The Sun. — London, England, 1852-06-08 00:00:00

emo usual alit to atphpelicationthe to Treasury to transfer an Poor law Board. Teis was an error .whi h th „ h e (Sir J. Trotlope) would take good care shoited nt)-- ?Pen again, for the check he had put upon. the mode of p a ., russible. Pug the accounts rendered its recurrence im- He must say, however, that the offieer who k r n a c i l leacted the business of this department was a very old plabh!aluable servant of the public, having been in the ait-i_e.service for about eighteen years without ever T roll % a similar naistake-(klear, hear)-and he (Sir J . t e , ° P) really thought it was hardly worth while to 4.tuble the House with such a subject.-(flear, hear.) 1 1 6 411 events he, believed the House would agree with 4 1 7 t hst it was not a matter which called for the ree n i T re , of that House upon her Majesty's Govern -1,-;k„sear, and a laugh.) ei r 'r BRITISH AMERICAN RAILWAY. tar, VERNEY wished to oak the Colonial Selcrey th 't e w uether the letter addressed to him on May . by cal * Mr. Hincks, and which was . published. in the. he ea l s °f May 31, was authentic; and, if it was, whether Isle to g ive to the House' any informaton. or ex; Pl4a4ti anwhich was a of the circumstances under Sir ah a • PARINGTON-I can assure the Ho n Baronet far from hat , - is t a n t ra put this questten to me, that so te a Y obje c ti on to answer it, I feel greatly indeb . ed lb Pm for having : afforded me an oppottty of givlue te e planation he has requested. Theletter to which 11 Baronet has adverted is founded entirely upon letter found its I have no knowledge how that e think I 47' into the public prints, that such a let and I must say e ter, f op e ateta to express at leasl surprise ho ' t wig part of a series • bee n the newspapers of this country i t, tita n s, J, of the documents that preceded or followed ee tt ( -Lear, hear, from the Ministeriel benches.) The Ps ! a l result of the insertion of _such hat a letter in the preceded or f e tt l e) without any explanation of hae s w e e d has been, that most erroneous inferences "een dand that very rawn, wrong impressions have n v currency with regard to .. the circumstances which Preceded and followed the wriong.of that letter. It ap ..liss th to me that the complaints against the conduct of e Gov /e che , eminent are three in number. The first corn esti7ites that the deputation which came over to thi s a t i lw r Y from Canada on the subject of the proposed ay were left for seven weeks without any answer. it A next complained, that when an answer, was given veil not communicated officially to the g ent l emen ee t . l ,formed the deputation to this country, b ut was shied by them through a private channel. The third d tl lPlaint is, that the gentleme n w h o came h ere as a e e l tetion from the p r o v i nces o f C ana d a an d N ew • TaWick were not treate d w i th that consideration and Ici ence to which thei r p os i t i on i n th e i r o w n c o u ntry yll ted th; them. Now, if the House will favour me with abler attentio n f or a few moments, I think I shall be I k e to show how far these complaints are well e e lt j d . With regard to the first complaint, that the Vrs e ll i l tßen formi ng t h e d e p u tation were left for seven te attL Without an answer from the Government, I liv ed ?et 'permis s i on to re f e r todates. seb ien ht thi s country, as a delegate from Canada on this eias abo u t the middle of March. Directly after ..m le arrival I had several interviews with dew s to the proposed railways, and in those inter lie a ei b , communicated to me the views of the pro offtee,` a;anada. Ho also stated to me that he was one Of jvr' e Putatioa of three gentlemen, and that the arrival m —Le'. Chandler from New Brunswickerresnd of r. t o•el tet ir° h 3 „, Nova Scotia, might be expected . by the ne u x : %i nt , - ,Under these circumstances, I considered- . - d a io T ha t t r ie th a e ouse will deem I was justified in eensl Fr eli.ll,the negotiation was not to be proceeded with deputation was complete-(Hear, hear)-espe °Ph. t h tt p 3 r• Chandler and Mr. Howe were to bring 1 11 °t e h a - , l4 reul New Brunswick and Nova Scotia the later uad been passed - upon this subject by the Legis- Ltoie t ; those colonies. I made frequent inquiries d Ittei frhe to time whether those gentlemen had arrive, bet th i a e p as !old that they had not yet reached England, • tht - e "' ta ey might be expected by the next packet. e n t ,' went on until the 20th of April, on which day 1 . 41 4 ar-t,ndler called at u the Colonial-office. I believe he • k;vered some few d a y s b e f o re, bat I did not know ' , ere Howe, however, had not arrived, and I ought Lot ille tl tien that the two Acts of the colonies did letter" u ntil the 28th o f April. On the 26th of April at th e Jae written by Mr. dincks to the Noble . Lord ,r o t . the Government, requesting an interview 4 ,etta and Mr. Chandler upon this subject. I think tiasi o Th'w the House how little the Noble Lord (the ; °f thi s r e er hY) was digdisposed to underrate the importance i t a 11A-4-Pautation by re p ading to them the memorandum 33 " ri tiuk Ince , of the e G Ks letter. It is - t O tVery l/ . 6 h n im an earl a ' ointment. This matter is one n. -I)ls ee - ti ecat insportence pP but I should wish, if possible, T he --tether with Mr. Hincks, the representatives in he ei t e t e le ,r of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Ge k wule Lord's secretary made Aril,these o,i,etiteetle an appointment for the alen the first day on which he was able to see ; and on that day the Noble Lord re ef to v x .„ 4 r. Iltneks and M r . Ch a ndler, and at the request te e 4` 3 , 0 b1e F r i end I was present. A t t h a t interview kor n i„ O le subject was talked over, and on the very next *hieC,g---the Ist of May -Mr. Hincks wrote the letter to ttrt of 1,, he lio n. Baro net - has referred, and in the ea rl y yryie* u at lette r M r. Hi neks says, a ll u ding to the in "l of the previous day s_receie:f t his Lordship in the confident hope that I should rtsies-tltleaearly coimiunication of the intention of her If _ sea I Government." tie l vs uelta. then goes on to say that the arrival of ta e ,° C ould hav no elf ot on the question of route e l t • raised by her Majesty's Government. rtn B uad not then arrived, and he did not come; tea e -tttr of Mr Hincks, of the Ist of May, was b eta at intimation I . received 'that the two other mem ellocsaufth? de putationconsidered the presence of Mr. u'rePertant to the negotiation. I immediately h ie • e eded -getupon that intimation, and at the Ca ,Of Aj a - ",- une il held on the following Saturday, the Bth fo rmed} matter having previously, of course, G ove , the subject of conversation among the befo re n l Question was formally brought e tt eeicl e l-e t adThinet oe t i discussed, and was finally " h ciPe the statement I have made will kg thate that there was no pretext whatever for say f e e. t e ll : deputation was left without an answer from L 7 her 'Majesty's Government. It has been i o s n eu that, a tt e r the Cabinet had decided the rui t i n co mmun i c ation was made to the gentlemen ''oe ne°,`"e deputation, but that they learned the deci bel, the Gover n ment incidentally through a private • ee Now, owing to the great pressure of business elle r " trust ' the H o -use will make allowance for the ofa e n'hs pe essure of business that did occur in the (ILt O which I have''the honour 'to be attached laear)--eleveral days elapsedlifter the Cabinet Council De t ve d at their decision before I was at leisure to pre ea.dispateh on the subject. In consequence of thst t h lt " ti la arid of subsequent delays dfter the dispatch was ta il ,Pited, the dispatch was not finally written for 4 ; ding until the 20th of May: I should say that Mr. l e :acke 'had previoualy 'intimated his intention not to .gye England unt il the 27th of May and he did not c l i t) (la ti 1 a much late r p er i o d . On the 20th of May the 0i Patch was sent to the Governors of the three colonies Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia ; and o f the same day, by my directions, official copies g that dispatch were communicated to M r: ; s n ' n "hs and Mr. Chandler. In the meantime I had tle' , , 13 . 0 communication, pu . blic . or private, upon I t at lect to any party and it either of these gentle vine6ranniln",ihrdirectly ascertained the decision of the' Go 1. cannot say how they got the information. Is ha ve m y'was not through any act of mine. I hope uow - swered th e second allegation.-(Hear, hear.) ta esi , come to the third subject of complaint-that to g e ntiemen were not treated with the consideration tr which their position entitled them. I should be ex keetnelY corny if it should be thought that the Govern thatit were for a moment open to such an imputation. On hi e a rrival of Mr. Mocks I had several interviews with and I extend e d to hi m that courtesy and hosp i. in.P. 'which I th oug h t were due to his distingu i shed ,"'tOtt in his own pro v i nce: I h ave b een to ld that I he x ß't.to have r esente d hi s ' l etter. There certainly are ejesaion s in that letter which have the appear . ance of % ,:ing been written under some feelings of irritation allessions which I think are not borne out by the r ts--- expressions which I read with regret, and which 14 4 4 11 0 t help thinking Mr. Hi nc k s must regret having IL". But, Sir, I must say ,that, looking to the fact 4 a t the greater part of these letters were written in tio ton e perfectly respectful, I have no hesita n in avowing to the 'House my feeling, that tinoonscionsly and unintentionally, under the Omar° of business, which really is sometim es a l most -re rwhelming, I had-I ass sure lam not aware that I "--been guilty of any omission towards theae gentle ", th it 'more consistent with my duty to the on e , office, and with the friendly rela trceino74hwicihthlmhyopoeww-ill always subsist between the great ti,tl of .Canada and the mother country-(Hear,.he t ar? in the same spirt o 4 t I should continue to act Bo ar t tat te tsY as before, rather than go out of my way and q °l:l4rl ce, or make any quarrel. on the subject.- Posl - e t, hear.) That was the spirit in which lam dis tee tO ket towards these gentlemen, but it should be 01le eted ‘2ueeerned, trl,O.nribetweenilat that Mr. Hincks was not the only person . ould not be correct to draw any h dt t stinc r - . Chandler and Mr. Mocks,. .i e tt ra tt diet has written no petulant letter. Ile is a Lelharan distinguished by great ability, a high Pow 11 1 ? te :' a nd one who, like Mr. Mucks has, y highest ,man ofb the Posit e i,, n o % his ,,ctivn talent, raised himself to the gentle the colony. I most readily admit that these s nouns men were entitled to every consideration in this toy o p t Y at the hands of her Majesty's Government, and elo se p t ° l3 . is that they received it. I continued, to the the 8 °K their stay in this country, the same hospitality, melt atne courtesy, with which our intercourse cona deepeied'; 11111 : 1 I had reason to believe they were (S tace y &repressed by the gracious and spontaneous con 40mteteitilasei°1oustet3: received at the hands of her Majesty. their stay they called at the Colonial tern, to take leave, and we parted on the most friendly 44,13 a nd certainly I had no reason to believe there was li'4u e nce taken on their part.-(Hear, hear.) I hope oe S aid. enough to show that the allegation of delay se :2 8 1 tithe Government is unfounded, and that eor i l s !,;''' willg to treat these gentlemen with every duo t otte l a uernti o .... u In offering this explanation I have not reir, bed t on the policy of her Majesty's Government with It o v n ee t u te the decision at which they arrived. The ate '"" et nher's question did not refer to that decision, i tts Dam sure the House will feel that the occasion of f err lring a question -is not the proper moment of re given n g te such a subject.-(Hear, hear.) The answer fits to these .gentlemen was given on the responsibi- Pron .:if he r MaJeaty's Government, and whenever the r ir ,.r..r moment arrives I shall.be prepared to vindicate /entire in it.--(Choers) nauter NORREYS asked the Secretary of the Ord ,w_fiiewhether any arrangement had yet been made to ui the public t(o)fptuhrechase copies of tracings of the Pnhashed map , e°lo nel DUNNE borough towns of Ireland? , replies 114 **J ataa.W e , U4cl uv T E SUN, LONDON, he reminded the House of the New Zealand Bill, the importance of 'which was only equalled by the number of its clauses, and said he expected that on Monday some idea would be given by Government what their inten tions were with respect to that impertant Bill. I agree that it is a Bill of the utmost importance, and I should deplore the circumstance that this Bill, which'attempts to establish a right principle of colonial administration, under happy auspices, should be defeated by aey occurrence con nected with the abrupt " termination of Parliament. But, Sir, what is the 'bulletin of Monday night upon this subject—that night upon which I was called upon to state exactly the intentions a Government, with regard to public business? The New Zealand Bill has not only got into Com mittee, but has nearly got through Committee.--(Hear, hear.) In fact I may seer, that out of more than 80 clauses, 72 have been disposed of, and, with the exception of some which refer to what may be almost called a private and a local subject, the great questions connected with this Bill, which is to give a new constitution to an interesting colony, the great questions are all settled in this House; and it is hardly possible to conceive that the state' in which the New Zealand Bill is now found could' at all justify her Ma jesty's Government in relinquishing the hope of speedily passing this Bill through the House.—( Hear.) Then there is another colonial measure, also referred to by the Right .H o nourable Gentleman—the Hereditary Casual Revenues Bill, which, to use the language of the Right Hon. Gentle man, is a measure of " primary importance."- Now; perhaps, the House will allow me to remind them of the nature of this Bill. The law officers of the Crown have expressed their doubts, and more than doubts, whether these branches of casual revenue, which now assume very great importance in the auriferous colonies of Australia, might not be, by the wrict letter of the law,• applicable to the consolidated fund, instead of being applied, as her. Majesty's Government wished, to the benelitsof the colony in which they were disco vered. No one can doubt but that this is an object to attain, which would not excite any very great party feeling, or re ceive any very great opposition;, and when I mention that the Bill which is to confer this highly beneficial and ad vantageous privilege upon the colony is composed of only two clauses, it is not a very presumptuous expectation on the part of her Majesty's Government• to hope that they may be' as successful with it as they have hitherto been in , that foremost Bill with regard to colonial legislation relating to New Zealand.—(Hear, hear.) , There are two other Go vernment Bills which the Right Hon. Gentleman referred to as connected with the colonies, and really, with the excep tion that the word " bishop" does appear in the titles of these Bills—and I know how unfortunate the word sometimes is in exciting debate in this House, and in calling forth the :irre gular energy of the Hon. and Learned Member for Youghal. —(A laugh)—l should hardly suppose that there would be any opposition to these two gills. Oneof them, the Bishopric of Quebec Bill, is in fact only to take care that in the diocese already divided one of the bishops should not retain the whole of the episcopal property, but should divide it with his brother bishop, and I should hardly think that this measure would be opposed, more especially as it consists only of two clauses, and has already passed the other House of Parlia ment.— (Hear, hear.) I think, therefore, k is not rash to suppose that even that Bill may soon pass into law without at all procrastinating the conclusion of the session. There is a fourth Bill, called the Colonial Bishops Bill, and that is a mea sure which is also of very small dimensions, its only object being to relieve the Indian bishops from a disability which, in the case of the other colonial bishops, does not exist. It is, therefore, a Bill essentially just in its provisions. It is one which I cannot say is of that urgent nature which, generally speaking, all the Bills are which her Majesty's Government have brought forward; but it is a Bill of a very important character, and yet very slight in its dimensions, and I hope it will receive the sanction of Parliament.— (Hear, hear.) I have now gone through two of the most important groups of projected legislation to which the Right Hon. Gentleman referred, but the colossal catalogue was not limited to these two groups. The next subject to which the Right Hon. Gen tleman alluded for those proofs of the unsatisfactory state of public business which he adduced, refers to the department which is presided over by my Noble Friend the President of the Board of Works. There are three Bills on the table of the House which have been placed there by my Noble Friend. The first of these is the Intramural Interment Bill, a Bill which, I believe, has the concurrence of a great majority in this House, and which it is the public wish, as well as the wish of the majority of this House, should pass into laae.—(Hear, hear.) lam not prepared, I confess, to re nounce the hope, not only of pass i ng that Bill, but of passing it quickly, and with but slight opposition. There is also another Bill, the Metropolitan Water Bill; but re member that that Bill has already been referred to a Select Committee, and it comes down, therefore, to the House with the advantage of the criticism of that Select Commit tee, and the approbation ,of a tribunal to which the House always looks with great respect, and therefore I think I am warranted in believing that it can be passed without post poning the termination of this session. —(Hear.) There is another Bill laid upon the table of the House, by my Noble Friend (Lord J. Manners),—the Metropolis Buildings. Bill, and, as there seems such a keen desire to resist legislation on the part of some Hon. Gentlemen, from'the fear that they may be overwhelmed with it, and, as it is necessary, in order to give Hon. Members cue opportunity of making any observations in reply, that I should conclude with som e motion, I am prepared to move, at the proper , time, that the order of the day for the Second reading of that Bi ll mi g ht be dischar g ed . —(" Hear , " and a I have now gone 'through three of the great di which the Right Hon. Gentleman brought to our l v a i u s i g o h n . s ) notice. All our measures of legal reform are fast arriving at that safe harbour to which I believe they are destined.-- (Hear.) All our colonial Bills have also made very great progress since the Thursday when the attention of the coun try and of the House was called to • the unprecedented posi tion of Parliamentary business; and of the two Bills which are under the charge of my Noble Friend the President of the Board of Works , o ne of them has been referred to a Se lect Committee, which, as I before said, will tend to make its progress through the House more rapid, and the other has received out of doors and in the House such a degree of favour that I cannot doubt it will in due time pass into a law.— (Hear, hear.) Sir, there were, however, other circum stances in the state of public business on which the Right Hon. GentLman dilated in terms of impressive solem nity, and which seemed to produce a considerable effect at the moment upon the feelings of the House. The Right Hon. Gentleman called the attention of the House of Com mons, particularly on Thursday, to the state of the Committee of Supply. He reminded the House. that hitherto the expeditious way in which the Committee of Supply had been carried on, the promptitude with which we had passed our estimates, had been, as we are all but too willing to acknowledge, the consequence of the continued forbearance of the House; but the Right Hon. Gentleman gave the House to understand that even now the remaining estimates amounted to millions. Oa Thursday night he called the attention of the House and of the country to the important fact that there were still 200 votes which had not been passed, and that those 200 votes were to be met with 42 recorded negatives of one Hon. Member.--( Hfoear, the hear, and laughter.) That was the dreadful prospect e G It wips be ment at the end cif the week, and t hat was one of the evi dences of the incapacity of her Majesty's Ministry to conduct. the business of the House of Commens• s ome satisfaction to the Right Hon. Gentleman to erha know that, Monday having come, , l, appearing tn give that account which the "unprecedented" state of Parliam wa s said to call for, can say that som e ,plea Of enta extenuating ry business now on Monday, circumstances may be alleged,; fug that instead of 200 votes in supply remaining to be n passed, there are, I believe, only 19. th d t with regard to those 19 votes, I cannot help thinking a , even Honourable Member with the deterined spirit of the Hon for Youghal,find the Hon. and Learned Member may yet (Cheers.) A other opportunities enough.for the exercise of his indefati gable powers—(A laugh)—and that perhaps when we go into Committee of Supply again with those 19 votes we may experience even from bins some little tender touch of remorse.—(Laughter.) There were some miscellaneous bills also mentioned by the Right Hon. G entleman. There was the Navy Pay Bill. I have endeavoured to forin some opinion whetner that measure can be passed, but I cannot gather that there is any opposition to it, and when the state ment is made with respect to it by the Secretary to the Ad miralty, I indulge in the hope that that Bill too will piss. here is also the Patent-Law Amen d me nt Bill, but I may remind the House that that Bill has already passed the House of Lords, and that we have referred it to a Committee there; as I have before remarked was the case with. Bills so referred, it will receive a revision which will enable it to command much more readily the general attention of the House. I cannot think that lam y e t called upon to s a y that these two laws, which I bel ieve will be advantageous to the country, should be renmetlced. Now, Sir, there are some other bills, and one rather large head, to which the Right Hon. Gentleman also referred. There are two Bills with regard to Ireland. There is, first, the Valuation - of Land Bill, and I hear from all sides 'that this is a good measure.—(Hear, hear.) Why, then; should we give 'it up ? I cannot say that lam prepared to give it up, when we have had only one division upon this measure, and when the numbers, I think, were 80 to 4in favour of the Bill — (Hear, hear)—and, believing that this is a Bill which is very much to the 'advantage of the people of Ireland, I certainly think the House will concur in thinking it should pass. There is another Bill connected with Ireland—the Whiteboy Consolidation Bill.* lam anxious at this moment - that no Bill should pass, that we should proceed with no Bill which is likely, I won't say to waste, but to occupy the time of the House, unless it is of urgent necessity ; and, as I agree with those who think that a Bill for the purposes of con solidation can scarcely come under this bead, I am prepared not to press it forward.—(Hear, bear.) Then there were the continuance Bills ' which is the last class of measures to which I shall refer. The Poor-law Board Act, which is a continuance Bill, now stands for a third reading; and then there is the Encumbered Estates Act. That is a Bill which must be continued, and I cannot anticipate that any Honourable Gentleman in this House can wish that that Bill should not pass.—(Hear, hear.) there remains' another Bill, which relates to a matter to which the Right Hon. Gentleman said the late Government attached the greatest importance,' and which must be renewed—l mean the Prevention of Crime and Outrage Act •in Ireland.— (Hear.) We have had from some lion. Gentlemen opposite some hints as to the opposition which is to be extended to the renewal of the Crime and Outrage Act. Sir, whatever opposition is offered to the Bill, as long as ft respects Par liamentary usages, and is conducted in that courteous spirit which I believe will always distinguish this House, that op position in case of imminent necessity I must be prepared to meet.—(Hear, heir.) It is the opinion of her Majesty's Go-- vernment that the Act for Preventing Crime and Outrage in Ireland should be renewed—(Hear, hear)—and, inasmuch as that Act consists of only one clause, giving Hon. Gentlemen opposite credit for as energetic patriotism as any body of men possess, even should they, put, in practice all the resources of their rhetoric, I cannot believe, if they should avail them selves of all the opportunities which the constitutional forms' of this House provide them with, they will be able to de feat a measure so necessary 'to the peace, the tranquillity; th b e ie s b piri b t e and and the prosperity of lreland.—(Cheers.) With very fleet respect, therefore, for the opinions held by those now gone throug l h an lentlemen, we shall attempt to continue that the Right Hon Act,°n. I we t v e e ll r, the a m m r a e m wi p a rep b a c re c d on f d o u r ct t e h d ei a r cco op r p d o i s n i g tio t n o , decide, l that the state of practice t hoef wholethi fa o f u House.—(Hear, — e ( c l o i l e o a s r s , a ear catalogue.) I have f is it their opinion and I ask the House fairly to is so —( Hear, bear.) ' , that the state of public business, business in the House of Commons, unsatisfactory as waipointed ont on Thursday night? Government measures etheaTh Sir; that when I examine the anxious desire to ask the Holy: mot passed, with the most: support nothing which I do not conceive to be of the firs t' : myself this Parliament should not the ex anxious desire that the labours of tleceseity, with the most be prolonged, I do not find. ception of the slight, and. met. in ;j i l lst.iped, with which I have referred, in recommending the instances' to any of these Bills.—(Hear, hear.) The,at e withdrawal of necessary, and they appear to me also to be lp in ee a r to me to be ilw factory state ofe progress, so that all of theme may e - y be tie sa passed consistently with that termination of th e se sion which we all of us anticipate.—(Hear, hear.) I claim no credit to the Government for this state - of the public business, and I say that most un feignedly. It is a state of the public business, in my opinion, satisfactory, but it is due and due only to the good 1 sense and the good temper of the House of Commons.— (Cheers.) And, Sir, when I heard the highest authority dilate upon the present state of business, and say, with all the weight attaching to his name in the senate of his coun try, that if we didnot take care we should bring represen tative government itself into disrePute and that it would appear that we could not transact our business, I say that I have drawn from the session • which is new closing a very different conclusion and a very opposite moral.—(Cheers.) I would, rather adduce what has been done in this House and, the manner in which it has .been done—l would rather ad duce item an 'argument in, favour of representative govern ment, in favour, at least of the mode in which representa tive government is carried on in this country, than bring it forward as -an argunient which should lead us to believe that the reputation of representative government, is in danger. •—f, Cheers.) • Sir, I will not, • dilate upon the fact that we have been enabled already to-pass through the House of CommenS 37 Government measures, 20 of which have al- ready become.law ; but when,. I recall. to the House the cir cumstances of the session, • that a change of Government took place, and when I remind the,Honse of the party feel ings which under such circumstances naturally revived, of the •• great delay of business which from such circum stances must necessarily occur,- and the fact that I and my colleagues only on the 15th of March were enabled to resume our seats in this Muse; I:think it tells very much (as I said before) for the , good sense and good temper of the House of Commons that we have been permitted by their aid to carry - out to nearly a conclusion so many important 'tneaSures:—(Cheers.) Sir, I remember some years ago, when I sat en, therpttier side of the House, under the guid ance and advice of that disfinguished man Lord George Bentinck, and when I took a part in public affairs, which i was not, but foe the too great indulgence of my friends, cal calated to occupy, it became my duty to sum up the results of the. longest session that I believe the. House of Commons ever yet - expetienced—a session. of More than ten continuous months; concluding in the month•ot Seetember, 1848. There were at that : time the 'time charges made as to the ineffi ciency of the House of Commons. At.that time you were told that the: accumulation of husinese was Intolerable, and that it was proved in. a manner, whichaivery one ought to view with alarm that a represen`•failVe Government could' no longer deal with the affairs df''a great' community. Sir, it was my duty then, after a careful analysis of all the mo• tions and all the measures of that remarkable session—it was .my.duty then to vindicate the conduct and character of, the Henn of Commons.—(Hear, bears) It was my duty also to endeavour to prove that which I gave, my reasons for believing—that iteiras to the weeknessof the Ministry, and not to the inefficiency of. the House—(Rear, hear)—that this lamentable state of, affairs was owlng,.. I n *th e presen t in stance, I do not think it necessary for'me to ascribe the pre , sent state of pablic business either to the weakness of the Ministry or to the inefficiency of the House of Commons, be cause I maintain that the position 'of ptiblie business at such a period, and after a session so. broken up and disturbed, never was more satistactory.—(Cheers.) I said that I claim no credit for the Ministry for this result, but I can say this most sincerely for them—that we have endeavoured by sedu lous attention to the business which we had to discharge—we have endeavoured to merit the generous support which we have received from the House of Coalmen!, even .from our ... opponents.—(Cheers.) The motion for the, discharge . of the second re a di ng of t h e Metropolitan Buildings Act'was then put and agreed te. • THE MILITIA TILL. Mr. L. HEYWORTH' • presented a petition from 7,595 young men of Loridon,' and two petitions from Rochester and Chatham, against the Militia Bill.. Mr. RICH claimed the attention of the House while he replied to the aftacks made upon those Hon. Gentlemen who, having voted in favour of a local Militia Bill, h a d f e l t i t. .their duty to oppose the general Militia:Bill - how before the House. A most unfair use had been madebf the charge of inconsistency egainst those who had opposed the G overnment measure. 'He wished to call the attention of the House to the grounds upon which this measure had been introduced to the House, the measure itself, and the •consequences of its . adoption. The grounds • upon which the measure was in troduced were easily dispatched. The Home Secretary had referred to the imminent danger from abroad, and said that in the event of invasion, and atter providing for the safety of our ports and arsenals, only 25,000 men would remain available for the defence of the country. The discussion as it had proceeded had dispelled both allegations. The danger had been given up, both by words and.' deeds, the number of men to be raised had been redticed in number, and the Government had doclined-td take 'advantage of the offers made to them by vbliinteer corps. It was said the marines could not be =counted as available for the defence of the country, because, in the event of attack, they would be em barked on board the fleet. ;Now, the danger to b e guarded against was from a sudden and unforeseen attack upon our shores by an enemy before we were aware of their intention to effect a landing. In such an event it would be the height of imprudence to send our marines from Woolwich and from our arsenals. and they must therefore be included in any estimate of our disposable force. The Home Secretary had Honourable Gen ; they from Kingdom alsolrelandexcluded a Irelands mach an part d and de parcelfore districts sbttehrteiehenta Unitedst dispatchedc w ou h n eic t a r y , n as Yorkshire or Middlesex, and we were bound to defend it, and Ireland -was bound .to come to our defence in nuf T a r ct Ps ring lia *ere in a-disturbedestate, and the • Right t tph le ue ma beliv n ne v7as, teof' th oinu er vr e a f s o ioni re n ; a. bound to include Ireland, which, it should be remembered, contaiued 12,000 constabulary trained to the use ,of arms, and who 4 were therefore available for the' defence of that country. Hooontable Members, in dealing with the disposability of our forces; had assumed that we were legislating with regard to a lerge - and comprehen sive invasion of this country, such - as would imply the come maral of the Channel fleet,. and an amount of preparation on the.part of the enemy which would give us.full time to make vaunter preparations. In such a case the allocation of 10,000 men to the Thames, 6,000 to Pertemouth, and an equal num ber to Plymouth, would be mere mystification and misleading. • The • attack to which we would.be liable being sudden and un foreieene.there would be imbecility as . well as cowardice in locking upour troops in garrison • instead of sending them to meet the enemy. 'Chad been urged that those who opposed this Bill were reckless of the defence of the country ; but the best refutation of that imputation was to point to the various alternatives which had been proposed as substitutes for this measure. The Noble Lord the Member for London had sug gested a local militia, a measure more in accordance with the constitutional precedent, more comprehensive in its operation, and by which the men would be more easily found. That alternative had, however, been rejected. So had the recom mendation of the organization of volunteer corps, and the more important suggestion of those who preferred the , addisiou of 10 ; 000 or 15,000 men to the regular army. The kluitourable and Gallant Member for Westminster (Sir De Lacy Evans) bad shown how a force of 4,000 infantry and artillery might be brought home from the colonies, and made available for the defence of the country; but the Government refused to listen to him. Certainly, when they were consulting about t h h o ey w yv er e e re tot a a b ll o y ntto the best means of adding to their military defences, it did appear to him to amount to infatuation to attempt to blindly In du en ty W incapable of doing the and which duty, indeed, they acknowledgedentrust to them, they would not give them time to learn .to ~discharge, whereas they might readily go to the we .clis,Ciplined and easily , recruited' re,, army, and obtain a most efficient body of trained soldiers. Why .should t he" not consolidate and remodel that army of reserve which they already possessed, for the penaion and battalion syatern did • really constitute an army of teserve? , For ••a • half-pension , o e. si x p ence a-day , the ' Gevernment 6014 . without difficulty, raise 10,000 or. 15,000 .-enem. from 28 •• to 35 years of age, who had all.served tenor twelve years in the regular army, and thus obtain an. efficient force of Pr une soldiers before the raw levies of the intended militia had mastered the goose-step. The gap that would thus be occa sioned in the army could easily be filled •up by recruiting. • It might 'be said' that this, would be defirivin the regular army s eethe best' men; but the dang er forwhich this Bill was demanded was either real or i • tnaninary. If merely - 'hthe at once entirely- • . imaginary, it' might to retain a man in England to discharge -the most important dant duty of a soldier, that of defending h• mos !lisp° _.. net b - prehension Of danger, could 'his country in the aP Y any latitude of language be called ;robbing the ,array of that luau 's , • Maintained that by holding ; A services. •Ile the ahincemen of this half pension for half service they could thus form a large and most, efficient army of reserve froth the regular - and . . army; there would be no difficulty whatever in • r ' recruite, because the service could easily be render p_ ° s cut - mg . . rendered o popular that dismissal front it s Instead lif being 'regarded as a boon, would be esteemed a punishment. Noy s , the Government only hoped to get 30,000 or militiamen in the first year by the bounty. They would ,have to resort to the ballot, and they would find in the present temp er of evils of the Is 11 that the practical 4-ot. the public mind would not be endured. He had, pointed . out how . they could for an army - 12,0Q0 men at once. for QIO 000 or obtain , of reserves=-(Hear.) Now there were 30, 0 00 of pe tii I:nets, from 16,000 to 18,0 00 9f Wil°lll- from 10,00 lir" ' clam Of these ' they could obtr , and , these 0 •to 12,000 under fifty - veers of leastge'24,ooo young 41(164 le the ' others, woulefurnishatto 35 ,000 or 40,-O nl en and prime soldiers, .infiniteli preferable 0, ,_ _ 4‘ ,.. ssse. 00 u ndiscirdined militias =eh.' y the system 0.5,. s n a e l t i t lo P r e e n : e ns fo r P Short service they 6,000 . r b 00 could' obtain e a f e w years in ' f a- every year from the regular arra y, sun la act they would get too s , _.... try . They could, h ow Many for thi °uu ever, most judi cious the emigration of' cod °iously encourag f ui and steady soldiers to the colonies. 'lnd their families practice. A measure had s i was no theory, it bwas alrea d y in the Ordnance, by itea d been adopted , lsy the Master of o New Zealand - wh ich about 2,000 Leoldiees Were genttot rids° 10,000 or 12, ,Australia, and North s simerica. We migh t hick would .be T° Men in this mane ;aer for the colonies, W the small pensiog for t o receive them , and we might keep up d raduall t a inr Political rea sons. ',Thai we would be enable g _ 0 g is: wit hdraw our own troops from the co lonies, and t He had therefore alid t heta when they "arrived in this country. h • r O luted Out a mode e mi ht establish an army o f r ofY which g 28 and 35 eserv e composed prime soldiers betweetl years of ag e - maintain a force amountswa thought necessary to d a ci,_ larg e i n and the cost a clothing,Tha t arming, an riliin e . e , ; was on a' ""ern would not exceed 150,00 0 /. a year.e of the substittitea, amongst' many, which had been proposed instead st of this Bill. But the Government chose to s _ adhere to the old origi I .militia force of the country, and said_ that this la - ill Was ate in the 'right direction. Now; the old militia. force was men!! daily local in all respects. It Waansdrwas.ne and drilled temPo - rarily in each county or shire, exceptionr m oved out of lits own county unless , underd circumstances. l- War, however,. broke out, anthe me. n were marched from ' and., from kingdom to ki ngdo county.to county,.. kingdom and, in a second a rm n fact, they became substantially e Government of the Much so, 'that in the year 1808 th,•day formed corpsof out of the old volunteert. the year 1793 and organised, classes .•and 1804, a local Militia, composed of all ; and trained them round their own That militia was homes. local force of this country. Now true representative of the old militia„ the untry„ New, what would be the efficiency of officep2rOplOSed militia under the command of* the.44,all°rne-the n the case of methods by which regular troops 'could there were two 'could be reinforced--either by a dditional regular tro o ps, of regularly drilled or by the subordinate co•operation general Volunteering and levy en masse, Both gathered by highly beneficial, and in case of Both measures were d. emer hut - they were essentiallgency highly necessary ; - regular army, :acted with y it itstinct. The one force joined the regu for the other force to be trained and and afforded time it • to this Bill was, th at and disciplined. His objection _ t con like most fth • • resources, and was , 0 stir legis lation,founded these two compromise. It would never tur a most mischievous t say an he would no. army. In such a nigh a body of troops— uirements essenti Ito • a its efli force there , were several N erregthese: that it should he fit for ciency ; among which Alt:tsit should be easily and certainly garrison and 1101 duty . , should have seine connexion with the rise that It , of the country. Now, the Chancellor° spirit of the regular army ~ id his constituents at the hosting of the Exchequer had' to. would be cheap)popular and efficient. that the proposed militia ha would the militia have in But would this be so? W Nothing but a red coat com mon with the regular troops 1. e. Then, would • t b 1 a opera a semblance of military discip in five? They were told that. _ w ithout the ballot it wou l d not Thee, would it be popular r ‘,. To this' question the very necessity far a ballot was the repl y But, to go beyond that at the petitions which he bade Honourable Memberslo o k th li• esu ject Of these there upon . had been received by the e one -' oneSi I tied there was, in favour of the measurn, , , g ,as • Der 37; there were he understood, by fifteen boys d• that night-1,377, against it—exclusive of those presented ni with signatures to 'them amounting in tingn number to near l y ) So much f a quarter of a, 'million.— (Hear' hearth Chancellor or the popularity of the measure, of which of 'a le • Exchequer had boasted .to ,his Buckinghamshire *matt- objection to give the maps, but they could only employ these persons who were regularly engaged on the Irish or Scotch surveys to make the tracing. The Ordnance were now obliged to pay all the money they received for those maps into the Treasury, but, if they re- - ceired a sum of money for the purpol.e, they would be very happy to supply these maps to the country, THE CAPE, Mr. ADDEALI7.I7 rose to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, the dispatches just arrived from the Cape announced tat) pissing of the constitution orclinanccs, including the alterations of the franchise g Attorney-General protested; wh a t eTienastnce whichs, the information had been received relating, to the rumoured advance of Prastorius against the Zoolas; and whether treaties were actually entered into with the Kafir chiefs for the termination of the war? The papers and letters just received were full of the importance of the expres sions of Lord Derby last year, when ho said in the 'de bate on the Cape in the Liouse of Lords,— " He might have hesitated to grant so large a measure of representative government as that nova proposed to be granted to the colony, but he would say that, as such a proposal had been, made of such high authority, and as it had obtained ttin sanction of the colony, and the im plied sanction of the Crown, any danger or risk was.o be encountered rather than not to fulfil those expecta- tious; and he would not bate one j,)t -- of the popular in stitutions proposed to be confided to the colony, however anxious he might be as to the working of those institu tions in the first instance." He wished also to know if the Government intended to carry out their kgislation on the subject this session? Sir J. PL\KINGTON said that the question of which the Honourable Member had given notice embraced three points, to which he had added a fourth, and, in re plying, he (Sir J. Pakington) would take them seriatim. As the Hunourable Member had given notice of the question on Saturday, he presumed the Honourable Member referred to the accounts which came over week ago with Sir Harry Smith, and he might not be aware that a mail had arrived this morning. By the mail of a week ago he (Sir J. Pakington) nad received a dispatch from General Cathcart, stating that he had thought it to be his duty to pass the constitution ordi nances with the alterations made by the council; and by the mail of this morning he had received the ordinances themselves. As to the second question, he was very happy to be able to state that the rumoured advance of Prwtorius against the Zeiss not only remained without foundation, but that by the mail this morning he had re ceived the agreeable information that a convention had been agreed to bstween Prmtorius and her Majesty's Commissioners, and that peaceful relations had been established.—(Hear, hear.) As to the third question, whether treaties were entered into with the Kafir chiefs, he regrettetV to sayle had no information that they were, and he was afraid, from the dispatches received from General Cathcart, there was no reason to believe there would be. With respect to the fourth question, he did not know till a week ago that the ordinances had been sanctioned by the new Governor, and as the ordinances had only arrived this morning at the Colonial-office, he thought the Hon. Member would admit it would be ex tremely premature for him to attempt to state now what were the intentions of her Majesty's Government on this subject.—(bear.) NAVAL RESERVE. Sir G. PECHELL wished to ask what steps had been taken to carry out the reserve of 5,000 men which had been provided for by a vote of the House? Mr. STAFFORD had to state, in reply, that no steps had bee❑ taken to carry out that system, and that, after much consideration and consultation among those best acquainted with the subject, it was considered the scheme was on the whole impracticable. PRUSSIA AND NEUFCHATEL. Lord J. RUSSELL was understood to ask whether any communications had been received by her Majesty's Government respecting a recent conference between the representatives of the great ,Powers of Europe, with re ference to the claims of Prussia upo❑ Neufchatel; and, secondly, if the Noble Lord knew if there would be any objection to lay the papers on the table of the House. Lord STANLEY (who spoke in a still lower tone than Lord John Russell, so that he was very indistinctly heard) was understood to reply that a conference had been held, and a protest signed by the representatives of the four great powers, on the subject of the Prussian claims on Neufchatel. There was no doubt in the mind of Government, or, he believed, on the mind of any per son who had turned his attention to the subject, that Prussia had certain rights over Neufchatel, which rights had been recogoised by the treaty of 1815. It might not be altogether irrelevant to observe, as it was a fact of some importance, that this was the first public act by which France, under her present ruler, bad recognised the settlement of Europe made in 1815. At the pre sent time, at all events, it would be impossible to lay the papers connected with this conference on the table of the House. PUBLIC BUSINESS. . - - The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER then rose and said,—l promised to-day to state to the House the views of her Majesty's Government with respect to the business that is before the House, and in reference to its ex- peditious dispatch. It was my intention originally to have selected this day to express these views. I thought that as soon as we sat after the holidays it would be desirable that we should come to some conclusion on this subject; but the reason why I fixed on this day was that I thought the House would be indisposed to have the explanation of the views of Government made on the first day after they met, and that it would be reasonable, instead of taking the fag. end of the week, to select the first Monday after we assembled for business. If it had not been my in tention to fix on this day, it would not have been possible for me to consider the dispatch of this duty, in consequence of the appeal and memorable spech made by a Right Hon. Gentleman on the re-assembling of the House. That Right Hon. Gentleman is one who necessarily and justly exercises a very great influence over the opinion of this House, and though, indeed, he is listened to with great respect upon all subjects, on none is his opinion more re garded, than in the copduct of public business. The statement of that Right Honourable Gentleman was calcu- fated very much to arrest public attention, and to produce a very considerable effect in the House, especially among those ' not very familiar with the details of the subjects the Right Hon. Gentleman spoke upon. Certainly he conveyed an impres sion to the House and to the country that the state of public business was extremely unsatisfactory ; that there was a vast accumulation of business, with a very slender prospect of its being disposed of, and that at the end of the present session there would be no possibility of • dealing with the ac cumulation before us of business, all of which, as the Right Hon. Gentleman very truly stated, was of a highly i m p or t an t and pressing character. The Right Hon. Gentleman said, on that occasion, that he felt deeply on the subject, that he viewed it with great apprehension, and that it was with no ordinary feelings of apprehension and upon no ordinary sub ject that he spoke, because it was not the mere reputation of this particular House which was at stake, in the opinion of the Right Hon. Gentleman—though the reputation even of this House, I think, must be dear to him—but it was really a fear that if we did not take care we should bring represen tative government itself into disrepute.—( Hear, hear.) And, that there may be'no mistake on the matter, I will quote the words which the Right llon. Gentleman repeated that he feared : " This assembly, which has, been the great landmark o representative government and the great example of repre. sentative assemblies throughout the world, will be brought into disrepute. And that it will appear we are unable to transact our own businesS. Now, Sir, it would be—it must be—a most serious state of affairs which could warrant such words from such a man. The Right Honourable Gentleman did not confine himself on that occasion—listened to as he was with becoming attention by the House—to a mere general expression of the apprehensions under which he was suffering. lie went into very great detail on the subject; he took a minute re view of the state of the business before the House; he called the attention of the House to the various subjects before them, grouping the several Bills on all-important matters in that clear and perspicuous manner which he always commands ; and he laid down the data from which he drew the inference ho communicated to us; and which, in his opinion, warranted the apprehensions he felt. Indeed, I read in a very great authority on the day following that it was evidently an herculean task to deal with the - business before the House of Commons; and that even to form a catalogue of it, or to enumerate it in detail, required the colossa power of intellect for which we are all willing to give the Right Hon. Gentleman credit.—(Laughter.) Under these circumstances, I felt an unusual responsibility placed upon me in the position, for which I am every day more aware lam not calculated, I felt it was a terrible responsi bility to incur, that under the guidance which I had been able to give to the business of the House, assisted by the kindness of Honourable Members on both sides of the House, I had brought public business not only to a perilous, but tree disgraceful position.—(Hear, hear.) Well, Sir, under that feeling I have examined, with all the assiduity the circumstances of the case required, the state of the public business before us. Peeling that I am responsible for its general position, I have endeavoured to see if I could in some degree escape from the consequence of neglect of duty, or from the results of that incapacity with which, though the Right Honourable Gentleman was courteous enough not to charge me, he must have felt I was liable to be accused of. Under the challenge and appeal of the Right Hon. Gentle rea n e rl 3 llL he referr i e r cl e . sp will examine very briefly the business now before us, elcwtellainfdolluolwtimthaetenrfdaeter taken e a n ll the Bills to which o now t i gfahmt Hon.ili a r the evening referred to theby the Right Hon. Gentleman, because it isonus t G o en th tl e em n a particu larly impressed on the House the importance of the Bills for legal reform which are before e On them—Bills of their kind probably inferior in importan ce House. The Right Hon. Gentlemant nobusiness before the on Thursday, when the House assembled, said, with reference to three of these Bills —first, to the Common Law Proeedu secondly, to the Equitable Jarisdictionr l l ili A . mendment Bill; the Bill for the Abolition of Masters in Chit' and, thirdly, to Hon. Gentleman said, to use his own phrase, and the Right his own language, " Not one step has yet been taken° pursue n ur tt e s House with regard to any of these three Bills beyond their introduction." He expressed a hope on Thursday that I would on Monday be able to give some information on this subject, and I have now the pleasure of reminding the Right Hon. Gentleman, that as to both of the Common Law Juris diction ips in 1 Bill for the Abolition of Mastersh* • di c ti o n Bills, and the Ch an cery, with respect to which not one step had been taken, ver y important b y ' steps have been take n t h is time, and all I three have been re ad a second time.—(Hear, hear.) B u t of legal other Billsreform beside those t o th er e were two oth which the Right Hon. Gentleman also alluded—the Suitors in Chance r y Relief Bill, and the Bill respect. law of making wills. As the Right ing alterations in the Hon. Gentleman, so great an authority upon all subjects but very highest in this reform, the On the subject of lega l . was impossible ossible to exaggerate House, said, on Thursday, it was ' t P ce of those questions. the magnitude, difficulty, and impor an to inform the Right Well, on Monday, I have the pleasure . magnitude, difficulty, Hon. Gentleman that those two Bills, the and importance o f w hi c h co uld not be ex ceeded, have en tirely passed th roug h t hi s House.—(Cheers.) So much for these important bilk on legal reform—two of them having entirely passed the House of Commons, three of them having been read a second time, and no material opposit ion bein g anticipated to their progress, I think her Majesty's Govern ment are not arrogant or presumptuous in saying that they would pass the Legislatur e and become law without at all interfering with that termination of. Parliament which is now so rife in every one's mouth. Well, the Right Hon. Gentleman then proceeded, with all the clearness which cha racterizes his mature statements, to another group of Bills which were still on the table—those which he de scribed as colonial Bills. On Thursday last, calling on me on Monday to give an aceount of the intentions of ' Government, with that influence which became his situation, TUESDAY EVENING, JUNE 8, 1852. tuents. He appealed from Philip ) in But t ck h inghamshire to s n e :ero ( i. A isly lau a g fect the recruiting : tasPwhkoi,ilyspvehainersretinbwaotesrtlle House.—(A men to be found fo e r It appeared to him that the demand for 80 0 1 : t quartered h public-houses. e l i c- h militiamen n us es . Would were t o not e e a oh s et s hl e vot ndos would o l Ifi on dwt thei inhat o army, and greatly narrow the surface whenc constituted our regular forces—our army, navy, and 3 marines expenses they would necessarily incur, than those given to a Dorsetshir iba — ned w lapo e yvw r a, e ves riutnobejbi wages en e ci .t d tt e no t wp i rt v nah e sce d. ,t ii , en T a l l y labourer? 1 dThheey found would s c r o y m d e i ci once, lt perhaps,out h th time. And they were to, be drilled for three weeks, and then suffered_ to roam about the country. Why, before they could be called together again, they would have travelled from one end of the country to the other—perhaps out of the country. They might have got good, permanent, and profitable employment at Liverpool or Manchester, or some where miles away. Would it not be cruel to drag them back from that to their muster-roll for three weeks, so throwing them out of work and losing them their engagements? And what would this three weeks do for them? Would it make them soldiers? Never; never so long , as, the Government gave them only the discipline, and only the drill which by their Bill they were prepared to do. The Chancellor of the Exchequer himself, taking the common-sense view of the question, had said on the evening of the 6th of May that it would be madness to suppose these men capable of contend ing successfully with the armed legions of Algiers, of the Caucasus. But was it not precisely against such disciplined troops that they would have to contend ?—(Hear.) Then what was the use of the measure? He had shown that these troops—these , milniamen, he would not call them troops— would be with difficulty collected, and when collected would be fit for nothing--totally unfit, as had been confessed, to . resist a disciplined foreign invasion. These were the tests to which it ought to be applied. But there was still the argement that the militia, though not efficient for itself, was so indirectly, 'inasmuch as it increased the efficiency of the regular army. The whole of the regular army we could , make available to defend our shores was 25,000, and it was proposed to take 80,000 militiamen to make them more effi cient. He. sked was it not monstrous for. them to put this country to the expense, the harassment, and the disorgani sation of doing thus for the army what our present policemen and pensioners, if organised, could do quite as well ? He asked, why should they . not rejeet the measure? The neces sary consequence of their doing so would be a most desirable one—that they should have time for calmer reflection. He trusted, therefore, that Honourable Gentlemen would con sider this, and would not fall into the silly delusion that it was better to'do something, anything, no matter what, than not to legislate nt'all and at once upon the matter. It was against such an' error that he wished most especially t i guard them when he said that in their haste they might do such wrong as would prevent them from doing right hereafter. lie asked them to take time for consideration. Out of the mists of this discussion had already loomed the plain fact that we possessed 65,000 regular troops within these three kingdoms. That stood out clear from their dis cussion, and no man could deny it. Then they had 40,000 in dockyard and pensioner battalions ; 40,000 yeomanry and constabulary. They had a navy which had never yet been baffled or discomfited; they had about 1,300 steam-ships capable of bearing guns. He asked, therefore for some pause.- He thought the public might sleep in peace— (Hear)—and this question be postponed for another year, and for more ample investigation. At all events it ought not to be dis cussed on the eve of a dissolution, and under the auspices of a provisional Government. The question, they must all feel, had been sufficiently before the public to be certain to be t a ken up in the next Parliament. Was it not reasonable to suppose that it would be much better settled then than at present? The subject of our steam navy, and the reserved forces of our army and navy, bore most materially on this question. On those questions a Committee was to be moved for by his Hon. and Gallant Friend the Member for Westminster, who *as most anxious for an inquiry into the condition of our steam navy and marine, and to know how far the latter were applicable, in case of need, for purposes of war. He again asked the House to deal deliberately and not hastily with this question ; to refer it from a pro visional Government to an established one, and from a dying Parliament to a living one. He concluded by moving that the Bill be read that day six months. Mr. MACKINNON seconded the amendment. In the year 1642 this very question was before the House of Com mons, and on that occasion the measure was strongly opposed by Hyde, afterwards Lord Clarendon—a man of high autho rity upon it. With regard to the expediency of this force, he was not aware if any benefit had arisen from calling out the militia. Was it, therefore, wise in the Government of this country to decide upon calling out a militia force of eighty thousand men, the more especially as offers had been made by men who had a stake in the country to enrol them selves as volunteers? If they looked back to the two last revolutions in France, they would find that they had been effected principally by men who had been accustomed to the use of arms. He did not mean to say that they had any reason to be appreheneive of such a result in this country from the embodiment of a militia ; but the fact he had alluded to could not escape observation: If they really apprehended any danger, of an invasion, he would ask them e e ? they s h o uld not, in preference , increase eir army and navy ? Suppose a force of fort y thousand invaded their coasts, th e invading force would be over h th e country before a militia could be called together. Under all the circumstances, he saw no use in their proceeding with this hasty measure, and he felt that it would be more in accordance with the feel ings of .the country, that the further consideration of this Bill should be postponed till that day three months. Lord H. VANE would vote for the third reading, and eventually for the motion of the Hon. Member for Lam beth, to omit the compulsory clauses. He agreed with the mover and seconder of the' amendment that this measure had evoked a considerable spirit of hostility throughout the country, but that was not a sufficient reason for negativing it, if that House thought it necessary for the honour and safety of the country. Looking at the fact that the pre ceding Government were pledged to some measure of the kind, and that the present Government had introduced it on their executive responsibility, he could not feel justified in wholly opposing the Bill, but at the same time must ex press his regret that the Government insisted on the ballot ting clause, which it would be his duty to oppose. Mr. MACGREGOR said that public opinion out of doors was entirely against the Bill, and therefore he wondered at the hardihood of the Government in going to the country on such a measure. In London the people had no apprehen sion when the funds were beyond par, and when enormous sums of money were leaving every day for investment in the public works of France. He believed that there never was a period in the history of the latter country when they were so desirous of maintaining amicable relations with us, and he knew that the President felt that nothing could be so dangerous to the stability of his own power as any rupture with England. As to the other three great Powers—Russia, Austria, and Prussia—their policy, especially since the death of Prince Schwarzenberg, was one of peace, and of com pact defence, not against the French President, but against the eventualities of another revolution. In such a state of things, he thought that a more impolitic Bill had never been introduced into that House.—(Hear, hear.) If in creased necessary, he would willingly consent to 5,000 omen to our marine force, and that would be a•much bet ter d efence than a body of men who th wou ld' only, be bad soldiers and worse citizens. With th es e views he felt bound to oppose the further progress of the Bill. theeadfadrieteion were of Mr. HEADLAM intended to vote against the third read ing, and hoped that the House would concur with him in rejecting the measure. At the same time he was willing to admit that the Governmenthad some excuse in the public clamour, ansl,in the act of their Predecessors, and that in their difficulty they had produced a measure as little objec tionable as possible, but it was only an argument against any measure of the description, that nothing better could be produced. His objection to the voluntary portion of this Bill was that 'it proposed 'to raise a regular force on the least economical principle. He was willing to admit that there was some argument for increased defence in the improvement of modern science and the increased facilities of transit. He did not believe that there was any hostile feeling towards us on the part of France; and if there were, this Bill was so inefficient that it was a mere waste of money. For these reasons he should give his vote against the measure. Mr. EWART said it was a paramount and insurmount able objection to a Ministerial measure that it was ineffi cient; and this was so. Let the necessity for additional defence be proved, and he would consent to an increase•of the regular army and of the artillery. He believed that, compared with past wars, future wars—from which Heaven defend us—would be infinitely more destructive. He con tended that a militia force was not suit'ed to the times we lived in. Adam Smith described it as a most barbarous force ; and if the force was inapplicable to this country in his time, it was much more so now. To constitute the best military force, the principle of division of labour must be acted upon, which was in favour of a standing army. He was also opposed to this Bill, because it had two other Acts engrafted upon it, that of George 111. and theilutiny Act, which would authorise flogging in the militia. He found that enlightened foreigners were disapproving of a militia force in Prussia and Austria, and they .said that it would be found inapplicable here; but taking the opinion of military men in our own country, they were all in favour of an aug mentation of the regular army. Considering that this Bill would give neither a good nor an efficient force, he should vote against it. Sir IL VERNEY" said the Bill would be useful as a means of training the population to arms, which was one of the most satisfactory measures of national defence that could be adopted. 'He hoped the Secretary at War would make such regulations es would prevent the ad mission of persons of bad character into the force. He trusted encouragement would be given to the rifle corps, who would prove most valuable soldiers. It was desirable by sonie rifle regiments. that the army should be increased . m II formerly mounted in the arte o He thought the guns t o wers ought to be replaced there, and the towers manned. This might be done at a very tr iflin g ex p ense. The aug mentation in the French mar ines and gr navy was proportion " t t a- t e r than in our o wn. as sal a ally much . ea for the protection of cl cohmmemrce, r ines were principally used ed tha Francad ve littl but it should be remember 1 Th er e were meanse had odefence avail e comme rce to protect. able to this cou ntr y in T its mercantile marine force; each vess el might be made to carry one or more swiv el g uns ; and this species of defence gmi ht also be applied to all the bar bourn on the coo .: . + Supposing the opponents of the Bill to lsi dth Government that the ast an e present overn b e mistaken, and h enons they entertained, it could were right in the app this re l conduce to theof not be denied that able, it be a m q long as we l were would assa was st th e country. -0 - Bi ver Go nment to bring forwar d such impera ti v e duty of the safety of the thought necessary for the measures a s t w heY - neglect to do so would expose them to na tionalcountry ; and The Hon. Member for the West Riding had infamy. . be submitted ' n of national defences ought fo said the question and he hoped the Govern to a Committee or, Commission; tion went would not lose sight of that sugges • if the Go vernmentm- irsTAL OSBuRNE said it appeared as Mr. BE i Hon• Member for Bedford had abandoned to the •• • fpassing it his Bill, and the responsibility o the defence of t Aud he must add that if there into law.—( Hear, hear.) he measure than those that had were no other reasonas Hon Baronet, then the dislike with been adduced by th ardedi the measure was not likely which the country ia t o u N r v e. reg He had never heard a more war to be lessened in lu d in blander terms than that which was lik e speech "Flee t) se the Hon. Baronet. N ot content with just concluded y third reading of this Bill, the Hon. Gentle voting for the t Ministers to put the Martell° towers man called upoa the swivel guns that had been laid to produce in order— then they might laugh to the last war, and up since invasion.—( Hear, hear,. and laughter.) scorn a French 1 d to refer to what was said by the He had been oblige Bedford for want of any other argu mentsber for Hon. Member favour of the measure; and, whatever objec tions in hive to the principle of this Bill, he would he might t he didt found those objections on the confess at once tha peace Society. ' principles of the eace But, at the views and prin , he would never be found to under same time, he hoped tio ns or to impeach the motives of that truly va l u e the axe; body of men. It was very easy to deride the benevolent to laugh at the theories of those men; but he effourldts and r emind Honourable Gentlemen that they thought so would an d e nthusiastic the products of a distempered ima gination were promoted by some of the wisest and greatest men of ancient times; by no less a person than Plato, and womb • ,-, by the divine founder of our religion and coming down to later times, they found that sovereigns like Henry IV. of France and our own Elizabeth had formed a • plan of general pacification on the same principles; and coming down to a still later period, the Spanish statesman Alberoni declared that such a scheme was not unworthy of his consi deration. Far from deprecating the efforts or the motives of men who not ouly preached but practised the principles of general benevolence and good-will, he concurred with them in opinion that, whoever reviewed the history of our past continental wars would coma to be of opinion with a popu lar writer, that taxes had been raised net to carry on wars, but that war had been raised to carry on taxes that our greatest glory was earned by an increase of taxation, and that our most expensive luxury was a successful general.— (Hear, hear, and laughter.) But at the same time he drew a distinction between armies raised for the purpose of aggres sion, and armies for the purpose of defence; and he would submit to those Gentlemen—if there were any such—who doubted the lawfulness of defensive war, that in the Utopia of Sir Thomas More, though he depicted a society in all the enjoyment of per enn i a l h app i ness , d e testing war, despising glory, and prohibiting alike lawyers and soldiers—(Laugh ter)—neither allowing Martello towers nor briefs iu Chan- Fere—yet even he did not debar the natives of his happy island from the use of arms, nor from defending themselves when they w ere attacked. Now he could not imagine that anybody, either in that House or , out of it, would be more Utopian than th e U topians themselves.—?(Great laughter.) He must say, for himself, that he could not look upon the present state of the satisfaction, filled as it Continent of Europe with was with gigantic armies and with reactiona r y rulers at the head of these armies. It might be very well, though he could hardly th follow the Honourabl e Baronet e Member for Bedford through his medley of Martello towers, rifler, and Louis Na poleon—(Laughter)—it might be very wl , ll for the Hon. Baronet to say that he had con fidenceinpuis Napoleon. He ( Hr. Osborne) did not wi s h t o say anythingthat would trench upon the feelings of th e most fastidious Frenchman, Baronet's who but he Could not say that he sha re d i n the Hon confidence. Ile thought it was nat ura l t h at a ma' B n raised to power by the military'order sh o uld act in accordancew with military prejudices. And after a ll, w h at d i d the Gentleman say? I have confidence in Louis Napoleon, but for all that double your army - increase yo ur rifle ee r3 man your Martell° towers—get ready your swiv e l guns—but still I have great confidence in Louis Napoleon.—(Laughter.) It was better to say at once they had no confidence in Louis Napoleon, and they had no right to have confidence in him. He was surprised that no Honourable Gentleman had ever quoted in the House the revelation which was made by M. Thiers in the Chamber of Deputies, which told heavily against Louis Napoleon, and which would amply justify the Government in seeing that the defences that they had—and which he maintained were amply sufficient—were put in a most efficient state. On the 17th of January, 1851, M. Thiers told the French Chamber that in an interview he had with Louis Napoleon, the President said that it was neces sary to occupy the public mind in France, and that to do that it would be necessary to undertake some enterprise abroad which would captivate the attention of the masses, and attach them to the Government. He thought Govern ment mdst be blinded indeed if, after that, they did not take every precaution to put the defences of the country in the most efficient state consistent with the large sums of money they voted for that purpose. But in granting that, he thought that Ministers were bound to supply fuller and greater information as to the state of the defences, and of the condition of the army. Had any statement of that kind been made to the House? They had from year to year enormous estimates submitted, and yet no satisfactory account was ever given of the manner in which the money was laid out. He was prepared to say that the sums annually voted were quite enough for national defence, without either militia, Martello towers, or riflemen.—(Hear, hear.) We might take a lesson from the way in which the French estimates were prepared in 1848, from which it would appear that in one sense one Englishman was still worth two Frenchmen, for an English soldier was just double the coat of a French soldier.—(Hear, and a laugh.) He had the French estimates in his hand, and he would read one or two extracts from them to show that our service was managed in the most extravagant and reckless way, and that we should do well if we took a leaf out of our next door neighbour's book. The English army consisted of 113,287 men, and it cost 9,337,0001., or 821. Bs. 4d. a soldier. The French army in 1848 was composed of 338,653 men, and cost 12,138,0001., or 411. 12s. Bd. per man.—(Cheers.) But he would go fur ther. What was the number of generals in the English ser vice? We had no less than 117 generals for an army of 113,287 men, while the French army, which in 1848 was treble, and was now quadruple the amount of our force, had but eight marshals and 143 general officers. He would take also the staff of the two armies, and compare the proportion ate expense incurred. In the English army the charge for the effective service was 3,270,000/., or about 38 1 4 per cent. upon a total expenditure of 9,337,0001., while the French staff cost bat 2,260,0301., which was a charge rather under 19 per cent. on an expenditure of 12,183,000!. When, therefore, Honourable Gentlemen talked of the country not being in a proper state of defence, he would advise them to look a little into these French estimates, and the House would bear in mind that in this comparison no account whatever was taken of the dead weight. He found also that the French soldiers, being clothed on a system of open con tracts, were clothed at 12s. a head less than our own soldiers, though their uniforms were furnished in a country which ought to be the cheapest country in the world for woollen clothing.--(Elear, hear.) Another thing which he found was this—that in the French army, trebling our own in amount, military justice was administered at a cost of 8,0001., while in the English army it cost 32,0001. There must be some thing wrong in all this: There must be some great waste somewhere. The money which the House of Commons voted annually for military purposes could not be laid out to the, best advantage, or else why was so great a difference observable in the French estimates and our own? It was true that we spent but 22,0001. in powder, while the French outlay in that article quadrupled that amount; and the French soldiers were armed witn the Minis rifle, and equipped with every improvement suggested by modern military science, while the English soldier was only supplied with the miser able musket. He repeated that it was evident that some thing wrong was going on, and that the House ought, be fore they agreed to the third reading of the Bill, to insist on some better information being given on (he subject of mili tary expenditure than had been afforded. He thought that if an intelligent foreigner had come into the House during the debate un the introduction of the Bill, he would have been rather surprised to - see the Home Secretary, who was very skilful, no doubt, as a Chancery law-yer, coming for ward to propose that 50,000 men should be raised to form a militia. What could the Right Honourable Gentleman know about military matters? In saying this he did not attribut, any blame to the Minister of the day; what he found fault with was the system. He thought these matters ought to be in the hands of a War Minister, who ought to be able to ex plain to the House the condition of the army and the nature and extent of our resources. The consequence of the present system was, that the House was about to pass a Bill in a panic, which no one in his heart believed to be of any ser. vice,„ inefficient for and which, the majority of mili tar y men, and all civi 'oans, with some few exceptions, belie ved to be for its purpose. • He said,- " with some few exceptions," be caused he had perceived to -day in the papers an address from the Right Honourable Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer to those confiding . farmers who were his con stituents in Backinghamshires The Right Honou ra bl e Gentlemen recounted in that address those rapid acts of statesmanship for which he wished his Government to go down to the admiration of posterity.—(Hear, hear.) The Right Honourable Gentleman plumed himself on one " as a measure of internal defence, which it issbelieved"—the Right Hon. Gentleman did not state his own opinion on the subject —" will soon prove both popular, economical, and efficient." He (Mr. Osborne) would take leave to parody the words of the Right Hon. Gentleman, and to assert his belief that this " internal defence" would soon •become an internal com plaint, which would prove neither economical nor beneficial. He was very much mistaken if even the confiding farmers of Buckinghamshire did not ask the Right Hon. Gentleman some more questions about the .origin of this Bill. He was rather surprised to find that tne Right Hon. Gentleman should have assumed the parentage of this measure, but he• was prepared to prove that he was only its putative father, and that he really had nothing to do with such a miser able abortion. He could prove that the idea was taken by the Home Secretary from a pamphlet written in 1848, by Mr. Frederick Hill, inspector of prisons, but with the omission of some useful adjuncts to the plan; an omission which would remind the House of two tolerably well-known lines— Quern recitas meus est, 0 Fidelline, libellus, Sed malt' cum recites, incipit esse taus." —(flear, hear, and a laugh.) Every Hon. Member recol lected the proposition which the Right Hon. Gentleman made to give militiamen a vote after two years' service; and they also remembered—the most sudden fit of Perlis- Gen mentary repentance on record—when the Right Hon. tleman came down to the House on the following kto,ir a t ) . '; and said that he did not mean to give them a vote. Some iae was a great variety of opinion about this movement.on. Gentleman said that the tendencies of the were democratic, others that the proposal was o w h a e s li a ev j e o d ke tha o t f Lord Derby's. But it was no joke at all. e the the Government had deliberately He knew propoeal, but where the Right it was Mine of their thunder. He Helook it from a speech of Hon. Gentleman stole it from. Mr. Windham's, in 1805, who proposed to induce soldiers to enlist by giving Thisßill bore on its face the marks their sergeants a right to shoot game.— (Laughter and cheers.) p olitical patchwork, of hasty compilation. It was a piece of not i nte nded for the defence of the co untry, but for the poli tical e xigencies of a Ministry in its . bd moments. The coun try did not want it , it ha d no beliefin it, and what was more. it would be of no use to the country.—(Hear, hear.) There was a perfect apathy about it out of doors, and no one out of the House talked about Martello towers. But then it was said " Let us have an army of reserve." The Right Honourable Gentleman seemed to think that it was enough to put a man in a red coat and make him shoulder a musket, to make him a soldier. He should have supposed that he had read Mr. Windham with sufficient attention to satisfy himself that mere numbers were not a suffi cient defence of a country. The Right Hon. Gentleman proposed to raise the militia by giving a bounty, which it was clear would operate most unequally in different parts of the country. In the rural districts it would deprive the farmer of a great deal of labour, probably when he most wanted it, while in the manufacturing districts, where the bounty would be of no avail, the Government must resort to the ballot, a proceeding contrary to the " genius Of the epoch," which no statesman ought to disregard.—(Ch eer s an d laughter.) With regard, however, t o thi s army of re serve, the Right Honourable Gentleman th e Secretary for y the Home Department told the House with considerabler aplomb and confidence, that he proposed to m a k e them effi cient soldiers by drilling them for twenty-onedays. lie was really quite astonished at the simplicity of the Right Hon. Gentleman. Where had he been living all his life ? Had his briefs been so num er o u s in the C our t o f Chancery thatad he knew nothing of the organization of arms? He defied her Majesty's Ministers themselves, th oug h he admitted that they were active recruits, to acquire a knowledge of their profession in twenty-one days. Lie admitted that the Noble Lord at the head of the Government had shown much skill in performing a rather difficult evolution — namely, changing his front in the presence of his adversary. —(Hear, hear, and laughter.) Th e C hancellor of the Ex chequer was well versed in light infantry movemen t s , and knew well how to advan ce an d retireon a budget. — (Laughter.) The Home Secretary was equally expert in avoiding the file-firing of questions.!--(Laughter.) His neighbour the Right Hon. Member for North Essex (the Secretary-at-War) was an experienced soldier, an d would avoid danger at any quarter ; but the Attorntheye -General bad not been able to get much farther than ru di m ents of " goose step."—(La ug ht er. ) But the farce w hich was proposed to be raised would be a farce, even as an organized h ypocrisy. —(Laughter and cheers.) b a be y Bill was not worth the paper and would more P I:1 tempt invasion than repel aggression. —(Che ers.) were to be end of five years,after 121 drill, the rnen days f tue dismissed to their homes. Why, such a force would be no y, thing but an irregular horde, more likely to be danger_o_us to the regular soldiers than to their foes.—(Cheers.) henever contem- Pitt was a great advocate for militias, but Mr. plated such a militia as this. that the men ffiviciasent state. Some should be brigaded and kept in an e His idea Home Secretary in his gentlemen, who resembled the amiability and general want of undenHr.siddrinis,onhtuhtemserp.opinittts — (Laughter)—had proposed said, 44 I beg to any trankivg wan whether it is possible a 20 _ay i for a volunteer to acquire only the simplestpartofa soldier's training in 20 days?"—(Cheers.) He (Mr. B. Osborne), would ask any thinking man—he would ask the Right too, President of the India Board, who was a man o ( f u eat t Hon. re expe rience, and might have heard Mr. Pitt speak— L gr h how it was possible to make a man a soldier in 21 g days L. --- (Hear, hear.) The Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Walpole) seemed to emulate Pompey the Great, who used to boast that he could raise an army by stamping the ground ; but he was more likely to resemble the fabled hero of the farce, and would - be obliged to say— " Begone, brave army ! don't kick up a row." —(Loud laughter.) The Bill was a trumpery:abortion ; but there was one clause so obnoxious that he could not refrain from making a remark upon it. He was much surprised that a Minister at the eve of an election, and therefore anxi ous, he presumed, to acquire a little popularity, and to consult "the genius of the, epoch"—(Laughter)—should have proposed to exempt Peers from serving. —(Cheers. ) He thought that that was a great slur upon the British aristocracy, and be believed that they felt it as an insult; for, whatever the faults of the aristocracy, they had never shrunk from taking) their share in the dangers and difficulties of the public d e fence.—(Cheers.) He had said that it was impossible to make the militia an army of reserve. An Hon. Gentleman beside him bad alluded to the militia in America ; but Washington had always spoken of it with the greatest contempt. In 1776, after the battle of Brooklyn, where the militiamen were repulsed with igno miny, Washington denounced them in the strongest terms, and said, that the depressed state in which the American cause then stood arose from "short enlistments, short drill, and placing too great dependence on the mi litia."—(Hear, hear.) Reference had also been made to the National Guard of France, but nothing could be more unfortunate. When a motion was made in the French Chamber for the re-organization of the National Guard, General de Grammont stated—and he begged the attention of the Hon. Gentleman the Member for Glasgow (Mr. Macgregor) to this, fur he was fond of statistics— Gen. de Grammont stated, that on the 23th June, 1848, although the National Guard of Paris numbered 23,000, they could only prevail on 8.000 to come out from their homes.—(Laugh ter.) He (Mr. B. Osborne) had on a recent occasion voted with a Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Gladstone) against the proposal of the I,linisters for re-allotting the vacant purpose seat of givingontheground that , this was merely a provisional Government ; but, if it was not right to le g islate for the Members to constituencies, he thought they ought not to pass t hi s Bill, which, in his conscience, he believed would be of no use, at the instigation of Hon. Gentlemen who had none of the confidence of that (the Opposition) side of th e H ouse , and very little of .the other. wpoalnietyedofanthyis army ") —(Ministerial cries of " Oh !" and counter-cheering.) If they tr of reserve at all, he believe d the true unt e e Ting was to look to their wooden walls, to ha ve an over power could c om p ete p o 7 statesman with and n t a o y g td iy f e or t c uil e su seo ch p as e t n o o v o o t i h un er . teer rifle corps, if rifles they wanted. But he called on the House in the word s o f A tea the snare of a designing an now no more, not to be caught by a fear of invasion a9l into Ministry, not to pass ' s measur e scrambling for a party and discussed proposed by a Ministry ussed in the panic of an ex piring Parliament.— (Cheers.) The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said that the Hon. and Gallant Member, in ohfissaony Persons,mewhat humorous s p eec h, h a d f' raisingeona Wa s hi ng t on to quoted ag th ai e n s a t ut t h h o e ri p proposal o t r y esen t mlookedamilitia. to au e . (the Solicitor-General) thought th a t if they hea e d a of the d thorities on the subject, the prese n t Bill would without support, and instanced th e opinion not stand Sir of the very eminent soldier who stood atta its favour army, mad the distinguished officer at the Board of Ordnance. The Government of the late n fl the Robert Peel had given instructions for preparing a Bill the establishment of a militia , and the late Government ibr had brought forward a proposal somewhat similar to that now before the House. It was not, therefore, to be eo ns tended that the authorities were all on the one side, neither could it be maintained that the time had not arrived when it had become the bounden duty of a Government to bring forward such a measure as the present.—(Hear, bear.) An increase in the regular army had been recom mended by those who were opposed to the present measure, and strangely enough this recommendation had proceeded from the party which boasted of being the Whigs of 1688. - (Hear, hear.) If, however, such a proposal as that of per-. manently increasing the standing army had been brought forward by the Government, he could imagine the burst of opposition with which it would have been encountered by the same Hon. Members.—(Hear, hear.) The militia which it was proposed to raise had been characterised as a perfectly inefficient body. He did not concur in that opinion, and wished the House to remember that the force proposed to be raised was intended to aid, and not to supersede, the regular tooops. He believed that in the present state of affairs the proposed force was the best adapted to meet the requirements of the case, and the best calculated to afford a guarantee for the continuance of peace.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. PETO considered the increased facilities of commu nication by telegraph and other means as the best guarantee for peace, and as the most efficient security against hostile invasion. The present measure, while it was calculated to disturb the whole industry of the country, would merely produce a force which it was generally believed would be exceedingly ineffective. There existed throughout the country an intensity of feeling against the measure, of which the Government appeared to be but little conscious, and he thought that the better course would be to increase the standing army rather than have recourse to a measure such as this.— (Hear.) The House then divided, when the numbers were— For the amendment' ... ... ... 148 Against it ... .. ... 220 Majority ... ... ... ... ....-72 The Bill was therefore read a third time. Mr. THORNELY then moved the addition of the fol lowing proviso to the end of clause 18:—.No member of the senate of the University of London, nor any examiner, professor, tutor, or lecturer of the said university, or of any college, school, or institution connected with the said uni versity, under the provisions of any charter thereof, nor any student of any such college, school, or institution, duly ma triculated in the said university, and actually receiving education in any of the said colleges, schools, or institutions, nor any resident member of the University of Durham shall be liable to serve or provide a substitute for the militia." Mr. WALPOLE proposed to include within the exemp tion contemplated by the proviso the members of St. David's, Col ege, Lampeter. _Me. BRIGHT thought that Owen's College, Manchester, which was in many respects a kindred institution to those which it was sought to exempt from the operation of the clause, ought also to be included within the exemption. There was also a large college in the neighbourhood of Manchester, intended for the education of ministers of the Independent body of Nonconformists, as well as several others in different parts of the kingdom. He could not dis cover any reason why those colleges embraced in the proviso of the Ilon. Member (Mr. Thornely) should be exempted, and why other colleges of much the same character should be differently treated, especially those where young men were being trained to the Christian ministry. Mr. EWART thought the College of St. Bees stood in the same category with reference to the claim of exemption. Mr. WALPOLE said St. Bees was a school, and not a college. The proviso was added to the clause. Mr. After a remark from Mr. HEYWOOD, 18, ' ' laughter, moved the omission of clause l which he consi dered Mr. W. WILLIAMS, amid cries of Oh, oh " and some to be one of the most objectionab e in the whole Bill, as establishing a system of conscription. Mr. WALPOLE said the clause having beeo so fully dis cussed in Committee, and the whole Bill having been con sidered both on the second and third . readings as one recog nizing of having recourse to the Gentleman whether it Executive clause there ballot, would put i itn s t o o m t h e cases, a Hon. , was worth wh o i f le a d n i a v t i ur din e g w t h h i was nothing ballot in force in case the volunteers ectlinceoumsep.elledln the Executive Go vernment to put the Crown to put the.ballot in operation in case it should b e should fail ; but it was a permissive clause,.enabling the necessary.— (Laughter.) And if they left out the clause they must also leave out the proviso at the end of another clause, which restrained the Government from putting int o e xecu tion the statute of G eor g e 111., unless they f a il ed in raising the volunteers. The House then divided, when the result was -- 2 14 eNoonttwaiinthedstaiundainngAitenttol 1 Against ...... F o r the omission o f the clause Majority On the motion of S ir DE LACY EVAN S, th e f o ll owing 1 lause ininsceorntteadinaettde,rtchleaupsreov3i4si:o—use th e 44th year of Ki n g Geor g e 111., c , 54 , in ,. hwe was e s utuled " to consolidate and amend the provisions of the se All Act several Acts relating to corps of yeomanry and volunteers B r it a in, and to make regulations relating thereto,' of Great con tinue in force, so far as the same applies ereto,' shall to the enrolment of corps of yeomanry and volunteers, and the w hich such corps are entitled by virtue of the last-mentioned Sir DE LACY EVANS then proposed end of clause 35, to the effect that a proviso at the order the ballot, except in time it shall not be lawful to danger of war. of actual wa r or imminent Mr. WALPOLE opposed the proviso, which was supported Mr. GOULBURN said th yncourt. end of clause 35at the e effect of the amendment would be to the m iners in Cornwall from the ballot, exempt whilst ad ' other classes would liable.— (Laughter.) The House divided, when there appeared--. 82 For the Against it Majority a -96 The Bill was then gainst the proviso passed. THE LAW BILLS. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER announced that he propo se d to take the C omm on Law procedure Bill (Committee), the Masters in Chancery Abolition Bill (Com mittee), and the Inalmprovement of the Jurisdiction of Equi ty ßill (Committee) on ip Friday next. . i . , NAVY PAY BILL The Navy Pay Bill. The House wen t i n to Committee on t know if it were in- Sir GEORGE PECHELL desired to ' tended by this Bill to leave three months pay in arrear in stead of six months? Mr. STAFFORD—Yese is the necessit Where for an Mr. S. HERBERT — y y ner does the present system alteration? ' In what man work ill? T o e present system is unpopular Mr. STAFFORD— ih t e system appears unfavourable because . amongst the men, the practice in the merchant service. The in comparison withs jut: educed as a precaution against de - present practice at/A found unnecessary. The whole tone of sertion, but it is now ranc better that it is not necessary to continue the navy is se --, ii. the disclaalificalsAßT expressed his approval of the Bill. Admir • a l aTEI wou ld be very acceptable to the navy, and He thought it the service popular. Although they to eke would tend to give up the right of impressment, he hoped ought ne ve r ~ wo uldnever have occasion to use it. the antam ; sa ms t, uld make the navy popular. He wished - to a s - w of the Admiralty whether it affected the Secretary . a s k because most of our navy served of foreign stations, seamen a broad? \TON SMITH alit) inquired whether it would Mr. VER• e country ? add to the expense of th . . Ur. STAFFORD replied that it would not occasion one farthings ' a dditi o nal expense ; and that the measure would ap ply to seamen on foreig n stations. The various clauses were then agreed to, and the Bill passed through Committee. ORDER OF BUSINESS. Mr. WALPOLE, in stating the order of public business, said that the Government intended on Thursday to take supply at twelve o'clock, and afterwards to go on with the New Zealand Bill. On Friday they proposed to begin with the Colonial Bishops Bill, then to go on with the law Bi • lls, and to end with the Interment Bill.—(Laughter.)) POOR-LAW BOARD CO NT INUANCE (IltE BILL. LAND) This Bill passed through Committee. PASSENGERS ACT AMENDMENT BILL. The third reading of this Bill having been moved, Mr. MACGREGOR said th a t the shipping interest were so much opposed to this me asure, which had taken them by surprise, that he hoped the Government would not persevere with it during the present ' Session. If, however, the third reading Tflu pied 94 the p ;9i wisp, he iliiNg awn Wilii