The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-03-20 00:00:00

%•,„
4,3arliantfitt.

HOUSE OF LORDS.—MONDAY.
Many petitions were presented, chiefly on the subject cf
the Church of Scotland.
The Earl of ABERDEEN said that he had received from
Scotland several letters remonstrating with him for, as they
alleged, preventing the Government from bringing forward
some measure to settle that subject ; he wished to avail him-
self of this opportunity to declare that he had not ever made
any such attempt ; he certainly had urged the Government
not to bring forward any proposition touching this question,
except after the maturest and most anxious consideration.
Lord MELBOURNE bore testimony to the correctness of
the noble earl's statement, adding that the Government was
deeply impressed with the importance of the subject, and
that no time would be lost in considering a remedial mea-
sure.
The Marquis of LONDONDERRY moved for accounts, in
continuation of those previously produced, respecting the
quantity of stores supplied to the Government of Spain, the
amount due for the same, &c., together with an account of
the allowances made to various Spanish refugees, who, the
noble marquis observed, were walking about the streets of
London eating the bread of idleness, while members of the
Spanish legion, to whom pay was due, were starving.
The accounts were ordered.
Lord ELLENBOROUGH said that he had seen the poor-law
commissioners on the subject of his vaccination extension
bill, and that they had made several valuable suggestions,
which he desired to embody in the bill, and he therefore now
only proposed to commit the bill pro forma, in order that the
amendments might be introduced, and the bill, in its amend-
ed form, considered on a future day.
The Bishop of LONDON stated that the clergy would be
ready to promote the objects of this useful bill, and suggest-
ed that there should be some regulation to prevent unautho-
rised and incompetent persons from vaccinating or inocu-
lating.

IRISH MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS.
The Marquis of NORMA NBY said he had a petition to pre-
sent from Liverpool yi favour of the Irish municipal corpo-
ration bill. The petition was signed by the chairman only,
the mayor of Liverpool, who presided at the. meeting.
At a subsequent period of the evening, immediately before
the adjournment,
The Earl of CHARLEVILLE begged to call the attention of
the noble Secretary of State for the Home Department to
the fact that the petition,. instead of being from the borough
of Liverpool, was from Joshua Walinesley.
The 'Marquis of NORM ANDY said, if the noble earl had
done him the honour to attend to what lie had stated, he
*would have heard that the petition was signed by the mayor
of Liverpool, the petition having been agreed upon at a pub-
lic meeting.
The Earl of CH ARLEVILLE said that the mayor could not
sign for the corporation, nor for the public meeting, conse-
quently the petition was to be regarded as the mayor's only.
Lord HOLLAN n said that it was quite usual for a chairman
to sign a petition on behalf of a meeting. It was perfectly
true, however, that, technically speaking, it could only be
received as the petition of one man.
The Marquis of NORMAN BY repeated what he had pre-
viously said.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE said that he had recently
presented a petition agreed to at a public meeting convened
by the high sheriff, which was signed by the high sheriff
only.
The Marquis of WESTMEATH was gratified to find that
the:hill in question was intended for the benefit (reading from
the petition) of "the intelligence, moral worth, and the pro-
perty of that part of the kingdom," and he hoped that when
the bill was read a second time, the noble marquis opposite
would be able to show that such was the object of the mea-
sure. If that were the case then he (Lord Westmeath)
would give it his support.
The Marquis of NORMANDY said that it was for the noble
marquis to put his own construction upon the words as ap-
plicable to Ireland.
The Marquis of WESTMEATH said he could not consider
the back streets and the back towns as being places where
" the intelligence, moral worth, and property" were most to
be found.
The conversation then dropped.
Some further petitions having been presented, their lord-
ships adjourned.
In the Commons their was " no house."

%„HOUSE OF LORDS.—TuEsnial
THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.
On the presentation of petitions regarding the church o
Scotland,
The Earl of GALLOWAY said, that he could not avoid
(after the conversation between the Earl of Aberdeen and
Lord Melbourne, on Monday) repeating his complaint re-
specting the delay on the part of the government in bringing
forward a measure to conciliate the dissensions now agitating
Scotland from one end of it to the other. he had abstained
from proposing, and he was willing to leave the matter with
the government. But he assured their lordships that it was
necessary for the legislature to take some steps for the pur-
pose of reconciling the authority of the courts of law and the
rights of the proprietors, with the interests of the church,
and the proper exercise of clerical authority. His lordship
added that he regretted to see many of the clergy of the
Scotch church resorting to the same unworthy means of
agitation by which the Roman Catholic clergy had acquired
so much notoriety.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE said, that neither the noble
earl nor any other person was justified in supposing that,
because the government bad delayed to bring forward a
measure, there was any delay whatever in its consideration.
On the contrary, that consideration was given to it at an
early period ; and it was only the great importance of the
question and the circumstances that had prevented the go-
vernment from bringing the measure forward. He would
much rather incur, on the part of the government, the re-
roach of delay, than that of launching precipitously upon it
before they had made themselves acquainted with the opi-
nions and circumstances connected with the transactions in
Scotland on the subject.
The Earl of ABERDEEN expressed a hope that the govern-
ment would bear in mind that an important event, with re-
spect to the fate of any measure, would take place in the
month of May, when the general assembly met ; and it was
of essential importance that the measure, if it were to be
introduced, should be considered before their meeting.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE explained that he had not
stated that the Government had decided upon bringing for-
ward a measure, but that they would speedily decide whether
or not they would do so.
Lord ELLENBOROUGH moved that the registrar-general of
deaths, births, and marriages in London, &c., should pre-
sent a report of the number of persons who had died of the
small-pox in the year 1839.—Ordered.
RECORDS OF THE EXCHEQUER.
Lord MONTEAGLE begged to remark, that. in answer to
a question put to him on a former night, none of the
Exchequer records destroyed by order of the late Comptroller
of the Exchequer were of the least importance. They were
papers of a class which, having been used as temporary re-
cords, had usually been sold as waste paper. To that prac-
tice an end was put, and it was considered preferable to
destroy the documents when they were no longer useful.
Lord REDESDALE repeated his regret that the papers
were destroyed, because, although they might be of little
value to the Comptroller of the Exchequer, many people
would be desirous of possessing them, even at a higher price
than waste paper.
Their lordships then adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS—TUESDAY.
PRINTED PAPERS.
Mr. FRESHFIELD presented a petition from 757 solicitors,
praying the house to agree to no measure respecting printed
papers that would injure their rights, or interfere with the
administration of justice.
Sir R. IN Gus presented a petition from the printers of two
morning newspapers, praying that the proposed " summary
protection" of the printers to the house might also be ex-
tended to the journals that might reprint the reports. &c. of
Parliament.
Mr. CRAWFORD presented a petition for inquiry into the
destruction of " opium," in March last, by the Chinese
authorities; and afterwards said he should on the 24th, move
that it be referred to a committee.
Lord MORPETH presented (among various others) a peti-
tion from some parish in Ireland, the peculiarity of which
was, that it was written, not in prose, but verse ! The sub-
ject of this poetry was the distress of Ireland, and a lamen-
tation on the state of that country.
Mr. F. MAULE presented the county constabulary act
amendment bill, which was ordered to be printed.
On motion of Sir T. FREEMANTLE, a new writ was issued
for the county of Inverness, in the room of Mr. Grant,
deceased.
Mr. THORNELY (in the absence of Mr. Villiers) gave
notice that the latter would, on Tuesday, the 31st inst.,
move a committee of the whole house respecting the
im-
portation of foreign corn.
Mr. G. KNIGHT gave notice that, on going into com-
mittee on the county constabulary act amendment bill, he
should propose a clause, to the effect that one-fourth of the
expenses of the constabulary be paid out of the consolidated
fund.
Lord MORPETH announced his intention, on Thursday,
to move for leave to bring in a bill for the suppression of
mendicancy in Ireland.
Lord J. RUSSELL stated that he should, on Monday, pre-
sent the clergy reserves bill, which had passed the Legislative
Assembly of Upper Canada ; and that he should then move
for leave to bring in a bill for the union of Upper and Lower
Canada. He should, at the same time, move the consider-
ation of the papers laid on the table of the house respecting
the affairs of those provinces.
In answer to a question from Mr. Leader,
Lord J. RUSSELL said that the Chief Justice of Upper
Canada had received notice of the necessity. of his return to
his duties, his leave of absence having expired. That indi-
vidual had stated that he should be ready to leave England
about the middle of April. Meanwhile his duties had
been
performed by the other judges, and during his absen
had received half salary, according to the usual rule in such
cases. •
Sir H. VIVIAN (in answer to a question from Lord G.
Lennox) stated that the report of the naval and military com-
mission had not been presented, in consequence of the Duke
of Wellington's recent lamented illness, but that now it
would be soon ready.
Lord J. Rnszia. (in answer to Mr. Goring) repeated his
announcement, that the poor law commission bill would be
introduced and printed before the Easter recess.
Lord J. RUSSELL (in answer to Lord Castlereagh) said
that he was not prepared to state whether the government
would bring forward any measure on the subject of non-in-
trusion, but he would give the required information iu a few
days. He then postponed for a fortnight the second reading
of the ecclesiastical duties and revenues bill, in order to ob-
tain the sanction of the Archbishop of Canterbury and other
dignitaries of the church, before it was again brought forward.
Mr. STEWART having brought up the report on the printed
papers bill,
Sir E. SUGDEN moved a clause, which was to the effect,
that if any process of law should be put an end to under the
provisions of that bill, any person or persons who might have
been committed by either House of Parliament as guilty of
contempt for having brought, or having been concerned in
bringing such actions, should, on such actions or processes
being put an end to under the provisions of the bill, be im-
mediately discharged by the house, by which such individual
had been committed.
After a few observations from Lord J. RUSSELL and Sir
R. INGLIS, the clause was negatived without a division.
The report was thereupon agreed to, and the bill is to be
read a third time on Friday.
Sir E. SUGDEN stated that he had received a letter from
Mr. Howard, setting forth that he had brought the action
against the officers of the House for " excess" in the execu-
tion of the orders given them.
The Mutiny and Marine Mutiny Bills severally went
through committee.
Mr. WALLACE moved for a series of papers regarding the
Glasgow University " Peel Club," but he eventually with-
drew the motion.
Lord CHARLES FITZROY moved fora copy of the despatch
to the Lord High Commissioner of the lonian islands, from
the Colonial-office, conveying an order for the dissolution of
• the Legislative Assembly of those islands, in October last,
on account of a difference between that body and. the Senate,
relative to the Bth article, 3d section, chap. 6, of the con-
stitution, under which the Legislative Assembly claimed a
right, independent of the Senate.
Mr. C. SMITH said there was no objection to produce that
document, but not the other papers alluded to by the noble
lord in his speech.
Motion agreed to.
Mr. J. ELLIS had a notice of motion to call the attention
.of the House to the political and commercial relations of