The Express.
London, England, 1867-06-15 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—FRID6Y, Juts 14.
ls the liousn of (..k.usuoss, yesterday, at the
morning sitting, Lord It. Mosrrauti moved, that
the house go into committee on the Vaccination
Bill. The act of 1&,3, he said, had been a failure,
and the deaths from small-pot had increased [ruin
3,%7 a year to 7,684 in b%4 and 0,411 in 1801 In
Scotland since the present act applicable to that
country had been in force, by which compulsory
vaccination was touch more effectually carried out
than in this c.4intry, the deaths had decreased from
2,000 a year to less than 300, and in Ireland, where
there was a law, a similar result had been
obtai:ied. The object of this bill was to as. • late
the law to :hat of Ireland and Scotland, and, ex-
cept some few amendments which ho had intro-
duced, wIA irsimima r, ,4 as it came down from
a seleA rmemittec. It made the law more strin-
gent than at present, but by increasing the pay-
pieta b.. the registrars and the medical men, it
made h their interest to carry out the act.

Mr. itamtow said it was the opinion of many
medical men that vaccination produced disease.
Smallpox bad been prevalent in Loudon of late,
and lie was informed that from 60 to 70 per cent.
.1 the patients brought to the Smallpox li.spital
had been vaccinated, so that it was doubtful whe-
ther vaccination was an effectual remedy, or in
thirst cases the operation had nut been eifectually
performed.
Sir .1. C.. 1 mavoi sm en joined on the house the neces-
sity of further inquiry before any f urther legislation
took place on this subject, and moved "'that the
consideration of the bill be postponed till after the
report of the medical officers of 101.41 shall have been
distributed."
Colonel IHaar-m.or supported the amendment.
Mr. liktieß said there was no new information
to be given on the subject, and as the acts for
Scotland :old Ireland bad worked well for those
countras, they ought to be extended to this

country.
Mr. II EN LEY did not think that the machinery of
this hill would enable them to carry out its object,
especially in country districts. The bill was a hill
of pure coercion, and nothing was done to soften
the prejudims of the people. He did not think it
would be possible to get the children together, and
he suggested that they would inure easily get good
vaccination by the operation beingelfected at their

own homes.
Dr. BRADY said the medical profession RCM, as
a }ugly, of opinion that c.impulsory vaccinatain was
absolutely necessary, but then every care should
be taken that the vaccination should be from pure
lymph, mid if it were from pure lymph it was im-
possible thereby to vont 11111 l icate other diseases.
Mr. Low r. briefly replied to some of the objec-
tions of Mr. Henley, and the amendment having
been negatived,
Time house went into committee on the bill, and
during the remainder of the sitting was occupied
with the discussion of the clauses, several of which
were agreed to.
At 7 o'clock the sitting was suspended.
The house re-assembled at 9 o'clock, and on
the order of the day for going into committee of
supply,
Slajor ANSON moved " that the order of the
house, made on the 3rd of May, that the petition
of E. Truelove and others do lie on the table, be
read and discharged ; and that so much of the
appendix to the twenty-second report of public
petitions as comprises a printed copy of the said
petiticn bo cancelled." The petition, he said,
prayed that mercy should be extended to the Fe-
nian prisoners, and stated that the petitioners,
justly alarmed at the conduct of the army in sup-
pressing the rebellion in Ireland in 1798, in sup-
pressing the mutiny in India and the insur-
rection in Jamaica, prayed the house to incul-
cate humanity on the army in Ireland.
This language was an insult to the army, and ho
complained bitterly of the attacks upon the army
by various persona. In 1859 " a man" made him-
self infamous by an attack of this sort, when he
said in that house that he would not dine with the
Speaker because he would have to wear epaulettes
which had been disgraced by the conduct of the
army in India. The petition was intended either
to encourage the Fenian, or to insult the British
army in a cowardly manner.
Mr. B. COCHRANE seconded the motion. He re-
gretted that Mr. Bright was not in his place. The
petition ought never to have been presented, or if
presented, ought never to have been received.
Mr. Bright, in one of his speeches, said if Ireland
were a thousand miles from England the landlords
of the country would ere this have been extermi-
nated. That, he considered, was an instigation to
assassination.

Mr. W. E. FOBSTZR observed that it was an
extraordinary step six weeks after a petition had
been received to move that the petition should
be discharged. He did not think it necessary to
defend Mr. Bright, who was very well able to take
care of himself, and who would probably have
been present if ho had thought that this motion
was serious, but he would express his surprise ut
the attack the hon. and gallant major had made
on a former member of this house as hon. and
gallant as himself—General Thompson—who' as
an officer of the army, felt ashamed of what bad
taken place in India, and who, instead of being
regarded as " infamous" by his: constituents for
what he said in reference thereto, was held in
honour by them.
Mr. C. Foams& said the committee on public
petitions had no power to reject any petition. He
could not assent to the motion ; and he put it to
the house whether the carrying of this motion
would not be regarded by the country as an inter-
ference with the right of petition.
Mr. J. B. MILL said if this petition were ex-
pelled, the house might as well expel him. He
did not know that he could subscribe to every ex-
pression in the petition, but to every sentiment in
it ho certainly did subecribe. He felt grateful to
the petitioners for having given utterance for once
in that house to sentiments which nearly all Europe
entertained.

The discussion was continued by Sir 0. Russell,
who supported the motion ; by Mr. Bearden, who
claimed self-government for Ireland ; by Mr. D.
Griffith, who said no member but Mr. Bright
would have presented the petition • by Mr. Neste,
who hoped the motion would not pressed ;by
Mr. Dodson, who pointed out that the petition
did not violate any of the rules of the house,
and who also appealed to Major Anson not to
press the motion ; by Mr. Bonham-Carter, who
joined in the appeal ; by Mr. Watkin, who thought
thed
petition ought to be treated with contempt,
anby_ _ _

The Cumicsixos of the EMCSIZQUEN who said
be bad no doubt that the verdict of history on the
conduct of the British army in India would be very
different from that given in this petition. Be
thought it would not be expedient to adopt this
motion, and he joined in the suggestion that it
should be withdrawn.

Major ANSON intimated his willingness to with-
draw it, but several members expressing their dis-
mat from this course, the house divided, and the
motion was rejected by 43 to 11.
Mr. TAYLOR. called attention to the answer of

bee Majesty to the address of the house for the re-
moval of Mr. Churchward and others from the
commission of the peace for bribery and corruption,
and inquired what steps had been taken in pur-
suance thereof.
Mr. HARDY said Mr. Churchward's name was
'truck out of the address. The house had put the
authorities in a position in which they were unable
to act.

Mr. LABOUCHKR2 called attention to the treaty
relative to the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg. The
Foreign fiecretar7, be maintained, was under a
delusion when he imagined before that treaty was
entered into that Luxemburg was guaranteed
by the European powers but by that treaty we
had entered into obligations which may at a future
time involve us in war.

Mr. B. Cocen.txr expressed his belief that war
had been averted by the conduct of the Foreign
Secretary by entering into that treaty.
Mr, D. Gairrrriz complained that the house had
not had an opportunity of previous discussion on
thaw natters.

limen.