The Sun.
London, England, 1862-07-16 00:00:00

[LEFT SPEAKING.]

HOUSE OF LORDS—YESTERDAY.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.

THIRD READINGS.

The Weston Super-Mare Pier,Vale of Neath, and Edin-
burgh, Perth, and Dunde9, &e., Railway bills were read a
third time and passed.

POOR RELIEF (IRELAND) BILL.

The Duke of NEWCASTLE moved the second reading
of this bill, the object of which was to dispense with what
is called the quarter-acre clause, thus assimilating the Irish
with the English poor law. Another alteration was with
respect to the admission of destitute sick into the hospitals
and the placing of orphans or destitute children out to
nurse.

The Earl of CLANCARTY was anxious to make a few
observations, as be considered the bill a very important one
for Ireland. With respect to the rating clause, he thought
union rating ought to be adopted as a general principle,
and as to the abolishing the quarter clause
he was quite convinced that it was a wise and judicious
step. The alteration with the medical charities was also
a step in the right direction; but the clauses introducing
bastardy laws in Ireland was altogether a novelty. He
had, however, considered the question, and he could not
but come to the conclusion that it was a very just
step, because, as the present law stood it acted most
severely upon the female, and almost gave the saducer
immunity for the wrong ho had inflicted. With respect
to the educational clauses for poor deserted children, he
thought some attention to the bill was necessary.
The Earl of LEITRIM opposed the bill on the ground
that it unduly favoured Roman Cotholic pretentious, and
moved as an amendment that it be read a second time that
day three months.

After some debate, in which the Earl of Bandon, Vis-
count Dungannon, Lord Monteagle, and the Earl of Desart
took part, the amendment was withdrawn, and the bill read
a second time.

The Investment and Provident Societies Bill was read a
second time.

The Leases and Sales of Settled Estates Act Amendment
Bill, the Jurisdiction in Homicides Bill, the Coal Mines
Bill, and the Chancery Regulation (Ireland) Bill were
severally read a third time and passed.
Their lordships then adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS—YESTERDAY.
The SPEAKER took the chair shortly after twelvs
o'clock.

PAROCHIAL ASSESSMENT BILL.

The house went into committee on this bill, resuming at
clause 26, which, with some verbal amendments, was
agreed to.
Clause 27 was agreed to.

On clause 28, which relates to the valuation of Govern-
ment property, an amendment was agreed to by which
boards of guardians were empowered to make the property
of the Government contribute to the common fund.

On clause 32, which provides for the payment of expenses
incurred for returns ordered by the overseers, and for com-
pensation,
Mr. AYRTON moved an amendment to the effect that
such payments should have the sanction of the board of
guardians. Another amendment was also proposed, but
both were negatived, and the clause was agreed to.

The remaining clauses with some amendments were
agreed to.

Mr. HONES moved a clause giving power for unions
under Gilbert's or local acts to be included in this act,
which was agreed to.

Mr. AYRTON moved a clause providing that the pro-
ceedings of the assessment committees under this act should
be conducted in public.

Mr. KNIGHT seconded the clause, which was opposed
by Sir B. Leighton and Mr. Villiers, and supported by
Mr. Bruce and Sir J. Shelley.

The committee divided—
For the clause

Against it 63
Majority .............. —113500 m.
The clause was lost, and the bill passed throng
mittee.
LUNATICS LAW AMENDMENT BILL.
The house went into committee of progress on this bill.
Clauses 4 and 5 were struck out, and clauses up to 17
were agreed to.
Mr. KEKEWICH proposed to add to clause 18—" Pro-
vided always that no pauper lunatics, when there. are more
than 10 in number, be kept in a workhouse
except in a
separate ward or detached building, and with distinct at-
tendance."
Sir G. GREY said that in many cases there could be no
out such arrangements.
facilities for carrying
The proviso was withdrawn and the clause agreed to.
Some further progress was made in the bill, and at tour
o'clock the sitting was suspended.
At six o'clock the house resumed.
Mr. VV, E. FORSTER gave notice that, in the event of
Mr. Lindsay's motion in favour of acknowledging the inde-
pendence of the Confederate States becoming a substantive
motion, he should propose as an amendment, that the house
would cordially support her Majesty
in the policy of non-
intervention in the civil war now being waged in America.
In reply to Mr. ADDERLEY
Mr. C. FORTESCUE stated that the Canadian Parlia-
ment had been prorogued without raising the force of the
acting militia, trained and clothed at the expense of the
Canadian Government,_ beyond. ten thousand men—the
number originally proposed by the
late Ministrybeing
fifty thousand. It Should be
remembered,
however, that
every Canadian capable of bearing arms was liable to
be
called out in case of danger ; and in such an emer-
gency there would be no difficulty in raising a large
force of men accustomed to the use of fire-arms, and he had
no doubt that they would come forward with the greatest
spirit and alacrity. No answer had been sent by the Cana-
dian Government to the offer of a British guarantee of 4
per cent. interest to their railway loan of £3,000,000, made
by the Duke of Newcastle, in substitution for their original
proposal that they should aid this country in undertaking
their railway.

In answer to Mr. LAIRD,
Sir G. C. LEWIS said that arrangements had been made
for the removal of the Horsfall gun from Southsea to Shoe-
buryness, for experimental purposes.
Sir M. FARQUAR asked whether there was any truth
in the reports that 700 British troops had been surroanded
at Kanding by the Taepings and that reinforcements were
,
expected in China of native troops from India
Mr. LAYARD replied that tilt, latest dispatches from
China made no allusion to such an
occurrence, but con-
firmed the reports appearing in tile newspapers relative to

the capture of Ningpo, and the death of the French Ad-
miral Protet.

Lord R. MONTAGU, in moving an address to her Ma-
jesty, praying her to give directions for supplying those
deficiencies in the former instructions furnished to Sir C.
Wyke and Capt. DunloP,iwhich resulted in the signing, by
her Majesty's plenipotentiaries at Puebla, of a convention
now repudiated by her Majesty's Government at home,
criticised at some length, and with considerable severity,
the !policy of the Government in reference to Mexican
affairs, and especiallly their co-operation with France in
the late expedition, which, so far as this country was con-
cerned, appeared to have been undertaken for the purpose
of enforcing the claims of the British bondholders.

Mr. tLAYARD defended the course which had been
adopted by her Majesty's Government, and observed that,
besides the claims of the bondholders, there were demands
for outrages and other claims to be enforced, and that
throughout the whole of the negociations they had care-
fully avoided mixing up with them any bondholders'
claims except those which had been ratified by convention
with the Mexican Government. lie also argued that, if
we had not united with France and Spain in prosecuting
hostilities against Mexico the probability was that there
might have been a rupture of the friendly relations with
those two powers. He denied that we had deserted the
French, and justified the Spaniards in following the
example of England, and withdrawing from the country
when they found that it was the object of the French to
create a Mexican King in opposition to the wishes of the
people.

Mr. S. FITZGERALD said that the only satisfactory
thin?: about this Mexican affair was that her Majesty's
Government had been forced, in spite of themselves to
withdraw from the contest. He granted that the outrages
perpetrated upon British subjects rendered it almost im-
possible for them to avoid taking some decidad steps in
vindicating the honour and the name of England ;
but he found great fault with the manner in which
the Government thought it necessary to carry out
the operation. The complaint he had to make of them was
that if, when they entered into a convention with France
and Spain, they did not know that the object of these
powers was to interfere actively in the internal affairs of
Mexico, they were the only persons in Europe who were in
that state of ignorance, the fact being, however, that,
through the declaration of M. Thouvenel and the Marquis
de Corrientes, they had the most distinct warning that. it
was the intention of France and Spain so to interfere with.
a view to establishing a new form of government in Mexico.
lie also thought that her Majesty's Government were
amenable to blame for having entered into a convention
with these powers whilst they were ignorant of what were
the claims for the enforcement of which they andertook
to be parties. The present position of affairs was as un-
satisfactory as it could be ; and all that could be said in its
favour was that it was better than had been expected a short
time ago. The hon. gentleman concluded by expressing
the hope that, whatever might be the course of evants, this
country would not be found in opposition to the Liberal
party in Mexico; thus giving a chance to the enemies of
freedom and of free institutions of again raising their heads
and establishing one of the vilest governments that had
ever existed on the face of the earth.

The discussion was continued by Mr. KINGLAKE,
who was in the act of addressing the house, when an hon.
member noticed that forty members were not present.
The house was then counted out.

FROM THE GAZETTE OF LAST EVENING.

FOREIGN-OFFICE, JULY 15,

The following correspondence has taken place between
Earl Russell, her Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, and his Excellency the Count de Flahault, Am-
bassador of his Majesty the Emperor of the French, re-
specting an alleged infraction of the Ist Article of the Con-
vention between Great Britain and France, of the 7th of
March, 1857, relative to Portendick and Albreda