The Express.
London, England, 1868-03-14 00:00:00

INDIA. CHINA, AND JAPAN MAILS.

By the arrival of the above mails we have ad-
vices from Bong Kong to Feb. 1 ; Madras, Feb.
13 ; Ceyylon, Fob. 16, &c.
The Ceylon, Observer says that the health of the
country is generally very good, but a heavy cloud
still hangs ever the unfortunate people of Seven
Korles an 'other districts of the island where the
grain crop; have failed, and it does not hear of
government taking any special steps to inquire as
to Itow the threatened acarcity, if not famine, may
be alleviated.
The Chinese rebels have, it is said, committed
great atrocities in Shantung, and the country
people ha.e destroyed a large 'limber. of them.
,000 are estimated to have perished in this way
and by cold and hunger. They have again appeared
in force, however, opposite Chinkeang.
Sevenl daring seta of piracy have been perpe-
trated off the Saddle Islands, near Shanghai. Two
cases ore recorded at length in the local papers.

The Japan Times contains the following pars-
graph regarding the aspect of affairs consequent
upon the opening of the new porta :
Our letters from Osaka are of by no meths a Wis.
tectory tenor. The writers, on whose knowledge of the
political situation we can confidently rely, unite in ex-
pressing • doubt restecting the actual opening of the
ports to commerce. They may be declared open as a
matter of form by the ministers, and foreign consuls and
merchants way take up their temporary abode there ;
but it is not certain that trade will be allowed ;
and one of our correspondents goes so far as to
state that it is useless for the foreign traders
to p down. Shiniads 'Seburo has been hurriedly
called away to Kagcsima, and left the capital in
great haste. Toss has also gone, no one knows whither,
and the aspect of affairs is by no means pre • • . The
real meth for attempting to delay this event is that the
Delimitss will not attend the conference to which they have
been summoned, under the guns of a foreign fleet. And,
until they have assembled, until the questions which now
agitate Japan are settled—the formation of a new system
of government. and the adjustment of the balance of
hoem between Mikado, Shnoon, and Daimioe—we cannot
pe to see trade commenoed in Osaka or Hiogo, with any
confidence in its peaceful continuance. The state of
political affairs has, since the above appeared, tams
to • mists: the Tycoon sod Mikado having been taken
prisoners and confined by the Daimioa.
--- - - •

The News Letter lays that the Grand National
Council of Daimice have refused to meet while
foreigners keep up such an extensive fleet in Osaka
Bay. " They say they are willing to pant every-
thing in reason (it adds), but naturally object to
being overawed and coerced into measures by the
presence of so many men-of-war. Admiral Koppel
is therefore reported to have decided on gradually
withdrawing his fleet to see U the Japanese are
acting in good faith or not. The Basilisk had de-
parted for Bong Kong, and the Rodney, with
several others, was on the point of returning to
Yokohama."

A deputation, oolutiating of Mr. Capreol, of Toronto,
Mr. J. Hawshaw, C.E., Mr. W. C. ll'Esenta, and Mr. J.
B. Hewitt, had an interview yesterday with the Duke of
Buckingham and Chanel*, at the Colonial-aloe, on the
subject of the Huron and Ontario Ship Can Company.
TH. METROPOLITAN DISTRICT RAILWAY AND THI
BOARD OF WORK/A—At the weekly meeting of the Metro.
politan Board of Works yesterday a report was brought
up from the works committee, noommending that the
portion of the Thames Embankment and railway to be
formed opposite to the City of London Gu Light and Coke
Company's premiss, and Whitenian-doek, be eoextrectod
in aocordance with the plan annexed to the award of Mr.
Hawkshaw the arbitrator appointed by the Board of
Trade, on the question between the Board and the Mena
politan Diann! Railway Company, sad that the work be
serried out with an convenient Mr. Freeman
moved the LitOptios of the report, which, atter a short
statement of the chairman with raped to ea laterviow
he bad had with the Karl of Devon and Mr. Fowler, the
engineer, was unanlmooaly carried, sad it was further
resolved that tenders for the work should be seat in by the
16th of April next.
THE BIM INFIRMART FOB ST. PANCRAS.—
During the week the several designs seat in by eroldteses
for the new ingewiwylor the 'Atha of Rt. Peas= hese
been exhibited to public view in the ?wawa yeinalegi.
St. Pattararroad. Ice order to provW a indlifsg
reception of the sick pour, indeed of the weakens
n the reerdiees have poetised 31 eau of freehold
_-
land at Highgate, lying between the finsan.pcx ikerbei
aod the suietny, for the nal B
indU•
sad to
a
limited number ereldiesis to lll'4loopm ter the
huntstrini the &Ape reeetvoi were these eAltithel.
The seheted by the gmeillese to Mswirl set le
that of are. dike *aft Mina. erdthisele, et Ousenh.
see* sad the estimated ern of the bendier. to aseroseo.
date RA patients, is 29,7601, aad the affeldeede an to
Rusin the sum of 9001, Instead et a oemelseha ea the
cost, foe rupnintuding the motion of thefrellikit The
prise of 10M for the second beet design bee buss
tot Kr. Burden, of Oxford-street ; and the pose et Vitt
=at best to Mr. B.C. Robins, of Seuthatepftwelreet,

T.Millt

Prmav r*ii44'olslrk./A;v

HOUSE OF LORDS.—FRIDAY, Maim 13.
Is the Hones of Loins the Duke of MOMS
in inking her Majesty)! government whelzutilaniseir
attention had been mikd to the biota
arising out of the ratepaying clause of the Reform
Act of 1807, and whether any niessiries ware is
contemplation for removing them, proceeded, alts
one or two prefatory observations, to refer to Mr.
Dina4's letter to the Times. That letter professed
to explain a apeeeh delivered at Edinburgh which
had, it was asserted, given a history of the Reform
question for the last seven years. It was due to the
honour of the liberal party that these misrepresent-
ations should be exposed. He would have to dwell
upon the five cardinal points of the tory charter to
prove his case, and especially upon the last. The
noble duke having passed in review the first four
points upon which Mr. Disraeli claimed to have
educated his party--• "complete measure," the non-
abrogation of any seat, • boundary commission,
and an increase of the county representation—went
on to deny that Mr. Disraeli had any right to
claim the merit of establishing a low franchise on
the broad principle of rating. Quoting from four of
the speeches of Mr. Disraeli during the seven years
during which it was said the tory party was being
educated up to meet the political emergency, he went
on to show that almuat every one of the great propo-
sitions on which last year's bill was bailed had found
one of their ablest and most consistent opponents
in Mr. Disraeli himself, who now claimed, not
merely the merit of having carried them, but, what
was more unfair stiU, that of having originated
them also. The present system under which the
right of voting was confined to ratepayers was not
only mainly worthless, but where it worked at all
was vicious. The system of compounding had been
destroyed, the rates were thrown on the poor occu-
piers, and the landlords got the profits. In the East-
end of London this change had told with excessive
severity, and the summonses for rates in that dis-
trict had increased lately by the number of nearly
4,000. The law pressed with equal harshness on
the poorer classes and the municipalities. The net
result of this great conservative scheme was nothing
but "botheration and vexation," and, in order to
conceal the fraud upon the public and their own
party, they put speciously forward the plea that
household suffrage had virtually been conceded.
This attempt to "bamboozle" the country and
the Parliament was unworthy of any states-
man. He was familiar with public life and
its necessities and exigencies, and was generally
prepared to accept it on its honourably received
conditions, but he could not swept public life on
the terms to which it had been virtually lowered
by the public conduct and public policy of the
First Minister of the Crown. He concluded a
brilliant speech, which occupied an hour in deli-
very, with a high eulogium on Lord Russell's
straightforward policy as compared with what the
country would stigmatise as the tactics of • pro-
fessional politician.
• • ••

The Lord Cositcsixon deprecated the very per-
sonal nature of the Duke of Argyll's attack, and
proceeded seriatim to meet his objections to the Re-
form Bill, though at the same time he expressed his
opinion that it was a mere work of supererogation
to review a bill which had passed both houses,
which had become the law of the land, and which
had not yet been in operation a twelvemonth. On
all the points raised by the Duke of Argyll, and
especially the rating clause, the Lord Chancellor
made a most vigorous argumentativedefenoe, show-
ing that some of the very clauses now objected
to were those which had been forced upon her
Majesty's government in the House of Commons
by the liberal party. In reference to what he called
the " personal rating " which the duke had given
to Mr. Disraeli, he expressed a strong opinion
that the rating would have been honestly repaid
had the First Minister of the Crown happened to
have a seat in that House. He warmly vindi-
cated Mr. Disraeli from the deductions which were
drawn from words assigned to hint in his speech at
Edinburgh, and, while declining to follow the per-
sonal tone of the Duke of Argyll, thought, that
with the weight which their lordships' house most
properly always attached to words which were
spoken there, it would have been wiser and more
candid if the duke had fully informed himself on
the subject of the Edinburgh speech before he
made such an almost virulent attack on an absent
minister.

Lord Rclisaxx thought that though Mr. Disraeli
had the benefit of a most skilful and able advocate,
yet he had, nevertheless, quite failed to meet the
points which had been urged against his public
conduct by the Duke of Argyll. He still main-
tained that the public confidence could not be
given to the tory party after they had asserted one
policy and then, when in power, had exactly
reversed it. He was far from being the only
one who entertained this opinion, for by none was
the charge more strongly urged last session in the
the House of Commons than by Lord Cranborne,
and in the House of Lords by Lord Carnarvon.

He again referred to the words of Mr. Disraeli, and
said if he was guilty of misunderstanding them, he
was guilty in common with the rest of the country,
who could attach no other meaning to the spoken
sentences which it was now attempted to explain
away.
• -

Lord M•xmitsatatv deprecated very strongly the
tactics which induced the Duke of Argyll to bring
forward his attack on Mr. Disraeli in the House
of Lords, where the Premier was unable to answer,
instead of meeting him, as his party might easily
have done, where he would have been able to reply
personally to what was • series of almost
personal charges. He contended that the results
of the rating clauses could not yet be discovered ;
but, if they were found to be so oppressive
to the poor as the Duke of Argyll had described
them, rt, would not be difficult to introduce •
remedial measure, instead of using any alleged
grievance, as the Duke of Aran had done, to
make • violent attack on the absent chief of her
Majesty's government
Lord Clair thought Lord Malmesbury would
deceive himself if he believed the Duke of. Argyll
had at all exaggerated his case. He had, in fact,
understated it. At the same time he thought that
the hurried change in the law as to the rating
clause of the Reform Bill was as much the work o/
one party as the other. Were the government pre-
parer', to lose 25 per cent. of the rates of some of
the East-end parishes, or, by enforcing them to
the length of distraining on poor men's goods,
to bring the parochial authorities almost into
conflict with the lower clams of parishioners I It
seemed to him that there was no alternative be-
tween these two evils.
After • few remarks from Lord GIANTILLI, to
the effect that the main evils which were com-
plained of had originated in the House of Cain-
MODS,

Lord DZYON expressed his belief that the dis-
tress which had existed in many of the perishes at
the Xast-end of London was purely exceptional
and did not arise from the working of the rate-
paying clause of the Reform Bill.
The subject then dropped.
The other orders of the day were disposed of,
and their lordships adjourned at 8 o'clock.

HOUSE OF 0031310N13.—MILIDAY, MAWR 13.
it the Houma of Oosexons, the Lona A DTOCILTS,
replying to Mr. Cranford, Metal that it is the in-
tention of the government to introduce a bill in
the 00011110 of theo=int minion on the subject of
education in

The debate oa the dais of Wand is doanthod
in oor loading astiolo edema

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bat got so tad said I mod your Polaillastedri ossn„_
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end so relief Se I got the Ma Mon vide am and
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wed the eentilen imbed. the P.m st Sues for 5901.
and the Marquis se Bwethsw the 1010101.
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mat 'Watery amen* as &Warmest slut Ilk TN
ordered, with limbed peetenies.