On this page
-
Text (4)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
tions in the Austrian * dominions . " There is to be " peace " in Enrope—the Princes arranging to help each other in keeping down their beloved people . . The Greek dispute approaches to an amicable settlement . That little matter off his hands , Lord Palmerston is said to be amusing himself with angry notes to Austria , on her advice to Tuscany , as if Austrian interference there had been so unwonted . Report speaks also of a British fleet in the Tagus , doubtless on some important mission .
Untitled Article
PARLIAMENT .
Untitled Article
HISTORY OP THE WEEK . The House of Commons resumed business on Monday , and the proposal to go into a Committee of Supply at once gave rise to a series of debates on * ' grievances . " Captain Boj-deuo presented a number of petitioi ^ a complaining of the wretched accommodation for Assistant Surgeons in ships of war . He contrasted the position of an Assistant Surgeon in the army with that of one in the navv . The former , when he
joins his regiment , is at once installed a member of the mess , he has a barrack room and a servant , and can pursue his studies at his own convenience . The naval assistant surgeon , when he joins his ship , is turned into the cockpit . His companions are boys , some of them not more than thirteen years of age . He sleeps in a hammock , performs his ablutions in the presence of these boys , has no cabin , no servant , and no proper opportunity of pursuing his-professional studies : —
" What is a cockpit ? A place in the hold of a ship where the sun never penetrates , where the only light is that of lamps or candles , where an impure atmosphere constantly prevails . The idea of study in such a place , in the midst of middies fond of larking and full of fun , is preposterous ! A man who has spent his time at a universit y in quiet study is not in his proper place there : he is subject to interruption and noise ; he has no facilities for referring to the works of science . His spirit is broken ; his self-respect is destroyed , and , with it , his self-confidence , one of the first requisites to great undertakings . The chances are that he would acquire habits of drinking , and become utterly heedless of his duty . "
To cure these evils , Captain Boldero moved as an amendment to the motion that the Speaker do now leave the chair , that the following words be added : — " That the accommodation provided for the assistant surgeons on board her Majesty ' s ships of war is ina dequate and insufficient for securing the full benefit of thciv professional service . " Admiral Dundas opposed the amendment , but in doing so he made no attempt to deny Captain
Boldero ' s description of the miserable accommodation provided on board ships of war . The chief point on which he insisted was the number of candidates for the office of assistant surgeon . At present the Admiralty has no less than 2 G 3 names on the list . Mr . Hume thought the case one of very gross injustice , and ho had no doubt the groat minority of the surgeons would complain if they fjareu to speak out . On a division the motion that thp Speaker do now leave the cluxir was negatived by 48 to 40 .
The amendment was then put as a substantive motion ; which called jip Admiral Berkeley in oppofution to it . He could sep no reason why Assistant Surgeons should be placed over the heads of their superiors in rank in the navy , and their equals as gentlemen in . every way . If'they arc placed with boys , those boys are educated at Eton and Harrow . Such a step would be one of the greatest blows inflicted upon the naval s . eryicp . Sir Fujvnois Baring regretted that the House ' should , by a resolution , create expectations in the jnhuls of tUpso officers , which , he feared , could no > bp realized . The wish of the House was one thing , but the practicability of the proposal was another . Mr . IIumi ; thought that where there was a will there would be a way . The motion wns agreed to .
The motion for going into Committee of Supply having been renewed , Mr . Ansthy called attention to the illegality of reprisals made in Greece , without the authority of an order in Councilft subject involving thp question whether it . should bo lult . to si Mitgli * ijiaji- -the Voreign Secretaryto plunge this country , by his own act , into ji war wtill other countries of Kuropr . Lord l ' . w ,-MKUstwN conli Dili il th . it do (>;¦ ' !¦ r \>\ (' . uim-il was necessary i ; i I lie imm * of Mich !¦ jui > : il . s as
those lately made in- Greece , where vessels had been merely detained as pledges for obtaining redress . Afterwards , in reply to a question from Mr . Hume , Lord Pat , merston' said that , by the last accounts from A t hens , Baron Gros , who was acting as mediator on the part of France , was still investigating the matters in dispute . The House at last went into a Committee of Supply , and Colonel Anson brought forward the Ordnance Estimates for the present year . From 1845 to 1848 inclusive , he said , there has been a constant increase in the expenditure' of this
department , amounting altogether , upon the four years , to £ 992 , 285 . In 1844 the ordnance estimates were only £ 1 , 999 , 958 , and in 1848 they had advanced to £ 2 , 992 , 143 . But Government was not to blame for this large increase : it had for ten years been pressed by complaints that it was neglecting the security and peace ^ p the country . " In 1845 the aspect of affairs became threatening—the few fortifications we had to rely upon were dismantled , dilapidated , and decayed . If a squadron of foreign steamers had chosen to make their way to any of our principal naval stations , either Portsmouth , Plymouth , Pembroke , or up the Thames , these p ' aces were completely open to attack , and an enemy might have committed any aggression he pleased—there
was nothing to prevent his vessels coming up the Thames and insulting the Sovereign in the very heart of her dominions . " Impressed with these considerations , Government has , for several years , deemed it proper to set apart a sum of money annually for the protection of the coast ; and the result is that our s * a defences have been made very complete at the most vulnerable points of attack . For the last two years , however , a reduction has taken place in the expenditure under this head . From £ 2 , 992 , 143 in 1848 , the estimates were brought down to £ 2 , 632 , 601 in 1849 , and this year they would be reduced to £ 2 , 434 , 417 ; showing a total reduction during the last two years of £ 557 , 726 . Colonel Anson moved that the number of men ior the ordnance be 14 , 569 ,
including officers . Mr . Hume was unable to see what need there was ior so many men . In 1792 our whole artillery force was only 4846 men ; in 1828 it had increased to 8682 , and now it was said that we required 14 , 000 men . What has occurred since 1828 to make us need so many more men now than we did then ? The present mode of voting the supplies is not the most eligible . Parliament ought to vote , say £ 10 , 000 , 000 , and then tell the Government that they must keep the expense of the army , navy , and ordnance within that sum . Colonel Chattekton was much pleased with the estimates . So far from reducing the artillery , he would rather increase the efficiency of that important arm of the service .
A desultory conversation arose regarding the various branches of the estimates , but little effective qpposition was made to any of them . The motion for the repeal of the window-tax was brought forward by Lord Duncan , and gave rise to some discussion , but nothing new was elicited . In support of the motion it was urged that the present mode of levying taxes on light and air interferes most prejudicially with sanitary reform ; that it presses most unequally on the smaller and older houses , on many of which it is five or six times heavier than on newer houses , built expressly to
evade the window-tax ; that the Health of Towns Association , comprising several members of Government , in an able report on the subject , denounced the window-tax as worse than a tax on food ; and that it was little else than mockery to insert a paragraph about sanitary measures in the Queen ' s Speech unless this grand obstacle to sanitary improvement were abolished . Sir De Lacy Evans said he had been informed that in the district with which he was connected , a thousand houses had been recently erected with the number of windows so limited as to avoid the duty . The Chancellor of tho Exciieuukr
thought that too much stress was laid upon sanitary considerations . He believed thut the operation of the tax was , in some degree , prejudicial to health , but the state of the revenue was not so promising that he could afford to give up more than a million and a half sterling , without knowing where to obtain an equivalent . Sir Ijkn . tamin Hall declared it perfectly useless to i » suc commissions to inquire into the state of the public health so long as they refused to repeal those taxes which limited the supply of light and air . The house having divided , the motion was negatived by 80 to 77 .
bir John Komilly ( Solicitor-General ) moved for leave to bring in a bill to provide more simple and effectual securities to purchasers of encumbered estates in Ireland . He described the machinery of the bill , the object of which is to induce English capitalists to assist Irish proprietors to purchase land , and then to spend money in improvements : — " The object to be kept in view was twofold—to give ample security to the capitalist , and yet to leave the proprietor as much unfettered as possible . It was , therefore , proposed that , certificates ( in the nature of mort-^ a _ 'Cs ) should be yrannd to those who advanced capital to an c . slciit not txct i'diii { , half the value of the lain ! , un-. l thes-e (¦¦ rtilic . i'cs ( which were to he so simple in form that they mii ; ht ho prepared without lei ^ al aid , and
were to be negotiable ) were to be a registered charge upon the land itself . But they were not to be a debt as against the proprietor , nor could a Chancery receivership or a common-law execution be founded upon them : but , on the other hand , three months' arrear in payment of interest would entitle the mortgagee to take possession of the land . " The measure was not received with much , approbation by the Irish Members , who seemed to suspect that it was devised with a view to juggle Irish landlords . Polonel Dunne said he would not oppose the introduction of the bill ; but he objected to its assisting proprietors only when they should become purchasers , instead of aiding them also in making improvements . Leave was ultimately granted to bring in the bill .
On the second reading of the Charitable Trusts Bill , a short conversation took place regarding its provisions . The object of this measure is to introduce a new mode of dealing with all charities under £ 100 a year . The number of such charities is nearly 24 , 000 , with an aggregate income of £ 1 , 000 , 000 . Those below £ 30 a year are to be transferred to the judges of the County Courts ; those between £ 30 and £ 100 will be placed under the jurisdiction of a Master in Chancery , whose decision will be final . The bill was read a second time with very little opposition .
The motion for going into committee on the Public Libraries and Museums Bill was naturally opposed by Colonel Sibthorp and Mr . Newdegate ; by the Colonel , because he thought that if public libraries were required by any class , they ought to be established b y subscription , not by forced contributions ; and by Mr . Newdegate , because , in the present depressed state of agriculture , he could not consent to give to any local or municipal body the power of raising new rates . Mr . Law , being a representative of Cambridge , took the same side . The object of the
bill , he said , was to enable the wealthier inhabitants of a borough to tax the less influential for the purchase of a library for the Town Council , who were to have its whole management and control in perpetuity . He did not think that such a library would be accessible to the majority of the working people . This objection was well met by Mr . Ewakt , who pointed to what had taken place in Salford . In the public library lately formed there it was the poorer classes who were chiefly to be found making use of the books ; and he had no doubt that it would be the same elsewhere . Mr . Walter wished to know
whether the books were to be lent out , or must they be read in the library ? To which Mr . Broth erton replied , that that would depend very much on the number of books compared with the number of those who wanted to read them . Mr . Bright ridiculed the objections made by Mr . Law and Mr . Newdegate . Mr . \ V . J . Fox said that one great advantage would result from the bill—it would afford the means of providing receptacles for books when collected , and thus remove one great difficulty in forming a library by working men . Colonel Sibthorp ' s amendment to postpone going into committee was negatived by 99 to 64 .
The discussion on the second reading of the County Courts Bill was chiefly remarkable for the opposition given to it by Sir George Grey and Sir John Jervis ( the Attorney-General ) , and by the very large majority by which they were defeated . The object of the bill is to give county courts jurisdiction in all cases up to £ 50 : at present it is confined to those under £ 20 . The second reading was carried by 144 to G 7 ; and the bill went into committee .
The Parliamentary Voters ( Ireland ) Bill , passed through committee on Thursday evening , without any discussion of importance , and without any material alteration with reference to the proposition made by Mr . Monsell , for the union of towns and boroughs where tho constituencies were very small . Lord John Russell said the subject had been under consideration , but there Mere many objections to incorporating it in the present bill . He recommended that the suggestion should be reserved for a future session .
The next business of tho evening , an Irish bill also , the Distressed Unions Bill , called forth some opposition on the part of several members , who thought Lord John Russell ought not to bring forward a bill for money to Ireland , at so late an hour and in so thin a House . Colon pi SnrnioKr decidedly objected to the grant involved in the bill , and moved that it be read a second time that day six months . He complained that certain returns relating to grants and loans to Ireland , moved for in February , were not yet forthcoming : —
" He knew that they had come over from the sister kingdom , and he looked upon their retention as a surreptitious proceeding on the part of the noble lord . He believed that it was done in order to blind members of that House ; but . he objected to this grant , not from any illiocral or unchristian feeling , but because there was already £ 8 , 000 , 000 owing to the people of this country , and he doubled whether they would ever net it back . Was this to be the last jjrant ? Would the Government say that this was not a bribe—a low , dirty bribe , to please and Hatter the Iri . ih people ? ( . 1 luuyh . ) The noble lord might set traps and spring guns—' springes to natch woodcocks , ' but lie would catch no game . ( A lauyh ) .
Untitled Article
PROGRESS OF WORK DONE . Bills Read a Second Time . —Charitable Trusts Bill—County Courts Bill , by 144 to G 7 ag-ainst Ministers—Distressed Unions ( Ireland ) Bill . Read a Thibd Time . —Brick Duties Bill—Judgments ( Ireland ) Bill . In Committee . —Stamp Duties Bill—Public Libraries Museums Bill . Finance . —Ordnance Estimates voted . Motions . —Captain Boldero ' s motion , that the accommodation for assistant surgeons on board ships of war is inadequate and insufficient , carried by 48 to 40 against Ministers—Lord Duncan ' s motion for the repeal of the window-tax negatived by 77 to 80-
Untitled Article
60 ®! K & * && «*? [ Saturday ,
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), April 13, 1850, page 50, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1840/page/2/
-