The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-01 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMEN T.
HOUSE OF LORDS, Feb. 28.
The Lone CHANCELLOR. took his seat on the Woolsack at
Five o'clock.
A message from the Commons brought up several private
kills.
On the motion of Lord BROUGHAM, Britten's Divorce
Bill was read a third time and passed.
IRISH CONSTABULARY.
The Earl of CLARE` DON, on behalf of the Marquis of
iNormanby, gave notice of the intention of that Noble Marquis
to bring the question of the Irish constabulary, of which he had
given notice, before their Lordships on Tuesday next.
SUGAR DUTIES.
Lord MONTEAGLE then rose to move for certain papers
relative to the sugar duties, to which he hoped there would
be no objection. He wished, however, to make a few ob-
servations as to the grounds upon which he did it,
because in a former discussion it seemed to be thought
that he was premature in awaking observations on a measure
that was likely to come before that House in the shape of a
Bill. It was upon these grounds that he wished now to make
a few observations. They were now informed, from the
highest authority, that the resolution in another place
would take effect at the time the resolution passed.
Ile was not now dealing with foreign sugar merely, but with
the equalisation taiehe sugar duties in our East and West
ndia colonies : a 17,7 in the years 1841 and 1842, when the
near duties were brought under discussion, he had brought
the same thing under the notice of the Nouse. He thought it
most necessary that this principle should be understood, be-
cause on a late evening, when he asked a question of the
Noble Lord (Stanley), he had been told that the Minis-
terial proposition was not to be supposed a final measure,
but was only intended to give, as it were, a notioe
of its final legi lation propseed by the Government.
They were told also by the Noble Lord, that the Government
intended to adhere to the principle of equalisation on the
sugars of both the East and West India colonies ; that they did
not intend to observe a discriminating duty on the sugars of
the East, greater than that exacted from those of the West.
There was an artifice of this description once perpetrated by
the Government of France, and he thought it was this. In
reference to the duty upon iron, it was proposed
by the French Government that there should be a higher
duty upon all iron which was lorought by sea than that
which was imposed on the same article into France by
land. True, there was no mention made of either
England or Belgium, but the effect was still the same,
because English iron necessarily came by sea, while that of
Belgium came by land. Since the former discussion oe this
subject he had communieated with some influential parties con-
nected with the East Indies, and they appeared to entertain
the same impression as he did; they agreed with him that the
measure of the Government would operate most unjestly to the
East Indies. This, lie thought, most strongly showed the
general impression that prevailed throughout the whole
commercial world on this subject. But there was a stronger
evidence than this in the memorial addressed to the Govern-
ment by the East India and China Association. This Association
comprehended all the eminent traders in that part of the world.
Two highly respectable members objected to the terms of the
memorial, but he believed the rest were unanimous in agree-
ing to it. They complained bitterly of the measure of the
Government, and pretended that it would materially injure the
trade of the East Indies, holding out, as it did, a premium for
the introduction of the worst quality of sugar into this country.
He wished to say one word more. He had a considerable objec-
tion to the plan which their Lordships would be called upon to
approve. When it was endeavoured to impose equal duties on
sugars of a different quality it had invariably proved an unequal
duty. They wished to impose an ad valorem duty.
That plan had been tried and had utterly failed.
The Government with which he had been connected,
though he was not at that time a member of it,
had attempted a similar measure. They had classified teas, and
attempted to impose an ad valorem duty on teas. The argu-
ments for it were certainly very plausible, but it had utterly
failed in practice. The fact was that it was invariably found
that the highest quality of a secondary kind was always more
valuable than the lowest quality of the first kind, and the
consequence was that the duty fell unequally on the lowest
quality of the first-rated article. There was a great difficulty
even among the merchants themselves to ascertain the peculiar
value of each species of sugar, and this was the reason why the
duty of 55., which had been imposed on East India Sugars,
which were equal to clayed sugars, had been repealed. Ira
1823, in replying to Mr. Woolrich NVichmore, he had stated
this as the reason why he repealed the duty of 55.,
which had been imposed on East India sugars.
Ile was persuaded that it their Lordships or the other House
of Parliament would only have a Committee for one week with '
respect to the question, that the evidence taken during that
time would satisfy the Government that a measure of this
kind would end in disappointment, as it would cause
disputes between the officers of the Government and the ex-
porting merchant?. If there was any tax that ought
not to, be discussed annually it was a tax of such
mighty and distinct interests. The object was to
ascertain the whole working of the discriminating
duties of 18.31, the ground on which they were departed from,
and the reasons for the present proposed duties. The Noble
Lord concluded by moving fur the returns of which he had
given notice.
Lord STANLEY was aware that it was somewhat irregular
to take up their Lordships' time with the discussion of a ques-
tion which was not regularly before the house. When
the measures of her Majesty's Government came before
the House lie should be prepared to defend them in
every particular. He deprecated any construction
of a Bill which had not gone through the other House of Par-
liament. He ventured to repeat the declaration he had made
en a previous evening, that it was the intentior of Govern-
ment to eqealise the duties on the products of the East and
West Indies, and only to add a higher duty to the
superior qualities of sugar from the east in order to equal the
duty on the same qualities of sugar from the west.
The returns were then agreed to.
BAIL IN ERROR.
The LORD CHANCELLOR, in proposing the second
reading of this Bill, said that it would not be necessary
to do more than briefly advert to the principle of the measure.
Perhaps an illustration would better explain the nature and
object of the Bill. A party was charged with misdemeanour ;
he was found guilty, and sentenced to imprisonment,
say for three or six months, er a longer period.
Ile was advised by his counsel that the judgment
was erroneous, arid he ought therefore to apply for a
writ of error. But immediately after the sentence was pro-
neunced it was executed, and he was thrown into confinement?
A considerable time elapsed before the writ of error
could be heard, and a decision pronounced by the
court above ; still he was suffering the sentence
of the law, and if the imprisonment was not of long duration it
frequently expired before judgment was pronounced upon the
writ of error. What was the case, however, in civil actions.
A verdict was returned and judgment pronounced ; the defen-
dant brings a writ of error, and this susperds
the execution of the judgment. At first, the
writ of error was :ranted without bail or security being given ;
but this being found inconvenient, the law was afterwards
changed, and this person bringing tee writ of error had
to enter into his own recognizanees, and to produce
two responsible sureties that the debt and costs
should be paid in the event of the judgment being
confirmed. But if the debt and costs were paid immediately
after the verdict was returned, the party, if he succeeded in
his writ of error, could recover the amount by an action
at law. This, however, did not apply to a case of a
criminal nature. The party was punished notwith-
stonding that he brought a writ of error, and he had
no possibility of being restored to his former position.
If it was not open to the Court to suspend the decree, it
yet was open to suspend the execution of the decree,
and from the commonalty of civil proceedings he apprehended
there would be no difficulty in the case. On these accounts
he thought that this was a proper Bill, and ought
to pass into law. It was singular that so many distinguished
lawyers took the like view of this matter.—( hear, hear.)
When things went on in their usual course, they were apt to
forget their duty and to slumber on their post, and it was not
until something unusual occurred to rouse them from their
apathy, that they turned to the improvement of those defi-
eieneies which the lapse of time had occasioned. In the last
se, slon his Noble Friend had brought in a Bill to remedy the
evil, hut it was not in his (Lord Lyndhurst's) opinion free from
defect s, and he had accordingly opposed the second reading. If on
some future occasion he would brine in another Bill to avoid
those defects, he would support it, but if he did not, he (Lord
Lyndhurst) would introduce a Bill. There were measures in
preparation, which he Loped shortly to introduce to their
Lordships.
Lord CAMPBELL said he rose to oppose the Bill. His
Noble Friend seemed to have utterly forgotten the course he
took last session. The Bill that had been brought in by his Noble
Friend the Lord Chancellor was, ipsissirnus verbis, the Bill he
had presented himself. His Noble Friend had made an admi-
rable speech upon a Bill which he had formerly reprobated.
After humbly objecting to the period when the measure was
introduced, his Noble and Learned Friend said " But what is
this Bill? "—( Laughter.) " What a miserable specimen of
legislation this Bill is," said the Lord Chancellor ; "it is a
11111 for the rich and not for the pour ;" and that was the very
law which he (the Lord Chancellor) now proposed.—
( Great laughter.) The Noble and Learned Lord then re-
minded the House of the cobweb by which the small flies
wore caught, and the large ones escaped, and speaking of the
higher class of offenders, he said that whether the judgment
were affirmed or reversed, he set the laws equally at defiance.
And this, again, was the very measure introduced by the Noble
and Learned Lord—( Great laughter)—and then the Noble
and Learned Lord concluded by calling upon the House to
throw out so miserable a measure.—(Continued laughter.)
When they read the Bill of the Lord Chancellor, he trusted
that they would not exactly take the word of the Noble and
Learned Lord, that his measure was so very miserable as he
had stated it was.—( Laughter, and hear, hear.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR said his Noble and Learned
Friend had evidently mistaken the character of the two mea-
sures.—(Laughter.) The reason why he opposed the Bill
during the last session of Parliament was because he thought
it was introduced to meet a certain political object. What
his Noble and Learned Friend had just stated, convinced
him he was not in error in that respect, because
he had stated the name of the individual by whom the Bill
was drawn up. He had also stated that a certain Member of
the House of Commons, Mr. More O'Ferrall, was the indi-
vidual who canvassed Members of that House to introduce the
measure.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE was surprised to hear the
statement of the Noble Lord. A measure introduced to do an
act of justice at a particular time did not admit of its being
described as introduced with a political object. He saw
nn reason whatever why, because a Bill should have the
effect of doing an act of right to an individual, be that
individual whom he may, it should be liable
to be called a Bill introduced with the view
of securing a political object. He did not think
that any Government was justified in such exclusion. He was
glad to see that their Lordships were ready to assent to the
principle of this Bill, and he believed that it did not require
the eloquence of the Noble Lord to induce them to assent to
that principle. He deemed it to be unjust to punish a man
until it was ascertained that his sentence a just one. Ile
shoul
d ever esteem it one of the most
fortunatewas
circumstances
of the events which took place last session, th attisßill
placed on the Statute-book. He was glad to see that the "s
Bill
was likely to pass, and he trusted it would pass their Lord-
ships' House unanimously.
Lot d BROUGHAM said that Bill had been put into his
hands by very respectable persons; but in consequence of being
obliged to go abroad he had been unable to give the requisite
attention to it. On speaking to his Noble Friend on the wool-
sack, he had observed that this was a very awkward time for
truth a Bill. He (Lord Brougham) did agree with his
Noble Friend in the general observation, that the doing of
nstice ought never to be loaded with the accusation of political
; but there was another general observation, that it
was never doing justice to legislate upon a case whilst that case
was pending.
The LORD CHANCELLOR deprecated his Noble Friend's
remarks.
Lord BROUGHAM said he wished his Noble Friend would
leave off reading his own speech, and attend to his (Lord
Brougham's)—for that was not likely to lead him into diffi-
culty. The Bill certainly came from the prosecutor rather than
from the defendant. He should call it a Smythe Bill rather
than an O'Connell Bill.—( Laughter.) That was the conver-
sation that passed, and it comprised the great objection of his
Learned Friend to the time rather than the measure. He
recollected the speech his Learned Friend, had made ; he felt
hat there were cases where the party ought not to be
lowed to escape ; he could easily conceive that there were