The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-04-23 00:00:00

imptriat parliaturnt.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-MONDAY.

Sir T. FREMANTLE moved for a new writ for the elec-
tion of a representative in parliament for the borough of
Huntingdon, in the room of Sir Frederick Pollock, who
had bee,' appointed Chief Baron of Her Majesty's Court
of Exchequer; also a new writ for the return of a mem-
ber for the city of Exeter, in the room of Sir William
Webb Folletr, who had been appointed Her Majesty's
Attorney-General ; also a new writ for the borough of
Woodstock, Mr. Thesiger having accepted the office of
Solicitor-General
Sir R. PEEL mentioned the 29th of April as the day
appointed for bringing forward the budget.
Sir ROBERT PEEL, at the pressing solicitation of Mr.
Wyse, agreed to postpone the further consideration of the
Irish Registration Bill. He would consent to the post-
ponement of the bill from Friday next ; and he trusted
that this would be regarded as a proof that he (Sir R.
Peel) wished the bill to meet with a fair discussion. He
would attempt to arrange some future day for the second
reading; but, at the same time, he trusted that the house
would not hold him responsible for the delay thus occa-
sioned.

Sir R. INGLis said, that, on a former occasion. he had
asked the right hon. baronet the Secretary of State fur
the Home Department whether it was the intention of
the government to bring forward any general measure
which might settle the question of tithes arising out of
parochial assessments.

- Sir JAMES GRAHAM said, it was his inte,tion to ask
for permission to introduce a bill for altering the law of
settlement, and he thought that if that alteration were
considered expedient, it would supersede the necessity for
any legislation with respect to rating. A very elaborate
report on that subject had been presented to the house in
pursuance of the promise he made on a former occasion.
It was impossible to overrate the magnitude of that sub-
ject, or the difficulty of dealing with it ; but he had given
his attenton to it, and it would be his duty, if the house
allowed him to introduce the Poor-law Amendment Bill,
at some future period, if be then bad the honour to hold
the same office which he now held, to propose some mea-
sure on the subject alluded to by the hon. baronet, but he
could not express any hope of doing so in the present
session.

The house then went into a committee of supply on the
miscellaneous estimates. On the vote of £150,000, to
defray certain charges hitherto paid out of the county-
rates, being proposed,
Mr. GR.ANGEB. complained of the discontinuance, in
many cases, of the employment of counsel for the prose-
cution of prisoners ; observing that, when counsel were
not employed, the judge was made to appear in the cha-
racter, as it were, of a prosecutor, and thus the weight of
the bench seemed to be thrown into the scale against the
prisoner.

- Sir J. GRAHAM was understood to say, that he bad ob-
served in the public journals that Mr. Justice Cresswell
had expressed regret at the discontinuance of the practice
of employing counsel for the prosecution of prisoners, and
he concurred in the opinion that this discontinuance was
tot conducive to the due administration of justice.
Sir R. PEEL said that the converting a judge into a pro-
secutor was altering the relations in which a judge ought
to stand, and he could conceive that a judge in such
a situation might abstain from taking advantage of points
which a barrister could fairly urge. It might be said,
that the appointment of a public prosecutor would remedy
the evil, but, without going that length, he thought, con-
sidering the number of young men in the profession who
were anxious to display their ability, that nothing could
be more easy than the employment of counsel for the pro-
secution of prisoners.
Mr. HUME advocated the appointment of a public pro-
secutor, and thought it unfair to call upon boroughs, by
this vote, to pay a share of county expenses in respect to
the prosecution of prisoners.
Mr. HAWES suggested that the right hon. gentleman
should send a circular to the magistrates, stating not only
his own opinion, but also the opinion of the judges upon
this point.

The vote was agreed to. Numerous other votes were
then passed.
Sir J. GRAHAM said, he wished to move the order for
the second reading of the County Courts Bill.
The bill was read a second time, and ordered to be
committed on Friday next. _

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TUESDAY.
Sir A. LEITH HAY moved an address, praying that her
Majesty would confer an honorary distinction on the sur-
viving officers of the Peninsular army. lie would not
presume to take a tone of dictation on such a subject ; but
he could not forbear endeavouring to call to the recollec-
tion of the house the merits of those brave men. It was
no small grievance that while other gallant men were re-
waded, the Peninsula officers alone should be neglected.
They who by six years of the severest service had broken
down the most formidable dynasty the world bad ever
seen, remained unnoticed ; while the single day of Wa-
terloo had decorated men who, on no other occasion, had
ever sustained an enemy's fire—ay, every drum boy who
was within sound of that day's musketry. He enume•
rated, by way of example, some twenty or thirty officers,
of whom many were now commanding regiments, but
none of whom had the honour of a medal—none of whom
had anything to show, in evidence of their services, except
their wounds. And yet it was mainly by the Peninsular
war that the British army had been made what it had now
become.

Lord ARTHUR LENNOX seconded the motion.
Sir H. H ARDINGE, after a just compliment to the
manner in which Sir A. L. Hay had brought forward his
motion, contended that the house ought not now to inter-
fere. The rewards for service in the Peninsular war were
given or withheld according to the regulations of that
time; and in order to change that arrangement now, it
ought to be shown that the regulations were so faulty as
to require reversal at this day.
After a good deal of discussion, Sir A. L. HAY said,
that as he found he had no chance of carrying his motion,
he would withdraw it, rather than produce, by dividing in
a small minority, an impression among the army that the
House of Commons was indifferent to the claims of the
Peninsular officers.

Mr. HUME moved a resolution for giving effect to a
recommendation of the committee of 1841 upon national
monuments, that the public should be admitted more
freely into cathedrals.
Mr. WYSE seconded the motion.
Sir R. PEEL believed that the admission of the public
to those buildings could be productive only of good. To
the present resolution, however, he could not assent. The
control of these buildings belonged to the ecclesiastical
authorities connected with them ; and while that right
continued theirs by law, the house ought not to interfere
by resolution : the only way of dealing with a right was
to legislate upon it.. . _

Ali:. Hum); said he bad too much respect for Sir R.
Peel's opinion upon this subject to press his motion to a
division. He trusted, however, that the almost universal
sentiment now expressed would have its effect in the
proper quarters. The motion was then withdrawn.
LORD EBRINGTON moved for a return of certain ap-
pointments of stipendiary magistrates by the government
of Lord Fortescue in Ireland. He made this motion
with a view to displace a charge preferred some time since
against Lord Fortescue by Sir J. Graham, that the Irish
administration had made a considerable increase in the
number of such appointments in 1841, very shortly before
they were removed from office, and actually a condemned
government.
Sir JAMES GRA HAM explained his former charge, which
he bad made from a paper put into his hand at the mo-
ment. That charge, however, he contended, had been
substantially correct, though he admitted be had been
mistaken respecting two of his dates.
Lord EBRINGTON said a few words in reply, and the
return was ordered.—Adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—WEDNESDAY.
There was not a sufficient number of members present
to constitute a house.

HOUSE OF LORDS.—THURSDAY.
Lord CAMPBELL asked for leave to bring in a bill to
enable actions to be brought against British subjects re-
siding abroad, the cause of action having arisen in this
country. With respect to the law of debtor and creditor,
if the debtor had property in land, or in the funds, to the
amount of £lOO,OOO, he had only to cross the Channel,
and that property could not be reached by the law for the
benefit of his creditors. The importance of a measure of
this nature would appear evident if they considered the
very large number of British subjects who resided abroad
—many of them, it was to be feared, with the intention
of eluding their creditors. By a return made by the
French authorities of the number of British subjects
domiciled in France in January, 18-11, it appeared that the
amount was 66,000, exclusive of many thousands who
were travelling. And it was calculated that the sum an-
nually expended by those residents in France was not less
than £5,000,000. (Hear, hear.) Now, if, instead of
thousands, there were only 100 persons who chose to
reside in France. for the purpose of defrauding their cre-
ditors, that would, he conceived, afford a sufficient ground
for the introduction of this bill.
The bill was read a first time.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—THURSDAY.
LORD ASHLEY intimated the course which he will
adopt on the progress of the new Factories' Bill There
were difficulties which led him to refuse all discussion
until he arrived at the third reading of the Bill; and at
this stage he would propose clauses, the purport of which
would be to reduce the factory hours to eleven from Oc-
tober next, for two years ensuing and then to commence
the ten hours, from October, 1846.
Sir ROBERT PEEL in answer to Mr. P. M. STEWART,
said he would bring forward his propositions relative to
the Bank Charter on a day immediately after that fixed
for the discussion of the bugdet, which is announced for
the 29th.

Mr. M. GIBSON brought forward a mction relative to
agricultural statistics, with a view to ascertain from time
to time, statements of the breadth of land under cultiva-
tion for each species of produce respectively, and the
amount of produce derived from the same ; together with
such other information as will exhibit, as far as practi-
cable, a perfect view of the agricultural capability and
production of the United Kingdom.
Mr. GLADSTONE admitted the importance and the de-
sirableness of the objects contemplated by the motion.
Perhaps, of all parties, the grower of corn would be the
one most benefitted by a good system of agricultural sta-
tistics ; and the government had the subject much at heart,
and were actually engaged in ascertaining to what extent
it was practicable to carry it into effect. It would, there-
fore, be imprudent in the house to pledge itself to the mo-
tion before they had really ascertained how and in what
manner it could be best carried out. Ile hoped that Mr.
Gibson would rest satisfied with these assurances, and
withdraw his motion.
The bon. gentleman assented,
and the house adjourned.