The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-02-07 00:00:00

IMPORTATION OF FOREIGN COFFEE

An hon. MEMBER begged
.leave to ask the right hon.
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it was content--
plated to take any steps to prevent foreign plantation coffee,
which had been imported into British colonies, from being
imported thence into Great Britain under the name of British
plantation coffee?
Mr. LABOUCHERE thought it would not he right of the
government to express any opinion on the subject till he was
prepared to say what measure they would bring forward.

IMPORTATION OF FOREIGN FLOUR INTO IRELAND.
Mr. Rocnß begged leave to ask the President of the Board.
of Trade, whether he was about to bring forward any mea-
sure with regard to the importation of foreign flour into Ire-
land.

Mr. LABOUCHERE was anxious to give the house an op-
portunity of discussing the subject. He had accordingly
given notice of his intention of bringing in a bill with respect
to it almost at the commencement of the present session.
He would postpone the second stage of the bin, in order to
enable hon. members for Ireland to ascertain the principles
of the measure.

PRINCE ALBERT'S NATURALIZATION BILL.
The house went into committee, and the bill was then read
a third time, and passed.

PRIVILEGE.

The deputy-sergeant-at-arms reported that a messenger
from the house was at Mr. Burton Howard's, but he could
not be found, and his wife said that he was in the country.
Mr. HuME wished to know whether Mr. B. Howard's son
had been directed to attend ?
Lord Jonx RUSSELL moved that Mr. Howard be ordered
to attend at the bar of the house, and that the sergeant-at-
arms be authorised to take him into custody for that pur-
pose.
Sir E. SUGDEN suggested a milder course, which he thought
would he equally satisfactory. It was, to come to a resolu-
tion, that leaving the notice at the house of Mr. Burton
Howard should be deemed good service of such notice. Such
was the practice adopted by courts of law under similar cir-
cumstances.

After some further remarks from Sir ROBERT IrloLts,Mr,
GouLsuitN, and Mr. SHAW, the motion was carried.

DISCONTENT OF THE WORKING CLASSES

Mr. St.ANEY moved for a select committee to inquire into
the causes of the discontents and difficulties of the labouring
classes, &c.
Mr. SMITH O'BuiEN seconded the motion.

Mr. LAMBTON was of opinion that the proposed inquiry
was of too indefinite a nature to be productive of any good
results. _ _

Mr. INGHAM thought the inquiry should be confined to a
few objects, and those of practical utility.
Mr. BooTHEwroN supported the motion. He urged the
importance of inculcating temperance, to the want of which
he attributed a great part of the crime which has increased
the misery of the poor.
Mr. VILLIERS. believed that the intelligence of the people
was the cause of their discontent ; they had learnt to know
the faults of the laws under which they lived. He wished
Mr. Slaney to limit the terms of his motion.
Lord Jonre RUSSELL said, that as a minister of the crown,
he could not agree to so large an inquiry as the terms of this
motion would embrace, but that he would. not resist an in-
quiry limited to the matters which had formed the chief topics
of the mover's speech. He would not plead guilty to having
held out false hopes of constitutional change, but the house
would itself be guilty of this should it appoint a select com-
mittee to report upon such such subjects as ballot, annual
parliaments; and universal suffrage. The large towns were
probably better ordered in their internal arrangements than
the new manufacturing villages, where great populations had
suddenly grown up, and this last class of districts.might be
usefully brought under inquiry. If, therefore, the motion
could be limited so as to exclude the political, and confine it-
self to the local, class of topics, he should be inclined to ac-
cede to it.

Mr. BRISCOE thought it better to have no inquiry at all
than one which would exclude what he thought the main
grievances.
Mr. WAKLEY deemed the discussion ridiculous in a House
of Commons which wanted the disposition, or else the capa-
city, to apply the proper remedies : and he repeated an opinion
expressed by other speakers, that the mover was not adequate
to the task he had undertaken.

Sir H. VERNEY then proposed, apparently in concert with
Lord John, an amendment, for a committee to inquire into
the condition of the working classes in the manufacturing
and mining districts.
Mr. BAINES explained the evil endured by the poorer in-
habitants of Leeds and other populous towns, from the want
of sewers in inferior streets. He was decidedly-in favour of
the motion, limited as it had been by Sir H. Verney.
Both motions were ultimately withdrawn.
BEER HOUSES.

Mr. PAKINGTON then brought forward his motion for a
bill to amend the laws regarding the sale of beer. He ob-
tained leave to:bring in such bill.

JUVENILE OFFENDERS.

Sir E. Wamor obtained leave to bring in bills to autho-
rise the summary conviction of juvenile offenders in certain
cases of larceny, and to, authorise, trustees of free grammar
schools to enl4rge the system of education therein pursued,
under certain restrictions.

INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THE COLONIES.
Mr. V. SMITH rose for leave to bring in a bill to extend
to the British colonies in the West Indies the act of the..sth
and 6th of William IV., for regulating the carriage of pas-
sengers in merchant vessels. In doing so, the hon. member
briefly stated the objects of the bill.
Mr. HUME hoped, if there was any new matter to be in-
troduced into that bill, that the house would have it fully
before them for discussion.
Lord J. RUSSELL said there was a subject somewhat con-

nected with this matter, on which, as it Was of very great im.
penance, he wished to state to the house his opinions, as it
might be necessary to tike into consideration the question of
the hill coolies. He did not mean then to give any notice of
e motion on this subject, but merely to state what he con-
sidered
Withlfromtheknowledge he had acquired relative to their
condition.
respect to those who had been transferred
to the British eoootnies'
although considering that in some
states they had colonies,
materially suffered, yet the result of the
experiment hayingbeen unsuccessful, and considering the
great distance of tide voyage they had to undertake, and the
chances of their he
to which they weremgwithout any knowledge of the country
ing sufficient provisionsand the chances of their not bring-
rils for their journey, it had not been
deemed advisable;witl
permission
stohnthneldiniLengtitnns offo the. ouse
of Commons,
to Demerara,
i or the West Indriaplesolpalnedtso.
depart from
within regard to another part of the same subject,
namely, the emigration aofit:o le natives from India to the
different
the latter place led him
(Lord
John Mauritius, tlittenssreelpirttns
for:
yo n. thousand There
Intitraehnntuctontacle%
had been introduced into that ea
individuals from India, and colony
thing which he could learn, that thenoti appear, by any-
means sufferers ; uu.the contrary, they itiaacti been by any
wages, had been well treated, and had lLen. mroecteived,gun:,d
.fcctly aware of the conditions on which they had.eoovneer-l- '-
and enabled to enforce their conditions against sutnlierne,
their masters as had attempted to break through them.f
The intercouraei too, between Calcutta and the Alauritius
was such as enabled them with great facility to communi-
cate their condition arid prospects to their connexions at
1-1 of them had
home. ..:Lany . engaged themselves for five
years, and were willing at the expirat:on of that time to
engage themselves for five more, but that it was prohi-
bited to do ,so. As the case then stood, many of these
wished to go. to India for a while and see their friends, and
then return to the Mauritius to engage again in labour, as
they were there able .to earn good wages. It had been
proposed to him (Lord J. Russell) to allow them to go for
an aPprenticeship as it was called, of five years ; but (as
the noble lord was' understood) he had objected to that,
considering thatafter year a contract might again be
made, 0.,1d there one
as apprenticeship moaned
the learning was no reason, ~ • that
of of a trade a term or service as
9f five years should ' why
so
long
period or term of
be undertaken. If the
One year was mina'that by sending
toned, it seemed to him
out inspectors or reg~,latora, be called,
to India, with strie4ulators, or whatever they might
lorders to see proper measures pursued
towards those peo
wages than they oiw
pte,rthey might be enabled to earn better
that he bettered their wni'(';' could ; and if he did not think
co
justified in acceding to thaition, he should not feel himself
would accrue to the labourers
justified at least, that no injury
propose any measure on this sub. lie
e lie did not then mean to
inten-
tion to propose some relaxation of the
; but as it was his b
in ()Oration in India, against the transfere actual prohibition then
from that country to the .Mauritius, i, of those individuals
to inform the parliament of his int e d thought it right
well as the grounds of forming thentenio. n and opinions, as
Mr. HumE said it would be scarcely fair to ir,,,,. ,
measure of that kind without proper discussion; -;;;,°unee a
mere statement of that description, to have the - uPon 'a
. matter gone
through without further notice.
Mr. V. SMITH was understood to say that no new matter
was to be introduced into his bill, as Mr. Fiume feared.
Mr. GoULBURN was riot then sufficiently acquainted with
the subject before the house to give any decided opinion
upon it, but he would reserve to himself the right of hem-
-Ikfter discussing it upon proper data.
! •.=.;-;•t , - - - - , .. . .

After a few words In reply from Lord J. RussELL, the
leave to bring in the bill, .sought for by Mr. Smith, was
granted.

COPYRIGHT LAW.
Mr. Sergeant TALFOURD moved for leave to bring in a
bill " to amend the law of copyright ;"—a motion that led
to considerable discussion.
Mr. WAKLEY moved, as an amendment, that a select com-.
mittee be appointed to inquire into the operation of the ex-
isting laws of copyright, and to report thereon to the house.
Mr. Sergeant TALFOURD said, seeing that the hostility to
his motion was unmitigated, and that no inquiry was likely
to abate it, he should press the motion to a division.
The house divided, and the numbers were—ayes, 75 ;
noes, 53 ; majority in favour of the motion, 22.
Mr. GILLON moved for leave to bring in a bill to enable
persons holding licenses to sell beer, spirits, and other ex-
ciseable liquors, to obtain a renewal of their licenses from the
excise of Scotland.
After remarks from Mr. Pringle, Mr. Oswald, Mr. Lock-
hart, and Mr. Goulburn,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER satd he would not
object to the introduction of the bill, although he was not
prepared to concur iu all its provisions.
Leave was then given to bring in the bill.
Mr. LADOUCHERE then moved for, and obtained leave to
bring in a bill for establishing." inland bonded warehouses ;"
it was precisely the same bill. as previously introduced:
Lord J. RUSSELL moved the appointment of a select com-
mittee " on the publication of printed papers by order of the
house. 7 Agreed to, and committee nominated. . .
The remaining business being disposed of, the house ad-
journed.

HOUSE OF LORDS.—WEDNESDAY.
PRINCE ALBERT'S ANNUITY BILL.
Prince Albert's Annuity Bill was brought from the Com-
mons, and read a first time. It was to be read a second time
yesterday (Thursday), and would then probably be passed
through all its other stages, Lord Melbourne having obtained
a suspension of the standing orders for that purpose.
There was no other business of importance.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—WEDNESDAY.
THE CONVICTED CHARTISTS.
Mr. LEADER, Mr. HUME, Mr. T. DUNCOMBE, and COI.
SALWEY, presented petitions from Frost, Williams, and
Jones, for "free pardon," founding the prayer on the lan-
guage of the judges at the trials, on the argument regarding
the service of the list of witnesses, &c. There were also pe-
titions on the subject from various parts of London, and ex-
tensively signed.
Mr. LEADER proposed the motion he bad intended to
found on the petitions, at the suggestion of Mr. Kelly.
Lord J. RUSSELL said that the government was not pre-
pared to lay any further information before the house upon
the subject than was already before it.
Mr. EWART presented a petition from Birmingham, in
favOur of the prisoners. He stated that he should call atten-
tion to it on Tuesday next.
IRISH CORPORATIONS.
Mr. Sergeant JACKSON gave notice that, on the second
reading of the municipal corporations (Ireland) bill, he should
call attention to the petition from Cloninel, praying for ex-
emption from the bill.
Mr. BARNABY gave notice of his intention, on Tuesday,
to move a resolution respecting the clause proposed to be
inserted in all future canal or railway bills, relative to bridges
over, or tunnels under, turnpike roads.
Prince Albert's Annuity Bill was read a third time. The
bill was then sent to the House of Lords.
After the presentation of petitions on the subject,
Mr. E. TENNENT moved the second reading of the De-
signs Copyright Bill. After some conversation, the bill was
read a second time.
The second reading of the Replevin (Ireland) Bill was,
after some discussion, deferred.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in committee of
" ways and means," moved that £2,500,000 be granted by
transfer of aids for the service of her Majesty.
V conversation thereon arose respecting the funding of ex-
chequer bills last year, and of the withdrawal for such pur-
pose of savings bank deposits ; the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer promising to make inquiries in consequence of ob-
servations from Mr. Berries, and hereafter to state the re-
sult to the house.
The resolution for the grant was then agreed to, and the
report ordered to be received on Thursday. ,
Mr AGLIoNeY's motion for returns regarding Chancery
fees, &c., having been adopted, the house adjourned.