The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-06-08 00:00:00

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fropertal Varliament.

HOUSE OF LORDS.--MONDAY.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE, in reply to Lord Broug-
ham, said that no convention had been entered into' re-
specting the affairs of Portugal, though a protocol had
been signed by Great -Britain, France, and. Spain, the
object of which was the pacification of that country.
A discussion then arose on a question of appointing the
!elect committee on the Birmingham and Oxford Railway
bill, which ended in a division, when the numbers were—
for the committee, 29; against it, 22; majority, 7.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—MONDAY.
The House proceeded to consider the lords' amend-
ments on the Poor Relief (Ireland) Bill, the most im-
portant of which were adopted, after some discussion.
The House afterwards resolved itself into a committee,
and the Chancellor of the Exchequer moved a resolution
granting an advance of .-1:00,tri) in aid of the rates to be
made for the maintenance of the poor in Ireland until
next harvest.
After some discussion, this resolution was paused with-
out a division.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TUESDAY.
The Earl of LINCOLN moved an address to Her Majesty,
praying her to take into her most gracious consideration
the means by which colonization might be made subsidi-
ary to other measures for the improvement
.of the social
condition of Ireland. His lordship, in a very long and
able speech, explained that his object was to obtain a
commission to inquire—first, whether colonization could
be applied so as to relieve those who remained in Ireland ;
secondly, whether it could be applied so as to relieve those
who left Ireland : and lastly, whether it could be so con-
ducted as not to interfere with the interests of our colo-
nies.
Mr. HAWES, as under-secretary of the colonies, in
replying to the motion, admitted most of the principles
contained in his lordship's speech; but differed from him
as to the expediency of appointing a commission to in-
quire into such a subject. He refused to move any
amendment on the motion of Lord Lincoln, and suggested
to the noble lord the propriety of withdrawing it.
A long discussion then took place, in which Mr: Ore-
gery, Mr, V. Smith, Sir It. Peel, Lord John Russell, Mr.
Hope, Mr. Hume, Mr. M. O'Connell, Mr. F. Scott, Sir
W. James, Lord J. Manners, and Mr. Aglioriby took
part.
In conclusion the address was agreed to; but
Lord J. ItteisEaa intimated that he should advise Her
Majesty not to issue a commission of inquiry, but to
conduct the inquiry through the agency of .the executive
Government. He expressed his readiness to advise the
governors of our North American colonies to consult
their executive councils and their local assemblies as to
the plans of emigration to which: they would lend their
aid ; and he added that he would lay the result of those
consultations on the table, along-with the opinions of the
_administration upon them, early in the next session of
Parliament.
Mr. BouvrnrE was bringing before the house the con-
duct of a clergyman of the Established Church, whom
be accused of having refused to bury a pauper, when
Mr. HENLEY moved that the house be counted, and
. 40 members not being present, it stood adjourned.

•
HOUSE OF LORDS.—TIIURSDAY.
•
A select committee was nominated and appointed, to
whom was referred the Clergy Offences Bill.
The Lunatic Asylums Bill went,through committee,
after which the Heritable Jurisdiction (Scotland) Bills, in-
troduced by Lord Campbell, was read a second time.
The Poor-law Supervision (Ireland) Bill was then, after
some dh7cussion, read a second time, to be committed pro
_forma on. Monday next.
The Commons' amendments tnthe Poor-law (Ireland)
Bill were then agreed to, as were those to the Landed Pro-
perty (Ireland) Bill.
A select committee was then appointed, on the motion
of the Marquess of LANSDOWNE, to consider the expedi-
ency of adopting measures for suspending further proceed-
ings on any or all of the railway bills during the present
session, enabling the parties thereto to proceed with them,
under certain conditions, next session of parliament.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TnuusnAY.
Sir G. GREY moved that the house resolve itself into
committee on the Prisons Bill, and as that bill formed a
part of the general plan of her Majesty's government with
regard to secondary punishments, he thought it advisable
then to state to the house what the scope and object of
that plan were. The object_ of the Prisons Bill was to
constitute a new board of management for our three great
national prisons, of Millbank, Pentonville, and Parkhurst;
the new board to be similar in its main features to the plan
by which the Pentonville prison was now superintended.
The head commissioner was to be in constant communi-
cation with the Secretary of State, and the duties of the
new commission were to embrace, inter alia, those here-
tofore performed by the Supelintendent of Convicts, an
office which it was designed to supersede. The sentence
in the case of criminals is to be divided, the early :
portion of it being designed to be of a reformatory !
icbaracter. With this view it is proposed that the princi-
ple of punishment carried out in the Pentonville prison
should be made applicable to all convicts who, from
age or other circumstances, may be capable of having
it applied to them. The majority of convicts, after the
expiration of a limited period of solitary confinement, I
are to be employed in this country, or in Bermuda and
Gibraltar, on public works. The greater portion of them
will then be removed to the Australian colonies, where
they will he free men, entitled to the fruits of their la-
bour, and no longer subjected to the demoralising pro-
cesses which convicts have hitherto undergone in the
penal settlements. In pther words, the strictly penal
part of the sentence is to be passed in this country, or in
Gibraltar or Bermuda ; the actual deportation of the con-
victs
not to take place so long as they are subject to penal I
restraint, whilst, on their arrival in the colonies, they are
to be treated with a view to their dispersion, instead of
their aggregation as heretofore, with all its demoralising
influences. The three great English prisons, with the
county gaols. many of which have recently been enlarged,
together with the Perth Penitentiary in Scotland, and a
general prison for penal purr:NO.3 erected in Ireland,
are relied upon as affording sufficient itOcOmmodation for
all the conviotf, ;At, may be sentenced to punishment.
ine Pentonville system had been found efficient in the
highest degree as a reformatory punishment, but it was
necessary to apply it with every precaution. The Go-
vernment regarded eighteen months as the utmost
term for which it should be inflicted, and six months
as the shortest. The average period would be twelve
months, subject to curtailment in particular instances, as
the health or mental capacity of the prisoner might seem
to require. He was prepared to accede to a recommenda-
tion
which had been made to him by an honourable mem-
ber by adding a clause which would provide that any ex-
pense which should be incurred by the custody of this
class of offenders in county gaols should not fall upon the
county, but should be defrayed by the same source as the
cost of convicts generally was now defrayed from. Such
prisoners as were convicted of offences of a not very hein,
ous character would, as the consequence of good behaviour
during the first stage of their imprisonment, be entitled
to a speedy removal to a distant colony with a conditional
pardon. The scheme which he proposed might be open
to objections, but whatever might be, in the estimation of
some honourable members, its unknown and speculative
evils, they could not possibly equal in number and mag-
nitude those of the system of punishment which it was
intended to abolish ' • a system which, whilst it had not
had the desired effect in efficiently deterring from crime,
had been prolific in the penal settlements of the utmost
demoralization.
A debate of considerable length followed, in which Vis-
count Mahon, Sir W.lVlolesworth, Mr. Bankes, and others
took part. The debate was then adjourned.

HOUSE OF LORDS.-FRIDAY.

In reply to a question from Lord Brougham,
The Marquis of LANDSDOWN expressed his regret that
lie was unable, up to that moment, to lay upon the table
of the house the papers which the noble and learned lord
had moved for, relative to the intervention of England,
France, and Spain, in the affairs of Portugal.
Lord BROUGILUSI said he was by no means surprised at
the delay.
Lord STANLEY regarded the whole proceedings in this
case as of the greatest importance, not only as they re-
garded Portugal and England, but as they affected the
whole of Europe.
The report on the Naval Prisons Bill was brought up
and agreed to.
Lord MONTEAGLE then moved for the appointment of
a select committee to consider the propriety of adopting
some plan of emigration, with a view to relieve Ireland of
a portion of its redundant population.
Earl GREY could not acquiesce in the appointment of
the committee in the belief that it would realise the noble
lord's own expectations. The difficulty of transferring a
large amount of the population of Ireland to our colonies
was greater than might be supposed, for they would have
to study the disposition of the emigrants, with whom they
would soon find they could not do as they liked; while,
on the other hand, the adoption of the motion might of
itself act as a check upon the present stream of emigration.
He was not unwilling to give facilities to a well-conducted
system of emigration, and would not therefore oppose the
motion ; •but he would not hold out the hope of carrying
out any plan upon so gigantic a scale as would relieve the
existing pressure in Ireland.
Earl FITZWILLIAM urged the necessity of adopting a
plan of emigration, believing that the potato crop would
again prove a failure this year, and it would require to
grow two acres and a half of wheat to supply the deficiency
occasioned by the failure of one acre of -p-otatoes, in order
to support the existing population.
After some observations
from Lord MONTEAGLE in
reply, the motion was agreed to, and the committee was
appointed.

HOUSE OF COMMONS --p
RIDAY
On the motion of Mr. T. DUNCOMBE, Mr. Wortley and
Mr. Cardwell were added to the committee on the Thames
Conservancy Bill.
Mr. LABOUCIIERE, in qnswer to Mr. S. O'BRIEN, re-
plied that he had reason to believe, though not in posses_
sion of positive information, that the Irish judges had re-
commended a postponement of the assizes in Ireland.
A conversation ensued on the affairs of Portugal, Mr.
Humes motion in reference to British interference, at its
close, being definitely fixed for Thursday next.
Subsequently Mr. B. OSBORNE gave notice of his in-
tention, if the motion was not brought on on Monday
next, as originally intended, to move a resolution that it
is hostile to the liberties of Europe, and contrary to the
uniform policy of the British Government, to cuter into
any convention or treaty with any foreign power having
for its object the maintenance of any particular dynasty
in Portugal, or the suppression of popular opinion by
force of arms.
Lord PALMERSTON said the papers would prove that
;he object of the British Government was, not to estab-

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= II

lish despotic government in Portugal, but to secure to the
Portuguese people all the privileges which the constitu-
tion and the charter of Don Pedro had conferred on
them.
Lord J. RUSSELL observed. with respect to the report
of a hostile collision in the Tagus, that his impression
was, in the absence of positive information, that if any
such had taken place it was between the ships of the
Queen of Portugal and those of the Junta, and not be-
tween the latter and the British men-of-war. The noble
lord, in answer to Mr. John Collett, also said that it was
not the intention of the government, during the present
parliament, to supply the deficiency in the number of
members consequent upon the disfranchisement of Sud-
bury.
The Wellington statue again attracted the notice of the
house, Lord MORPETU stating, in answer to Mr. C.
Beil:eley, that the sculptor had been requested to furnish
a. design for an elevation and pedestal, and when approved
the site would be determined on, but the status to remain
in its present position until the new works were in a con-
dition to receive it. _ .

The salt monopoly in India, the state of the potato crop
in Ireland, and the relief of Irish distress, were the next
subjects discussed.
On the third reading of the Loan Discount Bill, Lord
G. BENTINCK intimated his intention, but without fixing
a time, of proposing a measure for the limitation or repeal
of the Bank Charter Act of 1844.

The adjourned debate on the subject of transportation
and secondary punishment was resumed by Mr. EWART,
who was followed by Mr. G. W. HOPE, Mr. E. DENISON,
Sir J. Paiiington, Mr. Hu,..fr. and Mr. HAWES ; tile
debate, on the motion of Mr. NEWDEGATE, standing still
further adjourned to Monday.

FOREIGN (5- COLONIAL INTELLIGENCE.

The heart of O'Connell, enclosed in a silver urn, arrived
at Rome on the 27th ult. _ _ .

A New Zealand paper lately received from Wellington,
is printed on blotting paper, as no printing paper could
be found in the colony.
The crop of apples in Normandy promises to he so
large that the price of cyder has fallen very considerably
in that country.
tThe Hobart Town papers just received, bring the mel-
ancholy intelligence of the death of Sir Eardley Eardley
Wilmot, Bart., which took place at Hobart Town, on the
third of February last. The cause of Sir Eardley's
death is stated to have been complete exhaustion of the
frame—a decay of nature.
Two barristers who were pleading, some months since,
before the supreme court at Sydney, New South Wales,
became so excited that'one told the other that he lied,
and received a blow in return for the insult. A fight fol-
lowed, and lasted for some time ; but the combatants
were ultimately separated, and were committed to prison
for a short time by the judges.
DEFEAT or THE ARABS.—The Moniteter publishes the
official despatches of Marshal Bugeaud relative to his ex-
pedition into the country of the Kabyles. A battle had
taken place, in which, as a matter of course, the unhappy
natives were overwhelmed and decimated. No account is
given of the number of natives killed and wounded, but it
must have been very great. On the side of the Trench
there were 57 men killed and wounded, among whom
there was one officer killed and five wounded.