The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-03 00:00:00

marks which had been made would not be lost upon the
noble lords who formed the select committee on our In-
dian territories. The noble lord had spoken of bridges ;
but one of the most needed would be three miles long,
and would require a million of money to complete it.
Now, when they considered how long a bridge, not very
far from their lordships' house, had been out of repair,
they would hardly wonder at the delay. (Hear. hear,
and a laugh.) As for the roads, a friend of his who had
just come back from a tour of pleasure in India had in-
formed him that he had travelled 900 miles from Cal-
cutta in a wheeled carriage. (Hear, hear.) Her Ma-
jesty's Government were desirous of adopting the best
mode of administration possible. The fact that we were
obliged to apply an absolute government to India ren-
dered the responsibility upon us all the greater to adopt
every me ins ;n our power of increasing the material hap-
piness of the country • and he hoped that as the natives
had shown a desire for improvement, the Government
would do everything in their power to encourage and
avail themselves of that feeling.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH hoped the bridge of
which the noble earl had spoken would never be at-
tempted ; because if they built it upon piers, it would
have to be five miles long instead of three. Besides, as
they had to dig thirty feet through sand before they
r came to solid foundation, and as the water was 30 feet
' deep, the piers would have to be about 100 feet high, so
that it was out of the question that a million would be
enough for the work. It was futile to suppose that
railways could be carried across to Allahabad ; for
though the engineers had subdued the land the waters
would subdue the engineers. Besides, the rivers were
of so shifting a character. Why he had seen bridges in
India three-quarters of a mile from the streams they were
intended to span. (Laughter.) He was once attempt-
ing to cross by a bridge and found that it suddenly ended
in the middle of the water. (Laughter.) The rivers
were so filled with a peculiarly fine sand that a wattle
fence would be sufficient to divert them from their
course. The Mahomedans had built bridges, and fine
ones they were too ; but then they were a long way 'off
the rivers. (A laugh.)
The Earl of ALBEMARLE admitted that he was one
of the Indian pessimists ; but he was glad to see the sub-
ject of roads and bridges at last taken up. Seneca had
said that a Roman never conquered but he inhabited, and
he never inhabited without making roads to the very
limits of his province. He (the noble earl) doubted the
practicability of setting aside 10 per cent. for improve-
ments in India. Twenty millions was the revenue of the
country. Ten per cent. upon that would be two millions.
and this out of a revenue the normal state of which was
a deficit, and which never deviated into a surplus. The
bad condition of the public works in India was an item
of the grievances which the natives of India laid to the
charge of their rulers. He held in his hand statistical
papere relating to India, printed for the Court. of Direc-
tors, which showed the amount of the expenditure on
public works in India. The amount in 1849-50 was
380,000/. There was a little attempt at mystification
here. The return was for 15 years, but the estimate
for 1851 was exactly double the expenditure for 1849.
The noble baron who presented the petition had called
their attention to the trunk road from Calcutta to Delhi,
and from thence to Peshawur. Of this road only
965 miles of the 1,423 had been completed, and as far as
the statement showed the remainder had not been begun.
Then the road from Bombay to Agra was begun in 1840.
Its length was 734 miles, but whether it was finished or
not was not stated. Mere then was the Calcutta and
Bombay mail road, which was 1,170 miles, but of this
168 had been previously constructed. n 1845 the
court directed that 1,002 miles of road should be Con-
structed for the transmission of the mails. A summary
was given of all these roads. They were to be 3,059
miles in length, and to cost 2,964,0001. for construction,
and 90,000/. a-year for repairs. All this was to be done,
but, after all, what did it amount to ? One-seventh part
of the turnpike roads in England and Wales for a coun-
try seven times as big. He should on a future day move
for a return of the number of miles of road fit for the
transport of goods by coach, and used for that purpose,
in the presidency of Madras, and a similar return for
Bombay.
The subject then dropped.
LUNACY.

The Lunatics Care and Treatment Bill, the Lunatic
Asylums Bill, and the Lunacy Regulation Bill, were
severally passed through committee.

BOROUGH OF CAMBRIDGE.

The Earl of ABERDEEN moved that their lordships
concur in an address presented by the House of Com-
mons for a commission to inquire into corrupt practices
at elections for the borough of Cambridge. He said he
need not go into the history of the case presented before
the committee of the Commons, but be should content
himself with moving that their lordships concur in the
address.
After a few words from Lord ST. LEONARD'S and
Lord CAMPBELL,

The motion was agreed to.
SOUTH SEA ANNUITIES COMMUTATION
BILL.

On the motion for going into committee on this bill,
Earl GRANVILLE was understood to say that he
believed several noble lords wished to speak on this bill,
and he suggested that they should do so on the third
reading.
After a few words from Lord 111oxTEAGLR,
Lord ST. LEONARDS (who, as usual, spoke in so
low a tone of voice as to be all but inaudible in the gal-
lery), was understood to object to the bill as excluding
suitors in Chancery, whose funds were in South Sea An-
nuities or Consols, from the advantages which other
classes of holders would have in taking either of three
alternatives offered, viz., to take an interest of 31 with a
reduction of capital; an Interest of 2k per cent., with an
addition to the capital; or Exchequer Bonds. Me would
watch the progress of the bill with great jealousy ; and
he would call upon their lordships to insist on suitors in
Chancery being placed in exactly the same position as
every other holder. He did not ask more for them, and
he would ask no less.
The LORD CHANCELLOR referred to detailed ob-
jections which appeared to have been made by the noble
and learned lord, and undertook, in regard to the
operation of the bill so far as it affected holders being
suitors in Chancery in Consols, that he would do his ut-
most, by framing special and general order, to meet all
the exigencies of the case, and to procure equal justice
to suitors. With regard to the operations of the bill, so
far as-it touched South Sea Annuities holders he con-
ceived that Chancery suitors would he placed in no un-
fair position whatever. This was unlike all other com-
mutation bills in this respect, that it provided that the
holders (suitors in Chancery) could decline any of the
alternatives offered and select to remain in Beau oio,
with the same stock, on the same conditions'. (So we
understood the noble and learned lord.)
Lerd ST. LEONARDS was satisfied with the expla-
nanions which the noble and learned lord had given as
to the first point. But on the second point, the noble
and learned lord seemed to be under a misappre-
hension ; for he forgot that justice required that
suitors in Chancery should not be subject to
an exceptional exclusion applied to no other holders
of stock, why add to the misfortune of a suit in equity
such an injustice at this ? Their lordships might be sure
such a measure would cause immense dissatisfaction and
heartburning ; and he would say that he had passed days
and nights in attempting to facilitate the course of jus-
tice in the Court of Chancery, and that he could not but
feel that all that time and trouble would be utterly
thrown away, if an attempt was made to deal unjustly
with the funds of the suitors.

Earl GRANVILLE was obliged to the noble and
learned lord for his suggestions. This part of the mea-
sure was, no doubt, experimental, to see how the wind
blew on the Stock Exchange ; and some slight alterations
might be rendered necessary.
The bill was then passed through committee, and
The house adjourned at half-past eight.

HOUSE OF COMMONS-(YESTERDAY.)

The SPEAKER took the chair shortly before four o'clock.

PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The Lords' amendments to the Nottingham Gas Bill
were considered and agreed to.
The following bills were read a third time and passed :
—Norwich Waterworks Bill, Reading Market Bill,
Weston-super-Mare Waterworks Bill.
The following bills were considered, and ordered to be
read a third time :—Belfast and Ballymena Railway
Bill ; Eastern Counties Railway (Woodford and Lough-
ton) Bill ; Haslingden and Rawtenstall Waterworks
Bill ; Leeds Gas (No. 2) Bill ; Manchester, Sheffield,
and Lincolnshire Railway (Alteration of Capital) Bill ;
Price's Patent Candle Company (No. 2) Bill ; Wigan
Waterworks and Police Bill.

The following bills were read a second time and
ordered to be committed :—Barnsley Waterworks (No.
2) Bill, Sidney Sussex Estate Bill, Witham Drainage
Second District Bill, Baroda and Central India Railway
Bill.

PETITIONS.
Mr. TURNER presented a petition from Liverpool
against the opening of the Crystal Palace on Sundays.
Several petitions were presented from various parts of
Scotland in favour of the Public House (Scotland) Bill.
Mr. HASTIE presented a petition from 42 old soldiers,
whose average age was 64, stating that they went through
the Peninsular war and fought at the battle of Waterloo,
where they received several wounds each. Many of
them served upwards of ten years in the army, and yet
they were left without a pension in a destitute condition.
They therefore prayed for relief.
The SPEAKER said the petition could not be re-
ceived, as it prayed for pecuniary relief.
Mr. M. MILNER, Mr. BRIGHT, and several other hon.
members presented petitions in favour of the bill for
legalising marriage with a deceased wife's sister.
Mr. MOFFATT presented a petition from Bradford
in favour of the budget.
Mr. O'FLAHERTY presented a petition from an
Irish county against the proposed extension of the in-
come tax to Ireland.

Mr. C. BRUCE presented two petitions from places
in Scotland against the repeal of University Tests,
Mr. CAYLEY presented a petition from Sunderland,
praying for the repeal of the malt tax. •
Mr. ALEXANDER presented a petition from Car-
low against the proposed extension of the income tax to
Ireland.