The Press. — London, England, 1856-04-19 00:00:00

366 Mr. HORSNAN admitted the difficulties of the ques tion, though it would be premature to abolish the tax at once, and promised on oehalf of the Govern ment, that if on further trial the present law was found inoperative, to bring forward a measure that should obviate all difficulties, and do justice to all parties. Mr. NAPIF.R opposed the bill. Mr. FITZGERAL' thought the law should be en forced, if possible. _ _ Mr. WHITESIDE supported the amendment. Mr. MAomaE and Mr. Sergeant O'BRIEN defended the bill. Lord J. RUSSELL observed that there were only two possible courses with reference to this tax: the first, to exhaust the means of the law to enforce it, and, if the machinery was defective, to bring in some amending measure ; the second course was, to consider the tax not worth the contention, and that sufficient means might be found to supply a sub stitute in the revenues of the Ecclesiastical Commis sionem. He was ready to adopt either course; but that proposed by Mr. Horsmau was, in his opinion, the very worst course. He should vote, he said, against the bill; but he hoped the Government of Ireland would take one of the two courses he had mentioned, and either enforce the law or put an end to the tax altogether. The house then divided— For the second reading l2l Against Majority SO The bill accordingly lost. THE FIRE BRIGADE IN THE HOUSE. Lord REDESDALE, on Monday, called the attention of the Government to the withdrawal of the tire brigade from the house, and the transference of their duties to the police, by the Board of Works. Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY promised that inquiry should be made into the matter. On Thursday Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY said he was perfectly ready to lay the correspondence m the table, and explained that it was henceforth intended to employ in lieu of the fire brigade one inspector, two s?rgeants, and sixteen constables of police. Lord REDESDALE confessed his ent re inability to understand either the policy .ar the justice of the pro posed change. The new system would occasion a great increase of expense, for the men about to be brought in were exactly twice the number of those whom they would supplant. On the authority of Mr. Goldsworthy Gurney, to whom was intrusted the whole charge of the lighting and ventilation of the house, he (Lord Redesdale) believed that under the new arrangement the building would not he so safe as it was under the existing one. The matter well deserved the consideration of the Government, and he hoped that the proposed change would not be adopted without further inquiry. Lard STANLEY Of ALDERLEY explained that instead of increasing, the proposed system would considerably diminish, the expense of watching the houses. The estimate of the probable expense of the united bodies of firemen under Mr. Brady, and of policemen, was 3 0901. ; while the whole expense of the police, who w .uld be available both for the protection of the buildings and for ordinary purposes, would not exceed 1,5001. a year. Tne cisterns would be under the immediate control of the Clerk of the Works, who would be always resident in the Palace, who was an o ficer of the Board of Works, and who would invari a ,ly be in direct communication with the superin tandent of the police, who would also be resident within the building. THE FOREIGN LEGIONS. 'Mr. PEEL, - on Tuesday, in reply to Colonel Dunne, asid that the foreign levies would be disbanded at as e irly a period as circumstances would permit. The troops had no claim to pensions, although or, being disbanded they would be entitled to gratuities, at the rate of three months' pay to the officer, and twelve mlnths' pay to the private soldiers. They were also en - itled to a passage, at the cost of her Majesty's Government, either to their own homes, to British North America, or to the Cape, as they might wish. THE FRENCH WAR MEDALS. Mr. PEEL, on Tuesday, in reply to Colonel Lindsay, exit the medals would he distributed in the propor ti ) i in which they were awarded in the French ser vi •e, namely to ten men in every thousand, and it w tuld therefore be necessary to select those soldiers win were most worthy to receive the decoration. A . cordingly General Codrington, with the aid of the commanding officers of the various regiments, had b +on instructed to make such a selection. The de clraiion would be confined to non-commissioned o beers and private soldiers. THE MILITIA. Mr. PEEL, on Tuesday, in reply to Lord Naas, sail it was not int 'Tided to disembo ly the several regiments of militia in the order in which they were embodied. CONSULAR ESTABLISHMENTS. I 0 Monday the house went. into a Committee of Supply upon the remaining Civil Service Estimates. hi. THE PRESS. On the vote of 187,4981. for Consular Establish ments, Lord PALMERSTON, in replying to Mr. Wise, stated that Lord Clarendon had sent out circulars to the various consuls demanding information upon their various duties, with a view when the required information was collected of proposing next sessions to authorise him (Lord Palmerston) to agree to the appointment of a committee of that house to take into consideration the whole of the consular system. The resolutions agreed to were ordered to be reported. BANKERS' COMPOSITIONS BILL. On Monday, on the motion for the second reading of this bill, _ . Mr. Gims inquired what were the intentions of the Government as to the Bank Act or 1844. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied that if it was the general wish of the house that a com mittee should be appointed to inquire into the opera- tion of the Bank Act no objection would be made on the part of the Government, but he was not aware that at this period of the session any great progress could be made in the inquiry. The bill was read a second time. THE HTINTINGDON POSTMASTER. The Duke of ARGYLL, on Tuesday, in reply to Lord Sandwich, said that the prosecution of the postmaster of Huntingdon, charged with abstracting a post office order from a letter, had been dropped by the advice of the A ttorney-G , neral, as it appeared that the postmaster had abstracted the order with the view, not of defrauding the revenue, but of obtaining a small commission upon the sale of an article for which he was an agent. The postmaster had, how ever, been dismissed. OXFORD UNIVERSITY BILL (AMENDMENT). Lord HARROWBY, on Tuesday, in reply to the Earl of Derby, explained that the object of the bill was only to supply an almost clerical error in the act of last session, which in its provisions in regard to en dowments did not provide for the cases in which there were private acts of Parliament. LOAN FUND SOCIETIES (IRELAND). Mr. HORSMAN, on Tuesday, in reply to Mr. Polla-d- Urquhart, said it was not the intention of her Ma jesty's Government to introduce a bill to regulate the loan fund societies in Ireland, in conformity with the recommendation of the committee of last year. ACCIDENTS ON RAILWAYS. Mr. LOWE, on Monday, in reply to Mr. H. Brown, said that it wag not his intention to bring forward any measures for the better regulation of railway and canal traffic, or for defining the responsibility of rail way officials. The following arrangements have taken place during the week : MONDAY. Mr. TOTTENHAM took the oaths and his seat for New Ross. The house went into committee upon the Burial Grounds ( Ireland) Bill ; but, after clauses 1 to 6 were agreed to, the chairman was ordered to report progress. The Medical Qualification and Registration Bill was read a second time, and was referred to a select committee on the Medical Profession Bill. The Cambridge University Bill was read a second time and committed forthwith, pro for,,d, in order that it might be reprinted, the debate upon the principle being deferred by consent until its recommittal. _ _ . The Public Works Bill was read a third time and passed, with the addition of a clause requiring the rendering of an annual account by the commissioners. The Public Works (Ireland) Bill was read a third time and passed. TUESDAY. Mr. STAFFORD moved fora select committee on the medical department of the army, which was agreed to. Mr. Ilonsme: obtained leave to bring in n bill to explain and amend the acts relating to lunatic asylums in Ireland. Mr. 1. BUTT moved that the order for the second reading of the Bleaching, cte , Works Bill he discharged, that the bill be withdrawn, and that leave be given to bring in a bill to regulate the hours of labour of women and young persons in bleaching and dyeing works. The motion was agreed to. On the motion of Mr. STAFFORD, Mr. Milnes was added to the transportation committee. On the motion of Mr. BAINES, Sir W. Heathcote was discharged from the com mittee, and Mr. Ker Seymer was added to it. The report of the Committee of Supply was brought up and agreed to. The F.:chequer-bills Bill ( 21,182,7001.) passed through committee. WEDNESDAY. The Reformatory and Industrial Schools Bill was read a second time. Exchequer Bill (Ireland) read a third time and passed. THURSDAY. " No House" in the Commons. The Earl of ALBEMARLE gave notice that Iv. should, on an early day, move the reappointment of the Committee on Indian Territories. The Public Works Bill was read a second time. The Public Works ( Ireland) Bill was also read a second time. Earl GRANVILLE, in reply to the Bishop of Oxford, said he did not propose to press the Education Bill on their lordships' attention any further, at least during the present session. SATURDAY, THE CAMP IN THE CRIMEA. THE news of the signature of peace has ar rived in the Crimea, and preparations for the eva cuation of the camp are gra(lually showing them selves. The French and Sardinian troops are falling back towards Kamiesch. Returns of transport are called for ; the rails of our railroad are being taken up, the sleepers are being used as fuel, and wistful eyes are cast upon the huts, which are believed not to be worth removal. The weather is still very severe in the camp: fogs, snow, and cold winds, with a thermometer at 20 deg., is at Present to be found in the Crimea. Very different is this weather from the fine spring which befriended us last year. The army is healthy, and in capital organisation. From the Turkish camp there is not much news. intelligence of the armistice reached the camp at Horga, in Asia Minor, on the 15th March, and a truce had been agreed upon between the Russians and Turks. The Turkish troops were committing gross excesses in the neighbourhood. Letter,' up to the 24th from Redout Kaleh state that the whole of the Turkish army encamped at Horga had been withdrawn to Redout Kaleh, where they now waited transport to Trebizond. CAMP GOSSIP. Although there is an end of fighting in the Crimea, the recent adversaries do not yet appear to be v. ry friendly. The line of sentries on both sides of the Tschernaya prevent any persons crossing the river, and, though the valley on the left hank is a favorite resort for a canter by the allies, yet the Rus sians rarely come down to their side of the river Whatever may be the cause of it, there appears to be more sympathy or less repugnance between the French and the Russians than there is between us and our late enemy. It is rare to see an English or Sardinian officer engaged in conversation with a Russian across the niche! , naya in comparison with the frequency of such interviews on the part of the French. Were it not that the Sardinian officers speak French very well, one would imagine that the reason—allowing something, too, for our national re• serve—was the proficiency in that language of many Rus sian officers, few of whom speak English. One officer, indeed, during the races, mounted on a wretched pony, informed us that he had " a Englosh hoarse as was fleet as winds for the course as would gain the reward." and others now and then say a few words of English ; but, for the most part, the Russians speak French and German in pre ference to any other alien tongue. The exchanges of champagne bottles have ceased, and the barter across the stream is mostly confined to small brass crosses, which " the Muscovies " purchase for a few copecks from the Jew pedlars in their camp, and sell for as many sixpences or shillings. General Timon'. or Tatchimoff. the Chef d'Etat-Major of the corps d'arniee at Khntor Mackenzie, has given very strict orders against any transgression of the boundary from his side —Times cor., April Ist. The whole time of the army is taken up with pa rades and theatricals. The Guards' theatre certainly appears to carry off the palm. A new farce and an adaptation of Sheridan's Critic were brought out on the 29th ult.:— The facilities (writes the Times correspondent) which the gallant brigade possesses in producing young ladies, handsome and graceful, if a little gigantesyne in stature and hoarse in voice, are really wonderful. Miss Sefton, as Emily Harden, presented us with a fair bouncing wench, whose fine proportions justified the taste of Mr. Hazard (Colonel de Bathe), and established his reputation for boldness and enterprise. Her dress, if not quite in the latest mode, argued considerable experience in the re sources of millinery, and was probably derived from the newest fashions at Kamiesch. Mr. Ponsonby was in tensely funny and stupid, and turned out his toes d mer veille as Sir C. Hallos ; anti Mr. Armytage, who had pre viously excited our admiration by his extre. , e activity in a sailor's hornpipe. in which Mr. Mevrick, however, more than divided the honours, was lively and rr isy in Don Feroln. The dresses were wonderfully good, and " Tilbury Fort " would have made Grieve and Telbin shake over their paint pots. The young soldiers still arriving occasionally afford some amu , ement to their more veteran comrades. One of the "Johnny Newcomes," writes the Herald correspondent (April Ist), fresh caught from the west of Ireland, was asked by his master if every thing was right for the day : " Sure no, yer honour, we're all wrong," was the reply; " the torage has not come up for the crocodiles." " Crocodiles," cried the master; " we've no crocodiles here." By the holy poker," rejoined the full private, "then what's them two animals behind yer honour's hut?" " Camels, Paddy, camels !" " Camels, yer honour? Well, then, camels or crocodiles , it's all the same; sure, they're ugly bastes anyhow. Ugh, it's camels they are. is it?" A POLITICAL PRISONER, one Felice Ors►ni, lately escaped from his dungeon at Mantua. He c" through the bars of his window, let himself down by his sheets and bedclothes, avoi led the sentries, and got safely off in a carriage waiting for him a short distance from the prison.: 114