The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-05 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PA RLIAMENT.

(THIS DAY.)

• HOUSE OF COMMONS.
The SPEAKER took the Chair at Twelve o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The Lords' amendments were considered and agreed
to:
Western Railway (Arrangements with reference
to the. Purchase, &c., of the Wilts, Somerset, and
Weymouth, &c., Railways) Bill.
Leeds and Thirsk Railway Bill.
The Shrewsbury and Chester Railway and the Wa-
terfOrd and Tramoro Railway Bills were read a third
time.
NEWSPAPER DUTIES.
Mr. HAYTER presented a petition from Wells, pray-
ing. for the repeal of all duties on newspapers.
REGIUM DONUM.
KERSHAW presented petitions from London
and Westminster against the Regium Donum.
ST. ALBAN'S BRIBERY COMMISSION BILL.
The House
.then went into committee on this Bill,
Mr. Bernal in the chair.

On, the consideration of Clause 13,
Mr. STUART objected to the Committee proceeding
any further with this Bill, because he thought they were
proceeding on a precedent which did not at all apply to
the present proceedings. The Sudbury election was evi-
dently the precedent on which the Hon. Gentleman who
had introduced the Bill was proceeding, but in that case
the House had proceeded with the Bill after a full and
fair inquiry had taken place, with evidence from both
sides, and after a distinct recommendation from
the Committee, but is the present instance the
only reason for bringing in the Bill was that
• full inquiry bad not and could not be held, and after a
report from the Committee; which he would say was the
most extraordinary he had ever read, from any Com-
mittee and from any tribunal whatever. First of all,
they reported that Mr. Bell was duly elected, next that
they bad no materials brought before them properly to
try the case, and last of all they west on to s4y that it
was evident that gross bribery and corruption had pre-
vailed at the last election, then after making their de,
vision going on to assign two separate reasons why
theY should have come to a completely different re-
sult. If the precedent of the Great Yarmouth case,
in which the Hon. Gentleman the Member for Dorset-.
shire bed taken the initiative, had been followed, there
would' have 'been a question of some sort or other, when
in fact, there was none whatever now. The case of
Horsham, too, was much more in point, although in that
ease Parliament .retuaed to grant a commission. tie
thought the chairman of the Committee which had made
such an absurd report was asking them to commit a
flagrant injustice, and he for one, would be no party
to it; be should therefore move that the Chairman do
BOW leave the chair.
Mr. AGLIONBY protested against the course which
the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had taken, and he
hoped the Committee would not entertain it.
Mr. ELLICE considered that the report of the
Comuiittee was perfectly consistent with the evidence
adduced before them. They declared the sitting Mem-
ber elected, because there was no direct proof of his
being guilty of bribery either by himself or agents;
but the Committee entertained no doubt that
corruption and bribery did extensively exist at
the last election. They recommended the ap-
pointment of a Commission, for they were of opinion
it was the only means of ascertaining the truth with
regard to the extent to, which bribery was carried on,
and would likewise save much of the public time. A.
Commission was by far the most expedient mode of in-
quiry, if the House thought any inquiry was necessary.
Mr. STUART said he was in favour of the fullest
inquiry into the prayer of the petition against Mr. Bell,
but he objected to the dangerous principle involved in
the present Bill, and would divide the House upon it,
unless the Honourable Member agreed to the amend-
ments proposed by his Honcurable Friend (Mr. Bankes).
Mr. BANKES thought the House ought to consider
before they proceeded further whether the other House
would sanction any such measure for the appointment
of a Commission on'no better grounds than those alleged
in the very unsatisfactory report of the Committee. He
bad framed his amendments as nearly as possible in con-
tormity:with Lord J. Russell's Act,the sth and 6th Vic.,
a. 102, and he believed they would lead more Effectually
to the accomplishment of the object they all desired. A
greater insult had never been offered before to the House
than by the absconding witnesses, whose evidence was
required-before the Committee. Some of them were
just across the water, via, at Boulogne, while the
others had gone a little further on their
travels, and were now at Paris. He believed
they were complaining of the want of remit-
tances, and the absence of remittances appeared to be
`the only hope of their return. As this subject involved
the dignity and character of the House, he hoped the
Hon. Member would accede to the amendments he pro-
posed.
After a few words from Mr. E. ELLICE and Mr.
STUART,,.
The Committee divided, when there appears
For Mr. Stuart's amendment ... 10
Against it ... ..• 54
Majority ••• •.. ... —44
The Chairman then reported progress, and the House
adjourned until Five o'clock.

• .. . .
TILE ARMY.
On the 31st of May the anniversary dinner of the
medical officers of the army took place at the Thatched
Rouse; St. James's street, when Sir C. U. Clarke, Ban,

presided.
Previous to the dinner a deputation, consisting of 40
officers Of the department, waited upon Sir James
M•Grigor for the purpose of presenting a valedictory
address upon his retirement from the office of director-
general. The address, which was read by Dr. Skey,
inspector-general of hospitals, expressed in very strong
language the sense entertained by the department of
• the services of their late chief, and of the zeal and ability
with which he had conducted the important office of
direotocegeneral for thirty-six years.

REDUCTION IN EARL FITZWILLIAAI'S RENTS.—The
following is a copy of a circular which has been delivered to
Earl Fitz William's tenants on the Wentworth estate :—" The
re-adjustment of the rents on the Wentworth estate having
now been completed, Lord Fitzwilliam has directed that, at
the approaching May rent-days, they should be received upon
the new scale. He has also directed that an allowance of the
excisepaid in November last should be made to each tenant
Whose then payment exceeded the sum which would have
been due by him upon the new' scale. He makes this allow-
ance because it was his view that the re-adjustment should
'bays been made half- a .year earlier, but circumstances did
not afford opportunity of entering upon the necessary inves-
tigation. Lord Fitzwilliam thinks it possible that the change
may be considered insufficient by some of the tenants, who
• may hive been led to entertain very extravagant expecta-
tions ; .he has confidence, however, that his tenants will
bear in mind that while the reduced value of some agricul-
tural produce tends to a reduction of rent, that effect is in
some degree counteracted by the reduction of the prices of
most articles consumed or paid for by the farmer or his fa-
mily. Lord Fitzwilliam's intention has been to be just to
his tenanis,.and at the same time to himself." The scale of
?eduction; it is understood, is about l:?/. per cent. per annum.
The basis upon which his Lordship's previous rents were cal-
culated was .6s. 81 per bushel for wheat, but the basis on
which the re-adjustment has been calculated appears to be
be. 10d. per bushel. Stamford Mercury.

EXCISE SEIZURE.—On Saturday morning Messrs.
Elmy, and a party. of Excise officers, effected an entrance to
the house No. 30, Maidstone-place, Bethnal-green, and found
an upper room fitted up as a d►stillery, with a still then in
full operation, and in the place about thirty gallons of mo-
lasses wash, quantities of spirits, and all the appurtenances
for illicit distillation on a rather extensive scale, the whole
of which the officers, of , course, seized, and subsequently
conveyed to the Excise cellars. A man named John Henry
Wilson,. who was attending to the still, was taken before
the magistrate at Worship-street, and committed to the
Bose of. Correction for three months, in default of payment
of the 301. penalty. It was the third conviction of the kind
that had.taken place at the same police-court in the course
of the week.
THE ARREST OF ABSCONDING DEBTORS.—Yester-
day some amendments to the Bill to arrest absconding
debtors were printed by order of the House of Lords. The
object 'of this Bill is to enable creditors to arrest their debtors
when there is reason to believe that they are about to
abscond.,.: For the want of some such power property is
made away with before the parties can be captured. The
Bill is to be further considered in the House of Lords on
Friday.:

SUB•MARINE TELEGRAPH.—A company has been
formed for the purpose of organizing a regwar communica-
tion by sub-marine telegraph between England and France.
It will be recollected that last autumn an experiment was
made which, as far as it tested the prac.icability of the un-
dertaking, was quite satisfactory; owing, however, to the
slenderness of the line, the wire with the gutta percha cover-
ing not, being inure than half an inch in diameter, it was
found to be badly calculated for a certain permanent com-
munication, and ihe new company proposes to remedy this
by encasing the wire in a covering capable of resisting the
action pf the anchors of the largest ahipe. Mr. Jacob Brett,
who laid the line down from Dover to Cape Grinez last au-
tumn, has obtained fro.ti the hrench Government the exclu-
sive right to carry on sub. marine communications between
England and France for ten years; and all his rights are to
be vested in the company. The success of the company is
totinerely a question of national but European interest, and
*re all look forward with interest to the day when, by its
means, a conversation can be carried on between London
and Paris, or with the difference of a second or two between
Liverpool and Trieste.
CHARITABLE PURCHASE DEEDS
Bill has been
brought into the House of Commons, by Mr. Mullings, Mr.
Coles, and Mr. Heald, " for further remedying a defect in the
titles of lands purchased for charitable purposes, and for ob-
viating difficulties as to copvhold or customary landsc!?_r;i:
f
veyed for such purposes." the principal clauses of he 811
are to the effect, that purchase deeds of lands for charitable
purposes should be valid, although formalities of the Mort-
main Act should not have been complied "with; that bona
fide purchases for charitable uses should not 1)2 void merely
by reason of reservations, &c., to the grantor; but other
formalities and requisitions will not be dispensed with, and
the Act will not dispense with formalities in future deeds. In
the case of copyholds or customary hereditaments being made
over to charitable purposes, it will be sufficient Oat such
charitable uses be declared by some deed forming part of the
transaction, and properly attested and enrolled. The Act
will not extend to deeds avoided by suits.
MERCHANT SEAMEN.—The accounts of the corpo-
ration for the relief of mercant seamen and their widows and
children tor the year 18.7,0 have been published. The
amount of duty from London vessels amounted to 10,5801.,
and that from vessels of other ports to 6,3711. The total gross
receipts were 18,9051., and the amount produced from the
Old South Sea Annuities, 2,8651. The pensicns paid
amounted to 18,8781., and the temporary relief to 1,8591.
The cost of mauagemeat was 2,4481.
To MEND CHINA.—Mix together equal parts of
fine glue, white of eggs, and white lead, and with it anoint
the edges of the article to be mended; press them together,
and when bard and dry scrape off as ranch of the cement.as_
• sticks obiati,t the joint. The juice- of garlic is anotber.good
• cement, and leaved no mark where it bakhen wed.