The Sun.
London, England, 1844-07-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JULY 16, 1844.

exist to the end of the debate ; but the peculiar positlian
in which he was placed had caused him to do injustice
to his Noble Friend who answered the motion of the
Right Hon. Gentleman. Every argument which had been
brought forward on the present occasion had been over
and over again addressed to the House, and he thought
they were now entitled to expect that something new
would be brought forward. He did not mean to say
that the Right Hon. Gentleman who brought forward
-this motion had intended anything that was mis-
chievous, but certainly the present discussion was calcu-
lated to cast distrust on the administration of justice.—
(Opposition cheers.) Under what circumstances was
the motion made? A most extensive and dangerous
conspiracy existed, fraught with the most serious conse-
quences, threatening the dismemberment of the empire.
That conspiracy was—not by resorting to any extra-
ordinary power not by coming to Parliament
for a Coercion Bill—with no other weapon than
that with which the law had armed the Government
—beaten down to the ground. The law had vindi-
cated her supremacy—the offenders against her were
prostrate at her feet, and under circumstances like these
the Right Hon. Gentleman thought it was the pro-
per time to insinuate suspicions against those proceed-
ings, and to endeavour to lead the public mind to the
conclusion, that in some way or other the parties con-
victed had not been fairly tried. The Right Hon. Gen-
tleman had introduced topics into this debate which were
not properly connected with it. Blame had been cast
upon his Right Hon. and Learned Friend the Attorney-
General for Ireland; but any person who was acquainted
with the facts would be convinced, not only of
the great ability and dexterity with which he
extricated himself from the technical difficulties
with which his cause was surrounded by the ingenious
counsel opposed to him, but by the moderation and firm-
ness of his conduct from beginning to end. That was
an acknowledgment that Was extorted from one of the
most eloquent of his adversaries. It had been said that
a copy of the indictment had been refused to the defen-
dants. Now, the fact was, that eight copies of the in-
dictment had been made out and delivered to the defen-
dants; but it was true that a copy with the names of
the witnesses was refused by his Right Honourable and
Learned Friend (the Attorney-General for Ireland). He
thought that his Right Hon. and Learned Friend was
right and justified in doing so; and that be would be
guilty of a dereliction of his duty, if, under the peculiar
circumstances of the case, he acceded to the application
which was made for it. After the manner in which
Mr. Bond Hughes, upon whose testimony the informa-
tions were granted, was placarded as a high Govern-
ment spy, was it not perfectly evident that there would
be very great danger indeed to permit the wit-
nesses' names to be known? lie would now proceed
to the real, in fact the only, question before the House,
that which regarded the defective list of jurors. When
this question came before the Court, Mr. Justice
Crampton strongly expressed his belief that there was
no fraud, but that there was some inadvertence regarding
the manner in which the jury lists had been made up.
If there were any fraud, there should have been an
application made to the ,Court. Such an application
was made, and it was deliberately decided by the Court
that the defendants had no right whatever, under the
circumstances, to call upon the Court to quash the
verdict. An observation had been made by his Noble
Friend which deserved the serious attention of the House.
There was a mode in which the defendants might have
obviated all theinconvenience which arose from a defective
panel. They might have applied for a trial in the
county of Dublin at large, and the only inference to be
drawn from their not doing so was, that they were not
willing to abandon the possession of a grievance which
might be useful to them at a future time. The trial,
however, approached, and it was then determined that
there should be a new attempt made to impeach the jury
list by what was called a challenge to the array. He
thought a very great mistake had .arisen on the subject
of that challenge, and he felt it his duty to set the
House right on that point. He had lately seen leading
articles, in which it was distinctly stated that the Lord
Chancellor, in the discussion in the House of Lords, had
distinctly admitted that the lists were fraudulent. He
must endeavour to disabuse the public mind of such an
impression. Admitted it undoubtedly was, in a certain
sense, because no person could demur in point of law
without admitting the facts upon which the law arose ;
but admitted to all intents and purposes it was not by
the demurrer.—(Cries of " Hear, bear.") The fact
was admitted merely for the purpose of raising the
question of law.—(Hear, hear.) All that the Lord
Chancellor had said in effect was " You must admit the
existence of a fraudulent list, and argue the point of law
which is raised under these circumstances."—(Hear,
hear.)• Now a majority of the judges bad decided against
the challenge. The Right Hon. Gentleman said " The
verdict pronounced was not satisfactory, in consequence
of the nature of the summing up of the Lord Chief
Justice." He must say he thought this was a very un-
fair and unjust attempt to cast reflections upon the emi-
nent judge who presided at that trial. Considering the
situation in which he was placed, by the opportunity
which there was, if there had been any impropriety in
his mode of charging the jury—considering that he was
not only addressing the jury in the presence of the en-
tire bar, but that, being himself only one of the four
judges present, and that the others were bound to
address the jury if they considered that any of the evi-
dence had been omitted or improperly stated—he must
repeat that he thought this was a most unfair and unjust
attempt.—(Hear, hear.) He had read the summing up
of the Lord Chief Justice more than once, and excepting
one solitary expression, which was hardly worth obser-
vation, he could see nothing objectionable.—(Hear,
hear.) Over and over again the Lord Chief Justice said
that the onus of proving the conspiracy was upon the
Crown, and that was only to he made out by facts, and
undoubted inferences from facts.—(Hear, hear.) He
even asked the counsel for the traversers to interrupt
him, if he omitted or stated wrongly any portion of the
evidence, and the counsel of the traversers availed them-
selves of that privilege.(Hear, hear.) It was most
improper to attribute to the Chief Justice any unfairness
with regard to the mode of summing up the evidence.
It was calculated to make the public believe that this
State trial had not been brought to a satisfactory con-
clusion. The question which the House had to decide was
simply this—were there any circumstances whatever which
could induce them to say that any good could possibly arise
from an inquiry conducted by a Select Committee in
the manner proposed by the Hon. Gentleman?-1-(Hear,
hear.) What benefit was to result from it he was at a
loss to understand. If there had been any fraud with
regard to the missing list, there was a particular course
of legal proceedings by which redress might be obtained.
After investigating all the circumstances of the case, he
felt convinced that no hardship or inconvenience had
arisen to parties from the fact of there having been a
missing list. He felt convinced that the trial had been
fairly conducted, and that the conclusion would be con-
sidered by all well-judging men, and all lovers of their
country as perfectly satisfactory. On the ground that the
granting of the inquiry would be an admission of fraud,
he felt bound to resist the motion before the House.
Mr. V. STUART said one or two observations made
by the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had taken him'
rather by surprise. It was a pity, for the sake of the
Learned Judge to whom he had referred, that the
Honourable and Learned Gentleman was not in the
House when the debate took place in reference to his
charge, in an early period of the session ; for, If he re-
membered rightly, not one of the Right Hon. Gentlemen
opposite defended him on that occasion.—(Hear, hear,
from the Opposition.) It was no light thing to bring
such charges against a judge.—(Hear, hear, from the
Ministerial benches.) The Hon. and Learned Gentle-
man had commenced by saying that a wide-spread con•
spiracy was over the land, and that this was, therefore,
no time for such a motion as that before the House.
Why, was not that begging the very question at issue ?
How did they know of the existence of a conspiracy ex-
cept by the decision of the jury ?—(Hear, hear.) They
had on that occasion been dealing too much with techni-
calities. What they should aim at was to remove the
feeling which existed so generally in Ireland, that,
whether from fraud or not, justice was not duly adminis-
tered.—(Hear, hear.) He contended that that was a
question which the House ought to entertain, and the
lateness of the period was no argument against inquiry.
What had been the evil all along but the want of
confidence in the administration of the law ? (Hear.)
How could they have any confidence in the administra-
tion of justice, when they recollected that the law had
so long been made the instrument of oppression, and that
jurors had been employed to subvert justice, and not to
support it? It was the duty of the Government to restore
that confidence in the law which had been shaken. He
knew that such a change could not be effected suddenly,
but a first step might be taken. Indeed, that first step
had been taken by the Right Hon. Baronet in 1829, by
placing the Roman Catholics on a level with their Pro-
testant fellow-subjects. The Marquis of Wellesley also
had done much to improve the administration of justice,
and to restore the confidence of the people in the inferior
tribunals by substituting petty sessions for the secret
administration of the law by the magistrates which had
before prevailed. Another step towards the restoration of
confidence in the inferior tribunals was the association of
Roman Catholics with Protestants in the magistracy.
That measure had tended greatly to restore the confi-
dence of the people in the law and to lead them to con-
sider that it was better to trust to the law than to
their own attempts at revenge. It was well known that
until lately the higher tribunals had been held in
disrespect. As a proof of this.he would refer to the evi-
dence given in 1825, by one who was now a sufferer from
that system, he meant Mr. O'Connell. (The Hon.
Gentleman here read an extract from the evidence of
Mr. O'Connell before a Committee of the House of
Commons in 1825, in which that Hon. and Learned
Gentleman stated that as none but a high Protestant
party man could be sheriff of Dublin, Roman Catholics
were prevented serving on juries, and that a Roman Ca-
tholic would rather submit to gretit wrongs than risk a
trial in Dublin.) A Bill had been introduced to remedy
that grievance but it had not' passed. At 'length the
Act under which the jury in question bad been struck
was passed. It was supposed that it would "remedy this
state of things. But what had taken place ?
Why, either through fraud or through accident, they
had actually returned to the old state of things, and
every Catholic had been struck off the jury?-(Hear,
hear.) Surely they were not going beyond their duty
in pointing out the ill effects of this system.—(Cheers.)
Another step had been taken by Sir Michael O'Loghlin,
who had ordered that no person should be rejected on
account of his religion. No wiser step could have been
taken to restore the confidence of the people than that,
but surely when they found that those regulations were not
fairly carried out, it was right that they should appeal
to the House on the subject. No one could say but that
the best effects had followed these regulations. In ge-
neral, verdicts had been given fairly under that system,
and it could not be denied but that a better feeling had
been established in Ireland.—(Hear, hear.) The Irish
were fond of justice—(Hear, hear)—and if the law were
properly administered, they would have confidence in it,
and would resort to the law.—(Hear, hear.) He knew
that horrible crimes had been committed, and that the
parties committing them bad not hem brought to justice.

"aPpeared to him that the House could not accede to
the
Proposition made by the Right Hon. Gentleman,
"less it could be clearly shown that there was
fraudulent tampering with the jury list for
Zed Purpose of producing prejudice to the defendants;
supposing even that there was so, the question
then
, was, whether the inquiry now proposed would tend
if,' any useful result. He did not think that the Right
Gentlenian had
northesablished any of the propositions
he had put forward, ad he established the assertion
that lie had made, that Mr. M`Grath was biassed in the
:tirse he had pursued. Mr. M'Grath could have had no
pas whatever against the traversers. He was not a
70testant, because he had declared upon his affidavit
Luat he was a Roman Catholic. That gentle-
Zan had appended his name to • a petition
that House, and he did not think that it
etPuld be said of him that he would state on daypeti-
alf6° true that which he would net state was so upon
t. The question in his opinion was simply this,
;I,ts there anywilful or fraudulent intention on the part
/iesn] individual concerned in the formation of the jury ?
end not find it stated by the attorneys for the tra-
kersers that they suspected any individuals. 'They
erei-
of:a.citesesdt.ated that they believed that some fraud had been
But thatdid not attach to any of the law officers
the tie Crown. It did not attach to Mr. Kemmis, and
Ate clerk of the peace could not be charged with it; and
thessrs- Archer and Dickinson denied that anything of
tiat sort had taken place in their office. The Right
en. Gentleman had made insinuations that appeared
Le
th 'urn totally unfounded. What was the gravamen of
the charge? Why, that no Roman Catholics were on
the jury. The Right Hon. Gentleman had then stated
144 there were some discrepancies between the state-
itents of Mr. M'Grath and Mr. Mahoney. He believed
th would be found that such was not the case, 'when
he matter was properly looked into. Then the
ht Honourable Gentleman had insinuated that
Jac could not see why Messrs. Walker and
parka n bad been employed in the matter.
liltd3s it was not known to him that many gentlemen
uad notices given them, that if their names were
e:Ned they would be objected to. Under such
tie,utastances, he would ask whether it was not natural
their they should employ professional men to see that
the state
names were not improperly struck out? Such was
presided
of things previous to the trial. The Recorder
hitt at the Registration Court, and he directed eel.-
Marks to be made to the names of certain parties
as
,h their rank and so on, and it had been clearly
9)474 that no partiality had been exercised by that
Maul''el. The Right Hon. Gentleman had cast some
theee the Recorder, for not performing, as he said,
pre, iut y that was cast upon him. He was bound to be
hiitent at the adjudication of the claims of individuals,
pared more. He had caused the list to be pre-
ant he was not bound to do more. Now, he
rjln
Put it to any thinking person, whether parties in
i
a list of a great number of names might not
commie
such some error? There could, be no doubt that
is, a circumstance might take place. Such an error
ktiustitlaot be sufficient to vitiate certain proceedings. It
h be shown that there was some wilful tampering
Gi,tntei getting up of the jury. Now the Right Hon.
C e,tnan proposed to bring this matter before a Select
is(l,-411, tttee of the House—a Committee, it must be re-
otieth-"ered, that had not the power of examining upon
spin".as to what had taken place. In his (Lord Eliot's)
fin I°n, the constitutional course would have been the
din
er,4, gof a criminal -information. Now what was the
Alt's `ll' t was pursued by his Right Hon. Friend, the
4
tle,arney- General for Ireland ? The Right Hors. Gen-
an opposite had said that his Right Hon. and
th,4ned Friend had applied for the postponement of
tern trial, in order that the new jury-book might
whe into operation. Now what was the fact?
in Y,t, his Right Honourable Friend, seeing that
satn""e old jury-list out of upwards of three hundred
a„ es there were only twenty-five Catholics, at once
.st•eed
Jars,. to the postponement or the trial till the new
Petthlst shonld come into operation. As to the com-
-4)1'7, of the traversers to have a jury of the county
therAtlwin, such a demand had not been made, and it
lien-ere could not now be complained of. The Right
jor, Gentleman then complained of the partiality of the
4 Why Mr. Fitzgibbon, one of the counsel for the
(Ij,Lejursers, had admitted that there was not a single in-
P4ttial c'n the panel that would not give_ a fair' and im-
verth verdict. He would now consider whether the
doin,,,et of the jury was contrary to the evidence. But:in,
the 31 be would not discuss the, question of the law of
j4dz,-4St.e, but take it from the bench. The learned
hacri-3,'ad laid down what the law was, and the jury
for it from them ; and although it might be well
" dired counsel to endeavour to arraign that law,
seise, not think that arty
iargeei: e of the traversers them-
ietrn uld say that the charges laid in the in-
'b; were. erroneous. Had not, he would ask,
'aserto e.etings been held? Had not paragraphs been
the tr.,; liewspapers in Ireland under the sanction of
the law ersers themselves? Then, if that were so, and
eorket ?f conspiracy, as laid down by the judges was
that wftitne jury had no other course to pursue than
Not heh they had adopted, whatever their professions
there
with Whether Roman Catholics or Protestants.
"ere respect to the challenging of the array, if
'gat Wass any just ground for complaining of the panel,
of a question now for consideration in the House
ti b'ordB9 and it was not, therefore, proper
ta, itte ee°Ping for the House to appoint a Coind-
'ot e ;or considering that question. He .
Would le that the appointment of a Committee
Lead to any beneficial result, while it might pro-
helie injurious consequences. If the Hon. Gentleman
tsmved that any fraud had been committed with re-
iv,l4",lo the formation of the jury-list, the proper course
itdivtor the parties to file an information against tfibse
period of But lie could not see that an inquiry at this
th,, "'„ of the session would be of Honefit He should,
':etore, resist the motion of the Gentleman.
80 !I.' J. O'CONNELL said he should not have risen
,rly in the evening, but that he thought it desirable
144,"1i1d reply to the observations of the Noble Lord.
siohahoured under some difficulty on the present °cea-
se It was hard for him to enter on the subject without
teystlg way to these feelings naturally excited by his
enection with the individual who, if there had been
that
tuditiror collusion, or oppression, had been the victim o
should, ho
that collusion, and of that oppression. He
and he veno7l:lv", endeavour to avoid personal feelings,
not because 07nitnenne by assuring them that it was
heltelaabrilde to,avoidis was the 15th of July that they would
this question. It was only the people of
It veto .7,110 were looking, on this subject with attention.
of these a great space in the mind of the public out
it los realms, and he believed he did not over-estimate
space"!n he said it would occupy a considerable
he f the mind of posterity. The great difficulty
tut on this subject was, where to begin.
Noble Must first notice the strange advice which the
NIT Lord gave to the parties who had suffered, not to
wident° the House of Commons, as it could not examine
be trieede,on oath : but to file a criminal information to
the before Chief Justice Pennefather and the jury,
be ilinuta,lformation of which was complained of. It might
quit le satisfactory to the Noble Lord to have no in
bony' ;,
Y'l3ut if anything could tend to produce dissatisfac
ithe' '" would be the refusal of inquiry on
gas &:'esent occasion.—(Hear.) The first allegation
Jury list there were sixty-three names omitted from the
-,teso
,s,st ; but it was stated by Mr. M'Grath and the
te4,ereuter that only twenty-four had been omitted. With
faCt, t° these twenty-four, there were some curious
Of Tl_t the least curious of which was the statement
tlvet: -Noble Lord—that 180 lists were formed for the
lheteY-four parishes of Dublin. Now, as many of
not hparishes were very poor ones, there could
for
aleive been names in all these parishes fit
N4l the classes of jurymen—(Hear, hear)—
of heets of the lists therefore must have been blank
St. A",%_,PaPer. With respect to the list of the pariah
4that th-tieon's, it was a most unfortunate coincidence
oliese majority of the lost names were those of Ca-
en
whose -bias, if they had any at all, would have
rather in favour of the traversers. There was
004 cause for suspicion, but it seemed they
'llll not •
luquire into it, because it was the 15th of
'Pee. 'he traversers on their part, challenged inquiry,
ile lallY '
„ se,,, to the cause of the omission. of the names
i.vre names were placed on the list, and how others
'e lel 'it to the ought to have been on the same list,
hee,order,
'but the
e Noble Lord—he was going to say to the
Recorder, it seemed, had left it to
bound to "Plain. If there were any fairness they were
ap he clear this matter up. He might go further
1f htad done,
1,4 could but he would merely. ask the.Hotu. se
et chaffs et over the allegations of which ins estiga ion
11,ciugh -ged? Let them have inquiry. There was
op might excite more than suspicion; and he thought
venture to say that ia the present state
th„-quad„feeling, and in the present state of
:tared"' ould not have a good effect if
hen inclined to treat these matters lightly.
sjnrs bi,feY Could state that some who were special
the ink °re were left out, when their excuse for the
toss st turned out to be an untenable one, he asked-
',ere cosod
Was they refuse to grant this inquiry ? But
th nse chars'other party to this case—another individual
Iteeo_eter Was at 'stake on ihis occasion, that
t4c4lse? reer, of. Dublin. Had -he no friends in this
sethe were her Majesty's Government so indifferent
othow h7rttaster of that gentleman that they would not
ee, t ' and all those persons connected with his
oses clear themselves if any false or unfounded
Iteeotterilawere made against them? -The Right Hon.
sti,„ hag sTili had vouched for the statement Of M`Grath.
te 'Nest shown that. that excuse had broken down in its
14 the uP°lnt, and therefore he thought that in justice
torty. rder of Dublin they ought to grant this
Prell.eeted did not wish to go into other questions
vions
°with. this matter which had been debated on
tertanse ieetstons, but they were matters of grave im-
pbrass b hernselves ;' and if they allowed this subject
noaellinY Without inquiry, on the. ground of the ap-
°ILL; end, ti termination of the session, or any other
• the he public mind would be unsatisfied, the doubts
i" hPublie would be as strong as ever, and they
slrelah,s e.ve not one but many discussions on the state of
ap"i't; quite as troublegonae as those which had taken
rieed
tithe early part of this year. His Right Hon.
apfse it
wa•
aird delayed bringing this subject forward, be-
before another tribunal, and it would be
esti to distract, the public mind, or re-argue the
twaspending before the highestp tribunal
~_also for His Right Hon. Friend had postponed
Las not faire convenience of the Government; and it
pe..,to twit him with bringing it forward at this
talityor;a of the session. The question as to the lea
2eppo_ Te.verdict was now before the highest tribunal.
.ornle:e that the legality of that verdict should be con-
tW,a3l,4l.9Lioulll that satisfy the public mind, if all inquiry
iii. wi 111.!earoetnd
to
sto the errors and inaccuracies with which
ish.th be connected? He did not know any way
retain
more exasperate the public mind,
'4,0 Mre
!Mb.itter conflicting parties, and, what was
id% t, ennicting sects. Even with legality on their
Ile s% h",,e • Public impression would be that justice, fair-
-4tlly h"rtestY, had not been observed, and that tyranny
Theal- worked its wantonness in the form of law.
4.14 fee_OLICITOR-GENERAL hoped that the tone
, ."u gelt4ibited by the Right Hon, Gentleman would

Al rfe - But tea iiften, he believed, that had arisen fro a e views,le should be able to satisfy 'him that his interests
in the minds of the people that the persons committing would be regarded. Nothing had been more honourable
those crimes had suffered grievous wrongs, for which and fair than the way, in which Captain Crease had
the House would afford them no relief, and this secured acted with respect to this measure. He had seen that
them their sympathy. Considering the importance of i gallant gentleman within the last few minutes, and he
the proper administration of justice, he thought it of the thought that he had convinced him that his interests
utmost importance that the House should endeavour by would be respected. If the Hon. and Gallant Member
every means to restore the confidence of the people in was determined still to object to the Bill, it was per-
the administration of the law. The petitioners brought fectly competent for him to do so.
a charge of fraud in relation to the forma- Captain PLUMRIDGE was afraid, if the Bill passed
tion of the jury list. Surely nothing could be more in its present shape, it would be the ruin of the lessee. .
• reasonable than to give them an opportunity of proving Mr. HAWES said that he had had strong representa-
their allegation before a Committee of that House. If tions made to him. that afternoon against the Bill. Since
they failed in their proof, or if Government could dis- the 13th of June forty Bills had been introduced by the
prove the allegation, then lit would be impossible to dis- Government ; and such being the case, how, he would
turb the country on the subject. But if they should ask, could Honourable Members do their duty, and be
prove those facts, surely the House would not alloW always in the House to watch them ? Almost
such a state of things to exist without attempting to de- every day this week the House would sit at twelve
vise some remedy. He felt strongly the necessity of o'clock. To-morrow they would meet on the Metro-
inquiring what would be the feelings of the politan Improvements Bill, the next day on the Poor-
people of England if, when an Englishman law Bill, and probably on Thursday the Railways Bill.
were tried, every Protestant were to be Now, under such circumstances, he would ask how it was
struck off the jury? But in England a man could never possible that Hon. Members could always be in attend-
be placed in such circumstances as in Ireland, because ante? It was more than human strength could do to
in this country, fortunately, religious and political ques- bear up against it.
tions were not so mixed up together. They had not had Sir R. PEEL said that the Bill was brought in before
in England a Church question as they had in Ireland. the 18th of June, and it was expected that there would
He would say, that Mr. O'Connell could not have a fair be no objection to it.
trial in Dublin, with a jury exclusively Protestant. He The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered to
did not mean to cast any imputation upon the jury, but be committed.
Mr. O'Connell had been known for years, for his at- LAND-TAX COMMISSIONERS NAMES BILL.
tempts to pull down the ascendancy of the Protestant The House went into Committee on this Bill; Mr.
Church. The members of the jury, on the other hand, PRINGLE in the Chair.
had always endeavoured to support it. Each believed the Lord WORSELEY thought the names on the Corn-
other to be the enemy of Ireland. How could he have a mittee ought to be unconnected by property with the
fair trial under such circumstances? The Member for object of the Commission.
the city of Dublin would not deny that party feeling Captain PECHELL also objected to the constitution
existed to a great extent among the Protestants of that of the Committee.
city. He did not mean to say that the jury would not Sir G. CLERK said he believedlthis was the first time
endeavour to do justice. He did not mean to say but there had been any discussion on adding names to the
that they would act according to their oaths. But they Committee.
would be biased by their prejudices, and it should be Mr. WILLIAMS moved that two names be added to
recollected that this was a political trial. It was the the list.
duty of the House to inquire. He felt strongly on the The gallery was cleared-for a division, but none took
subject, and he besought the House not to refuse the place, the motion having been negatived without a
motion. They were told they might obtain redress by law. .division.
What satisfaction, he would ask, would it be to those After a short discussion, the Bill passed through
who had suffered their imprisonment,. if the officers Committee.
should be fined 1001 ? He should like to know how the FARMS BUILDINGS BILL.
wrong
.was to be remedied, and if there were no means, jThis Bill was read a second time.
in similar cases, by which parties aggrieved might be iPARISH CONSTABLES BILL.
enabled to restore the omitted names to the list imme- On the motion that this Bill be read a second time,
diately, it was the duty of Parliament to devote its im- ;Sir W. JOLLIFFE said he thought the Bill ought to
mediate attention to the subject, in order to remedy such contain a clause to enable the justices to appoint
a crying evil.—(Cheers.) a superintending constable without the consent of the
Mr. GROGAN. said that the evils complained of by various vestries.
Mr. O'Connell in 1825 had been remedied by Act of Par- :After a few words from Mr. V. SMITH and Mr. M.
liament. With regard to the case before the House, it SuvToN, the Bill was read a second time, and ordered
had, on three different occasions, been brought before to; be committed to-morrew (this day).
the courts at Dublin ; every fact had been deposed ,The other orders of the day were disposed of, and the
to on oath, and it was useless to go into Com- House adjourned at a Quarter past Twelve.
mittee, as no further evidence could be elicited.
One circumstance had given him pain, that Hon. Mem-
bers had said the jury had not done justice to the parties
—and this because they were Protestants. He thought
that was not fair, and Hon. Members should have con-
fined themselves to the facts and justice of the case,
without impugning the motives by which respectable
jurors were actuate. The Hon. Member then defended
the conduct of Mr. M`Grath and Mr. Kemmis, and the
other Crown officials, from the charge of evincing an
unfair and disobliging disposition towards the accused,
and sat down by protesting against the motion.
Mr. J. O'BRIEN said, justice had been withheld
not only from a popular leader in these trials, but from
the whole people of Ireland. That people had at all
times evinced the most loyal disposition even in their
monster meetings ; and did they not show a ready obe-
dience to the law in regard to the Clontarf proclama-
tion? Mr. O'Connell was only the mouth-piece of the
people—he only gave utterance to their sentiments—and
the prosecution of him, only made the people who loved
him, cherish the more the cause for which he suffered.
Mr. O'Connell had always been the advocate of peace,
and the greater portion of his life had been engaged in
struggling for the same objects as many Hon. Members
in that House—Catholic emancipation, reform, and an
extension of the franchise. It could not be denied that
Ireland was treated on a different principle from that of
England—inefficient representation—a Church, the
Church of the minority, obliged to be supported by the
majority—a Church, the ministers of which had, in
many instances rendered themselves odious to the
people. .But why need he recapitulate those
grievances which had been se often and un-
availingly discussed? Justice had not been done
in the recent trials—that was 'admitted by every man not
blinded by party; suppressed lists, a Protestant jury, end-
less obstructions to the solicitors for the traversers in
preparing the defence, and every unfair and unworthy
advantage taken by the Crown lawyers and by the
Crown officials. Those alone were responsible for the
result, who brought a peaceable and kind people nearly
to- the condition of rebellion. The Catholic hierarchy
had appointed a day of prayer for the release of the
traversers. Look to the dominant Church, which was
the great evil of Ireland. The whole feeling of England
was anti-national to Ireland. The people of Ireland
were confederated by a bond which no Act of the Legis-
lature could dissolve. They asked for justice, and no-
thing short of justice would meet the emergencies of the
case.
"The House then divided, when there appeared—
For the Committee 73
Against it 9l

PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS.

IProui the votes and Proceedings of the Houseof Commons.)

MONDAY, JULY 15.

1 STATE TRIAL (IRELAND).
Motion made, and Question put, " That a Select Com-
mittee be appointed to inquire, in accordance with the prayer
nf.the Petition presented 17th June, into the facts connected
will the formation of the Special Jury in the case of 4 The
Queen, at the prosecution of the Attorney-General, v. Daniel
0 Connell and others t' " The House divided :
MINORITY—AYES, 73.
Aii;chbold, Robert Ferguson, Colonel Plumridge, Captain
Bannerman, A. Forster. Matthew Power, James
Barnard, E. G. Gore, Robert Rawdon, J. D.
Bellew, R. M. Hastie, Archibald Russell, Lord E.
Blake, Mark Ilawes, B. Seale, Sir J. H.
Bauverie, E. P. Heathcoat, J. Seymour, Sir H.
&wring, Dr. Hill, Lerd-Marcus Shell, R. L.
Brotherton, J. Horsman,-Edward Smith, Benjamin
Browne, It. D. Howard, P. H. Smith, Vernon
4 B wne, W. Hutt, W.
Somers, J. P.
13 ller, E. Langston, J. H. , Somerville, Sir W.
B steild, W. Macaulay, T. B. Stock, Sergeanti
' ew, Hon. R. S. Macnamara, W. Strutt, Edward
C apman, B. Marshall, W. Tancred, Henry W
CI ve, E. B. Miccalfe' Henry fhornely, Thomas
Cilirn den, Richard Morris, David Towneley, John
C troe W. Ridley Napier, Sir Charles Warburton, Henry
C lett. John Norreys, Sir D. J. Wawn, John T.
D4wson, T. V. O'Brien, J. _ White, Henry
Denison, W. J. O'Connell, M. J. Williams, W.
DlEyncourt, C. T. O'Conor Don Yorke, R. H.
Duncan, George O'Ferrall, R. More
Dencannon, Lord Paget, F. TELLERS.
Etrington, Viscount Palmerston, Vis. Wyse, Thomas
Esnionde, Sir T. Pechell, Captain Stuart,Villiers
mans, W. Philips, G. It.

Majority —lB
CHURCH ENDOWMENT ACT.
tSir R. PEEL, in moving for leave to bring In a Bill
to amend the Church Endowment Act of last session,
sa.d that a sum of 600,0001. had accrued from the funds
rendered available for the purposes of the Act, and that
there had been 246 applications for the building of
churches in • new districts. Thirty-four new dis-
tricts had already been formed, and engage-
ments had been entered into for a hundred more.
In, the districts already formed there was a population
0f1130,000 persona, and in the districts which they had
engaged to form was a population of 344,000 persons ;
sorthat, under this Bill, spiritual consolation would be
prhvided for no less a number than half a million of our
conntrymen. As such had been the effect in so short a
ti e, he was not, he thought, too sanguine in hoping
th t still greater benefits would arise from it. One of
th leading provisions in the proposed Bill was to exempt
th clergymen appointed under it from certain charges
u on their stipends on account of the smallness of their
a ount, as they did not exceed 1502 per year. With
th exception of these clauses the Bill was merely formal
in:ts provisions, and he would not, therefore, upon that
oc asion, trouble the House further upon the subject,
b t merely ask leave to bring it in.—Leave given.
DUCHY OF CORNWALL.
it R. PEEL having moved the second reading of
th s Bill,
aptain PLUMRIDGE said there were several
A mbers absent from the House at that moment who
took a deep interest in that Bill, and who could not have
supposed it would come on at that hour of the night, if
at all. He trusted that, under these circumstances, the
second reading would not be then pressed. There was no
doubt the Billwas a very favourable Bill to the county,
and that it would be very acceptable, but there were
so e clauses in it which would have a very injurious
in
to dency in certain quarters. For instance, there was
a essee who would be most seriously affected, and who
aw id h ' as much right to his lease as the Duke of Cornwall
to his title. The Bill, too, contained no less than ninety-
t o clauses, thirty of which had been added to it so
la e as Saturday last. The Bill itself had only been be-
fore them since June, so that, in fact, there had not
been fair time allowed for its consideration. He (Cap-
tain Plumridge) certainly believed that the Duchy was
favourable to the Bill ; but if it were postponed for
fuither consideration it would be better, inasmuch as,
however advantageous it might be in some points, it
would bring certain ruin on one individual. This person
hail given 18,5001. for his lease, and now, when he was
going to derive some benefit frona'his outlay, he was to be
totally ruined by his Bill. He did hope the Right Hon.
Bijronet would consent to postpone the Bill, or he
(Captain Plumridge) would feel it to be his duty to move
that it be read a second time that day six months.
S.ir R. PEEL said, one reason why they never made
any progress was,because when a measure was brought on
it [was almost always made as an excuse for delay, that
Him. Members deeply interested in the matter were un-
ottunately absent from the House. It was really hard
on the Government that because some parties interested
bile Bill were absent, that public business should suffer
inlits progress from that absence. This Bill was framed
byl his Noble Friend (Lord Granville Somerset) and
himself, to prevent the evils that had existed—they were
anxious to apply that great principle of prescription
which had been applied in Church matters. The Bill
had been framed with the consent of the Counsel for. the
Crown, and he (Sir R. Peel) had reason to know'that it'
was hailed with great satisfaction by the inhabitants of
the county generally. There certainly was an in-
ditridual whose interests would be affected, but his
cape would be best considered in Committee, for
any objection he might offer, applied rather to the de-
tails than to the principle of the Bill. There would be
ample opportunity in Committee for a fair discussion of
those clauses which affected that gentleman's case. He
(Sir R. Peel) thought he might appeal to all parties who
knew anything of the Duchy affairs, whether this Bill,
speaking generally, was not an acceptable one. It did
make very great concessions, her Majesty and Prince
Albert being both most anxious for the peace and well-
being of the Duchy. To this end it was most desirable
that the principle. of prescription should be applied to
the Duchy, the same as to church-lands and to lands of
the Crown. Therefore, he hoped that the Gallant
Officer (Captain Plumridge) would not, on account of
soine individual interest, take the extreme course of at-
teMpting indefinitely to postpone a Bill so calculated to
be of advantage to a large class of the people.
Mr. VERNON SMITH hoped that his Hon. and
Gallant Friend would not persevere in his objection to
the second reading of the Bill, because he thought that
any objection would be much better taken in Committee
than at the present time. He thought his Gallant
Friend had a right to complain of the Bill being intro-
duced at so late a period. When it was introduced the
Right Hon. Gentleman said nothing with respect to it,
nor did he intend to say anything at that time but for
the statements of his Hon. and Gallant Friend. As he
said before, he thought the objections might be made to
the measure in Committee much better than at the pre-
sent moment. . .., i ..,,;,.. , ,
The Earl of LINCOLN said that the Right Hon.
Gentleman opposite was mistaken in supposing that his
Right Hon. Friend, in introducing the Bill, said nothing
with respect to it. The fact was, that in introducing
the measure he had shortly stated its objects, and in the
interview had by. himself and his Right Hon. Friend
with the parties interested, the scope and object of the
Bill had been fully detailed to them. In the course of
the last several days be had had interviews with the gal-
lant person (Captain Crease) whom the Gallant Officer
i opposite represented, the lessee of the Duchy, and he
(Lord Lincoln) had , no doubt, that, from those inter-

1
-BIRMINGHAM ELMC'SI ON. _
mormAx Evi.NDG.-To-day this,Tory ,triumph has been
finally 'completed.
THE DECLARATION OF. THE POLL
At ten o'clock the Mayor and official authorities assembled
in the Town-hall, to open and cast up tlia poll-books, and it
was twelve o'clock before they had completed that task. At
this hour several thousands, electors and non-electors, had
assembled in the hall. Mr. Sturge and Mr. Spooner, on
making their appearance, were received by their respective
friends with loud cheers; and, indeed, the greatest harmony
and good humour seemed to prevail throughout. One of the
side galleries was reserved for ladies, of whom the attendance
was rather numerous. Order having been proclaimed.
The MAYOR said it was now his duty to announce the
numbers, which were—
Spooner 2,095
Scholefield
Sturge
It was his duty, therefore, to declare Richard Spooner, Esq.,
duly elected to serve in Parliament for the borough of Bir-
mmgham.—(Cheers.)
Mr. SPOONER then briefly addressed the electors,
thanking those in warm terms who had honoured him with
their support. He went, he said, to the House of Commons,
not to serve any party, nor to truckle to any Ministry. On
the other hand he did not go there through any factious op
position ; but he would uphold the present Government
where he conscientiously could, though he would oppose
them whenever he had equal reason for opposition. He stated
that he should never on any occasion unnecessarily obtrude
himself on the attention of the House of Commons, but that
on all questions of importance, when it was necessary that
the voice of Birmingham should be heard, he would endea-
vour to give effect to it to the best of his ability. Though
returned by the electors, he would never forget the interests
of the non-electors, and any subject which they submitted
to his consideration should receive from- him as anxious an
amount of attention as though it were submitted to him by
some of his most influential supporters.—(Cheers.)
Mr. STURGE also addressed the electors.

After voting thanks to the Mayor, which was briefly ac-
knowledged by that officer, who observed that the good hu-
mour and good feeling evinced by the men of Birmingham
on this occasion deserved the highest praise, the meeting se-
parated.

ROYAL COMMISSION OF FINE
ARTS.

The following is a copy of the circular addressed to each
of the artists selected by her Majesty's Commissioners to
execute certain designs for the decoration of the new Houses
of Parliament. The document is-in itself so clear and in-
telligible as to render further explanation of the subject quite
unnecessary

" Whitehall, July 15.
" Sir,—l have to acquaint you that her Majesty's Commis-
sioners on the Fine Arts, with the sanction of the Lords Com-
missioners of her Majesty's Treasury, have resolved that six
arched compartments in the House of Lords, each measuring
9 feet 3 inches wide, b 3116 feet high to the point of the arch,
shall be decorated with fresco paintings ; that the subjects of
such fresco paintings shall be illustrative of the functions of
the House of Lords and of the relation in which it stands to
the Sovereign ; that the subjects of three •of the said fresco
paintings shall be personifications or abstract representations
of religion, justice, and the spirit of chivalry; and that the
three remaining subjects corresponding with such representa-
tions, and expressing the relation of the Sovereign to the
Church, to the law, and, as the fountain of honour, to the
State, shall be—the Baptism of Ethelbert ; Prince Henry,
afterwards Henry V., acknowledging the authority of Chief
Justice Gascoigne ; and Edward the Black Prince receiving
the Order of the Gartar from Edward 111.
" I have further to acquaint you that the Commissioners
have resolved, with the sanction of the Lords Commissioners
of her Majesty's Treasury, to employ six artists, selected by
the Commissioners from the present exhibitors in Westminster
Hall, to prepare designs for the subjects abovementioned, and
that the Commissioners have selected you as one of the six
artists to be so employed, under the following conditions :
" You are requested to prepare a cartoon, being a design
for one of the aforesaid subjects. The size of the cartoon is
to be nine feet three inches wide, by sixteen feet high to the
point of the arch, and ten feet three inches high to the
springing of the arch (outlines in lithography, showing the
form of the arch in the compartments referred to, may be
obtained in the architect's office, New Palace-yard). You
are further required to prepare a coloured sketch, not less
than eighteen inches in its shortest dimension, of the entire
design represented in your cartoon, and a specimen of fresco
painting, no less than three feet in its shortest dimension, re-
presenting a part of the design in the full proportion.
" You are requested to send in such cartoon, coloured
sketch, and specimen of fresco painting, during the first
week in June, 1845, for exhibition, to Westminster Hall.

" You are to be remunerated for the works aforesaid with
the sum of 400/. ; but the Commissioners do not bind them-
selves to employ you finally on the fresco paintings in the
House of Lords.

" I have further to acquaint you that the six subjects are
distributed among the six artists as follows "
The subject of Religion is given to Mr. Horsley.
"The subject of Justice is given to Mr. Thomas.
" The subject of Chivalry is given to Mr. Maclise.
" The subject of the Baptism of Ethelbert is given to Mr.
Dyce.
" The subject of Prince Henry, afterwards Henry. V.,
acknowledging the authority of Chief Justice Gascoigne, is
given to Mr. Redgrave.
" The subject of- Edward the Black Prince receiving the
Order of the Garter from Edward 111. is given to Mr. Cope.
"I have further to acquaint you that although the six
subjects are required to be undertaken by and among the six
artists, the artists are at liberty to exchange subjects ; and
that although the commissim given to each artist is for one
only of the aforesaid subjects, each artist is at liberty to treat
any other of the said subjects, in addition to the one subject
which he is commissioned to undertake.

" I have further to acquaint you that a general competi-
tion is invited among artists for designs for the same sub-
jects, to be prepared by the time before specified; and that
the six commissioned artists are not allowed to be competi-
tors for the premiums offered for such designs.
"I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
"C. L. EASTLAKE, Secretary."
It will be observed from the last paragraph of this letter,
that a general competition is invited, and as an encourage-
ment to artists who have not been selected, the Commis-
sioners offer three premiums of 2001. each for the best sub.
jects produced. ' Thus another exhibition, doubtless far ex-
ceeding in interest either of those already opened, will take
place in the summer of next year.

POST-OFFICE MISREGULATION
WITH VOTERS' CLAIMS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SlR,—Last year Mr. Aglionby, M.P., at my suggestion,
complained of the Post-office authorities not being prepared
to stamp notices of claims for voters, and on two occasions
raised a discussion with Sir James Graham in the House of
Commons, complaining that the Post-office did not make the
arrangements the law required.
To-day I applied at the,General Post-office, SL Martin's-
le-Grand, at the money-order office, conformable with the
statute 6 and 7 Victoria, cap. 18, to get thirty notices
stamped. I was first sent to the Inner-office, from thence to
No. l in the Lobby, from thence to two doors off, from thence
to the end of the passage, from thence 'to the Secretary's
office, where I was detained a quarter of an hour, and was
then informed that Mr. Smith was the only person who
understood the matter, I must see him on returning to the
lobby again. I inquired for Mr. Smith, and was asked what
Mr. Smith? Seeing the absurdity of inquiring for such a
name in such a large public building, I presented the notices
at the place they receive paid letters at. My notices were
returned, with the answer that only three could be taken
there, as the remainder belonged to the local post. By this
time it was past four o'clock, and on my presenting them at
the other office, I was told that it was now too late, I must
bring them before four o'clock; and they refused to receive
them.

Should this impediment be thrown in the way of claimants,
is it possible for strangers ignorant of the minutiae of regis-
tration matters to make a legal claim ?
The only inference to be drawn is, that it is done to serve
the present Tory Government party.—Your obedient servant,
W. H. JAMES.

Middlesex Reform Registration-office,
15, Bridge-street, Blackfriars, July 15.

ROYAL NAVAL BENEVOLENT SOClETY.—Yesterday
a quarterly general court of the subscribers to this institution
was held at the Thatched House Tavern, St. James's-street.
Admiral Maugin in the chair, supported by Admiral Lord
Radstock, &c. After some introductory remarks from the
chairman Captain Dickson, the secretary read the quarterly,
statement of receipts and disbursements, from which it ap-
peared that the total funds during the period were 1,3561.
19s. 2d. Deducting the expenditure. a balance of 7981. lls. sd.
remained. The secretary next read a letter from Sir George
Cockburn, Bart., one of the Lords of the Admiralty, approv-
ing of the manner in which the printed report of the Society
had been compiled. Several other letters connected with the
affairs of the Society, but -of no public importance, were next
read and placed on the minutes. One it may be necessary
to state, was forwarded by the Governor of the Queen s
Bench Prison, stating that two ladies, the daughters of naval
officers, who had been detained therein for debt, had been re
leased through the benevolence of her Majesty the Queen
Dowager, and assistance from the funds had consequently
been dispensed with. A vacancy in the list of vice-presidents
was next announced, and Lord. Radstock was unanimously
appointed to that office in the room of Admiral Sir Courteney
Boyle, deceased. Captain Dickson said that the Society has
also lost a very munificent supporter by the decease of Ad-
miral Jahleel Brenton, and a resolution expressive of the
feeling of the members was unanimously adopted. The
cases for relief, amounting to about 80, were then considered,
and the sum of 500/. was distributed. A vote of thanks was
then unanimously passed to the chairman, who, having ac-
knowledged it, dissolved the meeting.

MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT.—bOVER, JULY 15.
About one o'clock this afternoon a most melancholy loss of
life occurred in Dover-bay, by the upsetting of a small
pleasure-boat or punt. The party in the boat consisted of
Mrs. Bentley, two of her daughters—one about ten, and the
other eight years of age—a young gentlemen, said to be the
nephew of Mrs. Bentley, but whose name we could not learn,
and the two men who were in charge of the boat, named, we
believe, Fox and Lewisham. The boat was under sail and
tacking about a mile off the land, when she was observed to
upset, there being rather a brisk breeze of wind blowing at the
time. On observing the accident, several boats were imme-
diately launched from the beach, but before they could get to
the sufferers, a fishing• smack that was about half a mile to
windward bore down, and sent her boat to the spot. The
fishermen fortunately picked up Mrs. Bentley and the two
men, Fox and Lewisham ; but the gentleman and the two
young ladies had disappeared. The boatmen saved them-
selves by swimming, and it is supposed Mrs. Bentley's
clothes kept her obove water. Mrs. Bentley was brought
on shore almost lifeless ; but on being taken to Mr. Marsh's
bathing-house, She was placed in a warm bath, and by the
application of the means recommended by the Humane So-
ciety, she was fortunately recovered. Mr. and Mrs. Bentley
are strangers here, from Preston (we understand), and have
been living for some time in lodgings at' No. 3, Stroud-
street. Mr. Bentley was absent from Dover at the timb of
the melancholy event, he having gone to Folkestone this
morning by the South-Eastern Railway, and was not aware
of his loss till he arrived by train late in the afternoon. The
distressing occurrence has cast a gloom over the place, and
the berich is even non• crowded with persons anxiously in-
quiring respecting it. None of the bodies have yet, been
found. .

RISE mr 'Ttm PRICE OP SOAP.—At a meeting of
the soap trade" of Glasgow and Paisley, last week, we un-
derstand it was unanimously agreed to advance the price of
soap to the following rates per cwt. :—White, 535. ; pale, 48s. ;
second or bright, 465.; yellow, 42s.—Edinburgh paper.
SOLDIER -KILLED.—On Tuesday- night, between
ten and- eleven o'clock, -a melanclicdy accident happened
at the Castle. John Dow, a private in the 26th Regi-
ment, who had been observed to be somewhat intoxicated,
it appears encleavonred to escape' from the garrison by
descending the, rock opposite to West Port; but. at this
point the rock is almost, perpendicular, and the unfortu-
nate man fell to the Ca6tlo goad, and was killgd on the
spot.—Scotsman.