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    May 13, 1849. THE NORTHERN STAR. 7

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    {nuptial JJarttanumt

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    MONDAY, May 7. - , HOUSE OF LORDS.—This ...

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    9,006 17 6 " In reference to the amount ...

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    State Of The South And West. (Prom Thc T...

    f . _•»•»*» ' - _? 27 . 'M 6 s We been evicted from taeir holdings ; and , allowing five to each ( a rather moderate cemputation ) _, H would make atotal of 035 individuals . A subscription is being made forthe distressed Protest-mt clergy . Amongst tbe cases brought into public notice is that ofa clergyman whose income was £ 367 yearly . Of that sum £ 94 was assigned to pay a charge for £ 1 , 000 on thc glebe house . His poor rates for tbe last year were £ 160 . He bad a rent of £ 47 to pay forthe glebe , and after paying an insurance be had a balance of £ 41 per annum to support bis wife , himself , and seven children . _Our-nooR Relief . —State of the Poor . —Ser-• jcant _Howley , in his address to the Thurles Quarter

    Sessions , after commenting on the state of the calendar , emphatically asked , "Xow _, gentlemen , what Is out-door relief ? It bas come to my ears , and I believe your own experience will bear me ont , that those who are recipients of that relief are in many cases persons who have no home of their own , and who are obliged to depend upon the lodgings which they get from others , and for which they must pay by giving the better half of what tbey receive in outdoor relief ; and thus it is they are tempted by their poverty and _sufferin- *; to attempt and perpetuate those offences with which they stand charged—for , look at their wan cheeks—the mournful expression of their countenances—their wasted forms—their eves st _* u _* iins * from their sockets—and their limbs

    tottering by the slow process of want—look at their ragged garments—their wretched clothing melting off their backs . Alas , gentlemen , this is a picture which . I regret to say , we shall behold in the progress of this session . But , gentlemen , that is no - justification , in point of law , as I have said before , " for those persons receiving out-door relief to attack the property of others . But , in that spirit of justice , mercy , and consideration , in which our laws are administered , I cannot avoid thinking that though I cannot admit the justification , I cannot but allow the explanation ofthe cause of those crimes . Those poor people , although they are outside the walls of the workhouse in recei pt of their rations , yet they are obliged to part with a good proportion of them

    for the purpose of giving them shelter at night , and of guarding them from the inclemency of the weather . But what shelter does it afford them ? Generally a wad . of straw , without covering , the warmth of a mud wall , and thc shelter of an almost roofless cabin . Ay , and to pay for that shelter they take from their hunger , and they are satisfied with it . But look at them—they are positively naked . They are almost a shame to humanity , and the gaze ofa _' modest person could not be able to withstand ihe spectacle , unless it was so prevalent , so common , and such an everyday occurrence , as not to cause any astonishment , or excite wonder . I fear the approaching four or five months will bo worse than any that have passed . You may now , gentlemen , retire toyour room , and first consider and dispose of the bills in simple larceny cases , because we shall try them first , and the most of them will plead guilty , bv which means we shall the more quickly get them

    out ofthe crowded bridewell , particularly when there is pestilence floating In the very motion of the air , and God only knows what thc result might be if they had to remain there for any length of time . " Prospects of the Couktrv . —There are nearly fourth months of further severe trial and suffering before anything like effectual relief can be expected from the harvest ; and , during that long interval , the resources oftbis unhappy country must be still further exhausted , whilst the ravages of famine will be continued amongst the broken-down peasantry of thc south and west . Emigration and evictions are still continued ; and thus , by voluntary surrender _oftbehrgercL _**^ ofiann 9 , flndthe forcible expulsion of the cottiers , the clearance system is in full operation . The poor law guardians of the union of Atliy _, county of Kildare , have allocated £ 1 , 000 for the purpose of sending out emigrant paupers from the workhouse—a most useful and salutary species of emigration . —Morning Chronicle .

    _Eshgratiox . —The Tippcrary Vindicator contains ihe following : — " In this year " of ' 49 the drain is enormous . Every week since Lady-day two or three ships have cleared out of Waterford Harbour , each with its human freight of men , women , and children flying the country . Not less than 2 , 000 have left Ireland from that port alone . From the upper parts of Tipperary , from the lung ' s and Queen ' s Counties , from Carlow and Kilkenny , immense crowds have collected at the stations ofthe Great Southern and "Western Railway , taking seats in railway carriages for thc metropolis , from which , or from Liverpool , to take _shipping for America . Six and seven ship loads of peopleleave Limerick in a week on the same westward track . Equally large are the departures from Cork , from Londonderry , from Shgo , Galway . and _CamcMergus . 20 , 000 souls , at the

    lowest calculation , have emigrated since thc opening ofthe season . " The same journal , referring to the mortality amongst the destitute poor , says : — " An estimate of the havoc from this cause may be formed from the fact that from Christmas-day , ' 48 , to Mayday , ' 49—a period of four months—tho deaths in one workhouse ( that of Xcnagh union ) amounted to 950 . There are 130 union workhouses in Ireland , and ' auxiliaries' innumerable . Who can say what amount of deaths have occurred in the whole ? Who can sum up the number ofthe victims done to death outside their walls , unrecorded even in tbe gloomy pages ofthe relieving officers' coffin order books ?—The tot is ghastly—the picture is terrific ; we cannot trace it farther . " The Cork Examiner states , that " from ninety to ono hundred ejectments have been served on the Midleton estate , since it came into the possession of the present owner . "

    Barbarous and _Revolting Murders . —The Monaphan Standard contains the following : — " We have to record the particulars of a double murder , perpetrated in the county of Monaghan . The particulars are as follow : —An old man , named Peter M'C-ourt , lived in a wretched hovel , built in a gully ofa mountain water-course , in the townland ol _Ilrmnferneskin , in thc barony of Trough and parish of Errigle Trough , in the county of Monaghan . In ihe course of a long life of extreme penury he contrived to amass a sum of about £ 30 , which , at his death , he left by will in trust for his niece , Catherine M'Gourt , who had always lived with him , save a few minor legacies to a number of other nephews and nieces , which reduced the portion of Catherine

    io a little over £ 20 . Since tbe death of her uncle , Catherine continued to reside in the same hovel , experiencing the ill-will and jealousy of the other relations of her deceased uncle , insomuch that she took , to share her loneliness , a poor old woman , named Kitty Trainor , who was aged about sixty five years . The thirst for money tempted the murderer , and Catherine M'Gourt and her aged companion , Kitty Trainor , were brutally murdered , and burnt in their cabin , on Tuesday night . It appeared that the murderer , on entering , first seized Catherine M'Court , and endeavoured to strangle her with his hands , for black , indented marks , as of a finger and thumb , appear on both sides ofthe neck , so stronrfv marked that even an abrasion' of

    ihe skin was the consequence—the right eye protruded from the head , and the face was suffused with blood—but it would appear that failing in this mode of murder , too slow for his purpose , hc used some weapon like a hatchet , with the back of which he smashed the skull ofhis victim , about an _meh above the centre ofthe forehead , and inflicted another wound as if with thc cutting side of a hatchet behind the left ear , crashing through the skull into the brain . Thc other woman , Trainor , was similarly treated , and bad three distinct fractures in the skull , through one of which the brain protruded , and all the wounds bore the characteristics of having been inflicted by a similar _weapon . Intelligence of the catastrophe reached Monadian late on Wednesdav evenins * .

    Sub-Inspector _M'Eelvie set out for the locality , and after a minute investigation , and examination of persons , he felt himself justified in arresting five individuals , all of -whom were relatives of the deceased . Mr . _M'Kelvie kept all those in custody until the arrival ofthe coroner on Thursday , when an inquest was held , and the following verdict returned : —We find that Catherine M'Court came by her death , on the lit of May , 3549 , in consequence of strangulation and fractures on tbe skull , pei'petratod by Peter _M'Kcnna and Ellen M'Kenna ; and we find that Catherine Trainor came by ber death in consequence of fractures of the skull , and being subsequent ! v consumed bv' burning , perpetrated by the aforesaid Peter M'Kenna and Ellen M'Kenna . Both prisoners were then committed to take their trial for murder . "

    Siraxge Proceedisgs is Cavax . —At Killeshandra pettv session on Thursday , the magistrates were occupied with charges and counter-charges made by the Rev . William Sweeny , Presbyterian minister , aud the Rev . Walter Irvine , a clergyman of the _Established Church , respecting tbe interment of a deceased member ofthe Presbyterian congregation , _Ui the burial ground of the parish church at Kildalb'n . Although due notice was served by the Presbyterian minister of his intention to read the burial service according to the form of his church , the hcv . Mr . Irvine attended at the grave , and amidst a scene of great confusion and unseemly recrimination , both clergymen persisted in going through the burial services ofibeir-respective churches . The magistrates dismissed both complaints on account

    of iiiformality in the _Bumm _' onses . Even before the magistrates both clergymen exhibited much excitement , and contradicted each other . fhe Anglo Celt , in a second edition , elates that another member of the Presbyterian congregation was interred in the same churchyard on Friday when the rival parties again met in great numbers , and came to blows , out happily no lives _* erelost- That journalsays : — "Mr . M _' _Collagb , resident magistrate , had a large police force present , who prevented a serious conflict which otherwise would have taken place . The police took _^ _veraTpr iSonersr - ~ _" '"" _- * ** " : - ¦ -- -. :-. Extraordixaby Case of Fobokkt . —Considerable Sensation was created yesterday in legal circles in consequence of a discovery which took place in the early part of the day : From what has transpired it _appears that a- native of England , who has been a

    State Of The South And West. (Prom Thc T...

    resident of this city for years , and who . belonged to a branch of " the legal profession , in which he enjoyed both reputadon and business , got married some time since to a lady of great respectability , who had a-fortnne of about £ 1 , 200 . This sum , " it appears , was vested in trustees for the benefit of the lady , and lodged in government security , so as not to be drawn save by trustees . Some days since the gentleman alluded to presented himself at the bank , produced two separate powers of attorney for £ 600 each , both purporting to be witnessed by clergymen , and on these documents hc received the money , with which lie disappeared . Several of the detective corps , and some of the - metropolitan police stationed at" the Rock , near which his country residence was situated , are said to be on his track . —Freeman ' s Journal .

    The Papal Tusi _* . — -The sum subscribed in the diocese of Waterford , and already received by the Roman Catholic Bishop , Dr . Foran , towards the fund for the Pope , is £ 764 . Monday . —Coxditiox of Landed Proprietors . — The CaAow Sentinel contains a statement illustr . v five of the actual condition of two embarrassed proprietors in a neighbouring county , who , having expeLdcd their last shilling to save the peasantry in the years 1816—7 , are now themselves irretrievably rained , owing to circumstances over -which they have no control . Their case , according to the Sentinel , is simply tbia : —" The mortgagees during the last two years enforced the payment to the last farthing of the interest due to them , " with the arrears of 1846 . In the interim all the ready money available went to pay the poor rate , while not a shilling

    of rent was paid to them durmg a year and a half . Thus , with an unpaid rental—the payment of interest to the mortgagees , and the payment of the poor rate , superadded to the necessary expenditure forthe support of their families—they are reduced to all but destitution . _Notwithstanding this state of things the government are laying on more rates on the land , while the overgorged capitalist or mortgagee is exempt from any portion ot the burden . In other cases the owners of property are obliged to purchase the interest of the tenant who emigrates , rather than allow the land to lie waste in tbe hands of paupers to whom it may be assigned ; and it follows that the owner is compelled to pay a second time ibr the fee simple of his estate . - This is a picture entirely overlooked in the sad condition to which landed property is reduced in Ireland . "

    State of Kerry . —The' Cork Reporter contains a report ofa meetiug of the Tralee board of guardians , at which a resolution waB adopted which presents a very striking picture of Kerry in the year 1849 , the substance of which will be found embodiedln the subjoined comments of the journal above mentioned : " A resolution was passed in repl y to a letter from the Poor Law Commissioners , stating that the board had no funds ; that the weekly collection was barely sufficient to meet each week ' s expenses ; that the board owed £ 8 , 000 to contractors ; that the farmers were daily leaving the country , at least such as had the means to do so ; that numbers of acres were lying waste ; that the greater portion of the cattle in the union Were in the pound for poor rate ; that purchasers could not be found for them , even although cows and horses were sold frequently at froin 2 s . 6 d . to 5 s . each . This is certainly a very deplorable picture , yet it is" a true one , and the

    worst of it is that the state of the Tralee Union is by no means a singular one . Wc find by our report from the Killarney Union that at the meeting of the guardians on Monday between 800 and 900 persons were refused relief in consequence of want of accommodation ! Other unions in the same county are in a similar condition—every day those who have tbe means to do so are leaving the country , and nought remains behind but uncultivated acres and vast hordes of paupers . And yet , amidst all this spreading desolation , some landlords are evicting and driving wretched creatures , that mi g ht till the soil , to the poorhouse , where they " are either refused admission , or , being admitted , assist in increasing the burden of an intolerable poor rate . Tbe early summer months are approaching—the period during which in Ireland destitution has ever been most prevalent . With the position of Kerry as it is now , who shall say what it will be in the autumn ?"

    . Emigration * . —Tlie Cork Reporter gives a statement ofthe number of emigrants that have left that port direct from the 1 st of January to the 30 th ult ,, premising that thc account docs not include those who proceeded thence to Liverpool and other emi _* _trrating ports : —For the quarter euding the 31 st of March " fifteen emigrant vessels sailed , carrying 840 men 572 women , and 357 children—total , 1 , 775 . From that day to the 13 th of April , eight vessels , containing 135 persons ; from the 13 th of April to the 30 th , eleven vessels , containing 1 , 703 personsmaking a total * since the 1 st of January of 3 , 613 men . women , and children .

    The Convict Mitchel . —By the last West India mail a letter was received by Mitchel's family , written just as he was about to take his departure from Bermuda for the Cape . His health continued extremely precarious , he having been then suffering from spasmodic attack , which lasted , with scarcely any intermission , for a period of eleven days . His spirits , however , remained unbroken , and , although barely able to write , he looked confidently to the change of clim ate as the means of restoring him to comparative health and strength .

    Tuesday / . —The State Prisoners . — Mr . John Martin of Loughdrne , for several months a prisoner in Richmond Bridewell , under sentence of transportation for treason felony , is , it appears , at the point of death , and yesterday his medical attendants gave it as their opinion that any further confinement must tend to hasten the crisis . " Under the peculiar circumstances it is _noUmprobable that government will oppose an application to admit bim to bail , — Times .

    Wednesday . —The Bankrupt Poob-Law Unions . The board-rooms of distressed unions , on the occasion ofthe weekly assemblage of the guardians , resemble the meeting of creditors to prove debts and seek for dividends out of bankrupt estates . Such is the miserable condition of the pauperised and bankrupt unions in the west and south . A vast accumulation of debt—importunate creditors demanding payment of their contracts for food supplied for the thousands of paupers , and exhausted treasuries _, which thc rate collectors find it impossible

    to replenish . State op _xmz West . —At a meeting yesterday of the General Relief Committee , a letter was read from the Rev . John Cather , Protestant rector of Crossboyne , in the county of Mayo , in thc course of which the writer thus describes the condition of the Ballinrobe Union : — " About one-third of our population arc on the Poor Law lists , but from the insufficiency of the staff nndcr the vice-guardians , and the irregular supply of meal by the contractors , hundreds of them are often left famishing , andmany deaths , even amongst those whose claims to relief are recognised , occur from this cause . There is , however , another class whose nresent sufferings excite the greatest pity in

    us _wholire amongst them without tbe power to aid them—I mean the holders of small portions of land , who , as landholders , are disqualified from receiving poor law relief , but whose destitution is now , in many cases , as great as that of those who have long been paupers . A large number of them have lately given up their lands , but we have even there a difficulty in obtaining forth m relief , as thc landlord opposes unless he also gets possession of the house , that it may be thrown down . Those who still retain their lands have , this spring , usually sold their crop to some better off neighbour , and

    bought oats or barley for seed . Of this class very few have any potatoes planted - there is not onefifth the quantity there was here last year ; but , through the kindness of the Society of Friends , 1 have been enabled to supply many of them with turnip and carrot seeds . Their state now , however , is one of extreme destitution . Since the cholera has broken out in Ballinrobe workhouse , many hundreds of the inmates have died from it ; they have forfeited relief forthe present , and then- cases are to be added to those which I have alluded to , as having no refuge from famine but in the bounty of some such committee as yours . " _

    The subscrip tions now received amount to £ 354 , and the balance in hand is £ 234 . Letters were read from Lord Cloncnrry , tbe Dean of St . Patrick's , Alderman Kinahan , and other gentlemen . Two sums of £ 10 each were _'jvoted for the relief of the destitute in two western parishes . ¦ Archbishop _M'Hale has addressed a letter to the Freeman ' s Journal , acknowledging the receipt of a number of private subscriptions transmitted to hun from various parts of the country , including £ 100 each from Mr . James Fagan , M . P _., and Mr . R . Devereux , of Wexford . ¦ •'¦ ¦ _' . Murder . —On Monday evening the widow of Daniel Murphy , of Teerealten , nearMacroom , about eiffhtv years of age , was brutally murdered -in her own house , and several articles belonging to her taken therefrom , including a gold . ring with her initials . The supposed perpetrator is a man of ihe T _,, mo / if . William-Mnrnhv . _livinc on the lands , whose

    brother works with a son of the deceased . After having been murdered the " woman was put into her bed , the room door closed , the kitchen door locked , and the key taken away . As nobody lived with her , it was not until the evening ofthe next day that she was discovered . On some very slight suspicion Murphy was arreBted , when the ring and several Other articles belonging to the deceased were found onhiB person . A few minutes before being arrested , when the corpse was discovered , he went to the house and fei gned to cry over the mangled , body of the deceased ; Informations were also lodged against him and a relative of his named Duggan , for sheep-Stealing , on the clearest evidence . -Duggan is m custody , and the sheep restored to the owner . _Xeitherperson nor property can be considered safe in the parish of Kilmichael , which is bo often the _scene o ? theftaridmurder . . I-. "'" : . - ' :, ** . ; -., Waste Lands is UMTEB . —The Armagh Guardian states that seven _townlands , extending nearly three miles , near Benbiirbi ' aire now totally unoccupied , having beeii _abandoned by the population .

    May 13, 1849. The Northern Star. 7

    May 13 , 1849 . THE NORTHERN STAR . 7

    {Nuptial Jjarttanumt

    { nuptial _JJarttanumt

    Monday, May 7. - , House Of Lords.—This ...

    MONDAY , May 7 . - , HOUSE OF LORDS . —This being the night appointed for the introduction of tlie _Xavioatiox Laws Bill , an exciting debate , the result of which to the last hour was matter of some doubt , drew a great number of strangers to the House of Lords . Though excluded from the Commons , ladies are admitted to the Upper House , and a large attendance at the bar and at the gallery proved that the privilege was at least appreciated . The members of the House of Commons , though there was an important debate in their own house , thronged the lobby , and at the foot ofthe throne a crowd , of sons of peers enjoyed the privilege accorded to their Order . Iu the body of the House there was a -large '

    muster of peers on the opposition side , and sixteen or seventeen bishops oa the spiritual bench . ' The appearance of several very unaccustomed faces--oh tlie ministerial side proved that the governmehthad made what is technically called " a strong whip , " and the woolsack and cross benches Were thronged with peers of that section , now tolerably strongin the Upper House , which holds the balance between the government and the opposition . •' ¦ ' - ' . '' . " " -Tno business commenced with , tho presentation of petitions , of which there we ' re a great number , against an alteration of the _^ Navigation Law . . Lord Stanley , presented his petitions with unusual emphasis , and laid great stress on the number of signatures to each , —a point very little regarded by

    the Tories in debates on the Reform Act , tbe Corn Law Repeal , and other subjects of popular interest . About half-past five the clerk at the table having read the order of the day , : The Marquis of Lansdowne rose to move the second reading of the bill for amending the navigation laws .. He commenced with an historical review of the question , showing that at no period of our history had a navigation act answered the object for which it was intended . The amount and value of English shipping had not increased under a navigation law . But it had increased whenever there was a systcm of free trade , as was proved by tho present state of our commerce with tho - United States , with Hamburg , and with Russia . But the circumstances which gave us our present maritime advantages at present were by no means certain to continue . At this moment we were carrying on a

    most successful trade under our trading treaties with other nations . But those treaties might be put an end to . It was necessary to guard against such a change . He came down prepared to propose a bold mode of anticipating it . It was a mode which was advocated in our colonies as an act of justice and ofthe first necessity . In his conscience he believed that a chango could be made with perfect safety to our own shipowners . The greatest trading monopolist of the world , Napoleon Bonaparte , had failed before the energies of British commerce . He urged them to rely for the future on the energy which had secured them such Buccess in times past , and he \ concluded by saying that as the noble lord opposite had stated that he was prepared for the consequences of victory , so he ( Lord Lansdowne ) would say that on that side of the Houso they wero perfectly prepared for the consequences of defeat .

    When Lord Lansdowne sat down , Lord Stanley or Lord Colchester was expected to rise to propose the amendment , but Lord Brougham , who had been previously flitting about the House in an evident state of anxiety " , rose very quickly , and commenced speaking ... ' He had been taunted ( he said ) in a quarter from which , accustomed as he was to unexpected parliamentary evolutions , he owned he was astonished at hearing sarcasm ; he was taunted that he was backward in putting the capital upon the column of free trade , and the taunt had come from a quarter from which of all others he should least of all havo expected an attack , on the ground of inconsistency . He gloried in having been foremost in the cause of free trade

    but he denied that this navigation question was a question of free trade at all . The noble lord elaborated this point , and made a laboured attempt to prove his own consistency . He then went into a series of amusing but rambling remarks on statistical returns , which could be made , he said , to show anything by a little process called " cooking the accounts . " ( Laughter . ) Parliamentary blue books and Board of Trade returns he called " cookery books . " He gave great credit , hc said , to men who " drew on their fancy for their facts , and on their recollections for their jokes ; " but he could find no excuse for . Mr . Porter , who had made these statistical returus about trade , nor for Mr . Milner Gibson who had set him on . No , he repudiated

    Board of Trade returns . ho could not swallow them ; he had done with them . ( Cheers and laughter . ) Hc then proceeded to consider the question , dwelling on its importance to the commerce of England . The policy of the navigation act was to enable a nation in an insular position to foster a mercantile navy , without which she could never have a maritime navy . Without both navies we could not preserve our colonies ; and he owned he was not one of those free trade zealots who wished to see England separated from her colonies . It was not as a matter or glory , but as a matter also of pounds , shillings , and pence , that we should preserve our colonies . They were extensions of our native land . England was limited in extent : limited in respect of variety of production , and

    therefore it was _ that _ our __ ancestors , bad- planted the British flag under other sums and in other climates . Should they abandon that empire ? Did the nation desire it ? Let theni look at the petitions from Liverpool against this bill . Liverpool was unanimous on the subject : nearly every man of age ' in Liverpool had signed . These petitioners knew what the consequences of the bill must be . T _' . icy knew that ship building and shipping must suffer in all their branches . It was a great and magnificent branch of business with which they thus ( were making free , and on which he warned them not to lay a rude hand . The petitioners knew , too , that it would seriously affect seamen's wages , and that

    under a system of free trade they would never be able to preserve that invaluable body of men , the British seamen . Pour millions of tons of shipping , navigated by 230 , 000 men , was then the stake with which they were playing . Touching everything and grasping nothing , if they went on m this way , he warned them that ruin would result . Heaven forbid that his worst fears should be realised , but , looking at the state of Europe , ( of which he took a review , ) there seemed to be a general feeling likely to shako existing institutions and hurl down the thrones which remained . Was this the time , then , he asked , to make a sweeping and portentous alteration in tho system by which our navy was augmented and maintained ? Was this the time to

    break up an eternal and inexhaustible nursery for our navy ? Was there any occasion fer it ? Hone , but the pressure from without on a ministry whieh was called "do-nothing" by its supporters . But he had no admiration for the boldnoss ofa minister who placed not himself , but his country , in jeopardy . He had discharged his duty in offering these opinions . It had been said , if this It'll was rejected , certain consequences would result . No appeal that could possibly be made to him could have so much wei g ht as the possibility shadowed out in that suggestion . Had anything less than the fate of our merchant service or our navy been involved , to that suggestion he would have bowed subserviently . But when those interests . were in

    the balance , and with them the question of the slave trade , whatever arrangements might be interfered with , as an honest man , ns an Englishman , and as a peer of parliament , he felt bound to oppose the bill . [ The speech was a very animated one , and lasted nearly three hours , in the course of which he travelled over almost every possible subject , of public interest , many of which had not the slightest connexion with the question immediately under consideration , and could only have been dragged iri " neck and heels " by tho eccentric ex-Chancellor , because such an opportunity of delivering himself of his pent-up eloquence might not soon be afforded him again . Ho was loudly cheered by the Protectionists as he resumed his seat next to Lord Stanley on the Tory benches . ]

    Earl Granville next addressed the House . He ridiculed the fears of farmers and shipowners who had got up a cry against this bill . He doubted whether farmers knew much upon this subject , and as to other' ¦ apprehehsionists , ' he remarked that the merchants of Liverpool had been the very parties who most vehemently opposed this bill when Sir Robert Walpole first proposed it . He then gave several illustrations of the ill-working of the _navigation laws , extracted from the evidence in the reports ofthe committee . He asked whether the House thought it becoming to begin a hostile- war of tariffs with ' other countries ; yet that' was bur only alternative if theso navigation laws were not reuealcd . He defended the Board of Trade on the

    subject of its returns , and warmly eulogised the abilities of Mr . : Porter . He then quoted at much _length from those statistical documents , m order to provo that England did compete at the presenttime with every _nation-under the sun , - and that wo . bad nothing to fear fron * the repeal of the navigation laws . If he could stretch his imagination to suppose that tho effect of this measure would be to put out the firo in British steam-boats , to shut up our buildinir yards , arid to starve the British seamen , ho should certainly oppose the bill like the noble lord - but that it would have a very contrary effect he did not entertain the slightest doubt _,. Lord Bbouoham , hi explanation ' Of , hisattackon _MrTorter _, remarked thdt he was . a public man , and had iven evidencebefore the _oommittee .

    g Lord Colchester spoke next _,. but : the Houso had become inattentive , and he was nearly inaudible . K regard to Mr . Porter ' s returns , he said they lire noXibt fairly enough drawn out for the _purwSnnsnT g them for purposes for . which they were r _^ , w _^ fn « f The noble lord concluded , by moving _\ _T _** m-hJ _% ad a . second time that day six months _.

    Monday, May 7. - , House Of Lords.—This ...

    ' TliC question having been put from the Woolsack , Tlie Duke of Argyll' rose from the ministerial side of the front cross bench , and said this question might be considered from three points of view . First , as it . was affected by the' abstract principles of free trade ; second , on its . own merits ; and , _chii-dl } ' _, as it affected the general position ofthe country . He felt convinced that there was a good _^ _W-ntt / _uciccase that we should be able to compete successfully with the forei gner . He arrived at this conclusion from his knowled ge of the energy of the _liritishseaman ' s character , and from a consideration of what had been done under a system of reciprocity treaties _^ Thoy must recollect . they must inevitably have reciprocity in one way or another—reciprocity bf restriction or reciprocity Of free trade . He

    believed the-British seaman would . flourish under either . . ¦¦ _, _= ' . ¦'• . ' _. < ' The Earl of _Ellenborough agreed with Lord Broug ham that this question had no connexion _ffith free trade . He had supported free trade , but he should oppose the repeal of the navigation laws . He argued that the existing system had answered , and that the present was not the time to diminish in any way . the marine of England . We required 100 , 800 men and 1 , 000 ships to protect us during the last war . . : Since then we had added greatly to our colonial establishments . We had extonded our dominions in the East and in Australia ; and we had , in a spirit of romance rather than policy ,-formed , at great expense , such worthless colonics as _L-ibuan Whilst we required ; greatly increased nowers .

    France , the United States , and Russia , had been greatly augmenting their respective navies : . Even Naples had formed a steam fleet . We had no means of defence but in our own navy , and this measure went to the extirpation of that service . ( Cheers . ) The noble marquis ( Lansdowne ) appeared tothink the question one of no importance . 'He could always , he said , get Lascars . "Lascars ' . " The . idea ' of manning a British navy with Lascars ! On what ground were they called onto alter this law ? Thoy were told that tliey must do so on account of the distresses ofthe West Indies . But what did the people of Antigua say ? " Their novertv . but . not

    their will , consented ; " " Struggling for existence against beggary , they were obliged , however reluctantly , to enter their protest against a law opposed to the all-powerful principles of free trade . ' . ' For his own part , - however , ; he neither recognisod West Indians nor Canadians . He regarded them all as members ofthe great British family , andhe thought it right that they should boar their share of any indirect burden imposed , as this was , for the general good . He concluded with an attack upon the - government for their policy in this and other measures , and a warning against trusting over much to wealth . ; -. ¦'•' .. _" . > ¦

    ThcEarlof Carlisle moved the adjournment of the debate which was agreed to , and the House adjourned at a quarter past twelve o ' clock . HOUSE '; OF COMMONS . — _Parliamentart Bribes . —Mr . Charteris said he rose to put to the noble lord at the head of the govornment the question of which ho-had given notice ; but , as considerable misunderstanding existed as to the object he had in-view , it being supposed by many persons that it was directed against some individual member , of that House , he begged to say that nothing was further than that from his intention . ( Hear ,

    hear . ) As many persons now present had nothad , perhaps , an opportunity of directing their attention to the report of the Eastern Counties Railway Committee of Investigation to which his questions referred _^ he would take the -liberty of reading a short extract from it to the House . . The extract , taken from the reporfcwhich appeared hi the Tims newspaper ; was asfollows : — , _..,-.. " In the investigation of the disbursements under the head of 'Parliamentary Expenses' there- are several items the precise character of which your committee could not arrive at ; The items referred

    to are the following : — . 1840 .- ¦¦ l £ \ s . d . April 17 , by Parliamentary expenses ( a ) 500 0 0 April _24 , . '' - •¦ „ ... ( a ) 3 , 000 0 0 April 28 , „ ¦ ' _- , ... ( a ) 2 , 406-17 6 April 28 , - ' „ . _i ... ( a ) 1 , 700 0 0 _1847-v . June 25 , by ¦ Extensions' ... ... ( b ) 2 , 000 0 0

    9,006 17 6 " In Reference To The Amount ...

    9 , 006 17 6 " In reference to the amount of the items marked ( a ) , namely , £ 7 , 606 17 s . Cd ., the explanation given to your committee by Mr . Waddington and ? Mr . Duncan was , that the sums , as stated , were disbursed by the company through them , for services rendered , and in a manner ' whioh did not -leave them at liberty to givo particulars , as thoso could not be given without implicating other parties , ' " He regretted to say that it was commonly reported that those parties were members of the Legislature ; and rumours were very prevalent that tho sums to which he had drawn the attention ofthe House had been expended in what was called facilitating the passage of bills through Parliament , or , in other

    words , and . in plain English , in bribing members of that . House . ( Hear , hear . ) He could not belie ve that any member of that House had been guilty of conduct so disgraceful and dishonourable , but , as these rumours were prevalent , they must not be passed over : without some motice on their : part . ( Hear , hear . ) The members of that House could not allow those rumours to . go on circulating and poisoning the public ear , and they were bound to institute an inquiry respecting reports which injuriously affected not only tho character ofthat House , which ought to be above all suspicion —( hear , hear , ) —but the . private honour and character of every member belonging to it . ( Hear , hoar . ) Therefore

    he thought they ought to institute a rigid inquiry into the circumstances connected with this expenditure . ( Hear , hear . ) He felt confident that on inquiry they would find little or . no foundation for these rumours ; but if , unfortunately , the case should turn out differently ; they would at least have the satisfaction of detecting tho guilty parties , and of holding them up to the opprobrium of all honest men . ( Hear , hear . ) He now asked the First Lord of tho Treasury whether his attention had been drawn to the report which had-been recently . published by a committee appointed to inquir e into the management of the affairs of the Eastern Counties Railway Company , in so far as it affected the general character of that House ? ;

    Lord J . Russell agreed with the hon . member that tho words from the report of the Eastern Counties Railway Committee of Investigation did tend to excito a suspicion affecting , the . character and credit ofthe House . For his part he did not himself o , ive the slightest belief to the rumours to which the Hon . membor had alluded as still more deeply affecting that character ; . but he agreed with the hon . member that it would not bo right to allow those words put forth in the report of a committee of men of known name and character to pass by without inquiry . ( Hear , hear , ) He did not himself think that there would bo any advantage in that inquiry being instituted by a . membcr ef the Government ;

    but , if such should be the wish of the House , he should not refuse to . ask some . memher of thego vernment to undertake it . His opinion , however , was , that rather than tho government , the hon . member ,, having turned his attention to tho subject , and the question being one respecting the individual characters of themembersof that House , should conduct the inquiry , assisted as he would be by all the leading persons on both sides of the Houso . ( Hoar , hoar . ) Therefore , agreeing with the hon . gentleman as to thc propriety of an inquiry , he trusted that the hon . gentleman , having considered the subject , would take the conduct of the inquiry , and not let it rest till the whole truth was discovered . ( Cheers ' . )

    Mr . Waddinoton did not wish to offer a single remark with , a view of preventing any inquiry / which might be thought proper ; but , m _reference-to'thc paragraph which had been road , it was right ho should inform the House that in what he stated before the committee he had 'not alluded to any member ofthat House —( hear , hear)—and that there was one member of that committee who was also a member of a committee for . the purpose of bringing about the objects for which the sum in question was expended . Since this report appeared the directors had issued some . observations upon it , in which they _aaid , " In reference to an expenditure of £ 7 , 606 , it was made to bring about important benefits for the company , by assisting , in April , 1846 , the Size-lane

    Committee , formed for the purpose of carrying out tho scheme of amalgamation with the Eastern Counties and London and York interests , which had been proposed b y Mr ; Hudson and received with Unbounded satisfaction by the shareholders , and of that committee Mr . W . Cash was a member . Had the objects of the _, committee succeeded ? Can enormous amount , of expenditure would have been saved . " He ( Mr . Waddington ) begged to state , as a gentleman , that no member ofthat Housebenefitted , directly or indhectly , to the extent of one shilling , in reference to that £ 7 , 606 . ( Hear , hear . )

    He was glad of the opportunity of publicly contradicting the statement ; and if while he . was present it hndbeen mentioned in the committee that the inference had been . drawn that- any member ofthe House had . received . a single shilling , ;} he . should have repelled it as a baso calumny upon Parliament . ( Cheers _^) Nix . Chabtbris was - in the hands of the House ; but perhaps it would be more satisfactory if au inquiry were to take place . ( Loud cries of ' Hear , hear . " ) . Gathering that to be the general _Reeling - ( hear)—hebegged to give notice that * on Thursday next he would move for a committee of inquiry . ( Hear , hear . ) - _"•' - -- ¦ ¦¦ ¦¦ _¦' . < - • ' ¦ ¦¦ . ¦ -

    Parliamentary _OAins Bill . — On the order of the day for the second reading of _tMsbul , ; ' ' . ' , . ' Sir R . Isolis opposed the bill , which , professing to alter the Parliamentary oaths , was virtually and practically a Jew bill , which had been rejected last session by the House of Lords ; it moreover altered the general constitutional law of the . land , whilst itdeprived that House of its exclusively . Christian character . , Taking this view , of the measure , his arguments were , as Sir Robert admitted ,- substantially the same as he had urged against the bill of

    9,006 17 6 " In Reference To The Amount ...

    1847 ; and hc moved the postponement of the second ' roading for six months . ' ¦ — _--...-.., ¦ ... This amendment-, was seconded by Major

    _Eeresford . Mr . F . Peel , whose rising excited much interest , said , ho wished to bo allowed to state the reasons why he voted in favour , of a bill whieh , under cover of a general measure , would remove a disqualification from our Jewish fellow-subjects . Sufficient grounds must be laid for withholding from them any privilege ¦•• hich belonged of right to every natural born subject of the realm . Almost every ofnoe of trust and authority was open to Jews , including the right of voting at elections ; but thero remained this disqualification , that although constituents elected a Jew , and the returning officer returned Mm , he could not take , hia seat iu that House . Ho ( Mr . Peel ) was unable on political grounds to

    understand the reasons of his exclusion ; and he traced the history of tho . oaths of supremacy , allegiance , and abjuration , tho latter alone containing an obstacle to a conscientious Jew . The words , however , were never designed to exclude Jews ; their ehief object was to oxcludo ono groat division of professing Christians ; it was , therefore , by a fortuitous consequence that this oath operated as a bar to Je \ ra , who were prepared to take the oath of abjuration if it bound them under a _different sanction . ' . In no case was Christianity essential to the stringency of , an oath ; tlie words , " on the true faith ofa Christian , " , were purely ceremonial , introduced in order to give groator solemnity to the pledge , without entering into the nature of the oath .

    He did not see how the exclusion of a Jew could be . justified who was willing to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy , and evon that of abjuration , if he was allowed to take it according to . tho form mostbinding upon his own conscience . Religious differences ought not to constituto the ground of civil disqualifications ; that principlo of exclusion had already been surrendered ; aud in giving his support to this measure he was guided by the conciliatory policy of recent times , which was in harmonj _* . with the mild spirit of Christianity , and which recognised tho principlo that the privileges of the constitution wero to bo enjoyed without reference to reli gious opinions . Mr . Peel then examined the objections to tho measure based on the

    grounds of expediency and its . practical results . Being unable to seo any real objection to tho measure , he followed the _coursa which constitutional principles , the . doctrines , of Christianity , and the dictates of public policy invited him to take , and voted for the second reading of this bill . Mr . Peel's maiden speech was listened to , by a very full house , with an attontion to which it was entitled . A lengthened debate then followed , in tho course of which Mr . 11 . Willyams , Mr . Trelawney , Mr . Robartes , the Earl of Arundel and Surrbt , Mi ' . Sergeant Talfourd , Mr . _Faoan , Mr . .. Milkes , and Lord J . Russell _addressod tho House in favour of the second reading , and Major Beresford , Mr . Turner , Mr . Beresford Hope , Mr . Newdeoate ,

    Mr . _Spooner , Lord Mahon , Marquis of Granbt _, Mr . Plumptre , Mr . Bakkes , and Mi-. Goulburx supported thc amendment _. In the course of Mr . Newdkoate ' s speech an attempt was made to count out the Houso , but it was not successful , thore being forty members present . Mr . Roebuck—who had , atthe commencement of the evening , taken the oaths and his scat for _Shaffield- _^ said , the bill , while professing to admit every one was inconsistent with itself , but that was the natural consequenco ofthe violent opposition which awaited every new attempt at legislation . As the case at present stood , thoy attempted to bind tho

    Jew not according to his own conscience , but according to a formula of their own . In tho courts of law thoy bound him ; as his own conscience bound hira , but in parliament , becausothey had an ulterior object , they effected by hypocrisy an object which they had not tho courage to avow . Why should they exclude the Jew from parliament ? Thoy ate with him , drank with him , dealt with him , and to-morrow , when the marriage bill came to bo discussed , they would most probably hear the lion , baronet , the member for Oxford University , quote tho Jew as a lawgiver . ( Cheers . ) Ho appealed to the common sense ofthe House and the country , and asked them what there was iu the man or men who believed in

    the great decalogue whioh should prevent his being a legislator . Tho Jews had been called aliens , but they were , no aliens—they wero . Englishmen professing the Jewish religion . They , wero honourable men ; and being but small flies , they were caught in the meshes from which tho large flies escaped . ( Hear , hear . ) Ho could suppose a man who had no religion at all coming to that tablo , and looking upon their wholo _. paraphernalia as a maWor of indifference , laying big hand upon the hookas if it wero so much waste paper , and curling his lip while he uttered the words proscribed . They could not eatch such a man , although they caught the conscientious Jew . ( Hear . ) He ( Mr . Roebuck ) voted for this bill , not because it contained an oath , but booauso it was a relaxation . He consented to proceed step by step , because he believed that that was the mode most

    acceptable to the people of England . They were willing , as experience taught them , to proceed step by step , while , if any one proposed a comprehensive measure at once , he was looked upon as a schemer or a dreamer . Therefore he accepted tho noblo lord's course , which ho thought ' was a wiso ono ; and in tho namo of common senso he asked the House to consent to tho passing of this bill . After a few words in explanation from Mr . Goulburn , the Houso divided . For the second reading ... 278 Against it 185—03 Thc bul was then read a second time .

    A conversation followed on tho business of the House for Tuesday , after which tho question of the second reading of tho Lunatic Asylum , ( Scotland ) Bill led to a division , Mv . F . Macuehme moving the adjournment of the Houso , which proposition was negatived by a majority of 45 , the numbers 24 to 60 , and the bill was read a second time . . A discussion on the question of the second reading ofthe Public Health ( ScotlandVBill , led to a second division for adjournment , which was negatived by a majority of 44 , the numbers 19 to 63 , when Mr . F . Mackenzie objecting to tho princi p le ofthe bill , on the ground that the area of taxation was not sufficiently defined , tho second reading was postponed till Tuesday , and the House adjourned at one o ' clock . TUESDAY , May 8 .

    HOUSE OF LORDS—The excitement was not so great at the sitting of thc Houso as on the previous day , but soon after the dinner hour , ladies in considerable numbers began to grace the gallery by their appearance , many of whom remained until their lordships' carriages were called . Agricultural Distress . —Earl Grey asked the Duke of Richmond to postpone his motion on agri-Cultural distress , which stood for Friday , ¦ in consequence ofthe second reading of the Rate-in-Aid Bill being fixed for that day .

    The Duke of . Richmond was anxious to bring the subject of agricultural distress forward as early as possible , in order to see if something could not be done to relieve tho great body of tenant farmers . Hundreds of the best agricultural labourers were thrown out of employment , and more would follow unless something was at once done to roliove the distress which prevailed in the agricultural districts . He had no objection to postpone the subject until an early day in thc next wock , but not for a longer period .

    Navigation Laws . —Tho Earl of Carlisle , in resuming the debate expressed his regret at finding himself under the necessity of opposing many longcherished feelings , andrunning counter to many deep and serious prepossessions which had long prevailed in their lordships' House , but ho should find some consolation in the conviction that tho policy , to which he could add but a fooble support , was likely te produce far more general good . and promote a more wide-spread interest than existed in any single class of the community , however united and however - powerful . The noblo earl then proceeded to reply to the observations of the Earl of Ellenborough of tho previous evening , and quoted largely from documentary evidence with the view of showing tho

    countless ways in which the navigation laws obstructed and impeded the operations of British trade in every part of . the globe—in fact , that- they seemed to be an ingenious invention by which every description of goods were made to pay double freight and to engender ill feeling and animosity between nations . After referring to thc ship building question , and the operation of tho bill with respect to the maritime navy , , as a source from whence the efficiency ofthe navy must he derived , concluded by stating that he had nofoars on the latter head , neither had ho as regarded tho nationnl defences . On the contrary , in his opinion the effect of the measure would be to eive increased employment to

    seamen and infuse invigoration into tho trade , manufactures , and commerce of Great Britain , by which results tho best guarantee would be found for the permanence of the national defences—dofences which had hitherto been sufficient to render England the mistress of tho seas , and by the blessing-of God- would long continue to maintain hor in that position ; - _* ¦ „ . ' , ; / ...., ; Earl Nelson referred to tho opinions of his illustrious ancestor , in reference to tho navigation laws , and whose conduct in maintaining them had subiected him te trial by oourt-martial in the West Indies calling upon all those who had the interest of'their country at heart to oppose , the measure ; rather to trust to the experience ofthe past , than to vague anticipations , founded on impracticable and unsound theories , for the prospeots-of the

    . Earl Talbot , the Earl of _HiBROWBy , Earl _Waldeorave , and the Marquis of Londonderrt . opposed the bia .,.. :: > ::. „ ¦ . _x _. . . _: ¦ ¦ -, -.. ¦ ¦ . _;¦; . "¦ : ; _¦ _; . _¦; ; : Lord WnABNCLirFB gave , it a modified support , and it was ' , _als 6 supported by Earl Bruce . The Marquis oi Londonderry , in' the course of his speech , _^ m ado an onslaught on tho foiei gn policy of Lord Palmerstqn , andwas , miderst <) bd to- express the opinion that ilt was the duty of every peer of

    9,006 17 6 " In Reference To The Amount ...

    parliament who valued the preservation ofthe pt ' . ioo of Europe and of the once prosperous institutions of the empire , to press for the removal of the _Foroi-rn Secretary from thc position he occupied iu her Majesty ' s government . Earl Guisy said , that great as his confidence was in the merits of the question before the House , it had been increased by the result of the debate , tho character of which , as conducted by noble lords opposite , he described as irrelevant , vague , and unsatisfactory . If there was ono'interestIn the country more likely to derive advantage from the success of the present measure , it was , in his opinion , the commercial marine . They had , therefore , a right to expect from tbo noble lords opposite that tliey would point out in what respect the fragments of

    the navigation laws which still survived had protected British shipping from that _competition which they so much dreaded . The same arguments which had been relied on in the present debate were relied upon in the time of Mr . nuskisson , and in tho first Year of his entrance into Parliament he had heard them utterly demolished by that distinguished statesman . The British shipping was doeply interested in getting rid of these capricious restrictions with the least possible delay . If the barbarous and disgraceful principles of monopoly on which the navigation laws were founded were adopted by foreign nations to the same extent as by themselves , the warehousing system would be at an end , and the numerous classes dependent thereon would he

    involved in ruin . He pointed out a number of facts to show that the navigation laws were the maindifficulty in the way of their mercantile marine in competing at present with the Americans . The strong part of the case , however , in favour of the present measure was the bearing of the existing restrictions upon the colonial interest . In illustrating this , the noble lord confined himself principally to Canada , but made a passing allusion to Australia and tho West Indies . If the restrictions of thc navigation laws were not preserved for tlie purpose of raising freights , what wore they for ? He contended that reduced freights were a gain to the shipowner , just as reduced cost in the production of the articles sold bv him was a great gain to the

    trader . Ho declared , with reference to Canada , that a . return to protection . ' vras impracticable -, and he was entitled to assume this , as the noble lord opposite and those who acted with him had never lifted a fingor to obtain it , however much it might be desired by them . His lordship concluded his reference to Canada by an expression ofhis strong and decided opinion that the relaxation ofthe _navigation laws on their behalf was a measure _dictatudliy policy and prudence , and that if the House refused to sanction tho bill before them , it weuld give a stab to the relations of this country with its North American colonies which it would not soon recover from . The noble lord then reviewed thc manner in which the navigation laws had been applied in

    America , from the Time of Cromwell downwards . He said that for' more than a century they had remained practically a dead letter , and that in attempting to enforce them tbe separation of America had bcon tho result . These things were written for our instruction , if we only took warning by it . If , unfortunately , the result " of the debate was different from what ho confidently anticipated , that would be a bold man in his opinion who , in the face of such a result , had to encounter the dangers and difficulties by which their colonial government would then be surrounded . Hc asked their lordships whether he was not justified in stating , that tho resistance to this measure on the part ofthe petitioners was not meant as a first step backward in

    the commercial policy which their lordships adopted in 1846 ? ( Hear . ) It was not intended to stand by itself—it was merely tho first preliminary step in the attempt of what was called re-action . Indeed , at least two noble lords opposite did not disguise that such was their view ofthe subject , they did not hesitate to tell tlio House that they believed thero was a great ve-action in the country . ( " Hear , hear , " from a noble lord on the opposition benches . ) Yos _, the noble earl avowed his belief that there was a re-action in public opinion , aud he called upon their lordships to throw out the bill as a first step to thc adoption ofa policy in- accordance with that re-action ... He ( Earl Grey ) asked their lordships to pause before they determined to give their sanction

    to an attempt to establish that policy of re-action . ( Hear , hear . ) Ho advised them to consider well the effects which might result from that attempt . Ha was not afraid they could succeed in reimposing the corn laws . He had not the smallest , the most distant , the faintest , apprehension that tliey could succeed in it . That which somo noble lords mistook for the apathy of public opinion , was not apathy , but a well-founded confidence ia tho minds of the people of this country that a step of that kind once taken could never bo retraced . ( Cheers and counter cheers . ) The tide of human improvement was steadily and surely progressing ; and when an opinion which for centuries had heen _admitted by the soundest

    philosopher in' the closet had at last , after a lengthened struggle , so far succeeded against prejudices , passions and interest ? , as to become embodied practically in the statute book , it was in vain to hope that such a step could be retraced , ( Hear , hear , ) As well might noble lords suppose that because the tide ran back under their walls , the water of that great river would return to the source from which ft had descended , as to suppose that public opinion would roll back upon this question . The corn laws wero settled for over . ( Cheers . ) But , although perfectly confident that this was the case , he did not less apprehend very sorious evils from the reopening of the question . He asked their lordships to consider whether it was not full of danger to the

    best interests of the country again to raise the agitation which thoy had witnessed upon this subject ? Did their lordships remember the machinery of that agitation % Hc begged to point , in the first place , to the effect of this course upon the interests of these whose benefit they professed to have at heart . Look at its effect on tho interest of land . Did their lordships not foresee , that if they began an agitation for the restoration of protection — if they began to inculcate upon the minds of the fanners that protection was necessary for thc successful prosecution of their business , —they were taking a course which must have the effect of depressing the value of landed property both as to selling and letting ? ( Hoar , hear . ) The

    agricultural interest was suffering from that at this moment . ( Hear . ) There was nothing in the present crisis to justify the panic which had arisen . The average price of wheat was 40 s . The average price under a system of protection had been 38 s . So that there was ' nothing in tho fact of there being a low average of price for a time to justify the panic from which the agriculturists were suffering . ( Hear . ) But would their lordships aggravate that panic ? did thoy think there was no danger in the present state of Europe in again setting class against class ? Or again calling into activity all the machinery of the anti-corn law and pro-corn law league ? — and in keeping up an agitation upon the exciting subject ofthe food of the people ? ( Hear . ) Were they so

    blind as not to know that among the ostensible advocates for a repeal of the com laws were too many persons who were exceedingly sorry at the early success of that measure—that there were too many who wished to maintain the machinery of that agitation for ulterior , and , as he ( Lord Grey believed , most dangerous objects ? Were tneir lordships going to-play into the hands of those parties , and enable them to set up again the machinery of that agitation for those most , dangerous purposes to which he had adverted ? Ho trusted tliey were not . Was there not another danger ? Did they not fear thit if thoy got up the cry of " protection ! " the tenantry might turn round upon them and sav that it was not protection

    but something else tliey wanted ; that tliey would no longer trust to the gentry under' whose guidance they had formerly acted , but that they would act for themselves , set up a new flag , and adopt a more dangerous cry ? Wore their lordships prepared to run the risk of inflaming the minds ofthe tenantry with dangerous and exciting topics ? Were they prepared to expose the best and most vital interests of the country at this moment to the incalculable hazard of a new agitation ? He trusted they were not . ( Cheers . ) Itwas true the noble lord opposite-( Lord Stanley ) told them the other nig ht , to look to none of the risks , to look to none of the dangers _,, but to consider only tho measure before thorn , and to throw it out without fear and Avithout scruple . This was most characteristic advice , . ( Hear , hear . ) The _noble'lord was indeed a daring pilot in extremity . When the waves ran high' he sought the

    storm . ' Tho noble lord might seek the storm , but he trusted their lordships were hot prepared to follow his example . ( Cheers . ) He trusted they would exercise their sober judgment , and would consider the bearing of their decision that night not only upon , the immediate laws . under review , but upon tbo general interests ofthe country . He was convinced that public affairs' were not with their lordships merely an exciting intellectual sort of game , carried on in tho spirit of a horse race or prize fight ; but that thoir lordships regarded them rathor as imposing upon them the highest and most solemn responsibility . ( Hear , hear . ) In this spirit ho was confident they would take into consideration all the circumstances to which ho had adverted , and if they did so ,: he felt nodoubt whatever as to what would be their decision _* ( Loudcheers . ) >

    Lord Stanley said , that in rising to , address the House at that late hour ( a quarter past one o ' clockV they ,. mi g ht rely uponjt he would , not go back , as the , noble _marouis ( Lansdowne ) , had .,: 6 fQae ,. to tha days of Richard II ., nor would he go back , as the noble earl ( Grey ) had dohe rto the days of Randolph and . hia large family . ( Laughter . ) . Those were days they were not likely to see again , when , in the language used by tho , noble eari , the . colonies were "damnably rich . "' ( Cheers . )' , He ' i , wduIdTnot be tempted to followthe noble earl into the digressioa with whioh he had . eoncluded'bis speech , and . , on which he was hot surprised to hear him " . enter , heoauso he waa aware it might be advisable for tho

• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), May 12, 1849, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_12051849/page/7/