The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-05-12 00:00:00

duce the measure he has prepared on that question.

Mr. M. GIBSON said that at an early dal; he should introduce
a niotiOn on the subject.
Sir J. PA/MOTO:I asked the Secretary to the Admiralty
what is the real extent of injury by decay which has
bcen discovered in her Majeaty'a mortar vessels and gunboats.
\Panther it is true that improper NtOrknfanahip and fasteniuge

hale als3 been discovered, and what sieps the Board of
Admiralty have taken, or intend to take, in crynsecfnence of

the present state of those vessels.
Lord J. Pacs•r said that he was glad to be able to relieve; td
smile extent, the apprehensions of the public on this subjc:A.'

N doubt many vesse s had been more or le,s decayed, but the

injtiry had not extended t 3 all. The Admiralty were taking
steps to repair the mischief, and several had been placed in a
sound state. It was fair to the contractors to state that
the boats were got ready in great haste,: in expectation

of the coming campaign of the next spring, and the contrac-
tors fairly stated that they had no seasoned timber. The
Ga‘einment had, however, taken legal opinions as to the
liaidlity of the contractors to make good thedoss.
Sir C. NAPIERF said that he should like to kaow who the*,
contractors were *ha bad put the lives of so litany persons in
:such danger. As the Admiralty did not choose to go .down
sand inspect the gunboats, it was the duty, of the House of
Commons to do it.

Admiral Duscomaz declared that the slAps•were so rotted
two years ago that he had pushed his umbrella through them:
Sir F. Smirk gave notice that he should !never for a select
committee to enquire into this wholesale destruedtvii` df thei
national ships.
Mr. WittranEan said that the question of introducing IVgai.
proceedinga was then under the consideration of the
officers. If they could not be taken, aca mission might bh
opened to enquire into the eirournetances.
Mr. Okay Sksmotia called the attention of the House to
the state of the law with regard to collisions at sea, so far as
foreign veitele are concerned, and to ask the President of the
Board of Trade whether her Majesty's Government ate pre-
pared to urge on the Government of other countries the eire-
diency of establishing some international ruie,. for assimilating
the liability of shipowners, in case* of collision at home and
abroad.

Mr. M. GIBSON said that the Government were anxious to
obtain the assimilation of the laws of various nations, and was
at present engaged in negotiations far that purpose.
Mr. Haranearoir called the attention of the Secretary of
State for Foroign Affairs to the state of the French fortifica-
tions in St. Pierre, and to ask whether there would be, AY.
objectionf to lay uopn the.table of the house of all questions'
submitted to the law officers of the crown. He brought for./
ward many instances of the unfair conduct of the French on
ronahat station towards British subjects. •
itr. Jam as asked whether the Government seriously intended
•
to Proceed with the Reform Bill continuously in Loiaoiittee se
de to enable the bill to reach the other house in time VaPA
into a law.
Mr. &vett asked whether het Majesty's Government waft
agree to introduce precisions applicable to Ireland into the
Repr,sentation of the People Bill for England and Wales.
Mr. Get rerrn asked Übe Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs whether he is now able to give any assurance that no
French troops wilt be moved into the provinces of Chabiaae and
Fakfekray until the question of the dispositions to be adopted
as to thew neutralised provinces shall be finally determined.
upon by diploMatic consultation and agreement.
L -Td J. litissurl, replying to Mr. Halihuton, said that com-
munication had been addressed to the Governor of Newfound.
land, as to the fortifications on the island of St. Pierre. The
reply was that there were several batteries erected,
commanding the mouth of the harbour. The matter W 25
referred to the law officers. who gate it as their opinion
thee • the fortifications did not involve any infraction
of; exiseng treaties. He could not cement- to produce
those opinions. The commissioners appointed to enquire into
the disputes respecting the Newfoundland fishery had
that &ay seen the cdlnsial tecretary, and had stated'
his belief that. all difiloultiee would be amicably settled.
The commissioners had dechiteel that no new treaty
was required for the further regulation of the fisheries. Witb
regard to'the entry of French troops into she neutralised Pro-
vinces, he could only repeat What he had betere said, that the
French Government refuted to give any assurante on the sub-
ject. They had only declared that they would do nothing till.
the annexation had been ratified by the Sardinian parliament-
_ ftwas perfectly true that future negotiations would be much
embarrassed by the entry of French troops into thoSe province 5r
still, he did not think- that on that account the country should:
withdraw altogether from. the business. With regard to the
Reform Bill, the Government bad expedited it as far as possi-
ble in the •• presence of measures, espeoially of financial
measures, of great urgency and Yutportanee. It was his full
intention to bring forwakd the conalittee on the 'bill in June,
and to ergo
,it on as rapidly as the forme would permit. In
reference tif the Irish Bill, he said that ft was imposeibleto
incorporate that bill into the English, and difficult, before the
English franchise was arranged, to proceed with• its second
reading.
Mr. GeAstr DUFF asked the Solicitor-General whether hie
attention had been drawn to an advertisement which appeared
in the Times- of Wednesday, the 9th May, annOuncing that a
subscription had been opened in London in aid the Sicilioner
and whether pfrsents in this country who contributed to this
fund which it was proposed to raise would render theiL'elv"
liable to legal proceedinge. He avowed his sympathy in far,'"
of the Sicilians, and therefore trusted that proceedings on their-
behalf would be tainted with no illegality.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said that so long as the proceeflin
were confined to the mere collection of money, no law of this
country would be violated.

OPEN AIR SERVICES IN GREENWICH-PARK. The
Earl of Aberdeen, as ranger of Greenwich-park, having
assented to open-air service being performed in the park,
the Rev. F. P. Courtenay, curate of St. John's, Dept-
ford, and the preacher appointed by the London Dio-
cosian Home Mission for the district, has announced the'
first service for Sunday afternoon next.
DISCOVERY or ANTlQurriEs.—Some interesting dis-
coveries have been made during the excavations that are
taking place at the City of London Gas Company's
works, Whitefriars, for tha purpose of erecting a neW
gasometer. The workrv'a have, at a depth of from 14
to 16 feet, found relics of the 13th, 14th, 16th, and 16th
centuries, consisting of spurs with ornamental rowels,
keys, knives, ancient spoons, scissors, some curious
pointed shoes of the reigns of Edward 111. and
Richard 111., and saddle trappings, in excellent preser-
vation; a lady's gold finger-ring, set with a ruby; silver
coins of Richard 111., a sixpence' of Elizabeth, some
Nuremberg or Jetton tokens, a few fragments of ancient
pottery, a piece of Roman, with letters. "N. A, M. L
L. C. R." at the bottom ; also a quantity of brass pins,
needles, and wire. These remains have been found .
considerably below the foundation of old walls in the
vicinity ; and, from a close examination of earth thrown
up, shows every appearance of having been at some
distant period washed over by the Thames.

SINGULAR DISAPPEARANCE OF A LADY.----IllfOrMatiOS' •
has beep received at the metropolitan police stations ni.,"
the mysteroius disappearance of a lady from the West=
end, which appears to have created much consterdatiou
among her relatives. She left her home on the pre-
vious forenoon, supposed for her customary walk, and
has not since been heard of. She is described as being
in delicate health and somewhat desponding in mind,
age 30 years, five feet six or seven inches in height, very - -
slight figure, light brown hair, and fair complexion,
rather long pale face, blue eyes, regular prominent
features, and long neck. Among other articles she
wore a handsome long black cloth cloak, of excellent
make, with hood and sleeves, with thewords
and Co., tailors and peletot patentees, Regent-street,"
on the inside of the back. She wore a wedding ring
and gold-chased keeper, a gold ring set with turquoise, 11:
enclosed in a cluster of diamonds forming a rosette, and
a gold ring with red stone. It is expected that3she will
have with her a small morocco leather purple bag. Ira
linen is marked " F. C. M----e." A handsome reward
is offered for her recovery.
CHAPEL ROYAL, SAVOY-STREET, STRAND. This
ancient chapel has recently been restored by command
of her Majesty the Queen, under the direction of Sic
George Grey, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Many historical associations cluster round the chapel
and its precinct, with which most people are familiar'
but very few of the ten thousand wayfarers of the Strand
have any knowledge of the very interesting moil°,
which may yet be seen in the existing chapel. It is "
the plain perpendicular style of Gothic, belonging
early part of the reign of Henry VIII. The 'Veit
beauty of the chapel is to be found in the ceiling, whic..
is a richly-emblazoned network of quatrefoils, extend'
ing over the whole surface. The ornaments are made....
up of shields, having various emblems of the passion
to the,
and other events of the Gospel history. The rest o
space is occupied with a large number of the re_g'.4!
emblems of the houses of York and Lancaster.
0
altar-piece is also worthy of notice, and maul nuite.el'ne r
st„
monuments are of much more than\ average' of .4
The chapel was re-opened by the Very Rev. the Dean
nbli
licatien
Westminster, and may at any time be seen by
either after the Sunday services or by sped=l VP
during the week. The restorations have been elluilaw
to the care of Mr, Sydney Smirks, 4.11,A,