pressure. The concession of the Catholic | and the Catholics of Ireland were like claims would hasten the desirable result, lambs under the wolf-law of the Protestnot by any revolutionary movement, as ants. your lordship seems to apprehend, but by removing an immense barrier, which the agitation of those claims now opposes to the progress of reason and justice, and by uniting all classes of Irishmen in labouring to renovate their country, and to restore her, divided and almost lifeless as she is, to a state of health and vigour. We, in Ireland, have been accustomed to view it from our infancy; and, when men gaze for a considerable time at the most hideous monster, they can view it with diminished horror; but a man of reflection, living in Ireland, and coolly observing the workings of the church establishment, would seek for some likeness to it only amongst the priests of Juggernaut, who sacrifice the poor naked human victims to their impure and detestable idols." Such was the production from the pen of I. K. L. of whom their lordships must have heard so much. He had one more remark to offer, which was, that there now existed in Ireland a secret inquisition, which worked its way into every family, and he called upon their lordships to adopt the most prompt measures to counteract it. The Lord Chancellor admitted that he had, on a former occasion, when presenting a petition, taken an opportunity to express his opinion, that it was more consistent with the usage of parliament, that noble lords should not make the presenting of petitions an occasion for entering into a debate. The noble baron had not chosen to follow this advice; though he had always thrown his words back in his teeth. When the noble lord talked of wolves and lambs, it was not difficult for their lordships to decide whether the petitions he usually presented came from the wolves or the lambs. While he was on his legs, he would take that opportunity of stating, that for twenty-five years he had given the subject to which the petitions related his most serious consideration, in order to come to a right conclusion. He would not then enter into it, but reserve the full expression of his opinion for the day when the question should be debated; but he would declare, that in his conscience he thought, though he did not say that other noble lords might not conscientiously think differently, that to grant the Catholics any further concessions would be to betray the civil and re Ordered to lie on the table. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Monday, February 26. Lord King said, that the noble and learned lord on the woolsack, who, at the commencement of the session, had recom-ligious liberties of this country, mended that long speeches should not be made on presenting petitions, must make an exception in favour of the noble viscount opposite, whose sentiments on this question were so congenial with his own. The noble viscount told their lordships, that the Protestants of Ireland were an oppressed and proscribed people. The best answer which could be given to the speech of the noble lord, was to be found in a petition which he intended to present. He would read a sentence from it, and, in doing so, was stating the case of the oppressed, not of the law-makers and powerful. The passage was this" That your petitioners most humbly beg to state, that their unprotected situation and condition marks them out to perpetual notice and hostility; that they are the objects of the reproaches of the evil-disposed, who strive to heap wrong upon wrong, and injury upon injury, in order to render them odious in the eyes of the legislature." The complaints made against the Catholics reminded him of the fable of the wolf and the lamb. The lamb was tried and found guilty by wolf-law; GRANT TO THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CLARENCE-PETITION FROM MANCHESTER AGAINST.] Mr. Hume said, he held in his hand a petition, which had been agreed to at a numerous meeting of the inhabitants of Manchester. The petitioners stated, that they had endured great privations and distresses, from the fall in the rate of wages, and that they had endured them with patience and forbearance; but they could not behold with indifference such a disregard of the condition of the suffering working classes as was manifested in the proposal to give the duke of Clarence an addition of 9,000l. a-year to his income. The petitioners begged to suggest, that if it was absolutely necessary that the duke should have a larger income than the junior branches of the royal family, in consequence of his proximity to the throne, the best method of creating the necessary increase would be, in the present state of the country, to reduce the incomes of those junior branches, and leave his royal highness in possession of the income he enjoyed now. The petitioners also stated, that they had no prospect of any increase of wages, or of the means of existence, from the increase of commerce. Their only hope was founded upon a reduction of taxation; and they implored the House, by checking the disposition to improvident grants of all kinds, to endeavour to carry that object into effect. Mr. John Wood said, he was perfectly satisfied, that, if greater time had been allowed, the table would have been crowded with petitions from all parts of the kingdom against the grant. He implored the House to recollect, that, although the people, thus placed in the extremity of distress, were quiet, they were not indifferent to a vote which seemed to be a mockery of their situation. They were not so absurd as to suppose that any relief could be given them by abstaining from that grant. They did not suppose that their sufferings could be aggravated by the giving away of a sum of 9,000l.; but they did think, that in the situation in which they and the country were placed, a vote to that amount was a mockery of their sufferings, which might well have been spared. At a time when an equitable adjustment was mentioned in that House, and when the country was about, as it were, to take the benefit of the Insolvent act, he thought the proposal of any additional income to the royal family 'exceedingly impolitic. It was, indeed, as if a debtor on the eve of a bankruptcy was to give a splendid entertainment, and to say to those who might remonstrate upon the impropriety of such extravagance, "Oh, my debts and embarrassments are so great, that the sum I am now spending cannot make a difference of one farthing in the pound to my creditors." The grant now proposed might not aggravate the sufferings of the people; but, in the eyes of the working classes, it possessed an appearance of insult and heartless indifference, which ought to be avoided. Ordered to lie on the table. DOUBLE LAND TAX-PETITION OF THE EARL OF SHREWSBURY AND OTHER ROMAN CATHOLICS.] Mr. Abercromby said, he had a petition of some importance to present from the English Roman Catholic Land-holders. It was signed by the earl of Shrewsbury, lord Stafford, and several other distinguished persons, and prayed the attention of the House and the government to a subject well worthy of their attention. It was probable that not many members of that House were aware of the fact, that Roman Catholics had been subject, for many years, to pay a double land-tax; so that if a Protestant was called upon to pay four shillings in the pound, a Roman Catholic was required to pay eight shillings. That unequal distribution of the burthen had been first imposed in the reign of king William, and had remained unaltered down to the year 1794, when it was expressly intended, by the acts passed at that time, to relieve them. Those acts had, however, in their operation, become totally ineffectual to the purpose for which they were intended, and upon proceedings lately had in the Exchequer, the Attorney and Solicitor General, acting in strict accordance with the duty which their situation imposed upon them, had succeeded in shutting out all redress through the means of a court of law. He believed there was no one who pretended to assert that, because the Roman Catholics could not conscientiously subscribe to the belief of the Established Church, they were therefore to be called upon to pay a double proportion of the tax levied upon land. It was clear that the legislature, in the year 1794, did intend to grant the Roman Catholics a relief from the situation in which they were placed; and he therefore contended, that the intention of parliament ought to be strictly carried into effect. But, even supposing that there was a mistake upon that pointthat they were wrong in the construction of the act--and that the intention of the legislature of that day was not to relieve them from the difficulty in which they were placed, then he would say, that if it appeared that any Roman Catholic, or Dissenter from the Established Church, was subject to a tax so odious, so monstrously oppressive and unjust, as that of paying a double tax on land on account of his religious opinions, parliament ought not to lose one moment in granting the redress which the petitioners now prayed. It was impossible for any one to look at the nature of the tax, and not to say, that it was a monstrous grievance. One of the petitioners, the earl of Shrewsbury, had actually paid, since the year 1794, no less than 30,000l. for that additional tax alone. And was it not an injustice of the most reprehensible nature, that a nobleman, of approved loyalty and of unquestioned devotion to the interests of his country, should be mulcted in so large a sum, merely because he continued to maintain the respect for that religion, in which he, in common with his forefathers, conscientiously reposed his faith? He did not mean to suggest any course at present. He would merely move, that the petition be received and printed, hoping that the government would see the propriety of calling upon the omnipotence of parliament to put an end to a practice which exhibited the most odious injustice. He saw the Attorney-general was about to rise, and he begged, then, as he said before, to disclaim any intention of imputing to him a desire to go beyond the strict line of his duty upon the occasion to which he alluded. The Attorney-General said, that the bill of 1794 was intended to allow all persons, who chose, to exonerate themselves from the land-tax, within a certain time; and those persons who had not taken advantage of that permission within that certain time were now precluded from any relief. He would admit, however, that upon general principles, the petitioners ought to be relieved; although there was an utter incapability to grant that relief to those who had availed themselves of the terms of the act of parliament. Mr. Secretary Peel, although he continued to think as he always had thought, that it would be impolitic to grant any further political concessions to the Roman Catholics, yet his opinions upon that subject could not prevent his giving his hearty concurrence to any measure which would have the effect of relieving them from what there could be no question was a direct heavy burthen imposed upon their religious belief. Ördered to lie on the table. EMIGRATION COMMITTEE.] Mr. Wilmot Horton brought up a Report from the Emigration Committee; and in moving that it should lie on the table, he said he thought it right to inform the House of the circumstances under which the Committee had deemed it expedient to present it. It related solely to the fact, that the Committee had resolved, that they were not prepared to proceed on the principle of the Committee on Emigration of 1826, that private or local contributions should be raised, for the purpose of carrying into effect the object of emigration. The Committee had thought it desirable at that early period to state their opinion upon the subject, as it was one on which a strong and erroneous impression appeared to prevail, both in the House and in the country. It could scarcely be necessary for him to add, that under such circumstances he deprecated any discussion of the Report. Ordered to be printed. BRIBERY AT ELECTIONS.] On the motion of lord Althorp, the order of the day was read for resuming the adjourned debate on the motion made on the 13th instant-" That a Select Committee be appointed, to whom all Petitions which shall be presented to this House, after the expiration of the time allowed for presenting Petitions against the validity of the Return of any Member of this House, by any person or persons affirming that general Bribery or Corruption has been practised in any Borough, Cinque Port, or place, for the purpose of procuring the Election or Return of any Member or Members to serve in Parliament for such Borough, Cinque Port, or place, shall be referred, and that they report their opinion thereon to the House," Lord Althorp said, that it now became his duty to state to the House his views on the subject. If he had addressed the House upon the day on which he originally moved this resolution, he should not have thought himself called upon to enter into any discussion to show the necessity of establishing some measure like that which he had proposed. But what had since occurred had convinced him of the expediency of detailing the grounds of his proposition. It was a notorious fact, that in many boroughs in this kingdom, there was a general practice of bribery at the election of members to serve in that House. It was a notorious fact, that in some of those boroughs, the voters received five, ten, twenty, thirty, or fifty pounds a head for their votes. It could not be denied, that the prevalence of this practice was a disgrace to the House of Commons and to the country; and he felt, functions of a grand jury. The parties accused would be put to no examination in the first instance. Only the evidence of the complainants would be heard. There would be no occasion for the parties to enter into recognizances; as, if the committee should determine that the complaints were frivolous, the complainants would not be allowed their expenses. He thought that the best mode of appoint mode of appointing standing committees. He had no fear of partiality in their conduct. In the present state of the House of Commons, there were no questions which excited greater partiality than questions connected with private bills; yet the whole conduct of the standing committee, which had been appointed on that subject, had been as impartial as it was possible to be. It had been suggested to him that, instead of appointing a committee for inquiring into the merits of petitions complaining of general bribery, it would be better to refer such petitions to a committee of privileges. But what was the constitution of the committee of privileges? It was constructed of a certain number of members, by name; to whom were added all the lawyers and all the merchants, &c.; in fact, all who came had voices. To refer these petitions to a committee so constituted, would naturally lead to great evils. In the resolution which he had proposed, there was no limitation with respect to the time beyond which no petitions complaining of general bribery, should be received. It was not a general principle of our law, that the time during which offences might be cognizable was that if the House of Commons valued their own credit and honour, they would use their utmost endeavours to put it down. He knew that at present numerous laws were in existence against bribery. But, notwithstanding the heavy penalties which those laws denounced against bribery, bribery still continued; and he really believed had not been at all diminished by the laws in question. The conclusion to which he necessarily came was, that the existing such a committee would be the usual ing laws were inefficient. From some cause or other, it appeared that they did not operate as they were intended to operate. In some few instances, however, another course had been pursued; and the offending Borough had been either thrown open to the Hundred, or the right of election had been transferred to some other place. This latter course had proved as efficient as the laws had proved inefficient. No one believed that the members for Shoreham, or Aylesbury, or Yorkshire, had given head-money to their voters. Though plenty of money might have been spent, there could be no suspicion that it had been spent in bribery. He was perfectly ready to admit, that wherever this shameful practice had been discovered, the House of Commons had shown itself ready to apply a remedy. But these discoveries had hitherto been rare and accidental. The object of his motion was to render them more frequent and certain. The Resolutions on this subject, which had been proposed in the last session of the last parliament by his noble friend (lord John Russell), had been passed by the casting vote of the right hon. gentleman in the chair of that House. At his noble friend's request, he had brought the sub-limited. He was aware that there were ject under the consideration of the House at an early period of the present session. It appearing, however, to be the general wish on all sides, that he should withdraw the motion which he made on that occasion, he had done so; and had substituted the Resolution at present under discussion, as one that might be adopted with less difficulty. The principle on which he proceeded was, that a standing committee of twenty-one members should be appointed at the beginning of every session, to whom petitions complaining of bribery should be referred, and which committee should determine whether or not such a case was made out as deserved the consideration of the House. The functions of such a committee would be exactly analogous to the some exceptions to that general principle; but he was at a loss to understand, why the offence of bribery at elections was to be one of them. He had therefore not proposed any limitation of time. If, however, any particular wish existed on the subject, he had no objection whatever to introduce a limitation. There was another evil which it might be necessary to avoid; namely, the danger of persons who might present election petitions within the time prescribed by law, deferring the presentation unnecessarily. For, although it was not intended that the decision of the committee should affect seats, yet if such general bribery were proved, disfranchisement might occur, if not the expulsion of the member. There were many cases, however, of bribery which would not call for the disfranchisement of the borough. For this reason he had proposed the instruction which had been printed with the resolution. He was aware that, by that instruction, the proposed committee would be rendered less efficient than it would otherwise be; but, on a balance of inconveniences, he had chosen what seemed to him to be the lightest of the two. The committee were directed, by this instruction, in the first instance to inquire if the petitioners might not have presented their petition in time to go before a regular election committee. If wilful neglect were established, that would be fatal to the complaint. But there were cases in which wilful neglect might not have occurred. The bribery might not have been discovered in time, or until after the prescribed period; or other causes, beyond the control of the petitioners, might have prevented them from presenting their petition until after the time at which it could be referred to an election committee. In that case it would be a fit subject for the standing committee which his motion went to appoint. He did not think it necessary to enter into any further explanation of his object. It was allowed on all hands to be desirable that some plan should be adopted to prevent the disgrace which was incurred by the existing practices. He thought he had shown that no inconvenience would result from the appointment of such a committee as he had proposed. The report of such a committee would not preclude the House from pronouncing any judgment which to them might seem meet, on any question brought under their consideration. But the great advantage would be, that no question would be submitted to them, in which there was not a prima facie case, requiring parliamentary interference. be Mr. Leslie Foster said, there could not any doubt as to the importance of the subject, or the necessity of preventing a practice so disgraceful and unconstitutional, as that of which the noble lord complained. Respecting the means by which the end was to be accomplished, there might be a great difference of opinion. He must say, after hearing the proposition of the noble lord, that never since he had known any thing of parliament, had he heard a measure which should be received with greater caution than that before the House; because, out of regard to the excellence of its object, the House might be induced to adopt that which, in its result, might be attended with great inconvenience. In the first place it proposed a great change, and it was therefore the duty of every prudent man to ascertain, before he agreed to it, whether the law as it stood was not sufficient. Now, if there existed any ground of complaint on the subject of bribery at elections, he wished to ask what it was that prevented the existing rules from being enforced, or an investigation from being entered upon? The only fear was, that it might, perhaps, be entered upon with greater zeal than was necessary by one portion of the House; but he was sure that, in no part of the House, would be discovered any want of inclination to examine into the matter thoroughly. When had it happened that such a complaint had been preferred and had not been encouraged? In the case of Grampound, the other day, although a long time had elapsed, and although the matter had been already investigated in a court of justice, where the offenders had been punished, the House interfered as soon as the subject was brought before it. Did the House, upon that occasion, show any thing like a disposition to shield the guilty parties? What could be more satisfactory than the course which had been adopted on that occasion; or what more consistent with the justice of the case? Did not this, then, bring the matter to the question whether the House should keep in its own hands the power it had exercised so usefully and so satisfactorily, or delegate it, as was recommended by this resolution to a committee? He was inclined to prefer the existing system, to that which was proposed, for many reasons. By the Grenville act, the parties interested did not know who were to be the judges until the very moment of trial; but, by the proposed resolution, the judges were to be known, and not to be changed after being once appointed. The difficulty of providing such a committee was not one of the least objections to the measure. A more invidious distinction, or a more odious task, than was to be imposed on this committee, could not be imagined. If any could be imagined which was more adapted to admit party views than another, it was the very tribunal now proposed. Who were to be the members of the committee? He doubted very much if many gentlemen |