The Press.
London, England, 1858-04-17 00:00:00

THE PRESS, APRIL 17, 1858.

Lord PALMERSTON admitted that the relationships
between landlord and tenant in Ireland required
improvement, and that the principle of compensa
tion to the latter might be beneficially adopted
under certain regulations. He objected, however,
to the bill before the house, considering it to be
much too sweeping in the changes it was calculated
to effect.

Mr. HASSARD also supported the amendment.
Mr. CAraD approved of the bill, which he thought
would tend rather to protect than invade the rights
of property.
Lord NAAS contended that the measure would re-
duce the value of land in Ireland by one-half, and
occasion a gross breach of faith to all the now pro-
prietors who had purchased property hi the Encum-
bered Estates Court.
On the motion of Mr. DEASY the debate was then
adjourned to the 9th of June.
The house rose at half•past five o'clock.

HOUSE OF LORDS-THURSDAY.
THE PASSPORT SYSTEM.

The Earl of MALMESBURY, in presenting the cor-
respondence between the English and French
Governments on the subject of passports, described
the circumstances that had occasioned it. After the

attempt on the life of the Emperor Napoleon, the
French Government withdrew the permission given to
French Consuls and agents to sign passports for
English subjects travelling in France. This, how-
ever, had been, he thought, unjustly complained of,
as it was only fair that strangers should travel with
a passport of the country to which they belonged.
The plan adopted by the English Government of
granting Foreign-office passports on the certificate
of a banker or magistrate was found insufficient,
and it had been proposed that they should issue
passports independently of the Foreign.office. But
there was no statute by which they were bound to
perform such a duty. To meet the difficulty the
Government proposed to increase the number of
persons from whom certificates of identity could be
obtained, on which application to the Foreign.office
could be made. In addition to magistrates and
hankers, as at present, all clergymen of different
Christian denominations, physicians, surgeons,
solicitors, and notaries would be authorized to certify
the identity of persons wishing to obtain passports.
He thought it impossible that in any part of England
a person could be so obscure of condition as not to
be able to apply to some one in the seven or eight
classes authorized to give a certificate. Agents
would be appointed in the chief cities to deliver the
passports of the Foreign-office ;_ and the Government
proposed to reduce the cost of those documents to
two shillings. As to the inconvenience of the regu-
lations of the late Government, he thought it had
been exaggerated, because they had not been under-
stood.
The Earl of CLARENDON explained that the regu-
lations of the late Government were only provisional.
He thought the whole system of passports a great
mistake : they afforded no protection against the very
persons the authorities wished to guard against ;
those persons always had their papers in order, and
it was the innocent or ignorant traveller who was
exposed to annoyance. This was the opinion of the
Emperor of the French, and some years since he
attempted to do away with the system, but was de.
feared by the difficulties made by his own Go-
vernment.
The Earl of DERBY laid on the table a bill embody-
ing the recommendations of the select committee of
1856 on the Ecclesiastical Commission. The bill
was read a first time.
Their lordships then adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS-THVIUDAY.
LIGHTHOUSES.

Lord C. PAGET called attention to the present
modes of superintending the lights, buoys, and
beacons on the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland,
and to the manner in which funds are raised to
defray the expenditure thereon, and moved that the
house resolve itself into a committee to consider an
address praying her Majesty to direct that measures
may be taken for giving effect to the recommenda-
tion of the select committee on lighthouses of 1845,
namely, " that all expenses for the erection and
maintenance of lighthouses, floating lights, buoys,
and beacons on the coast of the United Kingdom be
henceforth defrayed out of the public revenue."
Lord Clarence drew a comparison between the
methods adopted by France and England, giving the
preference to the former, and finally suggested means
for establishing a more efficient system of lights and
a better organization by a central board under the
immediate control of Parliament.

Mr. HENLEY said, upon the whole he believed that
the management of our system of lights was not in
so disadvantageous a position as Lord Clarence had
represented. At the same time he was not prepared
to say that under a central management the whole
expenditure might not be reduced ; but a change of
system would entail a large outlay for superannutt-
tions. The Goteruniest, he added, would be ready