The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-19 00:00:00

to none of those petitions or speeches, which tended
to the injury or destructiom of the Protestant Church of
Ireland.—(Hear,. hear.) Let them do whatever was ne-
cessary to render the Church more beneficial, as a
whole, to the people of that country.—(Hear, hear.)
He entreated them again to adhere strictly, and accord.
ing to the letter, to .the compact entered into with the
Irish Parliament in the Act of Union.—(Cheers.) The
Noble Earl said he was aware that that was the feeling
of the people of this country, and he (the Duke of Wel-
lington) hoped that would be their opinion as long as
there was a spark of honour in this country.—(Hear.)
The Noble Duke concluded by again exhorting their
Lordships not to allow any infringement of the Act of
Union.

Earl FITZ WILLIAM thought the Noble Duke had
misapprehended him. He did not think that he had
said anything from which it could be inferred that he
meant to overthrow the laws on which the Reformation
was founded. He had only said that the parochial funds
should be applied to the payment of the Roman Catholic
as well as the Protestant clergy, whether in the Barony
of Ballysaxe, or any other Bally.—(Hear, and a laugh.)
The speech of the Noble Duke reminded him of the
speeches he had heard before about the Coronation
Oath, and other fine things, which they were not
allowed to touch. He put the speech of the Noble Duke
in the same category ; and notwithstanding the Noble
Duke's warning he thought the time would come, and
many of their Lordships would live to see it. when with
the Noble Duke himself, or some following the stepi of
the Duke in 1829—he had no more doubt of it than
that he was at that moment standing in that House—
an arrangement would be made for paying the Roman
Catholic priests.—(Hear, hear.) So that the warning
of the Noble Duke had not the slightest effect upon
him.—(Hear.)
The Bishop of EXETER tendered his sincerest thanks
to the Noble Earl (Fitzwilliam) for having made a
speech which had drawn from the Noble Duke (Wel-
lington) near to him an address which entitled him to
the gratitude of Protestant Christendom. Yet he must
say that the subject itself had come,upon him somewhat
suddenly; for in the usual notices of their proceedings it
was stated simply that the Noble Earl had to present a
petition on the subject of Ireland; and, not contented
with this, he had rambled into the state of Ireland and
of the Protestant Church there. The Noble Earl said
he would have nothing to do with the spoliation of
Church property ; he would not centralise it, but allow
it to be spent where it was derived. And how spent ?
It was, according to the Noble Lord, to be divided be-
tween the Roman Catholic priest and the Protestant
rector, or rather the Protestant rector was to be stripped
in order to endow the Roman Catholic priest. The
Noble Earl seemed to treat the question of spoliation
lightly, but spoliation might assume a very formidable
character, and that even to the senses of the Noble Earl
himself. Suppose those Noble Lords who had been en-
riched by the hand of spoliation, years and years ago,
were called upon to disgorge, in order to supply the
wants of the poor in the very parishes where
the spoliation had taken place, how would they
like it ? In the Noble Earl (Fitzwilliam) him-
self ; in another Noble Earl near him (we
believe the Earl of Besborough was alluded to), and in
the Noble Marquis (Lansdowne) also near him, he saw
three Noble Lords who occupied a much larger portion
of confiscated property, than did the Church itself in any
of the three counties where their estates were situated.
—(Laughter.) And those were the individuals who
talked so loudly of justice, and so loosely of spoliation,
and whose estates had been granted to them by the same
sacred and inviolable law, that had awarded the pro-
perty to the Protestant Church ! He admonished the
Noble Earl to be careful of his sayings. But he would
not only be his monitor—he would venture, on this occa-
sion, to assume the character of prophet ; and in the
spirit of prophecy, he would say that if spoliation was
made on Church property, spoliation on private property
would speedily follow. He tendered his humble and
most heartfelt thanks to the Noble Duke, and he (the
Right Rev. Prelate) believed that of all the services
which that great man had rendered to his country, he
had never conferred greater services on it, than he had
that night.—(A laugh.)
The petition was then ordered to lie on their Lord-
ships' table.
Lord LILFORD presented a petition from the opera-
tive silk weavers of the township of Leigh, praying for
the appointment of a Select Committee to inquire into
their case. He would move for the appointment of the
Committee on Friday.
Lord FEVERSHAM presented a petition, but neither
its object, nor the place whence it proceeded, could be
heard in the gallery.
Their Lordships then adjourned at a Quarter to
Seven o'clock.

HOUSE OF COMMONS, March 18.

The SPEAKER took the Chair at Pour o'clock.

Mr. BUSF EILD presented eleven petitions from
places in Yorkshire, in favour of the Leeds and Brad-
ford Railway Bill.
On the motion of Mr. R. HODGSON, the Mem-
bers for Berwick were added to the Committee on the
North British Railway Bill.
The Northern and Eastern Railway Extension
Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be com •
mitted.

On the motion of Sir H. DOUGLAS, the Liver-
pool Fire Prevention Bill was read a second time.
Mr. HAVES` moved the second reading of the
New British Iron Company.
Sir C. DOUGLAS hoped the Hon. Gentleman
would postpone the second reading of this Bill for a
few days.
After a short discussion, the Bill was read a second
time.

The Globe Insurance Company Bill was read a
second time.

LOCAL COURTS.

Colonel POWELL presented a petition from Wales
in favour of the establishment of local eourts.
CORN-LAWS.

Sir A. LEITH HAY presented a petition in
favour of the corn-laws, and particularly against the
sliding scale.
TOBACCO DUTIES.

Mr. M. GIBSON presented two petitions from the
tobacco consumers of Manchester against the high
duties on tobacco.

COAL DUTIES.

Mr. S. WORTLEY presented petitions from the
West Riding of Yorkshire, praying for the repeal of
the export duties on coal.

THE SUFFRAGE.

Mr. WILLIAMS presented a petition from lied-
dington, Northamptonshire, praying for a redress of
grievances, and an extension of the suffrage.
PRISONS IN SCOTLAND.
Sir GEORGE CLERK presented a petition
from the Corporation of Musselburgh, praying for an
amendment of the law relating to prison discipline
in Scotland.

REFORM.-THE RATE-PAYING CLAUSES.

Mr. T. DUNCOMBE presented a petition from
Islington, praying for the repeal of the rate-paying
clauses in the Reform Act.
The HON. MEMBER presented a petition from the
Tower Hamlets to the same effect.
MERCHANT SEAMAN'S FUND.
Mr. HUME presented a petition from Montrose
in favour of the Merchant Seamen's Fund Bill. The
Hon. Member moved that the petition be referred to
the Select Committee on the Bill.—Ordered.