The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-03 00:00:00

RESTRICTIONS. ON TRADE.

Lord MONTEAGLE brought in a Bill to repeal cer-
tain laws which restricted the purchase and sale of goods.
In Ireland none of. these Acts had been repealed, and
his object, was to make the law similar to that iu Eng-
land, and also to improve the latter. This was only
pursuing the same course which had been long since re-
commended in the House of Commons. He wished that
the Bill should be immediately printed, and that it
should. be read a second time as early after Easter as
possible. The Noble Lord concluded by moving that it
be now read a first time.
The. Bill was then read a first time.
The Marquis of BUTE presented petitions from Ayr,
Perth, and several other places in Scotland, praying for
the abolition of the tests which were required to be taken
.by Dissenters on entering the several Scotch Universities.
APPEALS AND WRITS OF ERROR.
Lord CAMPBELL rose to lay on the table of the
House a Bill for removing objections which could now be
taken to the administration of justice in this country
with respect to appeals and writs of error. The Bill
provided that upon 64 defendant giving security, in
such sum as the court might direct that any fine that
might be imposed should be paid, and thatthe defendant
should be forthcoming to undergo any sentence which
might be pronounced upon him, that sentence should be
suspended anti' the court of appeal had decided upon the
merits of the case. The Bill would not come into opera-
tion.until the 9th of August.
FEES TO JUSTICES' CLERKS.
The Marquis of L ANSDOWNE rose to move for a
return from each of the clerks of the peace at the several
sessions in England and Wales, of the amount of the
fees received by him during each of the last three
years ending the 31st of December, 1842. This was
a matter which pressed most heavily upon the poorer
classes of persons, because in the greater number of in-
stances, the fines did not amount to one quarter of
the amount of the costs, and in many other
cases the costs were thirty or even forty times the
amount of the fine. Thus there coulkbe no proportion
between the crime and the expense to which the
unfortunate culprit was subjected. He felt sure this
was a subject in which all their Lordships
must feel a deep interest. It had been mooted in this
House some time ago, and he trusted that the Right
Hon. Baronet the Secretary of State for the Home De-
partment would take this matter into his serious con-
sideration.
The Duke of WELLINGTON said he had made in-
quiry into this subject, and he found that those fees did
always go to the magistrate's clerk. It was a matter of
great importance, and one to which her Majesty's Go-
vernment would give every consideration.
Lord WHARNCLIFFE was informed upon good
authority that those fees did not go to the magistrates'
clerks, but were generally appropriated to defraying
the incidental expensPs of the trial, such as paying
witnesses and constables, so that very often only a very
small amount of the fees reached the clerk of the peace.
Lord BEAUMONT said the principal part'nt the fees
went in payment to the constables, whose expenses were
regulated according to the distance they had to travel.
Lord CAMPBELL said that as the Government in-
tended to take up this subject, he would suggest to them
the propriety of regulating the fees to clerks of the
peace, so that they should not depend upon the length
of the proceedings. •He knew that great extortion had
been practised in consequence of the fees being regulated
according to the length of the proceedings to which they
related.
After a few words from Lord REDESDALE and the
Earl of CuLVUESTER, the Returns were ordered.
MESSAGE FROM THE COMMONS.

Messengers from the Commons brought up a Copy of
the First Report of the Select Committee of the House
of Commons, appointed to consider the law affecting
Joint-stock Companies, which, on the motion of
Lord MONTE AGLE, was ordered to be printed.
Oa the motion of the Duke of WELLINGTON,
Their Lordships then adjourned till Tuesday, the 16th
instant.

HOUSE OF COMMONS, April 2.
The SPEAKER took the Chair at a Quarter before

Four o'clock.
ROYAL COMMISSION.
The Deputy-Usher of the Black Rod shortly after.
wards entered the House, and summoned the Members
to appear at the bar of the House of Peers, to hear the
Royal Assent given by Commission to several Bills.
The SPEAKER then left the House, accompanied by
the greater part of the Members present. On his return,
The SPEARSR annotmced that he had been to the
Bar of the House of Lords, where he had heard the
Royal Assent given by Commission to certain Bills
(for which see Lords' Report).
RETURNS.
Certain returns were presented at the bar of the
House, and ordered to be laid on the table.
PULTENEY TOWN HARBOUR BILL.
The Pulteney Town Harbour Improvement Bill was
read a second time, and ordered to be committed.
'DURHAM AND COUNTY COAL COMPANY

BILL.
Mr:- REDHEAD YORKE moved the further con,
sideration of the Report on the Durham and County
Coal Company to.
Mr. P. HOWARD presented a petition from the
cotton-spinners of Carlisle and its neighbourhood, de-
precating any attempt on the part of the Legislature to
limit the hours of labour in factories.
Mr. TAT roN EGERTON presented a petition from
a place in Lancashire, praying for the abolition of the
duty upon raw cotton.
Lord ELIOT presented a petition from Cornwall
praying that the owners and not the occupiers of small
farms might be taxed for the poor rates.
Mr. M. GIBSON moved that the petition which he
had presented yesterday from Manchester, relative to
the Post-office, be printed with the Votes.—Agreed to.
On the motion of Mr. HUME, returns were granted
of sundry payments in the Excise department.
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.—THE ADJOURN-
MENT.
After a pause of considerable duration in the busDun-
iness
of the House, during which Mr. Hume, Mr. T.
coinbe, Lord John Russell, and Mr. Manners Sutton,
were severally in close conference with Sir Robert Peel,
Mr. GLADSTONE brought up, and laid on the table,
certain returns relating to the state of agriculture in
Leicestershire.
Sir ROBERT PEEL moved that the House, at its
rising, should adjourn till Monday, the 15th instant. He
wished, at the same time, to state that he had promised
the Noble Lord opposite (Lord J. Russiell) that he
should, on moving the adjournment, explain the order
in which the Bills brought in by the Government, or
intended to be brought in, should be proceeded with
after Easter. In consequence of the absence of his Right
Hon. Friend, the Secretary for the Home Department,
he was unable at that moment to give the explanation.
He would take care, however, that the order of pro-
ceeding should be set forth in the papers of the house
to-morrow. He hoped that in the course of the
evening he would have an opportunity of commtini-
eating with his Right Hon. Friend (Sir J. Graham), and
if so, he would state, before the House rose, what the
course of business would be. In the meantime he should
say that it would be a great public inc. mvenience if the
Irish Franchise Bill should not pass before June, and it
was therefore his intention that the Bill should be read
a second time on Monday, the 15th, if the House would
allow it, and that the discussion be taken in Committee
An Hon. Member opposite (Mr. Ewart) was, he be—
lieved, anxious to know if the Government proposed to
do anything respecting charitable trusts, and he (Sir
Robert Peel) had to state that he believed his Noble
Friend the Lord Chancellor would, that evening, in
another place, give notice of a Bill upon the subject.
Another Hon. Member (Mr. Hume) was anxious to
know what progress.had been made in opening commu-
nications with Paraguay. A Commissioner had been
sent out there by the Government, but, unfortunately,
from his over-desire to make himself useful, he caused
great prejudice to be created, and he had been obliged
to leave the country.—(Loud laughter.) Since then,
however, news of a more satisfactory character had been
received, and he indulged the hope that England, in com-
mon with France and Brazils, would be able to make sonic
progress in opening friendly and commercial communi-
cations with that part of the world.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. HUME trusted the Government would avail itself
of every opportunity of extending communications with
that portion of the world, as he believed it would be
very beneficial in effecting a considerable extension of
commerce.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said he was satisfied with
the statement of the Right Hon. Baronet, that at a
later part of the evening, or in the orders of the day,
they should be made acquainted with the routine which
Government would follow in regard to their measures
after Easter. With regard to the proposal as to the
Irish Franchise Bill, personally he had no objection to
it, but the Right Hon. Baronet must not be
surprised if any of the Irish Members who were not pre-
sent that evening should, on the proposal to go into a
Committee of Supply, on the first day after the holidays,
think it proper to oppose that motion. There had
been a very thin attendance of Irish Members
for some days, and the great majority of them
were doubtless wholly unacquainted at the pre-
sent moment with the main provisions or that
Bill. There was another subject on which he would
take that opportunity of saying a few words to the
Heusi. They had not unhappily made great progress
in legislation before the Easter recess; but they had per?
mainly shown their loyalty to the Crown in a very plain
manner, for they had voted most willingly and
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