The Sun. — London, England, 1855-05-12 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIANIEN T. HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.) The LOB.D CaesonLon took his seat on the woolsack sit five o'clock. THIRD READINGS. The following bills were read a third time and passed: —Torquay Market and Slaughter-houses ; and Great North of Scotland Railway. LEGAL MEASURES BEFORE PARLIAMENT. Lord ST. LEONARDS rose to ask a question of her Majesty's Government with respect to certain legal measures now before Parliament. The question he wished to put was, what course her Majesty's Govern ment intended to pursue with respect to the Testamen tary Jurisdiction Bill ? He wished also to know wha t it was intended to do with respect to the Ecclesiasti ca l Courts, and the amount of compensation to be given to the officers whose duties would be abolished by the passing of the legal measures now before Parliament ? He also wished to know what course was to be pursued with respect to the Tenants' Compen sation _ (Ireland) Bill ? He thought it was impossible for any man who had the slightest regard for the rights of . pro perty to approve of the retrospective principles of that bill. (Hear.) He was also des irous to know theinten tions of the Government with regard to the Court of Chancery (Ireland) Bill. When he (Lord St. Leopards) wasin Ireland he found the judges fully ably to tran sact all the, judicial business brought forward ; and he did hope that it was not the intention of the Govern ment to encumber this bill with the appointment of judges which were not required. The LORD CHANCELLOR said with regard to the Testamentary Jurisdiction Bill, Government had considered it most convenient to introduce the bill into the House of Commons, as their lordships had already given it their approval. He had reason to believe that in the form in which it now,stood it would receive the sanction of the other house. Government had also pre pareda bill nearly similar for Ireland, which it was not deemed expedient to introduce until the English bill was disposed of. The other material points connected with the reform of the ecclesiastical courts were those of di . vorce and clergy discipline. 'The Government had pre pared a Church Discipline Bill, and had submitted it to the bishops for consideration. Some of the bishops had expressed their appr - Oval of it, but others of them had expressed considerable disapproval of it, and he had been engaged during the last few days, and would be engaged on the following day, in endeay.uring t° Jelfettaila the exact point of which they die , a PPrArfcl. , With _regard to the Irish Tenants Coinpen "ficiSl Aill,"he agreed witlelis noble and learned friend that theaubject 'was important. He had quite as little sympathy as his noble'and learned friend with the doe trineof retroepeetive compensation, but he was of opinion that - the "case ofthe Irish tenant was an exceptional case; Vihich . fOr the peace of society it was important to deal within an exceptional manner. Lord CAMPBELL would respectfully tender his advice to the Government. He had offered it to them before in private, and now he begged to give it them in 1 a public manner. He would offer them his respectful and earnest advice, that before any measure for law referrawas introduced it should be properly considered, and all who were to take part in carrying it should be consulted. Before such a measure was introduced in either House of Parliament, there should be an arrange ment amongst all the members of the Government to support it in both Houses of Parliament. The Marquis of CLA.NRICARDE expressed his satisfaction at hearing , that—the Government proposed to do away with the Encumbered Estates Court, and to provide a substitute for it by the introduction of cer tain amendments into the practice of the Court of Chancery. The grievance arising from the operation of the Encumbered Estates Court was very great indeed, not to those under its operation, but to all those outside its operation. The value of real property throughout Ireland was affected by those operations, becani3 the forced sales in that court led to the depreciation of the whole rental and property of Ireland. Lord BERNERS moved for a return of regiments of militia embodied in each month to the preseet time, stating the effective force of each when embodied, and at the pre sent time ; the number who had volunteered from each regiment previous to and since their last trainin : ; the number re-attested within the month stated in circular, distinguishing those retained for future training ; and number of those discharged in consequence of their wives and families becoming chargeable to their .ear,shes. Lord PANMURE was sorry to find that the noble lord had thought it necessary to revive a subject that bad been already submitted to the house, and by the introduction of which the ranks of the militia regiments had been to a certain extent depopulated. The period of &month had been fixed upon in the circular in conse quence of a statement made to him by several officers of militia, that after a month's absence amongst their friends, many of the men, having spent their money, would.voluntarily return. Therefore he had fixed in the circular one month as the period during which, if they rejoin the force, the 11. should be paid to them. ESTATES BILLS. The LORD CHANCELLOR called the attention of their krtlships to the subject of Estates Bills, and laid on the table a bill to provide for the cheaper and more expeditions grantirt of powers hitherto obtainable only through; special acts of Parliament. The noble and learned lord said the necessity for the legislation he pro possod,..arese from the fact that the greatest prop.rtion of the landed estates in the country was held by persons who were not the allsolate.owners in fee simple, but who had only a limited interest. In consequence t‘f the owner not being-the absolute owner he was not able to deal with his property in the most beneficial manner either for himself or his family, or for the community at large, unless by private acts of Parliament. Thee pri vate bills were attended with great expense. He had a list of sixteen cases of private bills taken at haphazard within the last five years, and he found that the aver age cost of these sixteen bills, which were for lenging, for sales in exchange, or for mining, was 1,2701. There were fourteen or fifteen of these bills every year brought in, so that from 17,0001. to 20,0001. a year was spent on— this species of private legisla tion. But that wax', not all, for though 1,200/. was the average cost, persons having small properties were absolutely debarred from obtaining the required powers, except at a ruinous coat. He- proposed by this bill to enable. tenants far` life, unless where the settle ments forbade such a power, to grant agricultural leases for a tlirm, not of 21 years, as was done by the act of Henry VIII., but for a, term not exceeding 14 years. In the case of mining leases he proposed that a certain portion of the rent should be retained for the benefit of the inheritance. Lord LYNDHURST approved of the principle and object of the bill. Lord CAMPBELL also expressed his concurrence in the principle of the bill and its objects, and he hoped that those objects would be effectively carried out. The bill was read a first time. AFFIRMATIONS (SCOTLAND) BILL • The report of this bill was received. FISHERIES (BRITISH ISLANDS AND FRANCE) BILL. The house then went into committee on the Fisheries (British Islands and France) Bill, and agreed to all its elauses.: CHARITABLE TRUSTS (1855) BILL. The Charitable Titieta (1855) Bill passed through com• mittee. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—YESTERDAY. The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. The Hartlepool Gas and Water Bill, and the Folke stone Improvement Bill were read a third time and passed. - The following bills were considered, and ordered to be read a • third time :—Aberdare Valley Railway ; Dun dalk and Blackrock Railway ; Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway ; Glasgow and South-Western Railway ; Lon don Necropolis and National Mausoleum. The following bills were read a second time : Bill's Estate ; Downing -street Public Offices Extersion ; Woolmer Forest ; and National Loan Fund Life Assu rance Society (Stamp duty on Memorials thereupon). PETITIONS. - - Petitions were presented by Sir J. Walnisley, from a congregation in Loughborough, p ray i ng for the abolition of church rates; by Sir S. a petition very numerously signed by the ileabitants of No r 'icil against the Sunday Beer Bill; also petitions for the ,boli tion of church rates ; by Mr. T. Egerton, from Run..orn, against the grant to Mayoooth ; by Nlr. E. Ball, several petitions from Cambridgeshire against the Mayn ioth grant ; also, several petitions for the abolition of ("lurch rates ; by Mr. Cobden, several petitions from York Shire against church rates; by Mr. Lowe, two, petitions l'rora New South Wales against the constitution sent 1n me by the Legislative Council, and praying the house to take the framing of a constitution into their own hands ; also a petition from Kidderminster against church etes ; by Sir W. Clay a number of petitions from metropolitan parishes against church rates. THE VIENNA NEGOTIATIONS. Mr. M. GIBSON gave notice that he should move on the earliest day available that a humble addr' ss be Presented to her Majesty to thank her for the p -oto cola laid upon the table of the house, aria to represent t o h er M a j esty t h at t h e assen t of Cllanr ?e, Engl an d, A ustr i a, R uss i a, an d T ur k ey , i'. the oiple of the four original articles, which forme ,, the • Of tl ae.negotiation, offered a re a s o nable ex-ecta unix that e h otTenc i scaeinite di ay z diatti ar might be terminated, and to ii.form the house have heard with nuch broken t.,_ third as to the precise mode of corn be brok en ofc.A.-ivrr•littea.darilAtiilielicazused the negotiatior. s tl Mr. PELL Attorney or Solicitor Ge lilinuaiblerilorlt of the Commissioner ' s of neral, when the Patents, required by to be presented annually to str':ol.ll6:bicetlai., ed.uBp3i,:itti3l, counts up to December 31, 185.:e house-, tbwaittlith:repor: table ? u pon the table The ATTORNEY-GENERAL rept was an annual one, and would be l aid ed u about the same time as last year. OFFICERS' STAMPED RECEIPTS. Major FEILDEN asked the Chancello r of the Ex chequer, whether officer s in the arm y a nd the ki 'tic were bound to give a stamped receipt for their p ay , to the paymaster, every fortnight, or whenever they ri ight S IT -, N be_paid.an amount exceeding fort y shillin g s ? ~,, , _,_.‘ - • = --- .. z .,,,: - , ; - -d-- ---- !::. that no stamped receipts whatever were re , I',.' „ ''.-1::;;,.,,,i-..:_,%.: . , tor any description of military pay, either for -' - A '-',• : 7.4.4t,.. - "r!%;; 1 4 Ose,regular service or on half-pay. (Hear..) - V.k._\4- 1,,,,,,, , .? 4 . :ii i,,, :‘ ,-,;. -PAYMENT OF COSTS. ' l\ ' ' '' . . l ),,' , , 1 7-77 i4 Wlienat ~"., . ."4 1(I NSON asked the Attorney-General \--: - . 4- ''-":` i.:;i:' , ..stiati r • '""` his intention to propose an alteration it, the . ill. ve , • Z Ati.‘(l, \k' -1 ' la with regard to the payment of coats by . . the Crown, in cases where a verdict was given for the defendant. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said considerable alteration had been made in the law in this respect lately, and he proposed to bring in a bill to extend the principle of that mode of payment of costs still further. RAILWAY ACCIDENTS. Mr. SCOTT asked the Vice-President of the Board of Trade whether her Majesty's Government is about shortly to introduce into Parliament the bill which, on the 15th day of March last, they announced it to be their intention to bring in this session, for the prevention of railway accidents. Mr. BOUYERIE replied thab his colleague in the House of Lords intended shortly to bring in a bill to that effect. PRACTICAL JOKES IN THE ARMY. Mr. STANLEY asked the Under Secretary for War, if the Commander-in-Chief had ordered any court of inquiry to examine into the late transactions at Can terbury amongst the officers of the Enniskillen Dra goons, and into the causes which led to a hostile meet ing, or, as is reported, mock duel, between Cornets Baumgarten and Evans, in which Adjutant Webster and Serjeant Brodie were concerned ; if Serjeant Brodie had been again placed under arrest for any offence ; and if he had been dismissed from his duties as serjeant saddler, and lost the custom of the officers Mr. PEEL said the cases of the officers concerned in those transatiens were at this moment undergoing inves tigation by orders of the Horse Guards, but the result was not yet made public. With respect to Serjeant Brodie, it was true he was placed under arrest a second time, and the reason was that he had falsely accused one of the officers of the regiment of having borrowed money from him ; but as there was reason to believe there had been some pecuniary transactions between them, Serjeant Brodie was directed to be released. It was not true that he had been deprived of his situation as sergeant-saddler. FRENCH MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. In reply to Mr. T. DUNCOMBE, Lord PALMERSTON said it was true that an appli cation had been made to the French Government to allow a commission of ufflitary officers from this coun try to' proceed to Paris to examine and report upon the condition of the administration of the French army. ' That application was received with all courtesy . by the French Government, but as those communications were, he might" say, of a sconfi dential nature,' and related solely to the international relations of the French army, he did"not feel inclined to lay the report upon the table without a previous com munication with the French Government. (Hear.) THE ENCAMPMENT ON THE CURRAGH OF KILDARE. Mr. E. BALL asked the Clerk of the Ordnance whether the. Camp at the Curragh of Kildare was com pleted and ready for occupation ; if not, how many of thB huts were actually erected and finished ; how many more may be considered as half finished : whether any and what quantity of materials are provided and de livered on the ground for the remainder : and, what was the clause in the contract as to completion, both as to the time named, and penalty for non-performance ? Mr. MONSELL replied that the encampment was not yet completed, but 53 soldiers' and 25 officers' huts were completed ; 122 huts were half finished, 107 formed, and the contractors would give over next week huts for 2,000 men. As to materials, a very large supply was on the ground. The contractors were bound, in case of non-fulfilment of their contract, in a penalty of 10 per cent. on the amount of their tenders. THE TOBACCO TRADE. On the motion of Mr. H. G. LANGTON, returns were ordered of the several seizures made, and of the prosecutions for breach of the laws relating to tobacco, between the sth day of January, 1852, and the sth day of January, 1855—distinguishing those in Great Britain from those in Ireland ; specifying the places where, and the names of the persons prosecuted, or from whom the seizures were made ; the quanti ties and kinds of goods seized ; the precise nature of the offences charged or f o r whch the seizures were made ; the results of the examinations of the goods by analysis or otherwise, when seized for adulteration ; whether any and what judicial proceedings were taken in each case ; the result of such proceedings, whether convicted or otherwise ; amount of fine paid, or impri sonment suffered • whether the goods seized w e re con demned or restored (so far as relates to the Excise branch of Inland Revenue, and in continuation of Parliamen tary paper, No. 364 of session 1852-3). ORDER OF BUSINESS ON MONDAY. Mr. RICARDO wished to ask the noble lord at the head of the Government what business he proposed to bring forward on Monday? There were two bills in which he took some interest —one, the stamp on bankers' drafts, and the other partnerships' bill—and he wished to ask when they would be brought forward ? It was gene rally supposed they would be brought forward on Mon day, but that arrangement bad been altered by pre cedence being given to the motion of the hon. member for Aylesbury. Lord PALMERSTON replied that there were seve ral motions of importance before the house which should be advanced a stage before these measures were pro posed. It should, however, be fully made•knowu be fore the house adjourned this evening what course the Government would pursue with regard to them. Sir S. NORTEICOTE said that, with regard to the Partnerships Bill, so strong a feeling e34sted in the country with regard to it, that be thought it ought to be introduced in the other house if there was no probabi lity of its being introduced there. Lord PALMERSTON said it should be proceeded with on the earliest day consistent with the state of other public business. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE SEAT OF WAR. Mr. GROGAN wished to ask the noble lord at the head of the Government, whether it was true, as re ported, that a telegraphic message bad that day been received from the seat of war—and, if 89, what was its purport ? Lord PALMERSTON--I can assure the house there can be no possible disposition on the part of the Govern ment to withhold any information, good or bad, which is interesting to be known. I am informed that the sub stance of the information received to-day is in the even ing papers relative to the attack on part of our lines by the Russians, and which attack was defeated with great gallantry and success on the part of our troops. But I would just suggest this for consideration :—These telegraphic despatches necessarily came to ns in cypher. Every body conversant with these matters knows that if you get the cypher on the one side and the decypher on the other, the cypher is very soon of no use. Therefore it is impossible for the Government, in communicating in telligence coming by telegraph in cypher, to give the precise words, or anything approaching to the precise words. (Hear, hear.) LORD RAGLAN'S DESPATCHES. On the motion that the house, at its rising, do adjourn until Monday, Lord HOTHAM said he was anxious to take the liberty of asking the noble lord at the head of the Go vernment a question connected with a notice given by the honourable and learned gentleman the member for Sheffield, and which was on the paper for the day. It would be in the recollection of the house that on the occasion of the examination of the Duke of Newcastle before the Sebastopol Committee, his grace laid before the committee a despatch written by himself to Lord Raglan, containing the orders of the Government with respect to the expedition to the Crimea and the siege of Sebastopol. The production of that despatch necessarily created a desire to see the reply re turned by Lord Raglan. The committee did not, however, exercise its authority in calling for the production of that reply, but instructed the chairman to communicate with the Government as to the propriety of its being produced. He therefore wished to ask the noble lord whether he could give an assurance that, consistently with his public duty, he could still present to the house such extracts as should not inevitably alter the tenour and character of the original, and should give a fair and consistent account of the opinions of Lord Raglan on this important topic. Lord PALMERSTON said that no doubt it would be in the power of the Government to give that despatch in such a shape as would completely answer the objects of the committee. THE MAYNOOTEI COMMISSION. Colonel GREVILLE Aked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether it was true that Mr. O'Ferrall, one of the commissioners for inquiring into the College of May nooth, and the two secretaries to the commission, had been summoned to London, and examined as to the ch cumstances connected with the transmission of the evi dence and report to Rome, and the alleged additions and alterations in the evidence without the knowledge or sanction of the commissioners? Mr. HORSMAN, in reply, said it was true that the gentlemen referred to had arrived in London ; and from inquiries made of them, be could afford the explanations required by the hon. gentleman. The only alterations were, that when the evidence was seen by the R.,man Catholic dignitaries whose territorial titles were not recognised by the secretaries, those prelates insisted upon inserting their titles. The honourable gentleman then went through correspondence at some length from Earl Harrowby and other commissionere, in order to prove that the evidence now before the house was, in fact, the same as that taken before them. In regard to the assertion of the member for North Warwickshire tbat territorial titles were given in evi dence, it did not rest on good authority; and with respect to the evidence having been transmitted by Dr. Cullen to Rome, and undergoing many olaanges and corrections, it was true that the evidence was left with Dr. Cullen, which wag an irregularity he had no wish to explain or ex tenuate ; but the documents showed that the evidence now before the house, if compared with the original transcript, would be found word for word. The hon. gentlemen entered into other charges made by the hon. member for North Warwickshire, and said if he thought further inquiry necessary, the Government bad no ob jection to grant it, and the commissioners courted it. Mr. SPOONER stated that the letter of Lord Har rowby gave a most inaccurate account of the conversa tions which he bad held with that noble lord, and de clared on his honour as a gentleman that the version of these conversations he gave in his speech on Mayoooth was the true one. He complained also that, though on the authg Harrowby was present and heard his speech in the Lord frien hr,se, and though they were on terms of intimate taiararpeperrie:ented their conversation. With regard to he to represented yet his lordship never intimated to him that would institute the with the evidence, he made that charge Mr. lIORSMA.VI the R. D o 3ty of two gentlemen, one of whom was ler. of Dublin. He hoped the house quiry into the whole subject. under which the he n Wis hed hon. was labouring, im T pr h e e ss e i e o: contrary, immedia.teqlet Passive statements that had beenseeing retaries had not rein.a* and silent. On the in the newspapers the made, they addressed a letter ' THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY .EVENING, MAY 12 1855. , f to Lord Hariovaby, requesting him to do them the jus tice to which they were entitled. The subject then dropped. REORGANIZATION OF .... THE ARMY DEPART direction in all matters in which unity is pessible—to brine all the military eepertmeets of the erns , r elle su preme directing control. Therefore, the provision of stores, the manufacturing of all those things which the Ordnance manufacture--the manufacture of arms, of cannon, and of ammunition—everythin g connected with the con struction of fortifications and barracks—in fact, all the civil business of the Ordnance will be pieced under the distinct control of the Secretary for War. He will, of course, have under him separate subordinate heads for the different branches of the ordnance service. The consequence will be that the commissariat, department, the medical department, and the ordnance department will come under the immediate control of the Minister for War. The next point is the examination of the accounts. This is a department of great importance. It is a department hav ing business to do which must be done, and be done under some reponsible head. The offices of the Secretary-at-War and the Secretary of State for the War Department have already been united in the person of Lord Panmure. The Secretary of State will continue to be the head of the de partment which examines the accounts of the officers. This will tend, so far as public expectation goes, to the consolidation of the military departments in one head, for the purpose of giving unity of action anti prompti tude of execution. (Hear, hear.) The arrangements which we propose to make have been partially effected, and will be immediately completed. They will, I trust, as far as possible, accomplish all we desire. Of course there will be an official head, who will have under him all these different departments and their political management. By political management I mean the direction of the troops, he direction ofexpeditione, and everything connected with the political relatiods of the country. He will alsohave that which has hitherto been the duty of the Secretary at. War. He will also have the direction of the commissariat, of the land transport, of the naval transport, and of the medical and ordnance departments ; and all these departments will therefore be brought under one head. I know that some persons have thought that the principle of consolidation ought to be carried still further. There are persons who think that the Minister for War ought to be that which the Minister at War is in some countries—to be the Com mander-in-Chief, and to have the charge of the discipline of the army, as well as of the political relations and civil branches of the service. I confess that I, for one, am not of that opinion. I think that there are practical objec tions to it, both as regards the interests of the service and as regards other feelings connected with the working of the oonstitution. The country is under parliamentary government. Its Government are liable to change from time to time, and they must be composed of men of poli tical character. Well, sir, if the Minister for War is to be the director of the discipline of the army, he must al ways be a military man. I think that it would be fetal to th'e character and spirit of the army to have a civilian at the head of the army. Ido not think any army could feel respect fur a chief who is not a military man. His praises will be invelid, and his censures not attended to with re spect. It is absolutely necessary, in my opinion, that the head of the army, the judge of the merits and demerits of its officers, should be a military man. It is impossible upon all occasions, and in all changes of Governments, that there should be a military man who has so de voted himself to political matters, who should be pointed out by circumstances as able to represent the army in the Cabinet I think it very undesirable that such an arrangement, should be made. lam of opinion that if all the patronage of the army should be dispensed by a member of the Government of the day, it would be an arrangement open to grave and serious objections. I think the present arrangement ought to be continued. There is great advantage in having the discipline of the army supsrintended by a military man, not a member of the Government of the, day, and in having the patronage of the army dispensed by a man not connected with the political party which may at the moment 'se at the head of affairs, tut who will be at the head of the army. It is im possible for any man, however pure his motives or correct his judgment may be, to meet with universal assent on every occasion on which he has to exercise a choice. Com plaints, therefore, must always be expected when the army is governed by a military man ; but I will ask any gentle man, would not these complaints be multiplied in an infi e nits degree if the patronage of the army were dispensed by any parson sitting on the Treasury bench, or a member of either House of Parliament? He would be open to every kind of imputation, and, of course, men are naturally go verned by motives; and it is quite clear that the induce ments to allow favour and partiality to overpower his judgment of merit would be tenfold greater on the part of a person belonging to Government than they could be in the breast of a man who has no other object than the character end officering of the army at the head of which it is his good fortune to be placed. I have stated what has been lone, anti what we are immediately going to complete. I think these arrangements will accomplish great and im portant results, and be greatly to the advantage of the military branch of the public service. These things are, however, matters which cannot be made perfect at once. It is possible that experience of the working of the arrange ments which are to be made may be defective. We have lone that which we think to be for the best, and which the circumstances of the case appear to require. We are perfectly ready to reconsider these arrangements if it should be found that improvements can be made upon these which we are now preparing to carry into execution. I can assure the honourable anti gallant member (Major Reid) and the house that the great object which her Majesty's Government have at heart—and I do not pretend to claim Any peculiar merit upon that account, because the object of any persons who stand in the position of Ministers of the Crown must be the same—l can assurethe house that what we have at heart is to render all the branches of the public service as efficient as we can make them. We can have no other motive than to carry out our duties to the best of our ability. It is in this way only that any ministry--it is only by correcting errors when errors have been committed —it is only, wheredefects have been found out, by infusing the utmost vigour in the publicservice, and the utmost en ergy which it is in the power of a Government to enforce —it is only by these means that any ministry can expect to carry the country through the great war in which it is engaged. (Cheers.) It is only by these improvements in the public service that any Government who are honoured by the service of the Queen and the confidence of the country ' can expect to render themselves worthy of either that ser vice or that confidence, and can expect to earn the appro bation of their Sovereign and their country. (Hear, hear.) I therefore trust that if the country, from an impatient but very natural desire of seeing these improvements carried out by Government, have been led to impute delay, they will not ascribe it to any slackness upon our part, or to any apathy or indifference to the interests which it is our duty to protect ; but that they will believe that the delay has simply arisen from the difficulties inherent in the arrange ments which we have had to carry into effect, into which it would be unfitting for us or for any Government to ad vance, until by deliberation and mature examination we had satisfied ourselves that what we were about to do was the best which we could devise, and which would be most likely to be attended with the advantages which it was our duty to aim at. I hope I have now satisfied the hon. and gal lant gentleman that waare still entitled to the support of this house,which I must a,dmithas hitherto been given generously and largely to the Government. In all matters in which the public service is concerned I am bound to say that the way in which this house has granted to the Government all the means which it has asked for affords a noble spectacle to the world. Because it has allowed no party feeling, no strife, no difference of faction to interfere with the public service, and I certainly am bound to make the most handsome apology to all in that respect; but while that has been the case with the house, the country also has been willing to wait to see what arrangements, what improvements we were able to make in the administration of public affairs ; and I do trust the feelings of the house and the country now will be that the changes which have already been made, and those which we are about to make, as well as the great and marked improvement in the condition of the army abroad, fully justify the forbearance which the house has shown, and entitles us to the confidence of the country. (Hear.) Sir, we are engaged in a great struggle ; it is not now simply a question of conditions • it is not simply a question of those points which have been lately discussed ; but all Europe—all the world—the whole human race have their eyes fixed upon the contest now going on. (Hear.) England and France, two great powers, are on one side, and Russia, a gigantic and colossal power on the other, and depend upon it the issue of the contest involves not only a question of arrangement or condition, but on the issue of that contest depends whether England and France shall continue to hold the high position which they have hitherto done amongst the nations of the world, or whe ther, on the other hand, we and France shall sink down to the condition of inferior and second-rate States, and whe ther the enemy with whom we are contending shah hence forward be the dictator and dominant power of the world. Mr, DlSRAELl—Recollecting the lecture which the Secre tary of State read to us last Friday, in regard to the great in convenience of interposing motions and raising desultory dis cussions on motions of adjournment, which the right hon. gentleman intimated was so great an abuse of the privileges of hon. members when carriedto excess, that if it were persisted in, the house might find it necessary to restrain or restrict the privilege, I must express my surprise to-night on finding the Prime Minister taking advantage of the same machinery, and in a manner so entirely unexpected, to make a communication to the house of some importance certainly, and to express sen timents as to the intentions of the Government which, coining from a man in his high position, were calculated to arrest the attention of Parliament and the country. (Hear.) I cannot help thinking that if the minister had to make a cominneica- tion announcing important changes in the public depart ments, and especial y, in those connected with the c.mduet of the war, it would have been no mere surplusage of cour tesy if some notion of such intention had been given. It would have been more convenient to the house and more dig nified to the noble lord himself, if due notice had been given of his intention. (Hear.) I confess when I entered the house and looked at the bill of our business for the night, I was considerably surprised by the sort of portentous announce ment introduced to our attention by the somewhat extraor dinary notice which first struck my eye. I was told here of the highly critical position of public affairs, and the increasing anxiety and dissatisfaction which at present pervades all clg sses of society, and that some gifted individual meant to press upon the attention of the Government " the wisdom of immediately anticipating those consequences which are certain to arise from continual popular demonstrations, by at once in troducing such reforms in every branch of the state as are con sonant with the intelligence of the age and the just demands of the people." (Hear, and a laugh.) One would have thought after what was said the other night about the inconvenience of desultory debates upon motions of adjournment, that a subject of this kind would not have been brought forward in tens indirect manner ; and for some time I was at a loss to dis cover what the object of this extraordinary notice was, and who was its author. (Hear, and a laugh.) We had a dis cussion the other night, whether the first edition of the " Essay on Mau" was published anonymously, or the reverse. I happening to have a copy of the earliest edition in my pos- - - session, ventured t o sa y that it was anonymous. And it is curious that when Pope published it anonymously he put in some false rhymes in order to put the town off the scent, and that they should say, " Oh, this can't be Pope's, for lie never could have made these bad rhymes." (Hear, and a laugh.) And so I suppose that the flagrant violation of grammar in this notice-.,(10ud laughter)—wherein we are assured that the increasing anxiety and dissatisfaction which at present " per vades" all classes of society—(a laugh)—was put in by the noble lord—(hear)—in order to put the house off the scent, and that it might be said—Oh, this can't be " Pope's"—it would not be parliamentary to mention the other Dalile. Well, what is the answer of the noble lord to this inte resting inquiry of the member for Abingdon? Here we are told that we must have reforms in every branch of the state, and the noble lord, considering " the highly critical position of public affairs, and the increasing anxiety and dissatisfactiAl which pervades—(a laugh)—all classes of society," and with the view of " immediately anticipating those consequences which are certain to arise from continual popular demonstra tions," has favoured the house with a most meagre and frigid programme of those reforms in every branch of the state which he intends to propose " as consonant with the intelli gence of the age and the just demands of the people." It would have been well had the noble lord informed the house and the country , of the intentions of the Government in a les artificial manner ; but, as far as I could gather from the noble lord's speoch, the only information of any importance or novelty which he has communicated to-night is that of wllich notice was given, that the communication would be made in another place. Now, I must say that is a strange way of car lying on the public business. (Hear.) Notice was given in another place, that great reforms and changes were to be made in the departments connected with the conduct of the war, and that in due time the nature of those changes would be there announced. But, though the notice was given in that other place, the communication was not made there, while here we have had the communication without the notice. But what has the noble lord announced? I need not touch upon the fact of his commu , dcating to us the confidence of the Government in the improved state of the army. That is intelligence which must be gratifying to us all, and we have only to hope that the noble lord has good foundation for that confidence. (Hear, hear.) Nor will I touch up n the sanitary measures which have been adopted for the im provement of the army in the field, or of the troops in hospital—important no doubt all of them, but not suffi ciently so to be communicated as they have been to-night for the purpose of inducing Parliament and the people of Eng land to lose no heart in the great and historic struggle in which we are engaged. The only announcement which the noble lord has made conveying any information we did not already know is, that the Government are about to introduce a measure for the consolidation of the military departments. (Hear.) Nor is there anything profoundly original in such cons?lidation. (Hear.) The subject has been long under the consideration of Parliament, and it has been submitted to the scrutiny of select committees. For myself I may be per mitted to say that I approve entirely of the general principle of such changes, but until we have the measure before us I can form no opinion of the prudence or the judgment which characterises the mode in which it may be proposed to carry them into effect. (Hear.) But it is not merely that the mind of Parliament and the labours of select commit. tees have been brought to the consideration of the subject of these changes that ought to have taken place, even were we not involved in a great—l had almost said a disastrous— war ; but they have also occupied the attention of previous Ministries. And it was only last year, when you said you were about to appoint a new Secretary of State to preside over the conduct of the war, that we pressed upon you not only to appoint a now Secretary of State, but to define his duties, and to place the department under one responsible head'; you refused to follow our advice, and much of the dis aster, the disgrace, and the misery, which have since fol lowed, are, I believe, attributable to your neglect in that re spect. I shall not be told, lam sure, by the noble lord, that he is not responsible for what was done by Lord Aberdeen's Government. Such a shabby excuse I am confident will never be resorted to by him. (Hear.) The noble lord held a high position in Lord Aberdeen's Government. He was the Secretary of State, who was responsible for the efficiency r of the militia, and it is due to him, therefore, that that force is in its present ineffective and disgraceful condition. (Hear.) With regard to the noble lord's panacea for extricating us from all our difficulties, the proposed measure, notrecommended by any novelty, for it is in principle the ono which he re jected last year when it was pressed upon the atten tion of the Cabinet of which he was a member— I shall reserve to the proper occasion, that is when it is be fore us, any opinion as to its details. If the details by which the principle in which I concur is proposed to be carried oat are salutary, and suited to the exigencies of the case, I will support them ; but if they are not well considered, imperfect, and unadapted to the emergency—if the measures to be pro posed for our acceptance are neither bold in plan nor well considered in detail—l shall not be afraid to oppose them. The subject then dropped. TEE TRANSPORT SERVICE. Mr. BELLEW drew attention to the neglect which cha racterised the management of our transport service—espe cially in regard to sending out troops in unseaworthy ves sels. He referred especially to the case of the Seringapa tam, in which a detachment of troops had been sent to the Mauritius last year. The vessel, it appeared, was seven teen years old, was classed as an inferior vessel at Lloyd's, was sent out with the troops on board without being sur veyed after her previous voyage, and was in so bad a state that she made 26' inches of water per hour, though the weather was by no means rough, was not strong enough to carry the ordinary amount of sail, and, but that the sol diers were keptconstantly at the pump, would have foundered in deep water, hundreds of miles from laud. These facts the hon. member confirmed by reports from Major Simmonds, who commanded the detachment ; Lieutenant-General Suther land, to whom he reported at the Mauritius ; the master of the Saringapatam ; and a letter from Mr. H. Bell, of War wick, who had a son on board. He should conclude by making a few observations on his reason for bringing forward his motion, which might seem as if intended to embarrass the Government. He thought that if such reports as those of men like, Major Symonds and General Sutherland were taken no notice of, it was the duty of some member of that house to come forward and give the Government an opportunity of explaining and giving the army some confidence in believing that they were as much cared for as any emigrant who left the country. He only wanted to learn whether any reform had been effected in the transport service, and if so, what it was ? Sir C. WOOD could assure the hon. gentleman that he did not object to this case being brought forward, but he should have been glad to have had a more specific notice of what ease was to be discussed, for he could not gatherfrom the notice of motion what particular case war to be brought forward. Mr. BELLEW said his reason for not giving a more specific notice was, that as the Secreary for War had signed the papers connected with the c ase , h e suppose d that he had submitted so gross a case to the proper authorities, and he was In.t aware that he would be answered by the First Lord of the Admiralty. Sir C. WOOD did not make it a subject of complaint, but all he wished was to show that unless some sort of notice of what w is to be asked of the Government was given, it was dif ficult to give a proper explanation, and he hoped the house would not impute to him want of care in not being acquainted with the details of a particular case, when the notice was .only "to call attention to the transport service." He could state that a reform bad been made in the transport service ; a board had been constituted of three gentlemen —a captain in the navy, an experienced captain in the transport service, and an officer in the army—all of whom were the most com petent persons that could be found, and he had every reason to hope that the service would be efficiently performed. With regard to the particular case he was glad that these papers had been brought forward, for they showed. bow great had been the skill and gallantry of the officers on board this ves sel, and how creditable to them their conduct was. He was sorry that anything of the kind had happened ; but he was glad that au opportunity of explanation had been given which enabled him to show that no care or precaution had been omitted before the vessel len this country to insure her being in a proper state. There was a survey, and there was no reason to suppose that she was not in a fit state for the voy aee. He happened to have with him one or two documents relating to the Seringapatam ; for when the report of General Sutherland was received, the Admiralty called on the pro per officer to report what had been done. It used to be a complaint against the Transport Board that they did not take up ships from the best owners. In this case, out of eight ships which were tendered, six belonged to owners who were said to be favoured, while two, of which the Seringpatam was one, belonged to Messrs. Green, a firm of the highest character, and that alone would be considered a guarantee of their ship ; but besides that, she was warranted by them, It appeared that the vessel was built in 1836, and was classed A 1 at Lloyd's for twelve years ; at the end of that time—in 1849 she was resurveyed by Lloyd's, and was found in so good a state that she was continued in the first class for four years more. In 1850 she was again surveyed by Lloyd's, and placed in the second class, or E dipthong red, which was next to the first class, or Al. It was stated by Messrs. Green that be fore she was takes up the vessel was put into thorough re pair. She was also snrveyed by the transport officers before she was taken up, which was indispensable, and the report of the surveying officers was that she was in thorough repair. When General Sutherland's report was sent in, these officers were called on for an explanation, and th , y sent in a report dated January, 1855. (The right hon. gentle man then read the report, which stated the classification and survey of the ship at Lloyd's, as he had already stated above, and that she showed weakness, and laboured at sea owing to the improper stowage of some heavy railway iron.) It therefore appeared that there was no negligence on the part of the surveying officers, or the persons taking up the vessels, in ascertain ng whether she was seaworthy, If there had been an improper stowage of heavy iron which caused her to labour, that did not show that she was not properly looked to before she sailed, Admiral WALPOLE said that the roport of Gen. Suther land showed so much that was discreditable to the authorities in the transport service, that he was glad an opportunity was offered the right hon. gentleman to give a somewhat though not altogether satisfactory explanation with regard to the steps which had been taken on th e t a ki ng up o the vessel, it was not stress of weather which caused the leakage of th s vessel, and there was no doubt that she would have f.undered if she had encountered heavy gales. He was of opinion that an able officer in whom the Admiralty had confidence ought to be stationed at every port to inspect ships which was to carry troop, for though Captain Milne was au excellent offi cer the transport duty was so great that he could not super intend it all. Colonel NORTH called the attention of the right hon. gentleman to the last paragraph of Major Symonds' report, in which it was stated that there was no fire-engine or force pump, and only 18 buckets on board the vessel. No remark had been made on that in the official report sent to the Admi ralty. It also appeared that the ship had arrived from Bom bay in a very leaky state about 3 months before. He ques• tioned whether the official who had to carry out the orders of the Admiralty had done his duty. The report also said that the ship was always wet, and that great damage had been done to the clothes and arms of ,the troops on board. He should have liked to ask the Under-Secretary for War, if he had been present, if the Government had taken any steps to reimburse the officers and men of the sth Fusiliers and the 85th regiments for the loss they had sustained. As to the manner in which the ship was loaded, Mr. Green had been told of it, and he said he could not affird to have the stowage moved. Sir C. WOOD said the hon. and gallant gentleman must feel that it was impossible for him to come prepared to give answers on all these details ; but if the hon. gentleman would come to the Admiralty he would give him all the information he required. No notice had been given Cult reference would be made to the Seringapatam, and it was only accidentally that he brought the papers relating to that vessel with him. Captain SCOBELL said whatever might be the real facts in this instance, it was well that cases of this kind should be brought forward whenever a ship in the transport service was known to be ill found. He thought that the Transport Board, if it was constituted of three persons of equal authority, would not work well ; but there should be some supreme authority, with a council to advise him. You put a sador, a soldier, and a civilian together; and ask them to agree, which was often impossible, as they saw things from different points of view. He thought the constitution of the Transport Board, should be re-considered. The subject then dropped, and the motion for the adjourn ment of the house to Monday (it being then twenty minutes to 9 o'clock) was agreed to amid loud cheers. NEWSPAPER STAMP BILL. The adjourned debate on the third reading of this bill was resumed. Mr. PACKE said he would not allow the bill to go through its last stage without entering his protest against it, as being. a most unjust and unfair measure of taxation. It was sought by tail bill to give the metropolis and large towns newspapers free a the expense of conveyance ; but with regard to the rum_ and agricultural districts they would be taxed for the conveyance. There was a loss of revenue by this measure, which was to be supplied by a tax on sugar, tea, and coffee ; and in return for those taxes the towns had an equivalent in the free transmission of their newspapers ; but that was not the case with the rural districts, which had no such equiva lent. He thought the bill unjust, and he should vote against the third reading. 'lr. MAGUIIiE said the question before the house was the amendment of the hon. and learned member for Enniskillen. (No, no ; it is the third reading. The amendment will come after that.) If that was so, he supposed he might still offer some observations ou that subject, being desirous to point out to the Chancellor of the Exchequer some impediments to the success of his measure. The principle of the bill was to give the public the largest amount of political information, bat without any especial benefit to any particular newspaper. That was a fair and intelligible principle ; but he would not have been prepared to support the copyright clause, which was withdrawn in deference to the sense of the house, believ ing that it would have injured the London, and ruined the provincial press, lie knew the value of the Loudon journals to the provincial press, and especially the importance of the foremost Journal of the day. He contended that in many respects great injury would be done by nig w enable low and disroputable journals to pirate articles ui Li telligence with impunity, and actually to live and prosper upon the daily papers. In reference to the advertisement duty, he contended that it was abolished, not for the advan tage of newspaper proprietors, but for the benefit of the pub lic. The same principle should apply to the limitation of weight to be carried by the post. A letter for a mere private individual was a matter that would benefit at the most two persons, but the transmission of a newspaper was a subject of national importance. He appealed to the Government to extend the time for transmission. A rich man might read a newspaper in a few moments (laughter)—but a poor man, having little time at his disposal, might take a week or two to wade through the same matter. Having read his paper, he would be virtually prevented from transmitting it through the post by the measure now under consideration. (Hear ) Sir. J. WALIISLEY said he agreed with much that had fallen from the hon. gentleman who had spoken in opposition to the bill, but he objected to making it a personal question. As a member of the committee appointed to consider the removal of the stamp and advertisement duty, he agreed with those who hell that great advantage w mid arise to the com munity from the freest possible communication between the press and the public. Still he could not consider that it was necessary to give to the newspaper press any particular mono poly. He would carry out the principle of free trade in news papers as in everything else, for it (lid not appear to him that newspaper proprietors required such a monopoly. He thought he was well advised when he said that a newspaper would cost three times as much as a letter/in its carriage. A newspaper weighed four ounces at least, while an ordinary letter weighed only half an ounce, and the house was now called upon to allow four ounces to pass through the post eight or teu times while an ordinary half-ounce letter could pass only once. He did not for a moment believe that the press wonld call upon the house to do such an act of injustice, inasmuch as newspa per proprietors had the privilege of one transmission for a penny, which was quite as much as they required. He must protest against the statement that newspaper proprietors re quired any such privilege. Mr. BARROW said that the measure was so great an injus tioe to the producer as well as the consumer of country news papers that he should vote against it. Mr. M. CHAMBERS objected to a discussion on the merits of the bill on a third reading, on the ground that it was an unusual course of proceeding. He had listened with a great deal of anxiety to the statements that had been made, and was obliged to confess that he had not heard a single argu ment in favour of an opposition to the bill. Mr. BENTINCK believed that the consent of the house to the bill—for consent there would no doubt be—would not be a spontaneous act. If the real sentiments of the house could be obtained, the bill, he had little doubt, would be rejected. It had originated, not exactly from a pressure from without, but from the screw having been effectually applied by the right hon. gentleman the member for Manchester on the late Chancellor of the Exehequer. The right hon. baronet who had succeeded to the office had submitted to the same in fluence. Enlightened and energetic as the daily press of this country was, he did not believe that it would require or ask for any such measure as that before the house ; a measure which while it would interfere with the liberty would not control the license of the press. The house then divided— For the third reading l3B Against it 6O-78 On the question that the bill do pass, Mr. NAPIER (in the absence of Mr. Whiteside) moved to insert the following clause—" That every periodical publica tion that shall be printed and published at intervals not exceeding seven days leetween the two consecutive parts or numbers of such publication, and the weight of which shall not on the whole exceed six ounces, shall be entitled to the said privileges of transmission and re-transmission by the post, if duly stamped with the appropriate die of one penny." The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said this clause was substantially the same clause that was moved by his hon. friend the member for Pontefract, which was fully considered by the house and was negatived by a large mejority. An alteration, however, had been made by the hon. and learned member, the effect of which was to render it much more k eomplex and difficult to work; for, as pro posed by his hon. friend in committee, h e t oo k the limit supetficial inches, as in the existing law, whereas in the clause now proposed the limit of weight was substituted. The effect of that would be, that the postage would be deter mined by weight beyond the six ounces. They must resort to the measure of superficial inches with regard to all periodicals published at intervals of less than seven days. Then -with re gard to periodicals published at greater intervals than seven days, the existing law would apply to periodicals both of greater and less weight than six ounces. He thought the house would hardly expect th it he should again travel over the ground which had been so thoroughly traversed iu pre vious debates. (Hear.) He would only state that the pro posal that he mall° in the present bill was to leave the exist ing law unchanged, with the simple exception that he made the stamp on newspapers optional instead of compulsory. The effect of this change in the law would be in favour of news papers publishing supplements and not against them. One of the principal arguments in favour of an increase of the limit of weight was that a hardship was inflicted upon newspapers publishing supplements, inasmuch as they did not make an additional charge to their customers, whereas they had a stamp upon the whole of their supplement. Now, wheu this bill became law, a newspaper would pay only for that portion of the impression which was circulated through the post. With regard to that portion that was distributed in the place of publication, there would be no compulsory stamp. There fore, so far as regarded newspapers publishing supplements, the alteration would be in their favour, and not against them. In other respects the bill left the law unchanged, and it would be in the power, of Parliament at a future time, if they should think that newspapers did not enjoy sufficient privileges, to increase those privileges ; but it should not escape the attention of the house that at present, as com pared with letters and all other printed matter, the extent of these privileges was l arge an d almost beyond what might reasonably have been expected. Mr. MALINS asked if the bill would prevent a person bending a newspaper by post which weighed more than four ounces ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was understood to reply that the bill made no alteration with regard to a newspaper sent by post. Mr. MALINS said the answer was not quite clear to him. Would they be able after this bill to send the Times by post as now ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—Yes. Mr. MALINS said this was not a question as to a parti ticular newspaper, but a question as to the public conve nience. Mr. MAGUIRE said the power of re-transmission was not what the proprietors of newspapers wanted, but it was of importance to the public. Mr. NAPIER said he thought it was not fair to put an ad ditional tax on the circulation of advertisements. As, how ever, the feeling of the house was against him, he would not press the clause. The clause was then negatived without a division, and some verbal amendments having been made, Mr. NAPIER was about to make some observations rela tive to the fourth clause, but The SPEAKER informed him that he was too late. The bill was then passed. SPIRIT DUTIES (SCOTLAND AND IRELAND) BILL. On the order of the day, that the house go into committee on this bill, Mr. GROGAN said ho had given notice of some amend ments, but he understood some propositions had been made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer by the distil ers with re gard to the making of whiiky from malt, and that a bill was to be brought in which was to come into operation on the Ist October next. Ho wished to know when the bill would be brought in ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the billwas in preparation, and he hoped that it would be brought in at no distant date. ,Mr. GROGAN—And it will come into operation on the Ist of October. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—I cannot say exactly. Mr. VANCE ,said it would be a great convenience to the trade if the right hon. gentleman would state the day on which the bill would come into operation. He believed it was part of the agreement on which the distillers had withdrawn their opposition to the bill now before the house, that the new re gulations were to come into operation at the commencement of the distilling season. The house then went into committee. Mr. GROGAN said he had given notice of some amend ments, but after the understanding which the right hon. gen,. tleman had come to with the distillers of the three kingdoms, he should not press them, but it would be very inconvenient to the trade if they did not know when the new regulations would come into operation. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, on the whole, he thought it was not desirable that he should pledge himself to any of the details of the intended bill. The several clauses and schedules of the bill, with some verbal amendments, were then agreed to, and a numb r of clouses added on the motion of the Chancellor of the Exche quer. MENTS. Mr. F. FRENCH wished to ask the hon. and gallant member opposite (Major Reed) who had a motion on the paper!similar to the notice of the hon. member for Ayles bury (Mr. Layard), if he would consent to put off his mo tion. He (Mr. French) did not think that it was advisable in this manner to anticipate a debate upon which the fate of the Ministry might depend. Major REED said, in answer to the question of the hon. member he could only state that he did not consider his motion to be similar to that of the hon. member for Ayles bury. As an independent member, who was willing and anxious to give to Government a most cordial eupport un der the trying circumstances in which they were placed, he was desirous to appeal to Government, and in particular to the noble lord at the bead of affairs, to make such a state ment as would satisfy the anxiety of the country as was consistent with his public duty. He would leave himself in the hands of the house, but he could not assent to the request of the honourable member opposite. His motion was to call the attention of her Majesty's Government to the highly critical position of public affairs, and to the in creasing anxiety and dissatisfaction which at present per vaded all classes of society, and to impress upon her Ma jesty's Government the wisdom of immediately anticipat ing those consequences which are certain to arise from continual popular demonstrations, by at once introducing such reforms in every branch of the State as are consonant with the intelligence of the age, and the just demands of the people. He would remind the noble lord that when he was called to office he enjoyed the confidence of the coun try, and great expectations had been formed of him. That confidence had been disappointed, he regrctted to say, but he trusted that the noble lord w,mld be able to make such a reply that he (Major Reed) might be able to give the Government his support; in any other case it would be his duty to give it his most determined opposition. He would not further trespass on the time of the house, but he would address the noble lord in the words of the poet Milton-- " Awake, arise, or be for ever fallen !" (Laughter.) Lord PALMERSTON—Sir, I am perfectly ready to ad mit that the hon. and gallant gentleman is justified by the position of public affairs, and what ought to be the opinion of this house and the general feeling of this country, in bringing forward this motion. Hutt no fault with the hon. and gallant member on that ground, and I am perfectly willing to do justice to the motives which had induced him to rise. It was perfectly true, as was stated by him, that when it was her Majesty's pleasure to authorise me to form a Government, public expeetation had indeed risen high s and, if I may be allowed to say so, had overrun the bounds of reasonable and practicable execution. (Hear.) It was my duty to endeavour to obtain the assistance ,of those persons who I thought was the most capable, from their position in Parliament, to make a strong and efficient Government. I was actuated by none of those considerations which have been without cause imputed—of private partiality, or of family connections, or regard for rank. My object was to look around, to see the men who were most eminent and distinguished in public life, who had shown themselves capable by the part they had taken in public affairs, and whose opinions were most in conformity with my own. That, I apprehend, is the d uty of any man who may be called upon by his Sovereign to form an Administration. I know that it has been said by many that instead of taking these persons who have by their previous experience acquired knowledge—who have displayed their abilities in public life —who have devoted themselves to public affairs—it was the duty of a person placed in the situation in which I found myself, to have gone elsewhere, and-to have selected a Go vernment of persons employed and engaged in commercial and private affairs. My answer to that is plain andsinsple. Those persons who have devoted themselves to commercial and business-like pursuits, who are endued by nature with the highest talents, have generally engaged themselves in transactions which make it impossible for them to abandon those pursuits for a precarious situation of political office. Does not everybody know that Lord Derby, when he was commanded to form a Government on a former occasion, was desirous of having as Chancellor of the Exchequer an hon. member of the house, the member for Huntingdon (Mr. Baring),who is most eminent for his talents, and most fitted for that situation, and whom it was an honour for any Government to have enlisted in its ranks. (Hear.) That hon. member was obliged, from the immense engage ments in which he was involved, to decline that offer which Lord Derby then made to him. When I was form ing the present Government, I wished to avail myself of the assistance of the hon. member for Wick (Mr.S. Laing), who would have represented the commercial in his depart ment of Government. That hon. member told me that his commercial engagements were such that he could not pos sibly abandon them, and accept the duty which I proposed that he should discharge. The person who is appointed to form a Government has not that free.com of choice which some gentlemen imagine. He must look out, in the first place, for public men ; for men who have, by their former conduct, shown a cap ac ity f o r the dis charge of public duties, and for men who are free from private engagements which would prevent them from accepting public office. Well, sir, I cannot but think that, as it stands, Government is composed of men who are en titled, from their own ability and political acquirements and sagacity, to command the confidence of this house and of the country. But, sir, the hon and gallant officer says he wishes to know what the views of Government are with regard to the Ministerial changes which the voice of the country has so loudly called for. Wall, sir, lam free to admit that considerable improvements are required in many of the departments of State, and I can assure the house and the country that these matters have not escaped the attention of her Majesty's Government. Much has been done already, and. very successful results have al ready been achieved. If we take the army, which is the branch of the publ:o-service that has more peculiarly, from unfortunate circumstances, attracted the attention of the public, I am happy to say that the army in the Cri mea is by universal consent and admission in as perfect a condition as any British army ever was. I say that, not from the mere testimony of officers who are friends of the Government, or from official report, but from the unsus picious testimony of the Commander of the army of our allies, who has rendered honourable justice to the condi tion of our gallant army. Now, sir, lam asked what has been done, and what is going to be done. (Hear.) In th e first placcA will call attention to what has been done. It is vain to conceal that when after a peace of 40 years' duration we undertook an expedition on a great scale, and to a great distance, under circumstances of very consider able difficulty—it is in vain to conceal that great mis chances in the way of details and arrangements took place —that those who were employed to execute those arrange ments, with which they were not conversant, have made many mistakes. This was to be expected; it perhaps might have been less ; but certainly it did happen to a great extent, and was productive of consequences which we must all lament and deplore. Now, sir, I will begin with the Commissariat department. That department was under the Treasury; it has since been placed under the Se cretary for the War Department. It is a military depart ment, and ought to be under the command of the military chief. It ought to be administered by that officer of State to whom belongs the charge of the military departments of the public service. With regard to the details of that de partment, Sir John M'Neil, a moat able man, was sent for a temporary purpose to organise and arrange them. He has acted with great success, and I believe the arrange. ments of the commissariat service are as perfect as the nature of such a service admits. Great inconvenience arose from the combination of the duties of supply with the duties of distribution and transmission—that is to say, great inconveniences arose from the circumstance that the same commissariat officers who were charged with provid ing the supplies were charged with the duty of providing the means of transport to carry those supplies from place to place. That department has been separated from the department of supply, and under the very able direction of Colonel M`kturdo, the transport department has been placed in a state of great efficiency. There is, therefore, reason to hope that from henceforth the army in the Crimea will be furnished with an ample supply of everything which the commissariat ought to furnish, and with an ample supply of the means of transport. Well, sir, then comes the medical department of the army ; that department is about to be remodelled at home. New per sons will be appointed to the head of it. There will be a military man united with a civilian, and both will be under the immediate orders of the Secretaryof State for the War department, with whom it naturally rests to give all direc tions for the management of the department, and to regu late all appointments and promotions in it. I am happy also to be able to say that the hospital arrangements have been placed in a most satisfactory condition. Not only have civilians been sent out to assist in some hospitals, but a commission, purely civil, well versed in sanitary arrange ments, whose names are well known, Dr. Sutherland, Dr. Gavin—who, unfortunately lost his life by a sad accident of recent occurrence—and Mr. Itawlinson, an engineer, have also been sent out for the purpose of placing all the hospitals in camp and quarters of the troops in a condition as free from evil influences as it is possible to place them. I am happy to say their arrangements have produced many beneficial results. Well, sir, great complaints were made of the want of sufficient arrangements for naval transport. It is understood that, from the pressure of business, the arrangements far this service were not carried out with the despatch and promptitude that it was desirable they should he. My right hon. friend who was then the First Lord of the Admiralty, the member for Carlisle (Sir J. Graham), made an excellent arrangement, by which the naval trans port service has been placed upon an official footing, from which I augur the beat results, So far with regard to the commissariat, the medical, and the naval transport de partments. I trust that the arrangements made with re gard to these most important branches of the military ser vice have already produced good effects, and will prevent the recurrence of those inconveniences from which the army suffered so much in the course of the autumn and winter of last year. Well, sir, with regard to what we are going to do. Every body acquainted with military matters knows that the part of our military arrangements which consisted in the separation of a very important trench from the rest of the military service—l mean the Board of Ordnance 7. 1 1 e t r o d p t e no a mf n n e ar n ne d ) mh t o ape i o t rg . avne ( erhaeirio reformation) s a t r i. anxiouso)n —is an arrangeme n t so i nconven i ent that i t i s hi g hl y f d r e i s e i n r l i attentionregarde to the framing to that department. I shall now proceed to describe what it is intended to do to effect this object. I am sure that the house will feel that it is almost more difficult to remodel a department of the public service while the public service is going on, than it would have been at a period when, comparatively speaking, there was less pressure on the time and attention of those persons who have to remo del it. When heavy business presses upon the heads of departments, it is difficult not only to find time to make them, but to make them without in some degree interfering with the despatch of current affairs. In the first place, it is intended to remodel the corps of Ordnance, and to abo lish the office of Master-General. The corps of the artillery and the engineers will be placed under the same authority as regards matters of discipline which govern the army at large. It has been the result of ancient arrangements; but I, for one, could never understand the principle that the line should be under one military chief, and the artillery and engineers under another. It is not the case in any other army in the world, and it is strange how it should have been allowed to go on for so long a period in our own army. I think g reat benefits will arise from these changes. It will be of advantage at home, and of great advantage abroad. There will no longer be the distinetiou which now prevails between the ordnance corps and the army in general—a distinction which does not exist in any other army, and which has on many occasions been attended with groat i nconvenience to as a separate establishment, The office of master and ieu the public service. The Board of Or dnance will be abolishedl tenant-general will cease, and the military part of the Ord nance will be placed under the Commander-in -Chief, to whom the discipline of the artillei y will be transferred. The civil department will also be placed under the Secretary for War. The object has been to centralise—to give unity of CUSTOMS DUTIES BILL. On the order of the day for the consideration of this bill as amended, Mr. BLACKBURN believed that now was the time for him to move the amendments of which he had given notice. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had, at the express wish of the house, undertaken to introduce a schedule to provide that the duties on sugar should at the end of the war be reduc e d to the old rates. Th e sc h e d ule, however, proposed by the right hon. gentleman did not effect the intended object, for by a mistake in the arithmetic of the draftsman, 10s. 6d. was taken for the two-thirds of 155., and the difference between the duty on yellow Muscovado and that on the quality imme diately above was made only is 6d. instead of ls. 9d. His amendment was intended to correct this mistake. The hon. member concluded by moving an amended scale. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER. said that in framing the duties for a prospective reduction, he had endea voured to bring them as near as possible to the amount at which they stood before the increased duties consequent ou the war were imposed. Instead of taking one class with a duty of 10s., he took two classes, one with a duty of 9s. Gd., the ot:ier with a duty of 10s. 6d. That appeared to him a perfectly equitable adjustment, and he trusted the house would maintain the scale which ho bad submitted to it. Mr. T. HANKEY thought that injustice was done by the right hon. gentleman's scale to the importers of a low descrip tion of sugar. The amendment of Mr. Blackburn was then withdrawn, and the amendments proposed by the Chancellor of the Ex chequer agreed to. STAMP DUTIES (DRAFTS ON BANKERS) BILL, On the' order of the day for the second reading of this bill, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said as soon as his proposition for imposing a stamp dutyupon checks drawn within I distance of 15 miles was made public he received communications fromtaukers and others, stating various ob jections. It was represented that the operation of the duty would be to discourage to a great extent the banking trade, by preventing the drawing of checks for small amounts. It was suggested that it might be desirable to exempt checks below Si. or 101., but this would produce a very complex state of the law, and open easy means of evasion. After the best consideration, and having taken a sufficient margin to meet any contingent expenditure, he had come to the con e union, upon the whole, that, for the present, he would not persist in his proposition. The order for the second reading of the bill was accordingly discharged. METROPOLIS LOCAL MANAGEMENT BILL, --- Viscount PAL NIERSTON said that he proposed to take this bill first on Monday. If the bill was finished at a reasonable hour he would then proceed with the Scotland Education Bill. Lord J. MANNERS asked what the noble lord considered a reasonable hour ? Viscount PALMERSTON said the Scotch members must decide that. (Laughter.) BURIAL GROUNDS (SCOTLAND) BILL. The LORD ADVOCATE moved the committal of this bill. Mr. LIASTIA and Mr. Cowan having suggested its postpone ment, The LORD ADVOCATE assented. Mr. DISRAELI protested against the right bon. and learned gentleman's assenting, to the postponement of this bill, and refusing last night to put off the Scotch Education Bill. Surely if any bill might be disposed of at a late hour, It NNW the Vurial Grounds Bill. (Laughter.) Evreu twavo ......-----"'"...........-------- % I,f•r. / p o'e!')l'. ,onl , l no. bo too late for such a subj 'et. (ta n g" it was quite adapted to the hour. (Laughter.) Toe bill was then posoned. REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS (COTLAND) BILL' This bill was read a third time and passed. INFANTS' MARRIAGE BILL. This bill passed through committee. RELIGIO US WORSHIP BILL. This bill was read a third time and passed. SEWERS (HOUSE DRAINAGE) his BI bill WO LL. ' '0 „ On the motion of Viscount EBRINGTON t mitted pro forma. o fle LIMITED LIABILITY. In answer to Mr , Mr. BOUVERIE said ALINS that he wa s as anx ious as an,Y pre' . could b e to introduce the bill on this subject, but in tu,. to sent st a t e - o f p u blic business it was impossible for him a precise time for bringing it on. BILS OF G. 0 in bra On the motion of Mr.L HOItSFALL LADIN, leave was giv en a bill to amend the law relative to bills of lading- CONSOLIDATION OF STATUTES. no, Mr. L. KING moved a resolution to the effect that. e form complete, and systematic edition of the statutes ttevn n or es• omitting a ll such enactments as are repealed, obsolete, 0 „„, pired, wou ld be more accessible and intelligible than tlantrv, sent statute book ; and that a select committee be y? of the inquire sta into the best mode of making such an eclititoo _ ex , Lutes, omitting all enactments repealed, obsole e e ` 0 red t° Sir G. GREY said the Government were not Prer, a sof assent to the motion at present. A commissiove,:—nuper sitting upon the subject, and this committee 'w w" j s . P e ei e rd T t ee h , d e rb i. d t u m . tp otion was supported by Mr. Napier end.. ' • Dfr• G • 13t4 and Lo opposed by the Lord Advocate and Mr. 10 0e oe eab . AitLsMvEaslSTdiOircualtdymwitatsedegtuhaeuyimportance o f no e r r • vernment, he thought, had better m ean a s PP tha areu % t. l 'i to it °ts° t t h o oA p fm t t o eo s rt e is c oo u nni te we the inquiry, and it would be their *t u b ' th e ciali certain what was the state of the commission, 11l of accelerating its operations. He objected to the 1 2 6 111 ' 0 1 asfunrtehguertivdiedsebussy i4o7nt,oth3l.house div id th bolo The remaining business having been dispose d °4 .... adjourned at half-past 12 o'clock until Monday. COUIVTRY 4fAltlaZi. The market wasLlVEoußlyPOslOenL—de-r2iflyAL w i n ] . ci • ed ,to 10;0 10, 0 1: extreme quotations of Tuesday last were fir03,11000,r",,, by holders, and the business effected help Trbel tar Indian corn, and, oatmeal was at slig *Liar"- Following slow on Tuesday, at a decline of is Fer qr. ° :,-,d bas i l' e' ,ol Mark-IaneWAKE FrelpEoLif, —oulf.l9 ket a‘tv4l,:t d . s . : ( l , o :, day the trade has fully recovered, and s Barley 0 " b bel' doing at the extreme rates of last week. B° 0 is per qr. higher. Oats and shelling as before. firmly, with an upward tendency. ..6i t o E. lo o ;3 pu o ea d is .. . CORN .—In.,2i • EXETER—MAI/ 9 . te a 11'0,7 0 Od to 03 Ot.. Oats, 3s 6d to 3s Bd. m e3-9 ' o d to 74 O F O i s n Oc e, l s t 7 o B 6 o o d s to Od. sBs ce ; seconds, 55$ . 1# our market gbarley, wheat4s oa7.l.lr6r:_dri:crit;: od Od per sack. __ o d cP• mj g CATTLE.—Prme beef, 10s 6d per score ; cow'ib,, real 12/. 09s to 15/. • butchers' calves, 4id to.sd P e Latab'' i liP 4 calves 00s to Ods each. Shea 6d tO *l'm, CD .A .; lb , 7d per lb. Store hogs, largresize, OE t ° , ;:t - 40 r -25s to 40s ; small, 00s"to 00s. Bough ''' ' Pork carcases from 9s 6d to 105 Od per score. .fle --- a INVERNESS.—MAI "' 0 0 3 ' 6,1 0 CORN.—Wheat, white, per qr , 66s Od 0 ,2 SI ley, chevalier, 29s Od to 30s Od ; c °llln3 29s Od. Oats, 28s Od to 29s 6d. 23° 'IV"' MEAL.—Oatmeal, per imp. boll 2 s Sti 0t; 2 6c l t° second, 008 Od. to Os Od.; barlerneal, Os °" ,t 6g PL ,; " 3 peasemeal, 178 6d to Os Od ; bran, per st c 'lito, i ' 4 ,1 Ist flour, per 2801 b, 50s Od to 56s Od ; p 00s Od ; oatmeal, best, p r st. of 141 b ie r y ool 0 ,41, to Os Od ; ditto second, Os e od to Os Od ; b 4o ar o , 3d a to 00s Od ; peasemeal, is 10d to Os Oa ; l i st r e ait. 3s 6d credit ; 2d ditto, 2s 6d cash , 28 9a e BRISTOL SI7GAR----MATc:;ectotoolde, The sales of West India have been lc small parcels of Barbadoes; indeed ouesutSeerhofs:lol# scri?tion are so much ethausted. as to r re haso ( . 1 0 qui td ij i ceedingly restricted. Some extensive .. o d t ice 1 4 8 0 and Mauritius at full rates. Refiners P A betWr firm, although the inquiry is not brisk• for rums, but supplies are small. ~............--- __jut' 11. y, t Of" A c loSe 0- I - 11 he V0118°111" .. ''l9 A Fraliligellgate . .". ; flettOn .......... 6 Stowell .......... g Kepier Grose' ••••: .. bambtoU .............. ..... Plummer •••00„..„.....i9 Po Russell 3 0° . .... •••• I s Stwart's . ..... 6 Caradoe ...... .. ... • llartlepool . ...... Ueuliellghll I ...... ............. ISouth .. 1 9 I :South rtartlep . ....... il;Yt101'; iperiletltViVrtbr, 00(010 ........! COAL MAR Prices of Coal per ton at t 8. cl. Bate's West Hartley 17 0 Davison's West Hartley 17 6 Howard's West Hartley • Netherton 17 6 Longridge's Wst Hartleyl7 6 North Percy Hartley l7 Tanfiold Moor - l6 0 Taufield Moor Butes 16 0 Walker Primrose l5 9 Wylam 15 6 Wallsend, &c. I Acorn Close l7 0 Gosforth l6 9 1 Harton l6 9 Heaton l6 6 ( Riddell l6 9 Wharneliffe ....... . ... .. . l6 Belmont 17 6 COURSE OF ExcHANG*-- . 4 0 0)4 .. 4 • / Am5terdam............ II , ..... r•••'' .. ' Ditto, three months .. 12 0% Legl:or" , t 4 Rotterdam 12 u% Genoa ••• .•••' Antwerp 25 42% Milan Brussels 25 42% Venice•• 13 7% Naples '• ..••••:,•"„ Altona ................ Peleri n° .•••• .• " . .• • - - - Paris .... 25 225{ Messina • .• • Ditto, three months .. 25 42 k Lisbon •• *: Marseilles .. 25 45 Oporto •• 1 BF B er o ar u in rd ink f e ( ! r u .t x :o. n.. .. I:. a: n: e: I isß i jou l u weia.7 ` r diro n : egoip e A rihi r o, r a6r eg oi : .; ../: Vienna .. .. • • .... 12 50 Trieste •• .... 12 52 ; i" ( s iold P 011 1 ' • 0 Petersburg •. 35 Foreig n , oold C,.• , I Madrid 49 Pottle!: f olall 0 Cadiz •••• • • • Barcelona N ag •• ; • Silver in rel T ie ß v E ed " o j f moned to : K w . I n N . G: Eastern Gazette says—" Lieutenant W e 0 e° T b fi e be # ieNS - bal of 1 b • ' til. his his constitution night his adjutancy, and the co l 00 6" .reiti Jg tr t ow r- IN THE ENNISICILL- boo to - D A!, for d ors 4 01 B b 1.: od. —Mr de f 2 o 0 0 1 d [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's.JohnRue xL. 7 .• - , von of ot hi the skin of a very irritable nature, di r i t ore t io d or Brighton suffered for several months frig ° • f log. O r .. ght and day, and making g r ,r„f frofj Ord he could obtain no re' am en `" 0. . , J ij diedo,men he consulted, but he was recoii t or v ir t t air, this was of no avail, be 'n/ 39 tiling P le 1%0 neighbour to try Holloway's pills, she ha so d tP ec ji l o , derived benefit from their use, he did 6 ,, 1 N a 11 ,11 14, 11 vendors, perfect cure in a few weeks.--Son-1;lobloi i•` ._. and at Professor Holloway',00,100! , A .444 , Strand, London, and 80, o ' l r 7 York. t y 131RTBS. fialli' V t y OF A SON. ottee' i), On the 11th inst., at the vicarage g„p n'o i ll n wl s li b lice ii l:i T l:t l °..l.o..cifeti;leri tlio j to : , . a i r'' i ljeff wife of the Rev. J. M. Heath. or li wiofenotfhe George llth inst., Ailm aanta t ,Alt.Eo 7 w: ciLAo. F orn-road, ~. 13. -d. _asl tae On the 10th inst.. at Exeter, the N'll' ,"0 Esq., 15th King's Hussars. oa r l' e-- 6 On the 9th inst., at Bandon Lodge , f 5 ,,5. of Thomas Lockley, Esq., M.D. wife ° On the 9th inst., at Hampstead, the how, Esq. f 0 9 E d o Ow n na rttdhhe eß l ul l ll t i h et h r , i n iE a n t ss q t 0..,P a o• d i/ I, the I P 14 0 ' 41° • I , Levinsohn. tr ot, v, 0 ' On the 10th inst., at 9, Portland's. . n .iifi' I road east, the wife f Mr. John Riteb le G e o• I 0 0 On the sth inst., the wife of Jan' es 13rist°: th e . M.D., of Pack-street, and Northwoode!,._ooot7/ On the 4th nit., at sea, on board th .r e S' bßeli: of the late Capt. Geo. Reynolds, It 1 ">/ fie, i s 0 „1,11- frir- MARR I E D. b oloolitj. J o, On the 10th inst., at Eghara-hi.ll gill :ire, 2 41 o ciV or , Swinburne, Esq., a Altons, L e icesle,o4 o , only daughter of J. R. Mills, Esq., f JObild ° Englefield-green, Surrey. ....., eon, a I, g . On the 10th inst., at Hackney, henry, ag. , - A "3', Esq., of Lews, to Margaret, el" a ". ~eBotl7l),‘, r etE ß ldal r o O iy i zsns w a n b n t e h e t e h E , l o o:th:i o n e f h st H i . l , d a a c o t k f n S m e t? l : at . mo s eo : f : l3 aL p ee o l lk ogre c ob ' ;treevif ivis ':; : ; ; ' terrace, Mr. J. Fredk. Bremer, of L° a f o ' toil daughter PIO 0 * 1 I. .1 0 " 4, Esq., tO codslol3orlos 001 orlof.Ofcthj.oiAnhsn.tr.s,aiarintsraGnoo:idEda:l4ln.i,ng, Salvo ito A , On the 10th inst., at St. Giles-in- Ste st .iavitafoo . 00,, rAo A ifen d ttn a h m ee nA s l : aldet E ae, m A wlv q s;dmoo o f.w f TALohidfnoaTcipia:lieosn:m'siEus-insnciti. ~ e ,,h r jsc : b c i :: vnf bs . t i : rf , :;: e fs i g ta ti l i o ei ca ;?::::,, loes North Wales, and daughter o of the Cliff, Ipswich. IP' DIED. Cie" Tojor par On the 7th inst., at Peckhan3, Surreys PiP t , Williamson, Bengal Army , aged 70. ,-, urol doll, 00 itr 4 i On the 10th inst , at the Barrack o st, 00 0 , ners, Royal Artillery, aged 57 - W e aoc i lrt On the 9th inst., at 5, LansdovriieTareils Charles Milman Mount, prebendary a - Helm - lon, Northamptonshi re, Ann, widow of the I te Dr. Olinthus ; , On the llth inst., at 9. Sogwdic7kl I ,jo ll pot i A th e ' tb ° 'to' wick, aged 66. ü bo n 0 v e ar- f bite' On the 25th January, at so' , ° t, 0 - . 01 0 0 00 Capt.:in Geo. Reynolds, ELM- 70tb N e l f , ilutit; ii , to , t o .' Lawrence Reynolds, Esq., Paxton a to ol, _a t to ' Lawrence On the 12th ult, killed, before Sao,: 4 ,-i i , c b ,„ , Douglas, Lieut. R.N ,of her MajestY is, of v ' _a 0 0 7 Of son of Lieutenant-Colonel Claud Doug'' t ll.l 10 ° , 0 ' Army, age d 23. s _„., frollkg , 00 0 , On the 2 ith ult., at sea, on his pas a sses h i s te Bryan 1 Africa, Lieut. F. G. Probyn, R.-0 ~ a r 101013,4 0 : s o t I r e g t 0 1 r reale $1;1 : sec o o n nd th e e ol o o t f h Captainiesm M r Edward viParrotblysno,lo°;o,, 017 , /,.. /46 0 road, Southwark, aged 81. ---- - "<srOinlg t - --- - - Lo o lr f D N o o y . ; I P 2 ri , nstetradnadn,dpPriunbteli,a, a hec t i , Tu b° ri Gr o :o/ 0 0 6 :00 11141 S t rand, in the Prec inct of the Savo • Middlesex, Saturday, May 1 2 , e. s ;, s