The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-05 00:00:00

ried on between the ports of Hull, Liverpool, London,.
and Hamburg. He (Sir G. Grey) had communicated
with the mayors of these places, and he hoped shortly
to be able to take such measures as would obstriict
similar proceedings for the future. (Cheer.)
__METROPOLIS LOC&L MANAGEMENT Acr.
Mr. W. WILLIAMS asked the Attorney-General
whether he intended to proceed with the bill to amend
the Metropolis LOcal Management Act ; and if not, he
asked Sir B. Hall what means he intended to adopt to re-
move the difficulty caused by conflicting opinions rer.
specting the provisions in the said act as regarded the
election of parish officers ?

Sir B. HALL, in-tbe absence of the Attorney• Gen-
eral, answered the question. That hoz). and learned
gentleman introduced this bill on the representation of
certain members of that house, with relation to this
question. As soon as he did it objections were
taken to it, and it was not now his inten-
tion to proceed with it. The hon. member
for Lambeth had asked him '(Sir B. Hall) if he intended
to take %ny steps to remove the difficulty that was said
to exist relative to conflicting opinions as to the election
of parish officers. The object of the Metropolis Local
Management Act was to supersede all existing vestries at
the time of its passing, and to do that he copied into the
bill a clause from Hobbouse's Act, and which clause the
hon, member for Lambeth supported. He (Sir B. Hall)
suggested that an amicable suit (if he might so call it)
should be taken to the Court of Queen's Ben.th for the
decision of the judges on the difficulty complained of,
and that then,if the decision of the judger Was contrary to
'what he intended, and he believed was the toe constr no
tion of the clause, on any representation being made to
him to that effect be would consider the case, and would
introduce a bill to settle the question.

Mr. T. DUNCOMBE condemned the conduct of the
Government with reference to this act,'and the conduct
of the right hon. baronet in recommending litigation to
the various parishes in the 'metropolis. He described
this act ag must unpopular, and called upon the house
not to let the learned Attorney-General withdraw the
bill now before the house.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL charged the hon.
member for Finsbury with condemcing this bill when it
was introduced as an interference with popular rights,
and finding the parishes of the metropolis concurred
with him, he (the Attorney-General) had decided on
withdrawing the bill. The object. of. this bill was to
enable the new vestries to interfere with the poor and

the Church, and so he framed this bill. If the
honourable member for Finsbury would bring in
a better bill to solve the difficulty complained of and
save litigation, he (the Attorney-Genera!) would be
happy to support him.
After some remarks from Mr. WILKINSON, the
subject dropped.
CENTRAL AMERICA.
Viscount GODERICLI waked the First Lord of the
Treasury, whether a document, which had recently ap-
peared, purporting to be a despatch written by the Bri-
tish Minister at Washington to the Secretary of State
of the United
.States, on the 27th day of February last,

with reference to the disputes between this country and

thelJnited States on thesubject of Central America, we
authentic ? The hon. viscount having read the despatch

which had reference to the arbitration relative to the

Clay ton-Bul wer treaty,
Mr. GLADSTONE, before the question was answered,
called the attention of the house to the position the

house was placed in with reference to the Central Ame-
rican question, in the course of which he referred to the
first correspondence between the two Governments en
the k übj ect, and what had occurred in that house
relative to the production of the correspondence.
He had no wish to interfere with the discretion of pro-

ducing certa;n documents ; but although the noble lord
had inforrned.the house in February the papers should
be produced, they had not yet been laid on the table of
the house ; and the last excuse was that the Foreiga-
office heti been so much engaged they bad not been able
to get them ready. That ought not to be an excuse for
their non-production, and he urged on the noble lord the
injury likely to result from it. He believed the present
American 14.1inisLer in this country was armed with suf-
ficient powers to carry out the intentions of his coun-
try. He hoped, however, that nothing would occur to
prevent the present kindly relations between the two

countries. -
Lord PALMERSTON said the right hon. geitleman
knew the constitution of the various departments of the
Government sufficient to know that they could not be
augmented momentarily to meet temporary pressure.
The right hon. gentleman had spoken lightly of the im•
portant duties that had lately engaged the attention of

the Foreign Department.
Mr. GLADSTONE said he had not done so.
Lord PALMERSTON said he begged the righthon.
gentleman's pardon, but he bad. (Laughter.) After
detailing the amount of business that the Foreign-office
had bad lately to discharge, he said he should not then
enter into the queation, but wait until the oorrevon-
deuce had been laid on the table of the house, which he
hoped would be in a few days.
THE CRIMEAN COMMISSION REPORT.
Mr. PALK asked it the officers of the Commissariat
Departinent who considered their conduct inculpated by
that report might appear before the Military Board of
Inquiry now sitting, and defend their conduct, as well
as those gallant officers whose names had been so pro.
minently put before the public by that report?
Lord PALMERSTON said yes.
SIR C. NAPIER AND THE CAPTURE OF ACRE.
On the motion for going into supply,
Sir J. GRAHAM said—Sir,l should rather have desired
to observe silence than unnecessarily to obstruct the basi--
ness of this house by taking advantage of the opportunity
which the motiott before the hence for going into supply

usually gives to members, were not the question a matter
that personally concerns myself. The honogr of every mem-
ber of this house is regarded by the house as its own pro-

perty, arid Ale the day therefore of eyeryi- member to de-
fend-himeelffrom attack when not only his honour is as-
Sailed, but his veracity impeached. I should gladly have
avoided the revival of the unhappy controversy which oc •
-
curred between myself and the hon. and gallant member
for Southwark. The house have heard enough, and more

than enough, of that unhappy affair, and I am sure it is
the last of my wishes needlessly to revive it. But, sir,

(luring the early part of the recess a letter appeared in the
Tioes, signed by the hon. and gallant member, which I will
read, and as the name of the hon. and gallant admiral the
member for Gloucester is also mentioned, it is utterly im-
possible for us, consistently with our duty, net to make
comments upon and to substantiate our veracity. The
letter is in these terms`--

" Sir,—Sir James Graham stated iu his speech that I had
advised Sir Robert Stopferd not' to attack Acre ; and Ad-
miral Berkeley went further, and said that the night before
rteld Sir "Robert Stopford that if he sent me into the posi-
tion marked out fur me my ships would not swim for half au
hour. ' My reply -is not correctly repeated, and I have te
request you will give insertion to this letter.
" I stated in my reply that Upon my honour I did no such
thing ; and I now beg to say that there is not one word of
truth, or even a shadow of truth, in those statements ; they
were getup to damage me.
"I remain your obedient, servaut,
March 15." " 011ARLES NAPIER.
Now, Sir, that letter is not only a direct impeachment of
our veracity, but it also ascribes motives to our conduct of
the darkest and most malignant kind. The house will du
me the justieir to remember that to all the numerous at-
teicks that the hon. and gallant member for Southwark has
thought it consistent with his duty to make upon me—
whether in letters or in speeches in taverns or on the heist-
inga—l 'tweet gtv'e thenathe least notice excepting in my
place: in Perliament, and thenonly when placed on my de-
fence. I will now call attention to what were the allege-
tides made by my hon. and gallant friend and myself in the
former debates, and I will point out to the house the evi-
dence which, as I think, will fully sustain those allega-
tions. As the question is to matters of fact, and the evi-
dence to he adduced in support of them, I must rely on the
justice and patience of the house to listen to what I shall
bring forward in support of my allegations. And here; be-
fore I proceed to addace evidence, lam anxious to preface
what I am about to say with regard to naval operations
before Acre with some observations of my own. I give to'
the honourable and gallant admiral the utmost praise for
his gallantry and ability in Syria on land ; he went
even beyond the limits of his commission in conduct-
ing the military operations. I give him the utmost credit
for the effect of those operations in sustaining British in-
fluence in Syria, by the expulsion of the Egyptian force
from Syria. The matter which rests between the gallant
admiral and myself is as to the naval operations before
Acre, and the question arises out of the discussion which
took place as to the conduct of the hon. and gallant officer
when he commanded the Baltic fleet. I made then some
observations to the effect that I thought there existed an
erroneous impression that the plan of the naval attack on
Acre was tine to the hon. and gallant, officer—au erroneous
impression that the attack tools place from his counsel
and advice; but that I had reason to believe from recent
inquiries that the hon. and gallant officer, so far from
having counselled that attack, had objected to it, and
that Sir It. Stopford, the admiral commanding in
h attack in. opposition •to • the oinien P of the honour-
Syria, and Sir C. Smith, came- to the decision to make
he
able and
officer.
gallant car. That was my first. allegation.
The next 'allegation was as to the attack, and the posi-
tion pointed out by Admiral Stopford fur the different
ships to take up ; that to the ship of the hon. and gallant
admiral, the Powerful, a particularposition was assigned—
the south-west angle of the forts that the lion, and gallant
officer objected to that position, and said if his ship was
placed there it would be sunk in half an hour. The next
allegation was that on the following day, when the attack
were made, the hon. and gallautaefficer did not carry into
execution A,diniralStopford's directions ; that he did not
takeitei the position assigned to his ship, Wet at a consider.
able distance and in a less exposed situation ; and that by
so vielatiug the order of the commander-in-chief, he threw
the whole larval operalfens into confusion. The fourth
allegation was, that the capture of Acre did not take place
immediately in Consequence. of the bombardment, but was
effected by the landing of. ,ttoops, in which the hon. and
gallant admiral took ne part. The last allegation was, that
en the morning after the action the lion. and gallant ad-
niiral came on the quarterdeck of Admiral Stoptord's ships
and expressed a hope that Admiral Stopford was satis-
fied with his conduct, and that Admiral Stopford, without
giving the axpress terms, intimated that lie was anything
but satisfied with the position tenon by him. These are
the 'Charges to which the hoe. cud gallant admiral has
pledged his honour there is neither truth nor the shadow
of truth.' To provenly allegations the best evidence aught
to be resorted to, and that would be the evidence. of Ad-
miral Stopford, but he is no more. The documents and
papers 'of Admiral Stopford would have been irresistible-
I made aleplication to his widow, but. I find that-tile;
papers are under seal, in the hands of executors, and that
all the executors are not in England. The parcel cannot
be opened, nor the evidence produced. The secretary of
Admiral Stopford is also dead. The next best witness
would be Admiral Fanshawe, who was cognisant of the
whole prooeedings, but he is now in a distant land. The
doctor would be an important witness, but be is also
dead. Then there only remains evidence either of a
secondary character or not of the best character. The hon.
and gallant admiral (Berkeley) was the officer in command
of a line-of-battle ship during the whole of the operations.
He was cogniaant of -the greater part of the transactions,
and he was my informant in public and in private. Thie
wi tueei, hoteenef, teiglea lee °pea to suspicion, aB he has oort.
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