NEWS OF THE WEEK.

THE two Houses of Parliament met on Thursday, after the recess. The benches of the House of Commons were much fuller than they usually are on such an occasion ; those on the left hand of the Speaker were particularly so. • It is difficult, however, to say, un- der present circumstances, when the Opposition musters strongly, unless the fact be made apparent by a division; for many of the stanChest of the Ministerial supporters sit on the Opposition benches. Among the new members who took their seats, there

were two conspicuous above the rest ; of whom it would be diffi- cult to say which more distinctly marks, by his entrance into the House, the character of the times in which we live. The personages to whom we allude were the honourable and learned member (pro tem.) for Perth and St. Andrew's, and the honourable repre- sentative of Preston. Mr. HUNT was introduced by Me. ALEX- ANDER DAWSON, the member for Louth, anti took his seat next to Mr. HumE. The Lord Advocate contented himself with a silent survey of the assembly which he will on some not distant occasion illuminate. Mr. HUNT spoke with his usual freedom and fluency ; and it is but fair to add, in the manner of one who knew that he spoke in the presence of gentlemen, and was, prepared as well as able to render to his audienee all the courtesy that they had aright to demand.

Of the subjects discussed during the two nights that the Houses have sat, only one possesses much interest—the Civil List. It was introduced last night by Lord ALTHORP, in a speech which would have been more effective had it been better heard. The plan, as will be seen from our copious extracts from the debate, differs more in form than in essence from that of the late Ministers. The saving by reduction on the Civil List, properly so called, is trifling—it does not exceed 10,000/. What the new Ministers chiefly take credit for is, the placing all charges not immediately connected with the Royal establishment on the Consolidated Fund, se as to subject them to the annual revision of Parliament. The Pension Lists are to be consolidated; and in future the whole amount is not to exceed 75,000/. In the mean time, however, no reduction is advised, principally on the ground that the pensions have been granted for no serytee, but merely for charity. The more recently-granted pensions will be placed at the discretion of Parliament ; their amount is 69,000/. Notice of several important measures respecting Ireland was given by Lord MELBOURNE on Thursday. The Reform question is fixed for the 1st of March. Ministers mean to proceed by bill ; and probably, as in the case of the Catholic Bill, they will resist every alteration, in whatever stage it may be offered.

From a speech of Mr. OUTLAR FERGUSSON in the course of Thursday, it seemed that the landed interest have very little in- fluence in the House of Commons, and that the proper object of reform ought to be' to increase it. Mr. Hums said they had for a hundred years -past ruled the House as they pleased. The Game Laws bespeak a power of much more ancient date ; and the Corn Laws, confirmed only two years ago, do not argue much for its decay.

1. CiviL Lisr. This subject, our readers are aware, was the one on which the late Ministry went out of office. It was brought forward last night by Lord ALTHORP, the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer. The heads of his Lordship's plan are as follow. The List to be divided into five classes—Mr. Goulburn's, it will be recollected, was divided into ten. Class 1. to comprehend the King's Privy Purse and the allowance to the Queen; the former amounting to 60,000/. and the latter to 50,000/. Class 2. the salaries of the Officers of the Household: the proposed amount of charge for these is 130,0001.; being 10,000/. less than Mr. Goulburn's estimate : the difference is, however, rather a transfer of charge than 'a reduction, for the Board of Works is now re-

moved from the Civil List, and placed under the direct control of Parliament. Class 3. the Household: the proposed charge on this 'class is 101,5001.; the difference of 49,000/. between that sum and the former estimate being transferred to another account. Class 4. Royal Bounties, 23,200/. : in this class there is no altera- tion. Class 5. the Pension Lists-75,000l. : this class was calcu- lated by the former Government at 144,000., and its actual - amount during the late reign was 159,1701.; being 74,200/. for England, 53,920/. for Ireland, and 31,050/. for Scotland. The three lists are now to be united in one. The saving of 69,000/. is a prospective one. Pensions to the amount of 75,000/. will be placed on the new list, in the order of their seniority ; leaving to the King the chance of their falling in as a fund out of which to grant new ones. The remainder will be placed at the disposal of Parliament. In consequence of the dif- ferent arrangements now come to, the whole sum to be set apart for the Civil List, and so removed during the life of his Majesty from the control of Parliament, is 510,000/. ; the whole sum pro-

posed to be so removed from Parliamentary control by the late Ministers amounted to 970,000/. There is one part of the present arrangements most honourable to the King: Lord Althorp, in concluding his speech, said— It would he in the recollection of many members, that when George III. married, a sum of 54,000/. was granted to his Queen, as an outfit to •

purchase jewels. Indeed, her Majesty's whole outfit was prepared at the expense of the country. The same took place again when the late Prin- cess.Charlotte married. He had every reason to believe that a proposi- tion for granting a sum of money as an outfit to her present Majesty, had been under consideration of the late Administration. The Duke of Wel- lington considered such a proposition not an unreasonable proposition. He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) likewise considered it not an un- reasonable proposition. If the House would only consider that her - Majesty had been suddenly called upon to prepare a Royal establishment, and that it was an arduous task for any one, who began in debt, to escape

from difficulties, he thought that it would agree with him in deeming the

proposition not unreasonable. But when he submitted it to the King, with that desire not to increase the burdens of his people which was so

honourable to him, and with that solicitude to satisfy their wishes which had distinguished him from the commencement of his reign to the present hour, declined to accept any grant for such an object. (Immense cheering from both sides of the House.)

Mr. GOULBURN observed, that the point at issue in November last, as he understood it, was, whether the items of the Civil List should be framed by a select committee or by Government. He had asserted that it was the duty of Government to frame them, and he was happy to find that Ministers had come round to his opinion. From the estimates framed by the noble Lord, he was

confirmed in another particular, namely, that the Civil List was not greater than the comforts of the King required. Mr. Goul- burn expressed his fears that the removal of the Board of Works from the Civil List might lead to discussions in the House per- sonal to the sovereign, and that the entire scheme of separation proposed by Lord Althorp might be productive of more inconve- nience than advantage. He was, however, most opposed to the reduction in the pension list, because, in the present state of the country, the necessity for pensions of charity, instead of growing weaker, was growing daily more strong. As he understood the present proposition, he thought that the Crown for some time to come would have a more extensive power of granting pensions than by his proposition, and that the retrenchment would not come into operation until a remote period. The House would recollect

how pensions were now granted. On the English list the Crown had the liberty of granting pensions to the full amount of the vacancy in the

course of the year ; and so, as-he understood the present proposition, the noble Lord intended to leave the power of the Crown with regard to the pensions which he' meant to leave on the Civil List. Now his (Mr. Goulburn's) proposition was, that the Crown should retain this power as before, so far as the English list was concerned ; but had he proposed that the same power should exist with regard to Scotland and Ireland ? Cer- tainly not. On the contrary, be had proposed to confine the power of granting pensions on the Irish and Scotch lists to a certain annual sum, no matter what the amount of the annual vacancy might be. Then see how the Noble Lord's arrangement operated. The Noble Lord consoli- dated all the classes into one ; next, the Noble Lord put the senior pen- sions on the Civil List, thereby giving the Crown the benefit of the senior lives, while the junior lives were transferred to the Consolidated Fund. The average amount of vacancies, on the whole Civil List, as it now stood, was 7,000/. a-year ; and the Crown had the powerof grant- ing 4,800/. a-year. Now when 75,000/., enjoyed by the oldest lives, were selected, and a calculation made, from the ordinary tables, of how many were likely to die in each year, he was very much mistaken if it wo not be found that a greater power of granting pensions was given t Crown by this than by his arrangement. The House must recollec pensions to the amount of 12.0001. were granted in the year 1784, trt

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that pensions to the ammmt of 42,0001. had been granted previous tithe:,. year 1800. The result therefore was, that by this arrangement the N. oble Lord conferred a greater power of granting pensions now, and that

Noble Lord's retrenchment would come into operation in other reignsa: and under other administrations. (Hear, hear.) Lord ALTHORP observed, in explanation, that he meanp;Op:,,.... diplomatic expenses of the country to be charged on the co s dated fund in one sum, not to be voted from year to year in it Sir HENRY PARNELL said, the object of the Committee for which he had moved, was not, as Mr. Goulburn assumed, to settle the details of the Civil List, but to investigate the plan, and, if necessary, to reduce the estimate. He tho-ught the plan of sepa- rating accounts in themselves wholly distinct, that was proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, a highly proper one ; though he could not see why the diplomatic expenses should be voted in the mass, more than other expenses. He was much dis- appointed at not perceiving some reductions on the former esti- mate. The salaries of many of the high officers of the Household —the Master of the Horse, for instance—admitted of a large re- duction.

Mr. HUAIE, in alluding to those pensions which were confessedly granted not for service, but in charity, said— This country was not now to be managed by a system of patronage and corruption. The class of pensions to which he was referring had been characterized by the noble Lord as charitable grants and donations for the support of poor peers. Now he would say, let every peer who can- not himself maintain the dignity of his title, lay down that title, and let Jim not come to the public for a pension to enable him to support it in proper style. The Peers were intended by the constitution to stand be- tween the Throne and the People ; and it was not in accordance with the spirit or principles of that constitution that the people should be called upon to contribute to their support as paupers. If he belonged to the Committee, he would submit that each individual pensioned should be ex- amined; and if they should be engaged till Jane in examining the claims and merits of those two hundred or three hundred claimants on the public purse, he was of opinion that their time could not be better occupied. It should be borne in mind, that, by the demise of the Crown, the legal claim to all those pensions was put an end to ; the present Government, moreover, was pledged to unsparing retrenchment, and such retrench- ment the country loudly demanded. He had, therefore, the law with him, the claims of the country, and the promises of Government, when he called upon the House to put a stop to this unnecessary expenditure. When pensions were defended as given in charity, it should not be for- gotten that charity ought to begin at home. (A laugh.) Let them but look at the distress of the country, which arose, in a great measure, frcim the burden of the taxes, and then say whether it would not be greater charity to relieve the distressed people of this country by remitting such an amount of the public taxes, than by squandering it away in this manner for the support of poor peers, and other persons whose relatives could and should support them. Mr. MABERLY expressed his entire approbation of the plan of the Chancellor of the Exchequer ; and he felt assured that by placing so large a portion of what was usually termed the Civil List under the control of Parliament, he had paved the way for most important savings. He had no doubt, when the Pension List came to be looked into, a saving of one half of its amount might be effected.

It indeed required a very severe retrenchment. ,Some bold measure must be proposed to check such a system of expenditure, for it was quite impossible that in the existing circumstances of the country it could be allowed to go on. On looking over the list the other day, he found that there was one nobleman who was in the receipt of a pension of 4000/. per

annum from the Consolidated Fund, who had another pension of 3000/. upon the Four-and-a-half-per-cents.—who had a regiment, the profits of -which might he fairly estimated at 20001. a year, and who was in the pos- session of a governorship, from which, according to the return, he re- ceived 2800/. annually. Altogether this nobleman was in the receipt of 12,000/. a-year from the public ; and perhaps this noble person had not spent one fourth of his time at the government for which he received the salary of 28001. per annum.

Mr. GUEST stated his intention to bring several pensions, to which he had particularly adverted previous to the recess, under the notice of the House ; and Mr. ROBINSON said, that if the Chancellor of the Exchequer did not see fit to appoint a Com- mittee for the investigation of the Pension List, he should himself move for such a Committee.

Mr. ROBERT GORDON thought the alteration proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in respect of the diplomatic expenses, a distinction without a difference. He called on the Chancellor to give up the Dutchy of Lancaster to Parliamentary control ; the revenues of which were almost wholly consumed in jobbing and patronage. Mr. HUNT thought the people of England—the taxpayers—on whose behalf he spoke, would be grievously disappointed with the plans of the Government. The amount of [the Chancellor of the Exchequer's speech was this, that the people must expect nothing., Hearing the speech of the Chancellor, he should have thought that there were no people, or that they had nothing to do with the subject. The noble lord appeared to consider it merely as a question between that House and the Crown,—a question of how much the King might choose to take, and the House choose to give, and as if there were no such a thing in existence as the people out of whose pockets the money was to come. No man in that assembly felt more proud than he of the King at present upon the throne, and no man in the country could feel more satisfaction than he did at the conduct of the Sovereign since he had ob- tained the crown ; but from what had fallen from the Chancellor of the Exchequer that night, the people would be convinced that it was the King of England that did feel for them, but that the present, like former Admi- nistration, cared little or nothing about them. If there was to be no reduction of the Civil List, in God's name for what was the former Administration broken up ? Upon what principle, for what object, was the present Administration called to their situations, if it was not that they intended, upon the vote on the Civil List, to strike at great reduc- tions? It was not for him to say what was too much or what was enough tq. maintain the Royal dignity, or to support the King in splendour and convenience; but, as a representative of the people, he had a right to cal- culate what they were called on to pay. If gentlemen would only conde- scend to go to the dreadful dwellings of the poor, and see the sufferings of tbe people, they would not be surprised to hear of the riots-and confla- grations that had been witnessed throughout the country. It had been communicated to him by letter, that of the whole of the weavers wbohad signed the petition to the House which he had presented the day before, the average earnings were not more than 4s. 6d. or 5s. per week. When at Preston lately, on a Sunday, instead of going to church, he had gone into the miserable habitations of eight or tea of the weavers, and he had found that not one of them could earn more than 6s. a week. Their food consisted of oatmeal broth in the morning, potatoes for dinner, and oat- meal broth again in the evening. A man, his wife, and two children, had to live upon 4s. 6c1. a week ; they gave 61. a year for their miserable hovel, and had to pay 28. a year taxes, 2s. more towards the clergy, and three halfpence for each chimney pot. It was five years since any one of the family had seen a new garment ; their clothes were so ragged and dirty that they were unable to go to the parish church. " Think of this, ye gentlemen who talk of morality and religion—the poor are never in a condition to receive the benefits of religion—so destitute are they of clothes, and so deficient of soap to clean themselves, that the family is not able to repair to the parish church to hear the public worship. The poor man is called upon to pay his taxes when he has barely bread to sustain existence, and it is then that it will strike him that upon this pension list there are a great number of persons who ought not to be there."

Mr. Hunt said, he could not but view the maintenance of the Pension List as ominous of the fate of other reductions that had been talked of. He had little hope that Ministers would reduce their own allowances, when they were so earnest in supporting those of others.

The official salaries had been raised by that House in consequence of a message from the Crown, stating the rise in the price of every article of consumption and necessary of life. If he had then been a member of that House, he should have said to the statement of the rise in prices, " This is all perfectly true,—every necessary of life has risen a hundredfold ; but at the same time he should have said, " Out of whose pockets is this rise to be paid for ? Why, out of the pockets of the very people w ho are obliged to pay similar high prices for all the provisions which they and their families consume.' (Hear.) Every necessary of life had now fallen, and yet, from what had been said by the Chancellor of the Exche- quer, he must conclude that Ministers had no intention of making reduc- tions in their own salaries, since they had no intention of making re- ductions in the Civil List where they were equally called for. It would go forth in the newspapers of to-morrow, that the present Administra- tion, like the last, were totally indifferent to what the people of England were suffering—to all the great and general misery which was driving them to those deeds of violence, to those breaches of the law and of the rights of property, for which they were afterwards to be sacrificed.

Sir JAMES GRAHAM, in reference to what had fallen from Mr. Hunt, said— He wished to act with the most perfect candour, and he was bound to state, that to flatter no expectations would he hold out the slightest hope that his Majesty's Government could depart from their present proposi- tion. (Hear, hear.) The honourable Member for Preston had said, and with great truth, that all that was gracious in the proposition flowed from the Sovereign. In this he perfectly agreed with the honourable gentle- man, as well as in the remark which followed, that every thin,*t' that was ungracious and disagreeable in the measure was the act of his Majesty's advisers. Take the measure as it stood, and it had been their counsel to the Sovereign to submit it to Parliament in its present shape. Ministers took the entire responsibility of the measure on themselves. Living under a limited monarchy, he for one was of opinion, that the decent splendour of the Throne and the comfort of the Sovereign should be up- held. Ministers would have betrayed their duty to the Crown and to the country if, being of this opinion, and having considered what was neces- sary for the maintenance of the monarchy in a becoming manner, and after all, agreeing upon the point, they would have failed in their duty if, after this, they had hesitated to bring forward a Civil List, in amount such as they considered calculated to effect the object which they had in view. He repeated, what was gracious in the present proposition was the act of the Sovereign ; what was disagreeable and, if it must be so termed, extravagant, the act of Ministers.

Sir James went on to observe, that the King lived within the eye of the people. His hospitality was becomingly splendid, but there was neither profusion nor extravagance in it. The honourable member for Preston talked of representing the people —he (Sir James Graham) was also a representative of the people of Eng- land, and owed his place in that House to the system of popular represen- tation; and such being the case, he was disposed to pay every considera- tion to the interests of the people, at the same time that he endeavoured to uphold the Throne, between which and the people the union was as intimate as beneficial. Of this lie felt assured, that the people were satis- fied that the maintenance of the dignity of the Crown was necessary to the wellbeing of the state, under our present constitution; and that if it were proposed to cut off one single comfort belonging to the Sovereign, the proposition would not be acceptable to the people, who, so far front desiring to see the Throne curtailed of its decent magnificence, would wish the scale of the Royal expenditure to remain undiminished. (Hear, hear.) In reply to the objections against the retention of the Duchy of Lancaster, Sir James entreated the House to recollect what had been already surrendered. His Majesty had given up the Droits of the Admiralty, his interest in. the 44 per cent, duties, and had accepted of a proposition for a reduced Civil List. The reduction, it was true, was small in amount ; still an important principle was involved in the proposed construction of the Civil List, which ought never to be lost sight of,—namely, the placing of a large sum under the control of Parliament, which sum had been previ- ously beyond its reach. The Duchy of Lancaster constituted part of the revenues to which his Majesty had succeeded. Henry the Fourth, Henry the Seventh, and, curiously enough, the Protector Cromwell, had severed the Duchy of Lancaster from the hereditary revenues of the Crown ; and it now remained perfectly separate and apart, and was to be considered as belonging to his Majesty personally and privately, and not in a public shape. Ministers had been represented as caring nothing about the people— Before three short weeks had passed over, Sir James hoped his noble. friend (Lord John Russell) would bring forward the measure of a united Cabinet for a full and effectual reform of the representation. (Hear.) It would then be seem whether or not he and his colleagues were disposed to respect popular rights. (Cheers.) With regard to the present ques- tion, Ministers had encountered considerable difficulty; and after taking - great pains, he believed they had decided honestly and justly, and he was not afraid of consequences when honesty and right were on their side. He entreated gentlemen to wait a little, and see the march of the Govern- ment before they condemned it. (Cheers.) Of this he felt satisfied, that in the measure which Ministers now brought forward, there was nothing inconsistent with their professions or principles : if he had thought dif-

ferently, nothing would have induced him to address the Chair from that side of the House.

Mr. CALCRAFT said, he approved of the Civil List itself,—as, indeed, how could he disapprove of it, seeing that, so far as it went, it was the same Civil List as had been proposed by the Government of which he was a member? (Cheers and laughter from the Opposition.) The noble lord had proved to demonstration that the present Ministers could not diminish the amount of the burden which their predecessors proposed to impose. (Wear and laughter.) After a keen sentiny of six weeks, gentlemen opposite could only save some 5,00W. or 10,000/. a year upon the Civil List of the late Administration ; the membet s of which had unfortunately lost their places for the sake of that paltry trifle—a most lamentable ease, as every body must admit. (A /augli.) He must do the members of the present Cabinet the credit to admit they did not very much insist on the saving. (Laughter.)

With respect to the proposed division of the Pension List, Mr. Calcraft observed he could not help admiring the prudence and ingenuity of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The noble lord had so managed it, that during the continuance of his own Government (unless its termination was very near at hand), he would probably have the pleasing task of advising his Majesty to grant a considerable amount of pensions; for he had considerately thrown all the young lives upon the public, while, with an infinite deal of humanity, he took all the old lives and placed them under the protection of his Ma- jesty. (Laughter.) Mr. Calcraft concludad by rem-irking, that it was needless to comment on the items of an expenditure concerning which Mi- nisters had irrevocably made up their minds, and on which they were prepared to resist any change whether of reduction or otherwise.

Sir JAMES GRAHAM explained- " The right honourable gentleman says I announced our decision on the Civil List as irrevocable, and insinuates that I thereby showed how little respect Government was disposed to pay to the opinion of a select Committee. I did say, in answer to the call of the honourable member for Preston to reconsider the proposition, that it was needless for Ministers to

reconsider that upon which they had unanimously and finally made up their minds, especially before the question had been submitted. to the Select Committee. I said, that as far as Ministers' opinion went, they had made up their minds and brought the subject forward upon their own responsibility ; but I did not say that Parliament could not alter or modify the proposition. Government looks to the Committee and to the Legislature to approve the proposition if it can, not otherwise."

The motion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer,for referring the estimates of the Civil List to the Select Committee appointedpre- vious to the recess, was agreed to.

2. REFORM IN THE REPRESENTATION. Lord ALTHORP an- nounced, that the measure of Reform, to which the Ministers had pledged themselves, would be brought forward on the 1st of March, and 'byLord John Russell.

The Government had selected the noble lord for that task, in conse- quence of the ability and perseverance which he had displayed in the

cause of Reform in days when it was unpopular. His noble friend had proposed various partial measures of reform when even partial measures were looked upon with disfavour. Now, therefore, when the cause was prosperous, the Government thought that, on account of his perseverance and ability, the noble lord should be the person selected to bring forward a measure of full and efficient reform, instead of the partial measures which he had hitherto proposed. In answer to an objection of Sir CHARLES WETHERELL, that the Paymaster of the Forces was not a member of the Cabinet, Lord ALTHORP stated, that the Cabinet was unanimously agreed on the measure to be brought forward. He also alluded to the precedent of Mr. Burke's Civil List Regulation Bill, which was brought forward by that statesman while Paymaster of the Forces in the Marquis of Rockingham's Administration. Any further questions his Lordship begged to be excused from answering, till the measure itself; with the motives on which it is founded, should he developed. In the House of Lords, on the same evening, Earl GREY, in presenting several petitions on-the subject of reform, said—

He had looked to this important question with a view to the adoption of some effectual and efficient measure • and he was happy to say, that although it had for a long period been a work of considerable diffi- culty, Ministers had at last succeeded in framing a measure which per- fectly corresponded with the prayer of one of the petitions,—a measure which would be effective, without exceeding the bounds of a just and well-advised moderation. It had received the unanimous consent of the whole Government.

The Ministers mean to proceed by bill, and the measure will extend to Scotland.

3. IRELAND. Lord MELBOURNE, the Home Secretary, in hnswer to a question of Earl DARNLEY, made some important communications regarding Ireland. To that great abuse, the Grand Jury assessment taxation, Ministers had given their utmost attention ; and, to correct the evils of the system. they had a measure in view,which must, however, originate in the other House of Parliament. A great deal of excitement existed in Ireland,with respect to two other measures, which had been passed seven or eight years ago, —he meant the Vestry and Subletting Acts. With respect to the Vestry Act, it was intended to repeal the former bill, and to frame other provi- sions. As to the Subletting Act, a bill was prepared, retaining the prin- ,,ciple of that act, burtmbracing provisions of a sounder and better de- scription, and divested of every thing of an objectionable character.

The right of corporations to exact tolls, which has been much and often complained of, it is intended to try in the courts of law before any other step be taken. Lord MELBOURNE also stated, that although not prepared to give an opinion on a perma- nent provision for the Irish poor; Ministers were prepared with mea- sures for. their temporary relief,. which would be immediately

brought forward.

4. EAST: INDIA COMMITTEE.. MT. CHARLES GRANT, in moving the reappointment, of the Committee,. obserred, . that several members had declined to serve, and others had taken office, which would prevent their attendance. Under these circumstances, he moved the addition of several new members. The Committee now consists of the following gentlamen. Mr. Charles Grant, Marquis of Graham, Mr Baring, Mr. Astell, Mar- quis of Chandos, Lord Althorp, Mr. Ai bothnot, Sir R. Vyvyan, Mr. Hart Davis, Mr. W. Wynn, Mr. C. Ferguson, Mr. R. Grant, Sir J. Mack- intosh, Lord Ashley, Mr. Littleton, Mr. Alderman Thompson, Mr. Hume, Mr. \V. Cavendish, Mr. Moore, Mr. Baillie, Mr. George Bankes, Mr. Irving, Mr. Courtenay, Mr. W. Whitmore, Mr. W. O'Brien, Mr. P. Thomson, General Gascoigne, Lord Morpeth, Sir H. Parnell, Lord Ache- son, Mr. Wrightson, Mr. Labouchere, Mr. J. Wood, Lord Sandon, Mr. Callaghan, Mr. Goulburn, Sir C . Forbes, Sir George Staunton, Sir James Macdonald, Mr. Fazakerly, and Mr. Marshall.

5. THE SPECIAL COMMISSIONS. In answer to a question from Mr. HUNT, Lord ALTHORP stated that it was not the intention of Ministers, at least of their own accord, to submit to the House any report on the Special Commissions. Mr. HUNT said, the fires were still burning, and the labourers as dissatisfied as ever; and he should feel it. his duty, in consequence, to bring under the consideration of the House a plan of repressing crime and allaying tumult w''ich had produced no satisfactory results. Last night, Mr. Hum' gave notice, that on Tuesday next he would move for an humble address to the King, praying "that an unconditional pardon might be prranted to all those now under sentence from convictions at the late Special Commissions; on the ground that they had acted under delusion, or were goaded into crime by the mismanagement or misconduct of Government 0, PENSIONS TO RETIRING MINISTERS. Mr. HumE moved on. Friday for returns of these pensions. According to the practice, he observed, if a man had 50,000/. a year, still he must get a retiring pension. The -Governor of Madras, whose salary was 10,0001. a year, received a pension of 1,500/. There were also—Lord Sidmouth, with a pension or 3,0001.; Mr. Goulburn, 2,0001.; Mr. Croker, ,5001.; Mr. Hamilton. 1,0001.; Mr. Courtenay, 10110/. ; Mr. Hobhouse, the late Under Secretary, 1,0001.; Mr. Planta, 1,0001.; Lord 13exley, 3,000/. ;—persons whose ser- vices altogether had not been worth 3,000/. nay, if it had rested with. the House, scarcely one of them would have been deemed worth a shil- ling. (Laughter.) The return, as well as returns of the allowances to the junior branches of the Royal Family, also moved by Mr. HUME, WIS agreed to.

7. ABJURATION OATH REPEAL BILL. 011 the motion of Air. WYNNE, this bill was considered in Committee last night. Sir R. H. INGLIS and Sir C. WETHERELL are opposed to the bill ; which, they consider, may lead at some future day to the placing on the throne, not one of the descendants of James the Second, for they are all gone to their father, but some of the collateral branches. Sir CHARLES WETHERELL dwelt strongly on an opinion of ME. Charles Butler on the claims of the SardinianFamily to the throne of England. It seems, however, that Mr. Butler is deceived—it is the Duchess of Modena who possesses—barring the Act of Settle- ment, and the good will of the people of England, which are two elements in the title of our monarchs—the, best claim to dispossess the present Royal Family. Mr. WYNNE assured the House, that the Duchess had no such intentions at present.

8. TALLOW. One of the petitions presented on Thursday prayed for the reduction of the duty on candles. This gave Mr.. HUNT occasion to remark on the extraordinary monopoly of tallow, which the enormous property of the house of Baring has enabled it to exercise over the sale of tallow : they are said to hold at present not less than 600,000/. worth. Mr. Hunt said it was his intention to bring the subject of this monopoly before the House ; but in what shape, he did not state. Mr. WARBuRrox attributed the rise on tallow rather to the disturbed state of Po- land, the fatal disease in Russia, and the failure of the whale- fishery, than to the speculation of Messrs. Baring.