House Of Commons, Wednesd...
zir .J. UKAIIA31 brought up the report of the committee on the equitable loan bill. Mlr. S. WHITBREAD moved that counsel, who were in at- endance, should be heard against the bill. Sir J. GRAHAM considered the hearing of counsel would cause an unnecessary waste of the timne of the house. MIr. H. SUMNErX, 3Ir. BRrGHT, and Alr. PETER MIOORE, expressed similar opinions. Ahe honse then divided on the question of hearing counsel: the nusvbers %were- Ave,, 12 1 Noes, 62 l Majority, 40. Mlr. PLUMAf1' ERpresented a petition from the Corporation Lon- don Assuranee Comnpany, against the bill for repealing so much of -the act of the 6dt of Geo. I. as restricts partnerships from in. urflog ships. Sir R. SHAW presented a petition from an auctioneer of Dublin, a=ainst the equitable loan bill. The British Annuity Company bill was read the third time, and Passed. :lr. Serge=nt ONSLOW presented a petition from the inhabit- ants of llford prigng for the abolition of slave ,VIASE OF ATEIR. SIITH, TIl MAIISSIONARY. Petitions, graying the bouse to take into consideration the case of late, Dlr. $mith, were presented from the inhabitants of Wigan, by LornI LsiDsAy; from a dissentingcongregatiOrt in Cmberland, I by Mr. Cu:VwREx; and from the inhabitants of Rochd4le, by'r; BLACKBURNE, indvidal Air. WODEEOUSE presented a petition from an idividual praying that it might be made allowable for persons who made de.; pOFits in savings banks to turn those deposits into annuities. - Mr.-SYKES preseated a petition from the merchants and ship- owners of Hull, praving thiat Parliament would take into considera- tion whether a morc clgiible mode of recruiting the navy than by im!pressment might not be adopted: also a petition from the bankers, merchants, &c., of Hull, praying that attornies may be permitted to practice as notaries public Sir Et. SHA' presented a petition from the paper-lhanging ma- nufacturer5 of Duxblin, praying for an alteration in the duty on their licences. MIr. F. LE WIS thought it right for the house te know that the whole sum paid by these traders amounted only to 1,2001. per annum. It would be satisfactory to the house to know also, that a bill was now in preparation to the ef'ect prayed for, one of the conse- quences of which would, he believed, increase the receipts of these licence.duties, which had been so strangely unprodudtive. Sir C. COLE presented a petition from Swansea, against Negro slavery. iMr. CURTElS moved for a copy of the orders in coaneil relative to the countervailing duties on French vessels coming to English ports; which wereordered. Mr. CURTEIS alsb gave notice of his intention tomove early in the next session, for a bill to alter the esisting laws relative to 'sea- men's apprentices. t f MUr. S. RICE presented a petition from Mr. R. Owen, of Ionark in whicb he stated that hc had invented a plan for the amelioration OI the condition of the poorer classes of Ireland. For his own part, the hon. gentleman did not see his way sufficiently clear to pursue the subject any further than by presenting the petition; but he would wzillingly lend his aid if any other gentleman shoald be disposedl to bringbit before the house. Sir W. DE CRESPIG-NY said, he had advised iUr. Owen Rever to bring his plan again before Parliament. Colonel TRENC F deprecated the visionary nature of lr. Owen's plan, the object of which was to destroy the roots of society, and to offer no public benefit. Mr. COLVILLE presented a petition from the inbabitants of Kilmore, praying that the-several parishes of Ireland should be em- powered by the authority of Parliament to maintain their own poor. Mr. J. SMIITH presented a petition from George Pryme, Esq., of Cambridge, against the legacy-duties. Lord MILTON presented a petition from a Air. Paterson, for- merly employed in the collection of customs duties in the port of London, praying for an inquiry into his conduct. lis Lordship also presented a petition from Thomas Flanagan, complaining of abuses in courts of law; and petitions against slave- rv t'rom lvhithv. and frnm Stansted. - Mr. COURTENAY presented a petition from the inbabitants of Exeter. against the beer bill. Sir G. CLERK presented a petition from the tanners of MIussel- burgh. against the hides and skins' regalation bill. -MISSIONARY SMI[TU. Petitions praying for an inquiry into the case of this person were presentedbv Air. }GERT0ow, from Macclesfield; by Mr. B. WIL- 111AHAX, from Dover; by Mr. BuLRRELL, from Newbury and from Brighton; by Mr. LE GH-KECE, from Market Harborough and Hen- ley; by lr.JoTEs, from Carmarthen; by Mlr. LAMBITON, from Bar- nard Castle;- by Sir JoHsVROTnTE5LEY, from Wolverhampton; by Lord GEORGE CAvrsNDIsHt, from Derby and Belper by Mr. S. WORTLEY, from WVhitby; by Lord AIMILTON, from York, from Idle, from Northallerton, trom Halifax. All of whkh were or- dered to the laid on the table, and tO be printed. lMr. LY'GON presented a petition from the town of Stourbridge, againstthe excise licences. DUBLIN STEAIM-PACKETS. Sir R. SHAW, pursuant to notice, moved for the production of copies of the correspondence between the Post-office and Mlr. Watt, relative to the boilers of the Royal Sovereign steam-packet; also a report of the engineers sent dovn to inspect the same. The honour- able gentleman prefaced the motion with a few observations tending to show that the means of comniunication between Dublin and Holy- head, notwithstanding all the expense which Governmenthad wasted upon it,were so inadequate, that the paekets were continuallypassed by the steam craft of private owners and that the grievance was so severely felt, tehatanumber of Dubjin bankers and merchants, hav- ing memorialized the Treasury in vain, had determined to put ves- selsoftheirownafloat, if immediate remedies were not found by the Post-office. Sir H. PARNELL supported the motion, and afterwards moved for returns of the ten longest vovages made by the three Post-office packets in the vears 1821, 1822, and 1823. Mlr. HERRIES acquiesced in the motion, but could not forbear entering into a justification of the Post-office, the duties of which were generally allowed to be fulflUed in a most exemplary way-he had almost said with a prom,ptitude and fidelity unequalled in any other department. He would take care to have included in these re- turns a paper written by the Post-office especially upon this subject, which woould fully exonerate them from any imputation. USUTRY LAWS. Alderman HEYGATE moved for leave to bring in a bill for the more equitable imposition of the pesalties in cases of usury. He had before pointed out to the house the enormous disproportion which existed between the dlegrees of offence and punishment. The penal- ties of the statute were triple the amoutnt of the u;surious debt. If a man took b1. more than lawful interest upon 100,0001., the penalties and loss of the debt would be 400,0001. If another took 201. bevond lawful interest on 1001., his total loss in debt andl penalties, though lie had offended 20 times more grievously than the first, wvould be no more than 4001. This was a state of things which rendered the laws either cruel and unjust, or that which more frequently happened, wholly inoperative on account of their iniquitous violence. He reserved bhimself as to details and further explanation of the principle until the discussion on the bi!l.-Leave given. SCOTCH POOR BILL. Mr. KENNEDY moved the order of the day for the purpose of I----__;+I._--_OA Rutt touh he gave uD the subject for the tr ea-d, that he was determined to bring it forward in the next session, when neither clamour nor misrepresentation, nor any other indirect means, couldavail in preventing him from carryingit through, should the house be found to side with him. Lord A. IlAMf ILTON declared himself hostile to the bill. The LORD-ADVOCATE said that the sense of Scotland was decidedlv a ainst it. M11r. W-. UN'DAS recommended that it should not be brought forward again. Mr. H. DRU1MMOND decidedly opposed the sweeping course which it wvas to take. The bill was then witlidrawn by cornsent; the other orders of the day were disposed of, and the house adjourned at half past seven o'clock. AlINORITY On Sir John Newport's Motiot relativc to the First Friits Fund in Ireland.-May 25. Allen, J. H. Fergusson, Slr R.Lester, B. Russell, Lord J. Ainson, Slr G. Grattan, J. Ml,acdonald, J. Rickford, W. Banlses, H. Grenfell, P. Miarorlbanks, S. Scarlett, J. Barnard, Vis. Guise, Sir B.W. TMartin,j. Scott, J. Becher, WV.W. Gurney, R. H. Milton, Viscount Smith, J. Bernal, R. Gordon, It. IMMICk, T. B. Stanley, Lord Hrougham, H. Hamilton, Lord Newport. Sir J. Stewvart, W. (Ty. Caleraft, J. A. Nugent, Lord rone) Campbell, Hon. Heron, Sir R. O'Callaghan, J. Stuart, Ld. P. J. G. P. Hill, Lord A. Ord. IV. Taylor, M. A. Carew, C. S. HorblJy, E. Osborne, Lord F. Tierney, Rt. Hon. Chaloner, R. Hughes, W. L. Palmer, C. F. G. Coke. T. W. (Der-Hume, J. Philips. (i., sen. Wharton,J. by) Hutchiuson, Hon.Phltips, G. R. Whitbread, S. C. Colborne, N.W.R. C. H. Power, R. Williams, W. Cr evey, . Knight, R. Powlett, Hon.W.Wood, ML Cole, I, r C. Leycester, R. Price, R. Whitmore, W.W. Denison, V. J. Lloyd, Sir E. P. Robarts, A. W. Tellers. Ebrington, Vis. Leader. W. Robarts, G. 3. Duncannon, Vis. Evans, W. Langston, J. H. Robinson, Sir G. Rice, T. S. HOUSE: OF COMMONS. WEDNESDAY. fAY 2fi