The Express.
London, England, 1868-07-21 00:00:00

:04
•

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

bi both Houses of l'arliament hst evening
Lett, were read fr.'in " Napier of Magdalii,"
ni know', aging the fis-eipt of the re.ohitions c oi-
1-fling the thanks of the two houses to himself anti
the officers and 111141 of the Abyssinian ex
.se
exj re: sing their profound sense of the honour which
had this been conferred upon them, awl inform-
ing the Lords and C,oinnione that he had taken the
requisite steps to communicate their votes to those
to ahem they applied. In the House of Peers
there was some conversation about the pn.sent site
of the statue of Mr. Canning, which is not satis-
factory to Lord Stratheden ; hut us no one ..Ise
appears to ntertain much objection to the position
of the efliey the government. held out no hope
that it we tr dbe changed. The second reading of
the Public Schools Bill was preceded by some dis-
cussion, but the other measures, included in a long
list of orders, were advanced a stage without much
debut e.
The notice paper of the House of Commons
contained no less than 22 questions, but not many
of these referred to subjects of general public in-
Mick. Suffice it to say, that the Secretary for
War refused to allow Mr. Hale an opportunity of
showing that his rockets are manufactured at
Woolwich in such a manner as to render them
more costly and less effective; and Lord Stanley
gave some information as to the prosecution of a
Spanish schoolmaster at Malaga, on a charge of
teaching protestant doctrines to his pupils. Mr.
Neste enileavounid to ascertain whether it was the
result of any communication with the government
that Captain Pim, the conservative candidate for
Gravesend, had held out hopes to the electors of
that borough that it would be made the site of a
new dockyard and arsenal. Lord Henry Lennox
did not iu so many words deny that there had been
any understanding upon the subject ; but con-
tented himself with expriesing his belief that the
gallant captain relied upon his own eloquence and
powers of persuasion t'. induce the government to
undertake the works referred to. Afterthe questions
on the paper had been got through, Mr. W. E. Fur-
ster asked the Prime M Mister whether there w.is any
truth in a rumour—to which for his own part he
attached no credit—that the government intended
to endeavour to strike out of the Election Peti-
tions Bill (upon the report) the clause
throwing the payment of the returning officers'
expenses upon the borough and county rates.
Mr. Disraeli declined to reply to an inquirywhich
be sharply characterized as " unusual, unparlia-
zuentary, and inconvenient ;" but being further
pressed by Mr. Gladstone, he undertook to make
no proposal upon tlw subject " without due and
parliamentary notice." The Irish Registration
Bill led to a good deal of rather angry discus-
sion, both before the Speaker left the chair and
after the bill got into committee. Besides the
provisions which relate to the subject of regis-
ti ati. n proper. the measure contains some clauses
altering the law as to the creation of new polling
plan s. These were opposed by many members
from Ireland who sit on the opposition benchos, on
the ground that they would confer too much
power upon the magistrates and landowners, and
that they had been introduced into the measure—
of which they did not naturally form a part, and
which was read a second tune before it was
printed—without eufficient notice. These objections
were raised by Mr. Esmonde, Sir C. O'Leghlen,
and other members upon the motion for going into
committee. Lord Mayo defended the clauses and
himself by stating that as the law stood there, were
technical difficulties in the way of increasing the
number of polling places in counties ; and remind-
ing the house that when he introduced the bill he
mentioned that it would contain clauses relating to
polling placiai. Mr. Lawson vigorously denied the
force of these pleas, but the Prime Minister rose to
pour oil upon the troubled waters, and at hiein-
stance the house consented to go into committee.
A declaration which it was proposed to require from
claimants of the lodger franchise excited so much
opposition that it was withdrawn, but there was
ne display of real Hibernian passion and Hiber-
nian oratory until the first of the clauses relating
to pulling places was reached. Mr. Esmonde
moved the omission of this section, and the
amendment gave rise to a sharp debate, to which
the Lord Advocate somewhat unnecessarily con-
tributed a little Caledonian fire. Upon a division
the clause was rejected by a majority of 10; 84 to
71. Upon this Lord Mayo withdrew all the other
Onuses relating to the multiplication of polling
booths, :nod, speaking with a good deal of temper,
thew upon his °pigments the responsibility of
:n:a viol; 111 4. :111,l bloodshed which might occur at
the ..ppreaelling elution. As soon as the noble
1. .1 sat down. Mr. Chichester Fortescue—a past
chief seeretary—sprang to his feet, and there
rig:, it .very prospect of an animated
controversy upon this point. However, Mr. Dod-
son oigwrtun;•ly left the chair for a short time, and
upon his return the matter went off with a very
moderate repudiation of responsibility on the
part of the opposition. Before any progress was
made in etaninittee upon the Metropolitan Cattle
Market Mr. Crawford, supported by Mr.
Ihsellaim appealed to the government not to
retain before the house a measure which, on ac-
count of the period of the session, and the num
her of measures which laud yet to occupy the
attention of the house of Lerds, could not pos-
sibly pasim during the present session. Mr. Dis-
raeli declimsl to assume tiny responsibility for
what might or might not happen in the House
of Lords, and refused to s.ithdraw the bill,
b cause it was important that this house "at
least'. should pronounce an opinion upon it, on the
ground that the debate upon the question that
the Speaker should leave the chair wits prema-
turely cut short. Mr. Ayrton re-opened the
discussion of the necessity forthisbill. Ilis example
was followed by several hon. members, including
Mr. Locke (who gave a humorous descripton of
the helpless and pitiful condition in which the
ecminissioners to be appointed under this bill
would go into the money market), Mr. Candlish,
and Mr. Melly; while Mr. Kendall and Colonel
North urged the government to persevere with the
bill, and the latter hon. and gallant gentleman ex-
pressed his readiness to sit till six o'clock in order
to pass it. Mr. W. E. Forster urged that it was a
waste of time to persevere with a bill which could
not pass, and represented that the question before
the house had now become merely whether, at the
fag end of the session, the country party, aided
by all the influence of the government, should
obtain a victory over the representatives of the
town populations. Mr. Gladstone and Lord R.
Montagu defended the course which had been
taken by themselves and their respective sup-
porters, and after some more discussion the pre-
amble was postponed. Upon the second clause,
Mr. M. Gibson, who addressed the committee at
great length, made an ineffectual attempt to ex-
clude sheep from the operation of the bill ; but
Lord R. Montagu consented to limit the applica-
tion of the measure to sheep imported in vessels
wl i h also carried cattle. A motion by Mr.
Watkin to report progress was negatived by a
majority of 95; 132 to 37. In clause 3, Mr.
Locke. moved an amendment with the view of get-
ting rid of the commissioners ; but after a good
deal of discussion—listened to with great impa-
tience by the supporters of the bill—it was re-
jected by a majority of 87 ; 113 to 26. Some mis-
understanding having arisen as to a supposed pro-
mise of Lord J. Manners, that when this question
was decided he would not ask the commit-
tee to go on, Mr. Lefevre moved to report
progress, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer
expressed his willingness to accede to the pro-
posal. The more ardent supporters of the bill
upon the back benches on the ministerial side of
the house would not agree to the adoption of this
course, and a discussion took place, in which
Lord J. Manners, the Earl of Mayo, Lord R. Mon-
tagu, Mr. Sclater-Booth, and the Lord Advocate
voted against the motion, while the Chancellor of
the Exchequer and General Lindsay (an officer of
the household) supported it. Under these circum-
stances+ the motion was rejected by a minority of
Isa; 91 to 36. Mr. Henley then came to the res-
cue, and recommended that the motion should be
agreed to, and this recommendation watt backed
two or three members of the government.
otwitli,tunding the 3,, appeals, the intro unrea-
amebic friciels of the bill cballieiged