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employed, and that there was nothing of discontent amongst them. The business of Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and Walsall, it appeared, was greatly improved; that the manufacturers there had lately got as many orders as in any year for a long time. It was true, that some of the iron-masters worked below a profit, perhaps, but they made as much as the capital they expended; and the legislature could not, by any act, support thriftless speculators. The condition of the workmen themselves, he was pleased to observe, and wished to make the House observe, from the mention made of those buildings, was greatly improved. He would not fatigue the House with longer statements, but he had received several other communications, all showing that the manufacturing interests were not in that depressed state which some hon. Members represented, and that there was a satisfactory prospect of still greater improvement. Having shown this, he would now say one word as to the causes to which hon. Members attributed that which he admitted to constitute the distress of the country-the low price of labour, low profits, and low returns on investment. If hon. Members attributed these to the changes in the currency, he could assure them they were much mistaken. He did not deny that the changes in the character of the currency had produced partial pressure, but he did deny that that pressure was so extensive as had been stated. He would not then open any new views of our currency system, as other more fitting occasions would present themselves, but would content himself with confidently asserting, that the changes in the currency were not the cause of the present distress, and that therefore the remedy should not be sought in retracing our steps in our monetary system. With respect to what had fallen from a noble Lord (Howick) opposite, on the subject of banking, he wished to say, that he concurred with the noble Lord as to the importance of the subject, and willingly admitted that it was well worthy of the consideration of the House, with a view to affording greater facilities to the formation of local banks, than the law at present permitted. It was well known to the House, that though some of the obstacles which the Charter of the Bank of England placed in the way of such establishments had been somewhat relaxed in 1826, many other obstacles must be removed before the

banking system of the country could be placed on that broad basis of national advantage and stability which he begged leave to assure the House Ministers were anxious it should rest upon. The right hon. Gentleman repeated, that it was the ardent wish of the Government to place the general banking system of the country on that broad basis; and to effect that as soon as circumstances would permit. Ministers conceived, he said, that the Jointstock banking system presented advantages to the public beyond those which the private banking could, in the nature of things, afford. There would be, in the first place, a greater security for the holder of the notes issued; and, what was a still greater recommendation, and should be an indispensable condition, such banks could endure, and should be required to give, publicity to the amount of their issues. This publicity was the great recommendatory feature-in fact, the essence-of Jointstock banks; indeed, he would almost say it was peculiar to such banks, as few private banks could endure, or ought in fairness to be required, to put the public in full possession of all their transactions. The system he should like to see acted upon, would be one similar in kind to that so long in force in Scotland; for he thought none was likely to be equally conducive to the wants, resources, and interests of the country. That system was, in his conviction, the best which Parliament could sanction, and it was that which Ministers wished to see established, and would support, though they could not then take upon themselves to specify the period within which it would be recommended to Parliament, and measures brought forward to ensure its establishment. In conclusion, the right hon. Gentleman said, he should oppose the Motion of the hon. Member, as he conceived it could only tend to keep the public mind in a state of agitation without any counterbalancing advantage. The remedy for the present distress was not in the power of Parliament;-it was to be sought for in the innate energies of the country alone. That distress was not confined to Great Britain-it extended over the commercial world, and arose from causes over which there could not in any state be a legislative control. He would, with permission of the House, read an extract from the report of Mr. Ingram, the Secretary to the Treasury in the United States, in order to

cause of the present Distress, and into the remedies for that Distress."

Alderman Waithman seconded the Amendment.

On the question, upon the Amendment being put,

The further Debate was accordingly fixed for Thursday next.

show that that gentleman took a similar view of the causes and extent of the present general distress as that entertained by his Majesty's Ministers. To the concluding sentence of Mr. Ingram's report he wished to direct the best attention of the House: "It may not be unprofitable Mr. Fergusson rose, to suggest to the to observe that a total revolution is taking House the expediency of not coming to a place in many productive employments conclusion on a question of such importthroughout the civilized world. The im- ance without further discussion. Many provements in science and arts, no longer hon. Members were, as he knew, anxious interrupted by war, have been directed to to express their opinions on it; but the other objects, and have so increased the lateness of the hour precluded them on power of production, that the tide of prices that occasion, and the subject was, to all which had been long on the flood is now intents and purposes, as yet almost ungradually ebbing, even under a depre- touched. He therefore should propose, ciated currency. The relative values "That the further consideration of the between labour and product have also Motion before the House be adjourned till changed, but are not yet adjusted. The Thursday." depression of prices falling unequally on different species of property is ruinous to many, and repugnant to the feelings even of those who do not suffer. It may be long before a proper adjustment of these values removes the evil, and until then the busy world will be agitated by the convulsive struggles of its various interests each to avert from itself, and throw upon others, the impending adversity. The ramifications of these connecting and conflicting operations are so complicated that it may be doubted whether any degree of intelligence, however free from the influence of special interests, could by the exercise of political power materially lessen the evil. The active energies of man, stimulated by necessity, emulation, and the love of wealth, are perhaps the agents most to be relied upon, in maintaining a salutary equilibrium in the various operations of human enterprise." So with his Majesty's Government with respect to the distress which the hon. Member had brought that evening under the consideration of the House. For that distress they looked with confidence to the innate resources of the country for the best and speediest remedy. [hear, hear]

Sir C. Burrell was anxious that an inquiry should be instituted into the causes and probable remedies of the present condition of the country, but should prefer an impartial select committee to one of the whole House, as proposed by the hon. Member for Shaftesbury. With the view of obtaining a select committee, he should propose, as an Amendment to the hon. Member's Motion, that a "Select Committee be appointed to inquire into the

EXCISE ACTS.] The Resolutions moved last night by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Committee were reported. They were as follows:

1st, "That from the 15th day of March, 1830, there shall be raised, levied, and collected, and paid for, upon every Gallon of Spirits which shall be distilled in England, or which shall on, or after, that day, be found in the stock, or possession, of any distiller in England, or which shall be brought from Scotland, or Ireland, into England, an additional duty of one shilling.

2nd, "That from and after the 15th day of March, 1830, there shall be raised, levied, paid, and collected, upon every Gallon of Spirits which shall be distilled in Scotland or Ireland, or shall, on or after that day, be found in the stock, or possession, of any distiller, or which shall be taken out of warehouse for consumption in Scotland or Ireland respectively, an additional duty of two-pence.

3rd, "That from and after the 5th day of July, 1830, all Duties of Excise on Leather shall cease and determine."

The Resolutions were agreed to, and Bills ordered to be brought in to carry them into effect.

STAMP DUTIES.] Mr. Bright wished to know from the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intended to submit to the House his statement of the tendency and details of his intended bill respecting Stamps. He hoped that time would be afforded between the delivery of that state

ment, and the forwarding the measure to be founded upon it through its stages, in order that the public, who felt a deep interest in the matter, might have time to express its opinions on its tendency. To make known the substance of his measure would be the more necessary, as no petition could be presented against the bill, it being a money bill, after it was brought in. He trusted, therefore, that the right hon. Gentleman would make known the substance of his intended alterations, that the public might know how to proceed.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, the object of his intended bill was merely to simplify what was intricate and obscure in the present Stamp-acts. The hon. Member would therefore, he was sure, at once see the inexpediency of departing from the usual practice of the House, by his making a statement like that which the hon. Gentleman had just asked for. He should probably move for a Committee of the whole House, and place a copy of the act in the hands of the Members, as he did not think much information could be obtained by his reading the schedule of Stamp duties.

HOUSE OF LORDS.

Wednesday, March 17. MINUTES.] Returns were presented, of the per centage at

which the several branches of Revenue in India are levied: Of the Arrears and Balances left annually due,

on the land revenue of India: and returns were ordered,

on the Motion of the Earl of ROSEBERY, of the amount

of duty paid on each sort of foreign Corn, Flour and Meal,

entered for home consumption, since July 5th, 1828.

The Mutiny Bill, the Marine Mutiny Bill, and the Pen

sions Bill were read a second time. Petitions were presented:-By Lord GRANVILLE, from New

castle under Lyne, against the Truck System :-By the Earl of CLARE from several parishes in Monmouthshire,

praying for a revision of the Tithe-laws:-By Lord WHARNCLIFFE from Swaindale, Yorkshire, praying that

a duty might be imposed on Foreign Lead imported

into this country.

ELLENBOROUGH'S DIVORCE BILL.] The Earl of Rosslyn moved that this Bill be read a third time.

The Earl of Radnor rose for the purpose of explaining to their Lordships the reasons why he was obliged, but with feelings of pain and regret, to dissent from the Motion. Perhaps he owed some apology to their Lordships for having taken up this business at so late a period, and he should be extremely sorry if inconvenience resulted to any of their Lordships by the course he had felt it his duty to adopt.

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The fact was this: he was accidentally present at the second reading of the Bill. At that time the thought of offering any opposition to the measure had not entered his mind; as, indeed, it could not, for he repeated that accident alone had led him to the House on the evening to which he had alluded. When he came into the House, witnesses were being examined at the bar preparatory to the second reading of the Bill, and the examination was conducted in a manner which forced itself upon his notice, and he must say, in a manner which surprised him. Still, however, he had no thought of obstructing the progress of the Bill; and when he was asked on that occasion if he wished the evidence to be printed, he answered "No." But, as he before observed, his attention had been attracted by the mode in which the examination was conducted; and, after reflecting on the subject, he came down to the House the next day, and asked to look at the manuscript evidence. The manuscript, he was told, was not ready, and could not be seen till the following day. On the following day he saw it, and the third reading of the Bill was put off until this day. He therefore had been the cause of the delay, and he begged to assure their Lordships that he deeply regretted the accident which brought him to the House on the second reading of the bill; because it had forced upon him the discharge of an extremely painful duty. Still, however, he felt that it was a duty, and ought to be performed. There were many considerations which ought to induce their lordships to make their proceedings in this, and in all similar cases, open, clear, and free from all objection. Disagreeable as it was, in all cases, to interfere between an applicant for divorce and the remedy he sought, that interference became still more disagreeable in the present case where the applicant was a member of that House, and a member of the Government. But if the discharge of the duty were thus rendered more painful, it was at the same time rendered the more imperative from the very same reasons. When the applicant for divorce was a peer of the realm, and high in his Majesty's councils, it became incumbent on the House to see that the proceedings were conducted with the strictest regularity and formality, lest men should suspect it to be possible that the dissolution of the most solemn of all en

gagements was more easy to those in high | that counsel did not avail himself of obstations than to those whose condition was less elevated. It was incumbent upon their Lordships to guard against such a suspicion, and much more incumbent upon them was it to see that there should be no ground for the imputation that their Lordships could be influenced by any other considerations than those of evenhanded justice. No one would suppose he meant to insinuate that any of their lordships could be so influenced; but in such a case as this, it was of the highest importance that no objection should be fairly taken to their proceedings, because if those proceedings were in any respect liable to objection, no one could tell to what suspicions that fact might give rise. Now it did appear to him that the proceedings in the present case were liable to objections. There were many parts of the case which required a more rigorous examination than they had yet received. In the present case the alleged adulterer was a foreigner. This, of course, was a misfortune which attached to the case, and not a matter of blame to those who had conducted it; but it ought to be to their Lordships a reason for more careful examination, because it had deprived the proceedings of that important feature which was generally requisite in such cases, namely, a trial at law. There was another circumstance, too, which made it incumbent upon their Lordships that the evidence in this case should be carefully examined. A counsel had appeared on behalf of Lady Ellenborough in opposition to the Bill; but what had been the conduct of that counsel, who must be supposed to have acted, as all counsel did act, according to the instructions he had received from his client? Why, he firmly believed, and every one of their Lordships who had observed the conduct of Lady Ellenborough's counsel must also believe, that he had been instructed not to offer any bona fide opposition to the bill. Why, then, had counsel appeared? Why, as he believed, merely as a blind, and to prevent any noble Lords from asking questions of the witnesses, or taking objections, when they saw that the counsel, who should have done this, refrained. He hoped that he was not doing injustice in making these observations, but such was his impression from what he had seen and heard. Counsel was in attendance pominally for Lady Ellenborough; but

jections that were palpable, and he neglected to sift, by cross-examination, evidence the most loose and unsatisfactory. Could he, then, help believing that Lady Ellenborough did not intend to make a bona fide opposition? And if she did not, why did counsel appear for her, instead of leaving the case undefended, which was the ordinary course, unless the appearance of counsel were intended, as he believed it to be, as a blind to their Lordships. There were other circumstances connected with the conduct of the case, which, he must say, he thought deserving the serious attention of their lordships. It appeared to him, also, that many parts of the evidence were too vague, too loose, and too unsatisfactory for their Lordships to act upon. The case, their Lordships would recollect, appeared to fail in that part of the evidence which related to the identity of the parties; and in consequence, additional evidence was brought forward on that point. Looking at the whole of the evidence upon this part of the case, he assured their Lordships that, as an honest man, he could not lay his hand upon his heart and say, upon his honour, that he was satisfied with it. Any counsel, he was sure, might have destroyed the case of the applicant on this point, if he had been instructed to make a bona fide opposition to the Bill. He would not, however, insist upon this point, for it was, in his view of the case, altogether insignificant when compared with another, upon which alone he should be inclined to rest the propriety of his opposition to the further progress of the Bill. The point to which he referred was the conduct of Lord Ellenborough, and he would state at once that he did not think the conduct of his lordship had been such as entitled him to the relief which he sought from that House. He had heard it stated, but not without astonishment, that if two parties were willing to separate, it was unfair and ungenerous in any one to oppose a divorce prayed for by the one and not objected to by the other. It was said to be for the happiness of both parties that, under such circumstances, a separation should take place. It was said, that it was harsh and even cruel, to bind two persons together by indissoluble bonds, when each of them was inclined for separation. Let him, however, remind their lordships,

that there were other considerations besides the wishes of the parties, which their lordships were bound not to lose sight of. If a proposition were brought forward to this effect,-namely, that unhappiness of temper, dissimilarity of taste, increasing dislike, from whatever cause, and the like circumstances, should be sufficient ground for divorce between two parties who were mutually inclined to separate, the introduction of such a proposition would form the proper occasion of discussing and deciding upon its merits. He might have his own opinion upon such a proposition; but whether he had or had not, certainly this was not the time to say one word upon it, for no lawyer would peril his reputation by contending that, as the law now stood, the wish of the parties could be any ground for a divorce. He might, then, dismiss this proposition, since, with its merits or its demerits, their lordships, as judges and as legislators, had nothing to do. To return, then, to the evidence taken in the case before them: -let him recall to the recollection of their lordships the nature of the evidence with respect to the terms of mutual happiness on which Lord and Lady Ellenborough lived together. In his opinion, this part of the evidence again, was most unsatisfactory. Only two witnesses had been called to give evidence on this point. One of them was Mr. Law, the brother of the noble applicant, the other a lady who had been governess to Lady Ellenborough. No doubt it would have been extremely desirable to go out of Lord Ellenborough's family for evidence as to the terms on which the noble Lord and his Lady had lived; but if it were absolutely necessary to go into his Lordship's family for evidence on this point, surely the witness should have been a person who was in the habit of seeing them constantly. But how did the fact stand? Why Mr. Law spoke only of the terms on which they had lived for two years after their marriage; Mr. Law then went abroad, and did not return until the adulterous intercourse had been going on for twelve months. How did Mr. Law find them on his return? Why, Mr. Law said, he found them in the same state of connubial happiness. Then, as to Miss Margaret Steele, the governess, who was the only other witness on this point; she merely said that they lived happily at the period of their union, and that she saw

very little of them afterwards. But connected with the evidence of this witness, there was a very remarkable circumstance, which ought by itself to have attracted the attention of their Lordships to the manner in which the case had been conducted. In the proceedings in the Ecclesiastical Courts, this lady stated in her evidence, that Lord and Lady Ellenborough had not cohabited together for some months previous to their separation. Now this fact was not brought out at the bar of their Lordships, although counsel appeared in opposition to the Bill. But was this fact not important? If the conduct of Lord Ellenborough towards his lady were to have any weight with their Lordships, he could hardly conceive a more important fact than this, especially when coupled with other circumstances which bore upon the same point. Let their Lordships consider what the conduct of Lord Ellenborough had been. For twelve months Lady Ellenborough went, in broad day-light, four or five times a-week, into a public street, at an hour when the streets were most frequented, and that street being in the immediate neighbourhood of her father's house. She went thus openly, without disguise or attempt at concealment, to the house of Prince Schwartzenberg, where she undressed, went to bed, stayed there two or three hours, and then returned home. What was Lord Ellenborough about all that time? Could their Lordships conceive it possible that any man who had the least regard for the honour of his wife,-who placed the slightest value upon the affection of his wife,-could have failed to arrive at the knowledge of such proceedings? Should a man be never with his wife,should he never trouble himself to inquire where she went,-how she was spending the many hours of the day during which she absented herself from home? If this conduct of Lady Ellenborough did come to the knowledge of his Lordship, there was an end of the case; if it did not, Lord Ellenborough was guilty of the most culpable want of attention towards his lady. He begged their Lordships to recollect what kind of lady this was: she was very young,-only one-and-twenty years of age,-and said to have been extremely beautiful. He had not the honour of being acquainted with the unhappy lady before her fall, and could not, therefore, say how correctly her personal

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