The Express.
London, England, 1868-07-14 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

At the commeneentent of their sitting last even-
ing the Peers were occupied for some ti•ue in con-
sidering how they should for the future deal with
railway bills providing for an increase of rates ;
tut, after a rather prolonged discussion, a motion
of Lord Taunton, that no such bill should be read
a second time until the Board of Trude had re-
ported upon it, proved successful. Since the
day when it was read a second time, the bill for
abolishing the Disabilities of Revenue Offitcrs in
the matter of the suffrage has been the cause or
the subject of a succession of surprises; and
not the least of these was the announce-
ment made by the Lord Chancellor last even-
ing that, after opposing the bill with more
or less determination at various stages of its pro-
gress through the House of Commons, the govern-
ment had determined to overrule the judgment of
the heads of departments, and to allow the measure
to become law. Lord Granville congratulated the
ministry upon the final decision to which they had
come ; and bill, of which Lord Abinger had
eharge, was read a second time without any oppo-
sition. The list of orders was a very full one, and
included some measures of considerable import-
ance, and their lordships did not adjourn till—for
them—a rather late hour.
The only two measures which at present appear
to excite any interest in the minds of members of
the House of Commons are the Election Petitions
Bill, and the Metropolitan Foreign Cattle Market
Bill, and attempts were made last evening by Mr.
Bass and Mr. Davenport-Bromley to ascertain the
intentions of the government with refereneeto the
progress of these two bills. Mr. Disraeli was aa
confident as usual in his assurances as to the
anxiety of the government to pass both these
measures, but " in the present state of public
business " he was unable to fix any period for
their future consideration. The Election Petitions,
or, as the right hon. gentleman preferred to call it,
the Corrupt Practices Bill, must, he said, take its
chance of coming on at a morning sitting to-day ;
while—and hon. members did not attempt to
restrain their merriment when ho made this
announcement—he could fix no day for con-
tinuing the debate upon the Cattle Market
Bill until this measure had been passed, and the
committee of supply had been closed. The " battle
of the ships" had to be fought again for the
hundredth time before the Speaker was allowed to
leave the chair. Captain Mackinnon confined his
attack on this occasion to the ships of the Invin-
cible and Minotaur class ; but Mr. Seely, who
asked for a scientific inquiry into the leading cha-
racteristics that should- in future be adopted in
the construction of vessels of the royal navy, en-
tered at great length into the whole question of
the respective merits of broadside and turret ships,
and in a lengthy speech (delivered in his usual
monotonous tones, and consisting in large part of
extracts from official documents and the speeches of
different First Lords of the Admiralty) attacked the
course which had been followed by successive
Boards of Admiralty in regard to the building of
ships of war. The discussion which took place
upon the motion of the hon. member for Lincoln
brought up the regular entice of naval affairs, Mr.
Solitude, Mr. Graves, and Mr. Laird, who conti-
nued the contest of systems, as well as
Mr. Goldney, Mr. O'Beirne, Mr. Candlish, Mr.
M'Laren, and Mr. Liddell. The debate was inter-
rupted by the appearance at the bar of Lord
Royston, Controller of the Household, who read
the Queen's answer to the address congratulating
her Majesty upon the confinement of the Princess
of Wales, and Mr. M'Laren's remarks were
brought to a sudden termination by an objection
that in giving a terrible account of the losses in-
curred by the sale of ships, he was quoting the
evidence given before a committee which
had not yet reported to the house.
Mr. Corry, the First Lord of the Admiralty, was
prevented by indisposition from occupying his
place upon the Treasury bench ; and Lord H.
Lennox, the Secretary of the Board, who repre-
ri nted his absent chief, suffered so much from an
attack of lameness as to be compelled to rest one
knee upon a sort of elevated camp-stool while he
stood at the table. Notwithstanding this difficulty
the noble lord addressed himself with considerable
spirit to the task which had devolved upon him.
He replied minutely to the arguments which had
been advanced by different speakers, and defended
the course which was being adopted by the
present government with regard to the con-
struction of broadside iron-clad ships. His
pruacip,d argument was that the increase
of the armour-clad navies of other 'powers
—France especially—rendered it necessary that
we should keep up the number of our iron-
clad fleet ; but that until the two turret ships now
building—the Captain and the Monarch —had been
fairly tried, and their sea-going qualities had been
ascertained, it was premature to commit ourselves
to that system of construction. In the main Mr.
Childers appeared to differ but little from Lord
Henry Lennox, but ire suggested that, without
adopting the motion of the member for Lincoln,
something might be done to secure for the Ad-
miralty the assistance of scientific men to a greater
extent than it was at present enjoyed. Upon a
division, the motion was rejected by a majority of
10; 47 to 37. After this question had been got
rid of, the only subjects which interposed between
the house and the committee of supply were the
irregularity in the conveyance of mails to Vancou-
ver's Island and British Columbia, and the want
of courts for hearing appeals against the rates at
which assessed taxes are levied • and neither
of these (introduced to the horse by Lord
Milton and Mr. Treeby) led to any discussion.
Two or three votes of the navy estimates were
ato in •committee ; and they the attention
orrot members was recalled to the old dispute
of " Broadsides v. Turrets" by a proposal
of Mr. Sammie to omit from vote 10 the
sums required for the building of two
iron-clad vessels, in order that the money
might be applied to the construction of turret
ships. Mr. Laird supported the amendment, and
Lord H. Lennox opposed it, on the grounds which
they had respectively taken in the preliminary dis-
cussion. After Mr. O'Beirne and Nr. Graves had
addressed the committee, the amendment was
rejected by a majority of 33 • 92 to 59. The
house did not resume until all the navy estimates
had been voted ; and, having made. this progress
with supply, Hr. Disraeli was able to fix the
Election Petitions Bill for the early sitting this
day, and the Cattle Market Bill for Thursday
evening. The only bill which occupied the atten-
tion of the house for any length of time was
the Turnpike Act Csntinuanee Bill. The order of
the day having been disposed of, Mr. Bass induced
the house to order that no writ should be issued for
the city of Bristol without three days notice, and
almost immediately alter the house adjourned.

ATTENDANCE AT TIIE.JUDOE.B CKAILBERA.—Mr.
Justice Blarikburn yesterday eat at chambers, and carried
out some new regulations, ono of which waa that all
matters that could be hoard by the inmate). 'should not
come before Lim. Afr. Justce 111t1112011 ev.:ll be the long
nacatMn judge.

DESTRUCTION OF ..}-4101i1LEN COTTAGES BY FatE.
—On Sunday morning .a fire broke out iv a row of
thatched cottage* in Bury-street, Stoormarkett, Suffolk, by
which no fewer than cialiteen .cottages were destroyed,
,and eighty men, women, kutl children rendered boneless
And house-leas. The fire ayes canoed by sparks tallies
from the chimney of the house occupied by a NM sawed
,g on the east side of the street. A lively neat wind
dazzled the flames in an oblique direction across the street,
and thirteen eottages opposite .also bocame ignited. The
fine necterred at the timeof divine *mace, and an alarm
wadi givanstidl She plaoas ad worship. Service was at
once stopped, and thousands hunted to the spot. Mean-
time sneseangers wore despatched to neighbouring villages
for engines, *ad everything was dose that could be done
to stay the flames; faut wind was high. the cottages
were old ami dry, and water for tame time was compara-
tively some. It was sin the afternoon before the fire
was got at all under. A meeting was held is the after-
noon, and a liberal subscription entered in to for the sufferers.
DTematA, Cowsumprwar, Lc.. an= BY D 77
Raaaiesitavaarina sauna* FOOS to tba stossaelh nornin, Inn" and liver of old sod young, e without rsedisise or
anl expense,
ftypia Snolittestionh I.cilfrbtes. agUiyhaadacho,
neural hole hysteia, palpitation leanness,
slough, asthma, hives% conosuseiglin, ow spirits. Sixty 'th=nting
sores which had resisted all to ea including that of Ms Roll.
sem the Pope. It eaves *My times its cost in other Tins, ]lb., Ilb., Si. 9d.; nibs The.; 241 M., yes.: or 24. per Ines/ Also the
Bevalente Chocolate Powder. more strrngtbrnin66 than footmen.
Wedbeef. —Da Barry and Co., 77_ /iefient-41 to London:
Fortnom and Meson; midst ,6I tiesaaeaurea street; a Chit• -
gab SS and IA Oilardirtreet.-I.4l4Tartlitioent4