The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-04-14 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-TUESDAY

A new writ was moved for Maldon, in the room of Mr.
J. W. Childers, who bad accepted the Chiltern Hundreds.
Several bills were advanced a stage ; after which, on the
motion of Lord G. SOMERSET, all railway bills were de-
layed further progress till after Monday the 27th April.
Mr. CHRISTIE gave notice of his annual motion, in
reference to the admission of Dissenters into the Univer-
sities.

Sir R. PEEL gave notice that he should on the followirg
day move the adjournment of the house till Friday week ;
and in reply to a question from Lord G. Bentinck, said
he should go on with the Corn Bill on Tuesday week ; the
Irish Bill would be taken on Friday, and of course would
take precedence on the Monday following. The debate on
the Irish Bill was adjourned accordingly.
Mr. T. WYSE then moved for the appointment of a se-
lect committee to inquire into the state of legal education
in Ireland. He had, however, scarcely commenced his
speech when the house was counted out.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-THURSDAY.

Mr. CHRISTIE asked Sir J. Graham, whether the at-
tention of the Poor-law Commissioners had been directed
to the cases of two women tried and acquitted at the last
assizes for Salisbury and Hereford, respectively, for the
murder of their infant children, in consequence of the
children having been stripped of their clothing on their
mother's leaving the union workJouses, of which they
had been severally inmates.

Sir J. GRAHAM observed, that the Poor-law Commis-
sioners had written a letter to the board of guardians pre-
aiding over one of the workhouses to which Mr. Christie
referred, stating that where a woman, delivered in a work-
house of a bastard child, desired to leave the workhouse,
and had no clothing for her child, the board of guardians
or the relieving officer might, upon her application, make
her an allowance of such necessary clothing ; and that the
board might also empower the master of the workhouse to
furnish clothing for the child in cases of that sort, when
there was not time for the woma❑ to make application
either to the board itself, or to the relieving officer. The
cases, therefore, to which Mr. Christie had referred, had
not arisen either out of the existing state of the law, or
out of any order issued by the Poor-law Commissioners.
In a subsequent part of a very discursive conversation
which then took place on nearly every subject which has
occupied the attention of Parliament during the present
session, Nlr. CHRISTIE expressed his dissatisfaction at the
answer which Sir J. Graham had given to his questions.
He, therefore, asked some additional questions, of which
the most material were, whether the Poor-law Commis-
sioners had inflicted any censure on the workhouse officers
for not allowing the clothes to be taken by the mothers of
these unfortunate infants, whether a circular letter with
general instructions on this subject had been sent to all
the unions, and whether he could produce a copy of the
letter of which he had read an extract.
Sir J. GRAHAM observed, that it was impossible for
him to give a detailed answer to these questions, as he
bad not had any notice of them. He had no objection to
produce the letter of which he had read an extract. The
Poor•law Commissioners had no power to inflict a cen-
sure on a board of guardians.

Sir R. PRICC defended the humanity of the master of
the workhouse in Herefordshire, and observed that hi•
refusal of the clothes arose from a misapprehension of his
duty.

Sir J. GRAHAM laid upon the table of the house the
official returns received from the Scarcity Commissioners
in Ireland during the month of March, in order to con-
vince it that the distress in that country had not only been
progressive up to the present time, but that there was
every probability of its continuing to increase. He should
move that they be printed.
After a few observations from Mr. C. Powell and Mr.
M'Carthy, in corroboration of Sir J. Graham's statement,
Sir R. PEEL observed, that the introduction of meal
made from Indian corn was creating in Ireland a new
taste for a better and more generous description of food
than the potato. Indian corn, however, was now only ad-
mitted by a sort of sufferance. The importers of it would
have increased confidence in their speculation if its admis-
sion were guaranteed by act of Parliament. Besides,
foreign wheat, foreign oats, and foreign barley, were still
liable to a high duty ; and he was convinced that, if a de-
cision were taken on the Corn Bill, by which that high
duty would be materially reduced, the available supply of
food would be greatly increased. He therefore appealed
to the Irish members, if they wished to confer a great be-
nefit on many districts of their own country, to allow a
decision to he taken forthwith on the first reading of the
Coercion Bill, in order that Parliament might proceed
With the Corn Bill without further delay.
Mr. liAwF.s backed this appeal to the Irish members,
on the ground that the settlement of the Corn Bill was
of the highest importance to the commercial classes of
the country.

Mr. BORTHWICK deprecated the introduction of this
discussion in the absence of the friends of the agricult ura
interest.

M. W. S. O'BRIEN turned a deaf ear to the appeal o
Sir R. Peel on the same grounds which he had often pre
•iously taken. He then asked for ofEciil papers to show
the extent of the applications for aid in Ireland under the
Public Works Act, and under th• County Presentment
Act.

Sir J. GRAHAM had great pleasure in stating that the
applications for aid under the Public Works Act had
been very numerous and had been in general entertained
by the Commissioners ; but was sorry to add that there
was an indisposition on the part of grand juries to avail
themselves of the second act which Mr. S. O'Brien had
mentioned.

After a conversation between Mr. G. Powell, Mr.
Finch, and Sir R. Peel on the probable progress and suc-
cess of the Corn Bill,
Mr. T. DUNCOMBE censured the Ministers for the
course which they had pursued respecting that measure,
and instated that, if they pleased, they could put an end
to all uncertainty on that subject to-morrow. He also
declared that, in his opinion, the Irish members bad been
unfairly used in this sort of conflict. The public did not
blame the Irish members ; but he was sorry to say it was
beginning to doubt the sincerity of ministers.
Sir P. SCOPE gave expression to sentiments similar to
those of Mr. Duncombe, and after a few words from Cap-
tain Harris, Mr. Forster.„Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Wyse, and
Colonel Sibthorpe, who applauded the manly and consist-
ent course of the Irish members, in °pooling the Coercion
Bill, the papers laid on the table by Sir J. Graham were
ordered to be printed.
On the motion for going into a Committee of Supply,
which was afterwards postponed till Friday next, the lith
instant,

Sir R. PEEL, in answer to a question from Mr. Labou-
chere, assured him that no time would be lost by the
Board of Trade in preparing the 'legislative measure ne-
cessary to give effect to the genrral views on the subject
of railroads, which he had opened to the house the other
evening. He was inclined to think that the hest course
which could be taken would be for the Board of trade to

notify to the heads of companies that the opinions of the
majority of the holders of their shares against any further
proceedings coon any bill which they might have intro-
duced would be sufficient to prevent legislation upon it.
After a series of explanations as to the course of public
business,

Sir R. PEEL stated emphatically, that after the Irish
Bill had been read a first time, it was the intention of go-
vernment to proceed immediately with the Corn Bill, and
not to bring' forward any other business of any kind till
the sense of the house had been definitely taken on that
measure.

After some further talk on the subject, between'_.Zr.
Hawes, Sir J. Graham. Mr. J. O'Connell, Mr. P. Scrope,
&c., the conversation on this subject dropped also.

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL.

UNITED STATES

We have received, vid Havre, New York papers to the
18th of March. Their contents are important.

The latest speech in the senate was that of Mr. Cal-
houn, on the 12th of March, who stated that there was no
more idea entertained now of war than that the title of
the United States to the whole territory of Oregon was
clear and unquestionable. He objected to the unequivocal
notice, but was opposed also to the equivocal resolution of
the senate. Of the two questions, " compromise" or
" war," he advocated the former.
The papers by this arrival are full of accounts of the
disasters and destruction of property caused by the break-
ing up of the ice on the river, and the sudden rise of the
waters. Numerous shipwrecks had also cccurred.
The Hibernian steamer, though fully expected, had not
arrived at New York on the 18th ult.
The money market was much depressed.

The news from Texas is, that the bill for delivering the
public property to the United States had passed the senate
without opposition.

WEST INDIES AND MEXICO.

The Avon arrived at Southampton on Thursday with an
uncommonly rich freight. Everything continued quiet in
Mexico, but was not expected to remain so long. The
Federal party were privately making efforts, and very
little doubt exists of their being in power at no very re-
mote period. Santa Anna was still at Havannah, and
Mr. Slidell, the American Minister, continued at Jalapa,
the Mexican government still refusing to accredit him.
The Americans were cruising off Matamoras ; they had
forcibly taken two of the Mexican pilots on board, not
being sufficiently with the coast. The Guadaloupe. Mexi-
can steamer, bad arrived at Tampico with 300 troops on
board, and several guns for the batteries ; the former were
landed, but in consequence of the rough state of the wea-
ther, she could not get over the bar, and consequently re-
turned to Vera Cruz without unshipping them. At Ja-
maica the crops had a most promising aspect, and will no
doubt realise the anticipations of the planters. The King-
ston railway continued to improve in traffic, and the for-
mation of those contemplated was looked forward to with
great anxiety. The Canopus had not arrived when the
Avon left, but was hourly expected. A memorial from
the merchants, planters, and inhabitants of the island ge-
nerally has been sent home by the Avon, praying the go-
vernment to admit West India spirits into England at a
reduced duty. The reply will be anxiously looked for.
A small shock of an earthquake was felt in the southern
part of the island on the sth ultimo, but not sufficiently
strong to cause any mischief. A court-martial had been
held on board the Imaum, on Lieut. B. Young, of the
Persian, for drunkenness. The charges were fully proved,
and he was sentenced to be dismissed the Persian, and to
be put at the bottom of the lieutenants. The thirteenth
report of the Planters' Bank had been published, by which
it appears the directors have decllred a dividend of 5 per
cent., and added nearly £2OOO to the reserved fund, which
❑ow amounts to £11,283 19s. 10d.