Commons Sitting of 13 May 1840

MINUTES.
Petitions presented. By Mr. Villiers, and Mr. Hume, from Tamworth, and other places, for a Total Repeal of the Corn-laws.—By Mr. Muntz, from Birmingham, against the Police Bill.—By Mr. Baines, from Leeds, against the Opium Trade.—By Mr. Acland, Mr. Lowther, and others, from Suffolk, and other places, for Church Extension.—By Mr. Townley, and others, from Cambridge, Westbury, and other places, against any Grants for the purpose of Church Extension,—By Captain Alsager, from Staffordshire, against Sunday Drawing on Canals, and any further Grant to the College of May-nooth.—By Sergeant Jackson, from Bandon, against the Importation of Foreign Flour into Ireland.—By Mr. Brotherton, from the Baptists of Stourbridge, and various other places, praying to be allowed to make Affirmations instead of taking Oaths.—By Mr. Johnstone, and Sir S. Canning, from Dumfries, and other places, for a Settlement of the Scotch Church Question.—By Sir C. B. Vere, from Suffolk, against the County Constabulary Bill.—By Mr. G. Wood, from Kendall, against the County Constabulary Bill, and the deportation of Hill Coolies to the Mauritius.

MINISTERIAL REFORM.
Mr. T. Duncombesaid, he had to present a petition signed by 16,000 inhabitants of

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Sheffield, which was agreed to at a public meeting of the inhabitants of that town. The petitioners prayed for six objects, the substance of which he would state to the House. The first was, that the House might address her Majesty, praying that she may be graciously pleased to dismiss her present Ministers, those Ministers being no more worthy of the confidence of the Crown and the people than any Ministry which had held office within the last fifty years. The second prayer was, that her Majesty might call to her councils a Ministry by which the question of universal suffrage might be made a Cabinet measure. Thirdly, that while the people were starving from want of a sufficient supply of wholesome food, hon. Members might not waste the time of the House in long and useless speeches and party questions, but should occupy themselves in endeavouring to lessen the weight of taxation, which was now too heavy to be borne. Fourthly, that all professional lawyers should be excluded from seats in Parliament, as from their professional habits they tended more to mystify than to make clear important subjects of legislation. Fifthly that as there were seventy five volumes of statutes, each volume containing some thousand pages, and as these were more than could be studied in the ordinary term of a man's life, the petitioners prayed, that instead of this immense mass, a compendium of laws should be framed, copies of which should be preserved in every court in the kingdom; so that when a citizen was charged with any offence he might know the law and the punishment attached to its infraction; and sixthly, that all the heirs and descendants of Peers should be excluded from seats in the Commons House of Parliament, as such parties were already fully represented in the House of Peers; that the Commons should be the representatives of the mass of the people who possessed a property of 90,000,000 l. a year in their labour, and that they should not be treated as if they were born only to inherit penalties and poor laws.
Petition to lie on the Table.

PRINTING PETITIONS.
Mr. T. Duncombepresented a petition from Thomas Fuller, who stated, that he had been tried for cutting and maiming, which was done solely in his own defence; that he had been found guilty, not by the jury,
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but by the judge, who had sentenced him to die; that this unjust sentence had been afterwards commuted to transportation; but that this sentence had also been commuted to imprisonment; that he had been three years and 105 days in prison; and that in the mean time his innocence had been clearly established; and that he was now turned out of prison with his prospects completely ruined. He therefore prayed for such relief as the House might deem fit. The hon. Member (Mr. Duncombe) said, that this man's petition had been presented towards the close of the last session, and had been printed in the votes, he (Mr. Duncombe) intending to bring the matter under the consideration of the House by referring it to a committee; but there had not been time enough to do so before the Session closed. He would move that this petition be printed with the votes.
Lord Stanleydid not intend to offer any objection to the printing of the petition, but ha thought this was one of those cases in which the House should be on its guard as to printing and publishing, and such petitions as this should be printed and distributed solely for the use of the Members. The House ought to guard against sending into general circulation matters which might be highly libellous. He did not intend to make any motion on the subject, but he ventured to throw out the suggestion that it was a case in which the House should act with caution.
The Attorney-Generalconcurred in the view taken of it by the noble Lord who had just addressed the House. A petition of this kind might be made an exception to the papers which were sold. It was a petition of this kind which had for a time brought some doubt on what was one of the certain privileges of the House.
Mr. Humethought that the circumstance referred to by the hon. and learned Gentleman was a report of a commission which had been made to the Crown, and by her Majesty's order laid on the Table of that House. If there were any doubts as to the contents of the petition, it ought to be read at length.
Mr. T. Duncombeagreed as to the caution which should be observed in printing such petitions. The present, as he had already observed, had been printed last year.
Lord Stanleysaid, the question was an important one, for unless the House exer-

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cised due caution, and interposed its authority, any hon. Member, by getting a petition printed and circulated by sale, might involve the House in difficulty. The object of printing petitions with the votes was for the information of Members who might have to decide on some question arising out of them; and in such a case as the present, he thought that a distinction should be made—that the petition should be printed for the use of Members only.
Petition to be printed.