The Express.
London, England, 1867-02-09 00:00:00

ANSWER TO THE ADIY:I:,;s.

The Duke of MARLitoltortal broi.cht up the
following answer from her 3lajeaty to the address:—
"I thank you sincerely for your loyal and duti-
ful address. Re assured I shall always be ready to
eo•opornte with you in all mea=cres having fcr their object
the improvement of the hay and iustit.:tions of the
country and the promotion of the welfare and happiness of
my people." Ile begged to more that her Majesty's
gracious reply be entered upon their lordships journal.
The motion was agreed to.
CONDITION OF THE I:OVAL NAVY.

Tloc Duke of SIIMERSET, in moving fur a return of tl e
Bundler of ships added to the navy from lsnO to Itoi:s.
entered into a lengthened defence of the -,olicy of the
bite Dosinl of Admiralty whilst be was Lt it% head
/rind Lord. lie remarked that, having regard to the int-
!movement.' which were an rapidly,. tak:tog place in the
com.truction of iron-plated ship., his object hail been to
avoid roshim., prematurely into a vast expendi-
ture which the experience of n very abort time
10'4kt prove to be usele( 0, whilst maint..ining the
aervice in such a state as to he ready to meet toy unfore-
(teen emergency. On the whole, lie contended that he had
left the navy in a condition to meet any exigency that
was likely to aria,. and declared bin self ready to submit
bia administration to the most searching inq airy.
The Earl of DERItY was not o..irpristil at the noble
duke taking the earliest opportunity r f vindicating his
eon luevat the Admiralty from the charger which had
been bnmght a minst him, but in which be (the Earl of
Derry) for one%ad never conconl-l. On the contrary.
Ise was ready to bear testimony to the energy and ability
of the nolde duke whilst he presiolod over the department.
Erl CI:IN .:ensured the policy of the Admiralty with
lelepeet to building new shape, which he ..ttr,buted, how-
ever. rather to the unreflective presser. of the House of
Commons than the fault of the gove:ntuent.
The motion as amended was then agreed to.

THE PROPOSED TRADES' UNIONS DkMONSTRA•
TION ON MONDAY.

The Eorl of DUDLEY rose to ask the intention of the
government in regard to the proposed prcetssiou of the
members of vari..us trade,.' unions through sevi ral of the
most crowded thoroughfares of the metro, olis wad the
West-cud next nl.ay. He had hope.', AU events,
hat the counsel which the govemtno.t seri..eil to have
taken with the I scalers of this inovem,ut would have
enabled them to have pointed out the loss and in•
convenience which must result to the populace who
happonal to reside in the thotouguf.xes which
were shosen :Li the route of the procession.
But though these meetings might be permitted now, the
matter was, after all, a question of degree ; for it was polo
sable tint! they might become such an enormous grievance
that it gould he absolutely necessary to pot a stop to
thorn.

The cart of DERBY—My lords, I am sure that no
moll:eau required from the noble earl for having bruught
limier your lordships' attention what is undoubtedly a
question of very serious importance. 1 can assure the ,
noble earl that he cannot regret more deeply than I do
that those who have the conduct of this vast organisation, •
and who have expended en much care and pains during the
last several months in bringing it to beer, should not have
taken a more correct and sound view of the duty they owe
to the public, and to the interests of the country gene-
rally, than to ;avant in a procession which, although
strictly within the law, is certain to produce very great
inconvenience, and is liable to lead to acts of
illegality, lint the noble earl does her Majesty's
government too touch honour in supposing that
our power of persuasion is such as to induce
these gentlemen to forego their long-announced inten-
tion. With the opportunity they will have of displaying
their immenseueganwtion.withleadersat the head of each
detachment in fancy dresses, with scarves, and exhibiting
a perfect military discipline to an admiring multitude.
we cannot pretend to hope that they will, out of deference
to any wishes of ours. or in consequence of any measure
we propose to introduce, desist from the counts they
have determined upon. Nay, more, my lords ; although I
deprecate the course which these gentleman are pursuing,
I myself believe that they desire, so far as they can.
that their procession shall he a perfectly peaceful and
orderly one ; but the noble earl must allow me to say that
Iss was in error when lie supposed that a certain number
from each body were to be sworn in as special constables.
It is not within the law that they should be so sworn.
No person can be sworn as a special constable except upon
sworn information before a magistrate to the effect that
the informants believed a breech of the peace to be immi-
nent ; and that it was to guard against such an occurrence
that they tendered their services. It is quite clear
that there gentlemen would never under the circumstances
send certain members of their own body to make any such
depositions. Not but that I think breaches of the peace
are very likely to be committal. Ido not believe they
will be committed by those who are promoting the proces-
sion ; hut it is impossible that in the heart of a great city
like this as procession of 20,000, or 14,000, or 60.0014 or
70,000 men can he collected together and occupy the main
thoroughfares for a considerable period of the slay, with-
out the idle vagabond class, who would naturally accom-
pany ouch a proceesion, becoming a source of risk and
danger. (Hoar, hear.) I would have the gentlemen who
take the conduct of this procession into their hands to
recollect that although their procession may not of itself
be illegal, yet that it may become illegal In the circum-
stances 'attending it--(hear, hear)—and in that case these
gentlemen who so recklessly expose the metropolis to
danger cannot escape from the responsibilities which they
incur. (I 'berm ) They must, and they wil Ibe held personally
liable for any loss to life or property that may arise.
(Renewed cheers). The meeting will muse considerable
obstruction to the ordinary traffic ; it will cause very great
inconvenience and loss—loss to operatives of their day's
wages, has to shopkeepers, loss and inconvenience to every-
body, and to an almest incalculable extent—and for what
purpose For the purpose, as they say, of making a de-
monstration in fnvoar of reform. Now, her 3lajeaty'a
government are quite prepared to deal with that question
and to bring it under the consideration of parliament ; but
I mint say that demonstrations of this kind are not likely
to tend to that calmness with which so great a question
ought to he imionitteil to the legislature. (Cheers.) More-
over, if we are to believe the leaders of this organisation,
vast multitudes are about to assemble for the promotion of
an object which, I d.m't say the present government, but
no government and no statesman that would ever be
likely to conduct the affairs of this country, would
for one moment conoent to. We are told that
that which will alone satisfy those vast multi-
tudes are manhood suffrage and vote by ballot,
which two things together would entirely destroy the
constitution of this country. (Hear, hear.) What en-
couragement is it to parliament to ake into their deli-
berate consideration bow far they may extend the fran-
chise aril the liberties of the people if they are told " it
Is all of no use, for we will bring out a vast demonstra-
tion of our physical strength and our numbers, and we
tell you that what you are going to do is of no use. Your
labours willbe raceived with no gratitude, but they will
only tend to other demonstrations and further exhi-
bitions of force till we obtain what is a prac-
tical revolution." (Cheers.) My lords, do not be-
hove for:urn single moment that any demonstration of this
kind wall intimidate parliament, or lead it to assent to ex-
treme it( mends. (Cheers.) I only hope that it will not
have a contrary effect—the effect of deterring parliament
from deli/se rtingand candidly considering the merits of
the cask., or of driving it back from the path it would
otherwise have been inclined to tread. (('beers.) In
answer t.. the question of the noble earl as to what the
govermuont intend to do. I have to state that we shall con-
fine on.« ices with in the HIM ts of the law. We have carefully
considered what measures it would be within our lower to
resort to with a view to pot a stop to this demonstration.
or to interfere with ita progress; and we are informed
that however misehievoua or however injurious, however
liable to produce loam of property, and even of life it may
be, it i• not illegal, and we should not be juetifieil in in-
terfering with it so long as it is conducted peacefully.
There are only two acts which relate to the sabject. One
is anvil •tatilte of Charles IL, which prohibits persons, un-
der P 11,1 i ilty, f tom attempting to present petitimis to podia-
ment in a greater number than ten. There is another act
of Geoaa• 111., to which I suppose the noble earl referred,
awl wid.rh provides that if any pont na assemble
within a mile of the place of holding parliament,
for the purpose of passing resolutions, petitioi.s, or re-
monstrances with regard to matters concerning the state,
each assembly shall be deemed illegal, with all its conse-
quences. Rut there is nothing which says that persons
Anil not meet within a mile of parliament for the pur-
pose of forming a procession, not to come down to parlia-
ment with a view to intimidate it, but to proceed in
eased) the opposite direction—to go, in fact, to make