The Sun.
London, England, 1842-02-25 00:00:00

DEMERARA.

Mr. GRANTLEY BERKELEY wished to ask the
Noble Lord the Secretary for the Colonies if any in-
formation, or any documents had been received from
Demerara, relative to the strike amongst the
negro population ; and also he wished to ask the
Noble Lord if any memorial had been received
relative to the distress at present existing in the Colo-
nies ; and if so, would he state to the house the nature
of the prayer, and also whether it included Demerara ?
Lord STANLEY said, in answer to the Hon. Gentle-
man, he begged to state that the Government had re-
ceived no information relative to the Hon. Gen-
tleman's first question. They had not received
accounts from Demerara later than the 15th
of January, which was received on the 16th of the pre-
sent month. In answer to the second question, the
Government had received the memorial to which the
Hon. Gentleman had referred, and which included the
colony of Demerara ; but he (Lord Stanley) had not had
an opportunity of looking over the memorial, but in the
course of a day or two he would give the Hon. Gentle-
man the information he required.
CORN AVERAGES.
Mr. S. O'BRIEN begged to ask the Hon. Baronet (Sir
R. Peel) whether, in the event of passing the Corn-
laws Amendment Bill, the averages would be taken in
the six weeks previous to the passing of the Bill, or in
the six weeks following ?
Sir R. PEEL requested the Hon. Gentleman to allow
him to postpone for the present giving a decided answer
to that question.—(Hear, and a laugh.)
CHINESE RANSOM
Mr. BLEWITT, understanding that the _Right
TlOnourable the Chancellor of the Exchequer. had
no objection to the return for which. he proposed
to move, respecting the silver paid by the Chinese as
ransom for Canton, bogged to ask (as we understood)
whether the decision of the Government, as explained
in Lord Aberdeen's letter, was final or not ? The letter
stated that after the distribution of so much of the silver
as her Majesty should be pleased to allow as prize-money
to the troops concerned in the capture, that the re-
mainder should go to the Consolidated Fund. Ile made
this inquiry because lie did not think that the money
was a droit of the Crown.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said
that the distribution mentioned in the letter of the Secre-
tary for Foreign Affairs was a provision of the law, and
not an arbitrary arrangement of the Government.
Mr. BLEWITT repeated that, in his opinion, the
silver was not a droit of the Crown, nor subject to the
distribution intended ; and when the papers were laid on
the table, he would' call the attention of the House to the
subject.
PRESBYTERIAN MARRIGES.
Lord ELIOT moved for leave to bring in a Bill to con-
firm certain marriages in Ireland, the legality ofwhich had
come into doubt. He was sure it was not necessary to
use any argument to induce the House to accede to a
measure which would relieve a large number of
persons who had entered into marriage by a
form which they believed to have the full
sanction •of the law. It had been the custom for
more than two centuries, for Presbyterians and members
of the Established Church of Ireland to be married
according to the form of the Presbyterian Church.
Perhaps a very short statement of the circum-
stances under which the measure was brought
forward, might not be unacceptable to the House.
At the last Summer Assizes for the county of
Armagh it appeared that a person named Smith
had been married by a Presbyterian clergyman
in the year Is3o, and that he was subsequently re-
married according to the rites of the Established
Church in the year 1839. For this he had been
prosecuted for bigamy, and the Counsel employed
.3u
i
his behalf contended that the first marriage was invalid.
The point of law so raisedat the trial was overruleiiand a
conviction took !dace, but it was reserved for the decision
Hilary Term
of the Judges, and on the first day
~ i that the con-
majority of 8 to 2 of theJudgcs decided
Ile
though it uas very elaborately argued. Thoefir,it,assutlt was that a
sons in s coun-
try was bad, and the, nioaerritahgee
qinti'v;iiellado•tai:i
be-
lieved that many learned per
at were
until
try took a diff, ront Judges:,.,To%-bagt,.‘h,eed,%t.loiautldtl.seayth
absurd for him to offer
there were many others
right. It would be.
overruled, they were bound
theu Judges -
the opinion.oft..
any opinion onhteli
Judges
that a measure like the present was
consider the opinion of as ,
the law, and
to s b subject,
least,
rendered necessary. There was no doubt whatever
therefore it was
that the marriages celebrated by Presbyterian clergyman
were sometimes rendered very uncertain, because there
was no notice given, nor was there any definite