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London, England, 1842-02-08 00:00:00

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LONDON :
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1842.
411 interesting debate took place last night in
the ti
I.lh -4°llse of Commons on Mr. WALLACE'S MO-
-11.,111. tO recur to the old practice of the Members
-:::4;1(ing remarks on presenting petitions. The
1-;":ti°11 Was opposed by the body of the COnser-
-1,:44e5, headed by Sir R. Peet' and Sir R.
1Zil:8) and by some Liberals, of whom Mr. BRO-
r°ll spoke against the motion, which was
-lir% by a large majority.
... 4. he argument which seemed to have most
eight with the House was the great number
I"r°.rDetitions. Sir ROBERT PEEL said 17,000, on ail
ZNBage, were presented every year, which made it
sible for the House to attend to them all.
i 1t at that
duly considered, goes further
ould like to see it
carried ; it
goes
to convict the Commons of inefficiency ; and
ha
are rattler surprised that Mr. O'CONNELL did
r °t seize it, and state that it would justify a
:P,eill of the Union. The House of Commons
L-2"sts Mainly to redress the grievances of the
r°,l)le. O nthat principle the Commons always
her
on reing some Bill before they will take
.ier lqiutsTY's Speech into consideration. They
gmio that to preserve their 'right to discuss and re-
„ress ' grievances before they grant supplies.
-bluthe statement of last night is a confession
that the
th
Mouse cannot fidnd
time to attend to e
ed
ll,evances of the people, much less to discuss and
redress them. It has become of little use, there-
rore, by its own confession; and is unable now to
attain the object for which it was established, and
Which still constitutes its principal duty.
The union with Scotland, and the union

with Ireland, added a third to the population,
and probably to the petitions, but it did not add
one-third to the hours which the House sits, or
facilitate the public business in the like propor-
tion. As these two unions added to the number
of persons whose grievances one body only
was appointed to redress, so the increase of po-
pulation, and the increased interest taken in pub-
lic affairs, quadrupled the claims for attention
and redress that were made on the House. No
efforts, however, were systematically made on the
part of the House to meet the altered state ofcir-
cumstances. Now and then a little tinkering was
done to the matter, but nothing effectual; and at
length the House had no alternative but to take
refuge in its present plan of actually shoving the
petitions of the people aside, refusing a hearing
to those who presented them, and so stifling, if it
could,the complaints of the people. The present ac-
knowledged inefficiency of the House is obviously
one of those cases which abound in our country,
in which circumstances have completely changed,
while institutions have remained the same, or
nearly the same, till their unfitness to answer
the end originally proposed has become so glaring
that it can escape no man's notice.
We must add, also, that while the House of
Commons has become as it were inefficient, from
the increase in the number of the people who
make demands on it, and their increase of intel-
ligence, it has also departed from the ancient
simplicity of its institution, and usurped functions
which were not originally assigned to it. To
grant supplies, and obtain the redress of griev-
ances, were in the first instance its only duties.
Gradually and successively it extended its
power, till it has engrossed to itself; by
making laws on every conceivable subject, a con-
trol over all the functions of government. It has
in fact, very much extended those functions. A
single despot would never dream of meddling
with the manufacture of glass and snuff, of cot-
tons and soap, or of making laws for all the
every-day occupations of the people; but 658
gentlemen, consisting of persons acquainted
with the ordinary business and affairs of life,

some of them retired traders, some of them sti

actively engaged in business, and all having an
especial eye to their own profit, naturally and
necessarily interfere with an immense variety of
occupations, of which an ordinary despot has no
comprehension. Hence it has happened, that the

House of Commons has not only usurped a con-
trol over all the functions of government known
to our ancestors; it has so extended those func-
tions, that they embrace most of the business
of life.

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