The Sun.
London, England, 1842-02-22 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY.

In the Lords, Nutsford's Divorce Bill was last nigh
read a second time.

The Earl of Aberdeen laid on the table the Treaty
for the Suppression of the Slave Trade unratified by
France, at which Lord Brougham expressed his regret,
and denied that the Treaty would increase, as the
French supposed, the maritime power of this country
M. Guizot has lately triumphed over the Press in France,
but the Press has also triumphed over him and the Go.
vernment, by compelling him to withhold a ratification
he had consented to give. His Government is disgraced
notwithstanding its strength.
Lord Cottenham laid on the table three Bills for Im-
proving the Administration of Justice.in County Courts.
In the Commons, a great many petitions were pre-
sented for the abolition of the Corn-law.

Captain Berkeley put some questions concerning the
case of Mr. Elton, which were answered by Sir G.
Cockburn, as noticed elsewhere.

Site R. Peel, in laying the Stave-trade Suppression
Treaty on the table, regretted that it was not ratified by
France. He does not, however, give up his hope that
she will ratify it. Lord Palmerston joined in this hope,
as the Treaty was drawn up strictly in accordance with
the instructions given by the French Government to its
Ambassadors.
In reply to Mr. M. Stewart, who complained of the
suspense in the cattle trade, caused by the announce-
ment that Sir Robert Peel meant to deal with the Pro-
vision-laws, Sir Robert promised to state his views as
soon as he could, and he appealed to the House to
hasten the Corn-law discussion.

In answer to Mr. T. Duncombe, Sir James Graham
reiterated his statement that the Government means to
renew the Poor-law Commission.

Sir It. Peel would give no information as to what
he meant to do with the Corn-market Inspectors, nor as
to any alteration he is to make in the duty on flour.
Lord Eliot informed the House that the man said to
have been set at liberty after killing. a goat, had been
awarded a year's imprisonment, as he is a bad fellow.
Neither Mr. Cobden nor Mr. Ewart could extract
from Sir H. Peel what peculiar burdens the land la-
bours under.
Certain Members, on account of official situations,
such as Sir It Peel and others, were excused from at-
tending Election Committees.

Mr. Godson's Registration of Copyright Bill was read
a second time pro forma.

The debate on the Corn-law was resumed, and occupied
the House for the remainder of the night.
PUBLIC OPINION.
The Morning Herald says of Mr. Villiers's Corn-law
resolution on Friday in the House of Commons :—" Mr.
Villiers's resolution is felt by the House to be insincere
--to be a sop thrown out by internal Radicalism to the
League ; it is part of that system of deception, and
crisis' manufacturing, and agitation' making, which
seems to be absolutely necessary to secure Liberal re-
election in Westminster, Wolverhampton, Glasgow, and
Salford. The House resents the waste of public time
which these electioneering tactics cause ; and so, if
Radical Members will obstruct public business, they have
at least the obstruction to themselves."

The Times condemns Mr. Villiers's recent speech on
the Corn-laws, in very summary terms, as follows :
The speech of Mr. Villiers on Friday was in many re-
spects fitter for the Crown and Anchor than for the
House of Commons. A very considerable proportion of
it was taken up with mere declamatory invective ; and
what there was of argument pertinent to his motion was
a tissue of sophistries less skilfully disguised than we
should have expected. It would be difficult for any one
reading Mr. Villiers's speech to discover whether he ad-
mitted or denied that peculiar burdens are laid upon
landed property in this country."
The Post is pleased to entertain a somewhat different
opinion of Mr. Villiers as a Parliamentary debater, ob-
serving :—" He seems to have no notion of the propriety
of addressing himself to the common sense and practical
knowledge of Members of the House of Commons. He
is for cutting through every difficulty with the sword of
his confident theorism ; but, however satisfactory this
may bo to himself, and to shallow, hot-headed people
like him, it seems to reasonable men to be mere froth
and idle gabble. It is not intelligible, and it has not the
excitement of novelty. Take the orations of Henry
Hunt, the blacking-man, and sprinkle them with a few
Benthamisms, and a few extracts from any of the pam-
phlets on free trade and political economy, and you have
all that Mr. Villiers has said, and, indeed, all that he
appears to be capable of saying."
The Chronicle states that the Corn-law scheme of
Ministers has nowhere satisfied the people, and that in
most places the strongest feelings of dissatisfaction have
been expressed with respect to it. "A union of the
middle and working classes," adds our contemporary,
" has been created in every town, at Stockport, Brad-
ford, Wigan, in short, in all the towns from which ac-
counts have yet reached us. The people are said to be
frantic with rage and disappointment."
The Advertiser says that the bankrupt laws stand in
need of amendment ; but that it is the duty of a Minis-
try to propose measures that will benefit the Many be-
fore consulting the interests of the Few ; and proceeds
to observe :—" We should have been much better satis-
fied, if the Speech from the Throne had promised a mea-
sure for making justice cheap, than wet are by the. an-
nouncement of contemplated improvements, which will
benefit only particular classes of the community."
We quote the following from the Dublin Evening
Post :—"This is the time for Orange place-hunters.
Lord de Grey and Mr. Blackburne, we are told, have
displaced eighteen barristers, who acted as Supernume-
rary Crown Prosecutors on Circuit, and they have ap-
pointed, instead, eleven dozen of Orange and Tory law-
yerlings. So many for each county—and for each assize
town beside ! They may get a brief and two guineas
a-piece, provided-Las there appears every reason to an-
ticipate—the country should become as disturbed and as
insurrectionary as it used to be in the old Tory times."
The Leeds Times says—" Though Lord John Russell
exposed the mischiefs of the sliding scale of dnties, he
showed that he was in principle as much a bread-taxer as
Sir Robert Peel himself. Both would alike impose a
duty on the people's food—the one proposes a variable
tax of from 20s. to Is. on the quarter of wheat, the other
an unvarying tax of Bs. per quarter. It is true that Lord
John Russell professes to be in love with the principles
of Free Trade ; but in the very same breath he demands
protection' for the agricultural interest, and proposes
a tax, which in most cases would amount to a prohibi-
tion, on the first necessary of life."
The following appears in the Bolton Free Press—
"Public indignation against the sliding scale, in every
possible form, has long been gathering strength, and,
therefore, the long cogitated modification of this in-
fernal machine' and mystery of iniquity' now brought
forward by Sir R. Peel, has been everywhere repudiated
as a barefaced mockery of the people's wants."
The Welshman thus alludes to Sir E. Peel:—" We

miist flint% over the ills to which the country is sub-
jected by the miSforttine of having a Minister at the
head of affairs, destitute alike of moral courage, and of
every great and statesmanlike. quality, Sir Robert has
shown himself a man of mere words, lavish indeed of
profession, but a niggard in performance."
The following 15 from the Glasgow Post :—" The Duke
of Cleveland, lately deceased, has left at least a million
sterling, to-be divided amongst his heirs. Not more. han
twenty years ago, a hundred thousand pounds, left under
such circumstances, would have been considered an im-
mense fortune. Let the working classes who hesitate
about supporting- the repeal of the Corn-laWs inquire at
whose expense this change has taken place !"
MONIST--TRADE—COMMERCE.
The Report of the Scientific Commission, composed of
Professor Airey, Sir J. Herschel, Mr. Lubbock, and
other distinguished literati, appointed to inquire into the
present standard weights and measures, proposes among
others, three imporiant points :-1. A system of decimal
computation to be adopted in all weights, measures, and
moneys : 2, the abolition of troy weight, and substitu-
tion of avoirdupois : and 3, correction of the local
standards of the kingdom, which are at present highly
imperfect, as also the laws relating to their examination
by inspectors.
At Bradford trade is still dull ; at Huddersfield no-
thing whatever is doing ; at Leeds, since the Govern-
ment plan for corn has appeared, the cloth market has
become much worse ; as is also the case at Manchester.
Neither at Leicester, or Rochdale, is any business doing.
A requisition is in the course of signature at South-
ampton, calling on the Mayor to convene a public meeting,
that an expression may be given from the towns of Hamp-
shire there, as to the opinion of 60,000 persons on Sir
Robert Peel's Corn-law scale.