NEWS OF THE WEEK.

THE Session of 1831 terminated on Thursday. The following is the valedictory address of our excellent King to the Reforming Commons and Anti-Reforming Lords.

"My Lords and Gentlemen—I am at length enabled to put an end to a session of unexampled duration and labour, in which matters of the deepest interest have been brought under your consideration. I have felt sincere satisfaction in confirming, by my Royal assent, bills for the amendment of the Game-Laws, and for the reduction of Taxes which pressed heavily on the industry of the people; and I have observed with no less pleasure the commencement of important improve- ments in the law of Bankruptcy, from which the most beneficial effects may be expected. "I continue to receive the most gratifying proofs of the friendly dispo- sition of Foreign Powers. The Conference assembled in London has at length terminated its difficult and laborious discussions, by an arrange- ment unanimously agreed upon by the Plenipotentiaries of the Five Powers, for the separation of the states of Holland and Belgium, on terms by which the interests of both, together with the future security of other countries, have been carefully provided for. A treaty, founded on this arrangement, has been presented to the Dutch and Belgian Pleni- potentiaries; and I trust that its acceptance by their respective Courts, which I anxiously expect, will avert the dangers by which the peace of Europe was threatened whilst this question remained unsettled. "Gentlemen of the House of Commons—I thank you for the provision made for the dignity and comfort of my Royal consort in the event of her surviving me, and for the supplies which you have granted for the service of the present year. You may be assured of my anxious care to have them administered with the strictest attention to a well-considered economy.

"The state of Europe has produced the necessity of an increased ex- penditure in the various establishments of the public service, which it will be my earnest desire to reduce whenever it can be done with safety to the interests of the country. In the mean time, I have the satisfaction of repeating, that those demands have been provided for without any material addition to the public burdens. " My Lords and Gentlemen—In the interval of repose which may now be afforded you, I am sure that it is unnecessary for me to recommend to you the most careful attention to the preservation of tranquillity in your respective counties. The anxiety which has been so generally manifested by my people for the accomplishment of a Constitutional Reform in the Commons House of Parliament, will, I trust, be regulated by a due sense of the necessity of order and moderation in their proceedings. "To the consideration of this important question, the attention of Parliament must necessarily again be called at the opening of the ensuing session ; and you may be assured of my unaltered desire to promote its Settlement, by such improvements in the representation as may be found necessary for the security of my people, and the full enjoyment of their rights; which, in combination with those of the other orders of the State, are essential to the support of our free Constitution."

The session which has just ended had its formal commencement on the 14th of June ; but we may without impropriety include Mit the Sittings between the 3rd of February and the dissOlution on the 22nd of April, since the various measures which were completed in the subsequent session were then introduced and at great amplitude.discussed. Thus considered, the session of 1831 may be regarded as one of the longest, while the high subjects to which its labours have been directed will long distinguish it as the most interesting, that has-occurred " either in our times or in the times of our fathers. It is good, now that it is gone by, to pause awhile, for the purpose of asking how far it has fulfilled, how far it has disappointed, the hopes of the People of England ; and to inquire, where it has fallen short, what were the more immediate causes of failure.

In the department of Finance, we owe to the Parliament of 1831, The abolition of the Coal-tax ; of the Candle-lax ; of the Printed Cotton-tax.

We may add to these remissions—for though the Revenue is expected to gain by it, so undoubtedly will the People—the equa- lization of the Wine-duties. Of the much-ridiculed Budget of Lord ALTHORP, these are the abiding advantages ; and we believe it would baffle his detractors to pick out from the labours of the most praised of his predecessors three reductions for which an honest Minister had a better title to a people's gratitude. The first was an impost which was partial in its operation; both the first and tho second pressed with great and unequal severity on those who could least easily bear them ; and all the three were in- defensible on any sound principle of taxation. They were burden- some to the subject, unproductive to the exchequer, and indirectly injurious to both governed and governors, by the checks which they imposed on commerce. Our Legal have been more than commensurate with our finan- cial improvements. The session of 1831 has seen The fall of the tyrannous and detestable Game code ; of the abominable Close Vestry system ; of the long-complained-of Bankrupt Courts. These also are great conquests. How many attempts had been made to abate the first enumerated nuisance! a nuisance which had grown with the growth and strengthened with the strength of the Aristocracy. How many laborious disquisitions, how much wit, how much logic had been employed in the seemingly hopeless cause of Man versus Partridge ? Again, though claiming no such antiquity or honours of descent as the Game-laws, how long had the steady advocates of existing abuses waged successful war in defence of that system of Parish polity by which the irresponsible few were allowed to plunder and domineer over the unresisting many? And although the improvement in the administration of the Bankrupt-laws be less obvious to the general comprehension —and though in this measure of great amendment there may be yet room for further amendment—still it -is not unworthy of rank- ing as one of the most marked proofs of the march of Reform which the session of 1831 has exhibited. It is DAVY, we believe—or his ingenious biographer—who observes that the researches of enlightened investigators are never wholly in vain, for though the object of their pursuit may not be attained, there are discoveries ever and anon starting up by the way which amply repay the toil of the journey. In morals the same observation holds true as in physics. For who can doubt, though Parliamentary Reform—the great object of our pursuit during the past session—has been missed, that it was to that pursuit, diligently and zealously pressed, that we owe the three, and more especially the first and second of the grand ameliorations just alluded to ? Is there the slightest reason for supposing, that had not the very citadel of Corruption been perceived to be in danger, and had not all its forces been required for the defence, these outworks would not have been as stoutly and as successfully defended as they had on previous occasions of attack? Such are our obligations to the session of

1831.

We must now turn to a less grateful part of the picture—to the disappointment of those hopes which in June last every circum- stance combined to encourage ; a disappointment which is due, not to the People, for they did their work honestly and heartily—not to the King, for he has never for a moment swerved from his first position—not to the Representatives of the People, for though there have been a few backsliders among them, and though on one occasion the backsliding was marked and general, on all votes but that solitary one, the Bill found in the House of Commons most zealous and unfaltering supporters. Whom, then, have we to blame, that instead of grieving for its loss, we are not at this mo- ment rejoicing in its being carried? The Lords ? The Bishops ? Weak ministers both ! Why was the majority in the Upper House not won over.? Why, if it could not be won over, was it not beaten down ? It cannot be said not to have been foreseen °claimed by the Anti-Reformers: and if foreseen, why ented? We —it was proclaimed by the Reformers, it r more—we failed of an- swer. Do we accuse Ministers of a c have asked this question of many, and accuse them of a folly. The Cabinet isi uaJMcolnposed of intelligent and worthy men; but there4s niastee tint among them to unite and direct the efforts ofAli f them have habitscof business, or the power of a .; ., yes to harcl labour. To enumerate in detail the occasions in which they have .2teade their enemies laugh and their friends grieve, would exhaust a whole newspaper. But the effect of their mere blunders has been trifling in comparison with that of their weakness and indecision. What but a com4nation of both could have kept the Bill halting in Committee for so many weary weeks ? Whom did the candid Cabinet aim at pleasing by the sufferance which they extended towards the least respectable, the most factious, and The most powerless Opposition that ever bearded a Minister? Did they hope to convince or convert their antagonists ? The Nation was agreed, the King was consenting, the Commons were earnest, the measure was their own—why did they not insist on its prece- -dence? Why did they not sit from morning to night, from night to morning, allowing neither repose nor quarter to its enemies, until it was finished ? Not only were Ministers idly tolerant of their enemies, and yet more idly intolerant of their friends, but they acted as if they were bent on affording occasions of triumph to the former, and of shame to the latter. \NIG can forget Saltash ? who can forget Mr. GREGSON and his rent clause ? It may be said, " Why remind us of these things ? the

Bill passed the Commons in its integrity ; the halting and hesi- tation of Ministers did it no harm." Admitted—Ministers did it no harm in the Commons—they had not the power to harm it

there ; but did their conduct while the Bill was in the Commons do it no harm when it went to the Lords ? What rational con- clusion could their enemies draw from the toleration extended to such men as Lord Howe and Sir BYAM MARTIN—from the ad- vancement of Anti-Reformers in every quarter of the kingdom—

but that the Ministers were indifferent to the measure whose suc- cess they took so little pains to secure, or to their offices, of whose retention they seemed so careless ? There were but two means by which a majority in the Upper House could be procured—by making Peers, or by converting Peers already made. If Ministers were of opinion that the first process would be more injurious to the Constitution than the evils which it was

meant to remove—that a Reformed House of Peers would be more dangerous than an Unreformed House of Commons— then surely it became 7i fortiori their duty and their interest to strive for the only alternative that remained to them. Was that to be attained by doubting and hesitating—by daily, hourly symp- toms of weakness and decay—or by straightforward and decided acts and words ? If Earl GREY, instead of declaring at every sitting his determination to stand or fall by the Reform Bill (which, after all, he has stood by, and seen fall), had told the Peers plainly, that, vote as they pleased, he would not relinquish office because of their vote—that the Bill was carried by the Nation, and must be carried sooner or later, with a good grace or a bad one, by the Lords—that he had hitherto abstained from having recourse to the constitutional means for insuring their approval of it, but if com- pelled, he would have recourse to them,—had he done this even at the commencement of the second reading, or had Lord BROUGHAM done so at its close, instead of offering to kneel at the feet of men who cared not a farthing ihr his prayers or his prostration,—the Bishops would not have voted, and many of the silent opponents

Retbrin would have found an opportunity of slinking away. It may seem a strange assertion, but we really, believe that their friends would feel less mortification could they prevail on them- selves to suspect the Ministry of dishonesty. It is because no one doubts their "good intentions," while every one laments their inaptitude for business, that the disappointment of the Nation is so great. Among the minor features of the late session, there is one which more especially regards ourselves. No session has ever passed in which so much time has been spent in disquisitions on the public Press. In addition to the occasions on which it was the ground of direct motion, there have hardly two successive nights passed in which some notice has not been taken of its labours. This is a high compliment to its growing power and im- portance. The opinion of the People has indeed gained so great additional strength during the last eight months, that no future Government will be able to step between them and their reason- able demands. To the Ministry this is due: the spirit which their accession to power called into operation, is now independent of support and of opposition—it cannot be put down either by its friends or its enemies. Whoever shall in future assume the helm, his course is predestined. Whether we get, in the first instance, a large or a limited Reform of the House of Commons, ultimate Reform in every department of the state is now certain.

1. FINANCES or THE COUNTRY. On the third reading of the Consolidation Fund Bill, on Monday, the Duke of WEeenvoroN, to suit whose convenience the motion had been postponed to that day, went into a long statement respecting the finances ; from which he deduced the conclusion, that the surplus in the hands of Government for the year ending 5th January 1832, would amount to no more than 10,000/. instead of 493,000/. as calcu- lated by Ministers. The Duke began his statement by a narrative of the reductions of expenditure effected by the late Ministry, which he calculated at 4,000,000/. The difference between the surplus sa estimated by the Duke and as estimated by Government, seems to arise from a different form of stating the same account. The total income received and expected for 1831 is 47,250,000/.; the total Parliamentary estimates is 47,239,8501.—which leaves a sure fus of 10,1501.; but the Ministers state, that by a calculation and the estimated expenditure of the current quarter, the whole expenditure of the year will fall short of the sum set apart for it by

at least 483,000/. ; and that the real surplus will in consequence exceed the nominal surplus by that sum. The Duke spoke of this mode of calculating the surplus by the sum expended, and not by

the sum voted, as the introduction of a new principle into the finances of the kingdom. He alluded to the increase of the Army and Navy, as having added to the expenditure not less than 1,200,000/. per annum ; and to the removal of the Coal-tax, the Printed Cotton-tax, and the intended removal of the Candle-tax, as taking from the revenue not less than 1,700,000/. per annum. He complained, in respect of the Coal-tax, that the public, by Government not having adopted proper measures for the regula- tion of the trade, had received only 2s. per chaldron of advantage, while the coal proprietors and miners received 4s. per chaldron. Earl GREY, in answering the Duke's speech, pointed out the cause of the different conclusions to which the Duke and the Go-

vernment had come on the subject of the surplus. Admitting the propriety of paying off the public debt if funds could be readily spared for the purpose, Lord Grey yet contended, that no policy could be more unwise than to impose or retain injurious taxes merely with a view to forming a sinking-find, as the Duke would recommend. He adverted to the well-known fact respecting the cause

of the irice of coals not having fallen in such a proportion as it ought

to have done, namely, the combination of the miners, in consequence of which even Newcastle was at one period deprived of an ade- quate stuyply of coals. The Earl mentioned the recent favourable turn in the exchanges, in consequence of which bullion was again pcuring into the country. He added, that from the recent settle- ment or the Belgian and Dutch question, there was now a better prospect of continued peace, and with peace of prosperity, than there had been for a considerable time past. He said the prospect abroad gave him strong hopes that Government would be able soon to reduce a portion of that increased expenditure which the threatening aspect of the Continent had occasioned. He concluded by alluding to the Reform Bill generally, and more particularly to the interview which he had had with the delegates of the various parishes in London respecting it, and to the account of that inter- view which had gone abroad.

He believed there was no noble Lord on the opposite side who would now take upon him to deny that the people of England were in earnest in

their demands for Parliamentary Reform. Yet deep and intense, and universal as was the feeling in favour of Reform, it had not broken out into acts of turbulence save in one or two instances of riot. These it was the duty of Government and of society to restrain, for without peace and order, there could be no liberty ; and it was more especially incum- bent on the friends of Reform to repress all unseemly acts ol' commo-

tion, as he believed in his conscience that nothing could operate more

adversely to the measure of their wish. While on this subject, he would endeavour to obviate the effects of very considerable misrepresentations that had gone abroad with respect to what had fallen from him on the occasion of receiving the delegates of certain parishes of London. What had passed had not been correctly stated. The object of the deputation

was to show him the necessity of advising his Majesty not to prorogue Parliament for more than seven days. To offer any pledge of the kind, Earl Grey declared at once to he altogether inadmissible, and not to be taken into consideration by his Majesty's Ministers. The question of pro- rogation was one which they Must determine in the way they thought best for the interests of the country. He would not think of holding a place in the Government under dictation as to what measures it was his duty to recommend. Unless he enjoyed the liberty of deciding according to the suggestions of his own understanding, it would be impossible for him to retain his situation in the councils of his Sovereign. These were the sentiments he had expressed to the deputation, but he had said no-

thing about any specific time for which Parliament might be prorogued. He had only said that the matter must be left to the discretion of the

King's Ministers, who would tender that advice which they deemed best to be adopted. He thought that he had a right to claim credit with the country for the fitness of whatever advice he might deem it right to offer. Whether for a longer or shorter period of prorogation than was customary, he conceived that he had a claim to be considered as making that arrangement most conducive to the interests of the great question which they had so much at heart. With respect to this great question, he had stated that he thought that alterations in the late Bill were neces- sary, and that it was the duty of his Majesty's Government to consider these alterations ere they came to be formally submitted to Parliament ; but he had also said, that he would be no party to any measure that was not founded on the same principle, and that was not equally efficient. These were all the statements he had made on the occasion alluded to,—

with the exception of an observation that had dropped from him, when it was represented what would be the agitation of the public mind when no satisfaction was given with respect to the period of prorogation. He had then told the delegates, that they ought to impress upon the public the necessity of temperate conduct, and ought to use their efforts to pre-

serve the peace of the country, and not place the Government in a situa- tion in which they would be compelled to exercise the powers intrusted to them for that purpose,—powers which, if requisite, they were determined to exercise. With regard to what might be the term of prorogation, he begged to assure the House, that it would be regulated by a sincere de- sire to insure the success of the momentous measure of Parliamentary Reform.

He spoke of the limits to human exertions—of the excessive fatigue undergone by Ministers in the Lower House—and of the labours of Lord Brougham in the Upper, which rendered some relaxation absolutely necessary.

The Duke of WELLINGTON drew but one inference from the excitement of the country, and that was, that members of Parlia- ment ought to abstain from increasing it. Lord BROUGHAM rose merely to repeat what he had before- stated—that there could be nothing more untrue than the report that there prevailed the slightest difference of opinion between him and Earl Grey—not in regard to the principle of the late for unded on the -actual expenditure of the three bygone quarters every one agreed as to that, but in respect to the most minute of its details. He thought, some respite to their labours was abso- lutely necessary for the members of Government ; the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Lord John Russell had been enaaged day after day, and night after night, without intermission f. r at least three months past. It was physically impossible for them to begin their labours again in a week. For himself, he had bet n engaged, with the exception of two days at Christmas and two at Easter, from six or seveu in the morning to twelve or one at night, for a twelvemonth ; and if any man was so unreasonable as lo say that some repose was net necessary for him, he would not stop to rea- son with such a person.

Whatever advice should be offered as to the time of proropation, the people of England mieht rest asso red, that it would be given en a solemn principle of public duty, red with a view to the. carryiug of that measure to which none could feel more devoted than himself and his colleagues. The public would see, when that IIIMSUrc was again before parlia. rnent, the candour with which they had acted, and that the reriod that would intervene was no longer than was required, he would not say in justice, but in mercy.

2. POLITICAL UNION`3. The presentation of a petition from the Council of the BirmiliJiam Union, led, on Wednesday, to a discussion on the such political associations, and to a smart attack on the eVeli-R.ef ;niters by Sir FRANCIS BURDETT. 111-r. Hume: defended the! Union, and all similar societies, as eminently cab,ulated to preserve the peace of the country and in- stanced the dilierent bellitvio::r of the poople of Birmingham and Nottingham, as ilInstratine; their utility. Sir RICHARD VYX-YAN, on the other hand, spoke of the Unions as one great cart-e AVIIVI.11.3 peace of the country was broken, by the excitement which they kept up. He spoke of a Relbrined. Parliament at Naples, which he had seen threatened and over- awed by some forty or fifty lodges of Carbonari. Tie afterwards stated, that even gTantino- violence had been repressed by political unions, he thought actual disturbance was greatly preferable to a state of society in which the peace was kept by what were merely instruments in the hands of demagogues.

Sir FRANCIS Buttmerr defended the Unions : they were, he said, founded on the principle of defence, and in order to meet the objection of the Tories, that the people were indifferent to Reform. He asked if the system of political clubs was new, or if it was to be confined to one side of politics only ? The Anti-Reformers had long governed 1r;land by means of Orange Clubs, and not many months had elapsed since the Anti-Catholics of the House used to boast of their connexion with Brunswick Clubs. Sir Francis spoke of the character of the present Opposition—of the smallness of their numbers, and or the factiousness of their principles.

When an honest Ministry came forward, and, for the first time that ever the attempt was voluntarily made by any government, proposed a mea- sure of reform, which entitled them to the lasting gratitude of the coun- trv,—when that measure was responded to by the hearts and voices of the whole country,—when the King, as he was, the father of his people, placed himself at their head lathe support of this measure,—it was too much, indeed one could scarcely notice the fact in language he would not say consistent with the rules of the house, but with the rules of common decency, that a few persons who were opposed to that measure should-set up their opinion as the opinion to which the country should bow. And who were those who set themselves up against the whole country ? Were they men who could now take the reins of government ? Suppose that Ministers were pusillanimous enough to resign the reins of government —to relinquish the confidence which his Majesty reposed in them—to give up that support which the people had given, and were ready to con- tinue to them—could the honourable gentlemen opposite—could any set of men in the country hope to carry on the government except on the same principles of Reform ? Assuredly they could not. And seeing that the Opposition knew this, and they did know it well, he must say, that their conduct towards Government was factious, and intended not so much to uphold certain principles, as to turn out an Administration.

3. THE BISHOPS. Mr. HUNT presented a petition on Tuesday, attributing the rejection of the Reform Bill to the votes of the Bishops, and praying that they might be disfranchised. Mr. J. CAMPBELL deprecated such petitions, as injurious to the cause of Reform. He thought, in addition, that the late at- tempts made to dictate to Ministers were very mischievous. Mr. ROBINSON thought the petition must be rejected. It was akin to those which Mr. Hunt presented night after night witha view to injure Reform.

Mr. HUME thought the proceedings in the Metropolis were most proper and necessary. He thought the political power of the

Bishops ought to cease. The rejection of the Bill had been said not to have been lost by the Bishops' votes : this was a question of mere addition and subtraction. It was clear that if twenty-one votes had been taken from the one side and given to the other, the second reading would have been carried.

Mr. CAMPBELL said, he alluded not to meetings, but to the visits of certain delegates of the people to Earl Grey, Mr. FRESHFIELD deprecated the constant attacks on the Bishops; and asked how they could vote conscientiously for what they looked on as a dangerous measure ? Colonel EVANS observed, that no one denied the right of the Bishops to vote as they pleased : still he thought it would be much more advantageous for the country if they were deprived of the right altogether.

Mr. Romriscor considered the prayer as involving a breach of privilege.

Lord ALTHORP deprecated the constant allusion, in petitions and in the speeches in the Commons and elsewhere, to the votes of the Upper House. The prayer of the petition was one which would not for a moment be entertained by the House. The conversation was at length put en cad to, by the Speaker's declaration, that as the petition contained allusions not to the votes of the Peers merely, but to the votes of ;articular Peers, which could not be known without a breach of the privile2,-es of the Up- per House, it could not be ree,ived. It was withdrawn accord- ingly.

4. EARL HOWE. MT. Arthur Trevor, Lord Londonderry's nominee for Durham, put a question last week to Minieters re- specting the dismissal of this nobleman from the oneee of Chain_ berlain to the Queen. It was replied by Lord John 1nseli, that of the dismissal of Lord Howe he had not any special knowledge, but he had reason to believe that the Earl had resigned office sub-- sec-punt to the vote which he had given on the second reading. of the 11,_q.orin Bill. On Siniday, nix! Howe, in consequence of this ans,,,,r, addressed a letter to :1Tr. Trevor, in ‘ehich he says- " In the month of .1Nlay last, mei fer tiieFecond time, I subrnittcel t his Majesty my intention of oppoing the Reforin Bill, and niv piuleLt rea-

diness to resign Fir" situatinu Chamberla Q il in to the ueen, at any !a-

ment that he mightbe pleas,..ii to fix on. I received hi reply a mcst eet- cious command to retain rny office, and a distinet reeeglition of i.‘:i- vilege of being perfectly indepehdent of any Government frem th cir- cumstance of iny being in her ..d..sty's llooschold. My having e!fered to resign again was out of the question, as I was allowed, by the Kim;'s own communication, to act and vote exactly as 1 pleaed. Nothing. therefore, but the positive request of Lord (Ire). and his colleagues to the King for my remove!, in emir eq;lenee f Inv vote the other night, has been the cause of my being no longer in l.r M.jesty's iIousehnld."

Earl Howe concludes by seeing, tied Mr. Trevor is at lileety to. make any use of his letter 'v Itch he lilac see lIt, " except the in- sertion of it in the public papers." On Tuesday, Mr. TREVOIZ reed the letter in the House of Cele-

mons, and gave copies of it te reparlers of all the puldie papers. He repeated at the same time, tile queslicin formerly put,—whether Earl Howe had been dismissed from cffice by reason of his vote. on the Reform Bill ?

Lord ALTHORP said, hi fajesfy ha 1 an undoubted rield choose his servants and to diemiss them as he saw fit ; and there- fore he must deciine giN ire; ;my aus'Ner to Mr. Trevor's questiem 5. LAW REFORM. On -\\",eleesclay, in moving their Lord- ships to agree to the amendments of the Commons on the Bank- ruptcy Court Bill, Lord BROUGUAn alluded to other law raterms, as yet only projected. He mentioned that a commission had far a considerable time past been sitting on the Bankrupt Laws ; that they had examined from three to jour hundred witnesses on the operation of these laws ; and that the report they were about to make would form the foundation of some of the most sidatary alterations ever made on that important subject. He mentioned at the same time, that, agreeably to a suggestion of Lord Lyndhurst, he meant to submit his plan of a local jurisdiction to the Commis- sion of Legal Inquiry, and that in six menths he looked for a very important report on that subject. Lard Brougham subse- quently alluded to the iramense amount of costs incurred under Ow present laws of debtor and creditor— The expenses of law proceedings, those of the Insolvent Court, the dis- charge of prisoners, the exoenses of debtors while in gaol, and those of collecting debts, amounted aitogeth er t.) 600,000/. a-year, and all this was abstracted from the funds of the CM; itore. In addition to this the sun of 116,000/, a-year was spent in justifying bail. If the Report of the Com- mission of Law Inquiry was attended to, the sum of between 700,0001. and 800,000/. a-year would be turned away from such a useless direction, and added to the fund for the payment of creditors.

6. THE BANKRUPTCY COURT BILL. In the House of Lords on Satin-day, Lord BROUGHAM moved for certain papers connected with this bill, for the purpose of vindicating himself against the misstatements contained in a publication attributed to Mr. Jeremy Bentham. Lord Brougham admitted at the same time, that par- ties who could represent the abolition of fees to the amount of 2,500/. received by his Secretary, and the substitution of a fixee. salary of 1,2001., as the creation of a sinecure of 1,200/., were not very likely to be convinced by any statement he could make on the subject. The allusion to this pamphlet led to a question from the Duke of CUMBERLAND on Monday, whether Lord Brougham meant to impute the authorship of it to Lord Eldon? Lord BROUGHAM observed, that Lord Eldon had no claim to be desig- nated, as he had designated the author, "the father of the bar ;' but it was still more difficult to suppose that Lord Eldon could b' alluded to, if the Duke attended to another designation whIch he gave the author, namely, that he was " the father of Law Re- form."

The bill itself, out of which the speech and inquiry arose, WaS committed in the Commons on Saturday, and several of the clauses were considered. The Committee sat again on Monday ; when the remainder, with some few verbal amendments, were considered ; and the House having resumed, the report was brought up, and the amendments were agreed to. The bill was read a third time on Tuesday. The amendments were concurred in by the Lords on Wednesday ; and on Thursday the Royal assent was given to the Bill. It is now law.

7. THE VESTRIES BILL. This bill was recommitted on Mon- day. Several of the clauses having been agreed to, and the Com- mittee having arrived at that which provides, that before the act can be adopted in any parish, at least two-thirds of the rate-payers must have signified their wish for its adoption, Lord BROUGHAM addressed their Lordships at some length against the principle of the clause, and on the amendment of it, proposed by Lord Melbourne, that for two-thirds of the rate-payers should be substituted two-thirds of the rate-payers present at the meet- ing. Lord Brougham pointed out the difficulty, or rather impos- sibility, of ascertaining the sentiments of rate-pavers who did not attend, and the equal difficulty of prevailing on all the rate-payers to attend.

A considerable conversation ensued on the clause ; in which the Earl of II A DD1NGTON, the Lord CHANCEL LO:, and Lord Wvammo took part. Lord WYNFORD proposed that the votes should be taken in the vestry, on the principle of Mr. Sturges 13ourne's Act, according to the amount of properly assessed. Lord MELBOURNE Stl0111.0y objected to the adoption of such a principle, which was wholly of modern invention, and which, by vesting the whole of the power of a parish in a few individuals, would merease the dissatisffiction which it was the object of the bill to remove.

Lord FALMOUTH did not think that the charge of novelty could be made against a principle which had been applied in the case of the Tithes Composition Bill, which the noose had a few days before adopted.

The Duke of WELLINGTON thought it. quite impossible that two or three thousand people could meet to discuss any thing. He thought that Mr. Sturges Bourne's Act might with propriety have been made applicable to the Metropolitan parishes, and thus the necessity for the present bill been altogether obviated. The Earl of HADDINGTON observed, that the local acts ren- dered impossible the adoption of Mr. Sturges Bourne's Act by the parishes of the Metropolis. On his suggestion, an addition was made to the clause as amended by Lord Melbourne, to the effect that the number of rate-payers at the meeting should, in all cases, constitute an absolute majority of the whole rate-payers of the parish.

The Earl of FALMOUTH suggested that the bill should be limited to London : there were no complaints in the rural districts. The Earl of HARROWBY thought the preferable course was to make Sturges Bourne's Act applicable to all the towns in the king- dom as the Duke of Wellington had recommended.

After some farther conversation, the House divided on an amendment analogous to that proposed by Lord Wynford, for giving to each rate-payer a certain number of votes, not exceeding six, in proportion to the sum at which he was rated : for the amendment 38, against it 54 ; majority for the clause 16.

8. SCOTCH COURT OF EXCHEQUER. On Tuesday, the LORD CHANCELLOR, in presenting to the House the returns respecting the Bankruptcy Courts for which he had moved on Saturday, ex- pressed his regret that; in consequence of the factious opposition which it had encountered in the House of Commons, the bill for abolishing the Scotch Exchequer Court had been stopped in its progress. He pointed out the absurdity of refusing to pass such a bill without inquiry, when the evil which it went to remove was avowed and notorious, and when, if inquiry had in reality been wanted, the Chief Baron, who was in town, could have satisfied all inquiries in five minutes. The fact, that the Court did not try above two orZat most three questions a year, was known to every one. The Lord Chancellor ridiculed the notion that the bill had been passed with a view to accommodate Chief Baron Abercrombie ; who would lose 2,000/. by its passing. The bill had been introduced without even consulting the Chief Baron, although, on receiving notice of it, he fully concurred in its propriety. Lord Brougham went on to notice certain charges against him- self with respect to the Masters of Chancery who -had retired, and those who had been made during the time he had held the seals. He noticed that one of the gentlemen who had retired was of the mature age of eighty years ; and that the other had been twenty- six years in office, being six years more than was necessary to en- title him to the retiring allowance. His Lordship vindicated the appointments he had made : one of them was indeed that of a gentleman advanced in years, but care had been taken that the public should be no sufferer from that circumstance, for it had been specially agreed that he must serve twenty years before he should be entitled to the retiring pension. His Lordship eulogized Mr. Henry Martin, as, if not the best, one of the very best of all the Masters in office. The first gentleman whom he appointed, he went on to state, was opposed on all political points to himself—he was a friend of Lord Eldon's ; and so little personal interest had Lord Brougham in the appointment, that he had never been in the room with the gentleman previous to its taking place.

9. THE LAST TALK OF THE COMMONS. Previous to the House of Commons being called up to the bar of the Lords on Thursday, Colonel EVANS presented a petition from a householder of Wind- sor Court, Strand, praying that the House would entreat his Ma- jesty to create such a number of Peers as might be necessary to pass the Reform Bill ; and that an act might be passed to dis- qualify the Bishops from sitting and voting as Lords of Parliament. In both objects of this prayer Colonel Evans declared his perfect concurrence.

Mr. HUME supported the prayer ; and he called on Ministers, in addition, to get rid as speedily as possible of those Lieutenants of counties who were hostile to Reform. He declared, that were he Minister, there should not be one of themin office for eight-and- forty hours. Sir CHARLES FORBES spoke of the system of intimidation as the order of the day ; but declared that it would be found unavailing. lie remarked with some bitterness on the discharge of Earl Howe, and declared it to be contrary to the wishes both of the King and Queen, . _ .

Colonel T•azxcx ridiculed the notion that the Reform Bill was generally acceptable to the People ; and pointed to the Dorchester election, where Lord Ashley has been returned by a large ma- jority, as a proof of the reaction which had been so often insisted on. He said he understood the reaction prevailed also very widely in Ireland.

Sir FRANCIS BURDETT concurred fully with Mr. Hume on the necessity of Ministers acting with decision in respect to the op- ponents of Reform ; he hoped they would proceed to secure—they could not do better—the disapprobation of Colonel Trench : the last thing they ought to aim at was to please their opponents. In regard to the Dorset election, Sir Francis understood, that had the votes which were before the Assessor been added to the poll, Mr. Ponsonby would have had a majority. Lord ASHLEY defended the Assessor ; and in proof that there was a reaction in Dorset, observed that he had received 500 more votes than Mr. Calcraft did at the former election. Many of the electors told him at the hustings, that they voted for the Reform candidate before, but now they found that the Bill was all a humbug.

Mr. BANKES was about to continue the conversation touching Dorset, when he was cut short by the first of the three awful knocks at the door, which announced the arrival of Sir Thomas Tyrrwhit, to summon the House to " another place."

10. THE PROROGATION. On Thursday, about half-past two, the KING entered the House of Lords, and took his seat on the Throne.

The Usher of the Black Rod was ordered to summon the Com- mons to the Bar, and they appeared with the Speaker at their head. The SPEAKER, in presenting for his Majesty's approbation the last act of the session—the Appropriation Act—said- "We, your Majesty's faithful Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, attend your Majesty at the close of a session unusually protracted ; and, Sire, amid difficulties and anxiety, both within and without the walls of Parliament, and labours unprecedented in any former session, we presume to hope that we have discharged our duties as faithful representatives of the Commons of the United Kingdom, and as loyal and devotedly attached subjects of your Majesty."

The Royal assent was given to the bill, and to several others ; among which were the Bankruptcy and Select Vestry Bills. The KING then read, in a clear voice, and with good emphasis, the Royal Speech, of which we have given a copy in the first page of this paper. The LORD CHANCELLOR then, in his Majesty's name, declared the Parliament adjourned to the 22nd November. The Commons retired ; and the King left the House.

In the Commons, pursuant to custom, the Speaker read over a copy of the speech at the table ; and this done, the members im- mediately separated.