The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-12 00:00:00

the Crown, in cases where a verdict was given for the
defendant.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said considerable
alteration had been made in the law in this respect
lately, and he proposed to bring in a bill to extend the
principle of that mode of payment of costs still further.
RAILWAY ACCIDENTS.

Mr. SCOTT asked the Vice-President of the Board
of Trade whether her Majesty's Government is about
shortly to introduce into Parliament the bill which, on
the 15th day of March last, they announced it to be their
intention to bring in this session, for the prevention of
railway accidents.
Mr. BOUYERIE replied thab his colleague in the
House of Lords intended shortly to bring in a bill to
that effect.
PRACTICAL JOKES IN THE ARMY.
Mr. STANLEY asked the Under Secretary for
War, if the Commander-in-Chief had ordered any court
of inquiry to examine into the late transactions at Can-
terbury amongst the officers of the Enniskillen Dra-
goons, and into the causes which led to a hostile meet-
ing, or, as is reported, mock duel, between Cornets
Baumgarten and Evans, in which Adjutant Webster
and Serjeant Brodie were concerned ; if Serjeant Brodie
had been again placed under arrest for any offence ; and
if he had been dismissed from his duties as serjeant-
saddler, and lost the custom of the officers
Mr. PEEL said the cases of the officers concerned in
those transatiens were at this moment undergoing inves-
tigation by orders of the Horse Guards, but the result
was not yet made public. With respect to Serjeant
Brodie, it was true he was placed under arrest a second
time, and the reason was that he had falsely accused one
of the officers of the regiment of having borrowed
money from him ; but as there was reason to believe
there had been some pecuniary transactions between
them, Serjeant Brodie was directed to be released. It
was not true that he had been deprived of his situation
as sergeant-saddler.
FRENCH MILITARY ADMINISTRATION.
In reply to Mr. T. DUNCOMBE,
Lord PALMERSTON said it was true that an appli-
cation had been made to the French Government to
allow a commission of ufflitary officers from this coun-
try to' proceed to Paris to examine and report upon
the condition of the administration of the French
army. ' That application was received with all
courtesy. by the French Government, but as those
communications were, he might" say, of a sconfi-
dential nature,' and related solely to the international
relations of the French army, he did"not feel inclined to
lay the report upon the table without a previous com-
munication with the French Government. (Hear.)
THE ENCAMPMENT ON THE CURRAGH OF
KILDARE.

Mr. E. BALL asked the Clerk of the Ordnance
whether the. Camp at the Curragh of Kildare was com-
pleted and ready for occupation ; if not, how many of
thB huts were actually erected and finished ; how many
more may be considered as half finished : whether any
and what quantity of materials are provided and de-
livered on the ground for the remainder : and, what was
the clause in the contract as to completion, both as to
the time named, and penalty for non-performance ?
Mr. MONSELL replied that the encampment was
not yet completed, but 53 soldiers' and 25 officers' huts
were completed ; 122 huts were half finished, 107 formed,
and the contractors would give over next week huts for
2,000 men. As to materials, a very large supply was
on the ground. The contractors were bound, in case
of non-fulfilment of their contract, in a penalty of 10 per
cent. on the amount of their tenders.
THE TOBACCO TRADE.

On the motion of Mr. H. G. LANGTON, returns
were ordered of the several seizures made, and of the
prosecutions for breach of the laws relating to tobacco,
between the sth day of January, 1852, and the sth day
of January, 1855—distinguishing those in Great Britain
from those in Ireland ; specifying the places where,
and the names of the persons prosecuted, or
from whom the seizures were made ; the quanti-
ties and kinds of goods seized ; the precise nature
of the offences charged or for whch the seizures were
made ; the results of the examinations of the goods by
analysis or otherwise, when seized for adulteration ;
whether any and what judicial proceedings were taken
in each case ; the result of such proceedings, whether
convicted or otherwise ; amount of fine paid, or impri-
sonment suffered • whether the goods seized were con-
demned or restored (so far as relates to the Excise branch
of Inland Revenue, and in continuation of Parliamen-
tary paper, No. 364 of session 1852-3).
ORDER OF BUSINESS ON MONDAY.

Mr. RICARDO wished to ask the noble lord at the
head of the Government what business he proposed to
bring forward on Monday? There were two bills in
which he took some interest—one, the stamp on bankers'
drafts, and the other partnerships' bill—and he wished to
ask when they would be brought forward ? It was gene-
rally supposed they would be brought forward on Mon-
day, but that arrangement bad been altered by pre-
cedence being given to the motion of the hon. member
for Aylesbury.
Lord PALMERSTON replied that there were seve-
ral motions of importance before the house which should
be advanced a stage before these measures were pro-
posed. It should, however, be fully made•knowu be-
fore the house adjourned this evening what course the
Government would pursue with regard to them.
Sir S. NORTEICOTE said that, with regard to the
Partnerships Bill, so strong a feeling e34sted in the
country with regard to it, that be thought it ought to be
introduced in the other house if there was no probabi-
lity of its being introduced there.
Lord PALMERSTON said it should be proceeded
with on the earliest day consistent with the state of
other public business.
TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS WITH
THE SEAT OF WAR.

Mr. GROGAN wished to ask the noble lord at the
head of the Government, whether it was true, as re-
ported, that a telegraphic message bad that day been
received from the seat of war—and, if 89, what was its
purport ?
Lord PALMERSTON--I can assure the house there
can be no possible disposition on the part of the Govern-
ment to withhold any information, good or bad, which
is interesting to be known. I am informed that the sub-
stance of the information received to-day is in the even-
ing papers relative to the attack on part of our lines by
the Russians, and which attack was defeated with great
gallantry and success on the part of our troops. But I would
just suggest this for consideration :—These telegraphic
despatches necessarily came to ns in cypher. Every-
body conversant with these matters knows that if you
get the cypher on the one side and the decypher on the
other, the cypher is very soon of no use. Therefore it

is impossible for the Government, in communicating in-
telligence coming by telegraph in cypher, to give the
precise words, or anything approaching to the precise
words. (Hear, hear.)
LORD RAGLAN'S DESPATCHES.
On the motion that the house, at its rising, do adjourn
until Monday,
Lord HOTHAM said he was anxious to take the
liberty of asking the noble lord at the head of the Go-
vernment a question connected with a notice given by
the honourable and learned gentleman the member for
Sheffield, and which was on the paper for the
day. It would be in the recollection of the
house that on the occasion of the examination of the
Duke of Newcastle before the Sebastopol Committee,
his grace laid before the committee a despatch written
by himself to Lord Raglan, containing the orders of the
Government with respect to the expedition to the Crimea
and the siege of Sebastopol. The production of that
despatch necessarily created a desire to see the reply re-
turned by Lord Raglan. The committee did not, however,
exercise its authority in calling for the production of
that reply, but instructed the chairman to communicate
with the Government as to the propriety of its being
produced. He therefore wished to ask the noble lord
whether he could give an assurance that, consistently
with his public duty, he could still present to the house
such extracts as should not inevitably alter the tenour
and character of the original, and should give a fair and
consistent account of the opinions of Lord Raglan on
this important topic.
Lord PALMERSTON said that no doubt it would be
in the power of the Government to give that despatch in
such a shape as would completely answer the objects of
the committee.

THE MAYNOOTEI COMMISSION.
Colonel GREVILLE Aked the Chief Secretary for
Ireland whether it was true that Mr. O'Ferrall, one of the
commissioners for inquiring into the College of May-
nooth, and the two secretaries to the commission, had
been summoned to London, and examined as to the ch-
cumstances connected with the transmission of the evi-
dence and report to Rome, and the alleged additions and
alterations in the evidence without the knowledge or
sanction of the commissioners?

Mr. HORSMAN, in reply, said it was true that the
gentlemen referred to had arrived in London ; and from
inquiries made of them, be could afford the explanations
required by the hon. gentleman. The only alterations
were, that when the evidence was seen by the R.,man
Catholic dignitaries whose territorial titles were
not recognised by the secretaries, those prelates
insisted upon inserting their titles. The honourable
gentleman then went through correspondence at some
length from Earl Harrowby and other commissionere,
in order to prove that the evidence now before the
house was, in fact, the same as that taken before them.
In regard to the assertion of the member for North
Warwickshire tbat territorial titles were given in evi-
dence, it did not rest on good authority; and with respect
to the evidence having been transmitted by Dr. Cullen
to Rome, and undergoing many olaanges and corrections,
it was true that the evidence was left with Dr. Cullen,
which wag an irregularity he had no wish to explain or ex-
tenuate ; but the documents showed that the evidence
now before the house, if compared with the original
transcript, would be found word for word. The hon.
gentlemen entered into other charges made by the hon.
member for North Warwickshire, and said if he thought
further inquiry necessary, the Government bad no ob-
jection to grant it, and the commissioners courted it.
Mr. SPOONER stated that the letter of Lord Har-
rowby gave a most inaccurate account of the conversa-
tions which he bad held with that noble lord, and de-
clared on his honour as a gentleman that the version of
these conversations he gave in his speech on Mayoooth
was the true one. He complained also that, though
on the authg
Harrowby was present and heard his speech in
the Lord
frienhr,se, and though they were on terms of intimate
taiararpeperrie:ented their conversation. With regard to
he
to represented
yet his lordship never intimated to him that
would institute
the
with the evidence, he made that charge
Mr. lIORSMA.VI
the R. Do3ty of two gentlemen, one of whom was
ler. of Dublin. He hoped the house
quiry into the whole subject.
under which the hen Wished
hon.
was labouring,
imTprheesseieo:
contrary, immedia.teqlet Passive
statements that had beenseeing
retaries had not rein.a*
and silent. On the
in the newspapers the
made, they addressed a letter '