Star.
London, England, 1826-04-28 00:00:00

HOUSE .OF COMMONS.

Mr. ELI.IS, of Dub art, presented a Petition from the Mayors
Sheriffs, and others. of the City of Dublin,,for leave to bring in a Bill
to repeal the Act 49 Geo.IIL commonly called the Metal Main Act.
Sir H. SHAW supported the Petition and begged it might be
referred to aCommittee appointed on the occasion..

The Petition was referred to the Committee. whiz instructions
to report the sante to the House if they should so think fit.
The Hon. Nanssza also presented a Petition from the Lord
Mayor and Sheriffs of Dublin, praying that no further concessions
be made to the Roman Catholics.—Ordered to be printed.
Mr. H UNE presented Petitions from three patishes in Madre,
praying for the release of Mr. R. Gourlay.—Ordered to be printed.
Mr. W. WHITMORE moved for a return of Ships and their
Tonnage (distinguishing Foreign front British), that had cleared
out of the Port of London during the last ten years.—Also for the
quantity of all kinds of Grain (distinguishing each kind) imported
into Great Britain during the same period.—Ordered.
Mr. S. RICE presented a Petition -from the Freehold Inhabi-
tants of the town and County of Galway, complaining of the mis.
application of certain Tolls (exacted for public benefit), by the
Corporation of that City.
Mr. J. DALY said that the application of those tolls, which
formed the basis of complaint iu the Petition, was sanctioned by
an agreement between the Merchants (from whom the greater
portion was collected) and the Corporation of Galway.—The
Petition was laid on the table.

Colonel BAGWELL presented a Petition from Rowel apinst
Slavery—Ordered to be printed.
Dlr. ESTCOURT brought in a Bill to continue the present
Licensed Victuallers Act for one year longer, at the end of which
time he should have prepared one to supersede the present.
Mr. MA BERLY, Sen. wished that some provision might be
made to enable licences to be granted to persons who, on account
of illness or some sufficient cause on the part of the applicant for a
licence, came forward as substitutes for the victualler thus pre-
' vented from attending on licensing day. He understood that a Magis-
trate could not grant licences, under the present Act, to any person
but the proprietor of the house for which such licence was asked.
Ile trusted that some regulation would be made to enable the
Secretary of State to-grant an order for licences to be given to
substitutes, provided that a sufficient good cause were adduced.
The Bill was read a first time, and ordered for a second reading
on Tuesday the 2d of May.
Mr. DALY presented a Petition from the Grand Jury of the
'town of Galway, praying that no interference should be nude fn
the Banking System of Ireland.
The Hon. Mutant also presented a similar Petition from the
Grand Jury of the County of Galway.
Both Petitions were referred to the Committee on the Banking
Systems of Ireland and Scotland.
Mr. JOHN GRANT presented a Petition from Dunse against
any alteration in the Banking system of Scotland. The Hon. Mem-
ber stated, that a Petition to a contrary effect had been presented
to the House as coming from Dense, the inhabitants of which town
knew nothing of such a Petition until they beard of its having been
presented in Parliament. This Petition was signed by ninatenths
of the inhabitants of Dunse.

After an obsereadon from Mr. Ilasiossott,
Sir J. W [MITES LEY begged the Hoeft to reediest that these
bad been but one Peition presented which differed from the prayer
of an immense number on the manse subject • this Petition he beg-
ged leave to fecal& to the memory of the limse, that this Petition
came from Dunse.—Referred to the Committee.

A Petition was presented from Forfarshire, by Mr. Hums,
against any alteration of the Currency of Scotland.—Referred to
the Committee.

blr. HUME presented a Petition from a Corporate Body of
Operatives (labouring under vest distress from the present state of
manufactures), earnestly praying that some alteration might be
made in the present Corn Laws.—Ordered to be printed.
Mr. SYKES brought isr his Bill to declare the Rights of Free-
holders to Vote at klections of Knights of the Shire.
The Bill was read a first time, and ordered for a second reading
on Monday neat, and in the intkrim to be piloted.
Mr. C. ELLISON presented a Petition from several Shipowners
of North Shields, praying fur a Protecting Duty an British Mer-
chant Ships.
Mr. HUSKISSON was much obliged to the Hon.
Member for Newcastle, for his indication that he was
going to present this Petition. A similar Petition had
been presented about a week ago, he had not been able
to attain, in the House at the 1 et ioJ of its presentation,
co.c4u.e he was engaged in a Committee up stairs till a

Lord J. RUSSELL roe to call the attention of the
House to the all-important subject of Parliamentary
Reform. The circumstances of the country were now
so nearly similar to those in which he la at addressed the
House upon this subject, that he might be satisfied to
rest his case upon the arguments he had formerly ad.
duced. The necerliar of Government accommodating
itself to the intellectual condition and the progressive
intelligence of the people was recognised even an those
places where the most barbarous and despotic ;maim.
tions prevailed. Thus in Tin key a constitutional lawyer,
whilst he would stoutly maintain the right of the Grand
Seignor to strike off with his own hand the heads of his
subjects whenever he thought propels would at the
same time insist upon tl.e neces4ty of th.at Monarch
appearing at Mosque every Rider. The Noble Lord
then proceeded to shew that a glitat advance had taken
place in the general intelligence of the people doting
the last century, and that the exercise of the elective
franchise had been narrowed, and consequently the
influence of the people upon Government had been
weakened dining the same period. There esioed, it
wasjrue, some portion of popular re, r.:sentation in that
House, but it was constantly overpowered by the
greater number of those who were either the nominees
of powerful indi►iduals, or who had found their way
into Parliament by means of bribery. During the
growth of popular intelligence the state of the rem.
sentation had been deteriorated to a degree which me-
naced, some day or other, serious calamities to the State.
The Noble Lord then refereed to the manner in which
Parliament was called together in the time of Edward
111. and inferred from this, and from the purpose for
which only they were then assembleJ, of granting sub-
sidies to the Crown, that the Members for boroughs
and cities, as well as counties, must have represented
large, populous, and flourislaing communities. In
support of his assertion, that in , those days the
burgesses, who exercised the Elective Franchise, were
in fact the inhabitants at large, he should appeal
to an authority which would not be disputed on
the other side of the House. The Lord Chan-
cellor had stopped a Counsel in an argument be-
fore the Privy Council, to declare that he had no
doubt that originally all inhabitants were burgesses.
The practice had prevailed of excusing places, on
account of their poverty, from the expense of send•
ing Members to Parliament, and it had been suggested
to him that a Bill might be brought in upon the prin-
ciple of the old practice to relieve certaM Boroughs
whose voters were reduced to a very small number from
this burden. Our ancestors never dreamed of such
places as Old Sarum being represented. The ohj:ct
was to collect representatives who, acting for their con.
stituents, might grant subsidies to the Sovereign to afford
him the means of carrying on his wars. This practice
was productive of whatever was most valuable in our
constitution. The Right Hon. Gentleman opposite had
said that the Parliaments of these days met, granted a
subsidy, and separated in a fortnight. This, however,
was not all they did. They struggled for the liberties
of their country, and the great principles of English
liberty were effectually urged and firmly established
by them. He would borrow the equally solid and
acute remark of a celebrated author, that when we
talked of the liberties purchased by the blood of our
ancestors, we should be nearer the truth if we described
them as the liberties purchased by the money of our
ancestors. All he contended for was, that they should
return to the wholesome and original principles of the
Constitution. He would now advert to some of 'boob-
jections with which he had been met on the former occa-
sion. And the first r f these had been the prosperous state
of the country. At the present moment he might, if
he chose, retort their own arguments upon his oppo-
nents. He, however, would not do so, for he thought
all such arguments inapplicable to the subject—Then
would, of necessity, be vicissitudes in the condition of
such a country as this, and he did not believe the ge-
neral prosperity of the country to have arisen from any
thing which had been done within the last thirty or
torty years. If he wished to explore the deep and solid
foundations of oar national greatness, he must go back
four or 6vc hundred years. He would not reproach
Parliament with the Act of NU, which they had this
Session found it so menu] to repeal, because he did