Star.
London, England, 1821-05-11 00:00:00

POET OFFICE.

The House went into a Committee on the Post.
age Act.
Sir H. PARNELL suggested that' the Right Hon.
Gentleman ought nut to go on with the Bill before
the correspondence which had taken place on the sub-
if:between Government and the Post Office, had
n laid before the House.

Mr. F. PALMER made a few observations on the
same side.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER main-
tained that the country ought not to be precluded
from benefiting by the improvements which had
been made in regard to other carriages when applied
to the
-mail coaches. Other coaches could go twelve
miles an hour, and it was the object of this Committee
to come to a Resolution on which to found a Bill to
enable the Postmaster-General to introduce this im-
provement, and char,,e additional rates for it.
Sir J. NEWPORT thought the House should not
agree to any such measure, till it was ascertained that
it would not be productive of injury to the commu-
nity and danger to the individuals concerned.
Mr. PHILLIPS supported the measure, and re-
prehended the idea of depriving the nation of the be-
nefit of modern discoveries, on account of grounaess
apprehensions.
Mr. RICE thought, that some consideration ought
to be given to the system of cruelty it would tend to
countenance, in over-working the animals.
After a few words from Mr. F. PALMER, Mr. RI-
CARDO, the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, and
Mr. GLADSTONE, the Committee divided : .

SCOTCH REPRESENTATION.
Lord A. HAMILTON said, that when he gave
notice of his present motion, he had hoped that it
would command a considerable attendance; but in
the present state of the House, he felt that he should
be acting unhandsomely by his case, giving it an ap-
pearance of solemn discussion where solemn discus-
sion was not; doing violence to his own feelings and
injustice to the interests of others; and, in fact, treat-
ing the subject in a way not very creditable to the
House, if he entered at large into the state of Repre-
sentation in a House which it was rather his duty to
count than to address—(Near, hear). He was not
disposed to shew the House or the Speaker the slight-
est disrespect. Forty Members were certainly pre.
sent, and the Speaker was in the Chair; but he had
a duty to perform to the country and to his consti-
tuent,: and he should at present content himself
with doing little' ore than moving his Resolutions.
He could not consent to act that farcical part of
attempting to argue a question that some hours
hence would be decided by Members now scattered
about different parts of the town—(Hear, hear).—
If he could command the time of the House as well
as his own, he should perhaps give ..notice for some
future day ; but in the present state of business that
was impossible; and he knew too well the duty he
owed to those who gave him his seat to introduce so
important a topic of debate in a House like the pre-
sent. He should merely say, that by a Return upon
the table, it appeared that there were only 2889
voters for all the Scotch Counties ; and it was still
further reduced by the fact, that many of these vcted
for several Counties. He asked, then, if about 2000
voters constituted a sufficient representation for Scot-
land?—(Hear, hear).—His Lordship then moved a
Resolution, " That it appeared by a certified copy of
the roll of freeholders on the table, presented in July,
1820, that the total number of persons having a right
to vote in Scotland did not exceed 2889."—11is Lord-
ship added, that his object was to pledge the House
to the consideration of the subject in the next Session.
The question having been put,
Mr. MACKENZIE said, that he was never more
surprised than at the speech of the Noble Lord, and
he should not oppose the Resolution was it not for
what had fallen from the Noble Lord at the conclu-
sion. He would not agree to any abstract proposi-
tion without being first informed of the use which
was intended to be made of the establishment of that The Literary Gazette of Saturday, the 12th instant,
proposition. The object of the Noble Lord was to (No. 225), will contain:
it:, now concluded,
. and.regaatkable
increase the number of voters, and he (Mr. Macken- ' Poetry, by Sir W,ALTTIL SCOTT, T. CAIITIELL, and T. Mame;
zie) doubted much whether the number of voters :a Review of
would be increased if the superiorities were done sbAfte-ototferla dart' wthatehAoaticralltAnc
,edsottreasc.uAfrosmuttehmatent
onfr ,
at-
away with. If any abuse were pointed out to him, ,tendin'g the Publication of Mr. Fisher's Voyage to thea tic
he should be most willing to go into a consideration Regions, and Extracts from that Work ; Criticisms on the
Royal
,Aderny—Water Colon:, and other Exhibitions; Letter
of the remedy proposed ; but he conceived. increasing
'from Paris, arts, with a comprehensive View of the Commerce, ma_
the number of voters would be in direct violation of
Inufactures, &c. of France ; New Method of Lithographic Print-
the Att of Union, and particularly when not a single ;ing; Communications front Italy, characteristic of that country;
Petition frora Scotland, where the cause of Reform A very singular original Description of the Death and Funeral
was not dormant,' was presented, praying for such .0. f, the
.Sdtan of Java, in October last, by the Dutch Resident;
an increase. The Honourable Member concluded iAllineecid)larY oalfidanamtiMalvd.acikadeties.lll27 other Literary, Scientific
by moving thavthe Order'of the Day be 1101, read. Literary Gazcue oitc, 16,2, Strand, May 10, 1821.

- Z 8
- Is

For the Original Motion
Against it - - - - _ _
Majority - - —23
The House then resumed, and the Report was or-
dered to be received to-morrow.

The other Orders of the Day were then disposed
of, and the House adjourned at Eleven o'Clock.

It appears by Papers presented to the House of Com-
mons, respecting the Penitentiary, Millbank, ordered
to be printed March 15, that there are now 551 prisoners
in that prison, the net expensd of whose mai:tenance
has been £14,880 3s. Gd. for the last year, which is
£26 17s. per head. This is about half-a-guinea
a-week for the board-wages of these worthy servants
of the Public. But the lodging of these Gentry
is paid for at a much more extravagant rate. The
sum of £400,000 has been already expended on
the building of this prison ; which sum, divided by
five hundred and fifty-on; gives about 1.:722 a-piece as
thesum paid for the erection of the residence of each
of these persons. A man who builds a house gene-
rally gets 10 per cent. for his money, which would
make the house-rent merely, for each of the pri-
soners, £72 2s. a-year ; so that altogether they cost
.more per head than the junior clerks in public offices,
and about four times as much as well-paid labourers
with families in most Counties of England.

t. j;

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