The Press. — London, England, 1858-05-01 00:00:00

426 consideration the compulsory and inquisitorial objec tion, the true question, he thought, was whether, when these statistics were got, they would be worth the price paid for them. Mr. DRUMMOND agreed with Sir G. Lewis that these statistics would not make, and never could nuke, the smallest difference, or be of the slightest utility in a practical point of view. Mr. Caird, he said, bad not drawn a distinction netween farmers and speculators in corn. The farmer should not be encouraged to sell or refuse to sell. Let him bring his corn to market as he wanted, and not be turned into a speculator. Mr. TURNER supported the bill. Mr. BENTINCK objected to, the principle and the machinery of the bill, which he believed, could pro cure no information that would he really useful. Mr. K. SEYMER strenuously opposed the bill. Pressed by domestic and foreign competition, the British farmer, he said, grew as much corn as he could, and he was not to be required to furnish in formation not extorted from other traders. The object of the bill was to obtain returns of the acreage; but while that was certain, the yield was uncertain. Valuable information mig htl always be got from pri vate enterprize as to the prospects of crops. Mr. Bass observed that it had not been shown that any harm could be done by the bill, in support of which he suggested how the want of knowing the quantity of barley grown affected his own large pur- chases of that grain. . . . . . Mr. CARDWELL considered that the British farmer was the person most interested in obtaining these statistics. If a large purchaser of barley, like Mr. Bass, told them that it was interesting to him to obtain such knowledge, how much more so must it be to the farmer! He admitted that a compulsory measure would entirely fail, since it was not ana logous to our other institutions, and not congenial to the feelings of the country ; and, looking at the machinery of the bill,,he recommended Mr. Caird to withdraw it. Mr. HENLEY said the first great difficulty of this subject had been created ten years ago by the course taken by the then Government, the effect of which was to excite a feeling throughout the agricultural districts hostile to these statistics; and this feeling bad been increased by a more recent attempt to make their collection compulsory. He then pro ceeded to consider the nature and quality of the in• formation which the provisions of the bill were adapted to acquire, the labour and cost of acquiring it, and ;as suggested by Sir G. Lewis) whether that information would be worth the expense, of which, he said, he could form no correct estimate, He hoped Mr. Caird would take the advice of Mr. Cardwell and withdraw the bill, the machinery of which he was convinced would not work. Mr. Muss was convinced that the agriculturists throughout England had not the slightest objection to returns of the acreage, so long as there was no interference with produce and stock. Taking the principle of the bill from its preamble he should vote for it, but be suggested that it should bo left to the Government to work, out the details of the measure. Mr. Stanhope, Sir. J. Shelley, and Mr. Ball spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. CAIaD, in reply, declined to adopt the sugges tion of Mr. Cardwell, but would be ready, if the bill were read a second time, to accept Mr. Miles's recom mendation, and leave to the Government the working out of its principle. Upon a division, the amendment was carried by :141 to 135; so the bill is lost. On the order for the second reeding of the Roads, kc. (Scotland), Bill, a discussidn arose upon preli- minary points, which ended in the motion being withdrawn. The remaining orders having been disposed or, the house adjourned at a quarter to six o'clock. HOUSE OF LORDS-THURSDAY. OUDE. The Earl of ALBEMARLE presented a petition from Manchester and Salford, praying that the King of Oude be restored to his throne. Though he (the Earl of Albemarle) did not approve the policy that led to the annexation of Oude, yet he could not sup port the prayer of the petition. Earl GRANVILLE asked, in reference to the de spatch recommending clemency and discrimination in the punishment of the Indian mutineers, why it bad been sent to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors, as it was not addressed to any of the native chiefs or princes ; and whether this was the legal and usual course? The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH stated that the course taken was strictly legal. It would have been most inconvenient to make the subject-matter of that despatch public before the fall of Lucknow. DIVORCE BILL. Lord LYNDHURST inquired whether the Govern ment intended to extend the provisions of the Divorce Bill to Ireland? The Loin) CHANCELLOR said it was not the inten tion of the Government to introduce any measure THE PRESS, MAY 1, 1858. having that object. As the compensation paid to proctors by the act was very large, the question of expense must be considered before applying a similar law to Ireland. The Earl of Nillcimow observed that the late Government had promised that an act of the same kind would be introduced for Ireland. Lord CRANWORTH confirmed the statement. The Marquis of WESTMEATH moved the second reading of the bill for the suppression of barrel• organs. The motion was negatived and the bill thrown THE " CAOLLARI." The Earl of MAIMESBURY, in reply to questions from the Earl of Airlie in reference to the capture of the Cagliari, who thought her Majesty's Govern ment had exhibited great discretion in the matter, stated that the condemnation of the Cagliari by the Neapolitan courts was not yet completed; the despatch of the Marquis D'Azeglio of the 22nd of March had been answered. He regretted that in consequence of the explanation given of the error committed by Mr. Erskine in copying the despatch of the Earl of Clarendon to Count Cavour, the Sardinian Govern. ment had drawn the inference that England in. tended to abandon it. He could not discover that the English Government had ever made any pro. mise to co-operate with that of Sardinia in this question. From the merely English point of view, their connection with it was extremely slight, con. sisting only in the accident of two English engineers being on board the Cagliari. Her Majesty's Go. vernment had obtained their liberation, the opinion of the law officers of the Crown being unanimous that their detention was illegal : the Government had also demanded from Naples an indemnity for their imprisonment. The feeling in Sardinia with regard to the capture of the steamer was very strong —so strong as to create a risk of war between the two Italian States. To prevent the occurrence of hostilities so dangerous to Europe, her Majesty's Government had offered its good offices to Sardinia by supporting its endeavour to obtain the restoration of the Cagliari; and if it failed, he had advised Count Cavour to have recourse to the mediation of some friendly power, according to the principle laid down in the Convention of Paris, before proceeding to any measures of hostility. The Earl of CLARENDON remarked that the action of the Government throughout had been hampered by legal doubts. He recapitulated all the details of the case, and stated his conviction that the con demnation of the Cagliari was illegal. He heard with satisfaction that her Majesty's Government had demanded an indemnity for the two engineers. The late Government for a long time was in complete ignorance of the condition in which they were kept. No access was allowed to them ; and while they were suffering all the horrors of their imprisonment the Neapolitan Government formally stated that they were well treated by special direction of the authori ties, and in good health. The men were clearly en titled to an indemnity, not only for their cruel, unjust, and unlawful detention, but for the deception prac tised on her Majesty's Government by the Govern ment of Naples. Lord WENELF,YDALE suggested a reference of the legal questions involved to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Lord CAIIPBEII. thought the course would be em barrassing if the committee were not unanimous. After some further discussion the matter dropped. The Duke of ARGYLL, in moving for the produc• tion of the report of the Directors, to the general Court of the East India Company, on the two bills relating to the Government of India, criticized the provisions of the bill of the present Government, condemning the system of election of members of the Council of India, a system he believed the Government itself did not approve, as the Earl of Ellenborough had declared his opposition to it in 1853. The Earl of He had endea BOROUGH defended the measure to connect India, by the system of election in its Home Government, with the great representative powers of the country, and to give that stability and influence to the Council which could alone prevent jobbing and remedy the mistakes of Parliament. The state of India would not allow of any delay in deciding upon its form of Govern ment. Earl GREY believed the dangers of delay much less than those of taking a false step that might be irretrievable. It was evident the public mind was not prepared to deal with the question; the import- ance of the reconstruction of the Home Government of India had been much exaggerated by all parties. It only affected the manner in which the Cabinet acted on the Indian authorities ; to the natives of India, who knew no one but the Governor•Generai, it was of little importance. Earl GRANVILLE contrasted the principles em - bodied in the present bill with the opinions ex pressed by the Earl of Elleaborough in 1831 and 1853. Lord MONTEAGLE thought they were only in creasing the difficulties of the question by discussing it without any preparation, inquiry, or authority. After a few observations from the Marquis of CLANRICARDE the return was ordered and their lord- ships adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—TiwasnAy. On the motion of Mr. WALPOLE, it was resolved that on and after the 13th of May orders of the day on Thursdays shall have precedence of notices of motions. Mr. SPOONER moved his annual resolution for tho withdrawal of the parliamentary grant to Maynooth, and supported his motion with the usual arguments. The HONE SECRETARY opposed the motion, he. lieving that if the present arrangement were altered much disquietude would be excited among the Irish public, with no countervailing advantages. Mr. NEWDEGATE having briefly supported the motion, and alter a reply from Mr. SPOONER, The house divided: For the motion 155 Against 2lO-55 _ On the motion of Sir E. COLEBROOKE, and after some di-cussion, the Registration of County Voters (Scotland) Bill was read a second time. Mr. J. D. FITZGERALD moved the second reading of the Juries (Ireland) Bill, and was proceeding to explain and justify the measure, whe❑ The house was counted out, at a quarter to eight o'clock. INDIA. The following telegram was received on Saturday last : ALEXANDRIA, April 20. The Calcutta and China mails, per Hindustan, leave this afternoon, with intelligence from Calcutta to the 23rd of March, Madras to the 29th, Ceylon to the 2nd of April, awl Hong Kong to the lath of March. The Bentinck, with extra mail and passengers from Calcutta, arrived at Suez on the 14th. There is intelligence front Lucknow to the 22nd of March. On the 20th Brigadier Campbell's force returned from the pursuit of the enemy. Hutchison, of the Lancers, was dangerously wounded, and Cooper, of the Rifles, dead. On the 21st the Nombries (Nana's) retreatwas stormed. He escaped, and a reward of .50,000 rupees is offered fur his head. Outram's force had discovered and destroyed rebels in Lucknow, and the Prime Minister is among those reported as killed. Cape, of the 13th Native Infantry, and Thaek well were murdered by tho enemy. Fanatics still fire on our troops. The Governor• General's proclamation calling on the zemindara to submit had produced no effect. Oude is pacified, the enemy flying towards Sundeera. Jung Bshadoor goes to Allahabad. No civil officer had yet been sent to Lucknow by the Government. Some in habitants were returning to the city. The heat was increasing daily. A telegram from Allahabad of the 2lth states that Sir Hope Grant was sent on the 23rd to disperse a body of in surgents under Rajah Jajlal Singh at Karee, and raurned perfectly successful. He took twelve guns. The Disarming Act was being enforced in the north• west provinces. The sentence on the King of Delhi had not yet been made public. CHINA. Canton continues tranquil. An Imperial edict was re• ceived on the 6th of March. Yeh's conduct is condemned. He is degraded, and a successor appointed. The latter is to settle disputes with the barbarians, who, excited to wrath by Yeb, had entered the city. Lord Elgin and his colleagues had left for the North, the former on the 3rd of March. The Inflexible, with Commissioner Yeb, had arrived at Calcutta. THE CAPTURE OF LUCKNOW. The full details we have received this week of the capture of Lucknow confirm the opinion that this great success has been achieved by air Colin Camp bell with very trifling loss, and that the result of his vicbry will materially tend to the rapid pacification of Oude. Operations commenced on the 10th of March, and a three days bombardment, a spec'es of feu (Pettier, being poured upon the rebels, cowed them considerably. Large numbers lied the city at the close of the first day ; and when their carefully loophole(' poselon was turned on the 14th, and the Imam barrah and Kaiserbagh captured in an hour, they became completely dishearter.ed. The l a bour, of three months were lost to them; their hearts failed them; attacked with gallantry they gave way on all points, and by the evening of the 14th our troops wen( in " solid occupation " of the key of their position, and the rebels pouring out of the city in such numbers i that a powerful brigade of cavalry was despatched n pursuit to cut up the fugitives. On the llith the Mohtee Math], the ; 111.en-honae, and the Residency