The Sun.
London, England, 1842-03-11 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS, March 10.

The LORD CLIANCELLOR took his seat on the Wool-
sack shortly after Five &Clock.
Lord VIVIAN presented petitions from Truro and
Bodmin, praying for the repeal of the Corn-laws.
Lord I EVERSHAM presented petitions from se-
veral unions in the county of York, praying for an
alteration of the Poor-laws.
DUCHY OF CORNWALL.

On the motion of Lord REDESDALE, the Duchy
of Cornwall Bill was read a third time and passed.
The Van' Dieman's Land Bill went through Corn-

rnittee.
Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from the
parish of St. Martin's in-the-Fields, praying for a
total and immediate repeal of the Corn-laws. The
Noble Lord also presented a ,petition from the mi-
nisters, elders, and congregation of a Presbyterian
chapel in Tyrone, praying that a declamatory law
may be passed with respect to Presbyterian mixed
marriages. The Noble Lord also presented a petition
from the Mayor, Aldermen, and Corporation of the
city of London, complaining of the present city
churchyards as exceedingly dangerous to the health
of the inhabitants, and praying that public
places of interment may be provided. He
thought the .subject was one which deserved
the serious attention of their Lordships.
The Earl of KINNAIRD presented a petition
from the trades of Dundee, praying for a repeal of
the Corn-laws.
Lord CAMPBELL presented a petition from a
Presbyterian congregation in Dromore, county of
Down, praying that the Presbyterian mixed
marriages may be declared valid. The Noble
Lord said, he wished to state that he had
received a letter. from one of the .Judges in
Ireland informing him, that at the late Carrickfergus
Assizes a case had come before him which was exactly
similar to that upon which the first decision had been
given, in reference to these marriages. The Learned
Judge,. in this instance, not being perfectly satisfied
on the point, had directed that there should be a
special verdict, in order that the question might come
before the Queen's Bench in Ireland, and afterwards
before their Lordships. He (Lord Campbell) be-
lieved that the.man would be in a position to be tried
by their Lordships in May next ; and he would sug-
gest whether it would not be better to suspend all
proceedings until their decision had been given.
After a few words from the LORD CHANCEL-
LOR, which were inaudible,
Lord CAMPBELL said that the voice of this
House would no doubt be in favour of the validity of
these marriages, and if they were made valid, the
Act would be a declaratory one.
The LORD CHANCELLOR said that he had
already, drawn up a proviso which he thought would
accomplish the object, which should not operate one
way or the other, by any inference, direct or indirect.
Lord BROUGHAM stated that his anxiety on this
question would not be at all diminished, or his exer-
tions at all, relaxed, by a little delay and further con-
sideration of the question ; he prayed that their
Lordships would defer this question for a Corn-
mitte of the House. He had made these
few observations to account for his taking no
part in the matter at present, but he believed it ne-
cessary that some relief shoud be given to the parties
who had suffered from this measure.
ENGLAND AND FRANCE.

The Marquis of CLANRICARDE wished to ask a
question of the Noble Lord, the Secretary for Foreign
Affairs. The Noble Lord the other day laid despatches on
the table by order of her Majesty, relative to a conversa-
tion between the French Ambassador ant himself,
dated January 28. He the(Marquis Clanricarde) had
observed in the public papers, that, since that date,
mention had been made of the subject in the French
Chambers. He wished to ask the Noble Lord if any
official communication had been received by him ? '
Lord ABERDEEN—None whatever.
NATIONAL EDUCATION (IRELAND).
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE wished to draw
the attention of their Lordships to the state of educa-
tion in, Ireland, and to ascertain the intention of her
AUjetty's Government on the subject. Since the
meeting of Parliament a Report had been laid
on the table of the House relative to the state of edu-
cation in that country, emanating from the Board of
Education there • from that Report it appeared, that
in the year preceding that in which the Report was
made, no less than 400 schools had been added
to the number of those already established,
making now, alogether, 2,000 schools. In those 400
there were not less than 60,000 scholars. Among
the 400 schools which had thus been added, during
the year preceding that Report, he was happy t o
find that no less than 290 were in communion with
the Synod of Ulster, which represented the great
Presbyterian.body of. Ireland. It appeared, also,
from the Report, that far more effectual progress
had been made than- heretofore in that which he
considered to be an indispensible element in any well
devised scheme of education, namely, the training of
proper teachers. But, notwithstanding those gratify-
ing circumstances, rumours had gone abroad
that it was the intention of her Majesty's Go-
verninent, to withdraw or to alter the present grant.
He begged leave- to say that to those rumours he
himself attached no credit; •md he did not believe
that any such intention existed on the part of the
Government. But it was sufficient excuse for his
alluding to the subject that such reports had gone
abroad, and it was highly important that the intentions
of Government upon the subject should be thoroughly
understood. He made no apology, therefore, to their
Lordships or the Noble Duke for asking him, now
that the estimates for the ensuing year must be in
course of preparation, whether or not the Government

were determined to continue the grant and the present

board ? He put the question fro-in a sense of the im-
portance of the subject and the interest which their
Lordships took in the improvement of the education
and in the welfare of the Irish people.
The Duke of WELLINGTON said, that though
he had been apprised of "the intention of the' Noble
Marquis to put a question relative to the education grant
in Ireland, he had not been aware of his determina-
tion to advert to the Report which had been laid
before the House. If he had been aware of such a
determination on the part of the Noble Marquis, he
should have prepared himself to make some ob-
servations . upon, the Report. In answer to
the question put by the Noble Marquis, he
wished to say that the Government did intend
to propose a continuation of the grant in question.
Any alteration which might he made would not take
place until after the most mature consideration, for
at resent he, with many others, thought those institu-
tions were intimately connected with the improvement
of the people of Ireland generally. lie had al-
ways had his own opinions on this subject—he
had not entirely approved of their proceedings since
the commencement, but he had invariably supported
the grants made by Government, and opposed the
alterations proposed by other Noble Lords. At pre-
sent, he would say that ►he was not dis-
posed to encourage any • alterations, much
less to do away with a system which con-
ferred important advantages on the people of that
country.
The-Marquis of LANSDOWNE was glad to hear
this answer, and therefore it would be now understood
by the friends of the present system that no alteration
would take place in it without full consideration on the
part of her Majesty's Government, or without ample
opportunity being given to the public to examine the
grounds for such proceedings.—(Hear.)
THE NEW POOR LAW.
Earl STAN HOPE said, that having understood
from the •Noble Duke that there was no objection
to his motion, he would at once move for a return
of the number of work-houses in England and Wales,
and of the number of poor persons in each, in every
year since. the Ist of January, 1838, to the 31st
of December, 1841, giving the average number
of paupers in each year ; also the number of deaths
in each year, and their causes. He hoped this motion
would have a better fate than that he moved on the
16th of August, 1839, for the expenses of new expe-
riments under the new Poor-law. He had not ex-
pressed his impatience heretofore, because in each in-
tervening Session there had been under discussion
a Bill for the Amendment of the New Poor-law.
He (Earl Stanhope) would then give notice, that if
those returns were not laid on the table of the House
in the course of a very few days, he would move
that they be presented forthwith, and as it appeared
that a Bill was now in progress in the House
of Commons, having for its title, " A Bill
for the Improvement of the Importation of
Foreign Corn," he would state to their Lordships his
intention, upon the reading of that Bill in their Lord-
ships' House, tomove, as an amendment, that it he read
that day six months. He entreated the attention of their
Lordships to the petition which he was then about to
read. It was from a member of the humbler classes,
but yet it contained the language, and expressed the
sentiments .which were entertained by hundreds of
thousands of his fellow subjects; that petition was from
Abraham teach, of Rochdale, in the county of Lan-
hire. It would be unnecessary for him (Earl Stan-
hope) to occupy their Lordships' time by stating his
interests of the humbler
opinions in favcwi of the
classes of thiwuntry, He would call their Lordships'
attention to the causes of the distress which prevailed.
The petitioner proceeded to state, and most cor-
rectly, that Government was instituted for the pur-
pose of securing to each individual member of
the community the enjoyment oechis rights. He
said that by the operation of machinery his labour
was not employed. The prayer of the petition was
that their Lordships should take this.into their serious
consideration, and to devise some means whereby the
labouring man might be restored to his former position
when he could command the comforts of life.
He (Earl Stanhope)
most warmly admirei was one of those who
at the the rights of man as laid down
commencement of the French Revolution,

whereby a man was at liberty to do what i
he liked with. his -own. That was the principle
he wished to see carried into execution to the
fullest extent. No man had a riet to do
anything which could interrupt its execution.
He (Earl Stanhope) considered the petitioner had
just reason to complain of the injury which had
been done him. He thought that the proposed
system of the Corn-laws would only increase
these growing evils, which were so severely felt by
the labouring classes. If he (Earl Stanhope) was asked
what remedy he proposed, it would be this, that
those who deprived others of employment should
be compelled to furnish them with other employment,
or to pay them for the labour they had :lost.
From information which he had received from a large
manufacturer, the person who, some years ago,
received 4s. 6d. for his labour, was now in the receipt
of only 10d., and it frequently happened that he could
not even get that. Was it possible that in such a
such a state of things he could feel any attachment
to existing Institutions, that he should not feel a spirit
of revenge which circumstances might cause to ex-
plode? In justice to these unfortunate persons, the most
industrious citizens in the country, he would
strongly urge their Lordships to take these circum-
stances into consideration. They were not to be
relieved by a free trade in corn or by a fixed
duty, or by a sliding scale. But the only relief
which' could be applied to them was to oblige those
who deprived them of employment to support them
at their own expense.
The petition was then laid on the table.
Lord MONTEAGLE said that with regard
to the returns which the Noble Earl desired
should be laid on the table, the delay, if
an,y such existed, was attributable, not to the public
ocers, but to the Noble Earl himself, who neglected
to renew his order. He could not, however, sit down
without protesting against the doctrines of the Noble
Earl, or allow such opinions to go forth to the public
without opposing them. The petition of the
Noble Earl came from a hand-loom weaver,
and it was the most absurd doctrine to suppose that,
by taxing the commercial and manufacturing
industry of the country, the distresses of the people
could be relieved. There was scarcely any enjoy-
ment in life to which machinery did not contribute,
and yet the Noble Earl said that it was by tax-
ing machinery, and only by that that jus-
tice could be rendered to the people.—(Hear.)
He protested against the doctrine of the Noble Lord,
as ,subversive not only of the institutions and the
greatness of this country, but of civilisation and hap-
piness throughout the world.
Earl STANHOPE had not expressed any
wish that improvements in machinery should be
prevented, but that those who benefited by them
should support those who were thereby thrown
out of the means of subsistence. When the Noble
Baron spoke of the greatness of this country, and
the civilisation of the world to those 800,000 hand-
loom weavers, they considered the greatness of the
country was no benefit to them, and that their condi-
tion would be far better, if the whole land of Britain
was:at this day uncivilised. If they persevered in the
present course, they must not be surprised if the
peace of the country was not much longer preserved.
The Earl of DEVON could not agree with the
Noble Baron opposite (Monteagle) that when an ad-
dress was presented to the Crown for certain papers,
and an answer was returned, that the adjournment of
Parliament interfered with the presentation of those
papers.
The Marquis of CLANRICARDE moved for a
return of all Ecclesiastical Benefices granted in Ire-
land since the passing of the Act of the 3d and 4th of
William IV.
LOAN SOCIETIES' BILL.

On the motion of Lord WHARNCLIFFE, this
Bill went through Committee.
APPRENTICES' REGULATION BILL.

The Apprentices' Regulation Bill went through
Committee.

BAPTISTS' AFFIRMATION BILL.

Lord DENMAN said, in consequence of some-
thing that had fallen from a Noble Lord the
other evening, he begged leave to present a Bill
to enable persons of that denomination, called Baptists
and Anabaptists, to make affirmation instead of taking
an oath. It was really a matter of infinite import-
ance to all concerned, and several petitions had been
presented to that House from persons belonging to
that sect, expressing very strong opinions as to
the unlawfulness of the practice of taking an oath.
It was not the universal opinion of the Baptists, but
many members of that persuasion entertained the
scruple ; and to relieve them from it would be quite in
uniformity with the practice of their Lordships' House
in the case of Quakers. lie thought that their Lord-
ships would see that there was no reasonable objection
to the measure, and he would therefore move that
the Bill be read a first time.

The Bill was then read a first time, and ordered to
be read a second time to-morrow.

PRESBYTERIAN MARRIAGES.

Lord MOUNTCASHEL presented several peti-
tions, very numerously signed, from places in the
counties of Tyrone, Cavan, and Down, in Ire-
land, praying the House to enact some measure
for the better regulation of the law respecting the
marriages of Presbyterians with members of the
Established Church.
The House then Adjourned.