The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-30 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS.

To-day the Irish Land Bill is announced for third
reading. The University Tests Bill will be taken in
committee. The Married Women's Property Bill will be
brought up for third reading. The debate on the Ballot Bill
and the debate on public schools will be resumed, and the
second reading of the Sligo and Cashel Disfranchisement
Bill will be moved. Touching the last named, how-
ever, Colonel French will ask that any decision
in the question may be postponed until a
redistribution of seats is made in Ireland. On
the same day he will ask the First Commissioner of
Works if it is true that the state in which Leicester-square
'kept arises from a disputed ownership ; and Mr.
Jones-Parry will interrogate Mr. Cardwell with respect
to the delays in the issue of New Zealand medals to
the 65th and 40th Regiments. Mr. Thomas Hughes
intends to question the Secretary to the Board of Trade
with a view to discovering what protection will be afforded,
to unpatented inventions of workmen which may be ex-
hibited at the International Exhibition of 1871. Mr,
Henley will call the attention of the House to the
rule or practice of ordering strangers to withdraw
from the House of Commons. The House will also go
into committee of supply, when several questions will be
asked with reference to the Navy Estimates. On Tuesday
Mr. Lambert will draw attention to the policy of Mr,
Lowe with regard to the reduction of the National Debt,
and will move that it is desirable that some decisive step
should be taken to reduce it. The Game Laws (Scotland)
Bill is fixed for second reading on Thursday. On Friday
the House will be occupied in going into Committee of
Supply, and in sitting in committee on the Mines'
Regulation and Inspection Bill.

There is some propability of the town of Barnsley
being shortly provided with public baths.
Senor Romero, the Mexican Secretary of State,
has issued a decree announcing the confiscation of Santa
Anna's estates. Treason is sometimes punished in
Mexico, bnt not as often as it might be.
Dr. John Sullivan, of Boston declared in the
Medical Convention convened at Washington that he
would not refuse admission to a duly accredited " ourang-
outang with a tail ten teet long." It is quite possible
that the intellect of such a quadrumaneous association
might vie with that of the members who refused admission
to coloured men.
A traveller, who demanded his trunk at a Bal-
timore depot before all others 'and was told by the Irish
baggage-master that he must have patience and wait his
turn, turned upon the baggage-master with " You're an
impudent dog ; to which he of the trunks replied, "An'
faith, ye are a monkey, and it's a great pity that when
we two were made bastes, ye wasn't made an illiphant,
so that ye could have yer blasted trunk under yer nose all
the time."
In the new bill for a re-arrangement of the stamp
duties a clause is contained to the effect that any coupon
or warrant for interest attached to and and issued with
any security entitling the holder thereof to receive any
sum of money amounting to £2 or upwards shall be
charged with a duty of one penny as a receipt. This is
attracting some attention in the Stock Exchange, since it
would apply to the coupons on Consol certifitates, &c.,
and it is urged that, as a matter of principle, the impost
would be a breach of the general engagement regarding
the public funds.
The telegraphic communication with India is at
present being carried on with even more regularity and
punctuality than by the Atlantic cables with America.
In the office of the Indo-European telegraph an ordinary
telegram was received at 2.20 p.m., the message dated
the same day 5.15 p.m., thus beating the sun by some
three hours, and the time occupied between Bombay and
London being under two hours. A message was also
received within a few minutes afterwards, dated Calcutta,
5.20 p.m. This arrived in London at 2.26 p.m., also
beating time by three hours, and occupying about the same
time in transmission. '
Some time ago, itwilibe remembered, the American
steamer Aspinwall was captured by a Spanish man-of-war,
off the coast of Cuba. A demand was promptly made for
her release, which was acceded to by the authorities at
Madrid. On Thursday, April 28th, the judge of the marine
court at Havana visited Captain Al‘Carthy of the Lloyd
Aspinwall, in company with the Americau consul and other
officials, and proposed to deliver tho vessel formally into
his bands. But the captain, who was detained as a prisoner,
refused to accept the vessel unless be had a guaranty that
all damage sustained since the capture should be paid. The
American consul urged him to accept the steamer, but he
positively refused to do so without the guaranty. The
Spanish officials stated that they were not empowered to
make any such guaranty, and the vessel was thereupon
delivered to the consul, who took possession in the name of
the United States. As the matter now stands, therefore,
the owners must look to the United States Government for
indemnity.