House of Commons Journal Volume 85: 10 March 1830

Mercurii, 10 die Martii; Anno 11 Georgii IV ti Regis, 1830.

PRAYERS.

Ireland-Papers, presented: Cork Assizes. No. 131.

THE House being informed that Mr. Johnson, from the Office of the Chief Secretary for Ireland, attended at the door, he was called in; and at the bar presented to the House, pursuant to their Orders,-A Copy of the Entry in the Clerk of the Crown's Book, relative to the postponement from the last Cork Assizes of the Trials of Leary, Magrath, and others, charged with a Conspiracy to murder:-A Copy of the Memorial to the Lord Lieutenant from the Grand Jury of the County of Cork, praying for a Special Commission, and of the Answer thereto: -and, A Return of the total Expense of the Special Commission held in Cork in October last; distinguishing the amount paid to the Judges, Crown Lawyers, Crown Solicitor, Clerk of the Crown, Sheriffs and Police, and the expense of maintaining the Witnesses in Cork, during the continuance of the Commission.

Peace Preservation Acts.

Mr. Johnson also presented to the House, pursuant to the directions of several Acts of Parliament,-An Account of Proclamations issued, and of the amount of all Salaries, Allowances, Rents, Taxes, Costs, Charges and Expenses incurred under the Peace Preservation Acts, 54 Geo. 3, c. 131, and 55 Geo. 3, c. 13, for the year 1829:-And then he withdrew.

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

Rickmersworth Road Bill, committed.

A Bill for more effectually repairing the Road from the Town of Rickmersworth, in the County of Hertford, through the Village of Pinner, to or near the Swan Publichouse at Sudbury Common, in the Turnpike Road leading from Harrow to London, was read a second time; and committed to Sir John Sebright, &c.: And they are to meet this Afternoon, in the Speaker's Chamber.

Petition against Brunswick Square (Brighton) Improvement Bill.

A Petition of the Commissioners for the better regulating, paving, improving and managing the town of Brighthelmston, in the county of Sussex, and the Poor thereof, was presented, and read; taking notice of the Bill for paving, lighting, watching, cleansing and otherwise improving Brunswick Square and Brunswick Terrace, and certain Streets and other public places upon certain Grounds, late part of a Farm called the Wick Farm, in the Parish of Hove, in the County of Sussex; 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.

Cowfold and Henfield Roads Bill, committed.

A Bill for more effectually repairing the Roads from Hand Cross, through Cowfold, to Corner House, and from thence to the Turnpike Road from Horsham to Steyning, and from Corner House aforesaid to the Maypole, in the Town of Henfield, and certain Branches therefrom, all in the County of Sussex, was read a second time; and committed to Mr. Burrell, &c.: And they are to meet this Afternoon, in the Speaker's Chamber.

Courtown Harbour Bill, presented.

Lord Viscount Stopford presented a Bill to amend an Act passed in the fifth year of the reign of His present Majesty, for the completing the Harbour of Courtown, near Brenoguehead, in the County of Wexford: And the same was read the first time; and ordered to be read a second time.

Barnwell Tithes Bill, committed.

A Bill to commute for Lands and a Corn Rent the ancient Compositions in lieu of Tithes and Glebe Lands, payable to the Rector of the Parish of Barnwell Saint Andrew, with Barnwell All Saints annexed, in the County of Northampton, was read a second time; and committed to Lord Viscount Stopford, &c.: And they are to meet this Afternoon, in the Speaker's Chamber.

Garnkirk Railway Bill, committed.

A Bill for amending certain Acts or making the Glasgow and Garnkirk Railway, and for improving, maintaining and rendering Turnpike the Road leading from the said Railway near Broomhill, by Keppoch Bridge, to the Town Head of Glasgow, was read a second time; and committed to Sir Michael Stewart, &c.: And they are to meet this Afternoon, in the Speaker's Chamber.

Broomielaw (Glasgow) Railway and Tunnel Bill, committed.

A Bill for making a Railway and Tunnel from the Broomielaw Harbour of Glasgow, to communicate with the Canals and Railways passing by or terminating at the higher Levels towards the North and North-east of the said City of Glasgow, was read a second time; and committed to Sir Michael Stewart, &c.: And they are to meet this Afternoon, in the Speaker's Chamber.

Petitions against Werneth and Littleborough Road Bill.

Two Petitions,-of Mortgagees of the tolls collected under an Act for making and maintaining a Road from Hollinwood to Littleborough, and other Roads connected therewith, in the county of Lancaster;-and two Petitions, of Owners and Occupiers of land and Householders of Chadderton, in the county of Lancaster,-were presented, and read; taking notice of the Bill for improving and maintaining the Road from Werneth to Littleborough, and other Roads communicating therewith, in the County of Lancaster; 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.

Petitions for repeal of Malt and Beer Duties.

A Petition of Inhabitants of Ewhurst and Bodiam, of the rape of Hastings;-of Gentlemen, Farmers, Traders and others, being Inhabitants of Rye, in the county of Sussex;-of Freeholders, Farmers, Tradesmen and others residing in Croydon and its vicinity;-and, of Maltsters and Dealers in corn in Taunton,-were presented, and read; praying, That the House will be pleased to repeal the Duties on Malt, Beer and Hops.

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

Leave of Absence.

Ordered, That Mr. Handcock have leave of absence for a month, on urgent private business.

Ordered, That Mr. Kavanagh have leave of absence for a month, on account of ill health.

Ordered, That Mr. Henry Lascelles have leave of absence for three weeks, on account of illness in his family.

Ordered, That Mr. Lott have leave of absence for a month, on urgent private business.

Ordered, That Lord Oxmantown have leave of absence for three weeks, to attend the Assizes.

Ordered, That Mr. Macaulay have leave of absence for a month, to go the circuit.

Ordered, That Mr. Starkie have leave of absence for three weeks, on urgent private business.

Ordered, That Mr. Lombe have leave of absence for a month, on account of ill health.

Ordered, That Mr. M'Naghten have leave of absence for a month, on account of ill health.

Petitions respecting Galway Corporation.

A Petition of the Roman Catholic Clergy of the wardenship of Galway;-and, of Landed Proprietors of the county of the town of Galway, holding His Majesty's commission of the peace, were presented, and read; setting forth, That the Petitioners approach the House with feelings of the liveliest gratitude for the great measure of relief which has been lately extended to His Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects, whereby the tranquillity of the Empire has been restored, the stability of the Throne ensured, and all orders of people confirmed in one common sentiment of dutiful attachment to the constitution and laws; that notwithstanding the extension of that great national blessing, the Petitioners cannot but view with surprise and regret the continued existence, amongst them alone, of civil disabilities on account of religion, which so much at variance with the principles of the Relief Bill, enkindle the deepest discontent in the minds of the aggrieved class, and tend to keep alive amongst persons of different communions those feelings of discord which, by legislative beneficence, have been crushed for ever in all other parts of the United Kingdom; that this odious inequality arises from an unjust restriction in a certain Statute, intituled, 4 Geo. I. c. 15, whereby the right of admission to the freedom of the corporation of Galway is confined to persons professing the Protestant religion for a period of seven years, taking the oaths of abjuration and supremacy, and subscribing the declaration against transubstantiation; that the three last-mentioned conditions have been dispensed with by the Relief Bill lately passed by the House, and the Petitioners humbly submit, that to complete the great measure of equal rights, it is expedient that the only remaining restriction should be effaced from the Statute Book; wherefore the Petitioners most humbly pray, That the House will be graciously pleased to modify said recited Statute, so as to give to Roman Catholics resident in Galway the same right of admission to the freedom of said corporation as is now enjoyed by Protestants.

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

Petition against Duty on Coals imported into Ireland.

A Petition of Merchants, Traders and Manufacturers of the county of the town of Galway, was presented, and read; setting forth, That the Petitioners in their respective trades and manufactures consume a considerable quantity of coal; that the Petitioners beg respectfully to submit to the consideration of the House the inequality they labour under in common with other parts of Ireland, as compared with England and Scotland, in the various manufactures in which they are engaged, by reason of the duty on the importation of coal; that the said duty bears more severely on the Petitioners in consequence of the increased freight incurred on importation to the western part of that kingdom, added to which there has been, for the first time lately adopted in the port of Galway, a most vexatious imposition of four-pence per ton, which is called meterage, of the rate of which the Petitioners have not so much reason to complain as the great delay and expense thereby incurred in discharging vessels; and praying, That the House will take into consideration these peculiar circumstances, and that, as a measure of justice and sound policy, they will be pleased to remit the Duty on Coal.

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

Petitions against Renewal of East India Charter.

A Petition of the Chamber of Commerce of Dublin;- and, of Merchants, Manufacturers and others, Inhabitants of Oldham, in the county of Lancaster, were presented, and read; praying, That the House will consider the subject of the Charter of the East India Company with a view to the speedy and effectual removal of every injurious restriction imposed thereby on the Trade between Great Britain and the East Indies and China.

And the said Petitions were ordered to be referred to the Select Committee on East India Company's affairs.

Petition for Leave for Graziers Steam Marine Company (Ireland.)

A Petition of Stevenson Seaver, and John Redfoord Davis, Managers and Agents of the Irish Graziers Steam Marine Company, was presented, and read; setting forth, That the Petitioners in the month of December last commenced the formation of a Joint Stock Company, for the establishing of steam-vessels for the conveyance of cattle between Ireland and England, in shares of fifty pounds each, to be paid by subscription, and called the Irish Graziers Steam Marine Company; and that the Petitioners were precluded from petitioning the House for leave to bring in a Private Bill to incorporate the said Company, within the time prescribed by the forms of the House, in consequence of the non-existence of the Company at that period, and the subscriptions not being entered into; and that the Petitioners, as managers and agents of the said Company, have procured subscriptions to a very large amount from individuals of the first rank, influence and respectability in the country; and that, to guard against the serious disadvantages which must result to the said Company should their Petition for leave to bring in a Bill be postponed till next sessions, the Petitioners do humbly implore the House for an extension of time, to enable them to approach the House with a Petition for leave to bring in a Bill to incorporate the said Company, and to extend to it similar provisions and indemnities as in the case of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company.

Ordered, That the said Petition be referred to a Committee; and it is referred to Mr. Moore, &c.: And they are to meet To-morrow, in the Speaker's Chamber; and have Power to send for persons papers and records.

Petitions respecting Labourers Wages.

A Petition of Inhabitants of Sedgley, in the county of Stafford;-and, of Cradley, in the county of Worcester, -were presented, and read; setting forth, That the labouring classes of those parts of the country, who are principally employed in the ironworks, collieries and manufacturing branches of trade there carried on, now suffer the severest hardships and privations; that many of the masters, more especially some of those concerned in the hardware trades, keep retail shops, and arbitrarily require their workmen to receive their earnings in provisions and other articles of very inferior qualities, for which they charge enormous prices; and praying the House to adopt such means to compel the due payment of wages in money only, and otherwise relieve the existing evils in such manner as may be thought most expedient.

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

Petitions for repeal of Leather Tax (Ireland.)

A Petition of Tanners, of the city of Waterford;-and, of Belfast,-were presented, and read; setting forth, That the Petitioners are at present, and have been for several years past, labouring under the pressure of a tax upon their manufacture, which it is unable to bear, which has depressed the tanning trade to a state of unexampled distress, and which affords awful forebodings of its total extinction; and praying the House to take their case into consideration, and grant a total repeal of the Duty on Leather, thereby conferring a lasting benefit on the people, a large portion of which are in the greatest misery and misfortune, while at the same time it will relieve the tanning trade from a burthen, under the pressure of which it is impossible to exist.

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

Account of Insolvent Debtors, ordered.

Ordered, That there be laid before this House, an Account of the number of persons who were discharged by the Court for the Relief of Insolvent Debtors, under the Insolvent Acts, in each year, from 1st January 1814 to 31st December 1829, inclusive; distinguishing the number of those whose cases were heard in London from those in the country since the Commissioners went the Circuits; together with the aggregate amount of the Debts of such persons in each of those years; also, what has been the aggregate amount of the Dividends paid upon such Debts, and whether any monies remain unclaimed of such Dividends, either in the hands of the Court or the Provisional Assignee, and the aggregate amount thereof.

Petition respecting Emigration.

A Petition of the Naval and Military Out-Pensioner Society residing in and about Glasgow, was presented, and read; setting forth, That the Petitioners, although outpensioners from His Majesty's Service at certain rates per diem, are under the necessity, in order to support their families, to apply themselves to their original occupations, and are chiefly weavers; they are in consequence suffering under the severe depression to which that trade is and has been many years subject; they pray, That the House will enable His Majesty's ministers to advance the means of carrying the Petitioners to Upper Canada, agreeably to the plan suggested by the Emigration Committee of 1826, with this proviso, that the expense shall be reimbursed by instalments from the respective pensions of the Petitioners, to the amount of one-third, and they jointly and severally bind themselves, one for the other, fulfilling the above agreement.

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

Petition for Amendment of Sub-letting Act (Ireland.)

A Petition of Inhabitants of Belfast and its vicinity, was presented, and read; reciting the Act 7 Geo. 4, c. 29, to amend the Law of Ireland respecting the Assignment and Sub-letting of Lands and Tenements; and praying, That any legislative enactment which may hereafter be made tending to repeal the objectionable provisions of 7 Geo. 4, should be retrospective, with a view of correcting the injuries the Petitioners have suffered, by having subsequently to the passing of the said Act, through ignorance of law or otherwise, taken such leases as, according to the said Act, totally restrict the lessees so circumstanced from disposing of their property, thus crushing the spirit for industry and improvement, and producing the results therein described.

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

Returns ordered: Public Charities.

Ordered, That there be laid before this House, a Return of the number of Informations filed in the Court of Chancery, in each year since 1818 to the present time, having for their object the Correction of Abuses, or the Improved Administration of Public Charities; stating whether the same were filed in the name of the Attorney General, or at the instance of Relators; the locality of each Charity; the object of the Information, and the Proceedings which have been taken in each case respectively.

Ordered, That there be laid before this House, a similar Return, for the same period, of the number of Petitions which have been presented to the Courts of Equity.

Assessed Taxes.

Ordered, That there be laid before this House, a Return of the number of Writs or Processes issued by the Solicitor and Board of Taxes against Persons in arrear of their Assessed Taxes, in the County of Middlesex, in the year from 1st January to 31st December 1829; stating the number of Executions on such Processes, the number of Processes settled before execution, and the number where the Property of the Debtors was sold; together with the amount of Expenses on such Processes, and by whom paid, and for whose account received.

Petition respecting Office of Churchwarden in Cork.

A Petition of Unitarian Presbyterians of the city of Cork, was presented, and read; setting forth, That the Petitioners are liable under the existing laws to be appointed Churchwardens in the Church of England and Ireland as by law established; that the Petitioners, being Unitarian Presbyterians, have strong conscientious objections against discharging any duties specially appertaining to a Church from which, both in doctrine and discipline, they dissent; and praying, That the intention of the Legislature to give relief to Dissenters in this case may be made effectual; and for such purpose that a law may be enacted, relieving such bonâ fide Dissenters from the Church of England as have conscientious scruples against filling the office of churchwarden, provided that such Dissenters shall, at least one week before Easter, deposit with the churchwarden or wardens of the parish or parishes in which he is eligible, a written declaration of his objection and dissent; and that it may also be enacted, that such declaration shall be a protection against his appointment, while the subscriber shall remain and declare himself a Dissenter, or such other relief in the premises as the House may in their wisdom grant.

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

Petition respecting Distillery Laws.

A Petition of Corn Distillers of London, was presented, and read; setting forth, That the Petitioners have learnt that a Petition has been presented to the House on the part of the West India Planters and Merchants, praying, among other things, that the Duty on Rum, being one shilling and sixpence per gallon higher than that on British Corn Spirits, may be reduced; that the Petitioners being deeply interested in the manufacture of corn spirits, humbly hope that the House will not accede to the prayer of the West India Planters and Merchants; and conclude, that if the Petition of the West India Planters and Merchants is successful, and the Duty on Rum reduced to the extent they desire, the ruin of the Corn Distillery of England is inevitable; and praying the House to continue that protection to their interests which the Legislature has ever given to them, and that the present proportion of Duty on Rum and Corn Spirits may be preserved; also, that the House may be pleased to allow the Petitioners to be heard by themselves or their counsel, at the bar of the House, in respect thereof.

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

Petition respecting Hindoo Widows.

A Petition of the Congregation of Protestant Dissenters, assembling for Divine Worship at the Chapel, Saint Thomas's Square Hackney, Middlesex, was presented, and read; setting forth, That the Petitioners contemplate with extreme regret the practice existing in British India of burning widows on the funeral piles of their husbands, which is a gross violation of the law of God and the best feelings of humanity, and in its tendency highly demoralizing; and praying the House to adopt such measures as it may in its wisdom deem most expedient for abrogating a practice so highly injurious to that character of humanity and veneration for the Divine law, which the Petitioners trust will ever distinguish the Government and people of this country.

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

Galway Town Regulation Bill, ordered.

The House was moved, That the Act of the Parliament of Ireland, 4 Geo. 1, c. 15, for the better regulating the Town of Galway, and for the strengthening the Protestant Interest therein, might be read; and the same being read;

Ordered, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to repeal so much of the said Act as limits the Franchise created thereby to Protestants only: And that Mr. Spring Rice and Sir John Newport do prepare, and bring it in.

Mutiny Bill, reported.

Sir Alexander Grant reported from the Committee of the whole House, on the Bill for punishing Mutiny and Desertion, and for the better Payment of the Army and their Quarters, the Amendments which they had made to the Bill; and the Amendments were read, and agreed to by the House.

Ordered, That the Bill, with the Amendments, be ingrossed; and read the third time To-morrow.

Return of Freeholders (Ireland), ordered.

Ordered, That there be laid before this House, a Return of the number of Freeholders who stood registered and qualified to vote, in each County in Ireland, on 1st January 1829 and 1st January 1830; distinguishing, in each County, the number registered in each case at each rate.

Committee on Marine Mutiny Bill.

Ordered, That the Order of the day, for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House, upon the Bill for the Regulation of His Majesty's Royal Marine Forces while on shore, be now read; and the same being read:-The House resolved itself into the Committee; and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the Chair; and Sir Alexander Grant reported from the Committee, That they had gone through the Bill, and made several Amendments thereunto.

Ordered, That the Report be received To-morrow.

Accounts respecting Tontine Annuities (Ireland) ordered.

Ordered, That there be laid before this House, an Account of all Salaries and Emoluments paid to persons employed in the office for the payment of Irish Tontine Annuities, payable in Great Britain; together with the charge for House-Rent, Taxes, or Allowances, for one year, ending 5th January 1830.

Ordered, That there be laid before this House, an Account of all Fees, or sums of Money, received at the said office, for Powers of Attorney, or for Transfer of Annuities, for the same period.

Ordered, That there be laid before this House, an Account of all sums of Money remitted or paid to Messrs. Puget and Bainbridge for the payment of the said Annuities, and the amount of the Commission charged by them thereon, if any; and the amount of the balances of Cash in their hands on the first day of each month for the same period.

Account of Mediterranean Passes, presented. No. 132.

Mr. Croker, presented to the House, pursuant to their Order,-An Account of the amount paid by Ships for the Mediterranean Pass; stating the number of Passes granted, the aggregate amount received in the years 1828-9, and to what purpose the same was applied.

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

Petition for cultivating Waste Lands in the Colonies.

A Petition of Adam James Gordon, of the city of Glasgow, Esquire, was presented, and read; setting forth, That the Petitioner prays the House to take the distressed state of the county into their most serious consideration, and to permit him to prove that the distresses of the labouring classes, and the embarrassments of commerce and manufactures entirely proceed from a national deficiency in our means of subsistence; the Petitioner has reason to believe that the country at this time does not possess the means of supporting, in a proper manner, more than two-thirds of its population; in this great deficiency in our means of subsistence, the Petitioner submits, that a cause is assigned, quite adequate to the production of the deep and wide-spread distress which exists in the country, but the same cannot be said of any of those other causes to which the distress has commonly been ascribed; feeling assured that the distresses of the labouring classes, and the embarrassments of commerce and manufactures, entirely proceed from the cause assigned by the Petitioner, he submits to the House, that there can be no better way of supplying such deficiency, than by bringing the waste lands of our fertile unpeopled colonies into cultivation, and importing the corn and other produce into the mother country; a measure, as the Petitioner can prove to the House, which would completely put an end to the distresses of the labouring classes, would be the means of providing them with abundance of both employment and food, would greatly increase our commerce and manufactures, would vastly augment our wealth and our resources, would add immensely to our power and strength, and effectually secure our national preeminence; and the Petitioner begs to observe to the House, that, in order to make the waste lands of our unpeopled colonies confer all these benefits upon us, it matters not whether the Government may take them into their own hands and management, or may grant them to private individuals, upon condition of bringing them into cultivation, and importing the corn and other produce into the mother country; should however the Government do the former, it would derive so large an income from its colonial estates, that it might relieve the people from a large portion of their taxes, or should it do the latter, and make grants to Members of the House and other individuals, the accession of income they would thereby receive, would render their taxes no longer burthensome; the Petitioner prays the House, that the Government itself may become the sole maker and issuer of all our paper money, and that power to make and issue it may be taken from the Bank of England and all private bankers, allowing them however two or three years to withdraw from circulation what they have already issued; the Petitioner observes, that he does not mean to recommend that the Government should put out paper money without limit as to amount, but merely such a quantity as might be necessary to raise the price of wheat to 80s. a quarter, that being the price which, in fairness, it ought to be, as between the payer of taxes and the public creditor, and, in most cases, as between the landowner and the farmer; should the Government adopt the measures recommended by the Petitioner, and should the country derive those vast benefits from their adoption which he feels satisfied it would in that case, he prays, That he may be rewarded for his services to his country, in a way suitable to their value and importance.

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

Lunatic Commissions Bill, deferred.

The House was moved, That the Order made upon Thursday the 4th day of this instant March, for reading a second time upon Friday next the Bill to diminish, in certain cases, the Inconvenience and Expense of Commissions in the nature of Writs de Lunatico Inquirendo, might be read; and the same being read;

Ordered, That the said Order be discharged.

Ordered, That the Bill be read a second time upon Friday the 19th day of this instant March.

Motions relative to Portugal.

A Motion was made, and the Question being put, That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, that He will be graciously pleased to give directions, that there be laid before this House, Extract of so much of the Instructions given to Sir William Henry Clinton on his taking the command of the British Force sent to Portugal in December 1826, as relates to the Interference of the Troops under his command in suppressing Disturbances in Lisbon, or in protecting the Persons of the Royal Family;

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