The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-06 00:00:00

LAW OF STORMS.

Mr. HEYWOOD wished to ask the First Lord of the
Admiralty, if an office will probably be established to co-
operate with Captain Maury and the American Govern-
ment, in oceanic and other scientific observations ; and,
whether the important collections of observations on cur-
rents, winds, and temperature, already in possession of
the Admiralty, may be rendered accessible to the head
of the proposed office.

Sir J. GRAHAM said Captain Beechey had been re-
quested to report on the subject, and in accordance with
the gallant Captain's report, her Majesty's ships in all
parts of the world, as well as many merchantmen sailing
from London, world be required to make periodical
returns of their meteorological observations.
MILITIA. FOR SCOTLAND AND IRELAND.
Lord JOCELYN wished to know if Government had
any intention to introduce a measure for enrolling a
militia force in Scotland

Lord PALMERSTON said it would be his duty to
bring in a bill to consolidate all the laws respecting the
militia, and it certainly was his intention to propose in
that bill an arrangement by which a militia force might
be organise,a in Scotlond.

Col. D-UNNE—May I ask the same question with
regard to Ireland ? (A. laugh.)
Lard PALMERSTON—I see no reason for placing
the three countries on a different footing with respect
to the militia.

RECALL OF THE RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR.
Lord JOCELYN—Sir, I wish to ask the noble lord
the member for the City of London, if there is any truth
in the report that the Russian Ambassador has been re-
called ? (Hear, hear.)
Lord J. RUSSELL—In answer to the question of the
noble lord I have to state that Baron Brunow, the Rus4
sian Ambassador, has given notice of his intention to
cease to have any further diplomatic intercourse with
the Court of St. James's, and he was to leave London
to-clay.

PARLIAMENTARY OATHS.
Lord J. RUSSELL said he rose for the purpose of
asking the house to go into committee on the subject of
the oaths taken by numbers of this house. If the house
would go with him into consideration of the oaths now
taken, he thought they would agree with him it was
almost a profanation for persons to bind themselves be-
fore Almighty God to certain things which had no rela-
tion to the existing state of things. The oath of alle-
giance no man could reasonably object to ; but the second
was framed to meet certain dangers, whether real
or imaginary it was hardly necessary to inquire. It
arose out of the well-known contest between Henry the
Eighth and the See of Rome on the subject of the
supremacy of the Crown of the country. The whole
matter, in this respect, was stated by one of the greatest
orators who ever adorned this house, Lord Plunkett.
The first proposition which that able man said existed at
the time of the Reformation was the establishment of
the Protestant Church ; and the second to discountenance
all other religions but that of the State religion. He
(Lord J. Russell) held it wrong to expect any one
at this day to take that part of the oath of abjura-
tion which stated that princes excommunicated
ought to be deposed, because no one at the present
day believed any such doctrine. (Hear.) With re-
gard to the next part of the oath, which declared that
no foreign prince had any authority whatever in this
kingdom, the Roman Catholic refused to take that oath,
declaring that the Pope had spiritual authority in this
realm. What was the consequence ? They had relieved
the Roman Catholics from that oath, and it was left still
incumbent upon Protestants to take it. With regard to
the part of the oath of abjuration, which related to the
descendants of James the Second, was it not a mockery
to keep up such form of oath nowwhen it-was well known
that there was no such descendant existing anywhere ?
What he meant to propose to this house was, to get rid
of those superfluous oaths. In the days when the roads
were unsafe, gentlemen rode out in armour to defend
themselves from the dangers of the roads--at the end of
the last century, when a gentleman went out in his post-
chaise over Blackheath, he went armed with a brace of
pistols, to defend him from highwaymen. Now, by our
police
and other improvements, this was totally unneces-
sary, and he asked the house to act with respect to those
oaths as they did in the matters of every-day life. The
noble lord then read the form of oath which he wished to
substitute for the oaths now in use. He only further wished
to consider whether this oath was to be applied to Roman
Catholics. He thought that part of the oath which
said that Princes excommunicated may be deposed was
an insult to Roman Catholics, and need not be continued
—(Hear, hear.) He thought the part of the oaths which
related to the settlement of property might also be done
away with as uncalled for. With respect to the part of
the oath which related to the Church Establishment in
Ireland, he was of opinion that no member of this house
should be debarred from giving his vote upon any
matter which was brought forward in the house
in any manner in which his conscience might
dictate. (Loud cried of hear, hear.) With red-
spect to that part of the oath, "On the true faith of a
Christian," it was well known those words were intro-
duced, not against the Roman Catholics--more especi-
ally that portion of them who came under the denomi-
nation of Jesuits. The noble lord quoted Mr. Baron
Alderson's opinion on the subject, who declared that it
would be much more worthy of this country to exclude
the Jews from Parliament dy some direct enactment,
than by a part of an oath which the Legislature never
contemplated as applying to them. (Hear.) He did
not wish to come to any hasty decision on the subject,
but he thought it might yet be well worth considering,
whether the house should not consider the course taken
by the house, with regard to the case of Mr. Pease, or
whether they should not adopt the alterations he had
pointed out. On those grounds he moved that Mr.
Speaker do leave the chair.
Sir F. THESIGER said he did not intend at present
to offer any objection to the introduction of the bill of
the noble lord, but he thought that at this early stage
of the measure it ivas but right to make some
a observations,
very grave
pointbecause
of heprinciple. thought
He
the measure involved
(Sir F. Thesiger)
was quite willing to abolish a part at least of the oath