, is never dis-
turbed, for there no one is asked for passports—passports,
the oppressive invention of the Committee of Public Safety,
which are an em)arrassment and obstacle to the peaceful
citizens, but which are utterly powerless against those who
wish to deceive the vigilance of authority."

The house would doubtless wish to know who ,was the
author of those remarks. It was no less a person than the
present Emperor of the French—(hear, hear) than whom
no man had had more experience of the passport system,
or was better able, from personal experience to speak as
to its utter inutility. Perhaps he might be allowed to
make a practical suggestion that the best form of passport
would be a simple card. something similar to a Crystal-
palace season-ticket, containing on one side the date, the
signature of the bearer, with the declaration that he was a
British subject; and on the other side there should be
the Government stamp. All that foreign Governments
had a right to require that every Englishman leaving this
country to travel in their territories should be marked as
such'; although, indeed, it might be said that Englishmen
were stamped by nature and needed no Government
identification. The plan he had suggested appeared to
him to be the simplest and the most sensible, if any pass-
ports at all were necessary. He did not think that vises
should be required, for it was a disgrace to England
that after the Government had given a certificate of iden-
tity and nationality it should require the vise of any
foreign Power. He submitted those suggestions to the
consideration of the Government, and he would only add,
in conclusion, that the Minister who succeeded in abolish-
ing or even in mitigating this offensive system would be
more entitled to the thanks of the country than many
Ministers who claimed credit for more important successes.
(Hear, hear.) He cordially seconded the motion of the
hon, member for Pontefract.
Mr. S. FITZGERALD, who, in consequence of the low
tone in which he spoke, was but very imperfectly hoard,
said, as the question was one of a practical character, it
should receive a practical reply from the Government. He
should not follow the hon. gentleman who had spoken with
quotations from French writers, nor should he allude to
the opinions of the Emperor of the French. He thought,
as regarded the general question of the use of passports
and the desirableness or otherwise of establishing a paws
port system, the house ought to consider that as a matter
of internal regulation on the part of the French Govern-
ment, with which this country bad nothing to do. (Hear.)
If for the convenience of travelling in France it was requ-
site that a British subject should have a certain authority
or statement, not with reference to character, but merely
that he was a British subject and entitled to the protection
of the law, he thought it was to the regulations which our
own Government made on that subject that the house
should direct its attention. (Hear, hear.) The hon. gentle-
man who made the motion stated, that under the present
arrangements that had been made by the French Govern-
ment great impediments were thrown in the way of Bri-
tish subjects travelling in France. He must say the hon.
gentleman had made that statement without information
which he might have easily acquired. Ha thought the house
would acknowledge that the way id which this matter had
been put by the French Government to her Majesty's
Government, and in which they were prepared to deal
with the question, was such as to show that, so
far from our having any cause of complaint against
them for the course they had adopted, they had met 119 in
a friendly and generous spirit. ( ' Oh, oh !") Perhaps the
hon. gentleman who interrupted him would do him the
favourto listen to the grounds on which he had stated that
opinion. The way in which the matter stood was this ;
The French Government were always in the habit of per-
mitting their consular authorities to issue passports to
British subjects desiring to travel abroad. It was true that
that practice had been withdrawn, but with a distinct
acknowledgment on the part of the French Government
that they were not only willing, but bound to admit any
regulation which the British Government were prepared
establish before they issued their own British passports.
(Hear, hear.) So that if fault was to be found in this
matter it was to be found with the British Government
rather than with that of France. The result of the late
regulation had been doubtless one of considerable incon-
venience, and it very early attracted the notice of her
Majesty's present Government, as it had also, he was bound
to say, attracted that of the Government who preceded
them. It had since been the object of her Majesty's present
Government to consider how they could best deal with the
practical question, and how they could give passports
which the French Government would be willing to accept.
In issuing passports the Government considered they were
not entitled to inquire into the political or moral ante-
cedents of the persons who applied for them. (Hear,
hear.) What they thought a passport should be was a
certificate of citizenship, which would identify the person
to whom it was granted as a British subject; and beyond
that it had not appeared to them they were entitled to go.
(gear, hear.) But still the observance of some formalities
would always be necessary with the view to ascertain
that the applicant for a passport was a British subject ;
and the department with which he was connected was
now engaged in considering most carefully how the
greatest facilities for granting passports could be given
consistently with a due regard to the necessary identifica-
tion. (Hear, hear.) It had been said that it was a new
feature that passports could only be issued in London.
Practically that was so before, because he had ascertained
from certain rrturns on the subject that 80 or very nearly
90 per cent, of the passports issued by the French consular
agents were issued in London. But he might state that it
was at present in contemplation by her Majesty's Govern-
ment to appoint passport officers in some of the most con-
siderable seaport towns ; and he thought it probable that
finch officers would be stationed at Dover, Folkestone, New-
haven, Southampton, and Liverpool; but such arrangements
would be made as experience might suggest to be best calcu-
lated to meet the requirements of the case. But there was
another subject—that of the rind—which had been sug-
gested by the hon. member for Nottingham (Mr. Walter).
He was bound to say that having aeon statements in the
public papers that British subjects had been sent back from
, Boulogne in consequence of not having the vise of the Con-
sul General in London, his department had asked for in-
formation on the subject, and they had been assured that
if such a case had occurred, which appeared doubtful, it
arose from some extreme misconception of his instructions
by the authority at Boulogne. He would not deny that
such a case had occurred, but if it had they had the autho.
rity of the French Government that it must have happened
from the cause he hal just mentioned. But he woul I
give another exemplification of the spirit in which the
French Government had acted in this matter. It having
been communicated to them that it was probably the in-
tention of her Majesty's Government to establish passport
offices at some of the principal ports, they at once said they
would meet her Majesty's Government half-way, and
establish French consular agents at those ports, who should
have the power to viser passports, and so prevent any in-
convenience which might otherwise happen. (Cheers.) One
inconvenience was felt—viz., that the present amount
charged for a Foreign-office passport was somewhat too
large—(hear, hear)—that whereas before a passport from a
foreign consul could be had for a small sum, passports
could now only bo procured from the Foreign-office at a fee
which pressed severely upon artisans. He did not know
what course, if any, his right hon. friend the Chancellor
of the Exchequer might feel it his duty to pursue
in this matter, but it was the earnest wish of the depart-
ment with which he (Mr. Fitzgerald) was connected to
consider whether the amount now charged for a Foreign-
office passport could be reduced, so as to place it within
the reach of every one. (Hear.) He thought he had
stated all that was necessary in reference to this subject.
He wished to deal with it as a practical question, and he
thought the Honse would see that, so far from our having
reason to complain of the French Government as regarded
the regulations they had concocted in their own interest,
they had thought to mitigate as far as possible any incon-
venience which that resolution might occasion. (Hear.)
Mr. J. B. SMITH suggested that the mayors of such
towns as Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham, and,
indeed, of all other large towns, should have the power of
issuing passports.
Mr:KER said the only safe and dignified course for the
Foreign-office to adopt was not to pretend to answer for
the character of every person who obtained a passport, but
to grant freely to every British subject the protection to
which he was entitled.
Lord PALMERSTON.—Is far as the late Government
are concerned they have no objection to the production of
the papers in the way in which the Under-Secretary for
Foreign Affairs has agreed to them, but I would suggest an
addition to the motion of my righthon. friend the member
for Pontefract, viz.—copies or extracts of any correspond-
ence that may have been received at the Foreign-office from
British consuls on the coast of Franco, sly within the last
two years, on the subject of the inconvenience caused by
British workmen arriving in Frauce furuishei with pass•
ports given to thorn by French consular agents iu Great
Britain. It has often happened that British workmen
have been induced to go to France by means of pass-
ports granted by French consular agents in this country,
tempted to proceed thither when there was no real
demand for their labonr, and they have frequently been
exposed to great inconvenience, while the public
has incurred considerable expense, by their return as
distressed British subjects unable to procure their own
means of transport. The addition which I have suggested
will complete the view which my right hon. friend wishes
to lay before the house with respect to the passport system.
I quite agree with the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs
that the passport system is an internal and domestic regu-
lation of the French Government with which the British
Parliament has really 110 right to interfere ; and I quite
differ irons ley right hon. friend the member for Pontefract
in the opinion which he expressed, that the late Govern-
ment, by enlarging the facilities for getting passports.
established a passport system in this country. They 'ail
no such thine. The passport itsued from the Foreign-
office had nothing whatever to do with any internal regu-
lation hero, but was merely given to a British subject for
the purpose of snebling hirer to travel a itheut interruption
on the continent. My right bun friend blamed the Go-
vernment for reducing the price of passports, but ho ought
to have recollected that the reduction from 2/. 6s to 7s 6d
was made in compliance with the expressed wishes of this
house. (Hear.) It was not at all a spontaneous act on tLe
part of the Government, on the contrary, it was attended
with a good,deal of departmental inconvenience, and was
resolved upon in deference to the wish of Parliament that
British subjects should be enabled to obtain at a small
cost that sanction of their own Government which would
secure them from molestation when travelling on the con-
ttlir) (Hear.) I ainite agree with those who hold that
Tee and passportsxetsuteemprioscionodtriuugths
of
ff vtheroyseliwtthloe
go about
( fi
weairteh)
lara aaeaaa effect of it is to embarrass innocent travel-

tion to the question, whether the whole passport system
might not with advantage be transferred from the Fo•
reign-office and attached to the Home Department—
(hearl—and whether the onus of refusing a passport
should not be thrown altogether upon the shoulders of
the Government of the day. The Executive might,
through the agency of the police, become acquainted
with almost every person who could not be safely trusted
to bear the English name abroad, and be would have
the refusal given in the case of any such person so re-
corded, that if the individual felt himself aggrieved he
might be in a position to appeal to public opinion.
(Rear) So far as the subject of passports was connected
with foreign countries, it was with them entirely a ques-
tion of policy, with which we Englishmen had nothing
whatever to do. It the French Government, or any
other, chose to throw obstacles in the way of their beat
customers travelling within their dominions—if they
chose to deprive their innkeepers of the profits which
were to be acquired by the outlay of English tourists,
it was beyond all doubt in their power to carry that ob-
ject into effect. It only remained to us to pursue our
own course, and with the aid of that constitution and
that liberty which we had the happiness to possess, to
realise the vision of the prince-like poet who, in the
olden times of Greece, said of
" A certain island set apart by fate,
The sea its frontier and the shore its gate ;
Where every stranger with free foot may stand
May time ne'er shake the columns of that land."
(Cheers.) The hon. member concluded by moving for
copies of correspondence between her Majesty's Govern-
ment and that of the Emperor of the French on the Ilte
alterations in the passport system, and of the several re-
gulations respecting passports issued by the Foreign-
office since 1815, with the fees charged on their delivery.

Mr. WALTER said that, in rising to support the resolu-
tion which his hon. friend had just moved, he should feel
it his duty to trespass for a few moments upon the indul.
Bence of the house, while he briefly stated the reasons
which appeared to him to render it expedient that her Ma-
jesty's Government should at the present period make
some effort to mitigate the grievance to which his hon.
friend had called their attention. The question involved in
that grievance was one which, although somewhat new to
the debates in that house, required no apology to be made
for its introduction to its notice, for of all those subjects
connected with our relations with foreign countries there
was not one which concerned Englishmen individually so
closely or which so materially affected our personal com-
fort. (Hear.) He must also observe that he regarded the
present moment as one which was not altogether inoppor-
tune for bringing a subject so important under the consi-
deration of her Majesty's Ministers. The French Govern
ment had, in the first place, by their own act, abdicated
that responsibility which they had hitherto undertaken of
issuing passports to British subjects, and permitted it to
devolve exclusively upon the department for the adminis-
tration of foreign affairs in this country. That step Lae,
of course, brought the matter more immediately under the
notice of her Majesty's Government, and had, in his opi-
nion, imposed upon them a corresponding responsibility as
to the mode in which they should fulfil the duties which
had recently been assigned to them. Fortunately for the
country, we had at the present moment at the bead of the
Foreign Department a Minister who appeared to possess
the neck of writing conciliatory letters--(hear, and a laugh)
—and who, as he had been the means of removing the
misunderstanding which existed between England and
France, might very properly be looked to to frame such a
despatch as would, without running the risk of creating is
fresh misunderstanding between us and our ally, have the
effect of mitigating the grievance which the house was en-
gaged in discussing. (Hear, hear.) The age in which we
happened to live was one in which the prophecy that
" many will run to and fro" was being fulfilled. It was
an ageof travelling—an age in which capital combined with
science and industry appeared to be associated for the pur-
pose of rendering locomotion as great a luxury as it had
formerly been a misery. We now possessed increased fa-
cilities for moving from one place to another, whether in
the pursuit of health or business, and were enabled to ful-
fil the designs of Providence by the promotion of a spirit
of friendly intereourse with other countries while the
several provinces of our own country were brought into
closer contact with one another. (Hear, hear.) Could any-
thing be more provoking than that at such a period as this
the perverse ingenuity of man should be employed in throw-
ing every possible obstacle in the way of free social inter-
c)urse ? (Hear, hear.) The house might depend upon it
that so long as the passport system continued, no matter
what diplomatic alliance might subsist between this coun-
try and France--no matter whether we should for a time
be bound up wiih her in a contest against some third power
—we never could realize that cordial friendship with France
which every Englishman desired to see prevail. (Hear,
hear.) When Englishmen want abroad they were gene-
rally speaking disposed to enter a foreign state in a spirit
of the utmost good feeling, and to quit it in a spirit of
gratitude and kindly sentiment. Ho must, however, for
his own part say—and in entertaining that feeling he be-
lieved he was by no means peculiar—that he never set his
foot upon French soil without a sense of indignation being
obliged to submit to a system of interference which was, he
thought, as useless as he knew it to be offensive. (Hear.)
With the permission of the house he should for a few
moments call its attention to a statement of the nature
of that system, and as his own feelings might lead him
into the use of language which might wound the sue-
c-ptibilitiee of our neighbours across the channel, he
should prefer taking the description of it from writers of
their own. The only system in this country which was
parallel to the passport system of the continent was that
to which it had been found expedient to resort in order to
protect society against convicted criminals. He hoped the
house would permit him to read an extract from an article
in the " Encyclopedie du Langage et des Sciences Poh-
-1 tiques," under the head " Passeports." The writer said—
' on‘Q‘c%eaxafitnia7:iaanlaanudselpetiLicvaelxpaotiinout
useless—vexatious,
becausevie w passports
the
faculty a are at
tot
ft
ene,,_:.e.eiisetelaaubyesatLaent,ilntray,ell.ing being one of common right, and
P Zoon
„Itaileracegeutellit4izl
~tol,tlilatuerty, to for
cause reason ~,.',;r7 'tappet,
inia(! u att.
001
give
liberty,the ditescisriaptivoiuol,a.fti
theirviolation o f
to 12afetimn p oiniti:ce agents of the
sach dvan
their
Ins wellbeingould
and t o
those who pa it '"tl'e re • b°
going.
llt is useless, bgee
7 seine ad 'lnt"' that
a tax shouldgive
. slelleuspriittye. of Ttlhies traimgor'ohusiair towards
upon those who travel witho'uT
bonds, it is certain that a precautionary " r' t', 4w"haitil looks_ag
very rarely attainsits end. Persons withthoi!;7le,otte:kci.icil:
jig or livelihood, those who are within
n or tite Pen I
Code, know perfectly well how to procure for tberasei.;4‘
filuitles,s passports, Sharpers, bankrupts, and many other'

miechievoas intentions. (Cheers) I am able to state an in-
stance of each kind. Many years age, not in the reign of
the present Emperor, .i.s.or in the reign of Louis Philippe,
eC
but in that of Charles ~ I was travelling from the north
to the south of France, and one evening, when I arrived at
my inn, an officer of police name to inspect my passport.
Having looked at it ho said, " Sir, if I did my duty I should
arrest you." " I am sorry to hear it," I replied, " but I
hope Wu lalYLed ‘
a‘ t Havre." I
Because your
passport
not
to
been
isiutclyse ignnee.
you
told him that was the fault of the French officials. But here
you
hasw nl
was a harmless traveller (a laugh)—threatened with arrest
because his passport was not in the condition required by
the French regulation!. (Hear.) Take the other instance.
Orsini, who lately suffered for the attempt upon the life of
the Emperor of the French, was actually travelling with
one of my passports. He had obtained possession of a pass-
port which was given, not by myself, but by the officials at
the Foreign-office when I was Secretary of State, to a Bri-
tish subject named Allsop.
The passport was procured on
the recommendation of a very respectable mercantile firm
in London, and having been given to Allsop was han led
over to Orsini, who, although he did not carry upon his
features that stamp of nationality which the hon. member
for Nottingham thinks would be sufficient to identify a
British subject, had nevertheless that stamp of nationality
which is implied in the possession of a passport granted to
a British subject by his own Government. Dees not the
case of Orsini show that passports are of no real use for the
purpose of impeding the movements of dangerous charac-
ters on the continent? (Hear.) It shows also that no regu-
lations which the British Foreign-office can establish for the
purpose of identification can be effectual, because a pass-
port given to a British subject may be transferred to a fo-
reiener, and then all precautions fail, and the whole sys-
tem becomes a useless restriction on the motions of those
who have no bad intentions, and who go to the continent
only for the purposes of business or pleasure. But, as I said
before, these are matters which foreign governments have
a right to regulate according to what they may deem ne-
cessary for their own internal security. At the same time,
if passports are repaired—not for British but for foreign
. purpose
--by British subjects, I quite admit that every
facility ought to be given to British subjects for obtaining
the papers necessery to enable them to travel on the con-
tinent. (Hear, hear.) It is quite true, as stated by the
-Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, that inconveni-
EMS resulting from the recent regulations were felt by
the late Government. Those regulations were established
experimentally and provisionally, in consequence of the
French Government having forbidden their agents here to
give passports to British subjects ; but I have no doubt
that when the matter is looked into, and with the new re-
gulations which the Under-Secretary says the Foreign-office
is about to establish, many of the inconveniences which are
the necessary result of arrangements made in consequence
of the action of another Government will be removed, an 1
greater facilities will be given to British subjects wishing
to travel abroad. (Hear, hear.) I have only to say in con-
clusion, that if my right hon. friend the member for Pon-
tefract has no objection to the addition I have suggested,
it will, I think, complete the case by showing the repre-
sentations which have been made by British consuls in the
French ports of the inconvenience to individuals, and the
expense to the public, occasioned by the facilities which
were formerly afforded by French consular agents hero to
tempt British workmen to go to France, when there was
no real demand for their labour, and when, having nothing
to do when they arrived there, they were compelled to be
sent back as distressed British subjects. (Hear, hear.)

these marriages were so inexpedient that it was necessary
they should be forbidden upon other grounds. It conla
scarcely be supposed the Almighty had left such an im-
portant subject unregulated, and the Scriptural argument
seemed to lie within a very narrow compass. Either these
marriages were prohibited by Scripture or they were not. ,
If they were so prohibited he called upon those who ob-
jected to them to point to the passages containing the pro-
hibition. If they were not prohibited by Scripture he con-
tended
that the provisions of the statute law ought t ) be
brought into conformity with that Divine law upon which
they professed to be founded. The 18th versa of the 18th
chapter of Leviticus was the only passage in Scripture
which referred directly to marriage with a deceased wife's
sister, but he believed the opponents of such marriages did
not rest their Scriptural objections upon that passage.
They relied upon the 16th verse, in which a man was pro-
hibited from marrying his brother's widow, and they
argued that as the relationship was the same in both cases,
the law which forbade one marriage equally forbade the
ther. He thought the answer to this argument was that
all the prohibitions contained in Leviticus were amplifica-
tions of the prohibition in the 6th verse of the chapter as
to marriage with near kindred ; but he sister of a man's
wife was not near of kin to him. It appeared, however,
by analogy that marriage with a deceased wife's sister was
sanctioned, for although the 16th verse of Leviticus prohi-
bited a man from marrying his brother's widow, and lay
the 18th verse he was forbidden to marry his wife's sister
in her lifetime, in the 25th of Deteronomy men were com-
manded, under circumstances which must often have oc-
curred, to marry their brothers' widows. the Church of
England did not claim infallibility for its canon law, and
Lord Lyndhurst's Act totally subverted a canon, by de-
claring absolute:y void marriages which, according to
the canon law, were only voidable. It was true that
marriages of this nature were prohibited by two of the
early councils, but they were not oecumenical or general
councils, and the prohibition extended only to the
dioceses of the bishop by whom the councils were at-
tended. A similar prohibition was also contained in the
I?eformatio Legun, commenced in the reign of Henry
VIII., and continued in that of Edward VI., but as it
never received the assent of Parliament, Burns, in his
Ecclesiastical Law, declared that it could not be regarded
as having the force of law. In 1565, Queen Elizabeth,
wishing to establish her legitimacy on more definite
grounds, requested Archbishop Parker to draw up a table
of degrees within which marriage was prohibited. In this
table the prejudices of the Queen who employed him were
naturally regarded. A brother's wife was declared to be
one of the prohibited degrees, because on the nullity of
Henry the VIII's marriage with Catherine of Arragon de- I
pendecl her legitimacy. And it was said that a deceased's
wife's sister was also declared a prohibited degree in order
that Elizabeth might be enabled to say to Philip of Spain,
who wished to propose for her on the death of her sister
Mary, that the feeling in England was so great and general
against such a marriage that she dare not accept him. Be
that as it might, Archbishop Parker only called his work
an admonition suited to the requirements of the times, and
he was so careful not to assert for it an authority which it
did not possess that he noted on the fly leaf the names of
certain eminent divines who differed from him upon this
point. There was no absolute statutable prohibition in
this country on the subject of these marriages. The judges
had, however, once or twice interpreted the law in another
sense; and the present bill would simply be an explana-
tory one, declaring that, whatever decisions might have
hlsen given in the Court of Queen's Bench or elsewhere,
marriage with a deceased wife's sister should be no longer
void or voidable, but should be just and honourable in
every respect whatever. (Hear.) There were some hon.
gentlemen who did not found their objections to these mar-
riages either on the cansnical or statute law or on Scrip-
tural grounds, but who urged the argument of social ex-
pediency. He was now merely asking leave to. introduce
a bill, and this, therefore, was not the time to enter at
length into this point. He could only answer such objec-
tions, vague and shadowy as they were, by asserting
against them the broad principle that every man should
be free to do what seemed good in his own eyes, provided
it did not interfere with the rights of his fellow-men. He
thought the advocates of these marriages might fairly
claim that the scruples of their opponents should not be
trust upon them, seeing that they believed no Scriptural
prohibition existed. If such a prohibition could be
pointed out they would at once give up their advocacy of
this measure; but if that was not the case, the present
law certainly abridged the liberty which belonged of right
to Englishman. Reserving for another occasion any refe-
rence to the argument of expediency, he should now sim-
ply ask leave to introduce this bill, and he trusted that
Parliament would not refuse their permission. (Hear.)
Mr. DIVETT complimented the noble lord upon the
modesty with which he had introduced the motion, but
totally dissented from the arguments. Whatever might
be his (Mr. Divett's) views as to the scriptural authority,
he entertained no doubt as to the social evils to which the
proposed change would give rise. He contended that the
statutory prohibition had been most distinctly declared,
and could only believe that the noble lord appeared as the
erg an of the Marriage Lew Reform Association. That
association had taken great pains to affirm the legality of
marriage of our country people abroad, and the conse-
quence had been that many unfortunate women, actipg
upon this dictum, had been married abroad. He believed
that there was no more validity in such marriages than in
the broomstick marriage of a gipsy's camp. (Oh, oh).
Why, many women who had been so married bad subse-
quently lost their property in this country. He should
oppose the introduction of the bill, believing that it would
open the door to considerable social evil. Only that morn-
ing a pamphlet had been put into his hands, emanating
from the above association, he believed, stating that the
noble lord the late First Minister of the Crown had de-
clared that the moral feeling of the community was not in
consonance with the present law, and that he should be
happy to vote for its repeal. lie (Mr. Divett) should like
to know whether the noble lord really entertained that
sentiment. The pamphlet gave authorities, legal and
otherwise, but it was well known that cases could be so
put to counsel that opinions could be almost had to order.
(Hear, hear, anal a laugh,) Ho should oppose the bill at
every stage, believing that it was fr aught with moral and
social evils. ([Lear, hear.)
Mr. MALINd rose to correct an error which had been
made with respect to the case of Brook v. Brook, which
had receutly been heard in Chancery. Mr. Brook was a
gentleman of wealth and good position, living at Hudders-
field, and having lost his first wife, he married her sister
in Denmark, iu a country where it was known that such
marriages were held to be lawful. Several children were
born of the second marriage, and some years, after, whilst
Mr. Brook and his wife were travelling in Switzerland,
Mrs. Brook was taken ill of cholera at Basle, and was
taken to Frankfort where she died on a Monday. Unfor-
tunately, symptoms of the same complaint appeared in her
husband, and he was induced to go down to Cologne,
where he also died on the Wednesday after. Ir.
Brook had previously made a will, providing for
some of his children—the result of these by the
second marriage being considered illegitimate by the
English law ; but whilst at Cologne he was induced to
make another will, by which ho give all of them absolute
interest in hie real and personal estate. One of these
children of the second marriage died shortly after, and the
question then arose whether there was any legal heir or
any legal next of kin of this child with respect to the
estate. The question came to be argued before Vice-Chan-
cellor Sir J. Stuart, who, considering the importance of
the case, called in the aid of Sir C. Cresswell to assist him.
Sir C. Cresswell gave as opinion upon the case about a
month after, in which he stated that, in his judgment, the
second marriage was illegal and the children illegitimate ;
but this was only an opinion for the asai lance of tbo judge
(the Vice-Chancellor) who had not yet given his judgment.
It was intended that the question when decided should go
by appeal to the House of Lords ; but at present it must
be considered as sub judice, and there was no decision upon
it. It must, however, be confessed that the law as it stood
was couched in very indistinct terms. No doubt the law
stated that such marriages should be void, but then it was
understood that a similar expression was contained in Lord
Hardwicke's Marriage Act, and it was always interpreted
to mean that such marriages were not void, but voidable.
Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act declared that marriages
under age, without consent of parents, were void ; but
Gretna Green marriages, when young ladies were married
without consent of their parents, were well known not to
void. The law, therefore, calla I for some alteration. If
there really was a personal disability attaching to a per-
son, it was absurd to suppose it did not attach by his simply
going across the water to live in Denmark. There had now
been t wo divisions on this question, and on both occasions
ho (Mr. Matins) had voted against any alteration in the
law. Great social evils might possibly arise from legalis-
ing these marriages ; but from the close attention which
he (Mr. Malins) has given to the subject, he was compelled
to
the
sa yhe ec could
member fordnut
concur
Exeter in theimp
conclusionivett). He agreed
of hishr
eoedn.
friend
that the Scripture argument fell to the ground ; it was re-
duced therefore to a question of social expediency, of social
propriety, of social advantages, and if it was found impos-
sible to prohibit the desire to contract these marriages, if
they could not prohibit attempts to evade the law, they
had better alter the law. Iu spite of this opposition these
marriages continued to be solemnised ; wives on their death-
beds, as appeared from the report, expressed their desire
that if their husbands married again it should be to their
sisters ; anal under that state of things it behoved the house
to consider whether they should continue to make illegal
what they were incapable of prohibiting. At any rate, he
(Mr. sllalins) should vote in favour of the introduction of
the bill, in order that the whole subject might undergo re-
consideration. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. W. J. FOX thought the house ought to feel itself
indebted to the Lou. alai learned member for his
frank declaration that ha now thought Parliament should
trlte this import ant subject under consideration. (Hear,
hear.) This was a question on which he thought a liberty
of interpretation should be permitted, and on which it ought
not to be held that authority was not explicit. (Hear.)
The dissenting body had expressed an opinions in favour of
logisla: ion, but it was not right to set up the views of one
class of men against another class. The scriptural prohibi-
tion, then, was open to interpretation. Ho was a staunch
advocate for liberty of conscience, and was quite opposed to
enforcing the dictates of his own conscience on that of
other people. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) The scriptural
prohibition clearly related to the state of polygamy which
existed at the time. But were the argument drawn from
Leviticus still stronger, ho should doubt its force. The
only question was, whether they would oppose the law of
the country to the law of nature. For this reason he
should cheerfully support the measure.
Mr. J. B. HOPE, referring- to Lord Hardwicke's act,
found that the marriages there spoken of wore declared
absolutely null anal void. This was a question which agi-
tated deeply all classes of society. The agitation in this
matter had been fostered by a paid agency. Those who
had broken the law had sent round their age nts. The
Royal Commission which had been issued on the subject
had made a report, which was simply a husk of the pro-
ceedings by the paid agents. No care was taken before
that commission to bring thosopersons whose peace would
be destroyed by an an alteration of the law. Fie meant the
women of the country. In Scotland the feeling was una-
nimous on this subject. It lied been sail that there Sync a
holy foaling between the chi Pren, and the sister of the
mether. It was in the interest of that feeling that he op-
posed this measure. That holy feeling would cease, and
come in competitions with other feelings, if the wife's sister
became the wife. It was said that England was the only
country in the world in which a man could not marry his
wife's sister, but it must be borne in mind that England
was the only country in which a man could not marry his
blood niece or his blood aunt. If they were to allow a man
to marry his wife's rsietes , why should they not allow him
to marry an aunt or niece.

2lr. BIIIIGHT—I think the noble lord was in error when
he stated that the right hon. gentleman the member for
Pontefract had found fault with our Government for re-
ducing the price of passports. The right hon. gentleman,
on the contrary, is one of those who think that passports
should be as cheap as possible. (Hear, hear.) I have
listened to the discussion to-night with great satisfaction,
and lam sure the country will receive with pleasure the
observations which the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs
has addressed to the house. (Hear, hear.) There are two
things which our Government can do. In the first place it
can make friendly representations to foreign Powers for
the purpose of prevailing upon them to lessen as much as
possible the difficulties which are interposed in the way
of a traveller on the continent. (Hoar, hear.) It can do
nothing further with foreign Powers, because I take it for
granted that we are bound to submit to any regulations
which a foreign Government may make ; but with respect
to our own country, it can do almost anything. (Hear,
hear.) Our Ministere do not care a straw, I presume,
what Englishman travels abroad, where he goes, or how
long he stays away ;
they give him a passport merely be-
cause foreign Governments will not admit him into their
territories without one. But foreign Governments do not
ask that we should charge 7s. for our passports. ("Hear,
hear," and laughter.) They do not ask that we should
bring men from all parts of the country to any particular
city for the purpose of getting passports, nor do they re-
quire that poor people, who have no influential friends,
who do not know a banker or a member of Parliament,
should find it almost impossible, as we have recently seen
proved in the newspapers, to obtain a passport at all.
(Hear, hear.) The inconveniences of which so much com-
plaint is made are owing to the conduct of our own Go-
vernment and to the want of common sense in these mat-
ters manifested by the Foreiga-office in past times. (Hear,
hear.) I agree with the hoo. member for Stockport that
it would be very undesirable to establish passport-offieee in
the various towns throughout the country. We know what
a passport-office would become. First of all there would
be a considerable amount of patronage. All members of
Government, it is true, when they speak of patronage pro-
fess to care nothing whatever about it. (A. laugh.) At the
same time, whenever anymeasure creatingpatronage comes
before Parliament, I observe that as much patronage is
provided for as can be conveniently put in an Aot of Parlia-
ment. If you were to have passport officers in Liverpool,
Hull, and other large towns, the passport-officer would not
have enough to do, for the few persons he would have
to attend to would not give him more than one or two
hours' employment a-day, and he must be a respectable
person and have a competent salary. My hon. friend pro-
poses that the Mayors of the different cities should have the
power to give passports ; and I have no doubt whatever
that that would be a convenient arrangement. Tho Mayor
has the confidence of his fellow-townsmen, a very small
fee would pay the expense. What object could
there beiu ch,rging for a passport more then 6.1. ? You do
not went more money than would just pay the expense,
and that might be provided for by a vote of that house, or
by some small fee, for we do not want to tax our country-
men going abroad. If it were not for foreign countries we
should have no passports; and therefore, being compelled
to have passports, it is the duty of the Government to
make the infliction as little as possible. (Hear.) Acting
upon that principle, any two men in that house might sit
down, awl in half an hour draw up a scheme by which ad
the difficulties would be removed, and which would be
satisfactory to the country. (Hear.) I hope the Under
Secretary for Foreign Affairs will not conclude from these
observations that I urn dissatisfied with what he said. I
think that what he has stated shows that the Government
are paying attention to the subject, and I hope that as
long as he occupies his present position the house may be
as well satisfied with any explanation he may have to give
in future as with that ho had just offered. (Hear.)
Mr. DUFF said that he would not detain the house for
more than three ,ninutes, but that he wished to correct one
error in a matter of fact into which the hon. member who
had just sat down had fallen. It was quite a mistake to
suppose that foreign governments did not care from what
particular office a passport was issued. The possession of a
Foreign-office passport made all the difference in the world
to the comfort of a traveller. He would relate one instance
of this within his personal experience. He was travelling
in Hungary before the effects of the Revolutionary War
hadexasperatedquite passed
againstdaway' anl when the authorities wero
much England. He arrived in &Iselin
simultaneously with a young Englishman who was going
to Buch .rest on commercial business of great importance.
He hod a Foreign-office passport, signed by the noble lord
the member for Tiverton, and to this the Austrian mili-
tary authorities paid the greatest possible respect, while
they treated as little better than a mere nullity the per-
passport granted to the young Englishman
our then representative at Hamburg. He
per-
fectly tcl
Hodge,
e
(Mr. Dail) was offered every facility for the prosecution of
his journey, wle le the bearer of Colonel Hedge's passport
was forbidden to proceed to I3uehsrest, at which place, for
all he (Mr. Duff) knew to the contrary, he may not yet
have arrived. ( Hear, and laughter.)
The CHANCE LLO Ft of the EXCHEQUER —lt appears
to rue that the observations of the hon. member for Bir-
mingham are well entitled to the consideration of the
house. I feel, as I think the house must feel, that there
are two objects desirable to be obtained. We want to make
the distribution of passports among the people of this coun-
try easy and cheap. (Hear, hear.) The office with which
ley hon, friend is connewhctietdohuatsotehdigs
accomplishingbing tjheectGuonvedreirmiceount-
sideration, with the intention, if possible, of accomplishing
ttohoasneyte:arobjects
r; and
mode, I
can assure the house that we
wish the distribution of passports 4jezr be easy in all the
principal ports of the country, The e have been some
difficulties started by the manicipll authorities wi, h reeard
to this point, but I feel, after the discussion which has
taken place, that those difficulties may be overcome.
(Hear, beer.) The great object we have in view, and which
I think the house will desire to see attained, is that in
future any Englishman who wishes to leave his country
should find the process of obtaining a passport not expen-
sive nor troublesome, but one which might be gone
through without the difficulty and cost an artisan might
fear
Lord encounter. (EI
appearsea t
r,
ob
hear.)e The addition proposed
byone to which there can be
no objection.
thet() noble
Mr. SI. MI LNES, in reply, thanked the Under-Secretary
for Foreign Affairs for his statement, in which there was
but one point omitted, and that was the consideration of
the enormous number of people who had been in the habit
of frequontine the ports of France without any passports
whatever. Tho sudden abolition of that privilege de-
served the attention of the Foreign-office. After the
papers ho now moved for were produced, he should again,
if neces,ary, call the attention of the house to the subject.
The motion wes thou agreed to, with the addition pro-
posed by Lord Palmerston.
-- •

MARRIAGE LAW AMENDMENT.
Lord BURY rose to move for leave to introduce a bill
to legalise marriage with a deceased wife's sister, and in
doing so he said he felt he ought to make an apology, be-
cause this subject which had employed the talents of a dis-
tinguished member of that house, had now fallen into his
hands. In his opinion there ought to be no ambiguity in
the law on this subject, but its provision and prohibitions
should be clearly and distinctly declared. The law in its
present state was, however, open to very considerable
doubt. He need hardly refer to the ease of " Brook v.
Brook," by which the question of the validity of these
marriages between British subjects abro,d had been raised.
In the absence of any parallel case Mr. Justice Cress well's
opinion upon that trial mast be regarded as the authori-
tative declaration of the existing law of England. That de-
cision had not been arrived at wit Lout very laborious and
minute examination, and it was therefore evident that the
state of the- law was by no means clear and satisfactory.
Indeed he bad been told that other distinguished judges
had, upon precisely the same evidence, arrived at diamet-
rically opposite conclusions. That house had on three se-
parate occasions expressed its delibsrate opinion that the
present law on this subject should be reversed, and that
principle had been affirmed upon no less than 30 divelons.
Upwards of 5,000 petitions, with hundreds of thousands
of signatures, had been
presented to both Houses of Par-
liament in favour of the change in the law which would be
effected by the bill he asked leave to introduce. The law as
it stood was, he believed, at variance with the feelings of
a large majority of the community, and it was therefore
fitting to inquire how that law had been established. The
Roman law, which coincided almost exactly with the Mo-
saic law in this respect, contained no prohibition of these
marriages; an.l subsequently they were not forbidden by,
the statute or the canon law, which depended almost ex-
eusively upon Scriptural law. The question to be deter-
mined seemed, therefore, to be reduced to these narrow
points—whether the alleged Scriptural prohibition really
existed; and, whether, failing such prohibition,

m a.lifuri.y.NoVf Ht
hIeT
pl3oßo
rEe
rD
cl
as tslspeps
.o r t elide twhaea bei2ll,eiend
yinterest
unwil-
ling to argue the question upon any isolated texts of
Scripture, which no doubt might be produced open both
sides of the case ; and he reminded the house that 901110
3,000 or 4,009 years ago no great blame wa, excited by a
man's marrying two sisters during the lifetime of them
both. The arguments of the hon. and learned member
opposite might do very -well for those rich penons who
were able to consult lawyers upon the subject, bat if he
were to address them to a poor man in the manufacturing
districts he would probably be told, "Sir, while my wife
was alive I loved and had every reason to respect ka, NOW

that she is removed from me Providence has in His good- MR. SMITH O'BRIEN'S ADDRESS TO TER
ness seen fit to allow to my helpless chnren a guardian as
kind and as good. I see her moving aiecrut my cottage en- IRISH PEOPLE.
gaged in all the offices of a mother to my children. I love
her for my former wife's sake, and she is willing to marry
me for my children's sake. We have studied the Bible; we
see no prohibition, and we have no qualms on the mat-
ter." What right bad Parliament to interfere and to say
that in such a case such a marriage should not take
place ? There might, no doubt, be some who would be
ready to transfer their worthless affection from the wife to
the sister-in-law; but with such persons would the inti-
macy of the sister-in-law be safe now ? (Hear, hear.) They
were told that the whole fabric of society and the very
existence of the people were built upon the purity of the
marriage institution, and the close knitting of family ties.
He believed that ; but he hoped that they rested upon
something a little clearer to every intelligence, and a little
more comprehensive to the conscience, than the prohibi-
tion which was the subject of consideration. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. IIIEi,LOR, believing the law to be clear on this sub-
ject, thought the bill ought to be introduced, and that it
ought to be passed. These marriages were of constant re-
petition amongst the lower classes. It was on that ground
that he believed the law ought to be altered.
Mr. GILPIN said it was a distasteful thing to have
theology dragged into the discussions of that house. No
question ever required less raerence to theology than this.
Some hon. gentlemen in every question went back for argu-
ments under the shadow of old Arrarat. Most of the quo-
tations, too, were very unhappy. Robert Southey said this
was an abominable relic of ecclesiastical tyranny. Luther
said the same thing in other words. Archbishop Whately
was in favour of the proposed measure, and so was the re-
cently appointed Bishop of Carlisle. Dr. Chalmers and Dr.
Eddie were both in favour of this measure, and so was the
Rev. Dr. Bunting. Ho trusted that the measure would be
passed into law.
Mr. BIGG knew from experience as a magistrate that
the measure was absolutely necessary.
Mr. LYGON could not see if a man were permitted to
marry his wife's sister, why he should be prevented from
marrying a wife's daughter by a former marriage. He de-
precated theological discussion in that house, because he
believed that the members of that house did not rise from
theological discussion either better or wiser. He should
not, therefore, deal with this as a theological subject. It
should be argued upon natural and pure grou .ds' and he
believed the proposed measure would violate both the law
of nature and of God.

Mr. Smith O'Brien has put out an address to the
people of Ireland respecting the line of policy they
ought to adopt under the circumstances in which a
change of Government has placed them. Ireland, be
is as fully convinced now as he was in 1844, ought
to be sati-fied with nothing less than the restoration
of its domestic legislature, and government. He is one
of those who think "that if the people of Ireland were
animated by a truly patriotic spirit, this country would
be able to maintain its independence under guarantees
of security much more effective than those which
are enjoyed by Holland, Belgium, Bavaria, Wurtem-
berg, the Two Sicilies, the kingdom of Sardinia, Den-
mark, Norway and Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal, or
Greece." He avows himself to be one of those who
think that many occasions have occured in past times
when the Irish people would have been fully justified in
seeking to obtain by force of arms the independence of
the.r country. But he is not prepared to contend that
it is expedient at ail times to incur the hazards of rebel-
lion in an attempt to secure the national independence'
of Ireland. If he were an inhabitant of Australia
or of Canada he should be content with the
system of self - government which at present
exists in those provinces " more especially since
it is capable of future development to a more
perfect state of independence," and as an Irishman
he would be satisfied to uphold an international con-
s otton between Great Britain and Ireland, psovided that
they could enjoy, under an Irish Parliament and an Irish
ministry, the practical advantages of self-government.
He must remind ttiose whom he is addressing that in
1843, 1844 and 1845 a large majorty of the Irish people
pledged themselves to a policy, of which the right ef the
Irish nation to enjoy domestic legislation was the basis.
Circumstances have induced them to suspend this
cl im, nut " the course of events may hereafter lead
to it, revival " At great length Mr. O'Brien then
discusses what ought to be the temporary and second-
ary policy of the people of Ireland, and he finally comes
to the conclusion that they " ought to look on as int-
, pat tial spectators of the combat of English parties, with
a determination to avail themselves of future contingen-
cies in such a manner as shall best promote the special
interests of Ireland and the general interests of man-
kind." The following i 4 the conclusion of his address :
—" To me and to you it matters little whether, in rela-
Lon to the past, the Whigs are or are not more deserving
of condemnation then the conservatives. Let us en-
deavour to provide for the future rather than repine over
the past. The problem now submitted for solution is,
' What are the measures which the Irish people ought to
demand from Parliament I' To the party which shall pro-
cure the enactment of such measures, your members may
be justified offering not indiscriminate support,
but forbearance from systematio opposition: Know-
ing well how powerless is the action of Irish opinion
upon the British Parliament, I feel much indisposed to
encourage my fellow countrymen to look to that quatter
for useful legislation ; but however much we may regret
the absense of a domestic legislature, and however much
we may distrust the British Parliament, the public voice
of this country ought not to be whiny silenced by the
influence of these sentiments. We ought rather prove
our capacity for self-government by sulemitting, from
time to time, well-considered proposals which may be
calculated to promote the well-being of our own country
and of mankind. I reserve for a future address an enu-
meration of some measures which appear to deserve your
immediate attention.

Lord GODERICH said no one ventured to maintain
that in the eyes of the public this was not eminently a
social question. It Tras true that it might ba said that
some of the rich might be benefited by this bill, but was
that a reason why it should be rejected ? They ought to
look upon this question practically. This measure, instead
of lowering the morality of the working classes, would be
a great means of elevating it. Speaking on bshalf of his
own constituents, this was a question on which existed a
strong opinion in the manufacturing districts. There was
nothing more dangerous than attempting to force legisla
tion which was not in accordance with public opinion, and
as public opinion was strongly in favour of this measure it
was the duty of the Legislature to adopt it.
Mr. PULLER said the law of England professed to bs
based on the Divine law, and as this measure was opposed
to the Divine law he could not support it. This house
was not the proper place to discuss the question, nor did
he feel competent to argue it; but he did hold very
strongly the opinion that the passage in Leviticus did for-
bid such marriages, and nothing he had heard to-night
had tended to alter his opinion.
The house then divided, when the numbers were :
For the introduction of the bill lO5
Against... 62
Majority --43
The result was received with loud cheers by the
majority.
Leave was then given to Lord Bury, Mr. Schneider, and
Mr. Monckton Milnes to bring in the bill.
EQUALISATION OF POOR RATES.
Mr. AYRTON moved for leave to introduce a bill to
provide a remedy for the inequality in the rates for the
relief of the poor in the metropolis. Those poor were not,
as in the country districts, descended from ancestors who
had long lived in the locality ; they were importations
accidentally placed in a particular parish, which ought not
to be called upon to bear separately a charge which be-
longed to the whole metropolis. A metropolitan parish
was not, as in the country, divided .amongst the
rich and the poor ; but one parish was the abode of wealth,
while another was'the abode of poverty. He entered at
some length into the details of the bill, which proposed to
establish a board of guardians for the whole metropolis, to
be chosen from the Justices, and who should levy a uni-
form rate for the relief of the poor.
Mr. WILLIAMS seconded the motion.
Mr S. ESTCOURT said that it was due to the temper
in which the bill was introduced, and the grievance alleged,
to permit the bill to be introduced. But he reserved his
opinion as to the merits of the bill, of which be doubted
both the expediency and the practicability. If the bill
was good for the metropolis, it would be equally good for
the country parishes. The difference between the two
cases was very slight.
_ _ _

Country Markets.

LIVERPOOL, MARCH 23.

Mr. J. LOCKS asserted that there was no similarity be-
tween parishes in the country and those in the metropolis.
The present system caused the overcrowded state of poor
dwellings, and many evils which would be removed by
equalising the rates.
Mr. ROEBUCK opposed the bill. It was unjust that
different properties which had been bought subject to
different rates, should be now rated equally. He regretted
that the Government had not met the introduction of the
bill by a direct negative.
Mr. COX objected to the principle of the bill, though he
would not oppose its introduction.
Mr. BOUVERIE strongly objected to this mischievous
bill, which would offer a temptation to extravagant expen-
diture, 'and destroy all motive to economy. lie wished
that the Government had shown more courage and refused
its assent to the introduction of the bill.
Mr. COBB ETT was glad that the bill was introduced.
He thought that rates in aid ought to be made in times of
distress, though he woul,t not go to the length of a com-
plete equalisation of poor rates.
Mr. TO WNSE SD supported the bill.
Mr. AYRTON replied, and leave was given to bring in
the bill.

Our market this morning was well attended. Wheat
met a slow sale, at a decline of id per 701bs on the prices
of last market day. The lower grades of American- flour
inquired for at a reduction of 6d per barrel; whilst better
kinds were neglected. Oats and oatmeal quiet, and a shade
lower. Barley, beans and peas firm. Indian corn was in
limited request, at a decline of 6d per qr on mixed and
yellow, and is on white. We quote American new yellow
31s, old mixed 34s Gd, Black Sea 31s 9d, and white Amer',
can 33s 9d to 34.