The Express.
London, England, 1866-08-07 00:00:00

PUBLIC HEALTH BILL.

This bill wee read a second time after a brief discussion
in the course of which Lord Suarresaut. urged the neces-
sity of more stringent powers in respect o/ the water
supply, and Lord CA:INAUVON announced that in 001410.
qtence of the prevalence of cholera an order in council
would immediately be issued, requiring a:: ships coming
under the operation of the Passenger Act to carry • sur-
pmewhatever the number of passengers.
Several bill wore advanced in their various stages.

HABEAS CORPUS SUSPENSION (IRELAND) ACT
CONTINUANCE BILL

The Earl of DERRY, in moving the aeoond reading of
this bill, said—My lords, it is with great reluctance that
I rise to move the second reading of this bill. Nothing
would be more gratifying to me than to be able to state
that the condition of Ireland was now such, sad the conspi-
racy which prevailed in .that country was so far ex-
tinguished, es to allow us to revert to the ordi-
nary law, and not continue the extraordinary sus-
pension of the Habeas Corpus Act. I need not
refer to the circumstances which were stated at
the commencement of this session by her Majesty's late
government as a reason why the extraordinary powers
which they demanded should be confided to them, as they
were confided to them, I believe, almost without a dis-
sentient voice in parliament, for the purpose of defending
the peaceable and loyal inhabitants of It-eland from the
most dangerous and treasonable conspiracy that ever
existed in any country. I am quite sure those extraor-
dinary measures were not applied for one single moment
before they were necessary, and if I were to express my
own opinion on the subject, I should think the fault of the
late government was in rather delaying too long the ap-
.plication of the remedy until the conspiracy attained a
strength and power which rendered it much more difficult
to grapple with it than at an earlier period.
At the same time no doubt this was a fault on the right
side, because no government. unless it be absolutely necea-
sary, would desire to go beyond the ordinary powers of
the law, and thereby ourtail the liberties of the people.
The operation of tine suspension of the Habeas Corpus A.ct,
carried out as it was by the executive under the authority
of the noble earl opposite, with an amount of firmness
and at the same time of temper and moderation which
reflect tile highest credit on the manner in which he dis-
charged the duties of his office—these, my the
operation of the suspension has been most remarkable in
restoring peace and tranquillity to Ireland. (Hear, hear.)
I sex happy to nay that at the present moment the returns
from the assizes show a remarkable diminution with re-
gard to the ordinary amount of crime in Ireland, but at
the same time with regard to this Fenian curuipitacy
I cannot flatter myself, rind I know that it is the
opinion of her Majesty's late governuient that although
the measures adopted have checked the outward'
manifestation of Fenianisni, the spirit is not by any means
subdued.; that it stlll exist! to • dangerous extent, and
that with :can impulsive population like that of Irehind the
permission to carry on their proceedings unchecked by
more than the ordinary measures, would be liable to throw
the country again into a state of the greatest confusion
and danger. The measure has been acted on, as I have
stated, with temper and moderation. A very considerable
number of persona were arrested under the provisions of
the set, and a large portion of those—l t elieve more than
half of the whole number—who have been able to give any
security for their future good conduct and the observance
of the law, have been allowed freely to go forth, and it is
the earnest desire of her Majesty's present goverbnient to
extend that system as much as possible, and to allow the
removalfromprison of anyperatins who can give any security
or hold out any prospect of acting in future as loyal sub-
jects of the mown. (Hear, hear.) But there are a
considerable number of persons from whom no rich
security can be obtained or expected, and who, in point of
fact, still 'maintain the language of defiance to the autho-
rities. and the letting loose of all these persons on society
would be, in my mind, incurring a responsibility which
no government, with a proper sense of duty to the sove-
reign and country, cught to accept for the five or
six months during which the sitting of parlia-
ment is to be suspended. Rut it is not only with
regard to those persons who have been removed
from the scene of their dangerous attempts—it is not in
regard to them chiefly that I think the suspension of the
Habeas Corpus Act has been beneficial, and that its repeal
would be most injurious—a great portion of this formi-
dable conspiracy is not of Irish birth. (Hear, Lear.) It
comes from foreign agents—self-expatriated Irishmen, per-
haps, who in a foreign country carry on a treasonable
conspiracy against the land of their birth, secure
under the laws of the land to which they have transferred
their allegiance. At the time of the pausing of this
act we knew well that a large number of those persons
were in Ireland spreading their opinions among an impul-
sive and easily deluded population. When they found
this act passed, a great many of those per-ions returned to
America, end relieved the country of their presence, and
from the thee of their going forth it was not so much from
the imprisonment of those who remained as the absence of
those who went abroad from tenor of the law, that peace
prevailed. The repeal of this act at the close of the ses-
sion would give an opportunity to those persons to return
with perfect impunity, and renew the designs they have
never abandoned, and which they still put forward in the
United States with the utmost confidence and effrontery.
Repeal the act and you will have an influx of all those
dangerous agents into Ireland, and you will have the popu-
lation of that country exposed to all the dangers from
which this measure has exempted them. It is much more
in reference to these foreign agents returning to renew
sedition end egitation in Ireland, than to the native popu-
lation, that the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act will
operate beneficially ; and I certainly believe that with the
removal of that dangerous; element, and with the powers
conferred upon the government, exercised, as I feel confi-
dent they will be, with firmness, but at the same time
with moderation, and with an anxious desire to protect
the loyal and traceable inhabitants of the country—l be-
lieve that, altboulh this suspension may be looked upon,
ands ti a certain extent • great curtailment of the
liberty of the people, it will be hailed by the wen-dispoeod
portion of the population as the greatest protection for
their lives and liberties during the ensuing autumn and
winter. (Hear, hear.) I trust at the commencement of
next session matters will be so far improved that we may
again ask you to revert to the ordinary powers of the
law, but at the present moment I am quite certain that I
should not be justified if I were not to ark your lordships
to entrust to the present government, until the next ses-
sion, the same powers which were entrusted to the late
government. (Hear.) My lords, I beg to move the second
reading of the bill. (Hear, hear.)
Lord KIMBERLEY, while also regretting that it
should he necessary to continue the suspension of the
Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland, said that had he remained
in office he should have recommended • similar course to
the government. He observed that although there was,
happily, a decreased amount of ordinary crime in Ireland,
yet the extent to which the Fenian conspiracy bad ex-
tended rendered it necessary to meet that dangerous
isation with vigour and promptitude. In his
opinion there bad been no such dangerous conspiracy
17%, because in this instance it had been
fomented and supported from • foreign country,
sad it would be highly imprudent suddenly to
abandon all those precautionary measurer which bad
proved so efficacious an preventing an outbreak. After
speaking of the temperate manner in which the United
Stater" repreeentative in Dublin had ixterpoad on behalf
of Anoxia= citizens who were arrested undintthe Steepen-
Bien Aet, and the support mishit the t had re-
solved from the gentry al Ireland, Ind Kimberley ex-
pressed his conviction that to insure the contentment of
that country a settlement of the land tenure (portion must
be effected, sod the Irish Church question must be dealt
with.