The Express.
London, England, 1865-05-10 00:00:00

4

impERIAL pARLILBMT.

BOMA OF LORDS.—TrzsDAY, MAT 9.
The Loft Quin:Jon task hie Net oil the seobaek at
Ire o'clock.
ROYAL COMMISSION.
The royal same was given by comaiimion to the follow.
Jim bills:—Bill for emeading the Lew of Evidence and
Practice le Criadval Trials, Neat India Governer•Oeneral
(Powers, kn.); Baalmapiey and Insolvency (Ireland) Act
.Amendereak Metropolitan Drainage 'Wootton, reclean»
of Lends, Herring Fisheries (Sootland), Lend DreMage
Mapplerneetal, Long Clovernment Supplemestal, Land
Oireernment &mill...oats' (No. 2), Roseodals Union
Mellor, Thorpe, and Walton Railway; Brightoa, Revs
Preston Constant Service Water. Likastar Lunatic Anima
and Improvement, Liasseiok Embankment end
Oewestry Loral Beard, Hellion Road, Rainebottran OBlglar=
Bolton Lienermoest Rills
The 0011111111111100011 were the Lord Charmellor, Viscount

Sydney, sad Bari It Omar.
PRWATE BEIBINna
The following bills went read a @sound time :—Glaagew
and South-Week= Ramis (Kilmaniock Direet) Neat
Water ; Gbagow end Booth-Western Railwa (Clty of Glas-
gow Union) ; Gnat Tomingtos Roads; and
Yorkshire Railway and Lancashire Union Railways Com-
panies ; Preston and Wyre Railway, Harbour and Dock;
North London Railway ; sad Leaked's Valley Railway
Bills.

THIRD READINGS.
Tim Bath Chia Bill, Wait Wortbiog Improvement, sad
Bristol Water Bills wore read a third time and passed.
UNION OFFICERS (IRELAND) SUPERANNUATION
BILL.
Earl ST. GERMANS mimed the *mood reading of this
bill, the object of whiah, he said, was to follow iu Irelaud
the principle scloprod ia England with refsrenos to the
granting of supersannation allowances to certain poor-law

;Seem.-
Their lordships ultimately divided, and the number.
were—_

_
Contents
Non-econtente
The bill was then reed • semad thin.
COUNTY COURTS NurrABLE JURLSDICTION
BILL.
The uneadosenho to this bill ware reported and agreed to.
THE CASE OF MR. EDMUNDS.
Lord REDE3DALE rose, pursuant to notice, to move
that the following pimps from the report from the select
committee on the roeignotioo by Mr. Edmunds of certain
edam, and ma the peolsoe panted to him by this bones,
be read :—" The oornmittero have summed the chairman
of committees es to the knowledge by the members
of the select committee (which be &aoudad) of any
elecumstasess which might climatal* Mr. Edmunds to •
pension. If* stated that there was 'a general knowledge
era general impreecios on the part of mot of the members
of the committee. that in consequence of certain pecuniary
transactions In whirls Mr. Ramona had be** concerned in
the Patent Mos he had resigned his appointment in
'Bat' (be added) ' the petition was presented to the hone*
without observation, and so order we. made directing the
emanates to inquire into it. We bad only the facts
stated in the petition which was referred to us, and upon
gumbo ts we had to inquire what pension hir.Edmunds should
be oonsidered Goaded to.' It ia to be regretted that the cornn
mate* did sot comaider it to be their duty India the circum-
stoma to act upon their general knowledge or impression
so far m to interpose some delay before the question was
finally disposed of in favour of • pension, which, bed the
eircumstances been fully known to them, would probably
not have been recommended?'
The clerk at the table (the Hon. Mr. Slinpby Bothell)

.::: 46-fl

bowie& read the eareme.
Lord REDESDALE then moved the following resole-
then :-1. '• That the petition of Mr. Edmunds stating that
after having served the hones seventeen yearn as reading
clerk and clerk of the private committees he desired to re-
tire, and praying the house to grant him such illumine as
to their lor3ships may seem fit, having been promoted on
Tuesday, the 14th February, by the Lord Chaecellor without
any comment being made thereon by him or any other mem-
her of the government present on that ormasion, and referred
to the select committee on the office of clerk of the parlia-
ments without any special order or instruction is relation
thereto, that committee, whoa they met OD Thursday ,
16th February (Mr. Edmunds' resignation baying bees
already accepted by the house), bad no question to deter-
mine on the petition so refined to them but the amount of
retiring pension to which he was entitled, and would have
exceeded their duty if, without special instruction from the
louse, they had proceeded to inquire into his cooduat In say
matter unconnected with his duties in this house 2.
**That the report having been presented on Friday, the
17th February, was ordered to be laid ea limitable, and was
not agreed to until Friday, the 24th February, whereby
sufficient ' delay was interposed before the question was
finally disposed of it favour of the pension 'for any lord
acquainted with circumstances which ought to have
been knowa to the house before the report was adopted, to
have Untie hi the same under the consideration of the house."
So far (said the noble lord) were the select committee from
being aware that serious charges were still hanging over
the bead of Mr. Edmunds when his petition for a pension
was presented by a member of the government, that they
did not even think there was any rum, for his resigna-
tion of his poet io the House of Lords. Not only had the
committee no official knowledge of what afterwards trans-
pired, but, in fact, the real impression on the minds of the
members of the committee was that Mr. Edmunds bad
nellisfied all the claim, against him with regard to his al-
leged deficiescise in the Patina-office. They certainly knew
nothing of there then being serious claims still existing
smiled Mr. Edmunds. Only the government could have
known of the existence and extent of those claims, and
yet the petition of Mr. Edmunds to be allowed • retiring
pension was presented by • member of the government,
without the slightest intimation to their lordships' com-
mittee that there existed any reason why the pension
should not V• duly awarded ancedieg to custom. He °m-
oldered that the week which elapsed before the recom-
mendation of the select committee was acted upon by
their lordship gave the members of her Maje.ty's
government ample time in which to oppose it had
they so thought it. It was idle to say that
other members of their lordships' hum ought
or even could have opposed it, for they could not shut their
eyes to the fact that it was the members of her Majesty's
government done who ware fully possessed of every fact
connected with the case of Mr. Edmund& He considered
that the extracts which had been read to their locdsblys
condemned the select committee for • fault which most
certainly could not with justice be attributed to them. and
for this reason he treated their lordships would adopt the
resolutions of which he had given notice.
Lord GELNVILLE said that the onerous duty of pre-
paring the report whiclo had been impugned was one of the
most paioful kind, and though all the members of the coa-
stlines were determined to do their duty, they certainly I
bed no wish to go one step beyond in the direction of
severity, and be had had the honour of serving with
any committee which bad evinced a more conscientious de-
sire to elicit without prejudice every fact which bore upon
the case. With regard to the opinion expressed by the
committee, all that their report had done was to express
repot that the select committee had not takes more time
before they asked the house to act on their recommends.
him Why, the fact was that Lord Redesdale bad himself
proposed such • delay to the select committee, and had
been overruled. He entirely acquitted Lord Ithdesdale from
any suspicion of • desire to deceive the bones, but for a
esonnmrnate man of limner, such as be nodeubtedly was,
he went • very clumsy way about letting the house know
why even the week's delay was taken before the reso-
lution granting the pension was recorded oto their minutes.
Be hoped the house would not by adopting Lord Rides-
dale's resolution stultify the carefully prepared report of
their committee.
The Earl of HARDWICKE said he wu very much struck
with the position in which the house was placed. If there,
were any fault he thought it bad been oommitted by the
beau and not by the committee. It was for the house to
determine whether Mr. Edmunds was to have a pension.
Many of their lordships had • kitowledge of the eircum•
stances, but be for one felt himself injured when he read
in the newspapers that he was • party to granting this pen-
mien to • person who had bean guilty of defaleatioe. He bed
never heard of it. What he knew of Mr. ifdmuade
wee as a public servant, and in that capacity
be had known him for many years, end always
thought him • respectable man. He should my
that those who knew of the delinquency of Mr. Ed- I
mends were the parties who should have mind the attention I
of the house to it. His noble fneod the President of the '
Council was the man who mom properly should have called .
the attention of the house to the character of Mr. Edniuude
than the chairman of the committee. He understood that
the noble earl (Earl Grenville) was aware of the delin-
quencies of this mem. For himself he had not heard even
the public mood.
Lord EVEBELEY said be felt grateful to his noble
friend for introd the matter to the hoc" he-
elball, he felt that would be attached to the
meamittes, sad he also thought that the re-
port of the committee would sanction • very lax
sad irregular practice. He believed that the first resolution
would go to establish a rule of the house which was import.
ant. The second resolutioa he thought of lea insportacce,
sad if his sable friend thought fit to withdraw it, be
ea the whole that was the most advisable course to pursue.
The Earl of WICKLOW said it appeared to him that
Ike difficulty is which the committee load been involved
in this case arose entirely from the course pursued by the
noble and learned lord in the woolsack is not stating the
facts within his kaowledge, es presenting the petition.
Lord LYVEDEN said he hoped they would not remedy
ewe error by falling into another, which they would do by
adapting the resolution of the chairman of committees. The ,
meolution went to this, that when a petition foe • periee
was referred to a committee they could only cos-
eider the amount of the peados, and not the amm-
eter:es. He remembered years ago, when he woe at the
Tree/my, it smithsTreesip, constant practice to inquire into the
character of • mum who applied for a pension, red if he
bed held two offices, his *iodine with reference to both
wield have been equired into. The *obi* lord said it ear
most important that they should stand well with the public.
Their lordship bed taken high ground ha claiming that they
alleald not be interfered with lather by the Bowe d
theemone cc the Treasury In greeting peados; to limb
serniata, bat diaidaassiellinte to bold that bigbisrag
ff it goad be mai Airy ware lid to
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