NEWS OF THE WEEK.

IN the House of Commons, the session of Parliament has virtually closed, as the House adjourned last night, till Friday, to allow the Lords to complete their business.

Their Lordships have sat daily during the week ; and various public and private bills have been carried through the accustomed forms.

Lord WHARNCLIFFE'S Bill for legalizing the Sale of Game has been min thrown out, but by a very small majority-91 to 89. The Earl of WESTMORELAND was the principal opponent of the bill ; and his most intelligible argument was, that its provisions were arbitrary, as if it had been introduced when the "friends of liberty were asleep ;" and that it "would depopulate the country. of gentlemen."

The Anatomy Bill was withdrawn yesterday by Lord CALTHORPE, on the suggestion of the Archbishop of CANTERBURY. Some of their Lordships expressed insuperable objections to the measure ; and others, who were friendly to the principle of the bill, had amendments to move which would perhaps have occasioned its re,ection.

On the motion of the Duke of WELLINGTON, the Metropolitan Police Bill was read a second time. None of their Lordships objected to the principle of the bill; but Loisl-Dualf.km. and Lard Ettoes objected to the manner of forcing business through at the end of the session, which left no time for deliberation. Lord MALMESBURY observed that the bill would drive all the rogues about London to the City, to avoid ,getting hanged, on the same principle that when a dog

got into the water, all the fleas took shelter on its head to avoid being • drowned.

The first subject under discussion in the House of Commons was a motion by Sir JAMES MACKINTOSH for papers to elucidate the state of sane relations withsPisreugale and this ocrupied our senators from seven or eight o'clock on„ Monday, evening, till nearly four next mornings Sir James's argument was, that:as ufhad, someshand theseonstitulion which Don Pedro granted to the Portuguese, we ought to have interfered with -a strong arm to uphotd it, and the interests of Donna Maria, against the usurpations of Miguel. Though there was no treaty which bound us to do so, such interference was clearly implied in our previous proceedings, and was expected by the Portuguese Constitu

tionalists. .

Mr. PEEL showed that we were under no obligations to guarantee the Constitution or the succession of the Queen of Portugal. Our hand in the Constitution was merely this, that Sir Charles Stuart carried it from the shores of Rio de Janeiro to the banks of the Tagus, where he delivered it up, and then came home as he was desired to do. Above all, it never had been the policy of Great Britain to interfere in the internal concerns of other countries. The people of Portugal to all appearance had no particular wish to reoeive Donna Maria as their Queen. Don Miguel was their tolerated sovereign ; and we would not be justified in going to war to depose him and dictate a sovereign to the Portuguese. It would have been a breach of our professed neutrality to permit the refugees to sail from England to Terceira, unless they had gone unarmed. They had recourse to tricks : Viscount Itabayna sent one hundred and fifty barrels of gunpowder and twelve hundred muskets to Terceira, which he had pledged himself, when he got liberty to export them, were intended for Brazil : again, the refugees sailed with false clearances, but intended to land onTerceira : hence our precautions to prevent them.

Mr. BROUGHAM supported Mr. Peel's view of non-interference ; not that he hated the tyrant less, but that he loved public justice and expediency more. Mr. HUSKISSON and Lord PALMERSTON concurred in thinking that Miguel had given more than sufficient provocation to warrant our interference. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER deprecated the warlike tone of these gentlemen.

On the motion of Mr-PEEL, the address was made to comprehend a more ample range of papers than Sir James Mackintosh himself desired!

The next subject to which any lasting interest is attached, was the Marquis of BLANDFORD'S Reform motion on Tuesday ; which he brought forward in two resolutions. 1. • That there exists a class or description of boroughs, commonly called close or decayed, in which the returns of members to Parliament are notori ously capable of being effected by the payment of money in the way of purchase, and frequently are so effected; and also another class of boroughs, in which the elective franchise is vested in so few electors, that the returns are • capable of being effected by the payment of money, in the way of bribes, to individual electors, and frequently are so effected.

"2. That the existence of such boroughs, and the continuance of such practices, are disgraceful to the character of this House, destructive of the confidence of the people, and prejudicial to the best interests of the country."

A reform was necessary to guard against an influx of Catholics into Parliament. They were a powerful body, and would enter the borough market with larger means than any other competitors ; and thus to their strength in''Ireland would be added the burgage tenure strength of England. He wished all the rotten boroughs extinct, and their franchises extended to other places more worthy of the trust. The Marquis, whose eyes have been opened to the evils of virtual representation by the passing of the Relief Act, declaimed against the borough system with all the zeal of a thoroughgoing reformer, and wielded some of the arguments of the Radicals with equal energy.

Mr. O'NEILL quoted the names and some of the opinions of almost all the leading reformers since the days of Bolingbroke in support of the resolutions. Mr. BENETT and Mr. HUME specially supported them : the facts they stated could not be gainsayed, and had been often proved. Mr. PEEL opposed the resolutions, but with so little apparent zeal as for a time to leave an impression that he was favourable to the principle they involved : his main objection was to the lateness, which wbuld not allow the House to do justice to so large a subject. Mr. HOBHOOSE would not support the resolutions for the purpose of getting a House of Commons opposed to the principles of religious liberty, or to the "infamous free trade" system, as the Marquis of Blandford hoped : but their adoption would be one step on the road to a more desirable reform. Mr. 'WILLIAM SMITH was glad that the Catholic Relief 'Act had made Reformers of some of the high Tories. The resolutions were negatived by 114 to 40. Another tiresome discussion took place on the question of issuing a newswafor Fts..st,Retford.Mr. H. FArve,'s motion to that effect was negativc-A by 135 Votes to 44 and•the borough most sFontistne virtu. ally disfranchised.

An attempt was made on Monday by Mr. BRIGHT to procure a iv, duction of the duty on tobacco, for the benefit of the West Indian ,

planters. Sir C. BURRELL and Mr. PORTMAN wished the growth of S tobacco at home to be legalized : it would be beneficial to farmers, • and create employment for labourers. Mr. HEATHCOTE and Mr. CRESSET PELHAM thought it unfair, now that the Irish participated in all civil privileges, to allow them to grow tobacco while it.was denied to the English farmer. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied, that it was merely permitted in Ireland as an experiment. He was averse to the reduction of the duty, as it was following the evil principle of granting a bounty on production. Mr. CHARLES GRANT thought that the time was approaching when this and other prohibitory duties must be modified. The motion was negatived.

Mr: POULETT THOMSON was equally unsuccessful in a motion to reduce the duty on raw hemp, from 4/. 13s. to 5s. per ton, for the benefit of the shipping interest. The duty only produced 86,0001.; of this Government paid 10,000/.. so that the produce of the tax was only 76,000/. Mr. MAHERLY, Mr. SYKES, and Gen. GASCOYNE, spoke for reduction. Mr. COURTENAY was against it ; as the financial arrangements of the year were complete, the Treasury could not spare 76,000/. Mr. FITZGERALD would have supported the motion, if the state of our finances could have allowed us to spare the money. Negatived by 60 to 40.

Apart from these specific propositions, various incidental observations have been made as to the state of our domestic manufactures ; and the House has been blamed, particularly by Mr. DAVENPORT, for its apathy to the distresses of the country. Mr. BROUGHAM, on Thursday, laid on the table of the Commons, the counterpart of the Birmingham petition presented last week in the House of Lords ; and this gave rise to another fruitless discussion on the currency and the distress. Mr. Brougham proposed, as one measure of relief, the reduction of the public salaries : they had been raised because the currency was depreciated, and it was but just that they should be reduced when that depreciation no longer existed. Mr. BENETT recommended the imposition of an income-tax. Mr. WODEHOUSE, Mr. DAVENPORT, and Mr. H. GURNEY, thought a temperate issue of small notes would be a judicious measure.

Mr. PEEL attributed a great portion of the prevailing distress to the operation of the American tariff, the dissensions in South America, the war in the Levant, and the state of Portugal, which had all operated to diminish the demand for our manufactures. He believed, however, that there were symptoms of improvement abroad ; and he believed also that matters would have a better chance of coming round, if they abstained from interfering. He read a letter from Manchester, dated on Monday, which represented all the silk-weavers who chose to work as having full employment.

Mr, BARING concurred generally with Mr, PEEL, in attributing the_ distress to the ordinary ebbs and flows of commerce ; but he expressed his doubts of this country maintaining itS• manufacturing pre-eminence against the cheaper labour, and cheaper food, and cheaper raw material of other parts of the world. As a substantial remedy for the relief of the labouring poor, Mr. WILMOT HORTON put on record his resolutions in favour of emigration. The population was redundant, especially in Ireland ; hence wages were depressed. To remove one thousand by emigration, would give as much relief to the country as employment to double that number ; and he expressed himself satisfied that no plan of relief could or would prove effectual but emigration. Mr. SADLER, on the contrary, denounced the scheme as cruel and mischievous. Mr. HUSKISSON, again, showed that if it had not been for emigration, this country never could have arrived at its present state of importance and prosperity. Mr. PEEL took an opportunity to refute a calumny which has been assiduously propagated, that he had used his official influence to procure a large grant of land on Swan River for a near relation—it was lat one time said, for his brother. The fact was, that a second cousin of his, Mr. Thomas Peel, had expressed a desire to go to New South Wales, as a settler; and the Home Secretary applied to Sir George Murray to afford him such facilities as he could with propriety. This scheme was abandoned for the settlement on Swan River ; and Mr. Peel, so far from interfering in his favour, did not know that the Colo nial Department had made the applicant a grant, till after the matter appeared in the newspapers. Sir GEORGE MURRAY confirmed this statement ; and Mr. BROUGHAM said the disclaimer was unnecessary, and the explanation most satisfactory. In the session of 1827, Mr. BUXTON had imputed to Sir Robert Farquhar, that he had encouraged the slave trade in the Mauritius, while Governor of that island, and obtained a Committee of Inquiry. The subject fell asleep in consequence of Mr. Buxton's subsequent illness; and the charges remain recorded, but unproved. Sir ROBERT Falsouisam, on Wednesday, asked Mr. B extols either to pursue his case Or retract his accusation. To retract Mr. BUXTON refused, as he con sidered that he had evidence sufficient to establish his case ; and Dr. LUSHINGTON, Mr. WODEHOUSE, and Mr. SYKES, thought that the evidence already produced went far to substantiate the charges. Mr. IRVING, who had been a member of the Committee, bad arrived at a very different conclusion ; and he anticipated that Sir Robert would triumphantly refute the aspersions cast upon him. Mr. GURNEY thought that those who made themselves conspicuous against the slavetrade derived their information front discontented persons. Mr. Fast Gussox knew that an opinion prevailed in the East that Sir Robert had exerted himself vigorously to put down a traffic which he found in a flourishing condition. Mr. 13ROUGHAM, Sir JAMES .MACKINTOSH, and Sir GEORGE MURRAY, expressed no opinion on the merits of the case—though they hoped Sir Robert would come clear out of the investigation. The inquiry is to be resumed next session; and all parties concurred in thinking it honourable to Sir Robert that he so anxiously courted it. Mr. BROUGHAM on Wednesday adverted to the reforms proposed by the Law Commission ; none of which, he said, he had any hopes of seeing acted on. If an obvious reform was recommended, then some difficulty was immediately interposed. Indeed, there were so many prejudices to combat—so many petty, paltry, wretched interests to care for—that he almost despaired of seeing any reform in the English courts. Even the petty bill fixing Easter term had been withdrawn without any reason assigned, although its necessity had long since been recognized. Mr. PEEL, though Ise helped to introduce this bill, could not say why it was withdrawn. The conduct of the infatuated men of Spitalfields called forth some condemnatory remarks, on Mr. Woon presenting a petition from a silk-master, complaining of the inefficiency of the law to protect property. Mr. PEEL insisted that the law was already strong enough for all purposes, if those intieysted would exert themselves to bring the aggressors under its operation. He blamed the men, for so obstinately persisting in measures which would ruin • themselves by driving, the trade to other quarters ; and the masters, for having at all yielded to their demands. He stated that some of the discontented workmen could earn from 25.s. to 35s. per week, and that none of them had less than 15s.

The House was engaged with miscellaneous business till half-past one o'clock this morning. A petition presented by Mr. D. W. HARVEY from some Spitalfields silk-weavers was withdrawn, from an informality. It complained of the representations made by Mr. Peel as to the state of their wages,— which, on an average of years, had not been more than 14s., and was now 33 per cent. below that. Mr. BUXTON observed that these misrepresentations had done great injury to these starving people. Mr. W. HARVEY asked whether Lord Chief Justice Best had retired upon any ground which would entitle him to a pension ? Mr. PEEL answered that his Lordship had retired in exact conformity with the law.

Mr. WYNN presented a petition from some Hindoos, and other inhabitants of a place in !ndia, praying that they might have the right to serve on juries. It seemed to be agreed that this boon ought to be accorded.

The Bill for extending the powers of the Commission of Inquiry into English Charities having been read a third time, Mr. D. W. HARVEY complained that this Commission had cost 200,000/. and had done comparatively little good. Mr. BROUGHAM dissented from this conclusion ; for the Commission had already examined into eighteen thousand charities, and had secured to charitable purposes a revenue ot nearly 600,0001. a year. Mr. Brougham also made a flattering state :Merit of the progress of education. in England. lu the children at the unendowed schools in England were 478,000, but last year they had increased to 1,100,000.

Mr. LABOUCHERE made some remarks on the state of the Canadas, with a view to induce the Government to treat them liberally. The Canadians, he said, were as fit to manage their internal affairs as any people in the world. Sir J. MACKINTOSH concurred in this opinion. It appeared from Sir GEORGE MURRAY'S account, that a liberal system of legislation would be adopted as soon as Ministers had sufficient information.