The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-26 00:00:00

TEE SUN, LONIJON, TUESDAY EVENING, JULY 26, 1864

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS—Last Evening,

The Loan CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at
5 o'clock, there having been a Royal Commission, at
which certain bills receeived the royal assent.
TIM SCOTTISH CLERGY DISABILITIES BILL.
The Commons' amendments to this bill were agreed to.

n obody anticipates. It would be admissible, although
not a source of pride, it the Government declared that over-
ruling circumstances rendered it impossible to execute the
treaties: that their utility Was gone, and that the ground
was cleared for a line of action they had hitherto debarred
us from. But to connive at them, ignore them, hush them
up;
at one time to call them immaterial because the cants
faded: has not arisen, and when it has disastrously oc-
curred to hang them in silence ; to pretend that we are ready
to enforce the guarantee of Russian Saxony, while that of
Schleswig perishes without apology before us, is inadmis-
sible, derogatory to the Crown and not to be encouraged by
the Legislature. That course the Government will now
have the opportunity of quitting. I will not detain your
lordships but move for the correspondence I have asked for.
Earl GRANVILLE declined to enter upon a discussion
of the question whether the honour of England bad or had
not been low,red by the conduct of tho Government, see-
ing that both housca of Parliament had recently come to a
formal vote on the E ulsj e et. As to the condi,ions of the
Treaty of 1862, the British Government found that the)
were the only one of the contracting parties which was pre-
pared to adhere to its provisions, and to that extent there •
fore it might be regarded as modified.

Some nanarlis having been made by the Marquis of
CLANRICARDE, who deprecated further discussion, and
expressed a hope that there would ho no more talk about
bringing the " moral influence of England" to bear upon
foreign matters, •__

Lord CAMPBELL, in reply, stated that, according to
De Twiss, in his well-known work on the Danish Duchies,
the treaty of Kiel had revived all our former treaties of
amity with Denmark. The controversy was between the
President of the Council on the one hand and Dr Twiss upon
the other. At thesame time, he (Lord Campbell) admitted
that if the guarantees were not enforced, it was better for
the country and the world they should not bo held valid,
NEW ZEALAND LOAN BILL.

Earl GRANVILLE moved the second reading of the
New Zealand Guarantee of Loan Bill, which had come up
with the sanction of the Commons.
The Earl of MALLVIESBURY condemned the measure
as one and said that if the colonies
had to depend o fquestionable
upontheir own unaided efforts we should
hear very little more of colonial wars. Should additional
h7lricy ,
troops be required in New Zealand a portion of our Indian
forces ought to be employed.
Lord LYVEDEN also doubted the policy of the mea-
sure, but contented himself with protesting against it.
The Duke of CAMBRIDJE stated that the British
troops felt no disinclination whatever to the service in case
they were called on to perform it.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH feared that the colony
would not be able to fulfil its obligations,
The Earl of DONOTIGHINIORE also protested against
the policy of guaranteeing the loan, and thought it would
have been better had wo made the colony a present of the
money.
The Earl of HARROWBY supported the bill, which
was then read a second time.
Several other bills were also advanced a stage—and
Their lordships adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS—Last Evening.
l'he SPEAKER took the chair at three o'clock.
STANDING ORDERS,

Colonel W. FATTEN drew the attention of the house
to the report of the committee appointed to revise the stand-
ing orders in reference to private bills which was presented
some time back, and he moved that the house should agree
to that portion of the report which provides for referees in
renard to the transaction of private business.
Sir J. SIIELLEY said that he did not consider the
alterationsu tu
thtem
sa
etime
h e
proposed would
wouldn
produceot 1Y beneficial effect,
bopposea
them at that
advanced stea) of the session.

.Lord R. CECIL differed from tho hon. baronet, and
supported the report.
Mr S. FITZGERALD objected to the report, as an in-
jurious innovation, which would have the effect of depriv-
ing the house of its legitimate control over privets business.
He trusted that the old standing orders would bo reverted
to if the alterations now proposed should not prove sty:-
cessful. _ _

(Amongst the alterations proposed by the new orders, it
was provided that the number of members should be re-
duced from five to three.)

Mr H. BAILLIL and Lord Flonuat objected to the pro-
posal, but the noble lord said he would not object to the
number being reduced to four.

Mr BOUVERIE considered that the jurisdiction in
matters of private business should be retained, but in order
to accomplisti that the pressure on members should be light-
ened. He consequently was in favour of the reduction pro-
posed.

Sir E. COLEBROKE said that in his opinion a smal
number of members would not command so mnch respect
and confidence as a larger one, and on that ground he op-
posed the reduction.

had been issued to the two services, of which no more than
799 were 100-pounders. It was the opinion of Admiral
Halstead, a flag officer on the active list, that the British
navy was without any gun or armour plated ship warfare ;
while the Royal commissioners reported that the only gun
we could rely upon was the old 68-pounder smooth-
bore. In fact, he believed we had not a gun for our ships,
and it was very doubtful whether we had a gun to put on
the Portsmouth forts when they were finished. He con-
tended, as he had always done, that the proper defence of
our shores ought to be confided to the navy—and he pro-
tested against this system of digging holes for the pur-
pose of burying millions in. It was time that the home
should pause in its career of reckless expenditure, and en-
deavour to see if it could not lay out the public money more
advantageously by improving and adding to our naval
defences.

The Marquis of HARTINGTON disputed the conclu-
sion that the country was in so helpless a condition as Mr
Osborne would lead the house to believe. He admitted
that it had become necessary, for the reason stated by the
lion, member, to abandon the site of one of the intended
forts; but that circumstance involved only a slight modi-
fication of the original scheme for the fortifications
cf Portsmouth. If delay had occurred it was very
mainly attributable to the difficulties created by Mr Osborne
and his friends. Wi, h regard to guns, the noble marquis
entered at some length into a detailed btatement of the pro-
ceedings of the War-office and the Admiralty in the endea-
vour to supply the services with an efficient weapon ; and
added that experiments with the 600-pounders bad been
remarkably satisfactory, and proved' that they would do all
that could reasonably be expected from them. Althonel we
were not quite so advanced in respect of ordnance as he
could desire, he saw no reason why, by the time the forts
were completed, they should not be armed with a portion of
600-pounders at least, and the remainder of guns of smaller
calibre. Referring to an unfavourable comparison which
Ms:Osborne had drawn in the matter of ordnance with the
French navy, the noble marquis observed that that was a
subject upon which great misapprehension prevailed, for
the French ships were still armed with o:d 32-pounders,
which had been rifled and converted into breech-loaders,
and would not carry a charge cf powder beyond eight or
nine pounds.
After some remarks from Captain JERVIS, in reply to
Mr Osborne's reflections upon the Defence Commission, the
bill was read a third time and parsed,
THE INDIAN MEDICAL SERVICE BILL.

On the order for reading the Indian Medical Service Bill
a third time,

Mr HENNESSY moved that the order be discharged,
on the ground that the bill would give the Secretary of
State for India the power of returning to the old system of
nomination, and substituting it for the competitive system,
which Parliament and the country had generally approved.
Colonel NORTH seconded the motion.

Sir C. WOOD explained that his object in introducing
the measure was to obtain a better description of medical
officers for the Indian service ; and the bill would enable the
Secretary for India to avail himself, for the benefit of the
native forces, of such assistant surgeons as had entered the
Queen's army upon public competition, and might subse-
quently volunteer for the Indian army.
The bill was also opposed by Mr Monsell, Mr Lysley,
and Sir E. Colebrooke ; and upon a division the motion of
Mr Hennessy was carried against the Government by 46 to
44. The bill was therefore lost.

The Defence Act Amendment Bill and the Cranbourne-
street Eill were read a third time.

A warm discussion arose upon the motion of Mr Villiers
to go into committee on the Poor Relief (Metropolis) Bill,
the object of which is to provide for the relief of the casual
poor within metropolitan limits; objection being taken to
the rating powers with which the measure proposes to vest
the metropolitan Board of Works as contrary to their
proper and legitimate functions. Upon the understanding,
however, that the bill should not extend beyond the Ist of
April next the opposition was withdrawn and the bill passed
through committee.

The Naval Discipline Bill was read a second time.
Oa the order fur committing the Mutual surrender of
Criminals (Prussia) Bill,

Mr WHITE complained that as the convention on
which this measure was founded was only concluded on the
6th of March last, it was unseemly and indecorous to in-
troduce such a bill at that period of the session. The con-
duct of Pt utsia was not of a nature to encourage the house
to legislate in this way. He moved that the house should
go into committee on that day month.
Mr LAYARD said that the extradition powers conferred
by the bill were precisely similar to those which were
oonceded to France, Italy, and other states, and it had
nothing whatever to do with crimes of a political character.
Lord R. CECIL could not agree that the political
element was excluded. What the house had to keep in
view was the law of conscription, which was sometimes
made the instrument for perpetrating acts of gross oppres-
sion where it existed. And under this bill any man in the
Prussian army who might break through a barrack and
escape to England would come within the scope of the bill
and be liable to be returned to Prussia as a burglar.
The ATTORNEY G ENE aAL explained that the crime
charged against the person whose extradition was required
must be one clearly understood and known to the law of
England.

Mr FITZGERALD said that a man might be a political
refugee in this country, and having been convicted of borne
crime in his absence might, under this bill, be demanded
from the British Government. There ought to be a provi•
sion in the bill to guard against such a conviction as that.
Lord PALMERSTON stated that the treaty and the bill
required that proof should be given to satisfy her Majesty
that if the offence charged had been committed in this coun-
try it would, according to law, justify a remand. It was
clear that no political offender could be claimed under the
treaty,

Mr J. LOCKE was opposed to straining a point in favour
of Prussia, who was doing all she could to put down liberty
on the Continent; and it was the duty of Parliament to
guard against her invasion of our shores to seize upon
political refugees.
Mr FERRAND was of opinion that more time ought to
be given lion members to see that the treaty was in accord-
ance with other extradition treaties.

The ATTORNEY GENERAL said that the treaty with
Prussia was exactly the same as that with France, and
that English judges might be safely entrusted with the
execution of its provisions when embodied in an act,
Mr FITZGERALD —That might be so, but the act of
Parliament giving effect to the treaty was entirely different.
For under the present bill a fugitive convicted of crime in
Prussia might be given up on the production of an authen-
ticated certificate of his conviction and proof of his identity.
Not one word of•that sort, however, was to be found in the
French act, So far from its being identical therefore it was
exactly the reverse.

Sir G, GREY intimated that Mr Fi, igerald was referring
to tho French act of 1843, not of 1853.

Lord r.A.LMERSTON hal no 'objection, as there was
some doubt with regard to the purport of the treaties, to
adjourn the debate.
The debate was thereupon adjourned until this day.
THE VOTE OF CENSURE ON MR. LO WE..

Lord PALMERSTON moved that the house, having
considered the report of the select committee appointed to
inquire into the practise 01 the Committee of Council on
Education with respect to the reports of her Majesty's in-
spectors of schools, was of opinion that the resolution passed
on the 12th day of April last, with reference to such re-
ports, ought to bo rescinded. The noble lord called upon
the house to pass the resolution as an act of generosity and
justice to the late Vice •President of Council for Education,
who had been charged by the resolution agreed to on the
motion of Lord R. Cecil with having mutilated the inspec-
tors' report—an allegation which the:inquiries of the select
committee had shown to be at variance ‘a ith the facts.
Mr HO WES, as chairman of the committee, expressed
his approval of the resolution.
In the discussion which followed, Mr Walter, Mr F.
Powell, and Lord R. Cecil took part; the noble lord show-
ing that he was still of opinion that the Committee of
Council were not justified in mutilating the reports of the
inspectors of schools, cr in any way altering their meaning,
when they were to be placed before the house; but as he
had never made it a personal question affecting the honour
of Mr Lowe he had no objection to agree to th• resolution.
He was gratified to find, however, that it was the intention
of Sir J. Pakington to direct the attention of the house to
the whole question of the constitution and practice of the
Education Department early in the next session.
The resolution was then put and agreed to nem. con,
The other business on the paper was also disposed of,
and the house adjourned at twenty-five minutes to two
o'cicck.

CONVICTION FOR MURDER IN IRELAND.—A
young man named Michael Morrison has been
capitally convicted at the Mayo Assize for the murder of a
sub•constable named Coulon, at Castlebar, in July, 1863.
Ile was returning to his lodgings from a friend's house, on
the evening of the 26th of July, when ho was attacked
in a gateway by two persons, one of whom was the prisoner,
who stabbed him with a knife, inflicting a fatal wound in
the neck. Upon being struck, the deceased was heard to
exclaim, " Oh, Lord I did I ever injure a man that I should
be treated like that P" and the prisoner afterwards ex
claimed, " Come on, I am after striking the with a
knife I" The jury were locked up for a considerable time.
When Baron Deasy returned to court they handed down a
verdict of guilty, with a recommendation to mercy. The
screams and wailing of the prisoner's friend at the an•
nouncement of the verdict were wild in the extreme. The
prisoner himself wept bitterly and asked for mercy. The
scene was renewed next morning, when the judge pro-
nounced sentence of death, to be executed on the 25th of
August.
GLASGOW, July 23.—Cotton—The market has
been steady during the week, and prices remain
unchanged. Iron—The stringency of the money market
has operated adversely to the pig iron market this week,
Beginning at 593 3d cash for warrants the price has gradu-
ally but steadily declined, touching 67s 101e1 this forenoon.
Just at the close 5Ss was realised, and buyers remained-
-553 lid asked. Three months, open nominally, 59s to
593 3d—G,M.B., No. 1,57 s 9d—No. 3, 578—Gartsherrie,
No. 1,62 s 6d-3, 508—No. 1, Cultness, 62s 6d— Glengar-
nook, 58s 9d---Calder, 61.—EglintoJ, 58s,