HOUSE OF COMMONS.—Thursday, Feb 5.

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 318, 16 June 1849, Page 3

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—Thursday, Feb 5.

merce and manufactures, justified thtm in using the language of congratulation to her Majesty, and they fell bound to acquaint bjr Majesty that large portions of her agricultural and colonial subjr-c's are labouring under a depression that eici'es great anxiety and apprehension.—The Marquii of Lan^downe em\ hatically denied that the Foteign Secretary interfered without reason ia the nffaiis of other countties. Whcii the papers would be piodnced, it would be seen that no interference had taken pl.iee without the consent of the powers interested and without their express invitation. He then proceeded to defend what hud heen done in Italy, Sicily. Schleswig Holstein, &c. With, respect to the liish Poor-law, he declared for himself thnt he believed that law w uld require alteration. He maintained, als^, hat commerce was tlowly but surely reviving —The Duke of Richmond contended that it was add.nij insult to injury to leave out of the Royal Speech the diep distress under which tl c agrl-ultuial »nil colonial interests aie thrown by the new coranier'cial policy. He expressed his confident p*pcctario» that a protective po'icy would onre more be , V policy ( f Gieat Jiiitain. —'the Earl Fitzwdhdiu, the E,r of Yarborougb, and the Dilke of Wellin/ton suMpoitea the address. Thur lordships Iwvmg divided, fhere wtre for tha address, Contents 52 Non-contents 50 Majority for tlie Government 2 Their lordships then edj xirncd. p , , . ' > > | '■

BUSINKjS OK THU lIOUSIS. Mr. TuFrNKi.L said, he would state the course ber Majesty's Government intended ti pursue in reference fo the first bu-ireas of ihe FesMon. On Fr.day, the Chancellor of the Exchequer would move for leave to bring in a bill to consolidate ihe Stamp and Excise departments. On Monday, the First Lord of tha Tieas ry would move the sessional orders. On Tuesday the Secretary for Ireland would move for leave to bung in a bill to continue the b II for the suspension of the Habeas Cr., us Act in lieland. On Friday the; First Lord of 0 • Treasury would mote for leave to bring in a bill to .mend and alter the Irish Poor Law ; and on Mondiy week the First Loidof the Treasury would move lira Commitke of 'he whole House to take into considera ion the repeal of the Navigatioa Law 8.

THE ADDRESS. The Speaker intimated thut he had bfen summoned to the Houre r.f Loidi to hear her M;ij?ity'i speech, from the Throne. (The right honouab'e gentleman then read the speech.)— . Lord Hany Vane, m tiding to more that an address should be presented to her Majpsty, in answer to that m' st gracious Speech, said he was unable to av< il himself of the plea so often set up. by those standing in the position in v»hi<h he now stood, th-it he had recently become a member of Ihifc House, and was entitled to solicit their indulgence ; bu6 he ti usted that indulgence mijiht be accorded to him, in considerati n of the reniarki ble incidents which hail marked the annals of the ye.ir by, and of the impending uncuh.inty which still hung over the face of Iturope, as well as in consideration of the important nature of the domestic policy which wou'd be brought under the attention of the legi latin?. The paragraphs of hfr Majesty's Speech to which ho begged to request the attention of the House were those which related to the foie gn rela'ions of this country. It was a subject cf congratulation to all, considering the marvellous incidents which crowded in such rapid succes« sOn in the space of the year just gone by, to see that the forbearance, the prudence, end the a\ep seme of responsibility — perhaps le might say the mutual sp« prehens'o lof those who were at the head « f the td» ministration of bffairs in Eutqe — had induced them, to use their best effo Vi to preseive Europe fiora any furti er calamiiy, in addition to those disastn us events which had occurred. (Hear, hear.) There were events to which he wished now to allude, but he was not about to enter into any histotical disseitation as to thi cause of theee events. He alluded to the war of Germany against Dennurk, on the Schleswig-Holsfeiri question, and to the invaiion of Lombardy by Sardinia. He was not a'out eitbei to censure or condemn these two acts, and his only motive for alluding to them was to direct (he attention of the house to the particular relations which this coun'ry held in rrgard to those two countrits. The policy which had been put sued by Government, in re!erence to ihese two affairs, waa highly commendable, for in bo h instances Government had manifested a great desire to anest the progress of war, (Cheers.) Their object had been, throughout to mediate on su h a basis as to prevent the rontinumce ot war. Theie was another case of the suspension of arms of a dillerent character to tliOEe which he hid just referred to. He alluded to the af» fdirs of Sicily. In that cr.se also a suspension of arm* had been concluded, but the character of this case was soire\hat different to the former. In this instance the Bn ish and Freuch Admirals, acting urder the influence of humane mot yes, namely a dctire to prevent the 6hedding of blood, had interfered, and by theie good officeh bad brought about the conclusion of an armistice between the two powers of Naples and Sicily. That armistice having been accip'ed, negotiations were at the present moment p nJing ninth might bavc the effect of conciliating the two kingdoms of Naple? and Sicily. In other respects the forii^n policy of Government hail happily enabled the cotmtiy to remain a passive spectator of passing evctiia; that position had enabled the country in this extr-joidinaij, year, when men eireriaiuln^ different vuw» ha I cuUi nalely held the bi 3 h offices of Stati and ! ieen {fnvfrv from them to titfjid its suppoit and reluge tjimiij individuals who had bat 11 driven from t .tir home's ' y political dibsenstons It was a sntufacu n u> him to be enabled to say that there ne?. r was a period when less hostilt'ies were offiud to the counlry than there were at the present moment (hear, hear. There never was a peiiod when th> re was lest c!i mcc of vvai* <r less likelihood of politic, 1 enibioilment on the psri. of this country than at tlic pieurnt time. The movements of the Chartists had not dis uibcd the prace in the least, but ihey had rather h d the ben'ficial eff-ct of eliciting an expression rf intelligent but not senila attachment to tlie mstitu'ions ot the countiy on tbe pait of tlie great body of the pcoj le (heai). They had the naikfoi fine, too, in 1818, to have a very indifferent harvest. Notwith^anding ihot mis'oilune— he spoke then much ra'ber of England than Irehnd-»-to\vaids the tlote of 1 848 our finantes t id recover, and our trade hed been i (.covering, slowly it might be, but moie ra| idly sinre. He was net unaware that great depress on exiMed among the agricultutists ; be was pertectly well aware they had »uflt-ied much, but that tuflmng se<med to htm incidental to the very great change thil bad tnk^u pl,\ce in tho corn laws That a lar<>c importation «f rom must take )>l,ice on ihe abolition of those luws might huve been ixpected; but, independently of that, circbinsrji ces had been pariiculdily atlvrrte. Her MajHßiy in hci speech roeomniended a consideration of tl.e Na\iga'ion L«ws. Tue hou c would bear in rrinds tarn the gtcat stre-s of busmish last year, the time was uot found for a due con&ideruiion ot the subject, j [Con timed in Supplement.]