The Press. — London, England, 1857-07-25 00:00:00

'126 TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION ebe Wareois: ( STAMPED ) Per Annum . Half Yearly. Quarterly .. .. 61 6 0 .. 0 13 0 .. 0 6 6 PAYABLE IN ADVANCE. Subscribers are requested to send their orders through News Agents; if direct to the Office, accompanied by a remittance. Advertisements also must have a reference or remittance, Money Orders to be made payable to Mr. ALFRED Iva, 110, Strand, London. Irts 21rvgg• LONDON, SATURDAY, JULY 25, 1857. POSTSCRIPT. PARIE, Friday, July 24, 8 n.m. The Moniteur announces that the rumour circu• lated of the despatch of French troops to China is entirely without foundation. A letter from Vienna in the Bourse Gazette of Berlin says : It is certain, as we learn from a very good source, thht the last events in Italy, and especially those of Genoa, have caused the Turin Cabinet to consider that the re• establishment of diplomatic relations with the Austrian Government is more desirable than ever. The Court of the Tuileries also desires it. Count de Cavour has had several conferences with the Duke de Grammont, the French Minister, on the bases of a reconciliation, and has sent an aceount of them to the Baron de Bourqueney, the French Ambassador in this city. The Baron has had com munications with Count de Buol on the subject, and the latter, on his part, manifests the best dispositions. Only some formalities at present prevent the Austrian Cabinet from immediately complying with the wishes of the Cabi net of Turin, and it is hoped that an understanding will soon be come to respecting them. THE BOURBONS OF SPAIN. The Count and Countess de Montemolin, and Don Fernando and Don Sebastian de Bourbon, are now at Baden, in Austria. where they expect to be joined by the widow of Don Carlos, and by Don Juan ds Bourbon. This assemblage of the exiled branch is said to he connected with the projects of fusion so much talked of at different times during the last few months, but concerning which the most opposite statements have been made, and nothing positive is known. It has been said that although Don Juan and Don Fernando are much in favour of the fusion, and I)on Sebastian is longing to return to Spain, Count Montemolin positively refuses to recognise Queen Isabella. An argument against the truth of this statement is that the Duke of Modena, the only sovereign in Europe who has never recognised this Queen, and who has always been one of tho most zealous partisans of the Carlist cause in Spain—supplying funds, in con junction with the King of Naples and others, for various enterprises, and notably for Cabrera's last attempt in Cal to the fusion. WHITEHALL, it may be well to remind our readers, extends from Scotland-yard down to Canon-row, and from the Thames to St. James's park. It was originally known as York-house, and belonged to Cardinal Wolsey,and was first called Whitehall when King Henry VIII. took possession of it:— Must no more call it York Place—that is past; For, since the Cardinal tell, that titles lost: 'Tis now the King's. and called Whits Hell. King henry VIII. Act iv. s. 1. The King's Palace was seven years in building. There was a public way through it with two gates, one of which was built under the direction of liol bein, at the north end of King's street. This gate was taken down in 1759. Amongst his other works, Henry constructed a cock pit close by this gate : the gate, indeed, came to be called " Cock-pit-gate." This cock pit, after various changes, settled down into " The Treasury." Godolphin, Lord High Treasurer in the reign of Queen Anne, sat three or four times a week " at the Cock-pit." Mr. Timbs, in his " Curiosities," says the phrase—" Given at the Cock-pit, at Westminster," was in use within his recollection. It occupied nearly the site of the Whitehall front of the Treasury,—the Board of Trade Office, first put into architectural shape by Soane, and then, as our readers know, made to take its present appearance by Sir Charles Barry. White hall Palace, atter previous mishaps, was finally de stroyed by fire, January 4th, 1097-8. The old ban. queting-house had been burnt down in 1619 ; the present banqueting•house was commenced by Ingo Jones in the same year, and was finished in 1622, at the cost, according to Mr. Cunningham, of 14,940/. 4i. Id. The Admiralty was commenced in 1723. Thomas Ripley was the architect, and Thomas Churchill the builder.—The Builder. THE PRESS, JULY 25, 1857. LAST NIGHT'S DEBATE. understood to be favourable HOUSE OF LORDS. MONUMENT TO LORD RAGLAN. Earl FORTEFICUE inquired whether her Majesty's Ministers intended to:propose the erection of a monu ment to the memory of the late Lord Raglan. Lord PANMURE stated that the final decision of the Government was not yet arrived at. As a question of precedent, he remarked that the honour of a public monument was reserved for officers who had per formed great and signal achievements, and who had died either on the field of battle or from wounds received in action. Lord BROUGHAM and the Earl of DERBY bore elo quent testimony to the eminent talents and lifelong devotion exhibited by Lord Raglan both in a military and civil capacity in the service of his country. The subject then dropped. GUIANA. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE, in presenting a petition, commented upon the great deficiency of labour now experienced in the British colony of Guiana. Some bills on the table were advanced a stage, and their lordships adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. EARLY SITTING. The house held an early sitting, the Speaker taking the chair at twelve o'clock. Mr. CARDWELL took the oaths and his seat for Oxford City. The Lunatics (Scotland) Bill was reported with the amendments; and the Police (Scotland) Bill was considered in committee. _ _ _ At four o'clock the sitting was suspended for two hours. THE INDIAN DEBATE. Lord PALMERSTON wished to put a question to Mr. Disraeli. The next mail from India was not ex pected to arrive until acme time on Monday next. He asked, therefore, whether Mr. Disraeli would prefer to delay his motion on the subject of India until some later day, which of course the Government would give him. Mr. DISRAELI said that he saw no reason to post. pone the debate, and he should therefore bring it on upon Monday as originally appointed. SHIPS FOR INDIA AND CHINA. Sir C. NAPIER having expressed his pleasure at seeing, by the newspapers, that the Government had engaged five steamers to convey troops to India, inquired " how many ships had sailed for India and China, and if any ships of war were commissioned for carrying troops." Sir C. WOOD said that the Government bad already despatched 4,800 troops; what number the East India Company had sent out he was not able to state. The Government did not intend to commission any vessels of war to take troops to India. The present emergency could not have been foreseen. The Government kept on each station such an amount of stores as they thought would be required; they did not send out what they believed were not likely to be wanted. Mr. BENTINCK at a subsequent period of the evening reverted to the subject, and submitted that the expression " an unforeseen emergency " should not fall from the lips of a Minister, because it was the business of the Government to exercise foresight. PUBLIC OFFICES. Replying to Mr. B. Hope, The CHANCELLOP. of the EXCHEQUER stated that no estimate for the proposed new public offices would bo laid before Parliament during the present session. COMMODORE KEPPEL. Lord CLARANCE PAGET inquired of the First Lord of the Admiralty whether there was any foundation for the report that Commodore Keppel had been called from his post in the China Sea. Sir G. GREY regretted that the First Lord of the Admiralty was unable to answer tho question, having already spoken upon the subject. He did not know upon what gr'und the noble lord assumed that it was intended to disgrace a gallant officer in the eulogium upon whose character the Government fully concurred. It was a wholesome rule that, in the case of the 10S3 of a ship, the commodore should always be tried Iby a court-martial, and he knew that Commodore Keppel would not shrink from appearing before such a tribunal. Sir W. CODRINGTON observed that the comphsint was that the commander-in-chief at a foreign station had no power to transfer an officer under cuch cir cumstances to another ship, whatever his abilities, and however faultless his conduct might have been. Admiral WALCOTT would not allude to the conduct of Captain Keppel, but was convinced that if he were recalled, there were other brave officers in the China service competent to take his p!ace. Sir J. ELrHissrox referred to the report of Sir John Baring, who surveyed the Rowing Rock upon which the Raleigh was lost, to show that there was no case against Commodore Keppel. The motion for the adjournment of the house to Monday was agreed to. LAW OF DIVORCE. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL moved the second reading of the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Bill. Mr. HENLEY advocated the postponement .of the measure to another session. In the presence of many risks and evils, on which he enlarged in detail, he contended that it was essentially necessary to avoid hasty legislation. He moved as an amend. ment that the second reading should be adjourned for a month. Sir G. GREY hoped that the house would consent to discuss the bill upon its merits. There was no reason for postponing the consideration of the prin ciple of the measure. Mr. GLADSTONE thought the extreme importance of that principle warranted the request for postpone ment. He remarked, also, that delay could occasion no disadvantage, since no Divorce Bill could he pre sented during the recess. It was better to abstain from legislating on the subject for another year than to pass an imperfect and ill constructed bill in the present session. The feelings of the country, exhi bited by the petitions presented to Parliament, afforded, in his opinion, a sufficient reason why they should not pass a hasty and slovenly measure upon this important subject. In making a change in a law of this antiquity, he wanted to know what prospect of stability was afforded to them by the new system. He thought they should avoid perpetual meddling and tampering with the law of marriage, and that they should not worry a subject of the kind with perpetual change. After alluding to the various points in the bill which would have to be considered in committee, the right hon. gentleman implored the house not to undo for womankind, in the nineteenth century, that which Christianity had done for them, and declared that lie would sternly and stoutly resist this the first attempt at the degradation of woman. The discussion, which turned chiefly upon the question of postponement, with occasional references to the details of the bill, was pursued at much length. Mr. BOWYER and Mr. NAPIER spoke in favour of delay ; the SOLICITOR-GENERAL, Lord J. MANNERS, and Lord STANLEY recommended immediate pro cedure with the bill. The ATTORNEY•GENERAL urged the house to begin discussing the bill itself. Nearly as much time, he observed, had been wasted in merely debating about postponement as would have sufficed for a deliberate discussion on its principle. Mr. MALINS supported the motion for adjournment, observing that the hour was too late and the eession too far advanced to afford a possibility of discussing the measure properly. Lord PALMERSTON stigmatised the proposal for delay as a shallow pretext for throwing out a bill which its opponents did not venture fairly to meet. The proceeding was almost unprecedented, and he hoped that it would not be persisted in, significantly alluding to the possible consequences of such a step in the indefinite prolongation of the session. The house then divided— For adjourning the motion Against -87 When the numbers had been declared, Lord PAL MERSTON remarked that the night was too far ad vanced (quarter-past eleven) to proceed with the bill, and he should therefore fix it for Thursday next. ILTICIT DISTILLATION. The house then went into committee on the Illicit Distillation Bill, and made some progress in discuss ing clauses of that measure. After disposing of the remaining orders of the day, the house adjourned at two o'clock. THE BENGAL ARMY. A CORRESPONDENCE between Sir William Gomm, formerly Commander-in• Chief in India, and Lord Melville relative to the discipline of the Bengal army , hes been published in the daily papers. Sir William complains of some imputations on the army made by Lord Melville in the House of Lords last week, and says : The Bengal army was, I maintain, in a perfectly healthy state of discipline when I surrendered the command, imme diately preceding the peaceful occupation and annexation of Oude. To what cause, to what fatality, this strange outbreak is owing—by what misunderstanding these miserable men have been led into such a course of wild excess—l do not pretend to divine. Lord Melville replies : Sir Charles Napier's expression in 1849, when several regiments mutinied, two of the number being those at Itawul Pindee under Sir Colin Campbell, and which in some degree concerned me, that we were sitting on a mine which nobody could tell when it might explode, has only come too true. Sir Edward Paget's opinion, given thirty years ago, has only proved how true an estimate he formed of the morale of the Bengal native army. I entirely repo• diate all intention, and most distinctly all inclination, to cast any reflections on you while administering a system bad in itself, and which you could only struggle by every means in your power to strengthen and uphold. [The extracts from Sir Charles Napier's memoirs printed elsewhere, form a curious comment upon Sir W. Gomm's notion of " a perfectly healthy state of discipline."]