The Express.
London, England, 1853-06-18 00:00:00

PUBLIC BUSINESS.
GARBLED DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE

BUKMESE WAR.

_ .......
lir. COBDEN made the motion that the house at its ris-
ing should adjourn to Monday for the purpose of enabling
bins to ask the gneetion of which he had given notice, via.,
" When mad by whim the papers respecting the Burmese
war were prepared to be laid before parliament,
and who is responsible for the selection of the en-
tracte ? " And is order that he might add wee remarks
which under the circumstances became necessary. Thom
who had read the paper laid on the table in relation to the
Burmese wee would be aware that those important documents
were not given in fall, but that • great deal of matter
was suppressed, and that, In fact, the house only got
extracts from them. Undoubtedly, when papers of this
character were moved for, if they related to a war with a
civilised people, it was quite right that much should be
suppressed in order that no information should be given to
the enemy, and also in Certain cases in order that no new
offence might be given to other powers. But there was no
reason why that course should be taken in this instance.
Mr. H. BAILLIE would not enter into any discussion
with respect to the expediency of the practice followed by
all governments in this matter, though he had no doubt
that this privilege wee often abused, and he could confirm
the opinion of the hon. gentleman as to the consequences
of garbled documents in regard to the Affgban
war. He only ran to complain of the course
taken by the honourable gentleman, who bad only
put • ample question on the paper, and then without
notice made what must be considered ma a statement on the
policy of the general practice. The late President of the
Fiend of Cannel was the responsible minister at the time,
and he was not now in his place to offer any explanation.
Be would not enter into the question whether or not a just
discretion had been exercised ; but he had to state at
once that the late President of the Board of Control was
responsible.
Mr. HOME considered the question a most important
one. Ile bad seen a statement of Sir Alexander Burnes, in
which ho pointed out that two letti n of his, stating that
Dost Mahomed was ready to do everything to keep off war,
were kept back. He thought some inquiries should take
place as to the garbling of documents which were laid
before the house. lie had no hesitation in saying that with
regard to the Portugal expedition the facts were sup-
pressed. He was counted out, ma he had often been, when
he wished to bring the matter before the house; but they
never got anything by that, for when he was treatei in that
manner he always brought on the question on going into
committee of supply.
r C. WOOD said the President of the Board of Con-
trol was responsible for the returns which had been alluded
to. No conduct of hie had been impugned, and it was in-
convenient that the conduct of his right hon. vedecessor
should be impugned as it had been to-night with-tut his
having the slightest notice that it would be so. There was
no doubt se to who was the responsible person, and th, re
was so need of a committer to Inquire. If papas from

any department were laid before the house the head of that
department was the person who was responsible.
Mr. COBDEN said he had no intention to impeach the
conduct of any President of the Board of Control. What
he said, and said emphatically, wee that he never met with
aLybody yet who was responsible. Ile had asked many
questions, and hail invariably been told that them papers
were prepared at the India-house.
THE BURMESE WAR.—MORTALITY OF THE
TROOPS.

Mr. BRIGHT said he Ve..17ic41; a privets letter giving
a most appalling( account of the mortality among the troops
engaged in the Burmese war. He asked whether the right
hon. gentleman bgd soy information of the mortality to
which he alluded ?

Sir C. WOOD said he could not answer the precise state-
ment made by his bon. friend, but he was sorry to say there
had been considerable mortality among the troops. Those
at Rangoon had been healthy, but there had bees great
mortality among those at Proms.
SOAP DUTY.

Mr. A. PELLATT asked whether soap manufacturers
would be allowed to bring back soap to this country on the
same duty that the foreigner paid, Bd. a cwt.
Mr. WILSON said as this was a question which affected
an important trade, and one by which many persons might
be involved in loss, he would answer the question as expli-
citly as he could. His hon. friend was aware that, ac-
cording to the resolution of this house, the excise duty on
soap will expire on the dth of July, and that the import
duty en soap had been reduced to 9d. a cwt., but that duty
had not passed into a law. A treasury order had been
issued, connected with the other duties, and with it also,
but an order had been issued that the low duty should not
take effect till after the excise duty was abolished. With
regard to the preparations which many persons were
making to export soap at the heavy drawback, with the
expectation that they will be enabled to bring back soap at
the low duty of Bd., he must infurm his hon. friend that
proper means will be taken effectually to prevent such
operations being successful, and therefore he had made
Ihislstatement in order that ;persons who were making
arrangements for getting drawback on their present stock
in that manner might be awarejthat means would be taken
to prevent such operations being successful.

LEASING POWERS (IRELAND) BILL.
la answer toplr. NAME.,
Lord .1. RUSSELL said he would endeavour to arrange
that at the end of next week or the week tollowuzg this
bill should be proceeded with in a morning sitting.

OATHS IN COURTS OF JUSTICE.
Mr. J. S. WORTLEY said the house would remember
I that in the early part of the session a witness was coa-
-1 milted to the custody of the Serjeant at Arms for refusing
to take an oath before one of the committees, and on that
occasion he took the opportunity of calling the atention of the
house to the anomalous state of the law by which Quakers,
Moravians and Separatists, and persons who had belonged to
these classes, were allowed to make affirmations in substitu-
tion of oaths, but no other persons. Since then the Com-
mon Law Commissioners, in their second report, had re-
commended a change in the law in this respect; but as
they had also recommended other changes which would
meet with much discussion, he asked if it was the inten-
tion of government to bring in a separate bill regarding
oaths.

Lord J. RUSSELL laid he could not answer the question
now, but it would be considered by the government.

GRAVEYARDS IN LONDON.
In answer to Mr. C. BZEtILEY,
Lord PALMERSTON said a number of graveyards had
already been closed b 7 order in council. Other graveyards
were under examination, and probably all the rest would,
in due time and at no distant period, be also closed. The
act of last year gave the Secretary of State power to close
graveyards that might be injurious to public health ; but it
did not vest in the Secretary of State any power or autho-
rity to provide new graveyards. Those arrangements were
left to the parishes themselves, and therefore he was not
able to state what arrangements had been made by parishes
to provide new means of interment, but he did happen to
know that several parishes were engaged in providing new
places of interment, and aka that besides the great ceme-
tery at Woking, which was empowered by act of parlia-
ment two or three years ago, there was also • bill now
passing through parliament, which had passed this house,
and was under discussion in the House of Lords, for pro-
viding another cemetery at a certain distance from the me-
tropolis. It was within the circumference which was called
the metropolitan district, and it could not have been un-
dertaken without the sanction of the Secretary of State,
but he thought it his duty to give that sanction, from a de-
sire to afford every facility for supplying the place of those
graveyards which he thought it his duty to dom.