The Sun.
London, England, 1870-02-18 00:00:00

BOMBAY MILITARY FUND•

Mr. DICKINSON asked the Under Secretary of State for
India whetherat the time when the Bombay Military Fund was
transferred to Government in 1866 the then directors of the
fund did not contemplate raising widows' pensions to the
rate at which they stood p►ior to the reduction in 1831 ; and
whether the fund was not in a position to justify such la,
crease ; or, if the state of the fund had not yet been ascer-
tained, when did he expect that it would be?
Mr. OT WAY said the Government had no information
on the first part, and the other part of the question wact
now being considered by Sir Samuel Brown.
EXPENSES AT ELECTIONS.

Mr. W. BEAUMON T asked the bon. member for DI ighton
it he intended to proceed this session with his Parliamen-
tary Election Expenses Bill ?

Mr. FAWCETT said he should not bring in the bill until
the select committee now sitting on election matters had
made its report.

GENERA LS OF MARINES:

Colonel FRENCH asked the First Lord of the Admiralty
_Wiath.o/-t4Q-gi=ga_PiXoxiaa 94_thur,tiulis6.ma to

be included in the retirement about to come out for AdMiials
on that list; and, if not, for what reason were they to ho
excluded ?

Mr. CHILDERS hoped the hon. and gallant member
would not press him to anticipate the statement he would
have to mako on Monday week.

SPANISH WINES.

Mr. AKROYD asked the Under Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs if any communications had been received
from the Portuguese or Spanish Governments, making over-
tures for the negotiation of a treaty of commerce with one or
other of those countries, offering a reduction of the tariffs
on the importation of British goods, provided some recipro-
cal advantages be given for the importation of Spanish and
Portuguese wines; and, if so, if he would lay such corres-
pondence upon the table of the House?
_ _

Mr.OTWAY said communications had been received, and
the Government wore to come to some arrangement on the
subject. The matter was now under consideration.

MARRIAGE LAWS.

Mr. B. HOPE asked the hon. member for Marylebone
whether, considering the important collateral considerations
raised by his bill for legalising marriage with a deceased
wife's sister, he would fix some Wednesday for the Com-
mittee, on which the question could be discussed in all its
bearings?

Mr. CHAMBERS said he was anxious to give time for
the discussion of the bill, and therefore would defer the com-
mittee until to-morrow, but he complained that its opponents
had last year addressed the House on the measure, not ad-
ducing arguments against its principle, but simply rising
for the sake of putting obstacles in the way of its pro-
gress.

LNTERRUPTION OP TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICA-

TION.

In reply to Mr. BAINES,
The Marquis of HARTINGTON said that to-day the tele-
graphic wires were working very much Later than
they had done during the last few days. When last
he was interrogated on this subject, he indulged in the
anticipation that within a very few days the cause
of the delay in the transmission of messages would be
removed, thinking that they arose chiefly, if not solely,
from the organisation which had just taken place with re-
gard to the management cf the telegraphs. The present
cause was the state of the weather, which, of course, was
altogether beyond human control. So much had the wires
been affected by the weather that during the last few days
they had been almost entirely useless. Between Manches-
ter and London, out of seven wires, only two yesterday
could be used. There was only one working for the greater
part of the day between London and Dublin, and between
Scotland and London the 68E13 state of things occurred,
The engineers had assent' him that this inconvenience fre-
quently occurred under the old system, but since 1866 they
bad never kr . u the inconvenience to be so serious.
Besides this, since the collection of Parliamentary
intelligence and general news had been left to other
organisations, for transmission to country newspapers, such
was the quantity of matter loured into the telegraph
offices that it was utterly impossible with the present ma-
chinery to transmit it all. U, til some arrangement was
come to by which such a state of things should be remedied,
it was on the authority of Mr. Scuclamoro quite impossible
that the Government and Post Office could give entire satis-
faction.