The royal assent was given by commission to the Irish custous bill.

The commissioners were the Lord Chancellor, the Duke of Montrose and Lord Walsingham.

Several private bills were forwarded in their respective stages, after which the house adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS,

TUESDAY, JULY 7.

Mr. Quarme, deputy usher of the black rod, appeared at the bar, and summoned the House to attend the bar of the lords, forthwith. The Speaker, with some of the members, accordingly attended, and after some minutes lapse, the Speaker returned and acquainted the House that the royal assent had been given by commission to the Irish customs bill.

Mr. Mellish gave notice that he would move the next day that a committee be appointed to consider the Jaws relating to oak bark.

Sir William Curtis presented a petition from the agents of the island of St. Domingo, on behalf of the inhabitants of the town of Mosseau, who had suffered from the late fire which happened there. Ordered to be referred to a

committee.

The parish apprentice bill was read a second time and committed for the next day.

Mr. Graham, the inspector of convicts, presented at the bar a report of the convicts employed on the river Thames, Two petitions were presented, complaining of a double return for the borough of Banbury, one complaining of the return of Dudley North, esq. and the other complaining of the return of Wm. Praed, esq. Ordered to be heard on Wednesday, the 23d of July.

A petition was presented from Edward May, esq. complaining of the undue return of James Craig, for the county of the town of Carrickfergus.

The Speaker informed the House that he had received a letter from George Galway Mills, esq. a member of that House; which he read to the House, and was in substance as follows:

SIR,

6th July, Temple-place, Blackfriars Road. I have to inform you, that previous to my being elected to serve in the present Parliament, for the borough of St. Michaels, in Cornwal, I was detained in custody of the marshal of the King's Bench prison, by virtue of a writ had on mesne proces. I have therefore, Sir, with due respect, to submit, through you, to the Honse, my claim to the privileges annexed to all its members, that I may not be now withheld fuem attending my duties in Parliament.

I have the honour to be, Sir, &c.

GEORGE GALWAY MILLS. The Chancellor of the Exchequer thought it right to refer to what the House had formerly done in a similar case, and proposed that the case of Mr. Steele in the year 1775, as it appeared on the journals, should now be read. Accordingly the clerk read at the table the proceedings on the 15th December, 1775, as entered on the journals; that the Speaker had acquainted the House that he had received a letter signed 1. Steele, from the Isle of Man, in substance as follows:

SIR, I find that there has been a call of the House. Not having seen a public paper for this some time back, I did not till now know of the call; but had I even been in due time apprized of it, it would have been impossible for me to have answered it in person, as I was under an obligation to attend a law court on account of a process for a debt which I have disputed. I applied to the duke of Portland. His grace consulted the attorney and solicitor general; who were of opinion, that the House was the best judge of its own privileges, and with respect to my case there were no precedents by which they (the counsel) could be borne out in giving an opinion.

I have the honour to be, &c.

H. STEELE.

It was then ordered by the House, that said letter should be referred to a committee of privileges.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer thought that, after what the House had heard, it would be better to pursue the same plan, and therefore moved that the letter of Mr. Mills be referred to a committee of privileges; that the several petitions presented to the House relative to the said G. G. Mills be submitted to the said committee; and that the said committee do sit the next day. Ordered.

POST

POST OFFICE IN IRELAND.

Mr. Parnell rose pursuant to the notice he had given, in consequence of a general and well founded complaint made throughout Ireland, of the embezzlement of bank notes in the general post-office, in Ireland. If a copy of the memorial, presented by the bankers of the city of Dublin, to the postmasters general for Ireland, should be laid before the House, as he hoped it would be, it would appear that the amount of half-notes of the bank of Ireland, put into letters and not delivered, was not less than 260,0001. The amount of the notes of private bankers, lost in the same manner, could not be exactly ascertained, but there was reason to think it not less considerable. It was true, the value may be recovered on the remaining halves of the notes, but that could not be done without. much delay and inconvenience, and the embarrassments. in the dispatch of business, in consequence of the violation of the security of the conveyance by post in a country now so much engaged in commerce as Ireland, was an incalculable mischief. He did not mean to impute blame to those at the head of the post-office: he hoped a remedy would be speedily applied, otherwise he would find it his duty to move for a committee to inquire into the matter. He moved that there be laid before the House a copy of the memorial of the bankers of Dublin to the postmasters general of Ireland, on the miscarriage of letters containing bank notes.

Sir Arthur Wellesley admitted the existence of the abuse complained of to a very great degree, and promised that every attention should be paid to remedy it. Measures were now under consideration, with a view to that object.

Mr. Beresford assured the House, that the conveyance by the post in Ireland was now much more insecure than it had been in the most disturbed times. Letters containing notes were almost uniformly opened, and pillaged of a part, or the whole of their contents, and then sealed up again. It had happened to him to have two letters opened, and the notes inclosed interchanged, so that those dispatched to the north went to the west, and those sent to the west went to the north. This could have taken place only in Dublin, the only place where they could have been together. In fact, some notes taken out of

letters

letters of his had been found in one of the apartments of the post office. It was acknowledged at the post office, that the apartment in which the sorters were was so small, and the persons so crowded, that they may secrete or open the letters without detection; and it was also acknowledged, that these persons were so badly paid, that it was only to the principle of indemnifying himself by robbing the letters, that any man could be induced to accept the employment.

Mr. Foster allowed, that though the statements that had been given were exaggerated, there was much real abuse which government had given its attention to, with a determination to lose no time in applying a remedy. The paper was ordered.

STANDING ORDER FOR THE EXCLUSION OF STRANGERS.

Mr. Sheridan said, no person was more disposed to respect the general standing order of the House than he was, and he was sure that when any member moved that any of these orders should be enforced, it was from the impul e of the best motives. The pr ceedings, however, which were sometimes adopted with respect to the standing order for the exclusion of strangers, seemed to him to require to be explained, and to be placed on more satisfactory grounds. When it was considered that strangers were, by the standing order never to be admit ted, no construction of that Standing order, could be interpreted into a right of commanding those to withdra, who were to be presumed not to be present. The words of the standing order, were not to admit strangers, and if any stranger intruded, the order provided that he should be taken into custody by the Serjeant at Arms. He did not think it right that a matter of such moment should be left in so undefined a state, and after what had happened yesterday it became more necessary than ever to come to a fixed understanding upon it. If the public was not to be allowed to know what the state of the nation was, it was hard to say what it should be allowed to know. He therefore gave notice, that he meant on Fri day to draw the attention of the House to that subject, with a view to ascertain upon what foting it was to be. He was sure nothing was more injurious than that any ground should be given to suppose, that the House of Commons

[COM Commons was saying or doing any thing which the pub lic may not know.

Mr. Dennis Browne was extremely sorry if any thing had fallen from him contrary to the general sense of the House. The fact was, that he had not moved that the galTery be cleared, but that hearing things fall from the hon ourable gentleman opposite (Mr. Whitbread), which he thought might be injurious, if suffered to go abroad, he thought it his duty to notice that there were strangers in the House; and it appeared, that when once such a deviation from the standing order was noticed, there was no discretion for him, or for the Speaker, or for the House, it must necessarily and immediately be enforced. "

The Speaker said, that as this matter was mentioned, he thought it his duty to state what was the present practice and usage of the House, and what, as being the usage, he thought it his duty to adopt and enforce, till it should be altered. Whether the Hanse should lightly alter a usage so established, would be for its consideration. From the standing order, forbidding the admission of strangers, it was clear they could be in the House only by suffer ance. For enforcing the exclusion, if necessary, the standing order directed that those bo intruded themselves should be taken into the custody of the Serjeant at Arms. But this he looked upon as a mode of getting rid of their presence if it should be an inconvenience, or if they should improperly come in, or persist in remaining. With respect to the obligation of enforcing the order, it was indispen able, if any member noticed the presence of strangers, he (the Speaker) had no choice, the House had no choice, they must be put forth. This was the ancient and established usage. If the House should be disposed to alter it, it would do well to consider whe ther any new practice that may be substituted would accord equally well with its dignity or its convenience.

Mr. Whitbread wished the ancient and established usage on this head to remain unaltered, for although he deprecated as much as his honourable friend the exclu sion of strangers, he was satisfied no new arrangement with respect to them would be equally conducive to the dignity and the convenience of the House. The right of excluding had been seldom exercised, and in the course of his experience he had never known it to be exercised with advantage. The exclusion of last night was particularly