The Sun.
London, England, 1858-06-30 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS-YESTERDAY.

The SPEAKER took the chair at 12 o'clock.
The Loriis' amendment to the following bills were
considered and agreed to :--Andover Canal Railway,
Dean Fore3t Turnpike Trust, Oude Railway.
The following bills were considered and ordered for
third reading :—Great Southern of India Railway COM-
Pa9Y, Tetla Conservancy, Warrington and Stockport
Radway (Capital).

PETITIONS.
BIG presented petitions from Leicestershire
in favour et the legalisation of marriages with a
deceased wife's sister. Many other petitions to the
same
esented . effect from other
parts of the country were
pr
Alderman COPELAND presented petitions from
Staffordshire against certain clauses in the Local Go-
vernment Act ppiposed by Mr. NUMahon.
GALWAY FREEMEN DItiFRANCIIISEMENT
BILL.

The house went into committee on this bill.
On clause 1,
Mr. BUTT moved that the chairman do leave the
chair, believing that if they proceeded any further
with the bill they would be committing a manifest in-
justice and plunge themselves in hopeless eonfneion.
The system of the franchise of fretscuP as it existed in
Galway was more popular than that which prevailed in
any part of the country, for all artizana, artificers, and
ISAMU residing there were adwittecl freemen, ivith-

.

out any exclusion on the score of religion, of in any
other way. The bill proposed to disfrauchi se .the poor
freemen, while they . eft the noble lord. se 'ho ob-
tained his seat in that house by their- votes in
quiet possession of it. Another member of that house
had openly declared that be had taken prirt in those
acts of bribery, and yet no notice of that deeraraticia
was taken, while the whole weight of Parl lament
was brought down upon those poor freement who
probably in consequence of want had been bola cod to
accept a bribe. (Hear, hear.) He considered, that no
amendments that could be introduced into the bill wc,uld
make its provisions consonant with justice.
Mr. CLIVE, who has charge of the bill, real the he n
and learned gentleman (Mr. Butt) bad stated that .if
they proceeded with the bill they would be i nvolved in
manifest injustice and hopeless corruption— He (Mr.
Clive) considered that if they did not proceed
they would encourage manifest bribery and corrup-
tion. With regard to the evidence taken before the
committee in reference to the bribery of these men, he
considered that it was the duty of the house to take
some notice of the report of the committee.
Mr. WALPOLE thought it was unjust to proceed
against some, while others were left untouched. The
Attorney-General for Ireland had given notice of
an anseadment, dealing with the bribers as well as the
bribed. That proposition in itself would lead to very
long and very serious discussion, which he thought
they would not get through to-day. Another discus-
sion must be taken on the third reading, and he doubted
whether they would be able to get the bill in proper
shape into the House of Lords this session.
Mr. J. D. FITZGERALD said that, as systematic
' corruption and bribery on the part of the freemen of
Galway had been proved, the house ought to deal with
the question, notwithstanding the advanced period of
the session. He did not care which course was adopted,
either disfranchising the whole of the freemen, or only
, disfranchising these who had been proved to have
given or received bribes, which was the ammendment
of the Attorney-General for Ireland. Corruption
, reigned in the whole body of freemen, and Parliament
would be trifling with the subject if it shirked the bill
now before the house. If this bill were dropped the
people would come to the conclusion that election com-
mittees wera all humbug. (Hear, bear.)
Mr. BERESFORD HOPE was quite prepared to
admit that freemen in various parts of the country had
been subject to the gentle violence of the purse, but
thought that it was unfair to disfranchise a large body
of men in consequence of the malpractices of a few.
Tar. AYRTON had no hesitation in saying that this
bill proposed the most unhappy plan he, had ever
witnessed for carrying out a measure of justice. He did
not think that, with the prospect of a measure of Parlia-
mentary Reform for next session, they should waste
public time now in a piece of exceptional legislation.
Mr. BENTINCK thought they could not proceed
with the bill without ieflicting a great and glaring in-
justice. The zeal with which the hon. gentleman (Mr.
Clive) pressed on the bill would lead to the supposition
that he and his political friends 'had some ulterior object
beyond the punishment of these poor freemen.
Mr. KER SEYME ft thought that bills founded upon
repute of committees should be taken up by the Govern-
ment, inasmuch as it was almost impossible for a private
member to eaf.ry through such a bill successfully. As
far as he was concerned, he should support the bill in its
integrity.
Mr. CONINGHAII oonsidered that as the freemen
of Galway had •proved theCtelv" so corrupt, they ought
to be diefranchised in a body.
Mr. WHITESIDE thought tle.''t it proceedings were
taken the bribers as well as the
• bribed should be
punished. The bribers corrupted the
virtue of these
poor freemen for their political ends, and we:" a" will-
ing to destroy them. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. COLLINS urged that if the freemen of Gal.75Y
were not to be punished, St. Albans had been improper::
punished.
Mr. WARREN said that certain of the witnesses in
this commission bad come forward and made a clean
breast upon the promise that they should not be
visited with any pains or penalties, arid now it was
proposed to visit them with the very highest Parlia-
mentary penalties.
After some further discussion the committee divided-
-1 For Mr. Butt's motion 9O
Against it lO7
Majority —l7
The motion was consequently lost.
On clause 1 being proceeded with,
Mr. WHITESIDE moved as an amendment to intro
duce the words "the voters who have been proved be
fore the said commissioners to have given or taken
bribes in the last or previous election." The of
of the amendment was to confine the disfranchisement 1
to those who had been proved to have given or taken 1
bribes.

Mr. J. D. FITZGERALD opposed the amendmen`.
The bill did not propose to disfranchise individuals,
but the class among ,vli fin corruption had always pre-
vailed, and who had from time immemorial corrupted
the electors of the borough of Galway. In any measure
of this kind the innocent would of course somotitnes
suffer with the guilty, but that would not be the cacti to
any great extent in this instance, as the respectable
freemen would go upon the Parliamentary roll as house-
holders and leaseholders. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. WALPOLE said that if the committee rejected
the amendment, they would be hitting, riot those who
were corrupting the ethers, but striking at the poor men
who were unable to defend themselves. There were no
grounds in moral?, policy; or legislation to justify such

a course.
Mr. W. WILLIAMS considered it most unjust that
the innocent should sutler. No doubt these freanien
who were innocent were tempted, and having resisted,
they were punished. He could not gam such a prin-
ciple.

Mr. STEUART thought that the bill should not he
viewed as an attack on private rights, but one having
reference to the public good. He, therefore, could not
accede to the proposition which had been made by the
Government.
Mr. MAGUIRE complained that the chief instru-
ments in the corruption and debauchment of the poor
freemen of Galway were left unpunished by this
bill. The corrupt class were not the poor freemen
whom it was now proposed try disfranchise, but
the gently of the town of Galway, many of whom
were miserable place hunters. and servile wretched
partisans. (Elear, hear, and laughter.) If this
bill passed, a large number of men' who had resisted
corruption and remained pure would be punished by
disfranchisement, while the great culprits would go free.
He asked the committee not to do anything that day
which would give Ireland a new grief, or which would
convince them that there was one law for the poor.
Mr. COLLINS recommended that the freemen of
Galway should be disfranchised, and that a resolution
should then be passed, affirming that as the seat held in
the house for that borough was obtained by corrupt
means, it should be declarod vacent.
Mr. WHITESIDE said the very object of the bill was,
tr{tifln to put the two seats for Gal-
way into the bands of the men v.ho had been guilty of
corrupting the electors.
Lord DUNSELLIN defended the blarqui4 of Clan •
ricarde (his father), against certain attacks which had
been made against him, in connection with the late
election, when the noble lord (Duukellin) was returned
for that borough. He denied that the effect of the bill
would be to make Galway a pocket borough.
Mr. MELLOR considered that according to Perlia-
mentary precedent they ought to proceed with this bill,
disfranchising a class that bad been proved essentially
corrupt.
Mr. AYRTON thought the bill in its whole concep-
tion was wrong, and that the penalties ought to be di-
rected against those who had set the corruption in mo-
tion. Ile then entered at some length upon the
course which had been adopted by Lord Clanricarde in
influencing the elections for the borough of Galway,
and contended that Parliament ought not to punish
those who had been corrupted, while those who had
been guilty of the de:neralisatiou, the cause of all the
crime and wrong, were ',wised over without notice. lie
objected to the ineasiir e altogether, aad though he
opposed the bill as a whole, he was, under the circnm-

atantea, contented to accept the small modicum of justice
which the Attorney-General for Ireland proposed.
Mr. IL BERKELEY took a sirr►ilar view of the case
and intimated his intention of supporting the amend-
ment of the Attorney-General for Ireland.
Mr. Burr supported the amendment on the general
principle that the innocent shou!d not be punished for
the guilty.

Air. Sergeant DEASY would not object to the amend-
menv.ef-the .Aiturney-tleneral if ho would allow the
amendment, of which tie had given notice, to be envafted
on it, nainely,-" Provided always that this Act shall
not apply to any freeman who has obtained a certificate
from the Commissioners appointed tinder the said recited
Act of the lt3th year of the reign of her Majesty."
Mr. CLIVE characterised the opposition which had
peen offered to hie bill as a gigantic sham.
Mr. MAGUIRE, on the other baud, charged those
who supported the bill with lending their sanction to a
party scheme. He advised postponement till next
session.

The committee divided, when the numbna were—
For the amendment
Against it
Majority .... ' ..... — —57
The amendment was therefore carried.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL.
Mr. WALPOLE said he could not go oLi with this
bill to-day if it was opposed. _

Mr. T. DUNCOMBE said he should oppose every
line cf it. (Laughter.)
At ten minutes belore 4 o'clock the sitting wa Sus-
pended.
At six o'c'ook the helve resumed.
PUBLIC BUSINESS.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved
"that upon Tuesday next, and upon every succeeding
Tuesday during the present ses!on, Government orders
of the day shall have precedence of notices of motions."
The right hon. gentleman szid he would not have made

this motion unlets he had felt that it was the general
wish cf the house that the busineui should be expedited.
and be hardly knew any means by which the efforts cf
the Government to focilttwe the progress of public busi-
ness could be more effectually aided. Having examined
the notices of motions remaining on the book, it ap-
peared to him that there was no queStion which was
likely to be prejudiced by the adoption of his motion.
Mr. W. PATTEN wished to know whether the right
hon. gentleman proposed to continue the morningaittings?
Mr. Sergeant DEASY would like to hear what mea•
sures the Government intended to proceed with, and
what ine.sureu they intended to abandon.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the
Government certanly meant to have recourse to morn-
....

ing sittings as muchas p9psible. The Transfer of Land
(Ireland) Bill, the India Bill, and the Scotch "Universi-
ties Bill' were measures with which-the Government in-.
, tended to proceed, and he was not aware of any Govern-
ment bill which was to be given up. It must be