Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-06-19 00:00:00

FRANCE.

The Plenipotentiaries are 1`,2 meet at the Minister
of Foreign Affairs' to-day (Fricitzy), to sign the
convention relating to the limit of the Turco-

Russian frontiers

The Paris Three per Cents closed yesterday
Thursday) at 68F. 75c.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

(By British awl Irish Jlagnetie Telegraph)

HOUSE OF LOBai.---Tnuasnav
The House met at five o'clock.

MINISTEEtS' MONEY (IRELAND) BILL.

Earl Gaciv.teeu moved the second reading of the Minis-
ters' Money (Ireland) Bill, and stated the reasons that had
induced the government to take the measure into their
hands. Having adverted to the origin of the tax, he alluded
to the act of 1833, introduced by the Earl of Derby when
chief secretary for Ireland, by which the Church Cess, pro-
ducing annually £70,000, was abolished. The Church Cess
was more ancient, and produced less than the ministers'
money, and every reason that could be urged for the one
applied equally to the removal of the other. The collection
of the latter was found a matter of great difficulty, and it
might be imagined that it was not a very agreeable task
the government had to perform of compelling the corpora -
tions to enforce payment from their own townsmen. No
doubt it would be objected to the measure that the funds of
the ecclesiastical commissioners were net suffi!ient to meet
the demand which would be placed upon them, but he was
of opinion that by proper economy they would be found
large enough to replace the sum, and more than met the
increased claims by an increase of revenue. If they re-
jected the bill in opposition to the opinion expressed by
the other House, their course would be pregnant with evil,
and be urged their Lordships to pass it into law.
The Earl of DERBY moved an amendment, of which he
had given notice, that the bill be read a second time that
day six months. He held that however expedient the
measure was, he maintained that it was opposed diametri-
cally to principle, and that it violated the most sacred
rights of property, and that the grounds upon which it was
based were unworthy of the Government that had
undertaken it. With regard to the County Cess which
he had abolished, he stated that at that time there was a
powerful crusade against the Established Church, and by
the course which he took he had been instrumental in
adding security to the establishment. But there was a
great difference between the two cases. The County Cess
was a voluntary assessment, which was uncertain in
amount ; depending upon the will of the vestry, and was
levied exclusively by Protestants upon Roman Catholics ;
whereas the Ministers' Money Tax was 200 years old, of
a definite amount, fixed upon property, and was just as
much attached to individual houses as a chief rant on any
other permanent charge. The government had so far
sanctioned the tax as to take measures to compel pay-
ment ; but now they asked their lordship to take away
property which, in 1850, they declared to be inviolate.
This bill was an admission on the part of the government
that they could not maintain the law, and would lead
Irish members to think that they bad only to resent any
law to get rid of it.