POSTSCRIPT.
SATURDAY.
The interest of the proceedings in Parliament, whether we look to the personalities in the Commons or the professional wrangling in the Lords, lay not so much in the main business as in squabbling incidents; Ireland. being the chief topic. In the Upper House, there was some conversation between the Bishop of CABHEL and the Marquis of NORMANDY, about the Bishop's imputed re- proval of a Protestant clergyman, Mr. Mackesy, for encouraging a National School in his parish. The results of this new disputation seem to be, that the Bishop says, he did not reprove Mr. Mackesy for encouraging a National School—he only blamed him for not establishing an English school of his own, as every Protestant clergyman in Ireland is bound to do, and con- demned the National system generally; [a very nice distinction!] while it turns out, that Mr. Mackesy, so far from being an injured advocate of the National system, once reported. against a brother clergyman for encou- raging it!
Then there was a debate about the state of Ireland, soon converted into a wrangle about the legal technicalities of the State prosecution. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE began, by presenting a petition from the county of Leitrim, complaining of the lawless state of the country; which was to be mended, said the Marquis, by giving the people legal redress for their grievances and making it their interest to support the law. He condemned the conduct of Government in Ireland, as a series of mistakes, from the dis- missal ofthe Repeal Magistrates to Sir Robert Peel's imprudent allusion to danger in the West; he pronounced Government to be not in a "situation of strength" but in a state of debility, and the country never to have been less tranquil than it is at present; and he declared the decision of the Irish Judges in the State prosecution to have been reversed on its merits. This drew forth Lord BROUGHAM; who denied that the decision of the Lords was made on the merits of the case, since seven counts of the indictment, untouched by the arguments for the prisoners, plainly convicted them of conspiracy; and if the four bad counts had been omitted, no possible ob- jection could have been taken to the judgment. The question as to the array of the Jury had no bearing on the final decision. Lord DENmAN corroborated that statement, except that he held the question of the array to be material. And Lord CAMPBELL said, that question prevented the decisions, being given on purely technical grounds. Being inter- rupted by Lord STANLEY, with the remark that the alleged frauds in the array bad not been proved, Lord CAMPBELL told "the noble and unlearned Lord," that he did not know what he was about, as the mat- ter never came to proof. The Lord. CHANCELLOR corroborated. Lord Brougham's view. Lord STA.NLEY answered, without following, Lord Clan- ricarde ; blaming him for uttering a speech that must have the worst effects in Ireland; stating that steps had been taken to secure the peace in Lei- trim; and adding, in reply to Lord FARNHAm—who hoped that the Party Processions Act, a one-sided measure, would not be renewed—that Go- vernment had no intention of renewing it.
In the House of Commons, Sir JAMES GRAHAM made a formal motion, in order to grant, out of the Consolidated Fund, 100,000/. for building the proposed new Colleges in Ireland, and 21,000/. annually for their expenses; further discussion to be taken on Monday. The business part of this subject may be dismissed in a few words. In reply to questioners, Sir James Graham said, that an alteration in the bill would enable the govern- ing body of the Colleges to make by-laws regulating the attendance of the pupils at divine worship, subject to the approval of the Crown; and that the annual grant was increased from 18,000/. to 21,0001. to pay for prizes, exhibitions, &c, The House went into Committee, and the grant was affirmed.
But there was a by-play of personal squabbling. When the motion was made, up rose Mr. Ssurn O'BRIEN, to state, by way of "friendly sugges- tion" to Ministers, that all Ireland disapproved of the bill as it stood; especially to the absence of provision for religious instruction, and the " disgraceful " clause which made the appointment of Professorships a "Government job." The people of Ireland would feel that Government bad expended the money of Ireland (!) in the endowment of an institution which would be attended with no possible good whatever, but was an attempt to corrupt the intellect of Ireland. Mr. CotousrouN rebuked Mr. O'Brien for assuming the position of dictator, or rather deputy-dictator; and for carrying on a most unscrupulous agitation in Ireland, drying up the sources of its prosperity, interfering with the employment of capital, and preventing the demand for labour. Mr. ROEBUCK was much more severe. He sneered at the rubbish uttered in Conciliation Hall—the "three tailors of Tooley Street "—and its claptraps to attract vulgar ad- miration for the moment.
"1 cannot," said Mr. Roebuck, speaking in the first person but at Mr. O'Brien, "understand, except I were to search somewhat low for motives, what it is that takes me one moment upon the stage of Conciliation Hall, to do all I can to ex- cite discontent, bitter religions animosity, national hatred, narrow bigotry, vulgar prejudice; and then, when I have spit my- venom there, fancying that I shall be secure, armed as I may be with the attnbutes of a Member of this House, that I sthall come down to insult them by repeating the trash that might have gained approbation upon the stage of that theatre." "Be there no motives that could have led to conduct such as this ? Could it not be disappointed vanity? Could it not be some sort of truckling to a superior intellect, under whose fostering care one might have hoped to emerge into something like notoriety ?—unable by one's own ability upon a fair stage to acquire power, and willing to go into the atmos- phere of corruption, and be hatched into something like a butterfly by the foul and pestilential influence. Be who is the leading spirit in that scene, one can under- stand what he is about. Want staring one in the face, it is of necessity to pan- der to public appetite, so that we may satisfy our own; and the cravings of hun- ger must be allyed, if by grovelling to satisfy all the base passions of the vilest nature."
Immense squabbling. Mr. Smini O'BRrEN, several times interrupted, said that he had the satisfaction of witnessing the accumulated venom of three months; that he did not pride himself on elaborately-prepared invec- tive, nor upon sentence piled upon sentence to give pain to any man; that he treated the attack with unutterable contempt, accompanying that con-
tempt with sincere pity. Sir ROBERT INGLIS rose to order: he doubted whe- ther any Member had a right to express his unutterable contempt. ( areal laughter.) Subsequently, Mr. O'BREEN said that his vanity would rather have induced him to stay and retain his position in that Home. He had so little personal animosity, that he would give his hand to Mr. Roebuck. [This was much cheered.] _ On a motion for a Committee of Supply, divers grievances were brought forward; the state of the Irish fisheries, with suggestions, by Sir HENRI' BARRom, being the first; but Sir THOMAS FREMANTLE said that the sug- gested projects would be too expensive. Then Sir CHARLES NAPEER de- plored the state of the Navy—France having a steam-marine of 26,476 horse-power, while we have one of but 23,000—and the want of coast- fortifications. Sir ROBERT PEEL said that Sir Charles's projects would. cost 25,000,0001 But in substance, this debate was hire all on the same subject that have preceded it, and equally resultless. Inter alio, Mr. HINDLEY mentioned a report that Lord Chancellor Lyndhurst pays no Income-tax; which caused a shout of laughter.
Earlier in the evening, being questioned by Mr. LABOUCHERE, Sir ROBERT PEEL corroborated the public report that Spain had demanded admission for the sugars of Cuba and Porto Rico: but he would say no more.
Mr. BULLER laid on the table the resolutions he intends to bring forward on the New Zealand discussion, next Tuesday; which are merely the re- solutions passed by the Select Committee of last session. At Sir Roam PEEL'S suggestion, he arranged not to move, as a preliminary, for a Com- mittee of the whole House, but simply to move the resolutions at once; so that the Government opposition might not prevent a decision on them.
A message from the Crown was presented to both Houses, recommending a pension of 1,5001. a year to Sir Henry Pottinger.
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