Star.
London, England, 1817-04-25 00:00:00

P4RtidimENniß r PATACEEDINGS.

HOUSE OF LORDS, APRIL 24.
/adman In the cases of the Queensberry Leases postponed
sit Monday week.
A Person from the London Flour Company presented their
Annual Account, Laid 011 the Table.
Bailey's Divorce Bill was ordered to be farther considered on
Tuesday the Y9th of this mon,h.
Earl ORE, presented a Petition from Fatuous, Ardrowan,
sad other places In that neighbourhood, seating the distresses of
the Country, and 'praying fur Parliamentary Reform, by the
auppreulou of the Representation for decayed Borough', and by
ahostenirg the ',dragon of Varliament‘ His Lordship presented
:mother Petition, respectably signed, from Langdale, to the same
effect as the Jointer. Both laid on the Tattle.
LORD snaIgoVTIIIS CIRCULAR LETTER.
Earl GREY moved, that Lord Sidmouth's Cir-
cular I.e.tcr, laid on the tablo'on a former day, be
printed •, which was ordered. •
The Noble Earl then stated, that he understood
that it had been declared, on the day on which the
Circular Letter was prociured, that there would be
no objection to lay before their Loriships the opinion
of the Law-Office:a of the Crown, mentioned in that
letter; but OM there would be objtctions to the pro-
duction of the case. What the objection could be
to the production of A document so necessary to bring
tinder their Lordships' view, the nature of the doubt
which had been entertained, and the circumstances
of the casempon which the opinion of the Law•Utli•
cers was founded, he could not conceive. He would,
however, now move for the opinion of the i.aw-Oik-
cers of the Crown, referred to in the Circular Letter;
and when that should be laid on. the table, be would
then he catbird to judge whether he ought to move-
for the cue, er brills.; the subject under discussion in•
a different form. He concluded by moving for the
(pinion of the Law-Officers, which was ordered to
be produced.—Adjout tied.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
At four o'clock there was an unusual number of Members
present.
"I he SPEAKER then addressed the }louse to the
following effect, viz.:
" In returning to the Chair, I have to express to the House
my most grateful acknowledgments fur their indulgent conside-
ration during my late indisposition. I beg leave to assure the
House, that I feel edit deeply the favourable acceptance which
al humble endeavours to discharge my duly in this Chair bast
experienced horn tiwne.

" With respect to the arrears of business which have been
occasioned by the departure from the ordinary course of pro-
ceeding which arose out of the late unfortunate interruption, I
have to propose to the Honer, first, that all Co&Mitres should
be revived; and, secundly, to extend the time for receiving the
Reports of Private Bills, from Monday the 12th of May, to
ansther week (if that shall be the pkasure of the House), namely,
to Monday, the 19. h of May.
" As to the Public Bwiness. the course will be, at the proper
hour, for the Clerk to read over the dropped Orders and No-
tices ; of which the House will dispose as it may soh thelr own
conveniencc."—( Near, hear.)

The question was then put, that the time for re-
ceiving the 12-ports of Private Dills be extended to
the 9,h of May.—Agreed to.
Mr. GRAT CAN then intimated, that nn Toe,-
day, the 6th of May next, he should call the even-
titsn of the House to the consideratim of the Catholic
Claims.

General THORNTON gave nofee, that on Wed-
nesday, the 30th of April, he should move for have
to bring its A Bill to abolish the pubilie whipping of
female offenders, and to substitute other provisions
i r lieu of teat punishment.
A Message from the Lords stated, that their Lord.
ships had agreed to the Irish Peate Preservation Bill,
the Irish Anus Register Bill, and other Public and
Private Bills.

Mr. KENNET presented a Petition from a num-
ber of Publeans in Gloucester, praying for tome re.
gulstion in the mode of granting Licenses.—Oldered
to lie on the Table.

rsTITION 110R_ RETRINCIIMENT7

Tile Hon. Mr. 13ENNET, after moving that the
Police Committee be instructed to report their pro-
ceedings to the House from time to time, presented
a Petition from the Labourers, Mechanics, and 4r.
tisane of the town of Wolverhampton and its neigh-
bourhood. praying for reduction of Tait 1. and other
means of Relief. The Petition was signed by 500
individuals, unity of them in respectable situations of
life, but the most in distressed circumstances. They
prayed for nothing that ought not to be granted
thew. Upon a representation that they were in a
state of the greatest suffering and hardship, partly to
be attributed to legation, they prayed for a dinrinu-
titre of their public burdens. Their sufferings would
be believed to be great, when it was known that
several individuals in that neivhbourhood were stated
to have perished by famine. Employment had com-
beetely failed them t and if no other remedy could
devised for their distress, the Petitioners prayed
that they might be furnhhed with the means, or
allovied flie liberty of leaving the country, and retir•
tog to a lOreign land, as they had no great relish for
a mode of industry suggested by a Noble Lord
(Castlereagh) id Parliamear, that of " digging a
bole in the earth, and then filling it up again."
Mr. E. J. LY I'TLETON concurred in the state-

meet given by the lioncurahle Gentleman, solar as
it regarded the distress of the district from which thee
Petition came; but he would not allow that it gene-
rally was the Petition, or spoke the sentiments of the
people of Wolverhampton. It was manufactured at
distance from that town; it war brought titre by
strangers, and methods weie taken to_procure•signa-
tures. He allowed that st might speak tke senti-
ments of those who signed it, but be denied that they
were any considerable portion a the inhabitants of
tl,st disuict.
PUNNET explained. He I;ad never said
that it spoke the sentiments of any but of those who
signed it.—The Petition was then read, and ordered
to lie on the table.

UN. HIMR21:11.
The Hon. Mr. BENNET gave•notice of a motion
on•the appointMents of Mr. Herries for the &h May.
The dropped /*latices and Orders which were fixed
for the adjournment were then read, and fixed for
Mute days.
'Mr. PONSOI4IY proposed the second reading of
Ss Bill tor dispensing with the renewal ot Commis-
sions on the demise of the Crown for Monday next.
-He gave notice nt a Motion regarding the Welch
Judges for Thureilaya. the Ist of May ; and of a mo.
tun for the production of the instructions under
•

which Sir H. 'Wellesley geed the Treaty of Mae&
for the 15th of the same month.
Sir H. PARNELL gave notice, that on Monday
next he would present a Petition from the Roman
Catholics of Ireland.
Mr. CURWEN declined to renew his notice of a
motion on excessive Poor Rates, as he understood
his Majesty's Government had taken up the. subject.
Mr. CALCRAF r post p.med his motion on the
Silt Duties till to-morrow.
Mr. CALVERT gave notice of his motion on the
Hop Duties, for Wednesday next.
Mr. CURWEN presented various Petitions from
Parishes in different parts of the country; from Pa-
rishes in Wiltshire and Berkshire, and other counties,
complaining of the pressure of the Poor Rates ; and
praying for a Revision of the Poor Laws.--Ordered
to lie an the table.

CORNWALL PETITION.
Sir WILLIAM LEMON presented a Petition
from the Gentry, Clergy, and other inhabitants of
the county of Cornwall, complaining of the Bills
lately passed, and of the conduct of the Noble Secre-
tary of State for the Home Department, in neglect-
ing to present in due time, and in mislaying an
Address of the County to the Prince R 'gent, voted
in the end of last Autumn; praying that he would
call together his Parliament, and recommend to it
measures of retrenchment. The Petition was brought
up and read. It stated, that an Address had been
voted by the County to.the Prince Regent, in last
December, which was transmitted to the Office of
Lord Sidmouth. No answer was received, nor only
intimation that the Petition was presented. When
inquiry was made into this circumstance of %glen,
the High Sheriff was answered, that the Address bad
fallen by and could not be found. The Petitioners
complained of this instance of neglect, and prayed
for inch satisfaction as might be in the power or
consistent with the wisdom of the House to grant.
Mr. B. BATHURST rose to explain the seeming
neglect complained of in the petition. On the 19th
of December it was found, upon inquiry, that the
Address was mislaid. A letter was written on the
29th of December to the High Sheriff, mentioning
the circumstance, and 'asking for an authenticated
copy, that it might be presented without delay. The
.High Sheriff took no notice of this letter. No copy
was sent in time. Had one been transmitted when
it was requested, it might still have been in the
power Of Government to fulfil, to a certain extent.
the. petition of the county, by calling together Pap
liament at an earlier date than that which was fixed,
which was one of the prayers of the address. Having
received no answer from the Sheriff, the Secretary of
State wrote to a private Gentleman of the County
for an authenticated copy, which was soon received
and laid before his Royal Highness. The High She-
riff was made acquainted with the circumstance that
the Address was presented ; and :van afterwards a
letter was received from the Ui,der Sheriff. On the
2Uth of January the original was found, and was
likewise laid before his Royal Highness. These cir-
cumstances should have been stated in the present pe-
thirsts, as they were known to the parties ; and if
they had been stated, would have removed the
grounds of the complaint.
Mr. TREMAYNE acquitted the Noble Lord at
the head of the Home Department of any ctiminal
neglect in the affair.
The petition was laid on the table.
Sir J. NEWPORT presented a Petition frerneer-
thin Inhabitants and Freeholders of the Town of
Limerick, complaining of the practices that prevailed
in that part of Ireland, with regard to the registry
of freeholds, by which those entitled to vote tor a
representative were often deprived of the exercise of
their ellctive rights. As the law now stood, no
Freeholder could compel Magistrates to hold Sessions
for rendering effective their tight of suffrage, by re-
gistering their freeholds. The evil called loudly for
a remedy, as the petitioners were ready to substan-
tiate. at the bar of the House, facts which would
prove the existente of abuse.—The petition was re-
ceived, and ordered to lie on the table.

LIMA! 'MUSSY.
Mr. LAMBTON.gave notice that he would, on
Wednesday neat, bring forward his promised Motion
on the late Embassy to Lisbon. He moved, as pre-
liminary information, for a copy of all communica-
tions made by the Portuguese Ambassador to our
Government, from the let of May to the Ist of Au-
gust, 1814, respecling the intended return of the
Prince Berm of Portugal from the Brazils to his
European dominions.