The Sun.
London, England, 1850-05-04 00:00:00

IIPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

ROUSE OF LORDS, May 3.
Their Lordships assembled at Five o'clock.
PETITIONS.
The Earl of STRADBROKE presented a petition
from some place M Suffolk praying for a repeal of the
malt tax. _

The Bishop of EXETER presented a petition from
Lancashire against the relay system in factories.
Lord REDESDALE presented a petition from Cam-
bridge against any alteration in the law which should
authorise marriage with a deceased wife's sister.

The Earl of 11-A.RROWBY presented a petition pray-
ing for a repeal of the law authorising the sale of beer
in beer-houses, and moved that it be printed.—Agreed to.
The Bishop of LICHFIELD presented a petition
a'nst Post-office labour on Sundays.
he Marquis of LONDONDERRY presented peti-
tions from two places in the county of Down against
any alteration in the law authorising marriage with a
leceased wife's sister.
IRISH POOR LAW.

The Marquis of WESTMEATH, in presenting a pe-
tition praying for an alteration of the Irish Poor-law,
said that the British Constitution was a constitution
.he
held in the greatest respect; but he would rather live
under a military despotism than under a constitution
which tolerated the arbitrary proceedings of the Poor-
law Commissioners. He did not choose to be at the beck
and call of two hooded serpents, sitting in Dublin.
PIRATES' HEAD MONEY BILL.
On•the motion of Earl GREY, certain amendments
were introduced into this Bill, after which it was real a
third time and passed.
The Bills on the table were forwarded a stage, and
their Lordships then adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS, May 3.
The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four o'clock.

PETITIONS.

Sir J. HANMER presented a petition from Newing-
ton Butts against intramural interments.
Several other petitions were presented to the same
effect.

Mr. FORDYCE presented a petition from Aberdeen-
shire in favour of protection to agriculture.
Lord ASHLEY presertted several petitions against
the shift-system in factories.
Mr. COBDEN presented several petitions to the same
effect; . .

Mr. COWAN presented a petition against the Mar-
riage Act, also against the Public Health Bill and Police
Bill., all from Edinburgh.
Sir W. MOLESWORTH presented a petition in fa-
vour of some measure for the efficient supply of water
to the metropolis.
Numerous petitions were presented against Sunday
labour i❑ the Post office.

Sir LUCIUS O'BRIEN prcscnted a petition from
Care,against the attorneys' certificate tax.
Colonel DUNNE also presented a similar petition.
INCOME-TAX ON FARMERS.

Colonel SIBTHORL) gave notice that he should on
an (lady day call the attention of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer to the method of levying the income-tax on
tenant-`armors.
An HoN. MEMBE% moved that the House be counted
but th!7,ro bin more than brty Alenabzrs present the
businm pncee led.
LIGHT DUES.

FORSTER, gave notice of the following resolution
on light dues;—" That in the opinion of thii. House the
mentis levied on merchant shipping fa light duos are
excessive and unjust; that our maritime lights ought to
be maintained by the state, as in other countrie, under
the management of a hoard responsibl3 to Parliament,
in coaforenity with the resolutions of the Select Com-
mittee on light dues in tit," session of 1343."
REPEAL OF THE MALT-TAX.
In answer to Mr. BUCK,

•
Mr. CAYLEY said that he had no intention of
Riving up his motion on the repeal of the malt tax. He
should bring it nn at the end of the month.
HEALTH OF TOWNS (SCOTLAND) BILL.

in answer to 3 question from' Mr. COWAN,

The LORD ADVOCATE said that it was not his
intention to pre33 forward thl He lth of Towns and
Police (Scotland) Bills in their present shape; he pro•
po7ei to go into Committee on them Fro forma on
Mo:idsy, and to go on with them afterwards at a morn-
ing sitting on a future Thursday.
ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION BILL.

HORSMAN gave notice that in Committee on
this Bill he should move an amendment upon the first
elauso, to the effect that the Commission should consist
entirely of raid members, and that there be no ex officio
or ecclesiastical persons upon it.
THE IRISH VICEROYALTY.
Sit; G. GREY, on the part of his Noble Friend the
First Lcrd cf :ke Treasury, who was absent from in-
dispiition, postponed from Monday next to Monday
week', his motion fur leave to briny in a Bill to provide
for tho abolition of the office of Lord-Lieutenant of
Ireland.

• FACTORY ACT.
In answer to a question from Lord ASHLEY
Sir. G. GREY said that it wag the intention of her
MaosV's Government to bring in a Bill themselves for
the regulation of the factory system. They proposed to
limit the hours of 6bour fir women and children between
the hours of six in the morning and six in the evening
for five days in the week, and on Saturday between six
and two. This would limit the hours t) ten, with-
out 'allowing them so much range as at present.
He Tna'3.o this statement in the spirit of the existing
law, and not with any view of throwing an obstacle in
the tray of the exertions now made to ameliorate the
condition of the factory operatives is regard to their
hours of labour.

Mr. HUME depreated any interference between
rnester and men; and he thought the exertions of the
Noble Lard (L,rd Ashley) would not benefit the classes
who:.? corcliion he sought to ameliorate.—(Hear, hear.)
Re (Mr. Hum:!) thought this was a war between capital
and skill, and he deplored that the Government should
be so wed: as to support a proposition of this kind, which
he thought in the highest degree impolitic. No man
would lay out his capital when he saw the Government
of the country interfering in a way seriously to preju-
dice that capita).
M'r. ED WAktDS protested against the compromise
which the Government now sought to bring about in
this matter, which he thought would be a departure
from the spirit of the Act of 1847.
f TUE MISCELLANEOUS ESTIMATES.
Colonel SIBTHOB,P atkal the Chancellor of the
Exchequer when the Miscellaneous Estimates would be
brought forward?
The CRANCALLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the
Australian Colonies Bill was fixed for Monday; beyond
that he could make ao further arrangement, or say when
the bliscellaneous Estimates would come on.

AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS (IRELAND).
Lord NAAS said of late years some valuable returns
had been laid on the table relating to the agricultural
statistics of Ireland, and he wished to ask the Right
Hon, Gentleman the Secretary for Ireland at what period
of the session they might expect a continuance of that
return.
Sir 'V. SOMERVILLE could hold out no expectation
that the return would be laid on the table before a late
period of the session.
IRISH MEASURES.

Colonel DUNl;iOh;erved that there were five or six
notices on the paper re:ating to Ireland, all on important
subjects, and he should like to know how many the
Right Honourable Gentleman intended to proceed with
to-night.
Sir W. SOMERVILLE replied that ho should take as
many as he could.—(A laugh.)
C AN 0 NR LES.
On the motion of Mr. HOUSMAN. an address to the
Crown Was agreed to for copies of all applications from
the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester, Rochester, Wor-
cester, Canterbury, Norwich, Winchester, Peterborough,
Exeter, and Souffnwell, for aid in the performance of
the additional duties cast upon them by the suspension
of cenonries in their several chapters; stating, in each
case, the number of canonries existing at the date of the
application, the duties attached to them, and the amount
granted in reply to each.
DISTRESSED UNIONS ADVANCES AND RE-
PAYMEN rs OF ADVANCES (IRELAND) BILL.
On the motion for considering the report on this Bill,
Mr. HAMILTON moved the following amendments:
—Clause 3, hike 42, omit the wor ‘ proportionate:,
Line 43, omit the words " or other denomination or
~ o
place." Page 4, line 7, after the word comprised " add
the words " such amount to bear the same proportion to
the valuation of such townland as the charge upon
barony, union, or electoral division (ascertained as afore-
said) shall bear to the valuation of such barony, union, or
electoral division respectively."
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was
undersepod to oppose the amendments. He proposed
to introduce words which would have the effect of allow-
ing the Treasury to ascertain and fix where the liability
of each division should be; and he could not see that the
House could have any objection to this.
Lord NAAS said that their only object was certainly
to fix that liability in a proper manner without confusing
tile different divisions
al and electoral; but if the
Bight Hon. Gentlemabnir°wrioluld assure him that the
method proposed would be the best he would be satisfied.
Mr. F. FRENCH had great doubts of the Government
officials in Ireland, And the details which he had been
obliged %ego into on a late occasion were fully confirmed.
by a letter which he had this morning received.
The amendments were withdrawn.
Mr- CLEMENTS moved to add the following addi-
tional proviso at the end of clause 3:—" Provided al-
ways, that at the time s tech annuity shall be fixed, it
shill not exceed sixpence in the
pound on the net an-
nual value then existing
ofthe rateable hereditaments
of any townland or other e
nomination, unless by such
limitation the debt would not be paid off in forty years."
Ireland, he said, had been
to the boon which ithcompletely deceived with re-
spectbestowed on her. It was evidentad been pretended had been
that the Chancellor of the
Exchequer had reserved to himselfaa the power of demand-
ing tits instalments of the
advance whenever ho chose.
Tha course which the Governmenteeth had pursued had
only been to extract money from people of Ireland.
—(Hear, hear.) It was for those ree s that he now
proposed that the rate should not exceeadeLpence in the pound, unless there was a prospect that the debt could
not be paid off within forty years.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER thought
the Government would have been spared the e
which the Hon. Member (Mr. Clements) ennc,httensure
upon them, considering that year after year
the avPaerL7
ment had been granting votes of money for the
.
relief of distress in Ireland. A more unjust censure
was sever uttered than that of the Hon. Member when
he said that the Government had sought to extract
money from the :people of Ireland. In the majority of
ii stances of loans of money to Ireland the period of re-
p).yment had been fifteen, and in some ewes twenty,
years.
Sir R. FERGUSON supported the clause. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer talk9d a good deal