loss of the usual demand for them would larger measure of relief might ere long be be severely felt by our labourers, and of afforded. He for one would not clog it the freight of them by our ship-owners. with any conditions; but he would appeal He had seen a letter from one planter, expressing his determination, if things continued in their present state, to make neither sugar nor rum: but to divide his land among his negroes, and let them try if they could maintain themselves, as he found it impossible to maintain them by the cultivation of produce. This must be the result of continuing that extremity of distress to which the British planters were at present reduced; and he begged the House to consider, that if they were obliged to discontinue the cultivation of sugar not only would all the great manufacturing, commercial, and maritime interests which depended upon them, be immersed in their ruin, but the deficiency in their crops would be supplied by the planters of Cuba and the Brazils; and thus the Slave trade, instead of being abolished, would be carried on to a greater extent than ever. This it ought to be the object of parliament to prevent; and, therefore, he hoped, efficient measures for relieving the British West India planters would be adopted.

to them in return, and express a confident hope, that in their own internal regulations they would listen to the voice of that House, and redeem the pledges they had given, of carrying the measure of abolition and of slave regulation into the fullest effect. As to the encouragement of those. colonies, he would say, that if East India sugar were to be imported into this market without restriction, we should have very speedily, the whole of the West Indian Archipelago laid waste. He did not mean to say that the soil would be less fertile, or that the islands would not be peopled with a black peasantry, by whom they might be kept in some sort of cultivation; but he did say, that an entire change of property would ensue-that coffee and sugar estates would no longer be productive to their owners who remained here-and that if they wished not to give them up altogether, they must go to the islands and live upon them as planters. Now this was a state of things for which we were not prepared at present. He did not say that such a state of things might not arrive at some timethat the black population whom our own wretched policy had sent thither might not be the future possessors of the soil. Such a case was highly probable, but we ought not to hasten it by any rash measures of legislation. He had thrown out these remarks as showing the ground of the vote that he should give, and he again begged to express a hope that the Mr. Bernal contended, that this bill was colonists would take the advice which they not a boon to the West India colonies, had received, and so improve the condibut to the great body of distressed ship- tion of their slaves as to fit them for owners. He thought the present measure making a gradual and complete emanciought not to be clogged with any enact-pation-an event which must sooner or ment with regard to the registration of later arrive. slaves.

Mr. Wilberforce thought it might be desirable to connect with this bill a provision for registering slaves like that which he had brought under the consideration of the House five or six years ago, but which had not been adopted. In granting the boon now intended to be given by this bill, some security ought to be obtained against the importation of slaves.

Mr. Manning described the distress in the West Indies to surpass all description, and to exceed that experienced by the agricultural classes here; and therefore he considered it was of the utmost importance to afford relief.

The bill was read a second time.

EMPLOYMENT OF THE POOR IN IRELAND.] The House having resolved itself into a committee on the employment of the poor in Ireland, Mr. Goulburn moved, "That, for the Relief and Employment of Poor in certain parts of Ireland, the lord lieutenant shall be authorized to advance

Mr. Brougham said, it could not be denied that great distress existed amongst the West India body of merchants-a dis-out of the consolidated fund, any sum or tress which was as great, if not greater than that which prevailed amongst our agriculturists at home. Therefore, it was, that he should be glad of this measure for their relief, though it was not called for by themselves; and he hoped that a much

sums of money not exceeding the amount of any presentments made for the making or Repairing Roads or carrying on the Public Works in Ireland, at the last Spring Assizes; and also, such further sum of money, not exceeding 50,000l.,

as may be required for making or improving Roads in any part of Ireland."

Sir N. Colthurst expressed his approbation of the grant, and was confident that the noble, generous, and humane manner in which the people of this country had come forward on this occasion would make a lasting impression on Ireland, and inspire the sincerest gratitude.

Mr. Becher said, he was gratified at the introduction of such a measure. It was a source of high gratification, that the liberality of the people of England was now endeavouring to remedy the evil caused by government; but as prevention was better than cure, as employment was preferable to alms-giving, he should have been better pleased if timely measures had been adopted by government, by which much of the present distress might have been avoided.

Mr. J. Smith gave his warm support to the present measure, and thought that thanks were due to the right hon. gentleman by whom it was introduced; though he could not extend those thanks to the government generally; seeing that they might by timely measures have prevented much of the evil. Still he hailed the present plan, because he was satisfied that it would be productive of considerable relief. He had become acquainted, in the committee at the London tavern, with scenes of distress now prevailing in several parts of Ireland, which he almost shuddered to think of, and which he could not detail to the House. But, from all he had learned, he had come to this conclusion, that the want of employment was the great cause of the evil. England was now imperatively called upon to assist the sister island. We owed her a great debt, which we ought now to discharge. We had in our prosperity acted towards her with oppression; and we were bound at this trying time to do every thing for her improvement. It was in evidence before the committee for managing the Irish subscription, that in the barony of Moyarta, in the county of Clare, there were not less than 10,000 individuals without the necessaries of life. A large portion of them were deprived of the assistance which they might have expected from a resident country gentry, and were left to perish from want of food; as he had no doubt many of them had done. Now, he contended, that the hundred of Brixton in Surrey, or of Ossulston in Middlesex, had not a better

claim to the sympathy and relief of the country than the barony of which he spoke, and therefore every thing which could be done ought to be done for its relief. There was one point which he wished to press-that no distinction should be made between persons of different religion in that country.

Mr. W. Smith said, he would mention to the House one class of absentee landlords, whose benevolent example he trusted would have many imitators. The parties to whom he alluded were two corporate bodies of London, who possessed estates of considerable extent in Ireland. The first was the Drapers company. They had on their estates a tenantry of not less than 1,791 families, consisting of 10,740 persons, for whose relief they had done every thing which could be expected. The other company was one to which he had the honour of belonging. They had come to the possession of a considerable estate in Ireland, on the demise of the late king; and since then they had expended seven-eighths of their income in improving the condition of their tenants. He was sorry that the subscription opened for the Irish poor had not the names of many of the Irish absentees.

Mr. Martin, of Galway, expressed his gratitude to ministers for the measure they had proposed. He trusted that no person would exaggerate the distresses which existed in Ireland and play off the calamities of that country to disturb the empire. He felt it his duty to call the attention of the House to the conduct of an hon. member. That hon. member (Mr. Hume) was usually very constant in his attendance in the House, and he had heard him talk of this thing and that thing; but when the present subject came to be discussed, the hon. member yawned, and walked out of the House. The hon. member was soon to treat of the tithe system of Ireland. He would supplicate that hon. member to leave Ireland to other gentlemen, and the legitimate ministers who represented that country in the House. The hon. member, he dared to say, would come down to the House and bewail the sufferings of Ireland-but what was Ireland to him?

"What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, "That he should weep for her?"

Mr. Hutchinson thought it was invidious and unjustifiable to allude to any member in the manner the hon. gentleman had done. If the hon. gentleman alluded to the hon.

the most active principles of repulsion into all the elements of social life. The argument of the opponents of the present measure had been this-that some alterations in the marriage law might have been reasonably called for twenty or thirty years ago, but was by no means necessary now; that the case of "Liddiard and Horner," decided in 1799, laid down an entirely new rule of construction, different from that which had been observed from the passing of the marriage act in 1753, down to 1799; that that new rule of construction had been adhered to ever since, and therefore that the

Mr. Wetherell was surprised at thisclause, which was calculated rather to increase than to diminish the cases of doubt and difficulty which arose under the marriage act. Here was one of the penalties which had been long attached to illicit connexions at once removed. The effect of this first clause would be, that any young man might marry a minor, born out of wedlock, with the consent of her mother as knowing that the mother herself was not in a condition to give it under the present law, and as being willing to take the chance of future legal decisions, whether by the pending bill she would be empow-case of "Liddiard and Horner" must of ered to consent. The present bill would be a premium on these hypothetical marriages, and might lead to the most mischievous consequences. A young lady might say to a gentleman, or a gentleman to a young lady under age, Oh, never mind the consent of father, or mother, or guardian; let us marry, and take the chance of our marriage being, if we continue together till after our majority, declared valid, and our children legitimate, or, if we do not, of its being pronounced invalid, and our children illegitimated." In fact, the bill provided, that where parties had married, the one or each of them being a minor, without consent of parents or guardians duly obtained, they should not be allowed to institute any suit for the annulling of such marriage, if they had continued together until the minor was of the age of 21 years. This measure, there fore, which was intended to be amendatory was, in fact, attended with ten times the objections and obscurity that attached to the existing law. Since the case of "Liddiard and Horner," decided in 1799, and the effect of which was to lay down a rule of construction different from that which had previously prevailed every body must know the principle of the existing marriage law. It might be, therefore, imprudent to alter it. He would conclude by moving, as an amendment, that all the words after "be it enacted," be left

out.

Sir J. Mackintosh said, he was not prepared to hear an hon. gentleman rise in his place in that House and declare that no alteration was called for in the existing marriage law—a law which he would be bold to say, had encouraged fraud, perjury, and dishonour-had sowed the seeds of dissention in private families-had caused misery and anguish between parties in all situations-and had introduced

necessity be known to all the world. The unquestionable talent of that most weighty. authority (lord Stowell), by whom the case of "Liddiard and Horner" was decided, no man could more highly appreciate than he did; and the case was too well known to make it necessary for him now to describe it to the committee. The existing marriage act declared, that all marriages of minors, had without the consent of the natural and lawful father of the minor, if living; or if not, of the natural and lawful mother; or in case of their being both dead, then of the guardian appointed by the court of Chancery, or by testament, should be null and void. In the case, therefore, of a mother's giving consent to the marriage of her daughter if the mother be natural mother only, the marriage would be invalid, and the daughter would be illegitimate; if the daughter was illegitimate, so would her children be; and not only that, but the same illegitimacy would attach to their offspring, and so down to the latest generation. To guard against this cruel liability, a man upon the point of contracting marriage with a young woman would be under the necessity of making the strictest search into all the most secret history of the family with which he was about to ally himself. To what an inquisition would this be to expose the most virtuous individuals! It would be to violate that delicacy, in the observance of which our females were so carefully educated; and to ensure from the virtuous indignation of a woman so insulted, or from the just resentment of her family, the suitor's rejection and dismissal with contempt and scorn. He should assuredly vote against the amendment just proposed, and for this clause as part of the proposed bill.

Dr. Lushington said, that the grievances to which the marriage act gave rise were

Dr. Phillimore said, that as the law now stood, all marriages of minors, had without the consent of the natural and lawful parents, or of guardians, were declared to be null and void. The consequence was, that either of the parties contracting marriage under such a disability, might at any period of his or her life, however remote, come forward and set aside the connexion. They might, as the law was now administered, set aside their own oath, after taking the benefit of their own perjury.

The first clause was then agreed to. On the next clause being read,

Mr. Wetherell contended, that it would be an unprecedented deviation from the general rules of jurisprudence, to give this measure a retrospective operation. The general rule of law was, that a party should bear the consequences of their own crimes, faults, and even errors. It was unwar rantable, therefore, if a man became the lawful possessor of property, on account of the invalidity of the marriage of his uncle for example, to step in and deprive him of his right.

so numerous and so glaring, that he hoped | just and tyrannical. The design of the a measure which tended to correct those hon. and learned gentleman who spoke evils would receive the approbation of the last was, to postpone the operation of it House. As the law stood, parent or until 90 or 100 years after the passing guardian, on a technical point, might seek of the original statute, to which so many to break a marriage, to which in the first objections had been urged. The Scotch instance they had assented. marriages, resorted to so frequently, soon after the adoption of the present marriage act, were only clumsy expedients to escape its wanton severity. The hon. member then proceeded to answer the challenge of his hon. and learned friend (Mr. Wetherell) on the subject of re trospective laws, and first referred to the modification and partial repeal of the mar riage act ten years after it was passed in 1753. This amendment was retrospective, as well as lord Beauchamp's bill in 1781, which was introduced with the approbation of the then lord chief justice of the court of King's-bench. The further alteration of the law, carried at the suggestion of bishop Horsley, was also of the same character. Retrospective bills were numerous on our Statute book; but he particularly referred to that passed not many years since, in order to put an end to about 300 suits instituted against the clergy for non-residence. His hon. and learned friend had argued the question in a manner that savoured too much of special pleading and technicality, and had employ ed a sort of reasoning unworthy of him and of the House. The existing law tempted persons to pry into the secrets of families, in hopes of finding something to their advantage: it held out induce ments to younger brothers to ascertain the legitimacy of their elder brothers, in order to defeat an entail; or, preserving the knowledge thus obtained until the death of the elder brother, to defraud his children of their natural expectations, and to turn them out into the world helpless and portionless orphans. He did not say that such had been the effect; but such was the tendency of the law. Among Englishmen he firmly believed that it operated rather as an incentive to virtue and generosity, than as a motive to blast the hopes of the innocent. It seemed admitted on all hands, that the amendment must be retrospective, and the question was, therefore, whether it should be so to the disadvantage of guiltless fathers, mothers, and children, or whether it should not rather be designed to disappoint the unhallowed and rapacious hopes of some despicable relation. The present law was opposed alike to the peace of 22

Sir J. Mackintosh maintained the propriety of the retrospective part of the bill, and cited several precedents in its favour; especially the statute of limitations, and the act of James 1st, assigning the period within which suits from personal property might be instituted. Thus, the security of a tailor's bill was guarded with all the anxiety of legislation, while the dearest and most solemn ties, as the marriage law now stood, were left without any corresponding protection. Hence might foreigners fairly infer, that the English disregarded every thing that was not immediately connected with pounds, shillings, and pence: that the relations of blood, and affection-the bonds of father, mother, and child,-were postponed on our Statute book to the most insignificant matter of pecuniary arrangement. The object of his amendment would be, to restore the bill in some degree to the shape in which it formerly passed that House. The law, as it now existed, was cruelly, needlessly, and inquisitorially retrospective, and one great object of the measure now under consideration was to remedy a law so unVOL. VII.