Star.
London, England, 1821-05-10 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY REFOBSI.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL rose, and .t it
though circumstances ss hich had lately occurred, aad
the state of the House, wei e se, , discouraging to
any one who brought for ,ard any iopositioucd
lfe-
form, yet he could say that he should BC*
solutions with which he intended to with
considerable confidence. It was necesary lot bin
to .say, that the business of Goveinment
come much more difficult than it had been; that
Government depended on opinion ; that the eyes of
the People were fixed upon the House, and that d
their acts were viewed as through a microscope, and
that the difference of even a thousand pounds, mere
or lest:, in the expenditure of the public money, au
very minutely scrutinized. Instead of that upersti•
torus reverence with which they were formerly re
garded, there was a disposition to deny them ern
the acknowledgment of the aptitude which habi
gave them in to.iducting the public affairs. Odd
all questions which were brought before them, those
which attracted the most attention wore questions
affecting the Representation of the People, as thei
decisions on those questions were taken as the tests
of the integrity of the House. He should, in bring
ing forward his Resolutions, diverge from the ustiii
way in which such propositions were brought far-
ward. The usull way was to say that the Elousedi
not represent the People, and that this was preyed
by their Resolutions, which did not accord wilds
sense of the People. This course, however, la•
volved them in invidious discussions.. It itnposoin
them the necessity of saying,- that they who roe
the minority in the House, were the majority in de
country, and that independent Gentlemen on dos
other side, though connected, with a majority kith'
House, were in a minority in the. country.
should not take this way. But he did. not wish',
conceal or deny that he was in princii le a Refound
—that he thought the House should represent tar
People, and that it did not—(/tear, hear, hear)
He did not agree with those who said that all de
acts of the House were conformable to the wisbcS
the People, nor with those who said that the Mad
should be a mixed sort of body, representing
Crown and the Aristocracy or higherorders, audiet
the People at large. But having said this, he wail
endeavour to shew that there prevai:ed such Pox'
tices—that, whether they had yet discovered tb
selves in their Resolutions, could not fail ultitnetell
to manifest themselves in discrepancies between,'
People and the House; and he would call 00 70
to stop these practices before they went ruratt..,,„
produce their inevitable effects. The first pro
7i
which he should bring before the House, was ilia!
bribery and corruption. Respecting this pratalc_er
there couhl not be two opinions in the House, as
.f
un
one would venture to deny that it was highly cr
nal and persticious. It would be just as readily 4L,
milted that it prevailed to a great extent. When d.
had brought before the House a motion for an t.r
dress respecting the punishment of Sir M.
had said that brioery and corruption was c..rnen em_
daily to a great extent. In that assertion he badt
with no opposition. The Noble Lord on the ear
!,7,
sick (Lord Londonderry), had not ventured to am_
that proposition, and he certainly would. haveser
prised his supporters and the Home constderably,
s
he had ventured to do so. This practice was
.to•
torintr,, that when the late Mr. Sheridan was ACI

didate for a seat in Parliament, and told one of the
voters that he. was a friend to Reform—" Yes, (said
the voter), and so am I, for I am toathat there are
some candidates who don't Rive their poor voters a'
single guinea—such men as these need reform !" It
was well known that in the boroughs in Cornwall
this practice prevailed to a great extent. The people
in a borough there would engage some person in the
neighbourhood, as patron of the borough, who would
maintain the poor, and incur other expenses in behalf
of the town, and for this would get one seat, while
• the other was sold for a sum of money. The conse-
quences of such p: actices were most pernicious. The
fist effect was to promote drunkenness and profli-
gacy ; to encourage a disregard for the duties im-
posed by the Constitution, and to keep the People in
la state of ignorance and brutality. Besides this, the
internal affairs of those small towns were often, in
consequence, shamefully mismanaged. In one town
In particular, he knew that a revenue of 1:200 or £3OO
a-year, which should be expended for the benefit of
the poor. was, by means of the parliamentary in-
fluence, employed in feasting the voters. Another
effect was, the Executive Government was enfeebled
:by the necessity of conciliating the voters and their
patrons. It was well known, that in those boroughs
`where there are only twenty or thirty voters, these
'voters have obtained places to which they would
'never otherwise have had any pretension. He had
ibdeed received letters, which stated that in these bo-
roughs 'Government offices were regularly sold;
that is, when a voter obtained a promise from a
patron for a place which he did not wish himseif to
hold, he sold it to some one who wished to get
it. This charge was not made vaguely ; for in the
evidence on the Gram pound Election, it was stated
that eight hundred pounds had been paid to a voter
for an office in or connected with the Navy. A further
consequence was, that the Ministers were obliged
to look to the boroughs and their patrons for sup-
port in that House. He did not attribute to this Mi-
nistry in particular, more than any other, the con-
vection with these persons, but it was in thel nature
of things. There were eighty County Members, and
300 returned by boroughs with less than 300 voters.
The necessary consequence was, that the Ministers
must look to the 300 with more anxiety than to the
eighty who were returned by great districts. If these
300 persons were not returned by independent voters,
but by men who held their privilege only as a mar-
ketable article, like their cheese or wool ; if such
were the miserable infatuation of the voters, the effect
must be felt from the highest to the lowest depart-
ment of the State. He came now to consider what
remedies had been applied to this evil by the Legis-
lature. In the first year after the Revolution, an Act
passed to regulate expenses at elections; for thus
early was it discovered that almost at the very in-
stant when, after a long struggle, the freedom of Par-
liaments u as established, attempts were made to cor-
rupt Parliaments themselves. The corrupt practices
at elections were then declared to be a " great scan-
dal of the kingdom -" and it was enacted, that any
candidate who should give any money to a voter, or
treat him after the teste of the writ, should be inca-
pable of sitting in that Parliament. But this enact-
ment was not efficient; for, by an arrangement be-
tween the candidate and voters, the latter were paid
their bribes half a year or a year after the election,
which operated just as effectually as if they had re-
ceived them between the teste of the writ and the
election. By another Act of Geo. 11. a penalty of £SOO
was imposed on every one who gave or took a bribe,
and the voter was made incapable of voting. but in
this statute there was room for evasion, for there was
an exception from the penalty in favour of a person
who discovered an accomplice within a certain time,
so that candidates had often after an election indicted
some persons whom they had bribed. There was also
an Act against the sale of seats, from which, how-
ever, the Honourable Author of it (Mr. Curwen)
would at this time see that no effect was to be ex-
pected. The question "vas, what course should now
be adopted—should they make the penalties on bri-
be; y moi e severe ? In his opinion decidedly not.
These small boroughs were placed in a situation in
which they could not exercise their franchises indepen-
dently. If 40 or 50 persons almost upon the par ish,
who were indifferent as to the conduct of that Great
Council of the Nation, who did nut at all care what
legislative measures were taken—if such men as these
had the power of electing Members, and if, on the
other hand, persons possessing plenty of money wished
to obtain seats, it was almost impossible that the two
classes should not come together and make their bar-
gain, be the penalties of Parliament however severe,
be its declarations however solemn, or its hypocrisy
however well maintained—(tlear, hear).—They must
look to the franchises of these Boroughs. It appeared
that as early as the first year after the Revolution
which he had mentioned, in 1689, corrupt practices
were discovered in the Borough of Stockbridge, and
a proposal was made to take away its franchise, and
give the right of returning the Members to the
County of Southampton. The proposition being then
new, the debate was put off, and was never resumed.
In 1695, the election in the same Borough was de•
clared corrupt and void, and a Bill was brought in
ie disable the Borough, and to send the Election to
Basingstoke. The Bill was read a third time, but it
then dropped. It was singular that, at the end of the
18th, as well as the 17th century, it had been de-
clared by a Committee that there was notorious
bribery and corruption in the elections there. The
next Borough was Aldborough, which was declared
corrupt in 1696, and no writ was issued. In 1697
the voters petitioned, confessing their fault, and
praying to be taken into favour, and the writ was
4_!suel In the year 1698, Bilop's Castle was
aseelared Corrupt, and no writ was issued that Set-
sion The same was the case with Great Grimsby.
Zile House would observe, that some of these Bo-
roughs had come lately before them in the same
tlasaiacter, the inhabitants not forgetting the whole
v -
ale practices of their ancestors. In 1701, there was
great influx of corruption ; one Shepherd having
Practised a on a large scale, corruptly procured Re-
-114", for his connexions, for Bramber, Wootton Bas-
Z, Andover, and Ilchester. For the investigation of
conduct, a Committee was appointed, in the bust-
arss of Which Sir Edw. Seymour took an active part.
it Was voted that Sir Edward Seymour had made
good his genes al charge against Samuel Shepherd,
senior, fur corrupt practices, and the thanks of the
Nouse
ere delivered to Sir Edward Seymour for
hiss
by the Speaker. The result was, ther

punishment•of several persons concerned. The elder
Shepherd was sent to the Tower. In 1702, a Bill
was brought in fur the disfranchisement of Hindon.
The modern and more successful instances of these
Bills were well known, but they by.no means formed.l
a vigorous and sufficient corrective to the evil. Only
three of these Bills were passed, thoughlhere were
generally fifty or sixty Boroughs before them foe
bribery every general election. But the case dis-
closed with respect to Grampound upon a very recent
occasion, fully illustrated the inefficiency of the law
as it stood, for the prevention of bribery and corrup-
tion. By the Grenville Act, which was no, doubt a
just measure, there was no inquiry as to bribery or
corruption before any Committee, unless immediately
referring to the return. So that if the parties con-
cerned in that return should make up their differ-
ences in any way, the House would hear nothing of
the bribery or corruption in arty case to which Peti-
tioners complaining of an undue election might allude.
The Committee to which the Petition as ti the elec-
tion for Grampound was referred, reported that the
Petition against the return was not frivolous or vexa-
tious, and that the sitting Members were duly elected.
—But the nefarious practices at Grampound were
brought to light through the bribery practised pre-
viously to the election, some of the voters having.re-
ceived such sums as Sir Manasseh Lopez refused to
pay. Yet Sir M. Lopez was punished, while thosewho
paid most, and consequently contributed most to the
encouragement of bribery, were allowed to escape.—
Thus it appeared that additional guilt was a protection
against punishment, and Sir M. Lopez was the victim.
It was said, that when a Mahometan crew happened
to be in a storm, it was generally thought by them
a good expedient for their safety, if they had a Jew
in the ship, to fling him overboard ; and hence, per-
haps, the dealers in bribery at Grampound thought
it expedient,- when detected in difficulty and danger,
to fling this unfortunate Christian, Sir M. Lopez,
overboard ! He himself believed that Sir Manasseh
wai entrapped into the general practice of Boroughs
floor its general impunity, without any peculiarly
criminal motive, and hence he felt himself called
upon to move the extension of clemency to that indi-
vidual. The means which he proposed for the full
discovery of bribery and corruption, the Noble Lord
stated to be, the appointment of a Committee, distinct
from that prescribed by the Grenville Act, the pro-
vince of which Committee should be, fully to inquire
into such practices alleged to exist in any particular
Borough. To this Committee, as a distinct tribunal,
he meant that all such investigations should be con-
signed, and that upon its Report both Houses should
be called upon to decide. Great advantage would,
in his view, result from the• constitution of such a
tribunal, and particularly in preventing any partial
inquiries, either in that or the other House of Par-
liament, in the latter of which inquiries of this na-
ture should not at all be gone into.—(Hear, hear).—
There was some precedent for his proposition in the
l'Grampound case for an inquiry with respect to bri-
bery, after the return was decided upon. On that
occasion, he recollected that the Noble Secretary for
Foreign Affairs followed patiently the course of the
inquiry after it was gone into, and therefore be cal-
culated upon the Noble Lord's acquiescence in a Re-
solution for pursuing a similar course upon a like oc-
casion. If the Resolutions which he had to propose
should be adopted, he meant to move their reference
to a Committee, by which the details of a Bill,
founded upon them, might be framed. In the course
'which he proposed to follow, heMeant no innovation
which was not imperiously called for by existing cir-
cumstances or innovations upOri the practice of the,
Constitution; for his objects were, first to provide
against the practice of bribery ; and secondly, for as
adequate representation in that House of the impor..l
tant interests of the large manufacturing towns. It
was to be remembered that when, in 1816, the Gee-,
tlemen with whom he had the honour to act objected
to large military establishments, they were answered
by a call from the Ministerial side, to look at the in-
crease of the manufacturing population of the country.
This, indeed, was the answer of the Prime Minister
himself, who had recently made a declaration to the
same effect, in reply to those who opposed the extent
of our military establishment. Hence it appeared
that the only difference between his and the other'
side of the House as this, that Ministers for the go-
vernment of our increased population preferred a sys-
tem of force and coercion, while be and his friends
preferred conciliation and reform—(Hear, hear•).—
But it was said on the other side, that the manufac-
turing people were so virtually represented in that
House, as to render any farther or more immediate
representation quite unnecessary. Of this virtual
representation, however, he would say, that it was
rather a fiction, somewhat like that in Courts of Jus-
tice, where it was said that the Judge was always,
Counsel for the prisoner; but he remembered a case
where a Judge put such a question to a witness, that
the prisoner exclaimed, " Sly Lord, if you were my
Counsel, ) ou would nut put such a question ;" and so,
the People would most likely. say to what were called
their virtual representatives, " if you were our repre-
' sentatives, Gentlemen, you would not give such votes'
as you do." (Hear, hear).—But every man must think
that no 'virtual representative could have the same
dgree of information to communicate, or could pos-
sess the Same influence or authority upon local
questions, particularly in that House, as a direct
representative from any manufacturing town.
Flow, for instance, could the Representative for War-
wickshire be entitled to the same attention upon any
question connected with the hardware manufacture,
as a direct Representative from Birmingham, who
was so much mote likely to be Acquainted with the
particular and general interests, as well as with the
peculiar rie*s of the manufactureis? But the adop-
tion of the Bill for transferring the right of voting to
Leeds, upon the ground of its important manufaC-1
turing interest, had in fact done away altogether with
the principle upon which the argument rested, as isl
, virtual representation ; for, in the case of Leeds, the
principle and propriety of direct representation were
directly required, and therefore the argument as to
Ilvirtual representation, ifgood for anything at anytime,
could now be no longer urged. It was indeed quite
clear that, for the purpose of understanding the best
interests of the country, the
.great manufacturing
towns should have their direct Representatives sitting
within the walls of that House. Among the evils,
too, belonging to the present system of representation,
was the manner in which some of our great manu-
facturing towns were governed. The government of

Manchester was in a Steward or•Bailif, fand that
Birmingham in a High Constable or Headboretigh.l
There being, then, no Parliamentary'Representrve
for either of 'these great totem, the inhabitants had
no one Of importance to look up•tn, tither for the
formation of political opinions, or 11* the redrese of
political grievances. They were not in the, situation
of the people of Westminster, who had an oppor-
tunity of appealing to 'their Representatives for ad •
vice and aid, Or who conic! make known,throUgh '
them, any grievances of whieh they might corn-
plain. Manchester and Birmingham. then, •like
other manufacturing towns, deprived of these advan-
tages, and having no Representatives to look to,
were but too likely to attend to any Hunt or Knight
that offered to -hear their complaints and promised
f them redress-,--(Hear, hear, hear !).—But when
such persons were listened to by the manufac-
turing districts, to whom, he would ask, did the
Government resort in order to counteract the machi-
nations of demagogues, and to guard the people
against being misled ? Did Ministers 'refer 'to the
Magistrates, or to the Lord Lieutenants of Counties,
to advise the people, or to inform them of their real
wants and views ? No. On the contrary, one Lord
Lieutenant rather appeared to have been suspected
by them of revolutionary purposes—(A 'laugh, and
hear, hear)—and, therefore, instead of resorting tq
the aid and counsel of Magistrates and Lord Liente-
oants, to defeat the demagogues or to put down ,
dis-
affection, this object was confided to the care and
judgment of Oliver the Spy—(Hear, hear). No one
was appointed to go into the manufacturing districts
to inquire into the grievances of the people, or to,
guard against disturbances, but this Oliver, who was,'
it appears, the virtual representative of the Govern-
ment—(Hear, hear).—He was the arbiter of peace
and war, whose interest, and whose purpose it Win,
to mislead and to inflame those whom it was the duty
and professed object of Government to undeceive, and
to tranquillize. Thus, while the demagogues were
left to impress the people, as it was said, with a be-!
lief, that the only redress for their grievances was;
in the overthrow of the Government, that Govern-
ment itself superadded the influence of Oliver the
Spy, to tell them that a vast body of armed men:
were actually marching to assist them in accom-
plishing that over throw—(Cries [fear, hear, hear):.
Was this the system which ought to be pursued by at
wise Government at the head of a free nation? But:
what had Government gained by coercion, or blood 7.
shedding at Manchester, or elsewhere? With all the'
experience of their coercive laws, and severe punish-
ments, and multiplied standing armies—what, he
would ask, had the Noble Lord in reserve for in-
swing the tranquillity of this country under the ex-
isting system? What could he extract from his
budget of resources for coerciaa.tessupply the means,
of meeting any new exigency? He could not, in-
deed, imagine any farther expedient of restraint upon:
public liberty which the Noble Lord could produce,,
unless he meant to impose a Censorship upon the'
Press, and that was a measure to which he hoped•
and trusted the people of this country could never be
persuaded or compelled to submit—(Hear, hear).—
With respect to the effect of coercion upon the peo-
ple of this country, he referred the Noble Lord to a
recent event at Glasgow, for the purpose of teaching
him that there was no safety in such a system. As
coercion then was found so ineffectual, it only re-
mained to try the influence of conciliation, by giving
the people those rights which they universally de-
manded, and which could not be fairly withheld. In
proposing that the large towns should be directly
represented in that House, he was only acting upon
the principle of the Constitution, as that principle
was disclosed in our history. His wish.was, that Par-
liament should have the merit, and that the ICing
should have the grace, of conceding to the will of the
People—that the redress of grievances, and the grant
of supplies should, as in better times,proceedparipassu.
He proposed that the House should originate the ex..
tension of voting which he had in view, according
to the precedents established in the cases of Wales,
Chester, and Durham. As to the compensation which
he thought ought to be granted to any Boroughs
which might be disfranchised, in order to transfer
the right of return to large towns, he lamented that
he differed upon this point from his Hon. Friend tne
Member for Durham, who had expressed his deter-
mination never to grant any indemnity in compensa-
tion to persons who carried on a white slave trade ;
but as his Hon. Friend proposed to disfranchise Lon-
don as well as Old Sarum, his view was at least con-
sistent. As he (Lord J. Russell), however, meant only
that the smaller Boroughs should be disfranchised;
they would have good ground of complaint it no
compensation were granted, particularly as they
might point at larger Boroughs, allowed to retain
the right of return, against which, perhaps, more
corruption could be proved. But there were eases
in which the right of returning Members to that
House was granted as a favour, as in the case of
Wenlock, which obtained that right for services ren-
dered to Edward IV. and therefore to deprive that
Borough of such an advantage, without compensa-
tion, would be an act of injustice. But the principle
of compensation for Boroughs disfranchised, was dis-
tinctly recognized by the Irish Union--(Hear, hear).
Sucb compensations were, indeed, of little compara-
tive consequence to the propriety and necessity of
extending the basis of popular fredom and represen-
tation, in order to augment the interest of the people
in the maintenance of free and popular institution:.
—All history served to illustrate the policy of this
principle. When the popular returns for Spain were
reduced from 200 to 70 places, the people betame
indifferent to what remained, and the free Constitu-
tion of Spain did not long survive that indifference.
But there was another example, and it *as that of
Italy. In the 18th century there were I,Boopoo
persons enjoying the privileges of freemen in Italy,
and, in the 15th century, that number was reduced
to 18,000. What was the consequence? Why, the
immediate fall of liberty in Italy, to which event
might be ascribed the easy conquest of that country
by the Emperor of Austria. But, if freedom, or any
remnant of the spirit which it inspired, had existed
in Italy, it was impossible that such a spectacle of
abject submission could have been exhibited, as had
recently disgusted the people of.this country, as well
as all that were manly among the people of Europe.
And what guarantee could any reflecting English-
man calculate upon, that, if the smaller boroughs
were allowed to have a preponderance in the Parlia-
,ment of the country, to the exclusion of the large

rammer/est the, mate of thelsOrdlarioni from the right
of voting, Writ tfie!people of England Might not sink
into the same state of indifference or apathy, with•te-
spect to national or individual treedi.m, which had
lately marked the degraded character of the people
of Italy?—( Hear, heat) -nu what was ire degrad-
ing in the history atnankind than the tonduct which
those Italians had presented,to our view at the begin-
ning of the 19th century? If the Italians were free,
,rito 'such .ireerie • conld' hare acetified, 'and be exhorted
the GovernMent of 'this cintntiy' to consult the lessiin
which that -scene 'afforded...!to identify themielves
with the people—to conciliate their affection and -con-
'fidence by extending their liberties., Such, he assured
the itoUse,'were'ilie only ends which his proposition
had in' view. •Hiideii re Was to preserve and strengthen
every link of connection between'the PeoOleind the
Goveriunent—to render the Crown and that Haute
the peculiar objects of popular attachment—( Cheers).
ffeWas aware that he was opposed by different
parties, and upon different grounds, in•the course
'Which 'he felt •it his duty to pursue tin this Occasion ;
one party being AParmed at his propositions, from an
apprehension that• he went too far, while he was ridi-
culed by 'another party for not going far enough.
The former urged, that his views would endanger
the institutions of the couhtry, while the latter main-
tained that they would produce no change at all.
But be should only say to those parties, that he pitied
the alarm of the one, while he contemned the ridicule
Of the other; and that whatever might be the ani-
'madyersions of the one, or the impressions of both,
be Would pursue that course which was dictated b'y
a sense Of duty to his country, and by an anxious so-
licitude for the preservation of its liberties--(Hear,
hear).—The 'Noble Lord concluded with proposing
the following Itesolutions :

" 1. That grievous complaints are made in the kingdom, and
Manifestly appear to be true, of the undue Elections of Members
to serve as Burgesses Parliament, by gross bribery and cor-
ruption, contrary to the laws, and in violation of the freedom
due to the Election of Representatives for the Commons of sllE-
land in Parliament, to the great. scandal of the kingdom, dis-
honourable, and may be destructive to the constitution of Par.
llarnent.

• 2. That in order to strengthen and maintain the rieeeigttiy
connection between the Commons of this Kingdom and their
Representatives in Parliament, it is expedient to give to such
-places as are greatly increased in wealth and population, and are
not at present adequately represented, the right of returning
Members to serve in Parliament.

4 3. That a Select Cominittee be appointed to comider to
what places, according to the principle of the foregoing Resolti.
dons, it may be advisable to extend the right of returning Mem-
bers to serve in Parliament, and the best method of effecting
that measure without an inconvenient addition to the Members
of this House.

" 4. That It be referred to the same Committee, to consider
further of a mode of proceeding with 'respect to ►ny Borough
which may hereaftir be charged with notorious bribery and
corruption, in order that such charges may be regularly and ef-
fectually inquired into, and if proved, that such Boroughs may
be disabled from sending Burgesses to serve in Parliament for
the fitgare."

Mr. WHITMORE, in rising to second the Motion
of the Noble Lord, assured the House that it Was not
his intention to trespass much upon their attention..—
He was an enemy to Radical Reform, whether in the
shape of Annual Parliaments and Universal Suffrage,
or in that milder form of it which proposed to grit
the right of voting to inhabitant householders, because
it appeared to him to aim at the total overthrow of
that Constitution v, hich-had raised this country to a
pitch of glory unexampled in ancient or modern
history. The elements of insecurity were so mixed
up with the fabric of Radical Reform, that, instead
of amending ally part of the superstructure of the
Constitution, it was calculated to throw the whole
superstructure down. While he objected to Radical
Reform, because it would tend to make that House
purely and entirely democratical, be was a tiiend
however to a moderate and rational Reform, and he
supported the Resolutiogs of the Noble Lord, because
he thought they were calculated to attain that object,
and that his plan would be found capable of a safe
and easy execution.

The &BAKER having read the first Resolution,
there was a loud cry of Strangers withdraw ;" and
the Gallery was nearly cleated tor a division, when
Mr. B. BATHURST rose, and spoke against -the
motion.. The Hon. Member complimented Lord J.
Morrell on his hereditary talents, and his propriety
of manner in bringing forward any motion in that
House. But be had been in hopes that the Noble
Lord had intended to propo4 some better mode of
punishing bribery and corruption than bad hitherto
existed iu this country. This might be found in the
practice of disfranchising the offending boroughs,
and giving the franchise to others; but the Noble
Lord's plan seemed to be to disfranchise the small
boroughs, whether they have been guilty of corrup,
tion or not, and to transfer their franchises to large
towns. This he could not agree to ; nor to delegate
to a Committee the choice of those boroughs that
should or should not be disfranchised and punished,
The Right Hon. Gentleman concluded by moving
the previous question..
Mr. BARHAM defended the Borough of StoclE.
bridge from the imputations which had been tome pt
out against it in the course of the debate. There was
not a county or city in the kingdom more free from
corruption than that Borough was. ,
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said a few words, in ex,
planation.
The Gallery was then cleared for a division, when
there appeared,
tut the Previous Question

- 15$
124
...-SI

Fur the original Motion .
Majority againK- the Motion
BANE OF IRZLAND.
Mr. MABERLEY, objecting tc the tort:posed ar-
rangement with the Bank of Iceland, as as improri,
dent bargain for the Public,
The CTIAINICELLOR of the EXCgEOBR de-
fended the measure.

Mr. MABERLEY repeated his objections. 1574,
were going to borrow a sum of £500,000 in Irelau4,
which we could get for E 5,000 a-year less in England.
Mr. BARING could not consent to borrow money
in Ireland at 5 per cent. whilst we could get it in
England at 4 per cent.
After a few words from Mr. CaLeitarr, the Bitl
which was to authorize theboirowing this money was
then read a first time, and ordered to be read a see
cond time this day.

pnwanaiien .
The Metropolis Roadll Went ilitottib t Cusinsittee pie
forma, the Report was received, and ordered to be taken into
tortiv:r consideration on Friday selhtt
The other Orders were then disposed of, and the &nit
inward at a Quarter before Two o'llock,