4 FEBRUARY 1837, Page 10

Last night, the House of Commons exhibited symptoms of recovery

from the lethargy which pervaded nearly the whole body for the first three days of the session.

Irish politics (as was likely enough) afforded the first stimu- lus. Mr. Sergeant GOULBURN wished to know whether Lord John Russell concurred with Lord Melbourne in his disapproval of the Irish National Association. But Lord JOHN, though some- times soft, had too much experience to be entrapped by Sergeant Goulburn into any thing so indecorous as a disavowal of the Premier ; and he was not quite so silly as to fall foul of a society on whose exer- tions Alinisters must rely for maintaining their position in Ireland. So lie insinuated a doubt as to the correctness of the report of what Lord Melbourne had said, and referred Mr. Goulburn to his own speech that is to be on Tuesday next, on introducing the Irish Corpo- ration Bill ; when his opinion on Irish affairs should be fully stated. Mr. O'CONNELL rather thought Lord Melbourne bad not gone as far as Sergeant Goulburn supposed ; but it' he had, it must be a pleasure to his Lordship to have the approbation of that gentleman—the Nestor, he might call him, of the Opposition. As for the Association, it had sprung from the men who bad the audacity to term Irishmen aliens in language, religion, and blood. This remark nettled that ornament of the Irish bench and favourite of the Orangemen, Mr. Recorder SHAW;

who retorted, that Mr. O'Connell himself' called Englishmen Saxons, and had declared that he never would rest till the Union was repealed.

Here, however, the enviable and singular position of Mr. Shaw—the only person in the United Kingdom who combines the character and practice of a judge and a demagogue—afforded Mr. O'CONNELL an op.. portunity of hitting his antagonist in a sore place.

By a vote of 147 to 61, the House negatived a motion of Mr. BRO., THERTON against commencing any fresh business after twelve o'clock at night. Lord JOHN RUSSELL opposed it. As a Minister, he well knows the advantage of having a drowsy or tumultuary House for the "despatch of business" that will not bear close examination.

The principal discussion of the vening was upon a motion of Mr. HOUSMAN, for a Committee to inquire into the practice of swamping the bona fide constituency in Scotland, by the creation of multitudes of fictitious votes in counties. Mr. Horsman was in no want of facts to make good his case against the fraudulent vote-manufacturers. In the three Lothians,Selkirkshire,Roxburghshire, andPeeblesshire, fictitious franchises have been created by one and two hundred at it time. Land is conveyed to persons who give a note of hand for the amount, but

never touch or look at the pretended purchase. The note balances the

land, and the right of voting is the profit. The multiplication of joint tenancies is another mode of effecting the same purpose. There

is a band of conspirators in Edinburgh—men who belong body and soul

to the Tories—organized for the purpose of unfairly influencing elec- tions. They hold franchises in neighbouring counties, and in the course of two days contrive to vote for all their candidates. Mr. Horsman said— Ile had in his hand a list of gentlemen who held qualifications in the manner he had described in several contiguous counties ; and the perusal of their names by any gentleman at all acquainted with Scotch politics, would take away a great portion:of the surprise that otherwise might be felt. Honourable :Members conversant with the Tory politics of former days in Scotland, would recognize many old acquaintances. ( Cheers and laughter.) With one or two exceptions—and deeply he tegretted to see the names of the gentlemen he alluded to in such a list—it was composed of the very dregs of party. Here was to be met the name of the restless and interested intriguer—the petti- fogging laird—the time-serving man in his party, who not only had sacrificed public principle himself, but who had trained up his children to pursue the same path.

Mr. ROBERT FERGUSON seconded the motion of Mr. Horsman; and avowed that he had become a reluctant convert to the Ballot.

Sir GEORGE CLERK adroitly endeavoured to break the force of Mr. Horsman's statement, by representing that the Whigs were as guilty as the Tories. Strange, that Reformers should object to an extension of the franchise—that they should wish to give the monopoly of it to a class ! There was already a remedy against fictitious votes, for every- body was obliged to prove his title before the Sheriff. The recent multiplication of votes was no evidence of unfair proceedings ; for, since the Reform Act, it bad become more desirable for persons of small property to acquire the franchise. For his part, he had no ob- jection to inquiry, provided it were an impartial one ; but surely it ought not to be limited to Scotland ; for there was no lack of attempts to create fictitious votes in England,—in Huntingdonshire, for in-

stance, forty votes out of one field. Ireland, too, afforded scope for the inquiries of Mr. Horsman, and other pure Reformers.

The case of the Huntingdonshire voters was proved by Mr. PRYME to have been by no means analogous to those mentioned by Mr. Hors. man ; as the Huntingdonshire men actually bought and paid for their land. And Mr. ROEBUCK remarked, that the evil arose out of the present character of the franchise qualification, and could only be re- moved by extending the suffrage and adopting the secret vote. At- tempts were made to overlay the inquiry by extending it to England and Ireland—so that no remedy could be forthcoming in the present session. But Mr. HORSMAN would not permit this ; and his Com- mittee is to be named on Monday.

Colonel THOMPSON gave notice, that on the first Supply night he should move, " That the government of the Army, as now conducted, is against law ; and no man is held to obedience thereto; and that no Simply be granted till remedy applied." There is a nice little de- bate in store for the Horse Guards gentlemen !

Poor LECHMERE CHARLTON ! The Speaker read a letter from him List night, to the effect that his castle of Fendall's Hotel* had been in- vaded by a myrmidon of the Chancellor, and his sacred person incarce- rated in the Fleet ! His letter was referred to the Privilege Com- mittee.

Leave was given to bring in the following bills.

To Lord MORPETII, for the Amendment of the Irish Grand Jury Laws.

To Mr. J. A. Meartav, the Lord Advocate, for Amending the Scotch Laws against Leasing.making, Sedition, and Blasphemy; for Amending the Consti- twilit and practice of the Court of Session ; and lor establishing Small Debts Courts, and extending the Jurisdiction of Sheriffs.

To Mr. ROBERT STEUART, fur Regulating certain Offices in the Scotch Court of Chancery.

Mr. Sergeant GOULBURN'S Bill for Abolishing certain Legal Sine- cures in the English Courts of Justice was read a first time.

:Sir S. WHALLEY gave notice of a motion for the repeal of the Win- datv.tax ; and Mr. SPRING RICE, that his motion on Joint Stock 'hulking would include Ireland.

• so uu imagined in the morning, when the above was written for our first edition. Bee s•eleseaptent information, • inserted in a separate paragraph, assigns a very dif- fleent locality to "the house in which 1 am staying."