The Press. — London, England, 1854-06-17 00:00:00

558 Mr. SCHOLEFIELD also supported the vote, the op position to which was, he declared, prompted by narrow-minded prejudice. Mr. NEWDEOATE ar g ued that the grant implied a national sanction of the Roman Catholic religion, and in practice would compel the prisoners in gaols to attend mass. Mr. DRUMMOND objected upon principle to any State provision for religious purposes, except in be half of the State religion. That principle having, however, been too frequently infringed to be now in sisted upon, he thought it but just that the violation should be made universal and every one admitted to the pnvileges which it was now sought to extend to the Roman Catholics. The amendment was supported by Mr.ADDERLEY; by Mr. CROSSLEY, who deprecated all State provision for the support of religious sects ; and by Mr. HonsFALL, who remarked upon the inconsistency of maintaining an established church, and yet support ing priests whose doctrines were entirely opposed to those recognised by the establishment. Mr. W. J. Fox also could not support the vote. The Roman Catholic Church performed ministerial services which deserved full recognition, but was degraded by this attempt to become sharer in the pittance accorded by Government for the performance of its exalted duties. The grant was supported by Mr. J. BALL. It was opposed by Sir J. PaiumixoN, because it favoured a single class of dissenters ; and by Mr. HADFIELD, be cause it impugned the voluntary principle. Mr. LUCAS, in defending the vote, commented at much length upon the conduct of the advocates of voluntaryism. They refused to receive State provi• sion, but, he insisted, left undone the work which that provision was designed to accomplish in the prison establishments. Mr. MILES declared that the question involved the practical denegation of our national Protestantism. Some remarks from Mr. Mum., and a reply from Mr. SPoosEn, closed the discussion. On dividing the amendment was carried, against the Government, by 158 votes to 130 ; majority, 22. The vote, diminished by the 55W. in question, was then agreed to. THE IRISH TENANT RIGHT. Two bills, which had been brought down from the House of Lords, the Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Bill and the Leasing Powers (Ireland) Bill, were respectively read a second time on Monday night. The bills passed the stage without remark, and at a late hour (nearly two in the morning). A third bill upon the same subject—the Tenants' Compensation (Ireland) Bill—stood also for second reading that night. The motion for that purpose being opposed, a discussion ensued, in the course of which many Irish members complained of unfair treatment. Two Government measures, they urged, had been allowed to pass the second reading, while the parallel measure introduced by a private member, but which had ex cited much interest in Ireland, was removed from their companionship. Ultimately it was agreed to let the second reading of this bill stand for Thurs • day, the same day that had been appointed for the committal of the two preceding measures. Upon Thursday all three bills were further adjourned to Thursday next. THE IRISH CHURCH TEMPORALITIES. The well worn question touching the alleged ab sorption of large revenues for the maintenance of the " church of the minority " in Ireland was forced again upon the House of Commons on Tuesday by Mr. Sergeant SHEE. The hon. member embarked into a copious detail of sums and circumstances, whose pro lixity narrowly escaped summary abbreviation by a " count out." Avoiding this peril, however, he suc ceeded in giving an outline of his measure ; and, having in the earlier portion of his speech shown how a round number of thousands per annum could be scraped together out of a multitude of items and in comes whereon they were now " misappropriated" in • behalf of the Protestant establishment, explained how he meant to distribute the money, by the agency of certain boards of commissioners, among the mi nisters or to keep up the chapels of Roman Catholics and Presbyterians. He disclaimed all sectarian bias or hostility to the Established Church, and declared that his sole object was to solve a longstanding diffi culty in the way of Irish pacification by the most rea sonable and most practicable arrangement. Midnight was at hand when Mr. Sergeant Shee concluded his long speech, and Mr. BROTHERTON moved the adjournment of the debate. This was agreed to in consideration of the late sitting on the previous night, and with a noon sitting in prospect next day. The hon. member was consequently left without a reply in detail, but Mr. NAPIER, Mr. NEWDEGATE, and some other members, in a few hurried sentences de clared their readiness to controvert his facts and overset his arguments without exception. Sir F. Yousa also, on the part of the Government, stated that he should strenuously resist the introduction of the measure. _ _ The discussion was ordered to stand for resurnp • tion on Monday next. THE PRESS. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF CANADA. The second reading of the Canadian Legislative Council Bill was moved by the Duke of NEWCASTLE in the Peers on Thursday. The object of the mea sure is to repeal those clauses in the Union Act which prohibit legislation by the Canadian Parliament on this subject, and to leave the colonial Legislature entirely free to act as they may think fit with respect to the creation of a second chamber. The motion provoked a considerable discussion, in which the relationships between the mother country and Canada were commented upon by the Earl of Desart, the Earl of Malmesbury, the Earl of Ellenborough, Lord Brougham, and other peers. Ultimately the bill passed the second reading. DIVORCE BILL. The Divorce Bill pas sed a second reading in the Lords on Tuesday. The Loßn CHANCELLOR ex plained the object of the measure, which vested the right of granting divorces a vinculo matrimonii in a Court of Divorce, consisting of the Lord Chancellor, the Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, the Master of the Rolls, and two other persons to be named by her Majesty. From this court an appeal was to be permitted to their lordships' house, while in the case of divorces a manta et thoro he proposed to vest the jurisdiction in the Court of Chancery. LOSS OF THE TIGER. Captain SCOBELL having inquired on Tuesday whether any official despatches had been received relating to the loss of the Tiger, and whether there was any objection to their being wade public? Sir J. GRAHAM said the Board of Admiralty had received an official account, given by the first lieutenant of the Tiger, of the circumstances which attended the unhappy loss of that vessel. All the oirctunstanzas which really interested the public had, through the accustomed channels, been made known; but, in the report of the first lieutenant, there were certain circumstances of a professional nature relating to the loss of that vessel which, in the event of an exchange of prisoners, might become the sub ject of an investigation before a court martial; and in the opinion of the Admiralty the publication of those details might prejudice the trial. giortign aO Colonial FRANCE. The organisation of a fifth division for the army of the East is announced in the Moniteur de l'Armhe. It is to be placed under the orders of General Charles Le Vaillant, and will be composed of the 21st, 42nd, and 46th Regiments of the line and the sth Regiment of Light Infantry. Two batteries of artillery and a company of engineers are to be attached to the division. One brigade of this division has already arrived at Toulon, and will be shortly embarked. General Mayran left Marseilles on Sunday for the Pirreus, where he will take the command of the allied troops left there by General Forey. The candidates for places in the Hundred Imperial Guards were presented to the Emperor a few days since at St. Cloud. After examination, seventy of them were admitted. The whole body will be per fectly organised in the course of next month. The Tilsit, 00 guns, put out of Cherbourg into the roads on Saturday. The steamers Primaguet and Fulton have been ordered to be fitted for war. The screw ship-of-the-line the Wagram, of 650-horse power and 100 guns, was launched at Lorient on Monday last. A gold medal of honour, second class, has been awarded by the French Government to Captain Storey, of the brig Titania, of Newcastle, for having, at the risk of his life, saved and taken on board some French sailors belonging to the crew of the wrecked vessel L'Etodie-Antonie. _ _ . M. Etienne Arago, brother of the late illustrious astronomer; who fled from France in consequence of having taking part in the affair of June 13, 1840, has just received orders from the Belgian Government— it is said, on the representation of the French Cabinet —to quit Belgium in ten days, He is accused of keeping up relations in France, and especially of having endeavoured to enter into a series of secret intrigues with some of the troops quartered in the de partment of the Nord. GERMANY. The conference of the Sovereigns at Teschen has taken place, and the King of Prussia returned to Berlin on t he 10th inst. His Majesty was received at the Austrian frontier, and afterwards at Teschen, by the Emperor and Empress of Austria, with the utmost possible cordiality. The subsequent con sultations also seem to have passed over in amicable fashion. After dining together in state we are told that the two Sovereigns withdrew to hold council, whilst Counts Buol and de Thun on the one side, and M. de Manteuffel and Count Alvensleben (sent for expressly from Vienna) on the other, likewise retired, and held a deliberation, which lasted until a late hour. After the interview was over, the Emperor of Austria decorated several of the o fficial personages who had accompanied the King of Prussia, and the latter in turn presented orders to some of the Austrian State functionaries. On returning, the King of Prussia expressed himself highly gratified and satisfied with the results of his visit. SATURDAY, What these results were, or indeed what were the precise topics which came under deliberation on the occasion, we are not informed. It is stated that no document was drawn up and even no pen put to paper at the conference. The Paris Moniteur, however, publishes an omcial despatch from Vienna of the 13th, stating that " the Austrian Government congratulates itself upon the results of the interview at Teschen. The Cabinets of Vienna and Berlin are agreed as to the reply to be made to the objections of the Conference of Bamberg, and u to the means of obviating the difficulties which those objet. Lions excite. Colonel Manteuffel is about to set off for St. Petersburg, and will be the bearer of a despatch from the Prussian Cabinet in support of the summons 'addressed to Russia by Austria." On Tuesday last the King of Prussia left for the eastern provinces, to inspect the troops and public works in those districts. The Prince of Prussia also left Berlin that same day to inspect the troops and to join the King at Konigsberg. Respecting the Bamberg Conference alluded to in the despatch given in the Moniteur, the following details are given by the Dkbats : " The States represented at the Conference were the four kingdoms of Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover, and Wirtemberg ; the Grand Duchy of Hesse, Electoral Hesse, Baden, and Nassau. The Conference of Bamberg had its origin with the dispute between Austria and Prussia about the Cue some Union, and was got up by Austria for her own pur poses; but the States, having on that occasion caused their power to be felt, have remained in coalition, and have even the pretension to overrule the Germanic Diet. On the Eastern question they have shown a strong disposition to support the Prussian policy ; and when Prussia had, by the diplomacy of Austria, aided by the influence of the Western powers, consented to sign an offensive and de- fensive alliance with Austria, the Conference of Ramberg resolved to attempt to undo all that had been done in the interest of France and England, and to turn against Austria the weight which that power had given to the States coin posing it by forming them into a coalition. With this view, whilst the Conference of Bamberg declared that it adhered to the principle of the Austro•Prussian treaty, it laid down as a condition that the question of absolute in tervention should be subjected to it—that is to say, that the Conference of Bamberg should have the right to say when neutrality should be departed from, and that no step should be taken without its sanction. This state of things rendered au interview of the Sovereigns of the two great German States necessary." Accounts from Berlin, of the llth, repeat the rumour that the army in Silesia is to be mobilised. Sunday last, the 11th, was celebrated with many festivities in the Court circles of Berlin, as being the " silver-wedding" day, that is, the twenty-fifth anni versary of the marriage, of the Prince and Princess of Prussia. On Monday and Tuesday deputations from the city of Berlin and principal towns of Prussia waited on their royal highnesses with congratulations on the occasion, which was also marked with sundry observances of festive and respectful characterin the capital and provinces of the kingdom. ITALY. The King of Naples has prohibited the (import of sulphur from Sicily to any port of the belligerent nations. SPAIN. Alarming rumours of an approaching "emeute have been current in Madrid for several days. On the Bth the capital was still quiet, but it was said that the popular rising was only postponed for a week. The Bank of San Fernando has undertaken to pay the next dividends. ----------- TURKEY. From Constantinople on the sth instant we receive news of another change in the Ministry. Redschid Pacha retires from office; Chekib Effendi is ap pointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in his room ; Kiamil Pacha is President of the Council ad interim; Kernel Effendi is Ambassador to Berlin, and Karadia Ambassador to the Hague. Namid Pacha has returned to Constantinople after having failed in all the attempts which be made during six months in Paris and London to contract& loan in the name of the Turkish Government. Colonel Beatson, who had a command in the Nl zam's irregular cavalry in India, has arrived in Con stantinople. He is to receive a command of 4,000 Bashi Bazouks, and will no doubt do all that is pos sible to turn them into good soldiers. A grand dinner was given on the 30th ult. at the British embassy to the Duke o f Cambridge. The chief incident in the evening was the speech of M. von Bruck, the Austrian Internuncio. His of cel lency proposed the independence a nd integrity the Ottoman empire, and declared that his Government was ready to uphold the principle laid down in the protocol of the four powers. He applauded the firm ness of the Western powers, which was likely to result in a settlement such as would be beneficial to Europe, and afford assurances of a permanent peace. Three cheers were given at this declaration, the British Ambassador giving the signal. In after" conversation the Internuncio declared himself autho rised to use the expressions which had elicited much applause. Illiwk.