The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1877-07-10 00:00:00

&tract of farliamtnt.

MONDAY.
The proceedings in the House of Commons were
chiefly remarkable for a most extraordinary scene, a
scene as disgraceful to its authors as humiliating to the
House. Some half-a-dmen members, representing the
advanced section of the Irish brigade, with Mr.
Whalley m their ally, took upon themselves to prolong
the sitting of the House in committee to a quarter-past
seven o'clock on Tuesday morning - the House thus
having at continuously for the unprecedented period
of fifteen hours and a-half. No fewer than seventeen
formal division, took place, besides repeated attempts
at • count-out, the minority being never greater than
eight in a House of one hundred and thirty-six, and
dwindling down to five on the last division. During
all this time, of course, the Speaker had to be in
attendance, besides the Chairman of Committees.
These gentlemen took it in turns, by moving formal
motions alternating, as the forms of the House require.
between the reporting of progress and that " the
Chairman do leave the chair," to obstruct • vote which
had been proposed in committee of supply, so that the
House was prevented from coming t 4 a decision upon
it during that sitting. The question before the com-
mittee was whether a sum of £132,000 should be granted
to her Majesty to defray a cettain charge connected
with the army reserve force.
The doings of the Home Rule party on Monday
night and Tuesday morning, created, it is said, a pro-
fund and painful Refutation among great numbers of
the wives of members, who could not bring themselves
to believe that their husbands had really been spending
the whole night at St. Stephen's. When the morning
papers contained no account whatever of the night's
captivity, the suspicious of many of these ladies
became conviction. It did not occur to them to re-
member that the jonnials could not tell the story
became they had to come out before it could possibly
be told. All the explanations of Tuesday's papers
were needed to clear many a devoted senator from the
suspscion of having spent his night at Cremorne.
TUESDAY.
In the House of Lonls Lord Derby, replying to Lord
Granville, confirmed the announcement contained in
the morning papers that the British fleet bad received
orders to leave the Pineus and return to the station
where it Was last year, Besika Bay. .Replying to
Lord Harrowl,y, Lord Derby denied that any boundary
line between Turkey and Persia had ever been laid
down by scientific officers under the auspices of the
British Government. Her Majesty's Government
were fully alive to the importance of preventing a war
between Turkey and Persia, and would avail them-
selves of every opportunity to use their best endeavours
to ward off so great a calamity.
At the morning sitting of the Commons Mr.
Forster having asked whether it was true that the
Mediterranean fleet had been ordered to proceed to
Besika Bay, the Chancellor of the Exchequer replied
that "it was quite true," whereupon there was a loud
and general burst of cheering at the announcement.
Subsequently the debate on the Irish Sunday
Closing ill was resumed and was again 'talked
out."
On the House re-assembling at night Lord Percy
called attention to the neglect of vaccination, and
moved a resolution to the effect that an inquiry should
be instituted into the practice, with the view of
ascertaining whether it could not be conducted in a
more satisfactory manner.
Mr. PRASE proposed as an amendment to extend
inquiry to the law relating to the accumulation of the
repetition of penalties for the same offence.
After a discussion the proposal of Mr. Pease was
accepted by Lord Percy, and the motion as amended
was on a division negatived by 1.06 to 56.
WEDNVMAT.
Mr. O'SuccrvAx moved the second reading of the
Union Justices (Ireland) Bill, a measure which, seeing
how some appointments are made, would be useful in
England. Its object was to enable the ratepayers of
each union to submit to the Lord-Lieutenant the
name of • magistrate.
Sir M. H. MACH opposed the Bill, which, he said,
would introduce a novel, objectionable, and unconsti-
tutional principle in the appointment of the magis-
trates.

Mr. O'SULLIVAN briefly replied, and the House
divided, and the Bill was rejected by 178 to 38.
Mr. WILBRAHAM Enenros moved the second read-
ing of the Public Worship Facilities BilL He stated
that its object was that in parishes where there was
insufficient spiritual accommodation the Bishop might,
after inquiry by a commission, authorise the erection
of a new church upon a guarantee being given as to
the provision of the requisite funds, and the incumbent
having failed himself after three months notice to
provide it.
Mr. JAMEN BARCLAY moved the second reading of
the Agricultural Tenants Security for Improvements
Bill. The hon. gentleman was still explaining the
objects of the Bill when the debate was suspended.
Sir E. Wrxmor brought in a Bill to abolish imprison-
ment for debt in civil actions in certain cases.

'HumanAt

In the house of Lords, Lord 01lagsti ta7itidre.- ''''''
Bill for the establishment in Ireland of institutions
tor the care and education of imbecile, lunatic, and
other afflicted classes, upon the Government under-
taking to issue a Royal Commission on the subject.
In the Commons, the CHANCELLOR of the Ex.
CHFIrER stated that he could not Ore any further
facilities for the further consideration of the Irish
Sunday Closing Bill. He alro, in reply to a question,
said the Government were of opinion that it might
be desirable to examine some of the orders of the
House, with a view to promoting the convenient
condu,t of public business, and he hoped that by
next session they would be prepared to propose a
revidon of such parts of the rules so might seem to
require it.
Mr. WHALLEY, considering himself reflected upon
in the Chancellor'. remark., wi.hed to make a
personal explanation; but the House would not hear
him, _

The Itomie, going into Committee of Supply,
liaised the remainder of the Artny Estimates.

FRIDAY.
The House of Lord-4 passed the Prisons Bill through
annatee without amendment.

At the morning sitting cf the Moue of Commons
some conversation took jplace on the subject of the
despatch of the fleet to Besika Bay, the CHANCELLOR
of the EXCHEQUER explaining, amid Ministerial cheers,
that the fleet was sent thither because it Was a con-
venient central station for communication with our
Ambassador at Constantinople, on the one hand, and
with her Majesty's Government I m the other.
Later in the evening, in reyly to a further inquiry
from Sir WILFRED LAWSON, sir STAFFORD NORTHC.
said that the object ot the Government in sending the
fleet to Besika Bay "was solely what he had stated,
and was not intended as a threat, or a hint, or a warn-
ing to either of the Powers engaged in war."
On the sitting being resumed at nine o'clock, Mr.
E. JENKTN9 moved for an address to the Queen,
praying her to reinstate Captain Roberts in his rank
in the army. Mr. Jenkins dwelt at some length on
the details of the case made familiar by earlier debates,
the main charge being that Captain Roberts was
deliberately and systematically subject to degrading
treatment by his colonel, Lord John Taylour.
A debate, varied by some lively episodes, followed,
and the motion was negatived by 137 to 72.