The Statesman.
London, England, 1823-07-12 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY COMMENTARY.

The business of both houses is now reduced to mere
routine ; and atatne session bids fair to hare a quiet
easy termination. The arrears of business in the House
of Lords, is to be brought up during an adjournment of
the Commons to Wednesday ; and then, in the course of
a day or two, the Noble Lords may return to their es-
tates, and the honourable gentlemen to their constitu-
ents ; satisfied with their common exertions for the good
of the country ; which had, perhaps, nevertheless, fared
quite as well, if the session bad not been as many weeks,
as it is months old. In the management of the routine
business, there is still a great deal of Ministerial discri-
mination. The Bill to compel the impoverished in-
habitants of Ireland to build churches for Protestant
clergymen, although there may not be a dozen Protest-
ants in the parish, is likely to receive the sanction of the
House of Lords : the lii,hop of Down, very wisely re-
marking, that the priests spent their income in the coon-
try, and therefore the levying of it could do no harm to
anybody—a species of logic which we earnestly recom-
mend to the next irregular collector of other persons pro-
perty, who may be disturbed in his vocation, and find
maters run hard with him, because he may have failed to
secure friends at Court. He ran say, that he never spent
a shilling of his gains out of the country, and that his
taking them was rather a benefit than an injury, as " mo-
ney like manure does no good till it is spread ;" and that
he was only anxious t..) circulate its advantages.

The Scotch Jury Bill, after having cost
the Lower House so much trouble has been
rejected by the House of Lords. Lord Melville
denied that any " practical evil" resulted from
the present mode of the Judges striking the Juries, and
the Earl of Aberdeen could see no " urgent necessity"
for the measure. There were only nine Noble Lords
anxious to introduce the ballot principle; and twenty
were suffiei,l t to say it should not be introduced. When
we remember what Scotland has been, and what it now
is, as far as regards political spirit and independence,
have we not reason to exclaim—" Stands Scotland where
it did ?"

The Duke of Leinster wide an attempt to exempt the
Society of Freemasons in Ireland, from the operation of
the Illegal Oaths Bill ; but the Noble Lords sera to he
of opinion with the continental members of the Holy
that all societies are dangerous, because they
may become powerful by association and communication.
It is the fashion of the day to wish forisolated, ignorant,
and obedient slaves. As for the Orange Society; it
ought to be soppress•d, not because it is a society, nor
because it has oaths of secresy, and signs of fellowship,
but because it is a society for the express purpose of
sowing discord, and doing mischief.

IN me COMMONS. the New South Wales Bill was
read a third time and passed. Mr. Denman wished the
retard of the jury to rest with the Sheriff. Provost. or
some known and responsible officer; but Mr. Wilmot

IMA N.

•

Hcrton thought 6. justice would be more fairly adminis.
tered by the Governor's performance of that duty." We
dare say Mr. W. Horton is in the wrong, and Mr. Den.
man in the right; but Mr. W. Horton is in office, and
Mr. Denman is not.
The Milihank Penitentiary Bill was also passed, with
the declaration on the part of Mr. Hobhouse, that the
system it established was too severe; and, the expressed
conviction of Mr. Gordon, that the Penitentiary was
builtin an " irremediable unhealthy situation." Mr,
Wilberforce proposed a resolution on the treatment of
the slaves and free Indians, at Honduras. Wherever
personal slavery exists, there will always be abundance
of instances of unwarrantable cruelty. When the lash
is in bad bands, it will often fall upon helpless shoal.
tiers; and we are not at all surprised at the cruelties
detailed by Mr. Wilberforce and Mr. Buxton. They
can never be prevented, until the parties subjected td
them become too wise to endure them any longer.
But the progresi of events will soon spare us the
trouble of any trans-atlantic legislation : and when
Providence has kindly taken the Negroes and Indians
into its own keeping, perhaps, Mr. Wilberforce, and
his peculiar party will turn their attention to the
White Slavery of Ireland and the British islands.
We would give something to convince these gentlemen
that there may be a degree of mental torture inflicted
by the insults to which helpless poverty is exposed in
this country, which is as galling to the soul, as the
lash can be to the body ; and, which festers more deep-
ly -and is more difficult of cure than the consequence of
stripes. During the vacation, if they have a leisure
hour, and would think of this, humanity might here-
after thank them for it.