The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-13 00:00:00

THE BLOCKADE OF LA PLATE.

Mr. T. BARING inquired whether the Noble Lord
the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was
prepared to state the present position of the negotia-
tions with the Government of France on the subject
of the French blockade of the River Plate, and
whether there was any prospect of a speedy removal
of the blockade ?
Lord PALMERSTON said that the Government
had been in communication with the Government of
France on the subject ; and recently he had been
engaged with the Duke de Broglie
.in preparing in-
structions to be sent out to the British and French
representatives on the subject ; and he had no doubt
that upon the arrival of those instructions a speedy
termination would be put to the long continued

Mr. DISRAELI wished to know who was .her
Majesty's representative at the River Plate ?
Lord PALMERSTON was understood to say that
Captain Gore would act as such. At present there
was no official representative there.
SWITZERLAND.
Mr. J. O'CONNELL wished to ask the Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs whether he had received
official information of the decrees of the Provisional
Governments of the cantons of Friburg and Lu-
cerne, banishing fur ever the Jesuits, the Liguorians,
the Brothers of the Christian Doctrine, the Ursiline
Nuns, the Sisters of Providence, and other denomina-
tions of religious, male and female, under pretence of
their being affiliated to the Jesuits ; also, confiscating
their entire property, and annulling any and every
provision which they might m
have
made of it during
nearly two months previous to the surrender of Friburg
and Lucerne. Also, whether the Noble Lord had
received official information of the enormous demands
made upon the cantons of the Sonderbund for the
expenses of the war, one million of francs being
demanded by the 20th instant, and two millions more
within a brief space afterwards, besides other
charges and exactions ; and whether, considering
these acts of a tyrannous majority in Switzerland,
theinsults and outrages to the clergy and the religion
of the minority, the extreme persecution and plan-
dering of individuals among that minority, whose only
crime was to discharge faithfully the duties imposed
upon them by their fellow citizens, an urgent case
has not arisen for the intervention of the Powers who
guaranteed in 1815 the cantonal independence of
Switzerland.

Lord PALMERSTON said that the Government
had received official information from Friburg of the
intention to banish the Jesuits, and certain other
religious orders supposed to be connected with them.
The Government had not received any official account
of any similar intention on the part of Lucerne, or
the other states. With respect to the -amount of the
levies for the expense of the war, the Government
had also not received any official information. With
respect to the latter part of the question, there did
not appear to her Majesty's Government, in the pre-
sent state of things, any grounds upon which the

powers that were parties to the treaty would be jus-
tified in interfering in the matter.
RETIRING ALLOWANCES (ARMY).
Lord A. LENNOX wished to ask the Secretary
at War whether it was his intention to extend the
benefit of the retiring allowance of ten-twelfths of
full pay to regimental surgeons and paymasters,
which has been granted by the royal warrant of May,
1846, to veterinary surgeons and quartermasters.
Mr. FOX MAULE stated the subject was under
dr,. consideration of her Majesty's Government.
SWITZERLAND.

Dr. BOWRING wished to know whether the Go-
vernment had received any dispatches from Berne,
containing any account of the proceedings of the
Diet which could justify the lion. Member for Lime-
rick (Mr. J. O'Connell) in speaking in such violent
terms of their conduct ?

Lord PALMERSTON said that the dispatches
received from Berne did not contain the details of
any of those acts :of violence which had appeared
in some accounts of the transactions referred to.
INDIA.

Viscount JOCELYN moved for a return of
Europeans in the military or civil employment of
any of the native States of India, with the amount of
salary paid to each individual.—Agreed to.
POOR-LAW (IRELAND.)
Mr. P. SCROPE wished to know whether any
returns relative to the working of the poor-law
passed in the last session would be placed upon the
table of the House before its rising.

Sir W. SOMERVILLE said— that the returns
were in a forward state, and he had no doubt that
they would be ready to be placed in the hands of
Hon. Members before the rising of Parliament.