The Sun. — London, England, 1863-05-20 00:00:00

'ERIAL PARLIAM.E: HOUSE OF LORDS—Last Evening, The Lord Chancellor took his seat at the usual hour, AUGMENTATION OF BENEFICES BILL. Lord BROUGHAM said he was pleased to see that their lordships had given a first reading to this bill, of which he highly approved. The noble and learned lord had not de prived the Great Seal of any living which was of the least importance. It was those small livings which were an incumbrance, and when he came into power in 1830, the first thing he did was to address a circular to all the right rev, prelates, giving up all livings that did not exceed £l5O per annum. During the four years that he held the Great Seal, he had been in constant com munication with the right rev, prelates, and from cone u sions he then came to, he only regretted one thing, and that was that he did not prohibit the sale of the next pre sentation. The noble lord could not resume his seat with out again expressing his approbation of the bill. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Duke of Norfolk's Estate—Meux's Estate—New port Pagnell Railway—Furness Railway and Barrow Herbaria- Commissioners—Furness and Midland—Great Western and West Midland Railway Amalgamation— Great Western, West Midland, and South Wales Railway Companies Amalgamation—and Great Western Railway (Branch at Great Bridge) Bills were read a second time. THIRD READINGS. The Tottenham and Hampstead Junction Railway— Newry and Greenore Railway and Pier and Wet Dock— Dundalk and Darlingford and Greenore Railway—London Traffic Regulation—Sowerby Bridge Local Board —Mersey Docks and Harbour Board—North-Eastern and Stockton and Darlington Railway Company Amalgamation bills were read a third time and passed. ACT OF UNIFORMITY AMENDMENT BILL. Lord EBURY rose to move the second reading of this bill. He said he need not say the subject was one of great importance, but as the subject was a very dry and ab , trnse one, he did not think it would largely interest the house, and therefore he hoped their lordships would extend to him their patience and indul gence. When he brought forward the subject last year he did not press their lordships to a division, on account of acceding to the request of the right rev. prelate who pre. sided over the diocese of London, which was to give further time for a full consideration of the subject before giving a decided opinion on the bill. He was fully convinced that the time had now arrived when the consideration and settle ment could be no longer postponed. He might say, on the present occasion, he brought forward the bill with the con currence of a large number of the clergy of the Church of England, because not a single petition had been presented against the second reading. When he brought forward a proposition for a revision of the Prayer-book, a memorial, with upwards of 10,000 signatures, had been presented against his proposition, and as there had been an absence of such an expression on the pi esent occasion he felt he might consider it a most favourable omen. He had formerly gone so fully into the acts of uniformity, subscription, and declaration, that there was no need of doing so on that oc casion. Many hut dreds of young men w h o m i ght do good service in the Church were kept from entering it by the restrictions imposed upon them, and personally he knew a number of talented young men who would have been members of the ministry if the bill he had now the honour of submitting to them had passed. Having given an outline of the measure, the noble lord resumed his seat by moving the second reading of the bill. The Archbishop of CANTERBURY opposed the motion. After expressing his gratification at the very moderate tone in which the node lord had introduced the bill, he said he hoped that no word of his would tend to disturb that moderation. He, however, thought the bill was unnecessary; because, after all, it would be found, on refe rence to the enacting portion of the Uniformity Act, that the declaration only referred to the "use" of the Book of Common Prayer. He could not believe that the relief pro posed would be any real ease to the pious and well informed mind, and with regard to the deficiency of candidates for the Church, he thought that could hardly be said to be attributable to the Uniformity Act, because that act had been in operation 200 years, but the deficiency had not been felt for more than 10 or 12. The true reason, he believed was the great alteration in the relative value in a worldly sense of Church preferments. He should therefore feel it his duty to move the bill be read that day six months. The Bishop of LONDON thought the declaration alto gether unnecessary, and being unnecessary, the sooner it was expunged the better. He was sorry to differ from a number of his right rev. brethren, and he was persuaded they were all actuated by but one sincere desire for the promotion of divine truth. He thought, if declarations were to be retained at all, they should be in most explicit language. (Hear, hear.) To show what value was at tached to it, he might mention that he held a number of offices besides being a bishop, and he had never been called upon to make that declaration in his life. The Bishop of ST. DAVID'S would like to see nothing retained in the Prayer-book that a Churchman could not conscientiously subscribe to. He tb ought the declaration clause so unnecessary that he should offer no objection to its being expunged from the act. Lord LYTTELTON opposed the bill. The Bishop of OXFORD supported the amendment be cause he conscientiously believed it would give no relief to anyone's religious scruples, while to the unconscientious mind it would operate to release them apparently from the obligation of avowing that what they meant was what they said. He considered, however, that all subscriptions were misfortunes—and if he were one of those employed to com mence a new code for the Church, he should probably not include that one; but he could not agree to the proposal to select that par,icular declaration and leave all other parts of the subject untouched. He was afraid it had emanated from some of those who wished to appear to conform outwardly to that which they might inwardly, with safety, deny. The Bishop of LLANDAFF said there was much truth in what had fallen from his sight rev, brother; but at the same time they could not support the amendment without ssying in effect that they refused all concessions to the con scientious scruples which undoubtedly existed in the minds of very large numbers of the community. It was to be re gretted that some middle course had not been pointed out, by which, while the sacredness of divine truth was pre served, these conscientious scruples might be respected and regarded. (Hear, hear.) The Bishop of LICHFIELD thought it was a matter for convocation. Earl GREY supported the bill, and more Especially since the most rev. prelate had explained that the decla ration of conformity did not mean quite all that it seemed to mean. He thought nothing was more demoralising than for young men to be told by the heads of the Church that they were justified in making declarations which, while they seemed to mean one thing, in_reality meant quite another. Lord EBURY having briefly replied, their lordships divided— For the second reading 5O Against 9O Majority against REDEMPTION OF RENTS (IRELAND). This bill was committed pro forma. MARRIAGES, &c. (IRELAND), BILL. Thi3 bill was read a third time. STOCK CERTIFICATES TO BEARER BILL. This bill was read a third time. CUSTOMS AND INLAND REVENUE BILL. This bill was read a second time. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—Last Evering. The SPEAXER took the chair at the usual hour. THIRD READINGS. The Brecon Junction Railway Bill was read a third time. PETITIONS. By Mr. C. TURNER from Toste".....park aga inst the in favour of a General rate for the poor. Several petitions37roNsELL, closin g o f pu bli c h ouses on th e Sabbath ; from the county of Dublin and other places, in favour Mr.ttillwyn's motion with respect to religious e ndowments. Mr.. of BRITISH CLAIMS ON PORTUGAL. Mr. A.YRIOX asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether her Majesty's Government had made any repre ssentations to the Government of Portugal wi t h regard to the claims of various British subjects who invested their money, by request of the Minister of Public Works of that country, in an undertaking called the Union Mer cantile Company, the stock of which was guaranteed by royal degree, and by acts of the 'Legislature; if so, what had been the result of those representations, and whether there would be any objection to lay any papers upon the table connected with those claims. Mr, LAYARD replied that her Majesty's Government had made representations on th e su bj, ct to the Governmt of Portugal. Certain British subjects invested a consider able sum of money, and neither principal nor interest was paid. Her Majesty's Government had urged the propriety of an early settlement on the Portuguese Government ; and be trusted, for the credit of that Government, that steps Would be taken to liquidite those claims. THE CASE OF CAPTAIN WHITE. Col. Fli EN',..11 asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what friendly power he meant to propose as arbitrator to decide on the compensation Capt. Melville White was entitled to for the treatment he had received from Government officials in Peru. He explained that the sum of £290,000 demanded was named as an equivalent, based upon an estimate of compensation by the French Government for similar injuries Mr. LAYARD replied that his statement was strictly correct, and based upon Capt. White's own letter. Corre spondence was then going on with the Government of Peru on the subject, and as yet no arbitrator had been selected. PURCHASE OF THE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. Sir H. VERNEY asked the Chancellor of the Bich°• quer, whether he could inform the house for what sum the building of the International Exhibition of 1862 cpuld be purchased, with a view to convert a portion of it into a la naeuto, or a Gallery for Works of A r t, or some ininstitu tionfor the en couragement o f those objects to whic l 3 the 1 late Prince Cons or t d evo t e d h i s efforts, and to b ear hi s name ? The CHANCELLOR o f th e EXCHEQUER i n timated that he was n o t y e t i n a con di t i on to give a pract i ca l answer , i as the commissioners of 1851, with whom the matter rested, had not yet come to a decision. The commissioners would meet on Thursday, when he anticipate 1 a . nal decision would be arrived at. After the holidays he , oped to be in a position to answer the question satisfactorily, and to inti mate the intentions of the Government with respect to the building. If acquired by the Government it certainly would be devoted to the purposes indicated in the question. PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY FROM FIRE IN THE METROPOLIS. Mr. CRAWFORD asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he would bring in his bill for the better protection of life and property against fire in the metropolis ? Sir G. GREY replied that, as the details of the bill had not yet ,been settled, he could not name the exact period when it would be introduced. But it would be introduced at the earliest possible moment, SMALL PDX IN THE METROPOLIS. General BUCKLEY asked the President of the Poor Law Board, whether he was aware that fresh cases of small pox were brought into the workhouse of St. George's, Hanover-square parish, and other workhouses in Londoni; and whether some arrangement could not be made to pre vent fresh cases of small pox being brought into the popu , lous part of London ? Mr. VILLIERS replied that the parish authorities, in response to a circular from the Poor Law Board, had pro vided ample accommodation. The disease was greatly on the decline, not only in the parish specified, but in other parts of the metropolis. THE CHINA WAR VOTE. Sir S. NORTHCOTE asked the Chancellor of the Ex chequer whether it was the intention of the Government to surrender into the Exchequer the balance of £.526,104 re maining unissued from the vote of credit for the China war. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied that the time had not arrived when it would be practical to surrender this balance. The money would be surrendered to the Exchequer when all the contingencies connected with the war had been definitively settled. COMMITTEE ON ORDNANCE. In reply to Mr. LINDSAY, Mr. MONSELL replied that the committee had not yet concluded their labours, and he feared it would be some time yet, but he boped the report and evidence would be in the hands of members before the end of the session. POLAND. Lord PALMERSTON moved the adjournment of the house to the 25th. Mr. HENNESSy called the attention of the noble lord at the head of the Government to a document which he had received, and which he asserted to be authentic, stating that the Russian troops had received great facilities and bad been supplied with amunition by the Prussian troops, and addressed some interrogatories to the noble earl on the matter. Lord PALMERSTON explained what, in his opinion, was the nature of the international law on the subject, and intimated that he had not received any information on the matter. He believed neutrals were permitted to supply belligerents with ammunition. THE CONDUCT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. Mr. PEACOCK called attention to how our foreign re lations were treated in that house, and as her Majesty's Go vernment were about to take a short holiday, he hoped they would take into their consideration some mode of improving it for the future. During the greater part of the present session all the important discussions on foreign affairs had been transferred to the other branch of the legislature. About the middle of last month the noble lord the member for Chichester put a question to the Under •Secretary rela tive to the Crown of Greece, who rose and said he could give the noble lord no information. The noble lord said he would repeat the question, when the Under-Secretary again rose, and said it would be idle and useless for him to repeat it, as he could give no further answer. Within 48 hours, how ever, the same matter was brought under the discussion of the other branch of the Legislature, and Earl Russell spoke for an hour on the subject. (Hear, hear.) He entered fully into the question, and though the noble lord at the head of the Government said the noble earl disclosed little, he (Mr. Peacock) doubted if the noble earl had yet arrived at the art of speaking for an hour and of saying nothing. (Hear, and laughter.) After that the hon. and learned member for Sheffield brought before the house our relations with Ame rica, which was a question in which the entire country felt considerable interest, and that question was followed by another from the hon. member for East Norfolk. The noble lord in reply said he could say nothing, and the Under-Secretary could only say ditto to the noble lord. At that time the matter was undergoing discussion in the other house, where Earl Russell entered most fully inte the subject of the carrying the Matamoras mails. On Friday week an important question was prevented from being brought on by the hon. member for Galway from there being no house— (hear, hear)—which many consi dered was deliberately done to defeat discussion. (Hear.) And on Friday last the China debate was allowed by the Government to come suddenly to an end, owing, as the Under-Secretary stated, to a misapprehension on his part as to his being able to speak on the several questions before the house if he rose at an early period of the evening. (Hear.) The hon. gentleman must have been aware that he could have spoken on all the questions. No doubt he would say that he was acting according to orderer instruc tion ; but the inconvenience complained of arose from the fact that the Foreign Secretary was a member of the other house, and the department was only represented in this house by the Under-Secretary. Four important depart ments were represented in this house by under-secretaries —(hear)—viz., War, the Admiralty, Foreign, and Colonial departments. The only departments represented in this house were the Home-office and our Indian empire. (Hear.) He urged an expression of opinion by that house against its continuance, and prevent that assembly, which had hitherto been considered the first representative in the world, from being degraded into a debating society, and from possessing no more political authority than a parish vestry. (Hear.) After some remarks from Mr. NEWDEGATE, Mr. LAYARD defended himself from the charges that had been made against him by the hon. member for Maldon, and who had unintentionally misrepresented what had occurred. He had made two direct charges against him—first, that he declined to give information relative to the affairs of Greece ; and secondly, with regard to the Matamoras affair. With respect to the first ques tion, he thought it his duty not to give any answer, and in the House of Lords Earl Russell declined to give the in formation. When he was asked about the Matamoras mails, he had no information, having left the Foreign Office before it was received ; and it was owing to Earl Russell's attend ance being required later in the House of Lords that he was in possession of the information before he left the Foreign Office. He denied that he was any party to the count-out, and he assured them he had no knowledge whatever abcu it until he reached the house. When he found that the house had been counted out he very much regretted it, be cause he was anxious to have an opportunity of replying to the charge he knew the hon. member for Galway was about to make. He admitted that he had since ascertained that he was in error in thinking he could only speak once on Friday night last on the China question; but he attributed the sudden termination of the debate to the hon. member for Northumberland's anxiety to have the correspondeiace, calling out "aye" when the Speaker put the question that enabled him to leave the chair. His hon. friend had had his notice on the paper for many days, and he told him that it was his intention to end with a resolution. He asked him what he was going to do, and nevertheless it was not until the morning after the motion came on that he got his hon. friend's list of the papers he was moving for. It turned out, too, that all the papers, with one exception, were con nected with a different department from his, namely, the Admiralty ; but so little was his noble friend the Secretary for the Admiralty aware of the motion that was going to be made, that he had actually left the house. Now, he had been accused of neglecting his duty in not answer ing the statement of his honourable friend. Well, he could assure the house that he had no wish whatever to shirk the question, and he would have been quite ready to answer, but for a misappropriation as to the rules of the house. It had been said, however, that some other mem ber of the Government might have replied to the questions on foreign affairs which would have remained unanswered by him. Now, while admitting his gratitude to the noble lord at the head of the Government for the support which the noble lord aff)rded him in the conduct of the business of the Foreign Officenionbltehelorhdoussheo,uhlde becalled must s say it upon t o was rather hard that the e thought important questions, a ev t ning upon make four or five elaborate speeches t i h n er th ef e or c e o h urse of an it was only fair that upon Friday ev ß enin t g he th e er o e ul s d ho a u sa l s d u b r e ae the division China ocifoleasl question (Hear, and ( i e t ahra,thheearTr. Lay ard) should take his hon. him. frien d (tHhalir, hear.)tno personal disrespect u was intended might ‘ r be as to E N T i N the CK distribution i d t of , whatevertheseqvuereal stionthere Govern ment offices, it was no t lik e l y t h a t th er e would be want ing in th a t h ouse opportunities of discuss i ng t h e affair s of other countries. It seemed to him that those discus• sions were very often of a most unfortunate character. He stearld like to ask hon. members who were so enthu siagic about the affairs of Poland and other countries iwnhg held,ett h h a e ,eu r i rd w they suggestions, were her, n ri eh n e e y at w in eventer et ofh the preparedh e language to Governmentsu whichp po they rat dto hp e. th a t t Government in the policy which must invariably result. (Haar, hear t ) As for the charge against the Government that they were guilty of a slight towards the house in habi tuatly omitting to answer questions with r, spect to foreign affairs, he must say th a t w h atever misconduct the Govern ment had been guilty of in, its mode of dealing with that I house arose entirely from the want of endeavours on the part of the house to defend its privileges. Fifteen years ago the house surrendered a most important privilege of inde pendent members, and the result was that Governments, no matter what their party, took advantage of the circumstance to avoid the discussion of inconvenient questions. He de sired to know what business would be taken on the first day of meeting after the recess. Lord R. CECIL, in reply to the observations of the hon. member for West Norfolk (Mr. Ventinck), asked how did his hon. friend the member for Northumberlsna (bar, Lid dell) infringe upon the principle of non-intervention by urging the Government to abstain from involving the country in boundless complications in China ? Again, was the detention of the Peterhoff mails a subject with respect to which the hon. member was entitled to warn them of the doctrine of non-intervention ? Neither was he entitled to censure the honourable member for King's County for bringing forward the question of Poland. The allegation of his honourable friend the member for Maldon (Mr. Peacock) had been entirely misunderstood. The com plaint against the four gentlemen who filled the post of Under-Secretaries of State was not on the score of any want of ability evinced by them in that house; but that they had no share in framing the policy which they re commended, and that, consequently, they very inade quately represented their several departments. The noble lord then proceeded to complain of the Govern ment not having assisted to form a house on the night when the motion with respect to Turkish affairs stood for discussion ; and observed that if the Government only took steps to make a house on the nights when there was busi ness set down in which thLy had an interest, the result would be they would feel themselves at perfect liberty to adopt measures c n all occasions which would lead to a count out. He considered the conduct of the Governmeut on Fri day night with respect to the Chinese discussion the most discourteous that any Government could be guilty of. Mr. M, MILES expressed gratification that hon. mem bers seemed to be awakening to the importance of the sur. render which they made some years ago. With respect to what took place on Friday night he must say he did not believe that the Government were guilty of the slightest intentional discourtesy towards the hon. members con cerned. It was impossible they could have been, for they themselves must have been anxious the question of China should be debated before the return of Captain Sherard Os born and his brother officers to that country. Mr. B. COCHRANE asked the noble lord at the head of the Government to give an assurance to the house that they would use a real endeavour to make and keep a house on Fridays as if Government business was always fixed for that night. The hon. member then complained that though the noble lord had the other evening given a very indefinite answer in reply to a question asked by him as to the ac ceptance of the throne of Greece by Prince Willian of Den mark, the next morning there appeared in a public organ which was supposed to enjoy the patronage of the noble lord, an article stating that everything connected with the Greek succession had been finally settled, although it would now seem that so far from that being the case, the Greek deputation were not to get any reply from the Danish Government until the Ist of June, However, what he had to complain of was that public journals should receive infor mation which was kept back from members of that house. Sir G. GREY said that, if a house was to be made on Friday nights, the Government had a right to expect that private members who had notices on the paper would come down with their friends, and belp not only to mak but keep a house. With regard to what took place on Friday night, he thought that his hon. friend the Under-Secretary had very candidly admitted that he laboured under a misappre hension as to the rules of the house; and he must remind hon. members that there were several gentlemen present who might have kept the discussion alive had they so willed. The alteration which had taken place in the mode of conducting business on Friday evenings was introduced upon the recommendations of a select committee, and not at the instance of the Government ; and if it were desired to reopen the question, the best plan would be to refer it once more to the consideration of a committee. As for the ob servations which had been made upon the manner in which the department of the Foreign Office was represented in that house, he begged to remind the house that it was by no means an uncommon thing to have the Minister for Foreign Affairs sitting in the other House of Parliament. Lord Aberdeen sat in the House of Lords; Lord Claren don sat in the House of Lord,; and, lastly, Lord Malmes bury, during both of Lord Derby's Adminis'rations, sat in the House of Lords. (Hear, hear,) At the same time there was very much less foundation in the present in stance for the complaint that had been made, since there was present in that house his noble friend the head of the Government, whose vast experience in the conduct of the business of the Foreign-office and extensive know ledge of European politics would be at once admitted. (Hear, hear.) Mr. LIDDELL fully acquitted the Under-Secretary of anything like intended discourtesy to himself. If dis courtesy was shown upon the occasion by the Government, it was towards the country. NAVAL COURTS OF INQUIRY. Captain JERVIS desired to inquire of the Secretary of the Admiralty what were the regulations by which naval courts of inquiry were constituted, and their proceedings governed. The hon member said that a short time ago an event took place in the West Indies which dispelled the confidence of naval officers in courts of iaquiry. A captain having lost his vessel, he was tried by a court martial, when he was fully acquitted. Nevertheless, the Admiralty took upon themselves to censure every officer who composed the court, as well as the officer who lost his vessel. Now, according to the naval code, the sentence of a court-martial was final, and therefore the Admiralty had taken upon themselves to do what they had no right to do. The result was, officers had no longer any confi dence in that code. The hon. member then proceeded to call attention to the grounding of the Vigilant, off Sheer ness, and to the officer in command having been deprived of his ship without knowing the reason why; while not a word of complant was addressed to the pilot in charge, The result of the inquiry was that the officer was de prived of his ship, and severely censured by the Board of Admiralty. Having remonstrated with the Admiralty on the unfairness of the course pursued towards him, he was told that, if he could disprove the facts established at the inquiry he could have a court martial. But this was little more than sheer mockery, for a court martial could not remove the censure passed upon Lord Elphinstone by the Admiralty; and if they could, they would be casting it upon the Admi ralty. A statement had been made in another place by the noble duke at the head of the Admiralty with reference to this matter, to the effect that the pilot not having been able to read or write, the commander of the vessel ought to have taken it out of his hands. But, so far from it being the fact that the pilot could net read or write, he held in his hand a copy of a letter in the pilot's handwriting, which he had addressed to the Admiralty, complaining of the wrong that was done him. The hon. and gallant gentleman concluded by expressing a hope that the noble lord the Secretary to the Admiralty would be able to give a satisfactory explana tion upon the matter, Mr. DUFF corroborated in a great mea.sure the statement made by the hon. and gallant officer, and contrasted the con duct of the Admiralty and the War•oflice. What, he asked, would be thought if an officer were dismissed her Majesty's service by the War-office without having the subject -mat ter of the complaint investigated by a court martial, before which the officer could have the assistance of counsel ? Sir J. PAKINGTON thought the matter was a very serious one, and that it ought to be carefully considered. If there was a rule that in stress of weather the captain of a man-of-war should control a well-qualified pilot, the sooner it was modified the better. He confessed the prac tice on board merchant ships appeared to him to be much more reasonable, namely, that when the pilot took charge of the vessel the responsibility of the captain ceased. During his short experience at the Admiralty no case of his nature occurred, and he could not sit down without expressing his strong disapproval of courts constituted like that before which the case of the Vigilant was heard. It was hardly possible to expect justice could be done to per sons tried by such a tribunal ; the accused not permitted to be present, and witnesses examined behind their backs. (Hear.) Mr. ADAM said the trial appeared to him to be a denial of justiee, for it was only after Lord Elphinstune had been censured and deprived of the ship that he was told he could have a court. martial. Lord C. PAGET suggested that bringing the case of the Vigilant before the house would not do good to its cap tain. The Vigilant was coming from Scotland, bound for the Thames, and was making for the Swin Channel, well known in the new Admiralty charts. There was evidence that the ship was steering a wrong course when it ran aground. The Admiralty could not avoid giving Lord El phinstone great blarue under the circumstances, and no pilot could absolve him fr. m the blame. The Admiralty ordered a court of inquiry. These courts were usual under two circumstances —where there were too few officers at a station to constitute a court-martial, and where the offence was of a lighter nature. Three distinguished officers held that court at Sheerness. The Admiralty felt that it was a grave omis sion that Lord Elphinstone, on giving his testimony, was not recalled and allowed to be present ; but they felt it their duty to write to him expressing a grave censure on his conduct. He then requested to be tried by court-martial, and the Admiralty replied by sending him the evidence and promising him a court-martial if he thought fit to ask it (Sir J. Eikington—They punished him fi-st.) Yes, they censured him, (Hear, hear.) (Sir J. Hay—They dis missed him from the ship.) (Hear, hear.) He was not dismissed ; the ship wag so damaged that it was not fit to go to sea. (Sir J . Hay--The Admiralty put it out of commis sion.) The ship in fact was hors de combat. (Ironical cheers.) But Lord Elphinstonb's reply vas that the court martial could not restore him to his ship, nor remove the censure. He (Lord C. Paget) condemned this unjust reflec tion on the officers of the navy. It was not true that be cause there was a pilot on board the captain in the navy was not to have charge. In the merchant service such a rule was necessary, on account of the assurance, but he hoped nevar to see it in the Royal navy. Sir H. CAIRNS thought this discussion would be of ad ivnadni g n t a g a e t i t o o n t h i ne the house, Admiralty. h ( i c He h ear. could) There (niy wa be traced nraacedev,toidtehnet palpable injustice which was done to a gallant officer. It was quite true the Vigilant was put out of commission; but the very next day another ship was commissioned, and every officer, man, and boy was transferred to the new ship except Lord Elphinst one and the master. This was in effect a dismissal of Lord Elphinstone. (Hear, hear.) The court of inquiry was one-sided and a mockery ; it ought not to be called a court at all. Sir board the Vigilant, in Elphinstone,j.il' said pro fessional atiitainesd e o h Tu e llide ha sp d ea se k r l v w e id d thh so ca m odn e sfidv y ee e nr a yo r e s abo under lfe noble or had occurred • whose charge she was, and Ilhl3ofisltohptirn:gn to induce the noble lord to withdraw his con fidence from him. lie censured the Admiralty for refusing THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 20, 1863. the court-martial and granting the court of inquiry, which was a great slur on a naval officer. Mr. COLLIER defended generally the course pursued by the Admiralty, though he admitted that in one respect Lord Elphinstone's absence from the inquiry was a grievance of which the noble lord had just cause of complaint. It was not until after the court of inquiry had made its report that a court-martial was asked for. Mr. WHITESIDE said the Board of Admiralty had no right to refuse a c,urt-martial and proceed against Lord Elphinstone by a court of inquiry, which was an illegally constituted tribunal. The subject then dropped. THE IRISH MEMBERS AND THE IRISH FISHERY BILL. Mr. E ~MON DE asked the Irish Secretary whether a report which appeared in the freeman's Journal of Satur day last, and which purported to give an account of a meet ing of Irish members convened by the right hon. gentleman in one of the apartments of that house, was correct; and if so, why the right hon. gentleman had omitted to invite the attendance of members representing large interests in con nection with the Irish salmon fisheries. Sir R. PEEL said the meetirg to which the hon. mem ber referred was constituted of himself and three other hon. members connected with Ireland, with whom he was anxious to consult as to the provisions of the Fishery Bill proper to be introduced. He had seen the report alluded to, and he must say he had never been more surprised than at seeing the very admirable speech which was attributed to him, but one word of which he had not spoken. (Laughter.) He believed the report in question was traceable to the hon, member for Waterford (Mr. Blake). Mr. BLAKE repudiated the allegation that the report was traceable to him. THE AMERICAN WAR.—RIGHTS OF NEUTRALS Lord A. VANE desired, before the adjournment for the recess, to take the opportunity of calling attention to the position of neutral traders belonging to this country in the present crisis of the American war; and he was the more induced to do so from having read the statement of the noble earl the Secretary for Foreign Affairs that evening. It would seem as if Federal cruisers had the right to an un limited degree of seizing neutral vessels going to Matamoras and Nassau. Now, the noble lord the Secretary for Foreign Affairs had laid it down, in a despatch to Washington, that though the right of belligerents to atop neutral traders was a very useful right, yes, unless it was used with discrimi nation, it would become an intolerable evil. In another place, however, the noble lord was too much in the habit of speaking the views of the Washington Cabinet; and there fore it was that he desired to impress upon the Government the necessity of having the principles laid down by Mr. Seward in his despatch of August last rigidly adhered to ; otherwise the American Government would only be too likely to presume upon our rights. IRISH DISTRESS. Mr. MAGUIRE gave notice that on the 23d of June he would move an address, praying for a Royal commis sion to inquire into and report upon the state of the agri cultural classes of Ireland, and suggest measures for their relief. Mr. WMAHON gave notice that on Tuesday, June 2, he would call attention to some of the causes of the distress prevailing in Ireland, and the means which had been adopted to prevent its recurrence. RATING TO THE POOR. Mr. HUBBARD gave notice that on Friday, June 19, he would call attention to the laws relating to the rating to the poor, and move for certain returns. The motion for the adjournment of the house was then agreed to. IRISH CHURCH TEMPORALITIES. Mr. DILLW YN rose to move for a select committee to nquire how far the present distribution of endowments for religious purposes throughout Ireland might be so amended as most to conduce to the welfare of all classes of her Ma jesty's Irish subjects. The hon. member said he thought the time had come when a great change should take place in the arrangement of the temporalities of the Irish Church. He further thought that the Liberal party were pledged in a special manner to the advancement of that question. He was aware that any measure which was likely per manently to settle a question of so much magnitude should emanate from the Government, as no private member could entertain any hope of carrying it thr, ugh. He had long been expecting to find the question an nounced in the Royal speech, but, like reform and other questions which had been the watchwords of the Liberal party, it was allowed to sleep, But the question of the Irish Church temporalities was not, like reform or any of the other questions, advocated by the Liberal party, but was of an en tirely exceptional character. A well known writer has re• cently observed that the hold which the Irish Church had upon the affections of the Irish people was a garrison of 20,000 men. That was the opinion of Mr. G. Smith, a professor at Oxford. It was for this house to say whether the power so wielded was wielded for the advantage of the whole nation, and justified by national exigency, and whether the establishment had answered the ends for which it had been endowed. As he wished to for tify himself behind the opinions of statesmen, he would read an extract from the speech of the right hon. member for Buckinghamshire (Mr. Disraeli). Speaking on an Irish question, the right hon. gentleman said, " That dense po pulation in extreme distress who inhabited Ireland had an established Church which was not their Church, a territo rial aristocracy, the richest of whom lived in distant capi tals; there they have a starving population, an absentee aristocracy, and an alien Church; in addition to which they had the weakest executive in the world." What would any hon. gentleman say on reading such an account of any country? He would say at once the only remedy was re volution ; but the Irish people would not have revolution— and why? Because Ireland was connected with another and more powerful country ; so that the connection with England was the cause of the present state cf things in Ireland; and if England prevented a revolution, which was the only remedy, then England was logically in the odious position of being the cause of the miseries of Ireland. Believing that the Irish Church was not a political neces sity, and that it had not proved a success, he could not allow the question to sleep any longer. He had been eight or nine years in the house, and the question had only been once brought forward, and that was by Mr. Miall. He was ashamed to call himself a Liberal, and sit on those benches, and see a question shirked year after year to which that party was pledged. He maintained that the misgovernment of this country was the cause of the disorders, disturbances, rebellion, conspiracies, trials for high treason, and religious riots, which were constant in Ireland. Lord Brougham, in 1823, declared that the time would come when that house must give an account of its stewardship. Lord J. Russell, in 1835, said there was no time in which the Irish people did not feel themselves to be the subjects of tyranny and not of just government. He (Mr. Dillwyn) believed that the Irish people were the most patient on the face of the earth, or they would not put up with such gross injustice ; and this was especially manifest in the matter of religion. In Canada, in Scotland, in every other part of her Majesty's dominions, the religious opinions of the majority were re spected, but in Ireland the opinions of the majority were held subject to a dominant class. (Hear, hear.) This it was which prevented union between the dominant class. He might show the feelings which actuated that class from a letter in the _lrish Ecclesiastteal Gazette, in which the writes said he did not object to any one on account of his religion, if he were infidel, Socinian, or even Roman Catholic— (oh I)—and then recommended Protestant landlords to se lect Protestant tenants. It was not to be expected that the Catholic priest, foaling himself aggrieved from his position, should fall into the views of the Government which perpe tuated acts of injustice toward his religion. The resolutions of that house showed how the leading statesman felt the Church to be at the bottom of the mischief in Ireland (Hear, hear.) He reviewed the legislation, and the at tempts at legislation, that had taken place on this question, and traced the evils existing in Ireland to her Church diffi- culty. The object of his motion was to redistribute and re arrange the Irish Church t evenues more in accordance with the principles of justice. 'l' be fifth article of the Union had hitherto prevented them going into the subject, but he con tended it did not apply to the temporalities of the Church, but only to the doctrine and discipline. Not a word was said in the clause about the temporalities,which he thought was not attributable to accident ; because that was gene rally the first thing thought of by the friends of the Church. The two Churches were to be considered as one; and,far as the Church of England was concerned, they had always claimed a right to deal with its temporalities, and they had done so in many instances, for the purpose of making it more effective. He looked on the Irish Church as a source of weakness to the country and to the Church of Eng land. They often heard the Church spoken of as so many bishops, priests, and deacons. They, however, were only its ministers, the Church being the wh le body of the people ; and he insisted that they had no right to keep up and maintain the Church for the sake of the few, and ignore the spiritual welfare of the masses. If they had to begin de novo to legislate for the Irish Church, he doubted if they would proceed on the same principle. He could not see any justification for its maintenance, either as a political neces sity, for rational strength, or to promote harmony and the interests of religion. Whatever the present status of Pro testantism in Ireland, it was due not to the revenues of the Establishment, but to the extraneous aid which the cause received in the subscriptions collected in England. In 1834 . , 11 per cent. of the population was Protestant, 81 per cent, Catholic, 8 per c en t. P res byt e rian, and one-third per cent. other p ersuas i ons. In 1861 the num be r s stood thus—lli per cent, were P rotestants, 78 per cen t. were C a th o li cs , 9 per cent. P res b yterians ; while the o th er persuas i ons , i n • eluding Wesleyans, Independents, and Baptists, had risen to one and one eighth per cent., which showed that those who w ere most dependent upon voluntary efforts fl our i s h e d most. It was evident that the Irish Churc h ques ti on mus t be settled b e f ore long; for the people of I re l an d cou ld not be exp ec t e d to remain quiet under a state of things which Parli ament, nearly all the leading statesmen of the country, and both th e altered. H e a d mitted that he desired to lay h an d s upon th e great political parties had declared should be tem p ora lities of th e I r i s h Ch urc h, no t for the benefit of that Church, but f or th e b e nefit of the Irish people. He was aw are that this country did not like t h e R oman Catholics, but still it valued justice and fair pl a y; and he believed, if the qu es ti on of the temporalities of the Irish Church E s t a b lishment were put upon, broad princi pies, there would be a disposition to deal with it. The noble lord at the head of the Government some years ago expressed an opinion that it would be impossible to main tain two establishments in Ireland, and that the time would come when it would be necessary, as a matter of justice, to make provision for the Catholic priesthood. He thought the Liberal party should no longer delay to bring the question forward, and that they should also urge the Government, to proceed with the measures which were popular on that side of the House. It appeared to him that the noble lord at the head of the Government looked rather for support to honourable members on the cross benches on the opposite side than to the Liberal party. The party opposite were strengthening their ranks, and it was not improbable that they would soon bo crossing sides—Ca laugh)—and all he could say was that he would do his best to bring about a change in the temporalities of the Irish Church. Sir J. TREL A.WNY seconded the motion. Mr. H. SEYMOUR rose to move an amendment to the following effect :—" That an humble address be presented to her Majesty, praying that her Majesty will be pleased to appoint a Royal commission to inquire into the territo rial arrangements of existing benefices, whether consisting of single parishes or unions of parishes; the extent and contiguity of such parishes, the means of internal commu nication, the provision for the cure of souls, the amount of population, and the number of Protestants in each bene fice." The hon. gentleman said he had taken the terms of his motion from a remarkable pamphlet published by Archdeacon Stopford, an eminent dignitary of the Irish Church, and he thought his amendment was better calcu lated to cure the admitted abuses in the temporali ties of the Irish Church than the remedy pro posed by the honourable member for Swansea. Reform was demanded on go-d grounds, because there were clergymen who did no work at all and were paid, while other clergymen did a great deal of work without any pay. The details even of the Connaught Endowment Society showed there were many churches wanting assistance, and a surplus could not be spoken of until the resources of the Church were inquired into. A select committee was not the most suitable to inquire into these things, but a Royal commission; but, in order that the meetings of the latter might be satisfactory, care must be taken of the terms of reference. The ,commission of 1830, ap pointed on the motion of the Duke of Wellington, was useless in a great measure, owing to the terms in which the subject was referred to it. A commission was most fitting, as the members of it could visit the parishes and examine them on the maps, and redistribute the incomes according to the wants of each. The appropriation principle having been abandoned by Lord John Russell would not, he hoped, be again attempted. This commission would be prepared to report this year, so that a bill could be brought in next ses sion which would settle for ever the Irish Church. (Oh, oh.) The hon. member concluded by moving his amend ment. Mr. NE WDE rE seconded it. Mr. WHITESIDE opposed the motion of the hon. mem ber for Swansea, as well as all the other motions on the paper, . He entered into an inquiry of the policy of the school of politicians to whom the hon. member belonged to wards the Established Church. They had endeavoured to gain a character by attacking bit by bit the English Esta blished Church, and they now took the bolder course of attacking that branch of the United Church in Ireland. Referring to the proposition of a royal commission, the right hon. gentleman said he found from inquiry that of late years the sum of £823,171 had been expended in unprofit able royal commissions. He ridiculed the idea of an ex- Secretary to the Admiralty attempting Church reform, and censured the conduct of the Liberal party towards the Church. The hon. member for Swansea had referred to the lamentable state of Ireland, and he proposed as a panacea for all those evils, the banishing from that country of one branch of the Christian Church. (No.) The question had not been brought forward or suggested by the Roman Ca tholic members, and he regretted there were not measures of a more practical character before them on which to en. gage their attention. So important a question as that under the consideration of the house was not within the pro vince of a private member, and it ought not to be left to him to unsettle the fundamental basis of the Church. He believed the Church of Ireland ought to be maintained, be cause it supported the pure Catholic faith that was in e‘ ist • ence there centuries before the English set foot in Ireland, and he asserted that the present bishops of that Church were the descendants of the earliest teachers of the pure faith in Ireland. He traced the history of the church dur ing the time of Henry VIII,, Elizabeth, and James, and said that the State connected itself with the English Church, which in all times had been true to the monarch, faithful to the principles of the constitution, and had always stood by the well-regulated liberties of the country. The settlement of the Church in Ireland had been productive of benefit. It had been asked what success had attended the settlement in Ulster. To that he would answer that the country was controlled by a foreign power, by which he meant the Pa pacy; and the object of that power was to root out the Esta blished Church and to extirpate the English name, religion, and race, in order to have a platform for carrying out its designs. What harm did the Established Church do to anybody ? Had any petitions been sent to that house from the Irish Dissenters in support of the hon. member's pro position ? Not one. The Irish Dissenters were upon too friendly terms with their brethren of the Established Church to wish for any change. If the Established Church were swept away the Church of Scotland would go down, the Baptists would go down, the Wesleyans would go down, and as for the Quakers, they would be devoured in a mo ment. (Laughter.) The hon, and learned gentleman then enumerated the churches that were built and enlarged in Ireland F ince the union, and those that were built and en•• larged since the appointment of the Ecclesiastical Commis sioners, and stated that the only five places where the po pulation had increased during the last 10 years were the most Protestant places in Ireland ; but where the popula tion bad most diminished the Roman Catholics were most numerous. If they destroyed the parochial system of th 3 Established Church in Ireland, there would be nothing to oppose the most wonderful organisation in the world—the Church of Rome. A handful of fanatics running through the country would not be a match for a Church that was not only powerful in Ireland, but exercising a mighty influence throughout the world. It would have been impossible to have secured the Union had not the Legislature pledged itself to the maintenance of the Protestant Church; and it was not bscoming in English members now to seek to get rid of that pledge. There had been returns moved for in that house with reference to Ireland, with the avowed object of show ing that the number of members in the Church of England had decreased ; those returns were untrustworthy, for up to 1840 the enumerators, being paid by the numbers they re turned, made their lists as large as possible ; and in the later returns, the Dissenters, who were formerly included in the lists of the Church of England, were given in sepa rate columns. Upon the history of the country—the his tory of the Church—the state of Ireland—the condition of the Church, never so prosperous—he rested his defence of the Established Church of Ireland ; but, above all, it was to be defended, because of its connection with the Refor mation. (Cheers.) Mr. B. OSBORNE then moved the adjournment of the debate. Mr. DILLWYN hoped that if the debate was adjourned the Government would give up a night for so important a question. Lord PALMERSTON said the Government could not do that; but he had no doubt the hon. member would find no difficulty in fixing a night for the purpose. (Ironical cheers and laughter from the Opposition benches.) Mr. MONSELL would recommend his hon. friend the member for Liskeard (Mr. B, Osborne) to introduce the question on the day for supply. Mr. B. OSBORNE said he had no other course, and con seluently he begged to give notice that on the first night for going into committee of supply, which would be Thursday, June 28, he would move a resolution with regard to the Irish Church. (Cheers ) MR. REECE AND THE QUEEN'S WESTMINSTER RIFLES. ----- Sir R. CLIFTON gave notice that he would postpone his motion for an address for copy of the correspondence in the War-office relative to the dismissal of Mr. Reece from the Queen's Westminster Rifles. CIVIL BILL COURTS (IRELAND) BILL. Sir R. PEEL obtained leave to introduce a bill to amend the procedure in the civil bill courts of Ireland, and the bill was subsequently read a first time. AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE TREATY. On the motion of Lord PALMERSTON, leave was given to introduce a bill to carry into effect an additional article to the treaty of the 7th day of April, 1862, between her Majesty and the United States of America, for the sup pression of the African slave trade. POOR REMOVAL (No. 3). On the motion of Mr. VILLIERS, leave was given to introduce a bill for the further amendment of the law relat ing to the removal of poor persons, natives of Ireland, from England. ORDERS OF THE DAY. The District Parochial Churches (Ireland) Bill and the Harwich Harbour Bill were read a second time ; and the Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act Continuance Bill was read a third time and passed. The house then adj >urned at five minutes to one. LOST AND SAVED. By the Hon. Mrs. Norton. 3 vole.—" In the pages of Lost and Saved,' (says the Morning Post), the reader will find the rare poetic charm, the graceful and unexaggerated pathos, the keen artistic love of nature, the unerring good taste, and the true womanly tenderness which made him linger over the pages of Stuart of Dunleath.' But beyond all these things there are in ' Lost and Saved' evidences of strong pu•pose and proofs of matured and consummate ability which place it in a far different category. In this remarkable work Mrs. Norton brings the powers of her mind to the enforce. ment and the illustration of home truths which ought to be startling, as they are undeniable, which society does not deny and will not redress, but which are dragged by a dauntless heart and a powerful hand from behind the rose coloured veil of expediency into the light of truth. There is no human element wanting to the interest and pathos of this fine work." Full benefit of reduced duty obtained by pur chasing Horniman's pure Tea; very choice at 3s 4d. and 4s. "High Standard" at 4s. 4d. (formerly 4s. Bd.), is the strongest and most delicious imported. town supply it i n pac k ets. Agents in every STATE OF TRADE. MANCHESTER, May 19.—Business has been aliiiost suspended here to-day, owing to he uncer tainty created by the recent advices from America. In yarns spinners are as indisposed to sell as mer chants are to buy; the former are quite indisposed to take lower prices, aid we hear of no giving way, although the cotton market at Liverpool is reported easier in prices. We have not had such au entire pause in business for some time past. Rumours are in circulation of unfavourable advices by telegrams from India and China. From both these markets accounts speak of lower prices, but they have no effect on this market. The great and absorbing question is the undecided conflict between Hooker and Lee, some light upon which it is expected will be thrown by the news which to-morrow's steamer will bring. In cloths, as in yarns, there is almost a total cessation of business. Some large orders have been offered for cloth at lower prices, but manufac turers will not listen to any abatement. There are some few instances, perhaps, in which small producers are willing to make a slight concession rather than continue to hold their stocks, but these are not sufficient to alter the general tone of the market, which is firm both for cloth and yarn. A good many complaints have of late been wade of the great extent to which bales of Surat cotton are adulterated with seeds, stones, sand, and gravel ; and this afternoon a meeting 'has been held of cotton-spinners attending the Manchester market to consi der what steps are desirable for their protection. The old custom of the Liverpool brokers was to guarantee American cotton when delivered as equal to the sample shown at th e sale; but with regard to Surat cotton they have adopted new rule, which says that no allowance shall be made for adulteration or false packing after the bale has once been weighed. The result of the meeting has been to form an association for the purpose of resisting this innovation upon the custom hitherto prevailing in the trade. There are said to have been stones and lumps of clay found among cotton weighing upwards of a pound. LEEDS, 19th.—The attendance of buyers in the cloth halls to-day was below rather than above an average, and the same may be said as to the amount of business done There is little doing yet for the fall trade, but a few samples of such were purchased. Light fabrics still sell in small quantities, as well for the home as the export trade. A few orders of a mixed character for Canada are making up, but in general the export trade is, like the home trade, very quiet. Notwithstanding this quietness, the manufacturers keep tolerably well employed, and prices are steady, those of cloth as well as those of wool. ROCHDALE, 18th.—The flannel market has been active to-day, considering the season. The purchases made, which were mostly for the home trade, were spread pretty equally over both fine and medium goods, while some fair parcels of low qualities likewise changed hands. The manufacturers keep well employed, and late prices are fully maintained The Yorkshire goods trade keeps steady, and the demand approximates closely to the supply. In wools there is a little more activity, and late prices are well supported. AFFAIRS OF PRUSSIA. A letter from Berlin, dated May 16, says—After an un necessary debate of very small interest, the Deputies yes terday voted, by a majority of 295 against 20, the resolution proposed by the Committee of Regulations with respect to the communication from the Government that had been re ferred to it. This resolution says—"l. That the president, in virtue of the right to him alone pertaining to conduct the proceedings and maintain order in the house, can inter rupt all speakers, including the Ministers and their repre sentatives ; 2. That by such an interruption the constitu tional right of the Minister to be at all times heard is not prejudiced ; 3. That, on the other hand, it is unconstitu tional for Ministers to make their presence in the house de pendent on arbitrary conditions; 4. That the house accord ingly does not find itself induced to consent to the demand expressed in the ministerial communication of the 11th inst." A number of deputies spoke, but the discussion was li mited to the question before the Chamber, and did not ex tend to the general political situation. The speech that was listened to with most attention was that of Count Schwerin, the ex-Minister and former President of the Chamber. The Chamber, which had been extremely rest less and noisy during some remarks against the resolution offered by that wearisome feudal deputy, Count Be thusy Huc, hushed its private conversations when Schwerin rose. He voted, he said, with deep [regret; for the report of the committee. Most deeply did he de plore that the Chamber should be called upon to vote on questions of this kind. With a conflict in the country the issue of w hi c h a ll E urope was anxiously watching, and with a foreign foe at the door, the Government raised a ques tion the reply to which, be it what it might, could only occasion Ministers fresh embarrassments. He entreated the Chamber to vote the resolution. The Chamber applauded his speech, and shortly afterwards complied with his re quest. The minority consisted of the Bismark eleven and nine of the Catholic party. Messrs, Bockum Dolffs and Sybel abstained from voting. It was a very full house, 315 members voting. The military debate was next in the order of the day, but it was adjourned. President Grabow announced that he should inform the Ministers of the reso lution come to, and request their attendance in the next sit ting, fixed for Monday, Deputy Forckenbeck then re marked that a request from the President did not suffice— that, according to the constitut ion, the Chamber alone could demand the presence of Ministers. He moved "that the house should resolve expressly to demand the participation of the Minister of War in the continuation of the military debate." This was opposed by Gneist and Vincke, the lat ter of whom declared himself in favour of "building golden bridges for a beaten enemy," After a short,sharp discussion Forckenbeck's motion was agreed to, by 167 against 138, The whole of the Fortschritt, the Poles, and a minority of the Left Centre composed the majority, The first sitting of the committee on the Virchow Ad dress is fixed for Monday evening. It ought to be going on at this moment, but worthy Mr. Grabow is too slow for the present situation. The address, of which the purport was given in my letter of the 13th inst., is generally considered much too long. The committee will also take into consideration M. Gneist's proposal of an address " when the chief business of the session shall be concluded," that chief business being understood to mean the budget and the military debate. If Ministers continue to refuse to at tend the Chamber, and the military debate is not proceeded with, the difference of opinion now prevailing between the Left and Left Centre with respectto the period of introduc ing the address vanishes, and Virchow's project, perhaps with some modifications, may be voted by Wednesday next. This supposes the Chamber to sit so long. Up to this afternoon nobody knows what Government proposes doing —perhaps not even the Ministers themselves. The majo- jority of the best opinions lean to a belief that an end will be put to the session early in the coming week, and this belief is not weakened by a tendency that seems to exist in official quarters to cast a doubt upon it. That might well be done ' to take the Chamber by surprise and prevent its voting the Address. Address. It is most improbable that the Government will be induced to give way on the point in dispute, and, indeed, nobody contemplates it. The King's ideas with respect to the army forbid the supposition, the Minister of Wei being the person chiefly concerned in the matter. The King would fear its being said that a slight had been offered to the service—that it had been humiliated, and a shade cast upon its epaulets, in the person of Lieutenant -General von Roon. Moreover, it is quite possible that Roon him self would insist, under pain of resignation, on being carried through the affair triumphantly; and for him to resign would be too great a victory for the Democrats and Subversives who compose the Parliamentary majority. The time is at hand when the Chamber generally breaks up for a week's Whitsuntide holdiday, but it is thought that before the usual day comes it will disperse for a much longer period. A dissolution is not believed in—at any rate not at present. The sanguinary affair of Bredinken has been referred to in three of my letters, An interpellation respecting it has been announced for Monday, put forward by deputies of _ . various political parties who sit for places in the province of Konigsberg, where the massacre took place. Information and explanations concerning it will be asked of Minist2rs— always supposing that any of them are present to reply. The affair excites great indignation. People of course say, " Like masters, like men." When officers wound and even kill hotel servants and others almost with impunity, it is not surprising if soldiers, called out to quell a disturbance, use lead and steel unsparingly against defenceless women and unarmed men. The Herrenhaus has sat to-day and yesterday for a sort of Massacre of the Innocents, a double-quick despatch of an accumulation of business. Yesterday it passed the Treaty with Belgium, the Elbe Due Convention, and some railway matters. To-day nothing of general iwerest was before it. M. Kleist-Retzow, the friend of Bismark, made an allusion to the end of the session as perhaps near at hand. The next sitting was announced by the President as to take place probably on Tuesday in sext week. The Yolks Z6itung of this morning heads its columns with an announcement that its first issue, intended for the post, was seized by order of the President of Police. The cause assigned was its having given a translation of an article concerning the situation of affairs in Prussia. If the police would seizs the Yolks Zeitung every day until it gets new types, it would be rendering a eervice to the eyes of the public. The printing of many of the Berlin papers is positively infamous, and renders this capital a highly appropriate residence for the most renowned oculist in Europe. Last night's National Zeitung was also seized for giving the Tunes article in question, although it had left out some of the passages moat likely to offend in official quarters. More carefully expurgated versions have been allowed to appear in other papers. The deputies, of course, deny the justice of the strictures in that article, so far as these apply to themselves, and point out that the constitution of 1850 gives them no power to stop the supplies, the check exercised by the Chamber being only over the expenditure—a check merely nominal, in presence of a Go vernthent which does not stick at a violation of the consti tution. They add that, although the responsibility of Mini sters be laid down as a fundamental principle by and of the constitution, it is there said that it is to be fixed bye oPe ( law, and that law it has never yet been found possible pass. The following letter from a place called Mensguti going through the papers : " On the 9th of May I made an excursion to Bredink in company with a physician and two other persons. our arrival we found that 95 men of the 43d Regiment I , just come in from Lotzen. A deathlike stillnes.. preva il " the village. When we had viewed the spot where the soldiers (under command of Lieut. Kossak) had fired the rioters, we went, escorted by the schoolmaster of next village, as well as by several villagers, to visit the corpses lying in their coffins, and the 25 wounded, of who according to the opinion of the physician three more will d Most affecting was the aspect 01 the corpses, of which t majority were women, and one of them pregnant. M °st them had bayonet and shot wounds in the beck and 51( Through one woman's neck two bullets had passed ; ° man was shot through his heart, another had his right eke torn away by a bullet. A landed proprietor, N a da I name, had received three stabs with the bayonet and a 1) , 1 in the breast; hi s s k u ll was a l so f ractured, and we sav7,_,' brains still on th e groun d. B es id es a young wan who DI been struck down on the threshold of the schoolhous e saw the corpse of a woman, who had a bayonet thrust the lower part of the back, through the belly, into the le leg. As regards the opinion spread here that the peas ° . t out of cowardice, th rus t th e women i nto the fron t, it is' be remarked that th e women h a d th e most i nteres t in preservation of the water, which they continually use d household purposes, and probably it was thus that, al most furious, they p resse d i n t o th e f oremost ranks ofth'7, crowd. They had al so b een t o ld b y t h e i r h us b an ds /14., Prussian soldiers were incapable of firing upon their 00 try men, and least of all would they shoot at women." HEALTH OP LONDON. (From the Registrar-General's Weekly Return) In the first week of May the deaths in Loud° were 1,459; in the week that ended last Saturg they fell to 1,350. The average number of deaths as derived from returns of weeks (in ten Ye e ! 1853-62) nearly corresponding with last week) is with a correction for increasing population, 1,2 ' 4 The actual numbe r o f d eat h s i n last week ex cet 6 the estimated number by 136. The weekly num; of deaths from small-pox has been always above ince the week th a t en d e d A pr il 4 ; b ut the nuhlb9l in last week was lower than in any other of the 8 10 weeks that have elap se d s i nce t h at date. 1° first week of May the deaths from small-pox W e d 71 ; in the present return the number is 6 1 . ,6 these 61 cases, 7 occ urre d i n t h e west di str i c ts; in the north, 6 of which were returned by theSnia; pox Hospital ; 6 in th e centra l ; 22 i n the ea st di; tricts (6 of which we re i n P op l ar ) ; an d 11 the south districts, which contain nearly 800,000 Pe rt ; sons who live on th e sout h s id e o f the river. 6°8.0 latina was fatal in 89 cases, 4 of which were l io Regent's-pa r k su b-di str i ct, 4in Somers-town, 40 St. Botolph sub-di s t r i ct, 7 i n Bethnal-green , 4 St. Peter, Walworth. Measles, which was fatal o 55 cases, appears to prevail moat in Chelsea and t o east sub-district of I s li ngton. T hree deaths frc/f. scarlatina occurr e d on th e 9 t h , 1 0th, and 11th 111°4 respectively, in one family at 18, Osnaburgh-str; Regent's -park. Fi ve d eat h s o f nonagenarians 00 returned in the week. Th e o ld est o f these P ere° were a widow 95 years old, and a man 96 yearn. hh Last week the bi r th s o f 919 b oys and 956 P°o, in all 1,875 child ren , were reg i stered i n Lond 62 In the ten cor res p on di ng wee k s of the years 1853. 83 the average number (corrected) was 1,881. COUNTRY MARTCRTS. , J...• .. LIVERPOOL —TUESDAY, of At our market to-d ay t h ere was a good attendan t d millers and dealers, and an improved demand for Wli fsir flour at about Frid a y' s pr i ces. Indian corn was 110# request. at the full p r i ces o f t hi s d ay week. Oats 000 meal as before. Barley and peas the turn easier. " (1 is , was a good business done hi fresh American flour, fa l ther more money obtainable. MARKET HARBOROUGH—TuzsDAY• c o* White wheat, 48s to si.s; red, 43s to 46 s per 36 i O 3O, Malting barley 'at 37s to -- s per qr.; grinding, 30° „ a r per 30 st. Oats, old, 265, to 295; new, 22s to 20kr st.; beans, 348 to 398 per qr. SHEFFIELD—TUESDAY. of At to -day's mark e t th ere was a f ul l averag e AO wheat. but trade ruled occasionally dull. 021 Red wheat, per load of 3 imperial bushels, ..15s Ocl t° „j o y; White 1 1 f ... 20s od to R o jo New red I ..170 Od to 1 0 '64 New white Beans ~.. 18 5 8 8 0 0 ci d t t o o IL: 01 77 91 455 0 to t ie Peas, per qr Grinding barley, per qr 2Bs Od to 3 1 ° 0 3 Malting ditto, „ ..... . 3450 d to Oats 2 Flour, is 7d to 2s 2d per stone. " 0d t°2l.° LEEDS—TUESDAY. bogi There has been a slow business done in wheat, i . t.l fag late prices. A sma ll s h ow . B ar l ey was l i tt l e inquire Other articles were unchanged. NEWCASTLE—M ONDAY. e l/1 A fair quantity of wheat on offer, and sales were rag a about last week's rates. I ~o 6 0 t Old white whe a t..s7 s to 61s Old red wheat, t" 0 e ' 6 0 g New d o . .. 5 0s to 64s New do. 4 °s ga Malting barley....37s to 42s I Oats 225 ° 460 Grinding d0.....28s to 30s I B eans to 370 MELTON MOWBRAY—TUESDAY• , 00 4 iv' 0 ; The following were the currencies :—New white QA g to . 478 Od to 62s Od; new red, 42s Od to 48s per u" is st! beans, 36s to 43s for old; new sorts, 34s to 5 9 8 per r fo barley, 32s to 35s for malting, and 28s to 310 per q . grinding; oats, 20s to 30s Od per 24 stone. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. 1 19' Nunralia and Mauriti us , v i a S ou th amp t on . ...... 01 1 via Marseilles • • .`"' e Brazil And Cape Verde, by British pathet. ...... • ......... 1. 9 , ) : Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena. • 1 : -. so f g , China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southarapton;f4 1 via Marseilles .• ; D e*" . J 1 1 Falkland Islands .. day 19 Gibraltar, via Southampton ... jo t . i . India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton.. ;5'4 If , via Marseilles.• • • d ay ,ii, India (Bombay), via Southampton ........ 5 - 1 9 / - t via Marseilles ........ .......0 1 0- Portuga1.... Malta, Egypt, and Aden, v i a S ou th ampton ...... 501 ;$, via Marseilles ......... go Newfoundland Oporto and Vigo .. U. S. and British N. America, ty Brit. packet.. • ,t, by U.S. packet•.• . : l oo! o , by Canadian packet . ;l a y l . W.C. of Africa, M a d e i ra, j and Teneriffe ......... 0e,79, Bahamas, via New York Pl * Mexico ................ All parts of West Indies, includi ng Chili, P er u ) 1,- 10 1 California. and British Columbia. f ind [ADVERTISEMNT.I Holloway's Ointment • D e Counteract most Diseases.—Causes which deter health or sickness of large communities should be c !,0 11 h ; investigated, and when possible they should be r ,`„" t ila Where this is impracticable their baneful effects el er s mitigated by such well-known purifiers and he ll ban Holloway's pills and ointment. They p ro ve in the „ f ee of all sufferers th e grea t est b oon w h en h ea lth is the v o le of search, and when immediate restoration is the onlf r ote guard against continued indisposition. Holloway ttaDri o dies will succeed under the most unfavourable circuslp in casting out all impurities, strengthening everYtn and regulating any disordered function. No inee"..,.%eet.' equal them for advan c i ng th e p u bl ic h ea l th, and P - delicate persons from unnecessary pain. Births. i feoc BLAKENEY.—On the 16th inst., at 25, Bolton°, Brompton, the Hon. Mrs. Blakeney, of a son. 0 th e EGERTON.—On tha 17th inst. at 7 Chesharallac Hon. Mrs. Egerton, of a son . let er ' „o, GORDON.—On the 7th inst. at the Hotel d'A n yi g Baden Bade; Mrs. Gordon', of Cairnees, of a °. i tie of the ROGERS.—On the 18th inst., atßatheasto; the Rev. T. P. Rogers, vicar, of a son. Marriages. ,0 tp, BROWNE•—•ORDE.--On the 19th i n st , at Saint Geort, t o 5 r Hanover-square, W. Ll oy d Browne. Esq., C laug lit e e o Royal Irish Lancers, to Charlotte Eli za beth, 02 ple a Lady Elizabeth Orde, and the late Ge ller Orde. golii B UT LER —GRAHAM.—On the 19th inst.h il e ti t er ,73• l t'f o ,, Trinity, Brompton, the Rev. J. B. M. Trin. Coll. Cam,, second son of C. S. Butler', '4 ,, s 3 ci deP teill to Charlotte, the you nges t d aug ht er o f the . 13 " Graham, R,N. F C o ll RDR i iiD c en n :ga E wer s uda T i_ E jl n.—On thelBth inst.B, Urea. A 39• Deaths : at 4 Cumberland'o j st o r h ee n t , F t u h r o z H et o E n. sci F .7 re a d g e e r d ic .B k 2 A . A. H. Chichester , 65- We * FURZE,—On the 16th inst ,at Addison-road, lel's (-1 stle, Sl* op O no n ersd the 12th inst., at Brucklay _a Fordyce, of a C g u ed sh m a . nd aßsrucklay. agierAl JONES.—On the 18th inst.,at Ch hunt, Lieut.' Ark M A M N a N n fl er S o 7 E o s n ci. t , h a e g l e B d th s7 i . nst., at 20, Rutland ga te ' ORY.-0 0 the 15th inst. at Elton Pit , Hall, %sq . Fanny Proby. Wok , Quicx.— On the 19th inst , Henry Brannan Q 27, Ely-place, aged 38, . rut ile, TRoNsoN.—On the 16th inst., at The c e darol , in ftry., 13th Ligw' Colonel Edward T. M. Tronson, late in itg2cl2t .' . -----_ 4 ND RY. , London : Printed and Published by WILLIALt tee. No. 11ft ; nzg tY O L of N. 112, Strand, Printer, at_ Tiaz S .‘,. c on Strand, in the Precinct of the LSavoy , ill "'" bliddlesez.—Wedneoday. May 20,11883. Hunts, the .--"431