The Sun. — London, England, 1853-06-18 00:00:00

LATEST FOREIGN NEWS. FRANCE. sub 7l 4 B Eastern q ues ti on aga i n furn i shes near l y th e on ly ut for remark in the Paris journals of yesterday. Imost important of the articles is indisputably ono in rile_t.:o.nstitutionnel written by M. Granier de Cassagnac, un4 w Licht after declaring that the four great Powers are "laicals in their condemnation of any attempt to th at the Danubian principalities, proceeds to show 14t such an act on th e part of Russia would certainly ll arn u r nt t° an act of hostility, no matter how much might express herself animated with a desire to ai,th main Peace. The whole of this article is written a_ great moderation, but at the same time is marked 7,,,a certain firmness and decision which would seem to trrate that the writer spoke from authority rather Thez!trom his own private inspiration. D"Varna/ des _Debuts is infinitely pacific in its la,n tibr; as, after alluding to the more hostile tone percep -1 °I late in the English journals, it concludes as fel- Owe "Por our Part our confidence in the maintenance of 1: 1 1 1e e is not in any way shaken by the fresh vivacity of gua ge perceptibl e in the English journals. As we have ti e ,,°•"Y stated, before arriving definitively at a pacific coin at!, numerous crises must be passed through. We are not be ijesent in one of these, and prudent men ought not to larrned thereat. It is'the and cul , necessary course of this great Ta o t questi on o f th e E as t." Assentblee Nationale also seems convinced that out niea of all thi s turmoil an arrangement b y di p l oma ti c /4 1 ) : will arise, each party making concessions. Ca uefi P aYs contains an article from the that writer M. Pi); g n e , being the first of a series in which that writer n n _P°ses to give a succinct history of the Turco-Russian () l it e:Um . in the East. The present article being mostly rt4tprehminary character, gives very little information 11 1 , 6 1 . ye to the difference which has lately arisen between meter insists Turkey, but the principal point which the _ er insists on is, that no great change can take place „,,!ny state in Europe, whether as regards territory or -Iwithout the consent of all the great powers. ? Emperor has just received the French commis iithmstitutecl for the Universal Exhibition in London , fid ed e'ecasion of its having terminated the task con it folio •to it. Baron C. D the President, delivered u e w ing uP in speech : th e piree--•I have the honour to present to your Majesty kti o ree eh commission instituted for the Universal Exhi lehe: of 1851, and to lay before you the report of its fII w il r i % This statement makes known the historical plan (lath, c a we set forth the progress of arts in every nation Sine g that period of general peace which now relies on e e ll llgY of your wisdom in order to continue its benefits. Fr an the time of the scientific commission of Egypt, aile e. ce ,nall never ordered an undertaking of such imp?st tleu ef . l our Majesty will doubtless judge that the publica ;„,%'"° work accomplished under your auspices , should tra u "ain below th e gra ndeur of the arts in France, a out ' and which it h as b ee n our object to measure, to point of ' 'ild to get rewarded. Sire, in repeating the last words ittelf7nr ,report, I will say The Commission will think Osee e ,„ -°l -"Y repaid for its labours and its fatigues, if, in the nia• ' e e of foreicm nations, it has defended the rights and y o ,: i 'airted the honour of France, and if, by the organ of aut,_ is Majes satisfied.'"may tY • hear these simple words — the e he e Majesty gave a most gracious reply, declaring that Co aPPreciated the importance of the labours of the Of I ta nlis siont and would give orders that the publication 1, me report should be made in a manner worthy of ra t t ee • The wishes which he had just heard for the des al •s -ena ' ne e of peace were in accordance with his own h ep l e •t; his efforts were directed to that end, and his N il was that it would be maintained. (These words t h , ` i ced a strong sensation amongst his auditors.) The se - r v p • ero r declared that he was fully acquainted with the sh e , l les rendered by the Commission ; and that ho of „`„11 call for them again for the Universal Exhibition, o r Paris was to be the scene. His Majesty con aed7ted the president personally on the patriotism h. talent which he evinced in the accomplishment of la seii , i mportant and difficult task. He was aware,. he Wi t ' of of all the value of the report, which he received ik,4,great interest. The Emperor concluded by thank be'e,„"ae Commission in the name of France, which had th - ` worthily represented both by her exhibitors and by el' judges. After having expressed these ideas, the eoliesr.or. stopped before each of the members of the hi, 1 , 438 ' 00 , whose personal titles were mentioned to re "1 Baron Charles Dupin.—The Moniteur of this °r u i n e'e r contains the report alluded to, which extends I , ii not less than ten columns. EmperorC has received a letter through the Mexican 'gd d'Aff a i res f rom D on Antonio Lopez de Santa k ex ila i , announcing his elevation to the Presidency of the Tii ca li Republic. b - cm - Tress has given 300 f. to the subscription now fopr by the society of Antiquaries of Pica rd y , " tin" a monument to Peter the Hermit. hav,ft e. A.srmirals Du Petit-Thouars and Le Pr6dou e r tile ... A be en appointed titulary members of the Council and Cg 'lcinairalt in the room of Vice-Admirals. Casy an Admiralty, Y' the second section of the t? ; who have passed into ti of the nav -i !,Eminene y e * M_gerr.neGenar,ibaldi, , the Pope's Nuncio, fro n :_li Yesterday - ft _ at half-past two o'clock, a ge 4 i l attack of apoplexy. He was . only 56 years of mhiAll the morning he was occupied . in busin . es d s, e i ." l , he dispatched with all his usual lucidity of mind. 8o en began to converse with a friend, and as he did st Zaed about the room. All at once h e fell as if li With a thunderbolt. Drs. Maisonneuve and Were immediately sent for, but to no purpose, "eath had been instantaneous. tub ° Monit eur p u bli s h e s a decree regulating the dis ere,P,ie, n of the 170,000 f., for which an extraordi▪ nary lod e : nad been opened in the estimates of 1852, the late gin to the private agents and servants of It Louis Philippe. exact Pays P ays says •—" Several journals have spoken . in._ kari',? of a recent measure adopted by the Minister of abl e ,7 0 and Colonies relative to calling out a consider eoteuraber of sa il or s. The Minister has exercised,e in te nt " r i rnity with th e l aw , the right of making the p rm er te , e vY : he has not employed any extraordi▪ nary saa e ' r es, and has even decided that only the sailors who ,kah, Be rved less than four years in the vessels of the ak s ,,' l . ,s ) r those who having served more than four . ye d a7, the " I seinbarked within a year, shall be comprise in l e , ° Y• These sailors are to be employed in the vessels l Itat i e t„, - are being armed at this moment for the normal is ' 3 4. f the fleet." The journals published in the s . e n a e b e i:‘ a te that the above order of the Minister of Marine AO actively carried into execution. k . 11 (1 ,iel - lcader has addressed the following letter to 'ant Prefect of the Indre-et-Loire : , r " Glory to God alone l t°liinastlmordship the excellent Lord Brun, c hief of the t g, ours. theaZ 'citation to you, your gracious spouse, and the f rienal i N Young ladies Srun. We shall never forget your disposit' to us and your kind f elicitations, hxle then Napoleon 111. (God make his victory ete rnal, a P t r tng his days for the triumph of good causes !) set - I. ; _vcrit ZertY. Everybody praised your admi n i stration s - * We again unite in that concert of praises. Be 4.,,,ett e ;:engh n o t t o f orge t us e ither in your hearts or your + Salutation from Ab-del-Kader, son of Mali dwin' f our I/ & 11 day * s remaining of Rabin el Tsani, 1269." -er little business was transacted at the Bourse yes seea; though on the whole the prices of Government Dance es were steadily maintained, and a slight mi le th e had even taken place at the conclusion excepting -three per Cents for the account, in which a de for e a ° „,, f 30 c. occurred. * The Four-and-a-half per Cents. ere n 0 rose 40cand the Three per Cents. 15c. There Il a r i e f no tr ansactions again Thursday in the Four-and-a- Fra l ' er Cents for the end of the month. Bank of tie • c e shares remained : unchanged. The final quota i4eeotisuw,„°re :—Three per Cents., for cash, 77.25 ; for the ~,,4 2 aii" 7 7 ; Four-and-a-Half per Cents., for cash,. '"orthp,' ; for the account, 101.60 ; Bank Stock, 2,660 f ro ue s t - r r Zs t :_BB . s.so ; Paris and Orleans, 1,0-19.50 , Paris °lie 897 ; Paris and Lyons, 905 ; Paris , _ and . western ' ';° 3 o • L to the Mediterranean, 735.50 , yens Erance, 710. RUSSIA AND TURKEY. W A 1, fr o - 'aye received by electric telegraph a dispatch froth Constantinople dated June 9. the un of the note conveying the tt i, °l ri l n it di n e ttil i ai tl f i r= S th t. e P a e r t r e iv rs a b l urgh, insisting . upon liere waacceptancePorte. of the convention demanded by every probability that the Porte would Persist, h.e in his refusal to yield to the E n m t p l er r demand. o ri r ved on the 15th _:)rlinary packet from the from Marseilles Constantinople to r eeei ‘o, being within a day of the date of the intelligence eitu: f r t by electric telegraph through Trieste. ribed The as til le i;°o of the Turkish capital kia an ed. The same packet i l elish fleet left Malta on the Bth inst. for the brings is word desc that the or a l ° ,,f Ilesika where it was to arrive the 12th littl ' tit ie telegraphic inst. The German journals give very b ut e further information respecting the Eastern question, frern dispatch received in P telii ith a , and dated the 16th, seems to confirm ans the a in r : ti a' and already given from various sources, and e ldarl • A f iAist i .; Y, lo the German Journal of . Fran . kfort, t p a h e a e t . The i a °Ad accepted the office of mediator in the . case. tarts 7sieste Observer states, that when the Greek inhabi- Itu z ß „ ; er Canea in the Island , of Candia, heard that the e er ,',. 4 n flag ha ' d bee h themn from the embassy tax-eBB‘4lltioople, several of refused to pay their crewed Considerable agitation ensued, which wwans thein rre, ' Theseeing the Russian vice-consul take do . cliatu . r b., Turkish authorities, fearing that serious fit t i , ' r tees might take place, requested the vice cone fnioi-41:e,Place them, which they represented to him he Glar e d i 'oe more readily ' do as war had not yet been de reateor;a.lie acceded to the request, and tranquillity was Th e ' llO I. "e'PE.,l atl le of Thursday evening says :—" Intelligence 11:taihdril:ototi-idtahy, to o y Trieste, announces that the French l eg of had quitted the port of Salamis on the morn cast anchor at Besika, a point situated do e the coast of Anatolia, opposite the island of Tene eOtra -- ,, nd about 12 miles from Cape Janissary, at the , fer r d e e,of the D ardanelles. That port is generally pre flortC because vessels are there sheltered from n i the ag e ; est Wind coming from the Strait, and the a cior di et 's good. From Salamis to Tenedos, the nautical n- I) 4D anc e is about 65 leagues. Vessels sailing in om Tarry tray take about 35 hours to do the distance. From pert to the Golden Horn, the central point of the 55 1 °f Constantinople, the nautical distance is about t b e ,eagoes, as the whole of the Sea of Marmora must be The island of Tenedos has no good anchor -4,, the neighbourhood of the coast is generally shallow, s t. e tt e on the north-eastern part where is situated Mount summit lie, which has a triangular form, and the pointed of iu of N , Yhich is turned to the west towards the isle a kette.rsairum Constantinople of the sth announce that fri'L`Talari squadron, composed of the Juno and Athina ee;,6l'?B, and the Ophis brig, had left Sebastopol to pro- C '' b° tteounda, a point situated on the coast of the ". I YA I III,II. It wars said that this expedition was con- nected with a fresh movement of the tribes hostile to Russia. A Warsaw journal contains the following statement of the force of the Russian army :—" It consists of 72 regiments of infantry, divided into 32 battalions, and 24 regiments of cavalry of 192 squadrons ; the artillery con sists of six corps and 690 guns. The total number of the a3tive army is 290,000, without counting the reserve. The reserve is composed of 6 divisions of in fantry and 6 brigades of cavalry, and forms a force of 80,000 men, without counting the pu lks of Cossacks." The A ssemblec Nationale says :—" The Constitutionnel confirms the news which we gave on Monday of a corn munication having been made by the Cabinet of St. Pe tersburg to all the Courts of Europe. The Constitution- Izel which, we admit, must be much better informed than we are, on account of its relations with official circles, contests the character which we have ascribed to the communication of the Cabinet of St. Petersburg. It matters little, however, whether it were a note, or a simple despatch which was communicated co the Minis ter of Foreign Affairs of France ; the important point, and the Constitictionac/ makes no difficulty in admitting it, that the substance of our article cannot be contested." SPAIN. The Madrid journals of the 11th contain no political news of interest. The editors of the Diario and the Noredades, against whom, as already stated, a prosecu tion has been commenced, had surrendered to take their trial. It had been definitively fixed that the Court should go to La Granja at the end of the present month, for the sake of change of air for the Princess of the Asturias. The Duke and Duchess of Montpensier were about to leave Seville to take up their residence at San Lucar de Barrameda, where they intend to pass the summer. Nothing further was said about modifications in the Ministry. The provincial journals contain further accounts of damage done to the crops by the recent storms, especially in Granada and Malaga. The Three per Cents. were at 45. MPERIAL PARMA ME NT. HOUSE OF LORDS-(YESTERDAY.) The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at five o'clock. Lord MONTEAGLE presented a petition from the Grand Jury of Dublin, praying that a system of regis tration of births, deaths, and marriages be established in Ireland. THE BISHOPRIC OF SYDNEY. Lord REDESDALE asked the noble duke the Secre tary of State for the Colonies what was the reason of the delay which has occurred in the appointment of a successor to the late Bishop of Sydney, who died in England on the 20th of February last ? The Duke of NEWCASTLE said that some altera tion had been contemplated in the present division of the colonial see, and until that was determined he had not thought it his duty to recommend her Majesty to fill up the vacancy caused by the death of the late bishop. 111INUTHS OF EDUCATION. The Bishop of SALISBURY, pursuant to notice, rose put a question to the Lord President of the Council on the subject of the minutes of the Committee of Council of Education, dated 2nd April, 1853. It was not neces sary for him to assure their lordships that he was not about to make an attack on the Committee of her Ma jesty's Council, or on the noble earl who presided with so much ability over it ; and still less did he wish to dis turb the relations which had subsisted between the ecclesiastical and civil authorities of the State with re spect to the education of the people, which had existed for so long a time. The right rev. prelate proceeded in a low tone of voice, and amidst a general buzz of con versation in the house, to point out the amendments and alterations which he suggested should be made, but no two consecutive sentences reached the gallery. He pro ceeded to put the following questions to the President of the Committee of Council :—Whether the minute is applicable to mixed schools of boys and girls, as well as to schools in which boys and girls are educated sepa rately ? And, if so, in what manner the estimate for a grant is to be made ? Whether it is required that the income of the school from the specified sources should amount to the rate named in respect of the whole num ber of children on the register of the school, or only in respect of the children in behalf of whom a grant is claimed ? Whether the minute may be so modified, as not to require so long a period of attendance on the part of the scholars, and so as to allow the calculation to be made on the aggregate attendance of the whole school, and not on the separate attendance of each child ? Whe ther in schools in which, under the provisions of any trust deed a portion of the children are necessarily ad mitted without payment, the attendance of such children may nevertheless be calculated in the claim for a grant ? Whether the condition as to the holding of a certificate by the master or mistress may be dispensed with (at least for the present), the condition as to the efficiency of the school, according to the subordinate regulation, section 8, being equally enforced ; The right rev. pre late was understood to say, in conclusion, that he deemed it of prime importance not to disturb the system based on voluntary education, stimulated by the assist ance which had been so long in operation. Earl GRANVILLE (who spoke in a very low tone, and with his back to the gallery, so.that not a single sentence was completely heard) was understood to say that the right reverend prelate need not have apologised, having, in making his very able speech, dwelt solong on a subject with which he was so competent to deal, and was of such importance to the rising generation, on the ground that a discussion was expecte which would be more lively and of a personal character ; nor was it in the least necessary, for the right reverend prelate to have stated that he was not actuated by any desire to attack the committee of the Privy Council, or to excite any want of co-operation between that committee and the clergy. The noble earl then, as far as we could make out, proceeded to answer the questions of the right reverend prelate, but we were unable to ascertain more than that the committee of the Privy Council were anxious to encourage the voluntary system of education, and that in the disposition of the funds at their disposal they were obliged to see that due economy was exercised, and that every sum was so applied as to increase the quality as well as the quantity of education. CHARGE AGAINST MR. KEOGH. The Marquis of WESTMEA.TH rose to bring for ward the motion of which he had given notice, for " a select committee to inquire into the subject of language alleged to have been used by her Majesty's Solicitor- General for Ireland at Moate, in the county of West meath, and at Athlone, in the month of July last." He said that the subject of the motion he was about to make was brought before the house incidentally on Friday last. On Monday there appeared in a public print, which it was understood was under the influence and guidance of a noble person high in the Govern ment, an article abusing him (the Marquis of West meath) for bringing this matter before their lordships. He could, however, afford to treat that with the most supreme contempt. An insinuation was made that he had been put forward by the noble earl lately at the head of the Government, to bring the matter before their lordships. He had no reason to suppose that the noble earl had any sentiment on the subject that he would put him (the Marquis of Westmeath) for ward in that way. But the fact was that no human being was acquainted with his intention until he wrote to a noble friend now sitting beside him, and sent him a copy of his notice of motion, but which would not be put on the minutes, as he (Lord Westmeath) had not taken the oaths and his seat. Neither the noble earl (Derby) nor any member of his Government was aware of his in tention until he came over to this country. The issue raised by his motion was a simple one. However, on Friday, when the subject was mentioned, the noble duke the Secretary for the Colonies thought fit to go to the bar, and having returned to his place, as one of the mi nisters of the Crown, gave to him (Lord Westmeath) across the house, a most distinct denial of the charge he had brought against the Solicitor-General for Ireland. He would not make any apology whatsoever for having brought the matter forward. He did not think he need do so, for he was not so dishonest as to see any one go into his county, and in which lie held a commission of the peace, and use such language to the people, as he would shown, by irresistible proof, had been used, with out noticing it, and he thought he could not be expected as an honest man not to have noticed it. The noble duke had introduced a collateral issue on his motion quite beside it, and which had nothing to do with it. It struck him that the noble duke had done so in order to call off the attention of their lordships from the substan tive matter of his motion, and to give rise to a discussion about events with which he had nothing to do. He now entreated their lordships not to be led away by ex traneous subjects if introduced by the noble duke. It had nothing to do with the matter whether Lord Derby or any of the late Government had offered to make the the Solicitor-General " Master of the Horse " or " beater of the kettledrums," or to put him into any other office because the words and language with which he was charged, were used at a period long subsequent to the formation of that Government. He would now proceed to refer to the evidence on which he made the charge, and by which, if their lordships granted the committee, he would consent to lay his head upon the block if he did not irrefutably prove his case. In the first place there were three magistrates who were ready to come forward and prove upon oath that the words were uttered by the hon. and learned gentleman (Mr. K eog h) from the open wind ow of a house in the main st ree t o f Moate, which was a qua rter sessions town, and one of the polling districts for the county of Westmeath. The promise of the hon. and learned gentleman's pres ence had occasioned considerable excitement, and a large number of persons were assembled in the street to hear him. The three gentlemen, who were magistrates of the county, were amongst those, and they had very pro perly intimated their readiness to come forward and de pose to the worth uttered. The words used by the hon. and learned gentleman—as one of these gentlemen was ready to prove on oath—were, "Boys, the days are now long and the ni g ht s are s h or t. I n autumn the days will be shorter, and th e n i g ht s l onger — b u t in winter the days will be very short, and the nights will be very long, a nd then let any one r emem b er who voted for Sir R. Le vinge." Another person who was present said he was not ten yards from M r . K eog h at M oate w h en he made the speech in question, and that he distinctly heard him refer to the short nights of summer an d th e l on g nights of the coming winter, and say " Woe be to those during those long nights who vote for Sir Richard Levinge." This gentleman was also a magistrate. The Duke of NEWCASTLE—What are their names ? The Marquis of WESTMEATH—Mr. Richard Rey nolds was the first, and Mr. Godfrey Levinge was the other. The minister of the parish, who was also present, stated that he remembered the words, as did THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY El/JENA/NG, JUNE 18, 1853. also two other persons, Davis and Blake, and that they were ready to prcve that they were spoken; by Mr. Keogh. He had also a certificate signed by several most respectable persons living in and ' near Monte, and who were present at the meet ing., expressing their readiness to come forward and give evidence on their oath to the same effect. But had the Government really desired to ascertain whether the charge originated in truth or calumny, they need not have done more than apply to Sir D. Mac gregor, the head of the police, who must have known of the matter, inasmuch as there was, as he (the Marquis of Westmeath) was informed, a constable at the meet ing, who took down the words, and no doubt his report was on the table of the Lord-Lieutenant. And if that were so, ho would ask how could his Excellency sanction Mr. Keogh being employed as an officer of the Crown in carrying out prosecutions against persons who might be mixed up in those infamous and bloody conspiracies against life and property, by which the country had been so long disgraced. He was anxious to say nothing against that hon. and learned gentleman that could not be fully borne out by the most indisputable evidence. Their lordships would recollect that at the time when this speech was made at Moate, the hoe. and learned gentleman was himself a candidate for the representa tion of Athlone, and there, it appeared, he made a speech, in which he addressed to his constitutents words of a similar character. On the day of the declaration of the poll, according to the statement of two most respect able English gentlemen, who happened to be there on their own business, it appeared that the hon. and learned gentleman, addressing his constituents, said, "summer is almost over, then comes autumn, when the days will be shorter and the nights longer, and after that will come winter, when the nights are long and dark, and then woe to him who votes against his Church." That these words, or words to a similar effect, were used by the hon. and learned gentleman, those two English gen tlemen were ready to come forward and prove on oath, and that a Roman Catholic clergyman who was on the hustings at the time, said in his hearing, if it was not for the bayonets you (referring to the candidate who opposed Mr. Keogh) should never leave this town alive. The Duke of NEWCASTLE—Who said that? The Marquis of WESTMEATH—ARoman Catholic priest on the hustings. This was all capable of proof, and if their lordships would give him the opportunity, he would prove it. It would be seen that in both oases the words used were almost the same as the pan words used by the ribbonmen, and there could be but little doubt that the hon. and learned gentleman was cog nisant of the pass words, and their effect upon the audience he addressed. [The noble lord here read the ribbonmen's pass words as quoted by him on Friday last, and reported in The Sun of Saturday.] Nov, the hon. and learned gentleman could have had no excuse for being at Moate. He was not connected by property with the county of Westmeath, and Moate was six miles from the place for which he was himself a can didate. He could not conceive what grounds the noble duke could advance against his motion. The issue was , this—Were they in Ireland to have Queen Victoria, a "Captain Rock, the death's head and cross-bones, or the act of union ? Let them have a clear and explicit de claration of how Ireland was to be governed for the future. The Duke of NEWCASTLE would direct his answer explicitly to the noble lord's motion ; the more so as it was quite unnecessary for him to enter into any defence of the hon. and learned gentleman, whose conduct the noble marquis had called in question. (Oh, and cheers.) He could assure noble lords opposite that if it were necessary to defend the public or private cha racter of that hon. and learned gentleman who held office under the Government to which he had the honour to belong, despite the taunts of the noble marquis, he would not fail to perform his duty towards him, and say what he believed to be the truth in regard to him. But he was saved the trouble, because the noble lord whose name was mentioned the other night, and who was a member of the late Government (Lord Naas), had borne his testimony to the character of the honourable and learned gentleman, and the right honourable gentleman who was the leader of the Opposition party in the House of Com mons, and the most distinguished ornament of the Derby Government—(" Oh," and cheers)—had stated, most ex plicitly and distinctly, that he saw no reason why an offer of office under the late Government should not have been made to him, and expressed his high opinion, not merely of the personal character, but of the ability of that hon. and learned gentleman. (Hear, hear.) He complained that the noble marquis, having received from the hon. and learned gentleman, through a friend of his, a direct denial of the charge, nevertheless brought it forward without notice, and without giving the hon. and learned gentleman the opportunity of communicating with any friend in that house to answer for him. Was that honourable or English conduct ? And now, having by some means or other raked up certain evidence, he had avoided giving notice of his intention to propose this motion until it was too late for Mr. Keogh to send to Athlone to bring forward counter evidence to meet it. Was this fair ? (Hear, hear.) But more than this. When the noble marquis made the accusation the hon. and learned gentleman applied to him for the names of the three magistrates on whose authority it was brought forward. But the noble marquis, while admitting that the demand was a fair one, refused to comply with it at present—(" no, no," from the Marquis of Westmeath) — and up to this time he had not furnished the hon. and learned gentleman with the names. No doubt the noble marquis, by taking this ungenerous and unfair course, hoped to obtain some party triumph, and to retaliate by lowering in the estimation of his countrymen the man who had inflicted serious damage upon the noble marquis's political influence in Westmeath. (Hear, hear.) The noble marquis had said there was much ex citement at Moate, in consequence of Mr. Keogh having promised to go there, but the fact was there was no promise given to go to Moate, or any previous intention of going there. Mr. Keogh was at Athlone on the business of his election, and was asked by a friend to take a drive with him in his " drag" into the country. He consented, and they drove on to Moate. They pro ceeded to a small house, where there was a committee room in the interest of Captain Magan, one of the can didates for the county, and it being stated by somebody that Mr. Keogh was amongst the company, he was called upon to speak, and he did address the people for some four or five minutes. But there was no premedi tated meeting, nor any reporters. With regard to what was said by Mr. Keogh, in addition to that hon. and learned gentleman's recent explicit denial that he ever used the words imputed to him, or any words of similar import, he had a letter from a gentleman who, having heard of the accusation brought forward by the noble marquis, had thought it right to address Mr. Keogh on the subject. This letter had been forwarded to him by Mr. Keogh a few minutes before he came into the house with the following note : "My dear Duke of Newcastle,—You will perceive by Mr. M‘Nevin's letter, which I have taken the liberty of forwarding to your grace, that his recollection agrees with mine as to the transaction at Moato. Mr. M`Nevin was beside me, and had the opportunity of hearing all I said. At the same time I wish to state, that at the time referred to I took a most active part in opposing, not only in Westmeath (in which the principal part of the borough I represent is situated), but in several other counties, the candidates In favour of Lord Derby's Government. I did my utmost to defeat those candidates, and frequently de livered speeches at different places with that object. That made at Moate was without any preparation or pre meditation. It was delivered, after stepping from the top of a coach, to a multitude who collected round the house in which I was, and who loudly called for me. It did not occupy five minutes, and was not reported so as to enable me to refer to it. I have no recollection what ever of using any language even similar to that attri buted to me, but my memory may fail me as to the pre cise words used in the heat and excitement of election occurrences, and I trust, therefore, rather to the evidence of friends who were present, and the inherent improba bility of my expressing sentiments which I never enter tained, rather than to my own recollection. As to my intending to suggest, either by word or gesture, the use of violence to any one, I can most firmly assert that nothing was further from my mind, and such a purpose was as averse to all my feelings as at variance with the policy and measures I adopted.—Believe me, my dear Duke of New castle, your most faithful and obedient, " WILLIAM ICEoGH." Mr. M‘Nevin was a highly respectable solicitor of Dub lin, and was known to some members of that house. This was his letter : " Dublin, 8, Middle Gardner-street, June 14. " My dear Sir, —Having heard the speech you delivered. at Moate duriug tho election of 1852, to which Lord West meath has recently alluded in the House of Lords, I have not the slightest doubt but you never made use of the im proper language attributed to you, or anything that could bear that or any similar interpretation. I certainly heard every sentence you uttered clearly and distinctly, and if my testimony upon oath be of any value you may command it. I have spoken to several persons who were present, and they all concur with me that it is impossible that any such language could have been used by you without attracting their pointed attention. — Yours very faithfully , R. C. M'NEVIN.—The Solicitor-General for Ireland, M.P." A letter of this kind from a gentleman whose character was unimpeachable, might fairly be set against the statements made by the noble marquis on authority which he had afforded no opportunity of testing. Mr. Keogh had assured him that neither at Moate nor elsewhere had he ever used words that could even be tortured into such meaning as inciting to riot or disturbance. But why was the accusation brought forward now ? Why had it been delayed till this moment ? He said the other night the noble mar quis was the Lord-Lieutenant of Westmeath, and ought to have brought the fact of such a speech having been uttered, if it had been uttered, under the notice of the Government at the time ; but he was not then aware that the noble marquis was on the continent at the time. The noble marquis was, however, represented by a Vice- Lieutenant, Colonel Greville, yet no statement was made to him. Neither of those magistrates came forward, as it was their sworn duty to have done, had the statement they now made been true, to inform Colonel Greville of what they had heard. (Hear, hear.) That fact alone was sufficient to throw discredit on their testi mony. But was there no other circumstance of BUB. pieion as to the trustworthiness of this evidence ? It appeared that persons of diametrically opposite views, and disagreeing with him in politics, had, nevertheless, combined with him in the attempt to throw obloquy on Al!-. Keogh, and, if possible, exclude him from a seat in Parliament. When Mr. Keogh was returned for Athlone, a petition was presented against his return by Mr. Lawes, the opposing candidate, which lie found had been prosecuted with a zeal worthy of a desperate cause, and took other steps which showed plainly that he would not shrink from bring ing forward an accusation like this to serve his own purpose. Mr. Lawes was present during the whole of the election at Athlone, and knew what passed, and was it probable that he would have failed to bring the speech which the a•Ve marquis had refused to bring under the noti ce • th e committee on the election petitions, to prove that intimidation had been exercised, had it ever been spoken of ? But there was a second petition against the hon. and learned gen tleman—the petition of the Messrs. Norton. That peti tion was so worded as to embrace every possible case that could vitiate an election. Intimidation was one of those charges, but nothing was said of the speech in question. That petition was withdrawn but not by com promise, as Mr. Keogh compelled the petitioning parties to pay him 1001. costs. The noble earl (Eglinton) had said on a former evening that the case was different be tween Mr. Keogh, a private individual, and Mr. Keogh, Solicitor-General for Ireland ; but then it should be re collected that Mr. Keogh was a Queen's counsel—a posi tion more prominent in Ireland than it even was in this country, from the manner in which such promotions were made. Mr. Keogh had attained that position at the bar, not from any political influence, but because when wearing a stuff gown he led his circuit, while coun sel in silk gowns were sitting idle by his side. That eminent judge, Chief Justice Lefroy, had recommended him for the promotion on account of the straight forward way in which he had filled the position of public prosecutor. Now, with respect to this transaction, he (the Duke of Newcastle) placed the noble earl the late Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland on the horns of a dilemma—either the statement was made to him at the time and he thought it too absurd for notice, or believing it he had neglected taking the proper steps for the punishment of Mr. Keogh, because, let him tell their lordships, if the subject had been brought before the Lord Chancellor of Ireland and sub stantiated, his lordship would have felt it his duty to deprive Mr. Keogh of his silk gown. Expressions of an exaggerated nature were often im puted by political partisans in times of political ferment. Mr. Delmege was accused of going out with the soldiers in the Sis-mile-bridge affair, putting a pistol to a man's head, and saying, " You had your election the other day in Limerick, we'll have ours now or blood for it." Why did not noble lords opposite condemn Mr. Delmege for these words ? Because they did not believe them. But such charges were common in times of contested elec tions, and no doubt might be collected in hundreds. But the words quoted against Mr. Keogh were of the most childish description, and would never have been thought worthy of notice except for the purpose of dam aging her Majesty's Government. He thought he had now nearly disposed of the question, but the noble earl the late Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, had intimated the possession of an affidavit, and he would ask the noble earl to explain what that affidavit was, and when he had received it. If the noble earl had held over that affidavit without giving Mr. Keogh an opportunity of rebutting it, then it was a most unfair proceeding to wards that gentleman. He (the Duke of Newcastle) wished he could second this motion, for which no man was more anxious than his hon. and learned friend the Solicitor-General for Ireland, but he did not think it would be becoming their lordships, on such information as had been brought forward by the noble marquis, to go into the inquiry demanded. He felt bound, there fore, to say "no" to the motion, although he felt that no investigation could detract one tittle from the repu tation of the hon. and learned gentleman, or detract from that high position which his conduct in another matter had secured for him. Let the noble marquis bring forward a regular attack upon the Government, and they would not shrink from investigation, but they would not be dragged into an inquiry so absurd as that now demanded. They had a right to stand on their own character, and he felt that the cha racter of the Government might fairly defy such attacks as that which had been brought forward by the noble marquis. He would say more—he would say that the private character and individual conduct, not merely of members of the Cabinet, but of all those who occu pied official positions in connection with it, might fairly challenge the noble marquis's attack, and that it would be sufficient to shield them not only from the polished darts of the noble earl, but from the miserable rusty bolts which might be drawn from the battered quiver of the noble marquis. Lord BROUGHAM rose and endeavoured to obtain a hearing, but there being a general call for Lord Eg linton, the noble and learned lord gave way ; and The Earl of EGLINTON appealed to the house whether he had taken any unfair advantage of the hon. and learned gentleman who was the subject of this dis cussion, or whether he had infused any acrimony into it further than stating he had a certain affidavit in his possession ? So far from seeking to collect materials against the honourable and learned gentleman, he had not done so now, nor on any other occasion whatever. (Hear, hear.) He had been attacked by the noble duke on a former occasion, and had been the subject of attack in another place, for having used the expression that " Mr. Keogh's was the least reputable of the pre sent appointments." He had no desire to shrink from that assertion in the sense in which it was made, which had no refeTence whatever to Mr. Keogh's private cha racter, or anything else respecting that gentleman, ex cept the words which had been attributed to him. And if, as he had reason to think was possible, if not probable, Mr. Keogh had been guilty of using the words attributed to him, then he said the appointment of such a man to the high and responsible situation of Solicitor-General would have been not only the least reputable act of the present Government, but of any that had ever existed in this country. The noble duke had asked him why, in his position as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, he had not taken notice of the affidavit. He would tell the noble duke why he had not done so. He had before observed, that to have taken notice of all the violent speeches made at the contested elections in Ire land would have given full employment to the law ad visers of the Crown. Mr. Keogh's speech was only one amongst a large number which had been brought under his notice, and when he first saw it, he certainly did not expect that the speaker would be her Majesty's Solicitor- General, but certainly there was not one which had been brought under his notice which seemed to convey so plain an incentive to assassination. When such reports came before him the custom was to send them to the law officers for investigation or prosecution. That was the course he had pursued on every occasion. Ho could not swear that he had adopted it in this particular case, but in as far as his memory served him, it formed no exception to the general rule. His belief was that he had referred it to the law officers, and had been advised by them not to proceed with the case. (Hear, hear.) A. short time after the general election he had received, among many other representations respecting Mr. Keogh, the affidavit which he held in his hand, and at the time he received it he was told that it was a case the disclosure of which would place the lives of the persons who had sworn it in a dangerous position, but he felt now that at any risk he was bound to read it to the house. It was as follows : "I, James Burke—(a cry of "Oh, oh !" from some noble lord near, or some individual standing below the bar)-'-do solemnly and sincerely declare I was in the town of Moate on or about the 14th of July, when a large number of persons were assembled to hear an ad dress from Mr. Keogh, the present member for Athlone ; but upon that occasion I heard that gentleman utter these words from the window of the house of one who resides in the town of Moate :—` It is now summer, and the nights are short, but autumn will soon come round and the nights will be long, and the win ter will arrive at last, when the nights will be very long ; and those who vote for Sir R. Levinge must take care of themselves. I further tell you, men and women, to be in Athlone at two o'clock on the election day ; and that the men bring their shillelaghs and use them.' I make this solemn declaration, conscientiously believing tho same to be true.—JASIES BURKE.—Subscribed before me the 14th of September, 1852.— ARTHUR BROWNE, a Justice of the said Town." On the previous morning he had, in addition, received the following letter from Mr. Brown, the magistrate be fore whom the affidavit was sworn : " 10, .Newcommon-terrace, Dublin, June 14,1853. "My Lord,—l am to apologise for this intrusion. The necessity will, I trust, justify the liberty I now assume in presuming to address you. My attention has been drawn to the late debate in the House of Lords, in which your lordship took a conspicuous part ; and, as Mr. Keogh has had the temerity to assert that he did not use the words imputed to him, and as a controversy may arise thereon, I wish (as the magistrate who took the declaration of James Thula), to satisfy you that every word in that declaration is true, and that at least 20 gentlemenof independence and station (among whom the rector of Moate—the Rev. Mr. Hopkins) are ready and willing to support the truth of that deposition by their evidence on oath. The gentlemen in question were present on the occasion, heard the words so delivered, and there can be no more doubt of their utter ance than of any other truth which cannot be disputed. The fact was, the whole neighbourhood was excited by the atrocity of the language used on that occasion by the Sohci tor-General. I am further to observe,that beingtho local ma ' gistrateliving in Moate, 1 felt it my duty to inquire most mi nutelyinto the whole matterwith a view of submitting it to the executive, as I did hope the party using such expressions would aot be allowed to do so with impunity. lam fur ther to add that your lordship is at perfect liberty to use this letter in any mode you may deem fitting ; if, indeed, the letter of so humble an individual may be considered of any consequence or weight.—l hav?,tAhenhnionuoßurßtßoobweNyE.our lordship's obedient servant, " The Right Hon. the Earl of Eglinton." The accusation was that the gentleman who was now Solicitor-General for Ireland had at the last general election used words which had the effect of recommend. ing assassination. One word more. In begging their lordships to go into committee on this question, he would remind them that this was no anonymous slander, no vague newspaper report, but was supported by affida vits, by magistrates, and by the rector of Moate—wit nesses that, if there was truth in man, ought to be deemed worthy of credence. He did not wish to pre judge Mr. Keogh, nor had he any wish to find him guilty, for he (Lord Eglinton) was not a bitter opponent of the present Government nor of any man in the world. (Hear, hear.) But he wished to have the question fairly sifted, and if the charge shou ld be disproved before a committee of the House of Lords, no man would shake Mr. Keogh more heartily by the hand than himself. The Earl of ABERDEEN had only a few words to say on this subject. As being the person principally concerned in this disreputable appointment, lie felt called upon to assert that lie did not feel that any such character belonged to the act. If, indeed, it was his most disreputable appointment, then, indeed, he felt that he had reason to be satisfied with the composi tion of his whole Government. The noble earl (Eglinton) had made a most extraordinary accusation against his own course of conduct. He admitted Caving received a declaration affirming the sedition al ieued by the noble marquis, that he had referred it to the law officers, and that the latter had informed him there was no case. Of course, he was bound to believe what the noble earl believed, but the noble earl drew a great distinction between Mr. Keogh as an individual and Mr. Keogh as Solicitor-General. He (the Earl of Aberdeen) did not admit that distinction as sufficient to exonerate the noble earl, because Mr. Keogh as Queen's counsel was just as deserving of reprobation, if guilty, as Mr. Keogh as Solicitor-General. Even if he (the Earl of Aberdeen) believed, which he did not, the accusation against Mr. Keogh, after the statement made by his noble friend, corroborated by witnesses above all excep tion—if lie did believe it that house was not the place for its investigation. Were they to appoint a select committee to inquire into a case of sedition ? (Hear, hear.) They were the judges as well as the accusers in this case, as it might be brought before them in the last resort. He had really thought when the noble marquis made the motion that he was not serious, but used it merely as a means of attacking the Government. The noble marquis never could have expected their lordships seriously to entertain such a proposition ; at all events, he (the Earl of Aberdeen) protested against it as utterly unbecoming the functions and dignity of the house. The occurrence he looked upon to be one of the most trum pery description ; but even if serious, that was not the place for its investigation. Lord BROUGHAM said he put Mr. Keogh's guilt or innocence entirely out of the question. The evidence might be on one side or the other, or might be conflict ing, but that house was not the place for its investiga tion. They were a court of criminal law, and when all other courts of criminal law had decided in a case, there was an appeal to their lordships' supreme court. Were they, then, the proper parties? Was that the proper place to inquire whether a certain individual had broken the law of the country ? Whether an offence had been committed by this gentleman in his capacity as a law officer of the Crown, in his private capacity , or both , because the hon. and learned gentleman was just as much an officer of the Crown through being a Queen's Counsel as Solicitor-General for Ireland? But be that as it might, whether it was in a private capacity or in a mixed capacity that the hon. and learned member was now charged, it did not matter. He was charged with sedition, at least it was either sedition or nothing at all, and being charged with that grave and serious offence, what were their lordships called upon to do ? Why to act as a grand jury, and though nobody preferred the bill, and although they were a court of the last resort, they were to decide on the very case which in all proba bility might again come before them on appeal. Un doubtedly their lordships had the power of inquiring into the propriety of a particular appointment, but, at the same time, if the principal ground of that inquiry pointed a charge of a criminal nature against any indi vidual, he thought common discretion, as well as consti tutional principle, ought to warn their lordships against entering upon any such inquiry. Therefore, he said, without at all disputing the facts in this case, there were reasons here why their lordships should abstain from ap pointing this committee, and he for one should certainly vote against the motion. (Hear, hear.) The Earl of DERBY was exceedingly obliged to his noble and learned friend for the exposition which he had just given them of the law ; and although the noble and learned lord had raised a technical obj ection to the motion, he was not sorry that the noble lord had interposed be tween the fewobservations which he felt called upon to ad dress to their lordships. He must say, however, that in the course of all his Parliamentary experience he never heard a case, insignificant as it was represented to be, so mystified as this had been by the noble duke and the noble earl opposite. The charge in the first instance, their lordships should vemember, was not against Mr. Keogh personally, but against the Government for the selection they had made under special circumstances of the hon. and learned gentleman to fill the office of Solicitor-General for Ire land. In point of fact, the mention of Mr. Keogh's name by the noble marquis was purely incidental to the main point of his inquiry, whether, with regard to the due and impartial administration of justice in Ireland, the Government had exercised a wise or proper discre tion in selecting the hon. and learned gentleman for the high legal office which he at present filled, when the hon. and learned gentleman was stated to have used expres sions which, if they were used, he thought their lordships would consider to constitute a serious obstacle to the performance of the duties of Solicitor-General for Ire land by the hon. and learned gentleman. His noble friend having thus incidentally introduced the name of Mr. Keogh, and mentioned the words which were attri buted to that hon. and learned gentleman, another noble friend of his (Lord Eglinton) characterised the hon. and learned gentleman's appointment as the least reputable which the existing Government had made, and thereupon the noble duke opposite thought it incumbent upon him to state that he was able to refute that expression by the simple statement that Mr. Keogh was offered an appoint ment by the predecessors of the Government, which he had upon the best authority, viz., the authority of the hon. and learned gentleman himself. Now upon that issue was joined not in their lordships' house, but in the other house of Parliament, and the question was raised there, whether such an offer had or had not been made to the hon. and learned gentleman ; and then came another collateral issue, namely, whether his noble friend the late Lord-Lieutenant, having received an affidavit setting forth the character of the words attributed to the hon. and learned gentleman, pursued a right course in dealing with it as he had done ; and then came the last issue which was raised by his noble and learned friend who last addressed their lordships, namely, that this ,question was not one which their lordships ought to take up. Now, to deal first of all with the point of fact involved in the first issue, their lordships had the assertion of the hon. and learned gentleman himself that no offer of office ever was made to him by the late Government ; but still, notwithstanding that admission, it was necessary that he should say a few words upon this point. In the first place he begged to say, then, that he had not the honour of a personal ac quaintance with Mr. Keogh, nor had he ever spoken to him in his life. He had no knowledge of Mr. Keogh's private or personal character, and until yesterday even ing when the hon. and learned gentleman was pointed out to him, he did not believe he had ever seen the hon. and learned gentleman ; but supposing that Mr. Keogh used the language attributed to him, and looking at the course which the hon. and learned gentleman pinioned all last summer, he concurred with his noble friend in think ing that his appointment was the least reputable. And although he had never made any offer, or ever thought of making the hon. and learned gentleman offer of office, yet there would have been an important difference be tween his offering the hon. and learned gentleman office in February, 1852, and the hon. and learned gentleman accepting office under the present Administration. The honourable and learned gentleman thought strongly upon the question of the Roman Catholic Church, and looking at the course which he had taken with re ference to the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill it was some what strange to find the honourable and learned gentle man acting in office under the noble and learned lord who was the author of that measure. He admitted fully the talents and ability of the hon. and learned gen tleman, but the differences of opinion which subsisted between him and the hon. and learned gentleman would have precluded any offer of office being made to him with his knowledge or authority. The noble duke, however, opposite, had triumphantly referred to the dis cussion which took place last evening in another place, and seemed to conceive that the matter of Mr. Keogh's character, which had never been brought in question at all, had been perfectly set at rest by the course of pro ceeding which was then taken. Now, he must say, from what he had seen of the proceedings elsewhere, that he had collected a very different impression from them to that which the noble duke appeared to enter tain ; for, so far from the statement being borne out, that an offer of office was made to the hon. and learned gentleman, the proceedings tended to show just the contrary, and whatever difference of opinion there might be upon the meaning of the words used in a conversa tion which took place between the hon. and learned gentleman and a noble lord, or as to the intentions of the one and the understanding of the other, it was pretty clear that what the noble duke asserted on a former occasion—namely, that an offer of office was made to the hon. and learned gentleman—was not cor rect. But if any such offer had been made to Mr. Keogh it would have been perfectly reconcileable with the expression made use of by his noble friend, because an appointment which might have been quite reputable in February, 1852, might not be so in December, 1852. He did not mean to say that the appointment was dis creditable on account of the personal character of the honourable and learned gentleman, but he said it was discreditable to the Government on account of the position which, during the whole course of the summer, and while the contested elections were going on, Mr. Keogh thought proper to plate himself in. Mr. Keogh, in the undoubted exercise of his own right, thought it incumbent upon him to make himself, from one end of Ireland to the other, the representative and agent of what was called the " Catholic Defence Association," and in that character he passed from borough to borough, and from county' to county, lending his active services to those Roman Catholic priests who were banded to gether to secure the return of their own nominees to Parliament. It had been proved elsewhere, and very likely their lordships' attention would be called to it hereafter, that the conduct and interference of the priest hood, with some few exceptions, had been absolutely inconsistent with anything like freedom of election ; and of that body Mr. Keogh constituted himself the accre dited agent, and became a constant instrument in car rying out-their views and intentions. It was in that character that Mr. Keogh made use of the language attributed to him, both in Westmeath and at his elec tion in Athlone, and he (Lord Derby) must say, that taking that language and comparing it with the honour able and learned gentleman's previous course of conduct, it did seem to him to render him a most unfit person to be selected for the office of Solicitor-General for Ireland by any person who had the slightest respect for the principles of civil and religious liberty. The question which their lordships had to decide then was not whe ther Mr. Keogh had been guilty of criminal charges, but whether the Government in appointing him to the office of Solicitor-General had made a selection which was likely to produce an unfavourable impression upon the minds of the people of Ireland, and induce an impression that offences against the law, if committed by parties under certain political influences, would be lightly dealt with. (Hear.) But the question had been raised by the noble duke opposite as to whether the hon. and learned gentleman did use this language ; and the noble duke, quoting the authority of Mr. Keogh's own private solicitor, who it was said stood by him at the time the speech in question was delivered, declared that the hon. and learned gentleman did not use these ex pressions. Their lordships, however, could hardly place that single authority against the affidavit which had been read to them, and the testimony of numerous gen tlemen of station and character who, although they did not all agree in the precise expressions used, yet con cured in the idea which the language conveyed. Some thing had been said about his noble friend the late Lord- Lieutenant not acting upon the affidavit while in office, but it was perfectly consistent that though no charge of a criminal nature could have been substantiated against Mr. Keogh, the language was such that it would have been perfectly impossible for the Government to pass it by had the hon. and learned gentleman held office under them, but still more impossible that they conld have afterwards have appointed him to any office, but more especially an office in connection with the administration of the law. (Hear, hear.) In moving for this committee, it was, perhaps, to be regretted that the noble marquis had characterised the language as seditious, because it did seem to give some colour to the argument of the noble and learned lord opposite, that as the charge par took of a criminal aspect, that house was :lot a fitting or competent tribunal to inquire into it in the first instance. But the noble and learned lord admitted that there were cases where, although a criminal charge might he involved in it, yet, as it bore upon the general public character of the Government, their lordships would be perfectly justified in inquiring into it. Well, then he had no hesitation in declaring that this was such a case; there was no wish or desire to subject Mr. Keogh to a criminal prosecution, or to inquire into the nature of his per sonal or political character. The object of the inquiry was to enable the house to ascertain whether the Go vernment had exercised due precaution in selecting the persons who were to be entrusted with the administra tion of the law. The question was not the criminality of Mr. Keogh, but whether the Government had exer cised due and proper discretion in his appointment, and since he believed that a prima fade case had been made out for inquiry, he thought an inquiry ought to take place ; but if the argument of the noble and learned lord was to prevail, and if the Government and the learned gentleman himself were satisfied to leave this question in its present position, after the statement which had been made, and after the discussion which had taken place there and elsewhere, he would venture to advise the noble marquis to remain contented with having made the charge and shown that he was ready with evidence to prove it, and leave to the Government and the hon. and learned gentleman himself the respon sibility of having shrunk from the investigation to which he had challenged them. (Hear, hear.) Lord CAMPBELL opposed the motion, but in con sequence of the noise arising from the peers leaving the house, the noble and learned lord's observations were inaudible in the gallery. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE wanted to know how the noble earl, the late Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, became possessed of a document to which he had re ferred? (Hear, hear.) A document in the possession of a Minister of the Crown ought not to be referred to without being produced, as he had stated on another occasion, the other night. The Lord-Lieutenant of Ire land had quitted Ireland, carrying with him an official document affecting the character of a man in a high position—a Queen's counsel—who could act as a ma gistrate in any county in Ireland. (Hear, hear.) The Earl of EGLINTON said it was not an official document—it was given to him by a private individual, and it was not sent to him as Lord-Lieutenant ; and he must also tell the noble marquis that he wat not a Mi nister of the Crown. . The Marquis of CLANRICARDE said the noble earl had said that he had submitted the matter to the law officers of the Crown. The Earl of EGLINTON said he had distinctly stated that he believed he submitted the case of Mr. Keogh to the law officers of the Crown • but he never said :hat he had submitted the affidavit, because he had never done so. He submitted Mr. Keogh's case, as he did all cases of violent language to the law officers of the Crown--but the affidavit was never out of his possession. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE could not under stand the difference between the position of the noble earl, as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, and his private ca pacity in such a matter—he could not separate the two positions. The affidavit was given to the noble earl by the political opponents of Mr. Ke.gh. He put it in his pocket, took it out of the country, and nearly a year afterwards produced it, without the party most interested knowing that such a document was in existence. tHear, hear.) It was assumed by the noble earl who spoke last (the Earl of Derby) that Mr. Keogh's speech was very notorious. He had not, however, seen it in a single newspaper, neither had one been produced con taining a report of the speech which it was said hun dreds of persons were ready to verify. Reporters who took down speeches in shorthand were generally very accurate, and it was certainly extraordinary, if the speech was as notorious as it was pretended to be, that no newspaper containing it had been produced. It was a fact which could not be denied, that the Catholic constituencies of Ireland elected the men of their choice, although it had been said that coercion and undue in fluence had been used. Had not the electors of West meath, Athlone, and Clare elected the men of their choice ? He believed a great deal of coercion had been used, and he regretted it ; but was it confined to one party ? (Hear, hear.) Far from it. Every landlord who coerced his tenant interfered with the freedom of elec tion, and was open to the same charge. (Hear, hear.) The charge against Mr. Keogh was assumed to be of a grave character, and yet not one word was said about this affidavit until the 17th June. No man had a right to keep evidence in his pocket against a public man so long ; it was only now produced for a party purpose— (hear, hear)—and that without notice to the individual most interested in it. That was not a fair way to attack a man, and he was glad to hear that the noble marquis had agreed to withdraw his motion. (Hear.) The Marquis of WESTMEATH replied. If these ribbon conspiracies were mere nonsense, as it had been said they were, why did the present Government prose cute parties for similar offences in Liverpool ? He was confident that nothing which he had said had been denied, and he was prepared to prove all that he had asserted ; but, after the recommendation of his noble friend, lie should consent to withdraw his motion. The motion was then withdrawn. The other orders were disposed of, and the house ad , journed at a quarter past nine o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS—(YESTERDAY.) The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. OCEAN PENNY POSTAGE. Mr. ADDERLEY asked Mr. Milner Gibson whether he intended bringing on the motion of which he had given notice for next Tuesday, for a select committee on the subject of an ocean penny postage ? Mr. M. GIBSON said, if ho found that the motion stood no chance of coming on on Tuesday, he would postpone it until another day. His desire was to move the appointment of a select committee, to inquire into the foreign and colonial postage, but he had ascertained that the Government objected to that, on the ground that it would interfere with plans of their own, and in consequence of the lateness of the session. He had since reconsidered the matter, but he had not yet decided on the precise terms of the resolution. He would, how ever, before the end of the session, submit to the con sideration of the house a motion on the subject, in some form or other. In reply to Mr. ADDERLEY, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the objections which he entertained to a select committee, related wholly to the question of time, and to the bear ing it would have on measures which were actually in pro gress, in reference to the reduction of postages to the colonies, and to the adoption of some uniform system. • an affirmation when he entertained conscientious objec tions to the taking of an oath, and he wished to know whether Government intended this Session to bring in a bill to put that recommendation in force ? Lord J. RUSSELL was unable to answer the -ques tion at present, but perhaps the hon. and learned gentle man would repeat the question next week. METROPOLITAN POLICE. Lord D. STUART said he had moved for certain re turns connected with the Metropolitan Police, and of tim number of orders that had been given for opening letters at the Post-office, but they were not yet' forth coming. How was this ? Lord PALMERSTON said the first return was ready, so fro as the Metropolitan Police was concerned, but the order included the City Police, and as those returns had not yet been received, the return could not be made up. METROPOLITAN GRAVEYARDS. Mr. C. BERKELEY said he perceived by the Ga rettc that no less than 106 of the Metropolitan grave yards had been closed by order of the Home-office, and be wished, therefore, to ask the noble lord at the, head of this department if he could state how many new burial-grounds had been provided to replace those which were already closed ? (Hear.) Lord PALM ERSTON said his honourable friend had correctly stated the number of grave-yards which had been closed by order in council. There were other grave ; yards nckav under examination, and probably the rest of them would be closed at no distant period. (Hear, hear.) The act of last year gave the Secretary of State power to close graveyards in accordance with the requirements of the Public Health Act, but the act of Parliament did not vest in the Secretary of State any power or authority to provide new graveyards for those which were closed. He happened, however, to know that several of the parishes were making arrangements for new places of interment : and he also knew that, besides the great cemetery at Woking, there was a bill now passing through Parliament, which had passed this house, and was now un d er d i scussion in the House of Lords, for providing another cemetery within a certain distance of the metropolis. (Hear.) ADVERTISEMENT DUTY. Mr. M. GIBSON wished to know what business it was proposed to take on Monday, in the event of the committee on the succession duty being disposed of to ninht . _ _ The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, in the event of the Succession Duty Bill being got through to-night, or early on Monday evening, he should move immediately afterwards resolutions relating to receipt and other stamps ; and when they were disposed of he should propose to take the resolutions relating to the duty on advertisements and the stamp upon newspapers, but these latter would not be taken after ten o'clock, (Hear, hear.) The motion that the house, at its rising, do adjourn until Monday was then agreed to. SUCCESSION DUTIES BILL. The house then went into committee on this bill. On clause 7, Sir F. KELLY begged to put two cases to the Claancel lor of the Exchequer. The first referred to the former part of the clause, whereby the succession duty accrued in every case where there was any engagement, secret trust, ar- ' rangement capable of being legally enforced. Now, sup pose a father gave a sum of money, say 100,0001., to his son during his lifetime, but where a written document existed by which the son was to pay his father back an an nuity of 3,0001., but which was not of a nature capable of being enforced by a court of law, would the tax be pay able ? The second case referred to the latter part e)f the clause, by which the tax was also chargeable in any case where there was any engagement or arrangement - with a fraudulent intent to defeat the act. Now, suppose tl sat in the instance he had just put there was no written docu ment, but that the father had given the son the money out and out, relying on his honour to pay him the annuity, would the tax accrue also in that case? He felt certain that the clause would lead to much litigation, and that years would elapse before the courts of last resort had de cided the meaning of the statute. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied that if, in the first instance supposed, the document was :not of a character capable of being enforced in a court of Lew or equity, the tax would not accrue under the former part of the clause. With respect to the latter part, his answer would depend upon the specialties of each case ; but when ever the proper court was convinced that there had been any attempt at fraudulent evasion, it would enforce the tax. As for what the hon. and learned member had said about the litigation likely to ensue, that did not much im press him, because in matters of much less difficulty years had elap ed before a sufficient code of precedents hid. been formed to establish precisely what the law was. Sir F. KELLY suggested the actual insertion c f the words, " capable of being enforced by a court of le,w or equity," which would render the meaning of the f inner part of the clause perfectly clear. As for the latter part, he did not think the right hon. gentleman's answer at all satisfactory. He wished to know what would constitute fraud within the meaning of the clause ? The SOLICITOR-GENERAL would assent to the in troduction of the words, though ho thought they would be mere surplusage. Where property was given absolutely, although there might be an honourable understanding or moral engagement between the parties, it would not come within the meaning of the bill ; but where, although the property was given out and out, the son, for instance, gave back to his father by another deed, and from other sources, an equivalent, then, although either deed, taken by itself, would not come within the province of the law, yet tho two, when taken together, would amount to proof of a fraudulent attempt at evasion. Mr. VANSITTART moved the omission of the latter part of the clause, because if it were allowed to stand hardly any family arrangements could be made without a lawsuit staring the parties in the face. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER protested against the notion that family arrangements would be generally obnoxious. to an enactment against fraudulent evasions. If the charge, however, was true, the parties ought to have lawsuits staring them in the face. (Hear.) Mr. HENLEY, Sir J. TROLLOPE, and other members, supported the omission of the words, on the ground that the clause would be sufficient without theM. Mr. AIALINS further enforced that view, by saying that no case could be conceived that did not fall within one or other of the two categories which had been specified by the Solicitor-General. In answer to Mr. DRUMMOND. Tho SOLICITOR-GENERAL offered to substitute the words "court of law or equity" for " court of competent jurisdiction." There would bo no difficulty in either understanding or applying that portion of the enactment ; but it, was impossible, without some such general provisions, to meet all the varieties of fraud which human ingenuity could devise. lie had no doubt the learned gentleman opposite could devise one hundred such cases. (Laughter.) The power complained of had existed for years with regard to the legacy duty ; it would not be administered by any other than the judges of the land, and, therefore, need be the subject of no alarm. Mr. MULLINGS supported the amendment. Mr. 11. BAILLIE said a memorial had been sent up from the writers to the signet in Edinburgh complaining that they could no t understand the act owing to the strange law terms which it contained, and expressing the opinion that it could never be enforced in Scotland. (Hear.) The LORD-ADVOCATE said he haul gone through the act carefully, and thought the addition of not more than a dozen words was necessary to render. it applicable to Scot land. He feared the learned body from whom that report had issued had not paid proper attention to the act. Sir J. PAKINGTON said it was necessary that some definition should be given of the word " fraudulent," as used in the bill. Was it meant to be merely declaratory of the law as it stood, or was it the creation of a new offence ? If the former, he doubted whether the Govern ment had any right to stigmatise as fraudulent arrange ments made to evade this tax, which would be most oppres sive. The highest authorities in the land had differed on this point ; he, therefore, disputed the right of the Govern ment to declare such matters to be fraudulent. To the other alternative he objected more strongly, that of creat ing a now offence. It was most unwise for the legislature to do anything which might shock the moral feelings of the people, by calling that fraud which they had not hitherto considered so. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER begged to assure the right hon. gentleman that the moral feeling of the country was not in the smallest danger of being shocked and annoyed in any way. (Hoar.) This Matter had nothing to do with moral feeling, or either side of the alternative which the right hon. baronet had put. He said it was either a declaratory enactment or the creation of a new offence. It was neither the one nor the other. It said nothing about the meaning of fraud, nothing about what should constitute fraud. It used language perfectly well known to the law. (Hear.) It left that language to be construed as it had been heretofore, in carrying out the law; and if three judges out of four in Westminster-hall, or as om fraudulent any not ot a he f r number, raud had p c o l e s i c t l d m t a n d a e t f s o u r c such h a e dpiisiprpo purpose i s t e i on of evading the legacy duty, those three out of four would be just as free to declare that the arrangements made under this act were not fraudulent in order to evade the succession duty. They did not touch in the slight est degree the meaning of the term, but merely left it to be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction whe ther an arrangement was fraudulent or not. They pro ceeded upon the principle of law and reason, and where those terms applied, there it would be declared that the party was liable to the succession duty. Mr. T. EGERTON said they should remember that they were dealing in this bill with the whole of the landed property in the country. It might take a long series of years to establish a number of legal decisions on li these points ; and in the meantime every successor won court to subject, to have his case brought before a be deter mine whether his succession was fraudulent or not. (Hear.) Then the crown paid no costs. (Hear, hear.) The public knew something of that from the customs cases. He hoped the right hon. gentleman woul d consent to strike out the words. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said ho could not do so. There was no fear that any family arrangement made for honourable purposes would be de clared fraudulent by any court. If the word " fraudulent" were left out, it would make the question much wider, and give greater scope for litigation. Mr. MALINS said that no case had been suggested to which those words would apply ; and the committee had a right to assume that there was no such case, and that the words were unnecessary. The only case which could occur was the same as had arisen under the legacy duty, that of a man making himself merely tenant for life of his own property, in order to evade the duty payable on his death, and this was sufficiently provided for. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL defended the clause as it tresmireTz:EL t numerous. stood, and said that th e conce i va bl e cases of fraud were ex- Y 1 hoped the house would not so stultify itself, that the country would not know what was the in tention of the Legislature. Sir C. WOOD said that no one who wished the revenue to be fairly collected could object to the clause. No doubt there might be family arrangements of a bone fide and honourable character ; but it was admitted on the other side that great ingenuity would be called into play to evade the duty. This being the case, ought there not to be some provision to meet it ? Mr. W.ALTER, said he wished to ask whether an ar rangement which had the effect of evading the duty was to he considered fraudulent on that account ? The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said that in the first place a disposition which did de facto evade the duty did not, on that account alone, b ec ome fraudulent ; sec on dl y , an act, far disposition th at re amadeson alone,wi with the becomeexpress fraudulent; but a dis positionemaate to avadeethe .ci=ty, =Lust e/t,:),t , tenYlesel with some other circumstances, by virtue of whim. it might bo said to have been made fraudulently. Accordingly, the words employed in this clause were, not that the court LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF INDIA. Mr. EWART inquired of the President of the Board of Control, whether the Legislative Council, which it was intended to appoint in India, would be a Council open to the public, or having its proceedings made known by being reported to the public. Sir C. WOOD said he did not think there was any necessity to introduce a provision into his bill on that subject. BURMESE WAR. Mr. COBDEN, in rising to ask the President of the Board of Control when and by whom the papers respecting the Burmese war were prepared to be laid before Parliament, and who was responsible for .-._ the selection of the extracts said, on looking over the documents, he found that the more important of them were not given fully, but merely in extracts. It was for the interest of the public as well as for the sake of the character of the parties engaged in the transactions that the whole of the papers should be laid before the house, unless they would prove in jurious to the public service, would supply information to the enemy, or were calculated to give offence to any foreign power. Neither of those objections applied to the Burmese war, and therefore he thought the house was not properly treated in having been presented with only garbled extracts. This process of garbling the docu ments relating to the Affghanistan war was performed by high public men now living, and the house could not be too early or too careful in preventing similar occur rences in future. _ Mr. B.IILLIE would not discuss the policy of cutting out extracts from public documents, but there was no doubt that in the case of the Affghan papers, they were so much garbled that they conveyed an entirely dif ferent. impression to what the writers intended. He complained that no notice had been given of this ques tion to the late President of the Board of Control, who was, no doubt, responsible for the state of the papers which had been produced in the Burmese case. (Hear, hear.) Mr. HUME said that many papers were unjustifiably kept back in the Affghan case, and he thought it was the duty of the house to take care that similar suppres sions of truth did not take place in future. He sug gested that the house should appoint a committee to in quire into all cases where public documents, ordered to be produced, had been garbled by the Government or their subordinates. Sir C. WOOD said the papers were prepared by the Board of Control, and the President of that Board was responsible for them. They were, however, prepared by the late Board, and therefore no blame could attach to him. There could be no doubt, however, that the President of the Board of Control was responsible for these papers. Mr. COBDEN had no wish to throw blame any where, but he wanted to clear up the doubt as to where the responsibility rested. Mr. BRIGHT said he had seen a private letter from Burmab, stating that the British troops there were in a most wretched condition. One regiment, it was said, had lost 400 men from the badness of the climate, while the other regiments were reduced to perfect skeletons. (Hear, hear.) Now he wanted to know what they were about in this matter that so many valuable lives were to be sacrificed ; and he wished to know if the Govern ment had received any information on the subject ? (Hear, hear.) Sir C. WOOD was sorry to say that considerable mortality had prevailed amongst the troops, but he was not prepared with any information on the subject. Mr. BLACKETT wished to know whether it was the intention to lay a correct statement of the profit and loss of these newly-acquired territories before the house? Lord J. RUSSELL was not prepared to answer the question without notice. SOAP DUTIES. Mr. A. PELLATT wished to take that opportunity of asking a question respecting the soap duties. There were many large stocks on hand which had paid a duty of 141. 14s. per ton, and which would be entitled to drawback on exportation. Now, ho wished to know whether, in the event of such soap being re-imported, it would be admitted at the same duty as foreign soap, viz., Sd. a cwt.? Mr. WILSON replied in the negative, and said steps would be taken by the Excise to prevent such a pro ceeding. • OATHS AND AFFIRMATIONS. 4 ' Mr. S. WORTLEY said the Common Law Commis sion had reported in favour of allowing a man to make / / 0 6 ii .P .1 a 01,1 Bt a lo' i , loft' , t I