The Sun.
London, England, 1835-06-15 00:00:00

CORPORATIONS.

Sir F. GOODRICKE presented a petition from the Al
dermen of Stafford, against the Corporation Bill.

DUTY ON NEWSPAPERS.

Mr. LOWTHER presented a petition from the printers of
York, against the repeal of the duty on newspapers.
Mr. ROEBUCK said the petitions were extremely incon-
sistent. They talked of the high standing of the public
press ; now, the writers of the newspaper press were hired
assassins, who stabbed at reputation in the dark, and dared not
to put their names to their productions. The removal of the
Stamp Duties would have the effect of destroying the pre-
sent monopoly of the press.—( Hear.)
Mr. LOWTHER said, that although in regard to the press
in general he had suffered like many other individuals in
some respects, he should be sorry to express himself in the
manner that the Honourable Member had done.—(Hear. )
Mr. HUME said that though the Hon. Member had so
characterized some portion of the press—( Cries of " All, all,")
.—he was not disposed to join with him in those remarks as
applicable to the whole, because some portion of it was con-
ducted with as much honour as other portions of it were with
disgrace.—( Hear.) He was not, therefore, disposed to join
in such a sweeping censure, though the condemnation might
well apply to some of the conductors of the newspaper
press. He hailed many of them as the benefactors of
the human race, and the protectors of liberty and freedom, but
the majority of them had come forward to defend the people's
rights, and to oppose corruption, But he wished this House
to observe, that this was a petition for the benefit of the
few, because they were engaged in a monopoly which the
repeal of the stamp duties would destroy. The petitioners
objected to competition, which they alleged to be ruinous, but
which had always been beneficial to the public—nor
did he conceive it likely to be productive of injury in the
present case.—( Hear, hear, hear.) He held that if the
press was once opened and freed from the_present tax, there would
bean opportunity of meeting slanderous accusations, which could
not now be done. He therefore thought that the prayer of
this petition was not deserving of the attention of the House.
Capt. PE C HELL wished to correct a misrepresentation
that had appeared in the public prints respecting himself,
namely, that he had expressed himself opposed to the
motion of the Honourable Member for Marylebone. Now
he, for one, did not consider that the division on that
motion expressed the sense of the House any more than
the opinions of the Hon. Member for Marylebone were
those of the majority of the electors of the United Kingdom.
The SPEAKER said that the Hon. Member could not be
permitted to proceed in making a personal accusation.
The Hon. Member sat down.
Mr. J. MA XWE LL presented a number of petitions from
parishes in Lanarkshire, praying for a further endowment of
Churches in Scotland.
Mr. DOBBIN moved for papers connected with some pro-
ceedings before the Magistrates of Armagh. He said he had
communicated with the Government, and they had no opposi-

tion to offer to the motion.—Ordered.
The Hos. GENTLEMAN then presented a petition from Ar-
magh, p.aying the House to take some measures in order to
stop the Orange processions on the 12th of July, or there
would be much bloodshed.
The petition was read at length by the clerk, during
which Mr. ROBINSON rose, and asked whether the
petition was read by order of the House. If there was
any thing peculiar in the petition to give it such importance,
let it be understood, and attention paid to it. The were only
wasting the time of the House, for not six members could
hear it.
Mr. FINN said he did not wish to raise a long
discussion on the present occasion, but he could not let
the opportunity pass, without expressing the alarm
he felt at the statement put forth. They were told there were
250,000 armed men belonging to these societies, over which
the Government had no control. If that was true, he must
call upon the Ministry to do all in their power to protect the
persons and property of the inhabitants of Ireland ; for if these
proeesssions were allowed in the present excited state of
feeling_.._
Mr. HUME rose to order. There was not a Minister
present—therefore the Hon. Member was only wasting time—
he had better give a notice upon the subject for to-morrow.
Mr. FINN would adopt the course pointed out by the Hon.
Member, and he would to-morrow put a question to the Go-
vernment upon the subject. He would move the adjournment
of the debate till to-morrow —( Cries of " No, no.")
After a few words from Mr. R UTH YEN, the petition was
laid on the table.
IMPRESSMENT OF SEAMEN.
Mr. WALLACE presented a petition from Greenock,
signed by the five magistrates arid all the council, and very
numerously by the bankers, merchants, and others of the
town, against the Bill introduced by the Right Hon.
Bart. the Member for Cumberland legalizing the impressment
of seamen. Also one from the Chamber of Commerce to the
like e'ect.