The Sun.
London, England, 1853-07-08 00:00:00

houses by her Majesty's Ministers as to thee, e----post •
ponement would be for the public interest and elmvenience.
Sir C. WOOD—I may perhaps be able to give a solution
of this matter, and I owe some apology to the hon. member
for Aylesbury. Yesterday in the middle of the day ray
noble friend the member for London sent to me And stated
that he was so seriously ill that he was obliged to leave
town, and that he had written to the hon. member for
Aylesbury, stating that it was impossible for him to be in
the house to-morrow, and asking him to postpone his mo-
tion till Monday. It would obviously be very inconvenient
for that motion to be brought on in the absence of my
noble friend. My noble friend then asked me if it would
not be better to bring on` the committee on the India Bill.
I came down to the house in search of the hon. member
for Aylesbury, but was unable to find him ; but I felt cer-
tain that lie would not decline to postpone his motion. It
was, therefore, very desirable that the earliest notice
should be given as to what business would come on to-mor-
row, and I asked my right hon. friend the Secretary at War
to give notice that the committee on the India Bill would
come on on Friday, and that the other motion was post-
poned. My great anxiety was to give the earliest infor-
mation to the house as to what business was to come on.
The house sat yesterday till within a minute of six o'clock,
and its was practically impossible to give that notice in any
other hape than by putting it on the paper. The right
hon. gentleman (Mr. Disraeli) is mistaken in saying that
the debate in another place has been postponed at the re-
quest of the Government. A member of the Government
was called on to say whether he could deny that mischief
and inconvenience would ensue if that motion was brough
on, and on his saying that he could not deny but that there
would be some mischief and inconvenience, another mem-
ber of that house asked the noble marquis to postpone his
motion, to which he consented.
Mr. DISRAELI—I wish to ask the hon. member for
Aylesbury whether, if the noble lord the member for Lon-
don should be recovered on Monday, it 5s clearly to be un-
derstood that he will bring on his motion.
Mr. LAYARD.—Most certainly. lam not supposed to
be cognisant of what has taken place in the other house,
and v'iless good reason is given in this house to justify me
in the eyes of the country in withdrawing my motion, I
shall bring it on.
The subject then dropped.
, THE ADVERTISEMENT DUTY,
Sir J. SHELLEY begged to ask the Chancellor of the
Exchequer whether he could inform the house when the
resolutions with regard to the advertisement duty would
be brought on, and he hoped that they would not be post-
poned till so late a period of the session as to prevent those
interested in the discussion from being present.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER could
really assure the hon. gentleman that there would be no
postponement for postponement's sake ; and that was the
only assurance he could give as far as postponement was
concerned. It was impossible, considering the important
business now pending before the house, to make it second-
ary to the advertisement duties, as he could not say on
what day they would be brought on. No delay, however,
should take place except what was unavoidable, and he
would take care that they were not brought on without
due notice.
THE OBSTRUCTION OF THE DANUBE.
Mr. LIDDELL begged to ask of her Majesty's Govern-
ment whether any instructions have been sent out by her
Majesty's Government to inquire into the case of British
vessels at present detained in the Danube owing to the im-
perfect state of the navigation of that river : and whether,
in the event of hostilities with Russia before such ships
can be liberated, a sufficient force will be sent out to that
part to prevent their falling into the hands of hostile
powers.
Lord PALMERSTON—The recent obstruction of the
navigation of the Sulina channel of the Danube has been
caused by the accidental circumstance of the waters of the
river having overflowed and spread over the banks, and so
far diminished the force of the current as to increase the
quantity of mud on the bar. This particular inconvience
is temporary, and will no doubt cease when its cause has
also ceased ; but I am bound to say that, for Many years
past, the Government have had reason to complain of the
neglect of the Government of Russia to perform its duties as
possessor of the territory of which the delta of the Danube
is composed, and to maintain the channel of the Sulina in
an efficient navigable state. (Hear.) It was my duty, when
Secretary for Foreign Affairs, to make frequent represen-
tations to the Russian Government on the subject; and
Russia, although she always admitted that it was her duty
to do so—admitted that which we asserted—that as Rus-
sia thought fit, by virtue of the treaty of Adrianople,
to possess herself of the mouths of the Danube, that
that ,great watercourse and highway of nations, leading
into the centre of Germany, it was her duty to see that
great highway was maintained and made accessible (ac-
cording to the treaty of Vienna) to the commerce of all
nations. (Hear, hear.) Russia never disputed that state-
ment, and she asserted always that she was employed in
using means to remedy the grievance. The grievance
pwas
this—that while these mouths of the Danube formed art
of the Turkish territory, there was maintained a depth of
16 feet on the bar, whereas, by the neglect of the Russian
authorities the depth had diminished to 11 feet, and even
those 11 feet were reduced to a small and narrow channel
from obstructions on the side, from sand-banks, and from
vessels wrecked and sunk, and allowed to remain there, so
that it was difficult for any vessel to pass, except in calm
weather and with a skilful pilot. (Hear.) We were also
aware that there were local interests that tended to thwart
what we believed to be the intentions of the Russian
Goverment. In the first place, there was rivalship on
the part of Odessa, where there existed a desire to obstruct
the export of produce by the Danube, and to direct it, if
possible, by way of Odessa. (Hear.) There were also those
little local interests which arise from the profits that
bargemen and lightermen, and persons of that class, make
by unloading the steamers that come down the Danube,
so as to enable them to pass the bar, reloading them
again outside the bar. These local eelings and in-
terests must have obstructed, without their being aware
of it, the good intentions of the Russian Govern-
ment, they have always promised they would take the most
effectual measures. They said they would send a steam.
dredge to carry away all the obstructions on the bar. The
steam-dredge came, and the steam-dredge worked, but
in two hours it was always put out of gear from some ac-
cident or other—(a laugh)—and they were obliged to go
back to Odessa for repairs. (A laugh.) We recommended
that the Russian Government should pursue the method
by which the Turk'sh Government kept the channel clear.
That method was a very simple one. They required every
vessel that went out of the Danube to tack to their stern
a good iron rake, and by that means the passage of each
vessel kept the channel clear, a depth of 16 feet being con-
stantly maintained. (Hear, hear.) I understand, that in
addition to the representations I made when at the Fo-
reign-office, constant and emphatic representations have
been made to the Russian Government on this subject, and
I hope that that Government, while they break throug h
those trammels which hitherto seem to have impeded their
proper action, will see that it is a positive duty which
they owe to Europe to maintain free and open that pas-
sage, which by force of arms, they obtained, and which
they believed themselves justified in retaining by the treaty
of Adrianople. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. LIDDELL directed the attention of the noble lord
to the second part of his question, which he had not
answered.

Lord PALMERSTON.—I apprehend the question of
the lion. gentleman relates to vessels which are now con-
fined within the Danube and the Russian territory for
want of water. If, by any misfortune, which I cannot
anticipate, war should arise between this country and
Russia, it would not be easy for a British ship of war to
get up to those vessels without water. (Laughter.)
BETTING-HOUSES.

In answer to Mr. A. PELLATT,
Lord. PALMERSTON said that a bill had been pre-
pared by the Attorney-General, which appeared well cal-
culated to attain the object of suppressing betting-houses
in the metropolis. Notice would bo given of it imme-
diately ; and he hoped there would be no difficulty in pas.
sing it into a law this session.

POSTAL ARRANGEMENTS.
Mr. WILSON, in answer to an hon. member, said that
arrangements had been made with the railway companies
for improving the postal communication with Maccles•
field and the neighbourhood.

COLONIAL POSTAGE.
In answer to Mr. HUME,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the
measure for reducing colonial postage had been pushed
forward with every possible expedition, and no time
would be lost in calving it into effect, as soon as the
necessary communications with the colonies had been
completed.

SMITHFIELD MARKET.
Sir B. HALL called attention to the act passed in 1851,
for the removal of Smithfield Market. He said, the
late Hoine-Secretary had approved of a plan submitted to
him by the corporation of London, with this exception,
that the area proposed by them, 50 acres, was not suffici-
ently extensive ; in consequence of which, it was extended
to 70 acres. He understood the corporation proposed to
let off a large portion of this ground on building leases ;
and he wished to know whether any communication had
been made to the government as to the area. they proposed
to allot for market space, and that which they proposed to
let off.

Lord PALMERSTON said no communication on that
subject had been made since he had been at the Home-
office. The act gave only one power to the Secretary of
State—to sanction, or to refuse to sanction, the site pro-
posed for the new market. That sanction once given, no
further power of interference was reserved by the act to
the Secretary of State. The act also empowered the cor-
poration to dispose of a portion of the land, i f it wero of a
greater extent than was required for their purposes.
MERCHANT SHIPPING BILL AND PILOTAGE

BILL.
Mr. CARDWELL, at the request of Mr. TOLLEMACHE,
fixed the committees on these bills for 12 o'clock on Tues-
day next. _ _

SUCCESSION RUTX,BILL.
a Mr. Chan-
cellor
moThnoeinghowuisethtthhe u
enwthentolianntsoo.conimittce on this bill, corn-
Afteorf
tahecoEnxvenhrseagtoioenr, hitnwe
Butt took part, the clause was agreed to with some verbal
amendments. hSioclhicijatorrlGHeneenFleayl, tnhde
On clause 43, which empowers the commissioners to
compel the production of books by accountable parties,
Mr. WALPOLE took soi.e objections to,the-eXtensive
nature of the powers there given.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER consented
to a modification.
Mr. MULLIN GS moved an amendment excepting title
deeds, muniments, and evidences of title. Ho referred to
cases where injury to the proprietor had arisen from title
deeds being produced and defects discovered.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that
he assented to the doctrine that they would not take power
to compel the production of any documents except such as
were ordinarily or frequently necessary to make out the
case for the amount of duty to be paid, and to show that
they were taking it from the right parties. It was impos-
sible for them not to take power to inspect documents
which would show what the property of the parties was.
With :egard to any danger that might arise from the in-
spection of title deeds as to the valiuity of the title to the
estate, he thought the danger was imaginary, because these
documents would only come under the view of public
officers who were responsible for the proper discharge of
their duties ; and the experience they had under the in-
come tax showed that there was no danger of secrets being
made known. (Hear.)
Sir G. STRICKLAND strongly, objected to. the power
which was given by this clause of obliging a man to take