iBeltatee anti Procreninge in Parliament. LAWFULNESS OF SLaveae.

In the House of Peers, on Monday, Lord DENMAN presented a peti- tion for the abolition of Negro Apprenticeship ; and took the oppor- tunity of reiterating the opinion he had given to Lord Brougham re- specting the right of Parliament to dispose of the services of the ap- prentices without their consent. lie intended, on a future occasion, when Ministers were present, to state his °Orions fully on the subject ; believing, as he did, that those opinions were founded on reason, jus- tice, and law.

Lord AIIINGER could scarcely believe Lord Denman intended to say that, if an Hilton were In ought on the contract, when the contnset had been broken, lie, as Judge, would decide that the plaintiff ought to be nonsuited-

He understood the meaning of Lord Denman'it letter to be, that in a moral point of view the contract could not be maintained, not that it could not be maintained in law. It could not be contended that an act of Parliament WY an act against the law ; acid that, therefore, his noble and leatned friend, we judge, would be bound nut to regard it.

Lord DENMAN was glad to have an opportunity of explanation

He could understand an act of Parliament creating lights between individual parties, and any contract made under it— betwten two planters, for example— being binding on both ; or if a contract were entered into between the planter and mortgagee and other parties who mutually recogeized the ail, nu doubt they could be bound by any such contract under the sanction of the law. Bat the objection here was, as to the effict of the supposed coutract between tili• planters and the state WO ally other parties whatever. It appeared to him, when lie considered that this question had been before the country for half a century—that notice of the mil:twinl character of the Slave-trade was given Icy the proceedings of MS—that it was only by the sufferance of Parliament that it was allowed to be continued even then for ttventy- five years—when be considered., akil, all the .uh-equenc proceedings of Parliament with regard te this question, an61 more psi ticulal ly that Ily the Aet of 1833 it was proposed to abolish slavery on a new ground—under these circumstances it appeared Is him necessary to revert to first principles, and to call attention to the nature or that in which a pioperty was claimed. He thought it impossible that the House could recogniv. any thing like ptoperty in the slave after the measuree the house' had given its sanction to to put annual to slavery altogether. Suppose, however, that there was a c .au-c, it appeared to haee been violated : but if they established that fact, lie was alai site61 at the coasequences til4t might be derived from it; for thry lorght.ho told OW time Negroes woe a mutt to the contract, and that they hail hot their patt of the agreement. Ther e were many indi- cations which induced him Cu, Our it was in cont■mplation to prolong. on some such grounds, the accursed period of slavery even beyond the 1st of August 1840. It was with a view inI may to preveut that mooing mon, that he felt it his duty to state his decided opinion on Inc subject the first moment that he waa able to do sic.

The Duke of Wei.i.terans: had always supposed that, however ins- proper slavery might lie. It was h•gal according to the laws of England : Slid Lord as a jii mgc. st ceeide in accurdatiee with the law. 11, was errtain that Lord Woman would not say that previously to 1833 the Negroes were not slaves ; arid by the Art of 1831 there Wag contract to give tile planters the additional services of the apprentices.

The Marquis of (l.A NRICAit DE protested egainst the doetrine that slavery was recognizm hy, and p .reel of, the law of England.

Lord DENMAN ....Id, tic it the Duke of Wellington could not have read the act of 1831 a Inc atterition, or he never would have preteuded that it made the eutornet hi had spoken of— The act declared that cei t iii. Iler.011M, under certain regulations, should be manumitted ; bin IL Clattf..11,1•11 anitilllIQ at all III 'he mature of it contract. Us- dou birth y an interest wa• orelarc6I ; but he would .6y that it was founded oa the eultarnee of 4 .d.ire Id .1 iv,', the lawfulness of which he uteri ly denied. The Legislature might he hotrod cii toltil the contract, su,mming ir to he a real contract, which. hostr.,,,e on wilco wound., he W.ra prep/strut f.lisi•itend they were not bound to do; hu the id no cccii, e tight to dispose of the set vices of the slaves towel the mune rd upprentices, than they had to kidnap the uatives vs the coast of Alice a.

Here the convey sation dropped.

BREACH OF PRIVILEGE: Ma. POULTE.E.

The House of Commons was occupied the greater part of 'Monday evening with the discussion of the alleged breach of privilege com- mitted by Mr. Poutter to Ms letter published in the Morning Chronicle, imputing corruption and injustier.:as the Committee on the Shaftesbury election petition. The order of the day for the attendance of Mr. Poulter, and Mr. Metcalfe, puldisher of the Chronicle, having been seed, Mr. BLACKSTONE moved "that J. S. Poulter, Esq. be now called

Mr. MILDMAY thought it imprudent in the House to get into con-

troversy with an individual. Ile highly eulogized Mr. Poulter's sin- eerity, manliness, and determination. He would not, Mr. Mildrnay was persuaded, retract what he had asserted, but would defend himself in an ex parte statement, which would go forth unanswered to the disad- vantage of the House and the Committee. He thought it best under these circumstances to wait till the evidence given before the Shaftes- bury Committee was printed ; and therefore moved " thut the further consideration of the complaint in respect of the matter contained in Mr. Poulter's letter be deferred till Tuesday the 26th day of April."

Mr. O'CONNELL seconded Mr. Mildmay's motion.

Mr. BLACKSTONE oposed it. Cortupt motives were imputed to the Committee, and there was no occasion to wait for the evidence to enable the House to deal with that charge.

Mr. O'CONNELL maintained that Mr. Poulter had been treated with injustice, and that it was the best and most honest course to admit that such was the case— Would any gentleman get up and say that if Mr. Poulter hail been a Tory, the Committee would have unseated him ? There was not a man out of that House would say so. They ought to avow these things—they cmght honestly 10 avow that if Mr. Poulter had been a Tory he would have been a Member of that House at the present moment. Any man who asserted the contrary would place himself in a most ludicrous position: the entire public would contradict Itim. What became then of their mighty anxiety for their characters? Did not Mr. Roche say that there was perjury in those Cornmitteen? did not Mr. Cal-. *ham and Mr. Gillon? and did they not say so with perfect impunity? They spoke in the House and to their faces. And even so humble an individual as himaelf had presumed to hold the same language. To be sure he had been re- primanded. But did he therefore shrink from repeating the charge? (lid he not repeat it after he was reprimanded; and did a single Member rise to liave him censured or committed for doing so? But Mr. Poulter was out of tlie House, and out, too, by the grossest injustice that had ever been done to any human being. Why then shrink from allowing them to compare the evidence with the decision ? Did they want to punish Mr. Poulter first and try him after- wards? This was the very spirit in which the Committee appeared to have been etenducted. According to the statement of the honourable Member for Roxburgh- shire (Mr. Elliot) there had been a gross case of treating. Public-houses had been opened in every corner. Drunker:miss wan going on from day to day ; and the price of this was traced to the agent ot the sitting Member (Captain Matthew.) The progress of the money through the bands of his bankers was 'distinctly traced ; and this was the party which was so exceedingly attached to religion, and whose high notion of purity was shocked at the leant approach of any thing irreligious. They would not allow a loaf of bread to be baked on the Sabbath; but they pa- tronized the abominable practice of drunkenness, and refused to consider It as *eating. He did not Bay that these were the facts ; bet they had been stated in that House to be facts, and be wanted the evidence in order that he might /mow whether they were facts or not. Would they seek to criminate a man in the absence of the evidence that must justify his conduct to himself and the ?oldie.?

Sir ROBERT INGLIS supported the original motion, and Mr. HUME the amendment. Mr. HARVEY considered that injustice would be done to Mr. Poulter by the refusal to bear his defence of himself at the bar. Surely all that was said about the corruption of Members could not be true, else so many honourable gentlemen would not be eager for a seat in the House.

Colonel DAVIES said, that a letter from Mr. Pigot, M. P. for Bridg- north, in the Times, attacking the decision of the House in the case of the Wicklow Committee, must be noticed, if Mr. Poulter's case were followed up.

Mr. Wynne said, that if the House did not interfere, individuals would take up their own cause, and much mischief would ensue.

Lord JOHN RUSSELL could not consent that Mr. Poulter should be punished and Mr. Pigot go unpunished.

Sir ROBERT PEEL considered it necessary for the House to notice Mr. Poulter's offence, unless permission were to be given to everybody to prefer accusations against Members for the way in which they per- formed judicial duties. Mr. Porker's attack was directed, not against the whole House, but against individuals whom the House must pro- tect.

Mr. MILDMAY, on the recommendation of several Members, with. deew his amendment.

Mr. WARBURTON moved the previous question ; which motion, after some discussion, was negatived.

The motion that Mr. Poulter be called to the bar was put and car- ried ;and Mr. Poulter appeared. The SPEAKER addressed Mr. Poulter, stating the ease against him. Mr. Poulter admitted that he was the author of the letter, and that it was published exclusively by his autho- rity. He then proceeded to defend his conduct, in a long speech ; in the Course of which, he referred to several decisions of the Committee as mullet and illegal. He did not impute pecuniary corruption to the Committee or to the House, whose privileges he had always been ready to maintain. He referred to the evidence ; arid professed himself ready to mukc any apology that Sir Robert Peel would say he ought to make, after Sir Robert had perused the evidence.

Mr. Poulter having retired, Mr. BLACKSTONE, observing that he had made no retractation, moved, "That the expressions, containing a charge of corruption against a Commit- tee in the discharge of their official duties, contain a false and scandalous iin; u. talon on the honour and conduct of the Members of this House."

- Lord STANLEY thought that Mr. Poulter, who had conducted him- self with so much propriety, might surely be induced to retract the ex- pression,: imputing corruption to the Committee.

Mr. W. S. O'BRIEN moved that the debate be :adjourned to thi t day month.

After some more conversation, Mr. Poulter was again called in, aid addressed by the SPEAKER ; who asked if be would not withdraw the offensive expressions? Mr. Poulter said, be did not impute pecth Majority 4 Lord JOHN RUSSELL then moved that the debate be adjourned to that day week. Mr. Sergeant WILDE supported this motion. He thought the House was going too far— When the net of Parliament passed under which these Election Committees ,,, appointed, it constituted the whole House of Commons a general body of out of which a jury was to be elected to try the merits of each disputelnelee" tion. The jury, when so selected, proceeded to its labours with a total inde, pendence of the general body out of which it lied been taken. The House lnd no control over its proceedings' neither vvas it in any way responsible for the decision to which the jury (the Election Committee) might come. Thenlie could not conceive how it could be interpreted into a breach of the privilege of the House, when it was imputed to the Members of a Committee that tliey had been influenced by political motives. It appeared to him, that n+ the Cos. mittees sat uoder the direct authority of an act of Parliament, and not under the authority of the House, they ought in every instance to be lit in the sane way as the juries of the country were left. He did not recollect any else in which a court had been called upon to interfere in consequence of a Wad upon a jury. Ile confessed he could not understand upon what principle it %Va., Olt the House was now called upon to interfere in consequence of something ow had been said in reference to a body over which it had no control. This rea not like the case referred to by the Chairman of the Hull Election Committer, where the publication took place during the sitting of the CommiVee. Re could well suppose, that if a Committee were open to attack from dav to dry whilst its labours were in progress, very serious inconvenience might aria :fluid; but when a Committee had discharged its duty—when it had pot-united till% functions—it did not appear to him that the furtherance of public justice in any respect called upon the House to interfere, if the Committee should become a sub. ject of attack. In the course of the discussion, a doubt had been ceptreseidiunt whether the Committee could adopt any course of legal proceedings o vsnd itself, and to punish the party who had libelled them. Such a doubt could not exist in the minds of any who were at all acquainted with the case of " the Kitt V. Williams." According to the law laid down in that case, there could be at doubt but that Mr. Poulter had subjected himself to a criminal information by the publication of the letter in q_uestion. Upon that ground, therefore, if um no other, it was plain that the House ought not to interfere.

Another division took place. For the adjournment of the debate to Monday next, (when the House will not sit,) 120; against that motion, 117; majority, 3. So the matter was got rid of.

PAYMENT OF PENSIONS.

The House hieing in a Committee of Supply on Monday, Mr. SPRING RICE proposed a vote of 33,5001. for the payment of Pensions held by persons at the demise of the Crown, and which, if regranted, would have been due on the 5th instant. Mr. Rice said— It was a vote founded on the unanimous recommendation of the Pension. list Committee ; who had applied their best and most anxious attention to the pea. sions which the present vote was intended to provide for, arid who had made the recommendation after the most careful and effective consideration of the whole of those cases. The Committee had felt it their duty not to nay a siogk word in their repot t that could directly or indirectly compromise the final quer. tion respecting these pensions; but the Committee, as far as their inquiry had gone, felt warranted in coming to an unanimous opinion that it would be the greatest possible hardship to the patties concerned, if the Crown were not is provide for the payment of those pensions that were now just become actually due.

Mr. HARVEY was of opinion that something more than Mr. Rice's brief statement was required to justify the Committee in passing the vote • especially when be could refer to a distinct promise from that gentleman, that DO further grants should be made until the claims of the parties had been reported on. He was surprised that the Committee had made no report— It was singular that although this Committee had been sitting nearly foe, months—being appointed the 12th of December—three days a week, yet th only result of their labours, as far as appeared either to the House Or the country, was the brief report on which the present vote was founded. They had to examine into nine hundred cases, which necessarily classed themsdves under different heads. There were first those respecting whose claims to s continuance of their pensions there could be no doubt; and yet no report had been made as to those persons. To some of these pensioners, therefore, this delay_operated as a great injustice. These cases ought to have been reported to the House in the beginning ; for he took it for granted, that the Committee did not sit a week before conviction flashed upon the inindi of its members that at least some of these parties were entitled too, continuance of their pensions. It was due to those parties, therefore, that no time should be lost to rescue them from the mass of suspicion which was more or less thrown around the lieusion. list generally. Then, on the other hand, it was to lie anticipated that on going into the inquiry determinedly there would have been found a great majority Of these pensioners whose claims had originally no foundation in Justice. 1113, was a class on which the Committee ought to have teporad their °pima' together with the names of the parties. r He should like to know if it were true, as reported, that not a single individual had been examined before this Committee. The crass pursued was said to be this— The Chancellor of the Exchequer, having plenty of time on his bands, sad being disinterestedly anxious to throw his mantle over those pensioner., took upon him to write to all of them requiring them to answer such questions U closed the cases of those who gave them ; placing tinder the letter " A '' amt.. they of course giving he in his tenderness fur them thought tit to suggest ; such answers as suited best their object. The Cotninittee upon these ao-wcol respecting which there was little or no doubt, and those under other letter, el)! the alphabet respecting which there were great and grave doubts. As legal,' 4 Unction between the creditable and time Eli,creditahle eases, tho,c so hoc L la 11,111 as regarded, the the former, they ought lung since to have been got rid of; latter, they ought to have been examined, and all the defective claims.ed. The Committee hail done neither one nor the .ether ; they had made ho dit• I ought never to have been reeonnized and those WIWSW CI:IIIII, 0 ighit to km, i ve recognized. Awl yet Mr. Rice propm.e.1 a grant of a SIMI opal to time totOl amount of the pensions of all these persons. Was he surprised at th:s mode of proceeding ? Quite the contratv- It was the realization of his anticipations; because be declared, as soon as the

niary corruption ; but should ever copal justly taken from him.

Mr. O'BRIEN, at the request of Lord motion ; and Lord JOHN moved, as an Abolition Act Amendment Bill be read For the motion Against it der that his seat bud been Is.

JOHN RUSSELL, vvithdrew tit amendment, that the Slavery a third time.....

120 124

, „,;,,,,e was taken from his hands, tl,at it was a proceeding based in delusion, ni°,T,-,-' o Id end in delusion : as to its leading to a conclusion satisfactory and ":„.--- it qwniitte out of the question ; and the proposition of the Chancellet of the gl,ieat wait tionight Wag the first c6lenee in confirmation of that impression. ri cL„-f: • e evinced, from the manner in which this inquiry had been eon- ne....1"-;,,udit' "which he wan S4tiSfleli it would be to its termination that any Llicr„74u:endwto speculate would he a very gt eat gainer if he were 'to under- r. — 1 I mint at 5 per cent. Out of the whole I 40,000/., there nle the w iii e run

reduction Of 7,000/. nom all the letters he had received and

%um mit be 3 / i • ai .sston touching the origin of many of these pensions aid the id in ois pos.; • .., i circumstances of the pensioners themselves, he was satisfied that 1-„ute laid them would stand tlot leAult of on honest investig,ation. Yet a delean'iLi'::thj'eial circular, which had neve: heel: laid before the House nor the Com- ;„,,, co benignantly suit to these patties; to which they of course sent 14-et's most suited to thtir purpose ; and upon these answers the claims of the u n- jec , if not all retained, at least not one of them hail yet been tejected. lie 'insdletbese rematks, not for the purpose of expressing any stuprise at this but to justify his anticipation th..t the tthule inquiry would be a political couTS!,

cheat.

Mr. SPRING RICE appealed to Mr. Hume and Mr. Ilawes, to say whether the inquiry was a politieol t heat? whether he had not applied himself, as far as anybody could wish, to furnishing every tittle of evidence they could !Noire at his bands? He called upon those gentlemen to get up, and if they agreed with Mr. Harvey, to expose the cheat. He had endeavoured to facilitate the inquiry, and to pro- cure fur the Committee the hest evidence he could. There never was it Committee over whom the Government had less influence. He could venture to say, that as far as the sifting of claims went, the .public would be well satisfied with the report when it appeared. As to the proposed grant, he was certain that Mr. Harvey himself, if he examined them, would agree that in some of the eases it would be the height of cruelty to debt), the customary payment.

Mr. HUME regretted that Mr. Harvey was not on the Committee:. He %vas bound to state, that but for evidence furnished by Mr. Rice, the inquiry would be interminable.

111r. HAWES, said that the inquiry had been conducted with perfect fairness ; and that all the information the Committee required had been furnished.

Mr. P. H. Howsno said, that the Committee had certainly bid their light under a bushel. He was glad to hear that the impiiry was not a mockery ; and he I ecommended the addition of Mr. Hal vey to the Committee.

Mr. WARBURTON strongly supported the suggestion that Mr. Harvey should be put on the Committee.

Mr. LasnoatE said, that if any good was to be done, it would be by satisfying the count i y, numb more than by saving money ; and the cJuntry would not be satisfied unless Mr. Harvey had a share in the in- quiry. Mr. Waxt.ur cautioned Mr. Harvey against being led away by the dulcet tom s he heard around Ii

There hail been allemly four months' sittings, fonr months labour, and four months' investiAations of the Committee ; and the public had not Neu saved one birthing. What then was the object in wishing to place the honour- able sad ir.leited Mendttr in this Committee ? It would ITIVOVe Iii :II from the vantagogrou nil w Rich he then occupied as the censor of the condot•t of the Com- mittee, and the critic on their proceedings ; it would gag his mouth, and pre- vent his passing that censure which it ,rums most likely their cnoduct would writ. lie entieated Mr. (!leery not to give way to soft flattery, but to main- tain Ids present position, and not on any account to become a member of the Committee.

Mr. GOULBURN said, that by one set of gentlemen the discussion was confined to complimenting Mr. Rice—by another to complimenting Mr. Harvey; who must certainly he much gratified by the regret ex- pressed at hut absence, especially when he remembered the treatment he had formerly received from Mr. Rice.

The vote was agreed to; and the Committee rose.

ELECrION COMMITT ELS AND PETITIONS.

On Wednesday, Mr. CHARLES WOOD reported from the Wicklow Committee, that the sitting Members, Mr. Grattan and Mr. Howard, bad been duly elected. Mr. GALLY KNIGHT reported from the Kinsale Committee, that Mr. Pierce Muhony was not, and Colonel Thomas had been duly electod.

The SVEAKER stated that he had received petitions complainiug of undue returns for Sudbury and Maidstone.

MISCELLANEOUS.

ELECTION COMMITTEE LAW. On Monday, Lord STANLEY men- tioned that he should abandon his motion for a Committee to collate the various decisions of ElectionCommittees, in consequence of tut inti- mation from Lord John Russell that the Government would not countenance the inquiry he proposed. On Wednesday, Sir T. FRE- MANTLE gave notice, that Sir Robert Peel would move, on the 22d of May, for a Select Committee on the mode of trying controverted elections.

GOVERNMENT OF NEW SOUTH WALES. Sir GEORGE GREY stated, in reply to Mr. Charles Buller, that he intended to introduce a pro- visional measure for the govermneut of New South %Vales ; but he de- clined ettering into the details of it. He would only observe that the peculiar circumstances of the colony would render the establishment of a representative system of government very difficult.

Tun BUDGET. 'SIN RICE told Mr. Gordburn, that he hoped to bring forward the budget in the course of the present month, but he could not name the precise day.

The SLAVERY ACT AMENDMENT Btu. was read a third time, and passed ; Mr. O'CONNELL giving notice, that after E oder he should move for leave to bring in a bill for placing all female apprentices among the nompriedials, who would be freed on the 1st of August next.

THE APPRENTICESHIP IN GUIANA. Mr. THORNELY asked Sir George Grey, on Wednesday, whether the Legislature of British GUIiIIIA had not refused to pass a bill for the proper classification of the apprentices ? Sir GEORGE GREY replied, that the Court of Policy, tonsututing the Legislative body, had refused to pass such a measure, a ill th it CO ,sequintly an Orde: in Cuu eli wool1 be isstted to car* out the intentions of GavernmAit.

BUSINESS or TIIE Ilocsri Lord Jon N Ressrsr. gave notice, that. on the 25th instant he should move, that after the 14th of May orden of the duty should hove precedence of notices of motion, on Thursdaye, till the etid of that month

On Thursday the 3.1 of May, lie would !move for a Select Cornmittee upori Church leases, in the terms which lie had already stated. He meant to pro- pose the thitd reading if the Irish Poor Relief Bill Monday the 30th of April ; and he purposed to bring forwat d the question of Irish Tithes ea 3looday the 14th of May. If, therefole, there was TIO ohjectior to dischatgin the order if the day for the 30th of Aptil, and traiedl ii it:g it to the 14th te May, he thought such a cutase would prevent auy laisuudeistanding upou subi,•et.

The to der of the day for the 30th of April was discharged.