The Sun. — London, England, 1855-06-27 00:00:00

rora it. She abstained from riding anything for several weeks ; bat et length, when the siege of Silistria was raised—when theßussian armies were not only in retreat, but when they had served a notice that within a given time they should leave the Principalities and recrose the Pruth, and there act upon the defensive—it was riot till then that Austria ventured to take possession, without opposition, and without firing a shot, of the Principalities, having previously entered into a treaty for that purpose with the Porte. What afterwards hap pened ? Russia, with great skill and political address, had stated that she would act upon the defensive— a declaration which could be interpreted only as a re reqaest to Austria to act the part of a neutral at that point. The proposition was practically acceded to by Austria. No attempt was made to cross the Pruth— no demonstration for that purpose took place—and what was the consequence ? Why the whole of the Russian armies—the army of Bessarabia and other forces which had retired from the principalities—were sent to the Crimea with great expedition, and there acted against the allies with much effect. (Hear, hear.) It was not his intention to male any statement with respect to the conduct of the Austrian army in the principalities, which they entered with the avowed object of protect ing, because he was not sufficiently conversant wi t h the facts of the case. But, although it was one of the articles of the treaty b e t ween T ur k e y and Austria, that the privileges of the Moldavians and Wallachians should be strictly guarded, he understood that mar tial law had been proclaimed throughout the principali ties by the Austrian generals. Austria having taken pos session of the principalities in the middle of august re mained there undisturbed by Russia, and while we were struggling in the Crimea in support of the common cause, and shedding our blood, and spending our treasure in support of an object in which Austria was more deeply interested than ourselves, Austria was spinning innu merable notes and memorials and letters addressed to Prussia and the different German Powers, and weaving a complication of negotiations as compared with which the complications of the Court of Chancery in its worst days was a matter of simplicity. Such was the state of things when the treaty of December 2 was signed be tween Austria and the Western Powers. Now, so far as related to the latter, the obligations were clear and in telligible ; but as to the obligations which it imposed on Austria, nothing could be more vague, undefined, and almost unintelligible. For while the Western Powers were bound to engage in an offensive and defensive alliance with Austria if she were attacked by Russia ; it was, on the other hand, only stipulated that, in the event of peace not being concluded before the end of the year, on the basis of the four points, Austria would simply deliberate with her allies on the most effectual means of attaining the ob ject of the alliance. Now, if that really meant anything, it meant that Austria would in that case concert with her allies the means of giving effect to the alliance, and would take an active part in the application of those means. And that was the interpretation placed upon the treaty both by the French and English Govern ments. But what had been the subsequent conduct of Austria ? Russia having, after some explanations, con sented to enter into negotiations on the basis of the four points, it was thought that if peace was not then concluded on account of the disinclination of Russia to make peace on that basis, Austria would then take active steps in conjunction with the allies. Web, it was proposed by the allies to come to some arrange ment for diminishing the power of Russia and Turkey in the Black Sea. That proposition was supported by Count Buol, the Austrian plenipotentiary, with the utmost fairness, ability, and energy, but the Rus sians refused peremptorily to accede to it, and made counter-propositions, which were stated by Count Buol to be altogether unsatisfactory. Well, the casus fmderis had surely then arisen • and Russia having re fused to make peace on the basis of the four points, Austria was bound, according to the treaty of December 2, to take active measures in concert with the allies. But those who came to that conclusion were not aware of the resources of German negotiation. Another and a final meeting of the conference took place, at which Austria made certain proposals, which some people said she did with the knowledge that they could not be ac cepted by the allies, and simply with a view of sliding out of the obligations she had contracted by treaty. He did not make any such charge, but he could not help seeing that there were plausible grounds for making it. The proposal was that Russia and Turkey should, by a separate treaty, arrange the amount of the naval forces they should each maintain in the Black Sea. Now, the Russians had during the negotiations refused to assent to a proposal that the Russian and Turkish plenipotentiaries should come to an agreement on this point in presence of the congress, and that the document containing it should be annexed to and form part of the treaty ; and when Prince Gortschakoff made a proposal similar to that of Austria, for settling the question by separate treaty with the Porte, the Ottoman plenipotentiaries refused to do so, because such a course was inconsistent with the obli gations which they had by treaty contracted with the Western Powers. How, then, was it possible that after these proposals had been discussed, and after the confe rences had been terminated on the 26th April—the ple nipotentiaries of the allied powers stating that their powers were exhausted —Austria could imagine that under such circumstances the allies would consent to renew the conferences ? It would have been as idle and as fruitless a step as could have been taken, and he thought that the Western Powers were therefore amply justified in rejecting the Austrian proposals. In what position, then, did we stand now? Was the treaty of the 2d of December binding on Austria or not ? Acting on that treaty, we had from time to time consulted with tier, deferred to her counsels, and consulted her interest, hop ing that she would eventually take active measures in co operation with the Allies. We had, however, been from tittle to time disappointed, and now at the last stage we seemed to have been supplanted by that power and left to our own resources. It reminded him of a story cur rent amongst sailors of a mariner who sees what he con siders a friendly sail at a distance. He alters his course and pursues it ; but she runs before him—often disap pearing in one part of the horizon, and reappearing in an other—and he does not overtake her. At last she dis appears finally, and the mariner finds himself in an un known sea, surrounded by rocks and quicksands—there left to his own resources. The popular name of that vessel wee well known to their lordships, but he would not men tion it lest ho should be considered personal. (Laughter.) He believed that Austria had now entered into a silent understanding with Russia is withdraw her forces from Gallicia, and other places where they had been stationed, and that this was no better than, in fact, a silent treaty of neutrality. He wished now to say a few words with re spect to the manner in which the negotiations at Vienna had been conducted. A noble viscount in another place was said to have complimented the noble lord who repre sented this court at the conference upo n the very great talent which he displayed there. Nov., no one had a higher opinion than himself of the abilities of the noble lord, or of the skill and address with which he got him self out of a difficulty. (A laugh.) Indeed he believed ti,at, the noble lord would voluntarily place himself in a position of difficulty for the sake of exhibiting his skill in getting out of it. But he was, at the same time, bound to say that the only power that had obtained any ad vantages from these negotiations was Russia. The first two points were the only ones in which the German powers had a direct interest. These were discussed in the beginning of the conference ; everything went on with smoothness and calmness in the negotiations, and these points were settled to the satisfaction of all parties. When the third point came on Lord John Russell, with great suavity, proposed that Russia should take the initiative. Prince Gortschakoff saw his advantage. . He had, or pretended tc, have, no powers to make pro pssale, and said that he must refer lea his court for in structions. Eighteen days elapsed before an answer was returned, and how weae those days employed? Through the medium of Prussia and other channels, communica tion: were made to the lesser Powers of Germany, repre senting that Russia bad conceded everything in which they were interested--the abolition of the protectorate of the principalities, and the free navigation of the Danube. And this was followed up by a distinct com munication from Russia ; to the effect, that if they would remain quiet and not take any active part in the contro versy, she would adhere to the engagements she had made with them, whatever might be the result of the conferences. Russia thus obtained an immense advantage, for the lesser German powers ceased to make exertions to aid Austria, who did not consider herself safe unless she were backed and supported by the lesser powers. After an interval of eighteen days these negotiations were resumed; but, although they were apparently conducted as before with the ut most courtesy and smoothness, it was evident that this was mere ou sward show, and that there was an undercur rent of a different character. Allusions were from time to time mad e to the siege of Aden by the English, and to the supported designs of France on Tunis, with an air of triumph that peeped out now and then through the subsequ east negotiations. Now, he must say that, ac cording to the best of his judgment, the propositions made, oythe allied plenipotentiaries at the conference with res oe ct to the reduction of the naval power of Russia in tl , e.rellack Sea were not worth the paper on which they were 'Neaten, for they could never have been carried out, would las.ve been continually evaded, and must have given rise t_o incessant quarrels and disputes, which would have ul timately terminated in another war. And when the noble lord who represented England alluded unfortunately to the treaty of Utrecht and the destruction of Dunkirk, he thought that that might have given him a little hint as to what was likely to be the result of the acquiescence of Russia in the proposition of the allies. That treaty was evad e d i n the most marked manner, and gave rise to continual dispetee, and nothing was even t ua lly gained by it. Meer ) As to the counter-propositions of Russia, th ey were. quite wide of the mark, and he thought that the Russian diplomatists must have laughed in their sleeves when they laid them before the conference. (Hear.) That brought him, then, to the question of our present situation and future prospects. The object of the war was clear and distinct. It was to procure the inde pendence of Turkey and the integrity of her dominions. And we had been told by the pri nc i pa l members both of . the late and the present Administration that no peace should be concluded, unless in case of extreme necessity, unless these terms could be obtained. N or did he find that any member of the late Government dissented from those opinions, with which they must therefore be taken to have agreed and be responsible. He confessed it was therefore with surprise, and almost with astonishment, that he observed the conduct pursued by four respectable gentlemen who had left the Cabinet of the noble vis count. He admired the eloquence and ability of the right bon. gentleman the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, the great administrative capacity of the right hon. hero-, net the l a t e Fi rst L ord of the Admiralty, an d th e re spectable talents of the other two gentlemen ; but still he did not regret, but on the contrary rejoiced, that they had reared from the Cabinet. With all the talents which rendered their services of the highest utility in times of peace, they did not seem to possess that manly character, that vigour of mind, that fixity of purpose, which were essentials in a Cabinet Minister at a period ilk, the present. What then was his (Lord Lyndhurst's) TR. R SUN, LONICOON, WEDNESDAY EVRKI.DII3-, JUNE 0, 1885, placing 350,000 men on his frontiers. It would have been an unpardonable want of foresight—a blander for which Ministers would have been justly reproached—if they had neglected by every means in their power to secure the alliance of Austria, or if by menaces or undue pressure they bad driven her to throw her weight into the opposite scale, to act in the interest of Russia, or to adopt even that system of neutrality embraced by Prus sia, thus relieving our antagonist from all apprehension of hostility in this quarter. They had done right, there fore, to show deference to Austria, and be mindful of the peculiarities of her position ; and he must say, after listening to all his noble and learned friend had said, he could see nothing to repent or regret in any of the steps they had taken. But in no way, and at no time, had those communications with Austria been allowed to influence or interfere with our military operations. They certainly had looked to the negotiations of Vienna to restore peace, or to secure the active co-ope ration of Austria ; but so determined were her Majesty's Government that there should be no relaxation of hosti lities, that, before the opening of the conferences, the Duke of Newcastle, after having ascertained that the French Government would adopt the same course, wrote to Lord Raglan to say that he was not to clacken his efforts, but the contrary, as her Majesty's Government was convinced that the negotiaeions would be accelerated rather than retarded by the vigorous prosecution of the war, and believed that nothing would more tend than a great military success to obtaining an honourable peace. If, while these negotiations were proceeding, Sebas topol had fallen, he had little doubt that we should either have concluded peace or secured the active co operation of Austria. (Hear.) His noble and learned friend had spoken of the course of the Government as that of men carried away in pursuit of phantom shapes and deceived, and had argued that Austria must have dealt insincerely with us. He believed that, as re spected either Governments or individuals, nothing was more difficult than to test sincerity. If a friend whose interests were identical with your own, whose opinions coincided with your own, and who was prepared to make great sacrifices to carry out those opinions, if such a friend all at once became what his noble and learned friend called cautious, stopped short, and, for reasons which you could not admit to be valid, refused to go with you any further, you might be apt to doubt that he had been sincere in the first instance. Yet your in ference might be erroneous, and he might have been sincere. All he could say was, that from the first Aus tria regarded her interests as identical with those of England and France on what was called the Eastern question ; she took precisely the same view as they d'al of the aggressive designs and acts of Russia, and agreed with them entirely as to the necessity of putting a check on them. Although just before the commence ment of the war she had reduced her army by 90,000 wen, yet since the war commenced she had spent 16,000,0001. sterling in strengthening her army, and placing :t on a war footing, and in erecting great barriers against the pending invasion of Russia on the Polish frontier. Now this large expenditure was perhaps the best argument he could adduce with the view of proving her sincerity, because certainly if it had been her object to deceive us, she might have have made an experiment with that view at much less cost. He must also say that Austria had never required any impulse from France or England in the proceedings of the various negotiations. On the contrary, it was she who volunteered, saying that she wished to confer, and who proposed the signature of the protocol of December the 2d. When the confer ences opened Count Buol made the strong declaration to which his noble and learned friend alluded, that Aus tria had contracted certain engagements with her allies, and would adhere to them whatever might be the con sequence. If, therefore, she intended to deceive, she went to work in a very weak and ill-advisel way, the only result of which could have been to bring out her bad faith prominently before the world. (Hear, hear.) The only object she could have proposed to herself by such a line of conduct was that of retarding or crippling our military operations, but that evidently had never en tered into her views. On the contrary, any military suc cess we gained was received with the greatest satisfac tion in Vienna, and their lordships would well remember the telegraphic despatch of the Emperor of Austria to the Emperor of the French and the Queen of England, coneratulating them on the great event of the victory of Inkerman, and desiring to associate himself in its con sequences. The plenipotentiary of Austria brought for ward the same proposals, expressed the same wishes, and supported them by exactly the same language as those of England and France, and it was only when the proposals made were rejected, and the English and French plenipotentaries declared they would go no fur ther, that Austria then said there were other means by which the basis of the third point might be carried into effect, and that those other means ought to be brought forward. The conferences were adjourned tine die, and so they would remain, but Count Buol observed that their remaining in that state would be the cause of great embarrassment to all parties, and he wished to redeem the pledge he had given at a former conference, to make one last attempt at bringing the belligerents to gether. The answer to that was that we (the Ministry) must see the proposal before we could give any opinion upon it. The propcsal was sent us and declined, and the plenipotentiaries of England and France said they could only attend the conference for the purpose of its being closed. Count Buol knew beforehand that this proposal was to be refused, and he (the Earl of Clarendon) appre hended that it was only brought forward at that confer ence because he had pledged himself at a previous one to do so. The conference being closed, they said to Austria that they thought the time was now come for her to fulfil the engagements into which she had entered. Her answer to that in substance was, that although Russia had not agreed to the p-oposal made by the allied plenipoten tiaries on the third point, yet there were other means of giving effect to its basis by a system of counterpoise —the opening of the Straits when the Sultan thought himself in danger, a treaty to secure the independ ence of Turkey—by which arrangements the preponder ance of Russia would be terminated, and all anxiety for the maintenance of the Turkish empire would cease ; and consequently, as those terms had been rejected by the Western Power , , Austria did not think herself bound to co-operate with them by taking part in the war. He need hardly say that that was not their view of the en- gagements taken by Austria, or the mode in which. the fulfilment of the treaty was to be accomplished. (Hear.) But in justice we ought to consider the motives on which the decision we regretted might be based. He thought that when Austria entered into successive engagements with England and France, and made extensive and costly preparations for war—when, moreover, she ur gently pressed that m ilit ary m i ss i ons s b ou ld be sent by the allies to the head-quarters of General Hess, there could be no doubt that she intended and expected to go to war, though not. very soon. She expected that, before the season for operations commenced, the allied armies would have gained a decisive advan tage in the Crimea ; and being thus set free would have been able to act in concert with her during a campaign on the Danube. Let it be considered, further, that if Austria had on our invitation, at the close of the con ferences, declared war against Russia, she would have had to wage it single-handed as regarded support in Germany. Could she have reckoned upon the assistance of Prussia, or even upon her neutrality ? Could she have been sure that she might not have had to deal with ene mies or. her flank and rear as well as in her front ? The finances of Austria were not in a prosperous state, and her resources were greatly crippled by her restricted commerce. Her financial means were not equal to her military expenditure, and on that account she did not ... ... , occupy the station which she ought to fill as a first-rate power in Europe. (Hear, hear.) There were other reasons, to which he did not think it prudent to allude, which he had no doubt had influenced the decision of Austria. (Hear, hear.) The noble and learned lord had asked, what was our position with reference to Austria? Austria had announced her readiness to con armed inactivity had had the effect of preserving tran• quillity in all those countries, and also of checking the ambition of Prussia. (Hear.) By the treaty of the 14th of June, concluded with Turkey, and i he movement of her army into the principalities, Austria liebd practically effected the evacuation of those principalities. All this had Austria done by arming herself and placing a large military force in a position threatening to Russia. But she offered more. She offered before our expedition went to the Crimea to communicate with the allies, with a view to further military operations, and in consequence of our determination to act on our own opinions in send ing an expedition to the Crimea, she told us she could meet Russia alone, and that circumstances rendered it necessary for her to adopt a different course of action. tinue to occupy the Principalities until peace could be procured, in fulfilment of her treaty with her allies. To that he did not oppose any objection, because the occu pation of the principalities, and the treaty on which it was founded, prevented Austria from assuming a posi tion of neutrality. That possession and occupation was an act of hostility towards Russia, on account of which Russia would be jnstified in declaring war, and as long as Austria fulfilled her treaty with Turkey, she could not be acting with Russia. It should be borne in mind that, if Austria were to leave the Principalities, there would be no security against the return of Russia, and it would be impossible, for the army of Omer Paella, to remain in the Crimea. (Hear.) He had before announced that the four bases were to be taken in their entirety, and as the third, which was of the utmost importance, had been rejected, and the responsibility of that rejection rested on Russia, her Majesty's Government considered themselves dis engaged from those negotiations. (Cheers.) There was not the least doubt that the great question in volved in the four bases must again come under discus sion, but England and France had announced their de termination, stating that they had reserved the right to go free and unfettered to any future negotiations, and to make peace upon such conditions as they might con sider most advantageous to themselves and to Europe. (Cheers.) He was compelled to abstain from following his noble and learned friend through his speech. He thought it most desirable not to increase any misunder standing which might exist with respect to Austria, and trusted that a still closer union would take place between this country and Austria, which need not bo despaired of if we should be able to achieve any great military suc cesses. (Hear.) He did not think the proceedings of the Government with regard to Austria ought to sub ject them to any censure. At no time, and in no manner, had their military operations been relaxed in conse quence of the carrying on of negotiations ; and with re pect to their future position, so far from being worse, it was improved, because England and Prance were more free and unfettered than before in deciding upon what terms should be made. (Cheers.) After a few remarks from the Marquis of CLANEI GARDE and Earl GRANVILLE, their lordships adjourned at half-past nine. HOUSE OF COMMONS-(YESTERDAY.) The following bills were considered and ordered to be read a third time :—Bradford Corporation Water ; New River Company and Trustees of the River Lee (No. 2). .....____ NOTICE OF MOTION. Mr. WISE gavo notice that, on Tuesday, July 10, he should move that an humble address be presented to her Majesty, praying that her Majesty may be most graz:ous:y pleased to issue her royal commands for a complete revision of the diplomatic establishments of the United Kingdom. THE EXPEDITION TO KERTCH. Mr. GIBSON wished to put a question to the noble lord at the head of the Government in reference to the recent operations at Kertch and other places in the Sea of Azoff. Grave charges had been made against the character of Englishmen and English officers which he did not believe, and which. if not true, ought to receive a contradiction from the Ministers of the Crown. He had seen statements made in private letters and published in the public journals. It was stated in the Times newspaper that when the allies entered Kertch the population made their submission, and offered them bread and salt, and they were assured they would be protected, and their lives and property would be spared. The correspondent went on to say that a great de struction of property followed, and more than that—that towards evening Turkish stragglers from the camp, and others who had fallen out of the line of march, flocked into the town, and perpetrated the most atrocious crimes ; to pillage and wanton devastation they added viola ion and murder. The French patrols endeavoured to preserve order, but there was the serious imputation upon the English character that our lieutenant general was the cause of these destructive excesses from his apathy or neglect. He did not believe this statement, but he wished to ask whether the noble lord at the head of the Government had received any information on the subject? Lord PALMERSTON—Her Majesty's Government have received no information with regard to the transactions to which my right hon. friend's question relates. My atten• tion was called to the statement he has quoted from a news paper, and my noble friend at the head of the War Depart ment will, without any delay, call for such report touching these transactions as may be given by the officers in com mand in that sea. from all parts of the country being universal that there was no rule laid down for the guidance of the publicans, and that they did not know what to ,10. He had received a letter from a Mr. Atkinson, detailing the operation of the bill in Liverpool, in which the same absurdities occurred ; for while a man going to a village abcut two miles from t he town was allowed to be a traveller, ho was not allowed to be one if he went to a village one mile further on. As a further illustration of the evil working of this bill, ho would men tion a case which occurred on Sunday, April 23. On that day the landlord of the Angel Inn, Sutton, had his brother and sister from London to visithini, and as the parties were supping together, at half-past ten o'clock, two policemen knocked at the door, and were admitted. After looking into the parlour and other public rooms, they walked into the private apartment where the family were at supper, and seeing two decanters of wine on the table they de parted ; but, in the morning the master of the house was taken before a magistrate, and fined 10 shillings and 15 shillings costs, although he offered to prove the lady and gentleman were his sister and brother; the magisterial answer to his offer being, " Then you must not have your brother and sister to supper." He (Mr. Berkeley) be lieved the licensed victuallers were a very respectable body of men, and if any of them were not so that re flected chiefly upon the magistracy of this country. (Hear, hear.) But whatever they were, ho was not to be told that any class of her Majesty's subjects was to be treated in this way. Why, in Russia a man could not be in a state of greater slavery. (Hear.) If the licensed vic tuallers were to be fined for giving a supper to their own relations, what was the meaning of the term that an Eng lishman's house was his castle? (Hear.) He would now call the attention of hon. gentlemen to those unlicensed victuallers' houses, the clubs of this city. The hour was past 11 o'clock, and the night was Sunday. Two gentle men were sitting at supper, one of whom was a magistrate. They had been down to Richmond or Greenwich, and no body would presume to doubt that his worship was a tra veller. The parties, therefore, discussed their devilled leg of a turkey, and washed it down with whisky punch, and at 12 o'clock returned to their homes " comfortable.' (Laughter.) The next morning the magistrate might go to his police-court, and the first case brought forward might be that of an innkeeper who had been informed against for giving a beefsteak and a bottle of wine at half-past 10 o'clock to his own brother ; and this magistrate, with the taste of the whisky scarcely off his lips, would hurl the statute at the head of the unfortunate publican, and knock him down ; fining him 1/. ss. (Hear, hear.) This tempted him to exclaim "Handy dandy; which is the justice, and which is the thief ?" (Laughter.) He presumed the pur pose for which this bill was framed was to check drunken ness on the Sabbath—(hear)—but he conscientiously be lieved it had not had that effect. They could not make a drunkard sober by Act of Parliament,but be could tell the house what it had done ; it had made people hypocrites. They had created a bole-and-corner drunkenness through the country which was perfectly appalling. (Hear, hear.) People now got drunk in coffee-houses and in brothels, where debauchery went hand in hand with drunkenness. From a return which had been made of the cases of drunk enness occurring on Whitsunday, in 1851, in Birmingham, Bristol, Bath, Bradford, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Not tingham, and Sheffield, it appeared the total number of cases amounted to 8); but from a similar retur❑ made in the present year, the total number was 118—showing an increase of drunkenness since the passing of this act of 33 cases, or nearly double that of 1854. The great fault of the bill was that it let the rich completely alone—(hear) — and while it was professedly introduced for the better ob servance of the Sabbath, it was in reality only for the bit ter observance of the Sabbath. (Hear.) The act must have been brought forward by those who were lineally de scended from the respectable gentleman who hanged a cat on Monday for killing a mouse on Sunday. (Laughter.) He hoped the house would give him a chance of proving some of the allegations he had made. He thought he hid laid before them some proof of the evil opera ions of the act. All he asked was, that there should be an inquiry, and, if the event was different from what ho supposed, he would be the first to submit to it. (Hear.) Mr. COBBETT seconded the motion. The hon. and learned member referred to two cases of hardship under the act, and said he was sure the hon. member for North Lan cashire (Mr. W. Patton) would be the last man who would wish to continue the act, unless it was satisfactorily proved that the object was so superior to the mischief and cruelty it occasioned that it ought not to be repealed. There had been so many conflicting decisions upon the statute that he would ask the hon. member what was his notion of a tra veller, and what distinction he drew between a traveller and a bona fide traveller? (Hear.) Some magistrates had decided that a bona fide traveller meant something more than a traveller; and others, that it meant a traveller tra velling. (Laughter.) This was a case in which the house ought to institute an inquiry, for the reasons given by the hon. member for Bristol. Sir G. GREY said, that though he did not concur in all the opinions expressed by the hon. member for Bristol, he would consent, on the part of the Government, to the in quiry he had proposed into the operation of the act ; but he must say that a very incorrect notion would be ob tained from the speeches of both the mover and seconder of the way in which that act passed, and as to the motives with which the hon., member for North Lancashire pro posed, and the house adopted it. It ought to be borne in mind that a strong feeling was expressed in the country not in favour of this bill, but in favour of the total closing of public-houses on the Lord's-day. He was ready to agree to the nomination of a fair committee ; but he put it to the hon. member whether the inquiry could be bona fide entered upon before the commencement of next session ? Mr. BRADY was much pleased to hear that the Go vernment intended to grant this inquiry. He thanked the hon. gentleman fcr bringing forward the motion, and he gave it his best support. Mr. W. PATTEN wished, as the author of the bill, to make a few observations in respect to the speech of the hon. gentleman who moved the motion, and more espe cially to that part of it in which he said that the effect of the act had been lo increase rather than diminish the amount of drunkenness. He could assure the hon. mem ber that if he could substantiate his case, he (Mr. W. Pat ten) should not only support him, but be grateful to him, and would join him in obtaining the repeal of the act. But that was a question which the committee would have to decide. He was bound to say that he had carefully watched tho operation of the bill, and he did see defects in it, more especially with regard to the question of bona fide travellers. The difficulty of what constituted a bond fide traveller did not arise with him. He had intended to define in the act itself what was meant by that term, but he was informed that he had better make the act more conformable with those which preceded it ; and he had ac cordingly drawn it not only according to the spirit, but according to the very terms of previous acts. It had been alleged, in opposition to the bill, that it was one brought in by the aristocracy in opposition to the lower classes. Never was a greater mistake committed in this country. The circumstances were these : A committee of the house was appointed to inquire into the subject, which sat for two years, and before that committee the licensed vic tuallers were more especially represented, and their views were considered. In consequence of the shoals of peti tions, signed by 430,000 persons, which were presented during only one half of the session, he was requested to take up the matter, and bring in a bill further to limit the hours within which intoxicating drinks should be sold on Sundays. He had never recei:ed one letter upon the subject from the higher classes; they were received wholly from mechanics, mechanic and literary institutions, and places of that description—(hear, hear)—and from persons who had devoted their time to the improvement of the moral and social condition of the working classes. He would re peß.t, that there I ever was such a mistaken idea as to sup pose that the measure had originated with the upper classes. It might be a wrong lino of legislation; but all he said was, that it sprung from a body of men who had a strong feeling on the subject, such as the house was little aware of. He had had a good deal to do with the labouring classes in connection with the present subject, and they were as jealous as any of the interference of the rich. Mr. H. BERKELEY explained that he did not say that the bill was brought in or originated by the higher classes; but it had the effect of making a difference between the upper and lower classes. Mr. W. PATTEN would only again repeat, that so far from the aristocracy having taken any part, it had been labouringiforofommthaetion. ` ( Hear, h e a)H alone o that wished h e hadto state derived that,hi s once for all, that all misunderstanding upon the subject might be avoided. Mr. WILKINSON thought they had begun at the wrong end. Instead of trying to stop drunkenness by shutting the public-houses, they should set about to edu cate the people, and render them less susceptible to the in fluence of drink. believed e t r h e a a t e t t h n o a s t e e d w h b o y w t e b r e e in be s favour Sir J. of legislatinot but think that they were very much mistaken in the v most o religious interference but, at the same time, h e c ou ld course they were pursuing. Mr. VILLIERS thought that the legislative inter ference had had the most beneficial effects. As chairman of the committee, which sat for two years, he had gone into the inquiry with a predisposition against any legisla tive measures ; but he must confess that his opinions were changed by the evidence which was given ; and he would tell those who were opposed to the present act, to look into the evidence, and satisfy themselves upon the subject. During his experience on the committee, of which he was the chairman, he never heard evidence from., any person in authority against the shutting of public-houses at twelve o'clock on Saturday night. On the contrary, it was the poor themselves who at that time prayed thu Legisla ture to interfere even further in the matter. The opinion of the public, he believed, had continued in the same di rection ever since. He did not object to the proposed in quiry, but trusted it vould be conducted in a fair spirit, and give full satisfaction to all parties concerned. (Hear.) Mr. HENLEY was glad to hear a committee was to be granted, and sincerely trusted it would be a good one. Sir J. SHELLEY hoped the whole matter would be fairly and properly inquired into. He had little doubt the measure was to the general satisfaction of the people ; but considering it passed hurriedly through the house, a c om mittee of inquiry might adjust all matters of difficulty which had arisen from that circumstance. He trusted when he brought forward his motion for the opening, un der certain restrictions, of the Crystal Palace on Sunday, that all those who, during the evening, had spoken in favour of wholesome recreations on the Sabbath, would give him their support. (Hear, hear.) Mr. E. BALL said,•so far as his experience went, he believed the act at present in operation had been attended with the most beneficial results. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE was glad it had been decided to have an inquiry, but was opposed to its adoption during the present session. The motion was agreed to. ELECTIVE FRNCHIE. Major REED mov e d for leave A to bring S in a bill for con ferring the elective franchise upon persons (not being aliens) who are assessed to the income tax, but are not upon a regis ter of electors for any part of ureat Britain and Ireland. The hon. and gallant gen tl eman said he was fully aware of theimportance of the subject. Though his intention was to extend the franchise, he had no intention to degrade it; but he thought it only fairthat those classes who furnished blood and treasure for our armies should not be totally unrepre sented in that house. Neither could he see any reason in allowing a member of that house to derive his qua lification from funded property, whilst we forbade a man out of such property alone to vote at the election of that member. He warned the house that there was a strong feeling of distru , t existing respecting them in the minds of the people of England, and this was a most fitting opportunity to do an act of common j us tice- Commercial travellers to the number of 30,000 formed another class who would be benefited by this bill. Then there were the clerks of the Government offices, and of the largo private establishments. (Loud cries " Divide, di vide.") The hon. gentleman made haste to conclude by asking leave to bring in his bill. Lord PALMERSTON thought with the hon. gentleman that it was rather late in the session —(a laugh)—to bring in a bill on a subject of this kind, involving at least ono question which had excited great variety of opinion in the house. However, as he brought it merely for the purpose of recording his opinion, and submitting it for the consi deration of the public—(hear, and laughter)—and, as /I did not expect to carry it through during the present see. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said he was not about to censure the Government for having used their best endeavours to conciliate Austria, and obtain her concurrence in the measures which the allies had thought fit to adopt for the protection of Turkey ; for it was of the greatest importance to obtain the concurrence of Austria in those measures. He was not about to cen sure Austria for the caution which she had exercised, for it was justified by the peculiar position in which she was placed. He was not about to complain of the conduct Austria bad pursued since the termination of the negotia- tions at Vienna. He admitted that Austria had performed good service to the allies and to Europe. Shefound herself at the commencement of these transactions with an army much reduced in strength, and with her finances in a low condition. She had made an effort to place her army on a war establishment, and had placed it in a position threat ening to Russia, which had had the effect of diverting the forces of Russia from action in the Crimea. But not only had the armed position of Austria effected this object, but she had to consider her own position in Italy, in Hungary, and in Poland ; and no doubt her position of policy ! Perseverance. To accede to the proposed terms would not only not attain the object for which the war was undertaken, but would disgrace ourselves in the eyes of the world. Character was power ; we should have lowered ourselves in the sight of other nations, whilst our rival Russia would have ascended in the scale. She would have been considered by the Eastern nations as possessed of supreme power ; no one would have dared to oppose her, and the in fluence she had acquired in the West would have in creased a hundredfold. The chains of the German States would have been rivetted, and a severe blow would have been struck at oivilisation. (Hear.) He rejoiced, therefore, that the terms proposed were not accepted. He felt as deeply as any man could do the arduous nature of the struggle in which we were engaged, but he felt confident as to the result. In the seat of war we now occupied, with the command of the sea, we could maintain and support a much larger army than could be brought against us, and even with equal forces he did not doubt as to the result. But what were we to do in the event of success ? He ventured to say, if he might give an opinion at the risk of some little sarcasm from the noble earl, that we must destroy Sebastopol. That for tress had been constructed forthe subjugation of Turkey ; for 20 years the Russian Government had been expending enormous sums of money in order to make sure of that object. Its destruction, therefore, would be an act of re tributive justice, and would be so regarded by Turkey and by the world. A noble lord, distinguished in that house for his clearness and sagacity of intellect—the late Prime Minister—stated in one of his speeches last year, that if there was one thing more vital than another to the safety and indepen dence of the Turkish empire, and more fatally injurious to the power of Russia, it was the destruction of the fortress of Sebastopol, that this was the direct object of the war, and that which every one must have had in view from its commencement. If he were supposed to hold extravagant opinions, it was at least a consolation to him to reflect that he was sanctioned in them by the most cool-headed members of their lordships' house. The Duke of Newcastle, in his evidence before the late com mittee, expressed himself in the same terms ; and the noble lord who conducted the recent negotiations spoke of Sebastopol, in the other house of Parliament, as a for tress which every combination of art and science had been employed to make impregnable, and the continu ance of which could only be regarded as a standing me nace to Turkey. He might be warned of the dangers attending an eager pursuit of vengeance, but he could not forget that the same doctrine would apply to inor dinate and unmeasured ambition. He was not deterred by the misfortunes which assailed us during the last campaign, because he ascribed them to the misconduct ing of the war by the late Government. For 50,000 men, enfeebled by disease, the cholera raging among them, with a scanty supply of cavalry and a very insufficient materiel for operations in the field, at an advanced pe riod of the year to make an attack on the greatest mi litary power in the world, with the view of laying siege to one of its strongest fortresses, was a most injudicious enterprise. It was well known to every man that, as far as regarded siege defences, nothing would be stronger than the north side ; but there was some vague surmise that on the south side these defences were not complete. A little reflection might have satisfied any man that there could be no foundation for such a belief, since the com pletion of its fortifications was a favourite object with the late Emperor Nicholas. The design of the Govern ment was supposed to have been to surprise the place; but the Russian sovereign was not taken by surprise ; he had a sufficient noticefrom the declaration made by the noblelord then leading the other House of Parliament. Anyone who had read the work of General Mackintosh, who had had an opportunity of viewing the precincts of the fortress, must have been satisfied that there was no foundation for the belief to which he had alluded. It was supposed, also, that the Government were ignorant of the real strength of the military force which Russia had stationed in the Crimea, though they had it in evidence from the right honourable gentleman lately at the head of the Ad miralty, that a person thoroughly acquainted with the Crimea, and with Sebastopol, informed him that it num bered 70,000 men, of which 40,000 formed the garrison of that fortress. Now, it was an axiom in war that, in order to besiege a place with success, besides a covering army in the field, the besieging force should amount - Co three times the number of the army invested. It was hardly necessary to do more than state that proposition in order to satisfy their lordships / of the injudiciousness, the absolute extravagance of this undertaking. He knew he might be reproached with rashness in giving an opi nion on military matters, but some points wero so clear and apparent, that even a civilian might discover and ex pound them, and he considered this to be one. He must say also that he had not met with a single military man who had not expressed the same opinion. Sir Howard Douglas stated, while the siege was going on, that the undertaking was hopeless, and could never succeed, and if any person wished to know the foundation of that opinion let him look to the excellent publication of that gallant and distinguished officer, and the unanswerable reasons therein stated. Having forced the entrench ments of the Russian army at Alma, it was found vain to attempt to besiege the northern side of the place, with an army inferior to the besieged in force, and our efforts were therefore restricted to the southern face. The bombardment opened, and at the expiration of the very first day it was seen that a protracted siege must be looked for. Then commenced that series of suffer ings, painful, horrible, heartrending, which no language could exaggerate or even adequately describe. Strange to say, a Government composed of enlightened men expected to hear from day to day of the sur render of Sebastopol, and the noble lord then at the head of the Government, in an address delivered to the people of Aberdeen, said he thought it not improbable that at. that very moment the city might actually have fallen. The country saw with horror the indifference manifested by the Government during the last autumn, when, instead of every man remaining at his post to watch over an enterprise on which the result of the war depended, which involved the character of the Govern ment and the safety of our army, the members of the Administration, with one or two exceptions, spread themselves in all directions, some going to the High lands, some to their rural retreats, and a noble lord, to whom he bad more than once alluded, lecturing upon history to the agricultural audience of Bedford, and amusing with philosophical speculations the industrious inhabitants of Bristol. He could not be surprised at the indignation felt by the country, or at that me morable outburst of aggrieved feeling which overthrew the late Administration. As the ancient Romans elected a dictator in the crisis of their destinies, so the people looked out for some eminent statesman to repair our disasters and restore our fortunes, and the public voice was in favour of the noble vis count. How far the wishes and expectations which had led to the noble lord's elevation had been satisfied he would not say. But he begged to remind the noble vis count that those who depended on popular favour rested on an unstable basis, and that the people were apt, after a certain interval, like children, to break their favourite toys. In a moment of indignation they bad been known to destroy the idols an which they rested for sup port and defence, and the hierophants who engaged to perform a miracle were greeted, when it failed, with hoots and groans by the impatient populace. The Earl of CLARENDON thought his noble and learned friend, during three-fourths of the highly eloqtient speech he bad just delivered, had deviated so far from the subject of the motion of which he had given notice, that he was warranted in calling the attention of their lordships to this contradiction. Htis noble and learned friend in the early part of his speech made, as he was sure to do, a most able and lucid statement, though he was not aware of the practical utility of the course pursued, nor had his noble and learned friend offered any suggestions, or made any particular inquiries. His noble and learned friend had, however, adopted a tone in speaking of the late negotiations, and of our relations with foreign powers, of which he highly approved. It was a very different tone from one that had been too frequently held during the last few years, both in speeches made in that house and in writings out of it, and on which it had been more than once his duty to animadvert. He was sorry to say that the course pur sued by heated and over -ardent partisans in this country had done us much injury abroad, and especially in Ger many. When this war began we had with us the warm sympathies and good-wishes of four-fifths of the German people. They were exasperated by the thraldom in which their Governments were held by Russia, whose influence they well knew was directed to overawe Germany, to repress progress, and to extinguish freedom in every form. There was, therefore, at first, a feeling almost of shame amongst the Germans that England and France should be left alone in this contest. But he was sorry to say that this feeling bad greatly changed, in conse quence of the tone that had been adopted here towards foreign countries, and Germany particularly. There had been so little cordiality on the one hand or discrimina tion on the other, so little care to distinguish between our friends and our enemies, so great a proneness to consi der all those who were not entirely with us as being with our enemies, that a feeling of resentment had been en gendered against us, and extreme industry had been used, especially since the termination of the late confer ences, to spread abroad whatever could be injurious to this country. He rejoiced to perceive that his noble and learned friene did not add to these difficulties and embar rassments by the tone he adopted. For himself, he must speak under a deep sense of responsibility—(hear)—and in the position he had the honour to fill he was deter mined that he would not go beyond the strict line of his duty, and he would rather expose himself to the censure of their lordships for undue reserve than for indiscreet loquacity. (Hear.) In the few observations he was now about to address to their lordships, he would neither be the apologist of Austria nor her accuser. He agreed with his noble and learned friend, and he had said so on various occasions in that house, that Austria would have better consulted her dignity and interest, with respect both to Russia and Germany, if she had from the first adopted a firmer tone and assumed a more elevated position. He believed that she would have greatly promoted, nay, that she would have secured, the restoration of peace, and would have prevented those Russian intrigues and German compliances and submis. sions which Nve had witnessed. But Austria was a great and independent power, and although we might lament that her line of policy should not be identical with our own, we had no right and no reason to abuse her on that account. Like ourselves, she was guided by regard t t h e hr e e r st B w e n interests, u: sovereign engaged a we had no means of inducing wi her to d o t h at w hi ch she did not think was -for her own taysaswte territory,to us, it w i ati the extreme s o war points of w hi ch only were accessible rf the utmost importance to us to secure the alliance of a power whose interests were identical with our own, whose territory was contiguous to that of our enemy, and which had the n mans, and announced the intention, of CIRCASSIA, Lord J. MANNERS said the house was aware that all the forts on the Circassian Boast were now in the posses sion of the Circassians, and that, throughout the Confer ences at Vienna, no mention whatever was made of Cir cassia. The last despatch from Admiral Lyons stated that Mr. Longford had been sent to Anapa to superintend the political part of the question. He wished to ask in what capacity Mr. Lonford had been sent to Anapa, and what were the relations at present existing between her Majes ty's Government and the Circassian chiefs ? Lord PALMERSTON said that Mr. Longford was her Majesty's Consul at Monastir, and he had appointed that gentleman when he was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in consequence of his having passed much time in that country, and being well acquainted with its manners, habits, and language. When an operation was contem plated at Anapa, it was expected that the Circassian tribes would co-operate with the allies, and Mr. Longford was ac cordingly sent there, being well acquainted with the peo ple, as an organ of communication between the allied com manders and the Circassian tribes. There were no rela tions existing between her Majesty's Government and the Ciroassian chiefs, except those arising out of the en-opera tion in the attack upon Anapa. Mr. BAILEY asked in what capacity Col. Lloyd had been sent to Circassia last year, with a salary of 2,000/. ? Lord PALMERSTON said that Colonel Lloyd was ap pointed to open communications with the people, and to ascertain to what extent, and upon what terms, their co operation could be obtained. NEW WRIT FOR THE CIIY OF LONDON. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE moved the issue of a new writ for the city of London, in the place of Baron Rothschild, who, since his election, had entered into a contract for the public service. He said he might have proposed to send this question to a select committee, but he considered the law of the case was so clear that he could not agree to take such a shabby course. Ho read the terms of the act, and gave a history of the circumstances under which it had been passed, and contended that the provisions of the act would not be met if Baron Rothschild merely declined to take his seat., for in that way 50 members might vacate their seats and their constituents might be unrepresented. He quoted from Mr. Fox and other members who took part in the discussion when the law was passed, to show that it was intended to embrace contracts for money and obtained by public competition; and contending that the case was clear, he moved that the writ for the seat of Baron Rothschild do now issue. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL admitted that the iaw was as the hon. gentleman had stated it, though perhaps there were one or two ambiguous phrases in it. But, on the other hand, he must remind the house that loan con tractors had repeatedly sat in that house since the act was passed without any one challenging their seats; and on that ground, and also as Baron Rothschild was not in the house to defend himself, he thought it would be bettor to refer the question to a select committee. There was a precedent for this course in the select committee which was appointed to consider the case of Mr. Daniel Whittle Harvey, a member of this house, on his being appointed registrar of hackney carriages. Mr. WALPOLE seconded the amendment on the same grounds. Sir F. THESIGER contended that the precedent quoted by the Attorney-General was not applicable to this case. In the present instance there was no doubt as to the facts, and he held there could be as little doubt as to the law ; so that there was no reason whatever for the house delegating its functions to a committee, who were no more competent to the task than itself. It was very true that loan contrac tors had often sat in that house without challenge, but then a blot was not a blot till it was hit. It was not a lawyer's question at all ; every member of the house was as compe tent to decide upon the matter as he was. He would, there fore, support the hon. gentleman's motion. Lord J. RUSSELL thought the case was by no means so clear. The difficulty to his mind was that so many loan contractors had been allowed to sit in that house in former times without challenge from any one, and it was hard to believe that no one should have discovered the scope of the law till the hon, member for Finsbury applied his atten tion to it. He reminded the house further that all who had since taken shares in this loan had come under the terms of the act as much as Baron Rothschild. ➢ir. M. GIBSON also thought it likely that every mem ber of the house who had taken a share in the loan exposed himself to the penalties of this bill. He further called attention to the fact that the Secretary to the Treasury had violated the provisions of the act by allowing a mem ber of Parliament to take the contract, and that Baron Rothschild had incurred a penalty of EON. for every mem ber of Parliament to whom he had given shares of the con tract. Mr. HILDYARD denied that the act affected any one but the contractor; and, even were it otherwise, he de nounced the morality which would tamper with the provi sions of an act for fear it should affect themselves. After some further discussion, Mr. BRIGHT suggested that the morality of the coun try, and especially of Parliament, had outgrown the pro visions of this act, and proposed that it should be referred to this committee to consider whether the whole law re lating to contractors might not be repealed altogether. Lord PALMERSTON was in favour of sending the question to a select committee, and thought the suggestion of Mr. Bright well de•erving of consideration. Mr. DUNCOMBE then withdrew his motion, and the amendment for appointing a select committee was agreed to. CHARITABLE TRUSTS BILL (1855). The SPEAKER announced that the Lords had agreed to the Charitable Trusts Bill (1855). SEBASTOPOL COMMITTEE REPORT. Mr. ROEBUCK postponed his motion on this subject till Tuesday the 10th of July. SUNDAY BEER ACT. . . Numerous petitions having been presented against this act, Mr. H. BERKELEY rose to move fora select committee to inquire into the act of last session, for further regulating the sale of beer and other liquors on the Lord's-day. He said that when that bill passed into a law, it was hardly known to any member of that house. There were the names of three members to the back of that bill, which were a gua rantee for it ; but he thought these hon. gentlemen had made an oversight, and he opposed it on its third reading as a measure that would be one-sided in its operation,and that it only curtailed the enjoyment of the humbler classes. Every succeeding Sunday had betrayed the glarin. , injustice of that act. The greatest blessing that had bee:bestowed on the working classes was the facilities that had been afforded them of viewing the beauties of nature a.t a distance from home. Mang thousands of the populition had lived and died without having been five miles from their homes, and many of the inhabitants of London, though living on an arm of the sea, had never seen that glorious expanse of water. It was ridiculous to say that people who had been hard at work for six days should spend the seventh on their bended knees in some dingy chapel or church, listening to the oily outpourings of some canting Stiggins. He did not advocate a want of religion, but he did object to the in terference with the working classes, as this bill (lid. He would follow a working and a rich man through a Sunday's excursion. The poor man, when he had de termined on a day's pleasure, was up at five o'clock in the morning, locked up his house—having nothing in it he feared losing, and went forward depending on the pub • lic-houses for refreshment. When he arrived by the train he would find they were all shut, and would not be open until six o'clock; but then the train started by that time, and he was compelled to return, and got back to town too late for the public-houses there ; and thus, having been defrauded out of his dinner in the country, he was obliged , to go to bed supperless because he nad not a well-stocked larder. The rich man, on the other hand, could go whero he pleased, and there was not an inn that would not open its doors to him. He could there have luncheon, and when he returned home his larder would supply him with every luxury, and he could well afford to do without draught porter for one day in the week, when his cellars were well supplied by Messrs. Bass and Guinness. He could also, if he chose, go to his club, whose door was never shut, day or night, and could have whatever he desired. He might, if he thought proper, go to any hotel, who would willingly take him in. Therefore the law was one-sided in its ope ration, and he warned the house to beware how it tam pered with the enjoyments of the poor man. The hon. gen tleman then complained of the anomalousposit i on publicans were placed in by the total absence of any rule to guide them or the magistracy as to what constituted a traveller. Some magistrates held that a man in a post-chaise was a traveller, though in a fly he was not ; and one gen tleman held that brandy and water was not the refreshment of a traveller, but was the drink of a pleasure party. Mr. Trail, of Greenwich, will not allow parties on pleasure to come within the meaning of the act, while the more liberal bench of Ilford holds that any man going five miles along a turnpike road, for any purpose whatever, was to all intents and purposes a traveller within the meaning of the act. Mr. Hardwicke thought that a man stopping on his return near his own house was not a traveller, while Mr. Norton thought ho was. The hon. gentleman quoted numerous other instances to show the perplexity the public were 1( fs in as to what really constituted a traveller, the complaints sion, it would, perhaps, be discourteous in him (Lord Pal merston) if he were to offer any opposition to a bill brought in on such terms. (Laughter.) He wished to be under stood as not meaning to imply that, when the extension of the fraubhise should come to be considered, some exten sion might not be worthy of consideration. The hon. gen tleman had selected a test of qualification which, whatever might be his anticipations, as likely in the course of events, was not in its nature likely to be permanent ; but it had the advantage of beinc , * a test, while it lasted, of responsi bility and property. Ur der the circumstances, he offered no hostility to the bill. (Laughter.) Mr. DISRAELI said great complaint had been made of the printers' bill for the house, and the extreme readiness of the noble lord to assent had added an item which he thought was scarcely justifiable. The introduction of such a bill on a subject so exciting was something that almost perilled the tranquillity of the Parliamentary mind, The question was a large one, and had been brought forward in a manner worthy of the hon. gentleman. (Laughter and "Hear, hear.") But whether those persons who lived in apartments, and had their clubs, were to enjoy the pri vileges of those who were fathers of families, and to per form all the duties which they were obli g ed to perform— (loud laughter)—upon that point he ventured to express his dissent. However, the bill had enabled the noble lord to express the contingent view of what he might do when the extension of the franchise came before the house. The motion was agreed to, amid laughter, without a division. STAGE CARRIAGE DUTIES. General WYNDHAM moved a resolution to the effect that the duties on stage coaches should be modified, on the ground that those duties, by discouraging posting, had diminished the supply of useful and seasoned horses suit able for the army. Sir J. SHELLEY seconded the motion, and complained that while railways were taxed according to their earn ings, omnibuses and stage coaches were taxed per mile, whether they bad passengers or not. After some remarks from Mr. WILLIAMS and Mr. BRO. THERTON, Lord R. GROSVENOR asked why the duty had been reduced from 41. to lcl. a mile to the Manchester omni buses, while the London trade paid the old Dd. ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER admitted that the duty pressed heavily upon the omnibus and stage coach trade, and said that on the first opportunity their claims ought to meet with a favourable consideration, but he deprecated the passing of an abstract resolution on the subject. Mr. DISRAELI said that was no answer to the question why a favour had been granted to Manchester, which was denied to London and the rest of the country. He thought all our taxes on horses were too high. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER admitted that a special concession had been made to Manchester, on the ground that they had to compete with a railway. After some further conversation, Mr. MILES said he understood the duty was also re duced in the case of Messrs. Chaplin and Horne, in the metropolis. Lora PALMERSTON admitted that the duty with these anomalous modifications, could not be defended : and the motion was agreed to amid general cheering. Mr. SCOLEFIELD obtained the appointment of a se lect committee to inquire into the adulteration of food, drink, and drugs. Mr: I. BUTT obtained leave to bring in a bill to regu late the employment of females and young persons in bleaching, finishing, and dyeing works. The other orders of the day were disposed of, and the house adjourned. THE FRIENDLY SOCIETIES BILL. The following Peers voted in the majority in favour of Lord Ravensworth's amendment in the Friendly Societies Bill : DUKE. Shaftesbury BARONS. Northumberland Delawarr Wynford MARQUISES. Ellesmere Colchester Bath Lucan Dynevor ' Salisbury Powis Lyndhurst Drogheda Talbot Sondes Westminster Beauchamp Walsingham Winchester Macclesfield Downes EARLS. Leitrim Colville of Cufrom Derby Bantry Redesdale Eglinton Bandon Ravens worth Malmesbury Harrington Polwarth Strad broke VISCOUNTS. Pluuket Ellenborough Bangor Monteaglo Stanhope Hawarden Lilford Carnarvon BISHOP. Vaux Haddington Exeter. Wharncliffe Kingston Berners. PAIRS. AGAINST. Camoys Sudeley Rosebery Fitzhardinge Byron Durham Poltimore FOR. Orkney St. Vincent Farnham Forester Lanesborongh Cardigan Bradford SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE RACES. TUESDAY. The Trial Stakes. T.Y.C. Hospodar... ...... Fanny Bingham. - Five ran. Won by three lengths. The North Derby. Once round. Rotherham Dame Judith Hanover Seven ran. Won by a neck. The Tyro Stakes. T.Y.C. Van Galen Hebe Six ran. Won by a length. The Members' Plate. One mile and a quarter. St. Andrew CardFharper Caliph Fifteen ran. Won by a neck. The Selling Stakes. One mile. Outcast Haxby . Five ran. Won by a head. ROYAL THAMES YACHT CLUB. - - Yesterday a sailing match took place on the Thames between three schooners belonging to this club. The weather was fair, and the regatta proved attractive to a large company, who embarked at London•bridge at nine o'clock on board the steam-packet Prince of Wales, ex pressly engaged for the occasion. On reaching Graves end the regatta commenced, the schooners, of which a list is subjoined, starting from a flag-boat opposite that place at about six minutes before noon : Names. Tonnage. Owners. Shark Mayfly ll4 ......... Mr. G. P. Bidder. Wildfire _ The Dawn, belonging to Mr. Broadwood, was entered, but did not start. The Alayfl3i canted sound in good style and was the smartest in setting sail. The Shark fol lowed in close proximity, and the Wildfire was a bad third. In the Lower Hope the Shark shot ahead of her competitor, and kept the !lead throughout. The yachts rounded the Mouse Light in the following order : Shark 2h. 25w. . Mayfly Wildfire On the return voyage, so to speak, the Mayfly, during a temporary lull, gained slightly on the Shark, but never so much as to create a doubt of the result. The vessels reached the goal off Gravesend in the following order : Shark Mayfly Wildfire The prize, a sp l end i d cup, worth 100 guineas, wasac cordingly presented to Mar. Curling by Vice Commodore R. Green, who congratulated that gentleman on the .. s fact that he, so young a member of this club, bad by h i s excellent seamanship achieved so signal a victory. tean3 oir. packet Curling responded in a neat speech, and the then returned to London-bridge, where she asrrive_clesradfeAly. at about half-past 9 o'clock. In the absence of L at the regatta.' Paget, Vice-Commodore Green presided Among the company we observed Lord el. Parker, p Cap- Sir R. Carnac, Mr. Glatistanes, tains Wheeler (the treasurer), Sotitham ton, The fine band Clowes, Mr. J. Wean!' Air. Warrell, &c. tion of Mr. T t ' Blue, under the able direc Moore, and Primble, Mr. of the Royal Horse Guards Tut ton p a Mr. J. Watts did the the delight of the company. 1 yed throughout the day, much to honours of the refreshment department, all the arrange mentse of which were excellent. Seldom has a more agreeable day been spent on the bosom of Old Father Thames. RACING FIXTURES FOR 1855. JULY. Newmarket Carlisle Worcester 5 Lancaster Liverpool ll Odiham l3 Stamford l7 Nottingham l9 Abingdon l9 Marlborough 24 Chelmsford 24 Ludlow 24 Knutsford .25 Teignbridge 3O Goodwood 31 [ADVERTISEMENT .] TDB WAR IN THE EAST. --POWERFLT PATENT RECONNOITRING GLASSES.— Messrs. S. and B. Solo mous, opticians, 39, Albemarle-street, Piccadilly. Observe opposite the York Hotel. By her Majesty's Roy:1 Letters Patent for valuable and extraordinary improvements in the most powerful and brilliant Telescopes, Camp, Race course, Opera, and Perspective Glasses, to know the distances of objects viewed through them—of great importance to the army, navy, and others. These telescopes possess such extra ordinary powers that some 3i inches, with an extra eye piece, will show distinctly Jupiter's moons, Saturn's ring; and the double stars ; with the same telescope can be seen a perton's countenance three miles and a half distant, and an object from 16 to 20 miles. They are of larger and all sizes, with increasing powers accordingly ; while their vary ing from 4 to 6 inches enable us to discover more than tho above, and the Georgian, with his 6 satellites, 80.—The Royal Exhibition, 1881.—Valuable, newly-invented, very small, Powerful waistcoat-pocket glass,the size of a walnut, by which a person can be seen and known 1 i miles distant ; they answer game k e epers, and tourists. Opera, every purpose on the race-course, and at the opera house, country scenery, and ships are clearly seen at 8 to 10 miles. They are invaluable for shooting, deer-stalking, yachting, to Th e valuable advantage derives sportsmen, gentlemen race-course, ht a and verythawonderful power.—Newly-constructed Spectacle Lenses of the great camp, and perspective glasses, w ith great est transparent power. from this invention is, that vision becoming impaired is aged persons are most minute ocaL pation—can see with these lenses of a much less magnify ing e p n r a e b se le v d ed to an e d mp s l t o r y en t g h tehieruesdig power—and they do not require the frequent changes to the dangerous effects of further powerful assi • stance. Deaf ness—New Discovery.—The Organic Vibrator, an extraordi nary powerful, small, newly-invented instrument for deafness , entirely different from all others, to surpass anything rpass anythine , of the kind that Las been, or probably everbe,produced.' Being of the same colour as the skin, is can t tihla enables deaf persons to hear distinctly at perceptible ; it y . church and . at public assemblies ; the unpleasant sensation of singing lames in the ears is entirely removed ; and it affords all the assist ance that possibly could be tiocadiny. Observe —opposite desired. 39, Albemarle-Ereet, ppOsite the York Hot4ol. , COUNTRY MARKETS. LIVERPOOL—JUNE 29. A better attendance of .killers and dealers today, s d more business clone than of late. Wheat and flour firm, at last week's extreme prices, but the actual transactions were few. Oats and oatmeal at fully late rates. Barley ood demand for breauroses, and some quatt taken by Welsh purchasers p p at full prices. Beans declined Gd to Is, and Indian corn 2s to 2s Gd per qr. on the week, with desirous sellers of the latter article. IPSWICH—JUNE 26. We had only a small supply of wheat. The trade was not brink enough to make sales, but prices were very firm, and fully maintain last week's rates. No barley on offer, and we saw no other spring corn. TER PER QUAR. PER QUARTER. Wheat, red (old) 76s to 78e1Barley, grinding .. Ditto (new) —s to —s i ßeans ............... .., Ditto, white (new) 80s to 86-'P ~ eas .................. 40s to 4.,s Ditto (old) Barley, malting AVERAGES FOR TEM WEEK ENDING JUNE 23, 1855 ' —s to ---0 Wheat Oats Peas , 2O PP " 4 4 s Od Bears PP Barley HULL—JUNE 26. A good attendance of farmers, w ith a small show dam p s les f wheat. The market very firm, at fully the rate s obtai o nable NA market day, and in some instances theY were exceeded by is per qr. Foreign wheat unaltered: Not so much life in spring corn as last week. Linseed and its products are very lively, and cakes which have advawi nc t e b 15s per ton during the week seem likely t o go higherct at• a continuance of war—rape cakes consequently attra teution. Bones have declined 20s during the w eek ' 0 9 s 1 . to whitelish, red 76 to 70eas, grey and black pfn. Ditto Dantzic and Kouigs- !Ditto Petersburgh ... 8U to 82(Linseed, Black Sea... 6 6 3 6 t t : ' 6 :4 h berg ..... to ---- Pomeranianandllam- Da b n u is r li gi Alolstein, and Memel ............. 1 angel .............. :. 54 to 6 0 :. 74 to 80 Ditto Konigsberg 2.0 per Too. Friesland 6B to 72 - Od to 0 1 °B Russian and Odessa 63 to 68,Lins.c Aullll/ lls „ ad Oats, English Ditto Danish 28 to 30Ditto inf. for. Ditto Friesland Ditto Russian 29 to 31;Rape cakes...J.o, 385 to 44s Barley, malting Ditto gri ' nding...., 32 to 35'Ditto foreign ...... 81 tol 2l 5g Beansool 00 44 to 48 Guan0...... ...... 43 to 47 Bones ...... sOa to 120. i Od Ditto foreign Peas, w • lute and yel 44 to 461 Rye Meal .............. :0/ Os ... O3Ol/01)(0, COURSE OF EXCHANGE._yEsTEEDiI' . Amsterdam ............ 11 1814 Gibraltar .• •• "•• 7, •• 29 45 Ditto y three months .. 11 19% L. l torn •• "•••••.: . ..• 25 Rotterdam ............ 11 19% Genoa .......... .• •• :: Antwerp .......... „ „ 25 35 ) ),lilan ••••' • •• " .., ...• s , . Brussels .............. 25 35 Venice .• •• • • •..... ••••-.. ilamburgh ............ 13 7 Naples " • ****** • ..., 132 P a l e rmo .• • • •• •' •• .... 135334 24 .. • Ditto, thre ) months .. 25 40 Lisbon .. .... .... .• •.. 534 • ' • • • .... . ... Paris • "••-• . 25 15 Messina .. .. Bourdeaux ............ Marseilles ......... •• •• 25 40 Oporto •••• •• ' ~ ~.. Frankfort-on Maine .... 118 y Buenos Ayres. •- , sight ---. Berlin ............ „„, 4 New York, 60 days . ~... 12 26 Philadelphia •• •• ; c ' s ': . 0 1, oss. 0 9 Petersburg ............ 35% Trieste........ •• •..... 12 28 Rio Janeiro ...... ~... „... PRICES OF sat £3 .. n Madrid ......... „ . 50 Portugal Gold Coln •• •• ... , 11, Cadiz ..., „ .... ••• 50, 1 i Mexican Dollars .. •• u n •` •• • u 0 0 Foreign Gold in --"" O Vt Barcelona .......... New Dollars •• •• '. 0 0 Seville...". .......„.. silver in bars ••• • SEABORNE MAILS. --0.---...... (N olghlfles that the mails are sent from the ‘ ,13 - 8 T the night—and Mby the morning—deePatch') r, , , .al r‘st4flld° by the night—and M by the morning—slesl . NVlle n COUNTRIES. Day w hen mado up From What d u e in in General Poet - port - En glittla• Md. °atm London.* Dlspatc ~.................. —..-- ---------- Bach ll C ' d America(byllrit.paclON Every Friday .... Liverpool •• • i .mcricßkby United Sts. Jae , 21 packet) ..........N kmerica (by U. States packet) ..........N ..••••..•• So .... ...... t,prust:oo2oloo.• ,tristralia (via • South- or Jane 24 ampton) .......... Al ... • ..... • • SouthaloPt Ditto (via Marseilles) N •• • • Dover •• .• Ditto (via Cape of Good, vo rtaill Hope) •• • • ......Nr .......... • ~,.' .-: 'Jail 6 Africa (West Coast) ..N `l.3d of the month .. plyntoM.. Alexandria ...... ..NlB, 9, 24, & 30 of in . Dover ... : .:, pa 11exandria..........31 '4th & 20th of mon.lSoutharrlFw' Bahamas ...........M 1 1 7th of the month Sou ttLun2t en I Belgium .. ...... .. ..N! Daily ...........• DOW .• •.,': 1 jos 16 Brazil ............ •. M 9th of the month.. SouthatuiDin 'July 1 ~. Buenos Ayres .. .. .. .. 3 , 1 9th ol" the month .. Sou th aM. t ( 2f i thl eertt' Cape of Good Hope ~N ya rloo3 Pori' Cape of Good ..N Cape de Verde .H0pe.....N 9th of the month S outha mpto n ' , Ceylon (free India) Ceylon .............,N toy ThAli ~ ~, r Channel 151e5.... „NI Mon ~Wed.,&Frl4 . Souti.a —P tro . Chi1i..................mi 2 d & 17th of Wroth •BouthautP 1 ! Ju ly 20 China ... . Constantinople ......N8,13,18, 2 3,U 2 S of n D o ver ...: • O S Constantinople ......., kith & 20th of mon Sont110 03 0` d" WO Tic Cont. of Europe M & N Twice daily ...... Dover •• •• " cam' Egypt (see India) France ........ M & N Twice daily ...... Dover .• •'' °P 4ibraltar . India) MIA, 7, 17, 20, 27 dm SoUtlu allP Greece (see July 1 are town Ml2nd & 1 7th of mon . SouthsroPl° I flarnburgh .. ...... N 'Tuesday & Frith* Louden • ••, 0 ';, jail Savannah ml2nd of the montl SouthamPo' jpaila Holland 1,4 Daily.... • • ...... Dove r ....:, g all '0 Honduras ki 17th of the month. SouthanlP` .11(tS , India (vlaSouthampt )M,lth & 20th of mon. PlylllPalb • I India (via Marseilles)34l9th& 25th of rnontl Dover •• " '., 'SO lonian Isles (see India) 7, 17, & 27 of moo Dover•• •• .. l/latie- o , Ireland ........M & N 'Twice daily ...... Holyhea d - " Vane `" Lisbon.. .... .. .. 3.1 '7, 917&27 of m. Southampton, •1 , , Nladeira N 9th of the month SoutharriPtaa lof I '4adeira N 23d of month .... LiverP oel . Malta (see India) Malta ...........„ „,ls 8,18, &28 of mon. Dover ••••• Mauritius (see India) Mauritius N 14th of the month ate!, July I Mexico ..• •• •• •• •• ••1.1 2nd of the month. SostatanS. Naples N sthlsth2sthormon.. Dover ... :I; New Granada Y Id& 17th of month SouthoO ri' fraCer l° New Zealand „, By private skip .. Various porn Papal States N 'ithlsth2sthofmon. Dover •• •_•_•. Peninsula • 311 7thi7th27thotbion Southampton _ Peru .....„ .......„ NI 4d Sr 27th of mon. gouthainPul. m ortal. Port Natal ........ „N By private ship... Various Poi"' Sicily N 5 thloth2sthofmon. DOVar . • • • • • Tuscany .... .. .. .. N ithisth2sthofmon. Dover •• ••,!_; l a 1 Venezuela ........ „M 2t1,40 17th oftnonth Southall:11)1o. - Van Diemen'sLand (sec i j Australia) .. Trost Indies ...„ .. „„it 2d & 17th of month iSontl. 1 nAll qi be d a ' When any of these dates fall on a Sunday, the malls spatched on the following day, w ith the excep tion of tile tbe Southampton), and the Malta, both of which will be deepatc cu preceding day. • ...... , ---------- - ADirERTISEMENT.-WO have read with much pleasure __, Barry's re port on the cure of diseases without niedicin?.% Du Barry's Food. The following are a few extracts N,,.....,° appear to merit the attention of many :—Cure No. 47, 1,1 Miss Elizabeth Jacobs, of Nazing Vicarage, Walthatnerosi. g athe r _ Hefts: a cure of extreme nervousness, indigestion, ings, low spirits, and nervous fancies. Cure No. 48,314.'74 Miss Elizabeth Yeoman, Gateacre, near Liverpool: a cur! . From om years' th e po dyspepsia wager and oi t a n i t l e ss theno r t c • a s o rs t 1 e o s f t n u e a r r v t —Rosstrevor, County o.f DOWD, Ireland, 9th Pee., 1854, _ The Dowager Countess of Casticstuart feels induced, in tr .. interest of suffering humanity, to state that Du Barry's 0 4,. ° : us cu irri re t s ab2s,l6l l . cell ant Revalenta Arabica Food has cured her, al' t all medicines had failed, of indigestion, bile, nervousness and irritability of manse years, standing. ,lye, Food deserves the confide.nee legall sufferers, and may be el sidered a real blessing. En qui will be cheerfully answere • In c anisters, 11b. 2s. 9d.; 21b. 4s. 6d.; 51h. lls ; 121 b. Off'''. The 121 b., carriage free, can receipt of Post-office'order )3?„t"'i Du Barry & Co., 77, Re; gent-street, London • •Ilse a't . 1 -°; Piccadilly ; 60, Graceehux ch-street ; 330, and ' 4'51, SOO": 4, Cheapside ; 60 and 68, Co: 1111 M ; 49, Bisho sgate-stret 55, Charing-cross; 54, Upper Baker-street; P 63 an d pall: iv: Oxford-street ; 89, High-street, Camden-town• 18, ~,,,% mall; 7, Pall-mall-East ; 132, New Bond-street• 24, r a i ,i comb-street ; 13, King AV illiam-street City 30: elf" - r street; 21, Cockspur-stre , :t ; 95, Farrino - d n-street ; u" 6 Paul's Churchyard ;6, Ed ward-street, P 7), t ° n , n- squa re ' a _........... B 1 R. T 11 S. OF A SON. )301 0 " On the 23d inst., at 42, Thurloe-square, the Ladle.,..- til wifeoloes On ho ?sth inst., at Bromley- c ommon, J.-e xit ' art, of the Rev. A. Rawson. Been t's•P On the 25th inst , at 4, Chester-plseeP ..., to the wife of the Rev.. John G. Lonsdale. , g a dre"' On the 2 . -ith inst., the wife of Mr. Vir• C . - Rege nt's' , v , tt 6, Hayn iarket. On Um 24th inst., at 6, Park-vi ll age' es park, tha wife of Thomas E. Chitty. OP A DAUGHTER . W ife o f Joe. On the 26th inst., at 5, Eaton-plsee, th e ar fire- C hes. Heywood , Esq M.P. On the 26th Ist., at 25, Hyde - P erl°clll—e, le Of .1. Hill. A. the ° I On the 2r.th inst., at Ridge House, liee - "' 59th W. Teas y. Esq• jboddar, On the , 22d inst., the wife of Brevet-JO°. Regiment. 1 8 /11. u re r e n e tE h - t , he N 2 e 3 lB:: :B s t q . u , are. MARRIED. rola' On the 1 1 .3 d inst., at Christ Church, Blickfrilg; °1 street,iw a d to So s T o o r na h lc ia i n A s ;mei.a, younger youngson eosf 31 r. 1` 99:1 . 4 ' M P t daUght\el u 3 030 0 On the 2.5 th inst., at St. Mary's Church, Reading.,,,egeoC shire, Robert, Brou Barry, Esq (laughter of the late James Dorothea._... „f Cii or mes White, .t.sq. , ' Surrey. nix fora ° • Y to Isabella White, the y , t . .. 0 0, g a h t -W He a a t d so in n g o t E on s in the East Ftigling, to Maria, third da*ghter of w George Davenport, Esq., of &ford. DlED.qp,.aroifslissychaunricat,..ealooter, lif l° A 0 1. 1.° 0- On the 24th inst., in Eaton -square, the 1 4 4, 9 -1 , , i Cl° Sophia Scott, fourth daughter a the late -oa r ` - one °f melt. On the 24th inst., Thomas Wood , Esq., forme! 9 the Aldermen of the city of Londo n, a g ed 69..... 9 ~,aeoc l4 On the 24th inst., at Clapham - ris e, Cuthbert "" ,htohl 0 fel Esq., aged 77. - On the 23d inst., at Rusko House, Sirlccu dbrii , a, IA N. 8., Michael M`Chlery, Esq., of Finsbury' l' ~ don, aged 48. Iff j"' On' the 31st tilt. before Sebastopol, of fever, be' Simpson, Esq., M.D., of the 17th Foot. ;11 6° 0, On the 2d ult. killed whilst on duty in the tree. Atieer fore Sebastopol, 'Lieut. J. H. S. Carter Royal 'fine ' eldest son of Rear-Admiral Carter, aged2l. so us ed s, e On the 16th inst., at 14, Brand.street, Blandfora- „, a Captain Thomas Gould, late of the Dorset Mil %ti 44°1 * 75. On the 22d inst., at Southampton -place, Digo IN o # l6 ' Richard Goodwin, Es , aged 52. On the 24th inst., at . 27, Dove r - s t r eet, Mary ( 111.‘•• tho wife of Dr. Pari3. .* i 0......: . 4u, ---- - - -t) • e- a LONDON: Printed and Published by MURDO 'Sr ) °. I'l'4 of No. 112, Strand, Printer , at T he Sun Offlor p. •14 ty 0 Strand, in the Precinct of the Sa vo y . in tb i o ° l/13 Middlesex, Wednesday, June 27, 1865* i i ~i L~ N k tgt