country. A brisk trade was also carried on from thence with India and the remotest regions of the world. Similar pleasing features were unfolded in the Society Islands and the Sandwich Isles; in the former of these Christianity was established. In New Zealand, also, there was a marked improvement in the manners of the natives: they began to eat potatoes, which they derived from trafficking with New South Wales, instead of human flesh. These improvements were the elements of a new order of things, to be developed fully in the lapse of time. EAST INDIA AFFAIRS. men, under their respective chiefs; and the Irrawaddy was covered with fleets of warriors from all the towns on its banks, proceeding to the general rendezvous of the army. The Burmese monarch had said that the English should not disturb the women cooking their rice at Rangoon; and now that they had not only been disturbed, but driven from their homes, he resolved to be revenged on them. The first conflict took place on the 16th of May, when Captain Birch dislodged the enemy from the village of Kemmendine, a war-boat station three miles above Rangoon. Nothing daunted, however, the enemy, as their numbers increased, gradually approached the British position, and threw up stockades in the jungle within hearing of our advanced posts. Of this work the British commander took no notice, as it was his wish to come into close contact with his antagonists, he being unable to attempt any distant operation. On the 28th of May an admusket-shot distance from our piquets; and Sir Archibald Campbell, with four companies of Europeans and four hundred native infantry, with two field-pieces, moved out to reconnoitre. His advanced guard soon came on the first stockade thrown across the path; but the work being incomplete its defenders retired after exchanging a few shots. Continuing its march, after a progress of about five miles, the column came to a narrow wooden bridge over a morass, where the enemy was beginning to form. This bridge had just been forced by the fire of the artillery, when one of those tempests which usher in the south-west monsoon came on; and as the field-pieces could be dragged no further, the general left them in charge of the native infantry, and advanced with his European troops. They moved on by échellon of companies; and the left flank, which passed close to the jungle, found some villages defended in front by two stockades, whence proceeded shouts of defiance from the enemy. These stockades were attacked at the point of the bayonet; and a fierce and sanguinary conflict took place, in which great numbers of the enemy were slain. During this attack on the stockades the Burmese general in the plain made no movement for their defence; but as soon as the British were seen in possession of the works, a horrid yell was heard, and the whole line of Burmese troops was seen to advance towards them. They were checked by a company which had not yet been engaged, and by the appearance of those troops which had carried the works, who moved forward to receive these new opponents. An attempt at negociation was now tried by the enemy; but it was rather to gain time than to seek peace. They were, in fact, still occupied in erecting fortifications; and our troops were obliged again to attack the war-boat station of Kemmendine, as well as other stockades in different parts. Before the end of June, however, the enemy recovered from their panic; and, having received large re-enforcements, advanced again, under Sykia Wongee, third minister of state. The jungles were animated with living masses, and their tumultuous preparations for battle contrasted strangely with the stillness and quiet of the British lines. Our troops at this time had been much diminished by sickness and death; but they were recruited by the eighty-ninth British regiment from Madras, and the detachments that had been sent to the capture of Cheduba and Nagrais, places which soon fell into their hands.. Early in July a battle took place round the great pagoda, in which the Burmese were signally defeated. Sykia Wongee was recalled in disgrace; but his successor, Soombe Wongee, was not more successful. This latter general lost his life, with eight hundred men, in the fortification; and the jungles and villages around were filled with unhappy creatures who were left to perish. Soon afterward. the rains were at their height, and operations ceased in this quarter; but an expedition was sent eastward, under Colonel Miles, who reduced the whole coast of Tenasserim. During the season of tranquil During this year a serious war broke out between the East India Company and the Burmese sovereign. For some years a misunderstanding had existed between the two powers, arising from a mutual claim to the countries of Chittagong and Dacca, Moorshedabad and Cassimba-vanced corps was stockaded within little more than zar. These, the Burmese monarch said, did not belong to India; and on several occasions he had demanded them of the company, threatening to destroy their country if the revenues were not given up. It was the Rajah of Ramere who actually laid claim to them; but he could do nothing without the aid of the Burmese king; and the latter took up his quarrel. Under the administration of Lord Teignmouth and Lord Hastings various petty encounters with the Burmese troops had been sustained, as well as with other predatory hordes of India. The contest between the British government and the Burmese empire did not actually commence till the present year. The Burmese forces had advanced for the purpose of restoring the deposed Rajah of Cachar, who had sought refuge in the Burmese dominions, and whose successor was supported by the British. For this and other acts committed by the Burmese sovereign, it was resolved to chastise him. Early in this year orders were given for equipping a force of about six thousand men at the presidencies of Forts William and St. George; and the two divisions were directed to assemble at Port Cornwallis, in the Great Andaman island, whence the combined forces were to proceed to attack Rangoon, the principal seaport in the Burmese territories. The command was given to Major-general Sir Archibald Campbell; and the total number of troops under him was 8,071, about half being British. The expedition put to sea on the 5th of May, at Calcutta; and a part of the force was detached, under General McCreagh, against the island of Cheduba, and another, under Major Wahab, against Negrais. The rest of the fleet sailed up the Rangoon river on the 11th of May, and anchored off the town. As the place was not prepared for resistance, the governor, after a few shots had been fired from the principal battery, which was quickly silenced by one of the ships, directed the inhabitants to retire into the recesses of the jungle. The city, with its mud houses, was abandoned to the invaders, and everything that could serve for provision was removed far beyond their reach. It had been imagined that the capture of Rangoon, or any part of the enemy's maritime possessions, would induce the king to accept the terms of government. It was soon found, however, that not only the Burmese monarch, but the people of Pegu, whose co-operation had been reckoned upon, were preparing for decided hostilities. Distress soon prevailed among the British troops, for there were no provisions near, and the boatmen of the Rangoon had removed every serviceable vessel out of their reach. To add to the distress of the army, the rainy season set in; and it was also kept in continual alarm by the nightly irruption of the enemy into its lines. The chief command, however, had been given to an officer of ability and zeal; and every obstacle was finally surmounted. On hearing of our offensive operations, the court of Ava lost no time in making preparations for our expulsion. Every town and village within three hundred miles of Rangoon was obliged to send its complement of armed lity the princes of Tonghoo and Irrawaddy joined the Burmese army, in order to inspire them with confidence, and to keep the officers to their duty. They were accompanied by numerous astrologers, as well as by a corps called "Invulnerables:" men curiously tattooed, and accustomed to exhibit the war-dance of defiance, and to expose themselves to the hottest fire of an enemy, that they might inspire the rest with courage and confidence. The astrologers were some time before they could mark out a propitious day for attacking the British position. At length, however, they fixed on the night of the 30th of August. The invulnerables promised to assault and carry the great pagoda, that the princes and grandees might celebrate the grand annual festival in that sacred place. On the night in question, therefore, this body advanced with swords and muskets, uttering clamorous imprecations against the invaders. They advanced toward the northern gateway; but they were greeted with showers of grape-shot and successive volleys of musketry, which made such havoc in their masses, that they were compelled to seek shelter in an adjacent jungle. At length the Burmese monarch determined to repair the loss of honour which his troops had sustained. He had sent his most celebrated general, Maha Bandoola, to take the command of the Arracan army, destined for the invasion of Bengal. Maha Bandoola had routed a detachment of native infantry at Ramoo, and was busied in erecting stockades as the basis of future operations, when an order arrived for him to return to the defence of the golden empire. His return to Ava not only restored confidence to the Burmese troops opposed to the British, but acted as a spell to draw the reluctant people round his banners. In the meantime, whilst a large fleet of war-boats, with a train of artillery was preparing to fall down the river, and orders were issued for the various detachments to join Bandoola on his progress, the British ranks were thinned by the endemic fever of the rainy season, and a severe dysentery. It was determined to remove the sufferers to Mergui and Tavoy, two towns on the coast of Tenasserim, where they rapidly recovered, and were soon restored to their comrades. In the early part of November, the rains having ceased, and the men again become fit for action, they anticipated with joy a forward movement. At this time re-enforcements were received from Calcutta; and a regiment of cavalry, a troop of horse-artillery, and a rocket corps were ordered to join. Before, however, the British could advance, they had to dispose of the whole military force of Ava. This force now consisted of 35,000 musketeers, 700 Cassay cavalry, and other troops, amounting in the whole to 60,000 men. On the 30th of November this great force assembled in the forest of Rangoon, fronting the great Shoedagon pagoda. On the following night the low hum of voices proceeding from the encampment suddenly ceased, and it was succeeded by the distant but gradually increasing sounds of a multitude moving stealthily through the woods. The British commander soon became aware that the enemy's masses had approached to the edge of the jungle, ready to rush from their cover at break of day. A great number of war-boats had been seen in the morning, by the "Teignmouth," coming down the river; and in the evening they came forward with fire-rafts. The post was left open to a furious attack by land and water; but it was courageously defended by the garrison under Major Yates, supported on the river by a small naval force. Hostilities commenced on the morning of the 1st of December with a heavy fire of musketry and cannon at Kemmendine, where the "Teignmouth" was again driven from her station by fire-rafts. The yells of the assailants were distinctly heard by our troops at the great pagoda; but when the firing ceased, and the smoke dispersed, the masts of our ships were still seen at their old station off the fort. In the course of the morning, Burmese columns appeared on the west side of the river, marching in five or six divisions; and when they reached the bank of the river opposite Rangoon, they commenced stockades and batteries for the destruction of our shipping. Later in the day columns were seen issuing out of the forest, with flags and banners, about a mile in front of the eastern face of the pagoda; and the different corps, successively taking up their positions along a sloping woody ridge, formed the left of the line, the centre of which extended from the pagoda to Kemmendine. When this position was taken, the troops began to apply their intrenching tools with such activity and skill, that, in about two hours their moving masses were concealed behind a mound of earth. A detachment of the British army, however, soon forced these intrenchments, and drove the whole line from their cover. The intrenchments were discovered to be a succession of holes, capable of receiving two men each, and so excavated as to shelter their occupants from the weather as well as from the enemy. Every hole contained a supply of water, rice, and fuel, and a bed of brushwood, on which one man could sleep while the other kept watch. The Burmese re-occupied these trenches in the evening, which they protected by a strong corps; and on the next day they intrenched themselves within musket-shot of the northern face of the great pagoda. As their fire could now be brought to bear on the barracks of the soldiers, it became necessary to dislodge them from various points; and a series of attacks and combats commenced which lasted seven days. Great spirit was manifested by the Burmese troops; for when their left wing was defeated, it merely retreated on the right, and the struggle was renewed until that division also was routed, with the loss of 5,000 men. Still undismayed, the Burmese general intrenched himself within four miles of the great pagoda, at the village of Kokeen, but he was driven from his post after several brilliant exploits, in which the operations of the army were powerfully seconded by the flotilla. This was the last conflict during this year: after it had taken place the Burmese general retired to Donoobew, about fifty miles up the river. After their defeat the Burmese had recourse to negociations; but they were found to be not sincere, and therefore were unheeded. As a great number of inhabitants had returned to Rangoon, they introduced incendiaries into that town, who lighted up a conflagration which was not extinguished until more than a fourth part of the place was destroyed. During the whole of this campaign the British vessels and their boats were occupied in destroying fire-rafts, most of which were about one hundred feet square, and composed of dry wood piled up, with oil, turpen tine, gunpowder, and other combustibles. CHAPTER XXXV. Meeting of Parliament-Bill for the Suppression of Unlawful Association in Ireland-Catholic Relief Bill--Committee of Inquiry into the State of Ireland-Mr. Hume's Motion against the Irish Church Establishment, &c.-State of the Irish Charter Schools-Debates on Alleged Abuses in Chancery-Regulation of the Salaries of the Judges Rejection of the Unitarian Marriage Act, &c.-Act against Combinations among Workmen-Free Trade System--Surrender of the Charter of the Levant Company-Report of Treaties-Financial Statements-Proposals for the Abolition of certain Taxes, &c.—Prorogation of Parliament-Great Commercial Panic-The Burmese War-Review of Foreign Relations. BILL FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF UNLAW-lics were inconsistent with the coronation oath, and FUL ASSOCIATIONS IN IRELAND. The proceedings of the Catholic Association in Ireland created alarm in the minds of ministers. It was clear, however, to them that public opinion would be against the enactment of a partial law against that body, while the Orange societies, which were also mischievous in their tendency, were tolerated. A bill, therefore, was introduced by Mr. Goulburn "to amend the acts relating to unlawful associations in Ireland." This produced a warm discussion, which extended by adjournment through four nights. In the course of this debate Mr. Canning vindicated himself against the insinuations of those who considered him estranged from the Catholic cause. He remarked:-"I have shown that, in 1812, I refused office rather than enter an administration pledged against the Catholic question. Nor is this the only sacrifice I have made to the Catholic cause. From the earliest dawn of my life, ay! from the first visions of my ambition, that ambition was directed to one objeet, before which all others vanished comparatively into insignificance; that object, far beyond all the blandishments of power, beyond all the rewards and favours of the crown, was to represent in this house the university at which I was educated. I had a fair chance of accomplishing it, when the Catholic question crossed my path. I was warned, fairly and kindly warned, that my adoption of that cause would blast my prospects; I adhered to the Catholic cause, and forfeited all my longcherished hopes and expectations. Yet I am told that I have made no sacrifice; that I have postponed the cause of the Catholic to views and interests of my own." Mr. Goulburn's bill was carried by large majorities; but though the Catholic Association yielded to legal authority and became defunct, it was soon resuscitated under a different form. Ostensibly regulating itself according to the late act, it disclaimed all religious exclusions, oaths, powers of acting in redress of grievances, and correspondence with depending societies; and, concealing its intentions under the mask of charitable purposes, it pursued its original course with impunity. CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL. After the above bill had passed, Sir Francis Burdett brought forward a plan, in which the principal bill for the removal of Catholic civil disabilities was accompanied by two others: one to enact a state provision for the Roman Catholic clergy, and the other to raise the Irish franchise from forty shillings to ten pounds. The principal of these bills passed the commons with large majorities; but it was clearly foreseen that it would not in the lords. In the interval of the second and third readings the Duke of York, in presenting a petition to the upper house from the Dean and Chapter of Windsor, declared that the concession of Catholic claims was repugnant, not only to the king's coronation, but to the principles of the constitution. He added: "I will oppose them to the last moment of my life, whatever may be my situation, so help me God!" This declaration was extolled by those who opposed the claims, as the most manly, patriotic, and noble expression of sentiment that could be uttered at a critical moment; and it was printed in letters of gold, and became their watchword. On the other hand it gave rise to bitterness of feeling among that class of politicians who were in favour of the bill. Its effect on them was strongly displayed by an intemperate sally into which, on the very next night, Mr. Brougham broke out in the house of commons against the speech of the royal duke, in which he was several times called to order. The great bulk of the nation, however, concurred in the principles to which his royal highness had declared his adherence, from an honest conviction that such concessions to the Roman Catho- | fraught with danger to the cause of Protestantism. The bill was carried up to the lords, and read a first time on the 11th of May; and on the 17th Lord Donoughmore moved the second reading. He was supported by Lords Camden, Darnley, Lansdowne, Harrowby, and Fitzwilliam, and the Bishop of Norwich; and opposed by Lords Colchester, Longford, and Liverpool, and the Bishop of Chester, and the lord chancellor. The debate presented little novelty; on the one side the right of the Catholics to political equality was insisted upon, together with the innoxiousness of their religious creed, &c. ; while, on the other hand, it was contended that, with respect both to the nature of the religion in its political consequences, and to the inconsistency of admitting Catholic elements of power into a Protestant constitution, the reasons for excluding Catholics ought to be as operative now as at any other period. The most remarkable circumstance in the debate, was the vehemence with which Lord Liverpool opposed the measure. In allusion to the grand argument in favour of the bill, that of conciliation, he remarked :-"I cannot bring myself to view this measure as one of peace and conciliation. Whatever it might do in this respect in the first instance, its natural and final tendency will be to increase dissensions and to create discord, even where discord did not previously exist. I entreat your lordships to consider the aspect of the times. The people are taught to consider Queen Mary as having been a wise and virtuous queen, and that the world had gained nothing whatever by the Reformation. Nay, more than this: it was now promulgated that James the Second was a wise and virtuous prince, and that he fell in the glorious cause of toleration. Could the house be aware of these facts, and not see that a great and powerful engine was at work to effect the object of re-establishing the Catholic religion throughout these kingdoms? And if once established should we not revert to a state of ignorance, with all its barbarous and direful consequences? Let the house consider what had been the result of those laws, what had been the effects of that fundamental principle of the British constitution which they were now called upon to alter with such an unsparing hand. For the last hundred and thirty years the country had enjoyed a state of religious peace, a blessing that had arisen out of the wisdom of our laws. But what had been the state of the country for the hundred and thirty years immediately preceding that period? England had been the scene of the most sanguinary religious contentions. The blessings of the latter period were to be attributed solely to the nature of those laws which granted toleration to all creeds, at the same time that they maintained a just, a reasonable, and a moderate superiority in favour of the established church. Their lordships were now called upon to put Protestants and Catholics on the same footing; and if they consented to do this, certain he was, that the consequence would be religious dissension, and not religious peace." Upon a division the bill was thrown out by a majority of one hundred and seventy-eight against one hundred and thirty. The two auxiliary bills, called, by way of derision, "the wings," after this failure were of course abandoned, although they also would have passed the commons by large majorities. upon the condition of the general body of the Irish MR. HUME'S MOTION AGAINST THE IRISH On the 14th of June Mr. Hume moved two resolu tions relative to the Protestant church of Ireland : first, “That the property now in the possession of the established church in Ireland is public property, under the control of the legislature, and applicable to such purposes as in its wisdom it may deem beneficial to the best interests of religion and of the community at large, due regard being had to the rights of every person in the actual enjoyment of any part of that property." And second, "That this house will, early in the next session of parliament, appoint a select committee, for the purpose of considering the present state of the Irish church, and the various charges to which ecclesiastical property is liable." The first of these resolutions was negatived without a division, and the second was lost by a majority of one hundred and twenty-six against thirty-seven. STATE OF THE IRISH CHARTER SCHOOLS. In consequence of the report of the commissioners on education, which showed that great abuses existed in the chartered schools of Ireland, Sir John Newport called the attention of the commons to that subject. After detailing at considerable length the condition of the funds of these schools, and the barbarous manner in which the pupils placed in them were treated, he moved, “That an humble address be presented to his majesty, expressing the marked sentiments of regret and indignation with which the house of commons perused the details of unwarrantable cruelty practised on the children in several of the charter schools of Ireland, contained in the report presented to both houses of parliament by the commissioners appointed by his majesty for examination into the state of the schools of Ireland; and praying that his majesty may be pleased to direct the law-officers of the crown in that part of the United Kingdom to institute criminal prosecutions against the actors, aiders, and abettors of these dreadful outrages, as far as they may be amenable to law." Mr. Peel admitted that the system of charter schools was one which did not admit of correction, but ought to be extinguished altogether. He stated that an order had been sent prohibiting the admission of any more children upon those foundations. He thought, also, that if any of the masters could be proved judicially to have been guilty of such atrocities as were stated in the report, they ought not only to be dismissed, but prosecuted. At the same time he hoped that Sir J. Newport would so far alter the wording of the motion, as not to assume the existence of the guilty practices which were to constitute the subject of inquiry. In consequence of this suggestion the right honourable baronet withdrew the original motion, and substituted the following:-"That an humble address be presented to his majesty, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions to the law-officers of the crown in Ireland, to institute criminal proceedings against the persons concerned in the cruelties detailed in the report of the commissioners, so far as they may be amenable to law." This motion was agreed to nem. DEBATES ON ALLEGED ABUSES IN Two A commission of inquiry had been appointed last session to inquire into the abuses which were said to exist in the court of chancery. The report of this commission had not yet been made, but nevertheless the subject was again mooted in the commons. discussions on it took place in the present parliament. The first of these was introduced on the 31st of May, by Mr. J. Williams, on the occasion of presenting some petitions complaining of particular proceedings in chancery. The speech which Mr. Williams made was an attack not merely upon the court of chancery, but upon the whole law of England. He particularly which, notwithstanding, he declared himself ignoanimadverted upon the law of real property, upon rant; and the most important part of his speech went be so, and that the equitable and legal jurisdiction to prove, that courts of common law should cease to should be confounded. The subject was brought under discussion again on the 7th of June, by Sir Francis Burdett, who moved that the evidence taken by the commission instituted to investigate the practice of the motion, because to print such evidence, without any court of chancery be printed. Mr. Peel opposed this accompanying report, was contrary to the practice of the house; and that if it were printed, the session was too far advanced to take the subject into consideration. and in the course of the discussion, Sir W. Ridley These attacks were chiefly made against Lord Eldon; made a remark to which his own party, from whom those attacks came, would have done well to attend. "He wished," he said, "as much as any man to see the system altered, but he must object to the mode in which an individual was attacked night after night. He was persuaded such attacks did no good; for Lord Eldon stood very high in the estimation of the people of England." Mr. Brougham, however, did not profit by this advice; for he broke forth into an uncalled-for and indelicate attack upon Lord Gifford, who had been distinguished by the patronage of the chancellor, and was then deputy-speaker of the house of lords. The motion was rejected by a majority of one hundred and fifty-four against seventy-three. A remarkable circumstance in all the debates which took place on the court of chancery was, that none of its assailants ventured beyond general declaration. No part of the system in which the alleged evil lay was specified, and no remedy was propounded. All that these discussions could lead to, therefore, was to render the court of chancery the subject of popular odium, and to lower the general administration of justice in the public estimation. REGULATION OF THE SALARIES OF THE During this session the chancellor of the exchequer England; and he moved an amendment, which was lost, that the sum of £12,000; should be given to him. Mr. Brougham, in a different spirit, proposed that £500 a-year should be taken from the salary of the puisne judges, but that alteration was also rejected. REJECTION OF THE UNITARIAN MARRIAGE secretary of the home departinent: reports which went to show that the most atrocious acts of outrage and violence had been committed by workmen on their employers. Misconceiving the real object of the legislature in the late act, they had, he said, manifested a disposition against the masters, and a tendency to proceedings destructive of the property and business of the latter. This disposition, if it remained unchecked, he asserted, would produce the greatest mischiefs in the country, and the evil was growing to so alarming a pitch in some districts that if not speedily arrested, it would soon become a subject for Mr. Peel to deal with in the exercise of his official functions. As a general principle, he admitted that every man had a right to carry his own labour to the best market, as labour was the poor man's capital. On the other hand, he contended for the perfect freedom of those who gave employment to them; whose property, machinery, and capital ought to be protected. Mr. Huskisson entered into details to show the nature of the system which was acted upon in several quarters. Associations were formed, he said, which, if persevered in and prosecuted successfully, must terminate in the ruin of the very men who were parties to them. The associations had their delegates, their presidents, their committees of management, and every other sort of functionary comprised in the plan of a government. By one article in a set of regulations it was provided, he remarked, "that the delegates from all the different works should assemble at one and the same place," on certain occasions; so that it was not the combination of all the workmen of one employer against him, or even of one whole trade against the masters, but systematic union of the workmen of many different trades, and a delegation from each of them to one central meeting. Thus there was established as against the employers a formal system of delegation, a kind of federal republic, all the trades being represented by delegates, who formed a sort of congress. Another regulation which Mr. Huskisson noticed was to this effect: The Unitarian marriage act was this year again rejected, although supported in the lords by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Lichfield, and Lord Liverpool. The same fate was awarded Mr. Serjeant Onslow's bill for the repeal of the usury laws, though Mr. C. Wynne stated that not only himself, but the chancellor of the exchequer, and most of the cabinet ministers, were favourable to their abolition. Ministers had left the house when the subject was discussed, anticipating that the division on the bill would not take place till a late hour, and that their presence was not necessary for its success. While they were absent the bill was rejected by a majority of forty-five against forty. This decision was owing partly to the arguments of the solicitor-general against the measure. Borrowers, he said, might be divided into three classes: mercantile borrowers, landed borrowers, and persons who might be considered general borrowers; they not belonging to either of the above classes. Mercantile borrowers, he continued, generally obtained a loan to profit by it. They did not borrow from necessity, but to trade; and if they could make ten or twelve per cent. on the borrowed money, there was no reason why they should not pay the lender seven or eight per cent. But was there, he asked, any landed proprietor so ignorant, as not to see, that, if the monied man could lend to the trade, at a higher rate than five per cent., he would not lend to him at that sum. It was one advantage to the lender, that he could recall his capital at pleasure, or get it back at a short notice. Now when a man lent capital to a trader, he was generally enabled to command the use of it when he Each delegate shall be paid out of his own work with,. pleased; but if he lent his money on land he could these exceptions only-the president, the secretary, not do this: there was all the trouble and inconve- and the treasurer are to be paid out of the general nience of a mortgage; he could not recall it for two or funds." The delegates are elected for six months, and three years; and therefore in proportion as he could may be re-elected. Here he remarked was a tax not command the use of his capital when he lent it to levied upon each workman for the maintenance of the landowner, he would make him pay a higher rate general funds applicable to purposes of a most misof interest for it than the trader. He believed he was chievous character. Other articles declared that it not wrong when he stated that eight out of every ten was the duty of the delegates to point out the masters estates in the kingdom were loaded with debt. Now disliked, and to warn such masters of the danger in under what circumstances did the country gentlemen which they were placed in consequence of this combiborrow money? Was it to employ it at some seasonable nation. Here, Mr. Huskisson rightly observed, was crisis, when by prudence and dexterity he might an acknowledgment of the dangerous nature of these obtain vast profit? No. The benefits which he could associations. But, he asked, what followed? Why receive as its produce were fixed: he never could ob- another duty of the delegates was to try everything tain from a borrowed sum beyond a determined which prudence might dictate to put the disliked masamount. Could any one say, therefore, that the ters out of the trade: not everything which fairness repeal of the usury laws would be beneficial to the and justice might dictate to workmen who sought to latter class? But if the terms of borrowing were so to obtain a redress of grievances, but everything unfavourable to the landed class, what expectation which "prudence" might dictate. In such a position, could the general borrower entertain of being able to "prudence' must be understood as implying that deobtain a loan under any other than oppressive terms?gree of precaution that might prevent the "Union" These persons generally stood in need of only small sums; their necessities were pressing, and therefore they were exposed to the most grinding demands. They could have no choice but to submit to the terms imposed upon them, be they never so oppressive. ACT AGAINST COMBINATIONS AMONG In a former session, Mr Hume had obtained the passing of an act repealing both the statute and common law concerning combinations among workmen. This act was attended with mischievous effects; and therefore, during this session, Mr. Huskisson called the attention of the house to the subject. In his speech he detailed some painful reports regarding it which had been forwarded to the from being brought within a breach of the law, such as the crime of murder. Was it, he asked, fit, right, or reasonable that persons engaged in commercial or other pursuits should, by combinations thus organized, be kept in constant anxiety and terror about their interest and their property. After noticing other regu lations of this class of associations, Mr. Huskisson went on to show that others were governed by regulations, if possible, more extraordinary. One of these regulations was, that no man coming into any given district or county within the control assumed by the associating parties, should be allowed to work without previously paying five pounds sterling, to be applied to the funds of the association. In a similar spirit, another regulation set forth, that any child being permitted to assist, should at ten years old be reckoned a quarter |