The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-28 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

.OUSE OF LO RDS—(YESTERDA Y.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.

The Earl of ALBEMARLE presented a petition
from Wandsworth in favour of the total abolition of
Church rates.
The Earl of SHAFTESBURY rose to call the atten-
tion of the Commander-in-Chief to the two cases that
had recently appeared in the newspapers of what was
called " practical joking," and having read the state-
ment that hail appeared with respect to the conduct of
tae officers of the 30th Regiment, asked the noble
lord whether he intended to put a stop to such
mischievous and discreditable conduct in the army ? It
was his belief that the parties principally at fault were
the commanding officers of the regiment. He wished to
know whether the noble lord had instituted any inquiry
into the transaction ; and if so, whether he would make
known to the public what was the determination of the
matter ?
Lord HARDINGE expressed his regret at being
Obliged to admit that the facts reported of the case re-
ferred to were not exaggerated. He had admonished the
iffending parties in the strongest language, and he had
'mly to say that if these remonstrances proved ineffec-
tual he would feel it his duty to advise her Ma-
jesty to exercise her prerogative by adopting a summary
mode of putting a stop to such practices.
The Earl of HARD WICSE said that if he was Com-
mander•in-Chief he would certainly deem it his duty to
hold the colonel -of each regiment responsible for those
offences, aid he would deal with him in the most sum-
mary manner:
Lord VIVIAN said it so happened that the colonel
if one of the regiments alluded to was at present in the
Crimea. _ .

The subject then dropped.
On the motion of Lord REDESDALE Haffe's Estate
Bill was read a second time.
THIRD READINGS.

The Folkestone Harbour, the Brighton Improvement
Bill, and Prices Patent Candle Company Bill were read
a third time.

CHURCH RATES.

The Bishop of EXETER, in prese.iting two petitions
from Exeter and anotl,-r p'ace in Devonshire, on the sub-
ject of church rates, took the opportunity of calling the
attention of the boast) to the actual state of the law on
the subject. A fear evenings ago, when this question
was brought under their notice, • the Lord Chancellor
gave his authority to the motion that the law respecting
church rates was absolutely effete, and that there was
no power to set it in action—that it was, in fact, a bye-
law, which it would be vain to revive. He (the Bishop
of Exeter) wished to revive nothing on this subject,
but he would state what was the fact as regarded the
law upon the subject 'up to within a few years ago.
The right reverend prelate then proceeded at great
length to cite the different statutes of the law with
respect to church rates. The reverend prelate
contended that the spiritual courts are still empowered
to compel payment of church rates, under penalty of im-
prisonment of the person or sequestration of the estate, of
the parties in default. In fact the law as regarded church
rates was more stringent than that applicable to the
co:-.yment of tithes, for it gave a remedy in the former
case which did not exist with respect to the latter. The
rev. prelate then quoted the opinion of Dr. Lushington,
who considettd church rates a poll tax, and expressed
his astonishment at such an opinion. He hoped that
any attempt to obtain the abolition of church rates
would be firmly resisted. The right rev. prelate con-
cluded by moving that the petition which he had pre-
sented should lie on their lordships' table.
The LORD CHANCELLOR said it would not be
right for him to say what the Government had contem-
plated in this matter, but at present a hill had been in-
troduced into the other house of Parliambnt which pur-
ported to effect the object to which he had referred, and,
under these circumstances, the Government had thought
it would be wise for them not to interfere, but to see
how far that measure might be adopted or improved, or
might serve as the foundation of some other to be intro-
duced in this or a subsequent session of Parliament.
After a few words in reply from several other noble
lords,
The subject dropped.
THE RUSSIAN TRADE.
The Earl of ALBEMARLE rose to present a petition
from the Bristol Chamber of Commerce, praying for a

. -
vigorous prosecution of the war with Russia ; also, to
move for a return of the quantity of hemp, flax, and
tallow received into this country from Russia and Prussia

between the let of January and the 27th of April in the

years 1853, 1854, and 1855 respectively ; and also, to
inquire whether her Majesty's Government intend, with
a view to bring the war with Russia to a speedy conclu-
sion, further to restrict the trade of that country by pro-
hibitory duties, or by any other means. Humanly
speaking, he considered her Majesty's Ministers respon-
sible for either peace or war. He believed it to be in
their power, by a proper, and energetic, and vigorous po-
licy, to bring the war to a speedy termination, or to make
the siege of Sebastopol another siege of Troy. A right
hon. gentleman, the immediate predecessor of the pre-
sent President of the Board of Trade, stated some time
ago that it was the policy of her Majesty's Government
to inflict the maximum of injury on Russia and the

minimum of injury on ourselves. (Hear.) Now, with
regard to inflicting the maximum of injury on the enemy,
he wished to ask if there was any reasonable prospect of
our doing so ? In March, 1854, as the law stood, it was
an act of felony, if not of treason, for any subject of
these realms to trade with the enemy. Unfortunately
fer this country that wholesome law had been departed
from. In his opinion, if it had been adhered to, instead
of this country appearing as a suppliant suing for peace,
and submitting itself to the humiliation of a refusal, our
adversary would have been at our feet begging for peace
upon any terms, to save him from the fury of a nobility
whom our measures would have driven to beggary and
despair. The Government
.declared their intention to
establish a strict and rigoroui blockade. In the Baltic
thelblockade was pretty well carried out. In the Black
Sea it was carried out partially, but in favour of the
enemy, for while we blockaded the mouths of the Danube,
and shut out 2,000,000 of quarters of the .corn of our
friends, all the ports of the enemy were left open, and
millions of quarters of linseed were allowed to be ex-
ported. But that was not all. The British merchants,
looking upon the Black Sea as tabooed, as a part of the
world with which it was treason to enter into commerce,
went to Africa and India and brought in large supplies
of linseed. The enemy had, however, anticipated them,
and sold their produce, and our merchants were obliged
to sell at a depreciation of 15 per cent. In that case,
therefore, the maximum of injury was inflicted on the
British me:cbant, and the maximum of profit was given
to the enemy. (Hear, hear.) It appeared from the
tbreastauotf htehnetiecnaetmedy awcacsouthntes,mtohsatt
criinptphleed,yelaor,owolo7onoothl.eds,
in gold and silver, went to Russia from this country
in return for goods which had been received. He
trusted that the blunders of last year would not be
renewed, but that a most strict blockade would be
established both in the Baltic and in the Black Sea ;
at least, so far as ships could carry that object into
effect. But he considered ships utterly ineffective for a
blockade, seeing that there was land transport from
Russia through the Prussian dominions. Certain goods
found their way through the provinces of Smolensk and
Novogorod to the frontier town of Tauruggen, and were
shipped a few miles from thence. Now, he considered
that the Government ought to enforce the blockade, not
Themerely
rbtyi e
sn awvhaol
saer mp
eatmi t
onnt sh,
he had
db yj
ussetnpdriensge
notuet o d
prayed
that the Government would take such steps as would
compel the Prussian Government to discontinue the
overland trade with Russia. He did not propose to deal
with that question, but to leave the responsibility with
Government. (Hear, hear.) His' object was to ventilate
the subject. The question of prohibition ought to be de-
termined by the GovernMent. It had been urged upon
them by persons in all classes of life, who were the most
competent to form a correct opinion. He had always been
an enemy to class interests, and now advocated the views
of the merchant., because he thOught their interests and
those of the public were inseparably connected together,
and it was the interest of both that the war should be
brought to a speedy conclusion. It had been said that
„tile prohibition would not succeed—that it would inflict
no injury upon Russia, and great injury on ourselves.
Now, he was ready to take the converse of that propo-
sition, and to prove that the entire stoppage of the Rus-
sian trade would inflict incaluable injury upon Russia
and a minimum of injury on ourselves, and he contended
that this must he so from the peculiar nature of the
trade. The export trade of Russia consisted of a -few
product., raised by serflabour, the property of the nobles.
Now, a serf landlord was a soldier, and with a sword at
his side he must in a military despotism make himself felt:
The exports formed the rent of the nobility, and anysreduc-
tion of that rent must be an injury to that body. The
policy of this country during the past year and the pre-
sent year had I een the reverse of that which had been
spoken of as likely to inflict the maximum of injury on
Russia and the minimum on this country. The manner
in which the blockade had been carried on had made
the war popular in Russia, and bad half reconciled Prus-
sia to the disgrace which she had incurred, self•interest
,Peing the counter-balance to her honour. So long as
the war continued popular with the soldier, landlords'
peace would be impossible, and it would not be thought
of by these exponents of public opinion until they could
be made to feel severely the pressure of war. But, so
far from that having been' the case, the land transit of
last year bad proved most beneficial to them. They
netted a little less profit on their exports, but their horses
and carts, which were used for the purposes of land car-
riage, were an immense source of profit, and so pro-
fitable was the trade that they actually brought their
horses and carts from Siberia. Now, a good policy on the
part of this country would not have brought about
such a state of things. Our object ought to have
been to make the war unpalatable, to render these
articles ur saleable, and to make the labour of their serfs
unprofitable. (Hear.) The merchants had repeatedly de-
clared that if the Government would repeal the orders
in council, and allow the statute law to come into force,
they would utterly discontinue the trade, and it was
obvious that men of high character were not disposed to
risk dishonour and banishment in order to 'evade the
law. He wished their lordships to bear in mind the in-
evitable consequence that would arise from carrying
into effect the statute law, which made it treason to
deal with the enemy. That, independent of any measure to
•erevent the ingress of the Russian products, would des-
troy at once two-thirds of her exports and tbree.fourths
of the,capital by which it was carried on, for three-fourths
,of her money transactions were conducted in London. But
it was said another class of merchants might come in.
Nov, he did not think that very likely. Persons carrying
on the trade must, from the very nature of the trade, be
persons of capital and credit. The Russian trade was one
of advance.. It was unlike any other trade. Merchants did
not exist in Russia or Prussia. He understood that
nothing could be lower in purse and credit than the