The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-10 00:00:00

RUSSIAN TRADE.

Mr. J. ENVA.RT asked the First Lord of the Trea-
sury whether it would be practicable to endeavour to
make arrangements with the Russian Government for
the removal of vexatious restrictions imposed upon
British Traders in Russia ; more particularly the regu-
lation of the Guilds as to the buying and re-selling of
imports and exports.
Lord PALMERSTON said he was quite aware that
the internal regulations of Russia were very unfavourable
to commerce, and jhat they had given cause of com-
plaint to foreigners. (Hear, hear.) kier Majesty s
Government would, however, take every opportunity
of pressing for the establishinent of a more liberal
system of commerce in Russia, but at the present time
when negotiations were going on it was not, he thought,
the most fitting moment to enter on the subject. The
hon. member might rest assured that the subject should
not escape the attention of Government.
DUCATION.

Lord J. RUSSELL said that the hon. member fur
the West Riding of Yorkshire was unable to attend the
house, from a domestic affliction, to proceed with his
,tion that " on the motion that Mr. Speaker do leave
the chair, to go into committee on Lord J. Russell's re•
solutions on education, to move that, in the opinion of
this house, the erection and maintenance cf schools for
teaching the various forms of doctrinal religion, to be
supported wholly or in part out of local rates, will not
be deemed a just or satisfactory system of education by
the people of this country." He (Lord J. Russell)
proposed that the Speaker do leave the chair, fur the
house to go into committee on this question.
Mr. HADFIELD rose to present a petition from a
society embracing the supporters of the voluntary system
of education, but was stopped by
The SPEAKER, who said the hon. member was out
of order. He should have presented it before the mo-
tion was put.
Lord J. RUSSELL said he would withdraw his mo-
tion, with the consent of the house, to allow the hon.
member to present his petition.
Leave was accordingly given, and the motion was
withdrawn.
Mr. HADFIELD, in a lengthened address, stated to
the house the purport of the petition, and called of the
, house to refuse its consent to the resolutions about to be
proposed by the noble lord the member for London.
The house having resolved itself into a committee,
Lord J. RUSSELL, having so fully addressed the house
on a former occasion with reference to the subject, sim-
ply moved the first resolution, viz. :—" That, in the
opinion of this house, it is expedient to extend, revise,

arid consolids.to the minutes of the Cammittse of PA
Council on Education."

Mr. HENLEY said his first impression was that these
resolutions should have been taken in detail ; but on
considering them he found it would he impossible to get
over the first resolution satisfactorily. He wanted to
know in what manner the merits of the Committee of
the Privy Council on Ejucation should be extended,
and that being so vague he thought the house would not
consent to it. He should consider these resolutions
as a whole, and, therefore, instead of asking the
house to negative the proposition, he should adopt
the safer course, that the chairman do now leave
the chair. This scheme was divided into six grea
branches, that of inspection, the formation of cliff
tricts, charities, religious teaching, and the mode of forcing
masters to pay those whom they employed under
a certain age. He objected to the general power of in-
spection these resolutions would give the inspectors, and
he doubted if many of the schools would submit to it.
He could consider nothing so inimical as this house to
pledge itself to what they could not afterwards
carry out. It was riot to be expected that private
property would submit to public inspection. The people
of this country may be led, but they did not like to be
driven---(hear, hear)—and the sending of 80 sub•inspec-
tors over the country would be likely in his opinion to
fru hate the objects--he had-in-view. If the object was
to get information, might it not be obtained in a more
extended manner by returns from the schools. containing
full details of what they taught, &c. They would
thereby get that information earlier and better than
by Government Inspection, because there were many
who would not have it, and who shut their doors
against it. The next point was the power to be
given to the Privy Council behind the backs of
Parties, and on the report of the sub-inspectors to
dietriets. The inevitable result of the forma•

tion of districts would be in small parishes to
break up the existing parochial school system and
sever the clergymen from these schools. The
present value of bringing clergymen to the schools
was to be found from Mr. Kennedy's report. Every
one must, however, be impressed with the necessity of
the religious element of these schools—(hear, hear)—
and he congratulated the noble lord with having
on this occasion gone further in that direction than
on any former occasion. To destroy that must have
a mischievous effect. The next point was the power to en-
large the power at present enjoyed by the Commissioners
of Charitable Trusts to apply the funds now useless or
injurious to the community to the education of the mid-
dling and poorer classes. He thought this subject
should have been dealt with substantially, and not in
these resolutions. The noble lord, it should be recol-
lected, was one of the commissioners, and what
was done by them might come under the notice of this
house. Had that resolution been introduced by any
other person, he should have thought his object was
to have obtained the quasi sanction of that house
to some most important matters under their considera-
tion. The hon. gentleman then referred to the Charity
Commissioners' report that had recently been published,
and analysed the man nerin which the funds had been admi-
nistered bythem,and contended none of these charities were
useless or injurious, and ought not to be diverted from
their original purpose. The next question was that of
the mode proposed for the settlement of the religious
differences existing on this important question, and
which he wished had not bee❑ introduced for their con-
sideration then, and on so vaguely worded a resolution.
It appeared to him (admitting they could not carry on
education without religious instruction) that by this
resolution they woul i be shuttirg out many children,
and the system would be brought down to a
secular one, which would be a great misfortune.
The rating system, as proposed, was bad, because the
powers for deciding that a district should be rated were
to be vested in the Committee of the Privy
Council, and it was equally ohjeetionable to
give the powers of imposing the rate to the quarter
sessions. This branch of the scheme he thought would
produce as much discord and ill-feeling as existed now
in many districts with regard to Church rates, and
from sectarian feelings. He now came to the pro-
position that the erephyers of labour should send chil-
dren employed by them under a certain age to school,
and pay towards their education. These no doubt had
been founded on the factory system, but the two cases
were not strictly analagous. All the school
inspectors complained of children being removed from
school at a certain age, especially in 1854 and 1855, and
Mr. Cooke's report bore extensively on that subject. In
the years 1854 and 1855 high prices occarred, and he
thought it was that pressure on the poor that had in-
duced many of them to remove their children from school
to put them to remunerative labour.

[LEFT SPEAKING.]

TIP LATE LOCOMOTIVE EXPLOSION ON
THE CALEDONIAN RAILWAY.

In The San of Tuesday was published a telegraphic
account of this accident, which was substantially correct.
Besides the engine driver and stoker being killed, three
gentlemen were injured, and some other passengers met
with slight bruises. Among the first named was
Mr. Isaac Walker, drysalter, of Manchester, who bad
his left shoulder dislocated. Mr. Page, surgeon, at-
tended him at the County Hotel, and he is recovering
as speedily as can be expected. Mr. Lloyd, also a
drysalter of Manchester, received a contu-ion in the
bead, but not of a serious nature, and it is said that he
was so far recovered by Tuesday night as to be able to
proceed on his journey. Mr. Beale, of Carlisle, head of
the travelling post-office department, likewise received
severe contusions, and was very much shaken indeed.
He, too, is progressing as favourably as can be ex-
pected under the circumstances. It is somewhat
remarkable that this gentleman should have
been injured by the accident which occurred
at Motherwell about a month ago. Mr. Ellwood,
farmer, of Kingmoor House, was speedily on tha
spot, and at once despatched a servant on horse-
back to Carlisle for medical and other assistance.
Drs. Steel, Evans, Carlisle, and Rae were promptly
in attendance, with Mr. Page, surgeon, on behalf
of the railway company ; and all rendered every
assistance in their power. The bodies of the
engine driver, Thomas Musgrave (who leaves a
widow but no children) and Isaac Sessford, stoker
(who leaves a widow and six children), were removed to
the Central Station. The rails were torn up and
much damaged, the telegraph wires broken, and one
of the sustaining posts crushed down. The rails were
repaired without delay, and (with the exception
of the composite carriage), the carriages were replaced,
and the mail train proceeded northward, after a delay of
two hours. It is estimated that the damage will exceed
4,0001. The engine was a comparatively new one, hay-
In,' been in use only about 7 months. The unfortunate
Musgrave had never driven it before, and it is said
that he observed something peculiar about it before he
left Carlisle that morning. This was likewise observed
by others ; and when crossing the road at Kingmoor
the peculiarity was more observable than before. In
another minute the explosion took place.
About 3 o'clock on Monday afternoon, the inquest
commenced before Mr. William Carrack, city coroner,
at the Coffee House Hotel, Carlisle. The jury pro-
ceeded to the station to view the two bodies, which
were frightfully mutilated, and most of the clothing
torn away. The jury then proceeded to the scene
of the explosion; The tender, composite carriage,
and engine, were still on the ground, literally
smashed to pieces. From measurements taken by
tpe coroner and a juror, with a measuring line, it
would seem that, the train proceeding northward on the
left or westerly line of rails, when the explosion took
p:ace: Sessford was hurled to a distance of 111/ feet
due east. The composite carriage and tender were
found nearly together, left or west of tie line,
206 feet north of the spot where the boiler exploded. The
engine seems to have made several somersaults in the
air, and to have first struck the ground some 3i feet
beyond where the tender rested, or 230 feet from where
it exploded ; and then rebounded four times, at distances
of 20 to 23 feet each, before it finally rested, 421 feet
north of the spot of the explosion, and a little distance
westward of the line. Musgrave would seem to have
been carried up with the engine in its aerial flight and
to have remained upon it after one or two of its
bounds ; for his body was
found
(an a little
ironmonger,west o f the
line,
an
340 feet north of the spot of explosion. Mr. Richard-
csoonn,vetrhsaentfowreamh maanoefhile jury y
examining the fire-
after
box said he had no doubt the explosion had arisen from
want of water. Culonel Wynne, one of the govern-
ment inspectors of railways, happened to be in
Carlisle when the accident occurred ; and that gen-
tleman attended upon the ground between ten and
twelve o'clock in the forenoon, took a survey of the
wreck, and notes of its chief features, which will,
no doubt be reported in the proper quarter. At the
request of the coroner, Mr. Addison, general superin-
tendent, undertook that the engine should be laid
down in the shed at Carlisle, in precisely the same
condition as it lay on the ground. On the jury re-
assembling at Carlisle, it was agreed that scientific and
practical men should examine and report on the boiler,
&c. Mr. Taylor and Mr. Wm. Rawlinson, engineers,
were appointed, and it was agreed that they should at
once inspect the debris on the spot, and not wait for the
removal of the engine to Carlisle. It was decided to
summon the following witnesses—Thomas Graham, who
was near to the spot when the explosion took place ;
Mr. Brittain, locomotive superintendent, to speak as to
the state of the engine ; the front guard of the train ; the
man who lighted the engine fire on the morning of the
accident; and the man who drove it on its previous
journey. The inquest was then adjourned to Tuesday
morning, the 15th inst., at had( past 10 o'clock.—Man-
chatter Guardian.

A prospectus has been issued of the Metropolitan
Field Bleaching, Washing, and Scouring Company,
with a capital of 30,000/. in 10/. shares.
The prospectus has been issued of the North and
South \Vales Steam Fuel Company, with a capital of
30,0001. in 101. shares. The abject is to carry on and
extend certain works already in operation near Liver-
pool for the manufacture of a patent fuel which has re-
ceived the approval of the Admiralty.
PEOPLE'S PARK AT EIALIFAX.—A piece of land at
Hahfax has recently been purchased for a people's park
by Frank Crossley, Esq., M.P. for the borough. The
land is in a very pleasant situation, near the mansion of
'Mr. Crossley, and not very far from a number of alms-
houses vow being erected by the hon. gentleman. The
park is to be laid out from designs to be furnishect by
Sir J. Paxton.
CORPORATION REFORL—A meeting of the inhm;hi-
tauts of Coleman-street Wa.rd was held yesterday, unt ler
the presidency of Mr. Alderman Hunter. when a sec lee
of resolutions were agreed to against the Government
bill for the reform of the City of London.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(YESTERDAY.)
The SPEAKER took the chair at twelve o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The Haslingden Water Bill and the Southport Water
Bill were severally read a third time and passed.
Mr. DUFF presented a petition from a place in the
north of Ireland against the Bleaching Works Bill.
The petition, which was read at length by the clerk at
the table, stated that certain petitions that had been
presented to the house in favour of the bill had been ob-
tained by misrepresentation, and prayed for inquiry into
the circumstances.
Sir W. WEBB presented several petitions from North
Wales in favour of Medical Reform.
Sir F. THESIGER presented a petition from Stam-
ford against the Oath of Abjuration Bill.
Mr. E. LOCKHART presented a petition from Sel-
kirk against the Oath of Abjuration Bill.
Mr. M. GIBSON presented a petition from the Man-
chester Commercial Association, and also a petition from
165 of the principal firms, in Manchester against the
Bleaching Works Bill.
Mr. BROTHERTON presented two petitions against
the Maynooth grant.
ROCHESTER ELECTION.

The following members were chosen to serve on the
committee to inquire into the late election for Rochester,
viz., Mr. Floyer' Sir H. F. Davy, Mr. J. Smyth, Mr.
R. Ingham, and Mr. Byng.
EXPORTATION OF IRON.
Mr. WILSON, in reply to an hon. member, repeated
the answer he gave on a former occasion with respect
to the export of machinery and parts of machinery, but
with respect to the exportation of munitions of war, he
stated that to-day an order in Council would be passed,
by which all restrictions upon trade and navigation
would be entirely removed.
OATH OF ABJURATION BILL.

Mr. M. GIBSON then rose to move the second read-
ing of a bill to abolish the oath of abjuration and as-
surance, and, in doing so, contended that no ill could
follow such a measure. The measure was of precisely
the same character as that of Lord Lyndhursts, and had
the approbation of that noble lord. The passing of the
measure which he advocated would not in the slightest
degree interfere with the others now on the statute-book,
but it would be a relief to all classes of her Majesty's
subjects who objected to take that oath, which
was a political one, and passed by Parliament to meet a
political danger. That danger no longer existed, and,
therefore, be contended that the oath ought to be
abolished. By a single act of Parliament one hundred
and twenty-five useless oaths bad been abolished, and
not the slightest inconvenience had arisen in consequence
of such a proceeding. He had taken the opinion of a gen-
tleman learned in the law—not a 'Parliamentary lawyer—
with respect to the persons who were called upon to take
the oath of abjuration, and he found that all, military
officers, all common 'soldiers, and sailors were called upon
to take this oath. The only persons who were required
not to take the oath were those persons in the Customs and
Excise, who were only required to take the oath of alle-
giance. All schoolmasters were required to take the
oath of abjuration, and if the law was strictly carried
out at the present time there would not be a single
teacher of the Jewish religion—in fact, an immense num-
ber of her Majesty's most faithful and loyal subjects
would be altogether :outlawed. He might be told
they passed the Indemnity Act, and by that act you
exempted the great crowd, but refused the same ex-
emption to a member of Parliament. He had been
looking over Boswell's "Life of Johnson," and he
there found that the profligate person who framed
the oath of abjuration boasted that he bad framed
an oath which would damn nne-half of the population
and starve the other. He maintained that the oath of
abjuration was utterly useless, as it was perfectly cer-
tain that none of the descendants of the Prince of
Wales (the Pretender) existed at the present moment,
and it was absurd to continue on the statute-book
such an oath, The Pretender died in 1765, and the
Parliament of that day did not continue abjuring the
Pretender, but they took out the word " Pretender,"
and inserted in place of the word, "his descendants,"
so now that all the descendants were dead, it was bat
proper that the word 4, "his descendants," should
Le expunged, as by doing so the house. would
only be following the strict rule of precedent.: • The 'oath
of allegiance and supremacy, he contended, were perfectly
sufficient for the purpose for which they were taken, and
fter they were taken it wag palpably absurd to insist
upon the taking of the oath of abjuration, as
he whole of the provisions of the oath, that it was
thought necessary by some parties to retain, was to be '
found in the oath of allegiance. He had thus gone
through the oath, with the exception of the concluding
paragraph, which stated.. that the oath was to be

• - •
taken without reservation on the true faith of a
• Christian. If it was the will of the Parliament that such
should still be the declaration, then they must submit
to take the oath, but he did hope that the honourable
member for Stamford would not say that such
was the cas4 until he had taken the opinion of Par H-
a. • ment that it was intended to impose religious tests to
exclude some portions of her. Majesty's subjects from
their civil rights. If it was wished to exclude some par-
ticular persons from Parliament, he insisted that it
• ought to be done by statute, and not indi-
rectly, for he insisted that no British subject
ought to be deprived of his civil rights,
except by act of Parliament. (Hear, hear.) The effeet
of this oath had been for nine years to keep the city
of London, to a certain extent, unrepresented ; but it
must not be supposed that by mentioning that cir-
cumstance he was there as the advocate of Baron
Rothschild. He was instigated to pursue the present
• course by his fe-liegs as an Englishman and a member
,of. the British Parliament—(hear, hearl—and he for one
would not allow the fag end of this oath to debar his
Jewish fellow subjects from their civil rights. (Hear.)
• He trusted he should receive the support of some por-
tion of the Conservative party in the house, considering
that Lord Der.)y and several prelates had been in favour
' of the admissimi of the Jews into Parliament. He
.elajmed the relief the bill afforded those Christian mem-
bers who felt that it was a desecration to take any oath.
It it was the opinion of the Crown, and a majority of
both Houses of Parliament, that members of the Jewish
persuasion ought to be excluded from this house, ex-
cluded they ought to be; but, until that course was
adopted, he contended that a great injustice was done to
a certain portion of his fellow-subjects, who had never
•by any act of Parliament been excluded from sitting in
that house. He concluded by moving the second read-
- ng of the bill.
Sir F. THEiIGER, having explained the absence of
certain learned members, said it would be quite incon-
sistent if those like himself who were opposed to ora-
tions such as the present did not oppose the second
reading of this bill for the abolition of the oath of abju-
ration. The bill of the bon. member consisted of an
assertion and an inference. The assertion was that the
de,eeadants of the Pretender were at an end, and there-
fore the oath of abjuration should be abolished. The oath
• of abjuration was not merely a renunciation of the
claims of the deac.ndants of the Pretender, but it

asserted that the Sovereign should be a Protestant.
The honourable member, in moving the second
reading of the bill, said he did not appear there as the
a Ivneate of Baron Rothschild, and that he had had
no comMunication with that gentleman., But he (Sir F.
Thesiger) begged to ask the right hon. gentleman whe-
ther he bad not been that very day in close conference
with a gentleman of the Jewish persuasion, holding
high power in the pity of London. (Hear, hear.) Novi,
he ished to know what could be the object of that in-
terview; whether it related' to the descendants of the
Pretender, or to the " fag" end of the oath, " on the true
faith of a Christian." (Laughter, and hear, hear.)
The hon;' gentleman said he did not propose to do
-anything' in 'an indirect manner—(hear; hear)--the
Objeof of the right hon. 'gentleman was perfectlyplain
and palpable. (Hear, hear.) He did not know whether
the noble lord the member for the City of London had
dropped his mantle on the shoulders of ,the right hon,
member for Manchester, or whether that right hon.
gentleman had stolen it while the noble lord was asleep ;
but he thought the mantle better became the noble lord,
although he bad worn it threadbare, than the right hon.
Member for Manchester. (Hear, hear, and laughter.)
The.noble lord had acted in a more direct manner
than the right honourable gentleman had done.
He did not propose to break down the
voustituticalta barriers which had been erected
to-protect the Protestantism of the succession. Souse
might be of opinion that there was no danger ou that
point; but he thought be should be able to show the
house that any fears on that point were not altogether
PO unlikely as some might think. A number of Papal
biill4 had•tately been published, amongst which there was
a letter from Pope Clement the 13th to the Pretender in
1759, Which he addressed to his dearly beloved James,
King of Great Britain, stating that he had made an ap-
-rrointment to an Irish See. Since then no less than 66
,bulls had been published, in which all the rights of the
house of Hanover to the Crown of England was
denied. (Hear, hear.) He thewouldaek o
house if a
it
-was prepared' to assert to the principles
-*Well was intended entirely to abolish the, oath Which
:provided for the Protestant succession of this country,
which 'bedid not think so entirely chimerical. In the
reign (if William and Mary the Jews had been excluded
froth Pavliatiert., by a direct act, because they' were
Renee and no alien had a right to a seat in Parliament.
'it C341i1. not, therefore, be said that the Jews had been
ndirectlY excluded; for he thought that the circumstance
lie had mentioned proved entirely the contrary.
11e
thought that this house was the great guardian of
religion. In the prayer that was weekly
offered tip by this country, God was beseeched
"hat " truth and justice, and religion, and piety might
be established through all generations." Now, it
this house had nothing at all to do with religion, that
Prayer ought altogether to be withdrawn. (Hear, hear.)
Re begged the house to consider for one moment what
would be their position if they removed this oath. What
a weapon it would afford the Roman Catholics, who
Would say, "We told you there was no truth in the
doctrine of Protestantism, and here is a proof of it."
He maintained that the effect of the bill, if passed,
would be to unProtestantise the constitution and to
un-Christianise the Legiilature„ He begged to move that
the -bill be read a second time that day six months.
The LORD ADVOCATE said the oath of abjuration
was not franied for the purpose of excludine a certain
class of persons from Parliament ; but it was framed for
a purely political purpose. Until
.to-day he had never
heard that the succession of the Crown was in danger.
-Until to-day 'he had rested perfectly satisfied as to the
fate of the Pretender and his descendants ; but naw.
they had been told that setae' of his descendants
might turn up some day, And •it was feared that
he would meet with a good deal .of support.
(Laughter,) They had also been told that Protestant-
ism was in danger ; now he thoughtlhat- Pristeifantisin
was never so secure or firm as it was at the present time,
because it was founded in the convictions of the people.