• NEWS OF THE WEEK.
Tau Appropriation Bill has passed the House of Commons, and the Ministers have enjoyed their annual feast of white-bait at Blackwall; solhe end* the session must be near. It is given
out that the Queen will in person prorogue Parliament next Wednesday. • The Lords this week have not been truculent in opposition. The Manchester and Bolton Police Bills, though menaced with re- jection, will be suffered to pass ; and the Portuguese Slave-trade Bill only waits the Royal assent to take its place among the Sta- tutes. The Duke of WELLINGTON spoke strenuously against this measure at the last stage of its progress through the House. His Grace also, with several other Peers, entered protests on the jour- nals against the second and third reading ; stating the following among other reasons of dissent-
" &nose they the enactments of the bill] authorize the detention at sea, the hoarding, the demand, search for, and examination of, the papers of all ves- sels met 4t, sea by her Majesty's cruisers, or any person in her -Majesty's ser- vice, in direct violation of all the treaties made with each of nearly all the PONS'S of Europe, for regulating a mutual right of search, by ships-of-war, of merehant•vessels, for the suppression of the traffic called the slave-trade."
" Because the exercise of such right is liable to be resented and retaliated by all the:Powers of the world, including those with which her Majesty is hotind In' treaties.; each authorizing restricted and regulated mutual search of mar- &at-vessels in certain localities, in order to suppress the traffic called the slave-trade."
The Duke of WELLINGTON, it may be presumed, had the power to reject the measure against which such strong objections can be justly stated. The tone of his speech, delivered between the third reading and the passing of the bill, is that of solemn and earnest warning. Why did he not venture to act upon his own opinion ? " Protests"—the resource of the feeble against the powerful—are not usually made by those who permit a measure to pass which they could have thrown out. The Great Captain was wont to follow his own judgment in matters of grave importance ; but he contented himself with individual Opposition to this bill, instead of mustering against it the majority at his beck.
The Commons have been chiefly occupied with questions of banking and finance. The pertinacious resistance to the Bank of Ireland Bill has proved successful. Mr. O'CoNNem:s minority Was not to be wearied, or cajoled, or surprised. ‘Vhole sittings were consumed in altercation and divisions ; but not a step did the billadvance. At length, the Chancellor of the Exchequer suc- cumbed; proclaiming his defeat in a petulant speech. Mr. Rtes affected to consider himself an injured person : he complained of unfair treatment, and the "mechanical opposition" he had ex- perienced; and warned Members against the consequences of a bad precedent. Mr. O'CONNELL retorted, that he had established a good precedent—he had shown how the forms of the House could be used to defeat an attempt to three an important bill through Parliament in the absence of six hundred Members; many of those. Members having left town under the impression, which Mr. RICE
himself had communicated, that the hill in question would not be brought forward this session. It is diflicult to suppose any set of circumstances which could more fully justify " mechanical op- position." If the right to move repeated motions of adjournment is to be exercised at all, a more fitting occasion than that presented by the Bank of Ireland Bill can rarely arise. As a set-off against this defeat, the Chancellor of the Exchequer will point to the successful issue of his scheme of " funding " thur millions of Exchequer Bills. That, however, was but a clumsy operation, be the success what it may. Mr. RICE issued a notice which capitalists could not understand : an explanation followed, which enlightened nobody : when the day for completing the trans- action arrived, Mr. thee was offered only half-a-million on his own terms, instead of the four millions wanted : he then descended from his altitude, and the limitation of tenders to a minimum of half-a- million being withdrawn, small contributions were thankfully ac- cepted. In this way, from various quarters in sums of all amounts, Mr. RICE has contrived to scrape together the four millions—the smaller contractors no doubt relying upon the ability of the " levia- thans" to secure all parties to the transaction from loss, by forcing up the prices of Consuls. It was upon this result, so obtained, that Mr. }lien chuckled in the House of Commons. " No financial operation," he said, " had ever brought to so severe a test the public credit of this country." Which may be true ; but, except Mr. Bien, we venture to say, no Chancellor of the Exchequer ever 1oaeled of having applied a test of unprecedented severity to public credit.
When the Peer expectant had finished his paeans, Mr. ilium pertinently asked—what amount of Exchequer Bills must be issued to meet the (kficieney in the revenue of the year ? On the moment, Mr. RICE could not reply ; but he must have felt the question to be what is vulgarly called " a damper." Mr. Hume might have put another question—what amount of Exchequer Bills have been sold during the week, on Government account, to aid theefunding Extensive sales were made, and by the Bank Broker. Fir the rest of the Parliamentary business we refer to cur ab- stract of the debates and proceedings. Much remains unfinished ; and it will only be by an exertion of the nature of a race that the necessary bills can be passed by the time named for the proroga- tion. Deliberation is impossible, however needful : certain forms must be complied with, and that is all. Why there should be such hurry—why the Parliatnent which has sat six months cannot be kept together for another week—is not explained.
