The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-01 00:00:00

CONVOCATION.

Sir J. PAKINGTON rose to ask a question relative
to Convocation. Having given the noble lord (Lord J.
Russell) notice of his question, he hoped to have a dis-
tinct answer to the question. He wished to ask whe-
ther Lord Aberdeen had given his consent to Convoca-
tion continuing its sittings, and whether, on the other
hand, if it was the intention of the Government to pre-
vent the transaction of business to-morrow ?
Lord J. RUSSELL said it was the usual course of
Convocation to be prorogued by the Bishops, and Lord
Aberdeen was of opinion that the prorogation of Convo•
cation should take place in the usual manner, and that
the interposition of the Crown should not take place
unnecessarily.
GREEK CHURCH IN TURKEY.

Correspondence respecting the Greek Church in Turkey
was laid on the table.

THE ADDRESS.

The SPEAKER then announced that the Commons had
been summoned that day to the House of Loris to hear
her Majesty's gracious speech, which the right hon.
gentleman then read to the house.
Lord CASTLEROSSE rose to move that a humble
address be presented to her Majesty, thanking her
for the gracious speech just read. The noble
lord appealed to the indulgence of the house,
which was never refused to one of its members
addressing them for the first time. He thought her
Majesty's Government were entitled to the thanks of the
country for the patience and forbearance which they had
exhibited during the last nine months in endeavouring to
prevent if possible the miseries of war. (Hear, hear.)
That delay had been productive of two good results. It
had given the people of this country an opportunity of
discussing the question fully and freely, and had afforded
our Government time to prepare a fleet unexampled in
the annals of this or any other country. (Hear, hear.)
He hoped the distress among the people alluded to in
the Royal Speech would be but temporary ; and with
regard to the promised measure of reform in the repre-
sentation of the people, he trusted it would be an effec-
tual check for the evils brought to light during
the last session of Parliament. The noble lord con-
cluded amid general cheering by reading the Address,
which was, as usual, an echo of the Royal Speech.
Mr. T. HANKEY seconded the motion. He felt
the 'indulgence of the house was needed by him, not
only on account of his inexperience in the practices and
usages of the house, but also by the vast importance of
the topics alluded to in the Royal Speech. (Hear, hear.)
Most undoubtedly the question of most immediate im-
portance alluded to in the Speech from the Throne was
the Eastern question, and if the messsago de-
livered that day by her Majesty as to their
' national resources was to be taken as an indication
of the imminence of war, it well became them to con-
sider how such an event would act upon the financial
and commercial affairs of this country. He would
briefly point out one or two striking differences as to
our position now and 1815. The reduction of taxation
since then amounted to no less than 13,000,0001. (Hear.)
This country had now enjoyed peace for nearly 40 years
—a peace which had enabled this country to develope
its vast resources and enabled every man to turn his
attention to that occupation which he deemed most
profitable to himself. It was owing to that peace
that the great and glorious work commenced by
Clarkson and Wilberforce had been consummated
and enabled Englishmen to say that on their soil slavery
could no longer exist. (Hear, hear.) The Ministers of
this country had made, and were still willing to
make great concessions to avoid the miseries
of war ; and as long as they felt negotia-
tions were likely to tend to an amicable result, they
would still do so ; but, if the sword must be un-
sheathed, the country will rise as one man, and show
that the best preparation for war is peace, and that the
time during which we enjoyed peace had not been lost.
The increase of the prosperity of this country was borne
out by the vast increase of London, of Liverpool, of
Manchester, of Glasgow, and the immense sum
invested in railroads, all which showed the great pro-
gress made by this country during the time it had en-
joyed the blessings of peace. He regretted the deficiency
in the last harvegt alluded to in the Royal Speech—a
calamity which was shared also by the neighbouring
country of France and several other continental nations,
though no doubt the price of grain had been
enhanced by.the scarcity of shipping, and the same cause
had also affected the poorer classes by enhancing the
price of coals. (Hear, hear.) With respect to the re-
form of the Universities, that question would
naturally come before this house, which had ever
shown itself so anxious to foster and promote the
cause of education in this country. Whenever
that question came before the house it would be dealt
with in a calm and wise spirit, which he trusted would
be participated in by the universities themselves.
(Hear, hear.) The hon. member read an extract from a
private letter from a gentleman now at Oxford, stating
that there was no use in blinking the question—the
University must be rendered such as would suit
the temper and the wishes of the times we live in.
(Hear.) After paying a graceful compliment to Sir R.
H. Inglis, lately one of the members for the University,
the hon. member said with regard to the intimation in
the Royal speech as to reform in our ecclesiastical courts,
he rejoiced that Government had now at last
found out that the time was come for an in-
quiry into the constitution and practices of those
courts. He rejoiced also that the time was near
at hand when, as to the law of divorce, the poor
man would be put on an equal footing with the rich
man. He rejoiced also that the law of settlement was
about to be revised, and he trusted it would be entirely
abrogated. He believed alteration might be necessary
as to the mode of appointing to the civil service ; but
he trusted, if a higher rate of talent was expected in the
public service, that a higher rate of remuneration would
be also decided on. With respect to the last topic in
her Majesty Speech—reform in the representation, he
believed the country at large looked for a large mea-
sure of parliamentary reform, and if that principle was
followed out it would prevent that corruption in the
constituencies, which at present was a disgrace to this
country, and almost to every man who had anything
to do with elections. (Hear, hear.) _

The Address having been read from the ch air,
Mr. BAILLIE rose, and said it was not his intention
to advert to all the topics referred to in the Speech from
the Throne, but he could not refrain from adverting to
the manner in which our foreign affairs had been conducted
during the last few months. It might be said that there was
not a fitting occasion to advert to so momentous a subject,
it might be said that they were not in possession of all
the information relating to it ; but he, for one, thought
when the subject involved the honour of the
country, no time could be too early for bring-
ing it before the house. (Hear, hear.) Besides, they
were not likely to get more information on the matter
of the Eastern question than they already enjoyed ; be
therefore could not allow a moment to elapse without
directing attention to the proceedings of the last
few months. He was not one of those who blamed
the Government for the struggles they had made
for securing the peace of Europe, but he blamed them for
not having pursued a more vigorous policy towards
Russia. If, instead of adhering to the antiquated policy
of endeavouring to preserve the balance of power in
Europe, they had adopted active and vigorous
measures to oppose Russia in the first onset
of the Eastern question, we should never have
heard a word about a war in Turkey. (Oh, oh.) At
all events, that was his opinion ; and he had the satis-
faction of knowing that people out of doors agreed
with him. (Hear, hear.) The movements of Prince
Menschikoff ought to have been met boldly in the first
instance, but, unfortunately, he was allowed to proceed
so far in his mission from Russia, that Turkey was
obliged to arouse the religious and political feelings
of her subjects, and the time came when this
country could not withdraw from an armed
support of Turkey without sacrificing her own
honour. England gave an assurance to Turkey which
induced her to resist the demands of Russia, and from
that moment England became bound to lend Turkey
an armed assistance. What was, then, the
course which the Government of this country pur-
sued ? They had recommended Turkey to adopt a
war policy, and they sent our fleet to Constantinople ;
but having done this, they neglected to carry out a vigor-
ous war policy, in the hope that half measures would
succeed in ridding U,5....0f the difficulty.. • It was,

I however, a blot on the honour of the country th „ t
I while Russia was blockading the Turkish ports in Of
Black Sea our ships of war should have been re-
maining at Constantinople. The Government ought
to have known from previous experience that no
half measures could meet a case like this. Ralf
measures had failed in the case of the Burmese war;
how could they succeed in the case of Turkish war •
Well, then, England, when she consented to advise
Turkey to resist the demands of Russia, ought
to have been ready to give her an efficient
armed assistance, though he was not quite sure whether
it would not have been better, in the first instance, to
have allowed Turkey to fall. We could not afford to part
with the friendship of Russia for the sake of securing
the independence of Turkey, for the time might come
when France, being in possession of Antwerp, would be
found to be a dangerous Power, requiring the assistance
of the Northern Powers to keep her in subjection. But
these were questions which would have to be discussed in
future, and again regretting the lukewarmness of the
past, he hoped, for the future, the house would insist
upon the Government being more vigorous in their ope-
rations. (Cheers.)
Mr. BLACKETT did not rise to prolong the discus-
sion of the Eastern question, but he wished to protest
against the system of concealment which the Govern-
ment had hitherto pursued with regard to its foreign Pe"
licy.

Colonel SIBTHORP could not regard the Speech, which
had been read by the Queen that day, as the Speech of the
Sovereign. He looked upon it as a sort of oranium
,theram—an olla podrida—which had been served up by
the Government in order to conceal their own iniquitous
proceedings.
Sir R. PEEL said he was glad that there was no opP°-
sition to be offered to the adoption of the Address in
answer to the Speech from the Throne ' • and he was Pre'
pared to support the policy of her Majesty's Goverr•
ment. He thought that he was giving expression 10
the sentiments of many when he said that the people
of this country were satisfied that the apparent delay:
and hesitation which had marked the interference of
her Majesty's Ministers in that momentous question, with'
out sacrificing one iota of the national dignity, had given
proof of that temperate judgment and that wise discrimi-
nation which afforded the happiest tests of their capacity
for government. (Cheers.)
Mr. HUME said he thought that the Government, bY
the secrecy which they had observed in conducting the
negotiations respecting the Eastei n
question, had not
shown sufficient confidence in the people. .He believed
that if they had placed greater faith in the public they
would have met with a greater amount of support in the
policy they had pursued. He would strongly recommend
that before any increase was made in the military- esta-
blishments of the country, care should be taken to call'
into effect the suggestions offered by Parliamentary com-
mittees for a more efficient mode of administering the
business of our army and navy. He hoped that the Go"
vernment would lose no time in laying before Parliament
all the documents relating to the Eastern question, an°,
affording the house and the country an opportunity cu
arriving at the most accurate conclusion upon the subject.
Mr. H. LIDDELL said he had rose specially for the
purpose of referring to that paragraph in the Speech from
the Throne which related to a further change in the nay"
gation laws. He was not prepared to say that the Govern'
meat might not have good grounds for recommending the,
proposed alteration ; and he could certainly conceive good
reasons for their taking the subject into consideration.
There was, for instance, the very high price of coals in the
metropolis, which had been caused in a great measure I?9_
the high charge of freightage. Another motive for the
policy which the Government were disposed to recom-
mend was the strike in the northern ports which had been
threatened a short time, but which had happily beer;
averted by the good sense of the men employed in the coal
_
trade in other ports. A further circumstance which might
be adduced in justification of that policy, was the refusal
of the United States to admit English shipping to any por-
tion of the carrying trade along their vast sea-board, 00
the ground that we had not thrown open our coastingt
trade. But while he made those admissions, he could not
certainly go so far as to say, with the hon. member for
Montrose, that the changes which had recently taken place
in our navigation code had been productive of nothing but
benefit, and had been attended with no evil or intone"
nience. He should feel that he was not duly performing
his duty upon that occasion if he did not call the attar
tion of the First Lord of the Admiralty to the grievous
calamity which had lately visited our shipping trade,
and to those recent losses at sea which we had s°
much reason to deplore. (Hear, hear.) He (the hen:
member) had received a letter from Liverpool that
very day, in which he was assured by the writer--t
gentleman of most competent authority on the subject of
navigation, that the loss of the splendid ship, the Tayleur
—one of the finest vessels ever launched, was caused bY
the inefficiency of the crew ; not inefficiency in a merely
numerical sense, but from the motley description of the
crew, composed as it was of Nubians, Lascars, an?.
Chinese ; men incapable of understanding the orders 01
the captain, and consequently incapable of executing them:
(Hear.) When, therefore, hon. gentlemen asserted- that
no inconvenience had arisen from the changes which had
taken,place in the navigation laws, he met them with the
fate of Tayleur, the Olinda, and other vessels, which had
been destroyed owine, to the inefficiency of their crews. In
corroboration of what he asserted, he might add he Was
informed that the insurances effected upon the Tayleur
had been disallowed at Lloyd's, in consequence of it aP'
pearing in evidence that she went to sea with an inefficient
crew. (Hear.) They should take warning from events
like these ; and he therefore entreated that, when her Ms
jesty's Government submitted their measure to the con-
sideration of Parliament in reference to the coasting trade;
they would not close their ears to the representations an'
recommendations of the different chambers of commeroZ
and associations of shipowners in the kingdom. (11035 E
He assured the Government, as the representative of I°'
first commercial port in the empire, that he was Pre-
pared to give the measure his very best consideration.
(Hoar, heir.) In his opinion the debate on the Speech
from the Throne had not, up to that moment,
received the attention and consideration to which it was
pre-eminently entitled. (Hear, hear.) He believed at n°
period of our history since the peace of 1815 had Parlia-
ment ever met under circumstances of such gravity, and
which might be followed by such momentous consequences,.
as at present. (Hear, hear.) Far be it from him to fin
°
fault with, or to censure, her Majesty's Government for,
their patience and moderation, however he might regret
the little prospect that remained of an amicable settlement
of the, question. Ho believed that Russia, whose colossal
power could not be over-rated, was only anxious to pro'
tract matters in order to concentrate her gigantic fore-5s
on the several points of the Bosphorus. (Hear, hear.) Ii
he did not presume too much on the attention of the house,
and as no hon. gentleman had as yet alluded to the powf
of the Russian Autocrat, be did not think the time ofthe
house would be unemployed by permitting him to call
attention to certain statements which referred to the con-
dition of Russia, and the power she w Is able to bring into
the field. According to that great historian, Sir Archibald
Alison, the total forces which made up the Russian army
of 1840, amounted to 800,000 infantry, 250,000 cavalry,
and 100,000 artillery. Why did he presume to refer to
that topic ? He did so with a double purpose, first, to
show that, whereas time being necessary to Russia to bring
up these forces, it was obvious there should be delay by
diplomacy ; and, secondly, to put the people of this country
on their guard against these negotiations, that they may
be prepared to confront that mighty power. (Hear, hear.)
He gave the Government credit for all they had done ; but
in calling attention to these matters, he felt he was merely
performing a conscientious duty ; and he hoped her Ma-
jesty's Ministers would not consider that it was even now
too late to amend the error into which they had fallen.
(Hear, hear.)
Mr. Sergeant SHEE said he did not rise to disturb the
unanimity that prevailed in reference to the Address moved
in reply to the Speech of her Majesty. He was glad to see
the measures of reform which had been announced, but he,
regretted it became his duty to advert to what he consi-
dered a serious and unpardonable omission in the Royal
Speech—he referred to the absence of all allusion- to Ire'
land. (Hear, hear.) He hoped the right hon. baronet
opposite (Sir J. Young) would give them some assurance.
(Hear, hear.)
Sir J. YOUNG thought the hon. and learned gentle-
man had arrived too hastily at the conclusion that her
Majesty's Ministers had abandoned the measure of land-
lord and tenant. No doubt they took for the basis of their
legislation the measures proposed by the hon. and learned
gentleman opposite, and he for one would never hesitate to
give him that credit to which he was fairly entitled. Ire
believed that those bills were framed with great care,
with admirable skill, and with a due regard to the int&
rests of both landlord and tenant. The bill of the right
hon. gentleman would be sent up to the House of Lords,
would be introduced and discussed there, and he trusted
that statement would satisfy the hon. and learned gentle-
man that the Government is honest in its intention of pro-
posing
wise and safe, and he hoped beneficial, legislation
for Ireland. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. DIGBY SEYMOUR begged to thank the Govern-
ment for the intimation they had given of their intention to
open the coasting trade, as well as the foreign. When the
coasting trade was thrown open, complete freedom of men
and ships would be the law of the mercantile marine of
this country. That would be a boon acceptable not only
to the borough he had the honour to repreient, but to
everybody. During the past year the progress of ship-
building in the port of New York and of Sunderland were
shown to be in favour of the latter, Sunderland having
built 65 more ships, with a tonnage beyond those of New
York of 22,256 tons. He believed their legislation tended
to increase the character, style, and fitting of their ships.
The average tonnage of the vessels built in the Wear in
1851 was 211 tons, while the average of the vessels in the
last year was 212 tons. He therefore drew the inference
that the effect of their recent legislation was to give an im-
petus to a better and higher class of shipping, and to attract
the attention of shipbuilders to the foreign instead of the
coasting trade. He thought that those who still called out
for protection would find it in the bettersecurity these ships
enjoyed while waiting for winds; and another natural pro-
tection was the skill and ability required in the manage-
ment of the coasting trade; and these placed them in a po-
sition of advantage over all foreigners. So far as ship-
building was concerned, the last knell of protection had
been rung, and a now era introduced under the auspices of
her Majesty's Government, who, while preserving the
dignity of them Crown and the security-of the empire abroad,
were encourgg useful and peacefal reforms, as well as an
enlarged commercial legislation, at home.
Mr. W. FACIAN, Mr. HADFIELD, and Mr. PHILLIKORE,
having severally addressed the house,
Mr. DISRAELI—Sir, I think that the resolution to which
the house has come, not to enter into any discussion with
respect to that great question of foreign policy which now
agitates the nation until her Majesty's Government have
laid the documents relating to it upon the table, is a very
wise and judicious resolution, and I will not attempt in
any way to act in a different spirit. At the same time it
is, I think, always our duty, when her Majesty makes a
gracious Speech, to take care that it does not pass unno-
ti.::ed by those to whom it is addressed. Now, sir, I may
remind the house that when Parliament was prorogued
last autumn, her Majesty informed us she had reason to
believe that the negotiations which her Government were
then carrying on would be crowned with success, and even
immediate success. The noble lord the Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs described, in another house, the cha-
racter of the measures which ho believed would achieve
this desirable end. He stated, a few days before the pro-
rogation of Parliament, that we might consider that the
question which had so long been in controversy between
Russia and the Ottoman Porte, and which had so much
agitated the feelings of England and of Europe,
was in fact
arranged. I am obliged to speak from memory of the
general tenour of the noble lord's obserfations, but I think
lam not misstating them, The noble lord Scla 911 last