The Sun. — London, England, 1858-03-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON TUESDAY E'VENING, MARCH 16, 1g59. the Cabinet who vote in support of the bill. On the other hand a noble lord in another place who has been called to the peerage and placed on the woolsack, is its most ef fi c i en t o pponent. But, sir, while' am on this subject, I find in one of the hustings' speeches to which I have been referred that the Solicitor-General for England (Mr. Cairns) thus expressed himself : " There are two sorts of questions—questions of princi ple and questions of expediency. Now, the admission of the Jews, for instance, is one of principle which must never be abandoned. But take the question of Parlia mentary reform. That is one of expediency, on which at different times, and under different circumstances, diffe rent opinions may be properly formed. On a question of expediency, every man in a Government must not hold on to his own crotchet, otherwise the Government could not get on ; but on a question of principle no man should yield." (Hear, hear.) There is another subject which has been totally omitted from the speech of the noble lords and from the statements made on the hustings—l allude to the Government of Ireland. (Hear.) I take it that the future Government of Ireland, whatever party may be in powsr, is a subject of deep importance to both countries. Yet we have no allusion in any speech either delivered in another place or on the hustings as to the policy which is to be pursued with regard to Ire land. All we can judge of is from the appointments which have been made. Now, Ido not hesitate to say that these appointments are not looked upon with any peculiar favour by the Irish people. ("Oh, oh 1") I believe the present Lord Chancellor of Ireland drew up the rules and regulations of the Orange Society in that country. (Hear, hear.) On the other hand, the late Chancellor wrote a letter to the Lord-Lieutenant, I think, of Down, declaring that the Government would appoint no man to the magistracy of Ireland who was a member of an Orange Lodge. (Hear.) What course does the Government intend to take in that particular ? Then, what is their policy to be on the important ques tion of national education in Ireland! The right hon. gentleman the present Home Secretary (Mr. Walpole) moved and carried an amendment in this house, the effect of whiob, persisted in, would have been to de stroy the existing system. The late Lord Chancellor was a commissioner u nder that system, while the preseet Lord Chancellor is a supporter of the rival system of the Church Education society. (Hear, hear.) What, then, wilt the Government do respecting national education in Ire!aadl There is another question to which I should like to refer. The hon, member for Warwickshire (Mr. Spoor er), whose honesty and integrity of purpose I shall always respect . (hear)—is in the habit, irrespective of all Governments, at' bringing forward a motion for with drawing the present grant to Maynootb. What has been the conduct of her .51aje,ity's present advisers with regard to this subject ! I hold in my hand a paper by which it seems that no latter than last year 13 members of the Government voted against the Maynooth grant. I won't trouble the house with names, but all these 13 entlemen supported the motion of the hon. member for North Warwickshire. What do they propose to dos hen he brings forward the same question next, week ? (Hear, hear.) What, in short, is the policy of the Government with reference to Maynooth ? Let the house remember what has been the conduct of the new Ministry on this question There is but one right hon. gentleman on the Ministerial bench, the First Lord of the Admiralty, who has ever stayed here and given his support to the Government when that motion has come on. (Hear.) All the rest walked away, and were content to leave the Government to fight that question with the hen. mem ber. (Hear, hear.) I don't think it is an irrelevant question, then, to ask what course is to be adopted respecting Maynooth. A promise has been held out for for the year 1359 that Lord Derby will bring in a Reform Bill. The noble lord has no great opinion of a Reform Bill. He says he rather objects to it, but still, if pressed, he will bring in such a measure. Here are leis words : " Believing that, with all its anomalies and all its imper fections, that Act (the late Reform Bill) has given to the country a' representative system the result of which is a House of Commons which fairly and fully represents the feeling of the numbers as well as of the intelligence and the property of this country, I should myself have been . well satisfied if it had been the pleasure of Parliament that . no legislation upon a subjection so exciting should be called for or demanded from the Government." That is the opinion of the noble earl. He is very un willing to do it, but he says be will do it. But what do we gather on this question from the description of right honourable gentlemen on the hustings ? The noble lord (John Manners) said he was true to the principles of rational Toryism. He asked what was the meaning of a Reform Bill, and went on to express his own opinion that no doubt the representation cf the counties was deficient and unfair. That is the noble lord's defini tion of a Reform Bill. The right hon. gentleman (Sir J ) Pakington) said he had no particular regard for the 101. f. e,holders, and that he would give no pledge as to what his course would be. The right hon. gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer said the late Reform Bill was a gross Whig job. (Ministerial cheers and laughter.) Yes, but how will the right hon. gentleman recoeciie this with the language of one of the makers of the Re form Bill, Lord D. roy, who said that it adequately re presented the property, intelligence, and feelings of the country ? (Hear, hear.) I want to know, then, what sort of measure we may expect ; for I cannot be!ieve that the Governor-lot intend to carry out the Reform Bill sketched by the last representative of the late Mr. Feargus O'Connor in this house—l mean the present Attorney-General for England. (Laughter.) I wirb.to know what are the principles on which the Reform hill is to be founded—whether on the principle of rational Toryism, as expressed by the noble lord (John Manner,) or on the extreme Chartist principles enunciated by the Attorney-General ? It is true the.; we have had the speech of the noble member for King's Lynn (Lord Stanley), who is, I believe, a true and rational reformer. (Cheers.) But he occupies a very peculiar positicn in the Cabinet—a position which I think we should all honour ; but, at the eases time, I very much doubt whether this Reforming eEneae will be able to carry the Conservative Anchises. (Great laughter.) No, sir, I much fear that he will find some Dido of Conservatism to obstruct him in carrying out his good principles. (Renewed laughter.) Well, then, I think I am jus tified in asking what is the policy which her Majesty's Ministers mean to pureue ? We all remember that in 1545 there was a great statesman at the head of affairs in this country. That distinguished man, in his wisdom and sincerity, thought fit to adopt certain measures which had . originally been introduced by his opponents. What was the treatment which he received ? (Cheers.) Why, sir, he was denounced by the Conservatives of that day as the head of an organised hypocrisy. (Renewed cheers.) He was - accused of having caught the Whigs bathing and adopted their clothes. (Elear, hear.) He was hurled from power amid the regret of alt right-thinking men in England ; and what, let me ask, were the expressions which were then used with reference to his adoption of the measures of his opponents'? This was the language which was held by the right hon. gentleman opposite in this imbue : " The noble lord (Russell), the representative of ?Jr. Fox, will not gainsay the motto of that greater leader Men, not measures.' I would askgeutlemen opposed to him how has the opposite system answered for them ? You have per mitted men to gain power and enter place, and then carry measures exactly the reverse to those which they professed in opposition. You are reconciled to this procedure by being-persuaded that, by carrying measures you disapprove of and they pretend to disreiish7 they are making what they call the ' best bargain' for you. I say that the par liamentary course is for this house to have the advantage of a Government formed on distinct principles. Here is a Minister who now brings forward as his own measures the very schemes and proposals to which, when in oppoai sition, he always avowed himself a bitter and deter mined opponent; let me ask the admirers of the ' best bargain' system how they think the right honourable gentleman would have ac t e d h a d th ey b ean i n t ro d uce d by I the noble lord opposite lf you are to have a Parliamentary Government the conditions are yon should have a Ministry which WhatdeclreL v principles upon which its policy is founded. •got instead ? We have a great Parliamentary middle i man —be c a b man who bamboozles one party and plunders the otLr is ( laughterj, till, having obtained- a position to which er3 ha i s not entitled, he cries out, Let us have no party questions s , but fixity of tenure.'" (Cneers.) This v.as the language which was used towards that great roan Sir R. Pcel in 1845, What, I ask, is the Conservative party prepared to-do now ? Are we to have no party questions ! Is there to bo fixiey of ten ure ? (Cheers.) For my own part I am indifferent to mere party cries. (Ironical cheers and laughter.) But I at the same time hold that they who w !ha in opp,ei- Con honestly advocate certain measures ought to deem it their duty when in office honestly to carry these mea sures intc effect. (Cheers.) I am not aware that that is h proposition from which any hor. gentleman in this lehuse i s p repare d to di ssent , an d o f this -I f e el assured, that any Minister who assumes the reins of power by a discreditable tuaEceuvre (cries of " On, oh," and cheer,), will advance neither his own cause nor the interests of the eo , gtr possible ail I have now, sir, in as short a compass as endeavoured to exerniee the antecedent.; of the right hon, no explanation ofn. gentlemen opposite. Taey leave given their pri nc ipl es or p o li c y i n this house, and if the observations to make should prove which I have deemed it my duty et i o be successful in drawing from them such an explanati on i : je i r e for one, shall be well satin The CHANCELLOR O f s. t ) he EXCHEQUER - -Sir, one of the advantages arisin g from o. the recent changes in v the Government is that some se again sound within these walls which have for a long time been silent. (Cheers and laughter.) I for one must confess that when I listened on Friday last to that wild shriek of liberty which proceeded from the hon. gentleman who has jest B i P:_'a_ati N 4_vzs e, with no feeling of alarm or mortification. ezek t e . ,1,41„,,,,,,rs and laughter.) He will, however, permit eh: was e vS :t4 i t : he. r a e t m la rhka:vobel:f effectively v o s ah m ta tsohrbeee weaponet become m e ad whichealittle rusty—(great lea doubt that with reofnef en t e t—nh etough I entertain no , Tast be allowed brightness which dazzled usPr eve it will assume that to add, by way of consolation to the h 1 1 1 4 present position, that it is only that . ..T i tle , naat ' i n \ Sition be can find those opportunities which empo him it 11 absolutely necessary he should avail ei tt e, a e r e , before he can entirely regain that cunning of fence t o ,; 1 which he was once so celebrated. (Continued laughter.) Now, the boo. gentleman has to-night repeated the charge which be made on Friday last—viz., that I have been gu:lty of an act either ct great presum theee ption o r great great inadvertence in taking ury place upon bhes without offering to the house any formal prcg ramme of the measures which we are p repared to bring f orward or of the principles which we profess. I am sure, however, the house will acquit me of any intention of acting towards it with disrespect. (Elear, hear.) Had I sup' • posed for a moment that hon. members -expected any such exposition on my part I should have been prompt • in my endeavour to act in accordance with their wishes. But so far as my Parliamentary experience serves me as it was inopportune in the present state of India, and that it was unwise to weaken the influence of the Govern ment in a country where revolt was raging. But what are the character and influence of the East India Com pany after the vote of this house ? (Hear, hear.) It is not that a majority of this house is in favour of im mediate legislatio❑ which influences onr decision upon this point, but it is the moral consequences of that vote as affecting the position of the East India Company which makes us consider it a duty to deal with a ques tion which has been thus touched upon and must no longer be tampered with. (Hear.) That measure it is the wish, and at present the intention of the Government to introduce before the Easter recess—(bear, bear)—and therefore the house and the country will soon be able to decide upon the motives which have influenced us in the course we have taken and the provisions we have made to meet the exigencies of the question. I think when the house remembers that we have satisfactorily settled the question which immediately brought us into office, and that we are prepared before Easter to lay upon the table a bill for the government of India, it will agree that we have not been idle since we entered upon office—(hear)-- and that we have exerted ourselves to deserve the confi dence of our Sovereign, our country, and the Parlia ment. (Hear, hear.) The hon. gentleman has re ferred to a subject upon which years ago he used to be singularly happy, but one which then excited feel , ings very different from those which now influence the house in respect to it. He asks us what policy are we going to adopt in Ireland. Years ago, when Irish ques tions excited all the ascerbity of politioal passion, and when a question of Irish policy was certain to lead to an inflammatory debate, no one was more happy than the late Secretary to the Admiralty in irritating a ques tion of an irritable nature to the very climax of excite ment, and in enlivening a painful subject with illustra tions which excited our laughter amid all the heat of a party contest. But really it is so long since Irish ques tions have been a source of disturbance and disquietude in this house that one is hardly equal to the occasion, wheh the hon. gentleman assures us the country is awaiting with deep anxiety the announcement of our Irish policy. I hope, sir, our Irish policy will be the same as that pursued by Lord Eglinton five years ago. (Hear, hear.) Lord Eglinton is now in the same high office—he will be animated by the same feelings and guided by the same instructions, and I hope we shall find from those instructims and those feelings that the , same result will be obtained—that he will be the popular representative of the policy of this Cabinet, . and that Ireland will continue under his rule as a guide in those matters—and I believe I may say with truth it is somewhat longer than that of the boo. member for Dover—the course which he has indicated is not that which has been habitually or, indeed, ever pursued in the House of Commons. (Hear.) Ido not for instance recollect that the noble lord opposite (Lord Palmerston) when he acceded to office in 1855—and he was then in a more eminent position than that which I have the hon our to hold, inasmuch as he was the chief of a Cabinet — favoured the house with any formal statement as to the measures which he meant to introduce or the policy which he intended to advocate. On the contrary, the noble lord was brought into office as the best Minister to carry out a particular and pressing object, to the attainment of which he directed with great success; all the energies 1 of his mind, and I may be permitted —notwithstanding those imputations of iatrigue and manoeuvre which have been made against us, and whic h I am happy to belthink no hon. member condescends to ieve—cheers)--ee also say p that called I conceive totake h her t Majesty' een r i : ofp r Governmente se n t for w the performance of a special duty to which it wAasbinli waseces usairy. we should at once di rect our attention. troduced into this house by the late Government and re jected—(cries of "No, no")—and the consequence was that the authors of the measure resigned. I do not wish to misstate the case. A bill at all events was brought in by the Minister, and upon the motion for its second reading an amendment was carried, which was held to be equivalent to its rejection. (Hear.) I was therefore virtually correct in what I have just said. Under these circumstances it became our duty to endeavour to effect a reconciliation between this country and her ally, and to refrain from pursuing that course of which the house bad by a large majority signified its disapproval. Now, so far as that question is concerned I am not aware that we have exhibited any great neglect in the fulfilment of our duties, or that that which we have already achieved affords any very strong evidence of failure in our policy. (Cheers.) Indeed, it was only this very night I laid upon the table of the house papers which will in a few hours be in the hands of every hon. member, and which proves that the misunderstanding which unfortunately existed between as and France is entirely at an end. Not only I may add is it at end, but that great object has been attain ed without that condition which we were led to suppose was inevitable—that it should be accompanied by the passing a measure which this house has virtually re jected, and of which the people of this country entirely disapprove. (Hear, hear.) While addressing myself to this point I away say, in answer to the accusation which has boon made against me by the hon. gentleman oppo site of having voted for the amendment on the second reading of the bill after having spoken and voted in favour of the measure upon a previous occasion, I should not venture to trouble the house on the subject had not the hon. gentleman pressed it so closely on its attention that to pass it over in silence might seem to indicate a wish upon my part to evade the question. I may say in answer to that accusation—and the words which I used in the debate upon the introduction of the bill will be in the recollection of many hon. members—that I ex pressed my readiness to vote for the motion of the noble lord opposite, because I thought we should, by assent ing to it, be taking a step which would serve to show a faithful ally that we sympathized with him in the diffi cult position in which he was placed. (Hear, hear.) I, however, at the same time stated that I reserved to my self the right of taking up in the second reading of the bill, if ever it should come to a second reading—the very words which I used—a free and unfettered course. (Hear, hear.) I described the measure as feeble and inadequate to the attainment of the object which its authors professed to have in view, and I do not think there is a single gentleman in this house who imagined that I would give it my support in its sulyequent stages. (Hear, hear.) Nuw, the hon. gentleman oeposi e main tains that, in not entering into an exposition of our policy in the House of Commons, we have pursued a line of conduct which is both unprecedented and upper liementary. I have adduced the example of the late Ministry to show that when the Government of 1855 was formed no formal programme was laid before us of its principles or of the measures which it proposed to in troduce. What, let use ask, was the course taken by the Government by which it was preceded I The Chief Minister of the Cr ,gin in this house, under the Adminis tration of Lord Aberdeen, was the noble lord the mem ber far the city of London. The Government was a coalition Government, and it was but natural that some explanations should be expected from the noble lord of the c'rcumstances under which he acceded to office, and why it was that he had placed himself in intimate poli tical connection wish a statesman to whom he had been opposed during the whole of his life. (Hear, hear.) We might very reasonably have hoped that the noble lord would have taken the opportuni'y to inform us how it was he could reconcile the position which he then occu pied with the opinions which he had previously pro fessed. (Hear, hear.) But what course did the noble lord pursue ? Why, upon Feb. 10, 1853, the day upon which Lord Aberdeen's colleagues took their seats after their re-election—an instance almost parallel with the present—the noble lord said : " I think it may be convenient to the house if I state the course which her Mej3sty's Government think it fit to pursue with respect to the measures which it is their in tention to bring forward in the early part of the session. In the first place, I beg to say at once that it is not my intention, nor is it at all necessary for me, to make any statement with regard to the general principles and views of her Majesty's Government. (Hear.) A statement of that kind has already been made by my noble friend at the head of the Government in another place, and that statement is Iso generally known as to require no further remark on that subject." 1 That was a Government of which the hon. gentleman the member for Dover, who is my accuser upon this occasion was, although a subaltern, still a distinguished member—(bear, hear)—and yet he submitted in silence fer five years to this unprecedented unparliernentary course. (Cheers.) Nos, let us remember what wore the relations between the noble lord the member for the city of London and Lord Aberdeen. They had come together for the first time in a somewhat unexpected combination, but although there might then have been reasons for expecting some formal statement, none was ma le. The noble earl now at the head of the Govern ment and myself have been fur many years in relations of intimate political confidence and communication, and therefore I can appeal to the statement made by my noble friend in another place with much more authority than the noble lord the member for London could do under the circumstances I have mentioned, and yet the noble lore's appeal was considered by the House of Commons to be perfectly satisfactory. But then the hon. gentleman who is so anxious that we should take a course which is not unprecedented nor even uoparliainactery -1 he is indignant at the formation of a Government all the ' members of which are not upon all questiens entirely of the same mind. (Hear, hear.) " What," says the hon. gentleman, " are you going to do about church rates 1 " Well, then, I say to the hon. gentleman, " What did you do about church rates ?" (Cheers and laughter.) I find that upon the question of church rates the late Go vernment was beaten in this session, and although I may not refer to speeches, yet I may allude to the division of Wednesday, Feb. 17. I find that an Under-Secretary of State, and a noble lord holding high offi ce i n the House hold voted against the Ministerial suggestion, while the hon. member for Dover, like most of the other members of the Government, stayed away. (Hear, and laughter.) Why do I mention these things ? Not to taunt the hon. member for Dover (a laugh) or any cf his late colleagues, but rather to remove aims of the difficulties which are 1 3 pparaLt to him, and which he considers to be obstacles in the way of ;he present Government. He will now know how those difficulties may possibly be evaded. (" Hear, hear, aed a augh. 4 ') But, again says the hon. member, " Weat are you going to do about the Jew Bill." I re ply, what did your Government do ? You respect Par liamentary majereies ; you were proud of the majority you bad upon the measure to which I have always given a cordial support, but what was wanted from the late Government was support in the House of Lords, where the difficulty arose, and what did we find there? We found a member if the Government in that house always voting against the measure, which had been carried in this house by large majorities. (Hear.) Thera ire, sir e this is not the only Cabinet in which differences of opi nion exit, even upon the Jew BR (Hear.) Teen, again, how did the hon. gentleman and his friends act upon the ballot question ? We had a division upon that queoticia last session, and I want to know bow the late united Government—whose members all held the same vies upon_ the same subjects, or who ough'r, to have done so—how they voted upon a question so interesting to ail sinclre and earnest re formers I I find that upon the 30th of last June the subject of the bal-ot came bef )re this house, and a divi sion took place. I find the Prime Minister, the Chan cellor of the Exchequer, the President of the Board of Control, and other members of the Government voted in the majority against the ballot. But in the mi nority I find tue names of a nobleman holding office in the Household, cf the Attorney-General, of the Vice- Pfesi_lent of a Bard, and the distinguished Secretary for the Admiralty—(hear, hear, and a laugh)--that die tingu.shed individual who is nowalarmed at the prospect of a Cabinet being in existence which is not of the same mind upon all questions that can possib'y be brought under the consideration of Parliament. (Cheers.) Now, I think the course that was taken by my noble friend in another place was a much more judicious course than that which should have been pursued according to the views of the hon. gentleman—viz., that a Minister should state a formal programme of measures which are never carried, and elaborately deve!op a policy which a de luded people afterwards find to be barren of all results. I think it is mach better when the general principles of a political connection are known that the Government should bring their plans before Parliament than that they should simply give the house a long catalogue of measures which are never to be passed, and vague an nouncements of a policy to which no one can attach a practical or precise idea. (Hear, hear.) We represent the Conservative party. We wish to support and maintain the institutions if the country, bet we also wish to im prove them. (Eleare We believe that the best way to maintain the institutions of the country is to improve them n l n, when improvement is necessary, and therefore we ~, a. ;., permit the hon. gentleman to be such a monopolist 1.. der,) has treated re i t : _% on all occasions, amelioration of society as he and his \ l ii,, ,, ,, , _, , , ,,u.:,:t.,_n_.,pir. c a ca t s o ionii :) , e in no a ns m id a er n e n d e . r se (H g e r a e r, edy he a a n r. d ) nits. prepared to maintain 11 11 , course we are about to :B rn a e l i cu l l tn , v nt i e o w w a h ts s h i p c ae i h: ttalt.c.heenzpii,pteieutarnnteeiyee.ttht the ourta intended ,n Y introduction t a i. e ha t i (4 etl t ite h ew e i nt, s i celt oicingd eis.arno bill upon oar 7 that part I am eminently consistent with all I I beiieve will be completely satisfact7 e ; rj e "": Z e l hear.) I never stated, nor do naylo--e Q'untr l Firer s nOw , than the course we are taking is in deference to th e , '. t ; this ho use is a.wayks't).Ohe a this houge. A majority of re spected, but t to be obeyed with servility w d ot nof the bill of the noble were opposed t is n lord opposite (Lord Palwerston) upon the the o intro u, Palmerston) . ground that quiet in temper and as prosperous as it is at pre sent. (Cheer...) Again, the honourable gentleman says, " What do you mean to do about the Orange ma gistrates—do you mean to make Orangemen magis trates ?" Well, lam not an Orangeman. (A. laugh.) lam sorry that circumstancA over which none of us could have any control ►have led to institutions like Orange and other kindred societies ; bnt I cannot help thinking that they did not spring out of nothing. Tnere were causes originally which occasioned their formation, and we must deal wick establishments and institutions which we find in the times in which we lire. But if the hon. gentleman wants me to give a pledge that because a man is an Orangeman he shall net be a magistrate, I can only say I will never consent to anything so essen tially unconstitutional. (Cheers.) I contend that there ought to be no disqualification of magistrates except that which the law of the United Kingdom proclaims and defines. If an Orangeman ought not to be a magis trate, let as bring in a bill to declare that, for nothing can be more unjust and more unconstitutional than that any ruler •of a country should make that a disqualification for place whio'n after all depends on conviction and net on the law of the land. (Cheers.) The hon. gentleman next a ke, " What are you going to do about national education—do you mean to disturb the system of national education which was founded by the chief of the present Government ? " Sir, we have no intention of the kind. We shall maintain that system of education inviolate, but if we can combine with it, without in the least impugning the principle on which that natienal system is founded, a just relief to those church schools which now receive no assistance from the State, I think that is a question which will deserve the consideration not only of her Majesty's , Ministers, but of Parliament. It is one which mode rate men on all sides have considered with great respect, and if we see a mode of adjustment which we believe will be satisfactory to all parties we do not preclude ourselves from attempting to give it effect. (Cheers.) The hon. gentleman went to the climax of all politic=, and that in Parliamentary Reform. He seems extremely alarmed at the opinions which are prevalent on these benches on the subject of Parliamentary Reform. Nobody, it appears, may poach upon that manor except the Liberal party. (A. laugh.) The hon. gentleman, in his profuse quotations;—fsr which he was always remarkable (a laugh), though unfortunately they have not been of late relieved by the brilliancy which in the old days reconciled us to endless extracts from Hansard. (a laugh),—hag fixed on the speech I made recently at my county town in Buckinghamshire ; and he says I stated that the Parliamentary Reform Bill of 1832 was a greas Whig job. [An hon. member oeuuaii tine Trevaury hince.—" S) it was."] An hon. gentleman behind me says, "So it was." (Laughter.) My hon. friend is nameless—for I don't know from whom that expression of opinion proceeded—but I must tell the hon. gentleman (Mr. Osborne) and the house that it is a mistake to suppose that I ever used that phrase. On the contrary, I hope I shall always speak with tke re spect due to a Parliamentary statute of that importance which had engaged for so long a time the earnest atten tion and solicitude of the country. I certainly did say, and I have sail it before, not merely on the hustings in Thekiigham3lnre, but in the House cf Commons, that, though it was a great statute, which no doubt in its primary purpose had the welfare of the country and the advantage of the State for its principal objects, unfortu nately, from the unreasoning excitement of the time, facility was given for perpetrating gross jobs during its progress through Parliament, of which ample advantage had been taken. And I believe that has been the general opinion of the country. lam sure it is an opinion of this house not restricted to the Conservative bencaes, and without doubt it will be the calm decision of posterity. (Cheers.) Let us now meet this question, with respect to which the hon. gentlerriaa says it is necessary that wo should be exnlheit, and that there should be no evasion —let us meet it, I say, with that frankness with which he desires to see it treated. When that bill was first proposed in this house there was a party in the country who laid it eleven as a principle, while Parliament was deliberating upon it, that they would have " the bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the bill." The consequence was that there were many amendments proposed and suggested, not only on the Opposition but the Govern ment side, which were not duly considered, which were indeed rudely rejected ; and fur a short time after that bill became law there was considerable diesati,faction with many points of detail which the country in its more sober moments recognized as not having been maturely considered at the time of its passage through Parliament. But in this house it was always laid down by the party who were then in power, and who were properly is power in consequence of the passing of that bill, that the grew cause of suspicion against the Tories was that they had not given a sincere adhesion to the Ref ma Bill. It Iwas said the Tories ought never to b e p erm itt e d t o rega i n power in this country, because, it was alleged, if they I got into power they would alter the Reform Bill. And This was so great a clamour, and such an amount of pre judice was fostered in censequstice of it throughout the country, that in 1834 Sir Robert Peel rose in this house and in the most solemn wanner addressed himself to that question. He made a compact, as it were, with the country and with Parliament. He engaged with the party of which he was the leader that he would accept the Reform Bill, and he did ac ce pt it h eart il y and sin cerely, as the settlement of a great question, and that, if he found himself in power, he would neither direc.ly nor indirectly attempt to change or tamper with its pro visions. And on that compact the Conservative party, as it was called, sincerely and properly acted, and whenever measures were brought forward to change that Act—not from our side, but from the Li beral party—the Whig Ministry were invariably supported by the Conservative party in maintaining intact the spirit and provisions cf the Reform Act, (Cueere.) At last, and late in the day, " finality" was deserted ; and we were told—and told by the leadar of the Whig party—that there must be a new settlement of the questisn and a new R- f 'tn Bill, and from that mo ment I held myself free, and I am sure I am expressing the opinions of those with whom I act and of the great body of the Conservative party, not merely in this house but throughout the country--that from that moment we held ourselves free to con dder that question upon its merits, and that if any future plan were brought for ward to change the Parliamentary eenstitution of this country we were open to offer those suggestions which, to our minds, might appear to lead to a settlement most conducive to the public weal. (Cheers.) The noble lord th e eneneher for the city of London has had ample oppor tunities of bringing forward a new Reform Bill. It is, I think, seven years ago since a new Reform Bill was in troduced to thia house. It was not successful, though the opposition did not corns from the Conservative side. The noble lord brought forward another bill, lam not aware that that measure engaged the sympathy of the house to any great extent ; but the question became such by the very fact of its public magnitude that it was totally neglect sibleth at a public man of any leadi ng cou ld ever recognise its importance. Lord Aberdeen n e became Minister, and after Lord Aberdeen the noble lord the member for Tiverton, and we always heard that those Ministers were going to introduce a new Reform Bill. At last the subject was introduced to the attention of the House of Commons even in a gracious speech from the Throne, in which its magnitude was recognised, and so it was that it came at length to be acknowledged that a question of this Ts ,t importance could eo longer remain unsettled, and that the country was encouraged to believe that it could not be taken up by state men for party purposes or selfish ends. If there is anything more likely than another to poison the feelings of the people and to alienate their best sentiments from the institu tions of the ceuntry, it is the suspicion per fitted to be engendered in the public mind that schemes fur recon structing those institutions are used by public men for party purposes. (Cheers.) It is impossible that a ques tion like that of Parliamentary Reform can be hung up and taken down at the convenience of any statesman, so that ashen in Opposition he is to brandish it in the face of those iu office, and when a Minister to p'ace it in a rusty scabbard. Under these circumstances we feel it our duty to consider that tine tion, and we shall consider it wit's the earnest d termina`ion of endeavouring to make a settlement of it that will be satisfactory to the sober-minded people of this country. The hon. member f,r Dover asked me what are the principles on which our 11. i :f r, r u: 811 is to uphold pe n tho i or d lmd e (1. I do not think I am called O a itt i l o i w tell l, i e t . h e hon. gentleman what are the principles of ~.1 ti,, kLii _ .s. ten,: !a p, .7,:i; present n ße , i t ai p o r n op ; propose to i i f nt t r h o e du b c o e n t . o g t 6 h u e ti h e o rn u a s n e h t i h ll e , i l nt w er i e ll sts te o ll i h a im pa w rt h ic a u t lar it a, Political It wia not be a bill devised to prop up ""), or class. It will be founded on principles of general jutice —and, I hope, it will give universal sati , faction. (Cheers and laughter from the Opposition.) But, says the Lon. gentleman, what business have you and your colleagues in that place ; you have not a majority i❑ the House of Commons. (Hear.) Why that is the very question. I do not at all agree with him that we are not supported by a majority of this house. I entirely repudiate the statement of the hon. gentleman. (Cheers.) Where is the majority of this house, and who has it t Has the noble lord the member for Tiverton a majority of this house ! If so, why is he sitting on that bench ? Has the noble lord the member for London a majority of the house ? Why, it is only a fortnight ago that the noble lord the member for Tiverton beat dim by a majority of 200. (Cheers.) Then, where is the majority ? Is it repre sented by the hon. member for Dover (laughter) or the hon. member for King's County, or by the hon. mem ber for Richmond (laughter), for they are the gentlemen who want from us a declaration of our policy, and a programme of the business which we mean to introduce. If they have not the majority, and it the two noble lords to whom I have referred have not the majority, it does not follow that I am to suppose we do not possess it. (Elea;, hear.) On the contrary, we shall carr y on the affairs of the country with the utmost energy, and I hope with the utmost prudence. (Clear, hear.) We shall endeavour to do our duty to our Sovereign, to the country, and to Parliament, and so long as we are ani mated by that conviction, and till the fatal truth is proved by facts which I do not anticipate, I shall be lieve that we possess the constitutional confidence of the House of Commons. (Loud and long-continued He did not - say that measures were all they need look to, and that men were of no consequence. The morality of this country must have fallen to a very low ebb when you could not pretty well tall from the principles of the men what their measures were likely to be. Still they must take care that they did not by any false move give an ad vantage to their opponents. It was impossible not to see that the position of the present Government was weak, and could only be strengthened by imprudence on the part of the opposition. They occupied the opposite benches for the first time only on Friday night, and they had already made two remarkable concessions. In the first place, that Conspiracy Bill which he believed was originally suggested by Lord Derby had been abandoned; and secondly, the Secretary for War had given an opinion in favour of those competitive examinations for the artillery and engineers which his predecessor (Lord Panmure) intimated it to be his intention to abandon. (Hear.) Their difficulties would increase with the cabinet meetings. On the question of national education the First Lord of the Admiralty would find some difficulty in reconciling his views with those of the President of the Board of Trade ; while the noble lord at the heal of the Government would have some family differences to settle with his youthfal Secretary for the Colonies on the question of church rates. The right hon. gentleman (Mr. Disraeli) said he and his friends were a Conservative Government guiding a Conservative party. He (Hr. Horsman) had always found very great difficulty in understanding the word t - Jnservative; and the best de finition he had ever met with was that discovered by a cheering.) Mr. HORSSIAN said he had the misfortune to dissent from so much that fall from the hon. member for Dover— Scotohman soon after the passing of the Reform This gentleman having been told by a candidate for the county of Edinburgh, Sir George Clerk, that he was not a Tory, but a Conservative, looked in the dictionary to discover the meaning of the word. He found that "to conserve" meant to preserve." That did not much help him. On looking at the word preserve he found that it meant " to pickle ;" and his remark upon this was that he had always believed that the Tories had brought them into a pickle, but he had never supposed that they would confess it. (Cries of Oh, oh.") Now, he thought the course which the Opposition ought to pursue was to remain patiently on that side of the house until they found themselves in such a position that a move might be made wisely and consistently. For his part he did not think that sitting on that side of the house was a very great disadvantage—he did not think their constitu tions would be very much damaged by change of climate ; and he was for their remaining there until they found themselves under the leadership of those who would enable (ironical laughter from the ministerial benches)—that if the hon. gentleman had confined himself to the constitutional question of the position of the government and the princi ples which it was prepared to avow, he should have left that question where it stood. But his hon. friend, repro ' venting the late government (no, no, from the opposition side of the house, followed by another burst of ironical laughter from the ministerial side)--and questioning the present one, had given to the question somewhat of the character of a triangular duel, by accusing a large section of his own party of having contributed to the formation of the present government. Now he begged to say that he differed from his hon. friend, not only as to the eircum stances under which the present government was formed, but also as to their present position and character, and as to the course which it was incumbent on the opposition to pursue. They (the opposition) had before them in relation to her Majesty's government, the old and familiar option of three courses. They might at once by a hostile vote place them in a minority, with a view of expelling them from office, or evading that direct course, they might, by means of a series of eloquent attacks like those of his hon. friend (Mr. B. Osborne), go on day after day obstructing to a certain extent public business without raising any de cided issue; or they might pursue a third course—they might extend to the government that courtesy which was usually extended to the servants of the crown, and post pone till the occasion most convenient to themselves that decidedly hostile movement which they hoped would one day displace them from their seats. (Laughter.) Now it ap e peared to him thut the first and last of these courses were perfectly legitimate, and that no one could make any Par liamentary objection to either of them ; but the course which he did dissent. ficon, and which he thought the house would not ap prove , was that of which his hon. friend had sot an example that night. If they (the opposi tiortYcould justly charge the present government with having stolen office be intrigue or stormed it by faction — if they soul I bring home to them the charge that while in oppo'sition their opposition was systernaaically conducted in a manner that was unfair and unbecoming, then he thought they would be perfectly justified in showing them no quarter; but he roust say that from the day when the late government was formed the opposition to it was, in his judgment, conducted with a moderation and a forbear ance to which he could remember no parallel in his experi ence in Parliament. (Hear, hear.) During the whole period of the Russian war:during the negotiations for peace and the subsequent disputes with regard to the Principalities, and during the progress of the disturbances in India, there were many occasions on which an opposi tion so minded might have indulged in a good deal more than occasional unfriendly criticism. He had a strong persuasion that if the lioeral party had occupied the same benches during the same period, such a total abdication of the functions of an opposition would have been considered unpatriotic ; and unless his memory deceived him, when they did Occupy th ose b enc h es they felt it their duty to take more party di v i s i ons; in three weeks than their degene rate successors ventured upon in three years. (Hear, hear,) He must also do hon. gentlemen opposite the justice to acknowledge that they had not of late manifested any very great avidity for office. In 1855 Lord Derby was ridiculed for his cowardice in not accepting office. He had accepted it in 1858, and they were now astonished at his temerity. (Laughter.) Moreover, as regarded the construction of the present Government, he must say that the appoint ments were, on the whole, such as public opinion was most likely to endorse, and he thought that in the sub ordinote appointme n t s the head of the Government had manifested a commendable desire to maintain that intellectual character in which they must all feel a pride and an interest. (Hear, hear.) The country had, it must be admitted, viewed the change of government with great indifference, and had not evinced that anxiety and alerm which teeny lion. gentlemen naturally ex pected. (Laughter.) The funds had continued not to fall, and the country had most provokingly refused to rise. (Renewed laughter.) A bueinessslikuand practical coun try like this could not be expected to rise very often. The majority to sustain the most powerful mini s t er that country rosier last year, and returned to that house a power fulhad been seen in modern times, and it now had a right to ask what had become of that minister and, of that majority? (Hear.) Now, he should speak as he felt towards that gen tleman who eat on that (the opposition) front bench, with whom he had been associated for many years in the inter course of public life and of priv.tte friendship; while of the noble lord at the head of the late Government he could only speak as every man must do who had ever stood to him in the position of official subordination, and who re membered that unvarying courtesy and kindness, that generous confidence and protection, which superadded feel ings of personal obligation to those of admiration and esteem. But the question here arose, by whom was the late Government displaced? Its displacement was not, as the hon. gentleman (Mr. B. Osborne) supposed, the result of a discreditable maeceuvre. (Cheers.) He accepted all the consequences of the late vote ; and he maintained that there was no inconsistency with the feelings which he had just expressed in his repeating;out of office what ha respect. fully but pertinaciously urged in office, that the defeat of the Government and the subsequent embarrassment and disorganisation of the party were the inevitable result of the noble lord's (Lord Palmerston'e) fatal and inveterate habit of always looking to the opposition benches for sym pathy and s upport—(opposition cheers)—turning a cold shoulder to his friends, always being more intent appa rently conciliating and neutralising foes than on confirm ing friends, relying too much on adroitness and dexterity for the firmness cud strength which were to be acquired only by constant fidelity to political opinions, and, above a ll , committing the great mistake of imagining that that powerful, that earnest, that high mottled majority which was so triumphantly given in answer to an ap peal to the country had no other mission than that of sup porling the personal position of a minister, regardless of the principles of a party. It was this carelessness, this false security, this miscalculation both of the noble lord's own position and of the position of his party, which the Liberal passingparty had led to the fell of the most powerful Minister that this country of the Reform Bill, and which a disunited and disor ganised body, und er a Minist ry which they knew could not be'permanen t . He thou g h t the right hon. gentleman kl h d a i l l h h a a te d since te (Hr. Disraeli) was perfectly justified in retorting upon the hon. member (Hr. Osborne) when he asked, " What are your principles ?' by asking what were the principles of the late Government three weeks ago. Why that was a question • which some of them had been in the habit of asking themselve s . Was P arl iamentary reform one of their principles ? That q uestion was indefinitely postponed. Was religious freedom one of their principles? On that point he must say the answer of the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Disraeli) see med to him most complete. The conduct 1 of three members of the Government on that question, when in opposition, did them great honour. The right hon. gentleman's own conduct in reference to it was, he roust say, such as would prevent him from ever speaking of him otherwise than with respect. But what was the position of the Liberal party ? For the first time in the history of that party—to their shame and dishonour be it said the question of religious freedom had SO retrograded, that that which was inscribed on the Liberal banner, that in connec tion with which they had gained their most glorious vic tories, and conferred their most glorious benefits on man kind—for the first time, ho said, religious freedom was, in .a Liberal Cabins, nisele an open question. That was what was done last year. This year the question was abandoned by the Cabinet, an d entrusted to more vigorous and faith ful hands. Well, than again, there was the question of church-rates. Was that one of their principles? Why they knew that during the recess a very large and influen tial deputation waited on the Premier upon the question of church -rates ; they went home, stung with the indignity of not having been received in the manner they had a right to e xpect. (Hear.) Then, as to the question of administra tive reform, and the pure dispensation of patronage, need he refer to the shabby nepotism which, in the county of Kent and in Manchester, filched from their legitimate claimants those professional employments which, contrary to all precedent, had been appropriated to aristocratic con nexions of the Cabinet ? (Hear, hear.) Lastly, was it, he asked, on the question cf national independence and the honour of the country that they prided themselves as a party ? Why, it was on that question that the bite Go vernment had been driven out of office. Now, be thought it right to bring to the mind of the noble lord (Lord Pal merston) all these facts, that they might be well pondered before he returned to office (Laughter.) The season of adversity Was a season favourable to the admission of truth. With the sunshine of prosperity came adulation ; and it was quite n evident that the assiduity and eloquence of his hon. friend (H r. B. Osborne) were likely to lead to the noble lord's return to office, and to leave the mem bers of the late Government a very short time for peni tence and further resolves. It was said that it would be unwise to allow the present Government to remain undis turbed, becluse in that case they might settle themselves tili next year, and in the mean time might do a great deal of nairrohief. He did not think that even the appal ling prospect of fixity of tenure on the part of the present Government for five or six year s would, by the majority on that side o f t h e house, who preferred principles to place and the c h aracter of a party to the locating of its chiefs in office, he viewed with very great concern. (Hoer, hear.) In the first place, he doubted the inclination of the right hon, gentleman opposite and his friends to do mis chief. They and their- p ar ty comprised very much of the intelligence, the wealth, and the character cf the country. The leaders of the party were men of high honour and undoubted ra l triotisna ; and, so far as questions of gre..t national honour were concerned, he believed the motives of the ministers of England were equally to be trusted to whatever party the ministers might belong (Heel*, hear.) But, or) the other hand, oven if they had the disposition they had not the power to do mischief. Power was appa rently deposited at present with the opposition. He be lieved that they could contest every move and dictate every measure, and that their power was greater on that (the opposition) s ide of the house at pre sent than it was on the other side six weeks ago. He believed that the interest of truth and pre gress might be more airily rromoted by a real liberality in opposition than by a sham libera ity in office; end jwhile he admitted th ,t the most desirable state of things for!leh eem was that there should be a pc - paler administration in ()Tee, he was convinced that the most the unsatisfactory state of things that cou ld be conceived, t most unsafe, and the most unwholesome, was to have neither a Liberal administration on tLe one side of the Hear, boar.) house nor a Liberal opposition on the other , ( them to remove to the other side of the house, and to main tain their position there with honour to themselves and with advantage to the country. Lord 3. RUSSELL—I am not one of those who consider it to be necessary that a Minister, on taking his place in this house, should make a declaration of the policy which he means to pursue. I stated that as my opinion in 1853. and to that opinion I still adhere ; and I should never ;pink of calling upon the right hon. gentleman to make any declaration of his policy. I conceive that when a party has sat for years in this house, and has given opinions on a variety of questions that have come before it, when they come into office they will generally maintain those opinions. At the same time, having filled office myself, lam per fectly aware that a party acceding to office may find some questions in such a position that they cannot immediately set upon the opinions which they have formerly expressed, and that on those questions their course may somewhat vary from that which they have previously pursued. I was not surprised, therefore, when the noble lord at the head of the Government declared in another place that, it having been declared by a large majority in this house that an India Bill should be introduced, he considered that the staving off of the question for another year was no longer an attainable object. It is not then on the subject intro duced by the hon. member for Dover (Mr. B. Osborne) but on another subject introduced by the right hon. gentle man opposite that I have risen to speak. Before pro ceeding to notice that subject, however, I may perhaps be allowed to saythat I do not feel it necessary either to review the course of the late Government or to make any state ment with regard to that bill which led to the resignation of the late Government. With regard to that Govern ment, lot me observe that I shall always respect my noble friend who was the head of it. I shall always think that the public are indebted to him for the great exertions that ho made daring the war, and for the opportune mo ment which ho chose for signing the peace with Russia. (Hear, hear.) - I think those are obligations which nothing can efface from the memory of the people of this country. As respects the vote which led to the dissolution of the late Government. I cannot suppose that my hon friend the member for Dorset meant to say that there was any dis creditable manoeuvre on'the part of those members of the Liberal petty who felt it their duty from the first to oppose the Conspiracy Bill. I stated at once my objections to that bill ; I persevered until by moans of a vote of this house we got rid of that bill; and I consider that that course was not only a course conducive to the interests of the country, but a manly and open course with regard to a measure of public policy. (Hoar.) Sir, the right hon. gentleman (gr. Disraeli) irigoing over, with very consider able talent—talent which is n)t new to us—the various questions on which he touched, and drawing a contrast between the late Government and the present one, has not succeeded in effacing from my mind the recollection that during the many years that I havo been in this house, while the party to which he belonged has pursued a policy which I consider reforming, and that upon all the great questions of religious and civil liberty, upon questions re lating to the Roman Catholics, the Protestant Dissenters, and the Jews, and upon the que-tione of reform and com mercial liberty or free trade, I hove been opposed to the views of the Conservative party, I cannot but expect that questions will arise on which they will be found main taining their principles, and I shall be found differing from them ; but that is no reason why I should endeavour to embarrass a Government who have just taken their seats. (Hear.) If her Majesty has been obliged to appoint them to the .high offices which they hold, it is our duty in the House of Commons to hear the various mea sures they have to propose, and to consider the merits of those measures, and also to consider how far those measures accord with the promises they have made. (Hear, hear.) There have been two questians touched upon by the right hon. gentleman upon which I confess I was not entirely satisfied with what he said, those questions being, first, the appointment of Orange magis trates in Ireland ; and, secondly, the support of national education in Ireland. Now, with regard to Orange magis trates, the right hon. gentleman states very fluently a prin ciple which is generally a right principle, namely, that if there be no act of Parliament to disqualify, the Lord Chancellor ought not to impose arbitrary restrictions. But the right hon. gentleman apparently forgets that many years ago it was proposed by the late Mr. Hume to adopt somewhat severe measures against Orangemen in Ireland ; that I then proposed an address to the Crown, to the effect that the then Sovereign, the late King William, might be pleased to discourage the Orange societies and the qualities which belonged to them (I do not know whether or not they retain those qualities at present), and that to that ad dress we had the good fortune to obtain the entire assent of Mr. O'Connell on the one hand and of the present Earl of Derby on the other. I do not think it would be beneath the present Government to keep the address in view, and .to act in accordance with its spirit, though there may be eh curnatances— I do not say whether there are or not — which render the Orange Society different from what it was. With regard to the question of national education in Ireland, the right hon. gentleman proposes to give certain advantages whiela would entirely destroy the quality of education in that country, which would cut up by the root the very institution which he professes to value—that sys tem of national education which, by the admission of all parties, has been successful ever since it was established, in 1831, by Lord Derby, and which would lead to groat jealousies on account of one party having an advantage over another, and to requirements on the part of the Roman Catholics to which neither the present Govern ment nor this house would yield. But, sir, I come now to what alone led me to rise to address the house, namely, the description which the right hon. gentleman has given of the Reform Bill. Now, sir, the right hon. gentleman has at various times, both in this house and in addressing his constituents, spoken of the Reform Bill of 1831 with very great respect., But the right bon. gentleman is now in the position of the members of a cabinet which proposes to bring in a new reform bill; and I own that I cannot expect anything just or anything im partial from a man who hes recently givers so uafair, and I will say so unfounded, a description of the existing act. This is the manner in which the right hon. gentleman speaks of the Reform Bill : —" I have never changed my opinions as to that Reform Bill. I consider that a subject of that magnitude was dealt with in a manner that was entirel3 unworthy of it. I did believe than, I believe now, and I think almost everybody now considers, that there was in the concoctiel of that bill a greater number of jobs than were ever perpetrated before; and, though the nominal object of the bill, was to improve the representation of the people, the groat substantial object was the consolidation of Whig power." Let ma ask who then were the Minis ters who had charge of the affairs of this country ? At the head of the cabinet was Lord Gray, a man who for years was kept from power for which he was so highly fitted by his perseverance in relation to an unpopular question, viz., the rights of the Roman Celli lice. The other chief Minister of the day was Lord Althorp, one who, as was well known to all who knew him, was adverse to office, adverse to patronage, adverse to all the accom• paniments of official position. Now these were the two moe upon whose memory the right hon. gentleman has cast these reflections, against whose memory he brings these repfoaohes. I say that these reflections and re proaches aro totally unjust and unfounded. (Hear.) Nor is .Ws all' My right hon. friend opposite, the member for Carlisle, and myself, wore the two members who had to prepare the bill. We had many persons engaged with us who acted according to principles which were geographic and statistical, and had no regard to party views. At (I all the plans and measures which resulted from those princi plea so acted upon by myself and my right hon. friend were submitted to a cabinet of which Lord Derby was a member. I ask, then, if the right hon. gentleman is prepared, with out the slightest proof, to say that Lord Grey, Lord Althorp, and Lord Derby were parties to that series of Whig jobs which he h a s d escr ib e d ? (H ear , h ea r.) The right honourable gentleman has not brought out the slightest tittle of proof in support. If he were to do so, I am ready to go through the history of the bill. I believe that I could almost dose now from memory, and go through its details, to answer the statement of the right hon. gen tleman. But I think that it would be right for the right hon. gentleman, bef , re he brings these charges against the memory of those illustrious persons, himself to go through the particulars, and make himself master of the details of the bill, so that his charges may, at least, appear to rest upon some tangible grounds. There ie, however, swam thing more. Upon the opposition benches there sat at that time ir. R ibt. Peel and Mr. Goulburn, men of the highest honour. They never brought charges of a character simi lar to those which I have read, and I remember Mr. Goul burn remarking that he had never repeated such charges, although they were at that time to be heard out of doors. I believe that there was but one person in the house who ofm made e thew. facts. ButTh e I right ow n hon. tha gentlemanti lookv picion and doubt u p on an y re form bill of which ho is to be the concoctor if this is the manner in which ho speak s of the last. (Hear, hear.) I remember mentioning in this house on a former occasion a story of Cardinal de R etz and the great Conde. Upon coming to the room t o consider terms ,ith can very know groat no sus n g of a peace, Conde - g'iund a quantity of p am p hlets. He looked them over, and found the*, they insinuated bad mo tives for every step which the other bide had taken. " illy" said he, "these men impute to as the sort of con thi duct they would hold if they were in our places. (H e ,„..) I believe that is a j ust reproach. I believe that the right hon: gentleman's charge Qn the sul.ject is " a proof of th e spirit in which ho would concoc t a bill. ( Oh, oh," f rom the government side of the house.) The men who ca.; ried through the Reform Bill had no wish to act with unf a i r . ness either as regarded the commercial interest on the one hand, and the landed interest on the other. I recollect stating at the close of the debate that I believed that the landed interest would have a majority. I thoug3 so, be cause I not only reckoned the representatives of counties (whom tire right honourable gentleman assumes to bo the only representatives of the landed interest), but th e mem bers fur a great number of country places in which notoriously and ev id en tl y th e landed interest of transferring it to the militia, but the saving would tell on prevailed. With regard to the two parties, my belief was the gross amount. that there would not be that monopoly of power which the Sir G. C. LEWIS reminded the right hon. gentleman that, Tory party had then, fo r near ly 70 y ear s pursued. I under the Appropriation Act, there was power to make the thought that that party which give the greatest satisfac- transfer, and that therefore this additional vote was wane tion to the people at large, should, by their measures and cessary. conduct conciliate the people at large, was the party which After an observation from the CIIANCELLOR of the EXCIIEQUIRI would be likely to succeed to power during the existence the amendment was withdrawn, and the vote agreed to. of the Reform Bill. Ithink that events have not proved 849,2851. Salaries of the Customs, &c. me wrong in my belief. (Hear, hear.) The Government Mr. HAMILTON having promised explanation at a future of Sir Robert Peel was one of the strongest which has stage, the vote was agreed to. since been seen; the power which he exercised and the 650,0001. Inland Revenue.—Agreed to. confidence which he enjoyed in this house are a proof that 242,7001. Superannuations, Customs, Post-office, &c. the bill was not one-sided in its character. Under the cir- Agreed to, and the house resumed. ' cumstances which I have stated, I think that with regard MILITIA ACT CONTINUANCE BILL. to this question of reform, we have but little security in- General PEEL obtained leave to bring in this bill. deed. If we refer to the speech of Lord Derby in another UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE MATRICULATION place, we are told that he is not sure whether there are any FEES BILL. defects in the present system. If he finds any defects he This Bill was brought in by M ( r s .G II,N I T .A. O . ) HAMILTON,BILL, will consider them, and if he fads a remedy he will bring BOARD OF HEALTH K it forward. (Hear.) We have, therefore, the danger, Mr. ADDERLEY obtained leave to bring in a bill to con first, that he may find no defects; and, secondly, that even firm a certain' provisional order of the General Board of if he does, he may not bring forward any remedy. (Hear, it ealth, applying the Public Health Act, 1 848, to the district hear.) According to his own showing, therefore, Lord of Skipton, in the West Riding of the county of York, and to Derby is not likely to give us his reform bill, and with re- further declare the limits of the district of Toxteth Park, in ference to the right hon. gentleman, I must say that I the county palatine of Lancaster, for the purposes of the said should look with great suspicion at any measure of the act. kind in which he took a part. (" Hear," and " Oh.") I The Marine Mutiny Bill was brought in and read a first cannot sit down without stating that I am much gratified time. to find that the correspondence between the Government The house adjourned at nine o'clock. of her Mhjesty and the Emperor of the French has resulted in the termination of those differences which produced so painful a result. I think that the noble lord at the head of the Foreign Affairs is likely to carry into the affairs of his department a due regard to the dignity of this country and a spirit of conciliation towards our allies. (Hear.) I hope we shall maintain the alliance of France, which is one of main importance throughout Europe. I hope we shall not consider that power as the only friendly power in Europe. I believe thatthe position of England at this time is such that there is nothing, which she should ask from any power which can interfere with our friendly relations with that power. I trust, therefore,that such a course will be pursued that whatever I may think of the domestic policy of the Go vernment, I may at least approve of the conduct of foreign affairs. (Hear, hear.) Mr.'DRUMMOND said they appeared to be entering upon a debate touching the Reform Bill which could not be a useful one. But he could not hear the remarks of the noble lord (J. Russell) and of the right hon. gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) without saying that he con curred more in those which fell upon that (the Government) side of the house than in those which fell upon the other. The noble lord had, touched upon the real animus of the framers of the Reform Bill when he spoke of the exclusion from office of the - Whigs . for 70 years. (Cheers.) Lord PALMERSTON—I have no desire to interpose in the passage of arms which has taken place between my hon. friend the memberfor Dover and theright hon. gentle man the Chancellor of the Exchequer —a passage in which I think the house will admit that each knight has distin guished himself in the manner in which he has wielded his weapons. So much so indeed that it is difficult to say on which side the advantage rests. (Cries of " Oh !" from the Ministerial benches.) I wish, however, to say a few words in reply to what fell from my right hon. friend behind me (Mr. foreman). lam not going to seek in his speech an answer which he appeared to give to the right hon. gentle. man the member for Bucks, who inquired with some anxiety where the majority of this house is to be found. My right hon. friend seemed to know where that majority is ; he appeared to be conscious that he could wield it when he pleased, and although he spoke in very handsome terms of the Government, he yet informed the right hon. gentle man opposite that whenever the time came when he should think it fit to wield that majority he was prepared to wield that majority, and eject from office the Ministry who now sat opposite. (A. laugh.) With regard to those who sit on these benches, I can only say that we have submitted in deference to the opinicai of thin house, and that there shall be rip factious attempts on our part to anticipate the time wheilthe majority which my right hon. friend has alluded to shall cause the right hon. gentlemen opposite to continue oppesita no longer. But my right hon. friend, referring to the late Government seemed to consider that my course had been rather to ask the support of those who sit on the other side of the house than to pursue the line of conduct which would have received the support of those by whom the late Government was generally supported. I can only say, sir, that, sorry as L was to lose the assistance of my right hon. friend, I was not aware that that loss was oc casioned by any failure in political conduct on my part. If it be, as my right hon. friend says, that, as the head of the Gavel lament, I looked chiefly for support on the other side of the house, I must say that the result has shown that the expectations I might have formed were not e founded on very good grounds. (Hear, and laughter.) But I must say, that iu pursuing that course which I and my col leagues thought was for the good of the country, we were happy to receive support from every part of the house. We regretted when measures had not the support of those who sat on the same side as ourselves, but we rejoiced to find that any portion of the house approved of the course which we thought just. And I must say that I think the occa sional support we received from menabersi who did not habitually act with us was as creditable to the Government as it was honourable to those who gave it—(hear, hear) — and undoubtedly, if again it should be our lot to be re sponsible for the conduct of affairs, I should not think my self acting otherwise than in accordance with the interests of the country merely because our measures might receive the support of those who did not generally act with us. (Hear.) t Now, s i r, when my right hon. friend seems to imply that I am not a liberal, but a tory, I beg leave to remind him that in all those measures of domestic policy which my noble friend the member for the City of London has brought forward, and in which he takes, and justly, so much pride, I acted with him, and gave him all the sup port in my power. (Hear, hear.) My right hon. friend has referred to the vote which has placed us upon this side of the house. Sir I ara'not going to impugn the conduct of those by whose vote we were placed in the position we now hold. No doubt the larger portion of those who voted were sincere in giving a vote for the introduction of the bill, and afterwards joining in a vote against it. Bat nevertheless, I must remind the right hon, gentleman that the vote on the introduction of the bill against the amendment then proposed by the hon. member for Bridgewater (Mr. Kinglake) was a vote utterly and entirely at variance with the vote given upon the precisely similar occasion of the second reading. (Hear.) The gentlemen who pursued that course have, un doubtedly, reasons which they fairly thought justified' them in taking advantage of the opportunity which was given them for placing'the Government in a minority. I do not blame them, but. I cannot admit the assertion that there was not a manoeuvre in the step—though I admit that that manoeuvre might be a blameless one. Those who sit on those b6nches, I may say, sir, have no intention of adopting any similar course. The right hon. gentlemen opposite have undertaken that constitutional responsibility which belongs to office. From what has passed, it appears that they intend to adopt some of the principal measures which we hal proposed. So long as they follow out those measures, they will receive all the support which we can give them. (Hear.) Sir, with regard to the course which we on this side pursued during the three years we held office, I am content to leave that to the impartial j udgment of the country. I was called to be the head of the Govern ment, not through any effort of my own, not by any pro ceeding of which I was the mover, but simply because the combinations had failed. (Hear.) The Government of whi ch I was a member carried to a successful termination is great and difficult war. In conjunction with our great ally, we 'obtained a peace. We persevered in requiring a complete executibn of that treaty, although many difficul ties intervened ; we hart other difficulties connected with this matter which we succeeded in overcoming. When that great calamity which has convulsed our Indian empire ()marred we left no exertion untried to meet evils which were occurrin g . With regard to our internal legislation, in the course of three years we succeeded in passing mea sures of great national importance. These comprised mea sures connected with trade and coMmerc e , an d meas u re s abolishing systems of - long duration, and perfecting arrangements which had long been desired. It is owing to our perseverance last session that, although that session was short in consequence of the dissolution of Parliament, and we were told by the right hon. gentleman opposite (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) we were wasting the session, we carried through three measures of great import ance. These were the two acts relating to the divorce and tes tamentary jurisdiction and the act for punishing criminal breaches'of trust. (Hear.) I merely mention these things, and I will add nothing more, because we are willing to leave our administration to impartial history, and we feel perfectly satisfied that, when the results of that administration are looked at, wo shall be found net to have abused the confidenk e which our sovereign, and the country, and Parliament placed in us. (Hear, hear.) Mr. HORSMAN explained that in answer to his hon. friend's.statement as to the course of the opposition, he had merely quoted the statement made upon the hustings by the hon. member for Northampton, without pretending to say that that sta' ement embodied his (Mr. Horsman's) opinions. The report of the committee was then agreed to. MUTINY BILLg. Leave was given to bring in the usual Military and Marine Mutiny Bills. SALE OF COMMISSIONS IN THE AR I 'UMW. Upon the motion for going into committee of supply, Mr. BAGWELL called the attention of the gallant member the Secretary fur War to a circumstance which he thought re quire serious consideration. A young gentleman, a ward of his, studying in London for a commission in the Artillery, saw in a daily paper an advertisement, that certain army ag-nts would procure commissions in the cavahy, without examination, upon payment of 5501. The young gentleman entered int some communication with the parties advertis ing, but ultimately brought the facts to his (Mr. Bagwell's) knowledge. He went to the parties advertising, and by them he was to d that if he would place 5501. in the hands of their bankers, in Regent-street, he should have an would rto raise 50 men, upon the raising of which his ward have his commission. Now, ho wished to know to whom this 5501. was to go. HO had applied to Sir C. Yorke, who stated he knew nothing about the matter. An impression might arise that the whole was some swindling production. re e be neva, however, that the advertisers had actually power to raise 50 men, and to get the commiseira, When 7,600 men were got by recruiting within a month there could be no very great difficulty in raising 50 mon . ?ut this was not the question. It was, where did this 5501 go I He believed that au underhand system was in force, id that something wrong was going on. With a view to c.car up the matter, he now asked an explanation of the Government. General PEEL said that, having made inquiry at the Horse Gnarls, he had found that no agent was authorised by the C o mmander-in-Chief to issue the advertiseenent alluded to by the hon. member. On the contrary, he had found that, by the 87th section of the Mutiny Act, any person directly or indirectly interfering with the recruiting service, without the permission of the Adjut an t - G eneral or the East' India Com pany, subjected himself to a penalty of 20/ for each offence. The advertisement h a d b een issued without any authority from the Horse Guards. The house then went into committee of supply. In committee, General PEEL moved a vote of 500,0001. towards the ex penses of the embodied militia for the current year, explain. ing that the necessity for increasin , the vote arose from the fact, that unusually large draughts of troops had been sent to India, and in consequence the militia had to be called out for garrison duty. Thirty-seven regiments hart been seat to India since th e commencement of the mut i ny. 2 00,00 V. bad been the ittnount originally contemplated, but the expenses had exceeded that amount by 500,0001. Sir G. C. LEWIS said that the assumption under the late Government was, that' the saving to accrue from the transfer of so many troop to the service of the East India Company, would, with the addition of 210,8001., be sufficient to defray the extraordi n ary expense of the mi l itia. Befo re l eaving office he had not been led by any information from the war department to expect that any additional vote would be necessary. If this was merely a. formal vote on account he would not object to it, but if it was intended to add 500,0001. to the expense of the 'militia, he thought the committee ghould have some_explanation before the vote was agreed to. The CHANCELLOR , f the EXCHEQUER said the vote would be no actual increase in the_estimates, as 800,0001. would be eaved in those of the army, Tires . © was no power Country Markets. CHELMSFORD-31Aacg 12. The wheat trade to-day was in a rather dull state, and is below the rates of last week. Spring corn also dull, and all else unchanged in value. Wheat, white, old, per s. s. ■, s. qr. 45 51 Oats, per qr 24 29 new.... 45 51 Peas, Partridge 40 43 red, old 42 46 White 38 42 new.... 40 46 Boiling 39 44 Barley 34 40 Dun 38 40 Chevalier 38 44 1 Beans, Tisk .36 38 Grinding 2B 32 1 Harrow ticks 36 40 Malt 70 73 I Mazagan 32 35 __... Chevalier ..........72 73 Ditto; new... 32 34 COLCHESTER— MARea 13. Rather more wheat on offer ; the driest samples realised last week's rates ; other sorts the turn lower. Barley readily taken, at late rates, and for fine malting qualities a slight advance. Beans and peas Is dearer. Prices to-day were as follow :—Wheat, white, 46s to 525; red, 42s to 48s; barley, 36s to 44s ; oats, 24s to 28s ; beans, Mazagan, 34s to 365; middle and small, 36s to 40s; peas, white, 40s to 42s ; grey, 40s to 425, Official Statement of the Quantities of Corn, &c., receive& in the port of London, from the following ports, front March 8 to March 13, both inclusive. • ta:. • _ +: 5 - 3 * j • ,4 z S ' 7 75 8 7 0 0 9 1 - --- - - ; 68 - 1369 Colchester — Harwich — i Leigh Idaldon ;1397 184', - 129) - 11M KIRKCALDY-MARCH 13. 1 80 We had good supplies of grain to-day of all kinds. Sales quick, and prices of barley and oats is per qr. higher than the rates of ; last week. Wheat a slow sale, at is per qr. reduction. Wheat. Barley. I Oats. J Beane. I First 4Bs Od 3ls 01 289 Od I Os Od Second 46s Od 28a 6d 23s y Os. 0 1 I Third 34s Od 23s 01 I 18s Od I Os Od COAL MARBEI Prices of Coals per ton a' .-21A.Rou 13. s. d. Bell's Primrose l2 6 Taufield Moor Butes 14 6, the close of the market Wallsend, &o. Framwellgate l6 6 Acorn Close l7 0 Stew , it's. 19 :1 Hartlepool Hetton lB 0 South Kelloe 18 0 1 Ships at marks Wallsend, &o. : . s a; Eden ~,16 9 Radon l5 0 Powell's Duifryn Steam 21 6 Riddell l4 9 I Haswell 19 3 Cassop - lB 0 I fleng a Hall l6 6 Lambton l9 0 )t, 49 ; sold, 32. ' . Thu SWANSEA CONVICTS.—AII hopes of a reprieve for the two convicts sentenced to death for murder at Swansea are now at an end ; the execution will take place at Swansea, and not at Cardiff as was at one time expected ; and Saturday next, we believe, is the d:ey fixed, trough no official announcement is made of the fact. A written application has been made to the sheriff by a resident in Swansea, who tendered his services in the capacity of executioner, offering to despatch the two men "cleverly and well" at a reduced charge upon the tariff of Calcraft. Calcrafr, however, has been engaged. [ADVERTISEMENT.] —Holloway's Pills are undeniably the finest medicine for debilitated constitutions!, disor dered liver, bile, and indigestion. The wonderful ale cacy of this salutary medicine, and the good effects pro duced on patients suffering from the above complainti4 would appear incredible if it were not confirmed by daily proofs of the cures effected by them, and the pet:lusters* benefit derived from their use. The exhilarating , t pro perties of these invaluable pills entirely banish all ne - vousness from the system, and strengthen the Stomach s , thereby promoting . digestion ; also persons sufferiisg from dropsy should use these pills, as they are the moat safe arid certain remedy ever known for that dreseifiil malady.—Sold by all medicine vendors throughout. the world ;at Professor Holloway's Eitablishrseut, 44 r ' Strand, London. [ADVERTISIMNII.—It would be to some extent a neglact oaf the duty which we owe to our readers, if wo failed to allude to the unprecedented mass of evidence that has reached u 4 in proof of the remedial efficacy of Du Barry's Revs.lents Arabica Food, in many disorders whic's, whilst most painfid and distressing in their symptoms, have, at the same tivssi, through their obstinacy and continuity, been inaocessible to medical skill. We have looked over some of the lists of heartfelt testimony to the beneficial effects of this. Food, ha various and complicated stages of disorder, including dy.- pepsia (indigestion), constipation, functional irrogularltis obstructions, acidity, cramps, spasms, fits, , heartburn, diarrhoea, nervousness, affections of the liver and kidneys, flatulency, distention, palpitation of the heart, nervous head ache, deafness noises in the head and ears, giddiness, paina between the shoulders and in almost every part.of the bodY, chronic inflammation and ulceration of the stomach, ernp. tions on the skin, scurvy, fever, scrofula, impurities, poverty , of blood, consumption (if not beyond human aid) dropsy, rheumatism, gout, influenza, grippe, nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, after eating, or at sea, low spirits, spleen., general debility, paralysis, cough, asthma, tightness across lifts chest, phlegm, inquietude, sleeplessness, involuntary blush ing, tremors, dislike to society, unfitness for study, delusio Sias loss of memory, vertigo, blood to the head, exhaustion, met en choly, groundless fear, indecision, wretchedness, thong *till of self-destruction, dm. One or two examples, from the FUSTY THO USAND Testimonials received by Messrs. Du Barry, n 5 7 be interesting and useful. The "Ven. Alex. Stuart, .A.rch• deacon of Ross, informs us that he has been relieved, frt excessive nervousness, pains in the neck and left arm, gene ral weakness of constitution, and other a lments, rendering :his life very miserable." Mr. Hunt, barrister-at-law (a gent In man 85 years old) certifies that he has been radically cured. of paralysis of 60 years' standing, as well as of otlieraillictiorts ; and after a long life of comparative misery, he gratefully pp as tests that he is now "a stranger to ill complaints; except.; hearty old age." Major Edie states that; after " having suffered fearfully for two years from an enlargement of tree liver, and an inveterate diarrhcea," which had totally deg, sd the most eminent medical aid, and had brought him to tha brink of the grave, being unable to lift his' arms 'from pot jet exhaustion," ho had recourse to the Food, and he then g bee os to say :—. l The result of eating this delicious Food is the perfect restoration of my health within a month, and I takis peculiar pleasure in recommending all sufferers to follow my example." But to pursue these testimonials would be an as task. Upon 50,000 authenticated certificates, wa h,s, se the " great!' and auspicious fact that, for the first time inlie history of pathology, an agent has been discovered tad& cbmpletely effects all that had hitherto bees fruitls ssly attempted by all the nauseous preparations of the lab ora tory.. Not merely in its remedial, but in its prose rva tive capacity, as a protector, as well as a. restore r of health, its efficiency is attested by the grateful evident e of those who have had experience in propria persona.—Thei cir cumstances brought to light in connection 'with its na as, food for infants, shew that whilst it pro l ongs the lives tL thousands of adults, it is calculated to cause many to ream , - maturity who would otherwise perish in early childhood. Altogether, we confess to the pleasing conviction that that extended use, amongst all classes, of D u B arr y' s Food, inns produce a marked change for the better in the avow rage vilue of life, and in the sanitary statistics of our errs. Supported by testimonials from the following celebrated. Pre fessors of Chemistry: Dr. A. Ure; Dr. Shorland; Dr. Ilaisvoy; Dr. Campbell ; Dr. Gattiker ; Dr. Wurzer ; Dr. Ing ram. ; Lord Stuart de Decies; the Dowager Countess of Castlestmart; Major Gen. Thomas King, and many other respectable par sons, 'whose health has been restored by it, after all other means Of cure bad failed. Suitably packed with full insstrs s os tioris. .In canisters, 11b. 2s. 9d. ; 210. 4s. 6d. ; 51b., ; 121 b. 225. The 121 b canisters are sent carriage fres", co 1 re ceipt of Post-office order. Barry Du Barry, and Co, 77, Regent-street, London. Important Caution agaisaSt the fears ful dangers of spurious imitations.—The Vice-gkancellmr sir William Page Wood granted an Injunction en the 10th Ist well, 1854, against Alfred Hooper Nevin, for imitating 4 " Da Barry's Revalenta Arabica Food." BIRTHS,: GORDON -On the 14th inst., at Argyll Hem, the lioni Mrs. A. Gordon, of a daughter. MOFFATT—On the 15th inst., at 103, Eaton-square, the wife of Geo. Moffatt, Esq., M.P., of a daughter. PIKE—On the lOtlx inst., at 10, George-street, Edinburgh Mrs. Pike, of a son, PORTAL—On the 13th inst., at Laverstoke House, ma, atop the Lady Charlotte Portal, of a son. MARRIAGES. HOOPER—OLIVER—On the 13th inst. at at St. John'e, ll. l o P ar Holloway, Mr. J osep h H ooper, of • Canonbury, to I ail Jane, third d aug ht er o f t h e late Mr. Wm. Ol i ver , o ' f 1, Manor Cottages, Upper Holloway. SEXTON-- RIME —On the 13th inst., at West Hee kw)/ Church, Mr. Wm. Sexton, of Mortimer-road, De 13.001" voir-town, to Jan e Ell en , youngest daughter of /6 114 Riekie, of Old -street. DEATHS. BR AYBROOKE —O n th e 13th inst., at Audley-end, the 1" A t* 011 Braybrooke, FITZ-CLARENCE—Oa the 14th inst., at 29, Rutland • 1 : 00. Mary Fitz-Clarence, fourth daughter of Lady Au,, WO Fitz-Clarence, aged three years and six months. FISHER— On the 12th inst., at Hawkhurst, Kent, gr.' Fisher, aged 92. HAYWARD —On the 13th inst., at Charlton-house, 1 rito t ' age, Berks, tho Rev. Wm. llayward, aged 76. LAING -On the 13th inst., at 3, Howley-place V 31101 Maids-hill, Charles Henry Christian Laing, M.D., Abe' 76. VENMORE-00 the 12 th inst„ Effi ng ham, Louisa " Ve t ' more, aged 92. WILLIAMS —On the 12th inst., at Eaton Mascot, 00. S 'elopt Major A. C. Williams, late Queen's 9th Lancers. LONDON : Printed and Published by hiIIRDO YOL Ego. of No, 112, Strand, Printer, at 2714 Sun Oftlook) 1.1. °.; 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the ' of giddlesex, Tuesdays march 16, 18586 M N ee haft' ° rlfra li Th4 -ay, lk on 1 83 l 4 ig4 IRA 1* Th E 4 1.1, Thi ~..I.'w R 1„ t 4 th r F o , man, 14. , tre l iar Nee