The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-06-25 00:00:00

GENERAL REGISTER BILL.

Lord ALTHORP rose to request hon. members whose motions
had precedence on the paper to give way, in order that the com-
mittee on the Irish Church 'temporalities Bill might be re-
sumed.
Mr. W. BROUGHAM, the second reading of whose General
Register Bill stood first among the orders of the day, expressed
his readiness to give way if it should appear to be the wish of
the house. At the same time he thought it would be better that
so important a measure should be at once decided on, or post-
poned altogether, for if it were not now proceeded with, there
would be no hope of carrying the bill through during the pre-
sent session.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said that the simple question be-
fore the house was, whether the bill should be now read a se-
cond time; and as he had looked with some anxiety as to what
would be the result of a reformed Parliament, he regarded with
some solicitude the present question. Indeed, he should be
much mortified if the reformed Parliament should declare itself
against and reject a measure which experience had proved to
be beneficial all over the world; or, in other words, to reject
that which had been tried and found beneficial to the public in-
terests in Scotland, Ireland, France, and the colonies. With-
out entering into the details of the bill, he would come at once
to the objections which had been suggested. It had been said
its provisions were not sufficiently known, and that, therefore,
it ought to pass to another session. That was not the just way
to get rid of the subject. No further delay could be necessary ;
the bill had already been brought forward in three sessions of
Parliament; it had been most extensively circulated amongst
the magistrates at quarter sessions; it had been openly dis-
cussed at public meetings convened for the purpose in various
parts of the country; its merits and demeres had been fully
discussed ; petitions had been sent up and presented to the le-
gislature against it, and the house was now as fully competent
to judge of it as by possibility it could be in another session.—
He therefore would entreat his hon. and learned friend not to
abandon at the present stage this bill, which he (the Solicitor
General) hoped, before the present session closed, would receive
the assent of that House, of the House of Peers, and of his Ma-
jesty.
Mr. CAYLEY said, that he should vote against the bill; and in
giving his opposition to the measure, it was gratifying to him to
know that he was acting in compliance with the general wishes
of his constituents.

Lord SANDON approved generally of the principle of regis-
tration, but he would prefer district registration to metropoli-
tan registration, and in the hope that the bill might be altered
in committee in such a manner as would enable him to give
his assent to it, he should vote for the second reading. (Ques-
tion, question.)
The house then divided:—
For the bill 69
Against it S 2
Majority —l3
On ourre-admission to the gallery we found Mr. PaymE on
his legs, moving fora committee on the Separatists' Affirmation
Bill.

Mr. Hatcorda thought that before the house conceded to the
Separatists' privileges which were not enjoyed by his Majesty's
subjects in general, it ought to know something of who and what
they were. Upon looking at the bill, he could not see that any
parliamentary ground was laid for dispensing with the taking of
oaths in the case of the people called Separatists.
Mr. GovLis URN thought that the house ought to be in pos-
session of better information respecting the people calling them-
selves Separatists before the bill was passed. He had looked
into the most recent works describing the religious sects in this
country, and he could find nothing about, them. If the house
showed a disposition to grant privileges such as that proposed
by the bill to all persons who said they entertained scruples to
take oaths, it would tend to encourage unnecessary dissent from
the established church.
Mr. PHYME said the bill contained a clause which enacted,
that if any person should falsely pretend in a court of justice
that he was a separatist in order to avoid taking an oath, he
should be liable to the penalties of perjury.
The house then resolved itself into a committee.

The several clauses of the bill were agreed to.
A desultory conversation occurred as to the sufficiency of the
terms of the affirmation proposed, and an amendment was sug-
gested by Mr. C. Fergusson, which was subsequently with-
drawn.

The house then resumed.—Report to-morrow.
At the request of Lord Althorp, several hon. members con-
sented to postpone orders which stood on the list, that the Irish
Church Temporalities Bill might be proceeded in, as the noble
lord expressed the anxiety of the Government to carry it through
with the least possible delay.
Mr. R. STEUART, and other Scotch members, hoped that the
Lord Advocate would not give way on this occasion without
receiving a distinct pledge from the noble Chancellor of the
Exchequer that a day next week should be devoted to a full
and fair discussion of the Future Entails Bill, and other mea-
sures connected with Scotland, which had now been some time
before the house, in which the people of that country took a
deep interest.
'I he house then went into a committee on the

IRISH CHURCH TEMPORALITIES BILL

Clauses 90, 91, B,:c. to 99 were agreed to, with merely verbal
amendments.

Clauses 100 to 108 were agreed to, with the exception of clause
107, which was deferred.

Clauses 109, 110, and 111, were postponed.
Clauses 112 to 117 were agreed to. An amendment to the
latter, proposed by Colonel RV ood, was withdrawn.
The 118th clause (giving the right of appointment to those
possessed of the patronage) was postponed.
The house then resumed, and the Chairman reported progress
and obtained leave to sit again on Friday.
The Dwelling-house Robbery Bill (talcing away the punish-
ment of death from the crime of breaking into houses in the
day-time) was read a third time and passed.
The Parochial Rates Exemption Bill was then committed.
The bill went through the committee. Report on Thursday.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and the
house adjourned at two o'clock.

HOUSE OF LOB DS, THURSDAY, Jura 20.
The Woollen Trade Act Repeal Bill and several private bills
were brought up from the Commons.

WEST INDIA QUESTION.
Mr. STANLEY, and' other members from the Commons, ap-
peared at-the bar, andinformed their lordships that the Commons
desired a conference, on a subject of high importance to the
prosperity of his Majesty's colonial possessions.
A conference was ordered forthwith. The managers on the
part of their lordships were the Lord Privy Seal, the Duke of
Richmond, the Earl of Gosford, the Earl of Wicklow, the Bishop
of London, Lord Suffield, and Lord Lyttleton.
On the return of the managers,
The Earl of .RreoN (Lord Privy Seal) informed their lord-
ships that they had met the managers on the art of the Commons,
who had communicated to them the resolutions agreed to by
that house, to which their lordships' concurrence was desired.

QLAKERS' AND MORAVIANS' AFFIRMATION BILL.

The Duke of RICHMOND moved the second reading of the
above bill.

The Bishop of LONDON did not mean to make any observa-
tions upon the bill then before their lordships; but he wished to
offer a few observations on the subject of oaths in general as
they were administered in this country. It was a matter of very
great importance both in a religious and a moral point of view,
and he was extremely sorry that. the attention of the legislature
had not been more directly called to it: A bill had been-brought
in about two years ago by the Lord President of the Council,
which in some degree lessened the evil to which he was advert-
ing. He thanked- the noble lord for that measure, because any
measure which tended to diminish the taking of a'great number
of oaths was a public benefit. He could assure their lordships
that there was a strong feeling on this subject amongst the
religious part of the community in this country. Ile did not
thinl that he was going too far when he said, that there was no
country in the world in which this most solemn and sacred ob-
ligation was administered with less gravity, with less impressive-
ness,'with less decorousness of manner, than it was in this country.
The effect of the system had been well and truly described by
Dr. Paley, who observed that " the obscure and elliptical form,
together with the levity and frequency with which oaths are
administered, have brought about a general inadvertency to the
obligation of them." Dr. Paley alluded especially to "the
customs, and to the qualifications of petty officers; in both these
cases a man could not proceed
"without taking half-a-dozen
oaths ;" and he contended that they ought to abstain from
calling into requisition the sacred
~ sanction of an oath, except
on the most important occasions.. There were two species of
oaths—assertory oaths and promissory oaths. Assertory oaths
were necessary for the discovery and punishment of offences;
whilst promissory oaths were not only not necessary, but were,
1
in truth, productive of the worst effects. o this subject Dr.
Paley had called the attention of the public more than 40 years
ago. The bill brought in by the noble marquess to whom'be
had before alluded had done away with the necessity for taking
10,000 oatliii,in a year, but still much of the evil remained. The
.municipal oaths ought to be revised; nine-tenths of them might,
he was of Opinion simple, be done away with, and a declaration
introduced in their place. Thin very serious, question had been
pressed on the attention of the British
people long before the
time of Dr. Paley. It had been forcibly taken up by one of the
most virtuous, learned, and eloquent men that ever adorned the
Protestant church,—he alluc'ed to Bishop Jeremy 'Taylor. It
was a subject well worthy of
i grave consideration, and in the
next session of Parliament, t his life were so long 'Spared, he
would call the attention of the house to'it, tulles's' it were taken
up by someqloble lord more competent than he'va'itn under-
take the task. The consideration of this, subject ought, in
opinion, to be intrusted to a select committee, or AO a loyal
commission. He ifiould here refer to atotlier class of oaths,
which 'appeared t 0 him to be liable to great objection,—he ad-
vertedlo the Oaths taken in universities and schools. lie felt
that to administer an oath to- a young man, not of full age,
except in caSe.s.where truth was judicially sought, was very ob-
jectionable,' Certoinly, 'promissory oaths should not be exacted
from thern.;,-.114 now publicly expressed a hope that, as this
subject had been taken up in one of their universities. at would
as soon as possible be entertained by the legislature, who ought
to inquire how far it was consistent with sound religion and
right principles to enforce on young men, not of uge, an obli-

gation for the observance of duties the performance of which
mieht be exacted by easier means. (Hear, hear.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR said he only spoke the sense of those
persons who had turned their attention to this subject, when he
expressed his opinion that a thorough revision -of the present
system ought to take place. Far from thinking that the ques-
tion should be intrusted to other hands, he felt that it could not
be taken up by any individual more capable of doing justice to
it than the right rev. prelate himself. (Hear, hear.) There
was another description of oaths which, in his opinion, ought
to be discouraged: he meant voluntary oaths or affidavits. A
penalty should be inflicted for administering such oaths, or a
penalty should be levied on the individual taking them, if it ap-
peared that he had been guilty of false swearing. As the law
at present stood it did not meet those cases.
The Marquis of LONDONDERRY made an observation which
did not reach the gallery, but it called up
The Duke of RICLISIOND, who said that the noble marquis
had on this, as on other occasions, acted as a skirmisher. If he
thought proper to attack him, he was ready at all times and in
all places to answer the noble marquis with the same perfect
good humour which he felt at that moment. He would, how-
ever, say that if the noble marquis at the head of his troop of
hussars had behaved so irregularly as he had done on this oc-
casion, he would not have obtained so much honour and dis-
tinction as he had done. (Hear, hear.)
The Marquis of LONDONDERRY said he was no skirmisher,
but he would make observations on the proceedings of the noble
duke whenever he thought fit, although he was a cabinet minis-
ter. The noble duke appeared to have placed himself at the
head of the party to whose sentiments he (the Marquis of Lon-
donderry) was opposed, and therefore he could not hope to es-
cape animadversion.
The Duke of HICLIMOND.—It is very true that I am a cabinet
minister; and I should not be at all surprised if the noble mar-
quis wishes for my place. (Laughter.)
The bill was then read a second time.

LISIITATION OF ACTIONS' BILL,

The house resolved itself into a committee on the above bill.
Lord Lyndhurst and Lord Wynford, after some conversa-
tion, proposed certain amendments.
The house then resumed, and the bill was ordered to be re-
committed on Monday next.—Adjourned.
_ HOUSE OF COMMONS, THURSDAY, JUNE 20.
- • - •

The Speaker took the chair at a quarter past 12 o'clock.
Mr. KYLE presented a petition from the medical practitioners
of Macclesfield, against any alteration in the Apothecaries' Act.
Colonel EVANS presented a petition from the inhabitant
householders and other persons of the parish of St. Ann, West-
minster, for the repeal of the house and window taxes. See-
ing a member of his Majesty's government present, he would
state his conviction that if the house did not immediately pass
a measure for the repeal of these obnoxious taxes, which fell
so heavily on the great mass of the industrious inhabitants of
the metropolis, the want of confidence, and the breach be-
tween the people and their representatives, would become as
great as it was now supposed to be between two branches of
the legislature. The petition, he believed, represented the sen-
timents not only of the parish•from which it came, but of the
whole population of Loudon. He had the highest authority
for saying the assessed taxes were most obnoxious, the noble
lord opposite having himself voted for the repeal of them when
out of office.

Lord ALTHORP said he had voted against them, but not ad-
vocated a lepea.:.
Colonel EVANS found the name of the noble lord in several
lists.
Lord ALTHORP.—I believe not.

Colonel EVANS proceeded to say that the taxes always would
be obnoxious while the industrious part of the metropolis
groaned under the opprekoion of their inequality. (Hear.)
After the presentation nf some other petitions, the Speaker
vacated the chair at three O'clock.

The Speaker resumed the chair at a quarter past five.
➢lr. GIL Lox postponed his moticn on the inexpediency of
permitting the possession of ecclesiastical office to entitle any
person to sit in Parliament, from that evening till the 11th of
.July.
Mr. HE4THCOTE moved for returns of the number of commit-
ments for horse-stealing and sheep-stealing in England and
Wales during the last year.
Colonel EVANS moved for returns relative to the assessment
of houses to the inhabited house duty in the year 1833, including
100 of the highest rated private houses, 100 of the highest rated
houses of business in the metropolis, and similar returns for the
country.

Mr. i3E-rnEt.t. moved for papers connected with the banking
question, including the memorial of the country bankers to the
Duke of Wellington, May 9, 1828, and the memorial of the
same body to Lord Grey, June 18, 1832.
Lord SANDON asked the noble lord if the case of the publi-
cans had been taken into consideration, and whether it was the
intention of government to class them under the head of shop-
keepers.
Lord ALTHORP said the subject was now under the consider..
ation of his Majesty's ministers, but they had hitherto come to
no decision. It was intended to afford them relief, but it was
found to be a most difficult matter to arrange.
Mr. COOPER said he was of Tory principles, and he could as-
sure the hon. and gallant member for Westminster that no
alarm need be apprehended of the Tories taking office under a
pledge to reduce taxation in a way injurious to the public reve-
nue. (A laugh.)
Mr. O'CONNELL gave notice of his intention to move for
leave to bring a bring in a bill for the better regulation of the
corporation of Dublin. The hon. and learned gentleman moved
for returns of all taxes remitted in Ireland since the Ist of
January, 1814_,. of the sums received on account of such taxes
for periods of five years
_previous to their remission ; of taxes
partially, repealed since 1814, and of their subsequent produce
in periods of three years; also for like teturns with respect to
England.
Mr. HUME moved for.returns of the number of places of bu-
rial attached to each parish within the bills of mortality, prepa-
ratory to a measure for removing interments from the metro-
polis. He also moved for leave to bring in a bill to amend the
act of George 111., for the erection of diurches.—Leave given.
Mr. STANLEY reported, that in pursuance of the resolution
of the house, he had gone to the Lords, and desired a confer-
ence upon the subject of the Commons' resolutions on colonial
slavery, and that the Lords had agreed to the said conference.
On the motion of Mr. Stanley, a committee was appointed
to manage the conference on the part of the Commons.
The Committee rcpaiicd to the House of Lords, and on their
return Mr. Stanley reported that they had met the Lords' ma-
nagers in the Painted Chamber, and communicated the Coin-•
mous' resolutions, and prayed their lordships' concurrence in
in the same.

Colonel DAVIES gave notice for to-morrow of a bill for the
summary trial of charges of larceny in certain cases.
Mr. CHAPMAN moved for a copy of the correspondence be-
tween Gerald Dease, Esq., Lord-Lieutenant of the county of
Westmeath, and Sir Will►am Gossett, relative to the levying,
with the assistance of the police and military, certain tithes,
which only became flue on the Ist of May, last, and also as to
the costs charged on that occasion; also for other correspond-
ence on the like subject.

DUBLIN AND KINGSTOWN SHIP CAIkAL.
Mr. O'CONNELL, in moving, pursuant to his notice, that "a
select committee be appointed to inquire into the expediency
and practicability of constructing a ship canal between the city
of Dublin and the Asylum Harbour at Kingstown, and the
works connected therewith, as also to, examine into the receipts
and disbursements of the Corporation for preserving and im-
proving the port of Dublin, and whether any portion of the
revenue of the said Corporation could, without detriment to the
public interests, be made applicable to the constructoin of the
said canal," said, in reference to the Kingstown Railway Ex-
tension Bill, that his opinion was now altered with regard to
that bill. He had, within the last few days, seen documents
that had induced him to alter that opinion, and if accident bad
not prevented those documents from being laid before the com-
mittee, he was sure the committee would have come to a differ-
ent decision from that which they did; namely, against the
bill. The documents in question established the perfect ho-
nesty and sincerity of the parties connected with that bill.
The motion was then put and agreed to, and the select com-
mittee appointed•

PAROCHIAL RATES' EXEMPTION BILL.
Mr. WILKS brought up the report on this bill, which was
agreed to, and the bill was ordered to be read a third time on
Monday
The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and the
houie adjourned at six o'clock.

HOUSE OF. LORDS, FRIDAY, JUNE 21.

The Marquis of ar took the 'oaths and subscrihed the Par-
liamentary rules. _

The Bishop of LICHFIELD and COVENTRY presented 11 pe-
titions against colonial slavery.

FOREIGN POLICY.

The Earl of ABERDEEN said he felt it necessary to make a
few observations on a subject to which he had before called the
attention of the house. Their lordships would recollect, that
some time ago, in consequence of an assertion made elsewhere,
on high authority, that the French Government had entered
into no engagement whatever with respect to. Algiers, he had
moved for certain papers, with a view to explain the nature of
the situation in which France stood with respect to Algiers.
These papers, at least a great part of them, were now on their
lordships' table. On them he would say nothing further, ex-
cept that he was quite content to leave their contents, as bear-
ing on the case which he had brought before the house, to that
principle of interpretation which would be adopted by men of
sense, honour, and integrity. It had been boasted that Algiers
probably would prove a source of riches as abundant to France
as the East Indies were to England. No doubt this was a greatly
exaggerated opinion, but still the possession of Algiers by
France was a subject of very serious consideration, and ought
to command the attention of his Majesty's ministers. For his
own part, if so humble an individual as himself could render
any assistance, be was ready to co-operate with his Majesty's
ministers in doing that which the honour and dignity of the
country required. He should conclude all be had to say on the
present occasion by expressing a hope (reserving to himself,
however, the liberty of returning to this subject at a future
time, if necessary,) that the noble earl would be anxious, at a
proper period, to make a full communication to that house, and
to the public of the policy which ministers had pursued, and
that he would be desirous to prove that that honour and those
interests with which they had been entrusted had rot suffered
injury in their hands during the progress of those transactions.
Earl GREY observed, that as the noble lord did not mean
to make any motion on this subject, and as he had not offered
any observations to the house with reference to it, it was only
necessary for him to say a very few words. He believed that
what the noble earl immediately referred to was what recently
occurred in the French Chamber of Deputies; but he had to
state that his Majesty's ministers had not yet received any in-
formation of an official or formal nature on the subject; their
lordships, therefore, would not think it necessary that he should
enter into any discussion on that point; indeed, on a question
of this kind, resting as the subject did at present, it would be
impossible for him, under existing circumstances, to enter upon
its discussion without serious inconvenience. His Majesty's
ministers had endea7oured, according to their views on the sub-
ject, to support as far as they possibly could the honour and
dignity of the country ; and whenever the time came for mak-
ing a communication on the subject (for which time the noble
earl very properly reserved himself), he trusted ministers would
be able to show that they had not forgotten the honour or in-
terest of the country.