The Express.
London, England, 1867-08-01 00:00:00

TIIE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST 1, 1867.

t•U it I 70NTtlai .

(THIS DAY.)

s.i Ol' THE E4NMENT.

"Th.• calmoe: Ile:•1 a meeting p:gterilay, at which
t. v.... 0' Ct.: 11 :re of Lords on Tu.. idny nmy be a 5...•
...• . 1:1%, thar natation, and ti.e ram,

• :.end. Call L..rc al rive.l at 'omit one tt•aclu;iuu
ui• . it. Ti..: Ifoae of 1.4)10 I.:: a eunibinati..n of
. • c•-: .2,1 1-1 tic .1 mete ,triking even
4:4 nui.nrical 1.1:.]9n1y, 114.4 :tetalltill Lort
• • of CO:111111.11111 WOLlia IiaLVO
•..01!..• of tte r. inist.y
• oLsti-
...-two! it. If the te!..i .try give a. the T d• 44

y will. tlry defer t:se b. 41: !m'am

y t wou.lll9t improbably be o itvoted
of the omcstion in the House of turn.
eiy reason so far recommends ~. frank acceptance
of t:a.• vote of the Lord*, and also an extension it some way
of the scheme of redistribution. A single weak would
st: ' cc to make the present temporary plans commensurate
e.t.a the enfranchising clauses of the bill ; and the slight
incoavenience of another week's delay in the prorogation
of r..rliament is as nothing compared with the momentous
consequences involvtil in a fresh campaign of agitation.
r.e moat a iseoievous of counsellors to any British
rr. '.uister. says the lie. cud, is the Tines newspaper! Every-
there is a new opinion. The course which in one
article we ..re assured is absolutely necessary to the salva-
tion o: the country, in another is deuounced as pernicious
to the best interests of too State. What government can
attemut to follow a guide so oczentric in its motions and so
uncertain of its own steps ? Upon the reform bill, to what
a muddle of contradictory conclusion* should we not have
come by this them, had we taken the Tim's advice It
❑ow wants the government to obliterate all that has been
.Mae and begin over again. Is it possible to believe that it
is a friend to reform which gives such a piece of advice
pareutly, what the TIM'S wants now is that the consti-
tution :,hould be put buck again into the crucible, in order
that it may come out three-cornered in every part.
The Herold trusts the government will refuse to enter-
tain an idea so perilous to the bill, and so disparaging to
the labours of the House of Commons. To revise the
whole scheme of redistribution is to let the stone roll
again to the bottom of the hill.
The T, legropie exhorts all liberal members of the House
of Commons to come back to their ;mat at once, if they
have quitted it. for the country has been trifled with.
A reform bill which admits the pauper householder of
four Pounds a year to the suffrage and excludes the
artisan paying Its. for his house-room is stamped with
condemnation in its very title. As to the principle of
representing minorities, the overwhelming argument
against it is that it would reduce the return of members
to a mere matter of party tactics. It is a plan for referring
the choice of the I louse of Commons, not to the people at
large, but to seer. • conclaves. If such a form of govern-
ment could be re... 4 carried out, it would be strictly and
literally an oligarchy.
Rather than see the ridiculous principle of dethroning
majorities introdueed into the constitution of England, the
Star weal I allow the whole Reform Bill to go to the logs
for this ye ,r. When the Lords are prepared to admit the
minority of labour represented say by Mr. Potter and Mr.
Connolly to th it gilded chamber, the boroughs will, no
doubt, be Lodi ed to look with more favour upon the re-
presentation of sin ritks in the Hotta! of Commis%

THE 'AMINE IN INDIA.

DESPATCH OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

This m..rning was presented to parliament, by
her Majesty's command, the copy of a despatch of the
Secretary of State to the Governor-General of India, dated
the 25th ult (Thuraday last), relative to the Bengal and
Orissa famine.

The despatch commences with An allusion to the
painful effect which the calamity bus produced on all
classes of the people. " Such a visitation," writes Sir S.
Nortlicofe, " even if we could console ourselves smith the
reflection that every i.vailable means had been used to
avert and to mitigate it, must necessarily be felt as a
severe misfortune ; and I deeply regret that on the pro-
a.nt occasion this consolation is denied to me. I am re-
luctantly brought to the conclusion that, tbouih the
melancholy loss of life which the conniseioners' report
may be due mainly to natural and inevitable mien,
there Las been a most unfortunate want of foresight and
of energy on the past of those who were charged with
the administration of the province where it occurred ;
and that some grave errors of judgment have been com-
mitted."

The Secretary of State does not forget the difficulties
and qualifying circumstances, and indeed, he recapitulates
them ; but he adds Lis opinion that a sufficient amount of
►ttention to the facts, as they were gradually brought to
light, would have shown the authorities, et a comparatively
early period, the duty of supplying the necessary food. The
blame of the failure does not rest exclusively upon any
(articular individual. It is not to be wondered at that in
the early period Sir Cecil Beadon, the Lieutenant-Governor
of Bengal, should have placed implicit reliance on the
Board of Revenue, but the Secretary of State cannot but
regret he should have continued that confidence so long.
The course of events in lesi:e66 must hate led him to per-
ceive the necessity for more active personal investigation,
and the fact that he found it necessary to visit Orissa
proves that it had done so, though even then he
seems to have been under the influence of the
views he had imbibed from the board. It is unfortunate
that the government of India, although their attention
appears to have been specially called to the subject, did
not exercise their influence in favour of a more vigorous
course. At an early period the Governor-General was per-
sonally of opinion that it might become desirable to import
food, which opinion was not shared by members of the
council. " The amount of information actually in possession
of the government at that time," writes Sir S. Northcote,
" was perhaps hardly sufficient to justify so exceptional •
measure ; bus it was, I think, enough to have awakened
the most serious apprehensions, and to have induced your
government to urge the Lieutenant-Governor to undertake
an immediate and searching inquiry." Had the govern.
meat, as soon as their attention was called to thedeubject,
instituted a strict inquiry into the actual condition
of the district and made public the result, there can be
little doubt the supplies would have speedily been sent.
This was not done, and the responsibility for the omission
appears to rest chiefly upon the Board of Revenue, whose
action upon one or two critical occasions was most unfor-
tunate. Having given illustrations of their want of
perception of the importance of accurate information, and
of the tenacity with which the board clung to the belief
that there was a sufficiency of food—a belief accepted upon
very inadequate evidence—the Secretary of State proceeds
to advert to the visit of the Lieutenant-General to Orissa
in February, 1866. Are the imperfections of this personal
investigation to be attributed to Sir C. Beedon's
own fault, or to the fault of others Answering
this question, the right hon. gentleman writes :
"It appearsto nie, after careful consideration, that they
are to be attributed partly to the one and partly to the
other. Undoubtedly be had been misled by the represen-
tations which had reached him through the Board of
Revenue, and had come with preconceived views, which
he could not readily lay aside. Undoubtedly the
information tendered to him, and the opinions ad-
vaned by the local officers with whom he came in con-
tact during his visit, fell very short of the truth, and
were calculated rather to confirm, than to dispel his
error. Undoubtedly, too, those who accompanied him, and
who ought to have been peculiarly well qualified to form a
judgment, I refer to Mr. Cockburn and Colonel Nicoll..
shared his belief that matters were in a much better state
than unfortunately they really were. Still, after making
allowance for all these considerations, I am obliged to say
that Sir C. Beadon did not, upon this occasion, show the
energy or the sagacity which might have been expected
from en offieer of such high distinction and such well-
deserved reputation. It was to be expected that, having
undertaken this visit, he would have made • minute personal
inquiry into the real state of the district, and would not
have been satisfied with the general statements of the
local officers, but would have questioned them closely, de-
manded explanations of their alarming telegrams and
other representations, and would have tested their evi-
dence both by cross-examination and by comparing it
with that of others. Such an examination would pro.
bably have startled them from their security, and brought
them to a proper appreciation of the facts of the case.
it is, therefore, the more lamentable that this, the last
chance of amelioration, should thus have been lost."
Sir S. Northcote, alluding to the conduct of the
officers who were brought into contact with the famine,
expresses his surprise to find that Colonel Nicoll', who
had such peculiar facilities, should have done so little to
enlighten the Lieutenant-Governor. Mr. Barlow's con-
duct is, upon the whole, very praiseworthy, but the
Secretary cannot think that, upon the occasion of
the Lieutenant-Governor's visit, he was as fully
alive to the real state of affairs as the com-
missioners apparently consider him to have been.
" If I could believe that be was so," continues the Secre-
tary of State, " and that be withheld his information
deliberately, through fear of an official rebuff, I should
regard his conduct as highly censurable." The suggestions
of the commissioners will have the secretary's serious
attention ; and the right boa. gentleman will ►leo take
into consideration whether any alterations are desirable in
the organisation of the government of Bengal, or in the
constitution of the Board of Revenue—points upon which
he requests the advice and cooperation of the Indian
government.

In conveying his thanks to the unefficial persons—Euro-
peans and natives—whose benevolence and liberality are
so warmly acknowledged by the commissioners, the right
hon. gentleman adds:—" I particularly desire that the
thanks of the government may be forwarded to the Rajah
of Parricood, whose conduct was both honourable to him-
self and well calculated to set a bright example to the
native landowners, whose aid it hu always been the desire
of the British government to obtain in dealing with the
great body of the people."

PROTECTION ,WALYST

REPORT OF A PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE.

This morning was issued the report of the select
committee of the House of Commons appointed to inquire
into the existing legislative provisions fur the protection
of life and property against tires in the Unit. gt kingdom,
and as to the best means to be adoptsd fel asocrtainiug
the c sews and preventing the frequency of fire..
The committee, after stating the course which they have
pursued in making these investigat:ons, anal ng the
general character of the evidence they have re_ .ise.l, pro-
ceed to offer a series of recommendations. They advise a
general building act for all towns and places in the United
Kingdom governed by municipal corporat,ew, •c.,
similar to the Metropolitan Buildin.pi Act and to
Ills Building Acta of Liverpool, the sugges-
tions of professional witnesses as to the thick-
ness of walls and other details being taken :alvautage
of in passing such an act. In all buildings composed of
shops below and dwelling-houses above, the committee
recommend that the floor immediately above the shop
should be made fireproof, and that there should be a ready
means of escape from the roof ; also that the floors of all
large lodging-houses for the poor be made fireproof,
and that there should be ample means of escape.
It is a somewhat singular fact that the architects,
bunglers, and district surveyors who were examined
before the committee, deposed that when u fire takes
phew in a warehouse, iron is of little use in
stopping its progress. Generally speakiug, they prefer
wood well plastered for fire-proof purposes to iron, and
some of them give a preference to wooden stairs instead of
stone, as the latter crumbled with the beat. It seems
that bills for the supply of water by companies or local
authorities containing clauses providing that the water need
not be constantly laid on, have been allowed to pass
without investigation, and the committee recommend that
it should be made a standing order of the house thst such
bills shall be referred to the referees to inquire whether
sufficient reaton exist for such provisions. Where it is
proved in an investigation that the fire was caused by
culpable carelessness, the person or persons implicated
should be deemed guilty of a punishable offence.

Other recommendations of the committee relate to the
igniting point of mineral oils used for illuminating purposes,
which ought not, they think, to be sold with an igniting
point under 110 Fahrenheit. All such oils imported ought
to be tested in this respect and marked before being
stored, and more stringent regulations should he made re-
garding the storing in warehouses and keeping in shops
of turpentine, camphine, and similar spirits. In very few
other towns save London and Liverpool is this subject
attended to. There remain fires that are wilfully caused.
On referring to the evidence the committee find that these
are to be traced to several sources, lit, to individuals
and organised gangs of men who make a trade of it to de-
fraud the insurance companies ; 2nd, to parties who
have been unfortunate in business, and who cannot
meet the claims made upon them ; 3rd to persons
in warehouses to conceal theft of goods made
by them on the warehouses. 4th, to malice. The wit-
nesses concur in the belief that an inquiry made into all
fires would reduce the gross number of them. The
police, or fire brigade, should initiate the inquiry and re-
port to an authorised officer, whom the committee think
should be the coroner, anything that appears in the least
suspicious ; the officer should examine witnesses, or, if he
thinks proper,imp►nel a jury; and any person shown to be
implicated should be prosecuted at the Central Criminal
Court. The coroner should be paid partly by fees and partly
by salary out of the rates. The committee specially recom-
mend that no claim should be settled by any insurance
company without a certificate from the police or fire
brigade, or officer appointed to conduct the investigation
into the origin of the fire ; but this certificate should not
debar the insurance officers from opposing the claim if
they think proper.

rite Court.

OSBORNE, JILT

The Queen, accompanied by Princess Louis of
Hesse, walked and dray° yesterday afteinoon, and her
Majesty walked in the grounds this morning with her
Royal Highness.
The other members of the Royal Family also went out.
The Countess of Gainaborough has succeeded the
Duchess of Roxburgh. as fady-in-W►iting.
Mr. Harry Emanuel, of Bond-street, has had the
honour of submitting to her Majesty's inspection a silver
shield, upon which the live senses are allegorimdly repre-
sented—this having been designed and executed by
Thomas Pierpoint, formerly a student at the South
Kensington Museum.

A Cabinet Council was held yesterday at the official
residence of the First Lord of the Treasury in Downing-
street. The Ministers present were the Lord Chancellor,
the Duke of Marlborough, the Earl of Malmesbury, the
Right Hon. Gathorne Hardy, Lord Stanley, the Duke of
Buckingham and Chanties, Sir John Pakingbon, Sir 8.
Northcote, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Bight
Hon. H. T. L. Corry, Lord J. Manners, Lord Naas, and
the Right Hon. Spencer H. Walpole.
A Committee of the Lords of her Majesty. Most
Honourable Privy Council sat yesterday at the Privy
Council Office, Whitehall, on the subject of the cattle
plague. The lords present were the Lord President and
the Right Hon. H. Waddington.
A deputation from the Educational Institute of Scot-
land, the Free Church Teachers' Association, and the
Association of Certificated Schoolmasters in Scotland, in-
troduced by Colonel Sykes, X P., and consisting of Mr.
William Kennedy, Mr. John M'Turk, Mr. James Smith, Mr.
William Sutherland, Mr. Alexander C. Weir, Mr. James
Wylie, and Mr. Thomas Milne, had an interview with the
Lord President of the Council, the Vice President of the
Council for Education, and the Lord Advocate of Scot-
land, at the Privy Council-office yesterday.
A deputation from the London Shipowners' Society,con-
listing of Mr. Toiler, chairman, Mr. W. Anderson, Mr. O.
Duncan, Mr. W. Strang, and Mr. J. Glover, had en inter-
view
with the Right Hon. Stephen Cave, at the office of
the Board of Trade yesterday.
Despatches were received yesterday at the Colonial-
office from the Governor-General of Canada.

THE RECENT VISIT OF THE EMPRES3 ErcENIE
TO THE Qtwi.—A Pali' correspondent of the Jul,.,'
Pea dance Beige loye:—" It does not appear that QueenVic-
torts is coming to Paris. It is said that one of the motives
of the journey of the Empress to Osborne was to induce
the British sovereign to make an excursion to the conti-
nent. It is also said that the mission of her Majesty,
Eugenie, was to communicate to Queen Victori some
letters of the Emperor Napoleon 111. and the Emperor
kfaximilian, calculated to throw a new light upon the
matter so sadly terminated at Queretaro, and to dispel
any prejudices Mist may have been entertained in England
respecting the pert played by the Imperial government
throughout this incident."

Sir Augustus Paget, the newly-appointed Mi-
nister Plenipotentiary from the Court of St. James to
Florence, is expected to leave town to-day or to-morrow
for Florence, to enter upon his diplomatic functions.

The Right Hon. the Speaker gave his sessional
dinner to the principal officers and clerks of the House of
Commons last evening, when the following gentlemen
were present:—Sir Denis Le Murchant, Lord Charles Rus-
sell, Sir Thomas Erskine May, Mr. H. Ley, Mr. Rickards,
Captain Gosset, Mr. Howard, Mr. Frere, Mr. Palgrave,
Mr. W. Rose, Mr. Hodgkin, Mr. Charles Pole, Mr. Postle-
thwaite, Mr. Collins, Mr. Hearn, Mr. H. B. Mayne, Mr.
Marriott, Mr. Bull, Mr. Estes, Lieutenant-Colonel Forester,
Mr. Broom, Mr. Glyn, Mr. E. Ley, Mr. Hawes, Mr. Con-
roy, Mr. Stone, Mr. Austin Leigh, Mr. Webber, Mr. Fer-
guson Ririe, Mr. Milmen, Mr. Molyneux, Mr. Laughton,
Rev. Dr. Motivate, chaplain; Mr. Alfred Denison, private
secretary.

LONDON, CHATHAM, AND DOVER R kILWAV.—
The select committee appointed by the House of Lords
to legislate upon the affairs of this company will meet to-
day at eleven o'clock. Lord Hylton (Sir William Jolliffe)
has been appointed chairman, the other members of the
committee being Earl Cadogan, Viscount Hawarden, Lord
Foley, and Lord Dunsandle. The bill has been consider-
ably altered in the Commons to meet the claims of the
various petitioners, some of whom appear to be still un-
satisfied, having presented petitions against the bill in the
House of Lords. Amongst the petitioners are the Crest
Northern Railway Company, debenture holders, common
fund shareholders, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, the
Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway Company. Some of
them, however, perhaps in dread of such a pruning as their
lordships have given to a well-known public bill, appear
only to protect the cl►uses inserted for their benefit in the
House of Commons.

LATZST INTCLUGENCE.

ROME AND ITALY. 3.0.
The Gaulle of Y, mice says the follow • resolu-
tions were come to at a meeting held in that city
on the 28th ult.:
The people of Venice in public meeting assembled, con-
sidering that the very life of Italy is involved in the Roman
question, whilst exprvaing their sympathy with the insur-
rectionary movements of the Roman people, demand the
immediate execution of the parliamentary vote which pro-
claimed Rome to be the capital of Italy. The people of
Venice congratulate the National Committee of Rome and
the Centre of Insurrection on the occasion of their fusion,
and it wishes that this example of patriotism and concord
may find an echo in every Italian breast.

lazuTEL's Tit zaamm)
FRANCE.

PARIS, Arcusr 1.

The Moniteur of to-day publishes an article on
General Dumont's mission to Rome, in which it
says :—" The journals are discussing the mission
to Rome, which had been entrusted to General
Dumont, and publish a speech alleged to have
been delivered by him. It is necessary to state
the exact truth of the affair. The Minister of
War has simply requested General Dumont,
during his stay in Rome, to inquire into the
causes which had led a certain number of deser-
tions from the Antibes Legion. As regards the speech
attributed to General Dumont, suffice it to say it
was not spoken. The reports published of it are
apocryphal."

The Con.la/lotion/id of to-day publishes an
article by M. Paulin Limayrac, in which he
shows that France had not interfered diplomatic-
ally in the differences between Prussia and Den-
mark. Instructions had been sent to the French
representative at Berlin from which all idea of in-
terfering in the negotiations now pending
between Berlin and Copenhagen was excluded.
The Mouitcur has stated the truth of the situation
by declaring that no note has been either presented
or read to the Berlin cabinet relative to Schleswig.
It was however not stated that the French govern.
ment had written no despatches to its chargé
d'affaires at Berlin oil the subject. Everyone
knows that governments almost daily send off
despatches containing instructions or directions on
the various pending questions, and frequently
their representatives read or communicate
confidentially such documents. These are mere
acts of courtesy bearing no official character, and
in no way affecting the relations existing between
the States. The presentation of a note would
have been serious, but the existence of several
despatches to our agent in Berlin is hardly of a
nature to occupy public attention. Rather would
the Prussian government itself have been astonished
had the French government withheld its opinion
on so important a question, and would regard such
silence as bad augury, thus creating one of the
situations which is seldom produced, but which
always creates distrust. Such are not the relations
of the two cabinets."

. I&it W. Ili 11',--!--,`",.. ;W.I B. 11874
—I 1f
I—. —......
Nairn
Aberdeen L30.00 51 N. 1 N.K. co 1• 3
li Leith
Antrossan
Greencastle 30.13 56 R.N.R. 1 N.N.W. co I— 1
Valenti& . . 13013 NI N. 1 W. b 1
E. whe's Point 00.0 581 N.N. W. 2 8. eb I— 2
Liverpool 30.00 58 O.K. 1 N.W. a 1
Holyhead 30.04 601 114.1 1 W. N. W. cm 1
Pomace WM 611 N.E. 4 16.8. R. ac 3
Brest
Lorleut Ni. 73 611 INA 4 IN./ co 3
Rochefort.— 20.65 031 & 1 8. o 2
Plymouth th.97 63, Z. 8.11. I I 18.1 a 4
Weymouth 30.0150; R. 31 B.&1 mb 3
Portsmouth WM NI K. 4 I 8.0.110. ls
London
_ 90.06 561 R. 2 I 8.8. Ibe I
Yarmouth 30.03 54, 8.8.13. 4 W. c— 3
OS
Bcarhovongb. 30.1055 N. N.l I 2 NA co I
shields
Helder

REM A
Atmospherical pressure has dl
now decreasing too the west con
. .

—moderato on the south coast
overcast.

hahtished In the south, and is
It of Fr►nce. Winds are easterly
and light elsewhere. Weather

➢lr. Corry will move the Greenwich Hospital
vote in committee of supply to-morrow.

A petition is printed with the parliamentary
votes to-day from " George Septimue Phillips, of No. 5,
Earl-street, in the city of Coventry, chemist and olruggist,
and John Astley, of No. 4, Broad-gate. in the said city of
Coventry, oilman," praying that the late election and
return of Mr. Jackson be declared null and void on the
ground of bribery, treating, and undue influence.

Messrs. Virtue and Co. purpose commencing in
October the publication of • new monthly magazine. It
will be called The New Metropolitan Magazine, and will
be edited by Anthony Trollope.
Prince Charles Bonaparte has come forward as a
candidate for • seat in the Council General at Ajeoclo.
If elected, of which there is little doubt, the young
prince will it that manner make his (Abut in political life.
The number of immigrants that arrived at New
York during the first six months of 18ti7 was 136,82 G, of
whom 28,308 came by sailing vessels, and 108,518 by
steamers.

THE ENGLISH CHURCH AND THE SCANDINAVIAN
Books.—Dr. Pusey writes to the Griardims:—" I have
been asked by several, both clergy and laity, with whom
lam of one mind, to request you to insert a few lines on
a subject which, according to our convictions, deeply
affects the well-being of our church. An energetic party
(looking, as we think, to the mere question whether
Sweden retains the Episoopal succession or the Danish
body would accept it from us) has for some time been
anxious that the church of England should recognise the
Scandinavian bodies, and enter into communion with
them. We know that any such recognition would be
fatal to any hope of re-union with the orthodox eastern
church, such as many of your readers pray and long for.
For it haacondemnedLutheranisin as heretical. But further
we believe that any such implied recognition of the errors of
Lutheranism (even in ignorance) would be very injurious
to our claim to catholicity, and would now, as it did
before in the alliance wish the King of Prussia about the
Jerusalem bishopric, unsettle the minds of many in their
allegiance to our own church. We therefore implore such
persons by the mercies of Christ not to offer violence
to our consciences by endeavouring to obtain any such
recognition from the bishops to be assembled in Septem-
ber ; and we hope that • memorial will be presented to
those bishops earnestly deprecating any such recognition so
long as those bodies adhere to the Lutheran nyuitolical
books, which, we believe, contain merely heresy, from
which God in His mercy preserved us. I have stated re-
oently some of my grounds for disbelieving even the
Swedish succession, in en ' Introductory F.-.say on Ile-
union.' I have alluded to sows, though only a few, of
their heresies."

LANCASHIRE ♦RD YORKRHIRE RAILWAY. —At a
meeting of the directors of this company, held yesterday,
it was decided to recommend to the proprietors, at their
next meeting, to declare a dividend for the half-year, out
of the net earnings of the six months, at the rate of 64
per amt. par banana, Inn incase tax.