Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-07-08 00:00:00

and Schleswig, to which resolution the grea

havealrea4 agreed. GovE

from 'the ..great Powers a

£tditional sawiict

uneentested neutralitT

public.
.rnment aims st obtaining Mr. Rich•asked the Secretary of State for Foreign
to an if lae had received any despatch relating to the recent events
at Perguia; and if so, whether he would lay the same on
the table, or.-state-the substance of them to the house ?
Lord J. Russell said that two despatches had been

A Fairs

received at•the Foreign Office. It was said that the occur-
reuse at .Perugia had been ranch exaggerated, and helad
directed further inquiry to be made, so, until he had received
further accounts, he could not consent to the production of

the despatches.
Mr. Griffiths asked the attorney-General for Ireland
whether he intended to recommend to the ,Government ;to
equalise the suitors iu per ceutage, in the transfer of Land
Courts in Ireland, down to the,rate payable on

amonnts no:

exceeding £lO ?
Mr. J. D. Fitzgerald said that the power of the Govern-
ment in .the matter depended .onithe contingency that the
reduced per,centage could meet, he :expenses of the Court.
He retained his former opinions ,on this subject, but could
not propose Any measure till he had,cornmunicated with the

Judges.
Colonel North asked the late Secretary of State for War
if it was true that the standard of examisation for admission
into the army had been lswered from time to time by order
of the Secretary for War'?
General Peel emphatically denied, that he had made any
rssmtial alteration in the standard of examination,- and
declared that on all occasions he had conformed to the
)ns of the Council of Education.

SEIZURE OF THE BIiITISH SHIP LAUREL.
Mr. Digby Seymour asked the Vice-Presedent of the
Board of Trade, whether it is true, that the British ship
Laurel, aden with a cargo of guano, had been seized, at 1
Baltimore, and if he is informed as to the circumstances,
attending the seizure, and whether he is in a position to
state the groinia., if any, upon which such seizure is justified
by the American authorities.
Mr. Wilson explained the circumstauet, or the transac-
tion, and said, that directions had been issue.l to prevent
further infractions of the rights of British ships.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer iuoved for a Select
Committee, to inquire into the manner in which contracts,
extending over a period of years, have from time to time
been formed or modified by Her Majesty's Goveinmeht,
with various Steam Packet Companies, for the conveyance
orthe mailsbysea, and likewise into any agreements and
other arrangements
which have been adopted at the public
charge, actual or prospective, for the purpose of telegraphic
communication beyond sea,
and to report their opinion
thereupon t ► - the House, together with any recom-
mendation as to the rules to be observed hereafter
by the government, on making contract for services
which have not yet been sanctioned by government,
or which extend over a series of years, with powers to report
from time to time. He said that the progress of the system
had been such as virtually to oust the House of Commons
from their control over a very extensive and critical branch
of public expenditure. It had been carried on without
either the guidance of that House or of public opinion. It
had further excited the jealousy of private traders, on whose
account inquiry ought to be made, that it might be ascer-
tained whether those jealousies were just or not. The exptm-
diture on contracts amounted to £988,488, and a further
increase was demanded for next year. The time, he contended,
I ( was now come, for careful, complete, and impartial investiga-
-1 don. Amongst the earliest subjects for inquiry would be