The Sun. — London, England, 1854-03-14 00:00:00

SHARE MARKETS. (THIS DAY.) BRITISH RAILWAYS. RAILWAYS. Closing Prices yesterday. Business done this day. 100 Aberdeen Ambg Nottng. Bost and Basta. Junct Belfast & Ballymena Binning. Wolverh. & Stour Valley ...... Birkenhd. Lancsh. & Cheshire Junct 20:4 - 21 411 - 5 Do. Chesh. & Birk., £5O and £25 Cons. Do., £20.... ...... Blyth & Tyne original £25 (issd. at £45) Bristol and Exeter... Caledonian Chester & Holyhead. Cork and Bandon... Cork, Black, dr Pass Cornwall Crieff Junction 16 18 4 -- shd 91 - 93 55 - 554 15 - 16 10 • 12 4- - Dublin&BelfastJune. Dundee Perth &Aber deen Junction Do. New. ...... East Anglian Do., (XlB E & H) Eastern Counties Eastern Union, .A 1 Stock Do., B. Stock Do. New A....., 42 - 44 7i - 8 I.'i --- iii iii ::: iii 36 - 40 24 - 26 East Lancashire 61 - 63 58 - 60 Edinburgh& Glasgow Edinb. and Peebles Edin. Prth. &Dundee Forth & Clyde June. Glasgow &S. Western Great Northern Stk. Do., A. Stock Do., B. Stock 23~ - 24} 192 V 93 80 82 124 -.126 90 - 92 78i - 79 Gt. Sth. &West.(lre.) Great Western Irish South-Eastern Lancaster & Carlisle Do., Thirds 92 -- 95 12i -- 13ip 12 -- 13 p 66i -- 67 6t -- Do. New Thirds Lancash.andYorksh Do., Fifths Do., Wst. Riding UM Leeds Northern Liv.Crsby.&Southpt London & Blackwall Loud. Tilb. & Stheud. Loud. Bright & S.Cst. Loud, and N. Westn. Do. Fifths 13 13 £33 Par 97 —9 8 r 1011 - 102 id— ip Par 1 d 78 80 11 10 10 9 d Do. Eighths London - andS. Westn. Do., £5O Do., £4O Lndndrry& Coleraine Lndndrry. & Ennisk. Manch.Shef.& Lineln Do., Man. & Lin. Un Midland 21i -22 i 601 -60 i 34 - 36 Do. Birmng. & Derby Midid. G. West. (Ire.) Do. Half Shares Newcastle & Carlisle Newmarket Do., Bury Extension Nwpt.Aberg. & Hrfd Newry & Enniskillen Newry Warrenpoi.nt and Rostrevor d pal 40 1 .2 21 Norfolk Northn.Counties Un, North British 6 -8, 46 - 48 3$ 3i , 334 ... 341 8 10 North Devon, No. 1 Do., No. 2 Do., A Deferred Do., B Guaranteed North London 14 - li 6i - Ilt 52 - 55 4 -iP 'Po. New £lO. N. &S. Wstrn. , Hamp stead, and City Jn North Staffordshire North Western 6h - 5i 7i - . 7t N. & S. Westrn. June. Nuneaton, Hinckley, and Leicester........ Oxford, Worcester, & Wolverhampton Portsmouth 31 - 33 Scottish Central Scottish Midland 88 90 54 - Ltt 58 - GO Shrewsbury dt Bi mm. Do. L. & N. Western l Guaranteed St &tic_ Shrewsby. & Herefd . Shrewsby. do Clester (N. W. Min Do. Halves;: •. Do. Oswesti7 Shropshire Union Do. A, B, C,& D,fully paid up at per cent South Devou 55 - 60 3 - 2 16 17 8 12 3k —32 d 'South Eastern.. 14 16 62 344 d 35t 1 2 par 4 5 South Wales S. Yrksh. & Riv. Dun Do Staines, Wok. & Wok Stockton & Darling. Stockton d; Hartlepl Taff Vale Do. .£lO shares. •.. -- ... 29 --- 31 Do. Pref., No. 1...„ Thames Haven Dock and Railway Vale of Neath Waterfd. & Kilkenny Waterford&Limerick West Cornwall West Eud of London and Crystal Palace West London. 2a 2i 151 15/ 24 2 6 4 6 G - 7 Wimbledn & Croydon York Newctl.&Berw. Do. Extensions Do. G.N.E. Purchase York & N. Midland 67i 68 i l a 7i 4 4 3 / 4 t 4 d 474 -- 44 PREFERENCE SHARES. tberdeen. Do. No. 2, 7 p. c Blyth and Tyne 10 per c. pref. (issd. at 50/) Brie. & Ex. 4 p. c. St. Do. 4 p. c. Shares Caledonian £lO s~ 101 Chester & Holyhead Guar. 5i per cent Cork dluidons4 p.c Dundee Perth &Aber deen Junction EastAnglian (i.:3105) 6 per cent Do. (E 5) 7 per cent Do. (.Z7 17s) 7 p. c Eastern Counties Ex tension, 5 p. c. No. 1 Do. No. 2 Do. New 6 p. c. St Eastern Union, Scrip Guar. 6 per cent 'Do. 51., 10 per cent Do. 101. Debentr.Sh- East Lancash. 6 p.cts. East and West York shire June. Pref Edinb Pith &D undee 5i per cent._ Gi 6?, 3 -- 3i 4 -- P k -- lip -- l 131 --13ixdip 22i 231 •• • Xd - Glasgow Et S. W esters Guar. 5 per cent... Great Northu. 5 p. c Do. 5 p. c. Redeem., at 10 p. c. prem... Do. 4i p. c. Scrip Gt.N. of Scot. Ist Pref Gt, Southn. &Westm. (Ireland) Eighths) Do. 4 per c. Pref. Sh Gt. Wean. (Berke & Hants Ex. 5 p. c).. Do. cov. red. 46 p.c. Do. con. red. 4 p. c. irred. 4 p. c Lan. &York. F. £2O Do. 6 p. c. Stock Leeds N. 6 p. c. No.l Do. Quarters, 1848 London and Brighton Guaranteed 5 p. c Do. Pref., 5 p. c. St., Do. Convertible, 5 p.l c., 1852 Do. New Guar.6 p. c Lon. &N. W., Coy. & Nuneaton lii ::116xd 105 —107x(11 9i 10xd' 7i 8 xd .. xd 64 - 7 98 - 100 90 - 95 94 - 96 Id par 136 138 • • • London & S. Western l Con. Thirds. Londonderry& Color i Shares Londy. & Ennis. i Sh Nan., Shot, & in , i Shares, No. 1. Do. New, £lO Do. £6 Harypt.&Carl.4 p.c. Do. 4i Or cent Mid. Consol.6 p.c.St. I Do. Consol. Bristol & firm. 6 per cent I Do. Pref. 4 per cent' Norfolk Debenture Do. Prof. 4 p. c. Stock Do. 5 p. c. Eat Do. 5i per et .pref Do. Way. Val. 5 p. c North British North Staffordshire Oxford, Worcester, &I Wolverh.Xls, 6 p.c ' Do Scot. Cent. , New Pref Shrews. Sz Birm.N.G. Shrewsby. & Chester (Nor.W.Min), 8 p.c. Do. 5 per cent South Devon De. fixed, 4i per cent S. Eastern (Reading Ann.) of I:1 Os. 6ti. Do. 44per cent. S.Yorksh.4p.c.Guar Stockton and Dar- lington, 4 per cent, Do. do. do, Stockton and Hartle• pool, guar. 5 p. c. till Ist July, ISSC Waterfcl.&Kilk.ep.c. York, Newcastle,aud Berwick ,4 p.c. Pref ,Do York&N. Midland H and 8, Furch 8 - 9 12 —lO dis -... ... ... ad 1 21 --2 i ][(- lla 12 6a 7a 90 10 par ipad 136 138 1i —id ad ... ad ... xd ... ad ... ad ... xd 100 - 102 9 -10 16i -- 17 10 -- 106 12 -- 14 id -- 4 F 23i -- 24 100 -- 102 17 —l9 li lid 89 92nd 3a 4x,1 1 ..... ia , 9 ma 50 50 20 20 I a n ill 100 170 11 an 100 42i 34 100 100 47i 174 all 100 5 4 1 all 100 32' 100 I all 5 I/ Ii 212 s 100 100 100 100 2t all 161 100 8 100 20 17 all all 14 all ' 51s. 100 20 130 100 100 5 100 all all all [OO all 100 100 100 6 100 I Do.. 1001 100 100 100 100 10 all 14 all LINES LEASED AT FIXED RENTALS RAILWAYS. Bedford and Buckghamsh. Clydesdale Jc. E. Lincoln gr. 6 per cent. 'Glas. Barr. & Neils. Direct Do. New...... Glstr.& Dn.Fr iirtlpl. Dk. & Railway __ Hull Selby Do. 1, Shares. Do. 4 Shares. Lon.&Greenw Do. Preference Lowestoft gr. 4 per cent. Do. 6 per et. Bstu. and Matlock Aiddlesbro' & Redcar. Nfidld.Bradfd Northern and Easternsp.c. Do. 6 per et. Do. Fixeds p e Prest. & Wyre Do. 3 Shares. Roystn.&Hit. Do. Shepth . St Shef. Roth and Goole g. 5 p.c. S. Staffordsh. Wear Valleygi 6 per cent... Do Wilt,s&Somrst. . — ...ad 48 —5O xd 140 - 142 30x - d 103 - 105 514 - 25 - 264 13 -13 i 2-14 -258 2i - . . xCi 95 —97 xd 56 sSxd • xd ▪ xd 135 —l4oxd, -- ... 2f —l4 ixci xd 28 30 94 -- 96 Leasing Compans. London & N. West. L.&N.W. Caledon... Gt.Nrthn. Caldonian. Gt. Westo Ik. New. & Berw. Y. &Nlid Do D 0.. . S. Eastern Do Norfolk. L.& N. W. & Midi& Stekton & Darlifigt. Midland.. E. Count Do Do L. &N.NV &Ln&Yk Do ' Gt Northn Do Lancash& Yorksh. A.MCleao 13tockt. & Darlingt. 'l3tWestn. Closing Prices yesterday. FOREIGN. Antwerp&Rotterdam Belgian Eastn. June , Beziers to Graissessac Bombay, Baroda, and Central India,Scrip Central of Italy Charleroi & Erquelin Demerara Dijon and Besancon Dutch Rhenish East Indian Do. Extension Gt. Indian Peninsula Gd. Juliet. of France Grd. Trunk of Canada Do. Debentures Do. do L 0 Gt. Central of France ►L' Gt. Western of Canada Shares . Do. Bonds (Ist is.)'s7 L 5 Hamilton & Toronto ill Do. 6 per cent. 5 Lake Const. & Basle 61l Lucca & Pistoja 5 p.c pref .5 Luxembourg .0 Do. (Railway) 2 Do. Pref Do. (Canal) Do. 6 p. ct. pref Lyons and Geneva Lyons & Mediterran. Madras Maria Antonia Do. do. New . Melbourne Dk. & Ry. Namur & Liege (witi; interest) - Do. (ex interest)... Northern of France Do. 201. 3 p. c Bds (fury. B. & Ams. Shs.) NorwegianTrunkPref Paris 'and Lyons Ditto Bonds Paris and Orleans , Paris and Rouen Paris and Strasbourg ParisCaen &.Cherbrg Quebec & Richmond Rouen and Havre Royal Danish • Royal Swedish Sambre and Mouse... Do. 54 p. cent. Prof.,' Southern of France..l St. Andrew's andl Quebec (A) .. West Flanders . 11 Do 5A per c. Pref .0 Western of France 7 West. of Switzerland 2 Wiesbaden .5 Zealand A.gua Fria Anglo Austrin. Gold, A.nglo Californian Australasian Australian Australian Cordillera Australian Freehold Ave Maria Baden (Gd. Duchy of) Blaenarvon Ir. & Coal aritish Austrin. Gold British Iron Brazilian Imp. (issued at £5 pm Do. Cocaes & Cniada Do. St. John Del Rey Carson's Creek Clarendon Con. Min Co. of Jamaica Cobre Copper Colonial Gold Copiapo_ , Copper MM. of Eng. Do. Pref. 7A'p. cent. English and Anstrin. Copper Smeltg. Co General Great Nugget Vein , Do. Registered Great folgooth Liberty Linares Lond.&Californ.Goldl, Quartz Crush. Co I Mariquita Nfexican&S.Ammien New Granada New Linares Mining and Smelting Co Nouveau Monde . Pontgibaud Silver Lead Min. do Smelt. Port Philip Quartz Rock Rhymney Iron Do. New Santiago de Cuba Fouth Australian Pin Croft United Mexican Waller West Granada West Mariposa Northing Mining of Australia IYuba MISCELLA. Lubin Coal and Iron tustralian Agricult. kustralsn. Pcific. Mail Xustraln. Royal Mail Berlin Water Works Brit. American Um& Brit. & Coln. Smeltg. l and Reduction Co ' Canada Crystal Palace Do. Now.. Crystal Pal. of France Eastern Steam Electrit Telegraph(A) Do. (B) Electric Teleg. of Ir Gen. Steam Navigat General Screw teamlrish Beetroot Sugar Magdalena St. Navig. Nat. Pat. Steam Fuel Netherlands Land N. S. W. Coal & Inter Steam Navigat. Co N. B. Australasian Do. New Nrth. ofEuropeSteam Peel Rr. Ld. & Minrl. Peninsular & Oriental Do. Do. Portland Iron Co Royal Mail Steam Scot. Austral. Invest. South Austral. Land Submar. Telegraph Do. Registered _ . _ Van Diemen's Land 3 3 d 1 3d id P alf 3 2 3 p A iPI ii 1 - -- - id 6 -- 4 d 2i -- 2i d 221 -- 23/ 10 -12 p -- 2 p 11 -13 p • - - 71 - 1 14 1 11 1+ ci 24 —14 d ▪ par 7 - 7i iol .- 30 74 - Bi, 12/ - 13 p 43 —45 34 —36 xd 28i - -29. E • pm 3 —• 1 d ld par . d 8 ... - pm 3 -4. f d 3 d ...6 i'd 1 4 d 1 P d 2i id id id - id 9 11 d 7 9 4 5 2 30 32 * d 4L 43xd i i d * p 11 —l3 55 65 3 5 p - 21 id par i d 11 12 g i d o di f— Id id par 16 18 28 I 8 10 3 4 d 3i 4i 2 3 ?; 4 cl ~_~ - ~i - SOUS 39 - 41 74 -- 7.6 75 80 la —lt p 311-1) ii == ii •• 3 — 2 • d - 1: -18 p Via, ••• - ••• i - iP all 25 all all 28! lip 36 38 id ipxd id pat 12 134 MARKET NEWS -(THIS DAY.) COLONIAL. SUGAR.—The market is heavy, with rather a large quan- , tity offering. The quantity of British plantation landed last week at the East and West India Docks was 787 hhds, 25 tierces, 642 barrels ; there were taken for home consumption 977 hhds, 54 tierces, 292 barrels. The stock in the same places is 2,639 hhds, 782 tierces, 760 barrels. COFFEE.—There is no businetts doing, pending the ar rival of the Brazil mail. RUM.—The quantity landed last week at the East and West India Docks was 288 puns, 78 hhds. There were taokrteendf 90 or puns, home puns, 4 hhds, and ex -94 hhds. The stock in the s ame pl aces ex ported c onsumption 177 is 4,942 puns, 674 hhds. RICE.-2,731 bags of Bengal, at anchor, were all taken in at 15s 6d for mid small of the new crops ; 200 bags Moulmein were also taken in at 13s 6d for mid mixed. SPICES.-66 bags Pimento sold publicly at 6d to 6id for ord and mid ; 2 cases mace, at 2s 7d for wormy, and 3 cases nutmegs, at 2s 9d to 2s 10d for mid, and at 2s 4d for mid shrivelled. TEA.—This article is quiet. There are public sales on Wednesday. TALLOW.—P.Y.C. is 64s 3d on the spot, 64s 6d for April and May, and 65s for May and June. Our tallow market, in London, since last. Friday, has been inactive, and prices almost without alteration. HAY MARKETS. SMITHFIELD.—Meadow hay, 3/ Os to Si 50 ; clover ditto, 41 Os to 6/ Os ; and straw, 1/ 12s to 2/ 2s per load. A moderate supply, and a steady demand. CIIMBERLAND.—Meadow hay, 3/ Os to 51 ss; clover ditto, 4/ Os to 6 Os ; and straw . , 1/ 15s to 2/ 4s per load. Supply good, and trade tolerably firm. WHITEcHAPEL.--Meadow hay, 2115 s to 5/ Os; clover ditto, 4/ Os to 6/ 6s ; and straw, 11 14s to 21 2s per load. Trade rather dull, * IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.) The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at 5 o'clock. The Earl of DONOUGHMORE presented a petition from Clonmel, praying for an improved system of postal arrangements in Ireland. The Earl of SHAFTESBURY presented a number of petitions in favour of the establishment of reforma tory institutions for juvenile offenders. Lord BROUGHAM drew the attention of the house to the subject of the assimilation of the mercantile laws of England and Scotland. He stated that, in addition to the bill which he introduced on a former evening, he intended to lay on the table another bill importing into the English law, some portion of the mercantile law and practice of Scotland, which he believed would be of great advantage to the commercial community. The LORD CHANCELLOR concurred in the im portance of the object, but thought it would not be ad visable to make such alterations in the English law with out consideration. journal ; but all his disclaimer cannot persuade me, or any other human being, I believe, in the country, that the Times newspaper could convey such information, or insert such an article as I have just read to the house, without being informed by some person who had official information on these matters, and one who, in convey ing such information to the Times newspaper, betrayed that which ought to be considered as a Cabinet secret. (Hear, hear.) The leading article in the Times, as well as the article taken from the St. Petersbourg Journal, re ferred to the correspondence carried on between the Em peror Nicholas and the British Government, but in very different tones. It goes back to speak of former periods, and says : " We have not now to learn for the first time that before the Emperor Nicholas engaged in these extraordinary trans actions he had attempted at various times and in different forms to lure almost every Court in Europe to share in the plunder of Turkey. As long ago as his own visit to this country he held the same language, and it may have•been re peated in greater detail in the course of last winter." Now, mark, the Times newspaper refers to previous and present transactions, with evident full knowledge that the Empe;or did entertain most ambitious views, and express himself most explicitly. to Government relative to the dissolution of the Turkish empire. The article then goes on to say " But what answer did he get to these overtures ? What answer did he get when he sounded Lord John Russell, of all men in the world, on the subject of an eventual partition of Turkey ?" So, then, it appears that the Times not only is acquainted with the fact, and the nature and character of the com munications which had been made by the Emperor of Russia to the Government of this country, but it goes on to tell us the nature and spirit of the answer that was sent : " We [that is to say, the Times newspaper] confidently re ply, that he was met by an indignant refusal on the part of the British Government. He was told, if we are not greatly mistaken, that this country could entertain no proposal in any form which presupposed the dismemberment of an empire the integrity of which we had frequently engaged to respect and even to protect ; that the British Government strenu ously opposed any change in the status quo of Turkey, as a source of danger and difficulty to the world ; and that, as this communication had. been made in a friendly spirit, England strongly recommended the Emperor of Russia to abstain alto gether and scrupulously from any interference in the affairs of Turkey - , which must be productive of great perila to the world." How did the Times know anything about this, I should ike to know. The article then proceeds : "As these communications were of a confidential nature, and wholly anterior to and unconnected with the affair of the holy places and Prince Menschikoff's mission, the Govern ment appear to have thought that they did not properly form part of the correspondence recently laid before Parliament, but constituted a separate transaction. This challenge of the Russian Government relieves them from all further uncer tainty on that point. Lord John Russell's answer to the Russian overture will do him no dishonour." Again, I ask, how can any newspaper in this country know what were the particulars of a confidential over ture made by a foreign Sovereign to certain members of the Britfsh Government, or how could the Times or any other paper know what was the confidential answer of Lord John Russell, a Minister of the Crown, to such a communication ? (Hear, hear.) Or, how did such newspaper come into possession of documents of so con fidential and exclusive a nature that the Government had thought it their duty to withhold them from either house of Parliament ? But it is not to what has appeared in the Times newspaper that I wish to call the attention of your lordships, but to a subject of a much more grave and serious importance. I will assume that the Times is well informed with regard to the nature of the communi cation, and the character of the proposition of the Em peror of Russia ; and I will assume, also, that the answer of the noble lord referred to is correct—an assumption which I have the more pleasure and the less hesitation in admitting, because such an answer appears to me to be a very proper one, and just such a one as ought to be made. (Hear, hear.) But this is what I require an explanation of. These communications took place during the time that the noble earl held the seals of the Foreign office ; afterwards full discussion takes place upon the question in dispute between Russia and Turkey ; the official correspondence is submitted to both houses ; I and others, who have afforded to Government every assistance that we could to prosecute this war— which we believe might have been avoided, but which is now inevitable—l and others, having been challenged by Government to discuss the blue-books put into our hands--after we had commented upon them freely, and temperately stated where it appeared to us that the Government was entitled to censure or animadversion (hear, and a laugh)—after we had pointed out that the Government had shut their eyes to the dangers that were imminent and impending —after Government had been warned, by the gathering of the forces in the principali ties, by the tone of the IVlenschikoff Note, by the re monstrances of Colonel Rose and the warnings of Lord Stratford de Redcliffe—after all these opportunities of knowledge, freedom of discussion, and warnings no less frequent than timely—what was the answer of Govern ment ? " True, we had these facts before us, but still we had assurances given us, with so much force and solemnity, of the apparent sincerity of the Emperor of Russia, and that the only question was one of the Holy places ; —true, we admit we have been deceived, but how are we to be blamed for having been so in the face of such strong and positive assurances of good -faith on the part of Russia ?" But what became of these as severations when all the time the Government were in possession of the secret and confidential designs of the Emperor of Russia, of the aggressive nature of the policy of which he had unbosomed himself —(hear, hear),—and of his ultimate designs relative to the partition of the Ottoman empire : in regard to which, it was said, the noble lord (Russell) had been compelled to write an answer in terms of indignant refusal. (Cheers.) I can understand not producing these private and confidential letters for the perusal of Parliament ; but I cannot understand how, with such correspondence before them, Government could come forward with the assertion that they had received repeated and absolute assurances from Russia that her policy was not intended to assume an aggressive character. (Cheers.) How can these things be reconciled ? There is one other circumstance to which the Times newspaper referred, and apparently with some knowledge of tne facts. The statement to which I allude is, that on the Emperor of Russia's visit to this country, which took place when the noble earl (Aberdeen) was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, communications of a precisely similar nature were made by the Emperor. If this were so, and if, when the noble earl succeeded to the head of the present Administration, the designs of the Emperor were being put into execution—if this were so, I say, I want to know what confidence could Govern ment possibly have in the professed absence of aggressive designs in the Emperor's policy ? (Cheers.) The ques tions which I wish to ask the noble earl are—firstly, whether he believes the document to which I have re ferred to be an authentic document, and, if so, secondly, whether the correspondence therein referred to did take place between the Emperor of Russia and her Majesty's Government ? thirdly, if such correspondence did take place, whether the noble earl, being now challenged by the Emperor of Russia, will satisfy the people of this country by producing the whole of such correspondence ? and, fourthly, whether there is any authority for the statement made by the Times newspaper of similar com munications having been made to the noble earl while Foreign Secretary by the Emperor of Russia during his visit to this country in 1844, and whether such commu nications ever assumed the form of writing, and, if so, whether the noble earl will produce them ? (Hear.) The Earl of ABERDEEN —The statement to which the noble earl has referred is one of considerable interest and importance, and, finding it in the paper as we do, it may be considered as possessing a sort of official character. More than this I know nothing, and the noble earl is quite as well able as lam to form an opinion on the subject. I have seen the statement no where else but where it is ; and, as I said before, I know no more about it. The communications to which the noble earl referred, and which took place between his Majesty the Emperor of Russia and some of her Majesty's Ministers, were, as the noble earl has stated, and not disapproved, retained by her Majesty's Govern ment and not printed with the papers laid on the table in consequence of the confidential character which was considered to be in some degree attached to them. (Hear.) It has not been usual, under circumstances similar to those under which these communications were made, to lay upon the table of Parliament a statement of familiar conversations, such as those described, be tween a Sovereign and a Foreign Minister, and for this reason her Majesty's Government did not think it proper or consistent with that respect or delicacy which was due to a Prince with whom we were on terms of alliance to produce papers which had a somewhat private and confidential character. (Hear.) This statement in the St. Petersbourg Journal, and which must be considered as in some degree official, and by which it appears that there is no reluctance on the part of Russia that her Majesty's Government should produce and make public all com munications which had passed on the subject, relieves her Majesty's Ministers from much difficulty in treating with the matter, and removes any reasonable scruple they might have entertained relative to the production of the papers to which the noble earl refers. (Hear, hear.) I can assure the noble earl that, if he had not made the observations which he has, I should still have laid these papers on the table, and stated those commu nications to your lordships—the object to retain them and to consider them as private having now ceased. The whole of this correspondence will therefore be laid on the table, and I think, upon a perusal of the same, the noble earl will find that there has been little occasion for those observations which he has somewhat hypothetic ally applied to her Majesty's Government to-night. (Hear, hear.) It will be found, my lords, I feel assured, that her Majesty's Government will have no reason to regret the position they will occupy with reference to this correspondence, and I think the noble earl will find himself egregiously mistaken in endeavouring to cast either blame or imputation of any kind on her Ma jesty's Government for the part they have taken in this transaction. (Cheers.) I have nothing more to say upon the subject, and the papers will speak for them selves. The noble earl referred to the commentary made in the Times newspaper upon the article copied from the St. Petersbourg Journal. The noble earl will prob ably be surprised to learn, considering what he calls our connexion with that newspaper, or rather what he seems better pleased to call my connexion—(laughter)--with that paper, that untilthis morning I never ra id the article or the comments to which he alludes, nor had I heard of them either directly or indirectly. In making this statement I find, my lords, some advantage in a man's having a character for truth and honour ' • and I again repeat that until this morning I never had the most re mote conception of the article iu question, or the origin' THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH l4, 1854. of the comments which have been made upon it. (Hear.) I can say nothing more about it, except again to repeat that I am entirely ignorant of the source whence the comments alluded to arose, nor can I form an opinion or conjecture on the matter, except this—that I have been given to understand that some clerk in the Foreign office, but who is not a clerk there now, and who was introduced, by the by, by the noble earl opposite (Malmesbury), had scandalously betrayed his duties by revealing the contents of some papers. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) However, I know not whether it is through that source or not that this correspondence has been made public, and on which the comments are based to which the noble earl has attached so much import ance. All I can say is, that I have not, directly or in directly, the slightest knowledge personally of the mat ter. The first question, then, which the noble earl has asked, I have already not only answered, but stated that it was the intention of the Government, without having been asked, to do what he has requested. (Hear.) With respect to the other matter to which the noble earl referred, it is perfectly true that when his Imperial Majesty was in this country, several commu nications—verbal communications—took place between him and the late Duke of Wellington. I am not sure whether any took place with the late Sir R. Peel or not ; but, with respect to the Duke of Wellington and myself, there is no doubt that communica tions did take place as to the state of affairs in the East, and the views and prospects which might be enter tained on this subject. It was, I think, shortly after his Imperial Majesty's visit to this country—indeed lam not sure that it As not about the same time—that Count Nesselrode came here and embodied those views of the Emperor, and the conversations that had taken place, in a memorandum, which was afterwards reduced to writing. I have not seen that document for the last ten years—from the time when it was written, and pro bably the noble earl knows more about it than I do. In these circumstances I am not prepared to say at this moment whether it may be fit or not to lay it on the table, but I shall ascertain. I do not wish to speak about a document I have not seen for so long a period ; I may say, however, that I think it is not likely to have much reference to present circumstances, or that it re fers to the dispute about the holy places—to the mission of Prince Menschikoff—to the Vienna note—or, indeed, to anything involved in the recent discussions ; and therefore I do not think it is at all likely to be of any service at this moment ; but on that point I reserve myself till I have had an opportunity of seeing and con sidering the document. (Hear, hear.) The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH—My noble friend states that, during the year 1844 communications took place between the Emperor of Russia and the Duke of Wellington, but that he is not sure whether any such communications took place with Sir R. Peel. Now, I am able to state that there were communications with Sir R. Peel, for my right hon. friend communicated to me one point on which the Emperor of Russia had expressed a very clear opinion, and that was with reference to Tur key. I understood my noble friend to say that he knew nothing whatever of the document which has been read as coming from St. Petersburg. If that be the case, I would suggest whether he is not premature in promising to lay these papers on the table of the house? I think this would better be delayed till he has seen a copy of the St. Petersoburg Gazette containing the docu ment ; for, as yet, there is no official or certain informa tion that it is genuine. The Earl of ABERDEEN was understood to say he had no doubt of the authenticity of the document. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH had understood his noble friend to say that he knew nothing about it till he saw it in the Times newspaper ; but that was not a suf ficient authority. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE—I hope that all the conversations which have been carried on with the Emperor of Russia by Sir H. Seymour on this subject will be laid on your lordships' table—(hear)—because, undoubtedly, his Imperial Majesty has no right whatever to select one particular part of those conversations and make them matters of communication intended for this house and the Government, and to debar her Majesty's Government from having the full advantage that an entire communication would give them. I say this, because it has been current at St. Petersburg, and ru mours have been current in the diplomatic and other well informed circles throughout Europe, that in that conversation a most important communication -- im portant in itself and important also as regards the con duct of the Government and of Parliament, if it should turn out correct—took place, in which the Emperor of Russia expressed his determination to lose his last soldier, and spend the last rouble in his treasury, sooner than give up his clairfis on Turkey. (Hear, hear.) I think the memorandum given by Count Nesselrode to the Ministers of this country in 1844, as stating the views of the Emperor and his Government on the then condition of Turkey, it is of vast importance for us to have. (Hear.) We have a full right to know what was the view then entertained by the Emperor, because it is evident that it must bear most strongly on the present circumstances which have rendered war so imminent. (Hear.) I trust that we shall have all the conversations with the noble earl, who was then Secre tary of State for Foreign Affairs, in some shape or other also before us. (Hear.) It appears impossible we should not, for I think it necessary, for the credit of our Go vernment, that we should be able to show exactly what were the communications made to her Majesty's Minis ters, what was the answer, and what was the language held in 1844, as well as what was the language held by Russia, so as to give a really conclusive answer to the manifesto now published. (Hear, hear.) It is essential that we should know what language has been held ; for, though this is the first time we have had it put forward in this way, it has been rumoured throughout the whole continent that language very different from that we have recently taken was held formerly by Ministers of this country, and, among others, by the noble earl who was then Secretary for Foreign Affairs. (Hear.) It is well to have documentary proof that this is not true, and that we should be able to show that we have pre served our consistency on this most important and mo mentous question. (Hear.) The Earl of MALMESBURY—Even if I had never held the seals of the Foreign-office, I should on all occa sions of this kind have endeavoured so to express myself as to avoid the possibility of embarrassing those who are charged with the administration of foreign affairs.Witla re ference to the present question, I certainly shouldnot have pressed her Majesty's Government to produce this cor respondence, and I think that, under the circumstances, they were warranted in abstaining from laying it before the house. I will say more than that. I think the great advantages we enjoy from living under a constitutional Government at a period like this are somewhat abated by the disadvantages which belong to our position, with reference to public affairs, as compared with a Govern ment entirely despotic. I know that a- Government which is entirely despotic—a Government resting on the will of one man—can carry on warlike operations with much more secresy and much more rapidity, and, there fore, with more advantage, than one which has to con sult the wishes of two houses of Parliament. Feeling this most strongly, I abstain as much as my duty per mits me to do from any remarks relative to the great questions and subjects now agitating the country that could possibly be considered factious on my part, or on the part of my noble friends with whom I have the honour to act. (Hear.) My lords, I expect, therefore, on the other side—and I must say I have always been met in these discussions in the same spirit by the noble lord now at the Foreign-office—l might have expected that I should have been met with any other feelings ra ther than those of hostility. and, let me say, with an ex pression of rudeness from the other side. (Hear.) The noble earl (Aberdeen) has defended himself from the charge that, whether from indiscretion, or from any other cause, he was connected with, or under the suspicion of being connected with the Times news paper, and that either directly or indirectly, he had nothing to do with putting them in possession of confidential communications. The noble earl has said that these confidential communications have not been given purposely by any member of the Governnient, or knowingly by them, but that they had been revealed to the Times. ("No, no ?") I understood_ the noble earl to say that the Times had obtained this information from —(" No, no," from Lord Aberdeen.) Then what did the noble earl say ? Will the noble earl inform the house what his statement was ? The noble earl said that the only way in which he could account for the knowledge which the Times possessed of transactions known only to the Government as State secrets was, that their had been at the Foreign-office a clerk who, either from indis cretion, or still worse motives, had betrayed those State secrets ; that that clerk was now no longer a public ser vant ; that he had been dismissed in consequence. ("No, no ;no longer a clerk.") Well—that he was no longer a clerk ; and then, in a tone and manner which nobody in the house could misunderstand, the noble earl added that the gentleman had been appointed by me. (H ear , hear.) From the spirit and manner in which he uttered it, the noble earl seemed to be sure that such was the case. ("No, no ?" from the Ministerial bench.) Then, he had no business to say it. (Hear.) Nothing could be less consonant with the manners that prevail in this house, or with the usage of this house, nor does it agree with the customs which we, as gentlemen, not merely as peers, observe towards each other, that the noble earl should in this way have spoken of me as having appointed a man who has betrayed his trust. I wish to know from the noble earl who that gentleman is. (Hear, hear.) And this leads me to a much more serious considera tion. Great and important State secrets have been be trayed, as the noble earl says, by a public servant. A public newspaper is made conversant with these secrets through the treachery of a servant, though the noble earl does not seem to be sure of it. He will not say that that is the case, But, my lords, matters have come to this pass, that it is necessary we should know who it is that betrays the public secrets—how it is that Cabi net secrets have oozed out and been filtered through the public offices, and that papers which have been refused to Parliament have found their way into the newspapers, while the Prime Minister of the country does not know how or by whom the Government has been betrayed. (Hear.) My lords, I think first of all I have a right to ask what is the name of the public servant who has be trayed his trust, and whom I am said to have appointed —(hear)—and, in the next place, I will take into my serious consideration whether it is not my duty as a peer and member of Parliament to move that some searching inquiry shall be made by Parliament, and with all the powers that Parliament is armed with, to ascer tain who it is that betrays public secrets to the news papers, who this person is that has not yet been dis covered, and who cannot be named by the noble earl. The Earl of ABERDEEN—The noble earl will ex cuse me from answering his question, for I do not know. (Laughter.) He was a clerk in the Foreign-office,. but is no longer a clerk ; but I did not say lie was dismissed. (Hear.) I said I had heard a rumour tnat it WAS through his instrumentality that this information had become known, but I did not say he was dismissed, nor do I know his name. (Hear. The Earl of DERBY—We have it on the statement of the noble earl, that it is supposed the secrets of the Cabinet have been betrayed by a person in a public situa tion. It is said that these secrets have been scanda lously betrayed 1 y a person appointed by the noble earl beside me. (Hear, hear.) Now, that person ought clearly to hay.) been dismissed, and if he is not dismissed for this violation of duty, the heads of that office have failed in their duty to the country. Unless, however, the noble earl was perfectly convinced of the fact—unless he knew that the person so appointed, as he says, by my noble friend, had been guilty of that base treachery to the country, he was not warranted in making the state ment he has done ; and, if the noble earl did know, nothing should have prevented him from stigmatising the person who had been so guilty in the face of Parliament and the country. (Hear, hear.) Earl GREY looked upon this as a case of very great importance. It was the first time in Parliament that lie had ever heard of such a case. He confessed, how ever, he had seen for some time past, with surprise and very great regret, the sor t o f official communications that had foun place in the newspapers, because this was not the only case. Their lordships would remember that, about a fortnight ago, the noble earl on the upper bench asked a question as to what steps were to be taken with reference to the Russian fleet coming out of the Baltic, and how those ships could be stopped in the absence of a declaration of war. The noble earl at the head of the Go vernment thought it consistent with his duty to avoid giving any explanation in answer. But the next morning there appeared in the Times newspaper a complete ex planation, because they were then informed by the Tunes that this difficulty of a declaration of war did not exist —that a summons had been addressed to Russia to with draw her troops from the principalities, and that if that summons was not attended to it would be equivalent to a declaration of war. Now, that was a fact of great importance to know and the same statement he might observe had been made by Lord J. Russell in the other house of Parliament. Now, seeing these official com munications in a particular newspaper, and information of such a peculiarly important character, it was hardly satisfactory that they should be told by the noble earl that he had no knowledge, either directly or indirectly, as to how these communications were made. He did not for one moment doubt the statement of the noble earl, but he thought it important for the honour and dignity of this country that such a scandalous breach of faith as they had heard of should not be passed over without some more serious notice being taken of the fact. He did not think that an imputation so grave should have been thrown out on any individual whatever who was said to be in the Foreign-office, but which not being fixed on any one individual would hang over the head of every one in that department, and that too with out the imputation being distinctly made or the grounds of that imputation being given. (Hear, hear.) The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said it had been dis tinctly stated, in answer to a question, that the answer of the Emperor of Russia to the summons given him was not expected till the 25th of March. Our fleet sailed on the 11th of March, and, as we must wait till we have received that answer on the 25th of March, our fleet must have sailed without specific orders. (Hear, hear.) In the meantime the Russian ships going out of the Baltic for the purpose of preying on our trade might pass through Admiral Napier's squadron untouched. (Hear.) This was a consequence of not attending to time, which was of all things the most essential in every thing connected with war, and he was not surprised that his noble friend, when he put the question to him the other night, did not give him any answer, inasmuch as he could not say what answer it was possible to give under the circumstances ; he was unable to say whe ther the Russian ships should, in the circumstances, be stopped or not. (Hear, hear.) Earl FITZWILLIAM was afraid that the explana tion which had been given could hardly be called an explanation. There had appeared, within the last 4S hours, disclosures of certain things in the newspapers, and, unless this person against whom suspicion had been raised had left the office within 4S hours, a suffi cient explanation would not be given of the paragraph of Saturday to which lie referred. (Hear.) He begged to observe on this subject that it disclosed to the world how mischievously the country submitted to place itself in the hands of the metropolitan press. It was a very serious affair, as it showed they were too much under the dominion of the press. He was very much afraid that her Majesty's Ministers—that all Ministers, not only those at present in office, but their noble friends opposite— felt the necessity for courting the public press too greatly to allow of their being as rigorous as they ought to he in their examination of the means by which the press obtained its information. In conclusion, he begged their lordships to bear in mind that these secrets could not have been disclosed by the clerk unless he had been in office 48 hours before the paragraph alluded to was published. The Earl of MALMESBURY—I have not receivel at the hands of the noble earl the justice that I expected. After having made such a charge, I expected, if not for my sake as responsible for the appointment of the gentle men, yet for the sake of those other gentlemen on whom, as has been said, the charge will rest, that the noble earl would have named the gentleman to whom he has al luded. I appointed two or three clerks, and if the noble earl conceals the name of the party in this instance, on them will the stigma of this charge also rest. I beg your lordships to remember one thing. I have been told that the appointment was made by me ; now, if the custom still prevails that did when I held the seals of the Foreign-office, this man alluded to must have been quite at the bottom of the list of clerks occupied in copy ing documents on very important matters. It is there fore impossible, or almost impossible, and it is wrong, that they should have been acquainted with correspon dence of such important and confidential nature RR that to which the noble earl has alluded. Looking at the circumstantial evidence of the case—as the noble earl refuses or is unable to give me further information on the assertion made by him most unwarrantably—l say, looking at the circumstantial evidence of the case, it is almost impossible that any young man appointed but for two years could have been cognisant of this correspon dence, and, consequently, almost impossible that he should have revealed it. The subject then dropped. CIVIL SERVICE. Lord MONTEAGLE moved for a copy of the in structions given to the commissioners who have reported on the state of the civil service, and of the evidence taken before them. The noble lord in a speech of considerable length entered into an elaborate discussion of the changes recommended in the civil service, and expressed his total inability to concur with them. He contended that they had been arrived at ex parte, and complained that the commissioners' report had been printed in the newspapers on the 9th of February, although it was not presented to Parliament until the 24th. Earl GRA.NVILLE said there was no objection to produce the instructions, but no evidence could be given as no short-hand writer had been admitted during the in quiry. The Government were of opinion that some such change as that recommended by the commissioners might advantageously be made ' • and he added th a t it h a d th e support of the heads of various departments. When the Government. should bring their measure forward, it would be found free from the slightest selfish feeling, and to have been prepared solely with the object of im proving the civil service. Lord BROUGHAM doubted whether any plan was really in contemplation ; but if one was, he certainly could not agree with it. • _ _ After a biief debate, in which the Earl of Harrowby, the Marquis of Clanricarde, and , the Duke of Argyle engaged, Lord MONTEAGLE replied, and the motion was agreed to. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE gave notice that on Friday next he should move for a copy of the cor respondence between the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Her Majesty's Council-General at Riga with regard to the exportation of Russian produce being the ; :property of Her Majesty's subjects, and with regard to the rights of neutrals in the event of a war. He considered that to be one of the greatest questions that could possibly occupy the public attention, and that it was one which would not be pre maturely brought before the public by him. Indeed, his reason for making the motion was in consequence of what had taken place in the other House of Parliament where statements had been made on the subject which were entirely at variance one from the other. This was a very serious matter, and he hoped that by giving notice of the question for Friday next the Government r”.r,red to give the explanation renuirea. The Consolidated Puild (8,000,00ut.) Bill was read second time. The House then adjourned shortly after half-past 8 o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS—(YESTERDAY.) The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Brighton, Hove, and Preston Waterworks, the Hastings and St. Leonard's Gas, the London Life Asso ciation, the Middleton Gas, and the Radcliffe and Pil kington Gas Bills, were read a third time and passed. On the motion that the East London Waterworks Bill be considered, Mr. A. PELLATT moved that the bill be read a third time this day six months. Mr. JOHN M`GREGOR spoke in support of th e bill, and against M r . A. Pellatt's amendment. Lord SEYMOUR thought the house would neither act consistently with reason or with justice, if they should let this bill go on. Mr. ALCOCK spoke in favour of the bill going into committee. Lord PALMERSTON said he had had communica tions both with parties in favour of the bill, and those against it, and on the whole he was against the second reading of the bill. (Hear, hear.) After a few words from Mr. Bright, Mr. French, and Lord D. Stuart, the house divided, when the numbers appeared — For the second reading ll4 For the amendment 143 Majority against the bill —29 PETITIONS. Mr. H. W. WICKHAM presented the following pe titions :—From the congregation of Wesleyan Methodists worshipping in Richmond-terrace Chapel, Bradford, Yorkshire, praying that public-houses and beer-shops may be closed the whole of Sundays, except to lodgers and bovc fide travellers ; from the congregation wor shipping at the Centenery Wesleyan Chapel,;and the Kib gate Wesleyan Chapel, Bradford, Yorkshire ; also from the congregation worshipping at the Wesleyan Chapel, Low Moor, Yorkshire, praying that the sale of intoxi cating liquors may be prohibited during the whole of Sunday. Mr. BRIGHT presented a petition from Mr. Urqu hart, stating that he was formerly employed as secretary of embassy in Turkey for many years, and he believes that Turkey is able to defend herself against any hostile attacks of Russia, and believing that an internal revolution will arise in Turkey consequent upon our inteference in the quarrel of Turkey and Russia, and praying the house to withdraw our ambaasador from Constantinople and our fleet from the Black Sea. (Loud laughter.) The hon. member also presented a petition from an in dividual named William Pcplow, Stafford, praying the house to order an inquiry into the secret diplomatic cor respondence between this country and Russia. THE BALTIC FLEET. Mr. FRENCH observed that in the newspapers of the Bth instant, there appeared in the public prints a report of the public dinner given to Sir C. Napier, on the previous evening, at the Reform Club. By that re port it appeared that the right hon. gentleman, the First Lord of the Admiralty, in his official capacity, gave Sir C. Napier liberty to declare war on entering the Baltic. Now he wished to ask the right hon baronet two questions upon this point ; first, did the right hon. baronet give such authority—and, secondly, if he did, would it b 3 acted upon while we were in anticipation of the arrival of the Czar's reply to the ultimatum which had been offerded him. Sir J. GRAHAM said—Sir, although I might be wil ling to dispute the right of the hon. member to put a question to me with respect to what passed after dinner (roars of laughter) —yet perhaps it would be disrespectful to the house if I did not give an answer to the ques tion. (Hear, hear.) I have to state, then, to the honourable gentleman, that with respect to the authority given by me it arose in this way— Sir C. Napier had observed that before he entered the Baltic, he must have authority to declare war, and I said, in reply to this remark, that when he entered the Baltic, I hoped there would be no difficulty on his part in declaring war. (Hear, hear.) No declaration of war has, however, been made yet, nor has any order been given to Sir C. Napier to enter the Baltic, but when war is declared, a proper notification will be given to him and the country of it. (Cheers.) Mr. BRIGHT —That I may not be out of order, I shall take the liberty o f moving the adjournment of the house. I gave notice a few evenings ago to the right hon. baronet the First Lord of the Admiralty that I would put a ques tion to him on the subject which has just been brought under the notice of the house. I cannot say that the an swer of the right hon. gentleman is one which meets the case—(cheers from the Opposition) —or one that would justify me in saying nothing more upon the subject. The right hon. baronet complains that he should be asked a question about something that happened after dinner. (A laugh.) Now, the house put an interpretation upon that remark which, I am quite sure, was not justified by the state of the right hon. gentleman, (Loud l aug ht er. ) Th ere is, how ever, a matter connected with this subject which affects the Government as a Government, and not the right hon. hon. baronet alone. I have seen it stated in one of the morning papers—and it has been currently reported— that some time ago the Lord Mayor of the city of London proposed to give a dinner at the Mansion-house to distinguish ed officers of both services. Every gentleman who becomes Lord Mayor seems to be excited about something—(a laugh)—and in the effervescence of my Lord Mayor Sidney it was thought desirable to have this dinner. I understand that application was made to the right hon. gentleman (Sir J. Graham) who is at the head of the naval adminis tration, and to Lord Hardinge, the head of the army, for their sanction ; and that in the one case it was agreed that some 30 officers should be invited, and in the other case, I believe, as many as 40. Everything went on swimmingly for the ambition of the Lord Mayor—(a laugh)—until in consequence of some notification from some higher power— from the Cabinet, or from the noble earl at the head of the Government, but I suspect from the latter—the dinner was countermanded, and fora time at least postponed. Now, in my opinion, nothing could be more proper or judicious than that postponement ; for considering the circumstances in which we are placed, I think that, at such a critical pe riod, it is advisable that the members of the Government should abstain from any demonstrations of this nature. The Mansion-house dinner did not take place, but the din ner at the Reform Club came on. Now, I don't at all ex pect the Government to • put an end to dinners at the Reform Club. Clubs are celebrated for their cookery—(a laugh)—and in the case of a great many members of clubs, the preparation of their dinners and the eating of them are the chief objects of their concern during the day. (" Oh, oh !" and a lau g h.) l am sorr y if I h ave sa id any thi ng offensive to any hon. members. (Laughter.) Although it was no part of the business of the Government to put a stop to a dinner at the Reform Club, yet, if the Govern ment considered a dinner atthe Mansion-house injudicious, I don't know how they could regard the attendan ce o f three C a bi ne t Mi n i s t ers, an d an admiral just appointed to a high command, at a dinner of the Reform Club as other wise than injudicious also. I suspect that, some day or other, this house will have to ask who is the Minister, and what is the Cabinet, and where we are to look for the exe cutive administration of the country; for I regard the two cases I have mentioned as affording some evidence that there are probably a majority and a minority in the Cabi net, and that there is a difference of opinion upon this subject, as probably there may be upon other important questions. I will say nothing of the good tasse or the bad taste of Ministers of the Crown in attending the dinner at the Reform Club. I can imagine, however, that, after Ministers have succeeded in bringing a na tion to the verge of the precipice of war, they will not b e very particular as to th e means they take to keep alive or to stimulate public passions, in order, it may be, that some blunders which have been committed may, under this prevailing frenzy, lie undiscovered. It is said that the noble member for the city of London (Lord J. Russell) was requested to attend, if not to preside at, the dinner at the Reform Club; bat I need not remind the house that the noble lord, in the midst of many political successes, and some reverses, has generally—l think always— managed to show that he had some self-respect some regard for his own dignity and for his own character, and he was not present at this dinner. The noble member for Tiver ton (Lord Palmerston) was the chairman on the occasion. I wont go into the question whether he should have been chairman or not, but I must say I could not help con trasting the language lie used on that occasion, when he spoke of the single-mindedness, the good faith, and the honour of a certain ruler abroad, with tho language which I recollect was used by the noble lord in this house only two years ago, when he sought to terrify the house and the country by describing the imminent probability that a marauding army of 60,000 Frenchmen might land on the southern shores of England in a single night. There was another exhibition at that dinner which gave me extreme pain —the presence of the right hon. baronet (Sir 'William Molesworth) the Chief Commissioner of Works. (Hear, and a laugh). The change that 12 months of official life appears to work in some gentlemen is wonderful. (Laugh ter.) We have heard of men who have grown old from the anxieties of a single year, and I believe there are cases on record of men's hair having turned grey by the agony of a single night. I think it was Horace Walpole who re marked upon the frankness with which members spoke whoa on that (pointing to the Opposition) side of the house, and on the diplomatic reserve which they displayed when they sat on the benches below sue and who observed that Ministerial language was the easist of all languages, for a man could learn it in a week. It has only taken some 12 or 15 months of official life to erase from the mind of the right hon. baronet (Sir W. Molesworth) all traces of that great principle of non-intervention upon which, in 1850, if I recollect aright, he gave a vote emphatically condemning the foreign policy of the noble lord the member for Tiverton. But now I come to the First Lord of the Admiralty. He has been in this house longer than most of us recollect ; in fact, I suppose scores of mem bers of this house were not higher than that table (pointing to the clerk's table) when the right honour able gentleman was first immersed in political affairs. (A laugh.) He has held office for a great number of years; his language is most precise and accurate ; he is not sur passed, or even rivalled, by any hon. member in the beau tiful precision with which his words are placed and uttered; and he is such a judge of what is discreet that, upon this very occasion, in flat contradiction to the notorious opinions of the noble member for the city of London, he took upon himself to vouch for and to guarantee the absolute discre tion of Sir C. Napier. (Some cries of " Hear, hear.") Now, the right hon. baronet (Sir J. Graham) has not to my mind, stated precisely what were the words he used on the occasion to which reference has been made. I must say of Sir C. Napier that I thought his speech was the best speech at the dinner, for it was a speech not unbecoming the position in which he was placed. I will say nothing of the appointment further than this,—that it appears now to be the rule of the Government that a man does not come to maturity until he is about 70 years of age. (A laugh.) I am certainly of opinion that it was not very judicious to give tho command of the most powerful and costly fleet — costly whether viewed with regard to stores or to human life—that over loft this or any other country, to one who has passed that period of life when man's mental and bodily powers are in full vigour. The language Sir C. Napier used was this—and I believe the report, so far as I can learn, to be accurate and verbatim : " I cannot say we aro at war, because we are still at peace. (Great laughter.)" (A laugh.) One would really suppose that nothing could be more funny than the subject which these gentlemen wore discussing. " But," Sir C. Napier proceeded,— " I suppose we are very nearly at war, and probably when 1 get into the Baltic I'll have an opportunity of declaring war. (Loud cheers, laughter, and a cry of Bravo Charley !')" (Laughter.) Now, it was i n reference to that paragraph that the Fir s t Lord of the Admiralty made the observation to which the attention of the house had been called. The right hon. baronet (Sir J. Graham) said : " My gallant friend says, when ho goes into the Baltic he will declare war. (L a ughter.) I, as First Lord of the Admiralty, give him my free consent so to do." (Hear, hear.) (An hon, member on the benches immedi ately behind the Treasury bench, here made an observa tion whi c h w a s inaudible in the gallery.) I understand (Mr. Bri g ht continued) what the hon. gentl eman means b y saying, „ When h e goes into the Baltic ;" but, suppose the same language had been used before Admiral Dundee entered the Black Sea. It would have been just as proper and rational for a Minister of the Crown to have used such language in that case as in the present ; and no idea that we might be at war when Sir C. Napier got into the Baltic could, in my opinion, a ff ord th e slightes t excuse for the indiscreet language of the First Lord of the Admiralty. Th e question I intended to have asked, if I had not been anticipated by the hon. member for Roscommon (Mr. French), was simply whether the right hon, baronet had the sanction of the Government to the language he used, and whether he spoke in that explicit and resolute style upon so grave a subject with the authority of his Sove reign. From his explanation it appears that it was only the expression of an after-dinner speech—that, in point of fact, a subject so grave was treated in this manner for the purpose of eliciting —not that it did elicit—cheers from an audience who, no doubt, were not very particular about what they heard, as they were not very particular about what the Government were going to do. I must say that I read the whole of those proceedings with pain and with humiliation. Whether this war be justifiable or not, it not the question; but whatever sort of war it be, it is an awful thing for any nation that engages in it. (Some cries of " Hear, hear.") If war be not in itself always a crime, it is the inevitable parent of innumerable crimes. There are thousands, perhaps scores of thousands of lives depending on this question. The fortunes and side a re the happiness of millions depend sending 20,000 or 25,000 men to upon it. otherr u of Europe. You take a man from each. of 25,000 British homes. In those homes there are families who at this moment are feeling the deepest anxiety—who, it may be are alternating between hope and fear ; and what per son can tell but that before the heat of summer is past, or even before it comes, you may have news from the swamps of the Danube of the indiscriminate slaughter on the battlefield, which will strike dumb with sorrow the occu pants of hundreds of homes in this country? I want to know, then, whether it was right or becoming on the part of the noble member for Tiverton to entertain the con ntry with stories and jokes at a time like this ? I conceive, Sir, that this is one of the gravest matters that can be discussed Business this day. 55f 5 15 12i xd „ 7 8 i 7i ;, 984 1011 i 61 601 i 151 68 73 ~ zd xd 134 1 die xd 7 3 8 2s. THE LAST RUSSIAN MANIFESTO. The Earl of DERBY said,—l have a question to put to the noble earl at the head of the Government, of which I thought it my duty to give him notice, but which, had I not done so, the noble earl would probably have anticipated, and to which I hope he will have no hesitation in giving me an answer. In most of the morning papers on Saturday last there appeared a docu ment of a very remarkable character, purporting to be an extract from the Journal de St. Petersbourg, and pro fessing to be in point of fact, as it seems to be, the semi official answer of no less a person than the Emperor of Russia to a statement made by one of the leading members of her Majesty's Government in the other House of Parliament. If that. article had merely con tained a protest against the terms made use of by that member of her Majesty's Government, as being incon sistent with the position which he occupied and deroga tory to the dignity of the party to whom they referred, I should certainly not have thought it necessary upon a matter which partook more of a personal than a public character to call your lordships' attention to it ; but the assertions and allegations contained in this manifesto or memorandum, or vihatever it may be called, are of a na ture which require an explanation at - the hands of her Majesty's Government, because unexplained, they appear to reflect at all events on the political honour, if I might not also say, on the personal honour of some of the prin cipal members of that Government. I take the extract from the Times newspaper, first, because the document appears to be given at greater length, and next because that is a paper which professes—and which, I believe, professes truly--to enjoy to a very great extent the confi dence of her Majesty's Government, and more especially that of the noble earl at the head of the Governmont. ("Hear" from the Earl of Aberdeen.) A confidence which I hope is not entirely undeserved, and which certainly, I must say, appears to be reciprocated by the news paper in question. I also refer to it, because the com ments which appear in that paper upon the subject under discussion were hardly of a less remarkable cha racter than the document itself. (Hear, hear.) The Emperor of Russia, or the editor of the Journal de St. Petersbourg—who probably would not have put forth a document of this character without Imperial sanction— after commenting on the language made use of and the expressions applied to the Emperor by Lord John Rus sell in his place in the House of Commons, and after referring to the distrust in the intentions of Russia, which, as he states, have led to the nowlimpending war, goes on to say : " That such distrust may have been entertained by France—that it may up to a certain point have found a place in the mind of a Government still recent, which has not had time to acquire by long experience of former relations with it an exact idea of our real intentions, and abandoning itself involuntarily to the almost traditional opinion which has been formed of Russian policy in the East —that may be easily conceived; but on the part of Eng land, which is aware of the antecedents and the character of the Emperor from a connection of long date, an opinion of such a nature justly excites surprise. Less than any other, the British Government should entertain such suspicions. It has in its hands the written proof that there is no foundation for them, for long before the present condition of affairs, before the questions which led to the mission of Prince Menschikoff to Constantinople had assumed so serious an aspect of differ ence, before Great Britain had adopted the same line of policy as France, the Emperor had spontaneously explained himself with the most perfect candour to the Queen and her Minis ters, with the object of establishing with them a friandly un derstanding even upon the most important result which can affect the Ottoman empire." This last sentence in a leading article of the Times of the same date is expressed with even more emphasis and in italics, the concluding words being "in the event of the most formidable contingency that could befall the Ottoman empire." The article from the St. Petersbourg Journal, after alluding to the organization of the Tur kish empire, then goes on to say, " Penetrated with the extreme importance of such a result, and having at that period almost reached the region of the possible, if not entirely of the probable,—convinced of the disastrous consquences which might result from it, the Emperor thought it necessary to assure himself beforehand whether the English Government shared his apprehensions. He wished more particularly by a frank previous understanding to remove every subject of misunderstanding between Great Britain and himself. It seemed of the highest importance to his Majesty to establish the most perfect identity of views with the Government of Great Britain. With this view the Emperor engaged the English Minister at St. Petersburg to cause her Majesty to be informed of his anticipations with respect to the danger, more or less imminent, that menaced Turkey. He requested on this subject a confidential interchange of opinions with her Britannic Majesty. That was certainly the most evident proof of confidence which the Emperor could give to the Court of St. James ; and thus did his Majesty most openly signify his sincere wish to prevent any ulterior divergence be tween the two Governments. Sir H. Seymour acquitted himself forthwith of the important commission which the. Emperor had impressed on him in a long and familiar con versation. . The result has shown itself in a correspondence of the most friendly character between the present English Ministers and the Imperial Government. It is not permitted to us to divulge the contents of non-official documents which do not concern the Emperor alone, and which contain the ex pressions of a mutual confidence. What we are permitted to say is, that in examining the circumstances more or less likely to affect the duration of the status quo in the East,—an ex amination undertaken from the conviction respectively enter tained that every effort should be made to sustain that status quo, and to prolong it as long as possible, there never was any question of a plan by which Russia and England might dispose beforehand, and between themselves, of the destiny of the different provinces which constitute the Ottoman empire ; still less of a formal agreement to be concluded between them, without the knowledge and unassisted by the counsel and in tervention of the other Courts. The two parties were limited to a frank and single confidence, but without reserve on either side, to communicate what might be adverse to Eng lish interests, what might be so to Russian, so that in any given case hostile or even contradictory action might be avoided. In looking over the different parts of this confi dential correspondence—in recalling the spirit in which they themselves had interpreted it, the /iinisters with whom at the time it was carried on, and who since have permitted themselves to be swayed by prepossessions to be regretted, will be able to decide if those prepossessions are just. Let Lord J. Russell more especially reperuse that correspondence, in which he was the first to take part before ceding to Lord Clarendon the direction of foreign affairs, Let him consult his conscience, if the passion which leads him astray permit him to recognise its voice. He can decide now whether it be really true that the Emperor has been wanting in frankness towards the English Government ; or if rather his Majesty has not unbosomed himself to England with as little reserve as possible ; if there exists the least reason for believing that we have ambitious or exclusive views on Constantinople ; or, if on the contrary, the Emperor has not explained himself in a way to remove all doubt as to his real intentions on the subject of the political combinations to be avoided, in the extreme case which he at the time pointed out to the fore sight of the British Government." Now I must say that, it appears to me, the concluding paragraphs of this article, and the course which events have taken, go far to show that there were indeed, on the part of the Emperor of Russia, ambitious designs' enter tained with reference to the Ottoman empire—(hear, hear)—but that which is of importance in the present case is, that, according to this article, the Emperor of Russia had made to Sir Hamilton Seymour the most friendly and unreserved communications relative to the views which he entertained on this subject ; that such communications had been forwarded by Sir Hamilton Seymour to the British Government ; and that a most friendly correspondence had been carried on between the Emperor of Russia and different mem b ers o f suc h Bri tish Government relative to the Emperor's views, in which correspondence there appeared to be a most per fect unity of action and harmony of thought existing between the corresponding parties. If this were so, I contend that the British Government have no right to express surprise at the aggressive demonstration now made on the part of the Emperor, or to deal with his mo tives as if they were not previously communicated and understood. What appears to he most remarkable in the conduct of the British Government is this—that, while the confidential documents referred to went to show that there were ambitious views entertained by Russia, and also all the papers in the command of Government went to prove the ambitious policy and violent designs of that state with regard to the dissolution of the Turkish empire and its final settlement ; while all this must have been evident, the British Government should imply that they were ignorant of what the intentions of Russia really were. (Hear, hear.) I do not complain, my lords, that the conversation of Sir Hamilton Seymour with the Emperor, and the confidential correspondence carried on between the two Governments should have been withdrawn from the regular correspondence laid on the table of the house, because such withdrawal of the papers might well be justified by an honourable objec tion on the part of the British Government to make use of private correspondence for public purposes. (Hear.) Previously to the late discussion on the documents which have been laid upon the table, I had from au thentic sources good reason to believe that such a pri vate correspondence as the one I am now speaking of existed ; but I felt, since Government, in its discretion, had not thought proper to produce such correspondence that it would not be right or fair in me to make my in formation public. lam now about to refer to certain comments, and these of a very singular character, which appeared in the Times newspaper upon those documents, and I must say, in passing, that this is not the first time by many, within the last few months, that the Times newspaper has professed to have, and has been proved to be in possession o f, secre t an d exc l us i ve i n f orma tion, which ought, !and was supposed to have been known only to the Cabißpt ; also to have possession of, and access to, papifrti, and documents refused to both Houses of Parliament, and to be at liberty, and ap parently authorised, to make public these documents, previously refused even to Parliament itself. • (Hear, hear.) 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