The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-05-25 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TuEsuAY

The friends of the narrow guage experienced a defeat.
On the question of the consideration of the report on
the Birmingham and Oxford Junction, and Birmingham,
Wolverhampton, and Dudley Railways Amalgamation
Bill, Sir F. TRESIGER moved that the bill be referred
back to the same committee, with the view of considering
certain petitions against the bill ; when, after some dis-
cussion, the motion was negatived by a majority of 152 ;
the numbers being 62 to 214. The report was then
agreed to.'
Lord Rimy RUSSELL said, in answer to Mr. Hume,
that ministers had come unanimously to the opinion that
it was desirable, and had so advised her Majesty, imme-
diately to fill up the office of lord-lieutenant, which had
unhappily become vacant. The noble lord, likewise, in
answer to Mr. Ferrand, stated that it was not the inten-
tion of the government to bring in a bill for the purpose
of preventing the use of flour in cotton factories.

On the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER,
a select committee was appointed to consider whether it is
expedient that any measure should be adopted for sus-
pending further proceedings in all or any of the railroad
bills in the present session, and for enabling the parties,
under certain conditions, to proceed with the same in a
future session of parliament ; and also, whether it is ad-
visable that any further provisions should be made in the
standing orders of the house, relative to bills for the con-
struction of railways.
The adjourned debate on the second reading of the Poor
Laws Administration Bill was then resumed by Mr.
CHRISTIE, ' who said that warmly approving as he did of
all the principles of the act of 1834, he had only one fault
to find with the present bill, and that was that it was
temporary.
Mr. ETWALL condemned both the principle and the ad-
ministration of the present Poor-law, and contended that
one striking proof of its failure was to be found at the
present moment in the fact, that in the agricultural
districts wages had not risen in the same proportion as
the price of food.
Viscount COURTENAY stated, that, as chairman of the
committee on the Andover Union, the general impression
which he had derived from the evidence presented to that
committee was, that there had been great mismanagement
in the Board of Guardians—that the administration of the
law by the' uardians within it had been marked with con-
siderable harshness—and that that harshness had been
greatly aggravated by the general irregularity of the pro-
ceedings of that board. Further, his impression was, that
no evidence had been offered to justify the conduct of the
Poor-law Commissioners, either in the manner or in the
time of the dismissal of Mr. Parker and Mr. Day from their
respective offices as Assistant Commissioners. He then
proceeded to declare how far he agreed with the bill be-
fore the house. To its general principle he was prepared
to give his support ; for he believed that it afforded
grounds for expecting that the future administration of
the law would be conducted with more responsibility and
greater regularity than formerly.
The debate was adjourned to Thursday.
On the report of supply on the votes for the Ecclesias-
tical Commission, Mr. 'WILLIAMS, on the ground that he
thought the expense ought to be defrayed out of the reve-
nues of the Church, called for a division, when the vote
was agreed to by a majority of 68, the numbers being
76 to 8

HOUSE OF LORDS,

-THURSDAY

The Duke of WELLINGTON called the attention of the
house to the importance of a direct railway from Dover to
London, and moved that the North Kent, the Stroud to
Maidstone, and the Mid-Kent and direct Tunbridge lines,
should be referred to the Railway Commissioners.
After some observations from Lord BROUGHAM, the
motion was agreed to.
The Clergy Offences Bill was then read a second time.