The Sun.
London, England, 1869-08-06 00:00:00

Whatever may be the lerits or demerits of the
Reform Act, it seems tohave materially increased
the number of talkative The affliction,
which has long been ;athering in intensity,
has at length become intcerable. No one, indeed,
can doubt that it would bfa grave error to restrict
the full discussion of weigity affairs in Parliament
in order to gain time. The nation was troubled
with talk enough respectin; the Irish Church ; but
the topic was one of the fist moment on which it
was desirable to have ever species of information,
and hear every shade of option. Many matters, how-
ever, which occupy valuable time are not only the
reverse of important, bui they obstruct the con-
sideration of valuable bill. It may be necessary
to endure verbosity in ,onnection with a great
public measure; but it is intolerable that needful
reforms should be kept bac.; through absurd motions,
which have no chance of access, or which are never
meant to succeed.

The proceedings in the House of Commons on
Tuesday night afford a string example of this evil.
The Scotch Education Billwas the chief business set
down for the evening sitting. After some gentlemen
had unsuccessfully endeavcured to promote the very,
very slow progress of tlis measure by a count-
out, Mr. FAWCETT inaugurated the reign of
talk by a motion to free the Fellowships and
Scholarships of Trinity College from all religious
disabilities. Now, most people admit that the change
in the circumstances of the :rish Church must involve
some modification in the system of Irish University
Education. But nothing in that direction can be
done this year. If it be impossible to pass many
measures which have made some progress, it is still
more impossible to introduce new ones. The
Secretary for Ireland admitted that the sub-
ject must be considered in due time, and
the member for Brighton confessed that it
would be useless to divide so late in the
nita.b guou, tueti,
raised ? Why should an important measure be kept
waiting in order that half a dozen speeches might
be made on a motion which meant nothing ?
The importance of the topic brought forward by Mr.
FAWCETT is undeniable; but there is a time for all
things. Still more unreasonable was the succeeding
resolution by Mr. LAMBERT to the effect that the
income tax be raised to a shilling in order that
25 millions of the National Debt might be paid off
annually ! The British taxpayer will doubtless smile
at the idea of getting constituencies to sanction a
shilling income tax ; bat it would be rash to say that
the subject is not worth inquiry. The example set
by America in the liquidation of her National Debt
is one which ought, at least, to command respect and
consideration. But it is clear that a motion to pay
off twenty-five millions a year, brought up at this
period of the session, is merely a hopeless waste of
time. We are doing something in the way of
reducing our debt ; for the last ten years the burden
has been lightened to the extent of nearly four
millions annually; and though it does not follow that
nothing more is to be done in this way, an extra
sevenpence is not to be put on the income tax in the
course of a conversation.

But even this escapade did not satisfy the House.
After some talk about the doings of Mr. HuGGINs
at Sierra Leone, the indefatigable members got to
the conduct of the police in the Haymarket—the out-
rage on the three bank clerks, to which we have
alluded—and this topic furnished occasion for seven-
teen speeches and remarks great and small.
There is the excuse that the conduct of the
police really needs investigation, but the
Scotch Education Bill not the less requires
passing. Some half-dozen smaller topics followed,
and then the House arrived at the business of the
evening. It was past midnight when the Scotch bll
was reached; but the energy of the members was in
no wise diminished. For two hours they wrangled,
as they have done before, over the point
whether the bill ought to be postponed or
not. After some twenty speakers had delivered
their opinion on this question, the House proceeded
to divide—not on the clauses, but on the motion
that the chairman report progress. After three
repetitions of this amusement, the Government
gave way, the sitting ended, and the
Scotch Education Bill was left precisely where it
was. No doubt this opposition was designedly
undertaken by those who do not wish the bill to
pass as the best means of frustrating its progress;
but the doings of the II ouse that night as a whole
can only be regarded as scandalous. Setting the
Scotch measure out of the question, a multitude of
useful and pressing reforms have been put off
this year through this growing evil of pro-
crastination. As public business is constantly
on the increase, the importance of saving time must
be attended to or Parliament will become as hope-
lessly in arrear as the Court of Chancery. There is
no lack of advanced measures nowadays. Some of
them probably might with advantage be less revolu-
tionary ; the one great difficulty is to make
any progress with them. If the life of man were as
long now as it was before the Deluge, the ready pro-
crastination from season to season might be less
serious ; but with a life-boundary of threescore and
ten years, we cannot afford to wait a decade for a
needful law.

BASK OF FRANCE.

-..-.

PARIS, Aug. 5.

The following is the return of the Bank of France
for the week ending to-day, together with the cor-
responding figures of the previous account:—

DEBTOR.

July 29. Aug. 5.
fr. c. fr. C.
Capital of the Bank 182,500,000 182,500,000
Profits in addition to
capital (Art. 8, Law,
June 9, 1857) 7,044,776 02 7,044,776 02
Reserve of the Bank
and its branches 22,105,750 14 22,105,750 14
Reserve of landed pro-
perty 4,000,000 4,000,000
Notes in circulation
Banknotes to orderand
receipts payable at
sight 37,924,463 75 39,617,917 42
Treasury account cur-
rent creditor 205,261,925 33 197,394,453 26
Current accounts, Paris 264,303,317 24 257,784,066 99
Do. branch banks 43,908,003 46,793,993
Dividends payable ...... 2,705,986 2,348,610
Discounts and sundry
interests
Rediscounted the last
six months
Surplus of receipts nut
distributed
Sundries

-----
Total ... 2,147,971,095 11 2,144,792,220 74
CREDITOR.
July 29. Aug. 5.
Cash in hand and in ' fr. c. fr. c.
Branch banks
Commercial bills over-
due
Commercial bills dis-
counted, not yet due 806,238,296 53 288,848,330 96
Do. branch banks 235,232,691 239,138,016
Advances on deposit of
bullion 17,208,600 19,038,600
Do. branch banks 6,017,600 6,036,600
Do. on French Public
Securities 17,473,600 17,306,600
Do. by branch banks 7,107,500 7,213,500
Do. on railway shares
and debentures 33,698,600 38,605,400
Do. branch banks
Do. on Credit Fonder
Bonds
Do. branches
Do. to the State (Con-
vention, June 10,
1857) 60,000,060 60,000,000
Government Stock re-
serve 12.980,750 14 12,980,750 14
Do. disposable
Rentes Immobalis6es
(Law, June 2, 1857) 1(0,000,000 100,000,000
Hotel and furniture of
the Bbnk and lauded
propel ty branches
Expenses of manage-
ment 682,808433 715,831 22
Sundries

Total
Certified by the Senator-Governor of the Bank
of France.
(Signed) ROULAND.

DuNvILI.E and Co., Belfast, are the largest
holders of Whisky in the world. Their Old Irish Whisky is re
commended by the medical profession in preference to French
Brandy. Supplied in tasks and cases for home use or exporta-
tion Quotations on application to Messrs. Dunville and Co.,
Bolfa.t; or 4, BeauforkbuiMings,Strand, L9ndon, W,C.—[
Ad
Tel me_nent;