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

7Z! APRIL 19, 1856. Vrort6ings in Varliaincnt. MAYNOOTH. Mr. SPooran, on Tuesday, moved— That the house do resolve itself into a committee for the purpose of considering the acts for the endowment of the College of Maynooth with a view to the withdrawal of any on downient out of the Consolidated Fund, due regard being had to vested rights or interesa. The hon. member said the question had been so completely exhausted in previous debates that he was willing to go to a division at once. Adverting to what he considered to be established facts—namely, the tampering with the report of the commissioners, and the ascription therein of illegal tides to Roman Cadiolic bishops—he asserted that the books used at Maynooth contained doe rives justifying evil for the sake of good, and pretensions of the Papal See inimical to the British Constitution and to her Majesty's title to the Crown : The house might rest assured that there was at the pre sent moment an earliest intention on the part f the Roman Catholics to claim the ri_dit of succession of it Roman Ca• tholic king. and for which they meant to make a struggle ; and that they would never cease in their exertions unlit they nad placed themselves in all respects on a level with the I . ll ruestont Church Establishment. This design was at work, and the Government and Parliament were lending themselves, unconsciously perhaps, to the miming out of this object. To the argument that the house was bound by what took place in 1845, in good faith, not to disturb the arrangement, lie opposed the express declaration of the late Sir Robert Peel, "that it was not the suoject of stipdlation or contract, but a free grant, in the hope of obtai.ling for• Ireland a higher class of priesthood." Lunt John Russell on the same occa sion had said that if the priests ever became the leaders of rebellion the house would be justified in stopping the allowance. Now he ( Mr. Spooner) defied any one to say that the Roman Catholic priests were not the leaders of rebellion, ana had not been doin; ever) thing they could to subvert society in Ireland. Mr. M'Citai maintained the loyalty of the Roman Catholics of Ireland taught by the priests at Maynooth. Mr. BLACK moved, as an amendment to Mr. Spooner's motion, the addition of the following words : And at the same time to take into consideration the other parliamentary grants made to religions denominations in Ireland. The proportionate amount per family received by the Roman Catholics from the grant of 26,3001. was just 81.1. per annum, against 0/. Bs. to each family of the Established Church, and Os. lid. to each Presbyte• rian family, received from the 70,0001. revenue of the Established Church, and a grant of 38,0-14/. given to the Presbyterians, and he asked, independent of the religious question and of every other considera tion, whether, on the essential principle of justice, this was a lair proportion given from a general fund. He regarded the claim to the Maynooth grant as strung upon the ground of contract, or supposed contract, and that the main objection to the grant—namely, that the Roman Catholic religion was heretical—was not consonant to that right of Ovate judgment, in religious belief insisted on by Protestants, and was founded on a principle of persecution, to which be would not be a party. Iza-d CASTLEROSSE defended the giant on the ground of counsel. He denied Mr. Spooner's right to constitute himself a jud g e between religious truth and religious error. Lord BERNARD denied that there was any contract, and remarked upon the injustice of compelling Pro testants to support Maynooth, while they were them selves unable to obtain State assistance for the education of their own ehildren. Mr. FAOAN, Mr. WILKINSON, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. DE VERE, and Mr. MEAGHER opposed the motion. Mr. Motown) had nothing to say in favour of Maynooth. If the grant were stopped, and the Roman Catholic clergy were still educated, we should not have to pay for it. Still he thought if MELi nooth were pulled down, the Established Church in Ireland would come down soon after. Mr. BEAsY appealed to the conduct of the priest hood in '9B and in '4B to prove that the teaching ot Maynuoth was not disloyal. If Maynooth were shut up trJrn want of English support, ample funds would be found in France for the support and preparation or the Irish priesthood. Mr. NEWDEGATE, in supporting the original mo tion, contended that the experiment of the college had failed altogether, especially in preventing the Roman Catholic priesthood of Ireland from being imbued with foreign and ultramontane principles. _ Mr. R OEBUCK was ot opinion that the grant 10 Maynooth ought to be maintained, in order to pre• vela the Roman Catholic priesthood from being educated abroad. Mr. KIRK took an objection to the terms of the amendment, which were so large as to comprehend, THE PRESS. he said, the endowments of the Established Church of Ireland, as wcll as t. , .e Presbyterian grant. Lord PALMERSTON thought the question was one of polit cal exped ency, as well as of good faith and justice to the Irish people. As to the education of the priesthood and its effect, he judged by results, and would ask if Ireland was ever more loyal than at present? No one could deny it was better that the priests should be educated at borne, free from all those ultramontane prejudices they would acquire if educated abroad. On these grounds he should oppose both the motion and amendment. Mr. SPOONER replied that the question was not only one of expediency, but one of principle. The house then divided upon Mr. Black's amend ment, when the numbers were— For the amendment .. 21 Majority .. 253 - Against it ..-232 The house then divided on the original motion, when there were— For Mr. Spooner's motion .. 159 Against it .. .. .. .. 133 Majority .. .. • • --26 The house then went into committee, with Mr. Newdegate in the chair. Mr. SPOONER moved for leave to bring in a bill according to the terms of his motion. Mr Hurcuiws moved, as an amendment, that tl e chairman should leave the chair and report progres-. Lord PALMERSTON expressed his approval of the amendment, and hoped that the progress proposed to be reported would be the only progress made in the matter. The committee divided, when the numbers were— For the amendment .. 132 Against it .. .. 134 Majority against .. --22 The committee then divided on the main ques tion—the introduction of the bill. The numbers were— .. Ayes .. .. .. 159 Noes .. .. .. .. 142 Msjority .. .. —l7 .. The house then resumed, and leave was given to introduce the hill, which was shortly after brought in and read for the first time. THE SIEGE OF KARS. Mr. WHITESIDE, on Monday, said, it might be convenient to lion. members that he should state 'hat the following were the terms of the motion which he intended to submit to the house on the 24th inst., relative to the tall of Kars : That, while this house feels it to be its duty to express its admiration of the gallantry of the Turkish soldiery, and of the devotion of the British officers at the siege of Kars, it feels it to be equally a duty to express its conviction that the capitulation of that fortress and the surrender of the army which defended it, thereby endangering the safety of the Asiatic provinces of Turkey, were in a great measure owing to the want of foresight and energy on the part of her Majesty's Administration. THE DESPATCH OF TROOPS TO BRITISH NORTH ♦MERICA. Lord PANMITRE, on Thursday, in reply to the Earl of Elgin, said : There is a general impression out of doors that a very large force is about to embark for British North America. It is quite true that it is our intention to send back to North America a certain nuenbcr or regiments which were taken from that part of her Majesty's dominions for the purpose of carrying on the war ; and it is nut improbable that in the new organisation of the army, by divisions and htigades, which is contemplated, there will, over all the North Amencan provinces, be a small addition to the British army ; but the impression that we are about to send thither a large force for purposes of aggression is entirely without foundation. It is also stated—and I ant glad to have this opportunity of explaining that too—that large quantities of munitions of war are being sent to Bri tish North America. The fact is, that during the war we drew from the British North American stores almost all the munitions of war, in the shape of gunpowder and other materials, which they contained. All that is now being dune is to repluce the stores which were drawn thence. THE AMERICAN QUESTION. Lord PALMERSTON, on Monday, in reply to Mr. Baillie, said the answer to be made to the last com munication received from the United States Govern me I. required to be very carefully prepared ; that the absence o' Lord Clarendon had caused an unavoidable delay, but that the answer was in pre paration, and in the course of this week v mid be communicated to Mr. Dallas. In the early part of next' week the Government probably would be in a condition to submit to the house the whole of the correspondet ce. Mr. BAILLIE then postponed his motion (which stood for that evening) condemnatory of the coarse taken by the Mini..teas of the Crown in the employ nient of agents to enlist the citizens of foreign powers into the service of her Majesty, in defiance of the laws of those countries. 365 Sr' DE LACY EvArts likewise postponed his aintnd ment to that motion. TORTURE IN MADRAS. The Earl of Aunt RIX, on Monday, in presenting a petition from the inhabitants of Madras ci.mplain ing of the indiction of torture by the Government officials in India, read a list of the common modes of torture inflicted. They were : Deprivation of food and water; hindering a man from sleeping ; hanging a necklace of hones or other disgusting materiels round the neck (a punishment peculiarly offen sive to a Hindoo); compelling a man to sit on his heels, with brickbats or sharp stones under his hams ; striking the heads of two defaulters against each other; tying two persons together in a stooping posture by the h sir f their heads ; tying a man in a stooping posture to the wheel of a cart; tying a man by the hair of his head to the tail of an ass and paraling him through the public market; forcing a man into a stooping posture with another man on his back; binding a man to one tree and hoisting his leg by a rope attached to another; suspending a man by his heels to the bough of a tree ; suspending him by the wrist and scourging him while in the air; placing the victim on a nest of red ants; pounding the joints with mallets of s..ft wood ; flagellation with every kind of scourge in every part of the human body, and with such severity as occasionally to cause death ; tying rags round the fingers and setting fire to them ; burning various parts of the body with a lighted cheroot, heated packing-needles and searing irons : wrapping the body in cotton steeped in oil, and setting fire to u; compression of the sensitive organs of the body; driving thorns under the nails ; filling the nostrils, eyes, and other parts of the body wish cayenne pepper; ittc..kc. In refutation of the assertion of the Directors that the practice of torture was not officially recognised in India, Lord Albemarle quoted several passages from the report of the commissioners, in which the civil servants of the Company are convicted of a thorough knowledge of the custom of using torture to extort revenue. The noble earl concluded by moving resolutions to the effect that, " since it is clearly proved hat torture has long been and is now practised in India by Government officials, and that the custom has been many years known by the authorities at home and in Inda, the house viewed it as disgraceful to the character of the nation, and pledged itself to pursue the most effectual measures for the abolition of the practice." The Duke of ARGYLL said the practice was one in herited by the Company from the previous rulers c f the country ; that it was never sanctioned by the Government; and that steps were now being taken to put a stop to so abhorrent a custom. He did not think Lord Albemarle's resolutions held out any hope of a practical remedy, and quoted a passage from the commissioners' report to prove that the custom of torture was rather viewed favorably than otherwise by the natives, and he should, therefore, propose to amend the noble earl's resolutions so far as to state that although the practice of torture has been known to exist fur many years, "it has been repeatedly de nounced by the constituted authorities both at home and in India, and that the house relied ' upon the authorities in this country and in India' to put a stop to so disgraceful a practice." The Marquis of CLANRICARDE said the whole question was one merely of " a. d.," for the Com pany employed a set of vagabonds on low pay as police; whereas if they paid fair wages they would obtain superior men, who would not employ torture as a means of extorting confessions. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said it was a reproach to the local officers that they hail not informed the Government of the practice. He had always been of opinion that the duties of the police and the collection of revenue ought to be separated, and that the police should be formed altogether on a military basis, as was established with the highest success by Sir C. Napier in Scinde. The Government officials should also pass six months of every year in travel ling through the country to ascertain the real state of the people. Lord MONTEAOLE expressed his belief that the practice of torture was not confined alone to the Presidency of Madras, but was more or less uni versally practise I throughout India. The English people would desert their daty, and cast aside their glorious precedents, if they acquiesced In these enormities. Tie amended resolutions were ag.reid to. MINISTERS' MONEY BILL (IRELAND). Mr. FAGAN, MI Wednesday, moved the second reading of this bill. Mr. G. A. HAMILTON moved to defer the second reading tor six months. The object of the bill, he observed, was to abolish entirely a charge, not upon persons, but upon property, and to confer upon the owners of houses in certain towns in Ireland an ex emption from a liability to which that property was subject when they acquired it at the expense of the m n stersd the Established Chinch ; so that, instead of being an act ut justice, the abolition of this charge would be an act of injustice. Mr. BLACK and Mr. MIALL supported the bill. The tax .‘iehied scarcely anything to the revenue, but it was telt as a great grievance. Lord BERNARD opp osed the bill. . "