The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-14 00:00:00

terests of the country were involved as a game in which it
was perfectly competent to him to embarrass when he
could, to utter his sarcasms and taunts, without considering
what important consequences might flow from such a course.
(Hear.) If he found that his party would go with him on
any great question, let him ask the house for a vote of want
of confidence; let him act as his predecessors had done.
But if there was a question on which he and his party wore
not bound by any principle of theirs to oppose the Govern-
ment, let them act with that enlarged character, and that
integrity of conduct, which had distinguished that party
in former days. This was one of the causes which had
rendered so difficult the conduct of public business of late
years. (Hear, hear.) He (Lord John) had certainly post-
poned the Reform Bill with the greatest reluctance ; but
he did it in agreement with the great majority of members
on his side, and in accordance with the opinion of the house
generally. (Hear.) He had certainly not changed his
views as to the importance of that measure ; but ho had
postponed it because he could not stand against the general
impression which prevailed in the house and throughout
the country. (Hear, hear.) He felt great confidence that

.. •
the time would come when those defects which remained
in the first Reform Bill would come under the considera-
tion of the house, and amendments would be deemed ne-
cessary. (Hear, hear.) He had only further to say, with
regard to Mr. Napier, that nothing was further from his
intention, in moving that the chairman should report pro-
gress, than to disparage his •Teech or the conduct ho had
pursued. Ho could not conceive that any kind of pro-
gress would be made with the bill that evening. What
had happened to it had happened frequently under various
Governments in the middle of July, when it was found
impossible to go into various complicated questions and
arrive at solutions of them. There would be no advantage
in attempting to pursue the bill further. He did not say
that it was the duty of the Government to leave the ques-
tion without a solution. Ho believed the most useful mea-
sure that could be proposed would be one giving power
and force to voluntary contracts, and a simple remedy for
the violation of those contracts. (Hear, hear.) One of
those measures contained provisions for that purpose, and
he trusted that before long it would become the law f the
land. Whether or not it would be possible to go further,
and make a compulsory arrangement of all the relations
between landlord and tenant, was a matter on which he
had very great doubts, not merely because it was a diffi-
cult matter of legislation, but because he doubted whether
legislation could be so applied as to act with efficacy and
with justice. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. V. SCULLY went at very great length into a
history of the whole subject, and introduced a castigation
of Mr. Lucas for his language in reference to an absent
member of the Government, whom he would not have
dared to attack in his presence.
Mr. MAGUIRE expressed his conviction that the im-
putation on Mr. Lucas's courage was unfounded.
Mr. DISRAELI said the noble lord had entered into
some comments on the relations which existed between the
members of the Conservative party and those who had the
honour to direct their general conduct. The noble lord
had stated that while they had no confidence in their
_ _

leader their leader had confidence in them ; but that still
they were always putting the Government in a minority.
(" Hear, hear," and laughter.) That was certainly an ex-
tremely inconvenient state of things, but he wished to dis-
abuse the noble lord of the impression that he had formed
respecting himself (Mr. Disraeli). So far from its being
his principal business to study how he could put the noble
lord in a minority, the noble lord, if he were to change
places with him, would find that in the present peculiar
conjuncture the principal duty of a leader of Opposition
was to study that, if possible, the Government should not
every night be placed in that position. (Laughter.) The
noble lord had made some strong comments upon this re-
markable state of affairs. He avowed that he did not ex-
..

pect him (Mr. Disraeli) to propose a vote of ;ani-ofConfi-
dence in the Government, and he thought the noble lord
was quite right; because although such a vote was un-
doubtedly a constitutional mode of proceeding, yet it did
somewhat interfere with the prerogative of the Crown, and
ought, therefore, not to be taken except under extraor-
dinary circumstances. But the noble lord said the Oppo-
sition ought to ask the opinion of the house on some great
subject, and if then the result were adverse to the Govern-
ment, they might draw some deduction from the circum-
stance. If that were so, it was really incumbent upon the
noble lord to say what was the great subject on which he
wished the opinion of the house to bo taken. (Cheers.)
Surely, reform and national education were great sub-
jects; and there were other subjects of first-rate impor-
tance on which the Government had been placed in a
minority some 12, 14, 16, or 18 times. (Loud cheers.)
As the noble lord was a great constitutional scholar,
he would remind him that in former times, when
a Government had found itself placed in circum-
stances of great difficulty—though, to be sure, a govern-
ment which had been in such frequent minorities he had
never heard of—(cheers)—its conduct had not been for its
. _

members to get up in that pettish spirit which had lately
been displayed in so many instances, and to taunt the op-
position with not bringing forward motions of want of
confidence. (Hear.) Such had not been the course pur-
sued by the government of which the noble lord himself
was so long a distinguished member. On the contrary,
that Government felt that nothing could be more embar-
rassing, nothing more inconvenient, nothing more injuri-
ous to parliamentary government, than that power should
be possessed by men who apparently could not pass their
measures. (Cheers.) Everybody knew that things could
not go on long in such a state without inflicting a serious
injury on the constitution ; and, therefore, the ministry,
like men of spirit, and men who had confidence in their
standing in the country, instead of squabbling amongst
themselves, went to some one of their most distinguished
supporters, and telling him that the present state of things
was painful and intolerable, desired him to come forward,
and propose a vote of confidence in the administration
which he upheld. (Cheers.) Did the noble lord hiss:lsolf in
those days think of getting up and making a few observa-
tions—for he could not call them a speech—like those they
had heard that night ? He really could not have conceived
the noble lord condescending to take such a step. (Cheers.)
Did they think that the noble lord would in those days
have moved to report progress when the conduct of his
Government was called in question ? (Cheers.) When he
was asked to discuss the question whether the Parliament
of England bad confidence in him or not, did they think
that he would have moved the previous question ? No ;
be went to Lord Ebrington (the present Lord Fortescue),
and asked him to give formal notice of a motion
which would afford him and his colleagues an oppor-
tunity of declaring before parliament that they would
not be a Government upon sufferance. (Loud cheers.)
That was the course which the noble lord should now pur-
sur, though he would advise him first to consult the Secre-
tary of the Treasury, and be quite sure that be had a ma-
jority. (Laughter.) Heaven knew that he (Mr. Disraeli)
had no wish to disturb the present administration; but he
supposed they had still a claim to exercise their constitu-
tional right of opposing those measures of which they disap-
proved. He supposed they had still that privilege. He
had said before that he would never himself be a member
of that administration that existed only on sufferance.
(Hear, hear.) It was not, however, that he did not ap-
preciate the great sacrifices which her Majesty's present
Government were making ; what they must go through in
public and in private it was impossible for the house to
conceive; but while he was giving them credit for their
patriotism, the noble lord taunted them with not moving
a vote of want of confidence. If the noble lord wished the
opinion of the house to be tested, let him do what he bad
done before—let him ask one of the supporters of the Go-
vernment to introduce a motion calling on the house to
declare their confidence in it. (Hoar, hear.) The noble
lord said that Sir R. Peel, when in opposition, had taken
a different course from that which he (Mr. Disraeli) pur-
sued. Now he knew pretty well the career of Sir R. Peel,.
for he had sat on the same benches with him, and he had
read the history of his political career before he (M
Dis-
raeli) was a member of Parliament. But he woaldonaros.ketrhae
noble lord when Sir Robert Peel had had to encounter
average
twice which was placed in a minority on) h
twice a week ? (Loud laughter and cheers.) b
mo-
tion ou which the present Government eeEnvebrefaten
on the Oxford
with the exception of some of the divisions
Bill, had been proposed by those whhoesnatdmupiroend
tthheeiprowoewrns
benches. He must again repeat that
by
the Government.
of endurance which were exhibited
howw would last
si tt
When the Coalition was formeditohesawy
would last ; and he ventutreh asthaastkeidt
.irretrievably injured his
until every member ofdieheearde)
public character. (
The committee thLensrarTermrtpedAperToKess.
The house went into committee on these acts.
After a few words froth Mr. V. SCULLY,
Sir H. WILLOUGHBY said the house was called upon
e pass a resolution which would inflict a heavy tax to be
levied on an entirely new principle, on a particular portion
of the property of the country. He should be glad to know
what was the cause of this change, and how much revenue
the Government expected to derive from it. He complained
that as soon as the term of 99 years had been exceeded the
tax was to be doubled, though practically there was no dif-
ference between a lease for 999 years and a fee.
Mr. HADFIELD said if the Secretary to the Treasury
would trust to his own judgment, instead of relying en the
authorities of Somerset House, there would be no occasion
to debate this question. There was no intrinsic difference
between a lease of 100 years and one of 1,000 years ; yet it
was proposed that there should be a duty of 3 per cent. on
leases of 100 years, and a duty of 6 per cent. on leases ex-
ceeding that period. It was unjust to make such a dis-
tinction. After the recent abandonment of an excessive
charge, it was not right for the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer to impose this new charge on Lancashire conveyancing.
There wore 10,400 subscribers of building societies in Lan-
cashire alone, all whose little conveyances would be charged
25 per cent. by this bill. He proposed to abandon the
second schedule altogether, and to limit the amount men-
tioned in the last schedule. He would take the sense of
the committee on the question.
Mr. WILSON said that there were two kinds of con-
veyances of fee ; one where the money was paid down, and
the other in the case of a perpetual annuity. The last
were common in the neighbourhood of the hon. gentleman,
and his object was to reduce the stamp on them. The
hon. gentleman contended that because the stamp on
leases for a long term of years was low, the stamp for the
conveyance of a chief rent ought to be placed on the same
footing. The Government endeavoured by a compromise
to meet the wishes of those for whom the hon. gentleman
was interested ; but whilst he was willing to adopt the
lowest part of the Government scale, he would not consent
to the higher part, which alone could bring them home in
point of revenue. What the Government
proposed to do
was to reduce the stamp on conveyances, where the consi-
deration was an annuity, to the same amount as on the
higher class of leases.
Mr. MULLINGS thought the proposition of the Govern-
ment was not only a fair, but generous compromise.
The committee divided—
For the amendment
Against it
Majority
84
The resolutions were then agreed to, and the house re-
sumed.

STANDARD OF GOLD AND SILVER WARES
BILL.
This bill was passed through committee pro forma.
TURNPIKE ACTS CONTINUANCE BILL.
The houSe then went into committee on this bill, and
the whole of the clauses were agreed to without discussion.
The Heritable Securities CScotland) Bill, the Turnpike
Trusts Arrangements Bill, and the Highway Rates Bill
severally passed through committee.
PAROCHIAL SCHOOLMASTERS (SCOTLAND)