pebatez anti Iprourbirto in 'parliament.

ORDNANCE ESTIMATES.

In Committee of Supply, on Monday, Sir HUSSEY Vieux brought forward the Ordnance Estimates. The total increase on the Estimates of last year was 186,631/. The increase in the first vote, 119,6311. for Civil establishments, which amounted to 2,757/., arose from additions to salaries and the appointment of two Storekeepers at Montreal and Sierra Leone. The next item, 109,618/. for Sappers and Miners, showed an increase of 2,688L, occasioned by the application of the Governor of Bermuda to have a company of that corps on the station ; but a greater amount would be saved in the cost of hired labour. A large provision of clothing last year had caused a decrease of 2,112/. in this year's vote for the Artillery. Should the present large number of troops con- tinue abroad, he might in another year have to add a few men to relieve them. The very large increase, 87,4871., in the Ordnance works and repairs and other extras, arose from the necessity of supplying arms at Birmingham and temporary barracks in South \Vales during the dis- turbances; from repairs after storms at Portsmouth, Halifax, and Gibraltar ; and from the cost of barracks on the Cape frontier. The increase in the charge for ordnance and military stores, which amounted to no less than 121,000/., was caused by the substitution of percussion- locked muskets for the old flint. lock. In wet weather, about one third of the old muskets used to fail ; but he had lately inspected a regiment during a severe storm of rain, and, without the soldiers being ordered to cover their locks, not one gun missed fire. The cost of providing new muskets in the ordinary course would be 130,000/.

The several votes were agreed to with very little discussion. Mr. HUME took occasion to condemn the practice of erecting barracks whenever any temporary local disturbance took place. He recom- mended that the charge of admission to the Tower should be reduced from sixpence to fourpence; the reduction to sixpence had caused an increase of revenue. The following were the votes-

119,631L for Civil Establishments of the Office of Ordnance ; 109,6181. Corps of Royal Engineers; 352,861/. Royal Regiment of Artillery; 37,810/. Barrack-masters ; 525,521/. Building and Repair of Barracks ; 186,259/. Ordnance Surveys ; 328,000/. Stores ; 5,579/. Services performed and not provided for ; 161,5291. Superannuated, Retired, and Ralf-pay ; 248,995/. Commissariat Supplies.

ARMY AND NAVY ESTIMATES.

On Monday, on a vote of 82,266/. for the Volunteer Corps, which had stood over from Friday, the House was divided by Mr. HUME, who objected to men being armed against their countrymen. The vote was carried, by 49 to 15.

On the report of the Army and Navy votes being brought up, Mr. O'CONNELL revived the subject of Lord Cardigan, and the discussion of Friday was renewed ; but equally without result. Mr. O'Connell wandered in his speech from this starting-point to a variety of other grievances. He condemned the conduct of Government in exasperating the Canadians, by appropriating the revenue of the province without the consent of the House of Assembly : though that was no excuse for the insurrection, which was not only a crime, but an act of folly ; for Papineau was at the head of a party sufficiently strong to have resisted the injustice of the British Government, had he confined himself to constitutional means. Canada was now threatened with another act of injustice, the spoliation of the Seminary of St. Sulpice. If such an act of spoliation were committed, they must prepare themselves for yet heavier Estinhates. Mr. O'Connell next complained of Government for not providing religious consolation for the Catholic soldiers in the East Indies, where it was probable that at least one-half of the soldiers were Catholics. And he wound up by warning the House to abstain from a course of unfairness and injustice towards Ireland, with an allusion to the recent news from America.

Pooa-Len. AMENDMENT BILL.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL moved, on Monday, to recommit the Poor-law Amendment Bill pro forma, in order to introduce certain amendmentg. He proposed that the commission should be continued forfive instead of ten years ; that the clause which gave burial-grounds to workhouses, and to which Sir Robert Peel had objected, should be withdrawn, and that the Unions should contribute to the expense of enlarging churchyards instead ; that receptacles should be constructed for idiots or persons whom it might be dangerous to leave at large, and that the same pro- vision should be made for the education and management of the infant poor. If one-fifth of the Guardians, however, opposed the erection of such buildings, it should prevent the operation of that clause. Lord John said that one part of the measure had been misconstrued : in future, the Poor-law Commissioners would have the same power as at present in places where local acts existed, but no more.

After some general objections to the measure from Mr. WAELEY and Mr. DUNCOMBE, the latter asked, on going into Commitfee, whether there was an amendment with respect to the division of the unions into wards? Mr. Fox MAULE replied, by saying that the clause would be printed. This answer gave rise to a little scene. Mr. DUNCONBE said, that unless he received a satisfactory reply, he should move that the Chairman report progress. Mr. MAULE intimated that such a course, in the recommittal of a bill pro forma, would be a breach of ordinary courtesy. Mr. DUNCOMBE observed, that it was still more unusual to reply to questions respecting amendments by saying "You will see when they are printed" : it was what, in any other place, he should consider a most impertinent answer. Mr. Duncombe was called to order. Mr. MAXIE mildly remarked, that the answer was meant as the informal reply of one friend to another ; and ultimately Mr. Dust- COMBS withdrew the objectionable phrase.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.

Lord Jon N RUSSELL moved, on Tuesday, for leave to bring in a bill to amend the criminal law. Mr. Fitzroy Kelly had, he believed, thought that capital punishment might be abolished altogether, and he proposed to abolish it by two steps ; first, in part by the bill which he had already brought in and finally by a subsequent measure. Lord John was not convinced, however, of the expediency of the total abolition. They must see how the changes worked which had already been made; and they must attend to the decisions of juries : for, in fact, the jury ulti- mately decided whether or not life should be taken, and as they were- selected from the body of the people, it must depend very much upon their opinions whether c 'pita' punishment should be imposed. It was the general conviction that capital punishment should be retained in. certain cases. Capital punishment might be excessive in some instances, but if the opinion of the people was in its favour, it did tend to accom- plish its end. In the case of sheep-stealing, for example, not many y ears back, a judge and jury in a single circuit had thought it right to leave fourteen persons to be executed ; and for a time the punishment was effectual. But if the opinion of the public should change—if the law should prescribe capital punishment in certain cases, but petit juries, against the decision of grand juries and against the evidence, brought in verdicts of "not guilty," in order to evade a law considered exces- sive—that law did not attain its object ; people would not be deterred from the crime by the fear of death. Therefore, omitting all questions as to the abstract justice or lawfulness ofcapital punishment, and look- ing only at what he thought was the object of society, the prevention of crime, he thought that the criminal code should be revised. For certain offences the punishment of death stood in the statute-book, while it was never executed ; and the Legislature ought not to leave announcements of the punishments of death which no judge would inflict, though he might formally pass the sentence. The number of cases subject to extreme punishment had lately been much reduced : it had been abolished in respect of forgery ; but, probably by the influence of those who were accustomed to rest their security upon it, or through the carelessness of the Legislature, it had been retained in certain cases of an analogous nature—embezzlement of notes or the like by servants of the Bank, certain crimes against the South Sea Company, and forgery of stamps on gold and silver plate. Lord John proposed to bring in three bills to abrogate the punishment, so far as he thought it could be abrogated, upon the principle which he had laid down. The first was to abolish the punishment of death in certain cases of embezzlement, and for the offence of returning from transportation on this side of St, Helena, lie differed with Mr. Fitzroy Kelly 38 to the total abolition

of capital punishment for burning ships in the Royal dockyards, which, he thought, was an offence of a treasonable nature, as it went to cripple the naval strength of the country ; but where the offence was of a lesser kind, and did not evince that treasonable intent, he should draw a dis- tinction; and that would be the subject of the second bill. Upon the subject of the third bill, the crime of rape, Government had come to a decision with the greatest difficulty. When accompanied by violence, the crime ought undoubtedly to be visited by punishment of the severest kind ; but the charge w,.s often supported by the evidence only of a single witness, and that person not, as in cases of robbery or murder, one against whom no supieion could be entertained, but one who might bring a serious accusation against another to clear her own character. Juries showed great anxiety in sifting the circumstances of such cases and in investigating the previous character of the parties ; and their misgivings often produced verdicts of acquittal. And the Judges, whom Lord John had consulted, generally agreed that capital punishment should not be inflicted for the crime. Lord John produced a return of the disposal of such cases for the years 1834 to 1840, which showed that in proportion to the number of cases in which the punishment was com- muted, the number of convictions increased : in the first year, out of sixty-three prisoners accused, eight were convicted, of whom four were executed and four transported ; the proportion of convictions to accusa- tions being one in fourteen : in 1837, and the subsequent years, the punish- ment was commuted in all cases ; and in the last year the proportion of convictions was one in three. Unquestionably, in certain cases, accom- panied by circumstances of great brutality, death would not be too ex- treme a punishment ; but he did not see where a line could be drawn so as to define what degree of the crime should be visited with death and what with a less punishment. He proposed, therefore, to substitute, in place of death, transportation for life. Lord John said that the whole criminal law, complicated as it was and scattered in various bills, wanted revision ; but he thought it would be imprudent to bring in a bill upon the subject until it had been fully canvassed throughout the country. On the subject of transportation he meant to bring in a bill at a future period of the session.

Mr. FITZROY KELLY expressed his gratification at the statement of Lord John Russell, but contended for the superior merits of his own more comprehensive measure. In accordance with the principle laid down by Lord John, Mr. Kelly had limited his bill to the abolition of the punishment only in those cases were he had the voice of the public with his. He objected especially to the new bill, that it left capital punish- ment for burning ships in the royal dockyards and for attempt to mur- der. The former, he contended, was an offence against property. To call it treasonable was unmeaning : if the ships were the property of the Crown, so were the jewels of the crown, or goods in the royal palaces ; but no distinct punishment was inflicted for offences on such property. And in cases of attempt at murder, the indictment was always framed with two counts, charging a capital and a minor offence ; and the Jury invariably convicted on the minor count alone ; and therefore, accord- ing to Lord John's own doctrine, the offence ought to have been in- cluded in his bill.

Mr. F. &Live objected to the remission of capital punishment for rape.

Sir CHARLES Dounkes would support Mr. Kelly's bill, in preference to Lord John's.

Mr. EWART argued for entire abolition of capital punishment. Last year, when he made a speech in favour of entire abolition, Lord John asserted that capital punishments had been abolished in Tuscany, hut that it had afterwards been found necessary to revive them. He was glad now to be able to state that he had ascertained that no capital punishments had taken place in Tuscany during the last ten years.

Leave was given to bring in the bill.

JEWISH DISABILITIES.

The second reading of the Jews' Declaration Bill was moved by Mr. L. HODGES, in the absence of Mr. Diverr, on Wednesday.

Sir ROBERT INGLIS opposed the measure ; which was merely a bill to enable Mr. David Salomons to fill the office of Alderman. Much had been made of Mr. Salomons's liberality in subscribing to the building of a church : but that only proved that he was neither a Jew nor a Christian ; for if he were a Jew he would not assist men whom lie must consider impostors to build a temple, and if he were a Christian he would not continue to bear the name of Jew. Those who proposed to erase from the statute-bock the declaration "on the true faith of a Christian," were deliberately unchristianizing England. Sir Robert argued, that until all the Jews became Christians—and that time must come—they constituted a distinct people, in whatever country they might happen to be ; and he quoted the authority of Dr. Lushington and of certain Jewish writers, to support his argument. It would be impossible under the bill to feel the same confidence as at present in the administration of justice in matters relating to the national religion : suppose, for example, Carlile had been charged with blasphemy before a Jew. He considered the bill as a kindred step to the admission of Parsees and Brahmins into the House of Commons. And the Jews did not even desire to be emancipated. The Rabbi Tschrew had written a pamphlet against emancipation, in which he distinctly declared that a man could not be at once a Christian and a Jew. The Jews were not like the Protestant refugees under the revocation of the edict of Nantes, who had become merged in the population of the country ; and they had entered this country within the last two centuries with a full knowledge of the disabilities under which they would lie. He moved that the bill be committed that day six months.

Colonel BRUCE seconded the amendment.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, that Sir Robert Inglis had reduced the question to one of religious liberty or religious intolerance. According to Sir Robert's line of argument, the House was called upon to consider the truth of the Christian or of the Hebrew religion ; and upon deciding that the Jew's was false, to pronounce him incapable of filling civil offices. Those who had formerly opposed the admission of Dissenters and Roman Catholics into the House of Commons, had never rested their arguments on such grounds, but always on some issue in which the State was concerned. Sherlock argued that Dissenters could not have the same attachment to the State as members of the State Church ; and it was objected to the admission of Roman Catholics that they owed a separate and superior allegiance to the Court of Rome. Lord John did not see what business the House had to inquire into the religious opi- nions of men who were civilly and politically qualified for civil offices. Was it to be supposed that Mr. Rothschild, Mr. Salomons, Sir Moses Montefiore, or persons of similar standing, were otherwise than deeply interested in the welfare and prosperity of England ? The Jews had been admitted by an Act of Assembly to all civil and municipal offices in Jamaica ; and he saw nothing to be apprehended from the concession. Lord John reduced the theological argument ad alaurdtem- The honourable baronet, in the course of the argument which he pursued, had made this a mere religious question. He said that the Jews were sepa- rated from all the other nations of the earth by prophecy ; and that to accede to the present motion would be to act in opposition to the declaration and inter- pretation of the Scriptures. (" Hear, /,ear! " and laughter.) Now, he appre- hended that such a course of argument would have but little political weight in that House. (" Hear, hear ! ") For his own part, he did not hesitate to say, that he considered the fulfilment of the prophecies alluded to by the ho- nourable baronet quite compatible with the passing of a measure which would enable the Jews to hold civil and municipal offices (" Hear! " and laughter.) Be presumed that Providence would take care to carry out its wise intent with respect to the fulfilment of its prophecies, without the assistance of that House. (" Hear!") Ile feared that his honourable friend the Member for the Uni- versity of Oxford did not see the absurdity to which his principle would lead, if fully carried out.

But the question had already been decided. A law was passed in 1835 to enable Jews to hold the office of Sheriff of Middlesex and London ; and they might even hold municipal offices, for the tender of the test- ing-oath was not compulsory on the corporate bodies to which a Jew might seek admission ; and the Indemnity Act would preserve the Jew harmless it' he held the office on sufferance. For his part, if Jews asked for the privilege of sitting in the House of Commons, he should support the claim. [This declaration elicited loud cheers from the Ministerial benches.] Lord John, however, wished to guard himself against being supposed favourable to the admission of Jews to offices connected with the Established Church.

Mr. EWART deprecated theological argument in reference to political subjects. Mr. C. IIAMILTON was determined that one Member at least on his (the Opposition) side of the House should protest against the in- tolerant spirit of Sir Robert Inglis's speech ; and Mr. Mu.Nes also dif- fered with his friend, though he did not concur with Lord John Russell as to the admission of Jews to the House of Commons.

On a division, the second reading was carried, by 137 to 24.

COUNTY CORONERS.

On the second reading of Mr. Pakington's County Coroners Bill, on Wednesday, Mr. WARBUR'FON and Mr. Hume opposed the restriction of tlf constituency of Coroners to the limits of the Parliamentary fran- chise; but allowed the second reading to pass.

Mr. \V„timey objected to the clause which made Coroners subject to interference by the Magistrates, in the auditing of accounts. And he opposed the notion that Coroners' Courts should be open : that might cause the evidence taken in the preliminary court to be known to guilty persons, who would use the information to escape from justice— Now he would put this case : a party was murdered, and the murderer himself might be present at the inquest. There he heard his dress described, the place where he was, and a variety of other circumstances. Having thus fully informed himself, he stole quietly out of the inquest-room, broke the chain of connexion, and immediately effected his escape. This was no imagi- nary case : it had happened in London again and again. The murderer of Mr. Westwood, in the neighbourhood of Soho Square, was in the inquest. room at the time of the inquest being held, and immediately afterwards escaped to America with 2,000/. or 3,0001: He was said to have lived very near Mr. Westwood. To hold a public inquest under such circumstances, was surely admonishing the party. Ile trusted that no provision would be intro- duced into the bill which would interfere with the discretionary power at present vested in the Coroner.

INSTRUCTION OF THE WORKING-CLASSES.

Mr. GILLON, on Thurslay, moved for a Committee of the whole House, on Wednesday next, to consider an address to the Queen, setting forth the assistance rendered by the State to the Universities and similar institutions, and to the scientific bodies of the Three Kingdoms, and representing the benefit which would accrue to the working-classes if some assistance were afforded in populous towns towards the support of museums of natural history and works of art and the maintenance of schools of art ; and offering the aid of the House in making provision for the purpose Mr. Gillon, whose speech was an amplification of the proposed address, especially instanced the beneficial working of the School of Art in Edinburgh ; which, with very slender means at its disposal, had already accumulated a very respectable library and mu- seum ; and if that institution now applied to Government for assistance, it did so with a better grace, seeing that institutions from which the richer classes derived their education, drew support from the State. Large sums, too, were expended, not only in purposes of a generally Philanthropical tendency, such as the \Vest Indian Com- pensation and the somewhat visionary Niger scheme, but in the correction of crime, in the Convict Establishment in Bermuda and New South Wales, and in the Penitentiary for the correction of juvenile offen- ders. But would it not be wiser and more economical to prevent than to correct crime? The difficulties of mechanics institutions chiefly arose from debts on the contracts for buildings ; and relief from such hardens would confer the most important benefits. The debt of the Edinburgh institution amounted to 1001. The Customs and Excise Revenue showed which classes bore the larger share of taxation of the country ; and Mr. Gillon called upon the House not to let the people find that nothing would be done for them in return. Mr. HASTIE seconded the motion.

Mr. LABOUCHERE concurred as to the importance of the subject, and as to its being the duty of the Legislature and the Government to em- ploy every means in their power to spread a knowledge of art ; but he objected to the invidious terms of the motion. The question should have been placed on its own merits, without reference to the aid afforded to the Universities, which must also be considered on its own merits. It would be better to leave the subject in the hands of Government, than to raise vague expectations by any address to the Crown. He admitted the backwardness of this country in the popular cultivation of art, compared with other countries of Europe ; but a beginning had been made, and it had been sought to make that beginning effectual by

starting with a good system. A School of Design had been established in this country by the efforts of Lord Sydenham, two or three years ago, presided over by a Council composed of artists eminent in their profession and of such of the principal manufacturers as could be induced to attend. The Council had opened the school in Somerset House, and a class had been formed for instructing pupils at a cheap rate in those branches of art which applied to our chief manufactures. Many of the pupils were already prepared to become masters in other schools ; and a local school had been formed in Spitalfields, by gentlemen who insisted • on defraying the Current expenses of the institution. Thus local schools might be formed at comparatively trifling expense. The Council of the School of Design also were publishing elementary works on art and manufactures, and collecting casts of the most eminent works of art throughout the world.

Sir ROBERT PEEL, who was much cheered on rising, bore testimony to the utility of the Edinburgh School of Art ; but preferred leaving it to the support of the affluent persons in that city. Sir Robert, however, advocated the making grants in aid of local contributions for the edu- cation and recreation of the working classes in large towns— tip had before atated, am] he now repeated, with regard to the population of our towns, that he did not think they could take any means more conducive to the advancement of morality, of peace, and of good order—that they could not lay deeper the foundations of loyalty and of respect for the institutions of the state, than by providing for the population cooped up in narrow, crowded, and unhealthy houses, all that they could afford to give—not only food for the mind, but also the means of relaxation after their labours, by giving them every facility for the enjoyment of fresh air, and particularly for the practice of those manly sports which once formed the characteristic and the mast of this country-4 ('heers); and for such purpose he would be quite willing to con- sent to a vote of public money, in aid always of independent local exertions. (Cheers.) • • di He hoped, too, that the example of the Legislature would induce those affluent persons who derived their wealth from the exer- tions of the working-man to come forward and supply means for this purpose. (Cheers.) He had therefore heard with satisfaction of the introduction of a bill elsewhere [Lord Normanbv's Drainage of Large Towns Bill], which might be very difficult to arrange iii the details, but which must coutribute greatly to promote the health of the towns.

Sir Robert boldly answered the objections to ineasares for raising the intellectual character of the poor, not without an obvious reference to the assaults upon himself for his Tamworth lecture— It might be very well to talk of leaving large classes of the people in the practice of sensual gratification, and of low and degrading enjoyments; but they were not to be charged with encouraging infidelity and irreligion who would supply a taste for rational amusements. For his firm belief was, that they would be encouraging, not merely morality, but the Christian religion, by attempting to rescue the working-man from the contamination of low and de- basing habits, by convincing the working-classes that the paths of science are not forbidden ground to be trod exclusively by the rich, and by showing theta that these were not enjoyments which it was permitted for the wealthy alone to taste. Compare the evils of leaving these working-men, as they now are, under the influence of low and degrading views, without the means of gaining improvement, and the evils of giving them access to good works—compare the evils of the two systems, and let ally one decide between them. The one gave them the means of improvement in the arts and in science ; the other, instead, left them open to all the degrading intbiences which he had described. He had been a subscriber to the institution which he had mentioned twenty years ago, and his opinions had therefore been perfectly consistent. He gave another proof that he was an old servant in the cause— He entirely agreed, also, with the right honourable gentleman (Mr. Labou- &ere) in the great importance of collecting from all countries models for our use. We did great injustice to the ingenuity of other countries by fancying that we hail a kind of monopoly in mechanical improvements ; for other coun- tries could show the most skilful adaptation of all mechanical inventions. The right honourable gentleman would find among the records of the Board of Trade a letter addressed by him (Sir R. Peel) to Mr. Poulett Thomson, five or six years ago, recommending the very step that was now proposed. It appeared from the returns of our diplomatic agents, that other countries had made col- lections; and he recollected sending to the Board of Trade the letter of Mr. Richards, a Birmingham manufacturer, who had visited almost all the capitals of Europe, which showed the progress other countries had made, and their su- periority in many respects to us.

Sir Robert pointed out the inconsistency of giving children of twelve or thirteen years of age just so much education, according to the pre- sent system, as enabled them to decipher books of the worst descrip- tion, and then withholding access to good books— The question was not whether they could be by law prevented from using had books, for that was impossible ; but if they were afforded the facility of access to good books, there was that on the part of human nature to raise a preference to good over bad, which would make this facility a direct encourage- ment to the adoption of what was good. (Cheers.) Sir Robert afterwards admitted, in reply to an observation of Mr. LA- BOUCHERE, suggesting a qualification of what he had said, that Govern- ment could not do better than provide normal schools for teachers, as well as elementary works and collections of models.

Mr. EWART recommended making the London school the centre of a large system of local schools. Mr. W. WILLIAMS thought that 1,000/. should be granted to the four chief manufacturing towns, Manchester, Glasgow, Coventry—(A laugh)—and Norwich. The assistance of Go- vernment had greatly improved the manufactures of France and Prussia. Mr. WAKLEY put in his claim for Finsbury-. The people wanted some- thing more than expressions of good feeling; -they wanted money. But would members of the Government remember the subject beyond the moment ? Were they not too much absorbed in fighting for their places ? He was often thrown among the middle classes, and was con- stantly reminded of the contrast between the votes of 70,000/. for stables for the Queen and 30,000/. for education. Mr. MIME defended Govern- ment in the matter, and praised them for purchasing Primrose Hill for the use of the public. He recommended a still core unrestricted admission of the working-classes to public exhibitions and open places of recrea- tion.

In accordance with what he perceived to be the general feeling, Mr. Gluon withdrew his motion. remembered the three millions of Negro slaves in their country, the great body of Indians in the hack settlements who had wrongs to com- plain of, the loyalty of Canada, and the large force of troops there— he believed that if they considered those points, they would abstain from hostilities. He thought that the report must be a stockjobbing in- vention.

Viscount MELBOURNE was not aware that any official information had been received upon the subject, but he did not question the truth of the news.

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.

On Tuesday, the Earl of ABERDEEN, alluding to a declaration lately made by Lord Melbourne that the law relating to the Church of Scotland would be executed against those who violated it, repeated his own warning, that that declaration, to be intelligible or useful, must be sincere, and not counteracted by other members of the Government. He had since learned a circumstance which had much surprised him. The Commissioners of Inquiry into the state of the Scotch Universities had recommended that a Professorship of Biblical Criticism should be created in Edinburgh University ; and it had been announced in every quarter of Scotland, that the new Professorship was to be conferred on the Reverend Mr. Candlish, who within the last few weeks had com- mitted a flagrant violation of the law. He had opened a new church in the parish of Huntiy, in the incumbency of one of the ministers of Strathbogie. who had been suspended by the General Assembly ; and he had treated an interdict with which he Was served with the utmost contempt. The clergyman into whose parish he had intruded was pre- pared to follow up the proceedings in the law courts; and probably Mr. Candlish would have to prepare the syllabus of his first lecture in gaol. The choice of Mr. Candlish could not be for want of a proper person to fill the office, while there was Dr. Lee, the Principal of the Univer- sity, and the most learned man in the Church of Scotland. Was Lord. Melbourne aware of the circumstances of the case ? Did Government mean to reward those who broke, or to protect those who obeyed the law ?

Viscount MELBOURNE pronounced it quite superfluity and surplusage to put such a question to .ny Government, especially to a Government like the present (Much laughter.) No such appointment had been made.

The Marquis of NORMANBY said, that the Professorship had not been

created yet. Mr. Candlish had been thought of for the appointment ; but as soon as Government heard that he had placed himself in opposi- tion to the law, the communications had been broken off. It was not thought advisable that there should be absolufb exclusion on account of feelings and opinions ; but the subject was still under consideration. So far from overlooking the merits of Dr. Lee, Government had deter- mined to attach one of the Deaneries of the Chapel Royal, hitherto a sinecure, to the Principalship.

The subject dropped.

MISCELLANEOUS.

STANLEY'S REGISTRATION BILL. In the House of Commons, on Thursday, Lord STANLEY announced that, on the faith of the Govern- ment measure being proceeded with on the 23d April, he should bring forward his Registration Bill on the 28th of that month.

IRISH POOR •LAW ADMIN/STRATION. In the House of Lords, on Monday, Lord GLENGALL made another charge against the administra- tion of the Irish poor-law. A letter supporting an appointment which was considered improper, bad been transposed in a return made to the House, so as to give a better colouring to the matter ; and Lord Glengall moved for papers to elucidate the subject The Marquis of NORMANBY admitted that an immaterial alteration had been made. He would write to Mr. Nichols on the matter ; and should be able to give information in a few days. On Tuesday, the Duke of WELLINGTON moved an address to the Crown, praying for copies of the minutes kept by the Poor-law Com- missioners for Ireland, of their proceedings in the Unions of Clonmel, Cashel, Mountmellick, and Naas.

A CANDIDATE FOR A PENSION. Some amusement was created in the Commons, on Monday, by a little piece of friendly zeal on the part of Sir ROBERT Iscus. Lord Keane's Annuity Bill was read a third time ; Mr. Hume's motion against it being lost, by 40 to 128. Sir Robert took occasion to observe, that whilst promotions were going forward, another officer should not be passed over, however his fame might have been af- fected by some irregularities in matters of detail. The House called out "Name!" Sir Robert rose again, with some warmth, and said that he had not mentioned the name, because he had thought that there was not one Englishman in that House, or out of it, who did not be- lieve that England owed the preservation of Canada to Sir Francis Head.

COPYRIGHT OF DESIGNS. On Monday, Mr. EMERSON TENNENT said that he should take the suggestion which Mr. Sheil had thrown ant on Wednesday week, and consolidate the bills upon the subject of copyright of designs. On that account he committed his bill pro forma, that it might be altered ; and it was ordered to be recommitted on the 17th. On Wednesday, Sir ROBERT PEEL gave notice that he should move to extend the period of copyright to nine months ; and Mr. Ls- BOUCHERE that he should move to fix it at six.

SEVERN NAVIGATION. On Tuesday, Mr. ORMSBY GORE moved to refer the Severn Navigation Bill to a Select Committee. He was opposed by Mr. LABOCCHERE ; but, on a division, the motion was carried, by 74 to 40 Next day, however, the order was reversed, and the bill was referred to the Committee on Private Business.

CASE OF MR. THOMAS REEVES. Mr. FITZROY KELLY moved, on Tuesday, to refer to a Select Committee the petition of Thomas Reeves, -who complains of an insufficient retiring-allowance as a Surveyor of Taxes. The allowance is a percentage on the salary ; and the question was, whether certain emoluments, amounting to 2001. a year, making Mr. Reeves's gross income while in office 3001. a year, were to be con- sidered as part of the salary ; which would have raised the retiring- allowance from 24/. to 45/. a year. The House rejected the motion, by 38 to 27.

POSTAGE ON PErmemss. In reply to Mr. EASTHOPE, on Wednesday, the CHANCELLOR of the Excancarza explained that the penny postage had made no change in the law in respect to postage on petitions. A petition not exceeding six ounces in weight was entitled to go free.

Beyond that weight, if the petition were not unreasonably heavy, the practice of the Post-office was to make no charge ; and where a charge was made, the postage was returned on application.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA. On Wednesday, Lord JOHN RUSSELL gave notice that on Monday he would bring the case of South Australia before the House.