§ Earl Greypresented a Petition from Mr. Mallison, complaining that he had not been duly compensated for his intention for saving the lives of shipwrecked seamen, and that he had applied in vain to the Admiralty. The noble lord said that he could not speak to the merits of this invention, but that he felt it his duty to present the Petition; which was ordered to lie on the table.
The Marquis of Lansdownestated, that he had two Petitions; one from the Surgeons and Medical Practitioners of Waterford, praying to be put upon the same footing as gentlemen of the Same profession in this country; and the other from the practising Solicitors of the county of Ross, against the additional Stamp-duties. To the admission of the latter he was aware that a certain objection was urged, to the principle of which he could not by any means subscribe: but the former was of course unexceptionable, and he should consider it his duty to call the attention of the House to it on some future occasion. The noble lord added, that he should also feel it right to bring the principle which applied to the admissibility of the other petition distinctly under the consideration of the House.
The Petition from the Medical Practitioners was, after a few observations from the Lord Chancellor, and lords Limerick 1088 and Liverpool, ordered to lie on the table.
§ Earl Stanhopeadverted to a Petition which he presented some time ago from a person who had been confined above three years on the ground of bankruptcy This person had applied in vain to the Lord Chancellor to be heard personally, but the learned lord expressed doubts of his authority to have the petition brought up, in consequence of which be (lord Stanhope) had it in contemplation to bring in a Bill to have those doubts removed, with a view to have justice done to the petitioner, who denied the validity of the bankruptcy; but he was now glad to learn that the doubts alluded to were found to be unwarrantable, and therefore he did not feel it necessary to press the Bill.—The noble lord then gave notice of his intention to move tomorrow the second reading of the Vaccination Bill, with a view to have it rejected. This measure proposed to have half-a-crown given to every pauper who had a child vaccinated, while the matter used in vaccination was, according to the statement of its own advocates, of three different descriptions—the first good, the second indifferent, and the third good for nothing. Such a measure, he had no hesitation in pronouncing the most ridiculous ever introduced into that House.