The Sun.
London, England, 1853-04-15 00:00:00

HOP DUTIES.

In reply to Mr. M. SMITH,
Mr. WILSON said the returns of the acreage of hops
in Kent had been found to be incorrect, but the Govern-
ment could not be held responsible for the mistake, be-
cause the returns werr dependent upon those of the
parish officers. In one case the return had been made
six acres, whereas it ought to have been eighty and
three quarters. Great difficulty was experienced in ob-
taining correct returns owing to the desire of the growers
to keep them as low as possible.
KOBbri

Sir J. WALMSLEY wished to ask a question of the
noble lord the member for the City of London relative
to an illustrious exile whose house it, was stated in a
morning print, had been entered by the police, and a
large store of arms and ammunition found in it. He
wished to ask if that report was true, and also whether
the Government had given any assurances to the Austrian
Government on the subject.
Lord PALMERSTON said the facts were these. It
was reported to the Government that in a house at
Rotherhiths there was concealed a quantity of arms
and ammunition, and in due time a warrant was issued
by a magistrate for searching the house. Upon search
being made, a large quantity of rockets, not such as
those used at Vauxhall—(a laugh)—but such as were
required for warlike purposes were found, besides 200
shells not yet loaded, a considerable quantity of arms,
and 5001bs. of gunpowder. (Hear, hear.) These of
course had been seized, and steps would be to pro-
secute the offenders ; not with the view of satisfying
the ends of public justice and the wishes of the Aus-
trian Government, but prevenfng the generosity which
this country extended to political exiles from being
abused.

Mr. T. DIINCOMBE said the statement of the noble
lord was calculated to excite a good deal of unnecessary
alarm both in and out of the house ; but the fact was,
the statement in the Times, so far as it related to M.
Kossuth, was an entire fabrication from beginning to
end. The real truth of the case was this, the house
which had been broken into was no private residence
at all, but a warehouse which had been used for the pur-
pose of manufacturing rockets for the last six years, if
the Government was aware of this, and now that an
illegal act had been committed by the polio, they were
anxious to ride off by stating that the search was made
under the authority of the Customs. But the matter
would have to be investigated by a Court of Law—and
it was rediculous to talk about it being a political affair
at all.

Mr. BRIGHT wished to demand an explicit answer
to this question. Was there reason to believe that M.
Kossuth could be at all connected with the discovery
which was alleged to have been made ? Be the opinions
of that gentleman what they might, his character must
be dear to him, and, as he had once or twice had the
honour of standing upon a platform with that illustrious
man, he wanted to know if anything had been discovered
to implicate him in this transaction.
Lord PALMERSTON was really unable to answer
the question, but he had no wish to cast imputations
upon any one, but as the hon. member seemed to know
so much of d. Kossuth perhaps the question which had
come from him ought to have been answered by himself.
Mr. T. DUNCOMBE said this was mere subterfuge.
Would the noble lord answer this question—was the
noble lord aware that these premises had been used for

the manufacture of these rockets for the last six years ?
The truth was, that not an ounce of powder had been
found upon these premises, while the ammunition in
question had over and over again been offered for sale
to the Government. The rockets were patented, and
the Government had long been aware of their existence.
(Hear, hear.)
Lord PALMERSTON said it was perfectly true that
the premises had been occupied by the same party for
six years, and during that period they had been used for
the manufacture of these rockets. (Cheers.)
Lord D. STUART deprecated the habit which the
noble lord at the head of the Foreign-office appeared to
fall into when such questions as these were asked, of
turning them into ridicule. It was a habit which was
making the noble lord very unpopular with the public,
and the sooner he discontinued it the better. He was
authorised by M. Kossuth to state that he knew nothing
whatever of the discovery which had been made, nor was
he in any way connected with it. (Cheers.)
Lord PALMERSTON had made no imputations
against any one, nor was he prepared to make any.
(Cheers.)

Mr. AGLIONBY said he was glad that the noble
lord had made this admission.

It was then agreed that the house at its rising should
adjourn until Monday.

AFFAIRS OF INDIA.
Mr. J. PHILLIMORE wished to ask the President
of the Board of Control, whether any steps have been
taken to investigate the charges made by Hudall Seth
of Bellungury, 11th July, 1850, at Agra, against Mr.
C. B. Denison, and his immediate superior Mr. qulAins
the joint magistrate and magistrate of Agra I; Alla

whether those gentlemen still hold official situations in
India.

Sir C. WOOD said the matter was still under inves-
tigation by officers who had been- appointed for the
purpose by the Governor-General.
Mr. OTWAY wished to ask the President of the
Board of Control whether he had received intelligencee
of the dismissal of two Judges of the Sudder Adaulut by
the Bombay Government; and, if so, whether he would
inform the house of the cause of the dismissal of those
high officials ?
Sir C. WOOD said he had received some information
on the subject ' • but he should not feel justified in dis-
closing it until after the arrival of the next mail.
AUSTRALIAN MAIL.

Mr. MUNTZ wished to ask the Firgt Lord of the
Admiralty, whether the steam-ship Osmanli had not put
back to Liverpool in a leaky state, and whether the
mails she was to have carried for the Cape of Good Hope
had not been transferred to the General Screw Com-
pany's ship Indiana, to sail fur the Cape and Calcutta
to-morrow : what arrangement, if any, has been now
made for the carriage of the mails to Australia ; are they
to he taken by the Argo, belonging to the Screw Steam
Company, which ship sails on the 4th day of May ?
Sir J. GRAHAM said, with regard to the first ques-
tion, it was quite true what the hon. member had stated;
but, with regard to the second question, all that he could
state was that the whole matter was now undergoing a
thorough investigation by the Post-office authorities.
ARTERIAL DRAINAGE.

In reply to CAPTAIN DUNNE, •
Sir J. YOUNG said the subject of introducing arte.
rial drainage into Ireland was now under the considera-
tion of the Irish Government.

JEWISH DISABILITIES.
On the order of the day, for the third reading of the
Jewish Disabilities Bill,

A large number of petitions were presented against the
measure.

Lord D. STEWART presented a:petition from the
members of the Jewish Synagogue of West London in
favour of the bill.

Similar•petitions were preseoted by Mr. B. Osborne,
Mr. Cobden, Mr. Hindley, and Mr. Whalley.
Mr. C. BRUCE rose to protest against the passing of
the bill, and was

[LEFT SPEAKING.]

THE LONDON GAZETTE

(THIS EVENING.

CROWN OFFICE, APRIL 14.
MEMBER RETURNED TO SFRVE IN THIS PRESENT
PARLIAMENT.

Borough of Laficaster.—Thomas Greene, of Whitting-
ton-Hall, in the county palatine of Lancaster, in the room
of Robert Baynes Armstrong, Esq., whose election has
been adjudged void.