The Sun.
London, England, 1862-06-28 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, JUNE 28, 1862.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

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

EAST GLOUCESTER RAILWAY BILL.

Wiliam Isaac, clerk to Mr. Boodle, solicitor, Chelten•
ham, and John Preston, town-crier, Cheltenham, at-
tended at the bar at 4 o'clock in obedience to an order of the
house, obtained by the Duke of Richmond, to answer for
having obtained a number of signatures to a petition
presented to that house on the 22d of May, against the East
Glouces tershire Rail way.
The persons at the bar were examined at great length
by the Lord Chancellor, Lords Cranworth, Brougham, and
Wensleydale, when it appeared they had been acting
under the instruction of Mr. Linwood and hii clerk, where-
upon the Lord Chancellor moved that Wm. Isaacs and
John Preston be discharged, but that they be ordered to
attend next Friday, and that Mr. Linwood and his clerk be
also required to attend.
Their lordships adjourned during pleasure.
Their lordships resumed at five o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The following bills were read a second time :—Great
Western, Hereford, Ross, and Gloucester, and Ely
Valley Railway—Metropolitan and Thames Valley Rail-
way—London, Chatham—and Dover (Extension), Tot-
tenham and Hampstead Junction Railway—London, Chat-
ham, and Dover, and Mid Kent Railway (Bromley to
Fcot's Cray)—Liverpool Fire Prevention Acts Amend-
ment—West Midland, and Severn Valley Railway—Seven.
oaks Railway—Eastern Counties Railway (Epping lines).
The following bills were read a third time and passed :
St. ,Thomas's Hospital—Ashborne and Belper Roads
—London and North-Western Railway and Chester
and Holyhead Railway (Capital)—Red House and
Weeland Roads—Stockton and Darlington, South Durham
and Lancashire Union, &c., Railways—Liverpool Corpora-
tion Water—Great Western Railway (additional powers)—
and Mortenhampstead and South Devon Railway.

persons referred to in the act should be charged to the union
at large.

After some discussion the house divided—
For the amendment l9
Against it B6
Majority

Some discussion then arose on an amendment proposed
by Col. Herbezt, in which Mr. Conolly and Col. Dunne
took part, but further progress with the bill was stopped
by the Chairman leaving the chair.
At four o'clock the sitting was suspended.
At six the house resumed
THAMES EMBANKMENT.

Lord R. MONTAGU, in the course of a conversation
with respect to tho proceedings of the Thames embankment
committee, complained that the Chief Commissioner of
Woorks, who had acted as chairman of that committee, had
communicated to a gentleman of the name of Higgins, who
was himself a contributor to the columns of the Times
newspaper, a copy of the evidence taken before the com-
mittee, and had directed Mr. Higgins's attention to certain
parts of that evidence bearing upon the claims of owners or
occupiers of houses between Whitehall-stairs and West-
minster-bridge., It appeared that the letter of the Chief
Commissioner of Works had through a mistake fallen into
the hands of another gentleman of the same name, who
forwarded it to a member of the committee. He believed
that the conduct of the Chief Commissioner of Works had
been very irregular, and as it had led to the publication of
a series of misrepresentations in reference to the supposed
subservience of the committee to the Duke of Buccleuch, he
felt that he had a right to call upon the house to support
the honour of the tribunal they had themselves appointed.
Mr. COWPER said that he knew but one Mr. Higgins,
and from what he had heard of the other gentleman of the
same name he had no ambition to make his acquaintance.
It was true that he had forwarded to Mr. Higgins a copy
of the evidence taken before the committee on the Thames
embankment; but as a summary of that evidence had been
published from day to day in the newspapers, and as the
committee had concluded its labours, he saw no harm in
affording the means of obtaining correct information to any
gentleman who might feel an interest in that subject.
Mr. HORSMAN condemned the course which had been
pursued by the First Commissioner of Works, and ex-
pressed his belief that the evidence of the committee, with
the manuscript annotations of the right hon. gentleman,
would not have been communicated to Mr. Higgins unless
it had been intended that it should be used for the press.
Mr. SCULLY said that he had always understood that
a gentleman who had through any mistake received a com-
munication which was meant for another person ought to
take care to have it forwarded to the quarter to which
it was really addressed, or returned to the writer, and that
he ought never to make any use of the information he had
so obtained.
Embankment Bill should not be
given on the part of the Go-
proceeded with until the house should have had time to
vernAnmeenngt atgheamt tehnet
Twhasamthesen Embank
con-
sider the evidence taken before the committee.
RESERVED CAPTAINS (NAVY).

On the motion for the house going into committee of
supply,
Sir J. HAY again brought forward the claims of the
reserved captains of the navy, and moved for a select com-
mittee to inquire into their case.
Lord C. PAGET opposed the motion, observing that the
law officers of the Crown, to whom the matter had been re-
ferred, had given it as their opinion that those officers had
no case whatever,
The motion was negatived on a division by 108 votes to

92.
Mr. BUXTON called the attention of the house to the
present amount of the European force in India. That force
consisted of 84,000 men; and, considering the present
tranquil condition of the country, he thought it ought to be
reduced.
Mr. VANSITTART believed that in a country so liable
as India to sudden outbreaks of disaffection it would be
extremely dangerous to reduce the European army below
its present amount.
Lord .STANLEY was not prepared to recommend any
reduction of that force, although he was aware that the re-
cent exhibition of British power in India had done much to
consolidated our rule in that country.
Sir C. WOOD could not hold out any expectation that
the Government would be able to reduce the European
contingent in India by a single man.
The subject was then allowed to drop.

Sir F. GOLDSMID entered into some details regarding
the persecution of certain Jews at Saratow, in Russia, and
expressed a hope that her Majesty's Government would
address friendly representations to the Government of Rus-
sia, with a view to obtain redress of that grievance.
Mr. Is LEITC.E b.ia 1). .—aa Mate from his own know-
ledge that the Jews were treated with great severity in
Russia.

Mr. LAWSON called attention to the general dissatis-
faction existing throughout the country regarding the laws
for licensing houses for the sale of spirituous and fermented
liquors, and to the necessity for the immediate revision
thereof ; also to the expediency and justice of permitting
the inhabitants of any parish or place to decide whether
the common sale of such liquors should be carried on
within the locality.
Mr. K. SEYMER ridiculed the idea of establishing the
Maine Liquor Law in this country,
Sir G. GREY announced the probability that he should
next session introduce a bill on the subject of the existing

icensing system ; but he said he could hold out no hope

that in that bill he could embody any of the views which
Mr. Lawson advocated with regard to a permissive law.
Mr. G. DUFF brought under the notice of the house
the expediency of removing the seat of Government to some
place more eligible than Calcutta.
'The house then went into committee of supply pro
forma.
The Companies Bill was read a third time and passed.

The Coal Mines Bill was passed through committtee.
The Pier and Harbcur Orders Confirmation Bill passed
through committee.
he Juries Bill passed through committee.

Mr. J. J. POIVIILL proposed his amendment for ex-
empting pharmaceutical chemists from serving on juries,
It was, however, opposed by Sir G. Grey, and after discus.
sion was negatived.

The remaining business on the paper was disposed o£
and the house adjourned at ten minutes past two.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

ROYAL SWEDISH.

The traffic receipts on this line for the two weeks ending
the 31st of May amounted to £S26, against 6GI for the cor-
responding period of last year, showing an increase of £165,

NEW YORK AND ERIE.

The traffic returns on this company's line, 494 miles in
length, including branches, amounted for the month of May
to £115,069, and for the same month of last year to
£101,322, showing an increase of £13,747.

ceipts on 66 other lines amounted, on 3,614 miles, to
£130,069, and for the corresponding week of last year, on
3,454 miles, to £125,647, showing an increase of 160 miles,
and of £4,422 in the r eceipts. The increase in the traffic of
the past week as compared with the corresponding period
of 1861 arises chiefly from the passenger traffic to the In-
ternational Exhibition, it being the third week of shilling
admissions. The decrease in the goods traffic is caused by
the depression of trade. The traffic receipts of the past
week show decrease of £4,538 as compared with those of
the preceding week, ending the 14th inst,