The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-03-10 00:00:00

DIVORCE Blli

In reply to a question from Lord Lyndelursf,
The Lord Chancellor said it was not his tntentiOn to
proceed further during the present session with the
Divorce or Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Bills. They would
be undoubtedly introduced, with some alterations, at the
earliest possible moment next session.

THE WAR IN CHINA.

The Earl of Hardwieke begged to call the attention of i
the noble lord the Secretary at War to the question which
he had put to the noble lord on Fridly evening last.
From the answer he then received he inferred that
important despatches had been received, and would be
published in the usual way. Recent accounts in the
newspapers stated that the French had lent their valuable
aid to our forces for the protection of the inhabitants at
Hong Kong. He felt grateful for that assertion, but it
was very painful to him as an Englishman to feel initbted
to any foreign power for assistance.
Lord Panmut e said the answer he gave on Friday must
have been misunderstood by the noble earl. lie said
that despatches had been received stating that the 9.11
Regiment had been engaged with the Chinese, and that
certain casualties had taken place, and that they would
be published in the London Gazette. A list of those
casualties had been made public.

TORTURE IN INDIA.

The Ea►l of Albemarle gave notice of his intention,
on Monday next, to move for certain returns on the sub-
ject of the infliction of torture in India.

THE OPIUM MON)POLY.

The Earl of Shaftesbury rose to move that the follow-
ing qttestions be put to the judges—
" I. Whether, according to the true construction of
the 4th section of an act passed in a session of parlia-
ment holden in the 3rd and 4th years of the reign of his
lite Majesty King William IV., entitle 'An act for
effecting an arrangement with the East India Company,
and for the better government of his Majesty's Indian
territories till the 30th day of April, 1854,' it is lawful
fur the East India Company to derive a revenue from
opium by the following system :—That is to say, by pro-
hibiting and preventing the growth of the peppy, from
which opium is made, within their territories except as
grown on their account, and under their license and su•
perintendency, advances of money being annually made by
them to the cultivators of the poppy by *ay of prepay-
ment of the price of all the juice of the poppy of a speci-
fied consistence, to be produced from the land in respect
of which such advances are made, such price being
estimated according to a price fixed by the company for
the district in which the land happens to be situated ;
the cultivators delivering to the company as much of such
juice as the cultivators can produce, such juice being
afterwards sent by the company to their factories, and
there manufactured by them into opium; afterwards sent
by them from those factories to Calcutta, and there sold
by them by auction at their sales, the excess of the sale
prices over and above the first cost constituting the
revenue in question."
"2. Whether, having regard to the supplemental
treaty between her Majesty and the Emperor of China,
bearing date the Bth day of October, 1843, which contains
the following words —4A fair and regular tariff of duties
and other dues having now been established, it is to be
hoped that the syst-m of smuggling will entirely cease,' it
is lawful for the East India. Company to deal with such
opium in the manner stated in the first question, with the
full knowledge that it is so purchased at the above men
tioned sales for the purpose of being smuggled into China
in contravention of the laws of that empire ; and so to
cultivate and manufacture the same with a view principally
to the China market, and to its being so purchased for
such purposes as aforesaid ; the Company with that view
manufacturing the opium into the form which the Company
consider boat adapted to facilitate and promote that contra_
band trade."

The noble lord took the opportunity of entering at
length on the subject, and contended that the greatest
obstacle to the spread of Christianity in China was the
cultivation and sale of opium by the East India Corn-
; that the statute law gave a monopoly in salt,
tobacco, and betel nut to the company, but not one word in
that law was said about opium. The noble Earl then de-
tailed the process of the cultivation of the poppy, the
flavouring the opium to suit the palate of the Chinese, and
concluded by urging their lordships to agree to his motion,
saying that if his cvestions were submitted to the judges of
the land, he had no doubt in his own mind that they
would arrive at the conclusion that the whole transaction
was illegal. If it was declared that this abomination was
legal, and existed by act of Parliament, then he pledged
himself to bring the whole subj Tt in all its enormity before
Parliament, and appeal to the feelings of the country to put
a stop to such an abominable system.
The Lord Chancellor opposed the motion, upon which.
The Earl of Shaftesbury withdrew his proposition with
regard to the opium trade, having, he said, received an
assurance from the Lord Chancellor that the opinion of the
law officers of the Crown would be taken on the subject.
After some observations from Earl Grey, the Earl of
Albemarle, and Earl of Derby, the house adjourned at
a quarter past seven.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—TUESDAY.
The Speaker took the chair at four o'clock.

PRIVATE. BUSINESS.

The following private bills were considered as amended,
and ordered to be read a third time :—Cornwall Railway ;
Exeter and Fxmouth Railway ; Price's Patent Candle
Company ; Whitehaven, C e itor, and Egremont Railway.
The followine private bils were read a second time and
ordered to be committed :—Kith and Thffcown Railway
(No. 2), South Yorkshire and North-Lincolnshire Jtinction
Railway, and Cork and Youghal Railway.
The Westminster Improvement Bill was withdrawn,

ROYAL ASSENT.

Mr. Pulman, Deputy Usher of the Black Rod, appeared
at the table of the house, and summoned the speaker and
the members of the house to the House of Lords to hear
the assent of the crown given by commission to various
bills.

MEDICAL PROFESSION BILL.

On the motion of Mr. lleadlam, the order for the second
reading of the Medical Profession Bill was read and
discharged.

' EDUCATION.

On the motion of Sir J. Pakington, the order for the
second reading of th 3 Education (Cities and Boroughs)
Bill was read and discharged.

BEER BILL.
' Oa the motion of Mr. Hardy, the order for the second
reading of the B, er Bill was read and dischar, el.

THE NESTORIAN CIIRISTIANS.

Mr. Pellatt asked the President of the Board of
Control whether, in the event of peace with Persia, any
representations would be made to the Persian Govern-
ment by the Engli h Government in favour of the Nes-
torian Christians, " who since the withdrawment of the
British Legation have suffered severe persecution, have
had fifty schools suppressed, the teaching of the English
language prohibited, and people ordered, on pain of im-
prisonment or the bastinado, not to enter their own
churches."

Mr. V. Smith said that instructions had been sent to
Mr. Murray for the amelioration of the Nestorian Chris-
tians, and as soon as peace was ratified with Persia, repre-
sentations would be made to the Persian Government
relative to their position.

ACCOUNTS OF THE ARMY, &C.

Sir Henry Willoughby asked the Chancellor of the
Exchequer when the detailed accounts of the army, navy,
and ordnance for the year. Marca 31, 1856, would bo laid
on the table of the house ?

The Chancellor of the Exchequer said that the abstract
of the army accounts had been presented, and the detailed
accounts would shortly be laid on the table. The time had
not yet arrived for presenting the detailed army estimates,
but he hoped the detailed accounts would be laid on the
table of the house on Tuesday next.

COURT OF CHANCERY TITLES OF PURCHASERS BILL, AND THE

COURT ( P CHANCERY BILL (IRTLAND).
On the motion of Mr.Whittside, the order for the second
reading of these bills was read and discharged.

REFORMATORY SCHOOLS BILL.
On the motion of Sir G. Grey, the order for going into
committee on this bill was read and discharged.

THE DANISH TRANSIT DUES.
.Mr. G. Dundas asked the Secretary of the Treasury
if it was the intention of the Government, in negocisting

the settlement of the Sound dues, to stipulate for the set-
tlement of the Danish transit dues on the same basis ?

The Ghancellor of the Exchequer said thainegocia.,
Cons had been entered into with Denmark for the remis-
sion of the Sound Dues by the principal powers, viz.,
Austria, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Hanover, the
Netherlands, :Mechlin-Schwerin, Sweden, Norway, and
the Rause Towns. These negotiations, he expected,
would be completed soon, and with them the reduction of
the transit dues.. He was unable to say what would be
the precise amount of the latter, but be thought the remis-
sion would be about four-fifths of the present amount.
(Hear, hear.) •