The Express.
London, England, 1864-07-02 00:00:00

DENMARK.- MINISTERIAL EXPLANATION.

Lord BURGHLEY asked the First Lord of the Treasury
wisther he weld explain the statement which appeared in
the Tina of Tuesday, the 28th of June, to the effect that
the President of the Council of the Lower House of the
Itigsread, in answer toe question upon the conference, made
the following reply :—" The Danish Plenipotentiaries were
instructed to accept the line of demarcation of the Schlei,
and to agree to a fortnight's prolongation of the armistice,
should England firmly adhere to that line. Earl Russell
promised that neither would he make • proposal himself, nor
support the proposal of any other plenipotentiary which
would be lees favourable to Denmark, unless Denmark her-
self should consent to such new proposslL Earl Russell,
nevertheless, proposed, in the sitting of the conference on
the 18th, that the question should be submitted to erbitra•
Lion, although Denmark did not consent to this proposal."

Viscount PALMERSTON—Sir, there is se iaeonsistescy
between the statement of my noble friend and the course
which he took. The statement is not absolutely accurate ;
for it is very easy to substitute one word for soother, and
thereby to altar the meaning. My noble friend did not say
that he would make so proposaL What he said was that
if the Danes would agree to the line of the Seidel, be would
not himself propose any other line or support any other line
proposed by any other plenipotentiary. To that engage-
ment be adhered. When at last it was found that the
Danes would not consent to a line north of the Scblei, and
the Germans would not consent to any line south of
Amstrad*, it then became necessary either to give up the
whole thing in despair, or to make that proposal
in concert with the other neutral pore:l which my noble
friend did propose—namely, not a proposal for
another line, but that au arbiter should determine the
question between the parties. That arbiter might have de-
termined in favour of the line of the Schlei, or of the line of
Apenrade, or of some line intermediate. Unless my noble
friend was prepared to altheate entirely all his tenting it
was impossible for him not to have made another proposal.
I may take this opportunity to explain a matter which has
been mismiderstood with respect to the statement of my
noble friend is the House of Lords the other day—namely,
that beoceforward no trust could be reposed in the German
pewees. I know that that has hurt the feelings of the per-
sons concerned, and it has been interpreted in a
way not intended by my noble friend. My noble
friend by no means meant to assert that the Germans powers
were not trustworthy, as if they were not truthful or
sincere in their intentions. What my noble friend meant
to say—as the context of his statement clearly showed—was
that the German powers had on more than one occasion
been driven from their original intention by pressure which
they were unable to resist; and that therefore you could
not be sure that any intention on their part, however sin-
cere, and however truthfully stated at the time, was one
that they would be able to maintain against the pressure
that might be put upon them. That was the meaning
of my aoble friend, and I am sure that he is himself very
sorry that words spoken by him should have been inter-
preted in • different sense, and should have given pain
to parties fur whom ray noble friend and her Majesty's
government have reason to feel consideration and respect.

Mr. NEWDEGATE—Do I understand the noble lord to
say that the line of the Schlei and the Dannewerke was the
line proposal by the noble earl and supported by the
neutral powers?
Lord PALMERSTON—Yea ; that appears from the
protoella
The Speaker then left the chair.
SUPPLY.

The house then west into committee of supply, sad
greed to the votes is Class 7 of the civil service estimates.
. .

a committee of the whole house on the Thames Em-
bankment and Metropolis improvement (Loans),
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved re-
solutions, authorising the Commissioner, of the Tresaury to
guarantee the repayment of say money that may be bor-
rowed wider the Thames Embankment and Metropolis Im-
provement Acts, with the interest thereon, and to c►ose
advances to be made out of the consolidated fund of such
mums as may be necessary for the repayment of each prin-
cipal and interest; and that the Commissioners for the Re-
duction of the National Debt be authorised to advance the
money which the Metropolitan Board of Works isautborised
to raise. He explained the object and effect of the repo-
lutioes.

A discussioti followed, in which Lord R. Montagu, Lord
J. Manners, Mr. T. Miller, Mr. Kiouaird, and Mr. Alder-
man Salomotis took park
The resolutioos were ultimately agreed to.
The Factory Acta Extension Bill, the Enclosure (No. 1)
Bill, and the Railway, (Ireland) Acts Ameoduieet Bill were
mad the third time and mused.
The Craubourne-street Bill passed the committee.
The Indemnity Bill was read a second time.
The Drairsage and Improvement of Laud (Ireland) Bill
went through committee.
TESTS ABOLITION (OXFORD) BILL.
On the motion for the third reading of this bill,

Sir W. HEATHCOTE moved that it be reed • third
time that day three months. He said the objecta of the bill
and its probable result. bad been so frilly discussed before
that be did not intend to go into them oe that occasion, but
he desired to call the attention of the house to the
course of proceeding with respect to the measure, sod the
result to which he thought the house ought to come as
growing out of that proceeding. When the question was
before discussed, members were divided into three sections-
First, there was his hon. friend who introduced the bill, and
those who agreed with him, who were of opinion that no
alteration should be made in it ; and on the opposite side
there was ao opi Mon that the diffietdties of legislation were
out of all proportion to ally advantage that would be de-
rived from the removal of any grievance. but than who be-
longed to the latter party would not object to ameedments,
though they had no intention of originating any themselves.
There was another important section headed by the Secre-
tary of State for the Home Department and the Chancellor
of the Exchequer, who, objecting to the bill as it stood, ne-
vertheless thought that it might be rosily amended so as to
become a useful measure. Ns ammidmeats. however, were
proposed ; sod the [notice to commit the bill was resisted
on that very amount Still the house determined that it
would go into committee, because there might even then be
ameadmente suggested, although notice of none hail been
Firms. Well, the bill had now arrived at its last stage, and
tt remained in the form is which it had been originally
brought in. He made no complaint, on that
score, but be did couteod that he had • right
to the votes of the gentlemen who had avowed
their opinion that the bill ought to have been ascended.
It would then be for the hon. geotleman (Mr. Dodson) to
ooasiler whether be would not, is a future eeeaion, rein-
troduce Ids measure is a shape more likely to secure the
assent of parliament. The bill would not put Oxford in
at all the same position as Cambridge—(hear, hear)—on
the contrary, he considered that it would Place it in a
muds worse one, (Cheers.)
The hones divided on the question that the word "sow"
stead pert of the questioe—

Ayes l5O
Nees l4O-10
This result was received with loud sheen.
The SPEAKER thus put the quietism that the !AU be
reed a third time.

Lord It. CECIL said the bons* had come to a division
rather more rapidly than had been expected, in couswincoce
of the remarkable coarse which had been pursued by her
Majesty's government. (Loud opposition cheers.) The
house would remember that the government had been placed
io a position of some embarrassment. The Home Secretary
who, be observed, had just returned to tb e house—(load cup°.
aka cheers)—and the Chi noallor of the Exchequer had stated
that they did not approve of the most important clause in
the bill. They objected to what they wars pleased to term
"indiscriminate ',Ginter* ;" and though they wished to
see the clauses struck out which enabled persons who were
not members of the church of England to vote in cony°•
catioa, they said they would support the bill on account
of clauses of very inferior importance ; and they pre the
bones to understand that they would support amendments
in committee. (Hem) the government gave the house to
understand that it would not support a bill which would
head over the governmeat of the anivernaty to disseatieg
masters of arta. He thought the right hon. gentleman the
member fur the University of Oxford was about on that
occasion. (Mr. Gladstone was understood to dissent.) He
begged the right hon. gentleman's pardon. He was coa-
structing somewhat of an extenuation for him. (Uproar.)
Hoc. members opposite having snapped a division should
not try to prevent him from speaking. The bill bad
not bee° discussed on the third roadie( and surely
the handle; over of an ancient university of this country
was a question on which the Howe of tornmoiw should de-
liberate before it came to a final decision. (Hear, hear.) He
wasted to draw attention to the conduct of the Se,retary of
State for the Home Department, who, having abstained
from moving amendments, and being the representative of
the government for the parponse of this bill, ow the quer