The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-05-26 00:00:00

paled cony]

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TUESDAY.
Mr. Fox MA ULE obtained leave to introduce a bill to
enable (

tian congregations in S. otland to obtain sites
pl.tces of vtorship, manses, and school-houses,

—The bill was brought in and read a'first time

After some obser;ations from Mr. Stafford O'Brien;
Sir. G. Cteik, Sir It. Liglis, Lord G. Clerk, Mr. Bright,
and Mr. W. MTrs, the Customs Di.ties Bill was read a

third tirr

Tim Railway Companies Dissolution Bill passed

through Committee

Dr. Bovitus:o moved for a humble address to her
jeay that she would be graciously pleased to direct such
correspondence or extracts on the subject of the quadran-
tine laws. as Is •a taken place with foreign governments
since the last returns to parliament, to be laid on the ta-
ble of the house. .

Alter a short discussion, the motion was agreed to

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-WEDNESDAY

Mr. T. DUNCOMEM presented a petition from Notting..
ham, signed by 4.984 operatives iu the lace manufacture,
in favour of the Bill.
Lord J. MANNERS presented a petition to the same
effect from 479 master lace manufacturers in Nottingham
and Derby.
Mr. T. DIINCOMBE moved the second reading of the
Lace Factory Bill, and, in doing so, observed t hat though
the work in the lace factories beganevery Sunday night at
12 o'c'ock, and was continued with little intermission till
the same hour on Saturday night, a great portion of the
labour was carried on by the aid of children of very ten-
der years, as there was no restriction at present as to the
age at which children might be introduced into them.
Many children employed there were not more than six or
eight years old, and never saw a bed, but slept on the floor
when their term of employment wasover. Having pointed
out the injurious effects of such a system on the health of
these infants, and liAving quoted the. opinion of the in-
spector and sub-inspector of factories in support of the
propriety of parliament interfering in their behalf, he
stated that the object of his bill was to restrict the hours
of labour.inthese factori-s to 16 day, or, in other words,

to prohibit the opt

g of these factories trek

in the tr

e keepi

On the motion of Mr. O'CoNNELL, it was ordered that
Mr. S. O'Brien's letter be printed and circulated with
the votes, and taken into consideration next day.

state of
Peel to

Mr. C. BULLER withdrew his motion respecting the
the Colony of New Zealand, but asked Sir R.
aye the house such information on the subiect as

he might deem expedient under existing circumstances.
Sir. R. PEEL could only give him (Mr. C. Buller) such
an intimation of the.intention of her Majesty's ministers
as would enable him to bring forward his motion at no
distant period. The house would hear in mind what had
occurred last session upon this subject. He still adhered
to the opinions which he had then expressed as to the
principles on which the colony of New Zealand ought to
be governed; and no exertion should be spared to give
effect to those opinions. Ministers were, however, in this
position. Captain Fitzroy had been recalled from, and
Captain Grey had been appointed to. the government of
New Zealand. At the period when the last accounts re-
ceived by her Majesty's tnini=ters were written, Captain
Grey had only been a few weeks in his government, but
he was happy to say that, from the tenor of those ac-
counts, the favourable opinion which he had formerly en-
tertained of Captain Grey's administrative talents was
now fully confirmed. The last reports from New Z a-
land stated that he was about to leave. Auckland for the
Bay of Islands, with all the naval and military force at
his disnnsal_ to attack not hut a phipf whr% hail

acted in concert with Ilerki in that neighbourhood. From
the force employed, we had a right to expect that the
northern island would soon be reduced to submission ;
and then, but not till then. the work of forming and im-

a good earnest

;overnment of the c lonv would commence
He could not give Mr. C. Buller fur
ther information than that which he had already given
He expressed, however, a doubt a nether the interferene
of parliament was necessary in this r;,.e.

Mr. HUME had come down to the house in the hope
at ministers would make an explanation that evening of
e general policy which they intended to govern our

in future

-le was sorry that they I

col onia

:ministration was

Here the matter dropped.
Lord EBRINGTON was entering into a statement of the
reasons which induced him to move an address for the re-
appointment of the Real Property Commission, when
An hon. member moved that the house be counted.
Not more than 27 members being present, the house
stood adjourned.

HOUSE OF LORDS.-FRIDAY

The Duke of CAMBRI tGE presented a petition from
the members of the Art Union of London, praying their
lordships to legalise art unions by passing the bill intro-
duced into the tiou=e of Commons for that purpose.
Similar petitions from other bodies connected with the
fine arts were presented by several noble I,,rds.
Viscount Hardinge's and Lord Gough's Annuity Bills
were read a first time.

The Marquis of NORMANBY then, in moving for a re-
turn of the cumber of murders, and attempts at murder,
committed in Ireland since the Ist. of January last, a• d
the hours at which they bad been committed, availed
himself of the opportunity to assert that the coercive
measure which had passed that house, and .was then in
the House of Commons, was not calculated to meet the
evil to counteract which it; ad been framed. The mea-
sure, if necessary, had been improperly delayed by Go-
vernment; and if it became law it would come in force
about midsummer, when there was no real right, although
the bill provided that in the disturbed districts people
ahould remain in their dwellings at night.

The Earl of Sr. GERMAXS said tli-at the bill had not
been introduced at an earlier period because the Govern-
ment had vainly hoped that the allusion made to it in the
Speech from the Throne would have restored tranquillity
in Ireland. Besides this cause of delay, the ocstrucuons
offered to the measure in the other house had induced
Government to give precedence to the Corn Bill ; but he
hoped that the state of public business would soon allow
them to proceed with it.
The Earl of WICKLOW said that unless her Majesty's
Ministers had determined upon abandoning the bill, they
ought not to have allowed any other measure to interfere
with it.

The Earl of HAnntNoToN vindicated the course pur.
sued by Government, and after a short conversation the
return was ordered.

The Explosive Substances Bill was then read a first
time.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-FRIDAY

Mr. O'CoNNELL moved that the order of the 27th
April, for the committal of Mr. W. S. O'Brien, be dis-
charged, on the ground that the committee of selection
which had directed his attendance on a private bill com-
mittee was not itself properly constituted, not having
been re-appointed at the commencement of the session,
according to the'` standing orders" of the house. His
refusal
.to attend an order from a body thus improperly
constituted was no reasonable ground for his detention.

Air. ESTCOURT contended ti►at it was not necessary to
renew the 'notion each session for the re-appointrnent of

the committee of selection. It. had been done last ses-
sion, but that was not according to the usual course of

proceeding.

Mr. WARBURTON said the standing orders of the house
were imperative for the reAppointrnetit of the committee

of selection at the commencement or each session, and he
was therelore of opinioil that the committal of Air. W. S.
O'Brien was informal.

A discussion ensued, shared in by Mr. Strut, Sir G.
Grey, Mr. Agliunby, the Attorney-General, Lord Pol.
lingion, Mr. M. J. O'Connell, Sir IL Peel, and other
hon. members ; after which the house divided, and the
motion of Mr. O'Connell was negatived by a majority of
180 to 36.

Mr. O'CoNsritu. was then about to move that Mr. W.
S. O'Brien be discharged from custody; but, at ihe sug-
gestion of Sir B. Peel, be agreed to await the rtsult of
Mr. Shaw's motion on Monday.
The adjourned debate on the second reading of the

Mr. BANxt s, who supported the bill, contending that
parliament had a right to interfere with the hours of la-

hour, if they exceeded the ordinary powers of human

naturc

terfere with the hours of labour. 'lke subject was one
which should be left to arrangement between the manu-
facturer i.nd those under his employment.

Lord G. BENTINCK supported the bill, which was op-
posed by Lord Mumevrn.
Mr. IVIACAULAY,contended at considerable length, and
with felicitous illustration, that legislative interference
witn labour, if inconsistent with commercial principles,
was justifiable and necessary on considerations of public
health and morality. The principle had not only been
recognised by modern legislators, but it was recognised
by the ancient regulation of one day's cessation from
labour out of seven, a regulation esteemed so necessary
even on merely economical priiiciples, that when the reli-
gious observance of holidays was abolished by the Long
Parliathent in England, and the National Convention of
France, they found it necessary to set apart other days
for relaxation from labour. The superiority of a nation
depended on the health and intelligence of the people.
In the countries where it was said the people worked so
much more than ours, it was the complaint of the autho-
rities that they could not find a man fit for a soldier. If
ever England was deprived of its superiority, it would not
be by such dwarfs ,as these. The more difficult question,
howeveri was the question of degree; and, after the best
consideration, he could not consent to a reduction to less
than eleven hours., It had been a, id the period of inter-
ference was ill chosen, but he could not but think it desi-
rable that at. the same period they should remedy the
twofold error they had committed, that of giving to cer-
tain branches of industry a protection which had been
their bane, and withholding it from those in which the
public health and morality required it.,
A lengthened discussion ensued, which was maintained
by Sir J. Hamer Mr. Wakley,- Mr. Bright, Mr. B.
Denison,
Lord J. Russell, Mr. Cobden, Mr.
Aiuu tz, a nSdi riviltr.lkFiel'
Fielden, after which, the house divided,
and the numbers were—Kr the second reading, 193 ;
10.
against 'it. 203 ;—majority against the bill,

In 1814

but one steam-boat bel

ging to the

Late accounts from Canada have reached us. The
journals publish an additional despatch from the Hon.
W. E. Gladstone, dated April 1, upon the memorial of
the Montreal Board of Trade :—" It announces (says the
Montreal Courier) that should the repeal of the corn
1 +ws pass the British Legislature, the Canadian Parlia-
ment will be allowed to do as it pleases with the 3s. duty
on American wheat. And it does nor appear that any op-
position will be shown to the repeal of the 2s. imperial
duty on •flour. It also enunciates plainly the principle
that Great Britain will not in future grant better commer-
cial terms to her colonies than she allows to other coun-
tries, and will not revive the system which once prevailed,
of allowing the introduction of goods from colonies at co-
lonial duties with reference, not to their origin, but solely
to their places of export, or in other words doing away
with the certificate of origin."

Accounts froin_Vera Cruz to the 18th of April have

been received. Mexico is stated to continue uneasy
The threatened return of Santa Anna had called forth go
vernment measures of protection.
_ _ _

Accounts received from Oregon and California, via" the
Sandwich Mantis, are unimportant.
Rio intelligence to the 19th of March had been re-
ceived. The blockade of Buenos Ayres still continued.