The Express.
London, England, 1850-07-27 00:00:00

CEYLON.

Mr. BAILLIE reverted to the report of the Callon Core.
mitres of Inguis y, remarking that the withholding of the
evidence from the home wa. dierespectlul,and the report itself
discreditable At early as possible n►at session he should
move that the whole evident► be Isid nom the table.
WELSH BISHOPRICS.
- .

Mr. J. WILLIAMS 'aid—lt being well known that the
separation of the treat body of the people from the church
in Wales is caused by the want of sympathy on the part of
their English erclesiutical rulers with the feelings, habits.
and language of the people ; and that the solemn cer. monies
of consecrating churches and confirming children are still per.
formed in lauxuage not understood by the people, I beg to
ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether he will assure
the home that no clergyman shall In future be appointed to
any see in the prircipality of Wales who is not well se-
' (inflated with, and able to speak, read, write, and preach
in the Welsh !Tijuana? _

Mr. NICHOLL. before the noble lord answered the ques-
tion, wished to ask whether, con•idering the vecurilies taken
by the Act 1& 2 Vie., esp. 108. for preaching and admi-
nistering the sacrament in the Welsh language by clergymen
appointed to livings in Wales, and the adjacent counties
wherein that language wu spoken, he did not consider that
in this rnput adequate provision was ma le by the existing
state of the Ilw ?

Lard J. RUSSELL, in reply to the question of the hon.
member for llseclesfi, Id, stated that some years ago it wee
a question whether or not the house should enact that no
clergyman should be appointed to a see in Wales who was
not well acquainted with the Welsh language. Thet
proposal wu not approved of by the house, It being their
opinion that the discretion of the crown should not be
fettered in the appointment to sees in Wales. Consider.
ing that circumstance, and also that in the discretion which
devolved upon him, be had advised the crown to appoint a
clergyman to a see in Wales who was competent to in-
struct in the Welsh lauguage, and well acquainted with
Wales, besides being a person of knowledge, leaning. and
Piety, he could not consent to fetter himself by the pledge
now asked for. (Hear, hear.) With d to the question
of the hoe. membriopposite (Mr. Nichol)), which referred to
clergymen, no► to bishops, without having particularly
looked at that subject, be should be inclined to consider that
the existing set did nuke @efficient provision as to the know-
ledge of the Welsh language being necessary to be possessed
by persons holding livings in Wale.. If, however, he should
on further consideration find that further legislation was
necessary, be shi ul4 not hesitate to propose it. (Heir.)
PARLIAMENTARY VOTERS (IRELAND) BILL.
On the motion for going into committee of supply,
Mr. DISRAELI said that when the intention of ministers
as to the amendments intreAluced by the Lords in this bill
was announced a few minutes before, there beige no ques-
tion before the house, he could not refer to the subleat. lie
rereett d that no man conciliatory spirit bad been shown
og.the part of the government to meet the views of the other

house and thatooluequently, there wee ben little pro erste
the bill pools/ hate a law during the pretest sermon. (" Oh,
oh," and *bens.) He begged to ansewsee, go• the pan of
the party with whom be acted, that they amid feel it to be
their duty to oppose the altentiose which the noble lord had
stated it was greposed by the government to make In the bill.
(Cheers.)
Lord J. RUSSELL bad thought the proposal he had in-
timated that he should have to make on the part of the *o-
verflying, would be liable to observation aid censure,
on the ad that it wee proposed to make too great a
oonoeadoa to the House of Lords—(ebene)—when he said
that he was ready, for the sake of obtaining the consent of
the other house, to male an alteration in the franchise from
151. to 121., the House of Lords having altered it from M. to
151. He could hardly misseive how the cheep of want of
coaciliatictn applied. (Cheers.)
CEYLON.
Mr. HUME then rose to call attention to the report of the
Ceylon committee. He wanted to know by what authority
the committee bad referred the end's°, to the goverement.
For his part, he was not disposed to leave anything connected
with the subject to the government, for they were In tact
implicated in the charge, for they had acted in violation of
all the prisciplee which ought to have gunned their conduct
in the matter. He spoke in so far a. they had approved of
the seta of the Colonial Secretary. The committee ream-
mended last year that ammonium should proceed to Ceylon,
but the noble lord, to stifle truth, proposed that the inquiry
should be resumed by the committee this session, and that
the wheelies whose evidence might be neonsary to elucidate
the truth, should be ordered home here. But when the
chairman of that committee pointed out the names of the
parties from whom evidence was required, the committee
were informed that the noble lord (Stanley) would not con-
tent to their being summoned. He mentioned this to show
the nature of the obstructions which the government had
thrown in the way of the inquiry. The committee had now
determined not to make any report to the I ouse, and the
inhabitants of Ceylon were to remain unprotected, and their
grievances unredeemed. He wished to knew from the go-
vernment whether the consequence of that decision on the
part of the committee wou'd be to put off the question alto-
gether until next lesion, or whether any steps would
be taken is the meantime / (Hear, hear.) He con-
tended that the result of the evidence was, that if •
wart martial eat upon Lord Terrington's ceninct in any
pot of the world, he would not be allowed to bold her
.jesty's commission for one hour afterwards. He tberefHe
appealed to the house, and to those who were anxious that
jostles should be done to our fellow subjects in distant parts
of the world, whether Ceylon was to be subjected to a tyranny
worse than that which prevailed in any other part of the
world, and which it was disgraceful to this country to permit.
He t•rone wunot willing that any part of the Queen'esubjects
abouli remain for one hour under the government of • men
who bed violaeed the principles of humanity and outraged
not oily the feelings of a gentleman, but, he must add, the
ordinary usages of civilised life. (Hear, hear.) Last year,
when the proceedings of the courts-martial were called for,
they were t, Id they had not yet been received in England.
Yet the noble •lord, in the absence of those proceedings,
without any knowledge of the evidence, gave his sanction to
them. This year. for the firet time, they bed some exeunt
of those proceedings, sad they found that Lord Torrington ,
hid ordered the sentences of the courts martial to be carried
out at once, without going through the ordinary form of re-
ferring the evidence to the commarder-in-chief. The conduct
of Sir H. Ward in Cephalonia wee bad enough,
but that of Lord Torrington at Ceylon was in-
finitely worse. He had abolished all the safe-
guards wlicb the law required should be exterded
to her Majesty's subjects when sabjec.ed to military law.
As he had said, he believed there was any ground f.r
martial law, and, consequently, the proclaiming it was an
illegal act ; but Bopp • rag he had the power to establish mar-
tial law himself, it was clearly illegal to delegate that power
to Colonel Drought, and for him to delegate that power
cgain to the other officers of the army, was a course wholly
unprecedented. (Hear ) It was on thee* grounds that at
this late period of the session he was anxious to call atten-
tion to the subject. He regretted to say that they had n)t
been met in the committee in that way they had • right to
expect from the govanment Instead of affording them
every information to enable them to judge, they bad rather
stool between the people of Ceylon and the parties who had
been guilty of these cruelties. It .Could be remembered that
besides the seerifice of life which had been io Hicted, numbers
of the people had been sent into banishment, and were at
this moment suffering all the inherit" of that condition ;
and, in addition to this, under Lord Torrington's proc:ama-
tine, the military had entered the houses of thou persons
who had fled to the jungle ter fear of the martial law, and,
taking their absence as • proof of guilt, bad plundered their
dwellings and seized and sold their property. This question
of the plunder of the property by the military was of itself
a matter for grave investigation, even were there no other
feature in the case. (Hear, hear ) These were the acts
which the committee up stairs had, by the course they bad
adopted, et fled all inquiry into tie demanded on the ',snot
the purple of Ceylon, who had petitioned the house that
thou who were guiles, might be puni'hed, and that they shot.ld
not he screen• el by the Colonial,ffi:e.
Lord J. RUSSELL thought the house would be of
opini en that it was impossible at the present time to enter
into the consideration of those affairs of Ceylon with respect
to which the committee appointed to investigate the subject
had not the ught it right to report the evidence taken before
them to the h use. The committee having come to that de-
cision, for the house now to act on the statement of the hon.
member, he submit.ed was entirely out of the question.
(Clem.) He trusted, however, that eo hon. member
would tak • for granted that the hen. getit'entan's statements
were at all berets out by what took place before the com-
mittee. The report of that committee was

2. lour committee also regret that, notwithstanding their utmost
diligence awl perseverance, they find themselves still unable to make
a complete report upon some of the various macera in;u which they
were directed by he boot to inquire.
3. Your committee are of minima that the serious attention of
her 31a;estro government ehotU be called to the esidence taken in
the course of this inquiry 7 awl they recommend that a royal com-
mission shall be appointed to proceed to Ceylon to ascertain what
changes may be necessary fur the better government of that colony,
unless same A sp should forthwith be token by the governmeut which
may obviate the r tonally of further investigation.
Now, without entering into the question whether they
were justified is coming to that decision or not, on which
of course it was imponibl.+ for him to give any cpinion,
he could only state that the serious attention of the govern.
ment would be s iren to the 'object, with the view of
taking such steps as might be necessary with respect to
all pers •os connected with the government of Ceylon whose
character was in any way implicated by these t &&&&& ctions.
S roe portion of the evidence had evidently been purl lord
from a member of the committee and published, hut the
committee thought the ividence ought not to be led up.n
the table of the house at pr.sent.
OLADS 10Nk: agreed with the ncble lord that it
was impossible for the house to enter with icy satisfaction
upon the inquiry. At the same time, he was not surprised
at the strong expressions which had proceeded from the hon.
member fur Nlontrose, bat the rrxeedings of the committee
had been of such a nature that they could not be discussed
now, yet they must infallibly be discussed at some future
time.

Mr. WORTLEY said that while the committee bad de
termined not to report the eel levee to the house, they had
•!etermined to recommend the consideration of that evidel,ce
to the government.
Mr. HAWES said, that he had the honour of being a
m. tuber of the c untaittee—that he had submitted the eel.
dence to the noble lord (Earl Grey), and that • copy of it
had been alas ordered to be sent regularly to the to.ouial
office.

Mr. PAT! EN said he was thud that such an order was
quit* metre!, to the rules of the house. (Hear, hear.) It
ought have been done with the best intentions ; but he ap-
peal d to the right hon. gentleman in the chair, whether it
was consiszeut with the rules of the house to issue such an
order.

The SPEAKER replied in the negative. The committee
could not, accordieg to the rules of the house, refer he evi-
dence directly to the government. They might report it to
the bone, or they might state that they did not think it
proper it should be made public; but it could only reach the
government through the medium of the house. (Hear.)
Mr. BRIGHT said he had seen many reports presented to
the house, bet
lame, so unworthy en investigation of this serious character,
as the one in question. (Hear, hear.) He was sati•fied
that when they read the report, and considered the
painful rumours which were ghat, the very nsture of the
report itself would force them to call for the evidence. The
whole thing tended to create grave sispicion, and he hoped
the house would not be content until the evidence was laid
upon the table. (Hear, hear.)
The subject then dropped.
NAVAL OFFICERS.
_ . .

that __ -- - --- .
On the question the Speaker do leave the chair, in
order that the house might go into Committee of Supply,
Sir G. PECH ELL called the attention of the house to the
cue of the retired rear-admirals,as also to the jedicial appoint-
ments of the vice-admirals and rear-admirals of the United
Kingdom. The practice of the service, he contended, had
operated unjustly towards the rear admirals who happi ned
to be appointed to civil offices, In compelling them either to
resign their app iintments, or oboe themselves upon the
retired list. lie moved for some pagers bearing upon this
subject. _
....„.. _
. _

Sir F. BARING cpposed the motion, txplainlog that no
recent cheap had taken pleas in the rule of service, and that
the removal of the officer's name to the retired list was not
compulsory upon his appointment to a civil office. but only
upon his promotion, while retaining his appointment, to a
higher rank in the service. Sir F. Baring added some ex-
planations upon the second point raised by the gallant mem-
ber touching the promotion of the vice and rear admirals of
the fleet.

Atter some remarks by Mr. Hums, Sir J. Duke, and
Captain Berkeley, the motion wee put and negatival without
• division.