The Express.
London, England, 1868-06-24 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. /4

The appearance of the House of Lords at "rte
meeting yesterday afternoon gave no hint of, the
disappointment in store for those who had Amid_
r etortha discussion upon the principle„ f the
Reform Bill. Although the ',matches „
either side were by no means crowded there wee
quite as large en attendance of peeri „ail have
been anticipated, considering t'4.l there was no
probability of a division upon 'toe almond reading
of the measure. The Earl of wahsteehury effer"il
no explanation of the T.crovirions of the bill,
and the suggestion of the Duke of Argyll,
that as it bad only beeA delivered that morning
the discussion should he pegtponeil until their
lordships were asked to go into committee, met
with universal accesiescience. The bill was there-
fore read a second tine, and we mist wait till
next Tuesday until we can learn the views of the
peers upon its principal provision. The only other
mordent in Rise upper chamber was the presenta-
tion by Lord Lyttelton-of a petition signed by be-
tween 200 and 360 beneeieed clergymen, in favour
of the Suspensory BilL The action of these gen-
tlemen weaved to excite the astonishment and
horror of Lord Itedeedale, and the noble lord pro-
tested in good set terms against the robbery--the
sacrilege, as he seemed to regard it—to which they
were prepared to give their sanction.
The discussion of the provisions of the Public
Schools Bill (in committee), which occupied the
whele -of the early sitting of the House of Com-
mons, branched out into a variety of topics of more
ex loss intenst and importance. Mr. Newdegate
made two ineffectual attempts to prolong theerist-
Villte and extend the authority permitted to the
existing governing bodies by the bill; but the
amendments which he proposed were supported in
the lobby by only very smell minorities. The
claims of the lower, middle, and upper artisan
chimes to-participate in the benefits to be derived
from the endowments to be dealt with under this
measure were raised by Mr. Acland, Mr. Mill, and
other gentlemen, upon an amendment proposed by
Mr. Lowther in the 6th clause. That amendment was
not persevensl with; but in the course of the die-
eutsion upon it Mr. Walpole stated that it was
not intended by this bill to pre-determine any-
thing against the claims urged by the hon. mem-
ber for North Devon and others; but, on the con-
trary, it was specially designed to keep open all
those questions for the decision of the new
pen-mingle idles and the commissioners. A similar
question was deliattsl somewhat more in detail
upon an amendment moved by Mr. Harslake to
omit so ninth of clause 14 as would authorise the
establishment at harrow of a Sillald 81-11(a)), to be
supported in part or altogether by the revenues of
the • sist ing foundation. Mr. Kerslake, on the part
of the people of Harrow, and Mr. Newdogate for
those of Rugby (at which place the adoption of a
memsmn eras CalltClaplati4 by the clause),
objected that to est.:Nish is separate and inferior
school visadd deprive the poorer inhabitants of
those towns of the rights which they at present
enjoyed to participate in the existing endowments.
There was 'sane little discussion upon the subject,
but eventually the allalabiallt was withdrawn in
favour of one propostslby Lord Entield,which per-
niitted the establishment not of a separate but of a
lower school. The composition of the commission,
which is to lie chargitsl with carrying out the pro-
visions of the bill, did not command the eutire
assent of the house; but a proposal by Mr. Serjeant
Gaselee to omit the clause in which it was
nominated secured only two supporters (besides
the learned fierjeunt and his fellow teller), while
140 members voted against it. The division upon
this question exhausted the time allotted to the
morning sitting, and when the chairman reported
progress many clauses of the bill remained to be
tainsidered.
Nothing could possibly be less encouraging
than the cold and listless demeanour of the two or
Hats. set ire of mend sera to whom upon the reassem-
bling of the house at nine o' clock Lord Each° under-
took to explain the defects of our army of reserve.
The noble lord went steadily through the task
which he bud act himself, welcoming with eager
gratitude the faintest cheer of assent which was
aroused by any of his observations ; but he could
not resist the depressing influence of the languor
which affected his hearers, and his address was
very slightly characterised by the eager buoyancy
of his usual style. A little more animation was
infused into the discussion by General Peel, who
agreed with the member for Haddingtonshire as to
the necessity of improving our system of military
reserves, but refused him assent to the noble lord's
demand for the appointment of a royal commis-
Jinn to inquire into the (subject. The point upon
which the gallant general laid most stress was the
went of officers for the militia, and this subject he
specially commended to the attention of the Secre-
tary for War. The debate languished in the hands
of Colonel Dunne and Sir 11. Veniey, and Colonel
Wilson Patten confined himself to a brief contra-
diction of the suggestion that the militia were
indisposed to volunteer for the reserve. Major
Jervis referred in plain, not to say rough
terms, to the faults which he believes
to &filet the efficiency of the volunteer
force, and asserted that the experience of last
Saturday's review at Windsor showed that the
genera l commanding the reserve forms had no
control over them, and that they were, in fact, a
mere rabble. By reference to a notice given some
time ago, in which there was an allusion to the
enforcement of the ballot for the militia, Sir J.
Pakingten was led to suppose that Lord Riche
desired to introduce the conscription into this
muntry in cane form or other ; and ho energeti-
cally protested against such a measure, as entirely
unsuited to the ge and spirit of our people,
and especially unnecessary in the present condi-
tion of our army and reserves. The right hon.
gentleneut gave a detailed account of the actual
fCtut.A• of our nservts, which was listened to with
some impatience, and concluded by declining to
grant the inquiry asked for by the noble lord.
nen• was some more talk about the RePTIP of con-
fusion which followed the Windsor review, and
thin the motion for a commission was with-
di awn, not, however, until Lord Eleho hail
rcjilied to the arguments advanced against it
with touch more liveliness than he was
able to command in introducing the question. The
obligation to attend Divine service in St. George's
Chapel iunp,osel upon the naval and military
Knights of Windsor was brought under the atten-
tion of the house by Sir C. timid Mr.
Lalsiiielieri., lint a iniition fur an address to her
Ito jt,ty upon the subject was rejected by a ma-
jority of 44-83 to 39. The iu-lect conunittees
upon the Registration Bill and the Electric Tele-
griplis Bill were nominated; the Sunday Trading
Bill was withdrawn ; curd after going through the
orders, the buns(' auljourned.