, after observing that he believed there would be no objection to his motion, moved, "That a Select Committee be appointed to consider of the Validity of the Doctrine of Contagion in the Plague; and to report their Observations thereupon to the House."

observed, that as no explanation of the reasons of this motion had been given, it seemed to him a subject on which it would be better to call for the opinion of the college of physicians than of a committee of this House.

said, he trusted he should be able to show that there were sufficient parliamentary grounds for the present motion. The quarantine laws, it was well known, were very rigid in their nature, and entailed much inconvenience and expense on the ships that were subject to them. These laws were entirely founded on the opinion which, for some centuries, had prevailed, that the plague was contagious; but recent inquiries had thrown considerable doubts on the validity of that doctrine. It would be extremely desirable to collect all the means of decision as to the validity of that doctrine. The question had been brought under the consideration of the branch of government with which he was connected, and he confessed he had been struck with the reasonings which had been adduced in favour of the opinion that it was not contagious, but epidemic. The subject had been referred to the college of physicians, who had originally advised the enactment of the quarantine laws; their opinion certainly was, that their original doctrine was sound and untouched by subsequent experiments. The subject, however, deserved every degree of light which could be thrown upon it, and it so happened that the committee which had sat last year on the prevailing epidemic fevers in London, had added to the doubts which had been entertained as to the nature of the plague. He trusted, therefore, that the subject was not unworthy of the consideration of a committee, as the settlement of this question, especially if it should be established that the plague was epidemic and not contagious, would be of the highest importance to the interests of commerce, and the happiness of the world.

said, that after the explanation which had been given, he could have no possible objection to the motion. But he trusted the House would pause a little before it legislated, if a committee of the House should be of a contrary opinion to the college of physicians.

begged to state the reasons which had induced him to trouble the House with the present motion. He had been on the committee which had inquired, in a former session, into the nature of the epidemic lever prevalent in London. The testimony which Dr. Roberts gave to that committee, had perfectly astonished him. Dr. Roberts had been for 24 years the principal medical attendant at Bartholomew hospital, and declared, that in all that period of his practice, he had scarcely known an instance of a fever being contagious. He hoped the House would consent to take the subject into consideration.

said, he rose for the purpose of moving for leave to bring in a bill to prevent the Sweeping of Chimnies by means of Climbing Boys. As there were many members in the present parliament who were not in the last, he deemed it requisite to mention some of the circumstances which had been stated to a former parliament. The report which a committee appointed by that parliament had made, the communications which had been received from all parts of the country, and the evidence which had been collected and placed before the public for inspection, must have fully justified those who were sanguine last year, in being more sanguine during the present year. It was not necessary for him to detail the miseries to which these poor children were exposed; they met the eye of every man in his daily walks. The report of the surveyor-general of the board of works, which had been drawn up during the recess, stated that the chimnies might be divided into four classes—910 in the first, class, 50 in the second, 80 in the third, and 10 in the fourth, out of every thousand. Of these only 10 could not be swept by means of machinery. The house of a distinguished individual (be believed he might mention his name—it was earl Spencer) was said to have its chimnies constructed in such a manner as to render it impossible that they should be swept by machines: by his advice, however, machines had been applied to them; and he was happy to say, that they had all been swept by them. He would therefore affirm, that there were no chimnies which could not be swept by machines, or, if there were any, that they were only found in the mansions of the rich and opulent. The expense, therefore, of altering them could not be severely felt; or even if it were, ought not to be set in competition with the anguish and misery suffered by these climbing children. To show the use of the machine in another point of view, he would only add, that during the last month a chimney had been swept at the Tower with a machine in half an hour, which a boy was five hours sweeping some time since, and in which, as he was informed, a boy was once confined eight and twenty hours. To prevent the recurrence of such misery, he begged leave to bring in the present bill, which had been approved of by the last committee. The only alteration which he had made in it since that time was, to allow two years instead of one, before he called for the total abolition of the present practice of sweeping chimnies.

observed, that in a return from the Bank of England, he observed the following note:—"This account is exclusive of all exchequer bills and Irish treasury bills purchased by the Bank, whether advertised to be paid off or not." He wished to know whether this note referred to exchequer bills held by the Bank, which had been advertised to be paid off, and which that establishment had not sent in? And secondly, whether they had been so detained in consequence of any understanding with government?

said, that it sometimes happened, that when exchequer bills were advertised for payment, the public received for them either money or other bills. In the same way, the Bank had continued to hold exchequer bills over. The note to which the hon. member had referred was common to all returns relating to the advances made by the Bank to government; the exception was always made.

begged to explain his reason for putting the questions. The chancellor of the exchequer, on a former night, had said that government had paid off 5,000,000l. out of 8,000,000l. due to the Bank: if the payment had been made, and the Bank at the same time withheld exchequer bills that in due course would have been paid off, so far it would amount to no payment. Was he to understand that the two transactions did not interfere with each other?

added, that the two transactions did not inter- fere. When he had spoken of 5,000,000l. due to the Bank having been paid off, he meant to say, that all the advances to government by the Bank had been reduced by that sum.