at least it would show that Great Britain sympathized in the noble feelings, and in the unmerited calamities, of the sufferers. On these grounds he submitted the resolu tion, which he hoped would be unanimously carried, "That a sum not exceeding 200,0001. be granted to his majesty, for the relief of such parts of the empire of Russia as have suffered from the invasion of that country."

enduring, with unexampled patience and fortitude, all the miseries of war, they had most effec. tually and extensively relieved the distresses of Great Britain. Since the commencement of the triumphs of the Russian arms, a brighter day had dawned upon the manufactures and commerce of this country; and scarcely a day passed without some account being obtained of new employment for our artisans, and new incitements to their industry-industry, which had been much damped and depressed by the loss of the American market; but which now found fresh encouragement, and revived with fresh vigour, from the trade carried on with the open ports of Europe. After due deliberation, it had been thought right to propose that 200,0007. should be the sum to be granted: neither too much for Great Britain to bestow, nor too little for Russia to receive. It had been deemed expedient, that the vote now to be passed should exceed any of the former grants for similar purposes-the grant was beyond example, because the occasion was beyond example. It tran, scended all former efforts, not only made by Russia, but by any other country. History could not parallel the heroic instances afforded of patriotic self-devotion and heroism. By the intelligence received, it appeared that thousands-he might say hundreds of thousands-had been compelled to abandon their comfortable homes to a brutal enemy, and to seek for safety in the woods that could not afford them shelter. Did not these unhappy beings claim the admiration and the compassion of all the enemies to tyranny? It was true, that no sum could give effectual aid; but

Mr. Ponsonby declared that it certainly was his intention to vote for the proposed grant: for the sufferings of the people of this country he felt as much as any man; and if the question were simply, to take a sum from the sufferers of England to give to those of Russia, he should give it his negative. The distresses in England, it might be proper to remark, though brought on partly by causes beyond the control of government, had been in part caused by circumstances which it would have been in their power to prevent. If speedy and conciliatory measures had been adopted with regard to America, a very large portion of this distress would not have existed. If, however, the house were to negative this grant, more harm would be done to the sufferers of this country, than could be retrieved by the possession of the 200,0001. Russia had been brought to the state in which she was, by refusing to submit to the continental system; and if the result of the struggle were to enable her to keep open the markets of that vast empire to our manufac tures, she would soon repay the sum we might now advance. This he admitted; and if the noble lord had openly come forward, and stated the necessity of it, he should have felt pleasure in concurring in

the

the grant. But by saying this, he (Mr. Ponsonby) hoped he should not be thought to patronise the system of subsidizing. The state of things in Russia arose from her having engaged in this virtuous struggle unbought by us. The situation to which she would have been reduced by an alliance with France, was before her eyes; and without communication with this country, or, if with communication, he was convinced without assurance of support, she nobly took her part. For these reasons he should support the vote; and he was anxious that it might be seen by the distressed manufacturers, that it was not by any insensibility to their sufferings, that the vote of one member, at least, was determined, but by a sincere conviction, that their interests would have been more injured than served by refusing this grant.

Mr. Whitbread was sorry to say, that the grant would not pass unanimously. He did not, moreover, think it just to this country to take money out of the pockets of our starving manufacturers, to apply it to sufferers to whom, unhappily, it could be of no use. Those unfortunate beings who, as the chancellor of the exchequer had stated, had sought shelter from the severity of a Russian winter in their forests, were now, alas! as senseless as the snow with which they were surrounded; and now, if they continued to exist, could the small sum which they were that night called on to vote, afford them relief? Though the contest in Russia might have a tendency to increase our own security, yet to imagine that this 200,0001. could be a bond of unity between that nation and ourselves would be to contradict

the testimony of experience. It had been the interest of Russia to enter into amity with us: she had acted in pursuance of that interest, and in accordance with that interest she would act hereafter. It had been said, that committees of nobles had been formed-that the emperor had exerted himself to afford relief, by rebuilding habitations, and by alleviating the poignant misery of the sufferers. It did, indeed, behove the Russian government to do away with all the pomp of state-to apply all the resources of the empire to this object; it was more particularly the duty of that government to do so, from the commission of an act, singular in modern history-the conflagration of Moscow. This grant could be considered as no other than a subsidy in aid of the war in Russia; for, by discharging the Russian government of the duty of applying a sum equal to this to its suffering subjects, it left an equal sum applicable to the purpose of driving the French from the empire, or to that of crushing their power. It was a subsidy then-a paltry and contemptible subsidy as to the purpose of the war. Why had not the aim been the alleviation of the misery of the sufferers? Should the application of the sum be confined to Russia Proper, to the exclusion of the countries through which the French had passed, in making (what had been termed in the message) this unprovoked aggression on the empire of Russia? From the resistance of Russia, if wisely taken advantage of, the greatest blessings might ensue. This, however, was as yet uncertain. In the mean time, there were in some parts of this country cases of as crying distress, as, out of the reach of war, could

be

be. Suppose a grant proposed to these sufferers; would it not be said to be improper to attempt to alleviate private distress? But would it not be an act of justice to our country, before we go abroad with

our charity, to know whether we have not objects at home, to whom it might be extended with advantage?

Lord Castlereagh replied, and the motion was carried.

THE

HE house of commons met again on the 2d of February, and the lords on the following day; but there was no business, in either house, of much public interest till the 11th, when the second reading of the vice-chancellor's bill excited a warm debate. We may however notice that on the 3d of February earl Nelson, in the upper house, presented a petition from the arch deacons of Norwich against the Roman catholic claims; upon which the bishop of Norwich took occasion to express his strong disapprobation of the conduct of the established clergy, in thus coming forward and interfering on an occasion which was, more than any other, a consideration of state policy. Such a line of conduct he did not think warranted either by propriety or expediency. He did not envy the preference given by a part of the clergy of his own diocese, to the noble and reverend earl, for presenting such a petition. The reverend prelate added, that from time and circumstances, the nature

of the question to which the petitions referred had been greatly changed; that none of those apprehensions with respect to their catholic fellow-subjects, which for merly obtained, need be entertained at present; and he thought that a moderate and liberal line of conduct with respect to them, particularly on the part of the clergy, was such as would be more wise, politic, and proper in every respect.

Mr. Whitbread on the same day gave notice that he should on the 4th of March bring the subject of peace under the consideration of the house.

On the 11th lord Castlereagh, in moving the second reading of the vice-chancellor's bill, said that it was for the house, on this occasion, to balance between the pressure of the necessity which called for a measure of this nature, and the imperfections of the measure itself. As to the necessity, that could not be doubted, when it was known that the appellate juris.

diction

diction was so ineffective, and the general jurisprudence of the country consequently so defective, that there was at this moment an arrear in the house of lords amounting to no less than 280 causes, which, according to the usual average, could not be heard within less than eleven years. Such an arrear was a grievance, not only to the suitors immediately concerned; but, as the several causes must involve some principles of law, any delay in the decision of them was likely to en courage further appeals. This was a pregnant reason for promoting the speedy decision of such appeals, in order to guard against litigation: for any suitor who thought proper to appeal, had reason to calculate, under existing circumstances, that he might postpone the determination of his cause, and perhaps deprive his adversary of his justice for a period of eleven years. All opinions, therefore, must concur in thinking, that the legislature ought to interfere for the removal of such an evil. In order to remedy this, an opinion had gone forth, that the lords should extend their sittings beyond the usual time to hear cases of appeal: but he put it to the house, whether such à measure would not be one of the greatest constitutional innovations that could well be imagined; and whether any wise statesman would make it the ground of a permanent system? Its adoption would, indeed, involve a most violent attack upon the prerogative of the crown; for how could a prorogation of parliament be in such a case resolved upon without interfering with the administration of justice? - For the house of lords must continue to sit for an unusual period on this branch of its duty, and that which related to appeals must be

discharged by delegation. But if even the duration of its sitting were enlarged, were the lords to sit ten onths of the year instead of five, still the evil complained of would not be remedied; because the effect would be to withdraw the chancellor from the court of chancery to attend in the house of lords, and therefore it would only serve to substitute one evil for another. It might be said, that a speaker of the house of lords ought to be appointed, to relieve the chancellor from the necessity of such attendance in the lords. Such a proposition was not, however, from all he understood, ever likely to be pressed by any person competent to judge, because such an appointment must serve to lessen the dig nity which ought to belong to the judicial decisions of the house of lords. By this bill, indeed, it was only proposed to give the chancellor a permanent, instead of that temporary assistance which by law he was now entitled to call for from the judges, but which assistance he could not press, under present circumstances, without creating a corresponding evil in the courts of Westminster-hall. The only dif ference indeed between the office proposed to be erected and the court of the rolls was this, that the business to be assigned to the new officer was to be subjected to the regulation of the lord chancel lor, while the causes in the rolls were not, unless in cases of appeal, under any such regulation. Having said so much as to the necessity and nature of the new office, the noble lord adverted to the expense which some persons seemed to think it would occasion; but the fact was, that it would be attended with no expense to the public, while it would be productive of great ad

vantage

vantage to the suitors. The salary to be granted to the officer was 40001. per annum; one half of which it was proposed to provide from the fund formed by the profits accruing to the court of chancery, and the other half from the dead cash remaining in that court, namely, from the interest upon unclaimed property in that court, of which, after paying the master in chancery and other officers, 90007. a year remained unappropriated. Thus any objection on the score of expense was quite inapplicable. An apprehension had been expressed, that the new appointment might subject suitors to additional expense, by referring them to a tribunal, from the decision of which any party would be at liberty to appeal to the lord chancellor; but he could not see why such an apprehension should apply to the new tribunal any more than to the rolls, from which appeals to the chancellor did not bear a greater proportion than as one to 25 causes, although the right of appeal was fully notorious. Why then should the chancellor be refused the additional instrument which this bill proposed to grant him for the discharge of his important functions, from any such idle apprehension-from any assumption rather against than for the proper use of the power which this bill proposed to create? With respect to the assertion which he had heard, that the salary of the new office should be entirely drawn from the profits of the lord chancellor, he had to state, that the noble lord who now held that office had, before the committee of the lords who investigated this subject, deprecated any view to his personal advantage, and urged the consideration of the subject solely upon public grounds. But it must be

felt by every considerate man, that the office of chancellor ought to be upheld in adequate dignitythat it ought to be liberally endowed, as a remuneration for the labours of the office, for the professional risks which, considering the uncertainty of the tenure, the officer encountered in undertaking it—that its emoluments should be amply sufficient, not only to enable the individual who held the office to maintain it in becoming splendour

but, continued the noble lord, to make a suitable provision for his family. It would, indeed, in his judgement, be a false economy to reduce the emoluments necessary to sustain this high office. Upon this point he thought that there could be but one feeling, and he concluded with moving, that the bill be read a second time.

Mr. Bankes said, his opinions were sufficiently known on the subject of economy; but whenever economy alone was opposed to measures of a more substantial nature, it ought undoubtedly to give way. His objection to the present bill was, that the remedy proposed would be found totally insufficient for the purpose for which it was intended. It was a most deplorable state for a country like this to be in, where law and justice have always lifted up their heads and flourished, that the delays in the court of chancery and house of lords were such as to amount almost to a denial of justice. The consequence of the proposed alteration would therefore be, that the business of the court of chancery would be done by a person inferior in learning and abilities to the present lord chancellor, and that the business of appeals would stand still as at present. In a short space of time it would make the lord chan

cellor