Dtbatts anb Portebings in Iparliatneni.

THE FACTORY BILL.

Some allusion bavirg hen made in the subsequent discussion to Mr. CHARLES BULLER'S speech of Friday last in support of Lord Ash- ley's amendment, w we return to Friday's debate, for a few extracts of the more salient passages, as a needful preliminary illustration.

Mr. C. Buller claimed credit for their having, by a new and bold course of le-

gislation, attempted to grapple with a mischief frightful in extent, and acknow- ledged by their opponents; and to avert the peril which otherwise threatened the prosperity, the peace, and the stability of the institutions of the country. Unless they attempted to grapple with this mischief, there was no answering for the consequences. IS hen be voted with the noble Lcrd, he deliberately adopted a new and bold principle of legislation. Be exposed himself to the charge which was thrown out against all who voted with the majority, that they were voting against all principle; for he voted, be was quite aware, against the principle on which Is gislat'on on these matters had hitherto been con- ducted ; a legislation ,bleb, while it contented itself with protecting the pro- perty of the rich, shrank from giving its protection to the poor, and left the belpless to take care of themselves, and paid no attention to the revolutions which the progress of time brings about in the social condition of nations. New evils require new remedies. A new social state, arch as that of England had become in the present century, required new principles of legislation. Could it be said that this was a view of the matter in which no thinking man concurred with him? He would venture to say, that no unprejudiced man, who looked at the alteration which bad been operated in the course of the last century in the social condition of the people of this country, could contemplate that alteration without feelings of apprehension. He believed tbat there was no far-seeing man who could venture to say, looking at the alteration in the State of society during the present century, that he did not contemplate it with amazement and dread. A hundred years ago, the great mass of the population Of this country were unskilled agricultural labourers, scattered over the land without the means of communication with each other—without that intelli- gence which enabled then, to act in concert, and without combination, but re- strained by those institutions and habits which made them act under the guidance of people whose authority was sanctioned by hereditary power, and be might add, by hereditary attachment. The towns were few and scantily peopled; and who composed the population of those towns ?—for the most part, skilled artisans, getting high wages, possessing comparatively a degree of intelligence, and able to protect themselves. What was now the present state of things ? In the course of the last fifty years, millions of people had been collected together for the first time within small spaces. They were not skilled artisans, but populations carrying on one single branch of industry, and which they carried on from the first time they began to work until they could work no longer. The labourers in these manufacturing districts carried on what might be emphatically called unskilled labour ; and they pressed on each other, tut all unskilled labourers so collected together always did; and the consequence Was, that they were beaten down in their wages by the competition. They were now prevented from combination for any purpose in consequence of their immense numbers, and in consequence of their necessary dependence for sub- sistence on their labour. All these phenomena existed ; and when these masses of people were collected together under none of the old influences which kept the people in order and peace, could they look on such a state of circumstances with satisfaction ? * a * Mr. M'Culloch was a political economist, and was not likely to be charged with being a mere sentimentalist on such a matter us the present, though be believed him to be a very good man : what did Mr. N'Culloch say ? He said that he contemplated with terror the growth of these large towns, inhabited by mere labourers, dependent on employment, and that employment supplied by a foreign trade. Mr. M'Culloch lamented, but ad- hered to principle: be shook his head, but did nothing more. Lord Ashley did something more—be said that they must grapple with the mischief. It was wisdom as well as benevolence to do so.

Be cautioned Sir Robert Peel to eschew prophetic warnings. One of his

arguments in terrorem it might be well to advert to. " How far will you go P " staked the right honourable Baronet—" What will you do with the button- makers ? bow do you intend to deal with screw-manufacturers ? are you prepared to legislate for domestic servants ? " Now he would reply to this by telling the right honourable Baronet, in the first place, what he would do with the principle. He would ado re to it in every instance : be would carry it to the point at which the impossibility of carrying it further alone prevented him from doing so. (A laugh.) Some of his friends were laughing at that. Should he satisfy their reason ? Should he state—was it necessary for him to state—that in aiming at the benefit of the people he could not go beyond that which would do the people good ? ("Hear, hear ! ") Then he would just stop at that point, and not go an inch further. Wherever interference would do more good than harm, he would interfere. Government themselves proposed to interfere with a twelve-hours limitation; his noble friend proposed to limit the limitation to tin hours. The Government seemed bent upon getting up alarm on this matter; but they would hardly persuade the country to be frightened at their wish. " The slothful man says there is a lion in the Street." The Government elevated every cat or shadow of a cat they saw in the street into a lion, and said to the House and to the people, "For God's sake don't go there—the lion will he sure to eat you up: "] On Monday, Sir JAMES GRAHAM stated the course which Ministers intended to take.

Be glanced at the progress of the measure in Committee,—the affirmation by a majority of 8, in the interpretation-clause, that the time should be re- stricted to ten hours; the negation by a majority of 3, in the 8th clause, that the time should be twelve hours; and then the negation, by a roujority of 7, that the time should be ten hours. The effect of these decisions would be to place the measure in inextricable confusion. Three courses appeared to be open to Ministers,—a compromise, taking the middle term of eleven hours; to withdraw the bill altogether; or to withdraw it and introduce a new bill, in- corporating these portions to which the House bad already agreed. He quoted his own speeches to prove, that in 1833, 18S9, and 1892, be had consistently adhered to the opinion that shy limitation of labour with 'n twelve hours would not be expedient. To justify a compromise, two things are necessary—the point conceded must 1 e deemed safe by those who make the concession, and the compromise roust be of a kind to last. Accounts which be had received from the factory-districts convinced him that any further limitation of time Must be most dangerous to the manufacturing interests, and occasion either ex- tinction of profits or great diminution of wages; while in many places the kitirlipeople are already dissatisfied with their present earnings. Some of the arguments used were mere dengerons than the change itself. One Member [Mr. Vernon Smithy said that a large diminution of wages would not be detri- mental to the workitig classes; that there were " moral wages" more important than money wages; and that starvation was not possible in this country. "A forced legislative reduction in the price of the only commodity which the ope- rative possesses would be attended by a great deterioration in the workman's moral character • and, so far from benefiting his conduct, it would drive him to despair and involve him in crime. It is no temper in which to legislate which would prompt you to reply to the labouring man, marling under the legislative loss of his only commodity, the free exercise of hie labour, We will repay you in moral advantages '; and still less is it a consolation to him to say, 'Dere we have a poor-law, which will prevent you from starving.' I pass on to another argument, balmy liss terrifying and alarming—I allude to the argument that we have now arrived at a new wird state; that we should therefore take our departure from the fixed principles which have hitherto guided us, and that we are to meet our alleged new social condition by new principles and schemes of legislation. Hitherto, interference with labour has been considered dangerous. I must say I have seen within the last eight-and-forty hours the use of a very apt expression upon the subject, an expression to which I am disposed to give my consent : I do not think that it is an exaggl ration to say that this is the commencement of a 'Jack Cade ' system of legislation." As to the duration of the compromise, Lord Ashley himself had said that he would never rest from his labours until be had obtained a ten-hours bill ; a similar declaration had been adopted by delegates from the cotton-spinners and other factory-workers in Manchester ; and Mr. Fielden had declared that he would agitate for an eight-hours bill. Be now came to the second course which it was open to the Government to pursue—namely, to ask the permission of the Douse to dis- charge this order of the day, with a view to allowing the existing law to remain in full force unaltered. That would be a possible course, and one which, as compared with the compromise, would be a practical course : but still, as in the progress of this measure through the Committee several important provisions had already received the sanction of the House,—such, for example, as the change in the limitation of time for children from eight to six-and-a-half hours, with a view to edneation,—he was not disposed to throw away the advantages thus secured. There remained, therefore, only the third course, namely, to ask leave to withdraw the present bill, with a view to the introduction of an- other, neither repealing the existing law nor reenacting it, but amending the existing law, and introducing such amendments and modifications as had already received the sanction of the 'House, or werelikely to meet with its general assent. But Government would resist any departure from the twelve-hours restriction. " This declaration may perhaps not appear consistent with that respect which I most unfeignedly feel, and which I have stated that my colleagues as un- feignedly feel, for the decision of this House : but if we could believe that we have forfeited the confidence of this House—that it was possible to form a Government to give effect to the principle of a ten-hours bill—that principle decided upon by no small a majority—if we believed that all this was the case, then our course would be very different from that which we at present conceive it right to follow." In conclusion, he said—" If the House will permit me to conclude with a motion, I will move that the order of the day for the Commit- tee on the Factories Bill be read for the purpose of being discharged. Some honourable gentlemen, however, may think that, in now making this motion, I am taking the House by surprise. ("Rear, hear!") If any honourable gentleman should think that, I shall feel it to be my duty to ask that the order be postponed to Friday next, and in the mean time the House will have an op- portunity of considering what course it may be advisable to pursue. I now move that the order of the day for the House resolving itself into committee on the Factories Bill be read." (Loud cheering.) Lord ASHLEY could not at present state the course which be should pursue. He regretted that his right honourable friend had introduced into this dis- cussion observations and opinions from which all the previous debates bad been remarkably free. He deplored that he should have made such a statement as that this was the beginning of Jack Cade legislation. (Loud cheers.) Be would not repudiate, nor would he be ashamed of the title- (Cheers.) But he would ask the House, what it was that gave birth to Jack Cade ? as it not that the people were writhing under oppressions tibial they were not able to hear ; and that, redress being refused to their long and reasonable remon- strances, they at last determined to take the law into their own hands (Cheers.) This would be the result of their present proceeding also if they did not take care. Be would postpone the further consideration of the matter till Friday ; but he should then call upon the House to abide by its decision of Friday last. Lord HOWICR, touching upon a few arguments against leaving people unprotected, advised Lord Ashley to resist the motion for discharging the order of the day for proceeding with the Committee on Friday, and stick to the present bill. He did not found his argument for the amendment on the " intense competition "; but he said that the intense competition was at the bottom of the evil, because the field of employment was too much restricted, and that there were modes of restricting labour to which the majority of those carrying it on were not adverse. Mr. BROIHERTON regretted the course taken by the Government.--1 Captain Roos hailed any prospect of getting rid of the bill. Mr. VERNON &trim corrected some misrepresentations. He had not held up the Poor-law as the resource of persons turned out of fac- tories ; though he had said, when Mr. Ward asked him how such people were to live, that they certainly could not starve. He had con- tended that high wages were not so beneficial to the workmen as con- stant steady wages ; for that over-work produces a craving for excite- ment, and that high wages afforded facilities for immorality. Sir JAMES GRAHAM accepted the explanation ; but quoted the Morn- ing Chronicle to show that his representation of the speech was borne out by the printed report. [Sir James was met by loud interruptions, and cries of " Spoke I "] Sir ROBERT Nous remarked, that Sir James Graham had made his statement in terms as *hat " I and my colleagues" had done : he had described his opponents as having concurred in the commencement of a " Jack Cade system of legislation" : did Sir Robert Peel adopt that phrase? Sir JAMES GRAHAM replied, that be spoke as an individual; and that he applied the phrase to the system, and not to the Members support- ing it, Tirr.-BEErrAr., IQY. Iffinramr, and Mr. Palms/cc, made some remarks adVerse to Government ; the first and last touching upon the " Jack Cade " expression. This again brought up Sir JAMES Gasman' ; who was again roughly interrupted, with an attempt to " cough him down ": be stood by the expression, but disclaiming any intention to be per- eonally offensive.

Lord Jona RUSSELL cautioned Lord Ashley well to consider the Course he should adopt. He contended that Government had already conceded the principle of intervention ; and that it was therefore open to the House to determine whether ten or twelve hours was the better period for the interests of the working classes.

Mr. HUME applauded, and Mr. BORTHWICIL attacked, the course taken by Government.

Mr. CHARLES BULLER bantered Sir James Graham for not adhering to the old custom of answering a speech on the same night it was delivered ; and for having, under the prompting of a Sunday paper, imparted to the observations he had quoted a character of extravagance and enormity not belonging to them.

Now what did he really say ? He said that a new state of society had arisen, owing to the congregation of large masses of unskilled labour in densely peopled towns ; that that was a state of things new in England ; that to legis- late now upon the principles you had before recognized as applicable to a former and a different order of things, under the idea that they would be equally applicable to the new state, would be wrong and inconsistent ; that he supported this bill on behalf of the labourer ; and that be would apply the principles they contained as far as they could conveniently be carried. If those were the principles of Mr. Cade—(Laughter)—if he bad never proposed any- thing more, and if he bad propounded such principles in so exceedingly guarded a manner—then he must say, that of all the politicians of this country, Cade bad been the most grossly misrepresented. (Laughter and cheers.) Sir ROBERT PEEL partly restated what Sir James Graham had said, fully adopting it. He declared that he could not perceive any great distinction between the principles contended for by Mr. Buller and by Mr. Cade. (Laughter.) He trusted that on Friday the House would consider the subject not as a departmental question, but as one involving the commercial prosperity of the country and the permanent interests Of the working men.

Lord STANLEY made a statement in which he admitted that the ques- tion at issue was less a matter of principle than of detail, but of detail involving consequences so important as to justify the Government in its coarse.

Of the other speakers, Mr. MORRISON, Dr. Bowamo, and Mr. MITCHELL supported Government ; Mr. HAWES and Mr. AGLIONBY supported Lord Ashley ; Mr. EweaT advocated an eleven-hours bill ; and Mr. BROCKLEHURST objected to all legislation.

The order of the day for going into Committee was postponed till Friday.

On Wednesday, Lord ASHLEY stated that his first impression, that he ought not to oppose Government in withdrawing the bill, had been confirmed by the opinion of his friends.

"It is not my intention to offer any opposition to Government in withdraw- ing the bill. In so doing, I am sensible that I resign advantages which I already possess : but I consider it my duty, whenever I can without any concession of principle, to consult the interest and convenience of the House and the Govern- ment. I therefore take this step with the full understanding that her Majes- ty's Government will introduce another bill, and take the discussion on it as soon as possible after Edger. 1 presume the House will not ask me to state now the course I will take with regard to that bill, which is not yet introduced ; but On Friday evening I will offer no opposition to the withdrawal of the present bill : and in this course I have the concurrence of the noble Lord the Member for Sunderland."

Sir JAMES GRAHAM gave formal notice, that on Friday he should move the order of the day for the Committee on the Factory Bill, for the purpose of discharging it ; and for leave to bring in a bill to alter the law relating to the labour in factories.

RESTRICTIONS ON LABOUR.

In the House of Lords, on Monday, Lord Baca:roman presented a petition, signed by about two hundred and fifty persons employed in iron-works in the county of Lanark, against the act for preventing females from working in mines. The petitioners bore testimony to the exemplary conduct of the females who had been so employed in coal and iron mines, but whom the act in question bad thrown completely out of all employment ; and they prayed that those females might be allowed to resume, under such restraints and modifications as Parlia- ment might think necessary, the only employment by which they could earn a livelihood. Lord Brougham took occasion to express his senti- ments against that cheap humanity, that vicarious generosity, which seemed to be taking possession of the Legislature.

He had always endeavoured to promote the best interests of the working classes ; he had always endeavoured to keep up wages and lower the price of food ; and therefore he had some right to be heard. That many of these classes suffer deeply—that many are engaged in most unhealthy occupations— that many are worked too hard, and fed too lightly—he would be the last to deny or to doubt. These misfortunes, these miseries, these sufferings, are, he much feared, the necessary lot of humanity, and ever attendant upon man in a civilized state of society. But he would not call these "oppressions "; he would not be thoughtless enough nor impious enough to hold such a doctrine; for experience had convinced him bow little these matters are under the control of man, and how entirely they are dependent upon the un- seen and mysterious dispensation of an all-wise and almighty Providence. Show him any one of those miseries which human laws could cure, any of those oppressions which human laws could prevent ; then, and not till then, they might use the word " oppression " as connected with these cases, and attempt such a pernicious course of legislation. He cited a conversation in which he had endeavoured to procure for a bill which lie had introduced, to regulate the number of hours per day in which children should be employed in a particular trade, the support of Sir Samuel Hominy; who asked him what he meant to do respecting the many other unhealthy trades existing? and cautioned him against stiffing, by superseding, parental guardianship and affection. He re- ferred to the state of the agricultural districts, and the pictures of rural life by the poet Crabbe, for evidence that the condition of rustic labourers is worse than that of the well-fed factory-labourers. And, by the by, he ad- ministered a rebuke to sporting Lords, for the children who are taken in hand at seven years of age and systematically starved and sweated, that they may become dwarfs at twenty, to meet the requirements of the handicap. He also advised their Lordships to read the poem of Luigi Tansillo, upon " Maternal Duties," and recollect how few of their wives, sisters, and daughters, obey the law of nature by suckling their offspring. -Recurring to the subject of restrk- Mon of labour, he contended that it would induce manufacturers to lower wages and dismiss workpeople; asking, is the sight of an idle man starving more pleasant to humane minds than that of a man well-worked and well-fed ? To show the extent to which this mania for legislation has extended, he men- tioned that he had received two bills ready drawn-up, which he was requested to introduce, one relating to sempstresses, the other to workers in brass and steel.

The Marquis of NORMANBY warned the House against being led away by Lord Brougham's eloquence to suppose that the petition cor- rectly represented the feeling of the country.

CORN FROM THE SOUTH-EASTERN COLONIES.

On Tuesday, Mr. HI= presented three petitions—from persons in- terested in the prosperity of South Australia, from the merchants apd shipowners of London connected with the South Australian trade, and from merchants and others engaged in the trade with the Cape of Good Hope—in support of the following resolution ; for the consideration of

which he moved that the House should resolve into Committee— •

" That it is expedient that corn imported into the United Kingdom from the British possessions in South Africa, India, and Australasia. be made subject to the same duty which is levied on corn imported into the United Kingdom from Canada."

Mr. Hutt, in allusion to the grounds on which the Canada Corn•bill of last year was advocated, said he was always happy when he was able to follow the counsels of the right honourable Baronet at the head of her Majesty's Govern- ment : it was therefore with much pleasure that he urged the adoption of his motion upon the very same grounds—that they should place our colonial pos- sessions in India and Australasia on the same footing as Canada. Those colonies had a far stronger claim to such an indulgence than Canada, inasmuch as they were separated from this country by a much wider distance, and were conse- quently much more open to the evil operation of the sliding scale. Besides, as they had already applied the system of free trade to one colony, why should not those of the Cape of Good Hope and Australasia participate in the benefit given to Canada? True, the inhabitants of those colonies had never risen up against the authority of the Mother-country; but surely they were entitled to the same favour and affection as Canada. The boon might very properly have been denied to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, because it was stated that they had never yet produced sufficient corn for their own subsistence ; and consequently, if the advantage were extended to them it would give facilities to smuggling, but would not improve the legitimate commerce of those colonies. But that same reasoning did not apply in the case of the colonies whose interests he was advocating: they stood exactly in the position which Canada occupied. The President of the Board of Trade, in introducing the Canada Corn Bill, rested his case in support of that measure on the fact that Canada was a country that generally produced larger quantities of corn than were necessary fur the sub- sistence of its population, and that it was therefore in a position to derive great advantages from a relaxation of the law. He would show that all the colo- nies included in his present notice of motion had the same claim to a relaxa- tion of the law. Australia seemed peculiarly adapted for the cultivation of corn. It was true that the district round Sydney seemed an exception to the rule ; but even there, corn was in some seasons so abundant as to be used in feeding cattle. In the territory round Port Phillip corn was a great article of cultivation, and was exported in large quantities to other portions of that part of the world. But the great granary of that part of the world was Van Diemen's Land and South Australia. It appeared by the papers on the table that a considerable quantity of corn, the produce of Van Die- men's Land, was imported into the neighbouring colonies, the islands in the Eastern Seas, and the Mauritius; and that, notwithstanding the dis- tance of 15,000 miles of ocean, and all the difficulties and disadvantages of our sliding scale, nearly 1,300 quarters of wheat were imported from that colony last year into the English markets. It was no doubt a small quantity when compared with the consumption of our population : but when it was consi- dered that it was the first experiment to bring wheat from Van Diemen's Land—that it had succeeded in a remarkable manner—that the corn was of a very superior quality, was brought to Mark Lane in remarkably good condi- tion, and that after paying all expenses, and a duty of 5s. a quarter, it left a handsome profit to the importer—tew could doubt that the experiment would be soon tried again, and on an enlarged scale. Though the average price of English wheat was at the time below 56s. a quarter, the whole of the South Australian and Van Diemen's Land was sold at from 60e. to 72s. a quar‘er. This was another circumstance which weighed with the merchants ; fur, such was the purity and dryness of the Australian climate, that the whole of the wheat, after passing that vast expanse of ocean, was found to have suffered nothing from either moisture or heat. In order to prove the correctness of these state- ments, he would read an extract from a paper published in that colony, which stated that the

Prime cost of the South Australian wheat was per quarter 39s. Freight 10

Other charges 5 Duty 5 Making in all 58s.

This 384 quarters of corn were sold at from 60s. to 65s. a quarter, and 8f10quarters at G2s. to 70s. The sales were in October 1843. The freight of 10s. a quarter was much less than could be a remunerating return to the shipowner; but, in consequence of the alterations which the Government made the year before last in the duties of all articles which entered into the composition and equipment of a ship, there could be no doubt that the rate of freights must soon fall below what it had been heretofore, and that it can never recover its former standard. It was extraordinary that South Australia, which was founded only six years and a half ago in a perfect wilderness, should now occupy so con. spicuous a place among English colonies : but such were the enterprise of the colonists, the resources of the settlement, and the wisdom of the principles upon which it was founded. He read extracts of letters and papers from the colony, describing the luxuriant growth of corn, and the insufficiency of markets for it in Mauritius, Singapore, and other places. Large orders for wheat have been sent out to Adelaide, contingent on the reduction of freight or the success of his motion. The case of South Africa resembles that of Sydney. The claims of India, however, are yet stronger : its agriculture languishes under injudicious fiscal laws; fortunes amassed in India are remitted to be spent in England ; the public draw tribute to the amount of 3,500,000/. to pay debts contracted in the Mother-country. Any nation would suffer under such deteriorating influence& Is India, then, to be refused the advantages granted to Canada? The Agri- cultural Society of Bengal have appointed a committee to negotiate with Go- vernment on the subject. Wheat can he sent from Bengal at a freight of lAs. or 16s. ; and one house in the City imports annually from 2,000 to 3,000 tone of flour. In conclusion, he exhorted Ministers to apply to all the Colonies alike the broad principles of justice—" Govern your colonies upon the principles of a generous and liberal policy, and nothing will ever estrange them from the British connexion ; but make them the victims of your unhappy domestic mo- nopolies, treat them with neglect, treat them with contumely, and they will soon fling your alliance to the winds, and neither laws nor arms will maintain it." (Loud cheers.)

Mr. Mamas seconded the motion; especially urging the claims of India.

Mr. GLaawroara could not agree to the proposition.

He fully concurred in the principles laid down by Mr. Hutt respecting India; and derived some consolation from considering that the duties which he sought to remove were not so high as to prevent those experiments in the corn-trade to which he had alluded. Last year, it was objected to Govern- ment that it was unwise to disturb the law respecting Canadian corn: but the reply then was, that the alteration was made in consequence of pledges gtven some time before, and that the measure really formed part of the Corn- bill of 3842 ; so that there was no inconsistency in opposing the present motion. The colonies whose interests Mr. Hutt advocated had not petitioned for the change through their constitutional organ, as Canada did, and the pe- titions now presented were scarcely of so authentic a nature: nor have these colonies undertaken to impose a duty on the importation of foreign corn at their own ports, as Canada did. Scarcely one can be called an exporting colony : some are so occasionally, but not always; and New South Wales and the Cape of Good Hope do not grow enough corn for their own consumption. A considerable importation takes place iuto all those colonies from South America; and from 1828 to 1841 this country sent to the Australian Colonies a greater proportion of wheat than was received from them. The panic occa- sioned in Canada by the alterations in 1842, though not shared by Govern- ment. formed a not unimportant reason for passing the particular measure : and if Mr. Hutt desired uniformity of system, why did he not begin by pro- posing remission of duties on Canadian produce other than wheat ? Looking at the large number of persons engaged in agriculture in this country, he could not think any panic affecting their operations an evil of slight magnitude, or one that ought to be incurred except for strong and material interests; whereas the importations from Van Diemen's Land, and even from India, are very small—quite insignificant : in 1841 and 1842, when prices were high, India sent us on the average 17,000 quarters of corn ; in 1843, when prices were lower, but 4,200. Regarding a panic as no idle matter, and balancing the advantages and evils, he called upon the House to reject the motion.

A short debate ensued. Mr. LABOUCHERE had opposed the Canada Corn-bill, but he was prepared to place all the Colonies on an equal footing. Lord STANLEY, admitting that practically there was no danger in the proposition, dwelt upon the perils of panic: and he deprecated the disturbance of an extensive settlement involving interests which were peculiarly sensitive. Mr. HAWES maintained that the smallness of the expected trade precluded the notion of panic, while it laid the foundation for imports and exports on an extended scale. Mr. EwART supported the motion ; though regarding it as of little importance, as the public will exact total repeal of the Corn-laws.

The House divided—For the motion, 47 ; against it, 117 ; majority against the motion, 70.

MISCELLANEOUS.

CONTROVERTED ELECTIONS. Oa Monday, Sir ROBERT PEEL moved for a Select Committee to inquire and report whether it would be desirable to make any alteration in the law at present in force in respect to the trial of controverted elections. His object was to consider whether any amendment could be made in the existing system, assuming that the existing system be continued : but an opinion that the existing tribunal should be abandoned, and another appointed, should be discussed in the House. After a brief conversa- tion, the motion was agreed to On Tuesday, the Committee was nominated, as follows—Lord John Russell, Lord Granville Somerset, Mr. Charles Buller, Mr. Wilson Patten, Sir George Grey, Lord Sandon, the O'Conor Don, Mr. Pakington, Mr. Hawes, Mr. Hogg, Mr. Charles Wood, Sir William Heathcote, Mr. Loch, Mr. Charles Williams Wynn, and Sir Thomas Fremantle.

ENCROACHMENT IN INDIA. Mr. MACAULAY gave notice, on Monday, that after Easter he should move a resolution on the subject of Gwalior.

THE EASTER RECESS. In reply to Lord JOHN RUSSELL, on Monday, Sir ROBERT PEEL stated that he should move, on Wednesday the 3d April, that the House should adjourn to Monday the 15th. Sir Robert, however, informed the House, on Tuesday, that he should move the Easter adjournment on Tuesday the 2d ApriL On Thursday, the Duke of WELLINGTON gave notice, that he would on Tuesday next move that the House of Lords, at its rising, do adjourn to Tuesday the 16th April.