The Express.
London, England, 1860-05-18 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOME OF OOMMONI3.—THIMSDAY, MAT 17•
Tb• SPILICI.II, took the chair at 4 o'clock.

PUBLIC BUSINESS.
NEW WRIT.
On the motion of Sir W. JOLLIFFE, a new writ was
ordered for the election of • burgess for the borough of
Iffleington, in the room of Sir John R. Carne, who hag
aesepted the Chiltern hundreds.
ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE.
Lord PALMERSTON, in moving that the house at ire
Atha do adjourn till Mondaxt, sd that the if the house
agreed to this metion he shoy ulned move committees
have leave to sit, notwithstanding the adjournment of the
house, as he understood that there were several important
inquiries taking place which it was undesirable should be
postponed. It might be convenient, at the same time, to
state that they meant to propose that the house should ad-
journ on Friday next till the following Thursday for the
Whitsuntide holidays, and that on Monday next ho should
move that the existing arrangements' a to the Fridays and
Thursdays should be continued to the end of the present
session. (Hear, bear.)
The question that the house at its rising do adjourn to
Monday next having been put from the chair—
THE PAPER DUTY REPEAL BILL.
Mr. STANSFELD bad a question of very considerable
interest to put to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The
house had passed • bill repealing the excise duty on paper,
and a question had arisen as to the probable fate of that
bill in another plaoc. The house was aware that her Ma-
jesty's government had entered into treaty ar-
rangements with the government of the Emperor of France
in reference to certain custom's duties, and amongst them
the customs duty on paper. As bearing, therefore, upon the
treaty armogemente es well as upon the home manufee-
tare of paper, the interest of the question would be evident.
What he wished to ask the right hon. gentleman was, in
case the other house of parliament ehouM resist on
roain-
taiving the excise duty on paper, what would be the pod-
hoe of the question in reference to the import duty on
foreign paper, which it was intended by the treaty, and the
address of parliament confirming that treaty, to repeal
Mr. PEACOCK E, before the right hoe. gentleman
answered the question, wished to put • question of which
he had given notice, via, whether the horse duty would be
allowed to the Yeomanry Cavalry this year ?
The CHANCELLOR of the OnECHEQUER—As wee the
custom with most men when they had toiled withtwopobite,
he should begin with the easier, and in reply to the hon.
member for Maldon therefore he was profaned to state
that although the yeomanry were not, according to the in-
tention of the government, to be celled out this year, direc-
tions had been given to allow the exemption for the berm
duty as usual, which wee no more than justice. With re-
prd to the question put by the hon. member for Halifax,
as that referred to a matter which of coarse had been raider
the consideration of her Majesty's government at the time
when the treaty of commerce with France was being nego-
tiated, and as he had learned • few hours ago that the ques-
tion was to be pot, he had sent for a copy
of the treaty, and had therefore no difficulty m
giving an answer to the hon. gentleman which embodied
the opinion of the government on that particular point.
He of course took no notice of that part of 'the
hon. gentleman's question which appeared to anti-
cipate that the bill for the repeal of the
paper duties might possibly be lost in another
place, for that was an occurrence which it was of course not
for him (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) to anticipate.
(Hear, bear.) The 7th article of the treaty, at its WM-
' mencement, ran thus : " And her Britannic Majesty pro-
mises to recommend to parliament to admit into the United
Kingdom merchandise imported from France at a rate of
duty equal to the excise duty which is or shall be imposed
' ea articles of the same description in the United Kingdom.
At the same time the duties chargeable on the importation
of oath merchandise may be augmented by such • sum an
shall be an equivalent for the expenses which the system of
excise may entail on the British producer." He did not o 'idea
stand the hon. gentlemen to ask him what might or what
might not he the obligations of England accordiug to the
opinions of her Majesty's government in the event of the
repeal of the excise duty upon paper. (Hear, hear.) There-
fore that matter he left for the present altogether aside.
But the hon. gentleman asked him the opinion of -the
government on the obligations of England under the twtX
with France, and order the terms of the addrean by
each house of parliament had bound itself to give effect to
that treaty, in the event of the excise duty on papernot
being repealed. That was • question upon whirl he
thought no person who had examined the 'thole
of the treaty he had quoted, could possibly enter-
tain • moment's doubt. At any rate her Majesty's
government considered it would be a matter
beyond all doubt, and beyond all argument or necamity
for construction or interpretatioa, inasmuch as the wont,
appeared to be as clear as possible, and directly applicable
to the ease. If there were a duty of melee on paper, then,
subject to • ingle condition, ft was the obvious duty of
=towards France and of the houses of parliament
the
terms of their address, to reduce the customs
duty on the import of foreign paper to the precise level of
the excise duty on paper made at home. The single coali-
tion to which he had referred was that contained in the
latter part of the clause, which specified that the duty
le on the importation of curb merchandise might be
augmented be such • sum as should be an equivalent for
the expenses which the system of excise might entail on
the British producer. And that principle had been applied
in the course of the present session, in conformity with the
general spirit aid express terms of the treaty, in the case of
spirits, when the'regalationg of the excise wereso reseeded,
in many particulars, that they entailed a disadvantage! on
the producer that was capable of being stated in money,
and a compensation for such disadvantage in the
shape of whet the French called a sur-tax, had
been added to the import duty, chargeable upon
thong° spirits. But with respect to the duty on
paper, whatever might be its effect in restricting trade in
other rete, no one had ever alleged that the paper duty
imposed ffirdvantagen on the manufacturer of paper of so.
definite • nature, or to such an amount, as to be capable of
being stated in the form of a certain rate of money. No
complaint of this kind had ever been made or could be
made. The inconveniences—whatever they were—on the
actual manufacture of the article which was called paper
were not so appreciable as to be capable of being reduced to
such a form. There being, therefore, no cam for such • ear-
tax es had been imposed in the case of spirits, he presumed
that in such a contaugeucy as that to which his hon. friend
had adverted, end which be declined to accept or suppose
posalle—in such a ease he concluded his hon. friend the
member for Hertfordshire (Mr. Puller) would withdraw or
cease to persevere with the motion of which he had given
notice.
Mr. ILiGUIRE inquired when the adjourned debate on
the Tenure and Improvement of Land (Ireland) Bill would
be remixed.
Mr. CARDWELL—Not till after the holidays.
THE SICILIAN SUBSCRIPTIONS IN ENGLAND.
Mr. P. IifiDiNESSY rose, pennant to notice, to call the
attention of the house to the statement by the Solicitor-
General with reference to an advertisement in the Tissea
newspaper, for raising money to assist the insurgents in
Sicily, and to call attention to a decisions of the (;Dart of
Common Pleas as to the illegality of such • proceeding.
The hon. gentleman having read the question which was
put to the Solicitor-General, the answer of the hoe. and
learned gentleman, and the advertisement calling for aid
to the Italians which gave rise to the question, proceeded
to say that the avowed purpose for which funds were
asked was to aria in promoting insurrection against a
sovereign in amity with their own. General Garieddi
who commanded the force which landed in Sicily, received
• good deal of sympathy from this country. (Loud cheers
from the liberate) A good deal of sympathy had also been
given to two Italians who accompanied General
Garibaldi. One of those was Riccardi who is-
geed a proclamation! advocating the overtluvw
of all government and religion. (" Oh, oh," and
cries of Date !"l That proelanuatiou was issued in
IRO. (Laughter, and "Oh I") The other was Zambianchi,
described in Farini's work on Row who gathered together
• number of whale and put them to, death, and • prominent
member of the league of blood, • society well known in
Italy. It eras made a reproach to their neighbours screen
the Atlantic that they encouraged them filibustering expe-
ditions, but the government of the United States repudiated
them. For the first time they now found that one of the
old established governments of Europe, that an old
monarchy actually came forward to sanction, almost to
enforce, a filibustering expedition. Them min •
time when the foreign policy of England was WA
associated with revolutionists, when it desired to maintain
legitimate order, to uphold dyuasties, to promote the mum
of civilisation in Europe—("ob" and laughter)—and not to
promote, as it now seemed to do, not merely the cause of re-
volutiou and anarchy, but, as he thought he had shown, the
asicauciedthe:TiLimeenolT°n: teive3:7.p.,....t.7;:dfo.rceimmisa(i°dohgbeothgbia:evionecanlovuessrdVi.
vertieements to be inserted in newspapers ; much lees as
to what might be the penal or other consequences to be
antici . Now with this limitation he held and re.
the opinion he had already expressed, and he woukl
oßtrizany further on the general subject that in the Foreign
ent Act there was strongevidence on the part of those
who framed that statute lithe difficulty of dealing with plea-
Mons of that description. His attention had been called by the
hoe. member to the doctrine laid down in a case decided hi
the Court of Common Pleas. It bad been inferred that a
solitary act of subscription of that kind would amount to on
indictable offence. Upon that point he was entirely at ilea°
with the hon. member. He did not deny that in it.
cam of foreign ban sought to be raised against
a country which was at peace with this country
the Common Pleas held that an action upon
the contract could not be enforced, and held
therefore that the contract was tainted with illegality.
But every lawyer knew that illegality was one thing. and
criminality another. He thought when the matter bad
been fully considered it would be found there was no ma-
teriel difference of opinion existing on the question.
Mr. WHITESLDEthought that if the answer given by the
hen. and learned gentleman the other night causal con-
siderable contagion, the speech which he had just now made
would not be productive of much harm, inasmuch as he
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