The Sun.
London, England, 1865-05-24 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS—LAST EVENING.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
•t five o'clock.

MR. EDMUNDS.

Lord ST. LEONARDS entered into some explanations
respecting the original appointments so far as it related to
the general rule regulating the appointment of clerks to the
Patent Commission. The report stated that Mr. Edmunds
had been appointed in 1855 to the office of Clerk of the
Patents by the then Lord Chancellor (Lord St. Leonard's).
This was really not the case, as the appointment was in fact
made by the whole of the commissioners.
Lord CHELMSFORD made a few remarks, but was not
distinctly heard in the reporters' gallery.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The following bills were read a second time :—Tiverton
and North Devon Railway, Bristol and Exeter Railway,
Bristol Joint Station, Metropolitan Railway, Whitehaven
Junction Railway, Ipswich and Felixston Railway,
Caledonian Railway (Bolerno Branch).
The HorsforthWater Bill, with amendments, was read a
third time and passed.

COMPANIES WORKING MEN'S EDUCATION ACT.
The Archbishop of YORK, in reply to Earl Granville,
said that the law as it at present stood, and which
this bill was intended to remedy, 'rendered it necessary
that the consent of all the shareholders should be obtained
before a company could make provision for the spiritual
education of their workmen, instead of leaving it in the
hands of those entrusted with the management of the
affairs of the company.
The bill, with some amendments, went through com-
mittee.

MORTGAGE DEBENTURES BILL.
Lord DONOUGHMORE moved th© second reading of
this bill.

Lord REDESDALE felt bound to oppose the second
reading of the bill, which differed materially from the mea-
sure introduced last year.
The Duke of MARLBOROUGH said that the principle
of the bill had been assented to last year, and he trusted
the noble lora would withdraw his opposition to the bill
at this stage. He could oppose the bill when it reached
committee, and the grounds of his opposition could be dis-
cussed then.

Lord ST. LEONARDS opposed the bill.
The Duke of MARLBOROUGH approved the bill, the
principle of which had been carefully considered. It would
be of considerable benefit to the landed interest, by giving
facilities for raising money for the improvement of estates.

Lord ST. LEONARDS did not think the measure would
be of such advantage to the landed interest. At present
there was no practical difficulty in raising money on the
security of land for the purpose of effecting improvements,
and to give greater facilities, through such companies as
these, might be mischievous.

Lord GRANVILLE suggested that some alteration
might be made in the bill in committee.
The bill was then read a second time.
Several bills on the table wore passed through com-
mittee.

The select committee on the Shannon Navigation and
Drainage was appointed.

Lord WESTMEATH called attention to the papers laid
on the table relating to the case of Catherine Gaughan.
He again stated the facts, attributing the violence that had
been used towards the girl to Catholic influence, and
charging the police with gross neglect of duty.
Lord CHELMSFORD, in moving for copies of letters
and papers relating to the imprisonment of British subjects
in Abyssinia, said the sufferings of these persons had, at
least, been prolonged by neglect on the part of the Foreign-
office. He recapitulated the events that had led to the
arrest of the persons thus imprisoned, and ascribed the
continual ill-treatment to which they were subjected to the
irritation of the Emperor of Abyssinia at receiving no
answer to his autograph letter expressing his wish to send
an embassy to this country. That letter was received at
the Foreign-office in February, 1863, but was not answered
till June, 1864. In the interval Mr. Cameron, the English
Consul, himself one of the prisoners, contrived to inform
the Foreign-office that no one would be released till the
Emperor's letter was answered. Then the reply, after a
delay of 16 months, was at last sent. Ho believed he had
made out a case for the production of the papers he asked
for, not one of which could compromise any of the unfor-
tunate prisoners.

Lord RUSSELL admitted the probability of much that
had been stated as to events in Abyssinia and the character
of its Sovereigns, but he denied that the letter of the Em-
peror had had so much influence as had been attributed to
it. Ho did not think the delay in sending the reply had
caused Mr. Cameron's imprisonment. He thought also
that Mr. Cameron had been to blame in going to the court
of the Emperor when he ought to have been at Massorah.
Much of the delay complained of had been caused by the
long absence of the Emperor on distant expeditions from
which his return was uncertain. The Government had
sent Mr. Rassan, the Assistant Resident at Aden, accom-
panied by a military officer, to Gondar, and he hoped, when
the Emperor returned, the envoys would have an oppor-
tunity of presenting the letters with which they were
charged. As to the documents the production of which had
been moved, though he could not specify any paper likely
to cause particular irritation, yet ho thought the effect of
the whole of them, if published, accompanied as they pro-
bably would be by severe comments on the conduct of the
Empercr, might be greatly to aggravate the sufferings of
the prisoners themselves.
Their lordships !then divided, but on the return of the
peers to the body of the house, and before the numbers wore
declared, it was discovered that no less than three irregu-
larities had occurred in taking the division. After ordering
the bar to be cleared, the Lord Chancellor had not put the
question a second time. Ono peer (Lord Ravensworth) had
voted who was not in the house when the question was
put, and had not hoard it ; another peer (Lord Colchester)
had passed out with the contents to vote, but on his return
found the Tellers had preceded him into the body of the
house, so that his vote was not counted.

A long conversation followed, the point being how these
mistakes could bo rectified. A proposal to take the divi-
Bios over again was overruled. It was finally arranged
that the vote of Lord Ravensworth, as he had not heard
the question put, must be disallowed, and that Lord Col-
chester's unrecorded vote must be inserted in the list of the
division. During this discussion the peers spoke sitting.
With this rectification the numbers were declared to be—
Contents 43
Non-contents
Majority for Lord Chelmsford's motion —1
Their lordships then adjourned, at a quarter-past eight
till Friday next.

110 USE OF COMMONS-LAST EVENING.
The SPEAKER took tho chair at four o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The following bills were read a third time and passed :
—Belfast Water, Bristol Gas, Drighlington and Gilder-
some Gas, Manchester Corporation Water, and Tyne Im-
provement.