The Sun.
London, England, 1850-08-02 00:00:00

NING, AUGUST 2, 1850.

attentive to the business of that House and to the welfare
of this country, and more particularly to that of Ireland,
but he apprehended that the Noble Lord did not forf.)3,,e
:`.e mischief which his mivion wouli cro3:e !hrowArh: of
Leland. As such a motion woul I tend to interiere
with the forms of government, he felt it his duty to op-
posA it.

The Earl of GLENGALL said that he apprehended
that the House should know what was the state of the
landlord and tenant law in England and Ireland before
it could decide on the system suggested by the Noble
Lord in his motion. He ahould at the same time ex-
press his regret that the Government had expressed their
dissent to assimilate the law between the two countries,
while on other occasions he had frequently heard such a
course and such a principle urged by the same Govern-
ment. While he dissented from the present motion, he
would say that he considered that ono in some specific
shape should be brought on, and hoped that the Noble
and Learned Lord (the Lord Chancellor) would lend his
able aid to fsrilitate such, as he felt convinced from his
knowledge of the state of Ireland, that some Cimrnission
should be issued. He attributed much of the bad
fieling of the people t the negligence of the public
press, who, while they were afforded &edifies,
yet when any Irish question was brought
forward (with the exception of Dolly'a Brae) he
never knew a fair report to be given. -The Noble Earl
then referred to several long and excellent speeches de-
livered in that House; and on the following mornine, to
his astonishment, did not find more than seven or eight
lines in the newspapers. Again, ho adverted to the cor-
respondents designating them as bilious philanthropists
who took blue-books into the sterile parts of Ireland,
and from them gleaned what suited their prejudice to
make up a pamphet, or a column or two for some of the
morning papers. Who, he asked, were the informants
of these correspondents? They were generally the pro-
prietors of hotels, or their waiters, and very frequently
some peasant dressed something between a gamekeeper
and a member of the swell mob. He then eulogised the
exertions of the Secretary for Ireland (Sir W. Somer-
ville) who had materially improved some of the bad
laws of the country. Ho hoped that some specific mo-
tion would bo brought on instead of the present.
The motto:; was then withdrawn, and their Lordships
adjourned.

ROUSE OF COMMONS, August 1.
AUSTRALIAN COLONIES GOVERNMENT
. BILL.

(Continued from our Afternoon Edition cf yesterday.)

qtr DE LACY EVANS said it was preposterous to
suppose that, afi.er this country had gone to great ex-
pense in maintaining her colonies, she should surrender
ell claim to the different territories, and give them up to
the present inhabitants. Although he approved of the
Bill as a whole, he entertained objections to particular
parts of it—such, for instance, as the appointment of a
largo Church establishment in the colony. He
thought the colony would get on extremely well,
in a religious as well as in a moral sense,
without a spiritual establishment; but hardly a new set-
tlement, with a few hundred inhabitants, sprung up be-
fore a bishop was appointed and sent out. Much of the
allowance provided for the Ecclesiastical establishments
of the colony might, therefore, he thought, be dispensed
with ; at any rate, he hoped it would nut be
augmented in proportion as the population increased.
But taking the measure altogether it was a very fair
snd liberal one, and would have a very beceticial effect
upon the colony, and he was gratified to find that a direct
intimation was given to the colonists in the Bill to suggest
any alteration or modifications of it which they might
think necessary. Oa the whole he thought the Govern-
ment had acted right in not prematurely disposing of this
question, but leaving it to be eventually settled by the
colonists themselves.
Mr. VERNON SMITH was not at a loss to form
an opinion as to whether or not the Govern-
ment intended to persevere with this Bill this
session. In the present state of the House they
could carry almost anything, and he could, therefore, net
hesitate in deciding that they intended to carry this
measure, but still before they proceeded further Go-
vernment ought to disclose what amendments of the
Lords they intended to reject and what agree to. The =jo-
t ivy of the amendments improved the Bill. He agreed with
the amendment which struck out the clauses which were
proposed to establish a federal assembly in the colonies ;
end he should be glad to know if Government would
venture to go the length of re-introducing them. The
next amendment established a franchise for the
squatting interest, a provision which he vainly
struggled for when the Bill was under di:icussion
and in its progress through this House. The next series
of alterations which had been made by the Lords
were far more extensive and far more objectionable. They
would restrict thefunctions of the colonial legislature, and
continue in the hands of the Colonial-office powers
which ought to be abandoned without delay.
The amendments would preclude the legislature of
the colony from altering the franchise, but he
did hope the House and the Government would not
assent to this alteration, while the clause which had
been introduced by the Lords in. the room of the clause
giving the local legislature the power he had
referred to was calculated to lead to doubt and
mystification as to its true and real meaning, and it ought
to be struck cut. The next alteration was of still greater
importance, it struck out the words which gave the
local council power to vary its forms and constitu-
tion, which he thought ought to bo restored to
the Bill ; and he therefore hoped, for the sake
of keeping faith with. the colonists themselves, the
Government would insist upon carrying that point. As
this was the last opportunity be should have of speaking
on the subject of this Bill, he must again repeat his
regret that the measure had not been made more
liberal and extensive.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL should have stated ,in moving
the adoption of the first amendment, the course
which Government intended to pursue with respect to
the whole, but after what had occurred to-day, he could
not further delay making a declaration on the subject.
He agreed with the Right Hon. Gentleman who had just
sat down that the greatest alteration which the Lords
had introduced was the omission of the clauses which
related to the establishment of a federal government.
Under all the circumstances, however, of the case he
thought his Noble Friend at the head of the 'Colonial-
office had acted right in consenting to the omission of the
clauses. Many objections were urged against them, and
above all it was said if the colonists desired a
federal assembly, it could be hereafter allowed
by the Legislature of the parent country On the
whole, therefore, Government was not indisposed to
adopt that amendment. The next alteration was the
introduction of words extending the franchise to squat-
ters. He would not say that this was an impolitic altera-
tion; perhaps it was only fair that the large body of
colonists who came under that denomination should
be represented in tho local legislature—(Hear, hear)
—and Government did not therefore object to
this amendment. The next alteration deprived the
legislative council of power to make any change in its
form's and Constitution. No doubt the giving that
power was one of the important objects of the Bill, but
not the object, and as much good wouid result from the
Bill, even as it now stood, -particularly as it would
lead to the settlement of the important question
as to whether it was advisable to give the colonies a
single or a double chamber, Government was generally
disposed to adopt most of the amendmcats proposed
by the Lords. With respect to the 321 clause of the
13i11, it stood in feet and in substance as it was en iginally
sent from that House to the House of Lords. Tney
had reduced by one-haif the amount of franchise, bat
they -had left to the colonies the power of altering the
qualification of the electors and the elected. They had
also left to them the power of altering the constituent
body, and also the power of introducing a division
of the leeislativo body into two chambers, and the mode
in which these two chambers should act. But there had
been a change made, under which he did not think it
would be in the power of the legislative council to pass
an Act by which the whole body of the single chamber
could be elected, and no one member of which could be
nominated by the Crown. Ho did not think it
would be in the power of the council to
alter the proportions of its members, however they
might alter the qualification of the electors, and al-
though they might divide the present legislative council
into two chambers, they would not have the power of
saying there should be a single elective chamber, and
that the nominees of the Crown should be altogether
excluded from that second chamber. On that subject
he should certainly have been disposed to say that if
such an alteration had been proposed by the legislative
council of New South Wales, although it was a

•
matter for their discussion and deliberation, he
should have felt very great objection to such an altera-
tion. He therefore felt the lees objection to the altera-
tion which had been proposed. He certainly thought
there were advantages in leaving the whole subject to
the legislative council, but if there way anything on
which the House ought to place a restriction, he thought
it was the power of altering the legislative council into
one legislative body. lie therefore concurred in the
general policy of the amendments made by the House of
Lords, and he considered that this Bill upon the whole
would be a very greet benefit to the Australian colonies.
Mr. GLADSTONE said the Bill before the House, in
his mind, was not a satisfsctory Bill in its principle. No
doubt it had some advantages to recommend it; but in
his opinion a matter of the most crying necessity, that
of the separation of the colony of Port Philip from
New South Wales, should be accomplished. He thought
the House would have acted more wisely in seeking to
pass a perfect measure on this subject in the next ses-
sion, when they would be in possession of more inf 4-
mation from the colonies, than in passing an imperfect
one at the end of the present session. The point in
which the Bill was not satisfactory lay in the third
amendment of the House of Lords, which took away the
power of the legislative council in the colonies „ of
altering the composition " of the council.—(Hear,
hear.) The power of altering the consitution of
the council, and of affecting the balance of power as it
was fixed by the Bill between the Crown and the popular
body, was altogether taken away. The Government had
forgotten throughout all those discussions that unhappily
of all the changes which a single chamber was likely to
make, that of separating itself into two chambers
was the it met likely, because it cut directly et
the pride and vanity of the parties most directly
interested in making it.—(Hear, hear.) Where they had
a popular body guiding the fortunes end the legislation
of the colony, it was most unlikely, unless under peculiar
circumstances, that that popular body would consent to
set up another popular body by its side. Again, they
might alter the aggregate number of members of the
council, but not the proportions. The proportions
were
sacred, and must not be departed from. Ile wished to see
ii
New South Wales establish for itself stable
tinny,. but to be stable those institutions must
bythemusteprinsgtiotuti;
of the soil of the colony, and the attempt
in Downing-:,trees to check the democratic
up e tilln
c pi I ee. ol sf
the population of New South Wales, would
check, but would give a more wildly demoeertarc)eot
cha-
racter to the feelings of the people of that colony, anal
tend to weaken the ties between it and the nv,ther

country.—(Hear.) Ho considered those amendments
of the House of Lords amounted, as nearly as possible,
to a breSch of 'faith by the Government with the co-
lonists f N w S.:et h Wel e. The colonists wend,' ssy
we had sent them a Bill which was most essentially
changed, and wo had pleaded their consent to that Bill
for passing it in the House of Commons, and then bad
permitted it to be altered in the House of Lords. In
fact, he (Mr. Gladstone) must register his pro-
test against this Bill, because, while profess-
ing to give free institutions to the coloeiste,
it maintained the control of the Crown over the legisla-
ture of the colony, and, introducing uncertainty and un-
easiness into its legislation, it ha I taken away that
great gift of liberty which was the apol )gy and the argu-
ment that certainly carried the Bill in !,he House of
Corn Tome
Mr. ROEBUCK thought it his duty to enter his sincere
and earnest protest against this Bile The House learned
now that it was acting on imperfect information. Surely if
persect information were requisite it might be obtained,
bat the truth was, that the Noble Lord at the head of
the Colonial Department was so determined in his own
course that he would never listen either to the suges-
dons from the colonies or to the suggestions from
the House of Commons.—(Hear.) The House did
not come to legislate on ihe colonies without ex-
perience ; they had experience enough to guide
them in that matter, and especially with respect to the
formation of a federative assembly. The Noble Lord
at the head of the colonies was determined to have one
council, and one council only; but was told over and
over again that if be adopted that plan it was im-
possible to make a fair and operative assembly.
The Noble Lord was told there was experience
about that matter to which no sane man
could shut his eyes ; and that there was a
plan at once simple and effective. That plan was simply
to have two chambers, one of them representing the po-
pulation cf the colonies, and the other chamber repre-
senting the colonies themselves. That was the plan of
the United States tf America, hit upon by
the master-mind of the American revolution.
He charged every one of the Government who had had
anything to do with the Bill with an obstinacy which
could spring from nothing but personal vanity. There aas
also another point. In a Bill which was to be a permanent
measure, how was it that they had introduced provisions
which would boa source of constant quarrel? He referred
the House to the constitution which had been lately
framed by the settlers at California, and he thought that
when it was compared with this miserable specimen of
their legislative wisdom it ought to shame every Mem-
ber of the British Parliament. There was nothing
in it which was satisfactory or certain, but
it was full of the seeds of eternal discord. The only
hope he bad Waa that when it got there it would create
such universal dissatisfaction that they would be obliged
to reconsider the measure. He had denied ofien that
this Bill would please the colonies, and he re-
iterated the denial. Ho thought that when they
hoard an ex-Secretary for the Colonies de-
claring that there was no chance of governing
the colonies without two chambers, he thought it ought
to induce them to pause before they sent out this Bill.
It was, however, now too late, and all he could do was to
protest, and, as far as he aas concerned, he had done his
duty.
Mr. CHISHOLM ANSTEY complained that ;the
only clause of any value bad been struck out in
another place, and the Noble Lord had come down
and declared himself perfectly satisfied. He complained
also of the clause introduced there, which allowed con-
victs on tickets of leave an equal share in the franchise.
The Bill, he considered, was a contemptible Bill; and
he should have preferred going without it altogether
than taking it as it was.
Mr. MACGREGOR said the question was whether
this Bill gave or took away any privileges from
the colonists. Ho believed that it gave many of
them privileges which they never had before possessed.
Taking into consideration the moral and social condi-
tion of colonies, he thought the Bill was a good
Bill, and that it had been rendered rather snore
practical than otherwise by the amendments of the
Lords. He considered that the measure would be
very acceptable to the colonists, and be would give
it his cordial support, toeing anxious that they should be
kept ro longer in suspense as to what were the intentions
of the Legislature.
The Lords' amendments were then agreed to.
ASSESSED TAXES COMPOSITION BILL.

This Bit' was read a second time.
The House then adjourned until five o'clock.

The House resumed at Five o'clock.
PETITIONS.

Mr. DISRAELI presented a petition from a body of
farmers in the county of Perth in favour of protection.
Mr. F. O'CONNOR presented a petition from Lei-
cester praying the House to restore the delivery of
letters at the Post-office on Sundays.
Mr. COBDEN preented a petition from a place in
Yorkshire against churcblester.
RAILWAYS ABANDONMENT BILL.
Sir J,. GRAHAM, after presenting a petition from a
gentleman in Birmingham complaining of the conduct of
the Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway Com-
pany, asked the President of the Board of Trade
what were the intentions of Government with reference
to the Railways Abandonment Bill.
Mr. LABOUCIIERE said the Bill was at present
under the consideration of his Learned Friend the At-
torney-General, who would shortly state what the inten-
tion. of Government were with reference to it.
Mr. MULLINGS presented a petition from a place in
Gloucestershire, praying the House to rescind the reso-
luion preventing the delivery of letters at the Post-office
on Sunday.

Mr. SdTHERON presented a petition from a place
in Wilts praying for csrtain modifications in the Savings
Bak Bill before the House.

POLITICAL REFUGEES IN THIS COUNTRY.
Lord DUDLEY STUART gave notice that
he should tc-morrow put a question to the Secre-
tary of State fur the Hume Department re-
specting certain political refugees, who it was
stated, having takea refuge in this country,
had been delivered up to one of the Governments of
Germany, and sent away from here in consequence of
being blamed as accomplices in a murder committed on
the continent.