cluded from them for the whole of one session and
the half of another: the committee being appointed in 1835, and not
making their report before 1836. Mr. O'Connell appears to have expected
the result of the inquiry, for he had provided himself with another
seat by making one of his underlings accept the Chiltern Hundreds: he
appeared during the session as the member for Kilkenny. Subsequently,
Mr. O'Connell presented a petition from certain electors of Dublin,
praying that Messrs. Hamilton and West should not be allowed to retain
their seats, on the ground that they had been connected with bribery;
but the report of the committee had stated that they were neither
directly nor indirectly implicated in such practices, and after
reading this report the house ordered the petition to be withdrawn. Mr.
O'Connell maintained that the petition must be received, because the
matter to which it referred had not come under the consideration of the
committee; but the attorney-general declared his opinion that it was one
which could not be received, and the speaker having given an opinion to
the same effect, it was withdrawn accordingly.

NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.

In consequence of the destruction of the two houses of parliament by
fire in October, 1834, a select committee had been appointed by the
commons, to consider all matters connected with the rebuilding of these
edifices. On their report an address had been presented to the crown to
appoint commissioners to receive plans, from which they were to
select not fewer than three nor more than five, to be submitted to
the committee. More than ninety plans had been sent in, and the
commissioners had selected four out of that number. On the 9th of
February the committee was renewed for the purpose of determining which
of these four ought to be adopted. This was followed by a motion of Mr.
Hume's, that it should be an instruction to the committee to consider
the propriety of removing the houses of parliament to another site. Mr.
Hume, however, only found forty-four members to vote for his motion,
while one hundred and forty-three voted against it. The committee thus
re-appointed made their report on the 16th of March. On that day they
recommended that an address should be presented to his majesty, praying
him to institute inquiries as to what would be the probable expense of
executing the plan which had been sent in by Mr. Barry, the architect.
The committee had not selected Mr.