Sir Robert Peel, after entering at length into the merits of the amendments adopted by the lords, in which he generally concurred, proposed an additional and alternative qualification for voters—namely, the being rated in L30 in the larger, and L15 in the smaller boroughs. Ministers acceded to this. But there was a greater difficulty encountered in dealing with the exercise of ecclesiastical patronage. Lord John Russell proposed the rejection of the amendment of the lords on this subject; but Mr. Spring Rice proposed an expedient, which was ultimately adopted, to insert a clause directing the ecclesiastical patronage belonging to boroughs to be sold, and the price to be invested for the purpose of being applied to the public good of the boroughs. The amendments of the commons were taken into consideration by the lords on the 4th of September, and were agreed to with few exceptions. They still retained, however, their original amendments providing that justices should be named by the crown, and that the division into wards should begin with boroughs containing a population of six thousand. On the 7th of September the commons agreed to the bill as it had been returned to them from the house of lords, and in that shape it finally passed.

In the meantime, while the lords were occupied in the consideration of the municipal bill, the commons were occupied with the Irish church bill. Lord Morpeth brought this measure forward on the 26th of June, and in doing so, he stated that, in conformity with the bill of last year, and of that which the late government had contemplated, he proposed to convert the existing composition into an annual rent-charge, payable by the owners of the first estate of inheritance, or such other equivalent estate as would be defined by the bill, equal to seven-tenths of the amount of composition, or L70 for every L100, charging the cost of collection, to the amount of sixpence in the pound, on the tithe-owners. He thought it advisable to make a distinction not only between existing and future clerical incumbents, but also between clergymen and lay impropriators; and he proposed that the existing clerical incumbent should receive L73 8s. for every L100 of composition, the additional five per cent, being charged upon the perpetuity purchase-fund. As the machinery of the bill, he said, was similar to that of last year, he did not feel called upon to enter into any of the details respecting the real charges payable to the crown, and the investments which would be placed under the management of the commissioners of land revenue. The bill would authorise a revision and revaluation of benefices for the tithe composition; and it was likewise proposed to extend the provisions of Lord Tenterden's act for the limitation of suits to Ireland, in the same way as it was included in the bill of last year. By the report of the commissioners of public instruction, the members of the established church amounted to 853,064, the presbyterians to 642,356, and other dissenters to 21,808 persons; tire number of Roman Catholics was 6,427,712, in other words, the members of the established church amounted to 853,064, and the number of those who dissented was 7,091,876. The distribution of the members of the established church, also, was as disproportionate as their total amount; in the diocese of Dromore, there were 264 members for every 1000 acres; in the diocese of Glogher 26 to every 1000 acres, and in the diocese of Tuam there were only 8 to every 1000 acres. It was proposed, therefore, to suspend the presentation to every benefice in Ireland where the number of Protestants did not exceed fifty. In the case of a suspended parish, in which there was any number of members of the establishment from one to fifty, the ecclesiastical commissioners would be empowered, subject to the approbation and consent of the lord-lieutenant in council, either to assign the cure of souls in that parish to the care of the neighbouring minister, or else to appoint a separate curate. It would further be enacted, that, in all parishes where there now existed a church and a resident officiating minister, a separate curate should be appointed. When the cure of souls was committed to a neighbouring minister, the amount of stipend to be given was not to be less than L10, or more than L50 per annum; and where a separate curate was appointed, the salary was not to exceed L75 per annum, with permission to live in the glebe-house, if he undertook to keep it in repair. In every parish where the cure of souls was committed to a neighbouring minister, or a separate curate, provision was to be made for the erection of suitable places of worship, fit to accommodate the probable number of the different congregations. These places of worship were to be built at a cost not exceeding L100, or rented at a cost not exceeding L15 per annum. In making all these provisions the archbishop of the province and the bishops of the diocesses were to be associated with the ecclesiastical commissioners. With respect to other parishes, if it should appear, after deducting thirty per cent, from the existing tithe-composition and the payment of that tax on ecclesiastical benefices, that the income of any parish should exceed L300 per annum, the commissioners would be required to report the circumstance on the voidance of the benefice to the lord-lieutenant, who would be empowered to make any reduction he might deem proper. The incomes, however, were in no case to be reduced below L300 per annum. In cases of livings in the gift of the crown and the bishops, he thought that it would be acknowledged there should be no delay in carrying these provisions into effect; but power would be given to indemnify the owners of lay advowsons, and to charge that indemnification on the fund which would be created from the various sources which he had mentioned, and which it was proposed to call "the reserved fund;" a fund which would be applicable to pay the salaries of the neighbouring ministers or separate curates—to pay all charges which might accrue on the suspended parishes, and to pay for the erection of places of public worship. These purposes having been satisfied, the surplus fund accruing from year to year was to be applied by the commissioners of national education in Ireland to the religious and moral instruction of all classes of the people, without reference to creeds or sects. The total number of parishes, he continued, that would come under the operation of the bill, would be eight hundred and sixty. He had computed the salaries of the curates at L65 each, and after the existing interests were provided for, there would accrue to the reserved fund, 47,898, to which there was to be added, on account of indemnified patronage, L10,178, making the whole amount L58,076. Lord Morpeth added, that in the report of the committee on public instruction, it was stated that the Protestants of the church of England were on the increase. Government was not inattentive to this; and it was proposed that where it should appear to the ecclesiastical commissioners that the number of the members of the established church in any of the suspended parishes had increased to such a degree as to make the provisions of the bill inadequate to the religious wants of the place, they would be required to report the circumstance to the lord-lieutenant, and to submit a proposition to meet the exigency. If the lord-lieutenant approved of it, the report and the proposition were to be laid on the tables of both houses of parliament; and the ecclesiastical commissioners, after the expiration of six months, would be empowered to carry the proposition into effect, if parliament should not otherwise direct.

The bill was brought in and read a first time. It contained two distinct sets of provisions—some relating solely to the mode of collecting tithe, and others which established a new distribution of the church funds, so as to create a surplus to be applied to other purposes. Sir Robert Peel gave notice on the 7th of July, that, on the motion for committing the bill, he would move an instruction to the committee to divide it into two bills, that he might have an opportunity of rejecting altogether those parts of the bill which suppressed the Protestant churches of eight hundred and sixty parishes, appropriating their revenues to purposes not immediately in connection with the interests of the established church, and of supporting those provisions in which he could concur. The bill was read a second time pro forma on the 13th of July, and the motion to commit it was made on the 21st. Sir Robert Peel moved the instruction of which he had given notice. Mr. Spring Rice answered Sir Robert Peel. The debate was continued by adjournment on the 22nd and 23rd of July, the leading speakers in support of the motion being Sirs R. H. Inglis and J. Graham, Lord Stanley, and Messrs. Lefroy and Jackson; while the ministerial side of the question was maintained by Lords Howick, Morpeth, and J. Russell, and Messrs. Hume, Shiel, and O'Connell. On a division ministers had a majority of three hundred and nineteen against two hundred and eighty-two, a majority which secured the success of the bill in the commons. It passed, in fact, without any further opposition, the minority declining to discuss details which, in their opinion, could not be amended except by omitting them. Ministers, however, seem to have been convinced that Sir Robert Peel was correct in stating that they would have no surplus, for they introduced a clause providing that the consolidated fund should immediately begin to make an annual payment of L50,000, for the purposes of general education in Ireland, on the faith of the anticipated surplus, from which it was to be repaid.

The bill passed the commons on the 12th of August, and the second reading took place in the house of lords on the 20th. No opposition was made to the second reading; but it was intimated that the opposition intended in committee to strike out of the bill all the clauses containing the new scheme of appropriation, and the machinery by which it was to be worked. The house went into committee on the 24th of August, and agreed to all the clauses forming the first part of the measure, with the exception of the provisions for opening compositions and for taking a new average, both of which were expunged. When the house arrived at the first of the clauses which formed the new system of appropriation, the Earl of Haddington moved that they should be omitted. The bill was defended by the Marquises of Lansdowne, Glarincarde, and Conyngham, and Lords Plunkett, Brougham, and Glenelg. Lord Melbourne announced that if the motion were carried he would abandon the bill; he would not be a party to sending it back to the house of commons in a shape, both as to form and principle, which would compel that house to reject it entirely. On a division, the motion to omit all the appropriation clauses was carried by one hundred and thirty-eight against forty-one. Ministers now abandoned the bill, being in such a position, by the Catholic majority in the commons, as rendered honourable retreat impossible. On the 29th of August the chancellor of the exchequer brought in a bill empowering the government, on application from the clergy, and on satisfactory proof being given that the parties were not in a condition to pay, to suspend the claim for the instalment which was due from the Irish clergy to the 5th of April, 1846. This bill passed both houses without opposition.



AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS.

{WILLIAM IV. 1835—1836}

On the 25th of May the Marquis of Chandos again brought forward the subject of agricultural distress. The object of his present motion was to give relief by diminishing the pressure of the local burdens to which land was subject. The farmer, he said, severely felt the heavy pressure of the maintenance of prisoners in gaol, and building and repairing county bridges. He was likewise compelled to perform statute labour on the highway. He thought all this should be thrown on the general taxation of the country. He thought also that the duty on windows in farm-houses, and on horses used in husbandry, should be taken off entirely. Lord Althorp had made some reductions; but the benefit would be increased by total relief from these burdens. He moved:—"That an humble address be presented to his majesty, expressing the deep regret this house feels at the continuing distressed state of the agricultural interest of this country, to which the attention of parliament was called by his majesty's most gracious speeches from the throne at the commencement of the preceding and of the present session of parliament; and humbly to represent the anxious desire of this house that the attention of his majesty's government may be directed without delay to this subject, with a view to the immediate removal of some portion of those burdens to which the land is subject through the pressure of general and local taxation." The motion was seconded by the Earl of Darlington. Government opposed it on the ground that what was proposed would give no relief, and that the suggestions at which it pointed required deliberate consideration. The home-secretary moved an amendment to the effect, that "the house would direct its early attention to the recommendations of a committee which sat last session of parliament upon the subject of county-rates, with a view to the utmost practical alleviation of those burdens to which the land was subject through the pressure of local taxation." Sir Robert Peel supported the amendment, because the resolution pledged the house to objects which must excite expectations on the part of the agriculturists which could not, consistently with public credit, be fulfilled. The Marquis of Chandos, however, pressed his motion to a division, which was lost by a majority of two hundred and eleven against one hundred and fifty. In the course of the debate on this subject, some members urged that all the evil had arisen from the resumption of cash payments, and that it could only be cured by some alteration of the currency. On the 1st of June, Mr. Cayley moved the appointment of "a select committee, to inquire if there be not effectual means within the reach of parliament to afford substantial relief to the agriculture of the United Kingdom, and especially to recommend to the attention of such committee the subject of a silver standard, or conjoined standard of silver and gold." Sir Robert Peel and Mr. P. Thompson opposed the motion; and Sir C. Burrell and Messrs. Wodehouse, Bennett, and O'Connell supported it; but on a division it was lost by a majority of two hundred and sixteen against one hundred and twenty-six.



DISCUSSION REGARDING ORANGE SOCIETIES IN IRELAND.

During this session a series of parliamentary attacks were directed against the Orange lodges. On the 6th of March, Mr. Shiel moved for the production of addresses presented to the king from certain Orange societies, and the answers which had been returned to them. These papers were granted; but this did not prevent a discussion on the subject, which was distinguished chiefly by the abuse which the Irish opposition poured upon the Orangemen. The subject was again brought forward on the 23rd of March by Mr. Finn, who moved that "a select committee be appointed to inquire into the nature, character, extent, and tendency of Orange lodges, associations, or societies in Ireland, and to report their opinion thereon to the house." Mr. Maxwell, himself an Orangeman, seconded this motion; he courted the fullest inquiry, with a hope that the committee would be constituted in the most impartial manner. The committee was appointed, and was still proceeding with its inquiries when, on the 4th of August, Mr. Hume brought part of them before the house. He had seen in newspapers portions of the evidence, real or fictitious, taken before the committee, by which it appeared that Orange lodges had been introduced into the army, and existed in thirty or forty regiments of the line. These institutions were in direct violation of general orders issued by the commander-in-chief in 1828 and 1829, which strongly reprobated the practice of holding Orange lodges in regiments. The lodges, he said, had been formed under warrants granted for that purpose by the Duke of Cumberland, who was the grand-master of the Orange body, and a field-marshal. It was true the wan-ants had not the name of his royal highness upon them; but he found it difficult to imagine that he was ignorant of the existence of Orange lodges in the army. Mr. Hume moved a string of eleven resolutions upon this subject. Mr. Patten, the chairman of the committee to which the house had referred the inquiry, complained of the manner in which the subject had been introduced; it was a farce, he said, to appoint a committee to inquire into a subject, if, when a portion of the evidence was printed, and the inquiry was still pending, a member was to be permitted to bring the subject forward in such a manner as must necessarily prejudge the whole question, and at the same time attack the character of individuals. He moved, as an amendment, "That a humble address be presented to his majesty, praying that he will be graciously pleased to direct his royal attention to the nature and extent of the Orange lodges in the army, in contravention of the general orders issued by the commander-in-chief in 1822 and 1829, which strongly prohibit the holding of Orange lodges in regiments: and that his majesty will be graciously pleased to direct an investigation to take place with respect to other secret societies in the army." In the debate which followed, it was generally admitted that the establishment of lodges in the army was pregnant with mischief and indefensible; but it was maintained, that any use which had been made in this way of warrants for creating lodges had taken place without the knowledge and authority of the grand-master, or the other superior officers of the association. From statements made by the members for Sligo and Cavan, it appeared that noncommissioned officers received warrants signed by those gentlemen and by the Duke of Cumberland, none of whom knew a word about the matter. Colonel Perceval, the member for Sligo, who held the office of grand-treasurer of the grand-lodge, stated that ever since he had held that office it had been his duty to sign warrants in blank, after they had been signed by the grand-secretary, the member for Cavan. In this way, he said, numbers had been sent in parcels to his royal highness, the Duke of Cumberland, who, on seeing his signature and that of the grand-secretary, had appended his own, with the understanding that the warrants were to be applied to purposes conformable to the rules of the association. Lord John Russell condemned this practice, and observed that he could not conceive that the Duke of Cumberland would hesitate, when convinced of the use which had been made of the blank warrants bearing Iris signature, to retire from the association; and he could not conceive otherwise than that he would feel it inconsistent with his duty as a prince of the blood, and filling a high rank in the army, to continue any longer in the situation which in this society he now filled. Lord John Russell suggested that the resolution should not be adopted without giving notice to his royal highness of the debates which had taken place on his conduct as grand-master. This suggestion was adopted; and the discussion was adjourned until the 11th of August. In the interval the Duke of Cumberland addressed a letter to the chairman, in which he denied having issued, or countenanced the issuing, of warrants to soldiers, and stated, that when such a proposal had been made to him he had declined it, on the ground that it was contrary to the orders and regulations of the Horse-guards, and that if any warrants had been so used, they would be annulled. His royal highness, however, did not intimate his intention of abandoning the Orange institutions. When the discussion was resumed on the 11th of August, Mr. Hume withdrew the 5th and 6th resolutions, referring to the general interference of Orange societies in political matters, thus confining the question to their existence in the army. The only disputed matter, indeed, was the last resolution, which stated that the Duke of Cumberland "had signed warrants in his capacity of grand-master of the grand Orange lodge of Ireland, which warrants have been issued for constituting Orange lodges in the army." Lord John Russell said, that he did not think the letter of the Duke of Cumberland to the chairman of the committee was all that was required of his royal highness; but he did not wish to agree to the resolution stating that his royal highness, in contravention of an order issued from the Horse-guards, had signed warrants, which were issued for constituting Orange lodges in the army. He wished such a clause to be omitted; and he thought the resolution wrould then satisfy both sides of the house. The resolution, thus modified, was carried by one hundred and eighty-three to forty; and the other resolutions were agreed to without a division.



THE VOTE BY BALLOT, ETC.

During this session, as usual after a general election, the house had to deal with a considerable number of election petitions. Among others petitions were presented from Great Yarmouth, complaining that bribery had been practised at the election for that borough; these petitions were referred to a committee. The fact of these petitions being presented, encouraged Mr. Grote to make his annual motion in favour of vote by ballot. On the 2nd of June he proposed this resolution:—"That it is the opinion of this house that the votes at elections for members of parliament should be taken by way of secret ballot." This motion, which was supported on the same grounds which had been urged to the house on former occasions, was seconded by Sir William Molesworth. Mr. Gisborne met it by moving the previous question. Lords Howick, Stanley, and Russell, and Sir Robert Peel opposed the motion. Sir Robert Peel expressed his surprise that government, in opposing the motion, should allow it to be set aside by the previous question, instead of meeting it with a direct negative; and Lord John Russell explained that the amendment of the previous question had been moved without any arrangement with him; if it were withdrawn, he was ready to meet it with a direct negative. After some demur, Mr. Gisborne withdrew his amendment; and the motion was directly negatived by three hundred and seventeen votes against one hundred and forty-four.



THE BUDGET.

The budget was brought forward by the chancellor of the exchequer on the 14th of August. He calculated the income of the country for the ensuing year, ending in July, 1836, at L45,500,000, and the expenditure at L44,715,000, leaving a surplus of L835,000. He regretted, however, to add that this surplus, calculated on the ordinary expenditure of the country, would be found to crumble away before the further statement which it was his duty to make. The interest due to the slave-owners, he said, was to be provided for from the 1st of August, 1834. The maximum of the charge to which the country might be liable from that time was L730,000; and supposing that the whole balance of the loan were to be paid up within three months on discount, and that the permanent interest on the whole amount of the stock were at once incurred, this would subject us to a further charge of L250.935, making the total charge for the present year, on account of the West Indian loan, nearly L1000. Against this, as a set off, there was a surplus of L885,000; but the probability was that the amount instead of being L1,000,000 would not exceed a sum between L600,000 and L700,000, so that the actual surplus which might be expected would be from L150,000 to L200,000. The chancellor of the exchequer said, in continuation, that though the country was in a prosperous condition, he could not under existing circumstances be expected to make any great reduction in taxation. There were two or three taxes, however, which he thought might be reduced, and he proposed to reduce the duty on licences, which would cause a loss to the revenue of about L40,000; and on flint-glass, on which there might be a loss of about L70,000. He also proposed to relieve Ireland from the stamp-duty on awards, the loss on which would not exceed L500 a year. The resolutions of the chancellor of the exchequer were agreed to without a division.



DISCUSSIONS REGARDING CANADA.

During this session, the affairs of Lower Canada were brought before parliament. That colony was still distracted by dissensions; the French, or democratic party, which had gained a majority in the house of assembly, still insisting on all their pretensions, and declaring their determination to control both the legislative council and the governor, who represented the mother country. Their cause was advocated in the British parliament by Mr. Roebuck, who, on the 9th of March presented a petition from certain members of the legislative bodies of the province, setting forth their alleged grievances. In supporting his motion, Mr. Roebuck held out threats, that, if the demands urged in the petition were not granted, there would be a rebellion. Lower Canada, he said, would inevitably follow the example of the United States. Mr. Spring Rice and Lord Stanley deprecated the use of such language as Mr. Roebuck had adopted; language like this made matters only worse. So far back as 1828, a committee had been appointed to examine into the complaints of the Canadians. Another committee was subsequently appointed, which committee had come to this general resolution:—"That the most earnest desire has existed on the part of the home government to carry into effect the suggestions of the committee of 1823; that the endeavours of the government to the ends recommended have been unremitting, and guided by the desire, in all cases, to promote the interests of the colonies; and that in several important particulars, their endeavours had been entirely successful." Mr. Roebuck himself was a member of this committee, and was, therefore, a party to this report; but in the face of it he now blamed the government. On the other hand, petitions were presented to the commons on the 16th of March, and to the lords on the 24th of March, deprecating the violence of the democratic party in Canada. In presenting the petition to the house of lords, the Earl of Aberdeen stated that it was signed by 11,000 persons, inhabitants of Montreal and its vicinity, who represented a numerous and respectable body in that country of not less than 100,000 persons.



PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.

Parliament was prorogued on the 10th of September. In his closing speech his majesty alluded to the civil contest still raging in the northern provinces of Spain; and intimated that he had concluded fresh conventions with Denmark, Sardinia, and Sweden, calculated to prevent the traffic in African slaves.



STATE OF THE CONTINENT.

During this year Portugal exhibited a more peaceful and prosperous picture than it had done for some time, although it presented likewise the contests and intrigues of political parties for power and place. The Cortes met on the 2nd of January, and continued in deliberation till the 22nd of April. The principal objects of their attention were the financial state of the country, and the claims for indemnification which had been put forward by those who had suffered under the domination of Don Miguel, or who had sustained loss in consequence of the measures which had now terminated in the establishment of the constitutional system. The bill, which received the sanction of the Cortes, provided that where injuries had been directly caused by individuals, or at the instigation of any individual, such persons were liable for the whole amount, and should be called upon to make it good. On the other hand, all unavoidable damages done in order to defend or attack towns, as well as injuries done by the usurper's government, were to be made good by the nation at large. In the course of this year, Prince Augustus of Leuchtenberg, the husband of the young queen, arrived in Portugal; but after he had been there little more than a month, he died from exposure to cold in taking exercise. The chambers justly considered the constitutional system to be greatly dependent upon a direct succession to the constitutional throne, and they, therefore, presented addresses to her majesty, praying her to enter into a new marriage as soon as possible. She replied that she was a queen and a Portuguese, and the chamber might be assured that she would make every sacrifice for the public interest which was not inconsistent with her dignity. Before the end of the year, indeed, the queen's second marriage was arranged, the bridegroom being the nephew of the reigning Duke of Saxe Coburg, and of the King of the Belgians. In Spain all was confusion and revolt. The war between Don Carlos and the queen, or rather the Spanish nation, was still continued, and the year closed while they were yet in arms. Towards the latter part of the year an army of 6000 men crossed the Spanish frontier to assist in the struggle, a convention having been signed between Spain and Portugal to that end: these troops, however, bore no part in the events of the year. In France an attempt was made to assassinate the king, by means of what has been denominated "the infernal machine." On the second day of the great political festival in honour of the three days of July, 1830, as his majesty was riding along the Boulevard du Temple, surrounded by the crowded citizens, and attended by his civil and military servants, an explosion like a discharge of musketry took place from the window of an adjoining house. The effect was terrific. Several officer's of rank were killed on the spot, as well as some grenadiers of the national guard of Paris, besides mere lookers on, while many were severely wounded. The horse on which the king rode was wounded, but he himself escaped unhurt. The assassin was captured, and he turned out to be a Corsican, of the name of Fieschi, who had been a noted vagabond for many years. The questions in dispute between Belgium and Holland remained in the same unsettled state in which the preceding year had left them. In Belgium the formation of Sir Robert Peel's ministry excited alarm, lest the policy of the great powers should now be less favourable to that country, and in particular lest Britain should refuse to interfere to compel the Germanic confederation to concede to the demands of the Belgians on the duchy of Luxembourg. Communications from the English ministry, however, allayed these fears; and finally they were relieved from them altogether by the return of the Whigs to office. In the autumn of this year the Emperor of Russia met the King of Prussia at Kalisah, and the Emperor of Austria at Toplitz; but neither of these meetings seemed to have been brought about for the purposes of political deliberation. In Greece, on the 10th of June, King Otho having come of age, assumed the reins of government, and the regency deposited its functions in his hands. The changes which took place gave great umbrage to the Greeks, who were already displeased at seeing so many offices in the hands of foreigners. Their displeasure was increased at finding there was no intention of sending away the Bavarian military. Turkey, during the present year, remained unchanged in her relations to the great European powers. On her western frontier she was occupied in putting down an insurrection which had broken out in Albania. The Porte was likewise under the necessity of using its arms against some tribes which had rebelled in Kurdistan. These disturbances saved the Pacha of Egypt from any attack by the Porte in his new Syrian acquisitions. On his part he showed no disposition to proceed further against his sovereign; he occupying himself with completing the subjugation of Syria, and attempting to extend his conquests in Arabia, which attempt was unsuccessful.



CHAPTER XLVI.

{WILLIAM IV. 1836—1837}

Meeting of Parliament..... The Question of Orange Lodges..... Bill to Reform the Irish Municipal Corporations..... Irish Tithe Bill..... Commutation of Tithes in England..... Bill for Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, &c...... Bill to alter the Revenues and Territory of the different Sees..... Bill to abolish the secular Jurisdiction of Bishops, &c...... Bill to amend the English Municipal Corporation Act..... Bill to Allow Felons Counsel to Address the Jury, &c...... Abolition of Imprisonment for Debt, &c...... Election Committees..... New Houses of Parliament..... Motion for the Reduction of Taxation on behalf of the Agriculturists..... The Budget, &c...... Discussions on the Colonies and our Foreign Relations..... Prorogation of Parliament..... The Affairs of Ireland..... State of the Continent



MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

{A.D. 1836}

Parliament reassembled on the 14th of February. In his speech his majesty alluded to disputes between France and the United States, which he was endeavouring to allay; and to the civil contests in the northern province of Spain, for the termination of which he had also adopted measures which he hoped would succeed. His majesty also alluded to a treaty which he had concluded with the Queen of Spain for the suppression of the slave-trade. He expressed his regret that the agricultural interests in England still suffered, and recommended parliament to institute inquiry, with the view of ascertaining whether there were any measures which could be adopted for its alleviation. He then referred to the various measures affecting the united church of England and Ireland, and the state of the poor of Ireland. In the lords the address was moved by the Duke of Leinster, and seconded by the Earl of Burlington. The only part of it which gave rise to a discussion was a passage which repeated the hope, expressed in the speech from the throne, that the Irish municipal corporations would be subjected to a process of change, "founded upon the same principles as those of the acts which had already passed for England and Scotland." These words raised a question of importance between the contending parties, for, as the municipal acts of England and Scotland established a L5 franchise in one country, and a L10 franchise in the other, to establish in Ireland a system of municipal government founded on a similar basis, was to transfer to the Papists that monopoly of municipal authority hitherto enjoyed by the Protestants. The Duke of Wellington objected to the house being required, in voting the address, to pledge itself to the principles of any measure before the measure itself had come regularly before the house. He moved to substitute the following amendment:—"We shall proceed without delay to the consideration of any defects or evils that may have been shown to exist in these institutions, for the purpose of applying such remedies as may obviate all just causes of complaint, and insure the impartial administration of justice." Several peers supported this amendment, and the defeat of government was inevitable; but, on seeing this, the Marquis of Lansdowne intimated that ministers conceded the point as one of no particular moment, and the address was then agreed to. In the commons, however, government was stronger, and, therefore, did not exhibit the same spirit of concession. Sir Robert Peel moved the same amendment which the Duke of Wellington had moved in the lords. Lord John Russell defended the clause in the address. Lord Stanley supported the amendment. Lords Howick and Palmerston, and Mr. O'Connell spoke in favour of the address. Mr. O'Connell gave notice, that if Ireland got less than had been granted to England and Scotland, the cry of repeal would immediately be resumed. With an air of self-importance he cautioned the house to beware; if they excited that cry again, it would be at their peril. On a division the address was carried by a majority of two hundred and eighty-four against two hundred and forty-three.



THE QUESTION OF ORANGE LODGES.

On the reassembling of parliament, Mr. O'Connell and his friends lost no time in returning to the attack made last session on Orange lodges. On the 21st of February Mr. Finn moved this resolution:—"That Orangeism has been productive of the most baneful effects upon the character and administration of public justice in Ireland; that its presence in the constabulary and peace preservation force and yeomanry corps of that country has led individual members, as well as large bodies of the above description of force, to the gross neglect and violation of their public duty, and to open, daring, and lawless resistance to the authority of the magistracy and of the executive government, on various occasions; that the systematic and surreptitious introduction of Orangeism into every branch of the military service, in almost every part of the empire, in direct violation of orders issued in 1822 and 1829 by the commander-in-chief of his majesty's forces, and the absolute power and control vested by its governing body, the grand Orange lodge of England and Ireland, in his royal highness the Duke of Cumberland, together with the rank, station, influence, and numbers of that formidable and secret conspiracy, are well calculated to excite serious apprehensions in all his majesty's loyal subjects, and imperatively call for the most energetic expression on the part of the representatives of the people of this empire, to secure the safe, peaceable, legal, and rightful succession to the throne of these realms." In the speech with which Mr. Finn introduced this resolution, he treated the Orange system as one of deadly hostility to the great mass of the population, and asserted that it was established by the report of the secret committee, that the Orange society set all law, justice, and authority at defiance. Mr. E. Buller, who seconded the resolution, reiterated these sentiments. As notice had been given for the 23rd of February by Colonel Verner, to extend the inquiry to other existing societies in Ireland, and as Mr. Hume was to bring forward certain resolutions directed to the same object on that day, the house adjourned the further consideration of the motion to that day. On the 23rd of February Mr. Hume entered at considerable length into the evidence which had been given before the select committee of the previous session, which included documents laid before it by the office-bearers of the Orange association and private correspondence. Most of the evidence, it would appear, had indeed been derived from the officers of the institution themselves, which was by no means a proof of guilt. Nevertheless, Mr. Hume contrived to make out a case against the association from such evidence; and when he had laid it before the house, he moved this condemnatory resolution:—"That this house, taking into consideration the evidence given before the select committee appointed to inquire into the nature, extent, character, and tendency of Orange lodges, associations, or societies in Ireland, and of Orange institutions in Great Britain and the colonies; and seeing that the existence of Orange societies is highly detrimental to the peace of the community, by exciting discord among the several classes of his majesty's subjects; and seeing that it is highly injurious to the due administration of justice that any judge, sheriff, magistrate, juryman, or any other person employed in maintaining the peace of the country, should be bound by any secret obligation to, or be in any combination with, any association unknown to the laws, and founded on principles of religious exclusion, that even if justice were impartially administered under such circumstances, which is in itself impossible, yet any connection with such societies would create suspicions and jealousies detrimental to the peace and good government of this country: that Orange societies, and all other political societies which have secret forms of initiation and secret signs, and are bound together by any religious ceremonies, are particularly deserving of the severest reprobation of the house, and should no longer be permitted to continue;—an humble address be presented to his majesty, that his majesty will be graciously pleased to direct measures to be taken to remove from the public service, at home and abroad, every judge, privy-councillor, lord-lieutenant, custos rotulorum, magistrate, militia officer, inspector, chief-constable of the constabulary and peace preservation force, every officer of police in Ireland, and every functionary employed in the administration of justice, and in maintaining the peace of the country, who shall attend the meeting of any Orange lodge, of any riband lodge, or of any other political club, institution, or association, whenever or wherever assembled, having secret forms of initiation, and being bound together by any religious ceremony, and with secret signs, and passwords, for recognition of members of such bodies, and who shall not withdraw from such societies or associations, on or before the expiration of one month after the publication of any proclamation which his majesty may be pleased to direct to be issued hereupon, forbidding their continuing to be members of such Orange lodges, societies, and associations." This motion was supported by Sir William Moles-worth, who endeavoured to prove that the societies against which it was directed had already been declared illegal; a position which should have simply led to an address to the crown to cause the statutes to be enforced. Lord John Russell agreed that it was desirable to suppress these institutions, and all similar societies; but he intimated that government could not approve of some of the modes of doing so which were now proposed. He thought that the effect of these societies, however good their motives might be, were injurious: by their existence, whether founded upon religion or not, a distinction was made between them and some other part of the king's subjects, who formed! themselves into counter societies, with other names and distinctions; and thus a perpetual and ever-recurring source of disunion, disaffection, quarrels, and bloodshed was created. At the same time, though it might be clear that it was desirable to get rid of this and all other societies of the like nature, whether known as Orange or Riband societies, or by any other name, it was by no means so clear how that object was to be attained. The report of last year by the committee on Orange lodges, stated that the existing statutes, if put in execution, would be adequate for their suppression, as well as that of all other societies of the like nature. He had discussed this question with the attorney and solicitor-general; and they declared that, without looking most carefully into the subject, they could not venture absolutely to pronounce an opinion as to their legality or illegality. The government, therefore, were of opinion that if the several penal statutes already in force did not contain clear enactments against this offence, it was not proper for them to seek some meaning in the law, which would be construed by others into a straining of the provisions of the law, and make it doubtful whether they had not forced the meaning of an enactment, in order to procure a condemnation of the societies in question. Even if they could have discovered that, although the Orange societies had contrived to evade the law in some points, they had yet contravened it in others, and could have obtained a conviction against them, he thought it would be mischievous to the general liberty of the subject to attempt giving a strained interpretation. In 1822, it was held by Lord Gifford and other eminent lawyers, that Orange societies were not held to come within the meaning of the law; and, therefore, if they came at present within the terms of any act, it must be in consequence of some recent change in their constitution. He was, therefore, averse to putting the question on such narrow grounds. Government also had no thought of proposing any new law against them; for, although by such a proceeding the secret signs and distinctive marks presently in use might be made to disappear, they might be succeeded by some other evasion of the law. He thought, also, that a general address to the crown affecting all judges, without entering into the case of each individual, would be scarcely consistent with the independence of the bench. As to removing every magistrate and person in office belonging to the Orange societies—if they should be removed at once by an address of this kind—without any previous declaration either from the house of commons or the crown, they would conceive such a stigma affixed to them, that they would still remain banded together from a spirit of resentment, and would regard the measure only as an unfair and biassed transaction. His colleagues and himself thought that it would be better to adopt this course:—that where a person applied for any official situation of trust and responsibility under the crown, inquiry should be made whether he were an Orangeman, and if he meant to continue in that society, that his appointment should not take place. It was not only convenient to adopt measures of discouragement in respect to those societies, but he was prepared to add to these discouragements that of an address to his majesty by this house. In conclusion, his lordship moved:—"That an humble address be presented to his majesty, praying that his majesty would be graciously pleased to take such measures as to his majesty seemed advisable for the effectual discouragement of Orange lodges, and generally all political societies excluding persons of different faith, using signs and symbols, and acting by associated branches." The Orange societies of Ireland were defended by Mr. Maxwell. They refused, he said, to be tried by the report of the committee, for its proceedings had been partial and biassed, and the investigation had not been complete. Lord Stanley urged the omission of the specific mention of Orange lodges in the address, inasmuch as they were only part of the secret societies which existed in Ireland. Lord John Russell, however, insisted on retaining the words, denying that they implied any stigma; there was no opinion pronounced as to the legality of these societies, but merely that they, as well as other secret societies, should meet the disapprobation of the crown. His motion was agreed to without a division; and the address having been presented to the king, his majesty, on the 25th of February, returned this answer:—"I willingly assent to the prayer of the address of my faithful commons, that I Would be pleased to take such measures as may seem to me advisable for the effectual discouragement of Orange lodges, and generally of all political societies, excluding persons of a different religious faith, using secret signs and symbols, and acting by means of associated branches. It is my firm intention to discourage all such societies in my dominions, and I rely with confidence on the fidelity of my loyal subjects to support me in this determination." The home-secretary transmitted a copy of the address and the king's answer to the Duke of Cumberland, as the official head of the Orange societies, and his royal highness replied, that before receiving the communication, he had recommended the dissolution of the Orange institutions in Ireland. The Orange societies immediately acquiesced in this recommendation, and from that time they were professedly dissolved; but it was soon discovered that the law and will of king and commons were only evaded, and that Orange lodges were as numerous as ever. The conduct of O'Connell and his Irish adherents in this discussion was as faithless as in their professions of the voluntary principle. They knew well that ribandism was far more extensively prevalent in Ireland than orangeism, and that, whatever might be the character of the latter, the objects and spirit of the former were utterly atrocious. The riband-men were banded for purposes subversive of all law and order—of all liberty, civil and religious—and they were utterly reckless as to the means by which they promoted their ends. Assassination and incendiarism were the common instruments of this diabolical association of fanaticism and bigotry. Yet O'Connell and his confederates glossed over the evils of this system, or denied their existence, while he and they pretended zeal for public justice and liberty in the destruction of the Orange confederation. The true policy would have been the suppression of all secret political societies.



BILL TO REFORM THE IRISH MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS.

A commission had been appointed to inquire into the state of the corporations in Ireland, and the royal speech had intimated that the subject would be brought forward during this session. Acting upon this report and intimation, Mr. O'Loghlen, attorney-general for Ireland, introduced a bill for the better regulation of Irish municipal corporations. In doing so he entered into many details to show the limited and exclusive nature of the corporations, and the abuses to which this had led. He proposed to remedy the abuses which had crept into the system, by a bill similar to those already adopted for England and Scotland. In regard to the seven largest towns—Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Kilkenny, Belfast, Galway, and Water-ford—it was proposed that every inhabitant possessing the L10 franchise under the provisions of the Irish reform act, should be entitled to vote in the election of municipal offices. As regarded all boroughs containing a population of less than 20,000 inhabitants, it was farther proposed that every occupier of a L5 house should be entitled to vote in the election of municipal officers. With regard to councillors, the qualification in the seven large boroughs was to consist in having property worth L1000, and in the other towns, property worth L5000. In the seven large boroughs, and likewise in Londonderry, Sligo, Dungannon, and Drogheda, where the population exceeded 15,000, there would be a division of wards. Aldermen, likewise, were to be elected by the inhabitants, and were to consist (C)f the councillors who had the greatest number of votes at the election. One half of the councillors and aldermen were to retire every three years; and in the seven large boroughs, the council was to have the power of electing sheriffs, subject to the approval of the lord-lieutenant. The bill further declared that a commission of the peace might be granted in any large borough if the lord-lieutenant thought fit, and in other towns the mayor for the time being would be the magistrate of the borough. It was likewise intended to preserve to the inhabitants of the Irish corporate towns the right of proceeding summarily by petition in cases of misapplication of public funds, instead of leaving them to the ordinary tedious process of the law, and to retain the courts in the nature of courts of conscience, and the right of their suitors to proceed by attachment. It was further proposed that government should have the power of obliging the council, if either or both the persons first chosen were not approved of, to proceed to the election of some other persons, and not, as in the case of Dublin, re-elect the same person. All the other provisions were similar to those comprised in the English bill. The bill was allowed to be read a second time on the 29th of February without opposition; but Sir Robert Peel took occasion to state the views taken of this particular mode of reforming Irish corporations by himself and the party to which he adhered. He avowed that it was not possible to defend the corporation system which existed in Ireland; but he contended that the bill would not be a remedy for the evils. Although the views of the Conservatives, as explained by Sir Robert Peel, did not allow them to oppose the second reading of the bill, yet when the motion was made that the house should go into committee, Lord Francis Egerton moved that the committee should be empowered to make provision for the abolition of corporations in Ireland, and for such arrangements as might be necessary on their abolition, for securing the efficient and impartial administration of justice, and the peace and good government of cities and towns in Ireland. His lordship said, that in substituting abolition for the process of restoration proposed by ministers, he was not withholding from Ireland any of the benefits intended to be conferred on the other parts of the kingdom by their new municipal institutions; and lie argued generally that there was much in the situation of that country, and in the state of its society, which distinguished it from England and other nations, and which might render it, in certain cases, an unfit recipient for institutions not essential in themselves to good government, and only valuable as being machinery for that purpose. His motion was seconded by Mr. Lefroy. The bill was defended by Lords John Russell, Morpeth, and Hawick, Mr. O'Connell, and other members; and was attacked by Lord Stanley, Mr. Sergeant Jackson, and Sirs Henry Hardinge and James Graham. Mr. O'Connell insisted that Ireland must have justice; and she would not have it if she was not treated as England and Scotland had been treated. Lord Stanley said, that he felt some hesitation in receiving Mr. O'Connell as the plenipotentiary of the people of Ireland to treat with the British parliament. Lord John Russell closed the debate on Lord Francis Egerton's motion. On a division the motion was lost by a majority of three hundred and seven against two hundred and forty-three. In the committee none of the provisions of the bill underwent any important alteration, except the allowing of sheriff's in the large boroughs to be chosen by the town-councils. Ministers listened to the objections urged against this, and retained the nomination of these officers in the power of the crown. The bill was finally passed on the 28th of March, after another debate, by a majority of two hundred and sixty to one hundred and ninety-nine.

A harder battle was, however, to be fought in the lords. On the second reading Lord Lyndhurst expressed his willingness to go into committee, but not with the intention of preserving the bill in all its present features. He did not deny that evils existed in the Irish corporations, but he wished to see some scheme adopted which would not only remove those evils, but prevent the recurrence of others of a similar kind. The present bill, however, was a bill to extend the system of exclusion, and to aggravate all the violations to which justice was now exposed. The town-councils would not consist of persons anxious for the preservation of peace and the security of property, but would be filled with men of the anti-church and Catholic party, advocates of the repeal of the union, and of the separation of British and Irish interests. His lordship argued that the five-pound qualification would increase agitation, would aggrandise radical interests. If excitement, he said, prevailed in Ireland at the election of members of parliament, how far more prevalent would be the excitement which would attend the elections of this bill. His lordship looked also, with alarm, at the formidable power which the priesthood would gain by this bill; and the town-councils, he contended, would be confined to a party of inflammatory demagogues: justice itself would be poisoned at its source, and corporate property devoted to anything but its legitimate purposes. He concluded by sketching a plan similar to that which had been proposed in the commons by Sir Robert Peel, and which he, or some of those with whom he acted, would propose should be inserted in the bill in place of the clauses containing the new corporations. The house went into committee on the 26th of April, when Lord Fitzgerald moved, as had been done in the commons, "That it be an instruction to the committee to make provision for the abolition of such corporations, and for such arrangements as may be necessary on their abolition for securing the efficient and impartial administration of justice, and the peace and good government of cities and towns in Ireland." The lord-chancellor and Lords Holland and Melbourne spoke against this motion; and Lords Abinger and Lyndhurst supported it.. The motion was carried by a majority of two hundred and three against one hundred and nineteen. The committee proceeded on the 9th of May, and the first clause, repealing "all acts, charters, and customs inconsistent with this act," was agreed to; and the existing corporations were thus abolished. Lord Lyndhurst moved certain amendments on the second clause, which reserved the rights of freemen; and after some debate these were carried by a majority of one hundred and seven against fifty-three. Another debate and division took place on the 22nd clause, which enacted that the boroughs should have a mayor, and a certain number of councillors and aldermen, as they were arranged in the schedules. This was struck out. And on the third reading of the bill, the Duke of Richmond proposed limiting the bill to seven of the largest towns. This motion, it was said, was not made by any arrangement or communication with the ministry. Government had never intended to preclude itself from inquiring to what towns corporate powers should be extended. What they were most anxious to preserve was, the corporation principle in Ireland. If that were maintained, the Marquis of Lansdowne said, he should not argue that corporations ought to be continued in the small towns: if any difference was to be made, it ought to be in favour of the large towns, because it was there that corporations must be useful if they were good for anything. The motion, however, was negatived; and the bill, having thus been brought into the form which the minority in the lower house had endeavoured to give it, was sent down on the 19th of May to the commons.

In moving that the lords' amendments should be printed, Lord John Russell stated that, however willing he might be to come to some arrangement in regard to the constitution of the franchise, he would never consent to deprive Ireland of municipal government altogether, thereby stigmatising and degrading its people. The Radicals were very violent, boldly maintaining that there required an "organic change" in the house of lords. The amendments were moved, by Lord John Russell, to be taken into consideration on the 9th of June. The bill, he said, as amended, contained little or nothing of the bill which had been sent up to the lords. Out of one hundred and forty clauses, one hundred and six had been in substance omitted, while eighteen others had been introduced. A bill had been put up for regulating and renewing corporations in Ireland on the same conditions as in England and Scotland; they had received back a bill which abolished them entirely, but which preserved to many of the persons who held office in these bodies all the power and profit of their situations. In order to meet the concurrence of the lords, however, instead of abolishing the whole of the corporations, it was proposed that the larger towns, originally divided between schedules A and B should be placed in one, and that all the clauses for the government of corporate towns should be restored to the bill, with the view of applying them to these particular towns. These towns would be Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Gal way, Kilkenny, Limerick, Waterford, Clonmel, Drogheda, Londonderry, Sligo, and Carrickfergus. In regard to the other towns, he would not give them corporations; but at the same time he would not leave them subject to the provisions of the lords' bill. He proposed rather, that the provisions of the act of 1828 should be applied immediately to twenty-two of the towns in schedule C, and that so soon as the five-pound householders in these towns had chosen commissioners, the corporate property, and the right of appointing to the necessary offices should vest in the commissioners. There would be commissioners elected by the inhabitants, instead of being appointed by the lord-lieutenant. In regard to the remaining boroughs of schedule C, as they possessed but little property, he would neither subject them to the expense of a corporation, nor compel them to elect commissioners under the act of 1828; but would leave it to them to have recourse to the latter, if they thought fit. The lords had made other alterations in other clauses of the bill, regarding the granting of quarter-sessions, &c.; but these alterations did not impair the spirit of the original bill, and therefore he would not quarrel with them. The difference which still remained between them was one of principle—should there be municipal governments or not? He thought that municipal government, placed on a popular basis, and under popular control, was excellent and useful in itself; and that in Ireland it would tend to public tranquillity, by assuaging jealousies, and removing causes of discontent. His lordship concluded by moving the rejection of the amendment of the lords on the fourth clause, which implied the continuance of corporations, and which the peers had therefore expunged. This motion led to another debate of two days' duration, in which all the topics previously discussed were again brought forward; superadded to which were many reflections on the house of lords, and on Lord Lyndhurst in particular. On a division, the motion to reject the amendment on the lords was carried by three hundred and twenty-four against one hundred and twenty-eight; and on the 13th and 14th of June, the bill was brought back to the shape proposed by ministers in so far as regarded corporations being limited to the twelve towns mentioned by Lord John Russell. Subsequently, a committee was appointed to draw up the reasons of the house for not agreeing to the amendment of the peers; and the amended bill was delivered to the lords at a conference on the 17th of June. On the 27th, Lord Melbourne moved that the amendments of the commons should be agreed to, which motion was met by a direct negative by Lord Lyndhurst. The motion was lost by a majority of two hundred and twenty against one hundred and twenty-one; and the bill was then sent back to the commons, with the reasons of the lords for adhering to their own amendments. Finally, on the 30th of June, Lord John Russell moved, and the house agreed, that the amendment should be taken into consideration that day three months, and thus the bill was dropped.



THE IRISH TITHE-BILL.

{WILLIAM IV. 1836—1837}

Another great party measure was the Irish tithe-bill. Ministers reintroduced this measure on the 25th of April. It was brought forward by Lord Morpeth, the Irish secretary, who moved this resolution:—"That it is expedient to commute the composition of tithes in Ireland into a rent-charge, payable by the owners of the estate, and to make further provisions for the better regulation of ecclesiastical dues and revenues." In opening the scheme which ministers intended to incorporate in their bill, Lord Morpeth announced that the principle of appropriation would still be declared and acted on. The bill, he said, would follow the uniform precedent of three previous bills, and he believed of four successive administrations, in converting the tithe-composition into a rent-charge, payable by the owners of the first estate of inheritance, as it was termed. The bill would also preserve those terms of commutation which, in the bill of last year, had been adopted by both houses of parliament, by conferring a deduction of thirty per cent, upon those subject to the payment of the tithe-composition. He would not propose any contribution from the national funds towards payment of the arrears of former years; and, on the other hand, he would abandon all claims for repayment of the sums which had been advanced to tithe-owners under the million act, and which amounted to L637,000. Ministers proposed, he said, to entrust the collection of rent-charges to the board of woods and forests for a period of seven years, and thereafter until parliament should otherwise determine. The bill would also contain the provisions for allowing a revaluation of the present tithe-composition in the cases and under the limitations specified in the bill of last year. These were the arrangements to be enacted in regard to existing incumbents. As regarded the future regulation of the church revenues, government felt that they could not abandon those declarations and principles with which they entered upon office; that they could not shake off the engagement under which they conceived themselves to stand, of doing justice to the Irish nation; and the terms of that virtual and most honourable compact they conceived to be that if, in the future disposition of the revenues of the Irish church, something superfluous for its legitimate and becoming uses should arise, they should, after the satisfaction of all existing interests, apply that superfluity to the religious and moral education of the people. He felt that he might consider the principle as established and conceded, that parliament had a right to deal with the revenues of the church, if it should think them superfluous for church purposes; so long as the resolution adopted by the present parliament stood upon their books unrepealed, he had a right to think that that principle was admitted. It was now proposed by government, he continued, that on any future vacancy of a benefice, providing, as before, compensation for the patronage of private individuals in possession of the avowson, the lord-lieutenant should direct the board of ecclesiastical commissioners, now sitting in Dublin, to submit to the privy-council a report containing all particulars concerning such benefice; and a committee of the privy-council would be established with a view to this especial purpose, consisting exclusively of members of the established church, and named by his majesty. Power would be given to this committee to alter the boundaries of vacant benefices, subject to such modifications as subsequent vacancies of contiguous benefices might render advisable to carry into effect. Since the year 1718 the lord-lieutenant and the privy-council had united two hundred and eighty-nine parishes, consisting of the union of two or more parishes. The committee, after fixing the boundaries, were to apportion such income as they might think proper relative to the duties of the future incumbents, but within certain limitations. Where the number of the members of the established church varied from 500 to 1000, the income would be L300; and where the number varied from 1000 to 3000, the income would be L400. Where the number of Protestants amounted to 3000 and upwards, the income would be raised to L500; but wherever the number was below 50, it was proposed to assign to the incumbent an income not exceeding L100. After thus providing for the Protestant establishment, his lordship said that there would still be a considerable surplus of ecclesiastical revenue. The tithes payable to the clergy at present were L511,000, which, remitting thirty per cent, left a rent-charge of L353,000. The ministers' money might be stated at L10,000, without the expenses of collection; the private bounty fund, L5000; glebe-lands, clear revenue, L86,500; total, L459,550. There were 1385 benefices in Ireland, a considerable number of which were sinecures, not merely from the circumstance of having no members of the church of England within their locality, but also from the fact that they were in the hands of the dignitaries of the church, who performed little or no service in them. There were also many which had been suppressed by the church-temporalities act, divine service not having been performed in them for three years. Perhaps the number necessary to keep up would be about 1250. It was intended, indeed, under this bill, to give power to the privy-council to constitute new benefices in Ireland, of which they were likely to avail themselves to some extent. The whole payment to be made to the clergy of the 1250 benefices he calculated at L361,928, thus leaving a surplus of L97,612. This was a larger surplus than he had hoped for last year; but as the committee of the privy-council would, in certain cases, have the power to constitute new benefices, this surplus would be likely to undergo some alteration. It would also be remembered that no part of the surplus could be expected to be realised for some time to come, from the necessity of satisfying vested interests, and of making other important arrangements. After satisfying all the charges that must be met, it was proposed to have the remainder paid into the consolidated fund, upon which a charge of L50,000 per annum was to be fixed, for the purpose of supplying religious and moral education to the people of Ireland. The second reading was delayed till the 1st of June, when Lord Stanley, who had previously given notice of his intention, moved this amendment:—"That leave be given to bring in a bill for the conversion of tithe into a rent-charge, and for the redemption thereof, and for the better distribution of ecclesiastical revenues in Ireland." In reply, Lord John Eussell reminded the house that he had expressed his willingness to allow Lord Stanley to bring in his bill as a substantive measure; but when it was moved as an amendment on the original motion before them, it was merely a new form of opposing the second reading of the government bill, and raising the question on the principle of that bill. They had been appealed to as gentlemen, but he hoped they were something more; that they were representatives of popular feelings and popular interests—representatives, not of local bodies, but of the whole empire, including the six millions of Roman Catholics in Ireland. In conclusion, Lord John Russell said that it had been asked, whether he meant the income of the glebe-lands generally, or in part, to go towards giving glebe to the Roman Catholic church? He gave a distinct answer in the negative; government had no intention of providing, out of any surplus of glebe-lands in Ireland, glebe-lands for the Roman Catholic church. The debate continued by adjournment on the 2nd and 3rd of June, the ministerial measure being defended by Lord Morpeth, the chancellor of the exchequer, Messrs. O'Connell, Shiel, Ward, and others; and that of Lord Stanley being supported by Sergeant Jackson, Sirs James Graham, and E. Peel, and Mr. Lefroy, and others. The most remarkable speeches delivered in this debate were those of Mr. O'Connell and Sir Robert Peel. The debate was closed by the chancellor of the exchequer, who complained that the opposition fixed upon ministers all the opinions of those who supported the bill. On a division, ministers had a majority of thirty-nine; the votes for the second reading being three hundred, and for Lord Stanley's amendment, two hundred and sixty-one. A motion was made on the 1st of July for going into committee on the bill, on which day the ultimate designs and the real wishes of the Papists were disclosed by Mr. Crawford, who moved the following resolutions:—"1. That it is expedient that tithes, and all compositions for tithes in Ireland should cease, and be for ever extinguished, compensations being first made for all existing interests, whether lay or ecclesiastical; and that it is also expedient that measures should be adopted to render the revenues of the church lands more productive, and more available for the support of the working clergy of the establishment; and that all persons not in communion with the established church of Ireland should be relieved from all assessment for its support. 2. That it is expedient that the moneys necessary for the aforesaid compensation (estimated at L2,500,000) should be advanced out of the public revenue, and afterwards repaid by instalments from the proceeds of a tax to be imposed on profit-rents; such tax to cease and determine as soon as the said debt shall be paid." These resolutions, however, were rejected by a majority of fifty-one against eighteen. In the committee the Irish leader betrayed his conviction that it would be impossible either to pass the bill, or to make it the means of raising any popular excitement against the house of lords. On the discussion of the first clause, he said, that to discuss anything was only waste of time; for it was clear that no measure for the pacification of Ireland, whether respecting tithes or anything else, was likely to pass. Any bill containing solid relief was sure to be destroyed; they were legislating in despair. He himself intended to have proposed several amendments; but he should not do so, as there could be no doubt the lords would throw out the bill. The only debate which took place in the committee arose on the question, whether the appropriation clause should stand part of the bill. The arguments adopted were a repetition of all that had been formerly urged, diversified with a few new illustrations, and some acrimony of expression. The clause was retained on a division by a majority of two hundred and ninety against two hundred and sixty-four. The bill was finally read a third time, and passed on the 15th of July.

The second reading was moved in the lords on the 22nd of July. Lord Melbourne briefly explained its provisions, observing that it was not necessary for him to go into any lengthened argument on the subject. It was read a second time without opposition, the Duke of Wellington declaring that he was prepared to consider it in committee, with a view to make such amendments as might render it consistent with the interests of the church and the people. The house went into committee on the 25th, and the bill was passed on the 28th. When passed, however, all the provisions for what was called appropriation were struck out, and all the other important arrangements in the bill were modified. By the bill the clergy were only to receive seventy per cent.; the lords raised it to seventy-five; they raised also the minimum stipend to be paid in any benefice to L300. In this shape the bill was sent down to the commons.

Lord John Russell brought the amendments of the lords before that house on the 2nd of August, when he started a question of privilege, as if the lords had interfered with a money-bill, thereby leaving the commons no other choice than to reject it, independently of the merits or demerits of the alterations which had been introduced. He entered subsequently into the merits of the amendments at large; and having explained them, he said, it was for the house to say whether, after having solemnly affirmed certain principles, it would, because the lords had rejected them, yield them up, and then endeavour to agree with the lords in the alterations of this bill, or in the provisions of a new measure. For himself, he would say, that if the members of the house of commons were to go up to the bar of the house of lords in such humble guise, admitting that they had been in error, and that the wisdom of the house of lords had taught them a lesson of policy they had never learned before, he, for one, would not accompany the commons on such a message. Sir Robert Peel, who followed the home-secretary, moved as an amendment that the lords' amendments should now be taken into consideration; but, after a brief debate, the motion for rejecting the bill was carried by a majority of two hundred and sixty against two hundred and thirty-one.



COMMUTATION OF TITHES IN ENGLAND.

One of the leading measures of the session, as regarded England, was for the commutation of tithes; a measure which was brought forward for the relief of the dissenters. The ministerial plan for the commutation of tithes was brought before the house of commons by Lord John Russell on the 9th of February. The subject, he said, consisted of two parts: namely, the principles on which the commutation should be made, and the machinery by which it was to be carried into execution. The machinery, he confessed, would be borrowed from Sir Robert Peel's bill of last year. There would be a central board of commissioners, consisting of three persons, for the purpose of arranging the question of commutation; and this board would have power to appoint assistant-commissioners to a certain extent, and in certain cases, in the same manner as the poor-law commissioners. His lordship admitted that the selection of the principle on which the commutation should proceed was a subject attended with much difficulty. In the plan government proposed, their object had been to produce as little disturbance as possible in existing interests, not to diminish violently or excessively the income now enjoyed by the tithe-owners, and to produce some uniformity in the mode of calculating and valuing tithe throughout England and Wales. As in the bill of last year, any landowner would be allowed to agree with the tithe-owner for a commutation of his tithe; and having made such an agreement, he would stand to the tenant in the relation not only of landlord, but likewise of tithe-owner. He also proposed that it should be competent for the possessor or possessors of one-fourth of the value of the tithe to call a meeting of the owners of land in the parish, at which parties might be represented as they now were under the poor-law act. When three-fourths in value of the owners of tithe agreed with three-fourths in value of the owners of land, they would have power to make an agreement binding on the whole parish, if no person appealed against it within a certain period. If any person appealed, it should still be binding against those who did not appeal. The parties appealing would be compelled to appear before the assistant-commissioners, who, on hearing their statements, would make an award, which award, on the ratification of the central board, would become binding on the parish. If, at the end of a certain period, he would say six months, no such agreement were made between the tithe-owners and the tithe-payers, it would be competent for any landowner, or any tithe-owner, to ask the commissioners to make such a general award on the tithes of the parish. When such a demand was made, an assistant-commissioner would be authorised to examine what had been the amount of tithes, and what had been the expense of collecting the tithes for the last seven years; he would then declare the amount of tithes so paid for the last seven years, and that amount would be represented by a certain quantity of wheat, barley, and oats. If any person should appeal against this declaration, on the ground that the amount fixed for the tithes on the composition did not fairly represent their value, the assistant-commissioner would make an estimate of the value of the tithes for the seven years previous, and ascertain the actual gross value of them for that period. If it should appear that the sum of tithes taken in any parish during a period of seven years exceeded seventy-five per cent, of the gross value, then it would be competent to the commissioners to determine that the commutation should amount to seventy-five per cent. of the gross value, and no more, and they would reduce the sum accordingly; if, on the contrary, it appeared that the amount taken was less than sixty per cent, of the gross value of the tithe, the commissioners would be authorised to raise the sum to sixty per cent., and to declare that that should be the amount of the future charge. If the sum paid was between these two limits, it should be competent to the commissioners to make such an award as they thought the circumstances and the justice of the case required. In some cases tithes had been taken to such an extent as ought not to form the basis of a permanent charge; and, on the other hand, there were instances, as had been satisfactorily established by undoubted evidence, of clergymen who did not receive more than forty or fifty per cent, of the amount to which they were entitled. It appeared just to interfere in these cases; and he thought it right to fix a sum to be taken hereafter, which should not exceed or fall below a certain amount, in proportion to the gross value of the tithe. It was open for consideration, whether sixty or seventy-five pounds were the proper minimum and maximum: he referred to these sums only as illustrating the principle. In certain cases, however, a special regulation would be required, as tithes on hops, orchards, and gardens, on which the tithes were extremely high. He proposed giving the commissioners the power of taking certain hop districts, in order to ascertain the average tithe of the last seven years, and fix the amount in future. They would also have the power of declaring what the tithe of any particular land or property should be, supposing hop cultivation to be abandoned; and it was provided that in cases where land should be brought into hop cultivation anew, it should be subject to an additional payment of fifteen shillings an acre on account of tithe. As regarded orchards and gardens, he had not been able to settle a particular provision on the subject, although he admitted lands thus cultivated were particularly circumstanced. The tithe thus commuted, Lord John Russell continued, would become a rent-charge, payable by the landowner according to the value of grain: thus—the average prices for seven years of wheat, barley, and oats would be published at certain periods by the comptroller of corn returns; this publication would take place every year, and the payment of rent-charge made in lieu of tithe would be varied accordingly. The prices of three different kinds of grain were taken, for the purpose of ascertaining the value and amount of the charge, so that if an individual were chargeable with L300 for tithe, one-third would be estimated by the price of wheat, one-third by that of barley, and the remaining third by the price of oats, which would be giving each a fair proportion in the gross amount. Finally, the intended bill did not deal, his lordship said, with the question of redemption of the rent-charge; that was an important and difficult subject, and would require to be dealt with in a separate measure after the commutations should have been made, and the charge ascertained. Sir Robert Peel said that he would not object to the measure being introduced, since he thought himself entitled to say that it was taken in great part from his bill of last year. The whole of its machinery was, in fact, adopted, and to a certain extent likewise, its principle of voluntary commutation. The bill passed the second reading on the 22nd of February without any division, although various objections were stated, both as to its principles and details; the former being chiefly directed against the compulsory nature of the commutation. When the bill went into committee, ministers made several alterations in its provisions. Thus the period during which voluntary commutations might be entered into was extended from six months to twelve; and the clauses under which a single landholder might compel a commutation in regard to his own property, while there was none for the rest of the parish, were given up; it was now proposed that a fixed proportion of the landowners should have power to enter into a voluntary agreement, which, after a certain time, should become binding on the whole parish. A great deal of hostility, however, was still expressed against the measure, and that even among the ordinary supporters of government. Mr. Hume maintained that no good bill could be enacted till the corn-laws were repealed, since they had given land and its produce an artificial value; and as their repeal was anticipated, this measure would inflict great injury on the landowners, unless the value of the tithe was fixed much lower than was done by the bill. Great opposition was also manifested to the maximum and minimum of seventy-five and sixty pounds, and fixing them merely by the average of the preceding seven years, but the clause was retained. On the bringing up of the report, however, government proposed a modification of the clause, to the effect that the commissioners, on receiving a representation that the sum paid was not a fair composition, should ascertain the gross value of the tithe, and should have power to raise or diminish the sum to be paid in future, but not beyond one-fifth of the sum paid during the preceding seven years. Some amendments of minor importance were moved subsequently, but were rejected; and the bill having gone up to the lords, was read a second time without opposition, and was passed on the 22nd, both sides of the house approving of its general principles. The Archbishop of Canterbury said, he thought the bill would be very beneficial in its effects, relieving the land from the pressure of tithes, and doing justice to the clergy, and as little liable to objection as any measure that could be framed on a subject so difficult and so complicated. With respect to those lands which might be brought into cultivation as agriculture improved, and for which the bill made no provision, he agreed that to give the clergy a tithe on such land would be to prevent the general object of the bill—the expenditure of capital on the land; but when waste lands were enclosed and brought into profitable cultivation, he could see no reason why such steps should not be taken in favour of the clergy as were usual in other cases, and why a portion of the land should not be given to them. His grace accordingly moved, in the committee, an amendment to the effect, that when waste or common lands should be enclosed, the commissioners should assign a certain portion of the land to the tithe-owner instead of his tithe. This was objected to on both sides of the house, and the amendment was negatived without a division. The bill passed, and the few alterations which had been made in the lords were agreed to with one exception. The peers had agreed to an amendment giving tithe on cows fed in stalls and sheds. This was rejected; and the lords, when the bill returned to them, did not insist upon its retention.