The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-05 00:00:00

MPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTE ttDAY.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the wool-
sack at five o'clock.
Lord SHAFTESBURY presented several petitions.
BURIAL OF THE DEAD.
_ _

The Earl of SANDWICH begged to call the atten-
- Lion of the noble duke opposite to the question he put
to him on a former occasion with respect to the state of
the burial grounds and vaults in the county of Hunt-
on..'
The Duke of ARGYLL said in reply that the Horne
Secretary had power, on the receipt of the report of an
authorised inspector, to order burial grounds to be closed
either wholly or in part, and also the power of ordering
the re-opening of burial grounds either wholly or in part,
if he were satisfied that such re-opening Would not be
prejudicial to the public health. This was the course pur-
sued respecting the burial grounds and vaultsin Hunting-
don, to which the noble earl specially referred. Application
having been made to the Home Secretary for the opehn-
ing of the vaults in Huntingdon, not generally for t e
interment of a certain body, he issued such ordgr accord.
ingly, and the interment took place.
It was obvious
that between the time of his receiving this application
and the burial of the body, there was notice for the
Home Secretary to ascertain whether the opening would
be prejudicial to the puhltc health.
The Earl of MA.LNIES BURY expressed his satisfac-
tion at finding this question revived by the noble
earl which he believed to be one of considerable import-
ance, and connected with which there were circum-
stances which would warrant a special inquiry into the
subject of the closing and re-opening of burial grounds.
After a short discussion, ii
The Bishop of LONDON—said-the-notice in question
did not order the closing in question, but gave notice
that after a certain period the grave yards would be
closed. He quite agreed with the noble earl with re-
spect to the importince of the subject, and he should
feel it his duty for the third time to call their lordships'
attention to the many grievous evils which had arisen
by the precipitate closing of burial grounds.
Lord PORTMAN thought that such an important
'question should not hang upon the report of an officer
whose tenure in office was liable to frequent changes.
The subject then dropped.
The Earl of DERBY presented a petition from Liver-
pool, complaining of the conduct of the war.
. A discussion here arose with respect to instructions
to be given to select-committees of their lordships' house.

THIRD READINGS.
The following bills were read a third time :—The
Ossett Gas, Staleybridge Gas, and the Chesterfield Water
and Gas.

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.

Lord REDESDALE.moved—" That this house wil

not read any bill a second time after Tuesday, the 24th
of July, except bills of aid or supply, or any bill in rela-
tion to which the house shall have resolved, befure_the
second readin.2; is moved, that the circumstances which
render legislation on the subject of the same expedient,
are either of such recent occurrence or urgency as- to
render the immediate consideration of the said bill ne-
cessary."
Viscount CANNING concurred in the resolution,
and it was agreed to.

20th of December it was known in the country that them
negotiations had terminated. Thhe,Eir.,Drieocfamillia,elrjuaesbbutitrygtweil,
turned to this conetty on the 2!
(31reyonsdbaeyf,orttetb2e7tEhtortf
°f
December=-theihliesbnrY r Ministeretr''e-ieulam'aleelt.Yie•
.wo.nn
to the house with a message from the Crown, from which
I will passageSPEAKEß—Die to the
the
teh
riousgeht
The hon. member mean to
conclude with a motion ?
Mr. DISRAELI—I will conclude with a motion if yeu
find that I am not strictly within the limits of a question ;
but I apprehend that you will find that I am strictly within
the limits of a question. wish to state what, under cir-
cumstances similar to the present, Was the course adopted
by, the Ministers, and then I shall here to ask why that
course has not been followed on the present occasion. But
if you think that I am transgressing the rules of the house I
will conclude with a motion that will not to inconvenient
to the Government, because it is a motion which they will
themselves have to make in the course of the evening.
(Cheers.) I have reminded the house that on the 20th of
December it was known that the negotiltions had termi-
nated. On the 29th of December our plenipotentiary re-
turned to this country; but two days before, on the 27th
of December, Mr. Secretary Dundas came down to the
house with a message expressed in these words :
" It is with the utmost concern that his Majesty acquaints
the House of Commons that his earnest endeavours to effect
the restoration of peace have been unhappily frustrated, and
that the negotiation in which he was happily engaged has
been abruptly broken off by the peremptory refusal of the
French Government to treat, except upon a basis evidently
inadmissible. His Majesty has directed the several memorials
and papers which have been exchanged iu the course of the
late discussion, and. the account transmitted to his Majesty
of its final result, to be laid before the house."
Now, hon. gentlemen will find, on referring to the jour-
nals, that the State papers. alluded to in the Royal mes-
sage were of a very voluminous description. They will
thre find a schedule of the papers laid on the table, and
they will see that probably, not only in importance, but
also in number, they were not inferior to the papers we
now so anxiously expect. (Hear, hear.) . Bat the house•
will observe that two clays had not—
Mr. RICH 'rose to order. (Oh, oh !) He was most un-
willing to interrupt the right hon. gentleman—(oh !)—be-
cause he thought it most desirable that a fall statement
should be made upon this subject, bat at the same time he
thought the hon. gentleman was not strictly adhering to
the rules of the house with regard to questions. (Oh, oh!)
The SPEAKER.—The right hon. gentlemean, having
stated that he will conclude with a motion, is perfectly in
order. (Laud cheers.)
Mr. DISRAELL—I regret that a misconception on the
partof the hon. gentleman of the statement I was about to
wake—amtateneerat which I thinkit is for the public interest
-hould be made, and which I have only been induced to
wake for the sake of the public interest and for the honour
and advantage of the country—(cheers) -has subjected me
to interruption. Sti'.l, however, Ido not despair of being
able to bring the point clearly before the house. I will
aow attempt to regataer the scattered threads of my state-
ment. The house will observe that the moment it was
known that negotiations were broken off, before even the
plenipotentiary had returned, there came down a message
trom the Crown to the House of Commons, and the Minis!
ter at the same time gave notice that on the following day
he would lay the whole of these papers on the table—a very
different popition from that in which the hotise-now finds
itself placed. (Hear, hear.) Bat was this all? On Mon-
day, December 27, the message of the Crbwn to the House
of Commons came down. On Tuesday, the 28th, in defer-
ence to the direction contained in the gracious message of
his Majesty, the Minister placed on the table of the house
the whole of the papers connected with 'the negotia-
tions. (Cheers.) But that was not all. Mr. canning, the
Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, laid upon the
table of the house for the use of members a state paper of
the utmost importance, accompanied by what was called
" his Majesty's Royal declaration," in which his Majesty
wade the house acquainted with all the circumstances of
the negotiation and the causes which had led to its unsuc-
cessful termination. Now, the house will observe that in
1796, under circumstances similar to the present—so similar
that the power with which we were in treaty appears to
have conducted itself very much in the same spirit as that
described by the noble lord (Lord..J. Russell) the other night
in the brief account he gave of his negotiations—the nego-
tiations terminated by a "peremptory refusal to treat, ex-
:ept upon a basis evidently inadmissible." The house will
see that in that case, under circumstances apparently not
only similar, but I may say even identical with those which
have just occurred, we had in Parliament a message from
the Crown ; we had the whole of the papers connected with
the unsuccessful negotiations laid upon the table of the
House of Commons before even the negotiator had returned;
we had a royal declaration, containing the whole pith and
marrow of the negotiations, placed upon the table for the
advantage of members, and, more than that, we had the
Minister, on the very day that he laid the papers on the
table, which was Tuesday, giving notice for the following
Tuesday of a motion to take them into consideration. Now,
' sir, as I have more free warrant to speak than I expected,
I will ask the house to contrast the situation of Parliament
in 1796, under similar circumstances, with the condition
in which the House of Commons now finds itself in 1855.
(Hear.) How have we'been treated ? Has there been the
same necessity on the pert of her Majesty's Government to
impart to Parliament the necessary information at a mo-
ment so pregnant with the fate of the country? Has
there been, not only the same promptitude, but the same
form and wise ceremony, in communicating between the
Crown and Path. r:neat? (Hear, hear.) So Jar as the
proceedings of Parliament are concerned, I doubt whether
we have even any authentic evidence before us that any
negotiations have been in progress, and certainly we have
not at this moment the slightest information of what the
basis of those negotjations was, or what were the grave
points in dispute. (Hear and cheers.) I think the house
has a right to inquire why there is this singular difference
between the modes in which Parliament has been treated,
under circumstances of so much similarity and so much
importance, by the Government of that day and the Go-
vernment in the present instance. (Hear, hear.) Why
has not her Majesty been advised to co:nruuni.atte with her
Parliament when negotiations for peace with a. great Power
',aye failea ? Why has there not been a Royal message ?
Why, in the present instance, have not the papers been
prepared during the interval of nerrotiation, as they were
prepared (luring the Ministry of'l796—(hear, bear)—so
that, when the termination of the n,sgotiations was an-
nounced Parli %melt, might have been immediately um:vie
acquainted with all the circumstances of thesase? Why,_
le a mutter which lfa'§ in" deeply agitated-. the country,'
have we note had some means of forming an, opinion
of the state of affairs? Why has there not been a Royal
message ? Why have not the papers been promptly placed
upon the table? Why has there not been a Royal declaration,
and why has the Minister not come for • aril, and with' a
practice befitting a British Parliament laid papers upon the
table of the house and fixed a day when Parliament can
take them into consideration ? (Cheers.) I had thought that
I might have asked these questions without treapa4sing
upen a privilege which I wished other members to enjoy,
of moving that the house at its rising adjourn till Monday
next; but I will now make that motion, in order to be
strictly within the rules of the house, and, having mac
that motion, I await with interest the answer of the noble
lord to the questions I have addressed to him. (Cheers.)
Lord PALMERSTON—I think the answer which I shall
have to give will have been anticipated by aim st all why,
heard the questions of the right hon. gentleman who
are at all acquainted with the circumstances to which he
ia,l adverted, and the circumstances connected with the
negotiations recently conducted by my noble friend. The
right hon. gentleman has referred to a case in which, in a
war between England and France, negotiations were en-
tered into directly between two countries—a case in which
it was perfectly clear in the course of the nego, iations, be-
fore they were concluded, that peace was hopeless, and,
peace being hopeless, it became the duty of the Govern-
ment of the day to appeal to Parliament for more vigorous
exertions for, the continuance of the war. (Hear, hear.)
If my noble friend had gone to St. Petersburg without any
previous negotiation with any other Power, and if' the
result of a fortnight's or a month's negotiation at St. Pe-
tersburg had proved similar to that to which the right hon.
geutleman refers, the cases would certainly have been
much more parallel than they are in poi„t of fact. It is
well known that the negotiation which my noble friend
undertook was conducted through the intervention of the
friendly Government of Austria. It is well known that
from the commencement of the war—and I may say even
before the commencement of the war—Austria, as maintain-
ing friendly relations towards all parties, has been inces-
sant in her endeavours to bring about a reconciliation of
the differences existing between England and France on
the one hand and Russia on the other, and it was only a
continuance of those efforts which led to the conferences
in which my noble friend took part. Although, however,
these conferences did not terminate in a successful issue,
they were not broken off. They were adjourned without
any specific time being appointed for their renewal ; but
after my noble friend left Vienna, and after the conferences
had been adjourned sine die, there took place at the re-
quest of Austria another conference, and the protocols of
that conference [The noble lord was here interrupted
by an observation from Lord J-. Russell, which was loan-
lible in the gallery.] At the request of the Russian Mi-
nister, who said that he had another proposal to make, the
conference was re-assembled, and—without being per-
fectly certain on the subject—l believe that up to this
moment the detailed protocols or records of _that
conference have not been received by her Majesty's
Government ; at nil events, if they have been re-
ceived, it is within the pre,,ent day. Well, sir, the confer-
ence adjourned, and my noble friend returned to this coun-
try; but there still exist at Vienna the elements of a con-
fgleenrsteit :ocfme
gurh,,ettorcri
certainly
et
The vbceoes
course
fs:Ee
trnhygelparrnii7dpcietro
hf
course
gentleman.snece
tonfa(Rt).isu:gai
f
ht
uwta
tsbteh ad
ot
01 ertear,,tanii ;,ttt ieovne
rt. f
possibley he Majesty's
menus
oGfozetttnl nnicpe ttiht
otsoe
differences which have lea to the war. (Hear-) If her
A (jesty's Government hail fully determined that, under no
circumstances, would they listen to any further
oveittimes
that may be made, either by Russia through Austria, or
by Austria with the view of suggesting means of accom-
modation between the belligerent powers, then undoubt-
edly the course the right hon. gentleman recommends
her Majesty's Government to pursue, of coming clown
with a message to Parliament, stating that all possi-
bility of an accommodation was at an end, and declaring
that peace was, under the circumstances, impossible,
would be the proper course to adopt. But, sir, that is
not the position in which we are placed. (Hear, hear,
and cheers from the Ministerial side.) We have failed in
the attempt we made, but I am not prepared to say that
there are no other means open by which, through the in-
tervention of the friendly offices of Austria, propositions
may be made which it may become the duty of her Ma-
jesty's Government seriously to consider, with the view of
determining whether it is still possible to bring the exist-
ing differences to a close. (Hear.) Allow me to say, sir,
that, even upon the showing of the right bon. gentleman,
the present case and that to which he refers are not parallel
cases. The right hon. gentleman says that in the case of
France the basis of negotiation was peremptorily refuse, I by
France; but in this instance the basis of negotiation has been
accepted by Russia. The four points upon which England
and France agreed to negotiate have been accepted by Rns-
aim, and to a certain extent even the interpretetion which
il:nglanti and Franced pieced upon those four points has
also been accepted by Russia as a foundation upon which

to negotiate. The difficulties have been as to the mode in
which the fair meaning of these points was to be cirried
out in detailed articles of agreement. I think, therefore,
sir, whatever may be the opinion of the right hon. gentle-
olDri with regard to the analogy of the two cases, that they
ar,, essentially different in their fundamental elements;
Iv I consider that her Majesty's Government would not
th:f beenia:;ceirope4aibliyi performing their duty if, following out
_ ~.elinciful analogy of former cases, they hai taken steps
lw,:114:1.2.11:0111,1 have proclaimed to the world that we had
itaiBrte;:utivi,mil:oo6::eties,:thfht;:fose seiiibility of any accommodation. Sir,
cornmodation wel:edantuetgaylnecting my duty if I were to hold
inch
it
itgeeb:ite bGeovreearinimseedn;t
ac-
in the state in w 'ensae
:
if til'y stated that all hopesbwot ul
adotf
,I I wish to leave the question
OPPOsition.) I WWI touiveUlear. and laughter from the
he door of negotiation open.