18 MAY 1844, Page 1

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

PARLIAMENT has had a variety of subjects before it this week, and dealt with them in a variety of fashions; settling some questions, opening others, and glancing at others again merely to leave them really untouched. The Ten-hours question is settled for the nonce ; Lord ASHLEY'S well-meant project being thrown over for the ses- sion at least. Some people are very indignant at the way in which the House of Commons, Ministers commanding, has reversed its previous decision in favour of short time : but there appears no sufficient ground for the indignation. However Lord ASHLEY may have surprised the assembly, by courtesy called deliberative, into a technical adoption of his proposal, the position which he had really attained was' that the House accepted his statement as a prinaciandfacie case, and admitted him to make it good. Neither Parlia- ment nor any party in it could fairly stand on the ground that in- terference is in no case justifiable, for Parliament has interfered and does interfere in every direction ; it had already interfered in restricting the daily duration of factory-labour, and Ministers themselves proposed to carry that intervention further. But was the particular degree and method of interference proposed by Lord ASHLEY expedient—the best—sure to do more good than harm ? That was the thing which he had to establish; but little proof was produced. After the first victory, he seemed to think that he had done all ; and when afterwards he tackled with the commercial part of the question, it was rather as a concession to wayward obstinacy than as an essential part of his task. He was not happy in that portion of his theme. The question therefore made no way on its positive merits. But Ministers, as such, had also a voice in the matter. It was sought, be it remembered, to graft the Ten-hours Bill upon a bill introduced by the Government ; and the Government had a right to say whether they would consent to have so large a modification of domestic policy forced upon them. They declared that they would not ; they appealed to their influence in the House to pro- tect them from the compulsion ; and in that way they evoked _their party-strength, pledged to support them on general. Political grounds. There is nothing wonderful in this, nor BO anebmrnonly discreditable to Members; though it has been used rather effec- tively to "write down" the House of Commons in the popular estimation. The upshot is that Lord ASHLEY'S Ten-hours project is definitively rejected for ;he present.

Mr. SHARMAN CRAWFORD has made his annual move towards a bill enacting "Complete Suffrage," as it used to be called ; though its promoters seem already to have grown ashamed of the title. The guise with which this measure comes forth is not imposing. It is the Charter," but called by another title, as if in effeminate fear of a name,—a very idle kind of evasion. But, good or bad in itself, the parading it merely to be so slighted that the only speakers on the motion were the mover and seconder, was stilt more idle. Such courtings of failure do not advance the cause of Parliament- ary Reform, but the reverse ; for they indispose people to think about a thing so despised, so successless, and so irksome. It would be better to propose the simple " Charter" at once, in a manly way; still better to wait, watchfully, till a practical interest in the class of questions revives.

An Irish grievance, "the spy system," is assuming a tangible shape. It was alluded to in Parliament rather oddly; Lord Noll- MANDY denouncing the system, but also denouncing the dismissal of Mr. Grier, a Stipendiary Magistrate, whose offence was an al- leged implication in it. He does not escape suspicion of indiscre- tion; but Government must do something more decisive and un- equivocal than dismissing a Magistrate for a blundering miscon- struetion of a laxly-worded order from Dublin Castle. It appears to be extremely probable, that, at the least, certain Policemen have been procuring evidence in a very objectionable manner, by means asides and mercenary witnesses—almost manufacturing evidence, after the manner of " blood-men "; and Government ought tho- roughly to probe and expose the matter. They would then not only, for good and all, silence a kind of reproach to which their party in Ireland has been accounted peculiarly obnoxious, but do a great public benefit, and help to extirpate one class of venomous reptiles from which Ireland is by no means exempt. Another grievance comes nearer home to us, but its exposure promises results less immediately satisfactory. Two years ago, the office of the Six Clerks in Chancery, with a number of ancillary offices, was abolished, and compensation was awarded by wholesale; great sums being given right and left to the holders of the places, to whom very large incomes were secured for life. Much of the emoluments subsisted at the mere pleasure of the Lord Chancel- lor; almost all the offices were literally held by a mere tenancy- at-will, though custom had set up a more permanent tenure m practice; but the only kind of rig/it consisted in the long conti- nuance of the abuse. The bill granting the compensation was prepared by one of the persons compensated; and it was hurried through Parliament, late in the session, with extraordinary speed. Mr. WATSON now proposed a revision of this exorbitant compen- sation. His vigilance came rather too late : it was really making a solemn motion to shut the door after the steed had been stolen; and to revoke grants made by act of Parliament would, indeed, be a dangerous precedent. But the lesson should not be lost : compen- sations, though liberal, need not be measured by the desires of the persons to be compensated, nor need such persons be left to fix their own award without question ; and we may learn that the longer an abuse remains untouched, the more costly does it become to remove it. The nuisance that we can kick away today at will, becomes a matter of disputed title tomorrow, and in a little while it is a "vested interest": : let a man injure you long enough, and he acquires a right to do it. A law question, one of those that have only been opened, is of a larger kind. Lord BROUGHAM has introduced a bill which consists of a digest of the statute and common law in matters of crime and punishment—in fact, a code of criminal law. The bill was read a second time'' it is to be examined by skilful persons during the recess; and next session Parliament will take it up again, finally to deal with it. As to the branch incorporating the statute law, there seems, from what Lord Chancellor LYNDHURST said, to be no doubt that it will be enacted, with the concurrence of Go- vernment. Some doubt is expressed as to the expediency of meddling with the common law; and it may be regarded as stand- ing for more mature deliberation, with a probability of success on that point also. The delay is not to be looked upon as mere procrastination : the measure is far too important to be suffered to run the chances of partial frustration by mistakes and flaws in its very substance ; and the only certain method of turning out a code, sound and complete as a whole, is to let it be circulated in print, and carefully scrutinized in every part by the best intellects— by men learned in the law, and all other competent students and thinkers, undisturbed by the chatter of Parliamentary " dis- cussion." To take a session more to the great work, matters little with a measure that may signalize a generation. But it must not be allowed to sleep.