The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-02 00:00:00

SIGNALS AT SEA.

In reply to Mr. KENDALL,
Mr. CORR said no dgfinite decision had been arrived
at with respect to adapting Sir Goldsworthy Gurney's
system of flashing light generally throughout her Majesty's

navy.
CONTAGIOUS DISEASES (ANIMALS) BILL.

In reply to Mr. NEWDEGATE,
The CHANCELLOR of tho EXCHEQUER said he pro-
posed to proceed with the bill on Tuesday morning next.
PARKS REGULATION BILL.

In reply to Mr. OTWAY,
Mr. HARDY said it certainly was his intention to pro-
ceed with this bill at the earliest opportunity that presented

itself. (Hear, hear.)
THE LODGER FRANCHISE.
Mr. M. TORRENS gave notice that on an early day he
should bring forward a motion to the effect that that
House saw no reason for altering a decision it had unani-
mously arrived at--namely, at fixing the lodger qualifica-
tion at £lO. (Hear, hear.)
IRISH RAILWAYS.
On the motion for going into committee of supply,
Mr. MONSELL brought the condition of the Irish
railways under the consideration of the house, and asked
whether her Majesty's Government intend to propose any
measure for the consolidation of the Irish railway system ?
Lord NAAS, in reply, said at the present period it was
I impossible for the Government to take any steps in the
I matter without further information being in their pos-

session.
Mr. LANYON expressed his approval of the course pro-
posed to be taken by the Government; while Mr. J. B.
Smith protested beforehand against the purchase of the
Irish railways, and Mr. Horsfall and Mr. Leveson-Gower
doubted whether Government purchase would bo advan-
tageous to the Irish railways, and defended the Commis-

sion.
Mr. LAING remarked that the question could not be
decided on the principles which were applicable to Eng-
lish railways, and that it was hardly worth while to move
at all except to do something considerable and important.
If by Government purchase the fares could bo brought
down to somewhere about the Belgian level-Tlooking at
the political and social circumstances of Ireland—it might
be worth while to throw political economy for once to the
winds. The Government must guard against buying. the
railways at too high a rate ; and if this were done, looking
at the figures, he believed that the tariff might bo reduced
without any great loss.
Sir F. lleygate, Mr. Childers, Mr. M‘Laren, and Mr.
Henley made some observations, and
Mr. GLADSTONE, whatever might be the decision as
to the purchase of the 'dell railways, deprecated decidedly
their managemeet by the Government, but thought there
weal be no difficulty in providing for their independent
management. He agreed with Mr. Leing that it was not
worth while to make a 4mall experiment mn-ely, but did
not think with him that there was no risk of loss, and
after expressing a strong opinion that there was no more
efficacious mode of benefiting all classes of the population
than to facilitate the means of communication, he urged
the Government to sift to the bottom the figures whie
would show how far a decrease in the fares would lead to
an increase of traffic.
Mr. GRAVES drew attention to the restrictions on the
importation of foreign cattle into Liverpool, drawing
il fro
wasm
Lord R. Montagu the reply that the Privy
Counc
anxious to make every relaxation consistent with.the ex-
clusion of the cattle plague.
Mr. COWPER moved an address fora roundon
to inquire into the best mode of classifying exhibiting
in our different museums the national art collections.
After a lengthened argument from Mr. B. Hors in favour
of creating a separate Art Department which should take
charge of all the national collections,
Lord J. MANNERS replied that there was no necessity
for further inquiries, for within the last few years there
had been no less than 11 commissions or committees on
our museums, which had collected sufficient information to
enable the Government to act on their own responsibility,
and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he reminded the
house, had promised to bring in a bill next session.
Mr. Cowper withdrew his motion ; and Mr. Taylor
brought under the notice of the house the recent decision
of a Cornish magistrate sentencing six persons to three
weeks' imprisonment for trespassing off a path through a
wood, and the legality of the sentence was called in ques-
tion by Mr. S. Lefevre and Sir R. P. Collier.
Mr. KENDALL and Mr. HENLEY defended the
conduct of the owner of the wood and of the magistrates ;
and Mr. G. HARDY explained that the Home-office had
no jurisdiction in the matter, and pointed out that if there
was any illegality in the sentence the proper course was
to take it before the superior courts.
The House then went into Committee of Supply, andon
the Packet Soivice Vote,
Mr. CRAWFORD called attention to that part of the
report of the Committee on the East India Communica-
tions which refers to the postal services with India, China,
and Australia, complaining that the Government had not
complied with its recommendations, and animadverted
strongly on a presumed intention to give the India Mail
contract to the Messageries Imperiales.
Mr. HUNT defended the course taken by the Treasury,
contending that they had carried out the spirit of the
Committee's recommendations, and had kept ho consider-
ation of economy steadily in view.
This discussion, which turned chiefly on the inexpedi-
ency—both in a political and economical point of view—
of encouraging a foreign line of steamers at the expense of
the Peninsular and Oriental Company, which was repre-
sented to have performed such important publ
without frores
and on the objections to
as makintinuedng contractsChilders,
sanction of Parliament, wco
Mr. Samuda, Mr. Laing, Mr. Ayrtoll, Mr. Gladstone, and
others ; and, after a sharp controversy between Mr. J.
Smith, Sir R. P. Collier, and Mr. R. Gurney,
as the
over the rival
claims of Falmouth, Plymouth, and Southamtpe
vote
was
station for the West India Mail steamers'
he
agreed to.
The other orders were os©d of,t and the House ad.
iourned at a quarter to three o'cloc

WANT OF HOSPITALITY TOWARDS A JUDG.E.—The
Carnarvon Assizes were held last week by the Right Hon.
Sir F. Kelly (Lord Chief Baron the Exchequer), who has
and when the first of the
taken the North Wales C
grand jury answae th:. suirnmons, his lordship, address-
ing him, said he exc.ee mg y regretted that it was not in
power, on this his first occasion of visiting the county,
litoiseitend to him and his brethren the ordinary hospitality
of inviting them to dinner. The reason was simply that
the high sheriff had boon unable to supply a suitable lipuse
wherein to lodge her Majesty's justices of assize. He cer-
tainly should have considered it his duty to fine the high
sheriff, but he was bound to say that it seemed to him
that he had furnished a sufficient explanation of the posi-
tion in which he had been placed; but if it should again
occur that this rich and prosperous county of Carnarvon,
with some 70,000 or 80,000 inhabitants, was unable to
adopt proper measures to yield that accommodation to her
Majesty's representatives on these important occasions, to
which by the law of the land they were entitled, he knew
not what course would be pursued, excepting that her
Majesty would be compelled to remove the assizes from
the county, the authorities having fails I to pay her r epre-
in,
sentatives respect. lie had spoken thus with groat pa
but it was on account of the honour due to the office which,
ho held that ho considered it his duty to make some re-
marks upon the fact that the judge of assize in this county
had been obliged to resort to a public hotel.
MARINE DISASTERS.—The monthly record of the
Bureau Veritas of Paris shows that in June last he`
which
8 N
80 were British, 30 American, 9 Dutch,
8 Fious otherc flags.
, or-
wegian, 5 Prussian, and 28 bearing
var
Of these-vessels 19 aro supposed to have been lost with
their crews, no intelligence concerning them having been
received. The total number of vessels lost during the
first six months of the present year is 1,517, or au excess
of six over the number lost during the corresponding
period of 1866.