The Press. — London, England, 1858-07-03 00:00:00

contrary, was speaking with the people perfectly apathetic as to the judgment which that house had given. But, if their lordships were to change their opinion, he would venture to say that he preferred on every ground the bill of his noble and learned friend behind him (Lord Lyndhurst) to that which they were now discussing. Instead of limiting the licence to Jews it should be extended to ail non- Christians. It was a mere delusion to say that the concession should be made to Jew., and yet to with hold it from Mahomedans and Hindoos. In many respects the Mahomedans were nearer to us than the Jews, for the latter regarded our Divine Re deemer as an impostor, while the Mahomedans allowed him to be an inspired prophet. It surely would be more creditable to act consistently on this matter, and to declare that no profession of Chris tianity should be required from any one as a preli mtnary to sitting in Parliament. He would prefer to see the question dealt with in the manner pro posed by the bill of the noble and learned lord rather than the mode in which this bill disvosed of it. He begged to ask whether their lordships had considered what would be henceforth, if they passed this bill, the relations of the other House of Parliament to the Established Church ? Was it intended that we were to start upon an entirely new system? Or, was it still to be the theory that matters affecting the disci pline, the doctrine, and the standing of the Estab lished Church were to be debated freely in either House of Pariament, and that Parliament, to a certain extent, should be re:pried as the internal legislature of that Church ? Or were noble lords prepared in future to withdraw from discussion, in one house at least, all matters atlecting the Estab lished Church, and to provide some other means of internal legislation ? He begged their lordships seriously to consider those points before giving their votes upon the present occasion. By yielding to pressure of expediency their lordships' house could not stand higher in public estimation, nor would their authority be increased if, on a simple threat of political difficulty or appearance of expediency, they yielded too readily to the wishes of another body a point which down to the present time had been re garded by a majority of their lordships not as a matte! of political necessity, but of religions duty. Lord Dostoraitios and the Earl of CARDIGAN re gretted that on this question they could not support the Government. The house then divided. The numbers were— Cootent—Pr"sent 79 Pi oxies .. .. .. 64 -143 Not content—Present 64 Proxies .. 33 —O7 Majority for the second reading 46 The bill was then read a second time. The consideration of the reasons fur insisting on the amendments to the original bill was fixed fur Tuesday next. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—Tnuasnw. At the morning sitting, the New General Post dike (Edinburgh) Bill was read a third time and passed. The house then went into committee upon the remaining clauses of the Universities (Scotland) Bill, and was engaged in the consideration of them during the sitting. INDIA BILL. In the evening, the house having resolved itself into a committee upon the Government of India (No. 3) Bill, beginning with the seventh clause, establishing the Council of India, Mr. GLADSTONE moved that the fir-It members be named in the bill, on the ground that it %%mild add to the moral weight of the Council, without diminish ing the responsibility of the Minister. Lord STANLEY declined to accept the proposal, which would, he said, in effect, give to the Govetn- Inebt the nomination of all the first inembtrs of the Council, besides retarding the progress of the measure. . . The amendment was negatived. Mr. V. SMITH proposed to omit from the Bth clause the words empowering the Court of Directors to elect the seven elected members of the Council from arnonget persons " hrivng been theretofore Directors," as well. as front perio:is then being Directors. This amendment was negatii:d tit on a division by 146 to 71. Sir J. GRAHAM moved to add io the words so retained the words, " not being nomi lees of the Crown." Lord STANLEY objected, aid the amendment was negatived. The same fate attended a mc,tion by Mr. Ulm) STONE, that Vie number of ele.ited members be ten instead of seven, after a lon,; discuison, w hi c h travelled int() extraneous m itters, espa•ially the question whether the members of th, , Council THE PRESS, JULY 3, 1858. should be interdicted from engaging in other occu- pations. The 9th clause, which directs the mode in which vacancies in the Council shall be filled up, Lord A. V. TEMPEST moved to amend by providing that alternate vacancies, instead of being filled up by the Council, should be supplied by election among the persons and by the constituencies proposed in the bill (No. 2) brought in by the present Govern. ment. This amendment was negatived. Mr. UREOSON moved to amend the llth clause, enacting that every member of Council shall ho'd his officc " during good behaviour," by substituting " for five years, and to be re-eligible." Lord PALMERSTON thought it better that the limit of service should he for ten years, and that the members should not be re-eligible or capable of being reappointed. The Committee divided upon the question that the words " good behaviour " stand part of the clause, which was affirmed by 15-1 to 118. The 12th clause, disqualifying members from sitting in Parliament, was discussed at great length ; it was carried, upon a division, by 245 to 121. The Chairman was then ordered to report pro. greys. On the order for resuming the adjourned debate on the second reading of the Chelsea-bridge Act Amendment. Bill, the house divided, without further debate, when the second reading was carried by ltfl to 96. The house then went into committee upon the remaining clause , : of the Sale and Transfer or Lard (Ireland) Bill ; but the CHAIRMAN soon alter re ported progress. The London Corporation Regulation Bill was with drawn. Leave WAS given to introduce certain hills, and the house adjourned at a quarter past one o'clock. ;-THE JEW BILL. TENTS. and Proxies Earl Strathmore Vane Wilton Viscount Ihngor Bolingbroke Canterbury Combermere Clancarty 1)e Vesci Dungannon Hill Linn] 1114vnard Melville Midleton St. Vincent Strathallan Bishop of Bangor Cashel Chichester Inn-ham, Exeter Lincoln Ltanclaff Oxf.trtl S:ilisburV St. Avaph Winchester Lord Abinger Bagot Itayning Bateman Deniers Blayney Braybrooke C.ilthorpe Churchill Clonbrock Clarina Colchester Colville of Calross Crew Crofton De Rosi Debtmere Linevor Downes Farnham Forester tiratitley Kenyon Kilmaine Lare-II Middleton Methuen Polworth Plunk, tt Raglan Redesdale Sandys Sondes Southampton Templenoore Tentettlen Walsingliarn Willoughby de Broke iVynford HOUSE OF LORDS NOT 1 (Including Pi Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Chancellor Duke of Buckingham Bea tifiut Hamilton Marlkirongli Richmond Rutland Marquis of Abercorn Ailoa Cholmondeley Drogheda Exeter Waterford Winchester Earl Amherst Bantry Beauchamp Beverley Bradford Brooke and Warwick Cadogan Cardigan Courton Darnley Dartmouth De la Warr Denbigh Desert Doncaster Effingham Eglintoun Egmont Erne Galloway Guildford llorring.on Harewood Hillsborough Horetoun lichester .1 enk y Kint( re 1 A ny. borough Leitrim Level( and Me:ville Limerick Lonsdale Macclesfield Mansfield At (lovers Mop Mountc Isbell Nelson Onalow Orford Orkney Pomfret Portarlington Paulen Roden Romney Sandwich Seolield Selkirk Shrewsbury Stamford & Warrington STATE OF THE THAMES. A PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE assembled on Tues day to pursue the inquiry into the state of the river Thames, Mr. Kendall in the chair. Among the members present were Sir John Shelley, Lord John Manners ; Nlr. Joseph Locke, Mr. Roupell, Sir J. Y. Buller, Mr. Akroyd, Mr. Cayle,y, Mr. Tite, Lord Uoderieh, the Hon. Jocelyn Percy, Mr. Alderman Cuhitt, Lord Pahnerston, Sir B. Hall, &e. The witnesses examined were Mr. Walker, en gineer to the Thames Navigation Company, and Dr. Lewis Thompson. The former gentleman did not consider Mr. Gur ney's plan would stand as a permanent work, and if it could be made permanent it would seriously inter fere with the navigation of the river. He thought one channel in the centre of the river would do the duty assigned by Mr. Goldsworthy Gurney to two. He considered the river ought to be confined to a nar rower stream, and deepened to increase the scour of the stream. Ile would bring the river uniform first, and then put. in wharf walls where they were required. if Mr. Gurney's plan were carried out, it would deprive the channel of some of its water; and if two channels were formed, they would most cer tainly silt up. Dr. Lewis THOMPiON had examined the state of the river Thames. Consiihred the cause of the pre sent stench of the river to arise from the mud, end when that is exposed to a temperature of from 65 to 75 fermentation sets in, and as soon as the water begins to flow the mud if, disturbed, and the noxious gases are liberated. In answer to Lord Palmerston, witness said " the fermentation does not begin in the river only at a temperature or upwards of 70 deg. Fahrenheit, and that heat is rarely attained. The mud is most offensive where it is mew. disturbed, and that is generally at places where steamboats laud their passengers." He said that if a tunnel was formed to take the sewage away, so that it would not come back to the metropolis, we must go to the seashore. He had found the river to he of the tern• perature of 72, but the mud on its banks at e. tentpe- • rature of 120. There would always, to some extent, be an offensive odour so long as the Thames is used as a common sewer. Ile bad noticed a black cloud on going up and down the river, and con sidered it produced by the sta,e of the river. He had found animal matter among the mud. If the sewage was conveyed to the sea, in conse quence of the specific gravity of the salt water it would not mix with the wager, and would he brought back again. lie attributed the increased evil which we now experience to the increase of mud. He attributed the stench of the mud to a change in the character of it rather than to any increase in its bulk. There could be no doubt that son e portions of the soluble matter would go into the sea and mix with it, but the insoluble pens of the sewage would always come back again. He considered Mr. lint ney's plan t'or burning the foul gases was a good one. The fluid from deodorized sewage would be most beneficial to vegetation when thrown over the land. In other cases the deodorized water must be passed into the Thames, and, although it might still retain the smell of the sewage, he did not think it would be injurious to the river, as it would be mixed with so large a quantity of fresh water. He had ex amined water taken from the docks, and found that it was much purer than water in the sewers. He took that water from just below the Thames Tunnel. The temperature of the sea was always lower than the water of the river. lie thought if flushing of the sewers was suspended, dangerous consequences would ensue, as the odours would wake their way up the gully•holes and into the houses. After some other evidence to the same effect had been given, the Committee adjourned. The Committee reassembled on NVedneeday at twelve o'clock; Mr. Kendall in the chair. The other members of the committee pre-ant were—the Hon. Percy Jocelyn, Mr. Alderman Cubitt, Sir John Yarde Buller, Sir Sohn Shelley, Mr. The, Mr. Roupell, S r Benjamin Hall, Lord Palmerston, Lord John Man ners, &c. Mr. GOLDSWORTHY GURNEY was called and ex amined by the Chairman : lie wished, before giving any evidence, to express a hope that the public press would deal fairly, and give the evidence iu favour of his plan as welt as that given against it. Mr. GEORGE Bleeen. the celebrated engineer, was then called and examined by the Chairman, who stated part of Mr. Uurney'a plan to be this :—lle intends to form two channels 30 yards wide tied 3 yards deep, with an average distance of 50 yards from the wharf walls, with a slope of 1 iu 12, by which means he considers that the mud which is now cast upon the banks of the river will be re moved, and so get rid of the nuisance. Did Mr. Bidder think, it' he eneceeded in dredging channels of 30 yards wide and 9 feet in depth, which are sup• posed to receiv•t a scouring power, that these chan nels would keep themselves clear without any material expenses in dredging ? Mr. BIDDER could nut tell whether the expenses would be material or not, but they would require