third time. There could not be a greater mistake than to suppose that he had ever made any such arrangement as the noble Lord had supposed him to make, for it would be so manifestly against the course of order in that House, that the Speaker would have interfered to prevent its being carried into effect. He should conclude by repeating an expression of regret that any misapprehension had arisen, and by hoping that the House would acquit him of intending to take any one by surprise.

LORD J. MANNERS said, that no doubt the right hon. Gentleman did not mean to take him by surprise, but he must be permitted to say that the right hon. Gentleman had distinctly told him that he intended to take the Mercantile Marine Bill at twelve o'clock, after the other Orders of the Day were disposed of; and he distinctly remembered the Home Secretary observing that they could not proceed with the Bill at twelve o'clock to-morrow. The right hon. Gentleman the President of the Board of Trade might have meant that he would proceed with tho measure before twelve, but he said that he should not do so till twelve-he certainly fell into some mistake, and deceived not only himself but him (Lord J. Manners).

SIR G. GREY said, that as he had been appealed to, he felt it due to himself to say, that he had entered into no engagement whatever, but contented himself with observing that twelve o'clock to-morrow was a time already occupied. Beyond that he had not opened his lips, but he was bound now to state, that he certainly understood his right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade to say, that after the debate which then occupied the attention of the House was concluded, he should move the third reading of the Mercantile Marine Bill; but certainly no one expected that that debate would have been so soon over. ADMIRAL BOWLES said, that the right hon. Gentleman the President of the Board of Trade told him, not that he would wait till twelve o'clock, but that he would proceed with the Mercantile Marine Bill, even if no opportunity of moving it occurred before twelve o'clock; that, if necessary, he should go on with it as late as twelve o'clock.

LORD J. MANNERS said, that if the right hon. Gentleman had told that to him, he should not have been taken by surprise, but he never said anything of the sort.

MR. ANDERSON rose to say, that he had spoken to the right hon. President of

the Board of Trade in the lobby on the subject, when his reply to an inquiry was, that it would probably be late that night, and as he intended to second the clause of the noble Lord, he took the liberty of moving it in his absence.

Vote agreed to; as were the following

(9.) 453,8911. Commissariat Department.

(10.) 45,7917. Half-pay, Pensions, &c. (11.) 5,250l. Monument to Sir Robert Peel.

LORD J. MANNERS thought nothing could be more becoming a great nation than to place memorials of individuals who had distinguished themselves by the good done to their country in a suitable building. An opinion, however, prevailed, and was extending itself, that Westminster Abbey was not a proper place for containing such memorials. No one would for a moment think of objecting to the monument to the memory of Sir Robert Peel being erected in the Abbey; but he gave notice that, if a similar proposition should be made hereafter, he should oppose it.

LORD J. RUSSELL said, that there was no building more suitable than Westminster Abbey for containing public monu

Order for Third Reading read.

MR. BROTHERTON moved the Third Reading of the Public Libraries and Museums Bill.

COLONEL SIBTHORP was surprised that such a Motion should have come from the hon. Member for Salford, who was always ready to prevent business after twelve o'clock, when it came from a different side of the House from his own. He objected altogether to the present Bill, and would therefore move that it be read a third time that day three months.

Amendment proposed, to leave out the word " now," and at the end of the Question to add the words " upon this day three months."

LORD J. MANNERS wished the House to understand that this Bill would repeal all the Statutes of Mortmain.

SIR G. GREY said, that the Bill would only repeal the Statutes of Mortmain in so far as libraries and museums were concerned.

Question put, "That the word 'now' stand part of the Question?"

The House divided:-Ayes 64; Noes 15: Majority 49.

Main Question put, and agreed to.
Bill read 3°.

COLONEL RAWDON hoped his hon. and gallant Friend would not press his Motion, seeing what was the sense of the House in respect to the Bill extending to Ireland.

COLONEL CHATTERTON said, that as he conceived great injury would be done to Ireland by this Bill, he could not withdraw his Motion.

Motion made, and Question put, "That the said Clause be now read a Second Time.

The House divided:-Ayes 13; Noes 56: Majority 43.

Amendment made.
Bill passed.

The House adjourned at a quarter before Two o'clock.

HOUSE OF LORDS,

Tuesday, July 30, 1850.

MINUTES.] PUBLIC BILLS.-1a Mercantile Marine (No. 2); Navy Pay; Public Libraries and Mu

seums.

COLONEL CHATTERTON said: Sir, perhaps there never was a Bill introduced into this House under such unfortunate auspices. Though professedly for the amusement and instruction of the working classes of the people, its real object now turns out to be actual, permanent, and forced taxation. Sir, the second reading of this Bill was not a triumphant one. As regards Ireland, I object to the principle of this Bill, as tending to impose a new tax upon an already pauperised people. I object to it, as it would not be of the slightest benefit in the city I have the honour to represent; for it cannot be imagined that a peasant, fatigued after hist daily toil, could be so impressed with the love of literature, or the study of the antique, as to set off, even under the influence of a bright summer evening, to walk six or seven miles to improve his mind, FISHERIES IN MID-CHANNEL BETWEEN and then walk back to ponder over and digest what he had seen and heard, Sir, I think this proposition monstrous and illtimed; and although no person can be more anxious than I am for every fair opportunity being given to the working classes to gain useful knowledge, still I never can consent to this method of procuring it, by taxing the many for the supposed advantage of the few. I beg to move that the provisions of this Bill do not pass into law in Ireland.

Clause (And be it enacted, That the Bill do not extend to Ireland) brought up. Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the said Clause be now read the First Time," put, and agreed to.

Clause read 1°.

COLONEL SIBTHORP supported the Motion.

MR. G. A. HAMILTON hoped the hon. and gallant Colonel would not press his Motion. They had taken care that the people of Ireland should be taught to read; but, having done so, no libraries were established from which proper books could be got: and he believed that was the reason why they were driven to read inflammatory publications.

VOL. CXIII. [THIRD SERIES.

2a General Board of Health (No. 2); Small Te-
nements Rating.
Reported.-Bills of Exchange.
3 Highway Rates.

ENGLAND AND FRANCE.

The EARL of WICKLOW wished to obtain some information on a subject of no slight importance from Her Majesty's Government. Their Lordships would have seen, from the public journals, that five British fishing vessels had been recently taken into the port of Dieppe by the French cruisers. If he had been rightly informed, their capture had not arisen our of any ordinary cause, but out of a novel cause of no small importance. There was a treaty, he believed, between the two countries, that the fishery of each country should be limited to a distance of five miles from the coast of the other. A most important discovery had been recently made of oyster beds between Brighton and Dieppe. The English fishermen had fished upon those beds to a great extent; and the consequence was, that at the present moment the English markets were as amply supplied with oysters as at any other period of the year. These oysters were an inferior fish, but were as fully in season. He was informed that nothing had prevented these oysterbeds from being fully fished by the English fishermen except the injury which it

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was supposed it would inflict on the oyster that it was a difficulty which would soon fisheries of Essex. He had been inform-adjust itself, as similar difficulties had aded that two of our fishing vessels had justed themselves which had formerly been chased from these grounds and fired arisen; as, for instance, when a fisherman into by a French cruiser, and that some of either country was found trespassing on had been actually taken, and carried into the fishing grounds of the other, he was Dieppe as prisoners, by the French authori- carried into the nearest port of the counties. He knew that the attention of the try on which he had trespassed, and his noble Viscount the Secretary of State for offence was there decided on by the ordiForeign Affairs had been called to this nary magistrates. The decisions followed point; that, however, which he wanted to the law of the respective countries. know was, whether any treaty or any to this time the English fishermen had convention had been entered into between been trespassing occasionally on the French the two Powers to save the lives of Eng- coasts, as the French had been trespassing lish fishermen from injury, and to protect on ours. The particular difficulty in this their vessels from capture. The evil, he case had arisen from the discovery of a was sorry to say, was on the increase; large oyster-bed in the ground which the and the English fishermen were determin- fishermen of neither country had been ed not to be prevented from enjoying the allowed to approach. He did not know treasure which had recently been disco- whether the oysters had had any secret vered. The consequence would be, that intelligence of that fact; but it was unthe French would increase their force of deniable that they had accumulated upon cruisers to protect what they considered to that spot, and had thus afforded an irrebe their own grounds. He therefore sistible temptation to the fishermen both hoped that the noble Marquess would give of England and France. He knew no the House some assurance that something reason why, on being caught trespassing, would be done to prevent the recurrence they should not be carried, as on former occasions, before the magistrates of the two countries. No report had been received from our Consul at Dieppe, and there was at present no reason to suppose that any injustice had been done.

of this evil.

THE QUEEN'S MESSAGE-MARLBOROUGH

HOUSE.

The MARQUESS of LANSDOWNE then moved that the Order of the Day be read for considering the Message of the Queen respecting securing Marlborough-house to His Royal Highness Albert Edward, Prince of Wales.

The Order of the Day and the Royal Message were then read by the Clerk at the table.

The MARQUESS of LANSDOWNE hoped that the answer which he was about to give to the question of his noble Friend would be quite satisfactory. It was probably known to their Lordships that there had been some trouble, discontent, and dispute respecting the fisheries on the coasts of two nations so near to each other as were the coasts of England and France. A treaty to adjust those discontents and disputes had been concluded between the two Governments in the year 1838, and it had so far succeeded that, although it did not entirely prevent quarrels from arising, they had not led to any mischievous consequences, but had been accommodated successfully to the claims of both nations. The fisheries were not to be The MARQUESS of LANSDOWNE, in fished by foreign fishermen within three moving that an Address to the Crown in miles of the respective coasts of either reply to this Message should be unanicountry, with one exception, which had mously adopted, observed that it was only arisen out of an immemorial usage. On necessary for him to explain that the obarriving at a particular point in the mid-ject of this arrangement was to secure in channel between Jersey and France, which a suitable part of this metropolis a fitting was not laid down on any map, or by any residence at a future period for His Royal geographical line, but which was well Highness the Prince of Wales. It might known to the fishermen of both countries, be asked, why it was necessary to secure a particular field was assigned, where the such a residence at present? It had ocfishermen of neither country were to fish. curred to the Members of Her Majesty's It was on this particular field that the Government, and the suggestion had met difficulty to which the noble Lord had the approbation of Her Majesty herself, alluded, had recently arisen. He believed that it might be desirable to appropriate

has moved for a new writ for the city of London, and he has not vouchsafed to state to the House any reasons for the Motion. He has taken I shall take leave to move an Amendment before I sit down-that the seat of the hon. Member is full. I apprehend that this is a question which is of extremely deep importance to the privileges of this House, and one which not only concerns the privileges of the House, but concerns most deeply the country at large, and the rights and privileges of the electors of this kingdom. Sir, the electors of London have, I think, shown exemplary forbearance throughout the whole of this matter. It has been no wish of theirs to try the question in any way which would subject the House to that which seems to be more dreaded than, I confess, I think the House of Commons ought to dread it