The Sun.
London, England, 1844-06-21 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.
HOUSE OF COMMONS, June 20.

Sir J. T. BULLER gave notice that on Tuesday
next he should ask leave to bring in a Bill for better
assessing, levying, and collecting the county rate.
BANK CHARTER.
Mr. WODEHOUSE was understood to give
notice of an amendment to the third clause of the
Bank Charter Bill; but its precise nature was not
heard in the gallery.
JOINT-STOCK BANKS.
Mr. MASTERMAN asked the Right Hon. the
President of the Board of Trade whether the Act for
the regulation of joint-stock banks was intended to
have a retrospective effect on the joint-stock banks
already in existence.
Mr. GLADSTONE said the question was one of
considerable importance; but he had not had the op-
portunity of referring to the Acts ; still he would give
the Hon. Gentleman as clear an answer as he could.
The question was whether, in the Bill before Parlia•
ment for the regulation of joint-stook banks,
intended to apply them to the banks at presen,
in operation. He might state that it was not
intended to apply the Bill to those joint-stock
banks at present in operation, except with respect to
registration, unless the parties having the direction of
the company should conceive it to be their interest to
place themselves under the provisions of the Bill ;
there were powers in the Act which would enable
them to do so. The Government had thought it
right fully to recognise all the privileges that were
secured to these banks up to the passing of the
Act, but with respect to companies formed since
the introduction of the Bill and before it should be
passed, it might be a question whether it would not
be advisable tojbring them under the operation of the
Bill.

ST. MARGARET'S CHURCH.
Sir C. BURRELL presented a petition from the
parish of St. Margaret's, Westminster, praying that
as the Church had been made the Church of the
House of Commons, it would be pleased to contribute
something towards the repair of the fabric. The
Hon. Member wished the petition to be printed.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
said he could not decide on the prayer of the petition,
as it would be a matter for the decision of the House ;
he would, however, consent to the petition being
printed.
LORD LIEUTENANT OF IRELAND.
Capt. LAYARD, seeing the Noble Lord the Se-
cretary for Ireland in his place, wished to ask whe-
ther there was any truth in the rumour generally
circulated, of the resignation of Earl De Grey ?
Lord ELIOT said the Hon. and Gallant Member
had better put the question to the Right Hon. Baro-
net the First Lord of the Treasury.
SCILLY ISLANDS.
Captain PECHELL asked the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, whether he had any objection to produce
the correspondence that had taken place with refer-
ence to sending the mails to Scilly.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said
the arrangements were not completed, but when they
were there would be no objection to producing the
correspondence.
THE LORD-LIEUTENANT OF IRELAND.
Sir R. PEEL having entered the House,
Captain LAYARD repeated to him the 'question
that he had put to Lord Eliot, whether there was any
truth in the report of the resignation of Earl De Grey ?
Sir R. PEEL said there was no truth whatever in
the rumour.—(Hear, hear.) Still he must say that
the state of Earl De Grey's health had for some time
been such as to make him very anxious to be reliered
from the burdens of office; but he certainly had not
resigned.

MEDITERRANEAN FLEET.
Sir C. NAPIER wished to ask the First Lord of
he Admiralty a question—lf it was true that the
Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean had dis-
placed the ward-room officers, and taken possession
of the ward-room for his own accommodation ?
He wished to know if the Admiralty had any infor-
mation on the subject, and if they had, whether they
approved of it?
Sir G. COCKBURN said there was no official re-
port of the circumstance, but he believed such a thing
had been done when the ship was taking out the
Governor-General.
Sir C. NAPIER said he thought the Right Hon.
Baronet had misunderstood him. He had asked for
information, and that was the only place where he
could attain it. If he applied to the Admiralty he
could not obtain the information he wanted.
Sir G. COCKBURN said he must observe that the
Gallant Officer had no right to make that remark.—
(Hear, hear.) He often came to the Admiralty and
found no difficulty in obtaining information.—(Hear.)
Captain PECHELL said the latter part of the
Gallant Commodore's question had not been answered.
He would himself ask the Gallant Admiral opposite
whether such a practice as that of taking away the
wardroom from lieutenants and captains of marines
had ever been known in any other case.
Sir G. COCKBURN said it had been done by
himself -in the Romney, when he went out with
the broad pennant.—(Ministerial cheers.)
Dr. BOWRING wished to know when the papers
connected with improvement in the public accounts
were likely to be laid on the table ?
Sir G. CLERK said they were laid on the table on.
Friday last.
On the order of the day for going into Committee
on the Sugar Duties being read,
Sir C. NAPIER said something had fallen from
his Gallant Friend, the Member for Greenwich,
which he could not pass by without notice. "When
he asked the Gallant Admiral a question in reference
to what had occurred in the Mediterranean, he replied
that there had been a similar occurrence when a Go-
vernor-General went out to India. That might be
perfectly correct, but an Admiral was not a Go-
vernor-General of India. There was not a case on
record, in which an officer on a foreign station had
turned all the officers out of their room for his own
convenience. It was contrary, he believed, to all the
rules of the navy.—(Hear, hear.) The Gallant
Admiral reminded him that, when he had visited the
Admiralty, he had never been refused information ;
but then it had always been given with the under-
standing that the communication was private. That
was the reason why he had asked the question.
Mr. SHEIL gave notice, that to-morrow (this day)
he would ask the Right Hon. Baronet at the head of
her-Majesty's Government, whether he had issued any
directions respecting the distribution of Church pa-
tronage in Ireland to the Education Commission ?
SUGAR DUTIES.
The House then went into Committee on the Sugar
Duties Bill.

Mr. LABOUCHERE wished to know whether
the enactments of the Bill were directed against slave
labour sugar or not ?
Mr. GLADSTONE said that they certainly were
not.

' Sir. R. PEEL said it was impossible to make any
arrangement by which all parties would be satisfied.
Mr. VERNON SMITH thought that the Hon.
Gentleman was bound to show to the House the
reasons for the course he had adopted ; he could not
see any reason why the measure that had been pro-
posed should be further considered.
Mr. GLADSTONE defended the course adopted
by the Government. The slavery of Java was in its
character quite distinct from that of Brazil.—(Hear.)
Lord PALMERSTON said, that whether the ex-
pression used by his Right Hon. Friend near him had
been properly understood or not, was of little im-
portance. It was of no use to discuss the motives of
Right lion. Gentlemen opposite. They were
the best judges of their own motives.—(Hear, and
cheers.) But, without discussing motives, he must say
that the course which the Government was taking
was the most devious, circuitous, and tortuous they
could have chosen—(Cheers)—and a devious course
was always the most difficult.—(Cheers.) her Ma-
jesty's Government had formerly stated that their
object was to put down slavery ; but now their object
was to put down only the slave trade.—(Cheers.)
They had no objection to favour countries in which
domestic slavery existed—it was only to agricultural
slavery they objected.—(Hear.) Why, in that state-
ment they gave up one of the most important of their
own principles ; for where domestic slavery existed
there must be a supply of slaves, and there must be a
slave trade.—(Hear, hear.) Look to our own Orien-
tal possessions, in which domestic slavery existed—
Mr. GLADSTONE said that the Noble Lord
ought to confine himself to Java.—(Hear, hear.),

The SPEAKER took the Chair at Four o'clock.
Mr. M. O'CONNELL presented 49 petitions from
Ireland in favour of a repeal of the union.
DISSENTERS CHAPELS BILL.

Petitions against this Bill were presented by Lord
Jocelyn, from Yorkshire; Mr. Shaw, from Middle-
sex; Mr. Fox Maule, from Scotland; Mr. Evans,
from Derby ; Lord Ingestre, Wolverhampton ; Col.
Wood, Brecon ; Mr. Plumptre, Manchester ; Mr.
Newdegate, Coventry ; and Mr. Bankes.
Mr. M. J. O'CONNELL presented a petition in
favour of the Bill.

Mr. WARD presented a petition from Sheffield
against the Savings' Banks Bill.
Mr. DUNCOMBE presented a petition from a
place in Ireland praying for inquiry into the present
state of that country.
SOAP DUTY.

Mr. HUTT said, having been disappointed in
bringing on his motion with reference to this duty on
Tuesday, owing to the circumstance of there not
being a House, he had, after consulting with parties
interested in it, determined to abandon his intention
for the present session, with the view, however, of
bringing it under the consideration of Hon. Members
at an early period next year.
Mr. BUCK presented several petitions from North
Devon against any alteration of the corn-laws.
Mr. AGLIONBY presented petitions from the
associated ministers and chapels of Cumberland
against the Dissenters' Chapels Bill.
COUNTY RATE.