The Sun. — London, England, 1859-07-20 00:00:00

MPERIAL PAWAA-MENT. HOUSE OF LORDS—CIEBORDAY). The LORD CHANCELLOR tOOk his seat on Ale woolsack at five o'clock. CHANCERY COURT. Viscount SYDNEY brought down an an „.. swer thesy frora st he era r Majesty in reply t o the address to inquire ina, H er 3faie ien Majesty Commis of taking evidence in the Court of Chancery. had considered the address and had ordered a ' s to issue for the pur pose required. BURIAL OF SUICIDES, Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from Leicester mplaining of the conduct of a clergyman who had re . fused h to_ bury a man who had committed suicide, although a jury h a d :weed to a verdict that the unfortuna te party was insane. The petitioners prayed that, if the clergyman in question had acted in accordance with the law, that it might be altered so as to prevent a repetition of such a proceeding. THE RIOTS AT KINSALE. The Earl of RIPON said he had received a letter from Lord Massareone on the subject, expressing very great surprise at the statement of the noble m arquis (Clanricarde), a nd denying that the ri ot of so serious a nature as had been reported. His lordship was had, however, ordered a strict inquiry to be made into th e whole of the circumstances. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE said he had obtaine d nl asked his information from the public papers, "d had He a d no if the statement of the accounts were co rrect. other means of obtaining the information. THIRD READINGS. The following bills were read a third time an t Passed —Herne Bay and Faversham Ra ilwa y (Mar g ae sion) ; Mountsorrel Railway ; Somerset Central RallwaY Wear Navigation and Sunderland Dock, Wirrel Water' snot Tale of Llangollen. Railway. CLERK OF THE COUNCIL BILL. This bill was read a third time and passed. ATTORNEY AND SOLICITORS' BILL. This bill passed through committee, after a few verbal amendments had been agreed to. NEW BARRACKS AT GALWAY. The Marquis of CLANRICA.RDE asked whether any steps had been taken for the erection of new barracks at Galway, beyond the large expenses incurred by the pur chase of land and the construction of a bridge. The Earl of RIPON said he was unable to hold out any hope that new barracks would be erected imme diately on the land referred to by the noble marquis. The subject was one surrounded with difficulty. He admitted the desirability of improving the barracks at Galway, and he could only say the subject would receive the best consideration of the War Department. It had been found necessary before the land for the to hire a spot at the rate of S6O per annum for the purpose of exercising the troops. SUBMARINE TELEGRAPHS. Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY presented a petition from bankers, merchants, and others of the City of London in favour of the establishment of direct lines of submarine telegraphs between Great Britain and her Ma jesty's possessions , abroad. The noble lord urged the necessity of improving the existing arrangements of telegraphic communication. At present the lines passed through many foreign countries, so thosethat m the event of an outbreak in any .of States communication would be all at once interrupted. England was even now looked upon with jealousy by foreign. States, and the dependence on Continental Go vernments was altogether avoidable by establishing direct and independent submarine telegraphs. The cable might be taken from England to Gibraltar, without touch ing France, then to Malta and Alexandria. If the Go vernment were to issue tenders for the laying of a cable from England to Gibraltar, the commencement of an independent line to India, the greatest good, both politically and com mercially speaking, would be effected. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH thought it most ob • jectionablo that this conutryshould be dependent onforeign nations for the transmission of orders, particularly in time of war. We ought to have an independent communication, and he rejoiced to thinkthat her Majesty's Government had undertaken the establishment of an independent line to Gib raltar. There was another matter worthy the notice of the Government, and that was that in the event of an invasion of this country the first step of the enemy would be to take pos session of the points at which the submarine lines were merged. These points were utterly undefended, and might be attacked by means of a small boat. By obtaining posses sion of these lines the enemy would have the means of ascer taining the intentions of the Government, and of communi cating them to other countries, together with all the move ments of our armies. He should rejoice exceedingly at the establishment of a telegraphic commimicationwith America looking forward to the probability that the two great branches of the Anglo-Saxon race would find it their inte rest and honour to draw much closer the bonds of connec tion which had existed between them, by acting on the principles of an offensive and defensive alliance. It was also desirable to establish a direct communication with the Western Coast of Africa, so that in the event of a war our ships might instantly spread along the route of commerce, and capture the mercantile vessels of hostile nations. He also trusted that the attention of the Government would be directed to the application of the power of the steam engine for the purpose of excavation. Earl GRANVILLE wasunderstood to say that the sub ject was one of great importance, and that the suggestions which had been thrown out would receive the due con sideration of her Majesty's Government. In the course of a short conversation which followed, which was all but inaudible, The Duke of SOMERSET remarked that it was no doubt desirable to proceed with the line to Gibraltar as speedily as possible, but the necessary surveys would occupy some time, and there were other reasons for not proceeding too hastily. The Earl of DONOUGHMORE inquired whether the Government had determined to lay down the line between Malta and Alexandria. Lord WODEHOUSE replied that the subject was under consideration, but no decisive conclusion had been arrived at. Lord STRATFORD de REDCLIFFE said the subject was one of great importance, and the Government would be perfectly . justified in making great sacrifices for the purpose of carrying out independent lines of communication. The subject then &opd. THE DANUBI pe AN PIaINCIPALITIES. Lord STRATFORD de REDCLIFFE said he wished to say a few words before their lordships adjourned with re spect to the Danubian Principalities, and on a subject so im portant he need not apologise for bringing it under the attention of the house. This was well known to be one of those matters, in connection. with the state of the Turkish empire, which had been a subject of discussion in the con gress of Paris, and which was of a very serious character. It had come to his knowledge, generally, that some difficul ties had accompanied the arrangements of that part of the question which related to the government of the country by a single prince, and indeed the question of the union was one of the most difficult connected with that matter. He would venture now to ask the noble lord (Wodehouse) what was the state of the negotiations as to that matter, and. he (Lord Stratford de Redcliffe) might then form his own judg ment as to whether it would be necessary for him afterwards to bring the question under the consideration of the house. Lord WODEHOUSE replied that the question of the Principalities was in this position. After the election of Col. Couza as hospodar of both the Principalities, it was found necessary to have recourse to the different Powers who signed the treaty of 18.56 to decide what should be done. The Con ference took the matter into consideration, and the result at which they arrived was that it was advisable that the Porto should upon this single occasion recognise Col. Couza as hospodar of both the Principalities. That would be an ex ception to the principle which was undoubtedly laid down by the treaty of 1856, which was, that there should be a separate hospodar for Wallachia, and a separate one for Moldavia, but it was thought that under the circumstances this should be regarded as an exceptional case, and that Col. Couza should be recognised as hospodar of both Prin cipalities. The Conference came to that decision before the late change of Government in this country. The protocol had been transmitted to the Porte, and the Porte had made some difficulty as to accepting it in the precise form in which the Conference had drawn it up ; but although this had caused some little delay, he thought they would be able to make the arrangement proposed. The basis of that ar rangement was the acknowledgment, not of the hospodarate of the United Principalities, but of a hospodar acknow ledged by the Porte for each of the two Prmcipalities, be ing the same person in this single instance. That arrange ment, which had been adopted by all parties in the Con ference, would, he had little doubt, also be adopted by the Porte, but the arrangement was not yet completed. Lord STRATFORD de REDCLIFFE said that the ex perience he had had in Turkey convinced him that this was a question fraught with the most serious consequences with regard to the Ottoman empire, and with regard to the rela powers of Europe and the Ottoman flow between the great empire established by the treaty of peace. He should very greatly regret it,. for the sake of the important interests in volved, if the principle agreed to by the Conference were to be in any way lost sight of ; and if it were found necessary that the election of Col. Couza should be admitted sepa rately for both the Principalities,, at least a very distinct security and guarantee should be given to the Porte that this was to be only an exception, and that the principle laid down by Congress should be kept in view hereafter. Lord WODEHOUSE wished the noble lord distindtly to understand that the recognition of Col. Couza was only , proposed as an exceptional case, and one which was not in any way to alter the permanent settlement of things. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OP COMMONS.—(YESTERDAY.) The SPEAKER took the chair at 12 o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Lords' Amendments to the London and South western Railway BM were agreed to, and the bill was ordered for third reading. The following bills were read a third time and passed : Ilunalet and Leeds Road, changed from Leeds and Hunslet Road ; Lawton, Burslem, and Newcastle-under-Lyme Rya; Midland Railway and Burton-upon-Trent Bridge. The following bills were considered and ordered for third readi di ng :—Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramway Abandent; Kensington Station and North and South London Junction Railway ; Londonderry and Lough SAY rtai lwaY; Malltraeth and Coraddauggan Marsh ; Stockton and Darlington Railway. BRITISH AND CANADIAN TELEGRAPH The adjourned deb COMPANY. Awned by ate on this bill, as amended, was re urd DUNCAN.—He said that since yesterday he had an interview with the agent who was preparing the bill, and he was happy to say that he had consented to striking out the clauses winch were deemed ob jectionable. Healluded par ticularly to the clause which conferred on the Treasury the power, after the bill was proved, of giving pro spec tive gua rantees to any amount. Under these circumstances he had no objection to the bill passing. After some convet sation the bill, as a mended, was con sid re and ordered for thiyd'reading,. i"1:13LIC HEALTH ACT. Mr. LOWE, in moving the third reading * o f thi s bill, said that he objected as much as possible to compulsion re f e rence to subjects like th e p resent. It had, howeve r , been found necessary to vest the powers which the Board of Health possessed in the Privy Council, and the object of the present bill was merely to make the p osses _ Mon of those powers perpetual, for at present it was only temporary and was about to expire. The manner in which these powers had been exercised had been most beneficial to the community, and he referred to the last visitation of cholera, when the steps that were requisite were promptly taken in virtue of these powers. He pro posed to confer by these powers the right of visitation, of ascertaining the qualifications of those employed to vacci nate, and of inspecting those localities where disease was suspected to exist. As a peace offering, he would withdraw the clause by which persons failing to have their children vaccinated might be sued a t l a w ; ut he could not consent to the powers vested in a Privy Council being only tempo rary, as he considered it was reflecting on that body, and he would therefore persevere in conferring on it permanent powers. Mr. A.YRTON strongly objected to this bill, in conse- o e t xe sh re o i vni sed game) of its prop c li un _g to confer permanent powers on the . been rweived from the Government of France on the sub wwlithoow:cotontProtlhaneeed e Nli'a t i o 3 b n e LOTAD J. USSELL'S DESPATCH TO the enormous expenditure that might be incurred il aY f°r jest r f the r ace' Eoxwecersutivwee.re i t les c i on e tin a it u THE COURT Tor anted period. (Hear, hear.) With regard to OF BERLIN. vaccination, according to the provisions of the Poor Act, adequate provision was made for vaccination, Law 'had appeared in the public journals,of Mr: S. FITZGERALD asked whether a document which as a copy the noble ........efore he thought it quite unneeessary to confer an d. thr .e retranslated, was authentic, and whether a copy of it would lord's despatch, and was stated to have been translated and I Lac. _ . u . 4 .hat be laid before the house powers on rue ,!__ vecutive % HQ C01r. 1 2,1".1ed by movmg the bill be re-committed. Mr. Williams and Sir G. B. Pechell opposed the i dill Lord J. RUSSELL said that there were some errors in p e was the despatch in an authentic shape, if the hon. gentleman Mr. HENLEY said that a much larger Fin , ci 1 • the translation, and he should have no objection to give He right e ei e e h t o e n d . would mr. move nT z a n G ER address A D for said he in e the un d involved in the bill than was supposed by thp, ne ers na to l o f d erm tha . t a reply t gentleman who introduced it to the house. Most strongly to the power of visitation, by 'which domestic that desatch had been received from the Government of e privitcY would be invaded, and there aholitid be a very clear Prussia ,and that the noble lord had thought it his duty to case m a de out before the house oonse'ited to confer such answer that reply. Would there be any objection to lay pop ul a r powers. lie thoug ht th at the powers might be those two documents on the table of the house at the same u n continued for three years, but not longer ; and he sug- time ? (Mr. Lowe) to accede - Lord J. RUSSELL said the correspondence was not exactly complete. He must take a day de two to consider , bt ( s e e a xe ! erd. compromise to T . p the u rightTceof mt to ß n a B. description, gentlemandenounced the bill as one of the whether that further correspondence should be given. gToss est jobs that had_ _ever been attempted to be perpetra M O r ß ß Gt x. N T lS O A N T e l all ON ed O at F ten T t H ian E te l th ND e r l e A pe N rt A uf ßal e Y c . ura_ on the house. He believed that it was only a ere Go d - ernm ent that would propose such a measure, as it had not missioners on this subject, which recondmended that the been a ttempted by a Tory Government. Having refeired to the act of 1848, the hon. member contended that rope , and 190 000 ra. force to be employed in India in future should be 80,000 Eu settoyste—t!ila to 270,000 men. The mill f thecoemnearinmalyetra,o,oo.He did it was most unjust to attempt to pass this bill under present tary policewould circumstances. The measure had not been fully discussed; not question the propriety ty e recommen there was no time in the present session to discuss it, and dation, but thought it essential . t hat i t should be discussed. therefore the proper course would be to pass a bill con- The financial part of the question was a serious one ; no tinning the powers to the Privy Council for another year, statesman looked without alarm at the financial condition of and next year they could give the necessary discussion to India ; and every authority concurred in stating that in any proposition for rendering their powers perpetual. 1 Southern India in particular the occupiers of land were most (Hear, hear.) grievously oppressed. It was most essential that our . expendi- Mr. COWPER said that much of the opposition to the ture in India should be reduced, in order to reduce the taxa present bill was founded on an erroneous impression which tion. With an army of nearly 400,000 men this would be e xisted, that the measure was the same in its provisions as impossible ; such a force could only be maintained by means that introduced in the time of Mr. Chadwick. He agreed of loans. Besides, it would be a most dangerous • t that the bfil should be made permanent, as it would be the to put arms into the hands of 300,000 natives experimen t was pe rim :a l id means of enabling the powers conferred on the Privy Coun- this danger was provided ag ainst by 80,000 Europeantroops, e ll being carried out more efficiently. If the house on a but he doubted whether th at was sufficient in the event of a future; occasion considered that the bill did not act well they mutiny. He believed they were increasing and not dimi it. With regard to the bill he maintained it was nishing the risk of mutiny by putting arms into the hands could repal calculated id render considerable service to the public ; and of 300,000 trained natives. He challenged die noble lord he adverted to the provision by which parties were era- the Secretary of State for India and the late Secretary of mined with referelVe to their qualifications to vaccinate. War to give him some information as to the reason for One of the great obketions to vaccination arose from its employing such an immense force in India. He rejoiced being practised by unqualified persons, and this bill would that he had to put the question to the noble lord, because if obviate that objection. It was proposed by the framers of the noble lord differed in opinion from the commissioners, the bill to bring the recent discoveries of science to bear on he would not shrink from saying so. As the case stood in a great epidemic, and it was a fact that 100 , 000 persons died the blue book, the proposition. of the commission was con annually from causes to which medical science might have demned by the greater number of witnesses, and those beenapplied with success. Sanitary sciencehadonly recently of the greater weight ; it would lead to the ruin of the a tt a ined to its present height, and it was only lately that finances, and the misery of the rayas of Southern India, the causes of many epidemic diseases which were ravaging it would check education and public works, sacrifice families had been discovered. He concluded by expressing the lives of English soldiers, weaken the strength of their his conviction that the opposition to the bill was founded home defence, and prepare the materials for another mutiny on an ignorance of its scope, or what would be its natural such as filled India with misery and ruin in 1857 and 1858. operation on the interests of the community. Lord STANLEY rose to reply, but Mr. SOTHERON ESTCOURT strongly opposed the The SPEAKER intimated that there was no motion be bill on the ground of its being permanent instead of tern- fore the house. Mr. BUXTON moved that the report of the commission porary r. M EDWIN JAMES opposed the bill, and alluded be laid on the table. to what had occurred some time since at Croydon The SPEAKER—There is no motion before the house. and Hitchen, where the Board of Health had Sir E. COLEBROOKE—I move thatthe house adjourn. fouled a stream, which resulted in the outbreak of a (Laughter.) fearful epidemic in the former place. The effect of the bill Lord STANLEY said the hon. gentleman challenged would be to vest the whole power on this most important him to state whether his opinion agreed with or differed matter of the public health in the medical officers, for it from that of the commission on the subject of the amount could not be expected that the Privy Council would them- of force to be employed in India. Upon that subject he selves interfere in the case of an outbreak of an epidemic. did not think it possible for any one set of men in this coun- The result would be that local boards, finding that they try, whether civilians or military men, to lay down not were deprived of all power by the system of centre.- merely what was the distinct and precise amount of force lisation that was sought to be established by this which at this moment was required to secure tranquillity in bill, would become apathetic, and the consequence might be India, but what amount of force would be required when the most disastrous in the event of the country being visited tranquillity of that country was perfectly restored. (Hear.) by a formidable epidemic. (Hear, hear.) He should not attempt to give a precise answer to the ques- Mr. BASS opposed, and Mr. CONINGHAM supported, the tion. When the hon. gentleman said that no argument bill. had been adduced to show why 80,000 European troops Mr. LOWE replied. He complained that he had not were required, he did not know how they were to argue received the support from hon. members on the opposite such a question, or how it cduld possibly be proved that side of the house which he had a reason to expect from 60,00000, or 80000 was the right number of troops to their conduct when a bill was brought in by Lord Derby's be em , 70,0 10 ed otherwise than by taking the opinion of the most c o m petent witnesses as to the amount. (Hear, hear.) Government. Mr. SPOONER denied that his party was open to any But when the . hon. gentleman said that the commissioners censure for not giving the right hon. gentleman support on had gone against the evidence, he thought he could best the present occasion, and strongly advised him to accede to satisfy the house on that point by reading a summary of the proposition for aking the bill temporary and not per- the evidence. The noble lord read the opinions of the wit nesses, from which it appeared that with respect to Bengal manent. they varied between 40,000 and 50,000, and for the whole The For the third reading house then divided, when the n umbers were— 101 of India they:varied between 60,000 and 80,000. No man Against it 95 in India or in England appeared to be more strongly im- Majority.. —6 pressed with the necessity of maintaining a large prepon was then read a third time and passed. Berating European force in India than Sir J. Lawrence. The bill MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS BILL. (Hear, hear.) No doubt a considerable reduCtion might The adjourned debate on the second reading of this bill and oht to n be be made n her theyeafter had whe connected all r n certain results was resumed by had b ee n od. Whe thei principal military stations in India by railway, when the of the oath of declaration to be taken to qualify for exer- comparatively newly-acquired territories had been consoli cising municipal office should be referred to a select corn- dated and accustomed to our ruled been that disarmament mittee, which was now taking place ha d more extens Mr. SPOONER and Mr. NEWDEGATE opposed the and effectually carried out, then, no doubt, so large a mili bill, and severally contended that the abolition of the pre- tary force wou ld not be required.. But if he took the actual sent oath was calculated to injure the stability of the Church population of India, the proportion of military men to that of England. population was not so great as in the majority of European Mr. BAXTER supported the bill. , states. No doubt, in considering this subject, the question Alderman SALOMONS said that he would vote for the of finance ought not to be left out of sight, and urgent in stru.ctions had been sent out to effect a reduction in the ac bill, and he considered the oaths in question as a useless ceremony ; and in making that statement he distinctly die- tual amount of natiye force which was larger i n amount avowed any intention of injuring the State Establishment, than when the mutiny bro k e out. (Hear.) Those instruc which he considered could not suffer in the slightest de- lions were not sent out in consequence of any preconceived plan. During the mutiny they were obliged to employ sol g-ree from the proposed abolition. there wherever they could find them, but he had reason After some conversation the house divided— to believe that a considerable reduction was now taking For the second reading... l3O place in the number of Sikhs and other native troops. Against it With regard to the expense, he ought to say that one Majority European. soldier was calculated to cost more than three The bill was then read a second time. The house adjourned at half-past three o'clock till six native soldiers. The house would not expec t him to enter further into the question which had been raised by the hon. o'clock. gentleman. (Hear, hear.) Sir E. PERRY said the present force in India con sisted of 111,000 Europeans and 280,000 natives, being a force little short of 400,000 men. His opinion was, that theresources of India could not support such a force, and that the resources of England could not supply it. In the present state of the finances of India, instead of aug menting the force their course ought to be to bring it wna,.1.... ---i...4.1............4..,.....,,aa i,....- TTn.r was that to be done ? By adopting such a course of policy as would engage the sympathies of the people of India on their side. _ His im pression, after an experience of eleven or twelve years' resi dence in India, was that their system of government could never succeed as long as it excluded so religiously , from places of honour and profit the natives of India. (Hear, hear.) They gave to the rank and file of the native army more than double the pay of the Indian labourer, and provided for them excellent pensions, whilst they excluded every gentleman of rank and education. (Hear, bear.) Yet in those corps to which they admitted native gentlemen, there was greater efficiency combined with far greater cheapness. Native cavalry, drilled and disciplined after the European model, cost £lO2 per man. Native irregular regiments of cavalry cost only £35. Now, he said boldly, the native irregular cavalry were far more efficient than the highly-drilled and tight-laced regulars. Lieutenant Merreweather, General Jacob's force, and the ten regiments raised by Sir J. Law rence in the Punjaub proved that this was the fact. Other countries did not refuse to employ as officers the natives of conquered countries. He trusted the right hon. baronet would follow that course with regard to the army which he had indicated in reference to the civil service when in office before, and give a fair field to the legitimate ambition of the native gentlemen. (Hear, hear.) Col. SYKES said that the noble lord the late Secretary for India had declared himself at a loss for any basis on which to form an opinion as to the amount at which the force in India ought to be maintained.. If the noble lord wanted a basis for an opinion he need only refer to the traditional policy of the East India Company, and he would find what the amount of force ought to be. The year before the Affghan war broke out there were in India 16,040 infantry and 3,711 cavalry of the royal army, a total of less than 20,000; the force was afterwards raised to 25,000 infantry and somewhere under 4,000 cavalry, still a total of less than 30,000. The Company's Europeans varied from 15,000 to 25,000, averaging about 20,000 ; so that the Affghan war was commenced and carried on with less than 50,000 Euro peans in India. In 1857, when the mutiny broke out, there were 2.5,098 infantry and 2,955 cavalry, a total of less than ' 30,000 of the royal army, and only 20,000 Company's Euro peans in India, yet that force crushed the mutiny, and took Delhi, Cawnpore, and Lucknow before a single company arrived to their assistance. If 50,000 Europeans were enough to carry on the Affghan war and crush the mutiny, surely such a force was sufficient now, when there was not a single fortress standing that could hold out against half a-dozen' battalions of any native prince with an army on foot. There were now, it appeared, 110,000 European troops in India and 21,000 at the depots here, chargeable on the Indian Government. Was the mainte nance of such a force reasonable or just to India or to this country ? He did not hesitate to say that India could not support more than 50,000 ; any increase above that amount would produce a corresponding deficiency in the revenue. Mr. SMOLLETT considered that the amount of force required in India would depend entirely on the course taken by the India Government itself. Mr. BRIGHT would not detain the house many minutes. The debate was rather irregular, but it was one of the most important that they had had for a long . time. They were much indebted to the hon. member who introduced the sub ject and to the hon. member for Devonport, for the manner in which they had addressed them. (Hear, hear.) He feared the right hon. baronet would think him pertinacious in pressing him on this matter, but the debate that evening must have shown him there was only one feeling in and outside the house. He tho u g ht Parliamentary Re form was important ' • he thought the home budget was important ; but he did not know that either of them could match in pressing and immediate importance with the subject which had that evening been introduced to their notice. (Hear.) For his own part, he never turned his attention to the affairs ofrlndia without sorrow and alarm. He begged to ask the right hon. baronet when he would bring the subject of Indian finance before the house. It was an unpleasant subject for a Minister, but the hon. baronet would lest consult his own future renown and best consult the interest of England and of India by inviting the House of Commons in the most frank manner to the fullest confi dence in all respects as to the difficult and almost insolvable problem with which he had to deal. The noble lord who had preceded him in office must well know that none of the offices filled by his colleagues could compare in difficulty with that which he had occupied for some' twelve months. They all knew the intelligence he possessed, the industry he displayed, and the absence of pre judice which characterised him—(hear, hear)—but they must admit he had met with difficulties which he Could not entirely overcome. (Hear.) He warned the right hon. baronet not as a political opponent, but as a poli tical friend, to ask the opinion and the judgment of the House of Commons on the important subject with which he had to deal. He hoped the right hon baronet would not consider he pressed this matter from any desire to worry him (hear, hear) ; he was only anxious that while so many members were in town, and while there appeared such a disposition to consider the subject, they might have an opportunity of giving the Government the Isynefit of all the faculties they possessed. (Hear, hear. Sir C. WOOD did not blame the on. gentleman for pressing him. He knew the interest he took in the affairs of India. He could assure him he was perfectly reedy to take his advice, and to deal frankly with the house ; it was only from his desire to do so that he had so long postponed making his statement. He did not Nish e it untill t on nw t the dd h i a o nb u s e fie easyn a w c sfee, r w hich in h i possession in tho oun.mak e el members eb fil s_ l informat ion. c th i s e n ak statement could not controvert for want of information, but he had postponed his statement until the house was in possession of all the information he could place before them on Indian finance. He had laid on the table all the financial despatches he had received ; the only document he was waiting for was the last annual return of expenditure and revenue. That would be laid on the table on Thursday, and as soon as it was presented he would lose no time in making his statement. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the question immediately be fore the house he did not think it advisable then to enter into it, as he would have occasion hereafter to king before them the great question of the Indian army, and he would be able to do so more effectually when he was in a position to state what the views of the Government were on the subject. The subject was intimately connsetsd with the question of The house resumed at six o'clock. NOTICES OF MOTION. CRUELTIES TO SEAMEN: MT. M. MILNES, On Tuesday, the 2d of August, to move an humble address to her Majesty, praying her Majesty to enter into negotiations with the Government of the 1J nited States, for the purpose of pre v cuilu s the g z am, ca-cLaVie. ...why...roll cant seamen engaged in the traffic between this country and the United States, and for bringing the offenders to justice. THE PEACE.—Mr. B. COCHRANE, on Friday, on going into committee of supply, to ask Lord J. Russell whether he will lay on the table of the house the despatches which hair') passed between himself and Lord Cowley and Sir James Hudson, since the conclusion of the peace between France and Austria. DEVONPORT DOCKYARD.--Captain L. VERNON, On Thursday, the 28th, to move for some returns relating to vacancies in Devonport Dockyard since December last, the dates when they had been filled up, and copies of all corre spondence with the surveyor to the navy. NATIONAL DEFENCES.—Mr. HORSMAN, On going into committee of supply, to move a resolution to the effect, that the expense of all works required for the national defence should be met by a fund specially provided for the purpose, and independent of the ordinary revenue of the country. WEST YORKSHIRE ASSIZES. Mr. W. LEATHAM asked whether the judges had re ported on the West Riding Assizes question, and whether the report would be laid before the house ? Sir G. C. LEWIS said that he had not received any re port on the subject; but from a document which he found in the Home-office it appeared that the judges had conveyed to his predecessor their opinion in regard to the expediency of holding assizes for the West Riding ; and they agreed in. the unanimous opinion of the commissioners appointed by her Majesty that it would not be expedient, with a view to the administration of justice, to hold assizes in the West Riding. COMMISSIONERS FOR TAKING AFFIDAVITS IN ,THE CITY. In reply to Sir J. DUKE, whether commissioners had been appointed in the City for this pose, Sir G. C. LEWIS promised to make inquiry and gave an answer in a day or two. RE-ORGANISATION OF THE INDIAN ARMY. — THE INDIAN FINANCIAL STATEMENT. Mr. H. BAILLIE asked whether it was the intention of the Government to give the house an opportunity of ex pressing its opinion upon the re-organisation of the Indian army, or whether they proposed to settle the question with out reference to Parliament. Sir C. WOOD said that possibly it might be necessary to bring in a bill for the purpose, in which case, of course, it would be his duty to explain what was proposed to be done. If not, he should take some opportunity of making a state ment as to what course the Government intended to take. Mr. BRIGHT said he had not correctly caught the right hon. baronet's answer. Did he mean to say that he would fix a day for bringing the subject of Indian finance before the house ? Sir C. WOOD—I have answered the question of the right hon. gentleman opposite, whether I would give the house an opportunity of expressing an opinion on the state of the Indian army. Mr. BRIGHT—Then I beg to ask the right hon. baro net whether he can fix a day when the whole subject of India can be brought before the house, in the statement which the Indian Government is expected annually to make? Sir C. WOOD, who spoke with his back to the gallery, and was very indistinctly heard, was understood to say that it was not in his power to fix a day. The annual accounts were not yet made up, and any statement which he could make without them would be most unsatisfactory. As soon as the accounts were ready they would be laid before the house. Mr. BRIGHT—The right hon. gentleman proposes to give papers; but surely all the facts which they contain could be embraced in his own speech. Will the right hon. gentleman say when the papers will be before the house ? Considering the time of the session, I think I am entitled to ask that question. Tear, hear.) Sir C. WOOD said that the completion of the accounts did not at all depend upon him, or the home Government. He had not the slightest disposition to postpone the state ment which he was expected to make. That statement would not be a very agreeable one, but it would be more satisfactorily made when he was in full possession of all the requisite information. Mr. BRIGHT—I beg to give notice that I shall repeat my question to the right hon. baronet on Thursday evening. MILITIA PRACTICE. Mr. H. BERKELEY put the following question to the Secretary for War :—" Whether it be true that the Wor cestershire Militia had been called out four times, had been embodied twice, and stationed at the two principal training camps, Ald ers hott and the Curragh ; that during the whole of that time the men have never had a ball cartridge served out to them, and have the old musket to the carry North about ; Glou whether this is equally true as regards caster and other militia regiments ?" Mr. S. HERBERT said it was true that the Worcester shire militia had been twice out in training, in 1853 and in 1859 ; and they had also been twice embodied, from Nove mber, 1854, to June, 1856, and from November, 1857, to May, 1858. They had been at Aldershott, and also at the Cur ragh. He found that 6,000 rounds of ball cartridge had been served out for practice. He, as Secretary for War, gave no orders as to the practice of any particular regiment. All he had to do was to honour the orders that were sent for material. It was quite true that at the time referred to the militia had not got the Enfield rifles ,• but now they had them, and he hoped that all the embodied m ilitia would have them soon. The military authorities, the colonels com manding the regiments, and the generals inspecting where the militia regiments were quartered, were the persons to decide on the nature of the drill to which they should be subjected, and how far it should be carried. Mr. THE ENFIELD RIFLE. • VIVIAN asked whether the Enfield rifle alluded ito n the War -office circular of the 13th inst. was the short rifle furnished to the Rifle Brigade, or the long rifle used in Mr. S. HERBERT th the line ? was the one referred t t o h r e ep h ia o period they should be able u: , was 2. understood to say that the latter hoped d them that allat some future rifles.fushtureort Mr. VIVIAN said it was d • esi k no wn, that the volunteer rifle desirable that this should be o wn weapons should provide corps n o w providing their THE PEACE. • Mr. HORSMAN gave notice that on Friday he should repea t his question as to whether any communication had finance. It had been a soure of constant and daily anxiety to him since he entered offics and he was not as yet able to see his way to any satisfactey result. He agreed with the noble lord that it was imposible now to fix the amount of the permanent force. Theestion, however, did not press for an immediate decision. hey could not immediately dis .•• • ,miss the men they had enlisted—such a course would be most unjust, and of necessity one or two years must elapse before the army could be reduced to its normal state. (Hear.) He admitted the force must be considerably re duced. (Hear.) He had hiaself a strong opinion in favour of an irregular force—(hea; bear)—and when he left the Board of Control he was it correspondence with Lord Dal- housie on the subject of pitting down the regular cavalry and substituting irregularforces. He believed it would be much cheaper, and would afford a means of employment to native gentlemen. (Hear) The motion for the adourrunent was then withdrawn, and the subject dropped. WINTER SESSIONS OF PARLIAMENT. Mr. C. FORSTER thin rose to move that an humble address bepresented to her Majesty, representing the incon venience of protracting tie session of Parliament during the summer months, and paying that her Majesty would be graciously pleased to preside a remedy for such inconveni ence by assembling Parliament for the despatch of business before Christmas. Whet he last brought the subject before the house the noble lord the member for London declared the proposed chatige world be for the better, and the then Leader of the house, the rghthon. member for Buckingham- shire, admitted the ariments in favour of it were very strong. He should be very unwilling to do anything to interfere with the purse is of any hon. members, but he thought they would feel with him that the business of that house ought to be a matto•of first consideration. With regard to the time at which thi4 change ought to be made, he be lieved no time could be more advantageous for it than the present. Mr. EWART seconeed the motion. Mr. BENTINCK (vho was received with loud cries of " divide") said he thought that if the speeches on the Go vernment and oppositiot benches were shortened there would be a great saving of tine. Now, he thought that it was ab surd that the hon. gentleman (Mr. Forster) should suppose he could alter the nature2f the house by such a motion as this. The whole system of th&ouse was procrastination. Twenty questions were on the taper every evening; two, perhaps, were discussed; and the rest stood over. And the idea of a fixed time for closing the session would be of no value. Hon. members were aware thatthe practice on Wednesdays, in order to throw over a troublesome question, was to talk against time. If the session closed at a fixed time, that would be done throughout the session. Mr. A. SMITH thought that it would save much time if the house sat in the first week of January. Lord J. RUSSELL did not understand the hon. gentle man who introduced this motion to have proposed that Par liament should rise at a fixed time. If he had done so, of course the answer was obvious, that in the case of any mea sure disagreeable to a small party, it would be in their power to govern the majority by obstinate procrastination. The hon. member, as he understood the matter, only pro posed that by means of an autumn sitting the house should be enabled so to progress with public business that their labours might terminate at an early period of the summer. No doubt in the six weeks which would be gained before Easter some progress might be made. This was certainly to be said in favour of the plan, that the business towards the end of the session would not be so much hurried as it now was by' the desire of hon. members to leave town. He certainly thouglthat the effect of the plan could not be judged by the results of the late winter sessions, because they had invariably of late years been held for some spe cial purpose only, such as the passing of an act of indem nity to the Government for some temporary violation of the law. Therefore it was no argument at all to say that be cause nothing was done that nothing would at any future time be done. But he must say that he did not think the merely meeting somewhat earlier would give the house the relief,: the want of which was no doubt felt. They must bear in mind that the business of the house had of late years increased almost four-fold. It was a matter which should be considered by competent persons, whether some improvement might to be made, whereby some of the forms of the house which caused the delay might not be al tered. For instance, at the commencement of a session, a certain number of days must elapse before a vote of supply could be taken, and certain other days must pass be fore the estimates could be laid on the table. Thus delay arose for which Government were not responsible, bit which was in fact caused by the farms of the house. The house had a vast amount of work to get through—it transacted four or five times as much business as any other legislative assembly in the world ' • on the whole that business was transacted well, though no doubt occasionally it was done with too great a hurry. He trusted, however, that the hon. gentleman having called the attention of the house to the subject, he would not press his motion. He might in conclusion mention as showing that it was no unheard-of state of things which the hon. gentleman sought to bring about, that a letter of Mrs. Hannah More's came under his (Lord J. Russell's) notice, in which, commenting on the accession of George 111., she said that the only fault she had to find with the young monarch was that his birthday was on the 4th of June, the result of which would be to keep people in town until that day, and perhaps, she added, even prolong the sitting of Parliament to that late period. (Hear.) Lord PALMERSTON said his hon. friend who made this motion exhibited great confidence in its receiving the sup port of the house, a confidence which, however, the hon. seconder did not appear to share with him. There was one defect in the reasoning upon which his hon. friend founded his motion. He had not advanced any public grounds, nor had he advanced any new facts, to justify a sitting before Christmas. He found a succession of winter sessions to give the following results. Parliament met 29th November, 1802, to 12th August, 1803 ; 22d November, 1803, to 31st July, 1801; 4th November, 1813, to 30th July, 1814; Bth November, 1814, to 12th July, 1815 ; 21st November, 1826, to 2d July, 1827 ; 6th December, 1831, to 16th August, 1832 ; 20th November, 1837, to 16th August, 1838 ; 23d November, 1847, to sth September, 1848 ; 11th November, 1852, to 20th August, 1853 ; 12th Dec., 1854, to 14th Aug., 1855; 3d Dec., 1857, to the 2d Aug., 1858. It wouldbe seen from this list that Parliament sat quite as long into the sum mer when it had a sitting before Christmas, as when it did not meet until the usual time in January. The times were changed, manners were changed, and Parliament had felt used to be in the last century. People dined later, and, perhaps, they did not get up so early. (A laugh.) But you could not force them to get up at six and go to bed at ten, and you must adapt your Parliamentary proceedings to the changed habits of the country. With the assistance of the chair, he thought arrangements might be made by means of which the progress of public business would be much facilinted. In any improvement of that kind he would most heartily concur, but he hoped the house would not accede to the hon. member's proposition, which was founded on mere temporary grounds. Another summer might not be so hot, the Thames would not always smell as it did at present, nor were they every year to expect a sudden dissolution of Parliament. (Hear, hear.) Mr. FORSTER expressed his readiness to withdraw his motion, and follow the suggestion of Lord J. Russell, but an hon. member on the opposition side insisted on a divi sion. .... . . A y es ............. ' 2 - . . N0e5....• .. 121-73 QUEEN'S. PRINTERS' PATENT. Mr. BAINES moved for a select committee to inquire into the nature and extent of the Queen's Printers' Patent for England and Wales, so far as relates to the right of printing the Holy Scriptures ; and to report their opinion as to the propriety of any future grant of that patent. He was deeply attached to the authorised version. It was admirable and faithful and the noblest indorsement of the Saxon tongue, and although that version was not faultless, he sought no other. Lord Chancellor Clare declared against the exclusive right of printing the Bible, inasmuch as that would tend to restrict the circulation of a book intended for the instruction of mankind. Several other high authorities had expre:sed similar opinions. A select committee of the house had also reported in favour of permitting the free printing of the Bible. The printing of the Bible was now thrown open to printers in Scotland, but under the super vision of a Bible Board, which had the power of inflicting a penalty of £5OO in case errors were permitted to creep in. He thought competition was thee best security for cheap ness and excellence ; but some objected to this principle, so far as the Bible was concerned, because the Bible was at present sold at a cheap rate and printed with accuracy, and also because it was important that the public should have some guarantee as to the accuracy of the inspired volume. The increase in the number of Bibles printed in Scotland after the exclusive principle had been done away with, was three-fold. (Hear.) The hon. member, after referring to the causes for the cheapness of the Bible, said that in 1804 the whole of the number of Bibles in existence was four millions, but within the last 50 years the number of Bibles in existence all over the world amounted to forty millions. He assured the house that accuracy was not the result of monopoly, as was shown from the, introduction of the word "not," by which it was stated that "the righteoui would not enter the Kingdom of Heaven." There was no fear that inferior editions of the Bible would obtain currency among the public if the monopoly was done away with. In the first place, the trade would take care of that ; and next, the Christian public could not be deceived as regarded the cor rectness of die Bible, as they were—no matter to what sect or party they belonged—all interested in the correct version of the Bible. Nor did he think there was any necessity for a British Board to regulate the printing of the Bible. The Bible was not given to this or that religious body, and he called upon the house not to restrict its publication to one particular class. He begged to conclude by moving for the appointment of a select committee to consider the question which he had thus briefly brought under the con sideration of the house: Sir G. C. LEWIS said that as he came down to the house prepared to assent to the motion of the hon. gentleman he had not prepared himself with arguments with the view of discussing the question. He wished to keep his mind open respecting it. He must, however, say that he did not anti cipate any practical advantage would arise to the public, even if the hon gentleman succeeded in the object which he had in view. He admitted that the presumption was against monopoly, but he would ask whether they did not, in fact, enjoy all the advantages that could be desired if the exclusive privilege objected to was got rid of. Let it be recollected that the privilege in question applied only to the authorised version of the Holy Scriptures and the Prayer Book. There were no objections to the printing of the Hebrew version or the Greek version of the Holy Scriptures. The authorised version was published under the authority of the King's printer and the two Universi ties, and even in Scotland the Bible could not be published without the consent of the Bible Board. The Bible was not printed in Ireland. If the house came to the conclusion that the authorised version of the Holy Scriptures was not to be published under the special privilege now enjoyed by the King's printer and the two Universities, then it would be published in the same way as were the works of Shakespeare or Milton. At the same time, he ex pressed no opinion on the subject, although he might observe, that in the second volume of Blackstone it 1 would be found that, both in law and equity, no doubt was entertaincel as to the right of the King's printer and the two Universities to the monopoly in question. They would not be able to get Bibles cheaper if the monopoly was done away with ; and he might observe, that the present low price of the Bible —namely, 9d.—was owing to the rivalry Ahich existed between the King's printer and the two Uni versities. He would not. however, object to the motion. Mr. BLACK observed that the experiment had been tried in Scotland, and he must say he could not see much of a hardship in it; for a printer must, under any circum stances, bo at, the cost of correcting. Mr. T. CROSSLEY said, that as the patent would ex pire next year, it ought not to be renewed before the com mittee- had r:ported on the subject, or else it would be of no use to have the committee appointed at all. The motion was then agreed to. MINISTERS OF THE CROWN. Mr. V. SCULLY moved an address for a return in chro nological order. of all Ministers of the Crown appointed since the Act of Union in 1800, with the dates of their re spective acceptances of, and retirements from, office; dis tinguishing Cabinet Ministers from those not in the Cabi net : And, similar return of all persons appointed to the office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Chief Secretary for Ire land, and Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, during the like Period, The document, he said, would itself be a most valu- able one, in a historical and political point of view, for I would how how very much the aristocratical element predominated in our Cabinets, and how few Cannin.gs,Dis• raelis, Cobdens, and Brights we had had among the num ber. He had limited it to the Act of Union in order that it might be seen how many Irishmen had formed members of Cabinets since the year 1800. With the exception of about half a dozen titular Irishmen, or rather of members bearing Irish titles, as the Duke of Wellington, Lord Castlereagh, Lord Monteagle, and one or two more, it would be seen that no Irishmen had been members of Cabinets. Some of the most important offices in Ireland were in the hands of Englishmen, such as the head of the police, and other offices. The house could afford to la ug h a t this matter, but it virtually affected the interests of the country from which he came. That was an Irish grievance, and he had laid sufficient grounds for complaint. The English Whigs and Liberals had excluded them, the Irish Roman Calholics, systematically from office. It was said, why did not Irishmen of position and ability come into that house ? The reason was, that it would bar promotion. He con cluded by moving the motion. Mr. M'CANN seconded the motion. Lord C. HAMILTON said the information was to be found in Thom's Almanac. Gradually the hon. member let out the real motive of his motion, viz., that he wished to put himself forward as a proper member for office. (Hear.) Had he not referred to the late member for Dover ? How, said he, was he silenced ? Was not the inference clear ? He had never heard an Irishman in that house who had not cried out " Justice for Ireland." lie hoped that the Govern ment would not grant a return which for the first time would set forth from what part of the United Kingdom a Minister of the Crown came, and what religion he was of. Mr. SCULLY—The noble lord has not read my motion. Lord C. HAMlLTON—Whatever the terms of the mo tion might be, the hon. member in his speech had directly referred to members of the Roman Catholic persuasion who had held office. But his great objection to the return was that the information asked for was to be found already in " Thom's Almanac" more fully given than it would be by the return moved for. Sir G. C. LEWIS said one of the usual motives which induced hon. members to move for returns was that the house was not in possession of authentic information on the subject to which the returns had reference. That could not be the motive in the present instance, because there were in existence, not only the books of common reference to which the noble lord opposite had alluded, but many others, in which the names, paternity, and country of all those who had held office under the Crown were set forth, and there was no more difficulty in obtaining the information wanted than the meaning of a word by referring to " Johnson's Dictionary." Another usual object in moving for returns was to give the information the official s t am p o f au th en ticity which attached to any returns made to that house. But the house in such cases did not sit in a judicial capacity, and if any hon. member on the authority of the common books of reference stated thalt such and such a Minister had held office at a particular time, it would not call upon him to pro duce legal evidence df the fact. With regard to the word ing of the motion, he did not think it was very clear, be cause it did not distinguish what kind of Ministers of the Crown were to be included. Did it include the Ministers of the household and those who held subordinate offices ? Did it include only those who held seats in the Cabinet? If the latter, he would remind the house that the constitu- tion did not'recognise the existence of the Cabinet as a cor porate body, and the house had abstained from any formal recognition also. It was a mere conventional arrangement for the morb convenient transaction of Ministerial business. The speech of the hon.*member seemed to imply that his countrymen had not been eminent in Parliamentary and official life ; but no return was needed to prove the contrary —the names of Burke, Sheridan, Lord Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Castlereagh, Mr. Ponsonby, Mr. V. Fitzgerald, and Mr. Tierney were illustrations bf eminence both in Parliamentary and official life, and that during a long succession of years and Parliaments. If it was the wish of the house that the return should be granted, he had no objection—(no, no)—but he thought its only result would be to cast needless labour on certain public departments, and to cause needless expense to the public. (Hear, hear.) Mr. V. SCULLY replied—He had not been able to find the information he wanted in any book whatever, and if it was given as he proposed it would be of great value. The motion was negatived without a division. BARRISTERS AND SOLICITORS IN IRELAND. Mr. M'MAHON moved for leave .to bring in a bill to amend certain laws and statutes relating to the admission of barristers and solicitors to practise in Ireland. Mr. WHITESIDE was opposed to the measure because it was not asked for in Ireland, and was not necessary. Mr. BRADY supported the motion. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL for IRELAND (Mr. Ser geant Deasy) thought that no advantage could arise either to the profession or the public at large, from prolonging this discussion at this period of the session; and he therefore hoped his hon. friend would not persevere in pressing his motion. The house then dividal, and the numbers were— For the motion .. 179 Against it 123 Majority for —56 RIVER THAMES. Sir G. C. LEWIS, in moving for leave to bring in a bill to extehd the power of the conservators of the river Thames, said the object of it, which was to assist in the purification of the . Thames, would meet with universal satisfaction. (Hear, hear) The bill was a very short one, and at pre sent he would merely move for leave to introduce it. Leave was then given. MEDICAL ACTS AMENDMENT. Mr. WHITESIDE obtained leave to bring in a bill to amend the Medical Acts of 21 Viet., c. 9, and 22 Vict., c. 21. PACKET AND TELEGRAPHIC CONTRACTS. Mr. BOUVERIE brought under the consideration of the house the petition of Sir William Russell, presented 18th July, and moved that it be an instruction to the se lect committee on packet and telegraphic contracts, not to proceed to inquire into the mail-packet contract for the con veyance of mails between Dover and Calais, and between Dover and Ostend, until the petition of Sir William Russell, Bart., complaining of an undue election and return for the town and port of Dover, shall have been disposed of. The hon. member said the petitionerunderstood that a select com mittee had been appointed to inquire ieto the parkAt and talc . graphic contracts which the Government had entered into for the conveyance of mails and messages, and that he was ad vised that there were circumstances connected with the con tract for the conveyance of mails between Dover and Calais of such a nature that the house should instruct the com mittee not to inquire into that contract. He (Mr. Bou yerie) thought the house was bound, in justice to itself, its character, and to Sir W. Russell, to comply with the prayer of that petition. He would state the ground of sus picion which existed as regarded the purity of the transac tion in connexion with the Dover contract. Mr. Church ward was a gentleman not unknown to fame. He was a large employer at Dover, and had the command of 120 votes. In 1852 there was an election at Plymouth, and the com mittee who tried the election petition presented against the return of Mr. Mears, reported that certain voters who had polled for Mears had been bribed by this very Mr. Church ward. By other resolutions other acts of bribery were proved. Now, he did not think there was evidence of inten tional fraud on the part of the department, but, at any rate, they must be convicted of great incaution in giving a rever sionary contract, which was only to come into operation at the end of four years, to a man who came to the depart ment with a tainted character, and who had been branded by a report of a committee of that house a notorious briber. That, then, was the issue which the committee would have to try. There were allegations in the petition of Sir Wil liam Russell, the truth of which would be best elicited by an election committee. According to the constitu tion of those committees, the judges would be few in inimber, and their responsibility therefore great. More over, the same judges would be present on each day, so that there would be no chance majorities, and they would have the assistance of counsel and witnesses upon oath, and every possible appliance for the purpose of enabling them to arrive at the truth. (Hear.) Could there be any doubt, therefore, that that was the proper mode of eliciting the truth ? Or that it was not an infinitely superior method to that presented by a select committee ? If the select com mittee arrived at a particular decision on the queition, Sir W. Rand' would have an opportunity of laying his own evidence before it, but he complained that his case was likely to be prejudiced by the preliminary examination of tainted witnesses. The select committee, however, would be placed in the position of a court of appeal from the elec ' tion, which was, certainly not to be desired. He had spoken in the interests of Sir W. Russell—(cheers from the Oppo sition)—but he declared that, independently of all party considerations, if any man should tell him that he had a good claim to a resolution of the house, he would be, at any time, ready to do him justice. (Cheers.) It was for the interest of all of them, and especially for those who were accused, that those ma tt ers s h ou ld rece ive a full and search ing inquiry. The right hon. gentleman concluded by mov ing the resolution of which he had given n otice. i Sir S. NORTHCOTE sa id he was quite as, anxious the right ho n . gen tl eman hi mse lf that the truth ascertained, but it was only fair that they should have an oppoftunity of clearing themselves from charges which had no foundation in fact, and which were brought forward night after night, in a form in which they could not be met. If it were proposed that the select committee was to supersede the election commit.. tee, or to prejudice Sir W. Russell, there would be some reason for the distinction which the right hon. gentleman had drawn between the two tribunals. But he could not see why Sir W. Russell could not bring forward any evi dence before the election committee, upon which he could found the serious charges he had advanced, Mr. CO WPER wished to rev b e e g fiart t s o thgi t so h n e cea f se act willthat thepetitioner, petitioner, Sir Win Russell, says into before a mate rially suffer if the inquiry should select committee. IT therefore thought they should strain a point to go intowthe inquiry in the most satisfactory manner. Mr. WHITESIDE said that the right hon. gentleman who made the motion said, as a lover of justice, he hoped the inquiry would be gone into in a judicial manner, and the first thing he had done was to impugn the composition of the committee, but neither that gentleman nor the gen tleman who had last addressed them had succeeded in showing that the inquiry into the truth of the matter could by possibility affect the inquiry before an election com mittee. Mr. HENLEY said the right hon. gentleman who had made this motion had not shown them in what way Sir W. Russell would be injured by the inquiry before the select committee. He thought if the motion were granted very great injustice would be done; Mr. COLLIER said he could not conceive that anything could be more satisfactory than that the parties should be examined upon oath, and not that the inquiry should take place before a committee of, which the accused parties formed a component part. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he felt the appeal that had been made to them, and that they should not approach this question in a spirit of party, and that his right hon. friend had no other object in view in making the motion than a desire to forward the ot,jects of justice. The Government was most unwilling to show any want of confidence in the select committee, or that it was supposed to limit itself to try the me: its of particular contracts. The question was whether, after the speech of his right hon. friend, they could step in and limit the inquiry before the select committee. He (tll6 Chancellor of the Exchequer) would be inclined to refer the petition of Sir William Russell to the select emnrnittee. He thought it would be the better course so to refer the petition, and, as au amendment, he should theretbre move that the petition of Sir Wm. Russell be re ferred to the select committee on mail packet contracts. Sir P. BARING said, as far he could collect, the com mittee were opposed to the motion of the right hon. gen tleman. 'Mr. DISRAELI said he thought the Chancellor of the Exchequer could hardly suppose that the house would as sent to the proposal he had made. The members of the late Government had some claims upon the consideration of the house, and especially as the Dover petition had very little chance of being decided in the present session. He thought: the House of Commons could hardly permit itself to fall into the trap which had been laid for it by the right hon. gentleman. (Mae, hear.) Lord PALMERSTGIN thought there was no sufficient ground to interfere with the proceeding of the select com- s mitten which had bean appointed by the house. His right hon. friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer had suggested that the petition of Sir W. Russell be referred to the select`committee, but after the statement which had been made by the member for Portsmouth (Sir F. Baring), he thought the amendment should not be pressed. Mr. BOUVERIE replied, after which 1p The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQNEA withdrew his amendment, and the house divided uponite original motion, when the numbers were— For the motion Against it Majority against the motion...-162 The orders of the day were then disposed of, and the house adjourned at a few minutes past two o'clock. RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE. LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST. The report of theAlirectors, to be submitted to the meeting of proprietors on the 26th inst., has just been issued : The accounts for the half-year ending June 30, 180, are subjoined, and show the following results: The amount of capital raised to the 30th June, 1859, is £8,397,879, consisting of : Mortgage debt, £1,720,985 ; debenture stock, £397,100 ; preference capital, £1,661,240; consolidated stock, £4,618,554 —total, £8,397,879. The amount of capital outlay has been £246,038, of which £lBO,OOO has been in respect of this company's contributioh to the Victoria station and Pimlico Railway, making £337,500 now charged on that account ; £24,984 for the new Henfield line, which is being rapidly proceeded with ; £15,419 towards the completion of the Norwood Junction sta tion ; and the remainder for the stations on the Uckfield and Mid-Sussex lines, and for sindry works and additional vehicles rendered necesSary by the increasing traffic and the larger numbei of miles worked. The issue of the Four per Cent. Debenture Stuck proceeds satisfactorily, and powers have been inserted in the bill now before,Parliament enabling the company to issue the whole or a portion of this stook in anticipation of bonds falling due. This will permit the directors to avail themselves at any time of a favourable state of the money market, and to issue debenture stock without the necessity of waiting until a proportionate amount of bonds falls due. The gross revenue for the half-year has been £365,686, being an increase of £21,116, as compared with the corresponding period of 1858. Of this increase £10,796 arises in the coaching traffic, £5,340 in the goods traffic, and the remainder from the 421 per cent. on the receipts of the West-end and Crystal Palace line, retained .by this company as the allowance for working the local traffic on that branch. It is satisfactory to state that the in crease has been general and proportionate on every part of the company's system, with the exception of Epsom, where, by the opening of the South- Western Company's competing line, a loss of about £4,000 has been occasioned. The details of expen diture for the half-year ending 30th June are fully given in the subjoined abstracts : Miles run by trains Total traffic receipts (excluding cartage) Maintenance of way Locomotive power 47,999 Carriage and waggon department Coaching traffic charges Goodi traffic charges (excluding cartage) .10,111 General charges 4 ,380 Law and Parliamentary charges Rates and taxes ..• 14,715 •.e.' , 11,542 Government duty Toll to the South Eastern Railway Company 507 Total working expenses and renewals (excluding cartage) Cartage 7,960 Total... £170,365 Distinguishing 'the ordinary expenses from the amount expended in renewals and additions, and from the cartage, the general result of the compa rison with the corresponding half-year of 1858 will stand thus : Half Year Ending June 30, June 30, 1858. 1859. Ordinary expenses £133,582 .... £150,284 Renewals and additions Total expenses (excluding *adage) s. d. - . s. d. Per train per mile Per cent. on traffic receipts 434 .... 46f Cartage.. 6,991 .... 7,960 Total. .. £152,847 £170,365 Although there has been an increase in the total amount of working expenses, the cost per train per mile has been considerably reduced. The increase arises from several eauses. First, from the outlay incurred in working,the West-end line, and from the fact that this outlay, so far as regards the local traffic, was not included as expenditure in the cor responding half-year, inasmuch as the allowance received from the West-end Uompany for such service was applied in reduction of working ex penses. This method of appropriation has been altered, as stated in the last report ; the allow ance will be found at the credit of revenue, and that sum must be taken into account in order to obtain a fair comparison. Secondly, from the larger number of miles worked over, namely, the West-end line from Wandsworth to Pimlico, and the Lewes and Uckfield line. Thirdly, from heavy repairs done to a large number of the lodo motive engines purchased in 1847 and 1848, which required and have received extensive renewals. The working expenses have also, to a small extent, been increased by the competition which 'Nits-been forced upon the company ; but, looking to the general re sult, especially to the new traffic,thui attracted to the line, and to the publicity given to the Brighton route - to Portsmouth and the isle of Wight, it can not be said to have operated prejudicially against this company. The Parliamentary proceedings of the session are drawing to a conclusion. The company's bill has passed the committee of the House of Lords. The two bills promoted for a line from Leatherhead to Dorking were rejected by the committee of the House of Commons, as was also that promoted by the Portsmouth Company with a view to relieving themselves from the restrictions imposed upon them by their act of last year. The bill containing per missive powers for the lease to the South-Western Company of the Portsmouth Railway, or for the amalgamation of those two companies, has received the sanction of the legislature. The directors regret that the differences which have unfortunately arisen with the South-Western Company are still unad justed. The purchase of the Battersea to Norwood portion of the West-end of London and Crystal Palace Railway was sanctioned at the special meet ing held on the 9th of May last, and it has accord ingly been proceeded with, and takes effect from the Ist July, 1859; and resolutions will be sub mitted to the meeting for creating the stock t' be t delivered r . t t o a k t i h n. the West-end of London and Crystal Palace shareh o ld ers i n exchange f or th e i ra h ares i n In the last report the proprietors were informed that several schemes had bee n promoted with a view to connect some of the metropolitan railways with the Victoria Station; one of these, an extension of the West London Railway, embracing all that is requi site, has been selected as the most desirable, and the bill authorising its construction has passed the com mittee of the House of Commons and will be laid beforo the special meeting. The line is shown on a plan accompanying the report. There are also two short branches, forming junctions with the South-Western Railway at the Falcon-bridge Junction Station, and with the West-end line at Wandsworth-common. The directors have agree, subject to the assent of the shareholders, to pin the London and North- Western, the Great Western, and South-Western Companies, in providing the necessary capital. The estimated outlay is £300,000, and the proportion to be contributed by this company is £50,000, or £75,000 in case the Great Western Company do not elect to capitalise their guaranteed annual contri bution. In connexion with this no* matured scheme for the admission of the North-Western and the Great Western Companies into the Victoria Station, the directors have under t ejr considera tion the desirability of possessing th em selves of the I whole of that property, so that a genetal terminus may be erected more suitable for the requirements of all, and free from the inconvenience and compli cation attending the working of separate and inde pendent stations; and they are glad to have it in their power to inform the proprietors that, subject, to their sanction, they have entered into an arrange ment with the directors of the Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway, the result of which will be that the whole of that undertaking will ultimately be vested in this company. Agreements are in pro gress with the North-Western and Great Western Companies for the use by them of the requisite por - , tion of the West-end line and of the Victoria Sta tion and Pimlico Railway. A bill is no w b e f ore parliam ent, promoted by in dependent p ar ti es, for a line from the Mid-Sussex Railway at Petworth to Midhurst. The directors have entered upon arrangements with the promo- ters analogous to those concluded as regards the other portion of the Mid-Sussex Railway. The bill has passed the House of Commons, and will be laid before the shareholders at the special meeting, as required by the standing orders of the House of o Lords. The bill for a line f rom Norw ood to Streat ham was rejected by t he committee o f the House of Commons, fft but there having been.fprae misap prehension,s are being made ix, 4btain a - re committal of the bill , with a view , to its becoming law during the p r e sent sessi o n . The directors have ex pectation that these efforts will be everyattende d with success. - The net amount at the credit of the revenue ac count is £115,955, out of which the directors re commend the payment of a dividend of 2-t- per cent. for the half4year, amounting to £115,464, leaving a balance to the credit of the current half-year of £491. One of the auditors, Mr. John Chapman, has ten dered his resignation, by reason of other more press ing engagements, and it remains with the proprie tors to accept it, and to fill up the vacancy at the present meeting, should they see fit to do so. The directors next in rotation to retire at the first half yearly meeting in 1860 are Mr. William Coning ham, M.P., and Mr. Peter Northall Laurie. ADVERTISING COLUMNS. Yesterday afternoon a numerous deputation from the various metropolitan vestries and district boards, accompanied by Lord Fermoy and Mr. Edwin. James, the members for the borough of Mary le" bone waited upon the Right Hon. Sir G. C. Lewis, at the Home-office, for the purpose of protesting against the bill introduced by Mr. Cowper, arising from the erection of the "Illuminated Indica tor" at Hyde-park-corner, having for its object "to restrict the erection of permanent structures in the carriage -ways of the metropolis," and to urge the Government to give its opposition to such measure. Lord FERMOY, in introducing the clePutation , observed that it represented the public boards Of most of the leading metropolitan parishes, and they felt that the bill introduced by Mr. Cowper 0 19 not only an attempt to infringe upon and restrict the local powers they enjoyed, but that it was i° direct violation of the principles of the Metropolis Local Management Act. It was felt that, because one local board had thought proper to sanction the erection of an advertising column, to bring in a bill restricting all the other public boards from the power of placing up erections, however useful, wee an act of public injustice, and ought to be resisted. In the borough he (the noble lord) had the honour to' represent the local boards had positively refused to allow these illuminated advertising columns to be erected, and therefore there was no necessity to apply this act to them. The metropolitan parishes were exceedingly jealous of this interference with, their local powers ; as it was, if this measure passed , it was the thin end of the wedge leading to centrals' cation. (Hear, hear.) „ Sir G. C. LEWlS—having been further addressed, by Mr. C. Carr, from Marylebone, Mr. Beal, of st• James's, Mr. Robins,e of Paddington, and depati° from the Holborn,,Stra i:d, and other district boards: to the same effect—observed that he could well understand the very natural and very proper jell.' ousy with which the metropolitan parishes viewed any attempt to interfere with their local powers. He had no desire to give his sanction to the mee: sure which had a tendency towards that which they appeared to apprehend, namely, centralise: tion. At the same time, however, he could not view this subject' as one of the purely parochia l character which the deputation seemed to imply' It was one which he thought involved a question of the public rights, and the public travelling through the public highways of this metropolis had a right to be protected. He had some doubts as to the necessity of this bill, as he could not find that by act of parliament any parish had the lege' power of causing the erection of these advertising columns. It would thus be his first point to aseer,; taro if they had the legal right to do so. At t' events, it would have been better for the vestry ° f St. George's to have removed the column at Hyde: 'park-corner, and thus have prevented the subject coming before parliament. He would give the sub ject his best consideration. COUNTRY MARKBTB. LIVERPOOL—JULY 19. Our market was exceedingly dull this morning, and Oa a small number of buyers made their appearance. The q 11° : tations may be noted the same as Tuesday last for whea t. Flour quiet. Oats and oatmeal dull, and rather 1005 Barley, beans, and peas unchanged. Indian corn attrac t a fair mquiry, at 6s 6d for Galatz, 6s 3d for Ibrail , and - SS 2d for white per 1001bs. _ _ _ SHEFFIELD—JurY 19. o f At this day's market there was a moderate supply, °g wheat, but more than was, required by buyers, and pifty'a gave way 6d per load (ls 4d per qr.) A fair retail deras% for barley, at previous currencies. Oats held firmly, also beans. Red wheat, per load of 3 imperial bushels...l6s 6d to 17 0 ,4 64 White If 3) ...18s Od to 200 r; IP :::ii - a - di.,l !( ii Beans 77 77 Peas, per qr 48s 0d to 60 L c i ti Grinding barley, per qr 335 Od to Malting ditto, „ 33 sOd to 36 0 (1 , ; Oats 24s Od to 3 20 71 P er Millers' prices for, flour—ls 6d, is Bd, and Is 10 d 141 b. Hay, 80s to 85s ; wheat straw, 28s to 36s ; oat straw) to 365; turnips, 14sto 16s per ton. RICHMOND—JuLT 16. Aff We had a poor supply of all descriptions of grain tO 4 and a fair demand. Wheat ruled from tis 9d to 6s 9d r - H . bushel; barley,' 3s 6d to 4s Od ; beans, to 6s 6d ; ° ll- ' 3s Od to 3s 6d. SUNDERLAND—JULY 16. a nd At this corn-market wheat was in small supplY, ,4 prices ranged from 49s to 52s per quarter. There WOs to much passing in spring corn, oats being quoted at 26 0 to 22s per 24 stone ; beans, 46s to 48s per qr. ; barley, 308 32s per qr. LEEDS—JULY 19. Df The weather is now wet and unsettled. Suppliee s - , wheat are only 'moderate, a nd h e ld fi rm ly a t f u lly . the r i , st 0 of last week. Barley nom i na l. B eans ra th er give tit price. Oats and o the r ar ti c l es i n very li m i te d deman d ? former rates. Averages for the week : Wheat 2,604 qrs., at .......• 478 6Jd Beans 5O „ . ..... . . 28 8 2d 8ar1ey....... 1 —B Od Peas ' —s Od. Oats 3ll ~ 278 4d Rye — „ Arrivals this week : Wheat ........ Barley 30 O P a e t a s s Rapeseed Beans 115 Linseed • • 1,053 ..2,953 qrs. NORWICH CATTLE—Jur/ . 16. sootOf A very good show o f s t ore b eas t s t o -d ay , comprising 1,9,d shorthorns, and I r i s h. S a l es were restr i c t e d, an d we to a poor attendance. Scots, 4s to 4s 6d ; shorthorns, 3 s e r 4s 6d ; Irish, 3s to 3s 6d. Fat beasts, 7s 6d to 8s•O d P stone. 6dt o Sheep—The pens were well filled. —Fat sheep, 70 8s 6d per stone, and all sold. Pigs—A good supply. Store pigs 23s to 28s ; fat p orgy ' 6s to 6s 6d per stone. „ st r e [ADVERTISEMENT.]—The following extraordinary ev -- without medicine, of indigestion (dyspepsia),. ilatulen e g constipation, nervous, bilious, and liver complaints, asthma, consumption, and debility, effected by Du Bol",, o t delicious health-restoring Revalenta Arabica Food, are the least remarkable :—Cure No. '42,116. Major enlargement of the liver and total prostration of streng' Cure No. 36,418.—Rev. Dr. Minster of cramps, spost l i and daily vomitings. Cure No. 26,418.—Dr. arveY diarrheM and debility. Cure No. 39,628. — Dr. Wurti er ” consumption. Cure No. 32,880. —William Hunt, BOP barrister, of paralysis. Cure 46,270. —Mr. James Robert, timber merchant, of Frimley, of 30 years' diseased lung s ' spitting of blood, liver derangement, partial deafness. Cu!: No. 49,832.—" Fifty years indescribable agony fr°l dyspepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, die lency, spasms, sickness at t h e stomach and vomiting, hi t been removed by Du Barry's excellentlood.—Maria Jell!! Wortham Ling, near Diss, Norfolk." Cure No. 52,51 2 . Th e Dowager Countess of Castlestuart, o f man y years ne r i vows irritability, bile, and indigesti on .—C ure No. 71, ° e at io l i s b .. 61.4 121 b, tins Lar2lbri.a, carriage free,. 9d ; on sl r b e . c , e l ip 2s t . o ; f l p the Right Hon. the Lord Stuart de Decies, of dyspepsi r ,a,;, 2 ln 6s t . in T s h , office order. Du Barry and Co., 77, Regent-street, 1 ,013. " Z, Fortnum, Mason, and C o ., 182, Piccadilly ; Gracechurch-street; 4, Cheapside ; 63, and 150, 01 0 °' street; 330 and 451, St ran d ; 49 an d 60; Bishorgate: street ; 85, T o tt en h am -court-road. Al so a t Bewley and Draper ; at Edinburgh, Raimes and c O l at Liverpool, Nixon and Thew; at Manchester, Sharp 0 • 1 : ‘ , Scott; at York, Raimes, Blanchard, and Co.; at Sou w ampton, Randall and Son. BIRTHS. of , CREASY.—On the 17th inst., at Wi m bl e d on , th e w i fe Professor Creasy, of a son. CUMMING.—On the 16th inst., at Altyre, Lady Ger d° Cumming, of a son. M UNS TER.—On the 18th i ns t., a t 35 , R ut l an d- ga te, Countess of Munster, of a son. STEWART.—On the 18th inst., at 42, Belgrave-sclu gz* Lady Octavia Shaw Stewart, of a daughter. . MARRIAGES. BOND -- SHEPPARD. —On the 19th inst., at St. gar," Church, Hamilton -terrace, St. John's-wood, Erast;: son of Erasmus Bond", Esq., of 347, City-road, to Fanny' daughter of J. H. Sheppard, Esq., late of Readi"' Berks. MANSE L — MONTAGU.—On the 19th inst., at St. Thooti. Church, Oxfo r d- s t ree t, th e R ev . O wen Luttrell Mali'Li fourth son of Lieut.-Colonel Mansel, C.B to Lo Catharine, youngest daughter of the late LOrd Montagu. DEATHS. CATES.—On the 18th inst., Grace, daughter of Georg . Cates, Esq., of Lincoln's-inn-fields, and Willesdez4 aged 19. - - - el CROFTS.—On the 16th inst., at Melling House, nearLew the Rev. P. G. Crofts, aged 85. FITCH.—On the 17th inst., Mr. W. S. Fitch, of 40' 4°14 aged 66. GIUSSEN.—On the 15th inst., at Meesden, Bury, the ge l ' A. Gaussen. bt. KEATE.—On the 18th inst., Isabella Anne, widow of Rea Keate, Esq., late Sergeant -Surgeon to the Queen, ag 69. MENZIES.—On the 18th inst., at 24, Holborn-bill, Dune° Menzies, Esq., aged 71. NuNN.—On the 17th i nst., Phi l i p Nunn, Esq., of: Barr ett Hall, Great Mapl es t ea d , E ssex, aged 83. PownLL.—On the 18th inst., at Clapton, Middlesex, --I;e ' titia Powell, aged 92. LONDON : Printed and Published by MURD6 of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The , Sun Office, No• 112 Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county Middlesex, Wednesday, July 20, 1869. THE SUN, L SD ENING, JULY 20, 1859. 1