The Express.
London, England, 1852-04-07 00:00:00

PUBLIC BUSINESS.

PETITIONS PRESENTED.
MAINOO7II Y.ronwxlNT ACT.—By Sir J. Y. BIM- I
LER, from Plymouth; Sir R. INGLIS, from the arch- i
ilescoary of Leaden; Mr. COWAN. from ministers and
dimes. of the free chant of Firth ; against.
Catania Pimact.—By Lord HOT HAM, hem a piece
the Hoot Riding of Yorkshire, against the te•totol of.
Tates ox ICARMLIDOI.—B7 Mr. H. BERKELEY,
hem Y lines Society of Brawl; lir. °EACH. from
Geeing ; llr. lIEYWORTH, from latemshire; for re-
peal of.
MU .111.4 Btu..—By Mr. PINNEY, from Warnacombc,
he flimerreet ; Alderman HUMPHERY, from Southwuk,
SO"-
ItcCUIstAirrICAL TITLa. BILL.-13, Mr. O.IIIOOINB,
bele Us with of Aughagawly, in the county of Mayo,
for repent
Tsxawy Riairr BILL.—By Mr. 0. HIGGINS, from
perish« of Knock, Augharnare, Adrigooles sad ether
places in the county of Mayo, in &veer et
07 Pontius finateat En.L.—By Gamed
THOMPSON, from the seamen of the pert at
praying that the house will appoint a ememille• W beak*
let° tho canon of desertion of merchant masa la Auslip
ports, and reject the bill for the extradition of 41111111111111.
Toirrimi LAsiL STAMM—By XIIIITZ, has
Charles Maybury Archer, gentleman, estdro bulb Oft Is
December tart be became, through the modime et perles-
tous discovery, possessed of means and inhemellim maw
hted to show the total insecurity of the babel
stamps, and of their liability to be s amairr-
kited. That he was in possession of etopnwoMlt,
woM
and had suggestions fur improvements r mete he few
bonen with the system, and praying to be mobs& below
the committee now sitting upon this, and mho reirirs
his prosecution of patent for impute:Rents Y detedieg
sad cutting pastor stamps sad ethos. artisiss riedsollarms.
AMU( BEMENT OP THZ BOUM
Mr. F. MACKENZIE, at 14 alades_ jpare her, forred
that the home, at its rising, adjoute to Kyrie& Se Ds
instant
_ . . . .

Soot; minutes after the Damian had been pot ad ogromi to,
Mr. °MANVILLE BERIEELKY rose on a paint of
order. He wished to know whether it sus in scam the
Chancellor of the Enhequer having pima • settee ea the
'ewer fur hatpin four to move Me mijoemmont
hour. for the Easter meow, fur another mamba of the go-
retuning to get up half an hour before the limo Iliad to
make that moths?
The SPEAKER Mated it wee quite empottell he say
hon. gentlemen to make dot .Mhos, eel It me obi teet•
petent to my his.. reetionea to oppose it. TM 'sedan
hoeing to. en node. sad no objection being offered, it passed
u it matter of swot.
NOTICES OF MOTION.

Mr. EWART gave notice that on the order of the day
being moved for going into committee on the civil service
estimates he should ask attention to the expediency of in-
stituting examinations as a test of the conpeteney of candi-
dates for appointments in the diplomatic service. Also, that
on the order of the day being moved for gang into com-
mittee on the British Museum estimates be ahoald ender-
•sur to show the expediency of forming one or more
libraries freely open to the public in the metropolis.
Mr. HEYWOOD—A resolution on the subject of the re-
moval of the Crystal Palace, after the mess.
Sir DM LACY EVANS —On the Vnd, for leave to bring
is a bill to emend the act of Was. IV. fur the regulation
dvestries.
Mr. W. WILLIAMS—A resolution for paying the PM
re•enue into the Exchequer, leaving the costs of collection
to ne provided try a •,.,..,r Wee hew, after the sews,.
Sir B. HALL, for Mr. Hossnau—A motion in reference
to the appointment of the lice. Mr. Bennett to the vicarage
of Frotne.

biU to allow reasonable re-
fet.hruent to counts voters. after the recess.
Mr. EWART —To call attention to the necessity of
establi.hing public libraries In the metropolis.
PUULIC ADMISSIOZITR VIE ROUSES OF PAR-

IA iitE:NY

Sir DE L. EVANS, pursuant to notice, put a question
to the First Commissioner of Works, whether the public
will be permitted to view the interior of the House of Com-
mons luring the Easter adjournment ?
Lori I. MANNERS had made inquiry as to the ob.
at ale. ti the admission of strangers to the House of Com-
WM., and he was happy to say that on Saturday last those
ob.tacles were removed, and strangers were now admitted
to the House of Commons as well as the House of Lords.
With regard to their admission during the Easter vacation
the committee on lighting and ventilating the house bad
reported in favour of certain alterations, which would be
carried on daring the recess, and which he believed would
he impeded if the public were admitted. Subject, however,
to that hindrance, admission would h, allowed.
THE LOSS OF THE BIRK ENIIEU) TROOP
Mr. ADDERLEY inquired of his right hen. friend the
Secretary for the Colonies whether he was in a position to
give the house any information relating te the disastrous
report in the papers of the day of the lose of the ship Bit,
bertes,' on hi r mirage to the Cape with Irons, and as to
the cause, of that lees. And also %halter, considering the
news his right hon. friend had just received of the state of
the war at the Cape, there was say hope of whet the noble
lord opp Ade called the humans system of conducting that
war Veiling to a cessation of bloodshed ?
Sir J. PAK I NOTON—My information in regard to the
melancholy *vent referred to in my hon. friend's first ques-
tion is derived from the same source as that of my hon.
fn' rid, ,is,, the piddle newspipers. lam sorry to say that
no despatch has been received at the Colonial-Deice, throw-
icor any locht on either of the two questions.
SEIZURES OF PUBLICATIONS BY BELGIUM.
Mr. Id ILN ES put a question in reference to the recent
seizure of publications belonging to a British subject. Mr.
Jetts. from the Sob. steamer, by the Belgian government.
The CHANCELLOR et the by
stated that
the pablitatioar were for tits most part French news-

and were contraband Mier an old Belem 'AL
papers,
wrong sustained by the admire of the aatilius
Frelsrais, the editor of which had hem promeded 'against
and acquitted subsequently, Kr. his moat proceed in the
Belgian courts.
THE BUSINESS OF HOUSE.—THE
ADJOPHafEd
Lad J. RUSSELL, w%e the home Wag-
quatly le the pissinget the M adjourning the
hems he the hada" add be madooMmil that the Chan-
Wka of the Ismhemwaa tare the adjournment for
the ImAse ester at poet frac, mil state what business
govenemeed latmated torment with an the remeembling
of the howls.
hie CHANCELLOZ of the EXCHEQUER—I came
down as mho the mean asserMai to the notice I gave,
but found that it had eke* been moved by somebody
else. IMk only say that 1 way much regret that it should
Lave so centered. Hear. bear.)
Laid J. RUSSELL—Zoe the right hon. gentleman
my Intention to propose mynahs for giving orders of the
day pemodems ewe modem, with a view to facilitate the
Opal& lemboas
PETHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—In magi-
daft the question how the public business may be best
end, we naturally keit not only to the convenience of
the government, but to the privileges of independent mem-
bers ; and I have felt that great sacrifices are often entailed
on such lumbers by resolutions of the nature suggested by
the noble lord ; and under present circumstances I should
be sorry to trench en the privileges of private members
without duo consideration. But before the house meets
again, I will consider the matter more maturely, and
will then propose a motion which I hope will have the effeej
desired—of facilitating the progress of business, without
trenching materially on the rights of private members.
(hoar, bear)
GENERAL BOARD OF HEALTH REPORT.
_

In reply to Mr. T. Dusconen,
Mr. Seaetary WALPOLE stated that the Report of the
Board of Health had been received, but he bad not laid it
on the table as he had some doubt whether it was drawn up
according to the conditions of the act of parlianient,bringing
under consideration, as it did, • variety of questions con-
nected with the Metropolitan Interments Act, and the
reasons why it had not been put into operation. Ile found,
however, that be had no option but to lay it en the table,
bathe felt it right to make this explanation.
MILITIA BILL.

Sir DE L. EVANS observed that he taw no reference
in the Militia Bill to the questions of substitutes and ex-
emptions. Were the repletion's on these subjects to be the
tame as in former Militia Acts.
Mr. Secretary WALI'OLE stated that the regulations in
the former acts would ho maintained ; ho had stated the
other night that he could either embody all the existing
militia acts in one, or make a reference to them In a sepa-
rate clause, and that he thought it better to adopt the latter
course, end a clause would be incorporated enumerating
all the provisions of existing acts, except so far as it was
not intended to renew them.
COURTS OF EQUITY.
Mr. IIEADLAI asked if there was any intention on the
part of the government to allow any puldic money to be
expended in providing new courts at Westminster?
Lord J. MANNERS said that, some three or four months
ago, with the sanction of Lord 'from and her Majesty's
government, temporary courts were commenced to replace
those which had been removed. Those temporary courts
were, he believed, nearly complete, and probably they
would be flt fur the rmeption of the judges at the commence-
ment of the next term ; but it mast be obvious to the hon.
and learned gentleman, that the fitting up of those tempo-
rary courts did not include the general question which ho
had now submitted, as to the maintenance of the courts at
Westminster, or their removal to Lincoln's Inn. With re-
spect to the question, whether he had authorised the ex-
penditure of public money, he supposed that the charge for
these temporary courts would naturally fall on the Exche-
quer, but her Alajesty's government had not formed any
opinion as to the advisability or otherwise of removing the
courts permanently to Lincoln's Inn.
Sir L. O'BRIEN wished to ask the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, whether he will feel justified, the Repayment
of Advances Acts Amendment Dill having been read a
scrawl time, in releasing the moneys which have been re.
tensed in the hands of the treasurers of the poor law unions,
to await the fate of this ball, after the example of what was
done by the prime minister in the case of the Rate in Aid,
when the treasury advanced 100,000 i., on the faith of that
bill, after its second reading?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said his

.....
recollection of what the noble lord (Lord J. Russell) did in
the instance of the rate in aid was not exactly in accordance
with the statement of his hon. friend. His hon. friend
assumed that the 100,0001. was advanced by the late minis-
ter on the faith of the Rate in Aid Bill being read a second
time. His (the Chancellor of the Exchequer's) recollection of
the matter was that that amount was to be advanced on the
faith of the rate in aid, but that the biU was to be read and
passed be both houses of parliament Wan the advance was
made. The advance was not madams the soma reading of
the bill which established the rate in aid, tut It we. made
whets that bill was passed in anticipation of the rate in aid.
The house, therefore, would see that there wee so analogy
between the two cues. He knew that la the farms b,
stance the noble lord mid he would not MOO to whams
1,0004, but he did not uppeee that wan weld satisfy his
hon. f.-iend. (Laughter.) Men se anolgu between the
awes, aad not burg pregoted, man If the ortelay were
uraragete. sempt a igmedint ereatel each
n eitengoehmewt, be eeull act laid eat any hope
that he huh imigtion as abases when the had Nay
been good a mend due.

Mr. CLIIIIIII3ITS whirl to tow when the gemewsmat
intended is pissed oda the Repayment of Advisers Bill ?
The CRARCELLOR dtbs EXCHEQUER mid that,
in seam of regesewatatione made by Imm. moorhen
ewsmMi with Imbed, he was not permed to es dots
esaimittes with the ME that night. It would Uweehme he
postponed till after the
Mr. CLEMENTS tetb illiege to brew am wIM ley the
' right has. gelidness proposed to rewash* the emiderstios
of the bill.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER end my
that he found very great dilleult/ IF pleasing the ashen
for Ireland. (Laughter.) He WA inteaded MN the WU
Mould go into eimmittee that !debt, bat, vogratistilitos
bolos been made that it world be most intsmodost to
tom Irish merabere to attend, ea their Seetewee he bed sup
toaloi to a poet eat. If dome hem ammolere bed re.
naked, he shield hove been tube pmt aga to maid.
hem.)
LOSS OF THE BIRKENHEAD, GOVERNMENT
STEAMER. . _
. .

Mr. ADDERLEY wished to know whether any infor-
mation had been received by the Admiralty relating to the
Birkenhead steamer, respecting which such disastrous
news had arrived ; and whether they could inform the house
as to the number of souls on boanl that steamier when she
left England; also, whether they could communicate to the
house the latest intelligence which had been received re-
specting the Hydra and the Megtera.
Mr. STAFFORD said, at half-past 10 that morning he
received, nut by official comununiSation, but by telegraph in
the ordinary way, information of this distressing event. He
immediately telegraphed to Sir John Ommanney at Fly
month, desiring him to communicate the circumstances of
the meet. No answer having been remind from Sir John
Isp r Iselipme 2, a letter was despatebed making him to
Mans the MESON of this delay, and till an answer came it
would bt pr mature in him (Mr. Stafford) to give any
account. He waited at the Admiralty until the last
moment (half-put four o'clock), and no official eons.
ssmuleation had then been received. The number of
souls on board the Birkenhead wo, ho believed, upwards
of sir hundred. With regard to the other two vessels
to which his hen. friend alluded, he would observe
that the Hydra sailed from Deronport on the 10th of Febru-
ary, was heard of at Madeira on the 12th and at Sierra
Leone on the 2nd of March ; and that the Megmra sailed
from Madeira on the 29th of January, having been in some
degree delayed there, and was seen at sea and communi-
cated with by the Bosphorus in latitude 28.13 north, and
longitude 18.18 west. This was all the information he pea-
seabed.