The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-14 00:00:00

Mt SIM LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 14, 1870.

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, contestable. Hon. members "blamed and protested,
but shared in the plan." They submitted with what
grace they could, and went on with their dr,ary work.
All in vain. Zhe Land Bill is interminable, and so
is not the patience of Parliament. or the publ:c ?
It may very fairly Le asked whether, when mem-
bers rewsemble after their brief and hard-won
holiday a little more energy cannot be infused
into the work ; whether private members may
not be induced to be more sparing in their speeches,
less eager to engross the time of the house on ques-
tions of local or secondary importance. The debate
on the Land Question cannot be uninterrupted, but
if there was a general desire to help it instead of
hindering it, the wheels of the State coach
would turn a little faster, Again, members
who have any of the 320 amendments
on the list may surely be gently asked to reconsider
their proposed refornv, and see whether " le jeu-
vant la chandelle," whether all the amendments are of
really vital importance. A perfect measure would
be a vely desirable thing no doubt, but unluckily it
is likely to take a little more time in preparation
than the nineteenth century can well spare to any
one question, however engrossing or important.

CAPTURE OF ENGLISHMEN BY. BRIGANDS

A telegram, dated Athens, April 12, sent through
Mr. Reuter's office, states that thirty brigands, after
a conflict with Bens d'armes, have seized two Secre-
taries of Legation—one Englishmln and the other
Italian ; three English travellers and two women.
The brigands released the women, but kept the m
—for whom they expected a heavy ransom—in their
custody.
Another telegram, dated Athens, April 12, trans-
mittedby Mr. T. Cook, states that Lord Manchester
( ? Lord Mandeville), Mr. Voner, Mr. Lloyd, Mr.
Herbert, Secretary of the English Legation at
Athens, and one of the Secretaries of the Italian
L-gation, were taken by brigands at Marathon yes-
terday. Two ladies who had been arrested were
liberated. The ransom demanded for the rrisouers
is £2,000. Cook's party reported all safe.

(kri'a
Oral Tar

lIER MAJESTY.

WINDSOR CASTLE, April 13.

The Queen, accompanied by their Royal High-
nesses Princess Louise, Prince Leopold, and Princess
Bea'rice, left the Castle this afternoon at hal-past
3 o'clock for Osborne.

The Prince of Wales rode out, atten&•d by Major
Grey, yesterday.
The Princess of Wales, atten led by the Hon.
Mrs. St'inor, drove ou►t yesterday.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REU"'ER'S TELEGRAMS.)

SPAIN.

MADRID, April 13.

Tho Epoca of to-day sates that numerous; priQstg
refuse to take the oath to the Constitution, and ad-
vises the Government to avoid the app(alanee of

persecution.

The merchants of Madrid have e'ectA a commit' ee
in order to draw up a pro'eA against the new tariff

for licenseq.

El Diario EBpagnol pretinis to have information
that Cuban money was the principal stimuLint of the
recent outbreak at Grac.a.

The I emps asserts that the crssolution of the
Cortes has been postpone)
___

The rumour curreut that Senor Rivcro would
shortly resign his seat in the Cabinet, and that the
formation of an exclusively Progressibt Ministry
would follow appears to be unfounded.

FRANCE.
BOURSE, April 13.—Three o'clock—The market
closed as follows :

per Cent.
per Cents 73 67
End.of month 73 72f
r)rodit Mobilier 270
Transatlantic 205
.;redit Foncier 1282 50
Paris Gas 1715
Suez Canal 315

Bank Shares 2817 so
Itsizan rives 55 45
Austrian Fives
Ottoman Loan
Do. Debt 4B 15
Spanish Threes
Home Debt —.
Deferred —.
Cash
Orleans
....
Western
Northern ... ...... 1180
Strasburg • • 615
Lyons and Mediterranean
Southern..... 6071
Sardinian
Austrian 795
Lombard 433
North of Spain 65
Saragossa ...... 82
Roman 49

RAILWA'

INDIA.
GiLLE, April 13 (Afternoon).
11.R.11. the Duke of Edinburgh has met with the
most cordial reception from all classes in Ceylon.
A ball has been given in honour of his Royal
Highness, at which 1,500 guests were present.
Two elephant kraals have taken place, and fifty
animals were captured.
11.M.5. Galatea will proceed afterwards to Am-
tralia.

AMERICA.
(By Cable).
WASHINGTON, April 13.

The Special Joiut Congressional Commi*tee have
agreed to report favourably on Washburne's Postal
Telgraph Bill, placing the telegraph lines under. the
control of the Post Office Department.
The passage of this bill is, however, considered
doubtful.

NEW YORK, April 13.
The Cunard steamship Cuba arrived here at 2
a.m. to-day

North German Lloyd steamer Hermann ar-
lved here at 4 B.M to-day.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
CLOSING PRICES.

Gold closed at 1121 ; the highestquotation during the day
was 112/ ; the lowest, 1121.
Sterling Exchange on London
.5-20 U. S. Bonds, 1882
11 1885
17 1867 . 1091
10-40 „
4
•
Illinois
Erie '
Cotton--Mid. upland
Petroleum—Standard White
Flour—Extra ' State, $4 40c. to $5 Oc. Corn—Uld
mixed, $1 9c.

CANADA.
ToßoNro, April 13

In consequence of the apprehended Fenian raid the
16th Regiment left for the Eastern ftoutier
afternoo:i, and the London Ontario 11,!:d battery has
been ECht to the S,. Clair River:•

OtTAwA, April 13.
It i 8 stated that a irL.asure su peildirg the Hal)eas
Corpus Act will to passed by the Dominion Ilous
of Commons to-day, and will i.ciive the GovernorL
General's immediate aesent.

On Monday (Easter Monday) the Stock Exchange
will be closed, that being one Of the fixed holidays of the
establishment.

SKETCHES IN PARLIAMENT.

tV EDNESDAY.

On Monday afternoon an hon. member asked Mr.
Gladstone if it was intended that the house should ad-
journ on the following day at seven and reassemble at
nine. Members were immensely relieved, and stewed
relief in a burst of cheers and laughter, when the Premier
replied " the House will adjourn at any hour that it thinks
fit." M.P.'s must have been as great blunderers as
the sporting prophets if they did not understand
what that meant, if they were not prepared to lay any
odds that there would be a count out. Had there been
any doubt at-all on the matter it must have been set at
rest by a glance at the notice paper. For instance there
was a motion to be moved, and a speech to be made about
the patent laws. Now patents may be very bad things,
but long speeches are worse, especially in sight of the
holidays, and so Mr. Macfie must have known long before
he rose that he was fore-doomed to extinction. Never-
theless, there was a very animated debate before that
painful event happened. The House met at 2.30, and the
first quarter of an hour was occupied in catechising. At
a quarter to five Mr. Gladstone moved that the House at
its rising do adjourn till the 25th. Thereupon up rose a
tall and spare gentleman, with a bald head, compensated
for by a beard that reached down to his waist, and proceeded

to complain of the conduct of the Government. Who was he'

He rose from the Liberal benches ; was he, too, one of the
" cavernous " members whom the Spectator has recently
christened, and the Daily Telegraph has just rebuked ?
Not at all. It is Sir Wilfrid Lawson, a genuine Liberal,
if there ever was one, and a hearty supporter of Mr.
Gladstone. But he has a grievance, and one that
is not without some just ground. It is, that
while the Gdvernment is introducing measure after
measure it has neglected to introduce its licensing bill.
Last year, said the member for Carlisle, a large number of
members voted against the Permissive Bill, solely
because the Home Secretary had promised to introduce a
bill of his own, and when these members went down to
their constituents, and were asked why they had so voted.
this was the only excuse they had to offer. The Irish
Land Question was doubtless very important, but it
affected only one part of the kingdom. The
Education Bill was a measure that ought to be
passed : but education was no protection against
drunkenness. University Tests constituted a
matter in which a small section of the community were
interested; but what was its importance to the community
compared with that of the licensing question, which
affected every class, and especially the poor? Were the
poor of this kingdom to be told that while the Govern-
ment found time to legislate for young gentlemen betaking
themselves to Oxford and Cambridge, it had no time to
rescue working men and their families from the misery
in which the liquor traffic involved them? Sir Wilfrid
then paid the new member for East Devon a compliment
by referring to his election speech, in which Mr. Ken-
naway insisted on the importance of dealing with the
liquor traffic, and of converting it from a curse into a
blessing. Ido not believe that that is possible, added Sir
Wilfrid. But the Government believes that it is, and it
is bound to produce its measure, or else to let the associa-
tions formed for the purpose of putting this traffic down
do the work in their own way. The member for Carlisle
concluded a twenty minutes' speech with a powerful appeal
to the Government not to postpone this matter any longer.
Up rose Mr. Peter Rylands, Mr. Bernal Osborne, and
Sir Selwyn Ibbetson. The last was selected by the
Speaker, and after a few words he was succeeded
by the member *for Waterford. He is looking a
great deal older than when I heard him at Liskeard some
years ago, in fact he is beginning to appear quite the
elderly gentleman, and his jokes have no longer the
brilliancy that they used to have. Perhaps the shine was
taken out of them in the Waterford water-butt. But Mr.
Osborne's voice is as strong as ever, and it rang
through the House as he denounced the idea
of introducing any fresh measures this session. He
then proceeded to castigate members all the way round,
though in a thoroughly good-humoured manner. He
rallied them upon their " thirst for information," which
made thdm occupy an hour or an hour and a half of every
evening in. asking questions. Formerly, he said, it was
only the Members for large towns who used to put ques-
tions, but now there is no borough, however insignificant
and: miserable, whose member does not snake a speech
undue the pretence of asking a question. Then let
M.P.'s look at the course pursued with regard to the
Land Bill. It was met with open hostility on the
Opposition benches, and by " most inconvenient support"
from members on the Liberal benches who had been Judge-
Advocate-Generals, and so forth, in former administre.-
tiow. The House laughed at this sally against Mr.
Headlam. I foresee, continued Mr. Osborne, such a
slaughter of the Innocents as has never been witnessed
before. Already there are hon. members engaged in
setting up the tombstone and writing the epitaph of the
Education Bill. Mr. Osborne concluded by protesting
against any further measures being introduced during that
sesdon, and by urging the Government to devote all its
energies to the passing of the Land Bill.

Once more Mr. Rylands got up, but he was met by loud
cries of " Bruce," and the Home Secretary then ex-
plained the course that he meant to tro He
did not altogether abandon the hope of introducing the
Licensing Bill, but he was not sanguine as to the possi-
bLity of passing it. He then cut a small joke about the
advisability of hon. members practising total abstinence
it their talk, and concluded by stating his intentions
with regard to the Mines Bill. Mr. Beresford Hope
followed, and in his usual grotesque style entreated
the Government to pass the Education -Bill this year.
Then rose Mr. Mundella, black-bearded like Sir Wilfrid
Lawson, but not, like him, bald-headed, and he delivered
a fierce philippic against the Conservative party for their
opposition to the Land Bill. Hereminded the House, in a
voice increasing in loudness and vehemence with
every word, that they had passed only one and a
half clause of the Irish bill, that there were only twelve
Government nights before Whitsuntide, and that nothing
had been done with regard to the estimates ; and then,
waxing still more fierce, he shook his long fingers
against the opposite benches, especially against Lord
Claud Hamilton, for having talked against time last
week so as to prevent any progress being made in
the Land Bill, and warned him that he was
imperilling the very existence of his class by his factious
conduct. Then he went on to speak of . the Education
Bill, and implored the Government to pass it, for the
Liberal party were fully prepared to support it. A soli-
tary " No" from the bench-behind him made Mr. Mun-
della turn round to see who had uttered it, and finding
that it was Mr. Potter, M.P. for Carlisle, he added the
measure does not suit him, nothing but secular educa-
tion ever will satisfy him, and that, said Mr. Mun-
della, with a shout "you never will have." The atmos-
phere was now getting rather heated, and Lord Elcho was
not quite the man to cool it. He is the most consummate
of dandies. Buttoning his coat and folding his arms, as
though he were a sculptor's model, he proceeded to take
Mr. Mundella clown, and told him in Parliamentary
phrase that he was an upstart, a humbug,
and an impertinent fellow, and he ought to
keep in his own place, and not come lecturing
noblemen. The vanity of this particular nobleman was
so absurd as to be amusing rather than annoying, and the
member for Sheffield took his punishment with a smiling
face.. Lord Elcho felt it to be his duty also to defend the
Conservative party and Mr. Headlain, whom he held up
as a true follower of that hero of Lord Elcho's admira-
tion, the late Lord Palmerston. He exhorted the Con-
servatives and the "weak-kneed" Liberals to continue
their opposition to the Land Bill, seeing that it was a
dangerous attack upon the rights of property.
It was time now for Mr. Gladstone to interpose. re
did so with perfect good humour. He laushingly
regretted that after he had agreed to let the House have a
fortnight'S relief froM the Irish Land Bill, it should have
been brought up again ; and he spewed great tact in
recommending to the. Opposition the example of one of
their most esteemed members (Sir John Pakington, who
subsequently acknowledged the compliment, but defended
his party in their much talking). He, of all men; had
most right to speak on the education question,
yet he had kept silence in order that progress might
not be delayed. Mr. Gladstone then warned Lord Elcho
that the conduct of himself and sours of thosa whom
he had defended was far more dangerous to the rights of
property than any measure which the Government had
brought forward. He then referred to what had been said
on the l'iepsing question, and added that if the House was,
as had been said, overworked, the fault was with Alit
assembly which had endeavoured by every means in its
power to add to the labours already imposed upon it.
He concluded with a cheery expression of
confidence that if honourable members would
exercise some degree of self-command after Easter
the Government would be able to accomplish all
that could be reasonably expected of it. Mr. Peter Taylor
entertained no such hope. Dark and louring, he rose
and demanded why the Prime Minister did not insist tenon

sitting through the :Easter holidays, and threaten to sit
till October, if that should be necessary to get through the
business. He himself had proposed, to make the House a
eal working assembly by paying members, but his motion
had been defeated, and he asked hon. members
with what face they could go down to their con-
stituents with a Coercion Bill and a clause and
and a-half of the Land Bill. They will be very glad to
see us, said Mr. Neville-Grenville, especially when they
hear that we have been sitting up night after night and
working double tide. An hour and a-half had now nearly
been spent in discussing the state of public business,
and members were beginning to think that they
were scarcely expediting it by their talking
when up rose the Whalley amid a chorus of " oh's." He
was not to be put down, however, and so hon. members
fled en masse while he declared that he would use every
means which the forms of the House would permit to
oppose denominational education. At a quarter past four
Sir J. Lawrence made a speech about the house duty,
which few members were there to hear. Then
came notices of motions. Then sugar and guns, then
the patent laws, and then the order for release. Sonie hon.
member and public benefactor crept up to the Speaker,
and suggested that there were not forty members present.
The Speaker, nothing loth, took the hint, counted, and
found that the suggestion was well founded, for
there were only twenty-five. So the House was
counted out, and adjourned for the holidays. I wish
I• knew who was the philanthropist that released: us.
He deserves to be immortalised in undying verse,
or, better still, to be returned free of expense at all future
elections to the illustrious assembly wheieto he has been
so great a benefactor.