NEWS OF THE WEEK.

THE Tory scheme of governing by prerogative, in opposition to a majority of the House of Commons, continues to produce its ex- pected results. Last week the Marquis of LONDONDERRY was compelled to admit that the appointments of the Crown could be virtually cancelled by the House of Commons ; and on Monday it was discovered, that Viscount CANTERBURY, after having ac- cepted the office of Commissioner to Canada, had relinquished it, from a prudent dread of the consequences of a debate in the House of Commons as to his fitness for the duty assigned to him. It was pretended by Sir Roemer PEEL that illness in his family was the cause of Lord CANTERBURY'S reluctance to go to Canada, after Ministers bad " secured his services:" but the real reason is well known to be what we have stated. It was indeed rather too much to expect, that the late Speaker should submit to another proces,of dissection in the House of Commons, to serve a Cabi- net whose existence is not worth a week's purchase. Besides, the now noble Viscount must have a most extraordinary fendeess for long voyages, if he had any pleasurable anticipations connected with his Canadian expedition ; as in all probability orders for his recal would have reached Quebec by the first packet after his arrival, and before he had time to establish a snuff-taking ac- quaintance with that troublesome gentleman Mr. PAPINEAIT,

Thus, in the course of a few days, we find two appointments of the Ministers of the Crown set aside by the House of Commons. This is sufficiently deerading to the Royal prerogrative, which these Ministers declare themselves so anxious to uphold and exalt. But Lord CANTERBURY'S resignation is not the only mortification which Ministers and their minority have been doomed to suffer during the week.

On Tuesday, they very characteristically endeavoured to prevent inquiry into the conduct of the Commanding ()dicer at Chatham, who is charged with having exercised the influence at- tached to his post to the injury of those who voted for the Liberal candidale at the last election. But the House of Commons would not allow such conduct to be passed over ; and supported Mr. LAW HODGES. in his motion for a Select Committee of inquiry, defeating the Ministers by a majority of 161 to 130.

An attempt to shield the Tory Members for Leicester from an investigation into the means by which they contrived to oust the Reform Members for that city, was the occasion of two Ministerial defeats on Thursday. In the first place, Mr. GOULBURN, on behalf of his brother, the Sergeant, objected to the admission of any evidence as to the origin of an unimportant mistake in the Christian name of one of the sureties for the petitioners against the return of the sitting Members; but was beaten on a division, by 147 votes to 101. -Secondly, after proof had been given that the error sought to be rectified was merely clerical,—the substi- tution of " Samuel" for "Thomas,' the person intended being the same,—Sir ROBERT PEEL again divided the House, in op- position to what turned out to be another majority (129 to 113) in favour of doing substantial justice to the Leicester constituency, who complain of being misrepresented by Messrs. GOULBURN and GLADSTONE.

To be defeated twice in onenight, was sufficiently unpleasant ; but the evil star of the Ministry was in the ascendant : they ventured to oppose Mr. Tonee's motion for an address to the King to grant a charter to the London University ; and found themselves once more in the minority—the numbers being 246 and 136. The Dissenters now know what they have to expect

front Sir ROBERT PEEL. Notwithstanding their numbers,

wealth, talent, and respectability, this Minister will do his best to exclude them from the national seminaries of education, and deprive them of theprivileges enjoyed by Nonconformists of all slenominations in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dublin.

He refuses to remove the impediments in the way of Dissenters' education in England, and ctmies them to resort to Scotch and

Irish colleges for their degrees. This is insulting as well as unjust; and the country will not long submit to bo governed on the exclusive principles of high Church and Tory bigotry and monopoly. What a mortifying situation is the poor old King's !— we are curious to see what answer the Impostors will put into his mouth in answer to the Commons address.

Last night, the misery and humiliat'on of Ministers seems to have reached the climax. They were obliged to sue to the Oppo- sition for the means of carrying on the Government. Mr. Heeeiee assured the House that there was not money eaough in the

Treasury to defray the immediate expenses of the Army, and that the necessity of voting the Estimates was therefore extreme.

Sir ROBERT PEEL left his usual place to sit for some time with Lord STANLEY on one of the back rows of benches, no doubt im- ploring that cruel Lord's protection ; which seems to have been very reluctantly granted. The money was voted for the payment of the troops, on the understanding that the Army could not be kept together without it, as the Supplies of last year only extend to the 5th of April, and there will be no opportunity of again going- into a Committee of Supply before Friday next the 3d of April. This is the result of the Tory combination to arrest the Move- ment—why, it has damaged Monarchy more than a DURH A hf Administration would have effected in ten years.

Beaten in argument, and left in a minority on divisions, the um- happy occupants of.the Treasury bench will no longer be allowed to browbeat those whom they can neither convince nor corrupt.

The debate on bringing up the report of the Irish Tithe reso- lutions, on Monday, besides answering the useful purpose of post- poning the Army Estimates, produced a number of decided indi-

cations, that such letters as Sir ROBERT PEEL. sent last week to Mr. HUME, and such fiery ebullitions as Sir HENRY HARDINGE is so prone to indulge in, will not in future be tolerated in the House. of Commons. Ministers must have been iionvinced of the fully of talking big and looking fierce, by the repeated denunciations of their political profligacy with which they were assailed durieg the evening; and their subdued tone on the following nights proved their consciousness of having played a losing game .

Sir ROBERT PEEL explained the new plan for the commutation of Tithes in England and Wales, on Tuesday. Ile proposes to establish a Board of Commissioners, three in number, with power to appoint as many Assistant Commissioners as they may deem necessary : the duty of the Assistant Commissioners will be to attend parochial meetings of the tithe-owners and tithe-payers, and aid them by advice, and explanation of the law, to come to some agreement as to the amount of rent per acre to be paid in lieu of tithe. This money-payment is to be calculated on the average price of wheat, barley, and oats, during a certain preceding period ; and is to be subject to a revision every seven years. The Assistant Commissioner will apportion to each landowner the amount he is to pay : an appeal will lie from his decision to the Quarter-sessions. If the parties can agree to such an arrangement, a certain quantity of land may be substituted for the corn-rent. The terms of the agreement are to be signed by all the parties to it ; the consent of the patron of the living must be obtained ; and then the whole is to be submitted for ap- proval or rejection to the principal Board of Commissioners in London. The consent of two-thirds of the tithe-owners and tithe- payers is necessary to make the arrangement valid and binding in the whole parish. The expenses are ta be paid out of the public treasury ; and, as a large number of voluntary commutations have been made, notwithstanding the very great expense of procuring private acts, the Minister hopes that the cheapness of this plan will induce many to avail themselves of its advantages. The operation of the bill is to be limited to five years. The principle of this measure is the encouragement of volun• tary commutation. In this as well as in other important particu- lars, it varies from Lord ALTHORP'S abortive plan of last session. Lord ALTHORP proposed that the land and the tithes of each county should be valued, on the average of the preceding five years, and that the proportion borne by the tithe to the rent should be fixed by the Magistrates at Quarter-sessions; and that this proportion should be invariable, though the amount was to be subject to alteration, if' necessary, every seven years. The owner of the land was to have the option of redk,:asideiliAithe at the rate of twenty-five years' purchase ins the annuarapount, or he might make it a permanent rent-chirrge. The money-paid in re- demption of tithe was to be invested in land for the benefit of the clergyman. The law, as far as related to the valuation and settling the proportion of tithe to rent, wasAckbe. compulsory. . This measure of Lord ALTHORP,"if it had beak carted into effect, would have brought about sometWM iikeea 4ettlement of the tithe question, for seven years at least, ttl;oughiptit the coun- try. The objections to it, however, were so numerous and Weighty, that it was abandoned. Sir ROBERT PEEL hal, per- taps prudently, avoided attempting so much as his predecessor. His bill may be termed one for encouraging voluntary commuta- tions of tithe ; it would be absurd to call it a measure for the settlement of the tithe question. Comparatively narrow as its aim and scope are, it will be seen from the debate, that it is consi- dered liable to numerous and serious objections. Whether it will have the effect intended, appears exceedingly doubtful. Even supposing every parish in the country availed itself of the facilities it offers for effecting a commutation at a cheap rate, the arrangement would only last for seven years; and then the tithe- owner would come in again for his full share of the improvements on the titheable land; for the amount of the commutation corn- rent is to be subject to periodical revision every seven years. In case the parties should differ as to the amount of that rent, we suppose that the old rights of the tithe-owners would be renewed, and the arrangement under the bill fall to the ground. For we can- not find from Sir ROBERT PEEL'S explanatory speech, although he talks of putting an end to the discouragement of agricnIture in consequence of tithes, that in future the payments to the tithe- owners are to rise and fall with the prices of grain only, and be the representatives of the same quantity of the produce at all times. This may be intended; but, taking Sir ROBERT PEEr.'s speech as a whole, we should rather suppose that his bill would authorize an entirely new arrangement every seven years. When we have had an opportunity of examining the bill, we shall be able to speak more positively on this point.

In whatever light, however, we look upon the proposed mea- sure, it seems to be meagre and incomplete. It is but a very partial and temporary remedy for a great evil, to say the best of it There is no sufficient reason for believing that voluntary commutations will be extensively effected; for, as Mr. PRYME informed the House, most of those which had been brought about, were connected with enclosure-bills, and in point of fact com- pulsory on the Clergy. We suspect that, with wheat ranging from 36s. to 40s. a quarter, few tithe-owners will be eager to make an arrangement this year for the next seven. Yet this measure was announced with sufficient pomposity in the King's Speech. We were taught to expect a settlement of the tithe question, and what are we to have ? Simply, a bill to diminish the expense of voluntary commutations. We do not blame Sir ROBERT PEEL for inability to do what he promised, but for the deception practised upon those who had the folly to trust him. But it is all consistent with the tricky policy, which his false position—not to throw the blame entirely on Nature and evil habit—has compelled him to adopt.