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REVELATIONS OF ROME . SO . HIFrom the HtsMBUfcr &w « 0 . , / % » tf «* l >* * k " Jor tAmi Star"ofJbrch W . ] 1 ME flWi » O » JS « CflT 0 F TOE WKWBI . tpw . then , is the result , the inevitable consequence , . AU scheme * go « mment as a whole ! * \ Anarchy among the chiefs . Anarchy as to the ** * i sjs Mm : all unity of system is impossible where ga ! f ?' . i is set np I ) v a coterie , the antagonist in general * h '<* jro * " ** 1 Ms rcdec « ssor . Every rontiff i * IUis ac cession by a Jftfu-lVoprio , wliicli annuls * " - "fi-s tIiC * se Ule l lwedin S . Kus the Seventh , ° m ri-Wly esaC « i » S ^^ of ^ Kingdom of Ital y , * Jfd almost All the Liberal institutions of Uapos ° 5 * He re-estaWisi 6 ^ the Inquisition , the bishops ' le -fe- * delegates of provinces , with the right of X " ^ meut in criminal cases ; " he restored its old ^ anincnce to the Koto , bat lie preserved the Colleges
lee * Twclfa utterly subverted , as far as there was ^ hi them , the ordinances of Pius the Seventh . Tfilfc . Uotn-P ' -opno of tlie 5 ili October , 1 S 24 , lie abolished j ^ e Colleges of Justice , substituting for them a single B&e ; ™ & ovt r ^ eren < : e to distance , he made themetro-L&tlie place of appeal for the great part ef the pro-{ iace = ; ue lowered the salaries of all the communal pgfers ; in order to prevent people from kuowiug how a ^ was proceeding , he made Latin the language of the pj-ns ; he lowered the land-tax , aud increased the j tjnnuluties ; he drove the wealthy Jews to emigrate , by j tfsscution . A few years afterwards , Pius the Eighth improved on the qstcm of Leo the Twelfth ; he almost doubled the 5 file of duties . So we may go on ; and it will be seen pith what rapidity these changes occur , when we recol-¦ yct tbat in the short space of eight years , from 1823 to igL . four 1 ' opes succeeded to that dignity .
Anarchy between the different sections of the system ; for , as we have before indicated , the limits of their powers are not defined . VThilst the Popes , whenever they are consulted by their ministers , authorise rescripts which receive no publicity , and which nevertheless derogate from all anterior laws , the high functionaries of the state are ever y instant encroaching on each other ' s department This is carried so far that in 1 S 27 or 1 S . ' 3—we cannot refer to the precise date—the treasurer and the Camerlengo both published at the same time a set of contradictory regulations for the post , each pretending JO flow from the living oracle of the voice of our Lord .
The same collision of powers regularly occurs in the provinces wherever there is a Mnsi gnore for delegate and a cardinal for bishop . The legates and delegates , the bishops wherever the interests of an ecclesiastic are imp licated 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 Same , that of the Fabbrica di gan Fietro for the discovery of pious legacies in testamentary papers , ancient or modern , against which there is no appeal but to Home , the ltota , the Segnatura , and we linow net how many more tribunals or indiriduals are invested with judicial attributes .
Thej' d ' . iK is at the leek of att- At Rome , it is an appendage to the governorship , but without injury to the psirers of the bishops and inquisitors ; or in the province , to those of the legates and delegates , biihops , inquisitors , mayors , or agents ; and parties who have been ac quitted by one of these authorities , may be prosecuted and condemned by another . As a result of this confusen , which it is impossible for us fully to present to our resders , it came to pass under Leo the Twelfth , that a nan who had stolen a considerable sum from an innkeeper of Some , was convicted bj the ordinary tribunals , acouitteaijjtbatof the capitol , and finally seat to the galleys by the Pope . Under Piua the Eighth , the priri-Irces of the port of Ancona were abolished , with a
respite of three days only , by the treasurer , Monsignore Gristaldi , aad immediately re-established by the Secretary of State , Consalvi . Under the same Pope , the Cardinal Camerlengo announced a premium for the encouragement of the native doth manufacture , and the cardinal-treasurer overlaid it with so many restrictions , that not a single manufacture could lay claim to it . In IS 32 , the communal councils of several towns in Romagna were ehosen according to law by the pro-legates , approved at Home , dissolved by Cardinal Albaai , the Secretary of State , aud shortly after re-elected man for man . But Kbat has not come to pass , what will not come to pass , in this chaos of confusion aad doubt , as it was designated bv a famous jurisconsult , Cardinal DeLnca ?
2 . Insubordination among the subalterns . In the government of the Pope , says a . Roman proverb , La Villa cmaMa , la mcta non ufAidisce , eppure tutto A faone half orders , the other half doesn ' t obey , and yet everything goes on . How can it be otherwise ! Inferiors hold their superiors in no respect ; neither do they held them in fear , for they know that in general their offices are bnt the produce of a patronage that must soon lose its power . Prelati the greater number , they look on those above them as upstarts whom the nest torn of the wheel sax abase . Some rely npon their privileges . The
Proracial Prefects , for example , cannot he recalled under three tears . In a pamphlet on the States of the Church , M . Etienae Croiz mentions a fact of a cardinal being placed , in 1 & 39 , over the Legation of Forli , who was well known to be almost in a state of mental derangement . When recalled at the end of his term , he refused obedieuce , aud replied te the Secretary of State , that he , member of a princely family , had no orders to Teceive from a paircnu . They succeeded in dispossessing him , bv finding a , pretext to send him on a tour through the neighbouring legations , and installing another prefect in ids absence .
Moreover , the example of insubordination is set them in hirh quarters . Leo 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 ha * e the power of changing them ! Pius the Eighth pnblicly 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 iras issued to this effect : their report was communicated to certain high functionaries and to the Chambers of Commerce of Bologna and Ferrara ; so that its recommendations became pretty generally known . The lower
duties 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 , and got up so strong an opposition that , spite of the intention of the Pope aad the wishes o £ the masirfrates and merchant * , the project was abandoned , and a new tariff promulgated , that raised duties instead of abating them . Again : —the Cardinal Xtatarlo asserts that his powers extend to the nullifying ordinances signed by the Pope , without even the necessity of announcing to his sovereign that he has exercised the assumed right ; why . then , Should Hot the tribunals essay the same feat ? Pius the
Seventh had empowered the Court of Appeal at Bologna to receive causes that had been heard in th « Bishops ' Court The advocates and judges at Rome , annoyed at the decreased litigation brought to the metropolis , inducsd the defeated party in a suit between the Marchese Albergati and the Great Hospital at Bnlogaa , to have recourse to the Tribunal of the Segnatura at Rome ; and this court quashed the decision of the Court of Appeal , oil the ground of want of jurisdiction . This was a flagrant violation of the Pope ' s edict ; and yet , notwithstanding remonstrances , notwithstanding the representations of the Archbishop of Bologna himself , the reversal took effect , and served as a precedent for restoring- matters entirely to the old routine .
So also , the Secretary of State and the treasnrer are continually violating that law of Benedict the Fourteenth , confirmed by Pius the Seventh and Leo the Twelfth , which orders that every letting or contract for revenue tolls shall be made by public auetion , 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 *} , U regulation , they bestow the profit on whomsoever they please , often on men ruined by vicious extravagance , oronsuchas have rendered thcmpirsonal sertices . 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 mob of tyrants . There , nothing is certain . The law is no protector . You go to the Custom-house , to the Hegistry-oftice , to the Excise , for salt and tobaCCO , and JOU find duties forever increasing , new regulations , unheardof restrictions . "You inquire , whence they spring ? The reply is , from Rome . You insist on seeing the authority . You have not , you are told , the right of demanding it ; you may appeal to Home for redress , bat in the meantime you must obey .
yesamti asd coramios of the pofedok . Office , pension , petitions , the farming of duties or the contracting of loans—all are matter of venality at Home . Every lush 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 Albaniwillbe always associated those of Costantini andSicolai ; those of Huggi and Tommassini with Cardinal Galefll ; Diomilla with Cardinal Dandini ; Paolo Massani with Cardinal Bernetti ; Marchese Marini with Cardinal GuerrerL and so on .
One may be astonished at seeing a notorious plunderer ennobled and titled ; as Marini , for example , who was convicted of having appropriated 400 , 00 ( 1 scu'it as Director of the Territorial Eegistry ; out the answer wasready at Home—he is Cardinal Gu * rreri ' s man . You hear that Bernetti and Mattel have let for 900 . 000 jcudi , the duties on salt and tobacco , which were annually worth to the state 1 , 200 , 000 seedi . How is this ! Why were they not put Tip to public competition , as required by the apostolicconstitutions I How was it that no attention was paid to the proposals of the Tuscan and Genoese speculators lvho off « = r < . > d 200 , 000 more ? The answer is ready ut Home . Paolo Massaui wasa shareholderinthe company to whom the duties have been let . After the thing was settled be Bold his share for XC . 400 ; he kept . more than £ l , 0 « 0 for himself , and the balance is probably tauded over to his maMtr It grieves us to wade through this hith , and to have to d « - our readers with us ; it grieves us to have
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¦ Sh TTi « aiDeS ; tat haTi"g determin < " » to lay an un nWceablefiuger on the tainted sore , wemustbe preche Ibat venality , of which we have forbearing ! , dtSJS « ampiC ?; r " through all ranks of the state . It descends to the bas JOent pf the social structure—to the lacqueys of the most incOnsideC Me prelate , who have an established table of fees , to which ivei , r oneinu st submit , who would be sure of access to their master • 2 J ; to the lacqueys of the judges of the Segnatura and the Jlota , wiiC demand vails from an advocate who has gained a Cause . lt , sshamee « sl y barefaced in the pensions sa liberals * X 2 ?^ ' ^ i ^ t * m * lLi&
.. pnceofduhonourablefavours which vtecan onl y htatal It « systemattsed under the treasurer , whose head clerks ' recede an annual compliment on the profits of tradesmen andcontractors . Itarises almostasa matter of necet sity from the organisation of the Tribunals della Fabbnca , whose servants receive no salaries , but share among them the profits ofthe condemnations pronounced by the judge . * It interferes with private compacts- it * known that the Pope ordered fte Conservator or Mortgages to erase all that burdened a palace sold by t rince Spada to Prince Buoneompagni , in ord « r that the vendor might receive immediate pavment .
Sometimes it assumes the bearing of right : it is on record that Mousi gnorePoUdori , Secretary of State before tfernetti , claimed in a court of law a sum from certain contractors , relying on an agreement which everywhere else wouid have been scouted . It was a paper by which thQ competitors covenanted to present him with a certain amount if tlie contract ( for salt and tobacco ) was concluded in their favour . The consequences are—for the ruonev thus sacrificed to individual cupidity is diverted from the real necessities of the state—the progressive impovcrishment of the government , and thence , as a remedy , ruinous loans erer being contracted , principally with Jews ; enormous imposts , specially inflicted on the provinces ; financial coups < T etat , such as that by which the grand treasurer leased to certain imprudent capitalists the administration of several branches of the finances , ebtaincd 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 for them ; f the rapid growth of the public debt ( £ 24 , 000 , 000 befora 1831 , and increased since ) , for the redemption of which Pius the Seventh founded a treasury , in which nothing has been deposited . Thence also results—the ceutral focus of corruption being at Kome—the habit of seizing everv opportunity of favouring the metropolis at the expense of the provinces ; the tax imposed by Consalvi throughout the country on each venture in the lottery , to go to the poor of Rom-. ' ; the order , emanating from the same source , to every notary to ask testators whsther they designed nothing for the poor , not of their own locality , but of the metropolis ; tho tenth of the prtfit 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 ilichaelei Kipa at Home ; the immense number of matters in which the right of appeal is reserved to Home alone , Ac . Thence , also , the singular spectacle of places a » d pensions conferred on men guilty of crimes that elsewhere would be severely punished . The Marchese Sunez , prefect of police at Bologna , imprisoned the Advocate Rovere and others on a charge of conspiracy ; he gained over a criminal from one of the prisons , to assert that he was an accomplice in 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 £ 260 .
The famous Prelato Pacca , Governor of Kome , to gratify his brutal passions , imprisoned intractable husbands , or confined uncomplaisant 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 Treasury , but he notwithstanding got a pension . The Advocate Greppi of Bolagna , prefect of police in 1 S 15 , 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 he was enamoured of : he produced false witnesses ; the accused remained in irons till the real assassin avowed the act on his death-bed ; Monti aud 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 scat at the Tribunal of Appeal in that city .
Chiefs of bands of brigands , as Majoceo , who had plundered on the highway for seventeen years in the province of Frosinone , and BartoHe , on whose head a reward of £ 214 had been set by the Commie of Velletri , were employed , the former as captain of Chasseurs in the Tery province which abounded with the victims of his depredations , and the relatives of those he had murdered : the latteras commissary ofpolice at Rome . Facts like these , the catalogue of which we could swell to any length , aappen only under the Papal government , and ferni , in our opinion , a characteristic pregnant with meaning .
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? This tribunal is composed of a judge , entitled the commissary , a registrar , nud a procurator-fiscal , who takes the part of prosecutor . If the judge acquits , tbej pocktt nothing ; they receive only when he condemns . t Bolugna long deplored the loss of Jacopo Lunghi . to whom the tobacco monopol y had been leased . He lost in this way £ 24 , 900 ; his agent at Rome was silenced bv a threat of the Castle of St . Angels . Longhi died of ' despairand poverty , in a bed not his own , having surren . dered his funiitcre for the bkntfit of his creditors
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sabser -lent to the liberal movement of the bomesb . The working peep .: ; * " ? 11 more adTauced than the middle classes , could noty * . the total dhTerence between liberalism and denioci'Scy—e mancipaJion of the middle classes and emancipation of ft « Working" classes ; they could not see the difference between liberty of >*?«< # and liberty of wan , 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 Corn Law repeal at the same time ; therefore , the proletarians fought in 1830 iu Paris , and threatened to fi ght in 1831 in England , for the political interest of the bourgeoisie . In all countries the middle classes were , from 1815 to 1830 , the most ponerful component , and , therefore , the leaders of the revolutionary party . The
working classes are necessarily the instruments in the hands of the middle classes , as long as the middle classes are themselves revolutionary 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 tlie 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 . et tho Com LaiMle repealed to-day , and to-morrow the Charier is the leading question in England—to-morrow tht Chartut move , meni Kill exhibit that strength , that cntrgy , that enthusiasm a-nd perseverance which ensures sutcen .
The second fact , for the explanation of which I ven . tured to make some few remarks on middle-class govern-Mient , refers to Germany exclusively . The Germans being a nation of theorists , and little exptriwiced iu practice , took the common fallacies brought forward by tho French and English middle classes to be sacred truths . The middle classes of Germany were glad to b « left alona to their little private business , which was all in the " small way f wherever they had obtained a constitution , the y boasted of their liberty , but interfered little in the political business of the state ; wherorer they had none , they were glad to be saved th » trouble of electing
deputies and reading their speeches . The working people wanted that great lever which in France and Bugland 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 eld feudal regime , felt oppressed , but thii discontent wanted another stimulus to break out in open rebellion . Thus , the revolutionary party in Germany , from 1815 to 1830 , consisted of theorists only . Us recruits were drawn from the universities ; i t was made up of n » ne but students .
It had been found impossible in Germany to re-introduce tiie old system of 178 ? . The altered circumsfenccs of the time forced the governments to invent a new syst « iu , which has been peculiar to Germany . The aristocracy was willing to govern , bat too weak ; the middle classes were neither willing to govern nor strong enough —both , however , were strong enough to indues the government to some concessions . The form of government , therefore , was a sort of mongrel monarchy . A constitution , in some states , gave an uppearancu of guarantee
to the aristocracy and middle classes ; for the remainder there was everivhuro a T / ureaucratie 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 , tho formation of a separate class of administrative government officers , in whose hauds 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 , sci-ptre , 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 , nobilitv , 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 monarchs 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 ofincarcerations and wholesale prosecutions quashed this " revolution" in Germany , the 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 tlie Grand Turk to hang and quarter his Grecian subjects was for a while maintained by the Holy Alliance ; but this case was too ilagrant , and the Greeks were allowed to slip from under the Turkish yoke . At last , the three days of Paris gave tho signal for a general outbreak of middle-class , aristocratic , and popular discontent throughout Europe . The aristocratic Polish revolution was put down ; the middle classes of France and Belgium succeeded in securing to themselves political power ; the English middle classes likewise obtained this end by the Reform Bill ; the partly popular , partly middle-class , partly national insurrections of Italy , were suppressed ; and in Germany numerous insurrections and movements betokened a new era of popular and middlcc-lass agitation .
The new and violent character of liberal agitation in Germany , from 1830 to 1834 , 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 Hue 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 bankers , 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 meaus , but ends ; they took 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 \ ery slight beginning of a democratic movement among students , working men , and peasants .
I shall not enter into the rather tedious details of this blustering and unsuccessful movement . Wherever somewhat important had been won , as liberty of the press in 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 1819 aud 18 ° 23 , and , by a secret league of all German princes , concluded in 1834 , at a Conference of delegates at Vienna , to resist all further progress of Liberalism . The resolutions of this Conference were published some years ago . From 1834 to 1840 , everv public movement in Germanv
died out . The agitators of 1830 and 1831 were either imprisoned or seattered in foreign countries , where they had fled . Those who had kept much of thvir middle class timidity during the times of agitation , continued to struggle against the growing rigour of the censor , and the growing neglect and indifference of the middle classes . The leaders of Parliamentary opposition went on specchifi-ing in the Chambers , but the governmentsf ound means to secure the vetes 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 of Prussia took almost no part . The working people uttered their 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 movement in Germany was not yet come . In my next , I shall pass to the movement of the last six years , unless I 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 Homo Secretary are pure and innocent . I am , in the meantime , dear sir , respectfully , YocE Gebmak Co-respondent . March 20 th , 1846 .
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ThS T ° ^^ : ; M ; ;;;« 7 the DuSof Av entWaSglVent 0 "weral bills ; and flnnkV on Tl ,, I LLI'voroy « ave notice of a vote ol ffi #% & ! i £ *** " **»* ~ . frShfK p '' ° *««™«« presented a report SSS ^ rffiKSS ; the buildiu = oi *•
m , u ¥ EJECTMENTS . flmnSir ?• {• wtw » M »«* wored fora return of tlienumbe oi ejectments earned into effect in Ireland on , tho tenants and occupiers of land from 1811 to 164 o , and took the opportunity of again bringing under tlie notice of tho house the ease of the evicted tenants on the property of Mr . and Mrs . Gerrard , to tlie number of seventy-six , comprising upwards ot three hundred individuals , whose habitations had not only been pulled down , but who had actually been driven from the ditches in which they had taken shelter ; and this after they had buen encouraged at a former period to settle > n the property
, and had over and over again tendered rent to the Gerrard family for their holdings . Much had latelv been said ot certain religious seventies practised by Russia , butwuat would Itussia say of such a state of things existing m Ireland as had lately been doveloped in the counties of lloscommon and Gahvay ? Tne noble marquis then took occasion to observe that in the counties of Derry , Down , and Antrim there was no want pi that employment which existed in other parts ot Ireland ; aud though potatoes might be a little dearer , there were none wanting , and therefore thero was no necessity for relief where no distress existed .
The Earl ot St . Germans , not being in possession of any information from the Secretary for Ireland , was not in a position to confirm or contradict the statements which bad ^ one forth to the public as to evictions alluded to . There was no oljjectiou to the production of the returns . After some discussion , in the course of which the Duke of Wkllingion confessed that hejJM been entirely wrong in supposing , last November , that the famine in Ireland was exaggerated , tlie motion was agreed to . RAILWAY LEGISLATION .
Lord kissAUti ) , m moving that a select committee be appointed— " To take into consideration the best means of enforcing one uniform system of management oh railroads in operation or to be constructed , and to secure the due fulfilment of ( ihe provisions of the Acts of Parliament >; iider which the couip -inies have obtained their powers , whereby greater accommodation aud safety may be insured to the public : what means may best be adopted for 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 ; and 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 property , without subjecting them to the ruinous expense of opposing bills in Far-Jiament , "—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 , miliiative against labour , iu subjecting promoters of bona fide plans to ruinous costs , and 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 suugestud that a Board should be appointed , having cognisance oJ ' all matters pertaining to railways .
Lord Dauio'jsie , though not agreeing in the views of Lord Kinuaird , 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 ft ' ullington said that which he would like to see would be aofc only proper arrangements previous to the construction of railways , but some mode of regulating their action after they were constructed , the motion was ugncd to . The house adjourned at seven o ' clock . HOUSE OF COMMONS—Mondat , Makch 30 .. Public business was commenced by Sir J . Gkaham , who moved that the orders of the day be postponed , in order that he mi ght bring on Jiis notice of motion for the first reading of the Protection of Life ( Ireland ) Bill .
Sir W . SoMKiwiixTs moved a direct negative to the motion of Sir J . Graham . Great inconvenience would arise , not only from the postponement oi' the great measure , on which the hopes of England , Ireland , and the empire at large were set , but also from bringing on an exciting and exasperating debate on another measure , which the government intended to postpone to a future day , even ik' it succeeded in carrying it at present . As her Majesty had called the attention of Parliament to the state of Ireland on the 22 ud of January , and as this bill had not been introduced into the House of Lords until the 13 th 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 ot the wishes ot the people of Great Britain and Ireland on the subject of the Corn Importation Bill ?; He called on the government , before it proceeded with this bill , to lay on the table of the house those other Irish measures—for 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 . Somerville to the government , aud reminded Sir J . Graham that he was then entering upon a contest which must of necessity last for mouths ; for the Irish members were determined to use every .: form which the constitution allowed to oppose the progress of this measure .
Sir J . Gkauam , in reply , explained the reasons of the delay which had occurred in the other house , and pressed the necessity of observing the usual courtesy shewn to any bill sent down from the Lords . He was awure that in the present state of parties it would be easy to defend the Ministry , but nothing more fatal for Ireland could be attempted . Upon the point he said—if this house , by any combination of parties , should by a large majority decide . not to entertain it , the mural effect oi such a course of proceeding will be most mischievous to Ireland . Any step more fatal to the peace , mere injurious to the safety , and more fatal to the maintenance of order and tho predominance of the law , cannot well be taken . ( Hear , hear . ) 1 am certainly aware of the fact which the lion , gentleman
the member for the county of Limerick has advanced , that in the present state of parties in this house the declared adhcrants of the government are a small minority ; but while we are tlie servants of her Majesty , charged with the conduct of public affairs , the accumulation of difficulties to which he has adverted , and the situation in which we are placed , prescribe to us oniy one course which we ought to pursue—steadily and perseveriugly , 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 to its opinion , ( lluar , hear . ) But whilst we remain her Majesty's servants , I again repeat that , to the best of our judgment , we will take that course which we believe the public safety and the public necessity demand . The Ministers were still of opinion that the Corn Bill should not be delayed by this measure , aud , 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 tho responsibility .
An exciting attack by Mr . Sjiaiv followed this speech of Sir James ' s , in which the member for the University of Dublin replied to the insinuation of 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 the case . On one joint he gave the following explanation : —First , as regards even tlie colour of truth which belongs'to one part of tho charge , namely , that which relates to the recordership . In 1 S 42 , when the present government came into office , I being at the time in constant communication with the right hon . baronet ( Sir It . Peel ) , mentioned to him , amongst other things , that the oih ' ce of recorder
did require to be regulated ; and at his request 1 put on pii ^ er , having first conferred with the law officers of the crown in Ireland , what 1 conceived would be a desirable plan for the better regulation of the j office . I suggested the consolidation of a great many judicial and small local offices in Dublin , which would effect asaving of £ 3 , 000 or&i . OOO to the public . And which would likewise , I 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 . ) I did not do this ns a humble suppliant , nor did I ask it as a favour . I i ' elt the difference between tho Prime
Minister and so humble : in individual as myself ; 1 but I conferred on that and other measures with him , upon terms of independent equality . ( Hear , hear . ) I did on taat occasion confer with the right hon . baronet ( Sir 11 . Peel ) . I conferred , also , with the right hon . baronet the Secvetary of State for the Home Department , as 1 bvjlicved confidentially . I ( Hear , hear . ) But 1 do no * care if he publishes on all the market cro&scs in England everything 1 ever uttered on the subject . As to the other part of the accusation , he said : But now 1 come to the real charge—that 1 had begged for the office of Chief Secretary or some ' other office . Now , if thUhadbeen tiue , I believe t !' house will feel that it was contrary I to oil official etiquette , unworthy of a Minister ol 1 the Crown , aud unbecoming the ordinary dealings I
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or between gentlemen , that any confidential communication ot this kind should be revealed for the purpose of creating a temporary cry against a political opponent . ( Hear , hear . ) 1 do notthinlc that a Jiigri or generous mind , incapable of being influenced by the motives attributed to me , would be likely to attribute them to another . ( "Hear , hear , " anil 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 charge from beginning to end . ( Hear , hear . ) After a marked appeal to Sir 11 . Peel , as a man incapable oi tlie slightes t untruth , to state tlie facts as Jie knew them , Mr . Shaw proceeded to make ii spirited attack upon Sir J . Graham . I solemnly aver that , from the period of the conversation with the right
hon . baronet in 1834 , to which I have referred , up t « i this present moment , I never spoke to him of office . ( Hear , hear . ) I never , directly or indirectly , applied to any iinuinu beiiur for office ; I never sii ^ ested 1 never hinted at , 1 never contemplated tluTofficu ' of Irish Secretary , or any other office under the sun than that which 1 now hold , which is enough for ra ' . V bread and my independency . ( Cheers . ) V \ ell , then , sir , does the right hon , baronet , the Secretary of State for the llome Department , think that , under these circumstances , it is not degrading to him , or at all events to the high office which he holds , that he—not in the heat of debate , not in the moment of irritation , immediately after I had spoken , but after three days—premeditatcdly coming down vo this house to open the adiourned uebate—iloud cries
oi '' Hear , hear , " from tho Protectionist benches)—at the calmest hoar of the night , could mala ? a charge against me 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 irom a gossiping local party newspaper—and of which 1 utterly and indignantly defy him to produce a scintilla , the anallest atom , the remotest tittle of evi-Ucnio belorc the world . ( Loud cheers from the Protectionist benches . ) Then tho right lion , hart s »> s that I , sitting behind the government , know that they are a falling government , and therefore kick them . ( " Hear , hear , " and laughter . ) Sir , it is not my lault —( hear , hear)—1 cannot well help sitting in a certain degree behind them . I do not sst very nearly behind them , ' I am as close to the gangway
as I can go . ( Laughter . ) If , sir , the right hon . baronet means this as a hint to hon . gentlemen who are behind him , that because they have changed their opinions they must ehan » e their scats ; or that if they sit behind him they must support the government , and mince their opinions its order to gratify tiie taste of the right hon . baronet—( cheers anil laughter)—why , then , I believe that these benches which are generally not very well attended throughout the night , will be much more deserted still . ( Renewed laughter . ) He says I think them '' a falling government . " I lament very much to say , that 1 do believe them to be falling both in p « wer and in character . ( "Hear , hear , " and Protectionist ! cheers . ) Yes , sir , and 1 believe , moreover , that the right hon . baronet , the Secretary of State for
tinllome Department , is the evil genius * of the administration . ( Loud cheers . ) Those with whom he acted three years ago commonly predicted—and-1 believe every gentleman in this house , whether amor . « the former or the present supporters of her Majesty ' s government ,, will agree in testifying to thefulfiltaenl of the prophecy—that no cabinet could last long in England ot 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 unfortane habit , oHbeliii " strongly , and spunking as 1 think- ; - and even theugii it may sometimes-be an inconvenient habit , 1 certainly am not willing to unlearn it bv making myself a disciple of the right hon . baronet-. ( Cheers from the Protectionist benches . ) The right hon . b&ronot says ako , that he " prefers my open hostility to my
smouldering resentment , " He may depend upon this , that whenever I feel hostility either to parties or to individuals , I will express it as openly and- as fearlessly as I did on the occasion to which ho referred . ( Cheers . ) Sir ; I feel no resentment towards her Majesty ' s government . ( Hear , hear . ) - Above all do 1 fuel-none towards the right hon , baronet at the head of that government . ( Hear hear . ) On the contrary , sir , I entertain for him great- respect and the sincerest sorrow do I 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 hen . 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 defcrenoe to the house , I vrill 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 recordership , there was- no confidence between kirn and Mr . Shaw , who had on every occasion ostentatiously proclaimed that theiv connection was merely political , not personal . Mr . Shaw had his refusal on public grounds , and might publish his letter if he thought fit . Sir B . Hall , Mr . O'Gonnell , and Mr . C . Powell spoke against the introduction of the bill on thai evening .
Lord G . Bentixck on the pare of tlie Protectionists and ill reply to tlieiappenl of Sir W . Somerville , saiil ] that that party , however friendly it was to the principle of protection , would not allow protection to bi extended to the broad-day murderer and to the midnight assassin . He condemned as much as any man could do the dilatory proceedings of her- Majesty ' s government in bringing in this measure after all tlmt they had said in her Majesty ' s speech of the yety frequent instances in which the crime of deliberate assassination had been of late committed in Ireland , too 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 give its hearty support . to the government so long as it showed itself in earnest in putting down murder and preventing assassination in Ireland . Tho 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 prouress of a measure like this . The party with which he had the honour to act yielded to none in love of liberty ; but it would not allow the name of liberty to be prostituted to the protection of broau-day murder anil midnight assassination . Sir Or , Grey , Mr . II . Grattan , and Lord J . Russell resisted the suspension of the orders , and thought that precedence should be given to the Com Bill . Mr . Sydney Heriiert defended the government from the charge of diiatoriuess .
Sir R . Pekl 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 would 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 bo committed in Ireland , if this Irish bill weve not passed , while the gentlemen on the Opposition benches contended that government would be
responsible lor every man who died of starvation in Ireland , in case the Coin Bill were not passed . Between these two measures ho admitted that the government was placed in a position of some dilliculty , but he thought that it had reconciled its duty to those difficulties by proposing to read this bill a iiist 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 ltawdon , and Mr . John O'Connell joined , Mr . Coisdes said he 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 division , -when there appeared for the motion of Sir J .
Graham-Ayes Wi Noes - 10 S Majority in favour of it ... 39 Sir James Graham then moved the first reading of the biif . Tlietbne of his speech , anil 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 , lie 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 evidence confirmatory of his statement relating to the disorganised social state of Ireland , particularly in tlie counties of Tipperary , Clare , Roscommon , Limerkk and Mcatu .
Mr . D . Bowmso having moved thcadjournrjwit of the debate , a conversation of rather an animated character ensued . , Lord C . Hamilton said that there was no renson assigned for adjourning the debate . There was ' no indisposition evinced not to listen to any siatemen made with regard to the bill . They pro ' posed an adjournment now to consult their own in . Oolence and case . The hon . gentleman who muved . the adjournment must go early to bud , forsooth to take care ol I his senatorial health . ( Laughter . ) The him . member dill not look as if he wore smcli worn away . \ ( Laughter . ) He looked rather neat and vomlbrtaUll * , ( Laughter . ) He , must go to bed at half-past eleven
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" i ,, ' 't ' .-r . ) lie never knew an Irishman who cared A , 3- country to go to bed at Imlf-piu-t eleven ' «• " , Vin « rs of laughter . ) , , . u ' clo . ' * :. < £ * " ¦ ., ¦ - ir . ivonld have bevn better Ml 0 . Hw *» HiKWfi ,. . - ., lir f t , ijc ,.. ( Hear , if the not > le iml W 0 ) lt Ul l ); ' ' » ' - " hear , ami j « . "> u ^ ) ltcr - > To jmlgu trow Ut ; ifjGMw | w « « costume , hr i , ' ^ ' lilvc boiii dining out . ( i . a'iigiiferj But tiie noble i .. w . as '" . 'eusiumcti to indulge in ah ' angry tone , to uso violent gesticulations , and n » indecorous manner , , 'v'jK'u hu addressed the house . ( Hear , iicar . ) But- hn " w " " iniitiitc the manner of the imbit ! lord . He u . ' . ci 1 tlic adjournment of the debute , because he kiie > v . -hat the hon . n-inilmr for Cork was not prepared tu , . ' 0 " 11 wilu his aiatmient . lie wished that tlie iiobie luvi- J || U 1 """" ted the tcno find temper of the right hsu . . < 5 L' » lIi'i »; i )> w ! : o iuti-yducod the bill .
... The motion for adjournment >•« support *! by Mr . S . O'Brien , Mr . O'Cuiindl , Col . " , ^ f " ' . ;^' Lord J . jfciissell . aix . < W * ei i by Sir i . V "J ; . JlUmatcly a . division teak jilnt-e upon i . - « ' ™ ti . p « were for tiie ailj ' -uniuient , 32 , and '^ ainst .. c ;?• * « c motion was , tin relbre , iosa by ; i majority oi . '"• The opponents of th « Jxijimnnm-Rt ,- iiowcv . ' r > s «» - sequcntly gave way , aatl iho debate- was thw ? * ' « - joui-ned to tkw dny ( Tuesday ) . , The other orders or the < i * y were then dfepusetr-. oi , and the house adjourned »»»¦ ¦ f | " « rtrr !'» st i-m-Ive . HOUSE OF LORDS— -tauAY , M-akck 81 . The Marquis of LasskoWM ! presented ; i petition " from the grand jury oi ' the ennuy of Kevrvvprayinjj their lordships to give favourable consideration to tho projects for railways i" Ireland gencraily ; tut particularly those intended to Sraverse tlmcminrv .
The ilnrquis of Oaaskicmujk S-hre broughtforwaiid Ms motion for an address to Siiis Siwu , ihiwdcd upon the report of the committei / oi' their k > ri ! . lk : rou > ine business being then disposed m , their li ^ dsliips adjourned . HOUSE OF COMMONS-ariraaDAY , Mmics 31 . ) There not being forty ni . unwas pre « -i& at- four o ' clock , the Speaker declared tilits-Jiouseaiijounwd . HOUSE OF COiMMONS-Whbwimday . ' a- hiii . 1 . The house met at twelve <)' ebi « U .
Sir KcivKiii 1 ' kkl gave noticcj . that on Thursday he wouid move a vote of thmiks-ioi- the two vi-.-torius recently gained by our ii : dian arjji > v A conversation of sonic interest ttacn look piss « i& to the day on which the adjouratt !> debate on the Protection of Life { . Ireland ) ) JilM . iuua < ibij adjoin-ntd . In theeiiurseof it Sir J . Graham owi-toted sonic inaccuracies of which ho hue ! bce . v OKiiitcntionaily yuilty i . n his speech on Monday niiibts . Tliepviitch . ai ' speakers in it wore Mr . Smith O'lira !!; . Sir il . 1 ' ici ,-Sir J . Graham , Mr . © rattan , Mr . . !>;• iirowne , and * Mr . O'OoancU .
iNo explanation wan given of the m-Kiii why " no house" was inadeonTiscwlayniuhc ; Uii-Sw II . Vv . kl asserted tnesincerUv etnas . sympathy will * the di « - ircsacs in Ireland ,- Ami Ins anxious di-sJre do relieve them . lie had given ample proof of this , - awl he entreated the house to penult him , at an «\ ily period , to go on with the other measures inte . "iWtl tor the benefit of that country . Mr . O'CoKXSMi-gratefu % acknowledHed ' . thc- steps bir Hubert hud taken to-awrt famine fro . * : Ireland but was pledgee . 1 to oppose Jus Cwrcism LiJUat every stage . It , was subsequently agreed that ths orcV-of the day for thu fust reading o * ibis biil sh mi id-be postponed till JLhursday , with t-iw uwdeistanding-that it would probubly no 3 come on iilj Fridav .
Lual Ixgrstrb , after a brief recapitulation of the lasts , which he had stated on » ibreuer cvtniii " , relative to the hardship suflevad- by tke-cditos ot the Wofoerhampton Chronicle , in having to gay damages for republishing a libel on- tUa master of the free grammar school at Inehfiold .. which had originally appeared in the report of l ) r . Jm&s , a coniniis'siuner appoMtcd by tho Educational Gt > mmhtee of the lnvy Council to inspire into- the-condition of that school , moved for a copy . , of the ; mersoriu * . presented to tlie irenaury oti ihat . snbjeot bv sb . e proprietor < ot that paper , and of the -answer given by the Treasury to-that document .
_ Mr . Cakcwklf , had no-objection to-lay the memorial in ojuu-tion before the house As the noble lord did not claim any pecuniary remiineranion out of the public purse i ' or the proprietor uf ' sbo W&lrerhampton paper , it was uunectosiur * to enteintei any defence ol . the decision to which ihe-Treaty , haul come upon that document . Mr . Wood , . in . the . esm-ise of his ordinary avocations , had incum-dia-ceiitsDin liability ami-government \ y , is not bound to ( . -roteux bhn a « ainst the consequences . " ° The Atiobnex-Gexeu ^ . admitfa-d-. tha '; Mr . Wood had taken the report from a prints ! . '* -. but !;; but contended that Mr . Wood hadgiveu a d . llore' -. s character to it by . the remarks which he hail made u » on it .
After some further-coiwersatuxij , in . which ike hardship of punishing tha editor via nuws . ' . aper for rcpubiisliiug what had been , previously publi-hed under Cue authority of govevnwont ¦ waa ' stnai ^ lv iusistoe . upon by scvui-al siioakovs , Lt-al lawK . trJ conscnted to . withdraw his motion . The lluilway Deposits liiU , intended to remove some of the iueouyejiieiices of Uisi « xistijiK 3 yste ; w rwfis then read a second time . Mr . P .. Senorn moved the second reading of the Destitute Poor ( lrelaml ) Bill , ami m- ytil ukoii the house the necessity of nmking . provisiwi fur tiie poor in Ireland on t / ie model oi thai whioh- had been iu operation for two centuriea-and a h ; iif . \ vit ( i ihe best asulis in Kngland . Tho time was come when relief ought no longer to be confined to the misuraUo ami
scanty system at present huoree in L-ofaud In that country , under thecxiatiBg . rooi-. Law , there were not means to relieve one hundredth part of . ilu » population . Ik proposed to give the p ^ -iir . there a right to a maintenance upon Malawi . of their , bir-tii and by so doing , he thought that lie should take ' from them the plea of necessity ,. for eombkiing togetheragainst the law . The law- at presuiu did not protect the Irish peasant from su » 'valiuu ,.. uor from bein " thrusc out of his home into : absolute . destitution , lie quoted the evidence of Mr . llevsmaj . to prove that ii-lOths of the outrages of property and persons iu Irelaud were produced by tiie waut of . a . law . for the proper relief of th-j poor .. Could it , bcexpected that die Irish peasant woulUi lie dowa . iu a ditch and starve when the law ga 7 e-. hi . ni no protection either for his life or for his property ? . 'JBiie . pcojjie of Ireland would continue in isiieir present miserable and
lawless condition , unless > the legislature broke up the vicious system now exissiui ; , and yundensd . the riuhts of the poor as secure as , those of the . rich , ilia " bill would authorise the boawl of . guardians in Ireland 10 give out-door relief to the destitute poor . Ac present ; they could not afford Oitpoor relief , wkm the workhouses were full , although they , might bu ur-on the point of starvation , liavonld also enable the guar-. dianstogive relief to- the ablu-bodicd poor , in the . shape of work , according , to tha principle of the law o ( Elizabeth . Instead oi suck a ' systi-iu , lewding . to . the confiscation of the : lauded , property of Ireland , ' it would lead to the proper development of the im-. in-. nse resources of ? , that , country . Hi-, bill would also provide for tliOrpreveniian of " vagrancy and men- , dicaney , and wouULalxor tea considerable extent the law ol' rating , if ihe , government , would apply such , measures as this-to-lrelivjid , coercion biiis would scarcely be wanted ! .
Sir J . Giuu . iNiwas . soniy , that a bill of such vast , importance should . be disunited in so thin a house . Giving Mr . P .. Serope csedit for the mrnst intentions , he must still say tbat the : topics to which , that gentleman had ; adverted , and t . Ue manner in which iie haul dwelt uj > on them , imisLgrcatly lend to iiifo 1 ' * - vate the circumstances , of tiie present , crisis , aiiii toadd to the liiiticulty c £ administering the allairs of Ireland . Agrarian crime was not general , as Miv P . Soropehad stated it to bsv throughout Irelandon the contrary ,. it was mainly limited to five counties , lie denied the . -tr . uth of j \ ir . Seine ' s position , that und « r the law of Ireland thero was . no provU . •> ion to prevent a jaan IVcai dying in the streets for want , autt challenged hiiu to produce- a sin- 'le casis
in which a . wan had died of suvsvation in that country , even , under ihe distress aud scarcity which now iifevaikd there . Alluding tio the remarks which ; Mr . Screpe had mads upon , the tenure of land in . Ireland , he deofily regsettcd that they had been made * " , as uuguarded . and iiapvudeni expres'sionsouthat subject might cgcrato likis letters of blouil on tlie otherside of tho elianue . l ,, and might lead to a sacrifice of life .-which wcry man would de&lore . The dm-kines * . which Mr . T . Serope had propounded appealed to hian to be most tkngcroas . iMeri'ins ; aiore partial- * larly to be bill Sheu . balore the house , he observe */ , that the present was a most inopportune time lur it i
introdufltion . Besides , it was founded on a priucin ' iu directly the reverse el ' that on which the govennni' nt measures for- removing tae difficulties now pres / . in " on Iceland were based . . If & claim of relief Vrom the . laud were given to the 2 , 300 , 000 paupers in Ireland , the whole iand of Ireland would not bo suili cient to . meet a j . cratanent claim of so overwiieliamsr a deseriptiou . Su far was Mr . Seropo ' s proposition from , being for the good of the public , that it tended in his opinion directly to the public damage . . Yielieving , then , that the effect of his bill would be bad , au' thai the public impression produced by it would be still worse , he should move that it be { tad % suuKid time that day six numtlis .
Mv , b . U'BiUBS contended that this bill ivoulfl not be a remedy tor the prwent anomalous state of things in Ireland . Still he was prepared to give it his support , because it embraced the principles of out-door relief . The right of relief , witii a poor-rate to meet it , would make absentoo landlords think of the propriety of employing tho poor in ihe impiovemeut of their estates . Lord J . Kusski . 1 , defeiuV jii the legislation which ho had introduced upon the recommendations contained in the report of the 1 V . im Commission for Ireland , lie had , ho \ v evtT i Vefusoil to act upon tha rtholo o ! those iv-omiiu-n . latit . ns ; for with the Knowledge which he had , thnt out-door relief had created great a ^ u in England , and was certain to
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THfc STATE OF GERMANY . XETTER III . TO THE EDITOR OF THE XORTHERX STAR . Deab Sis , —I really must beg of jrou and jour readers to excuse my apparent liegligtnoo in not continuing sooner the series of letters on the above subject which 1 commenced writing for this paper . You may , however , rest assured that nothing but tlie necessity of devoting some weeks to the German movement exclusively could detain me from the pleasant task I have undertaken , of informing the English democracy of the state of things in my native countrv .
Your readers will , perhaps , have some recollection of the statements made in my first and second letters—[ Sbrfhirn Star , of 1 st and 8 th of Xovember , 1 S 45 . 1 I there related how the old , rotten state of Germany was rooted up by the French armies from 1792 to 1 S 13 ; how Napoleon was overthrown by the union of the feudalists , or aristocrats , and the bourgeois , or trading middle classes of Europe ; how , iu the subsequent peace arrangements the German princes were cheated by their allies , and oven by vanquished France ; how the German Federative Act , and the present political state of Germany was brought about ; aad how Prussia and Austria , by inducing the lesser states to give constitutions , made themselves the exclusive masters of Germany . Leaving Austria , as a half-barbarian country , out of the question , we ceme to the result that Prussia is the battle-field on which the future fate of Germany is to be decided .
VTe said in our last , that Frederick William HI ., king of Prussia , after being delivered from the fear of Napoleon , aud spending a few happy , because fearless years , 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 , by the kings and aristocrats of the time , was totally identified with the putting down of the French revolution , or . as they called it , the revolution , after 1815 , in all countries , the aBti-revolutionary party held the reins of government . The feudalist aristocrats ruled in all cabinets from London to Naples , from Lisbon to St . Petersburgli . However , the middle classes , who had paid for the job and assisted in doing it , wanted to have their share bf tlie power . It was by no means their interest which was placed in the ascendant by the restored
governments . Oa the contrary , middle-class interests were neglected everywhere , and even openly set at nought . The passing of the English Corn Law of 1818 is the most striking example of a fact which was common to all Europe ; and yet the middle classes were more powerful then thaa ever they had been . Commerce and manufactures had been extending everywhere , and had swelled the 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 thel * ur eios . The struggle between the middle classes and the aristocracy was inevitable ; it commenced almost immediately after the peace .
The middle classes being powerful by money only , cannot acquire political power but by making mouey the only qualification for the legislative capacity of au individual . They mast merge all feudalistic privileges , all political monopolies of past ages , in the one great privilege and monopoly of money . The political dominion of the middle classes is , therefore , of an essentially literal appearance . They destroy all the old differences of several estates co-existing in a country , all arbitrary privileges and exemptions ; they are obliged to make the elective priiiciple ' the foundation ofgorernment—to recognise equality in principle , to free the press from the shackles 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 . But they introduce all the improvements so far only , as thereby all former individual and hereditary privileges are replaced by the privilege of money . Thus the priuciple of election is , by property qualifications for the right of electing and 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 the inequality of rich and poor—equality within the limits of the ^ chief inequality existing—which means , in short , nothing else but giving inequality the name ot equality . Thus the liberty of the press is , of i tself , a middle-class privilege , because printing requires money , and buyers for the printed productions , which buyers must have money again . Thus tiie jury is a middle-class privilege , as proper care is taken to bring none but " respectables" iuto the jury-box . I have thought it necessary to make these few remarks upon tiie subject of middle-class government in order to cxplaiu two facts . The first is , that all countries , during the time from 1815 to 1830 , the essentially democratic movement of the working classes , was more or less made
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Coroxer ' s Isqcest . — Fatal Affray . — Manslaughter . —An inquest was held by Mr . C . Bedford , at the Red Lion , Priuce ' s-street , Westminster , on the body ef John Stack , aged tliirty-scren , a labourer , who died from the effects of a blow from a poker , inflicted by a luannnmcd Silvester Uoulagan . It appeared Irom tho evidence that the deceased , with lug wife , on Sunday , the 22 ml ultimo , paid Uoulagan a visit at his residence in Johnson ' s-court , 1 eter-strcet ; and from eight o ' clock until twelve at
night the time was consumed in drinking . Tlie ieinale portion ( at least some of them ) being "overcome" by the liquor , retired , and a quarrel took place between the deceased and lloulagan . Uoulagan struck the deceased with a poker , and felled him to the ground . The deceased was taken to tlie Westminster Hospital , where his skull was found to be fractured and caused his death on Friday last . lloulagan immediately absconded , ami 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 against Silvester lloulagau .
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»^_^_ 1846- THE NORTHERN STAR .
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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/vm2-ncseproduct1361/page/7/
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