MR. W. BROWN said, that no more difficulty would arise from confining the election to one day, than from allowing it to extend as at present, to two days, inasmuch as the voters could come up the day before the day of polling if necessary.

MR. MONSELL said, he thought that the nomination and polling day, that was great as might be the benefit of the Bill to a question that could, if it gave rise to obEngland, it would be of far greater im- jections, be settled in Committee. portance and benefit in Ireland. He believed that a great number of the scenes which they all deplored, and which had taken place in Ireland during the late elections, would be prevented by the passing of such a measure. The system of "housing" now carried on at elections in Ireland was mainly owing to the two days which were occupied by County Elections. He would suggest that the right hon. the Secretary of State for the Home Department should consider the propriety of introducing a clause, if the Bill were extended to Ireland, for abridging the oaths required to be taken by electors, as it frequently happened that in contested elections the persons employed by the sheriffs to administer the oaths read them over extremely slowly or very rapidly, as they conceived might best promote the interests of their favourite candidates, by allowing a larger or smaller number of electors to record their votes in a given time.

MR. ELLIOT said, that, so far as he could ascertain the opinions of the electors of that part of Scotland with which he was connected, there was a strong desire on their part to have the polling limited to one day; and he would give notice of his intention, at a future stage, to move that the Bill should be extended to Scotland.

MR. LOCKE KING said, he was of opinion that the Bill did not go far enough. One important point was omitted, which was that of reducing the time between the proclamation and the day of election, and he should move in Committee the insertion of a clause to that effect. He supported the Motion for the second reading.

SIR JOHN BULLER said, he trusted that, as the feeling of the great majority appeared to be in favour of the second reading of the Bill, the hon. Member for Berkshire would withdraw his opposition to that Motion. In considering the Bill the Committee ought not to overlook the case of those counties which had not the advantage of great railway communication; and, on the other hand, should not increase expense by giving too large a power for the addition of polling places. With respect to purity of election, he could not anticipate that this Bill would tend very much to that effect. He was happy to say, as

MR. SCOTT said, he hoped that the Bill would not be extended either to Ireland or Scotland until some experience had been attained of its working in England. He conceived that in many instances considerable hardship would result from limiting the time of County Elections to one day. Hon. Gentlemen who supported the Bill seemed to forget the convenience of those electors who lived at a distance from the polling places. One of the first contested elections he had been engaged in for the county of Roxburgh took place in the depth of winter, when the roads were almost impassable; the friends of his opponent re-regarded English counties, very few comsided chiefly in the towns, whilst his (Mr. Scott's) friends resided in the country districts. If in that case the polling had been confined to one day, there could be no doubt that great hardship and injustice would have been inflicted. As to intimidation at elections, he believed that the effect of the Bill would be merely to concentrate the efforts of parties to intimidate and coerce the electors more than at present.

LORD MONCK said, he must protest against England being made the ground. for an experiment of this nature, and he contended that the Bill ought to be applied equally to Ireland and Scotland. He advocated the limitation of polling to one day, as having a tendency to stop intimidation in Ireland. With regard to the provision shortening the interval between

plaints of bribery and corruption were ever substantiated, and he believed that there was no probability of the return for any county in England during the last election being disputed.

MR. ROBERT PALMER said, in accordance with the wishes of the House he would withdraw his Amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Main Question put, and agreed to.
Bill read 2°.

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Bill be committed."

MR. VANSITTART said, he begged to move as an Amendment that the Bill, together with that of which the hon. Baronet the Member for the Tower Hamlets (Sir W. Clay) had given notice, should be referred to a Select Committee, in order to

PUBLIC BILL.-1 Metropolitan Building Act Amendment which he has put into your

last persons who would be disposed to that Speech, having to take my seat before strain the privileges of an individual Mem- two o'clock in the afternoon of that day, I ber to an undue extent, inconsistent with had not an opportunity of conferring with the transaction of public business; and I any one, except my noble Friend the Earl shall trust, after the statement which I of Aberdeen, one of my former colleagues, have to make to the House, that they with whom happily I maintain the most will be of opinion that this is an excep- cordial and sincere friendship. My noble tional case, and that I am justified in Friend told me what were the terms of the course I am about to pursue when I Her Majesty's Speech on the question make a formal Motion "that this House of an unrestricted policy with respect to do now adjourn." Having, Sir, placed matters of trade. He told me, also, that myself strictly within the rules of the he had, in concert with my former colHouse, and having given to every Member leagues, considered those words, and that of the House who may think proper to they had come to the conclusion that, upon follow me the opportunity of stating his the whole, it was not expedient to be a opinion with respect to the matter now party to moving an Amendment on the pending, I think it right, after the ques- Address on the occasion; and he added, tion put by the hon. Baronet the Member that he had also had an intimation that for the Tower Hamlets (Sir Wm. Clay), the noble Lord the Member for the City of and before Her Majesty's Government give London (Lord John Russell) and his former an answer to the question he put, to make colleagues had arrived at the same concluthe statement which I am anxious, with the sion. Sir, I saw no other person until you permission of the House, to address to them. took your seat in the chair on that day; The noble Viscount the Member for Tiverton but I think I met in the lobby of the (Viscount Palmerston), at the close of the House the hon. Member for Manchester discussion on Tuesday evening, tendered to (Mr. Bright), who addressed you with so the House, not in the form of a direct Mo- much ability on Tuesday evening, and he tiou, but rather in the shape of a suggestion, informed me that although the opinion of certain words in lieu both of the original himself and several of his friends had been Motion and of the Amendment, which he decidedly in favour of moving an Amendthought constituted a middle course, and ment to the Address on that occasion, one upon which, consistently with the ho- yet, to prevent disunion among the friends nour of all parties, we might arrive at an of free trade in this House, and in a agreement. Now, Sir, it is impossible that new Parliament, that he had declared his I, who am one of the surviving colleagues readiness to abstain from moving an of the late Sir Robert Peel-who took a Amendment; but that as he, as well most active part in 1846 in pressing on the as myself and my former Colleagues, and attention of Parliament the policy of a re- the noble Lord the Member for London, peal of the Corn Laws-who had the good were of opinion that the words of the fortune, after the dissolution of that Go-Speech on the subject of free trade were vernment, to enjoy the confidential friend- unsatisfactory, it had been suggested that ship of Sir Robert Peel to the last hour of my hon. Friend the Member for Wolhis life-it is impossible I should not feel verhampton, on the part of the freea deep and peculiar interest in the subject trade party generally, should give notice which stands for further discussion on the of a substantive Motion on that subpresent occasion. And it is right, Sir,ject; and that it was thought on all that I should state to the House the exact truth with respect to the part which I have taken, both with reference to the original Motion and with respect to certain words which the noble Lord has suggested as the medium of a possible agreement on both sides of the House. I hope the House will not regard it as presumption on my part if I state frankly all the concern I have had both in the framing of the original Motion, and in reference to the words in question. I did not arrive in London until late in the evening preceding Her Majesty's Speech from the Throne, and on the morning of

I told my

hands that, considering the part he had
taken in these discussions, that he had
fought the battle manfully from the begin-
ning, it was due to him, in the last hour of
the success of that policy which he had so
long and so earnestly advocated, that he
should take a prominent part.
hon. Friend the Member for Manchester
that I entirely agreed in that arrangement
that I was extremely glad there would
not be an Amendment to the Address, and
that I thought a substantive Motion was
preferable, and particularly rejoiced in the
selection of my hon. Friend the Member

and on the following morning, in addition to the information which I had derived from the discussion here, and from hearing the announcement on the part of the Government, made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, I had the advantage, through the ordinary channels, of reading what passed elsewhere, and of considering the statement made by the head of the Government. Having been a party to a notice given of a Motion, I frankly avow-considering the position to which I have alluded-that I took particular interest in reference to the mode in which that Motion should be framed; and on the morning of the 12th, having Her Majesty's Speech before me, and the speech to which I have alluded as having been made elsewhere, I endeavoured to frame the terms of that Motion. I shall state to the House without disguise what was the spirit in which I endeavoured to frame that Resolution. I remembered, as the noble Viscount the Member for Tiverton reminded us the other night, that this

for Wolverhampton as the organ of the Free-trade party in this House on that occasion. So matters stood when I came into the House; and I certainly fully expected, considering that the terms of the Speech were somewhat ambiguous, that the right hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on the part of Her Majesty's Government, would avail himself of the ordinary opportunity, before the commencement of the discussion on the Address, to give notice for a particular day of his intention to introduce the promised measure on the part of the Government. You, Sir, are always most particular on that day, when the mover and seconder of the Address are present, that the discussion should commence at the appointed hour. That hour is half-past four. You waited until twenty minutes to five-longer than usual-in consequence of the absence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer; and when the right hon. Gentleman entered the House, my impression was-and I do not think I was singular in that impres--whatever may be our differences of opinsion that he was about to give notice for a particular day on which the measures of the Government would be introduced. He did not do so. The noble Lord the Member for North Northumberland (Lord Lovaine) moved the Address in a speech of great ability; but still I could not fail to remember that he had displaced in the representation of the county of Northumberland one of the most distinguished Members of the Free-trade party-my right hon. Friend Sir George Grey-that he had effected that victory in Northumberland principally on the ground of advocating protection as against free trade, and I could not believe that if protection was to be abandoned, it was a Percy that was to perform that operation in this House. When the speech of the seconder of the Address was nearly concluded, my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, sitting immediately behind me, stretched forward and asked, "Shall I still give notice of my Motion?"-I did not know what others said-I said, "Certainly, give your notice." That notice was given in point of time before any declaration of the policy of the Government had been pronounced in either House of Parliament, and it was made in the absence of any day being appropriated by the Government for the introduction of those measures which had

been promised. I listened with attention to the debate which followed; I weighed well the terms of Her Majesty's Speech;

ion-is an assembly of Gentlemen; and I was most anxious, in framing that Resolution, to insert nothing in it which I thought would wound the feelings of any of those who perhaps, without changing their opinions, were ready to change their course with reference to a specific policy about to be triumphant.

And also I am bound to say I did not forget that I myself had been a convert from former opinions, and was the very last person in the House who ought not to have some regard for the feelings of others in such circumstances. Now, will the House bear with me whilst I state how I proceeded in framing that Resolution? I took the Speech of Her Majesty and the paragraph which refers to protection and free trade, and I took the speech also made elsewhere, to which I have referred, and I endeavoured to insert in the shape of a Resolution everything which I thought necessary for the distinct assertion of the principle for which those who were attached to the policy of free trade contended, and to omit everything in the Resolution to which those who were willing, under the circumstances, to depart from the policy of protection, and to adopt that of free trade, could reasonably object. That is the spirit in which I endeavoured to frame the Resolution. I have the original Resolution before me as so drawn, and with the permission of the House I will read it. The words are