but he knew, as a fact, that not less than seventy-six magistrates of that county, united for the great and paramount object of maintaining the public peace, had applied to government for the application of that bill. A similar course had been pursued in the county of Westmeath. It was proposed, in some counties, to remove the military, but the unanimous answer of the magistrates was, if you remove the soldiers, you must give us the insurrection act, as it will be impossible to do without it. Even on constitutional grounds, therefore, and as calculated to prevent a recurrence to those measures, he would venture toappeal to the House for its approbation of the employment of a military force in aid of the civil power. With respect to its employment in another way, by doing the duty of custom-house officers, he wished to observe, that that system prevailed in Ireland at least as far back as 1779. At that period a regulation was adopted for the employment of a military force in that service; it was stated to be absolutely necessary for the suppression of illicit distillation; and it was further ordered, that any officer refusing so to employ his men should be brought to a court-martial for a disobedience of orders. He stated that fact to show the propriety of a remark which he made at the commencement of his speech, that even if it should be thought the introduction of a military force was a bad practice, it was at least unavoidable, without the accomplishment of other essential reforms. He should now state the extent to which the military force had been so employed; and in order also to show that it had not been the policy of one single government merely, he would mention, that in 1806, under the government of the hon. gentlemen opposite, 448 military parties were employed in detecting and frustrating the practice of illicit distillation; in 1807, there were 598 military parties; in 1808, 431 in later periods, still more; and in the half year ending the 31st December 1815, there were 1889. No one, he presumed, would deny that the morals and habits of the lower classes were not only corrupted by the dreadful extent to which that illicit distillation was carried, but that the laws of the country were violated, and that the revenue was greatly diminished by it. In order that the House might be enabled to judge of the character of those who carried on those practices, as well as of the danger attending their detection or apprehension, he would mention one circumstance that came within his own knowledge. In a district in the north-west of Ireland, well known to the gentlemen of that country, as one where illicit distillation is carried on to an enormous excess, frequent seizures were made by parties of twenty or forty men, who generally had to risk an actual engagement with the offenders. In one instance, he recollected, the soldiers were fired at, and no less than two hundred rounds of musketry were discharged in their own defence. They succeeded in their seizures, however, but on their return, they were attacked again, their seizures taken from them, and they themselves obliged to seek shelter in a house on the road, where they maintained a contest with the assailants, till they were relieved by two hundred men, who were marched to their assistance. Such an occurrence would sufficiently show the necessity of employing a military force; but he would again guard against its being supposed that he considered those temporary remedies as at all calculated to afford any permanent relief. He was as fully convinced of their inadequacy in that respect as any hon. member could be'; but while that disposition to turbulence existed, would it be contended that the crimes connected with it ought to go unpunished? Would it be said that the desperate bands, who roamed about the country at night, ought to remain unmolested? Perhaps it would be said that the course of policy hitherto pursued in Ireland was a bad one. [Hear, hear! from the opposition benches.] Let it be granted, then, for the sake of argument; still, was it possible to remove the evils of that bad and imperfect policy in an hour, or by the 25th of April? Would it be possible even for the hon. gentlemen opposite, to change, on a sudden, the whole habits and manners of so large a class of the community, to introduce, as if by magic, a radical and an effectual reform? It would be utterly impossible. He was perfectly satisfied as to the inefficiency of those temporary remedies, but meanwhile the hand of the robber must be averted, or the whole frame of civilised society must be dissolved, and a residence in Ireland be rendered absolutely impracticable. [Hear, hear!] He was of opinion that much good might be done in that country by a reformation of the police, and he should prefer an army of police, if he might so call it, to a mili condition; if he had produced that com viction, then the only object he had in view was accomplished, and he should sit down with returning thanks for the attention with which they had listened to him. [Loud cheers from both sides of the House.] Mr. Wynn observed, that the terrible picture which the right hon. gentleman had just drawn in so able a manner of the situation of Ireland, was one which loudly. called upon every member of that House to insist upon a full and deliberate inquiry into the subject. If the picture was a correct one, it represented a total dissolution of every tie and every allegiance due to the laws in that unfortunate country. He doubted, however, whether the introduction of a military force in the way described by the right hon. gentleman had not a tendency to paralyze the civil authorities, and to destroy all confidence in their power and energy. With respect to the general question before the House, he must say that he objected entirely to the manner in which the estimates had been presented, because they contained no distribution of the force intended to be kept tary army. He deeply regretted the imperfect character of the police of Ireland, but any accusation upon that subject would probably apply less to the existing government than to any preceding one. Since he had the honour of filling the station which he occupied, he had turned much of his attention to the subject of the police, and had proposed some improvements and alterations which had been since sanctioned by that House. Real, substantial, and permanent reform, how ever, among the lower classes, could be looked for only from the general diffusion of knowledge, and from enlightening their minds. [Hear, hear !] From such sources of reform he should anticipate the grandest and the noblest results. He could state as a fact, within his own knowledge, that the greatest eagerness prevailed among the lower orders for the benefits of instruction; and he regarded it as the imperious duty of every one, in these times of general economy, not to obstruct the progress or the limits of education, which ought to be as generally and as widely diffused as possible. It would be infinitely better for Ireland and for this country to have a well instructed and an enlightened Ca-up, which had always been the practice tholic population, than an ignorant and till within the last thirteen or fourteen bigotted one. [Hear, hear !] While, how- years. There was another subject of inever, he looked for permanent relief from finite importance in a constitutional point remedies of that kind, he could not, at the of view: he meant the force which was to same time, consent to compromise the be maintained in France. It appeared that dignity of the government or the safety of no vote was to be submitted to parliament the country, by suffering the daring spirit for that force, because its pay was to be of insubordination to walk abroad un- provided out of the contributions which checked. To execute with rigour the just we were to receive from France. The sentence of the laws upon such crimes as consequence of that arrangement was, that might appear inconsistent with mercy, but parliament gave up its control over that he was sure that in the end it would prove army, and therefore he should prefer to the greatest mercy. That system of in- have the contributions from France paid ternal policy which would apply to Eng- into the treasury of this country, and that land could not apply to Ireland. It was we should vote in the usual way the sums. absolutely impossible. What would a necessary for the maintenance of our army watch and ward do in Tipperary, for ex-in France. What control, in fact, could. ample? Yet that was a plan admirably adapted for a country where there were no fastnesses to which the guilty could retire, where an efficient and highly respectable magistracy was maintained, where the intercourse between that magistracy was uninterrupted, and where there existed a general combination in the people for the support of the laws; but would it therefore do for Ireland? [Hear, hear!]. He hoped in what he had said, that he had at least convinced the House that a military establishment of 25,000 men was not too much for Ireland in her actual (VOL. XXXII. ) we exercise over it, except by keeping in our hands the power of refusing its pay? He should therefore feel it his duty to submit a motion to that effect, when the House went into a committee [Hear, hear!]. The hon. gentleman then adverted to the extent of military patronage which was in the hands of the ministers,. and expressed his wish that that patronage should be reduced. With respect to a question which had been asked by a right hon. gentleman on a preceding evening, whether they would have the army so reduced that the grenadiers were to be con• (30) demanded their attention- the tranquillity and happiness of a large portion of the empire which required the patient deliberation of the legislature, in order to ascertain whether or not a permanent, not a temporary, remedy could be dis covered for the evils under which it laboured. He concurred with the right hon. secretary, that under the existing circumstances of Ireland, a less military force in that country would be insufficient. With reference to that part of it which was to be applied to the putting down of illicit distillation, he confessed that he wished other remedies could be applied. Great as were our financial distresses, the revenue we derived from that source was purchased at too dear a rate by the con tinuance of the present system. He concurred in almost all that had been said by the right hon. gentleman, and his inference was, that parliament should apply its collective wisdom to the subject. What was the present state of Ireland? A great mass of unemployed population. If habits of labour were not impressed on them, the House might depend upon it that they would not be idle. The right hon. baronet concluded by expressing the astonishment which he had felt on hearing in the speech from the throne at the opening of the session, nothing said of so large a portion of the empire as Ireland, labouring under so much distress. Under these circumstances the attention of the legisla ture ought unquestionably to have been called to Ireland. Unless some proposi tion of that nature was made by the right hon. gentleman opposite, or by some individual more competent than himself, he pledged himself to bring the subject under the consideration of Parliament. verted into scavengers, he, for his own part, could see no degradation in their becoming, what they had been before, coal-heavers. At least, if the sword was now to be turned into a ploughshare, why might not the soldiers be turned into ploughmen? With respect to the extent of the peace establishment, Mr. Pitt had not proposed nearly so large a one, at a time when this country was exposed to the ill-will of many of the continental powers. In considering the means of defence which we possessed, the honourable gentlemen opposite had totally overlooked the yeomanry, a force much better adapted than regular troops to the suppression of any popular disturbance. Adverting to the garrisons proposed for our possessions in the Mediterranean, he contended that they were too large. He approved, however, of the number of marines to be retained, but contended that there ought to be a proportionate diminution of land forces. As to the fortifications of our dock-yards, the militia would be the best garrison for them. To the force to be sent to Canada he had no objection, as that waste of human life which took place in the West Indies did not there occur. But if such a force was necessary for the latter as had been proposed, he maintained that they were not worth keeping. Under the former system of reducing our establishments in time of peace, the country had grown up to its present colossal greatness; and it was a system infinitely preferable to that of consuming those resources which ought to be carefully preserved for the demands of war. At whatever department of the estimates he looked, he saw a wasteful expenditure of the public money. This was in no case more apparent than in the staff. At the peace of Amiens, when the domestic esta- Sir Frederick Flood observed, that at blishment consisted of 70,000 men, the so late an hour, he would not take up the staff consisted of 18 generals; now that time of the House at any considerable the domestic establishment consisted of length. With what had fallen from the 50,000 men, the staff consisted of 36 right hon. secretary for Ireland he exgenerals [Hear, hear!] But this increase pressed an almost total coincidence. He of a military disposition pervaded every proceeded to draw a picture of the dispart of the empire. To keep up the mili-tresses in Ireland, and concluded by tary mania, already too prevalent, every stating, that 25,000 men would be requir part of the globe was ransacked, in ordered for at least five counties in Ireland. to find some excuse for patronage. The hon. gentleman concluded by saying, that when the estimates went into the conmittee, he should move an instruction of the nature which he had before described. Sir John Newport begged to call the attention of the House for a few moments to a subject which imperiously Lord Folkestone, in consequence of the lateness of the hour, moved an adjourn ment of the debate till to-morrow; which was put and carried. Mr. Brougham gave notice that he should to-morrow call the attention of the House to a most extraordinary return made by the commissioners of the taxes. The other orders of the day being dis- | posed of, the House adjourned at half past one o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS. undergo the most advantageous discussion. He hoped, that the bill would be allowed to be read a first and second time, and committed for the purpose of filling up the blanks, as until that was done it would be quite unintelligible. The hon. baronet concluded by moving, "That leave be given to bring in a bill for ascertaining and establishing uniformity of weights and measures.” Mr. W. Smith complimented the hon. baronet on the ability and patience with which he had prosecuted the inquiry that led to this measure. Leave was given, and sir G. Clerk subsequently brought in the bill, which was read a first time. PETITIONS AGAINST THE Property TAX.] Petitions against the Propertytax were this day presented from Montrose, the Hundreds of Loes; Colneis and Carlford in the county of Suffolk, Arundel, Fife, the ward of Cheap in the city of London, York, Brandon, Swaff rington, the owners of Dairy Farms in Devon, and also from Nottingham. Wednesday, February 28. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES BILL.] Sir George Clerk, in moving for leave to bring in a bill to ascertain and establish uniformity of weights and measures, made a short statement of the objects of the proposed measure. About two years ago, a committee had been appointed to examine the standard weights and measures kept in the exchequer. It was found that those weights and measures were very disproportionate, and inaccurate; a circumstance which materially added to the great inconvenience felt by the public, in consequence of the different weights and measures used in different parts of the country, and opened a wide door to the practice of frauds on the subject. Many attempts had formerly been made to rectify this evil, but without effect. The bill pro-ham, Monmouth, Coventry, Black Torposed, that the standard weights and measures in the exchequer should be regulated. The measures in the exchequer were very inaccurate. The bushel, which ought to contain 2152 cubic inches, contained only 2124. The gallon, the quart, and the pint measures were also far from being proportioned to one another. Dismissing the mode of regulating by capacity, it was proposed to regulate by weight, and the pound avoirdupois was chosen for this purpose, instead of the pound troy, as being in more general use. It was proposed, that the pint measure should contain 20 ounces of water, and consequently the bushel 80lbs. It was also proposed to abolish the present distinctions of ale and wine, and other distinctions of measure, with the exception of that of coals. Some exceptions also would be proposed, which related to the drugs of apothecaries. Although it would be necessary, should parliament adopt the measure, that a sufficient time should be allowed to elapse before its operation, to prevent inconvenience, yet it should be considered, that the recent investigation of the subject, had very much distressed the makers of weights and measures, some of whom, in consequence of the uncertainty that prevailed on the subject, had not received a single order for the last twelve months. In the committee on the bill, any alterations that might be suggested, would Sir Samuel Romilly, on presenting the petition from Arundel, observed, that the petitioners understood that a pledge had been given for the discontinuance of this oppressive tax, as soon as the war should be terminated. It was hardly necessary for him to say, how far his opinion coincided with that of his constituents. But he wished to take this, the earliest opportunity of correcting himself, in a statement which he had made, relative to the persecution of the protestants in the south of France. He had yesterday stated, that the number of houses destroyed in the department of the Garde was two thousand. This was quite a mistake. What he ought to have stated was, that nearly that number of individuals, of the protestant persuasion, had been robbed by the populace, under the pretence of levying contributions. The number of houses destroyed was only 240. There was another error on this subject, which was not his. He had been represented as having said, that the number of women who had been treated with indignity was 150: whereas he had only said, that 30 women had been abused, and of these that eight had died in consequence. He concluded by moving, that the petition be read. Mr. Jones wished to take that oppor should probably not have another opportunity, he would take the present occa sion of entering his humble but solemn protest against the continuance of the property tax. It appeared to him to be totally inconsistent with any principles of policy or good faith, to render that which was a temporary and a war measure, a He was peace and a permanent one. aware that the chancellor of the exche quer had declared his intention of proposing it for two years only; but this proposition for a certain time had, in several instances, been already made, and the result had always been the disappointment of the hopes of those who were hostile to the tax; so it would, no doubt be, in the present case. As to the question of public credit, he was persuaded, and had been assured by individuals conversant with the money market, that a small loan would be much less injurious to public credit, than the perpetuation of this odious measure; the inequality of which, in subjecting the capitalist only to the same burthen as the man who derived the same income from the labour of his head or his hands, from six in the morning until six at night, he forcibly exposed. tunity of stating his reasons for opposing the property tax. Although he approved of the amount of the proposed military establishment, he by no means wished the expense of that extensive establishment to be defrayed by the continuance of a tax of so unequal and oppressive a nature. Until the present military fervour subsided upon the continent, he felt how necessary it was for us to keep up a large army. His opinion on this subject was not so much grounded upon an apprehension of a reaction in France, as from the immense preponderance of a great continental power, whose dominions extended from the Sea of Asoph to the Gulph of Bothnia, and which, not even contented with such a prodigious extent of territory, had added thereto almost the whole of Poland. He agreed with an eloquent writer, who said that Europe might one day owe the preservation of its liberties to the military power of France and the naval superiority of Great Britain; and on this principle he was not one of those who wished to see France curtailed of its due proportion of power on the continent. Yet, however necessary it might be for this country to support, for some time longer, a great military force, there was no plea thereby afforded to justify the continuance of the property tax. He referred to the words of the noble lord who had been prime minister of this country at the time of the peace of Amiens, on the occasion of his taking off the property tax on the conclusion of that peace, as showing the opinion of that noble person to be, that the continuance of this tax during peace was illegal. He would be glad to know the opinion of that noble Jord now. One great objection to this tax, independently of every other consideration, was this, that it bore so unequally on the poorer classes of society. The hon. gentleman concluded by animadverting on the sarcastic expressions of an hon. baronet (sir R. Heron), as to the country being "covered with glory." He saw very plainly the disposition which dictated this expression; but he would tell the hon. baronet that he believed there were very few in the country of those who had Jaboured most under the burthen of taxation during the war, who would not cheerfully bear much greater privations rather than see this country run the danger of becoming the province of some continental power. Mr. Serjeant Onslow said, that as he Sir Robert Heron begged the indulgence of the House, while he explained the reasons which induced him, having voted for the property tax in the last session, to vote in opposition to it in the present. In the last session, he felt that a large sum was necessary to carry on the war, and he was convinced that that sum could not be raised so advantageously as by the property tax. But now he was convinced, that the money which it was intended to be raised by the property tax, ought not to be raised at all: and that the enormous military establishment of the country ought to be diminished by an amount equal to that which the property-tax was estimated to produce. Reductions ought to be made in the civil list also; and if any money should subsequently be requir ed, the best way would be to raise it by loan. General Wemyss having presented a petition against the property tax from the tenants and owners of lands in Fifeshire, Mr. J. P. Grant congratulated the House and the country on the commencement of petitions from a distant part of the empire against this oppressive measure. As he came from that part of the island whence the petition just presented by the hon. general proceeded, he would under |