The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-08-14 00:00:00

THE SHIP LANCERS.

Grove. PRICE putti011131Q1;;J() the noble Foreign Se•
cretary respecting a vessel which had been taken into Gibral-
tar on the 15th July last. This ship had 153 Spanish subjects
on board, and had been seized by those persons, who mastered
the crew and carried it into Gibraltar. The name of this brig
was the Lantlero, fitted out at Barcelona, nominally for convey-
ing 153 persons to the Havanna. These men were merely
suspected of Carlism, and had been seized in different towns in
Catalonia, Arragon, Valentia, and Murcia. lie said that the
ship was nominally consigned to the Havanna, for he had re-
ceived information which left little doubt on his mind that those
113 unhappy persons were to be disposed of in a different man-
ner. • When those persons became conscious of what was likely
to be their fate, they rose on the crew and mastered it, and car-
ried the vessel into Gibraltar. lie understood that the resto-
ration of this ship, and the persons on board of it, had been de-
manded by the Spanish government. Ile wished to know whe-
ther this vessel hail really been demanded by the Spanish au-
thorities, and whether the persons who had so taken refuge in
Gibraltar were to be given up Ly the British government to the
tender mercies of the person who now administered the affairs
of Spain. (Loud cries of" Hear hear.") These unhappy
men had taken refuge in a place which had formerly been an
asylum to many members of the present Spanish government,
who were now so anxious to persecute those who differed from
them. The other question he wished to ask was, whether any
information had been received flour the British consul at Tan-
giers, as to some dead bodies that had been washed on shore
near that fort, which were linked together with iron chains, two
and two. These persons were not natives, but Europeans. This
occurred shortly before the vessel he had alluded to had been
carried into Gibraltar. Was this the way persons were to be
treated who did not choose to be governed by liberals guilty of
such conduct ? Ile would not trouble the house further, but
wished to hear from the noble lord whether it was intended to
give up these 153 Spaniards, who had not been convicted of any
crime, to the tender mercies of the Christinos ?
Lord PA LmEnsroN, in reply to the first question, said that
his majesty's government had received a communication from
the authorities of Gibraltar on the subject. He (Lord Palmer-
ston) had likewise received, that morning, a letter from the
British minister at the court of Madrid, detailing the facts of
the case. The vessel that was taken into Gibraltar had on
board 153 persons, to be conveyed to the Havanna, and a crew
of fifteen or sixteen sailors, which certainly was too small, con-
sidering what was the object of the voyage. These persons were
not taken up on mere surmise, as was supposed by the hen.
gentleman, but had been tried and convicted- by due process of
law. The proper authorities in Madrid bad informed the
British minister that those men had been fairly tried and con-
victed of the most serious offences against the government, and
had been sentenced to transportation to the colonies. It sip-

geared that the Spanish authorities did not apportion a sufficient
number of guatds to' the number of persons who were to he COU •
veyed to the Hairannah.; they, therefore, rose on the crew, anti
four or five of the latter were wounded. They then carried the
shipinto Otbraltar;.and were landed there. The Spanish con-
sul claimed them as subjects of the Queen of Spain, who had
been tried and convicted of certain offences; this claim, how-
ever, was refused. He then demanded that they should be de-
tained on the charge of seizing, by violence, a vessel belonging
to the Queen of Spain. The English authorities at Gibraltar
feared that these persons might be liable to-.some charge of
piracy for seizing the ship; they had, therefore, sent home to
this country for instructions. His-noble friend the secretary for
• the colonies had consulted the legal advisers of the crown on
the subject, and they had declared that these men could not be
put on their trial ou a charge of piracy, and instructions had
been sent out to release them. With regard to the question as
to whether these men were to be given up to the Spanish go-
vernment, he would say that he did not believe that any man,
either in or out of the house, could entertain the slightest doubt
that such would not be the case. (Cheers.) It had never been
the practice of the British government to give up to other g,!-
vernments persons who had taken refuge in the English terri-
tories from prosecutions for political offences. (Hear, hear.)
To borrow an expression of the hon. member, when Ferdinand
was the person who administered the affairs of Spain, (cheers,)
this country constantly persisted in refusing to give up the
Spanish liberals to the government of that country, (hear, hear, )
and it was also the intention of his majesty's ministers to-refuse
to give up to the Queen of Spain. as he (Lord Palmerston) per-
sisted in calling her, notwithstanding the objections of the hon.
member—those persons who were now in the garrison of
Gibraltar. (Cheers.) With regard to the other matter, it was
also true that his noble friend at the colonies had received
statement from the consul at Tangiers, in which he observed
that it was reported in that place that some bodies of Europeans
had been washed on the sea shore some miles from Tangiers,
and it was his intention to send a person to make inquiry as to
the real facts of the case. He would not condescend to answer
the insinuations which the hon. gentleman had thrown out,
which had not the slightest shadow of anything like fact to sup-
port them. (Cheers.) He could not he'lp feeling that the pri-
vileges of the house were abused and the character of Parlia-
ment lowered by pursuing such a course. (Cheers.)

SUPPLY. •
The house then resolved itself into a committe of supply, and
the Irish estimates were voted.
The second reading of the Irish municipal corporations' bill
was postponed to Wednesday.
Mr. S. RICE obtained leave to bring its a bill to improve the
navigation of the Shannon.
Mr. liume's motion respecting Orange lodges was adjourned
to the following day (Tuesday.)
The house adjourned at d quarter to four o'clock.

HOUSE OF LORDS, TOESDAY.
MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS BILL•

The Earl of FALMOUTH rose to present a petition frdm the
corporation of Evesham against the municipal corporationo bill.
Their lordships would recollect that he had presented a petition
the other day from the same parties, but it was withdrawn iu
consequence of one paragraph, which designated too minutely
the composition of the majority by which the Municipal Corpo-
rations Bill was carried ill the other house of parliament. Ihe
objectionable passage was now altered. As no charge had been
brought against them by the municipal commissioners, the pe-
titioners did not pray to be heard by counsel at the bar. They
declared,, that though they were hostile to this bill, they were
at all times Willing to adopt any wise plan of improvement for
the benefit of the borough. They entreated their lordships to
bear in mind that by protecting their rights and privileges, they
at the same time protected the authority of the source from
which they derived their own nobly achieved honours. The
noble Earl also presented a petition from inhabitants and resi-
dents of the borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis against
the bill. He bad previously presented a similar petition from
that select body. This petition, however, came from two hun-
dred-and-forty most, respectable inhabitants, including some.per
sons who belong to the corporate body; but two hundred Judi-
viduals had signed who were not connected with that body. If
their lordships chose to have the allegationS contained in the
petition established at the bar of their lordships, the present
mayor and the individual who served that office last year were
in town for that purpose. •
The Earl of Radnor. Viscount Melbourne, and Lord
Brougham presented petitions in favour of the bid.
The Duke of NEWCA ST LE.—I wish to know whether the noble
viscount means to-morrow to move that the house go into com-
mittee on the Municipal CoiTorations bill ?
Viscount Met.nouttNE.—(certainly, to-morrow.
The Duke of NEWCASTLE.—Then 1 give notice that I shall
take that opportunity to make the same motion that I did the
other night, and 1 shall take the sense of the house on it.—The
motion was—" That it is the opinion of this house, that though
this house will at all times be prepared to take into its consider-
ation (and to give it every support to which it is entitled) any
measure founded upon constitutional principles which may be
brought before it, having for its object the extension of the mu-
cipal rights and privileges, or the correction of any abuse proved
to exist in the management of any property attached to the
municipal borough towns embraced in this bill, yet we feel it
our bounden duty to withhold our assent to this measure on ac-
count of the unconstitutional principles by which it is charac-
terized, which subvert the hereditary rights and privileges of a
considerable body of our fellow-countrymen, and destro) s the
ancient charters of upwards of 240 municipal borough towns,
without that evidence having been laid before this house which
can justify such a measure."

POLLS AT ELECTIONS BILL.

- -
On the motion of the Earl of RADNOR, this bill was read a
second time, and ordered to be committed on Thursday.

ROMAN CATHOLIC MARRIAGES BILL.

The Marquis of CLAN RICARDE moved the second reading of
the Roman catholic marriage bill. He called for the support
of the house to a measure which was founded upon humanity,
justice, and policy. The law, as it at present existed,*affixeda
stigma upon the Roman catholic population of Ireland, and it
was the object of this bill to remove the last remnant of the
penal code which had so long afflicted that portion of the com-
munity. The bin would take away the power now, in some
instances, must barbarously used by parties of the marriage
contract, of invalidating and setting aside that contract, and
'would thereby give security to property without the litigation
to which the present law exposed innocent parties. The noble
marquis quoted several cases of great hardship and oppression
which had come within his own knowledge, as resulting from
the present state of the law, and proceeded to observe, that the
only objection
wheenht to aidadheard againstcultagneddestinemarriages theiagbilelswians tlhreelaanllde:
alle-
gation that
arllrteaat
dayl 1 esgaai
said,
tnh he e
idnevnaileidd
a.
into. The means of clandestine marriages were fully afforded
tionhiusfbicilownternatcttso psorleevmennti,yasehnetehraedd
in Ireland by the class of individuals well known to many of
their lordships as "couple-beggars," who were to be found
throughout Ireland. On the grounds of humanity, morality,
and expediency, he recommended the bill most strongly to their
lordships for their adoption.
Lord CARBERRY, after briefly stating his objections to the bill,
moved that it be read this day six months.
Lord PLC NKETT supported the bill, which only went to annul
and repeal that law under which marriages solemnized bv
Roman catholic priests might be invalidated either by the fraud
of the parties or by other means.
The Earl of LIMERICK opposed the motion on the ground
that he was unwilling to increase the power and influence of a
body of men who would not be disposed to use either with any
friendly feeling to the protestant church in Ireland. His lord•
ship th'en read a letter from a catholic bishop (Abraham) to the
foreman of the grand jury of Waterford respecting the appoint-
ment of a catholic priest for tie gaol of that county, which we
printed iu a former number.
The Earl of Wicasow said that a more presumptuous, arro-
gant, and insolent letter than that of Bishop Abraham had
never been penned. This was not the only case in which some
of the Roman catholic clergy had attempted to browbeat those
who dared to oppose their will. A prelate of that church, Dr.
M'Hale, had called the establiihed church a sinking'and falling
religion, the bane and curse of the country. With the hope of
improving the bill he had no objection to a second reading.
The Bishop of LONDON admitted that a revision of the law
respecting marriages both in England and Ireland called for
legislative interposition. But looking to the necessity of a
inure general measure he would vote for the amendment.
Lord BROUG II ANT supported the motion at some length. His
lordship maintained that a Roman catholic priest was much less
likely than the protestant clergyman to abuse the ceremony of
matrimony, because the former looked upon it as a sacrament,
the latter regarded it only as a civil ceremony. ("No, no.")
In proof of this statement, he quoted the authority of Lord
Stowell, in the case of "Dalrymple v. Dalrymple." He was of
opinion that proselytism was much more likely to take place
under the present system than that which was proposed, and in
conclusion conjured their lordships to pass the bill.
The Bishop of EXETER denied that marriage only was a civil
contract. It was a holy estate, into which individuals could not
enter without a civil contract, but this contract was merely the
gate; when entered upon, it was a holy and religious state; and
there was also a religious contract, because it was instituted by
God—commended by God—blessed by God—and rendered irre-
vocable by God. So did the law of England regard it also,
except only in the case of adultery. If it were merely a civil
contract, it might be dissolved upon the mutual consent of the
parties. He cited the case of Miss Turner, to show that their
lordships would not entertain the question of dissolving a mar-
riage on account of fraud, they having ordered a new bill to be
sent up, founded on the ground that there really had been no
marriage. He disputed the fact that the authority of Lord
Stowell was against his statement of the law. He quoted the
opinion of Lor Holt to the same effect, and also a passage
from Mr. Croly's pamphlet, to show that, according to the
canettft el 1- hereenci 1 of Trent, the lirantionght to be-proetriim ea;
but this was dispensed with, for the advantage of the bishop,
who was paid fur his dispensations. result of the measure
would he, not simply to induce people to prefer the services of
a certain religious officer, but to occasion the substitution ut the
Roman catholic marriage law for the present, which law was
highly objectionable on account of the dispensing power of the
Pope on the one side, in permitting marriages which without
that dispensation would be held to be incestuous, and on the
other side in preventing marriages between persons connected
with each other to a greater extent than in the Levitical degrees,
which would have a lamentable effect in bastardizing the inno-
,
cent progeny. In conclusion, he declared his determination
cordially to support the amendment.
The Bishop of HEREFORD would vote for the second reading
of the bill in the hope that it might be improved in committee,
if not, lie would vote against the third reading.
The Marquis of CL A NR ICA RD E briefly replied.
On a division, the numbers were—
Content
Not content 42

Majority agaimst the bill

HOUSE OF bOlll-IVIONS.—TUESDAY.
The Speaker took the chair at twelve o'clock.
The house was occupied during the whole of this sitting in
committee on the metropolitan public carriages' bill.
The house resumed at five o'clock.

DISCHARGE 01, MR. PRENTICE.
Lord F. EGERTON appeared at the bar as chairman of the
Yarmouth bribery committee, and stated that William Prentice
had answered the questions which, in the opinion of the com-
mittee, he ought to answer. The report was received, and, on
on the motion of the noble lord, Mr. Prentice was ordered to be
discharged.

MARYLEBONE CONSERVATIVE ASSOCIATION.
Sir SAMUEL `VALLEY presented a petition from the vestry
of the parish church of Marylebone complaining of the inquisi-
torial and vexatious proceedings of the conservative association
established in that parish. The hon. gentleman denounced
these societies as formed for the purpose of forming a predo-
minant conservative influence in that house, and to keep alive
the recollection 6f events which ought to sleep forgotten in the
annals of history. The petition, after some discussion,.was laid
upon the table.

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.