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the settlers, but from a determined attempt | tween them and the boers at Natal. The on the part of the chief he had alluded to, to conflict had taken place before the Colodeny the sovereignty of the Queen. Such nial Government could interfere to prewas the object in view, as far as he could vent it. At present there was a considascertain, and not so much to make an erable force at the Cape, and this had attack upon the settlers. He might add been increased since 1842, by a regiment that the arrival of troops from New South of cavalry 500 strong; and no doubt Sir Wales had done much to restore confi- P. Maitland would take proper steps to dence. protect the Griquas against further attack; but it should be remembered that they were not Her Majesty's subjects.

THE EARL OF ELLENBOROUGH.] Mr. Hume observed, that he had a Motion for to-morrow, respecting the recall of Lord Ellenborough from India; but he felt, under all the circumstances of the case, bound to abandon the Motion.

THE BOERS IN SOUTH AFRICA.] Mr. Hindley wished to ask a question of the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, respecting some recent proceedings in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope. Had any accounts reached the Government with respect to an attack which, it had been stated in the public papers, had been made by the boers, from Natal, on the natives in or near the boundary of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope? and also, whether the Governor had left Cape Town for the frontier in consequence of this?

Mr. Hindley asked whether the right of sovereignty was claimed by this country over the boers?

Mr. Hope replied, most unquestionably. The boers who had emigrated, had always been regarded by Her Majesty's Government as subjects of the British Crown. Steps had been taken long ago at Natal for this purpose, and a Lieutenant-Governor had been appointed to govern that place.

THE BLOCKADE OF THE RIO DE LA PLATE.] Mr. Milner Gibson asked whether General Rosas, of Buenos Ayres, had the right to stop the navigation of the river Plate, and to prevent communication with Paraguay by those waters; and whether the British Government had acknowledged the right of General Rosas to close the navigation of the river Plate to foreign vessels?

Mr. Hope replied, that no report of an official character from the Governor had reached the Colonial Office, giving an Sir R. Peel said, that General Rosas, account of the proceedings alluded to. in the assertion of belligerent rights, had He must state, however, that, from what intimated an intention to establish a he had seen in the public papers, it ap-blockade of the waters referred to; and peared to him that a wrong impression the British Government had expressed its had gone abroad as to the facts of the disposition to assent to the blockade, on case. From the facts that had reached the condition that it should be generally him, it appeared that the collision did not enforced. The French Government had, take place within the boundary of the in the first instance, claimed that French Colony of the Cape. The Griquas, upon vessels should be exempted; and Great whom the attack had been made, were an Britain then of course refused to permit independent tribe living beyond the Cape; the blockade. Subsequently, however, and therefore not within the limits of the France, it was understood, had professed jurisdiction of the British Government. her willingness to have her vessels inA number of missionaries had settled with cluded in the operation of the blockade; the Griquas, as with an independent na- and Her Majesty's Government then also tion, and the attack made upon Phillipo- assented on the condition, as before, that lis, the capital of that country, did not the blockade was to be, so long as it appear to have been made by persons lasted, of universal application. As to from Natal; for the places were 300 miles the Paraguay, General Rosas, occupying distant from each other. The boers who both banks of that river, claimed the right had made the attack were those who, of preventing navigation upon it. With since the abolition of slavery in the Co- reference to the Plate river, the blockade lony, had emigrated to the north of the of that river required the consent of the boundary of the Cape; and it did not ap- other Powers, and Great Britain had aspear that there was any connexion be- sented on the conditions he had stated.

If the hon. Gentleman, however, required fuller information on the subject for the guidance of merchants, his best course would be to apply to the Foreign Office.

THE BALLYHASSIG AFFRAY.] Mr. E. B. Roche, in reference to an unhappy collision at Ballyhassig, begged to ask the right hon. Baronet opposite whether any orders had been issued precluding, as was most desirable, the police from attending any fair or other popular assembly in Ireland, unless a magistrate were present? He had no hesitation, from his knowledge of the population about Bailyhassig, in saying, that had but one magistrate of influence or station in the country been present on the occasion of the late lamentable affray, no loss of life would have taken place, nor would that loss of life have occurred, had the police not gone to the fair.

Sir Thomas Fremantle must abstain from saying anything that might be construed into an opinion, respecting the late unfortunate transaction, pending the inquiry now being prosecuted by a competent tribunal. He might observe, however, as to the presence of magistrates on the occasion, that he believed several magistrates had been present during the day, though none remained till the time when the unhappy affray occurred, which was at nine o'clock in the evening. With reference to the order suggested by the hon. Gentleman, he must decline at present giving any answer respecting it.

NEW ZEALAND.] Viscount Howick wished to ask the right hon. Baronet at the head of the Government, whether he proposed to lay the instructions sent out to Captain Grey on the Table of the House, before they were called upon to vote the Supplemental Estimate for New Zealand?

unadvisable to make public as yet the instructions sent out for him. Part of the instructions relating to the New Zealand Company, however, had been communicated by Lord Stanley to a deputation from that Company; and he (Sir R. Peel) had no objection to lay the instructions which referred to that Company before the House.

Viscount Howick begged to ask whether the extracts promised by the right hon. Baronet were such as would give the House a general notion of the policy which the Government proposed to act upon for the future, with reference to New Zealand? He, and those who thought with him, considered that the past calamities of the Colony arose from the past policy of the Government; and before Parliament separated, they believed it to be absolutely necessary-should the future policy of the Government with New Zealand, as far as it could be collected, not promise to be more satisfactory than the past-to have another discussion on the subject. He hoped the right hon. Baronet would give, at all events, such extracts from the instructions as would enable the House to form a general judgment as to the policy they contemplated, ere it was called upon to meet a heavy additional demand, occasioned entirely by the past errors of Government.

Sir R. Peel said, that the noble Lord, when the extracts promised were laid on the Table, would be able to form a judg. ment how far they gave an insight into the contemplated policy of Government with reference to New Zealand, and could act according to his then view of the matter. He must confess he did not consider they would enable the House to form a judgment as to the general policy assigned to Captain Grey; but, he must repeat, he did not hold it consistent with his public duty to give, at present, any fuller information on the subject.

COAL TRADE (PORT OF LONDON) BILL.] The House in Committee on the Coal Trade (of the Port of London) Bill. On Clause 2,

The Earl of Lincoln said, that in this

Sir R. Peel must answer now, as he had answered on a former night the same question, that Captain Grey not being as yet in New Zealand, there would be, with reference to the large proportion of the instructions forwarded for his guidance when he arrived, great inconvenience in making those instructions public at pre-clause he had to propose certain amendsent. There might be circumstances to prevent Captain Grey from reaching New Zealand for a time, a contingency which Government had framed arrangements to meet, and which rendered it additionally

ments. He need not go into a long statement of the necessity of widening the streets, not only of the city of London, but of other large towns. The evidence which had been given before a Committee

them?

Mr. Hume would ask who could possibly benefit from the proposed improvements, except the owners of the property in the neighbourhood where they were carried on? and undoubtedly they were the parties who ought to bear the cost. The noble Lord had alluded to three Committees who had been in favour of the plan; but not one Coal Committee which had sat within these ten years but had made every endeavour to get the tax abolished. Even the last Committee, of which the noble Lord had been chairman, were nearly unanimous against his plan; and he did not consider it fair that he should bring it forward in the House, where he hoped to carry it, by the aid of Her Majesty's Government. He would, indeed, be sorry if the House should support the noble Lord. He would give all the opposition in his power to the further continuance of the iniquitous tax.

of the House was conclusive on this sub- | their improvements in Southwark do to ject, and on the necessity of providing funds for this purpose. It was particularly mentioned, that the greater part of Whitechapel was badly drained, overcrowded, and that the streets, courts, and lanes admitted of no current of air. As early as 1812 there was a Report on this subject; but in 1838, a Committee was appointed, which consisted of several metropolitan Members, and they recommended the tax on coal. In the following year another Committee was appointed, with a still larger proportion of metropolitan Members, when the question was over and over again considered, and all were in favour of an increase of the existing coal tax. The coal merchants, with one single exception, gave evidence in favour of this tax. He had himself made inquiries of some of the most influential coal-masters, and they had shown, by the weekly returns of the coal market for several successive years, that as the rise was by threepences, the duty of Id. could not be felt by the consumer. If the duty were now remitted, it would only go into the pockets of the coal merchants. The noble Lord concluded by moving, as an addition to Clause 2—

"In order to provide a fund for the opening of poor and densely-populated districts in the Metropolis, or for keeping open spaces in the immediate vicinity of the same, as a means of promoting the public convenience, recreation, and health."

Mr. Masterman was sorry that the noble Lord had determined to renew the tax. The city of London required no further aid, and the tax would expire with the year, and he thought the time had come when the poor of London should cease to pay the additional tax upon an article of such necessity as coal. He felt it to be his duty to vote against the proposition of the noble Lord.

The Earl of Lincoln was, indeed, surprised to hear his hon. Friend oppose his proposition, and the more so at the grounds on which he rested his opposition. He had not intended to inform the House of the manner in which his proposal originated; but he felt himself compelled to do so after what had fallen from his hon. Friend. The tax was about to expire, when he was waited upon by a very influ

Mr. Williams wholly objected to the proposition of the noble Lord. He had as decided objections to a tax upon coals as he had to a tax upon bread, because, in this great metropolis, it was quite as much a necessary of life. The great bulk of the tax was paid by the poorer classes, and that was the reason why it had been so long maintained. Upwards of a million ster-ential gentleman connected with the City, ling had been raised from the tax within the last few years; 200,000l. had been spent upon that enormous job the Fleet Market, which had been of no use to any one. Why did they, in this case, depart from the mode of raising all other municipal taxes? Merely because the greater part of the tax was paid by the poorer classes. He had not the slightest objection to the plan of improvement proposed by the noble Lord; but why should not the cost of it be raised by a house-tax? There were thousands of people, who, residing in the vale of the Thames, would be subjected to the tax; and what possible good would

who represented that the repeal of the tax would benefit no person in the world except the coal merchants. He agreed with him in that opinion, and having consulted with his right hon. Friend at the head of the Government, he adopted the scheme. He was the more astonished at what bad fallen from his hon. Friend, because it was not a long while since he headed a deputation to his right hon. Friend, when proposal was made, not for continuing that small tax, but to impose an additional duty of 1s. 6d. a ton for the sole purposes of the city of London. His right hon. Friend certainly had told his hon. Friend

a

behind him that considering the taxes already levied in the metropolis for the sole benefit of the city of London, it would be most unfair to subject it to an additional duty for that purpose, and he declined to accede to the proposition. His hon. Friend and another hon. Gentleman connected with the city of London, the hon. Member for Preston, had attended before the Committee, and not only advocated, certainly more ably, than he (Lord Lincoln) could do, the continuance of the tax; but argued against the supposition that the remission of it would be a benefit to any but the coal merchants. He (Lord Lincoln) told his hon. Friend, that the city of London having got a million and a half for improvements, he thought it right to look to Whitechapel, Southwark, and Lambeth, in which there were poor and densely-populated districts which much required improvement, and that if the penny was to be granted at all, he should propose that it should be appropriated to the benefit of those places. And yet now, after all that had passed, his hon. Friend came and said,

that under the circumstances he should oppose the tax being imposed at all.

Mr. Masterman said, in explanation, that he had said in the Committee that if the tax was to be carried, the city of London would expect a portion of it of course. Viscount Howick said, that this bill would tax the consumers of coal in the valley of the Thames, in order to make improvements in which they had no interest whatever. He knew the condition of the labouring classes in that district, and he was aware that in Staines, and Datchet, and Windsor, the high price of coals was a serious evil to the working classes. When he looked to the condition of the working classes in that district, as compared with the condition of the same class in his native county, he could not avoid remarking the inferiority of the condition of the labouring classes in the valley of the Thames, and he attributed much of that to the price of fuel; he was, therefore, opposed to this tax upon coal for a purpose in which a great number of the consumers had no interest. Another objection to the tax, was its indirect operation as regarded the poor man, who in consequence of buying his coal in small quantities, would be obliged to pay twopence instead of a penny a ton as a tax. It would be highly desirable to expend a considerable outlay in improving localities, VOL. LXXXII. {Suries} Third

densely populated; but there were sources available for that purpose infinitely preferable to this, one of which would be the levying of a house tax, or of a tax upon the ground-rents in the particular districts selected for improvement. To adopt either of these modes would enable the Government to raise a sufficient tax from the owners of property, instead of an insufficient tax from the labouring and poorer classes. The value of property in the improved districts was increased to the full amount of the tax, if not in a much greater ratio. These were his grounds for opposing this tax. It was highly objectionable as concerned the labouring classes who paid the tax throughout the valley of the

Thames.

He thought the Government might have commuted the whole tax; and he, for one, would not consent to the continuance of even a portion of it.

Sir R. Peel said, that the object contemplated by his noble Friend was not the mere ornament of the metropolis, but that his proposal was simply to constitute a fund for public improvements, which could not be appropriated without the sanction of Parliament; and when his noble Friend asked the House to let him appropriate this fund, he was desirous expressly to provide by it the means of promoting the health and comfort of those districts of the metropolis where, from the crowded state of the buildings and dwelling-houses, there was the greatest liability to disease. Of late years very general attention had been called to this important subject. He (Sir R. Peel) would confine himself now to the metropolis, and to the particular parts of it, the salubrity of which it was proposed to promote; and, in so doing, he felt it his duty to call the attention of the Committee to specific facts, connected with the state wood Smith, a gentleman of great talent of those parts of the metropolis. Dr. Southto this subject, and had personally observed and experience, had directed his attention the condition of the metropolis in its several districts. He had attended for many years at the Fever Hospital, and observed:

"The records of the London Fever Hospital prove, unhappily, that there are certain loare the constant seats of fever, from which this calities in the metropolis and its vicinity which disease is never absent, although it may be found to prevail less extensively and with less severity in some years and some seasons than in others, but still in which it is incessantly committing its ravages."

The work from which the right hon. Ba-
R

ronet quoted then went on to state that the author's experience, during the present year, afforded a verification of the correctness of these statements. The metropolis had been visited by an epidemic, which was still raging, but which did not prevail in every part of London; nor did it prevail even in every fever district; for there were districts in this town known by that name. The author was asked why he called these districts by that name; to which the reply was, that

"There are many districts in which fever is always so prevalent that the localities in question may be regarded as the ordinary seats of that disease."

Farther on it was stated, that

only in a healthful but also in a moral point of view. The Government, therefore, proposed-having no other means at present at command liable to less objection-to continue for a definite period the tax of one penny a ton upon coals, a tax which was now in existence. When it became a question, when there was a duty already existing of thirteen pence a ton, and which was to endure until the year 1862, with the exception of a penny a ton of that duty, which was about to expire, what was to be done with that small duty so about to expire; the Government proposed that the penny a ton should be continued for the same period as the other twelve-pence, in order that-the twelvepence being applied to other purposesthe additional penny might be appropri

"From the commencement of January to April in the present year, we have actually received into the wards of the hospital five hun-ated, not to the purposes of the Governdred fever patients, and during a considerable portion of that time applications for admission have been refused, at the rate of thirty or forty a day, in consequence of there being no ac

commodation for them." And again

"In some districts there is hardly a single house in which fever has not prevailed, and in some cases hardly a single room in a house in which it was not to be found. I have observed this in particular to be the case in certain localities about Bethnal-green." Now the object of the present measure was to provide a fund for the purpose of counteracting, and, if possible, wholly removing these evils. A Committee had suggested that the best mode of so doing was to put a duty upon coal. The noble Lord suggested a tax upon property, on the property of those who would be benefited by the contemplated improvements. That certainly appeared, at first sight, both judicious and rational. Nothing, however, was more difficult, when they came practically to deal with the question, than to say precisely who were the parties so benefited. If they could tell him who were the parties who would be benefited by improvements such as contemplated in Bethnal-green and Whitechapel, and enable him to apportion properly and equitably those burdens which, on account of the benefits which would accrue to their property from improvements, they would be liable to bear, he would willingly wave the proposition now before the House, and adopt the suggestion which had been made. The improvements contemplated would be beneficial to several districts, not

ment, but for the purpose of constituting a fund from which the districts of the metropolis, called the fever districts, should be supplied with the means of necessary and permanent improvement. Looking at the parties to be benefited, looking at the evils under which these parties now suffered, at the fevers and other diseases which existed amongst them, and contrasting these sufferings with the absolute good which would arise from giving, for a certain number of years, such a sum as 11,000l. a year to form a fund for the mitigation of the evils alluded to, he could not but think that the actual practical physical good which would accrue from such an appropriation would greatly predominate over all the objections to the tax. Those were the grounds on which he gave his cordial support to the Motion of his noble Friend.

Mr. Alderman Humphery would not have said one word, had it not been for the fallacy of the noble Lord's proposition, when he said that the poor were to be benefited by the penny tax being taken off. He would like to know if the taking off the duty would reduce the price of coals to the poor? Now, by every improvement which took place in London the poor received a positive benefit. As one instance of this, he would like the noble Lord to see the number of those employed in the manufacture of bricks, called for by the various improvements at present in progress. As to the benefit which it was said the poor would derive from the abolition of the tax of an additional penny a ton on coals, he would like

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