Martis, 27 die Aprilis;Anno 11 Georgii IV ti Regis, 1830.

PRAYERS.

Rye and Limerick County Elections-Petitions considered.

THE hour appointed for taking into consideration the Petition of De Lacy Evans, Esquire, a LieutenantColonel in His Majesty's Army; and also, the Petition of John Meryon, Thomas Barry, William Ellenden and James Blake, claiming to have and having a right to vote for the Election of Members to serve in Parliament for the Town and Port of Rye, in the County of Sussex, on behalf of themselves and others, Inhabitants of the said Town and Port, claiming to have and having a right to vote in the Election of Members to serve in Parliament for the said Town and Port, complaining of an undue Election and Return for the said Town and Port, being come;

The House proceeded to the appointment of a Select Committee, to try and determine the merits of the said Petition, according to the directions of the Act 9 Geo. 4, "to consolidate and amend the Laws relating to the Trial of Controverted Elections, or Returns of Members to serve in Parliament."

The Serjeant at Arms was sent, with the Mace, to the places adjacent, to require the attendance of the Members on the business of the House: And being returned;

The House was counted by Mr. Speaker; and one hundred and eighty-four Members being present;

And the Petition of James Hewitt Massy Dawson, of New Forest, in the County of Tipperary, Esquire, complaining of an undue Election and Return for the County of Limerick, being also ordered to be taken into consideration on this day;

The several Petitioners and other parties, in both the said cases, their counsel and agents, were called in.

And the door being locked;

The Order of the day for taking into consideration the Petition complaining of an undue Election and Return for Rye, was read.

And the names of the Members were drawn, and read in the usual manner.

And the whole number of thirty-three names was completed.

Note.-That in the course of drawing the names; the names of several Members were drawn, who were excused, as being sixty years of age or upwards; or as having served on Select Committees.

And Lists of the thirty-three names being delivered to the clerk appointed to attend the Committee on the Rye Election, the door was opened, and the parties, their counsel and agents, withdrew.

And the door being again locked;

The Order of the day for taking into consideration the Petition complaining of an undue Election and Return for the County of Limerick, was read.

And thereupon the House proceeded to draw by lot, out of the same glasses, the names remaining therein, in order to form a second Committee, according to the directions of the said Act.

And the whole number of thirty-three names was completed.

Note.-That in the course of drawing the names, the names of several Members were drawn, who were excused, as being sixty years of age or upwards; or as having served on Select Committees; and one name was set aside, the Member being petitioned against.

And Lists of the thirty-three names being delivered to the Clerk appointed to attend the Committee for the Limerick Election, the door was opened, and the parties, their counsel and agents, withdrew.

Petitions in favour of Port Glasgow Harbour Bill.

A Petition of the Ship-owners, Merchants and Resident Burgesses, and of the Convener and Members of the six Incorporated Trades of the royal burgh of Irvine;- and, of the Merchants and Ship-owners of Saltcoats,- were presented, and read; taking notice of the Bill for improving the Harbour of Port Glasgow, constructing a Wet Dock or Wet Docks adjacent thereto, and for altering the Road leading from Port Glasgow to Glasgow, near the said Harbour; and praying, That the same may pass into a law.

And the said Petitions were ordered to lie upon the Table.

Petitions against Bute (Cardiff) Canal Bill.

A Petition of Richard Blakemore, of Melin Griffiths, Glamorganshire;-of the Proprietors of the Monmouthshire Canal Navigation;-and, of the Company of Proprietors of the Glamorganshire Canal Navigation and Freighters using the said Canal,-were presented, and read; taking notice of the Bill for empowering the Most honourable John Crichton Stuart, Marquis of Bute and Earl of Dumfries, to make and maintain a Ship Canal, to commence at a certain Place called the Eastern Hollows, near the Mouth of the River Taff, in the County of Glamorgan, and to terminate near the Town of Cardiff, in the said County, with other Works to communicate therewith; and praying, That they may be heard by themselves, their counsel or agents against certain parts thereof.

And the said Petitions were ordered to be referred to the Committee on the Bill; and that the Petitioners be heard by themselves, their counsel or agents upon their Petitions, if they think fit.

Ordered, That counsel be admitted to be heard in favour of the Bill, against the said Petitions.

New Sarum Poor Bill, committed.

A Bill for better assessing and recovering the Rates for the Relief of the Poor within the City of New Sarum, and enlarging the Powers of an Act passed in the tenth year of the reign of his late Majesty King George the Third, intituled, "An Act for consolidating the Rates to be made for the Relief of the Poor of the respective Parishes of Saint Thomas, Saint Edmund and Saint Martin, in the City of New Sarum," was read a second time; and committed to Mr. Wyndham, &c.: And they are to meet this Afternoon in the Speaker's Chamber.

Petition against Little Bolton Improvement Bill.

A Petition of Proprietors of gas-works, and Owners and Occupiers of meadow and arable lands, within the township of Little Bolton, in the county palatine of Lancaster, was presented, and read; taking notice of the Bill for more effectually cleansing, lighting, watching, regulating and improving the Town of Little Bolton, in the County Palatine of Lancaster; and praying, That they may be heard by themselves, their counsel or agents against certain parts thereof.

Ordered, That the said Petition be referred to the Committee on the Bill; and that the Petitioners be heard by themselves, their counsel or agents upon their Petition, if they think fit.

Ordered, That counsel be admitted to be heard in favour of the Bill, against the said Petition.

Rye Election- Committee appointed.

The counsel and agents in the case of the Rye Election being returned to the bar, the Clerk appointed to attend the said Committee, delivered in to the House a reduced List; and the same was called over, and is as follows:

Thomas Peers Williams, Esquire, the Right honourable Robert John Wilmot Horton, Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Baronet, Charles Mackinnon, Esquire, Thomas Gardiner Bramston, Esquire, Lewis William Buck, Esquire, Lord Viscount Palmerston, Bethell Walrond, Esquire, Robert Downie, Esquire, the Honourable Henry King, Charles Bilcliffe Fyler, Esquire.

And the said eleven Members, being the Select Committee for trying the merits of the Petition complaining of an undue Election and Return for the Town and Port of Rye, were sworn by the Clerk at the table, in the usual manner; and thereupon the counsel and agents withdrew.

Ordered, That the said Committee do meet forthwith, in one of the Committee Chambers appointed for hearing the trials of Controverted Elections.

Petition against Kingsbury Episcopi Inclosure Bill.

A Petition of Proprietors of Lands within the parish of Kingsbury Episcopi, in the county of Somerset, was presented, and read; taking notice of the Bill for inclosing Lands in the Parish of Kingsbury Episcopi, in the County of Somerset; and praying, That the same may not pass into a law.

Ordered, That the said Petition do lie upon the Table.

Petition against North Level Drainage and Navigation Bill.

A Petition of Sir Culling Eardley Smith, Baronet, was presented, and read; taking notice of the Bill for improving the Drainage of the Lands lying in the North Level, part of the Great Level of Fens called Bedford Level, and in Great Portsand, in the Manor of Crowland, and for providing a Navigation between Clows Cross and the Nene Outfall Cut; and praying, That he may be heard by himself, his counsel or agent against certain parts thereof.

Ordered, That the said Petition be referred to the Committee on the Bill; and that the Petitioner be heard by himself, his counsel or agent upon his Petition, if he think fit.

Ordered, That counsel be admitted to be heard in favour of the Bill, against the said Petition.

Hull and Hedon Road Bill, committed.

Ordered, That the Order of the day, for the second reading of the Bill for making and maintaining a new Turnpike Road from the Town of Kingston-upon-Hull, in the County of the said Town, to Hedon, in the County of York, be now read; and the same being read;

A Motion was made, and the Question being proposed, That the Bill be now read a second time;

The Amendments following were proposed to be made to the Question; viz. to leave out the word "now," and at the end of the Question to add the words "upon this "day six months."

And the Question being put, That the word "now" stand part of the Question; it was resolved in the Affirmative.

Then the main Question being put;

Ordered, That the Bill be now read a second time:- The Bill was accordingly read a second time; and committed to Mr. William Duncombe, &c.: And they are to meet this Afternoon, in the Speaker's Chamber.

Limerick County Election- Committee appointed.

The counsel and agents in the case of the Limerick County Election being returned to the bar, the Clerk appointed to attend the said Committee, delivered in to the House a reduced List; and the same was called over, and is as follows;

George Hay Dawkins Pennant, Esquire, Nicholas William Ridley Colborne, Esquire, Sir Codrington Edmund Carrington, Knight, Sir Arthur Chichester, Baronet, Gibbs Crawford Antrobus, Esquire, John Hungerford Penruddocke, Esquire, George Burrard, Esquire, James Wemyss, Esquire, Richard Edensor Heathcote, Esquire, Alexander Saunderson, Esquire, Masterton Ure, Esquire.

And the said eleven Members, being the Select Committee for trying the merits of the Petition complaining of an undue Election and Return for the County of Limerick, were sworn by the Clerk at the table, in the usual manner; and thereupon the counsel and agents withdrew.

Ordered, That the said Committee do meet forthwith, in one of the Committee Chambers appointed for hearing the trials of Controverted Elections.

Wendover Road Bill, passed.

An ingrossed Bill for more effectually repairing and improving the Road from Wendover to the Town of Buckingham, in the County of Buckingham, was read the third time.

Resolved, That the Bill do pass.

Ordered, That Mr. Holmes do carry the Bill to the Lords, and desire their concurrence.

Almondbury Inclosure Petition, reported.

Sir Robert Wilson reported from the Committee on the Petition of Proprietors of estates in the manor of Meltham, in the parish of Almondbury, in the west riding of the county of York; That they had examined the matter thereof; and the Report was brought up, and read.

Ordered, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to amend an Act of his late Majesty, for inclosing Lands in the Manor of Meltham, in the Parish of Almondbury, in the West Riding of the County of York: And that Sir Robert Wilson, Lord Viscount Milton and Mr. Marshall do prepare, and bring it in: And that leave be given to present the Bill on or before Tuesday next.

Hagley Inclosure Bill, passed.

An ingrossed Bill for inclosing certain Lands in the Parish of Hagley, in the County of Worcester, was read the third time.

Resolved, That the Bill do pass.

Ordered, That Mr. Lygon do carry the Bill to the Lords, and desire their concurrence.

Petition against Sheffield Waterworks Bill.

A Petition of Dame Catherine Burgoyne, of Grosvenorplace, in the county of Middlesex, widow, was presented, and read; taking notice of the Bill for better supplying with Water the Town and Parish of Sheffield, in the County of York; and praying, That she may be heard by herself, her counsel or agent against certain parts thereof.

Ordered, That the said Petition be referred to the Committee on the Bill; and that the Petitioner be heard by herself, her counsel or agent upon her Petition, if she think fit.

Ordered, That counsel be admitted to be heard in favour of the Bill, against the said Petition.

Petitions against Sale of Beer Bill.

A Petition of Licensed Victuallers of Bridgwater;-of Licensed Victuallers resident in the city of Chichester;- of Proprietors and Occupiers of public-houses in the city of Winchester and its vicinity;-of Licensed Victuallers of the town and neighbourhood of Sheffield;-and, of the Proprietors and Occupiers of hotels, inns and victualling houses at Leamington Priors,-were presented, and read; taking notice of the Bill to permit the general Sale of Beer by Retail in England; and praying, That the same may not pass into a law as it now stands.

And the said Petitions were ordered to lie upon the Table; and to be printed.

Petitions for mitigation of Punishment for Forgery.

A Petition of Magistrates, Clergy, Bankers, Merchants, Tradesmen and other Inhabitants of Sudbury;-of Inhabitants of Luton;-of the Minister and certain of the Congregation assembling for divine worship in York-street Chapel, Walworth;-of the Mayor, Magistrates and other Inhabitants of Poole;-of the Inhabitants of the city of Bath; -of the city of York;-of Householders and Inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood of Reigate;-of the Clergy, Gentry and other Inhabitants of Madeley;-and, of the Mayor, Burgesses and Inhabitants of Maidenhead,-were presented, and read; praying, That the whole of the Statutes which inflict death for Forgery may be repealed, and such other punishments substituted as may, in the judgment of the House, appear more beneficial to the community, and bring certain just punishment on offenders.

And the said Petitions were ordered to lie upon the Table; and, except the first, to be printed.

Petitions against Administration of Justice Bill.

A Petition of the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the hundred of Castlemartin, in the county of Pembroke; -of the Gentlemen of the Grand Jury, and Magistrates of the county of Cardigan, at the Great Sessions for the said county assembled;-of Grand Jurors for the county of Pembroke, assembled at the Spring Great Sessions for that county;-of the Mayor, Common Councilmen, Burgesses and Inhabitants of Cardigan;-of Inhabitants of the county of Carmarthen;-of Gentlemen, Clergy, Freeholders and Inhabitants of the county of Denbigh;-and, of Burgesses and other Inhabitants of Pembroke,-of the majority of the Grand Jury of the county of Denbigh; -and, of the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the county of Carnarvon,-were presented, and read; taking notice of the Bill for the more effectual Administration of Justice in England and Wales, by which it is proposed to deprive the inhabitants of the Principality of Wales of the system of judicature which they have enjoyed for the three last centuries, possessing in itself many advantages for which no equivalent will be afforded by the proposed assimilation of the judicature of Wales to that of England; and praying, That the same may not pass into a law.

And the said Petitions were ordered to lie upon the Table; and to be printed.

Petition against Renewal of East India Charter.

A Petition of the Master, Wardens and Commonalty of Merchant Venturers of the city of Bristol, was presented, and read; praying, That all monopoly of the trade of the United Kingdom with India, the Indian Archipelago and China, may be abolished, and that British subjects may be placed in a situation, in respect to their intercourse with those countries, at least upon a footing of equality with the subjects of all other kingdoms and states.

Ordered, That the said Petition do lie upon the Table; and be printed.

Leave of Absence.

Ordered, That Sir Christopher Cole have leave of absence for a fortnight, on urgent private business.

Petition against Insolvent Debtors Bill.

A Petition of Merchants, Manufacturers, Tradesmen and Inhabitants of Sheffield, was presented, and read; taking notice of the Bill to continue and amend the Laws for Relief of Insolvent Debtors in England; and praying, That the same may not pass into a law.

Ordered, That the said Petition do lie upon the Table; and be printed.

Australian Company Petition.

A Petition of the Australian Agricultural Company, was presented, and read; reciting an Act of the fifth year of the reign of His present Majesty, "for granting certain powers and authorities to a Company to be incorporated by charter, to be called The Australian Agricultural Company for the cultivation and improvement of waste lands in the colony of New South Wales, and for other purposes relating thereto;" and setting forth, That the Petitioners were incorporated by Royal Charter under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date on or about the 1st day of November, in the fifth year of the reign of His present Majesty; and that some of the powers, authorities and provisions in the said Act contained, particularly as regards the number of directors of the said Company, the evidence of the possession of shares or stock in the said Company, and the mode of deciding questions moved at the meetings of the said Company, require amendment; and praying, That leave may be given to bring in a Bill for amending the said Act made in the fifth year of His present Majesty, intituled, "An Act for granting certain Powers and Authorities to a Company to be incorporated by Charter, to be called The Australian Agricultural Company, for the Cultivation and Improvement of Waste Lands in the Colony of New South Wales, and for other purposes relating thereto;" or that the House would be pleased to grant the Petitioners such further relief as to them may seem meet.

Ordered, That leave be given to bring in a Bill accordingly: And that Mr. Hume and Mr. John Smith do prepare, and bring it in.

Petitions against Watching, &c. Parishes Bill.

A Petition of the Commissioners for paving, pitching, cleansing and lighting the city of Bristol and liberties thereof;-and, of the Commissioners for carrying into execution certain Acts for forming, paving, cleansing, lighting, watching, watering, and otherwise improving and keeping in repair the streets, squares and other public passages and places upon certain plots of ground in the parish of Saint Pancras, in the county of Middlesex, belonging to the Right honourable Ann Dowager Baroness Southampton, and other persons, were presented, and read; taking notice of the Bill to make Provision for the lighting, watching, cleansing and paving of Parishes in England and Wales; and praying, That they may be heard by themselves, their counsel or agents against certain parts thereof.

And the said Petitions were ordered to be referred to the Committee on the Bill; and that the Petitioners be heard by themselves, their counsel or agents upon their Petitions, if they think fit.

Ordered, That counsel be admitted to be heard in favour of the Bill, against the said Petitions.

A Petition of Commissioners for paving, lighting, cleansing and watering the south-western district of Saint Pancras, was also presented, and read; taking notice of the said Bill; and praying, That the same may not pass into a law as it now stands.

Ordered, That the said Petition be referred to the Committee on the Bill.

Petition against Duty on Corn Spirits.

A Petition of Landholders and Farmers frequenting Worcester and other Markets, in the county of Worcester, was presented, and read; setting forth, That the Petitioners are deeply interested in the consumption of homegrown Corn, a considerable portion of which is purchased by the distillers of the United Kingdom; that the Petitioners have heard, with considerable dismay, that it is the intention of the Government to impose an additional duty on Corn Spirits for consumption in England, which, as the Petitioners humbly submit, must have the effect of superseding the use of British Spirits, and consequently the consumption of British Corn in the home distillery, unless a corresponding duty is imposed upon Rum; and praying, That a duty, corresponding with the proposed increase of duty on Corn Spirits, may be at the same time imposed upon Rum.

Ordered, That the said Petition do lie upon the Table; and be printed.

Petition for rerepeal of certain Clauses in Vagrant Act.

A Petition of Christopher S. Smith, Chairman of a Meeting of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the county of Worcester, assembled at the Easter Quarter Sessions 1830, was presented, and read; setting forth, That the county of Worcester is subject to a very heavy burthen by the operation of the Vagrant Laws, by which magistrates in any part of England are empowered to pass Vagrants to Ireland and Scotland, as well as Jersey and Guernsey, at the expense of the counties through which the roads may lie; that this expense has been rapidly increasing for some years, and is become grievously burthensome to the county rates; that the whole charge upon the county of Worcester, for the year 1828, for the passage of these Vagrants, was 605l. and the expenditure has since increased; that there are the best grounds for believing that the abuses and impositions, which were a chief cause of the repeal of the General English Vagrant Act, prevail at least to the same extent, with respect to these cases, which were excepted from that repeal; the same persons are known to be passed so frequently by the same road as to become familiar to the pass-masters, more especially between Bristol and Liverpool and Bristol and Holyhead; it is indeed become almost a trade, by which men subsist; when landed in Ireland, instead of proceeding to their homes, they return by the first conveyance to England, and find their way again to this country, where they well know that they will be subject to very little investigation in obtaining a fresh pass, thus procuring a comfortable subsistence in idleness for a long portion of their time at the public expense; and with respect to the Jersey and Guernsey Vagrants, the numbers alone are sufficient proof that great imposition is practised, either by the means above detailed, or by persons with the like views falsely swearing that they are connected with these islands; that the counties through which these Vagrants are passed, though subject to the expense, have no check or control whatever over these proceedings, it being by law imperative upon the magistrates in those counties to receive and forward all such persons as shall be brought to them by the proper authorities; while it is to be remembered that the magistrates who originally grant the passes, being only anxious to remove the burthen of maintaining such persons from their own districts, have no interest whatever in protecting the intermediate counties from imposition; that the Petitioner begs further to represent that the experience which has been had for some years of the benefit arising from the repeal of the general power of passing Vagrants in England, unaccompanied, as far as they know, by any material inconvenience, justifies the belief that the like advantages would follow from the repeal of these excepted cases; that the practice of passing Vagrants to Ireland in particular, holds out a great, direct and most impolitic premium to the influx of Irish peasantry, so much and so justly complained of, and does in truth afford an invitation to emigrate to England, and thus adding to the burthen of the counties through which they are passed; the Petitioner therefore humbly prays the House for a repeal of these excepted clauses, and that Irish and other Vagrants may be put upon the same footing with those from distant parts of England, who are now left to the ordinary operation of the Laws of Settlement; in case, however, the present interest or accommodation of the metropolis should be thought to require a continuance of this power of transferring so large a population every year to Ireland, the Petitioner humbly represents that the burthen of so doing ought not to be cast partially upon the counties that happen to be in the road of conveyance; that the measure being designed for the relief of London and other large towns, the expense should be sustained by those places from whence they are removed, or, if it be considered an object of public policy, that it should be made a charge upon the public revenue.

Ordered, That the said Petition do lie upon the Table; and be printed.

Account respecting First Fruits (Ireland), ordered.

Ordered, That there be laid before this House, an Account of any sum of money advanced by the Commissioners of First Fruits, from the revenue intrusted to their care, for the purchase, or in diminution, of the rent reserved on Glebe Land, procured for the parish of Ballymaglassan, in the diocese of Meath, in Ireland, about the year 1818; and also, of any sums of money issued from the said Funds, by way of gift or loan, for the erection of a Glebe House in the said parish at the same time; specifying the terms on which such Glebe Land was acquired, and, if by lease, the duration of the lease; together with a statement whether said Glebe Land and House are now in the possession of the present incumbent of said parish, or of what other person.

Copies of Treasury Minutes, to be printed. No. 319.

Ordered, That the Copies of Treasury Minutes on the subject of Compensation to certain Collectors of Customs for losses sustained by them, which were yesterday presented to the House, be printed.

Petition for continuance of Fishery Bounties.

A Petition of the Fish-curers of the royal burgh of Wick and Pulteney-town, was presented, and read; praying the House to continue the Fishery Board under its present excellent rules and regulations, with a Bounty of only 2s. per barrel on crown-brand herrings, and to place all engaged in the trade throughout the United Kingdom, upon an equal footing, both in respect to the regulations to be observed and the rate of Bounty to be obtained on the due observation of those regulations which ought to be held alike binding on all who shall be entitled to claim the said Bounty.

Ordered, That the said Petition do lie upon the Table; and be printed.

Answer to Address.

Mr. Secretary Peel reported to the House, That their Address of yesterday (that His Majesty would be graciously pleased to give directions, that the Paper therein mentioned might be laid before this House) had been presented to His Majesty; and that His Majesty had commanded him to acquaint this House, That He will give directions accordingly.

Returns, &c. presented: Bankruptcy Commissioners. No. 309.

Mr. William Peel presented to the House, pursuant to their Addresses to His Majesty,-A Return to an Address to His Majesty, dated the 15th day of March last, for a Return of the Names of the Commissioners belonging to the London Bankrupt Lists; stating, 1. The Dates of their Appointment; 2. Whether they are Barristers or Solicitors; 3. If Barristers, whether they practise as such, and in what Courts, and whether they go the Circuit; 4. What other office connected with Bankruptcy any such Commissioner holds, or is entitled to, in reversion, with the Date of Appointment to any such Office, or of any Gift in reversion of any such Office; 5. What other legal Office or Appointment any such Commissioner holds, or has held, while a Commissioner, with the Date of Appointment.

Law Business (Scotland.) No. 310.

A Copy of the Table of Fees of Conveyancing and of General Law Business adopted by the Society of Writers to the Signet in Scotland.

Courts of Justice (Ireland.) No. 311.

Copy of the Nineteenth Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Duties, Salaries and Emoluments of the Officers, Clerks and Ministers of Justice in all Temporal and Ecclesiastical Courts in Ireland.

Ordered, That the said Papers do lie upon the Table; and be printed.

Accounts to be printed. Nos. 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317.

Ordered, That the Accounts and Papers relative to Contracts for Supplies for the Army, Sugar, Coffee, Grain, the Report of Trustees for the Encouragement of Manufactures in Scotland, and the Return of Exchequer Information, which were yesterday presented to the House, be printed.

Returns, &c. presented: South American States. No. 318.

Mr. William Peel presented to the House, pursuant to their Addresses to His Majesty,-Return to an Address to His Majesty, dated the 9th day of March last, for an Account of the items of Expenditure, including charges for Conveyance out and home, as well as Outfit, in the Diplomatic and Consular Establishments in the New States of America; showing also the time of Residence of the several Public Servants for whom Salaries have been paid since the 1st of January 1825, so far as the same can be made out at the Foreign Office.

Pauper Lunatics.

A summary Abstract from each County Riding (or Division of the County of Lincoln) in England and Wales, of the Returns made to the respective Clerks of the Peace, under the provisions of 9 Geo. 4, c. 40, s. 36; distinguishing the sexes of the Paupers so returned, and specifying the several numbers of Lunatics and Idiots, of the dangerous and of the harmless, and of those confined in regular Asylums for the Insane, and of those not confined; and also, the highest, lowest and average rate; as also, the total sum paid in each County for the maintenance of the Insane Paupers; stating further, what Parishes in each County have not complied with the provisions of the above-mentioned section of 9 Geo. 4, c. 40, and the reasons, if any be known, to the Clerk of the Peace for such neglect;-and, a similar Return from each Liberty, County of a City, County of a Town, Cinque Port or Town Corporate.

Ordered, That the said Papers do lie upon the Table; and that the Return be printed.

Petition respecting Distribution of Church Property.

A Petition of Lay Members of the United Church of England and Ireland, Inhabitants of the County and city of Cork, was presented, and read; setting forth, That the Petitioners regard the United Church of England and Ireland as the chosen instrument of Almighty God to preserve amongst us the light of Christian truth, and to uphold and foster the civil and religious liberties of the nation; they are firmly convinced of the scriptural purity of her doctrines and of the excellence of her episcopal form of government, and they desire, by every means in their power, to support her privileges, and to extend her influence; that, although the Petitioners are thus fully sensible of the blessing which the Established Church has been to the country, they yet deeply deplore that evils arise from the present distribution of her revenues, and that abuses exist in the administration of her secular affairs; and the Petitioners are convinced, that a period has arrived when the security of the Church requires the reformation of defects which operate so strongly to impede her influence in the promotion of religion, to weaken her hold upon the affections of the people, and to endanger her existence as a national establishment; the Petitioners would humbly call the attention of the House, in the first place, to the evils arising from the present distribution of Church property; they conceive that the revenues of a national religious establishment should be applied to providing (as far as possible) for the suitable maintenance of all classes of the Clergy, and for the religious instruction of the people, and yet, by the present division of the property of the Church, some of the dignitaries are possessed of revenues far beyond what the most liberal estimate could deem necessary, while others of the Clergy (to whom frequently the most important cures are intrusted) receive pittances wholly insufficient for their support, and no adequate provision is made for supplying the religious wants of the increased population of the country; while therefore the Petitioners fully admit that the diversity of orders in an Episcopal form of Church government requires a diversity of incomes, and while they pray for the preservation of all vested rights of property, they at the same time humbly submit, that at the termination of existing interests, funds might be derived from the superabundance of the wealthier preferments, which would supply the necessities of the curates and poorer beneficed Clergy, and would provide for the support of additional ministers of the Established Church, where the growth of population and other causes render them necessary; the want of a sufficient number of churches to accommodate the increase of inhabitants in populous districts is also a subject to which the Petitioners would humbly pray the consideration of the House; it appears to them to be absolutely necessary that some means should be provided for the erection and endowment of new churches to supply the wants of the country more adequately than is effected by the provisions for this purpose already in existence; of the abuses which exist in the administration of the secular affairs of the Church, the first to which they would humbly call the attention of the House, is the custom of presenting the same incumbent to a plurality of benefices having cure of souls, frequently in different dioceses, and in parts of the country remote from each other; this practice, which is unfortunately so prevalent, the Petitioners conceive to be fraught with the most injurious consequences to religion, and to the Established Church; it involves the necessity of non-residence; it is an union of the most indefensible description, and it is an evident misapplication of Church property, as it accumulates upon an individual what was originally intended to afford a competence to several; and the Petitioners humbly submit that, if a more equitable distribution of Church property should take place which would provide for the increase of the poorer beneficed Clergy, patrons would no longer be enabled to urge the plea of necessity, the only ground on which the custom of Pluralities ever has been or can be supported; the abuse of non-residence is, however, not confined to parishes held in plurality; the Petitioners complain that, either from a deficiency in the laws intended to enforce residence, or from a laxity of Church discipline, or from a combination of both these causes, many of the beneficed Clergy absent themselves either wholly or partially from their cures without any sufficient reason; the bonds of affection which intercourse would produce between the pastor and his flock, are thus rent asunder, the spiritual concerns of the people are neglected, the influence of the Established Church declines, and facilities are afforded for the encroachment of popery and dissent; even if the sacred obligation of religion did not operate, the residence of a beneficed Clergyman within his parish is imperatively demanded on the plain principle of common honesty; the next subject to which the Petitioners would advert is the unions which exist of parishes sufficient in value to support separate Clergymen, and requiring them from their extent and population; the Petitioners humbly submit, that provision should be made for the dissolution of unions of this nature at the earliest opportunity; they also feel it to be their duty to address the House on a subject of peculiar delicacy, which they approach with considerable delicacy, they advert to the almost insurmountable expenses and delays which attend the deprivation of immoral Clergymen of their benefices; to the spiritual well-being of a Church, nothing is more absolutely essential than that her Rulers should possess a power of easily ejecting corrupt and profligate Ministers; and yet such difficulties attend the prosecution of suits for deprivation, that abandoned characters have been sometimes found, in defiance of public odium and private exertion, continuing to receive the revenues of a Church which they injure by the disgrace and scandal attending their conduct; the Petitioners therefore humbly pray, that the Episcopal powers may be increased and supported by such legal enactments as will enable the Bishops to effect this most desirable object; these various evils and abuses, the Petitioners humbly submit, require an immediate remedy, convinced that their existence has mainly retarded the progress of the glorious truths of the Reformation, has confirmed and increased dissent from our National Church, and furnishes to the enemies of the Establishment a powerful engine, with which they hope to effect its overthrow; in conclusion, the Petitioners do most distinctly acknowledge the right of the Clergy, as a body, to their property, and the necessity of guarding vested interests; they earnestly pray that the possessions of the Established Church be preserved undiminished, being convinced that they are by no means superabundant, if more equitably distributed, and that an attempt to alienate any part of them to secular purposes would violate the first principles of justice, endanger all property, and lead to revolution and national ruin; the Petitioners do therefore humbly pray the House speedily to take into consideration the entire state of the Establishment of the united Church of England and Ireland, and of the Ecclesiastical Law connected therewith, with a view to the correction of the abuses which exist in the administration of her secular affairs, more especially those of which the Petitioners have herein humbly complained, and to the adoption of such measures in the distribution of her property as will insure the suitable maintenance of all classes of the Clergy, and provide for the religious instruction of the great body of the people.

Ordered, That the said Petition do lie upon the Table; and be printed.

Motion respecting Vestries Regulation (Ireland.)

The House was moved, That the Act 7 Geo. 4, c. 72, to consolidate and amend the Laws which regulate the Levy and Application of Church Rates and Parish Cesses, and the Election of Churchwardens and the Maintenance of Parish Clerks, in Ireland, might be read; and the same being read;

A Motion was made, and the Question being put, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to alter and amend the said Act;

So it passed in the Negative.

Bankrupts Act Amendment Bill, ordered.

The House was moved, That the Act 6 Geo. 4, c. 16, to amend the Laws relating to Bankrupts, might be read; and the same being read;

Ordered, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to supply an omission in the said Act: And that Mr. Robert Grant and Mr. Attorney General do prepare, and bring it in.

Embankments (Ireland) Bill, ordered.

Ordered, That leave be given to bring in a Bill for making and preserving Embankments on the sides of Rivers in Ireland: And that Mr. Spring Rice and Sir John Newport do prepare, and bring it in.

Rights of Executors Bill, ordered.

Ordered, That leave be given to bring in a Bill for making better provision for the disposal of the undisposedof Residues of the Effects of Testators: And that Mr. Spring Rice and Dr. Lushington do prepare, and bring it in.

Richmond Lunatic Asylum Bill, ordered.

Ordered, That leave be given to bring in a Bill for appropriating the Richmond Lunatic Asylum in Dublin to the purposes of a District Lunatic Asylum: And that Lord Francis Leveson Gower and Mr. Doherty do prepare, and bring it in.

Dublin Sessions Bill, ordered.

Ordered, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to facilitate the Administration of Justice in the Court of Quarter Sessions in the City of Dublin: And that Lord Francis Leveson Gower and Mr. Doherty do prepare, and bring it in.

Administration of Justice Bill, committed.

A Motion was made, and the Question being proposed, That the Order of the day, for the second reading of the Bill for the more effectual Administration of Justice in England and Wales, be now read;

A Motion was made, and the Question was proposed, That the House do now adjourn:-And the said Motion was, with leave of the House, withdrawn.

Then the main Question being put;

Ordered, That the said Order of the day be now read; and the same being read;

And the House having continued to sit till after twelve of the clock on Wednesday morning;