The Sun.
London, England, 1844-07-27 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

- HOUSE OF LORDS, July 26.
..:. Their Lordships met at Five o'clock.
A message from the Commons brought up the Tra-
falgar-square Bill, and several other Bills.
CATHOLIC PENAL LAWS REPEAL.
--, Lord BEAUMONT gave notice, that on Monday next,
he should move that the report on the Catholic Penalties
Abolition Bill bo brought up, and that the Bill be re-
committed.
. ILLEGAL PROCESSIONS (IRELAND).
Lord WHA.RNCLIFFE moved the order of the day
for the Committee on this Bill.
The Earl of WICKLOW feared that his Noble Friend
would think him rather too pertinacious in his opposition
to the Bill. He was aware that at this season it was
quite vain to offer any opposition to the Bills which were
daily brought up in shoals. This Bill was merely to
renew a Bill already in existence, and, therefore, sub-
stantial amendments could not be with propriety intro.
duced into it. It seemed to him to be extremely unjust that
- Parliament should pass such Acts as this, directed against
one class, as in this case the Protestants, or rather the
Orangemen of Ireland. Why should not the law be
extended to all other processions accompanied by bands
of music, banners, &c.? Last year, there were monster
meetings, processions, far more dangerous than the
processions of the Protestants which this Bill was to
repress. There were also the temperance processions,
-which although harmless in themselves were turned to
a mischievous purpose, as had been foreseen by that
great benefactor of his country, Father Mathew, who
always set his face against temperance processions with
bands and banners.—(Hear, hear.) Instead of passing
- this Continuance Bill, he thought the Government would
better consult the wishes and welfare of the people of Ire-
land if they allowed the Bill in existence to expire, and to
bring in next session a Bill.applying to all kinds of pro-
cessions, if necessary. But be denied that, if the Go-
. yernment of that country were carried on impartially,
theta! would be any necessity for Arms Bills, Coercion
Bills, and Procession Bills. He moved that the Bill be
committed that day three months.
The Earl of RODEN seconded the motion, and
was very happy that his Noble Friend had expressed
himself so openly and so ably on this subject. The Bill
was felt by the Protestants of the North of Ireland to be
a gratuitous insult to them, and especially at this period
when the time for their possessions had passed. What
reason, he would ask, was there for introducing this
insult, this affront, this degrading and offensive
Bill? He thought that if the Government would take this
opportunity of withdrawing the measure, they would
give satisfaction to all parties ; for the Roman Catholics
themselves had petitioned against the Act, which was
odious to all. He agreed with his Noble Friend that,
however beneficial the effects of temperance might
he, a mischievous use had been made of the bands and
processions, and it was notorious that these temperance
• bands attended at all the monster meetings and repeal
processions. It was the duty of the Government, there-
lore, to put down all such processions as well as those of
the Irish Protestants.
The Duke of WELLINGTON said that the Noble
lords who wished this Bill to be committed this day
three months forgot their own argument. They said that
the Bill was en insult and an injustice to the Protestants
of Ireland, and at the same time that the other party
petitioned against the law. When the Bill came first
Into operation some years ago, the greatest praise was
bestowed upon the conduct of the parties whose process
"dons this Bill was framed to repress. The Legislature
bad every reliance in the loyalty of those people. But it
was thought necessary for the peace of the country to
stop the processions. His Noble Friends spoke of the
eooneter processions and meetings list year with banners
emu
' bands of music. But he was not aware that those
eetio teuk part in those processions appeared in arms.
'rhe attention of the Government was for a long time
directed to those meetings ; and those who were in-
etrumentai in callieg them together, and dieturb-
ing the pe&e of the country, were brought to
tri .1. He thought the Government might claim
credit to itself for these trials, and they could now see
what the result lied been. The country was perfectly in
Deesee, and at the assiz a the courts had little to de.
Tiier‘s was reason to believe that there would be
nr, neebissity for those extreerd n try laws, but that
Irdetiel sie, old be goverrisd as England was, by the
;ion of the laws as they were. T
aim le pere he law to
which the Bili now before the Hons., related, was already
in existence, and the Government did not think it would
be expedient to allow it to expire as yet. But the Go-
vernment wanted no new law. Hitherto the existi-g
laws had been ,euffieieitt fa- maintaining the
but if the present lov
peace of the country ;
should prove inadequate, then .it would be the duty of
the Government to extend this lag:to other processions
which might appear dangerous to the peace. At pre-
sent, he repeated that the Government wanted no new
-.sower, although they were unwilling to part with any
war such as that of the law now under conside ration,
Po
and which the Legislature had so many years entrusted 1
to them'. He hoped the House would allow the Bill to !II
go into C"lmittee-
The Marquis of CLANRIC ARDE said that although
usually o
ipo..-ed to the Government, he felt bound to
support them o H
'I this occasion. He quite agreed with
the Noble Duke opposite that the Government ought
mot to give up the peswer which the Legislature had sc.
long entrusted to then/. If the Bill were allowed to ex-
pire, the Government could not but feel responsible for
esay mischief that might ensue.
Lord WHARNCLIFFE assured his Noble Friends
(the Earls of Wicklow and Roci2n) that nothing could be
further from his thoughts than to offer an insult, or to
do an injury to the Protestants of the north of Ire-
land, whose conduct had been mos praiseworthy,
and marked by loyalty and good order.t It was certain
-ehet the law did not apply to the temperance and mon-
ster processions of last year. But they were to recollect
that they had to deal with a man who boasted that he
(void drive a coach and four through an Act of Parha-
m Int, and who had contrived to keep those meetings
wit. `tin the verge of the law. Indeed, no Act could be
frame, ed effectually to extend this Bill to such meetings
withoa..`• preventing the people of Ireland from holding
any meet ing whatever with music or banners.
Tho que.asion was then put, the amendment was nega-
tived, and the Bill passed through Committee without
discussion, and was reported.
The Marquis a SALISBURY moved that the peti-
tion of Mr. Paton, sn engineer, claiming compensation for
empenes incurred (ae the petition alleged) by the order
-
.48, Committees of the House, be referred to a Select
cmumittee.
Atiter a few words from Lord COLBORNE and Lod
WIGLANCLIFFE, the motion was negatived without a
cliv!ision.
HEALTH OF THE METROPOLIS.
The. Marquis of NORMANBY presented a petition
from in.edical men in Shoreditch, in favour of improved
sanatory regulations in the metropolis. The Noble
Marquis then moved the order of the day for the consi-
deration of an humble address to her Majesty to the
subject of the sanatoty coidition of the people. The
unhealthiness of the large towns was on the increase,
and called for sanatory regulations. In 1811 the mor-
tality in Manchester was only 1 in 78, in the last year
it was 1 in 28, and fifty thousand persons perished an-
nually in the large towns from contagious diseases, which
:sanatory regulations would have prevented. In the
aneantime a great increase of the population of the large
towns had been occasioned by the transfer of a large por-
tie= of the agricultural labourers to manufactures.
In ;be year alluded to the agricultural population was
double the manufacturing; but now the proportion was
reversed, and the manufacturing population was as two
to one to i-he agricultural. But, at the same time, the
mortality lead increased ; anti in fifty towns, with an
aggregate poculation of 2,051,799, upwards of 63,000
persons had dieJ in three years of contagious diseases.
(The Noble Marqztia then read a number of statements
from the works and reports of Dr. Southwood Smith,
Dr. Arnott, and other gentlemen, to show
tro the extent of
pa.rts o the mepolis, arising
in various
from the want of ventilation and cleanliness.) He him-
self had accompanied some of those gentlemen into thh,
worst parts of Whitechapel, Bethnal-green, Shoreditce
and Soho ; and he found all the evils pointed out by
:those gentlemen existing in their most aggravated form.
The slowness of the progress made by the Commission on
tits subject, and the pressing character of the evil, con-
vinced him that be ought to bring forward this mot
on
io
even at this late period of the session. The Commis-
sioners had only sat twenty-eight days for the examina-
tion of witnesses, and in their report they state that
they would proceed with the consideration which so im-
portant a subject required. But they seemed to over-
look that it was a &object which called for action more than
consideration. They overlooked the fact that 156 persons
died daily in the metropolis from that class of contagious
ceases, which sanatory revlations would prevent. (The
Noble Maronis then read statements from the evidence
to show what was the deficiency of the supply of water
in the poorer parts of the metropolis; and how easily and
cheaply that evil could be remedied.) Mr, Hawksley, of
the Nottingham water-works, stated that before the
*establishment of those works, the people bought their
water at the rate of id., id., or id. per bucket, according
to the distance from which it was brought. But now he
siupplied 79,000 gallons of water at a cost of It. Now,
next to the supply of air, an abundant supply of pure
water was most essential to the preservation of health.
He wished most earnestly to press this subject on the
attention of the House and the Government, for he be-
lieved that there was no equally industrious population in
the world undergoing so much physical suffering from
neglect of these matters than- the people of the United
;Kingdom. Of course in saying that he took into ac-
count the difFerence of climate which aggravated those
evils in the United Kingdom. But he had visited great
numbers of the huts of the negroes in the West Indies
Glaring the time of slavery, and he could confirm that an
,ds. -erwhelming outcry would be raised against any
rdaLeter who would lodge his negroes in such wretched
dWeb.:4lgB he
had visited within the last few days. In
"
in Shoreditch he found a woman with five
one COL IA
children ill of fever. She paid Is.
6d. a wee;
kfive for the
room. S;lc weeks ago she was confined weeks
ago her hit. he
died of fever ; and during the illness
of the paren to /he children had to procure water from a
distance of a quarter or half a mile; for tie water company
had cut off the,' supply of water from A
of
houses in
the court two years ago (in consequence of a quarrel be-
-
tween the two landladies who owned the court as to who
• should pay the rate. In that whole ceurt, with so many
• families, there was but one privy, and there was no sewer
within a quarter of a elite distant. He would not oc-
my the House with the many details of this kind with
. ia'esi -.) sells h' that provided. He visited a place called
/2--,.,-- , ,co which surpassed all that he had seen
i' _ :-
--''east
' lieri.-?' e might well say with the poet, that it
: : -- , -,''.wa.a.,,s,\Eb63o--.
~/,.,_ ; , L,. —WU gs the noontide air, and as we pass
tc
', ~_, -,- 7-, _ - ..-:Wes e to breathe the putrify ng mass."
\ c :,- • - . wiar-e was somewhat differently situated ; there
K--: s esestOsii"" rowel eil a population, and one saw gardens
__, t „.. . showed-that they were eapable of enjoying
',.. ameie .e reined state of life if they were protected. But
the sa lie deficiency and neglect produced the same evils