The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-29 00:00:00

MUSSULMAN LAW.

Mr. PELLATT asked the First Lord of the Treasury
whether there still existed in Turkey a law which con-
demned to death a Mussulman ccnvert to Christianity ;
and, if so, whether the Government, or our allies the
French, had or intended exercising their influence to
abolish so unjust a punishment ?
Lord PALMERSTON said it would be seen by pa-
pers laid before the house in the year 1844 that Sir
Stratford Canning bad obtained an assurance from the
Sultan that no such executions should take place in
future.

Mr. A. PELLATT underAtood that the assurance
applied to Christians becoming Mussulmen, and then re-
turning to Christianity.
Lord PALMERSTON said the assurance,,as he under-
stood it, applied to the whole case of such executions.
STAMP DUTIES.

Mr. HAMILTON asked the Chancellor of the Ex-
-chequer whether it was the intention of Government to
pr)pose, during the present session, any measure for
abolishing the stamp dutie4 on matriculations - and de-
grees in the universities of Cambridge and Dublin, and
thei•eby to place students in those universities in the
s one position, as regards stamp duties, with students in'
the universities of Oxford, Durham, London, the Queen's
University in Ireland, and the several Scotch univer-
?

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it
wa3 quite true, as the hon.-member stated, with regard
to Oxford, and he could only say now that the subject,
as regarded Cambridge and Dublin, was under the con-
shleration of the Government.
THE INNS OF COURT.

Mr.-MI:A.M.-FORD asked the Seerttary of State for
the Home Department when the report of the Commis-
Won appointed last session to inquire int.) the Inns of
C;ort would be laid on the table of the house ?

Sir G. GREY said the report had not yet been re-
ceived, but he was informed that it was prepared, and
he might shortly expect it.

THE TRANSPORT SERVICE.
Sir T. HERBEBT asked the Fret Lord of the Admi-
ralty the date when the Etea:ner llandFa, of 2,500 tons,
was taken up for the conveyance of troops to the Medi-,
terranean ; whether she was taken up by the new Trate-
port Board ; how long she remained in the river after
being taken up; and whether her delay at Portsmouth
up to the present time had been occasioned by its being
found, on her being surveyed at Portsmouth, there were
no medical stores on board, or magazine fitted for hold-
ing the ammunition of the troops ?
Sir C. WOOD sad the vessel was engaged on the 14th
Feb. She Was not taken up for the Transport Service,
but she remained in the river 15 days filling, and this
Wa 3 the only delay that occurred.

THE AUSTRALIAN POST.
Mr. ADDERLEY asked the Home Secretary what
arrangements were being made for steam or any postal
communication with Australia ?
Sir G. GREY said the subject was now under conside-
ration with the Treasury and the Colonial Department
with the view as stated in the question.

METROPOLITAN BUILDINGS ACT.
Lord PALMERSTON stated, in reply to Mr: Fitz-
roy that there was no intention to bring in a bill this
session to amend the Metropolitan Buildings Act.
ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE.
Colonel NORTH moved the adjournment for the
purpose of calling upon the Secretary at War to explain
what he meant when ho said Lord Methuen objected
"t i go on board a transport ship with his triops, be-
cause it was a sailing vessel."
Lord PALMERSTON protested against this sort of
proceeding. The motion ought not to be male without
some reason being stated fur it. With regard to the
question, he'believed the objection to the ship arose out
of her want of accommodation, and not because she
wa, a sailing vessel.
Mr. DISRAELI said the necessity for the motion
hal become neces;ary in order that an answer of the
Secretary at War, which had created some misappre-
hension, might be explained. Under those circum-
stances he thought the motion was justifiable; but, of
course, it would be withdrawn.

Mr. PEEL said the vessel appointed to take out the
Royal Lancashire Militia to the Mediterranean was
a steamer, and not .a sailing vessel. Lori Methuen
w'as the commander of the troops, and he objected to the
vessel because she did not afford sufficient accommo-
dation.

The motion was then withdrawn.
CONVENTION WITH SARDINIA. BILL.

The house then went into committee on this bill.
On clause 1,
Sir H. WILLOUGHBY asked whether it was in
in contemplation to make any other loan of the kind ?
Lord PALMERSTON said, when there was another
loan it would be communicated to the house.

Sir H. WILLOUGHBY inquired where the money
was to come from to make good this loan ?

The CHANCELLOR o(the EXCHEQUER said it
would come out of the Consolidated Fund in the first in-
stauce.

Sir H. WILLOUGHBY wanted to know why the
interest was to be so low as 3 per cent.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the
loan would extend over a long series of years, and that
the interest bad been fixed at 3 per cent.
Mr. BELLEW said Ore loan would come out of the
Consolidated Fund in the first instance, but it would
afterwards have to be made good in some other way. Now
it was just possible that we should have to pay mere
than 3 per cent. for the money, and therefore he thought
it would have been better to let Sardinia herself come
into the market to raise the loan.
The c!auses were then agreed to, and the house hav-
ing resumed, the report was ordered to be received to-
m. crow.

ODESSA.
Mr. SCOTT rose to move an address to the Crown for
copies of the instructions relative to the attack or.
Odessa given to the Comma' der-in-Chief in the Medi-
terranean and Iltack Sea, and copies of, or extracts
from, all correspondence relating thereto. He did
not think he was making this motion too early, or
that it would prove detrimental to the public ser-
vice, because if any mistake had been committed
in respect to Odessa it was only right the pub-
lic should know where the blame rested.
The war was costing us something like 800,0001. a
week, or 110,0001. a day, and it was only right that we
should know that everything had been done to cripple
the enemy in his important town of Odessa. The pos-
session of Odessa by Russia unmolested bad been
of great service to her. It had enabled
her to supply her forces in the Crimea
with provisions and reinforcements; and although
it was a mere commercial town just before the com-
mencement of the war, its fortifications had since been
so extended and improved as to render it far less preg-
nable now than it was this time last year. It was true
our fleet in April last destroyed the outer fortifications,
destroyed 12 ships and took 13 transport., besides re-
leasing several English ships which were in the port at
the time, but instead of following up the attack with
'wading, the fleet was. ordered off, in order that the
city might be saved, and the Emperor of Russia was
left to reconstruct, repair, and strengthen those
fortifications of Odessa which the fleet had shown to be
most open to attack. The importance which Russia at-
tached to Odessa could not lessen his own authority, but
might be traced in that famous edict of the Emperor of
Russia which directed the inhabitants to set fire to the
place in the event of the allies attempting a landing, and if
Russia attached so much importance to Odessa, he
wanted to know why the Government thought so slight.
ingly of it as to leave it free from attack after the use-
less bombardment? That was his justification for making
this motion, and he could anticipate no good or suffi-
cient reason why it should be refused. Our fleet re-
mained idle for very many weeks in the Black
i Sea before the cholera broke out, and he wanted to
know, for the sake of Admiral Dundas, how it was that
OJesa was not taken. Ile might be told that Admiral
Ists.das had a discretionary power, but he wanted
to know if that discretion was shackled in any
b3y, and that could only be ascertained
y Producing the instructions that the Admiralty sent
to
the Admiral while in command of a large fleet, and a
force of some 12,000 men. Either Odessa ought to have
been blockaded
or dismantled ; or, again, it ight have
bean
cuploefd by seine of our troops and guarded
was due to the our
inanity as it was use
b: ;el lee 1 ti to
sutoßhbfei
aa
tn armytenemy,
to cur
• spill ed from rnctiL of
natives wasships ; and some explanation
Publicte,aslto why neither of those alter-
t was said that Odessa was
. 4. ~
___ . 1
bhumanity,eeo as butcie t thisrime modedetrimental
toof car-
t tog on bas
,war had
abled 11112Sia to slaughttr our men Wholesale, whereas' hadn-
ethienfas‘rinlinwhich Was the be
hastopol. Since then, as the policy of
bii cegcvaaelurl sa
ecnoti could
soldiers,
havee
to the survivors, and to
lartailo'n should be given of the
sparingbOedteUs Odessa
inboeodevene:Blt:t koheaSnde'
bombardment
firsttiU the public as
operationolll only
bdaut eos
fot
of Odessa.
reason willsnossau d In-
mothe war,
Id compel s
motion you. him to
duce him to oppose the ino
l‘sfirr.
C.
ElNN_OTOlNDC!idsetchoendsaendlethe inotioni.,_,_ 1 .
The demand which the
aS fain from going into detail.
the possilie
1 .
his
p.ed without disclosing to the enemy 2 ,
' e Each Sea and
h sr. member made was one which could not be esit-
intentions of the commandersn t..'-
future operations, It was ba .o.: gh th the cones-