he made in the House of Commons, strongly | Sir R. PEEL: I intend to make the advocated it. The window duties, how- shortest speech in this debate. I intend ever, were a direct tax under an indirect to take my share of the unpopularity of aspect; and in proving their impolicy, he declaring that, in my opinion, it is not denied that hon. Members were bound to consistent with the duty of Her Majesty's provide the Government with a substitute. Government, in the present state of the It was sufficient if they demontrated the revenue and the expenditure of the countax to be bad in itself. Had Her Ma- try, to consent to a remission of this tax. jesty's Ministers, at an early period of I heard with satisfaction from the right their career, taken a comprehensive review hon. Gentleman that he has had under his of our system of taxation, they might have consideration the means of removing some obviated much of the present difficulty; of the anomalies of this tax, and the posthey had not, and the time was now come sibility of providing a substitute for it in when the people would force the subject some other way. I hope the right hon. upon their attention. Gentleman will not be deterred from consideration by the fact of a metropolitan deputation making objections to finding a substitute. I am sure, if the right hon. Gentleman puts it in this way-" Will you consent that some other tax should be imposed in the place of this?"-the certain answer will be " No. What we want is the repeal of this tax, and we will be no parties to the substitution of another. I therefore venture to advise the right hon. Gentleman to throw overboard altogether the opinions of the metropolitan deputation, and of every other deputation which gives a similar answer to a similar question; and to address himself fairly and freely to the consideration of a substitute less open to objection. I have had an opportunity of conferring with the noble Lord near me (Lord Duncan), and I will do him the justice of acknowledging the zeal and the very great ability with which he has brought the subject before us. I think, however, if upon Monday next the noble Lord opposite had intimated he had some reduction of taxation to propose, it would then have been perfectly competent for the noble Lord (Lord Duncan) to put in a claim for the remission of the window-tax. But even in that case I should not pledge myself to vote for him, for I wish to reserve the comparative demerits for there are demerits of all taxes for consideration. And as to whether there is to be an increase of taxation, I think it is only natural that the noble Lord should wait to see what is the manner in which the increase is received before he adds to the difficulty by removing this tax. I beg the House to bear in mind that, however objectionable a particular tax may be, there are others equally objectionable. One tax may be in principle preferable to another, if you had to deal with it from the beginning; but when a tax has been long endured, it does DR. BOWRING believed that every one must sympathise with the noble Lord in his difficulties; it was very difficult to maintain the taxation which now pressed upon the people, and still more difficult to augment it. But surely diminution of expenditure rather than augmentation of taxation was now the paramount duty of the Government. The burdens of the people had been augmented from year to year: since 1835 the charge for the armaments of the country had risen from less than 12,000,000l. to more than 17,000,000l.; and the miscellaneous charges had also increased within these few years by 3,000,0007.; the result being an addition to of above 8,000,000l. a year to our expenditure; and we were now asked to increase a tax intolerable in its present form. He (Dr. Bowring) had been lately in the manufacturing districts, and had received multitudes of communications from persons well able to judge of the state of public opinion, and he believed that there was in the country the greatest possible apprehension of the consequences of the endeavour to augment the taxation to the extent of 3,500,000l., and an universal desire that, instead of this, our expenses might be greatly diminished. LORD R. GROSVENOR entirely concurred with the noble Lord (Lord J. Russell) that the House was bound to make good its public engagements and to maintain those services which were necessary for the protection of our honour and our commerce. He regretted to find, from what his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer had said, there was no prospect of the window-tax being abolished; but believing its existence was most prejudicial to the population of England, he was compelled, however reluctantly, to vote in favour of the Motion of his noble Friend opposite. not necessarily follow that those which are least objectionable in principle can be easily substituted. But Monday next will be a better opportunity for entering into a consideration of the principle of general taxation; in the meantime I could not reconcile it to myself to give a silent vote, when, in my opinion, it is impossible to consent to a remission of the window-tax. upon the MR. B. CABBELL said, he should vote for the Motion, on the ground that the window-tax imposed a restriction light and air of heaven. VISCOUNT DUNCAN replied, and remarked, that of five speeches delivered against his Motion two only really opposed it-those of the noble Lord (Lord J. Russell), and that of his Colleague the right hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had observed that the noble Lord and the right hon. Gentleman invariably acted the part of the Siamese twins; they mutually supported each other; and when they happened to be at a loss, whatever the one said the other was ready to swear to. He regretted that he was not to count upon the support of his noble Friend and Colleague (Lord Ashley). He thanked him, however, for his speech, in which he had borne out the statement that he (Lord Duncan) had made, for no man knew better than his noble Friend how unequally and unjustly that tax pressed upon the poorer classes. He stood there not the advocate of national bankruptcy, but the advocate of economy. He wished to see each man paying taxes in proportion to his means he wished to see taxes made certain, but not arbitrary-and he wished to see them collected in such a way as to be least obnoxious to the country at large. He also thanked the noble Lord opposite, who took such a prominent part in sanitary reforms (Lord R. Grosvenor), for his speech, and rejoiced that he might reckon upon his vote. The House divided:-Ayes 68; Noes 160: Majority 92. Ashley, Lord Davie, Sir H. R. F. Douro, Marq. of Edwards, II. Ferguson, Sir R. A. Gibson, rt. hon. T. M. Hamilton, Lord C. Heneage, E. Howard, hon. C. W. G. Howard, hon. J. K. Howard, hon. E. G. G. Jervis, Sir J. Jones, Capt. Keppel, hon. G. T. Lascelles, hon. W. S. Lennard, T. B. Lewis, G. C. Littleton, hon. E. R. Lockhart, W. Macnamara, Major M'Naghten, Sir E. Mahon, The O'Gorman Martin, J. Matheson, Col. Maule, rt. hon. F. Melgund, Visct. Seymour, Lord Shelburne, Earl of Smith, rt. hon. R. V. TELLERS. Hill, Lord M. APPEAL IN CRIMINAL CASES. nished with a copy of the indictment. One clause of the Bill fixed the time within which appeals could be claimed; another enforced the attendance of the witnesses and prosecutor at the appeal; and a third provided for their payment upon the same scale as at the original trial. It might be urged as an objection to his measure, that it gave the power of appeal to the prisoner, and not to the prosecutor. In reply, he must say that he sought only to remedy an acknowledged evil. Many difficulties were connected with a double right of appeal; and, therefore, his Bill was restricted to cases in which the prisoner might want to appeal. At the same time, if the House should think proper to extend the right of appeal to prosecutors, he would not object to such a provision being engrafted upon the Bill. The introduction of the power of appeal would be attended with difficulties, owing to the want of a functionary established in other countries and in a division of Great Britain, Scotland, namely, a public prosecutor. The time would come when a demand for a public prosecutor would arise in this country. Another impediment in the way of the introduction of the system of appeal was to be found in the want of a record of the evidence given on the trial, and of the decision pronounced by the judge. At present the only admitted record was the judge's notes, which were usually insufficient, and it might therefore frequently be difficult to obtain the materials whereon to base an appeal for a new trial. In conclusion, the hon. Member moved for leave to bring in a Bill to establish the power of appeal in criminal cases. MR. EWART rose to move for leave to bring in a Bill to establish a power of appeal in criminal cases. Experience had shown the necessity for granting such appeal. Within the last two months, even, criminal cases to the number of ten, at least, had occurred, which, in the circumstances attending them, proved the necessity for the introduction of the power of appeal. The Bill which he desired to in- SIR G. GREY said, that it was not his troduce would give a power to grant ap-intention to offer any opposition to the intropeals generally as regarded points of law duction of the Bill; but he wished it to be and matters of fact. One species of crime distinctly understood that he did not pledge was necessarily excluded from the opera- himself to approve of all the provisions tion of the measure-that of treason and which might be embodied in the measure. misprision of treason. Those crimes were al- It was far from his intention to intimate ready provided for by the Statutes of Anne, that the subject was not of great imporWilliam, and Mary, George III., and Queen tance, and deserving of the serious considVictoria. With that exception, the Bill eration of Parliament; but when the Bill was intended to apply to all criminal cases. should be printed he would be better able The Bill would confer upon a criminal to discuss its provisions, which, at present, court the power of granting appeal in three he was not certain that he distinctly unways first, by a new trial; secondly, by derstood from the hon. Member's statearrest of judgment; and, thirdly, by enter-ment. Great difficulty would be experiing a verdict for the prisoner. The judge enced in carrying into effect the details of before whom the appeal should come to be any measure on the subject; and it was apheard, would have power to assign counsel parent, from the hon. Member's remarks, and attorney to the prisoner; and the judge that he was aware of some of the difficulon the original trial would be empowered ties which he would have to encounter. to order that the prisoner should be fur-He begged the hon. Member would not appoint a very early day for the second reading of the Bill. He thought that any attempt to assimilate criminal proceedings to the proceedings in civil cases must altogether fail. In criminal cases the prisoner always had the benefit of any doubt that might exist; but there was no parallel circumstance in a trial of a cause between two litigant parties. Leave given. GAME CERTIFICATES. MR. COLVILE moved for leave to bring in a Bill to enable all occupiers of land, having a right to kill hares on that land, to do so by themselves, or persons authorised by them, without being required to take out a game certificate. It was well known that many persons occupied small plots of land lying contiguous to the game preserves of great men, and that before such persons were at liberty to protect their property, by killing the animals that were constantly coming upon their land and destroying the crops, they were obliged to pay a heavy tax by taking out a certificate. He had so prepared the Bill he wished to introduce that he believed the revenue would by no means suffer from it; he therefore hoped the Government would not oppose its being brought in. SIR G. GREY thought the proposal which the hon. Gentleman made a very reasonable one, and he saw no ground for opposing the introduction of the Bill. MR. STAFFORD complained of the conduct of the hon. Member for Manchester (Mr. Bright), who, having in 1845 and 1846 taken upon himself the task of legislating upon the subject of the game laws, had since suffered the matter wholly to rest. He (Mr. Stafford) had been requested by his constituents to bring forward a measure on the subject; but he told them that the question was in the hands of the hon. Member for Manchester, and that he should not like to poach upon the hon. Member's manor. That hon. Member had, however, suffered the report of his own Committee to pass by without any notice whatever; and so little did he appear to be interested in the question, that he even permitted the hon. Member for South Derbyshire (Mr. Colvile) to bring forward a Motion on the subject without thinking it necessary to be present. Let it be observed, therefore, that this measure for mitigating the rigour of the game laws did not emanate from a free-trader, but from an hon. Gentleman who belonged to the agricultural class. MR. BRIGHT had nothing to say in opposition to the present Bill. It was impossible a majority of the House, after all that had been stated and was known in connexion with the practice of the game laws, could consider such a measure sufficient to cure the evils that attended the existing system. However, the hon. Member for South Derbyshire knew extremely little of the practical working of those laws if he supposed that placing hares in the same category with rabbits would have any serious effect in putting a stop to the thousands of convictions that every year occurred in consequence of the infractions of the game law. It was, therefore, fully his intention, notwithstanding any measure of this limited nature, as soon as possible to introduce a Bill for the purpose of repealing the game laws altogether. He had, however, had his time occupied by other matters, particularly by the subject of the growth of cotton in the East Indies. But so soon as the Committee on that subject should close its labours, which he hoped would be within one month, he should then ask leave to bring in a Bill to repeal the laws concerning game. He should endea vour to establish this principle-that the law should not give any sanction or encouragement to the practice of preserving game in this country. Although there had been great delay since the report of the Committee on this subject, yet he did not believe the question had lost anything by that circumstance. The attention, both of the House and the country, had been more fully called to it, and it would now come forward for discussion with a much greater chance of success than if it had been brought forward in the last or preceding Session. MR. NEWDEGATE was glad to hear that the hon. Member for Manchester did not intend to oppose the introduction of the present Bill. With reference to the wider subject which the hon. Member had mentioned-namely, a total repeal of the game laws-he trusted the hon. Gentleman would fully consider this fact, that if he were to repeal the game laws many large districts in this country would remain unprotected. The game laws assisted very materially the rural police; and his conviction was, that if the game laws were repealed, large woodland districts especially would be left so unprotected as to make it absolutely necessary to enact a law on the subject of trespass infinitely more vexatious and onerous to the people of this country than the game laws. He thanked the hon. Member for South Derbyshire for | would be much more objectionable than the introducing this Bill, which he believed game laws themselves. would remove a great practical evil-the destruction of crops by game. MR. H. BERKELEY would certainly object to any proposal for the repeal of the game laws which deprived the owners or occupiers of property of protection against trespass; but if the hon. Member for Manchester, in proposing the repeal of the game laws, would afford some remedy to the owners of property against lawless trespassers, he would most gladly give the hon. Gentleman his aid. If, however, the hon. Gentleman intended to repeal the game laws, and thereby to expose the landed property of the country to the ravages of an armed and lawless mob, he would oppose him to the utmost of his power. MR. F. MAULE observed, that some years ago he had, in two successive Sessions, brought forward measures on this subject. One of those Bills, which passed the second reading, was intended to protect tenants from the very evils of which the hon. Member for South Derbyshire (Mr. Colvile) complained. The House, however, did not think fit to adopt the proposition he made, which was simply to give the tenant a right to obtain, from those who preserved game, particularly hares, compensation for any injury they might occasion to his crops. He had been told by a farmer that, upon a field of young grass in his occupation, 200 hares daily depastured, and that he reckoned that ten hares eat as much as one sheep. The House would see, therefore, that it was absolutely necessary, especially where hares were preserved, that some compensation should be given to farmers for the destruction they occasioned. He was most anxious to see a good feeling existing between landlords and tenants on this subject; and he was satisfied that the fair sport of a country gentleman, which might induce him to reside on his estate, would not cause any dissatisfaction on the part of his tenantry. He would support this measure, because he thought it would provide for the protection of the tenant, without disturbing the good understanding which ought to exist between the tenant and his landlord; but if the hon. Member for Manchester proposed the entire repeal of the game laws, without protecting the country gentleman by some law of trespass which would prevent persons from intruding upon his property and destroying his crops, he must say that he thought such a measure MR. AGLIONBY considered that the Bill of the hon. Member for South Derbyshire would operate beneficially, and he hoped it would be sanctioned by the House. The hon. Member for Manchester (Mr. Bright) had said that when he brought forward his measure for the total repeal of the game laws, he expected to receive the general support of hon. Gentlemen on that (the Ministerial) side of the House, founded upon the evidence adduced before the Committee which had been appointed to inquire into the subject in the last Parliament. He doubted very much whether the hon. Gentleman would find a strong feeling in his favour; but he was prepared to say that when the hon. Gentleman introduced his Bill he would give it his most attentive consideration, with a view to place the relations of landlord and tenant on a more satisfactory footing, and to remove some of those temptations which caused many of the poorer classes to become inmates of gaols. The hon. Member for Manchester had said that he thought there ought to be no game laws in so densely populated a country as this. He trusted the hon. Gentleman was not averse to maintaining the rights of property, and that he was not prepared to assert that persons ought to be authorised to trespass upon the land of their neighbours without restriction. SIR R. PEEL believed that the most effectual remedy for the evils attending the game laws would be a strong impression on the part of the landed proprietors that hares and rabbits in excessive quantities were very injurious to the produce of the soil, and a disposition to consent to some arrangement which would tend to diminish the excessive quantity of this description of game. He considered that such voluntary arrangements, made by the proprietors themselves, would lead to the preservation of other descriptions of game, with regard to which the same objections were not entertained. The true sportsman must feel that hares could give very little real amusement, and that they were chiefly kept for the amusement of metropolitan sportsmen, who found it difficult to kill anything else. With respect to the winged kinds of game, he apprehended the damage they did to the crops was very slight. He certainly thought the hon. Member for Manchester would find it a difficult matter to deal with the game laws, if he contemplated any infringe |