The Sun.
London, England, 1819-04-27 00:00:00

USURY LAWS.

Mr. Serjeant 6r.stsLow postponed the farther
consideration of the Report of the Usury Laws'
Repeal Bill to this day fortnight.
Mr. CALCRAFT complained that this postpone-
ment would be very inconvenient to many Members
of the House, who intended to oppose the Bill.
He hoped that the Learned .Serjeant would at
last fix a time which he would keep.
Mr. Serjeant Otistow did not conceive that
the present postponement could inconvenience
any of the Menthe's who attended regularly to
their duty in the House. His object in delaying
the farther consideration of his measure, was to
wait till the Bank Committee should have made
its Report. ,
Mr. CALCRAFT was sorry to have excited the
warmth of his Learned Friend, whose raillery,
however, had no effect upon him, as he (Mr. C.)
bad the merit, if he possessed no other, of attend-
ing the House regularly. He hoped that the
Learned Serjeant would be cooler, when he should
come to the discussion of his measure, and would
soff,r himself to be convinced of its impropriety.
Mr. Alderman Waithman and Mr. Davenport.
expressed their hope that the House would .not
entertain the measure, and that the Learned Ser-
jeant would keep to the' day which be had fixell.
Mr. S. BonaNtt postponed the further consi-
deration of the Report of the Poor Settlement
Bill to this day se'nnight. • .
General GASCOIGN‘R "expressed his intention of
then moving for a re-committal, in order to
ex-
tend the time of settlement.

MARRIAGE ACT.
On the motion of Dr. PHILLIMORV, the Re-
port of the NJArrisge Act Atnendtnent Bill was
token into f.irtl►er consideration,

Sir C. ROBINSON opposed the measure as un-
necessary and impolitic. He SaWno cause for
depas ting from the system followed by our an-
'eestors. In 'some instances he thought the Bill
went'too tar, in others not far enough. Upon
the whole, he would prefer the Marriage Act as it
.et present stood, to the proposed law. He moved,
as an amendment, that thei iteport should be
taken into further consideration oR that day six'
months.
Mr. Serjeant ONSLOW considered the principle
of the Bill to be essentially tight, though he
would admit tqat there were parts of it that he
could wish to be left out, while there were some
Fr'ovisions that he desired to introduce. He hoped
the amendnient would be withdrawn, that the
Bill might be recommitted.
The SoLtcrroa-GstirrAt, was hostile to the
Bill. Under the existing law some cases of indi-
vidual hardship had occurred, but were they to
iegislate ou individual cases or on general princi-
ples ? -The hardships that had been endured had
generally fallen on those who wilfully violated the
law, or who would not take the trouble to consult
it. Unless the House wished to depart from the
principle of the Marriage Act, and to say that
minors should be alowed to marry without the
cuirbelit oh their parents and guardians, luC thotight

they could not give their sanction to this
He for one objected to the edoptionof such a
principle, and should theretore vote for the
amendment.
Sir J. MACKINTOSH seid the present Bill was
intended to e-orrect some of the evils growing out
of the tyrannical provisions of the 26th of the
King. That act, which had been panegyrised as
embodying the wisdom of near ancestors, he con-
tended deserved no such character. From parti-
colar circemsrances it. had passed at a time, when,
perhaps, the House were less in a Legislative
temper than ever they had been. It was at once
absurd and tyrannical, and in two lines made five
feloniis connected with the solemnization of mar•
ridges punishable with death. The clergyman of-
ficial log at such marriages was. liable to be
sree.pested for fourteen years. 'This, he thought,
was tolerably strong protection. He then
proceeded to show the severity with which
the exi,ting law, the Act of the 26th of the
King, opt-rated. In the first place, the off-
spring of such merriages, the innocent children,
Ivere most severely punished. Next to them it
preised with most severity on defenceless wo-
men, whom it had been one of the objects of the
institution of marriage to protect against the
fraud, the caprice, and the inconstancy of man.
The law, as it now stood, put a dagger into the
hands of a tyrannical villain, to wound the help-
less woman he had seduced to his arms, as it fur-
nished the means for throwing her off when he
tireil of her, and thus it gave to the strong
an additional engine of oppression. The Ho-
nottiableand Learned Gentleman proceeded with
omega energy to descant on the detects of the
present law ; but a tumult created by a disor-
derly person who attempted by violence to force
himself in at the door opened at the com-
mencement of the present Session for the ae-
modal ion of the Reporters alone, made it
itnpessible to follow is 'n, end even the House
xs/is disturbed till, the intruder was expelled, and
coreihctd by a vele- summary process to the
Messenger's lobby. Sir James was understood to
he strongly in faeeeir of improving the present
Bill, so as o snake it colfspe;eut to remedy the
evils to which:he bad before alluded ; and in con-
clusion, he expressed an opinion, that it more were
left to nature, and less attempted by stern legisla-
tion, a very beneficial change might he effected.
Dr. PHILLIMORE replied, and referred to a va-
tiety of cases in which much hardship had been
sustained. In one case a woman, after cohabiting
with her husband for 17 or 18 years, formed an
adulterous connection with a Colonel in the ar-
my ; and when the husband sought reparation for
the injury he bed sustained, the woman proved
that she lead been a fe,v weeks under age at the
time of their union—roillified the marriage, and
thus bastardized five children. In another case,
that of tiriesiley ant) Hughes, a child, Wyears after
the marriage of its parents, and aft, 'r the death of
its father anal grandfather, from Whom much was
expected,was deprived of the property it should have
inherited by relations, who brought an action and
nullified the marriage. He defended the present
Bill, and contended it would remedy many of the
evils to which he had thought it his duty to di-
rect the attention of the House.
The Homse then divided.
For the Motion
For the Amendment . . .
Majority

The Report, with some additional clauses, was
then agreed to, and the Bill ordered to be read a
third time on Monday.
On the motion of Mr. S. Bourne, the second
reading of the Poor Rates Misapplication Bill was
postponed to Monday.
The Report of the Claims on France Bill was
taken into farther consideration, and the Bill or-
dered to be recommitted.
Lord CASTLEREAGH moved, that it should be
now" tecommitted. _ _ _

Mr. F. DouGLas wished this recommittal of the
Bill to be postponed to some future day-
Lord CASTLEREAGH consented to postpone it
till to-morrow.

POOlt nEmEr (SCOTLAND) BILL.
The Order of tie Diy ha'ving heel, read for the
House to resolve itself into a Committee on the
Poor Relief `(Scotland) Bill,
Mr. KENNEDY hoped fur the indulgence of the
House while he stated the reason how any misun-
derstanding had arisen respecting the Bill _which
was now about to be before the House. Alter
having given that explanation, the Hon. Gentle-
man contended, that if such. a- Bill paused into.
law, a spirit of liberality would be extended, not
only.to the poor, but to the lower and middle
orders of society. Ile hoped the Bill would be
allowed to be committed and printed with the
amendments.

The Lola) AnvocATF. said be would not oppose
the Bill in its present stage, but reserve any ob-
jections till the Bill had been committed.
After a few works from Mr. FEFIGUSSON. which
were not audible, the Bill was committed, and
the Report received, and ordered to be further,
considered on Wednesday.