The Press.
London, England, 1858-03-06 00:00:00

THE PRESS, MARCH 6, 1858.

or short, w hen I retire I may retire without a stain upon

my public charter, and with the

that I

have not left England in a worse position than that in
which I found her.

The noble earl resumed his seat amii loud and pro-
longed cheering.

HOUSE OF LORDS-MOND kY.

Shortly before five o'clock Sir F. Thesiger took his
seat on the woolsack for the first time since his
appointment as Lord Chancellor. The Marquis of
Lansdowne, the Earl of Shaftesbury, the Duke of
Newcastle, Lord Cranwortb, the Duke of Richmond,
the Bishop of Exeter, and many other noble peers
went up to Sir Frederic immediately on entering
and congratulated him upon his new dignity. The
body of the house and the places devoted to the
accommodation of strangers were even more thronged
than on the previous Friday. Owing to the early
i&ljournment of the Commons, the side galleries set
apart for members of the Lower House were be-
sieged by eager listeners, and among the crowd
at. the foot of the throne Lord Palmerston stood
in the front rank. Sir George Grey, Mr. Labou-
chere, and Mr. V. Smith were also to be observed
in the same part of the house.
Mr. Dallas, the American Minister, and a number
of ladies occupied the galleries destined for peeresses.
The first of the episcopal benches were filled by
the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Lon-
don, the Bishop of St. Davids, and the Bishop of
Exeter.

The Duke of Cambridge took his seat on one of
the cross benches, and Lord Lyndhurst and Lord
Campbell occupied places at the Clerk's table.
On the front Opposition bench were to be seen
Earl Granville, the Earl of Clarendon, the Marquis
of Lansdowne, the Duke of Argyll, Lord Stanley of
Alderley, Lord Panmure, Lord Cranworth, and the
Marquis of Clanricarde, and on the same side of the
house the Earl of Westmorland, Lord Brougham,
Lord Wensleydale, Earl Grey, and the Earl of
Shaftesbury.

At ten minutes past five o'clock the Earl of Derby
entered, and was almost immediately followed by the
Earl of Ellenborough and the Earl of Malmesbury.
The Ministerial benches were also occupied by
Lord Colchester, the Earl of Hardwicke, the Earl of
Donoughmore, the Earl of Carnarvon, and the
Marquis of Salisbury. The Duke of Richmond and
the Earl of Cardigan were observable among Lord
Derby's sapporttrs, of whom there was a very strong
muster.

The Earl of SHLFTESBURY presented several peti-
tions from members of the Established Church,
to allow the Gospel to be preached without let or
hindrance.

THE SLAVE TRADE.

Lord BROUGHAM, after a considerable flourish
about the importance of the subject ho was about to
introduce to the notice of their lordships, put a
question to the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs on the subject of slave trade returns.
(Laughter from the side galleries and the bar.) :

If anything can make me repent of the resolution which
I began by announcing—namely, that I should only put
the simple question to my noble friend without detaining
your lordships one instant—it is the indecorous proceeding
which we have just witnessed—(laughter, and cries of
" Order !"—and, if repeated, means will be taken to pre-
vent the possibility of a third act of the same sort, because
at one instant, and as a matter of course, this house will be
cleared of all but your lordships.

The Earl of MkLMESBURY replied, that as only
three days had passed since her Majesty had placed
him in the situation in which he now stood, it was
impossible to give an answer relative to a subject
connected with the Foreign-office. The returns
should be placed on the table without loss of time.

Lord DERBY then rose and delivered his speech
explanatory of the policy of her Majesty's Ministers.
For the details of that speech we must refer our
readers to p. 220.

Earl GRAXVILLE, in reply, claimed credit on behalf
of the Government to which be bad belonged for having
performed some services and achieved some sue-
cesses. They had finished the Russian war with a
victory which he found much more highly appre-
ciated in St. Petersburg than in England. The
Persian war was concluded also successtully and
with little loss, and active measures taken,
with eminent success, to send reinforcements to
India for the suppression of the sepoy mutiny. De-
fending the late Ministry on the question of the
Conspiracy Bill, he maintained that the vote against
them had been passed by a combination whose
elements were altogether incoherent and discordant
among themselves.
The Earl of CLARENDON enlarged on the diplo-
matic difficulty presented in consequence of the
Walewski despatch, and explained in much detail
the motives that had impelled the late Ministers in
the course they bad adopted. It would, he said,
have been easy, and was indeed tempting, to answer
that missive, and send a reply which would have


223

read well in a blue-book, but the• Government at the
time thought it most judicious to leave the despatch
without formal answer. He read, however, extracts
from various correspondence with Lord Cowley,
alleging that they proved that the honour of Eng-
land, and especially the sacred right of asylum, had
throughout been carefully vindicated.
The discussio❑ then closed, and their lordships
adjourned at a quarter past eight o'clock.

HOUSE OF COMMONS—Momir.
NEW WRITS.

On the motion of Sir W. JCLLIFFE, new writs were
ordered to issue for the northern division of North-
umberland, in the room of Lord Lovaine, Lord of
the Admiralty ; for the borough of Chichester, in the
room of Lori H. Lennox, Lord of the Treasury ; and
for the borough of Enniskillen, hi the room of Mr.
Whiteside, Attorney-General of Ireland.
On the motion of the same hon. member it was
agreed that the house on rising should adjourn until
Friday, the 12th inst.

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.

Mr. G. A. Mini:row informed the house that on
Friday, the 12th of March, it was intended to go into
committee of supply and to take the army and navy
estimates. The house, of course, was aware that it
was vet), material some votes should be taken in
supply in order that the Mutiny Bill might be intro-
duced, and also with a view to enable a resolution to
be adopted in Committee of Ways and Means, in
order to meet the exigencies of the public service.
The further
- - _ . _ _

of the India Loan Bill
was postponed, after some conversation, until Friday
week.

The house adjourned a few minutes before five
o'clock.

NOTICES OF MOTION.

110?IDAY.

The Marquis of CL►xatcAßDE—that 011 the 15th Instant he
would make a statement and call the attendon of the house to
certain manors relating to himself.
Mr. Roitaucic—that on the 25th of March he should move the
resolution of which he had given notice, that " in the opinion
of this house the office of I.ord•Lieutenant of Ireland ought to
be abolished." . . .

Mr. BRADY—that on the 15th instant he should move for a
return of the expense attendant upon the prosecution of the
British Bank directors. _ _

Mr. SLANET—that on the 18th instant he would move for the
appointment, of a standing committee to report upon the best
means of improving the condition of the wor►ing classes.
Mr. Lanais— that upon the motion fox the adjournment of
the house on Friday, the 12th instant, he shoat call atten-
tion to the report of the commission upon the sanitary state of
the army, especially to that part which related to the foot
guards stationed in London.
Mr. W. EWART—that on the 15th instant he should submit to
the house a motion respecting the colonisation of Jodie.
Mr. M. Mtiates, in the absence of the Ministers of the Crown,
postponed the mot:on of which he had given notice r'apecting
the vexatious attaching to the new passport regulation.