The Sun.
London, England, 1842-08-12 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT,

. ROUSE. OF LORDS, August 11.
.Their Lordships met at Five o'Clock.
-The Consolid'ated-FinidS- Bill;-the Exchequer Bills
Bill, the Sliti-eatrade (Portuguese Vessels) Bill, the
Boroughs-Ineorporntion Bill, the Coventry Bounda...
ries Bill, and the Alanchester,Birmingliam, and Bolton
Police Bill, were read ar'third time and passed.:
Bolton-His iscoltroßATl
Lord BROUGHAM presented a petiEon from
Birmingham against the Boroughs Incorporation Bill.
lie apologised to their Lordships and the petitioners
for not htting 'presMited the 'petition sooner, Which
was oee isioned by its having been mislaid.
NEWFOUNDLAND BILL.
Lord RIPON having moved the Order of the Day
for, the third reading of this Bill, •
The LOIID CI I A NCELLOR ordered Mr. Burge,
the counsel Ibis the House of ASsembly of Newfound-
. land, to be called in.
Mr. Burge then appeared at the bar, and addressed
the house against the Bill. • .
Tlie LORD CILANCELLOR then put the question,
that, the Bill be. read a third time, which was carried.
On the question that the Bill do pass,
' !rd CAMPBELL said, he thought the, able address
they lrad just heard, required some
.consideration ; lie
shouldeontenthimself by tinning the omission of ono
elaus:!, the sixth, The Noble and Learned. Lord briefly
stated his objections to the clause.

:The Earl of RIPON said, there was only one point in
the Noble Lord's•objeetions to which he wished to refer,
that was the opinion he had quoted from Sir John Har-
v6'. It was true that he did not recommend this par-
tiOular mu:4e of dealing with the difficulties of the ques-
tion, but at that time he had not so full a knowledge of
what those difficulties were as he subsequently acquired.
His second dispatch, in which the particular form of
government enacted by the :•:ixth clause was established,
Contained his more matured opinions on a better know-
ledge: of the practical difficulties of the case. The object
of. the clause was only .to enable the Legislature to pass
such measures as should be for the benefit of the, corn?
munity.—The Bill was then -passed.
BANKRUPT LAWS.

Lord BROUGHAIit said he" was about to stare his
reasons for withdrawing a Bill of which he had given
notice, and pressing it no further. The purpose of
the Bill was to enable debtors and , creditors
voluntarily to enter intoarrangements fdr-the benefit of
both, securing protection to the one: and the distribution
of the estate amon!, the others.. The, Bill had beeii pre-
pared after much deliberation, underthe direction Of the
Commissioners of the Court. of Bankruptcy. and the more,
tiny considered its provisions the more they would, he
disposed to argue that it was founded tin just.principles,.
and that its details were calculated to carry those princi-
ples into effect. lie rejoiced to say that another Bill,
presented at, the same time, had passed the other House
of Parliament, and now waited the Roy& assent. It
was due to her Majesty's Goverim-unt upon this
occasion that he ,should once more .express: both
his own gratitude and that of the p tales. who
would- be benefited by the Bill; for their hearty,
steady. and effectual support of the measure, which was
a great amendment of the law. .The Bill did not in
the slightest degree diminish the security of the creditor
in his just and lawful demands, while it would mitigate
in every respect the harsher features of the law of per-
sonal arrest; One part of the measure they had taken
from a neighbouring country, Scotland, namely the cessio
bonorum, but they had taken it with a very great im-
provement, for whereas there the cessio bonorum
could only operate to the ,relief of the debtor
after he had suffered imprisonment, the wise
and just humanity of the Legislature had given
the same relief without the accompaniment of imprison-
ment at all. The other two measures of his Noble
Friend were also good measures. He likened them to
the kindly fruits of the earth, which were not only nu-
tritious and wholesome in themselves, but were also the
seeds of future harvests. But, like good seed, they had
also fallen among thorns—the base weeds of self interest,.
local feelings, and local interests had, been aroused
against it ; those interests lie. might well liken' to
thistles, for, like the thistle, their motto was—" Touch
us who dare." The Bankruptcy Bill was well nigh lost
by such influence.--(llear, hear.) Nothing but the
energy of the Government could - possibly have
ensured the passing of this improvement.—(Hear.) His
Noble and Learned Friend's reform had been ex-
posed to the very self same influence which had been used
to thwait the progress of his (Lord Brougham's) Bill
when this bankruptcy system was first introduCekten
years ago. But he bad not heard of the same passage
in the lives of those country bankers which had so well
adorned, and almost closed the life of his most valuable
friend, Mr. J. Smith, of the house of SMith, Payne and
Smith, who expressed his willingness, on the part of
himself and his partners,to give up the five or six
thousand a-year, which hey were making by the ne-
gligence of assignees, and which would be the' conse-
quence of the Bill. He was in hopes that some such de-
claration would, on the present occasion, have been made
by some country bankers. lie regretted to say 'that his
Noble and Learned Friend's Bill had yielded, like
the former one. to personal interest.—(Hear.)'''lle ac-
quitted his' Noble Friends who were connected
with Yorkshire and •'.Lancashire—Lord Derby, Lord
Fitzwillim, and the •Dulte of Norfelk—,from beihg.
parties to the opposition that was offered to the measure,
'and he hoped that
_the .next lime the .tneasine was
brought forward those Noble Gordy; would ptif their
'veto upon any opposiiioti -being made to it by their par-
tisans, and lie trusted that next session butterl'ortime
Would attend the inea,sure.• The- Noble - and Leaned
Lord concluded by stating thathe withdrew the` Debtors
and Credits Gill.—The Bill was then withdrawn..
Lord 1:11411'GIL1111 then stated that the Bill for the
hinprovenient of Law Evidence, which had 'been intro-
duced by hiS Noble Friend the Lord Chief JUstice of
the Court of Queen's Bench, had been lost. elsewhere
without any fault being attributable to his Noble Friend.
Their Lordships then adjourned till Twelve o'Cltfk
to-morrow (this day). .
• ..