The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-20 00:00:00

NAVY PORK.

Colonel CHATTERT oNa;cecithe First Lord of the
Admiralty, if the Admiralty, in September last, as
cepted tenders for the supply of 1,500 tierces of navy
pork, from a Hamburgh house, at 5/. 6s. 6d. per tierce,
refusing tenders from Irish provision merchants
for tho supply of that article; and whether it
is his intention to continue to throw open the
supply in future to foreign competition ; and
whether he has hcard that the provisions suppied by
foreign contract were recently rejected by an emigrant
ship at Portsmouth, as bad, and greatly inferior to pro-
visions male up in Ireland.
Sir F. BARING said the contracts were open to home
as well as foreign competition, and the Admiralty had
found no reason to alter that system.
IRISH POOR-LAW.
_

Colonel DUNNE asked the Noble Lord at the bead
of the Government whether it be his intention to give
effect to the suggestions made to him by a deputation of
Peers and Members of the House of Commons, connected
with Ireland, or introduce amendments in the present
poor law which they have recommended, in order to
alleviate the evils it inflicts on all classes in that country.
Lord J. RUSSELL said the administration of out-
door relief had been att-nded with great abuse, and
it had been determined not to give out-door relief ex-
cept in cases of necessity. He did not think the
preser t law required amendment in that respect, because
the Commissioners, with the consent of the local guar-
dians, had already powers given them of restraining
any abuse in the granting of out-door relief.
SLAVE TRADE—AFRICAN SQUADRON.
Sir R. H. INGLIS presented a petition from a
foreign settlement, the name of which we did not catch,
praying the House not to sanction any measure which
might have the effect of withdrawing the African
squadron from the coast. It stated that the peti-
tioners' were fully convinced that the squadron was
a co-ordinate assistant of great value, and that its with-
drawal would leave the property of settlers exposed.
Mr. HEALD presented a similar petition from the
society of Wesleyan Missionaries. . _

Sir E. N. BUXTON presented similar petitions from
various places in the colonies.
Mr. MOFFATT presented a similar petition.
Mr. HUTT then rose to propose the following resolu-
tion:—" That an hnmble address be presented to her
Majesty, praying that her Majesty will be pleased to
direct that negotiations be forthwith entered into for
the purpose of releasing this country from all treaty
engagements with foreign states, for maintaining armed
vessels on the coast of Africa to suppress the traffic in
slaves." He said, the time had arrived m hen in accord-
ance with the opinions of two Committees of
the House which had been appointed to consider the
suppression of the slave trade, it became his duty to
submit a motion to the House on that grave and impor-
tant subject. The motion was in effect a declaration
that it was inexpedient for this country to resist all
attempts for the suppression of the slave trade
by force of arms, to carry out which it was neces-
sary in the first instance to put an end to all
which had been entered into by this country for the
maintenance of an African squadron. The necessity of
making such a change in our policy was impressed on
the minds of two Committees, of which he was chairman.
There was one favourable point in connexion with the
absence of these gentlemen, namely, that they were
amongst the majority of the Committee who had carried
the matter at issue; aed consequently, if in the Com-
mittee of 1849 the report was carried by the casting
vote of the chairman, that circumstance must be attri-
buted, not to a change in the opinions of the
Committee, but to one of those casualties arising from
the accidental absence of Members, a casualty which
would occur both in the /louse and in its Committees.—
(Cheers.) Having endeavoured to relieve the Com-
mittee from some of those prejudices which it hid
been attempted to cast on it, he would proceed
to stake to the House some of the facts, and
circum stances which in the opinion of the Committee
justify id their report.—(Scar, hear.) It.was now one-
and-',hirty years ago since Great Britain, having nego-
tiate d various treaties with foreign states, dispatched to
the coast of Africa an armed force to carry out
the object of those treaties, and then began that
rget norable blockade of the coast of Africa
the true character of which, as well as the circurn-
sten ces of its final abandonment, had yet to be
wriVen in our history.—(Cheers.) We had no sooner
tt,leett these measures to forcibly suppress the
'slave t..'eade than the slave trade began to increase, In
„hul 1815 the le'gutst amount of human beings exported Croat