The Express.
London, England, 1864-02-26 00:00:00

IMPERIAL P.

HOUSE OF LORDS.—THURSDAY, F=s. 25.
Their lordships met at An o'clock.
PETITIONS PItZEDENTED. .

The Earl of DERBY Weir ladapetit7soo from the ward of
Bishopegate, praying their lordships to protect them against
the inroad of aims new railways. The North London line
had already taken four and a half acres, and bad deprived
more than 4,000 lwso•s of their abodes. These nine
schemes would require no lees than 'S3 acne, or more than
half the whole area of the ward. There could thus be no
doubt that the adoption of these scheme, would lead to a
who:evale destruction of property, and would prove •
aeriow inzonvenience to the inhabitants of that part of
Loudon.
Lord DERBY also presented • petition from Vauxhall
against • bill promoted by the Phmoix Gas Company. As it
appoirsl, however, that the object of the bill was merely to
extezkl 411 existing company, be could not hold out any
hope to the petitioners of having it rejected on the second
reading; but when it was read a secoud time he would
more that it be referred to • select committee.
PAPERS ON AMERICAN AFFAIRS.

The Earl of DEIIIY complained that, ii ....r to an
application for the oorrespondeoce with the United States
government in reference to the steam rams io the Mersey
anti the vessels Alabama and Saxon, the Foreign Secretary
bad given him a refusal on the ground that its production
whilst legal proceedings were peodiog would be prejudicial
to the public service. He now found from a debate which
took plans to the House of Vim:lmmo on Tnesday night that
the Attornev.Ueneral promised to furnish the papers re-
fiatim to tbs, Alabama and the Saxon. sod intimated that
there never had been any objection to their production. He
wished to know if it was. intended to lay the papers upon
the table tow.
Earl RUSS.f.LL —The statement of the noble earl would
be a very str: ring one if he had correctly remembered the
facto at the diecurion to which he alludes. The noble earl
lug represented me as havicg stated that the production of
the coneepiude:ce between Mr. Adams and me would be
decgenei. a+ re;...eled the public service, sod that I bad
been suprorted to that opinion by the Attorcer.Genenlaed
the N. efficers of the crown. Now, my statement, as I
recollect it, and I think I recollect it oorrectly, wm this.
I did not say that there would be any danger as related to
the • .arced States and this country, be I said the Attorney.
Ge:?ra! seas of opinion that the production of these papers I
eroC.l lead to an incomplete discussion in the House of j
Coren,iie, upon partial data and partial information, and
that therefore it would be injurious to the case of the ,
mown io a cause which was on in a court of law.
Now. I c mfess I did not feel authorised, as Secretary of
State, in giving the paper, to parliament when the prioeipal
law of of the government had told me that their
action would be injurious to the case of the moire. i
beers.)
That was an entirely different statement from
d
t which the noble earl has made—namely, that I thought 1
that there was some public danger in the production of the
papers. I'M change which bestehen place has taken place !
in the miail of the person who objected to their production.
(" Hear, ',ear." and a laugh ) It was cot I who made the ,
ObfCCIIOU on account of the foreign relation of the country.
but my nen. and learned friend the Attorney-General, who i
on recued iering the matter told lie that he bad come
to the :onc:ai:on that these papers might he pro-
duced— ix-, entirely without mischief, but without 1
the Ttilse.f•f he h.id apprehended. When his objection was
waived It. AI win waived also, because I had no other opinion
than tit. . which he stated. (Heer.) At the same time ,
I thin'. i: .a very probable that the productioa of these
papers a.L Jo some mischief. and will have some lied con-
srequei.l,.. because it seems to be thought now, what I
dln't retat :her to have been the cam in former times, that
if the croa to is proceeding in a court of law there is nothing
eo proper, jothiog so becoming. nothing no parliamentary,
as to eie.eavour to get the whole matter into the
houses el .irlianient, and thereby damage the case of
the Crowe. I am afraid that the production of them papers
will hay, something of that effect ; though the At-
torney.' .eaerid thinks the objection to their publics.
lion to , v 'IS waived. With regard to the other papers to
which the noble earl hes alluded, the cam is not quite what
he imaves S it to be. He says that papers were moved for in
the Ido..ise of Commons, and were refused ; that they were
then is-.vi'. for in this house and were at once granted.
Now, the :act is that when my noble friend moved, in very
general to es. for an account of the number of cases which
had oc,:ur.yd between this country and the United States,
I obje,:el, anti I stated, what could not have been 1
stated ...Lb regard to the pipers moved far in „
the oths. home, that there were twenty volumes I ,
of the .. already bound up is the Foreigneaffice,
that the:, was matter for tweedy more, and that the pro.
I '
diction us .dl those papers would be very inconvenient. My
noble friii•l then explained to me that what be asked for I
was not :to productios of all those papers, but an account
—it lo:;nt shout be called a list—of the cases in which
hints .....: i been made on seemed of pummel injury or lon
of pro; -r:s. I thought that a return is that form, not going
into to, • ,tails of each cado, would not be objectionable, 1
and tbe-, it might be some coevisaienes in haviog such a list.
I asked ... the Foreign-office if such a list could be prepared, ,
and I es.. told that it would take about two months :
to weirs. out. I do not propose to do more, .
except w.:h regard to a particular despatch ; and I will give
that beca ice the noble earl seems to say that it throws
some del it upon the conduct of the goveroment. It relates
to the mate of a merchant vessel who was killed. and the
questions whether the government showed a proper
anxiety to have the persons who killed him brought to
justice. i think, therefore, it is right that that despatch
should b-., +Reduced, and it will show whether or not the
goyertooeit have shove a proper activity. There is thee
not that d.fference between my colleagues in the other
house at I myself, or that difference between the I
Attorue:•,ienetil and myself, as the noble earl
imagines. The noble lord concluded by laying on the
table t.s.rs by command of her Majesty.
Lord i. 'ELMSFORD inquired whether the opinion of
the Att.ormy-Unieral had been arrived at before the debate
of Tu.-J. v.

!. replied that the commuciestion of the
Attune-..;rural was e privileged one ; he should, there.
fore. when it was made. . _

10;1 :AN V ILLE thought the discrepancy pointed out
of Jioortswe:___

Lard k. titN.kRVON instanced the case of the papers
referrin, the Suxon. They had been granted in that
tease, ti •iu;h tliey had prev:onslr been refused in the
Hi use. ,'ornmons.

Lori ' ,r:RBY thought the ground+ of the complaint bad
been fode established by Lord Russell himself.
Lord v ILMESBURIC thought that on questions of fo-
reign poll y both parliament and the public press were often
without say authentic information, and consequently very
liable to t rror. He had *toted on a former evening what be
tad him. df done in 1852 in reference to the Sleawig•Hol.
stein Trestion, and the brother of the Duke of Augustin-
-le2rg 1,3 written to him, requiring him to retract a part of
kis at- -ement. Knowing it to be correct, he bad declined to
codify o. withdraw anything he had said ; but be could Pot
prove r < ,rith without the official correspondence, which
could tio• be produced without the consent of her Majesty.
He asko I Lord Russell if the production of the correspond.
ence on the Danish question in 18:a), 1e.51, and 1a.52 would
be obj ..t-d to.
Etrl I: •fis!ELL—I have produced Ueda v some part of the
r!.:-reap ,tdence which took Owe between t Austrian, Prus-
sian. and Danish goveromerita in Is3l. in consequence of
which tt.- treaty of 1452 was made. With regard to the
it part, I should like to communicate privately
with :ha toble earl about it, because I am not aware how
far - • it eau be produced at present.
The ,a :ect then dropped.
Tli i'ASE OF CAPTAIN MELVILLE WHITE.
of CLANRICAK DE salted •hether the
iu Captain Melville Whyte's case against the
gover uorvat of Peru were likely soon to gives derision in that
matt,.

,NFIL Fa.ll this case bad been refer; ed to the
Senate..: Ha•Aurg, end it basic; been referred to them.
the s list await their decision. He would make
ie., of our co..sul at Hamburg about it.
'Lea 1.4,11.1.4 tteu adjourned at a quarter ti 6 o'clock.

Hi 1',41; OF COMMONS. -T/IrRSDAY, FEB. n.
T.., took the chair wt. I o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The .niehr.ter and Midland Railway (No. 2) Dill was
TlMad .1 v+•,.ad time.

lIWAV ANDKENTISIHTOWN JUNCTION

ROAD DILL

1,1, • notion for the second readies of this b"1,
..e that it he re •d a second :ill', ibat dr,
▪ „. H. observed that far tht lest 7.-r.rs • t‘:l
L-1 tett et Kentish Town. Not one v'.il"lie of the
Ind been paid off, sod the owners had re.
th,de 7s. 4d. per -not.
I seconded tde motion. The hill was
at,eiopt to run the dloekade no this question
• L
been :i;readv decided. The toll had been per-
teeth, Do-less to the holders of toe stock, and be rhoue:ht it
EAd. he allowed to expire, as it would do if this bill
W.1(,T.1.1FFF.. though unwilling'', general to inter-
fere s. tb the ordinary course o' proceedings io the house,
vet et.- tit would he an anomaly to continue this toll
the tolls in the district were about ,tortly to cease.
Me. V. W.III.INGTuN the boo— x0...1d Dot de-
pas t fop.. us usual course, but allow the till to be referred
to a --1,1
10.1 Fl r lA, suit he could not surrort the second
reaelinz ,if 'La bill.

Mr. U. I.EW IS oho oppoeed the second r.rlinz.
Mr. M.lSslll al.° hoped the house would a:ow the bill
out A I.llCe. To awry it further would er:y h.. to throw
good u.l..ury after had. There was Do prosee,A f the hill
through committee.. . _

Ta.[l:l,.tion for the sooood Tea liog was oegv.:Ted without
a divlNv.u.

JEW WRIT.

t to tb- mot_•on of tir.flitA Niiinew 14'74 t wag direzted
to iasuo for Hertfordshire for the electron of a tew member
in the row of Mr. Wm. Gds. Puller, deceased.

At half. past 4 o'clock Lord Pauli:Rerun entered the house,
and was loudly cheered.

POLAND.
Mr. BUTLER•JOHNSTONE miss slat be would
postpone his motion on the subAet of Poland tor • fortnight.

AIM USTI( ENT I /F TA X ATIO).;.
Mr. WHIT:: gave notice V.% 4n en early cry, he wade'
move fm a select committee v., i.. luire into tee operatics