Colored News. — London, England, 1855-08-11 00:00:00

BEFORE our next number appears, the Royal Commissioners will have executed their task and dismissed " the faithful Commons," &c., to their respective country seats and autumnal enjoyments. We think the interregnum a fitting opportunity for giving an engraving depicting the splendid ceremonial, which is usually seen when it pleases Her Gracious Majesty to read her Royal speech from the throne. In the absence of that impressive pageant, we think we cannot better fill our pages than in giving a short but interesting history of the Imperial Parliament itself. Being the grand assembly of the estates of the realm, we are surprised that so little is really known of its constituent parts. They have excited much discussion amongst con stitutional writers, some contending that the archbishops and bishops, or lords spiritual, constitute one estate, the lords temporal a second, and the commons a third ; but the parliament is usually divided into Lords and Commons. It is summoned, prorogued, and dissolved by the sovereign's voice. Its power is undefinable. Its duty is not only to " unlock the people's purses," bnt also to keep the people's accounts ; or, to adopt the legal language of Coke, " parlia ment is the highest and most honourable and absolute. court of justice ;" " the jurisdiction of this count is so transcen dent, that it maketh, enlargeth, diminisheth, abrogateth, repealeth, and reviveth laws, statutes, acts, and ordinances, concerning matters ecclesiastical, capital, criminal, common, civil, martial, maritime, and the rest." Its work is, "to redress greivances, to take notice of monopolies and oppres sions, to curb the exorbitances of pernicious favourites and ill ministers of state, to punish such mighty , delinquents as look upon themselves as too great for the ordinary reach of justice, and to inspect the conduct of those who are intrusted with the administratien of the laws, or disposal of the public treasure of the nation." It can regulate or new model the succession to the crown, as in the reign of Henry VIII. and William 111. It can alter the religion of the land, as was done in the reign of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth. It has not only changed, but created afresh the Constitution of the country, and even its own, as in the case of the Reform Bill ; but in the former cases the changes have been, or pretended to be, according to the principles laid down in the people's charters ; and in the letter instance, alluding to the passing of the septennial act, parliament distinctly admitted its violation of consti tional principle and practice, but defended it on the ground of necessity, and as being only a temporal measure. It has never since been repealed, although the occasion of it has long ceased to exist, there being now no pretender to the throne, and monarchy being in no danger. Parliament derives its name, according to Coke, from every member of that court being enabled sincerely and discreetly , parler la -ment (to speak the mind) for the general good of the com monwealth. Although the derivation of the word may be deemed beyond dispute, there is much doubt about its first application. It was applied to the general assemblies of the state under Louis VII. of France, about the middle of the twelfth century, but it is said not to have appeared in our law till its mention in the statute of Westminster, 1, 3 Edw. L, A.D. 1272; and yet Coke declared in his Institutes, and spoke to the same effect when Speaker (A.D. 1592), that this - name was used even in the time of Edward the Con fessor, 1041. It is certain that long before the introduction of the Norman language into England all matters of im portance were debated and settled in the great council of the realm ; a practice which seems to have been universal among the northern nations, particularly amongst the Germans, who convey it into all the countries of Europe, which they overran at the dissolution of the Roman empire. Instances are upon record of the assembling of this council. to order the affairs of the kingdom, to make new laws, and to amend the old, as early as the reign of Ina, king of the West Saxons, Offa, king of the Mcrcians, and Ethelbert, king of Kent, in the several reigns of the heptarchy. Before the reign of William 1., parliaments, or councils of the nation, were to be held twice in every year, as appears by Edgar, cap. 5, the testimony of the Mirrour of Justice, the Institutes, &c. ; but the Commons of England, represented by knights, citizens, and burgesses, were not specifically named as constituting one of the estates in parliament the 49th of Henry 111., 1265. Hume says " the commons were no part of the great council till some ages after the conquest." Knights of the shire had previously assembled in a separate house; but the Earl of Leicester, whose attempts on the crown of Henry 111. had been defeated, led to the subsequent summoning of two knights from every shire, and also deputies from the boroughs, who were before deemed too inconsiderable to have a voice in legislation. This is the first confirmed outline of a House of Commons. In the earlier reigns, parliament was alternately kept at York, Northampton, Lincoln, New Sarum, Winchester, Gloucester, Leicester, Oxford, Cambridge, and Reading, as well as at Westminster,• the latter having been the scat of the legisla ture since the time of Elizabeth. The city of London first sent members to parliament in the reign of Henry III.; while Westminster was not represented in that august assembly until the latter end of the life of Henry VIII., or rather in the first House of Commons of Edward VI. King Edward 1., successor of Henry 111., however, seldom held a parliament more than once in every two years: but in the next reign but one it was enacted (4 Edw. TM cap. 14) " that a parliament should be holden every year once, and more often if need be." This continued the statute-law of the land till 16 Charles 11., when an act was passed " for the assembling and holding of parliament once in three years at least;" but parliaments for a longer period than a year were held after Henry VIII. ascended the throne. The triennial act was confirmed soon after the Revolution of 1688, by 6 William and Mary, cap. 2. Triennial parlia ments thence continued till the first year of George L's reign, when, in consequence of the allegation that " a rest less and popish faction were designing and endeavouring to renew the rebellion between this kingdom, and the report of an invasion from abroad, it was enacted that the then existing parliament should continue for seven years, and no longer." This septennial act has ever since been in force. —The parliament is England's sheet-anchor :—" England," said Burleigh, " can never be undone but by parliament." The parliament, however, must exist in fact, and continue to be the organ of the people's voice—the representative of their feelings and views. Should the time unhappily arrive when the lower house in particular, and the people, shall THE COLORED NEWS. have separate interests and distinct feelings, then may it be justly feared that the liberties of the nation will be buried amidst the corruptions of a House of Commons. The Lords are indefinite in number, excepting the lords spiritual ; of these there are two archbishops, and twenty.four bishops, who are supposed to hold certain ancient baronies under the king; in right of which they have seats in the House of Lords, where they intermix their votes with the temporal lords. The lords temporal consist of the peers of Great Britain, in their several orders and degrees of dignity, as dukes, marquisses, earls, viscounts, barons. Some of them sit by descent, as do all ancient peers : some by creation, as in the case of all new-made peers; others, since the union of Scotland, by election, which is the case of the sixteen peers who represent the body of the Scotch nobility ; and twenty-eight peers for Ireland, besides one archbishop and three bishops. The number of lay lords is indefinite, and may be increased at the will of the crown. At present the number of peers, temporal and spiritual, is about 410. The Commoners in parliament consist of knights, elected by the counties ; and of citizens and burgesses, elected by the cities and borough-towns. There are 658 members. The Lords, except on state occasions, mingle together pro miscuously, only observing the ministerial or opposition side of the house. The archbishops and bishops sit on a bench by themselves. Across the room are woolsacks, continued from ancient custom ; and the chancellor, being of course the speaker of the House of Lords, sits on the first woolsack before the throne, with the great seal or mace lying by him; below these are forms. On the other woolsacks are seated the judges, masters in chancery, &c., who give their advice in points of law. The Commons sit promiscuously ; the speaker only has a particular seat; he is elected from amongst their own body, and has an elevated chair at the upper end of the house ; the clerk and his two assistants sit at the table below the speaker, towards the middle of the house, dressed in robes. The seat on the floor, to the right hand of the speaker, is called the treasury-bench ; being the usual position of the members of the government. The side immediately opposite is ocenpied by the leading mem bers of the opposition. When a member of the House of Commons speaks, he addresses the speaker only. If what he says be answered by another, he is not allowed to reply the same day, unless personal reflections have been cast upon him ; but when the commons, in order to have a greater freedom of debate, have resolved themselves into a committee of the whole house, every member may speak to a question as often as he thinks necessary. In the House of Lords they vote, beginning at the lowest peer and ascend ing to the highest, every one answering " Content" or "Not content." When a bill is objectionable, it is often proposed " that it be read this day six months," so as to be deferred until the next session, or that the period should fall when the house is not sitting. "The order of the day," often called for to put an end to some discussion not pre viously announced, implies that the matter on the journal should be brought forward in preference ; and " that the previous question" should be put, is a another mode of defeating a measure proposed. " A call of the house" can be insisted on by any member, so as to ensure a full attend ance ; the penalties of disobedience being severe. Cries of " question' and " spoke" implies impatience at a departure from the topic, or the efforts of a tedious orator ; while "hoar" is a monosyllable of double meaning, implying either derision or attention. In the House of Commons they vote by " ayes" and " noes ;" and if it ho doubtful which possess the greater number, the house divides. If the question relate to the introduction of anything into the house, then the "ayes" go out; but if otherwise, the "noes" go out. In all divisions the speaker appoints four tellers, two of each• opinion. In a committee of the whole house they divide by changing sides, the " ayes" taking the right, and the " noes ' the left of the chair, and then there are but two tellers. Forty members are sufficient to form a house, and eight a committee. There are coffee rooms attached to each house, for the accommodation of the members only : many of whom dine there during a long debate. Strangers from the gallery may get sandwiches, &c. at th e b ar as a favour ; but they are not permitted to enter the rooms. The whole is under the superintendence of the housekeeper. Should the bell ring to announce that a division is about to take place, and to direct the messengers and officers to lock all the doors leading to the house or its lobby, an amusing spectacle is beheld ; members arc seen running in all direc tions, with the utmost haste, to get into the house before the fatal key is turned. For the accommodation of "strangers," as all spectators are indiscriminately called, there is a gallery, but strangers are compelled to -with draw previous to a division. It is understood that visitors yiinngthe 2s. 6d. are present by courtesy, although a tick e t f rom a member will ensure admission; the former mod e of paying having been suppressed. Within a few years, seen to t a k ea e of Woodfall and Dr. Johnson, any memorandum was instantly told to put away hisa ll e p r a y i) er, or at the was turned out altogether ; and yet a s p ec i a l g other extremity is now filled with gentlemen openly and undisguisedly • taking notes of what is passing, for the known purpose of reporting the debates in the newspapers. ODouns.—Odours resemble very much the notes of a musical instrument. Some of them blend easily and naturally with each other, producing a harmonious impression, as it were on the sense of smell. Heliotrope, vanilla, orange blossom and the almond blend together in this way, and produce different degrees of nearly simUar effect. The same is the case with citron, lemon, vervain, and orange peel, only these produce a stronger impression, or belong, so to speak, of a higher octave of sm e ll s . A nd again, patchouly, sandal-wood, and vitivert form a thi r d c l ass. It requires, of course, a nice a n d well-t ra ined sense of smell to per ceive this harmony of odours, and to detect the presence of a dis cordant note. But it is by the skilful admixture, in kind and quantity; of odours pre:hieing a similar impression, that the most delicate and unchangeable fragrances are manufactured. When perfumes which strike the same key of the olfactory nerve are mixed together for handkerchief use, no idea of a different scent is awakened as the odour dies away ; but when they are not mixed up, , n this principle, perfumes are often spoken cf as becoming sickly or pint, after they have been a short time in use. A change of odour of this kind is never perceived in genuine Eau-de -Cologne. Oils of lemons, juniper, and, rosemary are among those which are mixed and blended together in this perfume. None of them, how ever, can be distinguished by the ordinary sense of smell; but if a few drops of hartshorn be added to one ounce measure of the water, the lemon smell-usually becomes very distinct. [Auct-sT 11, 1855. 3uipiriftl Since our last the Royal Assent has been given in the House of Lords to a number of bias A conversation took place between Lord BROUGHAM and the Loan CHANCELLOR, having for its objeet to remove from the public mind the impression that the progress of law reform is slower than it ought to be. Some explanation took place respecting the withdrawal of the Government grants to the Royal Society. The Downing-street Public Olhces Bill was read a second time, after an explanation of its provisions by Lord REDESDALE. The message from Hi r MAJESTY relative to the additional supplies for the war was communicated to the House. Lord PAN murtE, in answer to the Earl of ELLENBOROUGH, stated that there was no truth in the report of General BEATSON'S assassination. The remainder of the evening was occupied with discussions on the Turkish loan and the general conduet of the war, which was severely criticised by the Earl of ELLENBOROUOU and the Earl Of gARDWICKE. The House of Commons was occupied in Committee with the Limited Liability Bill. n c theee u s yi p s p t l e y m , purs Admiraled called ti o t the n e for att g e n o t i i n o g h into o f t hCeo House t e t e h o t h f S in promotion and the dist r ib ut i on o f h onours in the two services. A number of votes were t a k en , c hi e fl y for educational, scien tific, and religious purpo ses . W n e A complaint by Mr. V. SCULLY, respecting the transmission of newspapers to the British colonies, gave rise to a discussion of some interest; and a number of votes on the Civil Service Esti mates were agreed to, as were th ose f or t h e supplementary naval and transport and packet se rv i ce est i mates. The Sale of Beer Bill, intended to repeal the restrictions im posed upon public houses by the Beer Bill of last session was con sidered in Committee, after a division in which the postponement of the measure was negatived by a majority of 62 to 10. The Carlisle Canonries Bill was, after a sharp discussion and a division, virtually withdrawn, and the Union of ContiguouS Benefices Bill passed through Committee. Has 'AI/assent- intimated th e necess i ty A number of votes wer e th en ta k en i n Committee of Supply, after which a message f rom H a of additional supplies for carrying on the war. Mr. STAFFORD called attention to certain statements respect ing the medical department of the army in the Crimea. Mr. Ditoswirs adverted to the report that a good service pension of 1:100 per annum had been granted to Lord George Paget, and inquired into the nature of the special services by which thas reward was earned.—Mr. PEEL explained that the pension was g iven to Lord G. P aget as h aving been the senior regimental Colonel engaged in the cavalry charge at Balaklava. Unless a title of nobility were a disqualification, he (Mr. Peel) could see no motive for objecting to this grant. There were six or seven pensions to be given by the Commandersin.Chief ; Lord G. Paget was the senior Colonel of cavalry ; he led his troops most gallantly against the foe, rallied them on the other side, and brought them back ; and, under these combined cir cumstances, if he had been excluded from the pension, an in ference must have arisen that he was in some manner un worthy of it.—Some further criticisms on the grant were offered by Colonel LIMDSAY and Sir W. GALLWEY.—Lord PAL MER3TON submitted that the discussion of the subject was inopportune, and observed upon the indiscretion which the House would commit if it persisted in interfering with matters that ought to be left to the unfettered control of the Crown and the Commander-in-Chief.—Notwithstandme the protest of th e Noble Vi scount t h e subject was pursued' for some further time, and was at length dropped, the House going into com mittee of supply. Among the votes agreed to in Committee of Supply, which gave rise to numerous questions and explanations, was tevote of credit for £3,000,000 to provide for the additional expenses of the war. A motion by Major Reed, calling upon the Government to assemble parliament before concluding any peace, was, after a brief discussion, withdrawn. The Limited Liabilities Bill was read a third time and passed. Among the questions asked was one relating to the admission of soldiers in uniform to the gal:ery of the House, which was ruled by the Speaker in their favour, on condition that though in uniform they should be unarmed. Pursuant to notice Mr. I.aing called attention to the recent conferences at Vienna, and moved for copies of the correspondence which had subsequently taken place. He knew that almost all the great bankers and other mercantile firms in Europe were of opinion that the proposals submitted by Count Buol were such as might have been acc e pt e d w i thout any disparagement of national honour. —Sir GEORGE GREY said Her Maj-sty's Government would not be justified in laying the papers before the public without first obtaining the concurrence of the French Government. The Right lion. Baronet then contended that the government were justified in insisting upon the limitation of the naval power of Russia in the Black Sea, as that appeared to be the most effectual means which could be adopted by the Western Powers with a view to securing the independence of Turkey, and at the same time ensuring the peace of Europe. (The Right Hon. Baronet then read extracts from Lord Clarendon's instructions to Lord .1. Russell, for the purpose of showing what were the views and intentions of tier Majesty's Government.) The House would recollect that the Government had been blamed in not having broken up the Con ferences when it became obvious that Russia declined to submit to terms which limited her aggressive policy, but Her Majesty's Ministers were unwilling to break off the negociations so long as there appeared to he any hope of bringing about an honourable peace. The French Government had taken the same view. But even assuming that the proposition had been accepted by the Govern ments of England and France, and rejected by Russia, there was no certainty that Austria would place itself side by side with the Western Powers. Had the Government accepted the proposition it would have been necessary to keep up a fleet in the Black Sea, without even the prospect of securing a safe, permanent and hon ourable peace. But, independent of these considerations, it should be borne in mind that Her Majesty's Government would not be justified in acceding to the Austrian proposal without the co ig ncurrence of France. Any di sarrangement on that point mht endanger the alliance of France a matter more entitled to consideration than the prosecution of the war, as to the satisfact tory issue of which he did not despair. Mr. Gnansroxx admitted that the production of the papers was entirely in the discretion of the Government, and he thought that th e H on. M ember would act unwis e ly if h e pressed his motion. He considered, however, that the Right lion. Baronet had not justified the Government in the continuance of a war which cost the Allies so much blood and treasure. He was at -a loss to know upon what principle Her Majesty's Minister continues the prosecution of the war. It was rot to the French Government but to Her Majesty's Ministers that the responsibility attached, for, according io a statement in the Moniteur, the Emperor had rejected the Austrian proposals, being anxious to maintain the alliance with England.