Page images
PDF
EPUB

the contrary, he condemned it; but he | information, he had determined to abstain mentioned it as a matter of caution to the persons to whom he alluded, in order that the people might not be driven to a state where resistance would become a duty.

Mr. J. Grattan considered it his duty to deny the fact of the impossibility of collecting tithes, or that any combination existed to deprive the clergymen of their rights. It had been asserted by the learned member for the University of Dublin that a clergyman in the neighbourhood where this transaction had occurred, had been obliged to send his books to Dublin to be sold for the support of his family. Now he (Mr. Grattan), as a gentleman who resided in that county, felt it his duty to contradict that statement. He was ready to testify that there could not be a better set of clergymen than the clergymen of the county of Wicklow generally; but he would deny that there was any combination to deprive them of their just rights. He felt bound to state, that in his late canvass, previous to his return for Wicklow, he had heard in that part of Wexford, bordering on Wicklow, where this matter had occurred, murmurs of complaints against the individual who was prominently connected with this transaction. It was exceedingly wrong to have called out the Yeomanry. The police, who, when applied to, appeared to have conducted themselves extremely well, should alone have been employed. The Yeomanry, it was well known in Ireland, were generally selected from party motives, and they were consequently a very obnoxious force.

from noticing the matter until the result of that investigation should be laid before the House. It had been, however, prematurely introduced by the hon. member for Preston, who, no doubt, could only have been influenced by motives of humanity. How deplorable was it that twenty-one human lives had been sacrificed in a squabble about tithes. Whatever might be the result of this inquiry, he should have been glad to have observed (what he lamented he did not) on his side the House, something like regret that Irish blood had been wasted, and that the spirit of the living was not unafflicted at the massacre of the dead.

Mr. Maxwell had only stated what he believed to have been the facts.

Mr. Hunt, in moving that the petition be printed, could not agree that the discussion had been premature. Whether it had or not, he trusted it would have a good effect. It was but a few days ago they had read in the public prints of the slaughter of eighteen human beings at Merthyr Tydvil. Now they had to peruse the melancholy details of another butchery of twenty-one of his Majesty's subjects. An opportunity had now been afforded to the public of hearing something from both sides, respecting this latter slaughter. Whether the Yeoman shot himself, as the Yeoman did at Chichester, he did not know, but the fact was, that one score of a Catholic population had been slaughtered without remorse by an Orange Yeomanry. He sincerely trusted that the result of an inquiry would be satisfactory, but still he could Colonel Chichester thought it was high-not but regret that such a system of havoc ly wrong to enter into such a discussion should be resorted to. in the absence of the right hon. the Secretary for Ireland. He did not believe that the peasantry had fired on the Yeomanry.

Mr. Walker said, the whole disturbance was to be traced to the great poverty of the peasantry.

Mr. O'Connell said, that having learnt that twenty lives had been lost, he had made an application yesterday to Government relative to this melancholy transaction, and had been informed by the Secretary for Ireland, that the Irish Government had at once instituted an inquiry into the matter, and that they had sent down a very proper officer, Mr. Greene, the King's Counsel, to investigate the transaction on the spot. Having obtained that

Sir J. Newport deprecated prejudging such a question. He lamented, as much as any one could lament, the loss of human life that had taken place on this occasion, but he hoped the House would set its face against such premature discussions.

Petition to be printed.

ANSWER TO THE ADDRESS.] The Speaker stated, that he had to read to the House his Majesty's answer to the Address. It was as follows:

"I return you my sincere thanks for your dutiful and loyal Address, and for your assurances that you will make such further provision as may be necessary for

the public service, as well as for the application of the sums granted by the last Parliament.

"In all measures that may be necessary for the improvement of the resources, and for the preservation of the peace of the country, as well as for the support of the honour of my Crown, I rely with confidence on your constant and zealous co-operation."

On the Motion of Lord Althorp it was resolved, nemine contradicente,

"That an humble Address be presented to his Majesty, to return his Majesty the thanks of this flouse for his most gracious Answer to their Address."

[blocks in formation]

Mr. Ridley Colborne wished to know, whether the public land which had been given to the King's College, had not been granted on the condition that the façade of the College towards the river should be made to form an eastern wing to Somerset House, exactly corresponding to that at the western extremity of the building? He thought no one could deny, that it was desirable to make one wing of a great public building correspond with the other, but it appeared to him that the College had been erected in utter defiance of this agreement; and he required to know by what authority this had taken place.

Mr. Goulburn said, that the ground had been granted upon such conditions and as it appeared to him that they had not been complied with, he had applied to a competent authority, by whom he had been informed, that the building was so erected as to admit of the façade to the river being completed in exact conformity to the western wing of Somerset House, and that it was intended so to complete it.

tention of the noble Lord to the state of the New Road from the West of London to the City, some parts of which were in a state truly disgraceful, particularly the streets at Pentonville, and parts of the City Road.

Lord Granville Somerset said, that considerable sums had been spent upon the improvements of the Strand, and the public were now annoyed by the erection of a building for the exhibition of the skeleton of a whale. He wished the whale had had some other local habitation, as its present covering obstructed the view of St. Martin's church, and was an annoyance to those who wished to obtain a sight of that beautiful building. He would take the liberty, therefore, of asking the noble Lord whether, this shed had been erected with his approbation and knowledge?

Lord Duncannon assured the noble Lord, that the building he complained of, which had been erected with his acquiescence, would remain but a very short period, and he begged the noble Lord to recollect, that the whale thus accommodated was the prince of whales. The new street from Waterloo Bridge, as far as Bowstreet, would entail a very small expense on the public, as the cost would be defrayed by the sale of lots of Crown land, forming the site of new houses. The Crown, however, had no interest in the street to the north of Bow-street, but as that line of it would improve the adjacent properties, the proprietors would contribute to the expense. The state of the metropolitan roads did not come exactly within the superintendance of the Board of Woods and Forests, but at present its attention was directed to the subject.

Mr. Goulburn thought, that as the new street would greatly benefit the two noblemen whose estates were adjacent to it, it was but right that they should contribute to the expenses of the improvement.

Lord Duncannon said, the noble individuals to whom the hon. Gentleman referred, had, on being applied to, expressed their desire to enter into an arrangement, but the Board to which he was attached had nothing to do with the proposed improvement beyond Long Acre. Bill brought in.

Mr. Cressett Pelham hoped the inform- DEAN FOREST.] Lord Duncannon ation given was well-founded, for the east- moved for leave to bring in a Bill to asern wing was at present a most unsightly certain the boundaries of Dean Forest, and object. to inquire into the rights and privileges Mr. Hudson Gurney wished to call the at-claimed by free miners, and other purposes.

277

Reform in

{JUNE 23}

Lord Duncannon assured the noble Lord that the subject had come under consideration, and he hoped some beneficial alterations would shortly be made.

Bill brought in.

Lord Granville Somerset wished to take | vote, as was the case at Preston, and his the present opportunity to state, that the constituents and himself were anxious prison of St. Leonard's, near the Forest of that all their countrymen should enjoy He the same privileges. He did not mean to Dean, was in a miserable condition. had seen a person who had been confined throw any impediment in the way of the several months, and could have no change plan introduced by Ministers, for he beof air but by an order from the Justices. lieved there was an overwhelming majority In such a prison, persons confined suffered in its favour throughout the country, and dreadfully, and he trusted that some at- he had no doubt it would be carried with a tention would be paid to his represent- high hand. He certainly thought it would do but little good, but the general opinion ation. seemed to be, that if this was settled, the people would soon obtain the other things they demanded. He regretted, that his opinion on this subject should have been misrepresented, and he conceived the petition to be a complete answer to the misrepresentations which had been made of his unpopularity with his constituents. He maintained, that by the old law of the land, up to the reign of Henry 6th, every man had a right to vote, and at present the great body of the people were looking forward to regain the privileges of which they had wrongfully been deprived, They said, "give us the ReHe had been asform Bill, and we will obtain the measures which will satisfy us." sailed by such violent charges, which were equally false and scandalous, of having deceived the people, that he wished an inquiry to be made, and if the charges were proved, he ought to be expelled from He denied that he was that House. connected with either Whigs or Tories, and detested boroughmongering, by whomsoever it was practised.

CORN LAWS.] Lord Milton was anxious to take advantage of the earliest opportunity to state, that it was his intention, on the first convenient day (of which he would give due notice), to bring the subject of the Corn-laws under the consideration of the House. He would confine himself in the present Session to moving certain resolutions, expressive of the expediency of a revision of those laws, postponing till the next Session a full discussion of their principle and tendency.

Mr. Hunt would, in the present Session, give the House an opportunity of the full discussion which the noble Lord would postpone till the next, on the occasion of a motion which it was his intention to submit for a repeal of the Corn-laws.

Mr. James could not assent to the stateHe had been ments of the hon. Member. all his life an advocate for Universal Suffrage, the Vote by Ballot, and Annual Parliaments; but would abandon all, except the Ballot, in favour of the measure of Reform proposed by Ministers. Should, indeed, that measure fail-as he did not expect-in producing all the benefit which he contemplated, he would again be an

REFORM IN PARLIAMENT.] Mr. Hunt presented a Petition from Preston, signed by 3,000 or 4,000 persons, praying that the franchise rights which they at present possessed might not be interfered with by the Reform Bill. This petition he had received previous to the late dissolution, and it would be in the recollection of the House, that he had asserted that the measure of Reform proposed by Ministers had not satisfied the people of the north of Eng-out-and-out radical Reformer. land. They demanded more than that Bill professed to give. This declaration had been denied by several hon. Members, but the petition now presented was a proof of the correctness of his assertion; for although his constituents supported the Reform Bill, yet they prayed the House to grant Universal Suffrage, Annual Parliaments, and Vote by Ballot, and they would not be satisfied until these were obtained. He agreed with this opinion, for he thought every man had a right to

Mr. Slaney was sure that the bitterest foe of Reform could not give utterance to any doctrine more insidiously adapted to mar the success of the Reform Bill than that just propounded by the hon. member for Preston.

Mr. Hunt next presented a Petition from the county of Somerset, the result of a public meeting, approving of the Ministerial plan of Reform. The hon. Member declared, that the petition had been intrusted to him, in preference to

the county Members, because they had confidence in him, and that the meeting agreed unanimously, that the Ballot was necessary for the security of the voters. He had been accused of being an enemy to Reform, and that he had changed his political principles, and been bought over to the side of the Tories. In contending that the Bill was by no means entitled to the popular commendation so lavishly bestowed upon it, he but spoke the sentiments of his constituents, who again returned him, notwithstanding the efforts of the Parliamentary Candidate Society to unseat him; so that all the stories relating to his unpopularity at Preston

were untrue.

Mr. Alderman Waithman was sure that something must be done towards curing the hon. Member of his cacoethes loquendi malady. Night after night the hon. Member was wasting the time of the House with long-winded egotistical harangues, in which nobody felt the remotest interest, and which the Reporters, in the exercise of that discretion-for which he (Alderman Waithman) could never be too grateful-very judiciously permitted to drop into deserved oblivion. The other evening he heard the hon. Member make use of not less than seventy-five " I,"66 I's," "I did this," and " I did that," in twelve minutes by the clock. If the hon. Member proceeded at this rate, the hon. member for Kerry (Mr. O'Connell) would have to complain of his monopoly of long-winded egotism being invaded.

Mr. Hunt was not an orator, par excellence, like the hon. Alderman, but would nevertheless pledge himself not to produce the invariable effect of the hon. Alderman's orations on all who had the misfortune to hear them--namely, set them to sleep. He would back ten minutes of the hon. Alderman's eloquence at any time as a specific where the strongest opium had failed.

Colonel Evans said, he was the individual alluded to by the hon. member for Preston as having endeavoured to prevent his return at the late election; and he had only to regret that he did not arrive at the place till it was too late, and thereby have effected a great public benefit by the defeat of the hon. Member.

[ocr errors]

with the Ballot would be sufficient to render Universal Suffrage and Annual Parliaments unnecessary.

Petition laid on the Table.

TIME OF MEETING.] The Speaker, on the question of adjournment, said, he was anxious to ascertain the feelings of the House as to the hour on which he should in future take the Chair. As that was the first day of private business, and on that account expecting a press of such business, he came down to the House at three o'clock, as he had himself proposed; but as no such press could be expected to-morrow, or in future, he wished to know whether it was the wish of the House that he should take the Chair at three or at four o'clock; [Loud cries of "four o'clock," from all parts of the House.] He begged it therefore to be understood, then, that in future he should not come down to the House till a quarter to four o'clock.

HOUSE OF LORDS,

Friday, June 24, 1831.

MINUTES.] Bills brought in. By Viscount MELBOURNE, to Revive and Continue Expired Commissions, Appointments, Patents, and Grants in Ireland; and to Indemnify certain persons.

Petitions presented.

By the Marquis of WESTMEATH, from the Inhabitants of Moate, for the revision of the Criminal Laws. By the Bishop of BRISTOL, for the Abolishment of Slavery, from the Inhabitants of Tipton Kirkby, Wharfe, Trowlesworth, Auchtergavin, Harling, Little Waldingfield, Town Malling, Farforth-cum-Maidenwell, Wrotham, Yaxham, and Welborne, Smarden and Itchen, and Alfeld. By the Earl of SHREWSBURY, for the regulation of Grants for Education in Ireland, from the Inhabitants of Graig, Ullard and Powerstown, Killameny, Windgap and Tullarkaright, Elmlafad, and Kilmargan, and nine or ten other places for Reform, from Lady Island, Carne, Wexford, and several other places; and for the Repeal of the Subletting Acts, from Roman Catholics of Graig, Ullard, and Powerstown, and several others; from Roman Catholic Tradesmen and Day Labourers of Navan, for power to build places of Worship; from Magis trates of Galway, for protection of the Kelp Trade; from Inhabitants of Syddan Rush, and Castledermott, and two other places, for the restoration of the Parliament of Ireland; from Roman Catholics of Ballindooley, to extend the Elective Franchise to them.

REPEAL OF THE UNION WITH IRELAND.] The Earl of Shrewsbury presented several Petitions, for a Repeal of the Union between Great Britain and Ireland. From the tenor of these petitions, the noble Earl said, and from the letters which accompanied them, he was satisfied that Mr. James said, he had not changed his the sole object of the petitioners was a opinions with regard to the Ballot without redress of grievances. Were they allowed which he feared the proposed Bill would to enjoy their full share in the Representnot be effectual. But he thought the Billation of the country-were a larger pro

not exceeding, he believed, 20,000l. had been collected, whereas, he was informed that not less than 60,000l. would be necessary to alleviate the distress. There was another circumstance, which in this case restrained the bounty of the public, and rendered it inefficient, and that was religious bigotry. Of this there was a striking and melancholy example the other day at a public meeting in Exeter Hall, in which men, who professed to assemble for purposes of charity, suffered themselves to be carried away by misguided zeal to utter the most bitter and false invectives against those whom they perhaps sincerely desired to relieve. In an age of religious fanaticism and acrimonious controversy, which it had been hoped an equality of civil rights would have terminated, or at least cooled, it seemed impossible that charity could duly exert her influence over the hearts of men. In reply to a deputation from the distressed districts, the Lord Lieutenant was reported to have said, that Ministers would willingly propose a grant of money, but they feared Parliament would refuse it, but he could not believe that their Lordships would suffer such a state of misery to exist, when the remedy was within their power. Because the scene was distant, it surely was not the less real, nor less entitled to attention. In conclusion, he wished to press upon their Lordships' serious attention, an admirable and eloquent appeal which Dr. Doyle had made to the public, in the form of a letter to a distinguished Member of the Lower House. With, their Lordships' permission, he would read extracts from letters he had lately received. A Dr. M'Hale, writing to him and speaking of the condition of the poor, said,

portion of the wealth of Ireland expended in that country-were the religion of the State not placed in hostility to the religion of the people had the peasant a legal right to employment and subsistence-he was quite certain petitions of that description would never again be sent to their Lordships. In touching upon the present melancholy condition of parts of Ireland, he was happy to say, he had learnt, with infinite satisfaction, by the King's Speech, that his Majesty's Ministers had determined to send supplies to the distressed districts, but he had also learnt, with deep regret, that those supplies were to be limited far within what he supposed was necessary. It was, however, a consolation to know, that measures were to be devised to prevent a recurrence of the evil. That was not the time to enter into details; but he hoped their Lordships would allow him to observe, that he thought the principal object should be, to introduce into Ireland the better portion of the Poor-laws, in order to assimilate as much as possible the condition of both countries; for never could he understand either the justice or policy of that law which abandoned the unfortunate and distressed of Ireland to utter destitution, without a hope or chance of redemption, while it imposed an imperative obligation on the English landholder to provide for the poor and indigent, from which even the absentee proprietor could not escape. It seemed to be forgotten that Ireland was an integral portion of this empire, subject to the same benevolent Monarch, and governed by the same wise and humane Legislature. Their Lordships were bound to take these unfortunate people under their immediate and efficient protection. The Almighty had created them" It is a study to which, theoretically as with as high a destination and as beneficent a design as he had created the rest of mankind, and there could be no doubt of the moral obligation of doing justice to them. But, while political economists had been discussing the causes of the calamity, and the sources from whence relief was to flow, famine and disease had been suffered to seize upon their prey; the charity of the world had been appealed to to supply the place and perform the duty of those intrusted with authority, but the charity of the world was wholly inadequate to meet the exigencies of the case: for, with every effort (and the most laudable efforts had been made), a sum

well as practically, my attention is lately turned. Their condition in this country surpasses description; and if the Government do not interfere, thousands of the people will become the victims of starvation. This is not an assertion casually suggested by a reference to that part of your Lordship's letter which regards the poor. It is one, I am sorry to say, advisedly and deliberately made from a conviction of its truth, as your Lordship may see in this day's Freeman's Journal, in a letter to Earl Grey, a copy of which I directed the editor to transmit to your Lordship. Whoever is well acquainted with the condition of this country and its

« PreviousContinue »