The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-07 00:00:00

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IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

110LTSE OF LORDS—(YEsriztuA.r).

I the LORD CaANar,Lon took his seat oa the woolsac
?,! five o'clock.
Lord RAVENSWORTIJ presented petitions from
places in Yorkshire and Herefordshire agains the abo-
lition of Church rates.
Lord COLVILLE presented similar petitions.
Lord CAMPBELL presented a petition from a gen-
tleman, who stated that ho was placed in a very painful
position owing to the faithlessness of his wife. He had
brought an action against the party who had injured
him and obtained damages. He had proceeded by suit in
the Ecclesiastical Courts, and had obtained a judgment
in his favour a mensa et thoro, but that his circum-
stances would not permit him to come before
their lordships for a bill of divorce. Under these
circumstances the _ petitioner prayed that the
house would enact such a measure as would
enable a man in humble circumstances to obtain a
divorce.
The Duke of CLEVELAND bore testimony to the
respectability and honour of the petitioner.
The LORD CHANCELLOR gave notice that be
would move the second reading of the Divorce Bill that
day fortnight. It would no doubt be in the recollection
of some of their lordships, that in
_spacial cases persons
were allowed to apply to that house for a bill of di-
vorce in forma pauperis.
COUNTY COURTS.

Lord RAVENSWORTH presented two petitions
from certain trade associstiims in the vicinity of Liver-
pool, suggesting certain alterations in the bill for the
amendment of the County Courts Act, which stood upon
the paper f ,r that evening.
Lord BROUGHAM F al,' that while be was moat
anxious that the bill should be as efficient as possible, be
objected to the introduction into the bill of any provisions
which could have the effect of interfering with the local
courts already in existen.•e.
The LORD CHANCELLOR then rose to move the
second reading of the County Courts Acts Amendment.
Bill. One of theobjects of the bill wasto throw the burden
of the cost of an appeal to those courts as far as it was
possible upon the person against whom judgment was
given. The bill would have the effect of reducing the
amount of fees levied i❑ those courts, which in many
cases was wholly disprop.rtionate to the amount sought
to be recovered. The average amount of the fees ex-
acted by these courts during the last two years
amounted to 278,0001., out of which were paid
the salaries of the judges and the Court ex-
penses. He proposed to reduce the fees nearly by
one•half—that the Government should pay out of the
consolidated fund the salaries of the judges
and the expenses of the court-houses. He con-
sidered the arrangement as to the salaries of
the judges at present highly ohjectionable.
That arrangement was that the salaries of the
County Court judges should not be less than 1,2001.,
nor more than 1,4.100/., which salaries were paid
out of the fees of the court. This bill proposed
to retain the salaries at 1,2001., excepting in
the twenty cases where that amount had been increased
by the additional 3001., in consideration of the great
amount of business in the courts of those judges. He pro-
posed that their lordships now read the bill a second time,
and on Thursday he would move the committee of the
bill pro forma in order that certain amendments might
be presented, and immediately after the holidays he in-
tended to proceed with the consideration of the bill.

Lord CAMPBELL cordially seconded the second
reading of the bill. He objected to a clause suggested
by Mr. Pitt Taylor, which would close the superior
courts to suitors in actions of libel who did not recover a
verdict of damages above 20/., by precluding costs.
Lord BROUGHAM said that Lord Campbell was
under needless alarm. The question was merely whether
the action in tort (damages) should he raised to 20/. in
these courts, as in contracts. He thought it should be
so. The competence of the judges to try such cases was
acknowledged. As far the salary of 1,500/., it was not
too much.

Lord ST. LEONARDS agreed entirely with the
principle of throwing the expenses of justice on the pub•
lie funds.
The hill was then read a second time.
JOINT STOCK. WINDING•UP ACTS AMEND-
MENT BILL.
This bill was read a second time.
CHANCERY REFORM.

Lord ST. LEONARDS, after vindicating his claim
to the practical carrying out of the original suggestion
of Chancery reform, inquired whether it was the inten-
tion of the Lord Chancellor to introduce any measures
founded on the report of the Chancery Commissioners I
The LORD CHANCELLOR said much of what
had been suggested could be carried out by orders
of the Court, which were in preparation. As regarded
the giving the Court of Chancery the power to grant
damages, he had ordered a bill to that effect to be drawn
up, _

Lord BROUGHAM and Lord ST. LEONALRLIS
erchang.rod compliments on law reforms, and
The house then adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(YESTERDAY.)
The SPEAKER took the chair at the usual hour.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The following bilk were read a third time and passed :
—Aberdeen and Scottish Midland Junction Railway
Company Amalgamation (new title), Coventry (City)
Gas, Edinburgh Water, Gravesend Improvement, and
Leicester and Welford Road.

The following bills were considered, and ordered to be
read a third time :—Antrim and Coleraine Roads;
and Lossiemouth Harbour Improvement (changed from
" Stotfield and Lossiemouth Harbour Improvement") ;
Middlesborough Extension and Improvement ; and Scot-
tish Drainage and Improvement Company Bill (changed
frosm "Lands Improvement Company of Scotland").
The order a the day for the second reading of the
Dublin (City) Steam Packet Company was discharged,
the bill havinz been withdrawn.

Lord H. VANE presented a petition from the Stock-
ton and Darlington Railway Company, and moved that
it be referred to the Select Committee on Local Charges
upon Shippin4.—Agreed to.
Sir P. EGERTON moved for an account of the quan-
tities of cheese imported into the several ports of Groat
Britain in each month of the year 1855, distinguishing
the European, United States, and colonial produce ;
and of all European cheese, exclusive of British cheese,
xported from England in the year 1255 (in continua-
tion of Parliamentary Paper, 239, of Session 1155).—
Agreed to.
THE IRISH MILITIA.
Mr. DAVIDSON asked the Under-Secretary for
War whether the Government were disposed to recon-
sider their decision with respect to an immediate dis-
embodiment of the Irish Militia, with the view of post-
poning such disembodiment until the approaching har-
vest, in order that the soldiers might thereby earn a
temporary subsistence, and be induced to return to
their ordinary avocations I
Mr. F. PEEL said the Irish militia would be dealt
with precisely in the same manner as the militia of this
country. It was proposed first to disembody the corps
in billets, and after that those in barracks would be
dealt with. He thought that by the time the men
reached their homes employment would be as abundant
as at any other period of the year.
THE IRISH NIGHT MAIL.

Mr. L. MONTGOMERY asked the Secretary to the
Treasury if any steps had been taken to forward the
night mail from Mullingar to Longford by rail, instead
of by coach, as at present carried : and also, whether he
would lay upon the table of the house any correspond-
ence that had passed on the subject between the Post-
office authorities and the Midland Great Western Rail-
way 'Company ?
Mr. WILSON said the Post-office authorities bad
been in communication with those of the railway com-
panies but the demand of the companies was so large,
and the advantage so small, that the Post-office autho-
rities thought they would not be justified in acceding to
the demand of the railway companies. There had been
some correspondence on the subject, to the production
of which there was nbt the slightest objection. It was
the intention of the Government during the present ses-
sion to bring in a bill to give the Government more
power than they possessed at the present time over the
Irish railways.
DULWICH COLLEGE.
Mr. PELLATT, asked the Secretary cf State for
the Home Department when the bill for the reformation
of Dulwich College, founded upon the report of the
Charity Commissioners, would be laid before the house
Sir G.
e GREW
could said the subject was still under consi-
deration.
o uld not tell the hon. gentleman at what
period the bill relative to the reformation of Dulwich
College would be brought in.

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Lybecause it had accomplished the great objects for
cbloat3dhlerjd.o,
which we went to war. The treaty certainly contained
more than he had expected, and he confessed he had had
for some time a misgiving that we should not have an
honourable peace. He was, however, agreeably our-
prised on reading it, and it afforded him great pleasure
in expressing his satisfaction of it. (Hear.) He was glad
to find that the right of search was to be abolished, and
that neutral ships carrying contraband of war were not
to be seized. He highly eulogised the abilities of the
noble lord at the head of the Government for
the manner in which he had conducted the war,
and bad concluded a safe and honourable peace,
and he trusted the country would not forget his services.
Members opposite might think he wanted something
for his panegyric—(" Hear, hear," and laughter)—but
he begged to assure them such was not the case, his
only desire being to record his honest, though humble,
praise of the noble lord's conduct.
Mr. R. PHILLIMORE asked for the indulgence
of the house on the great importauoe and mag-
nitude of the subject he intended to bring before
the house, and to giro vest to the earnest and irre-
pressible conviction he entertained of the great sacri-
fice of the maritime rights of Great Britain by the
declaration that had been framed at the Conferences,
that au enemy's goods in neutral vessels should not be
seized, which was contrary to the usual practice
and laws of war. After some lengthened remarks in
favour of his opit,iee, he moved the following additional
paragraph to the address, v:z.:—"To expre.s, neverthe-
less, the regret of this house that the immemorial and
undoubted belligerent right of the Crown to capture
enemies' goods in neutral ships, should have been re-
nounced by treaty, without an opportunity having been
aff,rded to Parliament of expressing its opinion upon so
grave and extensive an alteration 'if public and interna-
tional law." He contended that the neutral who carried
ordinary merchandise to an enemy was in principle an
assistance to the enemy just as much as the carriage of
contraband of war was. Ile denied that a eextfiscation