The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-08 00:00:00

NAWAB OF SURAT BILL.

Lord LYNDHURST asked whether the law officers
of the Crown had been consulted as to their opinion of
the construction of the treaty entered into with the East
India Company and the late Nawab of Surat, and if so,
whether the Government would have any objection to lay
a copy of the opinion on the table ?

The Duke of ARGYLL said he was not aware of
any formal question having been put to the law officers
of the Crown by her Majesty's Government as to thb
construction of that treaty. He was therefore unable
to say what their opinion, was on the subject.
On the order of the day for the second reading of this
bill,

The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH asked whether the
Government were prepared to give the assent of the
Crown to the second reading of this bill, which would
affect the revenues of the Crown, inasmuch as the com-
pany were only the trustees for the Crown in the man-
agement of the affairs of India.
The Duke of ARGYLL said he was not prepared
to give the assent of the Crown to this bill.
The Marquis of CLANRICARDE then rose, and
moved the second reading of the bill. He contended
that it was founded on justice, and that the heirs of the
4awab were clearly entitled to a continuance of the
payment of the money which the treaty secured to them.
There could be no question that in this case wrong had
been done. The President of the Board of Trade had
admitted it, and the Solicitor-General bad spoken and
voted in favour of the claim. Every legal authority in
the House of Commons, with the exception of one (a
gentleman who was one of the leading counsel to the
East India Company), had taken the same view, and
that view he trusted their lordships would confirm by
passing the second reading of the bill. (Hear.)
The Duke of ARGYLL believed that his noble
friend the chairman of committees had moved that the
bill' be _read a third time that day three months.
Undoubtedly that amendment was proposed upon a point
of form ; but he believed he could convince the house
that in rejecting the measure upon the point of form
they would do no injustice upon the merits. The fact
of his noble friend (Lord Redesdale) refusing to under-
take the conduct of the bill, as he would do, as a matter
• of course, in the case of an ordinary private bill,
was 'a strong presumptive proof that there was some-
thing objectionable in it. The standing orders com-
mittee had examined the bill and reported that none of
the standing orders which the house had passed for the
protection of public and private interests in private bill
legislation were applicable to it, the natural inference
being that it ought to be treated as a public bill, if en-
tertained at all. That it affected the public interests
was beyond question, for it dealt with the revenues of
the Crown to the extent in capital of half a million of
Money. And with regard to private interests it affected
injuriously the private rights of a number of poor indi-
viduals in India, who, as far as he knew, had no know-
ledge that any such measure was in contemplation. He
denied that the claimant had suffered any substantial in-
justice to warrant his appealing to Parliament. There
were two questions involved—first, the disposal of the
public annuity granted by the East India Company
tinder the! treaty to the Nawab of Surat and his strh.
ceseor ; and, secondly, the distribution of the'
private estate. With regard to the first he con-
tended, by a reference to the treaty itself, the diary"
of Governor Duncan, the report of Sir G. Arthur,
and the decision of the governor-general in council uleon
that report, that the intention was that the annuity
should attach to the Nawabship, and that such was the
interpretation put upon it by the Nawab himself when
the treaty was first concluded. The next point to which
he alluded was the attempt of his noble friend to vast
odium on the Caurt of Directors. To show how unjust
was this, he would refer the house to the general instruc-
tions of the Caurt of Directors, which were, that the
Nawab'e'family should be liberally dealt with ; in fact.
in the end they granted pensions to every one of them.
They chid the Bombay Government for their niggardli-
ness in the first instance, and at the present moment no
leafs than 11,0001. out of the 15,0001. claimed was hjr
their order distributed amongst the family. He main.
Wiled, then, that on the whole the Company had be-
haved fairly and liberally to the Nawab of Surat and his
fatally. He did not mean to say that questions might
not arise out of this appeal for the judicial
committee of the Privy Council ; but was it
fair under the facts which he had related, to take ad-
vantage of the passing unpopularity of the company to
force a private hill through Parliament. Supposing the
judicial committee to decide in favour of the claim, what
were they to do with the annuities which had beep
granted ? They must still he paid, and this necessity
would place the Government in a difficult position. He
should mention also, that when the private property of
the late Nawab was to be divided, Sir R. Arbuthnot
decided that the present claimant was not entitled t 5
any part of it. Nay, more, this very man was a consent-
' ing party to that arrangement. A special act was passed,
authorisipgan agent to act in the distribution of the pro-
perty, and in it was a clause suggested by the present
elaiinaus, going directly against the present application,
Only 'two years since he appealed to the Privy-Council,
and-the decision was given by Sir Knight Bruce, to the
effect tiaal no appeal lay in the case. Havieig cautioned
the horse against the inmelicy of reopening the ease, and
thus disturbing the annuities which bad been so long en-
joyed by a number of poor people, the noble duke con-
cluded,by declaring his intention to oppose the bill.
The arl of ALBEIVIA.RLE. denied- The right of the
Indian Company to be heard as, against the Govern,
meat, of which they were merely a subordinate depart-
ment.
The garl of ELLENBOTIOUG a said the noble duke
hasi so elearly.explained the case that it would be none-
Cessary for him to trouble the house at any length He
was not generally so fortunate as to be able to praise
the conduct of the India Company, but in. this case he
. thought they had acted as became commissioners between
the people of England and the People of India. They
had no personal interest in it, and bad merely acted ac-
cording to law and custom. It was perfectly ridiculous'
to talk of the female heirs of a Nawab, and therefore
the case set np in this claim was perfectly untenable.
Having given the case his careful consideration, he was
determined to oppose t'he Let him imagine a
parallel case. Suppose Moldavial and Wallachia to be
released from theeiezerainty of the Porte, and to grant
in return- an annuity to the Sultan and hi heirs, Did
any one imagine that it the Sultan's authority
w re de-
stroyed,. the Principalities would continue to pay thee an-
nuity amongst the Sultan's daughters, the
wives of ail
the Paellas ? Anildcet this was precisely the case na i e t
which he wished to geord,their lordships, and he
warned
them that there were more to cone, which were only
waiting the decision to which their la ips might come
that evening. lfe trusted that the questi nd, wh
the treaty of 1800 the annuity was e to ether
the hby
eirs
male of the Nawab, would be
submitted to the Judicial
Committee. (Hear.)
The Marquise of CLANRICARDE replied. He also
hoped that this matter would be judicially inquired into,
Hut when that was done he trusted that steps would be, taken to carry the decision of the Judicial Committee
into effect, even although a special act should he required
to enforce the decision to which the Judicial Committee
might come.

After a few words from Lord DENuAIf,
The second reacting was negatived without a divigiDn.
COMMISSIONERS OF SUPPLY (SCOTLAND)
BILL.
The report of amendments was received.
• DRAINAGE (IRELAND), BILL.
This bill 4va3 read a second time.
DISTrLLATION FROM RICE BILL.
This hill was read a second time.
EVIDENCE IN FOREIGN SUITS BILL.
This bill pK}lGed through committee.
DWELLINGS FOR LABOURING CLASSES
(IRELAND) BILL.
This bill pased through committee.
EXCHEQUER BILLS (4,000,0001.) BILL.
This bill passed through committee.
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY BILL.
The report of amendments was received.
SMALL DEBTS IMPROVEMENT ACT AMEND-
MENT (SCO'PLAND) BI
This bill was read a trir, time and BILL.
COURT OF EXCHEQUER (SCOTLAND) BILL.
The LORD CHANCELLOR, in movipg the second
reading of this bill; briefly explained that the object of
the measure was the abolition of the Court of Exchequer
of Scotland, and the merger of the jurisdiction of that
court in the Court of Session.
Their lordships adjourned at 8 o'clock.

HOUSE OF COMMON 3.—(7.EsTERDAY.)
The SPEAKER took the chair at the usual hour.

PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The Lords' amendments to the following bills were
anBidered and agreed to :—Edinburgh Water ; Epsom
.„d Leatherhead Railway; Salisbury Market Branch
and Market 119 use ; Stockton and Darlingtoic

and Newcastle and Carlisle Union Railway ; Swansea
Vale Railway.
Bell'e Estate Bill was read a seord time and,passed.

t-
BEDFORD CFISRITY.-i N " -
Mr. WHITBREAD presented a petition fiom the
trustees of the Belford Charity, under their common
seal, complaining of the yo9Ey, heavy charges entailed
upon their charity funds, owing to the unnecessary pro-
moting of two bills in Parliament which were never
pas-ed into 13w by the Attorney-General.
The petition was read at length at the table.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said in explanation
that the bills alluded to were not actually brought in by
himself, but by the trustees of the charity, and were read
a second time. On the recommendation of Sir Page
Wood the bills were withdrawn, in consequence of a
compromise. All he had done in the matter was to
carry out the orders of the Court of Chancery.
Sir J. DUKE, in the absence of the Hon. Stuart
Wortley, begged to ask the Secretary of State for the
Home Department whether the Government would as-
sist the Corporation of the City of London in passing a
bill, during the present session, to extend the right of
voting in the election of aldermen and members of the
Common Council to all occupiers within the city who
were op the Parliamentary register ?
Sir G. GREY said be had received a copy of the bill,
but as it was limited in its operation it would have to be
introduced and proceeded with as a private bill. The
standing orders of the house would prevent such a course
at this late period of the session, but if the difficulty
with respect to these orders were surmounted he should
have no objection to the laying the bill on the table, but
he should object to proceeding with the measure at this
late period of the session.
MR. JAMES SIDLEIR.

Mr. MOORE asked the Attorney-General fOr Ireland
whether it was true that Mr. James Sadleir had been
permitted to leave Ireland without having been arrested ;
and whether any steps had been taken for the arrest and
prosecution of the said James Sadleir by her Majesty's
Government ?
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL for IRELAND said
he had spoken fully upon this subject on a previous
occasion. The hon. gentleman then proceeded to allude
to the observations made by the Master of the Rolls in
Ireland respecting steps not being taken against
certain parties as participators in the frauds committed
by Mr. John Sadleir. In consequence of those obser-
vations he bad been to Ireland, and there he could find
nothing to assist him in his endeavours to carry out a
prosecution. The most active steps had been taken both
ill this country and in Ireland for the apprehension of
Mr. James Sadleir. With respect to the latter part of
the question he begged to say that if it was intended to
convey an idea that the Government had permitted Jas.
Sadleir to escape, that he would simply say Was nota fact.
►Yarrants had been issued for the apprehension of Sad-
leir, and most active steps were at the present moment
being taken to prevent his eluding justice.

CLOCK TOWER DEVICE-HOUSES OF PAR-
LIAMENT.

Lord R. GROSVENOR, amidst much laughter,
asked the Chief Commissioner of Works, whether it
was too late to substitute a weathercock for the device
now placed. on the summit of the Clock Tower, and
complained that the only weathercock in the neighbour-
hood was that at St. James:s Palace?
Sir B. HALL said that in coming down to the house
he saw plenty of weathercocks—(laaghter)—and he bad
no doubt the noble lord, could find many weathercocks
en both sides of the house. (Renewed laughter.)
Arr. PULMAN. the Deputy Usher of the Black Rod.
summoned the Speaker and the members of the house to
the House of Lords, to bear the Royal assent given by,
commission to various bills (for which see Lords'
report).

MILITIA COLONELS.
Col. FRENCH moved for an address for a return of
the names of colonels of militia in Great Britain and
Ireland, appointed since the 30th day of March, 1853,
who had received pay during the time their regiments
had been embodied.—A2reed to.
CIVIL SERVICE SUPERANNUATION FUND,
The CHANCELLOR of the.EXCHEQUER brought
up the report of the select committee in reference to the
Civil Service Superannuation Fund, which was received
and ordered to be laid on the table.
THE TERMAGANT.

In answer to a question from Admiral WALCOTT,
Sir CHAS. WOOD said that the yellow fever had
broken out on board the Termagant, on the West Indian
Station, but not in a malignant form. The vessel had
been sent to the northward, which Wag considered a spe-
cific against the further spread of the-fever.