The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-03-26 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20.
ADJOURNED SITTING.
At 5 o'clock the speaker resumed the chair.
A petition was presented against the late election at Dover.
' Colonel WILLIAMS wishedlo know from the noble lord oppo-
site when it was likely that the Decan prize money would be paid.
Lord ALTHORP said that-an order had been made for the pay-
, wont of the money, and it was about to be distributed, when a
petition was presented to that house which compelled the govern-
ment to suspend the distribution of money in order to give the
petitioner an opportunity of appealing to the Privy Council. The
appeal had been lodged, and would shortly come on for hearing.
Mr. Hunts moved that every member presenting a petition do
affix his name thereto, in order that, if any thing disorderly or
irregular should be found in such petition, the member might
be referred to for explanation.
After a short conversation the motion was agreed to.
Lord ALTHORP postponed the motion which stood for to-night,
that orders of the day should precede notices of motions on all
days fixed for the consideration of the Irish Disturbances Bill.
Sir H. PEEL said it was impossible to form an opinion as to
what business would come on while this motion was kept hang-
ing over their heads.
Lord ALTHORP said his wish was to proceed with the Irish
Disturbances Bill de die in diem, but it must depend on the feel-
ing of the house whether he was able to pursue that course.
Mr. O'CONNELL thought he had a right to complain of the late
hour to which the house prolonged the discussion on this bill.
Sir M. W. RIDLEY was of opinion that the sooner the bill
passed the better.
Lord EISRINGTON rose to express a hope that his noble friend
below him (Lord Althorp) would not enter into any compro-
mise upon this point.
DISTURBANCES (IRELAND) BILL.
On the motion of Lord ALTHORP the house resolved itself
into a committee on this bill.
The 12th clause was then read by the CHAIRMAN, which pro-
poses to enact "that the lord-lieutenant, or other chief governor
or governors of Ireland, shall nominate and appoint one of his
Majesty's serjeauts-at-law, or counsel learned in thalaw, to act
at every court-martial; and such serjeant or King's counsel
shall be and be deemed to be a judge-advocate at and for the
purposes of such court-martial: and shall have all the powers
and authorities, and perform all the duties and functions which
any judge-advocate may, or ought, in case of any court-martial,
to possess, execute, and discharge."
Mr. Bonn said that it was customary for the court to be
cleared of the prisoner and his friend, as his advocate was called,
whilst the judge-advocate was left with. the Court to assist its
deliberations. He proposed to add an amendment to this clause, a
proviso enacting that uo judge-advocate, or his deputy, should act
as counsel against the party accused in any such court-martial.
Mr. O'CONNELL proposed to leave out the words "counsel
learned in the law," and to substitute in their stead "or an.y
barrister-at-law of not less than five years' standing." This
would give the. government the power of choosing a judge-
advocate almost from the whole bar.
Mr. BOTCH, after some discussion, consented to withdraw his
amendment.
The 12th clause, as amended, was ordered to stand part of
the bill.
The succeeding clauses up to the 23d were with some verbal
amendments agreed to, when the CHAIRMAN was ordered to
report progress, and to ask leave to sit again to-morrow.
DISTRESS OF THE COUNTRY.
Lord ALTHORP asked the hon. member for Birmingham to
postpone to a future day his notice of motion, which stood for
to-morrow, for the amendment of a select committee to inquire
into the causes of the general distress existing among the in-
dustrious classes of the united kingdom, and into the most
effectual nwans of its relief. His object in asking this
,question
was that the committee might proceed with the Irish-bill to-
morrow-evening.
Mr. T. ATTWOOD said that he Would make a compromise
with the noble lord. He would not stand upon his right to
bring on his motion, if the noble lord would consent to stop
the committee on the Irish-bill at 10 o'clock at night, and
allow him afterwards to open the debate, which might then
be adjourned to another day, or if the noble lord would give
him an open day on which he could bring it on at an early
hour.
Lord ALTHORP could not either give the hon. member an
open day, or assent to his proposition to open the debate on
his motion at 10 o'clock, and to adjourn it afterwards to ano-
ther day, as such a proceeding would produce in the country
a false impression with regard to the merits of the motiop itselt.
An hon. member said, that if the Irish Disturbances bill was
not proceeded with to-morrow night, his hon. friend the mem-
ber ter Lincolnshire must have precedence for his motion for
the repeal of the duties upon malt and !lolls. He knew, hew-
ever, that, anxious as his hon. friend was to bring that motion
forward, he would readily postpone it for the advancement of
public business • but if the Irish bill were not proceeded with,
he had no doisastirat his hon. friend would insist upon his right
to bring on his motion previously to that of the hon. member
for Birmingham.
Lord ALTHORF said, that if the motions on the order-book
were taken as they stood on the book, the hon. member. for
Birmingham would have no chance of bringing on ,his motion
to-morrow night, as almost any one of the five motions which
preceded his was likely to last the whole evening. Among
them was a motion to alter the laws relating to grand juries iu
Ireland; a uiotiou to repeal the malt duty; a motion to alter
and amend the law of libel; and a resolution respecting tithes
in Ireland. He understood that all of them would be postponed,
in case the hon. member for Birmingham persisted in his de-
termination to bring forward his motion. The hon. member
would see from this, that his own object Would be defeated, if
he persisted in his present determination.
Mr. T. Al TWOOD asked the noble lord to let him have Mon-
day next for his motion.
Lord EBRINGTON thought that the hon. member for Birming-
ham was, under existing circumstances, scarcely entitled to the
courtesy which he asked from the noble lord.
After some further discussion, Mr. Arrwooo said that he
would endeavour to bring on his motion this day.
Here the matter dropped.
The Stafford Bribery (indemnity bill) was read a second time,
and ordered to be committed.
OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBXTH.
Sir A. AGNEW nioNed for and obtained leave to bring in a
bill to amend the law relating to the observance of the Lord's-
day,. . . . . . _ _

The bill was then brought in, and read a first time, and or-
dered to be read a second time .on•the 31/th•of April; and to be
printed.
The hon. baronet gave notice of a similar bill for Scotland.
The other orders of the day were then'dispoxed of, and the
house adjourned at half-past 2. - • • •
• THURSDAY.
• .
This being the day fixed for the.ballot4 on the Lendisnderry
(city) and the Montgomery (borough) election .petitions, the
gallery was not opened until a quarter to 5. o'Alovic..
Mr. Briscoe obtained leave to bring io a bill to amend the
Thames Tunnel Act.
• BUSINESS OF THE
.lIQUSE.
On Sir W. Ingilby, who had givej), notice of his intention to
bring the subject of the malt tax before the house to-night, be-
ing called on by the
t, Speaker— _
Lord AYtilea rose, and said that be wished to know whe-
ther the hon. member for Birmingham intended to persevere
in bringing forward his motion.
Mr. T. ATTwoon.—l certainly think it my duty to persevere.
Sir J. WBOTTESLY said that if the lion. member for Birming-
ham had had the advantage of a little more experience in that
house, he would not need to be told that he was, only doing an
injury to the question which he was desirous of advocating by
pressing it forward in opposition to the general wishes of the
house. (Bear, hear.)
Sir W. INGILBY thought that the interests of England had
fully as good a claim to the consideration of that house as the
bill brought in by ministers relating to Ireland. The question
of the malt tax was one of the most important that could be dis-
cussed, and he would, with the permission of the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, submit the subject to the notice of the house.

MALT DUTY.
Sir W. INGILBY then proceeded .to bring forward the motion
of which he had given notice, for the repeal of the duty on malt.
The earliest period in which a tax was levied on malt Was dur-
ing the reign of William 111., since which time the tax had
gone on progressively increasing until the memorable period of
the French war, when this tax on the beverage of Englishmen
was raised all at once to the enormous sum of ss. a bushel, or
£2 a quarter. This tax required a whole army of excisemen to
collect the duty. In the county of Norfolk the present price of
barley was very low. It was worth little more than 20s. a guar-
ter, it it was -worth so much, and before it could be made into
malt, and brewed into good beer, it cost upwards of £3. The
county which he had the honour to represent was a great barley
county—no less than 500,000 quarters being raised annually in
it; but the malting of the barley was so expensive, in conse-
quence of the tax, as to make the price (lithe produce of au acre