Mr. Raine gave notice that he should, on Friday next, move for leave to bring in a bill to explain and amend two acts, the 2d of Richard II. and the 32d of Henry VIII, for the preventing of any man of law from acting as a justice of assize in his own county. These acts imposed a penalty of 100l. for every instance in which their provisions were departed from, and the object of the measure he meant to propose, would be to render their operation more effectual. Mr. Corry trusted that due care would be taken to prevent the measure from operating any change in the law as it at present stands in that part of the united kingdom called Ireland, until it should be ascertained that such change was desirable. There existed several acts of the Irish parliament upon this subject, to which he begged leave to direct the attention of the learned gent. before he brought forward his measure. At any rate, he thought it would be desirable for the learned gent. to defer his motion, until there should be an opportunity of consulting the Irish government and law officers, how far the measure could be applied to Ireland.—After a short conversation between Mr. Raine and Mr. Corry, the former withdrew his notice for the present, in order to allow time for obtaining every information on the subject.—Petitions were presented, complain- 238 ing of the late elections for Plymouth, Maidstone, Dublin, and Chippenham, which were severally ordered to be taken into consideration on the following days: the Plymouth petition on the 5th of February; Maidstone and Dublin petitions on the 10th of February; and the Chippenham petition on the 12th of February, on which day a petition from several burgesses of Chippenham, was also ordered to be taken into consideration.—The house went into a committee on the act for regulating the Leather trade, and, on the motion of lord Temple, agreed to a resolution, that the chairman do ask leave to bring in a bill to repeal so much of the said act as prohibits the regrating of Oak Bark, and to indemnify certain persons who had incurred penalties for regrating oaken bark. Lord Temple stated, that the whole of the Tanning trade was carried on with bark purchased of persons who bought to sell again. This had been prohibited under a penalty by the act referred to the committee; but the act was never put in force; and it was not until last year that some informers had brought qui tam actions to recover the penalties incurred under the act, that it had been found necessary to repeal it. Last session, he had brought in an act to suspend the prosecutions, and as the business of the trade could not be carried on, without permitting the regrating of Oak Bark, he then proposed, that that part of the bill which prohibited this practice, should be repealed. The house then resumed, and Mr. Hobhouse, the chairman, obtained leave to bring in the bill.