The Press. — London, England, 1857-02-14 00:00:00

FEBRUARY 14, 185 T. The Earl of CARNARVON seconded the motion. Lord CAMPBELL admitted that the existing state of criminal legislation required improvement on many points, but saw no prospect of useful result from the appointment of the proposed committee. The discussion was prolonged by the Earl Fits. william, Viscount Dungannon, the Earl of Ravens. worth, Lord Stanley of Alderley, and other peers, but ultimately the motion was put and negatived without a division. HOUSE OF COM MONS.—TitunsD THE SECRET TREATY. Lord PALMERSTON, referring to the explanation which had taken place on Tuesday night, regarding the convention of 1854, said he wished to set himself right with Mr. Disraeli upon that subject : I said that I had been informed that that convention had not been signed, and my belief was that it had not been signed. but I think it right to state that, on further inquiry, I find that, in point of fact, it was signed—(loud cheers from the Opposition benches)—but that, being in its nature more of a military than a political convention, and having for its object the regulaton, the mutual regu lation, of the French and Austrian troops which might be in Italy in the contingency of Austria declaring war against Russia, and, Austria never having declared war against Russia, that convention, although signed, became a dead letter, and never had any application or effect whatsoever. Mr. DISRAELI reminded the house that on the opening night of the session his announcement of the existence of this secret treaty was characterised by Lord Palmerston as " a romance." A week elapsed, when, in an explanation of the previous state ment, Lord Palmerston admitted that there was some such written document in existence, but it was "a convention and not a treaty," and more over, "had never been signed; therefore, as it was never in operation, he (Lord Palmerston) was justified in his previous statement, that the whole thing was a romance." Now the noble lord admitted that, after all, he had reason to believe the convention " had been signed" : After these two admissions from the noble lord I stand here (said Mr. Disraeli) to state again that which I stated on the first night of the session. I say it was not a con vention, it was a treaty; I say it was not only signed, but extensively acted upon ; I say that every expression the noble lord used in describing that instrument so little applies to its real nature, as it has been represented to me, that I really believed at the end of the debate the other night that there must have been some military convention in existence, founded upon the treaty, which had not been signed, and that the noble lord was entirely misleading the house. (Cheers.) I state again that there is a treaty—a secret treaty—between Fiance and Austria, the object of which is to guarantee the security of the Italian possessions of Austria—that it was executed on the day I mentioned—that it has been extensively acted upon—that to the best of my belief it contains, on its surface, no limits. tion of the period of its operation—and that the character given of it by the noble lord the other night is entirely in• correct. (Loud cheers.) Lord PALMERSTON, in an ebullition of temper rarely exhibited in the house, replied that, notwith standing the " vapouring manner " in which Mr. Disraeli had been pleased to follow up his statement, he (Lord Palmerston) maintained that Mr. Disraeli had been grossly imposed upon, and was entirely misinformed as to the facts of the case. It was a military convention, not a treaty, and, though signed, had become—from those circumstances which formed its basis never having occured—inoperative, and never would take effect. HOSTILITIES WITH CHINA. Mr. COBDEN gave notice that on this day fortnight he would move the two following resolutions ! 1. That this house has heard with concern of the con theta which have occurred between the British and Chi nese authorities on the Canton river, and, without ex. pressing any opinion how far the Government of China afforded cause of complaint by non fulfilment of the treaty of 1i442, considers that the papers laid on the table fail to establish satisfactory grounds for the violent proceedings resorted to with respect to the case of the Arrow. 2. That a select committee be appointed to inquire into the state of our commercial relations with China. SIR ROBERT PEELS LECTURE. Sir ROBERT PEEL, in reply to ➢lr. Stafford as to whether the report of a speech of his (made on the Tth of January, at Saltby, near Bimingham), which appeared in the Times newspaper, be correct, espe cially those passages which refer to the Grand Duke Constantine of Russia, M. de Moray, and the Prince de Ligne, said that he had been invited to attend that meeting on the occasion of a " jollification"— that he was not in the habit of reading reports of his speeches, and he generally rested "satisfied with the favourable impression that he produced at the time ;" but that with reference to the speech in question, he was prepared to accept the entire responsibility of every single sentence except one--that relating to Count Morny.. He only called him, "le plus grand THE PRESS. speculateur de tEurope." He did not intend "to imply anything detrimental to his honourable cha racter." With respect to the Prince de Ligne, he accepted the responsibility of every phrase he used. In conclusion, Sir Robert Peel said : If I have erred, I beg to say, on this public occasion, as an earnest of the sincerity of my feelings, that, though 1 do not feel that I did err, still, if I did err, I now offer the most ample expression of regret, and that is the most fitting amend.: honorable that I can offer. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC JUSTICE. Mr. NAPIER moved an address to the Crown, pray ing her Majesty to take into consideration, as an urgent measure of administrative reform, the forma tion of a separate and responsible department for the affairs of public justice. He cited as authorities Bacon, Lord Langdale, Lord Brougham, and Lord John Russell, in favour of such a measure, and urged that it would be a compliment to the other meditated legal reforms, while it would give to the profession of the law a better position. Call it a Ministry of Jus tice, or by any other name, but let there be a separate department. He discussed the objections to the proposal that it would interfere with the Lord Chan cellor. Why, that functionary had too much on his hands to do, and it was to relieve him of an impor tant duty that he brought forward this plan ; while, as to interfering with Ireland or Parliament, the objections were untenable. He admitted that there were difficulties to be encountered, but they were not insuperable, and he claimed the aid of the Go vernment. Mr. COLLIER seconded the motion; he attributed the evils of our present legal system to the system itself, no high officer having a staff capable of dealing with those evils, far less of exercising the functions which should be given to a department of justice. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL would not resist Mr. Napier's resolution with the omission of the words "as an urgent measure of administrative reform," but he did not consider that at present there was any necessity to create such a department as that of a separate Minister of Just;ce. Lord JOHN RUSSELL supported the motion, but recommended that it be attached to the office of Home Secretary. Ho resisted the omission of the words mentioned. Mr. MALINS hoped that the present state of things would be brought to a termination, for it was a farce to attempt to maintain two courts of appeal in the Court of Chancery ; there was not enough work for them to do. The hon. member then, noticing the attacks upon the Lord Chancellor, paid Lord Cran worth a high compliment:— He had practised very extensively before the Lord Chan. cellor, and he would say that a judge more patient, more painstaking, who more thoroughly and undividedly gave his attention to the business committed to him, he had never practised before, and probably never should. He had no reason for saying this; but when he saw that attacks were made which he believed to be totally unwar. rantitl, he thoul,ht it was only right as a matter of jus tice that he should express that which was within his own knowledge. Althouvh he might sometimes differ from the Lord Chancellor on his judgment upon appeals, he was sure that the conclusions at which the learned lord arrived were the result of the most painstaking efforts, and there fore, both on account of his exertions and his abilities, be deserved to be spoken of with the highest respect. Sir E. PERRY contended that the proposed de partment of justice should be intrusted to a layman and not to a lawyer. Lord PALMERSTON assured the house that, in agreeing to the motion, it was the intention of the Government to endeavour to give effect to the prin ciple involved in it. With respect to the particular method of carrying the object into effect, the variety of opinion exhibited during the debate showed the difficulty of dealing with details, and the necessity of allowing the Government time for deliberation. Among other points to be considered was, whether the proposed department of justice should be in tru,ted to a new officer or conjoined with some existing branch of executive administration. The motion was ultimately agreed to intact. GENERAL POLLOCK AND THE BOARD OF CONTROL. Capt. LEICESTER VERNON moved for A copy of all correspondence relating to the removal of General Pollock, G.C.8., from the direction of the Hon. East India Company. Captain Vernon's complaint was that General Pollock, who in 1854 had been nomi nated by Sir Charles Wood, in acknowledgment of his great services in India, as one of the directors of the East India Company, had in 1850 been removed from his post by Mr. Vernon Smith. General Pol lock's period of service had expired, it was true, but, instead of renewing the appointment, as is usual and quite in accordance with the Act 16 and 17 Viet. cap. 05, sec. 7., Mr. Vernon Smith had removed the gallant general upon the plea that it was the intention of the Legislature that a fresh appointment, and not a re-appointment, should always he made. In his letter, March 20th, 1850, announcing this to General Pollock, Mr. Vernon Smith gave a delicate intima tion of the line of conduct the gallant general should pursue 153 I am unaware at this moment whether, if I had found it compatible with my publio duty to offer you the office again, you would have wished to accept it, and therefore it is quite open to you to let it be considered that you would not, if more agreeable to you. To this Sir George Pollock, with manly straight• forward feeling, replied : I am obliged by the consideration for me with which you suggest that (if more agreeable to me) " it is quite open to me to let it be considered, that I would not accept office if again offered ;" but in answer to this, I beg to say that with reference to the policy you assign, as a reason for the course you pursue, I do not see why any disguise should be adopted ; and as I certainly should have accepted the reappointment bad it been offered to me, I think it is better for the public service and more honourable to you and myself that the truth (whatever it is) should appear. Mr. VERNON SMITH said that his answer would be that there was no official correspondence in existence on the subject. General Pollock bad never been dismissed ; but he had not been reappointed on account of his age and infirmities. Mr. Vernon Smith expended a good deal of virtuous indignation at the notion of the whole affair having been a "job" : Did the hon. gentleman mean to accuse him ( Mr. V. Smith) of any sinister motive in that appointment? Could he attribute it to any corrupt motive—to what might be called a job—when, if he had consulted his own ease and power, he should have appointed a man who would least interfere with him in any way ? Mr. DISRAELI was willing to believe that Mr. Vernon Smith had acted upon the " purest convictions " of what he thought to be his duty ; but the defence of Mr. Smith was an implied attack upon his colleague and predecessor at the Board of Control (Sir C. Wood), who appointed Sir G. Pollock. If that officer was incapable through infirmity of holding the office of director, why was he appointed ? Lord PALMERSTON defended the original appoint• ment, and the motion was then withdrawn. BANK CHARTER COMMITTEE. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved that the Committee upon the Bank Acts be a committee of secrecy, and do consist of 21 members. It had been tha practice to make such committees secret, although, as far as the Goverment was concerned, they had no motive to desire secrecy: Mr. I)ISRAELI suggested that, as the Government had made up their minds, it would be better to have no committee, but to introduce a bill; and that if a committee was appointed it should not exceed 11. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER justified the course of appointing a committee, and the number he had prDposed. The motion was then agreed to, and the committee nominated. The Commons Enclosure Bill and the Royal Marine Forces Bill were read a second time. Sir WILLIAM CLAY obtained leave to bring in a bill for the abolition of church rates ; the bill to he limited to total abolition of such rates, and a pro vision saving existing legal obligations. jortign (correspoubtuct. BRUSSELS, Feb. 11. ON an introduction to the forthcoming debates on the " etablissements de bienfaisance," otherwise convents, M. l'Abbe Combalot has been preaching a series of sermons in the Cathedral of St. Gudule on the Immaculate Conception." It is difficult to connect that subject with monasteries, therefore the preacher wisely omitted any reference to the textual pro gramme. In his sermon on prayer, Friday oth, he enlarged with unction on the private benefits con ferred by the monks, and pointed out the evils resulting from their suppression. The principle laid down was the decadence of public virtue, morality, and happiness since the golden days of monkdom, and the remedy for such degeneracy was dogmatically held to be a return to the conventual system of the middle ages : The monks (he observed) taught orally, inasmuch as written controversies failed to effect from an incapacity of the multitude to read—a paucity of clerks made forgery, now a common crime, rare ; and erotic epistles lacked a St. Preux to indite and a Julie to peruse. Hera the preacher, carried away by his condemna tion of Rosseau, lapsed in his argument : Since, everywhere the precipitations of original sin have adopted recognised modes of communication—the fan in Spain, digital telegraphs in Italy, and flowers in the East. Even stocks and stones have bad their significations. The schoolmaster is not all to blame. Then the holy monks worked hard spiritually ; they prayed whilst the peasant delved, so that the severity of labour, which left no time for the weary in boil) to pray, was counteracted by the orison of the monk. This was the due and proper division of labour. Can it be fairly said by the heretics and irreligious that the monks were of no use ? Were they not necessary for the salvation of the poor? And the demand for their