The Sun.
London, England, 1853-04-23 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 23, 1853.

MOUNT CARBON COAL AND IRON
COMPANY.
Offices, 30, Bucklersbury.
Sutocribers are hereby notified that the SCRIP CERTIFICATES
of this COMPANY will be EXCHANGED for BANKERS' RE-
CEIPTS on and after TUE -1) AY next, the 26th hist.
By Order if the Board,
W. A. UOEBER, See.
April 22, 1853.

LAURENT'S CASINO, ARGYLL ROOMS.—
Lessee, CII IMES E. LuntEsr, Onshw-house, Fulham-
Open Every Evel,hr4. The Orch stra will perform, during'
wee,, " The Thistle," " Fhamroe%," " Rose," and "AminA"
Waltze., .he " Napoleon" an 1 " 1.0 Romaneoque" (Mops, " Le
Cirque' Quadrille; " The Gold Hawk and " Juno," Polkas.—
Admission, Is. Doors open at Half.past Eight; to commence at
Nine o', lock, and terminate, at llalipavt Eleven.

DURSUANT to an ORDER of the HIGH
COURT of CHANCERY, made in a entre, ''RUPALL and
WIFE against HALL" the Credlt:rs of WILLI t.AI HALL, late
of Westmorelaad place, C,ty-roa r, in the pati‘h of saint IA °wird,
Shoreditch, in the county of Mid les'•x, deexa=ed, who cLed In or
about the mouth of Jity. 1452). -fire, by their Soliators, on or before
the lith day of May 1653, to c...me In and prove their debts, at the
Chambers of the VW-Chancellor Sir Richard Totin 1: r,ley, No.
15, Old-rquare, Lin oltes-in,,, Middle-ex, or in der:atit ther.:cl they
will be peremptori,y excluded from the benefit of the said Order.
Monday, the 23d day of May, 1853, at one o'clock in the afternoon,
at the said Chambers, Is appointed for hearing and adjudicating
upon the t laims.
Dated this 14th day of April, 1153.
FRED. ERS. EDWARDS, Chief Clerk.
11. J. ADCOCK,

3, Copthall-buill:ngs, Throgmorton-street, Plaintiff's S'llcitor.

STEAM 70 AUSTRALIA

GENERAL SCREW STEAM SHIPPING
COMPANY.

NOTICE Is HEREBY GIVEN, That this Company's Auxiliary iron
Screw Steam-ship ARGO, 1,850 tons, George Hyde, Commander, wi'l
leave Southampton for I'ORT PHILIP and SYDNEY on Rs EDNES-
DAY, the 4th of May next.
the accommodation is of a superior description, and the cabins are
fully furnished. Ths rates of passage money—After Cabin, first
class, 801.; Fore Cabin, second class, 501. These rates are exclusive
of wines, beer, and spiritu us liquors, which, howeve^, may be had
on board at moderate prices. The ship will carry an experienced
surgeon.

Applications for passage to be made at the Company's Offices, 2,
Royal Exchange buildirgs ; and for freight and parcels, to Messrs.
Balfour, Laming, and Owen, 16, St. Mary-axe.

ALLSOPP'S PALE ALE, in Bottle and Cask,
IMPERIAL MEASURE only, at the following prices:
Allsopp's Pale Ale, in Imperial Quarts .. •• • • • • .• Bs. 01. per Dczen.
Allsopp's Pale Ales, in Imperial Pints.. • • • • ss. od.
Allsopp's Mild Ales, in Imperial Quarts .••• 6d. „
Allsopp's Mild Ales, in Imceri Pints.. •• ••• • •• ss. Gd. „
Allsopp's Strong (the Old Burton) Ale, in Impe-
rial Q arts .... .................... .....103. 6d. „
Allsopp's strong (the Old Burton) Ale, in Impe-
rial Pints ...... • • Gs. 6d. „
Allsopp's Pale Ale, 18-gallon Casks.... ••
Allsopp's Mild Ale, 18-gallon Ca5k5......................••.. 338.
illsopp's Strong (the Old Burton) Ale), 18.galloa Casks ...... 455.
All Orders must be for Cash, addressed to
HARRINGTON" PARKER,
Beer-Merchant, 54, Pall-mall.

DINNEFORD'S PURE FLUID MAGNESIA
Has been for many years sanctioned by the most eminent
o f the medical profession, as an excellent remedy for
ACIDITIES, HEARTBURN, HEADACHE, GOUT, AND
INDIGESTION.
As a Mild Aperient, it is admirab'y adapted for Delicate Females
particulary during Pregnancy ; and it prevents the food of infants
rrom turning sour during digestion. Combined with the
ACIDULATED LEMON SYRUP,
it forms an Effervescing Aperient Draught, which is highly agreeable
and efficacious.

Prepared by DINNEFORD and Co., Dispensing Chemists (and
3erteral Agents for the Improved Horse Hair Gloves and Belts),
172, New Bond-street, London, and sold by all respectable Chemists
throughout the Empire.

GEORGE REEVES', 3,4, and 5, POPE'S
HEAD ALLEY, I9,CORNHILL, LONDON,
(nearly opposite the South Entrance to the Royal Exchange), being
determin,d to supply the Public with the very best WM ES and
,PIRITS, at the lowest remunerating prices, begs to submit the fol-
lowing list for their consideration:—

CONTRACT FOR SrA IR FOR SEAMEN'S BED;.
Department of the Comptroller for Victualling and
Transport Services,
Somerset-place, 22d April, 18'3
THE Commissioners for Executing the Office of
ord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, do Hereby Give Notice. that on THURSDAY, the sth
May next, at One o'clock, they will he ready to treat with such
persons as may be willing to Contract for supplying and delivering
into her Majesty's Victualling Stores at Deptford-
-30,000 lbs. of STAIR for SEAMEN'S BEDS.
One-third to be delivered by the 31A July, another third by the
31st August, and the remainder by the 30th September next, or ear-
lier if preferred by the party tend• ring.
No Tender will be received for less than half the quantity.
A sample of the Stair may be seen at the said Office, or a sample
may be produced by the parties tendering for approval.
The conditions of the Contracts may be seen at the said Office.
No Tender will be received after One o'clock on the day of Treaty,
nor any noticed, unless the party attends, or an agent for him, duly
authorised in writing.
Every Tender must be addressed to the Secretary of the A .mi-
!ally, and bear in the left-hand corner the words, " Tender for
Stair for Beds," and must also be delivered at Somerset-place,
accompanied by a letter signed by a responsible person, engaging to
become bound, with the person tendering, In the sum of 201. per
cent.on the Valli!, for the due performance of the Contract.

MPOHTANT MEDICAL AND SURGICAL WORKS.
Jail published, by 11. Dailliere, 219, Eogent-street, London.
No I.
Bvo., In cloth, price 54. by post fres, se. 6d.,
/AN TRUER FALSE SPERMATORREICEA,
with the View to the Correction of wide-spread F.rrors
A fi
tri relation to the TreAtmvut and Cure of Sufferers from Debility of the
•enerattve System, 'r Sexual Ilypochondrimis.
Translated fivm the German of Dr. PICKFORD

"Dr. nekton' 'g knonno to English renders by his frequent practi-

al contribution, to German medical Ilterkture. This is the first
into, he informs as, that he has addressed himself to the non-medi-
:kJ reader. We trust this may not be the last, if he shall
;etect any other equally flagrant evil which it may be in his
•>ower to correct."—Landon Medical Oazette, May 30, 1851.
"We tromised in a former number that we should recur to this
wr:t, in order to exhibit its aim more clearly. The author lashes
with great severity the impostors who make a livelihood by preying
en the ciedulity of the public. The tribe of ' Quiet Symathisers,'
and • Medical Friends,' are mercilessly exposed ; and if this hook
xtild find its way into the hands of those who stiffer fr m th com-
plaint of which it treats, we are satisfied that many h indreds would
tie saved much needless suffering of body and mind, and what is of
less importance, ilk nob it is that which dr: quacks most prize—
much ir•oney......This volume is well qualified to put an end to the
smpirical system of treating Spennatorrheea, and to place the treat-
”innt upon a more rational and physiological basis. It is, therefore,
`tb.lly to do much good."—Medlral Circular, June 16, 1852.

Svc, .n cloth, price 3s. 6d., by post free, 4r.,
THE CURE OF STRICTURE OF THE URETHRA, on Prim'.
pies at once Simple, Safe, and Efficient, in even its most Inveterate
and apparently intractable Forms.
BY F. R. COURTENAY,
Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

.fn proof of his views -he (Mr. Courtenay) has given
the history of a great many cases successfully treated, as bad
as any which Mr. Syme adduced, and on which he had operated.
-tich are cases ix., al., xii., and xvili. No. la. had res sled, for a
period of twelve yews, the treatment by dilitation, and was finally
re novae. ,n as many weeks. But cases xvili. and xix. appear, both
in duraticn, severity, and complication of symptoms, of a more ag-
gravated character than any detailed by Mr. Syme, and yet the
treatment adopted by Mr. rourtenay proved eminently successful."
—Professor Lizars on the Treatment of Stricture.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, APRIL 22,

The Agamemnon, 90, Captain Sir Tho Mas Maitland,
is now in a more healthy condition, and there seems
some hopes of the sickness leaving her, as no new cases
or relapses have taken place this week.
The Amphion, 34, Captain Patey, sailed from Spit-
head for Plymouth this morning.
The Cruizer steam-sloop, Commander the Hon.
G. H. Douglas, exercised her crew at Spithead, this
morning, at the great guns, firing powder only.
The London American packet-ship, which sailed from
Spithead last evening, put back this morning to the
St. Helen's Roads, the steward having died suddenly
on board. The body was brought on shore in the cutter
belonging to Lloyd's agents, and she sailed again fur
New York about noon.

Wind, S.W.

WOOLWICH, APRIL 22.

APPOINTMENTS.

Clerk.—George T. Harris (1847), to the Boscawen,
70, guard-ship of ordinary at Chatham, vice Chapman.
Masters' Assistants.—George W. Atkinson, to the
Arrogant, 47, screw steam-frigate at Devonport ; John
G. Frewin, to the Dasher, at Portsmourtb.
Captain Rundle B. Watson, C. 8., of the Imperieuse,
50, screw steam-frigate, went through a course of study
of steam at the factory at Woolwich Dockyard, not-
withstanding the statement that has been made to the
contrary.

FIRE AND Loss OF -Yesterday morning, be-
tween one and two o'clock, a fire broke out at the
Black Horse and Windmill, Fieldgate-street, White-
chapel-road. The landlord, Gerard Tritner, had held
possession but a few months. During the progress of
the fire, his wife leaped from an upper story and fell
through a skylight, injuring herself in a dreadful man-
ner.the fire was subdued, the firemen ro
hen
dis-
covered the lifeless body of,the landlord crouched In a
corner of the parlour. In the course of the afternoon,
Mr. Baker held an inquest on the body, when a sur-
geon proved that deceased died of suffocation, and the
jury returned a verdict of " Accideutal Death."

I AIPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS-(YESTERDAY.)

The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on tho woolsack
at five o'clock.

The Earl of RODEN presented petitions agains
Maynooth. -

The Earl of DERBY presented a number of petitions
against the Canada Clergy Reserves Bill.
The Archbishop of CANTERBURY presented peti-
tions from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel,
from the Bishop of Toronto, and from other quarters, to
the same effect.

The Bishop of WINCHESTER presented similar
petitions.

Lord BROUGITAM presented a 'petition from the
borough of King's Lynn, pravino- for au extention of
county court jurisdiction ; also from Dunfermline, pray-
ing for an amendment of the law of wills and probates.
Lord BERNERS presented petiticins from unions in
Berkshire arid Yorkshire, -in favour of.the Poor law As-
sessment Removal Bill.

The Earl of ENNISKILLEN presented a petition
against the Jew bill.

CLERGY RESERVES (CANADA) BILL.
The Duke of NEWCASTLE, on moving the second
reading of this bill, said that he felt some doubt whether
he ought to trespass on their lordshipeattention at any
length, for they had already had two discussions on the
subject, and one of them at considerable length ; but as
many of their lordships then present were not in the
house on those occasions, aste hilleved some of their
loniship4ad not studied the-whole question of the Ca-
nada Clergy Reserves with sufficient attention to enable
them to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion, he hoped he
might be excused if he ventured to trespass upon their
lordships' time as shortly as possible, in order to explain
to them the question from its first commencement. He
would show the views which had been taken of the sub-
ject by successive Governments; andpoint out rea-
sons and arguments in favour of the adoption of the
measure which he had the honour of sninnitting to the
house. The original act which passed relaWse to the
province of Quebec, which set forth that son o* provision
should be made for the encouragement of the Protestant
religion and the maintenance of the Protestant clergy,
was well known to their lordships—no procedure, how'
ever, was taken with reference to that measure ; but in
the year 1791 a message was sent to both houses of Par-
liament suggesting that they should provide for such an
object by making an appropriation of land. In the
course of the year Mr. Pitt introduced a measure by
which it was proposed that one-seventh of the waste
lands of the colony should be appropriated for the main-
tenance of the Protestant clergy. These so called clergy
reserves continued for a period of 50 years, until the act
of 1840 passed. A clause was introduced into the act
of 1791 providing that the provincial legislature might
have the power to alter and repeal the provisions of that
act ; and this power, he believed, until a comparatively
recent date, was always considered to be unlimited as
regarded the power of the provincial legislature. Until
the year 1817 the act continued without any open hos-
tility on the part of the population—in fact, it was
nearly inoperative, the Protestant clergy deriving little,
if any, advantage from it • but in 1817 a motion was
made for alienating one-half of the clergy reserves ; and
in 1819, for the first time, a claim was put forward on
the part of the Presbyterians. The noble and learned
lord opposite (Lord Lyndhurst) who was then attorney-
general, being consulted, gave his opinion in favour of
that claim, that the Presbyterian clergy, as Protestant
clergy, was entitled to a share of the reserves.' From
that time for 20 years a constant struggle was carried on
in the colony between members of the Church of Eng-
land and members of the Church of Scotland. Up to the
period of 1824 these clergy reserves were but of little
value, and were almost entirely absorbed by the expenses
to which they were subjected. In 1819 they only
amounted in value to 7001., and in 1822, they only
yielded an income of 1501. a-year. There was subse-
quently a proposal for the sale of these reserves, which
was carried out by a measure introduced by Mr. Wilmot
Horton, in 1827. The noble earl opposite (the Earl of
Derby) who had just before being travelling through
Canada, and the United States, gave his opinion in the
other house of Parliament, at that time, against the con-
tinuance of the clergy reserves, and he (the Duke of
Newcastle) did not quote that opinion for any party
purpose, but to show the universal feeling which then
prevailed on this subject. The noble duke here read a
passage from the speech of Lord Derby, to the effect
that his acquaintance with Canada enabled him to state
that whatever differences there might be in Canada, and
party feeling ran high, no person could entertain any
difference of opinion as to the inefficiency of maintaining
the Canada clergy reserves. Further on he expressed
an opinion that the Church of England never could be
established in Canada. In 1836 an address was sent
from the Assembly of Canada to this country, requesting
that the clergy reserves might be appropriated to the
purposes of education. A similar address was again
sent in 1827, and in 1828 the Wesleyan Methodists put
in a claim, stating, that although no other Pro-
testant Dissenters had a right to participate in the reserves,
they had a special claim ; but the Government did not
acquiesce in that opinion. He wished to show their
lordships the succesive progress of public opinion with
reference to this matter ; so that as the desire of the
Canadian people had been neglected, it led on to fresh
and increased demands in every successive year. In
1824 the demand was, that the clergy reserves should be
equally divided amongst all denominations in proportion
to their numbers, but in 1826 the application was, that
they should no longer be appropriated to the purposes
of the clergy and the various denominations, but to the
purposes of education and public improvements. And
in 1828, those two first demands having been rejected,
the people of Canada then applied to have the clergy re-
serves appropriated to secular objects entirely. In 1831,
the struggle having proceeded between the House of As-
sembly on the one hand, and the Legislative. Council re-
sisting the demands on the other, the House of Repre-
sentatives, failing to attain their objects through the in-
strumentality of their own legislature, applied to the Im-
perial Government ; and it was singular enough that,
without any knowledge on their part, the Government
at home had resolved upon an abandonment of the
clergy reserves, not seemingly in deference to the House
of Assembly, but in consequence of a report of a com-
mittee of the House of Commons on the subject. The
Government proposed that the reserves should revert to

the Crown. 'But on what terms was this proposed ? He
found, not merely on this occasion, but upon everyother,
that every successive colonial secretary appeared to have
looked on this question as one that was to be legislated
upon, not by imperial parliament, but by the colonial
legislature. Did the colonial secretary of that time,
Lord Goderich, proceed to introduce a measure into that
house ? By_ no
...means ; he addressed the following

, -
despatch to Sir John Colborne, the Lieutenant Gover-
nor of Canada.—[The noble duke here read the dispatch
from Lord Godorich to Sir John Colborne.] Lord Go-
derich appeared to be so convinced that this was not a
matter for the imperial Parliament but for the legislation
of the colonial parliament, that—as in those days it ap-
peared to have been impossible to let the colony entirely
out of leading-strings--the noble lord sent the form of a
message ,to the governor, which he recommended he
should address to the Canadian Parliament ; and he ac-
tually sent, at the same time, a draft of a bill to be pro-
posed to the Canadian Legislature, and in that draft he
found a clause to this effect.—[The noble duke read the
clause proposing to do away with the clergy reserves, as
far as the Protestant clergy were concerned.] This
showed how little value was to be attached to the pre-
tension made by a right reverend prelate near him, (the
Bishop of Exeter) on a former occasion, that this bill
was an infraction of vested rights, and that it consti-
tuted a breach of faith. What would the say to the
course taken by Lord Goderich, and every subsequent
secretary on this matter ? No attempt was made to
_ _

legislate by the Imperial Parliament, becauseiattshoweiiriaarms
jveninenhowtni
P
then acted on.
was that the legislation should be by the Canadian Par-
lbtpi
huaaimt srlaei question
Colborneen nrs prorogation
gnuwat
taaaiconsequencen n messages u suddenly
den ty
to
no tf
oh
ket h
place,i
Cs udn i
dp ana tnne
and it
was invited
and legislate
t l
eg es l
atyearhey upon
n 1
d,
tG;o therefore,adnedr
ethh their
i 0.
consider ColCol
lordshipso na l
in 1853 were engaged in discussing not whether they
should allow the Colonial Legislature to abandon the
whole system of the clergy reserves ; but whether they
should give to the Colonial Parliament power to do
inter alia, what in 1831 they invited them to do.
(Hear.) No consequence arose from the dispatch of
Lord Goderich, and the struggle continued as before ;
but in 1835 the legislative council, hitherto strongly op-
posed to all alterations in the clergy reserves, appeared
to have become alarmed at the contest in the colony,
and, for the first time, addressed the Imperial Govern-
ment, requesting them to interfere and settle this long
agitated question. That address was answered in De-
cember, 1835. The answer stated that there were two
reasons why her Majesty should not recommend to Parlia-
ment the consideration of this question. One of these
reasons was that the matter in question was one in which
the local legislature ought to take the initiative. It there-
fore appeared that up to 1835 every colonial secratary
was under the impression, referring to the act of
1791, that the power of! the Colonial Parliament
was unaltered. There was a subsequent dispatch from
Sir George Grey dated the 9th October, 1837, much to
the same effect, with the substance of which he would
not fatigue the house. Nor would he stop to state the
opinions of successive governors upon the matter, the
same view was to be found in them all with regard to
this question. He would only now refer to one more
dispatch from Lord John Russell, dated in December,
1839. In that dispatch his lordship stated that her
Majesty could not assume nor parliament accept the
delicate office of settling the question of reserves ; while,
on the other hand, he thought that the provincial legis-
lature would bring to the matter an extensive knowledge
of the state of things in the colony of which Parliament
must be unavoidably deficient. He ha'l now shown
what were the views of the various British secretaries.
In 1840, for the first time, the two houses in Canada
a last e tto
aa3ns
eaug
forreenLe
ea agent
eutpnuoemtehu
ts
osfubt jhei
sc
aatntde r a bi
Thel l Ni a
bill
assevnite.w
tlhtutwains
locordusnhtirpysfohrouth royal
see
with the
tha
address were received against it, it might
h
sent.. In, this state of things, very U
lw3aaoai
vds beforethsentdays,e r if to
royal
ny theiroat this
is
a s

expectedly, a question was raised, not by Any noble and
learned lord, but by one whose legal acumen had very
often pointed out difficulties in acts of Parliament, the
right reverend prelate near him (the Bishop of Exeter).
The question was whether the colonial legislature had
not exceeded its power—whether, in truth, that which
our colonial secretaries believed to have been- its right,
and eVen every lawyer bad thought undoubtedly within
its province, was beyond it. It was urged that the act
of 1791 did not enable the Canadian legislature to deal
retrospectively as well as prospectively with the clergy
reserves. The point was referred to the judges, and they
.'e ided that the Canadian Parliament had no power to
pass the bill in question. Although it was the bounden
duty of Parliament to acquiesce in this decision, un-
doubtedly it was a great hardship to the colony that,
after the course which succes-ive Governments had
taken, after the constant struggles that had been made,
when at last two houses of the Canadian legislature bad
been brought to agree, the authorities of this country
should say,- " We have all been wrong ; we might have
spared ourselves all the trouble of these many years of
contest ; for we now find the right to settle the question
never resided with the colony ; and now that you are
agreed, we must step in to prevent a settlement. The
Government of the day, however, feeling it absolutely
necessary to settle the question, brought in a bill to a
great extent similar to, though not exactly embodying
the provisions of the bill sent up by the two houses of
the Canadian legislature. The bill was introduced to
the other house of Parliament, and subsequently, but
with -many alterations, was passed. The noble duke
then proceeded to repeat the explanations already given
by the Government in the House of Commons :with re-
spect to the withdrawal of the third clause, observing
that the clause, as it stood, might have had the appear.
ance of an intended breach of faith, in withdrawing a
guarantee admitted by the bill of 1840, and he there-
fore, rejoiced at the alteration, but at the same time, his
conviction was, that the bill had not been in the slight-
est degree weakened in effect, inasmuch as the guaran-
tee would now become of a merely nominal character.
In conclusion, he called upon their lordships not hastily
to reject this measure • he at least would ask them not
to refuse the second reading of the bill, unless they were
satisfied that that refusal would not be the signal of the
struggle which he would anticipate from such a course,
or unless they were convinced, should such a struggle
ensue, they would be able to maintain their denial of
those demands of the Canadian people. And he made
a special appeal, in all humility, and with all respect,
but with great earnestness, to the right rev. bench, en-
treating them not to commit the Church of England to
a contest with a colony on a question of self-govern-
ment, for it could not be doubted that in such a contest
the church must eventually give way, and thus in the
position of the defeated, be deprived of her dignity and
her prestige.
The Bishop of EXETER (who was imperfectly heard)
moved the amendment that the bill be read a second
time that day six months. The noble duke's speech had
been characterised by great inaccuracy of argument and
statement ; and it appeared to him (the right rev. pre-
late) that the whole bill was defended upon an assertion
which indicated an obvious misconception on the part of
the noble duke. The assertion was that the colonial
legislature would have no mere power over the clergy
reserves under this bill than they at present possessed
over the Roman Catholic reserves, and that there would
be a power still left to the imperial Parliament to pre-
vent the predicted confiscation ; but this was a palpable
fallacy. The Roman Catholic endowments were pro-
tected by a provision in the Constitutional Act of the
31st Geo. III„ and if this bill passed, power would pass
altogether away from this country, including that house,
which specially was entrusted with the care of the in-
terests of the Church, to check, control, or interfere in
any way farther. Would the noble duke introluce into
the bill a provision to substantiate his statement ? If he
could not, what became of public faith ? Certainly if he
(the right rev. prelate) had made such a statement, and
found himself in error, he would think himself bound to
abandon the bill, or, on the other hand, to alter it into
conformity with the theory. For the noble duke's own
sake, he would therefore ask him to look well to that
point. There was another general argument on which
the bill was based : the asserted right of the Canadians
to self-government, without appeal, on all strictly inter-
nal matters. Now, that he greatly questioned ; and he
would only say, in reply to all the noble duke's appeals
about "right" and "justice," that the notions which
the noble duke had of right and justice, as involved in
the consideration of such a bill, were distinctly different
from the principles of the law of England. He (the
right reverend prelate) was speaking in the presence of
many learned lords—and he would, no doubt, be cor-
rected if he was wrong in laying it down as a maxim,
that the imperial Parliament had the absolute right to
legislate, as it in its Wisdom might think fit, on all
matters whatever within the co-ordinate jurisdiction of
colonial legislatures ; and that it could control the acts,
alter the laws, and repeal the laws of colonial Parlia-
ments. Let it be understood that he was not contend-
ing that the imperial Parliament should stand on, and
assert, and act on, this right ; fir from it ; he believed
nritual forbearance and conciliation wi a the policy—
(great laughter)—to be pursued in all questions between
the colonies and the mother countries. The noble duke
was not apparently aware of this principle of the consti-
tutional law ; and a few authorities might therefore be
quoted with advantage. Mr. Burke, in speaking in the
House of Commons on the subject of the American war,
and referring to the right of the house to tax the colonies
—the " liberalism " being then as undoubted as the
great wisdom of that statesman was ever undoubted—
said that the imperial Parliament stands in two capa-
cities •, first, as the local legislature for these islands ;
secondly, in her nobler capacity—in her imperial capa-
city—as controlling all provincial legislatures whatever,
these provincial (Irish) legislatures, or colonial legisla-
tures, being co-ordinate to each other, and subordinate
therefore to the imperial Parliament. Another autho-
rity which the noble duke might consult was that of Sir
Samuel Romilly, who—in his " Diary "—speaking of a
motion Mr. Wilberforce had brought forward in the
House of Commons to protect slaves in the West Indian
islands from the cruelties to which they were exposed
—as, for instance, it being legally competent to kill a
rlave if a fine of 18/. were paid for the murder—says
Mr. Wilberforce was opposed by various membars, who
urged that Parliament had no right to interfere in such
a case, but that they were in great error, there being "no
doubt of the right" which Parliament had to interfere.
The Government of 1833 proposed, and Parliament as-
sented to a measure by which this country paid twenty
millions to extinguish slavery, and that was a consequence
of the power possessed by Parliament to interfere with
colonial legislatures in domestic matters. The House of
Assembly in Jamaica, sent a deputation to present a protest
which was read in the House of Cohimons against the inter-
position of Parliament in their internal affairs ; which
was objected to by the then Colonial Secretary, Mr.
Stanley, who laid it down that it was in the power of
the imperial Parliament to legislate on the principle of
any measure, although they might leave the details to
be filled up by the Colonial Legislatures. There was, in
this instance, an interference with the Legislature of
Jamaica, and was there anything more sacred in the
Legislature of Canada t In the former the legislature
had existed for centuries, but the right of Canada to a
Legislature only began under the provisions of the 31st
George 111., which provided that that Legislature might
do anything not repugnant to that act. That act con-
tained provisions for the preservation of the Protestant
religion henceforward and for all time to come, and that
was one of the foundations on which the Constitution of
Canada was to rest, and that principle the Colonial
Legislature was not to impugn. On those grounds he
asserted the right of the Imperial Parliament to deal
with all the acts of the Colonial Legislature, and for that
principle he had the authority of Burke, Romilly, and
Wilberforce. But he had also some other authorities.
In 1837 Lord John Russell brought forward certain
resolutions in the House of Commons, and the sixth was
in effect to legalise the title granted to the American
Land Company by the Colonial Legislature. Sir W.
Molesworth denied the right of the house to do that,
and Sir George Grey in reply stated that the house must
have that supreme power, or how could they have inter-
fered in the matter of the abolition of slavery. So that
he had the authority of the noble lord now the leader of
the other house. He could also refer to the right hon.
gentleman the present Chancellor of the Exchequer, who
concurred with those who had laid down the general
principle of the control of the imperial Parliament over
Colonial Legislatures, and said it was so beyond the
shadow of a doubt. It was true that Lord John Russell
and Mr. Gladstone were not now such authorities as

they were ; and were, indeed, rather to be taken as
authorities on the other side, as they had changed their
opinions. The right rev. prelate was then understood
to refer to the speech on a former occasion of the Bishop
of Oxford, and stated that his right rev. friend was up-
holding a doctrine, which, if true, would extinguish the
authority of his great father. He then proceeded to
quote an expression of Sir William Molesworth, in which
he stated that the law of England abhorred perpetuity.
He (the Bishop of Exeter) asserted that it delighted in
perpetuity, for it was laid down by Blackstone that the
king was a perpetuity, for he never died ; and also that
the law had provided that the parson of a parish never
died any more than the king, and that the present in-
cumbent and the one who live seven centuries ago were
one and the same. Such was the horror of the law of
England for perpetuity. Was not every corporation the
essence of perpetuity ? It was a strange doctrine that
to be uttered by a minister of the Crown, and one which
was not contradicted or refuted by one of his colleagues,
the sworn servants of the Crown. More than that, the
right hon. gentleman went on to assert that he was a
Radical. It seemed, then, that Conservative progress
and Radicalism were identical. Certainly politics like
misery brought one acquainted with strange bedfellows.
Who would have believed that in December last, when
the noble earl at the bead of the Government, in stating
the principles of his Government, said they were com-
prised in two words, " Conservative progress" ! What
he had seen 'since had much disturbed his (the Bishop of
Exeter's) notions of Conservative progress. Conservative
progress seemed to be a sort of inclined plane, down
which opinions glided easily, when they had got to the
destruction of religion in the colonies. (Hear, hear.)
The noble earl dissented ; but at any rate, they had got
to the point of destroying all provision and endowment
for religion in the colonies. (Hear.) The noble earl
said endowment was a different thing to religion, e