NEWS OF THE WEEK.

THE House of Commons, on Monday, agreed to take the Muni- cipal Bill, with all its imperfections (facetiously styled amend-

ments) on its head. A meeting of the Liberal supporters of the

MELBOURNE Ministry was held at the Foreign Office, and Lord JOHN RUSSELL explained the course which Ministers intended to

propose to the House. The injury done to the hill by the clauses

for dividing small boroughs into wards, and for depriving the Councils of the right to select Justices of the Peace to be ap-

pointed by the Crown, was fully admitted by Lord JOHN; but he dwelt upon the extensive improvement in the administration of municipal affairs which the bill would still effect ; and removed much of the repugnance to the two clauses above-mentioned by pointing out the necessity of passing a new boundary act for all but the Parliamentary boroughs next session, and by pledging the Government to appoint such Justices of the Peace as the Councils should recommend, notwithstanding the power given to them by the Tories to act independently of the wishes of the

local representatives. Thus, unless by another coup d'état the

present Ministers are turned out during the recess, the Justices appointed will, after all, be such as the Councils approve of; and 'thus all the efforts of' the LYNDHURSTS and ELLENBOROUGHS 10 establish a multitude of diminutive rotten boroughs, will be thwarted by the substitution of a well-considered boundary act for

-the arbitrary decrees of the Revising Barristers. The great ma- jority of the Members present at the meeting, and afterwards in the House, concurred in the proposition of Ministers; and the result was, that on the same evening the amendments of the Lords were agreed to without a division. Every Member who spoke on the Liberal side—Lord JOHN RUSSELL, Mr. SPRING RICE, Mr. HUME, Mr. WARD, Lord EBRINGTON, Mr. LENNAnn, Sir EDWARD CODRINGTON—protested against the alterations of the Peers, and scouted the idea of the bill being considered a final measure. It was taken only on the distinct understanding that Ministers are to bring forward a measure in the next session for restoring it to the form it wore when it was first sent to the House of Peers. The bill was emphatically accepted under protest against ils being con- sidered any thing more than an instalment on the deSt due to the People, and with the strongly-avowed determination on the part of the Liberal Members to use every means next session to procure payment in full.

The Tories were exceedingly chagrined at the course taken by Ministers and the House of Commons. They had hoped that the bill would be rejected. Assuredly, they as little intenied, as we expected at the commencement of the session, that so va- luable and comprehensive a measure—so sound in principle, and apparently so effective in detail—should become the law of the land in 1835 I Their aim was to throw the odium of rejecting a bill containing so much that was valuable and popular, upon the Government and their supporters in the House of Commons. Had they supposed that the last two amendments—those respect- ing the wards and the Justices—:would have been accepted ; or that they would have been rendered very nearly nugatory by the re- solve of Ministers to set aside the one and disregard the other ; unquestionably they would have insisted upon the continuance of the Aldermen or the Town-Clerks, or any other alterations which -were deemed insuperable stumbling-blocks in the way of taking the bill. But the Torres were completely outgeneralled. They exaggerated the importance attached by the Liberals to their alterations. They committed the blunder of believing that the majority of the House of Commons could be piqued into the rejection of the bill. But they knew not the men they had to deal with: they were caught in their own snare, and must be left to chew the cud of ill-concealed alarm and mortification. We wonder not that the Tories are frightened. Deadly is the Mow which the bill ebbs at their 'influence in the country. It is true.that the bill has been infamoully deakwith ; but, mangled though it be, enough *remains to give Toryism a quietus in the great majority of the municipalities : it inflicts a wound on the system of local corruption, which, though" not so deep as a well or so wide as a church-door," is still " enough." Let us for a. moment glance at the main provisions of the bill.

1st. It demolishes the system of self-electton in corporations ; im- molates all the old Aldermen and corporators, with their noble

Recorders, Deputy-Recorders, Town-Clerks, Chamberlains, and other subordinates, at "one fell swoop," as Colonel SliITHORPE pathetically exclaimed. In the words of O'CONNELL, the "tag, rag, and bobtail, it will sweep away."

2d. All the Tory Justices of the Peace will be displaced.

3d. Charitable funds will be administered under the scrutiny of the Representatives of the People.

4th. All exclusive rights of trading, with the exemption from toll, will be put an end to. 5th. The governing body in every municipality will be elected by and be responsible to the rate-paying inhabitants.

6th. Public property will be let at the best advantage, instead of being corruptly disposed of to corporation minions. 7th. Instead of noble blockheads, as ignorant of the law of Eng- land as of the language of 'rimbuctoo, barristers, of not less than five years' standing, will be appointed Recorders or Judges.

8th. Jurors will be selected from the rate-paying burgesses.

9th. An effective and trustworthy police will be established, tobe paid and controlled by the Councils. 10th. The funds of the boroughs will be levied and expended by the direction of the Councils : and thus the system of applying corporate funds in aid of the election of Tory Members to the House of Commons will be completely done away with. Again, we say, looking at the aim and intent, and probable working of the bill, we do not wonder that the Tories are alarmed. It will create a cluster of little republics in every quarter of the country. It will accustom the People to the management of their own concerns ; it will teach them the value of economy in the ex- penditure of the public money—their own money, and lead them to question the advantage of keeping up a race of lordly sinecurists to vote it away. The principles of government which they find serviceable in the conduct of their local concerns, will soon be applied to those of the nation. In short, every public institution will be brought to the test of utility. No wonder that Tories are alarmed!

The remainder of the week was occupied with forwarding bills through their last stages, with all the hurry usual at the close of the session. And on Thursday, the King delivered a Speech from the Throne, when Parliament was prorogued.