- NEWS OF THE WEEK.

LITTLE progress has been made in what ought to have been the Parliamentary business of the week. The People's Representa-

tives had matter in hand far more attractive than the part " set down for them," and profited not by Hamlet's sage advice to "fools" on another stage, to " say no more than that. Some sixty or se- venty "notices of motions" and "orders of the day "—many of

them relating to subjects of importance—which stood on the Vote-paper for the first three days of the week, were pushed aside, by a uoiey, stupid, and virulent debate on Mr. O'CONNELL'S ,ro 0t eerjury against the Tory Members of Election Commit- tees; MAIDSTONE persevering in his threat to bring Mr. O'ComeaLL a speech under the notice of the House. Accordingly, on Monday, Mr. MoNNELL having admitted, reiterated, and de- fended the expressions complained of, Lord MAIDSTONE moved two resolutions,—first, that the "expressions in the said speech" were a "false and scandalous imputation on the honour and con- duct of the Members of this House ; " secondly, that " Mr. O'Connell having avowed that he had used the said expressions,

.! leen polity of a breach of privilege." Ministers were in a

s. could not deny the falsehood, which would he equivalent to affirming the truth, of Mr. O'CouseLs's ebarge ; . •Sett-I apt desert him to whom, more dials any other individual in the world, they owe their existence as plaeemen. So Lord Howice moved that they should peas to the Order of the Day—the Irish Poor Bill—to get rid of a direct vote. In the dis- cussion that followed, if discussion it could be called which con- sisted of little more than a cento of assertions and contradictions, unsupported by argument, and enlivened only by personalities, the Tories would have had a decided advantage bad Ministers been their only opponents; but there were not a few Members, who, free from the trammels of official decorum, scrupled not to adopt to the letter every word that Lord MAIDSTONE'S resolution stig- matized as false and scandalous. Even the Tories shrank from asserting their freedom from party bias. Sir Elm ARD SUODEN fully admitted, that in deciding doubtful questions, Members on Election Committees, though sworn to give a just judgment, were influenced by their party engagements and predilections. This, in effect. was all that Mr. O'CoNNELe alleged, though his lan- guage was coarse and Sir EDWARD SUGDEN'S cautious. Notwith- standing the strenuous efforts of the Ministerial Whippers-in, and the votes of 57 Irish Liberal Members, the Opposition triumphed by a majority of 263 to 254. The Downing Street newspapers pretend that this was not a Ministerial defeat, because, forsooth, half-a-dozen gentlemen who sometimes vote with the Ministers joined the Tories on this occasion Nothing can be more absurd. The opposition to Lord MAIDSTONE'S motion was led by Lord HOWICK, supported by Lord JOHN RUSSELL and Mr. SPRING Rice; thirty-three Members holding office voted in the mino- rity; and the tellers were Mr. Edward John Stanley and Mr. Ro- .bert Steuart. But who were the gentlemen whose votes with the Tories were so consoling to the Ministerialists, and saved them from the humiliation of a defeat? Mr. J. BENEee, Mr. J. FIELDS:a, Sir CHARLES COOTE. the Honourable W. HowARD, Alderman RUMPHEEY, Lord ARTHUR LENNOX, and Mr. WALTER LONG. Of these, Mr. HumenEite may pass for a Whig, Mr. FIELDEN for one of those Ultra-Radicals whose alliance the Whigs are so anxious to disclaim, awl the others are " Doubtfuls" at the best. With the debate and division on the first resolution the contest should have ended. Them could be no doubt that "a false and scandalous imputation" on Members of the House of Commons sras a breach of privilege. Comparatively few would maintain the n

gative of this proposition; and the second resolution was carried by 293 to 85.

Then came a third resolution, moved by Lord MAIDSTONE, that Mr. (1...:CoNeeLL "be reprimanded by the Speaker." This seemed the least that the House could do under the circumstances; and at the same time, it was quite as much as the occasion demanded. Several Members declared that they wished to share the repri- mand. Lord JOHN RUSSEL'. declaimed in gs„,eililoTieet style on the " shabby" nature of the punishroentyp esel. The Minis- terial minority, resolved to take the chanci of a batter muster on the following night, procured an adjournment of the debate. On Tuesday, Mr. PENDARVES, no doubt in accordance with the Ministers, made another attempt to get rid of the subject, by pro- posing that the House should take no further notice of' it. Another disgraceful scene occurred. There was nothing better that noise and confusion in the House; and the result was a second Minis- terial defeat, by a majority of 249 to 225. On this division the Cabinet Ministers and their official subalterns voted in the mino- rity, and the tellers were again the official Mr. S: NLEY and Mr. STEUART. A third division on the main question, whether Mr. O'CONNELL should be reprimanded, again exhibited Ministers in a minority-197 to 226. The scene which followed the announoe. ment of these numbers defies description in ordinary limits or language : nothing more disgraceful ever occurred in the gallery of a suburban theatre. On Wednesday, Mr. O'Cox- NELL was, rather mildly. reprimanded by the Speaker. Wills questionable taste but undaunted demeanour, he replied in terms of defiance to the House; reiterating his offensive charge of per- jury, and offering to prove it before a Committee. Of the speeches and conduct of the various parties in this squabble, we have little to say. Lard JOHN RUSSELL was undig- nified and inconsiderate throughout. When the proposal for the reprimand was made, he thought it becoming to sneer at such a proceeding, stopping short of Newgate or the Tower, as harmless, or rather despicable. That a vote of the Commons and the solemn reprimand of the Speaker should be so regarded—that the effe • of a punishment should be supposed to be in proportion to it5 physical weight—was a gross idea, unsuited !e the age of" amelio- rated codes, derogatory to the "first assembly of gentlemen in the world," and unbecoming in the leading Minister of the Crown. It was so far well observed by Mr. CeEsswaLL, that the effect of , the punishment would depend upon the feele es of the individual: - but that gentleman ought to have al' seller element—the Leered sat. Aim of society. Lord JOH:;C. eteo acleen, • that what he said on Friday lest atom'. Ui. PaiLeeorrs was merely a threat—a warning he called it-;end that he never in- tended to make the motion of' which he had given notice, and which was formally primed with the Votes. Here again he tri- lled with the tribunal and the question. The effect of these proceedings must be injurious to the House of Commons. The" Reformed" House has done little or nothing to gain the respect of the country. It has conspicuously failed to effect, almost to attempt, comprehensive measures for the good of' the people at large : it is still an institution for the promotion of mere" class interests." \Venting the confidence and esteem result- ing from the bestowal of substantial benefits, the People's House is every day becoming less respectable in the eyes of the People, by the numberless jobs, political and private, in which its Members are believed to be involved. Nothing could more effectually confirm the mean opinion generally entertained of the Legislature, than the disgusting exhibition which has just taken place. Political protligacy, aggravated by perjury, systematically practised in party struggles, was repeatedly imputed to Members in the face of the House, by persons who must know the truth or falsehood of the accusation. To respect an assembly against which such charges, so supported, are alleged, is impossible.

The Lords had a share k though a small one, in the talk about perjury. Pugnacious Dr. PniLLPOTTS repeated, on Thursday, a very old story about Catholic hatred of the Church, and disregard of oaths in plotting its overthrow. The charitable Prelate sticks to

his text as resolutely as Mr. Moe/NELL to his " false and scan- dalous imputation." And on this occasion the logical and calm Dr. COPLESTONE, with the not generally illiberal Lord WHARN- cLIFFE, supported him of Exeter. Lord MELBOURNE, heartily

sick of the subject, which has indeed proved a sorry one to himself and his colleagues, expressed an earnest desire that he should hear nothing more about it. But the ease-loving Premier will not

have his wish. The Legislature was guilty of the folly of enacting a distinction, which, corhtitutionally and rationally, cannot exist.

Every Member of the House of Commons takes his seat in that

assembly on a par with every other in all. respects. An attempt was indeed made to CBI tail the rights of Catholic Representatives.

Englishmen and Scotelimen, in and out of' Parliament, and Irish-

men out of Parliament, hive a right to use all means, not involving breach of the peace, for improving' ainendiug, or overturning the

State Church : how can the Irish Representatives be prevented from doing that which their constituents are at full liberty to effect if they are able? This absurd injustice is ss to be submitted to : consequently the law—thetaflisaiet th—is

evaded, (as the oath of Election Comtnilaseasis di a

party convention,) and Catholic Members pretend that they Alp- port the Church by the measures they support for regulating its temporalities. Nobody believes them; but who can prove the reverse of what they allege ? Common sense, under the circum- stances, prescribes the repeal of the nugatory law, which only serves as an excuse to Members of Parliament in both Houses to bespatter themselves with abuse.

A motion by Lord GEORGE LENNOX, for an address to the Crown to give the Royal Marines their due share of promotion, as the occasion, on Tuesday, of another Ministerial minority ; though, of course, the official scribes who saw nothing like disaster in the " perjury * divisions, cannot imagine how the suc-

cess of the LENNOX motion, though it was opposed by Ministers,

can be reckoned a dffeat. The Chancellor of the Exchequer re- sisted the address, as an interference with the Royal preroga- tive,—thus taking up the strongest position a Minister of the

Crown can assume : he was supported by the Secretary of the Admiralty, two Lords of the Admiralty, and the Master-General of the Ordnance, who employed their eloquence to dissuade the House from agreeing to the proposition. The motion was carried by 100 to 87; six Cabinet Ministers, and twenty other official persons, voting in the minority, including the tellers, Mr. E. J. STANLEY and Sir THOMAS TROUBRIDGE. Ten or twelve Whigs and Radicals voted with the majority : hence it is said that Minis- ters were not defeated,—as if it were a consolation that some of their own friends had deserted them on a pinch. There would tot be so much occasion for a particular notice of the division, but for the impudent manner in which it is attempted to disguise and misrepresent the facts, and the evidence afforded by the actual state of the case, of prevalent indifference as to whether Ministers are beaten or not. The impression created out of doors is that of extreme weakness on the part of the Government. The only other portion of the Parliamentary business requiring notice in this place, is the introduction by Lord JOHN RUSSELL of a measure connected with the administration of justice, which pro- mises to be useful. In consequence of the increase of trials at Quarter-sessions, the evil arising from long imprisonment of un- tried persons, and the inability of the Magistrates to cope with -lawyers, who are now permitted to speak in behalf of the accused, Lord JOHN Russeet. proposes that the Sessions shall be held every six weeks instead of quarterly, and that the Magistrates shall Aire the aid of a barrister to act as their Chairman, if they choose To- require such assistance. The defect of this part of the scheme is that the appointment of the Chairman is not made compulsory. The Magi;trates will be loath to believe in their own incompe- 4rncy ; the jealousy of country gentlemen in such matters is as . otorious as their incapacity to administer the law with knowledge nd discretion. In connexion with this bill, another is to be intro- duced, establishing local warts for the trial of civil actions ; the Judges also to be appointed by the Crown. The two measures

together may make a sort of Local Courts Bill, in default of a better. They will also have the strong recommendation of putting much patronage at the disposal of Ministers. Reckoning one Chairman and one Judge to each of the four ridings of Yorkshire and to every other county in England and Wales, there will be 110 appointments for lawyers. Supposing that only half the Quarter- session Benches apply for Chairmen, there will still be 82 very de- sirable places to give away. Will the Tories suffer the Whigs to engross all this valuable and pleasant patronage?