The Sun. — London, England, 1856-05-10 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT, HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDIY). The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at five o'clock. Earl FITZ WILLIAM presented a petition from Cam bridge in favour of the Oath of Abjuration Bill. The Earl of SHAFTESBURY presented several peti tions against the Maynooth Grant. Earl NELSON presented several petitions from places in Gloucestershire against the abolition of Churoh rates until an equivalent bad been provided. Lord CALTHORPE presented similar petitions. Lord BROUGHAM presented several petitions in favour of an amendment on the County Courts Act, and al , o a petition from Liverpool in favour of an amend ment of the mercantile law. Lord LYNDHURST presented a similar petition from Bristol. JUDICIAL STATISTICS. Lord BROUGHAM laid on the table a bill upon the subject of judicial statistics. The bill was read a first time. THE QUEEN'S MESSAGE PENSION TO GENERAL WILLIAMS. The CLERK at the table having read the message of her Majesty in reference to the pension to General Williams, Earl GRANVILLE then rose and moved a re solution thanking her Majesty for her most gracious message, and to assure her that the house would cor dially co-operate with her Majesty in conferring a pen sion of one thousand pounds a-year upon General Williams of Kars. (Loud cheers.) The noble earl then proceeded to review the military career of General Williams, and to pass a glowing euloginm upon the gallant officer. The noble earl stated that General Williams first distinguished himself at Ceylon, where he fulfilled the office of an engineer. It was impos sible to read the despatches of General,Williams, written under circumstances of great difficulty, without coming to the conclusion that the gallant officer was possessed of very superior qualities, and was quite worthy of any honour it was in the power of this country and the Bri tish Parliament to confer upon him. Col. Lake, Major Teesdale, and the other British officers by whom Gen. Williams was surrounded while endeavouring to defend the beleaguered city of Kars, were also well deserving of the highest commendation for the great skill and in tegrity they displayed during that memorable siege. Dr. Sandwith had also done himself immortal honour on the same occasion, and in the interesting book which he had written upon the subject, he described Major Teesdale as an officer only about 23 years of age, but who had shown the most extraordinary coolness and intrepidity even when standing amidst a shower of bullets. The noble Earl also paid a tribute of praise to the Turkish sol diers, who had acted gallantly under the most distressing circumstances. These gallant men had been known to stand guard, whilst in a starving condition, over flour, and falling dead at their posts rather than unlawfully touch the means whereby their lives might have been saved. The noble earl concluded by moving the resolution he had read at the commencement of his speech. The resolution was agreed to non. con. STANDING ORDERS. Lord REDESDALE moved the resolution, of which he had given notice, viz., that this house will not read any bill a second time after Tuesday, the 221 July, ex cept bills of aid, or supply, or any bill in relation to which the house shall have resolved, before the second reading is moved, that the circumstances which render legisla• tion on the subject of the same expedient are either of such recent occurrence or real urgency as to render the immediate consideration of the same necessary. After a short discussion, in which Earl GRANVILLE, Earl GREY, and other peers took part, the resolution was agreed to. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. The Bishop cf OXFORD rose to move for a select committee to inquire into the mode of administer ing capital punishment. It was not his intention to' enter into the question as to whether the capital punishment should be public or private ; but what he wished to ascertain was what was the measure and na ture of public executions. The right rev. prelate then instanced the evil consequences arising from executions as at present carried out, and said that in a great num ber of the United States of America the mode of execu tion had been altered, by requiring only the presence of certain prescribed witnesses ; and he had been assured, by eminent Americans, that there was not a single man in the Union who would return to the old practice. He might refer to the continent of Europe—te Prussia and Bavaria, for examples of the same kind. If the real way of deterring from crime was to diminish the horrors of punishment, which appeared to be the current of our re cent legislation, they still kept up executions as public spectacles. They had abolished quartering and disem- Dowelling, and the whole course of their legislation had been to do away with those forms of punishment which merely addressed themselves to the feelings. The evils of the present system were not merely hardening men to the sight of blood, or accustoming them to witness that spirit of obduracy which elevated a miserable criminal to the dignity of a hero, but the experience of every year made it more difficult to carry iota effect the last sentence of law in those cases in which capital punishment ought to be inflicted. Nothing could be more injurious than to have the severe penalties of the law fitfully carried into exe cution. Unless they could reduce the punishment to certainty its deterring effect was destroyed. Of late there had been very few instances of the execution of women for the very highest class of offences. He ad mitted that it was not for Parliament to consider the manner in which the royal prerogative of mercy had in any case been administered ; but he must notice that where there was a string of cases of murder, and that for no reason which met the public eye mercy had been extended to the offenders, that course certainly appeared to hold out a temptation to other criminals that they would equally escape the last sentence of the law. He must say that he was wholly unable to conceive the reason why in those cases the royal attribute of mercy should have been extended. It seemed to him• that it bad peen extended to cases in which, so far as the public knew, there were the strongest reasons why, if murder was to be punished at all, the sentence ought to have been entorcet When a woman appointed a child five years old to meet her at a certain place, intending to dye her hand in the blood of that child, with the deliberate intention of inflicting a wound on the father, he could not conceive a stronger case in which the life of the offender should be forfeited to the law. Civil society was the institution of God, and they could not deter from ceime unless they declared that civil society on be half of God punished criminals—that, in the words of the New Testament, "The civil magistrate beareth not the sword in vain"—that was, "to execute justice on him who doeth unrighteousness." But if the spectacles of public executions created great difficulty in the way of carrying into effect the sentence of the law in those cases which required the infliction of capital punishment, they would, if they abstained from dealing with the subject, make themselves accessories to its fitful and uncertain execution, which was, perhaps, the worst evil which could attend the administration of justice. For these reasons he would venture to ask the house to appoint this select committee, which would include in its delibe rations the particular mode in which criminals were to I be put to death. (Hear.) Lord CAMPBELL said he wished that some of his noble friends near him had stated whether it was the in tention of the Government to oppose or support the mo tion of the right rev. prelate. If the Government did did not intend to oppose it, he (Lord Campbell) should be exceedingly brief in his observations, because he very much concurred in the sentiments which had been ex pressed by his right rev. friend. He had always felt the great evils which had arisen from pablic executions. Those executions had been described by Fielding and by another novelist not second to Fielding—Mr. Charles Dickens; but he (Lord Campbell) still felt that Kreat evils might arise from privateexecutious. When he was a mem ber of the House of Commons, a proposal was made by Mr. Rich on the subject, but it was received by that house with horror. It was said that his hon. friend intend ed that criminals should be smothered or poisoned in pri son, and his proposal was not listened to. But since that time there had been a considerable alteration in the feel. her of the public. I n America a different system had been introduced with good effect. He would give no decided opinion upon the subject, but he strongly con curred with his right rev. friend that the question was one which ought to be referred to a committee of inquiry in the House of Commons. It had been said that nobody would beli eve t h at the private execution had been car ried into effe c t, an d the case of Governor Wall had been mentioned in support of that assertion. Governor Wall had been convicted of murder —most improperly convicted as he (Lord Campbell) thought, but it he bad been pri vately executed the publi c would never have believed that the sentence had been carried into effect. Lord REDESDALE said that he did not not con vinced to the j s appointment of the committee, althou g h h e sva that any case for a change had been established. In some cases—those connected with political offences— it would be most undesirable to have th e execution in private. He should rejoice, if means could be taken to destroy that morbid excitement which executions occa sioned in low minds by keeping the death and struggles of the criminal more out of sight. Those who reed the daily papers could hardly see one which did not contain some account of crimes committed by women —of the bodies of children being found exposed in some part of the country or another. He believed that there was a general inclination on the part of judges, juries and all the parties concerned to let these crimi nals off, but it was well known that of those who had been convicted under the most aggravated circumstances not one for a series of years had been executed. ,He must state that he had not made up his mind as to the advan tage of private executions. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE said that he could not consent to the appointment of this committee, if he understood that it was the intention of the right rev. prelate to substitute private executions —properly so called, for public executions. He believed that, in con sequence of the confusion, tumult, mobbing, and o th er disgraceful circumstances which attended public execu tions, doubts were raised in the minds of persons, espe cially among the lower orders, as to whether the proper individuals had been executed. He recollected that in his schoolboy days a general belief was entertained that Dr. Dodd had not been executed, and that some con trivance cr another had been adopted for deceiving the public. He thought the country was greatly indebted to the right rev. prelate for having called attention to to this subject, with the view of ascertaining whether some other mode of execution could be adopted which would .be more effectual in repressing the commission of rime. Tae.Bishop of OXFORD observed that whatever other med*s Rf execution were adopted, he should object to any shedding of blood at an execution. The noble mar quis had mentioned the case of Dr. Dodd ; but another remarkable case, in which uncertainty existed as to the execution having been actually carried out, was that of the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth. The motion was then agreed to. BANKRUPTCY (SCOTLAND) BILL. On the motion of the LORD CHANCELLOR this bill was read a second time. COUNTY COURTS ACTS AMENDMENT ACT. The report of amendments to this bill was brought up and agreed to. JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES WINDING-UP ACTS AMENDMENT BILL. This bill with amendments was read a third time. TICKET-OF-LEAVE SYSTEM. Lord DTJNGANNON, in rising to bring forward his motion condemnatory of the ticket-of-leave system, of which he had given notice, complained that, though the Lord President had intimated before the last recess his intention to move for the appointment of a committee to consider the subject, he had not yet named the commit. tee, nor fixed any day for the nomination. The ticket of-leave system was a serious and crying evil, which was daily increasing, and the effects of which were felt both in populous places and in the agricultural districts. In stead of a ticket-of-leave conferring a benefit on a man it did exactly thetreverse, for it led persons to lookupon him with suspicion. If the Government were determined to release these people after a short period of imprisonment, it would be better to make them free men altogether, but still to keep them under the vigilance of the police, so that when they re-entered society it might be thought that the remainder of their sentence had been remitted in consequence of their good conduet ; whereas now the ticket-c,f-leave was looked upon simply as a condi tional guarantee, leaving them liable at any time to be required to undergo the full period of their sentence. He should not press his motion if he received any intimation from the Government that there was some probability of a committee being speedily formed to consider this im portant question. Lord BERNERS having had considerable experience in this matter, could state that the ticket-of-leave sys tem had failed in accomplishing the object for which it had been established. He quoted from statistics of crime in the county of Leicester, to show that a consi derable per-centage of the ticket-of-leave men in the county had been reconvicted. The Duke of ARGYLL said there was no disposition on the part of the Government to throw any difficulty in the way of the proposed inquiry. The question was now left in the bands of a noble baron who had just left the house (Lord Stanley of Alderley), and he had deferred proposing the committee, because an inquiry of the same nature was going on in the other House of Parliament, but he believed it was his intention to have it nominated soon after Whitsuntide. He (the Duke of Argyll) did not believe the system had been a failure. The report to which he had alluded on a former evening, relative to this subject, was not yet ready to be laid on their lord ships' table ; but he had no doubt that when they came to read that report they would find that the proportion of men who, after being liberated on tickets of leave had been again convicted was greatly exaggerated. The subject then dropped. Their lordships then adjourned until Monday, the 19th instant. HOUSE OF COMMONS.--(YEsTERDAY.) The SPEAKER took the chair at the usual hour. NEW MEMBER. Captain Berkeley took the oaths and his seat for Chel tenham. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Lords' amendments to the Hey wood Gas and the Doddington Rectory Division Bills were agreed to. The Scotch Drainage Improvement Company Bin was read a third time and passed. The Knaresborough and Pateley Bridge Road, and the Knaresborough and Hammerton Road Bills, were considered, and ordered to be read a third time. Mr. H. BERKELEY presented petitions in favour of vote by ballot. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE presented petitions against the Settled Estates Bill, by which Hampstead•heath was sought to be enclosed. A number of petitions against the Scotch and Irish Poor Removal Bill, the Abolition of Church Rates, and the Vaccination Bill, were presented. COUNTY COURT JUDGES. Mr. CRATTFURD moved for returns of the names of judges of county courts, clerks, or high bailiffs to whom any retiring allowance, annuity, or payment had been made by a minuteof the Treasury since the establishment of the county courts in 1847, date of such payment, and amount of it in each case ; the section of the Act of Parliament by which they are authorised, and the fund from which they are paid. And, of the amount of all fees and payments made to each of the high bailiffs of county courts, including all fees and payments respect ing the services of summonses, executions, holding pos session, and insolvency, or from any ether source con nected with their office, in the year 1855, and the amount of payments made to sub-bailiffs, and other official expenses.—Agreed to. PAUPERS 3 Sir J. SHELLEY moved for returns of the number of paupers admitted into the Poor Law - Union and other Workhouses of the metropolis, during the year ending the 25th day of March, 1356 ; the number of persons who have been untler medical treatment, and of deaths ; the salary and extras of the medical officer in charge ; by whom the drugs are supplied ; if by the Guardians, stating the coat and, of the number of prisoners confined in the various gaols and houses of detention in the metropolis, during the year ending the 25th day of March, 1856 ; the amount of sickness, and number of deaths ; the salary and extras of the medical officer in charge ; by whom the drugs are supplied ; if by the authorities, stating the costs.—Agreed to. CONSTABULARY (IRELAND.) Mr. DE VERE moved fora return of the names or all cadets and sub-inspectors appointed or re-appointed to the constabulary force since the Ist day of January, 1854, and specifying the instances in which the parties had previously served in the force.—A greed to. PRESTON WORKHOUSE. Sir G. B. PECHELL moved for copies of any com munication to the Poor-law Board from the magistrates of the county of Lancaster, acting as ex-officio guardians in the Preston Union, and others, respecting the erec tion of a new workhouse ; with any reply to the same, and any order from the Poor-law Board to the guardians of that union on the subject.—Agreed to. THE COAST GUARD. Mr. STIRLING asked the Secretary to the Treasury if the withdrawal of the coast guard for employment i❑ the navy in 1354 and 1855 was followed by any appre ciable increase and loss of revenue ; and if he could state the difference of expense between the coast guard and the temporary substitute which replaced it ? Mr. WILSON raid the coast guard bad been with drawn to perform other duties in 1854, and their places had bean supplied by other parties, bat in consequence of that withdrawal the revenue had not suffered. The revenue on tobacco had increased. KENSINGTON GARDENS. Mr. T. CHAMBERS asked the First Commissioner of Works if he had taken the opinion of the law offi cers of the Crown as to whether the sale of refresh inents on Sunday in the booths about to be erected in the public parks would expose the vendors to the penalties imposed by the act 29th of Charles IL, c. 7. Sir B. HALL said, in reply to the question of the hon. gentleman, he did not think there was any necessity to consult the law officers on the point, for this simple reason, that as regarded Kensington-gardens and Vic toria-park, it was merely an extension of a practice that had for some time been in existence, more especially in;;Victoria-park. The act of Charles was no doubt in existence, and any person could put it in force ; but if such a proceeding was adopted, every confectioner's shop would be shut up, every railway closed, and every telegraph stopped. (Hear, and laughter.) THE FOREIGN LEGION. Col. DUNNE asked whether the pay and allowances mentioned in the return laid on the table of the house were the only advantages to be granted to the officer 3 and men of the Foreign Legion ? Mr. F. PEEL said the return was perfectly accurate —the officers would be allowed 3 months' pay, and the men 12 months' pay. METROPOLIS LOCAL ACT AMENDMENT BILL. In reply to Mr. T. DEINCOMBE, Sir B. HALL said it was intended to withdraw the present bill, which stood on the paper for this evening, and to introduce a new bill after the Whitsuntirle recess. THE LATE ASSAULT BY THE POLICE. Mr. BOWYER wished to aik the Secretary for the Home Department if his attention had been drawn to a violent assault committed by a policeman upon a young la ly on the occasion of the proclamation of peace, and ales whether he intended taking steps to discover the offender Sir G. GREY said his attention had .been drawn to the circumstance alluded to. The magistrate before whom the assault was heard had dismissed the case. He had been in communication with that magistrate, but it was not usual for the Secretary of State to inter fere in such cases unless same complaint was made to him. No such complaint had been made to him, but he had given orders to the police authorities to use their utmost exertions to discover the man, and when that w as accomplished further steps would be taken. Mr. T. DIINCOMBE asked why the recommenda ti in n of th e commissioners who sat last year on the police cruelties It h t the been c a police r ri m e d e n ' into Yde-park, that the letters and figures on s effect. coatsshouldeet. If b i t h e more r d h e ee n , distinct, probably had not the lady in question would not have mistaken the policeman? Sir G. GREY said h e gave directions thatit should be and he th ought it had been done. REACHre,rried into Oeffe cFT REATY BY THE PORTUGUESE GOVERNMENT. Mr. T. CllAMBERSaskedtheFirstLord of the Trea sury "what communicationenad passed between the Fo reign-office and the Portuguese Governm en t on the sub ject of the claims ofYr breach of treaty, sinc e a select uille,Shortridge, and C ompany, upon that country for committee of this house reported on those claims ; an d whether he had any objection to lay the correspondence on the table ?" Lord PALMERSTON said that application had been made to the Portuguese Government respecting the breach of treaty in question, but as yet no answer had been received. He had no objection to lay the corres pondence upon the table of the house. CANADA AND THE WEST INDIES. In reply to a question from Sir S. NORTHCOTE, Mr. LABOUCHERE said there had been a communi cation between the Chairman of the Board of Coinmerce of the Canadian Legislature, and the authorities of the West India Islands, relative to the abolition of the respective duties on the commerce of the two colonies, but he be lieved it had not been carried into effect. He had no 3A• r 1-7 TitH-R—SUN; LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING; MAY le. 1856. oblection to lay the correspondence relating to it on the table of the house. PRESENTATION OF MEDALS TO THE SAR DINIAN ARMY. In answer t') a question from Mr. OTwAY, Mr. F. FEEL said that her Majesty's Government had decided that Crimean medals should be distributed to the Sardinian army equal to that distributed to the French and the Turkish armies. The medals had been forwarded to the Crimea, but he believed had not yet arrived. of the decision of the Court of Directors, as the matter bad not yet come; before him. PROMOTION IN THE SCIENTIFIC CORPS. Mr. EWART begged to ask the Clerk of the Ord ounce whether it was now established as a rule of pro motion in the scientific corps of the army that no sub it ern officer, however he might have distinguished him self as such officer, could be advanced to a brevet majority until he should have again subsequently distin guished himself as a captain ? Mr. MONSELL said there was no such rule as the bon. gentleman referred to, but he was bound to say there were very few instances of promotion to brevet majorities for services performed as subalterns. THE BANK CHARTER ACT. Mr. MALINS reminded the house that when the Bank Charter was under discussion in February the Chancellor of the Exchequer had admitted the importance of the question, and stated that he would not object to appoint a select committee, but the time was inopportune. Since then the stock of bullion and the reserve of notes had considerably diminished, and it was the duty of the Government to guard against the recurrence of the crisis of 1847. He begged to ask the Chancellor of the Ex chequer whether, seeing that the bullion in the Bank of England continued to diminish, it:was the intention of the Government to allow the present session of Parlia inent to expire without taking any measure to relax the strictness of the provisions of the act of 1844 which re gulated the issue of Bank notes ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, with the Permission of the house, would answer the question in re ference to the present state of things only; the amount of bullion in the Bank on the sth January last was 10,537,0001. ; on the 26th March it was 9,723,000/. ; and On Saturday last, the 3d May, 9,807,000/. ; showing a decrease since the beginning of the year of 730,0001. This drain of bullion was owing, in a great degree, to remit tances on account of the Turkish loan. The residue of that now in the Bank was about 650,0001. Against a Portion of that bills would be drawn, so that only the sum of 200,0001. would be remitted in specie, and the drain on account of the commissariat chest would be con- Oiderably lessened. Under these circumstances it was likely the stock of bullion would increase ; and in answer to the question he could only say it was not the inten tion of the Government to propose any such measure as he hon. gentleman referred to. ter, that he felt himself bound, as an act of justice, to express his opinion upon the subject. There cauld not be the slightest doubt that he had properly exercised hi. dis cretion, and this opinion was strengthened by the judg ment of the Queen's Bench on a late occasion, in a case in which an application was made fora mandamus to compel him (the Attorney-General) to issue his fiat for a writ of error. That was a case in which the prisoner wished to bring error upon the ground that the place where the offence was proved to have been committed was not within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court, where the prisoner was tried. The Court of Queen's Bench held that, as that was an objection of which the prisoner might have taken advantage at the trial, and as he had had substantial justice done to him, the Attorney- General was right in refusing his fiat, and that he had exercised a wise discretion. The man was charged with a foul murder, and had the right of challenge. A juror was discharged, on the ground of illness ; another man was added, and the jury were re-sworn. The prisoner's counsel took their chance of a verdict ; and now they came upon a purely technical point, and wanted to have the objection argued in a court of error. He considered that the right hon. gentleman the Attorney-General for Ireland was to be admired for the moral courage of re fusing to sign the fiat ; and he hoped that after the full discussion which had taken place on the subject, in this and the other house of Parliament, no blame whatever would attach to him for taking that course. Mr. WHITESIDE observed that in the present case the prisoner admitted that he had no objection to the 12th juror sworn in the room of the juror who was dis charged, but he was not told that he had the privilege of challenging the others. He (Mr. Whiteside) thought, under all the circumstances, it would have been well if the Clerk of the Crown had given the same intimation to the prisoner with respect to the 11 jurors that he had done with respect to the 12th. At the same time he thought the right hon. gentleman was quite justified in refusing the fiat. Mr. NAPIER agreed with the hon. and learned gen tleman who spoke last as to the advisability of having given the prisoner an intimation that ho had a right of challenge, but considered that the Attorney-General for Ireland was justified in withholding the fiat. Mr. M‘MAH - ON thought, if the right ofchallenge was not an idle privilege, it ought to complied witti as a matter of course, and expressed a wish that in this case the right hon. gentleman the Attorney• General for Ireland would yield to its application, and allow the point to be reserved. Every subject of this country had a right, whenever a wrong judgment was pronounced against him, to have it brought under the review of a superior and competent authority, He would be the last man in the house to shield an assassin, and in all probability this man was one, but he would be glad to see him have a trial which would give public satisfaction on the ground that no privilege which the law gave was withheld. (Hear.) Mr. I. BUPT hoped that this refusal to allow a writ of error would not be construed into a precedent. A writ of error did not mean that the sentence should be reversed, but that the mode of trial should be reviewed by a higher authority. The question here was, whether the prisoner had any right which the law withheld from him. A barrister of the highest eminence in Ireland had deliberately certified that there was an error in the proceedings sufficient to reverse the judgment in a writ of error, and no man who knew Mr. Fitzgibbon could doubt that he was convinced of the validity of the point, or he would not have certified at all. If there was a mistake committed, it was the mistake of the Attorney-General, who was bound to give the pri soner every right the law allowed him. He did not wish to see such a power as this placed in the bands of the Attorney-General, for be believed that it was giving him an assertion of power and a prerogative which might be mischievous and dangerous in its exercise. Mr. BAINES said, upon the very best construction of this case, he considered that the manner in which the authority vested in the Attorney-General for Ireland had been exercised on this occasion was perfectly sound and judicious, and it must be satisfactory to his right hon. friend that those most qualified to express an opinion, he meant the high judicial authorities in another place, one after another pronounced their approbation of the manner in which his discretion had been used. Mr. J. G. PHILLIMORE said he entirely concurred in the opinion of the right hon. gentleman who spoke last, and that he should regret if anything were to deter the Attorney-General from conscientiously exercising his prerogative for the purpose of justice. He admitted that the power vested in him was anomalous, hut as it was so vested, he thought a proper use of it had been made on this occasion. Mr. WATSON also concurred in the opinion of the two hon. members who had lait addressed the house. He could not conceive the right hon. and learned gen tleman performing his duty in any other way than he had. He was supported by ail the cases in the course which he had taken, and if it was in the option of the prisoner to bring a writ of error, the right would be abused to defeat the ends of justice. If fault there was, it lay in the counsel for the prisoner, who did not avail himself of the error at the time. He deprecated that hon. and learned members should send it out to the world that a merely technical objection touched the substance of the trial, and affected the justice of the sentence. Sergeant SHEE said the question before the house rested much upon the facts of the case. The prisoner challenged 20 jurors peremptorily, and one more he challenged for cause, but he failed to produce his wit• flosses to prove the cause, and the Attorney-General in sisted upon that juror being sworn. The subsequent ill ness of one of the jurors gave the prisoner a right to challenge peremptorily all the 11 jurors, and among them the man whom he had not been able to exclude on account of the absence of the witnesses. Tile Attorney- General would have done well to have given the prisoner the opportunity of challenging that particular juryman peremptorily, when events had given him the right, and the better course for the right hon. gentleman now to pursue would be to advise the Crown to put the case in a course for being heard before the judges in Dublin. EMBARKATION OF THE TROOPS FROM THE CRIMEA.. Sir J. WALSH said he was desirous of calling the at tention of the house, as they were the guardians of the public purse, to the continuance of our troops in the Crimea, which entailed a heavy burden on the country, and deprived us to that extent of the blessings of peace. Moreover, the highly satisfactory condition of the army at present would soon be exposed to the heats of summer and the malaria of autumn, frequent and dangerous in those countries, and therefore it would give him great satisfaction to know what measures were in progress to bring home the troops without delay. He would ask the First Lord of the Admiralty, first, at what period he ex pected the first embarkation of the troops from the Crimea ? and, secondly, whether he could at all fix a limit to the period within which the whole would be withdrawn ? Sir C. WOOD said, in answer to the first question, that the first embarkation of troops t')ok place a fort night ago, and that 5,000 troops had already arrived i❑ Italy. The stations in the Mediterranean would first of all be occupied by the 'Crimean army, so as to relieve the militia which were there at present. The troops would be removed from the Crimea nearly in the order in which they were sent out. It was impossible to fix the precise period within which they could be removed, but his ex pectation was that the great mass of them would have returned early in the month of September. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE. Mr. WILKINSON drew the attention of the house to the questions on which four hours a half had been wasted in conversation. He appealed to the house whether that was a satisfactory mode of dealing with the business of the country. While such was the prac tice, no leader of the house could lay down any business in the hope that it could be carried through with advan tage and success. He hoped some arrangement might be contrived for checking that kind of desultory conver sation, and appealed to the lions.) for their support if he should hereafter bring the subject more formally before it. (Hear, hear.) Mr. CRA.UFURD suggested that greater opportu nities should be afforded to private members to bring forward business in which they were interested. The adjournment of the house to Monday, the 19th, was then agreed to. LAWS OF IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT. Mr. A. PELLATT said that he would, on an early day, ask leave to bring in a bill to amend the laws of imprisonment for debt. The house then proceeded to the orders of the day. GENERAL WILLIiMS. The Clerk at the table having read her Majesty's gracious message, whereby she recommended that a pen sion of 1,0001. a-year be conferred on General Sir Wil liam Penwick Williams, K.C.B. Lord PA.LYIERSTON said-s:r, the brilliant ser vices of Sir W. Williams are so fresh in the recollection of every one I have the honour of addressing, that I should feel that really I was almost doing an injustice to him if I were to enter into any detail of the gallant ser vices in which he has been so recently engaged. It has seldom fallen to the lot of any man to perform services calculated to produce more important results than those which have depended upon the exertions of the gallant officer in question. Sir, I have only this one remark to make —I believe Sir W. Williams is a native of Nova Scotia ; and it must, therefore, be a matter of satisfaction to the house that our fellow countrytu3n in North Annrica have bee❑ partakers, in the person of Gen. Williams, in the satis• faction of sharing in the honour of the distinguished ser vices that have marked the progress of the war. Sir, the paper I now hold in my hand states that her Majesty has been graciously pleased to confer upon Sir William Williams the rank of a baronetcy, and, in order to mark more distinctly those services, she hal hem pleased to grant that the dignity be held under the style and title of Sir William Williams, of Kars. (Cheers.) Sir J. PAKINGTON said that, in point of strict form, it was not necessary that a motion made in committee should be seconded, but he hoped the house would bear with him for a few brief sentences, i❑ which he desired to express how cordially be concurred in the motion of the noble lord. He considered that not only would the motion of the noble lord be carried by acclamation within the walls of the house, but he believed and hoped that, out of doors, the proposal would receive the sanction and support with no less unanimity of every-subject of her Majesty. No member of the house concurred more heartily than he'did in the tribu'ie of gratitude to the gallantry of the army and of the navy which was yester day so eloquently proposed by the noble lord and so unanimously adopted by the house. Next, after those , signal mercies, for which during this war the nation had had reaso❑ to be thankful to Divine Providence. the early and successful termination of the war must bs at tributed to the devotion and gallantry of the army and r. avy. Never had those high qualities been so distin guished as during the late war ; and he would take that opportunity of repeating the ,taternens of the noble lord the member for London, that the events of the let • war afforded an adiLt onal and triumphant p.oof of the vigour and power of free institutions. (Cheers.) But the situation and services of General Williams at Kars were altogether separate and distinct from those al lnded to and recognised in the rote of yesterday. In the case of General Williams neither the high spirit of the British people, nor the native gallantry of the British army, could exercise any influence on the fate of Kars. Had it been otherwise, it would net be presump teous to predict that the fate of that fortress would have been very different from what it was. But he thought he should only speak the general opinion which every man must feel, when he stated that the conduct of General Williams, in the defence of Kars, displayed a combination of all the highest qualities of the British character. (Hear.) He was brave, sagacious, enduring —both prudent and skilful. He (Sir J. Pakington) thought the conduct of that distinguished officer, during that gallant defence, combined the highest character istics of an Englishman with the greatest gallantry and skill which could confer eminence on an English general. Amongst other reasons for rejoicing at the termination of the war, and the return of the blessings of peace, was, that it terminated the captivity of Gen. Williams. He could not part with the subject without a passing word of recognition of the generous tribute paid by General Mouravieff, and recognised in the most grateful language by Gen. Williams himself, and of which they found an interesting record in the pages of Dr. Saudwith. Gen. Williams, within a few days, was about to return to this c iuntrv, and he trusted that, upon his return, he would be received with that enthusiasm which his eminent ser vices deserved. He (Sir J. Pakington) ter one, and he thought all his fellow countrymen, must feel grateful to her Majesty and her Majesty's Government for the prompt and appropriate recognition of Gen. Williams's ervices, which, although not crowned with success, would stand out in history most conspicuous and distin guished among those gallant deeds of which there were so many during the late war. (Hear, hear.) Mr. S. FITZGERALD said he did not propose to in terfere with the passing of the vote, but that, while the house was acknowledging the brilliant services of Gen. Williams, he would venture to hope they would not for get the services of the gallant but small band—(hear, hear) —that stood by his side through the many eventful menths of that eventful siege, and who contributed as much as anything to make the British name re spected. He had no wish to make any mention of par ticular instances, but with regard to those persons the country bad not been so prompt in recognising their services. Take the case of Col. Lake. lie had given up a very valuable post in the East Indies, and was after wards employed at Kars, at a very reduced salary. There he rendered the most distinguished services, and in a very short time he was enabled to make the trifling fortress of Kars almost impregnable. The best tribute to his services was to be found in an appellation of the Rus sians, who called him the English Todtleben. From the way in which the Russians had recognised the services of Todtleben, be (Mr. Fitzgerald) thought we might take a lesson, arid somewhat more liberally reward those gal lant men. In the case of Lieut. Teesdale, there was no one who could not be struck with the intelligence and extreme prudence of all his arrangements. One incident had been recorded by Dr. Sandwith. He was upon one occasion taken prisoner, when he was recognised as the Englishman who, under a heavy storm of guns and mus ketry, rushed forward and saved the life of a Russian officer, who was being ill-used by some fanatics. Some times they did find a combination of great qualities, and in this instance it must be acknowledged that. the hu manity of this officer was only equalled by his modesty. He was sure that, if they passed that vote, General Williams himself, though he would gratefully appreciate the recognition of his services by Parliament, would feel that something was wanting to make his satisfaction complete, if his honours were not shared by those whose counsel and co-operation had contributed to his rewards. (Hear.) He (Mr. Fitzgerald) thought the Government might have taken this into consideration, and, still more, he hoped that no official routine--nothing of what was called red-tapism—would prevent unprecedented services from meeting with unprecedented rewards. Col. NORTH, remarking upon the fees that were payable upon the conferring of a baronetcy, observed that, upon the occasion of Sir J. Burgoyne's baronetcy being brought before the house, the fees were paid by the Government. He hoped that this would be done in the present instance. Sir G. GREY intimated that such would be the case. Col. NORTH said he was very happy to hear it. He had heard that a great number of additions were to be made to the Order. of the Bath on the occasion of her Majesty's birthday. He hoped that the services of some officers who had been overlooked hitherto would not be forgotten. Let them take the case of Lieut.-Colonel Packs. What were the circumstances there ? His late lamented friend Col. Yea commanded a brigade on the occasion of the attack on the Redan. He was shot down within 30 or 40 yards of the fortress, and consequently was not able to sign the casualty return. Lieut.-Colonel Packe's name was thus unfortunately omitted by Lord Raglan in the despatches and he was therefore d e prived of the Order of the B a th , from the circumstance of his being badly wounded at the head of his regiment. It was necessary that some change should be made in the statutes of the order. He was glad to hear that the fees of the baronetcy were always to be remitted. Sir G. GREY—No, no. Col. NORTH—At least, then, he hoped, when it was conferred for distinguished services. Mr. STAFFORD said—That as the noble lord had paid so graceful a tributeto the services of Gen. Williams, he would not attempt to add anything to the subject ; but he could not let the opportunity pass without pay. ing some tribute to the merits of Dr. Sand with. Why was Dr. Sandwith here ? From a cause equally honour. able to himself and Gen. Mouravieff. Impressed with the great humanity and skill with which he had treated, not only Turks, but also Russian prisoners, Gen. Mou ravieff set him free at once. That was a great credit to Dr. Sandwith. He (Mr. Stafford) would not suggest to the Government the course they ought to pursue, but be thought be might leave the case of this humane and ho meurable man in their hands with perfect confidence. Mr. WATSON, referring to the case of Lieut. Tees dale, said that he was a very young officer, who had shown the greatest gallantry ; but he was only a lieute nant of artillery, with 35 officers over his head. Judging from the ability which this officer had shown in the de fence of Kars, in defending batteries, and bringing up his guns—and considering how rare that ability was in the army—he (Mr. Watson) did hope he might obtain the promotion he deserved. The motion was then agreed to. The houge re , nmed. THE POLICE (COUNTIES AND BOROUGHS, BILL. The house went into committee on this bill. On clause 11, Sir W. JO LLIFFE moved to leave out so much of the clause as made the payment by the Treasury of a portion of the charge for the police in counties and boroughs de pendent upon the certificate of the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State was at present armed with suffi cient powers under the General Police Act. Suppose this clause should beceme law, would it tend to make the police more efficient in counties and boroughs ? g e thought not, and therefore he trusted the clause would be altered. After a, few words from several hon. members, Sir G. GREY said that he thought he should con sult the feelings of the committee by introducing a pro viso to the effect that before the Secretary of State re fused his certificate the report of the inspectors should be sent to the justices of the peace or the watch committee affected thereby, who should have an opportunity of re plying to the statements contained in the report, and then, if the Secretary of State still felt bound to withhold his certificate, the papers showing the ground 4 upon which it was so withheld would be laid before Parlia ment. (Rear.) He would make a proviso to the effect at the proper time. Sir J. PAKINGTON expressed himself satisfied with the proviso. Sir W. JOLLIFFE said that many of the objections which he entertained to the clause were removed by the proviso, but he still thought the clause objectionable. He would not, however, divide the committee. The amendment was then withdrawn. Sir H. WILLOUGHBY moved as an amendment, that one-half the expense, instead of one-fourth, should be defrayed out of the Consolidated Fund. Sir G. GREY said that the clause relieved the property in counties from the payment of a rate to which it hal been formerly liable. When the hon. member said that this police rate was so unjust with respect to the pro perty upon which it was charged, he thought he had much over-stated the case. He felt boend to state that the Government had maturely considered the subject, and they believed that one fourth was a fair proportion, and, in making that proposal, he trusted the committee would sustain him. Mr. KNIGHT supported the amendment. 1 1 / 1 r; IY.BEIsiTINak had not beard anytithig from the right hon. gentleman which would justify th e pro posal of the Government. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he apprehended there was no class of persons charged with direct taxes who were so numerous as the ratepayers of the country. The question, theref ore , ra i se d b y the hon. bark (Sir 11. Willoughby) was nothing more nor less than whether they should transfer this charge from the present ratepayers to the Queen's taxes. He thought that, if the scheme of taxation recommended by the hon. bart. were adopted, it would be found to be anything but an advantage to the State. He hoped tie committee would confine itself to the simple proposition before the house. If the house adopted the motion of the hon. bark it would Create considerable difficulty to the Govern ment, and it would be a matter for them to consider whether they should proceed further with the bill. Mr. E. DENISON thought that, takin g into conside. ration what th e G overnment would gain by the abolition of transportation, they would save even by adopting the motion of his hon. friend, charging one-half of the ex pence of the rural police on the Consolidated Fund. Nothing could be more unjust than the manner in which the county rate was levied. Mr. ROEBUCK said he entirely concurred that, by admitting one-fourth, they admitted the whole principle. The proposal of the hon. bait. was nothing more than a concealed system of communism, which would place a large sum on the table for everybody to grasp at. He did not wish to place in the hands of the Government any increased powers of surveillance. He objected to their being allowed to send down inspectors, on the faith of whose report should depend whether one-fourth were given out of the consolidated fund. This one fourth had been put in the bill as a sop to hon. members opposite. Before it was inserted, the country gentlemen were furious ; but now they had ceased to be furious, and were warm supporters of the bill. He looked upon cen tralisation as mischievous, and he warned the house and the country to be on their guard against any at. THE WHITSUN-HOLIDAYS. Lord PALMERSTON, in deference to the wish of the house, moved the adjournment of the house at its rising till Monday the 19th. The Government would lose by that arrangement eight hours of valuable time for the transaction of Government business, and he hoped the house after the recess would have no objection to allow the Government to take the eight hours on order nights after 12 o'clock. (Laughter.) PARDON TO FROST, WILLIAMS, JONES, SMITH O'BRIEN, AND OTHERS. Mr. T. DUNCOMBE asked the First Lord of the Treasury, whether, in consequence of the numerous memorials prevented at different times in favour of a full and free pardon to Messrs. Frost, Williams, Jones, Smith O'Brien and other political prisoners, whose con duct during exile had been without reproach, it was also the intention of her Majesty's Government, on the cele bration of peace, to advise her Majesty to comply with the prayer of those memorials, and thereby enable those exiles to return to their native land ? Lord PALMERSTON said that he had great plea sure in stating that the announcement that had ap• peared in the daily papers relative to the amnesty was entirely and perfectly true. (Loud cheers.) Her INlajesty, following the impulse of the dictates of those generous feelings which so eminently distinguished her, was determined to take advantage of the re turn to peace, and from the unexampled loyalty that pervaded the kingdom from one end of it to the other—(cheers)--to do an act of grace and clemency to wards all persons suffering exile for political offences (with the exception of those unfortunate persons who • had broken all the ties of honour), and the amnesty would therefore include the persons named by the right hon. gentleman the member for Finsbury, whose conduct since their banishment had been exem plary. (Cheers.) GREECE. Mr. JAMES MACGREGOR said that he wished to call the attention of the house to the state of Greece. The noble lord stated a few days ago that the state of Greece was such that a person was safe in no part of it for 24 hours, except on the road between Athens and the Piraeus. So far as his private information went, the statement of the noble lord was assented to by the whole population of Greece, except in one particular, where he ►mentioned that the distance between Athens and the Piraeus was three miles, it being in reality five miles. The state of Greece had been brought before the Pleni potentiaries at Paris, for he found in the protocol of the 22d of April the following important reference to it :-- " Count Walewski says that it is desirable that the pleni potentiaries, before they separate, should interchange their ideas o❑ different subjects which require to be settled, and which it might be advantageous to take up in order to pre vent fresh complications. Although specially assembled for settling the Eastern question, the congress, according to the first plenipotentiary of France, might reproach it self for not having taken advantage of the circumstance which brings together the representatives of tho principal powers of Europe, to clear up certain questions, to lay down certain principles, to express intentions—in fine, to make certain declarations, always and solely with the view of insuring the future tranquillity of the world, by dispel ling the clouds which are still looming on the political horizon before they become menacing. " It cannot be denied,he says, that Greece is in an abnor mal state. The anarchy to which that country was a prey has compelled France and England to send troops to the Piraeus at a time when their armies, nevertheless, did not want ovupation. The congress knows in what state Greece was ; neither is it ignorant that that in which it now is is far from being satisfactory. Would it not therefore be advantageous that the powers represented in the congress should manifest the wish to see the three protecting courts take into serious consideration the deplorable situation of the kingdom which they had created, and devise means to make provision for it ? " Count Walewski does not doubt that the Earl of Cla rendon will join with him in declaring that the two Ge. vernments await with impatience the time when they shall b 3 at liberty to terminate an occupation to which nevertheless they are unable without the most serious in convenience to put an end, so long as real modifications shall not be introduced into the state of things in Greece." It should be remembered that the protecting Powers had created the kingdom of Greece, they had guaranteed its independence, and they had also guaranteed a loan of money, on account of which there was now a large annual charge on the Consolidated Fund. The monarch whom these powers bad placed on the throne expended on his civil list one-twelfth of the whole revenue of the kingdom, and the state of the country was such as to call on the protesting powers to come to some decision as to the mode in which it was to be go verned. He (Mr. J. M'Gregor) admitted the principle laid down by Sir R. Peel, that we ought not to interfere with a friendly power ; but could Greece be called friendly when England and France bad been obliged to send their troops to the Piraeus, and when she was openly raising men to act against their ally ? The country was in a most disorderly state; in a short space of time there had been 18 executions for murder in Athens alone, and he thought he was entitled to ask the noble lord whether it Wai intended to take advantage of present circum stances to bring about a more satisfactory state of things in Greece ? After the hon. member for Sandwich had resumed his seat, Mr. N'AIAHON rose, and said he wished to know from the noble lord whether the recent amnesty would extend to those gentlemen who had fled to Ameriea with out trial, and to the poor men who had been transported to Bermuda for an attack on the police barrack at Port land ? Mr. GLADSTONE said he wished to call the atten tion of the house to the position in which they were likely to be placed by this licentious use of the privileges of members. (Hear.) Between a question whether a certain judge of the court of requests had gone away about his practice and left the jury waiting, and a ques tion as to the extent cf a❑ act of amnesty, his hon. friend the member for sandwich interposed one of the gravest and most important questions of European politics. His hon. friend bad read a passage from a protocol, and said it would appear that the conferences had met to decide on the government of the world ; but it did not seem to strike the hon. gentleman that he might very justly be said to seem to consider that the motion for the adjourn ment was made to enable him to get up a discussion on the government of the world. (" Hear, bear," and laughter.) The condition and the prosperity of the Aingdom of Greece involved grave questions, which ought not to be introduced in such a hap hazard and rambling way, and he hoped that it was not the intention of his noble friend to give any answer to the question on this occasion. He (Mr. Gladstone) was one of those who took a great interest in the fortunes of Vie kingdom of Greece, and on a proper opportunity he could state facts which would considerably modify the views of his hon. friend. At present he only wished to recall attention to what common sense and a regard for order demanded. Mr. SPOONER thought that the right hon, gentle man had dealt rather hardly with his hon. friend, al though he quite agreed with him that a practice was growing up which ought to be checked. (Elear, hear.) His hon. friend had peculiar sources of information as to the condition of Greece, and his anxiety was shared by many connected with that kingdom ; and the only ob ject of the question was to ascertain whether the atten tion of the noble lord had been directed to its present state. THE PENSION TO LORD DALHOUSIE. Sir E. PERRY would not have trespassed on the house after what had fallen from the right lion. member for Oxford University, but that the matter to which he was about to refer would be decided next week. He wished to know whether the attention of the right hon. the President of the Board of Control had been called to the resolution of the Court of Directors granting a pen sion of 5,0001. a year to the Marquis of Dalhousie, and to the legality of the grant. It appeared to him that the East India Company had no power to make such a grant. Under the provision of Mr. Pitt's act, passed in the last century, they could not grant any pension to a servant ex ceeding 3001. a year without the consent of the Board of Control, and he apprehended there was no subsequent act which would empower them to grant a pension of 5,0001 to one not a servant of the company. By the act of 1833 their revenues and territorial possassions were vested in the Crown, and they clearly had no right to make a grant from those revenues without the consent of the Crown. The act of 33 Geo. 111. enabled the company in its trading capacity to make certain grants, but as it had lost its cha racter of a trading company that act no longer applied. Ten years ago, when the Court of Directors granted an an nuity of 5,000/. to Lord Hardinge, it was sanctioned by an act of Parliament ; but even that was no precedent for the present case, as his lordship was then a servant of the company. Laying aside the question of legality, he wished to call the attention of the house to the consti tutional propriety of granting such pensions. Parliament had fixed the salary of the Governor-General at 240,000 rupees —about 26,000/. a year. If that was not enough, let it be increased. Lord Dalhousie might have been a most excellent Governor-General, but be protested against a course which might in a few years fill the Cabinet with pensioners of the Court of Directors. It was very possible that in a year or two some cabinet might have to decide on the powers of the Court of Directors, and the people of India could have no confidence in the decision of a cabinet which counted among its members four or five of their pensioners. He begged to ask the President of the Board of Control whether his attention had been called to the legality of the power claimed by the East India Company to confer annuities out of the re venues of India o❑ persons not in the service of the East India Company ; and whether, under the present constitution of the home government of India, such an nuities, in the opinion of the President, ought to be granted without the sanction of Parliament? Mr. V. SMITH said his hon. and learned friend bad claimed exemption from the general rule against such desultory motions, on the ground that something final was to be done next week, but he would soon cut that ground from under his feet • it was true, the Court of Directors had passed a resolution granting a pension to Lord Dalhousie, but that resolution should by law be submitted to two Courts of proprietors—the second of whom would not be held until Wednesday week, after the house bad met again, and the grant must then be submitted to Parliament • so that the hon. and learned gentleman's excuse for bringing on the subject at such an inconvenient time entirely failed. (Hear.) The hon. and learned gentleman had raised a legal question ; of course, if he (Mr. V. Smith) felt any doubt he would refer the subject to the law officers of the Crown, but at that moment he must decline to enter into the grounds THE MURDER OF MISS HINDS. Mr. KENNEDY rose to call the attention of the house to certain circumstances connected with the trial and conviction of Thos. Dunne, under sentence of execution for the 16th inst., for inciting Jas. Murphy and Patrick Bannon to murder Miss C. Hinds, and to the refusal of the Attorney-General for Ireland to grant his flat for a writ of error. The hon. and learned gentleman then read as affidavit, setting forth the circumstances of the case from the solicitor for the defence of the culprit Dunne. Those circumstances have been fully before the public, and it is only necessary to state the substance— namely, that one of the jury, sworn to try the prisoner, having fallen ill, and a new juror having been substi tuted, the prisoner's right of challenge was withheld to his prejudice. He thought that house a most improper tribunal to bring this case before, for the other house must be looked to as a Court of Appeal, as well as a branch of the Legislature. Mr. J, D. FITZGERALD said the hon. and learned gentleman who brought forward this motion was entitled to every consideration, for the question was one of life or death ; at the same time he (the Attorney-General for Ireland) had to consider his duty as a public officer in some degree representing the interests of the public. He did not complain of the course which had been pur sued by the hon. and learned gentleman, but there was clearly great misapprehension upon the subject. It was alleged that the prisoner was unfairly treated, by not being afforded the opportunity of challenging peremp torily the jury. Whether there was or was not any technical irregularity, he (Mr. Fitzgerald) was confident that the trial of the prisoner was most impartial, and he was at a loss to discover a single point upon which it could be alleged that an injustice had been done to, the prisoner. He was not aware whether the proceedings in criminal trials in this country were similar to those in Ireland, but there they were of a most solemn and im pressive nature, and the whole of them were observed most carefully upon the occasion of the present trial. As he had said, the complaint was that the prisoner had not been allowed peremptorily to challenge the jury. The course of criminal trials was this— when a jury panel had been drain, it was the duty of the Clerk of the Crown ,solemnly to apprise the prisoner that he had a right peremptorily to challenge 20 jurors; that was to say, to object to any 20 of them without assigning any reason for so doing, by merely saying the word " chal lenge." That warning was given to the prisoner. It was also the duty of the Clerk of the Crown, at the com mencement of the trial, to apprise the prisoner that then was the time to challenge—that warning also was given to the prisoner. There was a further protection offered him. As a prisoner, from his humble circumstances, was often unable to have the assistance and advice of coun sel, the following precaution was provided for him by the Crown, and this was done in the present ease. When a juror was sworn he was required. to hold the Testament in his hand, the Clerk of the Crown saying these words —"Juror, look upon the prisoner ; prisoner, look upon the juror," the object being to give the prisoner the opportunity of challenging. In this particular case every one of these formalities was gone through, and a jury of twelve was sworn, the prisoner having exercised his right to challenge, and six persons were set aside upon the ground of their coming from the neigh bourhood of the place where the crime was committed. In addition to this, he (IVIr. Fitzgerald) took care him ' self to lay down certain rules for the guidance of the Crown solicitor, inasmuch as the nature of the trial was peculiar, and he was desirous that nothing irregular should be done. It was the right of the Crown to " set aside" jurors ; and though the right had been sometimes abused by the Crown for the purpose of " packing" a jury, he hoped that it could never be said of him that he used the power for any such unworthy purpose. He now held in his hand a copy of the instructions which he had given to the Crown Solicitor. let. Remove all publicans and persons in the spirit trade. 2d. All whom you have good reason to believe to be members of the Riband Society or other illegal society. 3d. All persons from the immediate vicinity of the scene of the offence. 4th. No juror to be set aside by reason of his reli gion. In addition to this, if the prisoner's counsel objected to a juror, the Crown did not put him to his challenge, but exercised its right in the prisoner's favour, and set him aside. (Hear.) There was another provision made for the prisoner. It was the custom of the Crown to provide counsel for prisoners when, from their condition of life, they were unable to obtain such assistance. In the present case, inasmuch as it was a special commission, and the prisoner was poor, he had the whole bar to select from, and the Crown undertook to pay the expense. The prisoner named to represent him a gentleman of undoubted skill, of high character, and of great experience—(hear)—and with such assist ance for the prisoner, the trial proceeded. After the jury was sworn, but before any witnesses were examined, or other steps taken, it was announced in court that one of the jurors was taken so ill that he would be unable to proceed with the trial. Accordingly, the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas asked him (Mr. Fitzgerald) what course ought to be adopted. The ordinary course was to swear a medical man to examine him, and if it were found that the juror was too ill to proceed, then to discharge him. That course was adopted, and upon the certificate of the medical man the juror was discharged. Under those circumstances, although the trial had not commenced, although no witnesses had been examine-), the jury was formally discharged, and another jury was sworn. The new jury was sworn, con sisting of the new juror and the original 11, every one of whom was re-sworn, with the same forms and solemni ties as had been originally observed, except that the formal warning was not given to the prisoner that he was at liberty peremptorily to challenge the jury ; but the counsel wet attorney of the prisoner were by, and they might have challenged. When the jury was called over, and the Clerk of the Crown came to the new jury. man, he asked the prisoner, "Have you any reason for objecting to this new man ?" The answer was, " I have no reason," and he was accordingly sworn. The trial proceeded, no objection was taken—(hear, hear)—no suggestion was made, and he (sir. Fitzgerald) ob served that in the statement which had been drawn up there was no allegation that the prisoner's counsel was not aware that he bad the right to challenge. The trial occupied two days, and the jury brought in a verdict of guilty. Hon. gentlemen were aware that, after the jury had returned their verdict, the prisoner had another opportunity of urging any reason why the judgment of the Court should not follow. Tae Clerk of the Crown went through the solemn form of calling the prisoner forward, of informing him that he had been found guilty, and asking him if he had anything to urge why the sentence of the law should not follow. Nothing was said, counsel standing by, and the sentence of the law was pronounced by the learned judge. (Hear, hear.) It was net until some weeks after that anything further was heard upon the subject, when an application was made to the learned judges who tried the case to grant their certificate; for the purpose of taking the case before the Court of Criminal Appeal. The learned judges re fused their certificate. Application was then made to him (Mr. Fitzgerald) to grant his fiat for a writ of error. It was a matter in the discretion of the Atter ney-General whether he should grant his fiat, and, in the exercise of that discretion, he had done so the best of his judgment. lie was in London when he received the papers ; he proceeded to Dublin for the purpose of hearing the counsel of the prisoner, and, on Monday last, every ground was urged upon him in support of the pri soner's case. In the course of the discussion, .he put this question to the prisoner's counsel, " Did you at the trial observe what you now alleged to be a defect, or was it something which afterwards occurred to you ?" Counsel answered—"l did observe it at the trial ; I got tw o persons to take a note of what occurred ; and I did not take the objection at the trial, because I intended to toke it afterwards." That was to say, he took his chance of a verdict, and when ho found it was adverse to him, he endeavoured to take advantage of a technical objec• tion. Having heard all counsel had to urge on the pri soner'm behalf, he (tlr. Fitzgerald) entertained not the slightest shadow of a doubt that there was no question to be raised or discussed, and he therefore felt it t) be his duty to refuse his fiat. The objection, if there was any ground for it,- ought to have been taken at the trial, and Ise felt it would have been an improper em ployment of the discretion vested in him if he had allowed his fiat to have gone. The only effect of it would have been to have prolonged the unhappy position of the con vict ; but if there had been the smallest ground for ac• ceding to the application, he would have been glad to have done so ;If the appeal to the house of the hon. and learned gentleman should have the effect of reversing the decision at which he (Mr. Fitzgerald) had arrived, no member would be greater rejoiced than himself. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL felt so strong a convic tion in his own mind in regard to the manner in which his I right hon. friend had exercised his discretion in the mat- tempt to deprive them of selfgovernment, which was feature of all our institutions. tin divi,!cd,when the numbers were — Fur the amendment Against Majority —54 On the question that the clause stand part of the bill, Mr. ROEBUCK moved that the clause be omitted altogether. (Hear.) The committee then divided upon the question that the clause as amended stand part of the bill : Ayes Noes Majority for the clause —lll Clauses 12, 13, and 14 were agreed to. On clause 35, Sir J. TROL LOPE moved to except from the opera tion of the clause the soke or liberty of Peterborough, and that it should be treated as a county of itself. After a few words from Lord Godericb, Mr. Seymour Fitzgerald, and Sir G. Grey, the motion was agreed to, and the words were excepted from the clause. Clause 16 was agreed to. Upon clause 2 (of the new clauses), Mr. RICE moved that the justices of the peace at quarter sessions might at any time appoint, for such time as they should think proper, a sufficient number , of justices, who should be the police committee, or com mittees, for the county, and might delegate to such committee or committees all or any of the powers as to the police force which were given to the justices by the present or the therein-recited acts, except as to the in crease of the number of constables, and the appointment or dismissal of any chief constable, or his deputy. After a few remarks from Sir G. GREY, Mr. HENLEY said he looked upon the clause with alarm as limiting the power of the Quarter Sessions. He sh ,uld be sorry to see a clause of this kind introduced, as he thought it would be setting up a committee which would override the chief constable, and interfere with him in doing his duty. The clause was then negatived without a division. Mr. MASSEY proposed to insert a clause which would give power to compensate constables out of the fund before they had completed their 15 years' service in case they should be accidentally disqualified from duty. After some discussion the clause was agreed to. Mr. R. PALMER then moved the insertion of the following clause : —" It shall be lawful for the magis trates, in general or quarter sessions assembled, if they so think fit, to grant retiring pensions to such officers as may be removed from their appointments in conse quence of the duties of such officers being transferred to persons belonging to the police establishment." After some observations from Mr. HENLMY, Sir G. GREY ' and other members, the clause was agreed to with the substitution of the word "gratuity," for the words " retiring pensions." On the motion of Sir P. EGERTON, a clause was added to the bill, saving the provisions of the Cheshire Constabulary Act of 1852. The other unopposed clauses were then agreed to, after which the Chairma❑ obtained leave to report progress, and the house resumed. CHURCH RATES. Sir W. CLAY postponed going into committee on this bill till Monday, the 19th, when he said he should use every means, which the rules of the house placed within his power, to expedite the measure. JUVENILE CONVICT PRISON(IRELAND) B ILL. This bill was then passed thrbugh committee, and the house resumed. COURTS OF COMMON LAW (IRELAND) BILL. This bill was also committed pro forma, after which the hue again re-iumPd. INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETIES BILL. On the motion of Lord GODERICH this bill wall read a second time, and ordered to be committed. PAWNBROKERS BILL. This bill was also lead a second time, and ordered to be committed MARRIED WOMEN'S REVERSIONARY INTEREST BILL. This bill was read a third time, with amendments, and passel NATIONAL GALLERY BILL. This bill was read a third time and passed. MAYNOOTH COLLEGE BILL. On the motion of Mr. SPOONER the second reading of this bill was postponed to Wednesday, the 25th of June. The remaining orders were then disposed of, and the house adjourned until Monday, the 19th inst., at seven minutes to two o'clock. COURSE OF EXCHANGE. - YESTERDAY. , m5terdam............ Ditto, three months .. Rotterdam ............ 11 Gibraltar ......•••••••• 12 1% Leghorn .. .. 30 12% 12 _l% Genoa ....... to 90 Antwerp .............. 25 70 25 70 Eiarnburgh •• •• •• •• •• • • 13 11 Altana •••• .• •• Milan • • •• •• • • •• •• •• •• Venice ........•• ...... Pari5........ 25 45 Ditto. three months .. 25 75 Naples •• ••... - -..., 43% Palermo .... ....aro. three urv...—_ _ Marseilles ............. 25 77% Bourdeaux .. . • .... .... Fr ankfort-on M sine .• .. 121% Vienna .......... • • .... 10 24 Messina ... ... 130% Li • 53 Trie5te........••••.... 10 26 Petersburg ............ 36 • * •• •• Oporto •• •• •• •• •• •••• •• 63% Rio Janeiro ..... . ••.... Buenos Ayres.... •••••• New York,6o days' sight -- Philadelphia .• •• .••• Niadrid •• •• •• ,• •• Cadiz • •• .• •• •• •• •• •, .. Barce'•ona ............ ieville •• •• •• •• •• •••, PRICES OF BVLLICN, PEI OZ. Foreign Gold In Botrs £3 17 9 Portugal Gold Coin .. 0 0 o Mexican Dollars .... 0 5 0% New Dollars ...... 0 0 0 Silver in bars ...... 0 5 1 BBABORNE MAILS. IN signifies that the mails are sent from the General Post on3es by the night—and M by the morning—despatch.) Gay whQn made uf. From sets F o ra., (1 011.1.1 TRIM.. in General Post- Port duo I a Office, London.* Diap,a o h o , . England. ______---- - Every Friday • • • • Li verpool ... May 7 ...... Z m ai c c r rt i e ( ( b b Y y llrit . P United ae ti: pocket) ..N ,•••• ••• •.• • - Liverpool... . katerica (by U. Stater packet) ...N *. ••• •. • , Southamptot. 4.ustralia (via . South. ...... ampton) ~• Ai •*••• ..• • • .- Southamptot Ditto (via l'Aarseilles) Isi NM (via Cape of Good , Hope) ............N . •• • Uncertain Af 3 d of the month . Plymouth rica (West CoCoast) .. N .s.lexaudria .. .. .. .. .. N 8 ,0, 14, & 30 ot ni.lDover ...... , &le Kandria..........m j 4th & 20th of mon.'Southamptor I Bahamas ........... millth of the month Sonthampan' Belgium ......... ..N1Dai1y........... !Dover ...... Jay B raz il .............. m 9th of the month..lB out h amptor. may 16. Buenos A.yres ........M Stn of the month.. iliouth,./n;.iton May 16 Cape of Good Hopo ..N . Various port n ..,ueertale Cape of Good Hope .. N., tiao do Nods... N 9th of the month South amp t ot ... Ceylon (see India) Ceylon. .............N Chaunel isles.. , ... N . iliron.,W o ii.tkrrii. Southamp tot rn.Th.Sat Chili._ ........ ~... m 2d & 17th of montl fidouthampto China ..... . Coui Ceastantinople tantinople ...... 4th 20th of - non. Southampton Coat. of Europe Er P.. N Twice daily ...... Dov er ..... Egypt (see India) F rance ........ m 4, 1 ., i Twice daily ...... Dover .... rvricedally Twleedally Gibraltar - .... .. .. N 4 1 4, 7,17, 20, 274 n) South Impto. Greece • (see India) , Groytoyvn ..........11e2tid & 17th of rnon.,Bouthampto, ilamburgh ..........N ,Tuesday & Frid:/y ;London ..... Hwannah .......... m ,2nd of the monthlSouthataptm,j ooo 1 Holland .. •.......EMILY ••• • • • ... ... Dover ....... °ally / ' Honduras • .........m 1 17t.i t i the month. Southampto, 16thoimo 4th is 20th of mon. Plymouth .. Lillie (viaSouthampt.)M 4 & 20 121 Endia (via Marsoilleslsll 9th&26th of month Dover ...... lonian Isles (ace intiho i7, 17, & 27 of mon D0ver...... Inland ........M& N iTwice daily .. .. .. Hol, head ... T w i ce d a il y 17, & 27 of rn. Southampton Lisbon ..............341 7 ' 9, s t ay „,.,,,, i .„ ... . _ 3l4 ;9th of the month Southampton r ti ld' e v ir ` Th a ...*. 7 . 7 .. : 7 . N 23,1 of month .... Liverpool ... Malta (see India) !E1 18 8;28 of mon D v %faits. ..............N , • ° or —4, 20 mo. Mauritius (see India) 14th of the mouth tif toritius ..........N , n - , o Bc / of the month. Bouthampteri w ay 15 i 1 7 , e vz , , stl/15th25thormon. Dover ...... ' New Granada ......M 2tl& 17th of month ISoutha m pt o , New Zea1and.......... By private stip ..'Various port u ncerta i n : ..... ,4 sth 15 th2sthoftnon . Dover ...... Paoal tstates . p aoinsuia ._ . '. ._ _ .m It.lll7th27thofinon. Southamptot Parr .....:: .: .:* .i ,„ 2,1 & 27th of mon. Southampton Poi.it Natal ...'.....-..N lty private ship... Various port, 0.„,,,„ 3 , nity ~............N thlsth2stholmon, Dever ..... - 5 thlsth2sthofmon. Dover .• ... -.- TanoanY •".........N vonnunis ..........m 2d t fith ottnonth • Bouthampto? i a I r.—. Van Diemen's L.nci (sec t Australia) . . We vi lumpy „.. .., .• ... ;,,; lid 4,,.-, 17th 01 month ' Elontbamptot i When any of those dates fall on a Sunday, the mans win , e extched on the following day, with the exception of the India (v a outifampton), and the Malta, both of which will be despatched ti e proccding day. _ SHARE MARKETS, LIVERPOOL, MAT 9. STOCIC EXCHANGE.—The market has been quiet to day, but prices are a shade lower than yesterday, closing at the following rates :—Lancashira and Yorkshire, 9Si 9 9i — Caledonians, 294 ?,—London and North-Western, 100t — South Easterns, 21k i—Midlands, 748 s—Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, 28I—Dutch Rhenish, 111 prem.—North Eastern, Berwick, 19i—Birkenhead, Lan cashire, and Cheshire, 22/. shares, 121 -East Lancashire, 19—Royal Insurance, 11 pm.—Liverpool and London Fire and Life, 6 pm. BIRTHS. OP A SON. On the Bth inst., at 151, Albany-street, Regent's -park, Mrs. Aguilar. On the 9th inst., at 7, Amersharn-road, New-cross, Mrs. G. C. Chad Stuart. OP A DAIIGH'rEB. --- On the 7th inst., at 14, Grosvenor-place, Lady Scott. On the Bth inst., at 12, St. George's-terrace, Hyde-park, the wife of Clayton W. F. Glyn, Esq. MARRIED., O❑ the oth inst., at St. Peter's Church, Eaton-square, Hugh MacCalmont Cairns, Esq., M.P., to Mary Harriet, daughter of the late John M`Neile, Esq., of Parkmonnt, co. Antrim. At St. Saviour's Church, Walton-place, Chelsea, S. B. Jennings, Esq., youngest son of the late Captain Jennings, R.N., to Rhoda Ann, widow of the late Wm. Gane, Esq., of Brompton. DIED. On the Sth inst., at 1.6, Somerset-street, Portman-square, John Eyton, eldest son of the late W. E. Perry, Esq., of Shrewsbury, aged 20. On tho 7th inst., the Rev. John Hunt, of Brixton, for merly minister of Union Chapel, and Secretary to the Pro testant Union, aged 82. On the 7th inst., at Southwood Lodge, Cheltenham, Joseph Camps, aged 57. On the 7th inst. at Bath, Lady Berry, w id ow o f th e late Rear Admir a l Sir Edward Berry, Bart., K.C.8., aged 76. - On the sth inst., at Witney, R. Early, aged 61. On the 18th ult., in New York, Mr. John S. Bengough, of London, and of the firm of Echeguren, Quintana, and Co , Mazatlan, Mexico. LONDON: Printed anti Published by PITTRDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at 77, e Sun Office, No. 112, Strang, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of Aliddlati,ex i Saturday, May 10, 1856., BA/ The DI do Ilei eb y of Propri( 1 TUESDA I Rt. Helen the Elea' the prod; Landon T HI tant 'piaci they are Iree of ha in Europe I , ollthe • ,The cir wurY. or I West ] Moor South Baste Mary Temp The rat the Bank • 1 - 1 Rl' Lei Nthno .4a st. The ZUROPE, The MO !TAUT ti 'UREA. building, 0 Y Bf "Ariling o the Prince every ever. Attiurdav the beautil hol der the cations ai she FAR vies Wilsol Admissi Price to thi ROY W glT- W m( GR AND the folloss t hroes Maine ) each even Augustus Spaniel 'Mgt 111_ •VI I..ll.ofOrte , I , ‘ "OtOrte Prectic Gry *al be exii U M school °4 FRID trat beini s ignor Signor Signor n / Signor , The D a Do co/181d offered hi the c one The fol Present S. 4111 , 18 1. Sea to the Pa Role exec OPera C i 2. Sea; *a all occ 3 . Tral Concerts other day Child. the Fri( IL TII e • Qesda3 "Ptin g Whid closing 4 R° The 4 ) beg Fro m " ti Itis3ion 1857 61 Sept, G arden: friends, Th e ( 1. p i With gr in whit ltarbouT taagnifi Wd ga 3. T bansot 4. JtiMen aitcl co 5. t 'Weal 6. which buildh StliTes Refi -tile a , all e l., tie s a , atta the . days, Paid 1 q ant Mo ri , to d e bri ng and i ai rs, their , E. lii 6 ti c k s /b are PR