The Press. — London, England, 1854-04-15 00:00:00

342 Lord CAMPBELL observed, that although the noble earl (ate Earl of Hardwicke) had intimated that the announce meta of the withdrawal of the Reform Bill for the present session would by some of their lordships be heard with regret, as a friend of reform, as a friepd of the present Go vernment, and as a friend of the British empire, herejpiced in that announcement. (Hear, hear.) SEIZURE OF SIR G. H. SEYMOUR'S PROPERTY. Lord LYNDHURST, on Monday, called the attention of the Peers to the report which he said had been current for two days to the effect that the Russian Emperor had seized the property of the late Minister at St. Petersburg. He hoped there was no founda tion whatever for the report. If it was true, it was such a gross violation of the admitted law of nations as could scarcely be expected from Russia as a civilised State. (Hear, hear.) The Marquis of LANSDOWNE said, in the absence of his noble friend the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, he might state that he entirely agreed in the construction which the noble and learned lord had so justly ,giveu of the character of the proceeding to which he had alluded, if such a pro ceeding had taken place. He could only say that up to a very late hour his noble friend had received no information on the subject. Of course, if information had not reached the Foreign-office it would be impossible to give any explanation. Lord LYNDiII•RSI believed that Sir George Seymour had stated the fact to some noble lords now present. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE said perhaps Sir George Seymour might have received such information, but the Government had not. THE STATE OF THE EXCHEQUER. The CiwicEmort of the EXCHEQUER, after laying on the table the balance-sheet for the financial year just closed, entered into a detail of the state of the revenu?, the Treasury balance, and the unfunded debt. Mr. Disraeli, he added, having moved for further returns on the subject, he should avoid every thing likely to provoke discussion, limiting himself to mere statements of account, in order to complete the financial expose which he had necessarily left somewhat imperfect when introducing his budget a month since : " The actual receipt had exceeded his then estimate by 749,000/., arising principally from property tax and cus toms. The surplus of revenue had been estimated at 2,8.51,000 L, and had proved to be 3,514,000/.; but this, owing to certain financial arrangements, was partly ficti titious, and the real surplus must be taken at about an even three millions. This result, lie submitted, showed a most satisfactory condition of trade, being realised in the face of war, and despite reductions in taxation enacted last year, to the amount of two millions beyond the revenues accru ing from taxes imposed. Respecting the Treasury ba lances, the case stood thus :—ln April, 1853, the amount at the credit of the Treasury was 7,859,000/. ; on the sth inst.: it stood at !2,778,0001. This showed a reduction of 5,0*1,0(0/. On the other hand, there had been 8,048,0001. of funded debt paid off, the unfunded debt had been di minished by 1,718,101/., and 716,0001. had been disbursed for ' advances ' beyond the sum received by way of re payments. The total amount.of these various payments exceeded ten millions, of which about six and three quarter millions were accounted for by the reduction in the balance, and the new stocks, Exchequer bonds, &c., created. The remainder, forming a sum of 5,715,000!., had been fur nished Mostlyhy the application of the accruing surplus. In explaining the deficiency-hill system, and the extent of accommodation which the Government obtained from the Bank of England, he observed that some of the best informed persons out of doors believed that the amount of deficiency bills out on the sth of April represented the amount of the accommodation given by the Bank, and this amount had been estimated at from 4,001),000/. to 0,000,000/. ; but the amount of deficiency bills chargeable to the public on the previous day was only 2,808,000/., subject to a de duction for cash nnexhansted, which reduced the amount to 2,129,0001., and this, he remarked, in ordinary times, would not be an extravagant amount to receive • as accommodation from the Bank. At the present time. however, lie thought the amount ought to be pro gressively reduced, and it would be diminished with out the least difficulty. But this was the actual extent of the accommodation received from the Bank. There was another point in connection with the Bank, which was supposed to be a matter of good faith. Some persons had an idea that there had been a sort of compact (unwritten) between the Government and the Bank, under which demands on deficiency bills ought not to be made on the Bank. He was not aware of any such com pact ; but there had been an understanding in 1841 that, if there was a diminution of the public balances beyond the usual sum, the Bank would be entitled to a claim upon the Government, and rice erred if there was an increase. The presumption on which tlds understanding rested was, that the amount of the public balances was to remain in future as it was at that time. Now, in the two quarters immediately preceding this agreement—namely, January 5, 1844, and Aprilb,ll3l4, the amount of deficiency hills was, in the former, 0,402,0001., and in the latter. 8,907.000. On the sth of January, 1854. the amount was 3,711.0001., and on the sth of 461, 1854, 5,472,000/. The average amount of the two quarters of 18.54 was 4,591,00 W., and that of the two quarters of 1844, 4.714,0001., so that the amount was nearly the same, or a little less in 1854 than in 1844. Mr. Gladstone then made a statement of the con dition of the nntlinded debt, whence it appeared that the present amount of Exchequer Bills was 1,174,000/. short of that which the Government was authorised to issue. and he had no reason, he said, to expect that he should have to make any further demand upon Parliament for more -~ ~r....__ THE PRESS. bills, or even to use the whole amount he was authorised to issue. The present state of public credit was, he added, highly satisfacto►y, as he showed by comparing the present prices of our public securities with those of foreign countries, and with those of this country at former periods. The result of the whole was, that the demands of the Government upon the Bank for accommodation (though it was desirable to reduce the amount) were not calculated to inspire any alarm ; that there had been no contraction of the resources of commerce; that the un funded debt was moderate, and likely to continue so; and that public credit was in a satisfactory condition, when the menacing circumstances of the tunes were con- sidered." Mr. DISRAELI vindicated his former statement as regarded the balances in the Exchequer, but declined to discuss the financial position of the country until ho should have an opportunity of reading the papers just laid upon the table, and of which he could only have a general notion front the remarks which had fallen from the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr. T. BAJuso thought that the right hon. gentle man could not take much credit to himself for the fact that, public credit was good, because the public credit could only be damaged by the grossest mis management, and seriously hoped that the minister would hereafter display an amount of caution in dealing with the finances of the country which he feared he had not hitherto manifested. He protested against the principle which appeared to be the key. stone of his policy, that of depending upon the Bank of England to raise money on deficiency bills instead of relying upon ready money in the Treasury. Mr. LAING agreed in most of the observations of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but thought it was a dangerous principle to rely upon deficiency bills instead of on balances in the Exchequer, and that any saving made by the reduction of those balances was by no means an equivalent for the risk to which it exposed the public credit. After some observations from Sir H. WILLOUGHBY, The CHANCELLOR of the ExonEqt:Ext replied, and the balance-sheet was ordered to be printed. NEWFOUNDLAND HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. The truth of the statement that the House of Assembly of Newfoundland had lately refused to proceed with business unless responsible government was conceded to that colony was made the subject of inquiry on Monday by Sir J. PAKINOTON, who asked also whether the Ministry had consented to establish a responsible Government in that colony, and, if so, on what conditions? Mr. PEEL said it was true that the Assembly of New foundland, at the commencement of its present session, had passed a resolution that they would not do any business with the Council until the decision of the Government with re gard to an application from the Assembly, made last year, praying for freer institutions, was made known. In the meanwhile,before the Government were aware of the course taken, by the Assembly, they had forwarded a despatch to the colony, intimating their readiness to concede a sys tem of responsible government to Newfoundland so soon as certain conditions were complied with. Those conditions were, that the holders of existing offices rendered liable to displacement should be indemnified ; that the number of members of the Assembly should be raised from fifteen to thirty, not. by doubling the number of representatives of the different districts, but by a subdivision of those dis tricts; and, lastly, it the salaries of members, and the expenses of candidates at elections, should not be paid ont of the colonial treasury ; but, if paid at should be paid by local assessment of the different diettietis: COLONIAL CLERGY DISABILITIES BILL. The committal of this bill was commenced on Monday. The measure is a very short one, compri sing only one principal clause, by which the "metro politan of any province or the bishop of any diocese" in the colonies are freed from any disabilities, or in demnified from any possible penalties, which they might incur for attending meetings to regulate eccle siastical affairs. Mr. DI:NLor moved an amendment to substitute for the above description the wotils " bishops and clergy." He wished to avoid giving any legislative sanction to any episcopal organisation, and to guard against according, indirectly, any preference to the Church of England over other religious communities in the colonies. The amendment excited a long debate, in the course of which the whole scope of the bill as well as the character and status of the Church of England in our colonial dependencies came under review. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL endeavoured to effect a compromise by altering the phraseology of the clause, so as to meet the objections of Mr. Dunlop, while allaying the apprehensions which many mem bers on the Opposition benches had expressed. A division was, however, called upon a motion for negativing the amendment, in which Mr. Dunlop succeeded in obtaining a majority of 81 to 34 in , favour of his propositions. Some other amendments, conceived chiefly in the same sense, were afterwards moved, but the Solicitor-General proposed new modifications with greater success, some of his proposed phrases being adopted without, and some after, a division. SATURDAY, Five hours' discussion left the clause still incom plete, when, on the motion of Lord JOHN RussELL, the Chairman left the chair, and the thither progress of the committee was postponed. BRIBERY , BILL S. The house having resolved itself on Monday into committee on the Bribery Bill, it was arranged, on the motion of Lord J. RUSSELL, that the measure should be referred to a select committee. The same course was adopted with regard to the Controverted Elections Bill and the Bribery Preven tion Bill brought in by Sir F. Kelly. PARLIAMENTARY PRINTING. Replying to Lord CAMPBELL, on Monday, Earl GRANVILLE stated that a proposal on the subject of printing for public use and sale the papers laid on the table of their lordships' house would be submitted immediately after Easter. The Earl of ELLsmioaouou hoped the noble lord would also take into consideration what was to be done with the enormous quantity of papers which were printed by that and the other house. The increase in the printing for the two houses was monstrous; and at that time, when they might apply to good and useful purposes all the money they could save, he trusted the Government. would have the firmness to oppose, in both houses, the printing of matter which was likely to be of no material moment or interest, end which might cost thousands of pounds. Earl GitAriviur.: said that there was of course a certain amount of difficulty in carrying that out to the fullest ex tent. The Government felt the greatest disinclination, even when they thought the information was not a valuable kind, to refuse information on any subject on which it was required. At the same time he agreed that it was the duty of the Government to exercise a discretion in that respect. He also thought that some arrangement might be made to prevent, what sometimes did happen, the same in formation being given iu various forms. The LORD CHANCELLOR Said that was almost a necessary consequence of the great amount of papers that were ordered. There was such a mass of matter printed that no member either of that or the other house felt it to be his duty or pretended to make himself master of it. Seeing that it was a thing which no human strength could accomplish, the papers where naturally thrown aside and disregarded. He believed that if a fiftieth part of what was printed only saw the light, noble lords would have some chance of making themselves acquainted with it. VENTILATION OF THE HOUSE. Mr. SPOON ER on Monday brought up the reportfrom the committee appointed to investigate the state of the ventilation of the house. Describing the process by which, with the aid of three steam-engines, what was called fresh air was brought into the house, he characterised the result. as thoroughly disgraceful. Two hunched thousand pounds had been spent, and two "ventilation doctors" consulted on the subject, but every change seemed to make matters worse, During the Easter recess the committee recommended that trials should be made upon a new and simpler principle under the supervision of Mr. Goldsworthy Gurney, who had promised to erect an efficient ap-.. paratus at a cost of a few hundred pounds. The hon. member moved that the house should adopt that report. Sir W. MOLESWORTII submitted that the committee had formed their decision upon insufficient evidence, and deprecated the hasty introduction of new appa ratus without some better-founded assurance of its fitness for the purpose required. He hoped they would not hastily overthrow the existing system of ventilation on which so heavy an expense had been incurred. Mr. BOLTVERIE vindicated the industry of the com mittee, and recommended the adoption of their re port so far as to entrust Mr. Gurney with the conduct of some preliminary trials. After further conversation that course was agreed to, and the recommendation ot the committee received the sanction of the house. PUBLIC BUSINESS. Lord J. RUSSELL on Tuesday stated the order in which public business would be proposed when the house met again after Easter. The Oxford Univer sity Bill would be brought forward for recommittal on the 27th, and the Railway Bill be committed on May 1. The Settlement and Poor Removal Bill would not be proceeded with in the present session, it being intended to refer the question relative to the removal of Scotch and Irish paupers to a select com- mittee. RETURNS showing the consumption of tea and tobacco during the last three years have been pre sented to Parliament. In Great Britain, in 1851, the consumption of tea was 47,375,711 lbs.; in 1852, 47,808,622 lbs.; and last year (reduced duty), 51,001,851 lbs.; whilst in Ireland the consumption was, in 1851, 6,573,278 lhs. ; in 1852, 6,004,412 lbs.; and last year, 7,832,236 lbs. Of tobacco, the con sumption in Great Britain, in 1851, was 23,457,888 lbs.; and in Ireland, 4,457,137 lbs. ; in 1852, in Great Britain, 23,044 lbs.; and in Ireland, 4,473,600 lbs.; and last year, in Great Britain, 24,940,555 lbs.; and in Ireland, 4,624,141 lbs. -- -a---