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    HOUSE OF LORDS . FRIDAY , March 2 . uwBiso ? rMEjrr fob debt . After the presentation of a -variety of petitions Ix > rdBROUGHAM stated tbattheC < mimittee of their Lordships on fhe Imprisonmenr for Debt Bill had thoroughly discussed the most -important branches ofthat important question , and that he now entertained the most sangnine hepes that a satisfactory result would issue from the investigation . LordLYXDHURSTespressedfimself of a similar opinion . XEGBO siAVERY .

    ly ord BROUGHAM , after presenting a number of petitions praying for the immediate and total abolition of slavery , defended himself from an atiaci made on him' by Captain Pechell , in the House of Parliament His Lordship concluded by " moving for papers for the purpose of shewing whether I was not precipitate in precluding all idea of charging the officers of the navy with being influenced by leadmoney— -whether I did pot go out of my way , not in the righ £ direction , but in the ¦ wrong , when 1 spoke only of the tendency , not of the effect of headmoney—when I limited myself to a discussion of the impolicy of the system , and carefully abstained from attributing any selfish motive to those who acted

    under it—whether , in short , the feet may not be < being the very reverse of that which I stated ) . that the effect as well as the tendency of this headmoney has been to induce the officers of crnizers to allow the lading of slave-vessels to be completed before they commenced the -work of capture .- I have been in communication rwith a very experienced naval officer , who understands tTn ' - ; question well and who-tells me that the object I have in view-will be obtained if I can procure from the . Government—1 st . the dates of ail captures of slave-ships for the

    last terfyeaxs ; 2 nd , extracts from the logs of the capturing ships on "the days before and the day after each capture ; 3 rd , a return of all the other ships on the coast of Africa on the same day with the British ships stationed in ennzinsr there ; and . 4 th , the number of ships stationed onthe east coast of Africa during the last ten years , specifying the years and the names of the ships . " " After a few words from the Earl of JUNTO and Lord MELBOURNE , the motion vras agreed to , and the House adjourned .

    HOUSE OF COMMONS . FRIDAY , March 2 . The Committee appointed to try the merits of the City of Durham election reported that the sitting 31 ember had been duly elected . Mr . JOHN PARKER presented a petition from Sheffield , praying for the abolition of the apprenticeship system , in the West Indies . After the presentation of ^ great number of petitions npon different subjects ^ Mr . A . GLIO'SBY postponed Ms motiem with resrard to the Ipswich election until after the minutes of the proceedings of the committee had been printed .

    Captain Pi-CHELL stated that he had received a communication from a Noble and Learned Lord in reference to the observations which he had made on the previous evening in regard to the capture of slave vessels . The Hon . Member said that 11 he had said anything which ought to be withdrawn , he was willing to abide the decision of the Speaker on th * subject ; but he was not aware that anything had fallen 3 rom Mm wMch he ought to retract ! In answer to a Question from Mr . PEASE , Mr P

    THO > SON stated a Bill vrould be iu . troJnced in tiie course of the present session for the better regulation of pilots . - ¦ \ Mr . LAN GD ALE drew attention to the speech made on Thursday evening by t ' ue Bishop of Exeter and defended himself from the imputations cast upon Mm by name in the conrse of that speech . Mr . " OTONNELL , the ATTORNEY-GE ^ ERAL , and Lord HuYVICK . also said a few words in defence of their conduct .

    The House then wenr into Committee on the Poor JRelief ( Ireland ) BiH , and the several clauses up io the 60 ih were disposed oi . The Committee will sit atridn on Friday . 7 The iiouse adjourned at a quarter bpfore twelve nnnl-Mondav .

    HOUSE OF LORDS . MONDAY . March 5 . The Lord CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woolsack at £ ve o ' clock . On the motion of Lord DEVON , the TVat € > nr > ens Company s Sill was read a second time , and ordered to be committed on Thursday next . Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition : from * Eseter and its vicinity , signed by 7 , 60 j male inhabitants , amongst whom were several of the clergy , the Mayor , Council , dec , praying for the' abolition' of Negro Apprenticeship in tae ^ West Indies ; also a petition from the sanie place , signed bv 6 , 700 female inhabitants , praying to the same effect . The Noble

    and Learned Lord had been asked to state to the House , that the reason why more of our countrywomen had not petitioned their Lordships on this subject was thatithadbeen thought , in inanyparts of the countrv , that as we liad an amiable countrywoman now oh the throne , it would be better for them to petition her ; and accordingly , on Wednesday last , a petition had been presented to her Majesty , " signed by half a million , of females , praying for the abolition of Negro Appenticeship . The Noble and Learned Lord tlien presented petitions for the same olject—from a Wesieyan Methodist Chapel in the county of Devon ; the Inhabitants of Fvccaester , Chatham , and" its vicinity ; the Protesumt Diisenters' Assemblv in a

    Chapel in London-street , Birmingham ; in Bewleyrails , Southampton ; Abchurch Meeting House , W orcestershire ; SMrley-sffeet , Warwick ; Chesham , Buckingham ; from Glassinbury and its neighbour- * hood ; Castledownington and its vicinity . Leicestershire ; King's Norton ^ Wor cestershire ; \ VTiit tl eheath Worcestershire ; the Baptist Chapel , in Bond-street , Birnnngham ; Islington and its neighbourhood Hamlet Brentwdod and its vicinity ; Stanhopestreet Meeting-house , Birmingham ; and Great Leicester-street Chapel Birmiughain . The Noble and Learned Lord then moved for a copy of the correspondence wMcli had taken place witu " Lieutenant Hamper , of her Majesty ' s ship , the Blaet JoA-e , respecting the capture of the Marineiiino in 1831 and

    1 S 32 . _ Lord SEAFORTH moved for certain papers relative-to the-amount granted for slave c ompensation . The Marquis of L 4 . NSDOWNE presented a p ^ eJitionfromjoolton-le-Moor . s in favour of aNational system of Education . The Noble Marquis said that he had also several petitions to present , which he TTooid now lay on _ the table , principally from places in Wiltshire , praying for a shortening of the duration of Negro Apprenticeshi p . TLe Matqms of LANSDOVTSE presented returns with respect to the law of partnership ; and also the number of children under sis years of age , who had been , confined in the Penitentiary during the last seven yenrs . Lord GLENELG moved the first reading of the West India Slave Abolition BiiL

    Lord BROUGHAM stated that he would , after he had seen the provisioiis of the Noble Lord ' s Bill , feel himself at liberty torenew his motion on Colonia Slavery at the earliest possible period , on which he should take the sense of the House . The effect of his motion would be for the total repeal of Slavery ; and it would be founded on the order in Council 0 tie 12 th of July , 1837 . Lord ASHBURTON moved for returns relative to the voluntary commutation of Tithes , wMch were ordered .

    The Archbishop of CANTERBURY laid on the table a Bill to amend and extend the clauses of the 17 ta and 21 st Geo . HI ., which Bills were generally known by the name of Gilbert ' s Act . By this amended Bill it was proposed to enable clergymen to borrow three years' income upon their benefices for enabling them to build residences - that 30 years should be allowed for the discharge of the debt instead of 20 , as heretofore ; and that the distinction between non-resident and r&ddent incumbents , snould be done away with . ( Hear , hear . ) ihe Bill was read a first time .

    Lord GLENELG laid on the table certain papers . bB *? ld no * audibly state what they were . The Marquis of SALISBURY moved for certain Returns relative to Turnpike Trusts under certain Acts of Parliament , which . Lord MELBOURNE said he could hare no objecaonto—Adjourned . .

    HOUSE OF COMMONS . MONDAY , March 5 . ~ The Speaker took the chairat the usual time " Lord TEIGXMOUTH , who was received " with loud cries of " Hear , hear , " from the opposition benches , took the oaths and his seatfor Marylebone . Mr . PARKER brought tip certain papers from thi Poor Law . Commissioneni , and Mr . CHAFER papers from the Treasury . - . - - - CoL GORE LASGTONpreaentea * petitipnfrom the soap manufacturers of Bath , praying for a repeal 01 the duty onsoap . / .. air

    • . vxllieriS presented petitions from fire -towns in Staffordshire and Worcestershire , praying : forthe immediate . AboEtipp of Negro Apprentice--ship ; ako . a petition from " the inhabitants , of Wolrerhampwn i praying Jar enquiry into fhe management of the Church 1 . ioperty ^ ^ at town ; the petition was agned principally bT p erson * ^ Conservative opinions , anu it state / that tfie ingmry would exhibit a tWeless and scandalous perfe ? 81011 of ^ K ? ©??* intention to which file property was to beappEe ^ In m « rr town » hipg in w £ d £ &ere jrere ^ oteands of inhabitants , tfiere Tasnot a angle free Kat fortbe poor , and the Ministers ¦ J »| 0 t recei ^ enong& . to snpport them , in <> £ p » nsh , m which there were 3 ^ 00 inhabitants , the jfinkterreceiTed only £ 100 per annum , aldwugh

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    the revenues of the parish were enormous . Another fact was , that in 1811 , the Dean of Windsor , who was also Dean of Wolrerhampton , obtained an Act of Parliament , and let ljhe . mines , which were the property of the Church , only one ^ fourth of which were applied to Church purposes , the remainder being appropriated by the Dean . The petitioners prayed that no future Dean might be appointed until some better provision was made of ~ the property ; the petition farther prayed that the present Dean might be made to account for the produce of the mines , in order that they might be made available to the purposes of the Church . The petition was then ordered to lie on the table . Mr . WARD presented a petition from the Chamber of Commerce of Sheffield , with respect to the Combination Laws . Referred to the Combination Committee .

    Mr . M . J . O'CONXELLpresentedseveral petitions from parishes in the county of Kerry , praying for the ADolition of Tithes , for Municipal Reform , and the Vote byBallot . - Captain WOOD presented a petition from the Licensed Victuallers of London and Westminster , praying for a ; Repeal of the Special Taxes on Sen-ants and Windows , which pressed upon them ; against an extension of time for keeping open Beer Shops , and for the non-liability for articles lost in their houses . Mr . LASCELLES and Mr . PEASE presented petitions against the Negro Apprenticeship System . Mr . HALL presented- a petition from the carpenters of Marylebone , praying for a remission 01 the sentence on the Glasgow Spinners . - Also one much affecting their constitution—from certain inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland , in favour of the Hygean system of medicine . The reason why the petition had been trat into his hands he sntrbosed

    was , that the gentlemen at the head of the establishment was one of his constituents , but he regretted it had not been put into the hands of some other Member who could speak with greater efficacy as to the power of medicine . Mr . G 1 LLON presented a petition from the Central Board of Dissenters in Scotland , signed by the chairman and Secretary , taking notice of an Act introduced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer for endowing forty schools in Scotland . They acknowledged the advantages of education . They objected to the mode of appointing the schoolmasters , because the election was placei in the hands of the Ministers , Kirk Session , a » d Heritors , who were not the persons interested ; they objected to the sectar ian character of the measure , wMch excluded all who did not sign' the Confession of Faith ; and they further objected to the election of the schoolmaster for life , as it left no inducement for exertion in the discharge of their duties .

    Mr . HAWES presented a petition from the coffee and eat ing-house keepers of the metropolis , complaining of the coal monopoly , by which they were great sufferers , and praying to be heard by their agents and witnesses ,, before the Committee upon the Coal Trade . The Hon . Member moved that tbe petition be pr inted , but we did not understand Mm to press the motion . On the motion of Mr . F . MAULE , certain returns were ordered of the criminal offender .- - who had been committed for trial at every sessions and assizes durins the year 1837 .

    Mr . O'CONN ELL presented a petition from the Protestant Dissenters of Chesham , and other places , for the immediate Emancipation of the Negroes in onr Colonies ; also a petition from the parish of Rosbacon , in tbe county of Kilkenny , against the Salmon Fisheries' Bill- ; and a petitioxi from n . parish in the county of Clare , praying for the total Abolition of Tithes . Mr . HODGSON presented apetition from Barnstaple , praying for a reduction in the present exorbitant rates of postage . Mr . 11 O 13 GES presented petition ; from several parishes in Kent , praying for alteration * in tlie New Poor Law Bill .

    Sir F . FRENCH postponed the motion of which he had given notice , relative to the bt-tter ventilation and light ing of the Houses of Parliament . Mr . HUME , in consequence of the return for wliich he _ meved not yet being on the table , postponed his motion relative to the appointment of the Honourable Mr . Primrosa to the office of Receiver-General of the Post Office , till Fridny , by which time he trusted the return wor . ld be prepared . The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER v . \ -y sorry the returns had been delayed , but lie would take care they shonld be ready b } " Friday . Mr . F . MAULE presented apetition from Dunravea , praying for the total Abolition of Tithe * .

    Mr . 11 UME presented a petition from a parish in Perth , proving lor the Abolition of the Cora Laws . Mr . DIVETT seeing tie Chancellor of : tbe Exheqner in Ms place , wished to call Ms attention to the very irregular manner in wMch the is .-ue of Newspaper Stamps was now ordered . He wished to ask whether there could be any objection to regular lialf-yerjly returns ? In his opinion it would be much more regular and satisfactory . The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that lie could see no difficulty in the proposition , nor could he see the slightest objection to it . The present niode of one Gentlem . in moving for returns in Jaunary and another in April was very inconvenient .

    Mr . LOCH , the Chairman of the Queen " * Comity Election Commiriee , appeared at the Bar , and re " - ported that John Fitzpatrick , Esq ., had been duly elected to serve in Parliament , and that the petition against such return was neither frivolous nor

    ve . Mr . PUSEY gave notice thr . t on Thursiay next he should move that the proceedines before thrit Committee Le laid on the Table . Colonel SEALE postponed to the 20 th of March fhejnotion of ¦ which he had given notice fur to-m > rrow nightrespecdng maiiiiiactured corn . We understood him to say that he thought the postponement necessary , as the House won . ! be occupied the whole of to-morrow . witn the motion of the Hon . Baronet the Member for Leeds .

    Lord SAND . ON presented a petition from the Corporation of Liverpool , in favour of Mr . R Hill ' s plan for a universal penny postage . Lord J . RUSSELL app ' eared at the Bar . and , on being asked by the Speaker , ' What have you there ?" said " An answer to the Address of this Iiouse to her Majesty , voted on the 27 th day of February last , and pres ^ mted to her Majesty on the 2 Stn—her Majesty will take into her consideration the best means of affording promotion" . to the officers of Marines , consistently vHth a due regard to economy , and the just claims of the other branches of her Majesty ' s ? exvice . " The Noble Lord then said—In moving the Order of the Day , I think it my duty to state to the House the course which her Maiesty ' s

    Ministers propose to take as to the Address to which her Majesty ' s answer has just been read . On the 27 th of February , an Address was agreed to by a majority of 14 on the subject of promotion in the Royal Marines . That Address was sent to the department to which it referred , and , on the recommendation of that department , Ministers thought it their duty to take the whole subject into their considerat ion . The Address was not a solitary one , for a similar Address respecting promotion of officers in the army was carried towards the end of last year , certainly in a very thin House ^—the thinnest that could entertain any question—the majority being 21 to 19 . But there were also several notices of motions upon the same subject in the last Session , which

    pressed the matter upon the attention of the Governmentin such a manner as that they feel it necessary to bring it before the consideration of tlie House . ( Hear , hear . ) It is according to the usual practice of the Constitution that reward and promotion should proceed from , the Crown , and that the check aud controul of the public expenditure should proceed from the House of Commons . ( Hear , hear . ) That which is the ancient practice of tlie Constitution seems no less conformable to reason , and to the just balance of the powers of the Constitution , than it is conformable to the ancient and invariable custom . ( . Hear , hear . ) The officers serving her Majesty , -whetaer in the military or naval service , or any other , have a right to look to the Crown for reward or

    protection . ( Hear , hear . ) There can be no more grateful duty for the Sovereign than to distribute those rewards and promotions which meritorious conduct or long service may seem to require . ( Hear , hear . ) On the other hand , if there is any excess in the expenditure , the people of the country have a ngnt to call upon the representatives in the House of Commons to check and controul that expenditure , and restrain any prodigality . But if such motions as these were to succeed one after another , it is obvious that this salutary rule would cease to operate —the officers of the navy or army would go to the Admiralty or to the Horse Guards , and represent fteirclaims , asa class , or perhaps their individual claims , and being refused , they wourd esuect to

    receive from the House of Commons those honours and that promotion which they had failed to obtain from the Execntive department of the State . ( Hear . ) I feel that it is my duty to call fhe attention of the House to this circumstance , because if such precedents are setonoccasions on which general attention is not directed to ihe subject , owing to the fact of their being either a thin House , or the attention of the House being engrossed by some other subject , a very _ great and mischievous - change would take place in the Constitution of the country—namely , that the Crown would be invested with the power of curbing , checking , or denvine . and the House of

    Commons -with that of granting rewards and pro- ' motion . ( Hear hear . ) Considering the subject ) therefore , in this point of view , her MjgeSty ' s Ministers have thought proper to advise her Mqestyj thatan answer should be Tetnmed to this Address ^ expressing the willingness of the Crown tocompry with the wishes of the House of Commons * hut at me . tame tone recommending that a Commission or & Committee should be appointed , composed of persons , distinguished by their rank , both in the naval and military services , combined with a certain number of civilians , to consider the whole question as regarded promotion , and the present system of rewards conferred on naval and military services .

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    With respect to this . latter part of the subject , I would wish to call the attention : of the House to another circumstance which occurred in the debate that took place the other night with respect to the promotion of the marines . 'My Horn Friend who ats near me , the Secretary of the Board of Admiralty , said , that in deference to the wish of the House of Commons , as , expressed last year , the Board of Admiralty had taken the subject into consideratidn , ; with a viewto further promotions among the marines , but with aview to public economy .. One gen tieman certainly who formed the majority , said the wishes of the House of Commons had been , mistaken ; that the intention of the House was that economy shonld not be consulted in carrying into

    effect their wishes . Their wishes weie that piomotion should be granted to officers of marines , and that on this subject it was not necessary to look to no principle of economy in the service . It behoves us to consider , and before long the House will have to consider on what principle these public services are to be carried on . For many years past , since the year 1826 , these services have been carried on by the several departments of the Execntive Government with a careful view to economy in the public expenditure . In 1821 , the Hon . Member for Kilkenny moved an Address to the Crown , expressing , among several other things , that economy should be carried out to the greatest extent in the military and naval departments of the country . ( Hear , hear . hear . 1

    An amendment was moved by another Hon . Member , Mr . Banks , we understood . ) Lord Londonderry declared that the sense of the motion and the amendment wasthe same , but he preferred the amendment , as he thought the motion implied censure ; but in the general circumstances he fully concurred with the Address . At the end of that Address it was stated— "And further , that his Majesty will be graciously pleased to direct tha t every possible saving that can be made without detriment to the public interest may be effected in those establishments which the country is bound to maintain . ' . ' for the safety of the United Kingdom ; more especially in the military expenditure , ; and by a constant and vigilant controul and superintendence over that and

    all the other departments connected with the administration of the ample supplies voted by this House . " Sir , I conceive that every Government since then has been bound by the terms and spirit of that Address . The Government of that time carried economy to a greater extent ; that of the Duke of Wellington nursued it , and that-. of Ear Grey carried out the principles of retrenchment ^ and a reduction of the public expenditure . If economy and retrenchment were not to bu their guidinc principles , it could be no definition of the power of the . Crown , but that extension of liberality should proceed from the Crown , and be made to the House by the recommendation of the Crown . ( Hear , hoar . ) If the House wasprepared to say that a more liberal

    rule should be adopted—that meritorious officers should receive more , ample rewards than hitherto , the whole of the subject should be looked into ; a comparison of the sertices made by competent persons , and the result laid before the House . Then the Honse of Commons would haw before it , first , the question of what increased allowance should be made to these officers in the navitl and military service , and then the question which should never be lost sight of , that the Iiouse would , require to provide for that increased expenditure . ( Hear . ) When the question was one of reward to a -particular service , the House was all generosity ; but when the question was considered as regarded the taxes , the disposition of the House was to deurive the

    Crown of those means by which alone such increased rewards eould be given . ( Hear . ) lie hud thought it necessary to state " so much to the House , because he thought tlie Government would not do its duty if they allowed one motion after anoiher to be carried applying to one particular service , aud not call the attention of the House to the whi > le subject . The way they proposed to do so , was to appoint gentlemen who lind been known to the country from their high character and " great ' talents in the service of their country in both services , witli whom should be joined sume civilians—that they should take the whole subject under their consideration- — that tlk » y should report to the House ; that if necessary there slioul-1 be a recominendutiun to the House , and that tuen the Iiouse should decide upon the whole "sulijL-ct in a ' general manner ; auj that they should not tf . w rew ; u : ds from a liberality or a laxity of principle , which would muke a nlost important and pernicious change in fhe constitution of the country

    —one winch would naturally make the officers look for nothing bui iVuys and hardships from the Crown , and 0 x 1 tlie othi-r hand , expect generosity iroiu the House of Commons . ( Hear , hear . ) He trust ed the course taken by the" Gbveniini-nt would bring tlie -whole system before the House in a fair and impartial rnuiWr . ( C ! : tvrs . ) Colonel SIBTilOiCP , before the Iiouse went into Committee , wished to call its attention to some of the recent a ; pointinouts which had been " made by a Government which came in on the profest-ions . of retrenchment and economy , rhore especially to appointments v . iuch had been given to Members of that House , lie was not :. b <; ut to enter into detail as to these appointments , as that would be interfering unnecessarily with the business of ; he llouse , bu " t when he looked to India , to Ireland , to-Canada , and , as was rcluvf . it to Ids motion , whi'n he looked at the

    repent app o intment of a Member of that Honourable House to a Comuiiss ' . on ^ rship of Greenwich ' Hospital , he thought it would . be Well ' for the Government to inform the Ii « use . if the gentlemen so appointed , were . " likely to attend to their duty . V . hen Le locked at all these things , he wished that : iie prerogative was not so cramped . —first by that House , and then again by baiu-iul ad vie a out of it . ( iie : ; r , hear . ) It was his duty to suiUj conscientiously , tiia ! ! io motive but one , that of the discharge of his duty a- : i Member of that House , Tiad induced him to ^ notice tUv rocunt appointmnni of the Honourable ; ui'l Learned Memnt-r ior Tipperary to the Co : nmLwionership oJ ( Jreeiiwiiii llospnal . —( Hear , he believid he

    ar . ) He - did so in consonauctt willi the feelings of the greater part of that profession , which had every night to complain of the neglect shown to them . lie nrlyht , ]; erhaps , be told th : it by an Act of Parliament uf tlie l ! 5 th of Geo . _ , chap . * ia , it . was expressly declared that the appointment ol t :: e five Commissioner ? , three of them paid Corninissioneis - . should be at the pleasure of the ' J ' - xecutive Governinent , and that in that very Act of Parliament there was an exception , although lie kuew not why -that the Commisiiouers , and the Clerk of the Works , slioul ! not -necessarily be professional men . Or lie miyht be told there were cases ' in wbieh applications had been made of men not in Her Majesty ' s service . —( Hear , h .-ar , hear . ) He had

    no uoubt taut tne Coiuunssioners performed their duty witii great ability and integrity ; but . when he iooked to the appointment of the H ' un . and Learned ; M ember for Tipp era ry , whose Transceudau t eloquence ln . ihat House he baa " always ' admired , h'i could not uut feel that it was an a t ' of treat injustice to the officers of her AJaje ^ iy's uavyT There were many Admirals- and Captains ( the relatives of men to whoiu the country w <; re eternally indebted ) who were capaMe of aoiu ^ tlie duly of those Commissioners : although it was said , that naval officers were not men ot business , and wi-re incompetent to manage the estates of the hospital , which he admitted were very large , he believe J of die value ot . i . L , v ) oa , i > UO It ^" as D 0 ? , ? La iiidividmil but the liovtrnment

    . , that he ( CoL . ts . ) complained . There was tlie office ot Clerk to the Ordnance-one , he believed , of preat importance—wa ; ch had not to this hour been filled It seemed to be poing begging about . The Government it seeni . jj , had been unable to find a Member of that House to accept it , "though indeed" ( Continued the Gallant Colonel ) " they have not otlererf it to me . - ^ ( L-duglifr . ) Probabl y the Noble Lord ^ J . Husseh ; would be able to afford some explannwon of the ailair ; but ( observed the Gallant Officer ) , seeing that Ins Loruship Wits in deep rerlecti ' 011 ^ tue > . oble Lord is . apparently unuble just now to lain

    exp any thing , ior he seems to be dreaniintr I hope of his speedy resignation . —( Langh ' ten ) - ThL ; Uallant Colonel then read this notices Lord JOHN RUSSELL stated that the Noble and Gallant Member should move his resolution as an amendment upon the House . going into a-: Committee of Suppiy on tue Navy Estimates . He would tuereiore move that the Order of the Day be now for the House going " . into " a Committee oi Supply . . " -.- . - ¦ The Orders of the Day havn . g been Tead Colonel SIBTI-1 ORP proposed his amendments relative to the appointment , 61 c , to Greenwich Hopical , which was afterwards withdrawn

    ' 7 VAVY ESTIMATES . Mr . C . WOOD then rose to lay these estimates before the House , in doing which he was most indistinctly heard .. He . observed that the simple form m which the estimates were prepared rendered it unnecessary for him { to occupy the House by auy long statement respecting them . After various explanations on matters of detail the Hon . Geutlemau said , it was with great regret that he had found hunself compelled to propose a higher estimate than last year . He could assure the Committee that every attention had been paid to economy , far as it was consistent with a due regard to the demands of the public service . He should conclude bvmov-inpmat

    aMto seamen and boys , and 9 , 000 marines , be employed m . her Majesty ' s naval service for the Vear ending 31 stMarch , 1837 . « - "e jear S ^ ' ^ W ??^ ^^ g be en put from tbe chair , ^ - '« *^ said he w as sorry to find that no reductions were to be . made in this department although ; ifie circumstances which for the last two years hal been adduced in justification of the in creased estimates no longer existed . He did not - ^ l 60 - * r «?« i « Mtw > ce 8 wHch ^^ could possibly justify the increase m the expenditure for tie navS service which had taken place in the last ^ I « 5 «*! . \ committee was appointed in the year 1819 , with » new . to a reduction ; we had ZZZZ going backwards ever ancethen . He again called on her Majesty ' s Government to state why the in crease was going on . So far' back as the year 1825 , Sir G . Cockfaurn , who was considered a great

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    authonty on those questions , said he saw no reason why , if peace continued , the estimates should not be rediicea ; to what they were in the vear 1819 . Lord Grey took office in 1830 , iinder a pledge of economy ; but what had been the result ? Instead of a diminution '" there had been ti gradnal increase , and now ; there \ vas a fiirther increase proposed without one word of explanatibn ^ The naval service was divided , into effective and noneffective f me charge for the effective service amounted to only £ 3 , 500 , 000 , and the half-nay amounted to half that sum , or about Jtiioo , 000 This was attributable to the bad : system of prbmotipni He woulcl ask what were the

    circumstances that obliged them ; to keep np a force of 34 , 000 seamen and raarinesy when after the w ; ar , in the years 1819 , 1820 , and 1821 , the force never exceeded 20 , 000 or 21 , 000 ? : The fact was , we were maintaining large fleets for the purpose of interfering with the - affaiw of other countries , by whom we were considered only as interlopers . After some squabbling between Mr . Htime . ' and a host of Honourable interested Members , in the shape of Captains , « fcc . v the vote was agreed- to . The next vote , haniely , that a sum not exceediiig £ l , 0 / ' 2 , 497 : be granted for defraying theicharg ^ s aiid

    expenses ot the seamen and marines employed in her Majesty ' s service from the 31 st of March , 1838 . up to the 31 st of Marchil 839 , was agreed to . The next vote , that a sum npt exceeding £ 520 , 747 , be granted for defraying the expenses of the Victualling Department for seamen and marines , was agreed to . " : - "' , - ¦ ¦¦' ; "¦' ;¦ " ¦ ¦ " • - ; - - . ; :. ¦ - '' :. ¦ . ' ' ¦ ' /•" On the next vote , namely , that a sum not exceeding £ 112 , 637 be granted lor" defraying-the-expenses of the salaries to the officers , and the other contingent expenses of the Admiralty-office , being put , after some Httle debate , was agreed to . The next vote , of £ 2 , 425 , for the office for the re gistry of merchant senmeii ^ was then agreed to ; as were also the following : —' £ 20 , 230 for the scientific departments of the Navy . £ 121 , 793 for her " 'Majesty- ' s naval establishments at ¦ ¦

    home . - . . - , ; . ' .. - . . , ; £ 18 , 884 : for naval establishments abroad , £ 450 , 093 for wages to artificers , &c . at naval establishments at liDrrie . £ 24 , 850 for Wage !* , &c in the naval establishments abroad . . ' - £ 554 , 3 S 3 for naval stores forbuildincr aud repairine of the fleet . - V : "" ¦ : £ 89 , 78 ( 5 . for new works and improvements . £ ] 7 jH 47 for medicine and medical stores . £ 783 , 682 for thi > half-pay 6 f tlie navy and marines . £ 52 J , 85 ( i for the military pensions and allowances of the navy department . ¦

    On the motion for granting a sum not less than £ 200 , ( 533 for civil pensions and allowances , . Mr . HUAlE objected to the graiit . Captain DUND AS contended that ' -the pensions and allpwances j in question were not fairly divided between the ofticera- of the navy and the officers of the marines . Mr . C . 'WOOD observed thiit these pensions and allowances Were confined to officers on halt-pay . There wore only four marine officers who were in a condition to be entitled to them . The sum to which the marines Avere entitled was oiie-tii ' teenth of the whole sum , or £ 72 ; wheureas . they hud received a sixth , or . € 300 .. Lord C .. LENNOX expressed liis hope that the commission which was to be apponited was intended , not to defeat the motion carried tlie ¦ other day , but to do lona fide justice to the Royiil Marine corps . ' .

    Mr . C . WOOD observed tliat the-object of the " commission was to do justice to tlie corps in question .-The grant was then , agreed to ; as was also a-. grant of £ 145 ) , ! Jo ( j . for freight , tfce ., on uccount of the army and ordnunci ; department . The last grant wus ' theii moved , viA— £ 6 G , 330 , " for freijrlit , &c . y to convey convicts toi-New South VVales and Van . Ditfinan ' s Land . . After a few observations on the desirnbility of alter ing themethod of conveying convicts hi Ireland . The vote was agreed to . Mr . BKnxAL having left the Chair the House resnmed , and the report viis ordered to be received to-morro \ v .

    Mr . LITTON moved , for leave to bring in a bill Ut restore the'ancient-jur isdiction- of the Court of Chancery in Ireland , enabling . masters of -that court , upon petition , to execute , renewals of lenses for lives , containing covenants for renewal in the names of persons bound by such covenants , t <> execute the same , and being put of tlu > jurisdiction oftUe court , and to extend such powers to cases of terms for years or jives dependent upon years . No objection bein ^ made on the part of the Irish Government , leave was given-to bring in the bill , v The ' lluusi ? adjourned at twelve o ' clock .

    HQUSE OF COMMONS . TUESDAY , March 6 . The petition against the return for Huntingdon County was withdrawn . Mr . E . ; T . Bainbridge was declared duly elected for . Tauntoii . ' The Clerk of Committees brought up the reducedv list of the Readin '' and Traleo Election Committees .

    VOTCOr CF . NSl ; ilE . O ^ THU rOLONI . AL ¦ . ¦ SECUETAHY . Sir WILLIAM MOLESWORTH , himng been called on by : tlie Speaker rose and addressed the House . From theloXv tone of voice and rapid enuuciadou of the Hon . Baranbt , . together ' withthe noise which prevailed in the body of the House , he was imperfectly . heard in the gallery . We understood him to say , that . 110 man required the indulgence of the House more than liiniself as the subject which he was about to submit to its 'consideration vVas of so importnnt as well as of so delicate a nature , that he could not'but feel his own inability to do justice to it . On that account Le was most anxious at " that time to correct a misrepresentation tliat had gone

    abroad , relative to certsiin opinionsf with regard to the Colonies , that had been imputed . ' to " .-him ; ,. ¦ ¦ ( Hear , hear . ) He knew not wherefore these opinions had been imputed to him ; in his humble judgment they were very ' unpopular , -an < i it was almost unnecessary for him to say that he JilhiJed tothe opinions of those who thought that the be ^ t thing that could be done with the Colonies was to i ' , * t quit of them ..- " -. ( Cries of H ear , hear . ) From these- ? en tiiiientshe begged leave totally to . dissent , . Ile . saw many great advantages resulting from the pos-e . ^ ion of colonies , and lie would "instance .. the West . Indies and Australia in support of that opinion . These wereno new opiiiions of his , for so long us live years ago he -had the "

    honour of assisting-- ' in tliu-.-iormatioii of a colony ^ by becoiniiig one of the Trustees for a " coiisiderable sum- ' of' money . to promote . its . formation . Would it be ' 'right , b y would ask , to emahcipate Canada ? In his opinion , the question of tW . eniaucipntiou of the Colonies was a" question of time and experience . ( IIoar . ) W : ts it not an abuse that such a man as Sir ,-F . B . Head . shouldhave been appointed as Governor of * o important a Colouy as Lpper Canada ¦ ¦ ? . Was . it not an abuse that such a man should have had the opportunity of fomenting rebellion- ? . U ' ns . it hot an tibusu that they should have been obliged to appoint in Lower Canada a military Governor , and were about to delegate autocratic

    powers to an _ iiidiviiliial , however much he was deservingof c . onfidencj ¦? . These were , evils growing out of the . possession of colonies , ft was also an abuse that from .. 40 to ;> > ) communities should be handed over to the government of a man so notoriously incompett / nt and incapable ns the present Colonial Secretary . These w-ere . ovils .. "; but still the balance was greatly in favour of having Colomal possessions . He would yield to no mitn in a d « sire to preserve and extend the Colonial dependencies of this country . He would have wished that the United States had never been separated from Great Britain , but when lie reflected that the local Government in-.-that Colony had-no sympathies With

    , and did not possess the confidence of its inhabitants , he could not but feel that the connection . could not be . continued with advantage or satisfaction to either . It . was precisely , oii this ground , that he advocated the cause ; of tlie people of Canada . . He could notbut sympathise * with a people struggling to presen-e tlifir just rights and liberties . He ; felt that the local Government of that colony was neither entitled to their respect nor confidence , and that the system ;' : of policy pursued towards it _ by the mother country was unjust and oppressive ; . There . . another disadvantage iinder which he laboured , and from which , with the permission of the House , hp would shortly relieve himself . He knew that the motion

    which he was about to bring under the consideration of the House was distasteful to some Hon . Members upon that side , for they were aware : how difficult it was for them to deny tlie charges . which it involved , and which every one in-th-st House believed in his conscience was true . lie expected that , relying on the charitable assistance of the Right Honourable Baronet and his friends opposite , they wduld endeavour to make this motion 'inpopiiiar with the House , by ascribing to it a democratic tendency and object He meant td bring . before :-th ' e . ' H ' o use , " n , ot . m ' erely-the system ef-pplicy whjch had : been pursued towards Canada inparticular , but tke whole system of Colonial policy , ( Hedr , hear . ) Tlie Government which was the best for a colony , must in all cases depend on the special circumstances of the case . What was good for one colony , might be very bad indeed for another

    . Some colonies might perhaps , require a despotic authority—others an aristocratic powerand he did not know more than two or three of the colonies , in which he should hot be afraid to see theexperiment of apure democracy . ( Hear , ' h ' eWo This , he trusted , would convince the House that this motion had no reference : to : a general abstract opinion , whatever that might be ; it had no : more a democratic object or tendency than if proposed by the Hon . Baronet opposite , the Member for Timworth , seconded by the Hob ; Baronet , the Member for the University of Oxford . It might' be called invidious to attack Lord Glenelg , and it might be objected that he was not less competent or more incompetent than many of his colleagues—that his office was filled as competently as most of the other Offices in the Cabinet . And that the . Cabinet being responsible for neglect : of duty in every

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    departmentof the State * the censure of the Hbnse ought to be as well directed against the : whdle Cabinet as against one Member . Trie : was not very certaih—he was not Quite convinced ; that there might not be some force in the last objection to bis motion ! but would the House permit him briefly to state his reason for calling for a vote of want pf confidence in Lord Glenelg ? The / Colonial QMce differed materially from every other : departmedt of the State . All the other branches of the Government administered oilyr-they administered for us whq were represented *^ : in this Assembly . The Colonial Office administered for the Colonies * Hot one of which possessed any representative in any Assembly to wliich the . Colonial , pmce was in any ic 7 vixc Ui

    u ^ gii-e ;> £ r tsuQAUA <« ^> u - -ytuur jjrauuiicis .. me Government administered only ; they did not legislate .. But the Colonial OHice j besides conducting ad ^ nistrations ,, comprismg civil , military , financial , executive , and ecclesiastical functions , rendered still more difficult by the various laws , institutions , manners , languages , and wants of distant and widely BeDarated communities- ^ besides all these duties , which ; could hardly be performed well by one pffice , as if they were not sufficiently complicated and incongruous , it " had also to legislate more or less for all those colonie 3 which possessed no reprer sentatiye assembly either by : in (« tructions to the pbyernofs , by Order in , Council , or by instructions sent out to Ministers resident in the Colonies . That would be bad enough if all the Colonies were

    close together , and close to England , but let the House recollect hbw widely separated they were , and how distant from JDpwning-street was even Caiiada ^ -the Colony now under discussion . In many Colonies a year must elapse before a letter could be answered . — - [ The noise in the House increased to such a degree , that the Hon . Ba' -onet paused , and there were loud cries of " Order , order , ' ; "Bar , bar . " After ^ some little delay . Sir William Molesworth resumed , but in such a tone of voice , and frequently turning bis back to the Chair , and consequently to the Reporters Gallery , that we f'jund great difliculty in collecting the purport of Ms observations . ] Such were the complicated duties of the office , that it was doubtful whether

    the Colonial Secretary even read all the letters addressed to hini ^ and much depended on assiduity of his attention to his duties ^—( Loud cries of hear . ) His attention must be directed , not to the state of affairs at the time of his last advices , but to the period when his dispaches would arrive in that Colony . Howjcojild that be done unless he possessed great foresight . It . was well known that uie admiuistrative andlegislative diflieulties of the office were jncreased ten thousand-fold by the great distance of these Colonies . But it must also be recpllectttd that great duties were imposed upon the Colonial Minister , with respect to the administration of criminal jurisprudence , over a vast tract of country , in the administration of secpndary punishments . ( Hear , hear

    , ) The individual who was appointed to such an olrice oughtito be all competent to the conducting o | ' public affairs , and a insst effective inaividu ' af . The Colonial Minister incurred vast obligations , and as such ought peculiarly to be subjected to the cbi ' itroul of t ' iat Iiouse . Certainly not . The Minister holding so important a situation , when he found himself incompetent to the discharge of his duties , was bound to resign .. He did not speak of Lord Gleiielg in particular , but of every Colpnial Minister , In every other part of the ; State the Minister was accountable to tliat House ; not so , however , with respect to the Colonial Secretary . The Colonial Minister , so far as that House was concerned , was almost irresponsible to it . Again , in the Cabiner

    , the Minister of any other Department was in some degree aceountable to his colleagues , but this was not tlie c ;; se with the Colonial Secretary . It was true that sometimes other Members of the G overiiment came down and made speeches upon Colonial affairs but every person ' must know tliat that speech ' was-in ;' effect prepared in the Colonial . - ' office . The office was one of great and paramount importance ; then why were the Government so weak as to retain hi it one so notoriously incompetent , as Lord Glenelg ? It had been , objected by many Hon . Mem - bers , that his motion , if earned , wonld be indirectly a censure upon her . Majesty ' s Government , and : Hon . Gentlemen might affirm that he was endeavouring to overturn the Government—that he was

    endeavouring to . tindenniue the Cabinet of Lord Melbourne , and it might , be insinuated that his object was to let the Tories in . He at ouce admitted that the House could iiot agree to the motion without passing a censure upon the Administratiori , which hejeontended ought toberesponsiblei not for the acts , or ratlier non-acts of Lord Gienelsr , but for keeping him in office . He at once admitted that he would not be sorry if the result of his motion were to give the natives a better Adininistratioii , as well as a better Cojoiiial Secretary . Suppose the motion was earned , aiid the Ministry were to resign , was it a necessary consequence that the Hon . Gentlemen opposite must come in . ; and even ; if they did he thought it would be better than having a Ministry

    professing liberal principles , hut acting upon Tory ones , in order to keep in power . But even were the Ministers to quit their present convulsivegrasp ol power , what a libel it was to say that her Majesty could not fiud a firm and stable Ministry in the Liberal party . ( Cries of hear , hear . ) He theniaht it better at once to explain his ieelings on this subject , but hehoped the House would do him the justice to believe ' , that in . bringing forward this motion he wasno more actuated by a feeling of hostility towards the Government than he was actuated by a feeling ^ of personal hostility towards Lord Glenelg . His object was to relieve the Colonial possessions of this country from the injustice and oppression under which they groaned , and to call the attention of tlie

    House to the state of the Colonies in various parts of the world , and to establish some sort of responsibility in the _ Colonial- Omce . ( Hear , hear . ) These were his objects , and they could not fail to . be attained if the motion succeeded . He would ask whether the Colonies were not in a condition requiring a more than usually wise and vigilant Minister at the head of that department . Was not the present a crisis which required that there should be placed at the head of that department , a statesnian upon whose vigilance , foresight , honour , and firmness , the country might place reliance . He woulcl ask whether the present Secretary for the Colonies possessed these qualifications . Hud he not proved by his acts that he wfls unable to grapple with the difficulties by

    which lie was surrounded . Ihese were the questions wliich he called upon the House to answer and decide . It mattered not what Colouy he began with to prove the assertion which he had made , for the Svhole system of our Colonial policy presented the same aspect . During the last Session a Committee had been appointetl to inquire into the state of par Colonial dependencies . The evidence taken before that Committee disclosed a state of things Which could hardly have been believed by those even who had mpyiid the inquiry . It described a state of moral Corruption and social infamy , such as could scarcely have been credited . The evidence was in the bands of Honourable Members , and there was ho . oiie-wl ' io read it but must believe tliat the evils which were

    there described were augmenting instead of diini ? nisliing , and had at length reached such a pitch as to . require some prompt an d decisive remedy . He would ask the Right H 011 . Baronet opposite , if such was not the fact . . The first step . towards remed ying the evil was inquiry , ami one would have supposed that the Colonial Minister would have taken some active steps in furtherance of it . Such , however was not the case . The Noble Lord , the Mender for Stroud , to be sure , assented to tlie inquiry , but nothing further was done by Go vernment in the matter . ( Cries , of hear , hear . ) ¦ Considering the colonial nature of tht : subject , why did I not , in order to obtain , the sanction of Government , address : myself to the Noble Lord at the head

    of colonial affairs ? Simply , because J believed that such an application would be in vain . 1 wasafraid of . tlie proverbial indecision and supineness 01 that minister , and I believed that the only sure mode of obtuinhur ' an ¦ in qiurj'o ' n . this colonialVnbject was to pass by tlie colonial miuister , and apply to another minister vvlipa-e departmentis eminently not colonial . My ppihion of the colonial minister niay have been erroneous , unfit . was formed on corhmon report and belief ; and the fact , therefore , is , that , so far as I ain concerned , the important information as to IsVw South Wales and Van Diemaii ' s Land now before the Iiouse would not have been obtained if 1 had not made bold , in seeking a colonial inquiry , to proceed as if there were no such department as that over

    winch Lpfd Cjlenelgpresides . Sir , if I had wanted any justification for such a course , I should find ft in another proceeding , or rather neglect ^ bf Lord Glenelg ' s with regard to New South Wales . While the moral and social corruption of that colony exceeds belief , its economical prosperity is equally remarkable . Nothing can be more clearly established by the evidence taken before the transportation committee , thah : the fact that both the evil and tlie good have one and the same cause , namely , a regular and increasing supply of convict labourers . If the stream of convict emigration be stayed ; the source of the economical prosperity will be dried tip ; unless , indeed , some other means be adopted pf supplying the colony with labourers . Amongst those most conversant with the subject there ; is butone opinion as ¦ to the eyils which arise from supplying the colonies with

    labour by means of transportation ; but one opinion as to the necessity , if the colony is to be saved from ruin , of promo tineithe emigration of free labourers . Themeans , too 01 promoting emigration exist to an almost incredible extent . ^ They were called into existence by the Noble Lord , the Secret taryofWar when he was under-secretary for the colonies in the year 1831 . The Noble Lord'sregulatums for the disposal of wa 3 te -lands in Kew South Wales and Van Dieman ' s Land- ( which did not take effect until the year 1832 ) have actually produced an emigration fund " amounting to about jt' 400 , 000 sterling { and persons on whose experience and judgment the greatest reliance inay be placed estimate the future revenue frbin . the sale of waste lands at £ 200 , 000 ayear in New South Wales alone . Here ; . then , are abundant means of supplying the colony with a substitute for convict labour . Now , what

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    hasLord Glenelg done with thisvast emi gration fund ? He allowed a portion of it to be . pbced at the disposal of a private society , who expended the public money in sending , oat to the colony , snipload after shipload of the most abandoneid and irreclaiteable pt <* stittites . He placed another portion of it al the disposal , of one Mr . John Marshall , a sort of agent or broker for shipping , who performs ( without any responsibility ) for the Colonial-office the diffi . cult functions of conducting eniigration , wtlOl ih& public money of the colony . But this : is * ot " all only a portion of this vast emigration fund has been appliei however improperly , to ite purpose . The remaindery amounnting to no less a snm than £ 200 , 000 , is lockejd np in the public chest at S ydney , lying idle , of no use whatever , although the demand

    tor labour is more urgent than at any previous time , and the colonists have vehemently ; prayed that the money which they paid for land may ve expended according to the conditions on which-they paid it . ( H 6 ar , hear . ) And this sum in ^ ie pubhc chest i » not only useless , but it is worse than useless ; for , since . ready money was paid for the land , a great part of the currency is thus absorbed and locked up ni the Government chest . The loud and frequent complaints of the Colonists on this subject have fallen upon the ear of the Noble Lord : as rf he Veie stone deaf . There is another fact , sir , as to New South Wales , from which the people of that Colony might be justified in . inferring that there reall y is no snehpersonage iriVe-xistence astheC plonialMmister ; that Lord Glenelg is a merely imaginary personage

    a nominaVbeing without functions to penorm , or a * least capacity to perforin them . Fdr many years NewSouth Wales has been governed byan act which expired in the ' year 1836 . That act established a temporary system and form of Gpvernmpnt---a systhm ; and form of Government suited to the time when the act , passed—that is , when the majorityof the inhabitants of the Colony were eonvicts under punishment . Need I add that this system of provisional Government was ( necessarily Sunder the circumstances ); of a most despotic character ; that it neglected altogether the principle of representation , and gave to the Colonists no voice whatever in the management of their own affairs ? But since then the circumstances of the Colony have altogether

    changed . The free Colonists' have become the majority . Those : free Colonist * , naturally desirous . . to ' obtain some of the rights of Englishmen , have looked forward with the deepest anxiety to the period when the New South \ r ales A ct would expire—to the . time when Parliament would have to legislate anew on the subject , and when they iniglit hope that Parliament , in forming a constitution for a free people , would bestow on them sorne degree of representation , and give them some voice in the management of their own local affairs . To the Colonists ^ of New South Wales , therefore , 1836 was a most important year .: Was the Noble Lord , -the Colonial Minister , prepared for thin very important colonial occasion ? Did he submit to

    Parliament a new constitution for the Colony ? : .. No . ; he only asked Parliament to renew the old Act for one year ; but in 1837 it will be supposed , when this Act of a twelvemonth would have expired , that the Noble Lord was prepared . Not a bit of it ! In 1837 he again asked for and obtained the renewal of the old Act for another .. ¦ ¦ twelvemonth ' . But i perljaps , it may be said , that the Noble . Lord believed that the Colony was not ripe for any other . ' thn . ri the old despotic constitution , and that he acted deliberately in renewing the old Act from year to year . ¦ Not at all , Sir ; for on both occasipiis the Uinler-Secretary for the Colonies , acting undoubtedly on behalf of his chief , gave notice ot' his inteurion to to propose an entirely new Act for the Government

    of the Colony . On both occasions , no doubt , the Noble Lord intended to relieve the Colonists of New South Wales from their anxiety on a subject which inus ' t ever be one of the deepest interest to . fraeineri '; but on both oecaijipn ^ he only exhibited his own infirmity of purpose . Is he prepared this year ? or are we to renew the old Apt for the third : tiine ? Are we for the third time to tell the free peppie pf this Colony that we care so little about theni a * to neglect altogether a matter about wliich they care above all things ? And if we do so , are we to wonder at their resentment ? ( Hear , hyar . ) Here then , sir , as respects one Colony , are three great questions urgently pressing on the unwilling attention of the Noble Lord ; First , a remedy for

    the terrible evils of transportation ; seconaly , a nieaiis Of saving the Colony from economical ruin ; and , * thirdiy , a new constitution for the Colony . Each of these questions is rendered more dilTicult by the Noble Lord ' s neglect of it hitherto . If we are to judge by the past , what are-we" to expect for the future ? As respects New South Wales I have only to adii further , that this is one of several Colonies of which tlie Governors have recentl y resigned , or been recalled , on account of differences bet . vveHii ihosfl Governors and the departineht over which Lord Glenelg so neglectfully presides . In the neighbourhood of our penal Colonies there exist circumstances which , while they call for prompt aud vigorous action from the Colonial Minister , strongly

    exhibit Lord Glenelg's inattention and neglect . I allude , sir , tp the state of many islands in tueSoTith Seas , whose inhabitants , are subjected to every sjjecies of evil from the lawleh's residence amongst ttiem of British ^ nbjects , and especially of convicts who have escaped from our penal settlements . The Islands of New Zealand afford tlie mOst striking example both of : an urgent necessity for some cpmprehensive measure of prevention , and of Lord ' ( ilenelg's carelessness .. ^ And here again 1 may refer to a Committee of this HouseV the Committee on aborigines , wliich in 1836 collected very conclusive ' evidence on the subject , and of which the Under-Stfcretary for the Colonies , the . Hon . Gentleman the Member for Devonport , was a member . It appears

    from the evidence before that Committee , and from other documents recently laid on this table of th » House , that not less than two thousand British subjects have settled in New Zealand , that so many as two , hundred of them are absconded . cpnvicts , that they are not subject to any ; law or authority , that they do exactly what pleases them , that they have pleased to commit crimes towards the natives at which humanity shudders ;¦ and that , in fact , the native race is rapidly , disappearing before them . It is in e \ idence that our lawless fellow-subjects have excited the" native tribes to wars and massacres , in order to obtain tattoed heads as an articje of commerce '; that they have taught the natives to employ corrosive sublimate in- poisoning their enemies , and

    have actually sold them that p () ison forthe purpose ; that these outcasts from British society have taken nn . active part in the cm el ma ' ssacres bt one tribe by another ; that they have introduced the use of ardent spirits and of fast-destroying ; disease ; and that , as a natural consequence , " tUenatives are swept off in a ratio which promises in no very distant pefidd to leave the country destitute of a single abori g inal inhabitant . '' Now ,, is this a case ol urgency :. ¦ Is this a matter to be slept over for years , until the native race shall have disappeared altogether ;?¦ '¦ And , again , I venture to ask the right hpnourable gentlenian . the . President of the Board of Trade , whether he h : ; s not received a rneinorial , siened by a large number (> f the merchants and shipowners pYLOndon

    trading to the South ^ Seas , representing that unless promptmeasuresbe taken to establishBritishautlior : ity in NewZealand , it is fully to beexpected that the lawless Britishsettlers in that country will become a piratical commuiiity ,. like the buccaneers of old . and now 'the . greatest flaiiger is to be apprehended to our shipiiing ? What has the Noble Lord j * who should have been inoiit , conversant with this evil and tliii danger—what has he done either in behalf-of the natives of New Zealarid . or of our shipping in the South Sea ;? ? What has he proposed ? He lias done , proposed , thought of , absolutely nothing ! If it had be ^ n a matter in the moon he could not baye been more-careless abput it }¦ ¦' ¦ ' The next colony toWhicli I will refer is the Mauritius . Last year the state of

    that . colony was brought under the consideration of this House , on a motion for a committee of inqtiin * . Var ibus facts , prbying the very disturbed condition ' the Mauritius , were stated -by an Hon .. Gentlein an intimately : acquainted with the subject—J mean the learned civilian , the Member for the Tower Haiulete . Tliose statements were not contradicted by anyone . To his high and unquestionable authority 1 shall now appeal for the facts I ani about to mention . He said— ' The most extraprdinary circumstance ? have been detailed to me ( and they are not yet denied ) as to the conduct , or rather misconduct , of various governors of the island , of Mauritius ; and as to the administratiori of justice , or rather its maladministration , there . " > ' Since the year 1810 there has been

    in mat colony a perpetual yiolation of the statute law ofthe land ( Upwards of 20 , 000 felonies have been « ominitted ( as admitted by Sir George Murray ) and remain unpunished ' , without one : solitary exception ; and up to the ; present hour these , wrongs remain nnredressed . " The slave trade has been carried on in opposition to law . These are a few of the facts adduced by the learned civilian , when he demanded list year , an inqniry into the state of the Mauritius . What has Lord Glenelg done , proposed ,, thought of , with a view to the critical state / of the colony of the Mauritius ? Ifinforniation . on thesubject were ^ required' by this House ^; the return , I fear , would be ¦" " Nil ;!" '' - It matttira not where the emergency inay exist , or how great it may be , in every Case " where decisioii , activity ^ energy , is especially reauired . there we

    shall find ,, not that the Noble : Lord has done more than in other cases , but only that his inactivity , and . supinejiess are . the more to be : deprecated and regretted . The next colony' to whose critical , " . iniglit I not say- deplorable , state I would wish ^ sir , to call your attention , is pur settlement in Southern Africa , at the Cape of Good Hope * a territory larger than the whole of the mother country . It was once inhabited by numerous aborigines , rich in flocks and herds—by-the Hottentots and the far superior race , of the Catfres . The natives havei nearly disappeared , partly ^^ massacred ^ partly driveia from their native country j even now the system of destruction is goiiig on ; and ^ proportion as our frontiers are extended the native tribes are swept away . The colonists , ovi the 1 most futile pretexts , have frequently carried off the cattle of the natives . The natives ^ de-

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• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), March 10, 1838, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct996/page/6/