The Express.
London, England, 1855-02-28 00:00:00

Mr. Brown's reports were based, and regarded him as a
men of intelligence and ability, who understood his busi-
ness. The.. reports arrived in March, April, and May,
sad he (Mr. Wilson) read every paper through, sod felt
disposed to set en them. In the matter of Chatham-wood
he did reveres the decision of the late government in sup-
port of Mr. Kennedy and of the rsoommends-
tiers of Mr. Brown; bat when the larger qua-
d= tame to be dimmed, was he (Mr. Wilson)
*hi Monad that, bulimia prepaid= before him from Mr.
WM be reverse the whole order of things in a property
whisk ea we were told, would in a few years be worth mil-
liners( mosey, be took the precaution of inquiring the opi-
nion of the recognised authorities who should advise the
Trossury.? (Cheers.) His first step was to refer Mr.
Brown's reports to Mr. Clinton, who concurred in many
respects with them, but where Mr. Clutton differed with
Mr. Brown, his own (Mr. Wilson's) impreerion, which he
stated told. colleagues in the Treasury, was in favour of Mr.
Brown. On the 21st December a letter from Sir James
Campbell to Mr. Kennedy came to the Tremor', from
which he (Mr. Wilton) was astonished to learn that the
report, made in March, and sabmitted to Mr. Clutton
in May, was
Campbell until October or November. Sir James Camp-
bell said, that, however able were Mr. Brown's argument.,
his facts were wrong from beginning to end. Then what
wet he (Mr. Wilson) to dot He felt that, at all events, it
woe his duty to inquire into the facts which were denied.
lie knew none of these gentlemen, but his feeling was io
Amour of Mr. Brown. He thereupon instructed Mr. Ken-
nedy to refer Sir James Campbell's report to Mr. Brown ;
bat, within four,deys afterwards, came Mr. Higginbotham's
letter, which was just a repetition of the same story ; he &-
Ad this hots stated by Mr. Brown. What then waste be done /
He dill net disavow the responsibility. His only ob.
jest bad been to make • fair adjudication between the
.emending parties, and he defied any person to point out
a word in the correspondence of the Treasury that showed a
laming one way or the other. When the correspondence
elesed he considered what course he was nest to adopt, and
mesh to his satisfaction Mr. Kennedy suggested the
=0 Wane he had determined on, namely, to submit
the matters of fact in dispute to some suitable
tribunal. Mr. Kennedy proposed certain names,
bat although most easious to do so, he was not able to adopt
may of them ; the two first gentlemen on the list had been
mks* consulted on the subject by Mr. Kennedy, and the
three others were closely connected with Mr. Brown. lie
wished to get persons of character and experience, and as
some questions relating to drainage were involved, the first
person he applied to wu Mr. Josiah Parks, hut when that
gentleman told him be had had a dispute with Mr. Kennedy
with regard to the drainage of Phenix Park in Dublin,
he at once told him be could not eat; he believed any
person would admit the honour and ability of the gentlemen
finally cheat for the purpose. The Treasury were bound
to look to the subordinate officer, whose interests were at
stake. (Hear, hear.) High officials could generally get
semi influential friend to take up their cause, but the in-
feriors had only the Treasury to protect them. (Hear,
hear.) lie could only say that from first to last there was
not the slightest feeling against Mr. Kennedy on the part of
any member of the government. It there was any fault at
all it was • feeling in favour of Mr. Kennedy on ac-
count of his conscientious discharge of aldisagreeable duty ;
but seal did not always secure discretion. Since the present
Board of the Treasury was constituted they had had many
difficulties to contend with in the reorganisation of the cus-
toms and other offices, and he thought their conduct show=
they were not actuated by the motives attributed to them
by tits hon. baronet. Whatever censure was to be attached
to the transaction, a great portion belonged to himself. It
would be impossible to carry on the work of govern-
ment if the house were to assume a right to review
1 every transaction of this kind, although if a prima
facie case of injustice was made out it ought
not to be overlooked. The noble lord opposite (Stanley)
said the names of the judges were not known; If
he looked to the blue book he would find such was not the

cue. The names were submitted to Mr. Kennedy ; be was
invited to be present ; he attended the inquiry ; the report
was made and acted on, and be never made any objection
till his own dismissal.

Lord PALMERSTON was not surprised that gentlemen
interested in what related to Mr. Kennedy, from friendship
or otherwise, should have been anxious to bring on this
discussion to vindicate his character from any asper-
sions that might be supposed to have been east
on his honour, veracity, or integrity. He him-
self had long known Mr. Kennedy both in
public and private, and no one who knew him could for an
instant impute to him anything reflecting on his veracity
or character. He thought what had passed during the dis-
cussion ought to be sufficient on that point to the hon
baronet end the friends of Mr. Kennedy. The debate
would close •latent any iml.utation whatever on his cha-
racter or veracity ; but, on the contrary,with a full admission
of the honour and integrity which had always distinguished
him. He requested the house seriously to consider the coon-
queues that would ensue from the establishment of such a
precedent. It woual reduce the civil service to a state of
anarchy, and would be productive of the utmost incon-
venience and prejudice to the public interest. He could
understand if a minister of the crown were to appoint a
person whom parliament thought was not fit to hold the
situation he was appointed to, that that would be a fit sub-
ject for inquiry in that house, because that house was the
guardian of the public interest,; and was entitled, and it
was its duty, to interfere and prevent the appointment of
an improper person to the tor•ie• of the out. I but he eon-
, tended there must necessarily be left to the ministers
of the crown a discretion as to the removal
from office of those whom they thought incompetent or
unfit to conduct the office they held. There were many
reasons which rendered • person unfit to held an office,
which it was impossible to state in detail in the house, but
which still might be sufficient to make it the bounden duty
of the person at the Lead of the department to remove such
person from the situwion he held. There was no man who
had been atthe head of a department in the public service
to whom it had not happened to remove persons for reasons
which contained no impeachment of their honour or their
moral character, but which were sufficiently important to
render it his du'y to plau some other persons in the
discharge of their function.. He had not exaggerated the
danger of forming such a precedent, for the hon. baronet
said the house ought not only to inquire into this case, but
into every cue of a man who had been removed from his
situation who could find any one in that house to adopt his
cause and bring it forward in that house. Without tres-
passing further on the time of the house, he entreated them
to weigh well the consequences of the vote they were called
upon to give, and be assured them they could not strike a
more serious blow at the efficiency of the service than by
voting for this motion.
Sir J. SHELLEY said he bad proposed a very simple
question. Here was • gentleman who thought he was
aggrieved, and who asked for a committee of inquiry. Mr.
Kennedy's only object was to have his character cleared
from the aspersions east upon it by the Treasury minute,
and if he had the assurance of the noble lord that that
minute should be reecinded and another substituted, static
that there was no intention to impute a want of veracity and
honour to Mr. Kennedy, he should not peen the motion to
a division ; if not, whatever might be the result, he should
take the opinion of the house on the question.
Lord PALMERSTON uid he did not understand how,
technically, the object of his hon. friend was to be accom-
plished; but he had no objection whatever to state that there
should be placed on the reeorde of the Treasury a fall ac-
knowledgment that Mr. Kennedy stood fully unimpeached.
Sir J. SHELLEY said, under these circumstances, he felt
be should only be acting a proper part as the friend of Mr.
Kennedy in withdrawing the motion.
The pudica was then Weave, withdrawn.
ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS.
Mr. R. PHILLIMORE obtained leave to bring in a bill
to abolish the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts in
Billeted and Wales in suits for defamation of character.
The bill was subsequently brought in and read a first
time.
PUBLIC HEALTH AND NUISANCES REMOVAL

Sir B. HALL moved that Mr. Edward Egerton be added
to the select oorawittee on this bill.
The 'notion was then spiked to.
The report on suppAYS
AND MEly was bgbt up
ANS. and agreed to.
The report on ways and means was brought up and re-
wired.
COMMONS INCLOSURE BILL.

This bill paned through committee.
CAMBRIDGE ELECTION PETITION.
The SPEAKER announced that he had received a letter
from the parties to the Cambridge election petition, stating
that it wee not their intention to go on with the petition.
The petition was accordingly discharged.
The house adjourned at a quarter to one.

Mr. Vernon Smith, the new President of the Board
of Control, is to be oppositd on the hustings at Northamp-
ton by Capt. Napier Start (Grenadier Guards). In an ad-
dress to the electors, the pliant captain observes:—" Un-

.... . . .
der any other circumstances I should have shrunk from
presenting myself as a candidate for the honour of your
suffrages, but having shared in the triumph of the British
arms at Alma, and being invalided from active service by
wounds received in the battle of Inhuman, I feel deeply
the dishonour done to the British eame by the incapacity of
the home government, which has suffered an army victo-
rious in the field to be wasted and almost destroyed by want
of food and shelter. It is with thew feelings that I have
determined upon giving you the opportunity of pronouncing
whether your late repreeentative, who, whilst he acknow-
ledged the existence of these unheard-of calamities, refused
all inquiry into their cases, is entitled to a renewal of your
confidence."

Sir William Burnett, K.H., after serving 33 years
u chief of the naval medical department, bah placed his
resignation in the hands of government.
Loss OP THE SCREW STEAM-SHIP MORNA, wrrli
SoLnisas.—BmaroL, Feb. 27.—liatelligesee by electric
telegraph has been received here from Havestordweet, an-
nonnoieg the total wreck of the screw stesat-packet Morns,
from Belfut to London, with troops ma board. The muter,
mate, end 28 mamma and soldiers have got on shore, but 86
seames end soldiers are still missing. They left the wreak
is two boats, and hopes are eatertained that they succeeded
in landing somewhere in the Channel.