The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-06 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS—(YEsTERDAY.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat at 5 o'clock.
RELIGIOUS WORSHIP AMENDMENT ACT.
Lord DUNGANNON presented a petition from St.
Asaph against the Religious Worship Amendment Bill ;
also a petition from the rural deanery of Ellesmere, in
the diocese of.Litch6eld, to the same effect.
Lord SHAFTESBURY presented a number of peti-
tions in faalor of the bill.
THE PASSPORT SYSTEM.
Lord STAN-HOPE, seeing the noble earl the ear toe-
tary of state for Foreign Affairs in his place, begg
ask what course would be pursued for the future with
respect to giving passports to British subjects going to
the Continent. 43e had been informed that the French
Government had given notice to Her Majesty's Govern.
meet that they would not, for the future, recognise
Passports given to foreign subjects by the French con-
es's in this country. He thought that the present
moment was a good opportunity of doing away with the
ilaamaly altogether.
The Earl of CLARENDON said only a few days
ago, they had received an intimation from the French
Government to put an end to the system of French con-
' sully agents granting passports to British subjects. He
entirely concurred with the object if it was intended
to adhere to the passport system, as at present any
person calling himself a British subject obtained a pass-
port without the slightest difficulty. By this means
some of the most dangerous persons—persons to whom
the French Government had the greatest objection—
might travel through France as British subjects. We
had never interfered heretofore with the sys-
tem of passports, because we attached no
importance to them. Any person was free to leave or
enter this country without being provided with such a
document ; and he did not think there was any reason
at the present moment to break through the rule.
He had no doubt that the whole system
would soon be abolished, as it was the in-
tention of the Government to invite other countries
to abandon the passport system. (Hear, hear.)
THE ENGLISH ENGINEERS AT NAPLES.
Earl GREY presented a petition urging upon her
Majesty's Government to interfere to procure the
liberation of the two British subjects at present in
confinement at Naples. The noble lord urged on
the Government the necessity of attending to the prayer
of the petition.
The Earl of CLARENDON said the subject alluded
to by the noble earl had excited great interest, and at
the outset he begged to inform the:house that those two
persons had not suffered any inconvenience from the
interruption of our amicable relations with the Neapoli•
tan Government. I. was but just to the Govern-
meat to say that no unnecessary harshness had
been exercised towards those men ; on the contrary,
ha believed that they bad been treated with much more
consideration than they would hare been had they been
natives. The noble lord then detailed the
circumstances connected with the arrest of the
men on board the steamer Ca;liari. Ile thought
the government had no right to interfere so long
as the Neapolitan Government pursued the regular
course laid down by the law of the land. There was
ne doubt the engineese had not been parties to the in-
surrectionary movement of the Sicilians who took pos-
session of the steamer in July last. He knew it had been
paid her Majesty's Government ought to have taken more
vigorous measures, but they had no right whatever
to call upon the Neapolitan Government to depart from
the ordinary course of law
BANKRUPTCY LAW.
Lord BROUGHAM. said he wished to lay on the table
a bill to abolish intiprisonnoent fur debt, to extend the
laws relating to bankrupts to the cases of non-traders,
to give further remedies to creditor?, and to secure the
punishment of fraudulent debtors.
Lord CA.MPBELL was delighted to learn that his
noble and learned friend proposed to abolish the absurd
distinctions which bad so long existed between traders
and non-traders. If an insolvent gave up all his property
to his creditors, whether be were a trader or not, he
ought to be released. He was glad, too, that his noble
and learned friend proposed to deal with the case of
fraudulent debtors. The fealties now afforded by law
for fraudulent trading were most demoralising to the
commercial community.
Lord BROUGHAM entirely agreed with his noble
and learned friend that one of the greatest scandals of
the law at present was the door which it opened for
fraudulent trading. The amendment which he proposed
would greatly lessen the facilities which were afforded
for such trading.
The bill was then laid on the table and read a first
time.