The Sun.
London, England, 1821-06-08 00:00:00

In the Committee of Privilege, Counsel Were
heard on the Strathmore and Molesworth Peerages.
The Irish Public Works. Bill was read a third
and passed.
Lord SIDMOUTIi laid on the table copies of the
Correspondence-between the Judges of Ireland
and the Irish Government, relative to the fees
taken in the Courts.
'The Sale of Bread _Dill was read a third time
and passed ; and the Irish Rate of Interest Bill
was reported.

The Earl of DONOUGIMORE adverted to the
Petition he -had presented from Wm. Claucey,
Clerk in the -Irish Court of Common Pleas. The
Petitioner complained that he was deprived of
the emoluments of a freehold office, without due.
compensation.- He should, therefore, Move to-
morrow, on the order for going into the ComMit
tee, that the Petitioner be heard by Counsel.
Lord SIDAIOUTII trusted that the House would
not .suppose, from hi's silence on the subject of
this Petition, that he admitted the facts it set
foilh. Ile was, however,' perfectly willing to
take the matter into consideration, if any ground
-could be offered for the claim.—Adjourned.

HOUSE. OF COMMONS.
POOR LAWS.

Mr. CURTEIS presented a Petition from the Parish of
Robertsbridge, Sussex, in favour of the Poor Laws Relief
Amendment Bill.

Mr. HOBHOUSE presented a Petition from some indivi-
duals of ListrPool, •against the Poor Relief Amendment Bill.
The Petitioners,. he stated; objected to all the clauses, except
that regulating the Law of Settlement. Mr. Hobhouse said,
he feared he should be obliged to vote against the Bill, his op-
position to which would rest on the ground that forms the pre-
sent state of , the laws against the poor, against emigration,
against eambination, and against begging; a compulsory pro-
vision for the poor was rendered necessary.
Mr. BROUGHAM concurred in opinion with the Honour-
able Member for Westminster, to a certain extent, anti he was
willing-to say 'that if such a measure as the Bill before the
House, or anything like it, was passed, a great alteration would
be necessary in all the laws concerning th Poor. The subject
was attended with great though not with insurmountable diffi-
culty. The system could not begin and end with the Bill in-
troduced by his Hon. and Learned Friend, but there must be
a corresponding change in all the laws affecting the poor.
Tliere was another difhculty with which the Bill was attended,
which was, that it would create two classes of poor; for if the
principle of Mr. Malthus was carried ;into-effect, the children
of marriages contracted at one time would be entitled to relief,
while the Children of marriages contracted at another time
'would not be entitled to it. If the principle of the Bill was ad-
mitted, it would be most tyrannical to retain the laws against
emigration;
.combination, and begging. The present system of
the. Poor Laws was especially built on the prohibition to beg.
.1-le:threw out these observations to show how many difficulties
the subject was attended with. There ought too, if the Bill
was passed, to be measures of precaution taken to make the
execution of the Bill safe, as well-for the Police as the Poor.
It was needless for him further to enter into this topic, but he
particularly referred to the questions of emigration and coloni-
zation. On the latter subject he referred to a pamphlet-of Mr.
Herbtrt Saunders, which contained.much valuablepactical in-
formation on experiments that had been made in Holland and
in Ireland.

Mr. S. BOURNE concurred in the observations of the Ho-
nourable and Learned Gentleman. He cleaned it a great
oversight, that by a clause at the end of the Poor Relief Bill,
the Vagrancy Laws were left untouched. When the funds
were limited; as .they would be by the Bill, it would be im-
possible to leave them subject to the unlimited demands of Ma-
gistrates.
Mr. lIARBORD observed, that the doctrine on which the
alteration of the Poor Laws, was proposed, was chiefly that of
Mr..Maltbus, according to which a certain quantity of vice and
misery was necessary as a check upon population. This doc-
trine had been, in t,lie opinion of many people, well qualified to
forth an opinion upon the subject, shaken by the elaborate work
lately published by Mr. W. Godwin: Ntr. Malthus's theory •
was founded on the supposition of a rapid ratio of increase of.
population, which .Mr. Godwin had, in the opinion of many,
disproved.
After a few words in explanation from Mr. BROUGHAM,
Mr. MAXWELL observed, that in every part of Scotland
where machinery was introduced, a cumpulsdry provisiOn had
been, found necessary, and he . believed such a provision -would
be found necessary till machinery was taxed.
. The petition was ordered to be printed.
Mr. Alderman WOOD moved for a Copy of the Report te,
the eornerset Quarter Sessions of the Committee to inquire into
the state of Ilchester Gaol and the conduct-Of the Gaoler.—
Ordered.

Sir B. :'IARTIN presented a petition from the Chamber of
ComMem at Plymouth, complaining of the oppressive nature
of the tonnage duty on outward-bound ships.
CONSTITUTIONAL ASSOCIATION.

Sir R. WILSON said, he had a petition to present from an
individual: who was now a prisoner, 'being unable to find the
bail which had been demanded from him to answer prosecutions
for libel, which prosecutions had been commenced against him
by the body calling itself the Constitutional Association. The
great mischief of this Society •waS,. that great funds were put in
the hands of persons who could carry on vexatious prosecutions
without subjecting themselves to responsibility or loss of
racter. The Attorney-General had stated in the House, with a
proper feeling of pride, that he had never instituted any prose-
- cution which was not followed by conviction. Here there was
some security to the public- against improper 'prosecutions,
but in the case of the Association, the disposal of the money
was in the hands of persons whose characters could not be made
responSible:
The Petition, which was from Mr. W. Benbow, was read.
The'Petitioher stated, that he had been arrested on the 18th
May on a Judge's warrant, and that he was a prisoner in the
Kins's Bench prison, on the prosecution of a set of conspirators
calling themselves the Constitutional Association, among whom
were some of the great officers, of State, and who had many
thousand potinds at their disposal. Ile complained of the great
suffering and expence to which he had been subjected by their
proceedings. The petition was laid on the table and ordered to
be printed. •
The Naval Stores' Bill was read 'a -second time ; to be com-
mitted to-morrow.