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Apbil 4. 1346. THE NORTHERN STAR, __— L-
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REVEL ATIONS OF ROME. so. in. . From the...
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TIIE STATE OF GERMANY. LETTER III. XO TH...
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Coroner's Inquest. — Fatal Affiiay. — Ma...
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HOUSE OF LORDS-Mond ' ay, " march 30. Ih...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Apbil 4. 1346. The Northern Star, __— L-
Apbil 4 . 1346 . THE NORTHERN STAR , __— L-
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« lthin -k lnearalitfleVird , who sings ^ jbe people by and hy will be the stronger- -JKBC .
Revel Ations Of Rome. So. In. . From The...
REVEL ATIONS OF ROME . so . in . . From the H \ stminster Review , mndrntcd fr ^ thc " Northern Star" of March ItL ] THE OMASISEB AXAKCHY OF THE POPEDOM . What , then , is the result , the inevitable consequence , rf this scheme of government as a whole ? 1 Anarchv among the chiefs . Anarchy as to the , eneral svstein : all nnity of system is impossible whew L * Pope is set up by a cowrie , theautagonist in general rf that which produced his predecessor . Every IMntm Lalises his accession by a Motu-Fropno , which annuls ^' modifies those of the preceding . Pms the Seventh . Sfle rhridlv cretins the taxes of the Kingdom of Italy . pressed almost all the Liberal institutions of Xapo-1 He re-established the Inquisition , the bishops ' "bunals , , i , e delegates of provinces , with the right of *"¦«>* iudgm < " criminal cases ; * he restored its old Sa einin fBce to the ttota , bathe preserved the Colleges
niJarti" ' - IfO the Twelfth utterly subverted , as far as there was v s 0 ta iu them , the ordinances ojf Pius the Seventh , pvbi- * Jtfi > iH-i ' H >_ prio of the 3 th October , 1824 , he abolished jjje Colleges of Justice , substituting for them a single iiid- ' * ? without rafcrence to distance , he mace the metrojmlis thc place of appeal for the great part ol the prorincf * : he lowered the salaries of all the communal officers ; in order to prevent people from knowing how a trial was proceeding , he made Latin the language of the cour ts ; he lowered the land-tax , and increased the soop-dnties ; he drove the wealthy Jens to emigrate , by persecution . A few years afterwards , Pins the Eighth improved on the system of Leo the Twelfth ; he almost doubled the sale of duties . So we may go on ; and it will be seen wthwhat rapidity these changes occur , when we recollect that in the short space of eight years , from 1 S 23 to 1 J 51 , lour Popes succeeded to that dignity .
Anarchy between the different sections of the system ; for , as we have before indicated , lie limits of tiieir powers are not defined . WThilit the Popes , whenever they are consulted by their ministers , authorise rescripts which receive no publicity , and which nevertheless dcropte from all anteriorlaws , the high functionaries of the ftate are every instant encroaching on each other ' s department . This is carried so far that in 1 S 27 or ISiSve cannot refer to the precise date—the treasurer aud ibe Camerlengo both published at the same time a set «> t contradictory regulations for the post , each pretending io flow from the living oracle of the voice of our Lord .
The same collision of powers regnlirly occurs iu the provinces wherever there is a Jfonsipnore for delegate and a cardinal for bishop . The legates and delegates , the bishops wherever the interests of an ecclesiastic are implicated in a cause , the tribunal ef the Holy Inquisiton , that of the consulta as a final court in capital cases , that of the congregation of Rome , that of the Fabtrica di SanPittro for the discovery of pious legacies in testamentary papers , ancient or modern , against which there is no appeal but to Home , the Kota , tbe Segr . atura , and we know not how many more tribunals or individuals are ia vestfcd with judicial attributes .
The police is at ( he beck of all . At Home , it is an appendage to the governorship , but without injury to the powers of the bishops and inquisitors ; or in the provineM , to those of the legates and delcf ales , bishops , inquisitors , mayors , or agents ; and parties who have been acquitted by one of these authorities , may be prosecuted and condemned by another . As a result of this confusion , which it is impossible for ns fully to present to our readers , it came to pass under Leo the Twelfth , that a Hisn who had stolen a considerable sum from an innkeeper of Rome , was convicted by the ordinary tribunals .
acquitted by that of the capitol , and finally sent to the galleys by the Pope . Under Pius the Eighth , the privileges of die port of Ancona were abolished , with a respite of three days only , by the treasurer , Monsiguore Cristaldi , aad immediately re-established by the Secretary of State , Consalvi . Under the same Pope , the Cardinal Camerlengo announced a premium for the encouragement of tits native cloth manufacture , aud the cardinal-treasurer overlaid it with so many restrictions , that not a single manufacture could lay claim to it . In 1 S 32 , the communal councils of several towns in Romagna
were chosen according to law by the pro-legates , approved at Rome , dissolved by Cardinal Albani , the Secretary of State , and shortly after re-elected man for man . But what has not come to pass , what will not come te pass , in this chaos of confusion and doubt , as it was designated by a famous jurisconsult , Cardinal DeLuea ! -2 . Insubordination among the subalterns . In the government of the Pope , says a Roman proverb , La txela annanda , la mcta non uVbulisee , qipvre tattosi faone half orders , the other half doesn ' t obey , and yet everything goes on . How can it be otherwise ! Inferiors hol 2 their superiors in no respect ; neither do they hold them in fear , for they know that ia general their offices are bat the produce of a patronage that must soon lose
is power . Prilefi the greater number , they look en these above them as upstarts whom the next turn of the wheel may abase . Some rely upon their privileges . The Provincial Prefects , for example , cannot be recalled under three years . In a pamphlet on the States of she Church , ILEtienue Croiz men-Jens a fact of a cardinal being placed , in 1 S 33 , over the legation of Forii , who was well known to be almost in a state of mental derangement . IVhsn recalled at the end of his term , he refused obedience , and replied to the Secretary of State , that he , member of a princely family , had no orders to receive from a parwnu . They succeeded iu dispossessing him , branding a pretext to ' send him on a tour through the neighbouring legations , and installing another prefect in
his absence . Moreover , the example of insubordination is set them in high quarters . Lto the Twelfth ordered that the Secretary-General of a province should always be a stranger to the district ; and shortly after he gives that appointment at Bologna to Sigaore Zecchini , a native , and one who had always resided there . Why should officials respect the laws of their sovereign , when they themselves hare the power of changing them I Pius the Eighth pabiicly declared , on his election , that he was sensible of the enormity of the revenue duties , and that he would amend the tariff and diminish the imposts . A commission was issued to this effect : their report was communicated to certain high functionaries and to the Chambers of Commerce of Bologna and Fenara ; so that its
recommendations became pretty generally known . The lower dories alarmed the contrabandists , who had established an assurance company , that guaranteed them against loss from government seizures . They intrigued with the subordinates of the Finance Minister , aud got up so strong an opposition that , spite of the intention ol the Pope- and the wishes of the magistrates and merchan t * , the project was abandoned , and a new tariff promulgated , that raised duties instead of abating them . Again : —tke Cardinal Datario asserts that his powers extend to the nullifying ordinances signed by the Pope , without even the necessitj-of announcing to his sovereign that he has exercised the assumed right ; why , then , should not the tribunals essav the same feat ? Pius the
Seventh had empowered the Court of Appeal at Bologna to reeeire causes that had been heard in the Bishops ' Court . The advocates aud judges at Rome , annoyed at the decreased litigation brought to the metropolis , induced the defeated party in a suit between the Marchese Albergati and the Great Hospital at Bologna , to have recourse to the Tribunal of the Se ^ natara at Home ; and this court quashed the decision of the Court of Appeal , ou the ground of want of jurisdiction . This was a flagrant violation of the Pope " s edict ; and yet , notwithstanding remonstrances , notwitlistanding the representations of the Archbishop of Bologna himself , the reversal took effect , and saved as a precedent for restoring matters entirely to the old routine .
So also , the Secretary of State and the treasurer are continually violating that law of Benedict the Fourteenth , confirmed by Pius the Seventh aud Leo the Twelfth , which orders that every letting or contract for revenue tolls shall be made by public auction , and that some time shall elapse even after that , to see if any party is inclined to advance on the last offer . In defiance of this regulation , they bestow the profit on whomsoever thev please , often on men ruined by vicious extravagance , or on such as buxe rendered themj > ersoiwI services . Why should not subalterns do the same , each in his sphere \
In the Papal states then , particularly in the provinces , we have what is worse than tyranny , that is , anarchy—a xaob of tyrants . There , nothing is certain . The law is no protector . You « o to the Custom-house , to the IlcgUtry-Gf 5 ce , to the Excise , for salt and tobacco , and you end duties far ever increasing , new regulations , unheardof restrictions . Ton inquire , whence they spring ? The reply is , from Rome . You insist on seeing the authority . Yon have not , you are told , the right of demanding it ; you may appeal to Rome for redress , bat iuthe meantime you most obey .
VESAirrr and cobbwiox or the popeoom . Office , pension , jtetitions , the farming of duties or the contracting of loans—all are matter of venality at Rome . Every high functionary has some one about himnephew , cousin , man of business , or servant—who traffics on the favour and power of his master . Thus , with the name of Cardinal Albani will be always associated those of Costant ' uitandXicolai ; those of Euggt and Tommassini with Cardinal Gak-ffi ; Dioniilia with Cardinal Daudiui ; Paolo 3 Iassani with Cardinal Bernetti ; Jlanhese iiariui with Cardinal Guerreii , and so on .
One may be astonished at seeing a notorious plunderer ennobled and titled ; as Jfarini , for example , who was convicted of having appropriated 400 , 009 sctuli as Uircctor of the Territorial Registry ; but the answer wasready at Rome—he is Cardinal Guerreri ' s nan . You hear that Bernetti and Mattel have lit for 900 . 00 !) scudi , the duties on salt and tobacco , which were annually worth to the State l , - - ' 00 , O 00 sendi . Row is this * Why were they not put up to public competition , as required by the apostolic constitutions ? How was it that no attention was paid to tiie projiosals of the Tuscan and Genoese speculators who offered 200 , 000 more ? The answer is ready at Rome . Paolo iiassaui wasa sbarelioJderin the company to whom the amies have been let . After the thing was settled he sold his share for £ 6 , 100 ; he kept more than £ 1 , 000 for himself , and the balance is probably handed over to his Ina « tr . It gri' -ves us to wade through this filth , and to lave to drag ourreadvr : with us ; it grieves us to have
Revel Ations Of Rome. So. In. . From The...
to mention names ; but having determined to lay an unmistakeahle finger on the tainted sore , we must be precise . That venality , of which we have forbearingly cited a few examples , runs through all ranks of the state . It descends to the basement of the social structure—to the lacqueys of the most inconsiderable prelate , who have an establithed table of fees , to " which avery one must submit , who would be sure of access to their master ; ay , to the lacqueys of the judges of the Segnatura and the Rota , who demand vails from an advocate who lias gained a cause . It is slfamelessly barefaced in the pensions sj liberallv granted to " widows in danger" ( ccdorc pcricfifanfi ) , the
price of dishonourable favours which we can only hint at . It is systematised under ( lie treasurer , whose head eletks receive an annual compliment on the profits of tradesmen and contractors . Ic arises almost as a matter of necessity from the organisation of the Tribunals dells Fabbrica , whose servants receive no salaries , but share among them the profits of the condemnations pronounced by the jud ge * It interferes with private compacts ; it is known that the Pope ordered the Conservators of Mortgages to erase all that burdened a palace sold by lrince Spada to Prince Uuoneonipagni , in order that the vendor mi ght receive immediate payment .
Sometimes it assumes the bearing of right : it is on record that MonsignorePolidori , Secretary of State before Bernetti , claimed iu a court of law a sum from certain contractors , relying on an agreement which everywhere else would have betu scouted . It was a paper by which tke competitors covenanted to present him with a certain amount if the contract ( for salt and tobacco ) was concluded in their favour . The consequences arc—for the money thus sacrificed to individual cupidity is diverted from the real necessities of the state—the progressive imptircrishment of the government , and theuee , as a remedy , ruinous loans ever being contracted , principally with Jews ; enormous imposts , specially inflicted on the proviuces ; financial coups d' etat , such as that by which the grand treasurer leased toc : itain imprudent
capitalists the administration of several branches of the finances , tjbtained from them considerable advances , then rescinded all the contracts as unfair , without repayment of the advances , and with threats of a prosecution against those who were bold enough to ask tor them ; j the rapid growth of the public debt ( £ 24 , 000 , 000 before 1 S 31 , and increased since ; , for the redemption of which Pius the Seventh founded a treasury , in which nothing has been deposited . Thence alio results—the central focus of corruption being at Rome—the habit of seizing every opportunity of favouring the metropolis at the expense ot the provinces ; the tax imposed by Consalvi throughout the country on earn venture in the lottery , to go to the poor of Rome ; the order , emanating from the same soui ce , to every notary to ask testators whether tlity designed nothing for the poor , not of their own locality , but of the metropolis ; the tenth of the profit accruing from
each lottery devoted to the relief of the Roman mendicants ; the prohibition of the sale or printing ot all scholastic books , the issuing of which is a monopoly belonging to the Apostolic Hospital of San Michaelea Ripa at Rome ; the immense number of matters in which the right of appeal is reserved to Rome alone , « l'c Thence , also , the singular spectacle of places and pensions conferred on men guilty of crimes that elsewhere would be sevei ely punished . The Marchese Nunez , prefect of police at Bologna , imprisoned the Advocate Rovtrc and others on a charge of conspiracy ; he gained over a criminal from one of the prisons , to assert that he was an accomplice iu the plot , and to reveal the details ; he produced false witnesses and forged a document . The iniquity was discovered ; the accused proved an alibi , and were liberated ; but Rovere went mad , and his young wife died of grief ; Xuner was recalled to Rome , where he received a pension of £ 2 G 0 .
The famous Prelato Pacca , Governor of Rome , to gratify his brutal passions , imprisoned intractable husbands , or confined uncomplaisaut wives . When public indignation could no longer be resisted , it was thought sufficient to forbid the governor to visit the prison of San Michaele , or to summon to him females detained there . Pacca left Rome afterwards for having forged bonds on the Tieasury , but he notwithstanding got a pension . The Advocate Greppi of Bolagna , prefect of police in 1815 , was wounded with a sword one evening as he was entering his house ; he denounced as the assassin one Monti , and as the suborner of the crime one Zecchi , whose wife lie was enamoured of : he produced false witnesses ; the accused remained in irons till the real assassin a-, owed the act on his death-bed ; Monti and Zecchi were discharged , and the false witnesses punished ; Greppi was appointed member of the College of the University of Bologna , and afterwards , under Gregory the Sixteenth , had a seat at the Tribunal of Appeal in that city . Chiefs of bands of brigands , as Majocco , who had plundered on the highway for seventeen years in the province of Frosinone , and Barbone , on whose head a reward of £ 211 had been set by the Comitne of Velletri , were employed , the former as captain of Cliasseurs in the very province which abounded with the victims of his depredations , and the relatives of those he had murdered ; the latter as commissary of police at Rome . Facts like these , the catalogue of which we could swell to any length , happen only under the Papal government , and f-rm , in our opinion , a characteristic pregnant with meaning .
Revel Ations Of Rome. So. In. . From The...
* Tins tribunal is composed of a judge , entitled the commissary , a registrar , nnd a procurator-iiscal , who If * T- r " ** - If , he 3 «<» ge acquits , thej pocket nothing ; llicy receive only when he condemns . wh , , ^ ' 1 S P "I i 0 SS ot Ja <* P « i *» 8 M , to this way £ J 4 . 9 ( , 0 ; his a ^ eut at Itonte was silenced hy a ir : r cast , e of , ; Anse , e - iw « u s \ fc * . . a . r »„ d puv ! rty ,, nabed not his , mn , having surrendered his furaitcre for the benefit of . lis creditors !
Tiie State Of Germany. Letter Iii. Xo Th...
TIIE STATE OF GERMANY . LETTER III . XO THE EDIIOn OF THE XORinERX STAU . DEan Sib , —I really must beg of yon and jour readers to excuse my apparent negligence iu nut continuing sooner tiie series of letters on Ihe above subject which 1 commenced writing for this paper . You may , however , rest assured that nothing but the necessity of devoting some weeks to the German movement exclusively could detain me from the pleasant task 1 have undertaken , oi informing the English democracy of the state of things in my native country .
Yuur readers will , perhaps , have some recollection of the statements rande in my first and second letters—ISorthern Star , of 1 st and Sth of November , 1345 . ] I there related how the old , rotten state of Germany was rooted up by the French armies from 1792 to 1813 ; how Napoleon was overthrown by the union of the /« u < falwts , or aristocrats , and the bourgeois , or trading middle classes of Europe ; how , in the subsequent peace arrangements the tiennan princes were cheated by their allies , and even by vanquished France ; how the German Federative Act , and the present political state of Germany was brought about ; and how Piussia and Austria , hy inducing the les & cr states to give constitutions , made themselves the exclusive Piasters of Germany . Leaving Austria , as a half-barbarian country , out of the question , we come to the result that Prussia is the battle-field on which the future fate of Germany is to be decided .
We said in our last , that FredcricK 'William III ., king of Prussia , after being delivered from the fear of Xapoleoc , and spending a few happy , because fearless yc & rs , acquired another bugbear to frighten him— "the revolution . " The way in which - ' the revolution" was introduced into Germany we shall now see . After the downfall of Napoleon , which I must repeat again , hy the kings and aristocrats of the time , was totally identified with the putting down of the Trench n / volution , or , as they called it , the revolution , after 1 SI 5 , in all countries , the anti-revolutionary party held the reins of government . The feudalist aristocrats ruled in all cabinets from London to Xajdes , from Lisbon to St . IVtersburgh . However , the middle classes , who had paid for the job and assisted in doing it , wanted to have their share ( if the power . It was by no means their interest which was placed in the ascendant by the restored
governments . On the contrary , middle-class interests were neglected everywhere , and even openly set at nought . The passing of the English Corn Law of 1 S 15 is the Most striking example of a fact which was common to all Eurojie ; and yet the middle classes were more powerful then than ever they had been . Commerce an j manufactures had been extending everywhere , and had swelled Uie fortunes of the fat bourgeois ; their increased wellbeing was manifested in their increased spirit of speculation , their growing demand for comforts and luxuries . It was impossible , then , that they should quietly submit to be governed by a class whose decay had been going on for centuries ^—whose interests were opposed to those of the middle classes—whose momentary return to power was the very work of the bourgeios . The struggle betn cen i the midd ' e classes and the aristocracy was inevitable ; it commenced almost immediately after the peace .
The middle classes being powerful by money only , cannut acquire political power but by making money the only qualification for the legislative capacity of an individual They must merge alt feudalists privileges , alt political monopolies of past ages , in tlie one great privilege and monopoly of money . The political dominion ol the middle classes is , therefore , of an essentially liberal appearance . They destroy all the old diflerinces oi several estates co-existing in a country , all arbitrary privileges and exemptions- , they are obliged to make the elective priuciple . the foundation of government— -to recognise equality in principle , to free the press from the . 'hackles of monarchical censorship , to introduce the jury , in order to get rid of a separate class of judges , forming a state in the state . Sofar they appear thorough
democrats . Hut they introduce all the improvements so far only , ns thereby all former individual and hereditary privileges are replaced by the privilege of money . Thus ' -he principle of election is , by property qualifications for the right of electing aud being elected , retained for their own class . Equality is set aside again by restraining it to a mere " equality before the law , " which means equality in spite of tie inequality of rich and poor—equality within the limits of the . chiefiuequafity existing—which means , in short , nothing else but giving inequality tlie name of equality . Thus the liberty of the press is , of itself , a middle-class privilege , because printing requires money , and buyers for the printed productions , which buyers must have money again . Thus the jurj is a middle-class lirivilege , as proper care is taken to bring nouebut " respectables" into tlie jury-box .
1 have thought it necessary to make these few remarks upon the subject of middle-class government in order to explain two facts . The firstis , that all countries , during the time from 1 S 15 to 18-50 , the essentially democratic movement of the working classes , was more or less made
Tiie State Of Germany. Letter Iii. Xo Th...
subservient to the liberal movement of the 6 o « r ^ eoij . The working people , though more advanced than the middle classes , could not yet see the total difference between liberalism and democracy—emancipation 0 f tlie mid , ^ . classes and emancipation of the working classes ; they could not see the difference between liberty of money aud liberty of man , until money had been made politically free , until the middle class had been made the exclusively ruling class . Therefore the democrats of Peterloo were going to petition , not only for Universal Suffrage , but for Com Law repeal at the same time ; therefore , the proletarians foug ht in IS 30 in Paris , and threatened to fight in 1 S 3 I in England , for the political interest of the bourgeoisie . In all countries the middle classes were , from 1815 to 1830 , the most powerful component , and , therefore , the leaders of the revolutionary party . The
working classes arc necessarily the instruments in the hands of the middle classes , as long as the middle classes are WMwelWS reeotntionari / or progressive . The distinct movement of the working classes is , therefore , in this case always of a secondary importance . But from that very day when Uie middle classes obtain full political power— from the day on which all feudal and aristocratic interests are annihilated by the power of money—from the day on which the middle classes cease to be progressive and revolutionary , and become stationary themselves , from that very day the working class movement takes the lead and becomes the national movement . J . el the Corn Laws be repeated to-day , and to-morrow the Charter is the leading question in England— -to-morrow the Chartist movement will exhibit that strength , tltat energy , that eii (/« isiasnt andpersevertnte tcldeh ensures suecess .
The second fact , for tho explanation of which I ventured to make some few remarks on middle-class government , refers to Germany exclusively . The Germans beiuff a nation of theorists , and little experienced iu practice , took the common fallacies brought forward by the French and English middle classes to be sacred truths . The middle classes of Germany were glad to be left alone to their little prirat * business , which was all in the " small way ; " where * cr they had obtained a constitution , they boasted of their liberty , but interfered little in the political business of the state ; wherever they had none , they were glad to be saved the trouble of electing deputies and rending their speeches . The working people wanted that great lever which in France aud England aroused them—extensive manufactures—and the
consequence of it , middle-class rule . They , therefore , remained quiet . The peasantry in those parts of Germany where the modern French institutions had been again replaced by the old feudal regime , felt oppressed , but this discontent wanted another s-. inmlus to break out in open rebellion . Thus , the revolutionary party in Germany , from 1815 to 1830 , consisted of theorists only . Its recruits were drawn from the universities ; it was made up of n » ne but students . It had been found impossible in Germany to re-introduce the old system of 17 S 9 . The altered circumstances of the time forced the governments to invent a new system , which has been peculiar to Germany . The aristocracy was wiUing to govern , but too weak ; the middle classes were neither willing to i-ovwn nor strong enough
—both , however , were strong enough to induce the government to some concessions . The form of government , therefore , was a sort of mongrel monarchy . A constitution , in some states , gave an appearance of guarantee to the aristocracy and middle classes ; for the remainder there was everwhere a IwrwttWrafte government—that is , a monarchy which pretends to take care of the interests of the middle class by a good administration , which administration is , however , directed by aristocrats , and whose proceedings are shut out as much as possible from the eyes of the public . The consequence is , the formation of a separate class of administrative government officers , in whose hands the chief power is concentrated , and which stands in opposition against all other classes . It is the barbarian form of middle-class rule .
But this form of government satisfied neither the "Aristocrats , " "Christian Germanics , " "Romantics , " "Reactionaries , " nor the "Liberals . " They , therefore , united against the governments , and formed the secret societies of the students . From the union of those two sects for parties they cannot be called—arose that sect of mongrel Liberals , who in their secret societies dreamt of a German Emperor wearing crown , purple , scptre , and all the remainder of that sort of apparatus , not to forget a long grey or red beard , surrounded by an assembly of estates in which clergy , nobility , burgesses , and
peasants should be duly separated . It was the most ridiculous mixing up of feudal brutality with modern middle class fallacies that could be imagined . But that was just the thing for the students , who wanted enthusiasm , no matter for what , nor at what price . Yet these ridiculous idiosyncrasies , together with the revolutions in Spain , Portugal , and Italy , the movements of the Carbonari in France , and the reformation in England , frightened the monarehs almost out of their wits . Frederic William III . got his bugbear , "the revolution "under which name all these different and partly discordant movements were comprised .
A number of incarcerations and wholesale prosecutions quashed this " revolution"in Germany , tiie French bayonets in Spain , and the Austrian , in Italy , secured for awhile the ascendancy of legitimate kings and rights divine . Even the right divine of the Grand Turk to hang and quarter his Grecian subjects was for a while maintained by the Holy Alliance ; but his case was too flagrant , and the Greeks were allowed to slip from under the Turkish yoke . At last , the three days of Paris gave the signal for a general outbreak of middle-class , aristocratic , and popular discontent throughout Europe . The aristocratic IVlisii revolution was put doivn ; the miiidle classes of France and Belgium succeeded in securing to themselves political power ; the English middle classes likewise ob taiued this end by the Reform BUI ; the partly popular , partly middle-class , partly national insurrections of Italy , were suppressed ; and in Germany numerous insurrections and movements betokened a new era ol popular nnd nriddlec-lass agitation .
The new and violent character of liberal agitation in Germany , from 1 S 30 to 1 SU 4 , showed that the middle classes had now taken up the question for themselves . But Germany being divided into many states , almost each of which had a separate line of customs and separate rates of duty , there was no community of interest in these movements . The middle classes of Germany wanted to become politically free , not for the purpose of arranging public matters in accordance with their interest , but because they were ashamed of their servile position in comparison to Frenchmen and Englishmen . Their movement wanted the substantial basis which had ensured the success of Liberalism in France and England ; their interest in the question was far more theoretical than practical ; they were , upon an average , what is called disinterested . The French bourgeois of 1830 were not . Lafitte said , the day after the revolution : " Now
we , the banktrs , will govern ; " and they do up to this hour . The English middle classes , too , knew very well what they were about when they fixed the ten-pound qualification ; but the German middle classes being , as aforesaid , men in a small way of business , were mere enthusiasts—admirers of "liberty of the press , " " trial by jury , " " constitutional guarantees for the people , " " rights of the people , " " popular representation , " and such like , which they thought not means but ends ; they tuok the shadow for the substance , and therefore got nothing . However , this middle-class movement was sufficient to bring about several dozens of revolutions , of which two or three contrived somehow to succeed ; a great number of popular meetings , a deal of talk and newspaper-boasting , and a very slight beginning of a democratic movement among students , working men , and peasants .
1 shall nut enter into the rather tedious details of this blustering and unsuccessful movement . Wherever somewhat important had been won , as liberty of the press iu Baden , the German Diet stepped in and put a stop to it . The whole farce was concluded by a repetition of the wholesale imprisonments of 181 !) and 18-. » y , and , by a secret league of all German princes , concluded in 1831 , at a Conference of delegates at Vienna , to resist all furthei progress of Liberalism . The resolutions of this Conference were published sorne years ago . From 1834 to 1840 , every public movement in Germans
died out . The agitators of 1830 and 1831 were lithcr imprisoned or scattered in foreign countries , where they had fled . Those who had kept much of tbt'ir middle class timiditj- during the times of agitation , continued to struggle against thegrowing rigour of the censor , and the growing neglect and indifference of the middle classes . The leaders of Parliamentary oppositiou went on speechifying in the Chambers , but the governments found means to secure the vett s of the majorities . There appeared no further chance of bringing about any public movement whatsoever in Germany ; the governments had it all their own way .
Iu all these movements the middle classes ot Prussia took almost no part . The working people uttered theii discontent throughout that country in numerous riots , having , however , no defined purpose , and therefore no result . The apathy of the Prussians was the principal strength of the German confederacy . It showed that the time for a general middle-class Uiovcmentin Germany was not yet come . In my next , I shall pass to the movement of the last six years , unless 1 can bring together the necessary materials for characterising the spirit of the German governments by some of their own doings , in comparison to which those of your precious Home Secretary are pure and innocent .
I am , in the meantime , dear sir , respectfully , YoOK GSBMAN CoaBESl'ONDENT . March f ! 0 th , 1816 .
Coroner's Inquest. — Fatal Affiiay. — Ma...
Coroner ' s Inquest . — Fatal Affiiay . — Manslaughter . —An inquest was held bv Mr . C . Bedford , at the lied Lion , PrineeVstrcet , Westminster , on the body el John Stack , aged thirty-seven , a labourer , who died from the effects of a blow from a poker , inflicted by a man named Silvester Hoiilagan . It appeared from the evidence that the deceased , with his wile , on Sunday , the 22 nd ultimo , paid Iloulagan a visit at his residence in Johnson ' s-court , I ' eter-street ; and from eight o ' clock until twelve at night the time was consumed iu drink ' ni " . The
female portion ( at least some of them ) being " overcome" by the liquor , retired , and a quarrel took place between the deceased and Iloylaiytn . lloulagan struck the deceased with a poker , sfml felled him to the ground . The deceased was taken to the Westminster Hospital , where his skull was found to be fractured and caused his death on Friday last . Iloulagan immediately absconded , and has not since been heard of . The police never heard of the fray until after the man ' s death . The jury returned a verdict of Manslaughter agaiubt Silvester Iloulagan .
Fiiwfel Vttltomettt.
fiiWfel Vttltomettt .
House Of Lords-Mond ' Ay, " March 30. Ih...
HOUSE OF LORDS-Mond ' ay , " march 30 . IheKoyal absent was given to several bills ; and the L » uKe ot Wellington gave notice of a vote ol thanks , on I huraday , to the General and troops engaged m the battle of Aliwal . The Marquis of Clanwcarde presented a report from tiie Select Committee on the building of the New Houses ot Parliament .
IKISH EJECTMENTS . The Marquis of Lonuonberuy moved for a return of the number of ejectments carried into effect in Ireland on tho tenants and occupiers of land from 1811 to 18-15 , and took the opportunity of again bringing under the notice of tho house the case of the evicted tenants on the property of Mr . and Mrs . ( icrrard , to the number of seventy-six , comprising upwards of three hundred individuals , whose habitations had not only been pulled down , but who htttl actually been driven from the ditches in which tney had taken shelter ; and this after they had been
encouraged at a former period to settle > n the property , and had over and over again tendered rent to the Gemini family for their holdings . Much had lately been said of certain religious severities practised by Russia , but what would Russia say of such a state of things existing in Ireland as had lately been developed in tiie counties of Roscommon and Galway ? Tue noble marquis then took occasion to observe that in the counties of berry , Down , and Antrim there was no want of that employment which existed in other parts of Ireland ; and though potatoes might be a little dearer , there were none wanting , and therefore there was no necessity for relief where no
distress existed . The Earl of St . Geumass , not being in possession of any information from the Secretary for Ireland , was not in tt position to confirm or contradict the statements which had gone forth to the public as to evictions alluded to . There was no objection to the production of the returns . After some discussion , in the course of which the Duke of Wellington confessed that lie had been entirely wrong in supposing , last November , that the famine in Ireland was exaggerated , the motion was agreed to .
RAILWAY LEGISLATION . Lord Ki . vkairb , in moving that a select committee b ^ e appointed— " To take into consideration the best uteans of enforcing one uniform system of manageincnt on railroads in operation or to be constructed , and to secure the due fulfilment of the provisions of the Acts of Parliament under which the companies have obtained their powers , whereby greater accommodation and safety may be insured to the public : what means may best be adopted lor diminishing the extravagant expenses attendant on obtaining Acts of Parliament for legitimate and necessary undertakings , and at the same time by discouraging the formation of schemes got up for the mere purpose of speculation : aiid to consider what legislative
measures could be framed to protect individuals from injury they may sustain by the laying down lines of railway through their properly , without subjecting them to the ruinous expense of opposing bills in Parliament , "—said , in bringing the question under their lordships' notice , he was actuated by a wish to show the unsatisfactory state of railway legislation throughout the country . It tended to embarrass the expenditure of real capital , mili'titive against labour , in subjecting promoters of bona fide plans to ruinous costs , aud subjected private individuals to an expense sufficient to deter them from maintaining their own rights , by opposing any railway bill introduced to
Parliament . His lordship suggested that a Board should be appointed , having cognisance of all matters pertaining to railways . Lord Daluousie , though not agreeing in the views of Lord luiinaird , had no objection to the appointment of a committee to inquire into the matter ; and , alter a protracted conversation , in the course of which the Duke of Wellington said that which he would like to see would be not only proper arrangements previous to the construction of railways , but some mode of regulating their action after they were constructed , the motion was i . gived to . Tue house adjourned at seven o'clock .
HOUSE OF COMMONS—Monuat , March 30 . Public business was commenced by Sir J . Gkailam , who moved that the orders of the day be postponed , in order that he might bring on his notice of motion fort lie first reading of the Protection of Life ( Ireland ) Bill . Sir W . Somerville moved a direct negative to the motion of Sir J . Graham . Gieat inconvenience would arise , not only from the postponement of the great measure , on which the hopes of England , Ireland , and the empire at large were .-et , but also from bringing on an exciting and exasperating debate on another measure , which the gi veriimcnt intended to postpone to a future day , even if it succeeded in carryma it at present . As her Majesty had called ; he
attention of Parliament to the state of Ireland on the 22 nd of January , and as this bill had not been introduced into the Douse of Lords until the ISth of February , nor pa-sed until the 13 th of March , he could not help asking why the house was to be compelled to interpose it now between the early accomplishment of the wishes of the people of Great Britain and Ireland on the subject of the Corn Importation Bill ?; lie called on the government , before it proceeded with this bill , to lay on the table of the hous-c those other Irish measures—lor instance , the Irish Landlord and Tenant Bill , the Irish Franchise Bill , and the Bill for the amendment of the Municipal Corporations—which had been already stated to be in preparation .
Mr . Smith O'Brien seconded the appeal of Sir W . Somei viile to the government , and reminded Sir J . Graham that he was then entering upon a contest n - liich must of necessity last for months ; for the Irish members were determined to use every form which the constitution allowed to oppose the progress ofthis measure . Sir J . Graham , in reply , explained the reasons ol the delay which had occurred in the other house , ami pressed the necessity of observing the usual courtesy shewn to any bill sent down from the Lords , lie was aw ; . re that in the present state of parties it would be easy to defend the Ministry , but nothing more fatal for Ireland could beattempted . Upon the point he said—il this house , by any combination of
parties , should by a large majority decide not to entertain it , the moral effect ot such a course of proceeding will be most mischievous to Ireland . Any step more fatal to the peace , more injurious to the safety , aud more fatal to the maintenance of order and the predominance of tho law , cannot well l-c taken . ( Hear , hear . ) 1 am certainly aware of the fact which the hon . gentleman the member for the county ofLinierick has advanced , that in the present state of parties in this house the declared aiiherants of the government are a small minority ; but while wc are the servants of her Majesty , charged with the conduct of public affairs , the accumulation of difficulties to which he has ad verted , and the situation in which we arc placed , prescribe to us on . } - one course which we ought to pursue—steadily and perseveringly , and to the best of our judgment to pursue that course which we believe to be conducive to the public safety and to the
public good . ( Cheers . ) If it should be the opinion of the house that the course we are taking is inconsistent with that duty , and inconsistent with public safety , there is a plain course which the majority can take to give expression toils opinion . ( Hear , hear . ) But whilst we remain her Majesty ' s servants , 1 again repeat that , to the best of our judgment , we will take that course which wc believe the public safety and the public necessity demand . The Ministers were still of opinion thai the Corn Bill should not be delayed by this measure , a .-id , therefore , would not press its ulterior stages ; all they asked was a formal reading , under protest from members on the opposite side ol the house , that they did not therefore commit themselves to its future support . As to the threats of obstruction , the government would not be deterred from doing its duty by them , and if any mischief followed , on those who took that course would rest the responsibility .
An exciting attack by Mr . Shaw followed this speech of Sir James ' s , iu which the member for the University < A' Dublin replied to the insinuation ol Sir James , that his bitterness against the government arose from his having been disappointed in his attempts to secure a better place for himself , lie utterly and indignantly denied that such was the die case . On one lointlm gave the following explanation : —First , as regards even the colour of truth which belongs to one part of tho charge , namely , that which relates to the rccordership . In 1 S 42 , when the present government came into office , I being at the time in constant communication with the riKht hon . baronet ( Sir It . Peel ) , mentioned to him , amongst other things , that the office of recorder
did require to be regulated ; and at his request 1 put on paper , having first conferred with the Jaw officers of the crown in Ireland , what 1 conceived would be a desirable plan for the better regulation of the office . 1 suggested the consolidation of a great many judicial and small local offices in Dublin , which would effect asavingof £ 3 , 000 or £ 1 , 000 , 10 the public . And which would likewise , 1 admit fairly , render the office of recorder more independent and comfortable , and give the recorder , what is usual with respect to all other judicial officers , a retiring pension under proper regulations . ( Hear . ) 1 did not do this as a humble suppliant , nor did I ask it as a favour . I felt the difference between the Prime Minister and so humble an individual as myself ;
but 1 conferred on that and other measures with him , upon terms of independent equality . ( Hear , hear . ) 1 did on taat occasion confer witn the right hon . baronet ( Sir It . Peel ) . I conferred , also , with the right lion , baronet the Secretary of State for the Home Department , as I helieveu confidentially . ( Hear , hear . ) But 1 do not care if he publishes on all the market crosses in England everything 1 ever uttered on the subject . As to the other part of the accusation , he said : But now i come to the real charge—that 1 had begged tor the office of Chief Secretary or some other oliice . Now , if this had been true , J believe the house will feel that it was contrary to ail official etiquette , unworthy of a Minister of the Crown , and unbecoming the ordinary dealings
House Of Lords-Mond ' Ay, " March 30. Ih...
between gentlemen , that any confidential communi cation of this kind should be revealed for the purpose of creating a temporary cry against a political opponent . ( Hear , hear . ) 1 do not think that a high or generous mind , incapable of being influenced by the motives attributed to me , would be likely to attribute thera to another . (" Hear , hear , and cheers . ) But what will the house think of the minister and of the man when I declare on my word ol honour that there is not one word of truth in the cba'go from beginning to end . ( Hear , hear . ) After a marked appeal to Sir 11 . Peel , as a man incapable of the slightest untruth , to state the facts as he knew them , Mr . Shaw proceeded to make a spirited attack upon Sir J , Graham . I solemnly aver that ,
from the period of tho conversation with the right hon . baronet in 1831 , to which 1 have referred , up to this present moment , I never spoke to him of office . ( Hear , hear . ) 1 never , directly or indirectly , api-lied to any human being for office ; 1 never suggested , I never hinted at , 1 never contemplated the office of Irish Secretary , or any other office under the sun than that which I now hold , which is enough tor me , my bread and my independency . ( Cheers . ) Well , then , sir , does the right hon . baronet , the Secretary of State for the Home Department , think that , under these circumstances , it is not degrading to him , or at all events to the high ollicc which he holds , that he—not in the heat of debate , not in the moment of irritation , immediately after Iliad spoken ,
but after three days—prcmctlitatedly coming down to tiiis house to open the adjourned debate —( loud cries of " Hear , hear , " from the Protectionist benches)—at the calmest hour of the night , could make a charge against mo which is without the slightest shadow of foundation in truth—a low vulgarism which has not even the benefit of originality , for he took it from a gossiping local party newspaper . —and of which 1 utterly and indignantly defy him to produce a scintilla , the smallest atom , the remotest tittle of evideu . e before the world . ( Loud cheers from the Protectionist benches . ) Then the right hon . bartsays that I , sitting behind the government , know that they arc a falling government , and therefore kick them . ( " Hear , hear , " and laughter . ) Sir , it is not
my fault —( hear , hear)—I cannot well help sitting in a certain degree behind them . I do not sit very nearly behind thera ; I am as close to the gangway as 1 can go . ( Laughter . ) If , sir , the right hon . baronet means this as a hint to hon . gentlemen who aro behind him , that because they have changed their opinions they must change their seats ; or that if they sit behind him they must support the government , and mince their opinions in order to gratify the taste of the right hon . baronet —( cheers and laughter)—why , then , I believe that these benches which arc generally not very well attended throughout the night , will be much more deserted stiJj , ( Renewed laughter . ) lie says 1 think them " a falling government . " I lament very much to say , that I do believe them to be falling both in power and in
character . ( "Hear , hear , " and Protectionist cheers . ) Yes , sir , and 1 believe , moreover , that tinright hon . baronet , the Secretary of State for the Home Department , is the evil genius of the administration . ( Loud cheers . ) Those with whom ho acted three years ago commonly predicted—and 1 . believe every gentleman in tnis house , whether among the former or the present supporters of her Majesty ' s government , will agree in testifying to the fulfilment of the prophecy—that no cabinet could last long in England ol which the right hon . bart . wasa member . Let the right hon . gentleman recollect that it is not 1 who have changed opinions ; it is not I who have deserted principles . ( Hear , hear . ) I am in the babit , sir , perhaps it is an unfortune habit , of feeling
strongly , anil speaking as 1 think ; and even though it may sometimes be an inconvenient habit , I certainly am not willing to unlearn it by making myself a disciple of the right hon . baronet . ( Cheers from the Protectionist benches . ) The right hon . baronet says also , that he " prefers my open hostility to my smouldering resentment . " He may depend upon this , that whenever 1 feel hostility either to parties or to individuals , I will express it as openly and as fearlessly as I did on tho occasion to which he referred . ( Cheers . ) Sir , I feel no resentment towards her Majesty ' s government . ( Hear , hear . ) Above
all do 1 foul none towards the right hon . baronet at ihe head of that government . ( Hear hear . ) On the contrary , sir , I entertain for him great respect , and the sincerest sorrow do 1 feel that he has fallen into the hands of the right hon . baronet the Secretary of State for the Home Department . ( Great laughter . ) Finally , sir , 1 can assure the right hon . gentleman the Secretary of State for the Home Department , that I regard him neither with hostility nor with resentment . The feeling I have for him is one not- so dignified , but , in deference to the house , 1 will forbear to express it . ( Cries oi "Order . " )
Sir James Graham , in reply , said that his allusion to the office of Irish Secretary was prospective , not retrospective , and that as Mr . Shaw was acting with toe Protectionists , he might , in the case of their succeeding to power , have an eye to that office , but this was met by a general burst of incredulous " ohs" from the house . As to the proceedings connected with the rccordership , there was no eonfidense between him and Mr . Shaw , who had on every occasion ostentatiously proclaimed that their connection was merely political , not personal . Mr . Shaw had his refusal on public grounds , and mijjht publish his letter if he thought fit . Sir B . Hall , Mr . O'Connell , and Mr . 0 . Powell spoke against the introduction of the bill on that evenin < r .
Lord G . Bextinck on the pare of the Protectionists , and in reply to the . appeal of Sir W . Somerville , said , that that party , however friendly it was to the principle of protection , would not allow protection to be extended to the broad-day murderer and to the midnight assassin . He condemned ns much as any man could do the dilatory proceedings - of her Majesty ' s government in bringing in this measure after all that they had said in her Majesty ' s speech of the very frequent instances in which the crime of deliberate assassination hud been of late committed in Ireland . No corn or Customs' Act could ever compete in urgency with the necessity of pressing forward this measure for the preservation of life and property in
Ireland . Having stated several cases in which women had been murdered in open daylight in Ireland , he added that the Protection party would yive its hearty support , to the government so long as it showed itself in earnest in putting down murder and preventing assassination in Ireland . The blood of every man who should be murdered hereafter in Ireland would be on the head of Ministers and of that house , if they joined in retarding unnecessarily the progves > of a measure like this . The party with which he had the honour to act yielded to none in iove of liberty ; but it would not allow the name of liberty to be prostituted to the protection of broad-day murder and miuuii'ht assassination .
Sir G . Grey , Mr . II . Grattnn , and Lord J . Russell resisted the suspension of the orders , and thought that precedence should be given to the Corn Bill . Mr . Sydney Herbert defended the government from the charge oi * dilator ' mess . Sir 11 . Peel did not expect to have heard a doubt expressed that evening as to the sincerity of her Majesty ' s government in bringing forward this bill for the preservation of life and property in Ireland . "When the fitting time came the house woidd see whether he was sincere in his declarations respecting his intention to proceed forthwith with the Corn Bill . Lord G . Bcntinck had said that government would be responsible for every murder which should hereafter be committed in Ireland , if this Irish bill were
not passed , while the gentlemen on ^ he Opposition benches contended that government , would be responsible for every man who died of starvation iu Ireland , incase the Coin Bill were not passed . Between these two measures ho admitted that the government was placed in a position of some difficulty , but he thought that it had reconciled its duty to those difficulties by proposing' to read this bill a fiist time . Ministers had been told that they should be met with every kind of delay upon this bill . It was the duty of government to disregard menaces of that kind , and to take that course which was most conducive to the public interest . It would not be seemly in the present state of Ireland not to take this measure into immediate consideration .
After some further discussion , in which Sir Robert Inglis , LordWorsley , Colonel Rawdon , aud Mr . John O ' Connell joined , Mr . Cobden said hn must , before the house went to a division , express his deep regret at the course now adopted by her Majesty's government . It was a great misfortune both for England and Ireland . The house then went to a tli vision , when there appeared for the motion of Sir J .
Graham-Ayes ... A 117 Noes j 10 S Majority in favour of it ... 39 Sir James Graham then moved the first reading of the bill . The tone of his speech , and the leading facts it contained , were a reflex of the speech of Lord St . Germans on moving the bill in the other house , and need not be repeated here . He commenced by referring to the measures which had recently been introduced by government to Parliament for the amelioration of the condition of Ireland , such as the Maynooth Bill , the Bequests Act , their various measures relating to popular education , the Bequests Bill , and the free trade measures before Parliament . He then proceeded to read a large mass of evkience confirmatory of his statement relating to the disorganised social state of Ireland , particularly in the counties of Tippernry , Clare , Roscommon , Limerick , aud Meath ,
Mr . D . Bowriso having moved the adjoiininunt of the debate , a conversation of rather an animated character ensued . Lord C . Hamilton said that there was no reason assigned for adjourning the debate . There was no indisposition evinced not to listen to anv statements made with regard to the bill . They proposed an adjournment now to consult their own indolence and case . The hon . gentleman who moved the adjournment must go early to bed , forsooth to take care ol his senatorial health . ( Laughter . ) The hon . member did not look as if he were much worn away . ( Laughter . ) He looked rather neat and comfortable ( Laughter . ) He must go to bed at half-past eleven
House Of Lords-Mond ' Ay, " March 30. Ih...
( Laughter . ) Ho never knew an Irishman who cared for his country to go to bed at half-past eleven o' ol ock . ( If oars of ia ugh tcr . ) Mi-. T > . Hil ws thoiijjli ! - it would have been better if the noble lord went to bed an hour earlier . ( Hear , hear , and laughter . ) To judge from the noble lord ' s costume , he must have been diningout . ( Laughter . ) But the noble lord was accustomed to indulge in an angry tone , to use violent iresticulations , and an indecorous manner , when lie addressed the house . ( Hear , hear . ) But he would not imitate ihe manner of the noble lord . He moved the adjournment of the debate , because he knew that the lion , member for Cork was not prepared to go on with his statement , lie wished that the noble lord had imitated tho tone and temper of the right hon . gentleman who introduced the bill .
The motion for adjournment was supported by Mr . S . O'Brien , Mr . O'Connell , Colonel Rawdon , and Lord J . Russell , and opposed by Sir R . Peel . Ultimutely a division took place upon it , when there were for the adjoummen t , 32 , and against it ( 13 . The motion was , therefore , lost by a majority of 08 . The opponents of the adjournment , however , subsequently gave w ; iy , and tlie debate was then adjourned to this day ( Tuesday ) . The other orders of the day were then disposed of , and the house adjourned at a quarter past twelve . HOUSE 01 ' LORDS—Tommy , Mincn 31 . , The Marquis of Laxsuowxe presented a petition from the grand jury of the county of Kerry , praying their lordships'to give favourable consideration to the projects for railways in Ireland gene : ally ; but particularly those intended to traverse that county .
Tho Marquis of CiAxanjAnDE then brought forward his motion for an address to the Crown , founded upon the report of tlie committee of their lordships ' house on the new Houses of Parliament , but which , after some discussion , led to no other result than its postponement until after Easter , in consequence of an intimation from the Duke of Wellington that it would embarrass the aovcrnment if two separate addresses were presented to her Majesty from both Houses of Parliament , each being ignorant of what was passing in the committee of either . The routine business being then disposed of , their lordships adjournei . HOUSE OF COMMONS-Tuesday , March 31 . There not being forty members present at four o ' clock , the Speaker declared the house adjourned . HOUSE OF COMMONS-Wednesday , Avmi 1 . The house met at twelve o ' clock .
Sir Robert Peel gave notice , that on Thursday he would move a vote of * thanks for the two victories recently gained by our Indian army . A conversation of sonic interest then took place as to the day on which the adjourned debate on the Protection of Life ( Ireland ) Billshould be adjourned . In the course of it Sir J . Graham conected some inaccuracies of which he had been unintentionally guilty in his speech on Monday ni « ht . The principal speakers in it wore Mr . Smith O'Brien , Sir 11 . Peel , Sir J . Graham , Mr . Grattau , Mr . D . Browne , and Mr . O'Connell .
No explanation was given of the reason why " no house" was made on Tuesday night ; but Sir It . Peel asserted _ the sincerity of his sympathy with the distresses in Ireland , and his anxious desire to relievo them . He had given ample proof of this , and he entreated the house to permit him , at an early period , to go on with the other measures intended for the benefit of that country . ^ Mr . O'Connell gratefully acknowledged the steps Sir Robert had taken to avert famine from Ireland ; but was pledged to oppose his Coercion Bill at every stage . It was subsequently agreed that the order of the day for the fuse reading of * this bill should be postponed till Thursday , with the understanding that it would probably not come on till Friday .
Lord Ingestke , after a brief recapitulation of the facts , which he had stated on a former evening , relative to the hardship suffered by the editor of the Wolverhampton Chronicle , in having to pay damages for republishing a libel on the master of the free grammar schoof at Lichfield , which had originally appeared in the report of Dr . Allen , a commissioner appointed by the Educational Committee of the Privy Council to inquire into the condition ofthat school , moved for a copy of the memorial presented to the Treasury on ihat subject by the proprietor Ot that paper , and of the answer given by the Treasury to that document .
Mr . Cardwell had no objection to lay the memorial in que tion before the house . As the noble lord did not claim any pecuniary remuneration out of the public purse for the proprietor of the Wolverhampton paper , it was unnecessary to enter into anv defence of the decision to which the Treasury had come upon that document . Mr . Wood , in the exercise of his ordinary avocations , had incurred a certain liability , aud government was not bound to protect him against the consequences . The ArioiiSEV- General admitted that Mr . Wood had taken the report from a printed hook ; but contended that Mr . Wood had given a d . li ' erent character to it by the remarks which he had made upon it .
Alter some further conversation , in which ihe hardship of punishing the editor of a newspaper for republishing what had been previously published under the authority of government was strongly insistes . upon hy several speakers , Lord Ingesirc consented lo witluiiavi his motion . The Railway Deposits Bill , intended to remove some of the incouvenicuccs of thc * , existingsystem , was then read a second time . Mr . P . Scroi'e moved the second readme of the Destitute Pour ( Ireland ) Bill , and urged upon the house the necessity of making provision for tiie poor iu Ireland on the model of that which haii been in operation tor two ceuturks and a half with the best results in England . The lime was come when relief
ought no longer to be confined to the miserable and scanty system at present in force in Ireland . In that country , under the existing Pour Law , there were not means to relieve one hundredth part of the population . He proposed to give the poor there a right to a maintenance upon tlie land of their birth , and , by so doing , he thought that he should take from tlicm the plea of necessity for combining together against the law . The ki \ v at present did not piotect the Irish peasant from starvation , nor from being thrust out of his home into absolute destitution . He quoted the evidence of Mr . Revans , to prove that U-lOths of the outrages of property and persons in Ireland were produced by the want of a law for the proper relief of the poor . Could h be expected that the Irish peasant would lie down in a ditch and starve , when tiie law gave him no protection either for his life or for his property ? The people of Ireland would continue in their present miserable and
lawless condition , unless the legislature broke up the vicious system now existing , and rendered the rielits of iho poor as i-ecure as those of the rich , iits ' biii would authorise the board of guardians in Ireland : o give out-door relief to the destitute poor . At present they could not afford the poor relief , when the workhouses were full , although they might be upon the point of starvation . It would also enable the guardians to give relief to the able-bodied poor , in the sltape of work , according to the principle of the law of Elizabeth . Instead of such a syskiii leading to the confiscation of the landed property of Ireland , it would lead to the proper development of the imm . nse resources of that country . Hi ., bill would also provide for the prevention of vagrancy and mendicancy , and would alter to a considerable extent the law of rating . If the government would apply such measures as this to Ireland , coercion bilis would icarcely be wanted .
Sir J . Giuu . Mi was sorry that a bill of such vast importance should be discussed in so thin a house . Giving Mr . P . Scrope credit for the purest inter . * linns , he must still say that the topics to which that gentleman had adverted , and the manner in which ho had dwelt upon them , must greatly tend to aggravate the eirounistanees of the present crisis , and to add to the ditliculty of administering tlie alfiirs of Ireland . Agrarian crime was not general , as Mr . P . Scrope had stated it to be , tkroughout Irelandon the contrary , it was mainly limited to five counties . He denied the truth of Mr . Scrape ' s position , that under the law of Ireland there was no prpvi-* ion to prevent a man from dying in the streets for want , and challenged him to produce a single case
iu which a man had dieu of starvation in thai country , even under the distress aud scat city which now prevailed there . Alluding to the remarks which Mr . Screpe had made upon the tenure of land in Ireland , he deeply regretted that they had been made , as unguarded and imprudciitexpresirionsoii that subject might operate like letters of blood on the other side of the channel , and might lead to a sacrifice of life which every man would deplore . The doctrines which Mr . P . Scrope had propounded appeared to liim to be most dangerous . Referring , mure particularly to bo bill then before the house , he observed that the present was a most inopportune time for its
introduction . Besides , it was founded on a principle i directly the reverse ofthat on which tlie government ;• measures for removing the difficulties now pressing ; on Ireland were based . If a claim of relief from l the land were given to the 2 , 300 , 000 paupers in Ire- - land , the whole land ot Ireland would not be sufficient tto meet a jpennanent claim of so overwhelming a de- iseription . So far was Mr . Scrope ' s proposition from n being for the good of the public , that it tended in n his opinion directly to the public damas-c . Believing , ; , then , that the effect of his bill would be bad , and . , d that the public impression produced bv it would be ie sull worse , he should move that it be read a second , d lime that day six mouths .
Mr . b . O Brien contended that this bill would not ot be a remedy for the present anomalous state of of things iu Ireland . Still he was prepared to give it it his support , because it embraced the prineioles of of out-dour relief . The right of relief , with a poor-rate ite to meet it , would make absentee hu . dlords think of of the propriety of employing the poor in thoimpioye-vement of their estates . Lord J . Russell defended the legislation which he hei had mtrouueed upon the recommendations contamcdicd ; in the report of the Poor Law Commission for Ire-reland . He hail , however , refused to act upon the the i whole of those recommendations ; for with the the i knowledge which he had , that out-door relietfiaaiadi created great abuse in England , aud was certain toi to >
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), April 4, 1846, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_04041846/page/7/
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