The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-03-05 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—MoNnkr.

Mr. O'CosNimr, presented a petition from the Corpo-
ration of Dublin, in favour of a repeal of the legislative
union. The petitioners stated that they were of opinion
that a repeal of the legislative union was necessary for the
peace and happiness of the country, and that in granting
it Parliament would only be performing an act of justice
towards Ireland. The petition was sealed with the cor-
poration seal.
The lion. Member then said that he had 67 petitions
to present from the province of Leinster, 57 from Mun-
ster, 43 from Ulster, 35 from 'Connaught, and several
from other places, in all amounting to 196 petitions, and
signed by 387,564 individuals, and they all prayed for a
repeal of the legislative union.
The Great Western Railway Bill was read a second
time on the motion of Mr. C. Russell, and ordered to be
committed.

The order of the day for going into committee of supply
having been read,
Mr. S. CI-Lay/FORD moved an amendment, to the effect
that the consideration of the estimates be postponed until
the grievances of the people had been considered and re-
dressed. The Ron. Member contended that the present
house did not fairly represent the people, neither did it
possess the confidence of the country ; therefore he con-
tended that they were not in a fit situation to vote away
the public money.
Col. RAwDON seconded the motion.
After speeches from Mr. Fielden, Mr. T. Duncombe,
Dr. Bowring, Mr. Roche, and Mr. Gisborne, the house
divided, when there appeared—
For Mr. S. Crawford's amendment
Against it .
Majority

11
105
-94

Sir C. NAPIER called the attention of the house to the
constitution of the Board of Admiralty. Some years ago
the navy was under the direction of three boards—the
Admiralty Board, the Navy Board, and the Victualling
Board ; and the principle on which, under that distribu-
tion of business, the building of ships was conducted, had
been quite abominable. Sir James Graham, when first
Lord of the Admiralty, had, with the assistance of Ad-
mirals Hardy and Dundas, destroyed that wretched sys-
tem of management; but it was now to be inquired whe-
ther the system substituted for it had been a good one.
He disapproved the way in which the civil patronage of
the Admiralty had, until lately, been distributed ; it had
been bestowed for the most part. not upon old sailors, but
upon persons who had never been to sea in their lives ;
but recently, he was glad to say, an order had been mad,,
directing that a preference should be given in the dock-
yards to men coming home from actual service. He then
dealt with the subject of promotions. strongly pressing
for a retired list, upon which old officers should be led by
some small inducement of pay to place themselves, so as
to make vacancies for the promotion of younger and more
serviceable men. He urged the propriety of enabling the
masters—a very useful and deserving class of officers-0
rise in their profession like lieutenants. The gallant
commodore then submitted to the House a scheme of
his own for the constitution of the naval administration.
Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT was well disposed to give to
naval men whatever appointment they were adequate to
fill. Ile entered fully into the subject of ship-building,
and in other details to which Sir C. Napier had adverted.
He declared himself unable to understand what advan-
tages would result from the changes suggested by Sir C.
Napier in the constitution of the board, which, he con-
tended, had been found by experience well fitted for its
objects.
The house having resolved itself into committee,
Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT explained the general nature of
the reductions and additions, respectively, which had been
made in the estimates for the present year.
_

Mr. WILLIAMS condemned their amount. He took
an objection, in particular, to the proposed number of
marines on shore.

Sir GEORGE COCKBURN vindicated the usefulness of
this force, especially with reference to any sudden out-
break of war.

Sir C. NAPIER concurred in this opinion, and recom-
mended Mr. Williams not to press his objection.
Admiral DUNDAS was persuaded that no other nation
would have a chance in the Channel against England on
the breaking out of a war, especially considering how
many steamers there now were which carried guns.
Mr. WILLIAMS followed the advice of his friends, and
the house soon after adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-TUESDAY.

Lord JotlrT tS 4,14 a: mac movpa aflal ream to the ernwn,
praying her majesty's interposition to procure the deli-
verance of Don Carlos and his family from their deten-
tion by France.
Sir R. PEEL opposed the motion, and after a long de-
bate it was withdrawn.
C4ptain BERNAL moved for a copy of an address to the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from the Dublin Protestant
Operative Assooiation, and of the Lord-Lieutenant's an-
swer. . .

Lord ELIOT thought it highly inexpedient to give im-
portance ►o such an address by placing it on the records
of this House.

Mr. T. Dr7Ncomae urged Captain Bernal to persevere
by dividing the House.
A division accordingly took place, when the numbers
were—

Against the motion..
For it

Majority .............. —5l
The Horse-racing Bill was read the third time and
passed, and the House was adjourned to Thursday.

HOUSE OF LORDS.—TguitsnAy.

The Racing Penalties Bill was brought up from the
House of Commons, and, on the motion of the Duke of
RICHMOND, it was ordered to be printed with the amend-
ments.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-THURSDAY.

- -
On the motion of the Earl of LINCOLN, leave was given
to bring in a bill for regulating the construction of build-
ings in the metropolis and its neighbourhood.
A discussion was raised by the two hon. members for
Dover (Mr. RicE and Sir J. R. REID), on the propriety
of a :ceding to the recommendation of the Shipwreck
-Committee, with reference to harbours of refuge, and
both hon. members strongly recommended Dover as the
best place for constructing a harbour of refuge for the
east coast of England. Indeed Sir J. R. Reid said he
would he most happy to have the raising of the money
requisite for the purpose, and on very advantageous
terms.
Sir R. PEEL said the Chancellor of the Exchequer
would, he had no doubt, be much more gratified at being
told how the money was to be repaid. The subject, how-
ever, was one of great importance, and had occupied much
of the cor.sideration of the government. There were
three considerations to be attended to—to establish har-
bours of refuge for the mercantile marine—to take care
that they would give accommodation to a naval armament,
both for the purpo.es of offence and defence in time of
war—and to take care also that they were capable of being
efficiently defended. It was, however, quite as important
to have harbours of refuge on the west as on the east
coast, and government intended to appoint a commission
of the most eminent and competent persons to examine
nto all the details of the subject.
The motion on which the discussion was founded was
then withdrawn.
Sir V. BLAKE moved for a select committee to inquire
and report how far it may be practicable, expedient, and
useful to promote a more speedy intercourse between
Great Britain and America, by the establishment of steam
carriages (in connection with a ship canal also to be ex-
ecuted) across Ireland, and thence by steam communica-
tion across the Atlantic ocean.

Sir R. PEEL quoted the opinions of the Railway Com-
missioners for Ireland to show that if even it were
determined that the communication with America should
be mainly carried on through Ireland, yet that Galway
was not the most eligible port to be selected for that
purpose.
After a short discussion, the motion was withdrawn.

Colonel RAWDON moved the following resolution :
" That it is the opinion of this house, upon considering
the lateness of the period at which was issued the prods.
mation of the Irish government, intended to prevent the
assembling of a meeting announced to be holden at or
near Clontarf, on the Sth day of October, 1843, that a
risk of disastrous collision was incurred, and a precedent
thereby crested dangerous to the lives and liberties of her
Majesty's subjects." His object was to have his resolu-
tion placed on the journals of the house, in order to pre.
vent the future adoption of so dangerous a precedent.

Mr. V. STUART seconded the motion.
Lord ELIOT repeated the explanation already given in
the recent debate by Sir James Graham, of the circum-
stances attending the prevention of the Clontarf meeting,
and the issuing of the proclamation referred to, regretting
the necessity of thus having to repet a twice-told tale.
The noble lord defended the conduct of the government
as equally firm and humane.
Mr. SOMERS, Mr. SHARMAN CRAWFORD, and Mr. E.
B. ROCHE severally addressed the house in support of the
,motion; after which. upon a division, it was negatived by
a majority of 90 to 62.
Lord WORSLEY obtained leave to bring in a " Bill to
facilitate the Enclosure and
,Improvement of Commons,
and Lands held in common.
The Loan ADVOCATE moved for leave to bring in "A
Bill to Amend the Law with respect to Prisons and Prison
Discipline in Scotland," which, after a few observations
from Mr. WALLACE, was agreed to.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and
the house adjourned.

HOUSE OF LORDS.-FRIDAY.

In rf!ply totoe question from Lord BROUGHAM, it was
Akated by the Earl of Aberdeen that the CRAW of complaint

respecting the treatment of missionaries in the South Sea
Islands had been removed. The noble earl also siat,al
that the conduct of the French Admiral, at Tahiti had
been voluntatilv disavowed by the Fr-•nch Gttvechment,
uithout any cotornunicAtum from this countri.