The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-07 00:00:00

PARLIAMENT

(THIS DAY).

HOUSE OF LORDS.

Their lordship assembled to-day at two o'clock.

ROYAL COMMISSION.

The Lord Chancellor and the other Royal Com-
missioners having taken their seats before the
Throne, the Usher of the Black Rod was directed
to summon the Commons to the bar of their lord-
ships' house, to hear her Majesty's assent given to
several bills which had received the sanction of
Parliament. On the arrival of the Speaker and
several members of the House of Commons, the
Royal assent was given to a number of bills,
amongst which were the following:—
Union Relief Aid

Consolidated Fund (Appropriation) !
Court of Common Pleas (Officer for Acknowledgment of
Deeds)

Bankruptcy Act (1861) Amendment
Burial Boards (Mortgage of Rates)
Fortifications (Provi-ion for Expenses)
Thames Embankment
Highland Roads and Bridges
Militia Ballot Suspension
Parochial Assessments
Companies, &c.
Confirruation of Sales, &c.
Divorce Court
Queen's Prison Discontinuance
Excise Dfities
Polling Places (New Shoreham, &c.)
Savings Banks (Ireland)
Weights and Measures (Ireland) Act (1860) Amendment
County Surveyors (Ireland)
Poor Removal
Recovery of Poor Rates, &c.
Mersey, Irwell, &c., Protection
Police and Improvement (Scotland)
Charity Commissioners Jurisdiction.
African Slave Trade Treaty (No. 2)
Moveable Property (Scotland)
Lunatics Law Amendment
Lunacy Regulation (H. n.)
Militia Pay
Charing-cross Railway (City Terminus Bridge)
Wrexham, Mold, and Connah's Quay Junction Railway
Kensington Station and North and South London Junc-
tion Railway
Aberdeen Police, Water, &c.

This part of the proceedings being terminated,
The LORD CHANCELLOR, on the occasion of the
prorogation of Parliament, then read

HER MAJESTY'S SPEECH.

MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,

We are commanded by her Majesty to release
you from further attendance in Parliament, and,
at the same time, to convey to you her Majesty's
acknowledgments for the zeal and assiduity with
which you have applied yourselves to the perfor-
mance of your duties during the session now
brought to a close.

Her Majesty commands us to inform you that
ber relations with foreign Powers are friendly and
satisfactory; and that her Majesty trusts there is
no danger of any disturbance of the peace of
Europe.

The civil war which has for some time been raging
among the States of the North American Union, has
unfortunately continued in unabated intensity; and
the evils with which it has been attended have not
been confined to the American continent. But her
Majesty having, from the outset, determined to
take no part in that contest, has seen no reason to
depart from the neutrality to which she has steadily
adhered.

Disturbances have taken place in some Frontier
Provinces of the Turkish Empire, and her Majesty
has instructed her Ambassador at Constantinople
to attend a Conference to be held in that city, by
the representatives of the Powers who were parties
to the Treaty of Paris in 1856. Her Majesty
trusts that the questions to be dealt with in that
Conference will be settled in a manner consistent
with the treaty engagements of the allies, and in
accordance with the just rights of the Sultan, and
the welfare of the Christian inhabitants of his
dominions.

Her Majesty's forces in China, together with
those of the Emperor of the French, have lately
been employed, in co-operation with those of the
Emperor of China, in protecting some of the chief
seats of British commerce in China from injury by
the civil war which is laying waste portions of that

vast empire.
Her Majesty commands us to inform you that she
has concluded a commercial treaty with the King
of the Belgians, by which the trade of her Ma-
jesty's subjects in Belgium will be placed, generally,
on the footing of the most favoured nation.

GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS,

Her Majesty commands us to convey to you her
warm acknowledgements for the liberal supplies
which you have granted for the service of the pre-
sent year; and her Majesty thanks you for having
also made provision towards placing her Majesty's
dockyards and arsenals in a permanent state of
defence.

MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,

Her Majesty commands us to express to you the
admiration with which she has witnessed the un-
diminished zeal and the patriotic spirit which con-
tinue to animate her Volunteer Forces, as well as
the military efficiency which they have attained.
Her Majesty has observed with satisfaction the
kindly intercourse which has subsisted between her
Majesty's subjects and the numerous foreigners
who have been attracted this year to the United
Kingdom, and her Majesty trusts that the inter-
change of mutual courtesies will strengthen the
foundations of international friendship and good-
will.

Her Majesty has given her ready assent to an
Act for carrying into effect the Treaty which her
Majesty has concluded with th© President of the
United States for the suppression of the Siave
Trade; and her Majesty trusts that the co-opera-
tion of the United States navy with her own may
go far to extinguish the desolating crime against
which that treaty is directed.

Her Majesty earnestly hopes that the steps which
have been taken for rendering more effectual the
aid provided by Parliament for the extension of
education among the poorer classes of her subjects,
will tend to promote an object of great national
importance.

Her Majesty has given her willing assent to
many measures of public utility which you have
submitted to her during this session.
The severe distress which prevails in some of the
manufacturing districts has inspired her Majesty
with deep concern and warm sympathy, mingled
with admiration, of the manly bearing and exem-
plary fortitude with which the pressure has been
endured. Her Majesty trusts that the Act for
enabling boards of guardians to provide additional
means of relief will mitigate that distress.
The Act for rendering more easy the transfer of
land will add to the value of real property, will
make titles more simple and secure, and will dimi-
nish the expense attending purchases and sales.
The Act for the better regulation of parochial
assessments will tend to a more equal distribution
of local taxation ; while the Act for the better
ivia.i_ ad-
ministration of the highways will, her
trusts, improve the means of communication
in
many parts of the country. ghitns
The Act for establishing
a remedy to in
and measures in Ireland will
conveniences which have
and the Act for
uYch felt and com-
that part of the United!
plained of as affecting the;_ibn tradingage
Kingdom
la
oPninmPi firn
transactionsof w e
amending the law relatinhgerteAtihaeiepstoyorTs wsuilblieexettsenid
to the poorer classes of
n
Ireland better means of obtaining relief and medical
, attendance.
The Act for the better regulation of merchant
shipping, her Majesty trusts, will prove advanta-
geous to the maritime commerce of the country.
In returning to your several counties you will still
have important duties to perform, and her Majesty
fervently prays that the blessing of Almighty God
may assist your efforts, and may direct them to
the attainment of the object of her Majesty's con-
stant solicitude, the welfare and happiness of her
people.

MPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF COMMONS—Tras DAY.

The SPEAKER took the chair at a quarter to two o'clock.
ECCLESIASTICAL REVENUES (DURHAM).
On the motion of Mr. INGHAM, a return was ordered
of the amounts received from the ecclesiastical revenues of
Durham for the years 1859, 1860, and 1861.
THE ACT OF UNIFORMITY.

In reply to Mr. li. SErmoure,
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL, in the absence of the
Home Secretary, said that the injunction referred to was a
matter that rested entirely with the Bishop of Oxford,
who had taken on himself the whole responsibility with
reference to the same.
THE UNITED STATES VESSELS AT NASSAU.
In reply to Mr. S. FITZGERALD,

t
Lord PALMERSTON said that there was no co
more interested than Great Britain in the protection country
belligerent rights, and he believed they had not been
infringed by the search which the United States vessels
had made under the impression that contraband
of war was being conveyed to the parties with whom they
were at hostilities. It appeared, however, that these belli
gerent powers had been exceeded, and the subject was now
under the consideration of Government.
PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.

Colonel CLIFFORD, the Yeoman Usher of the Black
Rod, summoned the members to the Upper House to hear
her Majesty's speech delivered by commission proroguing
Parliament.

The SPEAKER, accompanied by several hon. members
then proceeded to the House of Lords, and after about
three-quarters of an hour's absence returned.

The SPEAKER then read the Royal Speech, for which
see Lords' report, after which the members present shook
hands with the right hon. gentleman, which terminated the
session,

SPORTING-THIS DAY.

BRIGHTON RACES.-THIS DAY.
BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAM
FOURTH BIENNIAL STAKES.

Brick
CLUB STAKES.

Vinegar Hill
Church Militant ..
Gwellyan

PRODUCE OF JAVA.—'f he island of Java is ex-
pected to yield this year the following produce :-841,218
piculs of coffee, 1,693,936 piculs of sugar, 668,700 pounds of
indigo, 1,600,000 pounds of tea, 100,000 pounds and 35,000
piculs of tobacco, 177,600 pounds of cinnamon, 41,000
pounds of cochineal, and 5,000 pounds of pepper, all Am-
sterdam weight.

The half-yearly meeting of the Chester and Holy-
head Railway Company is called for the 21st inst., and will
be made special to determine as to the " creation and issue
of new preference stock, not exceeding £2,468,000, bearing
uniform rate of interest of 5 per cent. per annum, in sub-
stitution for the £3,455,000 existing stock, at various rates
of interest."

BRISTOL SUGAR MARKET, Aug. 6.—The market
continues very firm, and, importers not pressing sales,
buyers are obliged to take what they want at the full asking
prices. No British plantation offering except the Barbadoes.
Rum—Demerara and Leewards are taken freely on arrival
at previous rates, and stocks of these descriptions are con-
sequently very light in importers' hands.
LIVERPOOL COTTON MARKET, Aug. 6.—The de-
mand for cotton to-day has been moderate only, and the
sales do not exceed 5,000 bales-4,000 on speculation and
for export. Prices of American and Brazil are higher ;
Surats are dull at previous rates.
HOPS.—In the first half of the present year
70,232 cwt. of foreign hops were charged with the 15s. duty
on entry for consumption here, and at the close of the half-
year there were 48,223 cwt. of foreign hops in bond at our
ports. In the same half-year 4,613,9041 b. of British hops.
chiefly of the growth of 1855-56, were exported; more than
half went to the Channel Islands.
_

THE NONCONFORMIST EMIGRANTS.—Some little
anxiety having arisen as to the safety of the Matilda
Wattenbach, which sailed from London for Auckland,New
Zealand, on the 29th May, we are informed that the vessel
has been spoken, all well, in lat. 7 N., long. 21 W., and
that a copy of the Albertland Gazette, printed on board,
has been received in London.

A COALPIT ON FIRE. NARROW ESCAPE OF
SEVENTY MINERS.—On Tuesday, the woodwork in the
west shaft of Low Gosforth Pit, near Newcastle-on .Tyne,
caught fire, to the dismay of the 70 men and boys who
were working below. The shaft is 180 fathoms deep, and
the aides of it, for a considerable distance upwards, are lined
with wood " cleading," about 21 inches in thickness. A
few fathoms from the bottom is the furnace drift; and
the heat from this fire is supposed to have given rise to
the conflagration. It appears that the first person under-
ground to discover that the shaft was on fire was the
man who puts on and takes the tubs off the cage. His
attention appears to have been attracted by the roar of
the flames and the showers of sparks which fell simulta-
neously to the bottom of the shaft. The " onsetter" im-
mediately sent word to those " in-bye" to coma out ; but
the alarm had spread much speedier than his messengers
could travel. The miners, as soon as the fire broke out,
became sensible that something unusual had taken place in
the pit shaft. The air came rushing in through the work-
ings, in consequence of the increased draught caused by the
burning shaft, with a force that was felt in the innermost
parts of the pit, and near the bottom of the shaft was so
powerful as to extinguish many of the lamps in the hands
of the miners. The miners, therefore, lost no time in
seizing their clothes and rushing to the bottom of the
shaft. Here they remained, waiting anxiously for the de-
-1 scent of the repe in the east shaft to take them to bank. In
consequence of the skeets in this pit having been taken out,
the cage could not be used for that purpose, and the only
way of rescue open to them was the slow and tedious pro-
cess of hoisting them by loops attached to the chain, three
an•.! four at a time. All were drawn safely up, but had there
only been a single shaft at Gosforth Pit, not a man would
have been brought up alive. With the fire roaring and burn-
ing with the heat of a furnace, it would have been impossible
to have hoisted the men a depth of 180 fathoms through
the smoke and flames. The heat must have been most
intense ; and in proof of this it may be mentioned that
the wire cage rope was burnt in two some fathoms from
the bottom, and fell in huge coils upon the tubs in the
cage beneath, which were already in blaze from the
showers of burning sparks which had descended upon
them. The fire engine played down the west shaft for
several hours, and between eight and nine o'clock. it was
conjectured that the fire had been extinguished, and the
engine ceased playing.— Abridged from the Newcastle
Chronicle.

SHIP ARRIVALS.—The ship Octavia, 1,055 tons,
William J. Dale, commander, belonging to the late D.
Dunbar, bound to London, arrived on Tuesday afternoon
off the South Foreland, with a general cargo, consisting.
of 900 chests of Assam tea. The following passengers
were on board :—Mrs. Smyth, Mrs. Lee, Captain Wal-
lace, Bengal Native Infantry; Captain Percy, 89th
Regiment; Messrs. Crabbe and Higgins, Miss Leonard,
&c. Mr. J. Gibson died on the passage. The vessel
sailed from Calcutta on the sth of April, rounded th 3 Cape
of Good Hope on the 6th of June, crossed the Line on
the 27th of June, touched at St. Helena on the 18th of
June, and sailed therefrom on the 19th of June. She spoke
on June 30, in lat. 5.20 N., long. 20.45 W., the ship Matilda
Wattenbach, with emigrants, and the bark Ecliptic, from
London for the Mauritius ; July 1, in lat. 740
21.0 W., the bark Cockatoo, from Bonny for Liverpool, the
a _:ng-
out
26 days ; July 7, in lat. 12.2.5 N., long. 23.30 v
American ship Anna Decatur, from Sunderland for
the Ame-
rican 61
pore ; July 14, in lat. 27.40 N., long. sa's b_o for Falmouth;
ship Lawrence Brown, from Ak
and July 28, in lat. 45.15 N., long. 25.15 w., the American
Liverpool.
3y
The
ship Piscataqua, from New York for
bark Medusa, 210 tons, William Lancaster commander,
belonging to Messrs. T. and C. Nichols, London,and bound
for London, with a cargo of wool, ivory, hides, and horns,
has arrived off Plymouth.
Among the passengers are the
Lord Bishop of Natal, e
Bishop, R.N., Mr. and Mrs.
Churchill, Mrs. Stone
Mr.
on
Buchanan, and families. The
vessel sailed from
the 24th of May ; rounded the
t,
Na
a the 6th of June; crossed the Line
on the 27th of 31100 ; Good
Cape of Hopeon
touched at St. Helena on the 18th of
Failed therefrom on the 19th of June. She left
June, and
at the ship Catherine, in ballast,
port Natal for Ak yab ;
the bark Syr,ja in ballast, for Batavia ; and the trig Sir
Colin Ca,upbelldischarging cargo. She left at St. Helena
her majesty's steam cruiser Antelope, which brought in a
slaver on the 19th of June, with 550 slaves on board. June
17, remaining in the roads, the ship Octavia, from
Calcutta for London ; the schooner Marianna, from
London, discharging general cargo ; the schooner Pris-
cilla, of Jersey, discharging potatoes. A Dutch
brig, name unknown, called off and sailed ; the
barks Christabel and Bristow. She spoke June 2,
lat. 34 19 S., passed the ship Thornhill, bound homewards;
June 28, in lat. 4 12 N„ long. 20 32 W., the Kurrachee,
bound to Marseilles ; July 12, in lat. 21 30 N., spoke the
brig Dashing Wave, out 18 days, bound for Vera Cruz;
and on July 21, in lat. 36 50 N., loog. 34 3 NV., passed the
ship Bosphorus, out 95 days, all well, from Bombay for
Liverpool. July 31, she spoke the French barque Arrnide,
Captain Le Granch6, from London for Havannah, in lat.
44 40 N., long. 12 0 W., showing Bremen colours, steering
W.S.W.
The celebrated magpie of Palaiseau, whose
thieving propensities gave rise to the well-known drama of
the "Maid and the Magpie," has just been eclipsed in the
annals of crime by a bird of the same species at Breviandes,
near Troyes (Aube). Two days since smoke was seen to
issue from a hay-loft belonging
to a farmer named
Damoisseau, but as plenty of help was at hand,
the flames were promptly extinguished. How the fire
could have originated was a mystery, no one had been : theaear
A close oxaminat
the place. however, showed the
~
. small
incendiary was a tame magpie, which had stolen n,
muse
svais mediately
CO
box of lucifers from the kitchen, and had gone
to a
itself with them in the loft. The culprit
...!,?xecuto4d,
condemned to death by the indignant farmer