The Sun.
London, England, 1832-02-16 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS, FritnuArtr 15.

Mr. STRUTT presented a petition from Derby against
the G...oeral Registration Bill : also two petitions from
owners Of mills worked by water, and lace-manufacturers,
against certain parts of the Bill for regulating the work-
ing hours of children.

Mr. O'CONNELL brought in a Bill for regulating the
srvice.of Writs issuing rorri the superior Courts in Ire-
land.—Read a first time, and ordered to b.: real a second
time this dayse'onight.

Mr. H. GRATTAN presented a petition from the guild
of weavers in Galway, complaining of being excluded from
tit it freedom by the bye-laws of the Corporation.

ANATOMY BILL.

Mr. HUNT presented a petition from Blackburn against
the Dead Kaly Bill, as the petitioners railed it.
Mr. O'CONNELL had heen asked to support the prayer
o this petition, but found that the petitioners were nitrio
a great mistake us to the clauses of the Bill, there being
none to authorize the governors or keepers of workhouse-,
in,spitals, or infirmaries to dispose of unclaimed bodies.
Mr. FIUME had also been asked to support this petition,
and had written to the petitioners to disabuse them of t,
delusion under which they !aboured with regard to the Bi!1
Alter a few words front Mr. O'CONNELL and Mr. Hum-,
the petition was ordered to lie.on the table and be printed..

Mr. HUNT also presented a petition from the Nation.
Union of Winchester against taxes on newspapers.

MILITIA.

Mr. HUNT presented another petition from a cabinet-
maker named Lovat. He hid been drawn for the Middles. x
Militia, and not having any share in the making of t'ie
laws, be refused to serve. Upon this his goods, to the value
of 401., were seized and sold to defray a fine of 151.
Mr. HUME strongly protested against the injustice of
the militis laws, and trusted that some alteration would
speedily be introduced.

The petition was then ordered to be printed.
Captain YORKE presented a petition from the county
of Westmoreland against the Registration Bill.

REFORM BILL.

Captain YORKE rose to present a petition of high im-
portance from the county of Cambridge, against the Reform
Bill. It hid the signatures of 1;400 landowners and
occupiers of the highest respectability. The petitioner,
particularly objected .to the 101. franchise, and to time
metropolitan district representatives. He could say that
great numbers of reforming landlords were opposed to these
parts of the Bill, as tending to render Members of Pat lia-
tnent mere delegates.
Mr. ADEANE said, his Hon. and Gallant Friend bad
not represented this as a petition cooling from the county
of Cambridge, but tnerely as the petition of individuals
The Hon. anti Galant Officer seemed to say, that many
freeholders refused to sign a petition to this House, looking
upon it at present as an assembly of pledged delegates.
That, however, would have no reference to him (Mr.
Adeane), for if he were offired a seat as a delegate, he
would spurn it with scorn. He would, however, always
act according to the principles which had hitherto guided
his public conduct. He was not aware of any clomp
whatever in the opinions of the county of Cambridge Oh
the subject of Reform. They were as anxious as ever to
see nomination extinguished,—to see the franchise fahly
distributed, and to see a large addition made to the con-
stituency of the country. These were the opinions of the
county, and he would refer to the Hon. and Gallant
Officer's own electi,n as a proof of this fact, and of the
general sentiments of the county upon Parliamentary Re-
f,rm.—(Hear, hear.)

Captain YORKE, on moving that the petiton b.
printed, said that the Hon. Member's independence of latt
was pleasing to him : but before the election he had read
the Reform Bill, and expressed himself against it. The
Hon. Member had then been summoned down to answer
~for himself, and wiis desired by the people of Cambridge ti
read the Bill. He had done so, and said that he liked
somewhat better. He was then-desired to read it a seconi
time, when he liked it still more than at first. A third
time he was ordered to read it, and then he declared him-
self for the Bill and the whole Bill. As to himself, tht.
stand he made, having gone down only ten days before
the election, with a previous canvass of three months
against him, in favour of a gentleman of known liberal
principles, showed that if he had had more time he weuld
have had a good chance of success.

Mr. ADEANE having been thus personally alluded to
claimed to say one word. In the first place, he must say
that the Hon. and Gallant Officer had made a statement
respecting him which was altogether incorrect; but as the
Hon. and Gallant Officer wits abroad at the period al-
luded to, upon those who had misrepresented the facts
must the blame of this incorrectness rest. With respect to
his (Mr. Adeane's) having been summoned down to Cam-
bridge, the fact was, that a county meeting was to be
held, and he did what lie should ever do so long as be was
the county representative,—he gave his attendance there.
There were many opinions as to his conduct in Parlia-
ment on account of something he had said upon a pe.
tition. He went to the meeting and asked what charge
there was against him, and he then told the assembled
county that he was not to be dictated to,—that he should
ever act consistently with his public principles ; but that
if they wished to subject him to dictation, they must find
some ether representative.—(Hear, hear.) It was then
proposed that he (Mr. Adeane) should not be joined with
his Noble Colleague (Lord F. Osborne) in presenting the
petition, and that prop,,sition was rejected. When that
point was settled, he then came forward, and did ray that
the more he looked at the Reform Biil the better pleased
he was with it. He was sorry to be obliged to intrude
personal matter upon the time of the House, but having
been forced into the subject he could not avoid it.
The petition was then ordered to be printed.
A conversation took place between the SPEAKER, Lord
KLTHORP, Alderman THOMPSON, and several other Mem-
bers, as to the expediency of taking petitions after half-past
five o'clock—the period fixed for commencing the public
business. Several of the Members complained, that trough
their names had been down on the list for some days, they
had yet had no opportunity of presenting the petitions in-
trusted to them, and should nut, unless more time were
afforded for the purpose of petitions, or a particular day in
the week devoted to that purpose.
Lord ALTHORP admitted the hardship of the griev-
ance complained of, but under the present state of the public
business saw not well how it couid he remedied. It could
not be expected that a measure of such paramount and
national importance as the Reform Bill could be delayed,
so as to afford Hon. Members an opportunity of making
long speeches—a thing of very modern growth—on the
presentation of petitions. If the object were merely to
present the petition, Hon. Members had an opportunity
every night of doing so after the public business was dis-
posed of, and the orders of the day would testify their fide-
lity to their constituents. No practical good whatever,
so far as the discussion on petitions was concerned, was
effected by appropriating Saturday to their presentation.
Alderman THOMPSON had had a petition of great im-
portance to the soap trade in his hands for the last three
weeks, but could not succeed in presenting it, so as to oc-
casion a discussion on its merits. He therefore felt himself
compelled to make the presentation the subject of a parti
cular notice of motion, and accordingly gave notice, that
on Tuesday, the 28th of February, he should present the
paition.