The Sun.
London, England, 1845-02-22 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS, Feb. 21.
The LORD CMANCRI.LOR took his seat on the Woolsack
shortly after Five o'clock.
MEDICAL PROFESSION.
Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from a medical
gentleman named Burn, living at St. George's-in-the-East,
praying an amendment in the laws regarding coroners. The
petitioner stated that many inquisitions had been taken in
cases where parties bad been dying for 13 or 14 days. Now
this surely was unnecessary, and he wished to call the attention
of the Secretary of State for the Home Department to it.
Lord CAMPBELL would give notice of his intention on
Monday to lay on the table of the House a Bill for abolishing
deOdands.
Lord STANLEY presented a petition from Ulverstone
praying that the Apothecaries' Act be repealed.
SUGAR DUTIES,

Lord MONTEAGLE moved for an account of the equali-
sation of the duties on sugars in 1836, the produce of the East
Indies. He thought the objects that had been produced by the equa-
lisation of the duties on sugar would be productiveof little good
if an alteration was to be made in the sugar duties with respect
to the nature of the quality of sugar produced. The subject did
not rest on any opinion of his, because it had been referred to
a Committee of the whole House, of which his Noble Friend
opposite was the Chairman. The equalisation of the duty had pro-
duced an alteration of from twenty-one to twenty-four shillings.
Since that alteration the increase in consumption bad more
than repaid the reduction of duties. The consumption had in-
creased tenfold, and when he referred to the evidence given be•
fore that Committee by a gentleman intimate with the subject,
and of the highest respectability, and to whose opinion the
House might attach the utmost importance, he found that he
had laid down the principle that an equalisation of the duties
from our colonial possessions was of paramount import-
ance to the best interests of the country, and in
the report proposed by the Chairman of that Com-
mittee an equalisation of the duties on sugar was laid down as
a part of the commercial policy of the country. After this de-
claration he was of opinion that any attempt to introduce a
discriminating duty between sugars from our different colonies
would be an unwise policy on the part of Government, and
prove most injurious to our foreign possessions. He would,
therefore, move for a return of the amount of sugar im-
ported from the East and West Indies within the last three
years, as also for the duties paid on them within the same
period.
Lord STANLEY said that, so far as the mere papers
called for by the Noble Lord were concerned, he had no hesi-
tation in promising that the fullest information would be
given by her Majesty's Government. The Noble Lord
seemed to him (Lord Stanley) to infer that her Majesty's
Government intended to recede from the principle of perfect
equality which had hitherto guided them. Now, he could
assure the. Noble Lord that her Majesty's Government would
adhere to the principle that there should be an entire equality
between the productions of all parts of their foreign possessions.
The Government in their scale of duties had endeavoured to
encourage the sugar interest of the British possessions in con-
tradistinction to the produce of the slave-grown sugar countries.
Her Majesty's Government did propose to make a large reduction
in the duties of sugar from the East and West Indies. The higher
duties would be charged on the finer kinds of sugar, and the
greater reduction would be made in the coarser kinds, thus
giving the lower class of consumers the benefit of the reduc-
tion. There was no intention of imposing any additional duty
on sugar imported from the East Indies, but if the Noble
Lord would postpone his inquiry until after the measures
of her Majesty's Government were brought before the
other House, all the information sought for would
be fully given. He apologised for having troubled their Lord-
ship on this subject.
Lord MONTEAGLE was obliged to the Noble Lord for
the. trouble he had taken, and as far as the information of
the principle on which her Majesty's Government intended to
proceed—the equalization, he meant, of the sugar duties—it
was quite satisfactory.
ROMAN CATHOLIC STUDENTS IN TRINITY
COLLEGE, DUBLIN.

Viscount STRANGFORD moved for a return of the
Roman Catholic students who had been entered at Trinity
College, Dublin, since the year 1839.—Agreed to.
THE TRANSMISSION OF NEWSPAPERS

THROUGH THE POST-OFFICE.
Lord CAMPBELL was glad to see the Noble Lord the
Postmaster-General in his place, and he would therefore move
at once for the return of which he had given notice yester-
day. The subject was one on which there was great anxiety,
and on which there had been many complaints. Indeed he
had understood that the Prime Minister himself had com-
plained that his newspapers had not been regularly trans-
mitted to him. He knew that the transmission of news-
papers through the Post-office must occasion a great
deal of inconvenience to the Postmaster-General,
and that the Post-office derived no direct advantage from that
transmission ; but still it must be recollected thet newspapers
paid a stamp duty, which he believed was considered as an
equivalent for the payment of postage. At all events, a re-
venue of two or three hundred thousand a-year was
derived from it.—(Hear, hear.) He believed that his
Noble Friend at the head of the Post-office was
willing to afford every information in his power, and he should
therefore move for a return of the number of complaints which
had heen made at the Post-office of the non-transmission of
. newspapers, within the last twelvemonths.
The Earl of LONSDALE had no objection to make to the
motion of his Noble and Learned Friend; but he thought
it right to state that the Post-office authorities
aught not to bear the blame of the whole of the complaints
which had been made of the loss of newspapers at the Post-
office. He believed that there were no set of official men who
exercised more vigilance, or endeavoured to do their duty
more completely, than the authorities of the Post-office.
And in justice to them he should wish to move an addition
to the motion of his Noble and Learned Friend, for the purpose
of bringing the whole subject clearly before the House. Very
many of these newspapers came folded in envelopes in the most
careless and slovenly manner. Several hundred bags of news-
papers were brought to the Post-office every evening, and al-
though each of these newspapers were inclosed in envelopes,
yet when they were turned out of the bags many of them were
separated from their envelopes. Of course, these envelopes
could not be transmitted, and the Post-office bore the blame of
the loss. Heshould therefore move, as an addition, for a re-
turn of the newspapers which had been returned to
the dead letter office as having been found without
directions. Their number would be found to be not much.
less than 3,000 a-week. He should be most happy to see the
Noble and Learned Lord any evening at the Post-office, at the
time of the arrival of newspapers, and to afford him an oppor-
tunity of seeing the manner in which that branch of the Post-
office was conducted. The Noble. Earl concluded by moving his
amendment.

Lord CAMPBELL was glad the explanation was given, and
so satisfactory was it to him that he would at once agree to
the amendment.

----------------
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH wished parties would
put themselves in possession of proof that these newspapers
were posted before they complained against the authorities.
He was sure many who made these complaints had no evidence
to show that those newspapers were put into the post-office at
the time they alleged they were.
The Earl of LONSDALE concurred in what had fallen
from the Noble Lord who had just resumed his seat. He was
aware of an instance where a complaint had been made of the
non-delivery of a newspaper, and it was afterwards discovered
that the paper was not posted till the day following the com-
plaint--( Hear, bear.)
Lord CAMPBELL was of opinion that a prinia facie case
had been made out of the detention, if not of the non-delivery,
of newspapers.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said parties were in the
habit of writing to newspaper agents directing newspapers to
be sent to them, and these agents were in many instances the
parties who ought really to be blamed, far they never troubled
themselves to see that the papers were properly directed.
The amendment was then agreed to.
NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.

Lord WHARNCLIFFE, in reply to a question which had
been put to him yesterday evening, said there was every reason
for believing that their Lordships would be able to get into
the new Houses of Parliament next session.

Their Lordship then adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS, Feb. 21.

The House met at Twelve o'clock, and at ten minutes past
Twelve the SPEAKER took the Chair
.11:1,E RAILWAY CLAUSES CONSOLIDATION BILL.
said,-that 'btifore the Speaker left the
chair he should wish to give notice to the Noble Lord, the
Chancellorfor the Duchy of Lancaster, that in one of the
dailies he should wish to have an alteration made, as re-
spected public footpaths. As the law at present stood, rail-
ways might intersect footpaths which had been enjoyed from
time immemorial—which led to church or to village, or to
Market—and they would not even be required to lay so much
as a plank across, the only thing incumbent on them being a
necessity of making some thoroughfare, however incon-
venient, as for instance, they might make a passage beneath
the railway approached, on the one side by a descent of
steps, and ascending on the other side in the same manner.
He should wish the clause postponed, in order to place public
footpaths on the same footing with public horseways or
carriage ways.
Lord G. SOMERSET said that he had no objection to
introduce a clause which would effect the object desired by
the Hon. Member for Cockermouth (Mr. Aglionby), if he
-would only point out a way in which it could be done with-
out interfering with the spirit of the other clauses of the Bill.
He (Lord Granville Somerset) would suggest that the words
" public footpaths" should be introduced in the clause which
provided for the security of rights to highways after the
word " highways."
Mr. AGLIONBY said that he thought the Noble Lord's

sugggestion would quite meet the object he had in view.
The SPEAKER having left the chair, the House went
into Committee on the Railway Clauses Consolidation Bill.
Lord G. SOMERSET moved that the consideration of the
preamble of the Bill be postponed. The Noble Lord then
said that on the night when he had given notice of his in-
tention to introduce the Bills which were now to be consi-
dered,he had stated that the object of Government in the in-
troduction of these Bills was, to render all private Bills
'which might be hereafter introduced, for the formation and
regulation of railways and companies, conformable to the
regulations of the Bill now before the Committee ; of course,
there was no intention to prevent the discussion being taken
on any private Bills which might hereafter be introduced.
--They might be considered in their several clauses in Com—
mittee, and then other clauses introduced at that time to
tender them conformable with the Bills which were before
the Committee.
The first clause having been read, several verbal amend-

Iztents were agreed to.
Mr. HAVES begged to inquire of the Noble Lord opposite
whether, in the event of the introduction of a Bill into that
House, for the formation of any Company whose interests
were of such a character as to render the provision for them
inconsistent with the provisions of the Bills before the Com-
mittee, how the mischief was to be obviated. There were
certain things in the Bill before the House, which, when
applied to many private Bills, would be inaccurate and
uncalled for. Although it was of great importance to apply
the provisions of the Bills before the Committee to private
Bills, yet it must be remembered that these Bills were, when
passed, to be public Acts, not private ones, and it was of
great importance to keep them such. Should a Company,
introducing a Bill, find the provisions of the Bills before the
Committee inconsistent with their schemes, he conceived
that their objections might be stated to the House, so that
such
the Billsw Compould plachany mie
them. gt be relievedfr om any difficulty in which
-
Lord G. SOMERSET said the observations of the Hon.
Gentlemen opposite showed that it was necessary to make it
'incumbent on the Committee hereafter considering any pri-
vate Bill to conform to the provisions of these Acts. If a
Company, introducing a private Bill, found the provisions
inconsistent with their scheme, they might state their objec-
tions and those objections could be considered in Committee.
The second and third clauses, with a few verbal amend-
pents, were agreed to.
Mr. HENLEY wished to ask the Noble Lord, then Chan-
cellor of the Duchy ofl
after Lancaster,
itehaalwdhehme passedthe,r he had
through ayagobhjteche-
t ion to reprint the Bill
Committee? The number of alterations, verbal
other-
wise, likely to be introduced into these Bills renderedd her
teh
re-
printing of them necessary.
Lord G. SOMERSET said that in this matter
onlyobjection
should b
guided by the disposition of the House. His e
to the reprinting the Bills was, that it mighti tob
possiblytenume
delayro
Use Application of the provisions of thei Bills