The Express. — London, England, 1853-08-03 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS.—TVESDAT, ArGrst 2. The Luau CHANCEI.IOIItOOk his seat at 6 eckek PEIIIII9NS PRESENTED. roMNIN4ItuN ur WuIIILMIEN.—By the Eirl of CLA RENDON. tr m Manclwittr and SrHord, !mil :Cicr pacer, ecouplainour of the %ma itialactory state of th lan with selerenee to the combination of workmen. TI.ItKEY AND RUSSIA.—THE DANUBIAN PROVINCES. 'the M of CLANRICARDE—My lords, I wish to put a quetim to my noble friend the Sure t try for Foreign AGM* respectiag the reptht which be may hare to make with reference SO the Danubian provinces. It appears from Ilse reperts in the aewspopcn that the Russians arc in ea tire possession of the Danubian provinces. The report is part:near to which I elude states that the commander-ins also( of the lisissian forces had ordered the Ilospodu of Moldavia not to transfer any tribute to the P.-it's, and in formed him that any tribute paid to the Salt in must be paid over agaia to him. M ire thin this, it is it %tea that thou persons to whom the local adminis,r,'ion of the Gauntry is :minuted have 'acme ordered to ..a further eossmumesti in with Con dantinople. It .s Mi.:m:44lu that such aids as those can take place without I.adiog very' directly to events which we may all have UCCA-1311 to de plate. (Hear, Mar.) It is, there tare, of the hi/h..: inte rest to Ibis country and to this hoes' that we should tae put is possession of whatever iatinnotion can te off riled to as, without ancoovealessise to the public service. (Hear, hoes.) It is a matter of tliagreotest importance ; need l hold it to he impossible foe Europe, or France, or Eng:end, to submit to sub an estcasiou of territory in that direction by Ruins, awl each a elimbhtlon of the Turkish empire, without the g r and smut fearful consequences—(bear, hear)—not only to the happiness of Turkey, but to the material Ms. rests of all dames in E hope, but above all in Germany, Prune, and this country. (Hear, hear.) it is n matter on which ycur losiships must wish to have the fullest infur. motion • and, therelore, I hope my noble friend will not thiak me indiscreet if I ask him whether any such reports as thou to which I 114 f 3 referred have reached him 01- i:sally—namely, thu assumption of the :lovers ionty of the proviso* to which I allude by Raseia ? (Hear, hear.) The Earl of CLARLNDON—My lonic. so tar frau thinking that my noble fiiend has committed any bolster:y.- 00n upon the quccien which he hos now put, I can assure him that I t do so entirely the some view as ha does upon what would be the rs suit, not only to Tarkey, but to Europe, and more especially to this country, of any permanent alienation of that territory to w hich he :diodes from the Turkish empire, that I am glad be hot put to me this quest." in order that I may satisfy the public mind, as far as I am able, by giving my noble friend all the in humation of which I ens is possession. (cleer, hear.) By a despatch, dated the 17th of last month, I learn from Lord Strattcrd de RA .::ffe, that a urninunication had been mode by the Cossal-Lieneral of Russia to the llosps dar of Moldavia informing him that his reditionv with the Ottoman government were to cease, and that the trdiute usually transmitted to Constantinople was to be placed at the disposal of the Minion government, upon thogrcand, as it was stated, that although there existed no intention of sloth:ling the interest institutions of Moldavia, or el alter ing the existing order of things, yet that during the military occupation ut the province the action of the sovereign power was necessarily, though temporarily, suspended. I lave to state also that the Turkish gocerument expected to uccive similar information from the Hospudar of Wad- Ischia, but I have received a despatch this morning from the British Consul at Bucharest, Mr.Colquhoun, dated the 22nd of last month, which says that up to that time—al though it might hays been the evening before—no suds communication had been made by the Hapodu. Sash • communication, however, it was naturally cape ;ted by the Porte would be made to the ,Ilospodar of Wallachia, and it was the intention of the Porte, as soon as that communi cation had been received, to order the llospniari to with draw. and to cease their functions. (Ilene, hear.) And Lord Stratford de Redeligfe further added that, in that event, he should consider it highly improper that the British Consuls ia the Principalities should continue to ex• erase their functions. (Hear, hear.) I lost no time, my lords, in commurneating to Lord Stratford de Radcliffe the satire approval of her Majesty's government of the course he proposed to adopt. (" Hear, hear," from all tithe of the house.) I can only further inform your lordships that by • messenger who leaves London to-night, I shall instruct Sir Hamilton Seymour to demand t h e explanation to which we are entitled from the Russian governmeot, (Load cheers.) Other matters remain, my lords, pietty much the same as before. Lord LYNDHURST put a question to the noble earl, which was quite inaudible in the gallery, but in reply, Tb- Earl of CLAREN DON said that he had not received any information on the subject. SUMbIARY JURISDICTION (IRELAND) BILL.— PETTY SESSIONS (IRELAND) BILL. The reports ea the above bills were received with amend- C▪ O"RTS OF COMMON LAW (IRELAND) BILL. Ten bill went through committee. ENTAILS (SCOTLAND) BILL. Lord KINNAIRD moved the third reading of this bill. Certain amendments were proposed by the Doke of BUCCIALTII, which were assented to by the LORI" CYAN• natt.int, and the bill was read a third tame and passed. ENTRY OF SEAMEN BILL. This hill was read a second time. PUBLIC LIBRARIES (IRELAND AND SCOTLAND) BILL. On the motion of Lord Kinsman, the house went into committee u this bill. The Earl of DONOt'GIIMORE we. understood to move an amendment excluding I:eland for three months, on the ground that the minor corporations of Ireland were in so corrupt a state that any intIIPUTO like the present would inevitably be enaverted into a job in the earryiog out. Lewd MONTEAGLE warmly supported the bill, and said that there was no part of the United Kingdom i s which the taste for information had more increlacd of late pests than in Ireland. The Earl of WICKLOW had hoped that this bill would have snot no opposition in their lordship' house, minas that although an Irish bill, not one member of the other house had risen to oppose it. He believed it would be attended with the mom beneficial results. The Earl of DONOUGHMORE withdrew his amend ment, sad the bill passed through committee. STAMP DUTIES (No. 2) BILL. This bill was road • third time and passed. The Turnpike Ants Continuance, and the Highway Rates Bills severally pissed through committee. The Resilient Magistrate., Inland; Turnpike Trusts Arrangements; Sheep Contagious Diseases Prevention, Bills, were severally read a third time and passed. The Sheriffs Court (Scotland) Bill was reported, with amendments, as were alto the Election.' 818, and the Burgh Harbor. Bill. CHICORY. Lord TORRINGTON, in rising to present • petition from the merchants and planters of Ceylon, complaining of the treasury miaow which permitted the mixture of chi cory with coffee, said that the petitioners complained of the great injury doss to their trade by the rescinding of the missile of the late government, known as the Derby minute, and prayed that if the present minute were not rescinded, the duty on chicory and coffee might be itioalistsl, and thus • fag competition be established io open market. The differ ence between the minutes of the late and present govern ment we. this. The Derby minute permitted the sale of chicory by grocers, but provided that it should be made up in separate parcels and labelled. The minute of the present government permitted its being kept louse, and per its mixture with cuff..., provided it wax called a immure. He had seen these packajvis analysed, and found that respectable traders contented themselves with adding 2 - ) per cent. of chicory to the coffee, but that is ..nine emits 70, SO, and even 90 per cent. was added. This was called the mixture, and was sold it. sue,E. but was in feet nothing more or Ices than dandelion, and was proved to be very min/ions to the constitution. It did appear to him that if the government were deterintutd to permit the Mixture, they should. at bast, fix the quantity, as it was said that under the prevent system the small party of per sons who had influenced, the Chancellor of the Exchequer were making the enormous sum of 1,203,0001. a year. It was a rem akiblo feet that immedi. ately after the promulgation of the Daisy minute the consumption of coffee increased, and that it de clined when that minute was rescinded. People all over England were usable to get pure coffee, and he wished to learn from the governucnt whether it was their :attention to carry out their own minute vigorously and afectually, and also whether, at some future day, perhice ii. the nest newton of parliament, they would grant committee of Inquiry. lho Earl of ABERDEEN—I should be !ippj to see an end of the great chicory question—(laughtor —which he. occupied the attention of Parliament fur so ;onv, and upon which there has been a great difference o: orinion. I must say that the noble lord in the statement which he has made has been guilty of very great inaccuracy in many respects. My herds, in the lint place, the alteration mode b the Treasury minute to which he has n fern d was ren dered' necessary by the incanei nience, the hardship, Rod the diM. comes to which the common people of this country were exposed by the sale of coffee as directed by the minute of the late government. 'l be noble lord says —this is the first , time that I have heard such an swerVon—that chicory is an injurious iubstanoe. Why, my lords, half the coffee in En rope is chicory—(laudliter)--especially the South of l i France. I will venture to say that in tLc South of France the quantity of chicory that IS used is twice as great as the quantity of coffee. At all events, it is certainly anything but • deleterious sa'•atitute; and it is preferred, rightly preferred, by the uses of coffee driaken. Your lordships probably prefer pure coffee— (lmighter)—but the great male of consumers prefer the mixture. New, bow can you enable dealers to mix the two substances ? Not as was auerapted by the minute of the late government, which made separate packets necessary. Coffee when ground rem iiued as • Port of powder, while chicory Leconte in the packet • soft of solid cake; and as it I was impossible for patties to mix them themselves, it be. ' came necessary that they sheuld be ground in order that the milieu.' might exist. Another reason was the expense. If a poor man came fir an cunce of coffee and en ounce of chicory, rho making • packet of each aches& greatly to the expense, trouble, and difficulty of furnishing bim with what be required ; and therefore the great mass of the common people infinitely preferred having the mixture mule for them. The noble lord says that tie matter has been neglected. lb* re guletion under which chicory is permitted to be sold is, that • label shall be distinctly placed on the packet stating that it is • mixture of coffee and chicory. 11. p retends to i:osbt that the penalty is in curred if coffee is sold without that label. No such doubt can possibly exist. If the label be not distinctly affixed the seller is undoubtedly liable to the penalty. But the noble lord has gone further ; he has, I must say, in the most un warrantahle manner, insinuated that of of the highest t respectability have neglecte d their duty and guilty of • sort of complicity in fraud. (Hear, hear.) To show how truly the exiting minute has been carried mat, I will read to your lordships • Mum of the prosecutions under that very provision which the noble lord contends is of so little efficacy. "There ere upwards of 130,000 persons licensed to deal in coffee in this country, and each of them has hems served with a copy of the enclosed general orders. The officers of the board have made 2,5 a special visits for examination, buying samples, which have been &ellipses& at the laboratory, and on which 474 prosecutions have been instituted, not a siugle prosecu tion without a conviction." N.w, I think your Imuships will adroit that that at low shows t hat there has been a:ti vity and honesty in eerrying out the provisions of this Trea sury minute. (Hear.) I can only pay that the accusation or insinuation against the pr per conduct of these officers is utterly calumnious, and has no aunt of foundation. The n be lord mentioned a particular dealer whose name I fordo'. Viscount TORRINGTON—John Cassell. The Earl of ABERDEEN—Exactly—whom the noble lord supposed to have been specially favoured by the autho• reties, and to have had a lie. use from them to sell collie without the prescribed label. Naw, I learn from the beat authority, namely t►e head of the department, that the toffee of that man has been reputedly analysed and has been fiend to be pure. Therefore he sold that which he professed to sell. The noble lord made a statement as to the amount to which consumption has been diminished. Now I have here a return of the quantity of coffos taken out for home consumption in the three months ending the sth of July, 1843, as compared with the mama period of the pr emium year. The quantity in 1842 was 8,000,0001bn.; the quantity is 1853 was 8,977,0000 m, an increase of nearly 1,040,01101 be. Viscount TORRINGTON said the returns to which be hail referred extended up to the sth of June ; he had uonc latcr. The E Ifl Or ABERDEEN—But I have; and an increase of I,ooi ,000Ihs. shows thst under the present minute there has been no diminution. Now, the fact is, that chicory is a substance which, up to last year—up to the passing of the minute of the late government—was, I believe, used with out any restriction whatever. Friar the year 1840, up to the year he lore last, it was le ft to dealers and the public to please themselves with re:ard to the use •of this mixture. There seems to have been no restriction, and chicory was not considered in the nature of an adulteration. The in itter which has been mixed with coffee is not, as the noble lord has stated, a spurious substance, but one which, if I were obliged to characterise it, I should say was roller salu tary than otherwise—(laughter);—and for this reason it was left open for the public and the dealers to do as they pleased. The restriction made last year was found practi cally impossible, or at leant practically inconvenient, to execute, in consequence of its increasing tho trouble and expense, and also p ing the possibility of the mixture taking place, from the different description of the substance when ground sod packed in the manner that was necessary. The Chancellor of the Exchequer inquired most deliberately and extensively before he issued the present minute, and was governed solely by a desire to meet the public demand, and to suit the publin convenience, particularly of the lower classes; and, notwithstanding the expression of • contrary opinion, I am cenvineed that the great body of consumers in this country of the lower orders have every reason to be sa7i,tied with the minute at present existing. (Rear.) The Eul of MALMESEL RY said that since the minute of the late was superseded by that of the present government he had heard no sufficient reason assigned for the chase,. Lord MIA RNCLIFFE entirely concurred in the noble viscouut'e object, and hoped that in the neat session the whole matter would form the subject of inquiry. Lord BEAUMONT said, having listened with great at tention to the statement of the noble viscount, he must say that he had subsequently heard nothing from the noble earl to upset it (Hear, hear.) The Duke of ARGYLL said it mieht be a great eonve 'fleece sad saving of trouble to the pcor man to have the coffee and chicory mixed for him. The Earl of WICKLOW hoped either that there would be a return to the Treasury minute of the last government, or that the government would institute an inquiry neat year. Lord MONTEAGLE was sorry that the noble lord who introduced the subject hsd thought fit to make an unwar rantable attack on public Permits. (Hear, bear.) Viscount TORRINGTON denied that he had made any attack. He distinctly stated that he did not bring any charge against any persons. All be said was that there was a feeling out of doors that certain public servants had not done their duty to the public in the matter. Lord MONTEAOLE was glad that he had obtained such a disavowal from the noble lord. Lord REDESDALE said that the growers and salvers of chicory mast have some great and undue influence on the government, because chtcdry was the only article in favour of which the law which prohibited and punished the mix ture and sale of a sputtoas matter was suspended. lie thought that there ought to he an inquiry. The subject then dropped. IRISH LANS BILLS. The Earl of DoN01;01IMORE wished to know when the Irish land measures, which were of great importance to the tw:ders of property in Irtland, would be fined. The Duke of NEWCASTLE said that he would fix the second reading of the L indlord and Tenant Bill and the Tenant Compensation B:11 kr TuPsday next. The Berl of DONOUGIIMORE—And the Leasing Powers Bill 7 The Duke of NEWCASTLE said he would fla that oho for Tuesday. The E tit of WICK LOW wi,hed to know when the Land Improvement Bill which stood for a third reading would be taken. istount CANNING thought it would be better to take the second reading of the other bills before proceeding with the third reading of the Lsod Improvement Bill. After a few words from the Earls of Wicatow and DoMOVOMMORI, Lard MON TRAGLE thought the better course to pur sue would be, to discuss the two bills together, on the night which had been already named, and leave the third read ing i.f the other bill to stand until the two bale in question had been disposed of in the winner suggested by the noble viscount. After a few words from the Earl of CLANCAMTY and Lord DoNovcanoas the coeversetion dropped. Their lordships then ao.journed shortly attar 8 o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS.-TUESDAY, Aix. 2. The Smazza took the chair at 12 o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Lords' amendments to the West London and Crystal Patce Railway Bill were considered and agreed to. The following bills were mod a third time and passed : Archbishop of Canterbury's Estate Bill; Richmond (York shire) Burgsge Pastures Bill ; Sated Park Estate Bid. Jesus College Estate Bill and Wa►d Jackson's Estate Bill, ware considered and ordered to be read a third time. THE EXPRESS, WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 3, 1853 . Mr. HENLEY thought it wu hardly fair to press this matter as it ems so sear the !loss of adjournment. . . Lord J. RUSSELL would withdraw this proposal for the present with the permission of the committee. The azaendroent was then erithdrawn.vand the cisme, together with the remaining elegem of the bill, agreed to. The house then resumed, and the chairman reported pro gress, the repart being ordered to be brcught up on Thurs day nest. NAVAL COAST VOLUNTEERS BILL. Two amendments to this bill, proposed by Sir J. Gas st►tt, were agreed to. The house adjourned until six o'clock. The house resumed at six o'clock. Mr. VILLIBItS brought up the report of the Public bosses Committee, which was ordered to lie on the table. PUBLIC BUSINESS. CHARITABLE TRUSTS BILL. . _ . On the order of iiteLilorgolnii;toeolniittee on this bill, I ord J. RUSSELL, in =wing that the Speaker do leave the chair, said he did not think it necessary to maks any statement to the house with respect to the general object of the bill, but it was right that he should' state that be was sorry to find, upon inquiry, that there was one kind of charities—namely, the Roman catholic charities—which would not be included in this measure. Placing Roman catholic charities under the body created by this bill without some special pro vision might ultimately lead to questions which would antet their existence. Ile did Lot propose that, how ever, with the view of omitting them permanently from the operation of this law, because he thought the Roman catholic* themselves would find great benefit from buries all their charities placed under the super intendence of • body of this kind, hut to do that would require a separate bill, with msoy special provisions which might imete a great deal of discussion in the house; and for the present, therefore, he simply pro posed to insert a clause in this bill exempting Roman catho lic charities from its operation. It now only remained fur him to move that the Speaker do leave the chair. The motion was then agreed to, and the house went into committee accordingly. The clauses up to 59 were agreed to, with some amend ments. I, you clause 60, Lord J. RUSSELL Tele to propose an amendment for the purpose cf giving some folic! to the Roman catholic... Several persons of that persuasion had expressed an &lariat epos the graund that the ;4w with respect to superstitious uses was such that many Rumen catholic eh ;rims would not stand • strict iagairy if brought before a Court of Chancery or other comp. tint court, most of these charities not having been reeistered under Lard Ilardwicke's act. His own opinion was that the provisions of the.e acts ought to apply, to the Roman c charities. (Hear). But then it would be seawall to amend the law relating to superstitious wes. Uad.iubt illy institutions in conformity with Raman catholic worship and religion were p u rp o se, to 1 which Raman catholic& might justly apply their money. In ace ,rdanca with this view, a bill wu brought i s some years since by his right bon. friend the present Master of the , It ills, for the purpose ef reforming the law with reaard to superstitious uses, but ;t had never been passed. With a view, however, to legi‘liting at a future time upon this subject—(hear, hear)-9e pr.pased to nil.l a few words to the end of this clause excepils.g lt , tman eutholics front the provisions of the bill. Mr. H.tDFIELD said that the mortmain haw was full of difficulties. It was not the catholic& only who wire in this position, but the whole of the inhabitants of the coun try. The noble lord's proposition did not go far enough ; he trusted that the male lord tonlti take the whole matter leather into consideration. RUSSIA AND TURKEY. Lord D. STUART a iid there bad been for some time on the books of the house a notice of a motion, relating to the settlement of the Eastern question, in the name of Mr. Lay ard. He had more than once shown a desire to bring this im• portant question before the house ; but he had waived his in tention in consequence of the wishes of the government, who thought it would be inconvenient to the public service for the que.tion to be debated in parliament at that time. Some time had since elapsed ; negotiations bad gone on and were going on, both in this country and in all the courts of Europe, in relation to the differences between Russia and Turkey. lie did not ask the government now to fix a day when the subject might be discussed ; but be wished to know whether the noble lord would, before the 'proroga tion of parliament, which could not b., very long delayed, set apart a day when Mr. L iyard might make his motion, and when the subject might be di-cussed, or, at lesst, when the government would be prepared to lay a statement before the house, and explain to the house and the country the present state of oar mimic= with the different powers of Europe. _ . . . Lord J. RUSSELL—On the last occasion when this im portant sultjeet was mentioned, the house concurred with the government in thinking that it was not desirable to have • discussion in the present stage of the business. I am quite ready to give my noble friend and the house all the information that it is at present in my power to give. (Hear, hear.) When the ambassador of his Majesty, the Emperor of Russia, left Constantinople, it appeared to her hlajesty's government that it was desirable that there should be • conference of the representatives of all the great powers of Europe, in order to arrive at the terms which might put an amicable termination to the difference between Russia and the Sublime Porto. It was the opinion of the government of Austria that it was not desirable to have any such conference while the mat's'. remained in the state of diplomatic relation•, and that it would not be desirable to have such a conference unless the Emperor of Russia, by invading the principalities, should for a time, indeed, have disturbed the statue yew of Europe. When that event occurred, the government of the Emperor of Austria, in conformity with its previous declaration, declared its wil lingneu to hold a conference at Vienna, and it summoned the representa.ives of the four other great powers of Europe to attend, fur the purpose of • conference on the affairs of Russia and Turkey. The miniatcr of his Majesty the Emperor of Russia did not attend ; but the ministers of England, of France, and of Prussia attended that con ference. Certain terms were then agreed upon, which, in the opinion of the representatives of the four powers, might be accepted with honour by the two governments of Turkey and of Russia. Those terms have been assented to by the governments of England and France; ■nd, according to our belief, have been transmitted from Vienna to Peters burg and Constantinople. In this state of the question the house will, I think, feel that the reasons are now not less strong than before for abstaining from discussing this question ; and that it is quite impossible for me either to say that it is desirable to have a dis cussion on these affair., or to Sc a day for it. (Hear, hear.) As to the rut, when the time for the prorogation of parliament approaches, the government will be rady to give every information on the subject which they possibly can. (Hear, hear.) Mr. DlSRAELl—Considering the anxiety felt upon this matter, perhaps the noble lord will be good enough to state whether there is any particular time when the government are induced to believe that an answer will be returned from Constantinople. Lord J. RUSSELL—I should not like to be ruporeible for naming any particular time. One does not know bow many days the reapective governments will take to consider a proposition of this nature. I should think the proposition might have left Vienna probably on Sunday last ; theraore the right hon. gentleman can calculate for himself when an answer may probably be expected. (Hear, hear.) Mr. DISRAELI—The noble lord says that the proposi tion agreed upon at Vienna has received the approbation of the government of England and the government of France. Am I right in the inference, which I drew at the time, that it has also receivel the approval of the govern ments of Austria odd of Prussia ? Lord J. RUSSELL—The proposition in fact was an Austrian proposition, although it came originally from the government of France ; and no doubt the government of Prussia has likewise conscs.ted to it. CRIMINAL CODS OF MALTA Mr. KINNAIRD inquired of the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether there was any objection to lay on the table of the house, so much of the Criminal Code of Malta, tranfnaitteil to and lying at the Colonial Office to be laid before her Majesty for approval, as related to the punishment to be inflicted fur offences against the respect due to religion ? Mr. F. PEEL could not enter into any engagement upon the subject at present. Mr. KINNAIRD hoped the government would give him an opportunity:of bringing the question before this house be fore the close of the session. THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. . Mr. HUME called attention to the memorial presented from the Royal Geographical Society on 13th May, for rooms for the runtime of their institution. The CHADVJELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied that his noble friend at the head of the government had with the strongest sympathy in the objects of the society, taken the request contained in their memorial into his con sideration, but he (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) was not in a coniition at present to say what measures might be adopted. There were many circumstances which made it difficult in the present session to make the provision re quired, but he begged to be allowed to take that opportu. nity of acknowledging publicly the merits of the society, and, the claims it had upon the consideration of the govern ment for such aid as could he reasonably given to assist it in carrying on its operations. (Hear, hear.) ELECTION PETITION COMPROMISES. Mr. 17151.i&imbi 7:8;,T;:p;;;;;;;;oF his notice, to call the attention of the house to the present defective state of the law (or the trial of controverted election petitions founded upon the report of the e , mmittee appointed to inquire into the withdrawal of the Norwich election peti tion. The only effectual cure for this system was, he thought, to provide that no election petition, when once presented, should be withdrawn, at all events unless an other petition were presented, explaining the reasons of such withdrawal, and signed by the parties who were the parties to the original petition, and in that cam the peti tion to be allowed to withdraw should be referred to the officer of the house to examine into the motives sad grounds of the withdrawal, who should report to the house. He also suggested that the money for the recognisance, to the amount of 1,0001. should be lodged in the Bank of Eng land, which would afford some security that the petition was bona fide, and would avoid the tedious legal examina tions which now took place before the examiner of recogni sance,. lie trusted that the whole subject would receive the serious attention of the government, in order that they might not have this scandalous system acted all over again by their election agents, in the event of another general elec tion. Lord J. RUSSELL would not enter into the subject of the Norwich petition ; but with regard to the subject the hos. gentleman had brought under discussion he agreed with him that there was great abuse in the withdrawal of election petitions under the existing law. (Hear, hear.) And he bud to Mite further that the matter would be maturely consi lend by the government, and that a bill for the amendment of the present law (or regulating the trial of controverted elections had been already drawn, and after consideration (end there were some important details which required to be considered carefully) would be introduced in the next session of parliament. (Cheers.) THE METROPOLITAN POLICE. Lora D. SI DART called attention to a motion he had on the paper fir a select committee to inquire into the cost, maintenance, and general administration of the metropoli tan police. He complained that the cost of the police had ituressed by 100,0001. within the last five years. The number of police had been increased by nearly 2,000, there being now 5.500 men in the force. The inhabitants of the metropolis did not think it necessaty to have so large a force, and the metropolis was not a bit better watched ■aw than it u.ed to be when there were fewer men and the expense was It es. Fur these and other reasons which be could bring I rward he thought there was very good ground for a select committee, but of course he should not move fur it on the 2nd August. The government had prevented him from bringing forward his motion at an earlier period, and all be could say was, that ho would try it agent, neat session, and bring on his motion eta still earlier period. THE CASE OF TILE PARSEE MERCHANTS. Mr. J. 0. PIIILLIMORE rue to move—" That an humble address be presented to her Maje.ty, preying that the will be:graciosisly pleased to cause the case and memeto' of the Parsee merchants Jevanjee Metjee and Pestonj. e Merjee to be referred to the examination and direction of the Judicial Committee of her Majesty's Privy Council." He described the case of these ntereb ints, who were native subjects of the British government, and bad had the ma nagement of certain cotton districts in Berar, in the tern• tunes of the Nisam, u the met cruel, short of injury to life er limb, that had ever come before Parliament. They complained, he said, that in spite of solemn decla rations and instruments deliberately signed, they had been gr 'ssly wronged by the Nii,lll, and the East India Company ban: not only not interfered for their protection, but were at this moment in possession of the very lands upon the mortgage of which they had advanced money to the Nizam, and that money had beta expended almost exclusive', for the en ppart of the contingent, composed of troops of the Company themsel vet. In support of hit motion, Mr. Phillimore entered at much length, and with great minuteness, into the particulars of the pecuniary transaction' betwi en the merchants and the Nizam, and their corresp ondence with his mininer, Chun doo Lall, and the Britis h resident at Ilydenbid had stated that the balance due to the merchants was 20,0001. In considering the law of the case, be argued that, by every code, hypothecation carried its burthen with it ; that even bad these persons been subjects of the Nizam, instead of being British subjects, the Bast India Company, baring come into posussion of the di s tricts in question subject to all the Nisam's obligations, were legally liable to this un disputed debt. —...—.. . . . . lifr. J. A. SMITH said he had devoted some little time and pains to the subject, and done his best to ascertain the truth of the facts alleged, and be should be deficient in fair ness and honour to these unfootunate petitioners if he shrunk from stating his conviction on the subject. He implored the house to recollect that these petitioners had no live ex cept from the jnstice of that house, and no chance of redress except from that indignation against cruelty and wrong which had ever so nobly distinguished the British House of Commons. Sir C. WOOD said nothing could be further from his in tention than to impeach the character of the petitioners, or to say that they were not well worthy of every considera tion, but he was under the necessity of discharging a painful duty to show, as be thought he should show before he sat down, that there were grounds why the house should resist this appeal to their feelings. lie had no wish to dispute the main facts which had been stated, but he disputed the colouring with which the two hon. gentlemen bad given to them. Allow him to remark, in the first place, that the claim of these parties was against the Nisam, it was the Nisam who had wronged them. The British government—he included the government of India—owed these Bargees nothing, and had done them no wrong; and the question was, were we to interfere to coin pel the Niaatu to jay them ? He had no doubt the Nisam owed the money, though he denied it himself, and said they htd received more from his territory than he owed them. The first ground for interference was that there was a gua rantee by the British government. Now , _ M their own memorial, they said their request to the Bombagovern ruent, before lending the money, was in these wor d: "We request you will be pleased to extend such attention to the petitioners as you may think proper." These words surely did not bear out the assertion of the honourable gentleman, that the British resident at Ilyderabad was requested to interfere and settle all disputes between the Nisam and the petitioners. lie (Sir 1 1. Wood) having gone into the circumstances of the case, felt bound to say that both the Board of Directors and himself, to whom it had been referred, had come to the unanimous decision that the view taken both by Lord Hardinge and Lnrd Dalhousie, namely, that the government ought not to interfere, was the just and correct one. Mr. 11. G. LIDDELL contended that the petitioners had acted as allies to the British government, and were en titled to their support. Mr. D. SIiYaIOUR said the arguments of Sir C. Wood were ingenious, but unsound. Sir J. HOOO admitted the high character of the claimants, who had been engaged in trailing in Bombay. They went to the states of the Nisam and col lected his revenue on commission. It was quite understood in India that persons so situated should be ready to make large advances. They did a), and to enable tin in to make such advances borrowed money at a high rate of interest. 'their creditors became importunate, and the claimants got an assignment of some lands. This was the old story of the Niacin. Ile borrowed money from everybody and paid nobody. His habit was when the cre ditors became importunate to assign to them a portion of his lands, and when be thought they had had them long enough to repay themselves he seat his ltohillas or Arab bay.ds, to tura them cut. This bad been the case with these gentlemen, who went into the Nium's territory with their eyes open to his system, and prepared to take the risk for the sake of the advantagre. He trusted that the house would not sanction a doctrine which was opposfd to the policy that had been pursued for the last sixty or seventy years, which was condemned by the recital of every act of parliament, and which Lori. Hardiuge, Lord Daihousie, and the home government had all rejected Mr. BRIGHT hoped that the result of this discussion wouli be that the matter would be referred to a competent tribunal. Sir R. INGLIS concurred with the hon. member for Manchester, namely, that there ought to be a tribunal for the investigation of matters of this kind. (Hear, hear.) lie did not think that a reference of the question to the Judicial Committee could lead to any practical result. Mr. WIGRAM said that there could be no doubt as to the efficiency or competency of the tribunal in this instance, because the Judicial Committee were appointed to consider not only cases of appeal, but also such other matters as her Majesty might think fit to refer to them. (Hear, hear.) Mr. HUME thought no one could have listened to this debate from the commencement, as he had done, without being satisfied of the absolute necessity for inquiry in this ease. Mr. 0. BALL had listened attentively to this de'Ate, and with an anxious desire to arrive at a just conclusion upon the case, and he must say, that upon the whole he saw no reason why the claim of these gentlemen ought not to be satisfied. Mr. MANGLES thought the hon. member for Cam bridgeshire had entirely mistaken the condact and functions of the home government. The reason these gentlemen were not told that their claim would not be entertained by the government of India, was not for the purpose of getting rid of them, as the hon. member for Cambridgeshire seemed to suppose, but it was because the home govern ment made it a practice not to intetfere principally is these matters. The house thee divided— For toe motion Fur the ameucloscut 69 . Majority against Mr.Phillimore'e amendment 42 The of supply was postponed to Thursday. UNIVERSITIES (SCOTLAND) BILL. The order of the day for the third reading of this bill having been read, and the bill haring been read a third time, Mr. CRAUFURD proposed to strike out the second and third clauses, and to modify the remaining clauses, his ob ject being to omit the declaration which had been substi tuted in the bill for the test. Lord J. RUSSEL'''. wu sorry the hon. gentleman bad adopted a course which was beginning to creep into the practice of the house, and which was very ieconvenient— that was, after a bill had passed through committee and been reported, to make the third reading a third committee, and endeavour at that stage to alter the wording of clauses. But, in the present case, it was proposed to alter the whole framework of the bill, and, out of 7 clauses, to omit two. The house had decided that instead 0! a test of opinion there should be a declaration of conscience ; and the effect of the hon. gentleman's amendment would be to alter the whole character of the bill in this respect. After a few words frotn Mr. DUNLOP and Mr. NEWDIC OATS, . . Mr. CRAUFURD withdrew his motion, end the bill passed. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN FACTORIES This bill was read a thin) time and paned. DRAINAGE OF LANDS (IRELAND) ACT AMEND MENT BILL. This bill was read a third time and paned. COLONIAL CHURCH REGULATION BILL. On the motion for the second reading of this bill, Lord J. RUSSELL said he could not agree to the bill in its present shape. His hon. and learned friend the Solicitor- General had prepared some clauses, which ho thought would attain the object desired ; and he proposed to post pone the second reading till Monday. Mr. A. KINNAIRD protest ml against proceeding with the bill at this period of the session, and objected to the government supporting a measure interfering with colonial legislatures, contrary to the principle they laid down at the beginning of the session. Ile should oppose the bill strongly, and he moved that it be read a second time that day three mnnths. . . ggAfter some conversation, the motion was put and ne gatived ; the effect of which is that the bill is lost fur the session. PUBLIC WORKS (IRELAND) BILL. On the motion for going into committee on this bill, Cul. DUNNE asked whether the works were to be pre sented in the ordinary way in Ireland. Sir J. YOUNO gore a brief saplanation of the provisions of the bill. _ _ _ After a few words from Mr. Mrcartney, Mr. I. Butt (who moved the adjournment of the debate), Mr. George, and Sir It. Ferguson, . . Sir J . YOUNG consented to the adjournment of the debate. _____ DUBLIN CARRIAGE BILL. This bill ma rend a third time and passed. SMOKE NUISANCE ABATEMENT (METROPOLIS) BILL. This bill pas.ed through committee, with an amendment from Sir B. Hall, deferring the operation of the bill till the 31at of December. Mr. A. PELLATT said he gave his full adherence to the principle of the ball, but he was convinced that its pro visions could not be carried out without putting an end to many of the works in Lambeth. Ile would propose an amendment on the first clause, to insert in three places the words "steam engine." Lord PALM ERSION said if the bill was confined simply to steam engines it would not put a stop to those numerous volc►noes which were now poisoning London. After a eons, rsatinn, Lard PALMERSTON consented to report progress, and fix the neat sitting of the committee for Thursday next, in order that in the meantime further inquiries might be made respecting the OWLS furnaces. LAND TAX COMMISSIONERS NAMES BILL. ISM bill pursed through eommittee. TURNPIKE ACTS CONTINUANCE BILL. _ 8111 nad a thirst time and passed. CUSTOMS CONSOLIDATION BILL. This bill was committed pro forma, and some amend ments were inserted. INSURANCE ON LIVES BILL. This hill went through committee. MATRICULATION TESTS AT THE UNIVERSI- TIES. Mr. HEY WOOD, in niovrng for leave to bring in this bill, stated that his object was to abolish matriculation tests at the universities. An lion. MEMBER moved that the house be counted, when, forty members being present, Mr. HEYWOOD resumed, and moved for Irave to bring in the MlL__ . . Sir R. INOLIS opposed the motion. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER expressed his hope that the hon. member wcuid not press his motion to a division. Mr. HEY WOOD withdrew his moticn, and postponed the bill until next session. The remaining orders of the day were disposed of, and the house adjourned at a quarter to 3 o'ciock. Mr. Beaumont has paired, till the end of the session for government, with Mr. Chariee Colvile, against. git, erpreligs. TO CORRESPONIDENTS, +baud Millie et" Toe }Apnea.' emtamaizta the town entire'. " Gentle," se pubilotted crosy lunda7 and Friday ■ighy 32 Low for pet it,otoreterentnterlA for "The F.:prey," Loudon Entire paper. abet be at eke Office, IJ, Bouverie-nreet, S 7 Two o'..:lock on at lay of cublnaUon. RIOR WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. Tam DAT—Morning. Ob. 361 , Afternoon. lb. I'm. Aft. rgoon. 2411. T Aaroascw—MortusF. lb. 4 :in. LONDON, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3. HOWEVER pertinacious the refusal of an English Cabinet to indicate their policy, they cannot very long succeed in maintaining a mystery it is hardly consti tutional to preserve. Lord JOHN RUSSELL last night let out a few words about Russia and Turkey : he may be glad before long to tell more. For weeks all England has been deeply anxious to know how we really stand about the Eastern question. Such anxiety is most natural, most patriotic, most honest. For the CZAR to break Treaties which fix the frontiers of the different countries of Europe is to peril the peace of the world. England as a party to those treaties—and as a nation, having commercial relations with every one of the states affected by them—has, probably, a greater interest, a greater stake, involved than any of the rest. Hence the popular desire to know our true position is all the better founded. Hue ing a con stitutional Government, and unaccustomed to submit to silent and despotic dealings with public interests, the nation has been impatient to know what posi tion the ABERDEEN Cabinet has adopted on the Turkish question. What the Ministry ottyla to have done in the matter has never apparently been doubted. We have signed treaties guaranteeing the integrity of the Turkish Empire; we have trading I interests which bind us equally with treaties to op pose anything like Russian aggression ; we have honest impulses inducing us to revolt against the ex tension of the worst of European despotisms. By honour, by interest, and by feeling, we are urged to oppose the encroachments of the Autocrat. But whether or not the English Ministry has adopted the evident views of the English people has been carefully concealed. Week by week the desire to dissolve this silence has grown stronger and stronger. Each time that Mr. L.tYARD proposed to bring the Eastetn question before the House of Com ! mons the popular interest was excited to the utmost, —only to be disappointed. The Min iatry would make no sign. Russia printed and circulated her State met sages ; France allowed theMoniteur to place before the world the response of her Foreign Minister to the pretensions of the ei %R ; the Porte published her replies to Russia in the Journal r!( CongtanlinVe. Nobody kept Europe in doubt but Lord ABERDEEN. England, who in the event of war would have to pay the piper more liberally than any one else, is alone held in prebend ignorance of what her officials are about. Mystery has long been de clared the parent of deception,—too often of fraud, —and this Ministerial mystery has been produc tive of suspicions most dangerous to that honest confidence, by which alone a Cabinet can long rule a country. And all the more mischievous has this state of dumbness been in its operation cn the present Ministry, inasmuch as the ignorance it has sought to foster has gained in other quarters the information that a bold and upright Government should have been the very first to afford. Whilst officials have been inert, journalists have be e n ac ti ve . Every event abroad has been made known iu Eng land. Every act of Russia in the Principalities, every step towards the concentration of Austrian troops on the Saave, Las been chronicled, and in the discussion on these events the former obligations of Emperor Fn SISCIS to Czar NICHOLAS have not been omitted from consideration. The ancient political career of Lord ABERDEEN has likewise been taken into account, and coupled with his recent hesitation to give Russia prompt indication of English views, by sending our fleet to the Dardanelles, has induced an evil im pression throughout the country;—an impression likely to be confirmed by the obstinate refusal on the part of the Government to indicate the policy they have thought fit to adopt. The upright have seldom any thing to conceal; and concealment has already told heavily against Lord ABERDEEN. The latest attempt to break through the pertina cious silence of Ministers was made last night by Lord DUDLEY STUART. He urged the present leader of the House of Commons to fix a day for ascertaining the views of Parliament on the Eastern question. Lord JOHN RUSSELL refused to name any day for such purpose; but could not well avoid giving his version of the diplomatic steps taken—stel.s each heretofore reported in the newspapers. What he did tell, however, seems only to indicate, in the least pleasant way, motives for mi nisterial silence. Austria has apparently had things all her own way. The visit of King LEorow to Vienna has borne more fruits than a wed ding. Austria, which exists only by the grace of Russia—which owes Hungary to the Cossacks and must one way or other repay the obligation— Austris, we learn, has played first fiddle in the nego tiations, England being represented, of course, by that Austrianised musician, Lord II'EsTmoRE LAND. Lord JOHN RUSSELL said last night: When the ambassador of his Majesty, the Emperor of Russia, left Constantinople, it appeared to her Majesty's government that it was desirable that there should be a conference of the representatives of all the great powers of Europe, in order to arrive at the terms which might put an amicable termination to the difference between Russia and the Sublime Porte. It was the opinion of the government of Austria that it was not desirable to hare any such con ference while the matter remained in the state of diplo matic relations, end that it would not be desirable to have such a conference unless the Emperor of Russia by in radiny the Principalities should for a time, indeed, hare disturbed the status quo of Europe. When that event occurred, the government of the Emperor of Austria, in conformity with its previous declaration, dcc'ared its mill . inyness to hold a conference at Vienne, and it summoned the representatives of the four other great powers of Europe to attend, for the purpose of a conference on the affairs of Russia and Turkey. The minister of his Majesty the Emperor of It uesia did not attend ; but the ministers of England, of France, and of Prussia attended that con• ference. Certain terms were then agreed upon, which, in the opinion of the representatives of the four powers, might be accepted with honour by the two governments of Turkey and of Russia. Those terms have been assented to by the govemmonts of England and France ; and, accord. ing to our belief, have been transmitted from Vienna to Petersburg and Constantinople. • • • (In reply to a question, Lord John added) "The proposition, in fact, w a s an Austrian prnposi•ion, although it came originally from the government of France," The result of this shilly-shallying all Europe knows. Whilst Lord WESTMORELAND and the representa tire of LOUIS NAPOLEON were wasting time at Vienna, the Generaliavitno of the CZAR was firmly establishing himself in the Turkish territory be had seized, by planting in Moldavia and Walla chili many thousand men, and some hundred pieces of cannon. Whether wilfully or no wenatTs,edcifnoitnnothwe del discuss, but it is quite clear that, practically an d in fact, Austrian negotiations secured the very t i lts i t n h v a a tit e us provinces. ianeeded ( cn '; Stt I for renehitg i being well in posses sion, and the liwpodar having been ordered to hard over to the Russian military chest the m on i es belonging to the Suur IN, we flat A USt: ia amusing herself i ith " a conference " for which, by this time, she has made ready. An Austrian pTepo. sition (—" in fact it was an Austrian proposition, although it came originally from France" —said Lord Joust Itussw. last night)—is at this Confer- ence agreed to on behalf of England and France, and is sent to St. Petersburg. Here is the whole case. England is represented by Maestro WEsj. MORELAND—the heroic conductor of the SettwAar. zEstitatc mass—and Austria does as she pleases Russia has possession of what she coveted—ltalie; is despoiled, and Englind—all in the wrong. The very danger that a little honest courage might, in the first instance, have trodden out, we now behold grown to a height thit overshadow s the peace of Europe. Lord Ct. rs Dos, grown valiant over-late, declares Sir HANitt.roN S I:v3toya is to ask for expln na . tions ; and Lord JotiN Itus..:l:Li. says, when the time for proroguing Parliament approaches, the Govern. ment will tell all /74,y eln. It may then be too late. AT length something like justice has overtaken our old friend, the Rev. FRANCIS Norm!, Earl of Guilford, pester of St. Cross's Hospital, and of " Goo's House of Noble Poverty, near unto the Episcopal City of Winchester." It is now five years since we first directed attention to the enormity of the Reverend Peer's ecclesiastical po s t. tion. He was then the Incumbent of two great and rich benefices in the county of Hants, and in undis turbed possession of the valuable property of St. Cross, which he was leasing and dealing with far more freely and lavishly than he ever did his patri monial acres. Gradually but slowly we made the public understand and comprehend the outrage thereby committed on all law and decency, to say nothing of morality and conscience. The veteran Mr, Helm *came to our aid in 1519, and moved an ad , dress of the House of Commons to the Crown on the subject, and the (lekEN graciously referred it to the ArronNEv-Gi.SNEII.IL, then Sir Jon s .11.1.% Despite episcopal entreaties and private appeals for delay, Sir JOHN at once and vigorously brought the Reverend Earl before the Court of Chancery. To avoid the consequences of his acts as Master of St. Cross, Lord GUILFORD offered, if the suit were withdrawn, to resign nut only that office but his two benefices. The offer was, however, rejected; but the storm against his mismanagement of the charity continuing, the two benefices were thrown overboard by him as a sort of Pagan offering to the goddess Foluna—happily without effect. The suit was per severed in, and now Sir JOHN Itiottu.v, Master of the Hods, has held Lord Guityoun's adminis tration of the Hospital " to be a shameless per version of the charity," and, decreeing an in junction to restrain him from any further acts of wrong doing, has ordered an inquiry to be taken as to the present state and condition of the institution and its property ; with a view only however—we regret to add—to the recovery of the profits from the date of filing the information ; a most insufficient restitution of his misappropriation. We may how ever be allowed to feel some little satisfaction at this result of labours that at one time seemed almost thrown away, and to refer to it as another instance of the power of the Press to effect public good. The case of St. Cross is so rich an illustration of various Charity abuses as to be embarrassing from it s very fulness. Let us take a personal view of it first. Its Master, the Rev. Lord Guti.ronu, is the son of a Bishop of NVinehester. By his episcopal parent ho was first made Rector of St. Mary, Southampton, worth between 2,000'. and 3,0001. a year; then ho was appointed by the same generous patron Rector of Al:esford, worth some !AK or 1,8001. a year; next the same fond relative gave him a Canonry in Win chester Cathedral, then equal in value probably to the living of Al:esford. Thus comfortably pro vided for was the Rev. Fn tm is NORTH, Lord Guilford, in the year of grace 1608, when the Mastership of the Hospital of St. Cross became vacant by Dr. LOCKMAN% death. It was in the Bishop's gift, and to it also he resolved to appoint his well-beloved son. But here a difficulty arose. By the statute of Iltimev VIII., no clerk could, under any circumstances, hold more than three bene fices. Now the Bishop's son had already three pieces of ecclesiastical preferment, and, though the Mastership of St. Cross was a lay office, it could only be held by the rectors of the subordinate in cumbency of St. Faith, in which parish the Hospital is. To be Master of St. Cross, the appointee must first be Rector of St. Faith ; and hence it is that a clergyman always holds the office, though it is in itself a lay one. But Bishops and their sons in 1608 cared little for Acts of Parliament. Toryism was then rampant, and jobb( ry, corruption, and venality flourished with it ; and the man who dared to expose abuses, in that dark age of English history, was denounced as a Jacobin, an Atheist, an enemy of all religion, and of the Protes tant interest in particular. So the Bishop made his son Master, without giving him induction into the Rectory of St. Faith; an 3, though for the last forty four years Lord Guatemto has acted as Master of St. Cross, there seems very small reason to doubt that he has from the first been a trespasser and an intruder, and that de jme the mastership has been vacant ever since Dr. LocKatsN's death. But as this point was not brought prominently before the MASTER of the ROLLS, his judgment contains no decision on it. For the early history of the Foundation (which we have repeatedly stated) we may at present refer our readers to the lucid and judiciously simple account given by the MASTER of the ROLLS in his judgment, fully reported by us yesterday. What we now de sire to fix attention on is, that at rack rent the net value of its property is not less than 9,000/. a year, but that fur so noble a revenue all that is now done is the maintaining the edifice of the hospital, and the subsistence, in a very ill manner, of thirteen grumbling old men. Though required, even by the Customary, which he set up as legal, to appoint a chaplain, Lord Gui;.roan has of late dispensed with any such officer; and &ilia House of Noble Poverty would have been without a clergyman, save for private interference on behalf of its brethren and the parish of St. Faith. After defraying the cost of maintaining the fabric and the brethren, Lord Gun, FORD, as Master, has for the last four-and-forty years held himself entitled to appropriate all the endow ments of the charity to his private purposes; and ith a statute in his archives, expressly passed in the reign of FAA/ %mint to inhibit and forbid the Corporation of St. Cross from granting leases of its ,estates, every estate belonging to it has been leased by Lord GUILFORD, and large fines paid to him on the granting of such leases ; until now, by this system of anticipation, the actual annual receipts of the Hos pital (exclusive of fines) do not greatly exceed 1,000/. a year. But as these lea-es are, according to the judg ment of Sir J. Rout' i.v, manifestly void in law, they will of course be set aside by the further proceedings of the Court of Chancery, and the hospital at once step full into the receipts of its fine property. And that having been done, then will arise the question,—On what scheme or plan this noble income can be expended most profitably forth: