NEWS OF THE WEEK.
ALTHOUGH to the last Sir ROBERT PEEL'S promised " statement " of what he should do, even under the provocative of Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S clever speech upon the state of public affairs on Friday night, was limited to announcing that he should not say what he should do, a few not unimportant points in the Ministerial inten- tions have peeped forth this week : the veil of reserve was rubbed off them in the attrition of some otherwise fruitless discussions, such as a sequel to the State-of-the-Country debate, and some of those desultory expositions of grievances which precede a Com- mittee of Supply. These extorted announcements are all of the negative kind ; but, in the present circumstances, they are not the less important for that. First then, with regard to Sir ROBERT FEEL'S "difficulty with Ireland "—a main part of that is to be coolly evaded, and Lord STANLEY'S disfranchising Registration Bill is not to be reintroduced. Sir ROBERT PEEL was less "explicit" than usual, after his own peculiar fashion, on that head, but much more decided and intelligible ; that is to say, he did not make a long "frank" speech to say that he should tell nothing, but he at once tell something. He said positively that Lord .STANIX Bill would not be brought forward again ; that he had no imme- diate intention of bringing in any measure upon the subject ; and that if he were to correct the abuses of the registration, he should extremely regret any thing which might tend to limit the fran- chise intended by the Reform Bill. So Lord STANLEY has submitted to the curb. But Sir ROBERT PEEL appears to have taken a more formidable bull by the horns—a religious bull : Sir ROBERT INGLIS told Mr. HAwss that he should not put forth his Church-extension resolution this session ; and as to next session, said Sir ROBERT, with a kind of testy despair, it will be time enough to speak of it when the session comes. Thus that sleek and sacred ox is muzzled. Then Sir ROBERT volunteered the de- claration, plain, unequivocal, and couched in no more than the needful words, that he is not going to alter the Irish Poor-law a tittle. And finally, he has been made, rather reluctantly, to talk about the Poor-law. The occasion was the introduction of a bill for continuing the Poor-law Commission for six months ; the ques- tion of any change in that Commission, or in the general and per- manent law, being postponed until "next session." Several eager abolitionists, however, pressed for a discussion upon the whole subject ; and Sir ROBERT a little indulged their impatience by giving them leave to have a talk on Friday, on going into Committee on the Commission Continuance Bill : but he warned them that the principle of the law would not come under review ; and at last, provoked by the importunities of the Anti-Poor-law people, he sneered at the idea of discussing the law while dealing with "a mere continuing bill"; and resisted an attempt to put off the Committee and protract discussions, by saying that if he assented it would imply opinions which he certainly did not entertain. Mr. WORTLEY bowed, and Mr. WAKLEY eulogized Sir ROBERT'S moderation. The Anti-Poor-law agitators of the House have sub- mitted to a strait-waistcoat. Last week, Sir ROBERT PEEL made a long speech to tell us that he was going into a Committee of Supply next night : this week, by favour of a few random con- versations, we learn, that " Scorpion " STANLEY'S sting is drawn, and that the Irish franchise is not to be invaded ; that Church- extension hides its diminished head ; that the Irish Poor-law is adopted in its integrity ; and that the New Poor-law is to stand over till next session, with little protnise of Sir ROBERT PEEL being converted into a JOHN IV ALTER in the interval.
Sergeant WILDE has caught the Irish Lord Chancellor a-wool- gathering, and has "taken him down" with all the glee of a lower boy who detects the head of his class making a false concord. Sir EDWARD SUGDEN accepted the Irish Chancellorship ; and after he had notoriously done so, he scandalized the constitutional eyes of the Opposition by -gill sitting in his place as Member for Ripon. Sir THOMAS WILDE asked how it was that "the late Member for Ripon" was still in the House ? He was told, that although Sir EDWARD had signified his acceptance of office, yet, the appointment not having been formally completed, the seat could not be held to be vacated. Oh! very well, says Sir THOMAS ; but if Sir EDWARD is right, how wrong must that score of official Members be, who, acting upon a different and more usual construc- tion, resigned their seats as soon as they had accepted the offer of place ? if Sir EDWARD had not vacated his seat, neither could they have vacated theirs : therefore they must have been reelected before they had resigned ; their reelections must all be null, and the whole work would have to be done over again. It was a very pretty dilemma for the Irish Chancellor to solve. However, ingenious and amusing as it was; it was of no practical importance : and so the House and all in it must have felt, for nothing came of the very logical proof of Sir EDWARD'S defiance of law or his colleague's neglect of it, except that a new writ was ordered for Ripon. Thus, it may be inferred, Sir EDWARD'S law stands condemned; yet nobody talks of penalties. The case may just serve for a paragraph in the Curiosities of Legislature, which Mr. DISRAELI the Younger is bound to write. There is too little illusion now-a-days in the humbug of "an appeal to the constituency" on the acceptance of office, for the public to care much which of the two lawyers was in the right. The inclination will be to side with Sir THOMAS; not because of the "constitutional" force of his arguments, but because it is amusing to see the great Equity lawyer at fault. If the matter is worth a serious thought, it will only give a new instance of the absurdity of the present system, to those of our readers who may chance to remember that in the very fever of the Reform wra the Spectator argued for official seats. A graver question has occupied some attention—the custody of the insane. Lord ASHLEY, on Tuesday, carried the second read- ing of a bill tecontinue for three years longer the Act under which the Commissioners of Lunatic Asylums are appointed. Mr. WAIL.. LEY moved to continue the act only for one year. Much has been done, he said, but more remains to be done ; the Commission is in- efficient for want of proper powers ; a great change is taking place • the science of insane streatment ; and the whole subject must be discussed, the whole system altered. Lord ASHLEY combated Mr. WAKLEY'S arguments, in a speech that went to confirm all he said. There are three appalling facts connected with the subject, which demand far closer and more earnest attention than they have yet engaged. The condition of insanity, the most shocking condition of humanity, is also the most helpless ; yet, re- pelled by the horror, it is common for the natural guardians of the insane to avoid the painful and humiliating contemplation of their fellow-creature, their own kinsman, and, in the emphatic lan- guage of Lord ASHLEY, to wipe him from their memory, leaving him to the care of mercenaries : there are many places where such unfortunates are concealed and at the mercy of those whose motive is not humanity but lucre, and whose qualification is not that of a physician but of a gaoler : and there are many consigned to those abodes of misery and degradation, by mistaken humanity or atrocious arice, who are perfectly sane. All these facts, under a proper law, would be practically impossible : that they are quite the reverse at present, exposes the utter inefficiency of the means of control. However, since the awful disclosures of 1816, a great advance has been made ; Lord ASHLEY says that some forthcoming reports will show a greater progress than has yet been made known; he promised renewed exertion on the part of the Commissioners; and be asked leave and opportunity to propound a general plan for further improvement : and on that showing, the House agreed to renew the act for three years. Among a variety of other matters, the House of Commons got through the Committee of Supply already mentioned; and that served to exhibit Mr. WimAst WILLIAMS in the character of JOSEPH Hums, as general protester against each item of expense; and Mr. WAKLEY in his new and favourite character of the panegyrist of Sir ROBERT PEEL. During the week, Mr. WAKLEY has made opportunities of defending Sir ROBERT on the Poor-law, and of praising him in every thing. What with Mr. ROEBUCK'S foundering on the rock of the Times, Mr. WARBURTON'S awkward retreat from Bridport, the schism between the WARD section and the DU/ COMItE section of the Radicals, and Mr. WAELEY'S secession to the Ministerial ranks, this party seems almost in as hopeful a way as the Whigs. A few months' rustication in opposition may do a world of good in bracing their nerves and their intent.
