The Sun.
London, England, 1850-06-10 00:00:00

THE SUN,

continue the Act without alteration, would
preserve their consistency by extending its
provisions to England. It RISg indeed a monstrous
injustice that a man who was indebted considerably be-
low his rental should be forced to sell his estate to pro-
vide for the debt, at an immense sacrifice. Why should
Irishmen be singled out for such oppression? They were
not the only men who had been so unfortunate
as to fall into debt. There were hundreds of land
holders in this country who were far deeper in debt than
his unfortunate countrymen, and if Government and the
House wished to make an intolerable law bearable,
they would readily consent to amend the evils he
complained of.—(Hear, hear.) The operation of
the Act was bad enough; but the evils which
resulted from that were aggravated by the indiscretion
of the Commissioners who were charged with the task
of seeing the Act carried into effect; a parcel of monkies,
in fact, could have presided over its operation with as
much judgment and discretion, and he there-
fore hoped the House would at once adopt his
amendment.—(Hear, hear.)
The Earl of CARLISLE declined entering into a
discussion of the operation of the Encumbered Estates
Act, but this he could state, that while some estates had
been sold at a sacrifice, others had been sold at an im-
mense advantage to the proprietors. That evils had re-
sulted from the operation was naturally to be expected, but
they certainly were not of that magnitude which the Noble
Marquis would have their Lordships believe. There
was, however, no necessity for making any alterations
in its provisions, which had not already been provided
for by Government, and he must, therefore, call upon
their Lordships to stop the further progress of this Bill.
The Duke of RICHMOND would be no party to the
forcible sale of an estate at seven and a half-year'; pur-
chase, and he should support the Bill.
The Earl of GLENGALL denounced the Encum-
bered Estates Act as a downright robbery. It was a
scandal to the Legislature, and no matter whether Go-
vernment intended to amend its provisions or not,
he would never cease to protest against it till the Act
had been blotted out of the statute-book. The Noble
Marquis had told their Lordships of estates having been
sold at figures averaging not more then 7i years' purchase,
but he knew of instances where the price had not been
equal to two years' purchase. He admitted with the
Noble Lord opposite that some properties had
fetched excellent prices, but in those instances
there were substantial residences attached to
the estates.—(Hear, hear.) Great injustice was done
to the Irish landowners in Lord Strafford's times, but
the acts committed then were trifles compared with
the villanies perpetrated under the existing law.

LONDON;

The lobbies too were lamentably deficient; the other
day, when they divided in the New House, he was told
that although only 287 Members divided, the crowd was
inconvenient in the extreme. Also, the accommodation
for strangers, and the Committee-rooms, were far under
the standard laid down in the resolution which had been
come to by the House. 99 tenders were originally sent
in for the building of the House, out of which No. 64 in
the list, which was Mr. Barry's plan, was chosen by a joint
Committee of both Houses. He (Mr. Hume) had at
that time doubted Mr. Barry's estimate both of his
original and his improved plan, because he had rcceiyed
very different estimates from valuators of very high
standing, and when Mr. Barry was examined before the
Committee he had submitted him to a strict question-
ing, and had succeeded in showing the Committee that
there was very little reliance to be placed in those esti-
mates, although they had before that authorised him to
proceed immediately with his plans. Then there was a
report of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests in
1837, in which it was stated that the erection of the
New Houses could not be executed according to the
drawings of Mr. Barry for the sum of 707,1041., the es-
timated cost. The House then determined deliberately
not to proceed until the estimates could be ascertained,
and on no accouat to exceed that which was stated.
Whatever might have been the reasons why that calcula-
tion turned out so defective was to him (Mr. Hume) un-
known. Whether they were occasioned by the additional
works of Mr. Barry himself, or by any other person,
whether by the Committee of that House or by the Com-
missioners of Woods and Forests, he (Mr. Hume) did
not know; but seeing the state to whi h they had ar-
rived, with the large sum already expended, and seeing
the uncertainty of even knowing what the limits of their
expenditure might be, he thought the time had arrived
for putting a stop to the procesdiegs of the Committee
of Taste. He had heard this very day that it was in
contemplation to pull down the whole of the houses ad-
jacent to the new Houses of Parliament on the west side
of Bridge-street. including the law courts. He sub-
mitted that the deviations from the original plans were
of a nature that ought really never to have been made.
It was originally intended that her Majesty was to enter
in her carriage at the side of the grand tower leading to the
House of Lords. But when the pillars of that entrance
were proceeded with to some extent, it was found that
there was not sufficient width to admit the carriage pass•
ing without taking out the horses, and the pillars required
to be pulled down, in order that the detect might be reme-
died. Taking then the whole subject into consideration,
and without wearying the House with further details, he
would simply say that if they permitted suc grievances
to continue, they would not deserve the confidence re-
posed in them by their constituents, or be entitled to the
character of independent men. It might be in the re-
collection of Hon. Members, that on a late occasion a
Peer, who was a member of the committee of
fine taste, presented Mr. Barry with a me-
dal, at a met ting of the Institute of Archi-
tects ; and if the House had ever been libelled
by any one it was by that Noble Lord. He was not to
be understood in the least as doubting Mr. Barry's taste,
or his genius, -or his imagination as an architect, because
he was only now dealing with him in his connection
with the building of the New Houses of Parliament.—
(Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord to whom he alluded,
Earl De Grey, was reputed to have said "I have
read that your predecessor, Sir Christopher Wren, lived
to see the completion of one of the greatest monu-
ments of his genius, St. Paul's, and I trust the same
good fortune may await you, and that you will see the
completion of the magnificent building on which
you are engaged. Sir Christopher Wren was en-
gaged thirty-f Air years in the erection of St. Paul's, and
you have not yet occupied half that time."—(A laugh.)
Now, would the House repose confidence in a
Commissoner who did not look forward to the
completion of the new edifice before tho lapse
of fourteen years.—(Cries of "Hear, hear.") The
Noble Lord, atter alluding to many purposes to
which the building was to be devoted, went on to
say--" Sir Christopher Wren had to deal with men who
knew what they wanted, hut that has not been the case
with you.--(Laughter.) Sir Christopher Wren's masters
were few, yours are legion. I am sorry to say
that the august assembly which has must to do with
the erection of this magnificent structure has a vast
number of questions to ask, makes suggestions, and offers
criticisms on a subject with which it is not acquainted.
The Hon. Member concluded by asking the House to
disallow the vote which had been proposed.
Mr. B. OSBORNE seconded the motion.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was
not sorry that the present motion had been made,
but he was sorry that the Honourable Mover had
mixed up two separate and distinct subjects
together in his speech. He must say that he hoped
the House would not accede to the motion of
the Honourable Gentleman. With regard to the
Fine Arts Commission, the Government had last year
proposed an alteration in the mode of disposing of
the grant to that Commission, and now, instead of
every year a statement being made of the objects to
which the grant was to be applied, a certain sum was
annually put at the disposal of the Commissioners of
Fine Arts. He was certainly surprised that with
regard to the latter part of his speech he waited
until he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) had
laid on the table a return of all the sums expended on
the Houses, an imperfect copy of which he held in his
hand. The excess over the original plats did not
amount to above 20,0001. In 1836 the original estimate
was delivered, amounting to 707,0001., including the
architects' expenses and expenses for the building. But
the Honourable Member had estimated that sum as if it
included every expense, such as purchasing the site, ern-
baekment of the river, surveys, and other additional
items to the original estimate,
(LEFT SPEAKING.)

-- -
THE GRINNELL,' FRANKLIN EX-
PLORING TION.
(From the
yesterday New York t
that the We announced
out by Mr. Henry Grinnell, under the sanction of
tale' expeditionAiaY22.) fitted
Government, would sail to-day in search of the long-
missing Sir John Franklin. Owing to various una-
voidable circumstances, we understand its departure
is likely to be delayed a few days. It will probably
sail, however, Ly the end of the week, as
.strenuous
exertions are being made to complete every necessary
arrangement at the earliest possible period.
The enterprise, as our readers are probably aware,
has been planned and undertaken on the sole re-
sponsibility of Mr. Grinnell; the only assistance
rendered by Congress being summed up in a resolu-
tion which recently passed both Houses at Washing--
ton. This resolution, in effect, authorised the Presi-
dent to receive the vessel 3, and detail from the may
such commission and warrant officers and seamen as
may be necessary and willing to engage therein,
supply them with suitable rations for not exceeding
three years, and give the use of all necessary instru-
ments as can be spared from the navy—the officers
and men, in all respects, to be under the laws of the
navy until their return, when the vessels shall be de-
livered back to Mr. Grinnell.
The vessels fitted for the expedition are named the
Advance and Rescue, being hermaphrodite brigs, of
a tonnage of 144 and 91 tons respectively. In
their build, fittings, and capabilities, they seem in
every way suited for the dangerous service in
which they will engage. Each vessel is strengthened
inside with a complete set of hanging knees under
every beam. They are built with an extra set of
strong beams running athwart the whole length of
each vessel, firmly fastened with heavy clamps. The
object of this is to enable them better to resist the
lateral pressure to which they will probably be ex-
posed by the ice, and obviate the danger of the sides
being forced in. Forward, the ships are • solid
from kelson to deck ; and there are strong
shOres diverging in every dieectioit from the Samson
posts against the sides of the vessels. This proeiion
will be an additional source of strength, should the
hulls of the ships get entangled in masses of floating
ice. Each ship is double decked, felt being firmly
packed between each, the whole of the under deck
being lined air-tight with cork. The felt pack-
ing is an important provision to prevent the
intense cold penetrating between decks, and
the cork lining is intended to prevent the
moisture from condensing. The hull of each
vessel is double ; the outside sheathing consisting
of two-and-a-half inch oak plank; the second sheath-
ing, from her bows, fore and aft, abaft the main
rigging, being of oak also. Forward, the bows are
protected with numerous strips of thick sheet iron, to
prevent the ice cutting into the hull. The rudders
also are constructed that they Can be shipped or un-
shipped in the course of three minutes.
In the construction of these vessels nothing seems
forgotten that would tend to insure greater strength,
or conduce to the comfort and safety of the heroic
men who have volunteered their services for this
praiseworthy yet perilous undertaking. Each ship is
provided with several stoves, a large one being placed
in each hold. A machine for melting snow, a black-
smith's forge, ice saws, ice anchors, and every other
necessary implement for an Arctic voyage are
eluded in the fittings. The brigantines are furnished
with two complete sets of sails, cordage, &c., and are
provistone • d for three years. Weapons of " offence
and defence" have, of course, not been omitted, there
being an ample supply of swivels, guns, sabres, re-
volvers, &c. We must add that each ship is supplied
with an ordinary compass and a patent double-needle I
compass, the latter being raid to be freer from vacil-
lation than the ordinary instrument. Each vessel is
also furnished with two strong boats.
riTo the officers and men who have nobly volun-
teered in this service, perhaps at great peril of their
lives, with a certainty of having to endure many
hardships and privations, it is impossible that too
much praise can be due. Aware that anything we
can say would only evince our inability to express
the degree of our admiration, we forbear, feeling
assured that the consciousness of the honourable
motives that have actuated them to make the sacrifice
will he their best reward. They will go, accompanied
by the esteem and good wishes of the whole body of
their fellow-countrymen. The capabilities and ex-
perience of the officers in command of the expedi-
tion, assisted by able and energetic crews, are the
best earnest of probable success. Lieutenant- Com-
mander E. J. De Haven, some of our readers may
possibly be aware, was engaged in Wilkes' expedition
in 1843 ; and both by his talents and experience, is
eminently fitted for the command he holds.
The following is a complete list of the officers of
the expedition :—.