The Press.
London, England, 1856-04-19 00:00:00

THE AMERICAN QUESTION.

Lord PALMERSTON, on Monday, in reply to Mr.
Baillie, said the answer to be made to the last com-
munication received from the United States Govern-
me I. required to be very carefully prepared ;
that the absence o' Lord Clarendon had caused an
unavoidable delay, but that the answer was in pre-
paration, and in the course of this week v mid be
communicated to Mr. Dallas. In the early part of
next' week the Government probably would be in a
condition to submit to the house the whole of the
correspondet ce.
Mr. BAILLIE then postponed his motion (which
stood for that evening) condemnatory of the coarse
taken by the Mini..teas of the Crown in the employ
nient of agents to enlist the citizens of foreign
powers into the service of her Majesty, in defiance of
the laws of those countries.

365

Sr' DE LACY EvArts likewise postponed his aintnd-
ment to that motion.

TORTURE IN MADRAS.
The Earl of Aunt RIX, on Monday, in presenting
a petition from the inhabitants of Madras ci.mplain-
ing of the indiction of torture by the Government
officials in India, read a list of the common modes of
torture inflicted. They were :

Deprivation of food and water; hindering a man from
sleeping ; hanging a necklace of hones or other disgusting
materiels round the neck (a punishment peculiarly offen-
sive to a Hindoo); compelling a man to sit on his heels,
with brickbats or sharp stones under his hams ; striking
the heads of two defaulters against each other; tying two
persons together in a stooping posture by the h sir f their
heads ; tying a man in a stooping posture to the wheel of
a cart; tying a man by the hair of his head to the tail of
an ass and paraling him through the public market;
forcing a man into a stooping posture with another man on
his back; binding a man to one tree and hoisting his leg
by a rope attached to another; suspending a man by his
heels to the bough of a tree ; suspending him by the wrist
and scourging him while in the air; placing the victim on
a nest of red ants; pounding the joints with mallets of
s..ft wood ; flagellation with every kind of scourge in
every part of the human body, and with such severity as
occasionally to cause death ; tying rags round the fingers
and setting fire to them ; burning various parts of the
body with a lighted cheroot, heated packing-needles and
searing irons : wrapping the body in cotton steeped in oil,
and setting fire to u; compression of the sensitive organs
of the body; driving thorns under the nails ; filling the
nostrils, eyes, and other parts of the body wish cayenne
pepper; ittc..kc.
In refutation of the assertion of the Directors that
the practice of torture was not officially recognised
in India, Lord Albemarle quoted several passages
from the report of the commissioners, in which the
civil servants of the Company are convicted of a
thorough knowledge of the custom of using torture
to extort revenue. The noble earl concluded by
moving resolutions to the effect that, " since it is
clearly proved hat torture has long been and is now
practised in India by Government officials, and that
the custom has been many years known by the
authorities at home and in Inda, the house viewed
it as disgraceful to the character of the nation, and
pledged itself to pursue the most effectual measures
for the abolition of the practice."
The Duke of ARGYLL said the practice was one in-
herited by the Company from the previous rulers c f
the country ; that it was never sanctioned by the
Government; and that steps were now being taken
to put a stop to so abhorrent a custom. He did not
think Lord Albemarle's resolutions held out any hope
of a practical remedy, and quoted a passage from
the commissioners' report to prove that the custom of
torture was rather viewed favorably than otherwise
by the natives, and he should, therefore, propose to
amend the noble earl's resolutions so far as to state
that although the practice of torture has been known
to exist fur many years, "it has been repeatedly de-
nounced by the constituted authorities both at home
and in India, and that the house relied ' upon the
authorities in this country and in India' to put a
stop to so disgraceful a practice."
The Marquis of CLANRICARDE said the whole
question was one merely of " a. d.," for the Com-
pany employed a set of vagabonds on low pay as
police; whereas if they paid fair wages they would
obtain superior men, who would not employ torture
as a means of extorting confessions.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said it was a reproach
to the local officers that they hail not informed the
Government of the practice. He had always been
of opinion that the duties of the police and the
collection of revenue ought to be separated, and that
the police should be formed altogether on a military
basis, as was established with the highest success by
Sir C. Napier in Scinde. The Government officials
should also pass six months of every year in travel-
ling through the country to ascertain the real state
of the people.
Lord MONTEAOLE expressed his belief that the
practice of torture was not confined alone to the
Presidency of Madras, but was more or less uni-
versally practise I throughout India. The English
people would desert their daty, and cast aside their
glorious precedents, if they acquiesced In these
enormities.

Tie amended resolutions were ag.reid to.
MINISTERS' MONEY BILL (IRELAND).
Mr. FAGAN, MI Wednesday, moved the second
reading of this bill.
Mr. G. A. HAMILTON moved to defer the second
reading tor six months. The object of the bill, he
observed, was to abolish entirely a charge, not upon
persons, but upon property, and to confer upon the
owners of houses in certain towns in Ireland an ex-
emption from a liability to which that property was
subject when they acquired it at the expense of the
m n stersd the Established Chinch ; so that, instead
of being an act ut justice, the abolition of this charge
would be an act of injustice.
Mr. BLACK and Mr. MIALL supported the bill. The
tax
.‘iehied scarcely anything to the revenue, but it
was telt as a great grievance.
Lord BERNARD opp osed the bill.

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366

Mr. HORSNAN admitted the difficulties of the ques-
tion, though it would be premature to abolish the
tax at once, and promised on oehalf of the Govern-
ment, that if on further trial the present law was
found inoperative, to bring forward a measure that
should obviate all difficulties, and do justice to all
parties.
Mr. NAPIF.R opposed the bill.
Mr. FITZGERAL' thought the law should be en-
forced, if possible. _ _

Mr. WHITESIDE supported the amendment.
Mr. MAomaE and Mr. Sergeant O'BRIEN defended
the bill.

Lord J. RUSSELL observed that there were only
two possible courses with reference to this tax: the
first, to exhaust the means of the law to enforce it,
and, if the machinery was defective, to bring in
some amending measure ; the second course was, to
consider the tax not worth the contention, and that
sufficient means might be found to supply a sub-
stitute in the revenues of the Ecclesiastical Commis-
sionem. He was ready to adopt either course; but
that proposed by Mr. Horsmau was, in his opinion,
the very worst course. He should vote, he said,
against the bill; but he hoped the Government of
Ireland would take one of the two courses he had
mentioned, and either enforce the law or put an end
to the tax altogether.

The house then divided—
For the second reading l2l
Against

Majority SO
The bill accordingly lost.
THE FIRE BRIGADE IN THE HOUSE.

Lord REDESDALE, on Monday, called the attention
of the Government to the withdrawal of the tire
brigade from the house, and the transference of
their duties to the police, by the Board of Works.
Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY promised that inquiry
should be made into the matter.

On Thursday Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY said he
was perfectly ready to lay the correspondence m the
table, and explained that it was henceforth intended to
employ in lieu of the fire brigade one inspector, two
s?rgeants, and sixteen constables of police.
Lord REDESDALE confessed his ent re inability to
understand either the policy .ar the justice of the pro-
posed change. The new system would occasion a
great increase of expense, for the men about to be
brought in were exactly twice the number of those
whom they would supplant. On the authority of Mr.
Goldsworthy Gurney, to whom was intrusted the
whole charge of the lighting and ventilation of the
house, he (Lord Redesdale) believed that under the
new arrangement the building would not he so safe
as it was under the existing one. The matter well
deserved the consideration of the Government, and
he hoped that the proposed change would not be
adopted without further inquiry.
Lard STANLEY Of ALDERLEY explained that instead
of increasing, the proposed system would considerably
diminish, the expense of watching the houses. The
estimate of the probable expense of the united bodies
of firemen under Mr. Brady, and of policemen, was
3 0901. ; while the whole expense of the police, who
w .uld be available both for the protection of the
buildings and for ordinary purposes, would not exceed
1,5001. a year. Tne cisterns would be under the
immediate control of the Clerk of the Works, who
would be always resident in the Palace, who was an
o ficer of the Board of Works, and who would invari-
a ,ly be in direct communication with the superin-
tandent of the police, who would also be resident
within the building.

THE FOREIGN LEGIONS.
'Mr. PEEL,-on Tuesday, in reply to Colonel Dunne,
asid that the foreign levies would be disbanded at as
e irly a period as circumstances would permit. The
troops had no claim to pensions, although or, being
disbanded they would be entitled to gratuities, at the
rate of three months' pay to the officer, and twelve
mlnths' pay to the private soldiers. They were also
en-itled to a passage, at the cost of her Majesty's
Government, either to their own homes, to British
North America, or to the Cape, as they might wish.

THE FRENCH WAR MEDALS.
Mr. PEEL, on Tuesday, in reply to Colonel Lindsay,
exit the medals would he distributed in the propor
ti ) i in which they were awarded in the French ser-
vi •e, namely to ten men in every thousand, and it
w tuld therefore be necessary to select those soldiers
win were most worthy to receive the decoration.
A . cordingly General Codrington, with the aid of the
commanding officers of the various regiments, had
b +on instructed to make such a selection. The de-
clraiion would be confined to non-commissioned
o beers and private soldiers.

THE MILITIA.
Mr. PEEL, on Tuesday, in reply to Lord Naas,
sail it was not int 'Tided to disembo ly the several
regiments of militia in the order in which they were
embodied.

CONSULAR ESTABLISHMENTS.
I 0 Monday the house went. into a Committee of
Supply upon the remaining Civil Service Estimates.

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