The Sun.
London, England, 1845-04-07 00:00:00

to be understood as now reserving what he had to say
upon the subject to the time when the Bill should come
before the House, when he would bring a charge

against one of the Commissioners of Green-
wich Hospital, for having interfered in a man-
ner that he (Mr. H. Hinde) did not think he was
warranted in doing. He held in his hand a very volumi-
nous correspondence on the subject that had passed
between the Commissioner's solicitor and Mr. Richards.
He did not mean to trouble the House by reading the
whole of it; but he would just read one letter that had
been written to one of the landowners who was opposing
the line, and it would be then for the House to say
whether the order for the second reading should be
discharged. The Hon. Member then read the letter;
it alluded to an engagement which the Company had
entered into with Mr. Bicknell, and which Mr. Bicknell
alleged had been broken on their part. Under those
circumstances, he (Mr. H. Hinde) thought the House
ought not to proceed with the Bill until the Company had
either performed or been released from their agreement.
Mr. CHARLES HOPE explained, but in so low a
tone of voice as to be quite inaudible in the gallery.
Mr. FOSTER said it had been quite impossible for
any Hon. Member in that House to have heard the nor-
resrondence which had been read by the Hon. Member
(Mr. H. Hinde)—(Laughter)—and he thought it should
be printed, so that the House might know what it all
meant.—(Continued laughter.) The Bill was of a most
anomalous character, and gave extraordinary powers to
the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital. He was op-
posed to the second reading.
On the question that the Bill be read a second time,
Mr. 11. HINDE presented petitions, signed by all the
landholders on the intended line of railway, against the
Bill.
Mr. FOSTER presented petitions from the Mayor
and corporation of the town of Berwick, against the
Bill.
Mr. H. HINDE said that if the Honourable Gentle-
man who had charge of this Bill, or the Noble Lord
the Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests,
would give him an assurance that this Bill should
be postponed until after the correspondence had
been printed, he would abstain from moving that
the Bill be read a second time that day six months.
This Bill if passed would be a public injustice. Had
there been other than public rights concerned he never
would have intruded this matter on the House of Com-
mons, but unless, since the Bill had been presented
to the House, any new information had been
given he eould not assent to the second reading
of this Bill. He could not see why, for the sake of
one farthing a lift, which was all for the Greenwich
Hospital, they should inflict a grievous injury on the
public. The Greenwich Colliery ought not to be
placed in any position which was more exclusive
than that of any other colliery; and if five collieries
out of six united to outpost a sixth, they were all subject
to the same rules of competition, and there ought to be
no favour shown by the Legislature to interfere with this
competition.
The question was then put for the second readirg.
Mr. HOPE supported the Bill, and presented petitions
in its favour. The Hon. Gentlemen read several ex-
tracts from the evidence of a civil engineer, in favour of
the Bill, and said that the landowners were in favour
of it.

Mr. WARBURTON looked upon this measure as a
public one, and he thought that nothing could be more
reasonable than to put off the second reading of the
Bill for a week, to give the House an opportunity of
being acquainted with the documents which had been
read. He should support the motion of his Hon
Friend before him, that the second reading should be
postponed for a week, and that in the mean time the
papers just read be printed.
Lord LINCOLN would oppose the motion for the
postponement, and also the proposition for printing
the papers. He thought it highly inexpedient
for the House to publish the correspondence
which had passed between the opposing agents.
He thOught it was perfectly unnecessary to publish the
correspondence, as he did not think it would induce the
House to take any other course than that which he
trusted the House would take on the present occasion—
namely, to send the Bill to a Committee of
that House. The gentleman who held the
office of solicitor to the Commissioners of Green-
wich Hospital had held the office for upwards
of thirty years, and he had never had such a -charge
made against him before. He (Lord Lincoln) conceived
that the charge could only be properly investigated in
the Committee to which the Bill would be referred, and
if the Committee should find that the charge had been
proved, their duty would be to throw out the Bill.
Lord HOWICK said he did not concur with the Hon.
and Learned Member behind him, that the reason he
had assigned for postponing the second reading of this
Bill for a week was sufficient. It appeared to him
(Lord Howick) that this was a private Bill, brought in
by the Government for local purposes, and that
therefore the proper place for discussing its merits
was not in that House, but before a Committee, for if it
were to be discussed before the House, means of course
would be taken to insure its being carried ; but if
brought before a Committee it would be fully and fairly
discussed, for there alone would a full examination of all
the details be gone into. If this be a Govern-
ment proposition, he could see no good grounds
assigned why, for that reason merely, this Bill should
be taken out of the regular course to which all such
Bills were subjected. Therefore he did think it would
be a great waste of public time and of public money to
print this correspondence ; for he could not see
what that correspondence bad to do with the Bill
itself. He looked upon these letters as the result of a
mere private squabble between a respectable solicitor
and some other party. It did seem to
him to be a very strange course, indeed, if
the Government were to determine upon throwing
out this Bill on the second reading, without at first send-
ing it before a Committee. He knew something of its
merits, and though he was aware that it was a
local Bill, and for local purposes, he knew no
grounds upon which it could be, or ought to be opposed;
but, on the contrary, he knew that it possessed a
great many local advantages, and he was also aware that
there were a great number of persons, in the vicinity of
the town through which it was to pass, who were in
favour of it. On the whole, he did hope that the Bill
would be sent to a Committee ; but he would oppose the
printing of the correspondence.
Mr. BELL said a few words, after which the gal:ery
was cleared for a division, but none took place.
The Bill was then read a second time.
The Anderston Police Bill was also read a second time.
Mr. GROGAN presented a petition from the noble-
men and gentlemen of Carlow in favour of the Dublin
and Carlow Railway Bill.
Mr. GROGAN also presented a petition from noble-
men and gentlemen in Meath and Westmeath against
the Drogheda and Dublin Railway Extension Bill.
The Manchester Court of Record Bill was read a
second time, and ordered to be committed.
On the motion of Mr. COLLETT, the Great Southern
and Western (Ireland) Railway Bill was read a second
time, and ordered to be committed.
Sir JOHN YARDE BULLER presented a petition
against the Nottingham Railway, and also against the
Cornwall Railway.
Mr. HUME presented a petition against the Berwick
Railway.
Sir THOMAS ESMONDE presented a petition in
favour of the Carlow, Wexford, and Dublin Railway.
• Mr. H. HINDE gave notice that he would, to-
morrow, move for copies of the correspondence between
the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital and Mr.
Dixon relative to the Greenwich Colliery Railway Bill,
and also that if the Bill passed the Committee, he would
take the sense of the House on bringing up the report.
Mr. WAWN wished to know from the Right Hon.
Gentleman, the Vice-President of the Board of Trade,
when it was the intention of the Government to introduce
a measure relative to merchant seamen.
Sir G. CLERK was understood to say that he would
move for leave to bring in a Bill on the subject on
Tuesday.