The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-04-28 00:00:00

gethsr with an abstract of all receipts and expenditure, up
to the presentation of the petition for the bill.
" 11. A statement of the source whence the deposit was
paid to the Accountant-general, whether out of the depo-
sits or by loan.
" 12. A statement of the source whence the additional
£5 per cent. required to be paid by the other house of
Parliament will be paid or raised."
Lord SANDON moved for copies of all memorials ad-
dressed to the First Lord of the Treasury and the Presi-
dent of the Board of Trade, praying for a reduction of the
duty on tea.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER had no objec-
tion to the production of the memorials in question, but if
it was expected that he should declare the intention of go-
vernment to reduce the existing duties on tea, he must in-
form the memorialists that a sense of public duty com-
pelled him to disappoint their expectations.
Atter a words from J. A. Smyth, Mr. Entwisle, and
Mr. Wyse, in support of the remission of the tea duties,
the motion was agreed to.
Leave was given to Mr. S. Crawford to bring in a bill
for the protection and relief of ejected tenants in Ireland.
_
HOUSE OF COMMONS.—FRIDAY.

On resuming the debate on the Irish Coercion Bill,
Mr. SMITH O'BRIEN took a review of the appalling
condition of the people of 1.-eland, and after dwelling at
much length upon the inefficiency of the measures pro-
posed by the Government to meet such a deplorable state
of things, put it to Lord George Beutinck, as the leader
a powerful party, to say whether he and his friends
would support ministers if they introduced a measure for
the suspension of the corn laws in Ireland for three
months.

Lord GEORGE BENTINCR said that the greatest sym-
pathy was felt by himself and his party for the situation
of the people of Ireland. and they were prepared, in order
to meet their melancholy position. to open the ports for a
limited period. The present ministers were endeavouring
to govern the country with only 112 members who had
real confidence in their measures. In his opinion, the
abolition of the corn laws would be the destruction of Ire-
land : it would drive 550,000 families, comprising three
millions and a half of the population, out of the markets
which they now occupied in raising agricultural produce.
The only mode of permanently relieving the distresses of
Ireland was by an extensive poor-law, providing that not
one of the population should want the means of existence.
After an explanation from Sir JAM S GRAHAM, as to
he principle upon which the Government proceeded in
applying the means of relief already granted,
Mr. E B. ROCHE complained of the press which called
the Irish members impractic.ble tnalignants--(an lion.
member here exclaimed, "it was the Morning Herald
did so.") " No," said Mr. Roche, "it was not the
Morning Herold; it was the Times " The hon. gentle•
man then proceeded to defend the Irish members from
this charge, and to contend that, in the course they had
pursued, they were only acting in accordance with a strong
sense of duty.
Mr. BELLEW contended that the landlords of Ireland
MUSt he brought more under the control of public opinion,
and hoped that, even in defiance of the principles of poli-
tical economy, some means would be adopted to establish
a sk stem of relief which would secure from starvation
every poor labouring man who was willing to work.
Mr. STAFFORD O'BRIEN said that on a recent visit to
Ireland he found that the scarcity ar,sing from the failure
the po.ato crop was far greater than he had previously
supposed ; and. finding the Board of Vorks somewhat
slow in its operations, lie applied to Lord Lincoln, whose
zeal in endeavouring to enable the relief committee to act
efficiently lie warmly eulogised.
Mr. O'C:us:NELL impre-sed upon the house the neces-
sity of taxing the laodliirds of Ireland in proportion to
their inutility to their country. They should tax the ab-
sentees very highly, and others proportionably lighter,
according as they perforated the duties cast upon them by
toeir position in society. He regretted that Mr. Smith
O'Brien should be adverse to the total repeal of the eon.
laws, the maintenance of which had never been of use to
Ireland ; on the contrary their existence was concomi-
tant vvii h all the evils and distresses to which that coun-
try had hitherto been exposed, and under which it was
now so severely suffering.
Mr. P. SC ROPE advocated a more extensive system of
po .r-saw relief as a remedy for some of the evils of Ire-
land.

Mr. COBDEN treated the question put by Mr. Smith
O'Brien to Lord George Bentiock as the rt-sult of an un-
,lerstanding between them, and Mil:rated tu Mr. O'Brien
that he had more to expect from the friendship and good
feeling of the Liberal party than he could possibly hope
for from Lord George Bentincx and the Protectionists.

In the course of Mr. Cobden's observations, he broadly
stated that it was the population of the towns of England
which must govern the country. This called up
Mr. DISRAELI, who commented warmly upon the
conduct of Sir R. Peel in cheering the observation of Mr.
Cobden, thus accet tin.; the definition that the people of
the towns were to be considered as the people of England.
He repeatedly observed that the right hon. baronet had
loudly chi ered this observation.
Sir R. PEEL.—I wholly deny that I did so.
Mr. D'ISRAELI.—If the right hon. baronet means to
say that anything 1 have said is false, I have done.
After some observations from Mr. S. O'Brien in ex-
planation of some passages of his own speech.
Mr. NEWDEGATE appealed to Sir R. Peel to with raw
his charge of falsehood from Mr. D'lsraeli.
Sir it PEEL said he had never charged the hon. mem-
ber with false-hood. The hon. gentleman bad sam ne naa
cheered a sentiment uttered by Mr. Cobden, and Le (Sir
R.. Peel) wholly denied that he had done so.
A warm d'scussion ensued, in the course of which
Major MACNAMARA. somewhat characteristically re-
marked, that if it were a matter for explanation, that ex-
planation should take place elsewhere.
The worthy major's hint was not adopted, and ulti-
mately a proper parliamentary explanation set matters all
straight, after which the order of the day was read, and
the adjourned debate resumed by
Mr. J. O'CONNELL, who spoke for upwards of three
hours, dilating upon every imaginable grievance which has
ever afflicted Ireland, and intimated, nevertheless, that he
had spared the house many arguments, supported by do-
cumentary evidence, knowing that several hon. friends of
his were prepared with very voluminous statements to
support their opposition to the measure.
Mr. M'CARTRY then moved the adiiurnment of the
debate, which was agreed to.