The Sun.
London, England, 1867-03-26 00:00:00

THE CATTLE PLAGUE.

Sir J. C. JEUVOISE asked whether attention had been
directed to an action, tried at the Oxford Assizes in March,
186 G, in which £lll was awarded as compensation to the
plaintiff, in consequence of his being obliged to dispose of
twenty-two cows at considerable loss, the rinderpest
having been communicated to them by a cow sold to him
by the defendant ; and, whether the case of " Mullet v.
Mason" would constitute aprecedentin compensative claims
for loss sustained through infection ?
Mr. WALPOLE said tho attention of the Government
had been called to the subject. The defendant falsely so-
presented the cow was not diseased when he knew it was.
Without similar cases arose it could not be drawn into a
precedent.
ROYAL COURTS OF JERSEY.

In reply to Mr. Locxx,
Mr. WALPOLE said there was no intention on the
part of the Government to bring in any bill to reform the
constitution of the Royal Courts of Jersey.
TIIE NANTLLE RAILWAY COMPANY.

In reply to Mr. SAMUELSON,
Mr. CAVE said the attention of the Board of Trade
had been called to the opening of a portion of this railway
before it had been inspected. He had sent for information
on tho subject, which, if not satisfactory, an inspector
would be sent down to make a report.
CASE OF MR. CLARE.
Mr. BAZLEY asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if
ho would place upon the table of the house the document
handed to his predecessor in November last, seeking a
settlement of the claims of Mr. John Clare for the use of
his patents in shipbuilding.
Mr. CORKY said he did not think the country ought to
be put to the expense of printing returns of no public ser-
vice. Mr. Clare had been decided to have no claim upon
the Admiralty, and therefore he hoped the hon. member
would not press for the production of the document in
question, which was one of a very voluminous description.
METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS BILL.

Mr. Alderman LAWRENCI:asked if it was intended
to proceed, on Thursday next, with the Metropolitan Im-
provements Bill, which had been brought in by the hon.
member for the Tower Hamlets and the hon. member for
Bath.

Lord JOAN MANNERS said it would not be possible
to proceed with the bill on the day named. He thought
the bill would not, in the present state of public business,
be taken till after Easter.
PORTUGUESE WINES.

Mr. ARROYO asked the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs if he bad received any communication from the
Portuguese Government favourable to the negotiation of
a treaty of commerce upon the same terms as the French
treaty, provided that Portuguese wines, although of a
higher degree of proof than French wiues, be admitted
at the, same rate of duty ; and whether he would lay the
correspondence upon the table.
Lord STANLEY said negotiations on the subject had
taken place, but had not succeeded througlr the Portuguese
Government demanding what, in fact, amounted to an
abolition of the alcoholic test. The Government were
willing to mako a moderate amount of concession, but it
was hot sufficient for the Portuguese Government, and
therefore the matter had fallen through. lie had no objec-
tion to produce the correspondence.
•
WAGER TnE MURDERER.

•
Captain ARCH DALL asked the Secretary of State for
the Home Department if he would state the reasons which
induced him to advise her Majesty to exercise the royal
prerogative of mercy in favour of the murderer Edward
Wager.
Mr. WALPOLE said the murder was indeed ono of the
greatest barbarity. The case came before him, and he felt
it his•duty to apply the recommendations of the Royal
Commission for the Abolition of Capital Punish-
ment, which was to the effect that where a
murder was committed without premeditation or
malice aforethought, under certain circumstances the
punishment of death should not follow. When he first
read the circumstances of the case he felt it was one of
unusual barbarity and brutality ; but ho had also to pay
attention and take into his consideration the recom-
mendation of the jury. He applied to the learned
judge who tried the case, without expressing
his opinion ono way or the other, and ho received a com-
munication in return, in which it was stated that the
crime did not appear to have been a premeditated one, and
although there had been an unusual . amount
of violence, it was thought that there was
no premeditation, and, therefore, not an unfit one for the
exercise of the royal prerogative, lie did not think ho
could have taken auy other course than that he had adopted,
which bad resulted in the respite of the prisoner and a
commutation of the sentence of death to penal servitude
for. life.

SALE OF LAND BY AUCTION BILL.

This bill was road a second Limo.

THE REFORM BILL—ADJOURNED DEBATE.
On the motion for the second reading of this bill.

Mr. B. JOHNSON resumed the adiOurned debate. Ho
thought the Government had mistaken their duty in
framing the bill, as they had introduced into it an egre-
gious and stupendous blunder of the dual vote. There
were some portions of the bill, he thought, called for the
deepest consideration ; but if, after that, it was not possible
to produce a peiject measure he thought it would be the
best course to pause before they gave their sanction
to, any measure, more especially an important one. It
had been said that great disturbance 'would result on the
rejection of the bill, but he for one preferred revolution
to national disgrace.
Sir R. PALMER rose, and was

(LEFT SPEAKING.)

[At Wexford, on Saturday, Patrick W. Keough, a
farmer of Taghmon, having been remanded for the
third time as a suspected Fenian, was discharged,
there being no Bufficieut evidence against him,