MR. HAMILTON hoped hon. Members Ireland was so anxious to advance, and | to which he had alluded, but a small numwhich it was desirable should be enacted ber selected that had to decide on the proas soon as possible, with the view of giving priety of the work. He disapproved ensome employment to the people; but he tirely of compulsory presentments. quite agreed with the two hon. Gentlemen opposite, that the county Members were called on to object to the proposed compulsory presentments; because the very fact of their being compulsory cast an imputation on the grand juries, which he did not think they deserved, by superseding them in those very functions for the performance of which they were elected. SIR R. FERGUSON moved the omission of the 5th Clause, on the ground that it would give to the Commissioners unlimited powers. SIR T. FREMANTLE said, that the power of the Commissioners would not be unlimited, as they would extend to a sum of only 50,0007. The House divided on the Question, that the words proposed to be left out stand part of the Bill:-Ayes 97; Noes 3: Majority 94. List of the AYES. A'Court, Capt. Bowring, Dr. Bruce, Lord Ernest Buller, Sir J. Yarde MR. F. FRENCII felt it his duty to support the Motion of the hon. Member for Londonderry. The CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHE-Browne, Hon. W. QUER said, that no one who understood the point under discussion could suppose that the clause involved any violation of principle. The course now in Ireland was, where the Treasury gave one half the sum required, there was a compulsion on the grand jury to pay for the remainder of the work when finished. The present Bill provided, that if there was any manifest improvement to be made to an exist-Cockburn, rt. hn. Sir G. ing work, and the Treasury made the grant to that work, then the grand jury should provide for the repair of that work in the same manner as if the work had been a new one. As to the compulsory clauses, neither the Treasury nor the grand jury could move unless first a meeting of the cesspayers had been held to decide whether the work should be undertaken or not; and on their petition to the Treasury, and on the grant being made according to that petition, the grand jury should act; but only in that case. Under the present circumstances of the country, when it was desirable in particular districts to set about works of a more extensive character, in order to give persons scattered over great extent of country occupation near their homes, he thought there could not be a more reasonable proposition than that of his right hon. Friend. a MR. S. CRAWFORD said, the right hon. Gentleman was mistaken with respect to the cesspayers. It was not the cesspayers in general that possessed the power Collett, W. R. Hamilton, G. A. Hall, Col. Conolly, Col. Hawes, B. Herbert, rt. hon. S. Napier, Sir C. Nicholl, rt. hon. J. O'Brien, C. O'Brien, J. Smythe, hon. G. Smollett, A. Somerset, Lord G. Somerville, Sir W. M. Staunton, Sir G. T. Wood, Col. T. TELLERS. Young, J. List of the NOES. TELLERS. Ferguson, Sir R. Report agreed to; Bill to be read a House, therefore, would allow as large a third time. FISHERIES-PIERS AND HARBOURS (IRELAND). SIR T. FREMANTLE rose to move for leave to bring in a Bill to afford encouragement to the construction of small Piers and Harbours calculated to extend the Fisheries in Ireland. No subject since his official connexion with Ireland had occupied more of his attention than this; and he hoped the House would agree with him that it was most desirable to extend and encourage the fisheries both in rivers and the sea. When it was considered what the extent of the coast of Ireland was, and how much indented it was with bays and estuaries, no one could doubt that the whole coast was admirably calculated to supply the finest fish. He regretted to say that, whatever exertions had hitherto been made, had not been successful. The fact was, the fisheries were in a neglected state. Grants had been made in former times for piers, harbours, boats, gear, and nets; and roads had been made and various devices adopted; but he was sorry to say they had all hitherto failed, and the fisheries had relapsed into a state of inaction. He feared there was some want of enterprise, but the first thing to raise the fisheries appeared to him to be providing the fishermen with boats of sufficient size to go out into the deep sea. The number of such boats at present in Ireland was not great. The reason was, that on very few coasts were there any landing places, piers, or harbours, to afford conveniences for this kind of fishing. Smaller boats only were used, which did not require any landing place or pier. The best mode of encouraging the employment of large boats, appeared to him to be to increase the number of piers on all parts of the coast of Ireland. He proposed, therefore, that in this Bill the sum of 50,000l. should be voted, to extend over five years, at the rate of 10,000l. a year, for the construction of piers and harbours for fishery purposes on the coast of Ireland. He also proposed that the Treasury, or Board of Works, should advance three-fourths of the sum required for the construction of each of these piers and harbours, and that the remaining fourth should be provided for in a way to be afterwards decided by the Board of Works. Many of the piers and harbours constructed under the old Act had not been constructed in the most convenient spots for the public generally. He hoped the limit as possible to the power of the Board of Works on this point. With reference to the mode of raising the remaining fourth of the expense of these piers and harbours, they could not lay down a rule for every case; but it was proposed to grant power to the Board of Works to determine how this should be done in each case. If there was a gentleman who had an estate in the neighbourhood which would be benefited by it, then the Board would say that he should pay the remaining part of the expense. If there was no landed proprietor in the neighbourhood who would be particularly interested in it, but if the locality would be benefited, then the Board would levy a rate on the inhabitants of the county. If, on the other hand, it was connected with some public line of road, the Board would recommend that the grand jury should make a presentment for that portion of the expense. In some instances it would be raised partly in one way and partly in another. Power would also be taken for the purchase of land for the enlargement of harbours. It would also be desirable that facilities should be given to poor fishermen for the washing of their nets, and that means of curing should be provided. The rents of the fishermen's houses and the tolls levied on the piers would afford the means of keeping the piers in repair. As to the means of providing boats, he thought that this would best be done by combinations of individuals. This had already been tried and found successful by a company in Waterford. He concluded by moving for leave to bring in a Bill to afford encouragement to the construction of small Piers and Harbours calculated to extend the Fisheries in Ireland. MR. ROSS was glad to find that the Government had taken up this subject. He had himself taken a great interest in a fishery in his part of the country, and by proper management had made it a most successful speculation. Such a measure as that was highly necessary at the present moment, particularly as the state of Ireland was most alarming. He had seen a letter that morning from Lord Lurgan, stating that the hon. Member for Cork (Mr. O'Connell) had not in the slightest degree exaggerated the present unfortunate condition of Ireland. SIR II. W. BARRON approved of the Bill as far at it went; but he thought that it ought to have been carried much further. Piers and harbours were of the first necessity on the coast of Ireland, and appro crop, and the prospects of the poor in that locality. The Union in which Waterford was situate was very large, extending fourteen or fifteen miles in every direction round the city. The gentleman to whom he referred had taken a very active part in the labours of the committee, being himself the agent for a nobleman who had very considerable property in that part of Ireland. His correspondent wrote thus:— "The potato crop is rapidly progressing to utter destruction. The last accounts are unanimous on this point. The interior of the potatoes is black and actually rotten." He was more and more convinced every day that the fatal disease which had attacked the potatoes was advancing, and that in a few weeks the poor of Ireland would be placed in a most alarming position. He should not do his duty, therefore, unless he warned Her Majesty's Government of this impending evil, which must be met with a bold hand and with decided measures. they ought to be constructed on the same | tee of the board of guardians of the city of admirable system as those which had been Waterford, which committee had been apmade with so much success on the coasts pointed to report on the state of the potato of Scotland. It was a melancholy fact that a great quantity of fish which had been cured in Scotland was actually imported into Ireland, although the Irish coasts abounded in fish, and afforded much more than sufficient to supply the demands of the Irish people themselves, leaving a considerable surplus which might be exported to foreign countries. The fisheries which had already been established in Ireland had met with great success. There were two companies in his (Sir H. W. Barron's) immediate locality, one of which had been established principally on account of the harbour of Dunmore, on the eastern coast of Waterford, which had been built at the public expense, though perhaps not on the best principles. Mr. Strangman (to whom the right hon. Baronet had alluded) was connected with one of these companies, and had been extremely successful. The company had made a clear profit of 20 per cent., besides priating a sum of money for repairs, and a Mr. GREGORY said, that the right sinking fund for contingencies. He men- hon. Baronet who had brought in the Bill tioned this to stimulate other parties to was not aware that, in certain parts of Ireproceed in the same course, as he was land, where there were the greatest opquite sure that they would find their ac-portunities for promoting fisheries, the count in it. Another company had followed Mr. Strangman's company, and had been equally successful, since the profits yielded at the present moment upwards of 20 per cent. on the capital invested. There was one point in the speech of the right hon. Baronet which he did not exactly understand. The right hon. Baronet had said that a sum of 50,000l. which he proposed should be granted was to be extended over a period of five years. Did the right hon. Gentleman mean by that to say, that the money could not be spent in one or two years, but that it must not be spent in less than five? He thought that as much as possible of that sum should be expended in the approaching spring and summer, for the reasons which had been already alluded to by his hon. Friend below him. He thought it but right, whenever the opportunity was afforded him, to press upon the Government the very great necessity there was for attending to the famine which was now hanging over Ireland. If it were at all necessary that additional testimony should be given as to the urgency of the peril, that testimony he had it in his power to supply. He had received a letter from a member of the commit These Το object of the Bill would be thwarted by a small ship of war was sent round to the | As the two subjects appeared to him to be bay of Galway, in order to protect per- distinct, he had requested the learned gensons engaged in the fisheries. If the tleman at the head of the Commission, Sir Government would act upon the precedent Edward Ryan, to divide the Bill recomwhich was set upon that occasion, and mended by the Commissioners; and the take care that the fishermen should be present was one of the Bills so divided. allowed to pursue their occupations in Bill read 1a. peace, he was sure that the Bill would House adjourned. have the best effect upon that part of Ireland which relied on fishing for the means of subsistence. The Irish fishermen ought to have the epportunity of using the trawl on their own coasts, and not be compelled to stay at home while the fishermen from Torbay came round with the trawl, and swept the fish into English boats. Leave given. Bill brought in and read a first time. House adjourned at a quarter past seven o'clock. HOUSE OF LORDS, MINUTES.] PUBLIC BILLS.-1. Religious Opinions Re- PETITIONS PRESENTED. From Magistrates and Town HOUSE OF COMMONS, Tuesday, February 3, 1846. MINUTES.] NEW WRIT. NEW MEMBERS SWORN. For Chichester, v. Lord Arthur Lennox, Steward of the Manor of Hempholme. For Midhurst, Spencer Horatio Walpole, Esq.-For Lichfield, Hon. Edward Mostyn Lloyd Mostyn.-For Newark, John Stuart, Esq. PUBLIC BILIS.-3 and passed:-Public Works (Ireland). PETITIONS PRESENTED. From Langton, and numerous other places, against, and from Cripplegate Within, and several other places, for Repeal, of the Corn Laws.From Roche, and several other places, against Enrolment of the Militia.-From White Abbey, Manchester, and other places, in favour of the Factories Bill.-From Aberdeen, for Abolition of Exclusive Privileges of Incorporated Trades (Scotland). THE TIMBER DUTIES. SIR ROBERT PEEL: I do not know, from Barton-le-Street, and several other places, in favour, Sir, whether it is regular or not; but of the Corn Laws. RELIGIOUS DISABILITIES. The LORD CHANCELLOR brought in a Bill to relieve Her Majesty's subjects from certain penalties and disabilities in regard to their religious opinions; and he moved that it be read the first time. LORD CAMPBELL asked the noble and learned Lord whether this Bill was in accordance with the recommendations of the Commissioners who had been appointed to inquire into this subject? He understood the Commissioners had actually framed a Bill for this very purpose, which Bill was now upon the files of the Court of Chancery. The LORD CHANCELLOR, in reply, said, that no such Bill as that referred to was upon the files of the Court of Chan cery. His noble and learned Friend was correct in stating that the Commissioners had framed a Bill; but the Bill now brought into the House was not the Bill recommended by the Commissioners; because it appeared to him better that the Commissioners' measure should be divided into two. The Bill now before the House formed one of those two measures; the other, which related to the oaths of supremacy, allegiance, and abjuration, would form matter for subsequent consideration. whilst I am in possession of the House, that laths, spars, and other sorts, we propose to make a proportionate reduction; but whether or not the reduction, having regard to the interest of the consumer, should be immediate, is a subject for consideration. Whether it should be effected without any more gradual reduction, we should wish to reserve for further opinions, as it may be a question whether the reduction might not be absolutely made on the 5th April, 1847. In the course of the evening the full details will be laid on the Table of the House; but I thought it necessary to make these few observations at the present opportunity. MR. HAWES: There will be no alteration of the duties this year? SIR R. PEEL: The duties will remain the same until the 5th April, 1847. From that date there will be a reduction in hewn timber of 5s., and in sawn timber of 6s. ; and from the 5th April, 1848, there will be a further reduction of 5s. and 6s. respectively. THE MINISTERIAL MEASURES. SIR R. PEEL, as he was upon his legs, would ask a question of the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyne, or, if the hon. Gentleman was not in the House, the question could probably be answered by some of the hon. Gentlemen who usually acted with him. The hon. Member had given notice that he would, on Monday next, on the Motion being put that the Speaker leave the Chair, on the House going into Committee on the commercial policy of the country, move an Amendment. Perhaps it would be well that the House should be put in possession of the nature of the Amendment the hon. Gentleman in tended to move. No reply was given. THE APPOINTMENT OF MR. CHAPMAN THE CORN LAWS. MR. WODEHOUSE rose to move for "1. Copy of the Warrant, or other document of authority, by which H. S. Chapman, Esq., Assistant Commissioner under the Commission appointed to inquire into the condition of the Hand-loom Weavers, and acting in that capacity in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1838, was afterwards appointed Chief Judge of the Supreme Court at Wellington, in New Zealand, in 1843. 2. Papers relative to Tariffs published in the United States, and presented in pursuance of an Address of the 18th of July, 1828, viz.: Copy of a Despatch from H. U. Addington, Esq., to Mr. Secretary Canning, dated Washington, May 30, 1824, and of Mr. Vaughan to Viscount Dudley, dated Washington, August 13, 1827, with other Inclosures. In moving for those returns he begged to state most distinctly that he had no notion of doing so in a spirit of hostility towards Mr. Chapman. It was due to that gentleman, who had received the highest testimonials from the Judge-Advocate, from the hon. Member for Liskeard, the hon. Member for Cumberland, the hon. Member for Bath, the hon. Member for Westminster, and other friends of his, to state that he believed the noble Lord the late Secretary for the Colonies was perfectly justified in the appointment he had made. But he was justified in bringing forward his present Motion, because in the report which Mr. Chapman had made when he was Commissioner under the Commission issued to inquire into the Condition of the Hand-loom Weavers in 1838, there were errors-errors of so serious a kind that it was quite impossible to pass them over. For instance, he had said, in speaking of the price of wheat from the year 1800 to 1815, that it was above 80s., not unfrequently 100s., and that in the few following years after 1800 it approached 125s., whilst in 1802 it was but 67s.; in 1803, 578. 1d.; and in 1804, 60s. 5d. and 1815, Mr. Chapman said that wheat at that period was rather less dear. Now, what he called rather less dear, was 75 But as most of that genper cent. less. tleman's calculations were drawn from the year 1800, he would pass to that period, which was the most remarkable in the annals of this country, it having been the last year in which there was the visitation of famine. In that year there was a Report from a Committee of the House of Commons, presented on the 12th February, in which the Committee express regret at the mistaken application of charity, in the distribution of flour and bread to the poor at a very reduced price, which too free distribution, it was feared, would have the effect of increasing the inconvenience of the deficiency in the past year's crop. In the same year there was a Committee of the House, before which Mr. Claude Scott, a corn-merchant, was examined. The following was the opinion of that gentle man : In 1814 "I think generally the supply will be moderate; the crops in general abroad have not been very productive, and in some parts, where we usually look for supplies, the exportation has lately been prohibited-I mean the Prussian provinces bordering on the Elbe. Our principal sources of supply may be looked for this year from the of the harvest in the Prussian provinces bordering Baltic, and chiefly from Poland; for the produce on the Baltic has been unusually bad, and the quality very light and inferior. A considerable |