The Express.
London, England, 1865-03-17 00:00:00

FELONY AND NIEDEREANOUR EVIDENCE AND

PItLOTIOS BILL

Lied CHELIISPZIRDiiOesiIifie sealed readies of this
MIL Its wired* object wee to meimilate the proceedings
to criminal came Se those tibia leek place in civil &otiose.
Whas a imalar alterehlea teak place with regard to
'toil actions it wee eseteeded the effect would be
to leagthm the trial, hat be did not think that
bed bees the result, sad it was now osed to
Ist/edam into OTililiSll Was that mode ol addieseieg &jury
which had boom found to work so well in civil echoes. la
the year 1860 • similar bill was emit up from the House of
Oommosa. That hill was opposed by his noble sod leaned
hilted Lard Wensleydale, hut it eventually pawed, cep-
taisies, however, • skeet, the imeetion of which proved
fatal se the bill I. the other house. Lord Weealeydele
pommel the& the searmies op it °mead should only be
permitted if the judge theesid the evidence required to be
commented apes, but • sable friend Deer him said that was
placing the Judgefa a moat invidious position. He
trusted their lordehips would ofer no oppoeitrce to the pre-
met mauve.
The LORD CHANCELLOR would prefer that the &mi-
llion should be given to the judge as to whether the pri•
soser's counsel should be permitted to be up, because it
would ohm harp= that there would he eo necemity Ike
such Picoesillac It wee very desirable that the rebrie el
proosdnre aliwald be maimilated is civil and criminal cam
mad he supported the mooed maim expresaing, however,
at the same time his opiaion that some alteration might
be desirable wham the bill got foto committee,
21141 bill wee thee nod nosed time
INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITIONS BILL.
The bill was she rad a woad time oa the motion of
Earl Sr.
BANKRUPTCY A 258 INROI!NENST (IRELAND)

AOT TICENDIUINT BILL:
The tided ectramithe on this NE was sentiadaL
BRITISH KAFFRARIA BILL.
On the motion of the Drake of Amur% this ball was reel
a third time and peened.
MIAOW AND PRIMA.
Lord STRATFORD DE REDOLIFFE rose Is puresenes
el • maim he placed ea tits table a few days ago. to put
=sticea to the government ea to the state of areal sego-
rewriting the joint bouedery of Turkey and Penh,
and to move for papers relating to the construction of aa
"SOW map of the frostier.
Earl RUSSELL, who wee almost wholly inaudible, Was
gaderitood to my that the .abject to which the noble
lord had drawn atteatioe wee no doubt one
of considerable interest, that the negotiations had
aodoubtedly lasted a comidenble time, and were still pro-
goodie'. The ocuetreetion of the map wan a week which
wee still to occupy a great deal el thee, and it had been •
rums of considerable diflculty. The work was begun in
1843, when British aommiesirmeee were appointed to act
with those of Russia for the purpose of the settlement of
these disputes. Is the year 1847 the treat, of Erwroum
wee eaclnded, sad epee that the two governmeste of
Ramis and Greet Britain agreed to act is harmony to ad-
vising the governments of Persia and Turkey with respect
tei the questions then pending between them. The noble
bed mu perfectly correct in dating that this was a
subject of vast importance to this mushy, es
amount of the elect which a war between
Neill sad Turkey mut have upon our commerce.
There had bees a great deal of oorreepoodence on the sub-
ject, but delays bad frequently arisen, and he had from
time to time made similar inquiries to that of the noble
lord. Aeccordiag to the hat accounts which he had received
the work would be oempletted by the sod of the present
month. As regarded the roadies of expense, he could not
promise to pubbeh the sires,, as the cost incurred wee
already very great, animahrog altogether to 57,1001. Be
would usdutske that the papers Mould be produced ea
• mom am pondlate.
Lord STRATFORD DE REDOLIFFE said the answer
appeared to him quite eatidestory. As to the exposes, it
. should be recollected that the surrey was one of pest ist-
podium in a ammonia poist of view.
The motion was then withdraws.
The bosun adjourned at NI minutes to 7 o'clock.

HOUSE OF OOMMONEt—Tavasper, MancHl6.
The SPRAILIA took the disk at • few minutes to 4 o'clock.
The Coke Volley and Halstead Railway Bill was read •
thud time and pawed.
FORGED SIGNATURES TO PETITIONS.
Mr. C. FOBSTER brought up • report from the com-
mittee on petitions, which was reed by the clerk at the
table. [lt stated that the committee had strong grounds
for believing that many of the signatures to •
petition presented from inhabitants of Westmin-
ster in reference to the claim of Areem Jab were
forgeries, and that they had also re.non to
believe that the sigeatures to many petition. on the same
subject were fictitious.]
Mr. COX mid that bark' had charge of two of the pet'.
lime be wished to my that before be presented them he
adopted the Name course which he did with all other
petitions he wee entrusted with—endeavoured, so far se he
*odd, by examination, to we that the signeturee were
geennts. He thought the committee ought to have stated
the grenade on which they believed these particular sips-
tame were forgeries. It was impossible for a man always
to moortnin whether the sigaimures to petitions he presented
were genuine or not. (Hoar, bear.)
Mr. BONHAM-CARTER said that during 18 yeas' experi-
ence, in the committee he sever saw so groin • fraud as that
of the petition in question. The petition upon the has of
it was fraudulent from first to last. (Hear.) The very first
name was a forgery. This being within the knowledge of
the committee, they were boned to bring the matter before
the house ; but there was not the slightest ground for mu-
lls:slit in doing re they prejudiced the motion which was
en uently debated.
Sir .8 fi ELLEY said be promoted the petition onmplained
of, hut was of tonne unaware that the names attached to it
were forgeries. Representing a large constituency, it was
impossible he could ascertain the poninenese of the sips-
tares to all the petitions be received for presentative. He
hoped the house would take some course to prevent the
abuse of a most important privilege, and to protect hon.
members from being plead in the position in which be had
been is this OWL
The petition' was then ordered to be laid upon the table.
QUALIFICATION OF CHEMISTS AND DRUGGISTS.
Sir J. SHELLEY gam notice that as Tuesday mat
he should MOW* for leave to bring in abillto regulate the
qualification of chemists and druggists in England and
ake.
MONASTIC AND CONVENTUAL ESTABLISHMENTS.
Mr. NEATE gave notice that on the first day of the
meet* of the house afire the Easter recast, if the bowie
had not received &AWN:May insurance as to the proper
treatment of insane inmates in monastic and conventual
setablishoteata, be would move a resolution calling Pe bar
Msjesty's goveniroset to preemie those who may already
batie appeared to have wised illegelly in that matter.
HOLIDAYS IN DOCKYARDS.
Mr. FERRAND asked the Secretary to the Admiralty
why the men in Demeport Dockyard were not paid in
money for the extra hours they work instead of getting
holiday time in lien thereof ; and, what number of hours
attn. time the men worked last year, and what holidays
they were compelled to take is lien thereof ?
Lord 0. PAGET said as • rule the artificers and labourers
In the dockyards when employed for extra time were paid
for such extra employment. There were these exceptions,
that oorasimally they asked for a holiday. and when they
did so the great majority were desirous of being allowed to
week extra time before baying such holiday. No doubt
there were rases whom • minority would prefer not having
a holiday, but it was clear the yards could not be kept
epic, and all the fires kept going for the sake of lupin a
few of the men employed. There were likewise rare came
when the mea were obliged to work extra time
tidal work, where • ship hid to be put into
desk, or taking her out of dock, and as a rule the men who
did that extra work were allowed so many hours' holiday on
the following day, but as • rule all mimes employed extra
beers retrieved extra pay, and be was not aware that say
complaint had been made of that arrangement.
THE watrwowre AND ARMSTRONG GUNS.
Mr. H. BAILLIE asked the Under Secretary of State
far War whether, in the competition which had been per.
ried on between Armstrong sad Whitworthgnea, they had
been tested by oblique Mag.
The Marquis of HARTENGTON said the arrangements
for the competition between the Armstrong and Whitworth
gime had been entirely left to the commission. Since the
emotion had been put uppoon the paper, be had inquirer'
Into the subject, and usdeentood that the experiment to
which the honourable member referred was about to take
pima.

- -
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN GUARDS AND
PASSENGERS ON RAILWAYS.
Sir W. GALLWEY asked the Preaident of the Board of
Trade whether his attesters had been directed to a letter in
the Tunes newspaper yesterday, desoribiug an accident on
the Onset Western Railway. which might bare been
attended with moat dreadful results, and whieb strongly
showed the neeemity of • commusieation between
the passengers in • railway train and the guard.
The hon. member thee read the bitter, which
stated that be lett Oxford by the 5.30 train,
which stopped only thee as the way, namely, at Reeding ;
that shortly after leaving Reading they were startled by the
jerking of the carriage. On looking oat of the window he
Maw sparks dying from the of the wheels, and pen:mired a
throes smell of Are. He and the other passengers did all
Is their power by shouting to all the attention of the
guard or the driver to the mrenmetesice, bat in vain ; that
the same alarm was felt by the pump's in other str-
=Tand they also shouted to the guard, but in vain ;
he very moment they reached the static at Paddies-
hr the wheel dew off. The queries he wished to pet to
the right boa. gortierso was, bow sorb longer they were
terrors War his Musses or the Jarrow of sore mew
her of the geveromer was brought to bear in order to na-
dir it penal to in Iris without say othimusicatias be-
tween amok and
Yr. M. 01131101=16.1: gaits syworatbired with the
hobs. of the prorogue who were abut op is the railway
seriege without soy mem el eseasoialcatieg with the
par. Hot when the btu loner earl him how beg

-"7"-

they were to wait moth means of communisation between
the pemengen and the guard were edopted, be could sot
amour the question. That eubjeth was one tibia' would
come before the mnamillikel ITRotated to inquire into the
railway system of the country, They would take evidence
as to whether it was practicable to secure moos effectually
the safety of the public traveling es railways. Until they
had made their inquiry we must be cutest to wait pa-
tiestly
Sir W. GALLWEY asked whether the question of woo-
mennicatios was included in the terms of reference to the
oommissice
Mr. M. GIBSON said not in terms, but the gourd gum.
line of safety was, sad he concluded that the oommia-
! noun would feel it their province to (squire into that
subject.
Coloeel DICKSON asked whether the comotisiosen were
likely to come to say decision whine the next two years.
and whether the public were to wait for any change until
that time.
Mr. H. GIBSON said he must decline to speculate es
the time the coonniesioners would take. He concluded they
would make fall inquiry, and take whatever time 11112
INCIONSI7.
NEW ZEALAND.
On the order of the day for going into committee of
"Cl J.y,
TEEL &WHY said be wished to ask whether the
prochurtatios made by the Governor of New Zealand of the
17th December, 1864. was to be corned out to the letter
and according to the words of the dooninest or whether it
was to be istorpreted by the erbibtiary principle which had
bees established and acted spa by the Governor himself,
as was the case in the treaty of Waitangi, which was vio-
lated by Governor Brown, which act was described as the
unfortunate cease of the war. We bad about ten thousand
men in New Zealand, and were about to vote 14000,0001.
or 1b,000,0001. for the army, and it would be eatiefactory to
how in what sense the proclunakion was to be uoderetood.
He hoped the right hon. ragman would repudiate the
actin that it was not to be literally carried out.
Its. CARDWELL vindicated the conduct of Governor
Brews with regard to the treaty of Waitaegi, and ob-
served that he had not the slightest suspicion that the
Governor of New Zealand and his ministers intended soy
breach of faith, and certainly no instructions wq&ild proceed
from the Colonial-office which would have any ardency of
that land, or he conceived in any ssoh spirit. The right
hon. gesthrman added, in snorer to Mr. Lyall and Sir
H. Willerighby, that is the proems year there bad been
a considerable Isere's' in the cootribotiou of the coney
of Mauritius for military expeditors, and that advances by
the Treasury to New Zealand sealed is 1863.

THE RIBBON TRADE.
Mr. TREHEENE called attention to the distressed con-
dition of his constituents, the ribbon weavers of Coventry,
and drew a lamentable picture of the state of the manu-
facture, which he said had, under the operation of the emu-
menial treaty with France, been brought to the verge of
ruin. He inquired whether any communication had taken
plane between the British government and that of France
with • view to the modigoation of the treaty.
Mr. WHITE said that a hearer might almost infer from
the speech of the hon. gentleman that the very deplorable
discrete at Coventry gross from the very large import of
ribbooa from Francis ; and the natural result of that would
seem to he, that the Free& trade was in • very prosperous
state. But how did the mos stand? He held in his hand
a circular dated the 4th of this month, in which the writer
bewailed the condition of the ribbon weavers at St. Edema*.
And their deplorable state wan coofirmeil by other tertimony.
Now he (Mr. White) was old *sough to remember reviler
recurrences of this distress during the last forty years—
(hear, hear)—and this must of ne happen, bemuse
this was • department of industry whiob was particularly
liable to the caprices of fashion. (Hear, hear.) Neither
that home nor any other power could dictate what the
bfrar portion al the world should select to adorn their
.(" Hear, hem," and laughter.) But if his hos.
....1"Or the House of Commons could only induce that
illustrious lady who ruled despotically over the fashions of
Europe to take into consideration the distressed
condition of the weavers of St. Etienne and Coventry,
and to remove the gimp, or pouremecterie as
he believed it was called, which ladies ware on
their dreams, and replace them with ribbons, the
trade would soon be in as flourishing • condition
as ever it was before. (Heer, bear.) Now, in 1862, the
value of the ribbons imported from Frame was 1,470,0001.;
in 1863, it was 1,3590004 ; in 1864, it was
1,306,0001.; showing a &creme in two years of
nearly 200,0001. The hosoursble member had spoken of
the large importatimi of silk manufactures of all kinds from
France. In 1862, it appeared, we received 5,976,000/. worth
of manufactured silk goods from all countries, hot mainly
from France; in 1863, we received 5,776,0001. worth ;
and last year we received 6,465,0004, the largest we ever
received. But there had been • still larger export
of raw and thrown silk abroad ; so that in the end it would
be found that the accounts nearly Wawa, and that the
French people took nearly an much from us se we received
from them. That was am of the indisputable !motets ana-
log out of the treaty with Frame. But the hon. gentleman
had wished to show that her Majesty's government really
were responsible for the distress in the silk trade ; he might
have pointed out their unwise intameetion in the affairs
of China, and to the falling off is the supply of silk, which
had bean entirely caused by that intervention.
Mr. GIBSON mid, in reply to the first question of the
boo. gentleman, that a communication had taken place on
the gabfest of the silk duty between this country and France.
The fact was that in the autumn of last year an inquiry
was made of the French government whether they were
disposed to rodeos the duty upon English ribbons imported
into France. The reply was that France, la the course of a
short time, intended that the duty upon silk of British
manufacture imported into France should be reduced from
8/. per kilogram to 4f. per kilogram, being • reduction of
50 per mot.; and the whole duty, of course, would form •
duty of 3i per cent. ad valorem. This must be acknow-
ledged to be a very small import duty, if it could be called
an import duty at all. (Hear, hear.) He entirely °oc-
curred that it would be desirable that the silk ribbons
manufactured and sent into Franco should be equally
fairly and impartially admitted into France as they were
into England. But it mast be admitted that after the
cheep which took place in 1860 in the French duties upon
imported manufactures—after soshort • time, 50 per oent.
was a vsey large reduction is the import duty on • OD&
article. (Hear, hear.) He thought there was good
MOOD to hope that the ribbon manufacture was not is so
hopelessly declining a state as the hon. gentleman repro-
seated. Still he admitted there was great distress, mid if
the hon. gentleman pointed out any mode by which it could
be relieved be would he glad to assist him in giving it
effect, but he must frankly tell him he did not himself see
his way to any legislative remedy.
Mr. NEWDEGATE expressed his thanks to the govern-
ment for getting the duty on ribbons imported into France
reduced from M. to 4f.; but when the right hoe. gentleman
said the duty was very low, he begged to remind him that
the effect of the duty mutt not be measured
spinet the total prim of the article, because
the silk of which it was made constituted by
far the largest part of its value ; and he believed his hon.
friend was quite right when he said that the import ditty
was • disadvantage to the English workman as competed
with the French of 20 per cent. The French treaty of
1860 was • very one-sided one, and • very bad bargain
for England.
Mr. BENTINCK did not think the answer of his right
boa. friend would do much to raise the spirits of the work-
people of Coventry, whose distress bad been so strongly
represented to the house. Hie boa, friend had hardly gone
to the root of this question, for he said he brought
it forward not as • question of politic, but as
• question of humanity. Who ever beard of the
humanity of a politiml economist? (Laughter.) One
might as well speak of the sensibility of • boa constrictor
or the amiability of an alligator. (laughter.) Political
economists carried out their views at any cost or sacrifice.
and without regard to human suffering. The whole object
of political economy was to procure cheap labour, and the
whole science of free trade consisted in these two words.
Hs thought the time was shoot to arrive when the artisans
and the agricultural labourers would awake to the delusion
which bad been practised on them in the name of free trade,
for instead of the roast beef and plum-pudding which haA
been promised them by freetraden they had to be sub.
misted by charity.