The Express.
London, England, 1868-02-26 00:00:00

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS LAST NIGHT.

IN the House of Commons last night Ireland was
to have been the great—the sole—topic of dis-
cussion. Mr. Maounts was to have opened with a
motion on the "state of Ireland." The hon. member
for Cork intended to invite the house to resolve itself
into a committee, with a view of taking the con-
dition and circumstances of Ireland into immediate
consideration. Once launched on the narrow but
turbulent Irish Sea of Mr. Maornot's motion,
the house was to have been propelled by a series of
amendments on Mr. Maocines resolution into the
wide and agitated Atlantic of Fenisnism, Church
establishments, and land tenures. Lord ARTIIIM
CLINTON was prepared to start after Mr. MAGUIEK
on the wide-circle sailing principle, to judge from
the extensive and latitudinarian terms of his
motion. Mr. Nitaxe-. craft, which stood No. 3in
the order of going, with the words " impracticable
"resolutions" and "extravagant and impossible re-
" mediae" flying at the masthead, looked as though
it intended to run foul of the barks that preecded
it. The wording of Mr. NIATL'S motion gives it very
much the rig of a vessel of tie Alabama class ; and
the fact that the hon. member for Oxford is in
the habit of launching craft on his own account
renders it the more probable that his resolution on
the state of Ireland was intended for privateering
purposes. No. 4, which is rigged by Sir F.
Haroare, would most assuredly have foundered
amongst the rocks that form the " connexion be-
" tween the present laws and institutions of
" Ireland and the disaffection, outrages, and
" murders of the last two years." The vessel'
looked neat and trim, and were no doubt well
found ; the skippers were at their posts ready to
weigh anchor and spread sail. " The state of
" Ireland " repented four times in the notice paper
indicated pretty clearly what the character and
e:Aent of the debate last night would have been.
But unfortunately one of those untoward acci-
dents which sometimes disturb the most perfect
arrangements changed the time of starting from
the present to the paulo-post-future. Lord DERBY
had resigned, and the vessels of which we have
been speaking became no better than " painted
" ships upon a painted ocean." Coticithwit venti :
there was not breere enough to carry one of them
out of harbour.

There was, however, a goof attendance of mem-
bers even at the early hour uf 4. The Irish section
was remarkably strong, and " Ireland's only
" Duke" was in the Peers box. They did not
come to listen to what seemed chietty to occupy the
mind of Mr. TRE:'..3Y, who. was conducting with
much animation an argument against the
second reading of the 'reign Valley Railway.
But this private bill served, as well as a
more important subject wonkl, to keep the
house occupied till the ministerial announcement
that was expected, and that evidently engaged the
conversation of members, was made. During this
vot &he.. e also several members had an oppor-
tunity of congratulating Mr. Bezzaroao Hoe. on
his return to the house as member for the Univer-
sity of Cambridge.
The House of Commons in its aggregate capa-
city becomes, like other collections of mankind,
excited when something unusual is about to take
place, and its members are unwilling that any
other bus; nen should interpose between the inte-
resting or inipm tent statement which they ex-
pect. So it was last night. At half-past 4, when
the hour for giving notices of motion arrived, some

hon. gentleman interposed with an audible whis-
per, "Cut it short." These being disposed of,
• '

Lord STAN:Ay rose to make the announcement d

his father's resignation. His voice was at first
low and somewhat tremulous, as was natu-

ral under the circumstances. As Mr. GLADITONN
remarked, it was aut unusual incident that a son
should have to comm•.tnicnte his tether's resigna-
tion of the Premierahip to the House of Commons,
and when 1w afterwards, in few but piquant words,
alluded to the :44 cause of that resignation, the
noble lord bowed his head to conceal his emotion.
The House would at once have separated had not
Mr. Ma..t.itta, with what we cannot avoid calling
a curious infelicity, interposed with a request that

. _
tae government would name a day on which he
would be periuitted to introduce his motion on the
state of Ireland, But on being reminded by some
of his frien.;4 that Friday—to which day the house
was to be ad o:trtied— would be the proper time for
asking that question. he did nut press for an
answer, but deferred his question. On the Bows
'rising, Mr. GIADSToNE walked out with Lord
SraNLE', nu doubt making inquiry as to the state
of Lord DERttlr, health. Other members broke
up into small groups, discussing the incident of
Lord DERB4.4 resignation and of Mr. DICRARLI'S
promotion to the Premiership, which was assumed
to be certain. The new Premier is entitled to look
back with some pride to the confident self-reliance
which prompted him to exclaim on his early failure
in the House of Commons, " The day will come
•• when you shall hest. me.-

Tile uncertainty in the deliver• of messages is
not the worst evil connected with our telegraphic
communication with India. No merchant can
count with certainty either upon the intelligence
or the fidelity of the native operators. Informa-
tion has its price like any other commodity in the
East, and common report says that commercial and
other messages are not unfrequently " worked" for
the advantage of others besides their senders. The
whole experience of telegraphy is in favour of
European management, and those versed in the
subject point to a remarkable instance of its suc-
cess on a long foreign line now leased from the
crown, but which was formerly left in native
hands.

Last summer a proposal was laid before Sir
STAFFORD NOT.THCOTE. the basis of which TM
direct transmission from England to India and the
employment of European otlicials throughout the
line. It was further offered to relieve the crown
of the subsidy Dow paid on acccount of the defunct
Red Sea cable if a moderate guarantee were given
to the new Indian line, such guarantee to be depen-
' dent, however, upon its successfnl laying. This
offer was refused. Like the proverbial burnt ahild
who dreads the tire, the government remem-
bared the fate of its Red Sea guarantee,
and refused to entertain the pleas of
state usefulness and imperial advantage. It
should be remembered, however, that the causes
of the failure of the Red Sea cable are tolerably
well known to the telegraphic world and that a
direct line to India does not present half the
&Semitici which apparently beset the laying of a
wide to America. At present a large sum is paid
annually by tho country for a failure, and commu-
nisation remains miserably imperfect.