The Press.
London, England, 1856-02-23 00:00:00

lis :I rtog.

LONDON, SATURDAY, FEI3. 23, 1856.

POSTSCRIPT.

ARRIVAL OF COUNT ORLOFF AT PARIS.
A telegraphic despatch from Paris on Friday
morning announces :--
Count Orloff arrive" lag night, at ten o'clock, at Paris.
He was received by M. de Seebach.

Intelligence from Berlin states :

Baron de Manteuffel has declared to the committee on
the budget that the prospect of peace was exceedingly
favorable; but that the cootinurelon of their armaments
be the belligerent parties, and the tone of Queen Victoria's
s)eech from the throne, obliged Prussia to direct her
a tension to the shores of the Baltic, to keep up her army
01 a war footing, and even to extend it if necessary.

Despatches from Hamburg, of the 21st, convey the
fallowing intelligence:—

M. Bang, Minister of the Interior for llolstein, has
followed the example of M. liaaslotf, and resigned. M.
Simony, Minister of Justice, retains his functions proci•
sionally.

Letters from St. Petersburg state :

The school of marine apprentices is to be transferred from
Nicolaieff to Cronstadt. Orders will be given to stop the
building of the vessel of the line Witicts, 130 guns, at
Nicolaietf.

The opening of the Paris Conferences is fixed for
Monday next, the 23tli instant.

Intelligence from Spain announces the formation
of the Spanish Credit Mobilier as follows :—Duke
d'Alha, president ; M. Duclerc, vice - president ;
members, MM. Carlos Calderon, of Madrid ; Emile
and Isaac Pereire, Biaio, Goubie, Duke of Glucks-
berg, and Count de Morny.

An advanced squadron of screw-frigates will
shortly proceed to the Baltic. under the command of
Captain Watson, in H.M.S. Imperieuse.

A further petition to the Queen, from the jury on
the trial of Stratton and Paul, prays for the liberation
of Mr. Bates on the plea that the allegations con-
tained in his petition are perfectly true, and that had
the facts now known to the jury been proved at the
trial, they would never have committed Mr. Bates.

Cabinet Councils were held on Saturday and on
Tuesday afternoon. The Council sat three hours
and a half and three hours and a quarter respec-
ti•ely. The whole of the Ministers were present on
each occasion, with the exception of Lord Clarendon.

A Cabinet Council will be held this afternoon at
the Foreign.office.

The Civil Service Superannuation Bill has been
printed. No person under sixty years of age will be
entitled to a superannuation allowance unless under
very special circumstances. The scale commences
with la .60ths of the salary enjoyed for not less than
ten years service, and graduates up to 46.60ths of
the salary for thirty-five years' service, beyond which
period of service no addition will be granted ; pro-
vide l that, where persons entered the service before
the sth of August,lB29,and shall have served thirty-
five years or upwards, a further addition of 1-60th
may he made for each additional year beyond thirty-
four years up to and including forty-nine years; and
where the) have served fifty years or upwards the
pension will be equal to the net amount of the salary
and emoluments of the office. The above allowances
may be increased or reduced by the Treasury under
certain circumstances, but not otherwise. The Trea-
sury may al'o grant gratuities where retiring allow-
awes are illegal. Persons aged sixty-five must retire
on their allowances, except in special cases where
the r further services may he deemed useful to the
puoitc. This act will not prevent dismissals for mis-

THE PRESS.

HOUSE OF LORDS.-FRIDAY.
LIFE PEERAGES.

Lord GLENELO moved that the following questions
should be submitted to the judges :
Whether it is in the power of the Crown to create by
patent the dignity of Baron of the Unite' Kingdom for
life? And, what rights and privileges are conferred by
such a pretext?
The noble lord remarked that after all the discus-
sion that had taken place respecting the question of
life peerages, the legality of the proceeding remained
still a matter of doubt,.and he insisted upon the ex-
pediency of referring the matter for decision to the
judges as affording the best means of settling the
point.
Lord CAMPBELL opposed the motion, contending
that the question should be decided rather by parlia •
mentary than judicial authority. There were also
practical and technical difficulties in the way of the
plan now proposed; it might not be found easy to
bring all the judges together, or possible to obtain
accordance in their opinions. In every event their
decision would be delivered too late to be available
for present purposes.
'1 he Loan CHANCELLOR supported the motion, en-
forcing the propriety of obtaining the best possible
opinion respecting the legality of life patents before
proceeding to further discussion on the subject.
The Earl of WINCHELSEA and Lord BROUGHAM
opposed the motion, which was supported by Earl
GRANVILLE.

Their lordships divided—Contents : present, 62,
proxies 49, total 111; Non contents : present 97,
proxies 45, total 142. Majority against the motion, 31.
The house then went into Committee of Privileges.
Lord LYSDHURST moved the resolution of which
he had given notice, enunciating the opinion of the
committee that neither by letters patent, nor by a
writ of summons issued in pursuance thereof, was
Lord Wensleydale entitled to sit and vote in Pulls.
ment. Drawing a distinction between the title of
nobility, which he recognised the indefet.sible prero-
gative of the Crown to confer, and the right to sit
among the peers, Lord Lyndhurst cited many au-
thorities and precedents to prove thatthe house itself
was fully entitled to decide on this latter point. He
then proceeded to argue that on the question of life
peerages their decision should be in the negative,
both for the sake of following ancient usage, and in
order to maintain inviolate the ancient constitution
and character of that branch of the Legislature.
Earl GREY moved an amendment declaring the
life patent granted to Lord Wensleydale legal, and
acknowledging his title to a seat in that house. This
amendment, if carried, be expressed his intention to
follow up by a series of re3olutions, setting forth that
the occurrence should not be drawn into a precedent,
and that precautionary measures should be provided
against possible abuse of the power to create life
peers, if that prerogative were ever to be exercised
hereafter.

Lord STANHOPE supported the mction.
The Duke of ARGYLL contended that the suggested
interference with the Royal prerogative was an act
of more questionable loyalty, and established a more
dangerous precedent, than the creation of a peerage
upon life-tenure.
Lord BROUGHAM said that during the course of the
debates all the doubts he might originally have en-
tertained on the subject had been wholly dissipated.
He was now convinced that the power to create a
life peer, so as to be also a peer of Parliament, was
entirely beyond the prerogative of the Crown; and
any patent so framed would be invalid and illegal.
Life peers were utterly unknown to our law, and
had been so at every period.

The LORD CHANCELLOR having spoken against the
resolution, their Lordships again divided.

Contents .. .. .. .. 07
Nan-contents .. .. .. .. 52

Majority for Lord Lyndhurst's motion 45
Their Lordships adjourned at a quarter past one
o'clock.

HOUSE OF COMMONS—FamAr.

EDUCATION.

In reply to Sir J. Pakington,

Lon:O.-RUSSELL stated that he should bring for-
ward certain resolutions on the subject of education
on the 6th of Match, when he would explain the
nature of his proposidon ; but that he should not
invite a vote on the subject until some more distant
day.

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