The Express.
London, England, 1853-04-05 00:00:00

tied Over to the Emperor of the French he should have said 0
" No," because ke should have considered it perfectly un-
necessary, looking at the good understanding: o/d subsist:
int between the two countries, and which, he was liappy to
say, was of the moot cordial description. Ile should have
thought it unnecessary, also, because he 'did trot helicon,
that any misapprehension existed on the part of the Freya:AL
people with regard to the feeling enseetaigied towards them
by the people of this country. Although he
agreed with the noble and learned lord in' much"
of what had fallen from him as to the inexpe
diency of communication on the part of individuals
befog regarded as hiving a national character, and that the
deputation in question had no right to speak on the part of
the nation—if they really had done so—he must say he did
eat think that the transactions of ISIS, to whieh the noble
lord had alluded, bore any analogy ti that of which he now
complained, the objects of the parties and the nature of the
two addresses being so entirely different. (The noble earl
spoke in a low tone of voice across the table, and was very
indistinctly heard.)
The Earl of ELLENBOROI.:GiI thought the question a
most important one ; and he thanked the noble and learned
lord for having brought the subject under their lordships
notice. It was satisfactory to him to have heard from so
high an authority that the transaction was illegal, as it
11111113: be repugnant to the feelings of every Englishman who
did not disparsike himself and his country by being present
on the occasion referred to. The whole transaction filled
him with the most unqualified disgust. fie had heard
almost all the speech of the noble and learned lord, with
the exception of certain epithets which he had used with
approval. Some inconvenience might arise, however, if the
noble and learned lord had brought before him on t .e seat
of justice those persons whose c induct he complained of.
Ile could only repress his hope that if such should happen
to be the case, he would neither in the cextence passed by
him, or any observation, by which that sentence might be
acc,mpanied, say anything savouring of compli ment—(a
laugh)—but that the rights and nianity of the crown and
constitution of the country would be maintained and
enforced.

The Eirl of MALMESBLRY said it was impossible to
misunderstand the allusions which hail been made by the
noble and learned lord to the funds, but if he read the
names of the persons—
Lord CANIFBELL heeged to interpose. lie had care-
fully absolved those concerned in the declaration from any
improper or unworthy motives, but he had pointed out the
daager which might hereafter arise tom such proceedings.
The Earl of DIALMESBURY was glad to have given
the noble and learned lord the opportunity of making such
lan explanation. Ile agreed with the observations of the
I sable earl opposite sad thought the address was not nines-
eary. He regretted that it had been made, but as the set
W taken place, it was a circumstance of much gratifica-
tion to him to have been accidentally in Paris at the time,
and seen the good effect which it had produced on all classes
of the French people. Misi.ters end persons out of office
had assured him that it was reseired with the
greatest pleasure; and he could not perceive la
them the slightest indications of any
,feeling deloga-
wry to this country or to the English nation or government.
He did not mean to defend the act as in all respects ese-
rect, for he agreed with the noble lord, that under certain
eir wastances it might be attended wilt great fascia-
vcnience, and posseibly danger ; but it having been caw
mitted, he could not but congratulate their lordships and
the noble and learned lord u; on the result—(bear, hear)—
and that neither harm nor danger could arise from this ill-
judged, perhaps, but very successful proceeding. (Cheers.)
The Earl of ELLEN BOROUGH presumed from tke
tenor of his noble friend's obseresiion, that had he still
been secretary for foreign affairs, he would, when he ad-
dress was submitted to him by these gentlemen, have alp-
proved of it, and given it the weight of official sanction.
The Earl of MALMESBUItY would, lead he been in
the noble earl's (Clarendon's) place, have given precisely
the same answer to the geatlemen who submitted the ad.
dress in question to hint which the noble earl himself had
given. (Hisr, hear.)
After a remark from the Earl of ELLEssortorun, which
was nut heard in the gallery,
The LORD CHANCELLOR hoped his noble and learned
friend (Lord Campbell) did not mean it to go forth upon
hie high authority, that such a proceeding was necessarily
and in all circumstances illegal. (Hear.) Dffibtlesa under
circumstances such as his noble and learned friend had
poiuted out considerable difficulty and inconvenience might
follow from allowing it to be drawn into a precedent;
but at the same time it would, he thought, be going
too fez to lay it down as the rule, that any
such proceeding was necessarily illegal. If he was
not greatly mistaken, it had been a common prac-
tice fur persons in this country—the subject" of the British
crown—to present addresses to foreign sovereigns on varies,
subjects—mere mattersof cour esy perhaps—but still illegal,
if the doctrine of his noble and learned friend were correct,
that it was, under all circumstances, illegal fur the subjects
of these realms tapreeent addresses to any foreign monarch.
(Hear, hear.) He recollected during the last autumn,
while he was on the continent, that a certain number of
British subjects presented an address to the Grand Duke
of Tuscany, on a subject which, as far as the feeling of the
people of this country was euncerned, might certainly be
said to be national, and which relsted to the treatment by
that sovereign of certain of his own subjects. Possibly that
proceeding too might have been illegal; but while he en-
tirely concurred with his noble friend near him that suck
proceedings were to be deprecated its likely to lead on other
occasions to inconvenience and difficulty, he trusted it was
114 to be permitted to go forth to the country on the high
authority of his noble and learned friend (the Lord Chief
Justice of the Queen's Bench) that they were necessarily
illegal, rendering these who took part in them liable to a
criminal nroaecutlon. (Hear, hear.)
Lord CA&IPBELL said his noble and learned friend
should define what he 11111.111 t by the term "illegal." If
by " illegal" he meant such an act as might be made the
subject of indictment, he was quite prepared to admit that
unless some mains animus could be shown the act would
not amount to a misdemeanour, but if he meant by the

term "illegal" such an set u the law did not sanction, bat
which nevertheless amounted, as Mr. Burke said, to a
"treasonable misdemeanour," and for which a member of
hadmight be impeached—then he (Lord Cempbell)
that the proceeding in question was illegal. Of tours
a distinction must always be drawn between national ob-
jects, and those which were not national. The address to
which his noble and learned friend (the Lord Chancellor)
had referred—that in which the Grand Duke of Tuscany
was requested to release certain of his subjects who were in-
carcerated on account of their religions opinions, had
nothing whatever to do with the questioa of peace or war,
and could not Weald to be national is the slightest degree.
But the proceeding to which he had drawn attention re-
lated directly to a matter of peace and war, and what he
said was, that where English subjects interfered without
the authority of the government to represent the British
nation to any foreign power on any each matter, they did
that which was illegal. (Rear.)
The conversation then dropped.
VACCINATION EXTENSION BILL.
Lord LYTTBLTON in moving the second reading of this
Wt, intimated that be proposed to introduce certain amend-
Sella which would be printed in the bill previous to its
effigefato committee, when the discussion might be takea
Earl of ELLENBOR01;011 had no objection to the
sesond readies of the bill, but thought great amendments
were required in it.
Earl GRANVILLE approved of the bill so far as its
general object went, but considered seems of its protnsons•
unnecessarily stringent ; and in coommtiog to the mend
reading, on the part of the gov be must reserve to
himself the right of moving such ts is committee
as he might think proper.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH=that while the
bill imposed various penalties for to have chil-
dren vaccinated, no facilities fur vesennation were provided
by it.
Lord LYTTELTON was not aware that there were any'
tillionitimin the way of having children vseeinated, but ef
teeffilthe Smithies could be provided he should have no oh-
he bill was then real a second time, and committed for
1111.tharrow (this day) week.
ARMENIANS IN INDIA.
Lard CAMPBELL presented a petition from the Arme-
nian population of Calcutta and Bengal, complaining of the
difficulties, incoavenienee, end injustice to which they were
subjected for want of a defined code of Civil and criminal
' law applicable to them. Originally the Armenian popula-
ties: of India were guaranteed under the treaty of 1688 to
share squally in all the indulgences the company had
posied or thereafter might grant to their own adventurers or
ether English merchants , that they should be at liberty to
reside in any of the company's cities or stations, to buy,
sell, and inherit land, and to til all civil offices in the same
way as though they were Englishmen ; and that they
should be protected in the undisturbed exercise of their re-
ligion. Under this treaty large numbers of Armenians
settled in the company's territory, and for nearly a century
while that territory wee confined to the precincts of Col-
inas, and of the ether cities of the presidencies where the
English law prevailed, no inconvenience was felt. But sub-
sequently, u the territories of the company extended, and
the Armenian populatiun spread over the Mofussil districts,
they were subjected to a Ten different state of things. There
was no les loci in India, each stet and each class of '
religionists being governed by their own laws, and
the Armenians having no code of their own, the greatest
t.itticulty arose in fixing upon the principle of law upon
which eases (criminal or Mei.) that nine before the courts,
in reference to Armenians, should be determined. This
subject bad been brought under consideration in 1833, on
the renewal of the East India Company's charter, and a
commission was appointed to inquire into the laws that pre-
vailed in various parts of India, and to form a complete
• civil and criminal code. Such a code was prepared, and
the commission proposed that, with regard to the Mofussils,
the law of England should prevail, so far as it could be in-
troduced without interfering with the codes already esta-
blished; and, had that proposal been sanctioned by the
1 gislature, the Armenian population would have had no
cause to complain. tnf.rtunately, however, the report of
the commission, and the measure which they had prepared
to carry out their views, had been allowed to remain a
dead letter, and the Arminian ; opulcion were up to this
atrment without any defined or understood law, civil or
criminal. What, therefore, the petitioners prayed was that
the house would legislate, and, in doing so, would not only
point out clearly what ought to be done but take efficient
and stringent measures for dome it.
The Earl of ELLENBULtUtiti II admitted that the case
of the Armenian. was one of hardship, but believed that
the introcthetion of tic law of England amongst the
Morussile would be welts% as it would be dffilcult, if not
impossible, to find the meets for administering it. Ile sag-
.4os!cti that much benefit might arise if the noble and
itarned lord would attend the committee on Indian affairs
and examine the witne.s.s as to the mcdc in which justice
Itl4 sebninistired in In ^:l.
:1., i'..irl vi ALEL..,L.EN th1..1 a few sverdi, but ins as