The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-08-08 00:00:00

Vartiaintntarp Vrortetiings.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-MONDAY

Lord COURTENAY reported from the North Cheshire
Election Committee that Mr. G. C. Legh had been duly
elected, that treating had existed to a great extent, but
the evidence did not connect it with the sitting member
or his agents.

Mr. J. WILSON, in reply to a question, stated that ap-
plications for advances on the importation of sugar had
been made by parties to the East India Company, but he
had no reason for believing that such applications would
be acceded to.

Lord MORPETH intimated, in reply to Mr. Urquhart,
that it was his intention next session to introduce a bill
for the discouragement of interments within the walls of
large towns, but he had no hope of the measure succeed-
ing unless both parties abated much of their opinions on
the subject.
The house having gone into committee on the Sugar
Duties Bill,

Lord G. BENTSNCK moved, in the third schedule, re-
garding the duties on foreign sugar, the omission of the
words " and on all sugar or molasses not otherwise
charged with duty."
After considerable discussion, the committee divided,
when the amendment was negatived by a majority of 53 ;
the numbers, 34 to 87.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer's amended scales of
duties were then put and agreed to, and the house having
resumed, went into committee of supply on the ordnance
estimates, some discussion taking place on several of the
votes, but without leading to a division.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TuEsDAY

The report from the committee on Mr. F. O'Connor's
National Land Scheme was brought up and read ; which
stated, among other words, that although the accounts
had been irregularly kept, it clearly appeared that there
was a sum of £3,298 due to Mr. O'Connor.
In answer to Sir B. Hall, Mr. F. O'CONNOR stated
that it was now left altogether to the promoters of the
society to decide whether they would windup the affairs,
or apply for new powers.
After a conversation, in which Mr. HAYSIIR said that
it had been proved in evidence the scheme ;as impracti-
cable, or would at least take 150 years to carry out, the
report was received.
Mr. LABOUCHTRE intimated that it waslais intention
to brinc, in two bills for the purpose of prohibiting the
importation of cattle when diseased.

Air. S. WORTLEY, in answer to questions, stated that
be thought it very desirable the people at large should be
made acquainted with the fact that the intention was en-
tertained of bringing in a bill for altering the low with
respect to marriages within a certain degree of affinity,
which would have a retrospective as well as a prospective
effect.

Mr. HORSMAN moved a humble address to her Ma-
jesty, " praying that she will be pleased to take into her
consideration the whole condition of the Established
Church as regards its temporalities ; that she will direct
an enquiry to be made into the full value of all church
property under lease, and cause such measures to be pre-
pared as may make the revenues of the church more con-
ducive to the religious teaching of the people." He said
that our national church as established by law existed for
one purpose only, the spiritual and religious instruction
of the lowest orders. Everything that tended to secure
that object should be enlarged and strengthened, whilst
everything that obstructed it should be ruthlessly lopped
away. Of all the ecclesiastical institutions in Europe,
the Established Church of England was the only one
which remained unimpaired in all its grandeur. He then
entered into a history of its temporalities, stating that he
had confined his motion entirely to them, as they were
matters with which Parliament could most easily deal,
and to which it could most easily apply a remedy. The
revenues of the English church amounted to £4,500,000
at the lowest calculation, and might be estimated, without
fear of exaggeration, at £5,000,000. He showed that,
though such was its income, its parochial ministers were
most inadequately and irregularly paid, and that in no
other church were there so many clergymen living in so
much affluence and in so much indigence, so distinguished
for learning and ignorance, gifted with so much piety, and
yet existing amid such heathenism. He then referred to
his former statements respecting the episcopal revenues
and the revenues of deans and chapters, and lamented
that the estates of both should be managed under a sys-
tem of fines and leases, which in every point of view was
a most unprofitable system. No one who had not tho-
roughly considered the subject could have any idea of the
value of the estates in possession of the church, which
were now let on leases. Mr. Finlayson had proved that
the fines received on those leases amounted to £1,400,000
a-year ; and the lessees, acting on that calculation, had
estimated the value of the estates leased to them at
X 36,000,000. He then estimated the value of those es-
tates, first, under the supposition that all the leases were
allowed to run out ; and, secondly, under the supposition
that the reversions of them were sold. In the first case
he showed that the church would come into possession of
£1,400,000, and that in the latter it would have an addi-
tional income at once of £500,000 according to the lowest,
and of £1,500,000 according to the highest estimate. He
then adverted to the condition of the parochial clergy,
and quoted the preamble of an act of Charles 11., in
which it was declared that every clergyman should have
an adequate residence in his parish, and a clear income of
at least £BO a-year. Now, how was that declaration ob-
served in our day ? Were all the resident clergymen
idequately paid ? Had every clergymen an adequate re-
sidence, and had they only one benefice? Quite the re-
verse. Out of 10,000 parishes in England and Wales,
3,454 were held in plurality, and nearly two-thirds of the
whole number of benefices(' produced to their incumbents
less than £3OO a-year. Thus the population was de-
frauded of the provision for religious instruction which
the piety of former ages had provided for it. It was la-
mentable that in 6,800 parishes the majority of our clergy
had much less than £3OO a-year ; and he now declared
that he would never rest till their incomes were raised at
least to that amount. Lord J. Russell had already given
his assent to his suggestions on the episcopal revenues,
en the fusion of the episcopal and common fund, and on
the revenues of our deans and chapters ; and such being
the case, his lordship could have little reason for objecting
to his motion of that evening. It was the same inquiry
which Lord J. Russell had imperfectly carried out ten
years ago, and which he hoped that he would complete
now. All parties wer3 anxious for it ; and he therefore
implored the government to institute it during the recess.
Sir E. N. BUXTON seconded the motion.

Lord J. RUSSELL admitted, in the course of his speech
in reply, that the subject was one well worthy of conside-
ration, but expressed his hope that the hon. mover would
not press his motion, as the effect of it might be, if car-
ried, to place the crown in the position of being liable to
sustain a refusal to obey its precepts on the part of any
clergyman or bishop.
After a discussion, in which Sir R. Inglis, Mr. W. P.
Wood, Mr. Goulburn, and Mr. Frewen took part, Mr.
Ilorsman yielded to the suggestion of the noble lord, and
the motion was withdrawn.

.....
HOUSE OF COMMONS.-WEDNESDAY

Sir T. BIRCH presented the petition against the exten-
sion to Liverpool of the Habeas Corpus Act.
On the motion of Mr. BROTHERTON, the order of the
day for the second reading of the Bakehouses Bill,
brought in by Lord R. Grosvenor, was discharged.
Mr. FAGAN withdrew his Life Policies of Assurance
Bill.

Sir W. CLAY moved the second reading of the Berne-
dies against the hundred Bill.

Sir G. GREY regretted that he was obliged to oppose
the bill. He could not consent to make the hundred
liable in every case of disturbance: but he was quite wil-
ling to consider whether some better test than felony
might not be applied to the offence making the hundred
liable.

Mr. BA
racrs supported the bill ; and after some further
conversation, in which Mr. Bernal, Mr. Hume, Captain
Pcchell, Mr. Spooner, Mr. Elliot, Mr. Cardwell, Mr.
Henley, and Sir H. Willoughby joined,
Sir G. GREY said that if Sir W. Clay merely wished,
by carrying the second rending of this bill, to obtain an
expression of opinion favourable to some change in the
law, he would not oppose it ; but in that case it must be
understood that the bill was not to go into committee.

The bill was then read a second time.
The Sale of Beer Bill was read a third time.—Several
clauses were then proposed by way of riders to the bill,
but they were all negatived, after a curious conversation
between Mr. Hume and Mr. Brotherton, on the propriety
of protecting whores and thieves in their respective avo-
cations. Mr. Hume denied the " soft impeachment "
that he was an encourager of prostitution, and declared
that he never frequented those haunts with which Mr.
Brotherton seemed so well acquainted.—The bill was
then passed.
Mr. S. WORTLEY postponed till the next session the
introduction of his bill for legalizing marriage between a
widower and the sister of his deceased wife. He wished
it to be understood that, as the law now stood, such mar-
riages were absolutely null and void. He had, however,
formed the strongest opinion that such marriages ought
to be rendered legal, and the Commissioners were unani-
mously of that opinion.

HOUSE OF LORDS.—THURSDAY.
Lord BROUGHAM moved for copies of proclamations
sued by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland for the apprehen-
sion of certain persons in that country, and then proceeded
in a rambling speech to descant on the insurrection in Ire-
land, on the activity which the government had shown in
repressing it, and on the measures which should be taken
to extinguish discontent. In his opinion the regal remedy
for the evils under which Ireland had so long laboured
would be found in a ludicrous system of colonization, and
in the suppression of illegal assemblies and seditious
dubs. _