wished to put a question to the right hon. Gentleman the First Lord of the Treasury, and he trusted the right hon. Gentleman would not think he was too pressing in bringing it forward at this early period of the Session. He wished to know what measures they were to expect for the amelioration of Ireland, and more particularly whether they might expect that any measure would be introduced during the present Session to carry out the recommendation of the Land Commission on the subject of the law of landlord and tenant. The objects to which he would especially refer the right hon. Gentleman as having been suggested by the Commission were—1st, the amendment of the laws of distress; 2nd, the amendment of the laws of ejectment; 3rd, compensation to tenants for improvements; 4th, commutation of lives renewable for ever into perpetuities; and 5th, powers of leasing to be given under certain limitations to tenants for life, and corporations. He should like to hear from the right hon. Gentleman some intimation as to whether measures for the promotion of these objects, or any of them, were to be brought forward in the course of the present Session.

I think the hon. Gentleman, particularly from the deep interest he has taken in the subject to which he has referred, and from the noble example he has set as a landlord in Ireland, is fully entitled to put these questions. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that this subject has occupied much of the attention of Her Majesty's Government, and he is himself aware what has been our chief occupation since the meeting of Parliament, and also of the disadvantage which for a time was experienced in consequence of a change in the office of Chief Secretary for Ireland. Unfortunately, my noble Friend who holds that office has been disabled from attending on the House, and paying that attention to his duties which he wished; but, in all likelihood, he will be able to attend in his place in a few days, probably before the Whitsuntide holidays, when he will announce the nature of the measures which the Government intend to bring before the House. In the meantime I may state, that my noble Friend will bring under the consideration of the House three measures based on the recommendations of the Landlord and Tenant Commission. I think it would be improper for me to enter into any detail as to those measures; but I may state their general objects to be—a Bill for making compensation to tenants for improvements made by them—a Bill for amending the law as to ejectments and distresses—and, thirdly, a Bill prescribing a short form of lease, and reducing the stamp duties thereon. Before I move the adjournment for the Whitsuntide holidays, an early day will be named for bringing those measures before the House.

The House is probably aware that an event has taken place this day which will, I am sure, fully justify me in making a Motion without any notice whatever. That Motion is, that this House do present an Address of Congratulation to Her Majesty on the addition to Her domestic happiness by the Birth of another Princess. Sir, I well know the deep feelings of loyalty towards the Sovereign which prevail in this House, as they prevail in every other part of the United Kingdom. I well know how those feelings of loyalty are exalted by the high personal esteem, respectful attachment, and admiration for the manner in which Her Majesty discharges every duty, whether of a public nature as Sovereign, or in domestic life. I shall, therefore, without further preface, and in the full confidence that my Motion will meet unanimous acquiescence on the part of this House, move that an Address to the effect I have mentioned be presented by this House to Her Majesty.

In the assurance that every Member of this House will participate in the feelings expressed by the right hon. Gentleman, I shdll simply content myself with seconding the Motion he has now submitted to the House.

said, that he had collected on Friday night, from the intimation of the noble Lord the Member for London (Lord J. Russell), as well as from the suggestion of the right hon. Baronet at the head of the Government, that it was the wish of the House that the discharge of Mr. Smith O'Brien should be moved the present evening, before the commencement of the public business. He would, in the first place, assure the hon. and learned Gentleman the Member for the county of Cork (Mr. O'Connell), that, although his notice was the first given, and stood first on the Paper, he would willingly have given way to the hon. and learned Gentleman, and felt no rivalry in the matter; but on looking at the two notices, he conceived that his was worded in a manner more likely to prevail with the House, and that was his only object in claiming the precedence. He would, then, in a very few words, state to the House the grounds on which he moved for the discharge of Mr. Smith O'Brien, the time he had chosen for the purpose, and the form in which he had framed the Motion. In all those respects, he hoped to have the general, indeed he hoped the unanimous, concurrence of the House. The ground of his Motion, then, simply was, that the authority of the House had been vindicated, and Mr. Smith O'Brien sufficiently punished by twenty-five days' imprisonment. The time he (Mr. Shaw) had selected was when the Committee which the House had ordered Mr. O'Brien to attend, had closed its labours; and although, in point of form, the Committee had not, as he (Mr. Shaw) expected they would have done, that evening made their final report, yet his hon. Friend the Chairman of that Committee (Mr. Henley) would be prepared to state in his place that the business of the Committee was really finished; and as to the form of the discharge, he had copied his Motion from the established precedents of the House, neither taking from them, nor adding to them any words with respect to fees to meet the particular case of Mr. Smith O'Brien. He would make one observation, injustice to the feelings of Mr. S. O'Brien, and that was, that he had given his notice without the slightest acquiescence or knowledge on the part of Mr. Smith O'Brien; and further, he believed that it was contrary to the wishes of Mr. Smith O'Brien, that he was then making the Motion for the hon. Member's release. Nevertheless, he felt it his duty to make it; and he trusted the House would consider that they best consulted their dignity by determining the question upon its own merits, and without reference to the peculiar views or personal feelings of Mr. Smith O'Brien. His (Mr. Shaw's) desire had been to abstain from saying one word that could give rise to discussion, or lead to a difference of opinion. He trusted that he had succeeded in that; and that, as he had ventured to anticipate, the House would unanimously acquiesce in the Motion which he would then propose, namely—

"That William Smith O'Brien, Esquire, in custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms attending this House, be discharged out of custody, paying his fees."

, as Chairman of the Committee on Group XI., had great pleasure in assuring the House that no more business remained to be done than would occupy about two hours to-morrow. What remained was merely of a formal nature; and he had, therefore, great satisfaction in seconding the Motion of the right hon. Member for the University of Dublin. The House would be glad to hear that no great public inconvenience had resulted from the absence of the hon. Member for Limerick from the Committee, however public affairs might have suffered from his absence from the House. The hon. Gentleman seemed wisely to have preferred his own company for twenty-four hours in the day to the company of the Members of the Committee for only four hours in the day. He hoped he had profited by it.

wished to say a few words at the request of his hon. Friend the Member for Limerick; and he hoped that they would put no serious impediment in the way of the Motion before the House. He congratulated the right hon. Recorder of Dublin on the manner in which he had come forward to rescue a fellow countryman in distress. He (Mr. P. Butler) as an Irish representative, might be allowed to say that, in his opinion, it was the duty of Irish Members to attend to the business of the Empire generally, and as much to the affairs of England and Scotland as of Ireland. With his hon. Friend, however, a serious question of principle was involved. He was under the impression that the House had acted illegally, unconstitutionally, and without precedent, in committing him. He took exception to the latter part of the Motion which regarded the payment of fees to the Sergeant. He thought that the payment of them might compromise his principle; and without attempting contumaciously to resist, he intended to protest against the demand. He believed that at the present moment his services were important to his country; but the House would recollect that he had been exposed to all the ridicule of a powerful press, and of a still more powerful public. He (Mr. P. Butler) was of opinion, that the House was now tired of the subject; and his hon. Friend had good reason to be tired of his imprisonment. He had written a letter to the Speaker, to which that right hon. Gentleman had returned an answer, politely declining to read it to the House. The present was a very auspicious moment: a young Princess had just been born; and he hoped that his hon. Friend would speedily be delivered also.

thought that the House would act most prudently by confining its consideration to the question whether any further object would be gained by continuing the commitment of the hon. Member for Limerick. He had yielded precedence to his right hon. Friend (Mr. Shaw) solely in the belief that the discussion would be limited to that point. His impression, confirmed by all that had passed, was deep regret that it had been found necessary to subject a Member to restraint, and thus to interfere with the discharge of his duty towards his constituents. All that would influence him would be the consideration whether it was necessary for the maintenance of the authority of the House that the restraint should continue. He felt bound to say that it was not, and should therefore give no opposition to the Motion in the hands of the Speaker. He had been prepared to take this course irrespective of the auspicious event referred to by the hon. Member. He apprehended that the claim for the usual fees would have been made and enforced, whether the Motion had come from his right hon. Friend or from the hon. and learned Member for Cork; and the protest would prevent any personal acquiescence in what seemed opposed to principle in the mind of the hon. Member for Limerick. He rejoiced in the opportunity of permitting him to resume his functions in the House, entertaining a sincere belief that the authority of the House had been sufficiently vindicated, not merely by the punishment inflicted, but by the almost universal feeling among Irish Members that they were entitled to take part in the Legislature for the whole Empire. Not a few of them had rendered important services by undertaking and discharging duties on Committees.

ordered to be discharged.

adverted to the fact, that the first Order of the Day was the Second Reading of a Bill called the Protection of Life (Ireland) Bill. It would be remembered that Her Majesty, in Her Speech from the Throne, on 22nd January last, stated the increase of the crime of deliberate assassination in Ireland, and advised that measures should be adopted to put an end to the progress of a crime so dreadful. He need not state that they had now arrived at the 25th of May, and the House had not yet heard any statement from a Minister of the Crown regarding the Bill for the Protection of Life in Ireland. He should have thought that when so serious a measure was proposed by Government, they would have deemed it necessary to inform the House why it was introduced, since it was to the full of as much importance as any vote in the Miscellaneous Estimates, which it seemed were nevertheless to have precedence. Ministers ought either to make some statement of their Bill, or if they had seen reason to change their minds, they ought to inform the House of the fact. It seemed hardly consistent with their duty to the Crown and to the House to leave the matter entirely unnoticed, putting it off, perhaps, to the month of July, when the general massacre of measures would probably commence. It appeared unadvisable for the House to entertain a measure of this severe description without coming to some determination upon it. Having given the fullest consideration to the subject, and having consented to the first reading of the Bill as proposed by Ministers, he (Lord J. Russell) had come to the conclusion that it was his duty to oppose the second reading; but it was absolutely necessary, for the sake of Ireland, and with reference to public expectation there, that Ministers should state what were their intentions.

observed, that in justice to Government the noble Lord ought to bear in mind the circumstances that had hitherto prevented them from naming a day for the second reading. Only on Friday week the Corn Bill had been read a third time, and on Monday last the Customs Duties Bill went through the same stage. It had been understood and agreed to by the House that those measures should have precedence. On Friday last, at the instance of his hon. Friend the Member for Dorsetshire, he had consented to give up a Government day that the decision of the House on the Factory Bill might be given. There had been two preceding debates on Wednesdays on the subject, and it had been strongly urged upon him to assign a Government day for the sake of bringing the discussion to a termination. He had, therefore, relinquished Friday last. This evening Ministers brought forward the Estimates, because from the lapse of time it was necessary to pass them. It was, in fact, impossible further to postpone asking the House to sanction a vote of money in order that the public service might be conducted in its usual course. Consistently with the general wish, and for the convenience of the country, a day had been fixed for the financial statement, and that day was Friday next. He proposed to postpone until Friday the second reading of the Bill to which the noble Lord had referred, and then he would appoint a day when the discussion upon it should be taken.

wished to put a question, of which he had not been able to give notice, and which perhaps could not be answered at the moment. If so, he should be content to wait until a future day. It had been stated in the public prints that the Spanish Government had sent out instructions to Cuba to place discriminating duties on English goods and vessels in Cuba and Porto Rico. The information he asked was—whether Government had any reason to believe that such instructions had been sent out, and that steps had been taken to carry them into effect?

had seen the statement in the newspapers, and went to the Foreign Office in consequence to read the last despatches. They certainly did not bear out the statement in the newspapers; but before he gave a positive answer he wished to make a further reference to the despatches, and to-morrow he would be prepared to state the exact fact. The despatches he had seen did not show that any discriminating duties had been imposed adverse to England.

believed he was quite accurate in stating that the amount of crime recently reported from Ireland was considerably diminished, and he wished to call the attention of the right hon. Baronet and of the House to the fact. He attributed it mainly to the attention paid by Government to relieve the wants of the people in various localities, as well as to the amount of private subscriptions in other situations. The peasantry of Ireland were duly sensible of the kindness and sympathy thus evinced, and to this cause he attributed a considerable diminution of crime. The conduct of Government in relieving the wants of the people had tended to diminish crime, and he believed had done more than could have been accomplished by a severe execution of the laws.

was much obliged to the hon. and learned Gentleman for so handsomely doing justice, on the present as on a former occasion, to the efforts of Government. He would not now enter into any argument as to the cause of the decrease of crime in Ireland; the hon. and learned Gentleman attributed it to the attention of Government to the wants of the sufferers, but others might perhaps find a different cause in the promulgation of the fact that the Protection of Life Bill had passed with the almost unanimous consent of the House of Lords.

complained that taking the Miscellaneous Estimates first was a departure from ordinary course of procedure, and a very inconvenient one. The Estimates had only been delivered at his House on Saturday; he had not seen them till this morning, and he had not yet had an opportunity of reading them. He had never known an instance in which the Miscellaneous Estimates were taken before the Army and Navy Estimates. In a case where there were several hundred different items to go through, it was a perfect farce to place them in the hands of Members only a few hours before the discussion.

said, that the reason for taking the Miscellaneous Estimates first was that, at this advanced season of the year, it was important that the Miscellaneous Estimates should be voted without delay. He had no objection, however, to postpone the consideration of all the Estimates on which there was any increase, difference, or novelty as compared to former years.

did not think the Government had treated the House very fairly in this matter. It was usual always to begin with the Navy Estimates; and he remembered that on one occasion an hon. Member opposite objected because the Army Estimates were proposed to be taken before the Navy Estimates; and he induced the Government of the day to alter their course, and take the Navy Estimates first. It was now proposed to postpone not only the Navy Estimates, but the Army Estimates and Ordnance Estimates also, in order to bring forward the Miscellaneous Estimates. He must say that this was taking advantage of the confidence of the House in a way very unusual. The right hon. Gentleman the Secretary at War had, in the course of the Session, proposed several items of the Army and Navy Estimates at one o'clock in the morning, and they had been allowed to pass without discussion. It was certainly not expected, when he obtained those votes of credit, that when the time for regular discussion came, they would be postponed without any previous notice. This was certainly no inducement for the House to allow the Government to abuse their confidence in this way in future.

said, there was no wish whatever on the part of Government to take the House by surprise; and, if it was preferred, the House might take the Civil Contingencies, and then the Ordnance Estimates. The reason why he did not suggest the Army Estimates was, that an hon. Member (Captain Layard) who had two Notices on the Paper with reference to them, was not present.

proposed, that a sum not exceeding 20,000l. should be granted to Her Majesty for defraying the charges of the Civil Contingencies.

said, that he had in former years objected to the sums inserted in the Estimates for the conveyance of colonial bishops from this country to their sees abroad; and he had particularly objected to the sum of 600l. for the conveyance of the Bishop of Jerusalem. In the present Estimates he found the name of a new bishop—the Bishop of Tripoli,—whom he had never heard of before, nor did he know to what religious sect he belonged; but, whether he belonged to the Church of England or not, he equally objected to the sum put down in the Estimates for his conveyance from this country; he thought the people to whom they were sent ought to pay the expense of their conveyance. He also objected to the sum of 350l. charged for a pleasure excursion to Sir Stratford Canning, who had one of the highest diplomatic salaries. He thought the sum enormous, especially considering that he enjoyed the use of one of Her Majesty's ships at the same time. There was another item of which he complained, and that was the sum of 3,076l. for the expenses of the funeral of her Royal Highness the Princess Sophia. It was understood that the Princess Sophia left behind her considerable property; and he thought the expenses of her funeral ought to have been paid from that source, and not have been thrown upon the public. He also found the sum of 2,151l. put down for expenses connected with the visits of foreign princes to this country, which he thought too much. There were also two items to which he objected—the one of 5,441l. connected with the Commission of Inquiry into the Tenure of Land in Ireland; and the other, the sum of 10,000l. in connexion with the Inquiry for Relieving the Distress in Ireland. He thought it would have been much better if the latter sum had been applied at once for the purchase of food for the people of that country.

said, that the charge for the passages of foreign and colonial bishops arose in this way. It was considered proper that they should be taken out in Her Majesty's ships of war; and it not being considered right that the commanders should make out a bill against each bishop they took out, the moderate charge for their passage was transferred to the public account. As to the expenses incurred in entertaining foreign princes, the charges defrayed by Her Majesty on this head never came before the public; but there were certain travelling expenses necessarily incurred, which came properly under the head of a public charge. With respect to the charge for the Commission of Inquiry into the state of the potato crop in Ireland, the sum mentioned was transferred to the Lord Lieutenant, in order that he should take all necessary steps for averting, if possible, or, at all events, mitigating the effects of the calamity which threatened that country.

thought that the Colonies should be left to regulate their own fiscal duties. They should be given to understand that, if they exceeded the means at their own disposal, the deficiency should not be supplied at the expense of this country. Among the items there was one of which he highly approved—a reward of 10l. for saving a person's life; this sum, however, was a miserable pittance. He objected to the fees charged upon conferring dignities, such as 360l. for making Sir W. Parker a baronet; and 91l. for making another man a bishop. It was in the power of the Government to put an end to those fees, and he called on them to do so. There was a sum of 322l. for the attendance of shorthand writers at political meetings in Ireland. This looked too much like a system of espionage. If no evil resulted from language, however strong, Government might have patience—they need not in so expensive a way employ spies. He deprecated everything that tended to lessen public confidence in the Government. He wished to know whether the 10,000l. stated as expenses of a recent Commission in Ireland were for inquiry or for relief?

Both for inquiry and relief. A great portion of that sum was in aid of private subscriptions. As to fees for dignities, the great majority of them were carried to public account; that was only a mode of raising a contribution for the expenses of the establishment. Another portion went to the law officers of the Crown. It was necessary that the commissions of Colonial Governors should be framed under legal advice. He saw no reason to change the course which had hitherto been pursued in that respect.

inquired whether any progress had been made by the Commissioners for constructing harbours of refuge on the south-east coast?

informed the hon. and gallant Member that the Commissioners had made a report, which had been submitted to the First Lord of the Treasury and the Chancellor of the Exchequer; but no steps had yet been taken to carry it into effect.

objected to sinking 3,000,000l. in the sea at Dover; in order to make there a harbour of refuge, which would, in his opinion, be wholly useless to merchant ships and vessels of war.

objected to the large grants which from time to time had been given for Marlborough House; and he thought, considering the large allowance which the Queen Dowager received from the country, that it would have been unnecessary to lay out anything towards the repairs or embellishment of that establishment. He objected, also, to the cathedrals of Scotland being repaired at the public expense; and he should propose that the Vote be reduced by 5,000l. for repairs of the cathedral of Glasgow, and 1,210l. for the repairs of the abbey of Dunfermline. He should take the sense of the Committee on the question.

objected to the charge of 100l. for the external repairs of Marlborough House, on the ground that, having been granted to the Queen Dowager absolutely for her life, she ought, according to the rule in such cases, to keep up the building herself, especially as shortly before she came into possession, 40,000l. had been expended at the public charge in putting it into repair.

stated the uniform rule to be, that the external repairs of the Queen Dowager's jointure-house were defrayed by the Crown.

said, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had answered every question but this — was it, or was it not a rule, where a house or a palace was granted to an individual for a limited period, that in that case the external repairs were done by the public; but that, in the case where the grant was for life, the expense was borne by the individual?

replied, that the point just mooted was entirely beside the question; because what he said was, that in all cases of Queen Dowagers the invariable rule was, not only to give the income, but a palace, or house equivalent to a palace, the external repairs of which were defrayed at the public expense. [Mr. HUME: Why did they not defray the internal repairs?] The object was, to keep the building from falling into a state of dilapidation; and the uniform practice had been, to defray this expense out of the public revenue. The internal repairs stood on an entirely different footing.

condemned the system of ventilation adopted in the Committee-rooms, where Members sat from day to day, with a large fire on one side, and cold air rushing in from 10,000 holes on the other. It was perfectly impossible for any one with safety to sit there. He had no faith in Dr. Reid's system: it was all quackery. Not a single building had he ventilated where the greatest complaints had not been made. Year after year, they were expending large sums of money in order to prepare the new Houses for their accommodation; he wished to know when it was probable they would be fit for occupation?

was afraid he could not give the hon. Gentleman any distinct assurance as to the precise time when the New Houses would be ready, but the utmost exertions were being used for the purpose of expediting their completion. The Committee had also been engaged in investigating the advantages of Dr. Reid's system of ventilation.

thought they were all deeply indebted to Dr. Reid for his success in ventilating that House. Speaking only for himself, he must say, the air was peculiarly agreeable. He did not say the atmosphere was a pure one; but that could not be wondered at when they remembered that it was fed on one side by the burial-ground of St. Margaret's, and on the other by what was little better than a great sewer—the river Thames.

, seeing a charge of 2,400l. for fresco paintings, wished to know whether any general plan had been adopted for decorating the buildings, and what estimate had been made of the amount to be expended in this branch of art?

believed there were two or three compartments in the House of Lords to be appropriated to fresco paintings. The Victoria Gallery was under the consideration of the Commission; but they wished, before they committed themselves to any general plan, to see the effect in those two or three compartments which had been dedicated to frescos.

wished to know whether the fresco decorations would be confined to the House of Lords?

did not think the House of Commons would afford the same scope for fresco decoration as the House of Lords. There had been a Committee of the Commission for the purpose of selecting subjects from history for fresco paintings; the Committee had made a report; but the Commission had not yet come to a final decision.

would be sorry if the House of Lords should be more ornamented either by fresco paintings or statues than the House of Commons.

could not share in that jealousy. As a Member of the House of Commons he hoped convenience would be consulted rather than ornament. Much must depend on the form of the buildings and the numbers to be accommodated. It must be recollected that the House of Peers was the apartment in which Her Majesty opened Parliament; and the height and whole character of that apartment was more fit for decoration than the House of Commons. The former House of Lords had its walls covered with tapestry; he did not think extravagant ornament would be at all suited to the British House of Commons. Still it should be handsome and magnificent. The object of the Commission was to encourage the fine arts, and they had no wish that any space really available should be thrown away. The hon. Member for Montrose was very jealous of any distinctive ornaments in the House of Peers; would the hon. Gentleman like to have a red robe with ermine on it?

No; I would rather be as I am.