Star.
London, England, 1824-03-06 00:00:00

different parishes in Ireland praying far relief: but atfiltered
somewhat in their prayers. be would take the liberty of statiotooe
or two. The Petitioners of one of she parishes stated that their
church bad gone to decay. and all Hat they knew of the hector
now was through the Tytbe Proctor.—The Petitions were then
brought up. •
Mr. OOULBURN said that he should be wanting in respect to
Dr. Woodward. the Clergyman alluded to, if be did not say that be
never knew a more respectable character, not one who was more
scrupulous in the discharge of hi parochial duties. As to the other
facts stated in the Petitions, be begged the House to suspend its
judgment upon them until he had set on foot the requisite inquiries.
51r. DAWSON thought that the Honourable Baronet would
have been the last person to bring forward Petitions without being
certified of the facts contained in than. No Clergyman bore a

-------- -- --
more amiable character than Dr. Woodward, and one who was
-- - -

more beloved by his parishioners. He was an English Gentleman
and possessed a large estate in this country, the revenue of which,
along with his stipend, he spent in the parish.
Sir J. NEW PORT said that the facts were communicated to
him by a Noble Peer of Parliament, and if he bad not brought
them forward with such a 'catcher, he Would have been guilty of
a dereliction of duty—(llear.)—The Petition was then read and
ordered to be printed.
Sir T. ACKLAND presented a Petition (root the inhabitants
of a parish in Devonshire, praying for the repeal of the Duty on
Coals tarried coastwise.
Mr. TREMA YN 1. hoped that the Right Hon. Gentleman op..
posite would see the propriety of a total repeal of this duty.
Mr. Ill.:AT) moved for an account of the Returns on
Grain, Meal, and Flour, to January, 1824.
Mr. DUMB, seeing the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his
place, thought it proper to mention, that the bounties which the
Hight Honourable Gentleman proposed to take awiy from the
par.icular branch of the Linen Trade would be attended with the
most disastrous effects to the Manufacturers of Scotland, and par-
ticularly to those of the place which he had the honour , to repre-
sent (Montrose). Ile should recommend that the bounties should
be taken off every kind of Linen.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCIIF.QTIER said, that it was
' his intention to depart so far from the view which he stated the
other night, as that the reduction of the bounties should affect
every branch of the Linen Trade.
Mr. BROUG /IA AI presented a Petition from the Borough of
Newry, in Irelan I, praying for the Consolidation of the Laws re-
lating to the Police of Ireland. The lions:potable Gentleman
stated, that the principal object of the Petition, which was signed
by 613 householders, was to prevent a Bill from passing the House,
which they believed to be in progress; for watching, cleansing, and
lighting the town of Newry. He thought it proper to mention
that a requisitiort, signed by 429 householders, had been presented
to the Seneschal or Chief Officer of the place, to call a Public
Meeting on the subject of the Petition. 'Dist Gentleman, how-
ever, refused his consent,. The Honourable Member commented
on several statutetwbich had passed from the commencement of
the reign of George 11. to the end of the last reign, relative to
the Police of Ireland, which be said were contradictory of each
other, and quite inoperative for the purposes for which they bad
been passed.
After a few words from Mr. Banwartow, Sir J. Nrwrost, and
Mr. ASZSCAOMSY, the Petition was ordered to be printed.
Mr. ViESTEIIN presented a Petition from certain inhabitants
of the town of Billericay in Eases, praying Toe the Abolition of
Negro Slavery.—Ordered to lie on the table.
Mr. G. BENNET presented a Petithn from the Journeymen
Hatters against the Combination Laws.—Ordered to be printed.

IfORILIGN SILK.
Mr. BARING presented a Petition from Tannton,
praying that the prohibitory Doty on Foreign Silk might
not be repealed. The Hon. Member stated that the Pe-
tition was unanimously signed by the great body of ma-
nufacturers, with the exception of one individual, who
objected to some of the phrases in the Petition. Not
only the dealers in the raw material, but the manufac•
turers of silk, and those who vended the manufactured
articles, concurred in stating that the measure, if per-
sisted in, would be their utter ruin. Wrrat the petitioners
dwelt upon, and what must appear obvious to every
one, was, that the free trade, as to this article, would be
attended with benefit only if the laws of both countries
produced an equalizationof labour for unless this could
be done, it was in vain to tell the petitioners that the
principles of free competition could be fairly tried.
They could be able to shew that the thirty per cent.
duty could be of no avail. The fact was, that it was
not the Custom-house officers who prevented the im-
portation of these articles, but it was the power which
the laws gave of seeing them in the country. This trade
was dependent upon fashion. As long as the opinion
prevailed that the French patterns were batter than
those of England, all reasoning on general principles of
competition weft for nothing. The French silk shops
would carry off all the custom. This superiority of
France was owing to the superior dye which was used,'
to the better application of chemistry, and to the start
which the French obtained over this country. Besides
this regulation gave no reciprocity from France—no in-
terchange of the commodity of this country; and there-
fore it must, on that account, be attended with loss. He

(Mr. Baring) hoped his Majesty's Ministers would en-
tirely abandon the plan of interfering with the Silk
Trade. The Right llonourahle Gentlemen opposite had?
in his (Mr. Baring's) opinion, treated the subject very
lightly, by not asking the opinion of persons conversant
in the Silk Trade before they ventured to submit the
measure to the House. The Right Honourable Gentle-
men seemed to intimate that they had asked the opinion
of these persons upon the subject; but he undertook to
say, that if they had taken any opinion, they must have
asked the only individual in the trade in. London who
was of opinion that the consequence of the measure
would not be the ruin of the trade., He should conclude
by expressing a hope that the determination of Minis-
ters to follow up this measure was not immutable, or
that they would at least not subMit the measure to the
House until they could lay before the House the result
of a minute inquiry in support of the measure. • '1
Mr. Secretary CANNING said, he did not rise to op-
'pas!) the bringing up of the Petition, because no man
was more willing to admit, that in every legislative
enactment, be it political or be it commercial, the fullest
linquiry should be instituted ; and on an alteration such
as that which his Right Honourable Friend had pro-_
posed to be made in the silk trade, the fullest discussion
ought to take place ;but he rose became the Honourable
Gentleman had in his speecb gone into general consi-
derations of a wider nature than. any alluded to in .thd
Petition which he was about to present, and had sag=
Bested alterations upon which the Petition was silent.
He (Mr• Canning) begged the House and the country
to consider the situation of a Government desirous of
illustrating practically those principles of commerce
which had been so frequently urged upon them for their
adoption from all sides of the House—(Hear, hear)—
and by no person more strenuously than by the Hon.
Gentleman who had just sat down—(Hear). .Yet, when
the Government proposed to illustrate practically, and
not by declamation, the benefits of these principles to
commerce, they were to be turned round upon by the
former advocates of the general application of these
measures, and told this article or the other must be ex-
empted. The Honourable Gentleman had laid down
two propositions which were contradictory, and which
never could be acted opon together, and which would
put an end to any relief being afforded to the silk trade,
or to any other branch of commerce-which now laboured
under any restrictions, The Honourable Member ad-
mitted that the principle ought to be applied gene-
rally and widely, and that it would be a great act of
injustice if any branch were left untouched; and-in il-
lustration of this proposition, he alluded to .the Corn
Laws. He proposed to Government to take another job,

,