The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-05 00:00:00

concerned. Members on private Comtnittees should be
as free from all bias or prejudi- s. and local interests as
men in the jury box.—(Hear, hear.) He thought the
present one of the most salutary regulationri s that had
been introduced into the House. The pnciple had
worked well, and ought to be pursued. He was sur-
prised that any Member should object to so useful a re-
solution. He would give it his hearty support.
Mr. HAWES said that it was very important that
there should be entire unanimity on this question. He
thought the clear and indisputable meanembing of thld
e
tesolution was, not that Mers shou
pledge themselves that no individual number
of their constituencies had a personal interest,
but that the constituency, as a body, had no local inte-
rest.—(Hear, hear.) Those who had opposed the reso
lution had not proposed any other course. If the evi-
dence of Members was desirable it could be given with
much more weight and solemnity as witnesses, and the
decisions of the Committees would thus have greater
weight on the public mind.
Mr. S. WORTLEY said it was impossible for the re-
solution to be practically and usefully carried cut, unless
the construction put upon it by the Hon. Member for
Lambeth was agreed upon. He entirely concurred with
the Hon. Member in the observations that had fallen

from him.
Mr. ROEBUCK approved of the general plan pro-
posad in the resolutioe, and concurred in the view taken
of it by the lion. Member for Lambeth. It would be
better. he thought. to leave it to the Select Committee
to say whether the constituency of such and such a
Member had a local interest or not.
Lord G. SOMERSET said the Committee had already
had sufficient responsibility thrown upon them.
Lord H. VANE thought the 10th resolution would
get rid of the difficulty.
Mr. SHAW suggested that the word "believed"
should be introduced into the declaration. It was not
always in the power of an Hon. Member to say distinctly
whether his constituency had, or had not, any local in-
terest. in a particular undertaking. For instance, en in-
dividual constituent might have an interest, and yet his
representative would not be aware of it. But this diffi-
culty would be done away with, if he had only to declare
that he believed his constituency had no local interest.
After a row words from Mr. GISBORNE and Mr.

COLLETT.
Sir R. PEEL said a distinction was made in the reso-
lution between the local interest of a constituency and
the personal interest of an individual Member or a con-

stituent.
The resolution was then agreed to, as were also
5 and 6.
On resolution 7 being put,
Mr. GISBORNE wished to ask whether he was right
in supposing that no railway Bills would be committed
before Easter. At the same time he should be glad to
know if the whole of the reports of the Board of Trade
would be made before Easter. He would not detain the
House with any observations on the subject of these re-
ports, because he believed there would be another oppor
tunity afforded the House for considering, them.
Lord G. SOMERSET replied that the whole of the
reports would be made before Easter, but he did not
think any of the railway Bills would be committed be-
fore Easter; at all events, none of them of any import-
ance. He was pledged to the Hon. Member for Lam-
beth to give the House an opportunity of stating their
opinion with regard to the railway department of the
Board of Trade.
Mr. lIAWES thought the railway department of the
Board of Trade, as it now stood, was very unsat
suggesting
whether a Board possessing such extensive powers ought
not to be an open tribunal. It might, in his opinion,
be regulated, under certain rules and regulations, in the
same way as a court of law, whose judgments and de-
cisions were invariably delivered in the presence of all
parties interested. At present, however, the Board
gave their decisions to the public without its being
known whether the objections urged on both sides had
b..en fairly considered or not, and this was evidently
not a satisfactory mode of dealing with matters of such
vital importance to the public interest. Besides, it
would put an each to the unpleasant surmises indulged
in respecting the partiality of any particular Member fur
this or that railway. Ile was not prepared to say to
what extent this publicity should be carried, but cer-
tainly some measure ought to be adopted to attach more
responsibility to the Beard.
Sir R. PEEL could hardly think the Hon. Member
contemplated tiTlyi alteration in the constitution or
" bearing upon the peculiar functions of the Board so far
as the present year was concerned.—(Hear, hear.) Before
they could make this alteration not only would the
opinion of the Board itself be known with respect to
particular lives, but the reports themselves would be
being discussed in a Committee appointed to inquire
into the merits of competing lines; and, therefore, to
make any alterations in that Board, which could have
any effect upon the regulations of the present year, would
be exceedingly unwise. The Hon. Gentleman he hoped,
then, would agree with him, that any question relating
to the constitution of the Board had better be deferred.
His firm belief was, whether the tribunal were secret or
not, the degree of weight or authority of the decision
would entirely depend upon the reasons which the
Board should give in support of their conclusion.
His Hon. Friend, who sat in the other House, had de-
voted a deal of his time to the Presidency of the Board, in-
deed he did not think any public man ever entered upon
the discharge of his duties with greater determination
to go fully into the subject to be submitted to him, nor
did he think the functions committed to him could have
been discharged with more attention or greater ability.
—(Hear, hear.) He believed the various members of
the Board were eminently qUalified to assist in coming
to a sound conclusion as to the general merits of two
competing lines.—(Hear, hear.) lie knew nothing what-
ever of the real proceedings of the Board, except what he
read in their published reports. He had read the
report issued on Monday upon the merits of a particular
line, which certainly did appear to him to afford most
important information. Alteration and improvement
were there suggested, which they never could have ob-
tained through the medium of any other tribunal than
the Board of- Trade. He strongly recommended Hon.
Gentlemen to read the report of the Board of Trade
upon the question of gradients, and the manner of over-
coming the disadvantages which had hitherto been
thought to be insuperable, on account of the sudden rise
of railroads. It was then stated that on the Birming-
ham and Gloucester line there was going to be established
a locomotive engine, peculiarly adapted to raise heavy
weightslupon railroads as a substitution for the stationary
engine.—(Hear.) It was clearly a most important report
as bearing upon future railway legislation, and he very
much questioned whether a Committee reporting upon a
railroad could have supplied half the information. Be-
fore Easter they would have got all these reports before
them, and to make any alteration in the present Board
before that time would be injudicious. Judging from the
nature of the report, their arguments and their reason-
ing he certainly must say strongly influenced him in
favour of the tribunal.—(Hear, hear.) At all events he
did not think it would be possible to make any altera-
tion for the better in the constitution of that Board.
The Hon. J. S. WORTLEY did not think any mate-
rial alteration eould be made in the constitution of the
railway department of the Board of Trade.—(Hear,
hear.) Before. however, he entered upon the subject,
perhaps the lion. Member for Lambeth would per-
mit him to suggest that the question which the Ho-
nourable Member had brought forward should
be deferred till a later period of the session, and then
let the matter be brought regularly before the House.—
(Hear, hear.) The reports of the Beard of Trade were
about to be sent before a Committee of merit, and until
they k:tew the results of their practical investigations he
did not think it advi!able to alter the constitution of
the Board.
Mr. HORSMAN said that his Hon. Friend had ad-
duced nothing serious against the character of that
Board, or the soundness of the reports that had emanated
from them, and he hoped that if his Hon Friend revived
the question of the constitution of that tribunal it would
be during the hours of pub*c business.—(!leer, Lear.)
What bad been asserted of their mode of discussion
was proved to be incorrect by the fact that it
vas neceseavy for the President or Vice-President to
hay.: three lion. Members to assist him with their ad-
vice. What had first given rise to any credit being
given to the suspicions expressed as to the motives by
which the ,Board was actuated, was its having amongst
its Members ,orne Gentleman who had no public name
or standing. The proceedings of last session had shown
that in those transactions much opposition might be
expected to he sraieed against these reports, by disap-
pointed and prejudiced parties. At the same time,
he could not In 1p feeliog that the absence of a public
man somewhat justified these tuspicions.
Mr. CLIRTEIS said that he Led a letter from one of
his constituents, wha was exceedingly well versed in
railway matters, complaining of the limited period
allowed for inspecting the plans and sections of pro-
posed railway lines. The orrice for that purpose was
only open, he believed, for two hours a day, thus en-
tailing an accumulation of business; that was most un-
satisfactory end annoying. He also complained of
the exorbitantly high charges made for leave to inspect
then,. Fir every ref,renc, made to those plans. the
parties so referring were charged about six shillings
while in other crmrts, such a: in the Clerk of the Peace,
an inspection of papers would cost ,no more than about
one
An Hox. MEMaxit said the office for the purpose of
permitting a reference to plans of railways was open
from ten to four, thus giving a clear six hours of accom-
modation to parties seeking information on the subject,
and therefore the complaint, in one particular at least,
was i„verchaeged.
The ,SPEAKER then read a series of resolutions,
which were individually a;:r.,cd to. until he came to that
making the attendance of Members on Committee meet-
ings compulsory • when
BEIZNiii, rose. He did not know whether it
was proposed to compel the attendance of Members in a
similar wanner as with Feection Committees. At present
they court only compel the rxendunca ol Members in
that particular case. They could nY L r instance,
;flake them attend in the formation of
public
in other descriptions of private husines•,. agile
of this resolution weuld be imposing a very ereal:t'assii
hard-
chip on many lion. Aleinb,::rs, and he would. only wish
them to consider the annoyance to lion. Members who
would require to ga the circuits. or who were engaged
in other avocations. They would, by-and-bye, be re-
ceivintMses from lion. Members, and they would be
requir • admit them, too, from there gentlemen who
vent the.porthern and western circuits. And then the
leng ❑
thenedcititionvenience many of those Railway Come
mieht endure for an extraordinary- time. He would
mittocu
Yenturett..' anti Hon. Members might be
.shirprised,
lf some of to contested Irish railways should last for
three monthd---(Langhter.) Were those excuses to be
taken, or was filo House to admit the legality of those
excuses-? Then, sweat were they to do with all those
Railway Committees '.'
The attending upon them was
not one of those regular duties to which Hon. Members
were expected to be subjected to. True it wthe we'.as, that
railways were now become „A great element in