The Sun. — London, England, 1858-03-24 00:00:00

dividnal communicatione. aver since 1815, until just recently, the French passport system between England and France had been conducted on the part of the French Government with very great liberality. There used to be different species of passports—some -issued by the Foreign-office and by the foreign Ambassador», which were given to all persons of considerable import ance freely. There was also, as probably most hon. members recol'ected, an office in Portland-street to which on any Englishman going he was perfectly certain to re ceive, within 24 hours after writing down his name and residence, a passport without fee, by which he could travel to every part of France. Even this delay of 24 hours was excused in the case of a member of Parliament or magistrate, or of illness or urgent business. There were also delivered passports by the French Consul on payment of a small fee. The same system continued under Charles X. and Louis Philippe. He regretted to say it was only in later days, when they might have hoped that a long period of communication had produced the best feeling between the two countries, that any hind rance or bar had been placed on the intercourse between England and France, though it was no secret that in the opinion of the Emperor of the French—for he had pub lished a work on the subject—this passport system was not a useful system, and that as between England and France at least it ought to be abolished. A French commission had been issued to inquire whether it was possible to abolish the passport system in France, but it bad produced no effect. The passport system, indeed, employed an enormous number of persons, who, of course, were all interested in maintaining it. If things had remained as they were there would not have been much fault to find with the system, for besides other fa cilities of interconese there did evist the habit of free communication, which though not positively established by law was sanctioned by custom, between the ports of England and France. The English people never thought of obtaining passports when they went to visit the ports of France, and, indeed, natives of this country who resided on the French coast were generally unpro vided with passports. The communication between the French and English coasts was so entirely free, that since the establishment of excursion trains, nearly 100,000 persons had gone over from this country every year to enjoy themselves at Calais and Boulogne for a few days, and their visits had been a source of considerable profit to the inhabitants of those towns. Great changes had, however, taken place in the passport system. On the 18th of February, 1858, the fallowing notice was issued from the Foreign-office : " Her Majesty's Ambassador at Paris having, in pur suance of instructions from the Earl of Clarendon, in quired of the French Government whether British' sub jects will be permitted to land in France without passports when they have no intention of proceeding into the inte rior, and also whether her Majesty's Consuls will have power to grant passports to such persons to proceed to Paris or elsewhere, his Excellency has been informed by the French Minister for Foreign Affairs that no person whatever will be permitted to land in France without a passport, nor will a consul's passport given to any one who may have landed without one be recognized." The effect of this proceeding was that the free commu nication without passports between the coasts of France and England, of which multitudes of persons had availed themselves, was at once stopped, and no British subject was permitted to land at a French port without an Eng• lish passport. Another effect of the regulation wan, also, that British subjects resident at Boulogne and other places on the French coast were deprived of the facilities which bad been previously afforded them for visiting the interior of the country. He was anxious to ascertain what was the nature of the communications which passed between the French and English Govern ments previously to the issue of the notification to which he had just referred. He thought Parliament was fairly entitled not only to demand that those communications should be laid upon the table, but also to inquire whether any remonstrance against the change had been made on the part of the English Government. It was not for him to say what motives had induced the Government of the Emperor of the French to adopt such an important change, but he could not believe that this destruc tion of the communication between England and France could in any degree tend either to the security of the Emperor's parson or to the general ad vantage of France. He was rather disposed to attribute the measure to the inconsiderate zeal of subordinates, who with the very beat motives might commit most foolish and injurious acts. The restrictions placed upon the communication between France and other countries since that melancholy event, the attempt on the life of the Emperor, had sot, however, been confined merely to passports. He had heard most ludicrous stories of the manner in which the Custom-house regulations were carried out. He had been told, for instance, that a lady was detained at Boulogne for 24 hours, in order that the tooth-powder in her dressing-case might be carefully analysed with the view of ascertaining whether it cone tained any fulminating matter. (Laughter.) The Em peror of the French had undoubtedly, like every other potentate, a perfect right to make any regulations he pleased respecting the admission of foreigners within his territories, but he (Mr Milnes) thought the people of this country ware also entitled to ask why fresh restric tions had been placed upon their intercourse with France. If the French Government were as desirous as they pro fessed to be, and as be believed they really were, of maintaining friendly and intimate relations with the British Government,—if there was no desire on their part unnecessarily to annoy un—if there was no good reason for preventing Englishmen from visiting France on pleasure or on business as they had been accustomed to do,—he thought the people of this country were en titled to ask whether the restrictions recently adopted by the French Government were friendly and neighbourly acts, and were likely to increase the amity of the two na tions. The effect of these regulations would undoubtedly be to subject the French themselves to considerable pecu niary loss. Although the restrictions had only been in force a few weeks they had been attended with most dis astrous consequences with regard to the communication between the two countries. The return of the number of passengers between Dover and Calais during the last six weeks, as compared with the corresponding six weeks of last year, showed a diminution of no less than 1,1t17, and the rapid and admirably managed steamers plying between those ports were not now carrying on an average more than nine passengers a day. A large number of persons who had left this country unprovided with passports, have been sent back without money and without their luggage, which had been carried on into France. He regretted to say that many ladies and chil dren had been sent bcck in this helpless condition to Dover and Folkestone. The evil was every day increas ing, and in his opinion the subject required immediate action on the part of her Majesty's Government. He had now to refer to the course which had been taken by the English Government; with respect to this question. He was aware that just decopum would be observed by the present occupants of the treasury benches in criti cising the conduct of their predecessors, and that it was quite unnecessary for him to appeal to their feelings of delicacy with regard to the disclosure of the proceedings of the late Government. He believed they would execute that duty without favour to their predecessors, and as conscientiously as if they had themselves been respon sible for the course that had been pursued. Some ti me ago passports issued by the Foreign-office were extremely expensive, and were generally procured by persons who wished to produce an impression of their personal im portance. Such passports were issued to officials, but they were paid for at a high rate by those who wished to assume a similar character. He was not aware, from his own experience, that these passports ware attended with any peculiar advantage. He certainly remembered hear ing of a gentleman who travelled with a Foreign-office passport, signed by the noble member for Tiverton (Lord Palmerston), and who on presenting the document at the gate of A small town in the south of Italy, was immedi diately seized and carried before the police, the captor believing that he had caught the redoubtable Palmerston himself. (A. laugh.) Those passports were very sparingly issued, and were not much in demand, but the intercourse with the continent was carried on chiefly by means of the ordinary French passports. The noble lord (Pal merston), however, for some reason cheapened the price of the Foreign-office passports, and rendered it possible for almost any man to procure them at a very small cost and trouble. He had no doubt tee noble lord had acted with the best intentions, probably thinking it right that every Englishman should possess a guarantee of his na tionality from his own Government. The effect of the new regulations had been entirely to alter the system with regard to the issue of passports by the Foreign office here. It was not necessary to read to the house re gulations which were in everybody's hands—(hear)—and with which the hon. gentleman who cried "Hear" was of entree perfectly conversant. (A. laugh.) At the first glance they appeared to be more liberally conceived than those formerly issued. Such passports used only to be granted to persons known to the Foreign-office or re commended to it by barkers, while the present regula tion extended the power of recommending to every mayor and every magistrate in this c ,untry. This libe rality, however, was in appearance only. Hon. members who acted as magistrates had probably received a Coat rcunication desiring that their signatures and their seals of should be for war d e d, w i t h a v i ew to the i dent ifi cat i on any perso n recommended by them to the Fore i gn •l ce• Now, he did not coneid r this was a pre per u e t) be made of the magistracy e' England. The unpaid p magistrates w ere a l ready called to discharge very laborious functions, an d' the Governmentuon hadno right r to impose on them any other duties than those which the interest of the country fairly demanded. It was most unjust to force the magistrates, as the present sY s rem virtually did, to furnish a guarantee for the respect ability of every person whom they recommended for a passport. With such a demand he, ;or one, could not • comply, and he believed a large body of the magistrates were similarly di-posed. Suppose, for example, a person unknown to him, but who had recently obtained an un enviable notoriety in this country, had come to him and andsaked him fo r a recommendat i on. S uppose this person described him se lf as an i nt i mate friend of Coleridge z l / 4 the literary men. H e (Mr. Milties) should have thiqt, such a person a passpo r t l at once, and line have been i t turned out to jr. Alison, it wou ld recommen ;.i o'al l asked at the fixed with such '"No gentleman would like to be a position. ;As telitt'n'ibi"te, or to and himself office, this perhaps w ,"ecling one's seal to the Plenr'lerib was sot every magistrate ,terrement • el l e - it Be lately read in the biography `, 1 ,1` - 1 1 : 11. : 1 1 i ne .il y h I ng. men , who conceived that his genius , wised him ali t ra " ove a' the parade of rank, that on being appleTbeoej.or his teat of arms, he bald he nevefrromcarried any time immemorrai th e e h t i h m i' s for, as far as he kne w , d h w e i t t h h e their thumbs. e t ri os ancestor; had sealetthekirnle tters (Mr. Milaes) did no was ancient and simple process was cus.tomary among any of the magistracy, but to require their wayseals„einitnhitsnjscoup try. a most novel regulation of po ll try. He wished to know what were the cause s which led to tha introduction of all this apparatus forthephuard pose of providing Englishmen with a mere card of iden tification on going to the Continent. E ver ybody knew TflP SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 24, ISNR that this elaborate contrivance was producing the most extreme inconvenience here. A. person had now to ob tain a recommendation from a magistrate, then to go to the Foreign-effice, then apply to the French Consul, and at all these stages necessary delays took place. The case of a young officer who arrived lately in town from the seat of war in India would present these inconveniences forcibly to the minds of hon. members. This gentleman received on a certain Thursday a letter from a stranger, telling him that his father was lying at Boulogne at the point of death, and that every hour was of importance. He applied to the Foreign-office for a passport, but was told there was no resource for hire, except an applica tion to a magistrate. He was a stranger in London { he knew no magistrate, but at length a friend remem bered having once dined with a police-alagistrate, and ' furnished him a letter which procured him a recommen dation. He then went to the Foreign-office, which was Iclosed ; he got his passport the next morning ; then he had to go to the French consul : through the delay thus { occasioned he arrived at - Folkestone too late for the boat, and only got across on t he following morning*, being detained by all these frivolo ns regulation!i fromthe dying bed of his father. (Hear.) In another instance a gentleman wrote to him to say that he was summoned one Friday to see his child, w ho was lying ill at St. Omer. He received the telegram at halt-past 2, went to the Foreign-office just before 4, was desired to call next day at 12, lost in this way much precious time, and arrived at St. Omer just four hours too late—his poor daughter was dead. (Hear, hear.) Here were caves which had occurred within the last six weeks, and they were only the first fruits of these unhappy passport regu• lations. The Lord Mayor of London had declared that it was impossible for him to grant all the applica tions made to him, and th a t it was hi s d e t e r m ination to limit his recommendation to those whom he person ally knew, or to persons resident in his district. The police magistrates stated that it was impossible for them to go on with their ordinary duties and at the same time perform the new functions with which they were so un expectedly clothed. As to the inconvenience felt by the commercial classes in this country, it was hardly to be told. Every shipowner was in continual fear that a ship of his might be stranded on the coast of France, and that, wheel at a surveyor would formerly be able to go at once to the spot, the probability now was that the ship would be lost and the cargo destroyed long before be had any chance of reaching lit. Another disadvantage, surely worth consideration, was that practically every passport must now be granted in London ; because, although the authorities at the Foreign-office said they were per fectly ready to send a passport into the country by re turn of poet, on receipt of a proper recommendation, everybody acquainted with the machinery of a great public office must know that it was impossible for them to do so. Thus, a lady wrote to him complaining that she sent for a passport on the 24th and only received one on the 28th, which happened to be a Sunday, so that it was net available until the 29th. Such instances were not to be wondered at. They must t tour every day ; and, as he was informed that all the duties in connec tion with this system devolved on two clerks, he thought it quite impossible that the business to ,be done at the Foreign-office should be performed even in such a way as would carry out the tenour of the present regulations, illiberally as they were conceived The question for the consideration of the house was, what description of passport should be given to an Englishman so as to enable the Government to guarantee that the person possessing it should travel under the protection and egis of this country throughout the world. Tne word " passport" was one of which it was difficult to give a definition, but in his opinion it ought to be held to mean nothing more than a mark of i fentification, en titling the holder to the protection of England. It was absurd to think of making the passport a certificate of morality or respectability, and so far as our Government was concerned the whole matter turned upon the point, nut whether a British subject should leave the country or not, but with what privileges he should travel in other lands. We were bound to afforl protection to every Englishman who behaved himself with propriety upon the continent, and who obeyed the laws of the nation in which he happened to srjourn. He might also observe, that it was extremely desir . able that the passport system should no longer subsist in connection with our Foreign-office, inasmuch as a great deal of confusion was thereby created. The investigations of the committee to inquire into the con sular service which had been moved for on the previous evening would, he thought, serve to show that fac Mies bad been afforded to the members of that service to lay unnecessary fees upon English travellers. Indeed, a case had lately been brought under his notice in which, although the passport had been properly vised both as regarded England and the country in which the holder happened to be travelling, yet expense had been in curred which need not have been entailed. Under these circumstances, it would, he maintained, be extremely desirable that the Government should direct their atten whose occupation consists in getting into their hands other men's parses and property—•-all such " voyageurs forces" have never been found in want of passports (feuilles de route) which enable them to evade justice. Passports do not exist in England. There the citizen who travels has no need, in order to traverse the three kingdoms, to obtain the permission o f a police magistrate. There commerce and industry are not exposed to such !impediments, but are perfectly unfettered. there people come, and go, and stop, as it suits them, or as it pleases them. The roads and streets arc free from all police inquisition." Those were rather strong terms for a French writer to use in speaking of a domestic institution of his country, and if they had been penned by an Englishman they would pro bably have been condemned as exaggerated and unfair. But he had a still stronger passage from the works of a very eminent French writer, who was perfectly acquainted with the subject. That writer said : "No inhabitant of Great Britain, excepting convicts, can be expelled from the United Kingdom. Any infraction of this clause (the Habeas Corpus Act) would be vie ted with severest penalties." After describing the Habeas Corpus Act, ho continued : "In England those violations of a citizen's domicile, so common in France under the name of domiciliary visits aro unknown. In England the secrets of families are respected, and correspondence remains intact. In England the first of all liberties, that of going where you please, is never dis turbed, for there no one is asked for passports—passports, the oppressive invention of the Committee of Public Safety, which are an em)arrassment and obstacle to the peaceful citizens, but which are utterly powerless against those who wish to deceive the vigilance of authority." The house would doubtless wish to know who ,was the author of those remarks. It was no less a person than the present Emperor of the French—(hear, hear) than whom no man had had more experience of the passport system, or was better able, from personal experience to speak as to its utter inutility. Perhaps he might be allowed to make a practical suggestion that the best form of passport would be a simple card. something similar to a Crystal palace season-ticket, containing on one side the date, the signature of the bearer, with the declaration that he was a British subject; and on the other side there should be the Government stamp. All that foreign Governments had a right to require that every Englishman leaving this country to travel in their territories should be marked as such'; although, indeed, it might be said that Englishmen were stamped by nature and needed no Government identification. The plan he had suggested appeared to him to be the simplest and the most sensible, if any pass ports at all were necessary. He did not think that vises should be required, for it was a disgrace to England that after the Government had given a certificate of iden tity and nationality it should require the vise of any foreign Power. He submitted those suggestions to the consideration of the Government, and he would only add, in conclusion, that the Minister who succeeded in abolish ing or even in mitigating this offensive system would be more entitled to the thanks of the country than many Ministers who claimed credit for more important successes. (Hear, hear.) He cordially seconded the motion of the hon, member for Pontefract. Mr. S. FITZGERALD, who, in consequence of the low tone in which he spoke, was but very imperfectly hoard, said, as the question was one of a practical character, it should receive a practical reply from the Government. He should not follow the hon. gentleman who had spoken with quotations from French writers, nor should he allude to the opinions of the Emperor of the French. He thought, as regarded the general question of the use of passports and the desirableness or otherwise of establishing a paws port system, the house ought to consider that as a matter of internal regulation on the part of the French Govern ment, with which this country bad nothing to do. (Hear.) If for the convenience of travelling in France it was requ site that a British subject should have a certain authority or statement, not with reference to character, but merely that he was a British subject and entitled to the protection of the law, he thought it was to the regulations which our own Government made on that subject that the house should direct its attention. (Hear, hear.) The hon. gentle man who made the motion stated, that under the present arrangements that had been made by the French Govern ment great impediments were thrown in the way of Bri tish subjects travelling in France. He must say the hon. gentleman had made that statement without information which he might have easily acquired. Ha thought the house would acknowledge that the way id which this matter had been put by the French Government to her Majesty's Government, and in which they were prepared to deal with the question, was such as to show that, so far from our having any cause of complaint against them for the course they had adopted, they had met 119 in a friendly and generous spirit. ( ' Oh, oh !") Perhaps the hon. gentleman who interrupted him would do him the favourto listen to the grounds on which he had stated that opinion. The way in which the matter stood was this ; The French Government were always in the habit of per mitting their consular authorities to issue passports to British subjects desiring to travel abroad. It was true that that practice had been withdrawn, but with a distinct acknowledgment on the part of the French Government that they were not only willing, but bound to admit any regulation which the British Government were prepared establish before they issued their own British passports. (Hear, hear.) So that if fault was to be found in this matter it was to be found with the British Government rather than with that of France. The result of the late regulation had been doubtless one of considerable incon venience, and it very early attracted the notice of her Majesty's present Government, as it had also, he was bound to say, attracted that of the Government who preceded them. It had since been the object of her Majesty's present Government to consider how they could best deal with the practical question, and how they could give passports which the French Government would be willing to accept. In issuing passports the Government considered they were not entitled to inquire into the political or moral ante cedents of the persons who applied for them. (Hear, hear.) What they thought a passport should be was a certificate of citizenship, which would identify the person to whom it was granted as a British subject; and beyond that it had not appeared to them they were entitled to go. (gear, hear.) But still the observance of some formalities would always be necessary with the view to ascertain that the applicant for a passport was a British subject ; and the department with which he was connected was now engaged in considering most carefully how the greatest facilities for granting passports could be given consistently with a due regard to the necessary identifica tion. (Hear, hear.) It had been said that it was a new feature that passports could only be issued in London. Practically that was so before, because he had ascertained from certain rrturns on the subject that 80 or very nearly 90 per cent, of the passports issued by the French consular agents were issued in London. But he might state that it was at present in contemplation by her Majesty's Govern ment to appoint passport officers in some of the most con siderable seaport towns ; and he thought it probable that finch officers would be stationed at Dover, Folkestone, New haven, Southampton, and Liverpool; but such arrangements would be made as experience might suggest to be best calcu lated to meet the requirements of the case. But there was another subject—that of the rind—which had been sug gested by the hon. member for Nottingham (Mr. Walter). He was bound to say that having aeon statements in the public papers that British subjects had been sent back from , Boulogne in consequence of not having the vise of the Con sul General in London, his department had asked for in formation on the subject, and they had been assured that if such a case had occurred, which appeared doubtful, it arose from some extreme misconception of his instructions by the authority at Boulogne. He would not deny that such a case had occurred, but if it had they had the autho. rity of the French Government that it must have happened from the cause he hal just mentioned. But he woul I give another exemplification of the spirit in which the French Government had acted in this matter. It having been communicated to them that it was probably the in tention of her Majesty's Government to establish passport offices at some of the principal ports, they at once said they would meet her Majesty's Government half-way, and establish French consular agents at those ports, who should have the power to viser passports, and so prevent any in convenience which might otherwise happen. (Cheers.) One inconvenience was felt—viz., that the present amount charged for a Foreign-office passport was somewhat too large—(hear, hear)—that whereas before a passport from a foreign consul could be had for a small sum, passports could now only bo procured from the Foreign-office at a fee which pressed severely upon artisans. He did not know what course, if any, his right hon. friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer might feel it his duty to pursue in this matter, but it was the earnest wish of the depart ment with which he (Mr. Fitzgerald) was connected to consider whether the amount now charged for a Foreign office passport could be reduced, so as to place it within the reach of every one. (Hear.) He thought he had stated all that was necessary in reference to this subject. He wished to deal with it as a practical question, and he thought the Honse would see that, so far from our having reason to complain of the French Government as regarded the regulations they had concocted in their own interest, they had thought to mitigate as far as possible any incon venience which that resolution might occasion. (Hear.) Mr. J. B. SMITH suggested that the mayors of such towns as Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham, and, indeed, of all other large towns, should have the power of issuing passports. Mr:KER said the only safe and dignified course for the Foreign-office to adopt was not to pretend to answer for the character of every person who obtained a passport, but to grant freely to every British subject the protection to which he was entitled. Lord PALMERSTON.—Is far as the late Government are concerned they have no objection to the production of the papers in the way in which the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs has agreed to them, but I would suggest an addition to the motion of my righthon. friend the member for Pontefract, viz.—copies or extracts of any correspond ence that may have been received at the Foreign-office from British consuls on the coast of Franco, sly within the last two years, on the subject of the inconvenience caused by British workmen arriving in Frauce furuishei with pass• ports given to thorn by French consular agents iu Great Britain. It has often happened that British workmen have been induced to go to France by means of pass ports granted by French consular agents in this country, tempted to proceed thither when there was no real demand for their labonr, and they have frequently been exposed to great inconvenience, while the public has incurred considerable expense, by their return as distressed British subjects unable to procure their own means of transport. The addition which I have suggested will complete the view which my right hon. friend wishes to lay before the house with respect to the passport system. I quite agree with the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs that the passport system is an internal and domestic regu lation of the French Government with which the British Parliament has really 110 right to interfere ; and I quite differ irons ley right hon. friend the member for Pontefract in the opinion which he expressed, that the late Govern ment, by enlarging the facilities for getting passports. established a passport system in this country. They 'ail no such thine. The passport itsued from the Foreign office had nothing whatever to do with any internal regu lation hero, but was merely given to a British subject for the purpose of snebling hirer to travel a itheut interruption on the continent. My right bun friend blamed the Go vernment for reducing the price of passports, but ho ought to have recollected that the reduction from 2/. 6s to 7s 6d was made in compliance with the expressed wishes of this house. (Hear.) It was not at all a spontaneous act on tLe part of the Government, on the contrary, it was attended with a good,deal of departmental inconvenience, and was resolved upon in deference to the wish of Parliament that British subjects should be enabled to obtain at a small cost that sanction of their own Government which would secure them from molestation when travelling on the con ttlir) (Hear.) I ainite agree with those who hold that Tee and passportsxetsuteemprioscionodtriuugths of f f vtheroyseliwtthloe go about ( fi w ea i r t e h ) l ara aae a aa effect of it is to embarrass innocent travel tion to the question, whether the whole passport system might not with advantage be transferred from the Fo• reign-office and attached to the Home Department— (hearl—and whether the onus of refusing a passport should not be thrown altogether upon the shoulders of the Government of the day. The Executive might, through the agency of the police, become acquainted with almost every person who could not be safely trusted to bear the English name abroad, and be would have the refusal given in the case of any such person so re corded, that if the individual felt himself aggrieved he might be in a position to appeal to public opinion. (Rear) So far as the subject of passports was connected with foreign countries, it was with them entirely a ques tion of policy, with which we Englishmen had nothing whatever to do. It the French Government, or any other, chose to throw obstacles in the way of their beat customers travelling within their dominions—if they chose to deprive their innkeepers of the profits which were to be acquired by the outlay of English tourists, it was beyond all doubt in their power to carry that ob ject into effect. It only remained to us to pursue our own course, and with the aid of that constitution and that liberty which we had the happiness to possess, to realise the vision of the prince-like poet who, in the olden times of Greece, said of " A certain island set apart by fate, The sea its frontier and the shore its gate ; Where every stranger with free foot may stand May time ne'er shake the columns of that land." (Cheers.) The hon. member concluded by moving for copies of correspondence between her Majesty's Govern ment and that of the Emperor of the French on the Ilte alterations in the passport system, and of the several re gulations respecting passports issued by the Foreign office since 1815, with the fees charged on their delivery. Mr. WALTER said that, in rising to support the resolu tion which his hon. friend had just moved, he should feel it his duty to trespass for a few moments upon the indul. Bence of the house, while he briefly stated the reasons which appeared to him to render it expedient that her Ma jesty's Government should at the present period make some effort to mitigate the grievance to which his hon. friend had called their attention. The question involved in that grievance was one which, although somewhat new to the debates in that house, required no apology to be made for its introduction to its notice, for of all those subjects connected with our relations with foreign countries there was not one which concerned Englishmen individually so closely or which so materially affected our personal com fort. (Hear.) He must also observe that he regarded the present moment as one which was not altogether inoppor tune for bringing a subject so important under the consi deration of her Majesty's Ministers. The French Govern ment had, in the first place, by their own act, abdicated that responsibility which they had hitherto undertaken of issuing passports to British subjects, and permitted it to devolve exclusively upon the department for the adminis tration of foreign affairs in this country. That step L a e, of course, brought the matter more immediately under the notice of her Majesty's Government, and had, in his opi nion, imposed upon them a corresponding responsibility as to the mode in which they should fulfil the duties which had recently been assigned to them. Fortunately for the country, we had at the present moment at the bead of the Foreign Department a Minister who appeared to possess the neck of writing conciliatory letters--(hear, and a laugh) —and who, as he had been the means of removing the misunderstanding which existed between England and France, might very properly be looked to to frame such a despatch as would, without running the risk of creating is fresh misunderstanding between us and our ally, have the effect of mitigating the grievance which the house was en gaged in discussing. (Hear, hear.) The age in which we happened to live was one in which the prophecy that " many will run to and fro" was being fulfilled. It was an ageof travelling—an age in which capital combined with science and industry appeared to be associated for the pur pose of rendering locomotion as great a luxury as it had formerly been a misery. We now possessed increased fa cilities for moving from one place to another, whether in the pursuit of health or business, and were enabled to ful fil the designs of Providence by the promotion of a spirit of friendly intereourse with other countries while the several provinces of our own country were brought into closer contact with one another. (Hear, hear.) Could any thing be more provoking than that at such a period as this the perverse ingenuity of man should be employed in throw ing every possible obstacle in the way of free social inter c)urse ? (Hear, hear.) The house might depend upon it that so long as the passport system continued, no matter what diplomatic alliance might subsist between this coun try and France--no matter whether we should for a time be bound up wiih her in a contest against some third power —we never could realize that cordial friendship with France which every Englishman desired to see prevail. (Hear, hear.) When Englishmen want abroad they were gene rally speaking disposed to enter a foreign state in a spirit of the utmost good feeling, and to quit it in a spirit of gratitude and kindly sentiment. Ho must, however, for his own part say—and in entertaining that feeling he be lieved he was by no means peculiar—that he never set his foot upon French soil without a sense of indignation being obliged to submit to a system of interference which was, he thought, as useless as he knew it to be offensive. (Hear.) With the permission of the house he should for a few moments call its attention to a statement of the nature of that system, and as his own feelings might lead him into the use of language which might wound the sue c-ptibilitiee of our neighbours across the channel, he should prefer taking the description of it from writers of their own. The only system in this country which was parallel to the passport system of the continent was that to which it had been found expedient to resort in order to protect society against convicted criminals. He hoped the house would permit him to read an extract from an article in the " Encyclopedie du Langage et des Sciences Poh -1 tiques," under the head " Passeports." The writer said— ' on‘Q‘c%eaxafitnia7:iaanlaanudselpetiLicvaelxpaotiinout useless—vexatious, becausevie w passports the faculty a are at t o t f t ene,,_:.e.eiisetelaaubyesatLaent,ilntray,ell.ing being one of common right, and P Zoon „Itaileracegeutellit4izl ~tol,tlilatuerty, to for cause reaso n ~,.',;r7 'tappet, i n i a (! u a tt. 001 give liberty, the ditescisriaptivoiuol,a.fti theirviolation o f to 1 2afe t im n p o in i t i : ce agents of the sach dvan their Ins wellbeingould and t o those who pa it '" t l'e re • b° g oin g. l lt is useless, bgee 7 sein e ad 'lnt "' that a tax shouldgive . s l e ll eu sp ri i t t y e . of T tl h ie s traimgor'ohusiair towards upon those who travel witho'uT bonds, it is certain that a precautionary " r ' t', 4w " h a i til looks_ag very rarely attainsits end. Persons withthoi!;7le,otte:kci.icil: j i g or livelihood, those who are within n or tite Pen I Code, know perfectly well how to procure for tberasei.;4‘ f ilu itles,s passports, Sharpers, bankrupts, and many other' miechievoas intentions. (Cheers) I am able to state an in stance of each kind. Many years age, not in the reign of the present Emperor, .i . s.or in the rei gn o f L ou i s Phili ppe , eC but in that of Charles ~ I was travelling from the north to the south of France, and one evening, when I arrived at my inn, an officer of police name to inspect my passport. Having looked at it ho said, " Sir, if I did my duty I should arrest you." " I am sorry to hear it," I replied, " but I hope W u la lY Led ‘ a ‘ t Havre." I Because your passport not to been i s i u t c l y se ig n n ee . you told him that was the fault of the French officials. But here you has w n l was a harmless traveller (a laugh)—threatened with arrest because his passport was not in the condition required by the French regulation!. (Hear.) Take the other instance. Orsini, who lately suffered for the attempt upon the life of the Emperor of the French, was actually travelling with one of my passports. He had obtai ne d possess i on o f a pass port which was given, not by myself, but by the officials at the Foreign-office when I was Secretary of State, to a Bri tish subject named Allsop. The passport was procured on the recommendation of a very respectable mercantile firm in London, and having been given to Allsop was han led over to Orsini, who, although he did not carry upon his features that stamp of nationalit y w hi c h th e h on . mem b er for Nottingham thinks would be sufficient to identify a British subject, had nevertheless that stamp of nationality which is implied in the possession of a passport granted to a British subject by his own Government. Dees not the case of Orsini show that passports are of no real use for the purpose of impeding the movements of dangerous charac ters on the continent? (Hear.) It shows also that no regu lations which the British Foreign -office can establish for the purpose of identification can be effectual, because a pass port given to a British subject may be transferred to a fo reiener, and then all precautions fail, and the whole sys tem becomes a useless restriction on the motions of those who have no bad intentions, and who go to the continent only for the purposes of business or pleasure. But, as I said before, these are matters which foreign governments have a right to regulate according to what they may deem ne cessary for their own internal security. At the same time, if passports are repaired —not f or B r iti s h b u t f or f ore i gn . purpose --by British subjects, I quite admit that every facility ought to be given to British subjects for obtaining the papers necessery to enable them to travel on the con tinent. (Hear, hear.) It is quite true, as stated by the - Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, that inconveni- EMS resulting from the recent regulations were felt by the late Government. Those regulations were established experimentally and provisionally, in consequence of the French Government having forbidden their agents here to give passports to British subj ec t s ; b u t I h ave no d ou bt that when the matter is looked into, and with the new re gulations which the Under-Secretary says the Foreign-office is about to establish, many of the inconveniences which are the necessary result of arrangements made in consequence of the action of another Government will be removed, an 1 greater facilities will be given to British subjects wishing to travel abroad. (Hear, hear.) I have only to say in con clusion, that if my right hon. friend the member for Pon tefract has no objection to the addition I have suggested, it will, I think, complete the case by showing the repre sentations which have been made by British consuls in the French ports of the inconvenience to individuals, and the expense to the public, occasioned by the facilities which were formerly afforded by French consular agents hero to tempt British workmen to go to France, when there was no real demand for their labour, and when, having nothing to do when they arrived there, they were compelled to be sent back as distressed British subjects. (Hear, hear.) these marriages were so inexpedient that it was necessary they should be forbidden upon other grounds. It conla scarcely be supposed the Almighty had left such an im portant subject unregulated, and the Scriptural argument seemed to lie within a very narrow compass. Either these marriages were prohibited by Scripture or they were not. , If they were so prohibited he called upon those who ob jected to them to point to the passages containing the pro hibition. If they were not prohibited by Scripture he con tended that the provisions of the statute law ought t ) be brought into conformity with that Divine law upon which they professed to be founded. The 18th versa of the 18th chapter of Leviticus was the only passage in Scripture which referred directly to marriage with a deceased wife's sister, but he believed the opponents of such marriages did not rest their Scriptural objections upon that passage. They relied upon the 16th verse, in which a man was pro hibited from marrying his brother's widow, and they argued that as the relationship was the same in both cases, the law which forbade one marriage equally forbade the ther. He thought the answer to this argument was that all the prohibitions contained in Leviticus were amplifica tions of the prohibition in the 6th verse of the chapter as to marriage with near kindred ; but he sister of a man's wife was not near of kin to him. It appeared, however, by analogy that marriage with a deceased wife's sister was sanctioned, for although the 16th verse of Leviticus prohi bited a man from marrying his brother's widow, and lay the 18th verse he was forbidden to marry his wife's sister in her lifetime, in the 25th of Deteronomy men were com manded, under circumstances which must often have oc curred, to marry their brothers' widows. the Church of England did not claim infallibility for its canon law, and Lord Lyndhurst's Act totally subverted a canon, by de claring absolute:y void marriages which, according to the canon law, were only voidable. It was true that marriages of this nature were prohibited by two of the early councils, but they were not oecumenical or general councils, and the prohibition extended only to the dioceses of the bishop by whom the councils were at tended. A similar prohibition was also contained in the I?eformatio Legun, commenced in the reign of Henry VIII., and continued in that of Edward VI., but as it never received the assent of Parliament, Burns, in his Ecclesiastical Law, declared that it could not be regarded as having the force of law. In 1565, Queen Elizabeth, wishing to establish her legitimacy on more definite grounds, requested Archbishop Parker to draw up a table of degrees within which marriage was prohibited. In this table the prejudices of the Queen who employed him were naturally regarded. A brother's wife was declared to be one of the prohibited degrees, because on the nullity of Henry the VIII's marriage with Catherine of Arragon de- I pendecl her legitimacy. And it was said that a deceased's wife's sister was also declared a prohibited degree in order that Elizabeth might be enabled to say to Philip of Spain, who wished to propose for her on the death of her sister Mary, that the feeling in England was so great and general against such a marriage that she dare not accept him. Be that as it might, Archbishop Parker only called his work an admonition suited to the requirements of the times, and he was so careful not to assert for it an authority which it did not possess that he noted on the fly leaf the names of certain eminent divines who differed from him upon this point. There was no absolute statutable prohibition in this country on the subject of these marriages. The judges had, however, once or twice interpreted th e l a w in another sense; and the present bill would simply be an explana tory one, declaring that, whatever decisions might have hlsen given in the Court of Queen's Bench or elsewhere, marriage with a deceased wife's sister should be no longer void or voidable, but should be just and honourable in every respect whatever. (Hear.) There were some hon. gentlemen who did not found their objections to these mar riages either on the cansnical or statute law or on Scrip tural grounds, but who urged the argument of social ex pediency. He was now merely asking leave to . introduce a bill, and this, therefore, was not the time to enter at length into this point. He could only answer such objec tions, vague and shadowy as they were, by asserting against them the broad principle that every man should be free to do what seemed good in his own eyes, provided it did not interfere with the rights of his fellow-men. He thought the advocates of these marriages might fairly claim that the scruples of their opponents should not be trust upon them, seeing that they believed no Scriptural prohibition existed. If such a prohibition could be pointed out they would at once give up their advocacy of this measure; but if that was not the case, the present law certainly abridged the liberty which belonged of right to Englishman. Reserving for another occasion any refe rence to the argument of expediency, he should now sim ply ask leave to introduce this bill, and he trusted that Parliament would not refuse their permission. (Hear.) Mr. DIVETT complimented the noble lord upon the modesty with which he had introduced the motion, but totally dissented from the arguments. Whatever might be his (Mr. Divett's) views as to the scriptural authority, he entertained no doubt as to the social evils to which the proposed change would give rise. He contended that the statutory prohibition had been most distinctly declared, and could only believe that the noble lord appeared as the erg an of the Marriage Lew Reform Association. That association had taken great pains to affirm the legality of marriage of our country people abroad, and the conse quence had been that many unfortunate women, actipg upon this dictum, had been married abroad. He believed that there was no more validity in such marriages than in the broomstick marriage of a gipsy's camp. (Oh, oh). Why, many women who had been so married bad subse quently lost their property in this country. He should oppose the introduction of the bill, believing that it would open the door to considerable social evil. Only that morn ing a pamphlet had been put into his hands, emanating from the above association, he believed, stating that the noble lord the late First Minister of the Crown had de clared that the moral feeling of the community was not in consonance with the present law, and that he should be happy to vote for its repeal. lie (Mr. Divett) should like to know whether the noble lord really entertained that sentiment. The pamphlet gave authorities, legal and otherwise, but it was well known that cases could be so put to counsel that opinions could be almost had to order. (Hear, hear, anal a laugh,) Ho should oppose the bill at every stage, believing that it was fr aught with moral and social evils. ([Lear, hear.) Mr. MALINd rose to correct an error which had been made with respect to the case of Brook v. Brook, which had receutly been heard in Chancery. Mr. Brook was a gentleman of wealth and good position, living at Hudders field, and having lost his first wife, he married her sister in Denmark, iu a country where it was known that such marriages were held to be lawful. Several children were born of the second marriage, and some years, after, whilst Mr. Brook and his wife were travelling in Switzerland, Mrs. Brook was taken ill of cholera at Basle, and was taken to Frankfort where she died on a Monday. Unfor tunately, symptoms of the same complaint appeared in her husband, and he was induced to go down to Cologne, where he also died on th e W e d nes d ay after. Ir. Brook had previously made a will, providing for some of his children—the result of these by the second marriage being considered illegitimate by the English law ; but whilst at Cologne he was induced to make another will, by which ho give all of them absolute interest in hie real and personal estate. One of these children of the second marriage died shortly after, and the question then arose whether there was any legal heir or any legal next of kin of this child with respect to the estate. The question came to be argued before Vice-Chan cellor Sir J. Stuart, who, considering the importance of the case, called in the aid of Sir C. Cresswell to assist him. Sir C. Cresswell gave as opinion upon the case about a month after, in which he stated that, in his judgment, the second marriage was illegal and the children illegitimate ; but this was only an opinion for the asai lance of tbo judge (the Vice-Chancellor) who had not yet given his judgment. It was intended that the question when decided should go by appeal to the House of Lords ; but at present it must be considered as sub judice, and there was no decision upon it. It must, however, be confessed that the law as it stood was couched in very indistinct terms. No doubt the law stated that such marriages should be void, but then it was understood that a similar expression was contained in Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act, and it was always interpreted to mean that such marriages were not void, but voidable. Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act declared that marriages under age, without consent of parents, were void ; but Gretna Green marriages, when young ladies were married without consent of their parents, were well known not to void. The law, therefore, calla I for some alteration. If there really was a personal disability attaching to a per son, it was absurd to suppose it did not attach by his simply going across the water to live in Denmark. There had now been t wo divisions on this question, and on both occasions ho (Mr. Matins) had voted against any alteration in the law. Great social evils might possibly arise from legalis ing these marriages ; but from the close attention which he (Mr. Malins) has given to the subject, he was compelled to the sa yhe ec could member for dnut concur Exeter in the imp conclusionivett). He agreed of hish r e o ed n. friend that the Scripture argument fell to the ground ; it was re duced therefore to a question of social expediency, of social propriety, of social advantages, and if it was found impos sible to prohibit the desire to contract these marriages, if they could not prohibit attempts to evade the law, they had better alter the law. Iu spite of this opposition these marriages continued to be solemnised ; wives on their death beds, as appeared from the report, expressed their desire that if their husbands married again it should be to their sisters ; anal under that state of things it behoved the house to consider whether they should continue to make illegal what they were incapable of prohibiting. At any rate, he (Mr. sllalins) should vote in favour of the introduction of the bill, in order that the whole subject might undergo re consideration. (Hear, hear.) Mr. W. J. FOX thought the house ought to feel itself indebted to the Lou. alai learned member for his frank declaration that ha now thought Parliament should trlte this import ant subject under consideration. (Hear, hear.) This was a question on which he thought a liberty of interpretation should be permitted, and on which it ought not to be held that authority was not explicit. (Hear.) The dissenting body had expressed an opinions in favour of logisla: ion, but it was not right to set up the views of one class of men against another class. The scriptural prohibi tion, then, was open to interpretation. H o was a staunch advocate for liberty of conscience, and was quite opposed to enforcing the dictates of his own conscience on that of other people. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) The scriptural prohibition clearly related to the state of polygamy which existed at the time. But were the argument drawn from Leviticus still stronger, ho should doubt its force. The only question was, whether they would oppose the law of the country to the law of nature. For this reason he should cheerfully support the measure. Mr. J. B. HOPE, referring- to Lord Hardwicke's act, found that the marriages there spoken of wore declared absolutely null anal void. This was a question which agi tated deeply all classes of society. The agitation in this matter had been fostered by a paid agency. Those who had broken the law had sent round their age nts. The Royal Commission which had been issued on the subject had made a report, which was simply a husk of the pro ceedings by the paid agents. No care was taken before that commission to bring thosopersons whose peace would be destroyed by an an alteration of the law. Fie meant the women of the country. In Scotland the feeling was una nimous on this subject. It lied been sail that there Sync a holy foaling between the chi Pren, and the sister of the mether. It was in the interest of that feeling that he op posed this measure. That holy feeling would cease, and come in competitions with other feelings, if the wife's sister became the wife. It was said that England was the only country in the world in which a man could not marry his wife's sister, but it must be borne in mind that England was the only country in which a man could not marry his blood niece or his blood aunt. If they were to allow a man to marry his wife's rsietes , why should they not allow him to marry an aunt or niece. 2lr. BIIIIGHT—I think the noble lord was in error when he stated that the right hon. gentleman the member for Pontefract had found fault with our Government for re ducing the price of passports. The right hon. gentleman, on the contrary, is one of those who think that passports should be as cheap as possible. (Hear, hear.) I have listened to the discussion to-night with great satisfaction, and lam sure the country will receive with pleasure the observations which the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs has addressed to the house. (Hear, hear.) There are two things which our Government can do. In the first place it can make friendly representations to foreign Powers for the purpose of prevailing upon them to lessen as much as possible the difficulties which are interposed in the way of a traveller on the continent. (Hoar, hear.) It can do nothing further with foreign Powers, because I take it for granted that we are bound to submit to any regulations which a foreign Government may make ; but with respect to our own country, it can do almost anything. (Hear, hear.) Our Ministere do not care a straw, I presume, what English man travels a b road, w h ere h e goes, or h ow long he stay s away ; they give him a passport merely be cause foreign G overnments w i ll no t a d m it hi m i n t o th e i r territories without one. But foreign Governments do not ask that we should charge 7s. for our passports. ("Hear, hear," and laughter.) They do not ask that we should bring men from all parts of the country to any particular city for the purpose of getting passports, nor do they re quire that poor people, who have no influential friends, who do not know a banker or a member of Parliament, should find it almost impossible, as we have recently seen proved in the newspapers, to obtain a passport at all. (Hear, hear.) The inconveniences of which so much com plaint is made are owing to the conduct of our own Go vernment and to the want of common sense in these mat ters manifested by the Foreiga-office in past times. (Hear, hear.) I agree with the hoo. member for Stockport that it would be very undesirable to establish passport-offieee in the various towns throughout the country. We know what a passport-office would become. First of all there would be a considerable amount of patronage. All members of Government, it is true, when they speak of patronage pro fess to care nothing whatever about it. (A. laugh.) At the same time, whenever anymeasure creatingpatronage comes before Parliament, I observe that as much patronage is provided for as can be conveniently put in an Aot of Parlia ment. If you were to have passport officers in Liverpool, Hull, and other large towns, the passport-officer would not have enough to do, for the few persons he would have to attend to would not give him more than one or two hours' employment a-day, and he must be a respectable person and have a competent salary. My hon. friend pro poses that the Mayors of the different cities should have the power to give passports ; and I have no doubt whatever that that would be a convenient arrangement. Tho Mayor has the confidence of his fellow-townsmen, a very small fee would pay the expense. What object could there beiu ch,rging for a passport more then 6.1. ? You do not went more money than would just pay the expense, and that might be provided for by a vote of that house, or by some small fee, for we do not want to tax our country men going abroad. If it were not for foreign countries we should have no passports; and therefore, being compelled to have passports, it is the duty of the Government to make the infliction as little as possible. (Hear.) Acting upon that principle, any two men in that house might sit down, awl in half an hour draw up a scheme by which ad the difficulties would be removed, and which would be satisfactory to the country. (Hear.) I hope the Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs will not conclude from these observations that I urn dissatisfied with what he said. I think that what he has stated shows that the Government are paying attention to the subject, and I hope that as long as he occupies his present position the house may be as well satisfied with any explanation he may have to give in future as with that ho had just offered. (Hear.) Mr. DUFF said that he would not detain the house for more than three ,ninutes, but that he wished to correct one error in a matter of fact into which the hon. member who had just sat down had fallen. It was quite a mistake to suppose that foreign governments did not care from what particular office a passport was issued. The possession of a Foreign-office pas sport made all th e di fference i n the wor ld to the comfort of a traveller. He would relate one instance of this within his personal experience. He was travelling in Hungary before the effects of the Revolutionary War hadexasperatedquite passed againstdaway' anl when th e au th or iti e s wero much England. He arrived in &Iselin simultaneously with a young Englishman who was going to Buch .rest on commercial business of great importance. He hod a Foreign-office passport, signed by the noble lord the member for Tiverton, and to this the Austrian mili tary authorities paid the greatest possible respect, while they treated as little better than a mere nullity the per passport grant e d t o the young Englishman o ur then repres en t a ti ve at Hamburg. H e per fectly t c l Hodge, e (Mr. Dail) was offered every facility for the prosecution of his journey, wle le the bearer of Colonel Hedge's passport was forbidden to proceed to I3uehsrest, at which place, for all he (Mr. Duff) knew to the contrary, he may not yet have arrived. ( Hear, and laughter.) The CHANCE LLO Ft of the EXCHEQUER —lt appears to rue that the observations of the hon. member f o r Bir mingham are well entitled to th e cons i derat i on of the house. I feel, as I think the house must feel, that there are two objects desirable to be obtained. We want to make the distribution of passports among the peopl e o f thi s coun try easy and cheap. (Hear, hear.) The offi c e w ith w hich ley hon, friend is conne wh ct i e t d o h u a t s o t e h d i g s accomplishingbing tjheectGuonvedreirmiceount sideration, with the intention, if possible, of accomplishing t to ho a s n e y te: ar objects r ; and mode, I can assure the house that we wish the distribution of passports 4jezr be easy in all the principal ports of the country, The e have been some difficulties started by the manicipll authorities wi , h reeard to this point, but I feel, after the discussion which has taken place, that those difficulties may be overcome. (Hear, beer.) The great object we have in view, and which I think the house will desire to see attained, is that in future any Englishman who wishes to leave his country should find the process of obtaining a passport not expen sive nor troublesome, but one which might be gone through without the difficulty and cost an artisan might fear Lord encounter. (EI appears ea t r, ob hear.) e The addition proposed byone to which there can be no objection. the t() noble Mr. SI. MI LNES, in reply, thanked the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs for his statement, in which there was but one point omitted, and that was the consideration of the enormous number of people who had been in the habit of frequontine the ports of France without any passports whatever. Tho sudden abolition of that privilege de served the attention of the Foreign-office. After the papers ho now moved for were produced, he should again, if neces , ary, call the attention of the house to the subject. The motion wes thou agreed to, with the addition pro posed by Lord Palmerston. -- • MARRIAGE LAW AMENDMENT. Lord BURY rose to move for leave to introduce a bill to legalise marriage with a deceased wife's sister, and in doing so he said he felt he ought to make an apology, be cause this subject which had employed the talents of a dis tinguished member of that house , had now fallen into his hands. In his opinion there ought to be no ambiguity in the law on this subject, but its provision and prohibitions should be clearly and distinctly declared. The law in its present state was, however, open to very considerable doubt. He need hardly refer to the ease of " Brook v. Brook," by which the question of the validity of these marriages between British subjects abro , d had been raised. In the absence of any parallel case Mr. Justice Cress well's opinion upon that trial mast be regarded as the authori tative declaration of the existing law of England. That de cision had not been arrived at wit Lout very laborious and minute examination, and it was therefore evident that the state of the- law was by no means clear and satisfactory. Indeed he bad been told that other distinguished judges had, upon precisely the same evidence, arrived at diamet rically opposite conclusions. That house had on three se parate occasions expressed its delibsrate opinion that the present law on this subject should be reversed, and that principle had been affirmed upon no less than 30 divelons. Upwards of 5,000 petitions, with hundreds of thousands of signatures, had been presented to both Houses of Par liament in favou r o f the change i n th e l aw w hi c h would be effected by the bill he asked leave to introduce. The law as it stood was, he believed, at variance with the feelings of a large majority of the community, and it was therefore fitting to inquire how that law had been established. The Roman law, which coincided almost exactly with the Mo saic law in this respect, contained no prohibition of these marriages; an.l subsequently they were not forbidden by , the statute or the canon law, which depended almost ex eusively upon Scriptural law. The question to be deter mined seemed, therefore, to be reduced to these narrow points—whether the alleged Scriptural prohibition really existed; and, whether, failing such prohibition, m a .l i f u r i . y . N o V f H t h I e T p l3 o ß o r E e r D cl a s t s l s p e p s . o r t e li d e t w h a e a bei2ll,eiend yinterest unwil ling to argue the question upon any isolated texts of Scripture, which no doubt might be produced open both sides of the case ; and he reminded the house that 901110 3,000 or 4,009 years ago no great blame wa, excited by a man's marrying two sisters during the lifetime of them both. The arguments of the hon. and learned member opposite might do very -well for those rich penons who were able to consult lawyers upon the subject, bat if he were to address them to a poor man in the manufacturing districts he would probably be told, "Sir, while my wife was alive I loved and had every reason to respect ka, NOW that she is removed from me Providence has in His good- MR. SMITH O'BRIEN'S ADDRESS TO TER ness seen fit to allow to my helpless chnren a guardian as kind and as good. I see her moving aiecrut my cottage en- IRISH PEOPLE. gaged in all the offices of a mother to my children. I love her for my former wife's sake, and she is willing to marry me for my children's sake. We have studied the Bible; we see no prohibition, and we have no qualms on the mat ter." What right bad Parliament to interfere and to say that in such a case such a marriage should not take place ? There might, no doubt, be some who would be ready to transfer their worthless affection from the wife to the sister-in-law; but with such persons would the inti macy of the sister-in-law be safe now ? (Hear, hear.) They were told that the whole fabric of society and the very existence of the people were built upon the purity of the marriage institution, and the close knitting of family ties. He believed that ; but he hoped that they rested upon something a little clearer to every intelligence, and a little more comprehensive to the conscience, than the prohibi tion which was the subject of consideration. (Hear, hear.) Mr. IIIEi,LOR, believing the law to be clear on this sub ject, thought the bill ought to be introduced, and that it ought to be passed. These marriages were of constant re petition amongst the lower classes. It was on that ground that he believed the law ought to be altered. Mr. GILPIN said it was a distasteful thing to have theology dragged into the discussions of that house. No question ever required less raerence to theology than this. Some hon. gentlemen in every question went back for argu ments under the shadow of old Arrarat. Most of the quo tations, too, were very unhappy. Robert Southey said this was an abominable relic of ecclesiastical tyranny. Luther said the same thing in other words. Archbishop Whately was in favour of the proposed measure, and so was the re cently appointed Bishop of Carlisle. Dr. Chalmers and Dr. Eddie were both in favour of this measure, and so was the Rev. Dr. Bunting. Ho trusted that the measure would be passed into law. Mr. BIGG knew from experience as a magistrate that the measure was absolutely necessary. Mr. LYGON could not see if a man were permitted to marry his wife's sister, why he should be prevented from marrying a wife's daughter by a former marriage. He de precated theological discussion in that house, because he believed that the members of that house did not rise from theological discussion either better or wiser. He should not, therefore, deal with this as a theological subject. It should be argued upon natural and pure grou .ds ' and he believed the proposed measure would violate both the law of nature and of God. Mr. Smith O'Brien has put out an address to the people of Ireland respecting the line of policy they ought to adopt under the circumstances in which a change of Government has placed them. Ireland, be is as fully convinced now as he was in 1844, ought to be sati-fied with nothing less than the restoration of its domestic legislature, and government. He is one of those who think "that if the people of Ireland were animated by a truly patriotic spirit, this country would be able to maintain its independence under guarantees of security much more effective than those which are enjoyed by Holland, Belgium, Bavaria, Wurtem berg, the Two Sicilies, the kingdom of Sardinia, Den mark, Norway and Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal, or Greece." He avows himself to be one of those who think that many occasions have occured in past times when the Irish people would have been fully justified in seeking to obtain by force of arms the independence of the.r country. But he is not prepared to contend that it is expedient at ail times to incur the hazards of rebel lion in an attempt to secure the national independence' of Ireland. If he were an inhabitant of Australia or of Canada he should be content with the system of self - government which at present exists in those provinces " more especially since it is capable of future development to a more perfect state of independence," and as an Irishman he would be satisfied to uphold an international con s otton between Great Britain and Ireland, psovided that they could enjoy, under an Irish Parliament and an Irish ministry, the practical advantages of self-government. He must remind ttiose whom he is addressing that in 1843, 1844 and 1845 a large majorty of the Irish people pledged themselves to a policy, of which the right ef the Irish nation to enjoy domestic legislation was the basis. Circumstances have induced them to suspend this cl im, nut " the course of events may hereafter lead to it, revival " At great length Mr. O'Brien then discusses what ought to be the temporary and second ary policy of the people of Ireland, and he finally comes to the conclusion that they " ought to look on as int , pat tial spectators of the combat of English parties, with a determination to avail themselves of future contingen cies in such a manner as shall best promote the special interests of Ireland and the general interests of man kind." The following i 4 the conclusion of his address : —" To me and to you it matters little whether, in rela- Lon to the past, the Whigs are or are not more deserving of condemnation then the conservatives. Let us en deavour to provide for the future rather than repine over the past. The problem now submitted for solution is, ' What are the measures which the Irish people ought to demand from Parliament I' To the party which shall pro cure the enactment of such measures, your members may be justified offering not indiscriminate support, but forbearance from systematio opposition: Know ing well how powerless is the action of Irish opinion upon the British Parliament, I feel much indisposed to encourage my fellow countrymen to look to that quatter for useful legislation ; but however much we may regret the absense of a domestic legislature, and however much we may distrust the British Parliament, the public voice of this country ought not to be whiny silenced by the influence of these sentiments. We ought rather prove our capacity for self-government by sulemitting, from time to time, well-considered proposals which may be calculated to promote the well-being of our own country and of mankind. I reserve for a future address an enu meration of some measures which appear to deserve your immediate attention. Lord GODERICH said no one ventured to maintain that in the eyes of the public this was not eminently a social question. It Tras true that it might ba said that some of the rich might be benefited by this bill, but was that a reason why it should be rejected ? They ought to look upon this question practically. This measure, instead of lowering the morality of the working classes, would be a great means of elevating it. Speaking on bshalf of his own constituents, this was a question on which existed a strong opinion in the manufacturing districts. There was nothing more dangerous than attempting to force legisla tion which was not in accordance with public opinion, and as public opinion was strongly in favour of this measure it was the duty of the Legislature to adopt it. Mr. PULLER said the law of England professed to bs based on the Divine law, and as this measure was opposed to the Divine law he could not support it. This house was not the proper place to discuss the question, nor did he feel competent to argue it; but he did hold very strongly the opinion that the passage in Leviticus did for bid such marriages, and nothing he had heard to-night had tended to alter his opinion. The house then divided, when the numbers were : For the introduction of the bill lO5 Against... 62 Majority --43 The result was received with loud cheers by the majority. Leave was then given to Lord Bury, Mr. Schneider, and Mr. Monckton Milnes to bring in the bill. EQUALISATION OF POOR RATES. Mr. AYRTON moved for leave to introduce a bill to provide a remedy for the inequality in the rates for the relief of the poor in the metropolis. Those poor were not, as in the country districts, descended from ancestors who had long lived in the locality ; they were importations accidentally placed in a particular parish, which ought not to be called upon to bear separately a charge which be longed to the whole metropolis. A metropolitan parish was not, as in the country, divided .amongst the rich and the poor ; but one parish was the abode of wealth, while another was'the abode of poverty. He entered at some length into the details of the bill, which proposed to establish a board of guardians for the whole metropolis, to be chosen from the Justices, and who should levy a uni form rate for the relief of the poor. Mr. WILLIAMS seconded the motion. Mr S. ESTCOURT said that it was due to the temper in which the bill was introduced, and the grievance alleged, to permit the bill to be introduced. But he reserved his opinion as to the merits of the bill, of which be doubted both the expediency and the practicability. If the bill was good for the metropolis, it would be equally good for the country parishes. The difference between the two cases was very slight. _ _ _ Country Markets. LIVERPOOL, MARCH 23. Mr. J. LOCKS asserted that there was no similarity be tween parishes in the country and those in the metropolis. The present system caused the overcrowded state of poor dwellings, and many evils which would be removed by equalising the rates. Mr. ROEBUCK opposed the bill. It was unjust that different properties which had been bought subject to different rates, should be now rated equally. He regretted that the Government had not met the introduction of the bill by a direct negative. Mr. COX objected to the principle of the bill, though he would not oppose its introduction. Mr. BOUVERIE strongly objected to this mischievous bill, which would offer a temptation to extravagant expen diture, 'and destroy all motive to economy. lie wished that the Government had shown more courage and refused its assent to the introduction of the bill. Mr. COBB ETT was glad that the bill was introduced. He thought that rates in aid ought to be made in times of distress, though he woul,t not go to the length of a com plete equalisation of poor rates. Mr. TO WNSE SD supported the bill. Mr. AYRTON replied, and leave was given to bring in the bill. Our market this morning was well attended. Wheat met a slow sale, at a decline of id per 701b s on th e pr i ce s of last market day. The lower grades of American- flour inquired for at a reduction of 6d per barrel; whilst better kinds were neglected. Oats and oatmeal quiet, and a shade lower. Barley, beans and peas firm. Indian corn was in limited request, at a decline of 6d per qr on mixed and yellow, and is on white. We quote American new yellow 31s, old mixed 34s Gd, Black Sea 31s 9d, and white Amer', can 33s 9d to 34. MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS. Mr. COWPER moved for leave to bring in a bill to re gulate the qualifications of practitioners in medicine and surgery. He said there were many jealousies and differ ences amongst members of the medical profession on the subject of reform, and when he was President of the Board of Health he was solicited to devise a plan which would meet the views of reformers and not trench upon the privileges of the old corporations. He was very strongly of opinion that persons who practised medicine should be duly qualified by education and training, and that those upon whom they practised should be able to have access to a register, in order to ascertain whether the persons he proposed to employ were properly qualified. While he thought that every person should have full liberty to choose any one he pleased to operate upon or to drug him, yet that no person should be able to enjoy any public ap pointment who did not possess a proper legal qualification. He had reason to believe that, notwithstanding the fact that no practical result had yet been attained, the various discussions on the subject had not been fruitless. The pre sent legal qualification was partial in its application and in its jurisdiction, and anomalies existed with regard to the practice of the art which it was most desirable to re move. The first step, he thought, would be to establish a better minimum of qualification, but he considered it would :be best not to -change the constitution of the examining body, but to leave it to the council to determine what the particular examination should be. The present licensing bodies he would leave untouched, butle proposed to leave the mode of registering the various branches of the profession to the council. The council he proposed should consist of persons nominated by the licensing bodies, six being nominated by the Crown. This arrangement would, be thought, relieve the council from the imputatien of being a mere delegation. The rules of the council would be confirmed by order in council. One result of this p 4rticular form of government would be that the profession would have the benefit of organisation. He hoped the bill would be received as a contribution in the interest both of the public and of the profession. Lord PALMERSTON seconded the motion. Mr. WALPOLE said it appeared to him. that this was the best proposition which had yet been made. (Hear, hear.) He should reserve his opinion, however, with re gard to the details of the measure. Lord ELMO contended that the present proposal con tained the principle of the bill which he (Lord Elcho) had submitted in 1856, and that the merit of novelty could not be claimed for it. After a few words from Mr. MITCHELL, leave was given to bring in the bill. The report on the Customs Acta was received, and the house adjourned at a quarter to twelve o'clock. PAhLIAAIENTARY DIVISION. HOUSE OF COMMONS—MLacH 23. MARRIAGE LAM AMENDMENT. Motion made, and question put, " That leave be given to bring in a Bill to iegalisa Marriage with a deceased Wife's Sister." The house divided--Ayes 105, Noes 62. AYES-105. Adeane, 11. Gard. R. Philips, R. Agnew, Sir A. Gibson, Milner Potter, Sir J. A lcock, T. Gilpin, C. Itamsden, Sir J. Ayrton, A. Glyn, G. Itaynliam, Viscount Bagwell, John Goderich, Viscount Ricardo, J. Baines, Rt. Hon. M. Greene, John Ricardo, 0. Baring, Sir F. • Grosvenor, Earl Robartes, T. Biggs, John Gurney, J. 11. Robertson, F. Black, Adam Hamilton, Lord Claud Roupall, W, Dm hatn-Car ter, J. Hanbury, Robert Shelley, Sir J. Blight, John Harcourt, G. U. Slangy, R. Briscoe, J. Harris, J. D. Smith, J. B. V rocklehurst, J. Headlam. T. Smith, A. Browne, Lord John Holland, E. Spooner, R. Bruce, 11. A. Hutt, W. Stapleton, John Butler, C. S. Ingham, R. Thompson, General Caird, J. Jackson, W. Thornely, T. Campbell, R. J. It. Jervoise, Sir J. ' Townshend, J. Clicetham, John King, L. Trelawny, Sir J. Clay, James Kinglake, A. Truman, C. Collier, R. I'. Knatchbull-Liagumen Turner, J. A. Coningham, W. Lindsay, W. Vivian, J. C. Coote, Sir C. H. 1 ocke, Jo',ll Wegaelin, T. Crook, J. Luce, T. Westhead, Joshua Crossley, F. Matins, Richard Whitbread, S. Dalglish, R. Mangles, R. D. White, James Davey, It. Mangles, C. Wickham, H. Dill wy n, L. L. Mellor, John Willcox, B. Duncan, Viscount Mills, T. Williams, W. Elphinstone, Sir J. blihies, R. Wilson, J. Evans, T. W. Morris, D. Wood, Sir C. Fenw.ck, it. Napier, Sir C. Wood, W. Ferguson, Sir Robert _Nicoll, D. Young, A. Fitzgerald, W. It. S. P aget, C. TELLEZ 8. Forster, Charles Palmerston, Viscount Bury, Viscount Fox, W. J. Pease, Henry Schneider, Henry NOES-62. Adams, W. 11. Hamilton„G. A. North, Col. J. Adderley, C. B. Ilanmer, Sir John Ogilvy, Sir J. Bernard, T. Hardy, G. Packe, C. Barrow, W. Hatchell, John Pugh, D. Beecroft, G. Henley, J. Puller, Christopher Bouverie, Hon. E. P. Hotham, Lord Rushout, Capt. G. Bramley- Moore ,J. Kendall, N. Smith, Sir t'. Bridges, Sir 11. King, J. Steuart, A. Cecil, Lord R. Kiunaird, A. Sullivan, Michael Clack, J. Langton, W. a• Tottenham, C. Collins, T. Lennox, Lord H. G. Trefusis, C C ux , W. Lyall, ; eorga Walcott, Admiral. Be Vere, S. E. Lygoir, lion. F. Waldron, Laurence Disraeli, B. Lytton, Sir E. Walpole. S. Dunbar, Sir W. Mackie, J. IVhitesi.le, J. Esmonde, J. M‘Clintock, John Whitmore. /I Estcourt, T. Mainwaring , f. , Wigram, Loftus T. Fellowes, E. Manners, Lord J. Wynne, W. Finlay, A. Monsell, W. Garnett, William Mowbray, J. R. TELLERS. Gladstone, W. Naas, Lord Divett, E. Greeuall, Gilbert Newport, Ylseount Hope, Alexander LEEDS-MARCH 23. There is a good show of wheat fresh up this morning, which meets a slow sale at is below late rates. Barley is also very plentiful, and best sorts difficult of sale, while inferior are neglected. Beans slow. Other articles uliP changed. Averages for the week : Wheat, 46s 20 I I Oats, 25s llid Peas, 39s Barley, 37s 9.1 d Beans, 39s 5,,d l Rye, —s Oct. NEWCASTLE—MARes 23. English wheat a slow sale, and the prices of last market day barely obtained. In foreign little offering, and alnitost neglected. Holders not disposed to accept lower prices. Flour heavy, and former prices scarcely obtained. Barley not quite so brisk. Oats steady at full rates. Beano and peas unchanged. HULL— 31*Rcit 23. The weather very warm, and fine. Only a moderate attendance, with a small supply. Wheat from is to 20 lower. Spring corn scarcely a sample on market, and prices nominal. Wheat, English red, es to 46s ; white 46s to 50s; oats, 24s to 28s ; barley, 32s to 36s ; Indian corn, 37s ; linseed cakes, Hull, 91 17s 6d to —/ Os ; ditto, foreign, 81 es to 81 lOs ; rape cakes, 51 15s Od to 6/ Os ; guano, —/ to —l. ; bones, 61 155.; flour, —s to --a; tares, —s to —s. NORWICH-Mimi 20. At our corn market to-day there was a good supply of wheat, which met a slow sale at is under the last week's prices. Scarcely any other grain offering. White wheat, 48s to 50a ; red, 42s to 46s ; barley, 39s to 41s. ; flour, 29s 6d per sack ; beans, 40. to 445; peas, 42s to 435; oats, 28s to 30s. COURSE OF EXCHANGE.-YZSTZEDAY. imsterdam ........ •• 11 15 Gibraltar ...• •• •• •• •• Ditto, throe months .. 11 17% Leghorn .. •• •• .......• 29 673 aotterdani 11 17% Genoa .•.... 25 5 7% Antwerp .............. '25 S 5 Milan ...... • • ......•• Brussels •• ••••••bes • •• 25 35 Venice •• •• •• •• .• Bamburgh •• •• •• •• •••• 13 6 Napleg •••• 41%, Altona •• .• • • Palermo .... •• Paris. • ...... 25 12% Messina ... ••• Do. three months 25 ao Lisbon .. 51% Marseilles 25 40 Oporto ••••••,... •••• .. 51% Bourdeaux .......... Rio Ja•nelro ..... ....... Frankfort-on-Maine •• .. 118% Bum os Ayres.... Berlin •• •• •• .• •• .• • • NC!F York,6o days' sight Vienna .• .• .• .... 10 34 'Philadelphia ... frieste •••••••••• •• • • « 10 35 I PRICES OF BULLION, PER OZI Petersburg .... Madrid 49 'Portugal Gold Coin .. 0 0 0 Cadiz .•• •• •• ••• • •• • . 49% Mexican Dollars • ... 0 5 0 Barcelona .. •• •• •••• • • New Dollars •• •• •• 0 0 0 • • .. 'Silver in bars 0 5 1% ILLICIT DISTILLATION.-FATAL CONFLICT.--On TburS• day last, the 18th inst., two policemen of the Artielava constabulary station, near Coleraine, whilst in pursuit of an illicit still in the parish of Magilligan, were resisted by a man named Edward M`Callion and his son. A conflict ensued, when the elder M'Callion was stabbed to the heart by one of the policemen, and fell dead ; his son also received a bayonet thrust. M'Callion had been more than once fined for making illicit whisky. A DVE KTISSM ANT. I SIGHT AND I-NAILING SPECTACIXS-.. POWERFUL TELESCOPES OPERA, RAcs, AND PERSPECTIVE GLASSES.—S. and B. Solomons, opticians, 39, Albemarle. street, Piccadilly. Observe—opposite the York Hotel, W. By her Majesty's Royal Letters Patent for valuable and ex traordinary improvements in the most powerful and brilliant Telescopes, Camp, Race-course, Opera, and Perspective Glasses, to know the distances. These Telescopes possess such extraordinary power that some, three and a-half inches, with an extra eye-piece will show distinctly Jupiter's moons,. Saturn's ring, and the double stars ; with the same telescope; can be seen a person's countenance three-and-a-half milers distant and an object from 16 to 20 miles. For the waist coat-pocket, and are of larger, and all sizes, with increasing powers accordingly. The Royal Exhibition. 1851. -A valu able, newly-invented, very small, powerful , Wai 3teoat-pocket Glass, the size of a walnut, by which a person can be seen wad known one and a-half mile distant; They answer every pur pose on the Race-course and at the Opera-houses. Country scenery and ships are clearly seen at 12 to 14 miles. l y neY are invaluable for shooting, deer-stalking, yachting., to sportsmen, gentlemen, gamekeepers, and tourists. Opera , Camp, Perspective, and Race-c .arse Glasses, with wonaerful powers. -ravaluable preserving Spectacle Lenses of the gr test transparent power. Tue great advantage derived from this invention is, that vision' impaired bosom es pre served and strengthened and very aged persons are enable& to employ their sight at the most minute occupation.- -can see with thole lenses of a much less magnify ing peraer—and they do not require the frequent changes to the clan. gerons effects of furtber powerful assistance. Persona can be suited at the moe' remote part of the world by send. in one of the glass& out of their spectacles in a. letter, and stating the dist .nee from the eye they can read small print with it, and those who have not made use of spectacles by stating their age. Deafness.—New Discovery.—The Organic Vibrator, as extraordh,ari:y powerful, small, newly-invented instrument for deafness, entirely different from all others, surpassing anything of the kind that has been, or probably can be, produced. Being of the same colour as the skin, is not perceptible. It enables deaf persons to hear distinct lye* church and at public assemblies ; the unpleasant sensation of singing noises in the ears is entirely removed, and it anords all the assistance that possibly could bo desired.-30. Albs rnarle.str cot. Piccadilly —Opposite the York liotel.W . BIRTHS. ADAIR—On the 19th inst., at Heatherton-park, near Taunton, the wife of Hugh Edward Adair, Esq., tt.P., of a son. . DIMSDALE — O❑ the 2 • tst inst., at 52, Cleveland•signare , Hyde-park, the wife of Joseph Cockfield Dimsdale, of a son. HOARE— On the 22d inst., at Hampstead, Mrs. F. I foares . . of a daughter. STOKES —On the 22d inst., Mrs. Henry Graham Flukes, of a son. MARRIAGES. MILLER—SEARLE—On the 18th inst., at St. Moles', Ken nington, Daniel James Miller, Esq., street west, solicitor, to Miss Marian Searle, n ie•oe, of W. Webb, Esq., of Ipswich. ulchr?s, WALKER—DUNCE—Onof 21, 'Cs :nnon• a t St. Sep the 23d inst., George Walker, builder, to Eliza Dunce, only surviving daughter of Richard Dunce, of Godalniing, Sttrrey. DEATHS. DAVISON—On the 21st hie., at Brompton, Jas. Davison, Esq., formerly of Strand-on-the -Green, aged 61. LACY-- On the 19th inst., Jane, wife of W. Law, Esq. SADD—On the 20th inst., Mr. James Sadd, Pop aar, aged 79. STApLETON—On the 20th inst., at Gray's court,. Oxford., shire, Miss Stapleton, aged 91, daughter of theo late Sir Thomas btapleton, Bart. SToBBs —On the 22d inst., Mr. John Henry kibolobe, of West Strand, aged 69. Lorrnorr: Printed and Published by MURDO Y °LING of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun o f ice, N O 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the SAM". in 02 / c "" of giddlesex, Wednesday, March 24, 1868.