The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-02-09 00:00:00

HOUSE OF LORDS.—THunspAr.

Papers relative to the annexation of Cracow, including
the last communication from Austria on the subject, were
laid upon the table by the Marquis of Lansdowne.
Lord BROUGHAM once more complained of the influx
of Irish paupers into Bristol, Liverpool, and Glasgow,
which he thought likely to extend to this country the dis-
tress now prevailing in Ireland. The noble and learned
lord also animadverted upon the fanaticism which caused
the directors of the Glasgow and Edinburgh Railway to
refuse permission to any one to ge by the mail train from
the former to the latter city, during the extensive confla-
gration by which the former had recently suffered, to in-
form the owners of the property threatened with destruc-
tion, of the impending calamity, because it was the Sab-
bath-day. They allowed the mail train to go, because
they were paid for it, but they would not permit a mes-
senger, however important the busineis. The noble lord
likewise condemned the fanaticism which led the people
of Glasgow, in the exercise of their benevolence, to close
their charitable soup kitchens on the. Sabbath-day, and
seized the opportunity to correct the error into which he
had been led respecting the soup-kitchens in Liverpool.
The Duke of RICHMOND had no apprehension of the
scarcity:extending to England, believing that a very con-
siderable supply of wheat was still in the hands of the
farmers, besides the abundant supplies which were coming
from America. •
Earl FiTzwim.rAm corroborated this opinion, and be-
lieved that in Ireland also there was a good deal of wheat ;
but the Irish people were not wheat consumers, and that
fact did not operate as a mitigation of the calamity which
ba.tl ove,rtake4 that country.

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HOUSE OF COMMONS.----THIIRSDAY.
Lord GEORGE BENTINCK moved to bring.in a bill to
make Irish railways at the cost of the state. Acts of par-
liament had passed for the construction of 1522 miles of
railway in Ireland, and that, although some of these acts
had passed as far back as eleven years ago, only 123 miles
of railway had as yet been completed, with 164 miles in
process of construction. During the same period about
2600 miles of railway had been completed in England and
Scotland, while new acts had been obtained for the con,
struction of 4600 miles. He entered into a number of
calculations showing the number of men which the com-
pletion of the contemplated railways would employ ; the
rate of interest at which money might be profitably ad-
vanced by the Government, and the immense benefits
which the system he advocated would hold out to the pub-
lic over the one now being acted on by the Government.
As to the sedition of which they heard so much in Ire-
land, let them only fill the bellies of the Irish people with
good beef and mutton, with wheaten bread and good
strong beer, and their pockets with English gold, with
which to purchase necessaries for himself and family, and
he, the Saxon, would answer with his head for the loyalty
of the Irish people.
Mr. HUDSON seconded the motion.
Lord JonN RUSSELL agreed with the noble lord that
j. the establishment of railways in Ireland would be of im-
mense benefit to the country. In a case of extreme des-
titution like the present, however, it would not be wise
to devote sixteen millions to the promotion of railways at
this time. He would not, however, oppose the bringing
in of the bill,'but he wished the noble lord to understand
that it was not his opinion that it would be wise to
adopt the scheme.
A long debate followed, more or.less acrimonious, and
the bill was read a first time.
The house then went into committee of the whole house,
pro forma, for the purpose of voting a sum not exceeding
£300,000, on the security of the rates hereafter to be
levied, for the purposes of the Destitute Poor (Ireland) Bill.