The Sun.
London, England, 1827-04-10 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS, Armt 9.

Mr. Hutchinson, from the Bank of England, brought
up an Account of all Promissory Notes and Post Bills in
ttirculation.
The Repor't of the Election Committee for the Borough
of Fowey 'was brought up—it confirmed the return of the
sitting nembers, and added that the petition presented
again'A them was not frivolous ur vexatious.
On the motion of Mr. Alderman WOOD, the Thanes
Watermen Bill was read a second time.
General GASCOIGNE brought up the Report of the
Liverpool Water-works Bill.
Mr. BIRCH presented a petition of the Surgeons of
Northamptonshire, complaining of certain regulations made
by the Royal College of Surgeons in London, and praying
an inquiry by that house.
- Sir R. VAUGRAN presented a petition from Flint-
shire, against 'the introduction of Foreign Speltre.
Mr. DE"..ZISON presented a petition from 5,000 inha-
bitants o London and its vicinity, praying a better regula-
tion c;f the Post-office.
Lord JOHN HA Y presented a petition from the County
.a Haddington, praying protection for the Landed Interest.
Sir J. YORKE presented a petition of Geo. Gleuny,
of London, praying the appointment of a set of Commis-
sioners to regulate Friendly Societies.—Referred to the
Committee on Friendly Societies.
Mr. BELL presented a petition from Upper Tynedale,
in Northumberland, against the present Corn Bill.
Colonel ARBUTHNOT presented a petition from the
Owners and Occupiers of Land in Kincardine, against the
Importation of Foreign Corn.
On the Motion of Mr. F. BUXTON, an Address was
ordered to be presented to the King, ordering a return of
the number of Slaves sold in Jamaica under Writs of Exe-
cation, in the last year.
Mr. KENNEDY presented a petition from the Ship-
owners of a district in Scotland, praying that the difficul-
ties under which they labour be taken into consideration.

LICENSING BILL.
Mr. ESTCOURT presented a Petition from a person
named Kay, who complained of having- been deprived of
his license, owing to a dispute with one of the Magistrates
of Hertfordshire. It appeared that the petitioner had
bought property near Tring, and had pulled down an old
public house, for the purpose of rebuilding a better one in
its stead. He prayed relief.

Sir J. SEBRIGHT thought the principal grievance of
the present Licensing Bill was, that the magistrates' deli-
berations were always with closed doors.—(Hear, hear )
He had invatlably put this question to the vote among the
noaarietrates, but he had always been out-voted.--(Hear.)
After a few words from Mr. GORDON,

Mr. ESTCOURT said, his object as to this Bill, was
to have it printed, and to have it recommitted after Easter,
with a view to its discussion..--(Hear, hear.)
Mr. CALCRAFT said, that there might be exceptions
to the conduct of a Magistrate, in a few particular cases,
but he was sure that, as a body, they discharged their ar-
duous duties with seal, with ability, and with benefit to the
country.
Mr. HUME said great abwes existed.
Sir J. SEBRIGHT tnePait no reflection on the Gentle-
men who acted with h;:ni on the day alluded to ; they were
all most respectable Men—indeed they were all Clergymen,
except himself.-_(A laugh,)—Fl, only found fault with
this mode of ":liscussion with dosed doors.—(Hear, bear.)
The P'etitiort was ordered to be printed.
COUNTY FIRE OFFICE REPORT.
- _

1-10BHOU,SE_ea,re• -..b001d, to-
morrow, present a Petition against the Report of the
Commissioners of Inquiry into the County Fire-office.
Mr. WALLACE said, he had seen the Petition, and
thought it would not be advisable to enter into a discus-
sion upon it at present. The Right Honourable Gentleman
went on to stat.: his reasons why the Petition should be
withdrawn; but he spoke in a tone so low as- to be alto-
gether inaudible in the Gallery.

Mr. HOBHOUS said; the suggestion had placed him
in a difficulty, He had the Petition by him for some
time. It bore 1,500 signatures, more tha❑ one half of
which were those of hie Constituents, and he could not
give an answer without first consulting them.
COUNTY COURTS.

Mr. JOI-IN SMITH presented a petition from Brighton
complaining of • the serious evils which arose from the
abuses of the practice of the County Courts. The peti-
tioners alleged that these Courts frequently granted seizures
for sums treble the amount of the original debt, and this
enormous increase was generally caused by the costs, which
swallowed up every thing else. The Hon. Member, among
others, mentioned the case of a poor woman, who was
sued for a debt of I 4s. , and an execution being taken out
against her for that sum, and for 15s. costs upon it, her
goods were seized for a sum considerably exceeding the
amount of both debt and costs, her bed, her pillows, and
several other articles of furniture were taken from her, and
in this case, as in several others of a similar kind, nothing
was returned. The bailiff, in this case, was summoned
before Sir David Scott (than whom a more worthy Magis-
trate never existed), and was by that gentleman bound
over to answer at the Sessions. The bailiff, however, who
knew that other charges of a similar kind could he brought
against him, decamped before the time for his appearance
at the Sessions, and the poor woman had, consequently
been unable to abtain any redress. There was another
evil to which he wished also to allude, and that was, that
persons summoned for small debts were sometimes served
with the summons only on the night immediately preceding
the day appointed for their appearance at the County
Court, which was sometimes as much as eight miles from
their residence, and where they were desired to appear by
attorney. The Worthy Magistrate to whom he had al-
a eady alluded had told him that there were above fifty cases
of the kind he had mentioned, and expressed an earnest
wish that the matter should he laid before Parliament.—
With that wish he (Mr. Smith) had now most willingly
complied, and he should only add his opinion, that the
subject was one which loudly called for the most serious
attention of the House.

The Petition was in the following terms
TO THE HONOURABLE THE COMMONS OF THE
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND
IRELAND, IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED:
" The humble Petition-of some of the Inhabitants of the
Town of Brighthelrnstone, in the County of Sussex,
" inzwrrit,

" That your petitioners have had to deplore the very se-
rious evils which have arisen from the abuses of the County
Court for the Recovery of Small Debts, and particularly
against those persons who, front their situation in life, are
least able to bear them.

That many of your petitioners have suffered very greatly
themselves from having had their goods seized to more
than treble the amount of their debt, which had been
swelled by large costs, and against which, from the pecu.
"Cr mode of proceeding, it was impossible for them to have
guarded; it being no uncommon practice for a person to
receive a summons for an insignificant debt, of a few shil-
lings, to
, appear, by his Attorney, at the County Court,
seven or sight miles off, on the following morning ; and,
in case of failure, to hare an attachment levied against his
goods, followed by an immediate seizure.
" That, by these oppressive means, some of your peti-
tioners have been nearly involved in total ruin. That the
ordinary costs for defending an unjust or doubtful debt are
so great as to be utterly beyond the reach of many of your
Petitioners, who have no alternative but to submit to the
subjected
unjust demand, or be in many instances to utter
ruin.
" That your Petitioners are well aware that, owing to
the vigilance of the newly established Institution of the
Town, and to the activity of some of the Magistrates, some
of the evils have been remedied; but
your Petitioners
humbly suggest they have
no security if that vigilance and
l
activity should cease ; and they pray they
ma) not again
be subject to the same oppressive
measure; beside,. which,
many of the evils alluded to are irremediable, but throughl..
the interference of your Hon. House.
" And your Petitioners humbly pray that your lion.
House will take their case into your most serious conside-
ration ; and that you will adopt such measures as your
non. Rouse 'nay deem fit, to put a stop to the recurrence

of those grievances, under which many of your Petitioners
have so greatly suffered.
" And your Petitioners wiii ever pray," &c.
Mr. M. A. TAYLOR confirmed what bad been stated
by the lion. Member who preceded him.
Mr. MONCK concurred with the observatiohs of his
two Hon. Friends.
The petition was ordered to be laid the Table and to be
printed,

IIEV. C. SLOMAT47..
Mr. MIME presented a petivtibli from the Rev. C. Slo-
man, complaining of the reattnent which he had received
in the Island of Cerigo. The petitithier stated, that in the
cours.c -or his travels he had visited that and had
teen ordered to perform quarantine; that he had been
accused of havl;;:g oroken quarantine, and was then put
into soFtSy confinement, and treated in a manner very
~I:frerent from that which a traveller and a clergyman had
a right to expect—Ordered to be laid on the Table.
Mr. HUAIE presented a petition from the Owners of
Land in the vicinity of Perth, against the scale of Duties
agreed on by the Resolutions lately passed on the subject.—
Ordered to be laid on the Table.
PRISONS.

Mr. HUME then moved for a return of all the prisoners
for debt, received into the custody of the Marshal of the
King's Bench Prison, in each month in every year, since
ISI3 ; also a return of all prisoners for debt, discharged
in each month, within the saute time ; also a return of the
aggregate number of prisoners for debt, received into the
King's Bench Prison, and the Rules thereof, within the
same time; and a similar return of prisoners for debt, re-
ceive.d into the Prisons of the Meet, Whitecross-street,
and Horsemonger-lane, within the same period.—Ordered.
Mr. MABERLY presented a petition from the Retail
Brewers of the City of Gloucester, praying for an altera-
tion of the laws regulating the manner in which they
should carry on their business. ire also presented a peti-
tion from the Cotton Spinners of Blackburne, in the
County of Lancaster, praying for the establishment of a
minimum of tvages.
Mr. BYNG presented a petition from the Coroners of
the County of Middlesex, praying for an increase in their
fees.

Mr. CURWEN moved for a return of all the vessels,
with their tonnage, employed from the Ist of August,
1825, to the Sth of April, 1827, in the importation of
foreign cern, meal, and flour, either for the purpose of
warehousing or home consumption.—Ordered.
CORNWALL AND DEVONSHIRE MINING