POSTSCRIPT.

SATURDAY NIGHT.

The business in both Houses yesterday was varied, but it consisted for the most part of mere routine work. The only thing like a debate was the continuation of the discussions on the Newfoundland Bill in the House of Commons, early in the day—for the House met at twelve o'clock : that part of the business will be found under its separate head in the week's analysis of proceedings.

Mr. O'CoNNELL made a motion on the subject of Ribandism in Ire- land. He reminded the House, that persons in that country, having pass-words of secret societies in Ireland in their possession, were liable to transportation. Hagan, the witness in the late trial at Armagh, who said that he was employed as a spy by the Police, declared that he had made Ribandmen by the hundred— He invented sixty-three classes of pass-words, and disseminated large quan- tities of illegal papers, the mere possession of which was a transportable offence. Now they were to take every word this man had sworn as true : though it was difficult to do, yet as it had the sanction of the Jury, they could not do other- wise. In the next place, the Government must also have believed it, for they bad transported the persons convicted on that evidence. He did not believe for one instant that the noble Lord (Eliot) had the least knowledge of any transactions of this description. No man who sat on the other side of the House could spurn with greater indignation such an insinuation than he would. He trusted the Government would not attempt to screen the parties impli- cated in these transactions. He moved merely for the correspondence : he cast no censure upon the Government by his motion.

Lord ELIOT regretted that he could not accede to the motion— He had had no opportunity of seeing the correspondence, but he could well conceive that it MIS of a confidential nature, and that the production of it might tend to defeat the ends of justice, either by putting on their guard persons who might be implicated, or who might be objects of suspicion to the local authorities, or, on the other hand, that it might tend to fix imputations upon persons who would subsequently be proved to be entirely innocent of the charges brought against them. But he did not hesitate to say, that the report of the trial to which Mr. O'Connell referred was incorrect : in the Dublin papers of the day no mention was made of the circumstances reported in the paper whence Mr. O'Connell derived his information. In this opinion he was confirmed by the testimony of one who was in court during the whole of the trial, and who was now at the head of the Constabulary force of the county of Suffolk. He was not at that moment able to say whether, or to what extent, the local authorities were cognizant,of liagan's proceedings; but he had no hesitation in saying that if they were cognizant of them, their conduct was altogether unjustifiable. Hagan, in his evidence, distinctly denied having received any reward.

On a division, the motion was njected, by 72 to 24.

The Ecclessiastieal Corporations Leasing (No. 2) Bill was reported, after some amendments made by Sir James GRAHAM.

The report on the Bankruptcy Law Amendment Bill was reconsidered. Mr. MARX PHILIPS observed that the system of Official Assignees had been tried in London, and there had been defaulters : in the country there would be the greatest peculation. And 2f per cent was too much to be allowed for the working of a bankruptcy. Several Members urged Sir James Graham to postpone the measure, on the g.-ound that there was not sufficient time to consider it. Sir JAMES GRAHAM declined to do this., The bill had been well considered: it was sanctioned by the highest authority, that of the Chancellor, an Ex-Chancellor, and the Master of the Rolls. The experiment of ten years in the Metropolis and forty miles around it had fully succeeded. The measure was sup- ported in a memorial to the Lord Chancellor signed by 26 bankers, 57 merchants, and 537 of the most respectable traders of the City. The Official Assignees would be paid, not 2i per cent, but as the Lord Chan- cellor from time time •should direct, so as to prevent abuses. The creditor had the power of summoning the debtor to acknowledge the debt; securing to the creditor the discovery of the debtor's goods, to the debtor immunity from punishment on a free surrender of his property. The creditors would have the opportunity of stating their reasons against granting the bankrupt's certificate ; but the granting of it was made a judicial measure, not dependent on the caprice or malevolence of credi- tors. He held these to be capital points, and he hoped the House would go into Committee. The House did go into Committee ; and, with some opposition, the clauses up to the 47th were agreed to; and then the House resumed.

Mr. MAgreamax moved that the House resolve itself into a Com- mittee for the purpose of considering the following resolution—

"That it having been the uniform practice, for many years past, to allow or to charge the wine-merchants upon their stocks in band for any variation of duties that have taken place, this House is of opinion that it is but just and reasonable that the same course should be pursued in the event of a reduction being made of the duty 'Liam port-wine consequent upon the Tariff to be an- nexed to the treaty with Portugal, notwithstanding the transfer of the collec- tion of the whole of the wine-duties to the Customs."

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER opposed the motion. It was a novel practice to propose a resolution of this description in anticipa- tion of a treaty, the precise terms of which were not yet known. The proposition went to constitute wine an exception to the general rule which had been applied to timber and other articles. The motion was negatived without a division.

Mr. REDHEAD Yolutz drew from the CitexcELLoa of the EXCHE■ alma an explanation touching the delivery of the Income-tax papers —

Be was sorry that considerable delay had occurred in sending these papers to the parties who ought to have received them. The delay arose from the Act of Parliament having been passed so short a time before quarter-day ; and, notwithstanding every exertion that could be made, many gentlemen had not had the pleasure of receiving their papers—(Laughter)--so soon as they ought. Every exertion, however, should be made, and he hoped that in three days no person would have to complain of further disappointment. (Laughter.) The Act certainly required that the papers should be filled up in twenty-one days from the time when they were dated; but if they were not delivered until a subsequent time, of course there would be no ground, and there was no inten- tion on the part of the Government, to enforce a penalty. It would happen that persons having residences in two places would have two papers sent them. If a gentleman had an estate in the country, he mast return it in Schedule A; and if he were engaged in business in London, he must state in Schedule D the amount of his profits from his trade or profession. But if the same paper relating to the same species of property were left at two places, it would be sufficient to fill up one, and in the other to state that the return had been made.

Mr. DISRAELI inquired whether it appeared, from the last despatches, that the Governor-General of India had issued any orders for the with- drawal of the troops from Afghanistan ? Sir ROBERT PEEL said, that the despatches from the Governor-General had been received at the Board of Control not more than an hour ago, and he had not had time to look into them. He would answer the question on Monday.

Mr. LEFROY gave notice, that he should move, on Monday next, that a new writ be issued for the borough of Ipswich.

The House adjourned at a quarter past two o'clock this morning ; having sat, with the intermission of three quarters of an hour, for four- teen hours and a quarter!

In the House of Lords, the Bribery at Elections (No. 2) Bill was read a second time, on the motion of Lord CAMPBELL; who regretted that it did not abolish the bribery-oath, which for the purpose of pre- venting bribery is worse than useless. Lord BROUGHAM agreed ; and he wished also that the bill had disqualified the bribing candidate for a seat in Parliament for life. He hoped, however, that what had passed in the Election Committees would induce the House of Commons to part with its jurisdiction in that respect. In the recent case of the Ipswich Committee, according to the system, there were three gentle- men of one side in politics and three gentlemen of the opposite side: the Chairman might have been of either party, but in this particular case he was a Whig: he gave his vote no doubt conscientiously ; but it so happened that on each of the three divisions which had occurred the opinion of that gentleman coincided exactly with that of the three gen tlemen who belonged to his own political party.

Several other bills were forwarded a stage ; and the Royal assent was given by Commission to the Assessed Taxes Bill, the Licensed Luna- tic Asylums Bill, the Lunacy Bill, the Western Australia Bill, and some other public and private bills.