flebatrt anit Pruteettingit in Parliament. COLONIAL MISGOVERNMENT.

The attendance of Members in the House of Commons on Tuesday was unusually numerous. It was an "order of the day" that the House should be "called over ;" but Sir WILLIAM MOLESWORTH, the intended mover, seeing the object accomplished by the mere notice, agreed that the order should be discharged. After two Election Com- mittees had been nominated, and some routine business despatched, Sir WiLstast MOLESWORTH rose to bring forward his motion re- specting the government of the Colonies. He begun by requesting indulgence on the score of inexperience, want of weight in the House, and the great importance and extent of the subject to which he had undertaken to direct the attention of the House. He thought It necessary, at the outset, to disclaim participation in the opinion of those who thought colonies of little value or an injury to the mother country. Should Englishmen repent of having planted the North American Colonies, which had expanded into one of the greatest, mod prosperous, and happiest nations the world ever saw ? Was it to be regretted that the more Northern deserts of America were about to be reclaimed and civilized by the exertions of Englishmen ? Was it • pity that the West India markets for our products had ever existed; or was the already great and rapidly increasing trade with Australasia an evil? Should they despond over the British empire in the East, which had brought, let who would deny it, immense wealth to the country ? Sir William had himself, as Lord John Russell and Sir George Grey well knew, evinced a personal interest in the prosperity of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land; and, as Lord Howick would bear witness, had exerted himself to remedy the dreadful evils of the transportation system. Sir William proceeded to controvert the doctrine of Bentham, adopted by Sir Henry Parnell, that the mother country could derive no advantage from colonies of her own, which she might not equally secure with independent states. Fifty years ago Mr. Bentham had said " there is no necessity for governing or possessing any island in order that we may sell merchandise there"—

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The doctrine presumes that we could have bad the same trade as at present with other lands, even though none of our people had gone forth to settle there; the all the countries which we have peopled and converted into glowing mar- kets the sale of our domestic produce would have been just as seeful to us, rnme„iai point of view, if they had remained independent states'—the '—the independent state of New Holland, before we had planted colonies there—the pendent state or people of America, amongst whom William Penn and his -(410'wets settled. Is not Japan, with which we have no trade, one of the right honourable baronet's independent states?' Have we such a trade, or any thieg. like such a trade, with Java as we should have bad if we had retained coon1 ial possession of that most fertile country? The doctrine of the right honourable baronet rests on the assumption that the world abouuds bade. pendent states, able and willing to purchase British goods, and that whatever may he the increase of domestic capital and production requiring ntw markets, such markets will spring up just at the moment we want them, in the form of independent states.' Has that assumption any foundation in feet or reason ? leanest help thinking that it has none—that, at all events, it is greatly to the advantase of a country like this to plant colonies, and thereby create markets where none exist, nf are likely to exist, by any other means ; and that this is preeminently the policy of such a country as England, whose power of pro- ',wing wealth by means of manufacture has no other limit than the extent or somber of the markets in which she can dispose of manufactured gtods."

Still it might be said, the sooner colonies are made independent, the better for them and for us— "The sooner the better ?—but when? Should we, for example, now at once confer independence on the last colony founded by England, with its three thousand inhabitants, giving up to that handful of people the disposal, without the slightest regard to this country, of an enormous extent of unoccupied land, ad thus enabling them, if they pleased, to put an end to the whole system of colonisation established there, and even to become a slave-holding state, as they wad be strongly, tempted to do if they did put an end to that system ? Or, should we not rather maintain that act of the Imperial Legislature which gives to the labouring classes of this country, by providing them with a continually iticressing means of emigration from low wages to high wages, prosperity, a sort of inheritance, in the extensive wastes of that colony ? Should we allow the kw who have departed to forbid the departure of the many who would fol- low, if we do not abandon our dominion over that colony ?"

The unseasonable cry of " Emancipate your Colonies," Lad arisen from the abuses of the Colonial system of government-

. Those who cry Emancipate your Colonies' appear to have seen nothing bat the abuses and evils ; they have imagined that colonies and jobbing, colo- nial trade and colonial monopoly, were synonymous terms. Instead of wishing to separate from our Colonies, or to avert the establishment of new ones, I would Oa!, distinguish between the evil and the good,.rernove the evil but preserve the good; do not 'emancipate your colonies,' but multiply them, and improve— reform your system of colonial government."

He knew bow distasteful his motion was to Members on his own

side of the House ; and, suspecting that gentlemen opposite would endeavour to represent it, in connexion with his opinions avowed there and elsewhere, of democratic tendency, he would at once dispel a portion of the prejudice by declaring, that he could not conceive a greater absur- dity than to erect democratic institutions among the millions of India, the convict settlement of New South Wales, the quarter.civilized population of South Africa, the Negroes of the West Indies, or even among the labouring rustics of South Australia, most of whom could not tell the meaning of the word "democratic " or the word " institu- tion." It might be said that he had invidiously singled out the Colo- nial Minister for attack ; but he would explain the reasons which had induced him to call for an expression of want of confidence in Lord Glenelg alone— "The Colonial Office differs materially from every other branch of the Government. All the other departments of the state administer for us who ire represented in this House ; the Colonial Office administers for the Colonies, not one of which is represented in any assembly to which that office is in any degree responsible. The other branches of Government administer only, they do not legislate : but the Colonial Office, besides having to conduct an administration comprising all the branches of government, civil, military, financial, judicial, and ecclesiastical—an administration rendered still more diffi. cult by the various institutions, languages, laws, customs, wants, and interests of a great variety of separate and widely-different communities—besides all this, which the whole administrative force of this country could hardly manage well —besides an administration more varied and difficult than that of this country, of one race, language, and law—besides this infinite variety of executive func- tions (as if the executive duties were not sufficiently complicated and incon- gruous), the Colonial Office has further to legislate more or less fur all the Colonies, and altogether for those Colonies which have no Representative Assembly, by means either of instructions to Governors, or of orders in Council, or by appointing and instructing some or all of the branches of the Colonial Legislature. Such a complication of functions in a single office would be bad enough if ;all the Colonies were close together and close to Eng- land: let us recollect, however, how widely they are dispersed, and how far from Downing Street is that of them which is nearest to England. In most of them several months, and in some of them a whole year must elapse, before a letter between the Government and one of its subjects can be answered by re. turn of post. A,petition arrives here ; who is there to press its prayer on the attention of the Colonial Minister? or who is there to take care that it shall ever be read by him ? Whether he ever looks at it must depend on the degree of his diligence and of his interest in the colony whence it comes. ()milers despatched hence should be adapted, not to the state of things which existed in the colony at the date of the Minister's last advice. therefrom, but to that which he may conjecture will exist when his orders arrive. How can he fail to err without the highest sagacity and foresight? Besides, in many cases the very subject of the letter, or petition, or remonstrance may be worn out before he eaa even know of its existence. Whatever the difficulties, then, of both legis- lating and administering for so many different communities, all these are en- lanced a thousandfold administering the great distance between the subjects and the government."

He did not speak especially of Lord Glenelg, but of any and every Colonial Minister, when he insisted upon its being the duty of Parlia- ment to take especial care that the functions of the Colonial Alinister were competently discharged-

" In every other department of the state, the Minister is responsible to this Rouse, where the representations of conflicting interests have the strongest 1110. tires to keep anxious and vigilant watch over the details of his conduct, and unnecessary delay and inactivity are exposed to constant reproach. Though the i!iiaister be not the most distinguished of statesmen, nor possess personal quali- ties of a superior description, yet his crude and imperfect notions may be im- proved in this House by the suggestions of 'his friends and the corrections of his opponents. This case seldom takes place in Colonial affairs, except when some i grave and extraordinary event, such, for instance, as a rebellion in one of the colonies, calls public attention to the subject. In ordinary cases, this House, in which the Colonies have no direct representatives, and few persons thoroughly acquainted with the particulars of Colonial affairs, can exercise no control over the details of the Colonial Office. In the Cabinet, the affairs of the other de- partments of the state are more or less within the cognizance of all the members of the Cabinet, and each Minister in his separate department may be supposed to be responsible to the whole body ; this cannot possibly be the case with regard to the Colonial IGiuister, whose department embraces all the branches of government of our numerous and widely remote dependencies, with the detail' of whose affairs it is utterly impossible for his colleagues to be acqnsinted. Sometimes, indeed, we find that the head of another department comes down to this House and snakes a speech on Colonial affairs ; but every one who un- derstauffit the subject, and listens to the discourse, can easily perceive that it is got up from a brief. In the Colonial Office, where it is so hard to do well, or even to avoid doing ill, over the details of which this House can exercise no con- trol—M which, consequently, the Minister is completely irresponsible as to de- tails—personal qualities are all in all."

He would at once admit, that he could not censure Lord Glenelg without censuring the rest of the Ministry : so much he would allow to those who charged him, in their most patriotic phraseology, of a de- sign to " let in the Tories." But were the Cabinet dissolved, the Tories could not come in as Tories-

" I do not believe, Sir, that we shall ever again have.a Government acting upon Tory principles, except under circumstances like the present, when a Government professing Liberalism adopts Tory principles in order to retain office. If the Tories were under the remponsibillty of office, they would be as liberal as the country."

Whatever might be the result of his motion in reference to the state of parties, he hadmothing to do with that. His only object was to re- lieve the Colonies from an imbecile or mischievous administration of their affairs. He wished to lay before the House the critical state of their Colonial possessions, and establish for a time at least something like responsibility in the Colonial Office. Every quarter of the globe furnished a case illustrative of the incompetency of the present Colo- nial Minister. But he must commence somewhere, and would begin with a case as to which the Member for Newark (Mr. William Glad- stone) could confirm his statement-

" During the last session of the last Parliament, the blouse instituted an in. quiry into the state of our Penal Colonies in Australasia. The Committee has been revived this session. The disclosures made before the Committee repre- sent a state of things which it was hard even for those who heard the repre- sentation to credit. Not that there could be any doubt either of the knowledge or of the veracity of the witnesses examined, but that they described a state of society, a degree of mural contamination, a condition of national infamy, so re. yoking that one was loath to believe in the exigence of such horrors. The evidence taken before the Committee of last year is in the possession of honour able gentlemen. No one, I think, who has examined that evidence, can doubt that, whatever have been the evils attending upon planting colonies with con- victs, those evils have of late years greatly augmented, and have just now at- tained a pitch which requires some prompt, vigorous, and comprehensive remedy. The first step to a remedy was ample inquiry. The House will per- haps imagine that the Colonial Minister had some part in the inquiry which has taken place ; that it was suggested by him ; that he was sufficiently ac- quainted with the great and glue ing evils in question to have proposed such an inquiry in Parliament. Not at all. On the contrary, the country is solely indebted for that inquiry to the noble lord the Member for Stroud ; from whom, before I moved for a Committee, I had the good fortune to obtain a promise chat the motion should have his support in the House. Considering the Colo- nial nature of the subject, why did I not, in order to obtain the sanction of Government, address myself to the noble lord at the head of Colouial affairs? Simply, because I believed that such an application would be in vain. I was afraid of the proverbial indecision and supineness of that Minister ; and I be- lieved that the milt. sure method of obtaining an inquiry on this Colonial sulr ject was to pass by the; Colonial Minister, and apply to another :Minister whose department is eminently not Colonial. My opinion of the Colonial Minister may have been erroneuts, but it was formed on common report and belief; and the fact therefore is, that, so far as I am concerned, the important information as to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land now before the House, would not have been ubtained if I had not made bold, in seeking a Co. lunial inquiry, to proceed as if there were no such department as that over which Lord lileuelg presides. sir, if I had wanted any justification for such a course, I should find it in another proceeding, or rather neglect, of Lord Gle- nelg's, with regard to New south Wales. While the moral and social corrup- tion of that colony exceeds belief, its economical prosperity is equally remark- able. Nothing can be more clearly established by the evidence taken before the Trausportatiun Committee than the fact that both the evil and the good have one and the seine cause,—namely, a regular and increasing supply of con- vict labourers. if the stream of convict emigration be stayed, the source of the economical prosperity will be (hied up ; unless, indeed, some other means be adopted of supplying the colony with labourers. Amongst those most con- versant with the subject, there is but one opinion as to the evils which arise from supplying the Colonies with labour by means of transportation; but one opinion as to the necessity, if the colony is to be saved from ruin, of promoting the emigration of free labourers."

The emigration fund arising from Lord Howiek'e regulations for the sale of waste laud in New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, amounted to 400,000/. ; and the future revenue from the sale of waste lands in New South Wales alone had been estimated at 200,0001. ; but what had Lord Glenelg done with this very large emigration fund?- " He allowed a portiots of it to be placed at the disposal of a private society, who expended the mash : money in sending out to the culotte shipload after shipload of the must alsantioned and irreclaimable prostitutes. Ile placed ano. ther portion of it at the dkposal of one Mr. John :1Iarshall, a sort of agent or broker for shipping, who performs (without any responsibility) for the Colo- nial Office the difficult functions of conducting emigration with the public money of the colony. But this is not all ; only a portion of this vast emigra- tion fund has been applied, however improperly, to its purpose. The re- mainder, amounting to no less a sum than 200,i1ed., is looked up in the public chest at Sydney, lying idle, of no use whatever, although the demand for labour is more urgent than at any previous time, and the colonists have vehe- mently prayed that the money which they paid for land may be expended according to the conditions on which they paid it. And this sum m the public chest is not only useless, but worse than useless; for, since ready money was paid for the land, a great part of the currency is thus absorbed and locked up in the Government chest. The loud and frequent complaints of the mile- lusts on this subject have fallen upon the ear of the noble lord as if lie were stone deaf."

Connected with New South Wales, there was another fact, which

strongly marked the incompetency of the Colonist .Minister. In 1836, the New South Wales Act expired. That act had been passed for the government of a colony the majority of whose inhabitant% were convicts. In process of time, the majority of the inhabitants were free settlers ; and they looked to the year 1836, when they expected a new system of government, with hope and anxiety. Was Lord Glenelg prepared to make the change required by the altered circum- stances of the colony ?-

" Did he submit to Parliament a new constitution for the colony? No; he only asked Parliament to renew the old act for one year—but in 1837, it will be supposed, when this act of a twelvemonth would have expired, the noble lord was prepared ?—Not a bit of it ! In 1837 he again asked for and obtained the renewal of the old act for another twelvemonth. But perhaps it may be said, that the noble lord believed that the colony was not ripe for any other than the old despotic constitution, and that he acted deliberately in renewing the old act from year to year. Not at all, Sir; for on both occ rearms the Under-Secre- tary for the Colonies, acting undoubtedly on behalf of his chief, gave notice of his intention to propose an entirely new act for the government of the colony. On both occasions, no doubt, the noble lord intended to relieve the colonists of New South Wales from their anxiety on a subject which must ever be one of the deepest interest to freemen : but on both occasions be only exhibited his own infirmity, of purpose. Is he prepared this year? or are we to renew the old act for the third time ? Are we for the third time to tell the free people of this colony, that we care so little about them as to neglect altogether a matter about which they care above all things? And if we do so, are we to wonder at their resentment? Here then, Sir, as respects one colony, are three great questions urgently pressing on the unwilling attention of the noble hird,—first, a remedy for the terrible evils of transportation ; secondly, a means of saving the colony from economical ruin ; and thirdly, a new constitution for the colony. Each of these questions is rendered more difficult by the noble lord's neglect of it hitherto."

The islands of New Zealand furnished a striking example of Lord Glenelg's carelessness- " It in evidence given before the Committee on the state of the Aborigines, that our lawless fellow subjects have excited the native tribes to wars and mas- sacres, in order to obtain tattooed heads as an article of commerce ; that they have taught the natives to employ corrosive sublimate in poisoning their ene- mies, and have actually sold them that poison for the purpose ; that these out. casts from British society have taken an active part in the cruel massacres of one tribe by another ; that they have introduced the use of ardent spirits and of fast-destroying disease ; and that, as a natural consequence, the natives are swept off in a ratio which promises in no very distant period to leave the coun- try destitute of a single aboriginal inhabitant.' Now, is this a case of urgency? is this a matter to be slept over for years, until the native race shall have disap- peared altogether? And again, I venture to ask the right honourable gentle. man the President of the Board of Trade, whether he has not received a memorial, signed by a large number of the merchants and shipowners of Lon- don trading to the South Seas, representing, that unless prompt measures be taken to establish British authority in New Zealand, is is fully to be expected that the lawless British settlers in that country will become a piratical commu- nity, like the buccaneers of old, and that even now the greatest danger is to be apprehended to our shipping? What has the noble lord, who should have been most conversant with this evil and this danger—what has he done either in be. half of the natives of New Zealand or of our shipping in the South Seas ? What has he proposed? Ilehas dune, proposed, thought of, absolutely nothing ! If it had been a matter in the moon he could nut have been more cureless about it !"

He would now turn to the condition of the Mauritius. On the au- thority of Dr. Lushington he could state, that there had been in that colony, since 1810, a perpetual violation of the law upwards of 20,000 felonies had been committed, and the slave-trade had been carried on, in opposition to the law. What has Lord Glenelg done in reference to this critical state of affairs in the Mauritius ? The answer to any in- formation the House might require, would, he feared, be "nil." Again, in Southern Africa, where the British colonies exceeded the mother country its extent, the natives were fast disappearing ; partly massacred, partly driven from their native country, where they were either forced to starve or to live by plunder. For this state of things Lord Glenelg was not particularly to blame : it was owing to the bad system on svlijdi Colonial affairs were managed. But did anybody expect a remedy from the infirm hands of Lord Glenelg ? Next, be would pass to Sierra Leone, the " White Man's Grave ;" the misgovernment of which was proverbial. The present Governor of that colony, who went there by the appointment of Mr. Spring Rice, as a reformer of abuses, bad been driven away by the jobbers and peculators who infest it and fatten on the spoils of the public. The Governor was eminently successful in conciliating the natives ; but be soon gave offence to the baud of jobbers, who style themselves the colony, and was recalled. This was the third recent case of removal in Lord Glenelg's depart- trent—

" Let me now mention a fourth, that of the new colony of South Australia; whose Governor, appointed by Lord Glenelg not more than eighteen months ago, has been just recalled. I have no doubt that this recall may be justified, just like that of Sir Francis Head; but if so, how does Lord Glenelg justify the appointment ? and, have not the appointment and the recall together, placed the colony in that state which is sometimes cellist! a state of ' hot water ? ' If we add to these four the resignation of Lord Go-ford and the recall of Sir Francis Head, there will be no fewer than six recent cases of the removal of a Colonial Chief Magietrate for extraordinary causes and under circumstances of extra- ordinary difficulty and trouble for the colony."

The West India Colonies presented a wide field of trouble, embar- rassment, and danger. Rather late in the day, Lord Glenelg had pro- mised an act to secure that which the people thought they had pur- chased with twenty millions sterling ; but there were two other mat- ters which, had Lord Glenelg possessed the faculty of attention, would Lave required its exercise—the cessation of compulsory labour, and the claim of the Negro inhabitants to elect representatives to the local Parliaments- " SO long ago as in January 1836, Lord Glenelg, or some other person writ.. ing in his name, seems to have been struck with the great importance of the former of these subjects, and even to have devised a sufficient means of prevent- ing the apprehended evil. A great danger is plainly indicated, and the means of prevention as clearly pointed out. The danger is, that the whole of the population of the West Indies should, as soon as they become entirely free, re• fuse to work for wages—should set up, each one by and fur himself, on his own piece of land, and that thus capitalists should be left without labourers, to the certain ruin of the industry of those colonies. Sir, I for one have no doubt that in all of those colonies, where laud is excessively cheap, the apprehensions of the noble lord will be fully realized. But along with the expression of his fears the Colonial Minister suggested a measure of prevention. ' It will be ne- cessary,' he says, to fix such a price upon Crown lands as will place them out of the reach of persona without capital : ' and this plan of preserving's• hour for hire, by means of rendering the acquisition of waste land more dos. cult, was strongly recommended to Parliament by the Committee to which / have referred. As the plan could be of no use whatever, unless adopted some time before the total emancipation of the apprentices, it will be supposed that the noble lord has followed up his important despatch by proposing some gun, ral and efficient measures founded on his own views and on those of the co; mittee in question. By no means : the subject remains just where his despatch left it in January 1896; as if, notwithstanding its great importance, it hat fairly slipped from the memory of the noble lord."

But from this case of culpable neglect he would pass to one of cal. pable activity— I' The planters are impressed, as was the noble lord in January 1836, wilt the necessity of taking some precautions against the year 1840, as respects the supply of labouring hands. They have devised a new kind of slavery, end, new kind of slave-trade ; and this invention the noble lord has, by an order is Council dated let March 1837, fully sanctioned. This order in Council author rises the planters of Demerara to import into that colony—to serve as iad„, tured labourers' I believe is the term employed—what class of people, does the House imagine ? Englishmen, or other Europeans, who might assert the rights as 'indentured labourers?' No. Freed Negroes from the United States, who, being of the same race, and speaking the same language as the intim colonial population of British Guiana, might be indentured labourers' without becoming slaves? No ; but a class of people the most ignorant, the most strange, the most helpless, in all respects the most fit to become slaves underthe name of indentured labourers.' They are called Hill Coolies. The country from which they are to be imported, after being kidnapped, is the East Indies, In New South \Vales, the same apprehension of a want of labourers, (which, as I have already said, the noble lord might have prevented by expending the emigration fund, instead of keeping it locked up in the public chest at Sydney,) has led to a similar project for the importation of Hill Coolies. This attempt to establish a new kind of slavery was condemned by the late Governor, sir Richard Bourke, in a despatch now before the House. Should we not mode= the noble lord for having sanctioned a similar attempt in British Guiana?"

Would this project set up Lord Glenelg as a 'statesman fit to save the West Indies from the dangers which threaten them in 1840?- " The whole of the West Indies, indeed, economically and politically, are is a most critical state. The state of the West Indies, having reference to 1840, calls especially for forethought—for precautionary measures. Are we to trust to the noble lord for such measures of forethought—of precaution ? Or are we, so surely as we place any reliance en the noble lord's energetic sagacity, to wait quietly, nothing done, nothing proposed, nothing thought of, till 1840 is upon, us? Sir, may I not say that the noble lord has neglected to take, and seem incapable of taking, any precautions to render harmless the great revolution, economical, social, and political, which must happen in the \Vest Indies nee years hence? Considering the near approach of 1840, is it fair, is it just, is it commonly humane, towards our fellow subjects in the West Indies, who, he it always remembered, have no representation in this House, to let the noble lord continue, fast asleep, at the head of Colonial affairs?"

It was not his intention to bring before the House principles of Colonial government. He had nothing to do, on this occasion, with the causes of the critical state of the Colonies ; he merely dealt with questions of fact, and the actual state of affairs. In referring, there. fore, to the North American Colonies, be should not enter into the questions between the Assembly of Lower Canada and the Colonial Office. He bad not a word to say respecting the Resolutions of last year, or the Act of this session. Against both he bad spoken and voted, and should be ready to do so again on the fitting occasion. But if both of those measures had received his support instead of his stre. nuous opposition, he should not be precluded from submitting his pre. sent motion to the House. He addressed the House on a totally different question—Lord Glenelg's manner of carrying into effect the policy of Government towards Lower Canada— "Need I recur, Sir, to those wearisome despatches which have impressed upon the country at large a conviction of the noble lord's pre6ninent unfitness for the conduct of difficult affairs? Need I, following a noble earl in the other House of Parliament, (Lord Aberdeen,) count over again the lung list of pro. mises forgotten—of assurances never fulfilled—of instructions which never arrived until it was too late—of excuses for leaving Lord Gosford without in- structions—of postponement without reason—of apologies and pretexts for delay when promptitude was most requisite—of self-contradictions, hesitations, mean- ingless changes of purpose, and other proofs of an inveterate habit of doing nothing? In fact, said the noble earl, the system which the noble lord went upon was that of doing nothing.' Doing nothing reduced to a system! This system of the noble lord has much to answer for. Who will deny that it was the main cause of the revolt and bloodshed in which it ended? if the recent accounts from Lower Canada make it appear, as I think they do, that the policy of the Government towards that country has fewer or less determined enemies there than was lately supposed, yet those favourable accounts cast still heavier blame on the noble lords extraordinary system—tending, at least, to show that the most ordinary degree of decision and promptitude would have prevented the revolt altogether. The easy .suppression of the revolt, however, by no means establishes that the colony is an so little a critical state as to be fit far the noble lord's peculiar system."

It had, however, been said that the government of Lower Canada bad been transferred from Lord Glenelg to another noble lord. So it had been said ; but he did not comprehend how that could be-

" I readily acknowledge the statesmanlike qualities of the noble earl, whose personal character seems to qualify him, above most men, for the performance of difficult and arduous public functions. Let me acknowledge the very strik- ing contrast between the system of the noble earl and the habits of the noble lord. But what then? From whom is the noble earl to receive, from whom has he already received instruction? to whom is he to make reports? who is to bring before Parliament the legislative measures the noble earl may propose? Answer to all—the noble lord, wedded to his system of doing nothing. Does it not, therefore, appear not only foolish, but almost ridiculous, to make such s person as the noble earl subordinate to the noble lord? They had far better change places; for the system of the noble lord is one in which subordinates cannot well indulge, least of all under such a chief as the noble earl ; and it is in the chief, the head of our Colonial department, that the qualities of din• gence, forethought, judgment, activity, and firmness are most required."

He had been told by Members more experienced than himself, that his motion was justified by precedent : he did not rely on that justifica- tion, but on the truth of his proposition, and the expediency of affirm- ing it. Whatever might be thought of the motion, the case, he would venture to say, was without precedent—

"Were our Colonies, ever since we established a central government for them, in so critical a state before? %ilea did so many and such grave questions press upon the attention of a Colonial Minister? Is there a single Member of the Ileum who will say upon his conscience that the present Colonial Minister ,,,,,,■

,s, any one, or is not deficient in ail, of the qualities mentioned in the . 11(,!,-,s,::::1 address to the Crown ? teir, my propositiou is true; and upon that done rely. For if such a proposition be true, who will deny the obligation )f vpea m to provide an adequate remedy for the evil? Sir, instead of searching :tier precedents, I point to the millions of our fellow subjects who are mire- „ vented in this House ;—to the great branches of domestic industry which /epee(' upon the wellbeing of our Colonial empire ;—to New South Wales, 'jilting into a state of irreclaimable depravity, with its free emigration fund belted up in the Government chest, and its oft promised constitution withheld after year '•—to the Mauritius with its 20,000 freemen, held in bondage by guiet al iosotivent and would-be rebel planters ;— to South Africa, almost denuded of its native inhabitants, distracted by factions who agree in nothing but their o res of the Colonial Office and its horde of rebels, gone forth into the wilder.

t en to conquer an inheritance of oppression over the helpless natives,—to the

■ White Man's Grave,' that job of jobs, which is rejoicing in the recall of a Reforming Governor ;—to the Nest Indies, bordering on the ruin of their in- dustry; inventing a new slave-trade with the sanction of the noble lord, in

eider to counteract the noble lord's total neglect of the means which he himself bye pointed out as necessary to preserve the use of capital in these fertile lands ; grossly evading the Emancipation Act, after pocketing its enormous price; and

hit approaching the time when, without a single precaution with a view to that strange event, 800,000 Negro slaves will, in one day, acquire the same political

sights as their masters of another race, and with the moat important of these possessions in a state little 'boa of open revolt ;—and, lastly, to the North American provinces, where open revolt has just been suppressed, where civil

bloodshed has excited the passions of hatred and revenge, where a constitution in suspended and martial law is still in force, and where there is no prospect of ram, of contented allegiance, but in the prompt settlement of a great variety of questions of surpassing complexity and difficulty. I point to all these Colo-

n ies in a state of disorganization and danger ; and then to the interests at home which depend, more or less, on the productiveness of Colonial industry—to Birmingham and Sheffield, to Leeds, Liverpool, and Glasgow, and to the

great Colonial shipping-port of London. This done, instead of searching after enuo I would remind the House of the noble lord's system, as described his immediate predecessor in office—the fated system qr. doing nothing at If truth and the public interest are to prevail, the House will surely accede to my motion, whether it is, or whether it is not according to precedent.” It might be a good constitutional principle that the whole Cabinet were responsible for the errors and defects of the Colonial Office; but be seas not aware of it- rr sot being aware of it, I have pursued the plain and simple course of attri- boring to the Colonial Minister -alone his own errors, and deficiencies. The other course—that of proposing a vote of want of confidence in the Ministry On account of the state of a single department—would have been far more ,agreeable to me in one respect, inasmuch as it would have relieved are from the suspicion—which, however. I trust that none who know me will entertain—of being actuated by personal hostility to Lord Glenelg. On that aecouut alone I should have much preferred moving for a vote as respects the Cabinet. But I feel that my first duty is to place the subject before the House in the light best calculated to obtain their attention ; and 'therefore have I co :dined to the Colonial Minister the proposal of a vote of censure for matters which are ex- clusively of a Colonial nature. I have very likely erred, through inexperience of the usages of Parliament and the constitution ; but I have acted according to the best of my judgment, and throw myself upon the indulgence of the House."

Sir William Molesworth concluded by moving-

" That tin liable address he prewitted to theil neigh expressim: the opinion or this House that, in the present critical state of many of her Majesty's ioceign possessions tu various parts of the world, it inessential to the nellbein4 or her Majest:t 'is Colonial empire, and Of the state and intim, taut domestic interests w Itieh tlyinunt Ott the Itu5r- rity of the colonies, that the Colutdal Minister should be is person in is host, oul,,e1,,,et forethoieht, joiletat-ot. mashy, and limiting% thin House and thn joildie may be able to plato reliance; out declarinc, a ith :,11 dentrenee to the constitotioual vrcrogatives of the Croup, that.,ier Majesty's pre,not Secretar. of State for the (Munn, does not enjoy the eon fide ot e of this House or of the country."

The motion was seconded by Mr. LEADER.

Lord PALMERSTON said, 'he should trzat the motion as an attack upon the whole 'Government ; fur such it really was, rhoegh apparently directed only against a single Minister. He ridiculed the idea of Sir

William NIolesworth origineting such a motion. Bad Sir Robert Peel, the leader of a great party in the House, been its author, he

should have been ready to state at length his objections.; but he would leave the House to judge whether in the present instance such a course was necessary. Lord Palmerston produced some speeches delivered by Sir William Molesworth and Mr. Leader in October lust, to show that they then viewed with alarm the diminution of the Ministerial majority, and the probability of the return of the Tories to office. If Sir William Molesworth now wished the Ministers to be dismissed, be would have acted with better judgment had he directed his motion against the Government as a body: The dismissal of Ministers would result from the success of his motion ; as no Ministry could allow one of its members to be made a scapegoat. He would not permit Lord Glenelg to be the solitary victim of this unhandsome and ungenerous attack. Lord Palmerston eulogized the public services of Lord Glenelg, especially his exertions in opening the commerce of the East. He alluded in a loose and general way to New South

Wales and New Zealand, and to the Report of the Committee on the Aborigines as proving that Lord Glenelg was not careless of the condition of those countries. At the -Mauritius, he said, content had succeeded to dissatisfaction. At the Cape of Good Hope, a stop had been put by Lord Glenelg to the encroachments of the settlers on the natives. Sir William Molesworth himself allowed that Lord Glenelg was not responsible for abuses at Sierra Leone. It was not true that the condition of the West Indies had not attracted the atten- tion of Ministers : it had in fact occupied very much of their thoughts. The events in Canada (luring the last few months had proved incon- testably the wisdom and success of Lord Glenelg's government of that colony. [This part of Lord Palmerston's speech provoked repeated sheers and laughter from the Opposition.L New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were now perfectly contented. lie therefore contended that Sir William Molesworth's case against Lord Glenelg had broken down. He then adverted to the effect of the motion if successful. Were the Tories ready to take office in conjunction with the Radi- cals? Could the Tories govern Ireland, with their " Kentish fire?"_ .

Perhaps Sir William Molesworth looked to a mixed Administration— to that which was called on the Coutiueut a government of fusion. Perhaps the honourable baronet might think that, when he had tri- umphed, he and the right honourable baronet the Member for Tamworth might meet upon the field of victory, and then divide the spoil ; or pus-

Bibly his noble friend the Member fur North Lancashire might be associated He would not move the previous question—he left that course to others; but would simply and plainly say " No" to Sir William Moles- worth's motion.

Mr. Ham. disapproved of the conduct of the present Administra. Lion, both on Colonial and other grounds ; but he was not disposed to

replace it by an Administration which he might condemn still more. He might have supported the motion if it bad been likely to bring a more Liberal Ministry into power ; but he would not vote the opposite party into power, and then vote them unworthy of the confidence of the country.

Lord SANDON had expected that the affairs of Canada would have been the basis of the present motion. He agreed with Lord Palmer- ston, that it should nut have been directed against Lord Glenelg alone, but against the entire Administration. Everybody who was acquainted with the distinguished talent and admirable private life of Lordbilenelg, would feel it impossible to support the motion. Ile could not vote

with Sir William Molesworth ; neither, however, could he be content. with is simple negative of his motion. He considered that the troubles

in Canada were mainly attributable to the misconduct of Ministers ;

and that they had not exhibited vigour or sagacity in preven. ting .a rebel- lion, which indirectly they had encouraged by the reception given to

the disturbers of peace in the colony, and by their support of those who encouraged them in this country. Under these eircionstancee, he should move an amendment in the shape of an address to the Queen, in which would be laid down his own principles and those of the party with whom he acted. He moved,

" That an humble address be presented to her Majesty, to express to her Ma- jesty our deep regret that the tranquillity of her Majesty's. provinces of Upper ant Lower Canada shruld have been disturbed by the wicked and treasurable designs of a disaffected party in those provinces, by which many of the !elle- bitants have been seduced into open revolt against the authority of her 31.ejeety. To assure her Majesty that we have observed with the utmost satisfaction the zeal and fidelity which have animated the loyal inhabitants of her Majesty's North American provinces; and that we cordially rejoice in the success which has attended the exertions of her Majesty's regular forces, combined with the voluntary services of her Majesty's faithful subjects: To assure her Majesty of our continued determination to and her Majesty in every cffurt which ate may be celled upon to make for the suppressiou of revolt and the complete restora- tion of tranquillity; professing at the same time, our desire to afford redress far every real grievance, mid maturely to consider such permanent arrangemen:s for the constitutien and eiwernment of the province of Lower Catetila, as alien best secure the rights and liberties and prmente Ole intere-te of all cdissee ini her ahriesty'e, soWysits in that province: 111.111114 to represent to her tjesty, that it anears to us, norm a consideration of the dOellItiellIS and con v-plalmee tel to the North American provinces, which hie tLjsnty has been g t at clotisly pleased to continutlicitto to this House, that the OiT 0 defiance I'f her 3ajesty's aittiouity in the pi ov in oes of Upper anal in der Cage.: awl the nice-

Mr. Lauouctistie observed, that the veil of mystery was at length withdrawn from the policy of the Opposition ; and it was now to be decided by the House, whether the interests of the (anvils: :-e- quired the removal of the present Ministers from power. And it was in reference to the government of Canada that this question was to be decided. Mr. Labutichere then alluded to the evident indisposition of the. Tory leaders to take the step to which they had at length been driven by pressure from behind. Ile argued, that this Canada goes- lion was the one of all others which they must have been most reluc- tant to put prominently forward. The charge of delay and irresolution could most effectually be retorted on Tory Secretaries fur the Colonies; and Sir George Murray among them. It was indeed to the misrule of the Tories, through a long period, that these difficulties were owing, the blame of which it was now sought to throw upon Lord Glenelg. Lord SraierLy denied that there had been any mystery in the pro- ceedings of the Opposition. They had no wish to take the Govern- ment by surprise—had not held any consultations with Sir William Moleswre:th.—but had naturally supposed, that one colony being in a snore critical and dangerous state than another, the motion would have had. especial reference to that colony. Ile should have thought that Ministers would have been anxious to meet this question fully and fairly, by moving a counter-resolution ; but from this bold course Ministers shrank. Lord Palmerston had made some observations

i upon the inconsistency of persons joining those who differed from them in political opinion—.

lie had also heard his noble friend lay down a position which did great credit to his ingenuity, inasmuch as it would never have entered into the brain of any other mau. '1 he noble lord had supposed that it was the inteation of honour. able gentlemen on the Opposition side of the House to (him a government by a coalition between the honourable baronet the Member for Leeds and his right honourable friend near him, the Member for Tamworth : now, be knew not whether his noble friend, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, had any intention of forming port of that Administration—(Loud cheers)—but if he did nut, his noble friend would perhaps allow him to sat, that for a much longer period than that to which his memory could go hack,'it would be the only Administration which his noble friend had not joined. (Renewed cheers.) Lord Stanley proceeded to make good the charge of negligerae and culpable delay in the management of Canadian affairs, by reference to the recent history of the province, and the conduct of Ministers since the accession of Mr. Spring Rice to office in 1/434 — He trusted that his right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer would excuse his reference to the communications which had taken place be- tween him and the Colonial Delegates. He did not charge him with wilfully w,th dam to matte up the triumvirate. , ((it IJ tihd ittudiac,-.) But what cut ious sacrifices must not the members of this triumvirate be called upon to make !—for on no principle could they act tegetter. The honourable barouet would be obliged to surrender Ireland to Orange domination ; the right honour. able baronet and his noble friend the Member for North Lancashire would have to give up their opposition to the ballot-box, and to abandon Canada to the tender mercies of Mr. Papineau and his ally Mr. Mackenzie. How then were those parties to act? Canada and Ireland were alike to be abandoned fur the sake of following in Westminster the example of Marylebonc. (Loud chcfrs.) For the sake of securing a union of the two extremes, they were to declare themselves against the only question upon which men could act with Lances and justice to the two countries.

misleading Mr. Roebuck as to the intentions entertained by the Government; Ire did not charge him with any fault in having had recourse to the experiment which he adopted of resorting to the British treasury for the amount required in Canada, resting on the faith of a subsequent repayment by the Colony. He eras willing to recognize a wide distinction, which Mr. Roebuck would not admit, between the course adopted by his right honourable friend and the draw- ing the money in the first instance out of the military chest. But he was con- vinced that the language used by Mr. Spring Rice, in his interview with Mr. Roebuck, did not place him, as the representative of the Canadian Assembly, in possession of the intentions of the Government. He believed that that inter- view was personal and verbal, and that there was no authentic record of it, nor any thing except What was communicated most probably by one of the parties who attended it with Mr. Roebuck to the Provincial Legislature. But from that communication it appeared, that there was evidently implied in the lan- uage used at the interview, that there was to be on the part of Mr. Spring Rice a very wide degree of difference between his conduct and that which Lord Stanley had previously pursued. Mr. Rice assured Mr. Roebuck that he had as much respect for the privileges of the House of Assembly as for the

privileges of the Commons, and that nothing should tempt him to =fringe upon the smallest rights or violate the least of the privileges

of the colonists. One week afterwards—the main hold which the House of Assembly had at that time upon the Government of this couutry being the non-payment of the salaries of the official servants of the Crown in the colony—Mr. Soling Rice deprived them of that hold, by paying those

salaries out of the Treasury. (Opposition cheers.) He did not believe that if at that time Mr. Rice had stated frankly to 31r. Roebuck, " I do not mean to give you an elective Legislative Council, but I do mean to pay the Culonial servants," Mr. Roebuck would have left the Colonial Office with the impres- sions that he did. (Cheers.) There was also ambiguity and irresolution in the conduct of the Go. sernuuut with respect to the instructions given to the three Commis- sioners sent out to Canada. Ministers refused a copy of those instruc- tions to Mr. Roebuck, but they were afterwards published by Sir Francis Head; and then it appeared, that Ministers were nut entitled to the praise of having adopted a conciliatory policy ; and Mr. Roe- buck and his friends justly complained that they had been paltered with and duped. What Mr. Spring Rice would have done had be remained in office, did not appear to his successor— When he (Lord Stanley) went out of office in Mt, he left to Mr. Rice who succeeded hint every paper, piddle or private, ci tinected with the Colonial ad- ministration in his possession. His private secretary became Mr. Itice'e private secretary also; and every paper marked "private" which came into his (Enid Stanley's) possession was transmitted through the private secretary to the right hosemeable gelitleinau'e office. Mr. Rice left his office of Colonial Secretary on the 15th of November following; and, unfortunately, the change of Govern- meut welt place on the very day when his right honourable friend's first despatch was prepared. This was, undoubtedly, most unfortunate; and he could state this feet in addition, that the tight honourable gentleman did nut have to his successor one single statement containing any account of what was to have been the nature of those instructions. Lord Aberdeen came into office in November Its64, and remained in until the April following. In the course of a very short time after he mistimed the office of Colonial Secretary he drew to it meet able urinrte, mating what had passed, and what he had done in reference to vat ions points of Canadian legislation. Ile prepared instructions for Lord Amlierst—delinite instructions—stating what to reincede and what not —giving hint authority to go a certain length, and no further—declaring what she mini of the Government was, and desiring him to offer those terms in the most conciliatory inamier. Lord Aberdeen went out of office in April 1835; lest he did nut take his instructions with hint ; he left them with his signature affixed to them in the Colonial Office, that his successor might see what his intention was; so that Lord Glenelg had the double ritivantaTe of knowing what the course of policy ;ntried by Isis predecessor Led been, and of Lying able to appeal to one of his colleagues for the definite instructions which but fur the unfortunate accident of November would have been signed and sealed.

Lord Stanley went on to state, that the conduct of Government had ken tantalizing in the extreme to the Assembly of Lower Canada ;

whom they threatened with arbitrary measures, at the time that they strenuously supported at the election candidates in England who were distinguished as the advocates of the Assembly. On a view of the entire question, he could not avoid the conclusion that Ministers had been ambiguous in their language and vacillating and irresolute in their conduct.

Sir CHART.ES GRI:Y next addressed the House at great length ; but be spoke in so weak a tone, and the talking was so constant during the delivery of his speech, that only a very imperfect notion of what he said could he collected ; and in the newspaper reports of the speech no new or original tact or opinion can be discovered. The scope of his address was to defend the Canadian policy of the Government which bad appointed himself one of the three Commissioners.

At the conclusion of Sir Charles Grey's speech, the debate was adjourned, on the motion of Mr. BROTHERTON.

It was opened on Wednesday by Mr. LEADER; who defended Sir William Molesworth from the charge brought against him by Lord Palmerston, of having treated Lord Glenelg in an unhandsome and ungenerous manner. Such language was at variance with the principle of Ministerial responsibility. It was also idle to refer to speeches delivered last year, (but garbled in the quotation by Lord Palmerston,) for the purpose of founding a charge of inconsistency against Mem- bers who were then disposed to support, but were now compelled to • oppose, Ministers. It was since those speeches were delivered that Lord John Russell had made his famous declaration, and that Minis. tins had adopted a policy—for instance, the extravagant Civil List— nut distinguishable front that of the Tories. With respect to the amendment, it was quite impossible that he or any gentleman of simi- lar opinions on the Canadian question, could vote for it. The unfor- tunate Canadians were branded in very harsh terms, on account of their failure; whereas, if they had been successful, they would have been held up to the world as worthy successors of the patriots of the United States. Whatever else might be the result of the motion, it would at least have called attention to Colonial subjects, and so far be productive of benefit.

Mr. T. B. H011110USE contended, that there was a very material dif- ference between the policy of Ministers and the Tory Opposition. Ile would oppose the amendment, for several reasons, and chiefly be- cause it would renew the hopes of the rebels by flattering them with hopes of schism.

Mr. WARBURTON thought, that in the discussion of a matter of this lied there ought to be 110 admixture of party polities—

It was he (pinion that the discussion and the decision of a question each --

ti

that ought not to proceed upon grounds tending to criminate this Adminis

thin or that, but rather go to the general merits of the question. He could ant therefore give any support to the motion. Belonging to the party in the Hoot! which he dill—if lie might speak of the Radical Reformers as a party—heA„ at least a Radical Member, he regretted this difference with his honourable friend, Yet he still could not give such a motion his support. As he had risen to lay so much, he would now set himself right with the House on one point. He 1114 been spoken of as an individual opposed to the acquisition and continued pis, session of colonies. That certainly was a gross mistake—he had never up any opinions of the kind: on the contrary, he thought colonies highly flea,. tageous to such a country as England. He rejoiced to see measures taken for cultivating wastes, for civilizing tribes of barbarians, and for extending the commercial relations of this country. But this he did say, that all coloniel rose from infancy to manhood ; that in proportion as they enjoyed strength, se did they desire to exercise their strength ; and he had always thought, and still continued to think, that resistance to such exercise of strength ought to be offered with the utmost caution, and ought to be governed by a liberal consider, ation for the feelings and circumstances of the colonists. He should now mite an observation on the amendment of the noble lord the Member for Liverpool. To that amendment he was decidedly opposed as well as to the original motion. The first part of the amendment made a close approximation to the resolutions of the 16th of January, which the noble lord, the leader of that House, pro. posed to them: the chief difference between the resolutions and the amend. anent was, that the one party found fault with the other fur not carrying the ntain principle of the policy respecting Canada into full effect. Now he 'vu at a lois to see how he, who had resisted the resolutions, could with consistency agree to the amendment. Mr. LITTON descanted on the evils of Whig rule in Ireland ; and assured the House, that under a Conservative Government there would be a much better administration of the laws.

Mr. JOHN DUNLOP defended Ministers from the charge of bavingtoe small a body of troops in Canada.

Sir FREDERIcK TRENCH referred to the Hue and Cry for proof that Ireland was in u turbulent condition.

Mr. DILLON Buowten declined a discussion on Irish affairs. With respect to the question before the House, he was unwilling to aid the Tories to remove the present Ministers, as he could not suppose that Sir Robert Peel would form a more Liberal Government.

Mr. TANCRED resisted the motions and the amendment ; for he had known Lord Glenelg from his college days, and could affirm that he had always maintained the highest character in every respect.

Mr. Rica said, that the matter for the consideration of the House was " not the trumpery question of Canada—he called it trumpery because it had been already settled.' The real question at issue was the substitution of a Tory for a Reform Government. The object of the motion was a dirty, mercenary scramble for office. The coming division would show the country, that the object of the Conservatives, who preached moderation, was really agitation. Mr. Rich dwelt for some time on the difficulties that a lory Ministry must encounter. It could not be denied that the success of the amendment would involve with it a dissolution of the House.

Mr. PRAED disclaimed, on the part of the Conservatives, all desire to catch Radical votes. Had such been their design, it would have been very easy to have smoothed down the phraseology of the amend. ment. The division. lists would show on which side there was a era. tion of men holding incompatible opinions. For his own part, he could have supported the motion itself, if the amendment, which he pre- ferred, had not been proposed.

Sir GEORGE GREY remarked, that Sir William Molesworth's speech bud taken gentlemen opposite by surprise. They had come down to the House laden with documents and speeches on the subject of Ca- nada, to which Sir William Molesworth's speech only contained a passing allusion. Great was the disappointment arid astonishment de. picted in the faces of these gentlemen, at the discovery that their pre. nitration for the debate had been thrown away ; and it was some time before Lord Sandon could summon courage to propose his cut-and-dry amendment. He desired it to be distinctly borne in mind, that the amendment called upon the House to condemn the conciliatory, not the coercive policy of Ministers. Sir George then entered into a detailed defence of the conduct of Ministers towards Canada ; imputing to want of foresight and mismanagement in their Tory predecessors all the difficulties which had arisen in the colony. At the time when the present Government came into office, a spirit of discontent and disaffec- tion prevailed in all the North American Colonies. Lord Glenelg, by pursuing a wise and conciliatory system, had produced satisfaction in Nets Brunswick ; the Assembly of which province had passed resolu- tions of thanks to his Lordship, and requested to have his portrait to be placed in the Assembly-room. On this incident Sir George founded a facetious remark- " I must congratulate the House on the prospect of the unbounded Baden. tinn which must be entertained by the loyal inhabitants of this province (and they have certainly given ample proof of their loyalty within the last two months) if the motion of my noble friend the Member for Liverpool be trans• mined to the Colony, accompanied with the statement that he or some of his friends were to replace my noble friend Lord Glenelg as Secretary for the Cole. nies. And as the honourable baronet the Member for Leeds poured out impre- cations of ad sorts of evils against the Government, and ended his imprecations by a prayer for the disgrace and defeat of her Majesty's troops in defending our forth American possessions, and as he is now still more to be congratulate', as one who has put himself forward as the assertor of the safety and security of the Colonies, and as a man preeminently anxious to cement and maintain our Colonial coallexions, by means directly the reverse of those pointed out in the resolutions of the Colonists themselves, I have no doubt but that we shall soon hear of a m Pion for iininediately substituting a full-length portrait of the ho- nourable baronet—if it could be taken—in the position in which he made his appearance on the floor of the House last night, when be delivered his cut-and- dry speech, which was conceived in a total ignorance of proceedings published in the Carnelian newspapers, and when he would lead the House to suppose that his motion contained a position which was universally admitted."

Sir George contended, that the real object of the Opposition was to place the Government, not of the Colonies, but of Ireland, in other bands. A Government formed and conducted by Sir Robert Peel might, if deprived of its supporters, be acceptable to gentlemen on the Ministerial side of the House ; but though Sir Robert Peel might be at the hea I of that Administration, Lord Stanley would be its pre- siding and pervading genius.

Mr, GLADSTONE remarked, that Sir George Grey had concluded with an "peel to party feelings, which might cover defective reasonings d imperfect statements. The Conservatives had not availed them- irelvm of the means which might have been made available to secure a tY triumph. They might have met and agreed upon a vague resolu- tiPar for the purpose of overthrowing the Government. Such a course, irinerehended, would not have been without a precedent. It would have 'build a most exact analogy in the conduct of noble lords and honourable gentlemen who now occupied the Ministerial benches. gfr. Gladstone argued that the policy of the Conservatives was marked dissensions nthing but eagerness to avail themselves of troubles abroad or at home to gain office. They were accused by Sir George Grey of opposing, for a factious object, the Ministerial policy which they had recently sanctioned. What was the meaning of that ?— He and his party had certainly concurred with her Majesty's Government in a vote to her Majesty, expressive of their desire to put down revolt in the Cando; and they had also further concurred in a bill for the temporary settlement of the affairs of that. colony ; but with regard to that very bill, what was the simple fact? Did he and his party agree to that bill in the form it was reposed by her Majesty's Ministers; or did her Majesty's Government agree to that bill as it was afterwards altered by his party? ( Opposition cheers.) Never within his recollection was a bill more materially altered in its progress than this very measure. But what was most remarkable in the speech of the honourable Under Secretary was, that he spoke of this very measure as if it effected the final settlement of the question. Whereas, what was the real state of the case? Why, that the Government had by it obtained another delay. Her Majesty's Government, however, was so accustomed to deal upon the prin- ciple of procrastination, that even the acute mind of the Under Secretary was loot in the distinction between settlement and procrastination —(Opposition laughter and c/ieers)—and because they had put off the hour of reckoning to a future day, he talked of the question as settled. (Renewed cheers.)

Mr. SPRING RICE complimented Mr. Gladstone on the absence of acerbity from his tone and language. He wished he could pass a simi-

lar eulogium on Lord Stanley. To that noble lord's attention he would recommend the concluding expression in a panegyric of a great statesman—" He lost no friends." Unless it was on -account of his long habits of intimacy with Lord Stanley, Mr. Rice was quite at a loss to know why lie should have been selected as his victim— On a former occasion, it was true, be had been the subject of attack from the noble lord ; but this lie reconciled to himself by the circumstance that the sub- ject to which the discussion referred belonged particularly to his department. But why on the present occasion he was signalled out for the rancour of the noble lord, he repeated he was wholly at a loss to understand. The noble lord wu not, he believed, altogether embarked in the same boat with Mr. Roebuck ; but nevertheless, he had contended that though Mr. Rice was not to blame on the grounds stated by Mr. Roebuck, he had not expressed himself with suffici- ent distinctness in the interview with the Canadian Delegates. " Why did you," observed the noble lord, "allow the Delegates to leave you without stating st once to them your opinions on the subject of Elective Councils?" Now, to judge of the whole of the case, he hail but to ask the House to judge of the noble lord's accusation under this head. He had accepted office but a very few days antecedent to the interview ; and not having the happy knack possessed by the noble lord of jumping to a conclusion without considering the premises— not having those same powers of immediate decision which au unfortunately for himself marked the career of the noble lord—he had not the daring presumption to turn round to the Delegates and tell them, on his own responsibility, that the question of an Elective Council was absolutely decided. Hail he done so, though he might have established a claim to the support of the noble lord, he should have deservedly lost ground in the estimation of every man of common sense in the country. Instead of doing this, he told the Deputies that lie had but just received the seals of effice, and that he would deliberate on the point before coming to any decision respecting it. " But then," said the noble lord, "you dill deliberate ; and the result of your deliberation was, that at the end of five months," being the preciae period of his remaining in office, "you did frame a despatch which you proposed to send out, but which despatch you have never thought proper to produce in any shape."

Now he could not with any propriety have left that despatch in the Colonial Office. It was to have been an act of the Cabinet, and had not been submitted to the Cabinet when Ministers left office. He

belived it was quite contrary to the usual practice for Ministers to leave behind them documents which might mislead (!) their successors

as to the opinions of the retiring Government. The charge of vacil- lation—of not knowing their own minds—came with a bad grace from Lord Stanley, who in settling the West India question changed a loan of fifteen millions into a donation of twenty millions. Ministers were taunted with being in minorities ; but he would ask how often the Tories when in power had been beaten on divisions ?— He did not allude to the short and brilliant course of the right honourable bareeet opposite, when he endeavoured, though unsuccessfully, to make a stand spies* the general opinion of the country—he alluded to the good old times of Lord Liverpool's Administration. He would state a few of the defeats of the Tabs at that period. Did they recollect how they were beaten on the Queen's trial? Did they recollect how they were beaten on the question of the Property- lax? Did they recollect how they were beaten on the question of the Salt-tax ? Did they recollect how they were beaten on the question of the Postmasters-Gene- ral? Doi they recollect how they were beaten on the question of the Lords of the Admiralty? Did they recollect how they were beaten on the question of the reduction of the public expenditure? Did they recollect how they were beaten to the question of improvements in the criminal law, introduced by the late Sir James Mackintosh ? On all those questions the Tories had been beaten by majorities ; and he could go through a much longer list of beatings which they had sustained ; and yet they had retained office. He stated this in order to warn young Members against indulging too fondly in hopes raised by two or three divisions agv.inst a Government.

Lord STANI ey, amidst much interruption, attempted to explain some portion of hi, speech, which Mr. Spring Rice appeared to have mis- understood • but the explanations, us reported, are scarcely intelligible, and not important.

Lord howice said, he had formerly stated as a reason for not placing eonfideece in Sir Hubert Peel's Government, that the affairs of Canada Were iatrusted to Lord Aberdeen ; but he had since had an opportunity of seeing Lord Aberdeen's despatches, and could state that they were Written in a spirit of liberality which was very highly to the noble lord's credit.

Sir ROBERT Peet. observed, that Mr. Spring Rice laid down an ex traordinary principle, when he assumed that because Lord Stanley ex- pressed disapprobation of his conduct as a Minister, he violated the friendly feelings which had hitherto subsisted between them. Mr. Rice's conduct was fairly open to remarks, which were offered by Lord Stanley in no unfriendly spirit-

" Let me ask the right honourable gentlemen, was it perfectly decorous in him to charge my noble friend with misconduct in the Colonial department, when he was himself a member of the same Government with my noble friend? Your doctrine now is, that the whole of the Government is responsible for the act of any particular member of it. If that doctrine be well founded, with whatdecency do you, who were the colleagues of my noble friend, attribute to him improper conduct in his administration of the duties of the Colonial de- par tment ? With what decency can you charge my noble friend with improper conduct, when you, according to your own showing, shared in the responsibi- lity of every thing he did? (Much cheerio-,.) Who was it that, after expe- rience of his conduct in Ireland—who was it that called my noble friend to ad- minister the affairs of the Colonial department at the very moment when the most important measure ever connected with that department was about to be submitted to Parliament? And do you quarrel now with my noble friend upon the subject of the Colonies ? Did you then feel all the evils which you now profess to feel as arising from his promptitude and decision? if you had such a feeling in your mind, why did you not at once declare that you would not share in his responsibility ? Why do you now conic forward complaining of despatches which you say ought not to have been sent out, and to the sending out of which you attribute all the evils that have arisen in Canada ? Would it not have been more becoming in you to have refused your sanction to the send- ing out of those despatches in the first inatance, than now, after the lapse of four years, to bring forward that act of my noble friend as a matter of compfaint when your own conduct is impugned. Was it upon the subject of Irish policy or of Colonial policy that your union with my noble friend terminated ? Was it not on uccouot of his steady and consistent adherence to principles which he declared he would never cease to follow? And when he left your Government, did you not all, una race, admit that your chief pride and ornament had left you'? Did you not all feel that you had lost bins who had rescued you from a hundred difficulties, with which but for his powerful aid you were unable to cope? Did you not all feel that you had lost the most powerful support of your Government ? I pay you the compliment of believing that you felt all Shim, because I know you said it." fleiteratstl cheering.) The amendment required no apology. It expressed the real opi- nions of those who proposed it. It made no truckling compromise of principles for the sake of swelling the numbers of a division. Sir Hobert defended the conduct of his Administration towards Canada; and went into a variety of details to make good the charge of vacilla- tion, negligence, and want of foresight against the present Ministers. Not one Member who had spoken, except Ministers themselves, had one word to say respecting the charge of vacillation. Mr. Spring Rice had raked up old &vicious to show how much beating a Ministry might endure, consistently with its maintenance in office—

The light honourable gentleman had no doubt been looking back, while suf- fering under the stripes which he received in the course of the last week, in which he thought that the Government had been defeated in four out of five divisions, and wisely and philosophically, not mourning over his lot, or showing any symptom of impatience under affliction, had said, " I will apply myself for coniolation to the records of other beatings; and as 1 do find that other Go- vernments have been defeated, even on the question of a salt-tax, I will be com- forted." (Loud laughter and cheers.) lie could allow gentlemen opposite an instance of a man's remaining in office under auccesaive defeats ; but notwith- standing that tenacity of life under severe inflictions for which the present Government was distinguished—a tenuity of which, lie was willing to admit, he had when in office, from a sense of duty, himself exhibited an eminent example—he was afraid that the gentlemen on the Treasury bench hardly could survive the blow of a present defeat. But Mr. Rice had said, how could the Opposition presume to come forward, seeing that they were unable to form Government? He would tell him, that being compelled to come to a decision, his first question, seeing that they were forced to give an opinion on the Cana- dian policy of the Government, was with reference to the course most befitting the honour of the great Conservative party, in vindicating their heretofore ex- pressed opinions on the subject of the misconduct of the Government. " The honourable baronet brings forward his motion, expressing a want of confidence in the Fitment Colonial Secretary. What would the right honourable gentle- man have had me do? Would he have had me absent myself from the House altogether? I may be compelled to avoid giving a vote, when I cannot conscientiously approve of the decision, whichever way it may turn ; but this is what I will never do—stay away from the House when a question is brought on on which I can pronounce my honest opinion. I never will do that; I will not be guilty of slinking away from the House in order to avoid giving a vote when 1 can do so. That course was not open to me. Would the right ho- nourable gentleman have had me move the previous question? (Loud laughter.) Alas ! you have so damaged the t previous question,' that for same time to come the previous question will hardly show its face again. (Renewed laughter and cheers.) After the use which you made of the previous question in the course of last week, bad I any encouragement afforded me to take that course? And what would you have said had I moved the previous question for the pur- pose of shielding you from a vote of censure?"

Why did not Ministers themselves move a counter-resolution " The honourable baronet gave them so fair an opportunity, that I cannot but wonder that flesh and blood did not prevail with friends so attached to make them bring forward such a resolution. I now invite them to do so ; and per- haps they will adopt my suggestion, as they did my amendments on the Quads hill—and this I will promise on the part of my noble friend (Lord Landon),

that if the noble lord opposite will abandon the course which he said be should adopt, and move a resolution flattering to his noble friend the Secretary for the Colonies, we will waive our resolution and tight the battle on that ground. (Cheers.) If you will not, what are we to do ? The motion of the honoura- ble baronet the Member for Leeds, says, that it is essential to the wellbeing of

her Majesty's Colonial empire, and of' many and important domestic interests which depend on the prosperity of the Colonies, that the Colonial Minister should be a person in whose diligence, forethought, judgment, activity, and firm- ness, this House and the public may be able to place reliance.' You are going to negative that? I sun not surprised at it. (Laughter and cheers.) The suggestion of qualities is sometimes the most unfortunate thing in the world for one's friends. It is, however, somewhat hard that you should be obliged togwe that part of the motion a negative. Bat then, the motion goes on to say, that her Majesty's present Secretary of State for the Colonies does not enjoy the confidence of this House or of the country.' Now, I think that the ooble lord ought to move to leave out these latter words, and insert the following

in their place—' And seeing that the noble lord at the head of the Colonial des pertinent does unite in himself those various qualities of diligence, forethought,

judgment, activity, and firmness, he does enjoy the confidence of the House and

of the country ; and this House is of opinion that the affairs of the Colonies ought to continue to be administered by the noble lord.' Laughter and cheers.)

That is the amendment which 1 suggest fur the noble Imola consider/Mon. That being dune, we will withdraw our own resolution, and contest the reso- lution of the noble lord. And observe, the noble lord has recent and powerful precedents in favour of that course. When a member of the Opposition at- tacked the Spanish policy of Mr. Cutting, be did not move the previous ques-

tion, or meet the it W.111% direct negative, but he proposed at:minter-reso-

lution. That, I believe, is the !sat precedent of the kiud. The noble lord, however, having gone over the whole terraqueous globe for the purpose of pay- ing s compliment to his noble friend, assuming a bold attitude of defiance, said, * I will move no previous question ; I leave that to others ; I will meet the mo- tion with a flat negative.' (Laughter and cheers.) I will not, however, ask you to go so far as I at first suggested. butt do try a resolution implying but the faintest approbation of this unhappy victim."

Lord JOHN RussEtr. maintained that the conduct of Sir Robert Peel was most extraordinary. He now, in unmitigated language, con- demned the conduct of the Colonial Secretary, although very recently be concurred in giving extraordinary powers to that member of the Government, without expressing any disapprobation of his past conduct, or want of confidence in his future management of the Colonies. Sir William Molesworth had travelled round the terraqueous globe to find materials for his attack on Lord Glenelg; but Lord Sandon, taking no notice of the Mauritius, New Zealand, New South Wales, or the West Indies, bad fastened upon the Canadian policy of Ministers, which had been sanctioned by his own party. He believed that the present movement of the Opposition was the result of Sir Robert Peel's want of power to control his own supporters. The conduct of the Tories realized an observation made in the olden time, that "parties, like serpents, were moved by their tails." (Roars of laughter front the Opposition.) Never before had a motion, leading to the re- moval of a Ministry, been brought forward on grounds so slight— He would refer to a precedent for the purpose of showing under what circum- stances an individual of great name, connected with a great party' had brought forward a charge very similar. During the American war, Lord John Caven- dish brought forward a resolution condemnatory of the conduct of 'Ministers, which he proposed in the House on the 8th of March 1782, and which was to the following effect—" First, that it appeared to the House, that since the year 1775, upwards of 100,000,0001. sterling had been expended in the pro- secution of a fruitless war against America; secondly, that during:three pro- ceedings England had lost thirteen colonies in North America; thirdly, that it appeared that Great Britain had been engaged in an expensive war with France,

Spain, and Holland, without being aided herself by one single ; and,

(mark how closely this resembled the present motion,) that the chief cause of all these untoward events was the want of foresight, activity, and pi udence on the part of his Majesty's Ministers." If, indeed, the resolutions in the present instance were formed completely after this model, what would be the result? First, that the expenses incurred by this country for her Colonial government were increased perhaps by half a million sterling by her successful resistance to a revolt ; secondly, that that successful resistance of her Majesty's arms had preserved to the Crown an old and valuable colony; thirdly, that this country was now in a state of peace with all the great Powers of Europe and the world. (Load cheers from the Ministerial benches.) The result would then, in the present instance, be precisely opposite to the result in the precedent which he quoted ; and looking to precedent, how could a vote of censure be applied with propriety in the present instance, where every circumstance was so totally dis- similar to the circumstances muter which a similar vote was proposed with reference to the American war, to which this Canadian revolt had been so often improperly assimilated ? What, then, was the case of honourable gentlemen opposite? That the rebellion had been successful? No. That it had not been met by a successful resistance? No. That any improper concessions had been made? By no means. Their case was this—and it was one which they had not made out by any proof, whether documentary or otherwise—that by some different course of policy a revolt would have been prevented. Now, here Ministers were placed, as it were, in the difficulty of proving a negative; for was it not almost impossible to prove that there might not hate been iu the whole circle of human conduct some one act which might not by possibility have been bettered? But he would gay, that, looking at the conduct of limner Government*, at the whole course of the Colonial policy of this empire, and at the difficulties in which the present Ministry had been placed by the acts of former Governments, the conduct which Ministers had pursued was not charge- able with want of foresight, activity, or prudence.

Allusion hail been made to Lord Stanley's conduct while Colonial Secretary- " I must own for my part, knowing, as every one does know, that a certain portion of the measures of Government depend on the decisions of the C 'billet, and that another portion must depend upon the particular measures taken by the Minister who has the charge of the department—I feel fir wore comfortable in reflecting that Lord Glenelg is my colleague, than I did when my noble friend the Member for North Lancashire was at the head of the Colonial depart- ment. (Ministerial cheers.) I must confess that when my noble friend was at the head of the Colonial department, concurring as I did in his measures, and willing, as far as was possible, to assent to any thing which he proposed ; yet, when I remember that such terms and phrases were used by my noble friend in the business of his department with reference to popular assemblies, and !more especially when I remember that, with regard to an assembly which represented the people, my noble friend used the complimentary terms of charging them with egregious vanity—when I remember that these terms were used in my noble friend's department, and when I remember likewise my having bad the misfortune to differ from my noble friend on many questions of Irish policy—thinking, as is now notorious to the world, that toy noble friend's measures with regard to his Irish policy tended to inflame and to exasperate the people—I alway had some misgivings, that my noble friend and colleague, who had produced so little good in Ireland, might not be more fortunate in the Colonies ; and I said to myself, May I not have the misery of suffering the responsibility of seeing those consequences flow from his measures in the Colo- nies which I have already seen in Ireland I' (Ministerial cheers.) That I differed from my noble friend in respect of the affairs of Ireland, has become notorious to the world; and there is no reason, from any conduct which he has pursued towards me any more than towards any of his former colleagues, which should induce me now to withhold my opinion with respect to his policy in governing the affairs of this great empire. (Load cheers.) I had hoped certainly that those differences were confined to the subject of the Irish Church. I hid hoped that, having arisen from the opinions early conceived by my noble friend with respect to the Irish Church, those differences were out such as to affect the general principles of administration. But I own, from what I have seen since--I do own that I think that my noble friend's leaving that party with which he was at first connected, and joining that to which he is now attached, justifies me in saying, that by birth, family, and education, my noble friend naturally belonged to the great Whig and Liberal party of this country, but that, when lie came to discuss political affairs, the tendency of his prin- ciples and opinions led him naturally and inevitably into the ranks of those with whom he is now associated." (Ministerial cheers.)

If Sir William Molesworth pressed his motion to a division, be should certainly feel it his duty to meet it with a direct negative ; but he put it to Sir William, whether, as he must have perceived that he had not succeeded in obtaining much support for his motion, he would not

L93167

Majority for Ministers 29 The announcement of the numbers was received with loud cheetah the Ministerialists.z The House adjourned at a quarter past three oi Thursday morning.

THE SLAVE-TRADE IN THE EAST.

Lord Boot:Glum, on Tuesday, called the attention of time Lords to the Order in Council issued on the 12th of July 1837, authorizing tit deportation of British subjects in the East Indies to British Gniani.

Six weeks ago he bad given what appeared to him to be cogent resent for the repeal of that " order ;" but his suggestions had been unavnl. ing. It could not be said, as bad been most impudently and WWI asserted respecting his conduct on the Canadian question, that he colt gave warning after the mischief had occurred. It was necessary, silk it view to put the subject fairly before the House, to trace the hitioty of slavery from early times to the present. Lord Brougham accord. inely detailed the leading facts connected with the slave-trade and the efforts made to suppress it in modern times,—efforts which, he said, would be counteracted by the Order in Council of July 1837; for no " order " would encourage the traffic in those very regions where at

greatest difficulty was found in putting an end to it. The Orden Council did little for the protection of the labourers whose removal it sanctioned— It specified na amount of tonnage, no proportion of slaves, no height beta's, decks, no quantity of water to be found, no:amount of provision to be provided:

all was left to the discretion of the parties interested, who were to pay da attention to the observance of sonic few specified particulars. Let this be ma. trasted with an emigrant ship about to leave the shores of England. The ship was ready to sail from the Thames, the Mersey, or the Severn—she was too:* vey a number of skilful, industrious, well-informed workmen from the Amid Englautl, either to some neighbouring country, or perhaps to some dhow

colony. tier crew on board, her flag hoisted, her anchor speak, her sails ea furled, the breeze favourable, every individual passenger on board more satiow to go than the captain to take him. Shall she go? all her sails are full, sue that rote which, dangling loosely from the yard, intimates that she is ready to go if she may be permitted. Shall she go ?—No : the act of Parliament intas fetes to prevent her. The act of Parliament says she must stay to be examined. The act of Parliament says, " Come ashore, you captain, and show that you art fit to commatel this vessel—come ashote, you surgeon, and show by your tn. timonials from Surgeons flail that you are qualified to take charge of the liver of human beings—conesashore, you crew, and prove that you are qualified to work such a ship." At least, however, it might be supposed that the eel. grants may remain on board. Bet still the act of Parliament says 1113: Rid rite act (:t say±, "Conte ashore, you emigrants, and the Kings officers shall marshal you, and shall inquire into every one of your cases."

These were the precautions taken for the welfare of Englishmen, but what said Lord Glenelg's " order?"—

K moving what the law in EroTland was—knowing that no vessel could lean an English port with a single p rtsenger on hosed, although with his own con- sent, u !IOW in to the proper authorities, under is penalty of 5001.—knoit log ill :hi, his while friend issued an Order in Courted enabling thousands of hewn ings to he shipped off trout the Ganges, as well as from the nameless rivets that abounded en the East coast of Africa, on the borders of which there cu not only no customhouse. but where, with the exception of the cringer of Alit and our own sla ve-traders. and the slave-traders of Portugal and Spain, or footstep of European could be traced. withdraw it, and allow Lord Sandon's amendment to be put u $0. stuntive question, so that gentlemen opposite should have no pretext for saying that their amendment had not been fairly and directly met Sir WILLIAM MOLES WORTH acceded to this proposition. He mid not himself, however, vote for or against the amendment: he could sot vote against it, because it censured the Government in respect torte affairs of Canada—nor for it, because it censured harshly and unfairlyot people whose cause he had endeavoured to support in that House, The House divided—

For Lord Sandon 's amendment Against it These Asiatics, who would be happy to engage themselves for fire years for a handful of rice and a pinch of pepper a day, were to.be brought into competition with the Negroes, who would gain their fres-

dom in 1840. Was this fair towards the latter ? But the House should consider the consequences to the Asiatics themselves and toths natives of the East coast of Africa, who were equally liable to depor- tation. 'lime supply of slaves to be obtained from these countries was most agrecable to time planters of the Mauritius. They had not been so happy since the halcyon days when 25,000 felonies had been com- mitted in their island; and a Mr. Letord, a Creole, had proposed to Governor Nicolay, a scheme for the purchase of 20,000 Africans for the cultivation of the plantations. Lord Brougham would defy any- body to prove that the plan was not practicable under Lord Glenelg's " order ; " though Governor Nicolay bad politely declined to sanction it. There was, however, a provision for preventing the deportation of labourers without, their consent ; and this wise provision was, that if the indentures were not witnessed by two Magistrates on the coast of Africa, or in the adjoining islands, they should be void— Why, the ships had only to go to the Mauritius, where there were plenty of Magistrates, every one of whom would be glad to be an intermediate slave- trader. The individuals in question would be brought from licsambiquele the Mauritius, and would thence be taken to Guiana ; by which means all dif- ficulty and danger would be avoided. And besides, were there not the Bra,lf• and Rio Janeiro, and Monte Video, and the Ilavanna, at every one of which a dozen Magistrates might be obtained at a moment's notice? Yet all the pro- vision which this notable order made against abuse wee, that the indentures must be witnessed before two Magistrates. Let their Lordships now look a little at what had taken place in the Mauritius, and at the manner in which the beenmade to the natives of Asia, who had been induced to go thither, had been observed. In this examination on that subject, which had taken placeky the order of the Government of Calcutta, a witness, in answer to a qrwritica whether any discontent bad been exhibited by the Indian labourers, said that there had ; and fur this reason, that in their own country they were happy with their wives and families; that in consideration of a small increase of wages they had been induced to leave their own country ; but that they found that, instead of any addition to their comfort, the reverse was the case, and they were therefore uneasy and discontented.

What was the evidence of the sufferings of these Asiatics on their voyage to Guiana ?—

• 0,e• vessel, the William Wilson, left Calcutta with 224 slavee. What was before she accomplished her voyage ? Out of the 224 embarked, the mortality than 131 died victims of the pestilential atmosphere they were made to re''teb in the vessel's hold. The Adelaide, another vessel, left with 72 slaves; those died on the passage. Great as had been the horrors detailed in (14 d hates in Parliament during the years from 17.3i to 1791, horrors which a; thetime were not believed, they had been surpassed by the statement., the uncontratlicted, and therefore it was to be presumed uncontrailietable rumt y state- lit in these Guiana slaves of late years. When they found reels of the that those statements were to the effect that a slave-vessel was supposed to make a pro5table trip when she brought into port one-half or one-third of her wretched cargo, could there be a doubt of the absolute necessity of at once re-

'L i

re- storing the former discouragement to this horrid traffic, or, at all events, of taking a

ydia encouragement which be contended the Order of the 12th of January gave to those embarked in it?

For more than a quarter of a century he had been the advocate of the abolition of slavery— a have stood forth at all times, since I arrived at man's estate, as its chem. ,i0,—se its zealous, active, and eager, but, God knows, its feeble and humble champion; 1 have been assisted in this object by the greatest luminaries the country ever produced, whether in the senate or at the bar, elevated to the ermine or still practising in the forum; with them I have followed in the wee course the some object ; and we all hoped—those who are now no Rim and those who still survive to venerate their names, and follow, as far as possible, their footsteps—that we had succeeded in putting down, and that for ever, the monster traffic in human flesh. With such feelings, my Lords, I could not rest on toy couch when I sew this Order in Council. I did not re- quire to be visited by those friends of whom I have spoken ; I did not need to be roused to action by the agitation of public meetings; nor did the multiplied wheat' ion+ of disinterested patriotism and pure and pious philanthropy con- toute the sole inducements I had to come forward. No, my Lords, I could eat slumber without seeing before me the visions of those great and good men who had passed away, who appeared unable to taste their own repose, and for- bade me the aid of rest until I should lend my feeble assistance to chase away the monster Slave-trade into that den to which their more powerful efforts had condemned it, as they had hoped, fur ever. If, my. Lords, it be not given

'

to us to imitate their ttauseendant virtue., and to tread in the footsteps. of their ploty, at least let us taste the deepest and most substantial of their joys, and paste in the sunshine of their approving inward conscience—a sunshine on which no action of theirs ever cast a shade, by uniting together for the achieve- ment of the great object of their devoted lives—the diffusion of that most tiered blessing, liberty, throughout the globe."

Lord Brougham concluded by moving,

6, That the Order in Council of the 12th of July 1837, was passed for the purpose of enabling the proprietors of Guiana to import into that colony, as apprenticed labourers, the natives of countries within the limits of the Emit Podia Company's charter, before was known that any law had been enacted is India for their protection, and has been suffered to remain in force after it was known that the law e.nacted in India of the 1st of May 1837, and trans. milted by a despatch of the 7th of June, is wholly insufficient to afford them w eb protection as is required, and to prevent the evils to which such traffic is exposed, while there are no means of preventing the greatest abuses from being practiaed, both in Asia and in Africa, under colour of the traffic which it is the professed object of the Order in Council to facilitate and encourage."

Lord GLENEIG said, that he would briefly state the history of the transaction which had been so eloquently and dextrously brought ander their consideration by Lord Brougham. The old law of Guiana admitted the importation of labourers without any restriction. In 1836, a law was passed in the colony to regulate and restrict the terms on which the labourers were to be imported. He objected to that law, because it proposed a period of seven years' employment, which he thought too long ; also because it did not forbid the im- portation of Africans, and did not make any distinct regulation: respect- ing Negroes from West Indian Slave Colonies. He proposed a reduc- tion of the term of employment from seven to three years ; and if the labourer could prove that his employer bad been compensated at an

earlier period, then his emancipation was to commence earlier. With respect to labourers from the West Indian Colonies, be proposed that their term of employment should not exceed one year. The law placed the labourers under the protection of the Sheriffs and Justices of the provinces ; and it was altered so as to transfer the duty of pro. Meting them to the Magistrates appointed under the Slavery Abolition Act; further, the importation of labourers from the continent of Africa, and the islands on the African coast inhabited by Negroes, was prohibited. With these alterations, the law was sent back to the colony. Shortly afterwards, an application was made to extend the term of employment of Indian labourers to five years, on the ground that a shorter term would not reimburse their employers for the ex- pense of importing them. He had, on that ground, extended the term Of employment to five years. With regard to the treatment of the labourers in Guiana, he contended. that they bad complete protection ; and the Bengal Government provided amply for their comfort in the Passage from Guiana: provision was also made for their return at the Cost of their employers.

The Duke of WELLINGTON said, it was an undoubted fact that four years ago many labourers had been removed from Bengal to the Mau- tan in a most unwarrantable manner, and that neither the Government of Bengal nor the Government of this country had taken efficient steps to Prevent such proceedings. It was only in May 1837 that a law was passed to prohibit the traffic, and that law was quite inadequate to check the evil. He approved of any plan for supplying the West India planter with labour, which benefited the labourer as well as the employer; but be must have better security than the existing law gave for the performance of their contract by the employers. He had pre- pared some suggestions for effecting an alteration in the arrangements necessary under the Order in Council, which he would read to the /louse. The Duke then read his paper. He proposed that the em- bilistion of the labourers should be superintended by a responsible person; that the nature of the bargain he made should be explained to every labourer ; that provision should be made for his return, if he wished to return, at the expiration of his period of service; that a per- son should be appointed to go with ..the labourers, to protect them while on board, and on their landing, and to see to the due performance of their respective bargains by the masters and the workmen. Euless some such resolutions as these were adopted, he must vote fur Lord Brougham's motion.

Lord Alermouara said, that Lord Brougham's ardent imagination,

exi.rei-ed ne it bad been so powerfully that evenine, woe: an unsafe guide in matters so daleterons diffieult ar that with which they had then to de SI terry would exits till free labour became cheaper thaw slave labour. This was the truth ; ;ind until the interest HS well as the feelings of men could be inli,ted against slavery, it would not he abo- lished- But haw was slave labour to be made cheaper than it was, while the free labourer of one p let of the world was prtivented from supplying the others when the wants of the one country were prevented from being relieved from the redundancy of the other ? The only safe and permanent tmele of securing the abolition of slavery, was to prove that it was contrary to the interests of the inhabitants of those counttice where it was established. It seam idle to talk is that Ibmee on the subject—it was waste of breath to discuss it—it seas in vain for the noble and learned lord to !twitch the thunders of his eloquence against it ; there was as much chance of diseouraging the slave-trade by the stoma of discussion, as the other storm had of causing the traveller to dome off his cloak ; but once show the sun of self-interest shining on the prospect, and there would be an end of it. Until that was effected. there would be found even in this country persons ready to invest their capital in it, in consequence of the enor- mous rate of interest and the small risk—the interest of money in this king- dom at present being only about three-and-a-half per cent.

The attention of Government would be directed to the matter be- fore the House ; and he thought that many of the Duke of Welling. ton's suggestions might be adopted.

Lord ELLENBOROUGH was not at all satisfied by the manner in which Lord Melbourne had treated this question. There was no security fur the poor Asiatics, except by enforcing the regulations proposed by the Duke of Wellington. It was a tact, which had been mentioned by Mr. Gladstone, and which deserved attention, that they were removing labourers to Guiana in the prpportion of a hundred males to seven females. This was the description of society with which Government intended to recolonize the West India islands— Ile was willing to agree to any measure which would have the effect of ameliorating the condition of the planters in the West Indies ; but be could never consent to involve the natives of the East Indies in the quarrels and cala- mities which were apprehended there. If he could see laws tweed in their behalf as good as those by which the East India Company regulated their owe sailors, he might think of agreeing with the Government on the subject ; but, as matters stood now in respect of them, he felt that be would not to doing his duty if he dill not oppose the Government. In every word of Lord Brougham's resolution he agreed. Since the Order in Council had been sent to this country, Lord Glenelg had not taken any steps in the snarler, though the noble viscount at the head of the Government had just stated that he was ready to adopt the suggestions of the noble duke. Under these circionstaneee, he saw no reason to place any confidence in her Majesty's Ministers on the subject. It was impossible not to agree with the resolution ; insomuch as Lla! Glenelets system practically established slavery, while it was fatal to the people of India. Feeling himself particularly bound to resist any attempt to introduce into that country, and among that peaceful, harmless people, a foul, degrading system, from which another country had been just relieved, he should give his support to the motion.

Lord BROUGHAM said, that Lord Ellenborough's manly speech re- lieved him in great measure from the necessity of making a reply. But he must remark, that he was astonished at the argument of Lord Glenelg, who appeared to think that there was no other place in India except Calcutta,—no Bombay, Madras, Pondicherry, or Goa. and as if the entire Eastern coast of Africa were not swept by the influence of the Order in Council. He did nut approve of designating slavery by the term "free circulation of labour." 'f lie Duke of Wellington said, " I will vote for the motion unless my suggestions are adopted ;" where- upon Lord Melbourne promised to " take them into bis consideration." No doubt he would—s'avisera—but his compliance seemed to be rather more "no" than "yes." lie repudiated the doctrine that slavery must continue till it was the interest of men to abolish it ; is fact it did not. The Emancipation Act put an end to it in 1840 in the West India Colonies. Tben what became of Lord Melbourne's argument?

Lord LYNDHURST would vote for the motion ; for be thought that Lord Glenelg should not have passed the Order in Council till he bad made provision against the evils to which that order would certainly give rise.

The Duke of WELLINGTON said, that Lord Melbourne having pro- mised, rather loosely he confessed, to take his suggestions into consi- deration, he thought it unadvieable to divide upon Lord Brougham's motion, and would move the previous question.

Lord FITZGERALD required a distinct assent to the Duke of Wel- lington's suggestions before voting against Lord- Brougham's motion.

Lord MELBOURNE said, of course he assented entirely to the noble duke's proposition, for himself and his colleagues.

Time House divided : for the previous question, .56 ; against it, 14; majority, 42. The original motion was put, and negatived.

Lord Bitououem inquired when Lord Melbourne would bring in a bill founded on the Duke of Wellington's suggestions ?—

The noble duke had come down and had succeeded in getting a majority for the noble viscount ; but as the noble viscount had been driven into it, he wished to know hoer soon be would earn his wages for the majority he had obtained, and whether the bill would be framed and brought in within a week or a fortnight ? Lord MELBOURNE could not appoint any time.

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTORS AND FREEMEN.

On Thursday, the Marquis of LANSDOWNE moved the second read- ing of the bill for extending the time for paying Rates and Taxes to Parliamentary electors, and abolishing the Stamp-duty on the admission of Freemen.

The Duke of WELLINGTON opposed the bill, on the ground that it would give an inferior class of persons the right of voting. It was the duty of the House to take care that the democratic operation of the Reform Act was not extended ; and he warned the Peers, that if they took the step proposed to them, retreat would be impossible. He moved that the bill be read a second time that day six months.

The Earls Of HADDINGTON and HARBOWBY and Lord ALVANLEW would vote in favour of the amendment, for the reasons stated by the Duke of Wellington ; and because the pretence on which the bill was founded, that sufficient time was not given for the payment of taxes.

and many persons were disqualified by inadvertence could not be main. tained, as, during the six years the Reform Act had been in operation, all persons must have been made perfectly aware of the penalty of non-payment of taxes.

The Earl of Raosrom Lord CoTTENnater, and the Duke of RICH- MOND maintained, that the bill only carried out the intention of the Reform Act, and give a reasonable time for the payment °Prates and taxes. The Duke of Richmond said he did nut know what the rule might be at the Conservative Club, but at White's, Brookes's, and Boodle's, a whole year was given to members to pay their arrears be- fore they were expelled.

The Peers then divided— For the second reading,

Present Proxies 45 37 82

For the Duke of Wellington's amendmeet, Present 67

Proxies 80 — 147

Conservative majority 65

So the bill was lost. CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.

Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from Glasgow signed by 41,000 persons, and another from Paisley with 2,000 signatures, against additional endowment of the Church of Scotland. He said that a Deputation from Scotland was now in town, anxious to obtain informa- tion on the subject. As four months of the session had passed away and nothing had been done respecting it,—or indeed respecting any thing else, except to discourage the people of Canada, and encourage slavery,—lie supposed that nothing would be done about the Church of Scotland this session.

Lord MELBOURNE saw no particular reason why Lord Brougham should arrive at that conclusion. The question was, according to Lord Brougham himself, neither postponed nor abandoned, but pari posi- tione with all others. He had no other answer to give than that which he had formerly given to Lord Aberdeen—that Ministers had the sub- ject under their consideration.

Lord BROUGHAM was happy to hear that, along with the Duke of Wellington's suggestions on the slave-trade, the subject of Scottish Church accommodation was under the consideration of Ministers ; who, about the time probably of the Greek Kalends, would announce their decision.

Lord ABERDEEN said, that no petitions had been presented this year from the Church party in Scotland, because it was understood that the claim for additional endowment was under the favourable con- sideration of Government.

Lord BROUGHAM—" I beg pardon : I was not aware of that."

Lord HADDINGTON asked if any communications of the intention of Government would be made within a reasonable time ?

Lord MELBOURNE could not mention any particular moment. There were three large Reports to be considered.

Lord HADDINGTON said, the last Report had been a long time be- fore the House.

Lord ABERDEEN reminded Lord Melbourne, that Lord John Rus- sell had promised that a reply to a question on this subject should be given within a fortnight : the fortnight had elapsed, and the reply was due.

The conversation then dropped.

In the House of Commons, Sir ROBERT PEEL asked Lord John Russell, if he could state the intentions of Ministers respecting the endowment of the Scottish Church ?

Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, he did not think he could introduce any measure into Parliament before Easter— He would, however, now state the general nature of the measure. It was intended to do away with the Act of 1707, with regard to unexhausted Winds in parishes; and the alteration proposed to be made was to enable certain authorities to divide the parishes, and to give the teinds for the purposes of spiritual instruction. At the same time, however it was proposed to place some fund, either arising from Crown or some other dues, at the disposal of the public, in order to provide for the endowment of large parishes in the Highlands or elsewhere, when the teinds should have been totally exhausted ; but it was not intended that there should be any endowment out of any public fund, or even that those sums belonging to the parishes in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and other large towns, and which should be appropriated to their endowment, should be employed.

Sir RoBERT PEEL hoped that Lord John Russell would soon give a more distinct explanation of the proposed measure.

CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, he would take the opportunity of stating the intention of Government respecting the Committee on Church leases— The matter stood for Tuesday ; but it might be convenient for the House to know that it was not proposed to bring it on on that day, or to move for the Committee then, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer was so much engaged with the Committee on the Pension-list as to preclude the possibility of his attending to it. It would, however, be regularly brought under the notice of the House on an early day after Easter.

PROMOTION OF THE MARINES.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL, on Monday, presented the following answer from the Queen to the address of the Commons respecting the Royal Marines- " Her Majesty will take into her immediate consideration the best means of carrying into effect the wishes of her faithful Commons respecting the promo- tion of the officers of the Royal Marines, consistently with a due regard to public economy, as well as to the general efficiency and just claims of all branches of her naval and military service."

Lord JOHN RUSSELL, on moving the order of the day for going into a Committee of Supply, dwelt on the evils likely to arise from en- couraging officers in the Army or Nava, to apply to the House of Com- mons for favours or acts of grace denied by the executive authorities. He thstate :ed the es—

course intended to be pursued in the case of the officers of Marin

They proposed to appoint gentlemen of character and of standing I„ Military and Naval services, and some also connected with the civil service Who - should take the whole subject into their consideration, and lay a report netwheh° proceedings before the House, and, if necessary, should make a recoil:menhir non to the House ; and then the House might decide upon the whole alibi,: piecemeal. Rewards should given from liberality or a laxity of disposition, which would make a mosg imp he them, and nut take the matter p taut and pernicious change in the constitution of this country—one which wOuld. lead officers to expect nothing but delays and hardships from the Crown, and look for generosity and liberality from the House of Commons. He though that he had only dune his duty in making this statement to the House; for ht course was sure that its attention required to 1:e drawn to it; and he trusted that the tially before the House, and that it would nut meet with the disapprobation which had been taken would bring the whole system fairly and imp:

any portion of its Members.

Mr. GOULBURN entirely concurred in the opinions expressed by Lore John Russell ; but observed, that Lord John could not expect gentle. men of Conservative opinions to aid him on questions of this nature,if he could not command the votes of members of his own Government-. If the Government, on a question of this nature, professed or evinced to the public any symptoms of uncertainty or vacillation, it was in vain to call on he. nourable gentlemen on either side of the House to support the principle which he had now advocated, in violation or opposition to those appeals made to their individual feelings on behalf of officers with whom, by ties of blood or friendship, or otherwise, they might be connected ; and he would tell the noble lord, thatwhea gentlemen in that House saw individuals closely connected with the Govern- ment voting against the Government on questions of this description, he might look in vain for the support which he or others on that side of the House might otherwise give him; for one instance of the kind, such as occurred on a preceding evening, did more to overturn the arguments of the noble lord than all the opposition with which he might meet in a fair and ordinary min. ner. He thought it his duty, in furtherance of the object of the noble lord, to state his opinion ; and the more so, because he remembered well, that on the debate of the preceding evening, gentlemen on that side of the House, who were well disposed to take a just view of the question, were taunted because it wet thought that they had marine constituencies which might have influenced their votes. The imputation was repelled by many of them ; but if there was one gentleman who could be imagined to be thus influenced, it was that right ho- nourable Member (Mr. G. S. Hyng) who, himself a member of the Govern. ment, had voted against the Government on this question.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL wished to explain the circumstance alluded to by Mr. Goulburn-

Undoubtedly, if the honourable gentleman had spoken to him previously to the debate, he should have told him his opinion, that it was contrary to his duty to pursue the course which he had taken on this point. He knew nothing of the vote until after the division ; and then the right honourable gentleman had in. formed him that, in consequence of something which had passed on a farmer occasion between him and some officers of Mantles, he had felt hi meat bound in honour to give his vote in the manner which he had done. It always appeared to him, that on the difficult questions which occurred with respect to individual votes of members of the Government, the better course was to enforce, as far la possible, the authority of the Government ; but when a person conceived him- self bound to adopt a particular course, from any circumstances, the Govern. anent should not take any line of conduct towards that individual which might be considered to be unnecessarily strict.

Mr. HUME protested against the doctrine that the House could not properly interfere in matters affecting the pay and promotion of officers of the Army and Navy.

Captain Woon said, he did not think the Government met the question in a constitutional manner; and therefore he had declined to vote against Lord George Lennox's motion, though he thought Mr. Charles Wood bad fully made out his case against the promotionof Marines.

Sir EDWARD CoDRINGTON entirely approved of the plan proposed by Lord John Russell, and only regretted it had been delayed so long. MISCELI ANEOUS.

AMENDMENT OF THE EMANCIPATION ACT. In the House of Peen, on Monday, Lord GLENELG obtained leave to introduce a bill to amend the Emancipation Act. Lord BROUGHAM said, that he never would con- sent to a measure which could only be regarded as a palliative of enor. mous injustice ; and be gave notice that he should himself propose what he considered a real remedy. Lord Glenelg's bill was then read a first tune.

NAVY ESTIMATES. On Monday, the House of Commons, in I Committee of Supply, voted about four millions for the Naval service of the year. The number of seamen, boys, and marines, is 34,165. Mr. HUME objected to several of the items, but did not divide the Committee.

APPOINTMENT OP MR. PRIMROSE. On Monday, Mr. HOME post. polled his motion respecting the apppiiitment of Mr. Primrose to a Place in the Edinburgh Post-office, on the ground that he had not all the necessary papers before him.

ELECTION COMMITTEES.

On Tuesday, Mr. ROBERT CLIVE reported, from the Taunton Com- mittee, that Mr. Bainbridge was duly elected.

On the same day, the following Members were chosen ajCommittee to try the petition against the return for Tralee. Liberals—ti ; Tories-4 ; Lord Fitzalan, Mr. Goddard, Colonel Salwey, Mr. A'Court Holmes,

Lord Dalmeny, Mr. Thornhill, Mr. Divett, Sir Samuel Spry.

Captain Paget, Doubffitl-1 ;

Sir W. Clayton. Mr. Fleetwood. The petitioners are Liberals of Tralee against the Tory sitting Melts her, Mr. Bateman.

The Reading Committee was composed of the following.

Turies-3;

Mr. Compton, Mr. De Horsey, Mr. Hope Johnstone,

Mr. Brown] igg, Lord Alford. Liberals-6 ; Colonel Butler, Major C. Vivian, Sir T. Trouhridge, Mr. J. H. Talbot, Mr. Charles Cavendish, Mr. John Dunlop. 'Vie petition is against the return of Mr. Fyshe Palmer. On Thursday, the Evesham Committee was balloted for.

Tories-6 ;

Sir Robert Peel, Sir Hugh Campbell, Mr. J. Y. Scarlett, Mr. Plumptre, Lord Ashley, Colonel Battik.

The petitioners are Liberal electors of Evesham against the Tory sitting Members. The Carlow Committee was composed as follows.

Liberals-6; Tories-5 ;

er, Mr. J Sir Frederic Dundas, J. H. Lowth Lord El; at, Mr. Rundle.

Mr. G. H. Cavendish, Mr. Houldsworth,

E. M. Parker,

Mr. Philip Howard, Colo Wood.

Mr. Beamish, Mr. Edmund Turner. On Wednesday, Mr. CURRY, from the London Committee, reported that the sitting Members had been duly elected. On Thursday, Mr. H. HALFORD, from the Belfast Committee, re- ported that the Earl of Belfast and Mr. J. Gibson had not been, and that Mr. Emerson Tennent and Mr. Dunbar had been, duly elected for Belfast.

Liberals-5;

Mr. Collier, Mr. Harland,

Mr. Parrott, Mr. Childers, Mr. Francis Berkeley,